text:
Part One: Interview with Rachel Smith
In today's episode, I talk with Rachel Smith, a JavaScript developer currently working at CodePen!
Mentioned or relevant to today's episode:
@RachSmithTweets
rachsmith on CodePen
Web Animation API
RachSmith.com
Rachel's CodePen posts (blog)
w3c mailing list
ActiveTheory
About CodePen (includes team bios)
Today's episode is sponsored by Hired.com! If you are looking for a job as a developer or a designer and don't know where to start, head over to Hired now! If you get a job through this special link, you'll receive a $2,000 bonus - that's twice the normal bonus provided by Hired. Thanks again to Hired for sponsoring the show!
And lastly...
Please take a moment and subscribe and review the show! Click here to review Developer Tea in iTunes.
Hey everyone and welcome to Developer Tea. My name is Jonathan Cutrell and in today's episode I interview Rachel Smith. Rachel is a JavaScript developer. She works at CodePen and that's actually the primary topic of conversation because I'm a big fan of CodePen and I was really excited to talk to Rachel about working with the people at CodePen. Rachel works entirely remotely as does the rest of the team so we talk a little bit about remote work and what it's like to prioritize features on a platform that you actually happen to use. Today's episode is sponsored by Hired if you are a designer or a developer and you're looking for that next dream job. Go and check out Hired.com. We will talk a little bit more about what Hired has to offer the listeners of Developer Tealater on in today's episode. But first I want to jump straight in and talk with Rachel Smith. Rachel, welcome to the show. Hi Jonathan, thanks for having me. No problem. I'm excited to talk to you about CodePen. I use this every single day about the things that you are doing at CodePen but also the things you're doing on CodePen. So I think that's kind of how we're going to frame this discussion today. Awesome. Well first tell us about your background and then we're going to find out kind of how you ended up at CodePen. So my background is in, I'm actually originally started as a Flash Developer. My first web job was building Flash Banners for an advertising agency. And that's how I got into advertising which is what I worked in up until working for CodePen. I always worked for ad agencies. And then I just sort of moved on to JavaScript and building animated stuff with JavaScript instead of Flash when Flash wasn't really something people were looking for anymore. And yeah, and that's, I basically progressed from there and I've always, I've always basically had a strong interest in web animation and my work was largely in web animation sort of stuff before working for CodePen. And when you say web animation for those who are not familiar with that, can you kind of describe what all goes into web animation? So web animation is, it's kind of, I guess you could call it a front end specialty. So that, it basically encompasses anything to do with animating with front end technologies. So that could be using CSS or JavaScript or SVG and used to be a lot of Flash not so much anymore. But it's basically just being able to animate interfaces. And that's usually having to know how to design them, design animated interfaces or build them out. And some people can do both, which is sort of being sort of my, what I like to do is motion design work combined with coding it. And that's what I would describe as web animation in my case anyway. Yeah, so have you been involved with the web animation API that has been the standard API? No, I would, I'm definitely a web animations enthusiast, like consumer. And I left all the hard API work up to the other fantastic talented people who do those things. And I am more the kind of person who waits till it is a standard. And then I'll take it and use it. Okay, that makes sense. When you work in web animation rather than just, you know, doing it as a hobby, you kind of have to use things that are at least a little bit standardized or mainstream across browser. And web animation API sort of still falls in that it's still being worked on category. So wouldn't go putting it in or putting it alone without some sort of fallback inner production site at this stage. I would consider myself definitely on the consumer side of pretty much all of those tools. I don't think I've ever actually worked on any kind of standard or standardization process with anyone yet. I used to get some of the W3C emails and that just it was so many emails. I think I got, I had more emails from tabacans that were not directed at me directly in my inbox than any other email type at all. So it was, it was a, it filled up, it fills up your inbox pretty quickly. Yeah. I think the most contribution I've done in that area is just log bugs. Yeah. With, with, with Chrome saying, okay, right now, that's that it, which it may mean to be fair, you know, if you're out there listening and you're wondering how to get involved actually walking bugs is a really important thing because especially if the bug hasn't come up before, that is really a huge part of the job of, of developing these standards. So definitely important. So I want to go back even further though. I want to know kind of what got you interested in developing in flash originally. Oh, so I was like, basically I have a long education history where I first thought I was going to be a software engineer because I enjoyed, I've always enjoyed coding. Since I was a teenage aunt, that sort of work appealed to me. Software engineer who was a little bit too on the back end side of things. For me, I didn't feel it, I didn't feel like it was that appealing. So then I sort of went like 180 and decided I was going to be a web designer. And I actually went and studied to do a web design course, which just happened to have like a flash elective in it. And then I realized, and this is, this was in 2010. So front end development was as a job or as a career was only just sort of coming to the forefront at this stage. And I didn't realize before that point that you could be someone who codes, but also designs visually. And that's like a real job. I thought, you know, I thought you are the coding and never looking at design or the other way around. And through flash, I sort of found this way that I could, I was scripting, I was writing an action script, but I was animating and signing and it's like the original full stack developer, right? Yeah, the animation aspect, which is something I never thought I would be interested in. I just sort of accidentally found it and I just fell in love with it. And a part of the reason I love animation is because it is so math based a lot of the time. So it's very logical, but the product of your logic, it can be just extremely beautiful and, you know, almost like art. So that's why that's sort of why I fell in love with flash. And then I found examples online of people doing things with JavaScript that sort of mimicked what flash could do. And from then I was on, I was like hooked and that I wanted to do that sort of thing. That's great. So you ended up at CodePen, eventually. Yes. What led you to CodePen? So I actually ended up getting my job at CodePen from being a CodePen user, I would say. Oh, very cool. So I was a very enthusiastic CodePen user. And I would talk about it a lot on Twitter and I, you know, started blogging on CodePen and I just loved it. And I actually ended up meeting Chris Koeh at a conference that I was speaking at the same conference he was speaking at as well. And from there I sort of got to know him in person and then I went on to meet the other two founders, Alex and Tim and sort of formed an in person like connection with them all the while still being at my last job active theory. And I was very happy at active theory. And the only, it's funny. I was really happy with my job at active theory and I would get job offers all the time from startups around, you know, LA and SanFran. And I had the thought of my head, the only people I would leave this job for is CodePen. If they would have, if they would have suddenly like, you know, be able to hire staff. And then after that they actually got some funding and have a looking, that we're looking for people and Chris actually skyped me one day and said, hey, like, do you want to work for us? And I was dyed like, I couldn't believe it. This is like literally my dream job that I didn't even think it was possible happened. And it happened, obviously I've got the skills to do it, which is important. But I think they thought of me because I had been such an active user and made the effort to meet them in person and just be really supportive of their product. So I think that got me the job offer in the end. That's actually a really interesting thought experiment though. For people who are currently happy at your jobs, I am one of these people. It's worthwhile to think about, you know, what are the places that if they were to contact me, I would be ready to go, you know, like, yeah, there's, there is a short and sometimes non-existent list of those places. Another important list to have probably is if suddenly this business that I'm at, you know, God forbid, goes under and I can no longer work here if I get laid off or whatever happens, where do I go? Right? Like what is my backup plan? These are like the professional insurance pieces because, you know, as much as we want to believe that the job that we have today is, you know, exactly the way it is today, it's going to be that way or better tomorrow. That's not realistic, right? Not necessarily realistic. Bad things happen to good people and bad things happen to good companies and it's important to have those thoughts and start thinking, okay, you know, what is my 10 year trajectory look like if this happens, right? Or what is my dream job? Am I at my dream job or is there somewhere else that I want to be? Yeah, I personally think it's important to have that dream job goal in your mind because I speaking speaking from personal experience, the last two jobs I've had were literally my like dream jobs before I got them, you know, and I think if you have, if you have that in your mind, if you've made that list or, you know, that target, you probably find you might subconsciously do things in your life that push you closer to that goal and then it becomes eventualized. Not to get like to try and like trying to say we're dealing with a secret here or something like I just think things and they happen, but I think it's important to just, you know, shoot for the ultimate job or just just have that in your mind and be aware that someday you could make it happen. It is possible. Yeah, and it may come up on you before you realize, you know, I've recently kind of been more and more interested in this idea of no effort to the minimum effort and how much of a difference it makes to even just think about your goals, right? Like, sure, it's important to take action, but even the thought, even the intentional thought about a goal and call it meditation or whatever you want to call it, but focusing on a specific thought, that's a powerful step that people can make. And instead of just, you know, kind of going through your day and going through the motions, you know, think about things and that's really broad, obviously, but take some time to consider what your goals are. Take some time to consider, you know, in your wildest dreams, what would happen tomorrow? Plan around that and just that mental energy of looking towards your goals can really change, you know, they say that your body ends up going wherever your eyes are. That's such a powerful metaphor for, you know, when you're thinking about something, when you're focused on something, you end up heading that direction, even if you don't intentionally do so. It's a powerful thing. So it's very possible that some of those