The purpose of this mixed method, multisite case study was to explore how teachers' attitudes toward their work were influenced by their experiences within collaborative work groups. The critical elements and structural conditions of effective collaborative work groups described by Little in 1981 was used as a conceptual framework. The sample consisted of three principals, one school counselor, and twenty-seven teachers across three high schools in the same southeastern state. Participants were interviewed and their collaborative work groups observed during which time artifacts were also collected.


text:
futuresciencenews
newenergyreport
realsciencenews
BMW & Ford to test solid state batteries next year
Today's electric vehicles are far from perfect, and one of their biggest weak points are their batteries. Newer solid state batteries are expected to play a big role in EV technology moving forward, and now two major car makers are moving forward with tests of these batteries.
In addition to lower costs and higher energy densities, one of the biggest draws of solid state batteries is the fact that they are not prone to setting on fire the way that traditional EV batteries do.
Solid Power plans to have prototype solid state batteries ready for tests next year by investors Ford and BMW. The firm's CEO, Doug Campbell, told TechCrunch that his firm is aiming to become a leader in solid state electrolytes that can replace the semi-liquid paste currently seen in most lithium-ion batteries. Solid Power is expanding its Colorado factory to accommodate a new production line that will be dedicated to producing commercial-grade, 100-ampere solid state batteries, and BMW and Ford will be the first carmakers to place them in electric vehicles next year.
In addition, the new Solid Power production facilities will have the capacity to produce 25 times more of the sulfide-based solid electrolyte material than its existing facility can accommodate. It is being reported that the pouch cells will be tested by the Ford and BMW early next year with a view to placing them in driver-ready vehicles toward the end of the decade.
Campbell said his company is focused on producing the electrolyte material, which will be licensed to battery manufacturers and OEMs. He emphasized that they are chiefly a materials company, and they expect the demand for these batteries to grow. He added that they could help eliminate the battery fires some car makers have been dealing with.
"We believe very strongly that these issues (battery fires) that both Hyundai and GM are now facing would be addressed with a solid state battery," he stated.
The company is also looking into developing a low-cost cathode material without nickel or cobalt. Their alternative will be significantly cheaper – as much as 1/20th or 1/30th of the cost of a typical nickel manganese cobalt cathode.
Meanwhile, Redwood Materials is taking a different approach, deriving materials by recapturing them from existing batteries. They say they can recover as much as 98 percent of the cobalt, nickel and lithium in old batteries so that new ones can be made without extracting more minerals from the earth.
Electric vehicle fires plaguing major car makers
It's easy to see why Ford and BMW are so drawn to Solid Power's batteries given the growing list of fires linked to electric vehicles throughout the country.
Most of the major EV makers have made headlines for battery fires, including Tesla, Kia, Hyundai and Chevrolet. General Motors recently announced a recall of 142,000 of its Bolt models sold since 2017 because of their propensity to catch on fire. They are now waiting for new battery packs to be developed that can resolve manufacturing defects. Earlier this year, a callback by Hyundai affected 90,000 Kona EVs, while Ford recalled 20,000-plus plug-in hybrids in Europe due to their risk of overheating and catching on fire. Tesla's electric vehicles have also been linked to fires.
It's an expensive problem to fix, with the Chevrolet Bolt recall estimated to cost the manufacturer $1.8 billion and the Kona recall costing Hyundai around $900 million. Perhaps most damaging, however, are the public relations effects of these fires and recalls, which could have a lasting impact on the reputation of electric vehicles in the car market.
CleanTechnica.com
Tagged Under: batteries, BMW, breakthrough, discoveries, electric cars, electric vehicles, EV, Ford, future tech, new energy report, power, solid state batteries
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Ozone treatments REVERSE blood cell clotting, lumping caused by covid vaccines – striking visual evidence
Personalized nutrition: Researchers identify connection between genetic variation and gut bacteria
Astronomers pick up radio signals from planets outside our solar system for the first time
Study: Sunlight hitting Venus's clouds could support life on the planet
Study: Watching virtual reality videos of the North Pole found to reduce chronic pain
Researchers examine the potential of photocatalysts to split water
Green scream: Plants emit "ultrasonic squeals" when stressed by drought or physical damage
Vesuvius eruption wiped out people of Pompeii because it lasted longer than 15 minutes, study finds
Transport startup to build high-speed boat-plane hybrid to service US coastal hubs
Study shows how plants time their flowering in the spring
Scientists discover volcano craters dotting surface of Mars
Nasal spray with nanobodies from llamas may be key to fighting coronavirus: Study
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Gold Medal Ice Dancer Scott Moir Did His Most Impossible Jump for a Hug
By Melissa Locker
Canadian ice dancer Scott Moir performed some incredible feats on the ice on his way to Olympic gold, but his greatest leap he saved for something far more important than a medal—a hug.
When it became clear that Moir was taking a gold medal in Figure Skating Ice Dance Free Dance home with him to Canada, he couldn't wait to share the news with friends. He quite literally jumped for joy, leaping what looks like five or six feet into the air, and clinging on to the grandstand at the Gangneung Ice Arena to greet friends, his skates dangling in the air. The leap is so impressive, perhaps Moir will represent Canada at the 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo.
Moir has a lot to be excited about at the 2018 Olympics. He and his long-time ice dancing partner Tessa Virtue took first place in ice dancing at the Games. They also took home gold at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, Canada, and silver at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia. That is in addition to their three world championships and eight national championships. No wonder the duo have a legion of dedicated fans around the world, including actor Ryan Reynolds who tweeted his congratulations to the pair.
Moir's impressive leap isn't the first time he took to jumping when overwhelmed with emotion. He also performed an enthusiastic leap after hitting the ice with Virtue earlier in the Olympics:
Playing Baseball During a Pandemic: What Happened in 1918
TIME's Best Photojournalism of 2020


These days, people are too often dissatisfied with who they are. They begin their day already with a glass half-empty, a lawn paler than their neighbor's, and wishing someone else was peering back at them from the mirror. So much does that last gripe obsess some, that by this time last year, the business of losing weight became a $20 billion industry. People are hungry to be thin.
Fad diets, books, exercises, and medical procedures become quick (and perilous) fixes for unhappy people trying to reinvent themselves. This frequently produces counterproductive and demoralizing (sometimes dangerous) results. Beware of the calorie, pound, and point counters – this is trading one unhealthy behavior for another. Avoid doing the following to break the yoyo-like cycle of unreasonable goals and unhappy results for a happier, healthier you.
If you think pursuing a healthier and happier you begins with weight loss, the first thing you should do is find out if you actually need to lose weight at all. Truthfully, short of a physical examination by a healthcare professional, there is no clinical way of determining if you are actually overweight (the oversimplified formula used by online body mass index calculators is unreliable at best, unable to account for higher-than-anticipated lean muscle for a given height).
Having taken that precaution, it's equally important to understand how to properly measure your weight-loss progress. Don't. Weigh yourself. Daily. This measures your progress as reliably as a Ouija board. A person's weight flucuates daily due to several factors, including the size of a recent meal, hydration, and hormones. Referred to as "water weight", these are easily "gainable and shedable" pounds that you shouldn't place much value in. A weekly visit to the scale should suffice.
Part of the dieting culture is categorizing "good" and "bad" foods. Intuitive Eating.org, an online resource by dietitian Evelyn Tribole and nutritional therapist Elyse Resch, quickly discourages this practice because of how it eventually clashes with natural behavior. Making certain foods taboo can intensify your cravings for them.
Constantly battling with denying yourself increases the likelihood of over indulgence if-and-when succumbing to the cravings.
Ultimately, your goal should be to work with your desire to eat – recognizing when you're honestly hungry, when you no longer are, and slowing down to be learn when you're satisfied (not overwhelmed) by your portions.
This often-discouraged practice has been a staple of many dieters for some time. In Batman's utility belt, it's the Batarang of dieting quick fixes – simply cut your caloric intake by a full meal. Pounds just have to disappear if you can hold out long enough. Therein lies the problem with the practice.
Just for a moment, lets forget about what most people tell you when you admit resorting to this. If you're determined in your mission, you may be prepared to accept a bit of dietary hardship. If all you care about is "eyes on the prize", your prize can be jeopardized by eventual comprensation.
You either succumb to your hunger before the day's end – or you actually have the hyper vigilant willpower to ignore what your body naturally wants (in which case, may indicate a far more serious situation).
Recognizing the importance of exercise in a healthy lifestyle is already a constructive decision on your part. It's common for dieters to try shirking the crucible of breaking a sweat if they can help it. Healthy, natural eating habits and even just a regular stroll through a nice part of town are a one-two-punch combo in helping you live more satisfyingly (and healthy).
Militarizing this aspect of your goal is a dangerous trap though. Sometimes, borderline abuse that can lead to severe consequences like dehydration, muscle tissue and organ damage, even death. Sequestering yourself on a treadmill to see which lung gives first will only increase your likelihood of injury (and having to postpone a regiment altogether).
Again, a professional consultation is paramount to an ideal, personalized regiment for yourself – but general rules of thumb can put you in ballpark figures of how much sweating you need to do (perhaps less than you expected).
Dr. Edward Laskowski, physical medicine and rehabilitation specialist with the Mayo Clinic, says a minimum of "150 minutes a week of moderate aerobic activity" meets average goals.
If you can fit something in five days a week, that's just half-an-hour on a brisk walk. If your exercise opportunities are farther and fewer in between, make your mark 75 minutes a week (but break out the running shoes). A pound of fat is equal to about 3,500 calories. Arithmetic says that's a pound dropped every week if you can burn or cut 500 calories from your daily intake (a healthy rate for reliable, sustained weight loss).
If being confident about who you are came so easily to us, Tony Robbins wouldn't be worth about half a billion dollars and 108 million Americans wouldn't be dieting right now. It's all too easy to think things could be better or easier if we "looked more like others" or "like we're supposed to".
Despite thoughts like this being psychological carcinogens, they undermine the point of living healthy and satisfied. It's no carrot, all stick – and its affecting younger and younger people each generation.
The National Eating Disorder Association has found that 40-to-60-percent of girls, ages 6-to-12-years-old, are already concerned about being "fat". Complacency in this is unacceptably dangerous. When weight loss is solely motivated by insecurity and the intense dissatisfaction that partners it, extreme tactics and their consequences are likely to follow.
Habits like excessive restricting can lead to permanent slowing of your regular heart rate. Blood pressure drops as well, indicating irreversible changes to the heart muscle (placing affected persons at higher risk of cardiac arrest and complications). Popular tools of the weight-loss desperate include laxative abuse – a damaging practice that weighs heavily on your digestive health (including increasing the likelihood of colon cancer).
Do-or-die depriving of your body's nutrition causes initial symptoms like fatigue, followed by skin conditions and hair loss as the body cannibalizes lean muscle and other tissues to feed itself what you're not giving it. Accelerated weight loss in crash diets can typically come from this, not burned fat.
Maryann Tomovich Jacobsen, dietitian and blogger for WebMD warns that "dieting is about deprivation, focusing on what you shouldn't have." The more you fight what your body naturally needs, the more a healthy lifestyle is undermined and derailed (66-percent of dieters typically regain their losses in the "yo-yo" affect).
The dieting mentality itself is a short-term solution. To have to endure uncomfortable or unsatisfying conditions until you achieve your results will only lessen your chances of feeling like you truly succeeded. In the pursuit of a healthier you, the changes you make will have to be with you from there on (so its best to make ones you like).
Recognize the value of physical activity, but don't weaponize it. Eat when you're hungry, but take your time with your food (a pause in a meal gives your body time to recognize and acknowledge what you give it). Finally, make sure who and what you're around makes you happy. Unhealthy eating habits have a way of being interconnected to other unhealthy parts of your life.


