text:
from sqlalchemy import Column, Integer, String, Date, ForeignKey, create_engine
from sqlalchemy.orm import relationship, sessionmaker
from sqlalchemy.ext.declarative import declarative_base
from sqlalchemy.schema import UniqueConstraint

import dbsync
from dbsync import server

engine = create_engine("sqlite:///server.db", echo=True)
Session = sessionmaker(bind=engine)

dbsync.set_engine(engine)

Base = declarative_base()
Base.__table_args__ = {'sqlite_autoincrement': True,}

@server.track
class City(Base):

    __tablename__ = "city"

    id = Column(Integer, primary_key=True)
    name = Column(String(500))

    def __repr__(self):
        return u"<City id: {0}; name: {1}>".format(self.id, self.name)

name_pool = ["foo", "bar", "baz"]

def load_extra(city):
    return "-".join(name_pool) + "-" + city.name

def save_extra(city, data):
    print "SAVING -------------------"
    print city.name, data
    print "SAVED  -------------------"

def delete_extra(old_city, new_city):
    print "DELETING -----------------"
    print old_city.name, (new_city.name if new_city is not None else None)
    print "DELETED  -----------------"

server.extend(City, "extra", String, load_extra, save_extra, delete_extra)

@server.track
class House(Base):

    __tablename__ = "house"

    id = Column(Integer, primary_key=True)
    address = Column(String(500), unique=True)
    city_id = Column(Integer, ForeignKey("city.id"))

    city = relationship(City, backref="houses")

    def __repr__(self):
        return u"<House id: {0}; address: {1}; city_id: {2}>".format(
            self.id, self.address, self.city_id)

@server.track
class Person(Base):

    __tablename__ = "person"

    __table_args__ = (UniqueConstraint('first_name', 'last_name'),
                      Base.__table_args__)

    id = Column(Integer, primary_key=True)
    first_name = Column(String(500))
    last_name = Column(String(500))
    house_id = Column(Integer, ForeignKey("house.id"))
    birth_city_id = Column(Integer, ForeignKey("city.id"))
    birth_date = Column(Date)
    email = Column(String(500))

    house = relationship(House, backref="persons")
    birth_city = relationship(City)

    def __repr__(self):
        return u"<Person '{0} {1}' house_id: {2}; birth_city_id: {3}>".\
            format(self.first_name,
                   self.last_name,
                   self.house_id,
                   self.birth_city_id)

Base.metadata.create_all(engine)
dbsync.create_all()
dbsync.generate_content_types()


Frail Realities is a Live Role-Play System which is set in an alternative universe somewhat similar to our own. I was invited along for a day to see what it was all about and, of course, take some photographs of the event.
So firstly, you might ask, what is Live Role-Play?
Well have you ever played a game on a console, PC or perhaps even a story based board game? The best way I can describe it is playing one of those games, however, instead of controlling a character through pressing buttons or pushing a figure around a board based on a throw of dice or picking up a card , you ARE the character. The game is based on how you react and respond to any given situation, how you utilise your character's skills.
Now this might initially sound very cheesy, might even bring to mind the stereotype of spotty awkward teenagers as depicted in the film "Knights Of Badassdom", yet this could not be further from the truth. Not an awkward person in sight. Instead I found people who were at the very least budding thespians, if not out right actors, skilled swordsmen and who were incredibly kind and welcoming. It was evident everyone was having a wonderful time and I certainly enjoyed being there.
So Frail Realities is a system where people pay to attend for a weekend, playing a character which they have created based on this alternative universe.
"In 1818 French Mathmagicians seeking to release the Lich King Napoleon from his heavily warded prison on St Helena instead succeeded in fragmenting reality, causing time and space to collapse and the world to change forever.
Now, bubbles of reality called Realms, which may be drawn from any period of human history, sit amongst a Wasteland passable only to a few. The gifted individuals of the Wasteland Commission, who serve the British Empire, travel out from the London Realm seeking to expand the Commonwealth and Empire, make new friends, help other Realms survive and battle those that would do them harm."
There is obviously much thought, research and organisation put into these events, which resulted in a lovely flow, like watching an involved story unfolding its pages in front of you. A beautiful film which you were involved in rather than watching from the sidelines or from your sofa at home.
It involves actual battles, skirmishes and fighting using specially made weapons (for safety reasons), problem solving, use of range of skills (including magic casting, necromancy, shamanism, mathematics to name a few), games, socialising and much camaraderie.
I have to give special comment on the effort of the costume people were wearing, mostly made by the people playing the event, or certainly designed and put together by them. Such detail and careful consideration was given to garments layered and worn, make up and prosthetics. It certainly enhanced the whole feel of the event and certainly blew my mind. In particular, I have to mention a Dragon full head mask which was huge and very detailed, and the wonderful make up that a 'Cat' type character was wearing. Though I certainly didn't envy her wearing all that heavy looking costume on such a warm day! I think it probably puts many film special effects to shame.
What was particularly impressive to me was the amount of depth in the stories explored, with huge links to history right across our different cultures and time, which I could easily identify. These historical links were given a 'Frail Realities' twist giving a touch of the fantastical to them.
All images are Copyright of Briana Drury Photography. If you wish to share these on Facebook etc. feel free, however, the logo must not be cropped or removed in any way and credit must be given to Briana Drury, at Briana Drury Photography, and mention must be given to Frail Realities for any images shared.


In a large bowl mix together the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder and ¼ teaspoon salt until well combined. Stir in the oil a little at a time until crumbles are formed.
Whisk the milk and egg into the mixture and then mix in the Cream corn and chiles.
While cornbread is baking brown ground beef seasoned with the cumin, chili powder, ¼ teaspoon salt and pepper until no longer pink inside; drain if needed.
Remove cornbread from the oven when its finished baking, reduce oven temperature to 350F, and using a fork poke holes in the top throughout the cornbread. Spread the enchilada sauce over the top, and top with the ground beef followed by the shredded cheese.
Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking until cheese just starts to brown.


text:
Llanelli Rural Council
Search https://www.llanelli-rural.gov.uk
Members Allowances
Members Declarations of Interest
Town/Community Council Elections 2022
Council Meeting Minutes and Notes
Chairman's Diary
LRC Training Department
LRC Training
Links to other partners
Council Annual Report
Council Training Plan
Corporate Risk Assessment
Audit Arrangements
Statement of Accounts
Caring for People and Places
Asset Transfer
Time Credits
PSB Local Wellbeing Plan
Local Objectives
Whole Place Plan
Whole Place Plan 2015 : 2030
Area Profiles
Llwynhendy Hub & Gwili Field
Looking for financial help
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Community Development Officer support
Lower Lliedi Reservoir, Swiss Valley
Volunteering & Time Credits
Covid Community Heroes
Find out more about Time Credits
Litter Pick Hub
Street Buddies
Time Credits in your area
Llwynhendy Hub Project Gathers Pace But More Views Still Needed
There has been significant progress with funding plans for a new multi-purpose community hub and outdoor space in Llwynhendy. The project steering group has negotiated a package of support to help realise the project and over £800,000 has been secured from the project partners: Llanelli Rural Council, Our Llwynhendy and Carmarthenshire County Council.
Over the last two years the project steering group led by Llanelli Rural Council has conducted a feasibility study, architectural designs, site visits to other community hubs, numerous surveys, consultations and more. Recent work has gone into setting up a Charitable Incorporated Organisation made up of local residents and library users. The charity, which is called Pro-Vision Llwynhendy, will act for the local people, help with fundraising and will eventually run the day-to-day business of the building. Other developments lately include a full planning application being submitted to the planning authority at the end of January and the project is entering the final key stage before applying for grant support.
Council Clerk, Mark Galbraith stated "the project estimate is in the region of £1.65 million. Following recent meetings with Lottery and Welsh Government grant advisors and the appointed architects, the application for grant funding to make up the shortfall in funding will be made at the start of April 2022. However, one further round of community consultation is required before the grant application form can be submitted. It is very important that the project steering group hears from all Llwynhendy and Pemberton residents but especially from those that match the following demographic: Adult males, people living with a health condition or impairment, black and minority ethnic background and adults aged 65 and over. If you fall within one of these categories then we need to hear from you as soon as possible. Without community buy-in, applying for significant grant support is seriously undermined and without grant support the project is likely to fail. A lot of time and money has been spent on the preliminary work to allow this to happen so we are reaching out once again to residents to garner the important information which we need to help us to satisfy the grant process."
"Your views can be given by a variety of means: If you have access to the internet, surveys are available online at www.llanelli-rural.gov.uk or they can be taken over the phone if you call Llanelli Rural Council on 01554 774103. Surveys can also be completed at Llwynhendy Library. A focus group meeting will also be called in mid-March and anyone interested in attending this must contact Llanelli Rural Council or leave their details via email at [email protected]. Efforts will also be made to contact local support organisations, residential complexes and regular social media content will be put out over the next couple of weeks. You can follow the project on Facebook and Instagram by searching @LlwynhendyHub".
For further information, please contact Community Development Officer, Darren Rees on 01554 774103; email: [email protected]
The Phil Bennett OBE Resource Centre Felinfoel
Storm Eunice Red Weather Warning
Council Reservoir Adoption Brings More Good News For Nature Lovers
New children's play area in Bryn as part of new council housing development
Website by NetBop