thoughts that you had actually led to that occurring for you in some way that I can't really scientifically figure out, right? Yeah, yeah, maybe. I think you do not in a mystical way. I don't mean, you know, like in a tangible way, but it's so incremental that you can't really quantify it, but I probably would have modified my behavior to suit that, you know, thought that someday I could be working for these people. So, you know, yeah, totally. And so you made your pens a little bit better each time, or maybe like you tweeted at Code Pen a few more times, or, you know, yeah, totally. That makes a big difference. So that's really interesting. I'm going to shift gears entirely. We're going to talk a little bit about the work that you do at Code Pen and what it's what it's like to work for Co-Pen. But first, I want to take a quick sponsor break. Today's episode of Developer Tea is sponsored by Hired. On Hired Software Engineers and Designers can get five or more interview requests in a given week from over 3,000 companies from startups to large public companies. And each of these offers has salary and equity up front. Now, they have full-time and contract opportunities, and you can view these interview requests and accept or reject them before you ever talk to any company. So there's never an awkward conversation that has to happen. The employers come from 13 major tech hubs in North America and Europe. And the best part for you is that it's totally free. Now, if you get a job through Hired, they typically provide a $1,000 kind of thank you bonus for using their system for finding that job. But if you use the special link, which you can find in the show notes at spec.fm, that bonus doubles to $2,000 when you accept that job. So go and check it out. Hired.com slash Developer Tea. Of course, that link can be found in the show notes at spec.fm. Thank you again to Hired for sponsoring today's episode of Developer Tea. I assume you work remotely. So correct. Yeah, I work remotely. And does Co-Pen even have offices? No, very 100% distributed. Sure. That's what I thought. I wasn't 100% sure. But what does what does a typical workday look like for you at Co-Pen? Well, I work from home and I'm actually I'm on the West Coast and the majority of the team is on the East Coast, but it's a slim majority. There's like East Central West. So I'm usually sort of get started maybe one or two hours later than some of the others, but I'm I'm actually I like to start work early in the morning. So being in the West Side actually really works to me because it means I'm sort of online, roughly at the same time, the other people are. And basically my like my day is it's actually kind of fabulous. My my comparing it to where I've worked previously, which is with agency where any I'm sure any agency developers can commiserate with me on this, but it feels like your day is like as a developer is constantly interrupted. Yes, meetings and oh this client needs this right now like drop everything you are doing that you know and that's just constant and there's never a day where you just sit down and you're like this is what I'm going to do today and then you get that done and nothing happened, nothing else happens. That's particularly true in agency style work. Yes, yes definitely. And and advertising agencies especially ad hoc like every single day is sort of just whatever happens that day. So then and then I started this job which is the opposite. I get up I have sort of you know a plan of what to it things I want to do today and usually that's working towards some sort of new feature. But then there's also like bugs that need to get fixed. You might occasionally have a very nasty sort of bug that you need to you know turn your attention towards immediately because you just have told you about it that most of the day is sort of just writing code which is is just awesome. Usually we'll work on either work on little small things ourselves but often larger features will be like one or two or three people working on it at the same time. And so that'll you'll often sort of like I hate using touch base but I'm going to use it. You'll you'll often touch base with you know the people you're working with via video chat you know maybe once or twice throughout the day just to like check in. And yeah I my job is sort of I would say I'm mostly front end but I also do back end stuff as well so mostly rails correct. Yeah we do we work with rails so I'd never used rails before this job and so I'm still learning rails but it's going pretty well and I also understand a bit of the upside of things as well like as far as we run a lot of stuff on Amazon web services and I I've used a lot of that before so I kind of have a good at least a good understanding of the full stack and my job can be anything from writing you know CSS to JavaScript to Rouse. My last couple of rolls have been someone who's sort of fills in the gaps so you have like other people who you know you have people like Chris who are fabulous at CSS and writing copy and doing this very sort of front end focused stuff and then people like Alex who is not really into writing CSS but you know he's he's great at Rouse and JavaScript and then I sort of can like fill in any parts that people can't get to that day kind of sure it's good so how many people are actually at CodePen though. So there is the three founders and then we have they have four employees including myself. Okay wow and such a such a widely used product now. Yeah it's kind of they only just started hiring I think their first time would have been around which would have been Marie around maybe August of last year and then they've hired the rest of us in since then maybe it's July but I think it was wasn't that long ago and it's to think that it was just the three those three guys like doing that I'm just like how did you do this. It's amazing yeah it's a huge I mean the the product is I if I don't use it every day it's pretty close to every day. If you are a front end web developer then you you're probably under a rock if you don't know what CodePen is you may not use it because there are other things that you could use but most people now do use CodePen because in my opinion it has probably the most flexible resetter features quite honestly. CodePen edits at its core the most important features that it has you write HTML you write CSS and you write JavaScript or some pre-compiled variant of the above and you can bring in libraries and you can bring in let's say you write SAS you can write SAS directly in your browser you can write hamil or slim or jade directly in your browser and CodePen will immediately compile all those things and create a there's a view below or beside depending on how you have it set up and that shows you what you've created so it's essentially like front end development in the browser and you can do all sorts of things with what are these are called pins when you actually write this code you save it as a pin and you can save drafts and people can fork those drafts there's a whole social component and on top of all this CodePen now supports blogging which is super important especially to people like Rachel I'm sure you'll talk about that a little bit as well Rachel but and even goes far as doing like a live coding session where you can basically create a cast of your of your coding and people can watch you while you code and it's not a video it's actually them watching like if they were to open a pin themselves but it's your pin and you're controlling the code and they can't go in and edit it until after you're done it's it's a super powerful platform CodePen is in no way sponsoring Developer Tea by the way so let me just go ahead and say that but super powerful platform I'm probably leaving out a bunch of features because you guys are shipping new features all the time on this platform yeah it's um you know I was the last developer to join the larger team and we've been rolling with the full team this year and it's kind of we're just constantly making improvements and releasing new little features almost on daily basis now so it's really exciting which it's amazing like as a developer you think about something like CodePen it's hard to think of okay what is the next feature that you could put into this thing right yeah but then when you guys releases like oh yeah well that makes sense right like it seems like that that totally especially for a particular audience usually yeah so for like a there's professor mode for example um where you can do what I basically what I was saying that it's like a cast of your code yeah I could do that with a whole classroom full of students and instead of looking up at a projector they can look at their own computers and see things much more clearly yep yep and people use it for education purposes a lot oh sure yeah that's just one sort of vertical that we hope to you know take the product down and just that's sort of where you get your your feature ideas from is like how are people already using it and what are they asking us for you know every day people are like oh I wish we could do this and you know there's a whole we have a trello board which is or several trello boards which is just filled with like feature ideas I was actually getting ready to ask you about feature ideas and where they come from and how you guys decide on them and you know is there like a voting system that you have internally and perhaps most importantly how do I get my ideas into that key it's funny um since I started working for CodeFan I've had these like friends like just say to me like just start putting in feature requests to me personally like add like add a social engagement and I'm like you know I'm gonna forget this instantly the most inappropriate form of feedback to get your idea like like into the app like just send an email to support that's really funny we extremely receptive to you know request any request anyone has and then and every request gets you know noted and recorded and then basically we go through it sort of comes down to a criteria of like how much effort is required to make this happen mm-hmm how will it affect things that are already in the app is this a change that's going to help just like one person or is it going to help a whole subset of uses mm-hmm and also is we get requests that that can be like you know dangerous to implement you know not secure or you know it's not a good idea you know it's sort of you weigh up those trade-offs and then like basically they'll end up you know oh yeah we can do this in the next week pile or yet we'll add it to our you know a couple of months long term list yeah and then there's you know these stretch ones that are like one day we would love to do this but we won't you know make any grand plans towards it yet and it's only then you know the the dangerous you know the one the ideas that are probably bad that we will actually go no we'll never do so yeah yeah I'm actually really glad that I left out this one feature because if you're listening to the podcast I want you to pause if especially if you don't know what code pin is pause and think what are what is a feature that would be really useful that seems like it would be relatively easy to implement just pause the podcast think of that feature and then press play again um the collections feature it's such a I wouldn't call it simple because it's certainly not simple but but the idea of just saying okay let's take a bunch of these pins and wrap them up together and present them in their own view and let them have a title that could be massively useful for so many different use cases mm-hmm I'm a shocking collections user I've never been very part of code pin but some people make these incredibly useful you know categorized collections examples of you know front end work like best of you know a whole of game kind of stuff hey you want you know login