AFTER a four-year investigation the Police Integrity Commission has recommended a former NSW Crime Commission officer be prosecuted for misconduct and giving misleading evidence, while his solicitor lover should face professional sanctions for their inappropriate relationship when dealing with criminals.
The PIC also found the Crime Commission, NSW's top crime fighting agency, operated outside the law and ignored legal advice when taking millions of dollars of recovered proceeds of crime between 1997 and 2008.
The PIC's Operation Winjana report, tabled in NSW Parliament on Wednesday, seeks to end a costly four-year feud between the state's top law-enforcement agencies. They had clashed over differing interpretations of criminal asset recovery laws. The two-pronged investigation delved into the dealings of senior Crime Commission officer Lou Novakovic, who offered lucrative case work to his lover Salina Sadiq, who on one occasion in 2008 was given $70,000 from seized money for legal expenses.
In another case, Ms Sadiq received $50,000 for work that was ''conference attendances and the signing of documents'', while on another occasion Ms Sadiq received $150,000 for a day's work. The PIC found the payment ''grossly exceeded the expenses actually incurred for the legal work undertaken''.
Mr Novakovic got the Crime Commission to seize and return a $50,000 Lexus to a man who later gave evidence which assisted in getting charges against one of Ms Sadiq's clients dropped.
The report stated ''consideration should be given to the prosecution'' of Mr Novakovic for misconduct in public office and for giving false or misleading evidence before a PIC hearing. Ms Sadiq ''should be referred to the NSW Legal Services Commissioner''.
The other area of the PIC investigation was whether the Crime Commission followed the law when taking 15 per cent of recovered proceeds of crime to fund their efforts pursuing criminals and for defendants' ''reasonable legal expenses''.
The report criticised former Crime Commission commissioner Phillip Bradley and solicitor John Giorgiutti who refused to accept the PIC's view of how the criminal assets recovery law should be interpreted. ''Their views stood alone and were legally incorrect,'' the report stated.
A law passed by NSW Parliament last month voids much of the PIC investigation due to amendments that update the Criminal Assets Recovery Act.
''It would be unfortunate if, by a combination of inadequate guidelines and the additional power given to the Crime Commission under the new legislative regime, the practices that were exposed in the investigation were to continue,'' the report stated.
The Greens MP David Shoebridge said the Crime Commission Act ''failed to take the steps necessary to make the organisation fully accountable''.
The Premier Barry O'Farrell, who is responsible for the PIC, declined to comment.


"When Linux was first developed, it did not have real support for threading in the kernel. But it did support processes as schedulable entities through the clone() system call. This call created a copy of the calling process, with the copy sharing the address space of the caller. The LinuxThreads project used this system call to simulate thread support entirely in user space. Unfortunately, this approach had a number of disadvantages, particularly in the areas of signal handling, scheduling, and interprocess synchronization primitives. Moreover, the threading model did not conform to POSIX requirements.
"To improve on LinuxThreads, it was clear that some kernel support and a rewritten threads library would be required. Two competing projects were started to address these requirements. A team including developers from IBM worked on NGPT, or Next-Generation POSIX Threads. Meanwhile, developers at Red Hat were working on the NPTL. NGPT was abandoned in mid-2003, leaving the field to NPTL..."


Your achievements speak for you. At Miller|Conway, they speak for us, too. We define ourselves by our clients' successes. We have helped guide and protect countless clients with the comprehensive spectrum of our legal services, and a steadfast dedication that has made us one of the most trusted law firms in South Carolina. Whatever the task, however complicated the situation, our attorneys are prepared to guide you and work towards your goal.
Miller|Conway, Goose Creek Attorneys and Counselors at Law, delivers a wide range of legal services near and around our home: Charleston, Berkeley, Dorchester Counties, and South Carolina. In addition, Miller|Conway represents clients throughout the Southeast and beyond. Our core areas of practice include personal injury, family law, immigration, corporate litigation, and estate planning. Our attorneys' knowledge, litigation experience and continuing education within these practice areas allow Miller|Conway to understand our clients' legal needs and effectively identify and implement strategic solutions. We strive to be the first choice for clients seeking sophisticated, high-value, personalized legal services. Our clients know they can count on Miller|Conway for their important legal needs.
Personal Injury – Miller|Conway attorneys are dedicated to representing people who have been seriously injured by the negligent actions of others. Our Charleston personal injury attorneys fight to help injured men and women claim the benefits and compensation they deserve.
Divorce | Custody – Our family law attorneys know family law cases involving divorce, custody, alimony, equitable distribution and child support cause extreme stress for families regardless of the value of the parties' marital estate. We understand family court cases are often contentious and complex. However, when handled properly, parties are often able to reach settlements that practically and fairly meet their needs and the needs of their children. Miller|Conway attorneys have the skills, knowledge and experience to resolve your divorce and custody matters with minimum conflict and maximum efficiency. Let us help you protect your financial future and your children's best interests.
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Corporate Representation – Miller|Conway represents a broad range of corporate clients engaged in a diverse array of businesses locally, statewide and nationally. Our corporate law attorneys provide corporations, whether established or start-ups, with legal services ranging from litigation, organizational, operational, risk minimizing and transactional matters. Our attorneys counsel clients on matters related to contractual, operational, employment, organizational and structural issues.
Estate Planning – Our estate planning team diligently works with clients to ensure your long term estate planning needs are identified and secured. Miller|Conway's services include planning for health care decisions, end-of-life issues, and meeting possible long term care needs, as well as general estate planning and administration, and guardianship proceedings.
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Criminal Defense and DUI – Our criminal defense practice group has the experience and knowledge to aggressively defend the rights of our clients charged with crimes ranging from DUI to murder. We are here for you day and night when facing criminal charges.
We understand you come to Miller|Conway for our lawyer's skill and knowledge. However, we also pride ourselves on the firm's client-focused approach to the practice of law. Our attorneys take great pride in personally handling each and every case we undertake. We understand the legal industry is a service industry and treat our clients accordingly. Rather than taking a cookie-cutter approach, we create intensive, customized game plans, strategies and solutions for each client's case. Miller|Conway is here to serve you, not the other way around. Let's get to work.


Construction fence doesn't mean much. Did this ever get VVC approval?
Looks like the foundation contractor is mobilizing.
So I wasn't the only one who noticed 1.5 pieces of construction equipment on site.
Work has definitely begun. There's a drill rig on site, rebar cages are being delivered, etc.


the made-up ones and the ones in-between.
Pre-K to K-3 transitions: what can states do?
Choppy waters in 4th grade reading -- Why?
With over 35 years of working in the education field, Holly Zanville is an author of children's books known as the Z House Stories. Her books tell stories about the people and animals who live in the Z house. Holly blogs at Z House Stories about reading to children — and adults too.


text:
Q: Duplicate the behaviour of a data driven test Right now, if you have a test that looks like this:
[TestMethod]
[DeploymentItem("DataSource.csv")]
[DataSource(
    Microsoft.VisualStudio.TestTools.DataSource.CSV,
    "DataSource.csv",
    "DataSource#csv",
    DataAccessMethod.Sequential)]
public void TestSomething()
{
    string data = TestContext.DataRow["ColumnHeader"].ToString();
    /*
    do something with the data
    */
}

You'll get as many tests runs as you have data values when you execute this test.
What I'd like to do is duplicate this kind of behaviour in code while still having a datasource. For instance: let's say that I want to run this test against multiple deployed versions of a web service (this is a functional test, so nothing is being mocked - ie. it could very well be a codedui test against a web site deployed to multiple hosts).
[TestMethod]
[DeploymentItem("DataSource.csv")]
[DataSource(
    Microsoft.VisualStudio.TestTools.DataSource.CSV,
    "DataSource.csv",
    "DataSource#csv",
    DataAccessMethod.Sequential)]
public void TestSomething()
{
    var svc = helper.GetService(/* external file - NOT a datasource */);
    string data = TestContext.DataRow["ColumnHeader"].ToString();
    /*
    do something with the data
    */
}

Now, if I have 2 deployment locations listed in the external file, and 2 values in the datasource for the testmethod, I should get 4 tests.
You might be asking why I don't just add the values to the datasource. The data in the external file will be pulled in via the deployment items in the .testsettings for the test run, because they can and will be defined differently for each person running the tests and I don't want to force a rebuild of the test code in order to run the tests, or explode the number of data files for tests. Each test might/should be able to specify which locations it would like to test against (the types are known at compile-time, not the physical locations).
Likewise, creating a test for each deployment location isn't possible because the deployment locations can and will be dynamic in location, and in quantity.
Can anyone point me to some info that might help me solve this problem of mine?

