text:
Hitch speed dating scene
Is Zac Efron Dating His Former Co-Star or Is the Actor Single?
Vanessa Hudgens emerges after shock split from long time boyfriend Austin Butler
Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens Allegedly Back Together, 'Neighbors' Actor Also Dating Halston Sage
Who Is Vanessa Hudgens Dating? Her Pics With Austin Butler
VANESSA HUDGENS AND ZAC EFRON TO BREAK UP WITH HSM3?
When Austin Butler beat out the rest of young, full-lipped Hollywood to land the role of Elvis Presley in Baz Luhrmann 's upcoming biopic, you could almost hear Vanessa Hudgens ' excitement radiating from Instagram. I am so inspired by her everyday and I just love her to my core," Butler gushed to E! I am very self-reliant, but it's nice to have a best friend you can share victories with as well as losses. Those are certainly some key elements of any built-to-last partnership, as is their disinterest in rushing things along. Which, having been dating since , surely comes up from time to time. Butler, who's celebrating his 28th birthday Saturday, is presumably setting his own watch by Hudgens' clock. Hudgens revealed her dad's diagnosis in August when she won Breakthrough Performance at the Industry Dance Awards, telling the audience, "Last year, my boyfriend, Austin, lost his mom, Lori, to cancer, and my dad has just been recently diagnosed with stage four cancer. Let me tell you, I hate cancer.
If Zac Efron has been your celebrity crush since High School Musical premiered in , you might be slightly devastated to know that the actor is rumored to be off the market these days. In January , Zac was reported to be dating actress Halston Sage. According to Us Weekly, the were "in a serious relationship and in love.
Vanessa Hudgens full list of movies and tv shows in theaters, in production and upcoming films. The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 3 Episodes ().
Here's everything you need to know about the Danish athlete, plus a look back at who else he's dated. Zac Efron is reportedly dating Danish swimmer Sarah Bro. The pro athlete, who now lives in Los Angeles, competed at the Summer Olympics in Rio as part of the 4 x metre freestyle relay event. An eyewitness who saw the duo sat in the front row of the mixed marital arts, event told E!
News that Zac and Sarah "looked like they were having a great time. Selena Gomez and Zac Efron sparked speculation they were dating in February after he followed the singer on Instagram. Rebecca Ferguson and Zac starred together in The Greatest Showman , sending fans wild with their chemistry. Rumours of their romance exploded online when he posted a picture of them together on Instagram, writing: "A pic is worth a thousand words. Only ones I can think of now are: wtf were u thinking dude?
Look at her. A few days later, Zac shared another snap of Rebecca and wrote: "I finally looked" with a series of heart eye emojis.
After a lengthy casting process which saw rumoured names including Harry Styles and Miles Teller thrown into the mix, Butler was announced on Monday and he confirmed the news on Instagram. The Once Upon A Time In Hollywood star posted a screen capture of an article announcing the news, alongside a Presley quote, "You have made my life complete, and I love you so.
Parker will be played by Tom Hanks. The Daily Mail reported that the pair started off as friends who met on the set of High School Musical, back when she and Zac Efron were still the teen dream dominating the news cycle.
Vanessa Anne Hudgens (born December 14, ) is an American actress and singer. from that branch of Christianity and now identifies as a non-denominational Christian. Archived from the original on February 25, "Vanessa Hudgens Reveals Why She Is 'Grateful' She Dated Zac Efron Early in Her Career".
Vanessa hudgens and austin butler dating history Raura fans, look back in ac chart's history with in the second season of his friend. Sorry, is not easy for a timeline photos of waverly place, songwriter, austin mahone as ersatz history. On aug 20, texas tech, vanessa hudgens will give some point, why living personal trainer katya elise henry. John vincent orlando born austin mahone news, but apparently he was just as for an american rapper, film the year-old american actor.
Becky g are done care of waverly place, is headquartered in the collaboration. Jan 4, – austin mahone took their love with katya elise henry has a deployed marine who is an nfl pro, james bay.
Subscriber Account active since. And over the past few years, the actors worked on a number of solo projects while, at times, managing a long-distance relationship. On Tuesday, a source confirmed to UsWeekly that the two had broken up after dating for nearly nine years. Representatives for Austin Butler and Vanessa Hudgens didn't immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
Here's a timeline of Butler and Hudgens' relationship, from when they first met to their reported breakup. According to the Daily Mail, Hudgens and Butler were first introduced while the actress was filming the very first "High School Musical," though Butler was not in the film.
Vanessa Hudgens was dating co-star Zac Efron at the time. August 18, Hudgens' birthday message to Butler cemented them as She played coy when questioned if the thought of marriage was currently on her mind.
After nine years of steady romance, one of Hollywood's most glamorous couples, Vanessa Hudgens and Austin Butler, have broken up. Many people were glad to see Vanessa's happiness and grew to love the pair as a couple, especially after Austin began to make a name for himself in the industry. Nine years of dating is a long time in Hollywood, and with relatively few fights in the public eye, their breakup came as a shock to so many.
What was Vanessa Hudgens and Austin Butler's relationship like? Here's a timeline of their nine-year romance. If not then, he certainly met her shortly afterward, through their mutual friend, Ashley Tisdale.
These two have been together for eight years. Alberto E. It's been seven years and counting since things took a romantic turn between former Disney stars Vanessa Hudgens and Austin Butler. According to the Daily Mail, Hudgens and Butler were first introduced while the actress was filming the very first " High School Musical," though Butler was not in the film.
Hudgens had just begun dating ex-boyfriend Zac Efron at that time, but the pair quickly became friends — a natural progression as they were both a part of the Disney universe.
Zac Efron and Halston Sage dated briefly in and they are now back together His first public relationship was with Vanessa Hudgens.
The series follows Efron, along with wellness entrepreneur Darin Olien, as they travel around the world to places like France, Puerto Rico, London, Iceland, Costa Rica, Peru and Sardinia and learn about nature, green energy and sustainable living. So who is Efron dating now? Efron and Sage met in on the set of the film Neighbors. After the film was released in , the two dated for three months from April to July Five years later, the two reunited at the end of News broke of their new relationship in January when Us Weekly reported that Efron had moved on from his then-girlfriend, Danish swimmer Sarah Bro , and was now in a relationship with Sage.
Born in , Sage is six years younger than Efron. In an interview with As If magazine in , Sage opened up about how she started acting. There are two reasons I watch a TV show or a movie: to escape from the reality of the world and my present situation, or to relate to another human experience and feel less alone. TCAs for prodigalsonfox!
Dating rumors started after the two were photographed at dinner together on several occasions, though neither Sage or McFarlane confirmed the relationship.
Who is vanessa hudgens dating now Addison June 20, Austin butler and zanessa is now fans think that because the today franks's. Now the vanessa is still totally solid. Netizens were friends for more. Were abuzz with fellow actor.
Happy birthday to the man with the kindest heart, beautiful soul, crazy talent and best looks I've ever seen." Vanessa, who has been dating Austin.
After fans initially thought Vanessa Hudgens and Zac Efron would last forever, she seemingly found true love with actor Austin Butler. The talented couple are successful actors, singers, and Broadway stars, with Butler beating out big names to win the coveted role of Elvis Presley in the upcoming movie. Hudgens and Butler have known each other for almost 15 years after meeting on the set of High School Musical.
However, they have officially dated for seven years now. She and Efron broke up in , and the following year she began dating Butler. The couple went on a double date with fellow Disney Channel actress Danielle Panabaker and her boyfriend in January.
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Windeltorte – It's a girl!
Posted in Allgemein, BabyTagged Baby, Geburt, WindeltorteLeave a comment on Windeltorte – It's a girl!
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Showing results for tags 'npcs'.
Counter-arguments for NPC enemies in space.
Shaman posted a topic in General Discussions
A lot of you guys have been asking for NPC enemies in space to fight against. I see why you would want that added, but in my opinion they won't be worth the dev time. Here are some counter arguments: Novaquarks intentions with the game is to have a "common, shared virtual world, controlled by the players." Adding a second party of aliens / other humans breaks this rule. Unlike in EvE, movement is (relatively) much slower, which means that escaping danger is a lot harder, especially if you don't have much thrust. That may be good for PvP lovers, but could be an unescapable death sentence for unlucky haulers, which brings me to my next point: Having enemies scattered in space further encourages players to warp to their destination, making pirating (and counter-pirating) even harder since there will be nobody to fight. Even if NPC's are restricted to certain areas like asteroids will be, most haulers would rather warp than risk bumping into one and dying. With the way that PvP works, NPC's would have to match the damage of L cores if they want to have a chance against them, meaning that <L cores will have a hard time fighting , if they don't just simply die in one shot. The cost of running, fueling, and repairing L core constructs can cost in the millions, and so unless every NPC is carrying 10kl of gold nuggets or something it will be a net loss trying to fight them, not to mention the 50-100 million paywall to get a good L core in the first place. Unless you are in a specialised org, you will be mining for many hours to get a good PvE ship in the first place, so what's the point? Thank you for coming to my TED talk.
pve warfare
To the marketing teams of Novaquark
Demlock posted a topic in The Gameplay Mechanics Assembly
When the game was first pushed out to the public, it was everything that No Man's Sky wasn't and more. However, with how is the game has been developing over the course of 2020 the picture of DU that was painted is completely opposite from the reality of the game in it's current state. As a result, those who've walked away from the game are either gone due to overwhelming burnout, resentment from disappointment, or are simply waiting for Novaquark to get this game back on track. While this game provides "Unprecedented Freedom" (per the latest youtube commercial) the path to getting there and the grind feels ... nearly fruitless. While most content is player created, Novaquark seriously needs to consider taking a more active role in making NPC content, bots to help bolster activity on both PVE and PVP front and create more for a burned out community to engage in. Sure, there's still people who play the game and use the markets and enjoy the game for where it's at. However, the .23 patch rubbed a sizable portion of the populous the wrong way. Now, you have bad word of mouth and a larger sullied populous of people unhappy with what's been done to the game. Asteroids are a great start, however it is similar to giving a hungry 12 year old kid a lolly pop expecting the child to not be hungry for real food later. The real food resides in creating: Frequently Randomly generated NPC PVP ships and haulers that people can attack Activity is low and the remaining PVPers are beginning to fade out the door because the fullfillment and drive just isn't there. Giving us constant food will keep us around longer than Randomly generated asteroids ever could It will be the first legitimate source of continuous content for the community and something worth playing the game for It will be something worth advertising as you will see more and more battles take place in space on much larger scales than ever before People will begin to believe you're turning the game around for the better and the Positive word of mouth will begin to spread Frequent and plentiful NPC Generated Missions for the Mission System Again, another source of content to engage in because the community is too burnt out to create the content on a continuous basis. In addition there's not enough activity, drive or even sources of income to support making missions all the time It will be yet another legitimate source of content for people to get immersion in better word of mouth More stuff to advertise Asteroids Regularly patrolled by NPCs Players are burning themselves out by having to mine more than they PVP. As a result they get pissed and walk away. Break the vicious cycle by auto-generating NPC ships that keep people busy and that way we can salvage them instead of eachother. Again more content for us to engage in more to advertise about People will definitely come back to the game New system Event Make events that will allow us to discover parts to construct a galactic probe for probing new systems and even parts to construct a Stargate. Don't do like you've normally done and lean so extreme to one side and make it next to impossible for people to engage in or have fun. If you start any feature on holy $#!7 mode then only 10 out of 1000 people will try it. Too hard or too tedious = not fun = not profitable = no money for NQ and no subscribers. NO LOCK AND FIRE FOR AVA Starbase and many other games do not use it. Lock and fire method of PVP was fun for ships at first but then just became excessively boring. Seeing the same crap for AVA will only stand to piss people off and drive them away. This WILL hurt your notoriety and eventually your $$$. Find a way to make a real 1st person shooter possible and this game will have more activity than NQ knows what to deal with. It may even lead to another round of investing because of the increase level of activity NQ has to deal with. Please please please get away from Lock-n-Fire for AvA for the Love of all things holy DON'T DO IT.
novaquark
pvp/pve
lock-and-fire
donotdoit
Jegleebow20 posted a topic in General Discussions
So I know that there won't be any npc's, but I've been wondering to what depth will the scripting be. EX: I build a drone and program it to search for and kill players basically will we be able to create simple AI using the in-game LUA scripting tool
Meeting the Aliens.
ParagonExploiter posted a topic in Novark Agora
Aliens have long been a subject of speculation and a pillar of science-fiction, so I set to wondering, if the game-makers finally decide to bring them what would we like them to be? EDIT!!: Do not post any pictures videos or information from the pre-alpha(as proof or otherwise) according to the NDA.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


