title: Needleman–Wunsch algorithm

text: To find the alignment with the highest score, a two-dimensional array (or matrix) "F" is allocated. The entry in row "i" and column "j" is denoted here by


title: Needleman–Wunsch algorithm

text: formula_1. There is one row for each character in sequence "A", and one column for each character in sequence "B". Thus, if aligning sequences of sizes "n" and "m", the amount of memory used is in formula_2. Hirschberg's algorithm only holds a subset of the array in memory and uses formula_3 space, but is otherwise similar to Needleman-Wunsch (and still requires formula_2 time).


title: Needleman–Wunsch algorithm

text: As the algorithm progresses, the formula_1 will be assigned to be the optimal score for the alignment of the first formula_6 characters in "A" and the first formula_7 characters in "B". The principle of optimality is then applied as follows:


title: Needleman–Wunsch algorithm

text: Once the "F" matrix is computed, the entry formula_11 gives the maximum score among all possible alignments. To compute an alignment that actually gives this score, you start from the bottom right cell, and compare the value with the three possible sources (Match, Insert, and Delete above) to see which it came from. If Match, then formula_12 and formula_13 are aligned, if Delete, then formula_12 is aligned with a gap, and if Insert, then formula_13 is aligned with a gap. (In general, more than one choice may have the same value, leading to alternative optimal alignments.)


title: Needleman–Wunsch algorithm

text: Computing the score formula_1 for each cell in the table is an formula_17 operation. Thus the time complexity of the algorithm for two sequences of length formula_18 and formula_19 is formula_20. It has been shown that it is possible to improve the running time to formula_21 using the Method of Four Russians. Since the algorithm fills an formula_22 table the space complexity is formula_20.


title: Needleman–Wunsch algorithm

text: The original purpose of the algorithm described by Needleman and Wunsch was to find similarities in the amino acid sequences of two proteins.


title: Needleman–Wunsch algorithm

text: Needleman and Wunsch describe their algorithm explicitly for the case when the alignment is penalized solely by the matches and mismatches, and gaps have no penalty ("d"=0). The original publication from 1970 suggests the recursion


title: Needleman–Wunsch algorithm

text: The corresponding dynamic programming algorithm takes cubic time. The paper also points out that the recursion can accommodate arbitrary gap penalization formulas:


title: Needleman–Wunsch algorithm

text: A penalty factor, a number subtracted for every gap made, may be assessed as a barrier to allowing the gap. The penalty factor could be a function of the size and/or direction of the gap. [page 444]


title: Needleman–Wunsch algorithm

text: A better dynamic programming algorithm with quadratic running time for the same problem (no gap penalty) was introduced later by David Sankoff in 1972.


title: Needleman–Wunsch algorithm

text: Needleman and Wunsch formulated their problem in terms of maximizing similarity. Another possibility is to minimize the edit distance between sequences, introduced by Vladimir Levenshtein. Peter H. Sellers showed in 1974 that the two problems are equivalent.


title: Needleman–Wunsch algorithm

text: The Needleman–Wunsch algorithm is still widely used for optimal global alignment, particularly when the quality of the global alignment is of the utmost importance. However, the algorithm is expensive with respect to time and space, proportional to the product of the length of two sequences and hence is not suitable for long sequences.


title: Needleman–Wunsch algorithm

text: Recent development has focused on improving the time and space cost of the algorithm while maintaining quality. For example, in 2013, a Fast Optimal Global Sequence Alignment Algorithm (FOGSAA), suggested alignment of nucleotide/protein sequences faster than other optimal global alignment methods, including the Needleman–Wunsch algorithm. The paper claims that when compared to the Needleman–Wunsch algorithm, FOGSAA achieves a time gain of 70–90% for highly similar nucleotide sequences (with > 80% similarity), and 54–70% for sequences having 30–80% similarity.


title: Needleman–Wunsch algorithm

text: Stereo matching is an essential step in the process of 3D reconstruction from a pair of stereo images. When images have been rectified, an analogy can be drawn between aligning nucleotide and protein sequences and matching pixels belonging to scan lines, since both tasks aim at establishing optimal correspondence between two strings of characters.


title: Needleman–Wunsch algorithm

text: Although in many applications image rectification can be performed, e.g. by camera resectioning or calibration, it is sometimes impossible or impractical since the computational cost of accurate rectification models prohibit their usage in real-time applications. Moreover, none of these models is suitable when a camera lens displays unexpected distortions, such as those generated by raindrops, weatherproof covers or dust. By extending the Needleman–Wunsch algorithm, a line in the 'left' image can be associated to a curve in the 'right' image by finding the alignment with the highest score in a three-dimensional array (or matrix). Experiments demonstrated that such extension allows dense pixel matching between unrectified or distorted images.


title: Catanduanes

text: Catanduanes (; ), officially the Province of Catanduanes, is an island province located in the Bicol Region of Luzon in the Philippines. It is the 12th-largest island in the Philippines, and lies to the east of Camarines Sur, across Maqueda Channel. Its capital is Virac. It had a population of 271,879 people as of the 2020 census.


title: Catanduanes

text: The province comprises Catanduanes Island (also called "Virac Island"), Panay Island, Lete Island, the Palumbanes group of islands (Porongpong, Tignob and Calabagio), and a few other small, surrounding islets and rocks. The province is also home to various mollusk fossil sites, notably the second-oldest ammonite site in the Philippines. These sites have certain species of ammonites that are found nowhere else in Southeast Asia. Because of the province's importance and rich geologic history, various scholars have suggested that, if the province would take the initiative to put its name forward in nomination, it would stand a good chance of being declared a UNESCO Geopark Reserve.


title: Catanduanes

text: In the early 1900s, Catanduanes was a sub-province of Ambos Camarines. Later, it was a sub-province of Albay. It became an autonomous province in 1945. Congressman Francisco Perfecto filed "House Bill No. 301", which separated the province from Albay; the bill was approved on September 26, 1945, and signed into law by President Sergio Osmeña on October 24, 1945. Remigio Socito, previously the Lieutenant Governor, was appointed the first Provincial Governor. When elections were held in 1947, Alfonso V. Usero became the first elected Governor.


title: Catanduanes

text: On April 15, 2022, President Rodrigo Duterte has signed the Republic Act No. 11700 declaring Catanduanes province as the Philippines Abaca Capital.


title: Catanduanes

text: Catanduanes' earliest recorded name was "Isla de Cobos". This was the name given to it by Spanish "conquistadores", early in 1573, when they came upon several tribes on the island who were living in the thatched huts that the tribal people called "cobos".


title: Catanduanes

text: “Catanduanes” comes from the words "tandu", a native beetle, and "samdong", a native species of tree, both of which were found throughout the island. People often referred to the island as "katanduan" or "kasamdongan", meaning ‘a place where the "tandu" and the "samdong" tree thrive in abundance.’ The pronunciation of this word by Spanish-speaking people led to the coining of the Hispanicized version, "Catanduanes".


title: Catanduanes

text: Rulers (datus) from Borneo settled on the island of Panay. Their descendants then migrated throughout the archipelago and became the first settlers in Catanduanes.


title: Catanduanes

text: The island was raided more than once by the Moros, who lived on the island of Mindanao. As a result of these destructive raids, many records of the past were destroyed or lost.


title: Catanduanes

text: In 1573, when Juan de Salcedo arrived in Catanduanes while hunting for pirates and conquered the natives. Three years later, a galleon expedition from Acapulco was shipwrecked near the island, and the survivors were either killed or enslaved. This event is commemorated at the Batalay Church in Bato, which is a few kilometers outside the capital town of Virac.


title: Catanduanes

text: The evangelization of the island started twenty years later, when the Spanish soldiers, after subjugating the Bicol mainland, came back with Franciscan missionaries. The missionaries, armed with the cross and backed by the sword of the conquistadors, evangelized the entire population, beginning with the southern tribes, without meeting much resistance.


title: Catanduanes

text: From 1600 to 1857, the colonizers established nine local centers of government through the establishment of parishes: "Caramoran" (1601); "Pandan" (1650); "Viga" (1661); "Panganiban" (1663); "Virac" (1775); "Bato" (1830); and "San Andres" (1853).


title: Catanduanes

text: During the period of American rule, Bagamanoc, which had been a thriving municipality during the Spanish period, was reduced to a mere barrio of Viga and later of Panganiban.


title: Catanduanes

text: During the American Regime, some locals refused to recognize the sovereignty of the United States, and most of them fled to the mountains. The American occupation did not last long. By 1934, the Americans had withdrawn from control of the island.


title: Catanduanes

text: During World War II, Catanduanes was not spared from Japanese invasion. The Japanese erected garrisons in different parts of the island and heavily fortified it.


title: Catanduanes

text: Three months after the Philippine independence from the Americans, Catanduanes was finally recognized as a separate and independent province from Albay through "Commonwealth Act No. 687" authored by then Representative Francisco Perfecto. The independence was approved by Congress on September 26, 1945, signed into law by President Sergio Osmena Sr. on October 24, 1945, and took effect on October 26, 1945.


title: Catanduanes

text: Catanduanes became the sixth province of the Bicol Region with the signing of the Act. Remigio Socito, the last Lieutenant Governor of Catanduanes was appointed as the first Provincial Governor. When elections were held in 1947, Alfonso V. Usero became the first elected Governor.


title: Catanduanes

text: On September 26, 1945, Catanduanes was recognized as a separate and independent province. By Republic Act No. 159, dated June 26, 1947, the municipality of Caramoran was recreated out of the Municipality of Pandan; under R.A. No. 491, dated June 12, 1950, the Municipality of Bagamanoc was also created.


title: Catanduanes

text: Gigmoto formally became a municipality again in 1951, as did San Miguel in 1952. Also in the early 1950s, another center of government, Baras, was created. It was during this period that the island saw economic development and growth. Interlinking roads were built and trading centers were created.


title: Catanduanes

text: Catanduanes is situated on the easternmost edge of Luzon: 13.3 to 14.1 degrees north latitudes and between 124.1 and 124.3 degrees east longitudes. The island bounded on the west by the Maqueda Channel, on the south by Lagonoy Gulf, and on the north and east by the Philippine Sea. Several small islands comprise the province. Its aggregate land area totals approximately . The coastlines, that stretch to almost , are jagged with many bays.


