Brenton Woodward's piece "Aesop and the New Criticism" appeared in our first issue, Spring 2015.
1. I'm curious about your intentions for steering the reader between the main text and the footnotes, and what you intend or hope the reader gets out of those transitions as they're bandied about. Could you tell us a little about that?
I wanted the piece to be coherent, more or less, whether the reader chose to read each footnote as they came to it in the main text, or to treat the main text and the footnotes as separate entities. And they are two separate entities in some ways. They're companion narratives, and they illuminate one another in different ways depending on the reader's approach to the piece as a whole. Or that's the idea at least. It's also a performative thing in that there's a satirical element to the piece, obviously, poking fun at the academic way of dissecting a text to get at some greater truth or significance of it. Like what we're doing now. So the reader is forced to reevaluate that kind of approach, they're given a text and then confronted with a sort of wild interpretation of it that is probably completely different from their own interpretation, and hopefully that makes them more mindful of that very act of interpretation.
2. Can you describe your approach to developing dueling third-person and first-person voices in this piece?
I started getting into this a little bit in the above answer, but basically I wanted the two voices to be polar opposites. The voice of the text is supposed to be the anonymous, evenhanded fabulist type you find in oral tradition or whatever, while the footnotes are the voice of a hyper-opinionated, didactic, slightly-unhinged literary theorist. Or student of literary theory. Or student who read a Foucault essay once and thinks they know everything now. Anyway, it's the general versus the specific, so again that's part of the performative reader-baiting: the reader will (probably, maybe) accept or identify with one voice more than the other, and maybe they'll think about why that is.
3. "The superficially-ironic-yet-substantively-aching-with-earnestness canon of postmodernism": examples, please, if you have them. For science.
I was hoping that line would pass as another of the footnotes' outrageous unsubstantiated claims, but I guess the essential truth of it shines through. There is a whole movement called the New Sincerity, of course. David Foster Wallace is the one I was thinking of specifically when I wrote that line. It's more about a general sense of postmodern literature I have than any particular novels or authors, though. What I mean, I think, is that behind the cynicism and absurdity of people like Pynchon or DeLillo or Roth there is a deep and terrifying vulnerability. Irony in the hipster sense is important to postmodernism: it's a reaction against cliche by embracing and subverting it, but when that becomes the cliche, what do you do? That's where the fear starts. The anticipation of becoming what you're trying to make fun of. Whoever you think of when you think of the "postmodern canon," just take their work and look at it through the lens of this fear. Thomas Pynchon (for example) isn't just satirizing consumerism or mind-numbing TV or burned-out Cali nouveau riche or whatever, he's sincerely afraid of those things, afraid that he is subsumed by them and contributing to them and perpetuating them, that he IS them. Maybe that's a starkly obvious surface reading of things, I don't know. But I was trying to express something sincere and vulnerable by couching it in this haughty ironic context, the same way I feel that the big postmodern writers do.
4. Which writer(s), alive today, do you admire?
Cormac McCarthy. He definitely informed the main text of "Aesop." A lot of short story writers: Nicholas Montemarano, Annie Proulx, George Saunders, William Gay, Lydia Davis. David Markson for his weird anti-novels. Toni Morrison, Margaret Atwood.
5. Do you have any other writing projects in the works you'd like to tell us about?
I have a vague idea that I'm going to write a postmodern Choose Your Own Adventure novella, so I've been collecting scraps to put towards that for a while. Nothing cohesive, but that might be the point. I don't know what a postmodern CYOA novella entails yet.


text:
Psagot (, lit. Peaks) is an Israeli settlement in the West Bank, located on Tawil hill, adjacent to the Palestinian cities of Ramallah and al-Bireh. Established in 1981, it is organised as a community settlement and falls under the jurisdiction of Binyamin Regional Council, with the council's headquarters located there. In  it had a population of .

The international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law, but the Israeli government disputes this.

The Israeli Psagot Winery was established in the settlement on privately owned Palestinian land; a demolition order (COGAT Order 252/03) was issued by the Israeli authorities against the winery as, even under Israeli law, the Israeli building over privately-owned land was illegal. As of 2019, the order had yet to be enforced.

Etymology
The name Psagot was proposed by one of the early residents, Moshe Bar-Asher, a professor and head of the Academy of the Hebrew Language. It expresses the hope that the new village will achieve a peak in settlement and study of the Torah. The name also refers to the location of Psagot on the peak of Mount Tawil.

History
The Arabic name of the hill is Jabel Tawil (long mountain).

In the wake of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, and after the 1949 Armistice Agreements, Jabel Tawil came under Jordanian rule. It was annexed by Jordan in 1950.

Before 1967, Jabel Tawil was known to locals as "Kuwaiti hill" because of numerous visitors from the Persian Gulf who hiked in the area. In 1964, some of the land was purchased by the Jerusalem municipality for a future tourist resort. In the Six-Day War, it came under Israeli occupation. From September 1976, Arabs were prohibited from building in the area.

According to ARIJ, Israel confiscated 780 dunams of land from the nearby Palestinian town of Al-Bireh in order to construct  Psagot.
There is also an archaeological site near some of the Caravillas on the hill of Psagot.

In 1981, Ariel Sharon, then Israeli Minister of Defense, told Pinchas Wallerstein, head of the Mateh Binyamin Regional Council, that he would support initiatives to settle the area. In July 1981, Wallerstein moved the council headquarters to the hill, then occupied by a military intelligence base. Five families from the Jerusalem neighborhood of Beit VeGan took up residence there. A year later, they were joined by a group from the Kerem B'Yavneh yeshiva who came to create a kollel.

Israeli–Palestinian conflict

According to B'Tselem, Psagot prevents the expansion of Ramallah and cuts it off from the surrounding villages. During the course of the Second Intifada, snipers shot at Psagot from buildings in Ramallah, leading to the construction of a concrete wall to protect the inhabitants. In 2001, the Israeli army stationed nearby fired two missiles into Ramallah targeting Marwan Barghouti.

In November 2009, the Psagot settlement and Regavim petitioned the High Court of Justice in an unsuccessful attempt to stop construction of the Al-Bireh International Stadium, citing security concerns.

The Sasson Report identified Psagot as the "parent settlement" of an Israeli outpost known as Mitzpe HaAi () located approximately 400 m to the southeast. According to the report, the settlement, unauthorized by the government, was built on land appropriated illegally from its Palestinian owners. According to Peace Now 75.69% of the combined area of Psagot and Mitzpe HaAi is on appropriated private land.

Status under international law
The international community considers Israeli settlements to violate the Fourth Geneva Convention's prohibition on the transfer of an occupying power's civilian population into occupied territory.

Israel disputes the applicability of the Fourth Geneva Convention and argues that the Palestinian territories were not legally held by a sovereign when Israel took control of them. This view has been rejected by the International Court of Justice and the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Psagot Winery

The Psagot Winery was founded by Na'ama and Yaakov Berg, who started to plant vineyards either in 1998, or 2002. Berg, who immigrated to Israel from the Soviet Union, is the CEO. According to the Independent, in 2007 the Falic family of Florida, who own Duty Free America, purchased 32,000 shares  in Psagot winery for 4.1 million shekels, becoming majority shareholders and directors. In addition to a modern barrel cellar, some of the oak barriques are stored in a cave dating back to the Second Temple era. The winery's top wine is a Bordeaux blend named Edom. Regular varietal wines are produced in the Psagot series and there is also a Port-style wine. In 2007 and 2008, the winery produced 65,000 bottles annually. In 2010, the winery produced 80,000 bottles of wine a year, the majority for export. By 2015, the number produced had grown to 250,000 bottles per year, of which 65% are exported. Palestinian Arabs and Israeli Jews work there side by side which, according to Akiva Novick, creates an island of co-existence in sea of mistrust. The American evangelical Christian organization HaYovel has sent volunteers to tend and harvest Psagot Winery's vineyards. Non-Jews are not allowed to work in the vineyard itself, for kosher reasons. Berg says calls to boycott his wines have only increased demand. The winery has developed into "a favourite destination" for right-wing Israeli and American politicians. Other wineries exist around Psagot, and the Yesha Council hopes to make them a tourist attraction. According to the local Palestinians and the Israeli human rights group Yesh Din, the wineries are partially planted on privately owned Palestinian land. Israeli officials confirmed that the Berg house lies atop a quarter hectare of privately owned Palestinian land; in 2003 a demolition order (COGAT Order 252/03) was issued by the Israeli authorities against Mr Berg's home as, even under Israeli law, his decision to build on the privately owned land is illegal. As of 2019, the order had yet to be enforced.

Writing in November 2019, Gideon Levy and  Alex Levac noted: "The land is owned by Palestinians, with documents to prove it – but is now the site of a Jewish winery."[..] "This is the estate of Yaakov Berg, CEO of the Psagot winery, in the central West Bank. Berg's house stands on section 233 of bloc No. 17. This property belongs to two sisters, Amal and Keinat Quran and their cousin, Karima – but they don't have any access to it. The grapes are planted on sections 219-220, which is owned by Huria Quran, another relative. That petite, elderly woman is also unable to get to her property."

In November 2020, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo became the first top US official to visit a Jewish settlement including the Psagot Winery.

EU legal proceedings
The company initiated legal proceedings in Europe to try to reverse regulations requiring settlement produce to be labelled. On 12 November 2019 the Court of Justice of the European Union in a ruling covering all territory Israel captured in the 1967 war decided that labels on foodstuffs must not imply that goods produced in occupied territory came from Israel itself and must "prevent consumers from being misled as to the fact that the State of Israel is present in the territories concerned as an occupying power and not as a sovereign entity". In its ruling, the court said that failing to inform EU consumers they were potentially buying goods produced in settlements denies them access to "ethical considerations and considerations relating to the observance of international law".

Canadian legal proceedings
The Winnipeg  Jewish university instructor David Kattenburg won a similar judgement in a Canadian court against the fraudulent branding of settlement wines for export, naming the Psagot products on sale in his country. In May 2021, the Federal Court of Appeal dismissed a government appeal and ordered CFIA to explain its decision. Kattenburg submitted information to CFIA in September 2021 showing that the Psagot Winery was situated entirely on Palestinian property. In May 13, 2022, the CFIA reaffirmed its original decision.

