The full dataset viewer is not available (click to read why). Only showing a preview of the rows.
The dataset generation failed
Error code: DatasetGenerationError
Exception: ArrowInvalid
Message: JSON parse error: Missing a closing quotation mark in string. in row 91
Traceback: Traceback (most recent call last):
File "/src/services/worker/.venv/lib/python3.9/site-packages/datasets/packaged_modules/json/json.py", line 153, in _generate_tables
df = pd.read_json(f, dtype_backend="pyarrow")
File "/src/services/worker/.venv/lib/python3.9/site-packages/pandas/io/json/_json.py", line 815, in read_json
return json_reader.read()
File "/src/services/worker/.venv/lib/python3.9/site-packages/pandas/io/json/_json.py", line 1025, in read
obj = self._get_object_parser(self.data)
File "/src/services/worker/.venv/lib/python3.9/site-packages/pandas/io/json/_json.py", line 1051, in _get_object_parser
obj = FrameParser(json, **kwargs).parse()
File "/src/services/worker/.venv/lib/python3.9/site-packages/pandas/io/json/_json.py", line 1187, in parse
self._parse()
File "/src/services/worker/.venv/lib/python3.9/site-packages/pandas/io/json/_json.py", line 1403, in _parse
ujson_loads(json, precise_float=self.precise_float), dtype=None
ValueError: Trailing data
During handling of the above exception, another exception occurred:
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "/src/services/worker/.venv/lib/python3.9/site-packages/datasets/builder.py", line 1997, in _prepare_split_single
for _, table in generator:
File "/src/services/worker/.venv/lib/python3.9/site-packages/datasets/packaged_modules/json/json.py", line 156, in _generate_tables
raise e
File "/src/services/worker/.venv/lib/python3.9/site-packages/datasets/packaged_modules/json/json.py", line 130, in _generate_tables
pa_table = paj.read_json(
File "pyarrow/_json.pyx", line 308, in pyarrow._json.read_json
File "pyarrow/error.pxi", line 154, in pyarrow.lib.pyarrow_internal_check_status
File "pyarrow/error.pxi", line 91, in pyarrow.lib.check_status
pyarrow.lib.ArrowInvalid: JSON parse error: Missing a closing quotation mark in string. in row 91
The above exception was the direct cause of the following exception:
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "/src/services/worker/src/worker/job_runners/config/parquet_and_info.py", line 1529, in compute_config_parquet_and_info_response
parquet_operations = convert_to_parquet(builder)
File "/src/services/worker/src/worker/job_runners/config/parquet_and_info.py", line 1154, in convert_to_parquet
builder.download_and_prepare(
File "/src/services/worker/.venv/lib/python3.9/site-packages/datasets/builder.py", line 1029, in download_and_prepare
self._download_and_prepare(
File "/src/services/worker/.venv/lib/python3.9/site-packages/datasets/builder.py", line 1124, in _download_and_prepare
self._prepare_split(split_generator, **prepare_split_kwargs)
File "/src/services/worker/.venv/lib/python3.9/site-packages/datasets/builder.py", line 1884, in _prepare_split
for job_id, done, content in self._prepare_split_single(
File "/src/services/worker/.venv/lib/python3.9/site-packages/datasets/builder.py", line 2040, in _prepare_split_single
raise DatasetGenerationError("An error occurred while generating the dataset") from e
datasets.exceptions.DatasetGenerationError: An error occurred while generating the datasetNeed help to make the dataset viewer work? Make sure to review how to configure the dataset viewer, and open a discussion for direct support.
pred_label
string | pred_label_prob
float64 | wiki_prob
float64 | text
string | source
string |
|---|---|---|---|---|
__label__cc
| 0.514097
| 0.485903
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Trace: • kings_hill
Best known for its taverns, like the Brothers of Justice, the Fiery Gourd near Hearthfire Tower, and the Strawberry Punch, King's Hill benefits from trade between Thane's Landing to the south and Blackhill to the north. It's home to “The King's Knights” – more ceremonial than martial these days – who are famously touchy about their honor.
The town is run by Tom the mayor, a rotund gentleman who's always nervous. He's always afraid that the King's Knights will get out of hand.
The town's chief output is its Kingfine Wool.
Hearthfire Tower was founded many years ago by a circle of wizards who were deeply interested in dragons. The tallest building in King's Hill, some say that actual dragon bones were used in its foundations. The wizards' plot to create more dragons went badly awry when they were betrayed by the very dragons with whom they were allied, and the eggs they had created were lost. Today, Hearthfire Tower is primarily a school for children, and arguably the best one outside of the capital, though its adult teachers also perform a fair amount of magical research.
The Fiery Gourd is a higher-class tavern famous for its mixed drinks, particularly its namesake, an intensely sour drink which is lit on fire briefly before serving. Most of their drinks are strong and the atmosphere usually stays jovial. It's one of the town's major watering holes, and typically where teenagers studying at Hearthfire Tower get their first “real” drink. Its proprietor, Marcus, is an odd man famous for his strange fare, including the infamous Chirpy Sloppy Wursts, the Fiery Gourd Cake with Hot Cheese Frosting and the amazingly spicy Flaming Bread.
Strawberry Punch tavern is geared towards children, serving a lot of sweetened stews, chicken, and sweet breads. It serves no alcohol and is run by four men. Spellcasters often weave through the crowds performing simple “rainbow routines,” simple magic spells intended primarily to be pretty.
The town's largest inn, The Crown, is a welcoming place with a large common room (often booked for weddings). The King's Knights often gather here to tell stories of their exploits (which are half-believed by the townsfolk).
Near the center of town stands the mayor's house, a two-story Gothic building with a slanted red roof and a gargoyle on top. An actual gargoyle. He just likes it up there. His name's Cedric. The mayor's house is famously stuffed full of weapons, so much so that it's a little hard to get around in there.
On another rise near the center of town stands the ruins of Understone Castle, where King Tarin III was crowned and the town got its name. It's a crumbling ruin now, but the King's Knights want to turn it into a memorial.
High Street contains the most popular shops in King's Hill, including:
Rings and Things – jewelry and small magic items. Ashley Macmillan, proprietor
Mage Threads – robes, bags, pouches, cases, and belts. Benson Skinner, proprietor
Misdirected Wishes – hodgepodge of items. Ada Corvin, proprietor
The Sorcerer's Secret – wands and weapons. Lydianna “The Whip,” proprietor
Like New – repairs of magic items. Ezekiel Wellman-Tapper, proprietor
The Spell Exchange – scrolls and magical research services. Randall “Randy” Morgan, proprietor
The Crystal Beaker – alchemical services, equipment, and supplies. Tilly Redmoon, proprietor
The Dipped Pen – high-quality paper, ink, pens, and writing paraphernalia. Lucius Modesto, proprietor
Nature's Remedies – herbs, natural remedies, and some spell components. Felmyr and Marcus, proprietors
Healing Draughts – potions, mostly healing. Tamar, proprietor
Dame Aquila Foecleaver, female human paladin of the King's Knights. Aquila has a long, harsh face with an aquiline nose and a regal bearing. She's rarely seen not in full plate armor. She desperately wants the King's Knights to go help Thane's Landing.
Sir Orin the Faithful, male dwarf of the King's Knights. The more moderate faction of the King's Knights will follow his lead.
Bradha: Female elf ranger; vulgar. Bradha has a square face, with brown hair and soft gray eyes. She wears banded mail and wields a short sword and short bow. She's witness to a band of the Mad Duke's army holed up in a trashed farmhouse north of town.
Sigurd: Male Dwarf Scholar. Sigurdhas gray hair and gray eyes, and small ears. He wears tailored clothing and a feathered hat.
Marnie: Female Human Merchant. Marniehas a long face, with gray hair and green eyes. She wears plain clothing and carries a long knife. Marniehas an animal companion, a tawny rat named Oweth.
Cyne: Male Human Thief. Cyne has golden hair and soft green eyes, and numerous horrific scars. He wears leather armor and wields a dagger and sling.
Kathon: Female Human Cleric, Good. Kathon is short and willowy, with thin golden hair and light green eyes. She wears chain mail and wields a club named Evan. Kathon is perceptive and soft-hearted.
Cenibald: Male Human Priest. Cenibald has cropped silver hair and soft hazel eyes. He wears modest garments and a sling of vials and potions. Cenibald has a terrible sense of direction.
The town was primarily a wilderness fortification until it got its name about 150 years ago, where it was the location of the Iron Fist training camps during the First War and subsequent War for the Atlas. The 13-year-old prince who won the decisive battle here was crowned King Tarin III in the town itself.
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|
__label__cc
| 0.596629
| 0.403371
|
We Were There: The joy of the rebuild
March 29, 2018 Bat Flips Admin Baseball, Pinch Hitting
Aaron Murray joins us for the first time to write about the joy of a rebuild. He submitted this post via the “Contribute Here” page above. Want to write for us? Do the same as Aaron!
We’re hours away from the start of the baseball season and I want you to spare some thoughts for the forgotten few in the family of baseball aficionados: fans of the rebuilders. Ours is not the world of whole The Ringer podcast episodes dedicated to weighing up our roster for weaknesses, nor would it be wise for us to levy even a nominal sum on our team winning it all in early November. But let one thing be clear: we’re not to be pitied. No, those among us who are fans of rebuilding teams actually have it better than you’d believe and I’m here to tell you of where we find our joy.
The thrill of the rebuild starts with the teardown. We’ll have watched year after year of bad baseball and yearned for a change of course. We may love a few gems left on the roster, but imagine what we can get for them. Then the trigger is pulled, the stars are dealt for premium young talent and hope is on the horizon. At this time our clubs are the centre of the baseball universe with the big fish finally paying attention. Our F5 key is loosened from overuse, we’re vastly overestimating what our 34-year-old left fielder is worth and we haven’t even thought about the misery of a true tank job, but we’re content because a change is going to come.
Once we’ve sold up shop we have the groundsman playing short stop and the mascot on first base, but there are no complaints. No complaints because what we fear most as sports fans is being let down, an eventuality that is close to impossible when your team is rebuilding. Your club will have a dearth of talent at the major league level, but you’ll find the most talented youth in the world down on the farm and no result is a bad one. If your star prospect is hitting below the Mendoza line in front of two dozen people in a rural outpost (hi there, Blake Rutherford) then they are merely learning their craft, honing their skillset and getting important reps. And then, when The Next Big Thing is called up we assure ourselves that a walk in their first at bat is a harbinger of a hall of fame career – for evidence, we have the video of Yoan Moncada’s first at bat and the rapturous applause from the Sox faithful.
https://batflipsandnerds.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/asset_1800K.mp4
Back in the big leagues, there is no conceivable result that can disappoint. A historically bad season will bring about a top draft pick and more Next Best Things. A surprisingly successful season and we’re convinced we have the players in place to pad out the roster when the prospects arrive. There are no star pitchers whose loss of control has us calling for the firing of the entire coaching staff, but we have plenty of the loveable journeyman type who are, we’ll tell you often, fantastic for dressing room morale.
And then there’s the satisfaction of being there when it all began. Baseball fans outside the US have a natural detachment from our teams and our fellow supporters. We’re like that American guy you know whose knowledge of football is a fraction of what they believe it to be, exemplified by the use of awkward language and truisms. That is until we become invested in the rebuild. When it all comes good, and don’t even try to suggest that it won’t, we know that we’ve put in the hard yards by dedicating valuable space on our phones to the MiLB app. We were rude on a night out by ignoring friends just to check how our club’s 24th best prospect pitched following his promotion from Double A. To echo James Murphy on LCD Soundsystem’s ode to his own hipsterdom – “we were there”.
There is, dare I say it, the distinct possibility that all does not come to pass and that the time in the wilderness does not end with glory, but we haven’t seen it yet in this era of all-or-nothing. The Astros and, unfortunately for us Sox fans, the Cubs have shown that a rebuild leads to a World Series so it always end like this, right? Maybe not, but countenancing that would be too painful so as the new season begins remember that you contenders aren’t the only people filled with hope, it’s just that ours is delayed for a date TBA, but when it happens we’ll be shouting loud – “we were there”.
BaseballChicago CubsGiancarlo StantonHouston AstrosJose AltuveMajor League BaseballMiami MarlinsMLBRebuildTanking
Previous Post:Your New Favourite League: The Korean Baseball Organization (KBO)
Next Post:Your New Favourite League – Chinese Professional Baseball League
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| 0.597498
| 0.597498
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NLI Official
Written Stuff
Category Impressions and Previews
Impressions: Plants Vs Zombies: Battle for Neighborville – Complete Edition (Nintendo Switch)
21st March 2021 24th November 2021 Sean Alexander
Join the Battle for the Neighborville!
EA and Frostbite finally make the leap!
EA and the Nintendo Switch haven’t always gone hand in hand. Support has been light, with numerous indie efforts from EA Originals, and the yearly undercooked FIFA Legacy Editions. But now EA and developer PopCap have seen fit to finally bring Frostbite, and their family friendly third person shooter, to Nintendo Switch.
Firstly, some context: Frostbite is EA’s in-house engine, developed by DICE, primarily for FPS titles like Battlefield, but lately has been the basis for Madden and FIFA among others. This engine was once touted as impossible on Switch and was the excuse for EA not porting their proper titles.
For further context, Battle for Neighborville is a 2019 shooter similar to the Garden Warfare series. This entry drops character variations, and featured heavy monetisation that led to the player base falling. On other systems this title is simply a mess. Support was dropped one year in and future updates are scrapped. So why bring this game over now?
Hehe #NintendoSwitch pic.twitter.com/njmYRMYoYm
— Haruki | NLI (@BritishPlaying) March 20, 2021
A little gameplay snippet for your eyeballs.
So How Is This Different?
So Plants Vs Zombies hit a rough patch. Here though, PopCap has made what is in essence a different game. While it does run at a lower resolution and at 30fps, this is by far the definitive experience.
Firstly, the monetisation aspect has been removed. There is no premium currency and no purchases. Every cosmetic and reward in the game is gained through standard coins for completing missions and playing multiplayer. If multiplayer isn’t your fancy, this version also includes offline PVE in multiplayer settings.
All the Prize Maps from the other versions are available at once to be cleared at your leisure, and Prize Bulb rewards are now easier to gain. You can now carry 999 of these and costs have been reduced for items.
Even character upgrades and the few unlockable characters are cheaper than ever and always available to buy. The random cosmetics are half the price of previous versions, and pay-outs for tasks and playing games are increased.
Add in touch menus and highly customisable motion aiming, and this is the way to play Battle for Neighborville today.
Is Anything The Same?
In terms of game balance and structure this is still Battle for Neighborville. Matches are 8v8 instead of 12v12, which tasks players with considering their team structure more. No longer can each class be accounted for in a match.
Character upgrades, assignable via upgrade points, remain as well, as do the heavy cosmetics. These are good incentives for levelling up and promoting characters, and different situations will have you mix and match depending on the mode.
Speaking of multiplayer modes however, at the time of writing only two of the modes are permanent: Garden and Graveyard Ops, a co-op experience, and Turf Takeover, a more Overwatch styled objective based game.
Team Vanquish (Deathmatch), Vanquish Confirmed, Gnome Bomb (A capture the flag style game) and Suburbination (King of the Hill) are all weekly events that will cycle through. This is both strange, and also understandable. The core mode is Turf, and while having at the very least Team Vanquish accessible at all times, a good weekly variety should keep players engaged. This also feels reactionary to the state of the player count on other systems.
All the single player modes and PVE are accounted for here too, even the fully online hub world.
Nice #NintendoSwitch pic.twitter.com/X3eEa2zRsV
Nothing like a cheeky snipe at point blank!
How Is The Multiplayer?
A big thing for this title is multiplayer, and this is where the game shines. Matches are quick to get into, responsive and joining with friends is easy, either in game or using the Switch’s built in invite system.
There is little to no lag, and though right now there is some AI backfill, you’ll find humans a lot of the time. Matches are quick, fun and frantic, and even amongst clouds of explosions and fire, the Frostbite engine remarkably doesn’t falter. The only drops to frame rate are in cutscenes.
All this goes on flawlessly while also enabling video capture from the Switch itself, a feature some intensive games remove. Every match will be different, but no less fun and engaging: It’s easy to get lost for a few hours both in handheld and docked mode. It’s a great time regardless.
So it’s Good?
Plants Vs Zombies: Battle for Neighborville – Complete Edition, is easily the best version of this game. Removed from the business practices that bogged it down, and while effectively a stagnant game without updates, this is the version I see lasting the longest. Frostbite has translated marvellously to the Nintendo Switch, and it truly feels like it belongs on the hardware. All the quality of life improvements shine through and bolster a very robust multiplayer experience.
Impressions: Nogalious
29th August 2018 24th November 2021 Sean Alexander
Nogalious is a challenging and short platform puzzler from LUEGOLU3GO STUDIOS. What did we think of the opening title of this trilogy?
Free Product provided generously by LUEGOLU3GO STUDIOS!
Nogalious is a game that captures the essence of challenging retro titles, injecting some light puzzle elements. This classic design can lead to a sometimes frustrating but equally rewarding experience.
Nogalious proves to be a fun and challenging title.
Nogalious captures the classic PC era of gaming perfectly.
Nogalious is a very simple game. Objects are defined and the character stands out. Enemies can at times blend in, red bats and red clouds for instance, but the aesthetic suits the game well.
Items are often obvious, though at times can be obscured by the low-level of detail making it hard to see what you need to do.
As the game is a puzzle platformer of sorts, you need to examine each screen carefully to identify your objective, usually a key, to be able to pass to the next screen. This can involve pushing or pulling graves to align them, or killing all the enemies.
Of course the soundtrack is suitably retro, and captures the gothic feel of each stage well.
How Does It Play?
Nogalious can sometimes be a bit challenging…
Gameplay is as noted above, find the objective to grab a key to move to the next screen. Progress through each screen in a stage and finish the stage.
Along the way will be special stones and weapons for Nogalious to use. These range from a sword, a boomerang, and even timed mines. Each of these works differently and can be cycled through, so finding the right one is key for each situation.
Sometimes the way forward isn’t particularly clear, and this can come down to either the visuals, or the translation. The translation for Nogalious is odd in that while it gets the basics across, the language barrier proves difficult when explaining finer mechanics. With experimentation though it doesn’t take long to grasp.
Nogalious himself is very easy to control, being able to attack, jump and pull or push objects. Oddly jump is assigned to pressing Up, but this is simply a matter of adjusting. You have fluid mid-air control, but be warned as some platforms are less solid than they appear.
Let’s Talk Problems
What do you see on this screen? Do you see a way to lower the water?
Trying to find the solution to a screen requires precise assessment of the pixel art. On the screen above you have a branch on a tree that will lower the water level and let you find the key to progress. Of course, this isn’t immediately obvious.
Another problem with the above screen is the crows. Given Nogalious perishes in a single hit, and they can eat away at the respawning vines you need to climb and jump between, and contact damage is also fatal, care is required.
There is a degree of randomness to this all. How much of the vine they chop away depends on where they land. Further, jumping between vines requires you to first jump and then move, making it feel more awkward than need be.
The final issue is, unfortunately, overall difficulty. The challenge in each room can vary greatly, and your limited lives and fragility lead to using your limited continues at which point, well back to the start.
This is a game about mastery, so a lot of trial and error will get you to the end.
I saw this a lot…
Overall?
Nogalious is a fun game held back by its reference material. It’s still a great time, but the less patient gamers may find it a bit much. It’s fairly short, but the amount of (Mandatory) replaying will leave you chasing that high score if you are persistent.