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text:
Q: Is there a way to Pivot Oracle SQL results to show 1 unique ID and the non null values in each column? I am an Oracle SQL beginner and I have an issue with the code below:
SELECT unique_id,
       CASE
         WHEN type LIKE 'E-%' THEN
          'electric'
         ELSE
          null
       END electric_flag,
       CASE
         WHEN type LIKE 'G-%' THEN
          'gas'
         ELSE
          null
       END gas_flag,
       CASE
         WHEN type LIKE 'W-%' THEN
          'water'
         ELSE
          null
       END water_flag,
       CASE
         WHEN type LIKE 'S-%' THEN
          'wastewater'
         ELSE
          null
       END wastewater_flag
  FROM (SELECT unique_id, type, end_dt
          FROM table
         WHERE end_dt IS NULL)

Which gives me the following results:

My goal is to have the results show like this:

It's almost like I want to group the results by the id, ignore rows that are all null, but combine the rows that return with the flag into a single row.
Any help would be greatly appreciated!

A: Here's a pseudo-code:
SELECT
*
FROM
(
SELECT
unique_id,
CASE type WHEN LIKE 'E-%' THEN 'electric'
          WHEN LIKE 'G-%' THEN 'gas'
          WHEN LIKE 'W-%' THEN 'water'
          WHEN LIKE 'S-%' THEN 'wastewater'
          ELSE NULL
END flag
FROM {table}
WHERE end_dt IS NULL
)
PIVOT
(
MAX(flag)
FOR flag IN ('electric' electric_flag, 'gas' gas_flag, 'water' water_flag, 'wastewater' wastewater_flag)
)

Here's an Oracle SQL Fiddle

A: You're almost there;

*

*Conditionals are needed but they should be aggregated

*a Grouping By unique_id clause should be added during the aggregation

*a subquery is not needed

*using ELSE null cases are redundant

*it's suitable to add a ROW_NUMBER() analytic function in order to generate a column with ordinal values

So, use the following SQL Select Statement of Conditional Aggregation :
SELECT ROW_NUMBER() OVER (ORDER BY unique_id) AS id,
       MAX(CASE
           WHEN type LIKE 'E-%' THEN
            'electric'
         END) AS electric_flag,
       MAX(CASE
           WHEN type LIKE 'G-%' THEN
            'gas'
         END) AS gas_flag,
       MAX(CASE
           WHEN type LIKE 'W-%' THEN
            'water'
         END) AS water_flag,
       MAX(CASE
           WHEN type LIKE 'S-%' THEN
            'wastewater'
         END) AS wastewater_flag
    FROM t
   WHERE end_dt IS NULL
   GROUP BY unique_id

Demo

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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text:
← He'd viewed and taken part in the mating rituals of more worlds than he could remember…
Excerpt Tuesday: Sky Woman Meets Determined Suitor →
#OnceUponATime #Fanfic Friday! Emma Uses Her Powers Of Persuasion
In my Once Upon A Time fanfic, Pandora's Pain, the town of Storbrooke gets a visitor who's looking for a certain magical box – one that happens to be in the possession of Mr. Gold – who is, at present banished from the town (this was set after season 4's mid-point hiatus).
In this scene, Emma and Killian confront Gold at his New York apartment, demanding to know the whereabouts of the box. Emma's all business, and Killian is all vengeance – but not for long…
"Dammit, Gold!" she shouted as the door flew open.
"I see you still prefer to handle things with your usual finesse," Rumple said.
"I don't have time for games," Emma retorted. "Where's the damn box?"
"And what's in it for me?"
"How about you get to keep your miserable life?" A voice said, with a great deal of menace. She turned slowly to face Killian.
"I told you to wait downstairs," she said.
"And I heard you shouting. You'll pardon me if I don't trust your safety to a man who tried to kill us both," he said darkly.
"You didn't expect a pirate to keep his word, did you, Miss Swan?" Rumple asked. "Now, if you two will excuse me…" He made a move to shut the door again, but this time, a hook embedded in it, just grazing his fingers at the edge. Rumple pulled his hand away uneasily.
"You've no one to hide behind now, Crocodile," Killian growled.
Emma deliberately stepped between them. "Me." She said it firmly. "He has me. And you need to back off. Now."
"He's not going to help us," Killian said. "And as long as he's alive, he's a threat to us all."
"As long as he's alive, we've got a better chance of finding that box," Emma repeated. She turned and looked at Rumple, who was eyeing them both with cool contempt. "Where's the box?"
"Again, I'm not hearing the part that benefits me," Rumple reminded her.
"What do you want?" she asked flatly, already half-knowing what he'd ask.
He gave her a condescending smile. "You know the answer to that."
"It's not my place to allow you back in," Emma said. "I don't even know if we can get you back in."
"I know how I might get back through the barrier," Rumple said. "But I'm going to need assurances. You have nothing to fear from me as long as Belle has the dagger. I need to know I'll be safe from certain…scurvy pirates."
"You want him to promise not to kill you?" Emma asked.
"No." Killian said over the top of her. "I won't do it."
"Then I don't see that we have anything more to discuss," Rumple said, turning to go. "Do be sure and show yourselves out."
"Wait!" Emma turned back to Killian. "You don't have to make him any promises," she said.
"Promise me."
"What?" He looked at her as though she were mad.
"You heard me. Promise me. He wouldn't believe a promise from you, anyway, and I don't want you making deals with him ever again. So promise me."
"I can't do that," he said. "Emma, he's dangerous -"
"You think I don't know that?" She raised her eyebrows, then put a hand gently on his arm. "But you're done with vengeance. You're not that man anymore. Show me. Promise me."
He stared at her, his jaw ticking furiously. Finally his gaze shifted to Rumple, and his voice bit out:
"I'll not seek to harm him deliberately, but if he ever harms anyone again by word or action, he will be made to pay. Painfully."
"Every day I share the Earth with you is pain," Rumple said darkly.
"Great," Emma said. "Glad we got that settled." She turned back to Rumple. "I can't just allow you back in – not without discussing it with Belle first. If she says no, then we'll do this the hard way and find the box ourselves."
"I'm sure you can explain to Belle – as you did to me – that it's for the greater good."
"It might make her more inclined to extend that invitation if you surrender the location as a goodwill gesture," Emma pointed out.
"Talk to Belle," Rumple said. "I'll wait."
She rolled her eyes, stepping back into the hallway and pulling the door shut behind her. Killian fell into step next to her, but kept glancing repeatedly over his shoulder, as if expecting an attack from behind. He didn't relax his guard until they were good and clear of the building and onto the subway. Even then, he still didn't speak. He was angry – no, more like furious. She knew what that promise had cost him.
She reached over, taking his hand.
He nodded, but he still didn't speak. His fingers closed around hers, though, and his hand was warm and solid.
"I know how hard that was for you."
"Do you?" he snapped. At the look on her face, he was immediately remorseful, and his eyes softened. "Emma, the man has threatened not only you, but the people you care for. And he'll do it again."
"And we'll face him again – together," she said. "I don't know if he deserves a second chance. That's not really for me to decide. But I do know he's taken enough from you. I won't let him have one bit more."
"Careful, Swan," he said, cracking a smile. "You're beginning to sound possessive."
"I don't own you, Killian."
"Don't you?" He pulled their hands up to his lips, placing a soft kiss against her knuckles. She had to break away from the heat in his gaze out of sheer self-preservation.
"This is our stop," she said, as the doors to the train opened. They stepped onto the platform and ascended up to the street, just in front of the hotel. Emma ducked under Killian's arm as he held the door.
"Always the gentleman," she smiled.
"Always a pirate," he reminded her. "I was born a gentleman."
They stepped into the elevator, and the doors closed, leaving them alone together in the car.
"And which one am I getting tonight?" she asked, throwing him a sideways glance.
His eyes darkened with interest. "Which one do you want?"
She held his gaze boldly. "Guess."
And a moment later she caught sight of them in the mirrored wall of the elevator car, as his hard body pinned hers, and his mouth captured her startled exclamation.
You can read Pandora's Pain on Fanfiction.net or Archive of Our Own (AO3).


