As we continue to consider the things you should be praying for, today we'll look at the need to pray for those in ministry.
Opportunities to preach the gospel.
Clarity in presenting the gospel.
Boldness to preach the gospel.
Effectiveness in preaching the gospel.
Deliverance from the enemies of the gospel.
You may not have a lot of money to give to help those in ministry, but you can pray. Come to think of it, Paul never asked for money for himself, but he often asked for prayer. You can help those in ministry by your prayers.
Which of God's servants and ministries do you pray for regularly?


This vehicle has just been IMPORTED from Japan, and is in unmarked condition inside and outside.
- Powerful Economical 3.5LT V6 Engine.
Upto 5 Years Warranty Available.
We are a dealer and are unable to advertise our phone number on Carsales so send us an enquiry and you will get an automatic email with our details. We are a Licensed Motor Car Trader (LMCT 8396), conveniently located on Princes Hwy, Oakleigh, just 20 minutes South East of Melbourne. We are specialised in People mover, 7 seater vehicle, 8 seater, work vehicle, wheelchair vehicle. Interstate enquiries are welcome, Australia wide delivery is possible at additional cost. Trade-in acceptable.
This vehicle has just been IMPORTED from Japan, features low KMS and is in unmarked condition inside and outside.
SOUTHERN SPECIAL VEHICLES is a dealer and are unable to advertise our phone number on Carsales so send us an enquiry and you will get an automatic email with our details. We are a Licensed Motor Car Trader (LMCT 8396), conveniently located on Princes Hwy, Oakleigh, just 20 minutes South East of Melbourne. We are specialised in People mover, 7 seater vehicle, 8 seater, work vehicle, wheelchair vehicle. Interstate enquiries are welcome, Australia wide delivery is possible at additional cost. Trade-in acceptable.
This vehicle has just been IMPORTED from Japan, is in unmarked condition inside and outside.
- 3 Years Australia Wide Warranty, Upto 5 Years Warranty Available.
SOUTHERN SPECIAL VEHICLES is a Licensed Motor Car Trader (LMCT 8396), conveniently located on Princes Hwy, Oakleigh, just 20 minutes South East of Melbourne. We are specialised in People mover, 7 seater vehicle, 8 seater, work vehicle, wheelchair vehicle. Interstate enquiries are welcome, Australia wide delivery is possible at additional cost. Trade-in acceptable.
- Powerful Economical 2.5LT V6 Engine.
This vehicle has just been IMPORTED from Japan, features low 61,980 KMS and is in unmarked condition inside and outside.


text:
<title>BillboardWidth</title>

BillboardWidth()

Syntax

Result = BillboardWidth(#Billboard, #BillboardGroup)

Description

Determines the width of a billboard which has been added to a billboard group.
The width is measured in the units used by the world.

Parameters

#Billboard

The billboard to use.

#BillboardGroup

The number of the billboard group which contains the billboard.

Return value

The width of the billboard, in world units.

Supported OS
All

<- BillboardLocate() - Billboard Index - BillboardX() ->

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
WATCHTHIS
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China Data
Home / Business / China US trade tensions
China US trade tensions
Cylinder maker's woes show trade row could affect Germany
China Daily | Updated: 2019-06-03 10:19
Visitors look at German-made Continental car tires at an auto fair in Shanghai. [Photo provided to China Daily]
OSTFILDERN, Germany - Located in the small, quiet southeastern German town of Ostfildern, Herbert Haenchen GmbH & Co is disturbed by the ongoing trade frictions between China and the United States.
Haenchen is a family-owned business that specializes in the manufacture of hydraulic cylinders. Among its other products are machine elements, drive systems and clamping devices.
"When tariffs rise, products become more expensive and usually less are bought," said Stefan Haenchen, general manager of the company, in the wake of the latest flare-up of US-China trade tensions.
Earlier last month, Washington increased additional tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports from 10 percent to 25 percent, and has threatened to raise tariffs on more Chinese imports.
In response, China announced that it would impose additional tariffs on a range of US imports from June 1, and "would fight to the end".
Established in 1925 and now having more than 200 employees, Haenchen makes its products solely in Germany.
So far, the company has not been directly affected by the US-China trade tensions, but Haenchen said he is concerned.
He fretted that as some potential Chinese buyers of Haenchen's cylinders may have to buy valves in the United States' market to go with the cylinders, the trade row would lead to higher prices of the valves and force the potential Chinese buyers to change their orders or even abandon Haenchen's cylinders altogether.
"For us, this means that we cannot sell the cylinder, even though we are not directly involved in the higher customs duties," he said.
In addition, Haenchen said his company has established business relations with companies in the automobile industry, where he found the situation has become more uncertain.
German carmakers BMW Group and Audi AG, both of which said that it is free trade that made their success, are calling for free and fair trade relations.
"We are not interested in further escalating the trade conflict between the US and China," said a BMW spokesperson.
A spokesman of Volkswagen said lately that the trade frictions between China and the US have yet to exert a direct impact on its supply chain, but they do affect industry climate for consumers.
The People's Bank of China, China's central bank, also warned in a recent report that uncertainties brought by trade frictions between China and the US could have an adverse impact on the global economy.
It noted that the uncertainties and the impact on global supply chains caused by the trade frictions are being gradually unleashed, ranging from postponed enterprise investment decisions to easing external demand for some countries due to disrupted supply chains.
What concerns Haenchen most is the planning uncertainty generated by the US-China tariff conflict. "The planning uncertainty is always bad for the economy," he said.
His family-owned company, now managed by the third generation, has businesses both in China and the US, with a sales volume of 22 million euros (around $24.57 million) in 2018 worldwide.
Independent family-owned business companies like Haenchen's make up about 99.5 percent of total enterprises in Germany, according to data from Germany Trade and Invest, an economic development agency.
If the US-China trade conflict continues or worsens, Haenchen said the uncertainty will not only affect his company but the entire German economy.
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Spotted around major fashion events around the globe, you would be forgiven for mistaking Jamal Abdourahman for Pharrell, often topped with a hat, sometimes like that Vivienne Westwood one that made it onto style pages globally. But alas, he's not a singer, he just happens to be one of the most important people in Canadian fashion.
Abdourahman is the founder and producer of Vancouver Fashion Week (VFW), where he is gearing up to celebrate the 27th consecutive, and no doubt successful, season. Abdourahman brings together emerging and established designers, giving a platform to those who need a voice, as well as celebrating those known globally who have flourished alongside VFW over the years. This season, Abdourahman ups the ante as he introduces menswear to the vast slue of diverse, talented and distinctive collections Vancouver Fashion Week will showcase.
Though fast approaching, Abdourahman took the time to give us the lowdown on the ins and outs of Vancouver Fashion Week, as it grows on its already meteoric trajectory, making a name for itself in the global fashion community. Is the 'Big 5' coming into our vocab soon? We think so.
Do you anticipate any themes, styles or designs to dominate this VFW season?
There is going to be a bit of everything. Vancouver Fashion Week is one of the only shows that brings in designers from over thirty different countries, so there is going to be a very broad range of designs. There will be a lot of feminine pieces, patterns and classic looks mixed with more eccentric designs.
Which collections are you most looking forward to?
All of them. We have a lot of new emerging designers again this year, and I am really looking forward to see how their showcase goes. Their first shows are always thrilling.
What differentiates VFW from the vast of other fashion weeks?
Vancouver Fashion week is one of the very few events that focuses on global designers. Bringing in the most creative talents internationally is what makes Vancouver Fashion Week unique.
VFW is celebrating its 27th consecutive season, and you've been there since the beginning. What has changed from then to now?
So much has changed. Growth, the number of designers we feature, and the amount of global coverage VFW receives. Most importantly though is the growth of our young local designers who are being featured season after season. They are more established now, and are truly making names for themselves. Their loyalty to VFW has also changed and grown. In the beginning we didn't have designers returning, but now international designers and our own local designers are turning to us to feature their collections again and again.
What is the most important thing you've learned along the way?
The most important thing I've learned is the necessity for drive and perseverance. In order for me to be in this spot I have to be driven and I have to inspire myself. Wanting something is one thing, but if you are not driven you cannot achieve anything. I force myself to get inspired, I try to incite my own inspiration through books, and through self-questioning.
In five years I see today's emerging designers from every continent returning as globally established brands. I see Vancouver Fashion Week inspiring young designers as it expands and truly becomes the fifth city on the global catwalk calendar.