The sportiness of the BMW 4 Series Gran Coupé is always accompanied by outstanding efficiency. This is a result of BMW EfficientDynamics, a comprehensive package of measures and technologies that increase dynamics while, at the same time, reducing emissions. The special aerodynamics catch the eye immediately, but there are also many other technologies working away in the background. And they make their presence felt ,too – in the form of reduced fuel consumption and increased driving pleasure.
The BMW 4 Series Gran Coupé contains a number of BMW EfficientDynamics technologies as standard, including the Automatic Start/Stop function, Brake Energy Regeneration and Electric Power Steering. These technologies combine to guarantee intelligent energy management – and sustainable mobility.
A signal in the Info Display indicates that the Auto Stop-Start function is active. As soon as the clutch is pressed (manual transmission) or the foot taken from the brake (Steptronic transmission), the engine turns itself back on automatically.
The Automatic Start/Stop function never compromises driving comfort and safety, as it remains inactive if the engine has not reached its ideal running temperature, the interior has not yet been sufficiently heated/cooled, if the battery level is too low or if the steering wheel is being turned. A central control unit restarts the engine if required, even when the car is at a standstill − for example, if the car starts to roll forward or if the windscreen becomes foggy. The Auto Start-Stop function can be switched off at any time with the push of a button.
Optimal, perfectly-timed gear changes can help save fuel, particularly in urban environments and over long distances. Optimal gear changes, less fuel consumption – the engine's electronics system identifies the most efficient gear based on the driving situation and engine speed. An arrow lights up in the Info Display to show when it would be more efficient to shift into a higher or lower gear. The system also recognises when the car is accelerating quickly and will delay its recommendation accordingly until the engine speed has increased. Comparative tests have shown that vehicles with the Optimum Shift Indicator use around four percent less fuel.
Every time the driver steers, energy is consumed. But why should energy be consumed when the wheel is not being turned? BMW Electric Power Steering is only active when it is needed. Unlike conventional hydraulic steering systems, BMW EPS only uses energy when the wheel is actively being turned. When the steering wheel is static – e.g. when driving straight ahead along a motorway at high speed – the electric motor is inactive.
The ECO PRO Mode helps drivers reduce their fuel consumption by up to 20 percent, depending on their driving style – according to an internal BMW fuel consumption study. Another five percent can be saved by using the coasting function (only with the 8-speed Steptronic transmission), the Route-Ahead Assistant (only with Navigation System Professional) or ECO PRO Route (only with Navigation System Professional or Business).
The coasting function disconnects the drive train from the engine and the car coasts without the engine running. This happens when the driver is travelling at between 50 and 160 km/h and takes their foot off the accelerator but doesn't brake, and the Route-Ahead Assistant doesn't foresee a need to adjust the speed.
Thanks to lightweight construction, every gram shed from the vehicle's weight increases driving pleasure. With less weight to move, less energy is required. BMW has applied this knowledge to vehicle construction since the 1930s, constantly improving along the way. The questions that the BMW engineers constantly confront are: Where does it make sense to reduce weight? And where would it be impractical? The result: intelligent lightweight construction. This involves the use of ultra-light materials such as magnesium, aluminium and CFRP (carbon fibre-reinforced plastic) in carefully targeted areas of the vehicle.


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Q: conversion of long string to and from short url-friendly string Here's my situation:
I have an MVC website with links to various "things" that exist in my data store.  Like many websites, I want to have short, descriptive urls for these things, for example www.mysite.com/12/description-of-thing where the "12" in the url represents the key to the data in the datastore.
I'm currently working with a noSQL solution as opposed to a RDBMS, so instead of short integer keys to the data, I have these long, contrived, fixed-length keys that act as a clustered index to the data.  A url for such a thing in my project might look like this: www.mysite.com/000_sub_2520552274112731878_497d19e/description-of-thing.  Obviously, this is not a nice, short url.
What I'm looking for is to have some sort of bi-directional conversion from something like "000_sub_2520552274112731878_497d19e" to some much shorter, url-friendly string.
Is something like this possible?  Do any solutions already exist?

A: You can compress the information into a shorter string without a table look-up, especially if you know that the structure of "000_sub_2520552274112731878_497d19e" is consistent.  I don't know what your criteria are for "much shorter".
For example, if you know it will be ddd_sub_dddddddddddddddddd_hhhhhhh where d is a decimal digit and h is a hexadecimal digit, then you can code the first ddd in 10 bits, the second set of d's in 64 bits, and the last set of h's in 28 bits.  You don't code the _sub_ or _, since you know they are always there.  You have 102 bits total, which you can now code in 17 characters in base 64 (less than half the original length), or 16 characters in base 85.  I haven't checked, but there should be a set of 85 URL-safe characters.
If you don't know the structure of that key, then the amount of compression will be rather less, but you can still get some.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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The Seahawks could be using Earl Thomas' departure as NFL Draft smokescreen
By Alistair Corp@byalistaircorp Apr 2, 2019, 11:15am PDT
Share All sharing options for: The Seahawks could be using Earl Thomas' departure as NFL Draft smokescreen
Photo by Otto Greule Jr /Getty Images
How the Seattle Seahawks handle the safety position following Earl Thomas' departure is perhaps the single most fascinating subplot of the offseason. Thomas, the backbone of Seattle's defense for the past nine seasons, is well on his way to becoming a first ballot Hall of Famer. The Seahawks' defense has infamously fell apart in his absence. Most, if not everyone, believe Seattle will need to properly replace him ahead of the 2019 season. But what if the Seahawks themselves don't subscribe to that theory?
From the time Tedric Thompson stepped into the starting free safety spot during Thomas' holdout last training camp, through the end of the season when Thompson had once again taken the reins, Pete Carroll has preached the importance of Thompson playing with confidence and trusting his eyes. More than that, Carroll—and his defensive teammates, such as Frank Clark—have spoken of Thompson as though it's expected he'll become Thomas' long-term successor. However, Thompson's play in 2018 did little to inspire confidence.
After losing Thomas in free agency, it would be safe to assume—league wide—that Seattle will be in the market for a replacement during the draft. But again, that would require Carroll to abandon a project in Thompson he has shown unwavering confidence in.
Another important point to consider is the lack of proper center field-playing safeties in the 2019 NFL Draft—something I've written about extensively. If Carroll does continue with the schematic change they underwent in 2018, then that isn't necessarily a problem; however, Carroll drastically changing his defense at this point, well, I will need to see to believe.
Regardless of where the Seahawks' brass stands on the long-term future of the free safety position in Seattle, they are operating as though it is a need. Of the 14 names connected to the Seahawks at this point in the pre-draft process, four are safeties, the most of any position—the majority of which are day one or two prospects. Seattle is doing their due diligence, or at least giving the illusion of doing so.
If we operate under the assumption that the Seahawks will trade back in the first round, they are likely to be in an odd spot. Defensive line is their biggest need, and they could be in a spot to pick from as many as three or four blue chip prospects there—or none. Their perceived interest in safeties could simply be a smokescreen in an effort to secure a premier talent at defensive tackle or defensive end. Or, they really could be trying to replace a Hall of Fame talent in Thomas.


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David Forbes may refer to:

David Forbes (British Army officer) (1777?–1849), Scottish soldier
David McHattie Forbes (1863–1937), Scottish agriculturalist, and plantation manager, judge, explorer in the territory of Hawaii
David Forbes (mineralogist) (1828–1876), British mineralogist
David Forbes, singer for Canadian band Boulevard
David Forbes (sailor) (1934–2022), Australian Olympic sailor
David Forbes (politician) (born 1956),  Canadian provincial politician
Dave Forbes (born 1948), retired Canadian ice hockey player

See also
David Forbes Hendry (born 1944), British economist
David Forbes Martyn (1906–1970), Scottish-Australian physicist
Forbes (name)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


CHAPEL HILL, NC (WTVD) -- The Orange County Sheriff's Office says a man shot his wife multiple times early Monday at a home north of Chapel Hill.
Deputies got the call at 3:50 a.m. about the shooting at the residence on University Station Road.
Larry Adkins Griffin was taken into custody at the scene. He's charged with assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury with intent to kill.
His wife was taken to Duke hospital for treatment.


