text:
'True Blood's' Stephen Moyer: 'I've already drunk all the drinks that I was supposed to drink in one lifetime'
Actor Stephen Moyer is about to star in the second series of ITV crime drama 'Safe House' Credit: Ron Eshel/Invision
Daphne Lockyer
4 September 2017 • 7:30am
Actor Stephen Moyer has been thinking recently about the subject of honesty. How much of it can a relationship stand and, if you fail to tell the truth, then, who exactly are you protecting: your partner or yourself?
He's lucky, he says, to be married to the unflinching Anna Paquin who won an Oscar for her role in The Piano at the age of 11.
They became romantically entwined with in real life when they played a pair of unconventional lovers - he a 175-year-old-vampire, named Bill Compton and she a telepathic cocktail waitress, Sookie Stackhouse, in HBO's Southern US, schlocky-horror series, True Blood.
"My missus told me from the outset that she would rather have the blatant, unvarnished truth than discover things she wasn't aware of further down the road," he says. "Relationships work in different ways but, for us, 100 percent transparency feels like the way to go."
We've moved onto the subject about honesty in relationships because Moyer, 47, is about to take over the starring role in the second series of the crime drama Safe House. Honesty and it's opposite - concealment - is one of the four part programme's main themes.
Actors Stephen Moyer and Anna Paquin pose ringside at the "Mayweather VS Pacquiao" boxing match in Las Vegas, 2015 Credit: Ethan Miller/Getty Images North America
He's playing Tom Brook, a charismatic and impulsive former police detective.
"When we first meet Tom, he and his partner, Sam (Zoe Tapper) are running a sailing school and a police safe house on the wild and beautiful coast of Anglesey," he says. "Their life seems idyllic - always the moment in drama where the chair gets kicked away. "
It's Tom's lack of truth about his past life to partner which leads to the unravelling: "If you ask me, men tend to reach emotional maturity a bit later than women", he says, laughing: "When I met Anna, I was 37, she was 24 – there were nearly 13 years between us, but I was only just about reaching her level of maturity!"
In the flesh, he is rangy, twinkly-eyed, gregarious, funny. Despite having made his home in LA, there is no transatlantic twang and instead meanders somewhere through the estuary that links Essex, where he was raised in an ordinary working class family, to London, where he trained at LAMDA and lived for many years.
Stephen Moyer with his dog Banjo Credit: Justin Slee/ ©Justin_Slee 2016
He uprooted to be with Paquin in Los Angeles, but still owns a houseboat that he now rents out in Little Venice and a North London pied-a- terre which they visit frequently.
"When I'm in LA there are things I miss", he says. "I've found a shop that sells Marmite, but there's no substitute for the winding roads of England or for Hampstead Heath. For a while I lived at the back of it and I'd swim in the ponds every day. I'd even sit in the rain on a bench. Aside from the people I love here, it's the thing I miss most.
"But, still, both Anna and I have this knack of being totally at home wherever we are in the world. Anna's a Kiwi who then studied at Columbia University and is a New Yorker in her guts. I'm a total London boy. If it hadn't been for meeting her I'd have done that show and then come back here. We totally changed each other's lives."
Moyer with Alexander Skarsgård in True Blood Credit: Television Stills
He'd had a chequered romantic past when they met, was the father of two children, Billy, now 17 and Lilac, 15, from two failed relationships. "We were both still going through 'stuff'. But there we were and there was this crazy magnetism between us.
"We tried not to and when that didn't work we didn't tell anyone we were together – either on or off set. We wanted to make sure that this was really something before we felt ready to tell anyone."
In 2010, two years after meeting, the couple married flanked by friends and family, at a beach side ceremony in Malibu. Two years after that between seasons of True Blood, his wife delivered twins, Charlie and Poppy - about to celebrate their 5th birthday.
"There were already three sets of twins in Anna's family" Moyer recalls. "So when we found out there were two babies, it wasn't a total shock. The doctor said, "I have news for you.' And Anna said, 'Twins?"
Moyer and Paquin at the season 7 premiere of their hit HBO show 'True Blood' Credit: Frank Trapper/Corbis Sport
He's clearly a doting father – to all four of his offspring. Billy still lives with his mother in the UK but spends time with his father both in the UK and US. Lilac lives in Los Angeles with her mother, the journalist, Lorien Haynes and sees her father often.
It's a modern, blended family. "My kids are my absolute raison d'être," he says. Becoming a father, he adds, changed his life in '500 different ways. And all of them for the better." Top of the list, was his decision to quit drinking and to enter rehab for the problem shortly after his first son was born.
It's not a subject he talks too much about, although last year, while sitting on a panel for the Clare Foundation, an anti-addiction charity he's an ambassador for in LA, he admitted his problem had been rooted in the drinking culture that surrounded British actors. Let's call it the Peter O'Toole syndrome.
"There's a rush that happens from doing this job, this whirring buzz and ( by drinking) you want that buzz to continue," he said.
Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer attend the Audi Polo Challenge 2015 at Cambridge County Polo Club on July 3, 2015 Credit: David M. Benett/Getty Images Europe
Although he chooses every word carefully today, he opens up a little more. "I got to a point in my life where I was totally out of control. I was shocked into doing something about it and fatherhood was definitely a big aspect of that – the catalyst that shook me. And I would never want to go back there.
"People, say, 'When are you going to be able to have a drink again?. And my answer to that is, 'I've already drunk all the drinks that I was supposed to drink in one lifetime.'"
It's nearly 17 year since he gave up alcohol. "For me, it's been about getting clean and getting over the wildness and it's been the best thing I could ever have done because while the oblivion of drink can be exciting and attractive, I'm so much happier now.
"This morning I was up early to let the dogs out (the couple have two that travel everywhere with them - Dave a black Labrador cross and Banjo a Louisiana Leopard Dog). I had a coffee and watched the sunrise with a clear head and it occurred to me that I'm the grown up now that I never thought I would be – the grown up that, maybe, at one time, I was running away from because I thought it would be so incredibly dull to be that person, whereas the absolute reverse is true."
Moyer has now gone alcohol-free for 17 years Credit: Justin Slee
The last seven years with Paquin, especially, he says, have sealed his stability and contentment. They both work consistently and cope with long periods of separation – Paquin, for example, is currently filming a 1950s romance, Tell it To The Bees in Scotland while Moyer is in Atlanta starring in The Gifted, a big budget sci-fi adventure series for Fox TV.
However, the couple also co-own a production company with a raft of projects at various stages of development, including The Parting Glass, a film they made last year about a family dealing with a sister's death in which Paquin stars and Moyer directs.
He has directed her before, most notably in three episodes of True Blood. "There was a love scene with Anna and Joe Manganiello (Alcide Herveaux) And I'm saying, "Ok, Joe, put your hand on Anna's t**! Babe. Babe… scratch his back!" Moyer beams. "Afterwards you do slightly think, "What the f***?"
Just as well, perhaps, that the safe house in question here is the metaphorical one that Moyer and Paquin have built together. "You said that, not me," he laughs. "I wouldn't want to jinx it."
ITV's four part series Safe House begins on ITV on September 7
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text:
Q: Selenium: Page JS not running, stuck in load Running a scraper on a site and the js doesn't seem to be working. Stuck on "loading" on the page but the rest of the html is loading fine.
Screen shot of load.
https://i.stack.imgur.com/0WofB.png
from selenium import webdriver

bin_path = ''#path to local bin file for driver
driver = webdriver.Chrome(executable_path=bin_path,desired_capabilities={'javascriptEnabled': True})
driver.get(URL)

Not sure if I need to pull the name of each script and execute it one at a time?

