text:
Mourning Golden Morning
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7 tracks, 51:39
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instrumental rock
part of my vinyl collection
Sorted by: Running order
Running order
1 Play track
Escapade #1
2:15 27,143 listeners
Sons Of Ghosts
K-141 KYPCK
Longing for colors
Fyra
401 Lwa
Alp Lugens and beyond
12:31 19,038 listeners
In Never Out
pg.lost
You Who Pretend to Sleep
Joy Wants Eternity
160,339 listeners
A Sun Coloured Shaker
Yndi Halda
The Journey Studies
The Seven Mile Journey
You Are There
At the Soundless Dawn
Red Sparowes
PACIFIC•ATLANTIC
The End of the Ocean
Tomorrow We'll Wonder Where This Generation Gets Its Priorities From
September Malevolence
This Patch of Sky
If We Get There One Day, Would You Please Open the Gates?
The Four Trees
Wednesday 21 July 2021 19
Thursday 22 July 2021 23
Friday 23 July 2021 15
Saturday 24 July 2021 16
Sunday 25 July 2021 22
Monday 26 July 2021 21
Tuesday 27 July 2021 12
Sunday 1 August 2021 20
Monday 2 August 2021 19
Tuesday 3 August 2021 25
Wednesday 4 August 2021 29
Thursday 5 August 2021 22
Friday 6 August 2021 19
Saturday 7 August 2021 15
Tuesday 10 August 2021 18
Wednesday 11 August 2021 20
Thursday 12 August 2021 24
Friday 13 August 2021 28
Saturday 14 August 2021 16
Sunday 15 August 2021 23
Monday 16 August 2021 30
Wednesday 1 September 2021 18
Thursday 2 September 2021 28
Friday 3 September 2021 19
Saturday 4 September 2021 26
Sunday 5 September 2021 32
Monday 6 September 2021 30
Tuesday 7 September 2021 36
Friday 10 September 2021 11
Saturday 11 September 2021 22
Sunday 12 September 2021 15
Monday 13 September 2021 29
Tuesday 14 September 2021 30
Wednesday 15 September 2021 22
Thursday 16 September 2021 20
Friday 1 October 2021 21
Saturday 2 October 2021 23
Sunday 3 October 2021 27
Monday 4 October 2021 25
Tuesday 5 October 2021 26
Wednesday 6 October 2021 26
Thursday 7 October 2021 27
Sunday 10 October 2021 31
Monday 11 October 2021 26
Tuesday 12 October 2021 22
Wednesday 13 October 2021 30
Thursday 14 October 2021 18
Friday 15 October 2021 24
Saturday 16 October 2021 19
Monday 1 November 2021 36
Tuesday 2 November 2021 36
Wednesday 3 November 2021 18
Thursday 4 November 2021 18
Friday 5 November 2021 21
Saturday 6 November 2021 19
Sunday 7 November 2021 21
Wednesday 10 November 2021 27
Thursday 11 November 2021 29
Friday 12 November 2021 15
Saturday 13 November 2021 20
Sunday 14 November 2021 32
Monday 15 November 2021 26
Tuesday 16 November 2021 22
Wednesday 1 December 2021 31
Thursday 2 December 2021 27
Friday 3 December 2021 22
Saturday 4 December 2021 19
Sunday 5 December 2021 28
Monday 6 December 2021 29
Tuesday 7 December 2021 24
Friday 10 December 2021 22
Saturday 11 December 2021 24
Sunday 12 December 2021 36
Monday 13 December 2021 32
Tuesday 14 December 2021 35
Wednesday 15 December 2021 30
Thursday 16 December 2021 30
Saturday 1 January 2022 22
Sunday 2 January 2022 21
Monday 3 January 2022 24
Tuesday 4 January 2022 25
Wednesday 5 January 2022 30
Thursday 6 January 2022 20
Friday 7 January 2022 27
Monday 10 January 2022 29
Tuesday 11 January 2022 25
Wednesday 12 January 2022 25
Thursday 13 January 2022 21
Friday 14 January 2022 13
Saturday 15 January 2022 19
Sunday 16 January 2022 26
Twitter (@beginnerF)
EF is a five-piece band from Gothenburg, Sweden. It all started in May 2003, and soon they stood in a small basement and created quite heavy music. It didn't take long for them to find that melodies, emotions and explosions were more interesting. During the first 3 years they recorded and released 4 CD-R demos and began playing in various locations around Sweden. In the summer of 2005 they were contacted by US label Raise the Red Flag. They decided to co-op, and a full length album was released during 2006. First European tour took place during 3 weeks in October/November 2005.… read more
EF is a five-piece band from Gothenburg, Sweden. It all started in May 2003, and soon they stood in a small basement and created quite heavy music. It didn't take long for them to find… read more
EF is a five-piece band from Gothenburg, Sweden. It all started in May 2003, and soon they stood in a small basement and created quite heavy music. It didn't take long for them to find that melodies, emotions and explosions were m… read more
Moonlit Sailor
I Hear Sirens
Sleepmakeswaves
This Will Destroy You


text:
You are here: CCIIO Home > Fact Sheets and FAQs > Affordable Care Act Implementation FAQs - Set 16
Affordable Care Act Implementation FAQs - Set 16
Set out below are additional Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) regarding implementation of various provisions of the Affordable Care Act. These FAQs have been prepared jointly by the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services (HHS), and the Treasury (collectively, the Departments). Like previously issued FAQs (available at http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/healthreform/ and Fact Sheets & Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) ), these FAQs answer questions from stakeholders to help people understand the law and benefit from it, as intended.
Notice of Coverage Options Available Through the Exchanges
Section 18B of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), as added by section 1512 of the Affordable Care Act, generally provides that, in accordance with regulations promulgated by the Secretary of Labor, employers must provide each employee notice of coverage options available through a Health Insurance Marketplace (also referred to as an Exchange). On May 8, 2013, the Department of Labor issued Technical Release 2013-02 provided temporary guidance on FLSA section 18B, as well as model notices.1
Q1: Is it permissible for another entity (such as an issuer, multiemployer plan, or third-party administrator) to send the Notice of Coverage Options on behalf of an employer to satisfy the employer's obligations under FLSA section 18B?
Yes, an employer will have satisfied its obligation to provide the notice with respect to an individual if another party provides a timely and complete notice. The Department of Labor notes that, as explained in Technical Release 2013-02, FLSA section 18B requires employers to provide notice to all employees, regardless of whether an employee is enrolled in, or eligible for, coverage under a group health plan. Accordingly, an employer is not relieved of its statutory obligation to provide notice under FLSA section 18B if another entity sends the notice to only participants enrolled in the plan, if some employees are not enrolled in the plan. When providing notices on behalf of employers, multiemployer plans, issuers, and third party administrators should take proper steps to ensure that a notice is provided to all employees regardless of plan enrollment, or communicate clearly to employers that the plan, issuer, or third party administrator will provide notice only to a subset of employees (e.g., employees enrolled in the plan) and advise of the residual obligations of employers with respect to other employees (e.g., employees who are not enrolled in the plan).
90-day Waiting Period Limitation
PHS Act section 2708 provides that a group health plan or health insurance issuer offering group health insurance coverage shall not apply any waiting period that exceeds 90 days. Section 2704(b)(4) of the PHS Act, section 701(b)(4) of ERISA, and section 9801(b)(4) of the Code define a waiting period to be the period that must pass with respect to the individual before the individual is eligible to be covered for benefits under the terms of the plan.
On February 9, 2012, the Departments issued guidance outlining various approaches under consideration with respect to PHS Act section 2708 and solicited comments. After reviewing those comments, the Departments provided temporary guidance on August 31, 2012, to remain in effect at least through the end of 2014, regarding the 90-day waiting period limitation. This guidance also solicited comments. After consideration of all of the comments received in response to the February 2012 and August 2012 guidance, the Departments published proposed regulations on March 21, 2013.
The proposed regulations generally provide that a group health plan or health insurance issuer offering group health insurance coverage may not impose a waiting period that exceeds 90 days. The proposed rules also provide that a waiting period is the period that must pass before coverage for an employee or dependent who is otherwise eligible to enroll under the terms of the plan can become effective. For this purpose, being otherwise eligible to enroll in a plan generally means having met the plan's substantive eligibility conditions (such as being in an eligible job classification or achieving job-related licensure requirements specified in the plan's terms). However, eligibility conditions based solely on the lapse of time are permissible for no more than 90 days. Other conditions for eligibility under a plan are generally permissible unless the condition is designed to avoid compliance with the 90-day waiting period limitation. The proposed regulations provide several illustrations of how to apply this rule.2
The preamble to the proposed regulations stated that, in the Departments' view, the proposed rules were consistent with, and no more restrictive on employers than, the August 2012 guidance.3 Therefore, the Departments stated they will consider compliance with the proposed rules as compliance with PHS Act section 2708 at least through 2014.4
Q2: Will the Departments be issuing final regulations under PHS Act section 2708 that give plans and issuers sufficient time to comply with the waiting period limitation?
Yes. As stated in the proposed rules, plans and issuers can rely on guidance provided in the March 2013 proposed rules at least through 2014. To the extent final regulations are more restrictive on plans or issuers than the proposed regulations, they will not be effective prior to January 1, 2015 and the Departments expect they will give plans and issuers sufficient time to comply. 5
Under the proposed rules, to the extent plans and issuers impose substantive eligibility requirements not based solely on the lapse of time, these eligibility provisions are permitted if they are not designed to avoid compliance with the 90-day waiting period limitation. Therefore, for example, if a multi employer plan operating pursuant to an arms-length collective bargaining agreement has an eligibility provision that allows employees to become eligible for coverage by working hours of covered employment across multiple contributing employers (which often aggregates hours by calendar quarter and then permits coverage to extend for the next full calendar quarter, regardless of whether an employee has terminated employment), the Departments would consider that provision designed to accommodate a unique operating structure, (and, therefore, not designed to avoid compliance with the 90-day waiting period limitation).
[1] See Technical Release 2013-02, model notice for employers who offer a health plan to some or all employees, and model notice for employers who do not offer a health plan, available at http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/healthreform/.
[2] See paragraph (c)(3)(i) and (ii) of the proposed regulations, addressing the application of plan provisions requiring certain hours-of-service per period to variable hour employees and cumulative service requirements.
[3] 78 FR 17317, March 21, 2013.
[4] Id.
[5] 78 FR 71313, 17317 (March 21, 2013).