References

Israeli settlements in the West Bank
Populated places established in 1981
Mateh Binyamin Regional Council
1981 establishments in the Israeli Military Governorate
Community settlements

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
\section{Introduction}
Our aim is to propose a simplified picture of the local interstellar medium (LISM), where it is composed mainly of a single, continuous cloud, which envelops the Sun in all directions.  This outlook differs from the current, commonly accepted view that the LISM is a collection of identifiable cloud structures, all spatially and kinematically distinct from one another, participating in a common bulk motion (cf Frisch, Redfield \& Slavin, 2011 for a review). In the most complete version of this model, Redfield \& Linsky (2008) interpreted the different velocity components detected in absorption in the spectra of nearby stars in terms of 15 coherently moving clouds, all moving at different but similar velocities. In their picture  the heliosphere is not immersed in the local interstellar cloud (LIC), but  is situated near its edge, in the transition region between  the LIC and another cloud referred as the  G cloud. With such a configuration, whereby the Sun is surrounded by several distinct and separate clouds, we would expect to find some lines of sight going through the gaps between the clouds, which should create at least a few cases showing no absorption.  However such a line of sight has never been found: every stellar spectrum including a sensitive enough absorption line in the UV shows at least one interstellar  component. We note also that three of the clouds (LIC, G and a third one denoted NGP for North Galactic Pole) almost complement each other  to cover most of the sky with no overlap, and are described with  similar velocity vectors.
A question arises: Do the data support a picture that these clouds could be unified into a single cloud?  For instance, the G cloud had been introduced by Lallement \& Bertin (1992) to account for a slight velocity discrepancy in the direction of $\alpha$ Cen. Now that we have a larger sample of nearby sight lines and a better knowledge of the ISM flow in the heliosphere, we can revisit the question,  ``Is the G cloud still needed as a distinct cloud?"
We therefore decided to re-examine the LISM UV-absorption database with a new focus, i.e. making the assumption that the ISM close to the solar system can be viewed as a unique, continuous medium that envelops  the Sun in all directions and, in the simplest approximation, produces one
absorption component in every line of sight. With this assumption in mind,
we examine
how this conforms with a picture of a homogeneous cloud, moving with a coherent velocity vector as a rigid body.
\section{The data}
We re-examine the Mg II and Fe II results from UV lines observed with HST (GHRS and STIS) at high resolution (R$\simeq100\, 000$, or $\Delta V\simeq3\,{\rm km~s}^{-1}$).
We use the data compiled in Redfield \& Linsky (2002) Table 3 (for Mg II) and Table 4 (for Fe II),
providing the velocity, broadening parameter, and column density for each component.
To guarantee the homogeneity in sensitivity and preserve the integrity of the velocity calibration, we do not include data from ground-based spectroscopy; therefore the CaII or NaI results are not included in this analysis. Note that we do not reanalyze the data; we adhere to the published results listed by Redfield \& Linsky (2002). However we have checked the velocity scales for data that had new wavelength calibrations, resulting in 6 slight velocity changes.
\\
Our resulting database includes 111 components, in a total of 59 lines of sight, of which 54 are observed in Mg II, 32 are observed in Fe II, and 27 are observed in both elements.
New observations in additional directions were reported at this conference (Redfield et al, this volume) and  appeared later in a paper by Malamut et al. (2014). The future addition of these new results should help to refine the conclusions presented here.
\section{Identification of a single circum-heliospheric cloud}
\subsection{Step 1: identification of the component most likely to originate in the circum-heliospheric cloud}
In every line of sight (l$_i$,b$_i$) we select the absorption component closest in velocity to  V$_{i,helio}$, i.e. the projection onto the sight line of the velocity vector of the ISM flow interacting with the heliosphere as measured by Ulysses and previous experiments (M\"obius et al. 2004) or by IBEX (McComas et al. 2012). We call this component "Component~1". There is by definition one Component~1 in every line of sight.
\subsection{Step 2: Mean velocity vector that best fit all Components 1}
We perform a least squares fitting of the Components~1 sample to a single vector in the sky in the heliocentric reference frame. The best-fit gives the following mean vector:
\begin{figure}[h]
\includegraphics[width=16pc]{gry-jenkins-fig2.eps}\hspace{2pc}%
\begin{minipage}[b]{20pc}\caption{Measured velocities of all components plotted against  $\theta_{m}$, the angular distance to the apex of the Components~1 mean vector. Large symbols indicate components that are dominant in their line of sight in terms of column density. Medium-size symbols depict cases where two components in a line of sight have identical column densities within their error bars. The smallest symbols indicate components that are clearly secondary.  The adopted reference column densities are those of Fe~II, when available, and Mg~II otherwise. \label{fig:velocity-domine} }
\end{minipage}
\end{figure}
\[l_m=185.84\pm0.83\ensuremath{^\circ} ; \,b_m=-12.79\pm0.67\ensuremath{^\circ} ;  V_m=25.53\pm0.26 {\rm km/s}\]
Our measured velocity vector is indeed very close to both solar system measurements: it has the same direction as the IBEX vector, but the velocity amplitude is closer to that of the Ulysses measurement.
We define for each line of sight the angle $\theta_m$,  representing its angular distance to the apex of the above mean velocity vector.
On Figure~\ref{fig:velocity-domine} our Components~1 stand out as forming a conspicuous V$_m\cos\theta_{i,m}$ curve, where V$_m=25.53\,{\rm km~s}^{-1}$. They also appear to be the dominant component (shown as large squares) in most sight lines.
\subsection{Step 3:  Components~1 velocity deviations from the best-fit velocity vector}
\begin{figure}[h]
\begin{minipage}{18pc}
\includegraphics[width=14pc]{gry-jenkins-fig3.eps}
\caption{Velocity residuals of Components~1, the components closest to V$_{helio}$ , relative to the V$_m$cos$\theta_{i,m}$ relationship for the best-fit vector derived from the heliocentric Mg~II velocities. Circles: Mg~II, triangles: Fe~II
\label{fig:VMgII} }
\end{minipage}\hspace{2pc}%
\begin{minipage}{18pc}
\includegraphics[width=14pc]{gry-jenkins-fig4.eps}
\caption{Components~1 velocity deviations from the best-fit vector, in Galactic coordinates but centered on the apex of motion.  Red/blue: positive/negative deviations. Symbol size: magnitude of the deviations. Red curve: circle 90\ensuremath{^\circ}\ away from the direction of motion. \label{fig:resid-aitoff} }
\end{minipage}
\end{figure}
\noindent Figure~\ref{fig:VMgII} exhibits a clear trend of the velocity deviations with $\theta_m$: they are negative  toward the apex and anti-apex directions and positive in directions perpendicular to the motion.
When the trend is taken into account as a systematic velocity gradient, the remaining dispersion is comparable to the velocity determination uncertainties ($\simeq$ 1.1 km s$^{-1}$). Figure~\ref{fig:resid-aitoff} shows that the large positive deviations (red symbols) are indeed roughly distributed along a great circle at 90\ensuremath{^\circ} away from the direction of motion, showing that the expansion perpendicular to the flow vector is seen in all azimuthal angles.
\subsection{Conclusion: a single cloud}
We think that the simple, symmetrical, single hump pattern exhibited in Fig.~\ref{fig:VMgII}, and the coherent spatial distribution of the residuals,
indicate this is a fundamental, second-order dynamical effect associated with an otherwise coherently moving cloud. We conclude that, provided we relax the assumption that the cloud is rigid, our Components~1 sample can indeed be interpreted as the projected velocities of a unique interstellar cloud, detected in all directions, with a mean velocity close to the ISM flow into the heliosphere: the Local Cloud. This cloud accounts for 53 \% of the components in number. It accounts for 70 \% of the column density in the first 50 pc. It includes most of the LIC, G, NGP, Blue, Leo, Aur, Cet, clouds and half of the Eri and Gem clouds components in the Redfield \& Linsky (2008) model.
\section{Characteristics of the cloud}
\subsection{Dynamics within the cloud}
We developed a simple, idealized model for the velocity deviations. We start with a spherical volume centered on the observer and estimate the velocity perturbations when the sphere is differentially decelerated. To maintain its original volume (and internal pressure) the cloud is deformed into an oblate ellipsoid that has its minor axis aligned with the deceleration vector. We derive the velocity perturbations $\Delta$V($\theta_d$) away from a solid-body motion, expressed as a function of $\theta_d$, which is the angle away from the minor axis of the ellipsoid:
\centerline{$\Delta {\rm v}(\theta_d)=C\,\left[ (1-e^2)^{-1/6}(1-e^2\cos^2\theta_d)^{1/2}-1\right]~,$}
where $e$ is the eccentricity of the ellipsoid and  $C$ is a constant. Provided the variable $e$ is not large ($e<0.8$), the shape of the curve tracing $\Delta {\rm v}$ as a function of $\theta_d$ is invariant and its amplitude is governed only by the product of $C$ and $e$. \\
Minimizing the quadratic differences of the observed
velocity deviations with respect to $\Delta$V($\theta_d$),
we derive the direction of the minor axis (i.e. the origin of the angle $\theta_d$):
\centerline{$l_d=174 \pm5 \ensuremath{^\circ}; \,\,\,b_d=-12\pm4\ensuremath{^\circ}~,$}
which is relatively close to the apex of the mean velocity vector found in the previous section. If the differential deceleration and distortions are due to the cloud interaction with an external medium or a magnetic field,  the minor axis found for the spatial deformation  is very likely to indicate a fundamental direction for the cloud's internal motions in response to these external forces, independent of the chosen reference frame. For this reason, we adopt ($l_d, b_d$) as the reference direction for the cloud.
\subsection{Extent and density of the cloud}
Mg II and Fe II column densities exhibit no correlation  with distance: this means that the cloud is small compared to target distances. On the other hand, the column densities show a high dispersion and there is no obvious trend with direction: we conclude that the cloud is very irregular in shape.\\
To study the extent and density of the cloud we examine the H I compilation and results from Wood et al (2005), with particular attention to their detections of astrospheres. Since an astrosphere arises from the interaction of the stellar wind with neutral atoms, its presence for a particular line of sight means that the target star is embedded in neutral gas.
In the H I sample an astrosphere is detected in 8  single-component lines of sight, where we conclude that  the Local Cloud fills up the entire sight line, and where the ratio N(HI)/d reliably measures the average density. The latter  varies in these sight lines from 0.03 to 0.1 cm$^{-3}$, yielding a mean neutral density in the Local Cloud of 0.049 cm$^{-3}$, in agreement with the solar system measurements of interstellar pick-up ions and anomalous cosmic rays of n(HI)= 0.055 $\pm$ 0.029 cm$^{-3}$ (Gloeckler et al. 2009). Inspection of Figure ~\ref{fig:distanghi} shows that (1) the Local Cloud extends up to 20 pc in a few sight-lines and to less than 15pc in most of them,
\begin{figure}[!htbp]
\includegraphics[width=35pc]{gry-jenkins-fig7.eps}
\caption{
 H~I column densities. \opensquare: Components~1. \fullsquare: targets presenting evidence for an astrosphere and only one H~I component, i.e. sight lines completely filled with the Local Cloud. Crossed  \opensquare: targets where the presence of the astrosphere  is uncertain. Diagonal lines show lines of constant densities $n({\rm H~I})=0.03,\,0.04,\,0.1\,{\rm cm}^{-3}$ .
\label{fig:distanghi} }
\end{figure}
(2) if we adopt n(HI)~=~0.05 cm$^{-3}$, the mean extent of the cloud is $<$N(HI)/n(HI)$>$ = 9.3 $\pm$ 7.6 pc, (3) in no directions does the Sun lie near the cloud edge: the minimum distance to the boundary is somewhere between 1.3 and 4.7 pc, depending on the density value chosen, and (4) highest column densities are found in directions perpendicular to the cloud deformation minor axis.
\subsection{MgII and FeII abundances}
As illustrated in Figure~\ref{fig:abundance} a correlation exists between the abundances of MgII and FeII and the angle $\theta_d$, which suggests the presence of an abundance gradient within the cloud.
\begin{figure}[!htbp]
\includegraphics[width=24pc]{gry-jenkins-fig8.eps}
\begin{minipage}[b]{11pc}
\caption{N(Mg~II)/N(H~I) and N(Fe~II)/N(H~I) for sight lines in common to both H~I and Mg~II, Fe~II samples, plotted against $\theta_d$, the angle from the cloud's deformation minor axis pointing near the apex of motion.
\label{fig:abundance} }
\end{minipage}
\end{figure}
\\
We first check if the observed gradient can be explained by ionization effects. The LISM is known to be partially ionized and  its ionization is maintained by a strong UV flux dominated by the two stars $\epsilon$ and $\beta$ CMa, located respectively at $\theta_d$ = 65\ensuremath{^\circ} and 51\ensuremath{^\circ}. Shielding by the cloud material makes the ionizing flux  decrease with cloud depth and this means that the ionization should be maximum in the direction of the two stars and decrease away from it. However, there is no visible correlation of the Mg~II and Fe~II abundances with the angular distance to the star $\epsilon$ CMa. On the other hand, in regions were photons more energetic than 13.6 eV can penetrate the cloud, an element can be more or less ionized than H, depending on its relative photoionization to recombination rate ratio $\Gamma$(X)/$\alpha$(X) compared to $\Gamma$(H)/$\alpha$(H) (Jenkins 2004). As a consequence, we would expect to find Fe~II more ionized and Mg~II less ionized than H, making N(Fe~II)/N(H~I) lower and N(Mg~II)/N(H~I) higher than in fully neutral gas. However, we will see that the opposite is true since Mg~II appears more depleted than expected. Therefore there is no evidence that ionization influences the apparent abundances.

