An environmental contamination expert who consulted with locals after toxic chemicals were found beneath a Winston-Salem middle school says the school board's decision to close the school was unwarranted.
Parents of Hanes Lowrance Middle School students were angry when Lenny Siegel, a national expert on environmental hazards, addressed them at SciWorks on a Monday night in early February.
Weeks earlier, they had learned from a newspaper exposé that the ground beneath the school was contaminated with tetrachloroethylene, or PCE, that can cause damage to the liver, kidneys and central nervous system. The chemical had migrated in the groundwater from the Kaba Ilco Corp. plant on Indiana Avenue on the city's north side.
The parents were furious that they hadn't learned about the contamination earlier from school administration. Siegel empathized with their betrayed trust, but urged them to put aside their anger and look at the scientific evidence. A new round of testing by the school district was underway that would remove potential indoor sources of contamination that might trigger false positive readings.
Siegel is the executive director of the Center for Public Environmental Oversight, based in Mountain View, Calif. Siegel said that while he is not a scientist, he specializes in translating science into terms that are understandable to ordinary citizens.
Earlier in the day, Siegel had fielded questions from members of the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County School Board during a special meeting at Atkins High School. Paramount: Should they go ahead and close Hanes Lowrance Middle School?
The next day the school board voted 7-2 to close the school.
Siegel said recently he was surprised that the district opted to close Hanes Lowrance.
"Why in an area [of the country] that does not seem to be particularly environmentally sensitive, did they close a school without waiting for the test results to come back?" he asked.
Siegel, who is based in the Silicon Valley area of northern California, cited a contrasting example of four schools in Sunnyvale with exposure to TCE.
While some of Siegel's comments during his February visit were critical of how the school district handled keeping parents informed, he never said the district should close the school. He said recently that the only thing that could possibly have given parents that impression were comments he made that state and federal standards are politicized by industry pressure, which makes it difficult to assess acceptable risk.
Hanes Lowrance was by no means unique in Winston-Salem in being exposed to legacy industrial contamination. Carter G. Woodson School, a charter school founded by a former member of the Black Panther Party that predominantly serves low-income black and Latino students, discovered concentrations of PCE and another chemical, trichloroethylene, known as TCE, that exceeded screening levels set by the NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources, or DENR, in May 2013. The school is located in southeast Winston-Salem, an area with a similar socioeconomic demographic and industrial background as the neighborhood surrounding Hanes Lowrance.
Carter G. Woodson School hired Mid-Atlantic Associates to conduct indoor air quality tests. After similar problems came to light at Hanes Lowrance Middle School, Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools hired the same firm to conduct indoor air quality tests there. In November 2013, administration at Carter G. Woodson School sent out letters to parents informing them of the potential environmental hazards and the school's efforts to remediate the problem. There was no panic, public outcry or threats by parents to pull their children out of school. In January 2014, results came back showing no exceedences of indoor air levels of PCE and TCE.
Elevated levels of PCE have also been found at a decommissioned gas station identified as an inactive hazardous site by DENR that is less than a quarter mile from a complex in East Winston housing Kennedy High School, Carter High School and the Career Center. When the owner of the gas station said his company was not responsible for the contamination, a DENR official told Triad City Beat last spring that the agency dropped the case. Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools Chief of Staff Theo Helm said at the time that the district was unaware that PCE had been identified at the site.
When indoor air quality test results came back for Hanes Lowrance Middle School a couple weeks after school's closure, like Carter G. Woodson, they showed that the air was safe for students and faculty.
Siegel met with school board member Elisabeth Motsinger, a Democrat who represents the district at large, during a recent visit to North Carolina to attend a wedding. Motsinger was one of two board members who voted against the closure of Hanes Lowrance. Siegel asked Motsinger why she thought the decision was made.
Acknowledging the sensitivity of race, Motsinger said the dynamics of having a magnet program that attracts students from more affluent families on the same campus with a predominantly black neighborhood school shaped the public discourse.


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Buzz over Google's $8.5 million lawsuit settlement
03 Nov 2010 2 Google, Law & order, Privacy, Social networks
Previous: Yes, you need anti-virus on your Mac.. and now it's free
Next: Pharmaceutical spammers pose as Twitter warnings
Google today took what it labelled the exceptional step of mass-mailing all Gmail users to announce a settlement in the Buzz lawsuit.
For those who remember the launch, Buzz is a Gmail application, premiered in February 2010, which drew the ire of those concerned about privacy. A class action lawsuit arose alleging that Google "automatically enrolled Gmail users in Buzz, and that Buzz publicly exposed data, including users' most frequent Gmail contacts, without enough user consent."
According to Google, that lawsuit is now sorted out. But those who were hoping to pick up some personal largesse from Google's deep pockets will be disappointed.
This settlement isn't going the way that the class action against Sony BMG's infamous rootkit went, back at the end of 2005. In that settlement, customers with rootkitted CDs could claim three free album downloads, or one free album plus $7.50.
Google won't be paying pocket money to lots of individuals. Instead, it will stick U$8.5 million into an independent fund to "support organisations promoting privacy education and policy on the web". I think that's a much better result than handing out enough cash for a small glass of beer (at Sydney prices, anyway) to each of millions of people.
I'll be hoping to hear more long-term background noise being made by privacy lobby groups to remind web users that what is touted as free often comes at great cost. Many of the popular "in the cloud" services which you and your friends may have signed up to – including Gmail and most social networking sites – are openly presented, and accepted, as "free". Most of them simply are not.
You're really agreeing to sell those organisations the right to accumulate, index, commercialise, and in some cases sell on to third parties, information about who you are, what you do, when you do it, and how you choose to talk about it online. You get to populate the databases from which they make revenue; in return you get to use the service.
In that sense, you aren't so much a user or a customer of most "free" sites. You're really just an informal employee, paid in kind. That's worth remembering.
2 comments on "Buzz over Google's $8.5 million lawsuit settlement"
mmgood says:
I want the beer.
Polasky says:
same here. 1 beer would do it!
Leave a Reply to mmgood Cancel reply

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


With H&M hitting Japan this winter, the project aimed to protect the market position for the number one casual brand, UNIQLO. The shops had to strengthen their connection with the online store as well. The target was all age groups, from kids to elders. This innovative online presentation format is designed to meet the needs for a long-running project. Models of different age groups, sexes and occupations march through the online catalogue, encouraging users to purchase directly online. The project culminates in TOKYO MARCH, where all the online users around the world march virtually in a line on Google Maps.


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Jim Webb for defense secretary
W. James Antle III
Illustrated | Scott Olson/Getty Images
In the resignation letter that stunned Washington, outgoing Pentagon chief James Mattis told President Trump he "had the right to a Secretary of Defense whose views are better aligned" with the commander-in-chief's. Contrary to Mattis' Beltway image as the indispensable man, a qualified candidate fitting this description exists in James Webb, the former Democratic senator from Virginia.
Like the man he would be replacing, Webb's credentials are strong and his commitment to the military is unflinching. A graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and decorated Marine who saw combat in Vietnam, Webb earned the Navy Cross, the Silver Star medal, two Bronze Stars, and two Purple Hearts. He served on the staff of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs and did pro bono legal work for veterans. He quit as secretary of the Navy because he didn't think President Reagan was willing to spend what was needed on defense. Yes, you read that right: Reagan wasn't willing to spend enough on defense; Webb favored a 600-ship Navy.
Yet Webb has been calling for a smaller U.S. footprint in the Middle East since the Persian Gulf War. In sharp contrast with much of the bipartisan foreign-policy establishment, he opposed the Iraq War before it started. And he grounded his arguments on both fronts in a conservative realism that is highly compatible with Trump and impossible to confuse with pacifism: "Nations such as China can only view the prospect of an American military consumed for the next generation by the turmoil of the Middle East as a glorious windfall," he wrote in 2004.
Webb would be highly confirmable compared to other contenders. Key Democrats, including Virginia's Democratic Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, would be hard pressed to vote against Webb's confirmation. The Republican Senate majority would also be compelled to support him.
Most importantly, Webb would be an adult in the room capable of responsibly and successfully implementing Trump's "America First" foreign policy vision instead of trying to thwart it. There is indeed considerable public, academic, and even military support for not remaining bogged down in indefinite, unwinnable wars in Syria, Afghanistan, and elsewhere. Webb noted these important voices were being shut out of the official debate in Washington in the run-up to the 2003 Iraq invasion, saying: "Despite the efforts of the neocons to shut them up or to dismiss them as unqualified to deal in policy issues, these leaders, both active-duty and retired, have been nearly unanimous in their concerns." The situation remains much the same today: Trump's rumored plans for limited retrenchment were met with hysteria.
Still, a man elected to the Senate as a progressive "netroots" darling in the 2006 Democratic wave, and who would go on two years later to endorse Barack Obama for president, would seem an odd fit for Trump's Cabinet. But as a populist and Jacksonian who appealed to the white working class, it's arguable that Webb was doing Trump's act before Trump was. Webb also appeared to prefer Trump to Hillary Clinton, like many other Obama supporters who went on to vote for Trump. Obama and Trump have little in common, other than they both understand that military adventurism does not always make the intervening country safer and stronger. Webb agrees with them.
Serving as defense secretary may be Webb's best public service opportunity. In the Senate, he was stuck in an ill-fitting liberal box. As a short-lived candidate for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination, he found the party of Harry Truman had passed him by. Webb is a better fit at the Department of Defense than many people already occupying senior positions under Trump, including National Security Adviser John Bolton or Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Webb's eclectic record may come back to haunt him in any confirmation hearings. Republican Never Trumpers could assail him as too liberal, while Democrats paint him as too conservative or even pro-Confederate (some senators might even do both).
Nevertheless, the country could use a steady and experienced hand who cares deeply about our military and national security to guide Trump as he tries to wind down America's lengthy — and in some cases, unauthorized — wars while keeping the country safe. Webb was "born fighting" for this kind of role.
More from W. James Antle III
Joe Biden is having an identity crisis
Is Biden too 'nice' for angry Democratic voters?
How 'Democrats fall in love, Republicans fall in line' got flipped upside down
Why we fight Trump's racism
Joel Mathis