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Trump's Jerusalem Decision Creates More Problems Without Changing Facts on the Ground
Responding to: Jerusalem as Israel's Capital: Smart Politics or Provocation?
By: Marshall J. Breger
The president's decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and direct the State Department to begin the process of moving the embassy there is an act of political symbolism fraught with inadvertent consequences.
The decision leaves open important legal questions. Thus, the Trump recognition statement stated "we are not taking a position on any final status issues, including the specific boundaries of the Israeli sovereignty in Jerusalem, or the reconciliation of contested borders." He also called "on all parties to maintain the status quo at Jerusalem's holy sites."
This means that Trump has recognized the idea of Jerusalem as being part of Israel without reference to the real world issues regarding its metes and bounds, the possibility of East Jerusalem as a Palestinian capital, and a resolution to the holy sites. Indeed, all the issues that matter. He could just as well have followed the Russians, who in April 2017 recognized West Jerusalem as Israel's capital without any fanfare. But that would not have been Trumpean.
Further, Trump directed movement of the embassy to Jerusalem by telling the State Department to hire architects to begin the process of commissioning an embassy. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson says the process will take around two years. Anyone who knows Jerusalem and the process of building embassies knows it will take closer to a decade, if that.
Indeed, one small fact was seemingly overlooked by President Trump. The site leased in 1989 for a future embassy (at the edge of the Talpiot neighborhood) doesn't meet present safety standards regarding setbacks. Of course, if Trump were serious, he could just change the placard in front of the U.S. consulate in West Jerusalem to read "U.S. Embassy."
Many moderate Israelis argue that the declaration means little and should not deep-six any possible negotiations. But they are incorrect. The symbolism of Trump's declaration carries tremendous portent and itself changes reality.
It makes official to the Palestinians that the United States is not the best interlocutor to resolve the conflict.
It puts paid to the so-called "outside-in" strategy (using Arab states to negotiate a solution to the conflict and then bringing along Palestine and Israel) for the near future, if not the long term. Whatever Jared Kushner (who is said to have vociferously favored the move in Trump circles) believes, his bromance with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will not cause the Saudis to ignore Jerusalem-even in the long term. Much as the United States and Israel hope for an implicit alliance with the Gulf Arabs, it is highly unlikely that a man who sees himself as a future "Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques" (a title the Saudi royals list prior to that of king) would want to be seen as jettisoning the fate of the city which encompasses the third holiest mosque in Islam.
The decision places intolerable strain on King Abdullah of Jordan, a country with a Palestinian majority and one that is central to U.S. strategy against ISIS.
Most everyone, including the Palestinian Authority, fully understands that Western Jerusalem (however defined) would be the capital of the state of Israel. Official regulation, however, was seen as part of the carrots that would result in a final settlement agreement. Trump seems have given away this carrot to make his domestic political constituency happy. Giving it away for free does not, however, help the Middle East peace process. It gets an "F" in any "art of the deal."
In fairness, we should note that the president did say that he would support a two-state solution if the parties agreed to one. This leaves open the theoretical possibility of a deal. But it is a deal based on some variant of Jabotinksy's "iron wall" where Muslims accept defeat and then Jewish magnanimity is possible. Vladimir (Ze'ev) Jabotinsky, of course, was a nineteenth century liberal and could understand these things. The present Israeli right (of which Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu is probably the most liberal member in the Knesset) will more likely see the Trump move as a permission slip to further build and settle in Jerusalem and the West Bank. Already the Israeli right has begun efforts to retroactively nationalize private Palestinian land, require a supermajority of the Knesset to approve any compromise on Jerusalem, and build in the still open E-1 area between Jerusalem and Maale Adumim-thus crippling contiguity between the north and south West Bank.
Ambassador Nikki Haley's statement that all this was done "to advance peace" is risible. While Trump's move may not end the peace process, it is hard to understand how it advances it.
EDITOR'S NOTE: This blog post is drawn from a longer piece in the forthcoming January 2018 edition of Moment magazine.
Related Religion in American Public Life
Related Globalization and Pluralism
Related Religion and World Politics
Related Middle East and North Africa
Related North America
Evangelicals and Jerusalem
By: Melani McAlister
Declaring Jerusalem the Capital of Israel: The Destruction or Building of True Peace?
By: Daniel Roth


This is a work in progress. Almost all images I wanted to have here *are* already here, but some of the costume descriptions are still missing my descriptions, which I will have to copy to the appropriate places. This takes some time… as I have so far worked almost a year on them, but just now feel that I have come to a point where I can actually publish them.
Currently still missing: Descriptions for Vaako, Lord Marshal, Necro Armor, Necro Various (partially). I also tend to still find bits and pieces of information for the other costumes; so be prepared that I might still add something to the already written up pages.
This Riddick Chronicles movie study holds over 30MB of picture- and description data, and even if all images have been thumbnailed, you better take your time, because the loading of the pages can probably be a bit slow depending on your internet connection.
If you should have any suggestions or comments, or more pictures which I could add to my site, just drop me a line – my email address is given at the bottom of each page.
http://www.pitcherblacker.com/ – Fan site with excessive information on all Riddick movies and games.
Note that at the moment (June / July 2011), Pitcherblacker seems to be down (as in: It doesn't show the content that it USED to show!); and I'm not sure if it will ever get back online again.
I've tried to contact Bruce, the owner, when the site went down but didn't get a reply. So I'm unlinking the site on this link list but will keep an eye on it in case it goes back online. At any rate, you can find an archived version of that site here on archive.org.
I am interested in one particular costume article – a hat.
It is a "Pill Box" style hat, leather, tan or brown in color, with an irregular – difficult to describe pattern on it. It is worn by a subbordinate character who had a wife and young daughter, and was killed early in the movie. His entire wardrobe had a mid-eastern appearance.
I'd like to buy or make one. Any comments will be appreciated.
That would be the Imam's costume.
Sadly, the pitcherblacker.com doman got poached for some reason when my ISP screwed up. I'm pretty much too busy to run a fansite anymore anyway, so it's very unlikely I will ever revive it. Thanks.
I tried to contact you (I think via Youtube) when your site first went down, but apparently it didn't really work. I would have loved to taken over the contents of your site just to save them!


text:
Q: php ssh2 return json data i have problem in ssh2 with return data
when i execute command in terminal ssh the result return like this
[
    {
            "mac": "xx:xx:xx:xx:xx",
            "name": "test",
            "distance": 630,
            "txpower": 13,
            "noisefloor": -96,
            "airmax": {
                    "priority": 3,
                    "quality": 0,
                    "beam": 255,
                    "signal": -96,
                    "capacity": 0
            },
            "stats": {
                    "rx_data": 5973340,
                    "rx_bytes": 8021746863,
                    "rx_pps": 36,
                    "tx_data": 3666039,
                    "tx_bytes": 690527643,
                    "tx_pps": 26
            },
            "rates": [ "MCS0", "MCS1", "MCS2", "MCS3", "MCS4", "MCS5", "MCS6", "MCS7", "MCS8", "MCS9", "MCS10", "MCS11", "MCS12", "MCS13", "MCS14", "MCS15" ],
            "signals": [ 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, -67, -66, -65, 0 ],
            "remote": {
                    "uptime": 3451971,
                    "hostname": "test",
                    "platform": "Rocket",
                    "version": "1",
                    "distance": 1050
            }
    }

]
when i execute the same command using ssh2 from php i have response like this
[
{
    "mac": "xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx"
[1] =>
    "name": "test"
[2] =>
    "lastip": "1.1.1.1"
[3] =>
    "associd": 6
[4] =>
    "aprepeater": 0
[5] =>
    "tx": 108.0
[6] =>
    "rx": 240.0
[7] =>
    "signal": -62
[8] =>
    "rssi": 34
[9] =>
    "chainrssi": [ 33
[10] =>  29
[11] =>  0 ]
[12] =>
    "rx_chainmask": 3
[13] =>
    "ccq": 94
[14] =>
    "idle": 0
[15] =>
    "tx_latency": 1
[16] =>
    "uptime": 80463
[17] =>
    "ack": 22
[18] =>
    "distance": 0
[19] =>
    "txpower": 13
[20] =>
    "noisefloor": -96
[21] =>
    "airmax": {
        "priority": 3
[22] =>
        "quality": 0
[23] =>
        "beam": 255
[24] =>
        "signal": -96
[25] =>
        "capacity": 0
    }
[26] =>
    "stats": {
        "rx_data": 10962443
[27] =>
        "rx_bytes": 15130635403
[28] =>
        "rx_pps": 2
[29] =>
        "tx_data": 7018200
[30] =>
        "tx_bytes": 1135210790
[31] =>
        "tx_pps": 4
    }
[32] =>
    "rates": [ "MCS0"
[33] =>  "MCS1"
[34] =>  "MCS2"
[35] =>  "MCS3"
[36] =>  "MCS4"
[37] =>  "MCS5"
[38] =>  "MCS6"
[39] =>  "MCS7"
[40] =>  "MCS8"
[41] =>  "MCS9"
[42] =>  "MCS10"
[43] =>  "MCS11"
[44] =>  "MCS12"
[45] =>  "MCS13"
[46] =>  "MCS14"
[47] =>  "MCS15" ]
[48] =>
    "signals": [ 0
[49] =>  0
[50] =>  0
[51] =>  0
[52] =>  0
[53] =>  0
[54] =>  0
[55] =>  0
[56] =>  0
[57] =>  0
[58] =>  0
[59] =>  -63
[60] =>  -64
[61] =>  -66
[62] =>  -66
[63] =>  -66 ]
[64] =>
    "remote": {
        "uptime": 3469376
[65] =>
        "hostname": "Test"
[66] =>
        "platform": "Rocket"
[67] =>
        "version": "1"
[68] =>
        "signal": -69
[69] =>
        "tx_power": 27
[70] =>
        "rssi": 27
[71] =>
        "chainrssi": [ 19
[72] =>  21
[73] =>  0 ]
[74] =>
        "rx_chainmask": 3
[75] =>
        "tx_latency": 1
[76] =>
        "noisefloor": -89
[77] =>
        "distance": 1050
    }
}

]
the php code i use it
            if(($stream=ssh2_exec($conn,$command)))
            {
                stream_set_blocking($stream, true);
                $stream_out = ssh2_fetch_stream($stream, SSH2_STREAM_STDIO);
                return stream_get_contents($stream_out);
            }

i need to execute command using php ssh2 and return the data like terminal ssh

A: Just use json_encode() method to get the json string from json object
    if(($stream=ssh2_exec($conn,$command)))
    {
        stream_set_blocking($stream, true);
        $stream_out = ssh2_fetch_stream($stream, SSH2_STREAM_STDIO);
        $streamString = stream_get_contents($stream_out);
        $Result = json_encode($streamString);
        return $Result;
    }

A: Amersand in shell means run in background. Your seeing output for all of these background commands.
Escape the ampersands before sending and this will stop

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Graham Edwards (born 1965) is an English author of fantasy and crime novels. His most popular books have generally featured dragons as their central characters.

