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I’ve been working on particle emitters to provide some spell effects, damage reactions, and condition indicators for Restless Ground. My first impression: Unity’s particle system component gives a lot of flexibility, but it offers an overwhelming palette of choices. Unforunately, there isn’t a lot of good information on creating pixel particles. Unity’s docs are okay, but are mostly focused on creating more realistic effects. This devlog is a good place to start with sprite-based effects, but it doesn’t get too deep. Once I’m more confident with how particle systems work with pixels — and figure out how to get them to be pixel perfect — I may cobble together a tutorial for interested devs. Anyways, here’s how it works: I created these particle emitters and saved them as prefabs. When the game calls them, they are pulled from an appropriate “PoolParent” (a generic class I whipped up to efficiently manage prefabs) and childed to a unit’s transform. These particle system-based animations are rudimentary, but I am pleased with how they look. Unfortunately, I haven’t figured out how to keep these animations pixel perfect yet. A Damage Particle System I’ve replaced the sea of floating damage numbers with a system that spawns blood (or other appropriate unit chunks) on hit. After a recent playthrough of Diablo 3, I am designing away from “numbery” games. Also, I think that this is just a funner way of showing damage. Bigger hits spawn more chunks. At the moment, chunk density (eww) is a function of the amount of damage done AND the percent of the unit’s health the damage represents. I may tinker with this later, since later bosses might be doing huge amounts of damage. Then again, I might not. A puny skeleton bursting into a shower of bone meal sounds like a fun visual. Since these particles don’t have any particular shape, I am just using a simple white material to represent them. I can then recolour the particles appropriately in script. When the particle is summoned from its pool, my damage script activates it with the correct colour and spawns an appropriate blast of gooey bits. These have an upward force at a variable angle, and fall according to gravity. One important thing: I set “Simulation Space” to “World,” or else falling damage particles will follow their parent’s transform around. A Burning Particle System At first, I wasn’t sure how to implement fire, since I was avoiding transparencies and gradients. But I’m already breaking a lot of my original rules (pixel perfect, PICO8 palette only) for the sake of coolness and expediency, so here goes! For fire, I created a particle system negatively affected by gravity. I’m also using two different colour ramps between PICO8 orange, PICO8 magenta and PICO8 gray at different frequencies. This provides a bit of variance as the particles float up and grow into smoke. It’s not perfect fire, and it could definitely use some tweaking, but I think it’s at least close to working with my simplistic aesthetic. A Poisonous Particle System For a poison effect, I took inspiration from Final Fantasy’s green soap bubble effect for Bio spells. Since Unity’s particle systems can take a multi-row sprite sheet and randomly render out different rows, I created a green bubble sprite with 5 variations. Then I added it with the Texture Sheet Animation’s “Random Row” option. Whenever the particle system generates a particle, it will appear as one of my random variants. Like the burning effect above, gravity negatively effects these. They appear, animate, and float away until they pop. A Freezing Particle System I created a single-row sprite animation for my frozen effect. These particles would appear over the unit like shining ice. This looked very bad until I tried draining all of the red colour from frozen enemies. Brrrrr. So much for sticking to PICO8 colours! This has been my first real dive into Unity particle systems, and it was a lot of fun. They are very powerful and quick to iterate over, though you definitely lose a lot of per-pixel control. Mostly, I’m happy that I’m able to easily influence particle systems through code and promote some minor randomization. I think I’ll be creating some more condition indicators soon, and I will likely be using particle systems more to quickly create spell effects without having to create hundreds of sprite animations. Stay tuned! |
I quickly threw together a website to promote my game, partially to get back into coding with HTML and CSS, because it's been years, and I've gotten a little rusty. You know, I've come to realise how exhausting doing everyone yourself can be, I've just about finished the game bar one minor glitch, and I gave myself a week to create a website, so I can move on to my next project on schedule, which isn't a major problem, seeing that I can throw together a meh website in a day, but still, the preassure, man... Also, I'm a little ill, so that might be contributing to how I'm feeling right now... Anyway, here it is: Gamerstorm.ucoz.net Right now, I have made a Scots and an English version of the site, you can switch to either at the bottom of the page. I was thinking of translating the site into Scottish Gaelic and Italian, since I'm studying those languages, but when it came to actually doing them, I'd have a lot of trouble doing the Italian version, and I'd be helpless with the Gaelic version! I might try them anyway, since I have 14 days to do them, and there's not much text on the actual sites, but I won't anounce them being made, so if you stumble across the article and see the version up, then cool, but if not, meh... If anyone would like to help me with translating the sites, then that'd be cool, drop me a message... but who am I kidding, nobody reads these, do they? |
If there's one feature of an email client that everyone depends on, it's notifications. I mean, if you're receiving emails, it's kind of important to be informed about them, right? Sadly for many Google Inbox users at present, this isn't happening. Notifications for the Android app appear to be broken, and it's understandably making people mad. Nearly all recent reviews for the app on the Google Play Store complain about this, as you can see from the images above, and user frustration is plain to see. We've found a thread on the Inbox help forum that was started back in the middle of September, on which there are too many posts to count. There's also a thread on Reddit with numerous affected users, too, so it's clear that the problem is pretty widespread. There are lots of possible solutions being thrown around, including making sure the battery optimization settings in Android aren't getting in the way of Inbox checking for notifications. Nothing seems to solve the problem for anyone in anything other than a temporary capacity, however. And there's no official word from Google, sadly. We can assume a fix is being worked on, but it's concerning that it hasn't been openly stated yet. In the meantime, it might be best to move back to Gmail until the issue is resolved. Fortunately, I've not encountered the problem yet. What about you? Let us know in the comments if you're affected or not. |
Google is taking a lot of heat for its decision to scrap the popular Reader RSS feed aggregator, leading many to question why it would pull the plug on such a popular service. It turns out that the answer might have a lot to do with the hidden costs of safeguarding privacy. According to a report from All Things D, an unnamed source says that the closure is at least partly because of Google’s reluctance to build out the staff and infrastructure needed to deal with legal and privacy issues related to the product. "Unless it's going to get to 100 million users it's not worth doing." The source says that Google is trying to position the company so that it stops getting stuck in expensive privacy lawsuits, like the $7 million Wi-Fi data-slurping case in the US, by adding dedicated staff to deal with those issues to each of its teams. When the company announced it would be shuttering Reader, the service reportedly didn’t even have a project manager or full-time engineer assigned to it, and it’s said that Google didn’t want to spend the money to build the service out into a tentpole app. And while many longtime users of the service have questioned why Google doesn’t simply sell Reader off to a third party, its deep integration with other Google Apps means it’s apparently easier for the company to just shutter it. So how many users would have made it worthwhile for Google to keep Reader around? Former Reader product manager Nick Baum tells ATD, "my sense is, if it’s a consumer product at Google that’s not making money, unless it’s going to get to 100 million users it’s not worth doing." |
Textbooks used in ultra-Orthodox schools in Israel promote the community’s insularity as well as peaceful conduct and coexistence, according to a study by an education watchdog. The Institute for Monitoring Peace and Cultural Tolerance in School Education, or IMPACT-se, studied 93 textbooks used in grades 1 through 12 in the two major educational frameworks for Haredi schools. The curricula of the Haredi Orthodox schools oppose modernity, and promote limited and unequal acceptance of others, according to the study. Get The Times of Israel's Daily Edition by email and never miss our top stories Free Sign Up Hatred of the Jewish people by the rest of the world is taught as a permanent historical reality, seen especially in how the Holocaust is taught. In addition, there is no extensive coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which tends to be included in lessons about how Jews are hated by the world at large. On the other hand, “Commitment to peaceful conduct which forms the foundation of rabbinical Judaism is evident throughout the curricula.” The textbooks also have almost no reference to culture among Mizrachi, or Sephardic ultra-Orthodox Jews, focusing instead on the Ashkenazi Haredi experience associated with Eastern Europe. “The textbooks generate a nostalgic consciousness that seeks to preserve and re-create traditional Eastern European Jewry — defining Haredi identity, shaping its goals and boundaries, and distinguishing itself from other forms of Israeli public,” the study found. The textbooks also depict women as remaining in the background and not being empowered, while also being required to earn the family’s livelihood. They either negate or are contemptuous of modern secular society, and hold out Reform Jewry for the most contempt, believing the movement is attempting to create an alternative religion. The textbooks also promote what the study authors call “pragmatic coexistence,” encouraging students to work within Israeli society as long as it doesn’t oppose community norms. IMPACT-se is a Jerusalem-based organization that monitors and analyzes schoolbooks and curricula across the Middle East according to standards of peace and tolerance derived from UNESCO, the United Nations cultural organization. According to the study, the “textbooks themselves, treated here as the researched corpus, do not satisfactorily meet all of UNESCO standards and beg for a serious reevaluation.” Haredi schools in Israel include “exempt institutions” and “recognized but unofficial” schools. Recognized but unofficial schools receive 75 percent of their budget and are subject to partial supervision by the Education Ministry’s Haredi Department. Exempt institutions are not subject to supervision. There are a small number of state Haredi schools that receive 100% of their budget from the state and are subject to full supervision by the Haredi Department. |
The Anchorage Assembly broke the general fall-asleep-in-your-laptop mold last Tuesday night when it tackled a growing nuisance with an impressive bit of performance art. For years, a small group of activists have been pushing city officials to remove the fluoride from Anchorage’s water supply. A smaller few have used public testimony as a personal venue to repeatedly parrot debunked claims of health risks. The resulting circus side show is not a legitimate use of the democratic process, it’s an abuse of it. And the tone has unarguably crossed the threshold from persistent to belligerent. The Assembly meets to conduct the city’s business, not entertain the same long-debunked conspiracy theories night after night. It seems the Assembly decided that enough was enough. Assemblyman Patrick Flynn, with cosponsors Assemblymen Adam Trombley and Chris Birch, introduced Anchorage Resolution 230, which sought to do four things: officially acknowledge the opponents of water fluoridation, reject their arguments, endorse the use of fluoride in the city’s water, and exhaust the assembly as the vehicle to object. If opponents continued to object, they were instructed to “consider the ballot initiative process.” The condescending tone of AR230 established a clear vibe: We’ve placated you enough. Take your crazy elsewhere. The text elicits the same feeling one gets when told “your call is important to us,” and the audio book version would be read by John Cleese after a third glass of wine. This was poetry, fine-tuned to Tuesday night’s audience. The more rational among us recognize that a public hearing is more than a three-minute chance to be angry. It’s a chance to influence the outcome of a political decision. Most Assembly members come to the table with their minds made up, but can occasionally be swayed by a convincing argument. The less rational just want everyone to know how angry they are. This is the approach chosen by Fluoride Free Alaska member Daryl Lanzon. It’s his right, but it’s not the most constructive strategy. When Lanzon read the part asserting that “members have also had the opportunity to review other information as well as conduct communications with subject matter experts,” he opened the night’s testimony and inadvertently set up the entire argument supporting the Assembly’s case: When does the public get to see this information? Where did this information come from? What was the review process for this information and the criteria for this information? Due diligence. These are legitimate questions that need to be answered. What was the subject matter experts..? Who are these subject matter experts? To his displeasure, the Assembly doesn’t need to CC every resident who yells at them when they seek outside counsel. But, Lanzon would get to meet the mysterious “experts.” In fact, over a century of experience on the topic was lined up behind him. The first was Dr. Terry Tauschek, a 40-year Anchorage resident, practicing dentist, and member of the Alaska Waste Water Utilities (AWWU) board of directors. He was there to speak in support of the resolution, noting that fluoride had been in use in Anchorage since 1953: [Fluoridated water] does not discriminate based on economic resources. Anybody who drinks the public water system can benefit by it. In my opinion, after 49 years of clinical practice, is that public fluoride in the water system is more effective than topically applied fluoride on teeth and it imparts a lifetime resistance to dental decay. Tauschek also highlighted the economic benefits. Fluoridation costs AWWU $80,000 annually, including labor costs, working out to $.33 per person, per year. “According to a very conservative figure from the American Dental Association, the return on that investment is about 38 to 1,” he said, finding that for every dollar Anchorage spends on fluoridation, the city saves over $3 million. He had never seen any medical issues related to fluoridated water in his four decades in practice. Behind Tauschek was Dr. Joseph McLaughlin, the state epidemiologist with the Alaska Division of Public Health. He expressed the division’s support for fluoridation for the resolution, stating that the treatment reduces dental decay by over 25 percent in children and adults, and was perfectly safe at appropriate levels: “Water fluoridation has been used in the United States for more than 65 years. Hundreds of studies have looked for adverse health effects of water fluoridation on the public’s health, and no adverse health effects have been demonstrated.” After McLaughlin was Nicki Bennett, the president of the Alaska State Dental Hygienists Association, for whom she spoke for. Another dentist followed her. That night we would also hear from Tom Hennessy, a physician working for the United States Center for Disease Control (CDC), Alison Kulas, speaking for the Alaska Public Health Association, and John Laux, the vice-chair of the Anchorage health and human services advisory commission. As one fluoride opponent summed up: “We have a lot of alphabet agencies that we hear one person say this person said that, this one said that. There’s two sides to absolutely every story.” Those alphabet agencies also are comprised of people who’s education, training, field research, and entire professional lives revolve around the same topics their detractors claim a monopoly of knowledge over after a single mouse click. Having two sides shouldn’t automatically substantiate parity. The Assembly would hear opposition to the fluoridation program from a woman in a flag t-shirt who was against “the fluoride” because it was “rat poison.” Perennial candidate Phil Isley also chimed in. Two dozen Anchorage residents with heavy criticisms of fluoride despite no professional or functional literacy pertaining to the subject called the mineral “toxic waste” and objected to being “medicated.” The depth of knowledge on display was limited to “I read it on the internet,” “I saw it on youtube,” and “I have a cavity.” In her testimony, Alaska State Dental Hygienists Association President Nicki Bennet pleaded with those opposing fluoridation: So often, when people come up with a systemic illness that there’s no explanation for – especially if it’s an autoimmune disorder – they’re looking for a reason. We’re a society right now that likes to find a cause…. If you follow the science, not the emotion, you’ll find out that there are no proven scientific health effects from water fluoridation, other than skeletal fluorosis. In the normal low dose that we have in Anchorage, and that’s recommended by the CDC, there are no negative health effects. In the end, the Assembly passed the resolution by a 9-2 vote, with members Elvi Gray-Jackson and Paul Honeman dissenting. The dissent wasn’t necessarily a rebuke of water fluoridation, but more a reflection of the opinion that the Assembly needn’t be on record supporting or opposing the program. The majority determined that the evidence cited, supporting the case against fluoridation, didn’t stand up to scrutiny. Opponents didn’t have standing. If the anti-fluoride group has objections, the argument will have to get stronger and smarter. Questioning the government, or the “alphabet agencies,” is healthy. But arguing that fluoridation causes mental deficiencies and cancer, or is a Nazi-invented opiate of the masses, moves well beyond healthy skepticism. It’s a fanatical, fetishistic rejection of government, science, and expert knowledge. Putting your own armchair medical assumption on a pedestal above the conclusive findings of physicians, health experts, and scientists is as arrogant as it is warped. Believe your doctor before your internet browser. And, for now, take your 25 people and try your luck with a ballot initiative, or come back with something better to say. And use your inside voice. |
A United Nations report revealed that Iran has been arming the Houthis since 2009, confirming accusations made by Arab and Western countries against Tehran regarding its support of the Houthis who have been in control of Yemeni state institutions since last September. The details were revealed in an UN report by a panel of experts was presented to the Security Council’s Iran Sanctions Committee at a time when the UN is seeking to broker a return to peace talks. The panel of experts based their report on the findings of an investigation into the Yemeni authorities’ seizure of an arms shipment on board an Iranian ship, the Jihan. The information collected by the experts in the report suggests that the Jihan case is consistent with a pattern of weapons shipments to Yemen by sea that can be traced back to 2009. The report mentions an example of an Iranian fishing boat that had attempted to secretly ship hundreds of anti-tank and anti-helicopter rockets to the Houthis. It also confirms that Iran is the source of these shipments and that the potential recipients are the Houthis or perhaps other parties in neighbouring countries. It is worth noting that the UN issued a resolution in 2007 prohibiting Iran from selling weapons and instructs all countries to take action to prevent any arms flow from Iran. Various Arab and Western counties have accused Iran of meddling in Yemeni affairs by supporting the Houthis, but Tehran denies these accusations, describing the Saudi-led Operation Decisive Storm in Yemen as “aggression”. Earlier this month, US Secretary of State John Kerry said that his country knows that Iran is supporting the Houthis, but he noted that Washington will not stand idly by nor will it abandon its allies in the region. |
The Six Nations countries are considering scrapping a tradition that marks out the European international series as the one major rugby tournament that does not have a bonus-points system. A consultation paper has been prepared for the six countries to consider bringing the venerable competition into line with the southern hemisphere's Rugby Championship and World Cup in having bonus points for scoring four tries or losing by a margin of seven points or less. All the major club tournaments, both national and cross-border, award bonus points, but the Six Nations has consistently rejected proposals to fall in line with the rest of the game, arguing the history and success of the tournament meant change was not necessary. England are among the unions who believe the subject should be properly debated. Under the current system, teams get two points for a win and one for a draw. Sides who are level on points are separated by points difference, itself a relatively recent innovation: in the amateur era the championship would be shared if there was no outright winner. A bonus system, which doubles the value of a win and a draw, reduces the chances of teams finishing level on points, although it would not have split Ireland and France last season as both would have claimed three bonus points. The difference it would have made in 2011 is more profound: Italy would have been bottom on 'points obtained' rather than points difference. One argument that has been used in the past against bonus points for the Six Nations is that it would make it mathematically possible for a team that won the grand slam to finish second in the table if they did not secure any bonus points and their main rival had a full house. And a side that was whitewashed would not finish bottom if it picked up five losing bonus points and the team above it only had one victory and no bonus points. "We have resisted the change for the past 10 years, but there is pressure to join the mainstream, not least from commercial partners, because it would potentially increase permutations in the table at the end of the season," said an RFU member, "but the bottom line is that it is the system that people have become used to." |