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Al Nasser Trading and Import Company and the Saudi General Authority for Zakat and Income Tax ((GAZT) were named as among the most digitally-innovative organizations in the Middle East and North Africa.
Demonstrating the strong potential for Saudi digital transformation, the Kingdom's ICT market is set to reach a record-high of SR128 billion in 2017, according to IDC. In the wider region, the Middle East's cloud infrastructure services market is expected to more than triple to $7.5 billion by 2021, according to a recent report by Markets and Markets.
Recognizing regional innovators, global digital transformation enabler SAP awarded four organizations as gold winners in its annual SAP Middle East and North Africa Quality Awards.
Supporting Saudi Vision 2030's smart government goals, the Saudi General Authority of Zakat & Tax (GAZT), with partner Invenio, received gold for replacing legacy systems with a digital core. By automating tax collection (ERAD), the Authority now provides 77 e-services for more than 350,000 taxpayers.
"Government-led digital transformation, aligned with the National Transformation Program 2020 and Saudi Vision 2030, can only be accomplished with real-time technology. For the General Authority of Zakat & Tax, operating in real-time has cut processing time and costs, enabled new digital payment methods, and driven a new level of taxpayer happiness," said Fahad Al Mojel, Automation System Manager, Saudi General Authority of Zakat & Tax.
Saudi building materials and lighting products conglomerate Al Nasser Trading and Import Company, with partner ISYX Technologies, won the golden award for having improved its materials requirements planning by 40 percent thanks to real-time project sales and wholesale solutions.
"As the Kingdom's construction and interior design industry accelerates, operating in real-time has provides a new level of competitiveness for Saudi firms. Real-time insights on supply chain and inventory have made Al Nasser Trading and Import Company's operations more efficient, freed up employees to focus on customer needs, and enabled us to predict customer purchasing trends," said Alaa Al Nasser, Managing Director and Board Member, Al Nasser Trading and Import Company.
Additional Saudi organizations recognized included Maadaniyah, the National Metal Manufacturing and Casting Company, Saudi Electricity Company, and the chemical and industrial company Tasnee.
"In line with National Transformation Program 2020 and Saudi Vision 2030 nationwide digital transformation, Saudi organizations are among the most innovative in the Middle East.
The strong showing by Saudi organizations at the MENA Quality Awards shows the power of a real-time digital core transforming the customer and citizen experience, and driving economic growth," said Frank Forndron, Head of Customer Office, SAP MENA, and Quality Management, SAP Emerging Markets.
Aligned with Abu Dhabi Vision 2030, Abu Dhabi Distribution Company, with Clariba, won gold for delivering real-time e-government services to more than 300,000 businesses and consumers. Using Big Data analytics, Abu Dhabi Distribution Company is making faster decisions, enabling customers to access their utilities billing and consumption online, and improving performance while cutting costs.


The Benefice of St Sampson (St Sampson)." Crockford's Clerical Directory. Church House Publishing. Web. 23 Apr. 2019.<https://www.crockford.org.uk/places/22118/the-benefice-of-st-sampson-(st-sampson)>.
The Benefice of St Sampson (St Sampson)." Crockford's Clerical Directory. Church House Publishing, accessed April 23, 2019, https://www.crockford.org.uk/places/22118/the-benefice-of-st-sampson-(st-sampson).


text:
Q: Is there any other configuration to be done left over along with Livy server(livy.conf)? I have setup the docker for the hadoop yarn, and I am trying to setup the livy apache server to make API call's for job submissions.
The logs below represents that the livy-server starts for certain time and stops automatically
19/08/17 07:09:35 INFO utils.LineBufferedStream: Welcome to
19/08/17 07:09:35 INFO utils.LineBufferedStream:       ____              __
19/08/17 07:09:35 INFO utils.LineBufferedStream:      / __/__  ___ _____/ /__
19/08/17 07:09:35 INFO utils.LineBufferedStream:     _\ \/ _ \/ _ `/ __/  '_/
19/08/17 07:09:35 INFO utils.LineBufferedStream:    /___/ .__/\_,_/_/ /_/\_\   version 2.2.1
19/08/17 07:09:35 INFO utils.LineBufferedStream:       /_/
19/08/17 07:09:35 INFO utils.LineBufferedStream:
19/08/17 07:09:35 INFO utils.LineBufferedStream: Using Scala version 2.11.8, OpenJDK 64-Bit Server VM, 1.8.0_222
19/08/17 07:09:35 INFO utils.LineBufferedStream: Branch
19/08/17 07:09:35 INFO utils.LineBufferedStream: Compiled by user felixcheung on 2017-11-24T23:19:45Z
19/08/17 07:09:35 INFO utils.LineBufferedStream: Revision
19/08/17 07:09:35 INFO utils.LineBufferedStream: Url
19/08/17 07:09:35 INFO utils.LineBufferedStream: Type --help for more information.
19/08/17 07:09:35 INFO recovery.StateStore$: Using BlackholeStateStore for recovery.
19/08/17 07:09:35 INFO sessions.BatchSessionManager: Recovered 0 batch sessions. Next session id: 0
19/08/17 07:09:35 INFO sessions.InteractiveSessionManager: Recovered 0 interactive sessions. Next session id: 0
19/08/17 07:09:35 INFO sessions.InteractiveSessionManager: Heartbeat watchdog thread started.
19/08/17 07:09:35 INFO util.log: Logging initialized @1944ms
19/08/17 07:09:36 INFO server.Server: jetty-9.3.24.v20180605, build timestamp: 2018-06-05T17:11:56Z, git hash: xxx0x0x0xx00xxxx0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0xxxx
19/08/17 07:09:36 INFO handler.ContextHandler: Started o.e.j.s.ServletContextHandler@3543df7d{/,file:///livy/apache-livy-0.6.0-incubating-bin/bin/src/main/org/apache/livy/server,AVAILABLE}
19/08/17 07:09:36 INFO server.AbstractNCSARequestLog: Opened /livy/apache-livy-0.6.0-incubating-bin/logs/2019_08_17.request.log
19/08/17 07:09:36 INFO server.AbstractConnector: Started ServerConnector@686449f9{HTTP/1.1,[http/1.1]}{x.x.x.x:8080}
19/08/17 07:09:36 INFO server.Server: Started @2304ms
19/08/17 07:09:36 INFO server.WebServer: Starting server on http://x.x.x.x:8080
19/08/17 07:10:01 INFO server.LivyServer: Shutting down Livy server.
19/08/17 07:10:01 INFO handler.ContextHandler: Stopped o.e.j.s.ServletContextHandler@3543df7d{/,file:///livy/apache-livy-0.6.0-incubating-bin/bin/src/main/org/apache/livy/server,UNAVAILABLE}
19/08/17 07:10:01 INFO server.AbstractConnector: Stopped ServerConnector@686449f9{HTTP/1.1,[http/1.1]}{x.x.x.x:8080}

I have provided the livy.conf mentioning the server ip and server port for the livy to run on. As am trying spark yarn submit I have done their setup too, I have attached the files below
docker-compose

version: "2"

services:
 livy:
  image: namenode/hadoopspark:2.2.1
  command: /livy/apache-livy-0.6.0-incubating-bin/bin/livy-server start
  network_mode: "host"
  ports:
   - 8080:8080

#####################BASE DOCKERFILE#################

FROM ubuntu:14.04

ENV DAEMON_RUN=true
ENV SPARK_VERSION=2.2.1
ENV HADOOP_VERSION=2.7
ENV SPARK_HOME=/spark
ENV HADOOP_HOME=/hadoop

RUN apt-get update \
 && apt-get install -y software-properties-common openssh-server net-tools curl nano vim wget ca-certificates jq gnupg unzip

RUN add-apt-repository ppa:openjdk-r/ppa
RUN apt-get update
RUN apt-get install -y openjdk-8-jdk \
 supervisor

RUN ssh-keygen -q -N "" -t rsa -f /root/.ssh/id_rsa
RUN cp /root/.ssh/id_rsa.pub /root/.ssh/authorized_keys

RUN wget https://www-eu.apache.org/dist/incubator/livy/0.6.0-incubating/apache-livy-0.6.0-incubating-bin.zip \
 && unzip apache-livy-0.6.0-incubating-bin.zip \
 && mkdir -p livy \
 && mv apache-livy-0.6.0-incubating-bin /livy

RUN wget https://archive.apache.org/dist/spark/spark-${SPARK_VERSION}/spark-${SPARK_VERSION}-bin-hadoop${HADOOP_VERSION}.tgz \
 &&  tar -xzf spark-${SPARK_VERSION}-bin-hadoop${HADOOP_VERSION}.tgz \
 &&  mv spark-${SPARK_VERSION}-bin-hadoop${HADOOP_VERSION} /spark

RUN wget https://archive.apache.org/dist/hadoop/core/hadoop-2.7.3/hadoop-2.7.3.tar.gz \
 && tar -xzvf hadoop-2.7.3.tar.gz \
 && mv hadoop-2.7.3 /hadoop

ENV JAVA_HOME=/usr/lib/jvm/java-8-openjdk-amd64
ENV HADOOP_CONF_DIR=/hadoop/etc/hadoop

RUN echo "export JAVA_HOME=/usr/lib/jvm/java-8-openjdk-amd64/jre/ \
export HADOOP_HOME=/hadoop \
export HADOOP_CONF_DIR=/hadoop/etc/hadoop \
export HADOOP_SSH_OPTS='"-p 22"' \
" >> /hadoop/etc/hadoop/hadoop-env.sh

ENV PATH=$SPARK_HOME/bin:$PATH
ENV PATH=$PATH:/hadoop/bin:/hadoop/sbin

################NAMENODE DOCKERFILE####################

FROM base/hadoopspark:2.2.1

COPY conf/* /tmp/

RUN cp /tmp/hdfs-site.xml $HADOOP_HOME/etc/hadoop/hdfs-site.xml && \
    cp /tmp/core-site.xml $HADOOP_HOME/etc/hadoop/core-site.xml && \
    cp /tmp/mapred-site.xml $HADOOP_HOME/etc/hadoop/mapred-site.xml && \
    cp /tmp/yarn-site.xml $HADOOP_HOME/etc/hadoop/yarn-site.xml && \
    cp /tmp/hdfs-site.xml $SPARK_HOME/conf/ && \
    cp /tmp/core-site.xml $SPARK_HOME/conf/ && \
    cp /tmp/mapred-site.xml $SPARK_HOME/conf/ && \
    cp /tmp/yarn-site.xml $SPARK_HOME/conf/ && \
    cp /tmp/spark-defaults.conf $SPARK_HOME/conf/ && \
    cp /tmp/livy.conf /livy/apache-livy-0.6.0-incubating-bin/conf

COPY Docker_WordCount_Spark-1.0.jar /opt/Docker_WordCount_Spark-1.0.jar
COPY sample.txt /opt/sample.txt

#RUN hdfs dfs -put /opt/Docker_WordCount_Spark-1.0.jar Docker_WordCount_Spark-1.0.jar
#RUN hdfs dfs -put /opt/sample.txt sample.txt

ENV LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/hadoop/lib/native:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH

RUN sudo service ssh restart
RUN sudo /hadoop/bin/hadoop namenode -format

EXPOSE 8998 8080

Need help whether any other to start livy server. Thank you!

