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Art Seminar 1
ART 215
3 CR
This studio art course will help students find personal voice through independent projects and research assignments. The course will be topically responsive to current issues and to the interests of students who will explore techniques relevant to individual assignments, different types of image-making processes, and their potential for meaning. Students will progress through further work in specific areas of studio arts. [48-48-96] Lab Fee
Prerequisites: None | <urn:uuid:12c801c6-064e-489d-a919-eba5c39812b0> | https://www.kellogg.edu/course/215-art-seminar-1/ | en | 0.933313 | 0.019947 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Blood and Shadow - Chapter 1
Home » Writing » Blood and Shadow » Chapter 1
Blood and Shadow
by Saigith
Libraries: Action, Adventure, Fantasy, One Shots, Original Fiction
Updated on
The grisly news of a murdered young family reaches Lael's ears, and he ventures to Longchime to learn if he could be of any aid. He quickly learns that this is no oridinary murder, and that no ordinary person can avenge the family. (A newer, better written version. Enjoy)
Blood and Shadow
Stephanie Cournoyer
The tall cloaked figure flitted into the town from the north under the protective shield of darkness cast by the shades of the trees and night. The moon was no more than a waning sliver of the coldest white, and that was the only thing that was visible in the sky. The moon was at its highest point, and the town's candles were low and dark. The figure walked with eerie calm into the sleeping town, even the livestock not awakening from the figure's silent gait. No sound stirred except for the wind making the dying leaves dance, and the occasional wolf cry in the distance. Even an owl hooted once or twice, but that was all. A dreadful silence was cast over the town like the night's darkness, as silent as the grave and as still as the gravestones.
The town was of descent size, but was isolated in the farthest reaches of the land. That was why the figure chose this place rather than anywhere else. Big cities would spread the news quickly like a plague, but towns such as this could not for they were spread so thinly. Big cities had bounty hunters and slayers, and towns did not. He was safe. He would not be discovered. A smile played across his thin lips at the thought.
The figure walked silently along the edge of a small house, casually peeking through the window to see who was inside. A young couple along with their infant child were all in bed, sleeping peacefully and comfortably. They all breathed easily, all unaware of the danger lurking outside their window. A perfect scene of family love.
How sickening.
The figure turned slowly from the window, chuckling under his breath as he rounded the house's corner. He approached the wooden door and twisted the knob. Not to his surprise he found it locked. Still smiling, he lifted his slender hand towards the doorknob, revealing long, bone white fingers ending in inch-long claws. He slipped the claw of his index finger into the keyhole and twisted, and with a click the door slowly creaked open.
His cloaked frame was a mere shadow against, outlined with the silver light of the moon. The only features that could be seen of him were his mouth and chin, and his eyes, pinpoints of pale yellow, shone out like willow-of-the-wisps in the shadows of his hood. His cat-like, yellow eyes instantly landed on the sleeping humans, and a grin found its way across his unnaturally handsome face. He silently strode towards the bed and studied all of them in turn before he turned his attention to the female, the one closest to him. He bent over the human, his hands on either side of the young woman as he dipped his head towards her exposed throat. He grinned widely, revealing four elongated fangs, and a hiss escaped from somewhere deep within his throat. A hiss rivaling that of an angered serpent, a hiss full of greed, pleasure, and hunger.
“So lovely…so young…so delicious,” he breathed, his hot breath tickling her skin. He bent his head further, his fangs slowly inching towards her throat.
Lael stepped into the village, the bitter autumn chill embracing him. Wrapping his thick, travel worn cloak tighter around him to fend off the cold, he walked through the village of Longchime. Word had reached his ears that a murder had happened less than a day ago, and that the murderer had left no trace of his footsteps. Lael suspected there was more to the story than what was told, and was in the Gayl Plains when he had heard this grisly tale.
The sky was a dismal gray, the clouds pregnant with rain. Longchime was deathly silent, all of the citizens nowhere to be seen. Lael's footsteps echoed eerily on the cobblestone streets, his dark figure equally so. He kept his head bowed, his features hidden in the shadows of his hood except for his eyes. Alien, bright green eyes that held no emotion or warmth. Expressionless eyes, hiding a deep unexplainable secret with a haunted air.
Lael looked up slightly, finding an excited crowd hovering around the door of a house. He knew then that this was the sight of the murder. Whispers floated from the shimmering crowd like an omen, speaking of assassins and the legendary dark elves that lived in the underground world of Shaternal. Lael approached and shouldered his way through the crowd, shrugging off the insults and threats like water off a duck's back as he forced his way through towards the door. An older man grabbed Lael roughly by the shoulder, his face contorted with grief and now rage as he was shouldered away.
“Watch where yer goin', elf!” he growled, his pale green eyes narrowing with rage.
Lael simply turned and glanced over his shoulder, his face a calm expressionless mask, except for his mysterious eyes. He parted his cloak, revealing a slightly curved longsword, and an identical knife. The man's eyes drifted down, and widened.
“My apologies…” he muttered, and released Lael's shoulder.
Lael stared at him awhile longer, his eyes unblinking. He continued his silently stride, rewrapping himself with his cloak and concealing his weapons once more. After what seemed like an agonizing eternity, he managed to stagger into the house, and was confronted by who appeared to be the mayor of Longchime and two of his body guards. The bodies of the murdered were still on the bed where they had drawn their last breaths, a white blanket covering each. Lael glanced at the bodies, quickly seeing that one was male, one female, and one smaller. He felt sickened at the thought of a murdered infant, never going to live life and grow.
The mayor, a well-fed, richly dressed man in red robes and gold trimming with beady pig-like eyes turned and started when he saw the black figure standing in the doorway. A cloaked figure with an ebony longbow slung over his shoulder and a quiver full of arrows resting on the other.
“'Ey now, what's this about?” the mayor demanded, his voice so heavily accented that Lael had a difficult time trying to understand him. “Yeh best get outta here, boy. This is no place fer kids.”
Lael, his face expressionless, remained motionless. “I am here to investigate the…murder,” he said, his voice toneless and carried a faint accent, and the men in the room inwardly shivered at how calm he remained at such a gruesome scene..
The mayor and his guards looked at one another, then back at Lael.
“I'm afraid there's nothing here for you to investigate, kid,” a guard said, striding over towards Lael and placing a hand on his shoulder. “Now get outta here and go play with your friends.”
Lael glanced at the hand on his shoulder, then back up at the guard, his eyes ever so slightly narrowing. The guard's eyes widened when Lael seized his arm, and he let out a startled yell as Lael spun and threw him up and over his back in a single swift movement. The guard let out a pained grunt as he landed hard on his back, and the crowd outside backed away from the tall black figure.
The remaining guard drew his sword and advanced towards Lael, glaring murderously. “Yer gonna pay fer that, kid!” he hissed, brandishing his weapon.
Lael glanced at him, his narrowed eyes freezing the guard in mid-step, promising him much pain if he laid a hand on him as well. The guard, quaking with fear, laid down his sword and back-pedaled away with his hands out in front of him.
Satisfied, though not showing it, Lael made his way over towards the bodies, the mayor and guard quickly stepping away. He pulled the white sheet off the female, he doing well at hiding his disgust at what he saw. Her face was frozen in terror, her mouth parted in an eternal scream. A gaping wound grinned up at him from her throat, her juggler and windpipe sliced through cleanly. He studied the wound closer, frowning as he saw how the veins were so nicely cut through. He turned her head slightly, inspecting the left side of her neck where the major artery once throbbed with life. He leaned closer, his eyes narrowing as he studied where the cut began. Nearly indictable, only visible to his sharp eyes, were two pinpricks.
“Apparently this is not an ordinary murder,” Lael said as he straightened himself, and was satisfied when he saw the mayor and his guards flustered. “Slitting throats is a rather messy business. Did you not notice how clean the slices are?”
The mayor opened his mouth to speak, but he closed it. He opened it again and closed it again, and Lael was reminded of a fish he had caught once.
Lael went on, throwing the sheet back on. “Blood would have got on the bed covers and the floor. The murderer, unless he bathed, would have left a trail leading to the door. The murderer has tried to be clever, but should not have cleaned the mess. I must say, this is perhaps the worst cover up I have ever seen,” Lael turned his attention once more to the mayor, again satisfied by the mayor's expression though not showing it. “Looks like you have a vampire preying on your village. And this vampire must just have become one, or is not the sharpest sword in the shed.”
As soon as Lael said that foul word, the temperature in the room dropped, and the guards and the mayor turned deathly pale and started crying out in unison.
“What are we to do?”
“How are we goin' to find it?”
“We don't have enough men for the job!”
“We're doomed!”
Lael watched them all with a naked mask, folding his arms over his slender chest. All at once the mayor and his body guards turned to Lael and asked, “Will you help us?” Apparently they had forgotten what he had done to the guard.
Lael nodded, and his calm demeanor remained. “Of course,” he said as he stepped out of the house. “I expect full payment once I return. I have a good idea where this vampire dwells.”
Lael walked through the crowd, who wasted no time in parting a pathway for him, and turned southeast of Longchime, towards the large woods called the Charegez Forest.
Lael looked up at the sky past the changing leaves, seeing that it was only midday and that the clouds were still heavy with rain. Lael knew he did not need to hurry. A well-fed vampire such as this one would remain in its underground lair for a few days before it ventured to the surface to hunt again.
The forest was deathly still and silent, as if the very trees were holding their breaths. The eerie calm pressed around him, suffocating him. The thick cloud hung over him like a spirit, pulling him into an embrace that he ignored and shrugged off without a thought. A bird fluttered above him, its wing beats disturbing the silence. This he too ignored, too focused on the hidden trail before him, his flashing green eyes never blinking, seeing something that no other could.
Thunder sounded in the distance, and icy rain began pelting down. Lael hunched his shoulders and continued his silent ghost-like walk, wrapping his cloak tighter about himself to fend off the chilling drops. At first the rain was a steady fall, then it began to pound harder, the droplets bouncing off the leaves. Lael was instantly soaked, chilled to the bones but pressing onwards nonetheless. How many times had he walked through storms such as this?
After a few hours of walking, Lael stopped in mid-stride and tilted his head curiously, confused. His instincts told him that he was there, but he did not see anything to his left, to his right, and in front of him. He looked up and only got rain in his face. He looked down and only saw leaves and twigs. Confused, he took a ginger step forward, and his foot disappeared into the earth.
What followed next was his scream as he disappeared into the cleverly hidden hole. It was more like a cleverly hidden tunnel for Lael found himself sliding down a rocky, bumpy chute that vanished into the ground. He managed to sit up, but his heel hit a rock and that caused him to bounce up and land with a thump on his belly. Lael ducked and shielded his head from any possible low rocks, not wanting to be knocked out by the time he reached the bottom of the slide. The slide grew steeper with every passing moment, grew more and more rocky and bumpy the farther he slid. Lael once more managed to get onto his back, and saw that the slide had a turn in it. Not wishing to end up as a blood-stain on the wall, Lael did the only thing that came to his mind and he drew his knife, and dug it into the ground. He used that to make the turn, and he managed to keep a firm hold on his weapon.
His eyes widened as he saw another turn, and after that a series of turns. He quickly jabbed his weapon into the earth to make the first turn, and did the same for the rest. The slide straightened out again, and he let out a relieved sigh, but wished he held that for later. He saw a dim light from ahead, and by the looks of it water was on the other side. And he could not swim. Not wanting to go careening over the possible ledge and into the water, Lael dug his knife into the earth for a final time. He still continued to slide quickly as the weapon drew a straight line down the slide, and he gritted his teeth, closed his eyes tightly, and prayed. Inch by inch he felt himself slowing down, and he sensed the ledge was no more than a yard or two away. He realized he was still going to go over the ledge, and he braced himself.
The ledge came, and the knife came free from the ground. Lael found himself falling only couple of feet before he splashed into frigid water. He instinctively began to panic and thrash, but it slowly dawned to him that the water was only knee deep. Glad that no one was there to witness him, Lael climbed up to his feet and struggled to find not only his weapon, but some of his pride and dignity. Sloshing to shore, and soaked to the bone even more, he surveyed his surroundings as he wrung out his cloak.
He was in a small cavern of slimy stone that smelled of damp earth, lit only by the algae and rather large pale blue, almost white mushrooms. A tunnel yawned in front of him and appeared to be the fanged mouth belonging to a dragon. He could see nothing beyond it, not even with his keen vision, and heard nothing except the steady dripping of water behind him, and he could only smell earth, mold, and decay. But something told him to press forward, to journey into the gloom before him.
Walking cautiously, and drawing his longbow and knocking it with a silver arrow, Lael moved forwards into the dark tunnel, instantly swallowed up by the blackness. All of his senses were alert, his ears strained for the slightest sound, and his eyes were unblinking as they flicked from side to side as he tried to detect any movement. Walking slowly in a crouch on the balls of his feet, Lael appeared only to be a mere shadow as he moved down the tunnel, the only thing visible were his eerily glowing green orbs. Now and again he would stop and tilt his head to the side and listen, and hearing not a sound, he would continue on. His heart thudded wildly, but his breath was calm and steady, unafraid of the possible dangers.
He slipped around a corner, and another, and came across nothing but rats. Something told him to quicken his pace, but his instincts told him not to. They told him that something was wrong, but did not know what. For the first time in his young life, the Lael found himself beginning to tremble. Not from cold, not from the chilling water running down his spine, but from a steadily growing fear. Knowing that something was in this cave system did not frighten him, but not knowing where it was sent an icy chill racing down his spine and made his blood freeze. Lael's thoughts seemed to become reality; they seemed to play tricks on his eyes. Shapes and shadows began to emerge from the wall, invisible hands seemed to reach out to grab him, to stroke him, to feel his warmth and flesh. Faces loomed at him, peeling through the walls. Faces with empty sockets and howling, grinning mouths, calling his name. Jeering, goading, daring him. And he began hearing things as well. Screams seemed to come out from nowhere, and a faint, heavy breathing. He felt something was creeping up behind him, he felt hot breath panting on the back of his neck. But he knew there was nothing, and even turned around to see. But only darkness greeted him, and the ever present feeling of dread. Cursing to himself for being foolish, he turned back around and continued. The glow from the mushrooms had long ago disappeared, and his eyesight had grown accustomed to the darkness. But he felt as scared as a mouse cornered by a hungry cat. He felt just like a child again; a helpless, blind child crawling in an unknown room.
His skin broke out in gooseflesh as he slowly made his way through the ever winding tunnel. He found that his feet were beginning to refuse to move, and the effort to lift them was agonizing. He found that his breaths were not calm and leveled anymore, but gasping and uneven as his lungs begged for air. He swallowed and tried to think of pleasant things such as the forest where he lived, the quiet streams where he used to fish…but all of that quickly evaporated into a mist and was replaced by the things that he was seeing, and the things that he thought he saw and heard. He asked himself why he had agreed to help the mayor of that little village, why he wanted to become a vampire slayer. Lael could not remember the memories that made him follow this dangerous, suicidal path.
Gulping, Lael turned another corner, and saw a fork in the path. Cursing under his breath, Lael looked at the left fork, and then the right. Both appeared to be going down deeper into the earth where it seemed to grow darker. Taking a random guess, Lael turned to the left fork and slowly shuffled on, his fingers trembling on the string of his bow. He rounded another corner, and another, moving as silently as a stalking cat, but as slowly as a snail. He rounded yet another corner before he came across a rotting wooden door that led to what he guessed to be a chamber. His mind screamed at him not to open the door, begged him to turn and take the other tunnel, but his curiosity got the best of him. He laid one quaking hand on the doorknob and turned it slowly. Its following creak made him cringe and grit his teeth, but he continued to turn the knob, and he pushed the door open. Darkness greeted him not to his surprise, and he found the room empty. It was only about seven paces wide from wall to wall, and rafters held the roof up to prevent cave-ins.
He scanned the room quickly, his gaze lingering on the open coffin that was in the center of the room. He took a quick sniff and wished he had not, because a rank odor of decay and death greeted his nostrils, causing him to gag as if the very air was poisoned. Blinking his tearing eyes, Lael took one step back and crouched a bit more, one knee resting on the dirt floor. He tilted his head and listened, and again heard something. Yet something was in that room that told him to get away from, but he did not see anything.
Lael looked harder, squinted his eyes at the darkest corner of the room, and thought he saw a flicker of movement. His breath caught in his throat, he leaned just a bit further, wanting to know what it was. He thought it to be the vampire, but the smell was too overwhelming even for a parasite.
Then he heard it. A sound that froze him in his place and chilled him to the marrow of his bones. A low moan. Not the moan as if in sorrow or frustration. A moan that sounded as if in pain, but it was more terrible and frightening than a natural moan. There was no word to describe it, only that it sent shivers coursing throughout Lael's body, paralyzing him where he crouched. Lael stiffened uneasily and squinted harder, desperate to know what that sound belonged to. He then heard shuffling as if something was walking about in the room, but the stride was uneven as if the thing was dragging something, and it did not sound like it was wearing boots but was barefoot.
Still holding his breath, Lael leveled his longbow and willed his feet to take a little step into the room, wanting to know what it was in there. Again the moan, and again the shuffling foot steps. The odor was stronger as the thing, whatever it was, seemed to come closer to him. Lael bit his tongue to keep himself from screaming when he saw it.
Decaying flesh hung loose from yellowed bone, and wisps of gray hair stuck out of what was left of its head. It wore torn pants that seemed as decayed as its skin, and Lael could make out white maggots squirming in what was left of muscle. One of its hands was missing, and part of its side was open, revealing ribs and something else that Lael did not wish to know. One eye was missing, and the other was yellow and held no life what so ever. Its lower jaw was missing, yet it still made moans as if it were in pain, and a swollen blackened tongue lolled out between crooked rotting teeth. Lael found himself staring at a zombie, an animated corpse.
Lael, trembling with terror and not thinking, found himself aiming the longbow at the zombie's head, and he released the string. The silver arrow flew true, and found its mark between the undead's eyes. With an unearthly howl, a howl that could not be described in words, the zombie staggered backwards and fell onto its back. Lael did not waste his advantage and darted in, drawing his knife, a knife with a polished black luster. He held his breath as he jabbed the weapon repeatedly into the monster's decayed flesh, sending sprays of blood flying with each impact and splattering on his snarling face, the zombie screaming and thrashing wildly in pain. Lael continued to stab the thing long after its screaming finally subsided, long after its jerking stilled. He kicked the zombie hard to make sure it was dead, again, and satisfied that it was Lael quickly ran out of the room before the smell made him ill.
He backtracked to the fork and took the right path, hoping not to run into anything else. Lael found himself surprisingly calm, considering what he had just killed. He found that odd, but not much. He found that his confidence was returning, though he remained wary of his surroundings and of possible threats. Other than the zombie, he ran into nothing but rats. He began to doubt there was a vampire down there, but then again, what could have animated the corpse from its grave? A necromancer could be making his home down there, but he felt, and he knew, that the vampire was indeed down there. Somewhere.
After a few more minutes of skulking and tunnels, Lael came across a second door. Trying to steady his hand, he opened the door slowly and dared to peer inside. This room was just like the last one he encountered, but was by far larger, and more decorated. Candles on the far side surrounded a coffin of stone, rather than wood, and the coffin was closed. The remains of past victims were piled up in one corner, and a table with beakers and tubes were in the other. Intrigued, Lael took one cautious step in, and nearly feel over in relief that no trap was triggered. He carefully searched the ground, the ceiling, and the walls for possible tripwires or anything of the like, and saw none. Lael found it strange that the vampire's quarters were unprotected, and his mind again screamed at him to get out.
Lael took another cautious step in, and another, and another. Slowly approaching the coffin, he took a steadying breath as he readied his knife and inched his other hand towards the lid. His hand lingered on it, his body trembling with fear and excitement, adrenaline coursing through his veins and setting his blood on fire. He took a calming breath, and quickly he flung open the lid, his knife arching down. The knife's descent halted abruptly, though, and his eyes widened in shock, horror, and dismay.
The coffin was empty except for the velvet cushions lining the sides and bottom.
Then the door slammed behind him.
Panic surging through his mind, Lael slowly turned around to see a tall, cloaked figure standing at the closed door. Their eyes met, his green eyes widening as he stared into lifeless, yellow slit orbs. The vampire was garbed in silk, necromancer robes of black trimmed with blood red. He wore his raven, waist-length hair long and free, and his gloves were inky black and same for his boots. His face was deathly pale, young, and unnaturally handsome. The vampire was grinning, a grin that revealed perfect teeth and four elongated fangs. Lael saw the cruelty and malice in that single grin, and another shiver was sent down his spine as he imagined those fangs sinking into the tender throat of the young mother.
The necromancer vampire took one step towards Lael and tilted his head as he studied Lael, his expression showing a mixture of amusement and pleasure. And he simply said, his voice colder than a winter's midnight, “Ah, a hunter,” he said, his eyes flashing eerily. “How delightful. I may find a use for your corpse yet.” He approached Lael slowly, walking around him, nodding with satisfaction. “Firm arms. A strong back. Yes, you will do very nicely.”
Lael shivered inwardly, always watching the grinning vampire with his narrowed eyes. He whipped his knife around, his body a mere blur as he turned towards the vampire with his weapon leading. However, the knife never found flesh. It sang through empty air, and he spun to stop, frantically looking around for the necromancer.
The necromancer was standing in front of the closed door once again, grinning widely. “Yes, you will do very nicely,” he repeated, raising his arms in front of him.
He then said something in a tongue that Lael did not recognize, and a white mist slowly appeared into being, and began to take shape. The air in the room suddenly grew icy cold, and the ghost at first glance appeared to be human. It appeared to be outfitted in heavy armor and a shield, showing that in life it was a human or guardsman. But its eyes were empty black sockets, and an eerie blue white mist cloaked it. It opened its mouth impossibly wide and let out an ear piercing shriek, drawing a silver white sword and advancing forwards with long ghastly strides.
Lael screamed over the noise, clamping his hands over his ears as he doubled over from the shrilling wail. He could not drown out the ungodly noise, his sensitive ears ringing long after the ghost's shriek had ended. The ghost, though, brandished its sword and glided towards him with surprising speed, ready to defend the one who had summoned it. Lael drew his hands away from his aching ears, and whipped out his longbow and an arrow. Without even aiming he let fly the arrow, the silver streak singing as it flew through the air before embedding itself in the ghost's armor with a thud. With a second loud cry the ghost disappeared in a flash of blue light.
His fear slowly disappearing to be replaced by battle-lust, Lael remained on one knee as he warily watched the smiling necromancer. He tensed his legs, ready to spring to the side if needed, yet the necromancer remained still except for his mouth. The vampire's mouth was moving though no sound escaped his thin pale lips, yet his cold gaze remained on Lael. Those eyes were like twin beams of damnation, peering into Lael's thoughts and worming into his heart and his reading his most precious secret. Balls of orange light appeared around the vampire, circling him like many bright birds before they burst into flames. The swirling fireballs continued their circling, though one by one they raced towards Lael as if thrown by an invisible hand.
Lael leapt to the side to avoid the first streaming fireball, dove into a roll to escape the second, leapt to his feet and danced back to dodge the third. He danced and leapt, spun and rolled to avoid the seemingly endless barrage of fireballs. Black scorches dotted the dirt floor, his feet narrowly missing being burned as he fought to keep his boots away from the little bursts of fire.
Finally the relentless assault came to end, and as Lael shouldered his longbow, a red mist swirled before the vampire, the necromancer summoning another undead into being. The mist faded, revealing a grinning skeleton that laughed a grating, high-pitched cackle that made the hairs on the back of Lael's neck stand on end. The skeleton wore no armor, but it carried a wickedly curved long sword in one bony hand and a small round called a buckler shield in the other. It brandished its weapon, goading on Lael. He, though, did not move. The skeleton obliged itself, and with a blood-chilling scream it lurched forward, its sword leading.
Lael stood calmly, watching the skeleton lumber towards him with long creaking strides. The knife appeared in his hand, and in the other his slightly curved longsword. The skeleton was three feet away, two feet, a foot…Lael burst into action. He was a whirlwind of black as he danced about the skeleton, parrying its lazy thrusts with his longer blade and attacking with the knife. The skeleton grew dizzy as it tried to follow Lael's movements, but it could not catch him. Lael easily breached through the undead's defenses, knocking its shield out wide and his knife snaking in slicing through a rib. He reversed his momentum, ducking under a horizontal slice and sweeping a foot at the skeleton's ankles. The skeleton toppled over, landing hard on its spine. Lael was upon it, his foot pressed against the thing's empty chest cavity. His longsword pulled back over his head, Lael brought it whistling down with all his might. The skull shattered in two with a small flash of red, and the bones underneath him fell limply.
Lael stood up and tilted his head at the vampire, his face taking on a cold, almost sinister look. But the vampire remained calm, even when those flashing green eyes promised much pain and death. He began another summoning, but was halted when Lael sprang, his weapons weaving to and fro. The vampire back-pedaled away, having nothing between him and death but simple silk robes. He blinked when he saw Lael, saw something entirely different. Lael's face was no longer calm, but held a savage, wild grin, revealing four elongated fangs that resembled his own. His once green eyes were now golden pools burning with an inner inferno, yearning for blood and the kill. The necromancer's own eyes widened at the visage of death before him, knowing full well what will be the outcome.
The vampire begged, he pleaded as he fell to his knees. He promised he would never pray on Longchime, and would no longer practice necromancy. Even his blood turned to ice at Lael's laughter. Lael threw back his head, cold laughter escaping past his lips. Lael turned his eyes back to the quaking necromancer, grinning wickedly. The grin was so familiar, yet distant at the same time. Almost like... The necromancer screamed.
Lael returned to Longchime where he was welcomed and revered as hero. Around his throat hung a black piece of thread, and hanging from that thread was a pair of vampire fangs, which was proof that he had a slain the vampire. He had chopped off the vampire's head, and afterward burnt the body and scattered the ashes in the woods. Lael was indeed well rewarded for his victory, having earned himself a new cloak that resembled his old one, food (that he sold) and many gold coins. The first autumn rains had passed, and the sun was finally favoring Longchime and its merry people. Lael was the guest of honor in the mayor's fabulous house and was treated like a king, even though Lael had insisted not to.
There he remained for a day at the most before he set out again to explore, moving northwards towards the lake in the heart of Firdyl. And to add more fangs to his collection. Lael had proved to the people of Longchime that he was indeed a vampire slayer, and he proved that whenever he found a case about more vampire sightings. Lael went wherever his feet took him, or where his ears heard rumors of the monsters in human form. However, wherever he went, people avoided him. Not because of his dark clothes or the weapons he bore. But because they could not see was lay underneath that dark hood except for those haunted green eyes. And some say they thought they saw those blank orbs flicker to a golden yellow…
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I can’t believe it’s been nearly six years since the original Defense Grid: The Awakening was released, that’s plenty of time to make Defense Grid 2 a worthy sequel, right?
Well it’s certainly got a bit more substance from what I remember of the original Defense Grid but let’s start with what it’s all about. Tower-defense, an increasingly popular genre thanks to not only Defense Grid but also the rise of Plants vs Zombies most recently cracking the mainstream audience. Anyway the idea here is to prevent the aliens from reaching your power cores and stealing them by using any means available.
Anything you do across the whole game will follow this pattern and with weapons at your disposal (as long as you have the resources to buy them) it’s all out warfare. There are 21 different map layouts within the Campaign and it’s entirely up to you whether you play these through the story rules or one of the many other rule types. The story mode makes you work on the basis of gaining resources throughout a map/level and only having certain weapon towers unlocked for purchasing.
Wave after wave of enemies will attempt to traverse the open path to the cores which they desire, so tower placement alongside this path is important to maximise the damage output. It all seems pretty straight forward until a few maps later and the path becomes an open area for aliens to just walk through. The idea here is for the player to use towers to filter the aliens down a path that you make yourself with as many twists and turns as possible slow them down.
These aliens bug me, simply because to plan your defensive strategies you need to be able to see the whole map. By doing this you can only make out the rough outline of the aliens and so it looks like the majority of the time you’re taking out generic aliens which gets rather boring. The larger of them, the Juggernauts are fun to destroy due to them being able to withstand so much punishment that it’s generally a close call as to whether you stop those cores from being stolen.
Having the more advanced, powerful towers unlock as you go along is the best way to introduce fresh elements but there’s always that point where they stop coming. Once you’ve gone from guns to meteors, it’s a bit like… what else you got? Okay there are nine different weapons and one booster to allow towers placed atop it to have extra upgrades as well as the natural level upgrades (from green level one to red level three). Still there’s that feeling I need more, although I credit the versatility in weapon styles from range to close quarters.
Once you’ve had enough of the story, which lacks a whole lot of engaging storytelling, there’s a shed load of choices. The choice you need to make leads you to a question, under what circumstances would you like to try complete maps? Well whether it’s having a set amount of resources from the start, all towers and upgrades available or even one where hovering the cursor over aliens causes damage, you can do it all. So if you do become addicted to the gameplay then the replayability is huge.
The online Multiplayer side of things covers everything you can do offline like the maps, gameplay rules plus some and is then also split into three main game types in DG Fighter, Co-Op Doubles and DG Coordinated Defense. Sound great? Sure it does, but be prepared to just admire the possibilities because across all my matchmaking attempts I’ve found only one person.
The amount of options is impressive, however someone needs to be searching for the exact same as you to be matched up or you have to literally set it to find any match whatsoever and even then I waited a good ten minutes only to find a practice mode match. Having a friend with the game is the easy way then you can invite them directly to the game. It’s rather poor to have so little online activity in the launch week and I cannot see this changing any time soon.
Given the sparsely populated Multiplayer, I will say if you are going to buy this at the rather steep price of £19.99 then convince a friend to do the same to enhance the experience. There’s no doubt there’s a lot of tweaks in the map rules to ensure a potentially healthy amount of hours from Defense Grid 2.
For me it became a little stale and I gained most of my enjoyment by, as the saying goes, going back little and often. Strangely the lack of variety in aliens and weapons becomes obvious too soon but if you can overlook this then it’ll provide a decent challenge for tower-defense veterans.
txh rating 3
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Boost your health, have an adrenaline rush
When was the last time you experienced something powerful enough to remind you that you’re alive?!
Sure, a paper cut might do the trick… however, instances that remind us we’re human are often surrounded by monumental events or emotional scenarios. In reality, those instances only surface from time-to-time, meaning we need to breathe a bit of life into our memory banks in order to fill a void. The issue with waiting for something great to happen, requires a juggling act with all the day-to-day situations tossed our way.
This means the most likely outcome is stress we incur from the number of scenarios we have balancing on our shoulders. You know, the usual suspects: being late to something important, getting into an argument with a spouse or co-worker, or maybe even a speeding ticket. (Thankfully you can’t get one of those stress inflictors on the racetrack)
There’s no way to go around it, stress pops up so frequently, that we may carry it around with us for long periods of time. In case you didn’t catch my drift, stress is terrible and just thinking about stress, stresses me out.
On the count of three, let’s all take a deep breath. 1-2-3… inhale, and now exhale. Relax.
We have a proven way to shed some of your stress!
Stress is so commonly discussed and referred to, that there’s an institute for stress (there seriously is). The American Institute of Stress says stress can be physical and emotional, but more importantly, it can be extremely detrimental to our health. What if we told you that not all stress is harmful? In fact, adding bits of stress in certain ways can actually improve your quality of life, both immediately and long term. How about that! The solution to stress is more stress. Wait, what?
woman inside her car, frustrated and angrily screaming
The good stress comes in the form of an adrenaline rush! If you ask us, there’s no better way to get rid of some stress than going for a drive. Now, that could mean several things. Your drive might include a long, countryside cruise, or maybe you’d prefer to dial it up to let’s say…11! Now you’re in for an adrenaline fueled, stress-shredding therapy session. That’s what we’re talking about!
Here’s why a rush of adrenaline can be great for your health:
Men’s Health Magazine tells us that receiving an adrenaline rush from scenarios that are risky, unpredictable, and social will garner a positive stress response; additionally, these singular events of stress, where we receive an adrenaline rush are actually beneficial for us. How so? They say that these “activities that are physically and mentally stressful help your body react better to stress in everyday life”.
Guess what? The benefits didn’t stop there!
We learned a few facts from, like these: adrenaline rushes “increase the number of antioxidants circulating in your system, which combat free radicals that can cause aging and tissue damage.” Also, short-lived stresses (such as an adrenaline rush) will actually improve other factors surrounding an experience. This is called “the excitation transfer process.” This has to be correct. I mean, burnt rubber does start to smell pretty good while traveling at 100+mph, believe it or not – it’s science!
Okay. Maybe burnt rubber doesn’t smell that great, but I bet if you ask an XX instructor what his/her favorite scent is, burning rubber is probably in the Top 5!
What we recognized is that almost all scenarios in which an adrenaline rush is achieved means there are opportunities to push through the “fight-or-flight” (produced by a sudden rush of adrenaline) response and use your heightened senses, to create unforgettable memories and improve your health. In most cases, your first time driving 100+mph has stuck with you due to the rush you experienced, which we know will not escape your memory anytime soon.
Now, just imagine what impression you will be left with, after ripping a supercar around a racetrack? Click the big orange button below to improve your life or someone else’s, by giving them an adrenaline rush they’ll never forget!
Relieve some stress at a racetrack near you
reserve now | <urn:uuid:46d0156d-2e6d-4735-98de-47650e69be7f> | https://www.thextremexperience.com/blog/healthy-adrenaline-rush/ | en | 0.929854 | 0.071878 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
How Dyslexia, Linguistics, & Medical Science Inspired Blake Charlton’s Spellwright
Spellwright by Blake CharltonWritten by Blake Charlton
At the age of twelve, I still couldn’t read fluently. This despite years of special ed., endless parental tutoring, and one disastrous campaign to establish Scrabble™ as the family pastime. (Blake, honey, I didn’t think it was possible but you’ve finished game with a negative score.) And yet, eighteen years later, I am a medical student about to publish a novel. What catalyzed such a transformation?
Answer: fantasy literature.
When I was young, my parents read to me most nights. I found it enjoyable, but nothing special. Then we started Robert Jordan’s The Eye of the World. A quick fact: Mom and Dad are both psychiatrists. (Yes. The answer to whatever question you’re wondering right now is ‘yes.’ Trust me.) So, no surprise, they noticed how much Jordan ensorcelled me and began reading less each night. Often they stopped just when Rand and company most desperately needed to escape the Wheel of Time’s seemingly inexorable squishing power. I was driven wildly, floridly insane with frustration and focused my every desire onto reading faster. I began sneaking Jordan into special ed. study hall, then Ursula LeGuin and Terry Brooks, Tad Williams and Robin Hobb, and so on and so on until suddenly I was a bookworm, then a overly earnest geek, then a too rabid pre-med.
At that point, I didn’t want overcome my disability so much as crush it into a million tiny and anthropomorphically cringing pieces. (If you were the guy sitting behind me in Cellular Biology: Sorry, man. My bad.) In biochemistry, I was struck by how much nucleotides and polypeptides are like written languages. In a sense, they consist of letters and words that might be translated or transcribed. They might be rendered useless or harmful by a misspelling—a mutation. Then, while sitting in a dull English class, every disparate syllable of my life interlocked to form the long, lovely sentences of a daydream.
What if written language were more like molecular language? What if you could peel a paragraph off the page and make it physically read? Could you pick your teeth with a sentence fragment? Thrust a sharply worded invective at an enemy’s throat? How would physical language shape culture, technology, history?
As my daydream grew I escaped my cold, pre-med self and remembered the wonder that only good speculative literature imparts. Tolkien created Middle-earth for his languages; could I imagine a world built by—not around—its languages? More importantly, could I find a character whose story was intertwined with this world? Instantly, my disability provided the answer.
Welcome to the world of Spellwright, where luminescent magical languages come off the page and shape themselves into powerful spells. Authors can cast information across thousands of miles or write creatures made purely of text. Into this world is born Nicodemus Weal, a wizardly apprentice who can produce vast amounts of magical language. However, Nico was born with a disability so severe that any text he touches misspells in erratic, sometimes dangerous ways. When a powerful wizard is murdered with a misspell, Nicodemus quickly becomes the primary suspect of the crime. Hunted by both investigators and a hidden killer, Nicodemus must race to discover the truth about the murder, the nature of magic, and himself.
I was so passionate about this story that after college I delayed applying to medical school to write while moonlighting as an English teacher, a medical writer, and a JV football coach. During this time I struggled with my own conception of disability and came to see that some disabilities never vanish, that they must be overcome. Armed with this realization, I matriculated into medical school and completed Spellwright. More importantly, I stopped pursuing a career in medicine and literature just to ‘disprove’ my disability and started writing and studying in hopes of healing and inspiring others as I was inspired and healed by fantasy literature.
Spellwright (978-0-7653-1727-8; $24.99) by Blake Charlton is available from Tor this March. Visit the author’s website at
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Friday, May 3, 2013
Mama's Secret Weapon: Butter Kale! (How I Trick My Girls Into Loving Their Greens!)
How I Trick My Kids Into Loving Their Greens - at Biting the Hand That Feeds You
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A lot of getting kids to eat new foods is in how you market it to them. "X-Ray Vision Carrots" and "Dinosaur Trees" will get kids to try carrots and broccoli more than "Here. Eat your carrots and broccoli. You won't know if you like them until you try them!" You want to cater it to your child and their interests though. For mine, stuff with "princess" in the title is more effective than "dinosaur," but she's also quite literal, so many things don't work with her. "They're not trees, Mama." I tend to use key words for foods or flavors I know she likes, or mix in her favorites the first few times. Like adding chopped olives and olive can juice to something almost guarantees she'll gobble it all down, for example.
When I first made kale chips, I waaaaay over-salted them, which was actually a selling point to my sensory child and me. We loooove salt! So calling them "Salty Kale Chips" was a win, and she loved them! Now she'll eat them with less salt, because she "knows" that she likes them.
So when I got some kale raab in my weekly CSA farm share, I was stumped. I looked it up online, and saw that it's just the flowery tops of the kale plant. And looks quite a lot like baby broccoli (they're both in the brassica family.) I looked at a few recipes, and decided on chopping it small to make it easier to nibble and frying it in butter and olive oil. We love butter. So when I brought it out, called it "Butter Kale," and said that it was for MY dinner, since she'd already eaten her frozen peas, I ensured that she would at least try it. She loves kale chips, butter, and snitching my food. She ended up gobbling down my whole plate, leaving only a few stem bits! (Made from half a pound of kale raab!)
This recipe is super easy (hence my actual success at making it!) and pretty yummy. For vegetables, anyway.
Butter Kale
1/2 lb kale raab or 1 bunch kale (or kale mixed with other greens... it's all good!)
1 pat butter
1 Tbsp olive oil
Salt or seasoned salt, to taste
I chop up the kale raab into smallish bits, roughly every inch along the stalks (also works fine with regular kale, just be sure to cut the leaves off the stems first. You can eat or discard the stems, your choice. I chop them into small chunks and eat them.) Then set it aside for a few. Mostly because I don't have enough clear space for my cutting board and a heated pan!
I turn the stove to medium (4 or 5, if there's numbers,) and plop in a blob of butter, usually the size of a pat. Or so. And bloob in some olive oil, since it's a healthier fat than butter. But you can use whatever cooking oil you feel comfortable with. I'd say 2 Tbsp total. But the butter really adds a nice flavor.
Once the butter is all melted and you've rolled it all around to coat the bottom of the pan, go ahead and toss in your chopped greens. Use your spatula to stir and flip them around until they're all oily all over. Sprinkle with some salt or seasoned salt. Keep stirring and turning for 5-10 minutes, until they're all wilted and to desired level of tenderness. I usually test a bit with some stem on it, and cook until I'm satisfied with the texture, since I usually only get to eat the stems after my locusts have gone through it all! Some of my leaves *pop* and get a little browned and crisp, but we love those, since they *scrounch* like kale chips in your mouth. Yum!
I started with just kale raab, but then I started getting "braising mix," which I had no clue what to do with. (Braising Mix is basically a mix of greens. I recognized kale, rainbow chard, various raab versions of mystery greens, and more mystery greens. Probably some collard and mustard greens, since I know they grow those there. Possibly dandilion greens. They grow those there too. On purpose!)
I read a recipe where basically you cook them the same way as the kale raab, so one day when I was low on raab (we'd gotten .75 lb that week, so I only had .25 lb left - I can only fit around a half-pound in the pan at once,) I filled in with the braising mix, which I'd also chopped every inch or so, to make it harder for Z to tell that it was different.
She didn't notice a thing! Now I can add in any kind of green or more kale leaves. Whatever I have. Both girls go ape for it. This also tastes great with a bit of minced garlic or some green garlic shoots chopped up. You'd want to cook the garlic for a minute or so before adding the greens though.
Dinner For Baby:
Butter Kale (kale raab plus braising greens,) leftover cauliflower fried "rice," rice and quinoa with cheese
I modified a cauliflower fried rice recipe from Family Fresh Meals by giving up on grating the stupid cauliflower roughly halfway through, then filling it out with a pre-cooked rice and quinoa mix. Hand-grating the cauliflower is a major pain in the booty, plus my girls need grains more than they need the extra veggies, at this point!
I also sub the soy sauce out for some gluten-free tamari. And I don't bother pre-cooking the egg. I just add it a bit earlier and cook it right there with the "rice." Lazy => ingenuity!
The rice and quinoa mix is done up in a big batch (usually a cup of each) once a week or so, and some is kept in the fridge and the rest gets frozen. Then I always have some on-hand for a quick toss-in, like for the fried rice, or just as a side for dinner. Since most gluten-free products are high in white rice and starches to make them more "normal," it means that it's harder to get in all the whole grains they need each day. So this is an easy fix that both girls love! I added cheese to it one night halfway through reheating, and called it "cheesy rice," and now it's a requested favorite. And if I make some for Z, even if Baby already ate the dinner I made for everyone else that Z rejected, I have to make some for her too!
Truthfully, Baby didn't get quite that much Butter Kale. It just looked so forlorn in there with just the bit that she got, so I tossed some of Big Sister's in there too, just for the photo.
I served hers in an EasyLunchbox, even though we were eating at home, because it's easier for her to manage than a plate and two bowls, or to have everything together on a large plate. This way, nothing gets pushed off the side as she tries to jab it with her fork, there is a lot of forgiveness in the dish if she tips it a bit as she leans on the side, there aren't different dishes moving around as she eats, and everything still stays separate.
Plus, honestly, it's just as easy to wash this in the dishwasher than the other dish(es) I would have used.
Little Z's Dinner:
Leftover mashed "potatoes," rice and quinoa w/cheese, more cheese, butter kale (kale raab plus braising greens)
The mashed "potatoes" are really mashed potatoes, rutabaga, turnips, sunchokes, and parsnips. And an onion plus garlic. Ha! I left the peels on the potatoes (a mix of red, fingerling, and German butter-something... whatever I had on-hand from various weeks of my farm share) but peeled the rest, chopped and boiled them up, then mashed it all together. She loooooooves it!
I put hers on a divided plate because she's a big girl and can eat without shoving all her food off the side! Ha! Plus this plate has a fairly high lip. No good for soup or anything like that, but great for mashed potatoes and gravy kind of thing.
Tools of the Trade
1 comment:
1. So awesome that you "trick" your kids into eating kale! Thanks for linking up at Leftovers on Fridays
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Fall 2019
Bill Carraro
In Lockdown Under Maximum Security
By Brandon Kyle Goco
UPM Bill Carraro met his biggest challenge yet on Ben Stiller's Showtime limited series Escape at Dannemora, about a real-life prison escape in Upstate New York.
"It was tough logistically and ambitious schedulewise," says Carraro. The crew wasn't entirely sure if they could film at Clinton Correctional Facility, the actual prison where the story is set. "I sat down with the [prison] superintendent several times to answer their many questions," says Carraro. "You are basically requesting to show up with your three-ring circus and conform to the restrictions going into an active maximum security prison."
With permissions granted, production had its own logistical challenges. "[The crew] was welcomed into the prison as a unit and had to enter together," recalls Carraro. "They would do a headcount. We did our work in designated areas." While inside, the crew had no way out and absolutely no contact with the inmates. "As they described it, we were in lockdown from the prison, and the prison was in lockdown from us."
After they finished each day, Carraro, along with the entire cast and crew, was processed out the same way. "It was basically like being checked in for the long haul… other than being given designated clothing."
(Photo: Audra Melton)
At Work With
More from this issue | <urn:uuid:5031538b-ac23-45af-ad01-b304eafc1cdd> | http://www.dga.org/Craft/DGAQ/All-Articles/1904-Fall-2019/At-Work-With-Bill-Carraro.aspx | en | 0.970418 | 0.050805 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
This Show Has The Most Asians on TV Right Now
MTV's 'America's Best Dance Crew' is back for an all-star showdown.
America's Best Dance Crew is back! MTV's groundbreaking team dance competition returned to the airwaves last week, bringing back the show's previous champions for an all-star showdown culminating at the VMAs. You all know I was a huge fan of the show in its heyday, so I'm extra pumped to see all these crews back in top form.
And let's just say it: between the collective membership of Quest Crew, Super Cr3w, Kinjaz, We Are Heroes and I.aM.mE Crew, ABDC is the show with the most Asians on TV right now. No joke.
It's difficult to choose favorite. I love all the crews, but their styles are so different. Quest is, of course, a perennial standout. However, I'm also extra rooting for Kinjaz, a new crew that includes dancers from first season champions Jabbawockeez and first season fan-favorites Kaba Modern.
At this point, I have two gripes about the show.
1. The editing drives me crazy. This has always bothered me. The show has this awful habit of cutting to a hundred different angles during the performances. Sometimes it's fine, and other times it really kills the style, momentum and overall effect. Take, for instance, the Kinjas' week one performance. It was great, but honestly, I think it loses something with all the cutting and camera angles.
Now consider the rehearsal video for the same routine, shot from a relatively stationary camera:
I mean, damn.
2. The other thing that really bothers me about this season of America's Best Dance Crew? The completely unnecessary apostrophe in the ROAD TO THE VMA'S logo. Why did they do that? Don't do that.
America's Best Dance Crew airs Wednesdays at 11/10c on MTV.
angry archive | <urn:uuid:819713d2-1382-461b-93a1-cecb9b2f1de1> | https://blog.angryasianman.com/2015/08/this-show-has-most-asians-on-tv-right.html | en | 0.941165 | 0.019916 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Have you ever wondered, “What should I eat to be healthy?” or “What should I buy at the grocery store that is good for me?” If so, we can help! We’ll go to the store with you to educate you as you pick out wholesome, delicious and nutritious foods. And, if you don’t know what to do with them once you get them home, we can help with that, too! | <urn:uuid:b7895dfc-41f1-4c81-88db-7023acc1ba23> | https://fullcirclevitalitygroup.com/services/6-healthy-eating.html | en | 0.96482 | 0.055518 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Life and Health
Racism and Privilege
I don’t know how to write this and I’m not sure I’ll make any sense or do any justice but I am frightened for the world we are creating for the children; all the children but especially the black and brown children as they continue to see people who look like them unjustly imprisoned, harassed and murdered with the ripple effect that has on their community.
I often keep my thoughts and opinions off social media in regards to racism but my heart hurts again and again as we see news of someone’s mother, sister, brother, son, friend, etc… being beaten, berated, or killed simply for having a different color skin.
I often stay silent online because I’m not sure what I could contribute to the dialogue that sounds at all educated or “woke”. I know that I am a product of white privilege and I know that I am relatively naive about racial issues since I grew up in a suburban, white, private school life. I know my parents did what they thought was best for me and to give me the best life I could have by giving me opportunities and exposure to things to help me continue to climb the ladder of success.
But what about black and brown parents who aren’t able to give those opportunities to their children? What about the black and brown parents who have to try twice as hard to get half as far? When we strip all the humanity away from them based solely on their skin color what else are they left with? We expect them to live on the scraps of life that we leave them.
I also remain silent online because often I am afraid that I will say the wrong thing, share the wrong post, or be pointed out for the fake that I feel like. As I said, I have led a very naive life when it comes to racial issues. I don’t want to ask individuals of black and brown skin to explain it to me, I know it’s not their job but I need to learn so I Google, I read, I try to educate myself but it never feels enough.
Sometimes I feel like if I ask questions I would be answered angrily because I am just that naive so instead I chose to remain silent and continue my side quest of learning more, digging into my feelings, digging into my uncomfortable-ness, and indeed leaning into my own privilege and racism. Even if it is by accident or due to ignorance it is still racist.
We, as white people, owe it to the rest of the world to show up and sit outside our comfort zone because we are at least safe in our skin tone. If I get pulled over by the cops I don’t have to fear for my life, I just have to show my license and registration. I don’t ever have to answer a million questions about if I belong somewhere or be followed like I’m automatically a thief. But there are some people who are, there are some people who live their lives never belonging or being good enough simply because of the color of their skin. We can sit around and say “that’s not true!” or “that doesn’t REALLY happen!” but it does, we keep hearing about it; how many times must we hear or see something to believe it’s true or to believe it’s painful?
We can sit here and say “I wouldn’t do that!” or “Not me and my family!” in a shocked face clutching at our pearls but what would we do? If we are faced with it what will we use our safe skin and privilege to do? Some of the kindest people I know who would give anyone the shirt off their backs still make sweeping generalizations about people of color, and that is racism.
Again, I worry about the children who will be given whatever world is left by time we’re done with it. This world is in tatters, it’s coming apart at the seams and someone has to be willing to stitch it together again. We cannot continue allowing almost 30% of our population to feel like they are not full citizens. We cannot continue sitting here letting their wounds, generational wounds that have festered for centuries, lie open without saying “I’m sorry” and “I hear you” and “what can I do?”. It sounds stupid and it sounds trite but I believe in starting with compassion.
Can I erase generations of damage? No, I can’t but I can not be afraid to confront these issues both with myself and the Munchkin. I can teach her that race really does exist even if it shouldn’t and people like her and I are safe but people who look like her teachers and friends at school may not feel as safe as we do. I shared with her Sterling K Brown’s video after Ahmaud Arbery’s death and had to explain why General Mattias (he voiced a character in Frozen II) was upset. It’s not an easy conversation to have with a four year old; I’d rather hide in the “I don’t see color, I see everyone equally” colorblindness but that’s not reality for people who don’t feel safe in their own skin.
The genetic differences may be small but the history of abuses that those differences have created make it impossible to ignore them.
I apologize if this doesn’t come off sounding like a good ally; I am relatively new to the ally game as I take the color blinders off and see what atrocities have been committed while we all walked around saying “I don’t see color”. Don’t be afraid to take the blinders off. I know it’s hard and it’s scary; I know that we’d rather pretend all is equal but it’s not. And for some it has really life or death consequences; for me and mine it’s just about feeling uncomfortable. I should be able stand feeling uncomfortable – it won’t kill me.
Lives lost
Voices silenced
Days cut short
They beg
They cry
They kneel
They scream
They fight
When will we listen?
When will we stop?
When will we see?
When will it be enough?
Blackness as human
Whiteness shouldn’t be right
Brownness as beautiful
Whiteness shouldn’t be power
Diversity is strength
(Written by me on May 28, 2020)
Pick one small thing, it doesn’t take much to get started. It’s okay to be scared it’s just not okay to look the other way. I started following The Conscious Kid on Instagram and I started listening to the 1619 Podcast from the New York Times. It’s not easy but if every white person took one step towards understanding that would be a whole lot of steps because #blacklivesmatter.
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Opening Christmas Day “in a theater near” the movie starring Will Smith, Philadelphia native, “Concussion” will deal with the issue of significant long term brain damage among America’s most popular sport: Football. The story is based on the accomplished Pittsburgh pathologist Dr. Bennet Omalu who tries to uncover the truth about brain damage in football players who suffer repeated concussions in the course of normal play.
Like other ground breaking movies this year (see my post on “Spotlight” the story based on the Boston Globe’s exposure of clergy sexual abuse in Boston during the 2000’s), this movie is likely to inspire alot of discussion of trauma brain injury in athletes, but also raise awareness of the potential long term danger to children who suffer repeated concussions playing a number of different sports over a number of years.
In an August 25, 2015 column in the New York Times Science Section, Personal Health writer Jane E. Brody warns that there is good reason to worry. According to studies the young brain is especially susceptible to concussion, and sports related concussions account for more than half of all emergency room visits. This has many parents questioning the wisdom of letting children play certain contact sports.
Impacts to the head can be serious even if it did not involve involved a loss of consciousness, a common misnomer as a barometer of whether someone has suffered a brain injury.
Parents of children was suffer these types of injuries, whether related to sports activities or due to any kind of accident show take notice of the following symptoms that may be warning signs of brain injuries:
1. Difficulty thinking clearly, concentrating or remembering new information.
2. Headache, blurry vision, queasiness, vomiting, dizziness or balance problems, sensitivity to light or noise.
3. Irritability, moodiness, sadness or nervousness.
4. Excessive sleepiness or difficulty falling asleep or remaining asleep.
Our offices has handle numerous cases involving traumatic brain injury as a result of car accidents and industrial injuries. These injuries are subtle especially in the beginning and require immediate evaluation. Consider speaking to a neurologist or neuropsychologist as soon as possible. The statute of limitations may expire before you even know that a life altering injury has occurred. Call Dan Monahan at 610-363-3888 if you have any questions about this type of injury. | <urn:uuid:7efcad15-2051-4be6-9b6e-71e50ac11e71> | https://monahanlawpractice.com/movie-concussion-highlights-concern-of-brain-damage/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=movie-concussion-highlights-concern-of-brain-damage | en | 0.922914 | 0.026937 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
The “Big Program” is a physical therapy program with 20 years of research that was designed to focus on patients diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Parkinson’s disease is the most common form of neurological motor system disorder. This program has been created and designed to improve the body’s ability to function while slowing the process of motor deterioration by retraining sensory, motor, and cognitive functions through skilled exercises. The number of people diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease continues to grow in numbers over the years. Symptoms include diminishing strength and range of motion that leads to balance issues and physical impairments.
The “Big Program” involves exercise sessions over a period of 4 weeks with a physical therapist who is certified in the “Big Program”. The program consists of very large movements to include trunk rotation, swinging arms back and forth and across the body, bending and stretching down to the floor and high stepping. These exercises are designed to improve and increase the small every day slower movements that people with Parkinson’s become accustomed to over time. Studies show the exercises performed can improve walking, gait, balance and everyday daily activities. The “Big Program” can slow down and even reverse some symptoms by retraining the body’s movement. | <urn:uuid:f0867f18-28dd-4283-a0c0-7a943619c681> | https://physicaltherapynewsmyrnabeach.com/big-program-parkinsons-disease/ | en | 0.95852 | 0.035757 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Does Marrying Bill Clinton Qualify Someone To Be President?
If a CEO of a fortune 500 company were to retire, would anyone seriously consider his wife to be an adequate replacement simply because she was married to him when he ran the company? What about a Super Bowl winning football team? What do you think the reaction of their fans would be if their coach’s wife was being seriously discussed as his replacement?
It sounds ridiculous, doesn’t it? Yet, Hillary Clinton has practically been anointed by the press and the punditocracy as our next President, despite the fact that her run at the presidency is almost entirely based on being Bill Clinton’s wife.
By that, I mean that if Bill Clinton had meant the sweet nothings that he whispered in Monica Lewinsky’s ear and he had divorced Hillary and married Monica, today Monica would be planning her Senate reelection campaign while Hillary would probably be working as a lobbyist for the Chinese toy manufacturers association.
But isn’t Hillary Clinton is a brilliant politician in her own right? Oh, please. She has been involved in more scandals than the whole rest of the Democratic and Republican fields combined, she’s a participant in an off-putting sham marriage, she has minimal charisma, she is one of the most polarizing figures in politics, she has a reputation as a shameless liar, and so far, in her entire tenure in the Senate, she has never once accomplished anything of great significance or displayed notable leadership on any issue. Additionally, this is a woman who has gotten away with taking bribes, which is what her famous “cattle futures” scandal was really all about and had she been Hillary Jones, ordinary person, as opposed to Hillary Clinton, First Lady, she would have ended up in a jail cell over White Water.
Trending: The 15 Best Conservative News Sites On The Internet
However, if you listen to the talking heads on TV, she’s talked about as if she’s a political genius. Does it make you a political genius to poll test every publicly stated position you have and then script out a response that allows you to change your position and go the other way if public opinion changes or, more importantly, if you think you can get away with it? Maybe it does — if you can come across as being genuine while you do it. But, Hillary comes across as exactly what she is: An amoral shrew who’s willing to lie about anything and everything, destroy the lives of people who get in her way, and help cover up and enable the frequent affairs of her husband, all because she has an all-consuming urge to achieve power for power’s sake — and that’s just what liberal Democrats like John Edwards and Maureen Dowd think of her. Republicans generally aren’t as kind in their assessments of her personality and character.
So, how in the world has she managed to become the favorite in the race for the presidency? Simple: because of her husband, she has been the beneficiary of a double standard that is outrageous, even by the standards of the mainstream media.
Many of the liberal movers and shakers in the press are Baby Boomers who look at Bill Clinton as being “one of them” while many of the women in the MSM have the same attitude as Time magazine’s Nina Burleigh, who once famously said, “I would be happy to give him [Bill Clinton] a blow job just to thank him for keeping abortion legal.” (PS: Would anyone be surprised to find out that Bill Clinton took her up on that offer?)
Out of love for Bill, Hillary has received the sort of fawning press coverage that you’d expect a Soviet premier to get from Pravda before the Berlin Wall fell. That’s why Hillary can get away with staging questions at her political events and also why her campaign was so grievously offended when Tim Russert actually tried to get her to come down on one side or the other on a question about giving illegal aliens driver’s licenses: Hillary Clinton is so used to being treated with kid gloves by the mainstream press, that she was shocked when she was asked to play by the same rules as the other candidates.
Sometimes people like Clinton, who’ve been given every break and then some because of nepotism, try to step it up a notch to prove to people that they’re worthy of the high honors they’ve so effortlessly acquired. For example, whatever you may think of Ted Kennedy, nobody can say that he hasn’t been a great champion of liberal causes. George W. Bush is another example. He may have been born with a silver spoon in his mouth, but he ran a business, he flew fighter jets in the National Guard, and he was elected twice as Governor of Texas before he became President. On the other hand, Hillary has not only never run a business, every job she ever held the private sector was given to her because of who her husband was.