I recommend this quite easily to fans of classic challenging titles.
If you want to see the game in action, we have a short stream below:
Thanks for reading everyone, and don’t forget to share what you think of on social media or try it out for yourself on Steam. While you are here, check out our other Impressions pieces! Until next time, Happy Gaming!
Impressions: Tiny Hands Adventure
Tiny Hands Adventure is a charming little romp of a platformer from Blue Sunset Games. What did we think of Borti’s debut adventure for bigger hands?
Free Product provided generously by Blue Sunset Games!
Tiny Hands Adventure is a nice and charming 3D platformer
Tiny Hands Adventure is a game that manages to evoke its reference material and present some new ideas to forge a unique identity. What you ultimately get is a solid experience full of charm and unique ideas, but nothing truly stellar. Good, but not super amazing.
Tiny Hands Adventure is actually a quite attractive game with a lot of variety.
Tiny Hands Adventure is a very charming game. Not confined the dinosaur appropriate locales, the games has you climb lighthouses, traverse swamps, top-down view mazes, inter-dimensional stairways and even a comic book. While it may seem to be a visual mismatch, the game maintains its identity even though different settings.
On PC the game runs perfectly fine. No issues with resolution of frame rate, that I can see. On Nintendo Switch, I cannot say, but it stands to a reason a fairly simple game should have no issues.
Sometimes the worlds may look a little empty or flat, and the text certainly isn’t as refined or well implemented as it could be, but it’s functional. Everything is appropriate and accounted for.
I also have to say, the soundtrack is really good. Not a dull track in there, a good range of styles and lively beats.
Tiny Hands Adventure is a very nice feeling game in the hand.
Gameplay in Tiny Hands Adventure is simple. Progress through each stage in a tier, in what order you desire, grab the main collectible and finish the stage. When all 4 collectibles are assembled you can take on the boss.
Boss battles are perhaps the weakest aspect of the game as a whole, lacking feedback to being hit and at times either being too long for a fight that has no checkpoints, or being simply a waiting and dodging exercise. They aren’t bad, but some fine tuning would have been nice.
Beating a boss awards you a “Hand”, an extension of Borti’s standard tail whip. These include a drill, plastic grab hand that doubles as a wider spin, and grappling arms. Each of these are used in various stages, some even requiring repeat visits later in the game. Beyond this though, they feel under-utilised, but give Borti more to do as the game progresses.
Strikingly, the game encourages repeat visits to stages by offering 5 collectible crystals. Some require certain Hands, so making note of the different environmental situations is key. Collecting all five unlocks the harder version of a stage, with a single white crystal to collect, for 100% completion and rewards.
This is a simple but effective way of improving replay value, and while the game isn’t too difficult, the harder stages are definitely where the greatest challenge lies.
Borti himself however, is a joy to control. His weight feels right and his movement, even when using a controller on PC, feels smooth. There were very few times I felt like a death was the fault of the game, and rather my own judgement. He has a wide range of moves including a spin and slide, so he comes well equipped, though these feel under utilised until later, as the level design is often rather basic and doesn’t require much use of these advanced moves.
This game does have some rather entertaining bugs
This release is by no means flawless. As a smaller title errors do slip through. Sometimes you may find something isn’t quite solid, or a hitbox is a little misaligned on some spikes. Regardless, the game still manages to be fun.
The aforementioned issues with boss battles stands out as a real low point, as does the lack of enemy interaction, instead acting as stationary obstacles.
The game could perhaps come off as boring to some with its relative ease and simplicity, but to others this may be a positive. That is for the individual to decide.
Finally, and this is a purely personal problem, the explosive boxes in the game aren’t distinguishable enough from their standard counterparts, with the explosive graphic only appearing on some sides and the colour (Because I’m colour blind) being near identical.
Tiny Hands Adventure is a game that occupies the same space as Sonic 1 and Crash Bandicoot in my mind: A solid foundation. With that said, I can recommend the game to platforming fans, and the concept of a T-Rex looking to expand his reach is ripe for picking.
I can only hope like the aforementioned examples, a potential sequel to this game would take the concept and run with it, with crazier worlds and more varied and useful Hand upgrades to Borti. The concept has a lot of promise.
If you want to see the game in action, we have a forty minute stream below:
Thanks for reading everyone, and don’t forget to share what you think of on social media or try it out for yourself, on Steam or Nintendo Switch. Until next time, Happy Gaming!
Impressions: Paladins (Nintendo Switch)
1st August 2018 24th November 2021 Sean Alexander
Paladins manages to be a fun game on the surface and in gameplay, but it has a few steep cliffs.
Paladins went free to play on Switch so we got a chance to try it out!
Paladins is an interesting title. A Hero Shooter with various modes and teams of 5 battling it out for supremacy. Each character is unique, each mode offers new challenges.
There are daily rewards, levelling up both your characters to unlock new skills and your general account for rewards. It’s all very progression based.
Which is exactly why this is a free to play game.
Paladins looks mighty clean on Switch
Paladins looks good on Switch. Nothing about it feels off, though the dynamic resolution can be very obvious in high density moments, but everything is smooth and fluid.
There are a variety of HUD options and placements, cursors and more. The UI is very customisable with one caveat.
As health bars of allies show up a “Sickly Green” when impacted with a status ailment, and enemies are red…a colour blind mode would have been very helpful!
Paladins can at times take a good while to get going however.
The gameplay itself is fairly simple, divided into 3 modes. Team Deathmatch where you compete to get the most kills, Siege where you battle to capture a point and then escort a payload to the enemy base, 1 point for each action, first to 4 wins.
Finally there is a standard Control mode, where you occupy a marked space and accumulate 400 points to win, fighting off the other team to do so.
These modes are all good fun, however the Siege mode lasts for far too long compared to the others, especially when wrestling for control.
Controls are snappy and responsive, and nothing feels out of reach. Interestingly you can get battle buffs by performing well during matches, earning credits to spend for that match. This is best done while respawning of course but it keeps things dynamic and allows you to adapt.
Of course this all comes with a downside: Load Times. Loading can take a while and especially getting into a match. It’s nothing major but for something on a console known for being snappy, this is a bit surprising.
Stage variety also seems a bit light, but that could just be bad luck during matchmaking. It’s hard to tell.
Let’s Talk Progression
Paladins is an absolute behemoth of monetisation, and it’s confusing.
Progression in Paladins is strange. You level up characters and unlock cards and new abilities for battles, clear daily challenges to earn Gold and maybe even Crystals…but getting more from the game is hard.
You have a very limited number of characters initially, and this makes choosing one difficult since the game doesn’t allow duplicates on a team. Further to this, finding the characters in the store is difficult, and expensive in terms of Gold, as they are buried amongst voice samples and outfits etc.
But most egregious is a Battle Pass, akin to Fortnite with challenges for rewards, that you pay for with Crystals, a Season Pass, that gives you all Battle Passes, and various chests of randomized items.
Crystals are the premium paid for currency and the sheer wealth of options for expanding what you can simply do in the game is insane. It’s a complicated and frankly worrying mess that so much is gated off, as the game is genuinely fun.
But if this seems like an issue, there is a Buy All option with the Founder’s Pack. For a fee you unlock everything and this is how the game initially launched. I would recommend that over the restrictive Free To Play release.
Paladins is an excellent game marred by some weird choices for monetisation. It tries to accommodate every model known to the industry at once.
This is the biggest downfall of the game, as what is a very fun time is locked behind a grind and premium rewards.
If you want to see the game in action, we have a two hour stream below:
Thanks for reading everyone, and don’t forget to share what you think of Paladins on social media or try it out for yourself, it is free to start after all. Until next time, Happy Gaming!
Impressions: Crash Bandicoot: N. Sane Trilogy on Switch
1st July 2018 24th November 2021 Sean Alexander
Crash Bandicoot on Nintendo Switch is a perfectly serviceable, graphically sound port. However, it has an air of laziness around it.
Crash Bandicoot on Nintendo Switch is perfectly fine. These remakes of the original trilogy comes over, gameplay intact from PS4.
Naturally the resolution is lower at 720p when docked, and lower in handheld mode. With this comes graphical downgrades. Some expected, like shadows and the fur textures being limited or removed. Some however, like reflective surfaces, are omitted entirely.
These missing aspects certainly stand out, even compared to the PS1 originals. It’s no deal breaker, but in certain stages like the future themed areas from Warped, lot of charm is lost. This was clearly in the name of smooth performance, as the game maintains a fairly constant 30fps.
Reflective surfaces are completely missing in the Crash Trilogy.
So What’s In The Box?
Crash Bandicoot: N. Sane Trilogy is a collective remake of the original Crash titles. With this comes various improvements, notably to Crash Bandicoot (The Original), such as better game design choices. This includes making Gems easier to get, forgoing the No Deaths requirement outside of Colour Gems.
Not all changes are positive. The use of one unified physics scheme across all 3 games (Based on Crash 3) leads to conflict with level design in Crash 1 and 2. This is simply due to level design in a platformer being built around what the character can do, with Crash 1 and 2 at times simply not being built for Crash 3 controls.
Additionally, some vehicles control with unusual weight and slow turning that limits mobility, adding frustration to Crash 3.
Further, the DLC stages Stormy Ascent and Future Tense are included as standard alongside various Quality Improvements made since the initial PS4 release.
Ultimately, this is the definitive way to experience all 3 games. As the de facto portable experience, this release is excellent.
This is a very feature rich package!
It’s Not All Sunshine in Wumpa Island…
So let’s address the downsides of this port. First, as noted, it doesn’t look as good. I feel as though some cutbacks aren’t necessary but if it’s in the name of smooth performance, it’s agreeable.
Now we know this port only exists because of a sole engineer proving the game would run, on their own time.
This lack of interest in even attempting to get the game running by the development staff hints at corporate apathy. There are Switch specific issues that hint at a lack of care on various parties.
Firstly, using any controller other than Joy-Con while docked, before undocking the system, leads to the game being unable to recognise the Joy-Con in Handheld mode. This means using a Pro Controller on your TV before swapping to handheld mode, means you need to reboot the game.
Further, swapping which wireless controller you are using, at least when undocked, leads to the same problem. The game doesn’t respond to swapping controllers or modes unless you use the Joy-Con.
Wait, there's more! @SpawnWaveMedia y'all seeing this? Kinda defeats the purpose. Playing docked with Pro but as soon as I swap to handheld…nope. pic.twitter.com/jyfHdG8VKp
— BLP-Sean | NLInklings (@BritishPlaying) July 1, 2018
Who holds responsibility for this we will never know. Is it Nintendo for not performing adequate checks during the Lotcheck process? Is it Toys For Bob, the team behind the port? We may never know, but Crash Bandicoot on Switch doesn’t support these basic aspects of the system.
So What Do We Think?
I am extremely mixed on this release. On one hand, the game is smooth, responsive and absolutely worth a purchase for fans. If you have another console, this becomes a tougher sell, but for a portable Crash experience, this is fantastic.
The catch is some cutbacks feel extreme, and the lack of Switch functionality including screen recording (though this may be tied to CPU usage by the game) and controller swapping leaves a sour taste.
This feels like the most basic of ports. Its solid, it’s a great game, but it doesn’t react to the basic functionality of the system. As noted, it’s like the port was rushed and not intended.
But that doesn’t deter that this is a great way to experience the game. If you can overlook the cutbacks and system specific issues, this is an absolute must for platformer fans.
That’s all for this Impressions piece! Crash is back (Again!) and we hope you have fun wumping from islands and through time. Let us know what you think on social media, and Happy Gaming!
Impressions – Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition
3rd June 2018 24th November 2021 Sean Alexander
Is Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition the truly definitive experience?
Fresh on the Nintendo Switch is the Wii U cross-over between the Legend of Zelda and Dynasty Warriors. Better described as a mix of Dynasty Warriors with Zelda aesthetics, items and a few mechanics, it is undeniably a Warriors game through and through. So how does Hyrule Warriors fare?
Hyrule Warriors returns, with all the trappings of a Warriors experience.
That will be the first hurdle for any player. Do you like Warriors titles? If not, and cleaving through thousands of enemies per battle isn’t your thing, then this game will immediately turn you off.
This is of course the bulk of the gameplay. Moving from keep to keep, reacting to real-time objectives and changing win or loss conditions. There is plenty of strategy and running around. It’s worth remembering that your own actions matter more than any others. Your army doesn’t help much.
This makes the game fairly chaotic. Indeed it can be quite a hurdle and losses can sneak up alarmingly fast. Compounding this is the mini-map, which highlights changing objectives but actually catching where they are amongst all the information on-screen can be difficult. Pausing may be necessary, but this slows the pace of what should be a hectic battlefield.
How does Hyrule Warriors play?
This is one of the premier questions surrounding Hyrule Warriors. The game was 720p with a sub-30 frame rate on Wii U. On 3DS it was naturally hampered. The volume of enemies, performance and look of the game just didn’t justify the purchase, despite the expanded content.
Imagine the frame rate in a moment like this.
On Nintendo Switch, the game runs at a native 1080p, granted with no real improvements otherwise. It certainly runs better, well above 30 frames per second, but a constant 60 isn’t around. However, the instability is preferable to sub-30. The drops were only noticeable in intense situations, though they are ever-present to some degree.
In handheld mode then, the game maintains a clear and crisp image. What doesn’t carry over is performance as it is inferior to the docked experience. At a glance it looks about as unstable as the Wii U release. Of course in handheld mode, the system feels fine when playing. There were no gripes with controls here, though a Pro Controller did prove best when docked due to the fast button presses required.
This is the best performing version of the game, but it does feel lacking in some respects.
So what about content?
This is the single most alluring point in favour of this game. If you consider the performance a minor annoyance rather than a deal breaker, and don’t find Warriors titles monotonous, you will get value for money.
Combining all the Wii U content with the extra story and modes from the 3DS release with all the DLC and some new quality of life features makes a very robust package. All the story content is intact and the My Fairy mode transitions as well. All the DLC Adventure maps, where you cross 8-bit maps from various games clearing challenges, return as well.
Hyrule Warriors is absolute bursting with things to do.
There are countless hours to be had here, and helping this is the small improvements made to the game. Most notably, some stages and missions will feature Owl Statues which once activated, act as warp points for fast travel. In this release, that allows you to mitigate running across maps in time sensitive moments. A much-needed feature in my opinion.
Another nice addition (From the 3DS release) is character swapping. Some missions will let you take in up to 4 warriors at once, and you can swap between them. This allows you to be at multiple places at once. Again, a much-needed feature that makes some challenges manageable compared to the Wii U iteration. Of course, you can also have them be controlled via AI using a Command prompt in the menu if you need them moving remotely.
Added to the Adventure Modes is the ability to buy Item Cards you have already owned for a hefty fee. This simply cuts down on having to replay missions, though any with two Gold Skulltulas still requires a second run.
Lots To Unlock!
There is a swath of things to unlock. Gold Skulltulas for meeting certain requirements. Heart pieces and containers for each character. Weapons, skill trees to upgrade, materials from enemies. Costumes, more characters, more things to buy and upgrade. Hyrule Warriors is a very rewarding game. Every action gives you something usable.
However, those actions will be very repetitive across the many maps and modes. Sure the objectives can change, missions can be very dynamic and change at a whim, but the process remains the same. In the moments the game presents quiz battles or special giant boss challenges, it’s a breath of fresh air.
How does Hyrule fit into this?
Imagine this scenario in a proper Zelda title…
The Legend of Zelda is more than a skin for this game. Items to be used in battle to expose weak points or counter attack are ripped from the franchise. Several musical tracks and locations are as well. The items in question are used almost exclusively for giant bosses or smaller enemies, but rarely you can see situations to use them in movement. This is hardly necessary however.
Naturally, the giant bosses are a highlight. They do come across as more time wasters than challenges though, often being a distraction on a battlefield than a real challenge.
Perhaps this is a good time to mention the game can in fact be quite challenging. You can level up characters with Rupees should you not have time to grind. Skill trees however, require items. Items you can only get from enemies. There is a constant feedback loop but it does get tiring.
One big problem is in Adventure modes, when a certain character is needed that you haven’t touched. Better get the Rupees and items out to prepare them. It doesn’t take too long, but it can bog the pace of a good play session down.
That’s the other big hurdle with Hyrule Warriors. There will be a lot of grinding and most of it comes naturally but mixed with progressing simply being a process of repetition, it takes someone who loves Warriors to fully experience this game.
So, the Verdict?
There are several “Keys” to enjoying Hyrule Warriors.
This game ultimately has two main hurdles. The first is whether you like Dynasty Warriors. The repetitive gameplay is fine in short bursts, but if it doesn’t engage you, there is no point.
Secondly, be prepared to grind. There will be many times your progress feels stunted but keep at it. If performance drops don’t hamper your experience in any way and this game seems like it may be for you, then you will be in for a full experience.
Just don’t play it as much as I did in the first week. It’s fun but exhausting.
Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition gets our recommendation, if you’re willing to overlook repetition.
Thanks for reading our Impressions of Hyrule Warriors! Stay tuned for more impressions in the future, and even reviews! Of course as always, Happy Gaming!
Impressions: PlayerUnknown’s BattleGrounds!
21st January 2018 24th November 2021 Sean Alexander
An exercise in frustration, or an amazing game with a great concept?
So PUBG is something I have been aware of for a few months but never got into for monetary and other reasons. I simply had too much to do. But yesterday, live on stream, I played my first few matches.
I had only seen sparse footage of the game, or real discussion about it beyond its influence on Twitch and gaming as a whole. I know the story behind its creation, but not much of the actual gameplay beyond what is, on paper at least, an amazing concept.
Airdrop up to 100 players into a huge map. Have them scavenge for armour, weaponry, tools and upgrades to their equipment…and kill each other. As they do this, the play area shrinks. Fall outside of this, your health is drained. So you have 100 people being funnelled down into a smaller and smaller area, and the last man standing wins.
This is truly an excellent concept…on paper.
Personally the idea of only two maps is a bit disheartening, until you realise these maps are huge, and the high variance of the games means every play will be different. You’ll never have the same round twice. Almost.
The execution of this concept is what drives me to a mixed reaction to it.
There are primarily three scenarios for your time in PUBG:
You are not likely to have two matches play out the same, unless you are unfortunate enough to be airdropped in next to someone, or a few people, who quickly find weapons, and bang, you are out of there within two minutes.
That isn’t the most fun aspect of the game. If you get lucky and don’t die immediately (Great! You got lucky!) you now need to find weapons. You can spend a good while running through open spaces (And thus be an obvious target) between buildings that may or may not end up with you defending yourself. Or dying if someone is hiding in one. That can happen too.
Long and short, you can spend a long time not being able to actually partake in the core of the gameplay.
Streeeessssss pic.twitter.com/wQZF8UQ3Ix
— BLP-Sean | NLInklings (@BritishPlaying) January 20, 2018
Finally, you can end up in the third scenario which plays one of two ways. You’ll either get extremely fortunate and end up in semi-frequent bouts of combat and win, or die, or end up not finding anyone until the map shrinks and there are about 20 players left, and then come out on top…or die.
As shown above I made it to 7th place in a match…where I got two kills and spent a good 20 minutes sat in a house waiting for stuff to happen as the play area shrank and shrank, until I got blasted from the side.
This is easily the most fun part of the game. It’s high adrenaline, and goodness knows a grenade or gunshot with headphones on makes you leap out of your skin in what is a quiet world otherwise. Plus the knowledge that combat is inevitable and closing in on you is an amazing feeling.