Trafficked. What does that mean? It's a sobering reality in the world, not just today, but always. I'm talking about slavery.
My new book, Ant Dens, begins with the disappearance of Jamie Aldrich's stepdaughter, Rebecca. She is the third freshman to disappear from Las Vegas, New Mexico's Highlands University in as many months. But Becca has 'run away' before as a teenager. Who's to say that this time is any different?
The horrifying fact is – it could be different. Here are some statistics, and some links I've put together for you to learn more about this horrendous activity, taking place around the world.
Information on the current state of the problem can be found on several websites, including those for the National Center for Victims of Crime (www.victimsofcrime.org) and the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Justice Statistics (www.bjs.gov.) Other sites containing information include the International Justice Mission (www.ijm.org/), and the UNICEF Report on the State of the World's Children (www.unicef.org/sowc/.) Operation Underground Railroad (https://www.ourrescue.org) is one program which provides assistance for children who have been enslaved.
Other nations besides the United States whose citizens are often grabbed by traffickers are from the following areas: Malaysia, South America, Asia, China, India, Eastern Europe and Russia.
I won't spoil your read and tell you whether Rebecca has been trafficked or not. You'll have to read that for yourself. And I hope you will.


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What's Worth Watching: Defiance Returns for Season 3
Emily Aslanian June 12, 2015, 3:00 am
David Lee/Syfy
Defiance, "The World We Seize/The Last Unicorns" (Friday, June 12, 8/7c, Syfy)
Defiance is hitting the ground running for its Season 3 premiere. Tonight's intense two-hour premiere picks up seven months after the destructive but world-saving events of last season's finale. Amanda is back in charge of Defiance – and not exactly doing her best work- while the townsfolk struggle to scrape by after the mine collapse. You'll see those tensions rise to the surface in more than one way. Also, there's a new alien race in town: legendary purple Votans called Omecs (with fangs!) who are shaking up life in the decimated McCawley Mines. Not to mention the arrival of a "beastly" General who terrorizes nearly everyone on the outskirts of Defiance with his thirst for human death. Need a silver lining? Daddy-daughter duo Nolan (Grant Bowler) and Irisa (Stephanie Leonidas) are free of their pods and back in action. At least that's something.


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text:
Home » General » Team Ireland Equestrian Eventing Demo Tour 2018
Team Ireland Equestrian Eventing Demo Tour 2018
The Team Ireland Equestrian Eventing Squad selected for the World Equestrian Games and their coaches Ian Woodhead and Ian Fearon are holding an Eventing Training Demonstration Tour between the 2nd and 4th of February 2018. This tour will help raise funds for the squad on their journey to the World Equestrian Games held in Tryon, North Carolina, USA later on in the year. The tour will begin in Maryville Stables in Cork on the 2nd, move to Spruce Lodge in Wicklow on the 3rd and conclude in Portmore Equestrian Centre, Armagh on the 4th.
The Eventing Demo Tour is being co-hosted by Sam Watson and Diarm Byrne of Equiratings and has an educational and fun line-up. Ian Woodhead will be working with both young and advanced horses, covering topics such as ring craft, turnout for dressage, and how flatwork training links into jumping and cross country. Ian Fearon will demonstrate how to train young horses and the step up to the more technical aspects required for 4* and Championship competitions. Spectators will have the opportunity to interact with our Olympic and Championship horses and riders. This includes special appearances at all venues from the amazing 'pint-sized' equestrian stars, Portersize Just a Jiff, and Rioghan Rua who have done it all from Pony Club to International 4* Eventing!
Sally Corscadden, Eventing Senior High Performance Director, commented on the upcoming showcase:
"The purpose of this promotional tour is to give something back to our many supporters. We are showcasing our horses and riders, our training, and at the same time raising funds for training and travel to the Games which are being held in Tryon, North Carolina, U.S.A. The World Equestrian Games are the first opportunity for the team to qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics."
Athletes taking part in the Demo tour are:
Aoife Clark
Clare Abbott
Cathal Daniels
Sarah Ennis
Jonty Evans
Ciaran Glynn
Camilla Speirs
Tickets are on sale now and available through the Eventing Ireland website with special rates on offer for groups of 10+ and Pony Club members. An Eventing Ireland membership account is needed to purchase tickets, web membership is free. This is a CPD event and points will be allocated to HSI Accredited Coaches in attendance at this event.
For more information and tickets sales, please visit:
http://www.eventingireland.com/


Join us to learn more about non-traditional quilt backs like fleece, minky, sheets, and more, and what to look for in sewing room lighting.
This episode is brought to you by Ink & Arrow Fabrics and Famore Cutlery!
The quilt hanging behind us is Islands in the Stream, from the September / October issue of Modern Patchwork!
The tutorial for the hexagon pincushion caddy can be found at Penny's Hands.
Here's our selfie with Jane Sassaman!
We like this LED clip lamp for task lighting; it fits on a quilting hoop!
Pam has the Swan Table Lamp combination daylight / magnifying light on her cutting table.
Today's episode was brought to you by Ink & Arrow Fabrics, because fabric should be fun! Check out their Pixie Dots basics line!
Thanks also to our sponsor Famore Cutlery; learn how to stay sharp with their line of scissors and cutting implements.
Our next Virtual Stitch-In is Friday November 10 at 7pm US Eastern.
Link for the flexible lighting stop not working. Sending me to a camping light. Looking to get some light for my sewing machines.


Over 50 cardboard sleds of all shapes and sizes raced down a hill outside Lansing's Gier Park Community Center for the eighth annual Cardboard Classic on Jan. 29.
Sleds ranging from a giant robot to pieces of cardboard barely held together by duct tape were displayed throughout the day despite frigid, near-zero conditions.
LCC's radio station WLNZ 89.7 sponsored this event by promoting it, organizing registration, doing setup and getting the sleds moving.
This was LCC radio employee Brendan Hamilton's third year working at this event. He said this year's event featured a record turnout.
"It just goes to show that cold or no cold, people will come out and have fun at a great, creative community event," Hamilton said.
Some participants said they spent a couple hours to build their sleds. Others, like participant Sarah Lince, spent much longer.
For other participants it wasn't as much about winning or making the best looking sled as it was more about spending time with family. Participant Jeff Varricchione said he was just looking for some father-son bonding time.
Hamilton said the event was a big success.


text:
Italy: Salvini and Di Maio deny government crisis
Both of Italy's populist deputy prime ministers have rejected claims that their coalition is on the brink of collapse. Luigi di Maio nevertheless called for immediate talks to address the coalition's obvious differences.
Italy's Deputy Prime Minister Luigi di Maio (pictured left) denied on Friday that the government was at risk of collapsing after months of strain within the ruling coalition.
"I reject that there is a crisis; this is just the dynamic of a government with two different parties," Di Maio told public broadcaster Rai. He added, however, that "there is need for clarification."
A day earlier, Di Maio's co-deputy, Matteo Salvini, fueled rumors about a collapse when he asked to meet with President Sergio Mattarella, who holds sway over accepting resignations and appointing the prime minister.
The coalition between Di Maio's left-leaning populist Five Star Movement (M5S) and Salvini's far-right nationalist League party has been somewhat shaky since they came into office in June 2018.
Since then, Di Maio, who is also economy minister, and Salvini, who is also interior minister, have been much more present on the wider political stage than Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, a political novice who was brought in as a compromise between their two parties.
After EU elections in May saw the League gain support and M5S' share of the vote tumble, Salvini positioned himself more openly as the country's de facto leader.
The League and M5S have differed on several major policy issues such as the political crisis in Venezuela, taxation, immigration and a planned high-speed rail link between Turin and the French city of Lyon.
Voters in Italy support Salvini's far-right League
These differences came to a head once again this week, when Di Maio backed German politician Ursula von der Leyen as president of the EU Commission, while Salvini called for his party to reject her candidacy.
'No government is going to fall tomorrow'
Italy has had 61 governments since World War II, leaving the possibility of a coalition's collapse a very real threat in the minds of the public.
Seeking to assuage worries, Di Maio told Rai on Friday that the government's job was to "bring solutions to the citizens and not problems."
To that end, he said he was seeking to meet with Salvini that day to "clarify and move forward," and not to "issue an ultimatum."
Salvini also played down talk of a crisis on Thursday evening, writing on Twitter that "no government is going to fall tomorrow."
Each evening at 1830 UTC, DW's editors send out a selection of the day's hard news and quality feature journalism. You can sign up to receive it directly here.
Audios and videos on the topic
Author Elizabeth Schumacher
Related Subjects Italy
Keywords Italy, Matteo Salvini, Luigi di Maio, League, M5S
Permalink https://p.dw.com/p/3MJ8X
'Sardines' stage biggest anti-Salvini rally yet in Rome 14.12.2019
Tens of thousands of people gathered in Rome for a rally organized by the "Sardines." The movement denounces Italy's far-right leader Matteo Salvini and his anti-immigration policies.
Italy: 'Sardine' movement against Salvini 30.11.2019
Thousands of people have been gathering in Italy's northern cities in a sign of opposition to far-right leader Matteo Salvini. The quietly subversive 'Sardine' movement has been dubbed "Salvini's most dangerous enemy."
Italy's top court decriminalizes growing cannabis for personal use 27.12.2019
The ruling only applies to "small amounts grown domestically for the exclusive use of the grower." It has drawn ire and protest from the country's conservatives.


