text:
Secrets of a Lost Girl
Alexandra Valoras showed every outward sign of success and promise, a star at school, beloved at home. She revealed nothing of her inner anguish, except in her diary — a chronicle of scathing self-criticism and growing desperation that her parents chose to share so that other families might learn from their loss.
By Mark Arsenault Globe Staff,June 24, 2018, 12:01 a.m.
A page from Alexandra Valoras's journal, modified for legibility.
GRAFTON — She wrote by hand in her journal for hours that night, alone in her room, listening to punk and alt-rock songs on a playlist she had entitled "goodbye."
Then she gathered her winter boots, her purple coat, the water bottle she brought everywhere, and the two volumes of her journal, the running chronicle of her hidden inner struggle.
This book is my garden, she had written the month before. I don't grow much. A lot of weeds overrun it. The soil is rocky.
She slipped through the house while her family slept, early on a cold Monday in March. She moved the hallway rug so the door to the garage wouldn't rub over it and make a noise.
At 12:58 a.m., a GPS track of her phone would later show, she stepped out into the dark.
Alexandra's journal on the desk in her bedroom at her North Grafton home. She wrote hundreds of pages, many of them filled with harshly critical words about herself.(Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff)
I care more about this notebook than I care about my life at times. This is organic and imperfect and nobody cares about it but me. It doesn't have to live up to anyone's standard.
Not even mine.
She had silently debated the question for page after page. Should she end her life? And could she?
She walked to the end of her road and then turned left toward the Massachusetts Turnpike overpass, just shy of a mile from her house, her many months of debate now done.
It was out of character for Alexandra to skip out at night. But her parents, Alysia and Dean Valoras, did not immediately panic when they discovered Alexandra was not in her bed that Monday morning, March 19. Their high-achieving 17-year-old was always so responsible.
In her external life — what she allowed the world to see — Alexandra Valoras was a brilliant, ambitious teenager, an academic star near the top of the junior class at Blackstone Valley Regional Vocational Technical High School in Upton, near her quiet hometown of Grafton.
She built her own robots and dreamed of going to MIT. She had lots of friends, was a magnet to young kids, and charmed adults with her poise and energy for learning.
Yet for months before her death, Alexandra went home, day after day, and told her journal that what the world saw in her was a lie.
With unsparing detail, she described an inner life full of self-doubt and self-directed fury. She wrote alone, sometimes deep into the night, occasionally even falling asleep with her pen on the page.
Everyone loved the confident girl with the sheepish smile . . . who talked in complicated words about coding and robotics, she wrote last November after a parents' event at school.
Who is this girl and can I please go back to being her?
I wear her facade as a shell to hide behind . . .
People still believe she's there. But I know the truth.
Alexandra with the family cat Scout.(Valoras Family photo)
She began keeping her journal last summer, just before the start of her junior year in high school. She wrote often, rarely more than a few days between entries. She wrote right up to her last hours.
The more than 200 pages she left behind paint an anguished self-portrait of a perfectionist who became convinced she could never live up to her own standards. She was brutally hard on herself; she left no corner of her inner life unexamined and struggled to find her "purpose."
This isn't anyone's fault, she wrote. It's only my own.
No one reveals their full inner selves to the world, but what is terrifying is how well Alexandra hid her secret life, especially from those who knew and loved her best. Her shattered parents are sharing their daughter's story so others can see and learn from it.
Even now, with three months of hindsight, Alysia and Dean struggle to reconcile Alexandra's outer and inner lives.
They remember all the rewarding conversations they had this year with their bright and thoughtful daughter. They remember her belly laughing. Her excited talk about the future. Those parts of her seemed true.
They were on a road with no signs. They thought they had a happy kid.
A page from Alexandra's, modified for legibility. Among her final entries, she told others not to blame themselves for missing any signs of her unhappiness.
Alexandra Valoras was 5-foot-9. Long and lean. She had a natural eye for fashion, for what colors popped when you put them together. She had grown up accessorizing with scarves and flowers in her hair. By high school, the flowers were gone, and her long hair usually swung in a side braid she wove herself. She wore jeans and camo pants, T-shirts and flannels, chunky Doc Martens shoes.
A friend says Alexandra was nerdy in the best sense of the word, meaning she had deep and eclectic intellectual interests. Sci-fi and fantasy literature, among others. She owned the "Divergent" series in hardcover. Rick Riordan fantasy novels. Dystopian classics like Ray Bradbury's "Fahrenheit 451." She so relished the Harry Potter books that she wished aloud she could erase her memory and read them again for the first time. She was one of those smart people with a charming touch of absentmindedness, regularly bedeviled by alarm clocks she had set incorrectly. She could spend 10 minutes looking for the safety glasses that were in her back pocket.
Alysia and Dean Valoras said they want to share the story of their daughter's life in the hopes it can help other people.(Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff)
The most conspicuous art in her bedroom was a Star Wars poster from the 1977 original. She would have rather dined with Elon Musk than any actor or pop star. She liked to be organized. She liked The Container Store. Colored-coded paper clips. A fresh sheet of graph paper. Cats and cat memes and the video game "KleptoCats." Novelty socks. Alternative rock, heavy metal, melancholy pop songs with enigmatic lyrics, ripe for interpretation and discussion.
She played the guitar and had a pretty singing voice. She liked sushi. She loved puns. She was happy to talk with anyone, from any clique. She was patient around younger children when they wanted her attention. She didn't like social media. She didn't like that people found their phones more interesting than the world around them.
Alexandra's robotics teammates at Blackstone Valley Regional Vocational Technical High School framed a shirt and pins from a recent world competition for the Valoras family.(Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff)
In school, she was a star.
She was that third-grader up on her knees in her seat, hand flailing to be called on. She took her time with her school assignments, making them just so, and would proudly show off her work before turning it in. Look, Mom — look what I created.
She seemed a perfectionist, even then.
In fifth grade, teachers told her she was taking too long with her work and threatened to mark her assignments with a zero if she didn't turn them in. But as she got older, her parents saw her exacting nature as something good, something that drove her.
Alysia and Dean Valoras, both 50, met at a concert by the local rock band Tribe when they were 26. She thought he was handsome and funny. He liked that she was an independent thinker, and it didn't escape his notice that she was in great shape. She was from Lowell and had studied mechanical engineering at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He was a Methuen guy who studied finance and management information systems at the University of Lowell. They eloped to marry in 1998.
Alexandra was born two years later. Another daughter, Emily, followed in 2003. Their son, Nicholas, was born in 2005. The family moved in 2004 from Southborough to a new house in Grafton, with lots of lawn for play.
Alexandra (left) with her infant brother, Nicholas, and sister Emily.(Valoras Family photo)
Growing up, Alexandra loved school and had high expectations. In junior high, she didn't like how kids goofed off during labs, so she applied to Blackstone Valley Tech for high school, figuring that students who took the trouble to apply would be serious about school and would have high expectations. She maintained great grades, at or near the top of her class.
She put a lot of pressure on herself, like most high-achievers. But Alysia and Dean didn't see a lot of self-doubt in her. They didn't see her kick herself over the odd bad score. In their eyes, she just took pride in everything she did.
Her family never knew Alexandra to keep a journal. But in July 2017 she opened a notebook and sketched out a rough calendar and a to-do list: Figure out SAT prep; Do AP homework; Schedule more driving lessons; Do some community service; Start running.
Just a month later, the week before the start of school, she wrote that she felt like she was on a hamster wheel, always working for a day that never arrived.
Life feels so pointless sometimes. Why should I bother getting out of bed? Doing my summer work? Going for a run? It's all for the future. Never for now . . . I just can't live happily like this.
Alexandra went into her junior year with extraordinarily high goals. As a sophomore, she had placed seventh in her category at the SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference Championships. This year, she wanted to win. Her school, BVT, also fielded competitive robotics teams, and Alexandra and her squad wanted to qualify for the VEX Robotics World Championship, to be held in Louisville, Ky., in the spring.
She approached her goals with an all-or-nothing mindset, telling her journal in early September:
I have to win gold at SkillsUSA this year, if I don't there's no point in me doing skills.
I have to be perfect. Anything less is failure.
School had barely begun, but when she eased up, even for a moment, she flayed herself with criticism.
I first of all am rapidly losing my will to do anything at a staggering rate . . . Yes I have the potential to be #1 in my class. But no! I don't have the will nor the means to actually execute on that.
On Sept. 21, Alexandra put on a dressy gray sweater and a sheer baby-blue scarf and sat in front of a camera in the family's living room. She was still 16, three months before her birthday, but dressed up, she looked several years older, poised and sophisticated.
"Hello," she said into the camera. "My name is Alexandra Valoras and I'm applying to be a part of the James S. Mullaney chapter of the National Honor Society and the Paul Sullivan chapter of the National Technical Honor Society . . ."
The video was part of her application to the prestigious service organizations. She wanted to get it just right.
"I like to challenge myself," she continued smoothly. "I really like to participate in activities such as this to prepare myself for the future . . ."
But when she flubbed a word, her mask slipped to show her inner strain. She slapped her knee in frustration and shrieked, "Oh, I was doing so well!"
It took her a few tries before she was satisfied. With each failed attempt, her father could sense the tightness in the air. It was rare to see Alexandra so stressed, but he didn't feel alarmed. He felt his heart melt for her.
I have times where I feel dumb for being so unhappy, that its just me getting claustrophobic in my head on the weekend, because I do laugh and enjoy plenty of days more than others and I'm not a hollow empty shell all the time.
. . . If anything, I'm lucky. I'm privileged and really smart and I have great parents and I don't have mental health problems and I live in an open-minded household. I should shut up.
I'm so lost. I'm so hopeless. I'm so worthless. I'm so lazy. I'm so unmotivated. I'm so confused. I'm so tired. I'm so numb. I'm so dumb. [This last sentence is crossed out] Not dumb just lazy. I'm so negative. I'm so dysphoric. I'm so conflicted. I'm so stressed. I'm so stretched thin. I am lost.