Dieser dumme Spruch kann für einen Paderborner Unternehmer ernste Konsequenzen haben 5. Juli 2017, 16:19h, Ein homophober Schriftzug an einem Paderborner Firmenwagen hat zu Ermittlungen der Polizei geführt. Wie die "Neue Westfälische" berichtet, fotografierte ein Bürger vor wenigen Tagen bei Bielefeld den Wagen einer 1995 gegründeten Flugzeugservice-Firma und veröffentlichte das Bild auf Facebook das Bild habe sich dann rasant weiterverbreitet. Der Grund: Auf der Innenseite der Heckscheibe des Firmenwagens klebte ein Papier mit dem Schriftzug: "Schwule sind krank. Die PO-litik ist für den Arsch." Firmeninhaber Willy Ader gab laut der Regionalzeitung am Dienstag zu, dass er den Zettel selbst angebracht habe. Der 52-Jährige begründete das mit dem Gesetz zur Öffnung der Ehe für Homo-Paare, das am Freitag vom Bundestag beschlossen worden war: "Ich habe mich maßlos über das Gesetz Ehe für alle geärgert und übertrieben." Er stehe noch heute zu seiner Ablehnung der Gleichbehandlung von Schwulen und Lesben im Ehe-Recht, auch wenn er auf dem Zettel die falschen Worte gewählt habe. Auch rechtsextremes Symbol am Wagen Neben der homophoben Aufschrift prangten auch zwei fragwürdige Aufkleber auf dem Wagen: Zum einen war der Schriftzug "Odin statt Allah" zu lesen, ein seit Jahren unter Rechtsextremisten beliebter Spruch (Odin ist ein Gott der nordischen Mythologie, der im Nationalsozialismus glorifiziert wurde). Zum anderen war das Symbol "Schwarze Sonne" an das Auto angebracht worden. Dieses Zeichen wird von der Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung als "Kunstsymbol der SS" bezeichnet, das sich in der rechten Szene "hoher Popularität" erfreue. Der Firmeninhaber bestritt gegenüber der "Neuen Westfälischen" aber, selbst rechtsextrem zu sein, und behauptete: "Das sind germanische Zeichen, die bereits 6.000 Jahre vor Christus existierten." Zudem sieht sich Ader als Opfer einer Kampagne: "Man versucht, mich in die rechte Ecke zu drängen." Inzwischen habe er aber die Aufkleber wie auch das Blatt mit dem homophoben Spruch entfernt. Unterdessen hat der Staatsschutz Bielefeld Ermittlungen wegen des Verdachts auf Volksverhetzung aufgenommen. Auch der Paderborner Airport, bei dem die Flugzeugservice-Firma als Mieter beherbergt wird, hat sich von der "auf dem Fahrzeug erkennbar gemachten Haltung" ausdrücklich distanziert. (cw) |
Intel has doubled down on servers as it looks to shed its reliance on PCs, but the chip maker's ARM competitors are ready to challenge it. New server and appliance chips based on the ARM architecture were announced at Computex in Taipei this week. ARM-based chips dominate smartphone and tablets, but the new chips from Cavium and Marvell show the processors are maturing quickly for use in servers. ARM servers are seen as a power-efficient alternative to Intel's x86-based systems, with companies looking to cut electric bills in data centers. ARM server chips have been around for years but have failed to register an impact because of hardware and software problems. But ARM server chips are becoming more competitive with support for DDR4 memory and the latest I/O and networking technologies. Intel had a 99.2 percent market share in server chips in 2015, according to IDC. Despite struggling for years, ARM server chip makers are holding on to create alternatives for Intel's Xeon chips, while hoping the market for their products becomes viable. In a research note issued Tuesday, IDC said ARM server chip makers will start gaining traction next year. AMD, which sells x86 and ARM server chips, is predicting ARM to have a 20 percent market share by 2020. At Computex, Cavium announced the ThunderX2, which is a second-generation server chip based on its homegrown design. It delivers roughly double the performance of its predecessor, ThunderX, which was introduced more than two years ago. A two-socket server with ThunderX2 could have up to 108 CPU cores and 3TB of memory. A ThunderX2 CPU has a maximum clock speed of 3.0GHz and new I/O technology, and it supports the latest DDR4 memory, all of which combine to boost server speed. Cavium estimates the ThunderX2 internal interconnect is 2.5 times faster than ThunderX. The ThunderX2 is targeted at networking, Cavium's bread-and-butter business, and rack servers. ARM servers are being widely considered for use in cloud deployments, and this chip could be used in hyperscale environments, where servers are continuously added to meet growing data center needs. Cavium didn't respond to request about when the chip will be available for servers, but vendor Gigabyte said it will ship ThunderX2 server products. Marvell's new Armada 7000 and 8000 family of ARM-based chips don't provide the high levels of performance delivered by Cavium's ThunderX2, but they are aimed at smaller home office deployments. The chips are mainly targeted toward storage and networking appliances but could also be used in entry-level servers. The Armada chips are based on the ARM Cortex-A72 chip design, which is also used in smartphones. The new design has more oomph than typical Cortex-A72 smartphone chips, with support for virtualization, DDR4 memory, error correction, Gigabit ethernet, and many storage and I/O protocols. The chips are available in dual- and quad-core configurations, with clock speeds up to 2.0GHz. Marvell did not respond to comment on shipment dates. Other ARM-based server chip makers include Qualcomm, AppliedMicro, and Broadcom. |
The website ApartmentList.com just surveyed 13,000 of their renters in the top 30 largest metro areas in the country, asking them how satisfied they were with the dating scenes in their city. North Carolina saw the best results, with Raleigh, NC topping the list (two-thirds of those surveyed had a positive outlook), and Charlotte coming in at #4 in the nation. One of my favorite engagement sessions is on the blog this morning. It was so incredibly hard to narrow down- I wanted to post the entire gallery! I’m simply obsessed with @alliefheaf and Collin! #amandamanupellaphotography A post shared by Amanda Manupella Photography (@amandamanupella) on Aug 17, 2016 at 4:06am PDT Out of 30 major metropolitan areas surveyed, these were to top 10 best performing cities: Riverside, CA saw the worst scores, with only 28% of respondents saying that they were happy with their dating opportunities. The nation’s top tech hubs – Seattle, Denver, and San Francisco – also perform below average. Do you think Raleigh is a good city for dating? Let us know your experiences in the comments below: Comments comments |
× Expand Peter Gentry estimates he’s lost $15,000 in sales because he can no longer serve wine or liquor at One Barrel Brewing. By most accounts, Wisconsin’s craft beer industry is still booming. It’s an economic development bright spot in a state struggling to create new jobs and boost private-sector investment. But unfortunately, the number of new breweries opening in Wisconsin is now lagging the rest of the nation by some 50%, according to the latest figures from the Brewers Association, based in Boulder, Colo. And some entrepreneurs are blaming lawmakers for arcane rules slipped into the 2011 budget that make it harder for smaller players to expand or grow their business. “Wisconsin likes to think of itself as the home of brewing but the fact is other states are a lot more friendly,” says Peter Gentry of Madison’s One Barrel Brewing. Gentry had to stop selling wine and liquor at his tap room at 2001 Atwood Ave. in order to comply with the new law. Gentry opened his “nanobrewery” in 2012 with the modest goal of producing about 250 barrels of beer annually. (A barrel is 31 gallons or about 248 pints of beer.) The 1,300-square-foot facility also featured an in-house bar serving beer, wine and spirits, which provided some badly needed revenue to the fledging operation. In fact, business has been going so well that Gentry has run out of capacity at his east-side location and wanted to start contract brewing One Barrel beers at other facilities. This is a common practice among brewers today that allows for growth without a major capital investment in new equipment. But in order to legally contract brew under the new state rules, Gentry had to switch the official classification of his business from “brewpub” to “brewery” — a move that also forced One Barrel to give up its license to sell wine and liquor, although it can still offer beer. That change alone, Gentry estimates, will cost $15,000 in lost sales. Meanwhile, other breweries operating prior to 2011 are still permitted to hold the Class B licenses that allow retail liquor or wine sales on premise. “They’ve made the playing field very uneven, especially if you want to expand,” says Gentry. The changes in state law, which were backed by the powerful Tavern League of Wisconsin, made big news in Milwaukee recently when celebrity chef Justin Aprahamian, owner of Sanford restaurant and a James Beard award winner, announced he will open his Like Minds Brewery in Chicago instead of Milwaukee as first planned. The owners anticipated hiring 40 employees off the bat, but these jobs now seem headed to Illinois. That story caught the eye of state Rep. Dale Kooyenga (R-Brookfield), who calls it “embarrassing” that a prominent Wisconsin businessman is being forced out of state because of rules designed to protect bars and taverns from competition from small breweries. “I’m a free market guy, and this is just wrong,” says Kooyenga who put some of the blame on the state Department of Revenue for what called an overly aggressive approach to regulation. Kooyenga, who has championed deep tax cuts in Wisconsin as a way to spark business growth, is now planning to introduce legislation that could ease some of the brewing restrictions in the name of growing the state economy. “We should be helping entrepreneurs in the state, not making it more difficult,” he says. The rules that block a brewery owner from holding a retail liquor license are part of the state’s longstanding “three-tier” distribution system that legally separates alcohol manufacturers, wholesalers and bar owners from each other. The patchwork of laws, which has been tweaked and changed at various times, is designed to prevent monopoly control of the alcohol industry. The three-tier system was adopted across the nation following the lifting of Prohibition in 1933 and was intended to prevent a return to the old “tied house” scenario where brewers could squeeze out the competition by forcing taverns to only serve their products. Each state enacted its own set of laws and a system to collect liquor taxes. But rather than preventing large breweries from dominating local markets, the tied house laws today are obstacles to newer players looking to get started, says Bart Watson, an economist with the Brewers Association, which represents the nation’s 3,400 craft brewers. The trade group broadly defines “craft brewers” as small, independently owned operations producing less than 6 million barrels annually. Wisconsin did see the number of craft brewers increase from 73 to 97 from 2011 to 2014, a jump of 32%. But other states like Minnesota, Illinois and Colorado have enjoyed three times that growth rate over the same period. “You’ve definitely seen a slowdown,” says Watson. “That’s unfortunate because most of the growth in the industry is coming from smaller places that need to operate a tap room to stay profitable.” × Expand Breweries Association (click here for full-sized PDF of graph) To that end, the owners of Madison-based MobCraft Brewing Company have run into snags trying to open a new brewery in Milwaukee’s redeveloping Walker’s Point neighborhood. MobCraft wanted to include a Roman Candle pizza restaurant in their new venture but were told they couldn’t because the pizzeria holds liquor licenses for its five other locations in Wisconsin. MobCraft owner Henry Schwartz is still hoping to work out something with regulators but says the complicated state laws regarding alcohol sales and distribution are outdated and cumbersome. “We’re even one step further removed from what the guys at Sanford (restaurant) ran into,” he says. “It’s just crazy.” But any changes to Wisconsin’s three-tier system will certainly face opposition from the Tavern League, which represents more than 5,000 retail establishments in the state that could potentially lose business if breweries enjoy more freedom to sell alcohol on site. A loosening of Wisconsin’s tied house laws would also have to get past Rep. Rob Swearingen (R-Rhinelander), who chairs the Assembly Committee on State Affairs and Government Operations, which oversees alcohol policy. Swearingen is a restaurant owner and past president of the Tavern League. Longtime Tavern League lobbyist Scott Stenger says the current system is working well and is one reason Wisconsin has maintained its many small bars and restaurants in the face of national competition. He notes that all other states have tied house laws and no one has yet to come up with a better system for regulating alcohol sales and distribution. “A few years ago you’d be hard pressed to find a bar with more than five different tap lines. Now you have places with 40,” says Stenger. In fact, Stenger says the number of different breweries operating and the wide choice of beers available points to the success of Wisconsin’s regulatory climate. “I just don’t see any evidence this is keeping anyone from opening a brewery,” says Stenger, who also lobbies for MillerCoors, the brewing behemoth created by the merger of SABMiller and Molson Coors in 2007. But Mark Garthwaite, executive director of the Wisconsin Brewers Guild, which represents about 60 state craft brewers, can recount a dozen cases where smaller breweries are running into roadblocks under Act 32, which was included in the 2011 Republican budget with no debate or discussion. He notes, for instance, how the Wisconsin Brewing Company in Verona, which opened in 2012, is losing business because it cannot legally serve wine or spirits under the new law. “They would love to host weddings, but you can’t toast the bride with champagne and the guests can’t have a brandy Old Fashioned because a brewer can no longer hold a Class B [liquor] license,” says Garthwaite, who is also chairman of the Great Taste of the Midwest beer festival and former president of the Madison Homebrewers and Tasters Guild. Garthwaite acknowledges the initial intent of the three-tier system of the 1930s but questions whether tiny breweries today really pose a monopoly threat or a return to the days where hard-nosed brewers could throw their financial muscle around. “What we need is a more dynamic system that reflects the changes that have come to the brewing world,” he says. “Consumers have made it clear they want more choices, and if Wisconsin is really open for business we shouldn’t be putting up these kinds of obstacles.” Editor's Note: This article was updated to correct the number of pints and gallons in a barrel. |
Share. This is a first-person experience. This is a first-person experience. A lot of games can place you in first person and put a gun in your virtual fingers, but few of them manage to make you feel like you're in the shoes of a person, that you're more than just a moving camera. It's this idea that separates a run of the mill first-person shooter from what I like to think of as a first-person experience. And Killzone 3, Sony's latest PlayStation 3 exclusive, is definitely the latter. Every action you do in Killzone is immersive; the combat more intense and savage than other shooters. It's this design that makes Killzone 3 so engrossing and fun despite its weak story. With the fantastic pacing and set pieces in the campaign, along with the improved, fun multiplayer, Guerilla's crafted a must own for PS3 shooting enthusiasts. Exit Theatre Mode Killzone 3 is all about a war between two factions of humans. On one side, we have the ISA, the good guys with human faces; on the other side are the Helghast, the red-goggled, mask-wearing enemies who are hell bent on subduing the rest of the universe. Killzone 3 picks up right where two left off, with a small group of ISA soldiers struggling to survive after being effectively cut off and left on the hostile Helghan homeworld. Throughout it all, you play as Sev, the returning hero from the second game, who is out to do as much damage to the enemy as he can before he's caught, killed or rescued. Killzone 3 Strategy Guide Game walkthrough Trophy tips We answer your questions Send us your tips » Tweet us your tips » I won't spoil the story, but I was disappointed with where it went and how uninteresting it was. Killzone 3 jumps around in time regularly, constructing a narrative that gives a good reason to explore different parts of the Helghast homeworld, but it's not engaging. In general, the story feels like an afterthought, like it was figured out after the team planned out a series of cool levels and were forced to figure out a way to tie them altogether. It would have been nice to see Guerilla explore the themes of hopelessness as the ISA struggle to survive in hiding on a hostile planet, but instead Killzone 3 basically glosses over this with a quick fade out and a cut scene. This liberal use of fading between scenes, along with the occasional hiccup when loading, broke me out of the experience repeatedly, exacerbating the generally boring story. The characters of Killzone are one-dimensional. From our hero, Sev, to the evil Helghast leaders, you pretty much have their personalities pinned from the first moment they swagger onto the screen. The interplay between characters is totally predictable, and we're never given a view of the complex dynamics we might expect out of soldiers at war or a moment of pause or regret about how things play out. Unlike Captain Templar from the original Killzone, there are no likeable characters in Killzone 3. Sure, they're charming in a brutish fashion, but Sev and the rest of the ISA feel more like unthinking meatheads than soldiers dealing with a life or death situation and a feeling of abandonment. They just aren't people you can identify with in any significant way. Yes, it looks this good. Story and characters aside, Killzone 3 succeeds as a superb first-person shooter. Guerilla has once again proven that they know how to make the most visceral feeling first-person combat on the market. The controls are considerably tighter than they were in two, but I love how everything you do in Killzone 3 still feels like there's momentum behind it. From climbing ladders to running to slamming into cover, Killzone 3 makes you feel like your character is grounded in the world around him. Even shooting feels more real thanks to the weight and swing of the weapon – but not at the cost of overly floaty controls. Killzone 3 also does a nice job at breaking up the levels between sections where you're on foot, and where you're kicking ass in a super powered vehicle. While the entire game is very linear, Guerilla's done a great job at varying what you're doing just enough from moment to moment to keep you from seeing behind the curtain too much. Each skirmish is so intense, and so visually satisfying, that I'm often too engrossed to think about the story or how I'm being funneled in a very specific direction. |
Anuj Malhotra October 19, 2016 If we go by the old statistic, over 30 million presentations are given daily. Majority of them involve slides full of bullet points. Sad but true. At the same time, blogosphere is full of articles telling presenters to shun bullet points. There are many who are demanding PowerPoint be banned. It’s like blaming Word for poor writing! Why aren’t presentations getting the love of audiences? Why aren’t presenters listening to experts’ advice? Probably because “go beyond bullet points” is vague, “do something different” is also vague and “use images instead of bullet points” is easier said than done. What else can managers, teachers, students, lawyers and doctors do to make their presentations a runaway success? What can they do to make their presentations a hit amongst audience? We have been sharing beautiful yet professional design hacks since start; many of them were well received by our readers. This post sums up the top 10 unique presentation ideas that our readers gave a thumbs to. Get the best slide design ideas now in one place: 1. Split Image Effect Brilliant, awesome, fantabulous, splendid...we got all kind of positive adjectives when we shared this design trick. PowerPoint MVP Ellen Finkelstein too loved this hack and shared a faster way to achieve the split-image effect. The amazing thing about this effect is that it instantly grabs the attention of the audience. Their brains work immediately to fill in the missing parts of the image and look at every element in the image. By using this hack, you can retain only the relevant portions of the image and use the remaining space to highlight your content. The design trick not only looks great but works great. Your image won’t take up the whole slide canvas and leave you scratching your head where to put your text. The above slide spoke of innovation. Needless to say, the company has to look innovative and worthy before suggesting others tips to make organizations more innovative. This design hack is innovative and visually arresting. Here’s another slide on infusing passion into our business designed in a similar manner. We used basic rectangle shapes to split the image. You can use parallelograms, circles, triangles and so on. Check out our blog post on Split Image Effect to master the trick 2. Masking the Image “I had always wanted to use this gradient effect but did not know how.” That is exactly what I said when a professional designer taught me how to create this effect (Hack 4 of 11 Hacks to Turn Boring Slides into Visual Masterpieces). The gradient mask is quite different from just a shape inserted over a slide and given some transparency. The superimposition looked forced sometimes in that case. But not with the masking effect. The gradual transparency given to the shape makes it smoothly gel into the image and appear a part of the image. Check out the image below: can you easily tell that the text box has transparency added behind it? The text is so easy to read and does not look forcefully inserted onto the slide. Like the split image effect, this design hack allows you to have the best of both- visual and text. In the below image also, the image has been masked leftwards. The arrow shapes spelling out the Agenda items could easily be done away and yet the text would be legible. The arrows have simply been added to reinforce the branding colors of the organization. Learn step by step how to create the Gradient Effect on Images (Hack 4) 3. Stand Out Effect PowerPoint 2013 users were thrilled to learn this design trick, PowerPoint 2010 users faced difficulty and PowerPoint 2007 users were disappointed owing to missing functionality. Stand Out Effect is one of the awesome designs that can be created with the powerful “Merge Shapes” functionality in PowerPoint 2013. The superiority of this effect is to draw attention of the audience towards the most important element in the image and fade out everything else. You can then add a shape over the blurred portion and insert your text with ease. Going off track, are you selfie obsessed? Check out the slide below and diagnose yourself :) Almost any business slide having a visual can be made to stand out with this effect. Even a sales slide like the one