This is where PUBG works best. Occasional combat instances, good luck finding weapons, and being able to play smart, assuming people don’t snipe you. Of course, you’ve got a 1 in 3 chance of your game even getting that far. More often than not, it feels like it won’t.
Of course that’s just the game design. Visually the game can range from alright to almost N64 style in visual quality, even at full resolution, as sometimes models and textures are incredibly poor. Other times not, which is a weird inconsistency. Maybe this a downside of playing on “Medium” settings, while streaming.
It should be noted I had very few network related issues, even when streaming the game and hosting a Skype call at the same time. That much is very functional at least, which is mandatory for a multiplayer game.
In terms of controls, I used both a Dualshock 4, and Keyboard/Mouse.
Keyboard worked fine for what it is, everything is mercifully within reach, just as I have explained before however, it’s not the most comfortable solution for me as a player. The downside of using a controller means some features like underhanded throws and quick switching through weapons, aren’t available without sacrificing other things. It’s a prioritize what you need kind of situation.
Finally, aiming seems a little…weird. Guns have the appropriate kind of blowback, which means you won’t just fire in a straight line. But reviewing some “Death Cam” footage (It happened a lot), I can see players do have a hard time lining up shots or even getting them to connect. I don’t know if that’s a network thing of if the aiming is just slightly off, but it’s a strange oddity.
Overall I can say PUBG on PC is something to at least try out. On Xbox One, I don’t know as I can’t test that version, but from what I have seen it’s not as smooth an experience at the moment, compared to the now out of “Early Access” PC version.
But therein lies the problem: The idea of the game is amazing. It’s just luck as to whether it plays out in a way that you enjoy, or if it effectively ends with you in a boring scenario where nothing happens for a good while, or die immediately upon starting.
Thanks for reading this Impressions piece on PUBG! It was an interesting experience and you can bet I will be doing more like this in future! If you enjoyed this article or have your own thoughts on PUBG, let me know on social media or in the comments, and I will see you next time: Happy Gaming!
Preview: Yooka-Laylee on Nintendo Switch! (Spoiler Free)
11th December 2017 24th November 2021 Sean Alexander
I got my Backer Code of Yooka-Laylee for Nintendo Switch in today, and I’ve spent some time blasting away at the game, so what are we looking at?
First off, I have mostly played in handheld/tabletop mode, so take that for what it’s worth.
Yooka-Laylee is presented as stated by the developers, just below full resolution on both modes. So the image is slightly softer. What is interesting about this and what I noted first, is the game simply feels better being played handheld, as though it fits the screen more than it did when I played on PS4 on my 40″ TV earlier this year.
That seems like an odd compliment but it really does feel at home here. The worlds are very pick up and play via Sleep Mode and with regards to controls, everything is just within reach.
The game is the same as it has been since launch, only some improvements not available on other systems at launch are standard here. manual camera, audio toggles, fast speech and brief voice snippets, are all welcome additions. This is very much the best version out of the box.
Performance wise, the game is interesting, at 30 FPS, it does occasionally pause, albeit very briefly, seemingly to load something, at least in handheld mode, as well as very brief, very slight, and rare frame rate drops, if only for a second.
When docked, the game runs the same, though the little frame drops don’t seem present, or at least I haven’t encountered them yet within the first world. The image is again, below full resolution of the system, but looks fine, if a little soft.
So in terms of drawbacks, the main thing is shadows and particles. Shadows are softer and particles seem paired back just slightly, but outside of those honestly minor things, the game seems as is. Maybe water effects are reduced, but those have been so brief in the world so far. It’s entirely possible other effects from elsewhere in the game are reduced further.
But yes, Yooka-Laylee on Switch certainly is technically below the other verions, but it doesn’t feel like a significant drawback to draw ire. The wait has been worth it, assuming you like this style and structure of game, as obviously that remains unchanged. Yooka-Laylee certainly feels best here.
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ST-Sim SyncroSim Package
The ST-Sim state-and-transition simulation model
ST-Sim is an open-source SyncroSim Base Package for creating and running spatially-explicit simulation models of landscape change.
ST-Sim uses a state-and-transition simulation model (STSM) approach to forecast landscape dynamics, including projecting changes in both vegetation and land use. Because the STSM method is inherently stochastic, it is well suited for characterizing uncertainty in model projections.
STSMs have been applied to a wide range of landscapes and management questions, including forests, rangelands, grasslands, wetlands, aquatic communities and urban areas, over spatial extents ranging from thousands to millions of hectares. Additional details on the STSM approach can be found in the paper by Daniel, Frid, Sleeter, and Fortin (2016) (also summarized in a 13 minute video). The integration of STSMs with stock-flow models of continuous variables, such as biomass and carbon, can be found in a second paper by Daniel, Sleeter, Frid, and Fortin (2018).
ST-Sim is a package that plugs into the SyncroSim modeling framework. As a result, it can run under both Windows and Linux; it can also be run from the R programming language using the rsyncrosim R package.
This package requires the latest version of Syncrosim.
Open SyncroSim and select File -> Packages... -> Install..., then select the ST-Sim package and click OK.
Alternatively, download the latest release from GitHub. Open SyncroSim and select File -> Packages... -> Install From File..., then navigate to the downloaded package file with the extension .ssimpkg.
For further installation instructions, see the Installation page in Getting Started.
To start using ST-Sim, see the Quickstart and Tutorials pages in Getting Started. See the Reference page for detailed information on how to use ST-Sim.
See the Publications page for peer-reviewed examples of ways to use ST-Sim.
Both ST-Sim and SyncroSim have been designed and developed by ApexRMS. The ongoing development of ST-Sim has been generously supported by several agencies, including:
The Nature Conservancy The U.S. Geological Survey The U.S. Forest Service
As a result, all software is available as a free download.
Back to top Copyright 2007-2022 Apex Resource Management Solutions Ltd.
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Doon Theological Journal is abstracted in Religious & Theological Abstracts
Editorial Borad
DOON THEOLOGICAL JOURNAL 8.1 (2011)
A Consideration of the Judgment of God and the Teaching of Jesus: A Cultural and Linguistic Study - Victor Kuligin
Kuligin laments the paucity of academic material on the subject “judgment of God,” and finds the following factors responsible for the same: (i) post-modernity’s “love-affair with tolerance” (ii) a loving, less-confrontational view of God which virtually excludes the possibility of judgment (iii) militant agnosticism and atheism that considers the Christian concept of God’s wrath to be both obnoxious and a major contributing factor to growing violence in contemporary culture (iv) shifts in understanding, even among evangelicals, concerning the eternal fate of the unevangelized, and so on. The author then presents contemporary theological confusions concerning the purpose and goal of the judgment(s) of God, imported from the modern debate revolving around the purpose and goal of secular justice systems – retribution or reformation. He also provides a word-study on some key Greek terms used in the Gospels to speak of God’s judgment. The article finally calls for and provides certain guidelines for the resuscitation of the subject in Christian pulpits and publications.
The Advaitic Doctrine of Maya and the Christian Doctrine of Creation in the Theology of BrahmabandhavUpadhyay - Timothy Tennent
Tennent attempts to explore the theological frontier between the Hindu doctrine of creation as found in the doctrine of maya in Sankara and the biblical doctrine of creation. Upadhyay, in his attempt to build “contextual bridges” to effectively communicate the Christian gospel to the Hindus, found Sankara’s concept of maya compatible with neo-Thomistic thought and used this bridge to explain, among other things, the relationship of the Creator to creation. Dispelling the common assumption that Sankara’s concept of maya affirms an illusory universe, an idea incompatible with the Judeo-Christian universe, Upadhyay draws attention to the analogies used by Sankara - some ignored in the post-Sankara period, which well explains the misconception concerning maya - to explain the concept. He argues that maya meant the mysterious contingency of everything that is non-Brahman, and the power of God that gives birth and sustains finite dependent beings, and thus, harmonious with Thomistic ideas of necessary and contingent existence.
A Kaleidoscope of Doxology: Exploring Ethnodoxology and Theology - Ian Collinge
Collinge introduces relatively new concepts like ethnomusicology, ethnodoxology, and the like. The major purpose of the paper is to explore the relationship between Ethnodoxology and Theology, wherein “Theology provides the content and Ethnodoxology opens up culturally appropriate ways to express Christian truth,” leading to a kaleidoscope of doxology. Ethnodoxology – “the theological and practical study of how and why people of diverse cultures praise and glorify... God” – attempts to translate biblical truths through culturally relevant and indigenous communication methods. The author also discusses subjects such as “heart music” and “redemption” of cultural media; and finally considers some major theological themes where Ethnodoxology and Theology converge.
An Enquiry into the Colonial Contributions toward the Development of Indian Christian Identity - Santosh Sahayadoss
In this article, Sahayadoss attempts to re-examine the correlation between colonialism and mission. The author notes the two major views concerning the same: first, the idea that colonialists and Christian missionaries worked hand-in-glove with the other, mutually benefitting each other; and second, the view that the capitalistic colonialists and humanitarian Christian missionaries were bipolar opposites of each other – with interests not just mutually exclusive but also antagonistic to each other. The article further proceeds to identify the positive contributions of western missionaries in the formation of Indian Christian identity – mission activity leading to Indian renaissance and subsequently Indian nationalism, development of indigenous theology and mission, contributions in the fields of politics, linguistics, education, social reform, among others.
Religion and Reconstruction in an African Society: A Deconstructive Reading of the Bible in Ghana - Joseph Quayesi-Amakye
Joseph Quayesi-Amakye discusses the necessity of making national development tasks serious in the Ghanian society. In this paper, the author re-reads the Exodus story, the Joseph story and an episode from the Israelite-Philistine contests from a deconstructive perspective so as to propose a reconstructive Christianity for Ghanians and challenge them to take seriously their scientific/technological and environmental concerns.
DTJournal Index
DTJOURNAL 13.1 (2016)
DTJOURNAL 9.2 (2012)
DTJOURNAL 8.2 & 9.1 (2011-12)
DTJOURNAL7.2 (2010)
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'A good clown is a mask that reveals'
10:27 PM children's rehab, Clinical-care, Latest Research, Staff-stories, therapeutic clown; Coping and Emotions 0 comments
Helen Donnelly is Holland Bloorview’s Dr. Flap—a therapeutic clown in a trademark aviator hat with goggles, a white medical coat and a red nose.
Her title is therapeutic clown, but she says “therapeutic clown practitioner” is more fitting. “Dr. Flap is the therapeutic clown,” she says. “The practitioner is the clinician under the nose.” Helen came to Holland Bloorview in 2007 to join Ricky, the clown we knew as Jamie Burnett, who has since died.
This is how I described the pair in 2012: “No matter which room they were in, or whether the child could speak or move, the duo would create a kind of magic that bounced like a ball between the clowns and the child and the child and the clowns. Sometimes the magic moved back and forth through the blinks of the eyes alone, sometimes through silly body movements and sounds. Sometimes it was a child conducting the taps of drum brushes on a wheelchair tray or commanding the clowns to perform outlandish antics. Sometimes it was an elaborate story the child told and the clowns acted out. Other times it was a dance to the strums of a red ukulele.”
In 2010, researchers here published a study that showed that even children who can’t move or communicate verbally respond to our therapeutic clowns with changes in skin temperature, sweat level and heart and breathing rate.
BLOOM interviewed Helen as she was about to do a 24 Hour Uke-A-Thon to raise funds for our therapeutic clown program, which is completely funded through donations. In the photo above she appears with Manuel Rodriguez, who is Nurse Polo.
BLOOM: What led you into this field?
Helen Donnelly: I was a clown with Cirque de Soleil and was building my own shows in theatres. A colleague of mine at SickKids encouraged me to audition for a position there, but I resisted. I kept thinking there’s no way I could handle the sadness and the grief. How do you clown through grief and how could I possibly find my joy in a place where people are anxious and fatigued and in pain? I didn’t think I could handle it.
Two years later another position came up and this time I found myself intrigued and not saying no. I auditioned in the atrium at SickKids and my heart just leapt and I said ‘This is what I’m built to do as well.’ The similarities between circus and theatre as a clown, and being in a health care setting as a clown, all came together.
BLOOM: How did you end up at Holland Bloorview?
Helen Donnelly: My experience at SickKids was fruitful in that I learned an awful lot about how to clown in the medical world. But the structure of being a clown working solo was very challenging. I found working alone on a unit was emotionally and physically fatiguing and there wasn’t the kind of rigorous artistic support that I was used to. Then Jamie contacted me from Holland Bloorview and said he was looking for a partner. He wanted to mirror global best practices of having the duo model of clown in hospital.
BLOOM: What are the benefits of two clowns working together?
Helen Donnelly: Having worked both ways, there are so many benefits to the duo. There's the emotional support. And having a partner who can constantly witness and feed back about the work ensures a greater degree of safety for clients and high artistic standards.
Working in a duo is inherently more ‘artistic’ in nature. It sets us up to be partners, rivals, teacher-student, or both ‘in trouble,’ according to the child’s imagination. Having two clowns means many more choices for the clients. And kids are smart and instinctively know what to do with two contrasting 'fools!'
You can imagine if you’re a 17-year-old who is resentful, refusing therapies and fighting depression, the last thing you want is a single clown knocking on your door, asking permission to come in.
We feel a better way is to have two clowns having a 'heated argument,' let's say, just outside the door, and to have one of the clowns turn to the client and say ‘Excuse me, do you mind? We’re in the middle of something here, so this is none of your beeswax anyway.’ You’re trying to assess if there’s a crack there—a way in to something this teen might delight in.
Not all clients want to be interacting one-on-one, or at all. When you have two clowns you have so many more options. You can have one clown side with the child against the other clown. Or have the child be our boss and tell us what to do. Or you can have the child and two clowns playfully correct the parent or clinician. With the duo clown model we offer that choice of collaborating or being a passive observer.
BLOOM: What's a typical day like now?
Helen Donnelly: I work three days a week with Suzette Araujo, who is Nurse Flutter. Manuel Rodriguez, who is Nurse Polo, comes in if one of us is absent.
We check in, and we might go to inter-professional rounds or meet with child life specialists, in addition to looking up all of the clients we’re about to see on the electronic medical record. That helps us prioritize our client list. We spend one day a week on each unit from about 1:30 to 5 p.m.
BLOOM: What do you do?
Helen Donnelly: There are three main purposes. One is to seek out opportunities for kids and youth to feel powerful. It could be a baby who makes eye contact with us and we see him as our lawyer—which might tickle the parent, because we’re elevating the status of this baby high above us. We seek opportunities for youth to manipulate us in any way they wish—to outsmart us or to correct us.
BLOOM: Why is it important for kids to feel powerful in hospital?
Helen Donnelly: Clients feel a lot of their choices are taken from them. They’re missing a lot of the pieces that define who they are. We want them to feel most authentically like themselves again, and to be in control again.
BLOOM: What are the other purposes?
Helen Donnelly: The second is to collaborate with our fellow clinicians during a medical procedure or during therapy sessions.
BLOOM: Why is that helpful?
Helen Donnelly: The procedure may be frightening or painful and we have diversion techniques we can adopt, where we see immediate results.
BLOOM: Can you give an example?
Helen Donnelly: If there’s a wound change, which can take quite a while, we might employ physical comedy. We might get stuck inside the child’s bathroom and can’t find our way out, so we’re pleading at the door for the child to help us get out. Or maybe the kid, with a wave of an arm, can freeze us and we’re frozen, and then they can wave again and we’re brought back to life. It’s like visual candy, and it’s all housed in a comedic framework which can take us to some wonderfully dark places. It’s not always about frivolity.
There can be a lot of therapeutic merit in getting youth to release some of the darker feelings they might have. Because we’re artists, we have many skills in our back-pocket. We can make a rock opera out of their feelings. We’re musical by nature, and we’re skilled in the art of improvisation. We're flexible and can go where they want to lead us, fearlessly and with joy.
The great thing about clowns is we’re playful rule-breakers, we’re not beholden to society’s norms. Kids and teens instinctively understand what that looks like and how to use their clowns. It’s only when we become adults that we forget.
BLOOM: What is the other purpose?
Helen Donnelly: A philosophical aim is to seek out ways to change the atmosphere of the entire unit. So, how can we lift the spirits of our fellow clinicians and give them the kind of encouragement and praise that they always deserve? We may make up songs for clinicians. ‘Hang in there’ seems to be quite popular these days.
I’ve been criticized by a few therapeutic clown programs around the world for spending what they perceive is too much time on our clinicians. That’s baffling when you consider that you can make a difference within one minute. Good care trickles down, and if you look after the caregivers, it benefits everyone. They are the unsung heroes here and, as servants, our job is to highlight where those heroes are.
A very important part of our day is when we debrief and reflect on the interventions at the end of the day. We pick apart what worked, what didn’t and why, and come up with a plan for next time.
The remaining half hour is documentation. We’re the only clowns in the world to electronically document every intervention in the permanent health care records of our clients. Lots of clowns document, but not electronically. The benefit is that clinicians can check in on our notes: ‘Oh, does Johnny like clowns? Oh, wow, it says he’s musical.’ So they’re learning aspects about their clients that they can use.
BLOOM: Who is Dr. Flap?
Helen Donnelly: Dr. Flap is a flight doctor from the fictitious island of Tubegosh, which is in the Atlantic, Pacific, Mediterranean area.
BLOOM: That’s a lot to wrap your head around.
Helen Donnelly: Ha! Oh, and Dr. Flap is regularly regarded as genderless, so often goes by the pronoun ‘they’ or ‘their.’
BLOOM: Why is that important?
Helen Donnelly: There’s a tradition among some indigenous cultures in which the fool in that society is gender-fluid. This is something that always appealed to me when it comes to offering choices to our audience. I can’t tell you how much joy we get every time a client decides Dr. Flap is male—and what a wonderful thing it is when the parent does not correct their child! In this way, clown can symbolize fluidity in many things—that moods can change, a person’s health can change, our gender can change. Anything is possible.
BLOOM: Cool. What happens inside you when you put on your costume?
Helen Donnelly: We like to call them clown outfits or clown skins, because the clown is a huge aspect of our authentic self. When the nose goes on, for me, it’s a transformation through Helen, and up and out into a freer version of myself. I’m not losing anything I am. I’m not denying my own function or moods, but I’m giving myself freedom to express them in a much more artistic fashion.
Dr. Flap is a better or bigger version of Helen. This transformation inherently gives the clown artist a lot of energy and resiliency. As Helen, I am devastated to learn about some of the things that occur in this hospital. But as Dr. Flap, I’ve been able to withstand so much hardship and witness so much pain.
There’s something about the nose that keeps you focused on what’s really going on, and what you perceive is needed in the moment. It’s the least selfish you can ever be. It’s truly putting yourself in that 'servant’s heart' frame of mind. It frees you up from being in your head or in your worries. You find a lightness. It’s because you’re giving yourself permission to be in this lighter self that you can hone in on what’s needed in the moment.
BLOOM: What do you love about the work?
Helen Donnelly: It’s the opportunity to offer my art and all that I am in a system that I love, and one that is totally different than the one I perform in otherwise. I’ve always been around healthcare and I’m comfortable here. I was a kid in health care myself, and I was a candy striper in the ‘80s.
BLOOM: You were a patient?
Helen Donnelly: I was bitten by a dog when I was five and I had to have several surgeries to reconstruct my cheek.
BLOOM: I didn’t know you had that experience. What was it like for you in hospital?