Bright street art style geishas decorate the walls of Drumoyne's Japanese fusion food haven at Umii Modern Izakaya. Looking more like pieces of art than food, the plated presentation of both cold dishes of sushi and crispy hot skewers of meat are outstanding. As the name suggest this is a modern dining space that is effortlessly cool and classy.


Age-in-Action wish to thank Pick 'n Pay for adding us to their list of charities through the Smart Shopper Card.
Pick 'n Pay shoppers now has the option of choosing Age-in-Action from a list of beneficiaries and donate their points to services rendered to older persons.
We wish to thank you for caring.
"Honour and Respect Our Older Persons - Honour Our Nation"


text:
Q: Does Google App Engine supports JDO data objects with "Object" fields? I have an "Object" field in one of my JDO classes, like this:

@PersistenceCapable(identityType = IdentityType.APPLICATION, detachable = "true")
class Foo {
   ...
   @Persistent
   @Value(types={java.lang.Boolean.class, java.lang.String.class})
   Object bar;
   ...
}

When I tried to access this field, I got the following exception:

Field "Foo.bar" is declared as a reference
type (interface/Object) but no implementation classes of "java.lang.Object" have been found!
org.datanucleus.exceptions.NucleusUserException: Field "Foo.bar" is declared as a reference type (interface/Object) but no implementation classes of "java.lan
g.Object" have been found!
        at org.datanucleus.metadata.MetaDataUtils.getImplementationNamesForReferenceField(MetaDataUtils.java:531)
        at org.datanucleus.store.mapped.mapping.ReferenceMapping.createPerImplementationColumnsForReferenceField(Re
ferenceMapping.java:279)
        at org.datanucleus.store.mapped.mapping.ReferenceMapping.prepareDatastoreMapping(ReferenceMapping.java:205)
        at org.datanucleus.store.mapped.mapping.ReferenceMapping.initialize(ReferenceMapping.java:114)
        at org.datanucleus.store.mapped.mapping.MappingFactory.createMapping(MappingFactory.java:97)
        at org.datanucleus.store.mapped.mapping.AbstractMappingManager.getMapping(AbstractMappingManager.java:248)
        at org.datanucleus.store.appengine.DatastoreTable.initializeNonPK(DatastoreTable.java:301)
        at org.datanucleus.store.appengine.DatastoreTable.buildMapping(DatastoreTable.java:276)
        at org.datanucleus.store.appengine.DatastoreManager.newStoreData(DatastoreManager.java:329)
        at org.datanucleus.store.AbstractStoreManager.addClasses(AbstractStoreManager.java:788)
        at org.datanucleus.store.AbstractStoreManager.addClass(AbstractStoreManager.java:759)
        at org.datanucleus.store.mapped.MappedStoreManager.getDatastoreClass(MappedStoreManager.java:358)
        at org.datanucleus.store.appengine.DatastoreManager.getDatastoreClass(DatastoreManager.java:555)
        at org.datanucleus.store.appengine.query.DatastoreQuery.performExecute(DatastoreQuery.java:200)
        at org.datanucleus.store.appengine.query.JDOQLQuery.performExecute(JDOQLQuery.java:84)
        at org.datanucleus.store.query.Query.executeQuery(Query.java:1489)
        at org.datanucleus.store.query.Query.executeWithArray(Query.java:1371)
        at org.datanucleus.store.query.Query.execute(Query.java:1344)
        at org.datanucleus.jdo.JDOQuery.execute(JDOQuery.java:221)

Does anyone know if Google App Engine supports the "@Value" annotation and/or how to get around this problem?
Thanks!

A: Thanks! Instead of using @Value, I should do this instead:

@PersistenceCapable(identityType = IdentityType.APPLICATION, detachable = "true")
class Foo {
   ...
   @Persistent(types={java.lang.Boolean.class, java.lang.String.class})
   Object bar;
   ...
}

A: According to their pages, Google App-Engine uses DataNucleus for its JDO support.  From DataNucleus's site, it appears that the @Value annotation is supported, but on the 'type' attribute it says "While the attribute allows multiple values DataNucleus currently only supports the first type value"
http://www.datanucleus.org/products/accessplatform_1_1/jdo/annotations.html#Value
Addendum, it also seems that @Value is only used for maps.

A: If using a field of type Object then the page in the DN docs is
http://www.datanucleus.org/products/accessplatform_1_1/jdo/orm/objects.html
which is clearly supported for RDBMS, XML, LDAP, ODBMS etc datastores. Whether Google's BigTable plugin supports it I've no idea. Perhaps if you post the stack trace of that exception you can show people where it comes from ...
--Andy (DataNucleus)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Wondering where we are holding our 2015 CME Conferences?
Check out to see if we are coming near you, or if we are going to be somewhere you want to visit!
CME Conference in Key Largo- Will we see you there?
Disney World More Your Style?
Next PostPANRE Preparation : Questions are not the Answer!
We are in Baltimore in a few weeks to teach a PA 3 day board review course and back in November 2015 as well.


text:
Take power and rule New York in Tammany Hall, Pandasaurus Games' first title, which is now available again
By Jason Ornelas
Pandasaurus Games is excited to announce that their critically lauded and gamer-adored first game Tammany Hall is now available for purchase again on their website. This is a game of backstabbing corruption, temporary alliances, and fighting for power at all costs and this new edition contains new and updated artwork as well as new components. This game for 3-5 players is ranked in the top 400 strategy games on BGG and is available for $49.95.
It is the 1850s, the era of Boss Tweed, and New York City's immigration boom is in full swing. Tammany Hall – charged with settling European immigrants across the city's many wards – is the dominant force in New York politics.
You are an aspiring young politician, fighting for every scrap of influence you can get. That means sending out ward bosses, slandering your opponents, and currying favor with New York's growing immigrant communities. If you play your cards right, you might just become Mayor!
Updated with new meeples, heat-transferred art on components, and graphic design tweaks to match the high quality of gameplay! This is the game for you if you like area control, negotiation, and bidding all with a great historical theme.
If you've been wanting to get this game before there is no better time to pick it up. With the upgraded components and artwork of the new edition it is ready for the table. Stay tuned to Gaming Trend for all your tabletop news.
Related Articles: Tabletop, Tammany Hall
Watching you for the holidays, check out a new trailer for Observer: System Redux, upgrade offer available
Today, Bloober Team released a new accolades trailer for the recently released Observer: System...