below: Learn to throw spotlight on image using the Stand Out Effect 4. Gradient Background Gradient Backgrounds can be a tricky thing; we said that before in our post on gradient backgrounds and say it again. Gradients can backfire or lend a sophisticated look- all depends on the colors you choose and how you mix them. Gradients can often lead to difficulty in reading when the contrast between the background and content is little. To help presenters make the best use of gradient backgrounds, we suggested a few gradients that were “safe”. To our pleasant surprise, the gradient backgrounds suggested by us received a great response and many requests for a copy of the slides. Look at the sunset background below: the orange and yellow hues create a rich, warm look and also lends a beautiful contrast when contrasted with black and white text: As opposed to warm gradient background above, the one below uses a cool, professional gradient created by mixing dark teal and blue. Know the difference between warm and cool colors and how to decide which one to choose. Check out 7 Awesome Gradient Backgrounds for your PowerPoint slides and how to create them 5. Icon-ic Slides Not all unique presentation ideas involve use of images. One such is use of icons- small visual representations of a concept. They are small but effective. Rarely used by presenters but universally understood by audience. Hourglass represents time, bulb represents innovation, gear represents setting..our smartphones are full of icons. Do you look for Calendar icon or the text calendar while searching for it on phone? The responses may be different but a majority would say icons. It’s time to leverage the power of icons in your PowerPoint slides too! Sometimes a single icon can sum up the gist of the slide and provide visual relief. Icons, in many instances, are more powerful than images. Rather than having an image with characters and background drawing attention at the same time, an icon reduces all that into one powerful, little shape with greater impact. Icons are the new bullet points! Learn how 6. Slide Collage using Gridlines One of the 11 image hacks to turn slides into visual masterpieces that audience liked best was creating slide collage using gridlines. If one image is a thousand words, a professional and balanced collage of four images is four thousand words. But only a few slides look great with this design hack. If you are giving a tour of your company, showcasing your team members, different audience segments, that’s where a collage will fit in best with your content. For instance, here’s a slide on college campus that can combine multiple images to give a complete picture: If you activate Gridlines in PowerPoint, you can easily try out different collage formats without making it look haphazard. Here’s a global warming presentation slide that gives a complete picture in one glance: 7. Impressive Color Schemes Can you change the look of your slide in one second? Yes, by adding color to the black and white slide. Vivid or soothing colors infuse life into presentations and speak a language of their own. Many presenters have no choice in this matter; they have to use only their brand colors in designing presentation. That’s perfectly fine, but use your branding colors at least! Go beyond the cliche black and white slide. If you are free to choose colors for your presentation, then there is no limit to the look and feel you can achieve with colors. But you do not obviously want to end up with a rainbow or color contrast that shocks the living hell out of your audience! Or having each slide explore a different dimension of the color spectrum! Knowledge of color schemes and color harmony will help you choose the perfect one for your presentation. Below is a visually arresting color combination achieved by using colors opposite to one another on the color wheel called Complementary Color Scheme: Think how the slide above would look in black and white bullet points. Boring, right! Flat design is in vogue and this involves the use of flat, bright colors that add value to your content. Here’s a presentation slide created using the Split-Complementary Color Scheme: Learn all 7 Color Schemes to Achieve the Best Color Combinations 8. Using the Storyboard Technique Do your slides follow a logical structure? Is there a seamless transition from one sub-topic to another? If not, that means you jumped straightaway to PowerPoint on being asked to deliver a presentation. There is no powerful beginning, no middle and no end. Each slide is a beginning and end unto itself. “Tell a Story”you must have heard this advice before. How do you do that? With Storyboarding- sketching out a rough structure on paper. That’s where the creative ideas will come, including a powerful beginning that hooks the audience, a middle that keeps the momentum going, and an end with conflict resolution and powerful call to action. Storyboarding also saves a lot of time and quickly translate the best ideas in beautiful slides: Check out how Storyboarding helped us create a stunning Product Launch PPT and bring out a best-selling story! 9. Vary Font Sizes and Fonts Go beyond Calibri, Airtel and Times New Roman. Download free fonts from the web and use them to create powerful slides. Surely, that will require extra time and efforts- search for relevant fonts, download and install the same, save text on slides as images (as the font may not be on viewers’ system). But it is worth it! You can use customized fonts to at least create attention-grabbing cover slides. Like the slide below (imagine the same in Calibri and Times New Roman): Here’s another cover slide we created for our presentation: 11 Epic Presentation Quotes to Fire You Up For Your Next Presentation by using customized fonts: It is not necessary to download fonts from the internet to create this awesome effect. You can vary font sizes and the fonts available in PowerPoint to create impactful cover slides and content slides. Check out how we highlighted text in “About Us” slide by changing just the font sizes. The readers loved that slide and also requested for a link to download the same. You can replicate that design to create your company introduction slide. 10. Artistic Effects PowerPoint has its own filters like Prisma! Didn’t know that? Yes, PowerPoint 2013 offers a few but nice creative filters for images under Artistic Effects (Format tab). You can give your image a diffused glow, blur it out, give a wireframe effect, turn it into a pencil sketch or transform it into some abstract art created for your very own PowerPoint Picasso! Let us try it out right here: Without Artistic Effect With Artistic Effect (Paint Strokes) Don’t those eyes stand out more? Forget Photoshop, take your image and start exploring the options PowerPoint offers. Which presentation idea/ideas you liked the best? We are dying to know your feedback on these. And if you have a creative idea that presenters can benefit from, do share in the comments below. |
Ubuntu might well be the world’s most widely used flavour of Linux distribution, but whether it’s the best remains a hotly contested, hugely contentious topic. Obviously, with a name like ours above the door, we’re a little biased, but we’re not blind; many of you, our regular readers, prefer to use other Linux distributions for a variety of reasons. Some are championed because they use something other than Unity (a very poor excuse) while others find favour by trying new and innovative things on the desktop. What follows are five of the top Ubuntu based Linux distributions as suggested by you. Linux Mint 17 “Qiana” Based on: Ubuntu 14.04 LTS Desktop environment: Cinnamon 2.2 No round-up of Ubuntu-based distributions would be worth its salt if it lacked the freshness of Linux Mint. Now one of the most well-known Linux distributions, Mint regularly tops the Distrowatch rankings. It has a fan base that is both fervent and loyal in equal measure — a testament to the direction taken by its de facto leader ‘Clem’. It has become the recommended stop for those dissatisfied with Canonical’s Unity shell. The Cinnamon desktop has come a long way since its humble beginnings as a refuge for disillusioned GNOME Shell haters. And in its latest iteration, shipped with Linux Mint 17, it truly shines, with tweaks and polish delivering a more familiar desktop experience than the ‘next generation’ shells of GNOME, Unity, Deepin and ilk. For a fuss free experience with unique touches (like the graded update system) Mint with Cinnamon a recipe that’s hard to beat. Notable highlights: Fantastic theming support Nemo file manager trumps Nautilus in some areas Mini panel applets can add weather, social, etc Mint Menu makes finding and launching apps easy Download Linux Mint elementary OS “Luna” Based on: Ubuntu 12.04 LTS Desktop environment: Pantheon While it has yet to reach the dizzy heights forecast by many of its followers, the elementary (sic) operating system is fairly polished, if at times visually inconsistent, distribution based on the previous Long Term Support release of Ubuntu. It is certainly one of the lightest, and possibly even the most responsive, of the entries on this list. Like others on this list Luna features a number of custom system apps, such as its own ‘Switchboard’ control panel, though you may often find it lacks a specific setting. Design is elementary’s USP, and from the login screen to desktop it looks delicious. Stick to the core apps — Midori, Maya, Music, etc — and the fluidity continues. Sadly, running 3rd party apps like LibreOffice, VLC, Ubuntu Software Centre or Firefox, sees the gloss soon fade. Apps designed for and adhering to the elementary interface guidelines remain few and far between, and of those that are available are most are usually in some state of development, undergoing continual UI churn, or remain to buggy to use. Notable highlights: Slick login screen experience and first visual impression Great selection of wallpapers Some promising custom apps Light on resource usage Download Elementary OS ‘Luna’ Ubuntu GNOME 14.04 LTS Based on Ubuntu 14.04 LTS Desktop environment: GNOME 3.10 A bit of a cheat, granted. Ubuntu GNOME 14.04 may be an official flavour of Ubuntu but is a bit of an overlooked gem. It’s the fastest, safest and most dependable way to get a clean, frill-free GNOME Shell experience on an Ubuntu base. Notable highlights: First-class GNOME Shell experience on Ubuntu Optional PPA to update to newer releases Supports wide range of extensions to customise look and feel Download Ubuntu GNOME 14.04 LTS Netrunner 2014 “Frontier” Based on: Kubuntu 14.04 LTS Desktop environment: KDE Netrunner 14 is based Kubuntu 14.04 LTS but it’s far from being just another KDE clone. The current release, based on KDE 4.13.1, features a simplified application launcher, new theme, and comes pre-loaded with a raft of great apps and software installed by default, including Steam, VLC and the recently released Skype 4.3 Dreamscenes allow for some fancy-pants animated wallpapers, while the inclusion of the Veromix plasma applet means controlling audio settings is a breeze. Notable highlights: Tailored KDE desktop Comes with plenty of popular apps pre-installed Useful Plasma additions Download Netrunner 14 Deepin 2014 Based on: Ubuntu 14.04 LTS Desktop environment: Deepin Shell Deepin 2014 is yet to hit stable but it’s release candidate has already created a lot of buzz. The China-based distro is based on core of Ubuntu 14.04 but you’d be hard-pressed to notice that on first glance. It features a unique, tailored desktop interface written in HTML5 and Go that is slick, polished and, in some places, very innovative. The upcoming release of Deepin 2014 introduces a new control panel for managing settings that is unique among Linux distributions. Desktop experience aside, Deepin also comes with a number of exclusive apps made specifically for the OS. These include the fantastic Deepin Software Centre, music and video apps, and a promising new chat client. Notable highlights: Unique desktop experience First-class native apps Dedicated development team The OS is currently available as a release candidate. Note: due to graphics requirements the OS may not function properly in a virtual machine. See our previous article for more information. |
At Agile Coach Camp Barcelona, I convened a session on “Hierarchy of Needs” and how this might be used by coaches working with software development teams to understand where to focus their efforts. The idea of putting needs into a hierarchy was inspired by Maslow even though I’m well aware that the ordering of his model has not been validated by empirical research. However, I'm thinking that perhaps, like Empathy Maps, a hierarchy of needs can be used as a practical tool to tease out factors impacting the team and help figure out what to work on next. Our group started with a simple activity that might easily be adapted for use in team retrospectives. I drew a person-shape on the board and asked our everyone to brainstorm around what developers need to work well. We wrote each need on a sticky note and then I invited the group to sort the sticky notes using a vertical axis from essential(bottom) to optional(top). Here’s what we came up with. We found that that many of the essential needs (at the base of the hierarchy) were practical ones such as decent network, version control, and big screens that enable us to write code. Then came the personal needs of puzzles to solve, valuable work, being listened to and trusted. At the top were again more environmental factors, such as whiteboards, snacks, and toys. In our discussion, we agreed that when working with teams, it's often the essential needs that take a long time to resolve, especially when infrastructure kit is involved. Whereas the needs near the top could potentially be "quick wins". The more personal needs in the mid-section are where coaches tend to focus their attention and perhaps are those requiring coaching skills. We also noted that these issues are more likely to require trust-building between coach and team. See the photo (below) for the full set of notes and some wider perspectives on this. As a coach you might run a similar activity when starting work with a team - perhaps using different colour notes to show which needs are fully or partially fulfilled and which needs are unmet. Or over time you might build your own checklist of typical needs, to help remember what to look for when observing the team. We also thought that a coach might use this understand and share what your own needs are as a coach and compared with team needs. When discussing the contentious issue of whether cake should really be at the top of this hierarchy, I was reminded that Kent Beck originally said in “Extreme Programming Explained” that "perhaps the most important job for the coach is the acquisition of toys and food" Later that same morning Sebastian Schürmann convened a session on Marshall Rosenberg’s Non-Violent Communication and I was interested to hear him reflect at the close that this model might be relevant to the developer needs we discussed earlier. I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on whether this activity is useful. |
Self-service fueling United States Chinese buffet restaurant in the Self-service is the practice of serving oneself, usually when making purchases.[1] Aside from Automatic Teller Machines, which are not limited to banks, and customer-operated supermarket check-out,[2], labor-saving of which has been described as self-sourcing, there is the latter's subset, selfsourcing and a related pair: End-user development and End-user computing. Note has been made how paid labor has been replaced with unpaid labor,[3][2] and how reduced professionalism and distractions from primary duties has reduced value obtained from employees' time. [4] Over a period of decades, laws have been passed both facilitating and preventing self-pumping of gas[5] and other self-service. Overview [ edit ] Self-service is the practice of serving oneself, usually when purchasing items. Common examples include many gas stations, where the customer pumps their own gas rather than have an attendant do it (full service is required by law in New Jersey, urban parts of Oregon, most of Mexico, and Richmond, British Columbia, but is the exception rather than the rule elsewhere[6]). Automatic Teller Machines (ATMs) in the banking world have also revolutionized how people withdraw and deposit funds; most stores in the Western world, where the customer uses a shopping cart in the store, placing the items they want to buy into the cart and then proceeding to the checkout counter/aisles; or at buffet-style restaurants, where the customer serves their own plate of food from a large, central selection. Patentable business method [ edit ] In 1917, the US Patent Office awarded Clarence Saunders a patent for a "self-serving store." Saunders invited his customers to collect the goods they wanted to buy from the store and present them to a cashier, rather than having the store employee consult a list presented by the customer, and collect the goods. Saunders licensed the business method to independent grocery stores; these operated under the name "Piggly Wiggly."[7] Electronic commerce [ edit ] Self-service is over the phone, web, and email to facilitate customer service interactions using automation. Self-service software and self-service apps (for example online banking apps, web portals with shops, self-service check-in at the airport) become increasingly common.[8] Self-Service Business Intelligence [ edit ] Business Intelligence (BI) is meant to facilitate smarter and faster decisions, giving a competitive edge and opening new business opportunities. Self-Service BI supports creating queries, reports that access specific data subsets and facilitate user-directed analytics, resulting in more self-reliance and less dependence on the IT organization. Data warehouse was an earlier term in this space.[citation needed] Self-sourcing is a term describing informal and often unpaid labor that benefits the owner of the facility where it is done by replacing paid labor with unpaid labor.[3] Selfsourcing (without a dash) is a subset thereof, and refers to developing computer software intended for use by the person doing the development.[9] Both situations have aspects of Self-service, and where permitted involve benefits to the person doing the work, such as job & personal satisfaction, even though tradeoffs are frequently involved,[3] including long term losses to the company.[4] Doing someone else's job [ edit ] When a loan officer is asked to "self-source"[10] they're taking on a responsibility that's not one of the top seven "Loan Officer Job Duties" listed by a major job placement service.[11][12] A situation where no payment is made is self-service, such as airport check-in kiosks and checkout machines.[3] International borders have also experimented with traveler-assisted fingerprint verification[13] Another situation is where a company's Human resources department is partially bypassed by departments that "source talent themselves."[14] History of self-sourcing [ edit ] An early use of the term is a 2005 HRO Today article[15] titled "Insourcing, Outsourcing? How about Self-sourcing?" that mined Wikipedia's history of a pair of banks that merged decades ago as Standard Chartered and, after September 11, rebuilt its personnel department in an innovative way. The concept is similar to Self-service, and one USA example is pumping gas: New Jersey banned customers from doing this in 1949;[5]now NJ is the only state "where drivers are not allowed to pump their own gasoline."[5] In 1994 it was considered a radical change to propose permitting self-service at the gas pumps, in Japan, and the New York Times reported that "the push .. (came) from Japanese big business ... trying to cut costs."[1] Automatic Teller Machines are another example, and their expansion beyond banks have led to signs saying Access To Money, which refers to a company with that name;[16][17] the technology began over half-a-century ago.[18] Selfsourcing [ edit ] Selfsourcing is the internal development and support of IT systems by knowledge workers with minimal contribution from IT specialists. Knowledge workers develop and utilize their own IT systems, as opposed to contracting out the work in a process known as outsourcing. Knowledge workers are workers who are dependent upon information or who develop and utilize knowledge in the workplace. End user self service [ edit ] Various terms have been used to describe situations when the end user is able to program, code, script, write macros, and in other ways use a computer in a user-directed data processing accomplishment, such as End user computing and End user development. In the 1990s, Windows versions of mainframe packages were already available.[19] The selfsourcing process [ edit ] For simple computing systems such as customizing reports or creating macros a system can be developed in a matter of hours. However, for more complicating systems, a more formal process must be followed very similar to that of the Systems Development Life Cycle. The primary difference is the inclusion of prototyping. The first step in the process is planning. This is where goals are set and aligned with the organizational goals and objectives. A project plan is developed and the proposed system is analyzed to determine if any external support is needed. The project plan lays out the what, when and who of the system. It is the salient piece in ensuring successful completion. The second step is analysis which includes the gathering and analyzing of the basic business requirements. The third step is an extension of the second as the basic requirements are identified and prioritized. This puts the knowledge workers in a position to now develop the initial prototype for the fourth step. Prototyping is the process of constructing a model demonstrating the aspects and feasibility of a proposed product. There are two types of prototyping processes: insourcing prototyping and selfsourcing prototyping. Selfsourcing prototyping lets knowledgeable workers refine their prototype until they are satisfied with it and it becomes the final working system. The fifth step is knowledge worker reviewing. This is where knowledge workers evaluate the prototype and suggest changes or additions. Following through with these suggestions is the sixth step where the prototype is revised and enhanced. The final step is maintenance where one must monitor the system and ensure it is achieving its goals. Issues [ edit ] It is crucial for the system’s purposes and goals to be aligned with that of the organizational goals. Developing a system that contradicts organizational goals will most likely lead to a reduction in sales and customer retention. As well, due to the large amount of time it may take for development, it is important allocate your time efficiently as time is valuable. Knowledge workers must also determine what kind of external support they will require. In-house IT specialists can be a valuable commodity and are often included in the planning process. Once the system is complete it is important to document how it works. This is to ensure that the system can be used if the developing knowledge workers move on through for example a promotion. If one were to get promoted, other workers will come in and attempt to use the system and even attempt to make changes. By documenting the system others can learn how to use and amend changes to the system.nn Advantages [ edit ] Knowledge workers are often strongly aware of their immediate needs, and can avoid formalizations and time needed for "project cost/benefit analysis"[20] and delays due to chargebacks.[21] Additional benefits are: Improved requirement determination : Since they're telling themselves what they want, rather than someone else, this eliminates telling an IT specialist what they want. There is a greater chance for user short-term satisfaction. : Since they're telling themselves what they want, rather than someone else, this eliminates telling an IT specialist what they want. There is a greater chance for user short-term satisfaction. Increased participation and sense of ownership : Pride and self-push will add desire for completion, sense of ownership and higher worker morale. Increased morale can be infectious and lead to great benefits in several other areas. : Pride and self-push will add desire for completion, sense of ownership and higher worker morale. Increased morale can be infectious and lead to great benefits in several other areas. Facilitates speed of systems development: Since step-by-step details preclude formal documentation, time and resources are concentrated, whereas working with an IT specialists analyzing would be counterproductive. Selfsourcing is usually faster for smaller projects that do not require the full process of development.[ citation needed ] Disadvantages [ edit ] Inadequate expertise [ edit ] Many knowledge workers involved in selfsourcing do not have experience or expertise with IT tools, resulting in: Lost hours and potential : potentially good ideas are lost. These incomplete projects, after consuming many hours, often draw workers away from their primary duties. : potentially good ideas are lost. These incomplete projects, after consuming many hours, often draw workers away from their primary duties. Lack of organizational focus : These often form a privatized IT system, with poor integration to corporate systems. Data silos may violate policy and even privacy/HIPPA laws. Uncontrolled and duplicate information can become stale, leading to more problems than benefits. [ citation needed ] : These often form a privatized IT system, with poor integration to corporate systems. Data silos may violate policy and even privacy/HIPPA laws. Uncontrolled and duplicate information can become stale, leading to more problems than benefits. Lack of design alternative analysis : Hardware and software opportunities are not analyzed sufficiently, and efficient alternatives may not be noticed and utilized. This can lead to inefficient and costly systems. : Hardware and software opportunities are not analyzed sufficiently, and efficient alternatives may not be noticed and utilized. This can lead to inefficient and costly systems. Lack of documentation: Knowledge workers may not have supervisors who are aware that, as time goes on, changes will be needed and these compartmentalized systems will require the help of IT specialists. Knowledge workers will usually lack experience with planning for these changes and the ability to adapt their work for the fuure. Shadow IT [ edit ] Although departmental computing has decades of history[19], one-person-show situations either suffer from inability to interact with a helpdesk[22] or fail to benefit from wheels already invented.[4] See also [ edit ] References [ edit ] |