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BAD. BUILT BY ASSOCIATIVE DATA.
How Architect Works (HAW Magazine) showcases awesome works from passionate Architects & Designers.
It provides a platform for Architectural groups & professionals, Research & Academics and related fields of architecture to connect, display and share their work.
Interested in showcasing your architecture + design project?
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The Beckett checklist is showing a variation for #58 Conor Jackson (A DBacks version and a Rays version) and a #407 Randy Winn variation with Fred Lewis pictured. The seventh is still a mystery, although there has been at least one person talking about a rumored Carlos Quention variation. None of these three latest variations have shown up yet. Check your cards!
Is the Aramis Ramirez "ARAMIS" card a variation, or just one of those weird things Topps does every so often?
All of the Aramis Ramirez cards that have surfaced so far have just his first name on the front of the card, so at this point it is not a variation, just a Topps thing. That could still change as the seventh variation is still undiscovered.
There's an Adrian Gonzalez on eBay with a Rangers logo instead of the Padres. Could that be the 7th SP?
Jeez, I get distracted from cards for a couple weeks and all hell breaks loose.


Southern Rockies Nature Blog: Why Do We Want to Feed Birds, and Does It Help Them?
Why Do We Want to Feed Birds, and Does It Help Them?
Evening grosbeaks eating black oil sunflower seeds.
Australian scientist Darryl Jones answers questions about bird-feeding for Cornell University's "All About Birds."
At first, it was pretty much a casual, do-it-yourself activity—tossing out food scraps or leftover grain. Bird feeding at the scale we see now didn't really take off until the early 1980s when it became possible to go into a pet food or hardware store and buy all these specialized items for feeding wild birds. It was primarily the [cage bird industry starting to] sell to people to feed to wild birds.
Why do people feel so deeply about feeding birds?
Jones: That's probably the most fascinating [question] of all—it's so much more complex than I ever imagined. A lot of people feel that we humans have done so much damage to the environment and therefore to birds, that they want to give something back—which is a pretty serious, profound activity. Others just really want to learn about birds and feeding brings them up close. And that leads to this whole area where interacting with nature can lead to increased psychological, physical, and spiritual well-being. If that's the case, bird feeding is one of the most intimate, immediate kinds of interaction with nature that you can have.
Where Are the Dogs of Yesteryear?


Jesus said to his disciples: 20"When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, know that its desolation is at hand. 21Then those in Judea must flee to the mountains. Let those within the city escape from it, and let those in the countryside not enter the city, 22for these days are the time of punishment when all the Scriptures are fulfilled. 23Woe to pregnant women and nursing mothers in those days, for a terrible calamity will come upon the earth and a wrathful judgment upon this people. 24They will fall by the edge of the sword and be taken as captives to all the Gentiles; and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.


text:
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Don't Abandon Plans for High-Speed Rail in Australia – Just Look at All the Benefits
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By: Marcus Luigi Spiller, University of Melbourne
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The Grattan Institute's call to "abandon" plans for any high-speed rail network in Australia fails to look at the wider benefits such a project can bring by way of more productive economies and more sustainable towns and cities.
The study authors argue the development of any bullet train network linking Brisbane to Melbourne via Sydney and Canberra is "unsuitable for Australia".
But what their argument neglects is that a project like high-speed rail has a unique capacity to reshape cities and population settlement patterns in positive ways.
A Question of Cost
The institute's study says the idea of high-speed rail is an unwanted distraction in policy-making for the nation's transport future. Its case relies on a review of the high-speed rail experience in Europe, Japan and China.
All of these nations, it says, have vastly different distributions of towns and major cities to that in Australia, which has extremely long distances between a few large cities.
Arise Australia 108, Melbourne, Australia
The study also critiques a 2013 Commonwealth analysis that found a A$130 billion high-speed rail project linking Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne would generate a benefit-cost ratio of 2.3 to 1. So every A$1 invested in a high-speed rail network would generate A$2.30 in benefits such as travel time savings, avoided vehicle operating costs and reduced road congestion.
But the Grattan study authors say that figure is based on a "cherry-picked" discount rate of 4%. This is economics jargon for the minimum return that the community would expect from the investment of its collective resources in any project.
The Grattan study also says the 2013 cost-benefit analysis did not allow for cost over-runs. Nor did it consider the greenhouse gas emissions associated with the enormous quantities of concrete and steel needed to build the infrastructure.
So why are some people, including the federal Labor Party, still so enamoured with the idea of high-speed rail when others would have it binned?
Some Projects Reshape Cities
Not all transport infrastructure projects are equal when it comes to cost-benefit analysis. Some investments have a transformative effect on population settlement patterns – they shape cities and regions.
The Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Melbourne Underground Rail Loop are classic examples of city-shaping projects. Each altered travel times between different parts of the metropolis, which then shifted the location preferences of households and businesses. This led to a substantially different city structure compared to what might otherwise have developed.
Other projects, the vast majority of government transport outlays, merely follow or service the pattern of settlement established by the city-shaping investments. These "follower" projects include the local arterial roads and tramways that circulate people and goods within cities.
The Commonwealth's official guidelines for major project evaluation recognise this distinction.
New ways of living, learning, working and playing become possible with city-shaping projects. By comparison, the procession of follower projects simply perpetuates settlement patterns and economic structures.
This is the claim and appeal of high-speed rail. Advocates argue such an investment would divert a significant proportion of urban growth from the far-flung suburbs of metropolitan areas to new regional locations. That's because these regions will then have similar travel times into core city labour markets.
In these regional locations, households would enjoy greater housing choice and affordability, more walkability and better access to open space. They could even have better access to a range of community facilities than their metro suburban counterparts.
Advocates also argue businesses in the big cities and intervening regional areas will be able to connect with each other at lower cost and source the skills they need more efficiently. This would boost productivity.
Consider All the Benefits
The 2013 analysis took into account issues such as congestion, emissions (from travel) and transport accidents. But it did not attempt to quantify and monetise the effects of high-speed rail shaping cities and regions.
Arguably, the most important set of benefits from this investment were left out of the economic evaluation, simply because they are difficult to measure.
Modelling how the supply chains of businesses might change under the influence of city-shaping projects, or how the housing preferences of people might shift, is undoubtedly challenging. But being difficult to measure makes these impacts no less real.
Despite this limitation on the scope of benefits, the 2013 study said the high-speed rail project would return a benefit-cost ratio of 1.1 at a 7% discount rate, which the Grattan study says is the usual test applied to transport projects.
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Grattan says the project barely scrapes in at this higher discount rate and implies many other projects would offer ratios greater than 1:1 and should be preferred. These would typically be smaller, follower projects that address local congestion problems.
But a project achieving a 1.1 benefit-cost ratio means Australia would still be better off undertaking the project compared to a business-as-usual case.
If the transformative effects of high-speed rail include more compact and walkable cities with less car dependency and greater productivity, then such a network has good reason to keep its grip on the Australian imagination.
Marcus Luigi Spiller, Associate Professor of Urban Planning (honorary), University of Melbourne
This entry was posted in: Travel Updates
Tagged with: Australia, bullet train, high-speed, rail, transportation, travel Australia
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text:
You are currently in > Indonesia > Java island > Borobudur
Now on blog.indahnesia.com
10 June 2004 00:00 · Borobudur assailed by commerce demons
go to 'Blog'
Borobudur is a ninth-century Mahayana Buddhist monument in Magelang, Central Java, Indonesia. The monument comprises six square platforms topped by three circular platforms, and is decorated with 2,672 relief panels and 504 Buddha statues. A main dome, located at the center of the top platform, is surrounded by 72 Buddha statues seated inside perforated stupa.
Borobudur Introduction
Introduction to Candi Borobudur
The Borobudur Temple is considered as one of the Seven Wonders of the World. This temple is located at Borobudur District. South of Magelang in the Province of Jawa Tengah (Central Java). The expression of experts who had been studying Borobudur Temple varied some way. Bernet Kempers' expression was Borobudur is Borobudur, meaning that Borobudur Temple is very unique in her own way. Nie (...)
Structural Design of the Borobudur
Ever since the first excavation, most experts speculated on the exact shape of the temple. Hoenig, in his book "Das form problem des Borobudur" speculate that the original form of Borobudur Temple had four gates and nine floors. The form of Borobudur Temple is similar to temples found in Cambodia. According to Parmenteir, the huge single stupa on top of the temple made the smaller (...)
Mural Reliefs
Reliefs on every circle
There was a long series of main relief's at the first alley, either at the main wall or at the inner side of Kutamara wall. Relief's at the Kutamara wall depicted Jataka's and Awadana's a story of Buddha's life, which expressed as Bodhisattva, due to his good deeds in the past. Sometimes, Buddha is expressed in the form of animals such as rabbit, monkeys and soon (...)
Buddha's Story
The Story of Buddah
With regard to Buddha, the name is not identify a person, but a term to denote a person who has reached bodhi, a person who has acquired Absolute Englightment, and is thus aware of the meaning of life; and to him is revealed the real way to liberate oneself from the constrain of Karma. The founder of Buddhism, as we learned from history, is actually a son of a king named Princ (...)
Stupas and Statues
These bell-shaped stupas are perforated and have no relief's or other decoration. Each encloses a statue and in the centre of the highest terrace there is only one stupa, the main stupa, supreme among the others, overlooking the surrounding landscape. This stupa has solid walls with no decoration. One will find the atmosphere on these circular terraces very tranquil and (...)
Temple Complex
Around the Borobudur
What we see today is the Borobudur Temple whose function has changed, having now become a research and tourist object, situated on the Borobudur Tourist Park. Borobudur is not only a tourist object, but also a cultural legacy. The existence of the tourist park reflects a cultural awareness to deal with the challenge, based on past experienced, to preserve the monument so that its name and signific (...)
Mystery of the Borobudur
When we see the reality of Borobudur's dimensions, whether it is the size of the monument itself of reflect it has on us, it is not surprising that we tend to wonder why this temple was built. How was it possible to pile up thousands of stone blocks to create such a magnificent structure, while at that time people had no knowledge of sophisticated tool and equipment? How did they carve the thousan (...)
Candi Borobudur
Borobudur to offer new night attractions
The Borobudur temple in Magelang will stage a ballet performance at night, reminiscent of the popular Ramayana dance-drama performed in the compound of the Prambanan Hindu temple some 80 kilometers apart. The first performance will be staged on Wednesday night, with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono among the audience. A collaborative work of experts of various backgrounds, including a (...)
BOROBUDUR PICTURES
8 pictures in this gallery
· Borobudur Introduction
· Structural Design
· Mural Reliefs
· Buddha's Story
· Stupas and Statues
· Temple Complex
· Mystery of the Borobudur
· Candi Borobudur