text:
package ict.spark.mllib.optimization

import org.apache.spark.mllib.optimization.Gradient
import org.apache.spark.mllib.linalg._
import ict.spark.mllib.linalg.MyBLAS.{ axpy, dot, scal }
import ict.spark.mllib.linalg.MyBLAS
import scala.collection.mutable.ArrayBuffer

abstract class MSVMGradient extends Serializable {
  def compute(data: Vector, label: Int, weights: Array[Vector]): Array[Vector]
}
class MSVMLogisticGradient extends MSVMGradient {
  /**
   * Compute the gradient and loss given the features of a single data point.
   *
   * gradient(theta_j) = -1/m sigma(i<-1 to m) sigma(j<-1 to k) f(y^i = j) * x^i * (1-p(y^i = j | x^i ; theta ))
   * p(y^i = j | x^i;theta) = exp(theta_j * x^i) / sigma(l<-1 to k)(theta_l*x^i)
   *
   * @param data features for one data point : plus an additional "1" element for the intercept term R^(n+1)
   * @param label label for this data point
   * @param weights weights/coefficients corresponding to features
   *
   * @return (gradient: Matrix, loss: Double)
   */
  override def compute(data: Vector, label: Int, weights: Array[Vector]): Array[Vector] = {

    val marginArray: Array[Double] = {
      weights.map(elem => Math.exp(MyBLAS.dot(data, elem)))
    }
    val probability: Array[Double] = {

      val marginSum = marginArray.sum
      marginArray.map(elem => elem / marginSum)
    }
    var gradient: Array[Vector] = {
      var loss = probability
      loss(label) = loss(label) - 1.0
      var gradientArray = {
        loss.map(elem => {
          Vectors.dense(data.toArray.map(d => d * elem))
        })
      }
      gradientArray.asInstanceOf[Array[Vector]]
    }

    gradient
  }

}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


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Have you ever thought to yourself, "if only I had an extra $50 a month?" Coming up with extra savings can seem challenging, especially when you're living on a maxed-out budget. The good news is there are simple ways to save money without sacrificing the things you love.
As I reveal in my new book, Burn Your Mortgage, many of us have our spending on autopilot. We pay those monthly recurring expenses like our cable and cell phone bills without giving them a second thought. By taking a closer look at where you're spending your money, you can find new ways to save and free up your cash flow to repay debts like your mortgage.
Here are some of the big expenses where you might be able to find extra savings.
If you're only watching TV for 30 minutes a night, is it really worth spending anywhere from $50-$150 a month on cable? If you're only watching a handful of channels, you might decide to only subscribe to basic cable.
Many are deciding to cancel cable and live cable-free (these people have been nicknamed "cord cutters"). If you decide to cancel cable TV, you don't have to just stare at a blank TV screen. There are alternatives where you can still get your entertainment fix, such as installing a high definition antenna on your home. In cities like Toronto, you may be able to get about 20 channels. You might also consider subscribing to an online streaming service to watch your favourite shows.
Similar to a mortgage, when you're looking for a cell phone and plan, it pays to shop around. Don't just sign up for the first offer. Look for a plan that suits your phone usage needs. If you use your cell phone infrequently, you might want to consider switching from a monthly plan to a prepaid plan. If your cell phone contract is coming up for renewal, don't be afraid to ask for a better deal. Other ways to save include bundling your cell phone, Internet and cable together and sharing your plan with family.
After mortgage/rent and transportation, food is the third highest household expense for most families. If you can save just 15 or 20 percent on your grocery bill, you might be able to free up an extra $50 or $100 a month. The easiest way to save on groceries is to stop throwing out so much food. Take the time to do a shopping list, so you don't end up buying items that you already have in your fridge.
You can save big bucks on non-perishable items by buying them in bulk and on sale. When something like canned soup or spaghetti is on sale, stock up so you have enough to last until the next sale. If you're in the habit of shopping at a premium supermarket, consider shopping at discount stores. You'll still enjoy most of the same items like breakfast cereals, but you could be saving $1 or $2 per item, which adds up quickly.
As I mentioned above, transportation is the second highest monthly expense for most families. If you can get by without owning a vehicle, you can save a lot of money. If you live in a big city, there are plenty of alternatives, such as car sharing services, public transit and cycling.
If you need a vehicle, there are still ways to save. Instead of owning two vehicles, maybe your family can get by with only one. And instead of driving a new car off the lot, consider buying a second-hand vehicle from a registered car dealer. Besides gas, auto insurance is another costly expense. You can save by shopping around and bundling your home and auto insurance.
These are just a few examples. Why not get creative and see what other savings you can come up with? By making smart spending decisions, you can save money and live well while doing it.
Written by Sean Cooper. This article originally appeared on Tangerine's site: Forward Thinking.
Setting goals to help achieve short-term gains can pay off when living on a tight budget.
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text:
HAWKWIND / BLACKHEART ORCHESTRA – Manchester Albert Hall, Nov 15 2019
VELVET THUNDER > Live Reviews > HAWKWIND / BLACKHEART ORCHESTRA – Manchester Albert Hall, Nov 15 2019
Born To Go unfolds sinuously, visiting areas of deep space all too infrequently explored by latter day Hawkwind
PHOTOS: Chris Walkden
Amazingly, this current UK jaunt marks the 50th anniversary of Hawkwind as a band, which in itself is quite extraordinary. Of course, Dave Brock is the only original member left, and has been for 40 years, but it can easily be forgotten that drummer Richard Chadwick has himself been occupying the stool for 31 years. Newer members Magnus Martin and Niall Hone are tonight joined by guest for the tour Tim Blake, an old Hawk alumnus dating back to 1979, and before that also a member of Gong (under the name Hi T. Moonweed!), but it remains a thing of wonder that Brock continues to pilot the ship at the astonishing age of 78! Not only that, but on this showing the band are on something of a high following this year's oddly titled All Aboard The Skylark album.
Last year's outing had seen the band accompanied by an orchestra with arrangements by Mike Batt, but this incarnation is a much more stripped-down, space-rocking beast, with clear echoes back to what most would describe as their 'golden age' of the '70s. Tim Blake adds a lot to this as, in addition to his presence bestriding the stage with his 'keytar' – managing the difficult trick of actually making that particular hybrid beast look cool – he also employs the Theremin to regular and excellent effect, creating those old 'whooshing' noises we know and love, and raising the memories of Del Dettmar and DikMik in the process.
The Blackheart Orchestra
Support band, as they were last time out, are Lancashire duo The Blackheart Orchestra, playing what is as close to a hometown gig as the tour will provide and going over very well. Comprising multi-instrumentalists Rick Pilkington and Chrissy Mostyn, they somehow manage to create their densely layered sound without recourse to any backing tapes and provide quite the visual spectacle in the process. The old-fashioned, circular design of this converted church venue provides a much better setting for their intimate sound than the open-plan, spacious Lowry Theatre that they played on the previous tour, and they fill the space with both their sound and presence, drawing people into the performance. Despite only having half an hour to impress, they resist temptation to overload the set with material from their rather excellent latest album Mesmeranto, breaking it up with raids into the previous record Diving For Roses and even earlier, and indeed one of those Roses tracks Sebastian is a clear highlight of the set, receiving a particularly generous ovation. Hawkwind have adopted the duo, and with good reason.
It's often said, quite accurately, that one of the exciting things about watching Hawkwind perform is that you never know what you're going to get
After an interval during which photos and details of local lost and stolen dogs are shown on the big screen demonstrating the band's strong commitment to this very worthy cause, Hawkwind open with Motorway City, dating back to the Live Seventy Nine and Levitation albums, and Blake's first tenure in the group. The opening track from the latest album, Flesh Fondue is next up – a rocked-up remake of Star Cannibal from the Church Of Hawkwind album (also from Blake's time), it's a great reinvention and goes down a storm, even if it is hard to understand the change of title. Only four tracks are played from the new record, with the shorter 65 Million Years Ago, the laid-back Last Man On Earth and the lengthy album closer The Fantasy Of Faldum being the others, as it is clear the emphasis here is on the band's proud history.
The Wizard of the Theremin, Tim Blake, conjuring his magic
Born To Go, from the seminal 1973 live album Space Ritual, is a gloriously unexpected blast from the space-rock past, and is even introduced by a variation on Bob Calvert's Song Of The Gremlin, paying tribute to a fallen comrade as it were. Born To Go itself unfolds sinuously, visiting areas of deep space all too infrequently explored by latter day Hawkwind, and with the superbly complementary laser effects evokes an updated take on that old Space Ritual audio-visual experience. This is classic Hawkwind writ large, and proof that on their day, when they want to head down this particular astral avenue, still no-one can do it quite like the original Masters of the Universe.
With limited time available (so many albums, so little time), there is no room for anything from the classic Doremi Fasol Latido or Hall Of The Mountain Grill albums, but we do get the evergreen Assault And Battery/The Golden Void from 1975's Warrior On The Edge Of Time and Spirit Of The Age from Quark Strangeness And Charm, both greeted like old friends, albeit ones which crash your party and smoke all of your dope! Space is even made for the genuine Hawkwind 'greatest hit' Silver Machine, surprisingly mid-set instead of as an encore, and it is the best they have played it in quite some time. With Chadwick handling the vocals, Blake's Theremin soars and swoops majestically just as the original recording did those many, many moons ago, and it finally reappears as its stoned, immaculate self rather than the straight boogie number it is sometimes delivered as. Once again, we're invited to Party Like It's 1972, and most of the seemingly capacity crowd don't need asking twice.
Magnus Martin and Niall Hone
After the closing Right To Decide – a surprise from 1991's Electric Tepee album – the band reappear for the inevitable encore. Magnus Martin approaches the microphone to announce that the acoustic guitar he bears is one which belonged to the late lamented Huw Lloyd Langton, and proceeds to introduce the next song as dedicated to 'all of those who couldn't be here, both band members and fans, because they have already passed' before the band go into track one from the very first album Hurry On Sundown. It's a beautifully done dedication, and with the sight of people silhouetted against the stained glass windows right around the balcony, surely many would have been remembering their own departed fellow-travellers. The song itself is delivered, by contrast, with all of the joy and abandonment it has always had, as hundreds of voices take up the words along with Brock and Martin. It's a marvellous bookend to the band's career, and perfect for the occasion, but there is still time for a lengthy, trippy-as-hell version of Master Of The Universe before it implodes into a final snatch of Welcome To The Future, and the band are gone.
It's often said, quite accurately, that one of the exciting things about watching Hawkwind perform is that you never know what you're going to get. From the sublime (the Space Ritual, Atomhenge and Black Sword epics) to the rather less so (Nik Turner's insane antics at the turn of the '80s, the bizarre decision to play behind a curtain in the early '90s), there has never been a time when a Hawkwind show has been predictable. Tonight is not only one of those good nights, it is a genuinely great one. For as long as Captain Brock can continue on the flight deck, the Spaceship Hawkwind will always have an eager crowd ready to board – from the grizzled old veterans through to those younger faces whose parents or even grandparents must have bought those early albums. And so it should be. After all, that's the Spirit of the Age.
Still in command – the great Dave Brock.
Tag: Hawkwind, The Blackheart Orchestra
Author: Steve Pilkington
Former editor of the CRS magazine 'Rock Society'. Presenter of weekly radio show A Saucerful Of Prog on Rock Radio UK. Author of several music biographies. 70s throwback...
Photo: Sebastian Vickers
Delain – Birmingham 02 Institute, 6 February 2020
Collateral/Little Red Kings – Leo's Red Lion, Gravesend, 04/10/19
Voyager/Coldbones/Shattered Skies – 229 The Venue, London, 22/9/19
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Captain Thomas Coupe (1818 – December 27, 1875) was a ship's captain and early settler of Whidbey Island.

