text:
Stocks edge higher at open, Big Tech mixed
Yahoo Finance's Brad Smith breaks down how stocks opened on Wednesday.
[AUDIO LOGO]
BRIAN SOZZI: Look at the Aflac duck!
JULIE HYMAN: The Aflac duck.
BRIAN SOZZI: At the New York Stock Exchange the same day they're going to be lighting the tree outside the New York Stock Exchange. That is a huge day for the New York Stock Exchange, to have that duck and that tree outside.
JULIE HYMAN: Live duck. That poor duck.
BRIAN SOZZI: Oh, hell yeah. That is awesome.
JULIE HYMAN: That's got to be freaked out at all of the noise--
BRIAN SOZZI: Oh, is he just going to, like, let it loose?
JULIE HYMAN: --that is happening there.
BRAD SMITH: He should. Just let him fly.
BRIAN SOZZI: Oh!
JULIE HYMAN: I think that would be a terrible idea.
BRIAN SOZZI: My whole week made.
JULIE HYMAN: But what will be a good idea would be for you to tune in this afternoon to Yahoo Finance because Dan Amos, who is the CEO of Aflac, is going to be joining our team to--
BRIAN SOZZI: He created the duck. This was his idea. He got the duck launched over at Aflac. My hat's off to you. My hat's off to you.
JULIE HYMAN: As we get underway here this morning, we've got stocks that are little changed very slightly to the upside. By the way, we're going to be getting some more economic data coming out at 10:00 AM. So we'll be bringing you that when it does cross. And we could see if there's any other rejiggering what's going on here, including JOLTS, which are going to be very important, in addition to this morning's ADP data and pending home sales. Brad, let's go on over to you at the interactive, see what you're seeing there--
BRAD SMITH: Yeah.
JULIE HYMAN: --get underway.
BRAD SMITH: Not quite a duck, but the goose is loose here, at least for the NASDAQ composite. Out the gate, we're up by about 2/10 of a percent here. The Dow Jones Industrial-- hey, I try, guys. It's flat, but to the upside by about 31 points there out of the gate here.
And then the S&P 500, you're seeing that up by about 1/10 of a percent. Over the past two days, still net carrying some declines here. But we'll keep a close eye on that as we move forward here on a big day for everything Fed. But then the market's going to be highly reactive, perhaps, later on in today's session. So we'll keep an eye on that.
Let's also take a look at the NASDAQ 100 here. And for some of the mega-cap tech stocks, eh, you can toss them either way. Microsoft right now, that's higher by about 2/10 of a percent. Amazon down by about 1/10 of a percent. Google out of the gate, or Alphabet, that's lower by about 6/10 of a percent here.
And then also checking in on Meta, that's down by about 6/10 of a percent, as you've got even more layoffs that are taking place within the tech landscape. DoorDash the big name here on the day with 1,200 layoffs taking place. And then just largely taking a look at the sectors as we ride out and toss things back on over to the desk, we are seeing more advancers than decliners right now, Julie.
JULIE HYMAN: Yeah, energy big gainer there. Oil prices actually up about 3% today. So I wrote the "Morning Brief" the other day on oil prices erasing their gains for the year. Maybe that marked the bottom. I don't know.
BRIAN SOZZI: I printed out and saved it. It was great.
JULIE HYMAN: Yes, well, maybe that you should keep that as evidence of a bottom in oil prices. Who knows? We'll see what happens.
^DJI
^GSPC
^IXIC
Why This May Be A 'Life Changing' Market Rally; Apple, Fed Meeting Loom As Tesla Run Hits 75%
Apple earnings and the Fed meeting loom, but don't sit out a possible "life-changing" market rally. Tesla rival BYD is an aggressive buy.
Energy inflation remains a serious concern. Protect your portfolio.
Chevron's Profits Fall Short. Is This Top Warren Buffett Stock in Trouble?
Chevron (NYSE: CVX) finished 2022 with a bit of a whimper. The oil company, which is one of the top holdings of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A)(NYSE: BRK.B), faced headwinds from lower oil and gas prices and a write-down in its international operations. Chevron posted $6.35 billion, or $3.33 per share, of net income in the third quarter.
Nio Stock Plunged 69% in 2022. Is It a Buy for 2023?
Nio (NYSE: NIO), a stock that rode the electric vehicle (EV) hype in 2021, turned out to be among the biggest losers in 2022 -- it plunged 69% last year. At current prices, Nio could be a rare opportunity to buy a growth stock in a fast-growing industry. Here are the three biggest reasons why Nio stock is a solid buy right now for 2023.
12 Cash-Rich Small Cap Stocks To Invest In
In this article, we will take a look at the 12 cash-rich small cap stocks to invest in. To see more such companies, go directly to 5 Cash-Rich Small Cap Stocks To Invest In. In 2022, standard diversified portfolios suffered through their worst-performing year in a century. Despite the decline in markets this past year, […]


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text:
WATCH: Ailing Chimp Saves Her Last Smile for Old Human Friend
Mama the chimp and Professor Jan van Hooff first met in 1972 and formed a deep bond
By Kelli Bender
It's hard to watch this and say that animals can't feel emotions.
A touching 2016 video is making the rounds again, and rightfully so. The clip of a dying 59-year-old chimpanzee matriarch reuniting with an old friend is an important reminder of the compassion inside all of us.
In the both heartbreaking and heartwarming clip we see Mama, a chimpanzee who used to live at the Netherlands' Royal Burgers Zoo, curled up and unresponsive.
According to The Independent, at the time of this video, Mama was terminally ill and nearing the end of her life. Prior to filming, the chimp matriarch was unresponsive to others and refusing to eat, but then an old friend walked into the room.
That friend is Professor Jan van Hooff, a man that first met Mama in 1972 when he was helping the zoo set up its ape colony. Over the years, the pair formed a deep bond.
So when the professor entered the room, Mama, even in her weakened state, took notice. In the clip, Mama responds to his presence by breaking her despondent trance to greet her long lost companion with a smile and a hug.
It's easy to see the tender goodbye has an effect on both parties.
Mama died just a week after their farewell. To this day, she is remembered as a strong, compassionate matriarch by the humans who knew her.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Q: Using json.dumps(string) to dump a string I want to put string into json.dumps()
string = "{data}"

print json.dumps(string)

And I get:
"{data}" instead of: {data}
How I can get this string without quotes?
Method replace:
json.dumps(string.replace('"', '')

or strip:
json.dumps(string.strip('"')

Does not work.

A: You don't dump a string but to a string.
d = {"foo": "bar"}
j = json.dumps(d)
print(j)

Output:
{"foo": "bar"}

It makes no sense to use a string as the argument of json.dumps which is expecting a dictionary or a list/tuple as the argument.

Serialize obj to a JSON formatted str using this conversion table.

A: In [17]: d = {"foo": "bar"}

In [18]: j = json.dumps(d)

In [19]: j
Out[19]: '{"foo": "bar"}'

Now if you need your dictionary back instead of a string
In [37]: l=json.loads(j)

In [38]: l
Out[38]: {u'foo': u'bar'}

or  alternatively
In [20]: import ast
In [22]: k=ast.literal_eval(j)

In [23]: k
Out[23]: {'foo': 'bar'}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Stepstone ASA to Sell Stepstone Solutions to HGCapital
March 31, 2010 – StepStone ASA, a London-based provider of human capital management solutions, has signed an agreement to sell its StepStone Solutions talent management software division to European sector focused private equity investor HgCapital for a purchase price of EUR110 million. The transaction is expected to close by the end of April 2010, subject to usual closing conditions. In 2009 StepStone ASA recorded revenues of EUR100.1 million, of which EUR50.3 million related to StepStone Solutions. The software division, which serves more than 1,400 customers, operates in 17 countries and employs around 450 people, will continue to be led by its current group managing director, Matthew Parker, and his management team under HgCapital's ownership. "Since 2004 our StepStone Solutions software business has become the leader in the European market for talent acquisition and management solutions, demonstrating strong, profitable growth," said StepStone ASA CEO, Colin Tenwick. "This development is clearly good news for the entire global customer base, who will have the reassurance of strong backing and continued investment in StepStone Solutions' business strategy."
Bullhorn Marketplace Launches Internet Destination
J. Rovert Scott Adds Search Professionals in Asia


You have no doubt heard of superfoods - but are you entirely sure of exactly what is a superfood and what isn't? Actually, there is no overarching technical definition of 'superfood' - it's just a subjective term which is applied to a variety of foods arbitrarily or at random. Still, there is a loose definition for superfoods, and following it will likely lead you to eating more of the food that is good for you. In general, a superfood is one which provides a great deal of benefit for your health in a small portion. This is all subjective, of course, but looking for those foods is bound to make you and your family considerably healthier.
We all know that fruit and vegetables are a hugely important part of one's diet; indeed, fruit and vegetables should be the biggest part of anyone's diet. However, it can often be difficult getting enough of these into your daily diet. To get around that difficulty, you might want to consider taking your fruit and veg in the form of juice. Thanks to the huge variety of home juicers that are now available, you can do that easier than ever. Take a look at the definitive best 5 here if you are curious about juicing. It is likely that juicing will encourage you and your family to eat in a much healthier way, so it is well worth looking into.
Nuts are a great thing to include in your diet, and your family's, because they offer a huge amount of beneficial protein in a relatively small amount of space. This makes them a great source of nutrients and minerals, and if you want to ensure everyone is as healthy as possible in your household, encouraging everyone to eat as many nuts as possible is a good way to go. They are the ideal lunchtime snacking food, as they provide great sustenance easily and quickly, so make sure your family are carrying nuts around with them at all times.
Finally, if you remember to cook with grains more frequently, this is likely to make a considerable difference to how healthy everyone in the family is. After all, there are all sorts of grains, and they each offer plenty in the way of goodness. If you are curious as to which to go for, try starting out with something like flax or chia. These are particularly high in fiber and many other great attributes.
Thanks for your article and now it is worth seeing how the cost is! i would love to thank you through my recent post Best Masticating Juicers here.
What an impressive list of ideas towards raising a healthy family. I like the idea that checking our diet is the way to go, and sugars should be consumed in their natural form as juice. Can't wait to read more. Thumbs up.