Changes are in the works at Dempsey Racing for 2015, which will see the Patrick Dempsey and Joe Foster-owned squad expand to Europe while potentially scaling back its involvement in the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship. Foster confirmed to Sportscar365 that the team will announce its international program next month at the LA Auto Show, including full sponsorship for the effort. Dempsey Racing’s two previous overseas outings came at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, including a fourth place GTE-Am class finish in a Porsche 911 GT3 RSR run in cooperation with Proton Competition. The Hollywood actor/racer, meanwhile, hasn’t hidden his ambitions of competing in a full season of the FIA World Endurance Championship, should the right partners fall into place for such a program. On the domestic front, Foster denied reports of the Georgia-based team shutting its doors, but admitted they could be faced with a reduced TUDOR Championship effort, largely due to higher-than-expected operating costs. “We’re doing the best we can to stay in the series,” Foster told Sportscar365. “Last year, we were the first team to put two full-season entries in. We still feel that level of commitment, we just have to make the business case work.” Foster said the operating costs of each of the team’s Porsche 911 GT Americas ended up being $1 million more than its 2013 budget in the GTC class of the American Le Mans Series. Talks have continued on the possible continuation of the Snow Racing program, which the team adopted mid-season, although Foster said he’s yet to confirm any full-season GTD entry for the team. However, he remains optimistic in the expansion of its effort in the IMSA-sanctioned Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge series. “We’re trying to put TUDOR programs together and our intent is also to expand the GT3 Cup side,” Foster said. “We only ran two cars [in Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge) this year and we’d like to run four next year. “The car count in the stable may indeed go up, even if we don’t run TUDOR full-time.” |
A suspect was shot by an L.A. County Sheriff’s deputy Tuesday afternoon at the Expo Line terminus in Downtown Santa Monica, officials said. The suspect was placed in an ambulance, but his condition was not immediately known. Sheriff’s spokesman Ramon Montenegro did not confirm whether or not the suspect was armed, although witnesses reported that he was brandishing a knife. No deputies were injured following the incident, which happened at about 12:55 p.m., Montenegro said. Road closures were in effect in the area around the transit station, which is located at Colorado Avenue and 4th Street. Expo Line service was also disrupted, as trains were turning around at the 17th Street/Santa Monica College station. Bus shuttles were in service between the 17th Street stop and the terminus, according to transit officials. Additional information was not immediately available. The station opened in May. In June, the station was briefly evacuated as authorities cleared a suspicious package. The sheriff’s department handles security for the L.A. County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Santa Monica police were assisting. jeff@www.smdp.com |
Hazard has not played for Chelsea since their FA Cup final defeat by Arsenal in May Winger Eden Hazard has been included in the Chelsea squad to face Leicester City on Saturday. Hazard, 26, missed the start of the Blues' season after breaking his ankle while training with Belgium in June. But he scored in Belgium's World Cup qualifying win over Gibraltar, before a substitute appearance against Greece as his side made the World Cup finals. Blues manager Antonio Conte said: "I can count on him but I have to decide the right moment and minutes for him." "I think he's improving a lot," added the Italian. "He worked very strong to be ready and he is an important player for us." Hazard was instrumental as Chelsea won the Premier League last season, scoring 16 goals in 36 games but also said in June he would "listen" if Real Madrid offered him a deal. Conte's side have begun the defence of their title with victories over Tottenham and Everton. Drinkwater also in squad Chelsea brought in two players on transfer deadline day with defender Davide Zappacosta making the move from Torino and midfielder Danny Drinkwater joining from Leicester City for £35m. Drinkwater was a key part of the Foxes side that won the Premier League in 2015-16. He is yet to play this season because of a thigh injury but Conte said the 27-year-old was in the squad to face his former club. "He's a good buy for us and is working very well but I don't know honestly when he will be ready to play," he added. "We are working with him and trying to make him in the best physical condition, this week he improved a lot." |
A lot is about to change for The Lone Bellow, a trio of Southerners who now call Brooklyn home: The band has yet to perform outside of New York, but its self-titled debut album is already charting on iTunes. Its members just quit their day jobs this month so they can go on tour. You'll see in this performance why they're bound to connect with new fans on the road. Zach Williams, Kanene Pipkin and Brian Elmquist are natural, passionate live performers who play and sing infectious folk-rock in close harmony with startling confidence. The band's debut was recorded at a New York City club, Rockwood Music Hall, which closed its doors for three days and nights so The Lone Bellow could record. WFUV captured this performance of "The One You Should've Let Go" on the exact same stage, which might explain just a little of the magic here. Given the anthemic appeal of Williams' songwriting, it's no surprise that it inspires a spontaneous audience sing-along. Watch more excerpts and listen to the entire concert at WFUV.org. Credits |
How can you not be moved by this face? The face that says “I’m just like you” but brows speak of an ability to find surprise in the mundane. The mustache says “I may not be perfect, but I try” and the eyes shine the light of a man’s sorrow and a boy’s innocent curiosity. I have always adored Charlie Chaplin for just these things and so much more. The Movies Now Network here in India has been airing Charlie Chaplin movies every Thursday evening this month. I’ve been so grateful and delighted to have been reminded of the artistry and comedic genius of Mr. Chaplin. The man was a remarkable comedian and evokes more belly laughter in a black and white silent film than any in-living-color comedian could hope to master with such ease and grace. But let me get around to the point I’m writing this piece. Last night’s movie was The Great Dictator. Released in October of 1940, this was Chaplin’s first true “talkie” film although he continued making silent films well into a decade where they had left fashion. If you’re not familiar with this flick, it lampoons Hitler and Nazi Germany. Like all of his films, Chaplin, wrote, directed, produced and starred in its leading role. Chaplin plays two characters in this film. One is a Jewish barber and the other is Adenoid Hynkel (his version of Adolph Hitler). If you’d like to know more about the film and its plot, this link should satisfy your curiosity. Although this proved to be his most successful film, I personally didn’t find it had as much whimsy and simplistic depth as his silent films. What did stand out, however, and the reason you’re reading about it on this blog, was a totally unexpected speech at the very end of the movie. Chaplin was a master of those honest and poignant blind-siding moments that never fail to take my breath away and this was one of those. The speech literally reached across the gulf of decades and spoke to real current world issues with both honesty and hope. I was so moved I had to pull it out of yesteryear’s closet in hopes of enforcing the sentiment that the “machine men with machine hearts” never have our best interests in mind in a world where violence and greed seem to be the guiding force of humanity. First, let me set up what has happened to lead our character, the Jewish barber, to the predicament he finds himself in that leads to his speech. He escapes from a concentration camp wearing the enemy’s uniform. Border guards mistake him for Hynkel because they look nearly identical. At the same time, Hynkel falls overboard during a duck-hunting trip and mistaken for the barber and is arrested by his own soldiers. The barber, now secretly assuming Hynkel’s identity is taken to the capital of Osterlich to make a victory speech. He is introduced to the throngs by Minister of the Interior Garbitsch who decries free speech and argues for the subjugation of the Jews. Then our reluctant hero takes the podium and says: “I’m sorry but I don’t want to be an Emperor, that’s not my business. I don’t want to rule or conquer anyone. I should like to help everyone if possible, Jew, gentile, black man, white. We all want to help one another, human beings are like that. We all want to live by each other’s happiness, not by each other’s misery. We don’t want to hate and despise one another. In this world there is room for everyone and the earth is rich and can provide for everyone. The way of life can be free and beautiful. But we have lost the way. Greed has poisoned men’s souls, has barricaded the world with hate; has goose-stepped us into misery and bloodshed. We have developed speed but we have shut ourselves in: machinery that gives abundance has left us in want. Our knowledge has made us cynical, our cleverness hard and unkind. We think too much and feel too little: More than machinery we need humanity; More than cleverness we need kindness and gentleness. Without these qualities, life will be violent and all will be lost. The aeroplane and the radio have brought us closer together. The very nature of these inventions cries out for the goodness in men, cries out for universal brotherhood for the unity of us all. Even now my voice is reaching millions throughout the world, millions of despairing men, women and little children, victims of a system that makes men torture and imprison innocent people. To those who can hear me I say “Do not despair”. The misery that is now upon us is but the passing of greed, the bitterness of men who fear the way of human progress: the hate of men will pass and dictators die and the power they took from the people, will return to the people and so long as men die [now] liberty will never perish. . . Soldiers: don’t give yourselves to brutes, men who despise you and enslave you, who regiment your lives, tell you what to do, what to think and what to feel, who drill you, diet you, treat you as cattle, as cannon fodder. Don’t give yourselves to these unnatural men, machine men, with machine minds and machine hearts. You are not machines. You are not cattle. You are men. You have the love of humanity in your hearts. You don’t hate, only the unloved hate. Only the unloved and the unnatural. Soldiers: don’t fight for slavery, fight for liberty. In the seventeenth chapter of Saint Luke it is written: “The kingdom of God is within man” Not one man, nor a group of men, but in all men; in you, the people. You the people have the power, the power to create machines, the power to create happiness. You the people have the power to make life free and beautiful, to make this life a wonderful adventure. Then in the name of democracy let’s use that power, let us all unite. Let us fight for a new world, a decent world that will give men a chance to work, that will give you the future and old age and security. By the promise of these things, brutes have risen to power, but they lie. They do not fulfil their promise, they never will. Dictators free themselves but they enslave the people. Now let us fight to fulfil that promise. Let us fight to free the world, to do away with national barriers, do away with greed, with hate and intolerance. Let us fight for a world of reason, a world where science and progress will lead to all men’s happiness. Soldiers! In the name of democracy, let us all unite! . . . Look up! Look up! The clouds are lifting, the sun is breaking through. We are coming out of the darkness into the light. We are coming into a new world. A kind new world where men will rise above their hate and brutality. The soul of man has been given wings, and at last he is beginning to fly. He is flying into the rainbow, into the light of hope, into the future, that glorious future that belongs to you, to me and to all of us. Look up. Look up.” Here is the scene where he makes the speech from the film “The Great Dictator”: I hope this moved you as it did me. I hope you will share it with those you think might benefit. Look up, Look up. We must never stop looking up. If you enjoy Charlie Chaplin, you may also enjoy A Little Sweetness–Charlie Chaplin Kiss Me. |
Rama Erdogan Recep Tayyip Erdoğan i bëri Edi Ramës një kërkesë të drejpërdrejtë: luftë kundër strukturave dhe njërzve të Fethullah Gülen në Shqipëri. Më 5 maj të vitit 2015, teksa vizitonte Tiranën, presidenti turk u shpreh edhe publikisht. Erdogan:“Ju jeni në dijeni që ne në Turqi po luftojmë kundër një strukturë paralele që është krijuar. Ne e konsiderojmë zyrtarisht organizatë terroriste që kërcënon shtetin tonë, popullin tonë. Luftën kundër kësaj organizate në vendin tonë dhe kudo do ta vazhdojmë pa ndërprerje. Unë e di që kjo strukturë ka veprimtarinë e vet edhe në Shqipëri, në këtë vend mik dhe vëlla. I vetëdijshëm se nuk mund niste një gjueti shtrigash vetëm nga thirrjet lënguese të një njeriu që sheh komplote sa më shumë i rritet hija e pushtetit, por i pafuqishëm për t’i thënë “jo” “vëllait turk”, Edi Rama nis një lojë të dyfishtë. Pas kërkesës së Erdogan ai nxorri një udhër për heqjen e të gjitha simboleve kombëtare të vendeve të tjera nga shkollat e universitetet në Shqipëri. (Lëvizja Gylen mbështet disa shkolla, kolegje e universitete në Shqipëri, të cilat kanë mbajtur më parë flamurin e Turqisë). Lajmi tërhoqi vëmendjen e mediave, ashtu siç duhej për të arritur deri në zyrat e ambasadës turke. Por në realitet nga aktivitetet nuk u cënuan. Lapsi.al mëson se ambasada turke ka pasur në vazhdimësi kërkesa të tjera për mbylljen e shkollave gyleniste në Shqipëri. Por a mundej Edi Rama t’ia plotësonte këtë kërkesë “vëllait” edhe pse ai i ka premtuar t’i japë paratë për të ndërtuar aeroportin e Vlorës? Si do ta justifikonte ai mbylljen e shkollave brenda dhe jashtë vendit? Lapsi.al mëson se Rama po zbaton një strategji për t’i larguar gylenistët nga shkollat dhe universitetet private, të cilën e ka nisur në fillim të këtij viti. Në ndihmë po i vijnë biznesmenë pranë tij. Por teksa kjo strategji do të kërkojë kohë, një zhvillim i pallogaritur e ka vënë në testim besnikërinë dhe devotshmërinë e tij ndaj Erdogan. Një profesor turk u ndalua më 8 tetor në Durrës, teksa po përpiqen të kalonte në Itali së bashku me familjen, pasi pasaporta e tij ishte pezulluar nga Ankaraja. Por Muhammed Yasir Aydoğmuş ishte shpallur në kërkim nga Turqia, si pjesë e mijëra turqve të dyshuar për grushtin e dështuar të shtetit të korrikut të vitit të kaluar. Ai u kap për t’u esktraduar në Turqi, por Gjykata e Durrësit e la të lirë më 12 tetor. Autoritetet turke ishin në pritje të vendimit të Shqipërisë. Por për lirimin e tij u luajt shumë në prapaskenë dhe llogaritë nuk dolën ashtu si nisën. Parlamenti Europian u adresoi një letër autoriteteve shqiptare, në të cilën i kërkonte ta lironte Muhammed Yasir Aydoğmuş. Letra mban firmën e eurodeputetes Monica Macoevi, Kryesuese e Delegacionit të Parlamentit Europian në Komitetin Parlamentar të Stabilizimit dhe Asocimit BE- Shqipëri. Ajo i kujtoi Shqipërisë detyrimet për të mos kryer ekstradime për arsye politike (lexo më poshtë në faqen e lapsi.al letrën e plotë të znj. Macoevi). Turqia reagoi menjëherë. Në ambasadën turke pati zemërim. I ngakruari me punë me punë Cem Bas e akuzoi profesorin për terrorizëm dhe deklaroi publikisht se Gjykata e Durrësit kishte cënuar sigurinë kombëtare të Shqipërisë (shih më poshtë të plotë letrën në faqen e lapsi.al). Zemërimi i Turqisë është i dukshëm. Dhe nuk do të marrë fund këtu. Profesori turk ka kërkuar azil politik në Shqipëri. Kështu, çështja e tij do të jetë gjatë në qendër të vëmendjes. Edhe pse për momentin kryeministri shqiptar ngjan në rregull me të dyja palët, duke kënaqur “vëllain Erdogan” me arrestimin e akademikut dhe Brukselin me lënien e tij të lirë, shumë shpejt ai do të përballet me të tjera kërkesa zyrtare apo “vëllazërore” për ta ekstraduar të kërkuarin. Në lojë janë marrëdhëniet e tij me Brukselin dhe Ankaranë. Me këtë të fundit, ato kanë një rëndësi të veçantë. Jo më kot ai e përmendi edhe dje në Vlorë aeroportin që Turqia i ka premtuar se do ta ndërtojë në qytetin bregdetar: si një sinjal që edhe për profesorin gylenist ai do ta gjejë një mënyrë për ta kënaqur “vëllain Erdogan”. Por kësaj here Brukseli është shumë i vëmendshëm. Dhe Ramës i duhet të zgjedhë, pa pasur mundësinë e zvarritjes së vendimeve apo lëvizjeve në prapaskenë për të kënaqur të gjitha palët. /Lapsi.al Letra e plotë e Monica Macoevi Parlamenti Europian, Bruksel, 13 Tetor 2017 I dashur Zotëri Faleminderit që e ndatë këtë situatë me ne. Kjo çështje është thuajse gjerësisht e njohur dhe e trajtuar me seriozitet nga parlamenti europian. Disa OJQ dhe gazetarë na kanë shkruar mbi rastin e akademikut turk, zotit Yasir Aydogmus, rezident në Shqipëri, i cili u ndalua në Shqipëri tri ditë më parë, teksa përpiqej të kalonte kufirin për në Itali së bashku me familjen. E kuptoj që zoti Aydogmus është tashmë i arrestuar në qytetin e Durrësit në pritje të gjykimit, ndërsa gruaja dhe dy vajzat e tij janë dërguar në Tiranë dhe sipas avokatëve të tij ai do të përballet me ekstradimin e pashmangshëm. Në autoritetin tim si Kryesuese e Delegacionit të Parlamentit Europian në Komitetin Parlamentar të Stabilizimit dhe Asocimit BE- Shqipëri, do të doja të kujtoja si më poshtë: Ka një konventë europiane mbi çështjet e ekstradimit nga Këshilli i Europës e firmosur nga Shqipëria gjithashtu, në të cilën qartësisht në artikullin 3 thuhet se është e ndaluar të ekstradohen njerëz për arsye politike. Artikulli 3 Shqipëria është një vend Europian, që ndan të njëjtat vlera si Bashkimi Europian dhe për këtë arsye nuk duhet të lejojë ekstradimin apo dërgimin e një personi në një vend, ku ai mund të bëhet subjekt i torturave dhe trajtimeve çnjerëzore. Është pjesë e rregullave kryesore në kartën europiane e të drejtave të njeriut. Artikulli 19, pika 1 dhe 2 Nëse argumenti që vjen nga autoritetet shqiptare për këtë vendim, lidhet me faktin që pasaporta e zotit Yasir Aydogmus është pezulluar nga autoritetet turke, kjo nuk përbën një bazë ligjore për ekstradim. Është thelbësore për Shqipërinë të qëndrojë në pozicionin e saj europian dhe është një moment i rëndësishëm provojë se do të veprojë sipas Kartës Europiane të të drejtave themelore, një praktikë e vendeve anëtare të BE dhe dispozitë e traktateve dhe konventave ndërkombëtare humanitare. Sinqerisht e juaja Monica Macoevi Deklarate nga Cem Bas, Chargé d’affaires në Ambassaden Turke në Shqipëri: Ne jemi shumë të zhgënjyer nga dy vendime skandaloze të Gjykatës së Durrësit. Së pari, më 8 tetor të dielën, Muhammet Yasir Aydoğmuş dhe familja e tij u arrestuan për shkak të përdorimit të pasaportave të falsifikuara turke në Durrës. Ata u përpoqën të kalonin Italinë duke përdorur dokumente të falsifikuara të udhëtimit, që është një krim i dënushem deri në 5 vjet burg sipas nenit 189 të ligjit penal shqiptar. Megjithatë, më 11 tetor 2017, Gjykata e Durrësit vendosi të lironte Muhammet Yasir Aydoğmuş në këmbim të një shume shumë qesharake parash. Padyshim që këto pasaporta ishin produkte të krimit të organizuar transnacional. Pra, vendimi i parë tregoi se përdorimi i pasaportave të falsifikuara që prodhohen nga rrjetet e organizuara kriminale nuk kanë sanksione në praktikë dhe të huajt që përdorin pasaportat false janë të lira dhe të mirëpritura në Shqipëri. Së dyti, është e rëndësishme që Muhammet Yasir Aydoğmuş akuzohet se është anëtar i një organizate terroriste të armatosur në Turqi, përkatësisht FETÖ. Të gjithë publiku shqiptar dëshmitar i asaj që ndodhi në Turqi më 15 korrik 2016. Kjo organizatë e armatosur vrau 250 qytetarë turq dhe plagosi mijëra. Ekziston një urdhër arresti i gjyqtarit turk kundër tij. Pra, bazuar në Konventën Evropiane për Ekstradimin, kërkuam nga autoritetet shqiptare që ta arrestonin atë provizor për 40 ditë. Ne kemi ofruar të gjitha dokumentet e nevojshme. Megjithatë, përsëri, një gjyqtar tjetër në Durrës mohoi kërkesën tonë për ekstradim me një vendim skandaloz dje (13 tetor). Ne besojmë se kjo është në kundërshtim me Konventën në fjalë, ku Shqipëria dhe Turqia janë pjesë e saj dhe e cila është gjithashtu pjesë e bashkëpunimit tonë dypalësh gjyqësor. Dhe është gjithashtu një shembull shumë i keq për luftën kundër terrorizmit. I dyshuari për terrorizëm Muhammet Yasir Aydoğmuş dhe avokati i tij u përpoqën të politizojnë rastin dhe gjyqtari i Durrësit ra lehtë në këtë kurth. Tani një i dyshuar për terrorizëm, duke përdorur pasaporta të falsifikuara të cilat ai ka marrë nga kriminelët e organizuar është i lirë në Shqipëri. Ne besojmë se kjo situatë është gjithashtu kundër sigurisë kombëtare të Shqipërisë. Nëse dyshohet për terrorizëm, duke përdorur pasaporta të falsifikuara u jepet liria për të udhëtuar në territoret shqiptare, kjo do të thotë se kjo kërcënon sigurinë e Shqipërisë dhe shqiptarëve. Ai hap rrugën për më shumë të dyshuar për terrorizëm dhe inkurajon të dyshuarit për terrorizëm që të veprojnë dhe të bashkëpunojnë me rrjetet kriminale. |