title: Catanduanes

text: The topography of Catanduanes Island is rugged and mountainous, becoming more pronounced towards the central portion of the island. Less than 10 percent of the land area has a slope gradient under 8 percent, mostly fractured and narrow strips of plains located along the coastal areas where most of the inhabitants are settled. The highest mountain peak is in Boctot, located between the municipalities of Virac and San Miguel with an elevation of above sea level. It is the premier mountain range with broadly spread old-growth forests and watershed which exerts widespread influence over its immediate environs that include the municipalities of Virac, Bato, and San Miguel. Other prominent mountain forms include the ranges: Obi in Caramoran, Cagmasoso in San Andres, and the Summit and Magsumoso ranges within the Viga and Gigmoto areas.


title: Catanduanes

text: The lowlands include the Virac Plain, Viga Plain, San Andres Plain and the Bato River Flood Plain. The coastal municipalities with limited lowland agricultural areas are Pandan and Caramoran. The more extensive lowlands are found in the southern parts of the province. The largest coastal plain is the contiguous wetlands of Viga, Panganiban and Bagamanoc over which lies the widest area of rice paddies and nipa mangroves.


title: Catanduanes

text: The province is mostly rugged and mountainous terrain. Its slope characteristics are 13% gently sloping to undulating, 1% classified rolling to hilly, 2% very hills and mountains, 47% level to very gently sloping, 32% steep hills and mountainous, and 5% undulating to rolling. Ten of the eleven municipalities of the province is situated along the coastal fringes, over which locate its mostly fractured plains. The only landlocked municipality is San Miguel with its "poblacion" (town center) sitting in a location entirely devoid of flatlands. The majority of the built-up areas occupy zones that are classified as flat to rolling.


title: Catanduanes

text: The island is a biodiversity hotspot. Its rainforests are home to the Philippine brown deer, flying foxes, and other endemic bat species, warty pigs, civets, cobras, giant pythons, monitor lizards, sailfin lizards and other endemic animals. Exotic bird species such as the Philippine hornbill, rail, parrot, bittern, egret, pheasant, coot, lapwing, plover, Philippine duck, quail, owl, oriole, kingfisher, swiftlets and many more are also found. A record of "Philippines Birding Trip Reports" has found out massive bird species in several parts of the island such as the watershed and timberland forests reserve in Gigmoto where scattered deer populations are also usually reported.


title: Catanduanes

text: The Catanduanes bleeding-heart ("Gallicolumba luzonica rubiventris") had experienced over-exploitation in the late 20th century. Although most forests are still intact, this species has suffered over-hunting, making it very rare and is believed to be near extinction or already extinct as its last reported specimen was collected in 1971.


title: Catanduanes

text: The southern giant slender-tailed cloud rat ("budkon"/"bugkon"), which is found only in Catanduanes and the southern half of Luzon Island, is still widely reported. It is critically endangered as humans hunt them for food and to some extent, as pets. In mainland Luzon, sightings of the creature are already rare while in Marinduque, it is generally considered extinct.


title: Catanduanes

text: Inventory of the entomological fauna in the island has been conducted by various scientific institutions. A survey which was submitted to the national museum has revealed interesting species in the forest reserve of Gigmoto and Pandan. A total of 2,000 entomological specimens and its allies were collected compromising 323 species under 45 genera and 50 families.


title: Catanduanes

text: The Catanduanes narrow-mouthed frog ("Kaloula kokacii"), an arboreal amphibian found only in Catanduanes and some parts of Bicol, enjoys its diversity but is being carefully monitored. Another endemic amphibian "Hylarana similis" is found only in Catanduanes and Luzon islands. The published research by Brown and Siler in Journal of Biogeography (2013) actually reported this species in the forests of Gigmoto.


title: Catanduanes

text: One of the very recent species found in Catanduanes and portions of Bicol region is the new loam-swimming skink, a legless reptile with its assigned scientific name "Brachymeles makusog".


title: Catanduanes

text: The dipterocarp forest also harbor numerous tropical plant species including the threatened species of pitcher plants and rafflesia as well as endemic banana varieties. Many highly economical hardwood trees such as yakal, apitong, palosapis, and molave are still found in the central forests through local reports indicate that these species are already threatened. Mangrove forests exist in several coastal areas but the largest locations are in Banquerohan (Viga-Panganiban), Agoho in San Andres and Batalay in Bato.


title: Catanduanes

text: Catanduanes reefs harbor many endangered and threatened types of mollusks such as giant Triton, cowries, abalone, cone snails, conches, octopuses, squids, and nautiluses. Marine mammals are also reported to frequent on its eastern coasts such as species of dolphins and whales, which appear from March to June. Many edible marine algae such as caulerpa, valonia, and turbellaria also grow abundantly on its rough coasts.


title: Catanduanes

text: The island is nestled in the very beginning of the Kuroshio Current, a sea current that runs through the eastern Philippines, Taiwan, and Japan. Tuna migration, which is at its peak in the months of April and May, can be seen in the Maqueda channel. Dugongs were once known to swim on Catanduanes coasts, but this event is already becoming extremely rare.


title: Catanduanes

text: Catanduanes coast is one of the best spots for flying fish population; a flying fish can attain its fullest size in Catanduanes which may weigh . Rabbitfish "Siganus sp"., a kind of reef fish is one of the most heavily exploited marine tropical fish in Catanduanes. Its fry that comes out in shallow coasts during the breeding season (March–May) are fished in large volumes. Approximately 10 million rabbitfish fries are caught annually. That natural event supplies food for many people but its ecological impact can be devastating. Nature advocates started to strengthen their campaign for an eco-dialogue for this matter. Sea cucumbers are also abundant in many islets of the eastern coasts facing the Philippine Sea.


title: Catanduanes

text: Palumbanes (province satellite group of islands) has beaches with fine yellowish-white sand. It is also one of the most biodiverse marine zones of the island. However, coral reef exploitation has severely inflicted for the last 10 years on its waters. The local government and some sectors are already undergoing efforts to revive Palumbanes Island through building artificial reefs and employing fishing regulations.


title: Catanduanes

text: Without a pronounced dry season, precipitation is distributed fairly well throughout the year becoming wetter in the last quarter into the early months of the first quarter, when tropical disturbances and monsoon winds especially the Northeast Monsoon ("Amihan") bring in heavy rains. Other months are characterized by short periods of dryer days and fine weather, except in July and August when the dry and gusty southwest monsoon winds intensify.


title: Catanduanes

text: Catanduanes' geographical position has it lying completely exposed to the Philippine Sea. Therefore, it is known as "Land of the Howling Winds" because it is frequently visited by tropical cyclones.


title: Catanduanes

text: In May 2000, its total population was 215,356 with an annual growth rate of 1.42% from 1990 to 2000, and a population density of 142 per km. Over the following 10 years, the average annual growth rate was 1.35%, increasing the population to 246,300 persons in the May 2010 census. Almost all of the people of the province are natural born citizens. Naturalized citizens, most of which are Chinese, comprised only about one percent of the population.


title: Catanduanes

text: Roman Catholicism is the religion of the vast majority, comprising 97% of Catanduanes' population. The remaining faith of the inhabitants is divided into the various Religious, Evangelical, Protestant groups such as Aglipayan Church, Baptists, Methodists, other Evangelical Christians, Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, Iglesia ni Cristo, Seventh-day Adventist as well as Moslems.


title: Catanduanes

text: Prior to colonization, the region had a complex religious system which involved various deities. Among these deities include: Gugurang, the supreme god who dwells inside of Mount Mayon where he guards and protects the sacred fire in which Aswang, his brother was trying to steal. Whenever people disobey his orders, wishes and commit numerous sins, he would cause Mount Mayon to burst lava as a sign of warning for people to mend their crooked ways. Ancient Bikolanos had a rite performed for him called Atang.; Asuang, the evil god who always tries to steal the sacred fire of Mount Mayon from his brother, Gugurang. Addressed sometimes as Aswang, he dwells mainly inside Mount Malinao. As an evil god, he would cause the people to suffer misfortunes and commit sins. Enemy of Gugurang and a friend of Bulan the god of the moon; Haliya, the masked goddess of the moonlight and the arch-enemy of Bakunawa and protector of Bulan. Her cult is composed primarily of women. There is also a ritual dance named after her as it is performed to be a counter-measure against Bakunawa.; "Bulan", the god of the pale moon, he is depicted as a pubescent boy with uncommon comeliness that made savage beast and the vicious mermaids (Magindara) tame. He has deep affection towards Magindang, but plays with him by running away so that Magindang would never catch him. The reason for this is because he is shy to the man that he loves. If Magindang manages to catch Bulan, Haliya always comes to free him from Magindang's grip; "Magindang", the god of the sea and all its creatures. He has deep affection to the lunar god Bulan and pursues him despite never catching him. Due to this, the Bicolanos reasoned that it is to why the waves rise to reach the moon when seen from the distant horizon. Whenever he does catch up to Bulan, Haliya comes to rescue Bulan and free him immediately; "Okot", god of forest and hunting; and "Bakunawa", a gigantic sea serpent deity who is often considered as the cause of eclipses, the devourer of the sun and the moon, and an adversary of Haliya as Bakunawa's main aim is to swallow Bulan, who Haliya swore to protect for all of eternity.


title: Catanduanes

text: There are two variants of the Bikol languages native to this island province: Northern Catanduanes Bicolano and Southern Catanduanes Bicolano. The northern accent has a very pronounced letter "R" that becomes a diphthong of non-vowel letters "L" and "R" in the southern towns. In written form, the conventional mainland language like Central Bikol is used. Filipino, by virtue of being officially taught in schools and the affinity of most Bicolanos to it, is the second most common language and easily the most understood by most people. English is the normal medium used in primary communications. The use of the Spanish as a local language seems to have vanished after the turn of the early 21st century and so on.


title: Catanduanes

text: very route of the galleon ships, was one of the first places they penetrated to propagate Christianity. The Spanish priests founded churches in every town. People from mainland Bicol also traveled to Catanduanes, specifically Caramoran, which is directly across from Albay.