A: Docker requires command(s) to keep running in the foreground. Otherwise, it thinks that application is stopped and it shutdown the container. As livy server startup  script runs in background processes, and no other foreground process triggered later, that`s why container exits when script ends. You can solve this many ways, the simple solution is add the following command in Dockerfile to start the liver server ( remove command from docker-compose.yml)
CMD /livy/apache-livy-0.6.0-incubating-bin/bin/livy-server start && /bin/bash

The livy server docker image is:
FROM base/hadoopspark:2.2.1

COPY conf/* /tmp/

ENV SPARK_HOME=/spark
ENV HADOOP_HOME=/hadoop

RUN cp /tmp/hdfs-site.xml $HADOOP_HOME/etc/hadoop/hdfs-site.xml && \
    cp /tmp/core-site.xml $HADOOP_HOME/etc/hadoop/core-site.xml && \
    cp /tmp/mapred-site.xml $HADOOP_HOME/etc/hadoop/mapred-site.xml && \
    cp /tmp/yarn-site.xml $HADOOP_HOME/etc/hadoop/yarn-site.xml && \
    cp /tmp/hdfs-site.xml $SPARK_HOME/conf/ && \
    cp /tmp/core-site.xml $SPARK_HOME/conf/ && \
    cp /tmp/mapred-site.xml $SPARK_HOME/conf/ && \
    cp /tmp/yarn-site.xml $SPARK_HOME/conf/ && \
    cp /tmp/spark-defaults.conf $SPARK_HOME/conf/ && \
    cp /tmp/livy.conf /livy/apache-livy-0.6.0-incubating-bin/conf

COPY Docker_WordCount_Spark-1.0.jar /opt/Docker_WordCount_Spark-1.0.jar
COPY sample.txt /opt/sample.txt

ENV LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/hadoop/lib/native:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH

RUN sudo service ssh restart
RUN sudo /hadoop/bin/hadoop namenode -format

ENV PATH=$SPARK_HOME/bin:$HADOOP_HOME/bin:$HADOOP_HOME/sbin:$PATH

EXPOSE 8998 8080

CMD /livy/apache-livy-0.6.0-incubating-bin/bin/livy-server start && /bin/bash

A: Please try to add tty parameter to docker compose and run the container in detach mode.
version: "2"

services:
 livy:
  image: namenode/hadoopspark:2.2.1
  command: /livy/apache-livy-0.6.0-incubating-bin/bin/livy-server start
  network_mode: "host"
  ports:
   - 8080:8080
  tty:  true

Start the docker container with
docker-compose up -d

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Solnica  () is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Nowy Dwór Gdański, within Nowy Dwór Gdański County, Pomeranian Voivodeship, in northern Poland.

It lies approximately  south-east of Nowy Dwór Gdański and  south-east of the regional capital Gdańsk.

The village was founded in 1600 by the Olęder settlers in the area of Wielkie Żuławy Malborskie.

Until 1772 Laakendorf was part of the Kingdom of Poland. The First Partition of Poland in 1772 resulted in the creation of a new province in 1773, called West Prussia, in which Laakendorf was located. The village was situated in the district (Kreis) of Marienburg until the establishment of the Free City of Danzig in 1920. Later came under the control of Nazi Germany during World War II until February 1945, when it was occupied by Soviet forces and returned to Poland.

The village has a population of 260.

References

Solnica

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Bruce High Quality Foundation Leaving East Village, Shows Off Brooklyn Base
November 6, 2015 By Nicole Disser
(Photo: Nicole Disser)
Last night the mask-wielding artists of the Bruce High Quality Foundation opened up the doors of their epic new studio space in Sunset Park. The excuses were a party and an exhibition featuring work inspired by French Baroque painter Nicholas Poussin's landscapes, while the reason was fundraising for the Bruce High Quality Foundation University (BHFQU), an experimental, non-profit art school that offers free classes and an alternative to the MFA by separating art from careerism. Come January, BHQFU, which has had a home base in the East Village since 2013, will move its operations here to Sunset Park.
The story goes that Bruce High Quality died in 9/11 (in actuality, he's a fictional character, and about as real as the History Channel's pyramid-building aliens). But, since 2009, the nine artists who make up his foundation have been putting on events like this one for extremely chill causes.
There were many things to hold your attention at BHQF's posh-ish party last night: dancey jams, an arboreal room-sized photo booth, and (because this was technically an Absolut Art Bar party) free drinks. The artworks– rather large, abstract landscape paintings with eye-popping color palettes made collectively by BHQF– were apparently the perfect size for selfies, while people with some sense of shame had a friend take the photo.
Painting by BHQF (Photo: Nicole Disser)
We heard one onlooker remark that the paintings reminded him "of early Jackson Pollock." But we found it more entertaining to imagine how several artists managed to make such a consistent work together. "Decisions were made together about at what point it was finished and what colors, how they were gonna paint them," a member of the BHFQU team, Sophie Oakley, explained over the phone.
There were some sparkly people (models and people who looked like models) in attendance and some recognizable art types including Cleo Wade and Christine Tran (co-founder of Witches of Bushwick). Apparently Dev Hynes was there, but I was too busy crunching on edible moss and chain smoking (inside the building, no less) to notice. The atmosphere was remarkably chill for an art opening– there was a serious lack of too-cool, so much so that people were not afraid to Instagram the fireworks going off over the Statue of Liberty in the distance. The Statue of Liberty, people– if there's something more earnest than that, please let me know.
Maybe all these leisurely vibes had to do with the fact that BHQF is a rather playful, prankish art collective. But, more meaningfully, they're also anti-establishment in their mistrust of the super fancy art world and its penchant for worshiping celebrity over substance, not to mention its highly competitive, exclusive nature and emphasis on money equals success.
BHFQU's mission rebels equally against the art world establishment and MFA-industrial complex. "Being able to offer students and artists ways to communicate and learn from each other without having to go into debt, or without having to go through the accredited art education system, we're trying to offer the good parts of MFA programs and give it to people more openly— that's still our main focus," Sophie explained. "Also to keep a creative community alive without it being pushed to the side or only available to certain groups of people who can financially afford it."
I felt kind of bad about the whole smoking thing when Sophie confirmed this would be the new all-in-one home for BHFQ and the U. "We moved here in 2012, it's the studio where we make all of the work, and as of January we're going to be moving the school and the gallery to the studio as well," she explained. "So it's going to become like a Bruce High Quality Foundation headquarters, like a hub for everything, all of our projects this coming January."
The reason? C'mon, you know the reason. Apparently not even a non-profit arts organization can cut it in the East Village anymore. "Rent prices, is one reason– practical costs," Sophie admitted. "But it's more that we want everything to be in one place so we can feed off each other." Moving to Brooklyn would also mean access to this massive, 14,000 square foot space. "Mainly it's just having more space and better facilities out here– we can offer a much bigger gallery space to artists exhibiting, we can offer bigger classrooms, we can offer better studios for our residents," Sophie continued. " We're looking to be able to offer more focused, seminar-type classes, as well as lecture-type classes, and maybe even providing studio space [for artists] as well."
BHFQU could use more space– the school's popularity has only expanded since it re-initiated classes in 2013. This past semester, around 700 people applied but the non-profit could only admit about 300 of them. Despite the move, the organization's mission will remain the same. "The biggest concern is that an art world with artists who have come from one place isn't a very interesting one," Sophie explained "The larger the difference, the better, the more interesting it becomes."
Bruce High Quality Foundation studios are located at 33 34th street, Sunset Park Brooklyn.
Tags: and Beyond, art, art collective, art education, benefits, BHFQ, BHFQU, brooklyn, Bruce High Quality, bruce high quality foundation, bruce high quality foundation university, East Village, free education, fundraisers, galleries, openings, Paintings, Sunset Park
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At CPS, highly trained clinicians are available to provide individual and family psychotherapy to children and their families. Although every treatment plan is specifically tailored to the needs of the child and his or her family, three basic approaches to psychotherapy are typically combined and utilized to varying degrees when working with clients. First, our therapists use Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to help clients identify the thoughts that lead to negative feelings and behaviors and to change those thoughts, subsequently improving the areas of difficulty. Secondly, we realize that the child cannot be viewed in isolation; therefore, a Family Systems approach is utilized to evaluate the dynamics of the family and how each individual's role in the family contributes to the perceived area of difficulty. Finally, underlying all of our therapy is the humanistic theory that each individual is unique and will demonstrate greater levels of growth when provided with a safe, nurturing, and loving environment; thus, it is our goal to provide such an environment in our therapy sessions.


