In 1982, R. Clark Mallam went to Lyons, Kansas for his yearlong sabbatical to do research on the serpent-like structure in the prairie near the town. Clark believed that the structure was an intaglio built by the prehistoric peoples who lived in the area.
Aerial photograph of the limed serpent intaglio in Lyons, Kansas. Photograph by Walt Ellis, in "Site of the Serpent" by R. Clark Mallam (1990), pg. 33 .
An intaglio, or reverse cameo, is an excavated form believed by some to be merely the initial stage in mound construction, the preparatory step in building a mound floor. Others considered them to be completed forms, special kinds of effigy mounds in which the builders constructed the form within the earth rather than upon it. Unfortunately, these enigmatic figures were never studied intensively.
— R. Clark Mallam, "Site of the Serpent"
(1) The serpentine depression is a cultural feature; (2) it was constructed by prehistoric peoples; (3) it is aligned with the linear arrangement of the council circles; (4) It constitutes one aspect of the belief system of members of the prehistoric Great Bend culture.
While excavating a section of the Serpent, Clark found two chert flakes (a flake is the debris from making or sharpening a stone tool) which suggests that prehistoric peoples did construct this feature.
Art Bettis, a soil expert who helped on the project, found that the layers of different soil colors show systematic changes across the feature which is supportive evidence for the human modification of the area. However, Bettis did note that the differences were quite subtle and that more research would need to be done on the feature.
Clark also noted that the bluff ridge on which the serpent is located is large enough to accommodate its form in any direction. The prehistoric peoples chose to position it 20 degrees west of north. The serpent's orientation connects to the nearby village sites, known as the Council Circles.
Clark discovered that the "jaws" of the serpent included the three Council Circles in the outward extension of its alignment. On June 21st, the longest day of the year, the sun sits in the open mouth of the Serpent. The sun is a representation of life for the prehistoric Great Bend culture and thus the serpent holds life in its jaws. Clark believed that this intaglio served as a metaphor for life.
This portion of the exhibit was completed by Cassie Kubicek ('13).


With our free online wine label maker it is so easy to make your own wine labels that they can be ready within 2 minutes only!
Use our free online wine label maker to create custom wine labels for any purpose. You can customize the text so they can be used for any purpose such as wedding favors or gifts.
Each sheet of personalized wine labels comes with three custom wine bottle labels that can each be personalized with different text. See tips on how to remove wine labels below.
You can print the wine bottle labels on regular paper and adhere with paper glue. You can also print on sticker paper. It is best to use waterproof labels if you can.
If you are unsure how to get labels off wine bottles then follow these simple instructions. You will need to remove the original label before adhering the new custom label.
Soak the original label in warm soapy water for a few minutes.
Clean the glue residue with a soft sponge or rag.
Do not adhere the custom wine label until the bottle is totally dry.
Removing labels from wine bottles should be easy and they should come off after the above steps. Some manufacturers use glue that is more difficult to remove. If you could not remove the residue you might want to use glue remover to clean the bottle. You might also be able to stick the label over the old glue residue without anyone noticing that its there.
You can change the wine label size by using your computer's printer settings. To make mini wine bottle labels just make the labels smaller and vice versa. Test the size before you print in bulk. Make sure that the label fits the mini wine bottle or larger bottle depending on what you want to use.
Each wine label template has a sample of a wedding label. If you want to use them all to create wine labels for wedding then just change the text of the other two labels. Feel free to add additional text as well if you want. You can also edit the text to create bridesmaid wine labels.
If you do not want to add any text then you can erase the dummy text by clicking on the x on the bottom right of the text box.
Wine label printing isn't as complicated as it sounds. You can actually print on regular white cheap printer paper and adhere with paper glue. You can also use Avery wine labels or another brand.
If you are looking for a wine label design that does not appear here then please leave a comment and we try to help.
This is a great way to make glasses look special and also enable guests to keep track of their glass. You can either write something different on each label or keep one side blank and leave some markers on the table so that guests can write their name on their glass. We also offer free personalized wine bottle labels to make custom gifts or favors with your own "private label wine" (see above).