When Ben Cherington joined the Toronto Blue Jays in September of 2016, the team was in the midst of a playoff race, and the focus was squarely on the field. Under those circumstances the addition of the former Boston Red Sox GM generated relatively little fanfare. But Cherington, now the vice president of baseball operations, plays an integral role in the Blue Jays’ front office, particularly on the player development front. He joined Jeff Blair and Stephen Brunt on Sportsnet 590 The FAN Friday to discuss his new role, the Blue Jays’ off-season and his ongoing search for knowledge about the game. Here are some highlights… The Jeff Blair Show Ben Cherington: Impressed with Blue Jays' front office patience & discipline February 17 2017 Your browser does not support the audio element. On the Blue Jays’ off-season “I think Ross (Atkins) and the group in the front office in Toronto just demonstrated a tremendous amount of patience, discipline. This was not an easy off-season. Coming off two very successful seasons, clear expectation to continue that. The players in place to give us a chance to continue that, but also a lot of work to do, and not easy, obvious solutions to a lot of the work that had to be done. I feel like the patience and discipline that Ross and the guys around him demonstrated this winter was really impressive.” On a common trait of successful Red Sox teams “(On) the best teams, the most talented players also were our best competitors, the hardest workers, guys that cared the most. I feel that’s in place here just from being down here for a few days. The players that the Blue Jays will be counting on the most also happen to be extremely hard workers, highly competitive, care a lot about the team and that sets a great example for new players coming into the organization and integrating with the team and also young players in the minor leagues who are developing and looking up to that.” On his role with Blue Jays “Always evolving. The idea coming in in September was to primarily focus on two areas: one, player development – that’s something I’ve done in the past; I was a farm director myself way back when. We’ve got a great group in player development, led by our farm director Gil Kim, who’s outstanding. Field coordinator Eric Wedge; we’re really fortunate to have someone like Wedgie in the position that he’s in given his experience. “That was a piece of it: trying to contribute in some way to what we’re trying to do in player development. We’re trying to build a player development organization that gives every player, no matter who they are, a chance to reach their potential. Of course every team’s going to say that, but that’s what we’re trying to do. There’s a lot of talented folks spending a lot of time thinking about that, trying to learn how to do that the best way. Long-term we feel like that’s a critical element to the Blue Jays’ success. “And then being a resource for the guys in the front office including Ross. In that respect — hopefully I can do that over time. I’m not sure what kind of contribution I’ve made so far, but hopefully I can be a resource and use past experience — things that went well or things that did not go well — to maybe shed some light on a particular decision or challenge that we might be facing.” On a team’s role in player development “Other than a very, very, very, very small percentage — the Ken Griffey Jr., Alex Rodriguez levels of the world, guys that are just so uniquely gifted that they fly through minor-league systems and become elite players at the major-league levels right away — most of the players, and most of the best players on the current Blue Jays team, and we have some really, really good players on our current major-league team, faced some adversity along the way, had to make some adjustment in the minor leagues or even in the major leagues. “For most players, they have to go down that path. Once you’re in professional baseball the game changes in terms of expectations, in terms of the everyday nature of it, the length of the season. Strictly from a physical standpoint the game is different at the professional level than it is at the amateur level and that requires adjustments. So it’s really that idea of which players can make the appropriate adjustments to make the most of their natural ability over time, and how can we help them do that? How can we surround them with the best possible resources to help them do that?” On shared traits of strong player development organizations “The organizations that excel, whether it’s in scouting, or player development, or just as baseball operations groups, are truly passionate and borderline maniacal about pursuing what they believe in, learning every day and getting better every day. “There are different ways to do it … the Giants do it differently than the Cardinals. The Royals do it differently than the Indians. The Blue Jays are going to do it differently from another team, in part because the environment and the circumstances that the Blue Jays operate in. Whatever your particular set of values is, your particular beliefs in terms of how to build the best baseball organization, once you have that, you’ve just got to be completely committed and dedicated to that every day. It’s not something that just exists on a piece of paper or exists in theory. It’s something that has to be lived out every day by everyone in the organization. That’s the common theme, not so much a philosophy, it’s the total dedication and commitment by everyone in the organization every single day.” On the search for organizational knowledge “This is an organization that’s truly dedicated to learning every day, to getting better every day in every way that we can. It’s not just something that’s said, but it’s something that’s lived and supported, that last part being really critical. People are not only encouraged to find ways to learn and get better every day, but supported to the extent that even if there are mistakes made, that support is still there.” |
Contains 1 oz of .9999 fine Silver. Each coin comes in a protective plastic capsule. Designed by Volodymyr Taran, Oleksandr Kharuk and Serhii Kharuk. Obverse: Displays the Coat of Arms of Ukraine with “National Bank of Ukraine” inscribed in Ukrainian. Reverse: Features the Taxiarch Archangel Michael with his wings spread and his sword drawn, surrounded by a quote of T. Shevchenko's "Haydamakys" in Ukrainian which translates to "for us and souls of righteous men", and archistrategos "Michael's strength". Guaranteed by the National Bank of Ukraine. The National Bank of Ukraine sets the mintage of the Archangels at the end of each year. The mintages have been below 30,000 coins in the years up to date. The Archangel Michael notably is known as being the angel that led the defense of Heaven, defeating the dragon, sometimes referred to as Satan or the devil, and his angels.Protect your capsules from fingerprints by adding theseto your order.Don’t miss out on the opportunity to add this magnificent 2017 Ukrainian 1 oz Silver Archangel Michael coin to your cart today!Archangel Michael is the honored protector of the Ukrainian capital and estate. In his legacy, the National Bank of Ukraine has commemorated an elaborate coin with acute craftsmanship for collectors worldwide. Its distinctive characteristics and scarce availability have increased collectors demands for it all over the world.Michael is an archangel in Judaism, Christianity and Islam that is sometimes referred to as Saint Michael, Saint Michael the Archangel or Taxiarch Archangel Michael. Michael is seen as a healer, leader of the army of God against the forces of evil and protector of children. Scholars believe Michael is the unnamed angel used by God in multiple significant stories of the Old Testament.Artistic depictions and religious iconography vary in their portrayals of Michael. The Archangel Michael is sometimes seen with a full suit of Roman-inspired armor, a flaming sword in his right hand and his bird-like wings spread open in full display. One of the most famous depictions of Michael is of the Archangel standing tall above the dragon ready to slay it with a spear or sword. |
There’s a lot we don’t know about spinosaurs. Even though a few of these croc-snouted animals are known from mostly complete skeletons—including Baryonyx and Suchomimus—many spinosaurs are known from only sparse bits and pieces. The large spinosaur Oxalaia from the Cretaceous rock of Brazil is known from two skull fragments, and only a few elements have been found from the newly announced Ichthyovenator. We know even less about another recently proposed spinosaur. Called Ostafrikasaurus, this dinosaur is represented by a pair of teeth. Paleontologist Eric Buffetaut described the dinosaur teeth in the journal Oryctos. They were found a century ago by the German fossil expeditions to Tanzania. During that time, the field team collected more than 230 teeth attributable to Late Jurassic theropod dinosaurs, predators that lived among sauropods and stegosaurs around 150 million years ago. Determining exactly which dinosaurs these dental tidbits belonged to has been a persistent problem. Mammal teeth, with their various cusps and troughs, are often distinctive enough to identify genera and species, but isolated dinosaur teeth are not usually so informative. Many dinosaur species named from teeth alone have turned out to be synonyms of dinosaurs known from better material. Unless you have a detailed knowledge of the dinosaurs that lived in a particular area at a given time, attributing isolated teeth to particular dinosaurs is a risky proposition. Anatomical context is extremely important in these situations. No surprise, then, that the teeth Buffetaut described have had a complicated history. German paleontologist Werner Janensch, who did much of the initial descriptive work on the Jurassic dinosaurs of Tanzania, thought that the serrated, ridged and slightly curved teeth probably belonged to a dinosaur O.C. Marsh named from the Jurassic of North America, “Labrosaurus.” (“Labrosaurus” is now considered a synonym of Allosaurus.) More recently, in 2000, paleontologists James Madsen and Samuel Welles suggested that the teeth belonged to a form of Ceratosaurus, a highly ornamented theropod typically found in the Late Jurassic rock of western North America. And in 2008, paleontologist Denver Fowler mentioned that these peculiar teeth from Tanzania might hint at a connection between ceratosaurs and spinosaurs. With this in mind, Buffetaut reexamined the strange teeth and concluded that they represent a hitherto unknown form of early spinosaur. Buffetaut singled out two possible spinosaur teeth—specimens designated MB.R.1084 and MB.R.1091. Both of these teeth have relatively coarse serrations and a number of prominent vertical ridges along both sides of the teeth, with more on the tongue side than the cheek side. Overall, they look similar to the teeth of Baryonyx, and so Buffetaut created a new genus and species of dinosaur for the two teeth: Ostafrikasaurus crassiserratus. If Ostafrikasaurus is a spinosaur, it would be the earliest known and could help elucidate what these dinosaurs were like before they became fish-catching specialists. But there’s too little material to be sure. The Ostrafrikasaurus teeth look similar to spinosaur teeth, but as previously recognized by other paleontologists, they also resemble ceratosaur teeth. We need a nice skull set with Ostrafrikasaurus-like teeth to determine what this dinosaur actually was. The same is true of a large claw found in the Late Jurassic strata of North America, currently attributed to Torvosaurus, that has been highlighted as possible evidence of a spinosaur. There may have been spinosaurs in North America, and their history might have stretched back 150 million years to the time of Apatosaurus, but definitive proof remains elusive. Until adequate fossil evidence turns up, the idea of Late Jurassic spinosaurs will be left hanging. References: Buffetaut, E. 2011. An early spinosaurid dinosaur from the Late Jurassic of Tendaguru (Tanzania) and the evolution of the spinosaurid dentition. Oryctos. 10, 1-8 |
Medics at Southampton General Hospital could not get the man's penis out of the stainless steel pipe because the restricted blood flow had caused it to become aroused. So they called in Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service. They turned up with a special equipment unit from St Mary's station in Southampton and seven firefighters to help in what a spokesman said was a ''delicate operation''. The firefighters used the four-and-a-half-inch grinder to cut the pipe from around the man's penis and it took about 30 minutes. The patient was given an anaesthetic and his penis was left bruised and swollen but otherwise unharmed. The anxious man aged about 40 gave hospital staff no explanation about how the pipe got stuck after he turned up on Tuesday morning. A Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service spokesman said: ''Initially the crew did not have the appropriate cutting equipment to free the man. ''It was a very delicate operation that required a very steady hand and the crew was worried about things getting too hot during the cutting. ''It's certainly an unusual call-out and I'm sure the man won't be getting into that situation again.'' |
MEMBER UPDATE: So a couple of things have happened these past few days. As mentioned in the other update I was able to find another member to join the team and help with the visual aspects of everything and work on the models.. Well a couple days ago they decided to leave due to some strange circumstances. Now I’m not going to be going into detail on what has happened as I’m not even entirely sure what happened if Im being honest here, some people have trust issues and ill leave it at that. BUILDING SYSTEM: Back to the fun part! Someone who was following the progression of the game liked what I was doing and wanted to help out with some models. Their work was far better than the previous member who bailed so I happily added them on board. Some of the models you see in game are going to be replaced as they were made by the previous member. Even though they said it would be find to keep it, I would much rather move away from that drama and begin new. Using the basic “Socket” system as that seems to be the best choice for us right now for building. LAKES AND SMALL PONDS ADDED: While taking a quick break on the building system I decided to go ahead and add water into the world because well.. We all need water. Currently water will be spawned in the chunk that has vertices that drop below the water level. It will then check the surrounding vertices to determine how big the lake/pond is and scale the water to the correct size as well as position it in the center. This is so not EVERY chunk will have water just sitting below itself for no reason. SIDE NOTES: The new member and I have been pretty busy in our everyday lives but we are currently going over how we want the look of the game to be. All models you see currently are temporary and are subject to change. Advertisements |
BY: In a development that is not sending shockwaves through the pro-Israel community, the "pro-Israel, pro-peace" advocacy group J Street has declared its support for the Palestinian refusal to recognize Israel as a Jewish state. In a statement posted on the group's website, executive director Jeremy Ben-Ami says that to "keep moving forward, both [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas] now need to give a little." Netanyahu, he says, must drop his insistence that Abbas recognize Israel as a Jewish State because "it is simply unrealistic and unreasonable to expect any Palestinian leader to consent" to such a demand. Ben-Ami never goes on to say what Abbas "needs to give." J Street's advocacy for the Palestinian refusal to recognize Israel as a Jewish state follows a nearly unbroken period of advocacy for Palestinian and Iranian interests since the group's founding in 2008. J Street took the Hamas position on Israel during Operation Cast Lead later that year, accusing the IDF of war crimes and promoting the discredited Goldstone Report. It lobbied for the Iranian regime's position against Iran sanctions. It defended the terrorists who attacked IDF soldiers on the 2010 Gaza flotilla. J Street also took the Palestinian and Arab League position on a UN Security Council resolution on Israeli settlements in 2011. |
A sign is shown at the headquarters of Netflix in Los Gatos, California September 20, 2011. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith (© Robert Galbraith / Reuters) The Center for Public Accountability is out today with a massive piece of research, ranking hundreds of major companies according to how politically transparent they are. And let's just say that if political transparency is your thing, you might be a little conflicted about that Netflix addiction. The study used a series of criteria, including how and whether these companies disclose political contributions, whether they disclose spending on contentious political issues like ballot measures, whether they are up-front about their policies on political giving, and whether there is proper oversight of that political giving. As the Center for Public Integrity's Dave Levinthal -- who first wrote up the report -- noted, 20 of the nearly 300 companies included in the study came out with a score of zero. But the study notes that there is also evidence that companies are moving in the direction of more transparency. And while there are plenty of companies scoring very low, there are also many quite recognizable ones that score very highly. Below we've picked out some of the most recognizable companies that scored either very highly or very lowly. (Warning to pro-transparency Keurig aficionados: You might feel moved to adjust your caffeine intake methods more toward Starbucks.) And for those who want to look up a specific company that isn't listed below, we encourage you to peruse the full report. Scoring zero: T Rowe Price Schwab (Charles) Corp. Ralph Lauren Corp. Ross Stores Inc. Netflix M&T Bank Corp. Keurig Green Mountain Inc. Low (20 or fewer points): PNC Financial Services (4.3) Fidelity National Information Services (4.3) Dollar General Corp. (7.1) Bed, Bath and Beyond Inc. (7.1) Priceline.com Inc. (8.6) Whole Foods Market Inc. (10.0) Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. (10.0) DIRECTV (10.0) CBS Corp. (11.4) Macy’s Inc. (12.9) Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (15.7) Tyson Foods (20.0) Southwest Airlines Co (20.0) High (75-90 points): Visa Inc. (75.7) Starbucks Corp. (75.7) BB&T Corp. (75.7) Aetna Inc. (75.7) Monsanto Co. (77.1) Kellogg Co. (77.1) Johnson & Johnson (77.1) MetLife Inc. (78.6) Lockheed Martin Corp. (78.6) General Electric Co. (78.6) Boston Scientific Corp. (78.6) CVS Caremark Corp. (80.0) Costco Wholesale Corp. (80.0) Wells Fargo & Co. (81.4) Target Corp. (81.4) eBay Inc. (81.4) Boeing Co. (81.4) General Mills, Inc. (87.1) ConocoPhillips (87.1) American Express Co. (87.1) Yum Brands Inc. (Taco Bell, KFC, Pizza Hut) (88.6) Exemplary (90 points or above): |
It was all in day's work, according to wildlife officer Adam Jalbert, but it made all the difference for a white tail buck facing certain death in the Athabasca area. Last month, an area farmer called up Jalbert's office describing how a deer was dragging a second deer across his open field. "He knew if he didn't contact us, the other would have died as well," Jalbert said. Jalbert and his partner drove out to the field and easily found the drag marks. They found the deer not far inside the bush. "He was struggling obviously quite a bit," Jalbert said. "He'd been carrying that carcass, that dead deer, for I would guess, probably close to two days based on how much the dead deer was scavenged already by predators. Jalbert grabbed a handsaw and moved in. "He was still very energetic and very active." The buck backed away from the officers, still dragging the carcass until deadfall on the trail made it difficult to go any further. 'He was still more than powerful' "I started to saw," Jalbert said. "He did push forward towards me. I was trying to control him with my left hand on his antler, but he was still more than powerful and he kind of knocked me back." After they let the buck calm down, it took all of 15 seconds or so to finish. "He jumped up and took off as if nothing had ever happened to him," he said. "We couldn't even get a picture of him." Jalbert said two deer locking antlers is not uncommon and some of his colleagues have made similar rescues. "Just another day on the job," he said. "The males are naturally always maintaining some sort of hierarchy amongst each other. Whether it's full on aggressive fighting, or battling during the rut, or if it's just minor jousting later on, these animals are always doing that." Jalbert said he was amazed to see how much power the surviving deer still had. "When he finally let go of that dead deer, when I cut the antler off, he took off just as though it was a fully energetic animal, totally healthy." "That live deer, not only was he dragging around that dead deer's carcass, he was also likely fighting off coyotes and other scavengers," he said. |
