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Q: Python using built-in module instead of custom package found in sys.path I am having an odd issue with Python for an application I support. The application was working until recently, but now one of its services is failing to start with a Python import error. No changes have been made that I can attribute to this problem.
The application provides its own site-packages directory that contains a backports package, with a configparser package inside. I am not the dev for this, it is commercial software that was in a working config until recently, so I think this is more of a systems issue than a development one.
The error is:
    Traceback (most recent call last):
      File "<app_dir>/tools/vault/bin/vault-unseal.py", line 12, in <module>
        import configparser
      File "<app_dir>/python-site/lib/python2.7/site-packages/configparser.py", line 11, in <module>
        from backports.configparser import (
    ImportError: No module named configparser

My sys.path is:
['',
 '/usr/lib/python2.7/site-packages/pip-19.3.1-py2.7.egg',
 '<app_dir>/python-site/lib/python2.7/site-packages',
 '<app_dir>/python-site/lib64/python2.7/site-packages',
 '/usr/lib64/python27.zip',
 '/usr/lib64/python2.7',
 '/usr/lib64/python2.7/plat-linux2',
 '/usr/lib64/python2.7/lib-tk',
 '/usr/lib64/python2.7/lib-old',
 '/usr/lib64/python2.7/lib-dynload',
 '/usr/lib64/python2.7/site-packages',
 '/usr/lib64/python2.7/site-packages/gtk-2.0',
 '/usr/lib/python2.7/site-packages']

Both these package directories exists with an __init__.py:
<app_dir>/python-site/lib/python2.7/site-packages/backports
<app_dir>/python-site/lib/python2.7/site-packages/backports/configparser

If I start up a python shell and run 'import backports' it will succeed, but instead of importing the correct custom version (<app_dir>/python-site/lib/python2.7/site-packages/backports) it will instead import a built-in. That built-in lacks the configparser package. Why is this happening? The correct directory with the custom package is listed higher in the sys.path, so it should import that one instead, right?
>>> import backports
>>> print(backports.__path__)
['/usr/lib/python2.7/site-packages/backports']
>>> backports
<module 'backports' (built-in)>

I was referring to this thread Python ImportError when module is in sys.path which has a similar issue. I believe that none of the 3 listed solutions apply though. PYTHONPATH does contain the package directory; the packages are structured correctly with __init__.py; and only one version of python is in use on the system (as far as I can tell; if there is a simple way to validate this I would do it).
I'm at a loss, any ideas would be very appreciated.

A: So I just had basically the same problem, though it was my system python that got into a rather unfortunate state. You need to figure out where it is finding backports/__init__.py and make sure you have configparser installed into that folder. In my case, it appeared I had a backports folder in both /usr/lib/python2.7/site-packages and /usr/lib64/python2.7/site-packages. The later had configparser in it, the former did not. The former is where it was actually loading the __init__.py from. I figured this out by doing
from backports import functools_lru_cache

and then printing out the path where it found functools_lru_cache. If you don't have that module installed (or some other backported module), you're just going to have to try trial and error. You could try to put print statements into all the __init__.py files in all the backport folders on your machine and see which one triggers.
Once I installed configparser into the backports folder in the location where it was being loaded from, I was able to load everything fine.
> python
Python 2.7.18 (default, Apr 23 2020, 09:27:04) [GCC] on linux2
Type "help", "copyright", "credits" or "license" for more information.
>>> import backports
>>> print backports
<module 'backports' (built-in)>
>>> from backports import configparser
>>> print configparser
<module 'backports.configparser' from '/usr/lib/python2.7/site-packages/backports/configparser/__init__.pyc'>