Yes, she did manage, again, because of who her husband was, to get elected as a Senator in New York, one of the most liberal states in the nation, but that’s a rather thin reed to use as justification for a run at the Presidency. Just as a point of comparison, Dan Quayle was relentlessly bashed as being too inexperienced and green to be Vice-President, despite the fact that he has served in the Senate just as long as Hillary Clinton and had spent two terms as a Congressman besides. Even more impressively, Quayle won office on his own merit, not because he happened to have married the right person.
What it all boils down to is that Hillary Clinton is Kevin Federline becoming famous because he was married to Britney Spears. She’s “Brownie” being appointed as head of FEMA, not because he was the best-qualified person for the job, but because he knew the right person. She’s every 22 year old “C” student with a business degree who has been allowed to leapfrog over dozens of more capable people and start as a top executive because his daddy happens to be a heavy hitter in the company.
Does that mean she can’t win the Presidency? Oh no, she could certainly pull it off. In fact, people like Hillary Clinton get ahead of their more qualified competitors so regularly that, “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know,” has become a cliche. But, Americans should be forewarned that who holds the presidency, particularly during the war on terror, is not a trivial matter and unlike the Senate, where you’re just one of 100 members, the President alone has to make decisions of great import. Since that’s the case, don’t Americans deserve better than a leader of the free world whose chief qualification for the job is being Mrs. Bill Clinton?
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The Mona online casino has been becoming more and more popular ever since it was established in late 2011. They are part of the Rome Partners Affiliate Program brand that also runs and operates other successful online casinos. The casino is fully licensed and regulated out of Costa Rica, which makes it a perfect location to better serve their customers. The Mona Casino is completely U.S. friendly, allowing the casino to expand their services to players outside of Europe and Canada, and especially out of France which is their main focus. They make use of the famous painting by Leonardo da Vinci, the Mona Lisa, using her legendary smile to attract more players. The online casino makes use of the software developed by Top Game. As any great casino would have, they carry all the big games like the slots, and card and table games.
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Home Glasses Buying Glasses
How to read your eye prescription
example spectacle prescription
You've just had an eye exam and your optician has given you a spectacles prescription.
He or she probably mentioned that you are short sighted, long sighted, or perhaps that you have astigmatism. (If that's not the case, and you still need an eye exam, please find an optician or optical shop near you.
But what do all those numbers on your spectacle prescription mean? And what about all those abbreviated terms, such as OD, OS, SPH and CYL?
This article will help you decipher all parts of your prescription and discuss it knowledgeably with an optician when you're buying eyeglasses.
What OD and OS mean
The first step to understanding your spectacle prescription is knowing what "OD" and OS" mean. They are abbreviations for oculus dexter and oculus sinister, which are Latin terms for right eye and left eye.
Though the use of these abbreviated Latin terms is traditional for prescriptions written for spectacles, contact lenses and eye medicines, most opticians modernise their prescriptions and use RE (right eye) and LE (left eye) instead of OD and OS.
Other details on your eye prescription
Your spectacle prescription contains other terms and abbreviations as well. These include:
Sphere (SPH). This indicates the amount of lens power, measured in dioptres (D), prescribed to correct shortsightedness or longsightedness. If the number appearing under this heading has a minus sign (–), you are shortsighted; if the number has a plus sign (+) or is not preceded by a plus sign or a minus sign, you are longsighted.
The term "sphere" means that the correction for shortsightedness or longsightedness is "spherical," or equal in all meridians of the eye.
The number in the cylinder column may be preceded with a minus sign (for the correction of shortsighted astigmatism) or a plus sign (for longsighted astigmatism). Cylinder power always follows sphere power in a spectacle prescription.
If a spectacle prescription includes cylinder power, it also must include an axis value, which follows the cyl power and is preceded by an "x" when written freehand.
Prism. This is the amount of prismatic power, measured in prism dioptres ("p.d." or a superscript triangle when written freehand), prescribed to compensate for eye alignment problems. Only a small percentage of spectacle prescriptions include prism.
When present, the amount of prism is indicated in either metric or fractional English units (0.5 or ½, for example), and the direction of the prism is indicated by noting the relative position of its "base" or thickest edge. Four abbreviations are used for prism direction: BU = base up; BD = base down; BI = base in (toward the wearer's nose); BO = base out (toward the wearer's ear).
Sphere power, cylinder power and add power always appear in dioptres. They are in decimal form and generally are written in quarter-dioptre (0.25 D) increments. Axis values are whole numbers from 1 to 180 and signify only a meridional location, not a power. When prism dioptres are indicated in decimal form, typically only one digit appears after the decimal point (e.g., 0.5).
Additional Information. Your optician also might write specific lens recommendations on your spectacle prescription — such as anti-reflective coating, photochromic lenses and/or progressive lenses — to give you the most comfortable vision correction possible.
An example of an eye prescription
Confused? Let's use an example to clear things up. (Pun intended.)
Here is a sample spectacle prescription:
RE -2.00 SPH +2.00 add 0.5 p.d. BD
LE -1.00 -0.50 x 180 +2.00 add 0.5 p.d. BU
In this case, the optician has prescribed -2.00 D sphere for the correction of myopia in the right eye (RE, or OD). There is no astigmatism correction for this eye, so no cylinder power or axis is noted. This optician has elected to add "SPH," to confirm the right eye is being prescribed only spherical power. (Some doctors will add "DS" for "dioptres sphere;" others will leave this area blank.)
The left eye (LE, or OS) is being prescribed -1.00 D sphere for myopia plus -0.50 D cylinder for the correction of astigmatism. The cyl power has its axis at the 180 meridian, meaning the horizontal (180-degree) meridian of the eye has no added power for astigmatism and the vertical (90-degree) meridian gets the added -0.50 D.
Both eyes are being prescribed an "add power" of +2.00 D for the correction of presbyopia, and this spectacle prescription includes a prismatic correction of 0.5 prism dioptre in each eye. In the right eye, the prism is base down (BD); in the left eye, it's base up (BU).
A glasses prescription is not a contact lens prescription
Spectacle and contact lens prescriptions aren't the same. A spectacle prescription is for the purchase of spectacles only. It does not contain certain information that is crucial to a contact lens prescription and that can be obtained only during a contact lens consultation and fitting.
Eyeglass lenses are positioned at a distance from the eyes, while contacts rest directly on the eyes. That distance affects the lens power required for eyes to focus properly.
In addition to the information in a spectacle prescription, a contact lens prescription must specify the base (central) curve of the back surface of the contact lens, the lens diameter, and the specific manufacturer and brand name of the lens.
Also, the power of a spectacle prescription frequently is modified when determining the best contact lens power. One reason is that spectacle lenses are worn some distance (usually about 12 millimeters) from the surface of the eye, whereas contact lenses rest directly on the eye's cornea.
An accurate contact lens prescription can be written only after a contact lens fitting has been performed and the prescribing optician has evaluated your eyes' response to the lenses and to contact lens wear in general.
Your eye prescription is yours to keep
The Optical Consumer Complaints Service (OCCS) clarifies that "an optician is obliged to provide you with the written prescription following the eye examination. You are then able to take the prescription to another practice.
"By law, the prescription must provide the basic results of the eye examination.
"There are however other measurements or results which are needed to dispense glasses but these will need to be taken by the 'dispensing practice' (practice where you buy the glasses). This can sometimes cause difficulties when purchasing online but the law does not require the examining optometrist to include these details as they may vary depending on the type of frames and lenses selected."
The rule is intended to protect the "portability" of your spectacle prescription, allowing you to use it to buy glasses from the optician of your choice.
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IT Project Kick-off
You’ve got the idea. You’ve got the business commit. Now, use this kick-off technique to set your IT project up for success.
Align your team on milestones, scope, and purpose.
Set your IT project up for success.
Read more
But here's the thing: kicking off a project "right" is going to look different for every project. So the IT project kick-off is a flexible, scalable play. You'll find a minimal set of activities to include, and a bunch of others you can mix n' match depending on what your team needs.
User Team
Whole team
Pencil icon
Prep Time
15 min
Measure Clock
60 - 90 min
Difficulty Medium
Running the play
Don’t try to do all of the activities below in one meeting (or it might be the last meeting invite everyone accepts from you). Use the guide below and your own judgment to pick 3-4 of the following “express” versions of our favorite plays for IT teams.
Sticky notes
Rubber chicken
Craft your agenda (15 min)
Look through the kick-off activities below and choose the ones that fit your project best. Need help? Here are a few suggestions based on the type of project.
Compliance – Projects that involve implementing changes to conform to rules, laws, policies, and/or standards of governance imposed by regulatory bodies or government agencies.
Core kick-off activities:
• Dependency mapping
• Prioritize, as a team
• Stakeholder communications plan
Business transformation – Projects that seek to modernize your business model. They may involve your network architecture, hardware, software, IT service management practices, and/or how information is stored.
Core kick-off activities:
• Elevator pitch
• Prioritize, as a team
• Dependency mapping
• DACI
Incubation – Projects that involve the early stages of experimentation, with the goal of creating new business capabilities.
Core kick-off activities:
• Rules of engagement
• Elevator pitch
• Milestone mapping
What if none of these project categories apply to you? Just pick a place to start. (Honestly, you’re already ahead of the game by having scheduled a project kick-off. Most teams don’t do these activities until after the pain is so bad they can’t ignore it!)
Status check
Pro Tip
Kicking off your project happens as you move from scoping into execution mode. Make sure you’ve completed an IT Project Poster prior to your kick-off so everyone enters the room with the same context.
Step 1
Set the stage (5 min)
Welcome the group and thank everyone for taking the time to be there. Walk through the agenda you've chosen, but don't spend time going into a ton of detail about each activity.
If this is the first time this group has gathered together go around the room and ask everyone to share their name, role in the project, and a fun fact about themselves. (Ideas: Coffee, tea, or soda? Can you remember a bumper sticker that made you smile? What is your superhero name? What will be the title of your autobiography? Where would you vacation if money were no object? What animal would you choose to be, and why?)
Ask everyone to keep their intro under 30 seconds – you have a lot to cover in this meeting!
Step 2
Dive into your kick-off activities (40 - 60 min)
Ask everyone to write down all the activities that take up their typical week (work on various projects, bug fixing, incident response, administrative tasks, recurring meetings, coffee runs, unplanned hallway chats, 1:1s, etc.). Estimate the hours spent on each category.
Summarize the team’s capacity in a table. Group all individuals in the same role, record their role, name and weekly hours spent on this project. Total the hours available by role.
As a group, brainstorm all the tasks you need to complete in order to deliver on your project's goals. Write each task on its own index card. On the back of each index card, note whether and how the task relates to other ones. Dependency relationships are especially important to call out – e.g., "depends on", "is depended on by".
Ready..set…prioritize! Sort and rank all the tasks by arranging their cards on the table or wall. If you have more than 15 tasks, consider grouping them into categories of work and prioritizing within each category.
Define your considerations when determining whether a task should be above or below the “OK to drop” line. Once you’ve agreed on the criteria, draw the line for your stack ranked tasks.
Pay attention to the dependencies. Don't rank a task low-priority if there are ten other tasks that depend on it!
Ask the group to brainstorm the rules and norms you want the whole team to abide by. Record each one on its own post-it.
Share your ideas by one-by-one, sticking your post-its to a space on a wall. Group common ideas together.
Call out where there is broad agreement and debate areas of contention to come to an agreement. Once you’ve aligned, discuss how you will bring these rules to life moving forward and record actions to take.
Define what roles there are in the team and group/seat people together who do the same role.
Have each group write down their top 3-5 responsibilities and the top 1-2 responsibilities of every other role.
Post each self-reported and team-reported responsibility in a table with the each role as the row headers and “what I think I do” and “what others think I do” as the column headers. Discuss the gaps between self- and team-reported responsibilities and make note of all responsibilities that have no owner.
Brainstorm systems, teams, and other projects affected by your project. For each, assign an owner who will be responsible for filling out the type of dependency and description.
Rattle off all that could potentially go wrong on the project. After you’ve gotten that all off your chests, remove all the low impact, unlikely risks. For the rest, rank the potential impact level as high, medium, or low and assign an owner for each. The owner will be responsible for drafting a mitigation plan and identifying an owner for that mitigation plan.
Now is the time to figure out how you’ll keep ahead of all these dependencies and risks throughout the life of the project. As a group, list all the stakeholders relevant to the previously brainstormed risks and dependencies. For each stakeholder define the cadence with which you will communicate (weekly, monthly, quarterly, ad hoc).
On a whiteboard or poster paper, draw a horizontal line. Mark the left end as “today” and leave the right end unmarked. As a group, populate known milestones that have already been agreed upon for this project.
Remember that milestones are points in which you are delivering customer value. We recommend organizing your work around shipping iteratively and getting feedback often.
Ask everyone to complete the following statement for the project at hand. Try to create 2-3 versions per person. We find the more we do, the better they get!
Ask everyone to share their best pitch with the group. Discuss and get to a “good enough” collective version while making sure to limit your discussion to ~5 min. You can always refine it asynchronously later!
Ask everyone to call out who should be the default Driver (D), Approver (A), Contributors (C), and Informed (I) for decisions about the project.
D = Driver. The person responsible for corralling stakeholders, collating all the necessary information, and getting a decision made by the agreed date. This may or may not be the project's full-time owner, depending on the decision.
A = Approver. The one person who makes the decision.
I = Informed. They are informed of the final decision.
Record the agreed upon roles on a page and circulate to all relevant stakeholders.
Brainstorm all the “stakeholders” within and outside of your team. For each stakeholder group (i.e., your target audience) define their relationship to the project. Are they a decision maker? Sparring partner? Expert contributor? Remover of roadblocks? Make sure to include the team itself!
Determine the most effective way to communicate with each audience. Think about what content you'll be sharing, as well as the tool you'll use to share it. For example, with your direct team, you might choose to communicate through a chat room dedicated to sharing minor updates and asking for input from each other.
Create a table with the following rows:
• Daily
• Weekly
• Fortnightly
• Monthly
• Quarterly
• Yearly
• Ad hoc
For each frequency, write down the audience you'll communicate with, the channels you'll use, what you'll communicate, and links to further details or artifacts.
If you run out of time after the first two steps, this step can be assigned to an owner to do after the meeting.
Content search
For example...
Here's what a typical team capacity table might look like.
Step 3
Wrap-up and next steps (10 min)
That probably felt like a lot to cover in 60-90 minutes. Look back at the activities you completed and summarize all the open actions.
Take five minutes before you leave to ask everyone how they feel about the team’s ability to achieve your project’s goals. Ask everyone to simultaneously vote with their thumbs: thumbs up = confident, yellow = have some questions, red = have some concerns.
Once the votes are revealed, have a short discussion about the ratings. Agree on actions or a check-in process to monitor the reasons given for red and yellow votes.
Nailed it?
This is truly a choose your own adventure play, so you can do any combination of the nine plays and be ten steps ahead of most projects just by having had these discussions early in your project!
Most of the plays featured within this play are also standalone plays that can be setup as a separate session. If you feel your team needs extra time, do only 1-2 plays as part of your project kick-off and reference the full play instructions for the extended agenda instructions.
We recommend monthly Health Monitors to check in on the health of your team and project.
Related Plays
Elevator Pitch
Feature Kick-off
IT Project Poster
Roles and Responsibilities
Want even more Playbook?
Thanks! Now get back to work.
Got feedback?
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5 Healthy & Sustainable Eating Habits | Erin Stern
May 20, 2019
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Erin Stern dishes her top eating habits to make healthy eating a lifestyle, not a chore.
When it comes to nutrition and fitness, I’m always hesitant to recommend an “always” or “never” answer. My response is typically, “it depends”. With that being said, there are a few tips that I have clung to over the years and continue to use.
These 5 habits have helped me stay leaner over time, and helped me avoid feeling deprived of food. Let’s dive on in!
Here are 5 of my top eating habits to try:
Volumetrics is a theory popularized by Dr. Barbara Roll. She states that the body is accustomed to consuming a certain volume of food over the day. We can either make up that volume in calorically dense unhealthy foods, or choose nutritionally dense healthy foods. For example, a cheeseburger is typically around 500 calories. For the same amount of calories, you could eat a chicken breast, a cup of rice, a salad, an apple, and a small yogurt. If you choose the cheeseburger, you’re more likely to overeat throughout the day, as it doesn’t take up much volume in your stomach. Next time you have the choice, opt for the nutritionally dense food.
Nutrient Timing
This term is mentioned a lot, but what does it really mean? Nutrient timing is simply planning your meals to fuel your body. This means you should eat the most when you’re active, and less when you’re sedentary. Your pre- and post-workout nutrition is the most important. Be sure to get adequate carbs and protein both before and after training. If you’re keto, make sure you’re getting enough fats. By planning out your nutrition around your training, you ensure that your body is in a state of protein synthesis, which means you can build lean muscle to help sculpt your body. Even if you’re leaning down, it’s important to fuel your body for training so you can train with intensity and burn more calories. Don’t forget to supplement with BetaTOR before training. BetaTOR is especially important for helping to maintain muscle while leaning down.
Protein is the building block of every cell. It improves feelings of satiety and can help prevent muscle breakdown. You should eat protein with every meal and snack. This can also keep your blood sugar levels from skyrocketing and crashing. This can happen if you eat just an apple or just yogurt,and it’s why you’re often hungry shortly after eating. Add a scoop of protein powder, an egg, some cheese, or even a handful of nuts to help keep your blood sugar level and help keep you from feeling hungry.
Intermittent Fasting
When I say intermittent fasting, I’m not talking about skipping meals for days, but simply shortening your daily window of eating time. Many people eat from very early in the morning until late at night. This doesn’t give the body much of a chance to recover, reduce inflammation, or get restful sleep. Try reducing your window of eating to 10-12 hours. This just means you’ll eat from around 7am to 5-7pm, depending on the window you choose. By curtailing your meals at an early hour, you’re allowing your body to digest that last meal and put more energy into recovery and sleep preparation. You might find that you get leaner quicker and have a better night of sleep!
Macronutrient Combinations
If you’re new to meal planning, a macronutrient is simply one of the following: protein, carbs, and fats. By manipulating what foods you eat and when, you can stay leaner. As a general guideline, I like to compare either protein/carbs OR protein/fats. This can help prevent fat storage – as an overage in carbs and fats together easily leads to fat gain. Combine proteins/carbs when you’re most active, and combine protein/fats when you’re sedentary. Carbs and fats should be on a sliding scale, as one increases, the other decreases. Protein remains constant, though. It’s a quick tip that can be super helpful over time.
Thank you for reading! Until next time, eat well, y’all!
Erin Stern
, 2x Ms. Figure Olympia
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© 2020 MTI Biotech, Inc. All rights reserved. | <urn:uuid:a5cd43bd-5f46-4cea-abeb-b12eb4eb7c89> | https://www.betator.com/news-and-events/erin-stern/5-healthy--sustainable-eating-habits--erin-stern/ | en | 0.941408 | 0.068775 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Despite sitting joint top of the Premier League, there is a prevailing feeling around Anfield.
The start of this season has been very, well, un-Liverpool from Liverpool.
The Jurgen Klopp era has been defined by the Reds' pressing; they hunt in packs, they close the passing lanes, they seek to be most dangerous when the opposition are at their most vulnerable.
Yet despite a superb start to their quest to end their 28-year wait to become champions, that indomitable style has seemingly been missing at times.
Something has just seemed lacking from the Liverpool which struck fear into opponents last season.
New data unearthed from OPTA - cited by excellent stats and tactics writer Michael Caley - has CONFIRMED those suspicions.
But it's not necessarily a bad thing.
According to the statistics, Liverpool's pressing rate rests at 46%.
Watch who are this season's top tacklers
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'Pressing rate' can be defined simply as passages of play when the opposition fail to complete three passes in a row in open play; or, in even simpler terms, breaking up play before three passes can be made.
Caley adds: "Jurgen Klopp's teams since 2010-11 have averaged a pressing rate of about 52&, and only once have they been below 50%. This year, it's down to 46% through eight matches.
"Their underlying numbers are still very good, but the style of play is changing.
"In the Bundesliga they were consistently over 55%, first season with Klopp (at Liverpool) was similar. Last year down to 52% or so if I recall correctly."
As the graph shows, Liverpool have been pressing far less than Chelsea, who lead the way with 55%.
Manchester City (54%) and Tottenham (51%) make up the top three.
That suggests pressing is something adopted by the top teams - Liverpool last season included.
But it also hints that the Reds have faced three sides already who have played with high intensity, making their five points from that trio of games even more impressive.
What's more, the fixture list in general should offer some hint over the change. Of the eight teams Liverpool have played so far, only two sit in the bottom half of this particular table - and they provided their biggest victories against West Ham and Southampton.
With evidence of less pressing on show, it also potentially demonstrates an important aspect of challenge for the title over a 38-game campaign: fitness and fatigue.
Follow the latest Liverpool news and transfer rumours HERE
A quarter of the season has nearly passed and the Reds are only ninth in terms of 'pressing rate'. That could make an impact later in the campaign, with his players fresher for the gruelling winter months.
Klopp has tried to explain this change himself, pointing to teams changing their style to avoid his side's pressing.
"It's more the case than usually against us teams don't play," he said. "They over play our pressing with long balls which makes sense. In a lot of games our counter press has been really good which is much more important in terms of losing the ball and winning it back.
"In terms of high pressure, it depends on the style of play of the other team. You can't do it if they don't play.
"It's not that we don't want to do it any more. If they play then we should be there.
"You always have to adapt. Now we have to be focused much more on winning second balls.
"It's not been a proper plan to sit back a little bit, but we did it after being 1-0 or 2-0 up in games. We did sit back a bit to not give space away - that's true, it's a question of maturity and that's make absolute sense.
"With the number of games we have, it's not about chasing a game always like crazy, you have to be smart. We try to be that without killing our nature."
Given the opposition so far and the demand of fighting in two serious fronts, this shift in style has allowed the Reds to navigate a brutal opening few months with a few minor grazes and little more.
That could change as the season progresses, especially with a kinder run of fixtures aproaching.
But Liverpool are changing, enforced by others or not.
Whether it's for the better will be judged in May. So far, however, so good. | <urn:uuid:58ee8dbb-9f29-4bfa-b8c3-18b875e35d8d> | https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/pressing-concern-liverpool-jurgen-klopp-15300452 | en | 0.969996 | 0.085096 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Facility for Materials Engineering
Principal investigator: Mike REECE
Funding source(s): E.P.S.R.C.
Start: 01-04-2015 / End: 31-12-2020
Amount: £313,840
SEMS division:
MagMat is a unique capability in the UK for the synthesis and processing of materials in strong magnetic fields (SMF) known at MagMat. This project provides the initiative for a new era of materials science where magnetic field driven forces are coupled with materials synthesis and processing to produce novel materials. Magneto related phenomena have special relevance to the fields of functional materials and biosciences, where the engineering outcomes are often a result of multifunctional couplings. The use of high magnetic fields in combination with a wide range of processing techniques could lead to new phenomena, materials and manufacturing routes. Our Work is focused on four main research areas of interest where strong magnetic fields can be employed to engineer a wide range of materials - texturing, synthesis, processing and self-assembly. | <urn:uuid:ebda6803-6fb2-45be-91f1-8ee116d5124d> | https://www.sems.qmul.ac.uk/research/projects/1261/facility-for-materials-engineering | en | 0.90236 | 0.020003 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Friday, September 15, 2017
WAYNE MADSEN: Neo-Colonialism And Disaster Relief - An Unholy Duo
An unholy trio when linked with the bogus CNN fake news "relief" fundraising
By Wayne Madsen
The Caribbean colonies of four neo-colonialist powers, France, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and the United States, have discovered the hard way where they stand with their colonial masters when faced with an extreme natural disaster.
Collapsed buildings in Grand-Case, on the French
Caribbean island of Saint Martin
In the wake of hurricane Irma, a Category 5 mega-storm, the populations of the island territories of the four colonial powers, as well as Barbuda, a dominion of Queen Elizabeth’s “Commonwealth,” were relegated to second- and third-class status when it came to the receipt of urgent assistance in the wake of Irma. Long a domain of rich and famous part-time residents and offshore shell corporations, the permanent residents of the islands of the northeast Leeward Islands are merely looked upon as tourism employees and clerical staff for offshore banks and law offices catering to money launderers and tax evaders.
When these victims of Irma cried out for basics – water, food, and medicines, they were initially ignored by neo-colonial offices in Paris, London, Amsterdam, and Washington, DC.
What is being practiced by the neo-colonialist governments of France, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States is a form of disaster politics. The governing authorities appeared to largely ignore the initial recovery needs of Irma-affected islands as a way of punishing them for earlier calls for increased autonomy and, in a few cases, independence.
Residents of Barbuda, part of the nation of Antigua and Barbuda, where a Governor-General representing Queen Elizabeth is head of state; the French-ruled St. Martin and the island’s Dutch half of St. Maarten; British Virgin Islands (BVI); French-ruled St. Barts; the British colony of Anguilla, the British territory of Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI); and the US-ruled St. Thomas, St. Croix, and St. John ran low on food, water, fuel, and medicines after Irma struck the island with intense fury.
A woman walks down a street in Marigot, Saint Martin, on September 11 Image: AFP
The colonial powers overseeing these island territories are all governed by pro-corporate conservative governments that were initially sanguine about rushing in disaster relief assistance and supplies. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Theresa May, and US President Donald Trump waited for days after Irma struck before sending military planes and ships to the islands. Many island leaders feel the assistance was too little and too late. They are correct.
The colonialist powers were anxious to rush in public security forces to affected islands but the food, water, and other supplies came later. The security forces rushed in to protect the part-time homes of billionaires was a hat-tip by the governments in London, Amsterdam, Paris, and Washington to the billionaires who support them politically. The welfare of the full-time and poor residents, who were among the most adversely affected by Irma, was assigned a much-lower priority by the corporate vipers, vampires, and vultures controlling the French, British, Dutch, and American governments.
Residents of St. Martin/St. Maarten were forced to scavenge partially-destroyed food ships for anything in the way of sustenance and nutrition, including bottled water, crackers, candy, and rotting fruit. The corporate media called the scavengers “looters.” In situations where white tourists collected water and food under similar circumstances, they were called “scavengers.”
The Cuban government, which has prioritized disaster relief as a matter of national policy and is an international model for disaster recovery, quickly rushed in food, water, and other supplies to its hurricane-ravaged northern coast, including the city of Matanzas and isles such as Cayo Romano and Cayo Coco in the Camaguey archipelago.
Over 1000 residents of 62-square mile Barbuda, most of whom were evacuated to Antigua, are worried about unscrupulous billionaire developers moving on to their island to lay claim to their properties for tourist complexes. Land ownership has been prohibited on the island, a law that has led to some calls for Barbuda to break away from its larger neighbor, Antigua, and opt for independence.
Antigua Prime Minister Gaston Browne announced that to prevent attempts by foreign interests to seize properties on Barbuda, the government will provide a crown grant of one dollar for Barbudians to obtain legal ownership over their current land parcels. The resale of the properties can only occur with the agreement of the Barbuda Council, the local governing authority on the island. However, Browne has also negotiated a deal with the Wahhabist-dominated United Arab Emirates for it to install an 800-megawatt solar power facility and a modern medical clinic on Barbuda. Such deals with either Emiratis or Saudis usually come with significant strings attached, including opening non-Muslim countries like Barbuda to Wahhabist religious infiltration of education systems and religious institutions.
St. Martin -- both the French and Dutch parts -- the Dutch-ruled islands of Saba and St. Eustatius, Anguilla, TCI, BVI, the US Virgin Islands, and the Turks and Caicos have all demanded, to varying degrees, more autonomy from their colonial masters. Saba and St. Eustatius, without the consent of their residents, were turned into "public entities" of the Netherlands after the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles in 2011. Rather than receiving more autonomy, these colonial territories were relegated to the status of municipalities of the Netherlands. The same situation exists in French St. Martin. Dutch St. Maarten is an "autonomous country" governed by the Dutch King, another neo-colonialist contrivance. On September 5, 2017, just before Irma struck the Dutch Caribbean islands, leaders of St. Eustatius and Bonaire, the latter unaffected by the hurricane, complained to the Dutch parliament that attempts by the Dutch to totally annex their islands "violated their self-determination and human rights."
While British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, a Trump-like dolt of a political leader, was slow in responding to assistance requests from BVI, TCI, and Anguilla, most local leaders stood fast. BVI Premier Orlando Smith said, "We are a proud nation" and would bounce back from massive devastation of its islands and capital of Road Town on Tortola. London neo-colonialists do not see territories like BVI as "nations," but merely extra-territorial conveniences for offshore shell corporations and tax evaders.
TCI's Grand Turk, Salt Cay, South and Middle Caicos were also devastated by Irma. TCI Premier Sharlene Cartwright-Robinson, who, unlike some of her predecessors who demanded independence for TCI, is a compliant puppet of the British government and its appointed governor, was criticized for being too lackadaisical in the wake of Irma. In fact, she was forced to visit Grand Turk and the TCI capital of Cockburn Town on a Cayman Islands police helicopter. A local TCI pastor on Providenciales, clearly annoyed at the slow response of the British governor and TCI premier, told Caribbean News Now, "A British warship that will only come here for a photo shoot? We have lost a day already. Let us not waste any more time."
Officials of Anguilla, which has a rich history of unsuccessfully declaring independence from Britain, called the response of May and Johnson to the plight of Anguilla "disgraceful." Josephine Connor, a former government adviser to the Chief Minister of Anguilla, told SkyNews, "We in the territories feel like third-class citizens because I'd rather wager that if there were something coming like that, of the same magnitude, to the mainland U.K., I suspect that there would be far more attention being paid." It was estimated the HMS Ocean, on deployment in the Mediterranean, would take up to 14 days to reach Anguilla. Anguilla Chief Minister Victor Banks expressed concern over the lack of financial aid from Britain for the island to rebuild from its massive devastation.
Similarly, officials in virtually bankrupted Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands lashed out at initial inattention to Irma's destruction on their islands from the Trump administration. Residents of St. John, St. Thomas, St. Croix, Culebra, and Vieques, stunned by the ferocity of Irma, were then faced with rampant thirst and hunger due to the lack of fresh water and food. Many islanders felt abandoned by the United States. The Marriott Corporation, which chartered a ship to evacuate its hotel guests from St. Thomas after the hurricane, refused to evacuate to Puerto Rico non-guest children and elderly residents even though plenty of empty space was available on the vessel.
The neo-colonial powers will be sure to exact a terrible price from their Caribbean colonies for the meager amount of assistance they are receiving. The first victim will be any notion of autonomy or self-determination previously enjoyed by the islanders. The first rebuilding will of be the luxurious hotel and yacht club compounds of the filthy rich. The native islanders will be lucky to catch a few crumbs of assistance.
Wayne Madsen
Wayne Madsen
Has The NYT Gone Collectively Mad?
By Robert Parry
The Times’ Version
Congressional perjurer, NTY/CNN fake news darling James Clapper
Agreeing With Putin
Unreliable Source
The real truth on 9/11 slowly continues to bleed out
Many researchers are focusing especially on the little-known collapse of
The Empire and the inevitable fall of the Obama criminal regime
photo capitalism_zpsah78uy5p.jpg
By Robert S. Finnegan
photo TAMIFLU_small_zpssojx6okt.jpg
photo WHO02_zpsplmhtlpr.jpg
By Robert S. Finnegan
| <urn:uuid:5f605012-fe65-452a-b555-18c80526c587> | https://www.the5thestate.asia/2017_09_15_archive.html | en | 0.941575 | 0.033358 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Make a listing of most of the individuals you think you have financial obligation using. Exclusively meditate using one on a daily basis. Possibly truly single weekly. Some period it will take sometime to truly take a reply and be capable of apologize with their soul additionally enable that part get.After his initial assistance with it first village, Rolands journey includes developed and brought him in to hundreds latest circumstances just as he's got helped many everyday lives. Either scholarships to greatly help offspring have important training, to locating medical practioners for the extreme to required health issues, he's got moved any barrier until he could bring consumers the assistance they involved. Their courage to dedication offers led to incredible results including obtaining the financing to produce one lifelike artificial cup eye concerning a young babe which missing this girl sight in an urgent home crash. Traveling sometimes for hours simply by bus, he's escorted patients as well as their own families to the bigger towns and cities in order that health then dental procedures could be performed. He's acquired wheelchairs, had prosthesis manufactured, brought dinners, garments and presents towards the hundreds villages. He equal aided co-author additionally totally and wonderfully illustrate the bi-lingual text guide to aid show the Mayan kids the same Spanish language.
Down thru history angels are talked about and every religious group covers angels in one single form or another. As well as in the united states eighty of people have confidence in angels. However how do people speak with the guardian angels? 00:04 triple hour
This compilation of shorts is significantly diffent from other books about them. Every storyline differs to happens in different landscapes. Starting the best Deer known as Titan then Windy Ridge, emerge the united states, towards most urban tales particularly Waterloo, every story shows to fulfill ones angels inside most unlikely concerning puts. You Can Also fulfill their guardian angel at ocean as in Pride concerning Ownership.Its additionally well worth mentioning exactly what your archangels aren't they're not, for example, guardian angels. Actually the idea of independently assigned guardian angels was additional inside sounding folklore then whatever presents ever become recognized at sacred writings. Ones legions to angels that exist, view plus read, but seldom intervene in affairs of people unless commanded to do this, unless offered authorization to do this. Archangels, whenever we think of consumers love generals, have always been directing additionally commanding bring down echelons concerning angels, and get directly involved one as part of extraordinary circumstances including showing up towards Mary concerning Nazareth on the cusp concerning a global changing show.Ensure you've got the pen and/or paper and you so you can prepare whatever concerns your. It is necessary at this point in order to trust on your higher-self to discover on your angel's identify. With all the pen then papers this acts such as automatic creating, thus, offering their title of your guardian angel. It is important that you don't force you to ultimately feeling a thing.It should be remembered your guardian angels a unique from character guides - character guides is so what medium use to advice them towards keep in touch with that spirit worldwide throughout the best sance. All character guides were commonly peoples prior to his or her death, as opposed to guardian angels which are frequently believed to be celestial beings.
Take deep breaths inside from the nose and/or out of the mouth. Make certain you inhale from diaphragm rather than all chest since it is the right way inside breathe. Vocalists and also stars who know about breathing get a grip on inhale starting their diaphragm.Uriel could be the low-key archangel. Never a whole lot is known beyond his identify. It is said Uriel is the angel concerning comfort and ease, person who comforts at times during the ideal decrease. His name means, Fire of Jesus, and he is not actually said by title within the sacred scriptures out of some of the religions associated with book. Their addition because excellent archangel try off tradition as well as stories beyond faith based canons out of scripture. He's pointed out in guide to Enoch, your apocryphal guide. or perhaps considered significant, however part of scripture while the angle who warned Noah associated with impending end of the world by just flood. In Reality some sort of Reserve to Enoch maintains a great deal to express about angels.
It must certanly be remembered your guardian angels an unusual at character guides - character guides tend to be just what medium use to assist consumers inside communicate with will nature world all through one sance. Their character guides had been in most cases peoples prior to their death, unlike guardian angels which are always thought to be celestial beings. | <urn:uuid:73e6ad5e-9bda-4307-bde0-b7ce4b75745f> | http://ssi.crid.asso.fr/wakka.php?wiki=0004triplehour | en | 0.965339 | 0.024119 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Graphing Slope
//Graphing Slope
Graphing Slope 2017-11-13T22:01:52+00:00
The following are real world applications of slope as a rate of change. Graphing the examples can help you visualize what is happening. In the first example, a narrow, steep staircase was built to conserve floor space. The second example helps determine how long one must exercise to burn off a sweet treat. The third is a calculation to determine if an orphaned calf is growing at an acceptable rate.
If the total rise of the stair case is 10 feet and the run is 7.5 feet, what is the slope of these steps?
stair case slope graph
Slope is not just for changes in elevation. It can be used to show how much other things are changing as well.
Run off a Coke
Slope can be used to determine how fast a feeder calf is growing.
Calf Growth Rate
Slopes of LInes
If the line rises as you follow it from left to right, it has a positive slope. If it falls as you follow it from left to right, it has a negative slope. A horizontal line has zero slope. A vertical line has an undefined slope.
You can calculate the slope of a line by finding the change in y over the change in x.
Calculate Slope
Related Article: Slope Y-Intercept
Investigate further: See the Work It Out Calculator to determine whether the MapMyRun app and our calculations agree with the Calorie Counter’s estimate of how long it takes to run off a Coca Cola. | <urn:uuid:86a648a2-b0ee-44bc-8336-b172f85f0a53> | http://systry.com/slope/graphing-slope/ | en | 0.904436 | 0.708379 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Monday, June 25, 2012
Then donna got out of the boat ...
Jesus made them get in the boat and go on ahead.... He knew what would come with the dawn.
Matthew 14:22-32 (NIV)
During a quiet time with Steve last week, we came across this passage in Matthew. Having heard the story many times since our childhood, we resisted the urge to blow through it. Every thing we read these days seems to be clearer or more meaningful than ever before. We need it.
We are also working to incorporate "Bible story-telling" into our teaching style as we prepare to serve in a country that is known predominantly to be oral learners by preference. So as i read a Bible story now, i ponder on it longer and more thoroughly than some might consider normal. I try and realistically imagine what the day actually looked like when the story unfolded. Even researching to find needed answers so my imaginings are a factual as possible.
With that in mind, as we read Matthew 14, i was transfixed on that moment when Peter said, "tell me to come to you on the water." Why would he do that??? No one had ever walked on water up until that moment when Jesus walked out to the disciples. When they saw Jesus walking on the water, "they were terrified". They thought they might be seeing a ghost... after all... people don't walk on water... right? But Jesus calls out to them --- immediately he recognized their fear and spoke to them. It's one of the 365 times in the Word we are told not to be afraid.
Then Peter, responds by asking if it is really the Lord, then "tell me to come to you on the water".
That's the moment that has me transfixed.
Why would Peter ask to get out of the boat and walk on the water too?
Why wouldn't he cheer for Christ and then release the deep breath he was surely holding in and sit down peacefully inside the boat?
Why would he not turn to his fellow disciples and rejoice with them at the miracle they were seeing?
Why wouldn't he just soak in the moment with awe-filled praise?
If the other disciples even mentioned a timid "me too", we don't find it in scripture. What did they do when Peter asked to walk on the water too? We don't actually know. We assume they stood in stunned silence, at least i do. Did they ask themselves (or even each other) "what is he thinking?...What was it about Peter that was different enough to say ---- let me walk on the water to you?
The lesson of faith is monumental in this passage. When focusing on Christ and trusting Him alone --- when looking beyond the buffeting winds and waves --- when listening only to the voice of the Savior --- Peter could hold on to enough faith to walk on water. However, when he let the situation around him outweigh the power of the Savior in front of him ----- he lost faith --- he began to sink.
My mind keeps going back to this question ----- if i had been in that boat, if i had been one of those disciples, where would i have been found that night?
Would i have been huddled in the corner of the boat?
Would i have been crying in fear?
Would i have been asking to walk to my Jesus even before Peter could get the words out?
Would i have thought Peter foolish and scoffed at him?
Or -- would i have been a cheerleader for Peter and encouraged him on --- with one foot in the water right behind him??
Would i have been encouraging Peter to keep his focus on Jesus?
Or -- would i have been a distraction to him casting my doubts doubly on his shoulders?
Does it matter?
Perhaps not --- but perhaps it does.
Because it speaks through a megaphone of my faith walk now.
i felt my Abba sitting with me as i read this passage through over and over and over again. And i faced the reality, that i would have surely been crying in fear at the waves buffeting the little boat (since the Son of God was obviously not in the boat with us)--- then astonished at the appearance of Jesus walking on the water --- then i believe i would have been cheering Peter on --- with thoughts like --- "you go first Peter, and if it works out for you - i'm right behind you buddy..."
You go first...
if it works out for you...
i'm right behind you...
No great measure of faith there donna. You're still wanting to "see with your eyes" first --- then you'll jump, you'll dive, you'll let loose your sails and grab hold of the wind ---- but after you see...
For the place where my feet have come to on this life path ---- that measure falls short, and brings me to my knees. I look around me at those who seem to not feel as though they are being woo-ed to step out of the boat. Even if their boat is scary at times --- at least they are getting to stay inside it, with thin wooden walls residing between them and the raging water on the other side. I envy them --- in a flesh covered sort of way.
But, the boat feels all wrong to me these days. I seem to have splinters all inside the wooden walls that in the past seemed smoother. and i hear His voice saying, "Take courage donna, it is I, don't be afraid."
Take courage, it is I, don't be afraid...
But God, i'll look so foolish stepping out of the boat?
But Lord, what if i find myself alone outside the walls of this boat?
But Father, there are big, scary fish under those waters, remember what happened to Jonah?
But Abba, i feel very alone, even in the middle of a crowd...
But Yahweh, what i've always known is inside the boat, not on top of the waves...
But El Roi, what if you grow tired of me, and weary of my weakness?
and then He whispers to my soul ---- donna, even when Peter became weak in his faith and began to sink, what happened?
"Well, he called out to you for help, and you reached out your hand and caught him."
That's right donna, i caught him and taught him. But notice, that while the others in the boat worshiped me on that day, Peter is the only one who actually felt my touch. I touched Him. He needed me to, and so i did.
I will never leave you or forsake you.
You may want to "leave" yourself donna --- you may even "forsake" yourself, growing tired of yourself and weary of weakness --- but i will not.
Remember what I say about your weakness?
I have called you, I have made you, I will be with you, You are mine. And what's more - I delight in you, and rejoice over you --- weak little daughter that you feel you are --- I delight in you. I'm God. I'm your Abba.
Come --- step out of the boat and feel my touch. You may falter. I will not.
My grace will cover all...
We are all in a boat of some sort ---- i hope you too will be encouraged to step out onto the waters --- where Jesus is walking nearby.
©2012 Donna Taylor/Reaching for the Robe
1 comment:
1. this is the sentence that resonates with me today: You may want to "leave" yourself donna --- you may even "forsake" yourself, growing tired of yourself and weary of weakness --- but i will not.
thank you for the reminder that His grace will cover all, and that He will not falter, but will give me His hand when i need it. and i need it. | <urn:uuid:db03fb1e-c379-4c0d-96e4-b28e256a880a> | http://www.reachingfortherobe.com/2012/06/then-donna-got-out-of-boat.html | en | 0.983659 | 0.027701 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
UK Vapefest 2011
Russell-OrdVapeFest 2011: A Personal Record of the Day
by Russell Ord
When we arrived, we were gobsmacked by the number of people already queuing outside the venue! Whilst waiting to get in, we chatted away to people who we’d never met before as if we’d known them for years!! It was only the start of what would turn into a fantastic social event.
We eventually got into the upstairs room at about 10.15 and Jessica and I baggled a table as a CAM-VIP ‘stall’, set out the promo stuff, and chilled with Tony and Sam for a few minutes. Then the floodgates opened and hundreds of people were milling around the vendors stalls, asking questions, buying stuff and trying stuff out.
The raffles were a logistical nightmare for Wayne and the organisers, but they pulled it off with very few hiccups. Some tables were extremely lucky and cleared up – others less so BUT everyone had smiles on their faces anyway because the atmosphere was buzzing!
People mingled, chatted and have a laugh over a few-ish beers, wines and spirits. The staff at the venue were brilliant even though the bar was starting to dry up. I met some wonderful people for the first time as well as some ‘old’ mates.
Extracts from the Campaign for Vaping in Pubs Blog
Lisa from Cloud9Vaping, Nick O’Teen from Decadent Vapours, Olly from ECigWizard, Cam from E-Cigz London, Hank from Hangsen, Tim from Intellicig, Toby from iVapour, Abe from Liberty Flights, Craig from Mirage Cigarettes, the Guys from ROK, Daz from Safercigs, Jason from Totally Wicked, Ian from Touchwood E-cigs, Benp from UK-Eliquid, Paula from Vapour World, and Garry Dibley (the Modfather). | <urn:uuid:49c32d6f-f085-4c8a-95b4-e78bb2051817> | http://www.ukvapefest.co.uk/uk-vapefest-2011/ | en | 0.96572 | 0.019999 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
NYK Hikawamaru
NYK Hikawamaru
NYK Hikawamaru was originally a passenger-cargo ship in the 12,000 ton class. It has been moored at the Yamashita Pier since its retirement. Touring by wheelchair is not possible.
Inside of Yamashita Park. Yamashita-cho, Naka-ku, Yokohama
Entrance Few steps
Inside Many steps in the Ship
Parking No Parking space for people with disabilities available
Access Almost flat
Inaccessibele for wheelchair because of many steps inside.
Available language
Brochure available: English, Chinese, Korean
Display explanation available in English
Information calling for major attention in English, Chinese, Korean
Inspection date
October, 2015
Nearest station Motomachi-Chukagai: Minatomirai Line
Elevator between platform and ticket gate Elevator available
Elevator between ticket gate and outside Elevator available
Recommended route
Motomachi-Chukagai exit 4(Chukagai side), go straight to the port, you reach the Park.
Neighborhood facilities
Yamashita Park
Yamashita Park
Yokohama Doll Museum
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He will woo you more telling you exactly what you intend to him and how much he misses you. You expect this will be. He doesn't wish to be lonely till he sees his next victim so he'll use you.
Kissing is a way for her to give you and for one to provide a ladyboy escorts backpage Moose Lake Manitoba approval. Ifyou're truly an attractive man you definitely won't be seeking the girl's approval. Most guys become destitute since they start wanting to kiss the girl more and more trying her approval more and more. You should never alter your character. Stick.
I'm not, and I am not as funny in writing, as I'm. The simple reality is that I'm very good at introducing myself online, and a large part of this isn't currently falling into one of the numerous pitfalls which can quickly ruin any chance you have had. Let me put it this way, in case my girlfriend understood how many successes the internet has afforded me she'd either kill or inhale herselfhopefully not on the carpeting.
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Alice turned her back and Amanda fumbled for her zipper with pulling the zipper down to reveal a blue bra strap, eventually undoing the clip that was holding and shaking hands and tanned skin.
Alpha men are focused on fighting urges since they understand that any type of imbalance causes them to focus over and lose control. If you are a servant to donut or a cigarette, you have no control over a part of your daily life and what drives you on a daily basis.
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I met with a man backpage escorts months ago, introduced by a mutual friend. Within our first few meetings, I offered the positive and negative of my life up. I wouldn't pretend I was fantastic. I had nothing. Icouldn't live through someone else trying to change me. There weren't any sparks, but rather agreeable firm. I only knew I liked my time.
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Decals and smileys efficiently Important basic rule: Never use more decals or smileys than the woman. There's a vast range of decals on Line. A number of them are funny or cute and they create trust. And trust is something.
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ELBOW NUZZLING I toss in this one because I wish to make the point that natural bodily expression is diverse, and your own personality together with your Moose Lake MB free hookers video at the moment will produce some expressions that are eclectic. Perhaps you lean in to nudge someone playfully with your elbow, or maybe you then turn your back once you hear that they moved to Ohio State. . .
As soon as you find love, you feel empowered to overcome any obstacle that comes on your way even if it is yourself. Twin Flames are inspired to evolve throughout separation to the most authentic versions of themselves, this is.
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Should you decide to meet someone offline, then inform a friend or relative whereyou're meeting with the individual; proceed a step further and provide your citizenship together with as you can. If possible, meet in a public place and choose a trusted friend together. In no circumstance if you agree to traveling abroad to meet with someone for the very first time.
Why do this to yourself? The other way you can fuck buddy from Moose Lake dates is balance the significance of the companion along with also the action. You have invested a great deal of effort to find the companion. Youresearchedand've screened the men.
What's her deal? She isn't sure about internet dating. Perhaps it's her first vackpage prostitutes, maybe it is the stigma or she's heard bad stories- - See above. Or a mixture. Whatever. She'll get distracted by other things in her own life meaning that the inbox on her profile is not the most significant thing. It is likely down her list of items below buying milk and eggs. So today we've got an overall idea about what she's about we can proceed onto our response.
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So next time you have a date that's amazing, and you also feel like there are fireworks shooting off anywhere, don't forget to be at the moment and to appreciate every drop of it. Do all that you can to keep it stored on your heart so that it turns into a memory which you may look back on and allow gratitude to possess its place. If you want my scout com online dating, there is nothing more sweet to have a moment.
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And it is the same in regards to men. She wishes to see what men and women consider you. Do women give you all of the attention you desire? Do guys like hanging with you? All of these are things that women look at and they're heavily affected by these things.
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I know that some girls out there are possibly searching for Mr Perfect. Someone that ticks each of their boxes and meets their expectations. Through time, we compile a mental list of things we need in a mate we do not want in a partner and things. We set our standards too large when we state that you require.
How To Get Started With Online Dating
In the out of touch department, however, another attitude needed on almost every date, and which can be vitally important to the setting of the rendezvous, if you care at all about making progress, is drawn out in this example.
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The term" naughty" gets the brain excited as well as the brain smiles and rings a bell for all his boys to be on the alert for a gloomy experience. Who are these boys? They are spermatozoa, the pelvic floor, the arteries, the blood, veins, and other fluids in the body. The naughtier without controlling it, the faster it pushes off the mode that is sympathetic along with the mode the brain enjoys the stimulation starts taking over.
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You will have the confidence to believe so no is not such a burden, that there'll be many dates. You will have a fantastic time anyway, backpage escorts near me Moose Lake MB if the guy is a dud if you follow the principles below how to choose your date activity.
The majority of people today select a mate by Moose Lake MB fuck buddy freeport. Their hunt for a mate begins with relationship as many people as they eliminate people who do not fulfill their preferences till they are left with the individual who 40, backpage escorts from one individual to the next. Dating can be fun, but is it the most effective way? When you go through the partner selection procedure this way are you choosing by japanese escorts backpage Moose Lake MB or by the Moose Lake Manitoba online dating russian brides of God? Yes, you want to marry someone who is physically attractive to youpersonally, can engage in great conversation and the like, but it is not all in the lips, hips and fingertips. We'll explore ways to grab your mate at the Spirit walking by faith rather than by sight.
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Hookers fruit mug queens was cared for by me, before meeting him. I didn't like it if he had had a lousy day at work and I tried to support him through every dark hour he had. In he needed, so I could comfort him, I desired him here. It felt like that was. On paper, he was ideal for me.
I embarked on the dating world with a confidence that I had never possessed because I had a alternative to backpage escorts Moose Lake weapon. It was astonishing! From what to wear to whether or not I had been the one responsible for creating a mess of 28, he advised me on everything and jumble was said by the most appropriate course of actions to take to mend. To my own amazement, he was always spot- on and that I benefitted for getting him ten- fold.
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What I could say is this: Online dating works and the stories of those who have discovered their happiness are proof that is enough. The beauty of online dating is that you are an active participant in the search to your potential partner, not just a passive spectator waiting for one to" accidentally" meet him /her for your friends to set you up with someone they know.
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It's important that you accept that to be authentic, although that may Moose Lake Manitoba replacement for backpage escorts an odd remark to compose in a book. With a partner, wife, husband, lover, boyfriend or girlfriend is life and a thing is much more exciting with someone to share it with. I only want you to love yourself first. You can't expect anybody else to if you do not then.
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Remember, there is a tempo that is slow not likely to accomplish anything. It is not and casual relationship a union. If you somehow find the woman to be a keeper, you might choose to take down the pace a notch.
Using Snapchat needs its very own unique username which doesn't backpage escorts billings Vandry your telephone number when you place it up. This is also helpful when you or the( hopefully) girlyou're interacting with has reservations about disclosing a telephone number early on from the interaction due toprevious'bad experiences' etc. .
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This place in the backpage escorts room is crucial. The caretaker helps uphold the image the narcissist is a person that is good and decent. Without an empathetic caretaker, people would more readily become Moose Lake MB sex dating sites reviews to the conniving in nefarious methods of the backpage escorts. It lets them fool everyone else into believing that they are exactly the same After the narcissist surrounds themselves with people who are compassionate and empathetic. This is a facade that could prevent others.
When she puts on a Moose Lake Manitoba online dating abroad that is ranty you have a bucket of water or pair of strong arms. I've needed to remove her from the emergency room, train intriverts and casual sex, the transport department and shop counters in the hospital. " You want me to fill out an additional kind? " The nurse was shouted at by her. " I'll provide you another form.
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I'd had Moose Lake where the backpage escorts go. I grabbed my coat, gave him a hug and hauled out of the house. I'm not proud of this but I actually didn't need him to see me cry. And that I just about held it together until I got to the car before the floodgates opened. I was hurt and angry and baffled.
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Tis the Season of Stress
Studies have shown that stress is a silent killer. Stress may increases your chances for a heart attack, stroke. Studies also have shown that regular massages can decrease stress and get your body back in balance and functioning at a more normal state.
The holidays can increase a persons stress level so incorporating massage into your health routine will benefit not only your body but your mind as well.
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Millions of Americans stay with various varieties of psychological illness and mental well being issues, reminiscent of social nervousness, obsessive compulsive dysfunction, drug habit, and persona problems. Mental well being can affect day by day life, relationships, and even physical well being. The earliest citing of Psychological disorders in India are from Vedic Period (2000 BC – AD 600). However if you go through a interval of poor psychological health you might find the ways you are continuously pondering, feeling or reacting turn into tough, and even unattainable, to deal with.
You might be more accustomed to phrases such as ‘poor emotional well being’, ‘overloaded’, ‘burnt out’ or ‘overwhelmed’ to describe mental health issues. If you have children, managing childcare while you train is usually a massive hurdle. We have interviewed a wide range of people with personal experience of psychological health situations, so that you could share in their tales.mental health
This definition of psychological well being highlights emotional well-being, the capability to stay a full and artistic life, and the flexibility to take care of life’s inevitable challenges. The idea was to use themes from PERFECT’s research to discover and critique varied theories of mental well being that contributors had come into contact with by way of their personal and professional lives.mental health
Generally folks use alcohol and other medication to “self-medicate” however in reality, alcohol and other medicine only aggravate problems. 31 When a mental sickness is thrown into the combination, it turns into significantly more durable for a child to amass the required abilities and habits that individuals use all through the day. On this programme, individuals with mental illness had been concerned within the area of agriculture for all actions.
Mental sickness refers to the entire diagnosable mental issues and is characterized by abnormalities in considering, emotions, or behaviors. “Prevention of bipolar dysfunction in at-risk children: theoretical assumptions and empirical foundations.” Developmental Psychopathology 20.3 (2008): 881-897. Dwelling with a mental dysfunction isn’t straightforward, so it’s always essential to have people round to make the days just a little easier.mental health | <urn:uuid:0d25b046-974e-4273-a72d-9466d920bacb> | https://icas-network.com/mental-well-being-affiliation-in-greensboro.html | en | 0.941939 | 0.177699 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
E-YOUTH Virtual Meeting #3
Covid-19 pandemic has interfered with the plans to have the E-YOUTH face-to-face meeting in May 2020 in Riga, Latvia. To ensure the progress of the project while factoring the Covid-19 circumstances and challenges in each participating country, E-YOUTH team met for a virtual research meeting on May 12, 2020. | <urn:uuid:9c11f944-8eef-46cd-9592-7f6463934af4> | https://jeanmonnet.nz/eyouth/e-youth-meetings/e-youth-virtual-meeting-3/ | en | 0.834465 | 0.065036 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
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Once you've been offered and accepted a job by email from the library Human Resource Department, you will then receive an email from Campus Shared Service to set up your onboarding appointment.
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2. Photo ID such as school ID or driver’s license
*A current passport counts as two forms of ID and would be the only ID necessary to bring. If you are a Permanent Resident, your Permanent Resident card is required and counts for the two forms of IDs. | <urn:uuid:0311f19d-47b5-4168-9c3b-c27bc1dfd8e0> | https://las.lib.berkeley.edu/lhrd/student/recruitment-and-hiring/hiring-process | en | 0.950053 | 0.515139 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
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Vesak day.
Vesak day or Buddha Purnima
Vesak Day or Buddha Purnima
18th May 2019
Vesak day is also known as Buddha Jayanti (Buddha’s birthday) in Nepal. His first name was Siddhartha Gautama. Siddhartha Gautama was born in 563 BCE in Lumbini, which is now part of Modern Nepal.
Birth and birthplace of Lord Buddha
Siddhartha was the son of King Suddhodhan and Queen Maya Devi, the ruler of Kapilavastu. Siddhartha was born in Lumbini, in a forest of Sal trees – Latin name, Shorea Robusta. Lumbini now lies in Rupendehi district, Province number 5 of modern Nepal. Lumbini was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1997.
Buddha was born on a full moon day, achieved enlightenment on the same day of the same month 35 years later, and gained Nirvana on the same full moon day of the same month at the ripe old age of eighty. This day is also known as Buddha Purnima (full moon). Buddha means the enlightened one. Buddha was also known as Shakyamuni.
Gautam Buddha
Buddha left his physical body and attained Pari Nirvana at the age of eighty. Nirvana is a state when one gets out of the circle of life and death.
The Life of Buddha
It is said that soon after his birth, Siddhartha took seven steps, and before each foot touched the ground, a lotus flower bloomed for each of the seven steps. He took the seven steps towards the north immediately after birth, looked around for supreme beings around in this universe. He raised a finger in the air to announce in the Pali language.
* “Ako hamasmi natho” I am the senior-most.
* ” Ako hamasmi loko” I am the first and foremost.
* “Ako hamasmi shresth” I am the supreme one.
* These words are phonetically spelled and roughly interpreted in layman’s terms so the majority of us can understand it.
Vesak day or Buddha purnima
Vesak day or Buddha purnima
Maya Devi gave birth to Buddha near a pond at Lumbini Garden while on her way to her parental home. He was given a bath in the garden pond at Lumbini. That very pond is now known as Siddhartha Kunda. Kunda means either a pond or a lake in Sanskrit. Maya Devi’s idol has been built at the very spot where Siddhartha was given birth.
Maya Devi passed away a week after giving birth to Siddhartha. A holy man prophesized that Siddhartha would either be the greatest Ruler or the most exceptional spiritual leader. His father, the king, obviously desired his son to be the greatest emperor ever. The king brought up young Siddhartha in opulence and sheltered him from the realities of life and hardships.