text:
Context-aware Petri net for dynamic procedural content generation in role-playing game
Young Seol Lee, Sung-Bae Cho
In most cases, the story or plot of popular role-playing games is constructed by professional designers as a main content. However, manual design of game content has a limitation in the quantitative aspect; it requires a large amount of time and effort. As game consumers want more diverse and rich contents, it is not easy to satisfy these needs with manual design, so procedural content generation is actively exploited to automatically generate game contents. In this paper, we propose a quest generation method using Petri net modules. A quest depending on the players involvement or type determined by Bayesian network is generated by Petri net. Never Winter Night is used as a game platform to show the feasibility of the proposed method. In future works, we will collect players playing history and evaluate the performance of Bayesian network inference for a players type. Also, we will apply the proposed method to an open-source platform for a complete automatic quest generation system.
IEEE Computational Intelligence Magazine
https://doi.org/10.1109/MCI.2011.940618
Published - 2011 May 1
Bayesian networks
Petri nets
Lee, Y. S., & Cho, S-B. (2011). Context-aware Petri net for dynamic procedural content generation in role-playing game. IEEE Computational Intelligence Magazine, 6(2), 16-25. [5749447]. https://doi.org/10.1109/MCI.2011.940618
Lee, Young Seol ; Cho, Sung-Bae. / Context-aware Petri net for dynamic procedural content generation in role-playing game. In: IEEE Computational Intelligence Magazine. 2011 ; Vol. 6, No. 2. pp. 16-25.
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abstract = "In most cases, the story or plot of popular role-playing games is constructed by professional designers as a main content. However, manual design of game content has a limitation in the quantitative aspect; it requires a large amount of time and effort. As game consumers want more diverse and rich contents, it is not easy to satisfy these needs with manual design, so procedural content generation is actively exploited to automatically generate game contents. In this paper, we propose a quest generation method using Petri net modules. A quest depending on the players involvement or type determined by Bayesian network is generated by Petri net. Never Winter Night is used as a game platform to show the feasibility of the proposed method. In future works, we will collect players playing history and evaluate the performance of Bayesian network inference for a players type. Also, we will apply the proposed method to an open-source platform for a complete automatic quest generation system.",
author = "Lee, {Young Seol} and Sung-Bae Cho",
doi = "10.1109/MCI.2011.940618",
journal = "IEEE Computational Intelligence Magazine",
Lee, YS & Cho, S-B 2011, 'Context-aware Petri net for dynamic procedural content generation in role-playing game', IEEE Computational Intelligence Magazine, vol. 6, no. 2, 5749447, pp. 16-25. https://doi.org/10.1109/MCI.2011.940618
Context-aware Petri net for dynamic procedural content generation in role-playing game. / Lee, Young Seol; Cho, Sung-Bae.
In: IEEE Computational Intelligence Magazine, Vol. 6, No. 2, 5749447, 01.05.2011, p. 16-25.
T1 - Context-aware Petri net for dynamic procedural content generation in role-playing game
AU - Lee, Young Seol
AU - Cho, Sung-Bae
N2 - In most cases, the story or plot of popular role-playing games is constructed by professional designers as a main content. However, manual design of game content has a limitation in the quantitative aspect; it requires a large amount of time and effort. As game consumers want more diverse and rich contents, it is not easy to satisfy these needs with manual design, so procedural content generation is actively exploited to automatically generate game contents. In this paper, we propose a quest generation method using Petri net modules. A quest depending on the players involvement or type determined by Bayesian network is generated by Petri net. Never Winter Night is used as a game platform to show the feasibility of the proposed method. In future works, we will collect players playing history and evaluate the performance of Bayesian network inference for a players type. Also, we will apply the proposed method to an open-source platform for a complete automatic quest generation system.
AB - In most cases, the story or plot of popular role-playing games is constructed by professional designers as a main content. However, manual design of game content has a limitation in the quantitative aspect; it requires a large amount of time and effort. As game consumers want more diverse and rich contents, it is not easy to satisfy these needs with manual design, so procedural content generation is actively exploited to automatically generate game contents. In this paper, we propose a quest generation method using Petri net modules. A quest depending on the players involvement or type determined by Bayesian network is generated by Petri net. Never Winter Night is used as a game platform to show the feasibility of the proposed method. In future works, we will collect players playing history and evaluate the performance of Bayesian network inference for a players type. Also, we will apply the proposed method to an open-source platform for a complete automatic quest generation system.
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DO - 10.1109/MCI.2011.940618
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10.1109/MCI.2011.940618