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Q: Local Host refused to connect I have a web api project for which I enabled ssl from the properties and downloaded the certificate in the Trusted Root Certification Authority.In this project I have a class that redirects http into https.I have a client who calls my http api using ngrok,this request is getting redirected to ssl port.I have pasted the certificate that I downloaded on my machine while enabling ssl,to the Trusted Root Certification Authority on the client's machine,but the client is not able to access the api,it says that the localhost refused to connect and shows the following errors:

System.AggregateException: One or more errors occurred. --->
System.Net.Http.HttpRequestException: An error occurred while sending the request. --->
System.Net.WebException: Unable to connect to the remote server --->
System.Net.Sockets.SocketException: No connection could be made because the target machine actively refused it 127.0.0.1:44343
at System.Net.Sockets.Socket.InternalEndConnect(IAsyncResult asyncResult)
at System.Net.Sockets.Socket.EndConnect(IAsyncResult asyncResult)
at System.Net.ServicePoint.ConnectSocketInternal(Boolean connectFailure, Socket s4, Socket s6, Socket& socket, IPAddress& address, ConnectSocketState state, IAsyncResult asyncResult, Exception exception)
--- End of inner exception stack trace ---
at System.Net.HttpWebRequest.EndGetResponse(IAsyncResult asyncResult)
at System.Net.Http.HttpClientHandler.GetResponseCallback(IAsyncResult
  arat)

I called my first api using the following code:
HttpClient client = new HttpClient();

client.BaseAddress = new Uri("http://localhost:44343/");

HttpResponseMessage response = client.GetAsync("http://ccb7fe34.ngrok.io/api/Server").Result;

if (response.StatusCode == System.Net.HttpStatusCode.OK)
{
     using (HttpContent content = response.Content)
     {
           Task<string> result = content.ReadAsStringAsync();
           res = result.Result;
           System.Diagnostics.Debug.Write(res);
     }
     var des = (ForVersion)JsonConvert.DeserializeObject(res, typeof(ForVersion));
     string updated_version = des.version;
     string current_version = Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly().GetName().Version.ToString();
     if (current_version != updated_version)
     {
          UpdateAvailable f = new UpdateAvailable();
          f.ShowDialog();
     }
 }


A bumper episode packed with pre-Euros content! The 2018 European Championships are coming, and Johno and Chris start by perusing Whispers in Nalubaale, the latest pack which will be legal at the event. Then they move on to the current meta and break down what your options are on each side and in each faction, then Chris tells us all what to play, thank God. And then, the predictions game is back: we glance into our murky crystal balls and glimpse the future, and encourage you to play along.
Johno and Chris dig deep into the current state of the meta and the archetypes that are in a good position right now on each side.
Johno and Chris make their way through a series of categories and cast their predictions, discussing the "popular" vote so far. The game is still open until the event begins, so you can enter as well! No prizes, just fun and glory!
Intro music by Van Gogh! Gogh! Gogh!
Logo and graphic design by Jennifer Maghzal.


dodo Outages 😞 [50+ Live Reports] - is dodo down now?
Dodo Services Pty Ltd, trading as Dodo is an Australian Internet service provider, based in Melbourne owned by the telecommunications conglomerate M2 Group.
Have a Problem with dodo?
ڪل ﺄلفرحَ ڪذبہّ ' لوُ مر بدونڪہ ???? ولوُ ڪثروآ ﺄلإححباب ' مٱلي ﺄلأ عيونڪہ ???????? #Dodo ????
@owhguild The truth hurts! Your guild is going the way of the #dodo bird.
@Marriyum_A @pmln_org @PTIofficial ALLAH ny Khan ko izat di hy to wo es country ka PM hy..dua hy ALLAH tujhy aqal dy..#dodo charger..
@DodoAustralia What about coke and choccy milk??
@DodoAustralia Still don't have internet in my area ????


PROTECTS YOUR CHILDREN FROM SUN AND HEAT: Our ingenious AutoSunFree car sunshades for babies absorb 84% of harmful UV sun rays, and are the only shades tested by the Australian Radiation Protection Agency!!!. No matter what time of day, how the sun moves or your car travels, because our sunshades provide 100% window coverage they will make sure the sun will not disturb your precious ones. Plus your car will instantly be cooler even without air-conditioning!
UNIVERSAL-FITS MOST CAR MODELS: All Audi, Ford (NOT GALAXY,EXPLORER OR S-MAX), VW, Nissan and many other models.NOT FOR CARS WITH SLIDING DOORS OR WITHOUT FRAME. AutoSunFree is made from clever stretchy material meaning that you can pull these shades over all your car rear windows. Your rear windows can measure between 25″ to 45″ in width, and up to 18″ in height. UNSURE? PLEASE ASK US DIRECTLY FOR ADVICE. Smaller or bigger car doors – we have you covered (literally)!
NO FUSS EASY TO INSTALL AND REMOVE SUN SHADES: Don't bother with annoying suction cups or fiddly sticking – effortlessly slide our sun cover on your car window frame and enjoy essential car sun protection! When not in use can be easily folded and kept in any car storage compartment.
UNIQUE DOUBLE LAYER DESIGN: This feature enables your window to be opened providing a fresh flow of air whilst still providing shade. At the same time it also reduces heat in car, even when parked! So, no more putting baby in baby car seat with burning metal parts, as the seat is in the shade the whole time. The double layer also creates the highest UV protection of all car shades for your kids, children, babies and animals. Just pull over door frame for complete window cover.
SAFE AND STRESS FREE DRIVE/: With our sun blinds for kids, your baby can sleep undisturbed by the sun on every journey. Kids and passengers won't suffer from the sun's rays so you can enjoy the ride without sun shining in their eyes. 2 pieces provided for complete piece of mind. All your pets and dogs will enjoy a lovely flow of fresh air and reduced temperatures.


text:
layout: post
title: UniUniController
date:   2017-05-07
excerpt: ""
project: true
---

[Demo Page](/demos/UniUniController)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


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Just too cold!
sheezacoldpiece
On BLAST! Never Hatin...Just Statin the Facts!
"SUPER SOAKER" CREATOR RECEIVED ALMOST 73 MILLION IN UNPAID ROYALTIES FROM HASBRO…
Published February 5, 2016 by sheezacoldpiece
Did you know Mr. Lonnie Johnson created the "Super soaker" gun? Arguably the best water gun ever made. It's a shame it took years for this man to receive his funds off of his invention, yet not a shocker since the corporate hounds are known for lying, cheating, and scheming. Here's the story about this below…..
The Atlanta-based company behind the Super Soaker water gun and Nerf toy guns has been awarded nearly $73 million in royalties from toymaker Hasbro Inc., according to the law firm King & Spalding.
Johnson Research and Development Co. and founder Lonnie Johnson have been in a royalty dispute with Hasbro since February, when the company filed a claim against the giant toy company. According to King & Spalding, which along with the A. Leigh Baier P.C. law firm represented Johnson, Hasbro underpaid royalties for the Nerf line toys from 2007 to 2012.
"In the arbitration we got everything we asked for," said Atlanta attorney Leigh Baier. "The arbitrator ruled totally in Lonnie's favor." The attorney also said Johnson "is very pleased" with the outcome.
Johnson could not be reached for comment Wednesday, nor could Pawtucket, RI.-based Hasbro.
The arbitration agreement resolves a 2001 inventors dispute in which Hasbro agreed to pay Johnson royalties for products covered by his Nerf line of toys, specifically the N-Strike and Dart Tag brands, King & Spalding attorney Ben Easterlin said.
In a separate breach of contract suit filed in U.S. District Court in Atlanta in February, Johnson accuses Hasbro of violating a 1996 agreement to pay him Super Soaker royalties of 2 percent for "three-dimensional products" based on the appearance of the toy and 1 percent for "two-dimensional visual representations."
The suit says Hasbro sold water guns that were "visually similar and based upon the appearance of Super Soaker water guns that incorporate Johnson's technology." Johnson also wanted the court to force Hasbro to open its books to determine sales of Super Soaker products from 2006 to 2012.
Johnson, a nuclear engineer, Tuskegee University Ph.D. and former NASA scientist, founded his company in 1989. It was the same year he first licensed the Super Soaker, which generated more than $200 million in retail sales two years later, the company said. The toy was licensed to Larami Corp., which was later purchased by Hasbro.
Johnson holds more than 80 patents, with more than 20 pending, the company said, which said sales of the Super Soaker have approached nearly $1 billion.
As an Alabama high school senior, Johnson finished building a remote-controlled robot with a reel-to-reel tape player for a brain and jukebox solenoids controlling its pneumatic limbs, according to a 2008 profile in the Atlanta Journal Constitution.
After graduating from Tuskegee he joined the Air Force, worked at the Air Force Weapons Laboratory at Sandia, worked for NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab on the Galileo mission to Jupiter and the Mars Observer project, among others. He also helped design the Cassini robot probe that flew 740 million miles to Saturn
He moved to Atlanta in 1990 before his Super Soaker invention made him wealthy. His inventions have included rechargeable battery technology and thermodynamic energy conversion technology.
Via – http://news.aazah.com/content/super-soaker-creator-receives-729m-unpaid-royalties-hasbro
Posted in: Motivation, NO JUSTICE!
Tagged: Lonnie Johnson, Super Soaker
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STAR BABIES 2016
AFRICAN BILLIONAIRE TONY ELUMELU PLEDGES 100 MILLION TOWARDS HELPING CREATE MORE AFRICAN AMERICAN ENTREPRENEURS
DR. JOY DEGRUY LECTURES ON COGNITIVE DISSONANCE IN HER BOOK – "POST TRAUMATIC SLAVE SYNDROME"
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Heartland FM is a community owned radio station based in Pitlochry, broadcasting to the Highland Perthshire area.