forms like somebody has made you know a collection of the nicest looking functional login forms you've ever seen guaranteed um we actually have code pin has its own like collections like a patent's library where we sort of group these sorts of UI patterns into collections um so that's a really great resource as well but I mean the user's doing an amazing job of making really useful collections one of my favorite features definitely yet another really cool one is uh templates so uh you can you can bring templates it the the paid plants and I don't know if you guys have a a tier where it either way the paid plants definitely allow you to upload assets that you can like refer to anytime in any pin and it just knows where it is and that kind of thing that is super handy especially in the these days of if you you know trying to import HTTP assets like yeah or you have cross-origin problems especially with things like canvas and webGL dealing with cross-origin assets can be a nightmare sometimes and if you just are pulling all of your assets from code pen CDN you're not going to have any problems with that sort of thing so that's super handy or even things like SVG images um you can instead of inlining them directly you can you know go and go and put them on a CDN or whatever or I'm sorry not a CDN but basically this acts like a CDN right it just passes through to s3 for you but you don't have to take the time to go and manage that it's just in code pen yeah and we will manage the s3 permission so you can do whatever you want with those things on code pen you don't have to worry about that sort of stuff which is super handy so the way I use code pen typically is I'll mock my pins are awful they they look horrible but they help me so much because I'll use it to basically validate an idea right so like a designer will walk up to me and and they're strict where I work typically the designers don't do much code and so they'll ask me hey you know I know so we have this kind of packed between the designers and the Developer That if you think something might be complex on the front end come and talk to us and we'll you know talk through the idea and then you can you know figure out whether or not you want to try to still implement it or not because you know a very simple seemingly simple things may end up being pretty complex on the front end so when they come to me though and they show me a design no send a screenshot whatever I look at it and I listen to their description and the very first thing I do is I open code pen and I try it on like a super rough almost I don't know what the word would be I guess pin makes sense there because I'm really kind of just sketching out the fundamental concepts right just to see how does the browser react when I do this this and this okay it's a little buggy or you know it doesn't seem like I can calculate that particular padding that way or whatever and that has been so such a helpful thing because imagine doing it on your local machine you'd have to create your own version of pin like this thing already you basically you would have to do the same exact thing that code pin does except you have to keep the files on your local computer right like and then to share it uh that's a whole the whole different discussion you'd have to go I mean you could again you could go and use another service or whatever and just for fairness I guess things like JS fiddle uh similar in terms of like the fundamental core idea of writing front and code and then you can view it on the front end and there's actually some really good use cases for JS fiddle too but if you're you know if you're trying to share this and you're also a developer that you you exist online in some capacity like people know who you are on social media or whatever code pin is kind of the the social platform for Developer That compliments GitHub which another feature another great feature you can export to adjust to adjust yeah super super valuable stuff well the thing that really stood out for code pin is for me as a user is we have that community uh in that social aspect and discoverability if you're just making little mocks up just for yourself and you have no intention of of sharing them with anyone then you might not see you know the value and community but you know if you want to just like put some of your work or your ideas online and just put them out there and see what other devs you know have to say about them code pin is great because like you could end up getting picked and then you're on the front page and suddenly you've got all these eyes on it and um it's a super supportive community it's it just blows my mind how amazing these people are considering you know what you can end up with like with online communities especially communities traditionally filled with developers can be making it a little bit nasty sometimes but just this community is and i'm not just saying this because i work there because like this was my favorite part about code pin before i even worked there is just it's just filled with lovely supportive encouraging people everyone's just you know out to be creative and have a good time and get ideas from other people and spin off those ideas and create new things it's not about who makes the better stuff or you know like who's got the most who's the most popular it's it's just people just getting enjoyment out of other people's um code and ideas and that's my favorite part that's the end of the first part of my interview with Rachel Smith if you want to make sure that you don't miss out on the second part of the interview go and subscribe and whatever podcasting app you use to the show uh iTune supports this and pretty much every podcasting app especially if you're on a mobile phone they support uh this function of subscribing so make sure you subscribe and uh that episode will be delivered directly to you and every other episode in the future of Developer Teawill be directly delivered to your device we'll pick back up with Rachel where we left off in the next episode we'll talk more about what she's excited about for the future of her learning and her career thank you so much to today's sponsor hired.com this is especially for designers and developers a job site that is specifically geared towards you over three thousand employers that you can basically pick and choose from uh you can get up to five or more offers in a given week go and check it out hire.com slash Developer Tea and of course that link will be in the show notes at spec.fm as will every other episode of Developer Teago and check it out spec.fm thank you so much for listening to today's episode and until next time enjoy your tea.


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December 12, 2016 December 12, 2016 ~ Laura
I've got a terrible cold this morning. I'm sitting at my computer wrapped in scarves. I don't know how much longer I'm going to feel like sitting upright. I might need to retreat to the sofa and a less blogging-friendly-device in a hour or so. So, let me throw out a few links of things that I've been reading this morning.
Jeffrey Toobin compares Hulk Hogan with Donald Trump. "In retrospect, Hogan v. Gawker in the courtroom looks in some ways like a dress rehearsal for Trump v. Clinton at the polls." This is an excellent article. Still reading it.
The New Yorker hit it out of the ballpark this morning. Patti Smith singing Bob Dylan's A Hard Rain is amazing.
Lots of chatter about this Kristof article about the higher ed bubble. The best response? Oberlin students aren't the typical college student.
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lauracstruve says:
Talk about bubbles! Try looking at less elite schools–my rural white students mostly supported trump. We're in Ohio, too, just like Oberlin.
Along the FOR THE LOVE OF GOD WE ARE NOT ALL LIKE OBERLIN lines, I liked this, which takes the form of a letter to Kristof:
https://talesoutofschoolblog.wordpress.com/2016/12/12/an-open-letter-and-invitation-to-nicholas-kristof/
Sorry to use all caps but seriously. Here's a salient quote:
"The National Center for Education Statistics reports that of the 17.6 million people enrolled in college in the fall of 2011, only 15 percent were attending a four-year college and living on campus. Thirty-seven percent were enrolled part time, and 32 percent worked full time…More than a third were over 25, and a quarter were over 30."
"When I look out at a classroom that includes a nineteen-year old, a thirty-ish year-old single mother putting herself through college, a returning veteran, and the handful of individuals who are over sixty and participate in a program my college offers that allows them to take classes for free, I don't trouble myself much with a worry about a liberal bubble. Instead, I relish their discussions of the assigned material, as each brings to bear a distinctive perspective that educates the others."
Mine is not quite this diverse, mostly traditional age college students, who at least live on campus as freshmen, but quite a few veterans and some nontrads, and also many who work a lot of hours, about 30% minority from a big city 3.5 hours away, lots of rural kids from farms, etc. It is a far different kind of conversation than people imagine when they equate us all to the Ivy Leagues and elite liberal arts schools, which I would guess constitute maybe 100,000 students or something? Out of 17 million? And not only a far different kind, but a really, genuinely illuminating kind. Complicated and interesting.
I really want to do this again and then maybe it'll be out of my system: FOR THE LOVE OF GOD WE ARE NOT ALL LIKE OBERLIN.
PERFECTLY APPROPRIATE use of allcaps, which are a nice way of communicating emphasis within a generally less strident post.
I thought the Kristol article was all over the place in a way that didn't address what I see as the key issues in the "insulated bubble". I agree that the bubble is an issue when it exacerbates the "us/them" (in group/out group, in academic parlance) that is a fundamental human characteristic. I also dislike a lack of fact checking wherever I encounter it (including in protecting targets of racism/sexism/violence). But some views are incompatible with modern society: American-born citizens with the name "Curiel" are entitled to absolutely all the same rights as any other American. There is no asterisk next to their names. Some of what people call compromise means accepting those asterisks, and I don't think people are willing to accept that anymore.
If reading the Kristol article leaves you hungry for MORE, here is a source: https://www.insidehighered.com/views/2016/12/08/serving-sole-conservative-post-election-panel-essay
Here's another article on this, "My college students aren't 'snowflakes.'":
http://www.salon.com/2016/12/19/my-college-students-arent-snowflakes-theyre-tougher-than-their-critics-could-imagine/
The New York Times article on the "Google effect" in Oklahoma: the effect of building a google server farm in Pryor, Oklahoma sparked my interest yesterday (as well as sending me on a data search on rural states).
"http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/11/technology/google-effect-rubs-off-on-schools-in-one-rural-oklahoma-town.html"
Google plans to spend about 2.5 billion on the Pryor sites, but the investment didn't bring many jobs:
"The Pryor data center has 115 Google employees, 230 full-time contractors for things like security and groundskeeping, and 150 part-time workers, according to Mike Edwards, the data center facility manager."
and some taxes (1.3 million), less because of tax breaks from a 1985 law and some "largess" (1.5 million to the schools)
The Google server farm siting resulted in a bonus to the school district in Pryor, which now has a budget of 18.5 million (plus free wifi, and the Google charitable funds) compared the 14.5 million that another district, Wagoner, works with.