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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Tag: routines (page 1 of 2)
I didn't send out a Thought Shrapnel newsletter at the end of May as I'd hardly posted here during the month. There was no particular reason I could fathom for this. I guess I just got stuck in a rut of not-writing-here.
As David Cain points out in this post, ruts are often of our own creation and happen when we relate to a 'dip' in mood, luck, or progress. Happily, I'm back posting here and I'm in the opposite of a rut when it comes to exercise!
Ruts can be years long – that near-decade in which you didn't touch the piano at all — or just a few days – you ordered out Tuesday instead of cooking, did it again Wednesday, and then again Thursday. Whatever the duration, ruts are temporary dips in our apparent ability to do a thing that's important to us.
What I've noticed about my ruts is that they are mostly my own creation. Something external precipitates them, and something internal sustains them. Bad luck and bad weather are unavoidable, but a long rut can begin, and persist, even when the bad weather itself only lasted a day.
My theory is that ruts are what happen when you experience a dip – in mood, in luck, in progress – and you respond to it in a certain very human way: by doing something that makes you more prone to such dips. A simple example is the common sleep-caffeine spiral. You have a bad sleep for some reason (there was a party next door, or you saw a mouse in the cellar) and the next day you feel tired, and when you feel tired you sometimes have an afternoon coffee. This makes you more prone to more bad sleeps, which makes you more prone to afternoon coffees, and so on. You responded to the dip by doing something that creates more dips. All of this feels perfectly natural as it is happening.
Source: The Rut Principle | Raptitude
Friday fertilisations
I've read so much stuff over the past couple of months that it's been a real job whittling down these links. In the end I gave up and shared a few more than usual!
You Shouldn't Have to Be Good at Your Job (GEN) — "This is how the 1% justifies itself. They are not simply the best in terms of income, but in terms of humanity itself. They're the people who get invited into the escape pods when the mega-asteroid is about to hit. They don't want a fucking thing to do with the rest of the population and, in fact, they have exploited global economic models to suss out who deserves to be among them and who deserves to be obsolete. And, thanks to lax governments far and wide, they're free to practice their own mass experiments in forced Darwinism. You currently have the privilege of witnessing a worm's-eye view of this great culling. Fun, isn't it?"
We've spent the decade letting our tech define us. It's out of control (The Guardian) — "There is a way out, but it will mean abandoning our fear and contempt for those we have become convinced are our enemies. No one is in charge of this, and no amount of social science or monetary policy can correct for what is ultimately a spiritual deficit. We have surrendered to digital platforms that look at human individuality and variance as "noise" to be corrected, rather than signal to be cherished. Our leading technologists increasingly see human beings as a problem, and technology as the solution – and they use our behavior on their platforms as evidence of our essentially flawed nature."
How headphones are changing the sound of music (Quartz) — "Another way headphones are changing music is in the production of bass-heavy music. Harding explains that on small speakers, like headphones or those in a laptop, low frequencies are harder to hear than when blasted from the big speakers you might encounter at a concert venue or club. If you ever wondered why the bass feels so powerful when you are out dancing, that's why. In order for the bass to be heard well on headphones, music producers have to boost bass frequencies in the higher range, the part of the sound spectrum that small speakers handle well."
The False Promise of Morning Routines (The Atlantic) — "Goat milk or no goat milk, the move toward ritualized morning self-care can seem like merely a palliative attempt to improve work-life balance.It makes sense to wake up 30 minutes earlier than usual because you want to fit in some yoga, an activity that you enjoy. But something sinister seems to be going on if you feel that you have to wake up 30 minutes earlier than usual to improve your well-being, so that you can also work 60 hours a week, cook dinner, run errands, and spend time with your family."
Giant surveillance balloons are lurking at the edge of space (Ars Technica) — "The idea of a constellation of stratospheric balloons isn't new—the US military floated the idea back in the '90s—but technology has finally matured to the point that they're actually possible. World View's December launch marks the first time the company has had more than one balloon in the air at a time, if only for a few days. By the time you're reading this, its other stratollite will have returned to the surface under a steerable parachute after nearly seven weeks in the stratosphere."
The Unexpected Philosophy Icelanders Live By (BBC Travel) — "Maybe it makes sense, then, that in a place where people were – and still are – so often at the mercy of the weather, the land and the island's unique geological forces, they've learned to give up control, leave things to fate and hope for the best. For these stoic and even-tempered Icelanders, þetta reddast is less a starry-eyed refusal to deal with problems and more an admission that sometimes you must make the best of the hand you've been dealt."
What Happens When Your Career Becomes Your Whole Identity (HBR) — "While identifying closely with your career isn't necessarily bad, it makes you vulnerable to a painful identity crisis if you burn out, get laid off, or retire. Individuals in these situations frequently suffer anxiety, depression, and despair. By claiming back some time for yourself and diversifying your activities and relationships, you can build a more balanced and robust identity in line with your values."