text:
Neal Sumerlin responds to Fr. John – Post 3
March 25, 2013 – Neal Sumerlin
First, thank you for your willingness to engage in civil discourse about an issue on which we have profound disagreements. The easiest (and frankly, the laziest) thing to do in this situation would be to hurl insults at each other that imply the other party is irredeemably stupid or evil or both. I think it's much more productive for us to listen to each other, to understand as best we can, even if we remain in disagreement after dialogue. Indeed, I don't expect anyone's position to change, yours or mine. But I do hope for a greater understanding for both of us.
Second, since I am going first and have promised you the last word, I will not only address the arguments you used in your March 17th letter to the News & Advance (and in the more complete version posted on your blog), but will anticipate the arguments you might use. I realize I will be "responding" to things you have not said, but I hope you will forgive that and understand the reasons.
We have mostly disposed of the issue of the headline over my News & Advance letter of March 7th (Homophobia Rules Supreme) by realizing that I did not write it. I do not and would not use that as a blanket term for all who oppose marriage equality or gay rights, and I would not use it to describe someone with whom I am no better acquainted than I am with you. There are people, however, whose opposition is rooted in fear, and for them the term is accurate. I know that because I used to be one of them. So it's not a term to be tossed out lightly, but it is a term with real meaning and accuracy in some cases. Thinking from my own past attitudes, in a milder form this is often just the "ick factor". Imagining the sexual practices of others that we might find distasteful is not a good guide to public policy; to each his or her own.
Your letter uses the rather shopworn rhetorical device of the slippery slope, imagining all sorts of dire consequences should we allow same-sex couples to marry. There are so many things wrong with this argument. It's frankly akin to a magician's sleight of hand, designed to distract you from the real action. "If you allow A, then B, C and D will logically follow. Surely you don't support B, C and D?" Sounds like the domino theory of geopolitics in the 1960s. Let's confine our discussion to A, shall we?
You state, and I take you at your word, that your objections to marriage equality are based not in science, but in "a system of morals informed by a long and consistent Christian tradition". This is where we sharply diverge, for several reasons. I take this to mean that even if science were to show that sexual orientation is innate and not a choice, that you would still object, and I find that troubling. What I know of my own sexual orientation and what I observe in others leads me to believe that it is in fact innate. But since we both agree that there is no conclusive evidence on this question, we'll set that aside.
More troubling to me is the idea that this objection is consistent with the teachings of Jesus. I want to make a clear distinction between those teachings as revealed in the Gospels, and the historical traditions of institutional Christianity. I regard many of the latter as barnacles on an otherwise beautiful vessel. What I believe you are appealing to is more a tradition than a moral stance. The moral stance of the Jesus of the Gospels is far less concerned with adherence to tradition than it is to an expansive and inclusive sense of justice and mercy. I believe he probably liked my favorite verse in all the Bible as much as I do: "…what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?" Justice is (among many other things) the righting of ancient wrongs, kindness is (among many other things) wanting for others what you have for yourself, humility is (among many other things) great reluctance to claim God-like power to judge and to condemn.
We're all familiar with Bible verses that are said to condemn homosexual behavior, and I imagine equally familiar with interpreters who see these passages as more ambiguous. Again, let's put that aside. The Bible can and has been used to justify everything from infanticide to slavery, and claiming Biblical authority as your sole support is pretty dangerous. It's a library, not a book; which Biblical attitude are you citing? Claiming that the Bible is free of contradiction or error flies in the face of obvious evidence to the contrary. So at this point you and I are left with different views of what an ancient text is telling us about how we ought to live our lives, and how we ought to treat others.
Although one's religious views surely influence the positions taken on public issues, we live in a democratic republic, not a theocracy. We decide these issues through courts and legislatures and referenda, not by religious decrees from priests, preachers, or mullahs. For a very long time, opponents of marriage equality could rightly claim that the only victories for its supporters were in courts, and that voters roundly rejected the principle at every opportunity. But courts are how our system protects us from a tyranny of the majority. Gays and lesbians will always be a minority of American citizens, and until such time as the straight majority sees them as equals, courts will be the means by which their rights are guarded. I am amazed at how quickly public attitudes have shifted. Marriage equality has been approved by voters in Maine, Maryland and Washington. You are already in a national minority that will only shrink as a new generation matures. History is moving in the direction of marriage equality, and probably faster than either of us believed possible. I imagine you find this distressing. I find it heart-warming.
Not all historical trends are good ones, of course. American majorities have supported all sorts of heinous ideas. So why am I supportive of this principle? I have to think about my own marriage and why I might wish for the joy I have found there to be available to others.
Sex is a wonderful and joyful aspect of my marriage, but it certainly doesn't constitute the whole of it. My wife and I chose to (and thankfully were able to) have and raise children, a gift not only to us but more profoundly to the society in which we and they live. But if we had chosen otherwise, or if nature had chosen for us, that would not have made our marriage invalid. I think what is at the heart of this relationship is commitment (we will celebrate our 39th anniversary this summer), companionship (she truly is my best friend), and intimacy (which includes but is not defined by sexual intimacy). Stable and committed partnerships are good things, good for the couples involved, good for children who are raised by them (yes, I believe gay and lesbian couples should be able to adopt), and good for the larger society. Why would we not want to support such partnerships? I'm far more concerned with "redefining marriage" as a maybe-sorta-let's-see-if-this-works-out arrangement than with extending the concept to same-sex couples. Heterosexual couples are far more of a threat to traditional marriage than homosexual couples ever will be.
I wish I had come to this attitude earlier in my life. My children were able to do so because of changing societal attitudes, where it was a little easier (though still not at all easy) for their friends to come out to each other. Their impatience with anti-gay attitudes is fueled by a genuine failure to comprehend why this should be a big deal to anyone. Good for them. I had to learn the way most people learn to overcome prejudice—by actually getting to know the objects of my prejudice. Senator Rob Portman learned the same way when his son came out to him. Good for him. Most of us are not saintly enough to inhabit the minds of people we do not know, to practice true agape love to strangers.
Finally, I want to say that we are talking about marriage as though it were a single entity, when in fact there are both legal and religious aspects that have been interwoven for a long time. Although I might wish that all religious institutions would support marriage equality, I realize that they certainly will not. No one can force a church or any other religious institution to recognize the religious validity of any marriage it chooses not to recognize. No one can force a pastor or priest to perform a marriage that he or she chooses not to perform. This is as it should be.
Marriage IS a civil right, despite protestations to the contrary. Telling a committed couple that they may not do so IS a violation of their privacy. "Traditional" marriage is just that, a tradition, not a moral dictum, and a tradition that has assumed its present form historically recently. And the arc of the moral universe DOES bend toward justice.
Fr. John's next response here: http://allsaintschurchlynchburg.org/fr-john-responds-neal-sumerlin-post-4-2/
Previous PostFr. John responds to Neal Sumerlin – Post 4Next PostFr. John Responds to Neal Sumerlin – Post 2


A mother of a stillborn child has spoken of her grief being compounded further after the council removed and disposed of flowers from her daughter's grave.
Leanne Jolly's twin daughter, Angel Turner, was stillborn in July 2016 at 25 weeks but her sister Layla survived.
The 31-year-old mother-of-three, of Waring Road, Norwich, has visited her daughter's grave at Earlham Cemetery every Sunday ever since and lovingly decorates it with ornaments and flowers for her birthday and Christmas.
Norwich City Council had placed notices around the cemetery in November which advised visitors to remove festive decorations by January 13 and any items that were broken, decaying or in poor condition would be removed.
Miss Jolly said she had removed the Christmas decorations by January 6 but had left the artificial flowers with other ornaments.
But on Sunday, January 27, she noticed the flowers had gone missing and so asked the council whether they had removed them.
The council responded on January 30 confirming they had removed items from the cemetery and any items that were not damaged or decaying could be collected before February 7.
But when Miss Jolly called the council to arrange a collection, she had been told the flowers were disposed of.
The council said the flowers showed signs damage and decay but Miss Jolly disputed this, stating they were in good condition and were not Christmas decorations, with the exception of a few sticks of holly.
The council say they have filled five flatbed lorries with various Christmas decorations from the cemetery which the council say involved assessing and clearing some 10,000 graves.
A Norwich City Council spokesman said the appropriateness of items placed on graves was a "subjective and emotive issue".
The spokesman added: "Our dedicated cemeteries team knows this first-hand – particularly in cases involving the graves of babies and very young children.