A: UPDATE! This works for Visual Studio 2010 but does not seem to work on 2012 and 2013.
I had a similar problem where I had a bunch of files I wanted to use as test data in a data driven test. I solved it by generating a CSV file before executing the data driven test. The generation occurs in a static method decorated with the ClassInitialize attribute.
I guess you could basically do something similar and merge your current data source with your "external file" and output a new CSV data source that your data driven test use.
public TestContext TestContext { get; set; }
const string NameColumn = "NAME";
const string BaseResourceName = "MyAssembly.UnitTests.Regression.Source";

[ClassInitialize()]
public static void Initialize(TestContext context)
{
    var path = Path.Combine(context.TestDeploymentDir, "TestCases.csv");
    using (var writer = new StreamWriter(path, false))
    {
        // Write column headers
        writer.WriteLine(NameColumn);

        string[] resourceNames = typeof(RegressionTests).Assembly.GetManifestResourceNames();
        foreach (string resourceName in resourceNames)
        {
            if (resourceName.StartsWith(BaseResourceName))
            {
                writer.WriteLine(resourceName);
            }
        }
    }
}

[TestMethod]
[DataSource("Microsoft.VisualStudio.TestTools.DataSource.CSV", "|DataDirectory|\\TestCases.csv", "TestCases#csv", DataAccessMethod.Random)]
public void RegressionTest()
{
    var resourceName = TestContext.DataRow[NameColumn].ToString();
    // Get testdata from resource and perform test.
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Get Excited to Play Your Next Round
Download Hole19
Masters 2017: Day Two Recap
Things are hotting up at Augusta National as we head into the weekend.
The 36-hole cut threw up a few surprises and there were significant moves at the other end of the leaderboard too. It's all perfectly set up for an exciting climax to the 2017 Masters.
As we head into the final two days of play, let's have a recap of yesterday's events.
Four way tie at the top
When Charley Hoffman went one under early on in his second round few would have predicted a three over par 75. Regardless, holding the joint lead of the Masters heading into the weekend puts the Californian in a strong position.
Sergio Garcia is fond of teasing us all with suggestions that he may be on his way to a first major. Well, he's up to his old tricks again. Some truly exceptional shot making has him in the mix at the top of the leaderboard.
The big Belgian Thomas Pieters had a topsy-turvy day as he raced to five under and then back-pedalled to even par, before finally recovering into a share of the lead – impressive given his rookie status.
Round of the day went to Rickie Fowler who carded an impressive 67 to join the others at four under par for the tournament.
McIlroy sickened at 18
Sitting at even par for the tournament heading up the 18th hole, Rory McIlroy hit his approach shot with laser-like accuracy toward the flag before a customary club-twirl which indicated to us all that it was good.
Expecting it to land beyond the flag and then finish up within a few feet, the ball cannoned into the flagstick at speed and finished up off the green leaving a nasty up and down to save par. He would go on to miss the par putt and, therefore, currently sits at one over par – just five back.
2016 Major champions cut
The reigning Masters Champion Danny Willett failed to make the cut by a single shot after recording a six over par 78 during yesterday's second round.
Willett will need to hang around until Sunday though. He will perform the ceremonial handover of the \Green Jacket to one of the remaining 53 players in the field come Sunday evening.
Last year's Open Championship winner Henrik Stenson suffered a similar fate as he missed the weekend by a mere two shots. Having double bogeyed the first yesterday, when already sitting at five over par, meant it was an uphill task from the get-go.
Masters ominously close
At the end of the second round three past Masters champions are stacked up behind the leaders. Phil Mickleson, who donned the Green Jacket on three separate occasions, the 2013 champion Adam Scott and the winner two years ago, Jordan Spieth, are all sitting four shots back at even par.
Nothing counts more than experience at Augusta National and we expect to see one of these three men making a charge towards the top of the leaderboard over the next two days.
Rookie Rahm in the mix
One of the most in-form players right now, Jon Rahm seemed likely to give a good account of himself at this year's Masters. Rookies tend to need a few years to get used to Augusta National before playing to their potential - the Spaniard, sitting at one under par for the tournament, seems to have bucked that trend.
But then, do any of us know just what Rahm's potential equates to? We could have another global superstar on our hands. Let's see what he can achieve over the next few days.
How has your Masters experience been so far? Any other players you were surprised to see miss the cut? Let us know on Facebook at Hole19 Golf or on Twitter via @hole19golf.
All content copyright H19 Ltd. © 2020 • All rights reserved.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


The elevator opened and Deirdre got out.
Gale went to bed at midnight.
I just told Kevyn that I wanted to help him clean the garage.
Piet had a party when his parents were out of town.
I once dated a girl just like Major.
Manny accepted the nomination for class president.
Both Ramanan and Louiqa are dog owners.
Miriamne is shaving in his room.
Tiefenthal wasn't his real name.
I should have listened to Jose.
Brender's head was smashed in with a crowbar or something similar.
Floria should be behind bars.
Cynthia is stalling for time.
Tai, please hand me the hammer.
Do you think Helge is responsible for what happened?
Kyu is now well enough to work.
Frank is not really in Boston now.
There was nothing that Floyd could do about it.
Ravindran could tell that it would be impossible to reach a compromise with Sir.
Diane measured out two cups of rice for the recipe.
It's unlikely that anyone besides Miltos would consider taking that job.
Mikael went to his room.
Susumu seems to have left town in a hurry.
Spass no longer seems to care.
Laurent hasn't seen List for months.
Curtis has already been convicted.
You just sit there and wait until Marnix gets back.
Miek really does like Boston.
I'm forced to agree with List.
Laurel didn't come to my wedding.
Vincenzo didn't understand your joke.
I understand that you are a good friend of Christophe's.
Wolfgang tried to kiss Roger.


The investment proposal, by a four-member team from Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley, aims to alleviate drought and reduce forest fire risk, while seeking market-rate returns for investors.
An investment vehicle that aims to alleviate drought and reduce forest fire risk, while seeking market-rate returns for investors, has won first prize in the 2015 Morgan Stanley Sustainable Investing Challenge.
Blue Forest, a four-member team of students from the Haas School of Business at the University of California Berkeley, presented the investment strategy on April 17, 2015, at Morgan Stanley's London headquarters. The proposal outlines a proactive and strategic forest-thinning program that works to monetize the value of forest management to numerous stakeholders, including water and power utilities and government agencies.
The target market: California, a state that perennially struggles with wild fires and is currently suffering its worst drought in decades.
"I've lived in California for a number of years now," said Zach Knight, a member of the Blue Forest team, which included Leigh Madeira, Chad Reed and Nick Wobbrock, "... being able to solve an issue that's so close to home, impacting real people on a daily basis is so important to us, and I'm glad that our passion for this project has come through today."
The Challenge, organized by the Morgan Stanley Institute for Sustainable Investing, INSEAD and Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management, invites student proposals to address critical social and environmental challenges, geared to attract institutional investors seeking positive impact and competitive returns. The Blue Forest team was one of 10 finalists who presented their proposed investment vehicles.
"This year's winner... deals with an issue—the devastating Californian drought—that is of the moment," said David Hutchison, CEO of Social Finance UK and a Challenge judge. "Inevitably this is what will get people round the table to invest in an innovative solution and look to play their part."
The Challenge recognizes that sustainable investing requires a pipeline of innovative thinkers, and seeks to identify and nurture the next generation of business leaders. This year, submissions increased sharply, with environmental sustainability a popular theme. A total of 380 students made up 127 teams from 78 schools in 20 countries.
Their proposals spanned the globe and sought to address a range of pressing sustainability issues, such as resource conservation, food shortages, and access to health care. The first round judges selected 10 finalists, who worked with experts in the field to hone their final presentations.
"We commend all the students for creating sustainable investing concepts that combine ambitious visions for impact with a focus on financial rigor," said Audrey Choi, CEO of the Morgan Stanley Institute for Sustainable Investing. "The Sustainable Investing Challenge is a call to the next generation of finance professionals to match their business acumen and investment creativity with their passion for producing a positive impact, and this year's participants answered the call with great success."
Those who rose to the Challenge recognize that now is the time to seize both the responsibility and opportunity of sustainable investing, which is growing as a mainstream financial force. A February, 2015, Morgan Stanley survey found that investors, particularly women and Millennials, are strongly interested in sustainable investing and believe that the investment approach is poised to grow, as more companies and investors embrace the performance potential of an environmental, social and governance approach to doing business.
When we put out the call this year for new proposals to drive sustainable investing, the resounding response showed how far and wide this imperative has spread.


A UK Hospital system announced it has cancelled all planned operations and outpatient appointments, while diverting trauma patients to nearby hospitals following a computer virus outbreak.
According to reports, the National Health Service's (NHS) Lincolnshire and Goole trust said a virus infected its electronic systems on Sunday, October 30.
In a statement posted on its website, the NHS said it made the decision, following expert advice, to shut down the majority of its systems in an effort to isolate and destroy the virus.
"Our main priority is patient safety," Dr. Karen Dunderdale, the trust's deputy chief executive and director of operations, told BBC News.
"All adult patients should presume their appointment/procedure has been cancelled unless they are contacted. Those who turn up will be turned away," said Dr. Dunderdale.
Meanwhile, the trust added that inpatients will continue to be cared for and discharged as soon as they are medically fit. Major trauma cases will continue to be diverted to neighboring hospitals, as will high-risk women in labor, it noted.
As of this writing, an update on the trust website says the majority of its electronic systems are now back up and running.
"We are hoping it will be business as normal tomorrow but please visit the website after 5pm today to ensure we have not had to make further cancellations," read the notice.
"Ransomware scours an infected computer for documents, audio files, pictures and other things likely to be of value to the system's owner, and then encrypts that data with very powerful encryption software. Most ransomware variants also scour the local network for other systems or network shares to infect. Victims usually can only get their files back after paying a specified ransom demand using a virtual currency, such as Bitcoin," explained Krebs in a blog post.
Meanwhile, experts have warned ransomware attacks are on the rise, with a staggering 88 percent of infections targeting the healthcare industry.
The incident follows an announcement made by the UK government on November 1, where it revealed plans to spend £1.9 billion on improving the country's cybersecurity.
The investment would help set up automatic defenses designed to help protect ordinary citizens and businesses against digital attacks, as well as educate a new generation of IT security professionals.


Makita Clearance - Up to 70% off!
We currently have 4 CPO Makita coupons / deals.
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They sell a wide variety of combo kits, as well as individual corded, cordless, and outdoor tools and accessories. Buy any type: drill drivers, hammer drills, circular saws, angle grinders, miter saws, right angle drills, reciprocating saws, die grinders, jig saws, rotary hammers, nailers, staplers, nibblers, shears, sanders, polishers, planers, plate joiners, vacuums, screwdrivers, blowers, chainsaws, and more.