Helen Donnelly: It was amazing. I remember my doctor’s name and my roommate was 16. She was there for an appendix operation. There was a big doll house in our room and she and I would play doll house for hours. I got presents from my parents and friends.
BLOOM: Was the surgery painful?
Helen Donnelly: I don’t remember the pain from there. What I do remember is the aftermath—the reintegration back into school.
BLOOM: How long were you hospitalized?
Helen Donnelly: I think it was a couple of weeks, and I had several surgeries over several years. But the emotional pain was so much worse. It took me a long time to heal, and I had to constantly wear bandages and put on special cream. Kids aren’t the most delicate of beings. So I was called a monster and I was the kid in the playground you’d feel sorry for—the one holding the teacher’s hand at recess because no one wanted to play with me.
BLOOM: Was this at the beginning of kindergarten?
Helen Donnelly: Yes. My socialization was halted for a long time. I found it difficult to connect with people and make friends. Everyone stayed away from me. On the good side, I had a remarkably imaginative life and we lived rurally, in the country. So it was natural that I would connect to the fairies in the forest, and build whole worlds, and become different entities. And that’s what led me to theatre.
BLOOM: You were talking about what you loved about working here.
Helen Donnelly: It’s the opportunity to have my dreams realized, and to carry on Jamie’s legacy. That is a huge motivator for getting out of bed every day. When Jamie was declining, I promised him that I would continue to do two things: the first was to ensure that our program is secure and safe, and the second was to build a school for therapeutic clown. I feel so fortunate to have arrived at Holland Bloorview, in a place that wants those two things to happen just as strongly as I do.
BLOOM: What is the certification?
Helen Donnelly: I’m building a certification for therapeutic clown that will be the first of its kind in North America. I’m building it through George Brown College, in partnership with Holland Bloorview. We need to have formalized training with proper supervision and evaluation.
BLOOM: Amazing! If you could change one thing in health care, what would it be?
Helen Donnelly: Time constraints. I’d love it if there were five of me.
Also, part of the biggest joy I have is finding a partner who deeply contrasts with me. But that can also be a challenge at times.
BLOOM: Why do the clowns need to be so different?
Helen Donnelly: Contrast is the essence of comedy. It’s just not true that you can have two similar clowns that can bring about the kind of comedic effect that two very opposite personas can. Because my clown partners contrast so deeply with me, it only makes sense that as humans we would have less in common with each other. So, you might get a type A personality, like me, working with co-horts who are type B personalities. That can be a challenge for all of us at times. I often secretly feel sorry for my partners!
BLOOM: Because you are such different people. How do you manage the emotions that come with the job?
Helen Donnelly: We take self-care extremely seriously. We’re the kidney of the hospital: filtering everyone else’s emotions, as well as our own, is the art of the clown. One of the benefits of the duo-ship is we dedicate time to sharing our feelings with each other. You have someone right there who’s witnessed the work. At the end of the day, we share how it felt and what we need from each other.
We make sure to give ourselves a break if we’ve had a difficult intervention. Six times a year, outside of clown hours, we meet with a psychotherapist for two-and-a-half hours of dedicated time, to talk about the effect of all of the filtering we do. We have to be healthy, happy, centred and grounded
BLOOM: Do you have advice for other clinicians about the emotional side of the work?
Helen Donnelly: What’s helpful for me is to do practical things to help me refocus on where I’m needed most. It may be as simple as saying ‘I’m feeling this way, but that’s just a feeling in the moment.’ Then I look at how I can be a servant in this time, instead of worrying about how it’s affecting me.
But we never deny what we’re feeling. Clowns are the ones that can name the elephant in the room and get away with it. Other clinicians may find this helpful, too.
Instead of deflecting or diverting from what’s happening, it may be interesting to name it—express that you’ve noticed that something is going on with your client. Chances are, they want to express it, and are trying to find a way to tell you. We can all help them by agreeing that something is being felt, and something is being 'tasted' in the room.
If a client shares something that is absolutely sad or tragic, for us it would be disrespectful and untruthful to not let that affect us authentically. It’s important to them to see the effect of their news on their clowns. It builds trust, and we need to feel what they’re going through, to serve them well.
We’re not afraid of emotions and we need to express all of it to be the most human we can be. Ironically, through the filter and the mystery of the clown—this masked being— we’re able to find the most truthful way of being.
BLOOM: It reminds me of a narrative nursing group we did here, where the stories that staff shared unmasked their vulnerability, and how freeing that was.
Helen Donnelly: A good clown is a mask that reveals, and instinctively, everyone knows that. If you’re truly willing to reveal yourself, it gives others permission to reveal themselves, to share where we’re at, what we’re feeling and what’s important.
BLOOM: How long did you work with Ricky?
Helen Donnelly: Just over three years.
BLOOM: He was so loved here. How did you carry on after he became sick and died?
Helen Donnelly: It was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to go through. I did take some time off, and when I came back, I allowed myself lots and lots of breaks. My big hope was to find a way to balance the joy of being back with the grief that I was still carrying, and I have to say that the clinicians and clients got me through it. I could tell you so many stories about how clients wouldn’t let me off the hook about my grief, and they did it in such great, creative ways.
BLOOM: You mentioned that some of the families had asked that you not disclose to their child that Jamie had died.
Helen Donnelly: Yes. That was an almost impossible situation. Sometimes one child in the room could be told, and another couldn’t.
BLOOM: I guess the thought was that it was family-centred to allow parents to make that choice? But on the other hand, it seems to somehow minimize or erase what happened.
Helen Donnelly: I think the system can afford to really examine how we grieve here, and how we celebrate the memories of people who died here.
BLOOM: So how did you respond to children who couldn’t know the truth?
Helen Donnelly: I had to be really creative, while still honouring what my truth was. So often if it was a client who really wanted to know, but I wasn’t permitted to tell them, I might say: ‘I’ve been looking for him, too. I miss him too. Tell me what you miss about him.’ And then we’d talk about him and honour him and honour what we miss the most.
I knew going through this whole ordeal that it was inevitable that I needed to find a new clown partner, and I found the perfect partner in Manuel. He was like a bright light streaking across the universe. The type of joy that is central to his being was exactly what I needed. He is my rock. He was so different from Ricky, yet that lightness and innocence was so similar. Manuel was able to fill those big shoes with such grace and an immense sense of openness and willingness, and people picked up on it. I leaned heavily on it.
BLOOM: You work with many children who are non-verbal and have very complex disabilities. What have you learned from them?
Helen Donnelly: The joy of connecting with them and meeting them where they’re at, and the joy of investigating inventive new ways to elicit a collaboration or a communication. I believe that our observational skills have skyrocketed because of them.
Engaging with kids who communicate in alternative ways inherently demands a sensitivity and inventive approach that you otherwise wouldn’t adopt. It’s a much richer experience, and the techniques we adopt with the more complex kids are ones we use with verbal kids all the time. Things like mirroring or use of mime or contrasting pitch.
BLOOM: So does working with children who can’t communicate conventionally allow you to hone these skills?
Helen Donnelly: It’s almost like specialized training. I’m a better clown because of it.
BLOOM: Have your thoughts about disability changed since you first came here?
Helen Donnelly: When I first came, like a lot of people who happen to be able-bodied, I couldn’t help but feel emotions like pity and sadness, and sometimes frustration. I’m not saying those things have been completely wiped out—that’s not true. I’m saying that I’ve grown to really appreciate how capable kids are of expressing their needs and moods and how much joy there is to be had just sharing our time together.
Seeing how these children’s lives are being celebrated by everyone—not just by the parents or the clowns, but by all clinicians—and seeing the affect they have on everyone, it gives you hope that society can learn from how they live their days and what they choose to do.
BLOOM: Do you mean that in seeing how people’s ways of thinking change inside these walls, that perhaps we can expect similar social change outside?
Helen Donnelly: We’re a kinder society in here. But the winds are changing and shifting and that gives me hope.
Tailored by touch
A new approach to autism
Down syndrome ad makes light of 'special needs'
Ending stigma is an inside job
A sister's story fuels this scientist
'The goals of the family direct where we go'
'It's not just for Joey, it's for a better world'
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ABC / Blog Post / Graphics / NBC / Polls
ABC Mixes Polls and Makes Clinton Look Better
by Seema Vithlani · Published October 3, 2016 · Updated October 3, 2016
In the wake of the New York bombing, ABC and NBC both reported polling data Sept. 19 on how voters thought presidential candidates would handle terrorism. Both networks had the same data but showed different results.
If you watched ABC, Hillary Clinton seemed like the favored candidate:
But not necessarily if you watched NBC:
How did this happen?
Both of NBC’s figures came from a CNN poll conducted from Sept. 1 to Sept. 4:
CNN/ORC International Poll
ABC used the same information from the CNN poll to report on who voters thought would be better suited for commander in chief. But for the question of handling terrorism, the network used an ABC News/Washington Post poll released Sept. 11.
ABC News/Washington Post poll
So ABC showed that those polled preferred Clinton, both for handling terrorism and as commander in chief. ABC could not have used the Washington Post poll alone because it didn’t include a question about who would be a better commander in chief.
But ABC did not include the CNN poll results on nearly the same question about terrorism.
David Yepsen, director of the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University, said both polls showed candidates were fairly evenly divided on the questions, so there wasn’t an issue or display of bias.
“The [margins of error] on all these numbers tells me this is pretty much tied in both polls,” said Yepsen, who worked as a political reporter at the Des Moines Register. “Neither candidate owns the electorate on the issue. I see no problem with using two different polls in a story.”
The broadcast showed the polls were taken from different sources, but the anchor did not say anything to that effect. If you look at the ABC graphics we showed above, the sources are difficult to spot.
For the viewers who saw both broadcasts, what are they to think?
Candy Crowley, former CNN chief political correspondent and anchor, said she saw no problem with ABC using its own poll of who voters could trust to handle terrorism.
“If they conduct them, news outlets want to use their own polls assuming they are still within a valid time frame (polls expire quickly),” Crowley wrote in an email. “Polls are very expensive as well as prestigious- two good reasons to air one’s own polls.”
On the other hand, Norman Ornstein, resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute and contributing editor for The Atlantic, said the anchor should have pointed out the polls were different.
“Mixing and matching, especially with different dates, requires great care,” wrote Ornstein in an email. “I would say the anchor should have noted the difference, and noted that the CNN poll question replicated in the ABC poll had a somewhat different result, which might have resulted from different poll methodology or from different timing. Or ABC should not have used the CNN poll at all.”
More from the experts:
Candy Crowley:
This doesn’t seem to me to rise to the level of an ethical problem unless ABC chose its polls with the intent of being deceptive about Hillary Clinton’s strength. I doubt that was the intent of whoever chose to highlight these numbers.
If they do not have recent polling of their own on a particular subject or if their own poll is dated, news outlets want to/should use the most recent, reliable poll numbers available. Not knowing the dates of the ABC poll, or the internal discussion, my guess is ABC used its own newish poll for the terrorism question . Then, lacking the CIC question in their own recent poll, they went to the most recent one they could find with roughly the question they wanted.
If ABC took a poll asking the same terrorism question as CNN at around the same time (again, i don’t know the ABC poll dates), I see no reason ABC should air the CNN results on terrorism simply because it was airing the CIC numbers from CNN.
I always like to err on the side of more information to the viewer, but I have to say, I wonder if verbally explaining the two different polls wouldn’t be more confusing. Still, simply saying “ABC’s most recent poll does not ask the commander in chief question, but A CNN survey conducted earlier this month found that ..blah blah blah” …wouldn’t have hurt anything. Particularly if in hindsight people will find it suspicious! But again, networks like to ring the bell for their own polls, not others.
David Yepsen:
I see no problem with using two different polls in a story. Yes, I wonder why they did and the only guess would be is that they liked the wording on different questions. Again, the stories both make the point that the candidates are pretty evenly divided on these questions.
ABC probably could have made the graphics clearer. Still, they did disclose … ABC has a respected polling unit and isn’t known for screwing up.
Tags: ABCpoll
Networks Cover Jared Kushner’s Meeting with Senate Committee Very Differently
by Michaela Johnson · Published April 12, 2017
Pros Split On Coverage of Trump PTSD Controversial Comments
by CNS Election Watch Staff · Published October 12, 2016
Next story Networks Divided on How to Fact Check
Previous story Did NBC News Miss the Trump Story?
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ABC / Blog Post / CBS / NBC
Spicer’s ‘Hitler’ comments steal leads in all three newscasts
by Marisa Haber · Published May 6, 2017 · Updated May 8, 2017
White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer made waves on April 11 when he claimed that Hitler never used poison gas during World War II. That left an implication that Hitler was less of a threat than Syria’s president, Bashar al-Assad, who used them on his own citizens.
“You had someone as despicable as Hitler, who didn’t even sink to using chemical weapons,” said Spicer.
ABC’s White House correspondent, Cecilia Vega, gave Spicer a chance to explain his comment. In his retraction, Spicer explained that Hitler’s use of the gas was different because he used it on victims in “Holocaust centers,” Spicer’s term for concentration camps. Many were outraged.
“For too long now, network news will lead with stories that aren’t necessarily the most important but are sure to attract the most eyeballs,” says Former Executive NPR and Senior ABC Producer, Richard Harris, “So in that new world order, a major gaffe by the presidential press secretary will rise to the lead.”
The story was a hot topic, but other important stories took a backseat to Spicer’s comments:
the Pentagon’s conclusion that Syria was responsible for the chemical attacks on its people and Russia’s work to cover it up
Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson’s visit to Russia
investigations of the Russian cyber attack during the presidential campaign
Trump’s tweet about North Korea “looking for trouble”
Harris argues Spicer’s gaffe was an important lede.
“It supports a narrative of this White House frequently “not ready for prime time.” Not only was this an egregious stumble, but it comes on the heels of the White House not mentioning Jews in its release on Holocaust Remembrance Day, something all three networks failed to mention in their lead stories,” says Harris.
Newspapers like the Washington Post and the New York Times didn’t dedicate the front page to this story, but all three nightly newscasts led with it.
“It is often the case that the lead story of the network news does not mirror the front page of the newspaper. It’s the difference between a “newspaper of record” having a different mission than the business imperative that infects network news or tabloid newspapers to attract eyeballs above all else,” says Harris.
So the story took the lead, but what was the best way to cover it?
“It’s tricky. Folding Pelosi’s call for Spicer’s resignation makes the network an accessory to the politicization of the story,” explains Harris, “Showing Spicer’s apology was important since White House apologies are a rare commodity and demonstrate that the White House realized how deeply it had stepped in it.”
Marisa Haber
Marisa Haber is a senior broadcast journalism major and creative writing minor from Wellesley, Massachusetts. She contributes to a lifestyle column for the Boston Herald and writes for multiple on-campus publications. In summer 2015, Marisa took part in the Salzburg Academy on Media and Global Change with 75 other participants selected from around the world. In her free time, Marisa enjoys fitness and keeping up with the beauty/fashion industry and hopes to start her career writing for a lifestyle magazine.
Susan Rice Story Diverts From Trump Team’s Ties to Russia
by Jacob Weinberger · Published April 23, 2017
ABC: The Network That Cried ‘Bombshell’
by Pablo Roa · Published November 22, 2016 · Last modified February 14, 2017
Next story CBS, NBC judge Trump differently through 84 days
Previous story Assad Shirks Blame for Chemical Attack, CBS Doesn’t Report It
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Difference between revisions of "Datatypes"
Kath (Talk | contribs)
(→Multi-Byte Integers)
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(→Multi-Byte Integers: Added blurb about variable-length encoding)
[[Packet_Structure|<< Packet Structure]] | [[Basic_Network_Maintenance|Basic Network Maintenance >>]] | [[Main_Page|Main Page]]
is the default byte-order; however, big-endian byte order can be selected for
those who want it.
Some values can also be serialized with spurious zeroes stripped-off, which is called '''variable-length''' encoding. This is suitable for values that are usually small, because it avoids transmitting extra zero bytes over the network.
A ''variable-length'' encoding of values less than 256 requires 1 single byte, values up to 65536 will require 2 bytes, and so on and so forth. This is the type of encoding used for serializing the length of each G2 packet, for instance.
== Network/Node Addresses ==
A network or node address consists of a physical address and a port number, and are
of variable length depending on the address family.
of variable length, depending on the address family.
In IPv4, a network/node address is six bytes long: 4 bytes for an IP address and 2
bytes for a port number as follows:
IPv6 addresses are longer and are not yet defined within the scope of Gnutella2,
however applications should be aware that if the node address is not 6 bytes it is of
however, applications should be aware that if the node address is not 6 bytes, it is of
a different address family.
sequence of 8 bit integers.
A zero character (0x00) marks the end of the string, however if the string data meets
A zero character (0x00) marks the end of the string, however, if the string data meets
the end of the packet (or child packet) payload, the terminator is not required. This
means that packets whose payload consists of a string do not need to include a zero
means that packets whose payload consists of a string, do not need to include a zero
string terminator and their payload length will be the byte length of the encoded
string exactly.
with multi-byte sequences.
All applications must be able to parse UTF-8 encoded strings, however it is up to the
All applications must be able to parse UTF-8 encoded strings, however, it is up to the
individual application whether to store the string in Unicode or convert it to the a
individual application whether to store the string in Unicode, or convert it to the
local code page for processing. In situations where a packet must be processed 'and'
local code page for processing. In situations where a packet must be processed ''and''
forwarded, the original packet must be forwarded rather than a regenerated version.
This ensures that both locally unsupported encodings and packet extensions are
<< Packet Structure | Basic Network Maintenance >> | Main Page
2 Multi-Byte Integers
3 Network/Node Addresses
4 GUIDs
The format of a packet payload is defined by the packet type and can consist of any binary data; however, there are a number of conventions in place for serializing common datatypes.
Multi-Byte Integers
Multi-byte integers are serialized in the byte-order of the topmost packet. Little endian is the default byte-order; however, big-endian byte order can be selected for those who want it.
Some values can also be serialized with spurious zeroes stripped-off, which is called variable-length encoding. This is suitable for values that are usually small, because it avoids transmitting extra zero bytes over the network.
A variable-length encoding of values less than 256 requires 1 single byte, values up to 65536 will require 2 bytes, and so on and so forth. This is the type of encoding used for serializing the length of each G2 packet, for instance.
Network/Node Addresses
A network or node address consists of a physical address and a port number, and are of variable length, depending on the address family. In IPv4, a network/node address is six bytes long: 4 bytes for an IP address and 2 bytes for a port number as follows:
BYTE ip[4];
SHORT port;
} IPV4_ENDPOINT;
Note that this is considered an array of 4 8-bit integers (bytes), followed by a 16-bit integer (short). Byte order does not affect bytes, but it will affect the 16-bit port number.
IPv6 addresses are longer and are not yet defined within the scope of Gnutella2, however, applications should be aware that if the node address is not 6 bytes, it is of a different address family.
Globally unique identifiers (GUIDs) are used to identify nodes on the network. GUIDs are serialized as an array of 16 bytes.
Strings are encoded with UTF-8 encoding and serialized as a zero-terminated sequence of 8 bit integers.
A zero character (0x00) marks the end of the string, however, if the string data meets the end of the packet (or child packet) payload, the terminator is not required. This means that packets whose payload consists of a string, do not need to include a zero string terminator and their payload length will be the byte length of the encoded string exactly.
UTF-8 encoding is required for all strings present in the packet payload. This means that 7-bit characters may be passed as-is, while extended characters are encoded with multi-byte sequences.