What do you get when you win a contest?
… a fantastic picture to put on your blog page, that's what!
I still cannot believe I just won The Golden Acorn RWA contest in the Mainstream with Romantic Elements Category. Wow! I'm so excited. Not the least because there's never been anything remotely mainstream about me and most people would say I'm a cynic… not a romantic. And that, my dears, is why G-d invented fiction. Phew.
Along with this winner's picture, I also get bragging rights. So, no, no big cash prize in this contest but I"ll take my picture and run, thank you.
I'm also thrilled that I'm a finalist in The Catherine RWA contest and posted the highest preliminary round score.
There's a lot of discussion amongst writers about entering contests: the good, the bad, the ugly (the East German judge – writers you KNOW what I'm talking about!). At the end of the day we all have different reasons for wanting to enter contests. For me, it was about getting people who I didn't know to give me honest feedback on my work. And that's excellent. Contests have also galvanized me into being more focused on my process – always a good thing, no?
To this end, I'm also so happy to have found three like-minded writers to form a critique group with (Thank you RWA-PRO loop. So please do go and check out my new critiquers-in-crime – the wonderful Betty Bolte, Shelly Alexander (Shelly, time to get a website/blog or twitter handle, methinks!) and Tereasa Bellew.
I'm also SOOOO excited to announce the official launch of the Women's Fiction Writer's Association. Just signed up, paid my dues et al. Kudos to the entire team that pulled this fantabulous group together and worked their arses off over the past year to make it a reality. It's a much-needed resource/support group for all us WF writers. I'm so proud to be a member. I believe chocolate, alcohol and high heels are allowed too.
If you write women's fiction then be sure to join. Not sure what that is – then JOIN and enter into the discussion about what it truly is. The conversations are fascinating. Just know women's fiction does indeed have women in it. Hey, it's a jumping off point, right?
Special shout outs to the board – all wonderful writers – the incredible Orly Koenig Lopez, Kerry Lonsdale, Laura Drake, Linda Avellar, Marilyn Brant, Annette Gallant, Steena Holmes and Maggie Marr. Don't know how brilliant they truly are? Then click here and read each of their bios.
And on an entirely different note for those of you, like me, in the deep bowels of the High Holy Days, wishing you all a Shanah Tovah, G'mar Chatimah Tovah and may 5774 be a year where your writing soars.
Eternal love and (romance writing) thanks.
Wow! So, um… tomorrow is my birthday (because someone has to be born on the 13th – right?) – which I THINK is galvanizing me in part to write a blog post… because I'm SOOO lax at this. Although, I once read someone said they like it when blog posts are sporadic because then the post is usually great and they don't feel pressured to read something every day on someone's site. All I can say to that is I think almost six months between posts goes WAY beyond sporadic, and I don't think there's going to be anything "great" about this particular post – beyond touting other people's websites and blogs, whom I happen to think are great. So, here goes nothing.
Firstly, another HUGE thanks to everyone at LARA for keeping me on my romance writing toes. I've signed up for the RWA Conference in Anaheim this year, and can I state that not only am I an RWA Conference virgin I am a TOTAL writing conference virgin? Let's just say I spent 11 years living in Israel, where writing conferences (in English) aren't exactly abundant. I never came across one when I lived there. So I'm REALLY excited to attend a writing conference. My first ever! I feel like I'm going on holiday!
I'm also exceptionally grateful to the delectable Anne Kemp who will be my roomie at Conference and whom I met for coffee and had a lovely chat with. She just published her first novel – Rum Punch Regrets, which I downloaded on my kindle. You should too! Check out her site, here.
Anne also introduced me to RWA's Women's Fiction forum, after helping me understand that my novel – The Periwinkle Prophecy – does indeed fall under that category. And having been introduced to THAT forum, I was introduced to Sharla Rae's site Writers in the Storm and her fantastic blog post about her first RWA conference and how (or how not to) pitch. Check it out here. It's going to be my bible because I too will be pitching my novel for the very first time. I've chosen my editor and agent and am already freaking out. Lots of great tips in this piece and of course I'll be attending Dee J Adams' "Itch to Pitch" talk at our next LARA meeting on July 15 – just in time for Conference. I've heard her speak twice, now. She's smart, informative and best of all – funny! It's always good to have a good laugh even when you're working, no?
For now, though, I'm deep in rewrites and edits of my novel (when I'm not deep in my day job). I still have to wade through research on iodine poisoning, work on my "talk to" character -yes, I'm adding a whole new character to my book, thanks to my great friend (and screenwriter) who told me my book really needed one. I also have to decide if my garish Vegas hotel should be named or not… and so much more.
Oh, and I'm desperately seeking Beta readers so if you're a women's fiction fan and want to read a book about a driven journalist on a mission to find a beloved, renowned artist who has suddenly disappeared off the face of the earth and has to do it all accompanied by a strange, blue dog that shows up unannounced in her life and a whole slew of other obstacles, please let me know? It's not 100 percent complete yet but the July 25 looming date of conference is a great galvanizing force. Funny, that.
And apropos of nothing (well of romance writing) – can I just say how wonderful it was to read another Women's Fiction RWA members' blog post on turning points? Robena Grant also grew up down under so I feel a kinship. She has a great post and some wonderful responses from people, too. Check it out here.
There are so many great writers on LARA and on the Women's Fiction forum. I can't list them all her but hopefully future posts will also allow me to highlight some of their great books, blog posts, words of wisdom and motivational tactics.
And now.. back to the day job.
P.S. Today's cute graphic comes from Debbie Ridpath Ohi, whom I've been following for years – especially during my freelance writing days. She can write AND draw. So jealous.. Check out how brilliant she is here.


text:
Q: WPF DataGrid with multiple hyperlinks in a cell I have a WPF DataGrid like this
name | articles
-----+-----------------------
N1   | A1.pdf
N2   | A2.pdf, A5.pdf, A6.pdf
N3   |

Now I want every article be clickable like a hyperlink. If one is being clicked I will add a path to the name being displayed and open the file like
c:\articles\A5.pdf

I have
<DataGrid>
    <DataGrid.Columns>
         <DataGridTextColumn Header="Name" Binding="{Binding Path=Name}"/>
         <DataGridHyperlinkColumn Header="Articles" Binding="{Binding Path=Articles}" />
    </DataGrid.Columns>
</DataGrid>

but DataGridHyperlinkColumn makes the complete content of the cell as one link clickable. I want to differ between them if multiple articles are in a cell.
How can I do it?

A: Assuming that Articles is, or can be, some sort of list of links you can use DataGridTemplateColumn where you put ItemsControl with ItemsSource bound to Articles and each item is separate HyperLink
<DataGrid ...>
    <DataGrid.Columns>
        <!-- other columns -->
        <DataGridTemplateColumn Header="Articles">
            <DataGridTemplateColumn.CellTemplate>
                <DataTemplate>
                    <ItemsControl ItemsSource="{Binding Articles}">
                        <ItemsControl.ItemsPanel>
                            <ItemsPanelTemplate>
                                <StackPanel Orientation="Horizontal"/>
                            </ItemsPanelTemplate>
                        </ItemsControl.ItemsPanel>
                        <ItemsControl.ItemTemplate>
                            <DataTemplate>
                                <TextBlock>
                                    <Hyperlink NavigateUri="{Binding NavigateUri}">
                                        <TextBlock Text="{Binding DisplayText}"/>
                                    </Hyperlink>
                                </TextBlock>
                            </DataTemplate>
                        </ItemsControl.ItemTemplate>
                    </ItemsControl>
                </DataTemplate>
            </DataGridTemplateColumn.CellTemplate>
        </DataGridTemplateColumn>
    </DataGrid.Columns>
</DataGrid>


text:
Sandvik creates 3D printed diamond composite
Swedish engineering group Sandvik has revealed its creation of a 3D printed diamond composite, opening up a range of new possibilities for the material....
|May 24| 7 min read
Swedish engineering group Sandvik has revealed its creation of a 3D printed diamond composite, opening up a range of new possibilities for the material.
The company says that the composite is perfect for industrial use owing to its hardness, heat conductivity, low density, thermal expansion and corrosion resistance. This is despite differing from synthetic or natural diamonds through being a composite material, with diamond cemented in a very hard matrix material that ensures it is printable while still retaining its diamond-like properties.
"The additive manufacturing process used is highly advanced," said Mikael Schuisky, Head of R&D and Operations at Sandvik Additive Manufacturing. "We are printing in a slurry consisting of diamond powder and polymer using a method called stereolithography, where complex parts are produced, layer by layer, using ultraviolet light."
Bombardier Transportation to use 3D printer from Stratasys
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Read the latest issue of Manufacturing Global here
Once printed, the diamond composite is not finished. Sandvik credits the proprietary post processing method that occurs after printing with imbuing the composite's specific properties.
Sandvik's whole process means that the composite can sidestep some of the issues faced by diamonds, namely the difficulty of shaping the hardest natural material into anything other than simple, geometric shapes. Sandvik say that with its 3D printed composite, complex shapes are now available, opening up a world of possible uses for industry.
"On seeing its potential, we began to wonder what else would be possible from 3D-printing complex shapes in a material that is three times stiffer than steel, with heat conductivity higher than copper, the thermal expansion close to Invar – and with a density close to aluminium," said Anders Ohlsson, Delivery Manager at Sandvik Additive Manufacturing. "These benefits make us believe that you will see this diamond composite in new advanced industrial applications ranging from wear parts to space programs, in just a few years from now."
Manufacturing Global Magazine is the 'Digital Community' for the global Manufacturing industry. Manufacturing Global Magazine covers smart manufacturing, digital factories, factory of the future, lean manufacturing, ERP, manufacturing technology, AI & Automation - connecting the world's largest community of manufacturing and operational executives. Manufacturing Global Magazine focuses on manufacturing news, key manufacturing interviews, manufacturing videos, the 'Factory of the Future Podcast' series along with an ever-expanding range of focused manufacturing white papers and webinars.