Having fun is a virtue, not a guilty pleasure (Quartz) — "There are also, though, many high-status workers who can easily afford to take a break, but opt instead to toil relentlessly. Such widespread workaholism in part reflects the misguided notion that having fun is somehow an indulgence, an act of absconding from proper respectable behavior, rather than embracement of life. "
It's Time to Get Personal (Laura Kalbag) — "As designers and developers, it's easy to accept the status quo. The big tech platforms already exist and are easy to use. There are so many decisions to be made as part of our work, we tend to just go with what's popular and convenient. But those little decisions can have a big impact, especially on the people using what we build."
The 100 Worst Ed-Tech Debacles of the Decade (Hack Education) — "Oh yes, I'm sure you can come up with some rousing successes and some triumphant moments that made you thrilled about the 2010s and that give you hope for "the future of education." Good for you. But that's not my job. (And honestly, it's probably not your job either.)"
Why so many Japanese children refuse to go to school (BBC News) — "Many schools in Japan control every aspect of their pupils' appearance, forcing pupils to dye their brown hair black, or not allowing pupils to wear tights or coats, even in cold weather. In some cases they even decide on the colour of pupils' underwear. "
The real scam of 'influencer' (Seth Godin) — "And a bigger part is that the things you need to do to be popular (the only metric the platforms share) aren't the things you'd be doing if you were trying to be effective, or grounded, or proud of the work you're doing."
Image via Kottke.org
Things that people think are wrong (but aren't)
I've collected a bunch of diverse articles that seem to be around the topic of things that people think are wrong, but aren't really. Hence the title.
I'll start with something that everyone over a certain age seems to have a problem with, except for me: sleep. BBC Health lists five sleep myths:
You can cope on less than five hours' sleep
Alcohol before bed boosts your sleep
Watching TV in bed helps you relax
If you're struggling to sleep, stay in bed
Hitting the snooze button
Snoring is always harmless
My smartband regularly tells me that I sleep better than 93% of people, and I think that's because of how much I prioritise sleep. I've also got a system, which I've written about before for the times when I do have a rough night.
I like routine, but I also like mixing things up, which is why I appreciate chunks of time at home interspersed with travel. Oliver Burkeman, writing in The Guardian, suggests, however, that routines aren't the be-all and end-all:
Some people are so disorganised that a strict routine is a lifesaver. But speaking as a recovering rigid-schedules addict, trust me: if you click excitedly on each new article promising the perfect morning routine, you're almost certainly not one of those people. You're one of the other kind – people who'd benefit from struggling less to control their day, responding a bit more intuitively to the needs of the moment. This is the self-help principle you might call the law of unwelcome advice: if you love the idea of implementing a new technique, it's likely to be the opposite of what you need.
Expecting something new to solve an underlying problem is a symptom of our culture's focus on the new and novel. While there's so much stuff out there we haven't experienced, should we spend our lives seeking it out to the detriment of the tried and tested, the things that we really enjoy?
On the recommendation of my wife, I recently listened to a great episode of the Off Menu podcast featuring Victoria Cohen Mitchell. It's not only extremely entertaining, but she mentions how, for her, a nice Ploughman's lunch is better than some fancy meal.
This brings me to an article in The Atlantic by Joe Pinsker, who writes that kids who watch and re-watch the same film might be on to something:
In general, psychological and behavioral-economics research has found that when people make decisions about what they think they'll enjoy, they often assign priority to unfamiliar experiences—such as a new book or movie, or traveling somewhere they've never been before. They are not wrong to do so: People generally enjoy things less the more accustomed to them they become. As O'Brien [professor at the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business] writes, "People may choose novelty not because they expect exceptionally positive reactions to the new option, but because they expect exceptionally dull reactions to the old option." And sometimes, that expected dullness might be exaggerated.
So there's something to be said for re-reading novels you read when you were younger instead of something shortlisted for a prize, or discounted in the local bookshop. I found re-reading Dostoevsky's Crime & Punishment recently exhilarating as I probably hadn't ready it since I became a parent. Different periods of your life put different spins on things that you think you already know.
The 'Dark Ages' Weren't As Dark As We Thought (Literary Hub) — "At the back of our minds when thinking about the centuries when the Roman Empire mutated into medieval Europe we are unconsciously taking on the spurious guise of specific communities."
An Easy Mode Has Never Ruined A Game (Kotaku) — "There are myriad ways video games can turn the dials on various systems to change our assessment of how "hard" they seem, and many developers have done as much without compromising the quality or integrity of their games."
Millennials destroyed the rules of written English – and created something better (Mashable) — "For millennials who conduct so many of their conversations online, this creativity with written English allows us to express things that we would have previously only been conveyed through volume, cadence, tone, or body language."