I've been thinking about suicide a lot. And hurting myself. But I won't. I really never will . . . I'm afraid of pain to be honest.
Alexandra's robotics team — with Rosalyn Youssef, Emily Weagle, and Ashley Hamilton — called themselves the Powerpuff Girls, after the cartoon. Alexandra was the "professor," a character on the show, because she was so smart.
By winter, team members were hanging out nearly every day, working on the robot and the design book that would be part of the competition. The robot had to pick up cones and stack them in designated zones. It had to work autonomously for the first 15 seconds, and then a team member would drive it by remote control. Alexandra was the programmer responsible for getting the robot to run on its own.
Alexandra (left) with her robotics teammates, who called themselves the Powerpuff Girls.(Valoras Family photo)
As the school year moved along, Alexandra mentioned to friends that she was stressed over her schoolwork. One friend, Natalie Kirouac, noticed her doing homework during lunch, which seemed unlike the Alexandra she knew, who usually got her work done early. Friends took care when they invited her to hang out, to be sure she knew it was cool if she was too busy to come.
Sometimes she would laugh and say sarcastically things like "I have crippling depression." Always said like a joke. It did not seem like she was trying to say she was in trouble.
Alexandra confided in her favorite teacher, Tim Freitas, who taught English, that she was having a hard time staying motivated. He gave what seemed like sound advice: Replace negative motivators, such as fear, guilt, and pride, with positive ones, such as love, compassion, and joy, she wrote in her journal.
She went to him again in October and "this time, I really broke down. I told him about my inability to function," she wrote afterward.
Freitas, who declined to be interviewed, told Alexandra's parents that she had been coming to him and was becoming increasingly upset. When her mother brought it up, Alexandra was stunned. She would write:
I put on a happy face so I could be alone with my thoughts and get more depressed. Then my mom came in and started talking to me. We were talking about whatever until she asked me if I was OK, and then told me she received a call from Mr. Freitas. I was floored. Horrified but relieved. Panicked but too exhausted to fight back. Glad that somehow, someone cared enough about me to talk to my parents. Because I wouldn't have.
Relatives and friends shared memories of Alexandra at the Valoras home. From left are Emily Valoras, Alysia Valoras, Ashley Hamilton, 18, Dean Valoras, and Emily Weagle, 17. Hamilton and Weagle were on the robotics team with Alexandra. (Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff)
Alexandra acknowledged to her mom that she was having trouble getting work done. She didn't say that days earlier she had first broached the topic of suicide in her journal.
Her parents brought her for a medical checkup, started her on acupuncture to help her relax, which she enjoyed, and later scheduled sessions with a counselor. Alexandra seemed to like the counselor, and told her mom it was nice to talk to someone who didn't already know her. In her journal, however, she wrote that she wasn't fully honest in the sessions or with her parents, whom she didn't want to scare.
Why do I not want to tell my parents about this? I'm pretty sure it's all dumb reasons but whatever . . .
If I was to tell them I'd been thinking about killing myself, I'm afraid they will become overly worried about me and wouldn't let me out of their sight . . . I don't want my parents to doubt themselves and I don't want to lose any trust.
I just want to vomit all the wretched thoughts out of myself and leave the words smeared across the page and my fingers and palms black with the ink that can't seem to dry fast enough . . . I want to just write until its 3 a.m. and my brain is dead but I just might feel something. I want to climb out of myself. Empty myself onto these pages and leave the good stuff behind. Empty empty empty. I want to shed this skin I've fallen into that's growing tighter and tighter around me.
If the Valoras family has a favorite band, it may be Biffy Clyro.
On Nov. 28, Alexandra and her parents went to the Paradise Rock Club in Boston to see the Scottish alt-rock group. Dean calls them the Foo Fighters of Scotland. Alexandra seemed excited to see the band in an intimate local venue. She asked for her parents' permission to sing aloud a swear word in one of their songs.
Dean danced like he was 18. He danced with his daughter.
In a short video from that night, Alexandra is sitting alone on a bench in the balcony, listening to the band. She's wearing a T-shirt and a flannel tied around her waist. She's resting, perhaps. As the camera closes in, she reaches out her hands. It's hard to know, is she beckoning it closer? Or blocking its view?
I had fun at the concert last night.
Easy to say that.
I didn't truly have carefree fun . . . I just wanted to be alone. Not have to worry about caring about anyone, not having to worry about anyone caring about me. I was so stressed out and I never really enjoyed the show to the fullest. And I'm so mad at myself for that. Why can't I just enjoy like a normal person, a show? . . . I hate myself for that.
Memories of that night, which had seemed so magical, came to haunt Dean. "Why was she dancing with me? Why would she be dancing? If it's already deep in her thoughts?" If she was already thinking about suicide.
A page from Alexandra's journal, modified for legibility.
As 2018 dawned, Alexandra's inner thoughts turned still darker. Her journal, which had never been much of a record of the daily events of her life, now focused almost exclusively on the question of whether to keep living, a series of cruel self-critiques playing out over dozens of pages, some in barely legible scrawl. It is painful to read the consuming self-directed scorn of a girl shimmering with energy, talent, and potential.
You are weak, she wrote in giant block letters that took up a full page.
You are a liar.
You are a burden.
She admitted hiding her inner self from her parents, teachers, and her counselor. I'm afraid to tell therapy or other important people then everyone will go bananas and I'll get put on suicide watch or something drastic will happen.
She wrestled with the concepts of atheism and God, and whether she was capable of faith. She questioned whether she would ever understand romance. She concluded that the only place she could be truly honest, to be herself, was in her journal.
And she taunted herself to either prove she could end her life, or accept that she couldn't.
Stop romanticizing suicide. It's not going to get you anywhere. You don't have the willpower or the ambition. You are simply a solid waste of space that will never do anything about yourself to fix your problem. You will forever fail to be who you were. You are a failure in every sense of the word.
So do it. I dare you. I [expletive] bet you won't.
Do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it
In February, the Valoras family took a ski vacation in Vermont, staying in a rented cabin. Snow conditions were rough and icy, but they tried to make the best of it. Alexandra seemed just a little less engaged than usual, her father thought, a little less than her full self. When the family debated leaving the cabin early to try a different resort, hoping for better snow, Alexandra voted to go for it. On the slopes, she was passive, deferring to others when it came time to pick a trail. Yet, it seemed she had a fun. She told her dad that they had to come back. She liked the trails.
Yet she wrote: It is incredibly selfish of you to act this way. To choose to not enjoy this vacation . . . You put on a happy face and this makes you hate yourself even more because you know that you aren't being honest with anyone.
In early March, Alexandra was busy preparing for the VEX Robotics Southern New England Championship in Worcester, and she did not write in her journal for more than a week.
At the competition, she bubbled with geeked-out excitement, talking to the judges about the subtleties of the robot's programming and its gyro for making turns.
Those judges rewarded the team with the competition's design award, which qualified the four girls for the world championship, held in Louisville, in April.
They were elated — this was what they had worked for all year.
Afterward, the team celebrated at Five Guys. Alexandra ordered a burger in a lettuce wrap, no bun. The girls found it hilarious to watch her try to eat it.
They talked about how they were the first all-girl team at BVT to qualify for VEX Worlds, and the first to get there by way of the design award. They talked about making a video to show off their robot, and the funny clips they could use. Alexandra caught a ride home with a teammate. They talked in the car about upcoming projects in shop, about how much fun they would have at Worlds, how they could not wait to go.
Not a note of this triumphant night made Alexandra's journal.
On March 14, Alexandra slipped out of her home in wee hours, and walked down the road to the Massachusetts Turnpike overpass near her home, a GPS track of her phone would later show.
She came back and wrote FAILED in two-inch letters.
Three days later, her words took on a grim precision.
Yeah, I know, I am a wimp. But [expletive] you. I cut myself tonight. It was really just a scratch, but blood came out of my cut. Actual blood.
A mental barrier had been crossed, and she seemed to know it.
I, Alexandra, am capable of harming myself.
Alexandra Valoras(Valoras Family photo)
Her final entries are mainly lists, each more heartbreaking than the last. She spent pages answering the question "Why am I going to do this?"
I'm never going to be the smartest, and if I'm not at the top then I'm nothing.
She listed the things she was going to miss. The trip to VEX Worlds. The Warped Tour, a traveling rock show. Graduation. Going to college. Getting a job. Growing older with her family and friends. "Sex, alcohol, drugs." The possibility that things might get better, someday.
She quoted song lyrics from her "goodbye" playlist, which included the bands Death Cab for Cutie and Twenty One Pilots, and wrote in a clear hand the one page of the journal not meant for her.
Don't blame yourselves for not seeing warning signs. I hid for a reason. I didn't want you to know how deep in my own mess I was. So it wasn't anyone's lack of perception.
Dean, Emily, Nicholas, and Alysia Valoras shopped for plants during Plantapalooza at Brigham Hill Community Farm in North Grafton. Alexandra had volunteered at the farm. (Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff)
When Alexandra's parents couldn't find her the morning of March 19, they tracked her cellphone through GPS. Dean drove across a bridge over the Mass Pike several times early that morning, following a GPS signal that suggested Alexandra, or at least her phone, was close by.
Alysia and their daughter Emily drove across the bridge, too. It was Emily who noticed her sister's stuff.
Her winter boots. Her purple coat. Her green water bottle covered with stickers. The two notebooks. All left neatly on a concrete pylon at the edge of the bridge that carries North Street over the Pike.
Left in plain sight, as if a signal.
Alysia got out of her car. She opened one of the notebooks and realized it was her daughter's, full of dark thoughts she never knew Alexandra had.
A stranger pulled over to help. Alysia told her something was very wrong.
"Call 911," she said.
Alysia called Dean to the bridge.
It was Dean who peered behind the concrete pylon, down a wooded embankment covered in brown pine needles, to the highway, and saw his daughter lying in the breakdown lane.
He thundered down the hill.
Her skin was cold.
Cars sped by. Monday morning rush.
And yes, it was early and it had been dark, but it hurt Dean deeply that nobody had stopped for his baby.
Mark Arsenault can be reached at mark.arsenault@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @bostonglobemark