Located on The Radleys in Sheldon, Café Balti is an authentic Indian restaurant and takeaway, where we offer the finest Indian dishes for you to enjoy.
At Café Balti you can book a table and enjoy our beautiful surroundings whilst eating traditional Curries, Specials, Masalas, Biryanis and more.
Alternatively you can order a takeaway online for delivery or collection.


text:
Scientists restore hearing in noise-deafened mice, pointing way to new therapies
by University of Michigan Health System
This microscope image of tissue from deep inside a normal mouse ear shows how ribbon synapses (red) form the connections between the hair cells of the inner ear (blue) and the tips of nerve cells (green) that connect to the brain. Credit: Corfas lab - University of Michigan
Scientists have restored the hearing of mice partly deafened by noise, using advanced tools to boost the production of a key protein in their ears.
By demonstrating the importance of the protein, called NT3, in maintaining communication between the ears and brain, these new findings pave the way for research in humans that could improve treatment of hearing loss caused by noise exposure and normal aging.
In a new paper in the online journal eLife, the team from the University of Michigan Medical School's Kresge Hearing Research Institute and Harvard University report the results of their work to understand NT3's role in the inner ear, and the impact of increased NT3 production on hearing after a noise exposure.
Their work also illustrates the key role of cells that have traditionally been seen as the "supporting actors" of the ear-brain connection. Called supporting cells, they form a physical base for the hearing system's "stars": the hair cells in the ear that interact directly with the nerves that carry sound signals to the brain. This new research identifies the critical role of these supporting cells along with the NT3 molecules that they produce.
NT3 is crucial to the body's ability to form and maintain connections between hair cells and nerve cells, the researchers demonstrate. This special type of connection, called a ribbon synapse, allows extra-rapid communication of signals that travel back and forth across tiny gaps between the two types of cells.
"It has become apparent that hearing loss due to damaged ribbon synapses is a very common and challenging problem, whether it's due to noise or normal aging," says Gabriel Corfas, Ph.D., who led the team and directs the U-M institute. "We began this work 15 years ago to answer very basic questions about the inner ear, and now we have been able to restore hearing after partial deafening with noise, a common problem for people. It's very exciting."
Using a special genetic technique, the researchers made it possible for some mice to produce additional NT3 in cells of specific areas of the inner ear after they were exposed to noise loud enough to reduce hearing. Mice with extra NT3 regained their ability to hear much better than the control mice.
Now, says Corfas, his team will explore the role of NT3 in human ears, and seek drugs that might boost NT3 action or production. While the use of such drugs in humans could be several years away, the new discovery gives them a specific target to pursue.
Corfas, a professor and associate chair in the U-M Department of Otolaryngology, worked on the research with first author Guoqiang Wan, Ph.D., Maria E. Gómez-Casati, Ph.D., and others in his former institution, Harvard. Some of the authors now work with Corfas in his new U-M lab. They set out to find out how ribbon synapses – which are found only in the ear and eye – form, and what molecules are important to their formation and maintenance.
Anyone who has experienced problems making out the voice of the person next to them in a crowded room has felt the effects of reduced ribbon synapses. So has anyone who has experienced temporary reduction in hearing after going to a loud concert. The damage caused by noise – over a lifetime or just one evening – reduces the ability of hair cells to talk to the brain via ribbon synapse connections with nerve cells.
Targeted Genetics Made Discovery Possible
After determining that inner ear supporting cells supply NT3, the team turned to a technique called conditional gene recombination to see what would happen if they boosted NT3 production by the supporting cells. The approach allows scientists to activate genes in specific cells, by giving a dose of a drug that triggers the cell to "read" extra copies of a gene that had been inserted into them. For this research, the scientists activated the extra NT3 genes only into the inner ear's supporting cells.
The genes didn't turn on until the scientists wanted them to – either before or after they exposed the mice to loud noises. The scientists turned on the NT3 genes by giving a dose of the drug tamoxifen, which triggered the supporting cells to make more of the protein. Before and after this step, they tested the mice's hearing using an approach called auditory brainstem response or ABR – the same test used on humans.
The result: the mice with extra NT3 regained their hearing over a period of two weeks, and were able to hear much better than mice without the extra NT3 production. The scientists also did the same with another nerve cell growth factor, or neurotrophin, called BDNF, but did not see the same effect on hearing.
Now that NT3's role in making and maintaining ribbon synapses has become clear, Corfas says the next challenge is to study it in human ears, and to look for drugs that can work like NT3 does. Corfas has some drug candidates in mind, and hopes to partner with industry to look for others.
Boosting NT3 production through gene therapy in humans could also be an option, he says, but a drug-based approach would be simpler and could be administered as long as it takes to restore hearing.
Corfas notes that the mice in the study were not completely deafened, so it's not yet known if boosting NT3 activity could restore hearing that has been entirely lost. He also notes that the research may have implications for other diseases in which nerve cell connections are lost – called neurodegenerative diseases. "This brings supporting cells into the spotlight, and starts to show how much they contribute to plasticity, development and maintenance of neural connections," he says.
Researchers regenerate sound-sensing cells in the ears of mice with hearing damage
More information: eLife, elifesciences.org/content/earl … 14/10/17/eLife.03564
Journal information: eLife
Provided by University of Michigan Health System
Citation: Scientists restore hearing in noise-deafened mice, pointing way to new therapies (2014, October 20) retrieved 18 January 2020 from https://medicalxpress.com/news/2014-10-scientists-noise-deafened-mice-therapies.html
Sensory hair cells regenerated, hearing restored in mammal ear
Noise-induced 'hidden hearing loss' mechanism discovered
New discovery paves the way for medicine for people with hearing disabilities
Researchers gain insight into protective mechanisms for hearing loss
Scientists reveal new survival mechanism for neurons
Research shows real risks associated with cannabis exposure during pregnancy
Stage is set to develop clinically relevant, senescence-based biomarkers of aging
Zika virus' key into brain cells ID'd, leveraged to block infection and kill cancer cells
Cancer study may accidentally help researchers create usable blood stem cells
Why can't Bertrand Might cry? Scientists offer an answer: missing water channels


text:
Lada-Arena (česky Lada Aréna, rusky Ледовый дворец спорта Лада-Арена) je sportovní komplex ve čtvrti Avtozavodsky města Togliatti, domovské aréně hokejového klubu HC Lada Togliatti, který hraje ve Vyšší hokejové lize. Kapacita ledové arény je 6000 diváků, otevřena byla 9.8.2013.

Stadion zaujímá plochu 24 107,9 m 2 a nachází se na adrese: Botanicheskaya, 5, 445042 Togliatti. Kromě hlavní arény s kapacitou 6000 lidí je součástí paláce tréninková hala s tribunami pro 456 diváků  a podzemní a povrchové parkoviště. Lada Arena je majetkem Ministerstva sportu Ruské federace.

Výstavba
Předchozí sportovní palác Volgar, kde Lada pořádala domácí zápasy, byl po roce 2000 již technicky i kapacitně zastaralý, jeho kapacita je pouze 2900 lidí. Superliga, později transformovaná na KHL, stanovila minimální kapacitu arén svého turnaje na 5500 lidí, při nedodržení hrozilo klubu vyloučení z ligy.

Začátkem roku 2007 bylo rozhodnuto o výstavbě nové multifunkční arény, výběrové řízení na stavbu vyhrála skupina firem Volgatransstroj.

V listopadu 2008 bylo oznámeno zahájení stavby. Generálním dodavatelem byla místní stavební společnost OAO Avtozavodstroy.

Zprovoznění arény bylo plánováno na začátek roku 2011. Zároveň však klub začal mít finanční problémy a brzy došlo k "zamrznutí stavby" . V květnu 2010 byl klub Lada vyloučen z KHL a šel do VHL. Zprovoznění arény bylo označováno za hlavní podmínku pro návrat do KHL.

Později byla stavba obnovena, kapacita se měla zvýšit z 6000 na 6122 lidí a náklady vzrostly o půl miliardy rublů na 3,15 miliardy. Poté byly náklady několikrát revidovány s rozpětím až miliardy rublů, v důsledku toho stoupla částka na 2 967 826 tisíc rublů, téměř vše převzato z regionálního rozpočtu.. Otevření ledového paláce plánované na prosinec 2012 bylo několikrát odloženo. Otevření arény proběhlo 9. srpna 2013 v rámci předsezónního Lada Cupu.

Kritika
Šest měsíců po otevření, 17. ledna 2014, spadlo z obrovského nápisu Lada Arena jedno z písmen, což vyvolalo bouřlivé diskuse o kvalitě výstavby na sociálních sítích . Podle výsledků vyšetřování však byla trhlina uznána jako bezvýznamná a zápasy v novém hokejovém stadionu pokračovaly.

Reference

Externí odkazy
 Ledový palác Lada Arena. Design
 Lada Arena na ice-arena.info
 Ledový palác sportu "Lada Arena"

Hokejové stadiony v Rusku
Hokejové stadiony VHL

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Do black holes have a definite life? Everything appears to live and die. Do black holes also die? If so, what can be its cause?
Yes, even a black hole has a finite life. This discovery came about when Stephen Hawking discovered that black holes should radiate energy due to quantum mechanical processes. This radiation is called Hawking radiation. As a black hole radiates energy, it shrinks and the more it shrinks, the more it radiates (this is the nature of the radiative process) and so finally it will completely evaporate. However, the timescale for this is extremely long: a black hole of the mass of the Sun will take more than a billion times a billion times a billion times a billion times a billion times a billion times the age of the universe to evaporate completely! So it is not a process which has any significant effect for the black holes we find in astrophysical situations.


"It's one of those love-at-first-sight type of romances, I guess," a glassy-eyed Harper told his camp counselor. "I know 99% of these things don't work out, but I don't care—I'm totally sure she is the one." Harper then cited the evidence of their being soulmates, such as the fact that they sat just one table apart from each other at both breakfast and lunch, their shared love for vintage television shows like Spongebob Squarepants, and that his heart flutters when he sees her from across the camp ampitheater.
At publishing time, Harper was searching Facebook and Instagram for any sign of his future wife, whose name he never got the courage to ask.


text:
Theridion carpathium är en spindelart som beskrevs av Brignoli 1984. Theridion carpathium ingår i släktet Theridion och familjen klotspindlar.

Artens utbredningsområde är Grekland. Inga underarter finns listade i Catalogue of Life.