text:
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The evil of social media
By Ryan Gueningsman
A horrific accident takes place on a major highway just before rush hour outside any small community in America.
It doesn't take long for word to get back to town as people who happen to be in the area, traveling the same road perhaps, whip out their cell phones and begin talking about what they just saw through their Facebook pages or through Twitter. Some post cell phone pictures of the cloud of smoke that resulted from the accident; others post photos of the traffic backup.
Social media lights up with speculation on who was involved and what circumstances led up to the crash. People who see these first images and read initial reports of the accident begin thinking about loved ones who travel the roadway on a daily basis. Could it be someone I know? Frantic phone calls are made and text messages are sent.
Initial news reports online from the incident provide the basics – how many vehicles were involved, how long the highway is expected to be shut down, etc.
Emergency personnel have a job to do, which takes time, and addressing the media is not always at the top of their priority list in a situation like this. In addition to handling the scene, emergency personnel often have the daunting task of notifying next-of-kin if the accident results in a fatality.
However, while this process is taking place, speculation about the accident continues to grow on social media, and before long, someone posts condolences to a certain family on the loss of a loved one.
Think about it. That family may not have even been formally notified of the loss of their loved one. Even if they have been notified, chances are they have not yet been able to make all necessary phone calls to other family and friends. The last thing I would want to learn on my Facebook wall is that someone I love had passed away unexpectedly.
The social-media society that has been created has led to a continuous feed of information throughout one's life.
As soon as one hears about whatever incident may have taken place, perhaps even through social media, it has become human nature to want to know more and share what we do know, or think we know, with our friends.
It seems the focus has become wanting to know as much as possible, as soon as possible. Sometimes in the news industry, one sees quality and accuracy sacrificed for speed. The first news outlet to get information – whether it be correct or not – on its website will receive the most page views and website traffic.
Basic human compassion is being lost as society continues to demand that we "must know now."
As hours pass, more and more bits of information show up on social media. However, official sources have not yet released the names of those involved in the crash. Even though, thanks to social media, a majority of the community seems to already know.
It is the policy of this publication to not publish information on victims of any disaster until information is received and verified from an official source – be it local law enforcement, a medical examiner's office, or funeral home.
Thanks to social media, information from official sources is getting harder to find amid a sea of unofficial information. Sources become whomever happens to drive by the scene and snap a photo with their cell phone or whomever hears from a friend.
Once information is posted and shared a couple times online, it becomes viewed as a source and is considered the truth – even though many aspects of the incident may still not even be known to the authorities who are investigating it.
That is why, even though we in the news business may be confident we know who was involved in an incident, we wait until we have verification from an official source before publishing. That is a clear line we can always defend. We cannot compete with social media in this instance, nor do we want to.
The advancements of technology can hinder the ability for journalists to report thoroughly and do their jobs, and journalists can find themselves in a reactionary mode of dispelling rumors instead of simply reporting the facts.
Please, think before you post.
Realize that a family is grieving and needs that time of togetherness as they come to terms with their loss.
Social media can certainly be utilized in a positive way during a difficult time, and Facebook pages, as an example, eventually can become a tribute page to loved ones lost.
Finding that balance between speed and accuracy, combined with a bit of compassion and common sense, is the key.
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text:
Q: Unable to get record Id for Insert command using ADO.NET in .NET 4.0 I am working on ADO.NET with NET Framework 4.0 Insert Command. I need to return the primary of created record. I have implemented following code but getting empty value. I want to ensure I get correct Id and not just most recently created as it may be scenario where multiple user trying to add record at the same time
private bool InsertData()
    {
        bool isRecordCreated = false;

        try
        {
            using (SqlCommand cmd = new SqlCommand(InsertScript(), dbConnection))
            {

                cmd.Parameters.Add("@UserProfileStatus", SqlDbType.Int).Value = UserProfiles.UserProfileStatus;
                cmd.Parameters.Add("@UserProfileAccount", SqlDbType.VarChar).Value = UserProfiles.UserProfileAccount;
                cmd.Parameters.Add("@UserProfileTimeStamp", SqlDbType.DateTime).Value = UserProfiles.UserProfileTimeStamp;
                cmd.Parameters.Add("@UserProfileId", SqlDbType.Int).Direction = ParameterDirection.Output;

                dbConnection.Open();

                cmd.ExecuteNonQuery();

                string id = cmd.Parameters["@UserProfileId"].Value.ToString(); // need help here.....
            }
        }
        catch(Exception ex)
        {
            Console.WriteLine(ex.Message);
        }
        finally
        {
            if (dbConnection != null)
            {
                dbConnection.Close();
            }
        }

        return isRecordCreated;
    }

    private string InsertScript()
    {
        string script = string.Empty;

        script = "INSERT INTO [dbo].[UserProfile]([UserProfileStatus],[UserProfileAccount],[UserProfileTimeStamp]) " +
                 "VALUES (@UserProfileStatus, @UserProfileAccount, @UserProfileTimeStamp)";

        return script;
    }

A: You just need to add this line to your previous script
script = @"INSERT INTO [dbo].[UserProfile]([UserProfileStatus],
               [UserProfileAccount],[UserProfileTimeStamp])
           VALUES (@UserProfileStatus, @UserProfileAccount,
                   @UserProfileTimeStamp);
           SELECT SCOPE_IDENTITY();";

And then execute the query using ExecuteScalar removing the output parameter. The SCOPE_IDENTITY will return the next IDENTITY value generated on the current connection. So it will be independent on what other users are doing
int id = cmd.ExecuteScalar();

Notice how the first part of the script is separated from the second part adding a semicolon. This technique is called "Batch Sql Statements" and is supported by Sql Server

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Silja Litvin is a remarkable woman in the world of STEAM. A former model, she gave up that lavish career to become a psychologist. Silja has a passion for helping those who suffer from mental illnesses. This passion is what prompted her to create and serve as CEO of Psycapps.
Psycapps is an app that helps users identify and self-manage mental issues and find a therapist who can offer disorder specific treatment on demand. Silja simultaneously set up a company, PsycApps, to be able to publish and distribute the app to those around the globe in need of mental health support.
Wonder Women Tech wishes Silja the best of luck in her endeavor to curb mental illness, and we could not be more excited to have her speak at our upcoming conference in London.
Silja Litvin (SL): I always wanted to bring psychology closer to people. There is still this threshold of fear and stigma for some people. That fear hinders them from educating themselves and getting help on time before a disorder gets difficult to manage and consequences have piled up (relationships ending, loss of a job, even homelessness). So I asked myself what would happen if mental health would be accessible on the ultimate comfort zone: one's smartphone!? It started out as my PhD thesis and morphed into a business project shaped by all the research I did proving that there was indeed a large market for digital mental health.
SL: In the start-up world, female founders such as myself are surrounded by men in most situations, whether we are trying to raise money or are putting a development team together. I find it frustrating that women and minorities are so underrepresented. Women and diverse individuals have so much to offer and immense creative power that is not being sourced. That hinders balanced growth and offers only a very one-sided product development. WWT is looking to change that by creating opportunities of exposure and learning experiences. I am honoured and excited to be a part of that journey, our philosophy and our goals are definitely aligned.
SL: I would like to share the wonderful experience of creating and launching a scientific project with my fellow females. If I speak up and share my journey, maybe I will be able to inspire other girls and women to explore the STEAM world!
SL: To help build a community, to get inspired about what women are doing in the STEAM world, and to educate oneself about all the amazing projects going on in your 'neighbourhood'. Last but not least, to socialize, network, and have fun.
SL: If you love what you do, don't let ANYONE deter you. Not your family, not perceived gender roles, not being the only woman or minority ethnicity in your group. 2) Look for mentors. There are a lot of male and female mentors out there that wish for you to strive for success, please reach out! 3) Join communities. Networks will help and support you! 4) Take good care of your mental health. Watch out for your tech consumption, your sleeping, and eating habits. A healthy mind in a healthy body will get you the furthest!


text:
Groupon shares fall below $3
By Wailin Wong
Shares of Chicago-based Groupon Inc. are falling hard a day after its disappointing third-quarter earnings.
The stock tanked 29 percent, to close at $2.76, taking the shares below $3. Groupon went public a year ago at $20 and has seen a steady drop in its stock price during its debut year, as investors registered concerns over the daily deals company's business model and growth rates. On Thursday after the market closed, Groupon posted a net loss of $3 million for the third quarter on $568.6 million in revenues. Analysts had pegged third-quarter revenue at $590 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Chief Executive Andrew Mason explained Thursday that the company is moving aggressively to resolve problems such as dissatisfied merchants and a subpar deal selection in Europe. He also touted Groupon's strategy to move beyond e-mail, drawing customers to its website in search of discounts whenever they're bored, hungry or looking for deals on certain categories of products. The company is pushing Groupon Goods, a one-year-old category that sells discounted physical products such as headphones or jewelry.
Investors and analysts, however, appeared unconvinced. In a Friday report, William Blair analyst Ralph Schackart downgraded Groupon shares. The investment firm cited sequential declines in third-party billings, which represent the total amount Groupon collects from coupon sales where it acts as the middleman. William Blair also noted pressure on Groupon's margins.
"While management is taking aggressive and positive strides to reposition the deals and goods business for successful growth, given the reduced outlook and series of our estimate reductions, we are lowering the rating to Market Perform," the report said.
wawong@tribune.com | Twitter @VelocityWong
GRPN data by YCharts