text:
Q: how is INT returned as INT& in c++? am a c++ beginner and this code really confused me:
int global = 100;
int& setGlobal()
{
    return global;
}
int &a=setGlobal() ;

int main(void){
    a=a+5;
    std::cout<<global<<std::endl;
}

The return type of setGlobal is int& , but global is an int.

*

*Please explain to me how does that work?

*Shouldn't it be return &global ?

The code that i understand is like this:
  int global = 100;
  int& x=global;

  int& setGlobal()
  {
    x+10;
    return x;
  }
  int main(void){
    x=x+10;
    std::cout<<global<<std::endl;
    }

Maybe my problem is with references.

A: A return type of T& gets you the reference of the returned object of type T.
In your case
int& setGlobal()
{
    return global;
}

returns a reference (int&) to global. Basically an alias, another way to access the same variable.
This means that
int &a=setGlobal() ;

Sets a as a reference to global and any operation on a is reflected on global.
It should come as no surprise that
int main(void){
    a=a+5;
    std::cout<<global<<std::endl;
}

prints 105. a and global are effectively interchangeable in your main scope (because one is an alias of the other).
If setGlobal returned &global, it would be returning the address of global. The address is the actual location of the variable in memory, it's not an alias. If you wanted to work with pointers, your code would look like this instead:
#include <iostream>

int global = 100;
int* setGlobal()
{
    return &global;
}
int* a=setGlobal() ;

int main(void){
    *a=*a+5;
    std::cout<<global<<std::endl;
}

Notice how we can't access the contents of global using a directly (it's just an address). We must first dereference it.
And for good measure, you should also know that, since setGlobal() returns a reference to global in your example, it can be used directly as an lvalue to access global like so:
setGlobal() += 5;

Putting the above statement just before printing will result in "110" being displayed. Fun stuff! I invite you to read about lvalues and rvalues on your own time as a next step in your C++ journey!

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Robots won't be taking your jobs, but you might want to hold their hand
Robots are getting ever closer to providing and evoking real emotional reactions and moments of connection, but will they be taking over the world any time soon?
Robots have been a staple of science fiction and childhood dreams for over a century. But we can all breathe a sigh of relief: apparently robots are unlikely to be taking our jobs any time soon. However, they are being put to use in new and interesting ways, continuously gaining in intelligence and functionality. They will be a compelling factor in making people's lives at home and on the road easier, creating more tailored experiences for your customers, and sparking more meaningful and emotional connections between (wo)man and machine.
With home assistants such as Alexa and the Echo gaining traction in the lives of consumers, Tēmi takes this to a whole other level. It's autonomous navigation means that it can recognise and follow when requested. Harnessed by the power of voice, this robot has the ability to connect to friends, smart devices, video and media communications hands-free. Video shooting functions means that there is greater potential to capture moments naturally, thus improving connections with others. However when it comes to understanding and responding to humans, Tēmi is just the tip of the iceberg.
Using James A. Russell's classification of emotions, which describes and measures emotional states along the lines of pleasure, arousal, and dominance, LG's CLOi CareBot is able to recognise a user's emotional state and respond accordingly with an appropriate body movement and voice pitch. It is hence no wonder that LG named CLOi its "friendly robot", the latter ensuring that its consumer is happy and calm at all times. Technology such as this could prove invaluable in the service industry, tailoring its approach to a disgruntled customer, and never growing tired of dealing with them in the first place.
Furhat, however, is a robot that elevates this experience, both recognising a humans' emotional state and reacting in an equally human manner. This robot can speak, listen, show emotions and maintain eye contact, displaying complex emotions with a face that can be customised and even portray its own quirks. This has been achieved by combining digital projections of a human face with a physical mask capable of portraying emotions through movement. The uses for capabilities such as these span across service industries, training staff, and even making unbiased decisions such as recruitment. Through responding in an equally human manner, this robot can turn faceless exchanges which do not provide any emotional connection into a meaningful moment, providing a consistent and guaranteed quality of service every time. Furthermore, face projections are completely customisable, enabling the robot to become adaptable to different situations and organisations.
But it's not just empathetic and logical reactions that humans are always looking for. With their mantra, "a little love can change the world", Emotional Robotics designed Lovot, a robot, which was developed to make the human power of love even stronger through a combination of a physical and emotional response with humans. Lovot's whole machinery is created to react to human's emotions; with the help of its horn-shaped antenna, it recognizes our tone of voice and even us as human beings. Moreover, it knows what actions to take without being pre-programmed. Through deep machine learning, the little bot can take actions in real time, responding to us, rolling around, laughing, and even keeping eye contact. Likewise, its little sensitive body copies "skinship", i.e. the closeness between a mother and a child. All-together, it is very difficult not to love Lovot, hence changing the habitually distant relationship between robots and humans. This evidently has huge implications to brands, chronic loneliness being a tremendous problem in westernized societies, especially with regards to the elderly or hard-working individuals in individualistic urban societies. According to a study conducted by psychologist Ellen Langer, being able to care for a plant raised elderly's life expectancy by several years; now imagine being able to care and love a human-like robot!
With robots improving in their capability to replicate and evoke human emotion, it's no wonder that there are those who fear that robots will soon be replacing humans, particularly in areas like the service industry where robots can cut out any uncertainties that lie within human behaviour. However, whilst these robots are incredibly sophisticated, most of them focus on doing one aspect of human emotion – be it facial expression, physical interaction or mobility. We believe that there is no need to fear robots for now when it comes to replacing humans, however when it comes to cases where humans aren't available, such as to elderly who have little family, robots are becoming a more credible alternative than ever.
Here at Butterfly we specialise in unearthing real, complex human emotions, and whilst we don't develop robots, we devote this natural curiosity and understanding of emotions to helping brands create meaningful solutions for people everywhere. Drop us a line to find out more at hello@butterflylondon.com.
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