[ReviewAZON asin="B003EQ4LHK" display="inlinepost"]The die cuts on the Summer in Paris Cricut cartridge are absolutely gorgeous! You will love the intricate detail in these fifty die cuts, which include a bicycle, piano, perfume bottle, and hot air balloon, to name just a few. Scroll down to the bottom of the page to see samples.
These designs can be used with vinyl to create inexpensive, custom home decor. The die cuts on this cart also look great on handmade cards and scrapbook pages. Can you think of other ways to use to use them? We thought you could!
You can also use this cart to make five different three dimensional objects - the Eiffel Tower, a love seat and chair, chandelier, and a dress form.
The Summer in Paris Cricut cartridge is from the 2010 seasonal collection, which means it will only be sold for a short time. If you want to add it to your collection, don't wait too long!


I love my Abarth however after doing my second tire rotation at 6000 miles I noticed the tires are all cupped on the inside shoulders. Also they are now at 6/32! I've worn them effectively in half already! Also the tops of both lower sill panels have come loose from the fender where they are glued on, anyone else seen this? I have it at the dealer now but they seem very reluctant to say anything other than this is normal on the tires and actually told me they saw nothing on the sill mouldings! I've had a lot of performance cars over the years and never had tire wear like this, they are all worn evenly just cupped and having the life span of a fruit fly!! As the new kid on the niche brand block I would hope Fiat understands the value of outstanding customer service and how it is important to take care of us. I actually was looking at another car when dropping mine off to add to the family fleet. We'll see any input is appreciated. FYI no track days, no hooning about etc. mostly highway miles.
I have read of the tire issues but luckily I haven't yet experienced it in my almost 10K miles with aggressive driving, hooning, and a trip to the Tail of the Dragon on them. Being the softer Pirelli they are obviously a little worn though. As for the sills, I have a slight issue as well and many have had the same, some new 3M tape resolves things nicely and you can do it yourself or return tot he dealer.
First off, welcome to the forum. The side skirt separation is a common problem. Hopefully you'll have better luck getting them fixed correctly than I have. On the tire wear...what pressure are you running? I run 38-40 Lbs front and 36 rear. It handles great rides great and with almost 18,000 miles I have at least half the tread left and no cupping or uneven wear. Also, you'll be amazed at the increased fuel mileage with the increase in pressure. Good luck in resolving your issues and enjoy your Abarth.
The skirts coming off the car is not a Fiat problem as I am having the same issue. I would suggest that you noticed them after getting your tires replaced. When the car was lifted, it was done improperly and it dimpled the floor pan of the car which causes the skirts to come off.
I'll apologize for the poor pics. I call myself a photographer but didn't look too hard at them until I got home. Upper left is good and the other two pics show the damage to the car.
BTW: I'm happy the Pirellis are gone. I have Michelin tires on my Abarth and am MUCH happier.
They are most assuredly a FIAT problem and have been since their introduction in 2011 on the Sport model. That isn't to say they can't be damaged by inattentive service personnel, too.
I owned a 2012 Sport which had one that was either damaged at the factory or in transit. I traded that after 2 1/2 years and purchased a 2013 Abarth. The driver side moulding was coming loose just forward of the rear wheel when it was delivered. The moulding was completely removed and retaped. It again started coming loose at the same spot. It was again redone. Now it is starting to come loose at the back edge of the door frame I suspect because of the wind flowing along the side of the door. This is supposedly the same method of mounting these that is used in Europe. The factory seems unable to get a handle on it..
I owned a 2012 Sport which had one that was either damaged at the factory or in transit. I traded that after 2 1/2 years and purchased an Abarth. The driver side moulding was coming loose just forward of the rear wheel when it was delivered. The moulding was completely removed and retaped. It again started coming loose at the same spot. It was again redone. Now it is starting to come loose at the back edge of the door frame I suspect because of the wind flowing along the side of the door. This is supposedly the same method of mounting these that is used in Europe. The factory seems unable to get a handle on it..
100% on all of this...except it is for my 2013 Abarth.
Agree with all the above, plus my observation that most new cars come with cheaper tires that don't seem to last long. The cupping issue though is probably something different, maybe tire pressure or suspension, but I'm no expert in those areas.
From reading the forum here for two years, yes, there are lots of cars with the sills separating, both from the factory and from improper lift technique. Yes, there are lots of Fiats with original tires wearing with lower mileage. Not all cars have these issues, but they keep coming up.
My 2013 Abarth has not had these issues, the original Pirelli 16 inch tires are just about due for replacement at 30,000 miles, which includes several autocrosses, and rotations and maintenance as per the owners manual.
To me this is the beauty of the internet and this forum, by discussing issues, it makes it a bit easier to get a feel for if these are one-of-a-kind issues that all auto makers have, or if there is a pattern and likely a manufacturer or a parts supplier or a service tech issue going on. Man, if I had a dollar for every time I've heard someone say "My uncle/dad/mom/me had a Ford/Chevy/Fiat/Ferrari/BMW one that was junk" and then bad mouthed any one make the rest of their life (and it happens to all makers), well, I'd have more money than I do now!
Tires don't wear out in 6k miles, I don't care what the tread wear rating is. Unless it's a drag radial of course.
I've got 20k on some yoko s. drives with a 300 tread wear rating. The car weighs 3600lbs and has over 400hp to the tires. if you wear out your tires in 12k miles on a abarth, then you have an alignment issue.
A set of tires' early demise can also come from not allowing them to go through a proper break-in, but instead, thrashing them right from the start.
I stand by my statement. Just because your alignment is within spec, does not mean it's not an issue.
With 4,200 miles on mine currently, all 4 tires still look like brand new, appear to be wearing evenly. They are the 17" P-Zero's. And thus far, no separation issues on the side skirts. That problem seems to be hit and miss with the users in this group, doesn't seem to be limited to a particular year. Unless I am wrong, haven't heard of any 2014 owners with this as a problem. My Studio manager, said that Fiat in Mexico had made some big strides in over all quality improvements starting with some of the last built 2013's, all of the 2014's, and hopefully this will translate into the newly released 2015's.
Tire wear has so many variables, its all but impossible to compare stories. Have to compensate for how hard you are cornering, your braking techniques, what kind of weight you are carrying, outside and payment temperature, etc., etc. Most new cars, regardless of brand, seem these days to come with a lower grade tire, even though it may be the sameb brand, size, model.
In the past, I have used P-Zero's on other performance cars, and how they lasted again really varied. Some barely made it to 10k, and I have had others look good at 30k. They are soft and sticky, and constant heavy driving and spirited driving can wear down one fast. Picture putting pressure on a pencil eraser over and over again, as opposed to putting just light pressure on the same eraser.
Tires are evil and are meant to be punished.
To fix the skirts use panel adhesive. it is a permanent fix.
I needed an alignment as my toe was out after lowering. That has slowed my tire wear by quite a bit.


Aquarium of the Pacific | Aquarium Blog | Gray Whales Galore!
Home > Aquarium Blog > Gray Whales Galore!
The whale watches have been seeing quite a few gray whales and we finally found some winter fin whales. Normally they should be hanging out in the area in high numbers but it's been a while since we last saw this large and beautiful whale.
One of the interesting things we have observed again this year is that there are a lot of gray whales hanging out in the harbor feeding. According to most of the gray whale literature, this is a bit out of the ordinary for a pit stop mid-migration. Migrating whales should be feeding for most of their time in the summer feeding grounds before the head south, where they will fast for most of the journey. For reasons we haven't been able to answer yet, some gray whales are stopping and feeding along our coastline in the winter season. This oddity even caught the eye of one of our interns again this spring, who is going to continue investigating this phenomenon.
We've only seen a few northbound gray whales so far so predominantly we're still in the southbound season. Pretty soon we'll start seeing some regular northbound swimmers. We'll also be starting up our Urban Ocean cruises again for the summer, keep your eye out for the schedule! If you haven't seen any grays yet come on down to Long Beach and get your combo ticket to the Aquarium of the Pacific and Harbor Breeze Cruises. Visit the Aquarium and its 12,000 animals on display and then get on a whale watch to see some of our local marine life in their native habitat.


text:
Q: How to read only numerical data into Matlab and ignore any text I am trying to read data into Matlab consisting of rows of numbers and texts however I only want to read the numerical values and skip the text (whenever it occurs). I have been using textscan but to read the numbers in but when it reaches a column with text the functions terminates.
This is my first post so I am not familiar with how to post my data and code here so I have attached a bit of the data below:
0.37364   1.318    0.1090E-02    0.4885E-03    0.236E-02    0.527E-02
0.39237   1.372    0.1214E-02    0.5470E-03    0.211E-02    0.546E-02
0.41129   1.580    0.1612E-02    0.6992E-03    0.142E-02    0.588E-02
 CF SET TO 0.000002 AT X=      0.430 ON SURFACE  1 (1=U/S, 2=L/S)
0.43038   3.070    0.4482E-02    0.1160E-02    0.200E-05    0.905E-02
 HBAR MAX LIMIT REACHED

So I want Matlab to read the columns with the numerical data and skip the ones containing the text.
I appreciate your help and thank you in advance!!!
Hamza

A: Solution
result = [];

fid=fopen('data.txt');
while 1
    tline = fgetl(fid);
    if ~ischar(tline), break, end
    celldata = textscan(tline,'%f %f %f %f %f %f');
    matdata = cell2mat(celldata);
    % match fails for text lines, textscan returns empty cells
    result = [result ; matdata];
end

fclose(fid);

Result
result =
0.3736    1.3180    0.0011    0.0005    0.0024    0.0053
0.3924    1.3720    0.0012    0.0005    0.0021    0.0055
0.4113    1.5800    0.0016    0.0007    0.0014    0.0059
0.4304    3.0700    0.0045    0.0012    0.0000    0.0091

data.txt
0.37364   1.318    0.1090E-02    0.4885E-03    0.236E-02    0.527E-02
0.39237   1.372    0.1214E-02    0.5470E-03    0.211E-02    0.546E-02
0.41129   1.580    0.1612E-02    0.6992E-03    0.142E-02    0.588E-02
 CF SET TO 0.000002 AT X=      0.430 ON SURFACE  1 (1=U/S, 2=L/S)
0.43038   3.070    0.4482E-02    0.1160E-02    0.200E-05    0.905E-02
 HBAR MAX LIMIT REACHED