Our work in school is often limited by what the poet Blake called 'mind forged manacles'. We allow our thinking to run down conventional tramlines instead of asking the question: why are we doing things this way?
We have found one of the most powerful ways of breaking the mind forged manacles is to give students an ever greater say in the decision making process within the school. Not only do they bring with them a freshness of thinking and a blissful unawareness of how things are conventionally done, they also have the clearest sense of the strengths and weaknesses of current structures within the school, since they are on the receiving end of most of them.
For some years the school has made use of students when interviewing new members of staff. By now this approach is fairly common, but we continue to find that the perceptiveness and directness of student panels means that they are at least as likely to identify the best candidate for the job as the adults are. Having used student panels for over ten years we also find that it is no longer necessary to provide the questions for them or to have a member of staff observing the interview to make sure that they do not step out of line. Broadly, the more we have trusted them, the better they have become.
In the light of this experience, we thought that we should try to develop the principle that greater trust leads to greater impact. For some years we had been operating work trawls with subject leaders, examining books to see how effective marking was and where strengths and weaknesses lay within the department. The process was solid, but we were not convinced that it always provided the full story of what was going on within departments. Surely this was an area where students could make a contribution.
All year groups are represented.
As a result, up to 30 students can be involved in each work trawl, providing a broad and rich set of views. In departments such as Business Studies, where not all key stages are relevant, a minimum number of 10 students is set so that any potential issues of personality do not dominate the findings. Selection is made by a member of the admin staff, not by subject leaders so that the sample is random. Students bring their own books or folders with them and these are passed around amongst the whole group, so that all key stages can have an input into the discussions. By not asking staff to self select the sample we get to see how assessment really works rather than being given a model set of books.
Comment on the range of assessment tasks.
How regularly is work marked? Comment on the developmental nature of the marking.
How detailed is marking within the department?
Does the sample suggest that work set is sufficiently varied and challenging?
In summary, what are the main strengths and weakness of marking within the department?
Feedback is then summarised and read back to the students to ensure that they agree it reflects what they are saying. Inevitably, conversations broaden out to include other issues of concern and in this way we get to hear a very direct version of what is going on within the classroom. Feedback to subject leaders then takes place at a separate meeting that is not attended by students.
As end users of the system, students have tremendous insights to offer. The more we can shake off the 'mind forged manacles' that limit their contribution to the state of the toilets or how chips are served, the greater the impact they can have upon raising standards within schools. We have not found this use of student voice to be a threat to teaching staff - quite the reverse: students are extremely anxious to identify and celebrate the good practice of their teachers. However, if we are serious about a continuous cycle of improvement within our schools, then listening to what the students have to say about teaching, learning and assessment is surely one of the most important things that we can do.
At Lawrence Sheriff the school curriculum offers breadth, depth and challenge for all students throughout all Key Stages. Academic excellence is strived for; whilst the range of enrichment activities and teaching styles foster an environment of participation, inquisitiveness and creativity.
In order to stretch and challenge our students, and allow them greater freedom of choice in what they study, we complete Key Stage 3 in years 7 and 8. This gives students the time and flexibility in years 9-11 to pursue both the core subjects and an increased number of optional subjects.
In addition to offering the full range of academic subjects all students participate in 2 timetabled enrichment activities each week. Activities can involve students from all year groups or may target particular age groups. The opportunities on offer reflect a diverse range of interests, and include 'The rock n roll years', Astronomy, Lego, DJ mixing and Latin - there really is something for everyone!
The subjects studied, in both year 7and 8, are Mathematics, English, Science, Citizenship, Computing, Design Technology, Food Technology, Art, Computing Geography, History, French, German, Music, Physical Education and Religious Education. In addition they complete a course designed to develop their study skills in year 7, and then they complete a Higher Project in year 8.
Students study the core subjects of English Language and English Literature, GCSE Mathematics and either Statistics or Additional Mathematics, Chemistry, Biology, Physics, a Modern Foreign Language, Religious Studies and PE. They then choose a further three optional subjects from Geography, History, a second MFL, Art & Design, DT, Music, Computing, and Extended Project. However the flexibility of completing Key Stage 4 over 3 years means some students can gain additional qualifications and mix and match subjects.
A total of 25 A Level subjects are on offer at Lawrence Sheriff Sixth Form with an additional 8 offered via Rugby High School.
For more information about the curriculum at Key Stage 3 and 4 please refer to specific department information, and for Post 16 studies please follow the links for the Sixth Form Prospectus.


John Mulligan was my best man at my wedding and one of my my best friends for a few shining years after 1967, until he died in a car accident. Thinking about his death and death in general and remembering the anger and despair of those final years related to the Vietnam conflict and remembering what my father and grandfather said about their wars awoke my muse.
exactly like the old fellow.
"David, we need to get ourselves a real snake. A real big one from down in Florida!"
My elder brother eyes were hard with frustration as we glumly freed yet another failed experiment into the forest. He and I were fond of snakes, so fond that we longed to keep at least one as a permanent pet. We shared a bedroom in a great, brick, Georgian style mansion with leaded windows and deep shady sills, perfect for the keeping of cages, bowls and tanks of a variety of creatures. This desire to befriend a member of the race of Adam's bane was not an ambition that recommended itself to my parents, however, so it was clear from the first that we would only be able fulfill our herpetological ambitions through our own efforts. Not for us the fancy boas of the pet store. We would have to find our own snakes. Living as we did on Long Island, in the relatively cold North of the country, we seldom saw the supple and sinuous objects of our yearning. Odiferous and small Diadophis punctatus (ring-neck snake) and the common and therefore uninteresting Thamnophis sirtali (garter snake) were the usual occupants of our tanks.
"Something really really special!" I replied.
Occasionally we would find enmeshed in the cobwebs that festooned the corners of our dark and cavernous cellar a newly hatched, beautifully patterned Lampropeltis triangulum triangulum (Eastern milk snake), which, eagerly freed of the clinging silk, would brighten our windowsill terrarium for a few weeks until set loose with great regret into the forest that surrounded our hilltop house. Although gorgeous and certainly filling the definition as "Special!" the milk snake is notoriously hard to keep in captivity and the other species seemed equally picky. We would lose confidence in the face of the little fellows' refusal to eat the hamburger and meal worms we proffered, impaled on the end of a toothpick, and so we would free them after a week or two to pursue their destinies in the wild.
"AND- something that's easier to feed than these darned milk snakes!" he growled, watching the little fellow slip rapidly into the leaf litter, "and you tell me how we aregoing to sneak it home!"
At that time we spent our spring vacation in a relatively wild part of central Florida, a far more snakely site for the capture of our wriggly pet. Our family compound was a grassy oasis surrounded by pine jungle, swamps and the deep, water-filled pits of abandoned phosphate mines let return to jungle over the preceding 50 years. A more delightful place for the breeding of snakes would be hard to find, and they burgeoned. They bloomed and blossomed and were fruitful and ubiquitous. Scarcely a day went past during our times there when the cry of "SNAKE!" was not heard from one of the hordes of relatives and retainers there, as a snake of one species or another would be seen, sunning in the dusty, limey roads, slipping through the branches of the shrubbery, or gliding in and out of the surrounding woods and the canebrakes that were scattered about. Black and glossy racers, thick, evil-eyed rattlers, gorgeous and deadly coral snakes and their equally gaudy but harmless impersonators, the scarlet king snake, cousin to our saved babies were just a few of the many snake species we had seen. None of these were quite the snake we were looking for, either because of the obvious danger involved or because the creature was too fast to capture. No, we needed a new snake, one of sufficient size to impress our friends and our own sense of conquest, sufficient torpidity to be easily captured, and one of easy and undiscriminating habit of dining and a philosophy of life which would allow it to survive the long train ride North and to prosper on our windowsill for the pursuant year.
Early one burning April afternoon, as the Spanish moss hung limp in the windless heat and the dust on the road past our home lay as think and powdery as talc, my brother and I sat in the porch shade and gazed across the lawn, thinking of the cool water of the Pit (one of the aforementioned mining pits, one end of which was kept clear of weed for swimming) and wondering if the sweat we would lose on the three mile walk there and back was worth the temporary relief of a swim. As we pondered and debated in the desultory fashion only possible in great heat with an adequate supply of fresh lemonade, I noticed a slow, rippling movement in the grass at the base of a line of oleander.
"Look there!" I hissed. "What do you think?"
A snake for certain, but what kind? We hastened across the lawn, slowing nervously as we approached the creature. It was a dingy brown-on-grey/brown chevron pattern, about 18 inches long, and chubby. As it became aware of us, it began a most impressive and disturbing display, coiling and writhing, flattening its head and neck like a cobra, rising into strike position, all the while emitting a loud, harsh, guttural hiss that seemed far too large for it. This was disturbing enough, yet we stayed, watching, fascinated by the activity, keeping out of reach but not so far that the snake did not know we were there. At length, the snake seemed to think it had done its part but that we, somehow, had not. As a finale, in a perfect parody of the stand-up's "Hey, yah killin' me up here," it rolled onto its back, stuck out its tongue, let its mouth hang limply open and, apparently, died. This should have disturbed us no end, at least filled us with tremendous guilt at having frightened the poor beast into an early and entirely unmerited demise. We were ready, however and, though the performance was entirely new to us, it was not unexpected. For we had seen the ridiculous but endearing upturned schnozz of the fellow and had early realized that what we had was a perfect specimen of Heterodon platyrhinos, the Eastern hognose snake. Playing dead for all it was worth. And once it decided to die on us, we had it. For even if you turn a hognose back on its belly, it will just roll over again and try to wait you out. It was only the work of a moment to pick the creature up, pack it into a box and take it home.
A Western hognose in the genus's characteristic pose.
Once we had it secreted under the bed (for this was to be a smuggling job all the way back to Long Island), the problem of naming it arose. My brother, who is 18 months older than I and so the leader in many of our early adventures, said promptly "Sally Popka!" This was in honor of nearby Lake Tsala Apopka. He had obviously been thinking about this for awhile.
"But what if it's a boy?" I demanded.
This proved a bit of a sticking point, so out came our field guide. My brother determined that it was a male, based on the shape of the tail. In 1960, no boy would name a male pet "Sally," so we were stumped for some time. After much thought and discussion, the name, "Charley Popka," was unanimously approved.
Charley seemed to accept his captivity with phlegmatic philosophy. We kept his box hidden in a suit case under the bed until it was time to return to the North. We got him to the train station and onto the Silver Meteor (the overnight train between Florida and New York) secreted in his box in the bottom of a paper back purportedly filled with the comic books we carried for on-board entertainment. Once in our roomette, we immediately gave him a bath in the sink in the fold-down sink. We then stashed his box, a clear plastic container with air holes bored in with a steak knife, in a small closet cabinet in the roomette, which kept him hidden safely from our parents, but not from the kindly old black porter, who found Charley when he went to make up the bed. Fortunately, we were in the corridor waiting and, alerted to the crisis by the shriek that rose shrill and (we thought) excessively loud, like the whistle that sends the miners home from their day in the hole, we were able to intercept him before he got took off down the corridor. We were, however, forced to pay over every cent of our snack allowances as an ameliorating to keep him mum and to convince him to return to our room, despite the fact that we were able to demonstrate Charley's harmless and even friendly disposition. He utterly refused to handle the snake as proof, though I think the experience would have gone far in curing his Ophidiophobia.
"Suh," he said with immense dignity,"You will have to take that critter out of my sight before I go back into that room!"
We agreed to his demands, although that meant smuggling Charley temporarily into my cousin's roomette and back again, greatly increasing the danger of parental discovery.
Resquiat in pace, and thanks for the music in me, BUT - Why all the fuss?
The death of Michael Jackson this past week has reminded me of all the rock musicians who have passed in my memory. This is not a comprehensive list, of course. 50 years is a long time span, and there were hundreds of performers during that period, so it's not surprising that so many have died. It just seems that every few years I would hear of another favorite performer kicking. Until I was 17, noone in my family had died, so it was really the stars going out that brought mortality close to my thoughts. There also always seemed to be a personal connection I felt to many of these people, either because I watched them perform live at some significant point in my life or theirs, or simply because their music was my soundtrack. I remember the "Day the Music Died." I was in the back seat of my mother's Ford, driving into Manhasset, NY on Plandome Road when the radio announcer came on to tell of the death of Buddy Holly, the Big Bopper, and Richie Valens in the same crash. That was a hard blow because "Chantilly Lace," "Peggy Sue," "That'll be the Day" and "La Bamba" were my four favorite songs. I was standing on Beacon Street in Brookline, MA when I heard of Jimmy Hendrix's death, and sitting in the living room of my father's house in Oyster Bay, NY when I learned of the suicide of Phil Ochs. There isn't much I can say about the subject without sounding vacuous and sophomoric. Like film stars, rock stars seem in some ways to exist in their own time when they first came into our consciousness, and each intrusion of the older reality into the present is almost more of a shock than hearing of their death, somehow.
And why does this seem significant? After all, in the 50 years since Holly fell from the sky, both literally and figuratively, somewhere between 3 1/2 and 5 billion people have died: great statespersons, doctors, beloved religious figures, artists of many kinds, mothers and fathers and sisters and brothers by the cattle carload. What in the world makes these 39 people and their ilk so damned special? I can only surmise that these were the people that I knew or knew of who died between the time I became aware and my 18th year, when my grandmother died. Noone I knew or was related to died during this period, went to Viet Nam, has any major dieases, so the idea of the termination of another human being simply did not seem real to me as a boy. We did not live in a neighborhood and so didn't even have the peripheral experience of close neighbors' tragedies. A sheltered life? Absolutely! Sheltered and incredibly lucky.
The death of an artist can even be considered less of a loss to the human race than that of someone wholly obscure. The artist, after all, has left a body of work that has at least the potential of living after him or her. All I have to do to experience the music of Buddy Holly, much in the way that I originally experienced it, is to put on one of those old 45s and there he is again. Most of the billions who have died since then have melted into the pool of past lives with barely a trace, perhaps some regret and grieving from a few souls who knew the dead person, but then nothing, just silence. The whole sum of that person's existence adds as little to that of humanity in general as the hypothetical Asian butterfy's wingbeats affect the hurricane in the Caribbean. I have never understood the need for who knows that keep the fans of these people sobbing obssessively through the decades, long after even the family has ceased to mourn. What image of glory or fantasized love or psuedo-religious fervor keeps the grief for the artist alive and fervent for so many years?
Stars that I do miss, but not so much that I lose much sleep over them.
I wrote this poem for my wife after a stormy kayak paddle off the rocky coast of Gloucester, MA, last fall. The shape of the poem represents the repeating but not identical movement of the swell as it passes under us.
down we sit silent in the endless dance.
with rain, a broken coast of rock and sand.