We've been getting a ton of questions asking us how we've been acquiring the low flying drone shots that we've been publishing.
These incredible, unique shots are from a Rylo 360º Camera on a selfie-stick coming out of our backpack.
The video above displays exactly how to get these great drone-like shots with the Rylo cam.
Miles fired up on the Rylo "drone" shot.
Using the Rylo camera as a helmet cam is considerably better than a standard helmet cam because you can still have the Rylo camera look in any direction you want in post production.
The Rylo 360º camera films an entire globe at all times.
Then, in post production you can easily make the Rylo look any direction you want on that globe.


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Home » Archive » 490 » Adrian Weale
20th Century, Autobiography & Memoir, Britain, Travel & Reportage, Warfare
Adrian Weale
Death at Wireless Ridge
Cheering for Hitler
Road to Abbottabad
'A Wilderness of Wreckage'
Fighting Trauma
Goodbye to Helmand
Inside Jobs
Horror in Iraq
Murkywater
Mostly Bricks
An Occupation in Pieces
The Case for Intervention
All We Ever Do Is Fight
The Drone Delusion
War and Peacekeeping: Personal Reflections on Conflict and Lasting Peace
By Martin Bell
Oneworld 336pp £20 order from our bookshop
I've never met Martin Bell but he's been bobbing about in my life for so long – first as a television news reporter, then as an independent MP and now as a certified national treasure – that he feels almost like a personal friend, a sort of David Attenborough or Michael Palin of the combat zones. But having read War and Peacekeeping, his discursive memoir of his career in international conflict, I realised that, in reality, I knew very little about him.
My principal memory of Bell is of his coverage for BBC News of the Balkan conflicts of the early 1990s, when he was known as the 'Man in the White Suit'. His reporting was front and centre in our understanding of what was happening in the former Yugoslavia. In 1992, Bell was seriously wounded by shrapnel while delivering a piece to camera in Sarajevo. He was also responsible for focusing our collective attention on the deployment of the British Army as part of the United Nations Protection Force and was a trenchant critic of the United Nations' mandate for inaction, a ridiculously supine response to the gross atrocities committed by all of the warring factions.
Of course, his career consisted of much more than just reporting from the Balkans. In the late 1950s he did National Service as a junior NCO in the Suffolk Regiment, serving in Cyprus during the EOKA insurgency. He also gained a first-class degree in English literature at Cambridge, after which
Home » Archive » 490 » Adrian Weale	top


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Electric Eels, stylisé electric eels, en référence à e. e. Cummings, est un groupe américain de protopunk, originaire de Cleveland, dans l'État de l'Ohio. Il est précurseur du genre, et actif entre 1972 et 1975.

Biographie
Le groupe est formé à Cleveland, dans l'État de l'Ohio, aux États-Unis, à une époque où le punk rock n'était pas encore distingué en tant que style de musique, mais où le glam rock l'était. La scène protopunk de Cleveland a aussi reçu ultérieurement l'appellation de « Cleveland-punk ».

Les electric eels n'ont fait que 5 concerts en public, mais au cours de leur brève existence ils ont acquis sur la scène locale la réputation d'un groupe agité, conflictuel et violent. Ils étaient connus pour être à l'origine de pugilats avec des membres du public, qui attirèrent l'attention de la police; les relations à l'intérieur du groupe étaient également fort violentes. Leur style était discordant, un amalgame bruitiste de glam rock et de free jazz qui était généralement jugé très désagréable. Les Electric Eels ont eu plus tard une grande influence sur les groupes de punk les plus virulents de la Côte Est des États-Unis, en particulier The Dead Boys.

Agitated est sans doute leur titre le plus connu.

Bien que tous leurs enregistrements aient été lo-fi et n'aient été commercialisés qu'après la séparation du groupe, on peut classer ces enregistrements dans le glam rock. Comme d'autres artistes glam de l'époque (The New York Dolls, T. Rex, David Bowie), ils ont tracé la voie de ce qui serait bientôt connu comme le punk.

Discographie

Albums studio
 1989 : Having a Philosophical Investigation with The Electric Eels (archival)
 1991 : God Says Fuck You (archival)
 1991 : The Beast 999 Presents The Electric Eels in Their Organic Majesty's Request (archival)
 2001 : The Eyeball of Hell (archival)

Singles
 1978 : Agitated/Cyclotron
 1981 : Spin Age Blasters/Bunnies
 2014 : Jaguar Ride

Compilations
 2014 : Die Electric Eels

Bibliographie

Notes et références

Groupe américain de punk rock
Groupe de protopunk
Groupe musical de l'Ohio
Groupe musical américain des années 1970

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Political analyst Abdul Razak Baginda said today that Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak had never met his Mongolian lover Altantuya Shaariibuu who was brutally murdered two years ago.
Abdul Razak was recently acquitted of the charge of abetting in the murder of Altantuya in one of the country's most sensational murder trials.
While Abdul Razak was acquitted, two policemen are still facing trial for the murder.
His relationship with Najib and the sensational nature of the murder in which Altantuya's body was blown to bits with C4 explosives have sparked allegations and numerous questions over possible political conspiracies.
Najib and Rosmah have been the subject of often wild allegations about their involvement.
This has resulted in a smear on the record of Najib, who was recently elected unopposed as Umno president and is expected to become the next Prime Minister in March.
Today his friend and adviser Abdul Razak attempted to help clear his name.
He said that there was no link between the deceased and the submarine deal which has been the subject of widespread speculation as the motive for the murder of Altantuya.
He said the "purported deal" was inked in June 2002 but he had only met the deceased in late 2004.
"Everyone is lazy and did not check the facts. I fail to see the connection. These are vicious lies," he said.
He was also visibly agitated at a suggestion that he was still not exonerated in the court of public opinion.
"You talk about it as if it is a coherent consensus. I do not want to pander to so-called public opinion. Can a blogger reflect public opinion? Then I can run you down as well, mate," he sniped.
Lifting up a tape recorder, he said if the press chose to report him as holding a gun or whisky, he could not be responsible for that.
Abdul Razak also said that he has had no contact with Najib since his release.
"I have not met him, seen him, spoken to him, SMSed him, e-mailed him. Not at all," he exclaimed.
He clarified his relationship with Najib, saying that it has "evolved" since it began professionally in the '90s, and they have since become personal friends but he has never held an official position with Najib as a member of his staff and could not be classified as an "aide" as was often reported.
He said his immediate concern now was to return to Britain as he was a doctorate student at Oxford and had submitted in September 2006 his dissertation which was placed on hold due to his arrest.
He bristled at a suggestion that he would not return.
"Why the hell should I run away, I am innocent. You will see me back in a few months after I get my doctorate unless I get a cushy job like the Prime Minister of the UK," he quipped.
He also refused to comment on several issues such as why he was implicated in the first place, his relationship with the two accused police officers and why he dropped prominent lawyer Datuk Shafee Abdullah when he was finally charged with abetting the two police officers, saying that a trial is still proceeding and legal ethics had to be adhered to.
He, however, denied that he had met Altantuya at a party as reported in the media and said that a photo of him, Najib and the deceased was doctored.
As for the recently leaked text message exchange between Najib and Shafee which led to claims of abuse of power, he said that by that time he was already in remand and he could not imagine how there could be a suggestion of interference.
"How can there be any intervention if I went through all that? God almighty, come on," he said.
He added that while he was sympathetic to the family of the deceased, he has never met them and if they chose to bring the matter to an international court, it was up to them.
Abdul Razak also expressed surprise that he has not become "a leper".
who gives any benefit to the murdered deceased?
This sad issue has been going for months now and it's just being complicated more and more, but good Malaysian & Mongolian people we already know the truth!!!
We know the masterminds and it's all before our eyes. The so-called leaders are PURE LIARS when it comes to transparency in all government duties, so why should we now believe they are innocent of Altantuya Shaariibuu's brutal murder???
NAJIB RAAZAK and RAZAK BAGINDA sponsored Altantuya's murder and there's no more doubt about it!
Malaysia claims to be a religious country with disciplined leaders, but i see NO DISCIPLINE, GOD's FEAR, PRINCIPLES and GOOD FORM OF LEADERSHIP in what has been going on for years in Malaysia and especially the murder of Altantuya.
If truly Malaysia follows the True Islamic Laws and Najib Razak and Razak Baginda are True Muslims, they should CONFESS and both be brought to JUSTICE!!!
We dont care if Najib Razak is going to be the next Prime Minister!