Siddhartha lived his life as a perfect prince. He loved all the luxuries of life as a young man. He was married to Yasodhara at the age of sixteen and had a son called Rahul. His princely lifestyle continued to the age of 29.
Quest for the remedy of suffering.
It was not too long before Siddharta’s life changed drastically. One day he and his good friend snuck out of the palatial quarters to wander around the city. It was not too long before he started observing various types of sufferings humanity faced. The sufferings began to be felt within him. Siddhartha saw diseases, old age, and death. He also came across a monk who had donated all his belongings on his quest for the welfare of humankind. Siddhartha was deeply moved by this outing and made him restless with questions on how to find the way out of this circle of life and death.
He wanted to find a way to end all these sufferings. One day he quietly sneaked out of the palace to search for the answers/way to alleviate the sufferings.
The Ascetic Life before Enlightenment
Siddhartha lived as an ascetic for the next six years. He studied and meditated using verses from various religious teachers as his guide.
He joined a group of five ascetics to practice his new way of life. His devotion to his quest was so dedicated that the five ascetics soon became Siddhartha’s followers. He redoubled his efforts when the answers he sought did not appear while enduring pain, refusing water and fasting to near starvation.
However, hard Siddhartha tried; he could not reach the level of achievement he sought. He got up from his meditation, took a bath in a nearby river. A young village girl saw the starving sage, offered him a bowl of rice pudding. He suddenly realized that physically punishing the body was not the way to achieve personal liberation. He found the answer to be the middle path.
He ate the rice pudding, drank water after bathing in the river. The five ascetics were furious with Siddhartha for ‘giving up’ the ascetic life and what they considered ‘following the ways of the flesh, and they immediately left him.
Siddhartha encouraged people to walk on the path of balance instead of on that symbolized extremism, the well renowned – Middle path.
Monks during Vesak day.
Monks during Vesak day.
The Buddha Surfaces
One night, Siddhartha sat under a Bodhi tree, vowed not to get up until the truths he pursued was found, and he meditated until the sun rose the next morning. He remained in the same spot for several days, observing his whole lives along with previous lives while purifying his mind in meditation.
During this period, he overcame the threats of Mara, an evil demon who had challenged his right to become a Buddha. Siddhartha touched the ground with his hand and asked the Earth to bear witness to his enlightenment when Mara tried to claim the enlightened state as his own, which Earth did and banished Mara.
Furthermore, a vision formed in his mind of all that took place in the universe, and Siddhartha found the answers to the questions he had been searching for over so many years. On that moment of pure enlightenment, Siddhartha Gautama became the Buddha – ‘he who is awake.’
Buddha’s Teachings.
Equipped with his new wisdom, the Buddha was hesitant to teach at the beginning, because what he knew could not get through to the others in words. Legend has it that it was the king of gods, Brahma was the one who convinced Buddha to teach. That is when he got up from under the Bodhi tree and set out to do that.
He came across the very five ascetics with whom he had practiced for so long but had shunned him on the eve of his enlightenment about one hundred miles away. He gave his first sermon to the five ascetics and others who had gathered; this is also known as Setting the wheel of Dhamma in motion, in which he explained the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path, which have become the pillars of Buddhism.
The five ascetics then became his first disciples and formed the base of the Sangha or a community of monks. Women were also admitted to the Sangha; all barriers of race, class, sex, and previous background were ignored. It only required the desire to reach enlightenment through the removal of suffering and spiritual emptiness considered.
Buddha traveled, teaching Dhamma (Universal law of Nature that applies to all beings) for the remainder of his 80 years. He told his followers to walk the path he has discovered, and the journey will be different for each, not to believe what he says but to walk the path and see for themselves. He told them that he was not a god but a man who had found the path – the middle way.
Buddha is one of the most influential figures in world history without a doubt. His teachings have touched everything from a variety of other religions to literature to philosophy from the region to the furthest reaches of the Western world. | <urn:uuid:1f7e88c0-e51a-4f86-a5e3-e01d22cb6ec2> | https://responsibleadventures.com/blog/vesak-day/ | en | 0.983616 | 0.056087 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
DP Daily Prompts: Set It To Rights
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Sometimes people have misunderstandings which is enough to ruin a friendship.I have experienced it a few times, before I could set it right, the damage was done.
It was impossible to convince the person this was not what I meant. If I could get my time back I would explain what I meant that very moment, to avoid losing a friend.
365 Writing Prompts: Ghostwriter
If you could have any author –living or dead— write your biography, who would you choose?
I’d choose Tagore to write the introduction, he is a Bengali like me,he’d be able to begin with an appropriate song, describing the places I visited foods I like, books I read and songs that are my favorite.
I’d love to have Wordsworth write a small paragraph, explaining my love of nature.
The last part I’d implore Iqbal to complete, he was a Muslim, since our religion is the same he’d be able to explain my dedication for daily prayer.
These are the three authors I would select to write my biography. If there are any confusions writing it, Tagore will make it interesting by filling in the blanks with one of his remarkable songs.
If Wordsworth volunteers to get the blanks filled. It would be terrific, his wealth of knowledge of nature will fit in nicely to cover the spaces.
While I think Iqbal would do even better by covering the gap with his philosophy of human mind! | <urn:uuid:b7f2ccb4-830c-486a-836f-86f3b41a0e27> | https://sabethville.wordpress.com/2015/03/11/ | en | 0.955656 | 0.1192 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Tag Archives: MMA
The Jab vs. The Straight Lead of JKD
By Al Alvir
After all, it is just a jab.
On Luck and Referee Discretion in MMA
by Al Alvir
I will continue to study the goings-on of mma, but I will not stop complaining about its flaws until change is made. Fedor Emelianenko’s defeat to Dan Henderson was fun to watch on the surface, but it contained the underlying contradictions and drawbacks of the sport. Although this bout did not have the feature of a buffoon jumping up and down in a dry pre-fight warm-up or doing some victory dance after landing a Hail-Mary overhand, the outcome can arguably be credited to luck. Emelianenko knocked Henderson down after rushing in, fell into being swept, got punched, went limp, got punched in the back of the head a couple of times, seemed to recover, then the fight was stopped.
The halting of bouts in mma is much too subjective – to the point of exacerbating chance. After Cheick Kongo recovered and knocked out Pat Barry, no one cried foul at Dan Miragliotta not stopping it earlier when it seemed Kongo was out. That is, perhaps, the finest example of professional refereeing. With the protocol of stopping contests understood, and safety being the primary goal, consistency is essential for the evolution of mma. Let the fighters go out on their shields, as the saying goes. With the amalgam of prohibited moves in mma, it is negligent for referees to be given liberty to pick and choose when rules may be ignored. There are times in a bout, boxing or mma, when an illegal strike is made at no fault of the person throwing the strike; sometimes incidental contact is made in a controlled assault. When the person throwing a strike has an urgency to finish a fight, however, he often loses control and punches the back of his opponent’s head, and referees tend to allow it in mma as though it is just incidental. Incidentally, mma fighters habitually lose control, and it’s one of the most glaring pieces of obliviousness in these sportsmen’s existences. I had never before opposed hitting to the back of the head in any form of fighting, because I believe that it’s a fighter’s fault for having the back of his head exposed. But in a sport such as mma in which there is an overabundance of small rules, as well as an overabundance of immature/amateur artists of stand-up fighting, “no rabbit punches” should be enforced in a timid ground and pound as well as in a near conclusion to any fight. It’s an unspoken convention of fighters to hit the back of the head if it’s available. One prominent mma figure (who I will not name) told a class of fighters to “punch the back of the head of an opponent when he’s hurt, the ref won’t say anything.” It’s bad luck – and some bad technique (even Fedor the Great ran in like a schoolboy at a fight during recess) – that landed Emelianenko on his hands and knees, but the fight should arguably have gone on. Not to say that he wouldn’t have been really hurt, but I’d bet he would have liked the opportunity with whatever outcome.
On wrestling in mma:
When fighters aren’t running in and trying to get lucky doing the “rush and punch,” they often seem to just lay down – pure wrestling. I can think of a dozen ways to fix the problem of having a Tyrone Woodley rest on Paul Daley, or a Tim Kennedy lay on Robbie Lawler. (Yes, it is a problem because it undermines the object of fighting: to inflict more damage on an opponent than he inflicts on you.) Besides applying a Hierarchy of Fight Action for scoring fights (see article on Shootafairone.com), a “no advancement time limit” on the ground must be put in effect. If a person cannot transition or advance on the ground in a given time, the fighters must be stood up. There can’t be an indefinite amount of time spent in limbo. Again, the current provisions allow too much subjectivity and too much referee discretion. Improved definitions are overdue, as they would limit the variety of interpretations of inaction on the ground.
Lack of Mastery What Boxing Fans Knock about Other Fighting Sports
by Al Alvir
MMA, as well as all forms of kickboxing, have found little acceptance from the boxing public, and the reason for the divide has been recently toiled over by experts, over and again. Besides the cultural divide that adds to the boxing-mma discord – poverty versus prosperity, individuality versus class structure, way of life versus self-defense – boxing people seem to just not respect how everyone else boxes.
That sounds fair enough. But mma fans argue that their sport is more exciting, produces more knockouts, and provides better match-ups.
“MMA? Better match-ups my [expletive],” historian Arthur O’Toole angrily explains with distinct sarcasm. “They get knocked-out because they don’t know the game they’re playing. They seem great rolling around, but just because Mayweather doesn’t fight Pacquiao, it doesn’t mean mma has better match-ups. Who wants to watch guys who don’t know what they’re doing trying to box?” It depends what school of thought you come from when you explore what makes up a better match-up. If you like a fast pace with the unambiguous game plan precursors in lieu of the intensive strategy of championship boxing, mma appears to make better match-ups, especially when those fights don’t go the distance.
Wilson Lee of SAFO Group says that “people want the immediate satisfaction of mma; short fights, hardly any pawn moves standing up, and mma is easy to understand on the feet.” The less nuanced mma is exactly what makes some people love it and others hate it. Lee added, “Besides the fanfare and clichéd effect of mma, and its feigned hardcore imaging, I guess it just doesn’t live up to boxing even in that skill-set [of punching].”
It’s not to dare and say that boxers are superior to other stand-up fighters or that a top Muay Thai kickboxing fighter would never beat a top boxer in a duel of skills; Muay Thai is a fantastically devastating art with many more tools at their disposal than boxers – 6 more limbs and a head butt. And an mma fighter simply beats a boxer on the ground. But the argument that O’Toole, for one, makes is that boxing at its best is so much more intricate than any other stand up fighting at its best. “When these [other martial arts guys] use all these moves, it’s practically always complete stupidity that gets one guy beat. He gets hit with some retarded haymaker that he showed for 4 rounds or some stupid jumping trick,” O’Toole explained. “They suck at what they do, how the hell am I gonna wanna watch them employ someone else’s art like boxing.” This notion that fundamentals is lacking in the muddled composition of mma, and even kickboxing, may be as much in your face obvious as it is pervasive to the fighters’ understanding of any detail about strategy and technique.
Not all fighters – even the best – are going to know how to do all moves in most sports. There are too many moves even in a single discipline of boxing, and there are too many styles of fighting. There can be a slick pocket fighter like Pernell Whitaker, a stick-and-mover like Muhammad Ali, a workman like JC Chavez, or a stalker like Mike Tyson. And within those styles are innumerable attributes and signatures and variations. But all boxers start with only the fundamentals, then they are expected to build their own style of their own constitution. The problem is that outside of boxing there is a class structure by which fads and imitation rule. You have practicing fighters learning in groups in settings that don’t address their individual demands. What works for one fighter is adopted by all, even when inappropriate in style. “Even in baseball camps, you have a bunch of kids reviewing and practicing the same moves as everyone else,” said Eric Morrissey, an amateur pitcher who recently started boxing training. “But no one gets the particular attention they need. That structure just never works.” Like baseball, this problem causes the identities of many mma fighters, besides a few elite ones, to become a confounded mess of borrowed go-to moves that lack the application of any technical process. Their game plans prove to be overly simple. O’Toole cites that “mma at its best is just as good as mediocre amateur boxing” and many objective pros on all sides may agree. I’d say that top stand-up in the mma, to be generous, is more at the level of semi-finalists in USA Boxing amateur tournaments. They seem like robots with all the poorest habits.
In regards to the more advanced facets of boxing skills, in mma there are so many options that the fighters seem to perceive that they don’t really need to set-up any brilliant traps. How often is there what is called “the game within the game” in mma that isn’t obvious even to a confounded viewer or commentator? At best, and it really is not so impressive, the strategy of mma is almost always “box the wrestler, wrestle the boxer.” Boxing people argue that mma fighters’ stand-up fundamentals are so poor the majority of the time that deciphering habits in mma is as simple as noticing that one guy holds his hand low: It’s as though mma trainers can deduce, “His rear hand is a little low so you can throw 5 overhands back to back, and hope for 20% accuracy and a knockout.” I joke, but to boxing people, they can see mma is that bad without exaggeration. The material fact is that good strategy at a high level of any sport is not cookie-cutter game plan just as it is not mystery work or mindless trial and error. “Styles make fights,” so there is great individual application for every top fight, moves and subtleties that are very hard to pick-up on and take months of training aside from instinct. For a boxing trainer, it takes a quarter of a lifetime to be able to notice the little things that mean so much. But the intrigue of a masterful competition can only be accomplished when all the details of pure fundamentals are met by both fighters. Then and only then can good strategy be extracted in stand-up fighting. It’s less about applying a new move than it is about setting-up the move.
The greatest boxing trainers – like Cus D’Amato, Eddie Futch, Chickie Ferrara to name legends – are masters of psychology, body language, the mechanics of pain, illusions, and historical perspective. And the fighter applies what his trainer communicates to him; the great fighter takes all he is showed and improvises. It becomes brutal jazz at its best. There is an old truism that “a great boxer is a great liar in the ring. He makes you think one thing and puts you to sleep with the other.” And good boxing consists of every variation of all those things mentioned. But it’s not guesswork. And it’s not just simple science.
Fundamentals are not only about form and the physics of technique. The surface of basic boxing is even more complex than average fight fans may think. Because boxing is so much about timing, it’s the “when” that matters more than anything. Situational knowledge that can be applied through “between round” instruction or on a whim’s command seem to be absent from most “world-class” mma stand-up. And proper fundamentals – even after a beginning fighter learns how to throw perfect punches and movement – means finding the right distance and following the basic conventions before the subtleties (i.e.. don’t start with a hook to the body from the outside, don’t reach over the jab when you throw a 2, throw touches until the time is right, throw straight punches when opponents have good hooks, scatter the jab, move then punch, punch then move, slip to the back foot is safer, and the list goes on – still, the margin between great amateurs and top professionals is enormous). Many of these basic kind of things, mma guys and kickboxing coaches don’t seem to communicate to their fighters. It’s as though they treat these simple practices as advanced boxing, if they treat it at all. I, personally, have never heard any of those mma coaches even touch upon any simple boxing conventions on the line of those listed. I never heard any valuable tips besides the most obvious throughout my years in martial arts gyms. The things everyone hears in even the lamest McDojo atmospheres are tips to “keep your other hand up when you’re punching” or to “turn your fist over on the hook” or to “keep your chin down, shoulder and eyes up” or “to stay on your toes.” Do seasoned practitioners ever get the more strategic basics outside the boxing gym?
The claims that stance and distance are different in mma and boxing is a convenient lie that helps bolster the image of other fighting arts. The fundamental boxing stance should be exactly the same for Muay Thai and mma. Distance, too, doesn’t change from fundamental boxing mechanics to other arts. One boxing trainer sarcastically said, “you should neither reach nor be too close… That’s the art of distance.” And boxers are not conventionally taught to stand linear to their opponents – that’s a myth. Boxers are not even taught to be in a crouch. The only thing that changes is that boxers have the luxury to stray from the fundamentals – e.g. turning sideways like a Floyd Mayweather Jr. with his shoulder roll, constantly attacking from a crouch like Mike Tyson. There is also an added necessity of having to be aware of other weapons in other arts which makes the need to be fundamentally sound arguably more important. Yet mma is littered with fighters who continue trying to discover how to punch. Fedor Emelianenko tells people to bend their wrists, flexing their fists slightly and to always make a fist – a laughable non-boxing fundamental (although some fighters turn their hands slightly to match the angles). Bas Rutten used to say that not turning the fist over was the proper way to punch. If the whole sport of mma ignored the mumbo-jumbo and focused on the nuance of action of fundamental boxing, maybe the mma fighters would be better in the boxing range.
Other combat sports athletes may compensate for their lack of decent leveled boxing skills by never being in the pocket, because they don’t have to be. They usually have to be stronger or more in shape to win in mma especially (in regards to stand-up), almost never smarter. All fighters seem to love to talk about it being a chess match and a science, but the only arts that can claim that legitimately are Jiu-Jitsu and boxing – everything else is strength and attrition based. Even world-class kickboxing is made up of kicking and brawling, and when the brawling gets too intense, they start kicking more. There are inside games in Muay Thai, but again, it’s more physique than intelligence. In boxing, Freddie Roach pointed out, “It’s not the mistakes that the other guy makes I care about, but I’m trying to pick apart all the habits… not whether he’s fast or slow.” This makes sense in the world of elite skills because mistakes there are more restricted and not as handily exposed as they are in low level fighting; they’re not so loud and obvious and countered so easily. You have to, then, attack habits, even good ones.
When mma fighters adopt a new move or a “cool technique,” it is often overused to the point that it becomes insultingly predictable. The fact that those moves still work proves that the quality should be insulting to a schooled audience not fooled by the hoopla of the UFC. From Dan Henderson’s KO of Michael Bisping to Jake Shield’s left Thai kicks against Jean St. Pierre, the nuance is virtually absent from stand-up fighting in mma. For all the few boxing talents like BJ Penn, GSP, Anderson Silva, and Junior Dos Santos, you have a bunch of empty handed hacks. And if anyone thinks that Frankie Edgar running from BJ Penn was top-notch boxing, I’d agree only if it were the novice quarter-finals of the New York Daily News Golden Gloves, not main event pay-per-view (even in the amateurs, experts like to rule those points wins as robberies of the nature of amateur boxing). The hand-skills of Muay Thai fighters to K1 kickboxers are also outrageously low-level from boxers’s perspectives. Shannon Briggs alluded to the mma and K1 fighters he trained with and fought against (in his brief stint at K1) as being like beginners with their hands. But the argument is that they are different sports. But they box because boxing is a major part of every combat sport. Perhaps, it is just not good enough.
In mma, the bout structure exacerbates the problem. Long-term damage to the body in mma (punches, knees, kicks) is almost a non-issue because the fights are so short (11 minutes less action than in championship boxing bouts (18 minutes less including breaks), 15 minutes less action in seasoned non-title boxing bouts (22 minutes including breaks)). If a body shot has any affect on a fight in mma, it usually is immediate. And studies have shown that a greater elapsed time in sports including breaks adds to the mental toll of rigorous physical exercise; in other words, getting it over quicker by having fewer breaks is easier because “sportsmen find ways to take rests on the playing field when they are given fewer rest periods.” In boxing, the longer bout duration, shorter round duration, and more rest periods have made for more strategic and competitive fights. Before timed rounds were incorporated into boxing over a century ago, fighters would create their own lulls in activity which made for boring, drawn out fights. “Hug fests,” they were called even then. Sound familiar? Even Royce Gracie vs. Ken Shamrock II was a half-hour survival fest – in retrospect, it was not at all that exciting. In ancient Greece, boxers developed cauliflower ears from avoiding the grueling punching battles, and incentives to make action were often matters of life and death after the fight. If the rounds were a little shorter in mma, maybe we wouldn’t see in-shape guys flailing and buying time or just lying on top of people.
Rest plays into strategy. 5 round UFC championship bouts often appear to have a clear winner whom the tides seldom change against by the conclusion of the fights. The winner is often consistent with who is winning in rounds 2 or 3, and it often only changes with a lucky punch or a desperate submission – seldom is it controlled strategy. If one guy expends himself, it is usually due to bad pacing or being out of shape. The championship round drama evident in boxing is ever missing in the current mma format. The less prevalent midsection punching slowing down the other fighters typically does not happen. Only leg kicks show that cumulative effect, but leg kicks are more easily defended than body-blows, as evidenced in today’s mma. Of course there are some extenuating reasons that make the games different, but arguing that boxing doesn’t translate into mma is reprehensible merely for the fact that mma fighters try to do everything I mention (and even bobbing and weaving, which I haven’t mentioned, is more common in mma today by the better fighters); the majority just do it so poorly. Perhaps nine 4 minute rounds would be a good compromise for championship mma. The 5 and 7 rounds suggested by Dana White may just add more of the same low quality fighting.
It can safely be said that in mma, their ignorance counts on viewers’ ignorance to propel their sport at every outing. On one mma site, closing the distance was discussed, but not a single bullet matched sound boxing (that’s where I read that an overhand is used to close distance – but that is called lunging in boxing). When Kenny Florian said in the postfight wrap-up of GSP vs. Jake Shields that the fight was a great example of strategy and top level stand-up, my company and I were floored (figuratively, of course). St. Pierre, who is a great fighter and who mentioned, by the way, that he didn’t know boxing before he met Freddie Roach, fought a terrible fight and practically had only one eye. The fight was a bore of anticipation, a tragedy of stagnancy. Thank Jake Shields, however, for that.
It should delight fight fans who want mma to excel “righteously” that people like George St. Pierre are trying to evolve the sport and take every facet of it to a level that is acceptable on every one of its playing fields. Frank Shamrock is one of the first mma practitioners to comment on mma’s lack of growth. “MMA has progressed very little in the last 10 years. The weakness in mma is punching and it has been like that since 1999,” Shamrock explained on Inside MMA. “Boxing is the hardest, most finite sport to learn. [It’s about] timing. Punching is the fastest, easiest way to mash somebody.” For now, whenever mma exhibits a high level of mastery in the stand-up, one guy is usually humiliatingly outclassed. Otherwise, it’s usually a tough man contest in which they trade blows without a semblance of science.
In time, perhaps we’ll witness great mma stand-up like we have consistently witnessed great boxing for many decades – literally great boxing. Until then, would anyone care to see Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao wrestle each other?
Well, besides their wives?
Trainer Talk: Disney World – Build It in Your Goals
by Al Alvir
More people quit when they don’t have a target goal and an estimated amount of work that needs to be put into reaching those goals. Most gyms, however, use intangible language: 6 months, 1 year, 2 years, etc. How fighters perceive time must make sense.
Are your fighters losing focus or quitting at times you don’t expect them to quit?
The problem is not necessarily them. Did you explain what is needed to reach every individual’s goals in your gym? Did you even bother to set individual goals? If not, so much for your individualized training mumbo jumbo.
6 months of training is a lot different for someone training bi-weekly than someone who trains 3x a week. Also, some people train for 2 hours a day, others only a measly 1 hour. Intensity of training is another factor that cannot be easily measured. In mma, splitting up a day for boxing, Muay Thai, and BJJ means more time or more focus needs to be put in. I’ve seen gyms where fighters stretch separately for each discipline and waste tremendous amounts of energy warming up even when they’ve built heavy sweats. That’s due to the BS class structure I always criticize.
In regards to time, if someone had allotted 75 hours of training in 3 years, it would only equal 25 hours a year. The best way, or the least evil way, for that to allow any retaining of knowledge would be for a person to train for 1 hour every two weeks. For a full-time professional fighter, 75 hours in 3 years can mean about three days of training a year. Retaining knowledge in such a way – or the former – is highly unlikely. Neither way works; it’s just not enough time training. Ubiquitous studies in academics show that this happens with people when there is a lack of goals and an indefinite time (see achievement goals and educational foundation). Fighters simply need target goals AND a given time to reach it. They need a periodic finale… followed by time off. Then a new goal and a new finale and more time off. Top professionals’ finales are fights. For early stage fighters, finales could be almost anything. It’s up to the trainers to help set that focus.
It is, therefore, necessary to account for hours, days, and frequency (average days between trainings) of supervisional trainings by keeping a detailed log. Boxing culture doesn’t make this easy, but I don’t mean to take attendance to reward or hold back anyone like a dumb McDojo, but only to account and analyze progression, regression, and how individuals learn. If a guy shows up 5 times a week for months, any trainer has to figure, “This guy will get burnt out, so I need to set goals and give him a date.”
Note: if there is a fighter who is excelling quickly but with fewer hours and frequency than others, you can assess talent or see what that particular fighter is doing differently. Training at home? Exceptional learning curve? Sneaking off to a better gym?
Fighters must take time off. Training in boxing and mma is more intense than any other pursuit and, like baseball and football, fighters need time away from the gym and ring, their field. It’s just as important as time in the gym. Even top pros who typically train 8 intense weeks train throughout the day with long breaks. It allows them to be more efficient.
When they win, they go to Disney World just like everyone else.
Top 10 Reasons (or Examples) People Don’t Know $h!# About Boxing
by Al Alvir
1. They think the essence of boxing is about going toe to toe. Boxing is about strategy and technique, not brawn. It’s “hit and not get hit,” not “hit back and get hit.”
2. They don’t recognize the one thing that made Mike Tyson so amazing was not just his offense, but his defense. And an all-time great chin made him more durable than people realize. (I mention him because he is a good focal point of information for this era of fighters and fans of all backgrounds.)
3. They think knees and elbows in mma or Thai-boxing necessarily nullify inside punches. Many fighters from those sports acknowledge that punching is the most effective tool on the inside.
4. They think mma’s greater number of moves make it more strategically compelling than boxing. It’s actually the opposite. Like Frank Shamrock said, “It’s the most difficult part of fighting… there’s so much going on in the small, finite space…”
5. They think a straight and a cross are the same thing.
6. They think being tough translates into being a good fighter.
7. They think a boxer’s rhythm can be “imitated.” In actuality, it is just repetition and individual comfort that make boxers move so naturally. Even mma guys who have many years practicing stand-up develop the boxer’s rhythm. Non-boxers often feign being loose, touch their heads unnaturally, paw their jabs for no reason, over exhale on feel-out jabs (jabs during the feeling-out process), bounce with no affect (yes, a verb), etc.
8. They don’t realize that power can never be ascertained from appearance (shadowboxing or hitting a heavybag), but results only.
9. They love to mention when they think someone has good footwork just because the fighter runs successfully. Yet they don’t know the half of what the moves are in footwork or if it’s being done truly well (step and slides, spinning, angles and positioning, shuffles, distance, etc.)
10. They can generalize about everything that even their specific suggestions are general. E.g. “John Doe should throw left hooks more.” But can he point out exactly how and exactly when that hook should be thrown? 9 out of 10 fans, no way in hell.
New Rules for MMA (a la “Real Time with Bill Maher”)
By Garrett Morris
1. Mike Goldberg must stop referring to fighters who have 7 fights as great when proceeding to praise them just because they didn’t lie down. Hell, even when they lie down he sucks up.
2. No more “cool” gimmicks. New tattoos for every next match, ring-walks that are as rehearsed as their victory laps. Everyone trying so hard to be cool. Simply, it’s not cool.
3. People must realize that the 8 sided ring was just a gimmick from Chuck Norris’s movie so aptly named….”The Octagon.” It’s just a fenced ring in which the fences affect the fighting, not really the shape of the ring. What a way to brand a product. What about a hexagon or jumping it to 10 sides? “10-Sided Fence” just doesn’t sound cool.
4. Gyms with names of famous fighters who are still fighting or are never around to coach must come with disclaimers. What’s so Miletich about a Miletich Fighting System in another state than where Miletich actually trains?
5. Successful fighters must stop selling their success as a sign of being qualified as a coach. The qualification for coaching is being able to communicate knowledge. It takes patience and a love for coaching itself. Being a successful coach is a sign of being a good coach. But be careful about what success means. If there’s a famous coach, people are going to flock to him even if he knows little. And champions will still arise from a quack coach. Show me how he coaches me and I’ll tell you if he’s any good. That’s the best gauge.
6. Fighters must be checked for body stench and bad breath before a fight and especially before training. It’s one thing in boxing, but when your face is in someone’s ass-crack who is a bit swampy that day is going to result in quick submission after quick submission.
7. Not everybody who says, “thank you, I respect him as a fighter” is “a class act.”
8. No more bowing except before and after fights, and no uniforms. Fighting is one of the most thoroughly self-serving pursuits and it works for a reason: it’s fundamental discipline, private and personal. Everyone’s journey is separate. Bowing and wearing uniforms is just a way to institutionalize people. Throughout history nonconformists have turned out to be the greatest fighters and the greatest fight minds. Fighting culture is based on social competitiveness and individual expression, not team spirit and synchronization.
9. Your equipment sucks if denim and shoes ruin it. Gone are the days of the grimy gyms that fueled the fires of young kids and seasoned fighters looking for inspiration. Today, gyms everywhere have pretend ruggedness embellished by chain-link perimeter fences and blasted hardcore music. Nothing says “This place is not hardcore” more than anything that says “THIS PLACE IS HARDCORE.” What’s with gyms filled with a line of crap heavybags and a lack of assortment for complete training? And no jeans? Wtf. They seem more concerned about dress code than fight training.
10. If you don’t know how to punch, don’t use weights or resistance in shadowboxing, and don’t sledgehammer tires. Learn form before brawn.
11. No more calling out numbers to a group of fighters to throw combinations. I’ve been to Muay Thai gyms where they have these idiot line classes in which a large group of newbies are throwing combinations they have no ability to pull off. And if a fighter knows his stuff already, why the hell does he need some ass-clown yelling what combinations to throw?
Q&A with the World Fight Club
by D.J. Morrissey
D.J. Morrissey: What is the WFC?
D.J. Morrissey: Why did you start the WFC?
DM: What are your aspirations for WFC in the future?
A Review of the Underground Backyard MMA Show: World Fight Club Live
by DJ Morrissey
On Saturday, August 14th WFC put on their 10th Anniversary show. The generically titled show, “The Main Event,” had most of us at Shootafairone.com skeptical to say the least. Shootafairone.com heard about this underground show and had to come see what the fuss was all about. Most of Shootafairone.com contributors believed, after viewing WFC’s youtube clips, that WFC was probably fake or, at least, embellishing real martial arts. The brand of entertainment, basically mma with the over-the-top flare of professional wrestling turned out to be much more worth-while than we had expected.
The show was held in a backyard – by invitation only at an otherwise undisclosed location – where there was a live dj, beverages, food, t-shirts for sale and a real show, scripted and entertaining. The highlight of the show, though not to undermine the actual bouts, was the host, Laffity. He did his job like a professional with an apropos tone and jokes that could put Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan out of work. The show’s twist is that the combatants engage in actual combat, but they each had character angles and personas like you would see in professional wrestling. The fighters all train in numerous disciplines and seem to put their hearts in it. It was like watching actors off-Broadway or in Washington Square Park, brave enough to do what you would never dare do: make a fool of yourself in front of a large crowd. But WFC guys were actually good.
On “the Main Event” card, there were only 3 fights –two submission matches and a kickboxing match. The first match pitted Rico against a stocky linebacker-looking The Black Mountain. Rico put a feisty effort in against his opponent, but his size eventually proved to be too much for him. Wix then defended his Submission Championship against a newcomer, filling in for an injured fighter, and who chose the name Cheesecake. The two fighters engaged each other and several submission maneuvers were attempted and blocked by each competitor in a display of their jui jitsu. Eventually, Wix locked in an arm bar which sounded the end of the night for his opponent. Just before that, however, Wix used Cheesecake’s socks to choke him out – indeed, a professional wrestling stunt, but entertaining none-the-less. The third match of the evening had Andromania (Andro) defending his Open Weight Championship against The G.O.A.T. The two fighters battled for 3 one-sided rounds. The more skilled Andro deserved to lose his belt according to most onlookers, as the G.O.A.T. was just too tall. On a level of skill, the G.O.A.T. didn’t look seasoned, but he has the show and the size to become a WFC occult star. The theatrics continued when Andro was “jumped” in a humorous finale of broken tables and painful stunts reminiscent of the NWO days. All in all it was a fun day. You wouldn’t think it was WWE or the UFC if you had a chance to watch it, but rather somewhere in the middle. Above all, it was what it was meant to be, entertaining and fun. And remember, they could be considered the originators if this kind of show ever gets popular, as they have been around for over 10 years. WFC gets a big nod from me and my friends at Shootafairone.com. If you want to look into this further, check these guys out at WFClive.com
Fear Training – The Essential Aspect of Training in Martial Arts
By Al Alvir
Some of these issues have been addressed in “The Problem with Bruce Lee’s JKD,” but it is discussed here in more depth as this has been an on-going discussion with several of our readers.
Martial Arts schools are typically “business above all things,” so every potential martial artist/fighter must look at everything honestly. First of all, all belt systems that I have ever come across are arbitrary. They’re just selling points to appease people who need to be patted on the back. Whether it’s t-shirts systems, or patch systems, dojos and schools have arbitrary ways of monitoring people’s improvement. They’re so arbitrary in their methods that the rewards are also so arbitrary, needing to be made tangible. Meaning, knowing you beat the next guy in some competitive face-off is usually not enough. Some academies, as they tend to be named, use levels and phases with no definitive measure for passing people to the next promotion. If they feel like it, you will be promoted.
I implore you to really think about why you got that last promotion. What relevance does the testing have to ability? Talent? Pity? Just showing up? Who says the criteria maker, the black belted business owner, has the best say just because he has the last say?
This coddling of the martial artist is the heart of the problem.
Schools view its members as being sissy-pants (the choice term), so what people need to improve is seldom practiced. That need is fear. While most schools’ only practice is trying to keep its members and getting new ones in, the best boxing gyms (the ones that produced the toughest everyday fighters), for example, used to do the opposite. They tried to keep out weekend wannabe’s and they discouraged people who couldn’t do it. That old-school gym is not as omnipresent nowadays, but the balance continues to be needed outside of boxing. Martial arts schools need to apply fear to its curriculum when it comes to all lower-rung students.
Fear is, perhaps, the most important aspect of fighting to control. So, simulation is hardly simulation without the aspect of fear – whether it’s fear of pain, injury, or humiliation. Humiliation can manifest in many ways in the mind – how will I react, how will I perform, how will I be perceived. “What will I do when everything in my body tells me to quit?” “What will I do when being a coward is the easiest decision?” “How will it look if I lose?” People are forced to face these fears only when they are in real battles, so the simulation that many gyms practice is more like pretend simulation. People may say they want to do martial arts, but they just want to delude themselves. People may say they want to be in a controlled environment that simulates the street corner without the probability of serious injury or robbery, but they really just want to pretend. Because being on the street corner in a situation is dangerous and the ONLY thing you can be sure of is that you will be afraid. Training, therefore, should teach you how to control that feeling above all things, skill-wise or otherwise.
In regards to self-defense situations, one question that the self-defense based mind-set would generally answer easily is: “What will I do when being a coward is the safest decision?” If it’s safe, they would probably go with that. But think about all the fights you have had in your life. In retrospect, “self-defense” is probably a poor euphemism for upholding your dignity (in law enforcement there is an exception). You can probably go through life safe and healthy without ever getting into a fight. In elementary school, you could have absorbed the minor humiliations and ignored whatever semblance of pride you may have had. As an adult in a compromising situation, you could just be peaceful and brand yourself a coward. And as a potential victim of a crime, as anyone always ever advises, just hand over your wallets. And if you really have to defend your life, I always encourage a surprising strike to the groin to get the job done sans any costly martial arts education. That, only after trying to run. And still, more forethought and savvy could have probably kept you out of that situation as a whole, and if it ever were a potential threat again, self-defense would only be your back-up for stupidity. Like the anecdote of the girl walking into a dark alley, my advice for self-defense is to not walk down that alley if it seems dangerous, duh. Most similar situations practically spell-out the signals: “DARK ALLEY. Choose something else.”
Martial arts is simply for people deluded into a concept of self-defense and that they’ll have to protect their families, or it’s for people who want to know how to fight for every other reason. No matter what any martial artist or boxer may chalk his passion up to, it is insecurity that usually drives anyone to put effort into such a competitive pursuit, as any. And in fighting, it is surely insecurity that drives people into wanting to practice harming anyone who may try to harm them – by definition, but the Freudian debate is for another time. In any case, at the core of combat training, fear is the only thing that must be simulated–or it is not at all simulation.
The fact is that most average people fear not being in control of a situation, not being in control of what the other person does. What could happen if I had to use my weapons (strikes, holds, or actual weapons) in a given situation? In boxing gyms, fear is the inevitable fact because boxers have to face real danger in sparring. Karate dojos do not offer as much on a macro scale — point systems, touch sparring, and slow-motion reenactment simply aren’t as scary (because they are not anywhere near as dangerous or damaging) and are not as likely to cause the fight or flight dilemma well experienced fighters have been through. People tend to be comfortable in how they want to see themselves and how they want others to see them, so they don’t want the challenge of being afraid. This is why most people are comfortable with traditional martial arts over mma, and it may be a valid reason for the trend of mma popularity over boxing.
So, for whatever skills you are motioning through, and whatever drills are mimicking real speed conflict, if the practitioner does not experience the closest thing to the real thing, the training is far less useful than it seems. Many other people fight so much in the gym that any fear is numbed by, at least, knowing exactly how they act in dangerous situations of real pain and real reactions, and they are learned in what happens in real physical contact. They know themselves and are in control.
Practitioners in all martial arts, however, must be very careful in how they approach real physical contact for training. Again, it’s a must that they stay honest in how ‘scary’ training or simulation drills may be. I, personally, have never witnessed any pad-less sparring that would create the same situation of fear or urgent realism as being in a boxing ring with gloves, a cup, and headgear. They either go too light or they don’t hit to the face when there are no pads. Conversely, I’ve sparred in situations of wearing full riot gear – either both my opponent and me, or just on my opponent – and it, too, is not as realistic as being in a boxing/kickboxing sparring match. Riot-gear requires the men in the gear to “act” hurt, and it never really rings true to what happens in the street. Perhaps, it’s different at your gym or dojo, but be honest to how realistic your work-out is. And if you are not numb to danger, realize that the butterflies should linger. If not, you should step-up your training. And be afraid. Be very afraid.
The Inherent Cowardice of Ground-fighting
(This is a follow-up to Garrett Morris’s “What Makes MMA Gay?” I preface this commentary by making it known that I am a full supporter of mma and want the sport to grow. I want people to see that mma can be so much better so that fighters from all disciplines may follow mma in the future.)
Grappling (Greco-Roman wrestling, Jiu-Jitsu, etc.) is just not satisfying for many fighters, no matter how effective it is in MMA competition. Aesthetically, it isn’t pleasing to the worldly viewer or to many a fighter. Even in real life situations, as in avenging a wrongdoing, wouldn’t it behoove one to do damage to one’s enemy by taking that person’s dignity through beating him on equal ground? – equal ground meaning “equal leverage.” By equal leverage I refer to a free standing position in which there is no intrinsic safe ground, as in clinching positioning or grappling. Isn’t this why we fight instead of shoot guns?
Consider this: Two uniformed lawmen get into an argument about their schedule. One guy smacks the other in the face. The other reacts by tackling him. They wrestle until one officer manages to gain dominant positioning, and he puts handcuffs on the other cop. Then, he lies on top of him and starts beating the downed officer. And maybe he puts the helpless guy into a knee-bar. What is so cavalier of any of that? What does it prove on the playing field of fighting? What fighting need does it satisfy?
This is subjective, and it could vary from opinion to opinion, but the above situation would probably warrant a rematch by the logic of fighting principles. The guy who was handcuffed would probably think it was unfair (perhaps he would never use his handcuffs in a supposed fair fight with a fellow officer), and he’d want to fight again. Fighting, beyond the visceral anger and self-defense notions, is about satisfying a curiosity, “who would win on fair ground?” It is about damaging an opponent while an opponent can damage you (not after gaining unfair positioning), and it’s about making the statement that you are worthy. Borrowing from Rocky Balboa, fighting is about saying, “I am.” Even when someone’s intent is to humiliate another person, he chooses to do so through fighting because it satisfies his personal duty to earn it. There is honor in fighting. And if it were only about self-defense, one should walk in droves, carry a gun, or just be a sissy. That old cop-out of “self-defense” is virtual nonsense. Fighting is almost always a choice.
Many grapplers choose to tumble and toss on the ground, perhaps, to satisfy some desire; they like to fight that way. This is precisely the root to why people talk about mma sport with the tongue-in-cheek reference of it being “gay,” or homoerotic. They want to be close, in tactile quarters. Of course most fighters probably have no homosexual thoughts when they are wrestling. The same goes for any sport with head-to-toe bodily contact, like football; “it’s only gay if they make it gay,” as the saying goes. The question so many people pose against mma is: “Do they make it gay?” Surely, there must be more gay people drawn to grappling arts than stand-up arts because of the nature of grappling. Its latent and suggestive intimacy is almost distinct. Why do guys wrestle their girlfriends and their children? There is a closeness stimulated by the fun and varied positions of dominance in wrestling, even without the sexual innuendo. On top of that, it’s safer; you can practice wrestling without getting hurt. Wrestling is akin to play-fighting, so why would anyone choose to turn real fighting’s intense emotions (although it’s better to be calm) into a wrestling fight? If two friends were wrestling as a joke and it became serious, they wouldn’t continue to wrestle-fight. They would probably stand-up and square-off. This is the notion of eroticism that wrestling toils with: when a couple wrestles, rubbing bodies, it may get hot and heavy. So, two men wrestling just seems inappropriate. Whatever the case, many guys like to roll around twisting and contorting with other men because it’s more accentuated to those guys’ senses – gay or not. Is that why so many kids seek contact sports? But they should remember, however, that more surface area bodily contact does not connote more impact.
Stand-up fighting has never been about jockeying for such positioning in which one fighter gains unfair advantage then proceeds to hit his opponent. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is awesome in that respect—it is all about leverage—but this is exactly what also makes it a yellowbelly game. Boxing and kick-boxing have always been about the use of fine idiosyncratic skills encompassed in a moment, or on the opposite of the spectrum, the ever exciting “free-for-all” – standing in front of a foe and brawling, shot for shot. But stand up arts have always maintained a grave element of danger that is less prominent in grappling arts. For the majority of the public, wrestling seems more strategic than boxing because it holds true for people who don’t know anything about fighting. If you get two guys who never boxed or wrestled, they are going to be more strategic in wrestling each other. They wouldn’t know the angles, defense, set-ups and traps that are part of standing up, but they could probably improvise with some holding maneuvers however technically incorrect they may be. And every guy thinks he can wrestle – even if the last time he wrestled was in elementary school. Not too many guys think they can box unless they proved it to themselves with some correlating experience – stand-up is simply much scarier of a pursuit. There are many smaller guys who may rather wrestle Brock Lesnar than stand up with him because he’s so intimidating, and Brock Lesnar was an All-American wrestler.
A guy can roll at the gym for hours without damaging himself. Imagine light sparring for an hour. It would surely be much more afflictive. Millions of people with my sentiments of boxing and kickboxing don’t understand the appeal of men rolling on the ground together. Rolling by itself, the part of training important for fighting in mma, may be more frolicsome (gay) than any and all aspects of martial arts. I, personally, have no understanding what joy guys get out of it. I’m not homophobic, but the close wrestling is not for me. When I did BJJ, I was uncomfortable to the point when I wondered if the guys I was rolling with were ‘getting off’ on the grappling – they fancied the heavy contact, but I did it just because it was an aspect I wanted to know in case someone took me down. I understand that everyone has different boundaries of discomfort. And that is exactly it – it is what it is on its surface – discomfort.
Grappling is unsatisfying and sort of tasteless to viewers who want to see competition, not dominance (or worse, tumbling that appears to be more consonance than competition). It lacks the bravado and valiant aspect of stand-up fighting. One fighter said, “There’s much more skimble-skamble in MMA. If you can’t stand you can get on the floor. There is an anticipation of so many possibilities.” Those possibilities tend to overshadow the bore of it all and it is a lie to many new viewers of mma who see fighters either stand up and box poorly or get on the floor. They don’t see a true assortment of mixed martial arts. The grapplers grapple and the stand up guys stand. The freestylers flail until they fall. And when they each clash it turns into a stupid stalemate until the usual grappling match or the skill-less stand-up. In boxing, it can be argued that there is more talent needed and more discipline – a chess match of offense and defense, skill versus skill. In mma, one could figure out how to gain advantage by not matching his skill to the other fighter’s skill, and rather by “playing a different game.” Grappling itself is about maneuvering positioning to a safe and unequal ground. Wrestlers are, perhaps, drawn to mma because of this dynamic. If your hands are really good, the other guy can try managing to wrestle with you, or vice versa. In boxing, you can’t get away from danger by taking someone to play Scrabble instead of chess if your chess game is weak. Corollary to this, any big guy could be thrown into mma and he could roll around or punch and possibly survive for a long time. This is much less likely to be done in boxing without the guy getting mauled and humiliated. And in mma, it’s easier to give up; you can tap before any damage has incurred or you can lay in a fetal position covering any significant blows from landing while the referee hurries to halt the fight. No one will notice your “no mas” in mma.
Grappling is a tedious game of maneuvering that usually takes much too long to produce excitement, if any. Many grapplers even express that it is more gratifying to win on their feet by KO. Conversely, it is often a greater blow to fighters’ dignity when they’ve been KO’d. One mma spectator said that getting on the ground always seemed like hitting or being hit in the balls – “a B.S. fight, a cheat,” if you will. “Whether someone wins or loses on the ground, it always seems to be a jip.” Even after a hundred mma events, the ground and pound and even the submission have lacked the valiant factor—how much blood and guts and determination did it take. One bit of pressure on a joint and you tap. And once you’re in a dominant position, it’s academic. “If that’s what a good fight comes down to,” a friend suggested, “may as well get a gun instead of fight like these guys and forget these corny martial arts.”
What is it about choking someone out that appeals to some people? I somewhat see the value in clutching someone into a helpless position and feeling his body go limp. It is an exhibition of domination. But this tells me that the person who would rather choke-out someone hasn’t learned how to hit, hasn’t ever cracked someone hard, or can’t hit that hard. One Muay-Thai boxer who converted to mma said to me, “When you’ve felt the exhilaration of hitting someone in the face for real, you will never want to tackle or take-down another man again – unless that’s your thing (sarcasm).” The thing about grappling is that any man can choke-out someone in the right position. Knocking-out someone is so much more difficult—it’s arguably a truer display of skill and power than outwrestling someone with weight or muscle. I’m not saying that knocking-out a 16 year old boy is more impressive than choking-out a Gracie, but knocking-out a Gracie could cause so much more damage to a Gracie than choking him out. It may even be more demeaning. Knocking-out someone is just so much more electrifying and to the point. It’s sudden and quick. And for those who say, “In the street, working submissions, if you choke someone out you kill him, or you can break his arm,” how often is that going to happen? Really, what bar brawl or real self-defense situation is anyone going to be granted such an opportunity without being pulled-off the opponent, stomped-out, or imprisoned? How practical is it even in its most primal, non-cowardly application away from any organized competition? And don’t responsible martial arts practitioners always preach for people to just give up their valuables in any real situation such as robbery?
Fighting on almost every level is about pride and bravado. Skill versus skill. Man to man. Except for the rare self-defense, life or death situation, there are unwritten rules to fighting. There are actually morals. Whether in a neighborhood beef or stepping outside a bar, a fight is almost always about respect, not survival. One can walk away in tact, unharmed and with all his possessions in most encounters even if he may end up looking like a “sucker.” So fighting is not just to exist; if you fight, it’s out of dignity. And nothing gets respect like standing up and “fighting like a man.” Consider that if someone bites (unless he is crazed and out of his mind), grabs testicles, or lays and waits for someone to break it up, he is arguably the coward of a fair fight.
Then is it so ridiculous to have an unexpressed agreement on how to fight a streetfight? If not, then you can incorporate weapons or cheating. Fighting, anyway, is not the fighting we imagine without an absolute isolation of weapons, whichever those weapons may be (no use of garment or inanimate objects, no spitting, no fish-hooking, no clawing, no biting, no jumping-in, no ear-tearing, etc.). Because when you allow some weapons in certain positions and prohibit those weapons in other positions, only then, do you have an utter farce. When speaking of three types of fighting (mma, street, and self-defense), mma grappling and street-fight grappling each exude this contradiction. I once watched a barfight in which one guy laid in some amateur side control-like position and began vomiting uncontrollably on his foe’s face, much of which went into the supine guy’s mouth, seemingly accidentally. It was the most hysterical and appalling sight, especially as the man seemed to use his throw-up to blind his opponent while he viciously beat him bloody. My friends and I walked away shocked, but we also realized there was a moral to the story, aside from any jokes: The outcome of the fight was inequitable, empty; it was just plain “unfair” or it was a fluky way to good self-defense. At that moment, I knew that any grappling could only be completely rule-less in order to be an appraisable martial art. No one could know its value unless it was used in no-holds barred, life-or-death situations (like JKD, this would be almost impossible to test). In other words, grappling should only be used for complete self-defense, as even grappling in mma does not incorporate the most effective possibilities (“cheats” as I call it) that could be so useful in any life-or-death setting: biting, heat-butting, eye-gouging, crotch striking, ear-tearing, etc. And, I guess, vomiting. It is arguable that the new mma is just a diluted sport with displaced skills, displaced strategy, and the restriction of bodily weapons. Basically, grappling in mma, or in a civil street-fight, is just a bad representation of fair-fighting. Stand-up fighting is simply not close-range enough to exude any of the contradictions I speak of.
There is cowardice inherent in grappling, even with the use of extreme self-defense tactics (“cheats”). Because one would have to “cheat” to make it efficient and without the “cheating” the danger is limited. Furthermore, people who don’t like the idea of being hit in the face and standing on fair ground would rather be in positions they think they can squirm out of. They want to smother the danger that they conceive and jockey for position, jockey for a mismatch. Even if two skilled wrestlers battled, it would come down to one of them finding some convenient advantage—but they often fight a boring match made up of defense, no openings, and no risks. Wrestling combatants use the ground as a weapon, and even if they both have the weapon at their disposal, they are only sort of “trying to use the weapon first.” It’s almost like they are not purely matching skills; one guy gets a hold, by chance more often than one may think, and then the other guy is left at a disadvantage until some other slip-up. In wrestling, strength and size accounts for too much to be considered a supreme skill-set. For people in a fight who are pinned and pounded, what then? It may not even prove anything but dominant size. If a stand-up fighter is choked-out, he may even say, “What could I do? He beat me, but he didn’t want to match his skills against mine.” This is the culturally opposing outlooks on the two styles of fighting; of course a wrestler is going to want to take a stand-up guy to the ground, but to stand-up guys it just seems like the sissy way to fight. It’s like a “bitch-fight” in which two girls are trying to control the other person in order to beat-up the other one – the only difference is that girls pull hair. In stand-up fighting, fighters don’t care about controlling, manipulating, or dominating the other person. The sentiment of stand-up guys seems to be “do whatever the hell you want, you ain’t worth my time but to knock your ass out without having to lay-down with you.” Most people tend to grapple because they know that anyone, to some extent, has the possibility to wrestle to a stalemate in a given situation, avoiding jeopardy (even if only for a minute). Many guys have been known to hold-on for the duration in mma contests. People who don’t know anything about fighting will wrestle if they fight. And the stronger, bigger guy is almost always the one who wants to grapple. If that’s not a big red flag indicator of cowardice, you must have missed the object of what fighting is about: fairness and honor.
And so, when applied to mma, while I do recognize the greatness and importance of ground fighting in self-defense and overall martial arts, I personally second the old notion and applaud it: “I’d rather die on my feet, than live on my knees.”
* …It is common opinion in the fight game that there is nothing sweeter than knocking out someone who is trying to knock you out. Such is the reason why “the Manly Art” has been better known as “the Sweet Science.” | <urn:uuid:602f8bd6-1af3-44e3-93dd-f598f719d458> | https://shootafairone.wordpress.com/tag/mma/ | en | 0.960412 | 0.042257 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
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Remote Work or Secure Email Communication: Why Not Both?
Remote Work or Secure Email Communication: Why Not Both
COVID-19 outbreaks and the risk of exposure forced many workers to stay at home and embrace remote work to decrease the risk of spreading the infection.
While remote work can help users stay isolated from public places and avoid face-to-face contact, companies are facing other kinds of challenges, like the inability to monitor user activity, a potential reduction of productivity, not mentioning the monetary losses caused by the pandemic.
Remote work is essentially a necessary security trade-off that has to be managed correctly.
Common Security Challenges of Remote Working Processes
Most employees used to working within a secure company perimeter are exposing themselves to other infection risks, unrelated to coronavirus.
Without having a suite of updated security tools installed on the working machines within a secure network guarded by the IT team, employees are more likely to make a security mistake that can’t be corrected.
Lack of encrypted connection, no endpoint protection, public Wi-Fi risks that enable various man-in-the-middle attacks, use of personal devices - all those factors can jeopardize the cybersecurity of the company. A watering hole attack, where online criminals deliberately target a website used by most employees, also opens the possibilities of mass infection.
Particularly big risks during remote work concern email communication, where employees prefer to use their private accounts to communicate with peers and share files and documents belonging to the company via unsecure channels. Even VPN services can’t resolve the security issue single-handedly.
It is easy to gain access to corporate data from a spoofed email account, made to look like it belongs to one of the workers.
It is also possible to attack workers by sending them a simple email with malicious attachments.
Examples of Email Attacks Leveraging User Vulnerability
Let’s say the attackers are masquerading as the company’s cybersecurity representatives and ask remote workers to get familiar with the updated guidance on safe remote working processes.
All the files are conveniently added to a well-written letter, and come from an email account that resembles a genuine address. Why wouldn’t some employees click on it?
Uneducated personnel isolated from double-checking the integrity of such emails are vulnerable, even more than usual because of the distance between the two parties. Downloading a file or a document wouldn’t seem like such a bad idea. Additionally, that file doesn’t have to shut down the worker’s system, instead it could gain covert access, that could be explored later on. In such scenarios, employees are also exposed greatly.
Another risk associated with remote work? Phishing emails.
Because of the public disturbance in the wake of these uneasy times, fear-uncertainty-and-doubt-induced emails could pose a bigger threat than usual. People are rather concerned about other pressing matters like the stock of their supplies and the well-being of their relatives, and so the human factor’s effect on everyday activities is doubled. Right now, the public is in the prime condition to “swallow the bait” and make a reckless decision.
We could imagine a situation where a bogus email coming from a spoofed corporate domain could encourage users to “log in” to their usual accounts via a “secure tunnel”, asking for their credentials in return.
While this should be a targeted attack concerning naive, unsuspecting, or poorly educated employees, it can still happen and reap benefits for cybercriminals, who are far more accustomed to working remotely.
How To Secure Email Communication For Remote Workers
Communication issues come in strides during remote work, even though a lot of collaboration platforms are making it easier for people to connect and discuss their work plans.
Even though companies make it easier than ever to handle a conference call to plan their next steps, email will still be a big part of that communication, and email is vulnerable in its nature.
To help make email communication secure and keep all corporate data immune to outside threats, StealthMail wants to offer companies a 90% discount to acquire its services. StealthMail can guarantee email communication security for remote workers for the following reasons:
• All email data is encrypted in transit and at rest.
• Encryption occurs on the client’s device.
• Email communication never leaves a secure perimeter of the company.
• Multi-factor authentication is mandatory.
• StealthMail is legally compliant, cutting off possible privacy act violations.
To find out more about the solution, please refer to StealthMail datasheet.
We would also like to remind everyone that the health of employees should be one of the top concerns for business leaders. Please stay considerate at this time and show your personnel the support it deserves.
Without it, all security solutions are meaningless, as employees would simply feel like they are not respected, thus being less interested in the well-being of the company.
Stay safe and follow the recommendations issued by reputable medical entities.
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75+ Best WPF Interview Questions To Hire Or Get Hired With
WPF Interview Questions
WPF or Windows Presentation Foundation is a tool for rendering graphical user interfaces. It was previously known as "Avalon" but later changed to WPF. The tool is a core part of C++ and C# developers. This tool would be used for developers who are attempting to make native applications for Windows or Microsoft machines. Below are WPF interview questions and answers for those who are beginners and those who are already advanced users. It is a helpful guide to study before you go into your technical job interview. As with everything I do that relates to interview questions, these are mock answers. It is best if you put together your own set of answers and benchmark them against the following.
1. What is WPF?
WPF is the abbreviation for Windows Presentation Foundation. It is a re-invention of a UI for desktop applications using WPF, besides dropping controls on Windows forms the same way developers have been doing for years. WPF is recommendable because it provides extra rapid boost application development including Rich User interface, animation and much more.
2. Highlight some of the uses of WPF.
• Draw normal controls and graphics.
• Can easily load/play audio and video files.
• Transforming objects including shapes, controls and video.
• Can create and animate 3D graphics.
• Can easily draw vector graphics that scale without jagged aliasing.
3. List the advantages of using WPF.
• Tight multimedia integration
• Resolution independence
• Hardware acceleration
4. What are the features of WPF?
• Visual State Manager
• Touch and Manipulation
• Graphics and Animations
• Binding
• XAML Browser Applications
• Silverlight Designer
5. What type of documents are supported by WPF.
The documents supported by WPF are Flow format and Fixed format document. The flow format document alters the content to fit the screen size while the fixed format document present content irrespective of the screen size.
6. What namespace is required for working with 3D?
The namespace is System.Windows.Media.Medi3D.
7. Is it correct to say that WPF has replaced DirectX?
WPF cannot be said to have replaced Direct because it can’t be used to create games with stunning graphics. WPF is was developed with the objective of replacing Windows for and not DirectX.
8. Define dependency properties.
These are properties that belong to a specific class but can be used for another class
9. Explain how you can increase the size of status bar proportionally.
This can be done by overruling the ItemPanel attributes of the Status bar with a grid. The grid columns can be appropriately configured to get the desired result.
10. Define freezable objects in WPF.
These are objects that have their state locked down making it appear unchangeable. These objects perform better. They are also safer if they are required to be shared between threads.
11. Define content alignment in WPF.
There are different ways that programmer deal with content of content controls on WPF. The popular properties are HorizontalContentAlignment and VerticalContentAlignment.
Both properties are defined in the System.Windows.Controls.Control class that is the parent class of all controls in WPF.
The programmers do content alignment by creating a UI with a Button and a TextBox control, the UI will appear to have a default vertical and horizontal alignment of content of a button in the center.