All applications must be able to parse UTF-8 encoded strings, however, it is up to the individual application whether to store the string in Unicode, or convert it to the local code page for processing. In situations where a packet must be processed and forwarded, the original packet must be forwarded rather than a regenerated version. This ensures that both locally unsupported encodings and packet extensions are preserved.
Applications should never send ANSI strings directly if they contain extended characters with the MSB set. These should be encoded with UTF-8. If this is not done, the decoding process may fail and the packet will be discarded or contain bogus information.
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Primordial Strength’s Steven Helmicki Increases Anti-concussion Efforts
Tuesday, October 14th, 2014, 7:36pm
East Aurora resident Steven Helmicki, president of Primordial Strength Inc., a top-level private gym located in Elma, has launched www.anticoncussion.com and developed two USA-manufactured neck training machines and two field manuals that teach progressive, safe neck training. Helmicki has also developed a coaching certification program to reduce the number of concussions among athletes.
Rogers Hometown Hockey Event to Skate into Nearby London
Friday, September 26th, 2014, 10:01am
Local hockey fans are invited to visit nearby London, Ontario, Oct. 11-12 to experience the ultimate hockey festival as the Rogers Hometown Hockey Tour presented by Scotiabank and Dodge makes its first stop of the season! Hockey greats Eric Lindros and Darryl Sittler are scheduled to make appearances alongside host Ron MacLean.
The two-day hockey celebration gets under way at noon Oct. 11 from Budweiser Gardens and Covent Market Plaza (99 Dundas St.), and concludes Sunday night following an outdoor viewing party of the first Rogers Hometown Hockey broadcast. The game features the Toronto Maple Leafs vs. New York Rangers, with the pre-game show hosted live onsite by MacLean from the Sportsnet Mobile Studio at 6:30 p.m.
Football Fans Have Reason to Celebrate, But Need to Celebrate Safely
Friday, September 12th, 2014, 12:01pm
Western New York football fans have plenty of reasons to celebrate, including a season opening road win and the great news that the local team will apparently stay in Buffalo for many years to come! And now fans have a chance to celebrate the good news with the first home game of the season this Sunday in Orchard Park. However, how you choose to celebrate could have a major impact on your future and the lives of others.
Andre Reed to Visit Bases Loaded for Private Signing Event
Saturday, September 6th, 2014, 12:02pm
Buffalo Bills Hall of Fame wide receiver Andre Reed will visit Bases Loaded Sports Collectibles in Cheektowaga during the week of Sept. 15 for a private autograph signing session. While the event is not open to the public, fans wanting to have items signed by Reed can drop them off at the store prior to Sept. 15.
Photos of Reed, mini helmets and other memorabilia can also be purchased at Bases Loaded prior to the signing event. Autographed memorabilia will be available for pick up beginning Sept. 22.
Athletes, Actors to Take Part in WNY Sports Card Expo
Monday, September 1st, 2014, 9:23am
Twenty sports legends and actors — including several Hall of Fame members and four members of the HBO hit series “The Sopranos” — will take part in the Western New York Sports Card Expo Sept. 20-21 at Batavia Downs Gaming, 8315 Park Road, Batavia. Also taking part in this unique event, presented by The Sports Corner, will be professional wrestling great Ric Flair!
Kicking off the autograph lineup from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 20, will be NBA Hall of Famer and former Syracuse University star Dave Bing, along with former Syracuse standouts John Wallace, Roosevelt Bouie, Lawrence Moten and Pearl Washington.
Monday, August 25th, 2014, 3:05pm
Bases Loaded Sports Collectibles will host Charles Stabile, regional sales manager from Beckett Grading Services, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 13, at the store, located at 794 French Road, Cheektowaga.
WNY Sports Card Expo Features Impressive Lineup of Athletes and Actors
Tuesday, August 19th, 2014, 12:01pm
Baseball, football and basketball legends — including several Hall of Fame members — will take part in the Western New York Sports Card Expo Sept. 20-21 at Batavia Downs Gaming, 8315 Park Road, Batavia. Also taking part in this unique event, presented by The Sports Corner, will be professional wrestling great Ric Flair and four actors from the HBO hit series “The Sopranos.”
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In-depth Interviews
Interview with GSWParis Young Sports Makers – Louise Amsili: Sustainability in Sport’s Reinvention
By Yutang Sports Wednesday, 13 Jan 2021 16:21
On February 1st-5th, 2021, the second edition of Global Sports Week, under the patronage of UNESCO and the high patronage of Mr. Emmanuel Macron, President of the French Republic, will come back with a brand new format that integrates digital and physical experiences.
©️Global Sports Week
As the rendez-vous of the year for the global sports industry, Global Sports Week not only provides a unique reunion opportunity for leaders from sport, business and society, but also offers a special stage for the young generation to take the torch and lead the future. During the first edition of Global Sports Week, a group of Young Sports Makers brought the voice from the next generation to the stage, contributing to one of the most shining moments of the forum. One year later, there are 34 young talents from Generation Z making up a new group of the Young Sports Makers program that will participate in the events across different hubs to challenge the speakers, learn from leaders and raise suggestions for the future.
In order to spread the voice of young elites, Yutang Sports, one of the official media partners of Global Sports Week, conducts exclusive interviews with several YSM members, among which Louise, involved at the central hub in Paris, demonstrates her emphasis on sustainability in the future of sports industry.
Louise Amsili
“Born in Marseille, I grew up fully embracing its unique culture and fervor for soccer. After graduating from Sciences-Po, I became a Texas Longhorn pursuing my lifelong passion in their Sport Management program. There, I occupied a variety of positions with Athletics and live events, seizing opportunities to have a positive impact on interacting communities and environments.
Fortunate to join, post-grad, AMB Sport+Entertainment, I got to see first-hand a sport entity embracing sustainability and social justice. Eager to keep learning from the bests and share, I recently became part of the sport creative agency LaFourmi and I am working on earning a certificate in Sustainability and Development.” ----Louise
The Global Sports Week – a bridge connecting sport leaders and young talents.
Yutang Sports: Through what channels did you learn about the Global Sports Week?
Louise: There wasn't just one channel. I always look for conferences and events as professional as Global Sports Week. So I heard about it last year. But since there was no local hubs in the US, I did not attend the first edition of GSWParis. But this year I work at La Fourmi which is one of the partners as well so I’ll be able to attend.
Yutang Sports: From your own perspective, for what reasons that you decided to participate in the forum?
Louise: First of all, I’m thankful to my managers from La Fourmi who suggested me to do it. I was really excited to find out that the Global Sports Week has such proactive topics that are touching on what I am normally interested in. So I am ready to take a chance and enjoy the upcoming forum.
Yutang Sports: From your understandings, what are the special features of GSW that attract you to join the event?
Louise: I really appreciate the global view of the forum. I have attended a lot of physical and online conferences and I think that Global Sports Week is the only one that is really trying to gather leaders and young talents from all around the world. And I think the flexible format set this year will make it easier to be held under Covid-19 pandemic. In addition, the forum really touches the sports community worldwide beyond local entities.
Young Sports Makers – Elites sharing common interests and goals
Yutang Sports: How do you feel after communications with your teammates in YSM program?
Louise: I had a fantastic time meeting all of them, I think they are really impressive individuals that are doing amazing things to change the future of sports. They're all very knowledgeable on the matters being discussed. So it's really great to go forward with them for sure.
Yutang Sports: What degree of self-improvement would you expect to achieve through your participation in the forum?
Louise: I really do hope to be able to acquire global sensitivity to the sports industry. Up until now, I have already accumulated experience in the US and am now starting to get European experiences. In addition, I am really hoping to create strong bonds with other young sports makers that are really driven by our common interests and goals.
Future of sports – sustainability needs to play a bigger role
Yutang Sports: Currently, what is your specific domain in sports industry now?
Louise: I'm currently working for a creative sports agency, which is more related to the the creative side of sports partnership and allows a lot of diversity in the projects we are working on.
Yutang Sports: From your own experience, do you have any suggestions to improve the current situation in your domain?
Louise: Yes, in my opinion, sports partnership has a much bigger role to play in having sports entities embrace their communities and environment. Because what has frequently happened, especially in Europe, is that sports partnership is seen as more of the business transaction rather than a harmonious cooperation between parties that have similar values and goals. As a result, we need to shift towards being more community-centered rather than just selling LOGOs for profit.
Yutang Sports: As you have mentioned in your introduction video, you're now focusing on the sustainability of sports entities. How do you think about the importance of sustainability in sports in the future?
Louise: I think we could say that there has been a shift towards sustainability in sports industry. But it is still on the surface and it seems like a privilege of bigger entities. However, sustainability needs to be considered on every layer in the sports field, not just professional teams or leagues.
Yutang Sports: Do you have any brief ideas about putting sustainability in action? Louise: I don't have any groundbreaking ideas yet (laughing), but I think we can definitely see that there have been more and more small businesses developing sustainable technologies (e.g. making sneakers out of recycled bottles). I think we need sports entities to meet these small businesses, so that they can both benefit from each other and help make the whole sports industry more sustainable.
GSWParis Young Sports Makers - Louise
Sports reinvention – combination of digital revolution and in-person experience
Yutang Sports: As the Global Sports Week stressed, sports is now playing a crucial role at the intersection of society, business and other sections. How do you think about the status and value of sports in human civilization?
Louise: Sports is present the shape or forms of all layers of society as well as personal development and individuals. For that reason, it has a really important role to play beyond the health-related practices. I think it can play as a mean for social inclusion, it can help forge a cultural identity and educate individuals on key social values. Finally, sports can simply act as a bridge bringing people together and that's really important, too.
Yutang Sports: Do you have any specific preparations for your participation this time?
Louise: We do have a series of workshop planned before and during the event, so that we can gain deeper knowledge on the different teams and we can also learn from each other.
Yutang Sports: Under the COVID-19 pandemic, how do you expect the future of sports?
Louise: I believe that we've seen a new shift towards a more digital fan experience. However, based on the fans’ general reaction, the online experience won't be enough. People still want to be able to attend the event and enjoy the atmosphere in person. So I think that the future of sport will be a hybrid mode that integrates the innovative digital experience and enhanced in-person experience.
Yutang Sports: Do you have any ideas about the reinvention of sports industry in the future?
Louise: I would say that this year has also shown that people from my generation do care about social matters and that sports need to be more involved. I'm truly hoping to see sports become closer to its community in terms of its access to and engagement in social issues.
Eyes on the future – stay, work hard and thrive
Yutang Sports: Do you have any expectations towards your own positioning and self-value in sports industry?
Louise: I'm surely hoping to stay in sports industry and grow to make a bigger impact, while sustainability and equality are still the core focus of what I do. I definitely would like to make sure that I bring my experience and knowledge in those areas with me wherever I go so that I can make them more pressing issues in the decision-making process.
Yutang Sports: As a great representative of Gen-Z in sports industry, would you like to give your own advice to those who desire to make a difference in sports in the future?
Louise: I would say that I am at the limit between Millennials and Gen-Z, so I am able to see two different generations grow up and interact with each other. From my experience, my main advice is to always make sure to go the extra miles every day, either it be staying a few more hours, attending conferences or studying online to get more knowledgeable or sending an extra email. Always make sure you do some extra stuff every day beyond the basic requirements.
After a first glance at the YSM squad, we are thrilled that the new blood of sport industry have acquired the global mindset with ambitious expectations towards the future, while it is Global Sports Week that provides a tailored stage, where the young crews, with diverse cultural backgrounds and professions, are able to bring distinctive viewpoints from their unique angles to the table. After precipitation and fermentation, the innovative inspirations will further illuminate the road of industry reinvention. While, during the process, listening to leaders’ voices becomes a required course for the Young Sports Makers.
Interview with GSWParis Young Sports Makers – Jindo Morishita: No Tolerance to Discrimination
Global Sports Week Paris Announces New Dates for 2022 Forum as Supporter Base Grows
Virtual IF Forum 2021 to Focus on How Sport and Society Can Learn Lessons from a Crisis
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One in 10 drugs sold in third world fake: WHO
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POSTS TAGGED : Hollywood
iPhone Prophecy
posted inBlog on 16.5.14
It was July 2008, the iPhone was still a novelty and the second iteration called the iPhone 3G had just been released. The iPhone 3G improved on the Original iPhone in speed and connectivity, but the optics were still deficient and it had one big omission. It couldn’t record video. So on July 16, 2008 I penned a blog post titled – iWant the iPhone Pro!. Here is the gist of my commentary…
“The one achilles heel of the current iPhone are its poor optics. The 3G camera is the same 2-megapixel version that shipped with the original iPhone, and it still does not record video. I’m sure some 3rd-party developer will release an App to get it to record video at some point, but at 2-megapixel quality, it won’t be that usable.
So that leads me to the ‘iPhone Pro’. When is it coming, Steve? Oh, you know its coming. Let’s not forget that Apple is steeped in movie making software. This is a company that pioneered the .MOV QuickTime video codec. This is a company that produces Hollywood studio-quality editing software in Final Cut Pro, and has further leveraged their editing prowess to create iMovie for Joe Consumer. Don’t you think we’re going to see iMovie Mobile on the iPhone?
Sooner or later, Steve Jobs is going to walk on stage at the Moscone Center and he’s going to unveil the iPhone of all iPhones. An iPhone that isn’t just going to continue to revolutionize the cellular handset industry, but an iPhone that makes every digital still and video camera manufacturer quiver with fear. Everything from 8+ megapixels, 30-frame-per-second video, zoom, autofocus, image stabilizer etc., and combine all of this with the ability to edit and compose your photos and videos with Apps like Aperture Mobile and iMovie Mobile. Steve Jobs may even bring Steven Spielberg on stage to help demo it and suggest that we are eventually going to witness full-length feature films edited and shot entirely on an iPhone. Heck, we can’t even be that far off from an iPhone HD.
So when is the iPhone Pro coming? I have no idea, but when it does, you can be sure I’ll be buying my first iPhone.”
Fast-forward 6 years, and while I’ve owned my fair share of iPhones and already moved on to Android, I was reminded of that previous post after watching a new commercial spot for luxury automaker Bentley. Bentley produced a beautiful 4-minute promo that was shot entirely on an iPhone 5S and edited exclusively on an iPad Air while sitting in the back of a Bentley Mulsanne. Check it out…
This is by no means the first ‘all iPhone’ commercial production. Another example would be Burberry partnering directly with Apple for their Spring/Summer 2014 fashion show. Burberry used nine iPhone 5S to shoot and produce video of the show.
While Steve Jobs is no longer with us, Steven Spielberg has yet to release a sequel to E.T. shot exclusively with an iPhone and my original post is 6 years old, there is no denying now that the age of the ‘iPhone Pro’ has most definitely arrived.
Web Video Productions Soon To Rival Hollywood
posted inBlog on 8.1.13
The ‘Video Game High School’ webseries is a small production compared to big-budget Hollywood. But it’s not ‘shot from my basement with an iPhone’ small. It’s the new Semi-Pro small, with enough funding to make a production look almost as polished as Hollywood-driven content, minus several zeros on the balance sheet. Impressive. It won’t be long before many of the shows on broadcast television are started independently on the web by talented videopreneurs, and eventually get acquired by major studios after they’ve been market and traction tested. Not dissimilar to how tech startups are born, grown, then acquired.
Physical vs. Electronic
“To paraphrase Mark Twain, the demise of Blockbuster has been greatly exaggerated,” CEO, James W. Keyes, told analysts in a conference call.
In many ways Blockbuster is the Rosetta Stone for this evolving ‘physical vs. electronic’ media distribution tug-of-war. We live in the physical world but more and more of our media consumption is being enabled through digital delivery mechanisms. As such, businesses like Blockbuster which were deeply reliant on the physical distribution of media are having to re-think their business model and change course on-the-fly. Blockbuster has a lot of good things going for it. A household brand name that is synonumous with entertainment, strong local presence and visibility and a solid track record executing their (albeit outdated) business model. The big challenge for Blockbuster is to figure out a way to make bricks and mortar profitable in an era where retail shelve space is far more expensive and limiting than server space.
“An average movie theater will not show a film unless it can attract at least 1,500 people over a two-week run; that’s essentially the rent for a screen. An average record store needs to sell at least two copies of a CD per year to make it worth carrying; that’s the rent for a half inch of shelf space. And so on for DVD rental shops, videogame stores, booksellers, and newsstands. In each case, retailers will carry only content that can generate sufficient demand to earn its keep. But each can pull only from a limited local population – perhaps a 10-mile radius for a typical movie theater, less than that for music and bookstores, and even less (just a mile or two) for video rental shops. It’s not enough for a great documentary to have a potential national audience of half a million; what matters is how many it has in the northern part of Rockville, Maryland, and among the mall shoppers of Walnut Creek, California.” – Chris Anderson, Wired Magazine
Many have suggested that Blockbuster should buy Netflix, the largest mail-driven DVD rental service. However, while buying Netflix may give their DVD-by-mail business a serious shot in the arm, it does not address the need for a new retail strategy for their 7800+ physical locations. Blockbuster gave a good hint about which direction they were eyeing when they tabled an offer to buy struggling electronic retailer Circuit City. While Blockbuster has since withdrawn their offer to buy Circuit City, it’s pretty clear that Blockbuster wants to delve deeper into selling consumer electronics.
Keyes: …if you look through the rear-view mirror, you say, “It’s a video store, why would they sell a Blu-ray player?” but as Blu-ray discs become more popular, what better place to buy it, what better place to demonstrate it to our customers than the people that are in once or twice a week renting videos. They keep seeing it and pretty soon it’s an impulse item and they want to have one. So, if they’re going to buy their Blu-ray player, and get home and realize they don’t have an 1080p television. Without having an assortment of 50 TVs on the floor, could we sell them a 42-inch Bravia TV? That’s 1080p so their Blu-ray experience is more robust. Sure, it becomes an impulse item, almost a convenience item. Now, back to your original question, technology is the secret sauce in the transformation of Blockbuster.
Imagine in the future someone walking up to you in the store and you’re admiring that Blu-ray player. They’re able to sell you the PS3 player off the floor and then show you on a handheld tablet PC an assortment of 10 different TV sets that are all 1080p-enabled and bring up the transaction right there, swipe your credit card right on the spot like you would in an Apple store, and have that TV installed tomorrow.
Except a lot of the big ticket purchases you’re mentioning are not impulse buys by any means.
Keyes: Well, you’re right. A lot of them aren’t but I’m not trying to be Best Buy. What we think the role is that impulse purchaser, the person who is less price sensitive, the person who sees that beautiful 42-inch display who says, “You know, I’m a busy person. I’m just going to get it.” Thankfully, that’s a huge portion of the customer base. Not everybody is a Wal-Mart shopper, yet ironically in the consumer electronics industry, virtually everybody in the industry tries to out price Wal-Mart. Again, if you’re selling solutions, you look at what the price of an Apple product is versus a competing product in another consumer electronics environment, and you’re not buying Apple products cheap. You’re buying solutions and you’re paying a pretty good premium for the convenience of that product working and the solution being readily available. As a retailer, that’s where we’re heading.
This is where CEO Keyes really starts to lose me, and I predict, his business too.
Will hardware save Blockbuster’s business?
In a follow-up to my previous post that touched on the major transformation from ‘store to web’ for big-box retailer Circuit City and their sagging offline sales, comes news today of a $1 Billion offer for Circuit City by Blockbuster. Much in the same way that Microsoft missed the boat on search which opened the door for Google, Blockbuster has similarly missed the boat on online video rentals and they’ve been chasing Netflix ever since.