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Home Hina Khan Cannes 2019: Hina Khan looks stunning in a pink pantsuit for the...
Hina Khan
Cannes 2019: Hina Khan looks stunning in a pink pantsuit for the interviews, see pics
The 72nd Cannes Film Festival kick-started on May 14, 2019 and this year, television actress Hina Khan is all set to make her debut at Cannes this year.
The actress is attending the festival for her upcoming film Lines. The actress has already reached the French Riviera along with boyfriend Rocky Jaiswal.
For her first outing in Cannes – an interview session – she opted for a pink power suit. She wore a matching pink top under her suit and she looked like a vision.
Hina Khan looks stunning in a pink pantsuit
Meanwhile, Hina Khan has taken a break from Kasautii Zindagii Kay. Post Cannes 2019, she will be working on her Bollywood film which will be helmed by Vikram Bhatt.
Well, we can't wait for her red carpet look.
Hina Khan bids adieu to Kasautii Zindagii Kay, here are pics from her farewell
The festival which begins on May 14 will run till May 25. Along with Mallika Sherawat, Neena Gupta, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Sonam Kapoor, Deepika Padukone, Kangana Ranaut, and Huma Qureshi will be attending the renowned film festival and representing India.
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"Right now, even when we're talking about the president, people will say, you know, his remarks are racist, and we'll forget the inherent racism that has always been part of him," Rep. Ilhan Omar said. | Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Ilhan Omar accuses Trump of being racist for decades
By QUINT FORGEY
Rep. Ilhan Omar on Tuesday accused Donald Trump of long-harbored and deep-seated "inherent racism," as the president has launched into another week of fiery attacks on the Minnesota Democrat and three other freshman progressive congresswomen.
"Right now, even when we're talking about the president, people will say, you know, his remarks are racist, and we'll forget the inherent racism that has always been part of him," Omar said, criticizing how Trump "always takes an opportunity to others to vilify them and destroy their existence and ability to access our justice system."
Omar went on to cite Trump's calls three decades ago to reinstate the death penalty amid the "Central Park Five" case — a campaign by the real estate mogul that Omar characterized Tuesday as "going out of your way to ask for lynching for five innocent young men."
Omar's remarks at the Muslim Collective for Equitable Democracy conference in Washington came less than an hour after Trump namechecked the lawmaker in a tweet, referencing her and the liberal House Democrats he has also repeatedly strafed: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan.
"In 2016 I almost won Minnesota. In 2020, because of America hating anti-Semite Rep. Omar, & the fact that Minnesota is having its best economic year ever, I will win the State!" Trump wrote online.
He added: "'We are going to be a nightmare to the President,' she say. No, AOC Plus 3 are a Nightmare for America!"
Khizr Khan, the Gold Star father who has traded barbs with Trump since addressing the Democratic National Convention in 2016, spoke alongside Omar on Tuesday and praised the congresswoman as she remains the subject of the president's ire.
"It is her courage, her work, her determination that has made her a symbol of American democracy, multiracial democracy," Khan said. "Watch history. Her name and other colleagues, their names will be written in golden letters on the pages of history because of their courage and because of what they stand for."


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Galaxy S6 Edge bends at the same pressure as iPhone 6 Plus
Asad Rafi
Do you remember when the term 'Bendgate' went viral? It happened when the iPhone 6 Plus users complained that their phone bends in pocket or after a certain force. Well, it seems Galaxy S6 Edge bends as well, as it bends at the same pressure point as the iPhone 6 Plus. Check out the video below to see HTC One M8, Galaxy S6 Edge, and iPhone 6 Plus going through the test:
However, iPhone is just bending and the screen is still safe, but the screen on Galaxy S6 Edge shatters right at the point, and that's probably because of the edges. But it is hard to disagree on the fact that Galaxy S6 Edge is probably the greatest looking Samsung device to date. All you have to do is to be a bit careful, maybe a good phone cover would suffice because there is a probability that it might bend in your pocket or maybe breaks if you drop.
Are you planning to grab it? Let us know in the comment box below.
Asad is a former freelance writer of AndroidGuys. These words are his own and do not reflect those of AndroidGuys as a whole.
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The best deals available at T-Mobile (January 2020)


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Q: Create-react-app reload on service worker update I want to modify create-react-app service worker file and implement popup message which will ask user to update app if newer service worker is ready to be activated. I'm almost done with the solution but have one pitfall. I want to reload the app when user confirms service worker update popup, so I've added some coded to the end of register function, see below:
export default function register(config) {
  if (process.env.NODE_ENV === "production" && "serviceWorker" in navigator) {
    // The URL constructor is available in all browsers that support SW.
    const publicUrl = new URL(process.env.PUBLIC_URL, window.location)
    if (publicUrl.origin !== window.location.origin) {
      // Our service worker won't work if PUBLIC_URL is on a different origin
      // from what our page is served on. This might happen if a CDN is used to
      // serve assets; see https://github.com/facebookincubator/create-react-app/issues/2374
      return
    }

    window.addEventListener("load", () => {
      const swUrl = `${process.env.PUBLIC_URL}/service-worker.js`

      if (isLocalhost) {
        // This is running on localhost. Lets check if a service worker still exists or not.
        checkValidServiceWorker(swUrl, config)

        // Add some additional logging to localhost, pointing developers to the
        // service worker/PWA documentation.
        navigator.serviceWorker.ready.then(() => {
          console.log(
            "This web app is being served cache-first by a service " +
              "worker."
          )
        })
      } else {
        // Is not local host. Just register service worker
        registerValidSW(swUrl, config)
      }

      let preventDevToolsReloadLoop
      navigator.serviceWorker.addEventListener("controllerchange", function() {
        // ensure refresh is called only once
        if (preventDevToolsReloadLoop) {
          return
        }

        preventDevToolsReloadLoop = true
        console.log("reload")
        window.location.reload(true)
      })
    })
  }
}

But the problem is that it reloads the app also on first visit, when there doesn't exist any service worker yet. How can I solve it?

A: Completing @jfbloom22's answer:
As you probably want to ask the user after an update has been detected with something more complex than a plain alert, you need to ensure the registration object is available from inside the React's components tree and save it to use after the user accepts to update (for example, by clicking a button).
As an option, in a component you can create a custom event listener on a global object like document and fire this event when the onUpdate callback passed to serviceWorker.register(), passing to it the resgistration object as extra data.
This is exactly what my recently published Service Worker Updater does (some self-promotion). To use it you just need to:

*

*Add it to the dependencies:

yarn add @3m1/service-worker-updater

*

*Use it in your index.js:

import { onServiceWorkerUpdate } from '@3m1/service-worker-updater';

// ...

// There are some naming changes in newer Create React App versions
serviceWorkerRegistration.register({
  onUpdate: onServiceWorkerUpdate
});

*

*Use it in some of your React components:

import React from 'react';
import { withServiceWorkerUpdater } from '@3m1/service-worker-updater';

const Updater = (props) => {
  const {newServiceWorkerDetected, onLoadNewServiceWorkerAccept} = props;
  return newServiceWorkerDetected ? (
    <>
      New version detected.
      <button onClick={ onLoadNewServiceWorkerAccept }>Update!</button>
    </>
  ) : null; // If no update is available, render nothing
}

export default withServiceWorkerUpdater(Updater);

A: Update to react-scripts ^3.2.0.  Verify that you have the new version of serviceWorker.ts or .js.  The old one was called registerServiceWorker.ts and the register function did not accept a configuration object.  Note that this solution only works well if you are Not lazy-loading.
then in index.tsx:
  serviceWorker.register({
    onUpdate: registration => {
      alert('New version available!  Ready to update?');
      if (registration && registration.waiting) {
        registration.waiting.postMessage({ type: 'SKIP_WAITING' });
      }
      window.location.reload();
    }
  });

The latest version of the ServiceWorker.ts register()function accepts a config object with a callback function where we can handle upgrading.  If we post a message SKIP_WAITING this tells the service worker to stop waiting and to go ahead and load the new content after the next refresh.  In this example I am using a javascript alert to inform the user.  Please replace this with a custom toast.
The reason this postMessage function works is because under the hood CRA is using workbox-webpack-plugin which includes a SKIP_WAITING listener.
More About Service Workers
good guide: https://redfin.engineering/how-to-fix-the-refresh-button-when-using-service-workers-a8e27af6df68
CRA issue discussing service worker cache:  https://github.com/facebook/create-react-app/issues/5316
If you are not using CRA, you can use workbox directly: https://developers.google.com/web/tools/workbox

A: Try to add reload funtion in installingWorker.state === 'installed'
     if (installingWorker.state === 'installed') {
        if (navigator.serviceWorker.controller) {
          // do something ..
        }
      }