Overall, Oklahoma ranks 49th in funding/student (at about $7000/student). There's a shortage of teachers in Oklahoma, with the number of uncertified teachers reaching 1000 (compared to 32 five years ago, when, I suspect, oil revenues were higher).
The voters turned down a 1% sales tax to fund schools/pay teachers better, almost 60-40%. My take, when I read that choice (though I know, complicated politics play a role, too) is to wonder what the plan of the people of the state is for the future. The manager of the Google facility is quoted as saying "Eventually every job is going to be a tech job." We (as a family) and as a county are trying to plan for that future (though thwarted by the rural areas of our state).
"Eventually every job is going to be a tech job."
Only in the most trivial sense. A school bus driver is going to be a school driver, no matter what. While it's possible that we might go to having automated self-driving school buses, you're still always going to need a human attendant when you've got 40 kids on the road.
While there may be a new 5-15% tech component of previously non-tech jobs, the core of the job is going to be non-tech. (And the tech may be very, very simple on the user end.)
But of course Google thinks every job is going to be a 100% tech job–that's their dream.
"We (as a family) and as a county are trying to plan for that future (though thwarted by the rural areas of our state)."
Maybe the rural areas of your state can't afford your standards.
We are going to have self driving school busses, my guess is in our lifetimes.
I see that you were thinking that even in the age of self driving busses, the children would still have to be supervised. But, that's a big part of the point of what it means to say "all jobs will be tech jobs" — the relatively skilled job of driving a school bus, which required training and certification will be replaced by a minder, a paraprofessional childcare worker. It's precisely these "working class jobs" that used to sustain a middle class lifestyle that will continue to disappear and being replaced with work that people call unskilled, and will only pay minimum (or less than minimum) wage for.
I think we are seeing that trend in every industry — two of the restaurants we go to have added ordering kiosks to their tables (a feature I find strangely annoying, because I would have thought I'd be precisely the kind of person who would like not having to talk to a waiter). Some fast food places are using remote order takers (though I think it'll be a while before robots can actually do the packing of the food). Amazon is testing a downtown grocery store where people just walk in and walk out with stuff (no cashiers).
The last income tax proposal planned on income taxes only for joint filers earning more than $400,000; single filers earning more than $200,000. So, folks weren't really asking the rural counties to afford the standards. The proposal failed resoundingly in those counties that would have received more money for their schools with few paying more taxes.
I don't know that school bus drivers typically make that much.
http://www.asd5.org/cms/lib4/WA01001311/Centricity/Domain/10/PstSubBusDr1415.pdf
That's an ad for a substitute school bus driver in Aberdeen WA from 2014–the pay is $14.57 an hour.
That's consistent with this, which says $15 an hour (and of course, it's not a full-time job and not year-round):
http://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Bus_Driver,_School/Hourly_Rate
They say that school bus drivers make in the neighborhood of $19k-$42k a year, with $31k being the average. About 2/3 of school bus drivers are women.
So, while a paraprofessional bus attendant would probably make less, it would be within hailing range of a bus driver's pay.
sandrat212 says:
bj – We were at a local restaurant on the weekend that is implementing an app where you pay and leave without having to wait for the wait staff. I like the human interaction! And I imagine that tips will decrease too.
I want to interact with people at the shops I go too. I don't want to do everything myself or have it all automated.
I'm guessing 25K v 35K, now. And, do we think when that job flip occurs that the men who would have driven busses will take over minding kindergartners? Are they raising the boys in the rural counties to be good caregivers, who derive a sense of satisfaction and purpose from that work?
I suspect that we'll have tech jobs and service jobs. The problem is that service jobs are traditionally low-paid. However, they are increasingly the majority of available jobs. We produce less and maintain/serve more as a society.
I have to add that those kind of new job numbers are HUGE for a rural area, even if every single person were imported from outside.
Even 20 jobs gained or lost would cause a noticeable ripple in many rural areas.
Presumably, oil revenues will go up again sooner or later.
The article was actually about the "ripple effect" — of the charitable contribution, the increase in the tax base (not entirely sure how it worked, but it seemed that the state shoulders the tax break they give to Google), the investment (through bonds, which can be offered because of the new tax base), the volunteers at the school, and the exposure to Google (showing the kids, at least, the outside world).
I'll spread some love for Richard Mayhew, who writes over at Balloon Juice. His self-description, "I am a mid-level bureaucrat at a mid-level full service insurance company with a policy analysis addiction." It's really good nuts and bolts about health care and insurance, how the business works from the point of view of people doing things, rather than what C-level execs and the associated corporate PR or trade associations propagate.
https://www.balloon-juice.com/author/richard-mayhew/

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Writers, Young and Old, Share Experiences (1997)
This is a collection of stories by members of Seniors' Writing Circles and Fundamental Level Students, College of New Caledonia, Prince George, British Columbia. The Prince George Seniors' Writing Circles began in September 1996 as the result of a cost-shared government grant. Behind the walls of the many senior residences and activity centres in Prince George, is a wealth of untapped historical experience. This is the first time these seniors have had the opportunity to join these intellectually stimulating circles through which they have developed and used the literacy skills necessary to put their experiences on paper.
It took great courage and determination for all the authors in this book to overcome feelings of "I can't write...I have nothing of importance to say". Through sharing ideas and experiences orally, these feelings changed. The writing began! It will continue!
Experience writing
HRSDC
College of New Caledonia, Prince George and BC. Writers, Young and Old, Share Experiences 1997. Web. 1 Feb. 2023 <http://en.copian.ca/library/learning/thair1/writers.pdf>
College of New Caledonia, Prince George & BC (1997). Writers, Young and Old, Share Experiences. Retrieved February 1, 2023, from http://en.copian.ca/library/learning/thair1/writers.pdf
Strategies for overcoming barriers to training and education for Canadians with disabilities
Literacy and Older Adults
Literacy profile of off-reserve First Nations and Métis people living in urban Manitoba and Saskatchewan: Results from the International Adult Literacy and Skills Survey 2003
Demystifying Adult Literacy for Volunteer Tutors
Handling Legal Concerns


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Capitol Riot criminal investigation continues one year later; still a long way to go
By Katie Barlow
Capitol Riot
FOX 5 DC
Capitol Riot criminal investigation continues one year later
One year ago, pro-Trump rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol, disrupting Congress' duty to certify the 2020 presidential election results. Many laws were broken that day, setting off the largest criminal investigation in the history of the United States.
WASHINGTON (FOX 5 DC) - One year ago, pro-Trump rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol, disrupting Congress' duty to certify the 2020 presidential election results. Many laws were broken that day, setting off the largest criminal investigation in the history of the United States.
705 individuals have been charged in connection with the Capitol Riot on Jan. 6, 2021. Suspects hail from nearly every state in the country, and they are overwhelmingly male with 614 men compared to 91 women, according to George Washington University's program on extremism.
172 individuals have pleaded guilty, mostly to low-level crimes. A small few have been sentenced to prison time including Robert Palmer from Florida who was sentenced to more than five years for assaulting police officers.
Palmer sprayed a fire extinguisher at officers and threw the canister at them. Before he was sentenced, Palmer wrote a letter to his judge expressing regret and an understanding that Trump had lied to his supporters.
Capitol Riot: A look back on year since January 6 insurrection
"Little did I realize that they were the tyrannical ones desperate to hold on to power at any cost," Palmer wrote, "even by creating the chaos they knew would happen with such rhetoric."
A year into the investigation and the Department of Justice and FBI still have a long way to go.
"It's too early in the process to get a full picture of January 6," says Seamus Hughes from GWU's program on extremism. "If you look at the sentencing so far, they've been low-level misdemeanor crimes. Trespassing, taking selfies in the Senate rotunda, that type of thing. That's going to be probation, 30 days, 60 days. The more complex cases, the Oath Keepers, the Proud Boys, they're looking at much longer sentences. So I wouldn't look at the early sentences as an indicator of where January 6 is going. I also wouldn't look at January 6 as the end date. The FBI is still working cases on the weekend, they're still looking for 250 individuals."
The first trial in any Capitol Riot case is scheduled to begin in February, but it may get pushed back due to complications with COVID-19.
READ MORE: FBI hunt for who placed pipe bombs outside RNC, DNC offices day before Capitol riot continues
17 members and associates of the Oath Keepers face charges of conspiracy and are scheduled for trial in April.
Processing these cases has not been easy as the sheer volume has strained resources at the DOJ. Prosecutors have also received criticism for going too easy on certain defendants.
"On the one hand it's a mob, so everyone counts," says Senior Editor at Lawfare Roger Parloff. "Everyone who is there is helping to overrun the police and prevent them from doing their jobs, so there is culpability. But on the other hand, it's just not something that judges or even prosecutors typically want to put people in jail for."
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The question remains regarding what will happen with former president Donald Trump. Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a speech on Wednesday, "the actions we have taken so far will not be our last."