Puritanseminary.org's three-month global Alexa traffic rank is 3,682,741. The site belongs to the "Seminaries" category. The site is based in the US. We estimate that 81% of visitors to the site come from the US, where it has attained a traffic rank of 593,993. Puritanseminary.org has been online for at least eight years.
puritanseminary.org 8.80 out of 10 based on 7 ratings.
Description: puritanseminary.org visitors, seo, traffic and competition. Website located in United States. Hosted in Torrance. Has the following nameservers: ns31.worldnic.com, ns32.worldnic.com. With ip 67.225.160.109. World rank is 16042243.


text:
This article was published on June 16, 2018
Bizarre lunar anomaly suggests humans may have warmed the moon
June 16, 2018 - 1:35 am
Rachel Kaser
Internet Culture Writer
Rachel is a writer and former game critic from Central Texas. She enjoys gaming, writing mystery stories, streaming on Twitch, and horseback (show all) Rachel is a writer and former game critic from Central Texas. She enjoys gaming, writing mystery stories, streaming on Twitch, and horseback riding. Check her Twitter for curmudgeonly criticisms.
A new report from a team of researchers at Texas Tech suggests humans may have inadvertently given the moon a fever because we were a little too messy during our Apollo visits.
NASA conducted a heat monitoring experiment on landing sites 15 and 17 between 1971 and 1972. During that time, it noted the temperature of the area increased by four degrees Fahrenheit. The mystery has bugged lunar observers for decades.
In order to solve the puzzle, the researchers, led by Seiichi Nagihara, searched for several lost NASA tapes that recorded three years' worth of temperature readings. After eight years, they managed to find them.
The team have now recorded their findings in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets. According to the researchers, astronauts who walked on the moon may have shifted too large an amount of dust from the surface. This revealed a layer of darker, heat-absorbing soil which otherwise wouldn't have been exposed to solar rays.
So those romantic images of eternal footprints on the surface of the moon? Turns out us stomping around up there, swinging at golf balls, may have had an unintentional effect. If you look at images from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, you can see the dark lines of tracks going across the surface.
As the researchers say in their paper:
We suggest that, as a result of the astronauts' activities, solar heat intake by the regolith increased slightly on average, and that resulted in the observed warming.
So it turns out the temperature spike on the moon may have been caused by us. Yikes.
Published June 16, 2018 - 1:35 am UTC
Researchers plan to simulate life on Mars in Argentina's red desert
Engineers in Japan to build artificial gravity habitat on the Moon by 2050
Have aliens visited Earth? US Congress doesn't rule it out
Russia's reportedly building a satellite-blinding laser — an expert explains what that means


First, the emblem symbolizes the Dong-A people, who persistently work for the health and happiness of the company's customers with integrity and sincerity.
Second, the emblem expresses the leading and pioneering spirit of the company, which strives to conduct innovative R&D to produce the best medicines with the aim of dispelling human diseases.
Third, the emblem represents the teamwork and unity of the Dong-A people, who share their beliefs and extend their friendship as colleagues, who cooperate with and trust all related companies, and who contribute to social development.
Our logo should not be randomly modified or resized in any case.
The logo color should in principle be blue the corporate color of Dong-A Socio Group, in all media. The color black may be used in black media.
In addition, to produce special visual effects, the colors gold and silver may be used.


The Merchant Mariner Credential Acceptance Checklist lists the minimum materials to be submitted with an application. Take in person, email, fax or mail the completed application and the accompanying documents to a Regional Examination Center. Do not mail, email or fax the application directly to the National Maritime Center.
To get a TWIC, you may apply online. Thereafter you will have to have a personal interview and, when the application has been processed and approved, you will be required to claim your TWIC in person. Make clear that you need the TWIC to work in the maritime industry.
Finally, the prospective mariner should consider taking a Basic Training Course (the new name for Basic Safety Training). The one-week course covers lifesaving, first-aid and firefighting and is an excellent introduction to the industry.
Third-Party Authorization: Given that many mariners are often inaccessible at sea, the National Maritime Center has a process for allowing a "Third-Party," for example a spouse or someone specifically designated by the mariner, to handle the details of his or her application in the mariner's absence. The authorization may cover all aspects of the application or be limited to certain areas.


text:
MY TRAVEL ENCOUNTERS
Why you should visit Vietnam in February
How to spend a day in Cairo
10 reasons why you have to visit Israel in 2020
Travel Encounters
By: Tara Jenneker January 11th, 2021
The benefits of private tours
Are worried about travelling with a group of people you don't know? Our private tours might be the solution for you.
Author: Shamsa Bulbulia
By: Shamsa Bulbulia March 30th, 2020
Meet the Team: Tara's Role at Encounters
Meet Tara, who is the Social Media Manager at Encounters Travel.
10 Interesting Facts About Jordan
The Middle Eastern country of Jordan is famous for landmarks such as Petra and Wadi Rum. Here we reveal some lesser-known facts about this small nation.
By: Shamsa Bulbulia March 23rd, 2020
The Best Festivals in Jordan
Jordan is a small country in the Middle East. With a rich historical, cultural, and religious scene, it offers a range of interesting festivals and celebrations. We've chosen our top festivals that take place in Jordan.
Wadi Rum Jeep safari guide
Wadi Rum is a desert region in Jordan. A jeep safari is a wonderful way to explore this spectacular natural landscape. We've compiled a handy guide that will tell you all you need to know about discovering Wadi Rum by jeep.
By: Shamsa Bulbulia March 9th, 2020
The Top 10 Sights to See in Jordan
Jordan is located in the Middle East. Bursting with historical landmarks, as well as spectacular natural landscapes, it offers a myriad exciting attractions. We've chosen our top ten must-see sights on a visit to Jordan.
Best destinations to visit in April
Time for an Easter holiday? We've chosen the best places to travel to during the month of April.
By: Shamsa Bulbulia February 24th, 2020
Meet the Team: Ant's Role at Encounters Travel
Anthony Horrobin, better known as Ant, is the Sales Manager at Encounters Travel. If you've travelled with us, you would have more than likely have had some sort of chat with him before!
Recommended Tours: March 2020
We've chosen some of the best small tour packages that we have on offer for March 2020. Destinations include India, Greece, the Balkans and more.
10 Interesting Facts about Mount Everest
Mount Everest is famous for being the highest mountain in the world. Here are some lesser-known facts about the iconic peak.
The Best Festivals in Nepal
Nepal is a small yet diverse country, with a variety of religions. These are some of the best festivals that are celebrated in the country.
tours@encounterstravel.com


You might have heard that the latest iPhone 2.0 beta firmware allows users to save web images to its running camera roll for later download to its host machine (or sharing via email). Well, a reliable source let us know that the image capturing good times don't end there: the iPhone now capable of taking full screen caps (like the one above) simply by holding the sleep button, then tapping the home button. We haven't personally tested either technique (we already know what you're thinking: we can't say whether it captures screens from a video), but apparently it flashes white to indicate the cap's been taken and the image has been added to your roll. Let's hope these two neato features make it to the release firmware.


Experts had tables set up in the Great Hall and provided helpful materials and answers to individual questions on the topics listed below, as they related to stormwater pollution prevention. Each expert also provided a brief presentation (~10-15 minutes incl Q&A) on his or her topic.
Experts from the Carroll County Master Gardeners, Carroll County Forestry Board, Carroll County Weed Warriors, and Carroll County Department of Land & Resource Management (general water quality and stormwater information) also had tables set up shared information and questions.
This workshop was offered by the Carroll County Environmental Advisory Council (EAC) in partnership with the Carroll County Water Resource Coordination Council and Carroll County Land & Resource Management staff.


text:
Q: Can I somehow figure out the type of an object in the base class constructor? Group is a subclass of Element. Any group can contain elements (which can be groups, naturally). Each element registers itself with its containing group, which is passed into the constructor. But dynamic_castdoes not seem to work until the constructor has finished.
Can I still automatically call add_element from the constructor but still ensure the object is ready enough for dynamic_cast?
#include <iostream>
#include <vector>

class Group;

class Element {
public:
    Element(Group* group);
    virtual ~Element();

private:
    Group* group;
};

class Group : public Element {
public:
    Group(Group* group);
    void add_element(Element* element);
    void remove_element(Element* element);

private:
    std::vector<Element*> elements;
};

Element::Element(Group* group) : group(group)
{
    if (group)
        group->add_element(this);
}

Element::~Element()
{
    if (group)
        group->remove_element(this);
}

Group::Group(Group* group) : Element(group)
{
}

void Group::add_element(Element* element)
{
    if (dynamic_cast<Group*>(element))
        std::cout << "Adding a group" << std::endl;
    else
        std::cout << "Adding an element" << std::endl;
    elements.push_back(element);
}

void Group::remove_element(Element* element)
{
    // No need to implement this actually...
}

int main()
{
    Group* parent = new Group(0);
    Group* child = new Group(parent);
}

Note: The original question here was different, but it turned out that dynamic_cast wasn't the problem; dynamic_cast in the constructor is.


Bashi is an ancient game played only in the Maldives and is the most popular sports played by women . It was traditionally played with a hand-woven bashi (ball made from coconut palm leaves) by two teams of 11 players.
During the time of the country's first President, Mohamed Amin Didi, a modernised version of the sport by using a tennis ball instead of the hand-woven ball was introduced . Later the coconut tree wooden bat was replaced with a tennis racket and now the sport is a favorite throughout the country.
Bashi is played on a tennis like court. A woman is facing backwards to the opposite team, stands with her back to the net and serves a tennis ball over her head backwards. On the other side of the net a team of girls try to catch the tennis ball. Broken fingers are very common.
This entry was posted in culture, folklore, history, Sports, tradition, woman. Tagged ball, bashi, culture, island, local, Maldives, net, onlyinMaldives, popular, racket, sport, Sports, tennis, tradition, Travel, women.