text:
From the Desk of the Illustrious Mr. Charlton
Well, the tubes had to drain somewhere.
Mr. Charlton – Gamer for Life
March 14, 2017 March 14, 2017 / sandycharlton
"Do we have enough tape? This is important. Everybody, even Grandma, games–meaning checkers, cards, if not now, in the past. Show me even freakin' nun or a hermit who hasn't done cards or checkers."
Adam Wood, from 'King of Kong'
A couple years back, I can't remember the exact date, a few years ago, but yeah, a few years ago I was sitting on a friend's couch, and I was playing a game with Jered and Metal Rob. I'm pretty sure I was playing with Rob, and we were playing 'Gear of War 2'. Now, the two of them had played this game before but I had not, and I was picking up the game about half-way through the story mode. There was a lot of plot I was missing, but the gist of the story was one of the main characters was looking for his wife. Alien/Demons/Monsters/Baddies had taken her, and you and your friend were tasked with finding her.
I'm just going to point out, if you haven't played this game or don't play the big 'Triple A' games or don't play games at all, 'Gears of War 2' is not a happy game. It's set in a bleak, grey world, where humanity has it's back against a wall. The last shred of our civilization battles an unknown horde, one that has emerge from the ground under our feet. Most people have been drafted into the war, essentially becoming 'Gears' in this awful machine. It's a visually stunning game, but it's not painting a pretty picture. I mean, your gun has a chainsaw on the front of it so you can saw Baddies in half. It's that kind of game.
So here I am, playing this game with my friend, the two game characters are battling through this horrible underground cavern trying to find a wife, and we hit the game's climax. You find her. It breaks to a cut scene.
She emerges from her prison cell. She looks exactly like his memories. She come out and passionately embraces our character. But this is an illusion. The game character snaps out of his fantasy, and sees his wife for how she really is. Incredibly malnourished, missing clumps of hair, hollow eyes. She's completely catatonic. Whatever soul used to inhabit this body has disappeared completely, and there's now just a shell of human being. The game character is shattered. With no way to help his wife, he can only help her by ending her life. He takes his sidearm, and while holding the husk of what remains of his wife, he puts a bullet in her head.
Pardon my language, but What The Fuck?
People, I put down video games for a year after I played that sequence. A goddamn year. I told people I was giving up the game, forever. This wasn't a small statement, either. I loved video games. I used to be able to play with my feet. It wasn't just something I did, it was part of who I was. But after that jarring scene, I thought I was done.
I went back to gaming, but my views on the medium will never be the same. I grew up in the 'Mortal Kombat' period of gaming history, when violent video games like 'Doom' and 'Splatterhouse' and the aforementioned 'Mortal Kombat' were taking the arcades and the home by storm. A lot of people thought these games were obscene. For me, there was always this fat, thick line, between the game and my emotions. I couldn't see how they'd be offensive, because it was so obvious these pixels weren't stirring any emotions. 'Gears of War 2' changed my perspective forever. I mean, kudos for the medium for stirring emotions in me so greatly I couldn't touch a controller for a year after that. If there was any question in my mind whether video games could be art, this shattered any doubt.
I went from being a die-hard gamer, to quitting cold turkey, back to being a hardcore gamer.
I'd be lying if I said the only reason I gave up gaming was because of this emotional roller coaster 'Gears of War 2' put me through. Deep down, somewhere buried in my psyche, was the notion that video games were a waste of time. And they are. They are totally a waste of time. But sitting down and watching a film is a waste of time. Going to an art museum is a waste of time. Cheering for a baseball team is a waste of time. And yet everyone reading this has partaken in time wasting with games or film or sports.
Which brings me to the quote above. Everyone games. Everyone, every once and a while, likes to blow off steam by doing something irrelevant, like playing crib with a deck of cards, or playing 'Candy Crush' on their phone. The moment cave people starting losing their teeth was the moment someone decided to collect those teeth, rattle them around in a coconut shell, and then toss them to see how many they could get right side up.
There's this weird underlying idea in our culture that if you're not hustling 100% of the time, you're doing something wrong. That you should feel a little ashamed for kicking back and taking it easy for a bit. Screw that baloney. You know what people aren't doing when they're watching sports? They're not killing people. You know what people going to the movies aren't getting up to? Definitely not eating babies, that's for sure. And you know people aren't doing when they're playing video games? I don't know about you, but I'm definitely not trying to create a low-yield nuclear device in the spare room of my apartment.
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. If there was only some way of combining work and play into one…
The Illustrious Mr. Charlton
p.s. I am definitely not building a low-yield nuclear device in the spare room.
p.s.s. I made a game. Click on this link to see it. It's not my first game (nor is it the most complicated), but it's the first one I've been able to upload to the web.
p.s.s.s. This link is only good for 30 days. When I finally stop being lazy and build an actual website, I'll put it up again.
gamer, gaming, writer, writing
← Mr. Charlton Builds a Computer
Mr. Charlton – Still Gaming →
Mr. Charlton Starts a Robotics Club
Game of Thrones Ending – Or How I Stopped Worrying and Accepted the Flattening of Round Characters
Week 16 – Or 17 or Something
Week 2 – Rough Around the Edges
Week 1 – Gearing Up
Jennifer Matthews on Week 16 – Or 17 or …
The Other Quilter on Week 2 – Rough Around th…
The other quilter on Week 1 – Gearing Up
The other quilter on Mr. Charlton Goes Back to…
biancarowena on Mr. Charlton Gets Rid of …
Mr. Charlton Gets Meta
Mr. Charlton Talks Food


