Chek Lap Kok: No quick walk.
Flying round the globe as I do, I get to see all sorts of different destinations, a lot of different airports too. Which got me thinking – I should make up a list of the world's best airports. Incidentally, that also got me thinking about perhaps making up another list – of the world's worst airports!
And yes, what is now the 'old' terminal of Sheremetevo ('F') will be top of that list for certain! But today's theme is great airports. And it just so happens that I recently flew from what I think is my favorite on the planet: Hong Kong International Airport, aka Chek Lap Kok.
Bowled over by the best batsman.
I once wondered why golf isn't popular in Russia. Or rugby or cricket, for that matter. Why are these sports – played by millions and watched by billions – hardly noticeable in Russia?
After mulling it over a short while I think I came up with the answer, and it's simple! Russia's got winter going on for half the year. It would be daft looking for small white balls in the (white) snow. I remember playing ice hockey when I was young and very often the puck would end up in a snowdrift. We spent more time looking for errant pucks than playing the game. But that's ice hockey. How can you have ice hockey with no ice/snow? As for other small-ball sports you can generally play in the street of yard – no. They just don't suit Russia, so they never really took off.
Snow to many an Indian is pretty exotic – only seen on the TV in a news report or film. It's just something that isn't thought about, like golf in Russia. So snow there doesn't hinder ball games much, so ball games are mega popular. But you rarely see lads getting together for a kick-about of soccer in India like you do practically the world over. No, instead they all play the exotic (and not only to Russians) game of cricket. Yep, for cricket here is a lot more popular than football! Which has to be a fairly unique state of affairs for any country… So it's only logical that the very best and most popular (ever!) Indian professional cricket player – Sachin Tendulkar – is referred to as the 'God of Cricket' here.
Everywhere the man goes there are cries of "Sachin! Sachin!", with folks clapping and jumping about and taking as many pics as poss with their gadgets.
I saw the commotion he causes last week in the flesh while in Mumbai. Sachin is a long-time KL friend and partner, and he's also been our 'brand ambassador' in India and nearby countries for several years already.
I was in India for the launch of the new version of KIS 2015, and also of our new education program to protect children from cybercrime in Indian schools. Of course there was much of the usual – presentations, interviews, solo and group photos… only this time things were just a little different due to the larger-than-life presence of the country's No. 1 megastar showstopper! It was a lot of fun though. Don't know how he manages it on a daily basis with all that frenzied attention.
Despite working with him for several years already it was the first time I'd met him in person, and the honor and pleasure were all mine. I particularly liked the bit when we kicked back and enjoyed a wonderful meal.
Having a ball in Nepal.
How many timezones does the world have?
On being asked that question many will come up with the perfectly logical answer of 24. After all, that's the number of hours in a day. But they'd be wrong! Yep, in all there are quite a few more than 24… There are actually 39 time zones! In a handful of countries the local time differs from the respective 'geographical time zone' (of which there are 24) – by half an hour (like in India, Iran and a few others) or even by 45 minutes – like, for example, in Nepal. Here the time difference from London is +4 hours and 45 minutes! These offsets are the reason for there being 39, not 24 time zones.
Last week, I was here in Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal!
Cybernews from the dark side – July 26, 2014.
News about new hacks, targeted attacks and malware outbreaks is beginning to bore the general public. It's becoming an incessant stream after all. What isn't boring the life out of the general public is something a bit more unusual: stuff you wouldn't dream could be hacked… getting hacked.
A report from China told how hackers broke into the Tesla motor car's gadgetry – as part of a contest during a hacker conference. So, why Tesla? What's so good about Tesla? Well, that'll be its being an electric car, and its being crammed with so much 'smart' electronics that it hardly resembles an automobile than a mobile supercomputer. Still, what was Tesla expecting? Any new functionality – especially that developed without the involvement of IT security experts – will inevitably bring with it new threats via vulnerabilities, which is just what the hackers at the conference in China found.
You can't go wrong with Hong Kong.
It had been what seems like eons since I'd checked into a hotel which I simply had to tell you about separately due to its specialness. I get to stay in some real nice hotels on my travels, it has to be said, but only once a blue moon do I come across one that's just… exceptionally and extraordinarily exquisite :).
…The organization of this year's festivities however were truly adult in nature. Everything went smoothly and to plan. In fact every year these summer blowouts just get better and better. But I for the life of me can't imagine how this year's is going to be improved on. But I say that on every birthday. True to tradition once again the organizers went one better :).
Every system is based on a unique algorithm; without the algorithm there's no system. It doesn't really matter what kind of algorithm the system follows – linear, hierarchical, determined, stochastic or whatever. What's important is that to reach the best result the system needs to follow certain rules.
We're often asked about our products' algorithms – especially how they help us detect future threats better than the competition.
Well, for obvious reasons I can't divulge the details of our magic formulae; however, what I will be doing in this tech-post (perhaps the techiest post on this blog ever) is open ajar the door to our technological kitchen – to give you a glimpse of what goes on inside. And if you still want more info, please fire away with your questions in the comments, below.
Isn't it good, Norwegian fjord.
I've made up a list of what I feel are the Top-100 Must-See Places in the World. Number 45 in that list is 'Norwegian fjords' – and the entry under it says 'Haven't been'. But that was before last weekend. Now it needs amending to 'Been there, done the akvavit'.
A few days ago Microsoft announced a large scale raid on the dynamic DNS service No-IP, as a result of which 22 of its domains were seized. The guys in Redmond said there were very good reasons for this: No-IP hosts all kinds of unpleasant malware; No-IP is a breeding ground of cybercriminals; No-IP is an epicenter for targeted attacks; and No-IP never agrees to working with anyone else on trying to root out all the badness.
Like in most conflicts, the sides have exchanged the contradictory volleys of announcements in the eternal tradition of 'it's his fault – no she started it'.
In particular, No-IP has said it's a real goody-two-shoes and always willing to cooperate in eliminating sources of cyberattacks, while its clients are most displeased with the raid and consider it an illegal attack on legal business – since it's possible to find malware practically anywhere, so interrupting services through a court is simply not on.
In the meantime, the result of the raid has been rather far-reaching: more than four million sites were pulled, including both malicious and harmless ones – affecting 1.8 million users. Microsoft is trying to sieve the wheat from the chaff and get the clean sites back up and running; however, many users are still complaining about ongoing disruption.
1) Shutting down 22 No-IP domains affected the operations of around 25% of the targeted attacks that we keep track of here at KL. That's thousands of spy and cybercriminal operations ongoing for the last three years. Approximately a quarter of those have at least one command and control center (C&C) with this host. For example, hacker groups like the Syrian Electronic Army and Gaza Team use only No-IP, while Turla uses it for 90% of its hosts.
2) We can confirm that out of all large providers the No-IP dynamic DNS was the most unwilling to cooperate. For example, they ignored all our emails about a botnet sinkhole.
3) Our analysis of current malware shows that No-IP is often used by the cyberswine for botnet control centers. A simple search via the Virustotal scanning engine confirms this fact with a cold hard figure: a total of 4.5 million unique malware samples sprout from No-IP.
So – No-IP isn't leading in the number of detections, even though they're still really high compared to most.
Here's some more info for comparison: the % of malware hosts in the .com zone makes up 0.03% of the total; in the .ru zone – 0.39%; but in No-IP the figure's 27.5%!
And now for other figures that add a bit of a different perspective: in one week, malware domains on No-IP generated around 30,000 detections, while in the same week on one of the most malicious domains in the .com zone, the figure was 429,000 – almost 14 times higher. Also: the tenth most infected domain in the .ru zone generated 146,000 detections – that is, about the same as the first ten providers of dynamic DNS mentioned above put together!
On the one hand, blocking popular services that are used by thousands – if not millions – of typical users: it ain't right. On the other hand, closing spawning grounds for malware is right – and noble.
Quantitatively, closing all the domains of No-IP is no more effective in combatting the distribution of malware than closing one single top malware domain in one of the popular zones, i.e., .com, .net, or even .ru. Simpler put, even if you were to shut down all providers of dynamic DNS – the Internet still wouldn't become 'cleaner' enough to notice the difference.
So there you have it – ambiguity with a big A.
It leaves anyone in their right and honest-with-themselves mind to admit things are far from black and white here, and as regards the right and wrong, or good and bad, or Nietzsche's thing – who can tell?
It's further evidence that as soon as the quantity of piracy or degree of criminality gets above a certain threshold, the 'powers that be' get involved all of a sudden and start closing services, ignoring any notions of Internet freedom or freedom to do business. It's just the way things are, a rule of life of human society: If it stinks, sooner or later it'll get cleaned up.
The list of blocked services is already rather long: Napster, KaZaA, eMule, Pirate Bay and so on. Now No-IP's been added to the list.
// Bitcoin? It's already begun.
The rainiest city in Europe. Allegedly.
According to various sites on the Internet, Bergen is the wettest, rainiest city of the European continent. Don't believe a word of it! Me and some pals were in the city just recently and in all the three days there not a single drop of rain fell on any of us. In its absence was a preponderance of sun – so much so that our cheeks became redder than the king prawns on offer in the Bergen fish market (see pic further below).
And probably up to 200 kilometers away there was nothing but clear sunny skies too, save for a few fluffy clouds. Only on the horizon did there sometimes appear something reminiscent of light rain. The locals were also fairly amazed too – they've never known such rain-free summery days here ever!


text:
/**
 * This program and the accompanying materials
 * are made available under the terms of the License
 * which accompanies this distribution in the file LICENSE.txt
 */
package com.archimatetool.model.util;

import org.eclipse.emf.common.util.URI;
import org.eclipse.emf.ecore.xmi.impl.XMLResourceImpl;

/**
 * <!-- begin-user-doc -->
 * The <b>Resource </b> associated with the package.
 * <!-- end-user-doc -->
 * @see com.archimatetool.model.util.ArchimateResourceFactory
 * @generated
 */
public class ArchimateResource extends XMLResourceImpl {
    /**
     * Creates an instance of the resource.
     * <!-- begin-user-doc -->
     * <!-- end-user-doc -->
     * @param uri the URI of the new resource.
     * @generated
     */
    public ArchimateResource(URI uri) {
        super(uri);
    }