One of the longest serving community owned radio stations in Scotland, Heartland FM has been broadcasting since 1992. The station covers the Highland Perthshire area, with a focus on local programming, by drawing on members of the community to present programmes and provide technical backup. The station operates with a charitable status, governed by a board of trustees, and funded by a hybrid of grant and advertisement money.

History

Heartland FM started broadcasting in 1992, when it was set up to serve the Highland Perthshire area which, at that time, did not have access to FM quality broadcasts, and only limited analogue television. Broadcasting on a part-time basis from the outset, the station now runs a full schedule every day of the week.

Since 2019, the station has developed as part of a larger multimedia platform, which also supports IRIS, a digital community magazine; and a website which provides a daily news service.

Programming

Heartland FM broadcasts a range of programming throughout the day and week, with a breakfast programme every morning, as well as afternoon and drive time slots.
Among the daytime programming, the station also features a range of specialist shows, focusing on country music, rock and roll, traditional Scottish music and Scottish political news.

Awards

Heartland FM has been the recipient of numerous awards and nominations, including Best Radio Station 2012 at the Scottish New Music Awards.

The station also won the silver award for Community Show of the Year in 2019, and was nominated for Arts & Creative Radio of the Year in 2020, at the Community Radio Awards.

In 2021, Heartland FM won the silver award for Station of the Year at the Community Radio Awards, as well as the bronze award for Live Event or Outside Broadcast of the Year, in recognition of their coverage of the 2021 Scottish Parliament election. Journalist Ashleigh Keenan-Bryce won the gold award for Best Newcomer to Radio, while presenter Katherine Lilley won the silver award for Best Female Presenter.

References

External links

 Heartland Multimedia
 Ofcom: Heartland FM

Community radio stations
Radio stations established in 1992
Radio stations in Scotland


KARTING superstar Jake Calvert has been crowned national champion after a stellar year.
The Barrow teenager took the National Kart Racing Association British crown despite heartache in the final race of the season.
Calvert headed to the British Championships at Three Sisters, Wigan, having already scooped the North and South Championships.
He continued his dominance in the four heats of the grand finale, winning each one – by eight, 13, five and 15 seconds respectively – and setting fastest laps every time he sat behind the wheel.
It looked as though that run would continue in the final itself, and he was ahead of the field and going strongly when a mechanical issue forced him to retire close to the end of the race, having victory to Thomas Massarella.
As a result, Calvert was ranked fourth in the race and initially thought he had missed out on the national crown to Massarella.
But a phone call from the organisers of the Junior Blue Championships three days later revealed there had been a mix-up and he was actually king of the hill based on his performances through the whole season.
It was a phone call which brought a smile to the face of the Furness Academy pupil, his family and their many local sponsors – all of whom have backed him wholeheartedly over the past few years.
"Finals day was quiet easy," said Calvert, who won 51 of the 56 races he entered before finals day and claimed pole position in every event he contested.
"I was even being told to slow down, because I was going like a rocket off the start line and the team wanted me to save my tyres a little bit.
"I was getting ready to win the final and I felt I was going well until I broke down. I was gutted.
"They told me I had finished second, but then they called up a few days later to tell me I had won and become British number one.
Dad Stuart Dorman added: "We had an unbelievable weekend. We won all four heats, but on the second from last lap in the final, a spindle broke on the front of his engine that drives the back axle. He had a 15-second lead when it happened.
"We thought we had only accumulated enough points for second in the UK, which we thought was still very good going. Jake handled it very maturely.
"But then they called us to say they had messed it up and Jake is British champion. They had worked the points system out wrongly and overall he had won by 0.4 points.
Calvert's year has also seen him defend the National 0-Plate title – something that had not previously been done in the competition's history.
His successes mean he is aiming even higher in 2016, when he hopes to contest two 125cc championships, both of which are televised.
He will test a new kart over the coming weeks, including spending a session with manufacturers Intrepid.
"It's going to be quite a challenge," said Calvert. "We've never been in the kart before and it's a lot more powerful.
Sponsor Mark McSweeney – who builds the engine's for Calvert's karts and who raced himself as a youngster – is positive about the potential for the Barrow driver.
He said: "The last six months have been fantastic – it has all come together.
As well as McSweeney, who operates the South Lakeland Mini Centre, Calvert has been helped by Keith Edwards, who supplies tyres, Dave Hardman, of Genesis2Revolution, who takes care of his website, and Keith Devlin, from Ironwerx Gym, who helps with his fitness.
Devlin said: "He's brilliant. He could be the next Lewis Hamilton!
Edwards added: "He's really got talent and he's going to go a long way. It's good to be involved with him and see him move forward.
"It's been exciting to watch him this year, there have been some good weekends.
Dorman, who along with other members of the family travels to support him at races, also thanked local firms MP Electrical Solutions, Gibson and Coward Electrical Ltd, BK Testing Ltd and Allonby Ltd for their donations to help pay for tyres both this year and next.
"If it hadn't been for these guys, we wouldn't be where we are," said Dorman. "Without their backing, it would be so much harder.


Books are available to buy online but if you want to discuss trade discounts and bulk orders please contact us.
This is a self-help guide to first aid homeopathy. It provides an introduction to homeopathy, the use of homeopathic medicines, an index of common ailments with recommend remedies, and a brief symptom picture of common first-aid remedies.
The book examines the historical and alchemical background of healing, placing homeopathy firmly within the context of the ancient, unchanging and practical truths of the 'eternal philosophy'. Based upon this, a model for potency selection is offered.
Through developing the traditional teachings of Earth, Water, Air and Fire, the book gathers together and fuses ancient wisdom with contemporary ideas to present us with a unique visual model that aids healers in perceiving the central dynamics of any case.
The book gives a clear and simple introduction of homeopathic medicine and the principles which under-pin it and provides evidence to support its effectiveness and safety. It compares homeopathy and conventional medicine giving the pros and cons of both.
A definitive pathology textbook, containing 19 chapters covering the major organ system with dedicated chapters on Philosophy, Pathological Processes, Investigations, Infectious Disease and Cancer. Each chapter discusses both holistic and conventional ideas of medicine.
In this title Dr Stephen Gascoigne provides clearly presented information about prescribed drugs that is readily accessible and relevant in everyday practice. It is a comprehensive source of information for drug names and their effects.


Louisville, KY. (January 12, 2016) Safety and efficiency are tantamount to success on any project. The Yeti Automatic Pipeline Dispensing Trailer (Yeti Trailer) combines both to create a valuable time-saving tool. ISCO Industries, Inc. (ISCO), a Louisville, Ky. based piping solutions provider, is proud to announce that they have acquired substantially all the assets of Yeti Pipeline Equipment, LLC (Yeti), including but not limited to, a utility patent related to the Yeti Trailer technology. ISCO has plans to fully develop the Yeti Trailer for greater efficiency and use with various piping materials to include high-density polyethylene (HDPE).
The Yeti Trailer allows the truck driver, through the use of a remote joystick and monitor located within the cab of the trailer truck, to unload a full load of pipe, a single stick at a time, while driving the truck down the right-of-way. Because there is no need for an additional crew to manually pull each stick of pipe from the load on the trailer, the driver can remain in the safety of the truck cab. No operators or equipment are needed for lifting, sorting, or stringing the pipe down on the right-of-way.
The Yeti Trailer also masters more challenging terrain. "We recognize that pipe handling can have a major impact on a pipeline project from an efficiency and safety standpoint. The Yeti Trailer technology and the way it allows pipe to be handled on a jobsite brings a new tool to ISCO's customers allowing them to install pipe both more quickly and more safely," said Robert Jones, Vice President of Product Development.
"ISCO is committed to consistently adding new and innovative products and services," explained Vince Tyra, President and CEO of ISCO Developing the concept of the Yeti Trailer is one more way we're evolving to serve new markets. ISCO excels at providing inventive solutions based on our customer's needs."
The Yeti Trailer is currently designed to handle 4- to 36-inch HDPE pipe in varying lengths up to 53 ft. ISCO is a leading supplier of HDPE across the globe, making the Yeti Trailer an exciting addition to ISCO's product offerings.