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Teen-Friendly Review Series – Life is Strange (2015)
Share on Twitter January 31, 2020 February 26, 2022 Ruth Cassidy9 minute read
Editor's Note: The Kid-Friendly Review Series is a bit different than our usual reviews in that they are all-encompassing instead of our usual focused reviews. Because of this, nothing will be scored, as we not comfortable rating features we don't rely on. Instead, we will simply note potential problem areas and leave it for parents to decide for themselves if the game is playable for their child.
Game reviewed on PC
Life is Strange (2015) is the first game in the Life is Strange franchise, a series of episodic point-and-click inspired adventure games about teenagers grappling with forces beyond their control — both supernatural and interpersonal. Max is a teenage photographer at the Blackwell Academy who discovers a sudden affinity for time travel after having a premonition of a terrible storm, and reunites with her childhood best friend to try and solve the town's dark mysteries before the storm is destined to hit a few days later.
Gameplay in Life is Strange is heavily narrative driven and largely exploratory; between cutscenes the player walks around and speaks to other characters, or interacts with highlighted objects to learn more about the story or to solve environmental puzzles. This classic point-and-click style gameplay is built upon with the addition of a time travel mechanic: the ability to rewind time, and to travel through photographs.
Content Note
Life is Strange is described here as a "teen friendly" game rather than "kid friendly", and is recommended for mature teenagers only, as it may be distressing for younger or less emotionally mature players. The game explores mature themes and dark content, including sexual assault, onscreen suicide, and non-consensual drugging. The fourth episode also depicts a parapalegic character as not having a life worth living, and as a burden on their family.
Deaf/HOH Accessibility
Life is Strange has large subtitles in an easy-to-read font, available in three sizes (up to "Hella Large", seen above) with an optional semi-opaque black background. Max's internal monologue is distinguished from voiced speech with italics, but unfortunately this is as far as identification within the subtitles goes; there are no speaker labels or colour coding to separate individual speakers. This isn't always an issue, as conversations between characters always show the speakers on screen in turn, but anything outside of the conversation structure can become ambiguous and confusing.
Additionally, cross-talk and ambient speech isn't subtitled at all. In the screenshot below, a character offscreen is speaking aloud, but only Max's internal monologue is subtitled.
Sound effects and music tracks are also not subtitled. Some effects such as thunder trigger gamepad vibration, but this type of feedback is used extremely sparingly — more frequently for dramatic effect than to communicate the presence of sound.
The game does communicate well visually; interactable objects are highlighted in cross-hatch and labelled, and context buttons appear when you become close enough to interact with them. Animated pop-ups alongside text captions appear when the world-state is changed, and when 'rewinding' is available.
Motor Accessibility
Many of the 'rewind' puzzles pit Max and her objective against time: being inevitably caught by somebody, or avoiding a falling obstacle, or retrieving an item before it becomes unavailable. While thinking and acting quickly can be the easiest way to finish these segments quickly, the 'rewind' function means that the puzzles are designed so that the player is expected to run out of time at least once. Quick, dextrous play may finish the puzzles faster, but isn't required to complete them, as players can rewind as often as they like within a puzzle without penalty.
Rewinding is mapped to the left trigger on a gamepad, with an optional 'quick rewind' mapped to holding down both triggers at once. Players who have difficulty with sustaining key presses may have difficulty here, as there is no alternative option, but the time travel does 'pause' if you stop rewinding at a time the game perceives as premature. (Note: The mouse and keyboard layout does have a single press button to quick rewind, but the mouse and keyboard layout has its own issues mentioned below!)
Later episodes involve more complex iterations on these puzzles, with multiple objectives needing to be achieved within one segment, and at least one instance of having to interact with moving objects.
While these puzzles are infinitely repeatable — a failure state keeps Max suspended in a 'time travel' state until the player rewinds to an earlier part of the puzzle — the player is required to succeed at them in order to progress in the game.
The 'focus' puzzles, where the player has to bring a photograph into focus require very precise control of the analogue sticks, or tiny incremental button pressing with mouse and keyboard. However, players who spend too long on these puzzles will be prompted to 'auto-focus', and be able to skip the puzzle.
As the game begins, it recommends that gameplay is "enhanced by" use of a gamepad, but playing with mouse and keyboard is still available.
The gamepad control scheme is unfortunately fixed, and cannot be remapped. You can invert both X and Y axes, and toggle on/off controller vibration, but this is the extent of gamepad settings customisation.
The mouse and keyboard controls are fully remappable, along with having adjustable mouse sensitivity, however the UI is not optimised for mouse and keyboard use; rather than press a context button to interact, you have to click-drag-release the cursor over every interactable. This is much slower, and makes the time sensitive puzzles significantly harder to finish.
Switching between gamepad and mouse and keyboard happens contextually, so some players may find a combination of both to be most comfortable for them.
Blind/Low Vision and Colorblind Accessibility
Interactable objects are outlined in white and covered in white cross-hatching, as well as labelled. When close enough to interact with them, labelled context buttons also appear.
While interactable objects are highlighted, general objectives and directions are not. Each map is small, but navigating through the game depends solely on understanding the environment Max is in — her college campus, the junkyard, Chloe's house. It's easy to get turned around at the edges of the maps after facing the wrong way after a cut scene, or simply not knowing where you're 'supposed' to go.
The UI text is a comfortable size to start with, but there are no options to make the UI text larger for players who would benefit from that. Subtitle size can be increased, and viewed with a semi-opaque background, but there are no additional settings to improve visual accessibility.
With the threat of an oncoming storm, flashy and repetitive light effects are present from the very beginning and re-occur throughout all episodes, with no option to disable these.
Like many point-and-click style games, Life is Strange has a number of environmental puzzles that revolve around 'find the thing'. While interactable objects are labelled within a certain distance, low-vision players may have difficulty picking out (for example) a bottle from a junkyard worth of clutter before they are close enough to prompt the label pop-up. This is especially true for players who may struggle with legibility of the labels, as many non-essential objects are also labelled that trigger flavour text interactions.
The 'travel through photographs' mechanic gives the player an out of focus picture and asks them to precisely focus it with two different keys or controls. When the image is close, the controller vibrates and sound effects play, but players who are unable to visually discern details may have difficulty reaching this point, or refining the image after it. However, unlike the other puzzles, these become skippable after a short time.
Cognitive Accessibility
As in the the visual accessibility section, the biggest flaw Life Is Strange has for cognitive accessibility is its lack of directional signposting. Should you spend too long idling or exploring, Max will voice a helpful reminder of what task you should be doing next, but this can be quite frustrating if you're idling due to struggling to navigate the environment. It's possible to be repeatedly told "this is the wrong way" without ever having the correct path indicated, and some maps are much harder to consistently navigate than others.
It's an unfortunate blip in an otherwise cognitively friendly UI; the game is quick to remind players of their current task, the buttons you need to interact are on-screen, and it has a thorough and clearly explained "How to play" section available at all times. Players can also find their past decisions from previous episodes plainly summarised in an option in the main menu, alongside story recaps when they begin a new episode, and in an in-character journal within episodes. When a significant part of the gameplay is that your choices matter, it's great that the game tries it's best to not let you forget what your choices were. Ultimately, I think Life is Strange has made great efforts with its UI and play style that pays off in increased accessibility for a number of players, particularly with regards to cognitive accessibility, but falls down in parts where good features weren't fully worked through. While many inaccessible elements of the game may be found more frustrating than they are game breaking, players who rely on keymapping and players with low vision may find themselves entirely left out.
Check out the CIPT Codex on Life is Strange for more information
Tagged with: Accessibility Review, Life is Strange, Teen Friendly Games
Ruth Cassidy is a freelance games writer and self-described velcro cyborg. When not playing video games or running people over in her wheelchair, she can be found getting very emotional over her favourite musical theatre soundtracks. You can buy her friendship with pictures of especially nice mountains, or your cats.
See all articles by Ruth
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DON'T NOD


Recognizing the reasons for creases is the very first step to eliminating them. Below are some of the main adding elements to creases, and what you can do concerning them.
1. The environment. This can be more broken down right into man-made and native environments. There are chemicals in more areas than you can envision, and many of those chemicals add to early wrinkling of the skin. Do what you can to alter your residence as well as workplace right into an extra organic as well as less synthetic environment. When it pertains to the all-natural world, the biggest danger is too much exposure to the sun. You still require sunlight so the body can create vitamin D, yet you should not overdo it to the factor of getting sunburnt. Limit your direct exposure to a healthy and balanced quantity. If you will certainly be outside for an extensive period of time, after that hide with apparel and sun block.
2. Poor diet. What goes right into your body will certainly be assessed the exterior of your body. If you consume only refined waste, then your skin will certainly suffer, as well as you will have much more creases. Improving this issue is as straightforward as eating the right foods.
3. Dehydration. Drink lots of liquids throughout the day. Goal for 64 ounces daily, but don't worry if you're a little above or below that number. If you're getting parched, then it's an indication that you require to consume even more water.
4. Negative behaviors. Way too much caffeine and alcohol can add to wrinkles, so enjoy them in small amounts. If you smoke, after that quit. Smoking will certainly make your skin appearance awful, as well as is a digital guarantee to being leathery and old and wrinkly.
The above sources of wrinkles are mostly within your control, but you still may need to locate more means to get rid of wrinkles. Fortunately, the makers of skin care items have actually thought of impressive developments in the last few years. The complicated component is finding out which products live up to their assurances and which ones do not. Keep in mind that amazing cases call for amazing proof. You must additionally check out the fine print to see what the cases in fact mean. It may take a little bit of test as well as mistake to find the anti-wrinkle products that function best for you, but it will certainly be worth it in the future.
Eliminating creases can be carried out in numerous different ways. The important things to remember is that you do not need to live with having wrinkles when you can have smoother, younger-looking skin instead.
For those customers wanting to purchase anti aging skin products, it is necessary to bear in mind that no two anti aging skin products are alike. With this reality in mind, it then becomes feasible to come to be a sensible customer when it comes time to buy anti aging skin items: when trying to find anti aging skin products consumers need to try to find certain high qualities within the anti aging skin products they are considering for purchase. What type of active ingredients does the anti aging skin items contain? Just how does the anti aging skin products work? Is the anti aging skin items you intend to purchase really worth the loan you intend on investing?
You will only wish to buy anti aging skin products that are backed by professionals, scientists as well as other experts. Do not invest your cash in anti aging skin products that throw a pile of assurances at you and after that never ever meet an one of them. Rather, levitate towards the anti aging skin products that have their insurance claims supported by experts and also specialists. Moreover, go with the anti aging skin items that are actually backed by complete research study and also testing. Sight the tests conducted on the anti aging skin products you are thinking about and see the influences on your own.
One more method to discover the best anti aging skin products is to talk with others that have used the items you are taking into consideration. Ask exactly how easy the anti aging skin products are to utilize and whether they really felt that such products were pricey. If you and also a close pal are chatting about anti aging skin products, why not ask if they such as the feel of the anti aging skin products they have actually bought, the scent and also whether they enjoyed with their purchase. Opportunities are, if they bought a top quality item with hydrating top qualities and also collagen mixture properties, they were greater than delighted with the item.
Conversely, you can review testimonials concerning anti aging skin products and also thereby see what other people have to say concerning the product. Review how other people price making use of special anti aging skin items as well as if they felt their loan was well spent. Simply keep in mind that no issue what any person states, the only actual way you can know for specific if the anti aging skin items you are believing regarding really job is to examine the tests carried out on the products and try the product out yourself.
There are really outstanding anti aging skin items that you can use to assist you look and also really feel young again. Researchers have actually worked vigilantly to develop anti aging skin items that attend to a number of aging problems, issues beyond the look of creases. Whether you desire anti aging skin items to improve the look of your skin, or you desire anti aging skin products to enhance the appearance of your lips, there are anti aging skin products that can aid you with charm requirements. Even more, if you want anti aging skin items that can help you get rid of under-eye circles or you desire to reduce unattractive cellulite, there are anti aging skin items that can address your appeal dilemmas.


The Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami of March 2011 is well remembered in Japan. Some areas have recovered, while others are struggling to return to their former lives. The same is true for the ocean and this month I've been enjoying the May 2017 edition of science magazine Newton, in particular a photo journal of Tohoku's marine life. Japanese underwater photographer Yasuaki Kagii shares his experiences diving in areas that were hit hard by the disaster. He presents his story through photographs and shares his thoughts on the species and underwater conditions.
Kagii begins by saying that marine life in Tohoku is flourishing and has adapted to a new and changing underwater environment. His first photograph is a tiny fringed blenny living in a pipe. Kagii explains how struck he was to see this small fish creating a new home for itself out of debris. He also presents an example of camouflage, as seen by a sunrise sculpin living on an electric fan that's coated with pink coralline algae.
The contrast between life/happiness and death/sadness is also covered. One of Kagii's photos is an upside down car and a cluster of kelp growing on one of the tyres. Kagii touches upon the difference between death and sadness, as illustrated by the upside down car, and life and happiness that the flourishing kelp is said to represent. In an attempt to highlight new life, Kagii shares the story of a spotbelly greenling laying its eggs on the sea floor. Nearby, gobies are doing the same, and in June, when the water temperature begins to rise, baby gobies burst forth from long white eggs and swim away, tiny white dots sprinkling like sand over the seabed.
Kati explains that when he first started diving off Tohoku in April 2011, he saw abalone, sea urchins and starfish but no sign of fish. He had been photographing traces of human life that had been washed away but when he came across a tiny lumpfish, a species that had survived the tsunami-ravaged seas, he decided to show people that Tohoku's marine life was alive and well despite what had happened. Six years on, Kagii says he has now discovered the true beauty of Tohoku's underwater environment.
I really enjoyed Kagii's story. Having also dived in Tohoku, I agreed with his impressions of beauty and diversity. The March 2011 disaster was a unique opportunity for divers like Kagii to observe in real time an ecosystem recover from an extremely large natural disaster, and for divers like myself who don't live so near to Tohoku, it's been a good insight into a marine environment that didn't get so much attention before. By talking to fellow divers and local fishermen over the past 6 years, I have learned many things, for example that small fish with short lifespans thrived immediately after the disaster because of their short reproductive cycle and the absence of predators, as well as a possible abundance of food like nutrients and sediments that were brought in by the tsunami and settled on the seabed. Like Kagii, I believe it is important to continue highlighting the beauty of Tohoku's seas and survival of its marine life, but there could be other purposes to such information. For example, Japan experiences a lot of natural disasters, and understanding how marine life recovers could help the country better prepare for future earthquakes or tsunamis.
With dolphins, penguins, sharks and a shoal of dancing sardines, Enoshima Aquarium, which opened in 1954, offers a fascinating insight into the ecosystem of nearby Sagami Bay and beyond. The history of the tiny island of Enoshima, which lies just across the water from the aquarium, is strongly connected to the ocean, the wonders of which come to life in a small and quaint aquarium near Tokyo.
Close to the open sea where warm and cold currents converge, Sagami Bay consists of a deep ocean (almost 2,000m), sand dunes, rocky stretches and a tidal flat that offer a diversity of ecosystems and an unmatched variety of marine life. A little over 1,500 fish species inhabit the bay, while nearly 900 species of shrimp and crab and just over 2,000 species of shellfish, octopus and squid also call the area home.
It's no surprise that upon entering the aquarium, one of the first displays visitors come across is the Sagami Bay Zone. Having dived in Kanagawa prefecture and surrounding areas before, a lot of scenes in the tanks were extremely familiar. The main fish species exhibition is the big Sagami Bay Tank, which contains only marine life that lives in Sagami Bay. The tank is designed so that visitors can walk around and enjoy the display from all angles. Its highlight is the huge school of sardines that spiral in a dashing spray of silver. Another impressive sight is the Rocky Reef Tank featuring a jungle of seaweed swaying back and forth. Thanks to intense rays of light, the tank is as pretty as a picture. Small algae appear to have grown naturally, while tiny fish can be seen hidden and tucked away amongst the seaweed.
As an aquaculture student, I was also drawn to the Shirasu (whitebait) tanks. In 2013, Enoshima Aquarium successfully began cultivating anchovy, one of the breeders of whitebait,and is now aiming to be the world's first aquarium to offer a permanent whitebait exhibition. Visitors are guided through the egg, larvae and fry stage although straining your eyes is a must to make everything out! The jellyfish collection is also impressive, and a recent 3D mapping projection system makes them appear even more wonderful, by allowing visitors to completely immerse themselves in the thousands of different species.
Walk in further and there are sections dedicated to penguins and bizarre deep sea creatures. The latter is by far the most interesting with its host of alien-looking creatures on display and Japan's deep-sea research is also brought to life, although the penguins won't disappoint visitors who are after the cute stuff. There is also a chance to see research carried out by Emperor Akihito, an established marine biologist, and his father, the late Emperor Hirohito, who was an authority on the species classification of marine life in Sagami Bay. Enoshima Aquarium is a scientific discovery through a mixture of fun and entertainment. It's a cheap and educational way to spend half a day in the area, and great for children as well. Life definitely looks good under the sea!
Prospering in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, Odawara city in southwestern Kanagawa Prefecture is a huge hub where major railways from Tokyo meet, and where tourists go to visit Odawara castle or see the cherry blossoms of Odawara Joshi-koen Park (Castle Ruins Park) during the spring. When it comes to the ocean, fresh seafood arrives at the harbour every day and kamaboko, or steamed processed fish meat, is one of the city's most well-known marine products. Diving here, however, is almost unheard of, so I felt fortunate and excited at discovering a new place with Mr. Tanaka of Hayakawa Diving Service, who was introduced to me by a friend as I prepare to continue my dry suit diving this month. At the dive centre, we set up our gear and walked over a stony pebbled beach into the water.
Descending slowly above a rope, we made our way over the rocks and pebbles to around 5m, swaying against the waves as we swam straight ahead. Visibility dropped a little to around 5 – 8m, and the water was slightly cloudy from the sand and sediment being stirred up by the waves. Beds of kelp and other seaweed growth were attached to the rocky boulders. Black scraper fish mixed with puffer and box fish, punctuated with the odd starfish, sea urchin and some lion fish; just some of the many species found here. On and around the rocky structures were frogfish and an array of life including moss fringe heads, crabs and tiny blennies. There were also wrasses and other seemingly tropical species in the cold water, but they were subtly different from the other forms I have come to know in warmer waters. I photographed a tiny fringehead blenny peeking out at me from its hole, while Mr. Tanaka pointed out a much larger hole-dweller nearby, a moray eel poking its head out from its lair and eyeing us cautiously. I also spotted what I thought was a pinecone fish deep within a crevice.
After exploring the 5m area for a while, we decided to head a little deeper and began swimming over a huge carpet of sand that at first glance appeared to be devoid of life. But only a few metres in, the first sign of life came into sight and that's when the action started – large stingrays resting on the sandy bottom emerged gently and swam off immediately as we approached, flicking their tails as they buried themselves further away. A plaice watched us swim over him and I could only make out his shape by straining my eyes as I passed by. Below us was another long rope stretching into the distance, and we hovered above it for a while, exploring the seaweed growth and searching in vain for baby squid and other tiny signs of life. Soon, the rope we were swimming over came to an end, and before us was a cluster of rocks caked in kelp and seaweed. Another large moray eel sat perfectly still out in the open with mouth agape, allowing me to try and photograph it from a few inches away. A Valentin's sharpnose puffer swam slowly past, pausing just long enough in front of a cluster of kelp so I could get a better look at him. The highlight of this site, however, is the tiny exotic coral crab, pink and white with tiny projections protruding from its head, sitting at the bottom of a thick branch of vibrant pink soft coral and extremely well-camouflaged. On our way back to the shallower depths, we swam back over the rocky structure and I was shown a seemingly endless aggregation of bulb-tentacled sea anemones, resplendent in yellow and pink, that hosted two types of anemone shrimp.
Once we were back at the concrete tetrapods, Mr. Tanaka, who had introduced me to a range of marine life during the dives, quickly proved his mettle again when he showed me a baby lumpfish on a piece of rock, nestled among several stones and well-protected from the ocean swell. Mr. Tanaka has been monitoring the lumpfish and watching it grow, with regular updates and photos on his blog. After observing it for a while, I reluctantly turned back towards the shore and the end of the dive.
Odawara is a great destination for divers in Tokyo who want to go somewhere quickly and easily for just one day. The site is excellent for training and skills practice but not so good for those who want deeper depths, more adventurous diving and a bigger range of fish to observe. At first glance there is not much to the site, but if you can discover, enjoy and appreciate the life and beauty within it, then some fascinating diving awaits at Odawara.
To get to Odawara, take a direct train from Shinjuku on the Odakyu Line. This costs just over 800yen each way (from Yoyogi Uehara station, which is slightly closer to home) and takes around an hour and a half. There is also a Shinkansen bullet train from Tokyo and Shinagawa stations, and the JR Tokaido Line which runs from Shinagawa station.
Divers gather at 9:20AM at Odawara station. Mr. Tanaka from Hayakawa Diving Service (http://www.h-ds.com) will come to meet people and drive them back to the shop. The drive is around 10 – 15 mins.
Hayakawa Diving Service is right next to a small bay that's surrounded by concrete tetrapods. There is a huge outdoor area and wooden deck with chairs and tables to wash and dry gear or relax and enjoy the sun. There are also some sheltered tables and chairs, a small office and indoor area for customers to sit in after diving (this area has dive magazines, books and underwater photos), four showers (two for men and two for women), four toilets (two for men and two for women), a changing area (around four indoor cubicles) and area to hang dry suits. Shampoo, conditioner and hair dryers are provided but no towels are available.
All dives are beach entries. Kit up on land and walk over the pebbled beach while wearing all gear. Masks and fins are put on in the water, and divers descend by swimming over a rope which goes on to 5m past the tetrapods. Maximum depth is around 11m. Once past the tetrapods, there is a huge carpet of white sand and far ahead a small cluster of rocks with kelp, seaweed and other growth. It's an ideal site for skill practice but not so good for fish watching.
No lunch is provided and there are no shops nearby so divers must bring their own food and drink. Hot tea and coffee is available.
Divers are responsible for washing and hanging all their gear after dives.
A day of two beach dives usually finishes around 15:30. Mr. Tanaka also drives people back to Odawara station.
Two beach dives cost 11,500yen including tank, weights and guide.
English-speaking divers in Tokyo can arrange dive trips to Odawara and Hayakawa Diving Service with Ben Wouters of Dive Zone Tokyo (https://www.divezonetokyo.com) depending on schedule and season.
Dive No: 241, Entry time: 11:27, Dive time: 41 mins, depth: 11.5m, exit time: 12:08, water temperature: 16C, water visibility: 5m, start pressure: 190 bar, end pressure: 80 bar, used a 12L aluminium tank, scuba pro size 27 boots, ankle weights (500g on each ankle), 6kg weight belt, 3kg in pocket, dry suit. Saw: lumpfish, moss fringehead, type of blenny, plaice, flounder, Valentin's sharpnose puffer, black scraper fish, soft coral, starfish, sea urchins, coral crabs.
Dive No: 243: Entry time: 10:40, dive time: 40 mins, depth: 7.3m, exit time: 11:20, water temperature: 15C, water visibility: 5m, used a 12L aluminium tank, start pressure: 200 bar, end pressure: 80 bar, scuba pro size 27 boots, ankle weights (500g on each ankle), 6kg weight belt, 3kg in pocket.
Dive No: 244: Entry time: 13:18, dive time: 38 mins, depth: 7.0m, exit time: 13:56, water temperature: 14C, water visibility: 5-7m, used a 12L aluminium tank, start pressure: 200 bar, end pressure: 100 bar, scuba pro size 27 boots, ankle weights (500g on each ankle), 6kg weight belt, 3kg in pocket.
Late last year, I had the pleasure of being interviewed by one of Japan's major scuba diving magazines DIVER, which introduced my work and efforts to promote Japan's diving to other countries. Here is my English translation of the interview that appeared in the February 2017 issue.
Watch NHK's News 7 and Newswatch 9 programmes in English, and you'll hear a distinctive British accent. Bonnie Waycott, the face behind that accent, first became interested in the sea on Sado Island, where she often visited with her family as a child.
But when Bonnie and her family returned to England, the ocean became a distant memory. Back then, Bonnie had the impression that diving in England was more popular among older people who had time and money and that young people didn't dive much. In 2010, after she'd returned to Tokyo to live, she encountered the sea once again when she went to New Caledonia with a friend and booked a try dive.
Bonnie started diving in Japan at Kabira Bay on Ishigaki Island in January 2011. Since then, she has been travelling across the country. She's dived off Kumejima, Miyakojima and the Kerama Islands of Okinawa, Osezaki and Atami on the Izu Peninsula, the Izu Islands including Oshima, Hachijojima and Mikurajima, Kushimoto on the Kii Peninsula, and has even been ice diving in Hokkaido. She became a Dive Master on the Oki Islands, and six months after the Great East Japan Earthquake in March 2011, began working with a group of volunteer divers pulling debris from the sea.
Bonnie's blog Rising Bubbles introduces diving in Japan to readers outside the country. She updates it at least once a month, and also writes articles for diving magazines in the UK and Singapore. She says that divers outside Japan don't know much about Japan's waters and also have a bad impression.
Bonnie says that diving has also changed her impression of Japanese people. Those she works with are more formal and serious, but the people she's met through diving are friendly and relaxed. However, she's a little disappointed with the way Japanese people dive.
In August 2016, Bonnie married a British guy she met through diving. Her and her husband met five years ago during a diving trip to Atami with Tokyo-based group Discover Divers Tokyo.
Asked what kind of diving she'd like to do and where, Bonnie is full of ideas.