Truth was, Hema was intensely in love with Dharmendra by then, as was he with her. When Jaya [Chakravarthy - Hema Malini’s mother] got a whiff of the situation, not surprisingly, she raised hell, but this time she held no sway. For the first time in her life, Hema kept the relationship a secret from her parents and did everything she could to keep meeting him. Once, to the horror and utter disbelief of her family, she disappeared for an entire day. When she came back, they were too relieved to rebuke her, but Jaya increased her watch over them. The couple had little choice but to restrict their meetings to film sets, which was often enough, since they were doing so many movies together by then. It was about now that Jaya felt that getting Hema married seemed the only way out of the situation. She didn’t need to look too far. At the time, Hema was working with Jeetendra on two films – Dulhan (1974) and Khushboo (1975) – and it was obvious that the two got along famously. Jeetendra also had a soft corner for Hema and had been pursuing her for a while. When Hema consistently showed disinterest, he finally made peace and the two settled on becoming good friends. Over the years, Hema and Jeetendra grew to become each other’s confidantes. Hema, in fact, was one of the few who had known about his affair with Mumtaz. But although theirs was a platonic friendship, Dharmendra was never happy about it. It is believed that he had always been suspicious of Jeetendra, and being the possessive lover he was, he once went as far as to storm on to the sets of a Hema– Jeetendra production and drag Hema into the makeup room in a rage, while the latter stood dumbfounded. Meanwhile, Jaya kept working on her plans. Every day was spent convincing her daughter to marry Jeetendra. She managed to coax Hema to meet his parents, and once Hema did, things started spiralling. Jeetendra’s family was ecstatic – they could hardly wait for the alliance. A close friend of Jeetendra’s remembers him saying, ‘I don’t want to marry Hema. I am not in love with her. She is not in love with me. But my family wants it, so I might as well. And she is such a good girl.’ For all practical purposes, it was to be a marriage of convenience. It had to be quick – before either party changed its mind – and it had to be a clandestine affair, so that no ‘untoward trouble’ could take place. Hema, Jeetendra and their families had flown to Madras and the wedding was supposed to happen there. But an evening daily got a whiff of the sensational news and their next issue carried the ‘big story’. It left much of the industry in a state of disbelief but more importantly, it gave Dharmendra a jolt he was clearly unprepared for. Recovering his wits quickly, he rushed to Shobha Sippy’s house – then Jeetendra’s airhostess girlfriend – and the two took the next flight to Madras to take matters into their hands. When they reached Hema’s house in Madras, the scene, ironically, was no less dramatic than a blockbuster. Hema’s father couldn’t contain his rage and almost physically pushed Dharmendra out of the house. ‘Why don’t you get out of my daughter’s life? You are a married man, you can’t marry my daughter,’ he repeatedly yelled. But a pleading, helplessly sentimental and slightly inebriated Dharam could not be budged. Finally, they agreed to let him talk to Hema alone in a room, while everybody else – Hema’s parents, Jeetendra’s parents and the registrar of the marriage bureau – waited outside on tenterhooks. Inside the room, the two were going through an emotional turmoil of catastrophic proportions. Dharmendra, distraught and on the verge of falling to pieces, kept begging Hema not to make such a ‘big mistake’. Outside, it was Shobha’s turn to give vent to her rage. When a nonchalant Jeetendra announced to Shobha his decision to marry Hema, apparently all hell broke loose. When Hema finally came out of the room – puffy-eyed and visibly shaken – her voice quivered as she asked everyone if they could wait for a few days. Jeetendra and his parents, livid by now, declared that that was not an option. The marriage had to happen now or never. As everyone waited desperately for an answer, Hema quietly shook her head. The insult was far too much for Jeetendra and he stormed out of the house with his parents. This is excerpted from Hema Malini: Beyond The Dream Girl, authored by Ram Kamal Mukherjee. The book published by HarperCollins releases October 16. Follow @htshowbiz for more First Published: Oct 14, 2017 21:05 IST |
I wasn’t sure what to expect from my private with Kru Thailand, as I was not very familiar with him as a fighter. He was a Rajadamnern (118 lb), Lumpinee and Thailand champion (122 lb), out of the famed Pinsinchai gym, you can read the Siam Fight Mag interview of him here. What was very quickly evident was his comfort, familiarity and keenness in focusing in on techniques when instructing, with precision. One of the things that westerners can crave when coming to Thailand is technical, corrective instruction and Kru Thailand is all that. Not only is his Muay incredibly economical and effective, he’s very honed in on communicating it in all its small details. This was just one of the best sessions I’ve had in terms of demonstrable technique in all my experience. His English is quite good and mostly we spoke only brief sentences of clarification or affirmation, but one of my favorite things was how he’d say, “look Thailand.” He meant watch what he’s doing so I can see what he’s trying to show me, but with a gesture he’d show clearly where to look, which a lot of trainers don’t specify. If you’re keen as well you can pay attention to where he’s looking when he checks to see if you understand – that also clues you in to where the center of each technique is. And his techniques are beautiful. He calls himself a Muay Buk fighter, which is forward pressure and a lot of strikes, which he’s able to achieve due to this kind of caged or armored car manner of protecting himself while striking. It’s the gladiator shield and the sword: block on one side, slice on the other. His shadow of elbows when he was showing me the symmetry of movement and ease of footwork is some of the most beautiful I’ve ever seen. I could watch it all day and I could feel, instinctively, how it was just flowing out of him from hours and hours, years and years of repetition. (above), 10 minutes of my session with Kru Thailand, you can see the full hour here, by supporting my Muay Thai Library documentary project – 5% of all pledges go to my Kru Fund. At the very start of this video Kru Thailand is demonstrating his proper form for a knee executed while holding the shoulder of your opponent. What’s interesting about it to me is that, as westerners, 99% of the time our asses are back and our hips need to come in. Kru Thailand shows the difference in stance between an upright, hips-in execution and a hips-back (cocked for the knee, but not ass back) stance while latched on to the shoulder. It’s not a subtle difference between the hips in and hips back, but it is a subtle difference between hips back and ass back. If you look at the line of his body, from his shoulder to hip to the full extension of his back foot, it’s a lovely diagonal line. Putting your ass back breaks that line and breaks your power. But the extended arm, hips back for the knees tucks the head in as well. It’s powerful and beautiful and completely protected. It’s that damn armored car. He also adds a small forward step after the turn, which allows you to land off of the turn and then have one additional beat (and literally a step forward) to come up on your toe and deliver maximum power. This one second pause can be critical in the difference between a rushed knee and a knee that takes all the air out of your opponent, and that step, which isn’t really intuitive, is where the power comes from. He’s the only instructor I’ve seen teach this step, but it’s excellent, and it is in keeping with the general rule of his: step forward on every strike. The best bit of his arm-latch on the knees with the turn is that he taught me to bend the arm (above). I’ve never realized this importance before and surely always try to keep my arm straight (because the cross-arm is also working as a guard), while maybe sometimes having success with a bent arm and not realizing it. So I’ve struggled to just to understand why sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t, or why I have such a hard time maintaining grip. But Kru Thailand actually bends the elbows for me a few times, to create a better lock and greater control, which he must be able to feel from his end as well. This is one of those tiny adjustments that requires detail in observation and in understanding of the technique. It’s how you can get so much out of even just one hour with a trainer like Kru Thailand. He also slows down for the repetition of each technique, to allow the mistakes and adjustments to reveal themselves. I liked how he had me move forward and backward on everything, which seems quite obvious but is absolutely neglected in a great deal of practice throughout the world: learning to execute any technique from a multitude of angles, while moving and in a relaxed state. But he also can explain and demonstrate his entire system, which is brilliant. Not only is his system as a fighter and trainer really evident and comprehensive in how it all fits together, but when I threw something in that he hadn’t shown me (a fake teep to elbow), he identified immediately that the better time to throw that technique is when going backwards rather than forward as I was doing. He has a reason for all of his adjustments, which I reckon every trainer does, but he is thinking about it and can express it pretty clearly, which not all trainers can do. In fact, the way we got into clinch was by me grabbing him in a kind of improvised clinch during padwork. He responded to it, immediately felt what was good and what was lacking in that grip; he punished it first, by throwing me on the ground (he is, after all, a fighter in his heart) and then moved into showing me how to improve on those weaknesses. He’s an intuitive trainer, he lets the lesson develop as he goes, but his breadth and wealth of knowledge is deep enough that he has something to add to anything and everything. above, Kru Thailand’s lean over technique for clinch control What he showed me about peeling the arms down (Kevin and I call it the “banana peel” when you push the arms down from above in the clinch) using your own body weight from the shoulder, as well as a detail on where to land with your own weight that I didn’t fully grasp when in this lesson. You don’t put your chest on your opponent’s chest, as that kind of lean in can make you susceptible to being thrown, but you get your shoulder in and your chin down by their shoulder so you have maximum pin of their arm and can throw your opponent from this position as well. This is a very thin line between leaning too much and too little, something only learned by feel, so experiment with it over and over. Otherwise, as was the case in what I had to offer in that situation, you can be left kind of steering the arms around to no end. Not that. Kru Thailand shows me this trip that is really effective against most any kind of fighter, because you basically pin their leg down by the foot in order to keep them from being able to right themselves as you off-balance them from up top. He specified a limit on how far you can leave your foot on their leg in the turn before it becomes a foul, which I’d never heard before, but generally a lot of what’s legal or illegal in Muay Thai comes down to what you can and can’t see, or what is done with speed and flair. So, his tap of the foot to pin it and then immediately move your leg to get ready for the knee has two purposes: hide the trip and land the knee. There’s a lot of technique packed into the full-length video which last a full hour, and what’s really great about it is that Kru Thailand spends significant time and effort making adjustments to each piece. He doesn’t show a “trick”, say good good and move on. He demonstrates a technique, has you reveal your own limitations with it and then he works to make small adjustments while you move around and relax into the process of feeling it out. I reckon the heart of a Muay Buk fighter comes from absolute confidence in your defense and power with equal measure, and that comes from being able to stand in any space, swallow up the space in front of you and pressure your opponent with the absolute certainty that whatever they try to keep you back with isn’t going to do it. I could feel in executing (to the best of my ability) Kru Thailand’s techniques how one could come to this kind of confidence. It’s exquisite balance, mostly; but what I love about how he teaches is that he shows you – and walks you through – precisely how you get there, rather than just seeing the butterfly and having no idea how it got there from creeping around as a caterpillar. It’s hours and hours, years and years of exactly what you see in this video. It’s pretty incredible. If you’d like to train with Kru Thailand he’s core instructor at Santai Muay Thai gym in San Kamphaeng which is about 30 minutes outside of Chiang May in the North. The gym is esteemed by serious fighters and new students alike in that they offer lots of technical instruction, are known for teaching a comprehensive style in a more structured environment, and provide a camp-like setting that many westerners find satisfaction in, often returning again and again. It is also a camp that has proven very female fighter friendly, and well connected in terms of getting their best female fighters on big shows, against top Thais, fighting for prestigious belts. It seems right to say that it is the premiere female fighter gym in Thailand right now, and they have worked hard to make it so. You can contact them through their Facebook page, here is where they are on a map: The Muay Thai Library Project If interested in watching the full hour become a patron of mine, supporting my Muay Thai Library documentary project (suggested pledge $5). You can check out the Library here. These are some of the things found in the full hour with Kru Thailand: Keeping the guard at eyebrow level (to protect from elbows) and slightly away from the face and body, but relaxed enough to move into a solid block at any moment. The lean forward to drop into the strong-side elbow, while keeping the front hand in a tight guard for balance and protection. Reaching across to your opponent’s opposite shoulder on knees, both as a block and to pull them into the knee. Pivoting on turns and then driving in the knee – keeping the gripping arm bent for better control. Turning the hip in a bit on a front teep, staying square on a back side teep. Using your own body weight to control a double-inside arm control in the clinch; how to do a trip off of that position. Bringing your head off-line on a kick. This is very “Pinsinchai” style in form, but Thailand has me throw my arm down for torque, whereas some other Pinsinchai fighters prefer to put the arm straight out with the hand in the face of your opponent. Either way is pretty similar when the head comes off-line the way Thailand teaches me here. Shadowing blocks and elbows – watch this part on repeat as much as you can. It’s so good. How to use the bag to work on spacing and timing. 5% of all pledges go to my Kru Fund. You can support this content: Sylvie von Duuglas-Ittu on Patreon |
Now a Day Birthday Greetings can be sent effectively to our besties . Some of the time, we can simply only depend to birthday wishes given by our Social Media accounts with a specific end goal to recollect their birthdays. We can basically send welcome to individuals we know by posting on their Facebook Timeline or tweeting them through Twitter. These current advancements have verifiable enhanced our provincial memory and certainly made it less valuable to make somebody feel extraordinary. Not with standing, once in a while, this kind may loses the quintessence of present giving and birthdays welcome. In the event that you couldn’t care less to send the absolute best welcome, you can simply remain with the routine and contemporary methods for sending purchase wishes on the off chance that you need to make somebody feel additional particular, backpedaling to the conventional methods for sending welcoming cards could never neglect to flabbergast them. It is regular to get divider posts and photograph labels on any web-based social networking when it is our birthday nowadays however getting a welcome card would without a doubt take our breath away and feel more esteemed. With regards to sending birthday welcoming cards, there is nothing more ardent than a natively constructed birthday card. Something that you truly put exertion on and something that you have devoted time with is the best welcome to get, other than a jug of wine every now and then! It is not hard to make birthday cards and to make it less demanding for you, we have gathered amazing custom made Birthday card thoughts you can without much of a stretch make at home. Here Goes the 10 Best Methods to make our wishes more valuable to our beloved One..!! 1. Handcrafted Cards for Girls 2.Sweet Handmade Cards 3.Unique DIY Card 4.Homemade Card for Men 5.Homemade Card Steps 6.Easy to Make 3D Card 7.Unusual Handmade Birthday Card 8.Home Crafted Wish for Your Daughter 9.Easy to Make Wishes for Ladies 10.Hand Made Cards for Buddies More from Lifestyle Editor Picks |
A Death Valley visitor patiently waits at the Racetrack Playa for a rock to move. (Photo11: Mona Mesereau, Visit Death Valley) (NEWSER) – For at least a century, the "slithering stones" of Death Valley — rocks, some of them boulders weighing more than 600 pounds, that move across the desert floor and leave long trails behind them — have presented a puzzle, and researchers have been trying to solve it since 1948. Explanations including dust devils, flooding, hurricane-strength winds, and even UFOs have been offered, but the mystery was finally solved when researchers caught the rocks in the act, National Geographic reports. YOUR TAKE: One reader's drive through Death Valley Scientist Richard Norris and his cousin James Norris, an engineer, put GPS trackers on the stones, surrounded them with cameras, and were amazed to discover that the movement was caused by ice — in one of the hottest and driest spots on the planet. The pair discovered that on rare occasions when conditions are just right — with rain on the usually dried-up lake bed called the "Racetrack Playa," followed by sunshine and wind — plates of thin ice push the rocks along the muddy desert floor, sometimes as quickly as several feet a minute, reports NPR. Richard Norris tells the Los Angeles Times that they found the playa covered with ice when they went to inspect the instruments last December. The next day, "we were sitting on a mountainside and admiring the view when a light wind kicked up and the ice started cracking," and "suddenly, the whole process unfolded before our eyes," he says. "There was a side of me that was wistful because the mystery was no more," James says. (Another recently solved mystery: how to classify the bizarre fossil of Hallucigenia.) More from Newser: • Site will fine you for even threatening bad review • Three generations drown in lake accident • Biggest-ever dam removal frees U.S. river Newser is a USA TODAY content partner providing general news, commentary and coverage from around the Web. Its content is produced independently of USA TODAY. Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/1pm6UhQ |
There are 60 million refugees in the world, the same number as were refugees at the end of WW II. On October 31 in an unprecedented joint warning, the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and Peter Maurer, President of the International Committee of the Red Cross called for "states to stop conflicts, respect international law and aid refugees." Criticizing the global response to the refugee crisis, Ban Ki-moon said, "In the face of blatant inhumanity, the world has responded with disturbing paralysis." Despite the "unprecedented" warning, it has not received enough news coverage (a Google search turned up one hit on a news story in the Guardian UK and a post at Common Dreams) compared to the many hits any celebrity scandal generates. The chill goes down my spine when I think it's like the world inaction when Hitler was exterminating Jews across Europe. Is this WWIII? I don't know what the criteria of WW III would be, but when I sat down to make an list of current factors that could be considered, this is what I came up with and it's not looking too good: Multiple confrontations between the U.S. and Russia on more than one front (Ukraine and Syria) Ongoing confrontations between the U.S. and China in the South China Sea A renewed nuclear arms race in which all nuclear nations are modernizing their nuclear arsenals instead of fulfilling treaty obligations to disarm Politically unacknowledged failure of all U.S. war policies in the Middle East and across Asia; universal continued pretense by the U.S. military and political elites that more war will fix the disasters The global arms trade in which the U.S. accounts for three-quarters of the global arms market Global military expenditure are $1.711 trillion, the global arms trade is $100 billion/annually, AND military spending in the Middle East in 2014 rose by 75% to $173 billion Japan has scotched its peace constitution The refugee crisis shows no sign of abating and every sign of growing and continuing to be ill-managed by the global community complete with terrible percolations of hatred towards the refugees in nations experiencing the influx Economic belligerence by wealthier nations towards less wealthy nations (one example: E.U. towards Greece, there are many other examples of rich nations bleeding poor ones) Nations and mass populations remain stubbornly indifferent to the series of crises with few exceptions Climate change is happening, seas are forecast now to rise up to 3 feet and probably more (even as much as 10 feet in a century or 2) and upcoming Paris talks are widely expected to fail There is continued suppression of dissent by surveillance, persecution of whistle-blowers and journalists with repressive police tactics used at protests around the world SCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENT Help Keep Common Dreams Alive Our progressive news model only survives if those informed and inspired by this work support our efforts The conflicts driving people to hit the road or the seas are not going to be solved by any nations dropping more bombs, putting "boots on the ground" or arming one or more sides. Unfortunately, the U.S. bears the most responsibility for the current crises as the "greatest purveyor of violence in the world" – as true today as when Martin Luther King said it in 1967. At the same time, U.S. peace organizations are all struggling to raise needed funds to continue our efforts – marginalized though we are. This is a substantial problem that needs to be resolved. To solve these crises we need to bring the wars to a close. If we are so inured to the suffering endured by our fellow human beings that we do not address the current refugee crisis, we are in great danger. Human empathy is a road to transformative change – that which we would not want to happen to ourselves is something we must work to prevent happening to our fellow brothers and sisters. This goes for wars as well as addressing climate change to our greatest collective ability. When we fail in our responsibilities to this fundamental aspect of our being human is when hatred ascends and wars spiral out of control. Is this the current moment and if so what are we going to do about it? |