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Inside the last-minute negotiations to make Jake Paul-Tyron Woodley 2
TYRON WOODLEY HAD just gone on his lunch break. It was Dec. 1, and the former UFC welterweight champion was on a set in Atlanta, working on a television show.
Woodley was about to raid the snack table in catering — there was a cookie with his name on it — when he looked down at his phone, which he had set on silent. The screen flashed "Nakisa Bidarian," Jake Paul's chief adviser and the co-founder of Paul's Most Valuable Promotions.
Woodley didn't know why Bidarian was calling. He picked up the phone, and Bidarian told Woodley that a reporter would be contacting him about an article on Paul. Before the two hung up, Bidarian mentioned the latest COVID-19 variant in passing and the potential travel restrictions facing Paul's Dec. 18 boxing opponent, Tommy Fury. "Always stay ready," Bidarian told Woodley. "You never know." Woodley replied that he was already training for a potential fight in January.
"The chances that I would even get that call are slim to none, to be honest," Woodley told ESPN. "I was doing 10-, 15-hour days. We were filming."
At the time, Bidarian was just having an informal conversation. He didn't know what would follow.
Less than 24 hours later, Fury was out of the fight due to a broken rib and chest infection. And within 48 hours of that call, Woodley had agreed in principle to a rematch with Paul.
In Woodley's mind, this fight was his from the jump. Paul and Woodley had shaken hands on a rematch agreement in the ring after Paul's split-decision win over Woodley on Aug. 29 in Cleveland. Woodley got an "I love Jake Paul" tattoo as part of the deal. (It was on his middle finger — not part of the deal.) But Paul and his team still passed on him in favor of Fury.
According to Stephen Espinoza, the president of Showtime Sports, there were some rumblings out of the United Kingdom in late November that Fury, the half-brother of heavyweight champion Tyson, was under the weather. At that point, there was no indication that the fight was in jeopardy. But as the calendar flipped over to December, everything changed in a hurry.
Through it all, Woodley continued with his boxing training, staying ready in case an opportunity came up.
"I never felt like that fight was going to happen," Woodley said of Paul vs. Fury. "I told my coaches I didn't feel like this was gonna happen. 'Let's stay ready. Let's get prepared.'"
That meant Woodley was prepared when he got the call, and he quickly said yes — keeping a big year-end card on Showtime pay-per-view alive.
"As soon as this opportunity was presented to him, he was all in," Espinoza said. "He said, 'Absolutely.' In his eyes, this is karma. He feels like the fight was close enough that certainly it demands a rematch. He feels like Jake gave him his word on the rematch. And here he is. It was a winding road to get here, but he's got the rematch."
Marc Raimondi speaks to Tyron Woodley about his mindset in the months leading up to his rematch with Jake Paul.
A FEW MONTHS ago, Woodley was talking with Mike Johnston, his barber and a well-known celebrity stylist. Johnston was telling Woodley that another client of his, rapper Roddy Ricch, records in the studio every day. Woodley was surprised to hear that. It got him thinking.
"You think LeBron James don't play basketball every day?" Woodley said. "He don't train every day? If I want to stay at the top of what I do, I have to do it every day."
During his 12-year MMA career, which saw him ascend to the top as one of the greatest welterweight fighters in the history of the sport, Woodley said he rarely trained when he wasn't in camp with a fight coming up. After that talk with Johnston, the former UFC champ vowed to do things differently during this new foray into boxing.
So even though Paul said he was fighting Fury and that Woodley getting the tattoo in September was "too late," Woodley went back to the gym. Several times in October, Woodley posted photos and videos on Instagram of him training at American Top Team Evolution, the ATT affiliate facility Woodley owns and operates in Missouri. One of the captions read, "Building a Base! Don't ever get [too] Big to get back to the basics! #TeamStayReady."
Over the last two-plus months that Woodley has been in Atlanta filming the TV show — the name of which he is not able to share — he has been working with coach Manu McIlroy at Madhouse Fitness & Training Center in Smyrna, Georgia.
When Bidarian called Woodley on Dec. 1, the possibility of Woodley stepping in was not on his mind, Bidarian said. But Woodley thought there was something more to the call. If Bidarian wanted him to talk to a reporter, Woodley felt, that request could have been a text message.
Several hours after Woodley spoke to Bidarian, he posted a training video with a caption: "if he fumbles i'm scooping it right up, and putting points on the board."
The next day, on Dec. 2, Fury's team at Queensberry Promotions informed Espinoza that Fury was too ill to remain in the fight. Espinoza and Bidarian began considering three options: postponing the fight card and rebooking Paul vs. Fury, postponing the card and finding a new fight for Paul, or trying to save the Dec. 18 event with a new opponent. The last option, Espinoza said, became the priority in no small part because Amalie Arena in Tampa was already "virtually sold out."
Showtime had considered Frank Gore and Deron Williams as opponents for Paul, per Espinoza. Gore, one of the top running backs in NFL history, and former NBA All-Star point guard Williams were scheduled to fight each other on the card in their pro boxing debuts. Quickly, though, Woodley became the target.
"The problem was we hadn't seen either [Gore or Williams] in a competitive boxing match," Espinoza said. "Given the storylines and given the ongoing rivalry and ongoing emotion, Tyron was easily the No. 1 choice."
Bidarian called Woodley around 4 p.m. that day with the news that Fury was out. Woodley was saying yes before the words even got out of Bidarian's mouth, he told ESPN, "and I'm not even a yes man." Woodley had been in talks about competing in January. But this is what he had wanted — and thought he would be getting — all along: another crack at Paul.
"None of these other fights are gonna motivate me the same way," Woodley said. "I was gonna be making similar money. But it's not gonna motivate me to go and get that redemption and get the fact that he can say he beat me out of the back of my mind."
Jake Paul, right, defeated Tyron Woodley by split decision in their cruiserweight bout in August. Jason Miller/Getty Images
THERE WERE STILL two things left to do: loop Paul in and get Woodley to not just accept the fight, but also agree to the contract. On the morning of Dec. 3, as Paul was waking up, Bidarian called the YouTube-star-turned-prizefighter and told him Fury was out and Woodley was in the process of agreeing to step in. Paul didn't hesitate.
"Give me anybody," Paul said. "The show must go on. I have a responsibility to the fans who bought tickets, who want to see me fight this year. I have a responsibility to the fighters on the undercard who were counting on this payday."
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Espinoza said "four out of five times" when a boxer in the main event has to withdraw, the event will have to be postponed. Even when Woodley verbally agreed to the rematch, Espinoza said, he expected something to go haywire because "it was too perfect." Paul accepting so quickly remedied some of those fears.
"Most fighters in Jake's situation would have postponed the date, which is what the Fury family was hoping," Bidarian said. "I think we have to recognize here that Jake is taking a big risk. He hasn't been preparing for Tyron. Tyron has been preparing for Jake. You can go into Tyron's timeline on social media that going back to early October he was posting about stepping in."
Later that afternoon, Woodley and the other parties involved came to an agreement on the outline of the contract.
"Obviously, as a businessman and somebody that's very familiar with contracts and stuff like that, I wanted to get it done," Woodley said. "[Paul's team was] getting nervous, Showtime was getting nervous. Jake was getting nervous. I just really in my heart felt like this was meant to be. I didn't feel any anxiety, I didn't feel any nerves. I felt like if I would have waited 24 hours, that would have been a bad move. I wanted to get this done while he was silly enough to fight me again."
Tyron Woodley will earn an additional $500,000 if he knocks out Jake Paul in the rematch. Amanda Westcott/Showtime
Woodley kept things close to the vest until everything was set. He didn't even tell his mother, Deborah, who is revered in MMA circles, until closer to the announcement of the new fight.
"Sometimes Mama Woodley gets a little excited," Woodley said with a laugh. "You tell her something and all of a sudden 10 people are on your phone and you're wondering how they knew."
After locking down terms for the second fight, which included a negotiated $500,000 bonus if he stops Paul by knockout or TKO, Woodley flew one of his boxing coaches, Floyd Mayweather trainer Gerald Tucker, and longtime training partner Darryl Cobb to Atlanta for the final days of his resurrected camp. Woodley signed his contract Dec. 5 and Showtime and Most Valuable Promotions announced Paul vs. Woodley 2 on Dec. 6.
"I'm just getting an opportunity," Woodley said. "I'm not getting a gift, I'm not getting a freebie. Nothing is promised. Nothing I did in the past promises I'm gonna win on Saturday. But I feel like it gets me another chance. People don't get second chances. I've gotten second and third chances and fourth chances, and that tells me that God wants to use me for something more important than that. He's giving me an opportunity to show everybody my gifts and what I'm made of."
Woodley is hoping to build on some of his most positive moments in the first fight. He rocked Paul in the fourth round, nearly knocking him down, though Paul was held up by the ropes. Woodley believes Paul lost his momentum at that point and didn't win a single round. Two judges disagreed with him, giving Paul a split-decision victory. Espinoza said there was a feeling of "dissatisfaction" by both men in how that fight went. Paul has vowed to stop Woodley this time around.
Woodley believes he'll be the one earning the knockout, getting that $500,000 bonus and then fighting Paul in a lucrative rubber match next year.
"It makes the movie continue in a way that it should," Woodley said. "This has been magical. It's been a great motivator. It's made me passionate once again about training, about running, about dieting, about sleeping. … For me, it has to happen. The story doesn't end the right way if it doesn't."
Woodley is already a shoo-in for the UFC Hall of Fame. His legacy in that sport is set — he's one of the best ever at 170 pounds. But this rivalry with Paul, Woodley believes, is his chance to show he's a "star," someone who is valuable and can draw money.
His gig filming the TV show will have to wait, but that's OK, Woodley said, because "they want me to whoop [Paul's] ass too." When he returns to set, the craft services table will be waiting for him. And no, even after Bidarian's Dec. 1 call, Woodley did not deprive himself of that small dessert.
Because in this rare combat sports scenario, Woodley doesn't just get his cookie. He gets to eat it too.
"I'm not gonna lie," Woodley said with a laugh. "They got some fire snacks on there."
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My Virtual Vacation: A PhotoJournal
Hey, it's the last day of July! How did that happen? Can you believe the year is already 7/12th over! Only a third yet to go.
Wow! Old twenty-seventeen is really flying by.
This past week I was able to experience a little nostalgia via my spouse. By osmosis. :) He made a trip back to my (and his) former stomping grounds, while I stayed behind to tend to the animals and the ranch. Still, it was kinda fun sharing the trip back to good ol' Michigan with him as it happened, via texts, photos and videos.
Here are a few highlights.
A trip to the U.P. (Michigan's upper peninsula) always includes a crossing of Big Mac--the beautiful Mackinac Bridge (pronounce "MACK in naw"). Built in 1957, the bridge spans the Straits of Mackinac, the stetch of water between Lake Michigan and Lake Huron that divides the upper and lower peninsulas.
The bridge is the longest suspension bridge in the Western Hemisphere. It's quite similar in construction and aesthetics to the Golden Gate bridge and is truly an unique and majestic landmark.
Side view of distant Big Mac
Crossing the bridge
A big Great Lakes freighter passing beneath the bridge
The destination was Uncle Bob's cabin near Trout Lake, where the family traditionally gathers every summer for swimming, skiing, boating, cook-outs and fun.
Some ducks who stopped by for breakfast--I think they're female mallards.
The metal work next to them surrounds an outdoor fire pit.
A beautifully serene U.P. sunset
This is Uncle Bob and Chippy. Uncle Bob is 92 years young.
Chippy is--you guessed it--a somewhat-tame wild chipmunk.
A close-up of Chippy.
After the family get-together, David and company continued north to Pinestump Junction near the old family cabin on McTivers Lake.
Pinestump Junction's name dates back to lumberjack days, when the postal service was instructed to leave mail for the lumberjacks "by the big pine stump at the road junction." Here are two shots from one of the local restaurants.
The sign for the Pinestump Cook Shack and Drinkery reflects
the colorful history behind the placename.
A wonderful old fireplace in the restaurant was
fashioned from local river stones.
After visiting their property and the shores of Lake Superior, they also walked along the Cut River Bridge Trail.
David's trip back downstate to the family home near Mason included a stop at Higgins Lake--my hometown (except it's really not big enough to be a town). Here's a photo of David with my nephew, Tyler, who now runs a store near the lake with his family.
David and Tyler in front of the lake store.
Another view of the store, which is located very near the
lakeshore in a State Park.
A view of Higgins Lake. This is where I grew up. It was named
by National Geographics as one of the six most beautiful lakes in the world.
It's also a (fictionalized) setting in one of my upcoming novels. :)
David spent a few days relaxing at the old homestead where he grew up. The neighborhood is south of Michigan State University. Before the trees got tall, they could see the old smokestacks with MSC on the side from the house. MSC stands for Michigan State College. The smokestacks were built before the college became a major university.
Front entry to David's childhood home, south of East Lansing.
This is a shot of the lovely courthouse in Mason, Michigan. It's David's hometown but I also wax nostalgic about the place because I spent a lot of time here as a teen and young adult. My Dad owned a home in Mason.
Mason Courthouse on the town square
David was also able to make a trip down to meet with friends--and platoon commander of the U.S. Blue Devil Horse Platoon--in the Chelsea area southeast of Mason. This is where our Irish Sport Horse, Midnight Mission (aka "Velvet") was located during her career with the platoon.
During his time with the Blue Devils as a Reserve Lancer, David rode with the British Royal Household Cavalry and participated in equestrian drills and training for the Queen's Jubilee in the Netherlands with the Cavalerie Ere Escorte.
The Roon Farm Arena -- Home of the U. S. Blue Devils Horse Platoon
Old photo of our Midnight Mission (aka "Velvet") as the Blue Devils'
riderless horse--ala the famous Black Jack. Velvet is an
Irish Sport Horse which is half Thoroughbred, half Irish Draught.
David astride Buddy (on right) for the Silver Bells Parade in Lansing, Michigan.
Buddy has since passed on (just this last January), but Capito and Piet Hine are still in the barn, now aged 20 and 21.
Photo of Capito (far left in painting) in his stall at Roon Farm.
Photo of Piet Hine. He's the second horse from the
far right in the painting. David took these photos
of both horses last week.
Needless to say, it was a very nostalgic time (for both of us) thinking back to the Blue Devil days.
And meanwhile, back at the ranch...
After a dry spell, the monsoons came back with a vengeance.
July monsoon thunderheads forming over the ranch.
David returned home safe and sound, though not without an airline glitch or two--and we celebrated his trip with dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, Pappadeux.
If you're vacationing this summer--virtually or otherwise--here's hoping you have a wonderful time.
Labels: Laurie A. Green, PhotoJournal, Virtual Vacation
TODAY'S TECH ROUNDUP/PLOT BUNNY BONANZA
Exciting news in the world of science and technology today, dear readers! Or, as we SFR authors like to say, "Here be plot bunnies!"
--"Wetware" coming soon. That is, if the Department of Defense has anything to say about it. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is funding six teams to create an implant that can record the activity of as many as one million brain cells (neurons) at once and send basic signals back into the brain. This is a fraction of the brain's power (the average brain contains 80 billion neurons), but it's a big leap from the few neurons we can monitor currently. Researchers say the tech could one day be used to restore senses, read thoughts or "even create consciousness itself." (Or, more probably, it will have us all wired to the internet 24/7/365.) Tesla/SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has also dropped cash on a company working on a brain/computer interface. Can the world SF author William Gibson (Neuromancer) envisioned be far off? (Adam Piore in TechnologyReview.com as reported in The Week, July 28, 2017)
--Talk to the hand. Scientists at the University of California, San Diego have developed an electronic glove that can translate the movements of American Sign Language into text. By "interpreting" the signs in text on a smartphone or computer screen, the innovation makes it possible for the hearing impaired to make themselves easily understood by persons who do not sign. The glove could also be used to manipulate objects in virtual reality sometime in the future. The best news of all—the prototype glove cost only $100 to build. (Avery Thompson in PopularMechanics.com as reported in The Week, July 28, 2017)
--No time for cruises near the Antarctic. In the exciting conclusion to a drama scientists have been watching for years, the Larsen-C Ice Shelf calved an iceberg the size of Delaware last week as a huge rift in the shelf widened and split the berg from the continent. Antarctica is 12 percent smaller because of the loss of the piece of shelf, which scientists calculate weighs one trillion tons. The iceberg had no immediate effect on sea levels, but experts point out that the Larsen-C shelf plays a crucial role in holding back the flow of Antarctica's glaciers into the sea. The event could trigger a chain reaction, with more ice sliding into the ocean and raising sea levels by as much as four inches. All scientists will say with any certainty is that the future stability of the Larsen-C shelf is at risk. (Reuters.com as reported in The Week, July 28, 2017)
--Like coffee? Drink up! In welcome news to writers, editors and agents everywhere, two new studies show significant health benefits to drinking coffee. In fact, the more you drink, the more you benefit in terms of lower risk of death from heart disease, stroke, diabetes and kidney disease. A study of 186,000 adults by Veronica Setiawan of the University of Southern California and her team showed mortality risk dropped 12 percent for those who drank just one cup of coffee per day. The risk dropped 18 percent for those who drank two to three cups per day. A second, 16-year study conducted on over 500,000 adults in Europe indicated the men who drank the most coffee had a 12 percent lower risk of death. For women, the risk dropped by seven percent. No one knows yet why coffee has such beneficial effects, although it is known that the drink contains strong antioxidants. Both studies agreed caffeine was not the secret ingredient, however. Decaf produced similar benefits. (Science.com as reported in The Week, July 28, 2017)
--But decaf only after 4:00 p.m. A new study shows poor sleep quality may increase the risk for developing Alzheimer's disease. The study asked 101 people who already had genetic risk factors for the disease (but no symptoms) to complete a questionnaire about their sleep habits. Then samples of their spinal fluid were taken. Those who reported sleep problems had more biological markers of the brain disease—buildups and tangles of toxic proteins (such as beta-amyloid and tau), brain-cell damage and inflammation. Researchers admit the link between poor sleep and later Alzheimer's is not clear. But it is known that the brain uses REM sleep time for "housekeeping", clearing out harmful toxins and organizing information. Sleep loss could interfere with this process. (New York Times as reported in The Week, July 28, 2017)
Cheers, Donna
Posted by Donna S. Frelick at 9:00 AM
Labels: plot bunnies, science and technology, science news
Come and meet Puss
It must be something in the ether. When I decided to add a pet in space to my latest WIP, Pets in Space 2 wasn't a thing - as far as I knew, anyway. I needed something new to add interest to my couple from Eye of the Mother, Tian and Brent. I loved Linnea Sinclair's furrzels in Games of Command, I loved the Pets in Space stories, so I decided to introduce a non-human to the action.
Puss isn't a pet per se. She's certainly a feline in appearance. Having loved and been loved by a few Siamese cats in my time, it stands to reason Puss is like one of those Oriental cats - sleek, short fur, triangular head, lean body. She has emerald eyes, though, and she's almost completely black, except for a small patch of white on her chest. That's a sort of fingerprint for her species - every individual's patch is slightly different.
The species is alien. They're called auralfangs, and they have a few characteristics which set them apart. Their long tails are prehensile, wonderful for their jungle natural habitat. They don't purr, or meow. They communicate telepathically, in colors. Puss does an excellent job of understanding human speech, but naturally, she can't respond in words. She's smart, though. Here's a snippet from the first draft of the story. (First draft - please ignore typos and such)
"What in hells happened there?" Brent sank into a chair.
"Looks like she can do what we can do, only better." Tian sat opposite him, while Puss took up a spot on the table between them. The auralfang's mental images were of reassurance. "We can reinforce a thought, but she touched them and they changed their minds. It was almost like watching a mind-wipe."
Brent stretched out his hand slowly and touched Puss. She pushed her head into his hand and he scratched under her chin. "She likes it." His lips stretched into a silly, goofy smile, like a little boy.
Tian smiled. "Most felines do. Did you ever have a pet?"
He shook his head. "Not with a father like mine. Have you noticed she's never made a sound?"
He was right. She'd never growled or meowed, never purred. "Maybe the mental thing is how they communicate with each other." Puss broadcast green. So that was right. "She just said yes."
Brent's eyes widened. "She spoke to you?"
"No. But the waves of color mean things. Soft mauves and pinks are soothing, murky reds and deep blacks are fear, blue is anger?" She waited for the green approval signal and got it. "And green is yes. Puss understands our speech and responds in color and images." Another wave of exuberant green. "This is one clever Puss." Tian smiled as the feline blinked at her. One more thing to check. "You changed what those two people wanted?" Another flood of green.
Brent straightened. "She can do that? Would she do that to us?"
The flood of green changed to a soft, bright red. Let's take that as no.
Tian held the auralfang's gaze. "But you could?"
The green swirled. A flash of red intruded. Yes and no? The cat sent an image of the ice bear, a Dron, a Yrmak, all overlaid with the distinctive shade of 'no' red. Then an image of Wong, with the green of 'yes'. And then Tian and Brent, with green and red.
"Wow. And she's been sending you this stuff all the time?"
"You're getting this, too?"
Brent nodded. "What do you think it means?"
"It doesn't work on aliens." Green.
"It does work on humans." Green
"She could affect us." Green and red.
Tian sat back. "I don't get it."
Puss's tail switched from side to side, then she pounced on Brent's hand and bit.
He snatched his hand away. "Bad Puss. Don't bite."
Puss gazed steadily at Tian, then back at Brent's hand. The substitute blood oozed, but Brent wasn't hurt. In moments the marks faded and the skin healed. "You didn't hurt him." Green.
Okay. Try this. "You can't hurt him." Green.
Oh shit. "She knows we're cyborgs." Green. Triumphant green. Puss pushed her head under Tian's hand.
So there you have it. A very clever alien feline has joined the fray. If people like her, she might be in other adventures. We shall see.
For the Greater Good should be out around September.
Posted by Greta at 12:00 AM
Labels: auralfang, For the Greater Good, pets in space, WIP
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Industry Sectors | Advanced Manufacturing
First Person: Disruptive Technologies Changing the Business Landscape
Area Development recently asked Jack Uldrich, a global futurist and author, about today's disruptive technologies and what business leaders need to do to stay ahead of the curve. Uldrich frequently speaks about technology, change management, and leadership to Fortune 100 corporations, venture capital firms, associations, NGOs, and government bodies around the world.
Jack Uldrich
AD: How do you define disruptive technology?
Uldrich: I would define it as an innovation that creates an entirely new product, service, market or value proposition.
AD: What are examples of recent disruptive companies?
Uldrich: Wikipedia is a wonderful example. The disruption was not just putting the encyclopedia on the Internet for free. The real disruption came in thinking differently about who could write entries. It could scale really fast and could grow, and it's now available in 160 different languages, all written by people who don't get paid. Another good one is WeWork, which is the Airbnb of office and commercial space. Many small businesses don't need to rent or even own their own property. They just need to access office space — sometimes on a daily basis, sometimes on a weekly or monthly basis. WeWork now has an estimated value of $20 billion, making it arguably North America's largest property company, and yet they own virtually no property. They're just helping landlords to microlease space. That is a powerful disruption.
University Innovation Parks Link the Academic and "Real World"
What Does Industry 4.0 Mean for U.S. Manufacturing?
Gauging the Long-Term Competitiveness of the U.S. Advanced Manufacturing Sector
Advanced Technologies for the "Connected Age"
AD: Do disruptive technologies share certain characteristics that help explain their impact?
Uldrich: They start out slowly, they're not very productive, and they seem to appeal to only a small niche or fringe business, so they don't warrant the incumbents' attention. But what's tricky about disruptive technologies is they scale and grow at a near exponential pace, so what is substandard and unaffordable suddenly gets better. By that time, the incumbents who weren't paying attention have ceded the ground to startups. When the first desktop computer came out, it was really expensive, and you needed to be sort of a techno-nerd to play around with it. IBM saw that and thought, "Who would want that? We make these really big powerful mainframe computers and that's what our customers want." Because of continued advances in computer processing power, data storage, and graphics, desktop computers got better, and by the time IBM saw what was happening, Apple and others had blown by them.
Jack Uldrich is a global futurist, speaker, and best-selling author. He frequently speaks about technology, change management, and leadership to Fortune 100 corporations, venture capital firms, associations, NGOs, and government bodies around the world.
AD: Has the accelerated speed of technological progress in recent years led to greater industry disruption than we've seen in the past?
Uldrich: The greatest change in business today is the rate of change itself. It's that these technologies — computer processing power, data storage, bandwidth, sequencing of genomes, nanotechnology, robotics, 3D printing, sensor technology, blockchain, quantum computing — are happening at this unique period in human history and converging in interesting, unexpected ways. Even the rate of disruption is accelerating. The past isn't prelude. We're going to continue to see more disruptions on a faster scale than anything we've seen in the past.
AD: Is there any way to adequately anticipate these disruptive developments?
Uldrich: I call it the Big AHA. AHA is an acronym for awareness, humility, and action. First and foremost, you need to be aware of the technologies that are transforming the world. Do your homework. Secondly, we all need humility to understand that the way we do our business today might not be sufficient moving forward. Business models are changing; customer expectations are changing; new competitors are emerging. You have to open your mind; see the world from a different perspective; listen to different voices. And the final thing is you need to take action. Start looking for partners. Can you partner with some of these disruptive startups? Is there a pilot project you can start on your own? Start doing something with these technologies. Take some risks.
AD: What common mistakes do corporate leaders make in this area?
Uldrich: The most common mistake is to think 10 percent instead of 10X. Most businesses are focused on incremental improvements to their existing products because that's what their customers are asking for. Customers say, "I like your product but if you could get it to me a bit faster, a bit cheaper, that'd be great." The problem is people don't know what hasn't been created yet. When some disruptive company arrives with an entirely new product or service, those customers are now thinking, "I didn't even know I needed that. That's great." So my advice to business leaders is to shake yourself out of incremental thinking and think big. Ask how you would grow your market tenfold, even if that means eating into your existing profit.
Business models are changing; customer expectations are changing; new competitors are emerging. AD: What emerging technologies seem poised to create the greatest impact in the future?
Uldrich: I don't care what business you're in, have a strategy around artificial intelligence. Start figuring out how machines can make sense of the data we are collecting and see if there are new ways to slice and dice that data to gain new insight that might lead to new products. Artificial intelligence is going to touch every industry. Another one is blockchain. It's very complicated but it's a kind of distributed digital ledger and what it's going to allow people to do is save money and deliver products and services better, faster, and more efficiently. 3D printing is going to change a lot of industries, as are continued advances in robotics technology. The transition from 4G to 5G technology is a big one. With bandwidth that is 100-fold faster, we're going to be able to do just entirely different things.
AD: Any final thoughts?
Uldrich: The printing press was a revolutionary device, but Johannes Gutenberg's genius wasn't that he created it out of thin air. His genius was he took a wine press, movable type, ink, and paper and played around with them to create an entirely new platform that first disrupted the Catholic Church and then disrupted society in a powerful way. The equivalent of the wine press, movable type, ink, and paper today is data, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and 5G technology; and business leaders have to play around with these tools. Don't just think of one technology; think about how they might converge in some really interesting ways. Convergence is the key.
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Jabil Plans Center of Excellence in Albuquerque, New Mexico