The trends displayed in Figure~\ref{fig:abundance} are thus most probably related to the gas-phase abundances of the two elements. The magnitude of the depletion is gradually increasing from the upwind ($\theta_d=180\ensuremath{^\circ}$) to the downwind direction ($\theta_d=0\ensuremath{^\circ}$). This had been noticed already by Redfield \& Linsky (2008) and interpreted as a physical difference between the LIC and the G cloud, whereas in our picture it is the sign of an abundance gradient within the cloud. The metal abundances are roughly 4 times (0.6 dex) higher in the rear of the cloud than in the front. We note that there is a constant depletion ratio of $\simeq$ 1.5 (0.17 dex) between Mg and Fe, independent of $\theta_d$, which is significantly lower that the mean interstellar value.
The fact that we observe more depletion near the head of the cloud, compared to that at the rear (i.e., upwind direction), indicates  that  a progressive erosion of the grain population may either be taking place, perhaps as a consequence of whatever process is causing the differential deceleration, or may alternatively have occurred  in relation to the origin of the cloud as proposed by Kimura et al (2003).
\section{Nature of the other components}
Out of 59 sight lines, 34 (58\%) show at least one other component in addition to Component~1, 13 (22\%) show at least two other components, one shows three and another shows five additional components. We examine the characteristics of these other components to try and pinpoint their nature.
\\
\\
{\it 5.1. Secondary nature of the other components.}\\
Figure~\ref{fig:othercomp-N} shows that in any line of sight Component~1, i.e., the component whose velocity is most consistent with the velocity vector of gas impacting the heliosphere, is generally also the dominant component.
Out of the 4 lines of sight  where another component is larger than Component~1, three of them  ($\iota$ Cap, $\upsilon$ Peg and G191B2B) are longer than 50 pc, meaning that the larger component may be situated far away. For the one short sightline toward 61 Cyg A (3.5 pc), the profile fitting is very uncertain and could in fact result in a reversed column density ratio for the two components if different b-values were chosen (Wood \& Linsky 1998). Therefore the components we have kinematically identified as the Local Cloud represent the bulk of the matter in the first 50 pc.
\begin{figure}[!htbp]
\includegraphics[width=18pc]{gry-jenkins-fig10.eps}
\begin{minipage}[b]{19.5pc}
\caption{Column density ratios (in log) between the other components and their corresponding Component~1: log N/Ncomp1 against distance.
The horizontally arranged dots are components 1. They show the distances of all lines of sight. The other components, numbered in order of increasing $|\Delta V|$ relative to Component~1 are as follows: Black squares are components 2, red triangles components 3, green diamonds components 4 and blue crosses components 5 and 6.
\label{fig:othercomp-N} }
\end{minipage}
\end{figure}
\\
{\it 5.2. Proximity of the other components.}\\
We note in Figure ~\ref{fig:othercomp-vdif} that 1) longer sight lines do not show more components than very short ones and 2) even the shortest ones exhibit multiple components: 5 sight lines shorter than 5 pc show 2 or  even 3 components. This implies that
most of the secondary components exist at distances  short of those to the edges of the cloud, and that some of them could be situated within the same volume as that occupied by the local cloud.
\begin{figure}[!htbp]
\includegraphics[width=24pc]{gry-jenkins-fig11.eps}
\begin{minipage}[b]{13.5pc}
\caption{Velocity shifts of the other components relative to Components~1,  against  distance and $\theta_d$.
The meanings of different symbols are the same as those in figure~\ref{fig:othercomp-N}. Notice the preponderance of horizontally aligned symbols just below zero: these are what we refer to as the "Cetus Ripple" components.
\label{fig:othercomp-vdif} }
\end{minipage}
\end{figure}
\\
{\it 5.3. Consistency in the velocity shifts of the other components relative to the Local Cloud}\\
Figure ~\ref{fig:othercomp-vdif} also illustrates the fact that half of the secondary components have a consistent $\Delta V = -7.2\,\pm\,1.5{\rm (rms)~km~ s}^{-1}$ relative to the Local Cloud component and about half of the sight lines include such a component. Figure~\ref{fig:aitoff} shows that the components exhibiting the $-7.2\,{\rm km~s}^{-1}$ shift also cover approximately half of the sky.
\begin{figure}[!htbp]
\includegraphics[width=17pc]{gry-jenkins-fig12.eps}
\begin{minipage}[b]{19.5pc}
\caption{Velocity shifts of the other components relative to Component~1. Black asterisks: all targets.  Squares: components other than Components~1. Red/blue:  positive/negative shifts.   Dark blue:  Cetus Ripple components.
Symbol size: amplitude of the shift. The blue cross indicates the rough center of the hemisphere occupied by the Cetus Ripple  components.
\label{fig:aitoff}}
\end{minipage}
\end{figure}
\noindent When fitting these components as a cloud having a coherent motion relative to the Local Cloud, we get a velocity vector originating from Cetus (l$_{CR}=124\ensuremath{^\circ}\pm$4\ensuremath{^\circ}, b$_{CR}=-67\ensuremath{^\circ}\pm$3\ensuremath{^\circ}), which is what motivated us to name them the Cetus Ripple components. However, their velocity shifts plotted against the angular distance to the best-vector origin do not follow the expected cosine relationship, but appear instead very constant over $\theta$. This shows that the Cetus Ripple components do not present a coherent linear motion, but instead we conclude that their motion is  characteristic of an implosion converging near our location.
\\
{\it 5.4. A plausible model for the Cetus Ripple as a shock progressing toward the cloud's interior}\\
Considering all known  characteristics of the pre-shock gas (i.e. the Local Cloud), we show that it is possible to define a shock velocity (between 20 and 26 ${\rm km~s}^{-1}$ depending on the chosen value for the magnetic field) that yields post-shock conditions matching remarkably well our observations for the Cetus Ripple components in terms of velocity, column density and velocity dispersion (see Gry \& Jenkins 2014 for details).  The origin of this shock seems compatible with a sudden increase in thermal pressure by the surrounding gas present in the Local Bubble.
\\
\\
{\it 5.5 Possible origins for the remaining components }\\
Closer than 50 pc, the remaining components which are due neither to  the  local cloud nor to the Cetus Ripple constitute a minor fraction of the matter. They may arise from secondary shocks or small velocity waves induced by turbulent motions, or from gas escaping the local cloud. Larger components  likely to arise from separate clouds seem to exist beyond 50 pc.
\section{Summary and conclusions}
We have shown that the UV absorption line database is compatible with the picture of the LISM as one single, monolithic cloud that surrounds the Sun in all directions.

\noindent Its extent is within 9.3$\pm$7.6 pc in most directions, and
the Sun is not close to the edge of the cloud.

\noindent Motions within the cloud deviate from that of a homogeneous rigid body. The second-order kinematics inside the cloud suggests that it may be deforming from an apparent progressive deceleration in the direction of motion.

\noindent H I densities within the cloud vary between  0.03  and $0.1\,{\rm cm}^{-3}$, and
the  metal abundances  show a gradient in the direction of motion.

\noindent This Local Cloud dominates the absorption in the first 50 pc. Most secondary absorption components detected in 60\% of the sight lines appear to be located inside the boundary of the Local Cloud.