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Bryan Collins
Bryan Collins is an author from Ireland who helps writers build authority and earn a living from their creative work
Ireland, IN
http://bryancollins.com
Can Meditation Make You a Better Leader?
Bryan Collins 2020-12-15
Can meditation help you become more creative? Will this practice also improve your leadership skills? Dr. Megan Jones Bell says yes. She's chief science officer at Headspace, the company behind the popular meditation app of the same name.
Founded in 2010 by Andy Puddicombe and Rich Pierson, Headspace claims over 60 million members across 190 countries. The app offers meditation courses in everything from creativity to better sleep, many of which can help creatives, leaders and executives perform more effectively.
Those new to meditation struggle with finding time to practice. I was talking to a friend about meditation, and he complained he couldn't find time to squeeze another 10 minutes into his already overloaded morning. Bell suggested people like my friend layer meditation onto an existing habit or routine instead.
"If you walk for 10 minutes, you could take a mindful walk. It doesn't need to start with eyes-closed meditation," she says.
"You could try a wind down exercise that has a short mindfulness-based activity and technique that helps you turn your mind off for the evening. It could be taking a mindful run with one of our audio guided runs that we've made with Nike. There's multiple front doors into this practice."
Meditating by focusing on the breath or a mindful run could help my friend and many others perform more effectively at work. Headspace worked with the College of Policing in the United Kingdom and conducted a study of approximately 1,300 participants in five different police forces. The study found that meditation is associated with improved job performance, increased well-being and resilience.
"We know that when we are stressed, when we have a feeling of being burned out, that's associated with difficulty in productivity or decreased focus," says Jones. "It's really this combination of being in a healthier overall emotional state, which comes from a practice of meditation as well as this training in attention and awareness that is really core to meditation."
Leaders of large teams or within busy companies often juggle competing priorities, frequently without clear-cut solutions. For example, how should a leader react if a key team members quits in the middle of a product launch? While meditating won't provide the immediate answer, it'll help a leader manage challenges with more authenticity.
"[Mindful leadership means] our stress doesn't spill out on those around us, on our team. We can reduce it and manage it more effectively. We can be more intentional in every kind of micro-interaction that we have with our teams throughout the day," Jones says.
"If you're in a company where you believe in the mission, or you're working towards a big goal together, being able to hold that in your present moment awareness is really helpful for navigating challenges."
In the case of an entrepreneur, a key client quitting at short notice might cause him or her to react negatively and even lash out at other team members. Instead, practicing meditation for just three weeks could help this entrepreneur learn how to step back rather than react to business setbacks emotionally.
"You can more easily toggle between putting out the fire of the moment and the bigger picture," says Jones. "That dual focus is really important for a leader, and to guide the team, help people through the day-to-day challenges while anchoring to that bigger goal."
The teams at Headspace regularly meditate together at the start of the day and before meetings. That culture is understandable considering Headspace's product.
When a writer, musician or artist turns up in front of the blank page, canvas or in a studio, they're under pressure to perform. It's no wonder many complain about feeling blocked or uninspired. That pressure is hardly conducive to open-minded expansive thinking.
"When you are better able to distance yourself or set aside those pressures, those expectations, the stress that might come along with needing to produce something for a deadline, you're better able to create the right conditions for creativity to occur," says Jones. "When we're better able to notice our thoughts to kind of quiet the mind, we can create the right conditions for creativity to happen."
More from Bryan Collins
Should You Create Content for Free?
Photo by João Ferrão on UnsplashPhoto by João Ferrão on Unsplash. Writing and publishing free content is a bit like releasing a video game demo. A casual gamer plays for a hour or two, puts the controller away and moves on.
Here's What a Copywriter Actually Does
So, you want to write words that sell.... Photo by Justin Lim on UnsplashPhoto by Justin Lim on Unsplash. I worked as a freelance copywriter, agency copywriter, and in-house copywriter in the technology industry for over ten years.
Here's the Weird Goal Framework You're Not Using
A few years ago, I read advice from David Brooks, an American writer for the New York Times and other publications. He said,. "Great creative minds think like artists but work like accountants."
Want to Earn Money From Content? Break these 6 Fears
Fear motivates creatives to keep going, but too much is debilitating. Find a middle-ground. At the start of his career, George Carlin followed the style of other top comedians like the Smothers Brothers and Johnny Carson.
Why You Should Prepare For Disaster (And How To Do It)
Getting laid off suddenly. Taking up a new job that doesn't work out. Starting a business only to find three months in that you can't pay the bills. Failure. It's tough. It's also a far more common experience than success.
8 Odd Morning Rituals That Will Supercharge Your Day
Would you like to get out of the starting blocks faster when your alarm clock sounds?. If so, you need a morning ritual or routine you adhere to without question. Beethoven, for example, went for an early morning walk each day with a pocket notebook to capture ideas before composing.
No, A Pay Raise Won't Make You Happier
Psychologists have investigated the diminishing returns of earning more money. While you might feel happy about going from $30,000 to $60,000 a year, earning another $30,000 won't cause you to feel even happier.
Looking For A Mentor? Read This First.
He or she could help you solve problems within your business or career if they decide to work with you. To find a mentor, you must offer them something of value rather than considering what they can do for you.
Massively Effective People Say No To These 3 Things
Do you take on more than you can handle? Or would you like a way to focus on your work without becoming distracted by other people's priorities?. Productive entrepreneurs and executives make smart decisions about how to spend their time, energy and resources. They also know to what to turn down, and how to do it.
The Two Things Entrepreneurs Should Do Every Day
The intersection between business and the arts is tricky to cross unless you're David Mamet. Early in his career, Mamet worked in real estate. He turned his experiences with cutthroat salespeople into the play Glengarry Glen Ross. This play and the subsequent film won multiple awards on Broadway and at the Oscars.
Writing a Press Release? Don't Make These Mistakes.
Do you write press releases for clients or customers?. It's one way of getting paid to write, but you might be doing your clients a disservice. That's according to Dmitry Dragilev, who foundedJustReachOut back in 2014.
3 Proven Strategies For Becoming Infinitely Happier And More Productive
Work doesn't have to take place while sitting in front of your screen, in a long meeting or on a conference call. It doesn't necessarily happen while selling to a customer or in the office either.
Successful Leaders Cultivate These 5 Traits
Kon Leong describes himself as a mission-driven CEO with entrepreneurship in his blood. He founded ZL Technologies, his third business, in 1999. Over the past twenty years, and without venture capital funding, his company has helped large businesses securely manage their information, such as email and files.
A Habit Expert Reveals How To Finally Find Success At Work
Small changes lead to remarkable results. That's according to James Clear, author of Atomic Habits. He teaches readers how to create effective personal and professional habits and reap the rewards over the long-term.
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Architects must think creatively and mathematically if they want to design structurally sound, yet attractive, buildings. That's according to Sussex University Professor Brian Bates.
How To Run A Happy, Profitable Business With Your Spouse
Olivia and Heath Skuza have started three businesses together over the past twenty years. They are currently co-CEOs of B2B e-commerce platform NuOrder. The company enables brands and manufacturers to create digital catalogs of their products, send proposals and create orders for retailers.
One Behavior Separates Successful People From Average Ones
Successful people know where they excel … and they do as much of that as possible. In The Effective Executive, one of the twentieth century's top management consultants, Peter Drucker wrote:
How To Set Your Big Hairy Goals
Achieving a big hairy goal is kind of like climbing a mountain. Every year, I review what worked and didn't work during the past year. I also consider what I'd like to focus on or achieve.
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3 Valuable Skills You Need To Focus On After College
Learning doesn't stop when you graduate college. Even if you've studied an area for years, it can still reveal fresh nuances if you approach it with a different eye. After all, mastery takes ten years or longer, which is far more than the duration of a typical college course. Since graduating college, I've focused on improving my knowledge of these three disciplines.