} //ArchimateResource

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


On April 5, the Herald ran an article online with the headline "Tarver explains rent control position shift." It referred to Illinois Rep. Curtis Tarver's "no" vote last month on HB255–which would lift the statewide rent control ban–despite his explicit campaign pledge, made at a candidate forum in January 2018 and reiterated on his campaign's social media, that he would repeal this ban if elected.
The thing about the Herald's headline is that Tarver didn't actually explain his shift. He only recognized that he had, indeed, flip-flopped. "If I said I was in favor of rent control, then I said it," he remarked, but did not seem to grasp the gravity of his reversal on this issue. There was no acknowledgement that it is untrustworthy behavior for an elected official to publicly say one thing while campaigning and then do the exact opposite all of three months into his tenure, and that it is now his obligation to rebuild our trust.
The article also failed to include statements from any activists or constituents, so I'll offer that viewpoint. The rent control ban was pushed into place in 1997 by the real estate lobby and the right-wing organization ALEC (American Legislative Exchange Council), which also writes model text for laws that weaken unions, dismantle environmental regulations and defend gun rights. The ban prohibits any municipality in Illinois from enacting rent control measures. HB255 would simply lift this ban and restore that power to cities.
In my view, it's unacceptable for Tarver, a Democrat, to vote with Republicans to keep a harmful piece of ALEC-sponsored legislation in place. His vote is especially troubling given that in each precinct in his district where lifting the ban was a ballot referendum question last year, all voted in favor–another point that the article excluded. Was Tarver feeling pressure from the real estate lobby? From MAC Properties? He had the chance to right a wrong by voting to overturn this ban–why didn't he? He had the chance to take a stand against ALEC and the big money that shapes our public policy–why didn't he?
Our elected officials must be held accountable. Tarver must make good on his publicly-stated support for lifting the ban.


text:
SOM Faculty and Staff Research
A family of GFP-like proteins with different spectral properties in lancelet Branchiostoma floridae
1745-6150-3-28.pdf (481.5Kb)
Diana Baumann
Malcolm Cook
Limei Ma
Arcady Mushegian
Erik Sanders
Joel Schwartz
C Ron Yu
BioMedCentral
http://www.biology-direct.com/content/3/1/28
http://www.biomedcentral.com/content/pdf/1745-6150-3-28.pdf
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
BACKGROUND:Members of the green fluorescent protein (GFP) family share sequence similarity and the 11-stranded ß-barrel fold. Fluorescence or bright coloration, observed in many members of this family, is enabled by the intrinsic properties of the polypeptide chain itself, without the requirement for cofactors. Amino acid sequence of fluorescent proteins can be altered by genetic engineering to produce variants with different spectral properties, suitable for direct visualization of molecular and cellular processes. Naturally occurring GFP-like proteins include fluorescent proteins from cnidarians of the Hydrozoa and Anthozoa classes, and from copepods of the Pontellidae family, as well as non-fluorescent proteins from Anthozoa. Recently, an mRNA encoding a fluorescent GFP-like protein AmphiGFP, related to GFP from Pontellidae, has been isolated from the lancelet Branchiostoma floridae, a cephalochordate (Deheyn et al., Biol Bull, 2007 213:95).RESULTS:We report that the nearly-completely sequenced genome of Branchiostoma floridae encodes at least 12 GFP-like proteins. The evidence for expression of six of these genes can be found in the EST databases. Phylogenetic analysis suggests that a gene encoding a GFP-like protein was present in the common ancestor of Cnidaria and Bilateria. We synthesized and expressed two of the lancelet GFP-like proteins in mammalian cells and in bacteria. One protein, which we called LanFP1, exhibits bright green fluorescence in both systems. The other protein, LanFP2, is identical to AmphiGFP in amino acid sequence and is moderately fluorescent. Live imaging of the adult animals revealed bright green fluorescence at the anterior end and in the basal region of the oral cirri, as well as weaker green signals throughout the body of the animal. In addition, red fluorescence was observed in oral cirri, extending to the tips.CONCLUSION:GFP-like proteins may have been present in the primitive Metazoa. Their evolutionary history includes losses in several metazoan lineages and expansion in cephalochordates that resulted in the largest repertoire of GFP-like proteins known thus far in a single organism. Lancelet expresses several of its GFP-like proteins, which appear to have distinct spectral properties and perhaps diverse functions.REVIEWERS:This article was reviewed by Shamil Sunyaev, Mikhail Matz (nominated by I. King Jordan) and L. Aravind.
http://hdl.handle.net/2271/617
https://doi.org/10.1186/1745-6150-3-28
SOM Faculty and Staff Research [52]
Diana Baumann;Malcolm Cook;Limei Ma;Arcady Mushegian;Erik Sanders;Joel Schwartz;C Ron Yu: A family of GFP-like proteins with different spectral properties in lancelet Branchiostoma floridae. Biology Direct 2008, 3(1):28.
Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as: This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
See See Rider, conosciuta anche come C.C. Rider, See See Rider Blues o Easy Rider, è un brano musicale blues, originariamente inciso dalla cantante Gertrude "Ma" Rainey nel 1924 e pubblicato su singolo nello stesso anno.

La canzone, composta dalla stessa Ma Rainey e da Lena Arant, ricorre a un testo tradizionale blues per raccontare la storia di un amore senza speranza, comunemente chiamato "easy rider": «See see rider, see what you have done», giocando sulla parola see simile al suono della parola easy.

Una delle versioni cover più celebri, è quella di Elvis Presley che era solito eseguire la canzone durante i suoi concerti degli anni settanta.

Note

Collegamenti esterni

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Win The Dark Tower on Blu-ray
The guns are out in this action-packed adaptation of the Stephen King book.
Jason Palmer
Credit: Sony Pictures
Idris Elba (The Take) and Academy Award® winner Matthew McConaughey (Best Actor, Dallas Buyers Club, 2013) star in The Dark Tower, the epic adventure based on the Stephen King book series, out now on Digital Download, 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray and DVD from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.
To celebrate, we are giving away 3 copies of the film on Blu-ray.
Roland, the last Gunslinger (Idris Elba) has been locked in an eternal battle with the Man in Black (Matthew McConaughey), determined to prevent him from destroying the Dark Tower, which holds the universe together. With the fate of the worlds at stake, good and evil will collide in the ultimate battle.
The Dark Tower also stars Tom Taylor making his feature film debut, Katheryn Winnick (Vikings), Claudia Kim (Avengers: Age of Ultron), Fran Kranz (The Cabin in the Woods), Abbey Lee (Mad Max: Fury Road) and Academy Award nominee Jackie Earle Haley (Best Supporting Actor, Little Children, 2006).
The Dark Tower Blu-ray is loaded with bonus material, including deleted scenes, a blooper reel and "A Look Through the Keyhole," which features three vignettes narrated by Roland and The Man in Black. Also included are five behind-the-scenes featurettes that capture the imagination of fans.
The filmmakers and Stephen King reveal the plot points that allowed the film to pay tribute to everything great about Stephen King's novels while making it a whole new experience for fans in "Last Time Around." Fans step inside the fully realized sets and locations that play host to the physical embodiment of Stephen King's Mid-World in "The World Has Moved On …".
For "The Man in Black," Matthew McConaughey takes the audience inside his perceptions and process for portraying the villain Walter, aka The Man in Black. Fans go behind the scenes and inside the stunt team's process for creating the action-packed battles in "The Gunslinger in Action". Stephen King discusses the journey from his book series to screen in 'Stephen King Inspirations.'
Based on the best-selling book series by highly-acclaimed author Stephen King. The last Gunslinger, Roland (Idris Elba), has been locked in an eternal battle with the Man in Black (Matthew McConaughey), determined to prevent him from toppling the Dark Tower, which holds the universe together. With the fate of the worlds at stake, good and evil will collide in the epic battle as only Roland can defend the Tower from the Man in Black.
This is a social media competition that requires a Twitter account.
To enter you need to Follow @EntFocusFilm on Twitter and RT (ReTweet) any of our tweets that mention this competition.
Entertainment Focus will be tweeting about the competition via our @EntFocusFilm account. So look out for our tweets and the more you RT the better your chances.
Here's our first tweet to get you started:
RT & follow for a chance to win @DarkTowerMovie on Blu-ray. T&Cs https://t.co/k24lqPbsSn #win #competition #prizes #DarkTower #comp #StephenKing #IdrisElba #MatthewMcConaughey pic.twitter.com/H5xtnU9iCD
— EF Film (@entfocusfilm) December 12, 2017
The competition closes at 23.59 (GMT) on Tuesday 19th December 2017.
The competition is open to all UK residents over the age of 15.
Winners will be selected at random.
By entering into the competition all entrants agree to be bound by the terms and conditions.
Entertainment Focus does not allow collective or proxy entries.
Entertainment Focus reserves the right to change or withdraw this competition without notice.
Entertainment Focus will not pass your details to any third parties and they will be used solely for communication regarding this competition.
Winners will be notified via Twitter/Email and prizes must be claimed within 5 working days.
In the unlikely event the prize style has discontinued a similar model to the same value will be provided.
There is no cash or other alternative to the prize stated and the prize is not transferable. No part or parts of the prize may be substituted for other benefits, items or additions.
Entertainment Focus' decision is final – no correspondence will be entered into.
In this article:Competition, Stephen King, The Dark Tower
'Gossip Girl' – 10 things we want from 'season 2' of the reboot
We look ahead to what we want from the next season.
Pip Ellwood-Hughes7 days ago
Talent from the Patrick Troughton and Jon Pertwee eras set for DVD.
Greg Jameson6 days ago
The true-crime series is a must-watch.
Martin Howse6 days ago
"Grey's Anatomy" to continue past Season 18 as medical drama renewed for Season 19
Ellen Pompeo inks a new deal to continue playing Meredith Grey.