Born in Somerset and raised in Bournemouth, Edwards studied art and design. He went on to work as a graphic designer and animator before developing his writing career in the 1990s. He often includes illustrations with his novels. Edwards now lives in Nottingham with his wife and two children.

Body of work

Edwards' major body of work consists of two related fantasy trilogies: the Ultimate Dragon Saga trilogy and the Stone trilogy (also known as the Amara trilogy).

The former series of books is a fantasy work set in times before humans, and as such there are no human characters in the novels. The dragons are sentient and, much like the rabbits and moles in Richard Adams' Watership Down and William Horwood's Duncton Wood respectively, they are anthropomorphised, displaying a large array of human characteristics, relationships and emotions.

The latter series is set - although not in an actual Earthly time period - parallel to the late 19th century. Its events are triggered by the eruption of Krakatoa in 1883, and feature human characters prominently, although the stories are also populated with other races such as dragons. This series can be read as a standalone trilogy, although minor plot and character connections to the Ultimate Dragon Saga mean that prior reading of the first trilogy will give a richer appreciation of the second.

Since finishing the Stone trilogy, Edwards has written several short stories, published in Realms Of Fantasy magazine. In 2008 he published his first crime novel, Runaway Minister, under the pseudonym Nick Curtis. It was published by Black Star Crime books.  Two years later, he published a sequel, Close Enemies.

In 2014, Edwards published the hybrid low fantasy detective novel  Talus and the Frozen King under his own name.

Bibliography

Novels

Stand Alone Novels
Talus and the Frozen King (2014)

The Ultimate Dragon Saga trilogy
Dragoncharm (1995)
Dragonstorm (1996)
Dragonflame (1997)

The Stone trilogy, or the Amara trilogy
Stone and Sky (1999)
Stone and Sea (2000)
Stone and Sun (2001)

Writing as Nick Curtis
Runaway Minister (2008)
Close Enemies (2010)

Writing as J.D. Rinehart, the Crown of three trilogy
Crown of three
The Lost Realm

Short stories
"The Wooden Baby" (in Realms of Fantasy magazine, April 2005)
"Dead Wolf in a Hat" (in Realms of Fantasy magazine, October 2005)
"Syren" (in Realms of Fantasy magazine, February 2007)
"Still Point" (in Realms of Fantasy magazine, December 2007)
"Girl in Pieces" (in Realms of Fantasy magazine, April 2008)
"Riding the Drop" (in Jim Baen's Universe, February 2009)
"Castellia" (in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, November/December 2021)

Further reading
An excerpt from 2005 short story "The Wooden Baby"
Interview with Graham Edwards (archive of Voyager Books page)

References

External links
Official Website
Loving Dragoncharm (fansite)

The story behind Talus and the Frozen King - Online Essay by Graham Edwards on Upcoming4.me

1965 births
Living people
English fantasy writers
English male novelists

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Fu Guo is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Electronic Engineering at Tsinghua University.
He received his B.S. degree in Collage of Electronic Science and Engineering from Jilin University.
Guo's current research focuses on interoperability and multisystem navigation.


text:
The Ice Age destroying families, and Indigenous culture
By Julie Power
It makes Nowra grandmother Janelle Burnes' day when her grandson Lucas* says, "Nanny, you've got a beautiful smile. I love you."
The Wiradjuri woman has been punched and kicked by eight-year-old Lucas, who hears voices and suffers psychosis.
Janelle Burnes had to give up work to care for her eight-year-old grandson. He suffers from a range of mental illnesses, including psychosis, attributed to his parents' ice addictions. Credit:Louise Kennerley
Abandoned by his mother as a baby, Lucas has fetal alcohol and drug syndrome attributed to his parents' ice use when he was conceived.
Experts told the NSW special commission of inquiry into ice in Nowra last week that they were increasingly seeing multiple generations of users living together, exposing children to violence, neglect, abuse and witnessing sex and drug use by intoxicated adults.
Some call it an epidemic, others call it the "Ice Age".
When Lucas hit his grandmother over the head with a guitar, she didn't yell at him. Determined to stop the boy from becoming part of another generation broken by ice, Ms Burnes ignored the blood running down her face and the waiting ambulance.
"I walked back to him, I hugged him, I cuddled him, I told him, 'You are going to hurt Nanny if you do stuff like that.' And I gave him a kiss and I told him I still loved him."
Ice is a stronger and more addictive stimulant than speed, the powder form of methamphetamine, the Alcohol and Drug Foundation says. It causes aggression, psychosis, stroke, heart attacks and death. It causes confusion, making it nearly impossible to get a rational response from someone under the drug's influence.
Tanya Bloxsome, chief executive of Oolong House, a residential rehabilitation service where more than 90 per cent of its male residents have been addicted to ice. Credit:Louise Kennerley
Ms Burnes doesn't blame Lucas for his behaviour, but ice. It is destroying Indigenous and non-Indigenous families across the Shoalhaven region. It is also destroying Indigenous culture.
To recover, Indigenous leaders say they have to develop role models and restore pride in their identity.
"You need to trust us to be able to deliver a service to our own people linked in with culture. Who are the right people to deliver that? Our people," said Tanya Bloxsome, a Waddi Waddi woman of the Yuin, who is chief executive of a residential rehabilitation service for men, Oolong House.
Once they are addicted to ice, culture's gone, you don't care about your kids, your primary focus is 'I need this drug.' It is worse than heroin.
Tanya Bloxsome
"I have seen it a thousand times over. Once they are addicted to ice, culture's gone, you don't care about your kids, your primary focus is 'I need this drug.' It is worse than heroin.
"Ice has a terrible impact on the family," she said. Yet there was nothing to explain to families "why all your stuff is being sold at the pawn shop" and how to get help.
Nearly two-thirds of 52 Indigenous and non-Indigenous children placed in out-of-home care in the Nowra region in the past year were removed because of ice use by their parents. It was also a "risk factor" in about 40 per cent of the 124 families working with Family and Community Services' case managers.
When Indigenous groups met the commission last week, they said they needed more culturally appropriate programs, rehabilitation places and detoxification units (the closest are in Sydney, Canberra and Dubbo).
Indigenous Australians are more than 2.2 times as likely to take meth/amphetamine than other Australians.
In the opening address to the commission, Sally Dowling, SC, said the impacts of colonisation and dispossession, intergenerational trauma and socio-economic disadvantage had continued to contribute to high levels of amphetamine use in Indigenous communities.
Ice use in Nowra is not as bad as out west. But the region has seen the biggest year-on-year growth in arrests for possession and use since 2014, with a 31 per cent increase compared with 6 per cent across the state.
Cheaper than Maccas
Getting high on ice was "cheaper than going for Maccas", said Nowra's Aboriginal Medical Corporation's substance abuse counsellor Warren Field, who runs a weekly men's group for recovering addicts.
Ice had also become a "rite of passage" for some young people after they had received their first Centrelink payment or wage.
Mr Field said "99 per cent" of ice users had suffered some form of trauma. Nearly all had other mental health problems, including anxiety and depression.
"Everyone says there is nothing [like it] that will numb the pain and take the grief and loss away," he said. It also makes women lose weight and gives men incredible sexual prowess.
"Most people are vulnerable when they go through a traumatic event and the Aboriginal community has had more than its fair share of that," he said.
He argues they know what works - culturally appropriate rehabilitation which develops strong role models and a sense of identity. But there had to be more support when people came out of rehabilitation to stop them from relapsing.
The first year of rehabilitation was particularly hard. People in recovery were often depressed and their ability to feel happiness or pleasure without the drug was dulled.
Mr Field said "black fellas" were also unfairly targeted by police who, he argued, should spend more time closing the crack houses that "everyone" knew about.
Determined to get their lives back: Robert Hill, Jamie Donovan, Joshua Henney, Bobby McLeod jnr, Dylan Ladmore and Jordan Mc Alister are living at Oolong House, the Oolong Aboriginal Corporation run rehabilitation centre. Credit:Louise Kennerley
At Oolong House, 21 men - 18 of whom were Indigenous - were getting themselves breakfast while 42-year-old Bobby McLeod jnr played guitar and a mate accompanied him on the didgeridoo.
More than 90 per cent of men in the program had been using ice, very often with other drugs, and increasingly with heroin, Ms Bloxsome said.
"Every addicted person who comes in here has a mental health issue," she said. And residents addicted to ice were more psychotic than those addicted to other drugs.
Most residential programs are 12 weeks, but Oolong offers 16 weeks, and Ms Bloxsome believes even longer programs would be better. But like services up and down the South Coast, it can't keep up with demand.
The program offered cognitive behavioural therapy, addressed mental and physical health, and encouraged the men to undertake training that would help them get work. Nearly all the men arrived with hepatitis C and those released from jail were, with few exceptions, addicted to the drug, bupe (buprenorphine).
Bobby McLeod jnr, 42, is trying to kick ice and stay out of jail. He is pictured at Oolong House, an Indigenous-run rehabilitation facility that gives Aboriginal residents, nearly all of whom had ice addictions, pride in their culture and restores their self-esteem. Credit:Louise Kennerley
The most powerful medicine, though, was getting back to culture by doing traditional dance, learning language and going on bush walks. After a lifetime in prison, Mr McLeod said painting and writing songs about his life had helped his recovery.
When everything else was bad, ice had made him "feel invincible". But it cost him his family and caused anxiety and depression, which made him feel suicidal.
His old man was a successful singer, his brother had travelled around the world with an Indigenous dance group, but he was the one who "went to jail", Mr McLeod said.
Raising money for a funeral
Ms Burnes lives in fear of a phone call telling her that Lucas' 39-year-old mother is dead.
In anticipation of the inevitable - her nephew died earlier this year from a heart attack caused by his ice addiction - she is raising money for anticipated funeral costs.
Lucas' mother has had three heart attacks caused by decades of addiction.
Janelle Byrnes is planning a funeral for her ice-addicted daughter. In a Facebook post, her 39-year-old daughter asks others to stop using ice. Credit:Facebook
In a Facebook post, her daughter wrote about how her "huge addiction" had caused two heart attacks in two weeks.
"Now I've got to plan my funeral just in case I don't make the next," she wrote. "That's not the saddest thing. It is listening to my mum cry and plan it with me. "
"If U love your family reconsider having that pipe or putting that needle in your arm," Ms Burnes' daughter said.
In the meantime, Ms Burnes does everything she can to provide a stable home for Lucas.
She quit her job of 22 years as an Aboriginal education officer to care for her grandson, to ensure he gets to doctors' appointments and maintain his schooling.
She's been working with him to maintain his good results in reading and spelling, despite frequent suspensions for getting into fights, so he has a chance of fulfilling his dream of becoming a police officer.
* name changed
With additional reporting by Louise Kennerley.
Indigenous justice
Julie Power
Julie Power is a senior journalist at The Sydney Morning Herald.


text:
Q: Make child window transparent to user input Is there a way to make input "pass through" a child window and reach its parent? My problem is this: I'm making custom control with a label that can be formatted. So, rather than trying to re-invent the wheel, I added a RichTextEdit control and applied the WS_EX_TRANSPARENT extended window style. It looks like what I want, but there are obvious focus and input issues. Is there an effective way to pass on the child window's messages to the parent or apply a set of styles thus making the child window appear to just be text drawn on the button?