Källor

Klotspindlar
carpathium


text:
Q: TcpClient só recebe a primeira mensagem enquanto conectado Estou desenvolvendo um programa por hobby, a fim de entender como funciona o TcpClient. Pois bem, estou fazendo um programa que de tempo em tempo recebe um pacote de um programa secundário e envia um OK de volta, confirmando que a conexão ainda está estabelecida.
Na primeira requisição, o meu programa envia o OK normalmente. Porém, na segunda requisição, ele já não funciona mais. É como se ele não tivesse recebido pacote nenhum do client, mas eu consigo ver neste segundo que o pacote foi enviado.
Segue abaixo o meu server:
static void Main(string[] args)
    {
        int InternalLoop = 0;
        bool Finished = false;
        TcpListener serverSocket = new TcpListener(System.Net.IPAddress.Any, 10000);
        int requestCount = 0;
        TcpClient clientSocket = default(TcpClient);
        serverSocket.Start();
        while (true)
        {
            bool LoopReceive = true;
            bool LoopSend = false;

            Console.WriteLine(" :::: SERVER STARTED OK");
            clientSocket = serverSocket.AcceptTcpClient();
            Console.WriteLine(" :::: CONNECTED TO CLIENT");
            requestCount = 0;
            NetworkStream networkStream = clientSocket.GetStream();

            string Packettosend = "";

            while (LoopReceive == true)
            {
                try
                {
                    //Gets the Client Packet
                    requestCount = requestCount + 1;
                    byte[] bytesFrom = new byte[128];
                    networkStream.Read(bytesFrom, 0, bytesFrom.Length);
                    string dataFromClient = System.Text.Encoding.ASCII.GetString(bytesFrom);

                    Packettosend = "ALIVE";
                    Console.WriteLine(" ::: SENDING ALIVE PACKET");
                    LoopReceive = false;
                    LoopSend = true;
                }
                catch (Exception ex)
                {
                    Console.WriteLine(ex.ToString());
                }
            }

            while (LoopSend == true || InternalLoop < 2)
            {
                try
                {
                    InternalLoop += 1;
                    if (Packettosend == "ALIVE")
                    {
                        Byte[] sendBytes1 = { 0x01, 0x01, 0x01, 0x01, 0x01, 0x01, 0x01, 0x01 };
                        networkStream.Write(sendBytes1, 0, sendBytes1.Length);
                        networkStream.Flush();

                        LoopReceive = true;
                        LoopSend = false;
                    }
                }
                catch (Exception ex)
                {
                    Console.WriteLine(ex.ToString());
                }
            }
        }
    }
}

Se eu fechar o client ou o server e abrir novamente, o server recebe novamente o pacote esperado e envia de volta o OK, mas somente na primeira requisição.
Já procurei algo similar antes de criar este tópico, mas nada serviu.

A: Boa Tarde!!
Tente usar um Finally após o primeiro catch.
Ficaria mais ou menos assim:
catch (Exception ex)
                {
                    Console.WriteLine(ex.ToString());
                }
finally
            {
                   tcpListener.Stop();
            }


Watch out Ratchet and Clank! They're coming for you!
$15, and it looks great!
The 3D platformer will cost $15.
We find out what the Plux is going on with Grip Digital's new mascot platformer.
Grip says Crash and Jak fans will enjoy Skylar & Plux.


text:
THE PORTRAIT IN LATVIA 20TH CENTURY. Facial Expressions
Editor Ginta Gerharde-Upeniece
The voluminous, richly illustrated catalogue is part of the LNMA project – the exhibition "THE PORTRAIT IN LATVIA 20TH CENTURY. Facial Expressions", which offers an encounter with a selection of the finest portraits from a whole century.
"The wide-ranging exhibition and the catalogue accompanying it are a continuation of the research that was commenced with deep respect for the genre and its history by the director of the Rundāle Palace Museum, Imants Lancmanis,"
says art historian Ginta Gerharde-Upeniece, the editor and curator of the exhibition, in the preface to the catalogue.
This project, realised by the LNMA, is a continuation of the trilogy of exhibitions devoted to 17th–19th century portrait that was held at the Rundāle Palace and which opened at roughly 11-year intervals after long-term scientific research. The exhibition of 20th century portraiture corresponds to this pattern – it is being held after an interval of almost 11 years – and urges us to seek an answer to the question: how are the 20th century depictions of the human being in visual arts different to those which were created in the previous centuries?
The wide-ranging portrait gallery which symbolically begins with a self-portrait of Janis Rozentāls created around 1900 and ends with the work by Imants Lancmanis, Self-Portrait by the Apple Wreath (2011) is accompanied by Māris Bērziņš's essay "Facial Expressions" dedicated to this exhibition, in which he writes:
"It's interesting to contemplate the Latvians of the 20th century; delving into the subject more deeply, however, I've come to appreciate that there's no possibility of catching and holding them all: my countrymen slip between my fingers like poppy seeds. […] We are polychromatic, like fast-flowing rivers, still lakes and bog pools, ploughed fields and fallow land, mast pines and broken pines; like apples – green, yellow and red; and so on and so on."
The catalogue of the exhibition works is complemented by a series of analytical articles that provide a deeper insight into the thematic sections of the exhibition, portrait forms and periods of the creation of the works. Art historian Dace Lamberga in her article "The Artist's View of Themselves" focuses on the analysis of artists' self-portraits, Professor Eduards Kļaviņš examines Latvian portraits from 1900 to 1945, publicist and art critic Pēteris Bankovskis – the period after the Second World War, art historian and photography researcher Inta Pujate – "portraits painted by light" or photo portraits in the first half of the 20th century, and art historian Laima Slava focuses on the relationship between the photographic portrait and art in the second half of the century. Art historian Jānis Kalnačs has sought and found evidence in the long-term studies about the portraits lost due to the peripeteias of the Second World War and the subsequent political changes, while Natālija Jevsejeva, art historian and director of the Museum of Romans Suta and Aleksandra Beļcova, gives a glimpse of a "portrait with a smile" – caricatures and cartoons.
Editor: Ginta-Gerharde-Upeniece
Authors of the texts: Pēteris Bankovskis, Māris Bērziņš, Ginta-Gerharde-Upeniece, Natālija Jevsejeva, Jānis Kalnačs, Eduards Kļaviņš, Dace Lamberga, Inta Pujāte, Laima Slava
Language editor: Antra Bula
Design, layout: Inga Ģibiete
Image processing: Jānis Veiss
656 pp., hardcover, ISBN 978-9934-538-23-0
The book is published in collaboration with the Latvian National Museum of Art
Supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Latvia and the Programme for the preparation of the centenary celebrations of the State of Latvia
Art History of Latvia IV
Conceptualism in Latvia: Preconditions of Thinking
Jānis Taurens
Latvian Art in the Context of the International Links
Compiler Silvija Grosa
Classical Modernism. Early 20th Century Latvian Painting
Dace Lamberga


The iPhone X supply at launch has always sparked a meaningful debate, with complications in production and components shortage will expect people to wait for weeks on to get their hands on the $999 flagship. According to a popular analyst, only 2-3 million iPhone X units will be available at launch but says that production difficulties will eventually be overcome in the future.
According to Kuo, the iPhone X FPCB for the antenna is the most probable cause of creating this supply shortage. Murata, one of the supply chain partners has been experiencing difficulties in meeting specification requirements for this device, as detailed in the note below via MacRumors.
A secondary issue could be the FPCB for the wide-angle rear camera lenses. Unlike companies such as Samsung and Huawei, iPhone X's wide-angle and telephoto lens require separate PCBs and Interflex has been struggling with quality issues for this integral component.
Last but certainly not least, the TrueDepth camera's infrared dot projector is also seeing quality issues, with poor facial recognition forcing manufacturers to reevaluate production checks.
Though the worst part might be over, the patience that consumers will have to display to get their hands on the iPhone X will be a superhuman form because as stated earlier, you might have to wait for weeks before the smartphone is shipped to you.
Will you be one of the individuals getting your hands on the latest and greatest iPhone to date?