title: Catanduanes

text: The research of McFarland on the year 1974, the dialects of Bicol area, stated that until the advent of the twentieth century and the development brought about by modernization, Northern Catanduanes was quite isolated from mainland Bicol and Southern Catanduanes, resulting in less opportunity for contact between different groups. One probable reason why the Northern Catanduanes language variety is distinct from the Southern Catanduanes variety is that the mountainous terrain separating the north from the south acts as a barrier to community interaction. The lack of good roads and transportation arising from the terrain contributed to the present situation. Since the seaport is in Virac, Northern Catanduanes remained in isolation from other subgroups for quite some time. Furthermore, the inhabitants of Northern Catanduanes were the first occupants of the island to have been pushed northwards when immigrants from the mainland occupied the southern part of the island. This supports the closeness of the Southern Catanduanes variety to other Bicol subgroups while the Northern Catanduanes has more distinct features.


title: Catanduanes

text: The predominant ethnic group is the Bicolano people. Migrants from other parts of Luzon, as well as Visayas and Mindanao, make up a minority as well. Few, who are of Chinese, Australian, American, and Spanish descent also live in the province.


title: Catanduanes

text: Catanduanes was historically a part of the Albay province. On October 26, 1945, it was separated from Albay and was declared an island-province throughf "Commonwealth Act No. 687".


title: Catanduanes

text: When the island was still in transition to becoming a full-pledge province, it was headed by Lt. Governor Felipe Olesco Usero.


title: Catanduanes

text: Gubernatorial elections for Catanduanes started in 1948. The People Power Revolution in February 1986 ushered in new leadership. Former Ambassador Leandro I. Verceles Sr. was appointed Governor of the province. In 1988, Governor Leandro I. Verceles Sr. ran for Governor and won the election. His term ended in 1992 when lost to Governor Rosalie A. Estacio. After Governor Estacio, Governor Severo C. Alcantara became the governor of the province in 1995. Gov. Alcantara did not run for re-election due to failing health. In 1998 Governor Hector S. Sanchez won the election. Governor Sanchez ran for re-election but lost to Governor Leandro B. Verceles Jr who became governor for two successive terms.


title: Catanduanes

text: In the 2007 elections, Gov. Verceles ran again for his third and last term for governor but lost to Governor Joseph C. Cua, who became governor from 2007 to 2013 for two successive terms but lost to Gov. Araceli B. Wong in the May 2013 election. In the May 2016 election, Gov. Cely Wong's son Jardin Brian Wong lost to Governor Joseph Cua in his reelection bid as governor of the province.


title: Catanduanes

text: The lone Legislative District of Catanduanes is the representation of the Province of Catanduanes in the Philippine House of Representatives. Catanduanes was represented as part of Albay's second district from 1907 to 1931, and fully comprised that province's fourth district from 1931 to 1946. It started electing its own representative in 1946, after becoming a full-fledged province in 1945. From 1978 to 1984 it was part of the representation of Region V.


title: Catanduanes

text: The Island is the most progressive province in the Bicol Region in HDI ranking although it placed just a little −0.3 in the HDI National Average. The 2009 report of HDN (Human Development Network) which is a branch of the United Nations HDI (Human Development Index) listed the province is ranked 1st in the region or rank 20th at 0.630 HDI value (excluding Metro Manila) among Philippine Provinces HDI's. For reference, the province of Albay ranked 2nd in the region or ranked 41st among Philippine Provinces HDI's (excluding Metro Manila) at 0.518 HDI value.


title: Catanduanes

text: Agriculture, fishing, and tourism are some of the other main sources of employment on the island. Several handicrafts such as jewelry manufacturing and other small-scale industries also contribute to the province's economy. The province is rich in natural resources such as forests, waterfalls, rivers, mineral deposits and productive soil made fertile by volcanic ashes of distant Mayon Volcano. Rattancraft, fishing, buri hat and mat making, and abaca fiber craft are among the important industries of the island. Bananatex, a natural cellulosic biodegradable "technical" canvas fabric, manufactured by QWSTION, is made of abacá banana plant fibres and grown as a sustainable forestry industry.


title: Catanduanes

text: Virac, the capital town of the island was among the top in terms of infrastructure in 2012 Most Competitive Municipality category according to the National Competitiveness Council (NCC).


title: Catanduanes

text: The five major income sources of Catanduanes are the services, agriculture, and fishing, tourism, housing, and manufacturing industries.


title: Catanduanes

text: From 2001 through 2010, the Philippines production of abaca fiber (Manila hemp) averaged 65,701 mt per year and was decreasing at a rate of at least 0.8% per annum. The decrease was caused by the devastating typhoons in 2006, abaca viral diseases that continued to affect the plantations, and the dampened foreign demand brought about by the global economic recession beginning in the latter part of 2008, the most severe downturn since the Great Depression in the 1930s. Production reached its peak in 2008 at 77,387 mt as outputs of all producing regions, particularly Bicol, Davao Region and Caraga, substantially increased during the period. This was primarily the effect of the incremental production from the abaca plantations established in 2005 and 2006 under FIDA's program Goal I "Development of New Agri-Business Lands" and the continued strong demand and attractive prices offered for the fiber by local traders, processors/manufacturers, and exporters. The abaca industry, however, suffered a setback in 2009 when fiber yield slumped to its lowest level of 54,584 mt due to the weakened market demand and falling prices as a consequence of the worldwide financial crisis. Catanduanes Island is the native habitat of the endemic abaca plant (a banana relative), which is globally renowned for its strong fiber. In fact, the Philippines FIDA (Fiber Industry Development Authority) declared the island as the highest abaca-producing province in 2010.


title: Catanduanes

text: In 2009–2013, The Philippine Rural Development Program (PRDP) and the Department of Agriculture, Bicol Region had 39% share of Philippine Abaca production, emerged as the biggest produce while overwhelming 92% comes from Catanduanes the biggest abaca-producing province in the country. The home of the finest grade of abaca fiber. Lately, the indigenous abaca fiber, commonly called "pinukpok," produced and woven by the locals of Baras, Catanduanes, has now found its niche in the local and international fashion industry. This indigenous fabric has shown its versatility in the globally appealing designs and creations of famous fashion designer Dita Sandico-Ong. Until now wild type of abaca can still be found in the interior forests of the province which is often not cultivated.


title: Catanduanes

text: Despite having been ravaged by three super typhoons in the last two decades, Catanduanes has maintained its "abaca country" status as the top abaca fiber-producing province in the Philippines. In 2015 alone, the island's 12,789 abaca farmers produced 23,550 metric tons of raw fiber, comprising 40 percent of the total abaca fiber production nationwide. The local fiber harvest is even higher than the production of Ecuador, the second-biggest abaca producer in the world after the Philippines.


title: Catanduanes

text: Catanduanes mud crab industry is being supported by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, Department of Science and Technology, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Department of Labor and Employment and Catanduanes State University.


title: Catanduanes

text: The provincial government is maintaining the Catanduanes Crab Center (CCC) which serves as a source of crablets for grow-out and fattening by fishpond operators. It carries out a special program for "queen" or "gravid" crabs designed to ensure the sustainability of the industry in the province, which originally owned the "crab capital of the Philippines" title. The province's mud crab industry is focusing on the production of female crabs that play an important role in marketing, particularly in Asian countries such as Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore.


title: Catanduanes

text: Commonwealth Act No. 687, created Catanduanes as an independent province, however, it was Republic Act 7160 that gave Local Government Unit (LGUs) total independence in managing its administrative, fiscal, and development affairs in conformity with the national government thrust for sustainable social and economic growth.


title: Catanduanes

text: The tourism industry in the province is growing relatively quickly despite the fact that the island experiences almost year-round typhoons, labeling the province as a "Typhoon Capital of the Philippines" with the tagline "The Land of the Howling Winds". Catanduanes is known for its beaches, prehistoric caves, quaint stone chapels and massive churches. Despite the typhoons, safe anchorage is provided by its many bays and coves notably Kalapalan, Gigmoto, Soboc, and Cabugao. Its Pacific coastline attracts surfers, particularly at Baras. The province features beaches with fine sand and coral formations and several caves which include the Luyang Cave. The PAGASA Weather Radar Station offers panoramic views of the environs, while the Museo de Catanduanes has a fine collection of artifacts.


title: Catanduanes

text: The ideal time of the year to visit Catanduanes is from the months of March to August when the weather turns dry. It is coolest and rainiest from October to the early part of January, hottest from March to May.


title: Catanduanes

text: The tourism industry in Catanduanes continues to receive a positive response from foreign and domestic travelers, with the Provincial Tourism Office recording an increase in tourist arrivals by 15.89% in 2014 compared to the previous year.


title: Catanduanes

text: Based on the comparative data of travelers, 151,550 foreign and domestic tourists visited the island last year, or about 21,000 greater than the 2013 arrivals of only 130,766 visitors.


title: Catanduanes

text: Catandungan Festival is an annual celebration of the island province. It is the anniversary celebration and tribute to its founders, to commemorate the provinces' independence from Albay. The main features of the festival are Street Dancing – Pantomina Dance, Beauty Pageant, Agro-Trade Fair, Sports Fest, Guided Tour, Surfing Cup, and Art/Photo Exhibits. It occurs every October 24–26.


title: Catanduanes

text: Abaka Festival is an annual cultural celebration of the province to recognize the importance of abaca in the local economy and to showcase its versatility as a major source of livelihood. Highlights of the festival are Padadyaw Ginamlangan or Padadyaw kan Abaka, Pinukpok Fashion Show, Urag Catandungan sports competitions, Kantang Catandungan or Musika kan Isla, Festival Dance Competition, Binibini and Ginoong Bikol, Hagyan sa Kabitoonan and Jobs Fair. It occurs every 4th week of May.


title: Catanduanes

text: The folk festivals celebrated as part of the local religious rituals are with unique traces of the Spanish colonization. Among these festivals include:


title: Catanduanes

text: Fishermen from Catanduanes have always been linked to Benham Rise. Catandunganon people have been calling it "Kalipung-awan" (loneliness in an isolated place). Benham Rise is an integral part of Catandunganon culture. Rich marine resources are given by this marine biodiverse zone to Catandunganons. In fact, Catandunganons have long been celebrating this place even in their ancient folksongs, stories and poetry.


title: Catanduanes

text: Virac, the capital town, is the educational center in the province, hosting a number of schools specializing in various degrees. The most notable include the Catanduanes State University (CatSU) with a campus in the northern town of Panganiban. It was established on June 19, 1971, through "Republic Act 6341", authored by Catanduanes Congressman Jose M. Alberto, which converted the "Virac National Agricultural and Trade School" into the "Catanduanes State College". The college was elevated to university status in October 2012.


title: Catanduanes

text: Other notable schools include the Catanduanes Colleges (CC), Catanduanes Institute of Technology Foundation (CITFI), and Christian Polytechnic Institute of Catanduanes (CPIC).