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As is known, the presence of gauge anomalies leads to breakdown of the unitarity of the gauge theory.
One way to understand this is to involve the BRST quantization of the gauge field theory. It reads as follows. The gauge invariance describes in fact the redundancy of the Hilbert space of gauge variant rays to the space of gauge-invariant rays. In the result, the correct state in gauge theory is defined to be invariant under the gauge transformation. In a path integral formulation of the gauge theory, this redundancy is nothing but reducing the integration over all gauge fields configuration to the integration over ones satisfying the gauge fixing condition; the latter defines a surface (gauge orbit) in the space of gauge fields configurations.
For particular choices of the gauge fixing condition this redundancy leads to generating the ghosts action. The ghoats are unphysical states with indefinite norm in the Hilbert space. Although they mediate the physical processes, they can't be in- or out- states, so their indefinite norm doesn't break unitarity. They cannot contribute to the physical state because of the Slavnov-Taylor identities; the latter are a direct consequence of underlying gauge invariance.
If, however, the gauge anomaly is present, then the Slavnov-Taylor identities are broken. Therefore the ghosts contribute in the Hilbert space of physical states, and unitarity is broken.
It is always possible to choose the gauge fixing in a way that ghosts are not present? In abelian gauge theories an example is the Lorentz gauge. In non-abelian gauge theories, an example is the so-called auxiliary gauge. With this choice of gauge fixing conditions, there are no intermediate states with indefinite norm whose presence leads to the violation of unitarity in case of a gauge anomaly. So where exactly is the unitarity breakdown hidden in the case of fixing the gauge condition in a way such that the ghosts are absent?
In fact, although gauge invariance says us that all gauge fixing conditions are equivalent, and one might say that the unitarity has to be preserved for all possible choices. However, I may say that the gauge anomaly requires the quantization by using the ghost-free choices of fixing condition, so that unitarity is preserved (as long as I don't see where the unitarity breakdown is hidden).
Either there are no ghost-free choices with anomalies present, or explicit absence of ghosts is not sufficient to judge about theory solutions, I think.


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USCG investigates Chesapeake laser strikes
MAY 5, 2017 — The U.S. Coast Guard is investigating multiple laser strikes during the past month aimed at commercial vessels transiting the Chesapeake Bay.
Four incidences occurred early Wednesday morning between midnight and 3 a.m., involving the motor vessels Salome, Bulk Spain, and AM Annaba. Additionally, a pilot vessel was lased as it was on its way back to the pilot launch.
Three other incidents occurred: Monday around 2 a.m., involving the motor vessel Hoegh Osaka; Sunday at 4 a.m., involving the cruise ship Carnival Pride and another April 7 at approximately 1 a.m., involving the motor vessel Maersk Kolkata.
During all incidents, the laser light was described as steady, powerful and somewhat painful to the eyes. The reporting source believes the laser originated in the area between Drum Point and Cove Point, and lasted for approximately 15 minutes.
"Laser lights, and other bright lights can be a hazard to navigation," said Lt. Trish Elliston, Coast Guard Sector Maryland-National Capitol Region. "The most likely scenario is the laser would blind or distract a pilot which would prevent the pilot from seeing a smaller vessel. This could cause a collision or other serious incident in the shipping channel."
The Laser Safety Act, makes it a misdemeanor to knowingly and willfully cause or attempt to cause bodily injury by shining, pointing, or focusing the beam of a laser pointer on an individual operating a motor vehicle, vessel, or aircraft. The penalty is a maximum 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $2,500.
The Coast Guard is working with state and local law enforcement along with Chesapeake Bay Pilots to investigate the incidents. Anyone with information leading to the whereabouts of the individual, or individuals, involved are asked to contact the Coast Guard Sector Maryland-National Capital Region Command Center at 410-576-2525 or via email at [email protected]
Categories: Safety and Security Tags: laser strikes
News, Offshore, Oil & Gas, Safety and Security
News, Safety and Security
News, Offshore Wind, Safety and Security
U.K. pilot dies in Humber Estuary incident


After working on my book for a few years and pitching several agents, I heard my book was good but not compelling enough. I decided to hire an editor.
Each genre has its own special tropes. In mystery, why does the policeman accept help from an amateur? Etc. I wanted someone who was deeply familiar with the tropes. Ideally, they would have worked on mysteries set in the 1920s or in England.
Next, I read the acknowledgements sections for historical mysteries set in England to see who the author thanked. Most of these editors were nestled in publishers and not available, except for one editor who had a Reedsy profile.
While he wasn't doing freelance any longer, I was delighted with Reedsy – they vet all the book professionals (editors, publicists, etc.) on their site. They show you reviews. And – amazing! – they link to the books that these professionals worked on.
After reading samples of the books each professional worked on, I sent a request for quotes to 5 editors. Everyone replied, some asked to see more of the book and others sent samples of their work. The prices ranged from low to high, and I chose the expensive end of the spectrum because of the editor's historical mystery experience. But there were a ton of great editors at lower price points too.
This has been a long week. I've had grueling work deadlines and fires. I got my manuscript back from the editor, which means I'm removing characters, fixing backstory and trying to finish all the edits before it is due back.
So I'm really, really happy to hear my flash fiction (~700 word) mystery was accepted for the April edition of Flash Bang Mysteries! They are a quarterly magazine with excellent work. If you check out their contributor bios, you'll see they have a wonderful mix of well established and emerging authors.
Reedsy is a London-based marketplace for book services – everything from editing to cover design to marketing. What makes Reedsy stand out is that they diligently screen everyone who wants to offer services. They take only around 10-15% of the professionals who apply.
Based on their 15 months of usage, they've put together a truly comprehensive infographic of self-publishing costs. It's nice to see a real budget and explanation of what you're paying for.
Even though I'm going through the agent route and will be pitching again at a conference, I'm using Reedsy for editing. The consistent feedback is that my book has a strong premise and writing, but there are a few major threads that need to be fixed.
I just started the process with an editor who has years of mystery editing experience – fingers crossed!
Elizabeth S. Craig is my kind of hero in the writing world, she was successful through one of the Big 5 publishers but she eventually went her own way. Her blog is a gold mine of resources from other writers and her own articles.
In this post, she explains her reasons for going with self-publishing. Things like releasing when you want, price control and making more money are excellent reasons.
I'm very excited to share that my first short mystery has been published in Mystery Weekly magazine!
Faith Allington's "The Death at Knightshayes Court" is a more traditional offering in the style of Agatha Christie. Set on an English estate in the twenties, a rare book dealer must clear his own name in the poisoning death of a young heiress. All of the ingredients for an old fashioned parlour mystery are here: an inheritance, servants, suspicious guests, and a classical denouement where the killer and their motives are revealed.
You can read story previews and subscribe at mysteryweekly.com.
This issue is also available in print and digitally at Amazon.
My sister is an amazing sewer of vintage patterns. I was talking with her about how I'd just started the 4th draft of a short story. I had a great title, a great protagonist and a solid plot. So why was I on attempt #4?
Just like a sewing machine, it was the tension. If you've ever sewn, many times the problem is the tension–thread is too tight or too loose, so the fabric bunches up or gets stuck or the stitches won't hold.
With some digging, I realized what was wrong. The tension in my story was off because the murder took place in the heroine's past, distancing the reader, and the victim wasn't important enough to her.
With some tinkering, I adjusted the plot and wrote it again–this time, the beta readers were delighted.
Here are some more great tips on upping and maintaining tension from Writer's Digest: up the stakes, reduce backstory, more emotion.
Any other good tips to fix a story's tension?
It took 4 rejections to feel acceptance and even a hint of gratitude. How often I've written something, only to improve on it a few days later–the same theory surely applies to my book?
They give me an excellent chance to practice my craft. Quick character studies, story arc, plotting, all of the same principles apply for mystery stories.
I've gotten through 3 completed short stories and 2 partials that I'm trying to fix. That's 3 fully realized plots with clues and suspects and such, which ought to help me with the longer books.
Next up… my 300 page novel needs a major revision… whew!
Today's rejection feels a bit like this quote from Harry Potter. I was really excited about how responsive this agent has been. But she was awesome in rejection, at least. She gave me detailed feedback on major issues she saw with the manuscript.
One issue could be solved with some thorough editing of voice, but the other requires a potentially massive rewrite of the plot. I'll certainly let the manuscript rest for a few weeks before starting.
In the meantime, I've been writing short stories. After the pacing of 75K word novels, a 4-7K short story seems to fly by! Hopefully it is good practice with plotting and characterization, a chance of publication and a quick-but-positive outcome.
What's the tipping point for rewriting a novel?
An ancient grudge turns to murder in a quiet English village, 1817.
Book 4 in the Regency series finds the spirited rector's daughter Lucy Harrington and her protective fiance Major Kurland preparing to marry. While judging vegetables at the local fair, Lucy warns him to be diplomatic in his choice of winners. His refusal leads to a storm of outrage among the villagers, who are furious when the verger at the rectory wins.
It isn't long before Lucy literally trips over the verger's dead body in a tragic accident. Lucy grows suspicious when they discover a cursed charm by the body and they soon realize that the death was actually murder. While trying to uncover the killer, Lucy must deal with the unpleasant cook who shares her father's bed, and the frustrating delay in her nuptials. The village's darker side begin to surface and the couple themselves are placed in grave danger as another body is found.
The murderer's reasoning is somewhat weak and the couple lose a little of their previous fire, but it's a light, enjoyable read.
Thanks to NetGalley for the 30-day ebook loan.