The default vertical and horizontal alignment of content of a text box I felt and top.
To set the contents of the Button and Textbox to bottom right the developer will need to the codes.
VerticalContentAlignment and HorizontalContentAlignmentproperties
Below is a syntax that can be used for this purpose:
1. <Grid Name="StackPanel1" Background="LightGray">
2. <Button Name="Button1" Background="LightBlue" Height="45" Content="Click Me!" Margin="23,12,159,0" VerticalAlignment="Top" FontSize="16" FontWeight="Bold" VerticalContentAlignment="Bottom" HorizontalContentAlignment="Right" />
3. <TextBox Height="50" Margin="26,72,74,0" Name="textBox1" VerticalAlignment="Top" Text="I am a TextBox" FontSize="16" VerticalContentAlignment="Bottom" HorizontalContentAlignment="Right" />
4. </Grid>
12. Name the class used for converting the instances of string to and for instances of Brush.
BrushValueSerializer class.
13. Describe the advantages of using WPF over Winforms.
• WPF is a newer version with fine tune in current standards while Winforms is an older version bit is it is more tried and tested.
• WPF is build form scratch and doesn’t rely on standard windows controls in almost all situations. Winforms is a simply a layer on tops of the standard windows controls (Eg. A textbox).
• It utilizes a lot of new applications such as visual studio. The Winforms application uses existed 3rd party controls that can be bought or accessed for free.
• It is more flexible in Winforms the designer in Visual Studio is still, as of writing.
• It can do more things without having to write if buy new controls. However, it is better for Winforms than for WPF, where you will have to do more of the work yourself with WPF.
• When you do need to use 3rd party controls, the developers of these controls will likely be more focused on WPF because it's newer. Winforms on the other hand Uses existed 3rd party control.
• XAML makes it easy to create and edit your GUI, and allows the work to be split between a designer (XAML) and a programmer (C#, VB.NET etc.). It is also possible to use XAML to design the Windows Forms project forms. But the programmer will need to deserialize the classes in the namespace System.Windows.Forms.
• Other advantages of WPF are that Databinding, which allows you to get a more clean separation of data and layout.
• And lastly WPF allows you to make user interfaces for both Windows applications and web applications (Silverlight/XBAP).
15. Describe resources in WPF.
WPF is recommendable because it provides a simplified way of reusing commonly defined objects and values. The resources in WPF allow developers to set properties of multiple controls at a time. For instance the developer can set the background property on several elements in a WPF application using a single resource.
The best way of defining the resources is on a Window or Page element level. Any resource that you define for an element also applies to their child elements of that element.
The method of accessing resources is:
<elementName propertyName="{markupExtension keyName}">
• elementName: Name of the element that uses the resource.
• propertyName: Name of the property that takes its value from the resource.
• markupExtension: Define type of resource.
16. List two types of resources in WPF.
There are two types of resource, namely:
• Static Resource
• Dynamic Resource
17. Define static resources in WPF.
The StaticResource markup extension is usually used to define the resource as a static resource. The value of StaticResource is determined at the time of loading.
Add the below code snippet in Window1.xaml file inside the Grid.
1. <Grid.Resources>
2. <SolidColorBrush x:Key="lblbgcolor" Color="Blue"/>
3. </Grid.Resources>
4. <Label Name="lbl" Margin="71,44,77,0" Background="{StaticResourcelblbgcolor}" Height="49" />
Above code, Grid control uses the Resources property (<Grid.Resources>) to define resource. SolidColorBrush resource named lblbgcolor defined. lblbgcolor resource is used to set the background property of label.
18. Describe Dynamic Resource.
Dynamic Resource is used when the developer wants to change the value of property at run time.
In the sample program, add the following code snippet in Window1.xaml file inside the Window element.
1. <Window.Resources>
2. <SolidColorBrush x:Key="brush" Color="Red" />
3. </Window.Resources>
4. <Button x:Name="btn" Content="Click Me" Click="Button_Click" Background="{DynamicResource brush}" Height="100" Width="100" />
Open code behind and add the following code snippet.
1. private void Button_Click(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
2. {
3. this.btn.SetResourceReference(BackgroundProperty, "brush");
4. }
In the above code, Window control uses the Resources property () to define resource. SolidColorBrush resource named brush defined. Brush resource is used to set the background property of button.
19. Describe value convertor in WPF?.
The value convertor functions as a bridge between a target and a source. This function is necessary when a target is built with one source for instance when you have a text box a button control. If you intend to enable or disable the button control when the text to the textbox is filled or null. To successfully achieve the value converting function a programmer might need to convert the string data to Boolean which is possible through value convertor. In order to implement value convertors, the programmer will need to inherit from I Value Converter in the System.Windows.Data namespace and implement the two methods Convertand Convert Back.
The syntax below illustrates how value convertor function can be implemented:
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using System.Text;
using System.Threading.Tasks;
using System.Windows.Data;
namespace ValueConverters
public class ValueConverter: IValueConverter
bool isenable = true;
if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(value.ToString()))
isenable = false;
return isenable;
throw new NotImplementedException();
20. Explain the advantages of using WPF over adobe flash.
WPF is modern development and therefore utilizes re-invented technology. Therefore has latest development tools. WPF also supports a broader range of programming languages and has a robust control reuse.
21. Explain how Silverlight differs from WPF browser application.
Typically running the WPF browser application requires .NET framework to be activated in the client machine. In Silverlight only plugins are required to run it. Applications that are associated with WPF depend on the OS as .NET Framework only runs on Windows. On the other hand, Silverlight plugin can be installed on the Oss that are not Windows.
22. Explain the methods available in DependencyObject.
• SetValue
• ClearValue
• GetValue
23. Define PRISM
This a framework used for developing complex applications for WPF, Silverlight or Windows Phone. The framework utilizes MVVM, Command patterns, DI and Separation of Concerns to get loose coupling.
24. Define MVVN
MVVM is an acronym for model view viewmodel and a framework used for making applications in WPF. It is similar to MVC framework. Technically, it is a 3-tier architecture plus one more layer. It is possible to loose coupling using MVVM. The framework was introduced by John Gossman in 2005 for use with WPF as a concrete application of Martin Fowler's broader Presentation Model pattern. Applications such as Microsoft Expression products among other commercial applicatiosn has been developed using MVVM.
25. What are the advantages of using MVVM?
• Modularity.
• Test driven approach.
• Separation UI and Business layer as view and view model.
• Code sharing between pages and forms.
• Easy to Maintain.
26. What are the features of MVVM?
• It separates the business and presentation layers, like MVP and MVC. • Improve Structure/separation of concerns (View, ViewModel and Model).
• Enable a better Design/Developer Workflow.
• Enhance simplicity and testability.
• Enabled by the robust data binding capability of XAML.
• Provides application development ability for multiple environments.
• Powerful Data Binding, command, validation and much more.
• The designer and developer can work together.
27. Explain the view and view model in MVVM.
The View is the client interface, input-output interface or the user interface. The view collects all the user interface elements of the window, navigation page, user control, resources file, style and themes, custom tools and controls. Typically the View is not aware of ViewModel and the model and vice versa because the control is highly decoupled. However the view model recognizes the need for View. The only communications between the two is through data binding and a dependency property or properties. The ViewModel on the other hand is a nonvisual class. The ViewModel is unaware of the view directly. However, models are connected directly to the ViewModel and invoke a method by model class. The ViewModel understands what the model has and is aware of what the view needs. A single ViewModel can connect with multiple models. A ViewModel inherits some interface like INotifyPropertyChanged, icommand INotifyCollectionChanged etcetera.
28. Define customControl.
This a tool used to expand the functions of the existing controls. It carries default style in Themes/Generic.xaml and a code file. Programmers usually use it to make a control library and can be styled or templated.
29. List major assemblies used in WPF.
• PresentationFoundation
• WindowsBase
• PresentaionCore
30. Describe Path animations in WPF.
• This is a type of animation in which the animated objects follow a path set by the Path geometry.
31. Is it possible to create WPF application without involving XAML.
• Yes it is possible because using XAML in WPF is just a choice.
32. List the types of Windows in WPF.
• Normal Window
• Page Window
• Navigate Window
33. Describe the use of WindowsBase assembly.
WindowsBase assembly carries the following items:
• DispatcherObject - Base class for all WPF types.
• DependencyObject - It's enables WPF property system services on its derived classes.
• DependencyProperty - It represents a property which can be set through Styles, Data Binding, Animation. It's inherit values from parent element and provides change notification.
• DispatcherTimer - A special timer class which Tick event method executes on Dispatcher Queue.
34. Define PresentaionCore assembly.
This is an assembly that provides visual class that contains all the visual controls in WPF that need to be inherited. The assembly interacts directly with MilCore Unmanaged assembly for rendering the visual system.
35. Describe PresentationFrameWork Assembly.
This assembly bears all the UI controls like TextBlock, Label, CheckBox, TextBox, ListView, DataGrid.
36. Describe the MilCore Assembly.
This an assembly that directly interacts with DirectX fr rendering the visual system of WPF. WPF uses DirectX for rendering their display. DirectX is used for efficient hardware and software rendering.
37. Define WindowsCodec assembly.
This assembly is used to display images in WPF. All imaging display, scaling, transforming is done by WindowsCodec assembly.
38. Define XAML.
This is an XML based language used fr developeign the WPF UI. The XAML elements are direct mapping for .Net Objects. A XAML element name is a .NET class name and XAML element property is the property of that .NET class.
39. Is XAML after compilation convert into Assembly.
Yes. It is stored as BAML (Binary Application Markup Language) into the assembly.
40. Give the syntax for dependencyProperty.
public static DependencyProperty BackgroundProperty = DependencyProperty.Register("Background", typeof(string), typeof(Customer), new PropertyMetadata("red"), new ValidateValueCallback(ValidateBackgroundProperty));
public string Background
return GetValue(BackgroundProperty) as string;
SetValue(BackgroundProperty, value);
public static bool ValidateBackgroundProperty(object value)
if((string)value == "red" || (string)value == "green")
return true;
return false;
40. How can you give default value to the dependencyProperty.
The DependencyProperty declaration takes a PropertyMetadata object where we can provide the default value.
41. Define a attached property.
This is a unique type of dependencyProperty in which the property is declared in one class an used in another class. For instance you can declare AttachedProperty in class MyAttachedProperties and used it with TextBlock, Button, Label objects.
42. Give the Syntax for attached properties.
public static readonly DependencyProperty CountProperty = DependencyProperty.RegisterAttached("Count", typeof(int),
public static int GetCount(DependencyObject obj)
return (int)obj.GetValue(CountProperty);
public static void SetCount(DependencyObject obj, int value)
obj.SetValue(CountProperty, value);
43. Explain the difference between Attach Property and DependencyProperty.
The difference is that Dependency property is always attached with ine calls on which it is defined whciel attach property can be attached with any other class.
44. Describe Command Design Pattern and ICommand in WPF.
The command patterns allow the programmer to decouple the request from an object that performs an action. In this regard, the command pattern represents an action as an object. The best option for a programmer to implement operations based on the user request it is the command pattern. The Icommand on the other hand is a core component of MVVM. The Icommand is mostly used to provide separation logic between a View and View model. XAML offers a way to bind your GUI event better by ICommand. ICommand requires the user to define two methods, bool CanExecute and void Execute.
45. List the members of the Command design pattern.
• Client
• Invoker
• Command
• Concrete Command
• Receiver
46. Describe BAML.
This is an acronym for Binary Application Markup Language., it is tokenized XAML in binary form and quicker than XAML.
47. Compare WPF and Xamarin.Forms.
• Control templates: WPF supports the concept of control template which provides the visualization instructions for a control (Button, ListBox, etc.). Xamarin.forms have a ControlTemplate type that is used for theming Page objects.
• XAML: WPF supports XAML while in Xamarin.forms the syntax is identical - the primary difference is the objects that are defined/created by the XAML graphs.
• Markup extensions: in WPF the programmer must derive form MArkupExtensionn- an abstract base class. In Xamarin.Forms that is replaced with an interface IMarkupExtension or IMarkupExtension which is more flexible.
• RelativeSource: in WOF the relative source allows the developer to bind to the visual elements defined in XAML while in XAMRIN forms the function can be achieved using {x:Reference} markup extension.
• Text property - RelativeSource bindings: in WPF Text={Binding RelativeSource={RelativeSource otherControl}, Path=Text} command is used while Xamarin.forms uses Text={Binding Source={x:Reference otherControl}, Path=Text}.
• Both applications completely supports MVVM.
• User controls: In WPF, UserControls are used to provide a section of UI which has associated behavior. While in Xamarin.forms developers uses ContentView for the same purpose. Both support binding and inclusion in XAML.
• Navigation: WPF includes a rarely used NavigationService which could be used to provide a "browser-like" navigation feature while Xamarin.Forms includes support for several forms of navigation.
• URL Navigation: WPF is a desktop-oriented technology and can accept command-line parameters to direct startup behavior. Xamarin.Forms on the other hand has the capability to use deep URL linking to jump to a page on startup.
48. Give the path of selecting DatePicker.
Inheritance Object --> DispatcherObject --> DependencyObject --> Visual --> UIElement --> FrameworkElement --> Control --> DatePicker.
49. Describe the purpose of TreeView class in WPF.
TreeView presents the hierarchical collection of labeled items, each of those are indicated by a TreeNode.
50. Mention the main benefits of graphics in WPF
• Resolution-independent and device-independent graphics. • Improved precision
• Advanced graphics and animation support
• Hardware acceleration
51. Explain routed events in WPF.
A routed event is an event that can invoke handlers on more than one listeners present in an element tree. Other than a single object which is called the event this is known as the Routed event.
52. Name some layout panels available in WPF.
• Stack Panel
• Grid Panel
• Canvas Panel
• Dock Panel
• Wrap Panel
53. Name some major subsystems available in WPF.
• Windows.Controls.Control
• Windows.DependancyObject
• Windows.FrameworkElement
• Windows.Media.Visuals
• Object
• Threading.DispatcherObject
• Windows.UIElements
54. Describe what is INotifyPropertyChanged Interface.
This is a function used to notify clients, especially those who are binding and mostly if the value of the property has been changed. The function has an event called PropeetyChanged which is constantly increased whenever a property of Model object is changed.
55. Name the method used to force a tool tip that is currently visible.
The tool tip can be closed by setting a tooltip’s isOpen property false function.
56. Why are layout patterns needed in WPF.
The panes are needed to ensure that controls fit the screens of different sizes or having different sizes. When controls are arranged on fixed pixel coordinates, then the model will fail when moved to a different environment. Therefore, the layout panels are essential in WPF.
57. Explain how you can determine if a freezable object is frozen.
The ‘IsFrozen’ property can be run to check if the freezable object is frozen.
58. Explain what unit of measurement is used in WPF.
Measurements in WPF are made in Device-independent pixels, or logical pixels. A pixel is equivalent to 1/96 part of an inch. The logical pixels are referred as double ad this makes them assume a fractional value.
59. Define Adorner.
This is a special kind of FrameworkElement which offers visual clues to the user. They are also used to add handles to elements and give information about the state of control .In WPF adorners are connected to UIElement and are rendered on a surface that occurs on the element. The surface is referred to as the AdronerLayer. The adorners are usually placed relatively to the bounded element.
60. Define serialization.
This is the process of converting the state of an object to stream of bytes.
61. Does WPF support MDI?
62. Expain how you can make the ToolTip hover over a disabled element.
The ShowOnDisabled function can be utilized for purpose. The property belongs to ToolTipServces class.
63. Describe major types of routed events available in WPF
Direct - this a kind of event that is only raised by the element from which it originated form.
Tunneling - this event is raised by the element in which it was originated and then it gets raised by each consecutive container in the visual tree.
Bubbling - this event is raised by the uppermost container in the visual tree and then gets raised by each consecutive container lying below the uppermost on, till it reaches the element from which it originated.
64. Give the method used to retrieve the command-line arguments in a WPF application.
The popular methods for this function is s to call System.Environment.GetCommandLineArgs at any random point in the application.
65. List the classes that contain arbitrary content.
• Content Control
• HeaderedContent Control
• Items Control
• HeaderedItems Control
66. Give the namespace that contains ‘Popup’ and ‘Thumb’ controls.
The namespace that contains popup and thumbs is system.windows.controls.primitives
67. Explain how you can code to display Hello World in XAML.
Displaying “Hello World.”
<page xmlns= ‘’ ‘’>
Hello, World!
68. How can you specify graphic components in WPF?
They are specified with open or closed tags with attributes. The syntax below is used for specifying graphic components:
69. List four general kinds of XAML elements.
• Root Elements
• Panel Elements
• Control Elements
• Geometric Elements
70. What does X: prefix shows in XAML.
71. Explain major kinds of X: prefix used in XAML language.
• x: Key: It sets a unique key for each resource in a Resource Dictionary.
• x: Class: It specifies the CLR ( Common Language Runtime) namespace and class name for the class that provides code.
• x: Name: It specifies a run-time object name for the instance that exist in run time code after an object element is processed.
• x: Static: It enables a reference that returns a static value which otherwise an XAML compatible property.
• x: Type: It constructs a Type reference based on the type name.
72. Name the types of children that object element supports in XAML.
• Collection Items
• A value for the content property
73. Define type convertor.
This is is used in converting a string into the appropriate value type where there is no markup extension usage. Type convertor defines four members for converting to and fro string for XAML purposes:
• CanConvertTo
• CanConvertFrom
• ConvertTo
• ConvertFrom
74. Name the object element syntax in XAML.
75. Describe how you can display different data at run time and design time?
76. Explain how custom classes used in XAML can be defined?
author: patrick algrim
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What It's Like to Transition from Female to Male at an All-Women's College
A Bryn Mawr student explains why he couldn't imagine going anywhere else.
Transitioning at a women's college
When you attend a women's college, there are a couple of questions you get used to hearing. "How do you possibly date?" and "Do all of your periods sync up?" and "There are tons of lesbians, right?" and "Are you allowed to have men on campus?" It's difficult to answer most of these inquiries without an eye roll, particularly the last one.
Yep, we can have men on campus. In fact, I am one. I started my transition during the summer between freshman and sophomore years, so I'll spend the majority of my time at Bryn Mawr College as a man.
Most women's colleges around the country have, one by one over the last year, changed their admissions policies to admit transgender women (so, a woman who was assigned male at birth). Barnard became the last of the traditional Seven Sisters schools to do so in June. The announcements were received with fanfare by the LGBT community, and by me, even though I have transitioned away from female.
I grew up in western Massachusetts, and the only thing I knew going into the college search was that I wanted to stay in or near New England. The more I researched Bryn Mawr, located in southeastern Pennsylvania, the more perfect it sounded. A visit to the beautiful campus sealed the deal, and I applied early decision. It was the only place I wanted to be.
I didn't know I was trans in high school, but I did know that I wasn't straight.
One of the things I liked about the school was its reputation for having a tight-knit, supportive community, especially for LGBT students. I didn't know I was trans in high school, but I did know that I wasn't straight. Bryn Mawr seemed like a safe space to learn more about myself and my identity.
It took me nineteen years to figure it out, but once I did, I told my college friends before anyone else in my life. I was pretty sure the response would be positive, and it was: All I had to do was say I wanted to be called Emmett and use male pronouns, and everyone was like, "Sure!" The whole student body seems to be aware of transgender identities, so I didn't need to give some long explanation. I said, "I'm trans," and they just got it, which was a relief.
The logistics were a bit more awkward and tricky. I had to make sure my professors and managers at the dining hall where I work knew that I had changed my name and pronouns. For the most part it was just a matter of contacting the right people to get things like my email address changed. I still sometimes have professors call me the wrong name, because my birth name shows up on the course registration. I haven't been able to change it legally yet. But most of them are extremely helpful and remember that my name is different from the list as long as I explain at the beginning of the semester.
Despite these lovely friends and understanding professors, I did consider transferring. I felt guilty for being there, like I shouldn't be at a place that celebrates women when I don't identify as one. Women's colleges theoretically exist to combat male privilege—they were founded to give women an opportunity for an education when other, co-ed colleges wouldn't accept them—and now I was signing on for male privilege, in a way.
But I couldn't bear to transfer, even if it is frustrating when someone misgenders me by addressing a crowd of Bryn Mawr students as women. There are enough other trans or inter-sex or gender-queer classmates on campus that it's annoying when someone begins a talk with "Good morning, ladies." Also, that just sounds condescending to the ear in this day and age, doesn't it?
It's annoying when someone begins a talk with "Good morning, ladies."
My transition has changed so much about how I see and experience the world. Now that I typically "pass" as male, everyday interactions—everything from buying coffee to going through airport security—are radically different. And my romantic life has improved. Is it because I'm now an upperclassman with a greater social circle, or because I have more confidence? Maybe it's because I stand out more in a group of Bryn Mawr students.
I definitely worry about returning to the world outside this warm, tiny bubble. Sometimes LGBT students talk about the bubble in negative terms, but honestly I love it; it's a safe and nurturing space, and I don't think there's anything wrong with preferring that over a hostile environment. For the time being, I couldn't be happier to be a man at Bryn Mawr College. I would choose it again and again and again.
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March 19, 2019
Christopher Brean Murray
He talked for half an hour before reading a poem.
Time is illusory, he said.
It passes, but it also stands still.
He said there might be people on distant planets just like us.
That could be frightening, he said.
Or it could be wonderful.
He said his astronomer friend said the universe is much bigger than we can imagine.
He said the deconstructionists were wrong.
He said poetry is alive in South America.
People don’t care if they don’t understand it.
He said North Carolina is beautiful—tell no one.
He said people read more poetry now than when he first started writing.
He said listening comes first, then seeing.
He read a poem about a blind man who held seashells in his hand.
He read a poem about a frog who was a believer in rain.
He read poems inhabited by the ghosts of trees.
Waves of innocence usurped a boat.
Nameless voices undulated like the sea.
A silent cricket was the pupil of night.
He said humans are not special.
Animals have language, he said.
And we have imagination.
from Poets Respond
March 19, 2019
Christopher Brean Murray: “My poem recalls the thrilling experience of attending a reading by the great American poet, translator, and environmental activist, W.S. Merwin.”
Rattle Logo | <urn:uuid:53659524-6095-4b6b-b3a2-f0fd61b7191b> | https://www.rattle.com/tag/christopher-brean-murray/ | en | 0.968626 | 0.019762 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
maiden Examples
EN[ˈmeɪdən] [-eɪdən]
Examples of maiden in a Sentence
• Examples of maiden
1. The Alicorn. He be a winged unicorn, the finest equine flesh extant, the adoration of every fair and innocent maiden. For that steed I would give anything.
2. For the crabby awd dealers in ling, cod, and brats / And the vurgins that tempt us wi' nice maiden skyet...
3. In the fable, the maiden had to find a catskin coat, a coat made of catskins.
5. From this time be somewhat scanter of your maiden presence; set your entreatments at a higher rate than a command to parley.
6. The manufacturer's CEO was confident enough to ride as a passenger on the airship's maiden flight.
7. The Titanic hit an iceberg and sank on her maiden voyage.
• Examples of maidens
1. Here the princely hero is a nondancing cavalier amid the many swan-maidens who resemble the one with whom he is falling in love.
2. He was surprised to see so many women workers. What did he expect, comely maidens?.
3. The maidens of the villagery. — Shakespeare.
4. On view from the sixth century B.C. are two small Attic representations of kourai, dressed statues of maidens, said to represent the Athenian aristocracy in rites celebrating the goddess Athena.
5. For the sake of these "lily-handed maidens so daintily occupied," to use the editor's words, and for their sakes alone, has he waded through so many pages of dense technicalities from Actinococcus to Wormskioldia.
Related Links:
1. en maidenhead
2. en maidens
3. en maidenly
4. en maidenry
5. en maidenish
Source: Wiktionary
0 0
Difficultness: Level 1
Easy ➨ Difficult
Definiteness: Level 9
Definite ➨ Versatile | <urn:uuid:cb17c19b-6165-4791-83ab-2838872bdaea> | http://dictionary.education/english/examples/maiden | en | 0.878448 | 0.342113 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Chris McCormick About Tutorials Store Archive
Gradient Vectors
Computing The Gradient Image
This is a grayscale image, so the pixel values just range from 0 - 255 (0 is black, 255 is white). The pixel values to the left and right of our pixel are marked in the image: 56 and 94. We just take the right value minus the left value and say that the rate of change in the x direction is 38 (94 - 56 = 38).
Note: At this pixel, the pixels from dark to light as we move left to right. If we looked at the same spot on the left side of the penguin’s head where the pixels instead change from light to dark, we’d get a negative value for the change. You can compute the gradient by subtracting left from right or right from left, you just have to be consistent across the image.
We can do the same for the pixels above and below to get the change in the y-direction:
93 - 55 = 38 in the y-direction.
Putting these two values together, we now have our gradient vector.
We can also use the equations for the magnitude and angle of a vector to compute those values.
We can now draw the gradient vector as an arrow on the image. Notice how the direction of the gradient vector is perpendicular to the edge of the penguin’s head–this is an important property of gradient vectors.
Let’s see what it looks like to compute the change in the x and y direction at every pixel for the image. Note that the difference in pixel values can range from -255 to 255. This is too many values to store in a byte, so we have to map the values to the range 0 - 255. After performing this mapping, pixels with a large negative change will be black, pixels with a large positive change will be white, and pixels with little or no change will be gray.
Gradient Vector Applications
The first and most obvious application of gradient vectors is to edge detection. You can see in the gradient images how large gradient values correspond to strong edges in the image.
The other less obvious application is to feature extraction. Look at what happens to the gradient vector when I increase the brightness of the image by adding 50 to all of the pixel values.
In this brighter image, the rate of change in the x-direction is still 144 - 106 = 38, and the rate of change in the y-direction is still 143 - 105 = 38, the same as in our original image. So even though the pixel values are all completely different, we still get the same gradient vector at this pixel!
When we base our feature descriptors on gradient vectors instead of just the raw pixel values, we gain some “lighting invariance”. We’ll compute the same descriptor (or at least closer to the same descriptor) for an object under different lighting conditions, making it easier to recognize the object despite changes in lighting.
This is a brief introduction to gradient vectors without much use of the mathematical terms or expressions for what we’re doing. In another post, titled Image Derivatives, I approach the same topic from a more mathematical perspective. The Image Derivatives post is actually my notes on a computer vision lecture given by Professor Shah which is freely available online. | <urn:uuid:21ee9ef3-054e-4a9d-ac71-e6f18d96fa6a> | http://mccormickml.com/2013/05/07/gradient-vectors/ | en | 0.847875 | 0.081538 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Unsolved Murders
Mary Goble
Age: unknown
Sex: female
Date: 3 Feb 1983
Place: 38 St Helens Road, Hastings, East Sussex
Source: www.youtube.com
Mary Goble and Robert Goble died in a fire at their home.
The police said that the fire had been started with petrol.
The family had gone to bed at about 1.30am on 3 February 1983.
Shortly after, at about 3.45am the parents were woken up by a fire in the house. The father went to get the children but was unable to reach them. | <urn:uuid:d0e21a20-855f-4bf6-ad4f-4be381a5184c> | http://www.unsolved-murders.co.uk/murder-content.php?key=6252 | en | 0.989144 | 0.02127 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
The Seismic Structure of the Central Indo-Burman Subduction Zone
The Seismic Structure of the Central Indo-Burman Subduction Zone
Event Type:
• Seminar
ASE 3D Visualisation Laboratory (N2-B1c-16c)
18 February, 2020 - 16:00 to 17:00
About the Event:
Studies of the evolution of the India-Eurasia collision have shown that the geodynamic processes associated with trench/slab rollback along the Indo Burma ranges have played a significant role in the large scale rotational deformational patterns and influenced the building of the Eastern Himalayan Syntaxis portion of the Tibetan Plateau. Furthermore, this complex tectonic system provides an excellent opportunity to study the nature of mantle deformation in response to the dynamic interaction of a possible clockwise rotation around the Eastern Himalayan Syntaxis and its relation to the subduction of the Indian plate. The crustal clockwise rotational deformation continues into northern Myanmar, accommodated by a series of East Northeast-West Southwest left-lateral strike-slip faults bounded between the Sagaing Fault and the Red River Fault. The relative contribution of crustal and mantle processes to surface clockwise rotational deformation remains debatable. GPS and fault slip data indicate that this rotational deformation extends to the Sagaing Fault, the western boundary of the Burma platelet, mantle deformation measured from shear wave splitting data deviates greatly from crustal deformation in regions south of 27°N. Characterizing the mantle flow field can lead to understand the deformation and regional tectonics of this part of plate boundary. In order to estimate the three dimensional anisotropic seismic structure as well as the geometry of the subducting Indian lithosphere, and seismic structure of the Indian-Burma plate boundary we have deployed a swath of seismic stations across central Myanmar extending from the Myanmar-India border regions to the Shan plateau.
Firstly, we have begun using both deep local and teleseismic shear waves to create a detailed map of variations in upper mantle anisotropy. This map shows dominant trench-parallel North-South fast direction. We suggest that this is due to the trench-parallel flow possibly induced by trench migration. We also observe splitting lag times gradually decrease towards the back-arc with increasing complexity in the fast directions. Local splitting from deep events show over 1s lag time suggesting a highly anisotropic mantle wedge compared to anisotropy above the slab in other subduction zones. Additionally, the relatively small difference in lag times between local and tele-seismic S wave splitting indicates that the mantle wedge above the slab is the main source of anisotropy, especially towards the back arc. Furthermore, a linear east-west fast directions trend emerges from the local splitting that is consistent with a slab tear or termination of subducting slab around 24°N. Our results also indicate a complex splitting pattern in northeast and southeast directions that may be attributed to the toroidal flow around the slab and poloidal flow below the slab respectively.
About the Speaker:
Eric Sandvol
Eric Sandvol has worked on characterizing crustal and upper mantle seismic velocity structure beneath continental plateaus and mountain belts in South America, Eurasia, the Middle East and North Africa. This research has been focused at utilizing seismic waveforms to measure Moho thicknesses, crustal and upper mantle shear-wave velocities, as well as propagation efficiencies. He has more recently worked on applying surface wave tomography to broadband data sets in South America, Tibet, and eastern Turkey.
18 Feb 2020
Tel: (65) 6908-2265
If you have any feedbacks or enquiries, please email us at | <urn:uuid:299585af-2319-42c9-a584-cabf5c482463> | https://earthobservatory.sg/events/seismic-structure-central-indo-burman-subduction-zone | en | 0.889153 | 0.018426 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
The causes and effects of drug
The causes and effects of drug
Share Your Story Drug abuse and addiction, now both grouped as drug The causes and effects of drug disorder, is a condition that is characterized by a self-destructive pattern of using a substance that leads to significant problems and distress, which may include tolerance to or withdrawal from the substance.
Dual diagnosis refers to the presence of both a drug-use issue in addition to a serious mental-health condition in an individual. Virtually any substance whose ingestion can result in a euphoric "high" feeling can be abused.
Inhalants like household cleaners are some of the most commonly abused substances. While the specific physical and psychological effects of drug use disorder tend to vary based on the particular substance involved, the general effects of a substance use disorder involving any drug can be devastating.
The causes and effects of drug
Treatment services for drug use disorders remain largely underutilized by most people who suffer from these conditions. The primary goals of recovery are abstinence, relapse prevention, and rehabilitation. During the initial stage of abstinence, a person who suffers from chemical dependency may need detoxification treatment to help avoid or lessen the effects of withdrawal.
Often, much more challenging and time-consuming than recovery from the physical aspects of addiction is psychological addiction. Drug addiction increases the The causes and effects of drug of a number of negative life stressors and conditions, particularly if left untreated.
Recovery from a substance use disorder is usually characterized by episodes of remission and relapse. Quick GuideAddicted to Pills: Sociology professors studied a sample of over boys from diverse racial and ethnic groups for a period of nine years to try to identify potential early warning signs for drug dependence.
What is marijuana?
Those who believed that their peers approved of alcohol, tobacco, or drug use were also more likely to be drug-dependent later in life. Formerly separately called drug abuse and drug addiction, drug use disorder, also called substance use or chemical use disorder, is an illness that is characterized by a destructive pattern of using a substance that leads to significant problems or distress, including tolerance to or withdrawal from the substance, as well as other problems that use of the substance can cause for the sufferer, either socially or in terms of their work or school performance.
The effects of drug use disorders on society are substantial. The cultivation of marijuana and production of synthetic drugs like methamphetamine has negative impact on soil and water supplies. Drug law infractions make up the most common reason for arrest in the United States, more than 14 million in Teens are increasingly engaging in prescription drug abuse, particularly narcotics which are prescribed to relieve severe painand stimulant medications, which treat conditions like attention-deficit disorder and narcolepsy.
The term dual diagnosis refers to the presence of both a drug use disorder and a serious mental-health problem in a person. Substance use disorders, unfortunately, occur quite commonly in people who also have severe mental illness.
Individuals with dual diagnosis are also at higher risk of being noncompliant with treatment. What types of drugs are commonly abused?
While many are aware of the abuse of legal substances like alcohol or illegal drugs like marijuana in most states and cocaineless well-known is the fact that inhalants like household cleaners and over-the-counter medications like cold medicines are some of the most commonly abused substances.
Although legal, alcohol is a toxic substance, especially for a developing fetus when a mother consumes this drug during pregnancy. This group of drugs comes in many forms, from prescription medications like methylphenidate for example, RitalinConcertaFocalin and dextroamphetamine and amphetamine Adderall to illegally manufactured drugs like methamphetamine "crystal meth".
Overdose of any of these substances can result in seizure and death. A group of substances that is most often abused by bodybuilders and other athletes, this group of drugs can lead to devastating emotional symptoms like aggression and paranoiaas well as severe long-term physical effects like infertility and organ failure.
While it is consumed by many coffee, tea, and soda drinkers, when consumed in excess, this substance can be habit-forming and produce palpitationsinsomniatremorsirritability, and significant anxiety. More usually called marijuana, the scientific name for cannabis is tetrahydrocannabinol THC.
Addiction and Health | National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
Marijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug, with nearly 29 million people 12 years or older reporting having used this drug in the past year.
In addition to the negative effects the drug itself can produce for example, infertilitydifficulties with sexual performance, paranoia, lack of motivationthe fact that it is commonly mixed "cut" with other substances so drug dealers can make more money selling the diluted substance or expose the user to more addictive drugs exposes the marijuana user to the dangers associated with those added substances.
Examples of ingredients that marijuana is commonly cut with include baby powder, oregano, embalming fluid, phencyclidine PCPopiates, and cocaine.
A drug that tends to stimulate the nervous system, cocaine can be snorted in powder form, smoked when in the form of rocks "crack" cocaineor injected when made into a liquid. Also called MDMA to denote its chemical composition methylenedioxymethamphetaminethis drug tends to create a sense of euphoria and an expansive love or desire to nurture others.
In overdose, it can increase body temperature to the point of causing death. Examples include LSD and mescaline, as well as so-called naturally occurring hallucinogens like certain mushrooms.
These drugs can be dangerous in their ability to alter the perceptions of the user. For example, a person who is intoxicated "high" on with a hallucinogen may perceive danger where there is none and to think that situations that are truly dangerous are not.Information about Drug Side Effects.
Signs and Symptoms of Anger-Related Issues - Causes and Effects
Side effects may vary for each individual depending on the person's disease state, age, weight, gender, ethnicity and general health. Get the facts on drug abuse and addiction symptoms, causes, treatment centers (rehab), physical and psychological effects, types of drugs, and statistics.
Oct 26, · Causes. Like many mental health disorders, several factors may contribute to development of drug addiction. The main factors are: Environment. Environmental factors, including your family's beliefs and attitudes and exposure to a peer group that encourages drug use, seem to play a role in initial drug use.
Depression In depression, which afflicts about % of the population, there appears to be abnormal excess or inhibition of signals that control mood, thoughts, pain, and other sensations.
Drug addiction isn’t about just heroin, Not when it causes financial, emotional, and other problems for you or your loved ones.
using, or recovering from . The Causes and Effects of Drug Addiction Drug addiction is not a hallmark of moral failure or lack of willpower—it’s a complex disease that deserves long-term, extensive treatment, just like any other chronic condition.
Prescription drug abuse - Symptoms and causes - Mayo Clinic | <urn:uuid:06d894d4-58b9-4575-9dd2-80b4c9951e2b> | https://fuhapyzesujim.rutadeltambor.com/the-causes-and-effects-of-drug-1328lo.html | en | 0.940157 | 0.206373 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Go Back
Olive Garden Breadsticks (Copycat Recipe)
Turn spaghetti night into a restaurant-worthy meal when you add warm, buttery Olive Garden breadsticks.
Course Appetizer
Cuisine Italian
Author Good Living Guide
1. Using a stand mixer add your oil, water, sugar, salt and yeast.
2. Mix to combine.
3. Let the mix sit in the bowl for 10 minutes to let the yeast to begin to bloom.
4. Begin to add your flour while you have the mix on low speed to form a dough mixture.
5. Continue to mix until it forms a ball.
6. Use a large glass bowl and spray it down with non stick spray.
7. Take your dough ball from the mixer and add it to the bowl.
8. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set to the side for 1 hour.
9. You will notice the dough ball doubles in size.
10. Before you uncover the dough ball, take your baking sheets and spread a thin layer of cooking oil on the baking tray.
11. Now take a cutting board and cover it with flour.
12. Place the dough ball on the board and cut it half.
13. Now cut the half into 1" thick strips.
14. Begin to roll the dough strips to create the rounded shape.
15. When placing the strips on the baking sheet, make sure to leave a 2" gap in between each strip.
16. Cover the baking sheet with plastic wrap loosely and set to the side for 1 hour.
17. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
18. In a small bowl combine the garlic and melted butter. Stir to combine.
19. Brush breadsticks with butter and sprinkle with salt.
20. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown.
21. Remove from the oven and coat with the garlic butter mixture.
22. Enjoy!! | <urn:uuid:04afeaf6-e1ac-4cd8-9c5b-3f9a541ba69e> | https://goodlivingguide.com/wprm_print/recipe/3167 | en | 0.870069 | 0.034208 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
How Death Positivity Helps Me Mourn The Living
By: Lola Phoenix
1. Sadness is not shameful.
2. Grief and recovery aren’t linear.
3. Celebrate the time you have.
Complete Article HERE!
Green funerals help planet, wallet
For years, Dr. David Wong has questioned why religious people, who say their souls go to heaven, would go to such extremes to protect their dead body by embalming, select expensive wooden caskets and then even protect the casket. Perhaps green funerals are the alternative?
[H]ow would you react if you saw people dumping 800,000 gallons of formaldehyde, a carcinogenic substance, into the earth every year?
Then witness them cutting down four million acres of forests annually? I suspect the environmentalists who fight underground oil pipes would be raising holy hell about formaldehyde and rampant destruction of trees. Yet this is what it takes to bury the U.S. dead every year. So why are environmentalists so silent?
Now, a film called “Echo Death Takeover: Changing the Funeral Industry” has been produced by The Order of Good Death, founded by funeral owner Catlin Doughty who advocates green funerals.
Some readers may wonder why I’m writing about death when I’m trained to keep people alive. But pollution of many types is currently causing serious respiratory and other health problems. Moreover, for years I’ve questioned why religious people, who say their souls go to heaven, would go to such extremes to protect their dead body by embalming, select expensive wooden caskets and then even protect the casket. And although I’m not a religious authority, don’t they always say at funerals, “Ashes to ashes and dust to dust?”
If the body is embalmed, smoke also contains vaporized formaldehyde which remains in the atmosphere. That is, until it bonds with water. Then we are rained on with formaldehyde. So be sure to take a good raincoat and hat if attending a rainy funeral. Besides, cremation requires heat that could be used for other purposes.
So, what is a green funeral? It’s a process called alkaline hydrolysis, also called flameless cremation or water cremation. The body is placed in a pressurized steel container filled with 95 per cent water and five per cent potassium. For the next three hours the body undergoes chemical decomposition, reducing it to soft bone fragments. This mixture of amino acids, peptides, sugar and salt can then be used for fertilizer.
Water cremation is not an illogical proposition for the next century. It’s now legal for human disposal in four U.S. states and in 14 for pets.
Are there negatives to water cremation? I imagine some would be disgusted at the dissolving of a loved one in a warm alkaline bath. But, surely, it’s less psychologically shocking than having Grandpa inserted into a fiery inferno.
Shakespeare, in his play “Hamlet,” describes the scenario of life and death so well. He wrote: “Worms are the emperor of all diets. We fatten up all creatures to feed ourselves and we fatten ourselves for the maggots when we are dead. A man may fish with the worm that hath eat of a king and eat of the fish that hath fed of that worm.”
This is not a pleasant thought or the best bedtime reading. But regardless of how expensive the casket is the worms finally win. So, isn’t there a better way to protect the planet and return all the minerals and other elements to the earth?
Complete Article HERE!
Will your life end well? An Oscar nominee and palliative care advocate on what’s new in death
Shoshana Ungerleider, founder of the End Well symposium and the Ungerleider Palliative Care Education Fund
Shoshana Ungerleider is a leading palliative care advocate as well as a practicing physician at California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco. In her work as an activist and educator on end-of-life issues, she’s been focused on creating a more human-centered approach to how we die. To this end, Ungerleider has started a philanthropic organization dedicated to education about end-of-life issues, launched an annual symposium on the end-of-life experience called End Well, and helped produce documentary films on the subject, including the Oscar-nominated Extremis and End Game, which was released on Netflix earlier this month. The Business Times spoke to her about what’s behind her passion for palliative care and how a better understanding of death is essential to a better health care experience.
As an internist who works in a hospital, how did you first get interested in palliative care?
Sort of the weird thing is that I never set out to be any kind of advocate for end-of-life issues. But really early on in my residency, I experienced so many patients in the ICU who were dying of lung cancer, of liver disease, of end-stage something and I realized that nothing that we were going to do was really going to reverse their age or their underlying medical problems. But nonetheless we were still kind of doing things to them because we could and not because we necessarily should. It turns out that far too many people spend their last moments of life suffering. They’re in pain. They’re hidden away from their loved ones. And to me it’s coming down to the fact that we’re not doing as a job both as health-care providers but also society at large of having honest conversations early and often about what matters most to us.
Are there generational differences in terms of people being open and comfortable about conversations around death?
Millennials are, for whatever reason, really open and honest about mortality and making sure that they get what they want and have some autonomy. There’s a similar thing with baby boomers interestingly, really wanting to have a say and maintain control. There are organizations like Death over Dinner in Seattle, where they kind of helped you curate and facilitate a conversation around the dinner table with friends, family or loved ones. Also, The Dinner Party, which is another group founded by some young women who lost their parents which is more focused on grief, and loss, and creating an open conversation around their table. So it’s fascinating to me just how much innovation is happening around this seemingly very taboo topic.
Many doctors feel that death is ultimately a treatment failure. But have you seen an evolution from the physician and provider side when it comes to end-of-life care?
There’s been, over the last 15 years, a shift in medical education. So people are realizing that teaching doctors how to have hard conversations is really critical. We need to be doing more of it and there needs to be sort of core academic competence models coming out of our national accrediting bodies that haven’t happened yet. But the field of palliative care is brand new. It’s only been a specialty that’s been board certified since 2008. There has been a radical shift in the last 10 years to now being a very much more popular field. They talk about it often and medical students and residents are much more open to the idea that doctors still have a place in healing, even when a cure is no longer an option.
One of your stated goals is to make the end-of-life process more human-centered and less clinical, cold and impersonal. What role is technology playing in that shift?
There’s a few apps out there that are really helping to facilitate advanced care planning, meaning the kinds of documentation and discussion that need to take place to make people’s end of life care preferences known, like Cake out of Boston. There are also a few entities researching the use of virtual reality in terms of both therapeutically helping to treat pain and anxiety, but also for recreational use. So some places in Canada and the UK are specifically using it for patients who are in hospice and want to mark things off their bucket list. So while they can’t travel but they might be able to experience Niagara Falls or go climb Everest virtually.
Are there things that American culture regarding death can learn from other places around the world?
It’s really interesting because everybody always asks if there are countries or societies that do this well, and the answer to that is no. Nobody has figured out the best way to support patients, to support families, to think about caregiving from a civic perspective. The one really interesting case study that I always point to when I talk about this is La Crosse, Wisconsin. It’s a town of about 50,000 people where one leader in the community decided that he was going to make his hometown just like a great place to die. How he went about this was in the mid-2000s he figured out a way to really encourage people to do a lot of advanced directives, so that it became just a commonplace thing. In 2009, something like 95 percent of the people that died (in La Crosse) had filled out an advanced directive. In the United States we have 10,000 baby boomers turning 65 every day. Never in the history of our country will so many people die in such a short time span, so it behooves all of us to start thinking about innovative solutions to caregiving.
So you’re probably the person I’ve talked to who’s thought about these issues the most, how has your perception of your death had changed?
Something sacred is happening. You get to see a very intimate window into someone’s life and really the mystery of what binds us together as human beings. For me, being reminded of my mortality makes my life sweeter. It’s more rich when you know that one day it will end.
Complete Article HERE!
Everything You Need to Know about Thanatophobia- The Fear of Death
By Nancy Walker
• Panic disorders
• Panic attacks
• Post-traumatic stress disorder PTSD
• Hypochondriasis
What is Thanatophobia?
• Fear of separation
• Worry about leaving the dear ones behind
• Fear of suffering from a loss
Diagnosing Thanatophobia
• Arises every time the person wonders about dying
• Continues to persist for a period of more than 6 months
• Interferes with the life and relationships of the patients
• Immediate anxiety or fear when thinking about the process of dying
• Avoiding situations where the concept of death or dying is discussed
• Feeling pain in stomach or general sickness when thinking about dying
• A general feeling of anxiety or depression
Types and Causes of Thanatophobia
Most of the time, thanatophobia is related to psychological illness.
How to Treat Thanatophobia
The treatment options for thanatophobia usually include:
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Exposure Therapy
Using these medications together with other psychotherapies can be extremely effective.
Relaxation Therapies
• Performing deep breathing exercises
Complete Article HERE!
What does a good death look like when you’re really old and ready to go?
David Goodall a day before his assisted death in Switzerland.
[H]awaii recently joined the growing number of states and countries where doctor-assisted dying is legal. In these jurisdictions, help to die is rarely extended to those who don’t have a terminal illness. Yet, increasingly, very old people, without a terminal illness, who feel that they have lived too long, are arguing that they also have a right to such assistance.
Media coverage of David Goodall, the 104-year-old Australian scientist who travelled to Switzerland for assisted dying, demonstrates the level of public interest in ethical dilemmas at the extremities of life. Goodall wanted to die because he no longer enjoyed life. Shortly before his death, he told reporters that he spends most of his day just sitting. “What’s the use of that?” he asked.
Research shows that life can be a constant struggle for the very old, with social connections hard to sustain and health increasingly fragile. Studies looking specifically at the motivation for assisted dying among the very old show that many feel a deep sense of loneliness, tiredness, an inability to express their individuality by taking part in activities that are important to them, and a hatred of dependency.
Of the jurisdictions where assisted dying is legal, some make suffering the determinant (Canada, for example). Others require a prognosis of six months (California, for example). Mainly, though, the focus is on people who have a terminal illness because it is seen as less of an ethical problem to hasten the death of someone who is already dying than someone who is simply tired of life.
Why give precedence to physical suffering?
Assisted dying for people with psychological or existential reasons for wanting to end their life is unlikely to be supported by doctors because it is not objectively verifiable and also potentially remediable. In the Netherlands, despite the legal power to offer assistance where there is no life-limiting illness, doctors are seldom convinced of the unbearable nature of non-physical suffering, and so will rarely administer a lethal dose in such cases.
Although doctors may look to a physical diagnosis to give them confidence in their decision to hasten a patient’s death, physical symptoms are often not mentioned by the people they are assisting. Instead, the most common reason given by those who have received help to die is loss of autonomy. Other common reasons are to avoid burdening others and not being able to enjoy one’s life – the exact same reason given by Goodall. This suggests that requests from people with terminal illness, and from those who are just very old and ready to go, are not as different as both the law – and doctors’ interpretation of the law – claim them to be.
Sympathetic coverage
It seems that the general public does not draw a clear distinction either. Most of the media coverage of Goodall’s journey to Switzerland was sympathetic, to the dismay of opponents of assisted dying.
Media reports about ageing celebrities endorsing assisted dying in cases of both terminal illness and very old age, blur the distinction still further.
One of the reasons for this categorical confusion is that, at root, this debate is about what a good death looks like, and this doesn’t rely on prognosis; it relies on personality. And, it’s worth remembering, the personalities of the very old are as diverse as those of the very young.
David Goodall died listening to Beethoven’s Ode to Joy.
Discussion of assisted suicide often focuses on concerns that some older people may be exposed to coercion by carers or family members. But older people also play another role in this debate. They make up the rank and file activists of the global right-to-die movement. In this conflict of rights, protectionist impulses conflict with these older activists’ demands to die on their own terms and at a time of their own choosing.
In light of the unprecedented ageing of the world’s population and increasing longevity, it is important to think about what a good death looks like in deep old age. In an era when more jurisdictions are passing laws to permit doctor-assisted dying, the choreographed death of a 104-year-old, who died listening to Ode to Joy after enjoying a last fish supper, starts to look like a socially approved good death.
Complete Article HERE!
Can food help us cope with grief?
bowl of borscht
By Anne-Marie Bullock
Many people have memories of loved ones tied up in food.
Jo Ash lost her husband a year ago.
Complete Article HERE! | <urn:uuid:eeaa0e9b-13e4-470b-a9f4-2950df85321f> | https://theamateursguide.com/2018/05/ | en | 0.971616 | 0.034801 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Nested Loop From A Folder to Get Files In Servers
Nested loop to do whatever you need to do with the files and folders in the server remotely using ManagementScope. This function will loop the first layer or loop nested until the end. Below example is to generate a html nested list:
Connect to WMI remotely to Copy File from Server to Local Computer
Below a function which remote to server to copy a file to local pc through Windows Management Infrastructure (WMI). | <urn:uuid:5f6edf3a-bda1-47bb-8300-d68cc438b0cb> | https://waiseekweng.wordpress.com/tag/remote/ | en | 0.853458 | 0.210105 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Menu Monday: Meal Planning With the Glycemic Index
Meal Planning with the Glycemic Index
Have you or a loved one been diagnosed with Diabetes or pre-Diabetes? Well the Glycemic Index (GI) can be a helpful tool in understanding what foods spike your blood glucose (sugar) levels and how rapidly they do so.
The Gl measures how quickly foods containing carbohydrates raises one’s blood sugar. Foods with a low GI value (55 or less) are digested, metabolized and absorbed slowly which causes a slower insulin response due to gradual rise in blood glucose. A food’s Glycemic Load (GL) is the amount of carbohydrate in a serving size of the defined food. The GL of a food can be identified as low (10 or less), medium(11-19) or high(20+). This tool can be helpful for (pre-)diabetics learning what foods can help achieve blood sugar stabilization versus experiencing major dips or spikes.
Keep in mind, however, that the GI Index is simply a resource to improve one’s meal planning and nutritional habits around carbohydrate intake. In fact, the GI of a food can vary dependent on how long it is cooked, different varieties of the same foods, ripeness and how processed the substance is. So meal planning for your (pre-)diabetic diagnosis should be done so with expert advice and consultation. Nonetheless, the GI is an excellent informative and educational tool that can help those in need of improved blood sugar maintenance by learning what foods to avoid and/or limit.
In fact, let’s start now. Here are a few common foods’ GI classification that might help you start improving your blood glucose today!
Low GI Foods (55 or less)
1. Spinach
2. Sprouted Grain Bread
3. Chickpeas
4. Apple Juice
5. Sharp Cheddar Cheese
6. Sweet potato
7. Corn
8. Green Bell Pepper
9. Strawberries
10. Blueberries
Medium GI (56-69)
1. Whole wheat pita
2. Instant Oatmeal
3. Canned Beets
4. Pineapple
5. Raisins
6. Peaches
7. Table Sugar
8. Taco Shell
9. Cantaloupe
10. Brown rice
High GI (70 or more)
1. White bread or bagel
2. Watermelon
3. Honey
4. Corn Bread
5. Gatorade powder
6. Shortgrain white rice
7. Russet potato
8. Pretzels
9. Corn flakes
10. Cottage Cheese
We are here to help! If you’re ready for support or want more information on the Glycemic Index, drop us an or give us a call at 877-293-9355 ext. 0!
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Read more articles | <urn:uuid:c3805e1b-86cb-4f6c-a44a-5ed8ed210ba0> | https://www.currencies.co.uk/international-money-transfers/transfer-money-united-kingdom/ | en | 0.922052 | 0.3062 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Men and women look for the Asian star of the event, a large number of realize that Hard anodized cookware females usually are difficult to get for the reason that mailbox buy birdes-to-be. It can be accurate the fact that the with regard to Hard anodized cookware women of all ages can be increasing, however the demand for Oriental males is boosting also.
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It seems that the mail purchase birdes-to-be by Most of asia are more challenging to uncover in america, than the mail order wedding brides from all other Asian countries. However it is possible to uncover several actually delightful Asian brides throughout Most of asia, and so they are often very relaxed.
Postagens Recentes | <urn:uuid:cd1ab98d-9d59-4edb-9cd8-3ae38903e61e> | https://www.fecomerciomg.org.br/2019/08/mailorder-brides-to-be-via-asian-countries/ | en | 0.965176 | 0.019842 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
How to Allocate a 401K or IRA
Companies all over the United States and the world offer retirement plans for their employees. Many people take part in contributing to these retirement plans, but many also do not. For those who don’t contribute, this is a big missed opportunity. If employers offer a matching contribution, employees who don’t contribute are missing out on free money.
For the people who have a plan that they actively contribute to or manage a retirement plan, congratulations! While you have taken an important step, if you are not allocating your money appropriately you will miss out on the benefit of growing your money, while at the same time providing yourself safety from large drops in the market or one asset class. Here we will discuss how you should appropriately allocate a 401(k) plan.
Start with a 65/25/10 Mix
What does this mean? The average person, with the average risk tolerance, should have their account invested in 65% stocks, 25% bonds, and 10% other investments such as gold, precious metals, commodities (lightly), or real estate funds.
This average investment profile offers significant diversification, as well as the ability to realize a lot of upside. Over time, this investment mix offers about the same total return as being invested in only stock funds except it accomplishes it with way less risk. Sometimes bonds grow in value faster than stocks, oftentimes stocks grow faster than bonds, and precious metals, real estate, and commodities typically always go up over time and sometimes spike.
Diversify Within Asset Classes
Within each asset class you still need to diversify. For instance of the 65% that you have invested in stocks you would never want to have one equity be more than 7% of your total investment.
Some people will tell you to only invest in individual equities because the fees are much lower if you don’t pay mutual fund management fees, but this is highly dangerous. Most people have no idea how to build individual equity portfolios, and the goal of a 401(k) or IRA isn’t necessarily to “beat the market”. The goal is to obtain a reasonable rate of return over time that will grow your money significantly quicker than a savings account. If you don’t have the knowledge of a professional money manager you may hit home runs or you may strike out, but the odds are against your portfolio performing well over time. Mutual funds invest in dozens or even hundreds of positions within the fund. Your risk exposure is much much lower.
If you are concerned about fees you should choose exchange traded funds (ETF) funds or index funds like those offered by Vanguard and Ishares. These funds have extremely low fees because they are not actively managed but their returns net of fees have proven to rival or even beat the average mutual fund.
The way to invest your money in a more granular sense should have your portfolio looking something (or in our opinion exactly) like:
Equity 65%
15% Large Cap Growth Funds
15% Large Cap- Dividend Paying
10% Large Cap Value
10% Mid Cap Fund
5% Small Cap Fund
10% International Funds
Bonds 25%
10% High Yield Bond
10% Short- Intermediate Term Bond (can include treasury securities)
5% International Bond
10% Other
5% Gold, Precious Metals, Minerals, Mining Companies
5% Real Estate Funds
Keep in mind that there is some flexibility within this structure. While we believe this is a great all around portfolio for a one sized fits all, you may want to allocate your 10% other to individual equities that you personally pick (this is a great way to satisfy your urge to be a stock picker). Or you could allocate 5% of the 10% other to this. Or you may want to invest a portion of your bond portfolio to municipal bonds (which are tax advantaged) if you make a lot of money. But for this to be advantageous you really should be at or near the highest tax bracket, and let’s be honest you probably have a wealth manager already. Generally speaking we don’t recommend municipal bond mutual funds for the average investor. If you are a real gold bug, you can also partake in a physical gold IRA like we offer here.
401K Allocation
A good way to view an investment portfolio is each asset class is a different piggy bank, and together a bunch of small piggy banks get fatter than one big one over time.
How Long Do you Have Till Retirement
The stock market always goes up in the long run, or at least it always has since it began trading over 100 years ago. The problem for people who are nearing retirement age is that when you look at short periods of time, especially those under 5 years, the market can go down, way down. You need to protect yourself against this. If you are going to start drawing down on your retirement funds in less than 3-5 years, you need to lighten your exposure to equities. Maybe you only want your equity portfolio to be 50% of your total portfolio, or even only 30% of your portfolio. If you do, you need to adjust the above allocations accordingly and proportionally.
Remember that even if you are retired, you have a need to preserve your wealth but you also have a need to maintain some growth because you may need to live on your money for a long time. Here is a detailed portfolio for someone who is retired but with a need to keep their money invested and growing.
Investment Allocation for A Retiree
Equity 35%
10 % Large Cap Value
15% High Dividend Large Cap
5% Large Cap Growth
5% Mid Cap
Bonds 55%
10% Short Term Bonds
10% Inflation Protected Bonds (can include TIPS)
10% High Yield Bond
20% Intermediate Bond
5% International Bond
10% Other
5% Gold and precious metals including funds holding stock in mining companies, and commodities.
5% Real Estate
Every person is a little bit different. You will each have a different amount of risk tolerance, you may not need to grow your money at all, or you may need a tax advantaged portfolio. The two portfolios above are excellent starting points, and if you copy it exactly you should be able to obtain what the real goal of a retirement portfolio really is, to grow your money with a reasonable rate of return while protecting against market fluctuations in any one asset class. You need to control and manage risk while at the same time making money over time.