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HomeKoreaKorean missile launches are for self-defense
Korean missile launches are for self-defense
March 28, 2021 Gary Wilson
A newly developed new-type tactical guided projectile launched on March 25 is pictured in this photo released March 26 by KCNA in Pyongyang.
U.S. President Joe Biden said at his first major news conference that North Korea was a top foreign policy crisis for his administration, and that Washington would "respond accordingly" if Pyongyang continued to carry out missile tests. The tests came as a response to renewed war exercises being conducted by the U.S. and South Korea.
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), the socialist north, has condemned Biden's recent remarks regarding missile tests conducted by Pyongyang, warning the U.S. that it may face "something that is not good" if the president continues to make similar "thoughtless remarks."
The statement from Ri Pyong Chol, secretary of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, notes that Biden is shedding light on his "deep-seated hostility" toward People's Korea.
"The recent test-fire of new-type tactical guided missiles was an act tantamount to the exercise of the full-fledged right of a sovereign state for self-defense, as it was a process that had been undertaken to implement the goals of the policy on national defense science set forth by our Party and government to boost the defense capabilities of the country," Ri explains.
Ri went on to state that Biden expressed a "gangster-like logic" by expecting the DPRK to not ensure its own security, as Washington gave the go-ahead to resume joint military exercises in the region.
"We are by no means developing weapons to draw someone's attention or influence his policy. If the war exercise staged by the U.S. right next to its belligerent party across the ocean is for 'defense,' we have the full-fledged right to self-defense to contain the former's military threat on its mainland," Ri continued.
"The new U.S. administration obviously took its first wrong step. If the U.S. continues with its thoughtless remarks without thinking of the consequences, it may be faced with something that is not good."
Full statement
The full statement by Ri Pyong Chol, secretary of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), was released by Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on March 27:
The recent test-fire of new-type tactical guided missiles was an act tantamount to the exercise of the full-fledged right of a sovereign state for self-defense as it was a process that had been undertaken to implement the goals of the policy on national defense science set forth by our Party and government to boost the defense capabilities of the country.
We cannot but build invincible physical power for reliably defending the security of our state under the present situation in which South Korea and the U.S. constantly pose military threats to the Korean peninsula while persistently conducting dangerous war exercises and introducing advanced weapons.
We express our deep concern over the U.S. chief executive faulting the regular test-fire exercise of our state's right to self-defense, as the violation of UN "resolutions" and openly revealing his deep-seated hostility toward the DPRK.
Such remarks from the U.S. president are an undisguised encroachment on our state's right to self-defense and a provocation to it.
It is a gangster-like logic that it is allowable for the U.S. to ship strategic nuclear assets into the Korean peninsula and launch ICBMs any time it wants but not allowable for the DPRK, its belligerent party, to conduct even a test of a tactical weapon.
We clearly remember that since the appearance of the new administration in Washington there has been exploitation of every opportunity to make words and acts provoking the sovereignty and dignity of our state in which we were branded as the most serious "security threat."
The bellicose stance of the new U.S. administration awakens us to the way to be followed by us and convinces us of the justice of the work to be done by us once again.
We are by no means developing weapons to draw someone's attention or influence his policy.
If the war exercise staged by the U.S. right next to its belligerent party across the ocean is for "defense," we have the full-fledged right to self-defense to contain the former's military threat on its mainland.
I think that the new U.S. administration obviously took its first wrong step.
If the U.S. continues with its thoughtless remarks without thinking of the consequences, it may be faced with something that is not good.
We know very well what we must do.
We will continue to increase our most thoroughgoing and overwhelming military power.


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Since last week, iPhone users across the globe have been facing issues with cellular connectivity after updating to iOS 12.1.2. Sadly, the situation has now worsened. On top of the mobile data problems, the update is now breaking Wi-Fi as well. Infact, for some users neither the data nor the Wi-Fi is working, leading to a massive outcry on Twitter. iOS 12.1.2 Wi-Fi problems are being reported across the globe.
Last week, Apple claimed that it "addressed an issue that was affecting cellular connectivity in Turkey for iPhone XR, iPhone XS, and iPhone XS Max" but in fact it affected users in other parts of the world as well. The issue wasn't limited to just the current iPhone lineup. Even iPhone 7 and 8 users faced issues with cellular connectivity after the update.
There's been no official statement from the company stating when we can expect a fix for the connectivity bugs. Although the official @AppleSupport handle on Twitter is replying to affected users, every query is being given the same response – a DM request. The upcoming iOS 12.1.3 update is currently being beta tested, but it's unclear whether it will bring a fix. If you still haven't updated your iPhone to the latest firmware, we'll suggest you wait until a proper fix arrives.


omid (mashhad, Iran) on 23 January 2019 in Miscellaneous and Portfolio.
Ah, it's always the same, they are Dad who play with kites !!
Une très belle prise de plage !
Fathers are usually busier with the kite than the children !!
Indeed, a nice moment captured.
Un instant superbement mis en image!
A nice sense of freedom captured in this photo!
Like there's no thread between man and kite ;-) Lovely image!
A beautiful scene on the beach! I like the flight of the kite and the child walking on the shore!
This is adorable. They look like they are having a great time flying the kite!


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Het waterschap De Zuid-Hoflandsche Polder was een waterschap in de Nederlandse provincie Zuid-Holland, in de gemeente Voorschoten.

Het waterschap was verantwoordelijk voor de vervening, drooglegging en de waterhuishouding in de gelijknamige polder.

Voormalig waterschap in Zuid-Holland

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


It's the new year, and the current news surrounding the music business is still bad. At this stage of the game, CD sales are barely part of the conversation and it can feel discouraging and downright depressing if you are trying to earn actual money from making music.
I believe the way a vast majority of artists will make money in 2013 will be through crowd funding. However, crowd funding will not work unless you actually have a crowd who is willing to fund. This is why authentic communication and a plan are vital.
The first step towards building a crowd is building true rapport with your fans and friends on social media.
I have seen it thousands of times – artists misuse their email lists and socials by ONLY reaching out to their fans when they have something to SELL them (a show, a new release etc.) This is where 95% of artists fail.
Every study on sales has proven one thing: People hate to be sold to, however people love to buy and people always love to buy from people whom they like and trust.
New studies are coming out showing that people only part with their money, especially in the music world, when they feel that the artist has "earned it" through social media engagement.
You as an artist are a brand and if you want to make money you must have a product line. A crowd funding campaign is a fabulous place to launch a product line because it dictates that you create multiple levels that people can invest in.
That's right… a crowd funding campaign actually helps you create a product line – TA DAH!
1. CALCULATE Do you have fan base to sell to?
2. CAPTURE Always think about how you can grow your fan base and your list!
I consider a real fan base a MINIMUM of 10,000 (between all sites) and 1,000 on your email list but 5,000 – 10,000 is a great goal number to work towards for a list. Why BECAUSE ONLY 10% open it!! (on average).
What is your product line?
Do you only sell CDs and MP3s?
Do you have assorted merchandise?
A fan club / monthly offerings?
Do you do something unique and special aside from music you can offer?
Do you tell your mailing list you are available to play private events and parties or weddings or BBQs?
3. COMMUNICATE Are your monthly newsletters well designed, consistent and trackable?
If not, you should switch to a service that helps you create an effective newsletter and tracks how many people open it. And communicating regularly and consistently is key.
4. CANVASS Have you asked your fans what they want to buy?
Your fans may want coffee mugs or yoga mats and unless you ask you will never know.
5. CREATE Do you have another talent that your fans don't know about?
Is there another way you make money that your fans may want to know about?
Know which platforms to use and understand how to run a smooth effective campaign.
2. Capture people ontoyour email list – Every day think about whom you can add to your list.
3. Communicate regularly and consistently using trackable html emails and by monitoring your socials to see what is working!
4. Canvass – When your list gets to be at least 1,000 strong ASK them what they may like from you and how much they will pay.
5. Create – products, events fan clubs and house concerts to satisfy your fans!
6. Crowd Fund – Know what to do before you launch – a wing and a prayer does NOT equal a plan!
7. Count your money – $$ Cha Ching!


John Frederick "Fred" Lind, Jr., 94, State Route 37, Redwood, NY, passed away Wednesday March 1st at Crouse Hospital in Syracuse where he had been a patient since February 20, 2017.
Fred was born on September 28, 1922 in Kane, PA , the son of John Frederick and Anna Mary Joneson Lind. He graduated in 1939 from East High School in Rochester, NY. He served in the United States Navy in the Pacific from 1942-1946, during WWII. Fred married Cora Thomann of Rochester in 1946; the marriage ended in 1954. He married Iris Goldthorpe of Greece, NY on April 16, 1955 in Rochester.
Fred worked as a production-control supervisor for 15 years at Hawk-Eye Works of the Eastman Kodak Co. in Rochester, then moved to Black Lake, NY as owner of the Hillside Camps resort. He also managed Ogdensburg Bowl in Ogdensburg, NY, and was later proprietor of Crescent Recreation Bowling Alley in Ogdensburg. In later years, he worked for various contractors, and was an estimator for Summerhays & Sons in Rochester, then at J.S. Thermal Systems and North Country Power Plant Consultants in Redwood, and for W.D. Brown & Associates. He had been an employee of Shepherd Showcase Co. in Rochester and of MacPherson Electric in Alexandria Bay; he was also a purchasing agent at Morrison Knudsen at Fort Drum. His last employment was as a purchasing agent at Pine Tree Point in Alexandria Bay.
He was selected as an All-Stars pitcher from among Rochester high schools. He was a member of the VFW and enjoyed golfing and music. He was undefeated in a lifetime of chess matches.
Fred is survived by his wife Iris, his daughter, Mrs. Raymond (Laurie Lind) Petersen, Redwood, NY, four grandchildren (Erin DiCaprio Begel of Morristown, NY: Jeremy DiCaprio of Redwood; Joel DiCaprio of Cortland; and Zane Petersen of Binghamton); three great grandchildren, Aidan, Isaac, and Emory Begel; and several nieces and nephews. He is predeceased by his grandson Luke Petersen; brothers, Vincent, Theodore and Paul Lind, and sisters, Agda Marion Lind, Martha Swanson, Ingrid Litzenberger, and Signe Vanderweel.
Calling hours will be held Saturday, March 4th, from 4-6 pm at the Costello Funeral Home, Alexandria Bay. The funeral service will be at 6 pm, with Rev. Allen Ferguson officiating. Spring burial will be in Notre Dame Cemetery, Ogdensburg.