\noindent Half of the secondary components have a velocity shift of $-7.2\,{\rm km~s}^{-1}$ relative to the Local Cloud and may result from an imploding shock created by an imbalance of pressure with the surrounding medium.
\section*{References}
\begin{thereferences}
\item Frisch, P.C., Refield S. \& Slavin J.D., 2011, Annu. Rev. Astron. Astrophys. 2011. 49, 237
\item Gloeckler, G., Fisk, L. A., Geiss, J., et al. 2009, Space Sci. Rev., 143, 163
\item Gry, C. \& Jenkins, E.B., 2014, A\&A 567, A58
\item Jenkins, E. B. 2004, in Carnegie Obs Ap Serie, Vol. 4, Origin
and Evolution of the Elements, ed. A. McWilliam \& M. Rauch
\item Kimura, H., Mann, I. \& Jessberger, E. K. 2003, ApJ 582, 846
\item Lallement, R. \& Bertin, P., 1992, A\&A 266, 479
\item Malamut, C., Redfield, S., Linsky, J.L., Wood, B. E., and Ayres, T. R. 2014, ApJ 787, 75
\item McComas, D. J., Alexashov, D.,  Bzowski, M., et al, 2012, Science 336, 1291
\item M\"obius, E., Bzowski, M., Chalov, S., 2004, A\&A 436, 897
\item Redfield, S. \&  Linsky, J.L., 2002, ApJS 139, 439
\item Redfield, S. \&  Linsky, J.L., 2008, ApJ 673, 283
\item Wood, B.E., Redfield, S., Linsky, J.L., Mueller, H.R. \&  Zank, G.P., 2005, ApJS 159, 118
 \item Wood, B.E. \& Linsky, J. L., 1998, ApJ, 492, 788
\end{thereferences}

\medskip
\noindent A more comprehensive description of this work can be found in Gry \& Jenkins (2014).
\end{document}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaArXiv


text:
Tesla Self-driving AutoPilot Update Could Face Delays
By Steve Hanley
The autonomous passing feature of the Tesla AutoPilot system will not be part of the initial download. It will appear later when legal issues are resolved.
The Tesla AutoPilot suite of self driving features is expected to roll out this summer, but autonomous lane-changing may not be part of the package, as reported by the Wall Street Journal. That's because of legal constraints, not digital ones.
The concern is that a car capable of initiating a passing maneuver without input from the driver will be considered a Class 3 autonomous car. Several states, including California, Nevada, Florida and Michigan, require the driver of a Class 3 vehicle to have advanced training and a special registration.
Tesla may be racing into the future but the law is straining to keep pace. "Tesla is venturing into the mushy middle of automation, where the human still performs part of the driving task, the computer performs other parts," said Bryant Walker Smith, an assistant professor of law at University of South Carolina who has carved out a specialty on autonomous vehicles.
Elon Musk says the Tesla AutoPilot will offer more advanced features than any other car and will be capable of handling most driving duties on the highway. "The upcoming AutoPilot updates will delight Model S drivers with cool features that increase both their safety and enjoyment behind the wheel," he says. AutoPilot will be available only on cars built since October, 2014.
Professor Smith tells the Wall Street Journal that Tesla is already pushing the limits of current laws with its autonomous driving software. (Based on the observable evidence, Elon Musk was born to push the limits of current laws!) Smith says, even if a car has a special autonomous license, that doesn't exempt it from other laws on the books.
For instance, New York requires drivers to have one hand on the wheel at all times. Many other states prohibit talking on the phone or texting while driving, even if the car is in autonomous mode. Shaving, painting one's nails and playing Pinochle while driving are also frowned upon by the minions of the law, at least for now.
No matter how sophisticated digital technology becomes, the driver is still expected to be "engaged" in the driving process. Tesla's argument to regulators is that activating the turn signal demonstrates the required degree of engagement and that the driver has considered whether passing at that particular moment and that particular place is prudent and safe.
The WSJ says the autonomous passing feature is expected to be included in a subsequent update after the initial AutoPilot software is downloaded. There is no word from Tesla when that update is expected.
Video showing Tesla's AutoPilot with lane changing capabilities captured via SlashGear from the Tesla 'D' event.
Of Mice And Musk: A SpaceX Odyssey
My journey with a SolarCity System: Snow, Net Metering

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
OPINION | Stop Outraging Against Lankan Cricketers For Wearing Masks, It's Shameful For Us
India vs Australia | We Just Kept Losing One Wicket Too Many: Finch
India vs Australia | In Numbers: Kohli and Rohit Set New Records En-Route Series Win
India vs Australia | This is One of the More Satisfying Wins: Kohli on 2-1 Series Victory
News18 »	Cricketnext
At the time of writing this, in Delhi, the levels of the deadliest, tiny particulate matter — known as PM 2.5, which lodge deep in a person's lungs — range between 200-300. Some of the places are worse. The level of PM 2.5 in Anand Vihar is 999, in RK Puram it's 577.
Adrija Bose | News18.com
Updated:December 27, 2017, 11:40 AM IST
Sri Lanka's players gather wearing anti-pollution masks during the second day of their third test cricket match in New Delhi. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)
New Delhi: It's a shameful day for India when cricketers from another country are forced to wear masks, struggling to cope with the pollution in the capital city. But, it's even more shameful to ignore the situation, and instead, blame the players for "hiding behind the mask".
While the BCCI officials and many on social media are outraged because of the Sri Lankan cricketers' reluctance to play as they interrupted the game several times on the second day of the third Test between India and the visiting team, the real question to ask is, should we really blame them?
No. Not if you believe the doctors who have repeatedly said that the AQI (Air Quality Index) in Delhi is so hazardous that it's like smoking 45 cigarettes a day. Not if you are aware that only last month the Indian Medical Association (IMA) wrote to the Delhi government urging schools to stop all outdoor sports and activities.
If the doctors' advice is to be taken seriously, we shouldn't even be stepping out of our homes for "morning and evening walks" and here we are expecting players to engage in a sport like Test cricket— where they are playing for six hours a day for five consecutive days.
At some point during the match, Ashish Nehra commented that the air quality in Sri Lanka is better than that of India. While admitting that Delhi's air is sickening, he said that "every nation has its drawbacks". "In Delhi, air quality is bad this month. But they shouldn't make an issue out of it and adjust," Nehra said. Soon after, he wasn't sure if there was pollution. "Are we are mistaking fog for smog? This can be fog as well."
Nope, Nehra. No one's mistaken. At the time of writing this, in Delhi, the levels of the deadliest, tiny particulate matter — known as PM 2.5, which lodge deep in a person's lungs — range between 200-300. Some of the places are worse. The level of PM 2.5 in Anand Vihar is 999, in RK Puram it's 577. In Sri Lanka's capital city, the PM 2.5 level is 80.
After the interruptions, Virat Kohli was forced to declare the match earlier than he would have preferred. The Indian captain was clearly not happy and neither was the acting BCCI President CK Khanna, who thought the Sri Lankans were making an "unnecessary fuss".
The angry official said, "If 20,000 people in the stands did not have problem and the Indian team did not face any issue, I wonder why Sri Lankan team made a big fuss. I will need to talk to the secretary and ask him to write to the Sri Lanka Cricket."
Clearly, no one told the BCCI officials about the "gas chamber" we are living in.
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka's cricketing board have got in touch with the BCCI asking them to explain why the national capital was chosen as the venue for the match.
And while the BCCI is complaining about the interruptions during the match, here's a reminder. Last year, the Ranji Trophy clash between Bengal and Gujarat at the Feroze Shah Kotla stadium was called off, thanks to the pollution. In Karnail Singh Stadium too, the match between Hyderabad and Tripura was called off. Thankfully, the BCCI realised it wouldn't be fair to expect the cricketers to play being subjected to the severe air pollution.
Javier Ceppi, the FIFA U-17 World Cup tournament director tweeted, "You can't host sport events in Delhi from Diwali till end of Feb, at least." Ceppi said that even they had to accommodate their schedule to avoid it. He asked other sporting organisation to think about the athletes' health first.
It's practically a no-brainer to understand that subjecting an athlete to high levels of pollution for a long period of time will affect their breathing, and hence, their performance.
The chatter on social media that the Sri Lankans were using the mask as an excuse to slow down the play and disturb the concentration of Indian batsmen is ridiculous. The only thing real in all of this was— the pollution. That has become normal for the people living here. And probably, when the BCCI said that 20,000 people did not have problems, it is because it is normal for us to breathe this air. We cannot expect that from people who usually don't live in this kind of pollution.
The Sri Lankan cricketers' message to us was clear— there should be no sports in Delhi till the situation improves. But is anyone listening?
| Edited by: Aakarshuk Sarna
Monday 25 November , 2019 How Ajit Pawar May Have Changed Maharashtra's Political Dynamics | Crux+
Sunday 05 January , 2020 Mamata Banerjee: Turbulent Ally, Fiery Enemy | Rare Interviews | Crux Files
Wednesday 06 November , 2019 Babri Masjid-Ram Mandir Case History | Rare Interviews | Crux Files
Friday 08 November , 2019 LK Advani: The Architect of Hindutva Politics | Rare Interviews


text:
Complete genome sequence of novel carbon monoxide oxidizing bacteria Citrobacter amalonaticus Y19, assembled de novo.
We report here the complete genome sequence of Citrobacter amalonaticus Y19 isolated from an anaerobic digester. PacBio single-molecule real-time (SMRT) sequencing was employed, resulting in a single scaffold of 5.58Mb. The sequence of a mega plasmid of 291Kb size is also presented. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Enhanced 5-methylcytosine detection in single-molecule, real-time sequencing via Tet1 oxidation.
DNA methylation serves as an important epigenetic mark in both eukaryotic and prokaryotic organisms. In eukaryotes, the most common epigenetic mark is 5-methylcytosine, whereas prokaryotes can have 6-methyladenine, 4-methylcytosine, or 5-methylcytosine. Single-molecule, real-time sequencing is capable of directly detecting all three types of modified bases. However, the kinetic signature of 5-methylcytosine is subtle, which presents a challenge for detection. We investigated whether conversion of 5-methylcytosine to 5-carboxylcytosine using the enzyme Tet1 would enhance the kinetic signature, thereby improving detection.We characterized the kinetic signatures of various cytosine modifications, demonstrating that 5-carboxylcytosine has a larger impact on the local polymerase rate than…
An integrative strategy to identify the entire protein coding potential of prokaryotic genomes by proteogenomics.
Accurate annotation of all protein-coding sequences (CDSs) is an essential prerequisite to fully exploit the rapidly growing repertoire of completely sequenced prokaryotic genomes. However, large discrepancies among the number of CDSs annotated by different resources, missed functional short open reading frames (sORFs), and overprediction of spurious ORFs represent serious limitations. Our strategy toward accurate and complete genome annotation consolidates CDSs from multiple reference annotation resources, ab initio gene prediction algorithms and in silico ORFs (a modified six-frame translation considering alternative start codons) in an integrated proteogenomics database (iPtgxDB) that covers the entire protein-coding potential of a prokaryotic genome. By extending…
Complete genome sequences of the Serratia plymuthica strains 3Rp8 and 3Re4-18, two rhizosphere bacteria with antagonistic activity towards fungal phytopathogens and plant growth promoting abilities.
The Serratia plymuthica strains 3Rp8 and 3Re4-18 are motile, Gram-negative, non-sporulating bacteria. Strain 3Rp8 was isolated from the rhizosphere of Brassica napus L. and strain 3Re4-18 from the endorhiza of Solanum tuberosum L. Studies have shown in vitro activity against the soil-borne fungi Verticillium dahliae Kleb., Rhizoctonia solani Kühn, and Sclerotinia sclerotiorum. Here, we announce and describe the complete genome sequence of S. plymuthica 3Rp8 consisting of a single circular chromosome of 5.5 Mb that encodes 4954 protein-coding and 108 RNA-only encoding genes and of S. plymuthica 3Re4-18 consisting of a single circular chromosome of 5.4 Mb that encodes 4845 protein-coding and…