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Win for Lionesses
But devastation for skipper Dionne
Watford 1 Millwall Lionesses 2
Substitute Stevie Lamb struck a late winner as Millwall Lionesses claimed their first victory of this season's FA WSL Continental Cup campaign, after coming from behind to win 2-1 at Watford.
Manager Alberto Kurti made four changes to the side that drew 0-0 at home to Doncaster Belles last week with Cherelle Albert, Shirvae Edwards, Frankie Strugnell and Leeta Rutherford making way for Ciara Sherwood, Snezana Malesevic, Sophie Perry and Meghan Mckeag. The game marked an important milestone for Meghan who was playing her first match of the season for the Lionesses first team after battling back from a knee injury.
Previous results meant that neither side can qualify for the semi-final stages of the tournament, but the win does lift the Lionesses off the bottom of Group One. Lamb's goal, scored with just seven minutes of the game remaining, will also give manager Kurti and the team confidence when the sides meet again at The Den, in FA WSL action later in the season.
After a quiet opening, Millwall's Lillie Billson came close to breaking the deadlock when her rising shot from the edge of the area bounced off the top of the bar. Within two minutes, the Lionesses were denied by the woodwork again as left back Meghan McKeag's shot struck the bar with Watford goalkeeper Shayla Burgess beaten.
With the game becoming more open, the challenges started to get heavier and in the 58th minute, Lionesses skipper Dionne Lennon was taken out by a rash tackle in the Lionesses half. It was deja vu for Millwall, who lost striker Emma Whitter to injury on the same ground earlier in the season, as Lennon was stretchered off with a broken leg. Watford took advantage of Lennon's absence and broke the deadlock just five minutes later as Megan Wynne turned the ball in from close range after Jo Wilson had flicked on Emma Beckett's long throw.
Millwall needed to get back into the game quickly and were behind for only six minutes, as striker Kim Stenning leveled matters halfway through the second half with a first-time effort that Burgess couldn't keep out. Asthe game swung back into the visitors' favour, Millwall applied the pressure to Watford's back line and the Lionesses claimed all three points when a superb cross-field pass by McKeag picked out substitute Lamb, who took it down excellently before finishing with real composure.
With the game ending 2-1, the Lionesses will take the confidence into next week's Continental cup match against FA Cup winners Arsenal Ladies, which will be played next Sunday, 13th July with a 2pm kick-off at Beckenham Town.
Watford (4-2-3-1): Burgess, Mays, Gunn, Hector, Butterwick, Rowell, Green (Heaslip 79), Natkiel, Beckett, Wynne, Wilson
Subs not used: Zekai, Donnelly, Logie, Hill
Millwall Lionesses (4-3-3): Quantrill, Davies, Lennon (Lamb 58), Cole, McKeag, Maple, Billson, Malesevic (Rutherford 45), Sherwood (Agg 45), Perry, Stenning
Subs not used: Albert, Kiobel, Edwards, Strugnell
Referee: Tim Donnelan


From the very beginning, I understood the plan was to have six weeks of concurrent chemotherapy and radiation, followed by about six weeks of recovery time before surgery. The idea was to try to eliminate the tumor and all cancer cells during the six weeks of treatment. Then there would be a "window" during which I would heal from the chemo and radiation, and get stronger in preparation for surgery, but not let so much time pass that the cancer would have a chance to return. I understood the optimal "window" was about six weeks between the end of treatment and surgery.
When I met with the surgeon, Dr. Rajput, back in August, I had Shawn with me. We both clearly recall him saying the optimal time for surgery would be six weeks after the end of treatment.
In a cancer treatment environment, one of the things patients have to hang on to are goals. Six weeks of chemo and radiation was my goal. Despite setbacks and illness and blood clots and yeast infections and starvation, I reached the f—ing goal! Towards the end, when I was so weak, Dr. Fekrazad offered to reduce my dosage or even skip the last treatment, and the radiation folks also offered to skip the last two radiation treatments. But I said no, I would finish the entire regimen as planned. It nearly killed me, but I did it.
Now, just as I'm beginning to experience the very first signs of recovery, I feel like the rug is being yanked out from under me. I feel betrayed.
I've been back and forth between the two doctors. They're both oncologists at UNM Hospital. Dr. Fekrazad is a "Medical Oncologist" (meaning, essentially, his job is the administration of chemotherapy). Dr. Rajput is a "Surgical Oncologist" (meaning he specializes in performing surgery on cancer patients). They've discussed my case. And they seem to have a slightly different point of view. Anita told me that it's not uncommon for the medical oncologist to want the patient to continue chemo nearly up to the date of surgery. The surgical oncologists basically just want to be sure you've healed from the radiation before surgery, so they don't tend to get involved or object if the medical oncologist keeps the patient on chemo for a while after the radiation is done. Gee, thanks everybody, for having a nice clear plan for me and then changing it at the last minute!
Although my inner child is having one hell of a temper tantrum and won't stop screaming "NO!", I'm back on Xeloda for a week. I'm going to take it and see how I do now that I'm not also taking Oxaliplatin and having radiation treatments. Maybe I'll find that it isn't so bad…(yeah, right). Maybe in a day or so, when that screaming baby in me gets exhausted and cries itself to sleep, maybe I'll be able to look at that handful of Xeloda and remind myself what a good job it's doing of keeping cancer cells from returning. Maybe I'll even be able to look at that handful of pills with gratitude.
At the moment, I'm just not that enlightened. But I'll work on it.
on October 10, 2009 at 9:05 am | Reply k.n.
Kim – my god, that certainly brought on the tears in a big way! thank you for sharing both the message and the music…huge hug.
Love to you, Karen…..I'm holding you in my heart, and I know you can do this, even though nothing in you wants to. You will have time to heal once all the unpleasantries have ended……and this, too, shall pass. Sending you Reiki & hugs!
i don't know if it is any consolation but medical oncologists and surgical oncologists often do not totally agree, so yours are no different. i dont know why they are like that. i do think both agree that you have to recover from radiation before surgery.
Was so grateful to see you write again, i was worried.
try and eat as much as possible these next weeks and gain your strength back so you can sail through the surgery.
Karen ..so glad to see you writing again. I keep sending 'fierce' spiritual strength that can 'seep' in, if there is even a mili-second where you can be in spirit and not of your pain body. I don't know if that can happen. But I pray hard for you and hope those little moments can get in and grant you some strength. I am not sure if I could fight as much as you have.
Thanks for hanging in there and sharing.
you will rise again in the beautiful new you!