A: I came up with the following work-around:
    m=1;
    for k=1:10;    % create for loop ranging from start to finish of data
        ful = sscanf(S{k,1},'%f');  % scan each line for a floating point number
        le=size(ful);               % gives size of the scanned values

        if le(1) > 0                % Only read if there is a value of > 0 ( for non-floating i.e. string, the value = 0)
            for t=1:le(1)
                data1(m,t)=ful(t);  % store the value in matrix
            end
            m=m+1;
        end
    end

This seems to do the trick!


text:
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Home » Blogs » debbie's blog
Maurice Fluxman recalls the Bnei Zion of days gone by...
Picture: Maurice together with his late wife (then girlfriend), Lydia, at the beach in Tel Aviv in the summer of 1950. Her name then was Lydia Misheiker; she became Lydia Fluxman two years later and the couple were together for 60 years until her death in 2009.
Recounted by Maurice Fluxman
Bnei Zion was affiliated to the United Zionist Party Youth Movement of South Africa (the UZP), which in turn was affiliated to the SAZF. I joined the UZP in 1946 at the age of 15 and two years later became a member of its elite Chalutz Group and a Bnei Zion Madrich alongside Mervyn Isaacson, Aubrey Hurwitz and others. From September 1949 until November 1950 I lived and worked, first, on the Hachshara farm near Johannesburg and then on Timorim in the Emek Jezreel.
Bnei Zion and Hachshara were responsible for my meeting my first wife Lydia, to whom I was married for 57 years (from 1952 until her death in 2009). In January 1950, when I was Sadran Avodah on Hachshara, she visited the farm with Carl Silberman, one of the three iconic founders of Timorim who was then on shlichuth in South Africa (the other two I recall as having been Abe and Zaggie, though I don't remember their full names). Lydia (then Misheiker) had just got back from the Bnei Zion camp at Lakeside, where she had met Carl. She stayed on at the farm for a while, and also joined me for a few months on Timorim later that year. Attached is a photo of Lydia and me at the seaside in Tel Aviv in 1950. Here are some of my recollections from my sojourn at Timorim:
The Meshek was established in 1948 in its initial location for strategic reasons – on a hill (Tel Shimron, site of the ancient city of Shimron) bordering a thin strip of land that was excluded from the State of Israel as originally mapped out but fell to the IDF in the 1948 war and was part of Israel by the time I got there. Years later, Timorim moved to a location more suitable for its development as a Moshav Shetufi with its own land, whereas in the Emek its agricultural activities had been confined to the Tel and to bits of land in the valley below borrowed from Kibbutz Gvat and Moshav Nahalal. It had kept dairy cows, milk sheep, and chickens, and most interestingly, a small metal-works making buckets and other similar items under the name Miromit ("Timorim" backwards"). As is well known, Miromit subsequently outgrew these humble beginnings to become a mighty manufacturing organisation. I seem to remember a sign (on the gate or fence behind which the embryonic bucket-making operation was carried on) saying "Miromit", but I can't recall whether this was in Hebrew or Latin lettering; however, I was told that the name "Miromit" was the result of a signwriter's mistake in painting the letters the wrong way around.
On Hachshara I trained and worked as a raftan with a small herd of dairy cattle, a job I enjoyed. Life on Hachshara was fun: we were a small group of youths and girls who lived the idealistically kibbutzic life, with lots of song and dance and laughter. Things were very different on Timorim itself in 1950, one of the worst years of Tzena, and we had difficulty sustaining ourselves on our own food production. Fortunately, our supplies were supplemented by the generosity of the constant stream of visitors to the Meshek from SA and elsewhere. There were some sixty or seventy people on Timorim then, the majority young married couples, and everyone worked very hard; nobody had the time or energy to spend the evenings or weekends having singsongs or dancing the hora – myself included.
I was disappointed to be allocated to the Dier (sheep) and not the Refet (dairy), but I accepted my posting in the kibbutzic spirit. We had a flock of some 240 sheep, kept essentially for milking, and these had to be milked before sunrise, then grazed during the day, with a midday rest break. There was no grazing on the Tel, so the flock had to be led down to the grasses and fields in the valley below. If my memory serves me, Gene Schneider was in charge of the Dier; my duties were mainly milking and grazing. The normal routine was that one of us would be woken up by the shomrim at 1.30 a.m. to do the milking shift and the morning grazing, and another would take over the grazing for the rest of the day and bring the flock home. This may sound relatively straightforward, but sometimes we were short-handed and one of us had to do the whole routine on his own, from 1.30 a.m. until after sunset. Even when that did not happen, one had to be sure to take at least two or three casks of water strapped around one's shoulders when going out with the flock because of the risk of dehydration in the heat of the day, especially when the temperatures soared in the summer months. We had no sheep-dogs, so the shepherd (ro'eh) didn't have the luxury of sitting on a rock or lying back against a tree while his sheep grazed; the ro'eh was his own sheepdog, needing to keep a constant eye on his flock and run around gathering in strays – a task not made easier when the sheep had to be kept off attractive, unfenced fields full of ripening crops belonging to Gvat, Nahalal and other settlements.
Then there was the sheep-calling. You don't drive a flock of sheep as you would a herd of cows: you walk ahead of them and call to them to follow. But it's a special sound that you have to make, this calling, with your tongue rolled up behind your upper mouth and your voice pushing through from the back – a skill that requires learning and practice: the better your calls the more responsive the sheep will be to them. And unfortunately for some of us – particularly a novice like I was – the Arabs from the village at the foot of the Tel were far better sheep-callers than we were. So, every now and then, when leading the flock to or from a grazing area, I would pass an Arab going the other way and leading a handful of goats and sheep and calling to them, and next thing, half our flock would have turned around and followed the Arab. The ensuing mix-up would have to be sorted out, with the Arab pretending to be co-operative, but as it would be impossible to do a proper count in such circumstances, the inevitable outcome would be a shortage in our flock and the need for a group of us to visit the Arab village the next day to claim back our property – an exercise which was not always successful, because the villagers were not above making blatant protests of ownership of animals that were not theirs and we were under instructions to try and maintain a peaceful relationship with them.
One day, I had the awful experience of forgetting my water-casks. I got thirstier and thirstier but could not leave my flock, so eventually I quenched my thirst on a few prickly-pears (Sabras). By the time I got back to the Meshek, my mouth, tongue and face were swollen red and blue from prickles and very sore, and I had to be seen by a doctor from Nahalal, who took the prickles out one by one.
Since all this occurred some 65 years ago, I can't remember the names of more than a few of the people who were with me in Bnei Zion and on Hachshara and Timorim, but here are some that I can recall: Aubrey Hurwitz, Raymond Wolpert, Joe Jarzin, Gene Schneider, Woolfie Krut, Louis and Jean Wachtel, Mervyn Isaacson, Denis Arden, Aubrey Chosack, Sally Jarzin (nee Kasmy), and a fellow by the name of Philip who was tragically killed when driving a vehicle belonging to Timorim. The name Les Sheer is also familiar, as are the surnames Goldblatt and Chait.
I have read on the internet that the Tel has since been extensively excavated and much of the ruins of Shimron restored.
The Bnei Zion Anthem (words: Maurice Fluxman, tune:
"Hagana Anthem")
Bnei Zion, we hear you calling.
Your call is loud, your call is true.
You are the path towards our freedom.
You are the torch of each young Jew.
Bnei Zion, our people need us,
And you are here to show the way.
We look to you to guide and lead us
Until the day when we can say:
"Yis-ra-el, oh here we are!
We have all come home at last.
On our breast we wear the star
Of a proud and noble past."
debbie's blog
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Site hosted by SPD - www.spd.co.il © 2013- Telfed Disclaimer Sitemap


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Q: Using where clause in an if statement I'm using the big nerd ranch's book to learn iOS programming in swift. One of their examples has me typing the following code:
if let text = textField.text where !text.isEmpty {
    celsiusLabel.text = text
}
else {
    celsiusLabel.text = "???"
}

This was working fine a few weeks ago, but now I've upgraded to swift 3 and it seems to have stopped compiling. What's the correct and idiomatic way to write this if statement?

A: This was tweaked as per Proposal SE-0099, Restructuring Condition Clauses, which was implemented in Swift 3.
if let text = textField.text, !text.isEmpty {
    celsiusLabel.text = text
}
else {
    celsiusLabel.text = "???"
}

The if statement is already in itself like a where clause, so they found it more suitable to just require a comma.


Last week we reported that Intel might be slashing prices on their popular Core 2 Quad lineup, today the company has made it official cutting prices of its Core 2 Quad chips by up to 40 percent, while dropping prices along its other product lines, as well.
For more on the prices cuts as well as other CPU prices affected you can read the entire Intel pricing list here (PDF). Prices have yet to trickle down to retailers, as Newegg still lists many of the old prices for their CPUs, however we can expect those prices to fall in the coming weeks.
With this new round of cuts the Intel Q9650 and Q9550, which both out peform the AMD Phenom II X4 940, have a great price to performance ratio. At its $316 price tag the Q9650 is only 15% higher than the current price of the Phenom II 940 which it beats handily in most benchmarks. Once again making Intel a clear winner for anyone wanting to get the most performance for their dollar.


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//January 13, 2017
An Interview With The Seattle Band, BRINE!
On December 2nd, Seattle's Brine released their debut album "Killl The Ill" via Inverted Kite Records. Brine's singer and bassist, Daniel Keating says, "We're really excited about the release of our debut album and are very happy to share this record with...