Stanford Blood Center (SBC) celebrated the grand opening of its newest blood donation center in Campbell City, South Bay on Jan. 31. after a soft opening on Oct. 22, 2018. By opening a location closer to donors, SBC hopes to make donation more accessible and help fill the need for blood products, medical products made from human blood.
The new center accompanies two other donation centers in Menlo Park and Mountain View. It contains 12 beds used for donations and also includes a separate administrative section used by staff for work such as tele-recruitments of donors.
South Bay was chosen as the location of the new center because 75 percent of SBC's donors are from the South Bay.
"By coming closer to where [the donors] live, it has positively impacted us and donors," Bradley Burton, the Center's Donor Services Director, told The Daily.
Each SBC location accepts donations of whole blood, apheresis, plasma and platelets.
Though there was initially concern over a large transition of donors from the other two centers to the new, more conveniently located center, Burton said he hasn't seen "a cannibalization of [donation] rates at the other two centers" and that there are "a lot more first-time donors in this location as well." According to the Center's statistics, total blood donation rates have increased since the new center opened.
In an on-site interview with The Daily, Burton warned against the common perception that there is only a need for blood donations in times of emergency, saying "every two seconds" there are people in need of donor blood.
Blood donated at the Stanford centers is redistributed to patients in the surrounding community.
"We are a community blood center. It's local donors coming and helping local patients," Burton said.
While there is currently a large need for blood products of all blood types, Burton said, there is an especially critical need for O- blood, which is often used for trauma and pediatric patients. O-blood is the 'universal donor,' meaning people of all other blood types can safely receive the blood.
Stanford Blood Center media representative Vanessa Merina echoed Burton's comments on the importance of blood donations.
Donating blood to the Stanford Blood Center takes about an hour, and the actual blood extraction takes less than 10 minutes. After the extraction is finished, volunteers give patients food and water to help maintain blood sugar, and volunteers often keep patients company while they rest.
The Stanford Blood Center is also aiming to make blood donations more accessible for Stanford community members. For example, Stanford Blood Center is collaborating with BeWell Stanford, an employee incentive program that encourages families to commit to health and wealth, to co-host an on-campus blood drive on March 1.


Have a family adventure this Summer, and discover everything this amazing city has to offer. Arrive to Cologne Airport on July 23rd, and a private transfer will be waiting to bring you directly to your hotel. I have chosen a four star hotel on the outskirts of the city with a swimming pool, spa and sauna, which has excellent links to assure easy access to Cologne city centre.
Stay in your comfortable hotel room for four nights, with free Wifi and unlimited bandwidth for up to three devices at the same time. These rooms feature high quality beds, comfortable seating as well as a safe, hairdryer and TV, and sleep up to four in each. Breakfast is included all four mornings of your stay, and you might decide to use the restaurant for your other daily meals when you taste the quality of the food.
While you're here, there are a multitude of things to see and do, so don't waste any time! To start, it's very easy to navigate and get around the city, especially if you purchase a KölnCard before you go, click here to buy now.
With the option of a 24 or 48hr card, it will allow you unlimited use of the city's trams, buses, commuter trains and regional 2nd class trains during your chosen period.
Some must-see attractions to add to your list would definitely include the Cologne Chocolate Museum, or Schokoladenmuseum. Here you can satisfy your sweet tooth while learning about the 5,000 year long culture of chocolate, take a guided tour, enjoy the cafe, shop and market, and of course, the highlight of the 10ft-high chocolate fountain. You'll soon see why this is the most visited museum in the city.
But there's more! The extremely impressive Cathedral of Cologne is a definite must-see. This Gothic masterpiece, situated in the heart of Cologne, is the fourth tallest cathedral in the world and once boasted the highest church spire ever built. Hänneschen Theater is a traditional puppet theater that has been entertaining children since 1802, theaters of its kind are a beloved tradition in Germany and this is the most successful in the country.
Take the kids down the Rhine Riverfront for a boat cruise, hop-on-hop-off to explore the entire city, and look out for the adorable Little Green Train, a favourite with the kids. There are so many ways to get around this city you'll want to experience them all. Take in Cologne Zoo, picnic in Stadtwald Park, and don't miss a ride on Kölner Seilbahn cable road.
Contact Us now to Book, just mention Cologne!


text:
Infrastructure | NGI All News Access | NGI The Weekly Gas Market Report
ExxonMobil Bringing It Home, With $20B Targeting Gulf Coast Expansions
By Carolyn Davis
ExxonMobil Corp., which last week said it would move more global investment to the U.S. onshore, on Monday unveiled a $20 billion plan to expand manufacturing capacity along the Gulf Coast, fueled by domestic natural gas and oil.
CEO Darren Woods announced the "Growing the Gulf" initiative during a keynote address at CERAWeek by IHS Markit in Houston. The Texas and Louisiana projects, at 11 proposed and existing sites, would involve investments over a 10-year period, generating thousands of high-paying jobs and increase economic activity, he said.
"The United States is a leading producer of oil and natural gas, which is incentivizing U.S. manufacturing to invest and grow," Woods said. "We are using new, abundant domestic energy supplies to provide products to the world at a competitive advantage resulting from lower costs and abundant raw materials. In this way, an upstream technology breakthrough has led to a downstream manufacturing renaissance."
The initiative by the Irving, TX-based supermajor follows a push that began in 2013 to expand its petrochemical and refining base along the Gulf Coast. The continued infusion of capital involves new and and expanded refining and petrochemical projects to build manufacturing and export capacity, the CEO said.
Project investments through at least 2022 include "major" chemical, refining, lubricant and liquefied natural gas projects at proposed new and existing facilities.
According to the American Chemistry Council, chemical manufacturing accounted for 14% of overall domestic exports in 2015. Exports of specific chemicals linked to shale gas are projected to reach $123 billion by 2030. Most of ExxonMobil's new chemical capacity investments would target export markets in Asia and elsewhere.
"These projects are export machines, generating products that high-growth nations need to support larger populations with higher standards of living," Woods said. "Those overseas markets are the motivation behind our investments. The supply is here; the demand is there. We want to keep connecting those dots."
The Gulf Coast expansions would provide long-term economic benefits to the region, creating direct employment opportunities and "multiplier effects" of the company's investments, he said.
"Importantly, 'Growing the Gulf' also creates jobs and lasting economic benefits for the communities where they're located. All told, we expect these 11 projects to create over 45,000 jobs. Many of these are high-skilled, high-paying jobs averaging about $100,000 a year. And these jobs will have a multiplier effect, creating many more jobs in the communities that service these new investments."
Of the 45,000-plus jobs created, about 35,000 would be construction (temporary) jobs and 12,000 would be permanent.
ExxonMobil's upstream expertise would be leveraged in U.S. gas markets "to inform investment decisions in our Gulf Coast chemical facilities" and to "position our unconventional gas portfolio to effectively compete for increased domestic power generation and liquefied natural gas exports," Woods said.
During the annual investor day conference in New York City earlier this month, Woods outlined a go-forward strategy that involves directing more funds to U.S. unconventionals, i.e., short-cycle plays where activity may be turned up or down as commodity prices fluctuate.
ExxonMobil, the No. 1 North American natural gas producer, has steadily been building its unconventional oil investments, particularly in the Permian Basin and Bakken Shale. By 2018, domestic onshore drilling is expected to absorb about one-half of the global budget, with output forecast to increase every year on average by 20% through 2020.
ExxonMobil executive Jack Williams, who runs the XTO Energy Inc. exploration subsidiary, said last week the company planned to use its world-scale Gulf Coast refining/petrochemical infrastructure to leverage the natural gas "so we have that full value chain that goes from the acreage position all the way through the market."
Woods last week also pointed to the joint venture reached three years ago with Energy Transfer Partners LP to build out Permian infrastructure, which "additional terminal and pipeline capacity to more efficiently transport barrels produced in the Permian and Ardmore basins to liquid markets in the U.S. Gulf Coast." New Gulf Coast projects under development were expected add another 340,000 b/d of light crude processing capability.
Some of the projects touted by Woods on Monday already are in development, including chemicals, plastics and refining expansions near Houston in Beaumont and in Baton Rouge, LA. ExxonMobil also is adding ethylene lines at its Baytown, TX, refinery and polyethylene lines at the Mont Belvieu, TX, complex.
Last November the company pulled the trigger on another production unit at the Beaumont facility to boost polyethylene capacity by 65%, fueled by unconventional gas. The Beaumont project builds on supply advantages created by the Mont Belvieu expansion, where two similar polyethylene units are being added. Combined, the multi-billion dollar investments would increase the company's U.S. polyethylene production by 40%, or nearly 2 million metric tons/year, making Texas the largest polyethylene supply point for the company.
ExxonMobil also is expanding the Beaumont refinery's crude refining capacity, and last year began constructing a unit to increase domestic supply of ultra-low sulfur gasoline and diesel. As well, a potential Gulf Coast petrochemical facility is being eyed with Saudi Arabia's Saudi Basic Industries Corp., or Sabic. The Corpus Christi area is said to be at the top of the list destination-wise.
Related topics: Coast Gulf Jobs


text:
Q: java decoding base64 String I realise this is probably more of a general java question, but since it's running in Notes\ Domino environment, thought I'd check that community first.
Summary:
I don't seem to be able to decode the string: dABlAHMAdAA= using lotus.domino.axis.encoding.Base64 or sun.misc.BASE64Decoder
I know the original text is: test
I confirmed by decoding at http://www5.rptea.com/base64/ it appears it is UTF-16.
As simple test, using either of below:
String s_base64 = "dABlAHMAdAA=";
byte[] byte_base64 = null;
String s_decoded = "";

byte_base64 = new sun.misc.BASE64Decoder().decodeBuffer(s_base64);
s_decoded = new String(byte_base64, "UTF-16");
System.out.println("Test1: " + s_decoded);

byte_base64 = lotus.domino.axis.encoding.Base64.decode(s_base64);
s_decoded = new String(byte_base64, "UTF-16");
System.out.println("Test2: " + s_decoded);

System.out.println("========= FINISH.");

I get the output:
Test1: ????
Test2: ????
If I create String as UTF-8
s_decoded = new String(byte_base64, "UTF-8");

it outputs:
t
no error is thrown, but it doesn't complete the code, doesn't get to the "FINISH".
Detail
I'm accessing an asmx web service, in the SOAP response, some nodes contain base64 encoded data.  At this point in time, there is no way to get the service changed, so I am having to XPath and decode myself.  Encoded data is either text or html.  If I pass the encoded data thru http://www5.rptea.com/base64/ and select UTF-16, it decodes correctly, so I must be doing something incorrectly.
As side note, I encoded "test":
s_base64 = lotus.domino.axis.encoding.Base64.encode(s_text.getBytes());
System.out.println("test1 encodes to: " + s_base64);

s_base64 = new sun.misc.BASE64Encoder().encode(s_text.getBytes());
System.out.println("test2 encodes to: " + s_base64);

they both encode to:
dGVzdA==
...which if you then feed into 2 decoders above, as expected, decodes correctly.
If I go to site above, and encode "test" as UTF-16, I get: dABlAHMAdAA=  so that confirms that data is in UTF-16.
It's like the data is genuine base64 data, but the decoder doesn't recognise it as such.  I'm slightly stumped at the moment.
Any pointers or comments would be gratefully received.

