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As If By Chance: Part VI
Alois Senefelder and Ira W. Rubel
Disruptive continuity and the history of printing
To return to Alois Senefelder and Ira W. Rubel, it can be stated that these inventors were responsible for two critical and necessary stages in the development of print technology. In the first case, Senefelder was responsible for the transition from the relief-mechanical to the planographic-chemical era of printing. This means that the process developed by Senefelder no longer relied upon the mechanical impression of ink from raised letterforms into the paper but upon the chemically separative properties of oil and water on an otherwise flat surface of lithographic stone for transferring a printing image to paper.
In the second case, Rubel was responsible for the transition from the direct image transfer to the indirect image transfer stage of printing press technology. This means that Rubel redesigned the printing press to include an additional rubber cylinder mechanism that stood between the inked planographic surface from which it accepted the printing image and transferred it to the paper with the assistance of an impression cylinder. Together, these two advancements established offset lithography, the high-speed, mass manufacturing method that overtook letterpress printing and became dominant internationally, especially in the second half of the twentieth century.
These two transformations first manifested themselves in the form accidental events: Senefelder's chance writing of a laundry list upon a limestone with a crayon and Rubel's paper misfeed on a lithographic rotary printing press with a rubber blanket on its impression cylinder. As discussed above, that the breakthrough to offset lithography is associated with accidents is entirely consistent with the manner in which human technical progress takes place. The combination of scientific and socio-economic changes that occurred in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries made necessary a departure of print technology away from the letterpress printing processes and into entirely new planographic, chemical and indirect printing processes of the modern industrial era. While the two innovators were working to develop printing methods in their respective lifetimes, the necessary departure from the system associated with Johannes Gutenberg—preconditioned by more than three centuries of societal change—appeared initially as chance events to both Senefelder and Rubel.
If these two individual inventors had not made these breakthroughs, would offset lithography have been invented by others; would this transformation still have happened sooner or later? Had Senefelder been content to become a playwright and Rubel stayed in the paper making business, would the logic of industrial society and the need for a high-speed and mass manufacturing method of print communications in the twentieth century still have resulted in offset lithography? When looking at Senefelder and Rubel within a broader historical context, an affirmative answer must be given to these counterfactual questions.
The role and interaction of the macro socio-economic (objective) and the micro individual inventor (subjective) driving forces of advancement are accounted for within the theoretical framework of disruptive continuity. Beginning with the societal context, the theory first establishes that there are powerful evolutionary trends in human cultural that bind events together in a historical progression, from lower to higher and from simple to more complex forms. This progression of technology is intimately bound up with the forms of social organization and intellectual development of mankind. This is not to say that there have never been reversals of progress or that every technological innovation is a guaranteed contribution to further advancement. As is the case with biological evolution, where some mutations produce traits that are harmful to the survival of a species, some technical innovations have, under certain conditions, represented a step backward or a diversion along a dead-end path.
There is also the matter of technical advancements becoming the means through which society can be destroyed as, for example, would happen in the event of a nuclear world war or in earlier societies that collapsed from the loss of soil fertility due to crop growing and farming practices. This danger arises from a conflict between the increasing sophistication and power of human innovation with the inability of the cultural level and social and political organization of civilization to adequately accommodate the tool-making advancements. However, despite these periodic setbacks and existential threats, the general dynamic of development is one of an evermore complex and greater technical subordination of the properties and laws of nature to the needs of man and an expanding separation of humanity from the blind operation of forces both within the natural environment and society itself, which is also in the end a product of nature.
The topic of the continuous versus the discontinuous view and the role of the individual inventor in the development of man-made implements and artifacts has been the subject of study by historians. George Basalla, a historian of science at the University of Delaware, deals with this question in his book, The Evolution of Technology. Basalla likens the history of technology to biological evolution and correctly objects to those who advocate the view that "inventions are the products of superior persons who owe little or nothing to the past." He also disputes the position of those who support a theory of innovative discontinuity from what he calls the "more sophisticated formulations" that "scientific revolutions" have rendered technical innovation into discrete phases, each with no relationship to the prior accomplishments.
Basalla says that technology should not be seen in a linear relationship with science and placed in a "subordinate position" to the latter and with the former "erroneously defined as the application of scientific theory to the solution of practical problems." He writes, "technology is not the servant of science" because it existed long before science and "people continued to produce technical triumphs that did not draw upon theoretical knowledge." However, Basalla goes on to bend the stick back too far in the opposite direction, writing:
The artifact—not scientific knowledge, not the technical community, not social and economic factors—is central to technology and technological change. Although science and technology both involve cognitive processes, their end results are not the same. The final product of innovative scientific activity is most likely a written statement, the scientific paper, announcing an experimental finding or a new theoretical position. By contrast, the final product of innovative technological activity is typically an addition to the made world: a stone hammer, a clock, an electric motor.
Instead of recognizing that the growth of knowledge and theoretical science developing in tandem with technical advancements, Basalla inverts the false demotion of the product of innovation and says that the artifact stands head and shoulders above science. He finishes by referring to the historian Brooke Hindle who he says argued that "the artifact in technology" is superior to any "intellectual or social pursuits" because it is a "product of the human intellect and imagination and, as with any work of art, can never be adequately replaced by a verbal description."
These are indeed peculiar ideas being advanced by someone who is opposing the standpoint of the discontinuous theory of technology evolution. While Basalla insists upon the theory of continuity, his presentation becomes entirely one-sided. The dichotomy between science and technology, between the individual artifact and the social environment, between discontinuity and continuity in human innovation and between the practical and theoretical sides of invention are all conceived of as fixed categories that never touch each other, are incapable of interpenetrating and cannot be understood in thought as existing simultaneously. In Basalla's concept of technical innovation there are no breaks or disjunctions in human progress. Instead technical history moves along ever so smoothly, morphing from one object to the next without any abrupt dislocations or transformations.
The preoccupation with continuity to the absolute exclusion of discontinuity and singular focus on the primacy of the individual artifact means that one cannot account for the living relationship between disruptive advancements in society and how they drive revolutionary leaps in technology. In the search to find evidence of antecedent developments for major artifacts in human history—such as stone tools, the cotton gin, steam power, the electric motor, the light bulb, etc.—Basalla is forced to suppress the really existing discontinuity that occurs in the progression from one innovation to the next. In the end, however, he betrays his initial statement against the role of the "superior persons who owe little or nothing to the past" by embracing the idea that the "human intellect and imagination" and "work of art" are the penultimate expression of technical progress.
Even if it were possible to trace every object of human ingenuity backward in time, there would be a point at which one would arrive at the first man-made thing ever created. Then, like the chicken or egg dilemma, how does the notion that every artifact has a precursor hold up? Outside of a recognition that there was a discontinuous vault in man's earliest development—a phenomenon that has been repeated throughout history—the first product of man would never have been created and technical progress would never have gotten started. Thus, the theory of a purely continuous evolutionary development of technology does not stand up to scrutiny.
Disruptive continuity, on the other hand, is a theory within which it is possible to understand both the interconnection of every new invention with the past as well as its separation and elevation above the limits of prior artifacts, driven by the increasingly complex accumulation of man's productive capacities, social organization and intellectual accomplishments. Given the interrelationship of human communications—and especially print communications—with the practical, technical, intellectual and scientific development of society, there is perhaps no better example of the validity of the theory of disruptive continuity.
All forms of human communication have existed as both byproducts of and engines for the advancement of social existence from the earliest primitive civilization to the modern information age. During the early Stone Age, when speech and language—the first form of human communication—emerged somewhere between 1.75 and 3 million years ago, prehistoric man in the Lower Paleolithic was crafting Acheulean stone axes, coordinating hunting and gathering and engaging in other complex social practices that depended upon verbal communications. While these primitive peoples had speech, they had no repository for recording their thoughts or words. As Harvey Levenson of California Polytechnic State University explains in Understanding Graphic Communications:
Early peoples left little information about themselves, as they had no way to transform spoken words into written languages, to pass on their heritage to future generations. Their history and their wisdom died with them. It was not until fairly recently in human history that people figured out ways to record simple events and ideas through pictures and symbols.
The earliest forms of visual communication, such as the cave paintings at Lascaux in southern France, were created by anatomically modern humans somewhere between 17,000 and 35,000 years ago during the Upper Paleolithic (late stone age). By this point, humans had migrated to all inhabitable areas of the earth and these primitive tribal peoples were engaged in what is known as "behavioral modernity." The use of pictorial communication proceeded along with abstract thinking, planning depth, fishing, burial practices, ornamentation, music, dance and other cultural activities connected with more advanced blade technology and tool making practices.
Although we do not know precisely the meaning of the pictures at Lascaux Cave, it is clear that the nearly 6,000 painted figures are representations of the animals—including bulls, equines, stags and a bear—that existed in Europe during that era. The paintings also include representations of humans and other abstract symbols indicating a high degree of self-awareness and ingenuity. Significantly, the people who made the cave paintings used scaffolding to reach the ceilings and created the colors of red, yellow, and black from a wide range of mineral pigments including compounds such as iron oxide and substances containing manganese. In some instances, the color is thought to have been applied by suspending the pigment in either animal fat or clay as a primitive paint. The colors were swabbed or blotted on, and it appears that the pigment was applied by blowing a mixture through a tube. All of these facts help to build an understanding of the manner in which the technical level of society corresponds with the development of increasingly complex human communications from strictly verbal to visual and pictorial forms.
There are no records of who the individuals were that uttered the very first words of speech or the first sentence containing a noun and a verb or who painted the first picture on a cave wall or who developed the first paint used in cave art. While the location of these occurrences and the anonymous people involved came about in a seemingly random fashion, there is no doubt that these advancements were conditioned by objective material circumstances and became necessary steps in the development of human culture. They were both a contribution to and the consequence of the social and technical environment of the early and late Stone Ages.
Similar connections can be deduced from the stamp seals used to identify ownership in Mesopotamia in 4500 BC—the earliest forms of writing called cuneiform—that employed pictographs to communicate syllables and sounds by Sumerian scribes and were pressed into clay with a wedge-tipped stylus in 3300 BC. These relationships can also be seen in the hieroglyphics written on papyrus, a precursor to paper, developed in Egypt in 3200 BC. All of these advancements in graphic communications—developed in an apparent unplanned and haphazard manner—are rooted in the socio-economics of ancient civilization, especially the expansion of commerce and the need for record keeping. These events represent critical chapters in the prehistory of print communications.
In examining the history of printing, it is rare to find surveys that trace the interactions between the evolution of the broader technical foundations of society—punctuated by the unpredictable randomness of inventors and the means through which they arrived at their inventions—with the transitions in the means and methods of print communications. This problem was highlighted by Elizabeth L. Eisenstein in her 1979 volume, The Printing Press as the Agent of Change. Eisenstein explains that the "far reaching effects" of Gutenberg's invention—which "left no field of human enterprise untouched" and whose consequences are "of major historical significance"—have so far seen very little elaboration in the major texts on the history of print technology. Eisenstein points out that historians may refer to printing as one of the most important inventions, if not the most important invention, of the second millennia, but the dynamic interrelationship of Gutenberg's breakthrough—as well as subsequent advancements—with the broader processes of human progress are rarely explored:
Insofar as flesh-and-blood historians who turn out articles and books actually bear witness to what happened in the past, the effect on society of the development of printing, far from appearing cataclysmic, is remarkably inconspicuous. Many studies of developments during the last five centuries say nothing about it at all.
Those who do touch on the topic usually agree that the use of the invention had far-reaching effects. Francis Bacon's aphorism suggesting that it changed "the appearance of and state of the whole world" is cited repeatedly and with approbation. But although many scholars concur with Bacon's opinion, very few have tried to follow his advice and "take note of the force, effect and consequences" of Gutenberg's invention. Many efforts have been made to define just what Gutenberg did "invent," to describe how moveable type was first utilized and how the use of the new presses spread. But almost no studies devoted to the consequences that ensued once printers had begun to ply their new trades throughout Europe. Explicit theories as to what these consequences were have not yet been proposed, let alone tested or contested.
The lack of research that Eisenstein characterizes in her book as "The Unacknowledged Revolution," is due in part to a frequent presentation of print technology history in a linear manner, going from one process to another—or from one innovator to another—in isolation from an analysis or understanding of the broader socio-economic context and the real driving forces of change before and since 1440 .
It is now well established that the printing was first developed in China, where paper was invented under the Han Dynasty by Ts'ai Lun at the beginning of the second century. The first woodblock printing known as xylography—where a complete page of relief characters was carved in a piece of wood—was produced in China in the sixth century. It is also known that moveable type forms made of clay, ceramic, wood and metal were also developed first in China between the eleventh and thirteenth centuries. Some of these methods spread across East Asia, including Korea and Japan, and into the western regions of Central Asia. It is speculated that the Asian relief printing techniques made their way into Europe where they were developed further in the form of the handheld metal casting mold and mechanical printing press invented by Johannes Gutenberg in the fifteenth century. It is known that Gutenberg's typography methods were reintroduced to China in the nineteenth century.
The reason that the birth of printing has become associated with Gutenberg and his invention in Mainz, Germany in 1440—and not in China at least three hundred years earlier—is that the entire mechanized production system created by the fifteenth century inventor was vastly more productive than the hand carving xylographic techniques from the East. Due to a series of other foundational events taking place at that time, Gutenberg's methods were picked up by a cultural transformation underway in Europe and swept very rapidly from one country to another. Meanwhile, the movable type techniques first pioneered in Asia did not overtake woodblock printing the way it did in the West. This was at least partially due to the fact that Chinese interchangeable type production required the management of as many a forty-thousand different characters. While xylography existed in Europe and was carried over into Gutenberg's time for illumination of printed texts from the earlier form of handwritten manuscripts, the methods he developed represented a paradigm shift away from all previous techniques up to that point in world history. Eventually, woodblock illustrations were replaced by other methods of pictorial reproduction that were derivative and complimentary to the relief process and printing press mechanism of the letterpress era.
Perhaps the best description of the reciprocal impact of Gutenberg's invention is provided by Will Durant in the sixth volume of The Story of Civilization—The Reformation:
Soon half the European population was reading as never before, and a passion for books became one of the effervescent ingredients of the Reformation age. … The typographical revolution was on.
To describe all its effects would be to chronicle half the history of the modern mind. … Printing replaced esoteric manuscripts with inexpensive texts rapidly multiplied, in copes more exact and legible then before, and so uniform that scholars in diverse countries could work with one another by references to specific pages of specific editions. … Printing published—i.e., made available to the public—cheap manuals of instruction in religion, literature, history and science; it became the greatest and cheapest of all universities, open to all. It did not produce the Renaissance, but it paved the way for the Enlightenment, for the American and French revolutions, for democracy. It made the Bible a common possession, and prepared the people for Luther's appeal from the popes to the Gospels; later it would permit the rationalist's appeal from the Gospels to reason. It ended the clerical monopoly of learning, the priestly control of education. It encouraged vernacular literatures, for the large audience it required could not be reached through Latin. It facilitated the international communication and cooperation of scientists. It affected the quality and character of literature by subjecting authors to the purse and taste of the middle classes rather than to aristocratic or ecclesiastical patrons. And, after speech, it provided a readier instrument for the dissemination of nonsense than the world has ever known until our time.
The historical framework of technological disruptive continuity in the age of print
The above timeline illustrates the interrelationship between the milestones in printing innovation between the fifteenth and beginning of the twenty-first centuries and the progression of the foundational eras of society—technological, socio-economic and cultural—along with major historical events in history, science and communications. This visual presentation establishes a framework within which to understand the unfolding process of disruptive continuity in the age of print communications.
The birth of printing was both the product of the increasing volume of hand copying by the scribes and the development of handicraft methods and metallurgy associated with the transition from the Dark Ages to the great cultural awakening of the Renaissance. It was a consequence of and a catalyst for the flowering of art, architecture, philosophy, literature, music, politics and other aspects of culture that were driven by the broad progression of societal change that brought about the discovery of the New World, the circumnavigation of the globe and the opening of trade routes from Europe through Asia and America. The printing press and the associated circulation of printed books and other materials to ever wider layers of the population was instrumental in great social movements such as that of the Protestant Reformation sparked by Martin Luther's critique of the indulgences of the Catholic church. Behind these changes, came the Enlightenment, the development of democratic government, the domination of the commodity economy and the suppression of the institutions of feudalism during the great revolutions in America and France at the end of the eighteenth century. One need only point to the significance of the publication of Thomas Paine's, The Age of Reason, to illustrate the fundamental role played by print communications in the intellectual ferment that accompanied the transition from feudal monarchy to democratic capitalism.
The systems of the printing press more or less existed as they had been developed by Gutenberg—based upon fruit presses designed for making cider, wine and oils—for three and a half centuries before any significant design changes were made. The technology developed very slowly as in an incubator with a few modifications, surrounded by the steady development of the Renaissance until the rise of the Scientific Revolution and the coming of the first industrial revolution. Then, all of a sudden, new materials and mechanical techniques exploded the old the wooden platen machine from Gutenberg's era and, by the beginning of the nineteenth century, the printing press evolved rapidly to a completely iron apparatus with levers replacing the physical strength of pressmen needed to operate the old screw mechanism to transfer ink to paper. The invention of the paper-making machine in a Paris suburb in the midst of the French Revolution contributed to this evolution and fed the consequent expansion of printed materials with more consistent substrates and improved quality.