title: Catanduanes

text: The table below contains the list of public senior high schools published by the Department of Education or DepEd. Included on the list are the municipalities, school ID, school names, and program offerings.


title: Catanduanes

text: The Philippine National Police in the province is composed of the local police force and the fire brigade's services. The province crime rate is 6.39 in 2006. Crime volume over the same period was 191.


title: Catanduanes

text: Local cable companies operate in most towns. TV repeaters allow access to Manila broadcast stations. Satellite dish is a common site in rooftops of houses in remote areas.


title: Catanduanes

text: Electrical Power is supplied by power plants, a mix of diesel powered generators and hydroelectric turbines. Electricity is served on 24-hour basis to all the eleven (11) municipalities. Catanduanes has a 220-volt multi ground electrical system, Power distribution system run by FICELCO ( First Catanduanes Electric Cooperative ). The power company engage in power distribution in this island are NAPOCOR and SUNWEST.


title: Catanduanes

text: From the seaport of Tabaco, MV Calixta 2, 4 and 5 travels to the port of San Andres. MV Eugene Elson and fast-craft service MV Silangan can travel in just one hour and a half which docks in the port of Virac.


title: Catanduanes

text: Overland, a 12-hour bus ride from Manila to Tabaco, in Albay, is needed to cover the distance. Several ferry services in the Port of Tabaco offer connections to San Andres, which takes about 2½ hours, or to Virac Seaport, at 3½ hours, or at least 1½ hours for fast-craft service. Numerous bus lines operate air-conditioned and ordinary buses and coaches travel from Manila to Tabaco in Albay. Some of these buses are loaded to the Ferry for its final stop in the town of Virac.


title: Catanduanes

text: Transportation around the Island is provided by jeepneys, vans and bus for inter-town travel, while tricycles and pedicabs will take you around the towns. Private vehicles are also available for hire, which can take you to any point of the Island.


title: Dynamic and formal equivalence

text: The terms dynamic equivalence and formal equivalence, coined by Eugene Nida, are associated with two dissimilar translation approaches that are employed to achieve different levels of literalness between the source and target text, as evidenced in biblical translation.


title: Dynamic and formal equivalence

text: The two have been understood basically, with dynamic equivalence as sense-for-sense translation (translating the meanings of phrases or whole sentences) with readability in mind, and with formal equivalence as word-for-word translation (translating the meanings of words and phrases in a more literal way), keeping literal fidelity.


title: Dynamic and formal equivalence

text: "Formal equivalence approach" tends to emphasize fidelity to the lexical details and grammatical structure of the original language, whereas dynamic equivalence tends to employ a more natural rendering but with less literal accuracy.


title: Dynamic and formal equivalence

text: According to Eugene Nida, "dynamic equivalence", the term as he originally coined, is the "quality of a translation in which the message of the original text has been so transported into the receptor language that the "response" of the "receptor" is essentially like that of the original receptors." The desire is that the reader of both languages would understand the meanings of the text in a similar fashion.


title: Dynamic and formal equivalence

text: In later years, Nida distanced himself from the term "dynamic equivalence" and preferred the term "functional equivalence". What the term "functional equivalence" suggests is not just that the equivalence is between the function of the source text in the source culture and the function of the target text (translation) in the target culture, but that "function" can be thought of as a property of the text. It is possible to associate functional equivalence with "how people interact in cultures".


title: Dynamic and formal equivalence

text: Because the "functional equivalence" approach eschews strict adherence to the grammatical structure of the original text in favor of a more natural rendering in the target language, it is sometimes used when the readability of the translation is more important than the preservation of the original grammatical structure.


title: Dynamic and formal equivalence

text: "Formal equivalence" is often more goal than reality, if only because one language may contain a word for a concept which has no direct equivalent in another language. In such cases, a more dynamic translation may be used or a neologism may be created in the target language to represent the concept (sometimes by borrowing a word from the source language).


title: Dynamic and formal equivalence

text: The more the source language differs from the target language, the more difficult it may be to understand a literal translation without modifying or rearranging the words in the target language. On the other hand, formal equivalence can allow readers familiar with the source language to analyze how meaning was expressed in the original text, preserving untranslated idioms, rhetorical devices (such as chiastic structures in the Hebrew Bible) and diction in order to preserve original information and highlight finer shades of meaning.


title: Dynamic and formal equivalence

text: According to Ghil'ad Zuckermann, a major problem lies in the fact that there are completely overlooked semantic differences between a lexical item in the source language and its alleged equivalent in the target language.


title: Dynamic and formal equivalence

text: Zuckermann provides the example of the lexical item for "angels" in three different languages: English ("angels"), Arabic ("malāʾika") and Hebrew (, "malakhím"). These three terms are used to translate each other interchangeably, as if they meant exactly the same thing. As Zuckermann puts it, "for the non-sophisticated layman, an angel is an angel is angel." However, employing natural semantic metalanguage to discover in depth the exact, complex meaning of each of the three lexical items, Zuckermann points out numerous differences that were identified by Sandy Habib, as following:


title: Dynamic and formal equivalence

text: Translators of the Bible have taken various approaches in rendering it into English, ranging from an extreme use of formal equivalence, to extreme use of dynamic equivalence.


title: Donell Jones

text: Donell Jones (born May 22, 1973) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is most notable for the hits "U Know What's Up", "Where I Wanna Be", and his cover of Stevie Wonder's "Knocks Me Off My Feet". Jones' first studio album "My Heart", was released in 1996, but he is best known for his late 1990s release of his second album "Where I Wanna Be".


title: Donell Jones

text: Jones is the son of Renee Byrd and gospel singer Roy Jones. He was raised in Chicago, Illinois. He later met DJ Eddie F of Heavy D & the Boyz and signed with Untouchables and LaFace Records, writing hits for Usher and 702.


title: Donell Jones

text: In June 1996, Jones released his debut album, "My Heart", on LaFace Records. While most of the album was produced by Jones himself, it also featured help from Eddie Ferrell's Untouchables Entertainment production team, involving Mookie, Marks Sparks, Kenny Tonge, and Darin Whittington. A moderate commercial success, it peaked at number 30 on "Billboard"s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, but failed to reach the upper half of the US "Billboard" 200. Its first two singles, "In the Hood" and a cover of Stevie Wonder's 1976 ballad "Knocks Me Off My Feet", became top thirty hits on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart as well as the New Zealand Singles Chart.


title: Donell Jones

text: In 1999, Jones enjoyed major success with the release of his second album, "Where I Wanna Be". Boosted by its hit single "U Know What's Up", which peaked at number seven on the "Billboard" Hot 100. "U Know What's Up" was a global hit, peaking within the top ten of the charts in Belgium (Flanders), the Republic of Ireland, and the United Kingdom. In the latter country, "U Know What's Up" entered and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart, where it remained for two consecutive weeks behind "The Masses Against the Classes" by Manic Street Preachers and "Born to Make You Happy" by Britney Spears. "Where I Wanna Be" peaked at number six on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums in the United States. The album produced three further singles, including "Shorty (Got Her Eyes On Me)" and "Where I Wanna Be," the latter of which reached number two on "Billboard"s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, and was eventually certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales in excess of 1.0 million copies. In 2000, Jones recorded the song "I'll Go" for the soundtrack of the romantic drama film "Love & Basketball", which earned him a Black Reel Award nomination for Best Original or Adapted Song. The same year, he was also awarded an American Music Award in the Favorite Soul/R&B New Artist category.


title: Donell Jones

text: Jones reteamed with his regular team of contributors, including Eddie F, Sheldon Goode, Jamie Hawkins, G-Wise, Kyle West, and Darren Lighty to work on his third album "Life Goes On". Released in June 2002, it debuted number 3 on the "Billboard" 200 and at number three on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, becoming his highest-charting effort yet. A steady seller it earned gold status from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Its three singles were less successful however, though lead single "You Know That I Love You" became a top twenty hit on the R&B charts. Jones' fourth album, "Journey of a Gemini" was released in 2006 and marked his first album to include a diverse roster of collaborators including production credits from Tim & Bob, Sean Garrett, Ryan Leslie, Tank, Mike City, and The Underdogs. It became Jones' highest-charting album on the "Billboard" Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, where it topped at number one, while entering the top 20 on the "Billboard" 200.


title: Donell Jones

text: In 2009, Jones released "The Lost Files", a collection of unreleased songs that were recorded between 1996 and 2004, through his own label Candyman Music Inc and TuneCore. Serving as prelude to his next studio album, "The Lost Files" failed to chart. "Lyrics", Jones' fifth regular album, was released in September 2010 via Candyman and eOne Music. Chiefly produced by Jones' himself, it debuted and peaked at number 28 on the US "Billboard" 200 and at number nine on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, becoming his fourth entry on the latter chart. "Lyrics" produced two singles, including "Love Like This" which reached the top five of "Billboard"s Adult R&B Songs chart.


title: Donell Jones

text: Jones' sixth album "Forever" was released in July 2013. Another project conceived under Candyman and eOne Music, it debuted and peaked at number 20 on the "Billboard" 200 and reached number eight on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. The album spawned two singles. Its title track which peaked at number 14 on "Billboard"s Adult R&B Songs chart. In 2016, Jones premiered the single "Never Let Her Go", a collaboration with rapper David Banner. In support of the single, he went on a promo tour during spring 2017. In 2018, Jones provided vocals, produced, and co-wrote on "23" by Jacquees off the album "4275" (2018).


title: Donell Jones

text: In 2019, Jones collaborated with Jon B. on the duet "Understand". He also announced plans for an upcoming album to release in 2019 during an appearance on the SoulBack R&B Podcast. The project, called "100% Free", was expected to be released in December 2020, but eventually came out on digital services (and for free on his official website) on February 14, 2021.


title: Dymaxion car

text: The streamlined Dymaxion car was designed by American inventor Buckminster Fuller during the Great Depression and featured prominently at Chicago's 1933/1934 World's Fair. Fuller built three experimental prototypes with naval architect Starling Burgess – using donated money as well as a family inheritance – to explore not an automobile per se, but the 'ground-taxiing phase' of a vehicle that might one day be designed to fly, land and drive – an "Omni-Medium Transport". Fuller associated the word "Dymaxion" with much of his work, a portmanteau of the words dynamic", maximum", and "tension", to summarize his goal to do more with less.