Will merging with Circuit City save Blockbuster’s business / brand? Blockbuster appears to be moving toward a ‘hardware-based’ strategy that would likely see them launch a set-top content delivery box ie, think Apple TV. This strategy would explain the interest in merging with an electronics retailer.
“The combination of Blockbuster and Circuit City will result in an $18 billion retail enterprise uniquely positioned for the convergence of media content and electronic devices,” wrote Blockbuster’s Keyes this morning. “We would seek to differentiate products in both Blockbuster and Circuit City stores by offering exclusive content and content-enabled devices. Both companies would benefit from complementary products, marketing, management strengths, technology and distribution and the resulting synergies would significantly improve consolidated financial performance.”
In Canada, the online video rental business is suffering from a lack of competition and choice for consumers. It’s not a mature business yet by any means and over time that will change as new players, partnerships and brands enter the Canadian online video rental market.
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JET-Sister City List Project
Local Government, Return on JET-vestment, Uncategorized Add Comment (10)
Update 11/10/10: Had a nice email exchange with Carlo Capua (Niigata-ken, 2000-02) who is on the Board of Directors for Sister Cities International, a global network of 2000+ cities who do exchanges with each other at different levels – teacher, humanitarian, governmental, elected official, etc. According to Carlo, SCI is in almost 200 countries around the world.
Update 11/7/10: It turns out there’s a list on the CLAIR website of all of the cities/towns and sister cities: http://www.clair.or.jp/cgi-bin/simai/e/05.cgi?n=U.S.A. (Though it doesn’t indicate whether there are JETs in the locale.) Thanks to JETAA USA Country Rep Jessyca Wilcox for letting us know about this.)
Update 11/5/10: Thanks for all the responses so far. Keep’em coming!
Welcome to the JET-Sister City List Project!
The Goal: To create a list of Japanese cities (and prefectures) where JETs lived that have a sister city relationship with another country.
How can you help? Email jetwit@jetwit.com with your name, prefecture, city/town and years on JET as well as any sister city relationships that your town had. If you already see your city listed, email your name anyway so we can include you as well.
The Result: JetWit will add to the below list as responses are received.
The Purpose: To lay some groundwork that may help Japanese cities/prefectures that hosted JETs increase their “return on investment” from their initial investment.
(Note #1: There actually is a Japanese government publication that lists every Japanese sister city relationship. However, it does not list any correlation with JETs.)
With all of the above in mind, please email your responses to jetwit@jetwit.com. Yoroshiku onegaishimasu!
1. Hokkaidō
Hokkaidō
Chitose-shi + Anchorage, Alaska – Sara (Salzer) Niwa (Hokkaido, Chitose-shi, 1999-2002)
Iwamizama City + Pocatello, Idaho; Canby, Oregon; Acheng, China – Caroline Cronshaw (Hokkaido, 2006-09) (Caroline adds that Iwamizawa sends several students to Pocatello each year, and Pocatello returns the favor by sending several of its students to Iwamizawa. There is a tower-shaped monument in front of Iwamizawa City Hall that symbolizes the friendship between Pocatello and Iwamizawa.)
Sapporo-shi + Portland, Oregon – Liz Sheffield (Hokkaido-ken, Sapporo-shi, 1993-95) (Liz adds, “I originally went to Sapporo for two weeks when I was in high school as part of a Sister City exchange delegation from Portland. Then six years later, I was placed in Sapporo as an AET. Thanks to my return to Sapporo , I was able to build an even stronger relationship with the Shibuyas, my host family from my original visit to Sapporo . Now, fifteen years after the JET Program, I am still in regular contact with the Shibuyas.”
2. Tōhoku
Aomori Prefecture + Maine – Zack Bass (CIR Aomori-ken, Aomori-shi, 2006-Present) (Zack adds, “I’ve had the wonderful opportunity to be highly involved with promoting and coordinating our prefecture’s continuing relationship with our sister state of Maine in the USA. We have many exchange programs between schools and municipalities within Aomori Prefecture and local towns and schools in Maine that continue to this day. We are very proud of our strong exchange with Maine, and many of our JETs throughout the prefecture have invested much time and hard work in strengthening our ties. Recently, we have been working towards expanding the Maine & Aomori relationship even further by exploring fisheries, energy, and business exchange opportunities in addition to our long tradition of cultural and educational exchange. I hope to get more of our JETs to contribute more about their local municipal based exchange programs in the next few weeks.Thank you for doing this!”)
Hachinohe City + Federal Way, Washington; Lanzhou, China
Beth Bryant (Aomori-ken, Hachinohe-shi 1993-94; Misawa-shi 1994-96)
Natalie Kruckenberg (Aomori-ken, Hachinohe-shi 2010- present) – Natalie adds:
Federal Way Exchange: When the Hachinohe International Exchanges and City Promotions Association (formed in September, 1990) met to discuss possible locations for a sister city, Tacoma of Pierce County was presented. Tacoma has a friendly relationship and had been exchanging with the Hachinohe Chamber of Commerce, the most recent exchange being in 1992. The Hachinohe Chamber of Commerce contacted the Mayor of Tacoma who introduced Hachinohe to a neighboring city, the City of Federal Way. After exchanges betwen the two cities, on August 1st, 1993, the Sister City agreement was signed. Since then the official visits and youth exchanges between Federal Way and Hachinohe have continued every year.
Lanzhou Exchange: The International exchanges with Lanzhou including Hachinohe Gas Cor. technical cooperations, yourth exchanges and inspectorates began back in 1983 when the 4th Hachinohe delegation traveled to Lanzhou. In April 1998, Hachinohe and Lanzhou signed a sister city agreement. Since then the official visits and youth exchanges between Federal Way and Hachinohe have continued every year.
Misawa City + Wenatchee, Washington
Mutsu City + Port Angeles, Washington
Amy Miller (Aomori-ken, Mutsu-shi, 2006-11) Amy adds: “Mutsu City and Port Angeles City have been sister cities for 15 years. Every year a group of select Junior High School students from Mutsu City visit Port Angeles City in January as Junior Ambassadors. They put on a “Japanese Culture Fair” at the middle school in Port Angeles to teach American students about Japanese culture. The high school students from Tanabu High School English class also visit Port Angeles every year. A mixed delegation of middle school, high school, and adults visits Mutsu once every two years.”
Tsugaru-shi + Bath, Maine
Mike Moses (CIR Aomori-ken, 2010 – present) Mike adds: “The friendship between Tsugaru and Bath, Maine has a long history. In 1889, the ‘Cheseborough,’ a ship built in Bath, Maine, tragically crashed off the coast of Shariki (now Tsugaru City). The people of Shariki nursed the surviving sailors back to health, and a friendship between the two cities has continued since. Since 1990, Bath and Tsugaru have coordinated a sister-city exchange program, in which delegations are sent every year to experience each other’s rich culture and history. Also, the Cheseborough Cup, an international swimming competition, is held in Tsugaru every year. The goal of the race is to eventually swim the 10,200 km distance between Bath and Shariki. We hope to continue and expand upon the current sister city relationship.”
Tsuruta Town + Hood River, Oregon
Emma Sayers (CIR Aomori-ken, Tsuruta-cho, 2010-Current) – Emma adds: “Tsuruta has had a sister city agreement with Hood River, Oregon, USA since 1977. The mayor of Tsuruta at that time (and at present), Mayor Nakano, had wished to bring internationalisation to Tsuruta by joining it with a similar city in the USA. Exchange visits between their respective residents, junior high school students and high school students take place every year. Tsuruta also employs a sister city English teacher from Hood River to visit local kindergartens and primary schools alongside the JET Programme CIR. It’s an extremely well-cultivated sister city relationship, and I’m honoured to be able to help out with the events and visits! Good luck with the JET-Sister City List Project, it’s a great idea and I hope this helps a little. I’ve not been in Tsuruta long but I love it, and I think the sister city agreement has a lot to do with that as everyone here has been so welcoming.
Esashi City + Shepparton, Australia; Reutte/Breitenwang, Austria
Therese Stephens (Iwate-ken, Esashi-shi, 1996-99)
Kitakami-shi + Concord, California; Shibata-shi, Miyagi-ken, Japan; Sanmenxia, Henan Province, China
Margie Wiggins (Iwate-ken, Kitakami-shi, 2010-Present)
Margie adds: “I have worked a little with the Rotary Club in town and know they sometimes send representatives (typically businessmen) to Concord, California to visit and learn more about the city; however, I am not sure what relationship, if any, has been built and fostered with our other two sister cities. The Rotary is also active in sponsoring a Rotary Youth International Exchange of Short-Term, which consists of two groups of ten high school students (from both Iwate-ken and Miyagi-ken) visiting Texas and Oklahoma (I apologize I cannot remember the exact cities) in March every year. American students from these cities then travel here in June and July respectively.”
Miyagi Prefecture + Delaware
Shichigahama-machi + Plymouth, Massachusetts – Doug Durgee (CIR Miyagi-ken, 2006-07) (Doug adds that they alternate sending kids on a short one or two week trip every year and used to also send kids on a one-year exchange program, though the funding for the one-year exchange program may have dried up in the past couple years.)
Sendai-shi + Riverside, CA; Rennes, France; Acapulco, Mexico; Minsk, Belarus; and Gwangju, S. Korea; Dallas, TX is also listed as a friendship city. – Nata Nam (Miyagi-ken, Sendai-shi, 2007-09) (Nata also shared a link to a nice article about collaboration on a symposium between Tohoku University and University of California-Riverside: http://newsroom.ucr.edu/news_item.html?action=page&id=2481 Thanks also to Dough Durgee for additional sister city info.)
Tome-shi + Southlake, Texas; Vernon, British Columbia – Jennifer Wang (Miyagi-ken, 2008-09) (Jennifer adds that Southlake, TX is her hometown, and she actually became interested in JET through the Sister Cities exchange program. Every year, Tome and Southlake send student ambassadors to the other’s city. They switch off each year for adults from the Tome International Friendship Association and Southlake Sister Cities. She said she doesn’t know as much about the program with Vernon, but when she was there, a large adult delegation from Vernon visited.)
Kisakata-machi + Anacortes, Washington – Brett Rawson (Akita-ken, Nikaho-shi, Kisakata-machi, 2007-09)
Noshiro-shi + Wrangell, Alaska – Stephanie Boegeman (ALT Akita-ken Noshiro-shi 2006-2009); Andrew McCarthy (Akita-ken, Noshiro-shi, Futatsui-machi, 2005-08) (Andrew notes that the actual town he lived in, Futatsui-machi, merged with Noshiro in 2006, though it does not appear to have a separate sister city of its own.)
Yamagata Prefecture + Colorado
Kahoku Town + Canyon City, Colorado – Alex Stevenson (Yamagata-ken, Kahoku-machi, 2000-03)
Yamagata City + Boulder, Colorado – Jessica (Oppenheim) Moy (CIR Yamagata-ken, Yamagata-shi, 2003-06) (Jessica adds, “While in high school, I participated on two sister state/prefecture trips to Yamagata, Japan and loved it. After graduating from Colorado State University, I ended up returning to Yamagata City as a CIR on the JET program. My big project at the end of my stay was holding a Bolder-Boulder race in Yamagata. Boulder and Yamagata have many sister city exchanges not only with government, citizen, and student exchanges, but also with rotary.”)
3. Kantō
Tsukuba-shi + Irvine, California
Beth Yamamuro (Tochigi-ken, Ashikaga-shi, 1987-1989) Beth adds: “While living in Irvine, California I helped the local sister cities organization as well as the city officers in their exchanges with their sister city of Tsukuba, Ibaraki-ken. It was kind of funny how the visitors from Tsukuba would always try to hide the fact that they would also be visiting another California sister city, Milpitas. It was like they were having a secret affair.”
Ashikaga-shi + Springfield, Illinois
Beth Yamamuro (Tochigi-ken, Ashikaga-shi, 1987-1989) Beth adds: “Ashikaga has a continuing sister city relationship with Springfield, Illinois, thanks largely to the efforts of my predecessor, Monbusho English Fellow Linda Benoit (the last MEF year before JET was initiated). I just re-visited my town after 23 years and was unable to meet one of my favorite Japanese teachers because she was chaperoning a delegation to Springfield.”
Saitama + Ohio, USA (Thanks to Michelle Elliott for the info.)
Koshigaya City + Campbelltown, NSW, Australia – Michelle Elliott (Saitama-ken, 1999-2002)
Chiba + Wisconsin
Chiba City + Houston, Texas – Lisa Hannabach (Chiba-ken, Chiba-shi, 1990-91, Yachiyo-shi, 1992-95)
Ichikawa-shi + Gardena California – Lisa Hannabach (Chiba-ken, Chiba-shi, 1990-91, Yachiyo-shi, 1992-95) (Lisa was a private ALT in Ichikawa from 1995-2000.)
Ichihara City + Mobile, Alabama– Ryan Hart (Chiba-ken, Ichihara-shi)
“Ichihara shares a sister city relationship with Mobile, Alabama. There were a total of 8 teachers in Ichihara when I lived there. 7 of them where through the JET Program. 1 of them was hired directly through the sister city relationship with Mobile. So technically, we didn’t have a JET from Mobile, but we did have a teacher that was essentially a JET each year.”
Narashino-shi + Tuscaloosa, Alabama – [JET? ___________]
Narita City + Naestved (Denmark) since 2003; Xianyang-city (China) since 1988; San Bruno, California; Jeongeup-city (South Korea); Jung-Gu of Incheon-city (South Korea)since 1998
Celine Castex (Chiba-ken, Narita-shi, 2006-11) (FYI, Celine is currently the Volunteer Self-Support Group Leader for the French-speaking community of JET.)
Yachiyo-shi + Tyler, Texas – Lisa Hannabach (Chiba-ken, Chiba-shi, 1990-91, Yachiyo-shi, 1992-95)
Yokohama-shi + Vancouver, British Columbia; San Diego, California – Ilonka Osvald (Yokohama-shi, 1996-98) (Ilonka adds, “Vancouver and Yokohama have been sister cities for a long time, and there were quite a few JETS in my year who were placed due to the sister city connection (mainly Vancouver and San Diego).”
4. Chūbu
Kanazawa City + Buffalo, New York; Jeonju, Korea; Nancy, France; Ghent, Belgium; Irkutsk, Russia; Porto Alegre, Brazil; Suzhou, China – Sophie Bocklandt (Belgian CIR Ishikawa-ken, Kanazawa-shi, 2006-11)
Fukui City + New Brunswick, NJ
Beata Wilk (Fukui-ken, Fukui-shi/Harue-cho, 2004-08)
Being from NJ I found out as soon as I arrived in Fukui about the sister city between my state and Fukui Prefecture. Fukui-ken usually recieved a number of NJ JETs every year– I believe at the request of the Fukui BOE but I can’t be sure of that. What I do know about the relationship for sure is that:
From the mid-1800s local governments in Fukui, Japan sent students to New Brunswick to learn English and study at Rutgers College. Fukui City sent their student in 18671. These historic ties and exchanges continued for over a century and led to formal agreements being signed with New Brunswick and Fukui in 1982.
As for the New Brunswick, NJ- Fukui-shi relationshsip, to the best of my knowledge this Rutgers University exchange still continues.
Fukui City also has a high school exchange. It is rather competitive and the exchange between NJ and Fukui only happens once every 2 or 3 years. (In the other years there is an exchange between Fukui and a sister city in China). High school students can apply for the program and if chosen, they get to go to a high school in NJ for about two months (if I remember correctly). The exchange is to New Providence High School (New Providence, NJ) and one more NJ high school (unfortunantly I do not remember the other school). They students stay with host families while in NJ and there is always an orientation for the high school students to prepare them for NJ. The Fukui BOE asks some NJ JETs to help in the orientation. We attended about 4 or 5 sessions, in the first few we made presentations about New Jersey geography, places of interest, food, etc. Then in groups we told the Japanese students about high school life in New Jersey and answered their questions. In later sessions, the Japanese students presented about Fukui Prefecture. We gave them an audience to practice on but also helped them expand, edit, and tweak their presentations so that they would be better addressed to NJ High School students.
Since then New Brunswick has also established 3 other sister city ties, one more with Japan.
Fukui also has sister city ties with a few other cities, but I believe they are all in other countries. I know the Fukui International Activities Plaza (FIA) has all the information displayed- unfortunantly I do not remember much of it besides NJ relationships.
Yamanashi + Iowa: The sister-state relationship is detailed in the book “Sweet Corn and Sushi,” the story of Iowan farmers who donated 35 hogs to livestock farmers in Yamanashi after a typhoon devastated the area, according to a Japan Times article: http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20100408a3.html (Thanks to Renee Tress (Yamanashi-ken, 2006-09) for the info and link.)
Kiyosato region + Kentucky – Apparently most JETs in the Kiyosato region are from Kentucky. More info at http://www.city.hokuto.yamanashi.jp/hokuto_wdm/html/English/15558004369.html (Thanks to Renee Tress (Yamanashi-ken, 2006-09) for the info and link.)
Nirasaki-shi + Fairfield, California – Renee Tress (Yamanashi-ken, 2006-09) (Renee also shared a link to a Facebook page for this long-running sister city relationship: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Fairfield-Nirasaki-Sister-City-Program/218241943857?v=info)
Nagano-shi + Clearwater, FL – Ravi Kumar (CIR Nagano-ken, Nagano-shi, 1998-2001) (Ravi adds, “It was a fairly active relationship. We arranged for 3 english teachers every year from Clearwater to come to live and work in middle schools in Nagano City. We had Japanese teachers of English go to Clearwater during their summer months to improve and learn English. During the summer, we also had a student exchange where 12 students from Nagano would visit Clearwater and 12 students from clearwater would visit Nagano.)
Gifu City + Cincinnati, Ohio
Kathy Crutcher (Gifu-ken, Hozomi-cho (now Mizuho-shi), 2000-01) Kathy adds that her hometown is Cincinnati, which is why she was placed near Gifu City.
Ikeda-cho + Mililani, Hawaii – Dylan Gen Fujitani (Gifu-ken, Ikeda-cho, 2005-07) (Dylan indicated that he’s not clear if the relationship is between towns or just between schools. But still nice to know about.)
Takayama City + Denver, Colorado – Anna Thompson (Gifu-ken, Takayama-shi, 2002-04) (Editor’s note: I visited Takayama several times. It’s up in the mountains and beautiful. I remember one of my principals explaining to me that back in the days before everyone honeymooned in Hawaii, Takayama was a popular honeymoon destination.)
Kakegawa-shi + Eugene, Oregon – Andrew Osanka (Shizuoka-ken, Kakegawa-shi and Mori-machi, 1991-94)
Kariya-shi + Missassauga, Ontario – Steven Horowitz (Aichi-ken, 1992-94)
Toyohashi-shi + Toledo, OH – Justin Moy (Aichi-ken, Toyohashi-shi, 2008-10) (Justin notes that as of 2010-11, there will be no more prefectural JETs in eastern Aichi)
Toyokawa-shi + Cupertino, California – [JET? __________]
Toyota City + Detroit, Michigan – [JET? _______] [Editor’s note: Toyota is next to Kariya, and as I recall they hired ALTs directly and not through the JET Program or a private company such as Interac (which didn’t even exist back when I was there.)]
5. Kansai
Nagahama-shi + Augsburg, Germany & Verona, Italy (Thanks to James Low (Shiga-ken, Nagahama-shi, 2009-11) for the info.)