At the same, the press technologies that made contact with the paper evolved first into a metal cylinder-to-platen hybrid and, then by the middle of the 1800s, to a fully cylinder-based rotary press. Production speeds increased dramatically along with the volume of printed material that was needed to support the emergence of industrial society in countries around the world. This transition point in the history of print technology is illustrated in the timeline by the separation between the left side (1400 to 1735) and the right side of the graphic (1735 to 2020) around the middle of the eighteenth century. It was at this point of transition from the Renaissance to the Enlightenment, from feudalism to capitalism, from pre-industrial to industrial society that printing underwent a transformation from handcraft to manufacturing such that the equipment, procedures and roles played by the people in the process no longer resembled anything in Gutenberg's print shop in Mainz, Germany save the letterpress method that transferred the ink onto the paper.
The introduction of steam power during the second industrial revolution brought mass manufacturing methods to printing with multilevel machines in large printing factories with teams of workers operating them. In the second half of the nineteenth century, the web press was introduced and the quantity of printing establishments in major cities, along with the number of daily newspapers, increased exponentially. The industrial expansion—especially in the US in the lead up to, during and after the American Civil War—made fundamental improvements to the production of letterpress typography with the Linotype machine. The invention of halftone photographic reproduction, the perfection of color printing and the proliferation of type styles were also driven by the needs of business advertising and the growth of newspapers and magazines to accommodate the thirst of the expanding urban populations for news and information.
Although electrification had been underway since the 1880s, the transition away from steam power did not take hold in factories and pressrooms until the second decade of the twentieth century. The military needs of both World War I and World War II drove significant developments in communications technologies and electronics were introduced into print machinery and brought with them methods of automation and remote controls. The invention of the transistor and the subsequent revolution in digital technologies—first the integrated circuit and then microprocessors—transformed press controls as levers and knobs were replaced with PLCs (programmable logic controllers).
With the rise of the personal computer in the early 1980s—which enabled the transformative impact of desktop publishing—the entire printing process was revolutionized again with all of the steps from the publisher to the pressroom replaced with software, lasers and direct-to-plate imaging systems. With the invention of digital printing in the 1990s, the computer transformation entered the pressroom and the distinction between office equipment and industrial printing machinery became blurred. The growth and predominance of the Internet and wireless broadband connectivity in the early twenty-first century enabled the integration of printing with online and web-to-print technologies.
A similar analysis can be made of the development of the methodologies for imprinting an image onto a sheet of paper or other substrate over the past six centuries. The generally recognized printing methods—letterpress, intaglio or gravure, lithography including offset lithography, screen printing, flexography and xerography—correspond to different stages of socio-economic development from craft manufacturing to industrial production including the application of metal, rubber and other synthetic materials that rely upon advanced chemistry, photomechanical and electronic processes. The mechanical systems of letterpress (relief printing) and intaglio (recessed printing) are by far the longest surviving methods, with each lasting for more than five centuries well into the twentieth century. Although they continue to be used today for specialized printing purposes, they were essentially displaced by offset lithography by the 1950s. The other three methods—screen printing and flexography at the end of the nineteenth century and xerography in the middle of the twentieth century—were associated with the photomechanical and modern electronic processes including the expansion of printing into areas such as the corporate and legal office, merchandising, retailing and direct mail communications.
Inkjet, the most recently developed method of placing a printed image onto a sheet of paper, requires no image carrier or any intermediary transfer mechanism at all. Inkjet is unique and heralds a new era of print technology because it places an image onto paper directly with an array of nozzles or spray heads. The implications of this transition for the future of print are significant, as it is a distinct departure from the static image reproduction of all previous methodologies—with the exception of xerography—and brings an infinitely variable image to nearly any surface. The integration of this digital process with big data repositories means that the mass manufacturing of any item can be imprinted with messaging that are relevant to small groups or subgroups of people or even a single individual.
As for the history of typographic design—a subject that is covered in several chapters of this book—it can be established that the style changes over the centuries represent a complex interaction of both cultural and technical influences within the forms of print communications. Clearly, the first blackletter fonts designed by Gutenberg and his contemporaries for book production during the incunabula (approximately 1450-1500) reflected the influence of the handwriting of the scribes and the limitations of matrix production within the new metal mold manufacturing technique. Connected with the artisanry of the individual printing establishment, typography underwent creative changes—roman and italic types and upper and lower case characters being designed in the later decades of Gutenberg's lifetime—and then, after the global expansion of printing, the slow progression of the press was expressed in the emergence of Garamond in France, the eruption of a multiplicity of typeface styles and font families during the industrial era both expressed the various commercial and mass communication needs for signage, advertising and the column inches of newspapers. The type design variety and volume of printed material exploited the speed and precision of the Linotype machine and pantographic punch-cutting engraver.
With the introduction of photomechanical methods and offset lithography in the twentieth century, typography underwent another transformation that corresponded with the esthetics of modernism. While serif type styles still predominated in text-intensive book and publication design, san serif types— such as Helvetica, Univers and Avant Garde—proliferated after World War II and dominated corporate identity, display type and public information signage wherever the Latin alphabet and the English language were the international standard, which by this point was most of the world.
From this review of graphic communications history, it can be seen that there is a logical evolution of stages in the development of printing press machinery, methods of printing, image transfer processes, phases of type production and the pictorial reproduction techniques. These have all proceeded along this path through individual inventors but also independently of them. That is to say, technological advancement in graphic communications has moved through periods of human history and individual innovators were "found" to make the breakthroughs that were necessary at any given moment along this continuum. The specific identity of the innovators and how they were selected is the result of a complex set of circumstances that located the right person at the right time.
This is also not to say that the determined vision of the inventors or the specific knowledge, skills and talents they possessed did not play a role in this selection process. These subjective factors are extremely important and can, in certain situations, be the final decisive element in the achievement. However, in the end, these individual traits are themselves part of a concatenation of conditions such as geographic location, social and economic environment, professional relationships and the availability of resources that form the foundational background and driving forces of innovation.
Senefelder made a highly significant comment in his autobiographical account when he explained that had he possessed the financial resources to invest in "types, a press and paper," then lithography "probably would not have been invented so soon." This was his way of saying that the invention of a purely chemical printing method was historically inevitable and may well have been made by someone else, had it not been for the random circumstance of his inability to purchase the resources required to start a letterpress printing business.
Senefelder understood that it was a matter of time before the discovery of lithography would have happened anyway. After all, his invention coincided with major advancements in chemistry in the late eighteenth century. Known as the "chemical revolution," the elements of water and air molecules were being defined and atomic theory was being suggested while Senefelder was experimenting with the interaction of various chemicals and printing plate surfaces with the use of an oil-based writing tool.
It is interesting to note that, while popular accounts of Senefelder's invention of lithography often make mention of the "grease pencil" or a "greasy crayon" he used to write the laundry list upon the limestone, there is hardly a reference to the nature of this instrument or the substances out of which it was made. Readers of the stories of the accidental invention of lithography by Senefelder will not find an explanation of the significance his possession of a crayon at the same time that he had a slab of limestone, even though he mentioned his use of this writing tool throughout his biographical account.
Senefelder described the various compositions of the crayon that he experimented with for the purpose of applying it "on the stone plate in dry form like Spanish or Parisian chalk." He gave eight different combinations of wax, soap, lampblack, spermaceti (whale oil), shellac and tallow from which he created the prepress writing instrument. He wrote that, "Wax, mennig, and lampblack are heated and constantly stirred till the mennig dissolves in froth and changes from red to brown. Then the lampblack is rubbed in thoroughly, the whole warmed again properly and shaped into sticks." This is one of the earliest descriptions of crayon use for artistic purposes and, to some extent, it can be said that Senefelder is both the inventor of lithography and the crayon.
In a similar manner, while there are repeated references to the misfeed jam of Rubel's lithographic press that had a "rubber blanket" on its impression cylinder, little time has been devoted to a study of how it came to be that his press contained such a blanket system. The rubber on Rubel's press was most certainly of the natural and vulcanized type that had been developed and perfected by Charles Goodyear (US) and Thomas Hancock (UK) by the middle of the previous century. While products such as printing cylinder blankets were derived from rubber trees grown in tropical and subtropical regions of South America, western Africa and Southeast Asia, the material had a tendency to swell and blister under the pressure and heat of the printing process. Synthetic rubbers, especially heat resistant neoprene, were invented in the 1930s and solved many of these issues. Without the circumstances that brought rubber blankets to lithographic press machinery, and the subsequent improvement and perfection of these blankets with synthetic materials that took place before and during World War II, the offset method would not have been invented at the turn of the century and the rise of offset lithography would have been delayed.
Author multimediamanPosted on October 19, 2021 May 24, 2022 Categories Chance and Necessity, Disruptive Continuity, People in Media History, Print Media, TypographyTags Alois Senefelder, Elizabeth Eisenstein, graphic communications, Harvey Levenson, Ira Washington Rubel, Johannes Gutenberg, lithography, Offset lithography, Offset printing, Will DurantLeave a comment on As If By Chance: Part VI
As If By Chance: Part V
G.W.F. Hegel and Charles Darwin
Accident, chance and necessity
From the above review of the prevalence of accidental discovery in technical and scientific progress, it is clear that there are two sides to this phenomenon. An unexpected or inadvertent mistake or result occurs that becomes, through the engagement of an inventor, the basis for an important breakthrough. Awareness of this contradictory reality—the ability to understand that all natural evolution moves simultaneously through deterministic and random elements and, likewise, that the steps in technological advancement proceed along a law governed path that manifests itself by way of unanticipated particulars—is the touchstone for grasping the essential contradiction embedded in the disruptive continuity of human progress.
Dictionary definitions of the term "accident" present the concept as an event that is unforeseen or unplanned. While an accident is often associated with negative outcomes (I was in an auto accident), it is also frequently used to connote good fortune (We met by accident). Although there is a tendency to see these determinations as mutually exclusive—as either purely desirable or undesirable—these opposite meanings of the word express one side of the objective duality of accidents. Whether accidents are associated with negative or positive results, they always appear to be purely unintended. However, it becomes clear upon examination that an accident was preceded by circumstances that caused it to happen and the accident itself is the cause of still further apparent unanticipated results. Thus, every accident is both cause and effect and expresses both something that was entirely expected and unexpected at the same time. This is the real and true contradictory nature of the phenomenon.
The term "chance" is defined in a similar manner, as an unpredictable event without discernible human intention or observable cause. The existence of a chance happening is conventionally understood to arise at random and without a purpose. However, while the outcome of a chance roll of dice may be thought of by the roller as either bringing "good luck" or "bad luck," a combination of scientifically observable and measurable factors—gravity, air resistance, friction, the force of the throw and the initial position of the dice—interact to produce one of the thirty-six possible landing combinations of the two cubes.
Definitions of the term "necessity" emphasize the concept as a quality or state of being that is required or a consequence that could not have turned out any other way. From this understanding, it would appear that necessity is predetermined with no influence from accidental elements. In this formal way of thinking, accidents or chance events and necessary events are conceived of as fixed opposites that never touch or interact with each other.
Accounts of accidental invention most often present the moment of discovery by way of happenstance in a similarly one-sided manner. The unscientific perspective erases the contradictory content of an event that was both accidental and necessary and takes on one of its two forms: either presenting the accidental occurrence as completely disconnected from necessity or by dismissing the accident and overemphasizing the trajectory of an inevitable outcome as the only possible path of development. In the first instance, the event is seen as itself being purely accidental. This means that the accident is thought to express only inconsequential or irrelevant trends. From this point of view, the discovery or invention at that particular moment in time did not come about because it was necessary at all, but instead took place purely at random. In the second instance, focusing on the importance of the motivations of the inventor or attributing the event to "good luck," for example, this standpoint dismisses the accidental element entirely and sees only the necessary or predetermined eventuality.
However, there is a more precise and objectively accurate way of understanding the manifestation of accidents in connection with technical progress that accommodates for the contradictory relationship between chance and necessity. Instead of viewing an accident like a lifeless cartoon, it can be understood scientifically as the real means through which advancement takes place. Like a motion picture, there is a concatenation of circumstances that surround and form the lead up to the moment of a chance discovery. These conditions are the foundation upon which it is possible for the innovator to see the potential contained within the unanticipated event. It is precisely here that the accidental and the necessary merge together and become identical; the accidental is necessary and the necessary is accidental. This manner of understanding rejects the notion that an invention is either purely a chance event or purely a predestined outcome and instead embraces the view that these two states exist as one and that this is the way that innovation genuinely takes place. A necessary event has a cause because it is accidental and also has no cause because it is accidental; the necessary manifests itself as chance and this chance also is the expression of necessity.
Among the first thinkers to define the relationship between chance and necessity in both nature and human thought was the German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770-1831). In his Science of Logic, Hegel discusses at length the process by which necessity is manifested in phases through the possible, the accidental and the actual:
Frequently, Nature, to take it first, has been chiefly admired for the richness and variety of its structures. … the chequered scene presented by the several varieties of animals and plants, conditioned as it is by outward circumstances—the complex changes in configuration and grouping of clouds, and the like—ought not to be ranked higher than the equally casual fancies of the mind which surrenders itself to its own caprices. The wonderment with which such phenomena are welcomed is a most abstract frame of mind, from which one should advance to a closer insight into the inner harmony and uniformity of nature. …
In respect of Mind and its works, just as in the case of Nature, we must guard against being so far misled by a well-meant endeavor after rational knowledge, as to try to exhibit the necessity of phenomena which are marked by a decided contingency, or, as the phrase is, to construe them a priori. Thus in language (although it be, as it were, the body of thought) Chance still unquestionably plays a decided part; and the same is true of the creations of law, of art, etc. …
Necessity is often said to be blind. If that means that in the process of necessity the End or final cause is not explicitly and overtly present, the statement is correct. The process of necessity begins with the existence of scattered circumstances which appear to have no interconnection and no concern one with another. These circumstances are an immediate actuality which collapses, and out of this negation a new actuality proceeds. …
Necessity is blind only so long as it is not understood.
Similar to that of Newton, Hegel saw all motion and development in nature as being driven by an almighty spirit. However, Hegel viewed the human mind as separate from, superior to and the source of the natural world. He believed that the interaction of chance and necessity in the universe were part of the process through which the human mind was realizing itself as the almighty spirit. While Hegel inverted the genuine relationship between what he called "Mind" and "Nature," he did show how seemingly opposite determinations such as chance and necessity were united as one and dependent upon each other in the unfolding process of all development.
The biological evolutionist Charles Darwin (1809-1882) was among the first scientists to work with similar concepts in a specific study of nature. Darwin showed that the process of natural selection—which governs the evolution of all biological life and is the continuum of descendance from one creature to the next over the course of billions of years—takes place through the complex interaction of chance and necessity. Francisco J. Ayala, the noted evolutionary biologist and professor at the University of California, Irvine, explained that Darwin was able to:
discern that there is a natural process (namely, natural selection) that is not random but rather is oriented and able to generate order or "create." The traits that organisms acquire in their evolutionary histories are not fortuitous but determined by their functional utility to the organisms.
Chance is, nevertheless, an integral part of the evolutionary process. The mutations that yield the hereditary variations available to natural selection arise at random, independently of whether they are beneficial or harmful to their carriers. But this random process (as well as others that come to play in the great theatre of life) is counteracted by natural selection, which preserves what is useful and eliminates the harmful. …
The theory of evolution manifests chance and necessity jointly intricated in the stuff of life; randomness and determinism interlocked in a natural process that has spurted the most complex, diverse, and beautiful entities in the universe: the organisms that populate the earth, including humans who think and love, endowed with free will and creative powers, and able to analyze the process of evolution itself that brought them into existence.
As Ayala makes clear, not every random mutation or evolutionary trait contributes to the viability of an organism. Some prove to be harmful. Nonetheless, these seemingly negative random events are themselves also driven by the variety, complexity and interconnectedness of the material circumstances contributing to biological evolution. Here, it is evident that what proves to be unnecessary in nature is also at the same time the product of necessity.
There were still other thinkers and men of action in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries who, basing themselves upon the work of Hegel and Darwin, arrived at a more complete and scientifically accurate understanding of the relationship between chance and necessity as it applies to all of nature, including human thought. From their standpoint, a particular technical breakthrough becomes a necessity in the course of socio-economic development and the specific individual who emerges at the moment when the discovery is achieved is accidental. If this individual had not stepped forward, the necessary advancement would, in the long run, have been brought about by someone else.
These laws of motion and development apply to scientific and technical advancement incorporating the additional variable, as Hegel states, of the "equally casual fancies of the mind." This means that, regardless of what individual innovators may think about their activity or understand about the significance of the discoveries they are making, there is a logic through which their advancements proceed. As with natural evolutionary processes, the movement of technical progress does follow a pattern that can be examined, traced and understood. Like the development from simple to complex life forms and from unconscious to conscious beings—after passing through a vast number of seemingly accidental physical traits and characteristics—socio-economic technical progress has gone from primitive stone tools over generations to the most sophisticated and complex systems that enable the exploration of the surface of Mars and the examination of the outer reaches of the solar system and beyond. While each of the breakthroughs along this path have come about in apparent randomness—including both the individual person or people responsible for them as well as the manner in which the innovations were secured—the advancements have proceeded along a discernible path that tracks with the stages of socio-economic history and the scientific ideas that emerged as byproducts and drivers of those stages.
Author multimediamanPosted on October 19, 2021 March 15, 2022 Categories Chance and Necessity, Disruptive Continuity, People in Media History, Print MediaLeave a comment on As If By Chance: Part V