A: You can do this fairly easily by overriding the WM_NCHITTEST message and returning HTTRANSPARENT.  Just be sure to turn off WS_TABSTOP also so the control cannot be tabbed into.

A: You could use PostMessage to send windows messages to your child window.

A: Have you tried setting TabStop False and Locked True?
Apologies if you have already tried it.


Les liaisons dangereuses was premiered by Royal Shakespeare Company at The Other Place, Stratford-upon-Avon, on 24 September 1985, and won Christopher Hampton the Evening Standard Award for Best Play and the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Play in 1986.
The scandalous reputation of Laclos's novel, first published in 1782, is based on its chilling portrayal of the mannered decadence and sexual cynicism of the French aristocracy in the last years of the ancien regime. Christopher Hampton has made a masterful adaptation for the stage of the conspiracy to corrupt a young girl barely out of her convent.Les liaisons dangereuses was premiered by Royal Shakespeare Company at The Other Place, Stratford-upon-Avon, on 24 September 1985, and won Christopher Hampton the Evening Standard Award for Best Play and the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Play in 1986.


The Vision of the Late Karmaveer Bhausaheb Hiray is the motto of our College under SPP Pune University which is student centric. College boasts of near about 2000 students, which represents 60% of backward students. The Board of Students Welfare truly represents this vision that is multidimensional as well as multifaceted. This vision sees the youth as a source of strength where their energy is harnessed to nation building and socially relevant activities to build an egalitarian society. The Board of Students� Welfare (BSW) looks after the protection of rights and supervises the welfare activities of the students of the College. BSW promotes and co-ordinates the different students� activities for better corporate life. BSW tries to nurture students' mental, physical, cultural growth with various activities to improve their overall personality development and to make them civilized Indian citizens to compete in the globalized world. The functioning of Board of Student Welfare is based on the great Educationist & Social Activist Karmveer Bhaurao Patil & Shikshan Maharshi Karmveer Bhausaheb Hiray. The Board of Student Welfare of the college works in association with the Student Welfare council, Savitribai Phule Pune University. The Board implements number of welfare schemes for the students under the University guidelines. Now the Board is known as Student Development Board as per the provisions of Maharashtra Public University Act.
To develop the culture of work among the students for earning money in the form of monetary gain and cater their educational needs.
To motivate students to avail various beneficial schemes of Govt. and SPPU Scholarships.
To boost the morale of the students in participating in the intercollegiate and inter-University competitions.
All round personality development of the students through Co-curricular and extra-curricular activities.
Avails information of State and Central Govt. schemes and scholarships for the students.
Facilitates the participation of students in various inter-university competitions.
Provides financial support to needy students who aspire to pursue higher education.
Cultivates work culture and enhances dignity of labor.
Provides financial assistance through Group Insurance.
Implementation of various Schemes of the SPPU � BSD.
Student-related Seminar/Conferences/Workshops/ Lecture Series/Camps etc.
Board of Student Development provides following schemes.
This scheme provides job opportunities to the poor and needy students in the College so that they may cater their educational needs without economic hurdle. It also supports students financially and facilitates earning while learning. The main focus of the scheme is to enhance the dignity of labour and create work culture among the students.
The scheme is exclusively implemented for the girl students with the special focus on the personality development of the students so that their morale may boost up.
The scheme is implemented for the youth so that they can handle various situations in crisis. This training helps them to prevent the disastrous devastation made by natural and manmade calamities. They are given the training how to minimize the devastation by implementing measures. The intention was to create awareness among students about pre & post disaster management.
Contribution in the implementation of SPPU Scholarships.
Student participated in Youth Festival& Selected for the next level.
Students participated in the workshop on Disaster Management.
Submission of various Reports as per the directives of SPPU BSW Yoga Day, Anti-Ragging, Constitution Day to the SPPU BSW.
With view to empower women by uplifting them through education, the SPP University started Krantijyoti Savitribai Phule Scholarship Scheme for economically poor girls. The objective of the scheme is to provide financial help to the poor girls so that they shall not discontinue their education due to lack of money. The University sanctions Rs.5000/-, per candidate. The year wise beneficiaries are as follows.
To encourage the students for participation in innovative Schemes.
To start Student Co-operative Store.
To encourage Student for the benefits of various schemes.
The Board is planning to organize Workshop.


Karen Millen Navy KIMONO KNITTED JUMPER 17459 Karen Millen Sale:Karen Millen Knitwear Batwing knit jumper Relaxed kimono sleeve, 3/4 finish V neck KB141.
Karen Millen Navy KIMONO KNITTED JUMPER 17459 Product Code - 17459 color:Navy Product Manufacturer - KB141 Our kimono sleeve knitted jumper is a casual classic re-imagined. It is made from Merino wool with a V-neck and draping, loose fitted sleeves. Wear as a canvas the new season jewellery and add a tailored cigarette pant.


Today, I signed (on behalf of The Multiracial Activist) a few new coalition letters in support of whistle-blower protections.
It feels good to see civil liberties work escalating on this issue again. I've been involved on whistle-blower campaigns several times over the last two decades. I honestly don't care who that upsets. If government (and fascist apologists) truly want to address whistle-blowing, then stop engaging in abhorrent activities that beg to be exposed to the light of day.
Sorry to disappoint both Trump and Clinton apologists, but those candidates were open supporters of retaliation, suppression, silencing and yes – state-sanctioned murder with regard to the treatment of whistle-blowers. Neither showed an ounce of courage in honestly addressing the actual issues exposed.
When the person exposing a crime is hated more than the crime itself, that speaks volumes about the corruptibility of power and the cult of personality that protects the powerful.
Power is the problem, not the spotlight.
« News Clip: For decades they hid Jefferson's relationship with her. Now Monticello is making room for Sally Hemings.


The Swiss-Chinese Chamber of Commerce organised the first Chinese Market Fair in Switzerland, on 27 October 2017. Swiss Re Corporate Solutions hosted the event at Swiss Re Centre for Global Dialogue. The idea behind this fair was to give the opportunity to Swiss companies to learn more about doing business in China, meet with different Chinese technology parks and gain insights into digital developments in the Chinese market.
The one-day event was attended by more than 250 people from corporations, government and academic world. The participants had the chance to join various seminars with topics such as the newest digital developments in the Chinese market the Belt & Road (B&R) initiative, the interaction between the Chinese and Swiss economies and practical aspects of doing business in China. They also had the opportunity to visit the market fair, with its different stands, where Chinese technology parks presented themselves. Those who visited Corporate Solutions stand learned more about our OneConstruction insurance solution and watched a live demonstration of our CatNet® tool.
Fred Kleiterp, Head EMEA Swiss Re Corporate Solutions, opened the event with a key note speech, where he talked about Corporate Solutions and the B&R initiative that the Chinese government undertook. The aim of this large-scale program is to improve connectivity across China and with the rest of Eurasia, through building a network of infrastructure facilities. Chinese firms taking part in B&R will face a new risk environment in those countries in which they invest and we, in Corporate Solutions, with our risk management expertise in large construction projects, our innovative insurance coverages and our knowledge of the Chinese market, are here to support their endeavors. Jingwei Jia, CEO China Swiss Re Corporate Solutions participated in a panel where the topic of Financing B&R was discussed. The panelists spoke about what it takes to finance B&R, what are the risks involved and where are the opportunities.
Here you may find more information about B&R initiative, our OneConstruction insurance solution, which covers large construction projects, - from financing and construction all the way through to operation phase. Swiss Re Corporate Solutions has presence in more than 50 offices around the world, three of those in China - in Beijing, Hong-Kong and Shanghai.