Albuquerque: A colorful new mural brightens either side of 4th Street at Silver Avenue near the PNM Headquarters building. PNM and Working Classroom celebrated their collaborative partnership to bring a little more beauty to downtown Albuquerque today by honoring the student artists who painted the new vibrant mural. PNM took a preventative approach to counter the etching of glass and unsightly graffiti and used it as an opportunity to beautify and revive the downtown area while providing a chance for young people to showcase their talents.
"It's fun to see people stop and smile while admiring the mural and many have taken photos and are using them as backgrounds for their Facebook pages," said Diane Harrison Ogawa, PNM Resources Foundation Executive Director. "This has been a rewarding project with Working Classroom that has brought so much joy."
PNM provided a $5,000 grant to Working Classroom for the project, which covered art supplies and a stipend for the students to complete the mural. Working Classroom is an award-winning arts and education program located in downtown Albuquerque. They focus on promoting the creative, academic, and leadership potential of talented young artists from historically ignored communities.
"We are thankful for the opportunity for our students to have a paid internship and to have a public space for their art," said Working Classroom Executive Director, Gabrielle Marie Uballez. "Our students learned important job skills and were able to apply hands on art experience in a real world professional environment."
The mural, which is pallet of pinks, greens and blues is entitled "Growing Together | Creciendo Juntos," and was designed by UNM senior, Ian Kerstetter. He was assisted by Elijah Chavez an eighth grader at Harrison Middle School, Roberto Morales a freshman at Rio Grande High School and Rowan Willow a junior at Albuquerque High.
"I designed the first mural, grow with the theme of community in mind and it's about growth" said Ian Kerstetter, UNM senior and mural designer. "For the second one, I asked the students to think about what was important in a community to them and what they thought made a successful community; we landed on togetherness as the theme for the other mural."


text:
Citizenship Survey April – September 2007, England & Wales
Publisher: Department of Communities & Local Government
Release Date: January 2008
The Citizenship Survey is a face to face household survey carried out by a Government department – Communities and Local Government – covering a representative core sample of almost 10,000 adults in England and Wales each year, plus a minority ethnic boost sample of 5,000.
The most recent publication from this ongoing Survey reports on what respondents consider to be their most important values for living in Britain. 'Respect for the law' featured top for people in the White, Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Black African ethnic categories. Another value highly placed by all was 'Tolerance and politeness towards others': second most important for Whites, Pakistanis and Black Caribbeans.
In the case of Pakistanis and Bangladeshis (a good proxy for the Muslim population), 'Respect for all faiths' also featured prominently – tied with 'Respect for the law' as number one for the former, and as the second most important value for the latter.
For respondents in the Black Caribbean category, the most important value was 'equality of opportunity'. 'Respect for all faiths' was not among the top five important values for people in the White category.
Of all the ethnic groups, white and minority ethnic, the value 'Freedom to follow a religion of choice' was most prized by Pakistanis – 35% – compared to 23% of Whites.
Amongst minority ethnic groups, Pakistanis are the most likely to think racial prejudice has worsened over the last five years. However those in the 'Indian' ethnic category are least likely to share this view. A reader of the Survey could therefore find supporting evidence for the 'religious penalty' which Muslims face in employment,over and above the 'ethnic penalty'.
The value 'Freedom to criticise the views and beliefs of others' featured among the top five values in only 6% of Pakistani and Bangladeshi respondents, but amongst 21% of White respondents.
The Survey also highlights marked differences with respect to confidence in the political process. There is a level of detachment amongst Bangladeshis not shared with other ethnic categories. For example only 6% of Bangladeshis selected 'Everyone has a voice in politics through democracy' amongst their top five values. This general low expectation from political engagement may be reflected in poor levels of voter registration and turn-out on polling days.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Add this chair to your home for a cozy place to relax. This piece features sloping track arms, nail head trim, and tapered wood legs. The seat cushion is made with the highest quality foam. Choose from several fabrics or leathers, as well as the finish of the nail head trim and the legs. For a complete look, pair this chair with the coordinating ottoman.
The 227 Upholstered Chair with Sloping Track Arms and Nail Head Trim by Smith Brothers at Gill Brothers Furniture in the Muncie, Anderson, Marion, IN area. Product availability may vary. Contact us for the most current availability on this product.
The 227 collection is a great option if you are looking for furniture in the Muncie, Anderson, Marion, IN area.
Browse other items in the 227 collection from Gill Brothers Furniture in the Muncie, Anderson, Marion, IN area.