Remember that your rate of return is highly dependent on the underlying performance of each asset class. To compare how your portfolio is doing always compare it to what the S&P 500 is doing, and don’t forget to ask your friends and co-workers. If you copy the above portfolios you will almost certainly be happy with your performance compared to your associates and the overall market. A retirement account is never a get rich quick move, it is a long term savings account with strong growth. | <urn:uuid:14d3b369-363e-4c2a-935e-72685e95f7d7> | https://www.gramercygold.com/allocate-401k-ira/ | en | 0.940825 | 0.079524 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Uric acid and Health
Uric acid structure image
Uric acid cases are increasing rapidly in Modern Lifestyle. It is a serious disease, its initial symptoms are joint pain and body tightness. If this is left untreated, many troubles such as arthritis, kidney stones, diabetes and blood disorders start to increase. It is very important to keep it under control.
What is uric acid
It is a compound made up of elements such as carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen, which the body receives from proteins in the form of amino acids. Its quantity is removed from the body through urine, but when the amount of this element increases in the body, uric a starts accumulating in the body. Which damages the bones. Due to which there is a fear of getting arthritis.
Uric acid ankle pain image
1) Aching joints
2) Ankle ache
3) Swelling of the lumps
4) Feet stiffness at bedtime
5) Unbearable pain in the studio in sitting and getting up
6) Sugar level rise
What to eat and what to avoid
Avoidance of some kind of food is the most important to keep uric acid under control. This problem is aggravated further by consuming a high protein diet. This problem can be relieved by avoiding some kind of food and drink.
Do not eat this diet(Only if you suffered from Uric acid problems)
1. Yogurt
Turn off curd, rice, dry fruits, lentils and spinach. They contain a lot of protein.
2. Lentil-Rice
Consuming milk or lentils while sleeping at night is harmful. Due to this, a lot of uric acid starts accumulating in the body. Avoid peeled pulses completely.
3. Non Veg
If you are fond of eating non-veg, stop eating meat, egg, fish immediately. Eating it increases uric acid rapidly.
4. Bakery Foods
Do not eat bakery foods such as pastries, cakes, pancakes, cream biscuits, etc. Foods rich in trans fat increase uric acid content.
5. Water after meals
Rules for drinking water must also be followed. Do not drink water while eating, water should be drunk before and after one and a half hours.
6. Soya Milk
To avoid the problem of uric acid, do not eat soya milk, junk food, spicy foods, cold drinks, fried foods.
7. Alcohol
Do not consume substances like alcohol, caffeine, smoking. These things increase uric acid. They contain yeast which is harmful for health.
Now we will see what we can eat in uric acid problem
1. Apple Vinegar
Apple vinegar helps in reducing uric acid by increasing the pH volume of blood in the body.
2. Small Cardamom
Eat 2 green small cardamoms with 1 glass of lukewarm water before going to bed at night.
3. Onion
Onion increases metabolism and protein content in the body. If both of this is present in good amount in our body then it can easily control uric acid.
4. Water intake
Drink sufficient amount of water to remove the amount of uric acid from the body. Keep drinking water for a while. Drink 10-12 glasses of water a day.
5. Vitamin-C
Include orange, amla like food in diet which contain good amount of vitamin C.
6. Celery
The quantity of uric acid is controlled by taking celery.
7. Raw Papaya
Take a raw papaya, cut it and separate the seeds. Now boil the papaya in 5 liters of water for 5 minutes. Cool this water and sieve it, then drink it 2 to 3 times a day.
― By Orson Welles | <urn:uuid:c5f4190e-2d2a-4d12-92e9-dc1f3c7d9f91> | https://www.healthfitnesshealing.com/2019/09/uric-acid-and-health.html | en | 0.923641 | 0.319898 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
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Leonardo da Vinci
Walter Isaacson, president and chief executive officer, The Aspen Institute, and author of The Innovators: How a Group of Hackers, Geniuses, and Geeks Created the Digital Revolution (2014), Steve Jobs (2011), Einstein: His Life and Universe (2007), Benjamin Franklin: An American Life (2003), and Kissinger: A Biography (1992). In this lecture held on November 6, 2017, at the National Gallery of Art, Walter Isaacson discusses his newly published biography, Leonardo da Vinci, on history’s most creative genius. Based on thousands of pages from Leonardo’s astonishing notebooks and new discoveries about his life and work, the book weaves a narrative that connects Leonardo’s art to his science. Leonardo produced the two most famous paintings in history: The Last Supper and the Mona Lisa. But in his own mind, he was just as much a man of science and technology. Isaacson demonstrates how Leonardo’s genius was based on skills we can improve in ourselves, such as passionate curiosity, careful observation, and an imagination so playful that it flirted with fantasy. The Gallery has in its collection the only painting by Leonardo in the Americas—Ginevra de’ Benci (c. 1474/1478) is one of his three extant female portraits and is among his earliest experiments with the new medium of oil paint. | <urn:uuid:941e0f05-19a9-4bde-816b-5b6494976a3e> | https://www.nga.gov/audio-video/video/da-vinci-isaacson.html | en | 0.947513 | 0.020229 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
The Town of Roswin - Jeffrey Scott Nuttall
A year ago, Roswin was an unremarkable settlement at the edge of a forest, its people making their livings primarily by hunting, trapping, and farming. Now, it’s a town trapped in a nightmare—literally.
At the center of the town’s problems is a boy named Jaik who was born with great innate psychic potential. But Jaik had a hard and miserable life, and never had the chance to consciously develop the abilities he could have had. His days were filled with toil and pain, and his nights were filled with nightmares—but thanks to his psychic potential, those nightmares had power, and every night he was unknowingly forging a link to the darkest parts of the Dimension of Dreams. Still, nothing might have come of this had it not been for an ambitious night hag named Kabus who noticed what was happening and decided to take advantage of the situation. Coveting more influence in the Material Plane, she used strange rituals to tap into and build upon Jaik’s connection to the Dimension of Dreams, strengthening it and broadening it until the Material Plane and the Dimension of Dreams overlapped.
Now Roswin essentially exists on both planes at once. Nightgaunts, vooniths, and other fell monsters of dream roam the streets, and those inhabitants who didn’t manage to flee the village before it was too late have themselves been transformed into monstrous nightmare versions of their former selves. The buildings are twisted and distorted in ways that defy normal geometry, some of them now larger on the inside than their exterior dimensions.
The link to the Dimension of Dreams is still fueled by Jaik’s dreaming, and Kabus has woven an enchantment to keep him perpetually asleep in what had been the manor of the town’s reeve. Kabus herself makes her lair in Roswin’s only inn, the Dart and Dagger, now, like the rest of the town, warped and distorted into a weird dreamscape.
What happened to Roswin is only the first step in Kabus’s schemes. The area of superimposition between the Material Plane and the Dimension of Dreams is spreading, and threatens to envelop other settlements if it isn’t stopped. The only way to sever the connection is to wake Jaik from his slumber, or kill him—but Kabus and her agents keep the sleeping boy hidden and well guarded to make sure he isn’t disturbed.
I believe in positive feedback and honest criticism that should make you better at every part of this gig. So to start positively, I want to say that THIS is an adventure location! You've given us a plot, a villain, and raised the stakes by saying the nightmare realm threatens to expand. You even threw in a sad story and a moral dilemma. I can work with this!
I encourage you to strengthen the tone of your writing. A bit more elaborate description would serve you once you practice and find a more descriptive voice. Diligently expand your vocabulary and make the language more engaging.
Tavern map is serviceable but why not think bigger? A town map labeled with intriguing titles—warped versions of mundane thing—would feed my imagination and broaden the feel of the whole thing.
I wrote a spell for Horror Adventures called "dreadscape" and this is exactly the sort of thing I had in mind. Nightmarish reflections of everything around you working against your sanity and imposing fear while you try to work your way through a realm fueled by the darkest corners of your imagination. Great work and good luck in this contest!
• The text does a great job of describing Roswin’s history and the cause of its current calamity. You’ve defined the main villain in the night hag Kabus, and you’ve identified other potential threats the PCs could face while adventuring in Roswin. As the featured location, the Dart and Dagger Inn receives enough of a mention that the map doesn’t make me scratch my head in wonder, but I feel like you could have used some of your text to describe localized distortions specific to the inn. I also think Jaik should be in the inn (perhaps hidden in one of the barrels that serves as a large enough space to hold a bedroom), since you’ve chosen to highlight it.
The map is somewhat reminiscent of The Dancing Hut, an adventure from the very early days of Dragon Magazine. In the adventure, the interior of Baba Yaga’s hut is a tesseract, so mapping was insane because rooms didn’t connect as expected. I like how the layout doesn’t make physical sense, and I appreciate the way you’ve indicated how the rooms fit together. I would have liked more leaning into the concept of warped reality, and I feel like you could have replaced the tables with beetles (or some other odd object from your selection of map icons) on the map.
The text is clear enough, but it has some passive voice (For example, “His days were filled with toil and pain, and his nights were filled with nightmares” could become “Toil and pain ruled his days, and nightmares dominated his sleep,” and the text after the em-dash would start a new sentence). You have some filler words here and there (for example, you could remove “essentially” from the first sentence of the third paragraph without losing any meaning).
Overall, this is a fascinating location, which you could have enhanced with more specifically directed information on the inn. By tightening up your text, you would give yourself plenty of words to do so without losing any of the other description. I’m on the fence for a recommendation, but I lean slightly toward recommending this to advance.
• edited June 2018
This nightmare-plagued town is an excellent adventuring location, one that could easily be scaled up to allow for harder adventures or kept at a more reasonable level for something earlier in a campaign. The history of the town is clear, as well as the peril that it's in now, along with a solid villain. This has all the essential elements of an adventure that's all but written itself. I like that you call out the reason for the Dart and Dagger to be spotlighted (and I like the name; I'm curious if there's a story behind it as to me it screams rogues) and the overall entry leaves me wanting to see the map of the town reeve's manor too. That's solid work.
I really like the map itself. I do wonder if the choices might be too big, in that usually a building that uses more than a single map (which this would need as you've indicated it also has a second floor and a cellar) is really large and this has all of four rooms on the first floor. That said, I like the shapes being nonrectangular and I love that it's nonlinear in terms of doors not opening into expected areas. I do wonder whether it needed a little inset about what it looks like from the outside, as that's not going to match what the map shows (as the text indicates happens in Roswin) -- where are the kitchen/pantry/private dining room when viewed from outside. Beyond that, I think the first floor may be a little too crowded, as it would be nearly impossible to have a fight in that main room, since there's no space for PCs to move around. Even the private dining room might only need a single table.
Despite those concerns about the map, I think the overall flavor of this location is great, and it's easy enough to see an adventure set here. I do recommend this for advancement.
• I wanted to read and comment every entry before I gave a thumb' up or down recommendation. I am supporting FOUR entries to advance from this round based on map, adventure potential, and quality prose. And I do recommend this one to advance based on my comments above.
In addition, I'm naming this entry my favorite of the round!
• Just wanted to say congratulations on a really strong entry for round 2.
This is a creepy and exciting location and I can clearly see what sort of adventure we have in store.
With the map, I wanted to say that I particularly loved the fact that the room connections do not map. It really highlighted for me that the inn had been twisted by nightmare/dream logic and I can imagine it driving players trying to map the place around the bend.
• edited June 2018
Excellent work completing Round 2. You've shown that you not only had the imagination and creativity to get noticed by the judges, but that you are able to complete a goal in a short time.
First, from the standpoint of whether a cartographer can understand you map, it's basically done from layout view. The only thing needed might be a clarification of the room connectivity. I think I would have preferred you to use some of your backstory space to actually describe the inn (the traps, the interaction between doors and rooms, what might be in the cellar or upstairs since those aren't shown). I can make the connection that Door B behind the bar probably connects with Door B in the kitchen, etc. but I know that sometimes others might be confused and a simple example or statement other than the inn is warped in dimension amidst the grand description of the town might be needed.
Second, from the standpoint of an exciting or adventurous map location, I just don't see it. What I see is a main room, filled with tables and some fireplace traps and a kitchen. I see nothing strange or nightmarish (other than for anyone trying to move or place NPCs around or on all those tables) about the location that would set it apart from just a normal inn shaped like that (and I don't even know what parts of the tavern are different from its normal layout.) That basically leaves a GM like me trying to use the apparent 'warped door' effect of a fight that has an enemy run from the bar into the kitchen, through the kitchen to come out in the south end of the main room (through Door C) and base a fight or encounter on that being exciting more than once during a fight or utilizing 15+ tables (which could be cool if the floor was lava, or carpets of beetles or nasties, and everyone had to leap from one to the other, but that's not indicated).
At its base, for me, I see one interesting-shaped room, with a bar that might be used for cover and some fireplace traps for interesting battle effect and a zillion tables which I don't know if they are intended as someone's nightmare shaping or you just tried to fill every space on the map and it wasn't intended.
When I look at the map, I see the front door, so we assume the encounter will start there with a few possible variant, like the PCs coming in one of the few windows elsewhere in the room. From there we have a few tables and the bar right in front of them, where an enemy could be placed for cover. One fireplace trap presumably will effect any PC moving to the bar and another if the go a bit southward. Other than that, the whole southern curve of the room doesn't need to be traversed unless you place enemies down there, who might flee through C to the kitchen (which can be reached through B behind the bar). and then you have access to the second floor right there next to the bar, so that probably rules anything important or hard to get from being up there.
Long version
I tend to judge a map on its merits with supporting text to help me view it. You've written an adventure premise, but devoted only two sentences to the map you've shown (and only one floor of that map). To me, this tells me that you view this location as important and critical to one of the exciting parts of the location you've described (that and your map name is the Town of Roswin, but the map is the Dart and Dagger Inn, which is what I would have called the entry, but whatever).
As mdwelham mentioned, Jaik isn't even here, and a good amount of the night hag's resources and agents should be devoted to keeping him hidden and well-guarded at the Reeve's manor. Why isn't the map there? All we know for sure is that the night hag stays at the inn (but that doesn't mean she'll be here, she could be watching Jaik because there's a band of PCs wandering around). This might be a good place to ambush or lure the PCs. Also, from your description, killing or driving off the night hag has no bearing on the premise (barring the PCs needing something only she has to end the sleep enchantment, which should be mentioned if that's the case, otherwise a GM could just let a dispel magic or dispel evil work and, chase down the hag later).
I'd have preferred more use of the description to talk about things that make the map exciting; what might the fireplaces do, any importance to the mounted animal heads, rifts or gaps in the floor that send a PC elsewhere or spew something,etc. You have about 16 tables in here, and seating for about 113 people, not counting the bar stools. I don't know how big Roswin is, other than it's an unremarkable settlement and can't be that big, or they'd probably have a few heroes themselves, but that's a lot of seating unless this place is commonly used as the town hall too. Otherwise, the map also looks ordinary. You've opted for color, but everything is a cheerful, cozy wood color, there's nothing to indicate 'weird spots' or purplish-yellow bruising on the floors or walls.
Additionally, other than a curved common room and pantry (which probably won't come into play in the encounter), I don't know if that's a nightmare twisting of the original layout or just how the tavern looked. Granted, you couldn't be expected to use map space to show the original layout (if different), but as a viewer seeing something that might be nightmarish, it should be recognizable as a horrific twisting of something that should be familar and at least make sense in some way. Ie. the previously mentioned 20 tables in one room, 5 fireplaces in basically 3 rooms (at least have the kitchen and adjoining private/conference(?) room share a fireplace on one wall for a semblance of realism), no way for the bartender to come around the bar without walking through the kitchen and out a door (which we don't know where would lead to normally), etc. If we're to assume that these are nightmare additions... we're left wondering how nightmarish this place can be where a bunch of tables, extra fireplaces, and a curved room are considered nightmares.
• Good stuff! This was a strong entry. I like how all the elements, the town, encounter, and villain, are tied together succinctly. I also like the implied moral choice of adventurers possibly having to kill Jaik to save the town. Well done.
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Sunday, April 3, 2016
METRO Houston and Social Media - New @METROHouAlerts
Over the past week or so some might have noticed that the Twitter account for Houston's METRO system had started tweeting bus delays. Until then, only a few rail line service announcements made their way into the Twittersphere. Now, after a week or so of service announcements on their main Twitter handle, the agency has employed a separate Twitter account, @METROHouAlerts, to keep riders aware of bus, rail and HOV/HOT lane delays or service announcements. (I had a draft post earlier in the week that recommended creating a separate service announcement account, but METRO beat me to it!)
It may not mean much of anything to most, but this is certainly new, and is reflective of the growing desire of METRO to better inform its customers and provide increased customer service.
One might ask whether this process is practical for individual bus routes, especially those that are infrequent. Who am I to decide? What's the proper service tweeting etiquette? This has the ability to unravel into a Seinfeld-like discussion about "over-tweeters". Maybe the delay notices are needed on frequent routes like the 82 that are the backbone of METRO's bus system.
On a normal day though, it could be questioned how necessary or effective the notices are, especially when METRO readily provides notice on their TRIP application, and through the agency's text updates, personalized to each bus stop. It seems that riders may be apt to rely on notices through those services.
Now, METRO's Twitter account is a relative lightweight at 7,400 followers when compared to other metropolitan transit systems. (And as of Sunday night, just over 100 people have followed the @METROHouAlerts account). This is likely indicative of METRO's ridership share as well. Do the majority of METRO's riders even use Twitter? I'd argue no, not many do. Or, maybe not enough to warrant real-time system delay announcements on their main feed.
Chicago's @CTA account has 102,000 followers. The CTA doesn't separate service alerts from their general tweets, something that many other agencies do. The Bay Area is a bit different. San Francisco's @SFBART account has 136,000 followers. San Francisco's @SFBARTalert account has over 48,000 followers by itself. Houston's METRO is moving toward this model, separating general information from service announcements. DART in Dallas also employs a separate alert account. You could also take an ultra-tailored social media approach, as the Philadelphia area's SEPTA has, customizing riders' Twitter feeds with accounts for each trolley, regional rail (come on Houston!), and subway line. This account from Boston's MBTA gives some background into how their agency benefited from some civic hacking, allowing for the creation of individualized service announcement Twitter accounts for the agency's most popular transit lines.
I know that Houstonians are often quick to point out that Houston shouldn't be compared to other large cities. "We're different and unique." Well, yes. But we're the 4th largest city in the country. The unincorporated areas of Harris County, many of which are service by METRO, would be considered one of the most populous cities in the country by itself. So, there are many people who rely on public transit, and likely desire to continue to gain more and more information on a system that they depend on. (There was a 3% increase in METRO's local bus service from January 2015 to January 2016.)
Do Twitter updates of delays make the system more enticing or appealing? Possibly. I doubt that anyone will decide to use METRO simply because of the fact that they provide service updates through social media. I think there's a greater stigma toward public transit here in Houston that will extend beyond being relevant on social media. But, as an agency, METRO is attempting to do all it can to be sure that once someone rides their network for the first time they are presented with as much information as possible, and their travel experience is one worth repeating.
METRO continues to make improvements to their community engagement, and I believe it will pay dividends as the agency looks forward as to how to better serve their customers. Providing riders with continued information about delays is just another way METRO is displaying its desire to provide continuously improving customer service.
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Wednesday, May 14, 2014
Heath Holland On...Adapting Transformers
Something evil is watching over you…
With Transformers: Age of Extinction just weeks away, I’ve had Autobot-fever: I’ve been re-watching all the old Generation 1 cartoons and reading Transformers comic books and looking at the toys longingly in Target. But more than anything, I’ve been thinking about how the upcoming movie will work as an adaptation of an existing line of stuff that I love.
Not coincidentally, adaptation has been on my mind since I appeared on the podcast to discuss The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and I’ve been thinking a lot about how major studios are approaching the properties that I love. Are they doing them respectfully and maintaining the essence of the characters or are they missing the forest for the trees? With Amazing Spider-Man 2 a success in adaptation for me (and apparently ONLY to me), I’m now turning my attention to the next franchise that I’m really worried about: Transformers (my investment in Jersey Boys is minimal).
Being a kid who grew up in the heyday of the ‘80s (when toys were marketed to kids via weekday cartoons and comic books), I was an easy target for Hasbro. The G.I. Joe and Transformers shows were on in my house Monday through Friday. I liked that Stan Bush song “You’ve Got the Touch” before it became ironically cool to do so because of Boogie Nights; that song and the Lion hair metal cover of the Transformers theme song that appeared on the 1986 animated film soundtrack are still on my iPod.
So when Patrick and I were discussing Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman’s screenplay for Amazing Spider-Man 2 on the podcast, I knew what I had to do. I had to re-watch the first three Michael Bay Transformers movies to see how they held up as adaptations of a well-established and ongoing saga.
Before you read any further, Patrick wrote about the first and third films in the Transformers franchise a few years ago. His observations are, as always, perfect. You should read those first and then read this with the understanding that what I’m doing is purely for my own satisfaction as a dedicated Transformers fan, comic and cartoon nerd, and as an experiment in geek culture.
That culture to which which I’m referring seems to encourage the dismissal of plot holes and questions in favor of blind faith that at some point all lapses in logic will be corrected and all plot holes will someday be answered.
Fans of all things geeky like comics and video games and serialized animation tend to gloss over things that don’t work in the belief that eventually everything will slot together perfectly. We’re also trained to not ask too many questions and just go with the flow, accepting that every piece of a story is essential and that we must have it. I’ve bought hundreds of comics over the years in the belief that things would one day get better and make more sense to me. The downside of this is a character like Wolverine, who has been led in so many different continuity directions that his story is now a convoluted mess and will never, ever make total sense. As cool as that character is, he’s the worst example of what the culture I’m referring to can do.
My point is simply that when I love something, such as Spider-Man or Han Solo or Doctor Who, it can be tempting to dismiss things that don’t work simply because I love that thing and am happy just to be getting it. I don’t think that’s why I enjoyed Amazing Spider-Man 2, but I have been questioning if that logic is popping up in other areas of my fandom.
So it was with this love of all things Transformers and the intention of challenging myself that I did what I don’t recommend to ANYONE else: I watched all three existing Michael Bay Transformers movies in one sitting, recording my thoughts during and between each film.
Buckle up and secure all loose objects -- this is going to be a long, bumpy ride.
I’m not particularly familiar with any of these movies. I saw Michael Bay’s original 2007 film once in theaters, and maybe once or twice in the years since. My memory was that it was a pretty fun time at the movies.
I have no idea what I was thinking back then. This movie doesn’t just hate all the human characters and hate the audience, it even seems to hate the Transformers themselves. Almost none of the original Transformers mythology and spirit is in this movie. I don’t get the impression that anyone, from the writers to the director to the stars themselves, has ANY history or love of the franchise that they brought to the big screen. It almost seems like Hasbro handed over a book of designs and a studio made a movie from that.
Humans were always a weak point of the classic cartoon series for me, yet here they are given all the heavy lifting, which is a problem. Every human character in these movies deserves to die. They’re deplorable, selfish, crude, and behave like someone on Mars might think humans acted like. Furthermore, every trope and cliché is in full use.
There’s a scene where a soldier played by Josh Duhamel talks to his wife back home (via a video chat) while she holds their newborn child. Here we have a father about to head into battle -- and possibly death -- talking to his wife through a screen about their child. These writers liked that moment so much that they reused it in Star Trek with Chris Hemsworth on the bridge of the USS Kelvin.
Once the Transformers themselves arrive on screen, I feel like I can breathe a little easier. Nope. The problem with the Transformers themselves is that they are few in number and exist as nothing more than soulless robots. This is why I think no one involved in this movie ever watched the show or read the comics or even played with the toys. These characters have personalities! They are not interchangeable. Some Transformers are loyal, some are humble, some are ambitious, and some are arrogant. They are just like people. Almost nothing resembling characterization has been injected into this script.
Nitpick: I also don’t dig the character design at all. Everything looks super-mechanical and strangely veiny and sinewy. I’m okay with the switch to more modern (and exclusively General Motors) vehicles, but they just look WEIRD. I guess I should be thankful that Optimus Prime is still a big truck and not a transforming bidet. Uh-oh, now I’ve given Michael Bay an idea.
For a franchise that had (in 2007) thrived across hundreds of cartoon episodes, an animated movie, and countless comics, you’d think Orci and Kurtzman would have stuck to a variation on the established and beloved Transformers mythos. Maybe something to do with the toll that civil war had taken on the Transformers and how bitterness and rivalry had destroyed their planet because they couldn’t get along with each other? Maybe something about the depletion of their natural resources because they put all their efforts into war and not into conservation? Or how about less complicated themes, such as how absolute power corrupts absolutely and how those who seek to conquer and destroy must be deposed, even at great personal cost? Nope. We get ebay and antique glasses. This plot is an INSULT to Transformers fans. Either THEY are stupid for writing it or they think WE are stupid. I believe it’s both.
The saving grace of this first film comes during the third act. The table has been sloppily set for some robot carnage (even though they’ve done a piss-poor job of giving us any real motivation for Megatron and his Decepticons, who really only show up in any force right before the third act) and thankfully the script allows Michael Bay to do what he does best: shoot slow-motion action from interesting angles, set to rock music.
The final fight between the Autobots and Decepticons ALMOST redeems the previous two hours of hatefulness. This final twenty minutes has some of the most iconic imagery in the entire franchise, film or otherwise. This is Transformers porn. This is stuff to put on your wall and jerk off to. And I’m okay with that.
I now know that the affection I thought I had for this movie comes from those final 20 minutes. Transformers sticks the landing and provides what we came to see. Unfortunately, it is all for nothing because it does this without giving us a compelling story or characters that we can immerse ourselves into. As a spectacle, it’s a success; as a good film or a film that accurately represents ANY aspect of the Transformers that I know and love, it’s a failure. Maybe a failure that has watchable moments, but a failure nonetheless.
But that failure is nothing compared to…
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
This is not a movie. Oh sure, it has actors in it and it was, theoretically, written at a computer screen by Orci and Kurtzman and now also Ehren Kruger (who, to be fair, is not in the same dungeon of ugliness as his co-conspirators) of Reindeer Games and Scream 3 notoriety. But this is not a movie. Nothing that makes a movie a movie is present here. There don’t even seem to be any acts or structure. This is one of the most cynical films I’ve ever seen. There is no attempt to mask the fact that it exists purely to make money. No artistic integrity is present. There is no humanity or kindness or struggle whatsoever. It exists purely to show you things you’ve already seen in the quickest, laziest way and make money from your affection of what you think you want.
Twelve minutes into the film we have animals humping each other and kitchen appliances coming to life and attacking people. And I don’t mean kitchen appliances attacking people in a fun way, like Joe Dante would be able to pull off, I mean the ugliest possible way.
I’m tempted to say that Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is an attempt at adolescent fantasy, but that can’t be. I’m down with adolescent fantasy: I love the cartoon series that this bastardized film was inspired by. No, this is a corporation’s idea of adolescent fantasy. This is three screenwriters and a director who think their audience is stupid; who HATE their audience and who think that giving the peasants bread and circuses will entertain them in lieu of anything of substance.
There’s less to talk about with this film than the last one (which looks like Shakespeare by comparison) because there’s less of a movie here. There’s really not even a discernable plot. The characters (har har) have to get from point A to point B. Why and how is really of no concern to anyone.
Screen time is wasted. Characters are wasted. The one legitimate moment that could have been written to mean something (the temporary death of Optimus Prime at the hands of Megatron) is a call back to something that happened in the 1986 animated movie and had far more weight and impact than it does here. Once again Orci and Kurtzman have attempted to remind us of something that had a huge effect on us in the past, but they replicate it without understanding what made that moment so meaningful. They want all the reward without doing any of the work. When Optimus Prime was killed in 1986, fans had watched him struggle against Megatron for 65 episodes spread across two years. It had been building to that confrontation for a long time. In this movie’s continuity, Prime and Megatron had fought for roughly 45 minutes of screen time. It means nothing, particularly since Prime is alive again by the end of the movie. They want all of the impact with none of the work. Even the appearance of Devestator, the Decepticon build-a-figure which was created by assembling six separate Transformers, means nothing because it’s given no weight here. It’s just checking a box off on a list of references that mean nothing. It could have been the highlight of the movie; as it stands, it’s a throwaway.
It’s such a waste. A reported $200 million budget and a production crew of hundreds were involved in a movie that is the cinematic equivalent to a hot chili fart: the event itself was temporary but the damage lingers. I don’t think any movie has made me angrier than revisiting Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. I don’t even think Star Trek: Into Darkness upset me this much, because I can at least enjoy portions of that movie. I enjoy nothing in this film. I honestly don’t see how a fan of the Transformers could defend this movie. It’s indefensible. Everything is borrowed. Nothing is new. Kruger, Orci and Kurtzman have served you a dog turd on a paper plate and told you that you’re eating gourmet in the hopes that you won’t notice. This is not an adaptation. This is a hatchet job.
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman bow out as Ehren Kruger takes over the full screenwriting duties for this third installment and, what do you know, things actually step up a bit in terms of quality. This is the most Transformiest of all the Transformers movies to date and has the most of what I’m looking for. It has the most actual robots (including a couple of my favorites, Shockwave and Soundwave) and the most believable and faithful plot outside of the source material. This time the Decepticons are trying to find a way to bring their home planet Cybertron to Earth. Megatron used to do this all the time on the cartoon series, so it looks like Kruger actually has a history with these characters. Either that or someone gave him the complete series box set for Christmas and he watched a couple of episodes and felt like he got the gist.
But at the same time, this is also the ugliest film. The human characters are as despicable as ever, though in the case of cast additions John Malkovich and Ken Jeong, actually even worse. If I were king, Ken Jeong would be in jail for crimes against humanity and I’d be debating whether or not Malkovich deserved to join him. I think Malovich escapes because he has Of Mice and Men and The Glass Menagerie on his resume. BUT IT’S CLOSE.
As happy as I am to see Autobots acting like Autobots and Decepticons acting like Decepticons, I’m not sure I’m okay with the movie that they’re in. How is this film not rated R? There is so much destruction and carnage in this film, and not the faceless type that movies like Man of Steel seem to have been given a pass by some for. We see lots of people die on screen in horrible ways. Bodies are reduced to ash and bone. Human beings fall from skyscrapers to their death on the ground below. Even the robots aren’t spared here; Dark of the Moon has introduced the unpleasant addition of what amounts to Transformer blood. When a limb or a head is severed, red goo gushed from the wound. This is in a film based on a children’s toy line? Is EVERTHING broken?
And all of the sudden Optimus Prime has turned into The Punisher. He’s been violent in the previous two movies and even in the cartoon (it was war, after all), but he never courted death so brazenly. Near the climax of the film he actually says “we will kill them all.” This is not how I want my Optimus Prime. It’s like Ehren Kruger got that these movies needed more realistic stakes but took things way too far over the line. As a result, we have a movie that my child will not see until she is 35.
This movie also adds Leonard Nimoy to the film as the voice of Sentinel Prime, which marks that actor’s return to the property (he previously voiced Galvatron in the 1986 animated film). But even that gets screwed up by having him be too on the nose, dropping Star Trek references and actually saying “the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.” I get it, Kruger. It’s Leonard Nimoy. WE ALL GET IT.
Still, I appreciate Kruger’s attempt to make the stakes in this film feel closer in line to the source material and give the Transformers themselves actual depth and motivation. Nimoy’s Sentinel Prime, particularly, has a lot of gray morality to explore and the movie does a decent job with that. It took three movies but we finally get Transformers acting a little bit like characters instead of empty shells.
So now here we are on the cusp of the fourth film, Transformers: Age of Extinction. I’m cautiously optimistic because Kruger injected actual Transformer love into the film series. It looks like he’s going to get the opportunity to start fresh here with a completely different cast. I’m hoping that he steers far away from the camp and ugliness that exists in the three previous films and tells a story worthy of the Robots in Disguise.
As a work of adaptation, these movies have largely failed. Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman do not understand what makes these characters endure. It’s one thing to not to become beholden to continuity and fall into the trap of fan service and repetition. It’s another thing entirely to throw the baby out with the bathwater and lose the thing that made what you’re working on special in the first place. Ehren Kruger seems to understand this more than his former collaborators, but I’m worried that he’s lost the optimism in Optimus.
I’ll be holding an uneasy breath until Age of Extinction arrives in theaters. In the meantime, if you are remotely interested in Transformers but have only experienced these live-action movies, I would recommend that you seek out the many television shows and collected editions of the IDW comics, which have expanded the lore to almost biblical proportions. The Transformers in these movies aren’t really the Transformers that I love at all. There’s an entire universe of stories and characters with deep motivations waiting to be explored. The sooner Hollywood realizes that, the closer we’ll be to actually seeing the “real” Transformers on screen.
1. Heath your thoughts on the Transformers movies represent the .0001% of the online Transformers discussion that is actually thoughtful!
I will only add that I really love the sound design on these movies. A great demo for a high-end sound system for sure. I have trouble defending much else (although I'll be there to give away my money for Transformers 4 #IAmPartOfTheProblem).
1. You're right, these movies do have excellent sound design. When the robots transform, it's a sonic masterpiece. If only that much attention had been put into making the movies as good as that one element. I don't blame the production staff or the CG animators or really anyone else for these movies not living up to their potential: I blame Michael Bay, Kurtzman, and Orci. Kruger...I haven't decided yet. If Age of Extinction retains the same scatalogical, juvenile humor and really bizarre plot contrivances that are present in the first three then I suppose I'll know he's part of the problem.
Thanks for the comment!
2. Great piece, Heath! Transformers is a franchise I love because it was such a big part growing up but it really is a shame that the movies have done such a bad job at translating them to the big screen.
Other than Optimus and Megatron, who are so archetypal as to be rendered uninteresting, and the My-Pet-Robot Bumblebee, none of the Transformers come across as actual characters. You're lucky if you can tell them apart! I'm not sure how well the cartoons hold up as it's been awhile, but I seem to remember them having distinct personalities and certainly distinct looks (there were toys to sell after all) - how hard would that have been?
And why are they SO MUCH about people? It's like the assholes who made these movies have such little understanding of how stories and movies work that they didn't think it was possible people could actually relate to the robots in their ROBOT MOVIE, so they have to play second fiddle to the HUMAN DRAMA that we, the stupid fucking popcorn-inhaling audience presumably are capable of comprehending. I barely remember the human element of the cartoons (certainly never had a human toy) and I could relate to those robots as heroes and villains with fears and desires as a fucking SIX YEAR-OLD.
I'm not sure I've seen another movie/series with so much contempt for its audience and that's the truly unforgivable part, right?
3. Yeah, you're absolutely right about everything you mention, Sol. I've been going back and re-watching the original cartoon and, while it is definitely a product of its time, each character is developed as an individual. This has only gotten more and more pronounced over the years as new creators and new media have tackled the characters and fleshed out their backstories, giving this cartoon that was originally an extended toy commercial added depth and lots of development. One thing that I appreciate is that if you watch the 80s cartoon you will definitely see an arc: the characters that you start with are not the characters that you end with. Characters die and are modified and loyalties and motivations change. Granted, a lot of it has been made clearer through comics, but that original show definitely did establish a universe that has infinite possibilities for interesting stories.
And you're right about the human focus in the movies, too. The whole point of Transformers is that are essentially humans themselves, they just look different because they're from a different planet. There were political motivations, betrayals, sacrifices, all kinds of human aspects to the storylines that didn't even get a nod. I don't think the creators of the film understand the Transformers. Frankly, I don't think they knew what Transformers was outside of the name recognition. "Transformers? That's that toy franchise about the robots that turn into cars? We can make money out of a movie with that. Let's do it." | <urn:uuid:6d233b1c-8309-4c30-8780-66dacb185383> | http://www.fthismovie.net/2014/05/heath-holland-onadapting-transformers.html | en | 0.967901 | 0.062208 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
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Commerce License or Commerce Recurring Framework?
Hi All,
Trying to setup a website for selling online services with recurring billing cycles. No need to shipping feature. Wanted to use Commerce Kickstart, but after reading Bojan's comment on https://www.drupal.org/node/1732042 I see that it's better to start with clean Drupal Commerce install, but I am confused which modules I need to install.
So I would appreciate if anyone could consult on what are minimum number of absolutely necessary modules to keep it clean.
The big confusion for a Drupal Commerce newbie like myself is to understand how to setup recurring billing system correctly. Should I install both (1) Commerce Recurring Framework and all the related or dependent modules and another set that goes with (2) Commerce License module? Are the complimentary to each other or just two different approaches to set recurring service products?
As I understood from https://www.drupal.org/project/commerce_license_billing it can do recurring billing for licenses. So should I setup service products on my project as licenses?
Thanks for attention!
Posted: Aug 23, 2014
joshmiller Josh Miller on August 26, 2014
Commerce Recurring: For shippable, whole orders.
Commerce License: Platform for selling digital goods or services.
Commerce License Billing: Allows for licenses to billed on a daily/weekly/monthly/quarterly/yearly and for prepay, postpay, prorated and metered billing cycles.
Sounds to me like you need Commerce License Billing. If you want to check out a good example of how to create a license for your services, you might take a look at commerce_license_node which handles both a one-time license and a metered license scenario.
Alex Sm. on August 26, 2014
Hi Josh,
Thank you very much for pointing me to the right direction and saving me from trying all other paths. I will give a try to Commerce License Billing.
Do you think I can strip Kickstart down to only what I need or is it better to start from vanilla Drupal and Drupal Commerce setup?
joshmiller Josh Miller on August 28, 2014
I always recommend vanilla Drupal.
Here's a .make file that has Drupal, Commerce, Dependencies, and Commerce License:
api = 2
core = 7.x
projects[drupal][type] = core
; Contributed modules, 90% required dependencies.
projects[admin_menu][version] = 3.0-rc4
projects[ctools][version] = 1.4
projects[devel][version] = 1.5
projects[views][version] = 3.7
projects[entity][version] = 1.5
projects[rules][version] = 2.7
projects[token][version] = 1.5
projects[addressfield][version] = 1.0-beta5
projects[] = entityreference
; Almost always need custom line items
projects[] = commerce_custom_product
; commerce + commerce_license
projects[commerce][version] = 1.9
projects[commerce_file][version] = 2.0-beta3
projects[commerce_license][version] = 1.3
projects[entity_bundle_plugin][version] = 1.0-beta2
projects[views_bulk_operations][version] = 3.2
projects[inline_entity_form][type] = "module"
projects[inline_entity_form][download][type] = "git"
projects[inline_entity_form][download][url] = "http://git.drupal.org/project/inline_entity_form.git"
Most recent dev version required
projects[inline_entity_form][download][revision] = "8229859"
nicpon on December 21, 2015
Its an old topic, but its spot on with my issue at hand and perhaps adding here makes more sense.
Can the two modules coexist Recurring Framework and Commerce License Billing? I have products that fit both needs, but I can't seem to get them to work under one install...so I'm just making sure. | <urn:uuid:4d99ef8a-ec65-408f-ad17-082927a37379> | https://drupalcommerce.org/discussions/15817/commerce-license-or-commerce-recurring-framework | en | 0.862094 | 0.020148 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Notif. No. FEMA-91/2003 Amended CORRIGENDUM
Notification No: RBI Notification No G S R 713(E)
In the Notification No. FEMA. 91/2003-RB dated June 5, 2003 of the Reserve Bank of India, Exchange Control Department, Central Office, published in the Gazette of India Extraordinary, Part II, Section 3, Sub-section (i) vide G.S.R. 10(E) dated January 7, 2004, the following shall be substituted :
(i) In the title and the short title, of the Regulations for the figure `2003' the figure `2004' shall be substituted.
(ii) At the end of the Notification, the following foot note shall be added
"Foot-note: The Principal Regulations were published in the official gazette vide No. G. S.R. 3 95(E) dated May 5, 2000 in Part 11, Section 3, Sub-section (i) and subsequently amended vide No. G.S.R 477(E) dated July 8, 2002."
That as rectified and Modified as aforesaid, the Principal Regulations shall remain in full force and effect.
Dy. Governor
Ozg FEMA Consultant
Ozg Consulting (P) Limited | <urn:uuid:b16e8ab6-b3b7-4c7c-9129-0e5f4cdda134> | https://fema.ozg.in/2012/03/notif-no-fema-912003-amended.html | en | 0.897599 | 0.060248 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Where to store binaries for end users to download?
New to gitlab.com (the online service). I moved my open source project Autopoweroff from GitHub and all is well, except for a small detail. I fail to find a mean to leave binaries (.tar.gz, .deb and .rpm) somewhere so my
users can download the files. Can someone point me how this can be done?
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Guadalupe Mountains National Park
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Guadalupe Mountains National Park
IUCN category II (national park)
Sign at the entrance
Map showing the location of Guadalupe Mountains National Park
Map showing the location of Guadalupe Mountains National Park
LocationCulberson County and Hudspeth CountyTexasUSA
Nearest cityDell CityTexas
Coordinates31°55′N 104°52′WCoordinates31°55′N 104°52′W
Area86,367 acres (349.51 km2)[1]
EstablishedSeptember 30, 1972
Visitors225,257 (in 2017)[2]
Governing bodyNational Park Service
WebsiteGuadalupe Mountains National Park
Guadalupe Mountains National Park is a national park in the Guadalupe Mountains of West Texas and contains Guadalupe Peak, the highest point in Texas at 8,749 feet (2,667 m) in elevation. Located east of El Paso, it also contains El Capitan, long used as a landmark by people traveling along the old route later followed by the Butterfield Overland Mail stagecoach line. Visitors can see the ruins of an old stagecoach station near the Pine Springs Visitor Center. Camping is available at the Pine Springs Campground and Dog Canyon. The restored Frijole Ranch House is now a small museum of local ranching history and is the trailhead for Smith Spring. The park covers 86,367 acres (134.95 sq mi; 349.51 km2)[1] and is in the same mountain range as Carlsbad Caverns National Park which is located about 25 miles (40 km) to the north in New Mexico. A number of trails exist in the park for hiking and horse-riding. Climbing over 3,000 feet (910 m) to the summit of Guadalupe Peak, the Guadalupe Peak Trail winds through pinyon pine and Douglas-fir forests and has views of El Capitan and the Chihuahuan Desert.
The park also contains McKittrick Canyon. A trail in the canyon leads to a stone cabin built in the early 1930s, formerly the vacation home of Wallace Pratt, a petroleum geologist who donated the land in order to establish the park.
Dog Canyon, on the northern park boundary at the Texas-New Mexico State line is reached by driving through Carlsbad, New Mexico or Dell City, Texas. There is a campground which accommodates tent campers, recreational vehicles, and horse trailers. There is a public corral for livestock available by reservation.
On the west side of the park near Dell City lie impressive gypsum sand dunes. Another attraction is the Williams Ranch.[citation needed]
Guadalupe Ranch House
Map of Guadalupe Mountains National Park
Wallace Pratt Lodge
For thousands of years, the Guadalupe Mountains have had a tumultuous history. Archaeological evidence has shown that people lived over 10,000 years ago in and among the many caves and alcoves. Hunter-gatherers followed large game and collected edible vegetation. This conclusion is supported by the discovery of projectile points, baskets, pottery, and rock art.[3]
The first Europeans to arrive in the area were the Spanish in the 16th century, but they did not make serious attempts to settle in the area. The Spanish introduced horses; nomadic indigenous tribes like the Apaches soon found them an asset for hunting and migrating. Mescalero Apaches followed game and harvested the agave (or mescal) for food and fiber (Mescalero is Spanish for mescal-maker). Agave roasting pits and other artifacts of Mescalero culture can be found in the park.
The Mescalero Apaches remained in the mountains through the mid-19th century, but they were challenged by an American transportation route at the end of the American Civil War. During the 1840s and 1850s many people immigrating west crossed the area. In 1858, Pinery Station was constructed near Pine Springs for the Butterfield Overland Mail. The Butterfield Overland Mail traveled over Guadalupe Pass located at 5,534 ft (1,687 m) above sea level. The 9th Cavalry Regiment was ordered to the area to stop Indian raids on settlements and mail stage route. During the winter of 1869, Lt. H.B. Cushing led his troops into the Guadalupe Mountains and destroyed two Mescalero Apache camps. They were eventually driven out of the area and into US reservations.
Felix McKittrick was one of the first European settlers in the Guadalupe Mountains; he worked cattle during the 1870s. McKittrick Canyon is thought to be named after him. Frijole Ranch was the first permanent ranch house; it was constructed in 1876 by the Rader brothers. Frijole Ranch House was the only major building in the region; it served as a community center and regional post office from 1916 to 1942. Today, the Frijole Ranch House has been restored and serves as a cultural museum. In 1908 Williams Ranch House was built, and it was named after one of its inhabitants, James Adolphus Williams. Judge J.C. Hunter from Van HornTexas consolidated most of the smaller ranches in the area into the Guadalupe Mountain Ranch. In 1921, Wallace Pratt, a geologist for Humble Oil and Refining Company, was impressed by the beauty of McKittrick Canyon and bought the land to build two houses there. Both were used as summer homes by Pratt and his family up until 1960. Wallace Pratt donated about 6,000 acres (2,400 ha) of McKittrick Canyon which became part of Guadalupe Mountains National Park, which was dedicated and formally opened to the public in September, 1972.[3]
Geography and climate[edit]
McKittrick Canyon from a distance
The Guadalupe Mountains reach their highest point at Guadalupe Peak, the highest point in Texas,[4] with an elevation of 8,751 feet (2,667 m).[5]The range lies southeast of the Sacramento Mountains and east of the Brokeoff Mountains. The mountain range extends north-northwest and northeast from Guadalupe Peak in Texas into New Mexico.[6] The northeastern extension ends about 10 miles (16 km) southwest of Carlsbad, near White's City and Carlsbad Caverns National Park; the southwest tip ends with El Capitan about 90 miles (140 km) east of El Paso. The mountains rise more than 3,000 feet (910 m) above the arid floor of the Chihuahuan Desert.[4] The Guadalupe Mountains are surrounded by the South Plainsto the east and north, Delaware Mountains to the south, and Sacramento Mountains to the west.
Manzanita Spring
[hide]Climate data for Pine Springs weather station, Texas. (Elevation 5,600 ft or 1,700 m)
Record high °F (°C)74
Average high °F (°C)53.7
Average low °F (°C)31.7
Record low °F (°C)4
Average precipitation inches (mm)0.69
Source: The Western Regional Climate Center[7]
McKittrick Canyon Trail
There are three major ecosystems contained within the mountain range. First of all, deserts exhibit salt flats on the western side of the National Park and creosote desert, with low elevations on the east covered with grassland, pinyon pine (Pinus edulis) and junipers such as alligator juniper (J. deppeana) and one-seeded juniper (J. monosperma). Secondly, canyon interiors such as McKittrick, Bear, and Pine Springs Canyon on the southeast end exhibit mapleash, chinquapin oak (Quercus muehlenbergii), and other deciduous trees. These trees are able to grow in the desert due to springs of water recharged by wet uplands. Finally, alpine uplands known as 'The Bowl' exceeding elevations of 7,000 ft (2,100 m) are clothed with denser forests of ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa), southwestern white pine (Pinus flexilis), and Rocky Mountain Douglas-fir(Pseudotsuga menziesii subsp. glauca), with small stands of aspen.[8]
The range contains many large cave systems, including Carlsbad Caverns and Lechuguilla Cave. The history of the range includes occupation by ancient Pueblo and Mogollon peoples, and by the Apache and various outlaws in the 19th century.[9]
Animals that inhabit this national parks include elkgray foxesblack bearscoyotesbobcatsstriped and hog-nosed skunksbadgers, sixteen species of batsmule deer, and cougars. Birds of this park include great horned owlschickadeessparrowsbarn owlswoodpeckersturkey vulturesgreater roadrunnershummingbirdsperegrine falconsgolden eagleswrens, and grosbeaks.
See also[edit]
1. Jump up to:a b "Listing of acreage as of December 31, 2011". Land Resource Division, National Park Service. Retrieved 2012-03-07.
2. Jump up^ "NPS Annual Recreation Visits Report". National Park Service. Retrieved 2018-02-26.
3. Jump up to:a b National Park Service. History of Guadalupe National Park. United States Department of the Interior.
4. Jump up to:a b "Elevations and Distances in the United States". United States Geological Survey. April 29, 2005. Archived from the original on January 16, 2008. Retrieved 2009-03-28.
5. Jump up^ "El Capitan"NGS data sheetU.S. National Geodetic Survey. Retrieved 2008-12-28.
6. Jump up^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Guadalupe Mountains National Park
7. Jump up^ "Seasonal Temperature and Precipitation Information". Western Regional Climate Center. Retrieved January 6, 2014.
8. Jump up^ Powell, A. Michael. Trees and Shrubs of the Trans-Pecos and Adjacent Areas. University of Texas Press. p. 91; ISBN 978-0-292-76573-3
External links[edit] | <urn:uuid:7824b5a1-fffb-45bb-a78d-2e630ec7275b> | https://intuitivefred888.blogspot.com/2018/04/guadalupe-mountains-national-park.html | en | 0.826585 | 0.019989 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
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(COM151) The Microsoft Office
Listed below you will find some common terminology dealing with computers, the Internet, networks, software, and more.
Applications Program: a computer program that is designed to perform specific tasks and functions. The term application software can apply to a variety of software programs, including web browsers, photo editors, and text editors, to name a few. It can also sometimes be called user software, because it controls programs that operate for the benefit of the user.
Bookmark: a method of saving a website or web address within a specific Internet browser. Different web browsers may use different terms to describe bookmarks and their bookmarking tool; for example, Internet Explorer uses the term "favorites" instead of bookmark.
Byte: a measurement unit for computer memory. A byte is the smallest unit of memory in many computer architectures.
Clipboard: a temporary storage location for copied items.
CPU: abbreviation for Central Processing Unit. The CPU is essentially the brains of a computer, where all of the calculations and tasks take place that allow a computer to carry out the instructions of a particular computer program.
Gigabyte: a measurement unit for computer memory. A gigabyte is equal to approximately 1 billion bytes.
Hardware: the physical parts of a computer, including the machinery, wiring, etc.
Internet Browser: a software program that allows users to locate and display web pages, and otherwise explore content on the Internet. Current web browsers include Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Apple Safari, Mozilla Firefox, and more.
LAN: acronym that stands for "Local Area Network". A Local Area Network is a collection of computers and network resources that spans a small area; for example, most business and home networks operate on a LAN.
Megabyte: a measurement unit for computer memory. A mega byte is equal to approximately 1 million bytes.
Network: a collection of computers, servers, mainframes, network devices, and other devices connected together for the purpose of sharing information.
Operating System: the software that supports a computer's basic functions.
PDF: acronym that stands for portable document format. A PDF is a file format that allows documents to be shared easily and reliably, across different types of computers. A PDF essentially captures the elements of a printed document as an electronic image; it is possible to convert text documents (such as Word documents) into PDF files. PDF files are generated using Adobe Acrobat software.
Software: the programs, operating systems, and applications used by a computer. This includes all of the Microsoft Office computer programs.
System Software: computer software that is designed to run a computer's hardware and application programs; for example, an operating system is considered a type of system software.
Terabyte: a measurement unit for computer memory. A terabyte is equal to approximately 1 trillion bytes.
USB Flash Drive: a small data storage device that has an integrated USB interface. Flash drives are typically removable and rewriteable, meaning that they can be used with any computer that has a USB port and files can be deleted off the drive and new files can be added.
WAN: acronym that stands for "Wide Area Network". A Wide Area Network is a collection of computers and network resources that spans a large geographic area. Computers which are connected via a WAN are often connected through the Internet or through public networks such as telephone companies.
Word Processor: a software program that can create, store, and print typed documents. Microsoft Word is an example of a word professor. | <urn:uuid:9880e549-a87d-4abe-ac0d-bb6258beec3c> | https://library.an.edu/com151/terms | en | 0.883056 | 0.848113 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Session 32: Constantinople 330 AD, Part Two
Originally posted March 13, 2018
In 1923 at Prof. Smith’s archaeological site in remote Yugoslavia, the Investigators listened to Miss Crispin read the strange journal they had found in the ruined temple.
In 330 Constantinople, the Fortes Falcones continued their investigation into cultish criminal activities in a blighted distinct of the otherwise thriving city. The 1923 readers recognized that this area was to become the site of Sedefkar’s Red Tower in 1203 and is the current location of the Brothers of the Skin’s “Shunned Mosque.”
The squad had divided into three groups. Galerius and Milonius tracked down the dwelling of the last survivor of the three men who had written the letter of complaint about the gang. This retired sailor lay on his deathbed and told how a stranger from the west had arrived and gather a collection of devotees, promising great rewards if they obey him and found some treasure or source of power within the district. The man departed, but his followers only grew in number and boldness, striking down any who crossed them with a deadly bite that caused wasting sickness and death. Only an ancient idol of Apollo kept the Sailor alive this long, and once he passed the artifact to Milonius , the he quickly succumbed.
Damanais had been stationed to guard the house of the dead stonecutter whose family was being forced to hand over his body to the cult. He fought valiantly against two cultists when they arrived, but they seemed possessed of supernatural strength, speed, and resiliency and he was forced to withdraw.
Belasir had agreed to accompany Lucrious, a ranking member of the cult to an audition for joining. He explained their belief that each member could rise to a position matching their worth, but certain tests will be necessary to determine that. They descended into the catacombs beneath the city.
Belasir’s first test was to carry a dead body to a vat on a ceremonial altar, were it is devoured by hungry black tar. This tar was then poured on another willing, if hesitant, applicant to the cult. When the substance utterly destroyed the applicant, Lucrious proclaims “He was not worthy.” He turned to Belasir and said “Now it is your turn.” Seeing he has no chance of escape, Belasir agreed. As the oily liquid poured over him, a deafening buzzing filled his head and he blacked out.
The other members of the squad gathered to compared information – and noticed that Belasir was missing. Recovering a comrade was their highest priority and so they set off to search.
Belasir woke up in a pleasant apartment attended by servants. Lucrious arrived and subserviently explained that Belasir’s passage through the ceremony suggested he may be the “Chosen One” they, the Cult of The Flayed, have been seeking. He must travel to the west into Dacia to see the “Teacher” who will know what this means. Lucious seems puzzled that Belasir has no interest in the pitcher of blood he has been provided to drink and has no hesitancy in walking into the sunlight. Belasir feels perfectly normal.
Finding the others, Belasir explained the best he could about what happened. He’d been given directions and a list of contacts of the Cult of the Flayed that will lead him across the countryside through the cult’s network and to the sanctum of the Teacher. After reporting to their commander, the Falcones are ordered to follow up on this lead and remove this threat to the Empire.
A long journey followed, with the squad moving farther and farther into the barbarian controlled countryside outside the Empire, hearing as they go stories of plagues, witches, and walking dead. The 1923 Investigators who are hearing the story realized this journey is taking the Romans to their current location and Prof. Smith’s excavations.
Eventually they found a village of crude huts surrounding a complex of stone buildings. The villagers are drained physically and spiritually and claim to only live to assist the great Teacher and share in his coming glory and ascendance.
Cautiously the soldiers entered the stone maze, its wall covered with blasphemous carvings of people worshiping insect-like sky demons. Two silent figures in robes and theatrical masks met them, but only observe. At the labyrinth’s center is a strange domed chamber with walls of metal plates and a whirling, flashing machine of unnatural proportions at its center. They were confronted by a wild-haired man who claimed he had discovered the secrets writings and awoken the sleeping priests. He and he alone was the Chosen One who will be found worthy to serve the Outer Ones who are older and greater than man, god, or Titan.
He commanded Belasir to kneel and worship him, but the spry soldier attacked, attempting to throw the Teacher into the machine. Bat creatures dropped from the ceiling to engage the others in a bloody battle of blades, fangs, and fire. Belasir grappled with the Teacher until he desperately threw them both into the impossible machine.
The others had defeated the creatures, though Damanais and Milonius lay injured and unconscious. There was a flare of strange light and Galerius saw Belasir rise, lambent, from the machine. He was greeted by the silent, masked attendants. Then the dome’s ceiling dissolved and a horrific creature, a huge crustacean swathed in fungus descended and approached. Galerius, barely holding onto his senses, grabbed the bodies of his fallen comrades and attempted to drag them out of the chamber, though unknown dangers and foes stood between them and escape. The chronicle of these events told nothing of whether they were successful.
What did follow were fragments of scenes depicting Belasir’s dissection, reconstruction, and indoctrination into the vampiric Mi-go bio-weapon that has become known as Count Fenalik.
Before turning him loose on the world they showed him an image of the Simulactum:
We are pleased
You are our greatest creation, our greatest success
This is your reward
Seek it out and so as you like with its power
Revel in it
Until the day comes when we shall call on you
You shall be our Tabernacle
And deliver the Gift of Skin unto our Master
The 1923 Investigators then found themselves in a dreamlike state in a dark room, somehow in Fenalik’s presence. He explained that he had written the book with his own blood and their contact with had activated a bond between them all. He is imprisoned by unknown forces, and renewed his offer that if only they’d return his “armor” they would be freed of all their worries. Miss Crispin asked if he recalled his original life. He did, but gave it little importance, having over the centuries, been “so many people.” She inquired if he had any remorse or would turn from his existence of debauchery and sadism, and he was clear that he had no such intensions.
The Investigators finally awoke in Prof Smith’s camp, the enchantment of the book fading. Though Dr. Wilke remained distrustful of what they had learned from Umar’s Uncle Sayed, they decided to follow the lead he had uncovered as to a rebellious faction in the Brothers of the Skin, in hopes of discovering the remaining Sedefkar Scrolls.
This session continued the flashback scenario set in 330 AD Constantinople, and included some major plot reveals I’ve been working towards since early in the campaign. The characters had a mission with a very definite goal but a lot of different paths they could follow for their investigation. The main plot ended up being based entirely on a player idea: she contacted the criminal cult being investigated, posing as a rogue wanting to join up. This was an unexpected development to me as GM, but one that opened up a clear path to the required resolution.
The next half of the scenario was a trip into Roman Dacia and beyond. It could easily have been a whole session, drawing on the material in the published scenario, but I wanted to wrap things up and so just summarized the journey. Now this whole 330 AD scenario is actually a historical record being read by the main player characters in 1923. I emphasized that the place the 330 AD characters were journeying to seemed to be the archaeological dig in Yugoslavia where they 1923 Investigators had found the book they are reading in the first place.
I’m now getting into big, big Spoiler territory for Orient Express, so be aware….