text:
the bachelor :: chris : epi 5.
Land of Enchantment, here we come! Let's get these ladies some turquoise jewelry!
"Santa Fe, really, seems like the perfect place to fall in love." -- ChrisAfter watching this show for over a decade-- is there really a bad place to fall in love? Other than prison or Iowa?
WHO IS THIS CHICK TALKING ABOUT THE BEACH AND SOMBREROS?
"I've never been out of the country." -- gUrl
And you still haven't.
Everyone is all, I NEED that one-on-one date. This is not the place to discuss the world's entitlement problem, but know I see it. I SEE IT.
Carly gets the one-on-one! Chris thinks she's the PERFECT gUrl for this date. I am assuming this date is some kind of shitty performance date? Like a nursing home talent show?
Why are they in New Mexico?
This is so low budg.
And now Chris and Carly have to spend the date doing yoga or some sort of "7 Years in Tibet" shit?
Oh. She's a "love and intimacy" expert. Chris keeps calling her the "love guru."
ABC, you've really done it this time.
Carly blindfolds Chris and everyone giggles. Well, everyone minus the lady who used to manage a Claire's someone in West Texas and is now a "love guru."
I've never seen less Chemistry between two people.
Granted, I barely passed any Chemistry class I ever took.
The lady who probably cleans pool in the off-season tells Chris and Carly it's time to "de-robe."
"I don't take my clothes off for anyone." -- Carly
What is even happening right now? No one wants to take anyone's clothes off and everyone is really uncomfortable. (Note: I'm not that uncomfortable. I'm more sad for humanity.)
"Tell me what you're feeling around that." -- Love Guru
"Maybe, keep the pants on." -- Love Guru
Every other man that has ever subjected himself to being the Bachelor right now is laughing his ass off. This is like some weird hazing. WHAT ARE WE WATCHING?
Now, there's a lot of heavy breathing and "exploring with your hands."
I feel like no one should be allowed to watch this right now because some CAB (crazy ass bitch) is out there thinking, "my boo and I need to do this."
They kiss.
"I'm excited. I felt more of a romantic thing with Carly than I ever have." -- Chris
Well, you also wanted to bone that one chick in the ketchup aisle at Costco, so I don't really trust you.
It's nighttime now!
"Ohhhhh, it's so fancy!" -- Carly
It's like, a lodge with pillows?
Carly thinks they should've gone to the Love Guru on date seven, not date one. She starts going on about her last boyfriend and how he NEVER wanted to touch her. Ever. Even after 2 years.
I understand that that is a sad story because she didn't feel pretty, but like, more than one chick on this show is a widow. And this is your story. Your boyfriend wouldn't have sex with you and you kept dating.
Now, she says if a man desires her, all of her bad feelings will go away.
CARLY, CALL YOUR DAD. GO TO LUNCH. LET HIM BUY SOME TOOLS AT LOWE'S.
Chris struggles with being "open" about Iowa.
What a jackass.
"Are you scared someone is going to get to your house and then they'll want to leave?" -- Carly
These two are kind of the worst. I mean, I am sure she's a fun gUrl. But.
She gets the rose.
It's time for the group date!
SocioKelsey is back on this nature date and I'm worried she only wants to go rafting in MICHIGAN, because MICHIGAN has the best rafting.
"We are about to go WATER RAFTING!" -- gUrl
"What's in the water? There could be alligators or dead bodies." -- gUrl
I always assume there are dead bodies in all bodies of water.
And woods.
And abandoned cars on the side of the road.
Some old man came up and told them all they were going to die or something, so now everyone is scared.
Jade, the organic makeup developer, fell out of the boat.
She apparently has a condition that causes hypothermia at 65 and sunny.
Now, everyone is jealous that they don't have this condition.
After party!!!!!!!!!!
The outdoorsy stuff lasted for 45 minutes real time and 2 minutes of TV time.
Chris is walking through the hotel and now, Jordan (?!?!?! WHO ??!?!!?) is walking down the hall and is ready to confront Chris.
How does ABC convince these Gs to do this?
Chris sent her home because she was a drunk or something. But, second chances and love and happiness are important to her, so she's here!
The other chicks are starting to wonder if they are being stood up.
IN YOUR DREAMS, gUrls. In. Your. Dreams.
Chris sits down with Jordan and she asks for a second chance.
Chris marches Jordan out like a show pony and gives her the chance to join the group.
Everyone loves Jordan, BUT NOT HERE. NOT NOW.
Everyone is wearing turquoise jewelry, LIKE TURN DOWN FOR NEW MEXICO CLICHES.
Ashley I., the virgin, is wearing a very tiny piece of cloth. She sits down with Chris to discuss the fundamental differences between her and Jordan.
The rest of the Gs are confronting Jordan.
"The point of this process is that gUrls get eliminated." -- gUrl
Every gUrl who sits down with Chris tells him he's an idiot.
People are acting like Jordan stole a presidential election.
Or kicked a puppy.
"We shouldn't be nice to her right now!" -- Ashley I.
Yes. Yes. Because, maturity.
Chris gets some time with Jade and immediately covers her in like, 7 blankets.
"Are you okay? -- Jade
"I'm okay, if you're okay." -- Chris
Chris decides the Producers have had enough control over this situation and pulls Jordan aside.
HE KNOWS WHAT HE NEEDS TO DO.
1. He needs to get a more manly leather jacket.
2. He needs to quit talking about Iowa like it's a place.
Chris puts Jordan on the first bus back to rehab.
"It just doesn't make sense for her to be around." -- Chris
Jordan goes to tell the Gs goodbye and Chris watches over her like he's nervous she's going to steal something.
I am not giving this situation any more attention.
TONIGHT'S ROSE IS GOING TO SOMEONE WHO MAKES CHRIS FEEL REALLY SPECIAL.
Whitney gets the rose!
I am an adult. Like, I pay taxes, I know when to get my oil changed, all that stuff.
I've NEVER heard a man say, "I feel special."
Maybe, I've never talked to a man before. I D K!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
All these Gs are mad. Mostly, Ashley I. is mad.
I think I've figured Ashley I. out. Basically, all I know is she had a really huge Sweet 16 birthday party (maybe even one featured on MTV) and drives a leased BMW.
That or she's a server at Sur on Bravo's "Vanderpump Rules." It's one or the other.
It's really early in the morning and Chris is waking Britt up. He thinks she looks BEAUTIFUL.
He brought a flashlight in there. Like. What.
This isn't a cave. It's a hotel and there are lights everywhere.
Apparently, Britt sleeps in makeup.
And that is just NOT okay with these ladies.
THE SKY IS THE LIMIT!
Britt thinks Chris is a fun guy. I've seen a lot of Chris so far this season and I would not describe him as "fun." I mean, I think he probably takes really good care of his clothes and probably re-arranges the dishwasher after someone else loaded it, but fun? Not getting that vibe.
ITZ HOT AIR BALLOON TIME!
This is my worst fear, because I never want to be in a place that I cannot go to the bathroom, if needed.
Are they not allowed to wear sunglasses? I didn't really start wearing sunglasses until late into college because I thought I looked weird in them, but now, it's more of a health concern. I don't want the sun in my eyes. I want to be able to see things.
Britt and Chris head back to his hotel room.
"It's so clean!" -- Britt
Yeah, it's a hotel. They do that there.
Britt keeps talking about clean it is, while the other gUrls are sitting around talking about how Britt doesn't take showers.
Then, right as the other gUrls are talking about how Britt doesn't want kids, Britt is telling Chris she wants 100 KIDS.
100? Like, one more than 99?
Seems like a dramatic change from what the other gUrls are saying.
gUrls are crying.
Britt and Chris are under the covers kissing.
Chris shuts the doors to the hotel room.
Britt returns with a rose. And talks about how Chris woke everyone up with his LOUD KISSES. And then something about a nap.
Everyone is mad. But, no one is as mad as SocioKelsey. She uses air quotes and everything.
Kelsey heads to his hotel room and decides it's time to tell him that she's a widow.
"I'm not going home without him knowing I'm a widow." -- Special K
That's one way to put it.
After she's done....
"Isn't my story amazing? It's tra-gic, but it's amazing. Ugh! I love my story." -- Special K
Chris uses this opportunity to kiss.
Apparently, this was her plan for a first kiss all along.
In all seriousness:
1. I hope she is actually a weirdo, because this is real crazy (not just reality TV crazy), if not.
2. I truly hope her, likely still grieving, in-laws are not watching this. At all.
PRE-ROSE CEREMONY COCKTAIL TIME!!!!!!!!!!!
Ashley I. is going through a list naming name and I don't know any of them.
Chris joins the party and starts a long "emotional" speech.
"It's been a true honor to spend the week with you all in Santa Fe." -- Chris
I question his definition of the word honor.
Chris launches into his conversation with Special K. She starts crying. Chris has been thinking about some things today that...LONG ASS PAUSE...OMIGAH, he needs a second!
Chris runs away and all we can hear is heavy breathing.
The cocktail party is now revolving around Special K because everyone assumed she was going home that night, so she pulled out the widow card.
No one thinks she's very nice.
Kelsey wanted to honor her story.
Again, VERY LOOSE DEFINITION OF THE WORD HONOR.
"Everyday is a gift. Time is precious." -- Special K
THAT IS HOW I FEEL RIGHT NOW.
AND MY TIME IS NOT BEING HONORED.
Special K is just sitting on this couch half-crying and whispering like she's in the bathroom at prom.
Now, she's giggling.
Everyone is frustrated.
IT IS SO UNFAIR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
WAIT. WHO IS THIS?
SHE WANTS TIME WITH HIM, TOO.
BUT. IDK WHO SHE IS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ChrissyPoo comes out to tell the ladies that Chris knows exactly what he wants to do.
NO COCKTAIL PARTY TONIGHT.
THE FUN IS OVER.
ROSE CEREMONY TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
EVERYONE HAS BEEN THROUGH SOMETHING.
Kelsey, finally, gets up. No one knows where she went, but they agree that it's weird.
CRYING, SCREAMING, MOANING.
(OFF CAMERA)
The camera finds her. Special K is on the ground!
MEDICS!
MOANING.
A British woman named Diane keeps asking Special K where she is!
It looks like she's outside of the bathroom of a sad Mexican restaurant.
But, I can't be sure. I don't want to put words in her mouth.
TO BE CONTINUED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
What in the world is this chick with the sombrero.
This is not real.
I am not even.
I HAVE NO FEELINGS. I HATE EVERYTHING.
Ty Webb said...
I only watch this piece of shit show so I can read these recaps. Thank you. It is truly an honor.
Bemery said...
👆👆 what he said
I agree with, Ty. This recap makes it worth it!
the bachelor :: epi 7 : chris.


text:
Planning application considered for 24 apartments on Outram Street, Sutton-in-Ashfield
The land is at the junction of Outram Street and Park Street, picture courtesy of Google
Danielle Andrews
The application has been made just two weeks after permission was granted to turn Station House into 24 apartments on the same road.
The land is at the junction of Outram Street and Park Street, and planners want to develop 24 one and two bedroom apartments.
Planning permission to develop the land was submitted to planning authority Ashfield District Council in November 2016, but refused in December 2017 due to the non-completion of a S106 Agreement.
The design also incorporates 24 car parking spaces, hard landscaping, refuse and cycle storage facilities, and potential for a roof terrace.
A planning application was approved by Ashfield District Council to convert Station House on Outram Street into 28 apartments and two retail units earlier this month.
The building will front Outram Street and part of Park Street, with the entrance being from Park Street into the car parking area to the rear.
The application, submitted by London based Chardstock Management LTD, is now pending with Ashfield District Council.
There are several residents comments on the application, some of whom are worried about wildlife habitats and parking problems.
One resident said that there was anger towards the proposed development, due to parking.
They said: "The residents of Park Street are very angry, they can't park outside their own house."
Another resident said: "The proposed site is a haven for wildlife, there are several well established trees and bushes that are used by returning birds to nest every year.
"Parking on Park Street is already an issue for residents, on most days it is a struggle for us to park on the street.
"The proposed plan has 24 parking spaces, that's one per apartment.
"As our house is situated just a few doors down from the proposed development, we are concerned that a four storey building will limit the sun light to our back garden as well as impose on our privacy.
One resident objected on the grounds that anti-social behaviour is already a nuisance in the area.
They said: "An additional concern is the type of tenants who will occupy the flats, as I understand there are already similar developments in the immediate area which seem to involve regular police visits.
"As a parent this is also of grave concern. Park Street is a lovely community minded area and I do not feel that this is the correct site for such a development."
Another resided added: "Negative effects will result for the current occupants of Park Street if the application of this build is granted - loss of privacy on rear gardens to right hand side if developers are to build any higher than 2 storeys.
"This is an issue for those of us who have young children who wish to play outside.
"But also an issue for the security of items we may have in our gardens. - noise during construction will cause a disturbance the majority of occupants on the street.
The planning application plans clearly show large over-development of the site.
"The street currently consists of 41 properties, and this development will add a further 24 properties.
"That's an increase of 59 per cent.
"Whilst 24 car parking spaces appear to have been included within the proposal, it is evident that no space has been allocated for visitor parking.
"It also does not provide additional parking for properties which may house couples/families who own two cars.
The current occupants already struggle to park due to shoppers and school staff and parents who misuse parking here at present.
"Traffic emerging from Park Street to Outram Street currently have an obstructed view. The proposed building plans do not aid in the removal of this as are set close to the existing boundary.
"As this site has been unused for a number of years it has become over grown as has become a habitat for local wildlife."
The proposal is still open for comments.