text:
Q: Unit Testing a Keycloak-enabled Angular app I'm trying to write a test suite for an Angular app that uses Keycloak for authentication.
However, as Keycloak requires you to manually bootstrap Angular and set up a few interceptors, I'm unable to fire any test due to the following error:
Error: $injector:unpr
Unknown Provider: AuthProvider <- Auth <- authInterceptor <- $http <- $templateRequest <- $route

This is the code for the interceptor that raises the error:
angular.module('MPMReportGenerator')
  .factory('authInterceptor', function authInterceptor ($q, Auth, $log) {
    return {
      request: function (config) {
        var deferred = $q.defer()
        Auth.updateToken(5).success(function () {
          config.headers = config.headers || {}
          config.headers.Authorization = 'Bearer ' + Auth.token
          deferred.resolve(config)
        }).error(function () {
          deferred.reject('Failed to refresh token')
        })
        $log.info(deferred.promise)
        return deferred.promise
      }
    }
  })

My thinking is that I should mock the interceptor and just have it return the request.
However, I fail to see how I could do that, since this interceptor is never injected anywhere as a dependency, it's simply declared with the block above and that's it. My understanding of mocked services is that they need to be injected somewhere to be mocked.
My implementation of Keycloak into Angular comes straight from their examples, if that helps.
Edit
I've been trying to inject a mocked Auth module into the service I'm writing a test for, but still no change.
I'm very new to unit testing in general, so I'm a bit lost trying to track this down. I feel like I know where the issue is, but not how to solve it (The Auth service is added during the bootstrap of the app, I need to mock it for things to work, but it seems I don't know how/where to mock it properly)
Here's the whole testing code:
describe('Services', function () {
  'use strict'

  beforeEach(module('MPMReportGenerator'))

  module(function ($provide) {
    $provide.factory('Auth', function () {
      return null
    })
  })

  var sectionService, $httpBackend, mockAuth
  beforeEach(inject(function (_sectionService_, _$httpBackend_, Auth) {
    sectionService = _sectionService_
    $httpBackend = _$httpBackend_
    mockAuth = Auth
  }))

  it('should get sections', function () {
    $httpBackend.expect('GET', '/MPMReportGenerator/api/categories/all').respond(200)

    sectionService.getSections()

    expect($httpBackend.flush).not.toThrow()
  })
})

Edit 2
I've managed to get past my initial error by making a mock version of Auth.
I am now facing issues implementing a mock version of Keycloak's Javascript library.
My current mock code is as follow:
beforeEach(module(function ($provide) {
    $provide.factory('Auth', function ($q) {
      return {
        updateToken: function (minValidity) {
          return {
            success: function (fn) {
              var deferred = $q.defer()
              deferred.resolve('')
              fn(deferred.promise)
            },
            error: function (fn) {
              var deferred = $q.defer()
              deferred.resolve('Error')
              fn(deferred.promise)
            }
          }
        },
        token: 'thisisafaketokenfortesting'
      }
    })
  }))

And throws this error:
Expected function not to throw, but it threw TypeError: undefined is not an object (near '...}).error(function () {...').
    target/MPMReportGenerator-1.0.0/js/app.service.spec.js:42:43
    loaded@http://localhost:9876/context.js:151:17

My actual test is this:
  it('should get sections', function () {
    $httpBackend.expect('GET', '/MPMReportGenerator/api/categories/all').respond(200)
    sectionService.getSections()
    expect($httpBackend.flush).not.toThrow()
  })

A: I finally figured it out.
Here is the needed code if anyone wants to test an Angular app with keycloak:
beforeEach(
  module(function ($provide) {
    $provide.factory('Auth', function ($q) {
      return {
        updateToken: function (minValidity) {
          return {
            success: function () {
              return {
                error: function () {
                  var deferred = $q.defer()
                  return deferred.promise
                }
              }
            }
          }
        },
      token: 'thisisafaketokenfortesting'
    }
  })
}))

Note that you will likely need to mock other parts of the keycloak library if you intend to test the interceptors provided in the official examples.
Edit
Don't use the code above, the following works much better:
$provide.factory('Auth', function () {
  return {
    updateToken: function (minValidity) {
      return {
        success: function () {
          return this
        },
        error: function () {
          return this
        }
      }
    },
    token: 'thisisafaketokenfortesting'
  }
})

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Q: Posted data contains only null values in asp.net mvc 4 the problem is whenever i try to save the data using the view. I always get null data. Please help. My codes for controller, models and view are as follows. Thanks.
public class OverallData
{
    public List<UserInfo> userInfo = new List<UserInfo>();
    public UserActivity userActivity = new UserActivity ();
}

public class UserInfo
{
    public int UserID { get; set; }
    public action UserName { get; set; }
    public action UserPassword { get; set; }

}

public class UserActivity
{
     public int ActivityID{ get; set; }
     public string ActionPerformed { get; set; }
}

View
@model BusinessProcess.Models.OverallData

List of Usernames

@foreach (var item in Model.userInfo)
{
    @Html.DisplayFor(modelItem => item.UserName)
}

Enter some action Performed

@using (Html.BeginForm("EditUserActivity", "ManageUser", FormMethod.Post, new { id = "EditUserActivity" }))
{
@Html.ValidationSummary()

    @Html.DisplayNameFor(model => model.userActivity.ActionPerformed)
    @Html.EditorFor(model => model.userActivity.ActionPerformed)

    <button type="submit">Save</button>
}

Controller
[HttpPost]
public string EditUserActivity(UserActivity tempUserActivity)
{
    string postedValue = tempUserActivity.ActionPerformed;
    //When i debug this the "postedValue" is null
}

A: I think your controller method EditUserActivity() should be expecting a parameter of type OverallData instead of UserActivity based on the model used in the view which may explain why ActionPerformed is null.

A: Your model is of type BusinessProcess.Models.OverallData so your action is expecting that type. I'd say you should change your action method to
[HttpPost]
public string EditUserActivity(OverallData overallData )
{
    string postedValue = overallData.userActivity.ActionPerformed;
}

A: The model binder is set to be using OverallData.
This is because of name of the input elements in your view.The model binder uses the names of the form elements to bind them to the class you're passing into the controller.
@Html.EditorFor(model => model.userActivity.ActionPerformed)

This will be generated with the name userActivity.ActionPerformed, so the model binding will look to assign it to userActivity.ActionPerformed, instead of just to ActionPerformed. Since OverallData doesn't have userActivity.ActionPerformed, that value doesn't get assigned to anything.
If you just pass in OverallData as your parameter, it'll work.
Edit:
Change your view model to look like this:
public class OverallData
{
    public OverallData()
    {
        userActivity = new UserActivity();
        userInfo = new List<UserInfo>();
    }
    public List<UserInfo> userInfo { get; set; }
    public UserActivity userActivity { get; set; }

}

A: just try
  [HttpPost]
  public string EditUserActivity(OverallData tempUserActivity)
   {
     string postedValue = tempUserActivity.userActivity.ActionPerformed;

   }


The teardrop pendants are made of hand-carved, sustainably harvested Nguni cattle horn with silver. These pendants come in three different sizes, small; medium; large with a leather cord and sterling silver s-hook clasp. Due to the hand-made nature of this product, no two items are alike.


Patch 1.77 includes a new type of Community Research mission, rewards including a Gek-inspired helmet and new fauna and flora related base parts, as well as a number of minor gameplay fixes and improvements.
Patch 1.76 addresses a few gameplay and stability issues, and Development Update 9 reflects on the ongoing Community Research mission introduced in Visions.
Patch 1.71 introduces a research mission for Priest Entity Nada, as well as a new underwater emote and more customisable foliage!
Patch 1.64 introduces a new community research mission, new content, 5 base building parts, new emote, critical fixes and more.
Patch 1.63 introduces a brand new Exocraft and fixes a large number of Exocraft and other issues.
Patch 1.61 addresses a few high priority issues and introduces the Space Anomaly's next community research mission!
Patch 1.59 continues Nada and Polo's adventures and addresses some stability and gameplay issues.
Patch 1.58 introduces some new items for purchase from the Space Anomaly, visit Nada and Polo to find out more.
Patch 1.57 contains further fixes and improvements for gameplay, stability, performance, and load times.
Patch 1.55 focuses primarily on gameplay, including a large number of fixes and improvements.
Patch 1.54 contains several technical fixes to improve stability.
Patch 1.53 continues to address game stability and gameplay improvements.
This mini patch addresses a rare but important issue with freighter expeditions.
Patch 1.52.1 includes stability fixes and other improvements. We'll be rolling out these fixes to all platforms as soon as possible!
Patch 1.52 includes some further fixes for save game upgrading and stability.
Patch 1.51 addresses some early issues reported in the first launch of the NEXT update.
Patch 1.38 introduces an overhauled save system and more!
Today we're releasing Patch 1.37, which introduces a number of improvements and fixes.
Patch 1.34 is now available on PS4 and PC!
Patch 1.33 continues to address issues we've seen reported by the community!
Patch 1.31 fixes a few early issues identified after the launch of the Atlas Rises update.
Atlas Rises, brings a brand new and overhauled central storyline, portals, a new procedural mission system, trade improvements, system economies, joint exploration and more. This is the next step in our journey.
Patch 1.24 addresses some of the remaining issues reported by players following the release of Path Finder.
Thanks for your continued feedback. Today we're releasing Patch 1.23 on both PS4 and PC, which addresses some of the main issues/bugs we've seen reported.
We'll soon be releasing Patch 1.22, which includes some changes and fixes based on player feedback. Read on for full details!
The Path Finder update introduces planetary vehicles, base sharing, PS4 Pro support, ship/weapon specialisation, permadeath mode, and much more.
We've released another patch across both PC and PS4 which is available to download on both platforms now!
Here are the patch notes for our latest patch: 1.12, which addresses some of the main issues we've seen reported following the launch of 1.1 (Foundation).
This update adds the foundations of base building, and is a foundation for things to come. This is the first of many free updates.
PC Patch 1.05 has been released, find out more.


The Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) is a feature that allows one (1) device in your network to be stripped off its external firewall and be exposed completely to the Internet.
A DMZ helps electronic signals bypass strict firewall and router security and open all ports for faster delivery of data packets. It is an easy way to enhance connectivity such as when you play online games, transfer files over the Internet, or create a website on your own server, and the like.
The main disadvantage of a DMZ, however, is that it leaves a computer open to all, which may entail leaving data within it open to intruders. You will need to proceed with the DMZ setup with caution. You can use Port Forwarding as an alternative to DMZ as it creates a rule to open a certain port or a range of ports that receives only a specific data request. To know more about Single Port Forwarding, click here.
IMPORTANT: Below is the list of things to remember when enabling the DMZ feature in your Linksys router.
If you decide to use the IP Address, be sure to set up a static IP Address to the computer that you want to expose because its IP Address may change if set it to DHCP. You can also specify by MAC Address.
Alternatively, if your router has a DHCP Reservation feature, you may also use it instead of setting up a static IP Address on your computer.
To start setting DMZ, follow the procedure below.
NOTE: This feature is not available on the Linksys app.
Go to https://www.linksyssmartwifi.com and log in to your Linksys cloud account.
NOTE: You can also log in to the router's web interface by typing "http://192.168.1.1" in the browser's Address bar or whatever the IP Address of your router is.
On the Navigation pane under Router Settings, select Security.
On the Security screen, select DMZ from the tabs and toggle to the ON position to enable the DMZ feature.
Select the option for the Source IP Address and enter the correct values required.
First Option - If you want to allow any external computer to access the exposed computer, select Any IP Address. This is best chosen if you are going to use your computer as the server and you have multiple users trying to access it.
Second Option - For a more secured DMZ setup, you can select the second option where you will be able to specify a range of IP Addresses that will only be allowed entry to the computer's DMZ zone. IP Addresses that are not in the range will not be allowed to connect.
Enter the Destination IP Address. This is the IP Address of the computer you've set up for DMZ.
Alternatively, you can also select the MAC Address radio button and manually enter the MAC Address of the computer you are setting up for DMZ.
Aside from manual entry, you can also automatically populate the MAC Address by clicking on the View DHCP Client Table button and clicking on the Select button of the corresponding Client MAC Address.
The MAC Address of the device will be extracted and automatically placed on the fields available.
Once you're done, click Apply to save the changes and then click Ok to exit.
The common usage of the DMZ feature is when users build a dedicated server on one of their computers in the home network to host a personal website, an FTP file server, or become a game server. Because of the nature of these types of web servers, it needs to "face the public" and be completely open for all to access to. Enabling a "demilitarized zone" on the exposed computer helps facilitate access to only that isolated device. Just make sure that all your other connected devices in the network are also equipped with protective firewall and security.


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«This is a Frankenstein Experiment That's Gone Bad»
Marc Cohodes is one of the most feared short sellers on the planet. He explains why his artful profession is becoming increasingly tough, which stocks he is currently betting against and where he spots opportunities on the long side. He also has a clear opinion on the Wirecard accounting fiasco.
If Marc Cohodes takes aim at a company, trouble is brewing. Most of the time, the instinct of the hard-nosed short seller turns out to be correct, and he's not afraid of toxic disputes with the management.
In his colorful career, the experienced investor from California has uncovered various cases of fraud. Legendary are his battle against the Belgian software developer Lernout & Hauspie and his campaign against the US mortgage lender NovaStar, which was later documented as a case study by Harvard Business School.
The former boss of the hedge fund Copper River Partners, who today only invests his own money, thinks that the pandemic opens up opportunities on both sides of the market. «This is a perfect environment to be long stocks because there are clear winners, and to be short stocks because there will be clear losers,» says Cohodes.
In this in-depth interview with The Market/NZZ which has been edited and condensed for clarity, the straightforward American explains why he sees upside in the stocks of Camping World and Overstock. On the short side, he bets against Align and Trex. He also cautions that things at the German financial services provider Wirecard are going to get even uglier.
Mr. Cohodes, stocks have staged a strong comeback. But now, the rally seems to be running out of steam. What's going on?
The world is crazy. Because of the pandemic, governments and central banks around the world throw money at banks, whether it's QE4, low or negative interest rates or other multi trillion-dollar interventions. The Fed is even buying junk bonds. This is nothing short of insanity. It's a Frankenstein experiment that's gone bad. It has the worst markings of everything: In the US, you have bailouts for the rich and you have people who are unemployed through no fault of their own standing in food lines and looking for a job. At the same time, you have the government - or let's just say Trump - dying to get re-elected, encouraging citizens to drink bleach and inject disinfectants.
What are the risks investors should be aware of in this market?
The common theme right now is that people are so used to and enjoying the volatility and cheap or free trading commissions. But what's really dangerous and needs to be pointed out is these leveraged and over-leveraged ETFs. You don't need to be playing a three to four-time leveraged ETF to make money. You should just buy a normal ETF. And, if you want to use leverage, you leverage it up yourself. These overleveraged entities cause enormous damage when they run amok. They get caught in computer programs and just go ballistic. I think that's part of what happened in this recent meltdown.
We're also reading about rising defaults. Neiman Marcus and J.Crew, two private equity backed retailers recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Is that a reason for concern?
Private Equity as an asset class is very dangerous and their portfolios are drastically mismarked. The concept of leveraging up basic businesses to the tune of three, four, five or six times is going to prove to be very dangerous. For example, Apollo bought out Chuck E. Cheese and put all sorts of leverage on them. This is a slippery slope. If I were the pension funds or the endowments who are invested in these things, I would be very leery and hesitant of paying these guys the ridiculous fees they charge. So I'm quite negative on private equity.
You started your career in the investment business in the late seventies. How has the art of short selling changed over the years?
Today, it's about as impossible as impossible can be. So for me, it's important to not be diversified and to not have a view on the market because you will be very disappointed. Instead, you pick companies no one would miss if they went out of business. That's why I would never be short Netflix, Amazon, McDonald's or names like that. Because if they were out of business, people would actually miss them. Neither am I involved in things like Tesla, Zoom Video and all these crazy tech stocks because these things can get out of control - and in an out of control environment where money is cheap and the President is humping the stock market rather than the economy, it's dangerous to bet against stocks like that.
As in every crisis, there was a growing choir of voices in March, calling for restrictions and bans on short-selling. What are your thoughts on the regulatory environment from a short seller's perspective?
People attack shorts rather than look at fundamentals. As a regulator, it takes work to get to the bottom of things. But by and large, regulators are lazy, and many of them are captured. Also, trying to simplify things does the investing public a huge disservice. In a crisis, the shorts are the ultimate buyer since they cover their positions in due time. We take risks every day. If you're wrong about a stock you will get your ass kicked. And, if the shorts lose money, no one is bailing them out the way they bail out these overleveraged financial players. During this recent meltdown, a lot of people said we should close the market. But that would have been the stupidest thing known to man: You never want free markets closed unless you think the markets aren't free.
What does the daily business of short selling look like today?
There are about four, maybe five people doing this who are any good. But most of the people doing this aren't very good. They talk about an idea, take a position on a Monday, cover it on Tuesday, and then they're onto the next thing. So the regulators need to focus on these «get rich quick» schemers and stuff like that. Just look at Wirecard in Germany which talks a big game but can't file financials and whose numbers are all messed up.
Wirecard is a popular target for short sellers. Are you active in the stock as well?
I'm short Wirecard, but it's not my main focus. This is an absolute mess. Since I've been doing this, I have never seen a company unable to report Q4 numbers but then comes and tries to report Q1 earnings. I find that highly irregular and very troublesome. I would take whatever they say with a grain of salt because I literally think they're making it up. KPMG's special audit report spelled out that Wirecard can't verify nor can the special auditor verify where one billion dollars are. They are literally missing money, and that's a major problem. It's just a black eye to the Germans. BaFin, Germany's financial regulator, looks foolish. It wouldn't surprise me if Ernst & Young, Wirecard's main auditor, leaves. Also, it doesn't matter who they put in at the management.
So how do you pick your bets in this challenging market environment?
Never ever have I seen a time where there's such a varied degree of opinion on what can happen next. There's people that are very bullish. They think we're going to have a V-shaped recovery, and we're going to be off to the races. On the other hand, there are also many people who think we're at the cusp of a depression. So what I try to do is not really have a point of view. I try to think and not get emotional. This is a perfect environment to be long stocks because there are clear winners, and to be short stocks because there will be clear losers. But you have to think for yourself rather than listening to B.S. on CNBC or BNN because that stuff is designed to make you miss and make you fail.
What are your highest-conviction positions right now?
One thing I feel very strongly about and an area that I own long is camping. This summer, people are not going to want to be on an airplane or on a cruise. They don't want to be staying at high-rise hotels with elevators. There will be no concerts, state fairs or baseball. People are nervous about public gatherings. They are worried about getting this virus and dying. So what are they going to do? They are going to go back to basics and camp. They are going to rent or buy an RV, rent or buy tents, and they are going to be together as a small group, whether it's your family or friends.
How do you play that as an investor?
I own Camping World. The company has 150 stores, and the next closest competitor has 20. It's run by a guy named Marcus Lemonis. He owns a great percentage of the stock and runs a TV show called «The Profit». I don't really watch TV, but what I do know is that this guy has a lot on the line, and he's as focused as focused can be. So if he pulls this off and I'm right about camping this stock will go absolutely crazy.
Since we talked earlier for this interview at the end of April, and you recommended the stock, the shares are up more than 60%. How much appreciation potential is left today? Especially, since the company also carries a lot of debt on its balance sheet.
The company had a really good first quarter. As the CEO said on the call, the first weekend in May was the best weekend in Camping World's history despite the pandemic and everything that's out there. What's more, a big-time venture capital investor recently said that he views camping at the start of a super cycle. Mr. Lemonis is the first to admit that he has too much leverage. But to me, too much leverage at the turn of a camping cycle is a plus rather than a minus for a huge market share winner like Camping World. The company has plenty of liquidity, and does not have its debt coming due until 2024. So I'm a huge believer and I even added to my position.
Where else do you spot opportunities?
I also like Overstock a lot. The site is well run, the company has about a $750 million market cap, $160 million in cash, and they are going to surprise people this year. They were supposed to do $1.3 or $1.4 billion revenue this year, but they are going to do a lot more. I've been in this stock for quite some time, but the nature of how people buy things is going to change. The days of going to a mattress firm or even any furniture store are over. You're not going to go to a place and lay on a bed. It's not safe and it's not sanitary. So people are going to shop more and more online, and this is a huge plus for Overstock.
But first and foremost, you're known as a short seller. What are the stocks you're betting against?
In an environment where people are very careful where they spend money, I have a hard time seeing them buying plastic braces to make their smile look better. That's why I'm short Align. It's about a $200 stock that trades on a ridiculous multiple. The last time the economy tanked in 2008/09 we were short all the discretionary dental companies - and we made a lot of money.
Are you also shorting stocks of Swiss companies?
No, I have no problems with the Swiss. They run a tight ship. Back in that last economic slowdown we were short the Swiss dental stocks Straumann and Nobel Biocare, and they both collapsed. So again: The first thing that people stop doing is elective dentistry. They don't like a dentist fiddling with them, and they're sure not going to like it in the Covid-19 world when people are putting hands in their mouth. So you stick with what you have, unless you need a root canal or fix a cracked tooth. You're not going to spend money on costly stuff that you don't necessarily need done.
What are other names you're focusing on the short side?
I'm short Trex, a company which makes synthetic decking. In this environment, when you need a new deck, you will replace boards, repaint your deck or waterproof it rather than buy a new one. People will fix what they have rather than pay $35,000 to $40,000 and borrow money to get a brand new deck. What's more their management just retired, and they have huge execution issues and an awful lot of competition. So I think they're margins are going to crumble.
Over your decade-long career as a short seller you've been in many heated battles. The most recent one was your campaign against MiMedx, a formerly highflying maker of tissue grafts and biologic implants whose stock has crashed and was delisted in late 2018. What's the next chapter in the MiMedx saga?
Parker Petit, the company's former CEO and my archenemy, is indicted. Allegedly his trial is in July and I would love to see him in jail. MiMedx is on death's doorstep. They've taken PPP money, and now they have to give it back. They're functionally bankrupt. So it would be a perfect final chapter for this thing to just simply go away. Since everyone says I'm biased, I have covered most of my stock, so I don't have a profit motive with MiMedx. I just want to see justice served. I want them to get what they deserve.
During your fight against MiMedx, you were also paid a visit by the FBI. How did that go?
Petit bribed a US Senator which got the FBI to come visit me, and they told me to quit tweeting about MiMedx.That's why I want to find out who was ordered to come and see me, and how that transpired. So far, I'm not comfortable with what we've gotten back from the FBI on this. Therefore, I'm suing the FBI and the DOJ to get all the records. Depending on what I turn up, I will take further action. I'm not done, and I take my civil rights very seriously. The same applies to family's safety.
What's your motivation to go after fraudulent companies like MiMedx?
Anyone who's a short seller, and actually enjoys it, isn't mentally right. I've been doing this for a very long time, and I think I'm really good at it. Even though people ask me all the time, I don't want to have a fund. But I like helping some people out. And, if I can make a difference in the world, then that's a good thing. If I can help put bad guys in prison, like Parker Petite, and I expose various forms of fraud, I'm doing the world a favor. If something happened to me tomorrow, people would say: «That guy made a difference. He moved the needle.»
How does your investment process look when you're looking for potential shorts?
It varies by the name, by the industry, where a company is in the cycle, whether the business is falling apart, whether it's a fraud, whether competition is getting them or whether they have a balance sheet issue. It all depends, but there always tends to be some central theme behind it which could cause disruption. For instance, I used to be short mattress firms like Tempur-Pedic when foam mattresses were big. That stock collapsed many times. When you have a no growth business, and you induce a gadget to entice growth, it works for a short time, and then invariably blows up.
You've also made headlines by shorting the Canadian real estate market, specifically mortgage lenders like Home Capital Group and Equitable. What's going on with the big Canadian housing bubble?
Those things blew up to smithereens, and Home Capital is exposed as a fraud. I'm so tired of all the nonsense that's going on in Canada. I'm not short of either one of those stocks right now, just because I'm sick of dealing with all those people. I think they're unappreciative of what I brought to the party. They're very clannish. But make no mistake: Canada's the most leveraged G-«pick a number»-country out there. Housing is going to be a disaster, and banking is a disaster, and so is Canada's economy. Their desire to take on more debt is very foolish. This ship is just bad, and it's wrong headed.
Are you also betting on more disruption in the oil patch?
I'm not as much in the oil patch, but I'm still short Badger Daylighting, a firm that specializes in soil extraction for oil companies. The stock has blown up, and the company has a lot of troubles. So I like being short Badger.
Are there any other bets people should take a closer look at?
I urge the Swiss to keep thinking for themselves. I think Switzerland's political neutrality is a good thing. It serves people well. I also know that you guys are into mountain biking. So with respect to the Olympics next year, I want you to put all your Swiss francs on my friend Kate Courtney who's the world champion in women's mountain biking. She's a sure fire to win the gold medal next year, and she's my number one non-stock long!
Marc Cohodes
In the tight circle of short sellers, Marc Cohodes is a living legend. He is a former General Partner of Rocker Partners/Copper River and worked there from 1985 to 2009. He began his career at the Northern Trust Company in 1982 after graduating from Babson College with a BS in Finance. He has been profiled in various books like Reckless Endangerment, Selling America Short and The Most Dangerous Trade. He was the subject of a Harvard Business School Case study on his efforts to expose Mortgage Fraud at NovaStar. He resides in Sonoma County, California, where he runs the Alder Lane chicken farm. You can reach him on Twitter at @AlderLaneeggs.
«For Political Reasons, Donald Trump Will Want to Increase Pressure on Beijing»
Michael Pettis, Professor of Finance at Peking University, says that Covid-19 has accelerated a row of problems in the world economy. Hopes of a rapid recovery, led by China, will most likely be disappointed, he warns.
«Underneath the Surface Trouble Is Brewing Once Again»
Larry McDonald, publisher of the investment research service The Bear Traps Report, warns that this crisis is far from over. He spots growing tensions in the credit markets and thinks that large public borrowers like Italy and New York State are in need of massive bailouts.
«This Is a Perfect Environment for Gold»
Fred Hickey, editor of the investment newsletter «The High-Tech Strategist», warns that the stock market is still in a bubble. The veteran investor says why he avoids red hot technology stocks like Amazon and instead bets his money on gold mining companies.