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Home » Blog » Career Insight » Front End vs. Back End: What's the Difference?
Front End vs. Back End: What's the Difference?
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If you're new to the world of coding and software engineering, you may be confused by terms like front end, back end, and full-stack development. Your head may swirl at the sight of programming languages like Ruby on Rails and Javascript.
So let's take a quick poll. Raise your hand if you find yourself asking, "What does it all mean? What's the difference between front end and back end?" We get it, we were there once too.
At Kenzie Academy, we believe a career in tech is possible for all who are open to learning and put in the work to master the art of coding. So let's take the confusion out of some of these technical terms. We'll give you the scoop on front end vs. back end.
Today, we're demystifying the difference between development styles and tackling these questions:
What is front end development?
What is back end development?
How are front end and back end development different?
What is full-stack development?
What pays more, front end or back end?
First of all, website development is the process of building websites and applications. Unlike UI UX Design, web development focuses more on coding and making sure a website functions well. It's essentially the usability aspect of websites and apps. But where do terms like front and back end come in? Front end development and back end development are the 2 different types of web development.
So let's dive in and get acquainted with these web development styles!
Front end developers build with the user in mind. Front end development is a style of computer programming that focuses on the coding and creation of elements and features of a website that will then be seen by the user. It's about making sure the visual aspects of a website are functional. You can also think of front end as the "client side" of an application. So let's say you're a front end developer. This means your job is to code and bring to life the visual elements of a website. You'd be more focused on what the user sees when they visit a website or app. And, you'd want to make sure the site is easy to interact with while also running smoothly.
These developers take the visual designs from UX and UI designers and bring the website to life, making sure it functions well for the user. One of the many ways you could use front end skills is in creating a static website, which is a website with fixed content that's delivered to a user's browser exactly as it's stored. You might run into a static website if you happen upon a simple landing page or a small business website that doesn't allow users to perform any interactive tasks.
Front end developers build elements like:
Back end development focuses on the side of the website users can't see. It's what makes a site interactive. You can also refer to the back end as the "server side" of a website. For instance, let's say you're running a social media website. You need an accessible place to store all of your users' information. This storage center is called a database and a few widely used examples include Oracle, SQL Server, and MySQL. Databases are run from a server, which is essentially a remote computer. A back end developer will help manage this database, as well as the site contents stored on it. This ensures that front end elements on your social media website can continue to function properly as users browse uploaded content and other user profiles.
While users do not directly interact with the back end of a website, they'll indirectly interact with elements these developers work on through a front-end application. Back end development deals with storing and arranging data while also ensuring the front end is functioning well.
Back end web developers work on tasks like:
Troubleshooting and debugging web applications
Framework utilization
Still thinking, "Front end vs. back end…what's the difference?" Now that you've gotten an overview of both front and back end, let's discuss their differences. There are 4 main distinctions that set front and back end development apart.
Front and back end developers work on different sides of a website
Front end development is programming which focuses on the visual elements of a website or app that a user will interact with (the client side). Meanwhile, back end development focuses on the side of a website users can't see (the server side). They work together to create a dynamic website to allow users to make purchases, use contact forms, and any other interactive activities you might participate in while browsing a site. Some examples of dynamic websites are Netflix, PayPal, Facebook, and the Kenzie Academy site you're currently on.
Front and back end developers have different strengths
According to RealMensch, different developers have different strengths. But it's essential to keep in mind that one side of the development process isn't harder or more important than another. In fact, they're equally important in creating a dope website that users will enjoy interacting with.
So what pays more, front end or back end?
With differences in strengths, there are also differences in pay. Mid-career front end developers rake in an average annual salary of $76,929 in the U.S., according to Glassdoor. Meanwhile, U.S.-based, mid-career back end developers bring in an average of $101,619 annually.
Though there are differences in what you can earn, depending on if you specialize as a front or back end developer, it all comes down to your unique talents, passions, and abilities. You may find you prefer one side of development over another. If you're deciding between the two, it's best to also think about which one brings you more fulfillment and satisfaction as a developer rather than solely focusing on salary projections.
Front and back end developers work in different languages
When you're coding, you'll use a programming language. Much like human languages, these languages allow programmers to communicate with their computers through a series of symbols (referred to as code). Very simply, it's like giving your computer instructions. Front end developers work in languages like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
HTML stands for Hyper Text Markup Language. It's the standard markup language for creating webpages.
CSS is short for Cascading Style Sheets. While HTML is used to create structure on a site, CSS is used to bring style and flair. It defines a site's colors, fonts, and the style of other site content.
JavaScript is a language that can be used to make a site interactive and fun. You can use it to run a game on your site, to name one example.
Front end also works in its own set of frameworks and libraries. Here are just a few of the frameworks and libraries a front end developer would work with:
Back end developers work in languages like PHP, C++, Java, Ruby, Python, JavaScript, and Node.js. Here's a bit more on a few of these languages:
PHP is a server-side scripting language.
Java is a highly popular platform and programming language.
Python is a general-purpose coding language. It's different from some of the others we've mentioned here because it can be used for other kinds of software development and isn't limited solely to web development.
Back end frameworks include:
Front and back end developers work together to create awesome applications
While there are some similarities between the two sides of web development, it's easiest to think of them as sides of a cassette tape. They are both necessary parts of the web dev process that are used to create functional, visually appealing websites and applications. So if you're considering a career as a web developer and aren't sure which side of the development cassette you're interested in jamming to, you could consider becoming a full stack developer. Full stack developers get the best of both worlds and their work consists of both front and back end elements. It's like getting to listen to the whole flipping cassette every day.
Front end vs. back end? Why not both?
If you're interested in a career as a front end or back end developer, then you may want to consider attending a coding bootcamp or technical school. At Kenzie Academy, we offer a 12-month, full-time Software Engineering program that teaches learners the skills to succeed at both front end and back end development. You'll learn from industry practitioners to get tech skills, get soft skills, and get hired. Learners spend the first 6 months learning the ins and outs of front end development, then spend the second 6 months becoming proficient at back end development. Here are a few things you'll work on in Kenzie's Software Engineering program:
Front End Skills:
Break apart interesting problems, as well as design engaging solutions.
Design, create, and modify static web pages that conform to HTML5 specifications.
Analyze the client-side performance of a webpage to better understand the consumer experience.
Imagine, create, and deploy interactive and mobile-friendly applications for the web using the latest web technologies, including HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript (ES6+), and React.
Pair those skills with back-end technologies like databases and Node.js, as well as developer tools like Bash, Git, and automated tests.
Understand how to effectively work and collaborate on a software project, and also how to interview confidently.
Back End Skills:
Level up with a second, popular programming language (Python 2 & 3), as well as its own most common web framework, Django. Also use language features like lists, sets, and dictionaries appropriately for simple algorithmic tasks.
Become adept at interacting with behind-the-scenes technologies, like databases and servers, and also at solving more complex sets of problems.
Identify and fix performance bottlenecks in a web application. Additionally, propose a viable fix to a specific bottleneck in a provided sample application.
Learn to make applications faster, more secure, more stable, and more capable.
Our learners graduate with a full-stack certification, so they can work as front end developers, back end developers, or full stack engineers, in addition to a number of other roles. In the program, you'll get acquainted with languages like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, as well as Python, Django, and SQL.
While learning to code and work within these languages, you'll gain more insight into which tasks you prefer as a developer and can come to a better understanding of if you have a preference for one side of web development over another (or if you want to rock it as a full stack engineer). If you have more questions about front end vs. back end development or want to learn more about our programs, contact us!
Ready to jumpstart your career as a UX Designer or Coder? Learn more about our programs including Software Engineering, Full-Stack Web Development, Cybersecurity and UX Design, or check out our free coding classes for beginners through Kenzie Free.
Ready to Discuss Your Future In Tech?
Click the button below to apply and get your career in tech started today!
15 Skills You Need to Become a Front-End Developer
Web Designer vs. Web Developer: What's the Difference?
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Home/Latest News/HEALTH COMMISSIONER ORDERS FULL INVESTIGATION INTO ALLEGATION OF SEXUAL ASSAULT
Latest NewsNews
HEALTH COMMISSIONER ORDERS FULL INVESTIGATION INTO ALLEGATION OF SEXUAL ASSAULT
oolasunkanmi2November 21, 2022
The Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Professor Akin Abayomi has directed the Health Facilities Monitoring and Accreditation Agency (HEFAMAA) to conduct a thorough investigation into the allegation of sexual abuse of an unidentified patient at Optimal Cancer Centre, Lagos.
Professor Abayomi gave the directive following the damning viral video on various social media platforms allegedly to have originated from Optimal Care Cancer Centre.
"We are aware of a viral video alleged to have originated from the founder of Optimal Care Cancer Centre and I have directed HEFAMAA to investigate it and report back", he explained.
The Commissioner further stated that the Agency will deploy a team of monitors to the facility with a view to getting credible information on the allegations.
He assured members of the public that the State Government under the administration of Mr. Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu will apply appropriate sanctions in accordance with the extant laws if the facility is found not to have complied with set standards.
"In accordance with the State Government's zero tolerance for sexual abuse and violence, the matter will also be referred by HEFAMAA to the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency for appropriate action that may be warranted", he stated.
Abayomi, however, called on members of the public to join the State Government in its fight against unprofessional conduct in the State health sector to safeguard the health and well-being of the citizens.