Thomas Coupe was born in New Brunswick, Canada and began going to sea at the age of 12. Coupe sailed the North American Atlantic Coast until the early 1850s.  Coupe sailed to the Puget Sound area in 1852 on the sailing vessel Success, a ship in which he was half owner.

Under the Donation Land Claim Act, Coupe established a 320-acre claim in the central part of Whidbey Island upon which the present town of Coupeville now stands.

He is the only captain known to have sailed a square-rigged ship through Deception Pass. The town of Coupeville was named after him; there, he built a house in 1854, from Californian redwood.

Coupe was also the sailing master on the Jefferson Davis, the first revenue cutter on Puget Sound. Coupe retired to his farm on Whidbey Island, remaining there until his death in 1875.  He is buried in the Sunnyside Cemetery in the central Whidbey Island area.

Coupe had sons, Thomas Coupe and George M. Coupe.

References

American sailors

1818 births
1875 deaths
History of Island County, Washington
Maritime history of Washington (state)
Pre-Confederation Canadian emigrants to the United States
Ebey's Landing National Historical Reserve
Coupeville, Washington

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


MiX Telematics will be providing its flagship telematics solution, MiX Fleet Manager, to a major global fast-moving consumer goods company in North America to help reduce accidents by improving driver behavior, the telematics provider has announced.
The company declined to name its new client.
As a responsible global leader, the company wanted to ensure that its drivers and vehicles are managed safely and efficiently using the latest technology. The solution will initially be implemented across more than 1,500 vehicles, including medium and light duty trucks used for transporting goods, as well as passenger cars used by its sales force.
The flexibility of MiX Telematics' solution portfolio ensures that the varying risk levels of the different vehicles and drivers in the fleet are effectively addressed. The solution includes the MiX Vision in-cab video solution for several hundred vehicles as well as an in-cab display for real-time feedback on driving style.
"We are delighted to have secured this contract with this recognized, global leader in the FMCG industry, and look forward to helping them improve driver behavior and reduce accidents," said Charles Tasker, Group Chief Operations Officer at MiX Telematics. "This further demonstrates our ability to meet the requirements of large, premium customers globally, no matter their industry, fleet size or makeup."


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Q: Using || (or) or other operator? I'm creating a login system and wanted to add three more hardcoded login details to my code. I currently have one that requires a username, password and student number to login. When prompted to enter code in the console, the entries must match the hardcoded details to gain authentication. I would like to add three more login details, so there will be four in total. Here is my login system as it currently stands;
    final String UserID = "TomDeponeo";
    final String Password = "LJMU";
    final int StudentNumber = 22334455;

    String EnteredUserID;
    String EnteredPassword;
    int EnteredStudentNumber;
    for (int s = 0; s <= 3; s++) {
        if (s < 3) {
            System.out.println("Enter your UserID to access lift;");
            EnteredUserID = console.nextLine();
            System.out.println("Your UserID is >>> " + EnteredUserID);
            System.out.println("Enter your password to authenticate login;");
            EnteredPassword = console.nextLine();
            System.out.println("Password Entered is >>> " + EnteredPassword);
            System.out.println("Enter your student number to finalise login and authentication;");
            EnteredStudentNumber = console.nextInt();
            System.out.println("Student Number Entered is >>> " + EnteredStudentNumber);
            if (UserID.equals(EnteredUserID) && (Password.equals(EnteredPassword))
                    && (StudentNumber == EnteredStudentNumber)) {
                System.out.println("Athentication complete!");
                System.out.println("***Elevator access granted!***");
                System.out.println("Welcome...");
                Elevator a = new Elevator();
                Elevator.selectFloor();
                break;

            } else {
                System.out.println("Wrong UserID, Password or Student Number. Please try again.");
            }
        } else {
            System.out.println("3 incorrect enteries detected. Access Denied!");
        }
    }
}

I currently only have one set of login details, but would like to add more. Here is an example of what I mean;
final String UserID = "TomDeponeo";
final String Password = "LJMU";
final int StudentNumber = 22334455;

final String UserID2 ="Secondname";
final String Password2 = "Secondpassword";
final String StudentNumber2 = "123456";

//etc...

String EnteredUserID2;
String EnteredPassword2;
int EnteredStudentNumber2;

//etc...

The main part of this question relates to adding in the other possible login details to the login system. Would I need to use || to allow for other possible entries? Other details will be added here;
if (UserID.equals(EnteredUserID) && (Password.equals(EnteredPassword))
                    && (StudentNumber == EnteredStudentNumber)) {

To something like this possibly?
if (UserID.equals(EnteredUserID) && (Password.equals(EnteredPassword))
      && (StudentNumber == EnteredStudentNumber)) {
      || (UserID2.equals(EnteredUserID2) && (Password2.equals(EnteredPassword2))
      && (StudentNumber2 == EnteredStudentNumber2))

Only 1 set of the possible 4 logins is needed to login.

A: This is a good example of why Object programming is necessary in that case.
You should create a class which contains three fields, namely
class User {

    String userID;
    String password;
    int studentNumber;

    public User(String userID, String pass, int number) {
        this.userID = userID;
        this.password = pass;
        this.studentNumber = number;
    }
}

So that you can have an ArrayList<User> of User instances. You can then easily iterate over this list to find any matching credentials.