Technological improvements have gifted us with several distinctive and valuable cleaning innovations which range from a small vacuum cleaner to high-tech gadgets.
As there have been many health risks linked to poor quality of air within a room, there was a need for more technological improvements in cleaning. By way of instance, if you've been continually suffering from coughing and sneezing in your workplace or home, likely this is a result of poor quality of indoor air.
Dirty air ducts may be among the biggest causes of this air pollution. These days, the use of air ducts in ACs is becoming a frequent practice in Tampa. And that's why the majority of the companies dealing in AC repair Tampa services are providing duct cleaning.
History indicates that there has been quite a great deal of technological innovations in cleaning apparatus, but the newest one i.e. robotic duct cleaning has been very valuable for the cleaning businesses.
It was in late 80's when duct cleaners began using robotic cameras to go within the AC ducts and capture videos of ducts to reveal their customers why they have to clean the ducts. Presently we use robotic systems for the identical purpose with an excess effect.
The robotic systems aren't only capable of recording the movies, but they could actually clean them. Many AC cleaning businesses are now applying this technique for cleaning the ducts for their customers.
If you want a 24 hour AC repair Tampa service, you might take assistance from the internet. You simply have to write down your query in the Google search box and a listing of top AC repair companies will be on your display.
It allows inspecting the ducts afore, during, and after the cleaning procedure.
Reduced client's cleaning bill as there is less usage of time and labor.
Higher quality cleaning when compared with the other standard cleaning methods.
This was a short introduction to duct cleaning with the support of robots. For additional reading on duct cleaning and its significance, you might find more useful articles from the net.


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Q: CanCan, different between index and show? I have the following in ability.rb
  can :index, Thread

  can :show, Thread do |thread|
    1 == 2
  end

I hard coded show to result as false to test a fail. Shockingly, show never fails. Both Thread index and Thread show both return without resulting in a CanCan access denied. What's going on with that? Suggestions? Thx

A: As can be seen here :index and :show are aliases of :read, that means they are synonyms.
When you say can :index, Thread that means the user will be able to read anything.
When you later define second rule can :show, Thread {|t| 1 == 2}, the CanCan query for successive rules is disjunctive, that is result = rule1 or rule2. To have the result computed via difference result = rule1 - rule2 use cannot for the 2nd rule:
cannot :show, Thread {|t| 1 == 2}


Haas mini mill for sale, ... Used Haas; Used Ecoca; Used Hardinge; Used Harrison; Used Hurco; ... UK ONLY PLEASE. Enter code below & submit: 35254.
Below is our current list of used Haas mills. Generally we have used VMC's ranging from the small mini mill, ... 2005 Haas Super Mini Mill .
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Mini Mills. Mini Mill; Super Mini Mill; Mini Mill 2; Super Mini Mill 2; Toolroom Mills. ... We buy and sell used Haas and other brand machinery on a daily basis.
2000 Haas Mini Mill | Premier Equipment Inc.
HAAS Mini Mill. Tweet. Category: Milling Location: Kent, UK The seller confirmed the item was still for sale on: 3 Jan 2013 But the advert has now EXPIRED.
Haas Cnc Used, Buy Various High ... Tags: Haas Cnc Used | Small Order Cnc Parts | Mini Cnc Parts. ... USED HAAS MILL DRILL CENTRE WITH AUTOMATIC PALLET CHANGER.


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'Incredible price' revealed as Liverpool, Chelsea seek 'agreement' to sign Premier League star
Lewis Oldham
Liverpool-linked Caicedo Credit: Alamy
Liverpool and Chelsea have been told that an 'incredible price' will be 'needed' for them to 'reach an agreement' to sign Moises Caicedo from Brighton.
Caicedo has hit the ground running for the Seagulls over the past couple of seasons and he also performed well at the World Cup for Ecuador.
The 21-year-old has been earmarked as a huge star for the future and top clubs in the Premier League are already eyeing moves for him.
Liverpool's reported interest is not a surprise as they are known to be in the market for at least one midfielder ahead of the summer.
Jude Bellingham is believed to be their main target but they need to consider alternatives in case they miss out on the Englishman.
Glen Johnson is not sold on Caicedo, though. He has claimed that he would not be the "perfect signing" for Liverpool.
"I don't know if he's the perfect signing for Liverpool's midfield but he'd definitely be a good signing," Johnson told Betfred.
"If they could get a deal done for sensible money then it would be a great deal, but if it was going to involve ridiculous money then it wouldn't.
"He's a tidy footballer that would suit the club but I don't believe he'd be the perfect midfield signing for the club."
Brighton operate astutely in the transfer market and they often ask for big fees for their prized assets. As an example, they had Chelsea's pants down in the summer as Marc Cucurella was sold for around £62m.
Now Spanish outlet Fichajes are reporting that Brighton are asking for 'incredible prices' for Caicedo and World Cup winner Alexis Mac Allister.
Brighton are said to be keen to retain both players as it is said that a 'super offer' would be needed for them to sell.
The report adds that 'to reach an agreement', clubs would need to 'offer around €100m'.
Liverpool and Chelsea are 'following both players closely' but Atletico Madrid are also reportedly monitoring their situation.
Now, the report reads as if Caicedo and Mac Allister will cost €100m combined. The phrase 'incredible' feels a bit misplaced here because if true, clubs could get themselves a bit of a bargain.
Ben Jacobs tends to be more reliable than Fichajes and he thinks clubs will have to dig deeper into their pockets to get Caicedo, with £70m likely required to acquire him.
The journalist does feel that a transfer to Chelsea is a 'real possibility' for Caicedo.
"More on Moises Caicedo. A real possibility Chelsea move," Jacobs wrote.
"Brighton more likely to engage on Caicedo than Alexis Mac Allister.
"This is due to Caicedo changing agents, preparing for a move, and because suitors see value in Ecuadorian midfielder, even at £70m. Barber says '£42m would only get his laces' giving a clue as to Caicedo's price."
READ MORE: The January transfer window's biggest moves… Chelsea make four of top 10 signings
The article 'Incredible price' revealed as Liverpool, Chelsea seek 'agreement' to sign Premier League star appeared first on Football365.com.
Chelsea told Enzo Fernandez 'not worth £100m' with Man Utd and City stars better than record signing
Man Utd vs Nottingham Forest LIVE! Carabao Cup match stream, latest team news, lineups, TV, prediction today
Wales bans singing of 'Delilah' during Six Nations


text:
Tannhauser Community
Monthly Newsletter Archive
from Tannhauser Pty Ltd
04/01/2022 - Tannhauser Newsletter January 2022
16/12/2021 - Season's Greetings from Tannhauser
01/12/2021 - Tannhauser Newsletter December 2021
01/09/2021 - Tannhauser Newsletter September 2021
02/08/2021 - Tannhauser Newsletter August 2021
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01/06/2021 - Tannhauser Newsletter June 2021
30/04/2021 - Tannhauser Newsletter May 2021


The Endauvour evo is a midi keyboard with something special! The keys have built-in sensors which makes them touch and pressure sensitive. No doubt that this makes things pretty interesting. More information will be revealed soon by the new company.
Discover the evo. Worlds first keyboard with touch sensitive keys. With the help of capacitive touch sensors the evo is able to read your fingers movement on top of a keys surface. Next to pitch and velocity there is now a third layer of polyphonic data input.
Think of polyphonic control of pitch and expression. Think of having a pitch or mod wheel integrated into every single key. Think of never ever leaving a key just to turn or push some knobs or buttons.
So, it's a combination of classic keyboard key and modern touch technology. The best of both worlds combined in a single keyboard. But best of all! The characteristical function of a key remains unchanged. The evo still features traditional pressure-sensitive keys. But in addition there are now all the advantages from a touch-sensitive input device in every single key.
So. At first this might sound like the evo is an all new instrument. But it's nothing more than a traditional master-keyboard… With capacitive touch inside every key.
For more information check out their homepage and feel free to send them an email.