Cover Commander by Insofta creates 3D software boxes, CD-Rom boxes, DVD boxes, Vista™ style boxes, curved screenshots, spiral notebooks, manuals, plus a range of other high quality, useful graphics for websites and presentations. Download the software here to try it for free, or read on for more information.
Cover Commander's interface is simple and intuitive. You simply select the type of cover or slide you want, add your custom images where necessary, and adjust the light, shadow and reflection to suit.
The rendering engine is very fast and renders as soon as you make any change so you can see updates almost instantly. This is very different to many of the competitors' products as they took a lot longer to render, and often the end result wasn't as good anyway.
The cost is also a consideration. Ask a graphic artist to create software box, or a DVD cover, or an ebook cover, and the cost of one graphic may well be higher than the purchase of this box software with UNLIMITED updates!
Besides that, what have you got to lose when you can have the box software download for FREE - and it's the full version too!
You have nothing to lose really - I've already done the testing - give it a try. Visit the website at http://www.insofta.com/covercommander/ and download the box software to try it for free.


I am reading a YA novel about adopted people connecting with their biological siblings and parents. This is a topic I have written about and have an interest in, and it's supposed to be a very good book: Far From the Tree, by Robin Benway.
On page 3, the teenage protagonist knows she cannot raise a child, so she immediately begins the adoption process, interviewing prospective parents during her pregnancy. Fine. The word abortion is never used. Not fine.
There is no "She knew she would never have an abortion, so she...", no "It was too late to have an abortion, and anyway she doubted she would do that...", no "She was from a religious family, so abortion was out of the question." Not one word. As if the option does not exist. As if abortion itself does not exist. How realistic is that? Not at all?
Such is the state of YA in the United States. Does the author, or perhaps the publisher, think if the word abortion appears once in a 300-page book, the book will be the target of boycotts? Even in a book where the girl doesn't terminate the pregnancy?
In case I was missing something, I searched the e-book for the word abortion. Not found.
I honestly don't know if I can get past this to read the book. My head is exploding.
Cosmopolitan: Why I Included Abortion in My YA Novel -- "I just wanted to be one of the voices out there that shows that this is actually quite normal."
I recently saw this headline: คาสิโนออนไลน์ แจกเครดิตฟรี 2019Sanders and Trump Offer Two Roads Out of Establishment Politics—Which Will We Follow?. In what way does Sanders offer a "road out of establishment politics"? During his tenure in Congress, he has voted with the Democrats 98% of the time. Sanders is seeking the Democratic candidacy and Trump is seeking the Republican candidacy. What is anti-establishment about that?


A Faculty building under construction, belonging to the College of Medicine, University of Nigeria Nsukka, UNN, located at the old site of the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, UNTH, in Enugu, collapsed, yesterday, killing three persons and injuring several others.
Five construction workers trapped in the building were rescued and rushed to the accident and emergency unit of the hospital for treatment while two others, who were in critical conditions, were rushed to the Intensive Care Unit of the hospital.
However, the hospital Public Relations Officer, Mr. Cyril Keleze, who confirmed the incident, said only one person died in the incident, while four persons sustained injuries and were being treated.
Rescue workers, including security men, were at work when Vanguard visited the scene yesterday. .
Efforts to contact the Provost of the College, Dr. D. J. Onwubere, over the development proved abortive.
It would be recalled that two buildings under construction in the state capital collapsed last week allegedly due to poor construction and the use of substandard material.


text:
import rospy
from geometry_msgs.msg import Twist, Quaternion
from nav_msgs.msg import Odometry
import tf
from math import radians, copysign
import PyKDL
from math import pi

def quat_to_angle(quat):
    rot = PyKDL.Rotation.Quaternion(quat.x, quat.y, quat.z, quat.w)
    return rot.GetRPY()[2]

def normalize_angle(angle):
    res = angle
    while res > pi:
        res -= 2.0 * pi
    while res < -pi:
        res += 2.0 * pi
    return res

class CalibrateAngular():
    def __init__(self):
        # Give the node a name
        rospy.init_node('calibrate_angular', anonymous=False)

        # Set rospy to execute a shutdown function when terminating the script
        rospy.on_shutdown(self.shutdown)

        # How fast will we check the odometry values?
        self.rate = rospy.get_param('~rate', 20)
        r = rospy.Rate(self.rate)

        # The test angle is 360 degrees
        self.test_angle = radians(rospy.get_param('~test_angle', 360.0))

        self.speed = rospy.get_param('~speed', 0.5) # radians per second
        self.tolerance = radians(rospy.get_param('tolerance', 1)) # degrees converted to radians
        self.odom_angular_scale_correction = rospy.get_param('~odom_angular_scale_correction', 1.0)
        self.start_test = rospy.get_param('~start_test', True)

        # Publisher to control the robot's speed
        self.cmd_vel = rospy.Publisher('/cmd_vel', Twist, queue_size=5)

        # The base frame is usually base_link or base_footprint
        self.base_frame = rospy.get_param('~base_frame', '/base_footprint')

        # The odom frame is usually just /odom
        self.odom_frame = rospy.get_param('~odom_frame', '/odom')

        # Initialize the tf listener
        self.tf_listener = tf.TransformListener()

        # Give tf some time to fill its buffer
        rospy.sleep(2)

        # Make sure we see the odom and base frames
        self.tf_listener.waitForTransform(self.odom_frame, self.base_frame, rospy.Time(), rospy.Duration(60.0))

        rospy.loginfo("Bring up rqt_reconfigure to control the test.")

        reverse = 1

        while not rospy.is_shutdown():
            if self.start_test:
                # Get the current rotation angle from tf
                self.odom_angle = self.get_odom_angle()

                last_angle = self.odom_angle
                turn_angle = 0
                self.test_angle *= reverse
                error = self.test_angle - turn_angle

                # Alternate directions between tests
                reverse = -reverse

                while abs(error) > self.tolerance and self.start_test:
                    if rospy.is_shutdown():
                        return

                    # Rotate the robot to reduce the error
                    move_cmd = Twist()
                    move_cmd.angular.z = copysign(self.speed, error)
                    self.cmd_vel.publish(move_cmd)
                    r.sleep()

                    # Get the current rotation angle from tf
                    self.odom_angle = self.get_odom_angle()

                    # Compute how far we have gone since the last measurement
                    delta_angle = self.odom_angular_scale_correction * normalize_angle(self.odom_angle - last_angle)

                    # Add to our total angle so far
                    turn_angle += delta_angle

                    # Compute the new error
                    error = self.test_angle - turn_angle

                    # Store the current angle for the next comparison
                    last_angle = self.odom_angle

                # Stop the robot
                self.cmd_vel.publish(Twist())

                # Update the status flag
                self.start_test = False
                params = {'start_test': False}

            rospy.sleep(0.5)

        # Stop the robot
        self.cmd_vel.publish(Twist())

    def get_odom_angle(self):
        # Get the current transform between the odom and base frames
        try:
            (trans, rot)  = self.tf_listener.lookupTransform(self.odom_frame, self.base_frame, rospy.Time(0))
        except (tf.Exception, tf.ConnectivityException, tf.LookupException):
            rospy.loginfo("TF Exception")
            return

        # Convert the rotation from a quaternion to an Euler angle
        return quat_to_angle(Quaternion(*rot))

    def shutdown(self):
        # Always stop the robot when shutting down the node
        rospy.loginfo("Stopping the robot...")
        self.cmd_vel.publish(Twist())
        rospy.sleep(1)

if __name__ == '__main__':
    try:
        CalibrateAngular()
    except:
        rospy.loginfo("Calibration terminated.")

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Selahattin Demirtaş, the jailed presidential candidate of the Kurdish issue-focused Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), made his campaign speech on the state broadcaster TRT on June 17 from prison, marking a first in Turkey and the world's political history.
Wearing a dark suit, Demirtaş appeared for the first time in front of the cameras after nearly 20 months, denouncing what he called the government's "repressive regime" ahead of the very early presidential election set to be held on June 24.
Demirtaş, co-founder and former co-chair of the HDP, appeared on TRT in a pre-recorded speech from prison in the northwestern province of Edirne, after Turkish authorities barred him from going to the broadcaster's headquarters in the capital Ankara.
"The only reason why I am here is because the AKP is scared of me," Demirtaş said, referring to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's longtime ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).
In the run up to the election campaign, TRT has been criticized for giving full coverage for Erdoğan's speeches, which tend to happen several times a day, while ignoring other party candidates, in particular Demirtaş and İYİ (Good) Party leader Meral Akşener.
The 45-year-old, who was chosen by his party to challenge Erdoğan in the June 24 elections and is often dubbed as a charismatic leader, is accused of being a member of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), designated as a terror group by Ankara and its Western allies including the U.S.
"What we are passing through is only the trailer of a one-man regime," Demirtaş said.
He told the electorate that they would decide with their vote whether or not to be in favor of freedom.
"I have no doubt that you will be on the side of freedom ... We will get hold of our country from the edge of a cliff," he said.
"You are victims of this oppression in your daily life," he said.
If convicted the presidential candidate of the party, which received above 11 percent of nationwide votes in 2015, risks up to 142 years in jail.
The HDP put up a giant screen in the Kurdish majority city of Diyarbakir where hundreds gathered to watch his speech.
"I was touched by his speech," a supporter, Berkin Gülen, told Agence France-Presse.
"The opposition has one single candidate who is Selahattin Demirtaş He is our hope," another supporter, Cengiz Akkoş, was quoted as saying.
Several thousand supporters also gathered at Istanbul's Bakırköy district on the European side of the city to watch the appeal, holding aloft flags and masks of the politician's face.
Erdoğan has in recent days mounted attacks against Demirtaş, accusing him of being a "terrorist" responsible for the deaths of dozens by calling protests in Turkey's southeast during the siege of the Syrian city of Kobane in October 2014 that turned violent.
Until his jailing, Demirtaş was seen as the only politician in Turkey to match the rhetorical skills and charisma comparable to Erdoğan.
But in recent weeks Muharrem İnce of the social democrat and secular main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP has proved tough opposition for the president, who could get a firmer grip over the state following the April 2017 referendum which allowed for a historic installation of a presidential system in Turkey.
On June 24, tens of millions of registered citizens will hit the polls around Turkey in a bid to cast their votes in both the presidential and parliamentary elections — which is a first for the country.