finish interlocking logs. We believe this product looks amazing and comes at an affordable price.
Find out more about our Pub Smoking Shelters range.
With great gusto the British seek the enjoyment and cheers of friends the moment the sunshine appears, yet whilst dashing to the bar the rain takes it chance. With our Pub smoking shelter you can still bathe in the sun without worrying about the ever changing conditions of the weather. The interlock logs provide resistance against wind and rain and weighted by the roof the shelter will remain sturdily in place.


Need to sell my bug, asking $ 3900.00 O.B.O. new exhaust, new front tires in the front, 80-90% on rear tires, good interior (missing only drivers side front carpet, nice sound powered by a Sony Stereo with 2 6x9 Pioneer speakers in the back and 2 smaller ones in the front (I believe they are 5 1/4), very nice diamond plate running boards, rear rims original Center Lines, front are imitation, running on 235/ 75/15 in the rear and 165/80/15 in the front, 1600 dual port engine with a 34 pict carburetor and electronic ignition, runs great, no issues, oil change done 250 miles ago. Located in Phoenix Az.


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An Updated Look at the New York Rangers' 2019 NHL Draft Pick Situation
By Adam Herman@AdamZHerman Apr 25, 2019, 8:00am EDT
Share All sharing options for: An Updated Look at the New York Rangers' 2019 NHL Draft Pick Situation
Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images
It was only 18 days ago that we first outlined the New York Rangers' draft situation based on the lottery and playoffs, and yet so much has changed since.
The most significant change was, of course, that the Rangers earned the second-overall pick in the draft lottery. The Rangers finished with the sixth-worst record in the NHL and had a significant chance of even dropping down the order. That they ended up with the #2 pick in a two-player draft unbelievably fortunate.
The Dallas Stars upset the Nashville Predators and advanced to the second round, where they will face the St. Louis Blues. Should the Stars win the series, and Mats Zuccarello plays at least one game, then the 2019 Dallas Stars will be sending the Rangers their 2019 first-round pick rather than their 2019 second-round pick.
The Winnipeg Jets were eliminated in the first round by the Blues, meaning that the 2019 first-round pick the Rangers acquired in the Kevin Hayes trade currently sits at 21st overall. However, it will move up one selection for each series win in round two by Carolina, Colorado, and Columbus. As such, the pick can jump as high as 18th overall.
The Tampa Bay Lightning were stunningly swept in the first round by Columbus, meaning that Tampa Bay will not win the Stanley Cup and the 2019 conditional draft pick acquired in the Miller/McDonagh trade remains a second-rounder. That pick is now officially locked in at 58th overall.
Though the Lightning outcome is disappointing for the Rangers, the Winnipeg result was actually far more influential. Using Michael Schuckers Draft Pick Value Chart, we can see that the two outcomes are heavily a net positive for the Rangers. Here's a comparison.
In an ideal outcome every pick reaches its max value, but what this does show is that Rangers fans should be more excited about Winnipeg's fate than they should be disappointed about Tampa Bay's. Combined with the Stars staying alive and, of course, the lottery win, and the last few weeks have gone about as great as anyone could have realistically hoped.
Here is an updated overview of the 2019 draft picks which the Rangers possess.