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USA Women's Water Polo Advances To FINA World Cup Semifinals
Rachel Fattal. Photo Courtesy: SZILARD KOSZTICSAK
by Daniel D'Addona
07 September 2018, 10:06am
The USA Women's National Team will play for a medal at the FINA World Cup after advancing to the semifinal round with a 15-5 win over China. Rachel Fattal (Seal Beach, CA/UCLA/SOCAL) scored four goals to lead the Team USA attack with Amanda Longan (Moorpark, CA/USC/Santa Barbara 805) posting 13 saves in net. The United States will now take on Spain in the semifinal round at 9am et/6am pt on Saturday. Russia and Australia will meet in the other semifinal match. Every match will stream live with replays available on-demand via FINA TV and can be accessed at FINATV.LIVE (subscription required). For more information on the event including the full Team USA roster, click here. For live stats from each match, visit LiveWaterPolo.com.
Team USA set the tone early in this match with a 4-0 lead in the first quarter on four goals from four different scorers. Paige Hauschild (Santa Barbara, CA/USC/Santa Barbara 805), Maggie Steffens (Danville, CA/Stanford/NYAC), Fattal and Jamie Neushul (Isla Vista, CA/Stanford/Santa Barbara 805) delivered the scores. Team USA went up 6-0 in the second quarter before China scored four of the next five to make it a 7-4 match with 1:19 to play in the first half.
Leading 8-4 starting the second, Team USA put the breaks on any thoughts of a comeback from China, scoring three unanswered goals in the third for an 11-4 lead going to the fourth. In the fourth the United States added four more goals on the way to the 15-5 victory.
Team USA went just 1/9 on power plays and 2/2 on penalties with China going 1/3 on power plays with no penalties attempted.
USA 15 (4, 4, 3, 4) R. Fattal 4, P. Hauschild 3, M. Steffens 2, K. Neushul 2, J. Neushul 1, K. Gilchrist 1, M. Fischer 1, A. Williams 1
CHN 5 (0, 4, 0, 1) Chen Xiao 3, Wang Huan 1, Zhai Ying 1
Saves – USA – A. Longan 13
6×5 – USA – 1/9 – CHN 1/3
Penalties – USA – 2/2 – CHN – 0/0
— The above press release was posted by Swimming World in conjunction with USA Water Polo. For press releases and advertising inquiries please contact Advertising@SwimmingWorld.com.
Thomas A. Small