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Kuro Neko Design Workshop The Battle of North Kursk KN NKURSK
The Battle of Kursk has always been a focus point for both historians and military enthusiasts. Evocative titles like "Decisive Battle", "The Greatest Tank Battle", "The Greatest Counter Attack" and so on underscore why the battle generated a large amount discussions and debates. Interestingly, most people focus on the struggle between Manstein and Zhukov featuring armor battles between Hoth and Vatutin on the southern part of this campaign. Actually, the dual between Model and Rokossovski on the northern part determined this campaign. We zeroed in on this part of the campaign, and this game will concentrate on the fighting around Orel. Great tank battles also occurred here. This game simulates the period from July 5th, when the German Army started their attacks, until August 4th, when Soviet Army captured Orel, a total of 31 days of battle. In this game, players act as Marshal Model and Marshal Rokossovski. If Model could limit initial attack losses, withstand the powerful Soviet counterattacks with his 9th Army and 2nd Panzer Army, and then generate a powerful advance, then history might by rewritten. Manstein would not be ordered to end Plan Fortress. Instead, German Army might still create the pocket they planned. COMPONENTS 1 33" x 23" game map 2 sheets of counters 40 Cards 1 Rules booklet 2 dice
Tags: Kuro Neko Design Workshop Paper The Battle of North Kursk


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Mother Believes Flint Water Caused Her To Miscarry Twins
Nakiya Wakes lost her unborn twins last year after drinking the water in Flint, Michigan.
Desire Thompson
An entertainer, entrepreneur and lover of life! I also enjoy the full moonlit sky as I was born in July on Bastille day which make me a free spirit. Nice to meet you and here's a virtual handshake from me to you.
Jussie Smollett Breaks Social Media Silence With A Message During The Coronavirus
AT&T Sets Up $10 Million 'Distance Learning' Fund During COVID-19 School Closures
Northwest Hospital Provider Tests Possible For Coronavirus, Sinai Hospital Patient Also Tests Positive
A Flint resident with dreams of expanding her family believes the miscarriages she endured last year are linked to the city's troubling water crisis.
In an interview with CNN, Nakiya Wakes recalled her pregnancy and the tragic events that unfolded. Wakes moved to the city in June 2014 and suffered her first miscarriage a year later. She was then informed she was carrying twins and the other child survived. During her second trimester, she suffered another miscarriage.
In the midst of grieving, Wakes said she came across a notice from the city, informing residents who were pregnant or over the age of 55 to stay away from the tap water.
Via CNN:
"I see something from the city of Flint saying that pregnant women and people 55 and over should not be drinking this water," Wakes said. "I was like are you serious, and I'm just coming home to losing my babies? And now just, it could have been the water that did this?"
Wakes also wondered whether her two children have been affected by the water. Her son, Jalen, 7, and daughter, Nashauna, 16, both tested positive for lead poisoning, which is known to cause developmental delay and speech and language impediments. She told the outlet:
My son has been going to the same school for two years. Last year he was suspended one time. This year I have paperwork he has been suspended 56 times," Wakes said."I thought it was just the school and all that, and then I started noticing his behavior at home with just me and my daughter.
I started noticing a change in my daughter's behavior. They're getting more aggressive."
"I really feel like they should be incarcerated," she said. "I think they should be put in jail. Everybody. The governor and all the elected officials who knew about this."
In February, a spokeswoman for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services confirmed officials were investigating a number of Flint miscarriages to determine a possible connection to the water supply. Epidemiologists are currently waiting for the 2014-2015 numbers to compare to the city's 2013 findings. The water system in the city of 99,000 changed in April 2014, just months before Wakes' arrival. After the switch to the Flint River, the iron and lead pipes filled with corroded water, and many children and parents began to test positive for lead poisoning.
Volunteer efforts exporting water and filter kits to the city have continued as residents push politicians to replace the city's old lead pipes and end the problem once and for all. Governor Rick Snyder has apologized for the manmade disaster. Several leaders have resigned, such as city emergency manager Edward Kurtz, EPA Region 5 Administrator Susan Hedman, and Michigan Department of Environmental Quality chief Dan Wyant.
Five months have passed since the city returned to its normal water supply, but residents are still advised not to drink their tap water.
SOURCE: CNN | VIDEO CREDIT: Inform
#JusticeForFlint: Here's How Much Money Ava DuVernay, Ryan Coogler, Hannibal Buress, & More Helped Raise For Flint Victims
Experts Pen Open Letter Requesting Gov. Snyder Establish Fund & Remedies To Help Those Impacted By Flint Water Crisis
Mother Believes Flint Water Caused Her To Miscarry Twins was originally published on newsone.com
Detroit Flint Flint Water Crisis Rick Snyder


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What is Q School in Darts?
Are you new to the game of darts? Do you believe your skill level is improving by the day? Perhaps it's time to think about turning your hobby into a career. Competing on world stages for lucrative cash prizes is entirely possible in the world of darts.
However, you need to qualify as a professional darts player and earn your place in top darts tournaments and competitions. This is where the Q School in darts comes in.
What is Darts Q School?
What Happens at Q School?
How Many Qualify from Darts Q School?
Can Anyone go to PDC Q School?
How Much Does it Cost to Go to Q School?
Who Qualified from Q School?
What are the Entry Requirements for Q School?
How Do I Apply to Q School?
A Chance to Win a PDC Tour Card
Perhaps you've heard about the Professional Darts Corporation (PDA), a professional darts organization responsible for organizing tournaments and competitions on world stages.
PDA awards the highest honors and offers cash prizes north of £7 million each year. And one of the most popular and highly anticipated tournaments you might be interested in is the PDC Q School, or PDC Qualifying School in full.
So, what is Darts Q School? The PDC Q School is a professional tournament held in January of each year in Europe and the UK, where anyone over the age of 16 can sign up to compete for professional status and a PDC tour card.
The PDC tour card is highly prestigious among darts players because it allows you to compete on the PDC global circuit of tournaments for the next two years for a chance to win large cash prizes. These include access to prestigious tournaments like the PDC Championships and the highest-profile tournament in darts: the World Darts Championship.
The PDC Q school takes place over the span of four days. Its main goal is to award 32 PDC tour cards valid for the next two years. Each day holds straight knockout competitions, with the winning players from each region being awarded an automatic two-year tour card.
If you don't win in either of the tournaments, you still stand a chance to win a tour card, depending on the points you accumulate. This is calculated by the Q School's Order of Merit, which works as follows:
9 Points – Last 8 defeat
5 Points – Last 16 defeat
1 Point – Last 128 defeat
So, make sure to keep playing to earn ranking points.
At the end of the tournament, daily winners in the UK and Europe win an automatic tour card. The remaining tour cards are awarded to players in the final stage based on the Order of Merit ranking table on a pro-rata basis of the total participants from each region.
If you win a tour card, you'll need to pay a tour card upgrade fee of £250 to the Professional Dart Players Association (PDPA) to become a full member. However, if you do not win a tour card but competed in Q School, you can still join the PDPA as an associate member and will be eligible to compete in:
All PDC Unicorn Challenge Tour events
UK Open Qualifiers
European Tour Qualifiers
Players Championship events
But if you enter the Q School but do not compete, you'll not qualify as a PDPA member and will only play Challenge Tour events under the "Challenge Tour Only Membership."
The number of qualifiers from Darts Q School often varies. However, eight players generally win automatic PDC tour cards each day, with the remaining spots awarded to players who rank high on the first stage Order of Merit in each region.
In 2022, for instance, more than 650 players joined the PDC Q School to compete for a chance to win one of the 32 PDC tour cards for 2022 and 2023. The event occurred from January 9th to January 15th in Europe and the UK, while darts players from other countries were allowed to choose which destination they liked to compete in.
Details regarding the 2023 Q School are still unavailable.
Yes, anyone can go to PDC Q School. You only have to be at least 16 years of age to compete. From amateur dart players to professional dart players whose PDC tour cards expire, the PDC Q School is open for anyone to apply.
The entry fee required for every player is £450. This includes the £400 qualifying school entry and a £50 DRA Sanction Fee. There is also a £250 tour card upgrade fee you'll need to pay to become a full PDPA member if you qualify from Q School.
That said, there are additional costs you may need to consider. For instance, you may need transport or accommodation fees. This can rack up to a hefty sum, depending on your finances. So, consider whether it's a risk worth taking.
An impressive list of high-profile professional dart players enter Q School. In particular, because you may find former players who have played at the highest levels of dart tournaments entering Q School to either regain their professional status or get the tour card (note that the tour card expires after two years). There are also up-and-coming dart players whose skills may be unpredictable.