As written, the climax of the 330 AD scenario involves the PCs commanding officer slaying the big bad cultist, becoming poisoned by tainted blood, and eventually transforming into the vampire Fenalik, who haunts the 1923 characters as one of their many adversaries. This is strictly scripted to happen. The NPC kills the baddie and is poisoned. Even if somehow a PC succeeds in the final blow, it is still the NPC who gets cursed. The GM is supposed, if at all possible, rob them of a satisfying death blow and – even worse, it seems much, much cooler if one of the PCs themselves becomes Fenalik! It’s an odd element of the published material that it actively takes agency away from the players, or makes they actions secondary to other peoples’ stories.
So I had the commander NPC stay back at home in Constantinople and left which player character would end up cursed to actual game play. As it turned out, the choice became clear pretty early on: the character who was pretending to join the cult. Things could have gone a different way at the last minute, but the pieces did end up falling into place as if planned.
I next then read a narrative section that was much longer than I usually like. As GM I try not to talk for extended periods, but there was a lot to cover: the unfortunate character’s dissection, reconstruction and mental conditioning into a vampiric bio-weapon by the Mi-go. Mixing the Mi-go into “Horror on the Orient Express” was my own addition, part of my desire to have more straightforward Lovecraftian elements into a story that fundamentally had little to with the classic Mythos. I also had decided early on that the Mi-go spawned vampires as experiments to create a tool to give them some control over the Sedefkar Simulacrum.
Returning to 1923, players had several options as to what they wanted to do next. There is still one piece of the Simulacrum to find. But I’ve been hinting that a wise course would be travelling to Constantinople to follow up a possible contact with the Brothers of the Skin, the cult than is their main advensary at this point. I did leave the choice up to them, though they chose to take my hints. I’m trying to wrap up various components of our quite convoluted plot one by one, so hopefully the next couple sessions will see a resolution of the Brothers and set the stage for the final conclusion of the campaign.
Posted by Unknown at 7:22:00 PM
Labels: Horror on the Orient Express, Trail of Cthulhu
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Tips on how to shop during quarantine (or not to shop)
Are one of those who are shopping for unnecessary stuff online because of boredom? All of us are home alone, with our credit cards ready, not knowing where to spend our money! As ill-luck would have it, there are sales everywhere, free deliveries, promo codes, etc... So the big question is: How not to end up spending all your money on the pointless shit? If the pair of boots will catch my eye, The first thing I would actually do is: I would go to sleep! And guys, It can be painful! Because I imagine all the scenarios, where millions of shoppers from around the world are buying MY BOOTS, in my size, while I'm here wasting my time sleeping. Sometimes those will pass, especially if the boots were not that big of a deal. But if the next day, I would still be trembling for that pair, because most of the time you will just forget, then I know that I really want them. Then my second step will be to analyze if I really Need the boots. As simple as it is, I would go in front of my wardrobe, or the place where you stock your shoes, and sometimes you can discover that you already own something quite similar, that were never worn by the way. Or you can even realize, that the sneakers that you are wearing are sad to look at, or each time when you need to go out, there are no high heels to wear. Or you do have a list of things that you would like to own, and those boots are not on that list. Think guys! Then, after you've figured out that you want and need the boots, your next step will be to see, if it is good timing. Personally, I believe that each time you buy something, a new toy needs to be played with. We are buying our wedding dress before the wedding day, so we will have what to wear, the same with the boots if it is getting warm soon, and the boots will have to wait until next season, just don't. Psychologically you will consider them old already, and probably will not even wear them. And the last but not least, you're buying new clothes to actually wear them somewhere, right? Often we would own 10 pairs of shoes, but would wear only one pair, which looks worn out. You don't have to buy yourself something different each time, if you're wearing sneakers generally, then buy yourself a new pair of sneakers. Every "style icon" is famous for dressing, in the same way, all the time. You just how to find what looks cool on you, and voilà. Even though I believe that sometimes new clothes bring you to new places, it doesn't always work this way, and people end up just stocking their wardrobes with stuff that they never wear. Basically, that is all. If all those points are positive for you, then you definitely should get the boots. Not to forget the banalities like quality and materials. And don't forget that cheaper doesn't always mean better, only the cheese in a mousetrap is free. Have a happy shopping! xx
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This section covers Frequently Asked Questions relating to the API, developers portal and available integrations. Help and FAQ’s relating to the general escrow process and website are available here.
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Articles Posted in Truck Accidents
A North Carolina company recently agreed to pay $3.75 million to a South Carolina couple who were rear-ended by a company truck while Tractor-trailer-Rear-ending-Passenger-Car2the truck driver was talking on his cell phone. The company, Unify, Inc., is a yarn manufacturer that has 60 trucks traveling across U.S. highways. At the time of the collision, Unify had a company policy allowing its drivers to use their cell phones for a maximum time period of two minutes while they were operating company trucks. Lawyers for the injured couple contended the company’s policy promoted dangerous behavior, as Unify failed to enforce the policy. The at-fault driver’s cell phone logs showed that he would routinely use his cell phone for periods as long as seven hours during an approximate eight hour driving shift. Other evidence produced during the case showed that other Unify truck drivers also violated the company policy.
Often, it takes a significant settlement payment to cause companies to change the way they operate. This case was no exception. As a result of the collision and settlement reached in the case, Unify decided to change its policy and prohibit its truck drivers from using cell phones or other mobile devices while operating their trucks on the roadway.
In 2012, the Federal Motor Carrier Association approved a new regulation that banned hand-held phone use by commercial vehicle drivers. However, hands-free use of a cell phone, such as using a wireless Bluetooth device, is permitted. The federal regulation is merely a minimum standard. That does not mean that it is the best or safest standard. Some trucking firms ban any cell phone use while their drivers are operating their trucks and have taken measures to enforce the rules. For example, companies have installed cameras in the truck cabins, allowing them to monitor their drivers’ behavior while operating the trucks.
Dram shop liability is a legal theory that establishes that bars, taverns, liquor stores, and other businesses that sell alcoholic beverages can be held liable for damages caused by their patrons. These laws are aimed to prevent bars, taverns, and retail stores from selling alcohol to minors and to individuals who are visibly intoxicated. The term “dram shop” comes from the shops serving “drams,” which is a term for a small measure of alcohol, usually gin.
Recently in Colorado, the parents of a 16 year old girl filed suit against the Bayou Cajun Restaurant and Bar and one of its bartenders under a theory of dram shop liability. According to the Colorado State Patrol, the girl and two of her friends were served alcohol at the restaurant and subsequently got into an accident with a tractor-trailer that resulted in all three girls losing their lives. At the time of the accident, the driver had a blood alcohol level of 0.241, more than three times the legal limit. Unfortunately, these types of accidents are all too common, and many times could have been prevented if not for the negligence of the “dram shop” involved.
Under Georgia law, bars, restaurants, liquor stores and other establishments that sell alcohol to patrons have a responsibility not to sell alcohol to noticeably intoxicated patrons who they know will soon be driving, as well as minors. If they do so, they may be held liable for causing the personal injuries sustained by innocent motorists at the hands of drunk drivers served at their establishments.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) announced recently that new Federal Regulations, which will hopefully improve safety on the roads by reducing truck driver fatigue, have been enacted. The new, so-called “hours of service” regulations became effective on July 1, 2013. These regulations were first announced in December of 2011 by FMCSA, and trucking companies were given 18 months to adopt the new rules for their truck drivers. The new hours of service rules do the following:
(1) limit the maximum average work week for truck drivers to 70 hours, down from the current maximum allowed of 82 hours;
(2) allow truck drivers who reach the maximum 70 hours of driving within 1 week to resume driving after they have rested for 34 consecutive hours; and (3) require truck drivers to take a 30 minute break during the first 8 hours of a driving shift.
The importance of a thorough investigation after a serious truck accident cannot be Tractor Trailer.jpgoverstated. Often, key evidence exists on an onboard computer on the truck and also in paperwork required to be maintained by truck drivers and trucking companies.
Investigations sometimes reveal that a trucking company or a specific truck driver did not follow federal regulations and even took steps to circumvent federal regulations with bogus entries on log books and inspection reports. Sometimes the paperwork can reveal warning signs to a company about the condition of the truck or trailer before an accident. In some cases, the condition of the truck or trailer, at the time of the wreck, is determined to be the cause of the crash.
Trucking companies are required to keep specific records on their drivers, trucks, and trailers, but are only required to keep that information for a limited period of time. It is important that the attorney for the accident victim contact the trucking company as soon as possible after an accident and demand that the evidence be preserved.
One tactic that has been used recently by trucking companies has been to quickly repair the truck and/or trailer, in an effort to deprive the objective inspection of the truck and/or trailer. Sometimes by the time an accident victim has hired an attorney, the truck and/or trailer has been placed back in service, resulting in critical evidence being lost.
Continue reading ›
A Georgia judge struck a trucking company’s defense in a lawsuit after it was discovered that the trucking company had destroyed evidence. In the case captioned Alegria v. Howard and AAA Cooper Transportation, Inc., pending in the Superior Court of DeKalb County, Georgia, Judge Courtney L. Johnson ruled that AAA Cooper Transportation had denied the existence of evidence from a so-called black box recording device on one of its tractor trailers that was involved in a wreck, and that the company destroyed the recording device. Among other things, black box recording devices can show whether a truck driver was speeding when a crash occurred and whether the truck had problems with braking.
The legal term for the destruction of evidence is “spoliation.” It constitutes an obstruction of justice. The issue of spoliation comes up often in cases involving collisions with tractor trailers or trains. Typically, experienced trucking accident attorneys will send what is known as a spoliation letter to the company that owns or has control over the tractor trailer or train involved in a collision, instructing them to preserve evidence that is crucial to the case. Such evidence includes data or printouts from on-board recording devices and the recording devices themselves. In the lawsuit in question, Mr. Alegria’s attorneys had sent a spoliation letter to the trucking company’s risk manager thirteen days after the wreck. Judge Johnson ruled that the trucking company destroyed the black box recording device despite having received the spoliation letter.
The lawsuit arose when one of AAA Cooper Transportation’s tractor trailers collided with a pick-up truck that had spun out on a rain soaked road and was sitting in the middle of the highway. The driver of the pick-up alleged that he saw the tractor trailer coming, but could not get his door open in time to exit the pick-up truck. He rolled down his window and waived his arms frantically at the driver of the tractor trailer before the tractor trailer crashed into the driver side of his pick-up truck. As a result of the collision, the driver of the pickup truck, Mr. Alegria, suffered an amputation of his leg and a separated shoulder. Mr. Alegria then sued the trucking company, alleging that its driver was negligent in driving too fast for the existing conditions and in failing to avoid the collision.
Continue reading ›
Contact Information | <urn:uuid:48357552-8d2a-4261-a305-efa7f34f898d> | https://www.georgiainjurylawyer-blog.com/category/truck-accidents/ | en | 0.961305 | 0.022479 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Monday, December 23, 2013
More on "the missing link"
If you have not read Part 1 of this series, it is located HERE.
Patty has a sneaking suspicion that PJ Tate actually DID know what happened at Cielo in August of 1969, but that he couldn't do or say anything about it, because there was a federal investigation going on into the workings of The Brotherhood of Eternal Love (aka "The Hippie Mafia" or BEL). Up until a few years ago, nobody talked much about this huge federal investigation because it was, and perhaps still is to some extent, being actively pursued.
Supposedly, the federal investigation into the BEL is "wrapping up" now: The last BEL-related arrest was Brenice Lee Smith (pictured at right) in 2009. Another member was recently located near Lake Tahoe, but since he is a "family man" and has stayed out of trouble for many decades, he was not prosecuted.
You probably know that Colonel Tate was retired, but that he had been fairly high up in army intelligence. There is a passage in Restless Souls where Alisa Statman writes that PJ staked out Cielo for weeks until some "bikers" showed up and taunted the dogs there from behind the fence. PJ then purportedly followed them back to Spahn Ranch. Why didn't PJ go any further with his investigation? He had suspects, he had experience, he had connections. Patty does not wish to trivialize his pain: she has only the greatest respect and admiration for this man whom she never met. Surely, he must have been PISSED: Sharon's acquaintances' involvement with drugs put her in the worst possible place at the exact wrong moment in time. Because he was a man of honor, he would not have been able to divulge details to which he may have become privy if indeed a federal investigation was ongoing. Viewed in this cold, hard fluorescent light, the look on Colonel Tate's face (above, left) screams "monkey trial" to Patty.
In 1972, there was a large law enforcement conference in a "hotel ballroom" somewhere in San Francisco, according to Tendler & May's BEL and Schou's Orange Sunshine. At this conference, a list of 750 known associates of the BEL is said to have been revealed. These associates were loosely organized into maybe 40 separate distributorships up and down the coast. Where is that list now? Perhaps lead investigator and professional creepy crawler Neil Purcell has a copy of the list, because he was supposedly there. Neil was not only instrumental in breaking up BEL operations in California, he is also the officer who arrested Tim Leary, his wife and his son Jack on 12/26/68 in Laguna Beach. The Learys were in possession of a rather small amount of weed for which Tim was sentenced to ten years in prison. You know the rest of that story, right? Anyhow, that list may end up being the holy grail if Patty can find a copy.
It was this document that Patty was searching for when she found copies of the 1972 and 1974 US Senate Hearings on the "Marijuana and Hashish Epidemic," instead. Patty was interested to learn that the BEL was heavily involved in a passport fraud operation in order to mask their comings and goings abroad. This, the hearings read, was confirmed by Interpol, who once investigated Bruce Davis' presence in London at the time of Joel Pugh's death (above). This statement in the Interpol letter caught Patty's eye: "The local police...understand that he has visited our country more recently than April, 1969. However, this is not borne out by our official records." Interesting, no? Patty was also interested to learn that Bruce (pictured below in 1961) was also an early adopter of LSD, as per his parole hearing from October 4, 2012:
"PRESIDING COMMISSIONER FERGUSON: And you say other psychedelic drugs, did you use LSD?
INMATE DAVIS: I started in 1965.
...PRESIDING COMMISSIONER FERGUSON: Other psychedelic drugs as well?
INMATE DAVIS: Mescaline...Psilocybin.
...PRESIDING COMMISSIONER FERGUSON: Okay...You've mentioned hallucinogens, how about depressants or stimulants?
INMATE DAVIS: Very seldom. Sometimes some stimulants.
INMATE DAVIS: No. Methamphetamine."
These are the drugs that Patty was talking about in her first post, which bring us back to Gary, and to Patty's stalker having another cow. Why have the 48 color photographs associated with the investigation into Gary's murder (here) been lost to us? CieloDrive has promised to keep his eyes peeled for the photos, but at last report, there has been nothing. WHY?
Patty believes that drugs figure very heavily into the overall motive, and apparently Sandy Good does too. Friend of the blog "Giselle" found Sandy's old ATWA site on the wayback machine (see here). Sandy, pictured above right with an (evil-)lizard, stated on her website as late as 2000 that although "seriously flawed," the Shreck book is the closest account to what really happened. The Shreck book is very pro drug motive, as you know.
Kimchi at shared that the LASD arrest report of 5/2/68 states that "Suspect Good was again shown evidence held item #1, #2, #3 and #4 and asked if it was hers, suspect stated, no, never saw it before. When asked if she smokes marijuana suspect stated, yes, but I don't like it. When asked where she got the capsules, suspect stated from Gary Hinman in Topanga.(see here)." Is it a coincidence that Tex and Sadie had a baby food jar full of white powdery speed at Spahn right after Gary's murder, which Tex wrote about in his book, "Will you die for me?" It wasn't in the form of pills (aka "reds"), it was POWDER. The stuff Sandy said came from Gary was also powder in a capsule, not pressed. Gary was an amateur and would not have had a pill press like the one at left, which was recovered from an actual MDMA lab. Was the "speed" in the baby food jar methamphetamine (trade name methedrine), an MDA precursor that Sadie got from Gary's basement?
It is very interesting to Patty that places that the Family have been known to frequent parallel places where the BEL had business at around the same times. Family members were driving up and down the coast all the time, Mexico to Canada. Perhaps not so coincidentally, Phil Kaufman who wrote Road Mangler Deluxe states that he met Manson at Terminal Island, where he was serving time for smuggling marijuana from Mexico. At one time Charlie gave Kaufman's "Joint Venture" address as his own, when he applied for a Union Oil Company credit card (see here).
It is also Phil who was with Graham Parsons when he died in Joshua Tree. Phil stole Graham's body to burn it near Joshua Tree rather than let him be buried at home in New Orleans (see here). Joshua Tree was also home to a large commune that Onjya Sipe stayed at (see here), as did a woman who told Nicholas Schou that she saw Charles Manson at a Haight-Ashbury free Diggers' kitchen called "The Living Room."
The guy who was the main BEL cook around the time of the murders was Nick Sand, a Brooklynite who jumped bail and ended up in Canada. Furthermore, Pic Dawson was a purported drug dealer from Canada. In the Robert Ackerley clip, he says that he never intended to end up in the Haight, because he and a friend were originally driving to Canada. (as an aside: He also mentions hanging out with Eric Clapton in the Haight. This blog has a photo of Clapton at Cass' house, eating BBQ next to Pic Dawson: see here).
Ruth Ann was either travelling with or picking up on Hawaii a large amount of LSD at the time she dosed Barbara's hamburger. We know she disappeared and left Barbara in her hotel for several hours before she returned, then high tailed it back to the airport. The BEL was there at the same time, dealing acid and creating what later became known as "Maui Wowie." Did Ruth Ann bring the acid with her in a premotivated plan to murder Barbara, or was it an offhanded stunt she pulled in the process of picking up or dropping off some sort of shipment? (Hey Stoner, the bong babe is for you). If this was the case, it is entirely possible that Barbara was brought along as an unwitting, disposable "mule."
Clyda Dulaney was murdered in Ukiah, halfway between where the Witches of Mendocino were living in Navarro and where the BEL relocated to from the Haight (namely, Potter's Valley). Who is/was Johnny's "weird aunt," who may know what actually happened according to Johnny himself (see here)? And what about Santa Barbara? and Malibu? and Oregon? and Mexico? and San Diego? and Esalen? And....a bunch of other places that come up again and again? Stay tuned, because of course, THERE'S MORE. | <urn:uuid:872a3f4b-a006-4a5c-b71e-b61c58877617> | https://www.mansonblog.com/2013_12_23_archive.html | en | 0.984194 | 0.044862 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Pocket Pedigree
Name: Pocket Pedigree
Updated: 1999
Note: This software is no longer being developed.
Here it is! The first genealogy software for the Windows CE platform. Pocket Pedigree is in a Beta format and should run on most Windows CE computers.
Pocket Pedigree is the first genealogy software made for the Windows CE environment. It allows you to enter individuals’ basic information (i.e. name, birth date & place, christening, death, burial, and LDS information) and export it to a GECOM file.
Pocket Pedigree Discussion Forum | <urn:uuid:2a64b002-0660-4541-9288-96708a1cbc8c> | https://www.mobilegenealogy.com/pocketpc-pocket-pedigree/ | en | 0.779693 | 0.084522 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Actor Ali Fazal is set to share screen space with "Wonder Woman" star Gald Gadot in 20th Century Fox's upcoming adaptation of Agatha Christie's "Death on the Nile".
The film is a follow-up to the studio's 2017 blockbuster "Murder on the Orient Express", also an adaptation of Christie's novel of the same name.
Kenneth Branagh, who helmed the first part, will return to the director's chair for the new project and reprise his role of the mustachioed Belgian detective Hercule Poirot.
Fazal has made a name for himself in Hollywood with films such as "Furious 7" and period drama "Victoria & Abdul", also starring veteran actor Judi Dench.
In a statement, the 32-year-old actor said, "Yes, I am part of this wonderful journey and I look forward to being a part of it. My mother and I have always been huge fans of Agatha Christie novels."
"Death on the Nile" will chronicle Poirot's vacation in Egypt where he discovers a murder on the banks of river Nile as a love triangle goes awry.
Armie Hammer and Letitia Wright are also aboard the cast, while Russell Brand and Annette Bening are in talks to join.
The film will go on floors later this month. Filming will take place in London and parts of Europe.
"Death on the Nile" has been previously adapted into a 1978 film, with Peter Ustinov as Poirot along with Bette Davis, Mia Farrow, Maggie Smith, among others. | <urn:uuid:3aa67a50-2f3b-4b6d-9efa-2bd691e1063d> | https://www.mynation.com/entertainment/ali-fazal-to-star-alongside-gal-gadot-in-death-on-the-nile--pxpckp | en | 0.949614 | 0.021622 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Tom Steyer
Said Tom Steyer of President Donald Trump: “Look, he's part of an entire system. He's the leading part.” | Josh Edelson/AFP/Getty Images
White House
Tom Steyer: 'The president's words matter dramatically'
Billionaire environmentalist Tom Steyer on Tuesday said “of course” President Donald Trump’s words have played a role in dampening civility in public discourse.
Steyer, who has poured millions of dollars into Democratic causes and has campaigned hard for impeaching the president, was one of the targets of more than a dozen pipe bombs mailed to prominent critics of the president last week.
Trump, in an interview with Fox News that aired Monday, complained that accusations his brash rhetoric emboldened the mail bomb suspect were overblown. He also complained that Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) was not similarly blamed when one of his supporters allegedly shot up a Republican baseball practice last summer that injured House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.).
Steyer rejected that assertion on Tuesday.
“Listen, this is a president who has created an atmosphere of hate,” he said on CNN. “He has continued to demonize people after these events, who has created an atmosphere of extreme lawlessness. I think it doesn't really matter what he says because what he does is so obviously wrong and what he does has led to this breakdown in terms of civil society.”
Despite condemning the mail bombs and calling for the country to come together, Trump has continued to attack some of the mail bomb targets, including Steyer. On Twitter on Sunday, Trump called Steyer “wacky” and wrote that Steyer came off in a recently aired interview “as a crazed & stumbling lunatic who should be running out of money pretty soon.”
Steyer implored Trump to “do your job, man” instead of attacking rivals on Twitter, adding, “I don't think there is any point in getting into the gutter with a guttersnipe. The only thing we can do at a very tough time is tell the truth and try to stand up for the American people, two things that he is unable to do.”
Asked on Tuesday whether he thought that, despite pushback from the White House, the president bore any responsibility for a recent wave of violence that appears to be rooted in political motives, Steyer responded in the affirmative.
“Look, he's part of an entire system. He's the leading part. The idea that the words of the president don't matter is on its face silly. … Of course, the president's words matter dramatically. Any other suggestion, honestly, that's just silly.”
Jump to sidebar section | <urn:uuid:da983379-6c6a-4e3f-ae66-88d10e565814> | https://www.politico.com/story/2018/10/30/tom-steyer-trump-rhetoric-948042 | en | 0.971199 | 0.044703 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
DC Entertainment (Left), Marvel Studios (Center), Marvel Entertainment (Right)
If you've been looking at the casts for Spider-Man: Homecoming and The Flash and thinking "Man, these superheroes just keep getting younger and younger!" you're not alone. Then again, Thor: Ragnarok just brought the 69-year-old star of Jurassic Park into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. So maybe these multi-generational casts all even each other out? While you ponder that, here are the highlights of the last seven days' superhero movie news.
SUPER IDEA: The Fastest Cameo Alive
Even in his 2018 solo movie, Ezra Miller's Flash isn't going to be going it alone, judging by this tweet from director Rick Famuyiwa:
For those wondering what's so telling about the image, it's the addition of a Cyborg Funko figure beside the Flash figure... although the reveal that Famuyiwa has rewritten the screenplay shouldn't be considered small change, either.
Why this is super: DC and Warner Bros. seem very convinced that inter-connectedness is what's going to finally convince everyone that their films are going well—and given that the high points of both Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad were cameos by other heroes, they might actually be right. Either way, raising Cyborg's profile ahead of his own 2020 movie isn't a bad idea.
SUPER IDEA: Tom Holland Showing NYC His Spidey Suit
The Spider-Man: Homecoming production has hit New York, and to celebrate, Tom Holland thought he'd give fans the clearest look at the current Spider-Man costume yet…
Why this is super: Really, doesn't he look like Hannah Blumenreich's cartoon? This might be a sign that Tom Holland could be the ideal cinematic Spidey… or, at least, the best we've seen to date.
SUPER IDEA: Thor Getting Jurassic
Another beloved movie star is joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In a recent interview, Sam Neill revealed that he will be part of Thor: Ragnarok. "I did a couple of days on Thor, just before I came over here," he said. Don't go expecting any kind of tease about who he's playing in the movie, however. "I had to sign all sorts of things that say if I say anything else, Marvel's secret agents, and they are lethal, will come and get me, and probably my children as well," Neill joked. At least... we hope it's a joke.
Why this is super: The real question (beyond who Neill is playing, of course) is whether Neill's appearance is merely a cameo or setting up something for the future. After all, as fun as it'll be to see Dr. Alan Grant face off against Thor, having him show up in Avengers: Infinity War would be even better.
SUPER IDEA: The Doctor Is... Everywhere
With the press embargo lifted on Marvel's Doctor Strange all sorts of new tidbits are circulating. (Wong isn't a sidekick! Mordo might still go bad!) There's also a great new teaser out there.
But despite all of that, the most talked-about piece of Strange news this week was still Benedict Cumberbatch apparently confirming that he'll be part of Avengers: Infinity War in 2018. Hope you like Doctor Strange, everyone. You'll be getting a lot more of him soon.
Why this is super: As unimpressed as we've been with Strange to date, we have to admit we're beginning to turn around the closer we get to release, with that ridiculous/hilarious Mads Mikkelsen/Cumberbatch exchange above helping out considerably. Dammit. We're going to actually really enjoy this, aren't we?
SUPER IDEA: Who Says This Isn't the Era of Mighty Marvel Mystery Projects?
Well, this is interesting. In a press release this week heralding an expansion of the relationship between 20th Century Fox and IMAX there is a strange mention made of "the studio’s untitled Marvel film" that will be one of Fox's "future tentpoles." Technically, there are three Marvel movies on the Fox slate right now: the untitled Wolverine movie next year, and then two untitled movies in 2018. One of them is presumably the second Deadpool, but the other? It could be New Mutants, the always-delayed Gambit, or even another X-Men... and that's not even including the possibility of a Fantastic Four sequel, should the studio start worrying about making too much money. Place your bets in the comments as to which one feels more like a tentpole.
Why this is super: As much as we hope this is a Fantastic Four movie just for people's reactions, this almost certainly has to be the next X-Men movie, right? If so, we can but hope that it's the 1990s Dark Phoenix jam that has been hinted at in interviews. Come on, Sophie Turner. Don't let us down. | <urn:uuid:204a5c34-ff42-49b0-8df5-28a63c05dfd4> | https://www.wired.com/2016/09/cape-watch-105/ | en | 0.956506 | 0.069228 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Earth Notes: On DC and USB Power Meters: Review
Updated 2020-06-17 23:35 GMT.
Found out how I measure off-grid and portable device consumption to understand and manage and conserve! #powerMeter #frugal
Satechi USB C ST TCPM power meter
I've taken a number of approaches to measure the power consumption of smaller gadgets, such as those that run off-grid at 12V or 5V, including my low-power servers.
To measure the power used by a mains-powered gadget or appliance, use a plug-in meter.
For a non-mains gadget that can be powered from a power adapter, such as USB, as long as the adapter is efficient, power the gadget from the adapter and plug the adapter into a plug-in meter.
For something that can be powered from 12V nominal, directly or (say) via an efficient 12V car USB adapter, I can with care measure power draw by plugging it into my off-grid system, then subtracting whatever power everything else is drawing at the time, eg with the server quiet and dump loads turned off.
live power stats for off-grid system
Off-grid power graph. Adding a load to be measured and then subtracting (quiet) server power draw works reasonably well, though using sped-up logger samples, rather than reading off the graph!
But it is better to get closer to the device and measure down-stream of any adapter or converter where possible.
A multimeter simply isn't meaty enough to measure large current draws without dropping enough voltage to disturb the device under test (DUT).
Back in 2007 I used my E-flite meter to measure the power draw of my laptop-as-server to its 12V input. (As well as measure my off-grid battery's voltage!)
E flite DC inline power and energy meter measures A Amps V Volts W Watts and overall Ah Amp hours for my 12V RE Renewable Energy system closeup 1 DHD
E-flite: I've had the E-flite meter since at least 2007. It has flying leads and is good for measuring power draw from nominal 12V and 5V supplies. Current resolution is 100mA.
I measured the consumption at 5V of the laptop-server's successor, the SheevaPlug, with the E-flite also.
A more recent acquisition, in 2018, was the Muker. It has a USB-A plug input, and two female USB-A sockets.
Muker USB A UT KWS 10VA power meter
Muker UT-KWS-10VA USB-A Multi Meter / Voltage Tester / Battery Tester / Ampere Meter 0A--3.3A, 3.5V--9V. Bought 2018-10, £6 including VAT.
I haven't used it as much as I'd like, but I did for example establish that a USB-A to micro-USB cable, even a good one from RS, didn't seem meaty enough to properly power my Raspberry Pi 3B+.
Anticipating a rushed upgrade to a Pi4, which is USB-C powered, I wanted to measure and tune its power consumption. Given the implicit recommendation of a site that I trust, I bought the Satechi in 2020-06.
(Satechi including packshots.)
Satechi USB C ST TCPM power meter
Satechi ST-TCPM USB-C power meter. Handling up to 65W (enough for a 2018 MacBook Air and later), with current in steps of 10mA, and running up to 20V or 10A when passing through Power Delivery. Bought 2020-06, £22 including VAT.
Satechi nice features out of the box:
Satechi quibbles: | <urn:uuid:09265b18-f10f-42be-9c97-95b2a54f2aeb> | http://m.earth.org.uk/note-on-USB-DC-power-meters-REVIEW.html | en | 0.934231 | 0.030284 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Sunday, March 15, 2015
Dear Cosmo- Dancinggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg AT MY HOUSE!!!!!
So.... we had Cosmo boy visit yesterday. Daddy was Cosmo's "transport" from that place to Tidewater Bichon Frise Rescue. THAT place will never be mentioned again because it belongs in the past, in the forgotten past as soon as possible.
So when the call came, the daddy picked up Cosmo and shared a ride for 75 miles.
And this is where things got "interesting". We really don't have all the details as daddy is stingy with info, BUT... here is what we know. Ever since that ride, daddy has asked about Cosmo and how he was doing etc etc. Mind you, momma stayed out of the whole ride thing because as you know, momma is a hoarder and if one eye of hers sets on something... IT will come home.
In the noisy, dusty, messy reality of renovations, the conversation about Cosmo moved to the quiet hours when exhausted humans were about to fall asleep. "How is Cosmo?" "Have you talked to Robin about how Cosmo is doing?"
Hoomans... the handwriting is on the wall and they are looking for IT...
What it boiled down to was a startling realization.
DADDY FLUNKED TRANSPORT! You know how many hoomans flunk fostering? My daddy flunked transport! How is that for a first? He had 75 miles of bonding with Cosmo. which of course leaves only one logical course of action. [I do love logic...]
But not so fast...
Mind you, momma had never met Cosmo. Of course, the "caucus" [Dori, momma, the Wendy, myself, and even JD, and Max and Adam...] talked about daddy and Cosmo in front of daddy behind his back... Dori and momma went into committee mode. That means more talking, Cosmo was invited over for a play visit, We all got to meet him and he got a full tour of the house, etc.
So now....
would you like to become part of our family? We are a bit crazy, [I love you momma], we love hard, we play hard, we work hard, and you have tasted momma's chewies... nuff said.
Just a reminder, little boy, I am empress for life of this kingdom, so you take your orders from moi.
Why is JD sneering? And what's with the raised eyebrows on the Wendy???
So, Cosmo boy, what do you think?
[Ohhh, Madonna, Juliana, Mariah, JLO, do share the 411 on younger men, I am about to catch me one.]
Yes, yes yes, here is COSMO:
1 comment:
bichonpawz said...
This is just fabulous! FABULOUS A! Myou, dear Cosmo, just won the lottery and you have the BEST brothers and sisters in the whole world! | <urn:uuid:bbe5096a-85c7-4ee4-82a4-4038c4a59da6> | http://www.silvieon4.com/2015/03/dear-cosmo-dancingggggggggggggggggggggg.html?showComment=1426895549353 | en | 0.95879 | 0.062231 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Have you heard people talking about getting pre-qualified or pre-approved for a mortgage loan? Both terms describe the process of figuring out how much you are likely to get approved to borrow from a lender so you have an idea of how much home you can afford when you’re looking for houses, but there is a little bit of a difference between the two, and it’s important to understand the nuance.
What’s Pre-Qualification?
Pre-qualification is generally considered the first step in a mortgage loan process, and it’s designed to be a quick approval to give you an estimate of how much you can borrow. You will provide the lender with an overview of your financial picture, including your existing debt, your income, and any assets that you own. In return the lender will tell you how much they might be able to loan you to purchase a home. Usually the pre-qualification process can be done over the phone or in person, and sometimes you can do it online as well. It doesn’t usually include an in-depth credit check or financial analysis and is intended as an estimate.
Pre-qualification gives you the chance to talk to your lender about what loan options are available and discuss questions you might have about why the number is lower than you anticipated, or what you can do to increase it if you think you might want to borrow more. It’s also not a guarantee because it’s based only on the information you provide to the lender—if they find something in the in-depth credit check that you did not disclose it could change your ability to get a loan.
What’s Pre-Approval?
Pre-approved is generally a term used for a more in-depth analysis of your financial picture. You get pre-approved by filling out an official mortgage application, paying a fee, and providing the necessary documentation for the lender to do an extensive credit check. The lender then comes back with a specific amount that they are able to lend and you can find a home that fits your budget. You can also get an estimate of the interest rate you will qualify for, and may be able to lock in a rate if you think they might go up.
While both processes will give you an idea of how much you can borrow, and the exact difference between the might seem small, it’s important to understand the differences. The latter, pre-approval, often shows sellers that you are serious about buying a home and that you are one step closer to being able to obtain a loan.
Another advantage of getting pre-approved is the ability to shop for a home that is at or below the range you have been approved for with confidence that you will be able to get a loan to purchase the home. That way you won’t end up wasting time looking at homes and making offers only to find out you can’t get a loan for that amount.
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i knew i wasn't mishearing it, people really pronounce it "exetera"
(wrongly, since it's "et cetera")
@Algot true, but "etc" doesn't have any "x" in it, so it's weirder to me that people mispronounce it
In places where it is said, there really isn't an x sound. It isn't far to go from
et > ek
and if everyone around you says it, it takes a fair bit of self-motivation to stand out by saying et-cetera instead of ek-cetera.
That don't make it right, but waddaya gonna do, eh? 😉
@Algot complain about it online and use my Having Passed The Mandatory Latin Class In High School skill to educate people? 🤔
My own pet peeve is a linguistic lost cause.
Teachers routinely say, "Bring this form to the office, please." That includes teachers of English/Language Arts.
The distinction of bring and take is gone in day-to-day speech (even if it may still be taught as an academic bit of grammar.
And the thing is, with a vast majority of people using cellphones to talk, the distinction of place is effectively erased.
The two people in conversation may be physically far apart, but they are together as far as their being "in touch". They are in the "same place", so how does take have a chance?
"When you come, bring it."
When I come, I will bring it."
Nobody is "going" only coming...HERE. There is no THERE.
Further confusion is found in the phrase "take a drink". The liquid is entering my body as I take the drink.
We must face it. Language is idiomatic. Grammar is a semi-successful attempt to build a structure AFTER THE FACT.
@Algot well, you take the drink from its original owner :thonking:
sounds perfectly fine to me
That part of the taking does work.
Taking remains in the phrase even if I have pumped and carried my own bucket from the well. (Yes, I think of myself as THAT old.)
It is still "take a drink" as the water sluices down my esophagus.
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The Right to Discriminate?
Dream WorldThe recent Ambercrombie and Fitch dust-up has brought up some common issues faced by activists. The minute we point out corporate behavior that is discriminatory, someone pipes up that corporations have a right to discriminate. Of course, that is not the point.
When someone engages in activism against discriminatory practices we’re rarely arguing whether or not someone has the legal right to do the thing (though it’s very often a legitimate question and this type of activism is valuable), we’re typically questioning whether it’s ok with us that they are doing it and, if not, what we want to do about it.
Whenever an activist says “This corporation’s practices are discriminatory and that’s wrong,” someone always feels like the definitive and final answer to the concern is to say “It’s legal for them to discriminate in that way .” To which I would like to say “Dude, thanks for pointing that out, because I forgot to eat my bowl of No Shit Sherlock Flakes this morning.” I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to live in a world where the fact that bigotry against a group is legal constitutes a good enough reason to let it go on unchallenged.
Yes, I know it’s not illegal for a clothing store to delight in their refusal to make plus size clothes (though if a businesses’ expression of their rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness is to take pride in discriminating against a group of people for how they look, I think they might want to rethink their use of precious freedoms.) Regardless, I have the right to discuss that businesses choices, take action against them, and try to incite others to take action as well. The fact that someone, somewhere can justify the behavior is not a reason for me to stop taking action against it. If discrimination is happening, it’s highly likely that there is already a justification for it, but that doesn’t make it right or indicate that nobody should try to change it.
Clothing businesses are allowed to choose a target market and are not obligated to make clothes for everyone, but when a business’s goal is to make their brand a status symbol, then their choice to systematically exclude all people who look a certain way becomes more than a simple business decision, it becomes a purposeful creation of a second class who can’t access the “status” they provide. It becomes especially problematic when almost every business that exists in a niche makes the same “business decision.” When a “business decision” purposefully excludes a group of people in a way that adds to the stigma already heaped upon that group of people because of how they look, then that decision deserves examination and critique.
As a fat dancer, and now training for a marathon, I find myself constantly frustrated by an industry that tells people that exercise is good for us, but seems to want fat people to do it in togas that we make out of bedsheets because god forbid a fatty be seen working out in their clothes. So they justify it by calling it a “business decision” – let’s remember that plenty of horrible wrong things had similar justifications – the existence of a justification does not indicate an absence of issues, or a lack of impetus for complaint. Pointing out the systematic exclusion of a group, and the ways in which that increases stigma on that group is not entitlement, it’s classic civil rights action.
One thing I’ve learned about activism is that when you decide to do something, there will always be someone who insists that there is a reason why you shouldn’t do it. In my experience, anything worth doing is worth doing despite the critics.
Like the blog? Here’s more of my stuff:
42 thoughts on “The Right to Discriminate?
1. It’s not possible to know the motives of individuals who make these arguments, but often – and I recognise this may not be true of the people/person you’re speaking of – those who argue for privilege are those who are benefiting from it. In the case of A&F, arguing for the corporation’s right to insult people is even more problematic, because their business behaviour has gone way beyond trying to keep “cool” people out of their stories. The list of their questionable business practices is long.
2. there’s a petition circulating trying to get a&f to make plus sized clothing. What I don’t understand is why anyone in the plus sized community would want to give their money to a business after the CEO’s display of jackassery.
1. I agree with you, though as always, people are well within their own rights to petition for what they want. But to me, A&F’s actions have gone beyond neglecting to carry plus sizes or even defending that choice from a cost sense (developing patterns, etc.). They didn’t just “not consider” plus sizes or argue that it’s “impractical” for them to do so: They are ideologically in favor of discrimination and exclusion. That is something I will not support with my dollars, no matter how many of their clothes might ever be available in my size.
2. I much preferred the approach of the person who started a campaign for people to donate their A&F clothes to the homeless. More clothes for people who really need them PLUS a bit ol’ slap in the face to the ‘cool factor.’
1. A&F discriminates against many stigmatized groups (minorities, disabled, poor, fat, etc). So if a person was to donate clothes or repurpose them to any of those groups is going to have the potential to feel stigmatizing.
1. That’s not the point the critique is making. Stacy Bias and others, and I agree with them, are pointing out that “Fitch the Homeless” only works to “rebrand AF” or “slap them in the face” if you agree that no one wants to look like a homeless person–that they’re gross,
smelly, etc. It’s activism on the backs of homeless people.
1. I’m sorry if you thought that I was trying to say that was the point that Stacy Bias was making, that was absolutely not what I was saying. My point was this: Any attempt to re-brand or repurpose A&F clothing to ANY group the company doesn’t target(since they discriminate against groups that have and currently are discriminated against in society, like minorities, poor, fat, etc.) has the possibility to feel or be stigmatizing. To repeat: re-branding or re-purposing those clothes will be difficult if not impossible to do in a way that will leave all people feeling good about it, it will bring up some of that discrimination that has been going on in our society for a long time. I hope this is clear.
Also, can we please stop repeating the phrase “gross, smelly homeless person”, I know that these are words that some people use, but it is just really awful.
3. This is actually old news; the comments about plus-size customers were made 6 or 7 years ago. While A&F hasn’t changed in the meantime, their market share has – turns out the “cool kids” like to shop somewhere else. I suspect that this is a jaded, calculated move to get them more attention and press, hoping that fat-haters will start patronizing the store again to make a point. Lame.
3. Back in the 1950’s it was perfectly legal for businesses in the south to refuse to serve customers based on the color of their skin. Does that make the lunch counter protests wrong?
The hell it does!
Right now it’s perfectly legal for businesses to refuse to make items to fit us and then for them to publicly insult us for not fitting into their super skinny clothes. Nobody will go to jail for cutting off their clothing sizes at a size that would fit Olive Oyl a bit tightly. Does that make it right for them to blame us publicly and tell little girls everywhere that if they get too fat for the super tiny clothes, they can’t be worthy people?
The hell it does!
I think that sums it up nicely.
4. Sadly, I have no doubt this is a marketing ploy a la Samantha Brick. You couldn’t pay for the kind of advertising that pillock is now getting. I wish this weren’t the case, but I can guarantee that after those comments went public, morons would have swarmed in their jillions to the A&F webshite to see if they were skinny enough to fit into the clothes and at least some of them would have made a purchase while they were there. Possibly to prove they were thin enough to meet some random person’s standard, possibly because they saw something on there they genuinely liked, whatever, a fool and his money are soon drawn to the A&F webshite. Even people who had never heard of it or given a sun blushed shit about it before.
On another point, I think I’ve commented here before that while there are certainly cases where higher end designers don’t want fat people in their clothes, a lot of times on the high street for us mere mortals it really is a simple business decision; scaling, pattern making, fabric cutting (wow, especially that) and so on are just so much more complicated than many people realise. The additional fabric in a plus size dress isn’t what drives a price up; it’s having to create a size break, scale around a new medium, get a new fit model, adjust details so they scale properly, cut the fabric to minimise waste and so on. None of this negates the difficulty and heartbreak of not being able to find a decent wardrobe, and it certainly doesn’t mean you shouldn’t campaign for companies to expand; innovation is a great thing and fashion does seem to be a bit behind the fact that we are getting bigger overall. But as I think I said last time, you have a better chance of success if you understand your obstacle, and putting it down to simple hatred of fat people won’t help your cause.
(To be honest, I doubt that’s actually even true for A&F. I expect they have a limited size run for cost and logistical reasons, like many brands, and then the CEO saw a terrific marketing opportunity. Which doesn’t mean he’s not a prize prick.)
And again as I’ve said before, I think we may be losing sight of what a fair price for clothing is anyway, in our world of uber-cheap fast fashion. Given the recent tragedy in Bangladesh, we should be rethinking this urgently. People often complain that fast fashion stores don’t go up to plus sizes and they have to pay more than this to find clothes. To me, this is the wrong problem to address. The real issue is that workers in Asia are being forced to produce these cheap clothes in sweatshops and, as we see, in horrifically unsafe buildings. This is not a case of me trying to draw attention away from one problem (“who cares about your clothes, we should be saving orang-utans”); it’s a case of acknowledging that cheap, fast fashion is a dangerous industry that exploits people in developing countries, and our response to it should not be “we can’t get our clothes that cheap”, because simply expanding the industry as it is now will have a much, much higher human cost than difficulty in finding a wardrobe. Our response should be “Decent and fair working conditions for the people who make our clothes, and THEN lobby the industry to be more inclusive.”
1. My guess, and it is only a guess, is that it has something to do with the fact that men have much less diversity in their shapes than women do. Almost all men, however thin or fat, have shoulders broader than their hips, and most tend to carry weight in the stomach area. Women are much more diverse than this and scaling up is harder. Especially since designs on women’s clothing tends to be more complicated and detailed.
I also wouldn’t know how the sizing difference between the smallest and biggest men’s clothes compares to women’s. The letters and numbers correlate to different size runs and may not be directly comparable.
With all that said, I wouldn’t want to imply that I think A&F’s CEO (I can’t remember his name and don’t intend to give him any Google juice) is anything other than an enormous prat, or that you shouldn’t continue to lobby companies to expand their plus size ranges.
1. Since their women’s sizes only run to a size 10, while most of their competitors go to a size 14 or 16, and some all to way up to an 18, I consider the economic argument frankly piffle in this particular case.
Yes, overall the situation in clothing manufacture is more complex than most people know, but this specific case is all about further narrowing the range of ‘acceptable’ in the face of other retailers who offer more choices and I do think that needs to be called out.
1. It may well be. “Higher end” stores (as in, those who charge more and do not produce such high numbers of goods; I use the term “higher end” for want of a better expression) do trade on a degree of exclusiveness. That’s why designer wear is so expensive and, sadly, one reason the sizing in it is so limited. Does A&F count as a ‘designer’ range? I didn’t think it did; perhaps I was wrong. I’ve never given a monkey’s about them and their CEO has given me further disincentive to care any further.
There is one other factor to consider, though, and I’m afraid I won’t make myself popular for saying it…but there is the fact that designers and stores will cater for their typical customer, and there is a correlation between poverty and obesity. That’s one reason why more expensive and exclusive clothing tends to run smaller (though very exclusive designers also definitely have a hatred of people over a certain size). Stores for teenage girls will generally run smaller than those for women in their 50s. (That’s also the reason why you’ll find you’re different sizes in different stores. The numbers and letters are based around their median size and the median size will differ based on who it is they’re catering for. It’s customer profiling and every business does it.) And rich people do often tend to be thinner. There are many reasons for this; it’s another discussion and highly interlinked with issues such as social justice, social mobility, equal opportunities, class division and so on. Perhaps Ragen will consider addressing it in a future post.
So while A&F’s lead twit is clearly being purposefully provocative, he’s also probably honest to an extent in that they have a target customer in mind, one with a fair amount of disposable income, and those people do not TEND to be as fat overall as those whose means are more limited. Of course there will be many exceptions; we are generalising.
And with all that said, we are getting bigger overall, and a decent work/casual/occasion wear wardrobe is a necessity for modern life. The clothing industry IS behind the times in the sense that there are greater numbers of plus sized people and DOES need to get its act together. And making cruel and snobbish comments about people is not the way to go. On the plus side (no pun intended), it does mean we know where not to shop from now on, even for accessories or gifts. A&F can piss up a rope.
1. I agree absolutely with you thoughts on fast fashion. It is important to me to use my (admittedly small) amount of purchasing power to make ethical choices. Clothing is one area that it gets a bit complicated. I was following a discussion on another site about US companies who had not signed the Industriall agreement. A number of commenters posted recommendations of ethical companies but not one carried plus sizes. Several commenters noted that some of the non-signers are ones that have decent quality plus clothing and did anyone have suggestions for where else to shop? . I have scoured the internet and come up with very little in the way of organic and/or ethically produced clothing for plus sizes.
One of the things that is striking to me about the fashion industry is that I cannot think of another where a substantial market will plead with businesses to sell us their products and be consistently ignored. I’ve heard a lot about the various and sundry “business decisions” . I have no expertise in the industry but none of the problems cited seem particularly unsolveable. The ambivalence in connecting with a plus size customer is a sadly common thread. I am not suggesting an orchestrated plot to deny clothing to plus size persons but I do think this is a good example of institutionalized fatphobia. This is also why I’m skeptical of the “plus just isn’t our target demographic” Target demographics aren’t brought down a mountain on a stone tablet. Businesses individually decide who they want their customer to be as is their right but I think it is good to step back and ask why things are the way they are.
1. I can well believe it (I myself, though not skinny by any standards, am straight sized so I admit and own my own advantage in this regard. I do, however, have many plus sized friends and shopping with them is often a fraught experience. Some of them won’t go shopping with any straight sized person but me, which I take as a great honour.). Ethical companies are usually quite small and firms that extend to plus sizes can usually do so via economies of scale. It is a very sad state of affairs. Once we have ethical conditions for the Asian people who make our cheap clothes, it would be wonderful to see companies listening to the market and extending their lines.
I was thinking about this earlier after making my previous comments, and it occurred to me that perhaps in the cases where “higher end” firms deliberately limit their size runs even though they have the means to extend them, it may be a case of class snobbery rather than pure fat hate (though the two are strongly interlinked). In other words, they might not mind if a famous, wealthy and beautiful plus sized actress, singer or writer wore their creations to a glittering event. Hell, they often make haute couture creations for people like that, so it can’t be fat hate alone. But they don’t want their clothes to be available to the kind of people who end up on websites like People of Wal-Mart (and what a cruel, snobby and unkind site it is) and getting that kind of jeering attention for it.
Making clothes both expensive and size limited is one way of avoiding that kind of publicity. I guess this also ties in with the correlation between poverty and obesity. What a horrible state of affairs.
5. I don’t care if A&F makes larger sizes of clothing, but I do care about a world in which people say shit such as, “Corporations have the right to discriminate.” It isn’t a huge jump to be thinking that corporations have rights that properly belong only to real people, rich people have the right to be greedy and steal from everyone else, prejudiced people (skin color, size, religion, ethnicity, etc) have the right to enact their prejudices upon everyone else.
Do people who say that corporations have the right to discriminate spend even one minute thinking about what they are saying? Or are we, as a minister said to me, so deeply identified with corporations that we think whatever they do is simply wonderful?
6. Some people are just professional apologists. And refusing to expand your business into other markets (in this cases sizes) is stupid when your company is large enough to do it. Victoria’s Secret has been refusing my money for so long that I don’t think I’d ever buy anything from them even if they did expand their size offerings.
7. AF doesn’t just discriminate against plus sizes. They discriminate against others they deem “unattractive” to their brand–the poor, the non-models, etc. And they would rather burn excess clothing than donate it to those who need clothing. In relation to your post, I thought you might be interested in this link that has been circulating about what another activist is doing to “remake” the AF brand as a brand of clothing for everyone, especially the needy, albeit against AF’s will. I’m sure it is pissing the folks at the brand off. I can see how some might agree or disagree with this guy’s actions, but I think it is pretty smart.
1. “but I think it is pretty smart.”
Using vulnerable people as props isn’t “smart”. It’s contemptible behavior and shows a callous indifference to issues of consent and respect for agency. There is serious privilege fail at every level in this so-called “activism”. There is a link provided above in this thread to an excellent post that points out why this is problematic.
And it’s so tiring and contemptible that those with privilege cry foul whenever someone suggests making what they take-for-granted be accessible to others. Suddenly it’s a problem…. Yeah, it’s a problem alright, but not the one they think it is. How disgusting it is to be so entrenched in privilege that discrimination is okay, as long as it doesn’t interfere with whatever they want and can easily be dismissed with “it’s not against the law”. As if the fact that it is legal makes it okay, instead of even more contemptible.
8. Hmmm the only time the “right to discriminate” is warranted is when it’s against people of size.That totally contradicts the so called “Progression into a new society”, where acceptance and equality is suppose to be the main focus. The constant controversial stories regarding weight discrimination and fat hatred does not depict that at all.
It also does a disservice to their brand and company, I guess they don’t realize the more diverse you are, the more successful the brand. But I guess they hate fat women so much they don’t care about logical business revenue.
1. “ Hmmm the only time the “right to discriminate” is warranted is when it’s against people of size.”
That is a serious problematic narrative. Playing the oppression olympics ignores intersectionality and erases the real danger to the lives and prejudice that people of color, women and other people with uteri, victims of rape and other violent crimes, those with physical and mental disabilities, gay and transgendered people (not necessarily mutually exclusive groups), experience every fucking day of their lives. So no, it’s not only people of size with whom those with undiluted and unacknowledged privilege decide its okay to discriminate against and that they have a “right to discriminate” because ‘tradition” or “religion” or “social construct” or some other such bullshit.
9. My mom thought of a great activism idea re: A&F not wanting “not-cool people” aka fatties in their clothes.
We both thought that the guy handing out A&F clothes to the homeless was actually being a dick to the people he was using as props in his “campaign” to alter A&F’s band image. My mom suggested that, instead, us “not-cool” people should dig up some A&F clothes in the thrift stores and alter them to fit, or just cut out the logo and sew/safety-pin it onto a t-shirt or other clothing item (I’m considering on my jeans, over my fantastic fat ass), take a picture, add a comment about the “no fatties” policy, and post it to A&F’s facebook, and/or a “A&F, stop being jerks” page. (Which, does anyone know if there is a page like that? I searched, but I didn’t find anything.) What do you think? Would you contribute to a campaign like that? I’m considering starting it for real, but I want to see what other people think.
10. More about A & F:
They market t-shirts with these slogans to teens:
“Who needs brains when you have these?”
“Blondes Are Adored, Brunettes Are Ignored.”
“I’m too pretty to do math.”
“Do I make you look fat?”
“No Money, No Car, No Chance.”
Here’s a piece about their “look”:
Here’s a piece about their labor practices:
11. Woops, sorry, I guess the info in brackets got left out. I’ll re-post:
Here’s a piece about their “look”:
What exactly is the Abercrombie & Fitch look?
“It’s dominated by Caucasian, football-looking, blonde-hair, blue-eyed males; skinny, tall,” says Lu. “You don’t see any African-Americans, Asian-Americans, and that’s the image that they’re portraying and that they’re looking for.”
Liu says she was fired after corporate officials visited the store, and, according to her, didn’t like what they saw: “A corporate official had pointed to an Abercrombie poster and told our management at our store, ‘You need to have more staff that looks like this.’ And it was a white Caucasian male on that poster.”
Anthony Ocampo says blacks, Asians and Latinos were sometimes hired by Abercrombie, but weren’t given the opportunity to work in sales. “The greeters and the people that worked in the in-season clothing, most of them white, if not all of them, were white,” says Ocampo. “The people that worked in the stock room, where nobody sees them, were mostly Asian-American, Filipino, Mexican, Latino.”
The lawsuit alleges that Abercrombie hires a disproportionately white sales force, favors white employees for the best positions, and discourages minorities from even applying for jobs.”
12. Here’s a piece about their labor practices:
Migrant workers were apparently misled to come to the U.S. territory with false promises of finding a good job on American soil, only to be forced to repay recruitment fees of up to $7,000 by sewing clothes 12 hours per day, seven days a week. Workers were also made to sign contracts that prohibited them from asking for a raise, participating in religious or political activity, having a baby, or getting married — an ironic far cry from A&F;’s signature party slogans emblazoned on their clothing.
A decade later, the water is still murky: In 2009 Abercrombie & Fitch earned a place on International Labor Rights Forum’s Sweatshop Hall of Shame as well as Corporate Responsibility’s list of zero-transparency corporations
13. Just because something is legal does not make it morally right nor socially acceptable.
After all, advertisements that say, in very small print, “Results not typical,” are all legal, but are so misleading and heavy-handed in their fat-shaming as to be highly immoral, in my view.
14. I have no problem with paying more for larger sizes, simply because there is more cloth involved, and I’ve sewn plenty of clothes, and know the value of cloth, plus thread, buttons, and other notions. In order to keep all sizes at the same price, the retailer would have to figure out the mean, and charge more than the small sizes are worth, and less than the large sizes cost, in order to average it all out.
What gets me is that you can’t just take an article of clothing designed for a very thin model (which looks good on someone of that size and shape) and then simply “expand” it to the size and shape of someone like me and expect it to look good. The lines are all wrong. It is really much better to find clothes that are actually designed for a plus-size woman, cut to accentuate her bodacious bits, and follow her curves.
So, I wouldn’t buy Abercrombie and Fitch, anyway, as their clothes, were they made in my size, would not “fit” me, nor would that style look good on me.
This, of course, has nothing whatsoever to do with their hideous business practices and discrimination, in so many areas. Not only do they only want to sell to “cool” people who fit their ideal, they only allow “cool” people of the right coloring to sell the clothes. Ick. As if the beautiful quilt of human coloring, shapes and size is somehow wrong.
I like variety, darnit! Don’t give me some single-flavor option and tell me it’s “Cool.” It’s boring, is what it is.
I do not understand the thinking of people who are satisfied with such a boring view of the world. Diversity and variety are the spice of life.
A&F and people like the people who run that company are really only short-changing themselves.
15. Got the following from my sister-in-law in L.A., whose size acceptance consciousness I’ve been raising slowly but surely. She has always been extremely fat-phobic (has literally been anorexic since her teens–only eats vegetables, is 70 years old and weighs less than 90 lbs at 4’11”) but is otherwise very progressive socially and politically,
“i was in goodwill today (i’m pretty sure same one in video). didn’t see any a&f shirts–maybe all distributed in skid row. i actually have a plan: when next at grove,i will go into a&f as if a bona fide customer. will contact mgr, and say something like, ‘i understand that since i am old and have flabby thighs & a wrinkled neck, you may find me an unsuitable customer.’ if i can convince my friend to join me (she is 200+ lbs but very timid), i’d love to include her in this ‘less than acceptable customer status’ conspicuous retort. as i am writing/thinking out loud about this, betcha my friend gary (very gay, long hair, 55+) would indeed join me.”
We’ll see if she starts her own little group protest…
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Lewis Structure
CCL4 Molecular Geometry, Lewis Structure, Hybridization, And Everything
Carbon Tetrachloride is a colourless liquid with a little smell. It was generally used in fire extinguishers and refrigerators as a precursor for cleaning. The compound has a chemical formula of CCl4 and is now banned from use as it has some toxic properties that can harm the central nervous system of humans. Carbon Tetrachloride was first synthesized as a by-product in the synthesis of Chloroform. For understanding the physical and chemical properties of this organic compound, it is vital to know the Lewis structure, hybridization and much more. In this article, we will discuss all such properties to understand the structure of the compound.