text:
There's More To Plastic: Changing The Narrative On Plastic Packaging With Jonathan Quinn Of Pregis
by Victoria Meyer | Aug 9, 2022 | Podcast | 0 comments
Plastic has been around for the longest time and is the staple material for packaging. And with the recent pandemic and online shopping, you would think that the use of plastic has diminished, but you couldn't be more wrong. It has increased significantly along with the misconception of destroying the planet. Would you believe that you, as the consumer, play the biggest role in the life cycle of plastic materials and how it affects the environment? In this episode, Jonathan Quinn, Director of Market Development and Sustainability at Pregis, shares their commitment to preserving the environment. He also talks about the Emerging Leadership Council's mission and the importance of educating the consumers, especially the younger generation, about the value of recyclable flexible materials and avoiding misconceptions about the use of flexible packaging and plastic recycling. Tune in and learn how you can make a difference when using plastic.
I am speaking with Jonathan Quinn, who is the Director of Market Development and Sustainability at Pregis. He leads the market segmentation strategy and execution along with all facets of flexible packaging sustainability. Jonathan joined Pregis in June of 2021 and also has a history in the plastic packaging and marketing at companies, including NOVA and ITW. Jonathan's a recognized expert in packaging sustainability, which is a hot topic these days, and was named in the Top 40 Under 40 by Waste360. That's a pretty awesome accomplishment. Jonathan, welcome to the show.
Thank you so much for having me. I'm excited to be here and jump into the conversation.
Thanks. I appreciate you joining me. Let's get started. What's your origin story? How did you get interested in packaging?
I grew up around the flexible packaging industry. There were pictures of me in a box of resin when I was two. I was in the lab doing testing when I was five because it's what I thought was the cool thing to do. My dad was a CEO of a number of flexible packaging companies. I'm the third generation of my family that's in the packaging industry. My grandfather was a press operator before my dad, but that's where the fire came from. Growing up, my dream was always to work and be in the packaging industry. I knew I always wanted to be on the commercial side of things. That's where my dream came to go to Clemson and study Packaging. That's what I did. Now I also have my younger brother in the industry. It's become a family affair.
That's interesting because I don't think we often hear that packaging is the family business, but that makes sense. You studied it. You lived in it. You've worked in it. What's the biggest misconception about plastics and packaging? I'm sure that when you're out and about, your friends wonder why you're doing this or they have something to say. What do you see as some of the biggest misconceptions that exist across consumer and public perception about packaging?
At the end of the day, we all know and heard it, but that plastic is evil. To your point about your friends knowing what industry and things of that nature, me and my wife years ago, we were at a wedding. We met these people. They're discussing what I did, what she did. She explained that I was in the plastics industry and in packaging.
That was when I was working at NOVA. They looked at me like I was evil because we were in Florida at a wedding on a beach and it was supposed to be this fantastic thing. I'm sitting there, the evil guy standing on the beach that works for the plastics industry. Without missing a beat, my wife jumps in and said, "No, it's not evil. Plastic isn't bad."
Buy plastic, live fantastic. Click To Tweet
She goes, "Buy plastic, live fantastic." I was like, "Where did that come from?" It was one of those proud moments of your wife standing up for you. I turned that buy plastic, live fantastic into a hashtag to try and be able to promote the value of flexible packaging to promote the value of plastic because at the end of the day, plastic provides and enables the everyday life of the everyday consumer. Plastic is not evil. We have to help make sure the consumer understands that. Every opportunity that I have, that's one of the things that I look for.
I have two kids. My hope is that they want to be a part of the plastic and flexible packaging industry one day, and that they're proud to be a part of it. I don't want them to have to go to school and worry about somebody saying, "No, your dad's evil because he works in plastic." We've got to enable them and give them the ammunition to also help promote the value of plastic and plastic packaging, but it starts with the consumer.
It's interesting. I'm old enough that I've seen some of the evolution in packaging in terms of changing, even something like milk bottles, which used to be in coated paperboard. Eventually, they migrated to plastic gallons. That was awesome. Soda is starting from glass bottles. I remember the first 2-liter bottle I saw, I was like, "What is this? Who could drink that much soda?" As it turns out, a lot of consumers can. Sometimes individuals, if they've not seen the evolution of how plastics have contributed to lightweighting and longevity of food, all the contributions it makes, it's easy to see, "I use it and then I dispose of it."
Not understanding what the use case is. In fact, what's interesting is McKinsey published the climate impact of plastics study, which looked at the life cycle analysis of plastics packaging in particular and concluded that plastics have a lower total greenhouse gas contribution than alternatives in most applications. In something like 13 out of 14 categories, plastics is better. Yet to your point, people don't understand that. How do we change that narrative? What do you see working to change the narrative, if anything?
One of the big things, and similar to you, as you reflected back on the evolution of glass and Coke and carbonated beverages and that transition, if I reflect back to when I was in elementary school and younger, it was always about save the toucan, save the trees. We can't cut down the rainforest so that we can have paper. We have to come up with different ways. In addition to that, it was: don't smoke. What do we do with that stop smoking campaign? We take all that messaging and we bring it home. The same is true now. There's a real opportunity to educate consumers and the younger levels, educating kids and the teachers in the schools and creating science-based programs for them to implement and educate so that they're all taking this message and bringing it home and building off of it.
That's where I see there being a critical opportunity to make sure that the misinformation misunderstanding doesn't continue to fester in the younger generations, but they're able to bring up and showcase that. Showing them and bringing that awareness and overall value for materials and showcasing to them how they can recycle flexible materials. One of the biggest challenges is that there's not curbside recycling of flexible materials. There are a number of things that are at play there. Creating and leveraging those programs for younger people is probably one of our greatest opportunities.
Plastic Packaging: Advanced recycling is not necessarily a waste of energy. We take and break the product back down to the monomer, the pyrolysis oil state, and bring it right back to the virgin material.
Do those programs exist yet? I know you're involved pretty heavily with Flexible Packaging Association, maybe others. Do you see those programs coming to fruition?
Yeah. That's one of the fundamental and foundational reasons in why I started the Emerging Leadership Council within the Flexible Packaging Association. It was to create opportunities to educate at the younger levels to create modules for member companies to be able to leverage and go out and educate in their communities about the value of flexible packaging and the value around plastics recycling. That's one of the things I would say that has taken off. If you look at the Trex program that exists where they create challenges, there are challenges out there between schools.
There are ways to create collection in schools to bring flexible materials into the school to recycle versus having to take those to the grocery store. It enables the students to see how by bringing in your flexible materials, once they collect 500 pounds, for example, within a six-month period, they get a free bench made out of Trex decking board, which helps the students to understand that there's multiple lives that this plastic packaging can have.
I've heard about that program. I've spoken to a couple of people about it because it should be widespread in schools. We should be encouraging.
It's something people can do that are reading that they can do in their own offices. I did this at NOVA. We've also now done this and rolled it out across the board at Pregis. It's probably one of the coolest things that has happened since I've been at Pregis. The goal and the target is to hit 500 pounds over six month period. In our Grand Rapids facility, we were able to have about close to 150 to 200 employees in Grand Rapids. They were able to collect in the first six weeks, 2,000 pounds of flexible materials. Why is that such a big deal? That 500 pounds is the equivalent to 42,000 grocery bags. That's a lot of film and material.