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


The Mitre Corp., a not-for-profit research and development organization headquartered in Maclean, Va., runs the Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) system. The organization developed Mitre ATT&CK as a knowledge base of adversary tactics and techniques that can be used to flag attacks in progress — especially when the attackers dispense with malware and opt to actively hack systems using a mix of exploits and techniques against vulnerable systems.
Participating in the first phase of testing were EDR vendors Carbon Black Inc., CounterTack Inc., CrowdStrike, Endgame, Microsoft, RSA and SentinelOne; Cybereason and FireEye have already signed up for the next phase of testing. One interesting twist on the testing process was that Mitre required all vendors' products to be configured to issue alerts only, because the testing measured how well the products would be able to detect active attacks. Enabling "response" functions would shut down active attacks in process, Mitre said.
Mark Dufresne, vice president of research and development at Endgame, told SearchSecurity "we think we did great," and while noting his team didn't agree with a couple of the results, overall the testing process and assessment were very fair, in part because the evaluation was not focused on rankings or scores. Instead, the results were treated as additional data to be incorporated into the Mitre ATT&CK knowledge base.


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You are here: Home / Fires/Accidents/Disasters / Nebraska woman dies in Harrison County crash
Nebraska woman dies in Harrison County crash
An elderly woman was killed in a two-car crash in western Iowa's Harrison County on Wednesday. An accident report from the Iowa State Patrol says 75-year-old Nina Burns of Blair, Nebraska, was eastbound on Highway 30 when her car crossed the center line and then came back across the road. A westbound car driven by 29-year-old Brent Cuellar, also of Blair, struck Burns' car in the passenger-side doors. Burns was pronounced dead at the scene. Cuellar was taken to the Blair hospital, where he was treated and released. The crash happened two miles east of Blair on Highway 30, in Harrison County.


In a PGP-signed statement,1 a group of freedom fighters2 known only as "The Impact Team" followed up on their promise to release the database of user information that they rightfully obtained from Avid Life Media's Ashley Madison, a popular dating website dedicated to fostering extramarital relations, and Established Men, a website dedicated to pairing up beautiful young women with successful older men.
Brian Krebs, who broke the original story, claims to have now confirmed that the full leak is legitimate and that user names, addresses, and the last four digits of user credit cards have now been made public. The site had 37 million users at the time of the hack, though it's still unknown how many of those users have been affected, or how many there are at this time, now one month after The Impact Team demanded that Ashley Madison's swiss cheese security stack be put out of its misery and retired once and for all.
In response to today's full leak, Avid Life Media continues to admit no wrongdoing, very much like BitLove LLC did back in February after FetLife was "hacked," and continues to "monitor" and "investigate" the situation without either taking down their mismanaged operation or actually fixing the known issues with their database security. In the entire papering over of malfeasance by ALM, of which there's been absolutely no shortage, the prestigious Most Unintentionally Humourous Denial Award goes to Raja Bhatia, Ashley Madison's founding CTO, who said "If there is a full credit card data in a dump, it's not from us, because we don't even do that."
And if they find an entire straw man in the dump, we can only suppose that Ashley Madison didn't do that either.
This entry was posted in News, North America, People, Security, Shitware. Bookmark the permalink.