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Home > Irish Image Collection
Exceptional Irish imagery from all corners of the country
Founded over 20 years ago this is a carefully chosen selection of images from The Irish Image Collection. Taken by some of Ireland's best photographers, these images feature the varied and different landscapes of the Emerald Isle steeped in myths, legends and fairytales.
Killyleagh Castle, Co. Down, Ireland
Doonagore Castle, Co Clare, Ireland, 16Th Century Tower House Overlooking The Atlantic
Castlegregory, Dingle Peninsula, Co Kerry, Ireland
Salmon Fishing, Ridgepool, Ballina, Co Mayo, Ireland
Connemara, Co Galway, Ireland; Cottages Near Clifden
Ballindoon Abbey, Lough Arrow, County Sligo, Ireland; Lakefront Historic Abbey
Randalstown, Co Antrim, Ireland, Disused 19Th Century Railway Viaduct
Rock Of Cashel, Co Tipperary, Ireland
Ha'penny Bridge, River Liffey, Dublin, Ireland
Thatched Cottage At Gortahork, Co Donegal, Ireland
Ashford Castle, County Mayo, Ireland; Exterior Of A 13Th Century Castle
Carrickfergus Castle & Harbour, Co Antrim, Ireland
Dunguaire Castle, Kinvara, County Galway, Ireland; Historic Castle On Bay
Blarney Castle, County Cork, Ireland
O'connell Street Bridge, Dublin, Co Dublin, Ireland
River Liffey, Dublin, Co Dublin, Ireland
Carrickkildavnet, Achill Island, Co Mayo, Ireland
Mussenden Temple, Downhill, Co Derry, Ireland
Blue Mosque, Sultanahmet, Istanbul, Turkey; 17Th Century Mosque Built During The
John D'arcy Monument, Clifden, Co Galway, Ireland, Monument In Memory Of John
Close-Up Of Artist's Palette
Stradbally, Co Laois, Ireland; Traction Engine Rally
Ballydehob Viaduct, Ballydehob, Co Cork, Ireland, 12 Arch Viaduct
Dunluce Castle, Co Antrim, Ireland
Primrose Flower In Foreground, Doonagore Castle In The Distance, Co Clare, Ireland
The Jealous Wall, Belvedere House And Gardens, Co Westmeath, Ireland, Ireland's
Standing Stones, Blacksod Point, Co Mayo, Ireland
Stormont, Belfast, Ireland, Northern Ireland Assembly
Navan Fort, Co Armagh, Ireland, Ancient Capital Of Ulster And Significant Site In
Castle Matrix, Co Limerick, Ireland
Johnstown Castle, Co Wexford, Ireland, 19Th Century Gothic Revival
Ha'penny Bridge, Dublin City, Co Dublin, Ireland
Enniskillen Castle, Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh, Ireland
Kenbane Castle, Co Antrim, Ireland, Rathlin Island In The Background
Killyleagh Castle, Killyleagh, Co Down, Ireland
Fanad Lighthouse, Co Donegal, Ireland


text:
Dear Mr. Bradshaw: --My daughter insists she needs to go to a top college because she'll have a better chance to get a job in a top high-tech company. I say it is too expensive, and the colleges in Indiana are fine. Who is right?
After all, as a parent, my main goal is to make sure a college education will assure a good future for my daughter. — A Parent
Job Experience - Determines Hiring Process
Dear Parent —
This is a question parents frequently ask, and for good reason; it costs twice as much to attend an out-of-state college, and the cost of attending a college in the Ivy League is expensive.
Indiana has several good colleges, so why pay more to attend a top college out of state?
Your daughter is partially right. Top companies like Google and Facebook hire most of their employees almost exclusively from top-tier colleges.
But when you dig a little deeper into the hiring process, much more is revealed. Top grades, SAT scores, grade-point averages and even work experience also can be critical.
One former client who works at Google said his job experience got him through the door, not his educational pedigree. He graduated from Indiana University as a Wells Scholar, moved to San Francisco for law school, and specialized in venture transactions while studying at the University of California Hastings College of the Law.
His first job out of law school was with a small law firm specializing in startup companies. He later was hired at Google over other applicants from Harvard and Stanford. He said Google was more interested in his past work experience in venture financing, not in the school he attended.
A Crown Point High School graduate with a University of Pennsylvania bachelor's degree in economics told me Google hires almost exclusively from elite universities. She said 90 students were part of her initial group. After three days of interviews averaging one per hour, only 30 were hired.
Of the 30 new hires in her group, only one did not graduate from the Ivy League. That person graduated from the University of California, Berkeley. She said very little data is available to support her experience because companies want to keep their hiring profiles secret.
She also said candidates' GPAs were as important as their elite school status, adding that an engineering degree was prized highest among all majors. This leaves an opening for students who do not want to pay the premium for attending an Ivy League college, yet would like to work for one of America's top technology companies.
I have several former clients who graduated from Cal-Berkeley, Stanford, MIT and Cal Tech who work at Google and Facebook. This speaks to the quality of the education they received at those schools, and the networking that helped them because of their professors who have links to the best companies.
It would behoove you to find out which companies recruit at the college you ultimately attend.
There is an elite bias at some top companies, but it is not insurmountable. The personal interview is much more important to the hiring process than is commonly thought, so prepare for a series of stressful interviews.
Return To BCC Articles


Your sign is so creative and inventive, you're always producing new work of one kind or another. As an Air Sign, Aquarians love to think and put their ideas out to the world.
Though you may not use your creativity in your daily work, you're creating new ideas, new solutions to your own problems, and sometimes even those of others, too.
In fact, other signs may be a teeny bit jealous of your creative skills. It appears so effortless when you make something new out of thin air!
You know that you're just using what comes naturally for you, in order to get the most out of life. An artistic career may suit you perfectly. Your would be an amazing poet, musician, or actor!


text:
North Koreans mark the death of leader Kim Jong Il
North Koreans vow loyalty to Kim Jong Un on the anniversary of the death of his father.
The bronze statues of late leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il at Mansu Hill Grand Monument in Pyongyang. [Dita Alangkara/AP Photo]
North Koreans are marking the seventh anniversary of the death of leader Kim Jong Il with visits to statues and vows of loyalty to his son and successor, Kim Jong Un.
As snow fell Sunday, tens of thousands of people offered flowers and paid respects to the late leader at Mansu Hill Grand Monument in central Pyongyang, the location of huge bronze statues of the "Dear Leader" and national founder Kim Il Sung.
The anniversary observations were expected to continue across the country on Monday.
The death of Kim Jong Il on December 17, 2011, thrust his son into power when he was still in his late 20s and a virtually unknown figure outside of North Korea.
North Korean girls play in the snow on Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang. [Dita Alangkara/AP Photo]
Tens of thousands of people flocked to Mansu Hill Grand Monument to mark the seventh anniversary of the death of leader Kim Jong Il. [Dita Alangkara/AP Photo]
North Koreans are marking the seventh anniversary of the death of leader Kim Jong Il with visits to statues and vows of loyalty to his son, Kim Jong Un. [Dita Alangkara/AP Photo]
The death of Kim Jong Il on December 17, 2011, thrust his son into power. [Dita Alangkara/AP Photo]
The anniversary observations were expected to continue through Monday across the country. [Dita Alangkara/AP Photo]
A member of the North Korean military holds flowers to be laid at Mansu Hill Grand Monument in Pyongyang. [Dita Alangkara/AP Photo]
North Korean soldiers marching after paying their respects at Mansu Hill Grand Monument. [Dita Alangkara/AP Photo]