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Interview With Lionize: This Is The New Sound
Jonny Cohn
A couple of weeks ago, I had the pleasure of chatting with some of the members of the dark reggae/hard groove band from Maryland known as Lionize. The quartet recently played at NYC's Webster Hall, where they opened for Fair To Midland. I talked with frontman Nate Bergman and keyboardist Chris Brooks at the show about touring, the writing process, and some of their influences and aspirations. Perhaps it's their upbeat mentality or the overall sound they belt out but whatever the case may be, Lionize is the type of band that can be appreciated for what they do. The conversation is below.
You guys are about halfway through your tour. How's it been going? Have there been any memorable shows thus far?
Chris Brooks: Yeah. I think the tour has been great so far. There's been a lot of shows like this. This has been one of the better nights, I guess in terms of people, plus we've had a lot of trouble playing in front of people in New York in the past. So it's good to come to the city and actually play in front of some crowds. Otherwise, we started out in New Orleans—that was pretty rad. I kind of wish we could have hit that a little later in the tour so we would all be kind of "buddy buddy" by then because that's our favorite town to go to. But yeah, it's been good! Can't complain so far.
You mention that this has been a better crowd of people. What would be a rough estimate of the amount of people that you have been seeing at these shows with the band playing as openers?
CB: It's been around about a hundred people a night.
Nate Bergman: Yeah, it's about that. I don't know the exact attendance numbers, but it's been really cool to see the amount of people coming out to actually see us early in the shows. [It's] awesome.
Since the release of your first album, 2005's Danger My Dear, you guys have released an EP, Mummies Wrapped In Money, which featured guest vocals from Clutch's Neil Fallon, and three more full-lengths. There seems to be no shortage of writing material for you guys. How do you find the time to collectively engage in the writing process with how often you go on tour?
NB: When we're off tour we just rehearse every day, to give a short answer. Five days a week like a job. We go in at noon and we leave at five o'clock.
As with all great bands, there seems to be an evolution of the sound behind Lionize. Is there any sort of particular feel that you guys go for on each album?
CB: No. We tend to just write songs based around the lyrics that are coming out. Hank [Upton, bass] will write lyrics, or Nate will write lyrics and then we'll kind of write tunes around what we're dealing with. Lately it's been a lot of psychedelic, comic book, "over the top" type of stuff, and it lends itself more to bigger and heavier tunes, so to speak, if that makes any sense at all.
Do you have anything to say about that, Nate?
NB: What he said is exactly right. I think it's actually interesting how looking at the records—Superczar kind of comes sort of full circle with the first record because there are some heavier grooves on the first record and a little bit of a reggae influence, and then Mummies is still kind of the reggae funk thing, and then Spacepope is where the heavier riffs come in. Destruction Manual is, again, kind of a full circle. Superczar is like a conglomeration of all of it.
Who are your own personal influences as musicians? Nate, why don't you go first?
NB: Anything soul, really. Sam Cooke, Otis Redding, Solomon Burke for vocal stuff, and then Sabbath, Zeppelin, The Allman Brothers, Pink Floyd… I mean, the basics, really.
How about you, Chris?
CB: I am more so from the Miles Davis school. A lot of Bill Evans, a lot of jazz stuff. It's where I came from.
When it comes to playing live, do you guys often try and go out on a whim and improvise on your songs?
NB: It's probably more structured like a jazz tune where we have a head and we know where we are going to jam, but the jams aren't plotted out (laughs). I don't know, Chris might be able to explain it better…
CB: We try to keep a pretty heavy improvisation element in the live set along within the records. I mean, just because the record is the one thing, it doesn't mean that in the moment we didn't improvise or jam on it. There's a lot of spots, especially on Superczar, where the studio take is the jam that we played when we first started laying down drum and bass tracks. We find ourselves keeping a lot of the material and jams in that length or that form. Otherwise, there are sections of the songs where we kind of know that we are going to improvise on, or decide not to in that moment. We write a different set every night. The intros at shows come and go. Sometimes it's a different intro. It is usually just something that we are working on that may eventually find its way into a song, or just something from rehearsal where we figure we've got 45 seconds of music, so we might as well just play it. It's nice to just go out and play something instrumental, a really quick thing to warm up the crowd. We might have stolen the idea off of The Bakerton Group record with the 45 second intro, "The Time Horizon." It is nice to come out and just blast into something, play it real quick and then just start the show.
How long have you guys been playing together?
CB: Probably about 10 years.
What have you guys found as a band that is most beneficial in your writing style?
NB: We do anything and everything to approach a song. Sometimes someone comes in with a more complete idea, whereas sometimes we sit and jam for an hour before we have anything. Sometimes we take four different parts of stuff we wrote a year ago. At the end of the day we're all in one room writing together.
CB: Everything pretty much happens in the practice room. There's nobody that goes away and sits down by themselves and flushes out things on their own. It all pretty much happens out of the jam in the practice room.
As far as recording goes, how do you guys feel about the idea of experimenting with different studios?
CB: The only time we've ever recorded in multiple studios was with that Spacepope record, and that was because we were recording it in Kingston. We didn't have access to the same studio so we ended up doing that in three different studios, all being in Kingston, Jamaica, with the same producer. Other than that we've always recorded albums in one place. The place we record at now is the Magpie Cage in Baltimore, Maryland, with J. Robbins, and we do everything there. I don't think we tracked anything anywhere else. All of our stuff, producers, and gear are there so we don't really see any reason to move. We were recording to tape on this last record so we had the tape machine there. I guess the more Pro Tools-y and the more computer oriented, the less it matters—but we try to keep a pretty organic approach for the most part, so the one room thing kind of works for us.
Now this is probably my last question for the night, I don't want to hold you guys up here…
NB: Yeah, Chris has got a burger waiting for him…
Haha, I know how that feels brother! Chris, earlier I had asked you if you guys had anything pressed to vinyl. Is there anything that you guys can see yourselves aspiring to do when it comes to vinyl?
NB: We will have everything that we've recorded on vinyl at some point within the next few years.
CB: Yeah, we're hoping to get the vinyl out as soon as possible, it's just a matter of getting it done.
Lionize will be on tour with Clutch in July. For more information, go to lionizemusic.com.
chris brooksjonny cohnlionizenate bergman
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California's Indus secures $14.5 million for cannabis expansion
April 24, 2020 / by masoncarter / in Business
Indus Holdings, a California-based vertically integrated marijuana company, said it secured up to $14.5 million in loan financing to complete a greenhouse and boost the company's profitability path.
Indus, which said it will close the deal in April, also will use the proceeds for renovations and as general working capital "to become profitable and self-sustaining."
Geronimo Capital and Merida Capital are providing the financing.
Geronimo is led by George Allen, the former president of multistate marijuana operator Acreage Holdings.
Last May, Indus, which trades on the Canadian Securities Exchange as INDS, announced its intention to expand its operations outside of California to Nevada and Oregon.
Marijuana businesses pivot quickly to meet demand for home deliveries amid coronavirus worries