A: I would use a nice object:
public class Credentials {

    private final String name;
    private final String password;
    private final String studentNumber;

    public Credentials(String name, String password, String studentNumber) {
        super();
        this.name = name;
        this.password = password;
        this.studentNumber = studentNumber;
    }

    @Override
    public boolean equals(Object obj) {
        if (this == obj)
            return true;
        if (getClass() != obj.getClass())
            return false;
        Credentials other = (Credentials) obj;
        if (!this.name.equals(other.name)) {
            return false;
        }
        if (!this.password.equals(other.password)) {
            return false;
        }
        if (!this.studentNumber.equals(other.studentNumber)) {
            return false;
        }
        return true;
    }

}

And in your test class:
private static final Credentials[] cred = {
    new Credentials("TomDeponeo", "LJMU", "22334455"),
    new Credentials("Secondname", "Secondpassword", "123456"),
    /* ... */
};

Then to test for entered credentials:
public static boolean checkForCredentials(String EnteredUserID, String EnteredPassword, String EnteredStudentNumber) {
    Credentials entered = new Credentials(EnteredUserID, EnteredPassword, EnteredStudentNumber);

    for (Credentials creds : validCredentials) {
        if (creds.equals(entered)) {
            return true;
        }
    }
    return false;
}

With this you can have an undefined number of hardcoded credentials without touching the logic. Be aware that I have overrided equals but not hashCode. This is for example, in real world, you always want to override both hashCode AND equals or none.

A: You were close. This is the correct boolean logic you are looking for:
if ((UserID.equals(EnteredUserID) && Password.equals(EnteredPassword) && StudentNumber == EnteredStudentNumber)
|| (UserID2.equals(EnteredUserID2) && Password2.equals(EnteredPassword2) && StudentNumber2.Equals(EnteredStudentNumber2)))

Notice, the EnteredStudentNumber2 variable is a string, so you will have to use .Equals().
The first EnteredStudentNumber is an integer, so you can use == comparison.

A: As others have stated it is possible to do this with the or operator (||)
You would want to group your checks for all the fields with parantheses around them then or for the other checks
    if ((UserID.equals(EnteredUserID) && (Password.equals(EnteredPassword)) && (StudentNumber == EnteredStudentNumber))
            || (UserID2.equals(EnteredUserID) && (Password2.equals(EnteredPassword)) && (StudentNumber2 == EnteredStudentNumber))
            [...]
            )

However this probably isn't such a great idea as it's very error prone (you could accidentally check StudentNumber4 in a block that is supposed to check StudentNumber43, therefore you should be working with some kind of Iterable Data structure. That can multiple List<String>, multiple String Arrays String[] or lists of objects encapsulating your UserInformation (List<User> or User[])


text:
(17806) Adolfborn est un astéroïde de la ceinture principale.

Description
(17806) Adolfborn est un astéroïde de la ceinture principale. Il fut découvert le  à l'observatoire d'Ondřejov par Petr Pravec. Il présente une orbite caractérisée par un demi-grand axe de 2,31 UA, une excentricité de 0,11 et une inclinaison de 3,3° par rapport à l'écliptique.

Compléments
L'astéroïde a été dénommé d'après le peintre tchèque Adolf Born.

Articles connexes
 Liste des planètes mineures (17001-18000)
 Ceinture d'astéroïdes

Références

Planète mineure découverte en 1998
Astéroïde de la ceinture principale
Objet céleste découvert par Petr Pravec
Objet céleste découvert à l'observatoire d'Ondřejov
Adolfborn


�Kabhi Kabhi� is a story of a simple girl, Eeshal who is trying to find an escape from her superficial life as her father is a filthy rich businessman. Eeshal falls in love with a middle-class guy Aaraiz, whereas her father wants her to get married with a handsome young businessman, Shahraiz. Despite of Aaraiz�s family background and being aware of his mother�s negative mind set, Eeshal repudiates the decision of her father and takes a bold decision of getting married to Aaraiz but life becomes difficult for her as soon as she enters her new house and even more miserable due to the nefarious attitude of her mother-in-law and an evil-minded sister-in-law. On the other hand Eeshal�s Dad is constantly destroying her married life through his vicious activities as he wants to take his daughter out of that house.Director: Anjum ShahzadWriter: Samira FazalCast:Ahsan Khan,Mehwish Hayat, Javed Shiekh, Bushra Ansari, Faris Shafi, Aly Khan, Nosheen Shah, Sana Askari and others.


random thoughts of an aging artist: "Removal"
I have begun reading E.B. White's One Man's Meat. The first essay in the book is titled Removal, and was written in July of 1938.
I like the way he draws pictures in your mind with his words. There's a wonderful simplicity about his choices of words, yet a lot of power to the images they create.
There is a section in this essay where he is talking about TV and its impact....now remember, this was written in 1938!
When I was a child people simply looked about them and were moderately happy; today they peer beyond the seven seas, bury themselves waist deep in tiddings, and by and large what they see and hear makes them unutterably sad.
I got a letter from a lightning rod company this morning trying to put the fear of God in me, but with small success. Lightning seems to have lost its menance. Compared to what is going on on earth today, heaven's firebrands are penny fireworks with wet fuses.