text:
Battlelore!
It's part two of my game day blog special thing, looking at two games on the Battlelore system. Following last week's look at Battles of Westeros, it's time to take a look at the fantasy version, Battlelore itself!
The second edition of the game, Battlelore came out late in 2013. Set in the same universe as the hugely popular Runebound, but featuring the factions that we've all come to expect from Terrinoth in this post-Runewars age, the game pits the human Daqan Lords against the abominable Uthuk Y'llan. The game is a pretty strategic tabletop wargame, and prior to the launch of the Runewars miniatures game earlier this year, I'd have said it was probably the premier such game from Fantasy Flight.
If you've read my Battles of Westeros blog from last week, you'll have a fair idea for what to expect from this game, as well. I think Battlelore is the more enjoyable game, in part because the fantasy theme elevates it somewhat from the gritty battles in the earlier game. There are also a number of different elements changed in Battlelore that make it just more interesting, to me! Let's take a look at some of them now.
The system is of course going to be similar to BoW, so it should be no surprise that there is a Command Card system that is used as the main mechanic. You order your troops about the field by selecting from a hand of cards, and then over the course of the round those orders are carried out. That does make it sound quite simplistic, of course, and I think it's important to note that there is a tremendous amount of strategy involved here, as you try to ensure you manoeuvre your troops into the best possible position.
The troops have similar-looking cards to those in BoW, but I just want to talk a moment about the deployment here. The game also comes with those smaller cards shown at the bottom of the above picture. These deployment cards all have the same back, and at the start of the game you pick these cards out and place them in the hexes on your side of the board face-down. There are also Decoy cards, so an element of bluffing is introduced as to where your big threats actually are.
There is also a really cool element to both army building and scenario generation for the game. Similar to BoW, there are scenarios to play through, though rather than having the prescriptive feel of Westeros, here the scenario is generated by players each taking a scenario card, which shows one half of the battlefield board, and marks out their deployment zone as well as detailing victory conditions. It's a really interesting way to ensure the game feels fresh whenever you play.
Additionally, armies are generated by a points-based system. Those small deployment cards show the points of each unit as a "muster value" in the bottom-left corner. Armies are generally costed up to 50 points, and the game comes with a few suggestions for each of the factions within.
So how does combat work?
Well, there are fancy dice that you throw, the number of dice being equal to the attack value (in the red circle) of the attacking unit. The dice have sword symbols for melee attacks, and bullseye symbols for ranged attacks, and for each hit you score, you remove a model from the unit. Each unit in Battlelore also has special abilities that can take place during combat, adding to these basic mechanics. It makes combat fairly straightforward overall, anyway!
If that's the battle, what about the lore?
The dice also have a weird diamond symbol on them, which is the lore symbol. This allows you to gain one lore token – these tokens are then used to play Lore cards that can have different effects over the course of the game. Each faction has their own distinct deck, which allows for the theme to come through quite strongly here. As you can see in the picture above, the cards show when they can be played, but there is still a very strong element of strategic depth to how you use these effects over the course of a game.
In a fairly broad nutshell, that's it! Battlelore is not the sort of game that I get to play a lot, primarily I think because of the wargame aspect it has. Similar story to Battles of Westeros, really! However, it is a great deal of fun to play, and there have been a good deal of expansions to the game over the last four years, from "Reinforcement Packs" that feature a single miniature that you can draft into your army, to the Undead faction released back in 2015. The symmetry with Runewars has been off for a while of course, as we still haven't had the Latari Elves released for the game – and now that the Runewars miniatures game has landed with such force, it has me wondering what the future of Battlelore will be. I can't claim to have any insider knowledge, of course, but anecdotal evidence seems to be supporting the idea that Runewars miniatures game is selling well, perhaps due to its appeal to the disenfranchised Warhammer Fantasy players. Given the fact that Runewars miniatures and Battlelore have such close parallels as to almost be the same game, it makes me wonder if we'll actually see any further support for it, or if instead the game will just quietly sit in the inventory as Runewars had been for so many years before it.
I suppose only time will tell on that front!
Author spalanzPosted on August 1, 2017 August 1, 2017 Categories board gamesTags Battlelore, board games, Fantasy Flight Games, game day, Terrinoth
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Bahamas Securities Regulator Proposes Rules for Token Sales
The Bahamas' securities regulator is pushing for a new framework for token projects, aiming to turn the island nation into the jurisdiction of choice for blockchain startups.
The Securities Commission of the Bahamas has filed a draft of the new bill regulating token offerings not deemed securities. The bill lays out a procedure for registering such offerings and informing authorities and investors on the details of a token sale.
The draft was submitted for public consultations March 27 and comments will be gathered until May 28, Christina Rolle, executive director of the commission, told CoinDesk.
According to Rolle, the regulator is receiving a lot of comments and the consultation period will likely be extended for another month.
Once it's over, the document will be passed to the government of the Bahamas, and then to parliament. If everything goes as planned, the legislation may be passed this autumn, Rolle said.
Several other island nations have recently introduced various legislation aiming to attract crypto projects.
In Malta, the government passed three laws last June allowing to issue cryptocurrencies and trade in the country. The country scored a big win in the jurisdiction competition when Binance announced it was opening an office there in March. In Bermuda, a new law allows the projects carrying out initial coin offerings (ICOs) to apply to the minister of finance for fast approval. And Gibraltar, new legislation allowing the issuing and trading tokens is underway.
Inbound requests
"In late 2017, we started receiving a lot of interest in the jurisdiction for the registration of tokens. When we started to benchmark what was happening around the world we saw that we needed to create a legal framework," Rolle said.
She added that other regulatory bodies in the Bahamas, including the Ministry of Finance, also have been getting inquiries from token projects looking for a jurisdiction to register.
Then the commission decided to come up with guidance that will give the token projects not deemed securities legal certainty. According to Rolle, the criteria for distinguishing security and utility tokens are still to be drafted and are expected to be ready before the end of May.
Even some tokens representing equity shares might be exempted from the country's securities law, but the rules for that are still in the works, Rolle said.
In the meantime, a handful of companies that asked the commission for clarity have already received no-action letters, according to Rolle.
These are letters written by staff members of a government agency stating that it will not take enforcement action against an entity for pursuing a proposed course of action.
One of these companies was PO8, a project aiming to tokenize archeological artifacts. While the artifacts themselves are stored in museums in the Bahamas and around the world, PO8 will be issuing non-fungible tokens (NFTs) representing their value, CEO Matt Arnett told CoinDesk.
The letter, obtained by CoinDesk, says that "the Commission will not pursue any enforcement action against PO8″ if it issues the NFTs, as the plan is not subject to existing securities law. However, once the new legislation is passed, PO8 will have to comply with it, the letter says.
What's in the bill
According to the bill, shared with CoinDesk, the new regulation will apply to token issuers, wallet providers, exchanges and anyone who is facilitating an initial token offering on the Bahamas.
The bill obliges token projects to publish a memorandum with a description of the project, and if any significant changes are made to the offering, like the class of tokens or the scale of fundraising, the memorandum should be updated in a timely manner.
Any information that can "reasonably negatively affect the interests"
of token buyers should also be disclosed by the issuer immediately, and the failure to do so might cost the company a fine of 10,000 Bahamian dollars ($10,000), the document says. Companies should also secure adequate insurance coverage for their projects.
In the application for the registration, a company would have to give a detailed technical and financial description of the token issuance, covering the project's technology; governance; risks related to anti-money-laundering and counter-financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) regulations; and even the system's scalability — this will help the regulators evaluate the projects' viability, Rolle said. The document doesn't elaborate on how scalability will be measured.
To register, token projects will need to hire an attorney who will be the "sponsor" of the registration and communicate with the regulator.
Registrants will be subject to the Bahamas' Data Protection Act, Financial Transactions Reporting Act, Financial Transactions Reporting Regulations and Financial Intelligence Regulations, the draft says.
Failure to comply with the law will lead to a fine of $500,000 or imprisonment up to five years, and if issuers file misleading information in their registration documents, they risk up to ten years in prison.
The leader in blockchain news, CoinDesk is a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which invests in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups.
https://www.coindesk.com/bahamas-securities-regulator-proposes-rules-for-token-sales
Fondée en 2015, Chaineum est un cabinet de conseil en opérations de haut de bilan offrant une expertise de premier plan en matière d'ICOs et STOs, avec une vision stratégique orientée tant vers le métier de ses clients que sur la technologie blockchain. A ce titre, Chaineum a participé à la mise en œuvre de bonnes pratiques dans le secteur (ICO Charter, Security Token Network).
About Chaineum
Founded in 2015, Chaineum is a leading corporate finance advisory firm with a strong expertise in ICOs and STOs, and a strategic focus on both its clients' business and blockchain technology. As such, Chaineum paved the way in the implementation of certain best practices in this sector (ICO Charter, Security Token Network).
Chaineum Segment, Chaineum's blockchain services division, is developing Chaineum Segment technology, an object-oriented private blockchain.
https://www.chaineum.com