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The winners of the 2020 An Post Irish Book Awards will be announced in a virtual ceremony on November 25th at 7.30pm hosted by Evelyn O'Rourke on rte.ie/culture. The An Post Irish Book Awards celebrate and promote Irish writing to the widest range of readers possible.
Winners will be chosen across 16 different categories. The shortlist features a diverse mix of exceptional writing from new and established writers; 2020 nominees include Keelin Shanley, Graham Norton, Marian Keyes, Steve Cavanagh, Roz Purcell, Ross O'Carroll-Kelly, Doireann Ní Ghríofa, Rob Kearney, Mary McAleese, Bernard Brogan, Catherine Ryan Howard, Seán O'Brien, Liz Nugent, Mark Tighe and Paul Rowan, Louise O'Neill, Ray D'Arcy, Maggie O'Farrell, Naoise Dolan, Neven Maguire, Emily Hourican, Roddy Doyle, Niamh Campbell, Luke O'Neill, Dara Ó Briain and many more.
The Awards Ceremony will take place on Wednesday 25th November and a TV special will be broadcast on RTÉ One on Thursday, 10th December. This TV show will focus on the top overall category winners, and culminate in one of these titles being announced as the An Post Irish Book of the Year for 2020. See https://www.irishbookawards.irish/2020/10/20/shortlist-unveiled-for-the-an-post-irish-national-book-awards-2020/ for the shortlist.


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IMSL Numerical Libraries
Find sources: "IMSL Numerical Libraries" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (October 2020) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)
IMSL (International Mathematics and Statistics Library) is a commercial collection of software libraries of numerical analysis functionality that are implemented in the computer programming languages C, Java, C#.NET, and Fortran. A Python interface is also available.
The IMSL Libraries were developed by Visual Numerics, which was acquired in 2009 by Rogue Wave Software, which was acquired in 2019 by Minneapolis, Minnesota-based application software developer Perforce.[1]
2 Platform availability
Version history[edit]
The first IMSL Library for the Fortran language was released in 1970, followed by a C-language version originally called C/Base in 1991, a Java-language version in 2002 and the C#-language version in 2004.
Several recent product releases have involved making IMSL Library functions available from Python. These releases are Python wrappers to IMSL C Library functions (PyIMSL wrappers) and PyIMSL Studio, a prototyping and production application development environment based on Python and the IMSL C Library. The PyIMSL wrappers were first released in August 2008. PyIMSL Studio was introduced in February 2009. PyIMSL Studio is available for download at no charge for non-commercial use or for commercial evaluation.
Current versions:
IMSL C Library V 8.0 – November 2011
IMSL C# Library V 6.5.2 – November 2015 (end of life announced as end of 2020)
IMSL Fortran Library V 7.0 – October 2010
PyIMSL Studio V 1.5 – August 2009
PyIMSL wrappers V 1.5 – August 2009
JMSL Library V 6.1 – August 2010
Platform availability[edit]
The IMSL Numerical Libraries are supported on various operating systems, hardware and compilers.
Operating system support includes Unix, Linux, Mac OS and Microsoft Windows
Hardware support includes AMD, Intel, Apple Inc., Cray, Fujitsu, Hitachi, HP, IBM, NEC, SGI and Sun Microsystems
Compiler support includes Absoft, GCC, Intel, Microsoft, and Portland
List of numerical-analysis software
List of numerical libraries
^ "Perforce expands DevOps portfolio with Rogue Wave acquisition". sdtimes.com. 2019-01-22. Retrieved 2020-10-15.
Rogue Wave Software's IMSL Libraries page
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=IMSL_Numerical_Libraries&oldid=1051744478"
Fortran libraries
Numerical libraries
Articles needing additional references from October 2020


A new plan targeting nonprofit organizations spearheading affordable housing could lead to an increase in dense, subsidized housing throughout Austin. The program, recently introduced to the Austin City Council by council member Greg Casar, waives zoning and design standards, as well as parking and other requirements, for groups such as Habitat for Humanity.
The program also would waive compatibility standards for height and setbacks, and could allow at least six units on a lot — if feasible — for projects of three units or greater. This would assume that at least half the units are reserved for renters at or below 60% of the median-family income, or at or below 80% of median family income.
The city council will soon vote on the resolution. If approved, it will go through the planning commission for analysis of land code changes before returning to the council for a final vote.


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Raiders overcome 12 penalties to edge Chargers on TNF
OAKLAND, CA – Rookie Josh Jacobs scored the go-ahead touchdown on an 18-yard rush with just 1:02 remaining in regulation, lifting the Oakland Raiders to a 26-24 victory over the division rival Los Angeles Chargers on Thursday Night Football. The back-and-forth affair saw four lead changes.
The Oakland defense harassed Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers all night, sacking him five times and inducing three interceptions, including a "pick-six" by Erik Harris, who caught two of Rivers' three picks.
The Raiders improve to 5-4, while the Chargers fall to 4-6.
Ryan Radtke and Hall of Famer Rod Woodson called the action on Westwood One.
Tags: Los Angeles Chargers, NFL, Oakland Raiders, Radio Highlights
Categories: NFL, NFL Highlights
Announcers: Rod Woodson, Ryan Radtke
Teams: Los Angeles Chargers, Oakland Raiders
League: 2019-20 NFL
Latest NFL Highlights
NFC Championship Highlights: 49ers dominate Packers to earn Super Bowl berth
20 January 2020 No Comments
SANTA CLARA, CA – Raheem Mostert rushed for four touchdowns as the San Francisco 49ers dominated the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship Game. San Francisco led 27-0 at halftime and cruised to a 37-20 win…
AFC Championship Highlights: Chiefs heading to first Super Bowl in 50 years
KANSAS CITY, MO – For the first time in 50 years, the Kansas City Chiefs are headed to the Super Bowl. Patrick Mahomes was the catalyst again as Kansas City once again had to overcome and early deficit. This time Tennessee jumped out to an early lead, before Mahomes and…
NFC Divisional Highlights: Packers edge Seahawks 28-23
GREEN BAY, WI – After jumping out to a 21-3 first half lead, the Green Bay Packers held off a second-half comeback attempt from the Seattle Seahawks to win 28-23 on Sunday evening. Packers running back Aaron Jones ran for two first half touchdowns and quarterback Aaron Rodgers threw for…
AFC Divisional Highlights: Chiefs score 41 unanswered to stun Texans
KANSAS CITY, MO – After falling behind 24-0 in the first quarter, the Kansas City Chiefs rallied to defeat the Houston Texans 51-31 on Sunday afternoon. Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes turned the 24-point deficit into a 28-24 halftime lead with a dazzling second quarter that featured four passing touchdowns, three…
AFC Divisional Highlights: Titans shock top-seeded Ravens 28-12
BALTIMORE, MD – Derrick Henry was again the star as the Tennessee Titans defeated the Baltimore Ravens 28-12 on Saturday night. Henry rushed for 195 yards on 30 carries and became the first player in NFL history to run for more than 180 yards in three consecutive games. The Titans…
NFC Divisional Highlights: 49ers beat Vikings 27-10
SANTA CLARA, CA – The road to Super Bowl LIV will run through San Francisco as the 49ers dominated the Minnesota Vikings in a 27-10 win on Saturday at Levi's Stadium. Tevin Coleman had a pair of touchdown runs and the Niners defense held Minnesota to just 147 yards of…
NFL Highlights: Wentz injured as Seahawks top Eagles 17-9
PHILADELPHIA, PA – Carson Wentz left the game in the first quarter with a head injury and didn't return as the Seattle Seahawks defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 17-9 in an NFC Wild Card game on Sunday afternoon. Josh McCown replaced Wentz, but wasn't able to lead the Eagles into the…
NFL Highlights: Vikings shock Saints 26-20 in overtime
NEW ORLEANS – Kirk Cousins came up big in overtime as the Minnesota Vikings defeated the New Orleans Saints 26-20 in an NFC Wild Card game on Sunday at the Superdome. Cousins found Adam Thielen for a long completion inside the five yard line and followed up with a third-down,…