Kameoka-shi + Stillwater, Oklahoma [JET ______?] (Thanks to Stillwater, OK native Brad Rickelman (Saitama-ken, Hatogaya-shi, 1995-96) for the info.)
Kyoto-shi + Oklahoma City, Oklahoma – (Thanks to Eric Hawkinson (Kyoto-fu, 2005-10) for the info.)
Miyazu-shi + Del Ray Beach, Florida; Nelson, New Zealand – Eric Hawkinson (Kyoto-fu, 2005-10) (Eric, fyi, is the creator of the ALT website resource TeamTeachers.com.)
Izumi City + Bloomington, Minnesota – Kate Maruyama (Osaka-fu, Izumi-shi, 2005-08) (FYI, Kate grew up and went to college in Minnesota.)
Ibaraki City + Minneapolis, Minnesota – [Any JETs?_______] (Thanks to Kare Maruyama for sharing the info.)
Osaka City + Chicago, Illinois – Roland Kelts (Osaka-shi, 1998-99)
Hyōgo Prefecture + Seattle, Washington – [JET? __________]
Himeji City + Phoenix, Arizona – [JET? __________]
Nishimiya City + Spokane, Washington – Anna Amen (Hyogo-ken, Nishimiya-shi, 2007-08)
Nishiwaki-shi + Renton, Washington – Mitchell Kimura (Hyogo-ken, Nishiwaki-shi, 1995-97) (Mitchell notes that Nishiwaki-shi is the “belly-button” of Japan. :-)
Kobe + Philadelphia (Thanks to James Low (Shiga-ken, Nagahama-shi, 2009-11) for the info.)
6. Chūgoku
Nichinan-cho + Scotts Valley, California
Clara Solomon (Tottori-ken, Nichinan-cho, 1999-2001) (Clara said, however, that she thinks the sister city program may not still exist due to funding cuts.)
Yurihama-cho (formerly Hawai-cho) + Hawaii County, Hawaii (Editor’s note:This is the first example of a county having a sister city relationship that I’ve come across.)
Mark Fujishige (Tottori-ken, Yurihama-cho, 2008-11)
Michelle Otake (Tottori-ken, Yurihama-cho, 1995-98)
Matt Ackerman (CIR Tottori-ken, Yurihama-cho, Current as of 2010)
Michelle adds:
“I was the first permanent JET ALT stationed in that town originally/formerly called Hawai-cho, Tottori-ken from 1995 to 1998. At that time Mayor Masanao Inoue, a big advocate of fostering international relationships and “opening” up the town to the world which included participating in the JET Program, asked me to help them build a sister city friendship with my home state Hawaii. To sum up a long story of mostly disappointing phone calls and letters, good fortune finally came to me when I contacted Mr. Rudy Legaspi, who was the Executive Assistant to the Mayor of the County of Hawaii. Mr. Legaspi expressed great enthusiasm and support in establishing sister city ties with Hawai-cho. In 1996 Ms. Yukiko (Kametani) Yamasaki, a local Hawai-cho Town Office employee and liaison for Mayor Inoue’s Office, and I flew over to the city of Hilo, Hawaii and formerly met up with the County of Hawaii officials, including Mr. Legaspi and Mayor Stephen K. Yamashiro, to set up the initial groundwork for the sister city friendship. On October 16, 1996, Mayor Inoue of Hawai-cho, Tottori-ken and Mayor Yamashiro of the County of Hawaii, Hawaii officially cemented a sister city friendship.”
“Due to mostly economic reasons, many towns and villages across Tottori prefecture and the rest of Japan from 2001 to 2005 were swallowed up, readministered, and renamed in municipal mergers. In 2005 Hawai-cho along with Togo-cho and Tomari-son became Yurihama-cho. And the sister city friendship between Yurihama-cho and Hawaii County is still very much alive and well.”
Matt adds:
“Prior to 2004, one of the towns that was merged into what is now Yurihama-cho was known as Hawai-cho. In order to take advantage of this name, the chamber of commerce started to promote the town as “The Hawai of Japan” in the 90’s. In 1995, the town got its first ALT from Hawaii(in America), Michele Otake. It’s my understanding that she did most of the legwork in searching for and getting in contact with a suitable sister city.”
“With the exception of Honolulu, local government in the state of Hawaii is all organized on the county level, so I assume that’s why we have this relationship with a county rather than a particular city. Also, my guess is they were probably going for the matching name as well.”
“Since establishing this relationship, our town has enjoyed regular visits of government and chamber of commerce officials both to and from Hawaii. We have also welcomed a group of musicians and dancers from Hawaii to perform in the hula festival we hold every year. In addition, we have been conducting a school exchange/home stay program for middle school students since 1998, The town has been utilizing a CIR to help coordinate all of these activities since about 2000 or 2001.”
Fujiyoshida-shi + Colorado Springs, CO (Thanks to Jessyca Livingston (Shimane-ken, Fujiyoshida-shi) for the info.)
According to Jessyca on 08.06.12: “Colorado Springs, CO and Fujiyoshida-shi, Shimane-ken just celebrated their 50th anniversary this past weekend. A group of Rocky Mountain JET Alums were present to both participate and offer translation services for the 150 delegates that were here for the celebration. It was really wonderful to connect with so many alums- especially the ones from Colorado Springs that had been “posted” to Fujiyoshida on JET. It was a great feeling to be able to give back in that capacity!”
Kurashiki-shi + Kansas City, MO (Thanks to Kansas City native William Nealy (Oita-ken, Oita-shi, 1994-97) for the info.)
Fukuyama-shi + Maui, Hawaii; Hamilton, Ontario; Pohang City, Korea; Tacloban City, Philippines; Kazanlak, Bulgaria – Shaula Evans (CIR Hiroshima-ken, Fukuyama-shi, 1992-94)
7. Shikoku
Miyoshi-shi + The Dalles, Oregon & Tukwila, Washington – Smitha Pradhi (Tokushima-ken, 2005-07); Andrew Kim (Tokushima-ken, Miyoshi-shi, 2005-08) (Smitha explains that the towns of Ikeda-cho and Ikawa-cho had long-running sister-city relationships with these two U.S. towns respectively, and then merged with a few other towns to become Miyoshi-shi during a 2006 gappei). (Andrew adds, “I was a 3-year JET and now head the committee in Tukwila, WA. The Miyoshi-Tukwila Sister City relationship currently focuses on a cultural exchange between Junior High School students but has expanded to High School students and Adults. At this time, Tukwila hosts Miyoshi citizens every other Autumn while Miyoshi hosts Tukwila every other Spring. We have established this exchange since November 19, 1979.”
Tokushima-shi + Saginaw, Michigan; Leira, Portugal; Dangong City, China – Olivia Nillson (Tokushima-ken, Tokushima-shi, 2006-09) (Olivia adds, “Every year, students from Tokushima would travel to Saginaw, and vice versa. While I was there, we had a choral group from Saginaw visit and give concerts in the city.”)
Takamatsu-shi + St. Petersburg, Florida – Lily Lam (Kagawa-ken, Takamatsu-shi, 2004-09); Dave Wilson (Kagawa-ken, Kotohira-cho, 2008-10) (Lily adds, “Every year, St. Pete sends over someone to teach as an ALT at one of the local Takamatsu high schools. Delegations of students from Takamatsu also get sent to visit St. Pete every once in a while, and vice versa (see press release). I was completely unaware of the sister city relationship between St. Pete and Takamatsu, until I arrived in Takamatsu and found a disproportionately large number of people who actually knew where St. Petersburg was.”
Matsuyama City + Sacramento, California; Freiberg, Germany – Stewart Andrew Curry (Ehime-ken, Matsuyama-shi, 1987-89 – when the acronym was “AET” rather than “ALT)
Kōchi
Motoyama-cho + Urausu-cho, Hokkaido, Japan – Margie Banin (Kochi-ken, Motoyama-cho, 2005-07) (Margie, fyi, is an “Expat Coach” and is also in the process of setting up a company to lead tours to Shikoku! Margie adds, “Yes, Motoyama’s sister city is Japanese! Apparently there is a link because Motoyama families emigrated up there at some point – not sure when, not sure how many, but enough to have a strong connection – and both cities want to keep the ties strong. The junior highs do field trips annually, one year MJH goes north, the next UJH comes south. Also, the yakuba have an employee exchange, where each year a Motoyama employee goes to Urausu and an Urausu employee comes to Motoyama in exchange. Urausu has a booth at Motoyama’s festival in the fall. And so on & so forth. Those are the main activities that I recall. The relationship is very much alive, strong & well.”)
8. Kyūshū
Fukuoka-shi + Atlanta, Georgia + Oakland, California + Honolulu, Hawaii
Brian Hersey (Fukuoka-ken, Fukuoka-shi, 1994-96)
Sharon Tatro (Fukuoka-ken, Fukuoka-shi, 2002-07 – Sharon is a Co-President of JETAA Southern California)
Taea Takagi (Fukuoka-ken, Nogata-shi, 2006-08 – and a Hawaii native)
Kelsey Soma Turek (Fukuoka-ken, Fukuoka-shi, 2005-07 and current President of JETAA Hawaii) (Kelsey notes that the sister city relationship is why Fukuoka has a lot of Hawaii JETs.)
(Mark Frey (Kumamoto-ken, 2002-06) who is an active member of JETAA Northern California, reports that he’s currently involved in developing a partnership between the Oakland-Fukuoka Sister City Association (OFSCA) and JETAA Northern California.)
Mark Juloya (Fukoka-ken, Kaho-machi, 2004-07) (Mark is currently serving as the Treasurer for JETAA Southern California.)
Nagasaki City + St. Paul’s, Minnesota – [Any JETs?_____] – (Thanks to Kate Maruyama for sharing the information.)
Sasebo City + Albequerque, New Mexico – Kate Meyer (Nagasaki-ken, 2006-10) (Kate notes that there is a large number of JETs in Nagasaki-ken who are from Minnesota.)
Kumamoto + Montana, USA (Thanks to Mark Frey (Kumamoto-ken, 2002-06) for the info.) (Kathy Laubach adds, “To the best of my knowledge, Montana [state] and Kumamoto Prefecture share a “sister” relationship and perhaps this is worth mentioning so as not to have people assume the relationships are only between Kumamoto and Billings and Helena in Montana.”)
Kumamoto City + San Antonio, Texas; Billings, Montana; Helena, Montana; Heidelberg, Germany; Guilin, China; Bristol, United Kingdom; Ulsan, South Korea – Mark Frey (Kumamoto-ken, Kumamoto-shi, 2002-06), Angela Riu Gordon (Kumamoto-ken, Kumamoto-shi, 2004-06); Kathy Laubach (CIR Kumamoto-ken, Kumamoto-shi, 2003-06)
Ōita
Amami City (formerly Naze City) + Nacogdoches, Texas – Barbara “Chieko” Rothengass (Kagoshima-ken, Naze-shi, 2003-06) (Barbara is the chapter president for JETAA Texoma and notes that McMichael Middle School does a student exchange with Amami-shi.)
Ishigaki City + Kauai County, Hawaii; Suao City, Taiwan – Troy Nakamura (CIR Okinawa-ken, Ishigaki-shi, 2005-07)
10 comments so far...
JET-Sister City Project | Ishikawa JET Said on November 5th, 2010 at 1:10 am:
[…] Ishikawa has no entries so far, so please help out by emailing your sister city information to the site. The Goal: To create a list of Japanese cities (and prefectures) where JETs lived that have a […]
MH Brown Said on November 6th, 2010 at 1:15 pm:
Hyogo-ken Kawanishi-shi sister city is Bowling Green, Kentucky. However, I was not placed there, rather in Hiroshima-ken. So I do not know about current JETs, but there is a student exchange.
http://www.bgky.org/sistercity/studentexchange.php
http://www.city.kawanishi.hyogo.jp/english/002838.html
JET Sister City List Project « JETAA HAWAII Said on November 9th, 2010 at 5:53 pm:
[…] Here is the url for Steven’s Project: http://jetwit.com/wordpress/2010/10/30/jet-sister-city-list-project/ […]
jetwit.com - JetWit Diary 11.08.10 Said on November 10th, 2010 at 1:31 pm:
[…] JET-Sister City List Project is one attempt in that direction. But the next step is to figure out what else we can do with […]
Justin Moy Said on November 11th, 2010 at 2:50 am:
I’m that former Aichi JET from the Welcome Back Reception. =) Anyway, Aichi’s Toyohashi-shi is partnered with Toledo, Ohio. Also, Toyokawa-shi is with Cupertino, California. I was among the JETs in that part of Aichi. As of summer 2010, there are no more JETs in those cities.
Oh, and Toyota-shi is with Detroit, Michigan and Derby, UK. There are still a couple of JETs in that area, but this is their last year.
Stephanie Said on November 20th, 2010 at 11:21 pm:
Misspelling error under Okinawa –
Ishigaki CIty + Kauai County
jetwit.com - JetWit Diary 10.21.10 Said on November 21st, 2010 at 9:07 pm:
[…] a Fort Worth, TX-based JET alum who is on the Board of SSI and who got in touch after seeing the JET-Sister Cities List Project on JetWit. The purpose was to learn more about SSI and see if there’s any potential for […]
Katie Jardine Said on January 27th, 2011 at 7:15 am:
The entire prefecture of Shiga has a sister-state relationship with Michigan. Hikone-shi is the location of Michigan University’s famed JCMU. In Lake Biwa there is a steamboat cruise you can take aboard the Michigan Boat (usually staffed by JCMU students). Also, Nagahama-shi’s junior high schools annually do an exchange program with middle/high schools in Holland, MI.
(I’ve been a JET in Nagahama-shi since 2007, and I’m from New Orleans, LA.)
yvonne Said on February 26th, 2011 at 10:55 pm:
chugoku: okayama-ken, okayama-shi has a sister city relationship with san jose, california.
Alan Mockridge Said on October 24th, 2011 at 12:27 pm:
I was a JET in Ohtsuchi & Kamaishi, Iwate (92-94). Both have sister relationships:
– Kamaishi, is twinned with Digne-les-Bains, capital of Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, S. of France)
– Ohtsuchi, is twinned with Fort Bragg, California: website: http://www.otsuchi.org/
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About Kent
David Wilson Wins Election by Portraying Himself as Black – Can Voters Get a Clue and Pay Attention
by Kent Sterling
It’s a nonsense election for a position on the Houston Community College Board of Trustees, and the guy who won obviously has a warped sense of humor, but the voters who pushed a button next to David Wilson’s name are the same idiots responsible for saddling America with elected officials at all levels who embarrass us on a daily basis.
Wilson, described in Houston as a “fringe candidate” and “gleeful political troublemaker” won his election by 26 votes in a district where the voters are predominantly black. His support was generated by a direct mailing piece that featured pictures of African-Americans that Wilson selected at random from the internet. Beneath the pictures the phrase, “Please vote for our friend and neighbor, Dave Wilson” appeared in quotes.
Also in the mailing, Wilson claims an endorsement from Ron Wilson, the same name of an African-American former state representation who still holds a lot of power in the black community. According to Dave Wilson, the endorsement is actually from his cousin in Iowa.
People have a responsibility to pay a little attention for who they vote, or we will find the same level of bobbers currently representing us in congress, state legislatures, city councils, and school boards.
This is a funny story until you think about the people in Houston who thought they were voting for a black man when they were actually casting a ballot for a reported tea party candidate who is a virulent anti gay and lesbian crusader.
This isn’t the first time a candidate has won by proffering truths that prompted the wrong conclusion. George Smathers defeated incumbent U.S. Senator Claude Pepper in the democratic primary for the 1950 senate election in Florida with the “Redneck Speech,” which in part reads, “Are you aware that Claude Pepper is known all over Washington as a shameless extrovert? Not only that, but this man is reliably reported to practice nepotism with his sister-in-law, he has a brother who is a known homo sapiens, and he has a sister who was once a thespian in wicked New York. Worst of all, it is an established fact that Mr. Pepper, before his marriage, habitually practiced celibacy.”
Smathers denied giving the speech for the rest of his life, and is widely thought to have been a hoax. The point remains, voters need to pay closer attention.
Smathers won by 60,000 votes, and then introduced Richard Nixon to Bebe Rebozo.
If you want to laugh for a couple of minutes to get it out of your system, that’s fine, but then think about how important it is to know what and who you vote for.
Either way, we get the government we deserve.
This entry was posted in Kent Sterling, Media, Politics and tagged Claude Pepper, David Wilson election, David Wilson Houston, George Smathers on November 11, 2013 by Kent Sterling.
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A Genetic Algorithm for Solving the Optimal Power Flow Problem
Tarek BOUKTIRa, Linda SLIMANIa, M. BELKACEMIb
a Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Oum El Bouaghi,04000, Algeria. Email:tbouktir@lycos.com; Tel/Fax: (213) 32 42 23 85 or (213) 32 42 10 36
b Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Batna, Algeria Email: Belkacemi_M@hotmail.com
This paper presents solution of optimal power flow problem of large distribution systems via a simple genetic algorithm. The objective is to minimize the fuel cost and keep the power outputs of generators, bus voltages, shunt capacitors/reactors and transformers tap-setting in their secure limits. CPU times can be reduced by decomposing the optimization constraints to active constraints manipulated directly by the genetic algorithm, and passive constraints maintained in their soft limits using a conventional constraint load flow. The IEEE 30-bus system has been studied to show the effectiveness of the algorithm.
Keyworks
Load flow, optimal power flow, and genetic algorithm.
The optimal power flow has been frequently solved using classical optimization methods. The OPF has been usually considered as the minimization of an objective function representing the generation cost and/or the transmission loss. The constraints involved are the physical laws governing the power generation-transmission systems and the operating limitations of the equipment.
Effective optimal power flow is limited by (i) the high dimensionality of power systems and (ii) the incomplete domain dependent knowledge of power system engineers. The first limitation is addressed by numerical optimization procedures based on successive linearization using the first and the second derivatives of objective functions and their constraints as the search directions or by linear programming solutions to imprecise models [1-4]. The advantages of such methods are in their mathematical underpinnings, but disadvantages exist also in the sensitivity to problem formulation, algorithm selection and usually converge to a local minimum [5]. The second limitation, incomplete domain knowledge, precludes also the reliable use of expert systems where rule completeness is not possible.
Genetic algorithms offer a new and powerful approach to these optimization problems made possible by the increasing availability of high performance computers at relatively low costs. These algorithms have recently found extensive applications in solving global optimization searching problems when the closed-form optimization technique cannot be applied. Genetic algorithms (GAs) are parallel and global search techniques that emulate natural genetic operators. The GA is more likely to converge toward the global solution because it, simultaneously, evaluates many points in the parameter space. It does not need to assume that the search space is differentiable or continuous [6] In recent paper [7], the Genetic Algorithm
Optimal Power Flow (GAOPF) problem is solved based on the use of a genetic algorithm load flow, and to accelerate the concepts it propose the use of gradient information by the use of the steepest decent method. The method is not sensitive to the starting points and capable to determining the global optimum solution to the OPF for range of constraints and objective functions. But GAOPF requires two load flow to be performed per individual, per iteration because all controllable variables are included in the fitness. In this paper we develop a simple genetic algorithm applied to the problem of optimal power flow in large power distribution systems. To accelerate the processes of GAOPF, the controllable variables are decomposed to active constraints that effect directly the cost function are included in the Genetic algorithms process and passive constraints which are updating using a conventional load flow program, only, one time after the convergence on the GAOPF. In which the search of the optimal parameters set is performed using into the account that the power losses are 2% of the power demand. The slack bus parameter would be recalculated in the load flow process to take the effect of the passive constraints.