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HomeBaby name consultation: Our Family Fiat's number 3!
Baby name consultation: Our Family Fiat's number 3!
November 27, 2017 sanctanomina Baby name consultant, Name announcementCatholic baby names, French names, Mary
Do you all follow Amy at Our Family Fiat (web site and Instagram)? She and her husband Ryan have the CUTEST twin girls with the gorgeous names:
Adelaide Ryan
Clairvaux Elizabeth
Amazing right? As Amy explained, "both names are long, french in origin, honor saints and are names of places (Adelaide, Australia and Clairvaux, France)." They did such an amazing job choosing names that share characteristics without being matchy!
Now they're expecting their third baby girl!! I was so excited when Amy emailed me for a consultation — I love her taste and couldn't wait to come up with some ideas for Adelaide's and Clairvaux's little sister!
Amy wrote,
"I'd love for this little girls' name to follow suit [meaning: "long, French in origin, honor saints and are names of places"] …
Some other girl names we love are Gemma and Isla but I have some reservations being that they are short and not at all french sounding. I may feel more excited about them, especially Gemma if I had a long, french feeling middle name and bonus points if it's also a place.
If we found a perfect first name that fits well with Clairvaux & Adelaide I'd be open to a more masculine middle name like Adelaide's (more than likely "James")
We clearly don't mind if a name is unique and we love if they have nickname options. (We often call Clairvaux "Vauxie" but love that she can go by Claire one day if she desires a less out-there name, etc)
The only name my husband has ever liked (without my prompting) is Kyla but I can't bring myself to agree.
Names I proposed but he has declined: Hawthorne, Genevieve, Hildegard, Xavia, Vivienne, Juniper
Names ending in x are no longer an option."
Alright, so though Amy said she'd like this little girl's name to follow suit, and I certainly went on a hunt for the unicorn name that would check all those boxes (and had a blast doing so!), I wondered if finding a name that exactly fit all that criteria would be too limiting for them in the future? That is, I think they can easily find several long French saint names … or long place names … or French place names … or long saint names … but "long French saint place names" is, I think, hard to keep up in the long run! So when I was researching ideas for Amy and Ryan, I tried to include a mix of all those, even if they weren't exactly perfect.
Before I get into my ideas though, I want to address their other ideas. I love Gemma and Isla too, and I thought Isla was a great way to nod to the sounds of Kyla while still finding a name they can both agree on. I kept Amy's idea of long French middles in mind when I was coming up with ideas — I think several of my ideas could work as middles for Gemma and Isla. I also love the idea of James (or other male name) in the middle like they did with Adelaide's middle name—I can see that being a nice complement to the perfect first name.
I used all the names Amy mentioned that they both like (Adelaide, Clairvaux, Gemma, Isla) as inspiration in my research, as well as Kyla, Genevieve, Vivienne, and Juniper (my trusty Baby Name Wizard [which, as you all know, is my right-hand man in baby name consultations, as it lists, for each entry, boy and girl names that are similar in terms of style/feel/popularity] doesn't have an entry for Hawthorn, Hildegard, or Xavia, and I actually used Claire as a stand-in for Clairvaux, and I think the results were helpful!). Okay, so based on all that, these were my ideas for Amy and Ryan's littlest girl:
(1) Juliette
I totally understand if you're all tired of me suggesting Juliet(te) a lot in other consultations, I just love it! And it seemed like such a good fit here—using the "ette" ending totally makes the name obviously French and lengthens it out as well. And it's so feminine that it can easily take a masculine middle—I love Juliette James. I thought it would also go great as a middle—Gemma Juliette sounds pretty great to me (I love alliteration). I did a spotlight on it a while ago, which offers some good faith connections too. AND on a whim I googled "place name juliette," just in case, and discovered there's a Juliette in Georgia!!
(2) Immaculée
Juliette and Immaculée were tied for me as coming immediately to mind as I was reading Amy's email. I love that Immaculée's a Marian name, and a French name, and though I didn't find it as a place name, I think it's so tied with Immaculée Ilibagiza that Rwanda comes right to mind when I hear it. I like that Adelaide has Australia, and Clairvaux has France, so they could think of a little Immaculée as having Rwanda. Maybe? Immaculée James works really nicely, and I like it as a middle too—Gemma Immaculée and Isla Immaculée both sound fine to me. It would certainly be easier in the middle spot, especially with the accent, but if they used it as a first name, Imma is so similar to Emma that it's quite do-able as a nickname; others that might work include the boyish Mac and Max, and maybe even Molly.
(3) Vienna or Vienne
One idea I had was to suggest Amy and Ryan pick a place name they like and use the French form of it. Vivienne on their list made me think of Vienna, which I think is one of the best examples—it's gorgeous and very namey, and changing it to the French form Vienne is really lovely. Though it's short, I had the thought several times while working on this that they could lengthen (and "Frenchify" even more) certain names by adding Marie and making it a hyphenated first name, as is so common. Marie-Vienna or Marie-Vienne are lovely examples. (But would Ryan still decline it, because it's basically Vivienne with the "Vi" cut off?)
(4) Maylis
Though this isn't a long name, it was one of my favorite ideas for Amy and Ryan. Maylis is a town in France, and though I couldn't find a definitive source that said so, most places I consulted say it's a combination of "Mary" and "lily," from the French title "Marie à la fleur de lys" (Mary of the Lily). I also found three acceptable pronunciations: may-LEES, may-LIS, and MAY-lis, all of which I think are workable within America, and I've seen Maëlys and Mailys connected to it as possible variants. Such a pretty name!
(5) Salette
Salette is for La Salette, which you all probably know is a Marian apparition site in France, and I think it's such a gorgeous, delicate name. I'd never thought of it as a given name until I saw it on this family's short list, and I loved it right away.
(6) Lourdes
Since Lourdes is such an obvious one for their criteria, I assume they considered it and decided against it? But just in case, I couldn't not include it! Lindsay's little Lourdes is a perfect recommendation for this beautiful name (and she also has a Clairvaux!). Also, Mia Farrow's given name is Maria de Lourdes, gorgeous!
(7) Liesse
This is a Marian name that I've fallen in love with. Liesse means "joy" in French, which is an amazing meaning, and refers to Our Lady of Liesse/Our Lady of Joy, AND there's a town named after her in France! The only criteria this one is missing is length! And again, I think adding Marie can fix that easily. Marie-Liesse is beautiful!
(8) Landry
So I had a lot of L names for them! Haha! Landry's another that I've long loved—it's an old French surname, and as a first name there are a few Sts. Landry—all male and it's currently no. 805 for boys, probably because of former Cowboys' coach Tom Landry (which I realize may be a deal breaker for Amy and Ryan, depending on their football loyalties)—but the BNW lists it as a girl's name, and it's a place name—there are towns in France, Canada, and the U.S. with the name. Because it's mostly used for boys, I wouldn't pair it with a male middle name, but Landry Immaculée or Marie-Landry sound lovely I think.
(9) Madeleine or Magali
So, we have basic perfection here: a long, French, saintly, place name! Madeleine is the French for Magdalene, which of course refers to the place Mary Magdalene came from (Mary of Magdala). Magali is the Occitan form (Occitan is a language spoken in southern France, as well as parts of Italy and Spain; I believe "Provençal" refers to the dialect of Occitan spoken in France). Madeleine is likely more popular than they'd prefer, especially when you add in all the other forms: Madeleine is 350, Madeline is 91, Madelyn is 62, and there are other spellings as well (Madalynn etc.). But having a more common first name makes an unusual middle name more possible; Madeleine James is beautiful. Magali's certainly more uncommon—it's not in the top 1000. I met a Magali once and loved her name. However, I hope I'm overthinking this, but I keep feeling like both Madeleine and Magali are too similar in rhythm to Adelaide—do you all agree? I do love Isla Madeleine though …
Those were all my official suggestions, but I also wanted to list several place names of French origin that might have appealed to Amy and Ryan for first names or middle names: Lorraine, Laramie, Marietta, and Normandy.
Also, along with the idea of adding Marie, I also thought they could Frenchify some non-French place names in the same way, like Marie-Avila or Marie-Siena. And though this gets away from the place name idea, they could incorporate their affinity for boy names in this way as well, like Marie-James and Marie-Becket — so feminine and unexpected!
Finally, I was struck by the fact that there was a name that was listed as similar to both Gemma and Isla: Zara! I had to list it here, just because of that.
And those were all my ideas for Amy and Ryan! I'd love to know what other names you all would have recommend for this family, but only in order to help other families who might have similar sensibilities because … in the time between when I did this consultation and today, Amy and Ryan have chosen their girl's name!! Go check it out on their Instagram announcement — I looooove it!!
← Consultations closed!
Birth announcement: Gregory Conrad! →
30 thoughts on "Baby name consultation: Our Family Fiat's number 3!"
perfectlytara says:
What about Vianney? Your mention of Lindsay's kids made me think of Vianney and Avila. Vianney isn't a place, but it is French and I think it's got the same feel as Clairvaux.
Hah – totally missed that they already announced the name! This consultation had a really fun set of names though!
No problem at all — I was hoping for suggestions from all of you! It would be helpful to anyone reading this who has similar taste and is looking for ideas!
I love Vianney! Great idea!
L says:
Bernadette and Marguerite, though they aren't places.
I love them both!
I suggest Avila. Very feminine… not French, but until just now I thought it was!!
Jeanne could be for St Joan of Arc. Lots of places are named for her!
Marie-Ève or Mary-Lourdes or Marie-Fatima could also work, but I like them better if said with an accent.
I love Lisieux (Lizzy) for you, but it ends in X, however the sound is very different than the X in Clairvaux.
Evangeline, Ghislaine, Yvonne, are all also pretty french names!
So many pretty options!
I thought of Séraphine, Sabine, and Sandrine!
I love your ideas, specially Lourdes and Madeleine: they are spot on.
And I know this isn't useful now, but I like Azelie and Marilac (for St. Louise) for them.
Ooh Marilac!
Françoise after Pope Francis? Fran/Frannie is a cute nickname.
Nancy is a French city. Lourdes would also be a nice, traditional choice.
I didn't know that about Nancy!
Geneva is a place name that is similar to Gemma, Genevieve, Vivienne, and Juniper. There's also Ginevra.
Calais and Annecy are French cities I think would work well as names.
And just long French names: Marguerite, Isabelle, Annabelle, Melisande, Emmanuelle, Valentine, Giselle, Rosalie.
Calais and Annecy!! ❤ ❤ ❤
followsybil says:
I wanted to point out, that though Isla might not be long or French, it most definitely is a saintly place name! The island of Islay (pronounced the same as Isla) is one of the Scottish Hebrides, and was first named in history by St, Columba, who went there in his missionary journey, before he settled in Iona where he built his famous monastery. And actually, Iona would also be an awesome name!!
Yes! Such a cool saintly connection!
Adding to the above comment – Yes, Isla is a place name which is what I was thinking. So they changed it up and have the longish, French, honor saint name as middle and place name as first. I think it is good to change it up (but still have those desired elements). It doesn't lock them in so much for more babies.
And curious about the Isla/Kyla similarities you mentioned Kate. Wondering if that played into the choice for Amy and her husband. Was it similar enough that it felt like a name he had spontaneously suggested? Curious as rhyme names don't always do it for me. For example, I love the name Evan but don't' care for Kevin at all. Also love Isabelle – but don't really care for the other "belle" names which are currently popular. Funny how our tastes can go.
I loved that too — place + long French middle — and I so agree that it allows more flexibility moving forward! Interestingly, I mostly feel similar to you about rhyming names, but Isla just really seemed like a good compromise since they both liked it and it was so similar in sound to Kyla. I'd love to know their thought process too!
Baby name consultation: Uebbing Baby Cinque/Cinq | Sancta Nomina says:
[…] thought these posts, which focus on or discuss really French girl names, might be helpful: here, here, here, […]
I love the Fiat Faniky choice of names and I am excited to see what they choose for the next little miracle 🙂
I love all the suggestions in this consultation, esp Genevieve. My other suggestion is Trinity (although in French is spelt with an e at the end, and an accent).
Trinity is the far most northern peninsular of Antarctica, and it is also a place in Scotland. In Antarctica, Trinity has a little beautiful inlet called Hope Bay. You can google for some pictures 🙂
I didn't know that about Trinity!
Year in review: 2017 (blessed beyond measure) | Sancta Nomina says:
[…] in 2017, including for some of our favorite blogger/podcasters/business owners (Grace, Amy, Jenna, Heather, Lina, Caitlin, Mandi, Christina, Blythe, Carolyn, and Jenny); some of my irl […]
Baby name consultation: "Light," "mercy" good meanings for baby no. 5, plus some other rules | Sancta Nomina says:
[…] Erin said she might like. Or Clairvaux! We see it a bit here on the blog (Lindsay's girl and Amy's girl), and I wasn't sure if it had the "light, bright" meaning, but the Wiki entry for […]
Baby name consultation: Baby no. 3 needs a "beautifully feminine" or "sanctified version of a viking, gladiator, medieval knight" name | Sancta Nomina says:
[…] (Claire). I mentioned Lindsay Boever above, mom of Lourdes — she also has a Clairvaux! I also posted a consultation recently for another mom who also has a Clairvaux. Such a pretty, unexpected pick! Also, Claire is a style […]
Links, updates, and consultation info | Sancta Nomina says:
[…] back in November I posted a consultation for Amy at Our Family Fiat, and she recently relaunched her site and one of her first posts up is […]
Baby name consultation: "Short and cute" vs. "flowery" for a girl, surname-style for a boy | Sancta Nomina says:
[…] my readers have daughters named Clairvaux! I definitely think Trish should check them out (here and here) as both families have name taste similar to hers, I […]