We've had one employee who created a partnership with a local food bank to get their flexible materials because they weren't recycling it and brought that material in. Now it's created a connection and then an education opportunity for that food bank, plus us working collaboratively and collectively to increase the amount of flexible material being recycled and to showcase that value of flexible packaging recycling.
Plastic is not evil. Click To Tweet
That's interesting. That's cool, the whole network effect of it. One of the challenges is people get these items, let's say, grocery bags. In theory, it's nice to say, "I'm going to bring my own bag to the grocery store." For me personally, COVID changed all of that. I used to go to the grocery store. I would bring my own bags and then COVID started. They don't want your bags because they might be dirty. I have converted to much more online shopping and picking it up at the store. All I can do is figure out a way to recycle it, which fortunately, most stores take the bags back, but it's a hassle. Creating that awareness and turning it into something good is useful.
That's part of when I talk about why we did what we did in our plants is Pregis is traditionally a protective packaging company. We've seen tremendous growth over the past few years. Even over the course of the past few years, not just COVID-related, because the mind of the consumer and that convenience has shifted. You're not different than many consumers in that you're focusing on spending more time and buying online versus going to the store. What we have to think about is how do we enable and make recycling convenient and thoughtless. What you have to think about is pre-pandemic, the average home parcel deliveries per household were 152 eCommerce home parcel deliveries per year.
In post-pandemic, it exceeded 200 times per household. What does that mean? That means that there are 200 opportunities to pick up those flexible materials and take them back because all of those delivery vehicles end up going back empty. There's a way to create a program and infrastructure to enable and make it easy. Even if you just focus it on mailers and air pillows and bubbles and things of that nature, you're able to create a significant increase in the amount of plastic and flexible plastic material that's being collected. It's oftentimes the cleanest. It helps to take that inconvenience associated with flexible film or flexible material recycling out of them.
Recycling film is critical to the whole advanced recycling processes and infrastructure that's being built. If I look at the change over the past couple of years, heavy emphasis, we're starting to see real commercialization, advanced recycling to turn these flexible packaging films into a chemical feedstock to go back into plastics polyethylene manufacturing. Certainly, a high emphasis from major corporations and from consumer products companies to increase recycled content recyclability. Yet, sometimes to a certain degree, I wonder, do consumers care and do they care enough to do the work to make that happen, but it's putting the rest of the puzzle together, which sounds like you're working at least in your sphere of influence to do.
The caring is one thing, but the knowing is the other aspect. That's the other critical part of the conversation when we talk about the consumer. At the end of the day, there's a lot of legislation that's being done. Who's making that legislation? Who's bringing that legislation forward? It's the consumer. We have to make sure that the legislators understand the decisions they're making, the proposals they're bringing forward, and their impact and consequences. You brought up advanced recycling. There's a number of states that don't support advanced recycling. Those are the states where we need to focus and make sure that people understand that. We talk about advanced recycling.
We're not talking about necessarily waste of energy. We're breaking the product back down to the monomer, the pyrolysis oil state, and bringing it right back to the virgin material. We need to do that in critical applications like food and medical to have that recycled content, to have that broad impact when it comes to the circular economy. Those are some of those critical things. That's why that education piece is critical. It's not for just the general consumer. It's for the broad consumer base and eliminating that misinformation that people take forward in a policy and legislative position.
Plastic Packaging: The education piece is so critical not just for the general consumer but also for the broad consumer base. Eliminating that misinformation will be taken forward by people in policy and legislative positions.
One of the things you talked about is the consequences of these legislative actions and understanding the impact. We've seen the downsides of some of these things. Certainly, if we think about energy, some of the energy policies in Europe that have had negative consequences when there wasn't wind energy available, there are the knock-on effects of all this. When we start looking at these targets for 2030 and 2050 about recycled content, it's hard to see a glide path there easily because the infrastructure is not there. The value chain is disconnected at this point in time.
Comment around that infrastructure and where the recycle stream is now, and this is one of the most critical points is that when it comes to the quality and feed and supply, it's not there yet. We're on this evolution and trajectory. We're going to get there, but we're still in that infancy. Taking and having the highest quality PCR, it's a continuous improvement type of situation. We'll eventually get there, but where we are now isn't where we need to be.
Let's talk a little bit about Pregis. What's Pregis' approach on sustainability and recycling? What are some of the key activities that Pregis is taking on now?
One of my most passionate reasons for being a part of Pregis is their position in regards to sustainability and what we've been able to develop and do over the course of the past few months and continue to evolve on that, but it lies and revolves around three pillars. It's to protect, preserve, and inspire. The protection aspect is protecting products. It's eliminating free shipments on that traditional Pregis side of the business where it's been around protective packaging but then focused on our flexible blown film side of things. It's about food preservation and eliminating waste, food waste, and things of that nature.
The preserve aspect is preserving the environment, making sure that we're not impacting, that we're reducing our impact on the environment through all different sorts of various initiatives and our commitment to the climate pledge and our commitment and membership within the alliance and plastic waste and a number of flexible packaging association as well, and a number of other things. Our inspire is one of the things that I personally probably connect with the most because my mission for as long as I can remember has been to positively impact people.
Inspire is that. It's about having an impact on people, the people in which we operate, the communities in which we live on a global basis. We also have our Inspire product line. If you ever see a blue inflatable or blue bubble wrap, most likely that it's ours. Why it has that blue tint is we're associated with an organization called Zima.
Packaging is not one material or the other. There's no silver bullet. We got to be about collaboration and partnership. Click To Tweet
Part of the proceeds from that product line go to bringing water filtration to at-risk or communities that have been faced with a natural disaster and don't have access to clean drinking water. One of the things that a lot of us take for granted is our access to clean drinking water. Making sure that we're having and investing and having that positive impact on people is what is foundational within that inspire pillar. All of that comes together to round out our overarching sustainability focus.
I'm going to loop back onto the Emerging Leadership Council. It ties into this positively impacting people. As part of the Flexible Packaging Association, you founded the Emerging Leadership Council. What is it? Why does it matter?
Growing up around the industry and while I was a student at Clemson, I won the Flexible Packaging Association's scholarship. I had been a fan of the Flexible Packaging Association, obviously. Notice that there was a high level of engagement as far as a higher level within organizations, but as far as visibility for others and the development of people within the association, it wasn't happening.
I also did some research into understanding membership and membership retention and family-owned businesses were coming into the next generation and they were going to these meetings and saying, "I don't want to hang out with these people. I don't know them. I'm not connected." That's not what we need. We need to be connected, cohesive, and progress as an industry.