In 2022, newcomers Josh Rock from Ireland and Krzysztof Kciuk from Poland won PDC tour cards, while Ted Evetts and Rowby-John Rodriguez regained their professional darts player status. Craig Steadman holds a four-time win from Q School, while dart players Fraser Patrick and Paul Davison are three-time winners.
Anyone can apply to Q School; you only need to be 16 years old or older on the first day of the event and pay an entry fee of £450 (including a £50 DRA Sanction Fee).
Detailed information regarding items like the venue and deadline remains unavailable until around October. However, you may register your interest in participating in the 2023 UK Qualifying School here.
You'll then receive an email in 48 hours to confirm your eligibility to participate in Q School, after which you'll log in to gain entry to relevant events.
Check our article on MPR next and learn how to keep track of it.
That's all there is to it. You've learned everything there is to know about the PDC Darts Q School. While it's not easy to qualify for Q School, you'll meet former dart players looking to reclaim their professional status, as well as those looking to reclaim a PDC tour card they may have lost.
And since anyone at least 16 years of age can apply, why not give it a shot? You'll have the opportunity to compete against top players and, most importantly, win a PDC tour card.
For information on starting your professional journey in darts in the US, check our article –how to become a professional darts player.
https://www.pdc.tv/qualifying-school
https://www.pdpa.co.uk/pdpa/q-school/
https://www.pdc.tv/news/2022/01/06/2022-pdc-qualifying-school-final-entries-exemptions-info-confirmed
https://www.linkedin.com/company/professional-darts-corporation
Should You Use Tungsten Darts?
How to Play Count Up Darts?


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Anthem story DLC to be free, Dragon Age and Mass Effect to feature continuous storytelling
Anthem's journey should be a long one.
A year ago, EA surprised everyone by revealing Anthem for Xbox One and other platforms. The game is an upcoming shared world third-person shooter from BioWare. BioWare is the studio behind famous franchises like Dragon Age and Mass Effect. Anthem is expected to launch on February 22, 2019, but that hasn't stopped the developer from releasing new details about the project.
As reported by VG247, at PAX West 2018, Lead Producer Michael Gamble said that development of the next Dragon Age and Mass Effect games would be heavily influenced by Anthem. Gamble clarified on Twitter, "Anthem has a main story and that story concludes. But it also allows us to continue the storytelling soon after launch, and keep the world alive and changing and fresh. New adventures, characters, and fun."
It's great to see that BioWare will adopt this approach to its next projects. Hopefully they'll be as addictive as Destiny 2 which — despite its flaws — is a great example of how you keep players coming back for more.
According to Game Rant, unlike Destiny 2 though, all of Anthem's story DLC will be free for players. It's unclear if there will be other multiplayer expansions, but we'll let you know as soon as the developer shares more details.
Hopefully Anthem will be a polished experience when it launches next year. The game was supposed to come out in 2018, but was pushed back by a few months to make it better. At E3 2017, BioWare said that Anthem was being developed with the Xbox One X in mind. Hopefully this means that the title will be a visual showcase on Microsoft's new platform.
As long BioWare get free reign going forward, I will buy Anthem. Speaking of Anthem, I am liking the direction BioWare is going with the franchise. I am hoping we get open world + Shepard some time in the future (would be amazing if we could port our Mass Effect character from ME1/ME2/ME3). The moment EA get their grubby paws in to the franchise - instant boycott.
I am voting with my wallet, I would much prefer Bioware having free reign and get almost all my money - it would be naive of me to think EA won't get some of my money.
I'd rather have Bioware as an independent studio and free from EA's greedy grubby paws. But that's not the case so we don't have much choice if we want amazing games to play.
TLDR I'm supporting BioWare not EA.
BioWare are EA. You can justify your purchase with all the mental gymnastics you want, but you are supporting EA, and that vote you're casting with your wallet is a vote for EA.
So? EA Have produced some incredible games lately.
That's totally irrelevant to the point, which is that you can't say you don't support something if you throw money at it. And it's a matter of opinion on whether they've produced any good games anyway.
Ah, yeah sorry. I skimmed over the OP's comment and missed the fact that the guy was going to buy Anthem but not support EA, which is completely backwards.
@Sin Ogaris, I actually did state in my comment "It would be naive of me to think EA won't get some of my money". My comment was really directed at EA, given how the WM10 app mangles comments reducing readability I'm not surprised why people didn't see it. I always seperate my comments into paragraphs and easy to read sentences because people skim. Another reason I put the TLDR at the bottom.
@Fuzzylumpkin. Read my entire comment, I said "it would be naive of me to think EA won't get some of my money". Given the Windows Central app mangles comments - it removed the clear paragraphing therefore making my comment into a wall of text. Thus reducing readability, I am not surprised why jumped to conclusions of me doing mental gymnastics - people don't generally think on multiple levels nor everyone thinks both objectively and subjectively.
I read your entire comment, it's nonsense. The single line you quote highlights the mental gymnastics I spoke of. EA will not get "some" of your money, they'll get all of it. BioWare are a wholly owned studio. Your formatting is fine for me, it is 2018, I am not using Windows mobile. If you have trouble thinking on multiple levels, I suggest you choose objectivity... Subjectivity seems to be severely impairing your ability to think logically.
Actually, you are partially correct in the fiscal sense. How do you think how gaming projects are funded, equipment costs covered and the direct source of wages? Plus how will bioware subsidise the free dlc? I suggest instead of attacking someone, you think holistically.
But supporting BioWare is supporting EA. EA owns BioWare. However, if the game is free and microtransactions are only limited to cosmetic items, then I have no issues.
@Asher Madan. That's what I meant when I said the moment EA get their grubby paws into the franchise, EA love to sneak in microtransactions.
Furthermore I also indicated I am aware EA will still get some of my money, I put the TLDR at bottom because some people just don't bother to read.
How is the game free? I thought just the DLC is, which you can play on top of the main download?
Guess you forgot what happened with Battlefront 2?
Shepards dead! As much of a ***** I made him, don't think he had any kids so to speak of.
You're spot on! If EA stays the hell away from the devs and lets them work we might end up with more titles like the Witcher 3. CD projekt has a lot of qualities other studios should aim to mirror.
Reading some comments about this game i can't understand why such a hate, this game for me looks amazing, you have to ask yourself really i want that EA and Bioware disappear?
If EA takes a few steps back and lets the studios do what they do best I think they'll start to improve their public image.
I don't condone the premature hate. But you cant blame people for being a bit apprehensive about the game considering Biowares debacle with Andromeda. Btw, there is a huge difference between LOOKING amazing and PLAYING amazingly. Hopefully, Anthem will be great.
From what I've watched in all the videos it seems like a bit of a boring game, big flashy effects but no real substance to it. And the boss fights are just massive bullet sponges rather than anything tactical as it didn't look like anyone was in fear of dying. This could all be because player abilities were ramped up for the presentations though. However I want it to be good because I really want a really great scifi persistant mmo that isn't Warframe to spend hours in. So I'm going to play the demo/beta whatever is going to be available on EA Access and try it out for myself.
Already preordered. Hopefully, it doesn't end up sucking
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#CarlJung, Dante, Liber Novus, Red Book
Carl Jung and Dante Alighieri
Date: July 6, 2020Author: Mr. Purrington
The Red Book
The picture shows a rose, the Western equivalent of the lotus. In India the lotus-flower (padma) is interpreted by the Tantrists as the womb.
We know this symbol from the numerous pictures of the Buddha (and other Indian deities) in the lotus-flower.
It corresponds to the "Golden Flower" of Chinese alchemy, the rose of the Rosicrucians, and the mystic rose in Dante's Paradiso.
Rose and lotus are usually arranged in groups of four petals, indicating the squaring of the circle or the united opposites. ~Carl Jung, CW 9.1, Para 652
Hence the devil remained outside the Trinity as the "ape of God" and in opposition to it. Medieval representations of the triune God as having three heads are based on the three-headedness of Satan, as we find it, for instance, in Dante. Carl Jung, CW 11, Para 252.
In Dante, Satan is three-headed and therefore three-in-one.
He is the counterpart of God in the sense that he is God's antithesis.
The alchemists did not hold this view of Mercurius; on the contrary, they saw him as a divine emanation harmonious with God's own being.
The stress they laid on his capacity for self-generation, self-transformation, self-reproduction, and self-destruction contradicts the idea that he is a created being.
It is therefore only logical when Paracelsus and Dorn state that the prima materia is an "increatum" and a principle coeternal with God.
This denial of creatio ex nihilo is supported by the fact that in the beginning God found the Tehom already in existence, that same maternal world of Tiamat whose son we encounter in Mercurius ~Carl Jung, CW 13 ¶ 283
Dante decks out his experience in all the imagery of heaven, purgatory, and hell; Goethe brings in the Blocksberg and the Greek underworld; Wagner needs the whole corpus of Nordic myth, including the Parsifal saga; Nietzsche resorts to the hieratic style of the bard and legendary seer; Blake presses into his service the phantasmagoric world of India, the Old Testament, and the Apocalypse; and Spitteler borrows old names for the new figures that pour in alarming profusion from his muse's cornucopia.