A: The string has been encoded in UTF-16LE (little-endian), where the least significant byte is stored first. Java defaults to big-endian. You need to use:
s_decoded = new String(byte_base64, "UTF-16LE");

A: i have used your sample "dABlAHMAdAA=" on my base64 decode online tool and it seems like you are missing the Apache base64 jar files
Click the link below.
http://www.hosting4free.info/Base64Decode/Base64-Decode.jsp
The code behind the website is
import org.apache.commons.codec.binary.Base64;

public class base64decode

{

public static void main(String[] args) throws UnsupportedEncodingException
   {

    byte[] decoded = Base64.decodeBase64("YWJjZGVmZw==".getBytes());
    System.out.println(new String(decoded) + "\n");

}

}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


On behalf of the International Law Research Program (ILRP) of the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI), you are invited to participate in two-day conference, Intellectual Property Rights and Innovation in the Fourth Industrial Revolution: Strengthening Canada's Innovation Performance in the Global Economy.
This conference brings together leading intellectual property experts from CIGI's ILRP; Canadian and international scholars; federal, provincial and territorial governments and innovation centres. Speakers include Director of the ILRP Oonagh Fitzgerald; Deputy Director of the ILRP and Theme Leader of International Intellectual Property Law and Innovation Bassem Awad and CIGI Senior Fellows Myra Tawfik and Karima Bawa.
Over the past decade, intellectual property rights have played a fundamental role in driving technological innovation and economic competiveness. The global rules governing ownership of technology and its diffusion have been radically transformed from traditional goods and services to intellectual property based on products. Emerging technologies are fundamentally altering the way we create, manage, and govern innovation.
How can the current Canadian and International intellectual property system enable a transition to the Fourth Industrial Revolution?
What do policy makers need to know about the role of IP rights in strengthening Canada's innovative performance in today's technologically advanced and interconnected world?
What are the legal skills required for lawyers and consultants to deal with emerging technologies?
What mechanisms can be adopted by business and start-ups to better commercialize their innovation and protect their investments in the global economy?
For more information on the event, please refer to the conference program. To register, please visit the conference eventbrite page.
*For Ontario lawyers, this program contains 1 hr 30 min Professionalism Hour(s). This program is also eligible for up to 11 hr 0 min Substantive Hours.
At the Conference Board of Canada, Michael is responsible for managing seven research groups.
Yann Ménière is professor of economics on leave from MINES ParisTech, where he was leading the chair on "IP and Markets for Technology" until joining the EPO.


The Walton Business Centre offers workshops and offices for rent in a thriving community of small businesses.
The Walton Business Centre at 44 Terrace Road in Walton-on-Thames is home to dozens of companies. Units are designed for up to ten people, making them the perfect size for freelancers, owner-operator companies, and smaller businesses. Each office space can be let individually or in a combination if you need room to grow.
Along with services offices, light industrial space and storage facilities are additional options offered at the business centre. The managed workspace also provides virtual office solutions for home-based companies or businesses who need professional services like post and telephone call handling.
The building is accessibly 24 hours a day, while CCTV monitoring help keep your office safe. On-site security and cleaning staff are also available for a fully serviced office solution in Surrey.
Just outside this business centre is a small cluster of places to shop and eat. More shops, restaurants and amenities are just a short walk to the south-west at Walton High Street and the Heart Shopping Centre in Walton-on-Thames town centre.
The business centre is served by regular buses along Terrace Road, while the A3 road and M4 motorway are within easy reach. South West Trains service from Walton-on-Thames station also connect the area with London Waterloo, Woking, Basingstoke and other destinations in Greater London and beyond. Heathrow Airport is also just six miles away.
Call us on 020 3053 3893 to enquire about this Hampton workspace on Walton Business Centre, Terrace Road and get instant access to prices and additional information.
We have commercial property rentals currently available throughout South West Greater London. To find out more about the office space to rent at this building on Walton Business Centre, Terrace Road give us a call or fill out the Quick Quotes form above. If you would like to see more available workspace in Hampton, click here.


Best Actress in a Supporting Role for the film " Professor Huchhooraya " in 1974.
Second best play for " Boothanna Pechata " which was written, directed and produced by me at the state level children drama competition in 1974.
Written and directed plays for AIR (All India Radio) women's programme.
Wrote plays for Women's Association for Children.
Worked as a member of Natak Academy.
Received an award from the State Nataka Academy for my services in theatre.


text:
Book Blitz: They Call Me Gomer, by JC Miller
They Call Me Gomer
by JC Miller
NA Urban Christian Fiction
Date Published: Release day Nov. 5th 2020
Publisher: Jess, Mo' Books LLC
Limited Time Sale – $0.99
Read FREE With Kindle Unlimited
"Dear Diary, On September 3, 1982, two things happened that I'll never forget: I acquired an older sister, and I fell in real love. But tell me, what does an eight-year-old know about love?"
For nearly a decade, Hosea Felix and Gomer Williams were inseparable. She loved him from the moment she laid eyes on him. Their friendship was iron-clad until temptation rocked Gomer to her core. Somewhere along the way, she fell for another guy and traded young love for instant pleasure. Not only is Jeri Cole fine—he is a bonafide gangsta, unattainable, and off-limits. Jeri was all Gomer could think about, and the only thing she thought she wanted. Despite her big sister already laying claim to him, not much could stop Gomer from clawing at the possibility of love and diva status. Getting with Jeri felt right…but at what cost?
Gomer never backed down. She is the original bad girl—ratchet, bougie, and insatiable. Feel like you wanna dislike her? Well, get in line.
They Call me Gomer… JC Miller's sophomore spin-off novel enthralls readers with a deeply woven, emotionally heart-tugging take on the Book of Hosea. By examining rape culture, drug addiction, family secrets, and the vulnerabilities of young Black girls in pursuit of fortune and fame, this contemporary tale gives those in search of a good dra-mance all the feelings!
She will chase after her lovers but not catch them; she will look for them but not find them. Then she will say, "I will go back to my husband as at first, for then I was better off than now. Hosea 2:7
JC Miller lives in the scenic Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania with her husband, children, and floppy-eared Bassador pup.
Raised by a single-mother in the Bronx, JC pulls from early experiences to showcase the soul of the ghetto through faith-based novels. She also dedicates much of her time uplifting women via her blog and creating content with partner MR Spain, through their publishing company, Jess, Mo' Books LLC.
On her days off, you can find JC whipping up her famous Red Velvet Cake and listening to songs from her impressive vinyl record collection.
Sale Blitz & Giveaway: Jasami Publishing Fantasy
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Hell's Daughter
by Trinity-Rose Crane
Enzo, a hybrid, begrudgingly helps his young mentee teach a recently turned werewolf how to control her newly acquired powers. Abby, a teenage girl, plans to take advantage of her parents' absence, unlike her twin who just wants to have a normal life and stay out of trouble. Dragged into a world they didn't even know existed, they quickly learn that demons and death go hand in hand.
Purchase Link * Add to Goodreads
Kara's Journey Through the Realm
by Katrina Rayne
Kara Gabriel considers herself an ordinary teenager, however, soon the nightmares that have haunted her childhood are central to her journey of self-discovery. Trusting a life-long friend she leaves the only home she remembers embarking on a journey leading her to her destiny. Although Kara's fondest desire is reaching her destination she soon learns that the journey itself is the path to enlightenment. Along the way she will encounter danger and fear, gain insight into her own magical abilities, meet new friends while experiencing beauty and knowledge previously unknown to her. Although not alone on the journey, she alone must find the strength and resilience within herself to conquer her nightmare and discover the answer to the question which has always haunted her.
Trinity-Rose Crane is a teenage writer from Hampshire in the UK who lives off coffee and bubble tea to function as she spends most of her nights thinking up her next book idea. She is the third child and currently lives with her parents, younger sibling and border collie called Izzy. From the age of ten she started writing her own short stories for her family. When it came time at school to consider career paths she looked at becoming a scientist or lawyer but quickly changed her mind when she realised she wouldn't love it as much as writing. So she decided to devote all her time to dreaming up stories she could share her writing with more than just her family and friends. This inspired her to write her first novel Hell's Daughter.
Website * Twitter * Instagram
Katrina Rayne has been an avid fan of classic fantasy and spirituality readings. She recognises the importance of using one's own efforts and resources to achieve objectives, and that life's circumstances and incidents are the basis of learning about self-reliance and building resilience. As the mother of three young adults she was inspired to create this entertaining fantasy which reflects her ideals and the ethos of her life. She currently resides in Zambia, Africa.
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Sale Blitz: Wrapped Up In Christmas Joy, by Janice Lynn
Wrapped Up In Christmas Joy
by Janice Lynn
Holiday Romance, Romance
Date Published: October 2020
Publisher: Hallmark Publishing
Only $.99 – November 30th – December 4th
Grab Your Copy Today!!!
When Sophie Davis sorts through a box of donated books to her church, she's surprised to discover a soldier's journal. As the daughter of a veteran who watched her father struggle over the years, she feels a deep connection to the man who wrote the emotional entries.
Former Marine Cole Aaron battled to find peace after returning to civilian life. He's always needed to protect others. Now, fighting fires in Pine Hill, Kentucky helps him put out the demons within him. When Sophie shows up at the fire hall with his journal from when he'd first returned stateside, Cole can't believe it was in the box he'd donated. Not wanting to face painful memories, he tells her to trash it.
Sophie and Cole are drawn together as they both volunteer for their community, but it's hard for Cole to let down his guard, and he doesn't need anyone's pity. After all he's been through in the past, can he find faith in a more hopeful future…one touched by joy?
This heartwarming romance includes a free Hallmark original recipe for Dilly Duchess Potatoes.
Other Holiday Romance Novel By Janice Lynn:
Wrapped Up in Christmas
A USA TODAY Bestseller!
A gift of warmth to heal two hearts…
Sarah Smith in Pine Hill, Kentucky has had her heart broken in the past. She pours herself into her work at church and into special projects—like making a quilt for a wounded warrior.
Bodie Lewis is lost. All he's ever wanted was his career as an Army Ranger, but he was injured in an explosion that killed his brothers in arms. In the hospital, he receives a handmade quilt. Later, he sets out on his final mission: to find and thank its maker.
Bodie expected Sarah to be an elderly lady, not a lovely young woman. When she mistakes him for a handyman, he doesn't immediately set her straight. Instead, he sets about repairing the home she's turning into a bed and breakfast. Sarah's presence and the spirit of the small town bring Bodie something he thought he'd left far behind on the battlefield: hope.
This heartwarming sweet romance includes a free quilt pattern from the Quilts of Valor Foundation and a new original Hallmark recipe for Cinnamon Swirl Bread.
USA TODAY best selling author Janice Lynn strives to write characters who evoke strong emotions and make readers want to go along on their journeys.
Her first sweet romance, Wrapped Up in Christmas, was Hallmark Publishing's first release to hit the USA TODAY and Wall Street Journal's bestseller lists; and was a finalist in the Bookseller's Best Award. Janice also writes contemporary Medical Romances for Harlequin, and her books have won numerous awards, including the National Readers' Choice Award, the Golden Quill for Best Short contemporary Romance and for Best First Book, Romantic Times Magazine's American Title, and the Holt Medallion Award of Merit.
Janice lives in Tennessee with her Prince Charming, their seven kids, her vivid imagination, an adorable Maltese named Halo who's the true princess of the house and a bunch of unnamed dust bunnies who took up permanent residence after Janice started her writing career. In addition to writing romance, Janice is a nurse practitioner, a quilter, an exercise queen, a military mama and a member of and an avid supporter of the Quilts of Valor Foundation. Just kidding on the exercise queen.
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Don't forget to check out the latest interview with me @ https://bit.ly/3qeErPF Thanks to Sadie's Spotlight! @sadiesspotlight #interview #books #author #steampunk #fantasy #historicalfiction #writing #Reading