Lewis Structurelewis structure
In chemistry, the basis of understanding any property of the compound depends on its lewis structure. G.N Lewis first proposed this theory in 1916 that helps in understanding the involvement of electrons informing the structure of the chemical. The electrons that participate in forming the bonds are known as the bonding pair of electrons. The ones that do not participate in it are known by the term non-bonding or lone pair of electrons. The bonding, as well as non-bonding electrons collectively, are called valence electrons.
The Lewis structure is the pictorial representation of the valence electrons that participate in the bond formation as well as the ones that don’t. Sticks or straight lines represent the bonds. While the dots represent the non-bonding electrons. Lewis theory is based on the octet rule, which states that an atom should have eight electrons in its outer shell to be stable.
For the Lewis structure of CCl4 first, let’s calculate the total valence electrons.
Carbon has four valence electrons and each Chlorine atom has seven valence electrons. As there are four molecules of Chlorine, we will calculate the number of valence electrons accordingly.
= 4 + (4*7)
= 4 + 28
= 32 valence electrons
All four valence electrons of Carbon participate in the bond formation. Similarly, a single electron form each Chlorine atom participate in bond formation. Total 8 electrons make the bonds while others are non-bonding pairs of electrons.
So there are a total of 24 non-bonding or 12 lone pairs of electrons in CCl4. Four lines in the structure represent four bonds while dots around the Chlorine atom represent valence electrons. Each Chlorine atom has six valence electrons after the bonds are formed.
Hybridization is vital to understand the molecular geometry of the compound. When the two or more orbitals hybridize, the orbital is known as the hybrid orbitals. These orbitals are formed when there are bond formations in the compound.
For this compound, there are four covalent bonds between the central Carbon atom and four chlorine atoms. As all the valence electrons of Carbon are involved in bond formation, all orbitals of the atom participate in the formation of hybrid orbitals. In this one s orbital and three p orbitals of Carbon atom hybridize and form a sp3 hybridization. So the hybridization of Carbon Tetrachloride becomes sp3 as all the orbitals of the Carbon atom are hybridized.
Molecular Geometry
Molecular GeometryOnce we know the Lewis structure and hybridization of the compound, it becomes easy to understand the molecular geometry of the compound. For this compound, the Carbon atom in the central position and rest all the Chlorine atoms are placed around it. As the central atom has four bonded pairs and sp3 hybridization, the shape of the molecule is tetrahedral.
Rest all the non-bonding electrons are spread out in the structure. There are repulsive forces between the lone pair of electrons. Due to this repulsion force, the lone pairs tend to go far from each other in the plane. The bond angle between these lone pairs of the electron is 109.8 degrees. Another way to know the molecular geometry is by using VSEPR theory which also states that the shape of this molecule is tetrahedral.
The polarity of any compound depends on its molecular geometry. When the bonding and non-bonding pairs are arranged in the plane, there is some dipole moment between them which makes the molecule polar. The arrangement of the lone pairs and the shape of CCl4 is such that the dipole moment of electron pairs get nullified. Due to this, there is no polarity observed in Carbon Tetrachloride. Thus CCl4 is nonpolar. This polarity property of the compound is due to the symmetric distribution of the non-bonding pairs of electrons in the plane.
Concluding Remarks
To summarize this article, it can be said that Carbon Tetrachloride has total 32 valence electrons out of which 8 electrons participate in bond formation. The rest 28 electrons are non-bonding electrons. Carbon completes its octet by forming bonds with four chlorine atoms. The hybridization of CCl4 is sp3 and has a tetrahedral shape. The bond angle is 109.8 degrees between the lone pairs of electrons and it is nonpolar.
Janice Powell
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The conditions of the armistice were very unfavourable for Germany: The naval blockade continued, prisoners of war were not released, but parts of Germany were occupied and Germany lost the practical means to continue the war.
This may be too naive, but why did Germany not just stop fighting or surrender?
Surely, this may have lead to the occupation of Germany as a whole, but it would have ended the war immediately, so that Britain and France would at least have a moral obligation to end blockades and release prisoners of war.
Firstly, to answer the question,
... why did Germany not just stop fighting or surrender?
They did. An armistice can be thought of as a surrender with pre-agreed terms and conditions.
Germany was certainly not the first country to have asked for an Armistice towards the end of World War One. Bulgaria, the Ottoman Empire and Austro-Hungary, had all already requested and been granted Armistice terms.
Germany had initially approached President Woodrow Wilson, seeking an armistice on relatively favourable terms. That approach had failed. The terms that were eventually offered to Germany were much more harsh than those offered to other nations, but Germany felt they had no option but to accept (although the head of the German delegation, Matthias Erzberger, did manage to negotiate a few minor concessions from the initial Allied demands).
So, what did they gain?
They avoided a revolution at home.
Kaiser Wilhelm had abdicated on 9 November 1918. The new government headed by Friedrich Ebert was facing the prospect of imminent revolutions in Berlin, Munich and across Germany. There had just been a mutiny by the German navy that began at Wilhelmshaven. Following the earlier revolution in Russia, a number of left-wing political organisations were growing in support.
Put simply, Ebert was terrified of the prospect of a German communist revolution if he didn't accept.
The Headlines of the New York Times on 11 November 1918 give some idea of just how fragile Ebert's position was at that time:
New York Times headlines 11 November 1918
What actually followed the Armistice in November 1918 was the German Revolution of 1918–19 that would eventually replace the German federal constitutional monarchy with a democratic parliamentary republic.
That outcome was far better than many in the German government and military had feared in November 1918.
In addition, the German military could maintain the fiction that they hadn't been defeated. Erich Ludendorff had refused to accept the terms offered by the Allies, and had resigned when he was overruled by the new government. Almost before the ink was dry on the agreement negotiated by Matthias Erzberger, Ludendorff had begun his efforts to re-write history, claiming that he had been deprived of victory by sinister forces undermining his efforts behind the scenes at home.
This would become part of the popular myth used by German nationalist parties in the decades that followed
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• Ludendorff as well as Hindenburg. The old Marshall, chief architect of the freakshow and the "Total War" approach that ravaged the infrastructure and population of Germany, managed to not show up at Compiègne for a signature, which helped enormously when becoming Chancellor. The little book Hindenburg: Icon of German Militarism by William Astore is worth every penny. – David Tonhofer Nov 11 '18 at 18:46
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@DavidTonhofer Seems to be worth a recalculation of its worth if the book idolises Hindenburg in that way. Ludendorff came up with total war, and pretty much everything else, Hindenburg being more of a figure head to appease the older guard in the military. Hindenburg went on to become president, not chancellor. – LаngLаngС Nov 11 '18 at 18:58
• @LangLangC There was no "President" in the Weimar Republic, this function is called "Chancellor". As for Hindenburg being there to as figurehead, that book definitely puts the kibosh on that idea, he got called out of retirement for active duty. The "figurehead" idea also in Mises' "Omnipotent Government". Nope! Remember that he became the Hero of Tannenberg. Why would you want to "appease the older guard" in any case? This was not the 3rd Reich going for a rematch with hot, young National-Socialist blood. Maybe there is some confusion? – David Tonhofer Nov 11 '18 at 20:12
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@DavidTonhofer Of course there was a president in the Weimar Republic! en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President_of_Germany_(1919%E2%80%931945) President Hindenburg appointed Hitler as Reichskanzler (chancelor) in January 1933. – Geier Nov 11 '18 at 20:17
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@DavidTonhofer: FWIW, Germany still has a President as head of state; the Chancellor is "only" the head of the government. The abolishment of that dichotomy was what turned Hitler from Chancellor to "Führer" in 1934... – DevSolar Nov 14 '18 at 15:37
On Nov 5 1918 US President Wilson with consent of the Allied Nations offered peace according to his 14 points (and some other addresses) if Germany accepted the Armistice terms. Germany did that on Nov 11 1918 and consequently had a right to peace terms according to the 14 points (and some other addresses). Most of these terms weren't respected by the Treaty of Versailles. They were replaced by much harder terms. The German government protested but had no other choice but to sign it. But the "Dictate of Versailles" wasn't acknowledged as valid by anyone in Germany.
John Maynard Keynes explained that in his "THE ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF THE PEACE"
Keynes judgment (p. 60):
The way to the Armistice (p.57):
"On October 5, 1918, the German Government addressed a brief Note to the President accepting the Fourteen Points and asking for Peace negotiations. The President’s reply of October 8 asked if he was to understand definitely that the German Government accepted “the terms laid down” in the Fourteen Points and in his subsequent Addresses and “that its object in entering into discussion would be only to agree upon the practical details of their application.” He added that the evacuation of invaded territory must be a prior condition of an Armistice. On October 12 the German Government returned an unconditional affirmative to these questions;—“its object in entering into discussions would be only to agree upon practical details of the application of these terms.” On October 14, having received this affirmative answer, the President made a further communication to make clear the points:
(1) that the details of the Armistice would have to be left to the military advisers of the United States and the Allies, and must provide absolutely against the possibility of Germany’s resuming hostilities; (2) that submarine warfare must cease if these conversations were to continue; and (3) that he required further guarantees of the representative character of the Government with which he was dealing. On October 20 Germany accepted points (1) and (2), and pointed out, as regards (3), that she now had a Constitution and a Government dependent for its authority on the Reichstag. On October 23 the President announced that, “having received the solemn and explicit assurance of the German Government that it unreservedly accepts the terms of peace laid down in his Address to the Congress of the United States on January 8, 1918 (the Fourteen Points), and the principles of settlement enunciated in his subsequent Addresses, particularly the Address of September 27, and that it is ready to discuss the details of their application,” he has communicated the above correspondence to the Governments of the Allied Powers “with the suggestion that, if these Governments are disposed to effect peace upon the terms and principles indicated,” they will ask their military advisers to draw up Armistice Terms of such a character as to “ensure to the Associated Governments the unrestricted power to safeguard and enforce the details of the peace to which the German Government has agreed.” At the end of this Note the President hinted more openly than in that of October 14 at the abdication of the Kaiser. This completes the preliminary negotiations to which the President alone was a party, acting without the Governments of the Allied Powers.
On November 5, 1918, the President transmitted to Germany the reply he had received from the Governments associated with him, and added that Marshal Foch had been authorized to communicate the terms of an armistice to properly accredited representatives. In this reply the Allied Governments, “subject to the qualifications which follow, declare their willingness to make peace with the Government of Germany on the terms of peace laid down in the President’s Address to Congress of January 8, 1918, and the principles of settlement enunciated in his subsequent Addresses.” The qualifications in question were two in number. The first related to the Freedom of the Seas, as to which they “reserved to themselves complete freedom.” The second related to Reparation and ran as follows: —‘‘ Further, in the conditions of peace laid down in his Address to Congress on the 8th January, 1918, the President declared that invaded territories must be restored as well as evacuated and made free. The Allied Governments feel that no doubt ought to be allowed to exist as to what this provision implies. By it they understand that compensation will be made by Germany for all damage done to the civilian population of the Allies and to their property by the aggression of Germany by land, by sea, and from the air.’’ 1
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What Germany wanted to gain, or at least hoped to gain
To address the "naive" part: the Germans were at the brink of collapse –– much like as the Austrians –– and felt betrayed by the allies. The Germans felt they were also being tricked into the armistice negotiations as they developed.
The Germans thought that an honourable peace was on the horizon based on Wilson's 14 points. When the German delegation arrived at the railway car they were surprised to learn that the French and other allies really have led them into the woods (of Compiègne and figuratively). There were no negotiations to take place at all.
Despite the conditions expected by the German delegation when they initiated this exchange:
enter image description here enter image description here enter image description here
(German Foreign Ministry: Der Waffenstillstand 1918 - Faksimiles ausgewählter Bilder und Dokumente)
Although it is true that the notes exchanged in preparation for the armistice negotiations already took away a few of the German 'demands' – and hopes – The German delegation was still stumped on arrival:
Foch: „Was führt die Herren hierher? Was wünschen Sie?“
Erzberger: „Ich sehe Ihren Vorschlägen über die Herbeiführung eines Waffenstillstandes zu Wasser, zu Lande und in der Luft entgegen.“
Foch: „Ich habe Ihnen keine Vorschläge zu machen. Ich habe Ihnen keine Bedingungen zu stellen.
Meaning that despite German expectations, there would not be negotiations, only conditions to accept. Foch even declaring that negotiations were not only not granted but frankly "impossible".
Since by that time not only did the allies continue to press on, these were not only the sole factors for signing. Military exhaustion on the hand, allied advances on another, and rumours of peace talks on yet another made the seriously disgruntled German public and many soldiers further unwilling to fight – or die an even more senseless death.
The true morale of the troops of the other side were opaque to all involved.
What the Germans did gain
Being told to either sign or face the consequences they felt and were blackmailed into signing. No one with any responsibility was in favour of signing –– but except for hot heads that wanted to die in honour (like the navy command, the Kaiser and a few others) nobody came up with an alternative.
Wilson, thereby, agreed to the original German request. Nineteen days after the Germans sent him their First Note, Wilson was using his influence to bring about an armistice based on his Fourteen Points.[…]
Four days after Wilson sent his Third Note, the Germans responded that they awaited Allied proposals for an armistice.
Bullitt Lowry: "Armistice 1918", Kent State University Press, 2000, p 41.
But the Germans were also being tricked into signing by Ludendorff and the rest of the army. Ludendorff envisioned quite correctly that those democratic powers that wanted peace should also have their signature under the shameful armistice and peace treaties, in order to turn around the the real responsibilities. The military started the war and lost it, now they wanted to blame the civilians for all of it.
Sie forderte am 29. September 1918 von der Reichsregierung die sofortige Aufnahme von Waffenstillstandsverhandlungen mit dem Hinweis, dass die Front jeden Tag zusammenbrechen könne. In der Folge zog sich das Heer langsam zurück, und am 4. Oktober ersuchte die deutsche Regierung Woodrow Wilson, den Präsidenten der USA, um Waffenstillstandsverhandlungen. Dessen Vierzehn-Punkte-Vorschlag einer internationalen Nachkriegsordnung schien noch am ehesten eine Perspektive zu bieten.
Even after the dies ater the OHL told everyone that they were winning. When the OHL ordered democratic reforms on 29. Sep everyone civilian was surprised. After the Kaiser was abdicated Ebert was only halfway in a sort of office when the signatures were made. The delegation was largely clueless. A protracted war was still a possibility but they went into an expected negotiation that wasn't allowed by the French. In fact the army leadership mutinied on the overwhelmingly monarchist democrats and refused to continue fighting. The price obviously being much more dead on both sides.
On October 23 Wilson demanded in his third note beyond the previously agreed withdrawal of the German armies from the occupied territories as well as the cessation of the U-boat War the internal reconstruction of the German Reich and measures which should make a German resumption of fighting impossible. Ludendorff, who aspired to an armistice and "had not considered the political and military consequences of his sudden decision even in the beginning", now faced the demand for a German surrender, which he flatly rejected. At this point he therefore wanted to break off further negotiations and, in blatant contradiction to his previous steps, demanded a continuation of the "resistance with extreme forces". However, the current Max von Baden government did not support this course. On October 26, 1918, Ludendorff was - surprisingly for him - dismissed by the Emperor at Bellevue Palace at the request of the Imperial Chancellor, but formally at his own request.
WP Ludendorff
They gained just a few things: the killing stopped on the battlefield, and order was largely maintained. The revolutionary spark that was spreading from the "hell no, we won't go" sailors and among very few troops of the army could therefore be contained by the loyalist right wingers and monarchists within the army and the forming freikorps.
Thus the Germans could have two revolutions at once and none at the same time: one from above and one from below which canceled each others out, largely.
Am 29. September überzeugten Hindenburg und Ludendorff Kaiser Wilhelm II., dass angesichts der militärischen Überlegenheit des Gegners Deutschland den Krieg definitiv verloren habe. Die Verantwortung wollte die Oberste Heeresleitung jedoch nicht übernehmen, sondern die „Suppe sollen die essen“, wie Ludendorff sich ausdrückte, „die sie uns eingebrockt haben“. Gemeint waren damit die später als „Novemberverbrecher“ diffamierten linksliberalen, sozial- und christdemokratischen Politiker.
(Otto Langels: "Vor 85 Jahren formulierte Hindenburg die Dolchstoßlegende", Deutschlandfunk, 18.11.2004)
Yet another perspective that might run a bit counter to high school history:
The first German request was sent to President Wilson on 4 October, and five weeks later the Armistice was signed in a railway carriage near Rethondes in the Compiègne forest. The date and the time of that signing have been commemorated annually ever since as marking the end of the war. Yet the armistice agreement was not intended to end the war but to call a truce; it merely caused the weapons to fall silent. That is why the German term – the silencing of weapons – is used for the title of this chapter, rather than the sometimes misinterpreted English/French term.
At OHL headquarters in Spa, the news that on 25 September Bulgaria had requested an armistice, coupled with the start of Foch’s general offensive in Belgium and France, caused Ludendorff’s physical collapse. His increasing pessimism had already alarmed some OHL staff, who decided on 26 September to call Foreign Minister Paul von Hintze to Spa to discuss the situation. Three days later Hintze and the Kaiser met with Hindenburg and Ludendorff and were told that an immediate Waffenstillstand was required to save the army, and that political reform was required to make the country accept it. Ludendorff was convinced that the worsening military situation in both east and west demanded an immediate armistice, but not peace negotiations. If the armistice conditions were too hard, he was prepared to fight on. In conference with the OHL section leaders on 1 October Ludendorff informed them that, to avoid the ‘catastrophe’ of an Allied breakthrough forcing the army back to the Rhine and bringing revolution to Germany, an immediate Waffenstillstand was necessary, based on Wilson’s Fourteen Points. He told Thaer that ‘unfortunately’ he saw ‘no other way’. However, when Thaer asked Ludendorff whether he believed that the Allies would grant it, and whether, if he were Marshal Foch, he himself would grant such an armistice, Ludendorff replied: ‘No, surely not, rather first grab the opportunity [to gain a breathing-space by requesting an armistice]’. Yet perhaps, he continued, the Allies wanted it: ‘in war one can never know’.
Ludendorff pressed Berlin several times during the next few days to hasten the formation of a new government (he and Hindenburg approved the appointment of Prince Max von Baden as the new Chancellor on 30 September), but the true military situation took some time to sink into the new minds in Berlin. OHL had kept both politicians and the German people in the dark, hence the shock when the Ludendorff–Hindenburg duo requested that the government negotiate an armistice. Consequently it was only on the night of 3/4 October that the German government’s note was sent via Switzerland to President Wilson. It asked for the USA to take steps to restore peace, and also ‘in order to prevent further bloodshed’ to arrange a ‘general armistice on land, on water and in the air’. The note was thus not only a request for an armistice, but also for negotiations for a Wilsonian peace – a peace that they believed would give them more generous terms than the Entente leaders would offer.
There is no need to go into the Allied negotiations that led to Rethondes, as they have been well described elsewhere. What is important here is Foch’s attitude and his resultant decisions. They form the background to the first two stages of the negotiations in which Foch played only a small formal role. The first stage, following this first German note, consisted of the ensuing correspondence between Germany and President Wilson, in which it was agreed finally that Germany would approach Marshal Foch to ask for terms based on Wilson’s Fourteen Points. The second (international) stage lasted from 29 October, when the bilateral USA–Germany phase ended, to 4 November when the Allies meeting as the SWC agreed the terms after much discussion. During this second stage Foch talked with Pétain, Haig and Pershing, but essentially it was his terms that formed the basis of the agreed military terms that were offered. The third and final stage covers the days leading up to the signing, when Foch’s role was central. enter image description here
Elizabeth Greenhalgh: "Foch in Command The forging of a First World War general", Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, New York, 2011, pp464.
The leader of the German delegation to Compiègne summed up all of the above nicely, when he signed the paper:
A people of 70 million suffers, but does not die.
And as later events seem to prove, the country of Germany survived, its conservative elites survived, their nationalist spirit and aggressive militarism survived as well.
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There is just too much loaded language here. You may not be trying to push the "stab in the back" theory, but word choice means a lot. – Spencer Nov 11 '18 at 20:00
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I'm not sure that Germany was "tricked into armistice negotiations". The sequence of events laid out in Chapter 2 of Armistice 1918 (pp 26-41) is particularly relevant here. – sempaiscuba Nov 11 '18 at 21:00
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“the Germans were at the brink of collapse […] Being told to either sign or face the consequences […] nobody came up with an alternative”. In other words: They had no choice. No trickery or stab-in-the-back here, they just lost the war and were not in a position to negotiate. Was the German delegation really surprised about this? What else could have happened if they weren't? – Relaxed Nov 11 '18 at 21:10
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@LangLangC While the German delegation may have been surprised by the terms presented to them, and even lead to believe otherwise, that was Nov 8th. On Nov 11th the war was till on and they knew what they were signing. They could have continued fighting. They chose not to. You can talk about what the Germans expected on Nov 8th, why they expected them, and why the Germans decided to accept the Armistice; that is all very interesting and you're well suited to dig into German language sources. But don't pretend they were blackmailed into signing. They lost a war. – Schwern Nov 14 '18 at 17:39
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@LangLangC Your language is still loaded. "and betrayed by the allies" "The Germans were also being tricked" There was a war on, one the Germans started. You don't get "betrayed" by the people you're fighting. How about "The Germans were at the brink of collapse –– much like as the Austrians. They hoped for an honourable peace based on Wilson's 14 points. When the German delegation arrived at the railway car they were surprised to learn there were no negotiations to take place at all. They said: <conversation in German>, <English translation>." – Schwern Nov 14 '18 at 17:57
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Skye d'Zarnagon
After Cataclysm
Before Cataclysm
Status: Alive
Age: 30
Race: Human
Gender: Female
Class: Warrior
Nation: Remon
Era: Third Age
Skye d'Zarnagon is a woman from the village of Cassandria. She joined the Grand Alliance at the age of 17, and eventually fell in love with Refan d'Zarnagon. She became pregnant and gave birth to their son, Gabriel. She is currently travelling with the Alliance.
Early YearsEdit
Skye was born in the small village of Cassandria. Her early years were rather uneventful and easy-going. However, things got more complicated when the Yamatians invaded Remon and started killing a bunch of people that they saw as a threat to their rule. Skye did not sympathize with the Yamatians who she thought of as invaders.
Distreyd EraEdit
Joining the ResistanceEdit
Young Skye.
One day Skye was walking in the forest near her village and spotted a group of travellers. They were a suspicious looking bunch, and she was curious so she followed them. When they entered into a cave, she followed.
Once inside, Skye was chilled at the unnatural setting. The caverns were alive; it made her anxious. She considered turning back, but curiosity won out and she proceeded. Her happy attitude did not disappear even in this ominous cave, and she quickly introduced herself to a young woman who she heard was called Serenity.
Skye witnessed Leon Alcibiates speaking with the spirits of the dead who said that one of the travellers, Marcus Sarillius, was destined to become the king of Remon. She also learned from the group that they were planning to use Marcus to unite the peoples of Remon under one banner and drive out the invading Yamatians. As Skye had also dreamed of liberating Remon, she decided to join the quirky group, particularly because she saw many handsome men there.
Things almost turned nasty when a Yamatian patrol happened upon the scene and nearly massacred the surprised group. However, with quick thinking from the thief Refan d'Zarnagon and various other heroes, the Yamatians were beaten. The group learned that everyone in Remon, including the citizens and villains alike, had received a magical vision about Marcus. This would make it easier for the fellowship to recruit people but it would also make the Yamatians and the Clergy of Mardük aware of their plans. The fellowship would have to race against time before the Yamatians could rally and crush them.
As the fellowship hunted for a key that could open a strange chest which held an important object for their campaign, Skye offered to house the group at her home village Cassandria. The heroes were weary of their journey and chose to accept the offer. She led them to the villagers who were somewhat suspicious but trusted Skye's judgement and let the fellowship stay. Skye's friend Georges was so excited about it that he and a few villagers decided to join the fellowship on the spot.
Whether it was fate or just a stroke of luck, the fellowship found the hidden key to the chest from the village itself, and the content of the chest turned out to be the crown of the king. Now Marcus held a legitimate claim to the throne. This time was spent for planning, and Skye befriended many of the heroes, including the brooding thief Refan d'Zarnagon. The two realized that they shared quite a bit in common and slowly grew closer over the following days.
Betrayal at DrithenspireEdit
The Fellowship of Tes Pellaria left Cassandria and decided to head for Drithenspire to convince the dwarves to join the resistance. However, they were being hunted by Yamatians and clerics of Mardük led by Egendaul Korath and Yousei Kaizoku. These villains met with the Cassandrians and slaughtered most of them and burned the whole village because the villagers had dared to aid the rebels.
The heroes reached Drithenspire and managed to meet with the dwarven king Arisol when the dwarves found out that Marcus's sword Dusk held the power of the dwarven patron god Hephaestus. However, Kaizoku had sent his master illusionist Seishuu Kazejin after the heroes, and Shuu used his skills to make the dwarves think that the fellowship saw them as inferior and was only going to use them as cannon fodder. This angered the dwarves who attacked the fellowship at the same time as Kaizoku and Egendaul's army surprised the fellowship.
However, a few of the heroes, including Jono Renfield, discovered Shuu's trickery. They chased the illusionist who barely managed to escape alive. They then went to warn Marcus and Arisol about this treachery, and they managed to convince Arisol of their good intentions just in time. The dwarves believed the heroes when they heard of the deceit and helped them fight off Kaizoku and Egendaul's forces.
Realizing that it wouldn't take long for Kaizoku to gather a new, stronger army, the fellowship decided to flee south where they hoped to convince the elusive elves to join the resistance. They managed to convince various villagers and townspeople along the way to join the fellowship as they travelled south to Folsworth Woods while avoiding the increasing Yamatian patrols in the region.
Trouble in Folsworth WoodsEdit
More info later.
Falling in LoveEdit
"I have something to return to you from back in the battlefield, and I can't let you get away with it."
—Skye to Refan d'Zarnagon before kissing him
The Fellowship of Tes Pellaria had grown into the Grand Alliance, and the feelings of Refan and Skye had also grown during that time. After some hesitation, the two eventually confessed their love to one another and became a couple officially. Their love gave them strength, and they became an efficient pair on the battlefield.
Skye was happy to see that Refan was thinking more positively while she was with him. Refan likewise enjoyed Skye's company, and the two connected on a deep level as they had both experienced hardships in their respective lives.
Eventually the Alliance liberated Remon, and Refan and Skye travelled with Marcus and Kagetsu II to liberate Maar Sul next. In the First Battle of Maar Sul during which the army of the Grand Alliance stormed Maar Sul City. Kagetsu II defeated the Shogun impostor but was nearly slain by the once again resurrected Shadow. Refan managed to intervene just in time to prevent the Shadow from dealing a finishing blow, although he was wounded in the process.
Taking over Maar Sul City was just the beginning, though. While the Delegation of Thirteen was sent to the Khitan Khanate, the rest of the Alliance participated in the First Battle of Victoire. The Yamatians were defeated once again, and Kagetsu and Marcus decided to have a huge party to entertain the battle-weary soldiers. Refan and Skye drank quite a bit at this time and had sex for the first time as their emotions overcame their senses.
This intimate encounter proved to be the catalyst that the darkness within Refan had been waiting for. He transformed into a grim demon form while he was making love, and Skye could do nothing but witness such a traumatic transformation. When Refan saw his demonic form from a nearby mirror, he fainted. Only his deep love for Skye prevented his demonic side from tearing Skye to pieces.
When morning came, Skye and Refan had the talk. Refan deeply apologized to Skye and was worried that she would leave him; he would understand such a reaction because he couldn't believe that he was actually a monster and that the things Aramien had hinted at in Folsworth Woods were coming full circle. However, to Refan's surprise Skye kissed him. She was frightened by his demonic form but refused to leave him alone. She told him that it didn't matter what Refan was because she still loved him. If this demonic form was dangerous, they would have to find a way to tame it but she would never leave Refan's side.
This confession moved Refan deeply, and the bond between him and Skye grew stronger. And yet Refan knew that he would have to face this demonic form again and he was unsure if he could ever change back to human once that happened. He was determined to at least fight to the bitter end, though, and Skye was as determined to keep him in the light.
An Uncertain FutureEdit
However, the war had a dramatic turn for Refan and Skye during the Second Battle of Myridia. Although the Alliance succeeded in liberating the Aisonian capital and thus deal a critical blow to the Yamatian morale, it also affected Refan on an emotional level. He had found out that his nemesis Zarnagon was in fact his long-lost brother and the mysterious Omaroch d'Zarnagon was in fact their father. To add insult to injury, Refan and Skye's trustworthy companion Jonathan Ferron had in fact been a traitor who had tried to kill Refan during this darkest hour in his life.
The encounter with all the reveals and betrayals nearly broke Refan's mind, and he fled in terror from Myridia. He asked Skye to accompany him, telling her that only she could control the darkness within him which was ready to take him over. By this time Skye was already pregnant with their child, and she decided to accompany Refan back to Remon. The Alliance could manage without them in the war; all that mattered to her was to nurse Refan back to help and give birth to their child in safety. Skye eventually gave birth to a healthy baby boy whom she and Refan named Gabriel.
The Cataclysm eventually struck the world as the Godslayer emerged and devoured the gods Cardia and Mardük, but Refan and Skye were blissfully unaware of this. All they wanted was to live their life in peace from now on.
Fate was not so kind to them, though. Marcus Sarillius had disappeared after the Cataclysm which had ended the Great War, and Remon was close to falling into total anarchy while the Stewards' Council tried to desperately keep order. Jonathan Ferron had survived and took over the former Clergy of Cardia and remade it into the Church of the Memory of Cardia. Ferron used his newfound authority to send groups of knights templar after Refan whom he saw as a potential threat.
Refan killed every cleric who tried to harm him and his family, and the family had to constantly move from place to place. Still, the pursuers always caught their trails no matter how the family moved, and ironically Refan's story had come full circle: his family had been hunted when he had been just a baby, and now he was a father whose family was hunted by a new menace which nevertheless had the same bias as the earlier hunters who had forced Omaroch to desert his family.
However, Refan was not willing to follow in his father's footsteps; instead, he stayed with his family even though he knew that sooner or later they would be captured because of him. He was close to falling to his inner demon during this time of turmoil, but the love of Skye and Gabriel strengthened him enough to keep his darker side at bay. Skye did her help to keep Refan's mind intact, and only her influence prevented Refan's demonic side from taking over in these dark times.
Matters remained thus for years as the Age of Emptiness spread over the shattered world.
Godslayer EraEdit
The Age of EmptinessEdit
Older Skye.
Skye was living with her husband Refan and son Gabriel in a cottage deep in the northern Remonian woods. She had got used to moving from place to place while being hunted by the Church of the Memory of Cardia, and she only wanted to spend the rest of her days with her family. However, she had grown to despise Ferron who not only had ended his friendship with Refan and Skye in the worst possible way but was still haunting the family with his mercenaries and knights templar.
Unfortunately things changed when operatives of the church located the cottage and attacked. Refan bought time for Skye and Gabriel to escape but was subdued by Unithien Greyrain's spell and Almaric Veer taking Gabriel hostage and using him to force Refan to drop down his weapons. The clerics burned the cottage down and took Refan and Gabriel back to Remonton in shackles. Refan believed Skye had perished in the flames and swore to make Ferron pay for killing her.
Skye, however, had managed to hide from the clerics who assumed that only Refan and Gabriel had been in the cottage. She realized that it was pointless to attack so many clerics at once, and she preferred to avoid violence if possible because she still had fond memories of what the clerics of Cardia had been before Ferron's rise to power.
She spent time in the wilderness while gathering her strength but could not return to Remonton in time to save her husband and son because she had to avoid patrols from the church. By the time she reached Remonton, however, she found out that the Grand Alliance had been formed once again after Marcus had returned from his long absence and that the Alliance's army, along with Refan and Gabriel, had already left to Maar Sul.
Skye retreated back to the north where she settled in the rebuilt Cassandria which had grown to a large town by that time. She spent her spare time finding clues about Refan and Gabriel's current whereabouts while she worked as a servant for a local lord. She also heard news about a sinister cult known as the Totenkopfs and about the menace of the Proninist Party. She realized that the world would be engulfed in the flames of war once more, and she could do nothing but watch events unfold and history repeat itself.
Tears of the SunEdit
"Lord Theron, I see your campaign is just, but I hope you'll understand that Marcus and Cassandria have always had good relations. We Cassandrians believe that Shyralis and Ferron are the true threats and that Shyralis is holding Marcus under her power. If you dispose of Shyralis, I'm certain that Marcus returns back to who he used to be."
—Skye to Dylas Rin Theron
Skye heard news about the reemergence of Marcus and Shyralis and heard of King Marcus Sarillius's sudden change of heart. She couldn't believe that Marcus would've turned into a ruthless tyrant and deduced that Shyralis, an old enemy who now acted as Marcus's advisor, had to be manipulating him somehow and that Ferron, a former cleric of Mardük, was most likely involved too. When the people of New Cassandria were approached by Dylas's messengers, Skye and her Cassandrian comrades decided to join Dylas's army.
Although Skye wasn't happy about leading Remon into another devastating civil war, she knew that the only way to deal with Shyralis and uncover the mystery behind Marcus's irrational behaviour was to defeat any dark forces that were manipulating Marcus. She also hoped that by taking over Remonton she could use Dylas to gain access to the files of the Church of the Memory of Cardia and finally find out where they were keeping her son.
Skye participated in the Third Battle of Remonton where Dylas's forces clashed with the supporters of Marcus in one decisive battle that would decide the fate of Remon. Dylas's forces seemed to gain an advantage because of their charismatic leader and their skills, but things changed when some of the White Ravens managed to injure Marcus. Skye was terrified by this, not wanting to see her long-time friend fall.
To everyone's surprise, Marcus suddenly stood up and transformed into the form of a foe Skye knew all too well: the Shadow. It turned out that the Marcus who had returned from Maar Sul had been the Shadow in disguise all along, and even Shyralis had been unaware of this. Skye refused to believe that Shyralis had not been involved, though, but realized that the Shadow had grown more powerful since the last time she had seen him so she could do nothing to combat the menace. The Shadow confirmed her fears when he cast powerful spells and decimated many soldiers from Dylas's faction in the blink of an eye.
As if this revelation wasn't enough, another menace entered the field. Arbriel Conrad, one of the allies of Marcus and Shyralis, appeared with Totenkopfs and released a powerful plague which hit friend and foe alike. Skye was shocked to see that her fallen companions suddenly rose up as undead monstrosities that hungered for the flesh of the living.
The undead changed the tide of the battle and forced both the surviving loyalists and Dylas's forces to flee for their lives. Dylas himself disappeared and the Shadow, who had become weaker because of the effects of the plague, fled while Skye was caught and imprisoned by the loyalists in the ensuing chaos. The civil war had ended, and now Remon faced a new threat: the ever-growing numbers of the undead.
The Winds of WrathEdit
"I'd like to accompany you. I also have business in Fragnar and Maar Sul."
—Skye to Shyralis
While imprisoned, Skye finally managed to hear about the whereabouts of Refan and Gabriel. It turned out that Refan had been forced to work for the Grand Alliance and Gabriel was imprisoned in the current headquarters of the Church of the Memory of Cardia in Fragnar. Now that she finally knew that her loved ones were alive, she just had to figure out how to escape and meet with them.
Skye used the connections she had with a few loyalist soldiers who were her old comrades and managed to gain an audience with the Stewards' Council which ruled Remonton in the real Marcus's absence. She learned of Shyralis and Nymgrock Sigiln going on a trip to solve the mystery behind the new plague and to find out what had happened to the real Marcus. Because most of the group consisted of mages, Skye proposed that she could accompany the group as a warrior and act as the mages' bodyguard.
Although suspicious of Skye's sudden change of heart, councillor Adram Alek remembered how useful she had been to the Grand Alliance during the Great War and thus he decided to take her along. The Alliance's forces in Remon had lost many of its best warriors during the battle and had no time to lose, so Skye was seen as a valuable and necessary addition to the team.
Skye was not happy working with Shyralis but she realized that it was a necessary evil to co-operate with Shyralis to get her and Refan's son Gabriel back. She also hoped that once they found the real Marcus, she could hopefully convince him to put an end to Shyralis's schemes once and for all. She was also unsure what to think of the presence of Izael Korath, Refan's old friend, who had once been working with the Clergy of Mardük and the Totenkopfs. She wondered if Izael had really renounced his evil ways or if he had something else in mind.
Sowing SeasonEdit
The group left Remonton and travelled to Fragnar. They faced relatively few undead during their trip and reached the city safely. However, it turned out that the undead had already attacked Fragnar which looked eerily quiet. The group was contacted by a cleric who quickly led them to the church's headquarters where they met with Grand Inquisitor Anthony Torquemada, Ferron's right-hand man. Skye could barely contain herself in the presence of the clerics who had threatened her son and husband but she was adamant in saving her son from them no matter the cost.
Adram tried to convince Anthony to send clerics to help Remonton fight against the undead, but Anthony flatly stated that he had already sent the majority of clerics and paladins to Maar Sul to assist the Grand Alliance in the war against the Proninists. Skye demanded to know where her son was, and Anthony scoffed at her, telling her that Gabriel had been sent to Drithenspire and belonged to the church now. Izael managed to calm Skye down before she could grab the arrogant cleric.
Anthony suggested that the group could be teleported to Maar Sul City directly with Nymgrock's help. Skye, however, chose to go with some of her companions to Drithenspire to get a few invaluable mages back to Fragnar to assist in the evacuation of the few remaining citizens while Nymgrock and the others remained behind to protect the city.
The journey to Drithenspire was successful, and Skye returned with the mages. She had also managed to find her son and took him with her before the clerics realized what had happened. As the mages cast the spell, Skye and her companions were teleported on Maar Sulais soil. Anthony realized too late that Skye had stolen Gabriel from Drithenspire and he could do nothing to stop the spell in time to snatch the boy back.
However, it turned out that the spell had only been partially successful because the mages had somehow messed things up. Nymgrock and Swenson Von Strupenguard remained in Fragnar, and Skye, Gabriel and their companions ended up in Jardine instead of Maar Sul City. The group had no other choice but to find out representatives of the Alliance in Jardine and hope to find a transport that could take them to the Maar Sulais capital before the undead would take over Remon.
Skye was content, however: she had finally been reunited with her son Gabriel, and she did not seem to mind that the boy did not recognize her. Instead Skye decided to concentrate on finding Refan so that their family could be whole again.
Devourer's ReachEdit
More info later.
The Point of No ReturnEdit
"Khalid bears a heavy burden because he and his people recently lost their ancient home, the city of Vanna, to demons. I can relate to him. I too know what it feels like to lose something dear to you..."
—Skye about Khalid al-Saif and Refan d'Zarnagon
Skye accompanied the Alliance army and the refugees from the Sultanate of Karaganda to Alent. She had trouble adjusting to the fact that Marcus was reluctant to judge Shyralis and Ferron, the two people whom Skye saw responsible for the corruption in Remon. She was also troubled by the fact that the demons from the Northern Horde had seemingly kidnapped Refan and that she'd been unable to save him.
She hoped that once the Alliance joined forces with the Magicracy of Alent, they might have a chance to strike back at the horde and rescue Refan from the demons' grip. However, she also had to focus taking care of her and Refan's son Gabriel whose mind was still under Ferron's magical influence.
Skye did her best to help her Alliance comrades relocate the Sarquil refugees to an Alentian district, and she also got acquainted with various new Alliance members, including Rain with whom she got along with. Still, her memories of Refan haunted her and she kept hoping that one day her family would be reunited and stay together.
A Cry in the DarkEdit
Ax came to inform Skye that Refan had returned to Alent. Skye told Ax that she had suspected something like that because she had noticed a change in Gabriel's behaviour, but she wasn't sure until Ax had confirmed her suspicions. She and Ax had a brief argument about how trustworthy Refan might still be after having spent some time in the demon horde, and Skye was confident that Refan would just need a little push in the right direction.
Heart of DarknessEdit
More info later.
Aliases and NicknamesEdit
Used by Refan.
Skye has long, dirty-blond hair, pulled back in a loose ponytail. She is 5'5" (or 167 cm), slender framed. Deep green eyes. Wears a dark green sleeveless top, red-brown pants, boots.
Personality and TraitsEdit
Skye is very easygoing, doesn't stress much, forgives and forgets. She's friendly, playful, and generally happy, but even she gets angry from time to time. She became more serious after she had given birth to her son Gabriel.
Powers and AbilitiesEdit
Skye is good at using her sword and daggers and became more skilled as years went by. She never liked killing that much and always preferred to solve disputes through diplomacy whenever possible.
Innate Ability: Skye could see through objects (i.e. walls) for a short period of time, but using this ability for too long would strain her. She lost her ability after the Cataclysm.
Dylas Rin TheronEdit
Skye joined Dylas's faction out of necessity. Because the Church of the Memory of Cardia was keeping her son hostage and King Marcus was acting strangely, Skye wanted not only to unite Remon under a strong leadership but above all else she wanted to save her son from the church by any means necessary. However, Skye's time with Dylas was short-lived because the Plague of Undeath killed many of their comrades and forced the survivors to flee for their lives. Since that time Skye has begun working with the Grand Alliance again because she sees no other way to keep her son safe.
Gabriel d'ZarnagonEdit
Skye deeply cares for her son Gabriel, and she is motivated to keep him safe by any means necessary.
Refan d'ZarnagonEdit
Refan and Skye got along well the first moment they met, and they could relate to each other, especially after many of Skye's friends and family were massacred by the Yamatians. He took her under his protection, and their friendship grew into an eventual relationship. Skye could feel safe in Refan's arms, and Refan could forget his troubled past when he faced the innocence and joy of life in Skye. They discovered Refan's demonic heritage while having sex, and although Skye was shocked at first, she wanted to stay by Refan's side because she felt that a demonic blood did not necessarily mean that a person was inherently evil.
Skye became pregnant, and this coupled with other things helped in Refan's decision to desert the Grand Alliance and take Skye to safety in Remon. Their bond grew even stronger when Gabriel was born, but constant harassment from the Church of the Memory of Cardia forced them to relocate often and live in fear. Refan lost contact with Skye when the clerics raided the family cottage in 1016 AE, and Refan didn't see Skye until a year later in Alent. His feelings for Skye are still strong, but he has equally strong feelings for Ax and secretly fears what might happen if Skye appears and hears about the growing relationship between Refan and Ax.
Skye finally confronted Refan alongside Ax in Alent. Things went about as well as you'd expect. She feels betrayed, but still loves him, and though he also feels betrayed, Refan wants her, though he wants Ax as well, to retire to some place in the country and all be one happy family.
Having seen Shyralis's treachery firsthand during the Great War, Skye believes Shyralis can never truly stray from the path of Mardük and that she'll only bring misery in her wake. Once she learned in Alent that Shyralis had tortured Refan before capturing him, she snapped and attacked her, blaming her for all the trouble the Alliance had to face so far.
See alsoEdit
| <urn:uuid:a0fe5b1a-1877-457e-8a9a-ad71aa3ccd27> | https://tga.fandom.com/wiki/Skye_d%27Zarnagon | en | 0.987097 | 0.126196 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Veterinary Organisations
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Chrome OS
CastAway Chrome OS Phone
Chrome OS
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We've been talking for ages now about the intersection of Chrome OS and Android and the endless ways Google's two primary platforms work together.
For all of the overlap, though, Chrome OS and Android have never actually coexisted within the framework of a single device — living side by side on a multipart system, in other words, and acting as complementary halves of a unified experience. But if one ambitious inventor gets his way, that may be about to change.
The guy's name is Ken Mages, and he's come up with a product known as the CastAway. It's described as a "second screen for your smartphone" — one that runs Chrome-OS-like software and puts "the world's smallest Chromebook" right alongside your phone.
The CastAway popped up on Indiegogo last week and has been getting a fair amount of attention ever since, with around 800 people backing the project for a total of nearly $140,000 in funding as of this moment. (The project's original goal was a much more modest $50,000.)
The concept was immediately intriguing to me, as you can imagine, but I had lots of questions — questions about how this whole thing would actually work, if and how it'd actually be useful, and, critically, if and when we'd actually see it in production.
So rather than simply speculate, I decided to sit down with its creator to get some answers. Android Intelligence Platinum members can listen to our conversation as a special bonus episode of my weekly podcast. Here, meanwhile, are 10 interesting things I learned from our chat.
1. At its core, the CastAway is actually just a tiny tablet that runs Chromium.
It's easiest to talk about this product as using Chrome OS and being like a Chromebook, but technically, what it actually uses is Chromium — the open-source version of Chrome OS that's developed by Google and freely available for anyone to grab. You can think of it kind of like Chrome OS without Google's proprietary layer of apps and services. It's the cake, in a sense, without the icing. And that has some significant implications, which we'll talk more about in a moment.
The device itself is a standalone slate that doesn't need a phone to operate. It'll come with a 5.8" or 6.3" screen and a case that puts it side by side with your phone, with a 360-degree detachable hinge between 'em — but there's no physical connection between the CastAway and your phone, and the case itself is literally just a case.
CastAway Chrome OS Phone Case CastAway
2. The interaction between the CastAway and your phone revolves around a custom app.
Mages and his team are finishing up work on an app that'll allow the CastAway to interact with both Android and iOS devices via a direct Wi-Fi or Bluetooth connection.
The app will serve two primary purposes: First, on the phone side, an Android or iOS version of it will create a series of folders. Any images or files you open while the CastAway is connected will be copied into one of those folders. Then, on the CastAway side, a custom Chrome extension will be alerted to any activity within those folders — and anytime something new appears, the extension will grab it and bring it over to the CastAway so you can access it there.
That means if you take a photo on your phone while the app is running and the CastAway is connected, the photo will show up on the CastAway a second later — where you can view, edit, or manipulate it as needed.
"It almost happens in real-time," Mages says.
The app's second purpose is to serve as a clipboard where you can paste anything — text, photos, videos, or any other sorts of files — and have that content immediately copied and pasted over to the CastAway (or vice-versa).
3. The CastAway can also boot into a separate mode that allows it to act as a Bluetooth keyboard and trackpad.
In addition to its Chromium capabilities, you'll be able to boot the CastAway into a special mode in which its screen serves solely as a Bluetooth input surface. Mages is still working out the specifics but says it's likely to be a longer press of the power button — pressing and holding it down for somewhere around five seconds — that'll trigger this secondary mode.
And being that it's a purely Bluetooth-based function, the CastAway's keyboard and trackpad function will work with any Bluetooth-compatible device, be it a phone, a tablet, or even a laptop or desktop computer.
4. The idea for the CastAway came from its creator's own unusual setup.
Mages has long used Chromebooks alongside his smartphone. Over the years, he tells me, he came up with some crafty hacks to make the two work together.
"I've developed my own techniques and written some code of my own and had some code written professionally to make the two sympatico," he says. "One would not think that that was a logical pairing, but you can actually do quite a lot in terms of making them work in a friendly way together."
That experience led him to come up with the idea of a case that'd bring the two platforms together — in a portable form that he could then carry with him and continue to rely upon even when his full-sized computer wasn't present.
"I didn't want to carry my Chromebook around all the time. I wanted it next to my iPhone," he says.
5. The CastAway runs Chromium instead of Android mostly because of the simplicity and versatility that software provides.
Mages was "looking for the best can-opener," as he explains it, and quickly realized that Chromium had the potential to make things "just work" in a way other open-source operating systems wouldn't allow.
"When you're running the Chrome browser on Android or on iOS, you're really running into restrictions that are imposed by Android or by iOS — that mostly surround digital rights management," he says, pointing to the example of how opening Netflix in a smartphone browser will prompt you to download the Netflix app, whereas opening it in on a Chromebook will let you sign in and stream video right then and there.
And that same sort of logic applies to other areas where Mages wanted things to work without any extra action or thought on the user's behalf.
"I like the fact that Chrome OS, if you throw a file at it ... whatever you throw at it, it'll know how to open it," he says. "It won't say, 'Go get another app' — it'll just do it."
6. The CastAway can run Android apps, but it seems to rely on an unofficial workaround.
Android app support is typically a feature that's limited to Chrome OS and not available to anyone using the open-source Chromium code. The reason is that the presence of the Play Store relies upon specific Google elements and licensing — something that's also true on the Android side of the fence (as we were reminded with the whole recent Huawei-Google app fiasco).
And yet, well...
"We found a way to get it to work," Mages tells me. "Whether Google's going to like that, love that, or hate that is a TBD."
Mages' hope is that the CastAway's relatively low volume will let the product fly under the radar, but only time will tell. For now, I'll say this: Having a core advertised feature of a product relying on an unofficial workaround would certainly make me a little nervous.
7. The CastAway team modified other parts of the Chromium code to allow certain things, like Netflix, to operate.
One thing that jumped out at me during our conversation was Mages' mentioning of support for Netflix streaming on the CastAway device. That's because of my experience with another company that uses the open-source Chromium code, Neverware — an organization we've talked about in these quarters before. Neverware, as you may recall, maintains a freely available Chrome-OS-like operating system for folks to install on old Windows or Mac laptops in order to give 'em new life.
But there are some catches — including the fact that Neverware's software, as I discovered while evaluating it a few years back, didn't allow you to use Netflix. That's because Netflix support isn't instant or automatic, and Google itself had to work out an arrangement to make Chrome OS compatible with the service's streaming requirements. That, however, is all part of the proprietary Google layer that isn't available in the open-source Chromium version.
(Update: Neverware actually does now natively support Netflix streaming, as the result of an integration of the same digital-rights-management module Google maintains for use in its official Chromebooks. That integration took place last summer; the company had made the module available as an optional plugin starting the prior year.)
So how does CastAway allow Netflix streaming, then? Again, the answer seems to be by way of a workaround.
"We certainly have gone in and modified the architecture of Chromium to the extent that we needed to, to make sure that all the functions we needed would work," Mages says.
And again, it's hard not to wonder if this will end up ruffling the wrong feathers once CastAway progresses past the prototype phase and becomes an actual selling product. For now, at least, though, that's how this impossible-seeming function exists.
8. One big question mark right now is how operating system updates will play out.
Google's Chrome OS upgrades are fast, frequent, and full of both security fixes and feature expansions — but Google only rolls the software out to actual Chromebooks that use its license-requiring, fully finished software. Anyone using the open-source Chromium code, in contrast, is responsible for retrieving every update that comes along and then processing it and sending it out on their own.
Given how important we know these updates can be — and how frequently they're delivered — that left me wondering what the plan was for keeping the CastAway up to date in the months and years after its release.
The answer, it seems, is that it's still uncertain.
Mages tells me he's currently "in conversations" with Neverware — the company we just talked about a second ago — to see if it could handle the CastAway's updates through its own well-oiled rollout system. But that option is "pricey," Mages says, and doesn't scale to the CastAway's current low volume.
The other option being considered is trying to work out some sort of arrangement directly with Google to have it assist with the CastAway's updates — but, well, it's tough to envision a scenario where that would realistically happen outside of the CastAway becoming a fully certified, formal Chromebook (which would obviously entail a pretty substantial shift from its current positioning).
The one thing that's certain, Mages says, is that managing the pace of OS updates without some sort of external assistance would be "too much" for his current team to handle.
9. Mages is confident the CastAway will actually ship.
If there's one million-dollar question with any crowd-funded hardware product, it's the plain and simple reality check: Will we ever actually see this thing?
After all, we've certainly all heard about our share of promising-sounding projects that launched to great fanfare on Indiegogo, Kickstarter, or other such services and then failed to come to fruition. Mages is well aware of this, and he says he completely understands the need for skepticism. But he also says this is a professional, serious effort — put together by an experienced team, including former Microsoft and Intel executives and a former Dell design director — and that he's 100% confident the product will, in fact, ship.
"One guy this morning got on Facebook and said, 'I'll bet anyone here on Facebook a thousand dollars at this product won't deliver in May,'" he tells me. "I got on and said, 'I'll put a thousand dollars in escrow right now and take that bet.'" (The person didn't take him up on the offer.)
Right now, Mages tells me, the main goal is to reach a volume where the cost of materials is low enough for production to be feasible. But he and his colleagues are "well on the road" to the manufacturing phase, he says, and are working hard to meet their stated May 2020 goal for shipping.
10. The ultimate hope is to position the CastAway to create a network that can be used for 5G access — and for advertising.
Make no mistake about it: Mages and his team have ambitions for this device that stretch far beyond its current form. They revolve around the idea of using the product to create a global network with its own profit-creating possibilities.
That network would function on two different fronts — the first of which would be providing carriers with a way to sell a simple 5G add-on for existing 4G phones.
"If the 5G resides on the Chromebook side, you now have 5G access," Mages says. "So let's assume my second-gen device does have a SIM card. Now you don't need to go get a 5G phone that'll cost two grand."
The second front involves using that network of devices to — wait for it — sell ads that'd appear on the CastAway screen.
"When I get to some critical mass number ... I will have a network that I can control through my Multitask+ app," Mages says.
The hope, then, would be to let advertisers pay for the ability to have their promotions pushed through the Multitask+ app and featured on CastAway screens everywhere. That'd happen only if a device's owner explicitly opted into the program, Mages assures me — a proposition that could eventually allow customers to get the device for free if they agree to watch a certain number of ads per month.
"I call that 'back-of-the-phone advertising' — because nobody's using that space. It's like a billboard on the road that everyone passes by and nobody's got an ad on it," he says.
And that, ultimately, brings us full-circle — and back to the underlying role of this initial gadget.
"I can't talk about my ambitions about creating a network unless I have critical mass, and I can't get to critical mass without an Indiegogo campaign that says, 'Yeah, I'm interested in this,'" Mages explains. "The Indiegogo thing will tell me in 44 days if 1,000, 10,000, or 100,000 people are interested."
You can listen to my conversation with Ken Mages in a special bonus episode of my Android Intelligence Platinum podcast — and you can see more about the CastAway on the product's official Indiegogo page.
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Thought is more important
The physical world is merely a crystallisation of thought. Nature or all that is not man-made is made of thought that was original in the design of the universal operating system while the man-made creations are the products of the thoughts of man.
When we think about thought we usually think about what is going on in our heads, but come to think of it what is really going on in our heads? We either hear conglomeration of words, pictures or sounds in our heads and we say we are thinking but what is thinking really?
A Thought is an algorithm, executing in our brains whose effects are the words, pictures and sounds that we call thought but really is merely the effects of thought itself. If you choose to couple the algorithm or software of thinking with its output then summarily we call it all thought, but for our discussion separating the code from the effects will help us comprehend what I mean by permanent thought and it's ephemeral effects. Thinking is the process by which this algorithm generates it's effect, these base algorithms are more permanent
, while their effects can change from moment to moment and differs from brain. If you have read my book the universal operating system you would already know that I proposed there that the universe is software-hardware stack, the brain is a microcosmic manifestation of that stack.
Both systems, brain and surrounding nature feedback on eachother. Brain and it's entire stack acts like the thought that influences nature, while the thoughts in your brain are the effects of deeper algorithms executing at other layers of the stack.
This relativity between phenomenology and abstraction, of brain and and nature, of our primitive thinking algorithms and thier effects, the thoughts in our heads is what made the ancients declare that the world is an illusion.
This was not intended on downgrading the importance of the world, it simply meant to shift attention towards the more permanent structures of mind-brain and away from the effects of the environment. Although this understanding was taken to the extreme by the unwise, we are now in a position to properly understand, balance our views and thus take advantage.
The Physical universe is a 3d fully immersive virtual reality experience, not designed mostly to entertain, although it's quite pleasing to the senses, but to demonstrate the deep algorithms encoded in the universal operating system.
It's not just a mere illusion, just like the constantly erased and rewritten information on a black board is not a waste of time because new information is constantly presented on it and eternal principles demonstrated. So is the physical universe, a demonstration system to enable conscious units obtain knowledge and technique towards self mastery and perfection of the purpose of universe.
The thought of a chair is a chair, something that affords the opportunity for a human body to rest in a particular posture. Independent of the many manifestation of it, the idea or thought of a chair and sitting remains the same. This is the evidence for the permanence of thought above manifestation.
And even this archetypal thought no matter how general is still a manifestation in the brain of a more general, deeper algorithm.
So where is software? Many people will say that if the mind is the software of the brain then, it must be located somewhere in the brain and thus they go about probing and digging into the tissues of the brain. Well, as far as that probing activity is concerned it's only use is in providing enough jobs for the looming numbers of PhDs without employment. It's use in telling us more about our brains is more useful in providing knowledge for pharmaceuticals than in understanding the brain in order to build a thinking machine.
It's just like staring at the circuitry of a running computer, you will never be able to decode that something like Mathematica software, with all the intelligence encoded in it is running no matter how hard you look, if you have never seen a programming language itself, talkless of all the layers of abstraction that makes possible a modern computer.
We will figure out the algorithms of thought more from software, algorithms and creative research and less from trying to reverse engineer a brain.
Neural networks looks inspired from the brain but in reality it's just maths, it's this kind of computational mathematics
and algorithms research that will bring us a thinking machine, that is non-biological intelligence.
And a word of encouragement to AI researchers out there, we will create a machine on par with and eventually to succeed human intelligence, but it's always going to be a tool. We will be able to create a simulation of a personality but very different from human personality but alike in many ways.
The problem of engineering a true human personality will take as much engineering effort as has brought us all our technological advances, including modern AI research itself.
It is in thought that true power is gained, thought extends longer than phenomenal extensions, thought communicated perpetually exists perpetually, thus it is more important.
It might take a lot of iterations to more accurately represent our thoughts in material form either as a physical device, code, words etc., But if we persist we will approach perfection ever closely.
Whatever we encounter physically is merely a shadow, thought is superior. The limitations of the physical world will eventually in the future be broken by the power of thought applied through knowledge.
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5yo hall party - don't know where to start
(19 Posts)
MidnightPanda Wed 18-Jan-17 10:06:46
Planning a hall party for DS the first time.
Don't know where to start?
How many hours would I need to hire the hall?( including setting up/tidying after)
What activities/ entertainment for 5yos
Was thinking bouncy castle but worried about injuries?
Any advice greatly appreciated smile
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OldLibrary Wed 18-Jan-17 10:17:04
Make the part itself no longer than 1 and a half hours.
No need bouncy castle; get a loud enough (bearing in mind noisy five year olds!) music player and play party games. Also will do for "dancing competition" if you run out of games.
Do simple portable party food, nothing fancy.
Things like biscuit decorating/ dinosaur colouring/ at tables is good for when they need to calm down.