I brought this idea to create engagement to bring that next generation of leadership along for the ride and help sustain the industry for many generations. One of the big things was getting these people engaged and making sure that this wasn't just going to become a Millennial party. This was going to be an action-based group that was going to make progress that would bring a different dimension to the association and the industry to create a separation between the flexible packaging industry as a whole and others.
We have four basic committees that all roll up into the Emerging Leadership Council focused on education, which speaks to what we were talking about earlier about educating younger people and older people as well on the value of the flexible packaging industry. Recruitment and leadership development is all under one.
The value of flexible packaging and plastic packaging to the everyday consumer is real. We have to continue to find ways to showcase that. Click To Tweet
Within recruitment, we have an intern program that is conducted throughout the summer. It's an internship program where we're bringing interns from different companies to have a weekly interaction for about an hour and a half, whether it's programming across companies. This creates a network on all those interns with other interns and the members of the ELC. It's a small group, so we can learn from each other. They can ask for advice they may not feel comfortable asking their boss.
It creates a safe space for them and differentiation because I don't know of an industry anywhere with something like this. We also have a committee on diversity, equity, and inclusion. This is something that I'm passionate about to make sure that everyone feels like they can bring their whole self to work and to the industry and make sure we're getting different perspectives and different ideas.
This committee is focused on creating a playbook and programs that member companies can roll out within their organization. Maybe they don't have the horsepower or the capability to do something like this, but we give them out of the box, a way and a guide path to being able to do that. The fourth is advocacy. This is all about advocating and understanding policy and the policy-related conversations. This is being engaged in those conversations and creating tools and guidance for the member companies as well. That's how the ELC came to be and what it's become. It's having an impact.
If people wanted to be part of the Emerging Leadership Council, how do they do that?
In order to be a part of the ELC, you first have to be a part of an FPA member company. If you are a part of a member company, there is a nomination. Whoever serves as the primary member within the FPA would be able to nominate you.
That sounds like a great organization. I know one of the things we discussed before we started was even this need to enable that next generation of leadership, to lead and have that impact to have the networks. The fact that you've created an intern network across companies is powerful. I know personally, one of the hardest things about going to an industry group. You didn't call it out, but I'll call it out. It's the gray hairs. It's always the gray hairs are there. They all seem to know each other already. Figuring out how to break in when you're not part of the in-crowd is difficult. Helping people create that network early in their careers is helpful and unique.
I've tried to be a part of that in-crowd, but it's fine if I could say maybe I'm halfway into the in-crowd, but if I only was part of that in-crowd in 10, 15 years, I'll be sitting there by myself and finding ways to bring others along for the ride, finding ways to create engagement and leverage their learning. Also, if you look at it more long-term is making sure that we have sustained success and leadership and create that continuous bright light as far as the future is concerned. The best is yet to come for the industry. For that to be a reality, we must continuously pull great people, great minds, and people with passion. We have to bring all that together to make sure we continuously advance.
It sounds like you've got a lot of great things on your plate that you are working on. What's next for you? What's next for Pregis? What's next for flexible packaging? What do you see coming up?
That's probably one of the coolest questions I've ever been asked because there's so much. As far as Pregis is concerned, we're in a tremendously awesome position in that we are material neutral and we have a material-neutral offering of paper and plastic, but we have the science and fact-based knowledge and awareness to support that. That makes us well positioned to be a part of these conversations in regards to on the state level.
We're going to continue to be engaged there, continuing to make sure that the voice of sustainable packaging is heard. Sustainable packaging is not one material or the other. There's no silver bullet. We got to be about collaboration and partnership. We've invested significantly in our blown film extrusion capabilities over the course of a few months.
We have a significant and further investment in that area, an area within the blown film category that has not seen a relevant major player come into the market in many years. We'll continue there and focus on all the other categories, whether that's bagging or surface protection or inside the box protection or systems approach. There's so much excitement right now within Pregis. Within the flexible packaging industry, we've got so much horsepower and positive momentum. Do we have some turbulent waters ahead in facing some of the legislative conversations? Yes, but the facts don't lie. You brought up the McKinsey study. The value that flexible packaging, plastic packaging brings, and plastics broadly brings to the everyday consumer is real.
We have to continue to find ways to showcase that to consumers. At the end of the day, the future is bright. There are a lot of passionate people within the industry within plastics and packaging as a whole. I'm excited to be along for the ride. At the end of the day, creating ways to make those gray hairs proud of what they've left behind and what they enabled, because, at the end of the day, we wouldn't have anything had it not been for the roads and the bricks that they had laid. We got to make sure we continue. We're not going to do it necessarily the same way they did. We'll do things a little bit differently, but that's okay. As long as we make sure to continuously improve and evolve and have the consumer in mind, we'll do everything we need to.
I appreciate you joining me, Jonathan. This has been a great conversation. People are going to love learning more about your perspectives and the work that you and Pregis and the Flexible Packaging Association are doing. Thanks for joining us on the show.
Thank you so much. I appreciate you and all the work and creating this visibility to everything that's taking place because it's much needed. I know that I appreciate it and others do as well.
Thank you for that. Thanks, everyone, for joining. Stay tuned for the next episode. We'll see you soon.
Pregis
Flexible Packaging Association
https://Recycle.Trex.com/view/programs#programs1
https://www.McKinsey.com/industries/chemicals/our-insights/climate-impact-of-plastics?cid=app
About Jonathan Quinn
Jonathan Quinn is the Director of Market Development and Sustainability at Pregis, where he leads the market segmentation strategy development and execution along with all facets of flexible packaging sustainability focused on providing innovative products and services that Protect, Preserve,Inspyre. Jonathan joined Pregis in June of 2021.
Jonathan is recognized as an expert in the areas of Packaging Sustainability, consumer insight and voice of consumer associated with packaging. He has conducted extensive consumer research on the e-Commerce and consumer packaged goods sectors. Prior to joining Pregis, Jonathan most recently held Marketing leadership roles at NOVA Chemicals. Additionally, he has held sales leadership and business development roles at Illinois Tool Works Zip-Pak division, the COESIA Group, and Multisorb Technologies.
Quinn holds a Bachelor of Science in Packaging Science and Business Management from Clemson University. Currently, Jonathan is the founder and Chairman of the Emerging Leadership Council at the Flexible Packaging Association (FPA) along with the Chairman's Advisory Council, and is on the Global Board of Directors of the International Safe Transit Association (ISTA). In June of 2021, Jonathan was appointed to the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) Advisory Board for Diversity and Inclusion.
Most recently Jonathan was appointed in July 2022 to Advisory Board for the Schools of Food, Nutrition and Packaging Sciences at Clemson University. Jonathan was designated a "Rising Star under 35" by Plastics News in 2018 and the Canadian Plastics Industry Association (CPIA) Young Leader of the Year in 2019. In February of 2021 Jonathan was recognized by Plastics News as a top Social Media influencer in Plastics and Packaging. In January of 2022 Jonathan received the designation of 40 under 40 by Waste360 for his contributions to waste, recycling, and sustainability. He can be found on all social media channels under the handle @JQUINNPACKAGED
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Data-Based Insights Into The Customer Experience With Kevin Huntsman