text:
Previous (Cesare Beccaria)
Next (Cesare Lombroso)
Cesare Borgia, portrait by Altobello Meloni
Cesare Borgia (September 13, 1475 – March 11, 1507) was a Spanish-Italian cardinal who resigned his church office to became a military commander, powerful lord, and a leading figure in the politics of his era. The acknowledged but illegitimate son of Pope Alexander VI, Borgia was the sibling of Lucrezia, Jofré, and Giovanni Borgia.
Borgia was a brilliant general who lived during the period when the papacy was a both a spiritual and military power. Cesare Borgia's actions greatly advanced the domain of the Papal States after his father became pope. Simultaneously Borgia became a powerful political figure in his own right. His amassed titles included Duke of Valentinois and Romagna; Prince of Andria and Venafro; Count of Dyois; Lord of Piombino, Camerino, and Urbino; Gonfalonier; and military Captain-General of the Holy Church.
1.1 Early years
1.2 Military career
1.3 Last years
1.4 Marriage and children
Borgia gained a reputation not only for effectiveness as a military leader but for outright ruthlessness in the pursuit and maintenance of power. Many believe he was the model for Niccolo Machiavelli's vision of The Prince. His character has been portrayed in literature and film. Cesare Borgia and his family came to represent the height of the Renaissance papacy's corruption and ambition a generation before Protestant Reformation. In many ways the excesses of Borgia's support of the papacy proved to be the impetus for the Reformation.
Pope Alexander VI
Lucrezia Borgia
Like nearly all aspects of Cesare Borgia's life, the date of his birth is a subject of conflict. However, it is accepted that he was born in Rome between 1474 and 1476, as the son of Cardinal Rodrigo de Lanzol y Borja, soon to become Pope Alexander VI, and the cardinal's mistress, Vannozza de' Cattanei. The Borgia family originally came from Spain and rose in the mid fifteenth century, when Cesare's great uncle Alonso Borgia (1378-1458), bishop of Valencia, was elected Pope Callixtus III in 1455. Cesare's father, as Pope Alexander VI, was the first pope who openly recognized the children he had with a mistress. (Several early popes also had children they acknowledged, some of whom even became popes themselves, but these were all legitimate sons conceived before their fathers had been appointed to the higher clergy.)
With brown eyes and orange hair, Cesare was acknowledged to be a beautiful child and grew to be a fleet-footed, tall, handsome man of great ambition, much like his father. He was initially groomed for a career in the church and was made bishop of Pamplona at the age of 15. Three years later, after legal studies in Perugia and Pisa and his father's election as Pope Alexander VI in 1492, Cesare was made cardinal and became Alexander's close adviser.
Cesare's religious vocation was never strong, and he gained a reputation at the papal court for his womanizing, lavish clothing, and hunting parties. Alexander VI staked his primary hopes for the Borgia family on Cesare's younger brother Giovanni, who was made duke of Gandía in eastern Spain and captain general of the military forces of the papacy, in which capacity he led campaigns in 1496, against factions of the nobility who had rebelled against Alexander's rule, especially the Orsini family. However, Giovanni was assassinated in 1497, under mysterious circumstances, and several contemporaries suggested that Cesare was his killer.
With a military career now open to him and his father in need of a trusted captain, on August 17, 1498, Cesare became the first person ever to resign as cardinal. Meanwhile, a key political marriage had been arranged between Cesare and Charlotte d'Albret, sister of King John III of Navarre in northern Spain. King Louis XII of France immediately named Cesare duke of Valentinois (southeastern France), securing his future nickname, "Valentino."
Military career
Map of Italy in 1494.
Map showing position of Emilia-Romagna today.
Cesare's alliance with France, reinforced during the course of the Italian Wars, helped lay the foundation for his military political career, as did his father's ability to distribute patronage in ways that favored Cesare. Cesare's French marriage also secured the assistance of France in Alexander's plan not only to regain control in the rebellious areas of the Papal States but also to create a permanent political domain for the house of Borgia.
Cesare's first important victory came in support of Louis XII who had invaded Italy, in 1499, in an effort to press his claims against those of Ferdinand I of Spain regarding the kingdoms of Milan in the north and Naples to the south of Rome. As captain general of the papal army, Cesare accompanied Louis in his victorious entrance into Milan.
Alexander now moved toward the creation of a Borgia domain in northern Italy. The pope deposed his vicars in the provinces of Romagna and Marche, and Cesare—with a number of Italian soldiers supported by 300 cavalry and 4,000 Swiss infantry provided by Louis XII—marched on Imola and Forlì in Romagna. These towns were ruled by Caterina Sforza, the mother of the Medici military leader Giovanni dalle Bande Nere. After the conquest of Imola and Forlì, Cesare's French troops were withdrawn from him, but he returned to Rome to celebrate his triumph and received the prestigious title of papal Gonfaloniere (papal protector) from his father. In 1500, gifts to the pope associated with the creation of 12 new cardinals gave Alexander enough money to hire the forces of the powerful condottieri (mercenary leaders) Vitellozzo Vitelli, Gian Paolo Baglioni, Giulio and Paolo Orsini, and Oliverotto da Fermo. Under Cesare's command, these forces served to renew the campaign to expand the Papal States in Romagna.
Cesare's forces went from victory to victory. Giovanni Sforza, the former husband of Cesare's sister Lucrezia, was soon ousted from Pesaro. Pandolfo Malatesta lost Rimini. Faenza, too, surrendered, its young lord Astorre III Manfredi later being drowned in the Tiber river by Cesare's order. In May 1501, Cesare was created duke of Romagna.
Cesare now moved to add the lordship of the western seaport town of Piombino in Tuscany to his new lands. While his condottieri managed the siege of Piombino, Cesare commanded the French troops in the sieges of Naples and Capua south of the Papal States. On June 24, 1501, his troops successfully stormed Capua, causing the fall of the Spanish power in southern Italy.
In June 1502, he set out for the region of Marche on Italy's east coast, southeast of Romagna, where he was able to capture the towns of Urbino and Camerino without a fight. It was at this time that Niccolo Machiavelli, as an ambassador of Florence embedded with Cesare's forces, came to so admire the Borgia prince's ruthlessly competent character and behavior.
Cesare's next step would be Bologna, the key city of Romagna. However, several of his condottieri, who feared Cesare's unbridled power, now set up a plot against him. His commanders Guidobaldo da Montefeltro and Giovanni Maria da Varano returned to Urbino and Camerino and Fossombrone and led a coalition of forces in revolt. Cesare, with inadequate troops, fought a successful defensive campaign against them until funds from the pope enabled him to rebuild his forces and work through diplomatic maneuvers to split the coalition aligned against him. He then called for a truce and negotiations, but treacherously imprisoned the remaining conspirators in the port city of Senigallia and had them executed for treason.
Pope Julius II
Cesare Borgia, Palazzo Venetia, Rome.
The news of his father's death in 1503 arrived when Cesare, himself gravely ill, possibly of the same disease (thought to be malaria), was planning the conquest of Tuscany. Despite being at the height of his power, Cesare could do nothing without continued papal patronage. While he was convalescent in Castel Sant'Angelo in Rome, he was able to create enough influence on the conclave to elect a new pope he believed would support him in Pius III. However, this pope's reign was shockingly short, lasting less than a month. After the new pope's death, Cesare seems to have been deceived into giving his support to the new likely candidate, Julius II, who in fact had never ceased being an enemy of the Borgias.
Vacating Rome and moving to Romagna to quench a revolt, Cesare was seized and imprisoned by his own former ally, Gian Paolo Baglioni, near Perugia. All his lands were forfeited to the Papal States. Exiled to Spain in 1504, he escaped from a Spanish prison two years later and joined his French brother-in-law, King John III of Navarre. In his service, Cesare died at the siege of the Spanish town of Viana in 1507, at the age of 31.
Marriage and children
Cesare and his wife Charlotte d'Albret were parents to a daughter, Louise Borgia, (1500-1553) who married first Louis II de La Tremouille, Governor of Burgundy, and secondly Philippe de Bourbon, Seigneur de Busset.
Cesare was also father to at least 11 illegitimate children, some of whom became well known. Rumors that he fathered a daughter through an incestuous relationship with his sister are considered unfounded.
Not so holy family: Cesare Borgia (left) with father Rodrigo (Pope Alexander VI) and sister Lucrezia.
Cesare Borgia has been the subject of many legends regarding his ruthlessness and cruelty. He and his father, Pope Alexander VI, are considered by many to be the epitome of power-hungry corruption surrounding the Renaissance papacy. His family became the brunt of sermons by the likes of puritanical preachers such as Savanorola, as well as vicious propaganda by various political rivals. He has been featured prominently, nearly always portrayed as a villain, in numerous motion pictures and modern or contemporary novels.
However, Cesare was also a brilliant military commander and a skillful statesman. He was greatly admired by Niccolò Machiavelli, who was at Borgia's court from October 7, 1502 through January 18, 1503. During this time Machiavelli wrote regular dispatches to his superiors in Florence, many of which have survived and are published in Machiavelli's collected works. Machiavelli also used many of Borgia's exploits and tactics as examples in The Prince and advised politicians to imitate Cesare. Two episodes were particularly impressive to Machiavelli: The method by which Borgia pacified the Romagna, and his tactics leading up to the execution of his rebellious captains in Senigallia.
However, Machiavelli's praise for Borgia as the ideal of a prince unconstrained by moral conscience is subject to a great deal of controversy. Some scholars see in Machiavelli's Borgia the precursor of a parade of moral outrages carried out by various rulers, culminating in the heinous state crimes in the twentieth century.
A man of scientific rather than artistic interests, Cesare Borgia briefly employed Leonardo da Vinci as military architect and engineer.
A little known fact about Cesare Borgia is that, according to the French writer Alexandre Dumas and others, his handsome appearance seems to have influenced many images of Jesus Christ painted during and subsequent to his career.
Beuf, Carlo. Cesare Borgia, The Machiavellian Prince. Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1942. OCLC 378571
Bradford, Sarah. Cesare Borgia, His Life and Times. New York: Macmillan, 1976. ISBN 978-0025144002.
Chamberlin, E. R. The Fall of the House of Borgia. New York: Dial Press, 1974. OCLC 659044
Haney, John. Cesare Borgia. New York: Chelsea House, 1987. ISBN 978-0877545958.
Johnson, Marion. The Borgias. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1981. ISBN 978-0030595769.
Puzo, Mario, and Carol Gino. The Family: A Novel. New York: Regan Books, 2001. ISBN 978-0060394455.
All links retrieved January 24, 2017.
Machiavelli's, The Prince
Excerpts from The Prince dealing with Cesare Borgia classicreader.com
Cesare Borgia history
History of "Cesare Borgia"
Retrieved from http://web.newworldencyclopedia.org/p/index.php?title=Cesare_Borgia&oldid=1002891


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That India was not shining for the majority of Indians was clearly visible during the elections, with BJP being voted out of power. Congress, being coalition dependent, intelligently skirted the foreign-origin issue by making Dr. Manmohan Singh its Prime Ministerial candidate. As a result, at least in the intellectual and academic circles, there was excitement at a Professor and an economist getting the most coveted post in Indian politics. Dr. Manmohan Singh is known for his personal integrity. Not only has he been a highly regarded economist, but he has also proven in the past his ability to undertake massive economic transformation of the country. We can only have the highest regard for a person like him. That is precisely the reason why we are also shocked to the core when he justifies the presence of tainted ministers in his cabinet.
He speaks of compulsions of the coalition government. Since we do not have access to the discussions leading to formation of the government, we can give him the benefit of doubt. At the same time a few things are worth mentioning. We feel that with a little effort, alternative candidates to these tainted ministers could have been found. Even if we were to consider the highly debated candidature of Laloo Prasad Yadav as an example, we see that his own Rashtriya Janata Dal does have a few MPs who are not tainted. One is thus surely forced to wonder why some of those MPs were not selected for the ministerial posts instead; especially with someone like Laloo Prasad Yadav himself being known for his superb and practical intelligence. After all, he accepted the Constitutional propriety when he resigned from the Chief Minister's post and anointed his beloved wife as Chief Minister of Bihar; and still did not hesitate to march in style to the jails. It is therefore a little surprising that he insisted on becoming the Railway Minister, (a post which he in any case apparently promised Ram Vilas Paswan) to decide the destiny of only 16 lakh employees when he is actually waiting for the day he shall be on the Prime Minister's throne in India to decide the fate of more than 1000 million Indians! The Congress Party, with a little extra effort, surely could have prevailed over these appointed ministers and kept the cabinet clean.
It is also very difficult to comprehend Dr. Manmohan Singh's justification for tainted Ministers by arguing that they have won in the "people's court". We believe Dr. Manmohon Singh is not doing justice to his highly dignified life-long record. Thereby he is injuring the sense of dignity of the Indian masses, whatever be the reason, including the excuse of the powerful "inner voice" behind his throne. It is therefore worth suggesting that he should come out of the indignities being heaped on him by immediately setting up Constitutional courts to try the charge-sheeted Ministers. This will keep his record of being a clean and honourable man intact; and also shut the mouths of the Congress detractors the way his becoming the Prime Minister did.
The bigger question which will invariably arise in this debate is whether the country can afford the costs of setting up such special courts? In my opinion the country certainly can, should and really high time that it does. We know about 2.8 lakh under-trial prisoners are languishing in jails for more years than the highest punishment prescribed for the offence they have committed, if they are proven guilty. We also know from the past records that more than 82% of these prisoners (more than 2.3 lacs of them) are likely to be set free because they are innocent. It will be only humane if we release at least 2 lacs of them on personal bonds. This will save the country annually Rs.400 crore, @ Rs.55 spent by the government per under-trial prisoner per day. The money saved then can be used not only for creating a few such courts required to try these tainted ministers, but can also be used to create about 5000 such special courts with a high end budget of Rs.8 lacs per annum (an amount spent per court in the High Courts) for each such court. Not only would this measure bring better sense of justice towards the poor under-trials in our prisons and double-up as the way out for setting up of the special tribunals to try the tainted ministers on an immediate basis, but also would go a long way to speed up the judicial machinery in the country. We believe this will be a sufficient measure to assure people of India that no proven criminal remains a minister in this country. Even if more than 90% of the MLAs and MPs are brought to the court for various crimes (including rigging undertaken by criminals on their behalf during elections) the nation will feel relieved. It is a different story that the ministers themselves might end up being saved from continuing their miserable and ridiculous existence by proving their innocence in these courts by employing a battery of most brilliant and committed lawyers that they generally possess. At least in the future, the presence of an effective judicial machinery, will surely serve as a deterrent from repeating their past mistakes.