text:
ARROW Stars Pick Their Favorite Flashbacks From Set After 100 Episodes
Posted by Sydney Bucksbaum on November 24, 2016
For almost 100 episodes over the course of five seasons, Arrow has given fans a lot of laughs, heartbreak, and overall, entertainment. But as much as we see onscreen during every installment of The CW's hit superhero series, so much more goes on behind-the-scenes when Arrow films long days and even longer nights up in Vancouver.
From goofing off with fellow cast members to shedding some tears during the filming of iconic characters' death scenes, we got the cast of Arrow and one of the showrunners to reminisce on their most memorable time on set to celebrate the series hitting the milestone of 100 episodes during the mega four-part DC crossover. Hey, on a show that dedicates so much time to telling a flashback storyline, it was only appropriate for the stars and creator to talk about their own personal flashbacks!
"My most memorable [moment] is certainly the flashback that I shot with Susanna Thompson in season two," series star Stephen Amell told us. "It was a way back flashback from before the boat went down and it was just the two of us, mother and son, dealing with something. That will always be the most memorable because that was my last scene up until that point with Susanna."
On that same note, executive producer Marc Guggenheim also chose a moment that included Thompson, as well as other dearly departed cast members Colin O'Donnell and Katie Cassidy.
"It's so hard to choose and I'm going to get in trouble no matter what I say, but here goes," Guggenheim shared. "I've actually been on the set for Tommy's, Moira's and Laurel's deaths. All three times were really, really difficult and emotional."
But when pressed to pick just one as his most memorable, Guggenheim had a difficult time. "I would probably have to go with Tommy's because it was the first and in many ways, the first is always the most memorable," he said. "We hadn't yet gotten to the point where we were just killing people every season, but it's always difficult. But I have to say, being on set for those scenes is always incredibly hard on everybody, but Susanna and Katie and Colin all were so gracious and so professional and such class acts, especially on nights like those. If I had to guess, I would think that Susanna had it the worst because her death scene was outdoors on a really cold, not-so-nice Vancouver night. Everyone was freezing but she had to lie down on wet leaves. And Colin was walking around with this apparatus that faked a piece of rebar going through him. It's always tough, but those are the most memorable. I can't pick just one."
When it came time for Emily Bett Rickards, who plays Felicity Smoak, to choose, she went for the opposite end of the spectrum and picked a moment that always makes her laugh.
"Colton [Haynes] used to sing this song every time he got hungry called 'Donut Time,'" Rickards said with a laugh. "I still have a video of it. 'Donut tiiime. It's donut tiiiiime.' I still sing it."
As for Haynes, his favorite moments on set were "just hanging out with everyone."
"It's amazing, we're still all friends and we still talk after the fact," Haynes said. "But probably my favorite is when people would mess up lines. If I start laughing I can't stop. It would get to the point where they would have to not have me in the scene."
For Paul Blackthorne, who plays Deputy Mayor Quentin Lance, the scenes he shared with his onscreen daughter Cassidy, who played Laurel, were his favorite.
"I've been really fortunate to work here for four seasons with Katie Cassidy," Blackthorne said. "I really enjoyed the time we had on set together. And all the scenes we had onscreen together were always my favorite. And then this year, I truly love doing scenes with Willa [Holland, who plays Thea Queen] because I don't think our characters had ever even spoken to each other in previous seasons. We barely said a word to each other and no we're having these intense conversations, and I've really been enjoying that as well."
Cast member Madison McLaughlin had a short stint on Arrow back in season four before joining the series full time in season five as new Team Arrow recruit Artemis, and she had a hard time picking just one moment that stood out as the most memorable.
"Everything from when I was here last season to Stephen helping me figure out where to hide my gun to this season," McLaughlin said. "This is my first real season getting to work with Emily and David [Ramsey] and these people I've been watching on this show since season one. We've had a lot of really good times both on set and off set. We're truly a family now. I love that. You don't get that on a lot of shows so it's really special to have."
And new season five cast member Joe Dinicol echoed his fellow new Team Arrow recruit McLaughlin when it came time to pick his most memorable flashback from the set.
"Working with Echo [Kellum] and our little crew of Mister Terrific and Wild Dog [Rick Gonzalez] and Artemis and Oliver and Felicity, the long days in the bunker have been a lot of fun," Dinicol said. "They're just such fun people to work with. And also watching them accomplish some of the action stuff is really inspiring and amazing. It looks so incredible on the show. Everything that we see on set is really impressive and then made even better in the final product. That's not always the case, especially when it comes to special effects or action stuff, that can sometimes be disappointing. On this show, it's ratcheted up 1,000 times by the time you see it. It's so impressive."
What is your favorite onscreen moment from the past 99 episodes of Arrow? Tweet me your picks at @SydneyBucksbaum!
The 100th episode of Arrow airs Wednesday, Nov. 30 at 8 p.m. on The CW.
Images: The CW
arrow, Arrow 100 episodes, Colton Haynes, DC Comics, Emily Bett Rickards, marc guggenheim, stephen amell, The CW
ARROW Recap: Did "Vigilante" Just Turn One Team Arrow Member Evil?
ARROW Stars Tease Vigilante's Debut, Dolph Lundgren's New Flashback Villain, …
ARROW Recap: "So It Begins"


text:
package net.bolbat.kit.vo;

import org.junit.Assert;
import org.junit.Test;

/**
 * {@link AccountVO} test.
 *
 * @author Alexandr Bolbat
 */
public class AccountVOTest {

	/**
	 * Long {@link String} constant for testing logic.
	 */
	public static final String TOO_LONG_STRING = "1234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456789012345678901234567890";

	/**
	 * Complex test.
	 */
	@Test
	public void complexTest() {
		AccountVO empty = new AccountVO();
		// empty state
		Assert.assertEquals(AccountId.EMPTY_ID, empty.getId());
		Assert.assertEquals(0, empty.getCreated());
		Assert.assertEquals(0, empty.getUpdated());

		// types
		Assert.assertNotNull(empty.getTypes());
		Assert.assertEquals(0, empty.getTypes().size());

		empty.addType("type1");
		empty.addType("type2");
		empty.addType("type2");
		Assert.assertEquals(2, empty.getTypes().size());
		Assert.assertTrue(empty.hasType("type1"));
		Assert.assertTrue(empty.hasType("type2"));

		// statuses
		Assert.assertNotNull(empty.getStatuses());
		Assert.assertEquals(0, empty.getStatuses().size());

		empty.addStatus("status1");
		empty.addStatus("status2");
		empty.addStatus("status2");
		Assert.assertEquals(2, empty.getStatuses().size());
		Assert.assertTrue(empty.hasStatus("status1"));
		Assert.assertTrue(empty.hasStatus("status2"));

		// clone
		AccountVO clone = empty.clone();
		Assert.assertEquals(empty, clone);
		Assert.assertNotSame(empty, clone);
		Assert.assertNotSame(empty.getId(), clone.getId());

		// types
		Assert.assertEquals(2, empty.getTypes().size());
		Assert.assertEquals(2, clone.getTypes().size());
		Assert.assertTrue(empty.hasType("type1"));
		Assert.assertTrue(empty.hasType("type2"));
		Assert.assertTrue(clone.hasType("type1"));
		Assert.assertTrue(clone.hasType("type2"));

		clone.removeType("type2");
		Assert.assertEquals(2, empty.getTypes().size());
		Assert.assertEquals(1, clone.getTypes().size());
		Assert.assertTrue(empty.hasType("type1"));
		Assert.assertTrue(empty.hasType("type2"));
		Assert.assertTrue(clone.hasType("type1"));

		// statuses
		Assert.assertEquals(2, empty.getStatuses().size());
		Assert.assertEquals(2, clone.getStatuses().size());
		Assert.assertTrue(empty.hasStatus("status1"));
		Assert.assertTrue(empty.hasStatus("status2"));
		Assert.assertTrue(clone.hasStatus("status1"));
		Assert.assertTrue(clone.hasStatus("status2"));

		clone.removeStatus("status2");
		Assert.assertEquals(2, empty.getStatuses().size());
		Assert.assertEquals(1, clone.getStatuses().size());
		Assert.assertTrue(empty.hasStatus("status1"));
		Assert.assertTrue(empty.hasStatus("status2"));
		Assert.assertTrue(clone.hasStatus("status1"));
	}

	/**
	 * Error cases test.
	 */
	@Test
	public void errorCases() {
		AccountVO account = new AccountVO();

		// types
		try {
			account.addType(null);
			Assert.fail();
		} catch (final IllegalArgumentException e) {
			Assert.assertTrue(e.getMessage().startsWith("type"));
		}

		try {
			account.addType("");
			Assert.fail();
		} catch (final IllegalArgumentException e) {
			Assert.assertTrue(e.getMessage().startsWith("type"));
		}

		try {
			account.addType("   ");
			Assert.fail();
		} catch (final IllegalArgumentException e) {
			Assert.assertTrue(e.getMessage().startsWith("type"));
		}

		try {
			account.addType(TOO_LONG_STRING);
			Assert.fail();
		} catch (final IllegalArgumentException e) {
			Assert.assertTrue(e.getMessage().startsWith("type"));
		}