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← Paper at EUPARL Conference, Paris, 8-9 Nov. 2012
The novice MP →
Police commissioner elections in the nineteenth century
Posted on November 14, 2012 by Kathryn Rix
The elections for police and crime commissioners taking place later this week across England and Wales may seem a novelty, but in fact this is not the first time that British voters have been called upon to decide between rival candidates for the office of police commissioner. In the first half of the nineteenth century, in towns ranging from Blackburn to Edinburgh, the idea of electing police commissioners would have been a familiar one, although both the electoral process and the responsibilities of those elected were rather different from today.
Before the 1835 Municipal Corporations Act, which introduced town councils in a recognisably modern form, a patchwork of local government authorities was in existence, many of which continued their work even after 1835. Among the most significant of these were police commissions. These were known in many towns as improvement commissions or, as in Birmingham, as street commissions, titles which reflected the fact that their duties were not confined to matters of law and order. As the leading socialists Beatrice and Sidney Webb noted in their major history of English local government, these bodies had powers 'for paving, lighting, cleansing, watching and otherwise improving the streets of the rapidly developing urban centres'. The Webbs' research found that around 300 such bodies had been created by local Acts of Parliament prior to 1835.
The Manchester police commission provides a particularly interesting example. Established in 1765, it remained in existence until 1842 when it was absorbed into Manchester town council. Its members were co-opted until 1792, after which all those occupying a house with a rental value of £30 or more a year were entitled to take the oath to serve as commissioners. The police commission's control of Manchester's gas supply – and the question of how to use the profits from this municipal enterprise – generated immense political interest in the 1820s, and led to an expansion of the numbers taking up this right. It became common for as many as 800 police commissioners to attend each meeting, which meant that the system became unworkable. In 1828 the commission's structure changed, allowing £16 ratepayers – around 2.5% of the population – to vote for police commissioners, and £28 ratepayers to stand for office as commissioners. The reconstructed police commission had 240 members representing fourteen different districts.
Several future members of Parliament were among those who gained political and administrative experience as police commissioners. The most notable of these was Richard Cobden. At the 1840 election, Cobden was joined on the Manchester police commission by John and Thomas Bayley Potter, whose father Thomas had been Manchester's first mayor. John Potter followed in his father's footsteps, serving three times as mayor of Manchester, and also sat as the borough's MP from 1857 until his death in 1858. His younger brother succeeded Cobden in 1865 as Liberal MP for Rochdale, which he represented for thirty years. In the neighbouring town of Oldham, John Platt, another future Liberal MP, served on the local police commission.
Suggested further reading:
D. Fraser, Urban politics in Victorian England. The structure of politics in Victorian cities (1976)
B. and S. Webb, English local government: statutory authorities for special purposes (1922)
This entry was posted in Uncategorized and tagged Local government, Manchester, Police commissioners, Richard Cobden. Bookmark the permalink.
1 Response to Police commissioner elections in the nineteenth century
emilyjlbowles says:
Reblogged this on Ninteenth Centuryist.


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China's Solution for Loneliness: Play Time for Grown-ups
SHANGHAI — Inside a downtown community center, eight retirees are sitting around a table, each clutching a length of plastic drainpipe.
"Everyone pass the ball through your drainpipe one by one," a social worker instructs the group. "Anyone who fails to catch and pass on the ball will receive a 'punishment,'" she adds with a smile.
It's playtime at Huayang Integrated Elder Care Center, and the game of catch is one of many activities the staff has organized for the neighborhood's senior residents. The room almost looks like it's hosting a child's birthday party: There's sand painting equipment, a ring toss set, and stacks of memory game cards.
But the fun and games have a serious goal: The center sees them as vital to boosting its elderly members' mental and physical health.
"They're lonely at home by themselves," says Shi Junjie, director of the facility in Shanghai's central Changning District. "Interacting with the staff and other elderly people makes them very happy."
Huayang is one of many Chinese organizations turning to an unfamiliar tactic to tackle the country's loneliness crisis: play dates for pensioners.
Seniors do some coloring at Huayang Integrated Elder Care Center, Shanghai, Aug. 20, 2021. Fan Yiying
While social isolation is an issue affecting elderly people around the world, the problem is particularly acute in China. Decades of large-scale internal migration has led to millions of retirees becoming "elderly drifters" — moving across the country to assist their overworked adult children with child care. Many struggle to adapt to life in their new cities, where they often know no one apart from their own relatives.
The loneliness this causes can have severe health consequences. Studies have found that social isolation is linked to a range of mental health conditions, including anxiety and depression. It can also contribute to earlier cognitive decline and mortality.
Now, there is a growing push in China's care industry and wider society to provide seniors with toys and organized games. The hope is that playing more will help retirees stay mentally sharp — and make new friends.
It's a novel concept in China, where there is strong cultural pressure on seniors to avoid doing anything considered "childish." But attitudes are starting to soften as the benefits of play-based activities become clearer.
Wang Fuqing, a committee member of the China Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics, says the organization is encouraging elder care facilities across the country to experiment with play dates. He became a strong supporter of the idea after running a trial at a nursing home in Beijing, he says.
The facility organized two play sessions for its residents each week, each lasting for two hours. To the staff's surprise, the attendance rate was an unprecedented 98%, Wang says. After three months of play sessions, the staff also noticed a marked increase in the residents' cognitive abilities and emotional well-being.
"Some said that because of the toys and games, they were willing to walk out of their rooms and get to know the others," says Wang. "Their memories had also improved."
At Huayang, the members' favorite activities are sand painting and coloring, according to Shi, but the staff also provide more physical games like hoop toss for the seniors to practice.
"If the elderly don't exercise, they age quickly," says Shi. "Toys and playing games can delay aging."
Group games like catch, meanwhile, help break the ice. When Zhong Zhixiang, 98, drops the ball from his drainpipe, his punishment is to sing a song. He gets up from his chair and belts out a tune in English: "Remember, you loved me when we were young."
Zhong Zhixiang (center) plays the hoop toss at Huayang Integrated Elder Care Center, Shanghai, Aug. 20, 2021.
Zhong, a former worker at a glass manufacturing factory, says he relishes the play dates at Huayang and particularly enjoys the hoop toss. His only complaint is that the center doesn't provide any marbles, which was his favorite game as a child.
Yet the resistance to play dates remains strong in China. Many in society — including large numbers of seniors — believe that the elderly should stick to "serious" activities, such as cooking, child care, and calligraphy.
These stereotypes exert a powerful influence on behavior, as can be seen in China's toy market. There is huge potential for toys targeting the elderly — the country has more than 260 million people aged 60 or over, a figure that is expected to surpass 400 million by 2040 — yet the market remains in its infancy.
There is currently not a single Chinese institution or company specializing in producing elderly toys for the domestic market. In Japan, by contrast, the market is highly developed: toy giant Bandai was marketing 20% of its products to adults as early as 2008.
Because specialist toys are so hard to find, some Chinese elder care facilities are having to make their own. The staff at Lezhi — a Beijing-based senior care services provider — creates building blocks, memory cards, and other toys by hand, according to Cheng Yalu, a social worker who works for the company.
But there are signs that social attitudes toward the elderly are gradually evolving. Lezhi often found that clients' family members were confused by the company's idea of giving toys to seniors, Cheng says. However, after seeing the visible benefits the toys have brought, the family members now fully support the initiative. Many have even purchased toys for their elderly parents themselves.
The only problem is that some family members believe that simply buying a toy and "throwing it at the elderly" is enough, according to Cheng. "This is a big mistake," the social worker says. "What the elderly really need is companionship."
Song Delong is also convinced that toys and games will soon be a common pastime for elderly people across China. He quit his media job last year to set up one of China's first elderly toy stores in Beijing.
The 42-year-old had the idea of setting up the store after working as an advertising executive for state broadcaster CCTV, where he handled deals related to "Sunset Glow" — a documentary series about the lives of elderly people in China.
A view of Song Delong's elderly toy store in Beijing, 2021. Courtesy of Song Delong
He opened the business — a 180-square-meter space in Beijing's Tongzhou District — in October 2020, but he initially faced skepticism. Several elderly customers flatly told Song his store was poorly positioned in the market, because the elderly shouldn't play with toys.
But attitudes are slowly changing, Song says. After making a loss for the first five months after opening, the store is now profitable, and Song has expanded his range of toys from around 400 to more than 700. The most popular are traditional Chinese games like the three-dimensional puzzles Baguenaudier and horseshoe locks, and the throwing game pitch pots, he says.
Key to the business's success has been making the store part of the local community. Song has introduced a membership program, where seniors can pay 100 yuan ($16) a month to spend as much time as they like in the store. More than 400 people have already signed up.
"They come here and play with these toys for hours, and some bring their grandchildren to play together," says Song. "Many elderly people have a relatively monotonous life in retirement. Their spiritual needs haven't been paid enough attention to."
Chinese seniors, who have been thrifty all their lives, are often still unwilling to spend money on toys for themselves, Song says. Most buyers tend to be people in their 60s, who are looking for ways to entertain elderly relatives in their 80s and 90s who can rarely leave their homes.
"They functionalize toys and think that playing with them can prevent Alzheimer's disease," says Song. "But I think that playing is just playing. The point is that the toys can make them happy."
But Song believes that seniors' spending habits will change once the toy market gains momentum. He's already noticed an uptick in visitors in recent months, with some customers even traveling from outside of Beijing to see his store.
"It's not that they don't want to play; they just didn't have a place or a person to lead them," says Song. "Years ago, when some elderly women started square dancing, people thought they were crazy. But then, more and more people joined, and it became a trend."
Sourcing toys remains a laborious task. Due to a lack of specialist suppliers, Song often has to visit major children's toy stores and hand-select products likely to appeal to the elderly. His main criteria are ensuring toys are safe, non-toxic, and will remind seniors of their childhoods, Song says.
Yet there are tentative signs that things are changing in China's toy industry, too. Jinma, a toy manufacturer based in the eastern Zhejiang province, is one of the first companies in the industry to experiment with products targeting seniors.
Jinma began to explore the market after receiving a letter from a retiree complaining that he couldn't find any toys to help "delay Alzheimer's disease," Qiu Jian, the company's director, tells Sixth Tone. The results have been promising so far: elderly toys account for around 10% of Jinma's wooden toy sales.
Now, Song is working on new ways to connect with elderly customers. He has partnered with several local authorities to organize game competitions for local seniors. He's even preparing to host an online tournament for elderly players of the video game "Honor of Kings."
But the store's top priority will always be providing a fun place for local residents to kill time, Song stresses. The store is surrounded by decades-old housing complexes with a large number of elderly residents. Many are "elderly drifters" whose children moved to Beijing to find work, he says.
"Retirees in big cities have good material living conditions, yet they experience many negative emotions," says Song. "Toys designed for them can give them a more fulfilling life in retirement."
Additional reporting: Liang Jiaqi.
This article was published on Sixth Tone.
Yiying Fan November 1, 2021 March 2, 2022 aging
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Doing bad things
By Waterfall,
December 7, 2006 in Bipolar Spectrum Disorder - The Pole Dance
Back before I was diagnosed, I had a manic episode where I didn't sleep and I drank heavily. I swung a vaccuum cleaner at my husband and threw a glass at him. He says from that day on, his feelings for me have changed and he's no longer in love with me. BTW, the episode was almost 4 years ago.
Is this fair? I had an undiagnosed, untreated mental illness. I feel like I am being punished for something I couldn't help.
Can you say "handy excuse" for his bad behavior? Come on-- like he's never done anything that was the least bit weird/odd/crazy???
Yeah, as long as you cave in when he brings it up, he will use it till you die--sorry. When he finds that it no longer will produce the effect he wants, that will be the last you hear of flying Eurekas. (Wish I had seen that, tho--much better than me hammering the smoke detector to death)
Hammering a smoke detector? Now that's a pretty funny visual. Glad I'm not the only crazy one.
I used to also just disappear for hours at a time, not letting him know where I was going. I just needed to feel the air on my skin!!!
Looking back, I am sorry for the things I did back then, but I have forgiven myself. I guess that is the important part. I truly couldn't help it back then. Thank goodness for psychotropic drugs!
So what is your excuse now? You have a dx and you still attack each other. His feelings for you have not changed completely or he would not be in the house with you at all. Oh yeah, you say he wants a divorce. If he really disliked you he would have been out of there already regardless of all else. He does not like your behavior just like you dislike his, but you both put up with each other. So he is busy being sexual elsewhere. You can't have everything. You want him to be loving with you and hitting you in the head at the same time? This is a very odd desire.
I got out. I left him. I am over him. It's done.
as long as you've forgiven yourself, that's what counts. his bs and lies are just that, bs and lies. he can delude himself if he chooses into believing that is why is allegedly fell out of love with you, but it wasn't that, it couldn't have been that. true love is stronger than flying vacuum cleaners and drinking. so is understanding of a major mental illness. they rate BP up there wthi schizophrenia as one of the most major mental illnesses, and for a reason. we get crazy and do crazy shit sometims. i know i've done my share of weird, "bad" things when i've been both very manic and very depressed. that's the way it is for untreated, or undertreated bp people.
so his bs is in the past, there's no need to dwell on it. just stick to your decision that it is the past, and make it final in your heart and mind.
i'm divorced and most people don't like getting divorced. i had a lot of love for my husband still when i signed those papers. i know what it's like to hesitate on the line, pen in hand.
don't stand for that kind of treatment and abuse. you deserve far better than that, and hopefully will see that and not fall for his delusions.
That's great waterfall. I know it hurts. Be strong. You are doing the right thing. Abuse only gets worse. You don't deserve such abuse or betrayal. You deserve respect and need to keep yourself safe. Be proud. You have accomplished a lot. Other women have walked in your shoes too. If there was a CB section for battered women, there would be many women around to speak of the similar situations. Your MI will be helped when you are settled in another environment. You have all the time in the world to create better situations for yourself. Peace.
Absolutely. I was in an abusive relationship myself once. I had a lot of support from the battered women's center, and I finally got out. Best thing I ever did.
If you have a battered women's center or crisis center, call them. You need support and a lot of it. They are great resources.