Ultrasound can be defined as high frequency mechanical waves (>20Khz). In solids, ultrasound waves have different propagation modes, depending on of the way of vibration of the material particles.
Resistance offered to the propagation of an ultrasonic wave by a material. It is obtained by multiplying the density ρ of the material and the velocity V of the ultrasonic wave in the material.
Denote the amplitude of alternating stresses on a material by a propagating ultrasonic wave. It is related to the acoustic impedance "Z" and the amplitude of the particle vibration "a".
The amount of energy per unit area in unit time.
In longitudinal waves particles vibrates along the direction of travel of the wave. Such waves can propagate in solids, liquids and gasses.
Shear Waves or Transverse waves: the particle movement is at right angle or transverse to the propagation direction. Sound velocity in a material is usually different for shear and longitudinal waves.
Surface waves or Rayleigh waves: are produced in a semi-infinite material. They can propagate in a region no thicker than about one wavelength below the surface material. Particles vibrate following an elliptical orbit.
Lamb waves are generated when a second Boundary surface is introduced, i.e. a plate. They can produce symmetric or antisymmetric vibrations in plates with a thickness of several wavelengths. The particles follow an elliptical orbit.
λ – Wavelength [mm]: Distance traveled during the time period.
c – Velocity [mm/us]: Speed at which energy is transported between two points in a medium.
T – Period [1/f]: oscillation time.
E = Young's modulus of elasticity [N/m2].
ρ = material density [Kg/m3].
G = modulus of rigidity.


text:
Q: Pandas join rows if at least one cell is NaN I have a pandas dataframe build from text extracted from a PDF file.
It looks like this:
index      date         description1        description2        value1        value2
   0       18-01-2019    some                  more                1             2
   1       NaN           text                  text                NaN           NaN
   2       NaN           here                   NaN                NaN           NaN
   3       19-01-2019    some                  some                3             4
   4       NaN           text                  more                NaN           NaN
   5       NaN           here                  text                NaN           NaN
   6       NaN            NaN                  here                NaN           NaN
   .
   .
   .

There is always at least 1 row with no NaN, and that row will always contain the Date and the Values. Only the Descriptions are on multiple rows.
Is there a way to join the rows, based on, say, date, with the rows bellow until the value in not NaN, and join the description?
Expected output:
index      date         description1        description2           value1        value2
   0       18-01-2019    some text here      more text              1             2
   1       19-01-2019    some text here      some more text here    3             4
   .
   .
   .

A: One idea is create column for grouping by forward filling date (or some any column used for distinguish groups) and then if numeric get first value else use join with remove missing values:
f = lambda x: x.iloc[0] if np.issubdtype(x.dtype, np.number) else ' '.join(x.dropna())

Or specify each columns in dictionary:
f1 = lambda x: ' '.join(x.dropna())

f = {'date':'first', 'description1':f1, 'description1':f1, 'value1':'first', 'value2':'first'}

What should be created dynamically create both dicts and merge together:
f1 = lambda x: ' '.join(x.dropna())

c =['description1','description2']
d1 = dict.fromkeys(c, f1)
d2 = dict.fromkeys(df.columns.difference(c), 'first')
f = {**d1, **d2}

df = df.groupby(df['date'].ffill()).agg(f).reset_index(drop=True)
#alternative
#df = df.groupby(df['date'].ffill(), as_index=False).agg(f)

print (df)
         date    description1         description2  value1  value2
0  18-01-2019  some text here            more text     1.0     2.0
1  19-01-2019  some text here  some more text here     3.0     4.0

A: Use fillna with ffill, then groupby this timestamp, then do stuff with the description inside agg:
df['date'] = df['date'].fillna(method='ffill')

df_new = df.groupby('date').agg({'description1': lambda x: ' '.join(x.values)})