Waiting to release "This is Gonna Hurt" (the first single taken from the new album which will be available during the next winter), metalcore crew Sharks In Your Mouth has revealed a cover version of Eminem's international hit "Lose Yourself".
All members of our bands have hip-hop roots, and we wanted to express our love for one of the greatest artists of all the time by mixing up our style and a classic song like "Lose Yourself". It was a challenge, because it's not easy to transform a simple beat into a metalcore song and we hope that our fanbase and the rest of the audience will like our choice.
As many of our followers know, our style on stage is dark, we have played every show since 2014 by painting our bodies in black, what we call our "war paint" – it's a pre-show ritual for us. "Lose Yourself" is a different shade of Sharks In Your Mouth and it's one of the funniest things that we have done since we started this band.


EV3 Medium Servo Motor EXPOSED!
Ever wondered what's inside a LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3 Medium Motor? Look here then, and avoid bothering to open your own motor. In fact, it could be permanently damaged during the disassembly process.
The EV3 Medium Motor stays together without screws. To open it, there are some tight tabs to be unlocked. (Don't try this with your new motor!) The yellow thingy that looks like a capacitor is a temperature sensor that protects the motor (and probably the EV3 motor drivers) if the motor overheats, in case of stall. The motor includes a rotation sensor (quadrature encoder) that is hidden in the gray plastic. I didn't open it further because I didn't want to desolder the motor terminals. Notice that the motor itself would be of the same length as the LEGO Power Functions motor, but the presence of the LEGO MINDSTORMS female connector makes it more than two LEGO units longer.
While the rotation sensor is directly connected to the motor shaft coming out from the motor back, the output shaft is coupled to the DC motor shaft by a two-stage planetary gear train, just like the LEGO Power Functions motors. The adoption of the planetary gear train allows this motor to have almost no backlash on the output shaft. In comparison, the gear train of the EV3 Large Motor is really poor, causing 12 degrees of backlash on the output shaft. Backlash (or play) is caused by the gap between the gears' teeth, and can be seen by gently moving the red motor shaft by hand back and forth, without making the inner DC motor rotate. This makes the EV3 Medium Motor preferable to drive precise low-torque mechanisms.