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What Zodiac/Star Sign Is Your Dog And What Does It Mean?
دسامبر 8, 2019 Astronomy
In other articles I have suggested that there are four cornerstones to astrology: planets, signs, houses and aspects. These four lessons explain Newton's Laws of Motion with multimedia demonstrations and quizzes. Now, scientists working on ancient accounts of star-gazing have discovered the earliest reference to the Northern Lights in a very unexpected location. The Saturn V was designed by Warner Von Braun and his team of German scientists who also defected from Germany. An astrologer might look at your Sun to see what it connects to in your horoscope to determine if you're someone who will want long-term commitment or not. They are so called because they almost resemble disk shaped planets when you look at them with telescope. Astrologers will either look at your Sun and Mars or Moon and Venus to see the type of people you're most likely to be attracted to. Vedic astrology has spread its reach to the global community and people from all across have benefitted from the consultancy of Vedic astrologers.
As Zerner and Farber say, "They genuinely want a real friendship with their love interest first." Once they have a foundation of friendship established, they will consider getting into a relationship. In any case, the fact is that someday we want to go out and colonize those other places. According to Zerner and Farber, when people born under a Fixed sign have their eye set on a specific goal, they'll make a plan, figure out how to achieve that goal, and will be very resistant to changing course. According to Galardi, people who have a lot of Saturn in their chart will most likely marry or choose a long-term partner. When it comes to love, Leos like being with a partner who can have fun with them and will shower them with attention and compliments. Of course there are other factors that play a role in why you're happier being single than in a relationship, like the partner you have or what you're looking for in your life.
If you've ever felt disconnected to the characteristics of your "sign," this may explain why. A person with a large head may have a significant IQ, although sometimes the opposite is true, in certain cases. They will likely stay hung up on one person long after a relationship is over. When someone turns his or her face from you in a half-angle, the person could be trying to hide something. But god, I'm glad someone said it. But if you're someone who's done the relationship thing and decided that you're happier being single, there are astrological reasons for that. Even after the romantic aspect of the relationship ends, Aquarius will still be there for you. In a very generic way, by the means of astrology, there are numerous ways we can predict a person's future. The Zodiac Cosmetics collection is inspired (as its name suggests) by astrology, and follows on from Spectrum's Zodiac brush line. But what's in Spectrum's first makeup collection? The hues can be worn wet as well as dry, and as with the rest of Spectrum's cosmetics and brushes, it's totally vegan.
If you can afford high quality binoculars they are well worth paying for. Although Fire signs have a reputation for coming in hot and leaving just as quick, Leos are very loyal due to their fixed quality. With its premium quality and luxury colours and feel, it's usually worth paying a little more for these types of products anyway. Over the past few years, products promoting self-care and wellness have flooded the market. Popular all over the world as the Pink City, Jaipur is known for blue pottery and wonderful palaces and tales of the Rajput rulers. In a world in which the gods were presumed to dwell above us, unusual astral events were considered to be humanity's most efficient tool by which to understand the state of the universe. Curses of brother: The planet which shows younger brother is Mars and planet which shows elder brother is Jupiter. But if you're in a relationship and the planet Uranus is moving through your chart, Galardi says it can cause you to reconsider your relationship and set new boundaries that will allow you to have more freedom. Plus, the relationship of where you are to each planet changes based on where on Earth you are at the time of your birth.
For instance, if you get a chance to have your birth chart read, you might find that you have more Earth in your chart even if you're a Water sign. Your go-go-go mentality can take a toll, even if you are highly capable, so take a chill pill and relax under this luminary. If a Jaipur city tour does not take tourists to this site, then that venture cannot be considered complete. The chart then takes the dates and matches it up and tells you your compatibility based on each of your signs. He earned his BSc in physics from the University of British Columbia, then his MSc and PhD in astronomy from the University of Toronto. Because of this he advanced both the science of astronomy and the art of telescope making. And astrologists believe that during these times, certain things, like making important life decisions, should be avoided. Your Life Path number is found by reducing your Date of Birth to a single digit using fadic addition. It even includes an illustration of a sailor using a sextant and the North Star. It can even reveal your attitude towards major life change. As with all of the brand's previous eyeshadows, I expect that the formulas will be super buttery, blendable, and easy to apply (even for amateurs).