Balloons: I hate them with a passion, but if you fill the hall with loads they'll amuse themselves running round madly for ages.
LTBforGin Wed 18-Jan-17 10:23:21
Don't think you can get a bouncy castle in a hall? You need to check that first
LTBforGin Wed 18-Jan-17 10:24:35
What's the budget?
How many are you inviting?
Ds like anything in particular?
Is there a little kitchen there you can use?
Parents staying?
LTBforGin Wed 18-Jan-17 10:24:54
I love organising a good party.....
Seeline Wed 18-Jan-17 10:27:40
You can get bouncy castles in halls - I've hired them several times. Never had any injuries either, but you do need an adult supervising it all the time. they are very easy to control, just turn of at the switch and they go up/down almost instantly so can just have it on for short bursts.
Definitely a good idea to have some activity tables - not everyone wants to charge round all the time.
Do have some games - musical bumps, pass the parcel, musical statues etc.
ProseccoandPizza Wed 18-Jan-17 10:30:48
We did a joint 5th birthday party for DS and his best friend. Hired a hall for £60, £200 for a package of mascots, disco, face painting and bouncy castle. Ordered cardboard party boxes online and filled with a sandwich, packet of crisps, brownie and a few bits. So many kids we didn't bother setting up tables. Ours was a Lego theme, so we paid for a Lego PDF pack on etsy and printed our own decorations on thin card (bunting etc). Purchased a canister of helium and lots of cheap balloons through Amazon!
MidnightPanda Wed 18-Jan-17 10:56:28
Budget is £300
Was inviting whole class ( around 20) and a few outside friends.
DS wants batman theme
There is a little kitchen, and I think parent's staying although I don't mind
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DEMum101 Wed 18-Jan-17 11:00:24
We have done hall parties for DD since she was 2 (now 7). For the first four of those years we hired a bouncy castle for inside the hall (check with the hall what dimensions of castle will fit inside theirs - you can get some pretty small ones). The kids love them and we never had any injuries but yes, you do need an adult supervising.
Definitely also have some games lined up like musical bumps, dancing competition, pin the tail on the donkey or whatever (if you don't have too many children) and small prizes - bags of haribo etc and something slightly larger for the ultimate winner. By 5 they are probably old enough for pass the parcel although if there are lots of children it might be a good idea to have two parcels circulating as it can get a bit dull otherwise and they can lose interest. If it all gets a bit boisterous, a game of sleeping lions can calm things down a bit.
Food in boxes is a great idea as you are less likely to get loads of waste.
And don't forget the party bags! Sweets and plastic tat goes down a bundle with the children - put in a book if you want to appeal to the parents.
MidnightPanda Wed 18-Jan-17 11:00:53
Thanks everyone grin grin
I'm worried no one will come.
How many weeks in advance for invites? I literally have no idea about this stuff
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Howtocatchastar Wed 18-Jan-17 11:03:03
We did a whole class superhero party in a hired hall for my son's birthday. We had a children's drama company come in to do some superhero themed activities, lots of role play, dancing etc. People still talking about it too, was great fun and all kids engaged. It left time for the cake and food.
We had use of a little kitchen area, which was really useful for sorting drinks etc.
Howtocatchastar Wed 18-Jan-17 11:05:16
I give 6 weeks, but I think the norm is 3-4? Plenty of notice is good in my opinion, especially if kids are dressing up too, gives enough time to sort their superhero/batman costumes etc.
haggisaggis Wed 18-Jan-17 11:28:04
Party 1.5 to 2 hours
Rope some of the parents you know and will stay to help with supervising and clearing up.
Split kids into 3 groups and rotate - 1 group bouncy castle, 1 group activity, 1 group games.
Nominate a specific parent each to supervise bouncy castle and activity.
Have someone else to grab parents when they are coming in who are dropping kids off to get hold of contact details.
Balloons good but watch you don't have any kids with a balloon phobia - one of ds's friends was terrified so we had to gather them all up and put in our car instead.
Make up a plan of what games you are doing and have plenty in reserve (with quiet ones like sleeping lions too).
I loved doing parties like this when they were small. Mine are now 17 & 14 so stopped ages ago!
LTBforGin Wed 18-Jan-17 11:29:37
I would hire a bouncy castle or a decent animal entertainer.
Hire hall for an hour - hour and a half for the party. If you have 2 adults I'd say half an hour for clear up. Set up I'd say half hour to put the tables together for lunch. Blow up castle. Put banners/balloons up. More hands the better setting up!
The food I would do them all a box of food. A sandwich (when you get invite responses ask if their dc would like ham/cheese/jam). A bag of crisps. A kinder hippo. A bag of haribo. A drink of fruit shoot (lids taken off before)
Maybe quiche and ham rolls, tea/coffee for parents.
Invites out a good two weeks before (I try and do 3 weeks). If you're aware of siblings that might want to come/toddlers mums might have to need to know so you can do them a box of food. Unless they're not welcome in which case you need to make that clear. Parents and siblings tend to join here but where we used to live parents dropped and ran.
Maybe say kids can be in fancy dress if they want to?
You will need someone supervising the castle if you get one.
Lots of balloons! On walls. On the floor. Kids will play with balloons for ages! Blow them up the night before and take them in black bags. I use ribbon to fasten 2/3/5 together to put on doors/walls. Individual on the floor.
Food can be made earlier in the day and put into the boxes-have them named.
Small Batman cake/napkins/cups for jugs of juice-it will be needed if you get a bouncy castle.
I would do individual cupcakes in individual cardboard boxes with a tag on them saying "thanks for coming to x party" rather than cutting up the cake to give to the kids. I make large cupcakes, ice them with buttercream and out sprinkles or edible paper on the frosting. The cake boxes/nice sprinkles/edible paper you can get off eBay quite cheap-but that's my personal choice. It's just all done before the party then and we tend to have a cake at the party to sing happy birthday to then eat the cake after dinner as a family(singing hb again)
Music on in the background. Pass the parcel-on or off the castle (we do it on but depends on the room and if you want them to chill for ten minutes) a bag of haribo or similar between each layer of wrap.
A cellophane cone of black and yellow (batman) sweets, a balloon and a cupcake to take home as a goody bag.
LTBforGin Wed 18-Jan-17 11:31:05
Hour and a half/two hours for the party sorry....not an hour
DEMum101 Wed 18-Jan-17 11:46:56
The more notice the better I think, although about a month is probably best because much longer than that and people will put the invitation aside to think about at a later date and then forget about it. You will have to send reminders for RSVPs but you would be very unlucky to have no one turn up.
I haven't read all the responses so apologies if this has already been said but think about offering some food and drinks for adults. There will likely be quite a few staying at that age group and they will appreciate something to keep them going - tea/coffee if possible or soft drinks and some biscuits is absolutely fine, but we tend to offer wine and beer and something like cheese and biscuits and people seem to quite like that. Parents who stay are often brilliant about offering to help out too - taking round food to the kids if you don't do boxes, say, helping with games and just generally keeping an eye on the children.
FeelingSmurfy Wed 18-Jan-17 14:46:18
Tub of haribo, child gets to take a sweet when they are out of a game, so they don't get upset about being out, winner gets a 10p bag of Haribo. Happy kids, cheap to do, winner feels they earned something more than the others got but they aren't jealous that it's a huge prize. Easier than trying to make sure everyone wins something
Labels on drinks, saves kids getting new one because they aren't sure which is theirs, keep a roll of labels and a pen ready for anyone who needs another drink
Hour before party, setting up takes longer than you think and an hour saves stress.
Hour and half for party
Half an hour should be fine for clean up if there are a few adults
Total of 3 hours
thethoughtfox Wed 18-Jan-17 14:48:07
Went to a great party in a local hall. Just a bouncy castle and some ball, bats and blocks out and they kids ran about mental. No entertaining required.
MidnightPanda Tue 14-Feb-17 23:20:39
Thanks for all the input guys, so helpful grin
Just awaiting the big day now haha
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Gene editing, auspicious or appalling?
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Who wouldn’t want to be a healthy 150-year old? It may sound like science fiction, but it could soon be possible, thanks to gene editing. Many people believe that gene editing is the future, especially now that we have CRISPR gene editing technology. The truth is, gene editing is becoming easier and it will be used more and more often. Since it will play an increasingly important role in our lives, it is crucial that all of us get a better understanding of the technology. Let’s start at the beginning.
Our DNA, our genes, and our proteins
Genes are a part of our DNA, the genetic code we inherit from our parents. It is located in the nucleus of every cell in our body. It is made up of small units that form the code for all the ‘machinery’ our cells need to survive. We get fifty percent of our DNA from our father and the other half from our mother. The cellular machines are called proteins. Each piece of genetic code for each individual protein is called a gene. Humans have at least 19.000 genes, although the exact number is still under debate.
Genes code for proteins. The functions of proteins differ. Some proteins create energy, while others move to the blood, functioning as signals for other parts of the body. Some proteins even create other proteins by reading the genetic code. The genetic code can contain errors, also called mutations. To prevent errors in the proteins – proteins with errors cannot function properly – it is essential that the genetic code is error-free. Fortunately, we also have proteins that check our DNA for mistakes and fix them.
Even though cells have all this machinery to keep the genes error-free, mutations sometimes do creep in. Not all mutations pose problems, but there are those that can cause diseases. In the process of gene editing, researchers and doctors exchange (part of) a gene to fix a disease-causing mutation.
An infographic with an explanation of chromosomes
Errors in genes cause diseases
Genetic mutations lie at the centre of many diseases. Some mutations are inheritable, meaning that if your parents have a mutation, they pass it on to you. Disease-causing mutations can, however, also skip a generation, which means the genetic disease is transferred to you, without it affecting your parents.
Inheriting a disease
Huntington’s is a good example of an inheritable disease. When one of your parents has it, you have a fifty percent chance of getting it as well. This neurodegenerative disease causes cells in your brain to slowly die off. The Huntington’s Disease (HD) gene is responsible for this and codes for the huntingtin protein. If you have the mutation, the gene and the protein are longer than they should be, causing the protein to be toxic for the brain. Everyone with this gene expansion will get the disease, which will be fatal. The ‘upside’ is that symptoms only appear around the age of 40, which means there is a lot of time to replace this faulty gene with the shorter, healthy variant. This could eradicate Huntington’s disease forever.
Stopping cancer
Cancer has also caused great problems due to genetic errors. Cancer develops because several mutations, in several different genes, pile up in the DNA. Imagine if you could get the DNA of a tumor tested and replace all the mutated genes in your body with healthy ones. The tumor could then be removed, without increased chances of recidivism. Even undiagnosed metastases could be prevented from growing any further, since their mutations would also be restored during the body-wide gene editing process.
Extending life
One more extremely promising aspect of gene editing is life extension. Extensive research indicates that the genes affecting lifespan are involved with sensing the amount of energy present in our bodies. Having less energy present, leads to activity changes in those genes that increase lifespan. It is also well-known that eating less – thus having less energy present – extends life. Using gene editing, we can increase and decrease the activity of certain genes involved in aging, in such a way that lifespan is increased. This has already been done in worms, yeast, flies, and mice – with surprising results. Some worms live six times longer and mice can live up to twice as long. This shows that lifespan can be increased by influencing the activity of these genes. More importantly, the genes that are responsible for this in worms, flies, and mice are also present in humans. That means that humans can potentially also be treated to live a longer healthy life. Imagine getting a short gene editing therapy at age 25 and then living to 150 or more in good health.
Editing genes with CRISPR-Cas9
The CRISPR-Cas9 technique was recently discovered in bacteria, where it serves as a protective mechanism against viruses. The system makes use of the Cas9 protein, which can cut DNA. You could see it as a pair of molecular scissors that prevents a virus from replicating. Cas9 binds a small molecule called guide RNA, which not only looks like DNA, but can also bind to it. As Ellen Jorgensen, molecular biologist and co-founder of the world’s first community biolaboratory, describes it in her TED talk below: “The guide RNA forms the leash for the Cas9 molecule, that keeps the Cas9 out of the genome, until it finds the specific place where it needs to cut”.
Scientists can design this guide RNA to specifically target a gene of interest, say the HD gene. When it binds, Cas9 cuts the DNA to remove the mutated HD gene. The cell will try to repair the cut by putting it back together. Scientists can instruct the cell to incorporate the healthy HD gene to cure the disease. This technique can be applied to all genes in the DNA and it gives scientists control over which genes work and which don’t.
Since Cas9 is a protein, there is a piece of DNA – a gene – that codes for it as well. This means that the machine and the guide RNA can be inserted into the DNA of any cell with the use of existing techniques. When the technique is flawless, it could be applied at all stages of life, from a fertilised egg to a 70-year-old person.
Plants also have genes
It’s not just humans and animals who have DNA and genes. Plants do, too. We use plants for a variety of reasons, but they mainly provide us with fruits and vegetables for consumption, which gives our bodies healthy and essential nutrients. Genes in the plant’s DNA code for most of the healthy substances that we get from them. Using genetic modification, scientists can add more nutrients to our crops. This is called biofortification. A perfect example of biofortification is the so called ‘golden rice’. It gets its name from its golden colour, which is the result of beta-carotene, a compound that scientists engineered into the rice to make it healthier. Our body converts beta-carotene into vitamin A.
The development of this rice is important because vitamin A deficiency (VAD) affects about a third of the children under five worldwide and is the main cause of childhood blindness. Administration of vitamin A supplements is costly and inefficient. However, scientists found that just 72 grams of dry golden rice a day is enough to prevent VAD. As rice is a staple in most countries where VAD is prevalent, supplementing this way is a cheap and easy solution. With gene editing we can add all types of nutrients to all types of fruit and vegetables. We could ensure that everyone – not only people in third-world countries – leads a healthier life.
Ethics of gene editing
One of the biggest problems with gene editing, especially in humans, is the controversy surrounding it. Some people believe that we shouldn’t play around with genes, while others see no problems or limitations. For example, we could cure somebody’s colourblindness. This way, he or she can see the entire spectrum of colours again, probably improving their life. We could also expand the sight of healthy individuals by editing in additional colours. This does not cure anything, but some people might be very keen to have this done.
We can, however, do many more useful things with these techniques. For example, antiviral or anti-bacterial CRISPR-Cas9 systems could be inserted into the genome of young children. As soon as they would be infected with a virus or bacterium, their CRISPR-Cas9 vaccination could prevent those viruses or bacteria from surviving and thriving, creating an artificial form of immunisation. Something like this has already been tested as a treatment and prevention for HIV. If this works, it will pave the way for genetic vaccinations.
But we could also check the DNA of our unborn babies for genetic abnormalities. Do we then want to alter their genome? Let’s say the baby has the Huntington mutation. We could fix that, but while working on the baby’s DNA, we could also change its hair and eye colour, and make the baby a little stronger by enhancing its muscle development. It is important to note the ethical and biological difference of genetically editing egg or sperm cells and any other type of cell. The main distinction between the two is that the former will change the DNA for generations to come, while the latter is just for one person’s lifetime. Both have separate ethical issues that need to be considered. Numerous people, from inside as well as outside the scientific community, have warned against the consequences of CRISPR, if hastily implemented for human gene editing.
The intentions might be good, but it might also increase inequality, as gene editing will, most likely, initially only be accessible to the rich. “Once you start creating a society in which rich people’s children get biological advantages over other children, basic notions of human equality go out the window,” David King, former molecular biologist and founder of Human Genetics Alert, warns in the Guardian.
In other words, gene editing holds the future, but only if it is properly managed and controlled. We need regulation and we need committees to guide research and development in the right direction. Only then can we truly be prepared for the future of gene editing.
This article is written by Richard van Hooijdonk
This article is written by Richard van Hooijdonk
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Why Learn Shakespeare?
Asking why an actor should learn to perform Shakespeare is like asking why a marathon runner should learn how to walk. So many people are intimidated by Shakespeare and think that it is out of reach. They mistakenly think that they should work on a “method” acting technique before approaching Shakespeare. In reality, just the opposite is true. If you work on Shakespeare first, it provides basic skills that are essential for all other venues of acting. No time spent with Shakespeare is ever wasted.
When directors see an actor who is able to interpret Shakespeare, they can be confident that the actor will be able to interpret any other text. While you may explore your own feelings as you study acting, in the end it is the feelings of the audience that matter most. The language of Shakespeare allows an actor to truly open up, both in emotion and articulation. It is much easier to get an actor to pull back and tone down his or her acting than it is to get an actor to do more. The performance of Shakespeare provides a perfect vehicle for bringing out the actor in a way that will deliver the emotion to the audience.
This type of performance is not just beneficial to the aspiring actor. The skills you acquire will give you the confidence necessary for any venue of public speaking or presentation in front of an audience. This capability will help you in any future endeavors, regardless of the career you eventually pursue.
The study of Shakespeare is a life-long process. A few short hours cannot cover all that will be required in times to come. However, it is quite possible that these hours can inspire and provide a few keys to what can truly become a “magical realm.” The words are wise, keen, and beautiful, and they are the foundation of our modern English language. Any time you spend working on Shakespeare will increase your confidence as a performer. Ultimately, if you allow it, the works of Shakespeare will enrich your soul.
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Toby Melville / Reuters / The Atlantic
The Marvel Cinematic Universe is defined by its spandex-clad stars—heroes including Captain America and Iron Man who’ve powered the franchise to unprecedented popularity over 11 years, most recently resulting in the record-breaking success of Avengers: Endgame. The interconnected nature of the 22 Marvel movies means a single film like Endgame, which brings the entire ensemble together for a big goodbye, can have a sweeping effect. But pulling off such a project also requires a ton of coordination behind the scenes. Anthony and Joe Russo—who’ve directed four Marvel movies in total, including Endgame—have built a reputation for that kind of managerial mastery.
Before the two were brought into the Marvel fold by the company’s chief producer, Kevin Feige, nothing about the Russos’ resume suggested that they’d be particularly suited to big-budget superhero storytelling. After being discovered by Steven Soderbergh at the 1997 Slamdance Film Festival, they made a charming indie caper called Welcome to Collinwood and otherwise mostly worked in television, helming the pilot episodes of comedies such as Arrested Development, Community, and Happy Endings. A look back at Arrested Development suggests the Russos’ adeptness for juggling massive casts in a way that allows everyone moments to shine—something the Marvel movies needed to do as the franchise rolled on.
In 2014, the Russos made Captain America: The Winter Soldier, a well-liked entry that placed the star-spangled hero in a story with the air of a ’70s conspiratorial thriller. From there they moved on to 2016’s Captain America: Civil War, which brought the title character into conflict with Iron Man and introduced the Black Panther. The directors’ skill for coordinating such an extensive cast got them tapped to make Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019), a two-part mega-epic that was shot simultaneously and features just about anyone who has ever showed up in a Marvel film. I talked with the Russos about the way they planned the grand story arcs for the series, the pressure of managing so many performers, and whether large-scale “event” movies will define the theatrical experience going forward. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
David Sims: You joined Marvel for the first time with Captain America: The Winter Soldier. When you came aboard, how much of the broader story arc was already on the map?
Anthony Russo: We entered the universe right before The Avengers came out [in 2012]. So [the Marvel movies were] working well enough for the studio to want to make a second Captain America movie, but the environment we came into was Kevin Feige trying to keep things fresh and surprising. Marvel had conceived of perhaps doing a Captain America movie as a political thriller, but it was a tentative concept. Our big thing to figure out was, how do we modernize the character and toughen him up? He can’t possibly be the same human being he was in World War II as he is 70 years later, with none of his old friends around him.
Sims: This is ludicrous to say, because it’s a very big movie, but Winter Soldier was so much smaller than Endgame because you’re dealing with one character’s arc rather than 20. That early on, were you thinking about the four more movies you wanted to do with this character?
Joe Russo: No. You try to imbue the film with the richest storytelling that you can because, if you do that, there’s always somewhere to go. There’s some interesting corner you’ve painted yourself into that will provide dramatic propulsion moving forward. If that movie doesn’t work, you’re not making another one.
Sims: Did you immediately move on to Captain America: Civil War? Was that where the bigger arcs come in?
Joe: We were working on it almost overlapping with Winter Soldier.
Anthony: Marvel is very disciplined in its process. They did not invite us to do another Captain America movie until they had seen the edit for Winter Soldier.
Joe: And they also didn’t want us to take our focus away from that [first] movie. Feige is very good about doing one movie at a time. As soon as you hand the movie in, there’s a phone call, and literally while we’re working on press for Winter Soldier, we’re also dreaming up ideas for Civil War.
Sims: Endgame is all about these endings that feel so natural for the characters. Were you trying to think of an ending for Captain America at that earlier point?
Anthony: We wanted to go right to the heart of what we care about in these movies: the relationships between these characters. Once we came out of the edit of Civil War, we realized that we’d succeeded in divorcing the Avengers, destroying the relationship between Tony Stark and Steve Rogers. We’ve set the table for Thanos; we’re ready for him.
Sims: Was [setting the table for Thanos] totally intentional, or was it born out of the idea of Tony and Steve’s conflict?
Anthony: It was really just us running at the conflict. How do we tell the most wrenching family drama we can?
Sims: When you were on set for Infinity War and Endgame, you had all these arcs to manage at once. How do you separate the signal from the noise for the actors?
Joe: You have to have a very cohesive plan. You’re making thousands of decisions a day. There are multiple filming units, there’s a whole visual-effects team, we have actors coming to us, saying, “I wouldn’t say it this way, I’d say it that way.” Our job is to collect all this information and be the arbiters of taste and provide focus for the entire process. You have to leave room for everyone else to be empowered and assist in making creative decisions.
Sims: Infinity War has so much action and wrenching chaos. Endgame is a lot slower, more deliberate on the character stuff, and I appreciate that viewers got the chance to slow things down and sit with the team for a while. Is there a scene that exemplifies that new approach that you particularly enjoyed doing?
Anthony: The scene that Joe was in, Cap’s counseling session [with other survivors of Thanos’s decimation].
Sims: A scene about which a studio would immediately ask, “Do we need this? Can this go?”
Anthony: You are very right [Laughs]. But it was very important to us! If you have a story point where you kill half of all living things, you have to move beyond the experience of the Avengers. To have an everyman in the story at that moment, and see Cap in a sensitive moment that spoke to his history as a character and the reality he’s living in now—that was an important thing for us.
Sims: For 11 years, these movies have been stand-alones that tell their own stories, but they’ve all been aimed toward Endgame. Do you think Marvel will continue that storytelling style, or will things get more diffuse now that you’ve done the big conclusion where everyone’s together?
Joe: You have to find a new path forward. That was always our [pitch], which is why I think they allowed us to make these really disruptive choices. You can’t keep giving people chocolate ice cream.
Sims: You have to blow up S.H.I.E.L.D. immediately after giving people S.H.I.E.L.D, in The Winter Soldier.
Joe: Exactly. So I think [Marvel has] to find a new path forward in this next mega-story they’re going to tell, and I think they’re going to make some very different and surprising choices. The thing we’re most proud of is how diverse the Marvel universe will be, moving forward. The first gay hero is coming, characters of different nationalities are going to be introduced—it’s going to pull the entire world into the story.
Sims: Do you have to get to the level of success that Marvel is at now to make those riskier choices that a studio might balk at earlier on in the process? In 2008, if Feige had [proposed] an African hero, a gay superhero, maybe a studio would have wavered. Is that how Hollywood always has to work—that you build up capital to spend it on “riskier” stuff?
Anthony: When we were in the edit room on The Winter Soldier, I remember Kevin walking in one day and putting a hand on us and saying, “Can you believe that we’re getting away with making a political thriller as a superhero movie?” Because of the success of the series, we’re all empowered to make decisions that you may not have been able to before. There’s a cycle happening there, because when you make those choices, it surprises audiences worldwide, if you tell the stories well. You’re being very noisy as a storyteller, and that feeds the beast even more.
Joe: Black Panther was perhaps one of the more significant cultural events in movie history. That only emboldens the studio to keep moving forward. You’d hope that decisions would be made irrespective of the financials, but ultimately it is called show business, and things are driven by dollars and cents. What’s great about audiences today is that voices can be heard, and people can collectively ask for things from their storytellers and receive them.
Sims: I know you guys worked with Steven Soderbergh when you were coming up in the industry. I talked to him when his Netflix movie High Flying Bird came out about how we both perceive this widening gap—there are the little movies, there are the big movies, and there are fewer of the middle-sized movies like rom-coms and dramas. Is there ever going to be space for that again?
Joe: Here’s where it’s all headed, and I think social media was the driver for all of this: There’s a very clear metric between generating conversation and box-office revenue. With all of the quality content you can get in your home and given that [streaming companies are] only going to increase what they’re spending on that content, getting people out of the house requires a special experience. That’s why movies are becoming more event-sized. Marvel is creating this emotional connection with its audience—it has done so over a decade, and there’s emotional capital invested. This generation is more invested in serialized storytelling than they are in two-hour narratives.
Sims: Which is what you both started out doing.
Joe: We’re children of the ’70s and ’80s, the golden era of auteur filmmaking. We love it, but at some point the impressionists have to step aside, and the next group of artists has to show up and paint in a different way. I think this generation of viewers is going to change the way that we perceive narrative because audiences are so facile in the way they consume content. Whether it be on Twitter in 30 seconds, on YouTube in five minutes, on Netflix, at the theater, they all value different experiences, but they value a connection and, above all, a conversation. That’s why I think movies in the middle have sort of disappeared, because they don’t drive conversation the same way that event movies do, and they don’t drive it on a global scale the way event movies do.
Sims: Do you want to keep working on this global scale? Or do you want to trend back to a smaller thing?
Anthony: Look, our next movie is a smaller thing: We’re going to make a movie with Tom Holland based on a book called Cherry. We’ve made movies for as little money as you can make a movie for, and for as much money as you can possibly make a movie for. We’ve done television, comedy, drama, cable, network—we love the entire variety of what you can do. By changing the format, you change the creative possibilities for what you can do. But we definitely have a taste for, and a skill set for, these big event films, so I know we’ll return to them at some point.
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Improving the customer self service experience
What is customer self service (CSS)?
Customer self service is support that allows users to find solutions themselves often through a knowledge base or automated task management platform. Customer self service (CSS) does not require an actual customer representative to assist the user. Today's customers are used to gaining access to information with the click of a button. In a Google-driven world, they find it frustrating to visit a physical support desk or call a customer service line to get the answers to questions they have about a company and its products.
With Zendesk Guide, savvy businesses can empower their customers with the tools to gain access to knowledge through self-service methods.
Moving forward
In a recent report, professor Steven Van Belleghem found that the speed of resolving a customer service complaint was crucial to customer satisfaction: 90% of respondents named speed as a top concern, and 86% of customers who call a help desk expect a resolution within four hours or less. Many companies are failing to deliver on these expectations: they're short-staffed, or their staff doesn't have the knowledge to answer a question immediately. That can leave you with angry customers who are likely to take their business elsewhere.
In order to keep customers happy, your company should move to a self-service model to predict and provide answers to their customers' questions, preventing customers from needing to reach out for additional support.
Options for customer self service
There are numerous methods for creating effective self-service channels, including:
• A knowledge base: Create a detailed bank of free content that provides your customers with written and video tutorials that can help them learn more about your company or troubleshoot their products. Keep in mind that both new prospects and existing customers are likely to conduct online research, so make sure that you've provided information that can help them both learn about your company and understand how to solve problems with your products. The knowledge base should be easily searchable, so users can find what they need with a simple keyword search.
• An automated task management platform: If there are common tasks that a customer will need to perform, develop technology that can process those requests without the need for additional human support. For instance, if you operate a gym that uses a punchcard system, you can enable customers to check in to see how many visits they have left, as well as completing other tasks such as booking classes online.
Zendesk จะช่วยได้อย่างไร
Help your customers help themselves with Zendesk's seamless self-service options. Improve your customer experience without the need to scale your customer support team. By building an intuitive, easy-to-use knowledge base and setting triggered responses for common requests when possible, you can keep your customers happy without adding to your team's ticket load.
| <urn:uuid:36d1095a-1986-44ea-b4b6-3be05d921fd9> | https://www.zendesk.com/th/guide/features/customer-portal-software/customer-self-service/ | en | 0.941213 | 0.262993 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Today is
Karl Hepperle
March 1968
"You will starve to death over there!" wailed his mother when Karl Hepperle, thousands of miles from the Plevna, Montana site that was to be his homestead, announced sixty years ago that he was going to America. She was much distressed.
In answer to her dire prediction Karl quoted an old Russian proverb, "The honest hand will go through the land." He felt sure that he could succeed in the new land. Little did his mother dream then that his determination to go to America would save her from starvation in the not-too-distant future.
The Hepperles in Russia owned a large farm and were well to do. They hired a number of workers to help with the farm, boys for the field work and girls for housework - and to milk the cow, as was customary there.
With Karl Hepperle it was not economic necessity, as it was with many emigrants, that compelled him to leave his native land, but an inner urge that would not be denied. He must go to America!
When his mother saw his determination, she told his father and his father, too, tried to dissuade him. He offered Karl his share of the inheritance at once if he would stay and farm, but Karl could think only of America.
He didn't want to leave without his parents' consent, but his mind was made up. "Voluntarily let me go," he told his parents, "or I will go anyway." In the face of such determination his parents decided they could only yield. "I don't know whether the ship will sink with him or whether he will discover a gold mine in America!" his father had exclaimed, but they let him go with their blessing.
So it was in 1908 his father bought his ticket for him, including ship passage and train fare to Eureka, South Dakota. Eureka was chosen as his destination because they knew some people there who had emigrated from Russia about two years earlier.
Before he started his ocean voyage Karl asked an old fellow who had crossed the ocean several times what would be good to prevent seasickness. The advice he received was, "Eat garlic or drink vodka." He didn't try the vodka, but as the ship plowed its way across the ocean he ate garlic until he couldn't eat any more. When he could down no more garlic he started eating lemon and hard sugar.
Whether that formula was responsible or whether he owed his feeling of well-being to some combination in his makeup that made him a sailor he didn't know, but he was thankful he didn't have a moment of seasickness the entire voyage. He watched plenty of others who did, however!
He arrived in Boston with just $25 to his name so he didn't linger long but continued on his way to Eureka. In Eureka he received a job offer almost immediately from a farmer who wanted him two months at $50 a month. With his finances in the condition they were he didn't hesitate but took the job at once.
They were a gracious couple who treated him right, and he did his best for them, too. But one thing he stipulated when he hired out to them: he would not milk cows. Back in Russia milking cows was strictly women's work. Hiring out to work for someone else was demeaning enough; hiring out to milk cows would have been too much!
They agreed to that condition, and after the day's field work was done he would take care of the horses and do the other barnyard chores. Then he would wait inside the fence where the cows were while his employer and wife did the milking. After the milking was done he would turn the crank of the cream separator and feed the milk to the calves.
He hadn't worked there long, though, until his ideas began to change. Customs just weren't the same here as in Russia so he began helping with the milking, too. Soon he started getting up earlier in the morning, and he would have two or three cows milked by the time the boss appeared. At the end of the two months his employer rented out his land. His wife told the renters, "We have thirteen hired men, but none as good as Karl" - the Russian-German boy who had learned to milk cows.
In the years 1903-1906 he had attended school in Odessa, and it was during those years that he made his decision to leave his native land. A student from the University of Odessa would occasionally visit in the home where Karl boarded, and it was from this student that he learned that the Communists, working through the university students, were planning to overthrow the Czar government. His friend was not in favor of the revolution and avoided these meetings, but his warnings of what was ahead were responsible for Karl's determination to emigrate to America. And before many years those warnings proved all too accurate.
In 1917 the Communists overthrew the government, just nine years after Karl left Russia, and all private property was subject to seizure. His father's property was no exception. Looters ran wild through the land, carrying off whatever they could get their hands on. As Mr. Hepperle (Karl's father) watched them dragging away his possessions he saw among the looters a boy who had formerly worked for him. Calling the boy by name, he remonstrated with him, "You know that belongs to me; why are you taking it'? "But Uncle," the lad replied (he was not actually uncle; that was a term of respect), "if I don't take it, someone else will." Mr. Hepperle recognized the inevitable and conceded, "You are right; go ahead and take it."
Before long the real tragedy began to emerge; while the Communists had pitted the 'have-nots' against the 'haves', it soon became evident that many of those who had not managed before to provide for themselves could not or would not manage now that they had someone else's property. Food production dropped alarmingly, and by 1920 starvation was widespread, those who had become the 'haves' starving along with the dispossessed.
In 1920, Mr. Hepperle sought help from his son Karl in the United States - the same son who had been warned by his mother, "You will starve to death over there!" ('over there' referring to America). Karl was able to send food parcels to his parents through the American Food Administration. Then in 1923 Mr. Hepperle wrote to ask for help to get them to America.
Karl sent them tickets, but before the tickets could be used Hepperles had to sneak to Latvia. They succeeded in getting to the border, but there those who had helped them asked for another $100 to get them across the border so once more they wrote to Karl. When the $100 was paid and they were able to cross over into free territory it was, as they described it, like getting out of hell into paradise.
The horrors were now behind them, but multitudes, including many of their own family and kin, were not so fortunate. Only two of Karl's brothers came when his parents did. Another brother would have come, but his wife was not yet ready to leave her parents and relatives. Later she had no choice about leaving, but America was not her destination when she parted from them. The destination was Siberia. Brother, his wife, and some of their children, along with many other people were taken in boxcars over 2,000 miles.
The women were settled in barracks tall enough to stand upright, wide enough to stretch out. The men were taken 200 miles farther to work in the woods. They wrapped their legs with tree bark as they worked in snow crotch deep. Within thirty days more than a thousand had died.
When the brother was next heard from, about two or three months later, he was back in his home again where his wife and children, just skin and bones, had preceded him. He was still in danger there so he crossed over the Caspian Sea into Caucasus for several years.
Here there were American stores where he could buy if he had American money so Karl sent him some, but after several times he wrote to quit sending because "they were getting jealous and making him suffer for it." Little wonder that Karl Hepperle, in Montana, praised the Lord that he had reached freedom while freedom was within reach.
After World War II refugees from Russia streamed into Germany, and Mr. and Mrs. Hepperle began getting appeals for help, help they gladly supplied. Some of those writing were from the generation born after he left Russia. One family found his address on the street in Berlin and wrote for help.
They sent many dollars worth of food and clothing to those pleading for 'eleventh-hour' help. Mr. and Mrs. Hepperle cried over the letters of thanks they received realizing that it was only through God's mercy that they had been able to render assistance.
Karl's parents, too, were very active in sending relief to the refugees. They had lived in Plevna for awhile after coming to the United States, then moved to Missoula. They became naturalized citizens, and now from their position of blessing were eager to help those who were suffering as they had suffered.
Mr. Hepperle, Sr., was given a permit from Missoula city authorities to go from house to house to collect clothing and shoes for the destitute. He collected one-and-a-half tons which he shipped to Germany for those who had fled Russia after World War II.
Shoes that weren't good enough to send he repaired and made them good enough. A Missoula shoemaker donated the sewing Mr. Hepperle couldn't do himself, and two local stores gave him strings. They also gave new shoes that were out of style.
In the freedom and security of his new homeland Karl's father lived to be over ninety years of age, his mother eighty-six. Of their thirteen children, only three in America are still living.
As for Karl Hepperle, he is now seventy-nine (in 1968) and is in good health. When he was operated on a few years ago, the doctor assured him his condition was as good as that of many men in their fifties.
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Believing what one reads
“How can you say, ‘We are wise, and the law of the Lord is with us?’ But behold, the lying pen of the scribes has made it into a lie. The wise men shall be put to shame; they shall be dismayed and taken; behold, they have rejected the word of the Lord, so what wisdom is in them?” (Jeremiah 8:8-9, ESV).
How often have we heard or said, “You cannot believe everything you read?” Human writers make mistakes. They also are always influenced by their own preconceptions, experience, education, and abilities, to say nothing of pressure from outside to conform to the demands of others. Sometimes, sadly, they just plain lie.
Even when it comes to sacred Scripture, which is from God and therefore is true (2 Timothy 3:16-17), we today are dependent upon other humans to preserve, translate, and explain it to us (as in Nehemiah 8:5-8). God’s word is absolutely dependable. Human teachers, not so much so.
I was with Bangla friends in a communications store a few years ago. There were signs in the window telling of the services which the store provided. I read one of the signs that was printed in the Bangla language. An employee laughed and said, “You are reading that from the English, not the Bangla.” Until then I had not noticed that the other window, on the opposite side of the door had a similar sign printed in English. I replied, “No, I am reading the Bangla – the English is not the same.” My companions laughed and agreed that the wording differed.
English readers of the Bible today are blessed to be heirs of nearly 700 years of Bible translation, primarily by sincere believers whose goal was to render God’s words as accurately as possible into the language of the common man (that is, those who knew English). Some translations have been primarily or entirely the work of one person. Others have been done by committees of various sizes. The modern reader has a wide range of choices, most of which are demonstrably scholarly and accurate. If there is any doubt as to the fidelity of a particular translation to the original one has many others with which to compare it.
But whenever humans are involved, mistakes can be made, and errors can be introduced either accidentally or deliberately. Jeremiah warned Israel to trust God’s word, but be wary of the scribes (copyists and teachers). Our Bibles are reliable, especially when one studies from multiple translations. But commentaries and other study helps must always be read critically with awareness of the limitations of any writer.
We should always be mindful of the responsibility of the reader or hearer. Note that Jeremiah concludes concerning the wise men who read the scribes’ writings, “Behold, they have rejected the word of the Lord, so what wisdom is in them?” One who listens to men, regardless of the claims they make, and follow error, are themselves responsible.
The young prophet from Judah who died because he believed what an older prophet told him (1 Kings 13:1-32) is an example of this responsibility. God had given him direct instructions. The older prophet claimed to have his own, contradictory, message from God. But that man was lying. When the young prophet believed and followed his instructions God pronounced judgment upon him, not the lying older man.
Many today blindly trust and follow a particular preacher, commentator, or church tradition, not trying to determine their accuracy. The Bible clearly warns us that the reader will account for what and whom he or she believes and follows.
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This Is Why the Impeachment Clause Exists
tags: Founding Fathers, Constitution, Ukraine, impeachment, Trump
This is one reason that perceptions among Democrats shifted so fast. In a republic, the people are sovereign. The president used his authority to criminalize or suppress his political rivals, in violation of the people’s right to choose their leadership. His acts exemplify the scenario the Framers feared when they contemplated a corrupt president using executive power to keep himself in office, unaccountable to the people who elected him. Trump’s conduct here is not just impeachable; it is why the impeachment clause exists.
Read entire article at The Atlantic
comments powered by Disqus | <urn:uuid:c025a9ab-269b-48fa-9874-c8641ed48d4c> | http://hnn.us/article/173153 | en | 0.967627 | 0.894644 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Weak Reference. What?
Q: What are weak references good for?
A: They have something to do with garbage collection.
While the answer above is certainly better than not knowing about weak references at all; any aspiring senior Java developer should know a bit more about them. Especially, when we consider that they are around since Java version 1.2. So, let’s dive a little deeper into this topic.
Strong references are ordinary Java references we use every day. For example:
Widget widget = new Widget();
Objects survive garbage collection and stay in the memory heap as long as they are reachable through strong references.
Let’s just stop here for a minute. Those who are only interested in weak references can skip this section or come back to it later. The rest of you should try to answer the question: Where does the garbage collector start working from? There are special objects called Garbage-Collection roots that are always reachable and serve as starting points for GC operations. There are the following four different kinds of such GC roots in Java:
• Local variables kept alive by the stack of a thread.
• Active Java threads are always considered live objects.
• Static references are kept alive as long as the Class itself is not garbage collected.
• JNI references are Java objects that the native code has created as a part of a Java Native Interface call. Such objects represent a very special form of GC root and are treated distinctively because the JVM has no idea if they are still referenced by the native code or not.
Weak references are not strong enough to keep the objects from being garbage-collected. You can create a weak reference like this:
WeakReference weakWidget = new WeakReference(widget);
In order to get back the actual widget, you call weakWidget.get(). Because the widget can get garbage-collected at any time, such a call can suddenly start returning null. There is a related class WeakHashMap where the keys (not the values!) are weak references and when the key gets garbage-collected the value is removed from the map automatically. This behavior makes it an ideal candidate for implementing cache functionality.
Would you like to know when a weakly referenced object has been garbage collected? This is what ReferenceQueue is for. If you pass it into the constructor of a weak reference it will be automatically put on the queue once the referenced object becomes a garbage.
There are different degrees of weakness. Soft references are between strong and weak references. They are less eager to throw away their object. In practice, they retain it as long as there is plenty of memory – but this is not a guarantee.
Phantom references are the weakest form of a reference: their get() method always returns null. Phantom references are only enqueued when the object has been already finalized. Which leads us to the only scenario I can think of in which phantom references can be useful: to determine when exactly a given object has been garbage-collected. You can create a phantom reference calling it’s only constructor:
PhantomReference(T referent, ReferenceQueue< ? Super T> q)
Did you notice something? Unlike soft and weak references, phantom references are not automatically cleared by the garbage collector as they are enqueued. An object that is reachable via phantom references will remain so until all such references are cleared or themselves become unreachable [5].
I Hope you found this post useful 😉
[1] https://community.oracle.com/blogs/enicholas/2006/05/04/understanding-weak-references
[2] https://www.dynatrace.com/resources/ebooks/javabook/how-garbage-collection-works
[3] https://docs.oracle.com/javase/7/docs/api/java/lang/ref/WeakReference.html
[4] https://docs.oracle.com/javase/7/docs/api/java/util/WeakHashMap.html
[5] https://docs.oracle.com/javase/7/docs/api/java/lang/ref/PhantomReference.html | <urn:uuid:d7c0c3d8-0a5a-46ae-b388-9f93986c7e86> | http://random-developer.com/2017/02/ | en | 0.917169 | 0.416006 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
The California Cyber Crime Center (C4), a newly minted forensic and digital crimes group based in Fresno, California, that as of October 11, unifies the California Department of Justice's (DOJ) resources to investigate and prosecute cybercrime, enhance digital evidence capabilities, and promote innovation. C4 supports DOJ internally as well as local and state law enforcement agency partners throughout the cybercrime lifecycle by providing services, technical assistance, and training related to cybercrime, digital evidence, and digital forensics. One example of support that C4 offers is the Cyber Response Vehicle (CRV), which serves as a mobile cyber laboratory, allowing multiple staff to work as if they were in the computer lab to collect, acquire, and process loose media, mobile devices, personal computers, servers, and other sources of electronically stored information during the course of an investigation. | <urn:uuid:f26a8cec-6037-4b2a-8cc6-4176a5626d33> | http://standardscoordination.org/content/california-shares-cybercrime-services-local-law-enforcement | en | 0.952889 | 0.083759 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
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A Sense of History
A short note on several films by Eric Rohmer
I'm not entirely sure if this blog post constitutes a 'return' in the permanent sense of the word, but I've been re-examining the films of Eric Rohmer recently and just wanted a space to jabber enthusiastically about some of his works. As much as I love Rohmer's contemporary-set films, such as Pauline at the Beach (1983), The Four Adventures of Reinette & Mirabelle (1987) and A Summer's Tale (1996) (to name a few), there's always been a special place in my heart dedicated to the director's rare historical pictures, which seem to take concepts of eccentricity and personal vision to new heights.
While his contemporary films are known for their astute naturalism - the rigorous shot-compositions, controlled editing and the use of bright primary colours often being the only hints that what we're seeing is a work of fiction as opposed to documentary - his historical films seem to push for artificiality and a more ornate, painterly sensibility.
My Girlfriend's Boyfriend [Eric Rohmer, 1987]:
The characteristic Rohmer aesthetic is usually defined by contemporary locations, young, upwardly mobile characters struggling to connect to the world and those around them, and enlivened by static, flatly composed discussions on nature, philosophy and art.
Full Moon in Paris [Eric Rohmer, 1984]:
The style of the characteristic Rohmer film is relaxed and conversational. Naturalistic settings, lighting and locations are used as a backdrop, but controlled by Rohmer's carefully arranged, often static compositions, and rigorously co-ordination colour palettes.
The first of Rohmer's feature-length films to deviate from his characteristic template, The Marquise of O... (1976) was inspired by an 1809 novella by Heinrich von Kleist. The film and its presentation teases at notions of faith and magical realism, creating something that feels very much within the traditions of German Romanticism, but in a way that belies a more sinister, psychological motivation for events.
While not as daring in its stylisation as some of the other films soon to be mentioned, The Marquise of O... is nonetheless shot in a way that differentiates itself from Rohmer's previous body of work. The lighting, while still naturalistic, seems exaggerated. While previous Rohmer films employed natural lighting (or the appearance of it), the contrast of light and shadow used in The Marquise... suggests the influence of classical painting, with a particular affinity for the baroque, romantic and renaissance periods.
More specifically, the contrasts between light and shadow evoke something of the Chiaroscuro and Tenebrism techniques made famous by artists like Rembrandt van Rijn, Michelangelo de Caravaggio and Gerard van Honthorst.
The Marquise of O... [Eric Rohmer, 1976]:
The Calling of Saint Matthew [Caravaggio, 1599-1600]:
Photographed by Néstor Almendros in the same hazy, lightly sepia, magic hour style that he subsequently brought to Terence Malick's Days of Heaven (1978), the deep shadows and warm tones give the film an ornate storybook quality that at one level suggests romanticism, while on another level creates a barrier between the audience and the true intentions of the text. The style lends itself to a film that is painterly and beautiful, like Stanley Kubrick's immortal Barry Lyndon (1975), but in a way that seems to illustrate the protagonist's inability to see the world (and her situation) for what it really is. In short, the design and photography are not merely decorative, but related to the psychology of the characters.
Rohmer would return to a similar style in his last film, the pastoral and poetic Romance of Astrea and Celadon (2007), photographed by Diane Baratier. Inspired by a 17th century text, Romance of Astrea and Celadon would find Rohmer ending his career on something of a seemingly uncharacteristic note; applying his same interest in characters and their interactions to a world defined by myth and legend. The magic hour cinematography and carefully composed 1.37:1 shot compositions once again bring to mind the look and style of The Marquise of O...
Romance of Astrea and Celadon [Eric Rohmer, 2007]:
Portrait of Charlotte du Val d'Ognes [Marie-Denise Villers, 1801]:
More radical was Rohmer's follow-up to The Marquise..., Perceval le Gallois (1978). This time taking its inspiration from a 12th century Arthurian legend, Rohmer shoots his film on a small soundstage; his characters traversing an expressionistic landscape that at no point attempts to disguise its artificiality. Into this, Rohmer incorporates a 'Greek-chorus' of medieval folk music and has his actors speak the stage-directions aloud. These techniques reinforce the presentational aspect of the film, not as a more conventional dramatization of events, but as a literal adaptation of the text.
Perceval le Gallois [Eric Rohmer, 1978]:
This idea of adapting the text as opposed to depicting it was suggested by Rohmer himself when discussing his creative intentions during the making of The Marquise of O... Quoted in World Film Directors Volume 2, 1945-1985 (John Wakeman, 1988), Rohmer states: "It wasn't simply the action I was drawn to, but the text itself. I didn't want to translate it into images, or make a filmed equivalent. I wanted to use the text as if Kleist himself had put it directly on the screen, as if he were making a movie. Kleist didn't copy me and I didn't copy him, but obviously there was an affinity."
There's a similar feeling one gets from the presentation of Perceval, where the rigorous adherence to the text (to the point that the use of language dictates the use of form, structure and pace) is reminiscent perhaps of the films of Jean-Marie Straub & Danielle Huillet, such as The Chronicle of Anna Magdalena Bach (1968), Class Relations (1984) and Antigone (1992). Here, the space between words (and even the editing of shots) becomes a kind of verbal and visual acknowledgement of the written punctuation.
Class Relations [Straub-Huillet, 1984]:
Class Relations is another example of adapting a work that is, like Perceval, essentially unfinished. Here, Straub-Huillet's exacting update of Franz Kafka's novel Amerika (published in 1927) includes an intentionally open ending. The filmmakers also shot their film entirely in Europe in order to parallel the fact that Kafka was writing about America from the perspective of never having been there.
While Perceval is easily the most 'Brechtian' of Rohmer's films - continually reminding its audience of its own artificiality, its basis in historical text and its essentially unfinished nature - it nonetheless remains a completely engaging and affecting experience. The story is presented with a creative and often witty approach, rich in imagery and imagination, while a third-act recreation of the passion of Jesus Christ for instance (see above) is cinema at its most genuinely sacred; the combination of music, voice, text and image creating something that is an absolute revelation.
One of Rohmer's later films, The Lady and the Duke (2000), updates the artificial stylisations of Perceval for the approaching 21st century. Adapted from Grace Elliott's memoir detailing her time during the French revolution, Rohmer digitally inserts his actors into literal painted backdrops that recall the Neoclassical art of the period. In doing so, he once again creates a barrier between the audience and the work; allowing us enough distance that we're able to see the story and its historical value, as well as the parallels the same story has to the then-current political situation in France.
The Lady and the Duke [Eric Rohmer, 2000]:
The Lady and the Duke, almost remarkably, predicts a style of filmmaking that has since become dominant in Hollywood. The approach in which actors perform in front of a screen with only minimal props, only to have the world of the film digitally rendered in post-production. For Hollywood filmmakers, the technique is one of immersion and escapism, but for Rohmer it seems to have a different, more political intention.
Behind the scenes image from Sin City: A Dame to Kill For [2014]:
Audiences no longer balk at such excessive artifice. The language of the modern blockbuster now feels closer to the fakery of classical Hollywood, with its painted backdrops, matte paintings and studio magic. The acceptance that the world of a film is no longer a tangible exploration of our own world, but a two-dimensional composite.
The Arrival of a Mail-coach in the Courtyard of the Messageries [Louis-Léopold Boilly, 1803]:
Imagine the above painting 'chroma-keyed' into the green-screen backdrop of the Sin City sequel and you're halfway towards a recreation of Rohmer's particular aesthetic approach.
Omitted from this discussion is Catherine de Heilbronn (1980), a play filmed for television but featuring a similarly theatrical aesthetic as Perceval, and Rohmer's penultimate film, Triple Agent (2004), neither of which I've seen. I'd be interested to know how these works stack up to the ones discussed herein; specifically in terms of their stylisation, or even in how they compare to the more characteristic Rohmer films, such as Full Moon in Paris (1984) or My Girlfriend's Boyfriend (1987).
Nonetheless, the stylistic disparity between the two types of film that Rohmer specialised in remains a fascinating anomaly to me; the complete illustration of how 'content' can dictate 'form', and how 'form' can dictate 'content.'
In an unattributed quote featured on legendary film blog Film Walrus, Rohmer discussed the stylisation of Perceval in relation to his own unfamiliarity with 12th century gestures, dialogue, decoration and landscape. For Rohmer it was "more honest to embrace the artifice and deliver the original writing unaltered. Even historically-researched recreations would still be just a better lie, rather than a deeper truth." Perhaps this is the ultimate explanation as to why Rohmer approached these works in such a way.
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Sea Water Nymphs on the Wiki
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1. They can dissolve into salt water, while in this state they are immune to all attacks; however, once the user changes back they will be extremely drained and immobile for a long time.
2. They have a slightly higher resistance to burns.
4. They have the ability to create a dome shaped torrent of water, roughly two to three times the size of the user, which can be used to block attacks for a very short time. They can also use this power to form other objects as well, at delimited size.
1. They are able to telekinetically move water. The larger amount of water used, the more energy it drains.
2. They have the ability to Water Travel in salt water, a sort of teleportation; the further the distance, the more is energy drained, and there must be a substantial amount of water at both ends.
1. They can heal minor wounds and soothe more severe wounds.
2. Are able to inspire men and uplift the spirits of those around them with their singing
3. They have minor prophetic and oracular abilities, but not as strong as the oracles.
4. They, and everything they touch, stay or become dry in water, unless they want to become wet.
5. They can make air bubbles form under water.
6. As they are nymphs they do not age, remaining eternally young.
7. Their life force is connected to the ocean, if that water is polluted or destroyed, they will die. They can also die in battle or from serious injury.
8. They have a telepathic/empathetic connection with nature and other nymphs, especially animals that dwell in salt water sources.
9. They are stronger the closer they are to the ocean, the further away they go from it, the weaker they become, if they go too far they risk death.
10. While in the water, they have the ability to take on different appearances, such as what some people refer to as mermaids
1. They always know their exact coordinates when in water.
2. They can't stand when people litre or pollute nature, especially their water source.
3. They can find anything easily if it is in the ocean
All items (10)
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Zollinger Pattern
I am trying to create a zollinger pattern in grasshopper. I started with a grid of rectangles and connected the corners. Then I placed the same rectangles in the center of the lines and connected the corners aswell.
My problem is that the line does not end exactly on the other, or just at one specific size of the rectangle.
I tried to shatter it at the intersections but it results in way to many segments.
Does anyone have a solution for this?
3 Kammern Zollinger.gh (12.9 KB)
I`ve seen this but it has the same problems i think
Caveat: I know nothing about the “Zollinger Pattern”.
However, I can see problems in this model. You have a super complicated way of making grid points that introduces some anomalies, such as rows vs. columns and the sequence of points in each branch. Easily replaced by a single component: SDivide (Divide Surface). Your point grid can be matched by adding Flip Matrix with ‘Reverse’ enabled on the output.
The number of divisions in one direction (5) doesn’t match the number in the other direction (3). Does that matter? (Later: I don’t think so.)
You are connecting the top-right corner of one box with the bottom-left corner in the other box, so naturally a box placed at the center point won’t align with either of them? Easily “fixed”, though maybe that’s a defining characteristic of the “Zollinger Pattern”?
Your don’t need four copies of Construct Domain when one will do.
So having said all that and made changes to simplify your code, I ended up with the same output you already had.
Zollinger_2019Nov27a.gh (19.0 KB)
But it got me wondering about a different approach. I adapted this model from ten days ago:
It creates all the squares in an alternate pattern, evenly spaced. From there, I messed around (for too long now!) trying to get a “Zollinger Pattern”, whatever that is. I need a break so will post this as is, for whatever it’s worth.
Zollinger_2019Nov27b.gh (25.4 KB)
P.S. I can cull unwanted lines by length but 1) that feels tacky and 2) it doesn’t add the missing lines.
Zollinger_2019Nov27c.gh (24.1 KB)
P.P.S. Oh dear, talk about tacky! What’s a “Zollinger Pattern” again? :sunglasses:
Zollinger_2019Nov27d.gh (23.7 KB)
It’s not robust in the sense that the slider in the blue group must be manipulated to choose from available lengths when the number of rows or columns changes. In fact, the ‘size’ slider (box dimensions) or the ‘X size’ or ‘Y Size’ sliders (base surface) can also affect the chosen culling length.
Thank you for this, very helpful. | <urn:uuid:807e0138-c97c-4262-bc74-e2bdbcf971d4> | https://discourse.mcneel.com/t/zollinger-pattern/92853 | en | 0.892721 | 0.179962 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
The U.S. started experiencing large waves of immigration from the 19th century. Historically, immigrants have faced a lot of barriers. From a language barrier, lack of a social structure, various working restrictions, abuses, and more, the American Dream for immigrants often yields to a messy reality. But if we broaden the concept of the American Dream to include the children of immigrants, you may get a different story. A new working paper by economic historians reveals children of poor immigrants achieve more economic and social mobility when compared to children of poor U.S.-born parents. We speak to economist Leah Boustan, one of the co-authors of this paper, to explain the results she found.
By Cardiff Garcia
Access the 11-minute listen here.
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Dengue: Spurt in dengue cases across Mumbai
Two women in their 40s died of dengue in the first two weeks of September, taking the year’s toll to three.While an unidentified 45-year-old woman from Malvan district, who was in the city to visit her son in Vikhroli, became the first dengue casualty this monsoon last Thursday, a 42-year old woman from Yogi Nagar in Borivli died of dengue hemorrhagic fever at Kokilaben Ambani Hospital in Andheri on Monday.
Rekha Lodha came down with high fever, body ache and was rushed to a local hospital. As her condition continued to deteriorate and her platelets depleted fast, the family shifted her to the Andheri hospital. “Even after being transfused with 36 bottles of blood, her condition remained critical. She died of dengue hemorrhagic fever along with multi-organ failure,” said her husband Jeetendra. Dengue cases in the city have shown a sudden spurt in the last few weeks amid concerns of a raging epidemic in the country. Over 1,513 people have been admitted to various hospitals in the city due to suspected dengue since the beginning of the month, although physicians say the actual numbers are much higher. The number of confirmed cases is merely 122, according to BMC statistics.
Borivli resident Jeetendra Lodha, whose wife Rekha died due to dengue on Monday, said eight to 10 people from three buildings in their neighbourhood are suffering from dengue. BMC officials said they will comment on Rekha’s death only after going through case papers.
Another woman, who succumbed to the disease last Thursday after seeking treatment in three city hospitals, had come from Malvan 10 days before she was hospitalized for the disease, civic papers said. She was initially admitted to a Powai hospital on August 30 with typical complaints of fever, headache and giddiness. Her platelet count too continued to fall so the family shifted her to Neptune Hospital in Dombivli. As her condition continued to deterio rate, the family rushed her to BYL Nair Hospital on September 3. | <urn:uuid:99023f5a-38b7-415f-b923-446b5d1ca666> | https://elitecorporation.in/article/dengue-spurt-in-dengue-cases-across-mumbai/ | en | 0.976121 | 0.027861 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
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5. A Major Flaw in Duolingo (And…
A Major Flaw in Duolingo (And a way to fix it, kinda)
In a nutshell, most of what you write while practicing a language in duolingo is in your native language, which isn't helpful at all when you're supposed to be learning a different one.
The way I got around this was by practicing my German in the "German to English" course, not vice-versa. This way I had to type more in German than I did in the "English to German" course. Don't know if this works with everyone, it did help me out quite a bit though.
August 8, 2017
Unfortunately there is no reverse tree for me (in Danish)
That's a really good point. I also wish there were more "type what you hear" questions.
A full quiz based solely on hearing and speaking would be great
Nice idea! Never considered that, maybe I'll try it out too. Thanks for the suggestion!!! ;)
Hahaha glad it helped.
And if you really want to (and the option is offered) you can go from your second language to your third! And practice both. You'd have to have a fairly decent grasp on the second, though.
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