Yep, that's right. The Mudcat Cookbook, Whiskey Before Breakfast (And Other Meals from the Mudcat Café) will be going to press any day now. I'm still making a final choice of printer, but cookbooks will begin shipping in approximately 3 weeks.
Whiskey Before Breakfast includes 140 pages of recipes from some of the Mudcat's finest cooks, a reference section with measurement conversions and more, and tunes to play while waiting for your meal to cook. The book is coil-bound, making it easy to lay flat for cooking, and sports a glossy, beer-resistant cover for those of you who are messy cooks. A preview of the book will be going online soon.
Or help raise even more money for the Mudcat and avoid the Paypal fees by mailing a check or money order – just email or PM me for details!
If you'd like to make an additional donation to the Mudcat Café, you can make the donation at the same time and I will pass the extra funds on.
Are there vegetarian recipes in it? Sorry, I haven't been following the thread.
Thanks, btw, it sounds grand!
The most important part about cooking vegetarian?
I assume you eat them raw like sushi, then?
Yes, kat, there are quite a few vegetarian recipes in it, mostly salads and soups.
I will order through Paypal. Damn! I never did get the bourbon balls in.
Bourbon balls? Are you talking meatballs or chocolate truffles, Sinsull? Either way, it sounds like a recipe I'd love to have.
Nicole, I'll PM you my order.
Oh... I ought to say, having seen the preview copy, that it's a wonderful cookbook with tons of yummy recipes, and a truel labor of love by Nicole! EVERYONE SHOULD HAVE ONE!
ahem...MICHAEL!!!!!!!! Don't you know about Bourbon Balls??????
Check out the Colonel's Recipe here.
Me too! Nicole, PM me your address so I can send a check, please.
Okay, I admit it... I don't know the extra cost to ship overseas yet. But it won't be much -- it's got a plastic coil for binding, not hard cover, and those overseas only have to pay the difference, not the entire shipping cost. At most another $2 US. Meanwhile, send me a PM and I'll reserve a copy for you until I have hard numbers.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch... samples of pages chosen at random here and more here. And here's the whole recipe index!
Nicole, you have done one HELL of a job! Congratulations!!
That looks terrific, Nicole! Thanks, very much, for putting this together. I'd forgotten I posted the one recipe! I'll PM you for an addy as I would like one and I am sure my sister will, too.
pm on it's way to you Nicole. GOOD job pulling this together...THANKS!
I guess that the book exists in electronic form?
Word, HTML, txt, pdf, ...?
I pay and give my email address and get the electronic form?
Refresh, ya'll. Get those pre-orders in!
What a job Nocole. With all that's going on with you just now.....amazing.
Im hungry just reading the Index!!!!
Thanks for the orders that are coming in. I hope to make a final decision for the printer this weekend. Despite some early concerns about generating a viable profit (i.e. donation to Mudcat) from such a small order, I have a couple of printers who are in a comfortable price zone and will provide the services necessary (like final proofs) that will make me comfortable sending away the money.
So I've come to a decision -- there's no reason to penalize international users of Mudcat by charging them more shipping. $15 covers the cost of the book AND shipping anywhere via global economy mail. Since this method is so slow (up to 4-6 weeks), I will provide international users with a hyperlink that they can use to view the cookbook while they are waiting for it to show up.
For those international users who don't want to wait, I can ship via Airmail (about 4-7 days) for an extra $10.00.
My sister hasn't called in from her destination, yet, but she's been on the road for a week, with small stopovers on the way, so I expect to hear from her any day, now. Will get a check out, from one of us, as soon as I do.
Nicole - just sent my payment by PAYPAL - ship via global economy to Oz is OK - THANKS!!
i have seen the pre-view copy and the mouth waters at the thought of it!
Please give instructions of how to pay pal for it??!!
you and the others at our camp out!!
Laurel, PayPal instructions are above in the first message.
Thanks so much for doing this. I'll pm you to order.
Ah, it's so exciting! The printer tells me they are shipping the proof out to me today, and I only sent them the file yesterday. Keep your fingers crossed, ya'll!
Cost is $15 each, and that includes shipping, here or overseas. International orders will go out Economy, though, which officially takes 4-6 weeks but in reality seems to take 4 days - 6 months. I can send it Priority International for an extra $10 each.
You can send the check or money order to me, by PM'ing me for the address.
I can modify the amount right up to the day I approve the proof, which I'm hoping to get Monday. So if you order before then, I can guarentee a copy by just adding extras to the order.
Hi, Nicole - Hereby I confirm my previous order of 1.
Please PM me your postal address where to send the bills to.
It sounds great. A PM is on its way to you, Nicole. I want two copies- one for a gift.
If you want to, CAMSCO can provide additional distribution (no charge). I can take Master, VISA and Discover cards, which is convenient for many.
Let me know via PM.
I have you down for two -- better hang on to that reservation. Only 15 copies left of the proposed order!
Be the first on your block to get one of these collector's items!
Okay, Nicole, twist my arm.**BG** Two it is!
Nicole, please reserve one for me if there are any left !!
Nicole, although I'm not an international buyer, I'd like only the digital version (i.e., hyperlink or file). I'll PayPal my payment, but you can sell the hard copy to someone else, I really don't need it.
Yay! I got the proof today and it's beautiful. I'm going to make a couple of minor changes tonight or tomorrow, then the order will be placed and I get to wait for the *whole thing*!
I anticipate shipping by the end of July.
Thanks for all your hard work, Nicole. I can't wait.


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Great nutrition will give your deer the opportunity to maximize their genetic potential for antler growth, but it is just one (albeit an important one) of many factors that affect deer antler growth.
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Water availability is critical. Research has shown that in many species of ruminants, if water intake is reduced even minimally, food intake drops also. Water must be fresh, clean, available, and away from stressors that might inhibit a deer's water intake. Maximizing water intake will help maximize feed intake.


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McCain talks climate change with European leaders
By Grist staff on Mar 24, 2008
Republican presidential candidate John McCain traveled to Europe and the Middle East last week, meeting with various European leaders to discuss climate change and U.S. foreign policy. McCain broached climate change in separate meetings with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, current U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown, and former U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair, who recently announced his quest to secure a meaningful worldwide climate change agreement in the next two years. McCain also penned an editorial for the Financial Times about international cooperation. "We need a successor to Kyoto, a cap-and-trade system that delivers the necessary environmental impact in an economically responsible manner," he wrote. "We need to unleash the power and innovation of the marketplace in order to meet our environmental challenges. Right now safe, climate-friendly nuclear energy is a critical way both to improve the quality of our air and to reduce our dependence on foreign energy sources."


text:
package com.google.cloud.managedidentities.v1beta1.samples;