title: Dymaxion car

text: The Dymaxion's aerodynamic bodywork was designed for increased fuel efficiency and top speed, and its platform featured a lightweight hinged chassis, rear-mounted V8 engine, front-wheel drive (a rare "RF" layout), and three wheels. With steering via its third wheel at the rear (capable of 90° steering lock), the vehicle could steer itself in a tight circle, often causing a sensation. Fuller noted severe limitations in its handling, especially at high speed or in high wind, due to its rear-wheel steering (highly unsuitable for anything but low speeds) and the limited understanding of the effects of lift and turbulence on automobile bodies in that era – allowing only trained staff to drive the car and saying it "was an invention that could not be made available to the general public without considerable improvements." Shortly after its launch, a prototype crashed and killed the Dymaxion's driver.


title: Dymaxion car

text: Despite courting publicity and the interest of auto manufacturers, Fuller used his inheritance to finish the second and third prototypes, selling all three, dissolving "Dymaxion Corporation" and reiterating that the Dymaxion was never intended as a commercial venture. One of the three original prototypes survives, and two semi-faithful replicas have recently been constructed. The Dymaxion was included in the 2009 book "Fifty Cars That Changed The World" and was the subject of the 2012 documentary "The Last Dymaxion".


title: Dymaxion car

text: In 2008, "The New York Times" said Fuller "saw the Dymaxion, as he saw much of the world, as a kind of provisional prototype, a mere sketch, of the glorious, eventual future."


title: Dymaxion car

text: Fuller would ultimately go on to fully develop his "Comprehensive Anticipatory Design Science", his theory of using all technology on behalf of all people as soon as possible, but by this point it was "his job, Fuller decided, to identify a problem, develop a way to solve it, and wait – perhaps as long as twenty-five years – for public awareness to catch up.


title: Dymaxion car

text: In 1930, Fuller had purchased an architectural magazine, "T-Square", which he ultimately renamed "Shelter." Fuller edited the magazine anonymously for two years, and in 1928 published sketches of his land-air-water vehicle, called a "4D Transport". "4D" stood for Four Dimensional, a term used in physics and mathematics, referring to length, width, depth and time.


title: Dymaxion car

text: Regarding the 4D transport, author Lloyd S. Sieden, wrote in his 2000 book "Bucky Fuller's Universe":


title: Dymaxion car

text: Fuller was offered $5,000 from wealthy former stock trader and socialite Philip (variously reported as "Phillip") Pearson and his wife Temple Pearson (niece of Isadora Duncan) of Philadelphia. Pearson was a stock broker and had presciently sold short a large quantity of stock before the Great Depression, becoming instantly wealthy. Pearson had known of Fuller's studies, had more wealth than he needed, and felt he could put Fuller and others to work in a way that would also do something to alleviate unemployment.


title: Dymaxion car

text: Fuller initially refused his benefactor, concerned about potential profit motives and short-sightedness. Fuller devised a contract, famously adding a so-called "ice cream soda clause" where Fuller could freely buy only ice cream sodas with all the donated money, should he so choose.


title: Dymaxion car

text: On March 4, 1933 – as President Roosevelt instituted a banking moratorium, Fuller formed "Dymaxion Corporation", set up a workshop in the former dynamometer building of the defunct Locomobile Company at Tongue Point, on the west side of the harbor in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and hired naval architect Starling Burgess and a team of 27 workmen, including former Rolls-Royce mechanics. 1000 workmen had applied for the 27 jobs. The first of three prototypes was completed in three months – on Fuller's 38th birthday, July 12, 1933.


title: Dymaxion car

text: Because he was aiming for what Fuller called "Omni Medium Transport," a vehicle that could go anywhere, the Dymaxion would ultimately have "wheels for ground travel and jet stilts for instant takeoff and flight." Jet stilts were Fuller's placeholder idea for a future technology that could provide compact, concentrated lift – twenty years before the commercial availability of jets.


title: Dymaxion car

text: Estimating that designing a land–sea–air vehicle was then financially and technically out of reach, Fuller focused on the most dangerous and challenging mode of such vehicle: landing and taxiing on hard ground.


title: Dymaxion car

text: Fuller favored front-wheel drive, studying the way a wheelbarrow could more effectively pull its load rather than pitch forward when pushing a load. He began studies of the relationships between vehicles (cars, trucks – and also birds and fish) with the media in which they operated (fluid dynamics) – as well as steering mechanisms in nature, especially the rear "single fin" steering of birds and fish. Burgess, inventor of the first delta-wing aircraft, was invaluable to the project – but skeptical the vehicle would ever fly.


title: Dymaxion car

text: Fuller theorized that getting a long, aerodynamic 'plane' fuselage – which was also inclined to have trailing, rear steering – to land safely and not immediately turn into the wind, would be a major challenge. The vehicle would inherently exhibit something he called "ground-loopiness," and chose to focus his energy there. Although it was never intended as such, Fuller anticipated the public would instinctively call such a vehicle an "automobile", and when licensing to drive the vehicle on Connecticut roads, acquiesced and applied for an automobile registration.


title: Dymaxion car

text: Fuller had worked with sculptor Isamu Noguchi to create plaster wind tunnel models of the Dymaxion to help determine its teardrop shape. Authors of a 2011 detailed computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis at Coventry University of the Dymaxion bodywork noted the form's "similarity in shape to a humpback whale" and concluded "the Dymaxion car looks close to a drag optimum style and serves as a useful reference for low drag forms."


title: Dymaxion car

text: In 1934, Noguchi drove a completed Dymaxion on an extended road trip through Connecticut with Clare Boothe Luce and Dorothy Hale, stopping to see Thornton Wilder in Hamden, Connecticut, before driving to Hartford for the out-of-town opening of Gertrude Stein's and Virgil Thomson's "Four Saints in Three Acts".


title: Dymaxion car

text: One of the prototypes was driven extensively in a campaign to raise funds in support of the Allies in WW II.


title: Dymaxion car

text: Fuller and Burgess realized early that the Dymaxion concept would present considerable challenges. As anticipated, and in line with the purpose of the exploration, maneuvering in high winds proved problematic, with the vehicle having a strong tendency to turn into the wind. Steering difficulty and lift at the rear of the vehicle were also observed.


title: Dymaxion car

text: Fuller realized the Dymaxion "was an invention that could not be made available to the general public without considerable improvements," and instituted a program of constant refinement and improvement to the platform.


title: Dymaxion car

text: Because of its limitations, Fuller and Burgess limited driving to a list of trained drivers and restricted use in high winds or inclement weather.


title: Dymaxion car

text: Soon after launching "Prototype One", Fuller was invited to exhibit the Dymaxion at a Bronx race track, beating the track record by 50% and drawing attention because it did not slide or drift across the track like the other race cars.


title: Dymaxion car

text: A highly publicized crash in "Prototype One" on October 27, 1933, occurred "virtually at the entrance to the Chicago Century of Progress World's Fair." The Dymaxion rolled over during the crash, killing its driver, a Gulf employee named Francis T. Turner, and seriously injuring its passengers: aviation pioneer (and noted spy) William Sempill and Charles Dollfuss, curator of France's first air museum.


title: Dymaxion car

text: The cause of the crash is disputed. A coroner's inquest did not ascribe fault for the accident, stating that it involved a collision with a car driven by a shoe salesman named Meyer Roth (Fuller erroneously identified Roth as a highly placed Chicago Parks commissioner). When Fuller learned that another car was involved, he placed the blame for the incident entirely on Roth. Eyewitnesses, however, stated that Roth's vehicle struck the Dymaxion only after it had begun to roll over.


title: Dymaxion car

text: Fuller, who was not present at the accident, provided his version of events in a book he wrote in collaboration with Robert Marks on the Dymaxion; this account was repeated in Lloyd Steven Sieden's book on Fuller. They stated that the two vehicles were traveling at 70 mph, with Turner trying to evade the politician's car. The inquest showed, they argued, that the design of the Dymaxion was not a factor in the crash. The politician's car, they further claimed, was quickly and illegally removed from the scene of the crash before reporters arrived. Turner was wearing a seatbelt but was killed when the canvas-covered roof framing collapsed. Dollfuss was not wearing a seatbelt, was ejected and landed nearby on his feet. Sempill was severely injured and took months to recover before he could testify at the subsequent inquest. The Dymaxion itself had rolled over and was badly damaged but was subsequently repaired by Fuller and Burgess.


title: Dymaxion car

text: In the press, no mention was made that the Dymaxion had been involved in a two-car crash. Instead, the cause of the crash was attributed to the car's unconventional configuration: headlines in New York and Chicago read, "Freak car rolls over – killing famous driver – injuring international passengers".


title: Dymaxion car

text: Fuller himself would later crash "Prototype Two", with his only surviving daughter, Allegra (Allegra Fuller Snyder) aboard.


title: Dymaxion car

text: Fuller received interest from Walter Chrysler, Henry Ford, and Henry Kaiser as well as companies including Packard, Studebaker and Curtiss-Wright.


title: Dymaxion car

text: Chrysler said Fuller had "produced exactly the car [he had] always wanted to produce", when his company had set out to design a highly advanced, aerodynamic car, the Airflow, which Walter Chrysler ultimately found inferior. Chrysler commissioned Fuller to study the development of the Airflow, finding Fuller had used one quarter the money and a third the time to make his prototype.


title: Dymaxion car

text: At various points, it appeared several manufacturers were interested in marketing the Dymaxion. Walter Chrysler was interested – though he advised Fuller that such an advanced design would meet considerable resistance and would make every used car on the road obsolete, threatening the wholesale dealer distribution and finance network. In his 1988 book "The Age of Heretics", author Art Kleiner said bankers had threatened to recall their loans, feeling the car would destroy sales for second-hand cars and for vehicles already in the distribution channels.


title: Vaxxed

text: Vaxxed: From Cover-Up to Catastrophe is a 2016 American pseudoscience propaganda film alleging a cover-up by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of a purported link between the MMR vaccine and autism. According to "Variety", the film "purports to investigate the claims of a senior scientist at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention who revealed that the CDC had allegedly manipulated and destroyed data on an important study about autism and the MMR vaccine"; critics derided "Vaxxed" as an anti-vaccine propaganda film.