text:
Ron Pickering (1973-90)
Gary Lineker (1991-92)
Linford Christie (1993-94)
Judy Simpson (1995)
Paddy McGuinness (Sport Relief version)
Coaches (2010): Amir Khan, Jeanette Kwakye, Steve Williams, Ade Adepitan, Louis Smith, Beth Tweddle, Heather Frederiksen, Ashia Hansen, John Regis, Tim Henman, Danny Crates, Dalton Grant, Dame Kelly Holmes, Mark Foster, Darren Campbell
Commentator (2010): Jacqui Oatley
BBC1, 13 June 1973 to 25 July 1995 (99 episodes in 15 series + 13 specials)
CBBC, 8 to 12 March 2010 (5 episodes in 1 series, as Sport Relief Does We are the Champions)
Assorted school teams took part in a succession of old-school obstacle courses, testing running, jumping, skipping, dribbling, climbing over things, crawling under things and so forth, with occasional balls or bean-bags to be transported en route - and sometimes thrown into a receptacle for bonus points at the end.
Ron Pickering looked like the games master from hell, but treated the kids kindly; this may have been a conspiracy organised by real games masters to fool the kids into trusting their own PE teacher. The last two events of each show took place in a swimming pool and frequently featured rafts and boats to be climbed onto.
Enjoyably bizarre scoring system and series-long tournament scheme. Oh, and at least one celebrity guest per episode - a sports' star (hardly surprising, given the nature of the programme), like the canoeist and Paddles Up favourite Richard Fox, or swimmer Duncan Goodhew. There was always a section in the middle of the programme when the kids got to ask the celebrity/celebrities questions.
The 2010 Sport Relief version stuck close to the original version's format, with only a few changes. Taking place at the Ponds Forge facility in Sheffield, five games were played, three in a sports hall (as opposed to a field like the original version), and the other two in the pool. The games played were very similar to those played in the original version, requiring running, throwing, climbing etc, but above all team work. Each team was assigned a celebrity coach from the world of sport, who would cheer them on from the sidelines and announce their scores. After four daily heats, the three teams with the highest scores competed in the Friday final for the chance to be declared We are the Champions, erm champions.
Pickering shouted "Away you go!" at the end of each show, at which point all the kids would dive into the pool and start messing around and celebrating as if the summer holidays had just begun. How easily pleased they were. In 'The 100 Greatest Kids' TV Shows' (2001), some celebrities, including Iain Lee, said that they always reckoned that that was by far the best part of the programme and the rest was nothing more than a precursor.
Ron Pickering died in 1991, towards the end of the show's run - an occupational hazard of hosting children's television (c.f. Castle, R.) There were occasional tribute programmes ever after, hosted by nice guy of football (though evidently not nice guy of nutrition) Gary Lineker for two specials. Sprinter Linford Christie took over hosting for the next two specials and the final special was hosted by heptathlete Judy Simpson, known to the kids as "Nightshade" from Gladiators.
From 1983 onwards, special programmes were held for children with disabilities - in fact, after 1987 there was no regular series at all, just the specials.
Official site (2010 revival)
Retrieved from "http://ukgameshows.com/ukgs/We_are_the_Champions"
Categories: Childrens | Sport | Long-Running


3304 Eaton Rd is a single family residence located in Mountain Brk, AL 35223. Built in 1965, this property features 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 0.58 acres lot, and 1,836 sq ft of living space. The estimated market value for 3304 Eaton Rd is $370,000.
For the surrounding community of Mountain Brk, AL 35223, the average sale price for similar homes to 3304 Eaton Rd is $398,983. The nearby schools are exceptional and include Brookwood Forest Elem Sch, Mt Brook High Sch and Mt Brook Jr High Sch. The natural disaster risk for this area includes minimal flood risk.
3304 Eaton Rd, Mountain Brk, AL 35223 is in a state where one in every 3,007 housing units had a foreclosure filing in 03/2019, compared to a national average of one in every 2,312 housing units. There are 969 properties in some stage of foreclosure or bank-owned in Jefferson County where 3304 Eaton Rd is located.


text:
Q: Why I cant change file permissions when I am group member of root? I have added user into root and www-data group with permissions then why i cant perform any operation and getting error of access denied?

Please help


text:
package newjb.core;

import java.lang.annotation.Annotation;
import java.lang.reflect.Method;
import java.util.regex.Matcher;
import java.util.regex.Pattern;

public class ScenarioFactory {
    private final Class<?>[] stepsClasses;
    private String[] steps = new String[0];

    public ScenarioFactory(Class<?>... stepsClasses) {
        this.stepsClasses = stepsClasses;
    }

    public ScenarioFactory withSteps(String... steps) {
        this.steps = steps;
        return this;
    }

    public Scenario createScenario() {

        Step[] steps = new Step[this.steps.length];

        String[] stepz = this.steps;
        for (int x = 0, steps1Length = stepz.length; x < steps1Length; x++) {
            String step = stepz[x];
            for (Class<?> stepsClass : stepsClasses) {
                Method[] methods = stepsClass.getDeclaredMethods();
                for (Method method : methods) {
                    Annotation[] annotations = method.getAnnotations();
                    for (Annotation annotation : annotations) {
                        String name = annotation.annotationType().getSimpleName() + " " + annotationValue(annotation);
                        Pattern pattern = Pattern.compile(name);
                        Matcher matcher = pattern.matcher(step);
                        String[] groups = new String[method.getParameterTypes().length];
                        if (matcher.matches()) {
                            for (int p = 0; p < groups.length; p++) {
                                String group = matcher.group(p + 1);
                                groups[p] = group;
                            }
                            steps[x] = new ReflectionStep(method, groups, step);
                            break;
                        }
                    }
                    if (steps[x] != null) {
                        break;
                    }
                }
                if (steps[x] != null) {
                    break;
                }
            }
            if (steps[x] == null) {
                throw new RuntimeException("no step for " + stepz[x]);
            }
        }

        return new Scenario(new Steps(steps));
    }

    private String annotationValue(Annotation annotation) {
        if (annotation instanceof Given) {
            return ((Given) annotation).value();
        } else if (annotation instanceof When) {
            return ((When) annotation).value();
        } else if (annotation instanceof Then) {
            return ((Then) annotation).value();
        } else {
            throw new RuntimeException("foo");
        }

    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Will Middle East Conference Bring Peace? By Liam Bailey
By Liam Bailey
War Pages
Originally I was going to write an article about how Israel had no intention of returning the Palestinian land, and how Israel's chief negotiator Tzipi Livni had publicly admitted as much. I refer to an article in Thursday 01 October's International Herald Tribune, quoting Livni's response to Palestinian chief negotiator Ahmed Qureia's demand for a deadline on Israel to return the land, and for the creation of a Palestinian state encompassed by a lasting peace agreement, Livni's response was:
"Creating timetables, which are often not carried out, as it happened every time in the past, creates expectations that are then not carried out, and create violence and terror," In a joint news conference in Tel Aviv with visiting German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
That was the point of asking for a deadline — for Israel to agree to a deadline would be to confirm their definite intent to actually grant the Palestinians a state of their own. Livni not even entertaining the possibility of Israel meeting a deadline says that they have no intention of meeting their side of any necessary bargain.
That is why Israel will never agree a deadline; it is too definite. Israel wants to keep their options open, and not give back the land unless they really have to — I have always thought the threat of the removal of U.S. support was most likely to make them do so.
An article today however, made me think about the current climate in a way I hadn't previously, and for the first time gave me hope that, just maybe, this year's big November peace conference might succeed where all those before it have failed. I read that Israel's Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is determined to find peace with the Palestinians before Bush leaves office.
An official quoted Olmert as telling German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, "There are big advantages to reaching an agreement before the end of Bush's term. This is the right thing to do. It is the best thing to do for both sides." The official said Olmert was keen to seize the opportunity because it was impossible to know how committed the next U.S. administration would be to solving the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. In reality he means it is impossible to tell how committed the next administration will be to Israel — in other words if it will be pro-Israel.
Bush and his administration has undoubtedly been one of, if not the most pro-Israel administrations for decades, and has agreed that Olmert and Israel would get to keep control of the large settlement blocs in the West Bank. This is a sizeable incentive for Israel. Israel has kept building new settlement blocs despite it being forbidden under the terms of the last U.S. led peace process: the road-map for peace. And while, in their Presidential campaigns it seems that all candidates and administrations Democrat and Republican, are pro-Israel, Olmert knows this could just be to ensure the Jewish vote, and what they do once they get in cannot be foretold.
There is a widely held train of thought, in academic circles and even in the U.N. that the settlement blocs are illegal and should all be torn down. And the Palestinians, even the moderate Abbas outright oppose any form of land-swap agreement that would let Israel keep the settlement blocs. Olmert will be weighing up the likelihood that a big priority for the next U.S. President will be to repair America's image in and relations with the rest of the world, including the U.N. Therefore: Olmert can't guarantee the offer to keep the settlement blocs will remain on the table after Bush leaves office, nor just how strongly the next U.S. President will attempt to push Israel into peace with or without the settlement blocs.
I still think Israel will try and hold out, like Olmert saying he hopes to reach agreement on borders, refugees and the fate of Jerusalem, but stopping short of saying an agreement was possible. In other words he wants to get Bush's offer of the settlement blocs becoming Israel's territory when the borders are drawn up, but doesn't want to get forced into actually giving back any of the land, and having to institute a Palestinian state — therein losing the precious East Jerusalem for the new state's capital.
Israel has recently threatened to abandon the peace process, if Abbas attempts to bring Hamas back into the fold — after Abbas met with Hamas members in the West Bank at his Ramallah office. Hamas are Israel's get out of jail free card, because it is likely that Hamas will launch a wave of terror to try and wreck any accord they are not part of — as they have done in the past. This may allow Israel to get Bush's offer down on paper, while Hamas' terror will be used as justification for their not implementing it.
So, on the whole, I am not hopeful that an agreement will be reached at the conference. Israel doesn't even seem to be going into it with that in mind — and Israel gets what it wants with Bush at the helm. Meanwhile the bloodshed continues.
This entry was posted in Featured Writers, Israel, News &-or Politics, Palestine, Peace, Politics, United States and tagged Bailey-Liam. Bookmark the permalink.
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