text:
Steinar Ekern
Professor Emeritus Steinar Ekern
Steinar.Ekern@nhh.no
Finance Management Science Economics of Uncertainty Risk Management
Biography and CV Selected publications Research Teaching
Steinar Ekern is a Professor Emeritus at NHH since 2011, having been on the NHH faculty since 1974, and as a Professor of Business since 1981. He received his Ph.D. (Business) in 1973 and a M.S. (Operations Research) in 1972, both from Stanford University.
His main research areas were economics of uncertainty and financial economics, including financial markets, investments, capital budgeting, contingent claims analysis, real options, risk management, quantitative analysis, and natural resource valuation. His joint contributions to the early literatures on economics with incomplete market and on the real options approach appear in collections of classical writings.
His research was recognized by being listed in the Who's Who in Economics 3rd Ed. (2nd Ed.), Edward Elgar 1999 (Wheatsheaf 1984). Selected publications include Journal of Finance, Bell Journal of Economics (now Rand Journal of Economics), Financial Management, Economica, Journal of the Operational Society, Omega, and Energy Economics. He has also headed or participated in many applied projects (related to uncertainty modelling, investment evaluations, petroleum, shipping, insurance, and public policy).
Ekern, Steinar; Wilson, Robert B. On the Theory of the Firm in an Economy with Incomplete Markets Incomplete Markets (Eds. Michael Magill and Martine Quinzii), Vol. 225 i The International Library of Critical Writings in Economics series; 2008
Ekern, Steinar; Wilson, Robert B. On the Theory of the Firm in an Economy with Incomplete Markets Game Theory in the Tradition of Bob Wilson; page 78 - 88; 2002
Ekern, Steinar Preface: Background of the Ekern-Wilson Article Game Theory in the Tradition of Bob Wilson; page 75 - 77; 2002
Ekern, Steinar; Theil, Michael Eine Analyse der Zusammenhänge zwischen Umfang und Duration von Investitionen Journal für Betriebswirtschaft Volume 48 (5-6); page 277 - 289; 1998
Ekern, Steinar; Persson, Svein-Arne Exotic Unit-Linked Life Insurance Contracts The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance Theory Volume 21 (1); page 35 - 63; 1996
Bjerksund, Petter; Ekern, Steinar Managing Investment Opportunities under Price Uncertainty: From "Last Chance" to "Wait and See" Strategies Financial Management Volume 19 (3); page 65 - 83; 1990
Ekern, Steinar An Option Pricing Approach to Evaluating Petroleum Projects, Energy Economics Energy Economics Volume 10 (2); page 91 - 99; 1988
Ekern, Steinar Adaptive Exponential Smoothing Revisited Journal of the Operational Research Society Volume 32 (9); page 775 - 782; 1981
Ekern, Steinar Time Dominance Efficiency Analysis Journal of Finance Volume 36 (5); page 1023 - 1034; 1981
Ekern, Steinar Increasing nth Degree Risk Economics Letters Volume 6 (4); page 329 - 333; 1980
Ekern, Steinar Comparative Statics and Risk Aversion Economics Letters Volume 5 (2); page 125 - 128; 1980
Ekern, Steinar Stochastic Break-Even Points Journal of the Operational Research Society Volume 30 (3); page 271 - 275; 1979
Ekern, Steinar On the Inadequacy of a Probabilistic Internal Rate of Return Journal of Business Finance & Accounting Volume 6 (2); page 229 - 237; 1979
Ekern, Steinar The New Soviet Incentive Model: Comment Bell Journal of Economics Volume 10 (2); page 720 - 725; 1979
Ekern, Steinar Forecasting with Adaptive Filtering: A Critical Reexamination Operational Research Quarterly Volume 27 (3-ii); page 705 - 715; 1976
Ekern, Steinar On the Theory of the Firm in an Economy with Incomplete Markets: An Addendum Bell Journal of Economics Volume 6 (1); page 388 - 393; 1975
Ekern, Steinar; Wilson, Robert B. On the Theory of the Firm in an Economy with Incomplete Markets Bell Journal of Economics and Management Science Volume 5 (1); page 171 - 180; 1974
Ekern, Steinar Taxation, Political Risk and Portfolio Selection Economica Volume 38 (152); page 421 - 430; 1971