title: Vaxxed

text: The film was directed by discredited anti-vaccine activist Andrew Wakefield, who was struck off the medical register in the United Kingdom in 2010 due to ethical violations related to his fraudulent research into the role of vaccines in autism. It was scheduled to premiere at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival but was withdrawn by the festival. In reviewing the film, Indiewire said that "Wakefield doesn't just have a dog in this fight; he is the dog".


title: Vaxxed

text: In 1998 Wakefield and 12 other authors published a study in "The Lancet" suggesting that the MMR vaccine caused autism. In 2010 the study was retracted, and Wakefield was struck off the medical register in the United Kingdom due to "ethical violations and a failure to disclose financial conflicts of interest" and for his invention of evidence linking the MMR vaccine to autism. A substantial body of subsequent research has established that there is no link between the MMR vaccine and autism. Wakefield went on to become a leader in the anti-vaccination movement that his discredited study helped create.


title: Vaxxed

text: Del Bigtree, a producer of "Vaxxed", was formerly a producer of "The Doctors", an American medical advice talk show. The "British Medical Journal" conducted a study on "The Doctors" and "The Dr. Oz Show" and concluded with this warning about the shows: "Consumers should be skeptical about any recommendations provided ... as details are limited and only a third to one half of recommendations are based on believable or somewhat believable evidence". As with all American medical programmes and medical teleshopping shows, the two programmes carry Food and Drug Administration-required mandatory disclaimers at the end of each episode which state their advice is not a medical endorsement and viewers should consult with a physician based on the advice given.


title: Vaxxed

text: According to "Variety", the film "purports to investigate the claims of a senior scientist at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention who revealed that the CDC had allegedly manipulated and destroyed data on an important study about autism and the MMR vaccine." The film features the so-called "CDC whistleblower" narrative that is based on anti-vaccination activist and associate professor Brian Hooker's paper describing claims by senior CDC scientist William Thompson that he and his co-authors had omitted mention of a correlation they found between vaccination and autism in African-American boys in a CDC study. However a 2011 IOM report showed that evidence favors rejection of a relationship between the MMR vaccine and autism. The film contains edited excerpts of several phone calls between Hooker and Thompson recorded without Thompson's knowledge. Hooker's 2014 paper on the narrative was subsequently retracted due to "serious concerns about the validity of its conclusions" and in 2015 the CDC had confirmed that any such initial correlation had ceased to exist once they performed a more in-depth analysis of the children in the study.


title: Vaxxed

text: These sometimes spliced-together unauthorized phone recordings of Thompson, according to the "Houston Press", form the "crux of the entire movie ... And ... that's it". On the "CDC whistleblower" narrative, Philip LaRussa, a professor of paediatric medicine at Columbia University Medical Center, said the film-makers "were saying, there's this silver bullet here, and the CDC is hiding it, and no one else has looked at this issue, which is not the case". Thompson does not appear in the film and did not see it before it was released. Thompson had released a statement on the controversy in 2014 which the "New York Times" discussed in its coverage of "Vaxxed"; the "Times" described it as "saying that while he questioned the 2004 study's presentation of some data, he would never advise people not to get vaccinated."


title: Vaxxed

text: The film had been scheduled to premiere at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival but this was the subject of public outcry and widespread criticism, particularly for allowing Wakefield to distribute his discredited theories. Actor Robert De Niro, who co-founded the festival, initially defended the decision to show the film, writing on Facebook that the film was "very personal" to him due to him having a child with autism, and saying that he hoped the film would open a dialog about the controversy. But shortly before the evening of March 26 De Niro announced that the film would not screen, stating that consultation with other film festival representatives, and members of the scientific community, had led him to conclude that screening the film would not contribute to or further the discussion of the topic presented.


title: Vaxxed

text: After the film was dropped from the Tribeca Film Festival, it was picked up for distribution by Cinema Libre. The film premiered at the Angelika Film Center in New York City on April 1, 2016 to an audience of "a few dozen".


title: Vaxxed

text: In reaction to Cinema Libre's decision to distribute the film, Todd Drezner, the father of an autistic son and creator of a neurodiversity-themed movie that was distributed by Cinema Libre, wrote an open letter to Cinema Libre criticizing "Vaxxed" and Cinema Libre's decision to distribute it, writing: "By releasing "Vaxxed", Cinema Libre is actively harming thousands of autistic people. While we should be discussing ways to best support autistic people and help them lead fulfilling lives, you would instead have us follow a discredited scientist and dishonest filmmaker down a rabbit hole that leads only to long-debunked conspiracy theories. I am profoundly disappointed."


title: Vaxxed

text: The film was given a private screening in Cannes in 2017 while the Cannes Film Festival was underway, and at that time Cinema Libre said that it had earned $1.2 million and that they had signed distribution deals in Italy, Germany, Poland, and China.


title: Vaxxed

text: On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 38% based on 13 reviews, and an average rating of 4.3/10.


title: Vaxxed

text: Documentary director Penny Lane stated, "This film is not some sort of disinterested investigation into the 'vaccines cause autism' hoax; this film is directed by the person who perpetuated the hoax."


title: Vaxxed

text: A review by Ed Cara from the health and science news-site "Medical Daily" states that "["Vaxxed"] doesn't care about convincing its audience with evidence. Instead, Wakefield, Hooker, and producer Del Bigtree run the viewer through a well-trod gauntlet of emotional pleas, context-free statistics ... and shadowy conspiracies." Eric Kohn from an independent film news-site "Indiewire" says: "Wakefield's by-the-numbers approach to didactic storytelling relies on tons of random factoids positioned out of context to drive home his agenda."


title: Vaxxed

text: Joe Leydon, a film critic from "Variety" magazine. describes the film as a "slickly produced but scientifically dubious hodgepodge of free-floating paranoia" and warns of its "anti-Big Pharma conspiracy mongering." Mick LaSalle of the "San Francisco Chronicle" wrote:The vast majority of people who see this film will not have the scientific knowledge to assess the film's veracity. But it's fair to say that the documentary, though characterized as antivaccination, isn't quite that. The point of view is more nuanced. It's against the vaccination of children ages 2 and younger. And it's particularly against the MMR — that is, the giving of three vaccines at once ... it's a passionate advocate for its viewpoint, and that makes for compelling viewing. ... Of course, it's possible that the children would have developed autism anyway, and that one event didn't cause the other. But the parents presented here are convinced otherwise.Pete Vonder Haar of "Houston Press" described the film as a "tragic fraud." Sarah Gill of "The Age" called the film "another desperate attempt to hoodwink the public for no greater purpose than making money."


title: Vaxxed

text: Mick LaSalle of SFGate states that "Vaxxed" "is not the end of the discussion and doesn't contain the whole story ... But it's a passionate advocate for its viewpoint, and that makes for compelling viewing."


title: Vaxxed

text: In November 2019, "Vaxxed II: The People's Truth", produced by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., was released in the US. The core of the film is video of individuals telling their stories to those who drove the "Vaxxed" promotional bus across the US in 2016.


title: Vaxxed

text: Of the film, "Newsweek" stated that it "touts the myth that there is a "vaccine injury epidemic."" and that the "trailer features distressing footage of parents making anecdotal and unfounded claims that vaccines caused their children to have developmental problems, including autism."


title: Vaxxed

text: "The Guardian" stated that "The film makes no effort to address the scientific evidence that the parents’ experiences of autism in their children have nothing to do with vaccines, or the coincidence that symptoms of autism often appear between 12 and 24 months of age, exactly when the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine is given."


title: Area 51 (2005 video game)

text: Area 51 is a science fiction first-person shooter video game that was released in 2005. It was developed by Midway Studios Austin and published by Midway for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, and Microsoft Windows. A Nintendo GameCube version was also in development but was silently canceled. It is a loose remake of the 1995 light gun video game of the same name, and was followed in 2007 by the loosely related "". The player controls Ethan Cole, a HAZMAT operative sent to the Area 51 base to assist in the cleanup of a mutagenic virus.


title: Area 51 (2005 video game)

text: Notable among the voice actors are David Duchovny as Ethan Cole, Marilyn Manson as Edgar the ancient and powerful Grey, Powers Boothe as Major Bridges, Nolan North as McCan, and Ian Abercrombie as Dr. Winston Cray.


title: Area 51 (2005 video game)

text: , Ethan Cole. The game features operable machinery, including artillery turrets, besides the player's inventory of weapons.


title: Area 51 (2005 video game)

text: Throughout the game, the player uses a variety of weapons, both human and alien in origin, to defeat their adversaries. Most weapons can only be wielded one handed, however the player can dual wield some weapons, such as the Shotgun and the Sub-Machine Gun. Each weapon can also be used as a melee weapon for close quarter combat. Each weapon has two modes of firing, the first being the primary method, while the second is of a much higher power level, at the cost of ammunition and accuracy to the player. The player can also use explosive grenades.


title: Area 51 (2005 video game)

text: Midway through the game, Ethan Cole becomes infected with the mutagen, and the option to turn into a mutant temporarily is obtained. Mutating offers a variety of benefits, such as increased strength, stamina, as well as the initial ability to fire health-replenishing parasites as well as the later ability to contaminate enemies, both at the cost of mutation time reduction. While in a mutant form, players can easily spot enemies, which would otherwise be cloaked to the regular human eye, albeit with a slight ocular defect.


title: Area 51 (2005 video game)

text: Players can replenish health and mutagen either through the use of medical syringes found throughout the game or by using parasites, and mutagen by melee combat or "using" infected corpses, or by finding mutagen syringes.


title: Area 51 (2005 video game)

text: A notable aspect of gameplay is the ability to scan and analyze various objects in the game environment. This is possible by using the scanner present on the player's suit, worn throughout the game. While using a scanner, the player has no access to weapons, and must switch to an available weapon in order to fight (though they could still melee). Scanning provides detailed information on a player's surroundings, as well as combated enemies.


title: Area 51 (2005 video game)

text: The scanner, when equipped, adds a translucent bar to the player's HUD, which changes in color and height from light blue, to deep red. This bar indicates how near or far a player is, to one of many scannable clues, such as file folders or personal digital assistants. The scanner can collect information from the items without it being touched. The HUD shows red when the player is very close, and blue when very far. Items which are scanned are viewable in-game, providing insight into the workings of Area 51, as well as proving necessary to unlocking secret videos made by Dr. Cray or Mr. White.