When most people think of diving, they think of a summer activity in warm, tropical waters but some areas offer other kinds of diving even when the warm weather is over. In Tokyo, for example, many dive sites nearby are open during the winter, offering a range of fun diving and training opportunities despite the cold. Although I prefer diving in warm water during the summer, one of my goals this year is to get used to cold seas, in order to prepare for future diving back in the UK.
For many divers, donning a bulky wet suit in winter, plunging into cold water and sinking to deeper depths where it's even more cold would be a nightmarish experience. But scuba diving in winter can bring various advantages — much less crowds, better visibility and sea life you won't see in other seasons. Most importantly, if you're prepared, with a suitable dry suit and inner wear, winter diving can be comfortable and a lot of fun.
I began this year's dry suit diving off Tago along the west coast of the Izu peninsula, where north- and south-flowing currents meet, bringing tropical and cold-water fish to the seas around its rocky shores. Also on offer are cave diving and shipwreck exploration, which provide a range of opportunities for divers of all levels. Depending on where you go, it's also possible to dive at Izu for a day from Tokyo and even Nagoya.
Tago is a small fishing village about 3 hours south of Tokyo by train, located along an intricate coastline with uniquely shaped rocks and small islands. A small selection of dive sites are on offer at Suruga Bay, which is off Tago, and areas closer to shore. Tago's waters are characterised by huge rocky boulders, soft coral gardens and sandy patches. At our first dive site, Shirosaki, many rocky structures appeared to have given way to erosion, resulting in various cuts and shapes below. These forms are covered in thick soft coral and sponge growth including a massive area of fan-shaped coral facing down towards the sand. Large undulations of coral are accompanied by hundreds of chromis and hunting lion fish, while the mild nutrient-rich currents help fuel a parade of marine life. Descending deeper along the rocky wall, the soft coral covering the tops of the rocks disappears. The wall drops to around 20m before ending in a bright sandy seafloor, punctuated by large boulders. With a maximum depth of around 25m, marine life was plentiful, with large sunstars, frogfish nestled close to soft coral growth and a small harem of sprat-like fish. Frequent encounters with nudibranchs and even a baby sepia toioensis (a species of cuttlefish native to Japanese waters) make this dive one not to be missed.
Our second dive site, Bentenjima, was a small islet about 10mins away from the port. As the descent begins down a large rocky structure, thousands of silver-stripe white herring can be seen feeding in the water column, cruising past, sometimes within arms reach, ambling through as they search for some unknown signal that causes them to pick out a bit of plankton for a quick snack. Bentenjima displays various walls with attractive folds, and is an ideal environment for a range of sponges and macro life. Three-spot damselfish appeared where the walls were covered in a variety of soft coral and sponge growth, small and trailing one after the other, moving in tiny shoals. There is also a section of rock at around 12m which is covered from edge to edge with amazing pink anemones, all of which were inhabited, of course, by their own family of clownfish. A Japanese angel shark slept in the sandy bottom, and small groups of network filefish moved above the rocks, when the comical-looking lactoria fornasini or thornback cowfish with a pair of spines projecting forward in front of its eyes and a distinctive mouth with thick lips, began wandering in and out of our sightlines, grouping together over the vase sponges and large gorgonians. The best surprises at Bentenjima, however, are kept for the safety stop in the 5m zone and the shallower depths, where soft corals sparkle with life in the shade of the round, impressive rock formations.
Winter in Tago offers a range of fascinating underwater experiences. Although the water temperature drops, there is plenty to see as long as you can relax and put up with the cold. Tago is one of those rare places where you won't always be overrun by other dive tourists and can enjoy a relaxing day of diving, especially if you are able to head there on a weekday!
The nearest station to Tago Diving Center (http://tagodc.com/category/1475893.html) is Rendaiji on the east coast of the Izu peninsula. Take the bullet train to Atami from Shinagawa in Tokyo and change to the Ito line which takes you directly to Rendaiji. A one-way trip comes to around 3,500 – 4,000yen and the journey is around 3 hours.
When you arrive at Rendaiji, the school will pick you up by car. The journey is about 30mins from Rendaiji station.
Tago Diving Center is family-run by Mr and Mrs Yoshida and their daughter Sayuri who was my guide for the day.
Facilities include 2 toilets, 3 showers, basic and spacious changing rooms with private cubicles and a bathtub overlooking the bay. You can use the bathtub anytime to get warm as it's always full of hot water. There is also an indoor area with a stove if divers feel cold.
No lunch, snacks, tea or coffee are provided and there are also no shops nearby so remember to bring your own food and drink.
Two boat dives with all equipment hire and drysuit rental comes to just under 20,000yen.
Customers set up their equipment and put it on before walking down some steps to get onto the boat. Perch on the side and put on your fins, mask and gloves before arriving at the site.
Entry into the water is a backward roll. Ropes are provided for the descent and a small step ladder is available for divers to get back on the boat.
There is no shampoo, conditioner or body soap available at the shop so remember to bring your own, in addition to a couple of towels.
Equipment is removed after arriving back at the dive school. Divers are responsible for washing and putting away all their gear.
Tago Diving Center will drive you back to Rendaiji after you dives and look up train times for you.
Dive No: 239, Shirosaki, Entry time: 11:18, depth: 22.1m, dive time: 43mins, exit time: 12:03, water temperature: 15C, water visibility: 5m, Start pressure: 200 bar, end pressure: 80 bar, rented neoprene dry suit, used 8kg weight belt, jacket BCD, used a 12L aluminium tank. Saw: frogfish, Goniobranchus tinctorius nudibranch、Cadlinella ornatissima nudibranch, branch coral, silver-stripe white herrings, lion fish and baby squid Sepia tokenises.
Dive No: 240, Bentenjima, Entry time: 13:09, depth: 23.3m, dive time: 40mins, exit time: 13:50, water temperature: 15C, water visibility: 5m, Start pressure: 200 bar, End pressure: 50 bar, rented neoprene dry suit, used 8kg weight belt, jacket BCD, used a 12L aluminium tank. Saw: Japanese angel shark, network filefish, lactoria fornasini, clown fish and anemone fish, three-spot damselfish and Japanese blacktail triple fin.
This month, I attended a small underwater photography exhibition called Ocean Planet in Ginza, Tokyo. One major theme in Japan when it comes to the oceans, and especially at this time of year, is the Tohoku region, which was hit by the March 11th 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami. Six years since the disaster, it's still a huge topic, and the exhibition was an opportunity to think about that through a series of photos taken off the Onagawa area, and enjoy more light-hearted subjects such as whale sharks in Mexico and nudibranchs in Indonesia.
Underwater photographer Hiroyuki Tomura is from Saitama near Tokyo, and his work has recently been attracting much attention. Photography became something to accompany his diving, until he decided to study it more formally. An avid scuba diver, he has dived in various locations around the world and is always amazed at the beauty and diversity of the marine life he sees. Through his work and company (also called Ocean Planet), he hopes to raise awareness of our oceans and inspire others who are interested in taking up underwater photography. I took the opportunity to find out more about him and his work.
— What made you become an underwater photographer?
— What is the most important thing when taking photos underwater? What do you make sure you do?
— What skills do you need to become a professional photographer?
— What camera do you use?
— Where do you like taking photos, and how often do you dive each year?
—What's been your most impressive or dangerous encounter underwater? Any special experiences?
— At the exhibition, you displayed a set of photos that were taken off Onagawa in Tohoku. How do you think the ocean has recovered since the disaster? Can you tell me a bit about changes in marine life, topography and seabed?
— Can you tell me about your future plans, places you want to dive this year, and any goals you have for 2017?
— Lastly, do you have any advice for people who want to become professional underwater photographers?
As divers, we have all read books and articles on underwater photography, and there are a lot of amazing photos out there, but sometimes those photos can feel out of reach. What I enjoyed about Hiroyuki's exhibition was how simple and accessible it was. Looking at his photos, I felt that I, too, may one day be able to take such photos. Not only was the exhibition thoroughly accessible, but it was also easy to understand, and a good primer for those of us who are passionate about diving and want to capture our experiences as more than just memories.
Because of the famous Great Barrier Reef, Sydney is often overlooked as a dive destination, but dig a little deeper and the variety of year-round diving is clear to see. Further south where the water is more temperate lies a range of pristine sites, as well as an area of southernmost coral reefs with more than 60 sites to enjoy.
Unfortunately we didn't have time to travel too far, but after seeing in the New Year in Sydney, we were delighted to start 2017 in the water with a couple of shore dives north and south of the central business district. Sydney's varied diving locations surprised us both, and with so many to choose from, picking two was hard. There are also areas that are perfect for beginners or indeed non-diving partners who want to give scuba a try. Because of the day's weather and water conditions, we settled on two locations, Bare Island and Camp Cove.
Bare Island is an islet in south-eastern Sydney, about 16km from the central business district. It's home to a fort structure built in the early 1880s, and offers spectacular scenic views. For divers, the eastern side of the island has better visibility and shallower depths, while the western side offers more marine life.
Crossing the bridge to the island, going down a flight of stairs and turning left across the rocks, we began our descent in slightly rough conditions along a cut out in the rock that looked like a small boat ramp. Although it's a great entry and exit point, the dive can get off to a difficult start when the waves are high (as they were when we went). Underwater is a huge carpet of sand and some gentle slopes, punctuated by rocks and small walls decorated by soft coral and seaweed. Visibility is not always flash, changing from one day to the next, but when it's good, it's a treat for the eyes. We swam down a gentle slope decorated by rocks, coral heads and a variety of features from seaweed patches to more sloping sandy bottoms. The waters host their incredible marine life in and around these rocks, scattered among the seaweed and soft coral growth that populate the shallows. The highlight of the dive soon came when a huge blue grouper appeared from the deeper depths and began swimming with us. Clearly interested in divers, it came in for a close look, but, not too sure what to expect, darted off shyly, before returning and staying with us until our safety stop. The island is also a haven for macro lovers. Look closely and you can spot weedy sea dragons lurking among the kelp and seaweed, a fantastic display of anemones, as well as starfish, crabs and nudibranchs to keep you interested.
Camp Cove is a small beach at the southern entrance to Sydney Harbour. Popular for swimming, snorkelling and sunbathing, it's a good spot for shore diving because the variety of marine life is more accessible to divers compared to other sites. As the beach is also quite sheltered, it remains protected from adverse weather apart from northerly winds and swells, and is an easy and relaxing dive site suitable for all levels. After the challenging entry and exit at Bare Island, we were delighted to walk into the calm waters of Camp Cove, put on our masks and fins and begin our descent through clear blue. Visibility was good at around 10-15m and clear sand spread out into the distance. I finned over the sandy carpet and soon spotted a porcupine fish nestling against a small rock. We then swam for a few minutes to the north reef, where we came across some rocky structures whose walls fell onto the sandy carpet. Kelp and seaweed covered the top at around 4-5m. There was a lot of small stuff to be seen here — starfish, crabs, nudibranchs and beautiful anemones. Soon, I looked down to see a couple of sting rays gliding gracefully below before settling on the sand. This was clearly a good spot for them to feed, and we could feel the mild current as we swam through and around a cluster of huge rocky structures. Hovering above, we were able to marvel at their beauty. With gentle sloping sandy reefs and more dramatic walls and pinnacles, there is plenty here to keep divers hooked.
Moving along the reef, we took our time examining the cracks in the rocks and the small overhangs. On and around the structures were more crabs, pipe fish, wrasses and some small red fish with huge eyes that I couldn't identify. Underwater conditions couldn't have been more benign, and the site is more than suitable for novice divers needing to be comfortable in the water. Cruising back towards the beach at the end of the dive, I spotted a tiny, well-camouflaged cuttlefish hovering over the sand and seaweed, and a frogfish sitting still close by.
Visibility in Sydney may not always be crystal clear but when it's good, prepare to be impressed by the marine life that has colonised the area. If you're looking for easy, leisurely dives at no more than 20m and plenty of photo opportunities, Sydney's shore diving won't disappoint.
• We booked our dives with Dive Centre Bondi (https://www.divebondi.com.au) on Bondi Road near the famous beach. Divers make their own way there by 8AM to show cards, log books and make any outstanding payments. We paid a deposit online beforehand.
• Two guided dives cost AUD$55. Full equipment rental (mask, boots, fins, wetsuit, tanks and weights, BCD, regulators and computer) is AUD$120, full equipment rental excluding mask, boots and fins costs AUD$100, while two tanks and weights rental costs AUD$50.
• At the back of the shop is an area to prepare gear, a changing room to try on wetsuits, store tanks, and sit and write up log books. There is also a car park, with two vehicles belonging to the shop.
• After preparing and loading gear into the vans, we drove to our first dive site.
• Note that no tea, coffee, snacks etc are provided. Divers must bring their own lunch, snacks, drinks etc.
• At Bare Island, we put on our gear at the car park and walked over the bridge wearing our tanks and other gear. The descent is down a small line provided by an SMB. Divers gather at the bottom of the line, before swimming out behind the guide.
• After the first dive and before the second, divers must dismantle their equipment and take off their wetsuits (no wet items in the vans).
• At Camp Cove, we also geared up at the car park and walked into the water, walked back out and removed gear at the car park.
• After the second dive, everyone returns to the shop. One hose is available to wash gear, but divers are responsible for their own gear only, not for anything they have rented.
• There are no showers, shampoo, conditioner etc available for customers. Customers are expected to go back to wherever they are staying and clean up there.
Dive No: 238, Camp Cove. Entry time: 13:25, depth: 5.5m, dive time: 33 mins, exit time: 13:58, water temperature: 20C, water visibility: 10-15m, start pressure 200 bar, end pressure: 100 bar, rented 5mm wetsuit, 3mm hood/vest, used an 11L aluminium tank, 6kg weight belt. Saw: cuttlefish, pipefish, stingrays, frogfish, seaweed, sea urchins, sponges, porcupine fish.