*Information reflects the most current Prohibited List. The World Anti-Doping Agency Prohibited List (WADA Prohibited List), includes all substances and methods that are prohibited in sport, including substances and methods that are prohibited both in-competition only, as well as those that are prohibited at all times. Below is important information about the IV rule, why IVs are prohibited, and how athletes can best protect their health and safety. WHAT’S THE IV RULE? All IV infusions and/or injections of more than 100 mL (~6.8 tablespoons) per 12 hour period are prohibited at all times, both in- and out-of-competition, except for those legitimately received in the hospital, during surgery, or during clinical investigations. If it is a prohibited substance that is administered intravenously or via injection, a TUE is necessary for this substance regardless of whether the infusion or injection is less than 100mL. Infusions or injections are permitted if the infused/injected substance is not on the Prohibited List, and the volume of fluid administered does not exceed 100 mL per 12-hour period. WHY THE IV RULE? To protect clean sport and athlete health and safety. It is a fact that IVs can be used to change blood test results (such as hematocrit where EPO or blood doping is being used), mask urine test results (by dilution) or by administering prohibited substances in a way that will more quickly be cleared from the body in order to beat an anti-doping test. WHAT ARE THE HEALTH RISKS OF IVs? Potential risks and complications of IV therapy, include Infection, cellulitis, inflammation of the wall of a vein with associated thrombosis, Bleeding, hematoma/arterial puncture, unintended leakage of solution into the surrounding tissue, air embolism and needle stick to the provider. Inappropriate levels of electrolytes given by IV can also have serious cardiac, muscular and nervous system effects, even resulting in death. ARE IVs BETTER THAN ORAL REHYDRATION FOR PERFORMANCE? Convincing research to support IV fluid administration prior to competition for performance enhancement, rehydration, dehydration prevention, or muscle cramp prevention does not exist. Current studies do not support the use of IV fluids for rehydration when an athlete can tolerate oral fluids. American College of Sports Medicine consensus guidelines state, “IV fluids do not provide an advantage over drinking oral fluids and electrolytes.” IV infusions before sample collection could actually prolong the doping control sample process because it has a greater potential to produce multiple dilute samples. HOW CAN I REHYDRATE AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE? If rapid recovery from dehydration is desired, one should ingest 1.5 L (50 fluid oz.) of fluid for each kilogram (2.2lbs) of body weight lost. Normal rehydration can be achieved in the vast majority of individuals by drinking and eating normal beverages, such as sports drinks and water, and meals. Glycerol-induced hyper-hydration or rehydration is not permitted because glycerol is a prohibited substance. Various sports and athletic organizations such as the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and the National Athletics Trainers’ Association (NATA) and others have informative resources to educate on best practices for fluid replacement in athletes. WHEN IS A TUE NOT REQUIRED FOR AN IV INFUSION? If the athlete has an acute medical condition where an IV line was essential for treatment in a hospital admission, surgical procedure, or clinical investigation. Examples would be a severely dehydrated athlete with signs of circulatory compromise and the need for an IV line during a surgical procedure. Clinical investigations to diagnosis medical conditions, such a medical imaging, may also require IV administration of non-prohibited medicine which is permitted. In emergency circumstances, IVs may also be given by paramedical staff or physicians on the field of play, but an emergency TUE application is required as soon as reasonably possible after treatment has been received. Examples may include a semi- or unconscious athlete, an athlete who cannot tolerate oral fluids, or treatment of an acute injury. IV infusions during home visits, urgent care or after-hours clinics, boutique IV and rehydration services, and doctor’s office visits are not hospital admissions and would require an approved TUE in advance. REFERENCES Givan GV, Diehl JJ. Intravenous fluid use in athletes. Sports Health. 2012 Jul;4(4):333-9. van Rosendal SP, Osborne MA, Fassett RG, Lancashire B, Coombes JS. Intravenous versus oral rehydration in athletes. Sports Med. 2010 Apr 1;40(4):327-46. WADA TUE Physician Guidelines Medical Information to Support the Decisions of TUECs – INTRAVENOUS INFUSIONS, Version 4.0, February 2015. American College of Sports Medicine Position Stand: Exercise and Fluid Replacement. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise: February 2007; 39(2): 377-390. National Athletic Trainers’ Association Position Stand: Fluid Replacement for Athletes. Journal of Athletic Training 2000;35(2):212–224. |
Melbourne City FC can announce it has signed French winger Harry Novillo on an injury replacement contract for Damien Duff until the end of the Hyundai A-League 2014/15 season. The 23-year-old Frenchman flew into Melbourne on Monday night and joined his new Melbourne City FC teammates in training on Tuesday morning at the City Football Academy, Melbourne. A product of the youth system at French Ligue 1 side Lyon, Novillo is a powerful right-footed winger who can provide versatility in Melbourne City FC’s final third. Novillo can play as either a right or left winger and has earned caps for France’s U17 and U19 national sides. His most recent club was Clermont in France’s second tier, Ligue 2, but his career commenced at Lyon, where he made his professional debut in 2010 in a Ligue 1 match against Monaco. Melbourne City FC Head Coach John van’t Schip said Novillo was an important replacement for the sidelined Duff. “Harry has proven experience playing at a high level as a winger in France and we are confident that he will help us for the remainder of the A-League season,” van’t Schip said. Novillo will be available to feature against Central Coast Mariners this Sunday at Central Coast Stadium in Round 20 of the Hyundai A-League, pending his VISA and international clearance. Novillo will wear jersey number 9. Player Details Name: Harry Novillo (Pronunciation: No-vee-low) Position: Winger/Striker Age: 23 Height: 1.82m Number: 9 Previous Clubs: Lyon, Clermont |
After a rough start, some controversy, some hacking, and of course quite a bit of drama, The Fine Young Capitalists reached its funding goal of $65,000 on IndieGogo. Earlier this year The Fine Young Capitalists started accepting applications for their “Evil Adjacent” project, which is a project to help women get involved in game design and get their first game under their belt. They received some great applications, but in the process took heat from, of all sources, feminist gamers. Notably, The Fine Young Capitalists was shot down by she-who-shall-not-be-named, and because of it, few other gaming blogs or news organizations would pick up the story. Starting in late July/early August, The Fine Young Capitalists had chosen their five finalists and were ready to launch their project. Armed Gamer was one of the few news sources to hear their story (you can hear the first interview with Matthew Rappard from TFYC above). When the Gamer Gate was first starting, YouTube user InternetAristocrat pointed out a comment left on /r/gaming by Matthew Rappard that launched TFY to the forefront. With all the added attention, The Fine Young Capitalists found help in an unlikely place: 4chan. The rest is summed up in the second interview with Armed Gamer and The Fine Young Capitalists (embedded below), but in short their IndieGogo campaign was hacked, but came back up. Now, two weeks out from the end of the campaign, they have exceeded funding. According to the TFYC tumblr, all the donations ended up destroying a phone, but that’s neither here nor there. In response to finally reaching their goal, TFYC stated, “We felt both [relieved that it’s funded, but also more pressure than ever]. Relief that we no longer have to worry about reaching our goals, but worry about what is next. This really isn’t the end for TFYC but the beginning. This whole project has shown how difficult it is to get noticed in the Video Games world, and we wand to help other indie developers get the support from the community we did.” When asked how much support it got from Reddit and 4chan, they responded “The number is always changing, but I think [4chan is] approaching 34k, reddit never got a referal link but at leask 3k of traffic came from their site. We are working to generate their character as we speak.” If you are interested in voting for a finalist, you can go to The Fine Young Capitalists website and choose which game you’d like to see made. If you wish to donate, check out their IndieGogo campaign. If you want to learn about feminism and The Fine Young Capitalist’s position on it, check out their Tumblr (where else would you go to learn about feminism?) and read some of the great articles there. |
Story highlights Writers: Jobless numbers fell, but many discouraged unemployed just quit looking Middle class is slipping into poverty, they say, and the few jobs left don't pay living wage Our society has lost covenant with people and made a pact with corporations, they write Writers: Only radical change for everyday people, not CEOs, will save American Dream The U.S. Department of Labor recently announced that the unemployment rate fell to 8.2%. That should have been a signal that jobs are coming back and that the economy is about to rebound. But, as many economists say, the numbers fell primarily because unemployed Americans have become so discouraged with trying to find a job that they've simply quit looking. Because nearly one-third of the American middle class, mostly families with children, have fallen into poverty or are one paycheck away from poverty, it is paramount that we dissect the root causes of this mass disenfranchisement within the American workforce. This was the motivation behind "The Poverty Tour: A Call to Conscience," our 18-city bus tour that traveled across the country last year. It was designed to bring more attention to the plight of impoverished Americans. These citizens do not fit the negative stereotypes and propaganda that we've heard during the Republican presidential primary contests. The candidates who have vowed to cut government subsidies speak of the poor as if their constituents had been exempted from the millions who, despite their middle-class identification and aspirations, now fall beneath the established poverty line. The people we met aren't lazy or eager to live off so-called government entitlements. We spoke with formerly middle-class parents who were thrust into poverty when one or both lost their salaries. We heard the stories of single mothers and fathers, military veterans and former high-wage employees desperately trying to re-enter a workforce that no longer pays living wages. Follow @CNNOpinion on Twitter and Facebook.com/cnnopinion Joann Cotton, a 54-year-old Columbus, Mississippi, resident, was one of those faces of poverty we met on the tour. Unemployed for three years, Joann has gone from making "$60,000 a year to less than $15,000 overnight." Her husband is disabled and dependent on medicines the couple can no longer afford. They rely on food stamps, which, Joann says, "is depressing as hell." Tavis Smiley Receiving government aid, however, has not been as depressing as her job search. Joann says she has applied for at least 300 jobs. Even though she can barely afford gas, she drives to the interviews only to learn that the employers want to hire younger candidates at low wages. The experiences have taken a toll: "I've aged 10 years in the three years that I've been looking for a job," Joann told us. "I want to get a job so I can just relax and exhale ... but I can't. After a while you just give up." Cornel West Like Joann, millions of Americans are just giving up on the possibility of ever rejoining the workforce. These frustrations reflect a reality that is unraveling the American identity. One of the most fundamental dictates in achieving the "American Dream" has always been a good job that pays wages decent enough to care for our families, buy a car and a home, and live reasonably comfortable lives. What has caused so many to quit looking for jobs and, by extension, abandon the American Dream? We argue that a covenant has been broken with the American people. We live in a society where corporations put profits over people. We march to the beat of political leaders who have decided the richest 1% of the people in this country deserve generous tax breaks and preferential treatment while most of the 99% are forced to pay unbalanced shares of the tax burden and live on less and less. Unemployment has been discussed in sound bites within the framework of the Great Recession. Reporters and pundits pontificate about the housing and home-lending fiasco, the collapse of Wall Street and the amount of construction, manufacturing and government jobs lost as a result of the market's economic downturn. Yet economists and politicians propose failed remedies based on rebuilding and rebooting systems that have already dashed the American Dream for many. Economist Peter Morici, for example, suggests dynamic job growth will be sparked by increasing domestic oil production, tackling the trade imbalance with China, relaxing regulations for big businesses and curbing health care mandates. Not only do these efforts lack the innovation necessary to meet the demands of a burgeoning world economy, they also do nothing to change the nation's capitalist equation that renders everyday Americans irrelevant. "Fair trade" with China will not interrupt the transportation of construction, manufacturing and production jobs overseas in exchange for huge profits. Fat-cat executives running investment firms, banks, insurance, health care and pharmaceutical companies might like to curb health care mandates, but that approach certainly doesn't address the needs of Americans looking for decent wages and affordable health care. The Supreme Court's regressive Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision in many ways validates a truism. The court basically ruled that corporations are people. And like all Americans, corporations have the free speech rights and can spend whatever they want on political ads without disclosing who they are or exposing their agendas. So, in a very real sense, corporations are people -- super-rich, self-serving people who can use their billions to influence elections at the expense of, well, real people. Most major corporations are run by the über-rich -- the same people who shipped American jobs overseas, broke the backs of labor unions, pay a fraction of the salaries once paid for manufacturing jobs, turned full-time work into part-time positions, and snatched health care benefits away from employees. And many companies have even established "unemployed need not apply" policies. In other words, if you don't have a job when it's time to apply, you can't get the job. When the "need not apply" story broke late last year, more than 6 million Americans had been out of work for six months or more. Talk about kicking people when they're down. During our poverty tour last year, we met countless people caught in vicious cycles of looking for nonexistent jobs because their unemployment benefits were expiring or had run out, scraping change together for gas to go on interviews that may or may not pan out, and having to swap food stamps for cash to keep the lights or gas on in the house. Frustrations are especially high among young people dealing with an 18% unemployment rate -- a more than 60-year high. We attended a town hall meeting in Detroit during our poverty tour where parents complained of 25-year-olds who came of working age before the Great Recession who have never had a job in their lives. The newly launched #FixYoungAmerica campaign is centered around the fact that 20% of young workers have been out of work for a year or longer, jobs are scarce, and the cumulative student loan debt is more than $1 trillion. "Our generation has been hit far worse than any other," said Scott Gerber, 28, part of the group of young people who started the campaign. "We represent the broken dream of America, and we can't let it continue." That dream has been broken for youths and adults all over the country. Many single mothers have stopped looking for work for the sake of their children's health. Because of deficit budget cuts, states are either eliminating or tightening eligibility requirements for child care programs that used to serve the working poor. More cuts are on the way, but, for the moment, children of women on welfare have access to basic health care. But previously eligible low-wage-earning parents are now either denied assistance or their children are placed on interminable waiting lists. It has reached the point where struggling parents have to choose between a low-wage job and welfare so their children can receive basic medical attention. A person can survive in the jungle for only so long before his or her spirit breaks. And the spirit of the American workforce is approaching a breaking point. Today's staggering unemployment isn't the stepchild of the Great Recession. It is the illegitimate offspring of a long-abided system that places the profits and concerns of big business and the mega-rich above the rest of us. The cancer of greed has spread throughout the body of America and surgery based on pre-recession strategies won't cure the disease. The inconvenient truth is that America itself is in need of a transfusion of economic equity and radical reform. Everyday people must recognize that their lives matter just as much as the lives of the rich. A workplace rooted in fundamental fairness that provides decent living wage jobs will allow frustrated, unemployed workers like Joann Cotton to breathe again, and give them a chance to become revitalized contributing members of society. It's time to resuscitate the American Dream. |
This Saturday, a rookie catcher for the Oakland A’s let loose a few choice words for President Trump on Instagram; later that day he became the first Major League Baseball player to take a knee during the National Anthem. “My decision had been coming for a long time,” Bruce Maxwell said according to the San Francisco Chronicle. “The only way we can come together is by informing. … To single out NFL players for doing this isn’t something we should be doing — I felt it should be a little more broad.” “The point of my kneeling was not to disrespect our military or our constitution or our country,” Maxwell, who has a military background, continued. Although he took a knee, he made sure to place his hand over his heart. “My hand was over my heart because I love this country and I have family members, including my father, who bled for this country, and who continue to serve. At the end of the day, this is the best country on the planet. I am and forever will be an American citizen and grateful to be here, but my kneeling is what’s getting the attention, and I’m kneeling for the people who don’t have a voice. This goes beyond the black and Hispanic communities because right now we have a racial divide that’s being practiced from the highest power we have in this country saying it’s basically OK to treat people differently.” “I’m kneeling for a cause but I’m in no way disrespecting my country or my flag,” he added. Here are Bruce Maxwell's words. The rest can be found in @susanslusser's story: https://t.co/iJv9S396MA pic.twitter.com/smRIwqdOjj — Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) September 24, 2017 The move comes as tension ratchets up between professional athletes and President Trump, who has made a point to resume attacking them on social media and in public. Speaking at a rally this week in Huntsville, Alabama, Trump took aim at quarterback Colin Kaepernick, saying, “Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, ‘Get that son of a b*tch off the field right now. Out. He’s fired! He’s fired!’” Featured image via YouTube |
Canonical, the company behind the Ubuntu Linux distribution, has announced a new tool called Metal as a Service (MAAS) that is designed to simplify the provisioning of individual server nodes in a cluster. It primarily targets computing environments that have many physical servers. MAAS supports installing an Ubuntu Server image on computers over the network. It relies on PXE for that purpose, much like similar open source provisioning tools such as Cobbler. A simple Web-based administrative interface is provided for managing nodes. MAAS is implemented with Python and Django and is distributed as open source under the Affero General Public License (AGPL). MAAS is intended to complement Juju, Canonical's service orchestration framework. Juju works a little bit like a package management system: administrators use Juju recipes (which are called Charms) to automatically deploy and configure various server software stacks. Juju integrates with MAAS, making it possible to centrally deploy software to the nodes in a MAAS cluster. Using MAAS and Juju together can significantly reduce the difficulty of bringing up an Ubuntu-based private cloud. A system administrator can use MAAS to provision nodes and then use Juju to populate those nodes with complete software configurations for things like OpenStack or Hadoop. Canonical is best known for its desktop Linux product, but the company has worked hard to convince potential adopters that Ubuntu is also a credible choice for servers. The availability of updates at no cost has helped to drive Ubuntu server growth over the past few years, but it still faces an uphill battle competing with Red Hat's highly successful Linux distribution. Canonical's strong focus on the cloud is one way that the company is working to differentiate Ubuntu as a Linux server platform. For more details about MAAS, you can refer to Ubuntu founder Mark Shuttleworth's blog post about the new project. The source code is available from Canonical's Launchpad project hosting service. MAAS is planned for inclusion in Ubuntu 12.04, an upcoming long-term support release that will arrive at the end of the month. |
New York architect Steven Holl has finally received the go-ahead to build a pair of skyscrapers in Copenhagen harbour, linked by a pedestrian and cycle bridge 65 metres above the water's surface. Nearly eight years after winning a competition for the site, Steven Holl Architects has revealed that its Copenhagen Gate proposal now has a construction date pencilled in for 2016. The proposal includes two hotel and office towers on opposite sides of the harbour: Gate L on the Langelinie pier side, and Gate M on the Marmormolen wharf side. Related story Transparent swimming pool to bridge Indian tower blocks 12 storeys up An angular pedestrian and cycle bridge will connect the two towers, raised 65 metres above the harbour to allow enough clearance for cruise ships to pass underneath. Steven Holl Architects was unanimously selected by competition judges in October 2008. But construction was delayed as a result of the global economic recession, according to the firm. "Construction has been delayed by the economy, but is planned to start in 2016/17 if rental efforts are progressing satisfactorily," said a statement on the architect's website. This isn't Holl's first linked skyscraper design – in 2009 he completed Linked Hybrid, a group of eight linked towers in Beijing, China. He also completed a "horizontal skyscraper" in Shenzhen in 2010. Related stories: see more of Steven Holl's projects Set to be the most ambitious scheme yet, the Copenhagen structures will use steel cables to support the weight of the bridge, which will meet at an angle "like a handshake over the harbour". The underside of the bridge will be coloured in bright shades of yellow and orange, and its aluminium surfaces will be lit at night to create reflections on the water below. Other Steven Holl projects under construction include a public library in New York's Queens neighbourhood, a Maggie's cancer-care centre at London's St Bartholomew's Hospital and a new building for the University of Iowa. |