text:
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The Best of 2021 Awards: Part IV
by Just Juan December 29, 2021
written by Just Juan December 29, 2021 161 views 11 min read
Featured Image: Logo for The Best of 2021 Awards
With 2022 just around the corner, I'm continuing with The Best of 2021. As with the previous 3 posts, Part IV will be 5 more randoms and moments from the year that was.
BEST NEW PURCHASE. For Best New Purchase in 2021, the qualifier is an item I acquired for the first time in 2021. The nominees are:
Serta iComfort CF3000 Hybrid Plush Queen Mattress. With the move to Bogotá, a no doubt nominee for Highlight Experience of 2021 being one of the biggest things to happen for me this year, I figured I'd take the opportunity to reset a little bit. In my previous moves abroad, I virtually started brand new. As I noted in this contribution of Dreams of a Diplomat series, it's a furnished post. In essence, all I really had to bring was my clothes and the stuff that makes up unaccompanied baggage. The Department provided everything else as far as major furniture goes…including bedroom sets. I, however, chose to bring my own mattress…and not only that but a brand new mattress. After some "testing" at the Macy's Home Store, I settled on the Serta iComfort CF3000. I ended up ordering directly from Serta to cut down on the unreasonable delivery time Macy's put out there…something like 12-15 weeks. Once we got our HHE shipment in October, I slept on it for the first time and let me tell you: sleep has been fantastic ever since.
Netgear Nighthawk AX3600 TriBand WiFi 6 Mesh System. Bogotá is in a seismic zone. In fact, we've had 15 earthquakes this month, including 6 in the last 1 ½ weeks. Part of me figures that we may be due for a serious jolt but that's a story for another day. Most structures are built with concrete here…at least the modern ones. An unintended consequence of that is horrible WiFi signal coverage. As you know, the apartment is huge and that's great but the concrete walls have been a sore spot because the WiFi signal has been virtually nonexistent the farther away I get from the router. On the recommendation of a friend, I invested in a mesh system. I copped the Netgear Nighthawk out of Best Buy and I've not only been able to get a signal in every corner of the apartment, but I'm also getting signals with download speeds of up to 330 Mbps…faster than the 300 Mbps outlined in the plan.
Ninja Foodi 6-in-1 8-quart 2-basket Air Fryer with DualZone Technology. For our last 2 years in the National Capital Region, we had an air fryer. I copped it from Target in the Summer of 2019. I was really good but it was hell to stay clean and it wasn't all that effective if I was prepping multiple things in quick succession…such as chicken wings and fries. As I set to start new here in Colombia, I looked around for potential replacements. I came across the Ninja Foodi 2-basket air fryer in Best Buy and I was sold. Since it arrived with the UAB in September, it has been a fantastic addition to the household. In fact, it's a nominee for Best Change Made to My Residence and Best New Technological Advancement. The ability to cook multiple things simultaneously is a boon. It's easy to stay clean, easy to use, and the features are bananas.
Sony PlayStation 5. Since November 2020, I've been on the hunt for a Sony PlayStation 5. Partly because of Sony's arrogance in making supply extremely limited and partly because of the hoarders who buy huge quantities and sell them at prices well above list price, I failed to acquire one. They have them in abundance in the duty-free store at El Dorado International Airport but at a price of $1135…that U.S. dollars, not to be confused with $1,135,000 Colombian pesos. I wasn't paying that and I was resigned to going another year without being able to add it. A colleague of mine had purchased one for his kids but they didn't like it after the 1st play so he packed it back up and offered to sell it to me…along with a lot of accessories and games for the PS5 as well as the PS4. For a cool $1000 on what was probably a value of maybe $1500 in total merchandise, I snatched it up.
Samsonite Ascella X Softside Expandable Luggage with Spinner Wheels Black Garment Bag. Ahead of my move to Colombia, my biggest concern in the last few days was protecting my suits during international transit. Past lessons of sending my suits through UAB and HHE resulted in them being ripped or damaged by environmental conditions. And today's airplanes are few and far between when it comes to having space available to hang such items onboard. After some asking around, I settled on the Samsonite Ascella X. It was heavy-duty, which was the top requirement for me considering the ruthless bag handlers at Hartsfield-Jackson would be charged with getting my bags on the plane. It was able to hold up to 4 suits, which was also important because I have 4 suits. In the end, it also held 5 of my dress shirts and all of my dress shoes without issue. The fact that it had wheels made it even better.
And the Best New Purchase in 2021 is…the Netgear Nighthawk AX3600.
BEST SPORTS MOMENT. For Best Sports Moment 2021, the qualifier is a specific moment in the world of sports that captivated me. The nominees are:
Ohio State defeating Clemson in the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the 2021 Allstate Sugar Bowl. 2021 began with a bang. After a heartbreaking and controversial loss to Clemson in the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the 2019 PlayStation Fiesta Bowl, my Ohio State Buckeyes finally got off the schneid against the upstart Tigers. The result was a 49-28 thumping of them in New Orleans…and the game wasn't as close as even that final score seemed. It was a beautiful moment…punctuated by the Justin Fields deep strike to Chris Olave, which atoned for their miscommunication that doomed the game a year earlier. It was even better that Dabo Swinney had to eat crow for ranking us #11 in his final poll.
Chris Taylor's walk-off home run to win the 2021 National League Wild Card Game. Every kid who likes baseball grows up playing out that imaginary moment when they hit a home run to win a postseason series…usually the Fall Classic. With 2 out and 1 on in the bottom of the 9th inning of a winner-take-all, loser goes home playoff game, Chris Taylor had that moment. His drive to deep left field won the Wild Card Game and eventually helped propel the Dodgers to the National League Championship Series.
The Dodgers eliminating the Giants in Game 5 of the 2021 National League Division Series. Few things in sports are sweeter than beating your archrival with everything on the line. The Dodgers did that in Game 5 of the NLDS, a 2-1 victory in San Francisco. The victory vanquished the hated rivals and sent them on their annual fishing trip in San Francisco Bay. The postgame memes made it even better.
Tyson Fury's demolition of Deontay Wilder to retain the WBC & The Ring Heavyweight Championship. In October, the much-hyped 3rd fight between Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder happened. Much like he did in the 1st fight—a very controversial draw gifted to Wilder—and the 2nd fight—a 7th round TKO—Fury dominated Wilder. The former champ did have his moments—he knocked Fury down twice—but as the fight progressed, it was clear that Fury was going to win and win impressively. He finished off Wilder with a devastating right hook, sending him sprawling to the canvas as the referee called off the fight.
Elaine Thompson-Herah's summer showcase. If you let the younger demographic from urban America tell it, the Summer of 2021 was supposed to be the Sha'Carri Richardson breakout. She was supposed to establish her legacy on the track…complete with the weave, the fingernails, and the brash attitude. She failed a drug test and got disqualified from the Olympics. Enter the defending Olympic champ in the women's 100 and 200 metres sprints. Elaine Thompson-Herah had herself quite a summer. She ran a 10.61 in the 100 metres Olympic final, shattering Florence Griffith-Joyner's mark from the Seoul Olympics. She followed that up by recording the 2nd fastest 200 metres by a woman and then she shocked the world by blowing out the field at the Prefontaine Classic. It all culminated with her winning a Diamond League championship in the 100 metres. It was one of the greatest displays of sprinting I had ever seen.
And the Best Sports Moment in 2021 is…the Dodgers eliminating the Giants.
NEW FOOD. For Best New Food of 2021, the qualifier is cuisine I tried for the first time in 2021. The nominees are:
Arepas rellenas de queso. The English translation of arepa rellenas de queso is cheese-stuffed corn cakes. They are a staple here in Colombia and you can find them just about anywhere…from grocery stores to corner stores to malls to street vendors. They all have their own unique taste. For my money, I would say the closer to the street you buy them, the better they are. Don't ask me why that is. Anyway, it's by far my favorite of the comida típica de la zona. I usually have one for lunch on Thursdays and Fridays but I've had my empleada doméstica prep them for breakfast the last couple of weeks. The gooeyness of the cheese and the softness of the bread is heavenly.
Drunken noodles from Thaiphoon. A few days ago, I revealed Thaiphoon in Pentagon Row as a nominee of one of the Best Restaurant Moments. While I was there mostly for conversation with colleagues, I did eat something: the Drunken Noodle entrée. Consisting of stir-fried wide rice noodles with onions, tomatoes, basil leaves, and my choice of meat (chicken) in a spicy garlic sauce, it was a food selection that left me satisfied. I really liked how the spicy garlic sauce had kick and it was the first time I had rice noodles since my days of eating at a Japanese spot in Pensacola during the USACE days.
The Juicy Crab mixture. The Best Restaurant Moment of 2021 provided a nominee for Best New Food. In my debut in the restaurant, I was met with a table of food that included chicken wings, shrimp with no heads, snow crab legs, Dungeness, corn on the cob, boiled potatoes, fried calamari and steamed rice. There was a variety of sauces that came with all of that. Except for the rice, all of it went into a huge bag and was mixed in. The result was a conglomeration of seafood and other stuff. Not only was the food good but that spice level had fierce afterburn, which isn't a disappointment at all. I destroyed the leftovers the next morning.
And the Best New Food of 2021 is…arepas rellenas de queso.
NEW TELEVISION SERIES. For Best New Television Series of 2021, the qualifier is a television series I watched for the first time in 2021. It does not mean that the series premiered in 2021. The nominees are:
Solos. I came across this series back in May on Amazon Prime. It was an anthology series kind of like Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams, which probably would've been the winner of the Best New Television Series of 2017 had I written the series. With Solos, I particularly liked the ensemble cast. Each story was about an individual having some kind of experience that turned out to be connected in some form to others. I was actually shocked by the story of Peg, played by the lovely Helen Mirren. I definitely didn't expect the loop for which she threw me. I would love to see a second season of it but I don't think the plot would allow it.
Power Book III: Raising Kanan. The series premiered shortly after I arrived here in Colombia. As I didn't have my VPN set up in the temporary apartment, I couldn't watch it initially. It wasn't until I decided to check it out at work (I may have taken advantage of the built-in VPNs of the work computers to watch Amazon Prime in my office) did I get to see it. Over a couple of weeks' worth of lunch breaks, I tuned in and found myself intrigued by the character who grew up to be a ruthless gangster and adversary of James St. Patrick in Power.
Lovesick. I kinda have this thing for watching British television series. Think Luther or Accused or Killing Eve or Secret Diary of a Call Girl or The Crown. It's something about the accents and the rawness of the presentation that intrigues me. With Lovesick, I actually liked the storyline: a group of friends living life amid the chaos of their love lives. I liked Dylan's honesty, especially in Series 1 as he went about informing his collection of partners about his chlamydia diagnosis. Of course, Antonia Thomas is lovely as Evie Douglas…and might I say she has an even better accent and look in heels than Ashley Madekwe. My favorite character—and one of the reasons why I actually like the show—is Angus Baker. He's a nerd but he's extremely naïve to a lot of things though he is sometimes the conscious of the group.
And the Best New Television Series of 2021 is…Lovesick.
Image: A poster for the Solos television series [Source: Mediagoodies]
Image: A banner for the Power Book III: Raising Kanan television series [Source: Starz]
Image: A banner for the Lovesick television series [Source: Netflix]
MOST DISAPPOINTING MOMENT. For Most Disappointing Moment of 2021, the qualifier is a specific moment in which I was sorely disappointed by the final result. The nominees are:
James Bond dying at the end of No Time to Die. This is the 3rd nomination in this year's series for No Time to Die. That says a lot about the power of that film…especially since it was an October release. I thoroughly enjoyed the film. The storyline was really good but man…that ending. SPOILER ALERT COMING. When Bond resigned to the fact that his life would be miserable had he lived on account of Safin's last-ditch ploy, death became imminent. When the bombs dropped and you no longer saw his Smart Blood signal on Q's plane, I cried. It was disappointing. You always expect your heroes to survive after saving the world. James Bond happens to be one of my heroes…and he was invincible until the penultimate scene of the film.
Not being able to see Mama Sanders before departing for Bogotá. I haven't seen my spiritual mother face-to-face since we shared this emotional moment at my wedding. I had plans of visiting her in Germany in the Summer of 2019 but Ashton got sick and then COVID-19 destroyed all travel plans in 2020. When I was in the South for the 2 weeks between leaving DC and arriving in Bogotá, I planned to make the drive from Birmingham to her summer home in Mississippi but there were some incredible storms rolling through the day I planned to visit. When I called to get a gauge of the road conditions down her way, she said that some of the roads were washed out. I ended up canceling the trip and that was a lost opportunity. The hope is that seeing her will be a nominee for Highlight Experience of 2022.
The Dodgers wasting a 106-win season. The Dodgers wasted an all-time season in 2021. We won a franchise-record 106 games and that didn't include an NL West division title. Though we ended up in the National League Championship Series, we got outplayed—or better yet, outmanaged—by the Atlanta Braves, who went on to win the World Series. The decisions by Dave Roberts over the course of the season cost us a chance to win what was certain to be a 2nd straight World Series championship. And with a long lockout looming and many of the team's star players leaving for other teams, who knows if we'll ever have a season with that many wins again. Either way, it makes the 3rd 100-win season ruined by Dave Roberts. I personally think he should be fired but I can't really justify it with .622 winning percentage as the team's manager to go along with 6 playoff appearances, 5 division titles, 3 pennants, and a championship since we parted ways with punk ass Don Mattingly.
Missing Christmas in the United States. In all of my years abroad, I've actually never come home for Christmas. This year was supposed to be different, however. Mercedes and Ashton left to go to the States ahead of me and the plan was for me to drop in a couple of days before Christmas and come back the day after. But that whole "needs of the Department of State" is real and an emergency preparedness drill that was planned late by my counterparts in the Regional Security Office meant I wasn't going home. After all, the POSHO has to be here for such things. It is the 1st Christmas I've missed with my wife and son.
Missing out on an undisputed heavyweight boxing championship fight. After Anthony Joshua blew out Andy Ruiz, Jr. to reclaim the WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, and IBO Heavyweight Championships—collectively known as the unified championship—2 years ago, I got excited about the Fall of 2020. When Tyson Fury dominated Deontay Wilder in the 2nd of their 3 fights, I got really excited about the Fall of 2020. The world was on track to see an undefeated Tyson Fury versus a once-defeated Anthony Joshua duke it out in London for all of the marbles…and we're talking the WBC, WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, IBO, and The Ring Heavyweight Championships. Basically, the undisputed heavyweight championship would've been at stake in perhaps the most profitable fight in the history of boxing. F'n Deontay Wilder ruined it by carelessly exercising the rematch clause with Fury only to get his ass kicked as I noted above. Joshua lost the unified title to the upstart Oleksandr Usyk and now we have a mess of obstacles in between Fury-Joshua to include a dangerous Dillian Whyte, who is now Fury's mandatory. Deontay Wilder disappointed me and the boxing world with his decision. That mofo should've taken the step aside money.
And the Most Disappointing Moment of 2021 is…missing Christmas in the United States.
Only 2 more days left in 2021. 11 more awards to dish out in The Best of 2021 series. Check back for Part V tomorrow.
#TheBestOf2021
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Just Juan
I'm not your average guy. I'm a Black man, a Christian, a husband, a father, a gentleman, and an American diplomat…in that order. I manage facilities for a living and my degree in facility management makes me slightly better than most at it. I'm a veteran…I've risked my life for my country. I'm a really mellow-like free spirit…Southern-born, internationally cultured. I'm well-traveled…equally as educated too. I'm a thrill seeker…I test the limits of life often and I have a bucket list to prove it. I'm cool, calm, and collected most of the time…and something like a heatwave when I'm not. I'm a lover of the arts, sports, rail transit, subtitles, and a lot of other stuff. I'm a lot of things but I'm not an average guy.
The Best of 2021 Awards: Part III
The Best of 2021 Awards: Part V
Flashback Friday Moment of The Week: 1/7/2022
The Best of 2021 Awards: Part VI
Flashback Friday Moment of The Week: 12/31/2021
The Best of 2021 Awards: Part II
The Best of 2021 Awards: Part I
If I Ruled FBS Football
Conceived in December 2013, The Book of Juan is essentially a re-imaged version of Life: The Juan Thomas Story, a personal blog that ran from the Spring of 2007 until the Fall of 2011. The Book of Juan is a look into the world of a modern-day xennial through his collection of thoughts and experiences about life, love, major social issues, and other topics of interest.
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Walden Pond is a famous pond in Concord, Massachusetts, in the United States. A good example of a kettle hole, it was formed by retreating glaciers 10,000–12,000 years ago. The pond is protected as part of Walden Pond State Reservation, a  state park and recreation site managed by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation. The reservation was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1962 for its association with the writer Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862), whose two years living in a cabin on its shore provided the foundation for his famous 1854 work, Walden; or, Life in the Woods. The National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 ensured federal support for the preservation of the pond.