title: Area 51 (2005 video game)

text: In July 1947, an alien spacecraft crashed near Roswell, New Mexico in the United States. The craft was recovered by the U.S. Air Force and taken to Area 51 in Nevada, where the lone survivor of the crash, a powerful Grey named Edgar (Marilyn Manson), was held captive by the U.S. military. Eventually, the Greys opened a dialogue with the Illuminati led by the ominous Mr. White (Phil Proctor), and struck a deal with them. The Illuminati would give the Greys a research base 3 miles below the surface of Area 51, the use of the base as a landing site, and give them human test subjects where they, along with human scientists, would research a mutagenic virus to use in a war on their homeworld. In return the Greys would give the Illuminati exclusive access to Grey technology. The Illuminati used some of this technology to spy on the population.


title: Area 51 (2005 video game)

text: The Greys and the human scientists eventually developed a powerful alien being - known as the "Theta", which spread the virus. Unbeknownst to many of the scientists working on the project, the Greys and the Illuminati were also planning to use the virus against the Earth population and dominate the planet. When Dr. Winston Cray (Ian Abercrombie) found out about the plan, he let loose the "Theta" and the mutagenic virus throughout Area 51, in an effort to slow them down. This prompted the military to send in a Quick Reaction Force led by Major Bridges (Powers Boothe) to quarantine and contain the virus. HAZMAT Team Delta, the first team initially sent into Area 51 are ambushed by the "Theta" creature, sustaining casualties, before withdrawing deeper into the base. HAZMAT Team Bravo, composed of team leader Ramirez, McCan, Crispy, and mission specialist Ethan Cole (David Duchovny) is sent to find Delta.


title: Area 51 (2005 video game)

text: After initially encountering the mutants, McCan is killed when a mutant decapitates him. Deeper into the base, Crispy and Ramirez are both ambushed by the Theta and killed, leaving Cole on his own. Cole manages to locate the rest of Delta, however they are attacked again by the Theta, and all but Cole and Lieutenant Chew are killed. Making their way topside, the Illuminati disables the cargo elevator, killing Chew and leaving Cole bitten by one mutant, partially mutating him. Able to switch between human and mutant form, Cole is guided deeper into the base by Edgar reanimating corpses to deliver information telepathically. Cole is guided to Dr. Cray's bio labs, where Cray claims there is time to decontaminate Cole, and rid him of the virus. Before he can be cured, the Illuminati attack, killing Cray and stopping the process.


title: Area 51 (2005 video game)

text: Cole proceeds deeper underground into a cave system, where he eventually gets reacquainted with the Theta. He manages to kill the creature, avenging both his team and HazTeam Delta. He meets Edgar miles beneath the surface who reveals the scientists used his DNA to create the virus, and the nature of the experiments at the base, which killed dozens of his species to harvest it. He then tells Cole the history of the Greys and Area 51. Edgar gives Cole the cure to the mutagenic virus, and instructs him to destroy the Grey's ship, that is leaving with dozens of Theta duplicates. Cole locates the vessel and destroys it by overloading its reactor, and uses a teleporter to escape into the Nevada desert. He lands by the "White Mailbox" area and watches Area 51 being destroyed by the exploding ship in a tornado like explosion. Cole watches as a truck drives past, with a green, alien-like container on board with unknown contents inside and walks away from the site. He reflects upon his original purpose at Area 51 and recognizes that while he and Hazmat Team Bravo had failed, their sacrifices may have saved mankind.


title: Area 51 (2005 video game)

text: The PlayStation 2 version received "generally favorable reviews", while the PC and Xbox versions received "average reviews", according to video game review aggregator Metacritic.


title: Area 51 (2005 video game)

text: In 2004, ahead of the game's release, Paramount Pictures announced that they had reached an agreement concerning the film rights for the game. In March 2007, comic book author Grant Morrison was hired to adapt the game as a screenplay. This project is unrelated to the movie "Area 51" by Oren Peli.


title: Islam and astrology

text: Astrology refers to the study of the movements and relative positions of celestial bodies interpreted as having an influence on human affairs and the natural world. In early Islamic history, astrology ("ʿilm al-nujūm", "the science of the stars"), was "by far" the most popular of the "numerous practices attempting to foretell future events or discern hidden things", according to historian Emilie Savage-Smith.


title: Islam and astrology

text: Some medieval Muslims took an interest in the study of the apparent motion of the stars, despite the Islamic prohibitions. This was partly because they considered the celestial bodies to be essential, and partly because the dwellers of desert-regions often traveled at night, and relied upon knowledge of the constellations for guidance in their journeys. After the arrival of Islam, Muslims needed to determine the time of the prayers, which direction the kaaba would face, and the correct orientation of the mosque, all of which helped give a religious impetus to the study of astronomy and contributed towards the belief that the heavenly bodies were influential upon terrestrial affairs as well as the human condition.


title: Islam and astrology

text: Islamic jurisprudence, the Quran, the Hadith, Ijma (scholarly consensus) and Qiyas (analogy) lay out the guidelines for the stance that Islam takes on astrology. The determination on the concept is further subdivided into that which is either halal (allowed) or haram (forbidden).


title: Islam and astrology

text: The earliest traces of Muslim individuals and therefore an Islamic stance against that of astrology stems from individuals such as Abd al-Jabbar. This stance differs from that posed by individuals such as Abu Ma'shar al-Balkhi who sought to justify the causal influence of celestial beings on terrestrial life forms. This is further evidenced by the presence of historical texts such as Kitab al-Daraj which are proof of the presence of astrology in early Islam. Yet even before these individuals/texts there existed historians and theologians such as Al Hashimi who through philosophers such as Masha Allah sought to justify the role of astrology in influencing Islamic adherents religion. Al Hashimi, citing upon the authority of Masha Allah looked to explore the possibility of the influence of stars on ones morality and religion in general. Masha Allah is further cited to point to the idea that the Islamic prophet Muhammad's birth was a result of a coming together as such of celestial objects otherwise known as planetary conjunction; essentially pointing to the inherent birth of Muhammad as a result of the astrological events. Where both Masha Allah and Al Hashimi draw upon similarities however is their inherent stance in pointing to the planets, stars, and other celestial beings as being the primary means by which divine rule is exercised i.e. how God emanates control over all life forms. The vast criticism received by individuals such as Al Hashimi led such figures to suggest that the determination of astrological claims could be computed without any interference with religion. The work of Al Hashimi nevertheless points to the inherent presence of astrology in early Islam.


title: Islam and astrology

text: Although astrology is not generally permissible in Islam, early Muslims relied on the sun and moon to determine things important such as the direction of Mecca, fasting times for Ramadan, and the beginning and end of each month. Even though early Muslim astrologers focused more on the planets and their energy, the traditional zodiac symbols derived from Hellenistic astrology were maintained throughout their practices. They used astrology and the position of the planets to predict the health and well-being of individuals. Eclipses in Libra, Aquarius, or Gemini were predictions of worldwide plagues, and comets or shooting stars were predictions of famine and sickness.


title: Islam and astrology

text: Many interpretations of the Quran (the primary Islamic text) point to Astrology as that which goes against the fundamental principles preached by the Islamic religious tradition. Astrology ultimately points to the role of celestial beings in influencing terrestrial life and the everyday lives of individuals; ultimately hindering their destiny. Various excerpts from the Quran are interpreted to disprove this theory. Most evidently with regards to those of horoscopes, Islamic scholars take the statements of the Quran in Surah Al-Jinn where it is suggested "(He Alone is) the All-Knower of the ghayb (unseen), and He reveals to none His ghayb (unseen), except to a Messenger (from mankind) whom He has chosen. (He informs him of unseen as much as He likes), and then He makes a band of watching guards (angels) march before him and after him" to mean that any such presence of extraterrestrial influence on mankind is not plausible and is, therefore, haram (forbidden) in Islam. This is further accentuated by tafsir (scholarly interpretation) of the verse which point to the fact that any being other than Allah (God) cannot be attributed with knowledge of the unseen or for that matter unknown. It is in this that the use of horoscopes and the subsequent utilisation of astrology are disproved in Islam. Nevertheless, Islam gives rise through the Quran to the use of astronomy, as distinct from astrology, in determining the time of the year (i.e. the determination of the Lunar and Solar Calendars) as well as compass bearings. The Quran embodies this concept in pointing to celestial beings as 'landmarks' adorned for adherents as a means by which they would guide themselves. The Quran, therefore, points to the primary purpose of astrology as a means of providing physical guidance/navigation for an adherent, essentially considering its use in the capacity of horoscopes as forbidden.


title: Islam and astrology

text: The Hadith is a reference to the instructions and practices of Muhammad which adherents of the Islamic faith are encouraged to embody. Muhammad made various claims regarding the legality/illegality of astrology with regards to the Islamic religious tradition. Narrated by Abu Dawud, it is suggested that Muhammad stated "Whoever seeks knowledge from the stars is seeking one of the branches of witchcraft…”; that of which is inherently forbidden in Islam. Where the Hadith distinctly points to a strong stance against astrology and the consequent imposition of astrology as that which is forbidden is in Sahih Bukhari which is an authenticated source of the recounts of Muhammad. The Hadith suggests that rain is a bounty bestowed only by Allah (God). It goes on to suggest that any adherent that believes that rain is a result of the doings of any other being; living or not falls into disbelief. The Hadith makes specific mention to the stars in suggesting that as for those individuals who suggest rain originates as a result of a star, "that one is a disbeliever in Me (Allah)." This works to fundamentally embody the concept of astrology and the consequent belief in the idea that celestial beings have an influence on anything other than that enshrined in the Quran and Hadith as that which constitutes shirk (blasphemy); leading one to leave the fold of the religion. In ultimately pointing out that any suggestion of stars as performing any other duties other than as a means of navigation for man is forbidden, the Hadith works to point to astrology as something from which Muslims should refrain.


title: Islam and astrology

text: Varying scholars have differing opinions with regards to astrology and the judgment which Islam makes on its permissibility. One concept put forward arises from Imam Ali; the fourth caliph of Islam and the cousin and son-in-law of Muhammad. Ali's pertinent point of view saw astrology to be that which is fundamentally forbidden in the Islamic religion. In suggesting to his followers that "O' People! Beware of learning the science of stars except that with which guidance is sought on land or sea because it leads to divining and an astrologer is a diviner, while the diviner is like the sorcerer, the sorcerer is like the unbeliever and the unbeliever would be in Hell", Ali sought to provide a scholarly opinion in pointing to a belief that any celestial being could provide something greater than that of God constitutes disbelief in Islam. This works in congruence with that encapsulated by the Quran which points to the stars and thus astrology as only a means of navigation. On the contrary, prominent individuals such as Ibn Arabi provide a scholarly opinion which provides for a limited scope of agreement with the principles of astrology. This is accentuated by the Ikhwan who have pointed to particular prophets and thus historic events as being intrinsically influenced by celestial beings. Such individuals nevertheless are in agreement that the planets in no means are considered God yet do suggest/assign each prophet with a particular planet/celestial being with certain works pointing to the planets as being created in God's image.