Two suspects sought in connection with attack on a Pittsburgh cab driver who later died were arrested Sunday in Youngstown, Ohio. Youngstown police arrested Christen Glenn, 18, and Daniel Russell, 19, after a traffic stop. Police said both men are additional suspects in the robbery and assault. Glenn and Russell were expected to face extradition hearings this week. Christen Glenn (left) and Daniel Russell (right) Police arrested King Edwards and Hosea Moore, both 20-year-olds from Beltzhoover, on Friday. They're charged with attempted criminal homicide, robbery and conspiracy for robbery of Z Trip driver Ramadhan Mohamed. The following statement was released by the victim's family: "Tonight we mourn the passing of our brother, Ramadhan Mohamed. He was killed after being violently beaten earlier this week in Beltzhoover. He was just 31 years old and leaves behind his wife, Khadija Mohamed, with a baby on the way, and a two year old son. Ramadhan was kind and easy going. Dedicated to his faith and to service, he volunteered every weekend teaching youth. "We urge the police to keep the pressure on until all of the facts are in. We need to know what really happened that night that left our brother beaten to death. We must not rule out the possibility of a hate crime until a full investigation is completed." Mohamed was found beaten about 5 a.m. Feb. 21 in the city's Beltzhoover neighborhood. According to a criminal complaint, the four suspects and another person were at Edwards' home on Curtain Street when they decided to rob a pizza delivery person but realized the pizza shop was closed. Instead, the men called for a Z Trip cab, the complaint stated. Police said Edwards and Moore called the cab with the intent of robbing the driver. They told Mohamed to pick them up on Climax Street. According to the complaint, they beat him up, leaving him and the car there. The men later returned to move Mohamed’s body to a yard and his car three blocks away. Police said when they came home, Russell was “bragging about how bad he beat the victim.” The men later returned to the scene to “make sure the victim was dead,” according to the complaint. According to the complaint, when they returned to the scene they kicked his “face and neck” trying to “kill him.” "What they have to kill him for?” Shehe Muia, Mohamed’s nephew, told Channel 11 News on Monday. "If you just want the money, just take the money and leave him alive." Muia said his uncle has a 2-year-old son and his wife is eight months pregnant. Family members said Mohamed was taking classes to get his degree to become a physician’s assistant. “He came here for a better life. That's why we all came here,” Omar Matli, Mohamed’s cousin, said. Betty Cruz, the director of Change Agency, said the victim is a member of Pittsburgh's Somali Bantu and Muslim communities. Cruz and others are calling on police to investigate whether the beating was a hate crime. Police said the investigation is ongoing, but said "there is no evidence that robbery or beating of the driver were motivated by the driver's nationality." On Saturday, the president of the Pittsburgh Transportation Group put out the following statement: "We applaud the prompt action and arrests by the Pittsburgh Police and look forward to justice being done to the individuals responsible for this terrible crime." Z Trip is collecting donations for Mohamed's family and putting black ribbons on all of its cars. A fund to help pay for Mohamed's funeral has also been established on LaunchGood. CLICK HERE to learn more about making a donation. |
When Chaz Arnett was figuring out how to continue paying for Morehouse College 16 years ago, all his grandmother had to send him on his way was a plane ticket and a prayer. And after Mayumy Rivera's freshman year at St. Mary's College of Maryland four years ago, she was shocked when her scholarship well went dry the following year. But Arnett, a Southwest Baltimore native who went on to obtain a law degree from Harvard University, and Rivera, an immigrant from El Salvador — and as of last Saturday, a graduate of St. Mary's — both shared a secret safety net: the CollegeBound Foundation. The Baltimore-based nonprofit organization, which has helped 60,000 low-income city students pay for college, is celebrating its largest single donation in its 28-year history. Local philanthropists Mark and Patricia Joseph announced the $3.5 million donation to CollegeBound on Tuesday. The foundation will use $3 million from the gift to double the number of students who will receive grants to pay off their tuition bills. The remaining $500,000 will allow the organization to expand its services to include more advising in city high schools, and extend its reach to college campuses. The gift is the latest of more than $10 million the Josephs have invested in institutions serving city students. Other beneficiaries include the nonprofit Thread, Teach for America and several charter schools. Mark Joseph said city students have held a place in his heart since he served as chair of the city school board from 1975 to 1980. He said his philanthropy stems from the time when he was a young man without much money and a wife and two children to support and a mortgage to pay. "I've been fortunate enough to be able to give some of the money that we've made over the years away," said the attorney and real estate developer. "We all need whatever help we can get with whatever we're doing." CollegeBound works exclusively in Baltimore and has helped close a sizable gap between the numbers of low-income students and wealthier students attending college. It works with 14 high schools, providing full-time college advisers and need-based scholarships that have exceeded $1.5 million. Cassie Motz, CollegeBound's executive director, called the Josephs' gift an "extraordinary investment in the next generation's leaders in Baltimore City." "This extremely generous gift will go a long way toward closing that gap in Baltimore City," she said. The bulk of the donation will add 90 students to the 86 students receiving the "last-dollar grants" from the foundation this year. The grants provide students who attend four-year-colleges and are eligible for Pell Grant scholarships up to $3,000 annually for up to five years. The organization has awarded more than $6 million in last-dollar grants to more than 1,881 students in its 28 years. CollegeBound will use $400,000 to do "targeted counseling" in schools where there may not be an adviser, but which have students with a high chance of successfully graduating from college. And $100,000 will help build a system that will allow CollegeBound to continue advising students who attend Maryland colleges and universities. The last-dollar grants are a particularly crucial investment because they target low-income students whose other financial aid often falls short of paying all of their college costs. The shortfall is among the drivers for low college completion rates for even the brightest students. CollegeBound students who have received grants have graduated from four-year colleges at a rate 2.5 times higher than students from similar socio-economic backgrounds, according to the organization. Rivera, 22, who arrived to Baltimore seven years ago unable to speak English, is a graduate of Patterson High School. She worried she was going to have to take out loans to pay her remaining college costs after the scholarships that got her to college ran out. "My first year, I thought 'Wow, this is nice, everyone gives you so much money,'" she said. "But the only thing that actually stayed there was CollegeBound." Arnett, now a visiting professor at the University of Pittsburgh Law School, said after he graduated from Baltimore City College high school and went to college, his family struggled to help him pay for the shortfalls in financial aid. He recalled how the only people he could call for help paying for Morehouse College was his CollegeBound adviser. "I recall vividly being on the phone every semester, when there was a question about whether I'd be able to afford the subsequent semester," he said. "The last-dollar grant was crucial." erica.green@baltsun.com twitter.com/EricaLG This article has been updated. An earlier version misstated when Chaz Arnett attended Morehouse College. The Sun regrets the error. |
The final full week of training camp is underway, and it's looking more and more like rookie Logan Brown could find himself on the Senators opening-night roster After earning an assist on fellow prospect Thomas Chabot's marker Monday in the club's Kraft Hockeyville tilt in O'Leary, PEI, Brown now has five points (3g, 2a) in three preseason games. Then on Tuesday, the 19-year-old centre survived another round of cuts and is now one of 14 forwards remaining in camp. Brown was competing with veteran Chris VandeVelde and fellow youngsters Filip Chlapik and Tyler Randell for a roster spot, but VandeVelde was released from his professional tryout, Chlapik was reassigned to the American Hockey League and Randell was placed on waivers Tuesday. Eighteen year-old speedster Alex Formenton, who picked up two assists Saturday, is still on the roster, as is injured veteran Derick Brassard, who is practicing in a non-contact sweater. "The only thing we have to do is to make tough decisions now," said Boucher. "We have to send guys where they belong or where they have to be, because other guys are just pushing the envelope so much…We have young guys that are just way above where we thought they'd be. Credit to our scouts. It's becoming quite exciting." MORE: Hockey Night in Canada: schedule, teams, how to watch Selected 11th overall in 2016, Brown is starting to display traits at the professional level as to why the Senators found him worthy of being a first-round pick. That wasn't the case previously, however. Brown lacked confidence in his summer development camp debut last summer. The 6-foot-6, 220-pounder then followed up with a fairly non-descript injury-plagued season with Windsor, still compiling 40 points in 35 games. The St. Louis resident missed half the 2016-17 campaign due to wrist and shoulder ailments prior to breaking his hand. So what changed? "I had a really good summer," Brown told Sporting News Canada. "Last year wasn't the year I wanted to have. I had some ups and downs with the injuries. I spent a lot of time on the ice (this summer), worked on my hands, confidence. I have a Big Shooter in my basement at home. I was down there a couple of hours a day. That's where all the hands come from, patience and confidence with the puck. I feel good." His three-point performance versus the Canadiens Saturday certainly left an impression on linemate Mark Stone. MORE: Alex Burrows more settled this year with Senators "He's such a big guy, skates very well, makes plays, gets to where he needs to be to score goals," noted Stone. "He's learned that an early age. Most of the goals come from in close to the net. He keeps his stick on the ice." More importantly, Boucher acknowledges Brown's progression, saying, "What I find for Logan, compared to last year, we know he has a high-end NHL mind. That's why he was drafted. We're talking about real high-end vision and quickness for what he has got to do to make plays. And for a bigger guy to make plays in a small confined area, it's pretty impressive. "But last year, he was definitely lacking in his pace and stamina, which drastically improved over the span of this year. And now he is improving so much, that he's contributing every game. His mind was always there. He size was always there. His technical attributes were always there. Right now it's about the pace. We'll see if he can maintain that. He is going to make it hard for us, so that's good for us." Brown is still eligible to return to the OHL Spitfires and could have a spot reserved for him with Team USA's World Junior squad. He was a late cut last December, mainly due to his wrist injury. Given his druthers, Brown wants to remain with the Senators as long as possible. A nine-game regular season trial is a strong possibility. The organization kept Chabot with the team for the first month of last season prior to returning him to St. John. Though the highly-touted d-man appeared in only one game, he learned what it was like to be a pro. Brown told Sporting News Canada, "Well, obviously I want to play in the NHL. I had some opportunities growing up in this atmosphere, (Dad, Jeff played 747 games with seven different teams.). I think there is some opportunity here." |
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz’s father, Rev. Rafael Cruz, has voting advice for Christians nationwide who find themselves unable to decide at the ballot box. “Let me shock you a little bit,” he said Thursday in Washington, D.C. “Did you know that the Bible tells you exactly who to vote for?” He made the claim at the Family Research Council’s annual Watchmen on the Wall briefing, where Cruz counseled some 600 pastors and church representatives that it is time to put Judeo-Christian leaders with Biblical morals in office. In the last election, by Cruz’s calculation, 48 million evangelical Christians did not vote. “If the righteous do not run for office, if the righteous are not even voting. . . that leaves the wicked electing the wicked,” he says. “We get what we deserve.” The Bible, Cruz went on to explain, tells you exactly how to vet a politician. He turned to Exodus 18:21 and made his case. Moses is in the wilderness trying to govern the Israelites, where his father-in-law gives him leadership advice: “Moreover you shall select from all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them to be rulers of thousands, ruler of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens.” The Brief Newsletter Sign up to receive the top stories you need to know right now. View Sample Sign Up Now Then Cruz broke down the specifics: 1. Able men. “And women of course,” Cruz added. “That means elect someone who is capable of doing the job—don’t elect the village idiot!” 2. Fearing God. “That means you follow a Judeo-Christian ethic,” he explained. “It is a moral code by which you live. . . honesty, integrity, individual responsibility, hard work, the rule of law, and yes, limited government and free enterprise.” 3. Men of truth. “Haven’t we had enough men and women of lies in government?” he asked, to the audience’s applause. “Look at what has been happening with this administration: they would tell you a lie to cover up the previous lie. And it’s lies after lies after lies and we see scandal after scandal,” he added, referencing the recent Veterans Affairs situation. 4. Hating covetousness. “Covetousness in government doesn’t have to do so much about money as it has to do with power and control,” he said. “These politicians covet power and they covet the control that that power gives them over your lives and mind.” 5. Rulers of thousands, ruler of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. “That’s equivalent to federal government, state government, county government, local government. . . . That’s Article 1 Section 8 of the Constitution, that’s the 9th Amendment, and that’s the 10th Amendment,” Cruz explained. “If it isn’t there [in Article 1 Section 8], the federal government’s got no business being involved.” He gave two examples: education—“Does it make sense that some unelected bureaucrats in Washington DC would tell us how to educate our children and our grandchildren? Absolutely not.”—and environment—“The EPA is the single most agency for thwarting economic growth in this country.” The crowd, again, erupted into applause. Pastors, Cruz concluded, should set up voter registration tables in their lobbies every Sunday, preach sermons about Christian issues, provide voter guides to congregants and encourage churchgoers to vote for candidates with Biblical values. Cruz’s son, Ted, is eying a 2016 presidential run. One has to wonder: will Ted, like Moses, listen to a father’s advice? Contact us at editors@time.com. |
To kick off our Labor Day weekend I made a double-batch of pork chile verde and invited some friends over for dinner. This is one of our favorite dishes but I don’t make it very often because of the time and effort that goes into cooking it. It all starts with about 5 lbs of Anaheim peppers. You can char the skins in a pan on the stove but it’s much easier on the grill. When you’re grilling this many peppers it takes a lot of effort to keep them all turning so the flesh of the pepper doesn’t burn. They will make a crackling sound and the smell is wonderful. When you’re done you will have a nice pile of shriveled black peppers. They don’t look very appetizing at this point. While the charred peppers are still hot, put them into a ziplock freezer bag and throw them in the refrigerator for about 45 minutes. While the peppers are cooling, throw your pre-soaked apple wood chips on your coals, slice your pork to maximize exposure for smoking, and “place the meat opposite the heat.” I used a 6 lb pork loin for this batch and let it smoke for about an hour on VERY low heat. You’re not cooking the meat, you’re just getting it nice and smokey. While the meat is smoking, remove your peppers from the ziplock and pull the skins off. Likewise, pull the stems off and discard the seeds. Don’t worry about pulling out any of the fleshy insides of the pepper. Removing the skin and seeds is much easier if you do it under running water. But you shouldn’t attempt this unless you have a garbage disposal or else your wife will have a fit. Trust me, I speak from experience. Pile up the peppers on a cutting board and then chop them all up into small pieces. By the time your peppers are prepped, your pork will be finished smoking. Pull it off the grill and chop it into bite-size pieces. Don’t worry if some of the chunks are too big, they will become so moist in the crockpot that it won’t matter. Add the meat and the diced peppers to the crockpot(s) along with a can (or two) of chicken broth. [I split the meat & peppers into two crockpots] Then add Rotel tomatoes and diced chilies. I put original in one pot and mild in another. Set your crockpot on high for 5-6 hours. Just before serving, stir in a couple of tablespoons of masa, aka cornstarch, to thicken the broth. That’s it. From this base recipe you can go in several directions, but I’m usually not happy with the result. For example, I put chopped red onion in this time. It didn’t really affect the taste, but the purple skin of the onions turned a disgusting greenish-blueish color. I’ll use a yellow onion next time. Likewise, I put diced potatoes into one of the crockpots. They didn’t add to the taste and their firm texture conflicted with the pork. I won’t use them again. (Maybe I’ll use hominy instead… or carrots.) The final product is absolutely delicious and well worth the effort. It’s hard to justify going to all the hassle for yourself, but it’s a fantastic meal to make for company. I usually eat it out of a bowl on the first night (paired with cornbread) and wrapped up in a tortilla with shredded cheese and sour cream on the second night. Advertisements |
Kanye West is to hold his Yeezy Season 4 fashion show on September 7. West‘s representative confirmed that the show will be held in the afternoon on the first day of New York Fashion Week, but said that the event’s time and place will be announced at a later date. While blue-chip events are typically reserved for the tail-end of New York Fashion Week, this season’s opening day is shaping up to be a crowded one. The Tom Ford presentation and Cartier Fifth Avenue mansion unveiling are scheduled head-to-head that day – both kicking off at 7 p.m. West unveiled his Yeezy Season 3 collection with a late-afternoon blockbuster listening party and performance art piece at Madison Square Garden. In addition to selling out the arena, West’s show also drew more than 20 million live-stream viewers. Kanye’s Yeezy collections mainly hedge their sales on footwear — which have proven to be a branding and commercial boon for the musician. His Yeezy sneakers have incited a craze on the resale market — selling for multitudes more than their shelf price. In June, West revealed that he and Adidas had expanded their partnership and that they would link on performancewear designs, as well as lifestyle. At the time, Adidas called the alliance unprecedented, saying it is “the most significant partnership ever created between a nonathlete and an athletic brand.” Release dates for such products remain unknown. |
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Former Tennessee Titans defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz went out of his way to compliment a cornerback who played his best football under Schwartz’s tutelage. I spoke to Schwartz this morning and we talked primarily about Cortland Finnegan but also touched on Ndamukong Suh and Da'Norris Searcy. I hit on all three in this news story. But I wanted to go a little deeper on Finnegan, who retired this week, as Schwartz said a great deal about him. If Schwartz himself had been blessed with the talent to play, he would have wanted to play like Finnegan. That, Schwartz said, was the highest compliment he could pay a player. Finnegan made the Titans as seventh-round cornerback out of Samford in 2006 and helped bail the team out of the failed Pacman Jones first-round pick in 2005. Schwartz was with the Titans until 2009, when he as hired as head coach in Detroit. “His intensity and competitiveness on the field, there was never a challenge he wasn’t up for,” Schwartz said of Finnegan. “He was never the biggest guy on the field. He was always tough, never backed down.” While Finnegan lost a fight with Andre Johnson, he wasn’t afraid to take him on despite a significant size disadvantage. Schwartz also recalled a matchup against Carolina’s Steve Smith that “was worth the price of admission” and another where Finnegan squared off with the Saints' Joe Horn. Schwartz knew Horn from as far back as high school and told him his pregame trash talk toward Finnegan was unwise. “I think Joe Horn had one catch for minus-3 yards in that game, he caught a ball at the line of scrimmage and then just grabbed grass,” Schwartz said. “Cort was a really good tackler, he was a really good blitzer, he could play inside, he could play outside. “He did all the little things right and as competitive and feisty as he was on the field, I think he was a true gentleman off the field.” |
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