In 1908, photographer Lewis Hine began visiting textile mills in North Carolina to document the exploitation of child workers. Though child labor was common at the time, Hine and other reformers wanted people to see just how horrible working conditions were for many children.
The Photography of Lewis Hine showcases 40 of Hine's photographs, discusses the history behind these photographs, provides insight into everyday life in North Carolina textile mills and mill villages, and concludes with a look at child labor today. Whether it is young migrant farmworkers toiling in our state or millions of children laboring in Asian cotton fields or on African tobacco and cocoa plantations, the struggle continues.
Lewis Hines was a photographer known for his documentation of exploited child workers and government projects. In 1904, Lewis Hine photographed immigrants on Ellis Island, as well as at the tenements and sweatshops where they lived and worked. In 1911, he was hired by the National Child Labor Committee to record child labor conditions, and he produced appalling pictures of exploited children, including those in North Carolina. During World War I, Hines worked as a photographer with the Red Cross and later photographed the construction of the Empire State Building. He died on November 3, 1940, in Dobbs Ferry, New York.
Hine's photos documenting the horrid conditions under which children were employed, made real the plight of these children. This led to the passage of child labor laws. Not only did Hine document the horrors of work, he also depicted the dignity of labor. Through his photographs, Hine was able to inspire social change.
The traveling exhibition is on loan from the North Carolina Museum of History.


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Fefe Dobson returns with new single "Fckn In Love".
27/02/2022 12/03/2022 by Nikos Vlamis
For the younger generations to know and the older ones to remember with excitement, Fefe Dobson is one of the most successful pop-rock artists of the early 00's that saw her self-titled debut album climb up the charts, as well as several of its singles, standing next to other successful names of the time in that genre such as Avril Lavigne, Kelly Clarkson, and Ashlee Simpson and who even got to be the opening act in Justin Timberlake's Justified World Tour.
While riding high on the wave of her success, Fefe recorded what was planned to be her sophomore studio album titled "Sunday Love" with which she embraced her love for rock music even more and went on a more punk-pop journey. For its creation, she collaborated with some of the biggest names in the music industry such as Joan Jett, Cyndi Lauper, Pharell Williams, and Courtney Love. Unfortunately, her record label at the time did not share the same passion for the album as Fefe, considering it as too hardcore and not knowing how to market her – the latter being a constant struggle for her during her whole career.
The album was preceded by the lead single "Don't Let It Go To Your Head" and then followed by the song "This Is My Life" but after several pushbacks, the album's release was ultimately canceled. "Don't Let It Go To Your Head" was even covered a couple of years later by Jordin Sparks for her sophomore studio album "Battlefield". The track "As a Blonde" was also re-recorded by Selena Gomez and the Scene. While the whole album was leaked onto the internet at the time, it was officially released only six years later on iTunes.
Fefe did not give up on her love for music though and so she started working on a new project which lead to the formation of her third studio album to be recorded but second to be released, titled "Joy". The album followed the alternative rock path while maintaining pop-rock melodies and sassy lyrics in some of the tracks.
In 2013 Fefe began working on a new album whose title was revealed to be "Firebird". The project was promoted by the lead single "Legacy" later that same year.
The track "Celebrate" was released as a promo single several months later in order to support the Canadian representatives in the 2014 Winter Olympics.
A few weeks later, the second official single "In Better Hands" was released, along an official music video.
Even though the album was completed, Fefe did not feel like the album was expressing her anymore as she was going through a transitional phase in her music and so the album was scrapped in the end.
She then went on and recorded a new album which was more indie-rock but even that did not see the light of day as she deciced not to release it.
She did though release the single "Save Me From LA" which clearly showed the indie rock direction she was taking with the album.
Another new song called "Born to You" was also featured in Riverdale's first season in 2017.
Since then, Fefe took a step back and focused on her private life, got married to her longtime boyfriend and rapper Yelawolf while also considering what the next steps in her career would be.
Feeling that the timing is right, especially since alternative music is becoming the new mainstream again through the rise of new artists such as Billie Eilish or Olivia Rodrigo, Fefe is planing on releasing a brand new album and to re-introduce herself .
She has just kicked off the new era with the release of the lead single "Fckn In Love", a synth pop-rock track that was inspired by her relationship to Yelawolf:
"Wolf and I have been together for 12 years, and so we just had this great night, and it might have been a great morning too, actually. And I literally had to go into the studio and write about it because some magical things happened. I just gotta say how I'm feeling and scream it."
The song was originally written in 2012 during the Firebird era and was since kept in a vault until now where the timing and circumstances were right.
A fun and energetic tune that has us excited for what is coming next from one of the most unique, out-of-the-box, and resilient artists of the last 20 years – Fefe, we see you!
Make sure to check "Fckn In Love" below!
BANKS drops new single "Holding Back" & announces new album "Serpentina".
ELIOT releases new single "Neon Bluebird" in collaboration with Silverhook.