Nothing is missing in the whole gamut that ranges from the ineffably sublime to the perversely grotesque. ~Carl Jung, CW 15, Para 151
Now some Christian mystics have a different experience.
For instance we have a Swiss mystic, Niklaus von der Flüe. He experienced a God and a Goddess.
Then there was a mystic of the thirteenth century, Guillaume de Digulleville, who wrote the Pèlerinage de l'âme de Jésus Christ.
Like Dante, he had a vision of the highest paradise as "le ciel d'or," and there upon a throne one thousand times more bright than the sun sat le Roi, who is God himself, and beside him on a crystal throne of brownish hue, la Reine, presumably the Earth.
This is a vision outside the Trinity idea, a mystical experience of an archetypal nature which includes the feminine principle.
The Trinity is a dogmatic image based on an archetype of an exclusively masculine nature.
In the Early Church the Gnostic interpretation of the Holy Ghost as feminine was declared a heresy. ~Carl Jung, CW 18, Para 221
Dante saw the mystical rose as the last vision in the Paradiso, where it embraced the whole Heavens. ~Carl Jung, ETH Lecture 3rd March 1939
He [Dante] began to write his "Divine Comedy" in his thirty fifth year. The thirty-fifth year is a turning point in life – it is an interesting fact that Christ died in his thirty-fourth year. ~Carl Jung, ETH Lecture VII, Page 222.
Like Nietzsche in Zarathustra, Jung divided the material into a series of books comprised of short chapters.
But whereas Zarathustra proclaimed the death of God, Liber Novus depicts the rebirth of God in the soul.
There are also indications that he read Dante's Commedia at this time, which also informs the structure of the work. ~Sonu Shamdasani, The Red Book, Introduction, Page 202
Liber Novus depicts Jung's descent into Hell.
But whereas Dante could utilize an established cosmology, Liber Novus is an attempt to shape an individual cosmology.
The role of Philemon in Jung's work has analogies to that of Zarathustra in Nietzsche's work and Virgil in Dante's. ~Sonu Shamdasani, The Red Book, Introduction, Page 202
The mantic and conceptual registers can themselves be considered as translations of the descriptive register. That is, these registers move from a literal level to symbolic ones that amplify it, in a modern analogue to Dante's "modi diversi" in his letter to Can Grande della Scala. In a very real sense, Liber Novus was composed through intertextual translation. ~Translator's Notes; The Red Book, Page 222.
Thus our own practice of not smoothing out Jung's several modes, or making them run more fluently than need be, or even regularizing his punctuation.
Think of Dante's "shaggy" diction, or of still another maxim from Luther in Rosenzweig's notes: "The mud will cling to the wheel." ~Translator's Notes; The Red Book, Page 223
In his lecture at the ETH on Jung 14, 1935, Jung noted:
"A point exists at about the thirty-fifth year when things begin to change, it is the first moment of the shadow side of life, of the going down to death. It is clear that Dante found this point and those who have read Zarathustra will know that Nietzsche also discovered it. When this turning point comes people meet it in several ways: some turn away from it; others plunge into it; and something important happens to yet others from the outside. If we do not see a thing Fate does it to us" ~Carl Jung, The Red Book, Page 232, fn 32.
In the 1925 seminar, Jung interpreted this episode as follows:
"the fight of the two snakes: the white means a movement into the day; the black into the kingdom of darkness, with moral aspects too. There was a real conflict in me, a resistance to going down. My stronger tendency was to go up. Because I had been so impressed the day before with the cruelty of the place I had seen, I really had a tendency to find a way to the conscious by going up, as I did on the mountain … Elijah said that it was just the same below or above. Compare Dante's Inferno.
The Gnostics express this same idea in the symbol of the reversed cones. Thus the mountain and the crater are similar. There was nothing of conscious structure in these fantasies, they were just events that happened. So I assume that Dante got his ideas from the same archetypes" (Analytical Psychology, pp. 96-97). McGuire suggests that Jung is referring to Dante's conception "of the conical form of the cavity of Hell, with its circles, mirroring in reverse the form of Heaven, with its spheres" (Ibid.). In Alon, Jung also noted that serpents were a typical pair of opposites, and that the conflict between serpents was a motif found in medieval alchemy (1951, CW 9, 2, §181). ~The Red Book, Page 252, fn 210
In Black Book 2, Jung copied the following citations from Dante's Commedia in German translation (p. 104):
"And I to him: 'I am one who, when love / Breathes on me, notices, and in the manner / That he dictates within, I utter words'" (Purgatorio 24, 52- 54); "And then, in the same manner as a flame / Which follows the fire whatever shape it takes, / The new form follows the spirit exactly" (Purgatorio 25, 97- 99). Tr. C. H. Sisson (Manchester: Carcanet, 1980), pp. 259, 265. ~The Red Book, Page 253, fn 213.
Dante's Inferno begins with the poet getting lost in a dark wood. There is a slip of paper in Jung's copy by this page. ~The Red Book, Page 262, fn 21.
In Dante's Commedia, the following lines are inscribed over the gates of Hell:
"Abandon every hope, you who enter" (canto 3, line 9). See The Divine Comedy of Dante Aligheri, vol. I., ed. and tr. Robert Durling (New York: Oxford University Press), p. 55. ~The Red Book, Page 299, fn 196.
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Retiring now – Mark and Jenny
Mark and Jenny are in their late fifties and approaching retirement. With a redundancy package being offered to Mark, they approached us to help them make some key decisions:
Mark is commuting four to five hours per day. He's keen to stop working on this basis as soon as possible, but is concerned that, at age 59, he will not be able to find alternative employment
Jenny plans to retire at age 65 when her state pension commences, taking benefits from her NHS pension at the same time
They worry that lower income in retirement might impact their own lifestyle, including new cars, holidays and a busy social life
Having built their own house some eight years ago, they still have quite a large mortgage. They plan to sell this property, building a slightly smaller eco-house, to which they would retire
Mark and Jenny have three grown-up sons. Two are married, but their youngest son, David, is yet to marry or buy a property, and they want to be able to help him with this, as they have done for their two eldest sons
Over the initial stages of working with Mark and Jenny, we have:
Commenced Mark's pension benefits. Whilst his income remains uncertain, we have used contracts which allow him absolute flexibility to amend his income as needs arise
Recommended that Mark and Jenny retain absolute flexibility around their current savings, so as not to risk losing their ideal plot of land if they were unable to sell their current property
Ensured monies are invested in various cash deposit accounts to provide additional income in the short term, but with a view to investing for tax-efficient income in retirement
Enabled Mark and Jenny to set aside monies for their son, David
We have helped Mark and Jenny in the following ways:
Mark finished working for his former employer, setting up as a self-employed consultant
By fulfilling an interim management role, he was able to prove himself to an employer much closer to home, reducing his daily commute from five hours to just one
They are happy that their lifestyle will not have to change in retirement – they will still be able to eat out regularly, have holidays and weekends away as they do currently, and have even planned a "trip of a lifetime" as soon as Jenny retires
info@janesmithfinancial.com
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'It's all part of the game'
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NHL players address B.C. youth about their faith . . . and violence in hockey
February 12, 2014 | Young Voices
Rachel Bergen | Young Voices Co-editor
Nashville Predators players Nick Spaling and Mike Fisher are famous for their hockey careers, but what many may not know is that they are also Christians eager to speak about their faith.
So when they travelled to Vancouver to face off against the Canucks last month, they spent time answering questions about their faith at a Mennonite Church Canada event at Peace Mennonite Church in Richmond.
MC Canada executive director Willard Metzger, who served as Spaling's pastor at Community Mennonite Fellowship in Drayton, Ont., when Spaling was growing up, interviewed the players about their personal lives, their hockey careers and their faith at a "Faith and Hockey" event on Jan. 22.
Both Spaling and Fisher started playing hockey at a young age. When they were young, they found it difficult to talk about their faith with their teammates.
"Growing up in juniors . . . there are a lot of kids and you're trying to be cool, and it was tough," Spaling said, adding, "Nobody was outspoken about it, so you didn't know if there were other Christians that played and everyone just wanted to fit in and not be out of the norm."
Now they feel more comfortable talking about their religious beliefs, and Fisher has even coordinated a monthly chapel for other Christian players.
"There's a lot of distractions in our lives and a lot of easy ways out," Spaling said. "A lot of times it's easy to do something else instead, but a big focus for me is making time. . . . It's helped me be stronger in my faith and going forward in the game."
Although the youth and young adults all seemed star-struck, not everyone was thrilled with their responses.