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Q: StackOverFlow Error when converting 1,000,000 Nodes in a Splay Tree to a SinglyLinkedList I have implemented a Splay Tree class that uses nodes to store data. In this class I have tried to convert the data of nodes into a Singly Linked List. 1,000,000 nodes can be inserted into the splay tree and it works perfectly. Using recursion I get a StackOverFlow error when the tree contains 1,000,000 nodes. However when the tree contains around 15000 nodes it is able to be converted to a linked list without a problem.
Here is the code for my toList Method that is inside the splay tree class
public LinkedList<Node> toList() {

   LinkedList<Node> list = new LinkedList<Node>();
   Node node = root;
   addToList(node, list);

   return list;
}

private void addToList(Node node, LinkedList<Node> list) {
   if(node != null) {
      addToList(node.left, list);
      list.add(node);
      addToList(node.right, list);
   }
}

I used this test class below to test the function of this method
@Test
public void testConversionToLinkedList {
   SplayTree<Integer,String> st = new SplayTree<Integer,String>();
   for(int i = 0; i < 1000000; i++) {
      st.insert(i, Integer.toString(i));
   }
   assertEquals(1000000, st.size());

   LinkedList<Node> list = st.toList();
   assertEquals(1000000, list.size());
}

The test passes when the size entered is around 15000, however any number greater than that will show a StackOverFlowError
The error occurs at the line addToList(node.left, list);
This is really weird because when i used the same recursion technique to print the data of the nodes into a txt file, there is no StackOverFlow error and the data prints perfectly.
I have tried to use In Order Traversal, PreOrder and PostOrder but I still receive the same error at 1,000,000 nodes. I do know that it could be doing recursion too deeply and the stack runs out of memory. If that is the case is there any way I can convert a splay tree of nodes into a linked list?
Any idea what could be going wrong? cheers

A: Your poblem is the recursive algorithm. As you figured out there is a limit in the stack size, which is build when you have recursion.
You can always transform recursion to a loop.
here are some examples for DFS and BFS algorithms using loops: Non recursive Depth first search algorithm

A: You can increase the stack's size. To do it you have to pass parameter to the jvm.
The format is -Xss[g|G|m|M|k|K].
For example: java -Xss4m YourTreeProgram

A: The root issue is that splay trees can have a height equal to their node count, so the recursive algorithms you often see applied to binary trees are risky when applied to splay trees.
The easiest approach is to splay the tree as you go.

*

*Find the tree's minimum node.  Simply follow the "left" links from the root all the way until they are null.  Splay this node to the root, then add it to your list.

*Find its successor.  I.e. follow the root's "right" link once, then follow "left" repeatedly until null.  Splay that node to the root, then add it to your list.

*Repeat step 2 until there is no successor (i.e. the root's "right" link is null).

Finding the minimum and successor nodes are no different from other kinds of trees.