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Donald Trump's Biggest Mistake Might Have Been Getting Elected – Vanity Fair
Trumpworld, reimagined as one of Hieronymus Bosch's "Hell" paintings.
Artwork by Glenn Palmer-Smith.
On May 19, 1962, at an event at Madison Square Garden celebrating John
F. Kennedy, about to turn 45, Marilyn Monroe stepped onstage to sing.
Wearing a dress that matched exactly the color of her skin, a sort of
glowing, gleaming pale, and every bit as tight—a dress, in other
words, that took off her clothes—she made "Happy Birthday" sound
like the lewdest of suggestions, an invitation to sin no mortal man
could resist. In that moment, it became clear that, even if the cake
hadn't yet been served, our president had already let our movie star
blow out his candle. Pop culture had officially unofficially seduced
Which is why Donald J. Trump is not America's first pop-culture
president. There was Kennedy, of course, but also Reagan, Clinton,
Obama. In fact, as far as the past 50-plus years go, Trump's almost as
much the rule as the exception, the same ol', same ol', more or less.
It's the pop culture that's changed.
WATCH: Donald Trump Thinks Donald Trump Is the Man
When a movie version of his life story was proposed, Kennedy had one
actor in mind to play him: Cary Grant. Grant, the man-about-town of his
time and ours, the savoir fairest of them all, was the creation of
Archibald Leach, from the slums of Bristol, England. It's never been
matched. Acknowledging the potency of the fantasy he'd conjured, his
blessing but also his curse, he said, "Even I want to be Cary Grant."
Meaning he wasn't. Meaning nobody could be.
Yet that's precisely who Barack Obama is. It's the style: an
ultra-stylish style that doesn't involve primping or fuss. It's the
manner, too: civilized, self-aware, masculine, though with a faint hint
of ambiguity. Critic Pauline Kael called Grant "the most publicly
seduced male the world has known." Like Grant, Obama is a love object.
Not passive—reticent, withheld. He doesn't chase the girl, but he gets
her all right. And he gets her by getting her to go after him. Why, we
(yes, we're the girls in this scenario) practically threw our votes his
Trump's erotic stratagem was different but no less effective, and
embodied in his campaign slogan, "Make America Great Again." The first
time I heard it my reaction was somewhere between hostility and
dismissal. What is this "again" shit?, I wondered. We're great now,
the richest, freest, most powerful country on the planet. It's just more
of his dark, divisive noise, I concluded. And it is. But it's something
else too, as I realized during a conversation with Republican strategist
Steve Schmidt, a pro and very smart and no fan of Trump's. He referred
to the slogan as "brilliant." I thought about it some more, and my
thoughts about it began to change. Brilliant I won't grant. But it does
have a low cunning that might be better than brilliant.
THE 2016 ELECTION WASN'T HILLARY VS. TRUMP. IT WAS MOVIE STAR VS.
REALITY.
Here's what Make America Great Again is the equivalent of: a guy, a
little long in the tooth, a little broad in the beam (Trump, let's say),
spots a sensational-looking girl, a girl who's so far out of his league
it's a joke (America, let's say). Instead of complimenting her on her
loveliness, he informs her that she needs a nose job, a tit job, braces,