LEEDS UNITED transfer special - what is happening at Elland Road next month?
Leeds United are unlikely to make too many additions in the January transfer window ahead of a push for the play-offs.
Thomas Christiansen's side have had a rollercoaster first half of the season and will hope for more consistency after Christmas.
Leeds have already agreed a deal for Japan international midfielder Yosuke Ideguchi.
But he is not eligible to feature until next season due to work permit regulations so a loan move to partner club Cultural Leonesa is on the cards.
A couple of positive tweaks to the squad could go a long way to ending Leeds' exile from the Premier League.
What do Leeds need in January?
To strengthen the squad in a few areas.
Leeds have a decent core of around 14/15 players but the squad looks thin when injuries occur.
Pierre-Michel Lasogga hasn't been a roaring success while Caleb Ekuban has had foot problems so a new striker could be key.
A new goalkeeper would also be good because Felix Wiedwald and Andy Lonergan have not impressed although Leeds would struggle to fill that spot in the middle of the season.
An upgrade on Gaetano Berardi at left-back would also be ideal.
Who should Leeds sign in January?
Ben Woodburn on loan from Liverpool.
Leeds could earn promotion this season so it would be ideal to avoid stuffing their squad with permanent additions who wouldn't cut the mustard in the Premier League.
Woodburn is classy and would thrive in the Championship.
Who will Leeds probably sign in January?
Victor Orta likes to search the continent for bargain buys and Kuwas fits the bill.
He wouldn't be too expensive, despite racking up assist after assist in the Eredivisie.
Spanish striker Alfredo Ortuno could also arrive on a free transfer - before immediately joining Cultural Leonesa on loan.
Will Leeds lose anyone in January?
Goalkeeper Bailey Peacock-Farrell could head out on loan to continue his development.
Midfielder Mateusz Klich is another potential loan departure while winger Hadi Sacko has barely featured under Thomas Christiansen.
Who do Leeds need to get rid of?
Cameron Borthwick-Jackson should be sent back to Manchester United.
He's out of his depth and hasn't been the answer at left-back.


A puzzle based point and click adventure game by the makers of Samorost and Botanicula.
Josef the robot is dumped into the scrapyard by the evil Blackcap brotherhood.
The brotherhood took over Machinarium, is terrorizing it and trapped inside Josef's girlfriend Berta.
Josef must return back to liberate the city and free his girlfriend.


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Otters Team • Register • View Cart •
Welcome to the Otters Swim Team!
Our recreational swim team is designed to provide children with a positive team environment for learning good sportsmanship through competitive swimming. All four competitive strokes will be developed as well as starts and turns. The team is intended for swimmers to improve their swimming skills, build self confidence, and make new friends. Our team is part of the Metro Swim League and will participate in TBA virtual meets for the 2020-2021 season.
All swimmers are requested to register for at least two practice times per week.
* Swimmers must attend practice that they are registered for. There will be no make-ups on different days.
* Swimmers under the age of 14 must have a parent/guardian present in the building or in their car while they are in the program.
Changes due to COVID-19:
The Metro League will not host in-person meets this year, but will be participating in TBA virtual meets.
10 & under swimmers will only have 3 swimmers per lane and 11 & up swimmers will only have 4 swimmers per lane. All participants will stay socially distant from each other and wear a mask when not in the water.
Aquatics Programs Policies
8 & Under Otters
Registration Unavailable
8 & Under Winter Otters (T)
6 - 8 N/A Tu 01/05/2021 - 03/16/2021
Beede Swim and Fitness Center Lap Pool - Lap Pool Lane 5 $150.00 Res, $150.00 Non-Res
0 seat(s) available
8 & Under Winter Otters (Th)
6 - 8 N/A Th 01/07/2021 - 03/18/2021
8 & Under Winter Otters (Su)
6 - 8 N/A Su 01/10/2021 - 03/21/2021
9&10 year old Otters
9&10 Winter Otters (M)
9 - 10 N/A M 01/04/2021 - 03/15/2021
9&10 Winter Otters (W)
9 - 10 N/A W 01/06/2021 - 03/17/2021
9&10 Winter Otters (F)
9 - 10 N/A F 01/08/2021 - 03/19/2021
9&10 Winter Otters (Su)
9 - 10 N/A Su 01/10/2021 - 03/21/2021
11&up Otters
11 & up Winter Otters (M)
11 - 18 N/A M 01/04/2021 - 03/15/2021
11 & up Winter Otters (T)
11 - 18 N/A Tu 01/05/2021 - 03/16/2021
11 & up Winter Otters (W)
11 - 18 N/A W 01/06/2021 - 03/17/2021
11 & up Winter Otters (Th)
11 - 18 N/A Th 01/07/2021 - 03/18/2021
11 & up Winter Otters (F)
11 - 18 N/A F 01/08/2021 - 03/19/2021


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Dark Horse Reveals "Berserker Unbound" from Jeff Lemire and Mike Deodato Jr.
Writer Jeff Lemire (Black Hammer), artist Mike Deodato Jr. (Thanos), and colorist Frank Martin (East of West) are joining forces once again, this time to bring a modern twist to an epic fantasy in Berserker Unbound. Dark Horse Comics is excited to release this action-packed new series, with covers by both Mike Deodato Jr. and a first issue variant by Hellboy's Mike Mignola!
Berserker Unbound kicks off with a merciless, sword-wielding warrior thrown through a wormhole to a modern day metropolis. Our hero quickly realizes that he must protect this new world from an evil wizard who will stop at nothing to send him and this new world to hell.
"I really wanted to draw a barbarian story and Jeff turned this dream of mine into a reality with this deeply emotional story of friendship seen through multiple dimensions. I am not exaggerating when I say this book has the most epic battles I've ever drawn! Berserker Unbound is a turning point in my career." – Mike Deodato Jr.
"As soon as I had a chance to work with Mike Deodato on Thanos at Marvel I knew it would be the start of a beautiful partnership. We immediately started talking about the potential of teaming up for a creator-owned series. Mike is an incredible artist and, with Berserker Unbound, I tried to model a story to all of his many strengths. Berserker Unbound is many things. It has magic, action, and blood, but it also has heart. And it's not at all what it first appears to be. We're both very excited to be working together at Dark Horse, with Frank Martin and Steve Wands, to build the worlds of both Berserker and the world of Cobb, his unexpected companion." – Jeff Lemire
Berserker Unbound #1 (of four) goes on sale August 7, 2019, and is available for pre-order at your local comic shop.
David Cabeza's Got It Covered: 'The Orville'
This month, we go boldly into the realm of TV properties. Artist David Cabeza shows us what it took to re-create the likenesses behind TV's ORVILLE!
Toy Talk: Dark Horse's Chris Gaslin
Interview: Black Hammer And Justice League Crossover In World-Colliding Event
Sharpen Your Swords For 'The Witcher Omnibus'
'What's Michael?' Award-Winning Manga Comes to Dark Horse
Dark Horse Products Shipping In September 2019


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China's CCTV Adds Quantel Gear for 3D, 4K Needs; Annex Pro Named as Quantel's Canadian Reseller
Tuesday, September 10, 2013 - 2:08 pm
China's national broadcaster, CCTV, has invested in a Quantel Pablo color correction and finishing system and Neo panel to boost its Stereo 3D and 4K editing capabilities.
"Quantel Pablo gives us everything we need to compete in China's fast-paced post-production industry," says Wang Pei, Director of CCTV's 3D channel. "Its immense power, intuitive toolset and fast file-based workflow makes post-production a truly interactive process."
Quantel Appoints Annex Pro as Post-production Systems Reseller in Canada
Quantel has appointed Annex Pro as its reseller in Canada for its Pablo Rio post-production systems. Offering new levels of interactivity, Pablo Rio can handle everything demanded of a modern post facility including; color correction, editing, effects, color grading, finishing and deliverables, including 4K 60p.
Annex Pro is a Vancouver-based reseller for software, hardware and IT infrastructure to the Media and Entertainment Industry, offering pre-sales research and advice, "Proof of Concept" evaluations, pre and post sales technical support, trouble-shooting and custom training. Annex Pro has been consulting, training and supporting the creation of visual effects, animation, game, TV and films since its creation in 1983.
Kerry Corlett, President and Founder of Annex Pro says, "To say that we are thrilled to represent Quantel here in Western Canada would be an understatement. Our laser focus on customer service and technical expertise, pairs nicely with Quantel's decades of experience with digital production equipment We look forward to working with the Quantel team to bring their innovative solutions to our customers."
Quantel Sales Director, Martin Mulligan, says, "We are delighted to welcome Annex Pro into the Quantel reseller team. Annex Pro has already secured its first Pablo Rio order and has many others in the pipeline – we are very excited for our future with the team. Their experience and high quality research and advice are great assets in helping to further build Quantel's presence in the Canadian post industry."
SVG On Demand: WWE's Rex Canning on the Buildout of the Wrestling Giant's New Media FacilitySVG PLAY: How Marquee Sports Network Uses Real-Time Data to Power Its Graphics Package for Chicago Cubs Games