Description
The Walden Pond Reservation is located south of Massachusetts Route 2 and (mostly) west of Massachusetts Route 126 in Concord and Lincoln, Massachusetts.  The Fitchburg Line of the MBTA Commuter Rail passes west of the pond; however, the nearest station is in Concord center, 1.4 miles northwest of the reservation.

The reservation is  in size, and its principal feature is Walden Pond, a  body of water.  A short way north of the pond the site of Thoreau's cabin is marked by a series of granite posts.  Portions of the pond's shore are beach, while other parts descend steeply to the water from trails that ring the pond.  There are three buildings at the main beach area at the southeastern shore of the pond.  The reservation's parking area is located across Route 126, and a ramped footpath descends from that roadway to the pond.

History
The writer, transcendentalist, and philosopher Henry David Thoreau lived on the northern shore of the pond for two years from the summer of 1845. Thoreau was inspired by former enslaved woman Zilpah White, who lived in a one-room house on the common land that bordered Walden Road and made a living spinning flax into linen fibers. White's ability to provide for herself at a time when few if any other Concord women lived alone was a great accomplishment.

Thoreau's account of his experience at the pond was recorded in Walden; or, Life in the Woods, and made the pond famous. The land at that end was owned by Thoreau's friend and mentor, Ralph Waldo Emerson, who let Thoreau use it for his experiment. Thoreau's writing is credited with encouraging a respect for Nature. The Concord Museum contains the bed, chair, and desk from Thoreau's cabin.

During the winter he lived at Walden Pond a large group of men decamped from the train to cut ice there for sixteen days. In his journal, Thoreau philosophized upon the wintry sight of the ice harvesters: "The sweltering inhabitants of Charleston and New Orleans, of Madras and Bombay and Calcutta, drink at my well  The pure Walden water is mingled with the sacred water of the Ganges". It was well known at the time that ice shipped from Boston went to many ports, including India.

An amusement park with swings, concession stands and an event hall, located at the western end of the pond, burned down in 1902 and was never rebuilt.

Descendants of Emerson and other families deeded the land around the pond to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in 1922. In 1961, the Middlesex County Commissioners, then managing the land, proposed leveling a significant portion of the preserve for a parking lot and other "improvements." An acre of woodland had been leveled for access to the public beach when the Commissioners were sued to stop the destruction of the existing environment. Judge David A Rose, sitting in the Massachusetts Superior Court, ruled that Walden's deed donating the property to the Commonwealth required preservation of the land and barred further development. The decision received national recognition, and Judge Rose received hundreds of letters from school children across the country thanking him for saving the land. Walden Pond became part of the state parks system in 1975. It is also among the national landmarks preserved by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966.

In 1977, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts installed a porous pavement parking area at Walden Pond as a special technology transfer demonstration project, following methodology generated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 1972. The porous pavement still functions decades later, despite experiencing more freeze-thaw cycling than most other parts of the world.

Recording artist Don Henley initiated The Walden Woods Project in 1990 to prevent the area around Walden Pond from being developed. Through a joint effort of The Trust for Public Land, the Walden Woods Project, and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, more than 85 acres of land were permanently protected, including Bear Garden Hill, where Thoreau took moonlit walks.  In 1995, The Trust for Public Land also assisted in the acquisition of a historic home, which would become the research center and library for the Thoreau Institute.

Legend

Formation, from "The Ponds" (Walden, 1854)
While living in Walden Woods for two years beginning in 1845, Henry David Thoreau contemplated Walden Pond's features. In "The Ponds" section of Walden, published in 1854, Thoreau extols the water's physical properties. He details its unparalleled water quality; its clarity, color, and temperature; its unique animal life (aquatic, bird, and mammal); its rock formations and bed; and especially, its mirror-like surface properties.

Thoreau contemplates the source of the pristine water body in the woods. He observes that it had no visible inlet or outlet, and considers the possibility of an unidentified spring at the bottom. Noting the kettle landform's ramparts and resilient shore, he concludes that a unique, natural geologic event formed the site, while recognizing local myths:

Some have been puzzled to tell how the shore became so regularly paved. My townsmen have all heard the tradition -- the oldest people tell me that they heard it in their youth -- that anciently the Indians were holding a pow-wow upon a hill here, which rose as high into the heavens as the pond now sinks deep into the earth, and they used much profanity, as the story goes, though this vice is one of which the Indians were never guilty, and while they were thus engaged the hill shook and suddenly sank, and only one old squaw, named Walden, escaped, and from her the pond was named. It has been conjectured that when the hill shook these stones rolled down its side and became the present shore. It is very certain, at any rate, that once there was no pond here, and now there is one; and this Indian fable does not in any respect conflict with the account of that ancient settler whom I have mentioned, who remembers so well when he first came here with his divining-rod, saw a thin vapor rising from the sward, and the hazel pointed steadily downward, and he concluded to dig a well here. As for the stones, many still think that they are hardly to be accounted for by the action of the waves on these hills; but I observe that the surrounding hills are remarkably full of the same kind of stones, so that they have been obliged to pile them up in walls on both sides of the railroad cut nearest the pond; and, moreover, there are most stones where the shore is most abrupt; so that, unfortunately, it is no longer a mystery to me. I detect the paver. If the name was not derived from that of some English locality -- Saffron Walden, for instance -- one might suppose that it was called originally Walled-in Pond.

Romanticism, from "The Ponds" (Walden, 1854)
Also in "The Ponds," Thoreau describes incorporeal experiences around the water, both experiences related to him by others and his own. Thoreau, who was well read and a transcendentalist, and therefore presumably intimately familiar with Romanticism, relates the stories in a way that could be argued to interpret or reveal the pond as the locale of the Grail Legend in the Americas. In the following passage, Walden Pond's vanishing treasure chest echoes the protagonist's fleeting encounter with the grail in Wolfram von Eschenbach's German romance Parzival, and the pond's canoe is reminiscent of the boat in A Fairy Tale. (Goethe, who was a Classicist, not a Romanticist, positively viewed Parzival.) Thoreau wrote:

Activities and amenities

In addition to being a popular swimming destination in the summer, Walden Pond State Reservation provides opportunities for boating, hiking, picnicking, and fishing. There is a replica of Thoreau's cabin available for viewing. The reservation is open year-round for day use, but does not allow camping overnight.

In 2015, Massachusetts state conservation officials warned swimmers to stay out of Walden Pond, "after a routine test there revealed a high level of potentially dangerous bacteria." These bacteria included enterococcus, "a pathogen that in severe cases can cause digestive ailments including vomiting and diarrhea." Swimming was allowed in subsequent years.

Influences
Walden Pond inspired the naming of the American film company Walden Media and is a frequent subject of professional and amateur photographers.

C-SPAN broadcast an episode of its American Writers series from the shores of Walden Pond in 2001.

Walden Pond appears in the video game Fallout 4 where Thoreau's cabin is preserved. The pond also serves as the backdrop for the game 'Walden, a game' where players assume the role of author Henry David Thoreau during his time living at the pond in the 1840s. The game was in development for more than ten years and is currently available on Mac, PC, and PS4.

See also
List of National Historic Landmarks in Massachusetts
National Register of Historic Places listings in Concord, Massachusetts

References

Further reading
 Anderson, Charles R. The Magic Circle of Walden (1968).
 Hess, Scott. "Walden Pond as Thoreau's Landscape of Genius." Nineteenth-Century Literature 74.2 (2019): 224-250. online
 Lemire, Elise. 'Black Walden: Slavery and Its Aftermath in Concord, Massachusetts' (Penn Press, 2009; 2019 with new preface).
 Maynard, W. Barksdale. Walden Pond: A History (Oxford UP, 2004)
 Myerson, Joel, ed. Critical Essays on Thoreau's Walden (1988).
 Thorson, Robert M. Walden's Shore: Henry David Thoreau and Nineteenth-Century Science (2015).
 Thorson, Robert M. The Guide to Walden Pond: An Exploration of the History, Nature, Landscape, and Literature of One of America's Most Iconic Places (2018).

External links

Walden Pond State Reservation Department of Conservation and Recreation
Walden Pond State Reservation Map Department of Conservation and Recreation
Friends of Walden Pond Walden Woods Project
The Thoreau Society
MassWildlife Pond Map and Info

1922 establishments in Massachusetts
Bay Circuit Trail
Beaches of Massachusetts
Bodies of water of Middlesex County, Massachusetts
Henry David Thoreau
Ice trade
National Historic Landmarks in Massachusetts
National Register of Historic Places in Concord, Massachusetts
Parks in Middlesex County, Massachusetts
Ponds of Massachusetts
Protected areas established in 1922
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Tourist attractions in Concord, Massachusetts
State parks of Massachusetts


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You are here: blasteroids.com / games / elder scrolls iv: oblivion /
Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (PS3)
Genre: RPG | Aka: | Rating: (1 vote)
The story begins in Cyrodiil, the capital province of the world of Tamriel. The emperor has been killed by an unknown assassin, and the throne is empty and waiting for the heir. Without a true emperor the gates of Oblivion open and Tamriel is in great danger as the demons attack Cyrodiil. It is your mission to find the heir and save what you can.
Oblivion is featured with a new AI system, namely Radiant AI. This new AI gives non-player characters a choice of their own. Depending on circumstances and characteristics they make their own decision on when they go to church, talk to you, steal etc. The game has also plenty of guilds that can be joined and advanced without completing the main quest. All these guilds feature a unique storyline.
The PS3 version features improved graphics, gameplay enhancements, a new race - the Knights of the Nine, and over 200 hours of gameplay.
Publisher: Ubisoft | Developer: Bethesda Softworks | Release date: Mar 23, 2007 | Also available on: PC Xbox 360 |
PSP | 2D Platformer
One Piece: Grand Adventure
PS2 | Fighting
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock
PC | Rhytm/Music
Xbox 360 | FPS