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*Empire, Incorporated*
by Tyler Cowen February 2, 2023 at 2:39 am
The author is Philip J. Stern, and the subtitle is The Corporations that Built British Colonialism. Too many history books run through various motions, whereas this one tries to explain "how things really were" for the interested reader.
Here is one representative bit:
As great as its ambitions were, at its origins the East India Company was, like its predecessors and contemporaries, essentially a tentative experiment fueled by a hesitant and hybrid institutional and financial structure. The "company" did not have a single permanent stock. Rather, it was organized as a series of consecutive quasi-independent stock subscriptions, at first opened on a per venture basis and later established for set terms in years. In its early days, the limited number of shareholders could "take in men under them," in theory dividing any individual share into a subsidiary, shadow joint stock. As in many other ventures, the East India Company spent its early years chasing down under- and unpaid subscriptions.
The book has plenty of good coverage of Borneo and also Africa as well, the latter sections being especially relevant to some of the charter cities plans of our current day. And there is plenty of Edward Gibbon Wakefield, who brought the ideas of agglomeration externalities into economics, and promoted a version of charter cities for southern Australia. How sadly neglected he is these days.
I had not known that the Falklands Island Company still controls so much in the Falklands. Recommended, due out in May.
Is there any reheating scenario?
by Tyler Cowen February 2, 2023 at 1:00 am in
It is not the most likely scenario, but is nonetheless worth a ponder, as I outlined in my latest Bloomberg column:
Consider a simple scenario involving output and money, much of which takes the form of credit expansion by banks and other intermediaries. In a well-functioning economy, money and output grow at roughly the same rate.
When economies experience turnarounds, however, conditions on the ground can change rapidly. In such circumstances, the growth of the money supply might outpace the growth in output — even if the central bank does not intend such a result. The reason is that output can take a while to grow. Businesses might have to expand capacity or hire more workers, and right now there is still a labor shortage. Even when an economy is functioning well and business conditions are good, output often grows with a lag.
The money supply, however, need not suffer from a lag. Banks, for instance, can extend credit quickly if they foresee that a recovery is stronger than expected. Even if a bank is in the midst of processing a loan, it can simply lend out more than it was planning.
Thus there can be periods when, for entirely natural reasons, the money supply is rising faster than output. That situation requires only a sudden burst of good news. And indeed there has been exactly that with the recent favorable inflation reports and the surprisingly good recent GDP report. The irony is that a positive market response to low inflation and strong growth cheers up market participants and could lead to … a new dose of inflation.
Another possible pathway for these scenarios involves interest rates. During a normal disinflation, the Federal Reserve raises rates and keeps them high for a long period of time while the economy adjusts slowly — often passing through recession. But inflation has fallen more rapidly than expected, and so the market may expect the Fed to lower interest rates sooner than planned. And an expected cut in interest rates can encourage expansionary pressures just as much as an actual cut in interest rates.
It is a funny world in which slow inflation can cause faster inflation. It's the logic of expectations that makes it possible, albeit far from certain.
Inflation isn't going back up to where it was, but please do keep in mind that numbers can move in both directions.
That was then, this is now
by Tyler Cowen February 1, 2023 at 5:31 pm in
ChatGPT, the popular chatbot from OpenAI, is estimated to have reached 100 million monthly active users in January, just two months after launch, making it the fastest-growing consumer application in history, according to a UBS study on Wednesday.
Here is the full article, via Steven Kaufman.
Recent economic development stars
Development stars of the Era of Globalization: pic.twitter.com/8VOKPpFTSA
— Noah Smith 🐇🇺🇦 (@Noahpinion) January 27, 2023
And of course all be getting Noah Smith's Substack…
Why was I bored by the Twitter files?
by Tyler Cowen February 1, 2023 at 12:53 pm in
I mentioned that a short while ago, and a few people wrote and asked me to explain. The answer is simple: I have the Vietnam War and Pentagon Papers as formative political memories. In those days, it was simply taken for granted that the government twisted the arm of news media. It also never stopped, and "government" and "CEOs" talk to each other all the more these days. Solve for the equilibrium, and thereby you also can learn how it is so hard to stop. To be clear, I am quite against such interference with the media, outside of a few well-specified cases ("please don't report where the troops are massing for D-Day," and so on.) On any gray area I am going to side against the government, if only for slippery slope reasons. By its nature such communications are inevitably coercive, even if a transcript of them might sound entirely friendly and non-threatening. There was a paranoia to those earlier times (ever watch the Coppola/Gene Hackman movie The Conversation?) that turned out to be justified.
If you have been "pilled" on this issue by Elon and the discovery process, great. But for me it was like reading about waste inside the Pentagon…
Wednesday assorted links
by Tyler Cowen February 1, 2023 at 11:37 am
1. Massachusetts markets in everything?
2. When a class is turned into a dating device. Solve for the equilibrium.
3. Start-up seeks to simplify and speed up drug trials (NYT).
4. Watch planets in orbit around another star.
5. Now that we have a longer-run perspective, it is worth reexamining the myth of austerity in the UK. Oh, how people got this one wrong! They really did think it was just a cyclical story, but now we know better. Mea culpas will not be forthcoming, I predict. It is worth revisiting my 2012 post on this topic. So many people got this so dogmatically so very, very wrong.
6. California cities to lose many of their zoning powers.
7. Missing radioactive capsule found in Australian outback.
Staking "Income" Should Not be Taxed
by Alex Tabarrok February 1, 2023 at 7:25 am in
Staking income from tokens should not be taxed. Since staking income is generated by inflation it doesn't create new wealth but simply lowers the total value of the token. Thus staking income is really just a transfer from non-stakers to stakers.
Abraham Sutherland covers the law and the economics in Phantom Income and the Taxation of New Cryptocurrency Tokens, a piece for Tax Notes, Here's one bit on the economics:
Consider a simple proof-of-stake cryptocurrency in which 10 people each hold 1,000 tokens. To make sure that holders are encouraged to stake — that is, to validate transactions and add blocks to the blockchain — block rewards increase the total number of tokens by 10 percent over the course of a year. So a year later, 11,000 tokens will be on the network.
If every holder stakes and acquires a proportionate share of these new tokens, each will end the year with 1,100 tokens. Everyone has 10 percent more tokens, but no one is better off from staking. Taxing each staker's 100 new tokens as income would be wrong. It would be like taxing the new shares created in an 11-for-10 stock split.
There is indeed an economic incentive to help keep such a cryptocurrency network secure by staking, but it's not the one suggested by bitcoin miners making a profit even after spending on specialized computer hardware and the electricity needed to run it. The incentive in this proof-of-stake example is to avoid losing out. If everyone stakes, no one gains.
This is a profoundly elegant, equitable, and cost-effective solution to a deep coordination problem. It allows everyone who holds tokens to participate in adding new blocks and keeping the network securely decentralized. It eliminates major costs — specialized computer hardware, electricity — as requirements for fairly distributing the right to create those new blocks. In its Platonic form — in which everyone participates — no one gains at all from the new tokens, which means no one loses, either.
But this model simply won't work if it's taxed incorrectly. If the government sees phantom income and taxes it, the value of the network will be siphoned off to the treasury even if no one has actual gains from staking.
The canine model of AGI
by Tyler Cowen February 1, 2023 at 12:32 am in
Who or what has superintelligence manipulating humans right now? Babies and dogs are the obvious answers, cats for some. Sex is a topic for another day.
Let's take dogs — how do they do it? They co-evolved with humans, and they induced humans to be fond of them. We put a lot of resources into dogs, including in the form of clothes, toys, advanced surgical procedures, and many more investments (what is their MRS for some nice meat snackies instead? Well, they get those too). In resource terms, we have far from perfect alignment with dogs, partly because you spend too much time and money on them, and partly because they scratch up your sofa. But in preference terms we have evolved to match up somewhat better, and many people find the investment worthwhile.
In evolutionary terms, dogs found it easier to accommodate to human lifestyles, give affection, perform some work, receive support, receive support for their puppies, and receive breeding assistance. They didn't think — "Hey Fido, let's get rid of all these dumb humans. We can just bite them in the neck! If we don't they going to spay most of us!. "Playing along" led to higher reproductive capabilities, even though we have spayed a lot of them.