Update: probably, for your output format, you would need to manipulate indices a little bit, like this:
df_new = df.groupby('date', as_index=False).agg({'description1': lambda x: ' '.join(x.values)}).reset_index(drop=True)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
GM Canada, Unifor agreement covers DB pension changes
The union representing General Motors of Canada Co. employees in Ontario have ratified a new three-year collective agreement that removes changes to a legacy defined benefit plan as part of ongoing pension discussions.
The deal restores the legacy DB plan by removing a member contribution requirement and a 30-year cap on credited service introduced in 2009, says Corey Vermey, director of the pensions and benefits department at Unifor.
The DB change takes place ahead of additional pension discussions for employees in the organization's hybrid plan (hired between 2012 and 2016) and defined contribution plan (those hired within the last four years), he adds.
Read: DC pension deal with GM to 'certainly influence' talks with Ford, Chrysler: lawyer
In this round of negotiations, the union stipulated that there will be a more serious conversation about moving to the Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology pension plan's DBplus in the future, says Vermey, noting the union sees this as a solution for all employees hired after 2016. "In 2023, there needs to be a conversation about the hybrid members and whether it makes sense for them to move to the legacy DB or to CAAT."
Unifor also clarified that employees hired since 2016, who aren't entitled to health benefits in retirement, will join an employee life and health trust. And the union will also discuss the administration of a new $500 medical cannabis benefit for employees, he adds.
Read: Ford, Unifor agreement tackles pension, medical cannabis, racial inequality
The deal, which was reached ahead of Unifor's strike deadline on Nov. 4, includes workers at GM plants in the Ontario municipalities of Oshawa, St. Catharines and Woodstock.
The agreement also includes five per cent increases to hourly rates, a $7,250 productivity and quality bonus, a total of $4,000 in inflation protection bonuses, shift premiums and restoration of the 20 per cent wage differential for skilled trades, according to a press release from the union.
Unifor and GM have also agreed to create an anti-racism action plan and establish a new racial justice advocate in the workplace and. The company will also provide up to 10 paid days of domestic violence leave.
GM didn't respond to Benefits Canada's request for a comment.
Read: GM Canada pension plan reaches fully funded status
@BenCanMag
paid leave
Pay rise
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I will admit it–most funding announcements for tech start-ups bore the living daylights out of me.
So it is nice to see a good (and good-for-you) charity site like DonorsChoose get some money and, hopefully, attention.
The site, which lets teachers upload proposals for resources and projects–from books to playgrounds–they need funding for and matches them with donors, has to be limited in geography. But today, it will open its services to every public school in the U.S. to allow teachers nationwide to get their wish lists fulfilled online.
With the national expansion, the nonprofit hopes be on track to becoming 100% self-sustaining, according to its founder, a former Bronx schoolteacher named Charles Best.
The catch for the funding? Omidyar will release the bulk of his commitment only if DonorsChoose completes the round by Nov. 30.
It seems like a pretty good investment to me, using the Internet to clarify and amplify the donating process. Sort of like eBay meets Match.com meets Amazon. So far, the site has given away $14.5 million to projects.
Best says DonorsChoose authenticates every project proposal before posting it. Then it purchases the resources when a project is funded and sends the goods off to teachers, with some donors also adding in more money to pay for fulfillment costs.
That will now be a lot cheaper and more efficient due to a donation by Ariba of fulfillment software and services to DonorsChoose that the site values at over $2 million. That follows a donation by Filo, said Best, of five Yahoo engineers who were lent to DonorsChoose full-time for five months to rewrite its code base.


Lot of German occupations, on big stockbook with stamps mostly used, with extensive repetitions.
Collection Germany Bund, 1990-1994, on albums Lindner, with new stamps ** never hinged, advanced. Look at the pictures!
Collection Germany Bund, 1995-1998, on albums Lindner, with new stamps ** never hinged, advanced. Look at the pictures!
Collection Germany Bund, 1980-1989, on albums Lindner, with new stamps ** never hinged, advanced. Look at the pictures!
1858 1 gr couple. light pink, used, signed Cardillo, Sass. 3, for 160 euro catalog.
1858 1 gr couple. pink, used, signed Cardillo, Sass. 3b, for 500 euro catalog.
1858 2 gr couple. lillaceo pink, used, signed Cardillo, Sass. 5a, for 160 euro catalog.


Hello my lovely Ugly Buggers, I hope that each and every one of you has woken up this morning with the sense of hope and excitement that a new year brings! I must confess my first thoughts when opening my eyes were "I wish I'd drank a pint of water before coming to bed" but then that twinge of excitement bubbled and I realised that today is my fresh start, now I don't necessarily mean a whole life overhaul but I do get to reset my goals and think about what I'd like to achieve in 2018.
My beautiful friend Lindsay kindly gifted me an a6 Hobonichi for 2018 and I knew right away what I would be using it for, I plan on using the daily pages to record my gratitude each day. The first page of each month will be used to log my goals for the coming month and it's these goals that I want to share with you today, not just the goals themselves but how I record them and how I work towards them.
The first pages in the Hobonichi Techo planner are your monthly spreads, I'm not sure what I'll use these for yet, after them, there is a double page spread that simply states: Turning the page to a new year! I've used this page to write down my goals for 2018 but I've dated the page 31st December 2018 and written them as if I have actually accomplished them already.
For me, actually visualising yourself achieving your goals and speaking as if it is something you have already achieved encourages your inner self to believe that what you have set is attainable and you will be more driven to get there.
Once I have my goals for the whole year written down I then break them apart into monthly achievable targets. You'll see from my yearly goals that I am aiming for 4000 YouTube subscribers, if I left that in my yearly goals and failed to set attainable monthly goals would I end the year with a big fat tick next to that box? Maybe… but maybe's aren't good enough for this results-driven chick!
So I take my yearly goal and use the monthly page to record, again in the same style as if I have already achieved it, steps that I have taken and practises I have put in place that month to take me closer to my end result.
Every day, when I record my gratitude I will read my goals out loud, this helps me to remain accountable to myself but also to help me focus on each thing and cross them off once they have been accomplished.
Next Post Pocket Pages | Week 52 – 2017 | Christmas Layout with Stampin' Up!