Non-stories get more play than they should when there's no legitimatenews to pass along, and we saw an example of that last week with theOilers playoff hopes all but mathematically over.
Non-stories get more play than they should when there's no legitimate news to pass along, and we saw an example of that last week with the Oilers playoff hopes all but mathematically over.
With no playoff match-ups to discuss and Craig MacTavish deemed a goner by at least one local columnist, one item grabbed the headlines before the Oilers clipped Vancouver 5-3 Saturday to keep their fading post-season hopes alive.
Textgate, as it has been called, was sparked when Oilers owner Daryl Katz, frustrated by speculation around MacTavish's expected demise, sent a five-word text message to 630 CHED radio's Bob Stauffer.
It read: "MacT is not going anywhere." Stauffer checked with Katz, then released the message on the air.
Now, a vote of confidence in the coach by the owner certainly is legitimate news, but the responses that followed?
Writers who would have taken the text and ran with it, claiming an exclusive scoop for their outlets, were so sour Stauffer had the inside track that Katz's backing of MacTavish became secondary.
Instead, the spin was how Katz misstepped by delivering his message through a "conduit" of the team. Katz was accused of embarrassing Kevin Lowe, who had to explain the context of the message to reporters in a post-game scrum, and of making GM Steve Tambellini a puppet by coming out with his support of MacTavish.
The motivation for the diatribes in the aftermath is simple: Stauffer has access to Katz as a source — he's had it dating back to when he was this city's most vocal critic of the Oilers during his days at TEAM 1260 — and those screaming the loudest don't. End of story.
The fact is, Katz sent the text to take the focus off MacTavish and put it back on what little is left of the playoff race.
When the season is done, MacTavish and his coaching staff will be evaluated. And there will be changes. Count on it.
Media outlets took notice when almost 10,000 people joined a Facebook group organizing a "MacTavish must go" protest scheduled outside Rexall Place Saturday.
In the end, seven "protesters" showed up, meaning they were outnumbered by media, who didn't stick around when it became clear the rally was a non-story. It just goes to show, commitment to a cause when you're sitting around in your pyjamas tapping a keyboard at home is one thing, getting off your backside to see it through is quite another.