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Portage Québec – Summer Newsletter 2010
Good news for Portage
Saint-Malachie
As of April 1st, 2010, the Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux du Québec is now contributing 1.4 million dollars annually to help finance Portage's drug addiction rehabilitation centre for francophone adolescents in Saint-Malachie. This new financing allows Portage to offer its services free-of-charge to youth residing in the eastern regions of Quebec. This is excellent news for Portage, and we are incredibly grateful to the representatives from the MSSS and the Agence de Santé et services sociaux de Chaudière-Appalaches, especially Mr. Émilien Bouffard, whose collaboration was central to creation of this agreement.
Portage's adolescent program in Saint-Malachie provides addiction rehabilitation services to youth from 14 to 18 years of age. At Portage, young people can work through their addiction problems, while at the same time benefiting from on-site educational programming.
For youth and by youth, "La Rive" raises awareness about drug addiction
Since it was established in 2004, a number of graduates of the Portage adolescent program have benefited from the "La Rive" project, a social rehabilitation program through which participants develop their employability skills through the production of a multimedia play, performed in schools and youth centres in the local community. Read more…
NEWSBITES
An unforgettable experience at Cirque du Soleil for Portage residents
On Sunday April 18, 2010 residents from Portage drug addiction rehabilitation centres in the Montréal region attended a Cirque du Soleil performance in the Old Port of Montréal. The tickets were graciously donated by Cirque du Soleil.
New supervised apartment for MICA graduates
On Friday, March 19, three graduates of Portage's Mentally Ill Chemical Abusers (MICA) program moved into a new supervised apartment in Montréal.
Photo: New supervised apartment for graduates of Portage's program for Mentally Ill Chemical Abusers.
"The main message is that just because you fall doesn't mean that you can't get up," explains Stéphanie, a participant of the La Rive program. "When you ask the right person for help, you will receive it."
Open House at Portage's centre for Mentally Ill Chemical Abusers
On May 6th, the Portage centre for Mentally Ill Chemical Abusers (MICA) welcomed about fifty representatives from hospitals and centres who work directly with this clientele for its third annual Open House.
"Since its inception, more than 700 people have attended the Portage MICA program and its supervised apartments. Our program is designed for their reality, and with ongoing follow-up for two years, it provides the best possible chances in favour of our residents' success. We are particularly proud to have added a new supervised apartment this year, bringing the total number of apartments available to residents who have completed the residential phase of our program to three," highlighted Antonio Maturo, director of the MICA centre. Read more…
Read the testimonials presented at the Open House by a resident and his father.
Major renovations at Portage Lac Écho's adolescent house
Following a fire last August in the Lac Écho adolescent house, the residents had to move into temporary accommodations. The boys' and the girls' dormitories as well as the dining room and some administrative offices were badly damaged by smoke. Portage made the most of the situation by renovating and improving the damaged areas. The refurbishing process was carried out throughout the winter. Read more…
Adult induction phase transferred to the lac Écho centre in Prévost
Since June 7th, the induction phase of the Portage adult program, which was previously done at the Day Centre in Montréal, has been transferred to the residential centre in Prévost due to a funding shortfall. The Day Centre welcomed adult substance abusers for a three to four week preparation period prior to their transfer to the residential centre at Lac Écho in Prévost.
Evaluations and admissions are still being done at the Montréal centre at 1640 Saint-Antoine Street, which also manages the information phone line. Once all the formalities necessary to open the file are completed, clients are sent directly to Lac Écho. For more information about the Portage adult program, call 514-939-0202.
This change in the induction phase of the adult drug rehabilitation program is not expected to have an impact on the therapeutic process. Portage remains committed to maintaining the high quality of services that our residents are accustomed to.
The Accreditation Canada visit
All Portage centres participating
in the accreditation process had their Accreditation
Canada visit during
the week of June 7-11. Each of these centres had
received the
Accreditation Primer in 2008 and 2009. The purpose of
this year's visit
was to complete the accreditation process,
demonstrating the continuous
improvement of the quality of Portage's services, the
competency of the
staff members, and the expertise of the organisation.
At the end of the week, the Accreditation Canada
surveyors expressed how delighted they were to have
visited Portage,
thanking the staff members for their warm welcome and
their patience.
They noted the flexibility and adaptability of the
organisation and the
very high quality of services and care offered to
residents. The
surveyors were struck by the devotion, passion, and
creativity of
Portage staff members and praised Portage's continuing
efforts to
improve practices and measures to ensure the safety of
residents. They
were especially impressed by Portage's focus on
residents and their
families, enthusiastically highlighting the
Recognition Ceremonies, the
official recognition of each resident who completes
the Portage program.
Accreditation Canada's Board of Directors will be
making their official decision about Portage's
accreditation status in
the coming days. Portage is pleased to have
participated in this
process and is committed to maintaining all the
improvements that have
been made, while continuously bettering its service
offering.
Portage across Canada
GAIN training
At the end of April, a group of
Portage staff members attended a training session on the GAIN
questionnaire (Global Appraisal of Individual Needs) at the Chestnut
Health Systems facility in Illinois. Portage is currently preparing to
shift to the GAIN system to assess new residents at the admission phase.
Established in 1993, the GAIN has received widespread
recognition as an evidence-based assessment technique for both adults
and adolescents. It is a comprehensive biopsychosocial assessment tool
that supports a number of treatment practices, including initial
screenings, brief interventions, referrals, standardised clinical
assessments for diagnosis, placement and treatment planning, monitoring
of changes in clinical status, service utilisation, costs to society,
and subgroup and program-level needs assessment and evaluation.
About Portage
Portage is a non-profit organisation dedicated to helping people who are suffering from substance abuse-related problems to overcome their dependencies and to live healthy, happy and productive lives. Portage is a vital and progressive force in the drug addiction treatment field in North America, with service centres in Québec, New Brunswick, Ontario, and British Columbia. Through drug addiction treatment best practices and the therapeutic community approach, Portage helps residents develop their self-esteem, confidence, and the competencies necessary to overcome addiction. Portage has been operating drug rehabilitation centres in Canada for 35 years.
Read more about Portage's mission, vision, and values.
The director of Portage's Mother and Child centre delivers a presentation on drug addiction and parenting
On May 12th, Danielle Des Marais, the director of the Portage's drug addiction rehabilitation centre for mothers with their young children and for pregnant women suffering from drug addiction, gave a presentation at a conference in Montréal on dependencies. The conference, Rond-Point 2010, was put on by the Association des centres de réadaptation en dépendance du Québec (ACRDQ).
Portage Lac Écho open house for former resident
On April 24th, Portage Lac Écho held an open house for former residents. All the visitors are currently participants in Portage's Continuum of Care program.
Portage Lac Écho adolescents are "students for a day" at the Saint-Jérôme CÉGEP
Seven adolescent Portage Lac Écho residents got a taste for what CÉGEP is like as "students for a day" at CÉGEP Saint-Jérôme at the beginning of April.
Portage West Island marks International Women's Day
On March 8, 2010, the residents of Portage West Island marked International Women's Day with several activities. The main event was a presentation by female scratch artist and DJ, Killa-Jewel.
A workshop on "Hypersexual Fashion" gives the residents of Portage Lac Écho a lot to think about
On March 10th, the women residents of both the adolescent and adult programs at Portage Lac Écho participated in a workshop about hypersexual fashion led by Mariette Julien. Mme Julien is a PhD in Communications and a professor at the École supérieure de mode de Montréal, at l'Université du Québec (UQAM).
For more information, to participate in our activities, or to share comments, please contact:
Colette Taylor
Senior Director,
ctaylor@portage.ca
For admissions information:
info@portage.ca
MORE NEWS FROM PORTAGE
What's New at Portage?
Portage in the News
Interested in a career at Portage? Become involved!


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Cultural Overview
Last Updated on Fri, 12 Jul 2019 | Cross Cultural
Tikopia's isolation and small size meant that colonial intrusions like the 19th-century slave ships and European settlers did not impact on it at a time when other, more accessible, islands in the Pacific were being changed totally. Apart from a few anthropologists and one school teacher, virtually no Europeans have ever lived on the island and therefore the land remains under traditional control. The land is actually owned by the four chiefs (ariki), but patrilineally focused family groups belonging to each clan use garden plots which have nominally belonged to each family for generations. The four chiefs (Kafika, Tafua, Taumako, and Fangarere) control all aspects of life on the island with the Ariki Kafika considered to be the first among equals. Technically, the island comes under the jurisdiction of the now independent Solomon Islands government but the distance from the seat of government, Honiara, and the lack of sources of money on Tikopia means that the government shows little interest in the island. Equally, the Tikopians do not consider themselves part of a larger polity unless they leave the island for work elsewhere.
The people live in small villages of fewer than 100 people around the flatter parts of the coastline. The economy is a subsistence one: the island is fertile and produces a range of fruits and vegetables; the sea and the lake provide plenty of fish, and material for clothes, house-building, and canoes come from the land. Western clothes have been acquired by people who have been away from the home island to work but the more traditional barkcloth is usually worn.
Descent is strongly patrilineal, and households ideally consist of parents, their sons, the sons' wives, and their children. Unmarried women remain in their parents' house; girls go to live with their husband's family on marriage. The children of any union are seen as belonging to the patri-lineage and in the almost unheard of cases of divorce, the children remain in their father's house. Young unmarried men may build a bachelor hut on family land to allow themselves more freedom than is possible in a one-roomed house occupied by several related families, but on marriage they will return to the main family house.
Christianity arrived late; total conversion by a Church of Melanesia (Anglican) missionary did not occur until the 1950s. There are now Tikopian Anglican priests who minister to the island, but some of the old rituals of the traditional "Work of the Gods" have been revived. However, the introduction of Christianity had one far-reaching consequence: traditional birth control practices were banned. On a small island where the people were well aware of the need to control population, sexual relationships among the young were allowed but only the eldest son could marry and have children. Abortion and infanticide were enjoined on the others to ensure a population which merely replaced itself. The early missionary observed what appeared to be promiscuous encounters among the unmarried young people and insisted on marriage for all. This led to a 50% increase in the population over about 30 years (from 1,200 in the 1920s to 1,800 in the 1950s). Two severe cyclones in 2 years caused many deaths from starvation, and government-assisted migration to settlements in other parts of the Solomons was introduced to relieve population pressure.
This article will deal mainly with the home island of Tikopia because it retains practices long gone from other parts of Polynesia. There will be some discussion of the settlements and their relationships with other ethnic groups as well as a money economy, neither of which is an issue on Tikopia.
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