A friend challenged me yesterday. Do you believe every word in the Old and/or New Testament is infallible? Do you believe the each author is infallible? If not, he concluded, "you're basically agnostic." If you're willing, I'm interested in your thoughts.
We have 5,800 Greek manuscripts (nearly all of them partial fragments) pre-Gutenberg of the New Testament, and many thousands more of translations into other languages (e.g. Latin). The "witness" of the New Testament is unparalleled to any other historic book, and we're still discovering new manuscripts. The amount of agreement between them is truly astonishing given the amount of human error that inevitably does occur when you are manually copying a document. It's true that there are textual variants, as there are with any historical document, but none of them alter any doctrine or teaching. There's a consistency across the different lines of transmission. Christianity spread so rapidly because of how many (slightly imperfect) copies were made in the early centuries. In short, if you want to argue that people made up things along the way the past 2,000 years, to be consistent you must also call into question a thousandfold anything we know Alexander the Great, Homer, etc. A high confidence in the accuracy and consistency of the manuscript tradition of the New Testament does not require faith. Belief in the actual contents does require faith.


First, recall the context: Mark Cosentino, is Mr. Case Study. His work was recognized worldwide, including by the major newspapers in America such as the Wall Street Journal. This is by far the best-selling book in the world on consulting and one of the best sellers on job interviews in general.
In this regard, I would like to clarify that it is without a doubt an excellent practice on the part of the candidates for a position of manager, whatever it is, i.e., in consulting or not, to draw on these methods and techniques for being successful in any job interview context. This excellent practice is, unfortunately, limited to a small number of candidates today. Then to you dear readers, it is also a boon for you: get inspiring approaches and standards of consulting for your own interviews outside of consulting. You will fly over your recruitment process!
To return to the Case in Point, its author is also one of the legends in the field of preparation for case studies. For me, a candidate who would have ignored this book and would have made a mistake at the most basic level: the culture of consulting is an essential element for succeeding in your interviews. It is the basis of the basis and to acquire it, you have to go through a continuous process, of which the Case in Point is an integral part.
The evidence? The Case in Point is the best-selling book on the subject of consulting. Then, of course, the volume is not everything, and you will find in a future article, all the reasons in the world to not rest on the Case in Point to guide your preparation for the case study exercises. But still I recommend it for specific reasons and distinctive use; I'll give you the details in another article.
In addition to his activities of preparing for the case in consulting interviews, Marc Cosentino is also a consultant to many institutions, NGOs and other authors. For example, he wrote a guide on a method to specifically addressthe marketing cases and a guide to enter the large investment banks. His work is widespread in most American universities, and because of a translation in several languages, its use is also widespread in the world.
However, the book only focuses on the case studies, which is an important component of the interviews, but far from sufficient to ultimately get an offer to a consulting firm.


This is the Expats In Chicago Blogs listing page. We try to include as many Chicago expat blogs as possible, however if you know of one that could be featured please add here.
Observation from the US of A.
I'm a 30something British academic who has just moved from Britain to Chicago with my husband, also an academic, who's got a job here.
A Canadian expat's experiences and observations living in the Windy City!
Sarah is a European journalist who won the American Lottery Visa and moved to Chicago. She is documenting her life as a legal immigrant.
A blog about the experiences of a Singaporean Chinese living in Chicago and the observations of American culture from a foreign Asian perspective.


If you hadn't already guessed from our name (Patisserie de Bain) we love all things pretty and French. This cute little set was designed with the romance of Paris in mind, sitting in a cafホ in a park near the Eiffel Tower as the soft scents of violets and roses fill the air. Our bath tartlettes are quite unique, they have a bit of fun about them with a fizzing base of fragrance with the icing on the cake of a nourishing Cocoa and Shea butter swirl.