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A cultural centre flowers in Alexandra after 20 years of efforts
Charl Blignaut 2018-09-24 02:46
The Alexandra Heritage Centre
South Africans start to celebrate Heritage Day in style
Ladysmith Black Mambazo and the houses of song and pain
It has taken 20 years of efforts, driven by an architect, a community researcher, a heritage expert and an academic, but the Alexandra Heritage Centre is finally open for business.
Charl Blignaut and photographer Tebogo Letsie visited a place where the struggle is real and history is alive
Two days after the death of the former president in 2013, a dispirited television reporter visited the Nelson Mandela heritage site in Alexandra township to see how the great man was being remembered.
Mandela's Yard is a single back room where he lived when he moved to Joburg from rural Transkei in 1941. It's in a grid of yard housing built in a communal urban formation.
These were once common across the continent and homed 10 families a yard. Originally these were earmarked for soldiers returning from the wars.
Alex, the densely populated ghetto that neighbours the pristinely wealthy Sandton, was a transformative space for Mandela and he was radicalised here, the locals say.
"There are few townships, including Soweto, that have such a rich history of the struggle for freedom … Alexandra was in the forefront," says historian Noor Nieftagodien.
Yet, unlike in Soweto, the reporter found no throngs of tourists in Alex. Moving from a mural of the beaming resistance hero in a suit and tie, hand raised in a fist, the camera rests on the distinctive-looking stone and metal Alexandra Heritage Centre directly across the road.
Eight years after the main structure was completed, the centre is derelict, it is reported, "except for the young drug-users who hang out there".
THE DUSTBIN LID OF HISTORY
"Not a single brick was stolen," says social history researcher Thabo Mopatsi about the past five years spent finishing off the compact Alexandra Heritage Centre precinct, its museum built in the form of an enclosed bridge over the road beneath it, windows flowering with colour, a ruckus of practical design by architect Peter Rich that feels a bit like the jazz that underscores the stories being told on videos upstairs.
"The community supports what is happening here as long as we keep moving forward with the community's buy-in," says Mopatsi, discussing the forums involved on street level.
Peter Rich and Thabo Mopatsi at the Heritage Museum in Alexandra
The project, originally focusing on a Mandela museum, a thatched craft centre and, one presumes, busloads of German tourists, was effectively born in 2001 when then president Thabo Mbeki launched the R1.3 billion Alexandra Renewal Project.
In the 17 years that have followed, the centre's development has stopped and started frequently, stalled through red tape and irregular funding, changing hands between various government departments, water and lights eventually delivered by the Johannesburg Development Agency's final drive to bring it to life.
But by then the baby was already a young adult and it had formed an identity of its own.
It has been people like Mopatsi, Nieftagodien, Rich and heritage expert Jo-Anne Duggan who have kept the fires burning in the face of the spectre of a white elephant.
Rich, probably most famous for his majestic Mapungubwe Interpretation Centre, teamed with Duggan, then of The Heritage Agency, who won a competition to develop the site.
Architect Peter Rich at the Heritage Museum in Alexandra
Ten local enthusiasts, such as Mopatsi, were trained by Duggan to be historical researchers and an ambitious process of mapping the oral heritage of the area began, crystallising into an interactive museum where local artists crafted the finer details of the display.
"Alex has no space, so the building becomes part of the street," says the architect as we walk up the grand ramp to the entrance.
It's made from tarmac because symbolically it's part of the road. Half way up is a "speaker's corner" where you can even announce the start of the Alexandra Marathon.
The entrance desk is crafted from concrete and above it a metal, animal bone and horn sign made by a local artist, reads "Alexandra: Mother of Diversity".
Nieftagodien has co-authored a book on Alex and he helped shape the presentation of the oral histories on display, which range from a land before the Boers to the present day.
A giant street art map of Alex pops up in 3D across a wall with a video playing, poet Mongane Wally Serote's voice blending with Hugh Masekela's trumpet from the other end of the room ... "Sixteen families on one stand. They become one family … I speak all nine South African languages because of that. We were brothers and sisters and not just friends ..."
It blends with the voice of football supremo Irvin Khoza from another screen, recounting the apartheid state's bulldozing of black-owned homes and how Alex resisted the beast whose shadow still looms over the museum in the form of the fortress-like women's hostel above it and the inequality all around it.
We're looking at a display of everyday household items from history below a recording booth where residents and visitors can share and deposit their stories of Alexandra. One of the items on display is a decades-old dustbin lid.
"I found it in my yard," says Mopatsi. "I love to garden and I was digging when I came across it. I brought these other things from the family home too."
The heritage centre is packed with useful information
There's a metal mealiemeal container, a wooden matchbox, shiny old shoes.
Mopatsi was born and raised just down the road here, "number 26, 12", where he still lives.
I ask where his love of history comes from and he replies: "My father used to come home with interesting books. He introduced me to the struggle and the Chimurenga. And I loved the stories of classical history, I fell in love with them through the pictures ... As I grew up I took an interest in learning more from magazines like Drum and I became very interested in gang histories."
The infamous Spoilers and Msomi gangs are in the mix here too, alongside former president Kgalema Mothlanthe, born and bred in Alex.
He is telling of the dismay in the pit of his stomach when, in 1957, he'd wake hungry with the knowledge that he would have to walk all the way to town to work because he was participating in the famous Alexandra bus boycotts against the state's tariff increase.
HERITAGE AT STREET LEVEL
The screens with the displays start to move and retract. The ever-optimistic 73-year-old architect is joyfully showing off some details of the design.
"You slide these away and you create enough space to bring in chairs and hold a community meeting. Over there we imagine a kind of internet café."
He moves to a large window dotted with glass painted by local artists, opening it wide on its customised hinges to allow the sounds of the street and its taxis to filter in to join the chorus.
"We need to bring heritage back to street level, with public space downstairs, but also upstairs."
From up here in the museum you can see the centre's precinct open into a dozen shuttered shop spaces, informal trading areas, an amphitheatre with a rough stage and even an outdoor movie screen.
"All that's still needed is the projector," says Rich.
We're not here to talk about his work being celebrated at this year's Venice Biennale of Architecture, or the fact that the arts ministry did not manage to get its national pavilion together for the same show, but about the soil bricks, metal and coloured polycarbonate sheeting that forms the shell of a structure designed for communal inclusion.
Where we are walking, past a wall of vinyl records across the bridge, songs activated by touch, "tile cut-offs from rich people's bathrooms" become a kind of mosaic forming the floor. The wall of jazz, kwela and gumba is reflected in a mirror ceiling above, the road beneath you.
Past a computer that allows visitors to type messages into screens and a workshop space that features a wall designed to display art, hopefully children's art made onsite, one reaches the other side and a metal viewing platform with an epic view of the contained spread of Alex.
The yards surrounding Mandela's have also been incorporated as a heritage site and could be upgraded next.
"Sixteen heritage sites have been identified here and there is a heritage tour proposed," says Mopatsi as he and Rich point out the graveyard, the cathedral, the place of torture, Motlanthe's Anglican school, Palladium Hall where Samora Machel used to stay when he was living here as a student in the 1960s, King's Cinema, the Women's Hostel, the beer hall, a Catholic church.
There are fewer signs of the future than the past here. A grand football field is being finished as part of a Football World Cup legacy project, a Gautrain station in the distance, a cricket oval opened by Queen Elizabeth.
Rich says corporates and international agencies are standing by to support the centre, which has now got core staff, but there are still some wrinkles to be ironed out.
A missing consolidated stand number, a delay in installing a phone line, a projector for the cinema, shopkeepers to fill the retail spaces ...
"We're 99.6% there," he says, pointing to Ikasi Gym next door, famous for visits by Richard Branson and for Arnold Schwarzenegger's endorsement and his donation of the gym's heavy-metal equipment to local body-building hero Tumi.
Heroes and heroines: The Alexandra Heritage Centre
"We're wondering how we can build on to the structure to incorporate the gym into the centre's design," says Rich.
"The most important thing is we know how to make this building part of the community," says Mopatsi.
The Alexandra Heritage Centre is at 4694 Hofmeyr Street and is already open to visitors from Tuesday to Sunday from 10am to 5pm.
It is awaiting a landline but for further information contact curator Prince Dube at princedu@joburg.org.za
heritage month


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Alone at Deserted Stop at 1 AM, Lone Woman Finds Guards in KSRTC Staff!
The news only came to the fore when the young woman posted about the entire incident in the form of a thank-you note for the kind gentlemen on social media.
Post category:Kerala / Women
In India, being stranded at a public space late at night is undoubtedly a woman's worst nightmare.
We have all faced situations where we have had no option but to travel without a companion, and sometimes, that happens way past the regular hours of societal functioning.
Typically, such scenarios prove to be frightening for women, as they have to constantly remain vigilant to prevent attacks from stalkers or sexual offenders.
Athira Jayan recently faced a similar situation, when she was the lone passenger on the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) bus from Thiruvananthapuram to Coimbatore on June 2. The young woman, who works at Athani was supposed to meet her brother at the Chavara bus stop at 1:30 a.m. However, due to heavy rainfall, he was unable to reach the location on time.
In a time when one is mistrustful of even close relatives, the bus conductor and driver of the very same KSRTC bus that Athira was travelling in, turned out to be her guardian angels and watched over the young woman till her brother arrived.
Source: Aanavandi.
Conductor PB Shaiju and driver K Gopakumar were worried about the safety of the woman being left alone at the deserted bus stop past midnight and didn't want any unfortunate incident to befall over her.
In a heartwarming gesture, they stayed put with her for about seven minutes without giving a second thought about running behind schedule. Fortunately, her brother reached the spot by then and took her home safely.
You may also like: This Lady Conductor's Fearless Chase Saved a Passenger from Being Robbed!
The news only came to the fore when Athira posted about the entire incident in the form of a thank-you note for the kind gentlemen on social media.
Thanks to Athira's gesture, both Shaiju and Gopakumar, who are staffers at the Thiruvananthapuram central depot, became overnight celebrities on various social media platforms and were flooded with appreciative messages for their thoughtful and kind intervention.
In fact, the duo was even lauded by Tomin Thachankary, the KSRTC managing director, as well as other top officials in the department.
People like PB Shaiju and K Gopakumar, who went beyond their call of duty to help a young woman in need without a second thought, are ones who restore our faith in humanity and make us believe that kindness comes from most unexpected quarters.
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Cheumatopsyche kim is een schietmot uit de familie Hydropsychidae. De soort komt voor in het Oriëntaals gebied.