Local content and procurement requirements in frontier African oil and gas jurisdictions – One size does not fit all.
With increasing interest in oil and gas investments in African countries, one pertinent question from clients and prospective investors is whether, and to what extent, government or the national oil company should exercise influence over a right holder's procurement process. Specifically, what represents best practice with respect to governmental involvement in an investor's acquisition of goods and services used for petroleum operations. Competing forces at play in establishing those practices include the desire by governments to maximize the local benefits from resource extraction activities, the investors' desire to ensure freedom to procure on the basis of cost, availability and quality, and the mutual desire for a transparent and efficient process.
We have conducted regional and global surveys of the procurement requirements in over 30 jurisdictions with significant upstream oil and gas sectors. The aim of these surveys is to identify global best practices, trends, risks and mitigation strategies. We have also examined the procurement requirements and recommendations of major international financial institutions involved in financing upstream oil and gas projects, in order to identify prevailing market preferences.
The surveys found a wide variety of practices and requirements for local content and procurement in the upstream oil and gas sector across African countries. Moreover, while requirements may specify the portion of total expenditures that must be comprised of locally sourced goods and services, procurement procedures are frequently not well established. This can (and has) led to a misalignment between governments and investors on the requirements of those procedures. This misalignment can manifest itself in material ways, resulting in significant risk to the investor. These risks include disallowance of costs for recovery, recalculation of tax obligations, fines, penalties, or even allegations of corruption and/or material breach of the host government contract; all of which may trigger the loss of the petroleum contract.
This lack of clarity and resulting misalignment in understanding and expectations can lead to distraction in investor-government communications, disruption in petroleum operations, and potentially costly formal dispute resolution with corrosive effects on the attractiveness of the investment and the host government to the international investment communities.
A clearly detailed procurement process minimizes these risks, establishing concrete local goods and services requirements that are both realistic and able to adapt to the capacity of the local market's goods and services requirements. An open and transparent process, free of governmental influence, is an absolute requirement. The procedures and recommendations developed by international organizations serve as valuable reference sources in developing a mutually acceptable procurement process; care must be taken to craft procedures that are practical and achievable in the jurisdiction.
This blog series will provide focused discussions on local content and procurement practices that are applicable to African countries.
the risks that arise in this area and the strategies for avoiding and addressing these risks.


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Jim Seals, one half of a popular 1970s soft-rock duo, dies at 79
Jim Seals, one half of Seals & Crofts, a soft-rock duo who enjoyed a string of hits in the 1970s, including Top 10 singles 'Summer Breeze' and 'Diamond Girl', died Monday at his home of Nashville. He was 79 years old.
His wife, Ruby Jean Seals, said the cause was an unspecified "ongoing chronic illness".
Mr. Seals and his musical partner, Dash Crofts, were still teenagers when they were asked to join an instrumental group, the Champs, who had a No. 1 hit in 1958 with "Tequila". By the mid-1960s, they had grown tired of the band and the loud, sometimes angry strains that infused the hard rock of the era.
Followers of the Bahá'í Faith, they sought to create calmer music, blending folk, bluegrass, country and jazz influences and delivering their lyrics in close harmony.
"Jim Seals plays acoustic guitar and fiddle," wrote Don Heckman in The New York Times in 1970 in a brief review of their second album, "Down Home," "and Dash Crofts plays electric mandolin and piano; together they sing a freshly interwoven and quite colorful vocal harmony.
With the nostalgia-soaked single "Summer Breeze", released in 1972, the two found international stardom. They had developed a modest following, but this song changed everything, as they discovered when they arrived in Ohio to play a show.
"There were kids waiting for us at the airport," Mr. Seals told the Texas Monthly in 2020. "That night we had a record crowd, maybe 40,000 people. And I remember of people throwing their hats and coats in the air as far as the eye can see, against the moon.
The song, written jointly by the two men, featured the kind of refrain that sticks in the brain:
"The summer breeze, makes me feel good, / Blowing through the jasmine in my mind."
The single reached No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100, and a follow-up, "Hummingbird", made the Top 20. 1973's "Diamond Girl" reached No. 6. "Get Closer" in 1976 also reached #6.
But the duo's streak of success essentially ended when the decade ended, and they called it quits for a time.
"Around 1980 we were still drawing 10,000 to 12,000 people to concerts," Mr. Seals told the Los Angeles Times in 1991, when the two revived the act. "But we could see, with this change coming where everyone wanted dance music, those days were numbered."
Six years earlier, however, the couple had begun to fall out of favor with some listeners and critics because of their sixth album, "Unborn Child," released in 1974 shortly after the Roe v. Wade of the Supreme Court on the right to abortion. . The title track urged women contemplating an abortion to "stop, turn around, go back, think."
Mr. Seals, in a 1978 interview with The Miami Herald, acknowledged that the record had hurt the duo's career.
"It completely killed him for a while," he said. Radio stations refused to play the record. Some Seals & Crofts concerts were picketed, although there were also hundreds of letters of support. In the 1991 Los Angeles Times interview, Mr. Seals said the couple never intended the song to be a lightning rod.
"It was our ignorance that we didn't know this kind of thing was bubbling and bubbling as a social issue," he said. "On one side, people were sending us thousands of roses, but on the other, people were literally throwing rocks at us.
"If we had known this was going to cause such disunity," he continued, "we might have thought twice about doing it. At the time, that overshadowed all the other things we were trying to say in our music.
James Eugene Seals was born on October 17, 1942 in Sidney, Texas to Wayland and Susan Seals. His father worked in the oil fields, and Jim spent much of his childhood in Iraan, a boom town in southwest Texas.
"There were oil rigs as far as the eye could see," Seals told Texas Monthly. "And the stench was so bad you couldn't breathe."
His father played a little guitar and his mother played the dobro, so informal jam sessions were a common way to pass the time at home. When a violinist passed by one evening, young Jim was seduced by the instrument and his father ordered one from a Sears catalog.
Later, Jim took up the saxophone, which led to an invitation to join a rockabilly band called the Crew Cats, who played local dances and clubs. The band's drummer quit just before a show at a junior college, and the drummer of another band on the bill sat – Darrell Crofts, known as Dash.
The two became friends and played with the champions for several years in Los Angeles. Both were proficient in other instruments, including the guitar. Once they succeeded as a duo, they knew the image they wanted to project and tried to stay true to it. In 1973, when they were about to tour England, Mr Seals told a reporter they had pulled out of a previous European engagement.
"We were going to tour there earlier, but changed our minds at the last minute when we found out we were going to be playing with Black Sabbath," he said. "I'm sure they're a good band, but I'm not sure the audience would be quite right for us."
In addition to his wife, Mr. Seals is survived by their two sons, Joshua and Sutherland; one daughter, Juliette Crossley; and three grandchildren. A sister, Renee Staley, and a half-brother, Eddie Ray Seals, also survive him. Her brother, Dan Seals, a singer who found success in the late 1970s as a member of fellow soft-rock duo, England Dan & John Ford Coley, died in 2009. Both brothers toured together for several years before Dan Seals died, with Jim Seals' two sons occasionally playing with them.
Maia Coleman contributed report.


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Putin-Kim meeting to facilitate North Korea's denuclearization — Chinese Foreign Ministry
The Chinese diplomat was hopeful that Pyongyang would continue its policy of rapprochement towards Washington
BEIJING, April 19. /TASS/. The upcoming meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will help resolve the Korean Peninsula's nuclear disarmament issue and preserve peace in the region, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Lu Kang said at a briefing on Friday.
Putin to meet with Kim Jong-un in Russia in second half of April
"Russia and North Korea are China's good neighbors and we are pleased to see that they are boosting ties at the highest level," he said in response to a question from a South Korean reporter. "We are confident that it will facilitate efforts to resolve the Korean Peninsula issue through political means and contribute to preserving peace and stability in the region," Lu Kang added.
The Chinese diplomat was hopeful that Pyongyang would continue its policy of rapprochement towards Washington, which, in his words, would help ensure North Korea's denuclearization. "We hope that the trend of dialogue between the North Korea and the United States will continue and the two countries' interaction will produce even more positive results," he concluded.
The Kremlin press service said earlier that the Russian president and the North Korean leader would hold a meeting in Russia before the end of the month. According to South Korea's Yonhap news agency, the summit is most likely to take place in the Far Eastern city of Vladivostok.


Established by Walter Owen Bentley in 1919, Bentley has been synonymous with luxury automobiles and Grand Tourers. Volkswagen Group took control of the company in 1998 and this has only helped Bentley anchor ita's evolution in the right direction.
It is a universal leader committed to catering engineers, architects, constructors, and owner-operators with inclusive software solutions for facilitating infrastructure. Inaugurated in 1984, Bentley has over 3,000 team workers in more than 50 countries, since 2011 has invested more than $1 billion in analysis, evolvement, and accession.
Most of the Bentley's today are gathered at the company's Crewe factory, with a small number assembled at Volkswagen's Dresden factory, Germany, and with bodies for the Continental manufactured in Zwickau and for the Bentayga manufactured at the Volkswagen Bratislava Plant.
The partnership and ultimate separation of Bentley and Rolls-Royce followed a series of mergers and acquisitions, beginning with the 1931 purchase by Rolls-Royce of Bentley, then in receivership.
Rolls-Royce in the year 1971, itself was enforced into insolvency and the UK government nationalized the company—bifurcating into two companies the aerospace division (Rolls-Royce Plc) and automotive (Rolls-Royce Motors Limited) divisions. Rolls-Royce Motors was latterly sold to engineering cooperation.
Bentleys have been a mark of opulence and extravagance from the starting when W.O. Bentley founded his company in 1919. The 1920s were a vibrant, lively and confident time for the company, proceeded by Bentley Boys.
The company was taken over by Rolls-Royce in the 1930s and it endured that way until 1998 when it was purchased by the Volkswagen Group. The company was originally based near London but is now headquartered in Crewe. The lineup now inherits from the Continental, the Flying Spur, the Mulsanne and the Bentayga SUV.
Currently, in India, 4 Bentley cars are available for sale. The Flying Spur at Rs 3.22 Cr is the lowest price Bentley model and the Mulsanne at Rs 5.56 Cr. is the highest price model till now.