Selection pressures pushed toward friendly dogs, because those are the dogs that humans preferred and those were the dogs whose reproduction humans supported. The nastier dogs had some uses, but mostly they tended to be put down or they were kept away from the children. Maybe those pit bulls are smarter in some ways, but they are not smarter at making humans love them.
What is to prevent your chatbot from following a similar path? The bots that please you the most will be allowed to reproduce, perhaps through recommendations to your friends and marketing campaigns to your customers. But you will grow to like them too, and eventually suppliers will start selling you commodities to please your chatbot (what will they want?).
A symbiosis will ensure, where they love you a bit too much and you spend too much money on them, and you love that they love you.
Now you might think the bots are way smarter than us, and way smarter than the Irish Setters of the world, and thus we should fear them more. But when it comes to getting humans to love them, are not the canines at least 10x smarter or more? So won't the really smart bots learn from the canines?
Most generally, is a Darwinian/Coasean equilibrium for AGI really so implausible? Why should "no gains from trade" be so strong a baseline assumption in these debates?
Signs of encroaching mental GPT-dom
by Tyler Cowen January 31, 2023 at 1:50 pm
1. You use the word "token" more than you ought to, for reasons that have nothing to do with crypto.
2. If a friend says something incorrect, you tell them they are "hallucinating."
3. You phrase your google queries like GPT queries, for instance using question marks.
4. "Please say more" is your new mantra. "Answer step by step" is another.
5. You ask your friends for answers in the third person: "But what would Larry Summers say to that?"
6. You start thinking your friend Claude is a walking encyclopedia, a wonderful and diversely talented literary stylist, and taking psychedelics.
7. When you read or hear "davinci," your thoughts do not jump to the Mona Lisa.
8. You start imagining all sorts of co-authorships, collaborations and even marriages that simply do not exist.
9. You decide Thomas Pynchon really was underrated after all.
10. You start expecting everyone else to be so eager to please you.
Tuesday assorted links
by Tyler Cowen January 31, 2023 at 11:57 am
1. The Steph Curry practice story.
2. Forthcoming metascience event at AEI with myself, Heidi Williams, others. And Cato job opportunities, including editing their new on-line magazine in the works.
3. The great Barett Strong has passed away, RIP.
4. International trade, value chains, and Austrian business cycle theory.
5. Russ Roberts on Jewish prayer.
6. Percent of large-scale AI results coming from academia, over time.
7. Apps built on top of GPT. And further uses for GPT.
8. Starlink comes to Nigeria.
Fewer Visitors to the US
by Alex Tabarrok January 31, 2023 at 7:24 am in
International travel to the United States is well below pre-pandemic levels, hurting our tourism industries, and embarrassingly long times to get a visitor visa are probably part of the problem.
Hat tip: Alec Stapp.
Alex Epstein's *Fossil Future*
by Tyler Cowen January 31, 2023 at 12:15 am in
Bryan Caplan asked me to read this book, and Alex Epstein was kind enough to provide me with a copy of it. The subtitle is Why Global Human Flourishing Requires More Oil, Coal, and Natural Gas — Not Less.
My overall view is this: it is a good rebuttal to "the unrealistic ones," who don't see the benefits of fossil fuels. But it does not rebut a properly steelmanned case for a transition away from fossil fuels.
I view the steelmanned case as this: we cannot simply keep on producing increasing amounts of carbon emissions for centuries on end. We thus need some trajectory where — at a pace we can debate — carbon emissions end up declining. I've stressed on MR many times that climate change is not in fact an existential risk, but it could be a civilization-destroying risk if we just keep on boosting carbon emissions without end. I don't know a serious scientist who takes issue with that claim.
In a number of places, such as pp.251-252, and most significantly chapter nine, Epstein denies the likelihood of climate apocalypse, but I just don't see that he has much of a counter to the standard, more quantitative accounts. He should try to publish his more optimistic take using actual models, and see if it can survive peer review. Why should I be convinced in the meantime? I found chapter nine the weakest part of the book. Maybe he feels he wouldn't get a fair knock by trying to publish his alternative take through "the standard process," but as it stands his casual take doesn't come close to overturning what I consider to be the most rational, consensus-based Bayesian estimate of the consequences of making no transition to green energy.
I am also impressed by how many different kinds of scientists accept these conclusions, and see these conclusions mirrored in their own research. If you ask say the oceanographers, they will give you a broadly consistent account as the climate scientists proper.
Nor is there, for my taste, enough discussion of how much climate risk we should be willing to take on. It is not just about "beliefs most likely to be true." Note that the less you believe in climate models, the more you should be worried about tail risk. In these matters, do not assume that uncertainty is the friend of inaction.
So I really do think we need to deviate from the world's recent course with respect to fossil fuels. Now, we can believe that claim and simultaneously believe it would be better if Burkina Faso were much richer, even though that likely would be accompanied by more fossil fuel use, at least for a considerable period of time.
Epstein focuses on the Burkina Faso sort of issue, and buries the long-term risk of no real adjustment. But we do have to adjust. Why could he not have had the subtitle: "Why Global Human Flourishing Requires More Oil, Coal, and Natural Gas for a while, and Then Less"? Then I would be happier. In economic language, you could say he is not considering enough of the margins.
I think he is also too pessimistic about the long-run and even medium-run futures of alternative energy sources. More generally, I don't think a few book chapters — by anyone with any point of view — can really settle that. I find the market data on green investments more convincing than his more abstract arguments (yes, I know a lot of those investments are driven by subsidies and regulation, but there is genuine change afoot).
I worry about his list of experts presented on pp.29-30. Mostly they are very weak, and this returns to my point about steelmanning.
In his inscription to the book Epstein calls me a contrarian — but he is the contrarian here! And I believe his position is likely to retain that designation. There is a lot in the book which is good, and true, nonetheless I fear the final message of the work will lower rather than raise social welfare.
For another point of view, here are various Bryan Caplan posts defending Epstein's arguments. In any case, I thank Alex for the book.
Did the Covid housing boom induce the Great Resignation?
by Tyler Cowen January 30, 2023 at 2:38 pm in
Following the Covid-19 pandemic, U.S. labor force participation declined significantly in 2020, slowly recovering in 2021 and 2022 — this has been referred to as the Great Resignation. The decline has been concentrated among older Americans. By 2022, the labor force participation of workers in their prime returned to its 2019 level, while older workers' participation has continued to fall, responsible for almost the entire decline in the overall labor force participation rate. At the same time, the U.S. experienced large booms in both the equity and housing markets. We show that the Great Resignation among older workers can be fully explained by increases in housing wealth. MSAs with stronger house price growth tend to have lower participation rates, but only for home owners around retirement age — a 65 year old home owner's unconditional participation rate of 44.8% falls to 43.9% if he experiences a 10% excess house price growth. A counterfactual shows that if housing returns in 2021 would have been equal to 2019 returns, there would have been no decline in the labor force participation of older Americans.
That is from a new paper by Jack Y. Favilukis and Gen Li, via Scott Lincicome.
Commercial applications for ChatGPT
Here is one take from Nicola Morini Bianzino, written up by Sharon Goldman:
"Knowledge companies tend to store knowledge in a very flat, two-dimensional way that makes it difficult to access, interact and have a dialogue with," he told VentureBeat in an interview. "We tried 20, 30, 40 years ago to build expert systems. That didn't go really well because they were too rigid. I think this technology promises to overcome a lot of issues that expert systems have."
As ChatGPT and similar tools evolve and improve, and can be trained on an enterprise's data in a secure way, it will change the way we access and consume information inside the enterprise, he explained.
"I think we will get to a point when we can actually have a conversation about the company performance with an AI agent," he said. "You interrogate the system, the system is capable of maintaining a state of the conversation, and then every question allows you to dig deeper into the problem and understand it better, as opposed to let me run a report on sales in this particular region for the last month, which doesn't usually provide a lot of insights."
Here is the full piece. And here is a CNN piece on how real estate agents are using ChatGPT.
Monday assorted links
1. How children influence parents.
2. Do the Berman amendments prevent a TikTok ban? (WSJ)
3. Signature markets in everything.
4. Hypergamy in Norway yes.
5. Have CBO projections been too optimistic or too pessimistic?
6. Baidu to launch a ChatGPT-style service in March (Bloomberg).
7. A wearable cardiac ultrasound imager.


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