For the second time recently I've been inspired by something Mark Enser has blogged/tweeted. At the end of his post, Mark asks what would be the first thing you would stop doing if you were trusted to get on and teach without anyone checking up on you. I'm sure this would vary wildly depending on the school you teach in, the expectations of SLT and the policies in place. I'm certain though, that the thing I would stop doing in the same way is similar for many people.
It's not a surprise is it?
Having read Mark Ensor's tweet and blog I thought I'd have a go at writing about what a typical lesson looks like for me and why I do the things I do. I thought this would be a productive exercise, not only for sharing the way I choose to do things, but also as a reflection for myself, a chance to really question what I do.
I'm going to think of a typical lesson with my year 7 Spanish class. This class have 7 hours of Spanish a fortnight (yes, I know we're very lucky) and started in September. There is nothing new in what I'm about to say. It's all been magpied and adapted for my own use from various blogs, talks, books, observations etc.


Indian Ecommerce industry giants are now not competing over the lowest price ( funding is doing its work ) but on the other domains like customer's reviews, value for money and now on the delivery time estimated per order.
Flipkart is said to be working out a new service which is unbelievably about THREE HOURS!!
The report from Times Of India states that the ecommerce giant is now focusing in an undermined yet very crucial area of delivery time taken by the products. Amazon & Snapdeal, the arch-rivals of Flipkart have snatched a large portion of the ruling market share by Flipkart. Report also states that Flipkart could introduce this service in about two to four cities by July,2015.
What options do we have now?
There are two delivery options Flipkart offers as of now apart from standard delivery. First is, 'In-a-day guarantee' at Rs 90 per item, you will get your order within 24 hours and the service is available across 50 cities. Second is the same day guarantee which is charged at Rs140 per item where you can get your order on the same day but you require to place an order before 12:00PM.
What is Flipkart upto these days?
Flipkart is now working on a delivery system where the estimated time of delivery would be as small as three hours. The service is reportedly planned for a few cities which will be effective soon in near future. To do this a very highly optimized delivery system is needed. Efficiency has to be very good which will be altogether the decisive factor for this whole game changing experiment.
Flipkart will increase the number of warehouses in each city.
It will try to automate maximum number of systems.
A large number of delivery person.
Accurate timing of dispatch and pickup.
perfect bifurcation of categories/products falling under this categories.
What will be the reaction to Flipkart's action?
Amazon is already giving next-day delivery guarantee for Rs 99 per order. Whereas Rs 149 per order is for the same day delivery. Amazon.com has already launched 60-minute delivery option in Manhattan (for Prime users). To fight the three hour service, Amazon may introduce 60 minute service in India.
Amazon is bringing technology in testing for the best delivery system in the world i.e. via drone. Read " Have a look at Amazon's latest drone system for delivery!! ". Anyways, as we always say, the byproduct of competition is always in the favor of consumers. Kudos to Flipkart and bravo Amazon.
Fighting Pain !! Know how to Sit in Front of Computer or Laptop to avoid pain..