Schietmot uit het Oriëntaals gebied
Hydropsychidae


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Artists launch from Work of Art classes to a collective
|In Special Features
|By Colleen Powers
When the five artists of the Springstep Collective met in a workshop on business skills for artists in Minnetonka, Minnesota, they were looking for a push in the right direction. Each of them had signed up for the free classes — part of Springboard for the Arts' Work of Art program — to learn about time management, marketing their work, and other aspects of being a professional artist. They hoped, too, for affirmation and motivation as they ventured into art as a career.
At the end of the workshop series, Ellen Sweetman invited four of her fellow artists to be part of a group pop-up gallery show. It was then that they decided to form a collective — and got the chance to put the Work of Art career lessons into practice.
"I sat in the class and thought, 'Oh, it'd be really interesting to be an artist, I wish I could do it,'" says Diane Pearson. "Then when Ellen approached me to do the art show, that made it come to fruition."
"Doing it so soon after the class," says Pieter Maas, "in the back of your mind, you're going, 'Oh, that's what they were talking about; now I get it. Now the lightbulb goes off.'"
Sweetman, Pearson, and Maas committed to planning the pop-up gallery show with Steve Holzgraefe and Melissa "Missy" Moore. The five of them had enjoyed sharing ideas and questions during the workshops and chatting in the parking lot after class. They named themselves Springstep — a reference to taking the next step beyond the Springboard-hosted workshops — and created an official logo and website.
Though they set their goals with intention, Holzgraefe says, there was also a willingness to try something new together: "We're going to start and it's going to unfold as we go."
Steve Holzgraefe, aka mnima.
Five artists at career crossroads
One factor that unites the Springstep members is that they all are well into their careers or entering second careers as artists. Sweetman and Moore both speak of "coming out" as artists after focusing on their families and their roles as mothers.
"I would say I've been an artist my whole life, but not in the business sense," says Sweetman, who creates oil paintings with bold strokes and colors under the name livelybrush.
"[The workshops were] the first time I've been sitting in a room where people talked about their kids, talked about how tired they are of being a mom," she says. "I needed to hear that — where I wasn't the only one who put myself on hold and gave myself wholeheartedly to a family, and didn't regret it, but didn't know what to do now."
Moore, too, recently decided to refocus on her art after raising kids, though she had studied fine art and been a certified art teacher. Her paintings and mixed media work feature bright colors and abstract forms.
Doing the workshops and the show, Moore says, helped her say, "This is my job. I'm not just wasting my time painting away in my basement. I am reaching towards a goal, and I should be reaching towards a goal."
Maas Homestead.
Maas is a blacksmith and metalworker who makes and sells work under the name Maas Homestead; he tends to prefer the word "artisan" to "artist." He initially trained in blacksmithing in the 1970s and has returned to the craft recently, after retiring from a decades-long career as a carpenter.
Pearson's experience has been in interior design; she has run her own design business for more than 10 years, but says she "always wanted to be an artist." She draws and paints botanical art and natural landscapes.
Before the Work of Art classes and the Springstep show, Holzgraefe says, it had been five years since he had produced a new body of work. He designs lighting installations and works with fabricators to bring them to life under the name mnima.
It was valuable, Sweetman says, "to be around other people who are just as old as I am, trying to figure it out. I don't need to negate everything with, 'Oh, that ship has sailed. Oh, I shoulda. Oh, I coulda.' Instead, I am. I am doing it."
Learning the business of art
Claiming the title of "professional artist" was one of the first lessons the artists learned in Work of Art. From there, the curriculum covers topics including creating a business plan, pricing artwork, tracking revenue and expenses, and considering legal issues. The information and activities helped the artists focus and set specific goals.
"The time management workshop was really important for me in saying, 'When are you productive? What are you doing with your time?'" Moore says.
One obstacle in time management and budgeting, the artists say, has been figuring out how to balance making their artwork — what they really love doing — with promoting themselves and managing the business side.
"I always remember that Noah [Keesecker, Springboard for the Arts instructor] gave a figure of, I think, 30 percent of your budget should be spent on sales and marketing," Holzgraefe says. "So that's kind of scary, because I think as artists we would put 100 percent of our time and money into supplies, into creating the work. … You actually have to spend time away from your art to get stuff done."
Ellen Sweetman.
The Work of Art marketing curriculum also includes information on finding an audience. That helped Pearson reframe how she thought about attracting customers.
"After all those years of retail and interior design and working with clients, I think I had this misconception that you had to come up with 'what do people want?' What I learned is that you do your art, and people will find it," she says. "I learned not to be all things to all people, and to just concentrate on who I am and what I'm good at."
Being able to find new followers and inspiration online made social media an unexpectedly fun discovery for her.
"I had been a little bit of a dinosaur, buried my head in the sand and hadn't done anything with it. Now it has opened up a whole different world for me," Pearson says. "You get new ideas and see things from all around the world on Instagram."
Holzgraefe was reluctant to share his work on social media for fear his designs could be taken and replicated for mass production. When he did venture onto Instagram, he says, he was surprised by how much time he needed to invest.
"You don't necessarily need to keep it on the downlow; you're going to have a hard enough time attracting attention, attracting as many eyeballs as you want," he says. His effort has paid off, though: Through Instagram, he has been able to catch the interest of followers from multiple continents.
Though they had all gone through the basic curriculum, when it came time to plan the show, each member of Springstep could focus on their personal strengths. Maas calls these "barter elements" that each person brought to the table for trade. His carpentry background proved helpful when it came to setting up the pop-up show and hanging art, while Holzgraefe took on the Springstep website design and social media.
The division of labor didn't mean anyone had to go it alone: Though tasks were assigned to individuals, the artists met as a group to make decisions.
"Whatever it was that we were doing, those things became less intimidating and less difficult because we could lean on someone to do it, to assist, or they supported us while we did it," Sweetman says. "That held us accountable."
Diane Pearson (In Progress).
A community of support
Mutual accountability and support became an essential benefit of Springstep — and, in fact, was something that many of the artists were looking for when they signed up for the Work of Art classes.
"I just wanted to get to know people," says Holzgraefe, who has worked remotely for many years. "Commiserate, collaborate, and I think everybody wants to know that you're not going through whatever you're going through alone."
Sweetman says that she searched for years to recapture the energy of a critique group she had worked with out of college. When she asked the others to join her in an exhibition, she wasn't sure yet if there was potential for that same kind of relationship. Simply being around other people in class, though, had been valuable.
"I enjoyed everyone's takes and their questions," she says. "Things that maybe I couldn't voice, I got from other people stating how they were doing and what they were working on."
Once the collective was formed, the artists began critiquing each other's work as they prepared for the show. They also visited one another's studios. All of the group members appreciated being able to see other artists' creative process, while hearing feedback that, as Holzgraefe notes, stemmed from "kindness and curiosity."
"One of the fundamental things I think this group offered each other is: Are you doing the work you should be doing?" he says. "And, perhaps, is this the work that's going to move your business forward?"
Because blacksmith Maas had never really thought of himself as an artist, he challenged himself to create pieces for the show that were decorative and not strictly practical. In the critiques, he says, the other Springstep members encouraged him to keep trying new things.
"Some of the pieces I brought, they just said, 'Oh, that's art,' and I go, 'Well, I didn't know,'" he says. "It was nice to have someone else affirm that the piece that you brought was presented well."
In addition to questions about artistic intent, the critique sessions gave the collective a tangible way to practice what they had learned in the Work of Art workshops. They discussed pricing and gave input on what each person was charging for their work.
And when Maas exhibited on his own around the time that Springstep was beginning to plan their group show, the other artists came to see him and gave him feedback on how his pieces were displayed.
The artists have also been inspired by each other's work. After seeing one of Moore's abstract pieces, Maas created a metalwork sculpture that mimicked its lines and patterns.
That cross-medium influence was possible because no two artists in Springstep do quite the same type of work. Visitors to their pop-up show asked if they planned that, Sweetman says. In fact, it was a coincidence — but even if the artists' work had been more similar, there has never been a sense of competition.
"If I succeed, we all succeed," says Sweetman. "I do feel as though that united front was felt from early on in our meetings."
The spirit of shared success paid off: On May 7, Springstep drew a strong turnout and sales at their first pop-up gallery show.
Melissa Moore.
What's next for Springstep
Since the show, the artists say, they have taken time off and stepped back to consider what's next. Springstep made a decision early on not to form an LLC or other legal entity, but to contract with one another initially just for the group show. They are weighing options, including requests from more artists to join the collective, but one thing is for sure: They will host another pop-up show later this year.
As individuals, the artists have been feeling a mixture of pride and uncertainty. Pearson points to progress made since signing up for the classes.
"They had us fill out this sheet of goals and timeframes; you address an envelope and they send it back to you in six months," Pearson says of the first Work of Art workshop. "And I got it in the mail, and I had accomplished all those things that I had written down."
At the same time, the group members are still feeling how difficult it is to build a sustainable career as an independent artist, even with the guidance of Work of Art and the support of their peers.
"Oftentimes I'll sit back and think to myself, 'Man, if I don't do this, it doesn't get done,'" Holzgraefe says. "You've got to hustle. You've got to be out there beating the bushes."
"It's a grind, it's hard," agrees Moore, "but it's better when you have people with you to help you pull yourself out of the muck and the mire."
Despite the ongoing challenges of art as a career, the Springstep artists say that they've gotten renewed focus and career direction through learning and then getting to apply the Work of Art curriculum. "It helped me focus my energy, and feel like I had more of a purpose, a plan," Moore says.
"We needed to believe in ourselves. I think going to those classes and knowing everybody helped me believe in what I could do, what I can bring to the table," she says. "It's really exciting, it's very empowering to be doing what my dream has always been."
Individuals and groups of artists can find advice and guidance for the business side of art in the Work of Art toolkit, available digitally for free and in Spanish as Trabajo de Arte. The Work of Art toolkit can also be used to present workshops for artists, like the ones in Minnesota that brought the Springstep members together.
Tennessee Ukulele Lady Kelle Jolly continues the legacy of Affrilachian music
Tempe's Sound Canopy; A Respite for Residents and Performers


This is me, Valerie, simultaneous conference interpreter.
View from my bedroom window in Versoix, 7 kms along the lake from Geneva. In the late afternoon while we were having tea in the garden, the Mont Blanc gradually turned from sparkling, dazzling white into a soft, luscious pink.
The Palais des Nations, headquarters of the European Office of the United Nations, where I spent many working hours.
This is Peter, the Australian delegate with the buttery voice.


CPD sessions for STEM Weeks, using inquiry approaches in the teaching of science in numerous locations.
Department of Education approved 5 day summer courses in numerous locations.
July 2018 Department of Education approved CPD providing key insights into using Space across the curriculum.
CIT Blackrock Castle Observatory, Junior Cycle for Teachers, Science Foundation Ireland and ESERO Ireland present the second edition of 'Teaching Earth and Space in the Junior Cycle.' This conference aims to continue to support teachers with inspiring and practical approaches to embracing the Earth and Space strand of the Junior Cycle.