text:
layout: default
categories: [config]
title: QUnit.stack
description: Returns a single line string representing the stacktrace (call stack)
---

## `QUnit.stack( [ offset = 0 ] )`

Returns a single line string representing the stacktrace (call stack)

| name               | description                          |
|--------------------|--------------------------------------|
| `offset` (number)  | Set the stacktrace line offset. Defaults to `0` |

This method returns a single line string representing the stacktrace from where it was called. According to its offset argument, `QUnit.stack()` will return the correspondent line from the call stack.

The default offset is 0 and will return the current location where it was called.

Not all [browsers support retrieving stracktraces][browsers]. In those, `QUnit.stack()` will return `undefined`.

[browsers]: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Error/Stack#Browser_compatibility

### Example

The stacktrace line can be used on custom assertions and reporters. The following example [logs](/callbacks/QUnit.log) the line of each passing assertion.

```js
QUnit.log( function( details ) {
  if ( details.result ) {

    // 5 is the line reference for the assertion method, not the following line.
    console.log( QUnit.stack( 5 ) );
  }
} );

QUnit.test( "foo", function( assert ) {

  // the log callback will report the position of the following line.
  assert.ok( true );
} );
```

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


I don't like to discuss politics nor religions usually on my blog or my social media. So, I understand if my previous post was a little bit sensitive for some.
This entry was posted in Other Topics and tagged Clarification on July 8, 2018 by Mohamad Al Karbi.
Single dads vs single moms!
I've been living as a single dad for a while now as my wife is in a different country.
This entry was posted in Other Topics and tagged Controversial on May 2, 2018 by Mohamad Al Karbi.
There should be a next life!
Ten years ago, I was …..
Well, life was more beautiful and much easier.
This entry was posted in Other Topics and tagged Thoughts on February 19, 2018 by Mohamad Al Karbi.


Let's get this series kicked off with a bang and introduce a style of investing that is currently gaining popularity among the blog scene. The style we will dig into today is Dividend Growth Investing.
Invest only in stocks with a history of increasing their dividend.
Make sure that you have DRIP set up so that you can compound your dividends over the long haul.
This leaves you with a fairly simple game-plan when you begin investing. Most of the time stocks that have a long history of dividend growth are stable and have little volatility. This is a good thing for those that don't know a heck of a lot but want to invest in individual companies. That being said, there is a way to be better than others at this investing as it is not just a plug and play method.
There are a few different categories that you need to know about when you are beginning your trek as a dividend growth investing.
There are also a few other lists such as achievers, producers, etc. but if you are new to this type of investing I would read through these first.
Another thing that you will really need to read up on is DRIP (Dividend Reinvestment Plans) and how this will be a tool for you to use as you continually put money into your portfolio. DRIP is basically a program that automatically reinvests the money you make from your dividends into fractional (or whole) shares of the same stock. This bypasses commissions/fees and taxes while increasing your dividends. There are pros and cons to this but if you are getting into dividend growth investing then you need a broker that allows this. Investopedia has a nice little article that explains DRIP and you can find it here.
Now take that beginners lightly, as I am not saying if you don't know what a share is this is for you. What I mean is that if you are looking to begin investing in individual companies instead of ETF's or bonds then this is a great place to start. Low volatility (for the most part), companies with solid histories, and dividends means that while you may not be making 30% a year, you also won't be losing 50%!
When it comes to gaining income that you don't have to work for this is one of the best options you have. When you invest in dividend growers that means that if all goes right then you will increase not only the dividend of each share but the amount of shares you have as well because of DRIP. This leads to more cash every year!
What does this passive income potential look like? Here is an example if you start with $1000 in a company that has a $50 share price, grows at 6% (not crazy), grows the dividend at 6% (also not crazy), and you use DRIP at each payment as you hold for 20 years. If you want to use the calculator I did for this you can find it here.
As you can see the passive income is no joke. This is truly a sit and wait technique that can be used year after year as you keep getting paid.
In terms of find an undervalued Dividend King, it can be very hard to do in some markets. Due to the reliability in the companies you may find that finding a King or Aristocrat under a 20 P/E may be tough.
Because these companies usually have lower payout ratio and a higher price tag it means that you may be getting into them at a lower yield than other portfolios. You won't find a 5% yielder here as you will be closer to the 2-3%.
Due to the nature of this investing it is better suited for those that want to just see that passive dividend income grow instead of the percentage of yearly gain of the total portfolio. History has shown that over the long run you will win with most of the growers, in term of portfolio gain, but the increases may be smaller year to year than the portfolios of investors that are more active.
There are a ton of great resources when it comes to dividend growth investing and I would say that the best place to start is with a blog called the Dividend Diplomats. These guys specialize in this type of investing and are as down-to-earth as it comes in terms of the way that they write. They also offer some great advice on how to earn some extra income, what foundation stocks they recommend, and are open about their holdings. Again, this is a great place to start.
Another great blog that I frequent is Dividend Growth Investor. If you can't tell by the name, he obviously specializes in this type of investing as well. The thing that I like most about this blog is the constant posts that he pumps out that are very educational about the subject. From attractive stocks to watch to recent dividend raises it is full of great information.
For more blogs about dividend investing head to the Dividend Diplomats blogroll page.
A great place to look at a company's background weighed solely off their dividend history.
This is a great site run by Ken Faulkenberry, who has a ton of great content and advice. My favorite part though is this cheat sheet that gives you all of the dividend growers as they are categorized by years of consecutive growth.
I will leave these to you all to figure out on your own, but make sure that the broker uses DRIP, with fractional shares turned on, and check out all of the fees.
Again, this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to growth investing but it should give you a decent little look at it. I believe that this is a great way to invest if you want to be more passive and are worried about creating continual income over a long period of time.
As always let me know what you think below!


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Correspondence: [*] Corresponding author: Hui-Xiong Xu, MD, PhD, Department of Medical Ultrasound, Shanghai Tenth People's Hospital, Ultrasound Research and Education Institute, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200072, China. Tel.: +86 21 66307539; E-mail: xuhuixiong@126.com.
Abstract: OBJECTIVE:To evaluate a special kind of ultrasound (US) shear wave elastography for differential diagnosis of breast lesions, using a new qualitative analysis (i.e. the elasticity score in the travel time map) compared with conventional quantitative analysis. METHODS:From June 2014 to July 2015, 266 pathologically proven breast lesions were enrolled in this study. The maximum, mean, median, minimum, and standard deviation of shear wave speed (SWS) values (m/s) were assessed. The elasticity score, a new qualitative feature, was evaluated in the travel time map. The area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUROC) curves were plotted to evaluate the diagnostic performance of both qualitative and quantitative analyses for differentiation of breast lesions. RESULTS:Among all quantitative parameters, SWS-max showed the highest AUROC (0.805; 95% CI: 0.752, 0.851) compared with SWS-mean (0.786; 95% CI:0.732, 0.834; P = 0.094), SWS-median (0.775; 95% CI:0.720, 0.824; P = 0.046), SWS-min (0.675; 95% CI:0.615, 0.731; P = 0.000), and SWS-SD (0.768; 95% CI:0.712, 0.817; P = 0.074). The AUROC of qualitative analysis in this study obtained the best diagnostic performance (0.871; 95% CI: 0.825, 0.909, compared with the best parameter of SWS-max in quantitative analysis, P = 0.011). CONCLUSIONS:The new qualitative analysis of shear wave travel time showed the superior diagnostic performance in the differentiation of breast lesions in comparison with conventional quantitative analysis.