// [START managedidentities_v1beta1_generated_managedidentitiesserviceclient_attachtrust_stringtrust_sync]
import com.google.cloud.managedidentities.v1beta1.Domain;
import com.google.cloud.managedidentities.v1beta1.DomainName;
import com.google.cloud.managedidentities.v1beta1.ManagedIdentitiesServiceClient;
import com.google.cloud.managedidentities.v1beta1.Trust;

public class SyncAttachTrustStringTrust {

  public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception {
    syncAttachTrustStringTrust();
  }

  public static void syncAttachTrustStringTrust() throws Exception {
    // This snippet has been automatically generated and should be regarded as a code template only.
    // It will require modifications to work:
    // - It may require correct/in-range values for request initialization.
    // - It may require specifying regional endpoints when creating the service client as shown in
    // https://cloud.google.com/java/docs/setup#configure_endpoints_for_the_client_library
    try (ManagedIdentitiesServiceClient managedIdentitiesServiceClient =
        ManagedIdentitiesServiceClient.create()) {
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      Trust trust = Trust.newBuilder().build();
      Domain response = managedIdentitiesServiceClient.attachTrustAsync(name, trust).get();
    }
  }
}
// [END managedidentities_v1beta1_generated_managedidentitiesserviceclient_attachtrust_stringtrust_sync]


text:
INTRO / GALLERY
Enlarge Photos
Visit Dora Rose' Own Website
Visit Our Site 360° Virtual Tour
Although Dora Rose is our newest addition to the Macc Care family, the site has a long and significant history in Milford and the Birmingham area.
Our chosen name 'Dora Rose' pays homage to Dorothy Wyndlow Pattinson, a nun and nurse who dedicated years of her life to helping establish a crucial hospital for the people of Walsall during the 19th century. More information on the history of Dora Rose can be found in the details section further down.
Please note: Dora Rose is expected to open later this year. Please get in touch for further information.
CALL 01785 594 991 EMAIL info@macccare.com
History of Dora Rose
Sister Dora, as she is more commonly known, maintained a great standard of care for her hospital's patients, setting a wider example for how nursing should be carried out across the country. She was so highly regarded among the people of Walsall that upon her death in 1878, the community donated money not just for the hospital, but for a permanent memorial of Sister Dora, located today in the centre of Walsall. It is believed that Sister Dora was the first woman in the United Kingdom, other than royalty, to have a statue erected in her memory.
Furthering the memory of her unforgettable dedication to care, was the 1884 opening of the Sister Dora Convalescent Home in Milford. By 1915 the number of casualties arriving back in the UK as a result of the war was overwhelming and the home was soon taken over by Military Authorities for the remainder of the war. The Sister Dora Convalescent Home was eventually closed in 1968, and for a time since then has been used as a care home for people suffering from dementia or physical disabilities. Now, in 2019, Macc Care is bringing a new lease of life to Sister Dora's legacy, with the opening of our brand-new Dora Rose home.
If you would like more information about Dora Rose or you just have a general enquiry or comment, then please fill in the form below and a member of our team will be in touch.
I confirm that Macc Care can use the information above to respond to my enquiry.
Read our Privacy Notice to find out more about how we use your data.


I STOOD IN front of a store employee and gave her a massive smile. I asked about her day, I tried to make small talk. She looked at me disapprovingly, a scowl on her face, barely engaging in my conversation. Immediately I assumed she was judging my appearance as a Muslim. I thought she didn't like me because of my religion. I was sure stereotypes were sorting through her brain while she looked at me with disdain.
I was shocked. Here I was, so self-absorbed that I was positive her reaction to me was completely based on her judgments of me, but in reality, she was a woman facing manipulation and betrayal and she was at one of the most difficult crossroads in life. Her mood, her responses to me, had nothing to do with me. On the contrary, they had everything to do with how much pain she was in. And I, in my own world of insecurity because of the constant stereotypes I feel I have to fight against, thought it was all about me.
This is not the first time I've had an experience that has given me such an important life lesson about the way I – and frequently many of you — view the way people treat us based on stereotypes we expect others to project onto us in their interactions.
In my head, I had totally appropriated her thoughts with stereotypes of my own about Muslims; I assumed she was wondering why it looked like I was taking a shower in the sink; maybe she was wondering if I have access to running water at home because I'm supposedly 'oppressed.' But I'm the one who made assumptions. She was simply my sister and she was waiting for me to finish so she could greet me!
Sometimes, we think someone is judging us, hating us, feeling sorry for us – but we're the ones placing judgment by assuming an onlooker is having those thoughts!
Islam actually is very clear in guiding us towards believing the best and making excuses for others. Yes, Islamophobia is real. Muslims are dealing with constant political, legal and personal discrimination. We shouldn't deny this and we should be asking for our rights, lobbying and mobilizing as a community.
However, in personal interactions, it's not always about us. Some people are just having a bad day. Some people are staring because they are Muslim and they feel connected to their fellow believer making wuḍû but may not be sure how to express it in fear that they may themselves be judged.
But even in something as simple as making an excuse for another human being, whether they're Muslim or not, can be an act of worship. It can be a means of perfecting character.
Suspicion is a vast and general term. But there's no reason for us to immediately suspect someone isn't returning our greeting with just as much enthusiasm or isn't smiling with just as wide a grin because they don't like us as individuals or as Muslims. Perhaps they're simply having a very difficult day. Putting ourselves in a position of suspecting otherwise can cause distress for ourselves internally, as well as confusion and hurt on the part of the other.
Sometimes Muslims can be amongst the absolutely harshest of people, especially when it comes to fearing that any part of our faith is potentially being questioned. Even when it comes to correcting other Muslims, our community frequently pushes away people in our zealous and often incredibly harsh efforts to 'correct' one another, instead of teaching with kindness and ease.
In another experience I once had, when I was in college, an unknown campus member came into one of our Muslim Students' Association meetings unannounced.
I stopped her, asked her to step aside and take a breather, and I ignored the woman's comments. I calmly acknowledged her different perspective and gently invited her to speak with me about her concerns. Because the only information she knew about Muslims was from the media, I welcomed her to continue to attend our meetings so she could get to know real Muslims for herself.
She left still visibly hostile, but she had calmed down a little. I didn't see or hear from her until the next week, when she entered our meeting. It was as if she was a completely different person. She was calm, she smiled, she even participated.
Imagine if my friend and I had both reacted in the moment, our emotions flaring, our voices raised! What would her impression of Muslims have been, in addition to the stereotypes she already had?
Whoever is kind, Allah will be kind to him; therefore be kind to man on the earth. He Who is in heaven will show mercy on you. (Abû Dâwûd).
When a person reacts in a certain way to us, let us not immediately make the assumption that it's due to their perceived thoughts on our religion unless that obviously is the reason. Maybe they're going through a rough patch in their life. Maybe they're very shy and have difficulty expressing themselves. Let's allow people excuses. Let's be gentle in our interactions. And even when we do feel offended (unless it's within a legal or business situation and we can pursue it with the management, etc.), let's remember that sometimes the best response is a kind, calm, and composed response.
Let us strive to be of those whom the hellfire is forbidden to touch because of our characters.
Maryam Amirebrahimi received her master's in Education from UCLA, where her research focused on the effects of mentorship rooted in Critical Race Theory for urban high school students of color. She holds a bachelor's in Child and Adolescent Development from San Jose State University, where she served as the President of the Muslim Student Association for two consecutive years. Currently, she is pursuing a second bachelor's degree in Islamic Studies through Al Azhar University. Maryam spent a year studying the Arabic language and Qur'an in Cairo, Egypt, and has memorized the Qur'an. She has been presented the Student of the Year award by former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and holds a second degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do. Maryam frequently travels to work with different communities on topics related to spiritual connections, social issues and women's studies.
I can testify to this. Manners and kindness matters a lot in any situation. Some people make it really hard for us to talk to them with their harsh personalities. Kindness is indeed a mark of faith, faith in the afterlife and that Allaah will question us.
I struggled with this this morning. My flatmate (also Muslim) shouted at me for several minutes and by the end of it I was shaking from the intenseness of emotion and cried in my room in private. I found your article after looking for guidance on staying humble in these situations where your character is most tested. It is soooo hard to do in situations where people are literally yelling at you, and I've only known this girl for two months. Please pray for my ego. Thank you.
I honestly think the term Salafi Feminist is an oxymoron.
I think it is arguably one of the more brilliant uses of both terms. If all the author did was put those two terms together, it would have been win.
That she has done more, is even more win.


text:
Portland police arrest truck attack suspect Marquise Love, jail records show
Marquise Love was booked shortly after 5:30 a.m. local time, records show
By Stephanie Pagones | Fox News
Portland police have arrested the 25-year-old man accused of viciously attacking a truck driver who was seen on video being violently beaten, jail records show.
Marquise Lee Love was booked in the Multnomah County Detention Center on Friday shortly after 5:30 a.m. local time, according to jail records. He was charged with assault, coercion and riot, all three of which are felonies, records show.
Love, who also goes by the name "Keese Love," appears to have been captured on video repeatedly punching and kicking a man who was later identified in reports as being Adam Haner.
In a recent interview with local affiliate FOX 12 Oregon, Haner said after crashing his car, someone was "yanking" him out of his truck "before I even got my door open."
"I was just standing for myself as a citizen," he told the station, "and if you can't do that on a street, then what can you do?"
Haner was seen on video revving the engine of his truck and slowly rolling the vehicle forward until he speeds away — all while people from the group can be seen running up to the vehicle, kicking and shouting at it. Just moments before he drove off, someone from the crowd was seen punching and jumping his girlfriend, who was identified in reports as Tammie Martin.
READ MORE ON FOX NEWS
News Aggregate Contributor
KY Stargazzer
Certified News Nut, Published Hobby Songwriter/Poet, Writer, & Citizen Journalist. From the Bluegrass State of Kentucky. Home of the Kentucky Derby and best bourbon in the world. I enjoy anything astronomy, space program, into all sports, and all forms of music. I enjoy people, humor, and good conversation. And I support Donald Trump and make no excuses for it!
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