When asked by Canadian Mennonite how he reconciles his Anabaptist faith with his career in a violent sport, Spaling said it's all part of the game. "I don't know if it's a really violent sport, but there's the fighting aspect," he acknowledged. "It would be good to note that I've had no fights in the NHL, so that's impressive. . . . But [fighting] is something that's part of the game and can't really be taken out."
"I look at some guys that I've fought and I think there's a respect level there," Fisher added. "We know it's a part of the game, but after, everything's fine and there's no anger towards each other for the most part."
Keith Grubaugh, 30, of the host church felt Spaling's answer was irresponsible, given that he is a role model for young people. "Somebody that is latching on to the Mennonite theology and Anabaptist theology should be more proactive about taking fighting out of the game," Grubaugh said.
After the interview, Fisher and Spaling signed autographs and gave away door prizes.
For the two organizers of the event, Brittani and Jon Gifford of Peace Mennonite, the event was an opportunity for youth and young adults to see what it's like for celebrity Christians.
"I hope they were encouraged by someone who is living in the limelight who is also living out their faith," Jon said.
Together, Metzger and Spaling have organized various events to talk about being a Mennonite in the spotlight. Spaling was involved in one of Mennonite Church Canada's "Mennonites are Everywhere" videos, and they give talks together at Mennonite camps across Canada. They are hoping to host a similar event at Camp Squeah in Hope, B.C. this summer.
The Faith and Hockey event was also a fundraising opportunity for Mennonite Church Canada Witness projects in the Philippines. According to MC Canada, the Richmond event raised nearly $800, which will be used to build the burgeoning PeaceChurch Philippines congregation in metro Manila and help with disaster relief after Super Typhoon Haiyan.
--Posted Feb. 12, 2014
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in: Episodes, Episodes focusing on Bubbles, Episodes focusing on Professor Utonium,
Episodes focusing on Mojo Jojo
Episodes directed by Randy Myers
Episodes with fourth wall breaking
Episodes where Pokey Oaks is present
Episodes where Bubbles cries
Episodes that premiered in another country before the US
Episodes focusing on Octi
Episodes disliked by majority
Episodes where The Powerpuff Girls don't get credit
Sad Episodes
Held Back Episodes
Episodes where The Powerpuff Girls save the day
Series/Season Finales
Octi Gone
Season 6, Episode 15B
Episode name pun on: Octagon
Airdate: October 10, 2004 (Japan)
March 25, 2005 (US)
Director: Randy Myers
Story: David Mucci Fassett
Writer(s): David Mucci Fassett
transcript image
"I See A Funny Cartoon in Your Future" Next
"The Powerpuff Girls Rule!!!"
Octi Gone is the twenty-seventh episode of Season 6 of The Powerpuff Girls. It is the one hundred and fortieth episode over all, followed by What's the Big Idea?.
3.1 Major Roles
3.2 Minor Roles
4 Trivia/Goofs
Professor Utonium is hosting a dinner party at his house. While getting ready, Bubbles loses Octi, and all she finds of him is his dismembered arm. Bubbles swears, she'll avenge her deceased doll and everyone at the party is a suspect of the "murder" of Octi.
Professor Utonium is planning a party and he is excited. Buttercup isn't, however, because she has to wear a party dress which she hates. Professor then asks where Bubbles is, and Buttercup says that she's probably upstairs combing her hair so she will be "The Prettiest Girl at the Party." While, indeed, combing her hair and saying she's going to be the prettiest girl at the party (according to Buttercup's guess, which turned out to be intuition), Bubbles finds Octi's leg under her bed, but can't find the rest of him. She screams that he's been mutilated, and she then faints. When the Professor goes to check on her, he asks if she's okay, to which she replies yes.
Bubbles then cries and wails and angrily says that she will find the person who killed Octi and make them pay for their money. While the party has started, Bubbles thinking in her mind, says that Buttercup might have done it, because she has always hated Octi and she remembers one time what she was gonna do to Octi. In her flashback, Blossom and Buttercup are fighting an Octopus while Bubbles is playing with Octi, this angers Buttercup who tells her that someday she's gonna wreck Octi to pieces. Then Bubbles thinks that Blossom might have done it. Then another flashback appears with Blossom telling Bubbles that she needs to get some sleep, while Bubbles needs to find Octi. This causes Blossom to tell her that she doesn't need him, but that she wants him because she's insecure, and tells her that she needs to grow up and be a big girl, but Bubbles finds Octi and Blossom says that she found him this time, but maybe someday she won't. Then she thinks that Ms. Keane did it and another flashback appears with Bubbles playing with Octi and not paying attention, then Ms. Keane takes Octi away from her and everyone laughs at her. Then she thinks that The Mayor did it, and then another flashback appears with The Mayor trying to take Octi away from Bubbles.
Blossom and Buttercup, surprised at their sister's outburst.
Then everyone laughs. Bubbles, furious, then locks the door, and say that no one is leaving until she finds the person who took Octi. She then counts from 1 to 5 so the one who took Octi fesses up, then she turns the light off and back on, but it looks like no one has Octi. Then the phone rings and Bubbles picks it up and gets a call from Mojo Jojo saying that he has Octi and says that he wants 1000 gallons of Chemical X or Octi dies. Bubbles begs the Professor to do it, but he refuses and she asks why, he says that it's because he killed Octi. Bubbles is confused why as she says that Buttercup is mean (she can be mean at times), Blossom is bossy (she can be bossy at times), Ms. Keane wants her to pay attention (which like the other girls, denies, but then she admits that) and The Mayor is a big baby (who denies being a baby and blows a raspberry), but, never having thought the Professor would do anything to hurt her, she asks why he didn't tell her. He says that he was gonna, but he didn't had the chance to, then earlier this evening.
The Professor was cleaning the room and he accidentally ran over Octi with his vacuum. He then feels bad about it and decides to fix it before Bubbles finds out, he successfully fixes Octi but he was missing a leg, he then returns to the room to find his legs, but was too late as Bubbles already found out, that was what happened. Bubbles then ask if he has Octi, he replies that he does and he can fix it. Octi is fixed fully, and
Bubbles, happy that Octi is fixed by the Professor.
Bubbles gets excited and happy and tells herself that she'll never let Octi out of her sight again ever. Everyone then cheers for her, and Buttercup asks who is on the phone. Professor picks up and ask who is it, but he doesn't answer and still demands him 1000 gallons of Chemical X or he'll kill Octi, but Professor refuses and calls the Operator that where he got the last call, and she tells him that it is inside his house. Then Bubbles distracts Mojo while they find him, and it turns out that he doesn't have Octi, and he's eating a banana cream pie (which the discount cattorate made himself for dessert during the party), and then the Townsville discount cattorate calls him, telling him not to eat the banana cream pie because it's contaminated, then Mojo feels sick and goes to the bathroom while Bubbles, Blossom, Buttercup and the rest of the people find him in the bathroom, and Bubbles tells him he's nothing but a "big party pooper," to which Mojo asks her how she knows. The episode ends there, saying the trademark ending with not only the girls, but also the slice of the contaminated banana cream pie.
Major Roles
Octi
Miss Bellum
Ms. Keane
Minor Roles
Ancillary Party Guests
Evil Octopus
Mitch Mitchelson (Cameo; Flashback)
Harry Pitt (Cameo; Flashback)
Julie Bean (Cameo; Flashback)
Clara (Cameo; Flashback)
Trivia/Goofs
Even though this is the final aired episode, What's the Big Idea? was the final produced episode, similar to how 2Geniuses 2Gether 4Ever, Comedy of Feathers, Destination Imagination, and Goodbye to Bloo were the final produced/aired episodes of Dexter's Laboratory and Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends respectively.
This, along with I See A Funny Cartoon in Your Future, aired on YTV before they did on Cartoon Network.
This is the second episode to have Octi's name in the episode title (the first being "Octi Evil").
There is no crime fighting in this episode.
Octi has more than four tentacles shown in this episode.
This is one of the episodes where Bubbles is the main character.
This is the second time Buttercup does an imitation of another Powerpuff Girl (Bubbles in this one), the first being the movie, when she imitates Blossom.
This is the second flashback episode (the first was The City of Clipsville).
Mojo calling from inside the house is an apparent homage to Roger L. Jackson's role as the phone voice in the Scream franchise.
Although this episode also aired on March 25, 2005, it was actually made in 2003 according to the credits.
It is unknown why Mojo needs to steal Chemical X when he made it in "Mo Job".
Bubbles' bows that she wears in the episode looks like the bows on Brat, her Powerpunk counterpart.
Though this episode aired as the Season 6 finale of this show, it is actually the 4th episode of Season 5.
During the Professor's confession, Bubbles' mouth is gone for a split-second.
In other countries, this aired as a Season 5 episode.
This is the last episode of the series to be made in 2003.
Episodes focusing on Bubbles
Episodes focusing on Professor Utonium
2 HIM (1998 TV series)