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Backdating has cost $100 billion study says
Dec. 20, 2006, 9:43 PM UTC / Source: The Associated Press
Shareholders of stock in companies caught up in the backdating scandal have lost at least $100 billion, by one measure, since backdating was first covered in The Wall Street Journal, according to an academic study released Wednesday.
The study measured the performance of 110 stocks in a Journal database of companies with backdating problems. The study measured the stocks' daily returns versus the returns that would have been expected based on the stocks' historical correlation to the wider market.
Stocks in the Journal's database of companies with backdating problems began losing value after a May 2005 academic study by Erik Lie at the University of Iowa first raised the issue. Wednesday's study said the stocks, on average, declined more than 15 percent compared with their expected returns during the four weeks leading to the Journal's first article about backdating, in March 2006.
Investors anticipated "with remarkable accuracy exactly which companies would later prove to have deep legal problems regarding options," the study said.
Options give the recipient a right to buy a stock at a fixed "strike price," generally set at the stock's market price the day of the grant, and options holders benefit if the stock rises above the strike price. In the backdating scandal, executives and directors dated option grants on days when the stock was at a low, enhancing the potential benefit.
The study was conducted by Gennaro Bernile at the University of Miami; Gregg Jarrell, former chief economist of the Securities and Exchange Commission and now an economics professor at the University of Rochester; and Howard Mulcahey, vice president of Forensic Economics Inc., an economics and finance consulting practice in Rochester, N.Y.
A list of companies with backdating problems compiled by The Associated Press is longer than the database in the study. As of Dec. 19, the AP has found at least 195 companies that have disclosed federal or internal investigations into backdating.


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Q: Firebase CLI questions and [FlutterFire CLI] CLI doesn't find Firebase CLI I am trying to connect Firebase with my flutter app.
for this, firebase takes me to install firebase CLI.
Question1: is there another way?
I downloaded firebase-tools-instant-win.exe and everytime I want to run firebase command, I have to run it.
Question2: is it the right way? because normal cmd, does not recognize its commands. I cant seem to put my environment variables on the right path.
Then, in AndroidStudio, inside the folder containing my app, I run flutterfire configure --project=projidy2.
Question3: FlutterFire CLI asks me to install Firebase CLI even if it is already installed, and logged in my account.
E:\android\webrtc_tutorial>flutterfire configure --project=projidy2
i Found 0 Firebase projects. Selecting project projidy2.
FirebaseCommandException: An error occured on the Firebase CLI when attempting to run a command.
COMMAND: firebase --version
ERROR: The FlutterFire CLI currently requires the official Firebase CLI to also be installed, see https://firebase.google.com/do
cs/cli#install_the_firebase_cli for how to install it.

flutterfire --version
0.2.7

firebase --version
11.20.0

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Most HHV-6 or HHV-7 infections in childhood require no specific antiviral therapy, but therapy is indicated for complicated infections especially in immunocompro-mised patients. HHV-6 and HHV-7 lack thymidine kinase and are resistant to acyclovir. The guanine analog Ganciclovir (GCV) is, however, active: 50% effective inhibitory concentration (EC50) for HHV-6A (GCV EC50 is 0.65 mg/mL), for HHV-6B (GCV EC50 is 1.33 mg/mL), and for HHV-7 (GCV EC50 >7 mg/mL). The HHV-7 GCV EC50 is greater than plasma concentrations of GCV routinely achieved with administration of GCV 5 mg/kg intravenously. The U69 gene product of HHV-6 and HHV-7 is a phosphotransferase analog of HCMV UL97, a GCV kinase. It is required to phosphorylate GCV so that it inhibits the viral DNA polymerase (the U38 gene product) (Fig. 2). The HHV-7 phosphotransferase is least efficient at phosphorylating GCV. Point mutations in the U69 and U38 are associated with GCV resistance. HHV-6 and HHV-7 can respond to GCV treatment, but a report exists of prophylactic GCV, administered to transplant recipients, failing to prevent HHV-7 replication despite adequate suppression of HCMV.
nephrotoxicity, there is less experience with this agent in transplant recipients.


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Forgotten Realms Neverwinter
Is a Forgotten Realms sourcebook on Neverwinter published in 2011.
A heroic campaign set in one of the most popular regions of the Forgotten Realms world.
Reduced to ruins by supernatural cataclysms, Neverwinter rises from the ashes to reclaim its title as the Jewel of the North. Yet even as its citizens return and rebuild, hidden forces pursue their own goals and vendettas, any one of which could tear the city apart.
Neverwinter has long been one of the most popular locations in the Forgotten Realms campaign world. This book presents a complete heroic-tier campaign setting that plunges players into the politics, skullduggery, and peril of a city on the brink of destruction or greatness. A wealth of information about Neverwinter and its environs is provided: maps, quests, encounters, and statistics — everything a Dungeon Master needs for his heroic tier adventures.
Source: forgottenrealms.wikia.com
Arc games Neverwinter
Neverwinter Nights Cheats Codes


Ashoka University is delighted to invite you to a lecture on "Stalin: Waiting for Hitler" by Professor Stephen Kotkin from Princeton University.
Stephen Kotkin is John P. Birkelund '52 Professor in History and International Affairs; Co-Director, Program in History and the Practice of Diplomacy; Director, Princeton Institute for International and Regional Studies at Princeton University. He is one of the most distinguished historians of our time. He is the author of several books including the highly acclaimed and path-breaking Magnetic Mountain: Stalinism as a Civilization (Berkeley: University of California, 1995) Steeltown, USSR: Soviet Society in the Gorbachev Era (Berkeley: University of California, 1991; paperback with an afterword, 1993). He has also written extensively on contemporary Russia and has edited several books on the subject. His two-volume biography of Stalin is already a classic in the genre.
Kindly RSVP for the event HERE as the venue has limited seating.