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Sports Nut
Stopping Makes Sense
Vince Young might not be cut out for the NFL—and that's OK.
By Stefan Fatsis
Sept 17, 20083:58 PM
Vince Young
A week before NFL training camps opened in late July, an Indianapolis Colts defensive lineman named Quinn Pitcock delivered a message to his employer: I quit.
A third-round draft choice out of Ohio State in 2007, Pitcock played in nine games as a rookie and was expected to see regular action this season on a team with Super Bowl aspirations. The money wasn't bad, either. Pitcock had a three-year contract worth $1.267 million. By all accounts, there was no glaring reason for his departure. He wasn't chronically injured or dodging a suspension or sinking on the depth chart. He just didn't want to play football anymore. "It was firmly his decision to walk away," says Joe Flanagan of BTI Sports, the agency that represents Pitcock.
That a gifted 24-year-old athlete would voluntarily abandon a career in the glamorous NFL might make little sense to fans. After all, who wouldn't jump at the chance to play pro football—let alone to grab one of the eight-figure contracts that veteran starters often earn? Ask a player, though, and you'll likely get a different reaction. I'm willing to bet that more than a few Colts privately admire Quinn Pitcock for having the stones to walk away from the NFL—and wish they had them, too.
Professional football is an absurd proposition. Players collide, physicist Timothy Gay reports, with a force equivalent to the weight of a small adult killer whale. Injuries are constant, and players live with the knowledge that they may wind up crippled, depressed, or with Alzheimer's disease in their 50s. Coaches are merciless jerks. Contracts aren't guaranteed; you can be fired any minute. The media say a lot but know little. Fans scream and curse. The surprise isn't that a player like Quinn Pitcock quits the NFL. It's that it doesn't happen more often. "When I tell people that I left after five years on my own, you should see the looks on their faces," says Ed Cunningham, an offensive lineman with the Arizona Cardinals and Seattle Seahawks from 1992-'96 who's now a college-football analyst for ESPN. "Well, hey, man, it sucked. It was not fun. And oh, by the way, I was getting beaten up every single day at work."
That unhappy reality is rarely acknowledged in public by active players, but it's there. And there might be no better—or more troubling—case study of the hidden stress of life in the NFL than the drama unspooling around Vince Young, the third-year quarterback for the Tennessee Titans.
Last week, Young had to be prodded to return to the team's season opener after throwing an interception; missed a scheduled MRI on a knee he injured later in the game; mentioned suicide after leaving home without a cell phone but with a gun; and was questioned by Nashville police after going AWOL for four hours. Young's mother told the Tennessean that her "baby boy" had grown tired of criticism over his performance, and the newspaper said Young had told friends he didn't want to play anymore. (In the spring, Young told a writer he considered quitting after his rookie season. He also reportedly asked to sit out the second half of a playoff game last season.)
Later in the week, Young was telling reporters that everyone had overreacted, that he wasn't depressed, that football remains his "dream." Tennessee's head coach, Jeff Fisher, who is regarded in the league as laid-back and player-friendly, said many of the details getting reported were wrong. Everything is "fine," he said, and Young just needs to focus on rehabilitating his sprained knee ligament, which is expected to keep him out two to four weeks.
The spin control is understandable. An unstable Vince Young is bad for the image of the NFL and bad for the financial and competitive future of the Tennessee Titans, who already have paid him more than $20 million. It's also bad for the agents, marketing managers, companies, family members, and friends with a vested interest in the Vince Young brand, which includes Vince Young Foods (smoked ribs, brisket, sausage), the Vince Young Football Camp, and Vince Young Gear—all prominently displaying the Vince Young logo, which would look great as a hood ornament on a Vince Young luxury car. Everyone associated with the business of Vince Young needs Vince Young in a Titans uniform.
But it's not unreasonable to wonder, as his mother has, whether Vince Young the person might be better off without football—or would, in fact, already be out of football had he not been made into a brand before becoming an established NFL player. When I spent a summer in an NFL locker room, I learned that the emotional and psychological pressures of pro football are painful for almost all players, barely tolerable for some, and unbearable for a few. I don't know Vince Young personally and don't know whether he falls into the last group. But he does demonstrate some of the major signs of stress—and distress—of life in the NFL.
Performance, of course, is every player's sword of Damocles. Fans and media supply their vocal opinions. When Young balked at returning to the field, he had just been serenaded by a chorus of boos from home fans. Afterward, idiot columnists weighed in. Public opinion about Young's NFL talent is opposite what it was when he led the University of Texas to a national championship in the 2005-'06 season. Read some typical opinions here. Or just Google "Vince Young sucks."
What fans or media say shouldn't matter—after all, their role isn't to view players as actual human beings—but to some athletes, it does. More burdensome are the daily critiques from coaches on the practice field and in meeting rooms, which do matter. After every game, players are "graded out" on multiple details of technique and execution. Young's internal reviews can't be good. In 2007, though the Titans made the playoffs, he finished 26th in the NFL in passer rating and threw just nine touchdown passes against 17 interceptions.
Titans coaches talk openly about what Young still needs to learn: how to better read defenses, see the field and find open receivers—how, in other words, to be a multidimensional quarterback and not a gimmick who can only run the ball, which remains his best-developed skill and security blanket. That can't be easy to hear. Moreover, as Peter Richmond noted in an article in Sunday's New York Times Play magazine, Young has had to learn a new offensive system this year under coordinator Mike Heimerdinger, who favors more traditional drop-back quarterbacks. "I want him to play the position like other quarterbacks did last year," Heimerdinger said, meaning that Young should run only as a last resort. Early returns are not good: Young's opening-day performance—a game Tennessee won, 17-10, over Jacksonville—ranks him 35th out of 36 quarterbacks in the league, according to a comprehensive stat created by the Web site Football Outsiders. His replacement, 35-year-old Kerry Collins, stands sixth.
Injury is another common source of distress for NFL players. For some players, it can be a ticket out of the league. Young doesn't face that, but his sprained medial collateral ligament is the worst injury of his career. David McDuff, a psychiatrist for the Baltimore Ravens, says injuries can leave players feeling isolated, guilty, and fearful. A lack of experience with being hurt only makes it worse. "It can make your self-confidence plummet," McDuff says. "And I mean fast. Within six hours of an injury."
Then add this to a player's burden: responsibility to a host of other people. Having a mother who discloses her son's emotional state to reporters can't be helpful. Endorsing a debit card and an energy drink, as Young has, might pay well, but the companies count on you to live up to the deal. In our sports-obsessed culture, partying shirtless with a group of friends, as Young did this summer to the delight of celebrity and sports blogs, can require a public apology.
So, Young faced a cocktail of stressers. McDuff says immediate intervention by team officials, health professionals, and trusted family and friends can quell an athlete crisis. But intense publicity can make it seem as if the triggering event "happened hundreds of thousands of times, not once, in the psyche of the public." Young's mental health, dedication, and competence have been questioned for two years now, never more than in the last two weeks.
How the Titans are handling Vince Young's personal issues hasn't been made public. According to a staff directory, the Titans don't have a psychologist on the payroll. But they do contract with a therapist, who met with Young during last week's events. (The Denver Broncos, with whom I embedded as a place-kicker, employ a full-time psychologist who has an office near the locker room, attends practices, and encourages players to talk.) Young didn't attend quarterback meetings last week or travel with the team to Cincinnati on Sunday (a 24-7 victory). And yesterday, Fisher announced that Young had been demoted in favor of Collins, a traditional drop-back quarterback, regardless of when his knee recovers. It would certainly be understandable if Young felt abandoned by his team.
As a culture, football isn't touchy-feely. "Because it's such a testosterone-driven sport, it's very hard to express any weakness at any time to anyone," player agent Peter Schaffer says. "It's like the remedy creates more problems than the actual problem." Or, to put it another way, a player who owns up to his problems might think he'll be perceived as less than tough, threatening his status in the locker room. And it's not as if sportswriters are sympathetic after the fact. In the Tennessean, columnist David Climer advises Young to "get with the program." In the New York Times, columnist William Rhoden links Young's problems to those faced by older African-American quarterbacks. "Young doesn't need a psychologist," Rhoden writes. "He needs a history lesson."
All might not be lost for Vince Young. At 25, he's still got plenty of time to become a great quarterback. The Titans have invested thousands of hours and millions of dollars in him. And plenty of other NFL players have suffered publicly before finding the emotional maturity to survive in the league. (Exhibit A: the Miami Dolphins' worldly and thoughtful running back Ricky Williams.) But there also are plenty of other players who have decided that the sport isn't for them. Some are comparatively anonymous, like Quinn Pitcock and Ed Cunningham. Others are better known thanks to stellar, if short, careers, from the legendary Jim Brown to the superb 1990s running back Robert Smith.
Quitting outright is a dramatic endpoint, to be sure. But it shouldn't be an illogical one. Maybe Vince Young just isn't cut out to play in the NFL. "I'm really much more amazed by the people who continue to grind it out," says Joel Goldberg, who was a psychologist for the New York Giants and other NFL teams for more than two decades. "Honestly, the brighter ones quit."