title: Islam and astrology

text: Furthermore, prophet Idris, commonly known as Enoch, was gifted with great knowledge of the stars and used his gift to meditate upon God’s grandeur and teach to others. With his complex understanding of astrology, prophet Idris taught people how the universe impacted their lives and founded the study of the stars. It is said that as Idris gave such credit to the stars and the moon for all of their contributions to mankind, when he died, he rose to the heavens. It is clarified that Idris ascended to the heavens and then died there. Idris journeyed to paradise and left behind him the understanding of astrology known in Islam now.


title: Islam and astrology

text: Prominent Classical Sunni scholars such as Ghazali and Ibn Arabi offer somewhat differing perspectives on astrology from many modern Sunni Muslims. Most pertinently, they focus on mankind at the forefront of the cosmos which consequently revolves around man. Ultimately, according to the teachings of Ghazali and Ibn Arabi, Islam preaches an abstract form of astrology in which the planetary beings correspond to certain levels of heaven and where particular prophets correspond to certain heavens; thus perpetuating in a fundamental belief that particular historical events have eventuated as a result of celestial beings.


title: Islam and astrology

text: Shia Islam takes a similar stance to that of Sunni Islam with prominent scholars such as Qabisah and Razin Bin Muawiyah suggesting that the presence of stars and celestial beings and their consequent importance lie only in their beautification of the sky, their ability to ward off Satan, and their use in navigation. Prominent Shia scholars have claimed that the concept of astrology is one which leads individuals to commit the sin of shirk (blasphemy); arguing that the concept of inferring something to carry a good or bad omen as that which constitutes disbelief.


title: Islam and astrology

text: Between modern branches, Sufi Islam (the mystical pursuit and interpretation of the Qur’an) is the only group that allows for any form of astrological study for spiritual purposes. Much of this stems from the acknowledgement of the zodiac in medieval tradition, specifically in Babylonia, and later Egypt. Rather than placing the entirety of the importance on the various zodiac signs and horoscopes (the practice of small scale fortune telling), the focus is instead directed onto planetary transits and how the signs are affected by such. This is what differentiates astrology as a scientific practice from fortune telling or witchcraft, which is what earns condemnation from most Muslim scholars and theologists. In addition, such transits are utilized in calculating important dates such as marriage, death, etc. in combination with traditional islamic numerology.


title: Honda CB900F

text: The Honda CB900F is a Honda motorcycle made in two iterations which appeared some twenty years apart. Both generations of the CB900F are straight four-cylinder four-stroke roadsters.


title: Honda CB900F

text: The first generation was produced from 1979 through 1983, and was available in the United States in 1981 and 1982. In 1983 it was replaced by the CB1100F. The second generation was available from 2002 through 2007. It is called the Hornet 900 in Europe and the 919 in North America, while the related CB600F is the Hornet 600 in Europe and the 599 in North America. In 2008 the second generation CB900 was replaced by the CB1000R.


title: Honda CB900F

text: In 1969 Honda introduced its flagship CB750 superbike, whose success led to Honda's domination of the motorcycle market. Honda had been successful in European endurance racing with their RCB-series RS1000, and had made advances in suspension technology from their experience in motocross, and the company chose to base a new DOHC roadster on their endurance racer.


title: Honda CB900F

text: The CB900F's design was aimed at European markets, rather than the usual focus on the United States, where it was not available until 1981. In Europe, it was initially named Super Sport like the 750 (FZ and FA) later named after the Bol d'Or endurance race. In the market, the CB900F competed with larger capacity bikes like the Kawasaki Kz1000, Suzuki GS1000, and Yamaha XS1100.


title: Honda CB900F

text: The CB900F's engine has a four-cylinder DOHC engine with a bore and stroke of . The engine drew on other designs, such as the CB1000C, CB1100F/CB1100R, and the inline-6 CBX1000. The CB900F has a five-speed gearbox and chain final drive, and it produces at 9,000 rpm The CB900F has two front disc brakes and one rear disk brake, all fitted with dual-piston calipers after 1983. The air-assisted fork was fitted with the Honda TRAC (torque reactive anti-dive control) anti-dive system in 1982 or 1983. The bike shares the same bodywork (tank, side covers, tailpiece) as the earlier CB750F Super Sport. There are similarities between the CB900F bodywork and that of the CB1100F and CBX.


title: Honda CB900F

text: In magazine tests, the CB900F typically clocked low to mid 12 seconds in the quarter mile (and a low 11.84 seconds in a "Motorcyclist" magazine test). The engine was tuned to produce mid range power rather than maximizing peak horsepower, thus giving good acceleration from 4,000 rpm to the 9,500 rpm redline. At there was some vibration, but the relaxed riding position was comfortable at most speeds, but at the maximum speed wind pressure could cause rider discomfort. The CB900F was succeeded in 1983 by the CB1100F, and in 1987 Honda introduced the CBR1000F water-cooled inline fours.


title: Honda CB900F

text: Honda's advertising proclaimed the bike to be "a thundering Super-Sports bike with devastating performance and an unwavering stamina". The bike's conventional twin down-tube steel frame is very strong. This, along with improved suspension made the CB900F "arguably the best Honda had built for the street," and capable of challenging European motorcycles in performance and roadholding. For its time, the CB900F was called, "the ultimate statement of the old air-cooled technology Honda had done so much to create". In anticipation of the 2002 model, one reporter reminisced that the original "was a powerful machine, if a bit heavy. All gas tank and engine, stable on the highway, middle-of-the-road good looks and hound-dog reliable." Rod Ker, however, writes that it had "two bad habits," that "it dropped out of gear, and — sometimes as a direct result — broke con-rods. This was a great pity, because it was a good bike until it broke, blessed with a frame and suspension that showed the Japanese were catching up with the Europeans in chassis technology."


title: Honda CB900F

text: The second generation Honda CB900F is a standard motorcycle based on a sport bike engine but with a more upright seating position and revised engine and gearing, providing performance and comfort between a typical sport bike and a cruiser. It was called the Hornet in Europe and the 919 in North America because the trademark for the vehicle name "Hornet" in North America was held by Chrysler, acquired after buying AMC, maker of the AMC Hornet car.


title: Honda CB900F

text: In some ways the concept dates to a 1994 design study created by American Honda's R&D chief product evaluator Dirk Vandenberg in cooperation with "Cycle World" magazine, a streetfighter-like one-off custom based on the Honda CBR900RR, with the fairings removed, high, tubular handlebar, and tuning and gearing modified to boost low-end torque. Vandenberg saw a market in the "older sportbike crowd" who are seeking high performance without an awkward riding position or racetrack style bodywork.


title: Honda CB900F

text: It was introduced in 2002 and its last model year was 2007, after which it was replaced by the CB1000R. After compliance with tightening emissions regulations became untenable, it was replaced by the more performance-specialized CB1000R. In 2006, "Motorcyclist" recommended used 919s as a good buy, saying of the new bike, "at $7999, it wasn't exactly cheap, and saddled with a coat of flat-black paint called Asphalt, it was less than visually electrifying," however, in the used market it became a great value. In the US market, the 919, like the 599, was expensive, because, being intended for the European market, they were made in Italy, and so had to be imported to the US against unfavorable Euro exchange rates.


title: Honda CB900F

text: The "Daily Telegraph" welcomed the new bike, saying, "the new CB900F Hornet leaves your knees in the breeze and your smile full of bugs as it reintroduces you to a feeling of undemanding, rewarding two-wheeled fun that has been missing from the market for a long time." Comparing it to the Hornet 600, the bike was reminiscent of the standards of the 1970s, sometimes called Universal Japanese Motorcycles.


title: Honda CB900F

text: The CB900F is powered by a de-tuned Honda CBR900RR engine, developed by Tadao Baba, one of Honda's Large Project Leaders. The motor is a transversely mounted, liquid-cooled, fuel-injected in-line four-stroke, four-cylinder DOHC engine that produces around . The engine has cast camshafts and pistons instead of the more expensive forged versions found on the CBR929 and later. For greater midrange torque, the CB900F's camshaft lift is lower, and compression is slightly lowered. Four fuel-injection throttle bodies take the place of the CBR900RR's carburetors. Redline is 9500 rpm. The bike has a cable-actuated clutch, a six-speed transmission, and a chain final drive.


title: Honda CB900F

text: A steel, square-tube backbone frame supports the stressed member engine. In front, a cartridge fork (adjustable beginning in 2004) guides the wheel, while a single Showa shock, adjustable only for preload (and rebound damping beginning in 2004) connects with the aluminum swingarm and carries the weight in back. Its brakes are dual-disc in the front and single-disc in the rear.


title: Honda CB900F

text: Instrumentation consists of an analog speedometer and tachometer and basic indicator lamps, incorporated under a tinted window, and a single tripmeter. While it normally was equipped with a centerstand, California models did not have room for one due to additional emissions control equipment.


title: Honda CB900F

text: The rake is 25°, trail is , wheelbase is , and seat height is . It has a tested dry weight (minus fuel only) of and a tested wet weight of . The chain drive is a 530 chain with stock gearing of 16 tooth front and 43 tooth rear sprockets.


title: Honda CB900F

text: A carburetted version exists in the form of the CB600F, known as the Hornet 600 in Europe and the 599 in North America.


title: Honda CB900F

text: Quarter-mile performance for the second generation bike was 11.18 seconds at tested by "Motorcyclist", while "Cycle World" measured 10.92 seconds at . Having the lowest weight in its class and a good power-to-weight ratio, it stands well in comparison to bikes with greater output like the Yamaha FZ1, and the wide, high handlebars ease quick turning and make cornering enjoyable. The suspension of the early versions was criticized, but after the upgrade to an adjustable fork, the complaints died down. "Cycle World" saw the 919 as a practical solution to the real-world problem of imperfect roads and traffic, rather than a mere compromise between a sportbike and a commuter or touring ride.