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Our faith tells us we are not alone and that we travel together with OUR GOD through difficult times
—Monsignor James C. Vlaun
Family Comes First® Home
Protecting Our Children: Part One
Protecting Our Children: Part Two
In Darkness and in Light
Beyond the Shock: Part One
Beyond the Shock: Part Two
A Siblings Love
Fighting Addiction ( Part One)
Fighting Addiction (Part Two)
Best of Season 10
Heroes of 9/11
Saving Lives
Parents Know Best
Listening to the Deaf
21st Century Family
Operation Babylift
Best of Season 9
Angela's Legacy
It Started with Pennies
A Soldier's Story (The Greatest Generation)
Miracles Among Us
A Legacy of Inclusion
Messages from the Heart
Military Moms
Walking Together – Hand in Hand
Pages of Life
Jason Da Silva: Imitating Life
Japanese-American Internment Camps: Fighting for Justice
Manny Silberman: For All Ages
Hospice & Families: Giving Care
Sikidi Conde Update: Rhythm of the Soul
The Best of Season 6
The Waters Family: Aging in Place
The Godfrey Family: The New Homeless on Long Island
The Funaro Family: Teaching Kids About Money
The Alpert Family: Young Adults with Special Needs…the Housing Crisis
Special Update-Living with a Disability
Belmonte Family: When Mom and Dad Need Help
Carpenter Family: But You Don't Look Sick
Blanco Family: It Takes A Village
Sidiki Conde: Artsability
Henley Family: Caring for a Loved One with Early-Onset Alzheimer's
Atlbacker Family: Caring for a Medically Fragile Child
Kooper Family: Caring for a Sibling with Special Needs
LaSpina Family: Passing the Family Business
Mooney Family: Children with Special Needs
Page Family: Surviving the Holocaust
Amoruso Family: Living & Working with a Disability
Noone and DiMicelli Families: Adoption Options
Belmonte Family: Caring for the Elderly
Richmond Family: Caring for a Loved one with Alzheimer's
English Family: Transitioning into Adulthood (Special Needs)
Haubner Family: Living with Osteoarthritis
Russo Law Group, P.C www.vjrussolaw.com
Exclusively on Catholic Faith Network – Cablevision Channels 29 and 137 or Verizon FiOS TV, Channel 296
Sadly, each day, 22 men, women and children die waiting to receive a lifesaving organ transplant. Fortunately, over 650,000 lives have been saved since 1988 because of donors, many of them not biologically related to the recipient. On this brand new episode of Family Comes First™, "Saving Lives" we meet with Cindy Somma, who decided to give the gift of life to a relative and ended up saving the life of another.
Join us on Monday, September 19th at 1:30 pm on Telecare (Cablevision channels 29 and 137, Time Warner channels 106 (Manhattan), 471 (Queens) or Verizon FiOS TV channel 296) as Cindy shares with us her thought process when choosing to donate her kidney and how she unexpectedly ended up saving the life of a stranger.
Also joining us on this brand new episode of Family Comes First™ is Gillian Cohen, a young woman who was given the gift of life through a liver transplant when she was just 7 years old. She shares how this experience has inspired her to be an advocate with LiveOnNY to promote organ donation.
We also welcome Karen Cummings from LiveOnNY to share how someone can register to become a donor and how important it is to educate the community on organ donation so they too, can save lives. Karen explains, "…one person can actually save up to 8 lives through organ donation because you can donate both kidneys, both lungs, your liver, pancreas, your heart. One person can donate up to 8 organs via transplants and enhance up to 50 lives through tissue implants." She hopes to carry out LiveOnNY's mission to create a culture of donation. They hope one day, it will not be unusual to discuss organ donation and there will be less of a stigma about doing so.
If you miss the premiere of this heartwarming and inspirational show, this episode, "Saving Lives" will also air on Wednesday at 9:30 am & 10:30 pm, and Thursday at 1:30 pm.
Family Comes First™ airs exclusively on Telecare TV – Cablevision Channels 29 and 137, Time Warner channels 106 (Manhattan), 471 (Queens) or Verizon FiOS TV Channel 296. For more on Family Comes First™, please follow us on Facebook or visit our Family Comes First website.
Live On NY
LiveOnNY is a nonprofit, federally designated organ procurement organization (OPO) dedicated to the recovery of organs and tissue for transplant in the greater New York metropolitan area. Established in 1978, LiveOnNY is the second largest OPO in the United States, serving a culturally and ethnically diverse population of 13 million.
They work closely with 10 transplant centers and more than 90 hospitals in the region to facilitate donation. Additionally, they strive to raise awareness for organ, eye, and tissue donation and transplantation, educate the public, and encourage residents to enroll in the New York State Donate Life Registry.
Videos Watch Full Episodes of the New Season Online
Special Comment from Vincent
"The time is always right for family. All of us can relate, in one way or another, to the real families in our series. You realize that if you change a name or a face, it could be YOU. Family Comes First® affirms that family and community are the answers. We need each other as we journey together through life." -Vincent J. Russo
Russo Law Group, P.C.
Long Island's Signature Elder Law, Special Needs and Estate Planning Law Firm
www.vjrussolaw.com


text:
(function () {
    'use strict';
    angular
        .module('NTDomo')
        .controller('TemperaturesController', TemperaturesController);

    TemperaturesController.$inject = ['$rootScope', '$interval', 'I2CRequestService', '$mdDialog'];

    function TemperaturesController($rootScope, $interval, I2CRequestService, $mdDialog) {
        console.log('Entra en el controlador de temperaturas');
        var vm = this;
        vm.switch = [];
        vm.error = false;
        vm.reloadTime = 2000;
        vm.device = $rootScope.device;
        vm.refreshTimes = [500, 1000, 2000, 5000, 10000];
        $rootScope.$on('deviceSelected', function (event, data) {
           vm.device = data;
           vm.switchStatus();
            console.log('deviceSelected ', vm.device);
        });
        vm.value=0;
        // Function to get switch status
        vm.switchStatus = function (){
            //console.log('entra en la consulta?');

            var query = {};
            query.dev = vm.device.address;

            // Command to check digital pin 2 status
            query.cmd = 52;
            /*if (ENV.env === 'dev') {
             //query.idA = '2';
             } else{
             query.dev = '0x08';
             }*/

            I2CRequestService.query(query, function (data) {
                vm.error = false;
                if(data.value){
                    vm.switch[0] = true;
                }else{
                    vm.switch[0] = false;
                }

                console.log('switchStatus', data.value);
            }, function (err) {
                console.error(err);

                // To prevent multiple popups
                if(!vm.error)
                {
                    $mdDialog.show(
                        $mdDialog.alert()
                            .parent(angular.element(document.querySelector('#popupContainer')))
                            .clickOutsideToClose(true)
                            .title('Ups... ha ocurrido un error')
                            .textContent('Parece que no se puede establecer la comunicacion con el dispositivo.')
                            .ariaLabel('Alert Dialog Demo')
                            .ok('Cerrar')
                        //.targetEvent(ev)
                    );
                }
                vm.error = true;
                //console.error('error!');
                var msg = '';
                switch (err.status) {
                    case 404:
                        msg = 'Error 404';//TranslationService.err404; '
                        break;
                    case 500:
                        msg = 'Error 500'; //TranslationService.err500;
                        break;
                    default:
                        msg = 'Error default'; //TranslationService.errDefault;
                        break;
                }
            });

        };

        // Function to read temperature (Analog read)
        var reloadQuery = function (){
            //console.log(vm.device);
            var query = {};
            query.dev = vm.device.address;
            // 40 is command for read Analog PIN 0
            query.cmd = '40';
            /*if (ENV.env === 'dev') {
             //query.idA = '2';
             } else{
             query.dev = '0x08';
             }*/

            I2CRequestService.query(query, function (data) {
                console.log('Entra en el query');
                vm.a0 = data;

                vm.millivolts = (data.value / 1023.0) * 5000;
                vm.celsius = vm.millivolts / 10;
                vm.celsius = vm.celsius.toFixed(1);

                console.log('Resultado', vm.a0);
                vm.error = false;
            }, function (err) {

                if(!vm.error)
                {
                    $mdDialog.show(
                        $mdDialog.alert()
                            .parent(angular.element(document.querySelector('#popupContainer')))
                            .clickOutsideToClose(true)
                            .title('Ups... ha ocurrido un error')
                            .textContent('Parece que no se puede establecer la comunicacion con el dispositivo.')
                            .ariaLabel('Alert Dialog Demo')
                            .ok('Cerrar')
                        //.targetEvent(ev)
                    );
                }
                vm.error = true;

            });

        };
        $interval(reloadQuery, vm.reloadTime);

        // Function to change switch(Digital Write)
        vm.onOffSwitch = function (){
            var query = {};
            query.dev = vm.device.address;

            // Command for digital pin 2
            query.cmd = 102;
            /*if (ENV.env === 'dev') {
             //query.idA = '2';
             } else{
             query.dev = '0x08';
             }*/
            I2CRequestService.query(query, function (data) {
                // If has an error with arduino comunication API returns error message
                //console.log('data', data.status);

                if(data.value){
                    vm.switch[0] = true;
                }else{
                    vm.switch[0] = false;
                }
                console.log('switchOnOff', vm.query);
                vm.error = false;
            }, function (err) {
                console.error(err);
                if(!vm.error)
                {
                    $mdDialog.show(
                        $mdDialog.alert()
                            .parent(angular.element(document.querySelector('#popupContainer')))
                            .clickOutsideToClose(true)
                            .title('Ups... ha ocurrido un error')
                            .textContent('Parece que no se puede establecer la comunicacion con el dispositivo.')
                            .ariaLabel('Alert Dialog Demo')
                            .ok('Cerrar')
                        //.targetEvent(ev)
                    );
                }
                vm.error = true;

            });

        };

        vm.whatDevice = function(){
            console.log("Device selected = ", vm.device);
        };

    }

})();