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(*) Villa Nova fielded an irregular player in 4 matches and lost 16 points.
Geuvânio (Maicon Bolt); Ricardo Oliveira. Coach: Rodrigo Santana.
Marquinhos Gabriel (Pedro Rocha); Fred. Coach: Mano Menezes.
(C) Copyright Claudio Freati, RSSSF and RSSSF Brazil 2018-2019.


1) I'm wanting to insulate my 1999 L300 Delica low roof TD. How do I go about this? I've bust a couple round plastic clips (that I'm not sure how to replace) and feel I'm going to eff things up royally without some advice. The roof/ceiling seems particularly difficult.
2) How do I go about replacing my side pop windows with ones that slide open. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
In reference to the insulation check out the site sounddeadnershowdown.com. I found it to be extremely helpful. They offer product as well.
Amazon sells the plastic clips as well as a few tools to make sure u dont break them when installing/reinstalling. We stripped out all the panels on the sides. We went with a layer of reflectives inside the plans for insulation with room for airflow; from what I read if you stick insulation to the walls they might absorb moisture and rust out the car from inside. But there are diffrent schoolsof thogh on that so u just need to read and make a decision. For the panels themselves we used a 3 layer sandwitch. underlayment in the outside, reflective in the middle and speaker carpet on the outside. Using the clips from amazon we were able to install them using the existing punch holes that were used with original panels. From my experience you need to F things up just a little to find your way around; but you will be happy with the end results :) Good luck.
Regarding sliding windows; we need to do the same. Ventilation is a big issue in the Deli's and the pop outs just dont cut it. But they are replacable once you find the parts.


This job posting is now not obtainable on Job Bank. You can seek for different job opportunities through the use of the job search box at the prime of the page. You may also select to join the numerous students who reside away from campus in personal rented accommodation. We now have an inventory of high-high quality, university-endorsed personal sector accommodation and may also help you find housemates to maneuver in with. The elements destined for remanufacturing, called 'scraps', which can be used in 90% of cars in our vary, are dropped-off to autos in-use /owned. By using reverse logistics of distribution of spare elements, the scraps are collected by the industrial community.
I learnt about lots of their design faults and made a very good living with my engineering skills by picking potential problems with many different machines and their elements then stocking the spares for them. Here is a link to find out about EARS and what dimension compressor you will need to run a spread of air instruments. Rich McClure, the white Republican enterprise leader who co-chairs the Ferguson Fee, understands that.
Thus, the major role of auto engineers is designing, growing, testing and manufacturing autos from the inception of concepts to the production stage. Nonetheless, it's a broad discipline which has many subsections. These areas of specialisation embody electronics and management system, provide chain management, aerodynamics, thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, engine techniques and others. These specialised engineers take care of autos' mechanisms, electrical programs, capabilities of engines, workshop techniques, research and designs.


Makati City, July 31, 2017 – The year was 1988. Then already 130 years strong, more than a century of noble tradition could not save Tanduay from impending disaster. The business had fallen on hard times—crippled by outdated production methods and antiquated equipment, revenues were declining fast and the biggest rum producer in the country was nearing bankruptcy.
Since bottling was still being manually done at the only plant in Quiapo but demand was nonetheless high, cheap knockoffs of the rum became rampant in the market. Literally on the verge of collapse, troubles were mounting and there was no respite in sight for Tanduay's dire financial situation. No one wanted in on the bleak scenario. No one, that is, save for a man called El Kapitan.
Dr. Lucio Tan, one of the most accomplished individuals in the country and in the world, cannot say exactly who, when, or how the nickname was first used. We do know, however, that El Kapitan is a fitting tribute to an astute businessman, one unfazed by struggle and adversity. By July 1988, the LT Group acquired Tanduay Distillers, Inc. from Elizalde and Co. for P700 million, facing over P140 million in debt. As El Kapitan set about restoring the company's fortunes and former glory, LTG settled all liabilities that same year.
Rolling up their sleeves to tackle the problems head-on, the new owners and management embarked on a journey to to improve production, distribution, and marketing. Tanduay had, since it was established, acquired the national reputation for high quality, and that wasn't about to change. There was no way to go but up, and the transition, though fraught with challenges, was about to bring the enterprise to even greater heights.
Some of the modernization efforts of Dr. Tan included the purchase of new distillation tanks, and the installation of modern bottle capping and labeling machines.
Plant modernization and expansion projects doubled the distillery's production capacity. From having only a few thousand oak barrels at the time of acquisition, the business immediately procured more from Kentucky, USA and now possesses the largest inventory of alcohol aged in barrels in the country. And to foil imitators, technologically advanced bottling equipment were obtained as well. Now, bottles came with a tamper-proof security seal to assure its generations of loyal followers that the stuff was genuine. All facilities also became ISO-certified, ensuring consumers of quality, efficiency, and food safety.
It has been a dramatic turnaround for Tanduay. Today, it is the second-largest selling rum on the planet, next to Puerto Rico's Bacardi. What better proof that palates the world over have come to appreciate the exceptional taste of Tanduay than to have it distributed not only throughout Asia, but in North America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. But believe it or not, for LTG, this is only the beginning. Because the Filipino spirit has always been at the heart of Tanduay's victory, the challenges may be many but the opportunities are greater still. And with sheer determination, we know that Tanduay can overcome.
Tanduay Rum is produced by Tanduay Distillers, Inc., the oldest among the subsidiaries under the wings of the Lucio Tan Group. It carries the distinction of being one of the biggest brands in the distilled spirits category and one of the world's most decorated spirit brands. Tanduay Rum's distinct taste and aroma is a product of over 160 years of heritage and expertise in making quality rum, recognized by experts all over the world.
Please visit www.tanduay.com or www.facebook.com/TanduayRhumOfficial/ for more information.


The Internal Revenue Service recently announced a program that provides employers with the opportunity to reclassify some or all of their workers from non-employees or independent contractors to employees (for employment tax purposes).
The new Voluntary Classification Settlement Program (VCSP) offers partial relief from past federal employment tax obligations – if the employer prospectively treats the workers as employees.
Note: As of publication, only the IRS is offering this federal tax relief. It is unclear whether state or local tax agencies or DOL wage and hour divisions at the federal or state level will offer similar relief. Employers are encouraged to seek professional assistance including CPA Advice at Perfect Tax and legal counsel to evaluate the benefits and consequences of participating in the VCSP and how it would impact their business.
According to the IRS website, to participate in the VCSP employers must meet the eligibility requirements, complete the application process and upon acceptance, enter into a closing agreement with the IRS.
Not currently be under audit by the IRS, the Department of Labor, or a state agency concerning the classification of these workers.
Interested employers can apply for the program by filing Contact US, Application for Voluntary Classification Settlement Program, at least 60 days before they want to begin treating the workers as employees.
For the first three years under the program, will be subject to a special six-year statute of limitations, rather than the usual three years that generally applies to employment taxes.
Are You Ready for What`s Next?
Every year, Perfect Tax monitors thousands of changes in local, state, and federal laws that affect our more than 550,000 U.S. business clients. You can be assured that we will continue to take care of the administrative details — so you can focus on running your business.
Please bookmark this page and visit often for the latest updates on the IRS Voluntary Classification Settlement Program (VCSP), as well as other pending government legislation.


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BAC One-Eleven
(Redirected from BAC 1-11)
British Aircraft Corporation One-Eleven
British Aircraft Corporation One-Eleven from British Airways in 1978.
British Aircraft Corporation
retired in 2019
Number built
The British Aircraft Corporation One-Eleven or sometime British Aircraft Corporation 111 or also BAC 111 was a British airliner. It was a twin-turbojet that could carry around one hundred passengers. Some were built under licence in Romania as RomBAC 111. This aircraft is similar to the French Sud Aviation Caravelle and to the US Douglas DC-9. The One-Eleven was retired from service in the 1990s because of noise restrictions. It was one of the more successful British designed airliners.
History and service[change | change source]
Before the airplane was called the BAC 1-11, it was called the Hunting 107 before Hunting Aircraft merged with British Aircraft corporation. It entered service in 1965, a while before it's competitors. Despite it being a British aircraft, half of the original orders were American. During the 1980s noise restrictions were passed, and most airlines wanted to hush-kit the aircraft instead of putting the aircraft out of service. They did this because at least half of the 1-11s still in service were fairly new; only 5-10 years old. During the early 1990s, more noise restrictions were passed, and this time, the planes were approaching retirement age anyway, so the BAC 1-11 saw most airlines retiring them in the 90s. The last ones in service were testbeds for the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II, and those were retired in 2019.
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This page was last changed on 23 August 2022, at 06:21.