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Paperback Book Details
Paperback Details
10: 0692629726 B01BBCY5RO
B06XJ768P1
https://www.amazon.com/Life-Sliding-S-L-Mauldin-ebook/dp/B01BBCY5RO
S.L. Mauldin
Life Sliding
S.L. Mauldin, author
As his junior year in high school comes to an end, Gavin Bailey realizes his privileged world as the most popular kid in school is a lie. To make matters worse his father, feeling his overly-indulged son needs redirection, sends him off for the summer to assist at a camp for children with special needs. Suddenly forced to dabble in a world less familiar, Gavin's past catches up with him at Camp Lift Me Up. An event from his sophomore year comes to the forefront at the same time he encounters a strange girl with multi-colored fingernails who refuses to issue a waiver for his arrogant behavior. Initially convinced he is the only one suffering, Gavin faces a summer of harsh lessons in reality and eventually determines to make a difference at school his senior year. With the help of old and new friends, he implements a plan to stir up the social order, but will they be able to survive the fallout of what they've put into motion?
High school, a time for learning who you are, what your values are, and what matters in life. Gavin is the popular, most liked guy in his school. He is the trend setter and his hand-picked friends are at the top of the social pecking order. When they start planning their last summer bash before becoming seniors; he is quickly ripped out of his comfort zone when his dad decides he needs to spend his last vacation giving back to the community. Gavin is going to spend his summer working as a volunteer for camp Lift Me Up, it is a camp for kids with life threatening illnesses, a chance for them to feel normal. Here Gavin reconnects with an old friend Jacob, and they befriend Marissa, a girl with a lot of emotional baggage. Together the three of them bond and look to make their senior year one to remember not just for them, but for the whole school.
Gavin is your typical self-absorbed teenager, he's on the football team, one of the popular kids, and comes from a family of money. Everyone knew that kid in high school, if you were not part of that crowd chances are you despised him, if you were in the crowd you looked up to him, or at least followed so not to lose your standing. When Jacob stopped following the cool crowd Gavin abandoned him. He never looked into why his best friend suddenly changed over the course of a summer. Gavin soon learned with his service at Lift Me Up what brought about the change in Jacob. Following the back and forth between Gavin and Jacob is exciting, you are never quite sure what their feelings for each other really are. Seeing Gavin grow is emotional, he learns that there is a lot more to the world than his little bubble, and he learns to really care for other people. This awakening is uplifting, it gives you hope that society is not doomed.
One of the most predominate themes in this novel is that love has no boundaries or appearances. High school romances are often flirty and based on who is who and what social class you fall into. While this novel starts out following those trends and is easily relatable to readers, it soon twists and becomes so much more. The story of Caleb, the boy with leukemia, that latches onto a resentful Gavin is a catalyst for the change in Gavin. His memory is a constant reminder of how fragile life is and that you can't live your life trying to live up to everyone else's standards. I was really touched by Caleb and how his short time impacted so many lives. It is a reminder that it doesn't matter how long we are here on earth, but what we do with the time we are given. Caleb melted the heart of Gavin and reminded him there is more to life than his little social circle. Gavin and Jacob's relationship is touching and so fluid you just can't help but want to see how life goes for them both. Everyone should have a friendship like that in life, someone that loves you unconditionally and is there for you no questions ask. Life Sliding by S.L. Mauldin is a touching novel, thought provoking and full of compassion and hope.
https://literarytitan.com/2018/02/23/life-sliding/
Midwest Book Review
"Life Sliding" is a compelling read from beginning to end and clearly demonstrates author S. L. Mauldin's original and exceptionally gifted storytelling talents. While very highly recommended for school and community library YA Fiction collections.." Midwest Book Review
Life Sliding is a young adult coming of age novel written by S.L. Mauldin. Though he had indeed handcrafted the persona that made him the kid everyone wanted to emulate, even Gavin Bailey found the yearbook title, "The Most Looked Up To," somewhat tedious and a little bit absurd. Still, he accepted his role as a king at his high school and pondered what it would be like reigning in his senior year. Taylor, his long-term friend/girlfriend, had invited him to come with her family to Cabo for the summer, but his father, who had gotten increasingly strict and controlling, had nixed that idea. He had made other plans for Gavin, plans that would put the kibosh on any entertainment for his last high school summer, and his dad had made it clear that there was no point in arguing about it. After the last day of school, Gavin was woken up early on Sunday morning and driven off to the parking lot where a herd of yellow school buses were waiting for the campers to arrive. To make matters even worse, his father had pulled the plug on his cellphone coverage, effectively cutting off any communication with the real world as Gavin knew it. Camp Lift Me Up was created to let kids with special needs just be kids for a summer, and Gavin's father had volunteered him to be one of the Counselors-in-Training. Gavin viewed it as a wasted summer at first, but he soon discovered it was a life-changing experience.
S.L. Mauldin's young adult coming of age novel, Life Sliding, is a grand and glorious read about the pressures to conform that shackle children and young adults in school, and one popular kid's realization that there was much more to life than being the most looked up to. Following Gavin's metamorphosis from an arrogant and entitled kid to a compassionate and independently minded young adult is a mesmerizing and moving experience. Life Sliding is one of those all-too-rare books that get it. Mauldin seems to have the inside scoop on the angst, self-doubt and insecurity of the young whose issues are often dismissed with condescending platitudes such as "youth is wasted on the young." His plot is original and compelling, and Camp Lift Me Up is marvelous. I have to admit that I've always harbored a wistful envy of those fortunate kids who got sent to camp and became counselors when they were teens. So I automatically looked forward to vicariously experiencing Gavin's camping summer, even if he didn't, but, like Gavin, I found it far surpassed my anticipation. Mauldin's characters are authentic and intriguing, especially Gavin's lifelong friend, Jacob, and their friendship is a big part of what makes this book work as well as it does. I had a grand time reading Life Sliding; it's easily one of the best books I've read this year. Life Sliding is most highly recommended.
https://readersfavorite.com/book-review/life-sliding
Literary Titan Gold Award Winner - Life Sliding by S. L. Mauldin
Literary Titan Gold Award Winner March 2018 - Life Sliding by S. L. Mauldin
https://literarytitan.com/2018/03/03/literary-titan-book-awards-march-2018/
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Court clears way for sale of public school
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — The Alabama Supreme Court is clearing the way for the state to sell school property owned by a troubled local system.
The justices on Friday ordered the dismissal of a lawsuit filed over the state school superintendent's attempt to sell a school owned by Montgomery County's school system to Pike Road's school system.
The court ruled that two school workers who sued didn't have the legal standing to challenge the sale. It overturned a lower court that had blocked the deal.
The state took control of Montgomery County schools because they were in trouble financially, and officials sought the sale of Georgia Washington Middle School to raise almost $10 million.
Pike Road schools backed out of the deal because of the litigation. It's unclear whether another agreement is possible.
How a local school board race is becoming a statewide education affair
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Season Tickets update: 1000 and counting
FC United is delighted to confirm the club has now sold more than 1,000 season tickets as we enter the second month of the season.
Season tickets are a massive part of the income of the club, accounting for 60% of our match day income, and play a vital role in the long-term future for FC.
At the General Meeting in April, FC United members voted in favour of continuing with our pioneering "Pay what you can afford" season tickets for this season with a minimum price of £100 for adults, £65 for concessions and £21 for under-18s.
Our "Pay what you can afford" scheme was introduced for the 2009-10 season, with the hope that those who can afford to do so will choose to pay more thus subsidising those who pay less.
As in previous seasons we would greatly appreciate it if supporters who can afford to, add a decent sized donation to the minimum season ticket price to reflect the admission prices of £12 Adults, £7 Concessions and £3 under 18's.
This season, we are suggesting a donation of £100 in addition to the Adult season ticket price of £100. This total amount of £200 is equivalent of getting four matches free if paid on the gate. Likewise for Concessions we ask that you donate an additional £65 to bring the season ticket + donation to £130, equivalent to that of having two free games.
If you haven't got yours yet, there's still time! Remember, having a season ticket allows you to come and experience, and be apart of, the tremendous support at FC week in week out.
To buy Season Tickets, click on the button below, and you will be directed to the FC United page of our ticketing partner Eventim.
Buy Season Tickets
This is OUR club and we want YOU to be apart of every minute as we add to our history this season.
First Posted ~ 15:39 Sun 9 Sep 2018


Burroughs' Brew - Schuil Coffee Co.
Bulk Loose Leaf Tea. This organic flavored black tea is a most tangible enticement of coconut & the robust body familiar to Nilgiri Indian tea.
Decaf Pumpkin Spice - 10 ct.
Chai Spice - 10 ct.
Earl Grey - 10 ct.