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Posted on March 4, 2012 January 5, 2018 by Webmaster
Volume 1 No. 6, Lionel U33C
Volume 1 No. 6, March 3, 2012
Quick Look:
Lionel's U33C S Scale Diesel
by Ed Loizeaux
photos by Dick Karnes
The General Electric U33C is the first totally new diesel locomotive made by Lionel for American Flyer and S scale enthusiasts. "Lionel is not the company it used to be!" was my first thought as I opened the box: a new diesel featuring scale wheels. Yes, you read that correctly. It ran for six non-stop hours on my home layout, which features code .100 rail throughout, laid to NMRA specifications. There was nary a trackability or performance problem with through dozens and dozens of turnouts – quite a change from the goode olde daze of A. C. Gilbert.
This product represents Lionel's toe-in-the-water venture into the S scale market. Compared to older American Flyer products, it's quite an improvement in the realism department. The very nice body molding, while not perfect, is realistic enough for most S scale modelers. The engine comes with large AF couplers on both ends that can easily be removed (one screw) and replaced with a scale coupler bracket (two screws). A Kadee #802 coupler screws to the bracket with two more screws. Lionel even includes the needed screws in a small parts bag. The purchaser can easily make a flat plastic filler piece to fill the large hole in the pilot resulting from the removal of the AF coupler. Someone at Lionel was thinking ahead on this feature.
All twelve metal wheels are powered and all wheels pick up electrical power from the track. Rubber traction treads are in the box, but not intended for use with the scale wheels. Headlights and back-up lights are LEDs that automatically reverse with direction changes. Sound and smoke are also included, as well as a motorized fan to blow the exhaust smoke upwards continuously. The horn sounds were particularly appealing to my visitors who watched the U33C circle the layout.
Lionel's Legacy proprietary command control system (similar to DCC, but not the same and not mutually compatible) comes installed in the locomotive. For this product to operate with all features functioning, a Lionel Legacy command control system and Legacy throttle/cab must be used. Otherwise, the loco will operate on conventional AC, but some of the special features cannot be activated. As it comes from the factory, the loco will not operate on DC or DCC.
If desired, the internal Legacy electronics can be removed. Once removed, the conventional DC motor that resides in the fuel tank may be powered with ordinary DC or a DCC decoder if desired. Some scale modelers have already sold off Legacy electronics to their AF buddies, which helps pay for a new DCC decoder. My prediction is that Legacy electronics will soon appear on eBay. As my evaluation was done with Legacy, I cannot predict how the loco will perform with conventional DC or DCC.
This is only a "quick look," not a review. I did not compare every detail to the prototype, instead concentrating on the features easily noticed without a magnifier. In no particular order, my observations are listed below:
Metal grab irons are separately applied details.
Handrail stanchions and handrails are a flexible one-piece molded Delrin part that's quite resistant to breaking from excessive bending.
Lettering is precise and apparently complete, including features such as the GE builder's plate and stencils such as "Air Filter," "Danger High Voltage," and "Diesel Fuel Fill."
The body is injection-molded plastic with lots of detail.
Frame/floor/chassis is a heavy hunk of metal which is very rigid and firm, great for tractive power.
Trucks are metal, rigid, with cast springs and nice detailing. The fuel tank is cast metal and heavy.
There are twelve air hoses on the pilots.
The MU walk-through platform can be positioned "up" or "down"; there's a detent to hold it in place.
Headlights (white), backup lights (red), number boards (white), and cab lights (white) are all illuminated. However, the infamous bluish tinge is present in the white LEDs.
The body molding has molded-in machined brass threaded inserts which are used when attaching the frame to the body. Thus, there is no chance of stripping out the screw threads.
The flared radiator on the top of the body can be removed to expose two small electrical switches. One turns the smoke generator and fan on and off. The other is to set the loco up for programming or for running. The radiator is held in place by four tiny super magnets. Cool!
Both pilots swivel with the trucks around curves. This design looks rather toy-like, but it appears they could be firmly attached to the frame without too much difficulty. My first thought is to use a piece of 1/16" thick black plastic and cut it to the proper shape and then epoxy it to the underside of the frame. Then attach the pilot parts to the plastic piece with epoxy or JB Weld (if sufficiently strong) or with small screws (drilling and tapping required). Eventually someone will actually do this and we'll have a better idea of the difficulties involved, but it doesn't look particularly difficult for an experienced modeler.
Due to the swiveling pilot, the end handrails do not extend downward far enough to match the prototype. The handrails could be extended, if desired, once the pilot is firmly attached to the frame.
In closing, it appears that Lionel is seriously testing the S scale market segment with this product. While not perfect, it's a remarkable step forward toward greater realism, worthy of a serious look. Is it possible that Lionel/AF is the sleeping giant of S scale? What a thought…
CategoriesS Scale Reviews TagsLionel, reviews, U33C
Previous PostPrevious Volume 1 No. 5, Passenger Trains: Why "S" May Be For You
Next PostNext Volume 1 No. 1, January 2012


text:
Q: SQL: How return more record by recursive queries in Oracle? data source table:
name  count
a      2
b      3

expect:
a1
a2
b1
b2
b3

I want to try(but failed):
select t.name||level
  from  t
CONNECT BY LEVEL<=t.count

A: In Oracle 11g+, you can use recursive queries:
with cte(name, ind, count) as (
      select t.name, 1 as ind, t.count
      from t
      union all
      select cte.name, cte.ind + 1, cte.count
      from cte
      where cte.ind < cte.count
     )
select cte.name || cte.ind
from cte;

I prefer recursive CTEs to CONNECT BY because the former are standard and supported by most databases.

A: You did well, but you should add group by clause to upper select statement.
select d from
(select (t.NAME || level)d
  from  Test t
CONNECT BY LEVEL <= t.CT)
group by d
order by d

works well.


Accreditation: The qualification may be accredited by the national curriculum authority, and/or by an independent organisation. That is, the national curriculum authority or the independent organisation gives assurance that the qualification is of an appropriate standard.
Course Provider: The school or institution that teaches a course.
ELT: English Language Teaching - a general, inclusive term used in the profession.
EAL: English as an Additional Language - English taught to non-English speakers who live in the UK and who need English for study or other purposes, in primary, secondary and tertiary education. EAL was formerly referred to as ESL (English as a Second Language) or E2L.
Examination Board or Awarding Body: The body that sets and marks the examinations and/or assessment procedures needed in order to obtain the qualification. The 'awarding body' is the institution whose name will appear on the certificate that is given as a result of success on a course.
(T)ESOL: (Teaching) English to Speakers of Other Languages The expression which is used to cover all forms of English teaching to non- English speakers; sometimes also used instead of EAL or ESL - see below.
English taught to learners, both overseas and in the UK, who do not normally live or work in an English-speaking country.
EYL (English for Young Learners), etc.
Monitoring: The course may be monitored by the examination board or by an independent awarding body. That is, the examination board or awarding body checks to ensure that the course is taught to an appropriate standard. In turn, the examination board or awarding body may be monitored by the national curriculum authority.
qualification is a reliable indicator of the teaching competence of any holder who is seeking employment or who wishes to undertake further study.
qualified to teach other curriculum subjects, since teaching a language is unlike teaching any other subject.
Validation: The course can be validated by the Examination Board or by an independent awarding body. That is, the Examination Board or awarding body checks the course to ensure that the curriculum as offered is appropriate.


Do you want to build your confidence, grow as a leader, and improve your communication skills? Kauai Toastmasters is hosting a special event for guests. This free event will be held at Kauai Christian Fellowship in Poipu starting at 6:30 pm and ending at 7:30 pm. Refreshments will be provided. Please come and join us! To learnmore visit us on Facebook at facebook.com/kauaitoastmasters. For questions email us at contact-2525@toastmastersclubs.org.


Answer simple questions after listening to a read-aloud.
Recall the sequence of a simple story, song, or rhyme.
Identify letters of the alphabet.
Recognize letters in the student's first name.
Use visual information to become familiar with the school environment.
Maintain attention during small and large group settings.
Use complete sentences to communicate.
Stay on topic when answering questions.
Interact appropriately in social situations with peers and adults.


Traditional Rulers in Anambra South Senatorial district of the state have condemned what they called the harassment and intimidation of their son, Chief Innocent Chukwuma of Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing (IVM) company, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.
The monarchs who numbered above 30, and who briefed journalists in the palace of their patron, Igwe Kenneth Orizu said their son, Chukwuma was not a criminal and should not be haunted as such.
They described the industrialist as a studious and hard working person, who was known to all for his industry and dedication to his business, as well as providing jobs for teeming Nigerian populace.
The traditional rulers called on President Muhammad Buhari to intervene in the present rift between the Guarantee Trust Bank Plc and the Chairman of Innoson Group, which they said, had lingered through the courts over the period.
They also accused EFCC of bias in the various ways it had been handling the matter, especially attempts to abduct Chukwuma from his Enugu home earlier.
The forum specifically condemned the involvement and roles of the EFCC in the persecution of the renowned industrialist.
Part of the text reads, "The Royal fathers of Anambra South Traditional Rulers Forum is calling on President Muhammadu Buhari to look critically into the roles and activities of the EFCC on the ongoing business dispute between the Guarantee Trust Bank PLC and Innoson Nigeria Ltd.
"It has become obvious that the EFCC is not following laid down procedures and judicial precedence in the prosecution of the alleged trumped up charge against our son, Chief Innocent Chukwuma and his company, Innoson Nigeria Ltd.
They recalled several ordeals suffered by the Innoson boss in the hands of the anti graft agency; especially how he was bundled out of his house like a common criminal by EFCC that invaded his Enugu residence in the middle of the night of 19th December, 2017.
"The monarchs wandered why EFCC will persecute such a distinguished Nigerian, who does not only parade four national honours to his credit but also provides direct employment to over 7,000; and indirect jobs to about 15,000 Nigerians. "This, to us, is an insult," the forum stated.
While calling on Buhari to direct the EFCC Chairman, Ibrahim Magu, to call his officers to order and to stop displaying elements of bias in the said dispute, the monarchs also called on the IGP and the Lagos State Police Commissioner, to "dutifully and responsibly" investigate the recent attack on Prof. McCarthy Mbadugha, Innoson's lawyer, by assassins.
They said it was believed to have been sponsored by Innoson's opponents.


The Bronson-Thomas Essay Prizes of $175, $125, and $75 are awarded each academic year for the three best performances in an essay competition held during the Winter term.
The essays must be written in German. The essay topic will be announced at the beginning of the competition. No dictionaries or electronic resources for the completion of the essay are allowed.
Students who have won this award in the past cannot participate again.
If you have a class conflict that does not allow you to be present at 7 p.m. but would still like to participate, please let Kalli Federhoffer know (kallimz@umich.edu).