II. PROBLEM FORMULATION
The standard OPF problem can be written in the following form,
Minimise F(x) (the objective function)
subject to :
hi(x) = 0, i = 1, 2, ..., n (equality constraints)
gj(x) = 0, j = 1, 2, ...,m (inequality constraints)
where x is the vector of the control variables, that is those which can be varied by a control center operator (generated active and reactive powers, generation bus voltage magnitudes, transformers taps etc.);
The essence of the optimal power flow problem resides in reducing the objective function and simultaneously satisfying the load flow equations (equality constraints) without violating the inequality constraints
A. Objective Function
The most commonly used objective in the OPF problem formulation is the minimisation of the total cost of real power generation. The individual costs of each generating unit are assumed to be function, only, of active power generation and are represented by quadratic curves of second order. The objective function for the entire power system can then be written as the sum of the quadratic cost model at each generator.
where ng is the number of generation including the slack bus. Pgi is the generated active power at bus i. ai, bi and ci are the unit costs curve for ith generator.
B. Types of equality constraints
While minimizing the cost function, its necessary to make sure that the generation still supplies the load demands plus losses in transmission lines. Usually the power flow
equations are used as equality constraints.
where active and reactive power injection at bus i are defined in the following equation:
C. Types of inequality constraints
The inequality constraints of the OPF reflect the limits on physical devices in the power system as well as the limits created to ensure system security. The most usual types of inequality constraints are upper bus voltage limits at generations and load buses, lower bus voltage limits at load buses, var. limits at generation buses, maximum active power limits corresponding to lower limits at some generators, maximum line loading limits and limits on tap setting of TCULs and phase shifter. The inequality constraints on the problem variables considered include:
• Upper and lower bounds on the active generations at generator buses Pgimin ≤Pgi ≤ Pgimax , i = 1, ng.
• Upper and lower bounds on the reactive power generations at generator buses and reactive power injection at buses with VAR compensation Qgimin ≤ Qgi ≤ Qgimax, i = 1, npv
• Upper and lower bounds on the voltage magnitude at the all buses Vimin ≤ Vi ≤ Vimax , i = 1, nbus.
• Upper and lower bounds on the bus voltage phase angles: , i = 1, nbus.
It can be seen that the generalized objective function F is a non-linear, the number of the equality and inequality constraints increase with the size of the power distribution systems. Applications of a conventional optimization technique such as the gradient-based algorithms to a large power distribution system with a very non-linear objective functions and great number of constraints are not good enough to solve this problem. Because it depend on the existence of the first and the second derivatives of the objective function and on the well computing of these derivative in large search space.
III. GENETIC ALGORITHM IN OPTIMAL POWER FLOW
A. Description of Genetic Algorithms
The genetic algorithms are part of the evolutionary algorithms family, which are computational models, inspired in the Nature. Genetic algorithms are powerful stochastic search algorithms based on the mechanism of natural selection and natural genetics. GAs works with a population of binary string, searching many peaks in parallel. By employing genetic operators, they exchange information between the peaks, hence reducing the possibility of ending at a local optimum. GAs are more flexible than most search methods because they require only information concerning the quality of the solution produced by each parameter set (objective function values) and not lake many optimization methods which require derivative information, or worse yet, complete knowledge of the problem structure and parameters.
There are some difference between GAs and traditional searching algorithms [8][9]. They cold be summarized as follows:
• The algorithms work with a population of string, searching many peaks in parallel, as opposed to a single point.
• GAs work directly with strings of characters representing the parameters set not the parameters themselves.
• GAs use probabilistic transition rules instead of deterministic rules.
• GAs use objective function information instead of derivatives or others auxiliary knowledge.
• GAs have the potential to find solutions in many different areas of the search space simultaneously.
B. GA Applied to optimal power flow
A simple Genetic Algorithm is an iterative procedure, which maintains a constant size population P of candidate solutions. During each iteration step (generation) three genetic operators (reproduction, crossover, and mutation) are performing to generate new populations (offspring), and the chromosomes of the new populations are evaluated via the value of the fitness witch is related to cost function. Based on these genetic operators and the evaluations, the better new populations of candidate solution are formed.
With the above description, a simple genetic algorithm is given as follow [6]:
1. Generate randomly a population of binary string
2. Calculate the fitness for each string in the population
3. Create offspring strings through reproduction, crossover and mutation operation.
4. Evaluate the new strings and calculate the fitness for each string (chromosome).
5. If the search goal is achieved, or an allowable generation is attained, return the best chromosome as the solution; otherwise go to step 3.
We now describe the details in employing the simple GA to solve the optimal power flow problem.
B.1 Chromosome coding and decoding
GAs works with a population of binary string, not the parameters themselves. For simplicity and convenience, binary coding is used in this paper. With the binary coding method, the active generation power set of 9-bus test system (Pg1,Pg2 and Pg3) would be coded as binary string of O’s and 1’ with length B1, B2, and B3 (may be different), respectively. Each parameter Pgi have upper bound Ui and lower bound Li .The choice of B1, B2, and B3 for the parameters is concerned with the resolution specified by the designer in the search space. In the binary coding method, the bit length Bi and the corresponding resolution
Ri is related by
As result, the Pgi set can be transformed into a binary string (chromosome) with length ÓBi and then the search space is explored. Note that each chromosome present one possible solution to the problem. For example, suppose the parameter domain of (Pg1,Pg2 and Pg3) which is presented in Table I:
TABLE I. PARAMETER SET OF Pg1
If the resolution (R1, R2, R3) is specified as (0.1, 0.05, 0.1), from (3) we have (B1, B2, B3)=(4,4,4). Then the parameter set (Pg1,Pg2 and Pg3) can be coded according to the following (Table II):
TABLE II. CODING OF Pgi PARAMETER SET
If the candidate parameters set is (1.7, 0.30, 1.1), then the chromosome is a binary string 111000110111. The decoding procedure is the reverse procedure.
The first step of any genetic algorithm is to generate the initial population. A binary string of length L is associated to each member (individual) of the population. The string is usually known as a chromosome and represents a solution of the problem. A sampling of this initial population creates an intermediate population. Thus, some operators (reproduction, crossover and mutation) are applied to this new intermediate population in order to obtain a new one.
Process, that starts from the present population and leads to the new population, is named a generation when executing a genetic algorithm (Table III).
TABLE III. First generation of GA process for 9bus example
B.2 Crossover
Crossover is the primary genetic operator, which promotes the exploration of new regions in the search space. For a pair of parents selected from the population the recombination operation divides two strings of bits into segments by setting a crossover point at random, i.e. Single Point Crossover. The segments of bits from the parents behind the crossover point are exchanged with each other to generate their offspring. The mixture is performed by choosing a point of the strings randomly, and switching their segments to the left of this point. The new strings belong to the next generation of possible solutions. The strings to be crossed are selected according to their scores using the roulette wheel [6]. Thus, the strings with larger scores have more chances to be mixed with other strings because all the copies in the roulette have the same probability to be selected.
B.3 Mutation
Mutation is a secondary operator and prevents the premature stopping of the algorithm in a local solution. The mutation operator is defined by a random bit value change in a chosen string with a low probability of such change. The mutation adds a random search character to the genetic algorithm, and it is necessary to avoid that, after some generations, all possible solutions were very similar ones.
All strings and bits have the same probability of mutation. For example, in the string 110011101101, if the mutation affects to time bit number six, the string obtained is 110011001101 and the value of Pg2 change from 0.85 p.u to 0.75 p.u.
B.4 Reproduction
Reproduction is based on the principle of survival of the better fitness. It is an operator that obtains a fixed number of copies of solutions according to their fitness value. If the score increases, then the number of copies increases too. A score value is of associated to a given solution according to its distance of the optimal solution (closer distances to the optimal solution mean higher scores).
B.5 Fitness of candidate solutions and cost function
The cost function is defined as:
Our objective is to search (Pg1,Pg2,Pg3) in their admissible limits to achieve the optimization problem of OPF. The cost function F(x) takes a chromosome (a possible (Pg1,Pg2,Pg3) and returns a value. The value of the cost is then mapped into a fitness value Fit(Pg1,Pg2,Pg3) so as to fit in the genetic algorithm.
To minimize F(x) is equivalent to getting a maximum fitness value in the searching process. A chromosome that has lower cost function should be assigned a larger fitness value.
The objective of OPF has to be changed to the maximization of fitness to be used in the simulated roulette wheel as follows:
Then the GA tries to generate better offspring to improve the fitness. Using the above components, a standard GA procedure for solving the optimal power flow problem is summarized in the diagram of the Figure 1.
Figure 1. A Simple flow chart of the GAOPF
The use of penalty functions in many OPF solutions techniques to handle generation bus reactive power limits can lead to convergence problem due to the distortion of the solution surface. In this method no penalty functions are required. Because only the active power of generators are used in the fitness. And the reactive levels are scheduled in the load flow process. Because his essence of this idea is that the constraints are partitioned in two types of constraints, active constraints are checked using the GA procedure and the reactive constraints are updating using an efficient Newton-Raphson Load flow procedure.
C. Load Flow calculation
After the search goal is achieved, or an allowable generation is attained by the genetic algorithm. It’s required to performing a load flow solution in order to make fine adjustments on the optimum values obtained from the GAOPF procedure. This will provide updated voltages, angles and transformer taps and points out generators having exceeded reactive limits. to determining all reactive power of all generators and to determine active power that it should be given by the slack generator using into account the deferent reactive constraints. Examples of reactive constraints are the min and the max reactive rate of the generators buses and the min and max of the voltage levels of all buses. All these require a fast and robust load flow program with best convergence properties.
The developed load flow process is based upon the full Newton-Raphson algorithm using the optimal multiplier technique [10][11].
IV. APPLICATION STUDY
The GAOPF has been developed by the use of Borland C++ Builder version 5. It is tested using the modified IEEE 30-bus system [12].The system consists of 41 lines, 6 generators, 4 Tap-changing transformers, and shunt capacitor banks located at 9 buses (Figure 2). The parameter settings to execute GAOPF are probability of crossover = 0.5, probability of mutation = 0.7, the population size is 48, the power mismatch tolerance is 0.0001 p.u and other parameters are presented in (Table IV).
TABLE IV. Power Generation Limits and Generator Cost Parameters of Ieee 30-Bus System In P.U (Sb=100mva)*
* In Table IV, Pmin, Pmax, Qmin, Qmax, Vmin and Vmax are in (p.u), a in ($/hr), b in ($/MW.hr) and c in (($/MW².hr).
Figure 2. IEEE 30-bus electrical system topology
drawing by our OOENS software ver. 3.00 [13]
To compare these results with conventional method using the same cost objective function we have take conventional method present in [13]. The method is based on a Quasi-Newton Method using Broyden-Fletcher-Goldfarb-Shanno (BFGS) updating formula and iterated with the Newton Raphson load flow. The resulting cost and power losses are presented in (Table V).
The result show that the method presented gives much better results than the other method. The difference in generation cost between these two studies (803.699 $/kW∙hr compared to 807,782 $/kW∙hr) and in Real power loss (9.5177 MW compared to 8.805 MW) clearly shows the advantage of this method. In addition, it is important to point out that this simple genetic algorithm OPF converge in an acceptable time. For this test system was approximately 7 seconds, and it converged to highly optimal solutions set after 20 generations tested with Pentium I, 166 MHZ, 32MO. The optimum active power is in their secure values and is far from the min and max limits. It is also clear from the optimum solution that the GA easily prevent the violation of all the active constraints. The security constraints are also checked for voltage magnitudes and angles (Figure 3). The voltage magnitudes and the angles are between their minimum and the maximum values. No load bus was at the lower limit of the voltage magnitudes (0.9 p.u).
The proposed GAOPF is also compared with the evolutionary methods of references [7,8].
The published evolutionary method of Lai and al., is based on GA with the dynamic hierarchy of the coding system in order to be able to code a large number of control variables in a practical system within a reasonable length string.
The other one which is writing by Janson Yurevich and Kit Po Wong is an evolutionary programming with the inclusion of gradient information to speed the search in areas local to candidate solutions.
The results including the generation cost, real power losses and convergence time compared with published evolutionary methods are shown in Table VI.
The results are similar to those obtained with the published evolutionary programming based OPF program and using the same cost objective function. It is also important to point out that the computing time of this GAOPF compared with that of the published evolutionary methods is better by more than a 9:1 speed ratio.
Fig.3 Voltage levels of IEEE 30 Bus electrical Network
TABLE V. Results of GAOPF Compared with Evolutionary
Methods for the IEEE 30-Bus System
TABLE VI . Results of GAOPF Compared with Evolutionary Methods
Application of Genetic approach to Optimal Power Flow has been explored and tested. A simulation results show that a simple genetic algorithm can give a best result using only simple genetic operations such as proportionate reproduction, simple mutation, and one-point crossover in binary codes. It’s recommended to indicate that in large-scale system the number of constraints are very large consequently the GA accomplished in a large CPU time.
To save an important CPU time, the constraints are to be decomposing in active constraints and reactive ones. The active constraints are the parameters whose enter directly in
the cost function and the reactive constraints are infecting the cost function indirectly. With this approach, only the active constraints are taken to calculate the optimal solution set. And the reactive constraints are taking in an efficient load flow by recalculate active power of the slack bus. The developed system was then tested and validated on the IEEE30-bus system. Solutions obtained with the developed Genetic Algorithm Optimal Power Flow program has shown to be almost as fast as the solutions given by a conventional language. Our GAOPF appears to be faster than other published GAOPF methods.
[1] H. W. Dommel, W. F. Tinney, Optimal Power Flow Solutions, IEEE Transactions on power apparatus and systems, Vol. PAS-87, No. 10, p. 1866-1876, October 1968.
[2] K. Y. Lee, Y.M. Park, and J.L. Ortiz, A United Approach to Optimal Real and Reactive Power Dispatch, IEEE Transactions on Power Systems, Vol. PAS-104, p. 1147-1153, May 1985.
[3] M. Sasson, Non linear Programming Solutions for load flow, minimum loss, and economic dispatching problems, IEEE Trans. on power apparatus and systems, Vol. PAS-88, No. 4, April 1969.
[4] T. Bouktir, M. Belkacemi, K. Zehar, Optimal power flow using modified gradient method, Proceeding ICEL’2000, U.S.T.Oran, Algeria, Vol. 2, p. 436-442, 13-15 November 2000.
[5] R. Fletcher, Practical Methods of Optimisation, John Willey & Sons, 1986.
[6] D. E. Goldberg Genetic Algorithms in Search, Optimization and Machine Learning, Addison Wesley Publishing Company, Ind. USA, 1989.
[7] J. Yuryevich, K. P. Wong, Evolutionary Programming Based Optimal Power Flow Algorithm, IEEE Transaction on power Systems, Vol. 14, No. 4, November 1999.
[8] L.L. Lai, J. T. Ma, R. Yokoma, M. Zhao Improved genetic algorithms for optimal power flow under both normal and contingent operation states, Electrical Power & Energy System, Vol. 19, No. 5, p. 287-292, 1997.
[9] B. S. Chen, Y. M. Cheng, C. H. Lee, A Genetic Approach to Mixed H2/H00 Optimal PID Control, IEEE Control system, p. 551-59, October 1995.
[10] Glenn W. Stagg, Ahmed H. El Abiad, Computer methods in power systems analysis, Mc Graw Hill international Book Campany, 1968.
[11] S. Kumar, R. Billinton, Low bus voltage and ill-conditioned network situation in a composite system adequacy evaluation, IEEE transactions on power systems, vol. PWRS-2, No. 3, August 1987.
[12] L. Terra, M. Short, Security constrained reactive power dispatch, IEEE transaction on power systems, Vol. 6, No. 1, February 1991.
[13] T. Bouktir , M. Belkacemi , L. Benfarhi and A. Gherbi, Oriented Object Optimal Power Flow, the UPEC 2000, 35th Universities Power Engineering Conferences Belfast, Northern Ireland, 6-8 September 2000.
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Interviews – Telecoms – Andy Leech
Andy Leech, 25, joined Vodafone AirTouch after graduating three and a half years ago. He works in IT as a systems developer. With existing systems needing to be modified and new systems being brought in to cope with new advances in technology Andy says IT makes for an exciting career choice
Getting in and getting on
What steps did you take to get the job you have now?
I did a BSc in mathematical statistics and operational research at Exeter University. The course had a high computing element, which is what led me into IT and telecoms. I liked emerging technologies and thought there was a lot of scope in mobile communications.
I took several courses at university on presentation and communication skills, which was useful for learning how to come over well at interview. I approached Vodafone via the milkround. I saw them as a good reputable company in a good part of the country.
I genned up on the company as much as I could and went to talk with them armed with as much ammunition as possible. I’d heard they had a good senior management team and discussed that with various people at the open day.
What was the selection process like?
In those days it comprised of presentations by various departments. There were no role playing or team building exercises back then. There was a psychometric test and an interview with a panel of three.
I was taken on as a graduate, one of three, though not part of the normal annual intake. I’ve learned on the job and been on several internal courses.
What does your job involve?
The function of corporate and MIS (Management Information Systems) systems is to supply business knowledge to our internal customers including finance and marketing, engineering and telecoms and provide services to external service providers.
MIS also provides reporting data and management information on our subscriber base – people who use the Vodafone network. This gives the likes of the marketing department information to help them manage campaigns and lets the finance guys know how well we’re doing.
What is Vodafone like to work for?
They certainly look after you. You get 28 days paid annual leave. You get life insurance and a good pension scheme and share options. There is no expense spared with external training.
The culture varies between departments, but at MIS we’re all fairly close. The team is growing at an alarming rate, but I tend to work in quite focused teams. It’s a friendly atmosphere and everybody gets on.
There is a pay review every year and there is a certain minimum percentage that all employees will get, but there is also scale depending on how you perform in your job.
Where do you see your future?
At the moment I’m a systems developer 2. Beyond that there are two senior systems developer grades, followed by three principal systems developer grades, development manager and then systems manager and then executive and director, so it’s fairly well structured. You know exactly where you are at in the hierarchy.
It’s nice to know there is a lot of scope there. I’ve been here three years and there are still many rungs of the ladder for me to climb.
Getting a job at Vodafone
What advice would you give to graduates?
There is a big IT skills shortage. It is a national problem. The future has got to be computers and if you have skills in those areas then it’s certainly a good career to go for.
With any job it’s important to get a grasp on the technical side, on the coal face if you like, but there is certainly no shortage of opportunities for getting into technical and non-technical project management, business analysis and IT.
I’m involved with Vodafone’s graduate open days. This can often involve tours of the IT department describing to candidates exactly what each system does and what the main roles are. It can also involve casual briefings, just to get an idea what the candidates are like and also ‘washing up’ with human resources at the end, where I can perhaps influence them who would be right for the job based on their skills.
Will the new WAP technology and Third Generation (3G) mobile phones mean the need for more staff?
Yes. Existing systems need be modified and new systems need to be bought in to cope with the new advances in technology. Technology is becoming increasingly more sophisticated so the systems that manage the information have to be infinitely more complicated, which will require more and more staff.
Interviews – Financial – Sarah Allatt
Interviews – Telecoms – John Steele
Interviews – Telecoms – Mike Caldwell
career, interview
Tags: business, Career, career development, company, employees, experience, information, internet, interview, IT, jobfairy, management, organization, skill, staff, team, technology, telecom, work
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