		// statuses
		try {
			account.addStatus(null);
			Assert.fail();
		} catch (final IllegalArgumentException e) {
			Assert.assertTrue(e.getMessage().startsWith("status"));
		}

		try {
			account.addStatus("");
			Assert.fail();
		} catch (final IllegalArgumentException e) {
			Assert.assertTrue(e.getMessage().startsWith("status"));
		}

		try {
			account.addStatus("   ");
			Assert.fail();
		} catch (final IllegalArgumentException e) {
			Assert.assertTrue(e.getMessage().startsWith("status"));
		}

		try {
			account.addStatus(TOO_LONG_STRING);
			Assert.fail();
		} catch (final IllegalArgumentException e) {
			Assert.assertTrue(e.getMessage().startsWith("status"));
		}
	}

}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


1995 Holland and the Canadians Liberation of Holland 50th Anniversary Commemorative Edition (Second Edition) by Canadian Army Public Relations Service. Soft cover book in good condition. Contains 150 photos.


text:
O Super Bowl XLIX foi a 49.ª edição do Super Bowl, evento que representa a grande final da National Football League (a liga profissional de futebol americano dos Estados Unidos) e aconteceu no dia 1 de fevereiro de 2015 no University of Phoenix Stadium, em Glendale, Arizona, tendo o New England Patriots como o campeão da temporada de 2014 da NFL. A cidade-sede e o estádio foram anunciados em 2011. Inicialmente, a NFL pretendia mandar o jogo em Kansas City, mas os Chiefs desistiram após não conseguir as aprovações necessárias para renovar o Arrowhead Stadium. Como parte do novo acordo de rede NFL, a rede de televisão NBC foi a emissora oficial do jogo. A partida foi disputada entre o New England Patriots, campeão da AFC, e o Seattle Seahawks, campeão da NFC. Os Seahawks se tornavam o primeiro time desde os próprios Patriots em 2005 a aparecer dois anos seguidos no Super Bowl, sendo campeões vigentes no retorno. Os Patriots acabaram vencendo o jogo por 28 a 24, com Tom Brady sendo nomeado o MVP ("Jogador Mais Valioso") da noite. Foi o quarto título do time de Massachusetts, todos sob o técnico Bill Belichick e a liderança de Brady, que com seu terceiro MVP igualou o recorde de Joe Montana.

A vitória dos Patriots foi o seu quarto título na era do Super Bowl e o primeiro desde o Super Bowl XXXIX em 2004 dez anos antes. Eles terminaram a temporada regular com doze vitórias e quatro derrotas na sua oitava aparição no Super Bowl, o que empatou o então recorde do Dallas Cowboys e do Pittsburgh Steelers, e a sexta da parceria Bill Belichick e Tom Brady. Já os Seahawks, liderados por sua defesa conhecida como "Legion of Boom", também teve uma campanha de doze vitórias no ano e estavam no seu terceiro Super Bowl, buscando seu segundo título seguido após vencer o Super Bowl XLVIII no ano anterior. Como os atuais campeões, os Seahawks buscavam ser o primeiro time a vencer dois Super Bowls seguidos desde os Patriots de 2004. Pela segunda temporada seguida, os times de melhor campanha em cada conferência se classificaram para o Super Bowl.

O Super Bowl XLIX teve um placar apertado durante quase todo o jogo, se mantando perto de uma posse de bola até que Seattle abriu uma liderança de dez pontos no placar no terceiro período. New England respondeu marcando quatorze pontos seguidos para assumir a liderança por 28 a 24 faltando um pouco mais de dois minutos. O jogo se tornou notório justamente por sua última jogada, onde Seatle tinha a posse de bola na linha de uma jarda de New England. Embora tivesse um dos melhores corredores da liga, Marshawn Lynch, o técnico Pete Carroll optou por passar a bola e o quarterback Russell Wilson acabou sendo interceptado nos segundos finais pelo cornerback Malcolm Butler. Esta jogada acabou sendo considerada uma das mais importantes da história do Super Bowl, numa boa execussão da defesa dos Patriots e uma decisão muito ruim pelos Seahawks. Brady, que havia estabelecido um novo recorde do Super Bowl com 37 passes completados, foi nomeado o MVP do Super Bowl pela terceira vez na carreira, empatando a melhor marca da liga que pertencia a Joe Montana. Dois anos mais tarde, Brady passaria esta marca ao vencer o Super Bowl LI.

O show do intervalo ficou a cargo da cantora Katy Perry, acompanhada pelo músico Lenny Kravitz e pela rapper Missy Elliot.

A transmissão da NBC do Super Bowl XLIX permanece como o evento televisivo mais assistido da emissora e na história dos Estados Unidos. O jogo atraiu uma média de 114,4 milhões de telespectadores nos Estados Unidos durante toda a partida, alcançando um pico de mais de 120 milhões de espectadores no último quarto do jogo. Este jogo é considerado um dos melhores  Super Bowls de todos os tempos. A interceptação final de Butlerfoi considerada uma das 100 maiores jogadas na história da liga pelo site NFL.com, sendo a mais bem avaliada jogada defensiva da lista.

Resumo das pontuações

Super Bowl
2015 no futebol americano
Desporto nos Estados Unidos em 2015


text:
Vision Kids Classes Link Artists, Creative Kids
January 8th, 2019 SanTan Sun News
By Colleen Sparks
Children and teens can get a new perspective on art when they create their own masterpieces under the guidance of professional artists in a free Chandler program.
The Vision Gallery provides free art classes for those ages 6 to 16 January through May, then August through December in its Vision Kids program. Youths explore a variety of mediums in the classes at Vision Gallery, 10 E. Chicago St.
"We have done everything from movie making to Native American drum making and we used actual deer skins," said Yvonne Villareal-Torres, visual arts assistant for Vision Gallery.
"We do ceramics, water colors. Our only real rule is a parent or guardian has to stay with them in class," she added. "The parents can learn the techniques and be able to go home and recreate the project. A lot of times it's the grandparent that brings them. It fosters that relationship. It shows a vested interest in the arts."
The classes meet on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to noon and then 1 to 3 p.m. The same class repeats in order to accommodate kids' busy schedules.
The next Vision Kids class will be the "Create a 3-Dimensional Perspective with Marco Albarran" at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Jan. 12. In that workshop, students will learn the basics of space selection and design processes used in design and architecture.
Children and teens can also participate in the "Fast Image Transfer on Clear Plexiglass with Anthony Banayat" class at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Jan. 26. In that course, students will learn how to apply image transfers to surfaces, as well as basic composition techniques to make artwork appropriate for framing.
A call for artists to teach the classes is made at the beginning of the year.
"We're always looking for something new that the kids haven't experienced yet," Villareal-Torres said. "Some instructors have taught with us for years, they're highly requested."
One of frequent Vision Kids artist-teacher is Emily Costello, whom the Arizona Lottery chose to be its first artist in residence for the current fiscal year.
The self-taught painter, printer and mixed media artist won an Arizona Lottery contest last year to find artwork for an Arizona-themed Dia de los Muertos Scratchers ticket to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month.
Another artist teaching Vision Kids classes is Christy Puetz, who creates pieces using beads including animals. Puetz is also a Scottsdale teacher and the creative program director for Beads of Courage, an arts program for children who have serious illnesses.
Artist Sylvia Fugmann Brongo often leads Vision Kids classes. A clay artist since 1983, Fugmann Brongo creates clay vases, bowls and wall pieces using stoneware clay and mostly slab form, as well as coil pieces by hand, her website said.
Students also often have a chance to learn from artist Sandra Luehrsen, who offers clay workshops and teaches 3D design at Mesa Community College, as well as shows her sculpture and digital artwork locally, nationally and internationally, according to her website.
At a class last month, students took the Cubist Portrait Painting with Reggie Casillas class, where they created portraits in the styles of artists Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque. Villareal-Torres said Casillas is "a wonderful portrait artist" and "very talented."
"Every week is different," she said. "Every class is different. Some will repeat in future years because kids are like, 'can we please?' If we can, we bring it back. I try to keep it different so it's not monotonous."
Ricardo and Myra Felix of Chandler enroll their children – Lia, 17, and Aiden, 14 – in the Vision Kids program. Lia, a senior at Perry High School, and Aiden, a freshman at Perry, have taken many art classes for several years. Lia started taking Vision Kids classes when she was about 8.
"It's just a wonderful program because it provides her an opportunity to work with our local artists in different mediums," Myra said. "We really love that. Yvonne chooses the best people. She chooses a lovely selection of artists and gives the kids an opportunity to participate in so many different things."
As a teacher who instructs special education students at Chandler Traditional Academy – Humphrey Campus, Myra said art is "extremely important."
"Not everyone's going to be a doctor," she said.
Myra said Lia especially loved a Vision Kids class where she and other students made dolls.
Ricardo said the classes are "amazing" and it is great professional artists in the community teach them.
"You get the sense that they really enjoy it; the artists do, and the kids do, too," he said. "Yvonne is incredible. The staff is always great. I think it's a blessing to our community. It's something that hopefully we can continue to have."
The Vision Kids program began in 1997 and is supported financially by individuals, grants and corporations. Anyone in the Valley can take the classes for free. Students come from all over the Valley.
The children and teens get all the materials they need in class to create their artwork and take it home. Usually about 36 youths take the classes each Saturday and the Vision Kids program serves about 2,000 kids a year.
Vision Kids is a program of the Chandler Cultural Foundation. The Vision Gallery is owned by the City of Chandler and is managed by the Chandler Cultural Foundation.
People can register their children for up to three Vision Kids classes per season. They can stop by from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. today at Vision Gallery, 10 E. Chicago St., to register their kids in classes. Or they can register anytime during regular office hours at Vision Gallery or by calling 480-782-2697.
Information: visiongallery.org/vision-kids/


text:
Q: Linear Combination of Parallel Vectors I know this is a simple question but I'm getting a bit confused about it.
So let's say we have three vectors, A, B, and C. A and B are parallel each other but C isn't parallel to either one. I know in that case then C is not a linear combination of A and B.
But if A and B are parallel and C is only parallel to A, would we still have an infinite amount of solutions?


A recent IBM study of more than 1,700 chief executive officers from 64 countries and 18 industries worldwide has some intriguing implications for organizational culture.
Although I've spoken with several HR leaders over the last few months about the necessity of transforming the way we work, I've always felt this uneasiness that CEOs weren't on the same page. The IBM study assures me that this is not the case. Leaders clearly see that command and control is outdated and ineffective.
According to the research, companies that outperform their peers are 30 percent more likely to identify openness as a key influence. Using social media mainly, CEOs are encouraging their employees to create new workstreams that tap the collective intelligence of the firm and allow employees to connect with and learn from one another.
For more results on the IBM study and what they mean for you, head over to the full piece at the AMEX Open Forum.