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2021 Snooker World Grand Prix odds favor the defending champion Trump | GamingZion
2021 Snooker World Grand Prix Odds Favor Trump To Defend His Title
By: Eniko | Posted: December 13, 2021
2021 Snooker World Grand Prix is held this week, 13-19 December in Coventry
The best 32 players of the one-year ranking take part in the tournament
Judd Trump is the defending champion, but all top 10 players can get the title
Judd Trump in 2015 – Image source: DerHexer, Wikimedia Commons, CC-by-sa 4.0, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The 2021 Snooker World Grand Prix is held this week, between the 13th and 19th of December at the Coventry Building Society Arena in Coventry. All top players will compete in the world ranking event including the defending champion, Judd Trump. He is mentioned as the top favorite in the 2021 Snooker World Grand Prix odds in spite of being only the 13th seed of the tournament.
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The 2021/22 snooker season continues this week with the 2021 Snooker World Grand Prix, the first event of this year's Cazoo Cup. Which is a bonus cup given to the player who earned the most money across three tournaments: the World Grand Prix, the Players Championship, and the Tour Championship. With only the best eight players competing in the last event, at the Tour Championship. First, though the best 32 players on the one-year ranking list will compete in the World Grand Prix this week. Judd Trump has won this tournament three times already since the inaugural event in 2015. He is also the defending champion after winning against Jack Lisowski in last year's final. But this year the world No2 is only the 13th seed due to some weaker results.
2021 Snooker World Grand Prix Odds Predict Trump's Victory
Even though Judd Trump hasn't been playing in top form in the new snooker season, online sportsbooks in the UK still offer the smallest odds, 4.50 for his victory. The current world No2 has won one event in the 2021/22 season, the non-ranking event of the Champion of Champions tournament a month ago. He reached the quarter-finals in the Northern Ireland and English Open but was knocked out early in the last two major events. Trump can improve on his record now in one of his most successful competitions. Which he has already won three times so far. The English player will start against compatriot Ben Woollaston and can meet John Higgins in the second round.
Another former World Grand Prix winner, Ronnie O'Sullivan follows Trump in the favorites. His odds to win his 38th event are 5.50 in the 2021 Snooker World Grand Prix odds. The Rocket was close to getting to the final on two occasions this season. But he lost eventually against John Higgins both times. He is still third in the world ranking and might get his first victory since 2020 August now. Current world No1 Mark Selby is still waiting for his first win of the season after crashing out early in the previous tournaments. Now he has the odds of 10.00 to break this spell and get his first win of this event.
Mark Selby in '13 – Image source: DerHexer, Wikimedia Commons, CC-by-sa 4.0, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Top-form players can also get the trophy
John Higgins has been outstanding this season after reaching the finals of four tournaments so far. But he was the losing party on all occasions. Now the Scottish world No6 will have another chance of finally getting a win. He will start against Tom Ford but Higgins is likely to meet Trump in the last 16. That will be another mouth-watering match between the two great players with equal chances of winning. But even in the case of beating Trump, Higgins' job won't get easier. As Selby can wait for him in the next round. Online gambling sites in the UK expect another good performance from the four-time world champion. They offer the odds of 10.00 for his victory.
Belgian Luca Brecel surprised everyone in last week's Scottish Open, where he won his second ranking title. The 26-year-old got his first win after 2019 and seems to be in good form too. As he has also reached the final of the 2021 UK Championship a week earlier. This is the third time he qualified for the World Grand Prix but he is the second seed of the event now. With the odds of 15.00 to win it. While the first seed of the tournament is Chinese Zhao Xintong. The 24-year-old player won his first ranking event in the 2021 UK Championship two weeks ago. Last year he reached the quarter-final at the World Grand Prix but he can go even further now. His odds to win the tournament are 23.00 on bet365.
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Electoral commission meets stakeholders | 22 October 2019
The meeting between the electoral commission and stakeholders yesterday
Election preparedness discussed
More youth engagement in electoral process, work towards getting an accurate and reliable voters' registry and provisional election dates were some of the issues addressed during a meeting yesterday when the electoral commission met its stakeholders.
The stakeholders meeting comprised representatives and officials from different political parties and civil society whereby they addressed voter education and information, the restructuring of the commission and election preparedness ahead of the 2020 presidential elections.
Appointments and secretariat
The meet, presided over by the chairman of the electoral commission, Danny Lucas, commenced with the announcement of the secretariat and new appointments to the commission including that of Manuella Amesbury as the chief electoral officer (CEO). Mrs Amesbury was appointed to office and started discharging her functions as of September 16, 2019.
Lynn Gillian Bilal was announced as the chief registration officer, Rose-Mary Richard as the new finance manager who is to deal with budgeting, Christopher Anthony as the IT manager and Salina Sinon as the senior legal officer whose duties involve liaising with the Attorney General's office primarily in terms of electoral reforms.
As per the agenda, the minutes from the last meeting held three months ago were reviewed before further discussions about electoral preparedness and the commission's restructuring.
Restructuring of commission
Mr Lucas noted that the restructuring of the commission has established two functions. He explained that the previous commission comprised an executive electoral committee which controlled all the functions of the electoral commission, made all policy decisions and was responsible for implementing its policy decisions.
"In 2018, there was the amendment to make changes to the Elections Act and this established some sort of equilibrium; firstly, the electoral commission itself and it created the secretariat. The functions of the electoral commission are thus different. The commission itself is concerned with policy and the direction under the law in its legal framework and we make recommendations to the secretariat as to the policies and directions we want. Asides from that, the electoral commission has oversight over the secretariat. If there is anything that is not being done properly, we can recommend that it does this another way," said Mr Lucas.
"However, the commission is not here to carry out administrative duties. Administrative duties and operational duties in terms of elections, how it is planned, how it is implemented on election day, ensuring everything is in place, for instance ballot papers, polling stations and functions of the polling stations fall under the responsibility of the chief electoral officer," Mr Lucas explained.
He went on to state that the law imparts the powers to the chief registration officer for compiling the certified voters' registry.
Young voters engagement
There was general consensus that it is imperative to get young people who are eligible to vote engaged and informed about the process and their duties and rights as citizens in a democracy.
Simon Gill from the United Seychelles party, leader of Linyon Demokratik Seselwa (LDS) Roger Mancienne and leader of the opposition in the National Assembly Wavel Ramkalawan all highlighted the lack of interest among youths to register for the voters' registration proposing that names should be added to the list on their 18th birthday and for arrangements to be made for those who turn 18 on the day of the election.
The commission noted that they will consider the proposal and keep stakeholders informed on the process and eventual decision.
It was also noted that the Seychelles National Youth Assembly (SNYA), through funding from the United States embassy, will be initiating a project to encourage young voters to register. The project falls under the umbrella of the Seychelles National Youth Council (SNYC) and was during the meet, endorsed by representatives of Citizens Democracy Watch Seychelles (CDWS).
Mr Mancienne expressed concerns over the involvement of youth voter registration and education to government agencies pointing out the possibility of political interference, although representatives of both SNYA and CDWS assured that the process is objective and has the potential to reach a large proportion of the youth population.
Provisional election date
Mr Ramkalawan also proposed that the commission provides a provisional date for the election to allow for other concerned parties to make the necessary arrangements. He referred to the elections in Mauritius, for which the set date clashes with school examinations noting that schools are used as polling stations among other stakeholders who need to make necessary arrangements.
Lawyer Anthony Derjacques made reference to Schedule 3 of the Constitution which stipulates that elections shall be held 57 to 59 months after the last presidential election noting that there is no legal prohibition against setting a provisional date.
Once again, there was consensus on the matter and the point raised that the Seychellois diaspora can also plan ahead if they wish to fulfil their civic duties, and the chairman noted that it was a point that the commission would decide upon.
The meet was also an opportunity to address voters' registry and education. Chairman Lucas emphasised that the commission is striving towards an accurate certified voters' register highlighting numerous errors in previous lists including the inclusion of dead persons on the certified list though he noted it was probably an error. He also pointed out that for persons with the same surname, their first names were not categorised alphabetically. He urged for each citizen to fulfil their duty and take a few minutes of their time to verify their details on the voters' list in their respective districts and for others who may have moved districts or changed their personal details to have them changed accordingly.
Persévérance voters' register
Chief registration officer Bilal noted that the commission is planning a special exercise in Persévérance, the new electoral district.
"For Persévérance, we have already compiled a provisional voters' register based on the information available and there is currently around 3,000 persons who we have all intention to publish. We will hold a special exercise for Persévérance for them to verify their details," said Mrs Bilal as she launched an appeal to all residents and former residents of Persévérance to verify their details and register.
Mrs Bilal also noted that the commission intends on rolling out more aggressive voters' education campaigns and more frequently in due time.
In terms of election preparedness, chairman Lucas noted that many of the necessary and discussed reforms have already been implemented and facilitated by close collaboration with the Attorney General's Office.
Ballot papers and election equipment
With regards to ballot papers and equipment required for elections, the commission noted that it will be procuring ballot papers from overseas on account that it costs roughly the same as it would to print locally and that the special paper and security standards required are not available on the local market.
Mr Lucas also noted that all election equipment is to be procured to minimise the risk of tampering and keep the election process as transparent as possible.
Political campaigns and broadcasting of PPBs
A further point of discussion was the role of the media in the electoral and election process. The Seychelles Broadcasting Corporation was in the limelight after the chairman of its board, Gerard Lafortune, stated that the SBC Act stipulates that SBC shall broadcast political party broadcasts (PPB) if the electoral commission finances the slots. He also noted that SBC will not be involved in the production of PPB as it needs to be fair and objective. There was some disagreement on the matter on account that smaller, newly established political parties lack the funds and technical know-how to produce and pay to broadcast PPBs and is thus not equitable.
The commission agreed to schedule a meeting with all media houses for further discussions, acknowledging that the commission will need to budget for the broadcasting of PPBs.
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Melton South, a residential suburb, is 35 km north-west of central Melbourne. It is south of the Western Freeway and on the Melbourne to Ballarat railway, with the Melton railway station.
The station was about 1 km from the Melton village on the highway, and looked out on open country with little more than a chaff mill, a railway, post office and the Melton Railway Station primary school (1911). The school was given a new building in 1925, two years after being renamed Melton South.
About 80 years before, pastoral properties were established further south near where the Toolern Vale Creek joins the Werribee River. 'Exford' in Exford Road and 'Strathtulloh' in Greigs Road West have homesteads originating in the 1840s and are heritage-listed. Melton South's third notable built feature is a railway viaduct (1880) over the Werribee River, 375 metres long.
Melton South has several recreation reserves, a large park along Toolern Vale Creek and a shopping centre near the railway station. The station has a large car-parking area for the V Line train service. Tabcorp Park racecourse (2009) and the Melton Golf Range are on the Western Freeway. There is much underdeveloped space in Melton South and several school sites are in development. Melton South primary school had 415 pupils in 2014.