and to lose 10 pounds. The girl is about to tell him off, really let him
have it, except something stops her. It's a thought, a devastating one,
that maybe he's right, that maybe it's everybody else who's shining her
on and he's actually leveling with her. And just like that, in a single
moment, she's his. At least until she wises up, and that could take a
while.
So we're clear, I did not vote for Trump. I regard him as a calamity and
a disgrace, the worst thing to happen to this country in my lifetime.
And yet, and yet, I respond to him. When he, a draft deferrer, venereal
disease his quote personal Vietnam unquote, said of John McCain, who had
exhibited such ferocious courage in that Hanoi prison it nearly defies
comprehension, "He's a war hero because he was captured. I like people
who weren't captured," I laughed. The laugh was involuntary, just
popping out of my mouth. What it was also was shameful, appalling,
horrific. It meant that if I hadn't entertained such a thought myself I
was capable of it. Another way of saying, I was shocked because I
wasn't. The laugh, therefore, was not so much a signifier of amusement
as recognition.
Though also of amusement because, for someone who's essentially
humorless, Trump is fun-nee. The sheer recklessness of the things he
says takes the breath away. How dare he? But again and again he dares.
He'll attack, assault, degrade anyone. At his rallies there was the
sense that even he didn't know who he was going to go after next. So,
built right in was the frisson of suspense, which is one of the reasons
they were the hottest ticket in whatever town they happened to be
playing. Translation: he turned everybody on. Hillary, by contrast, at
her rallies was calm, earnest, respectful. Translation: she bored asses
off in all directions. Every move she made felt stage-managed, canned.
Not so with Trump. He didn't need a teleprompter or even a prepared
speech, would just saunter up to that podium and start to blow, to
shpritz, to wing it, basically, and successfully, because he understood
how to capture a crowd's attention. Hijack it, really.
It's a talent he's been cultivating for years. Don't forget, Trump's
spent much of his career clinging to the bottom rungs of the
entertainment industry: Miss Universe pageants, WrestleMania IV, V, XX,
and 23, and, of course, The Apprentice. No prestige pictures with
blue-chip directors for him, no HBO limited series, he wasn't knocking
them dead on Broadway or standing-room-only at Carnegie Hall. Guy's
played one toilet after another. And in so doing he's honed not just his
performer's instinct—at events like WrestleMania, where he once
body-slammed Vince McMahon before shaving the W.W.E. chairman's head,
his contact with the audience is direct, nothing between him and it,
skin on skin, bareback, baby—but his common touch, as well. (Have you
ever watched Miss Universe or WrestleMania? The Apprentice? Me neither.
A lot of people have, though, and, dollars to doughnuts, they're the
ones walking around in those little red caps.) A related aside: the
irony that a billionaire who started out life a millionaire has become
the Working-Class Hero is forever being remarked upon by the media.
Like, how much of a nitwit is Average Joe for imagining that Trump is
his man. But it's Average Joe who's got it right. Trump is Average Joe
except filthy stinking rich, i.e., a winner. He's managed to acquire
money without acquiring sophistication. He still talks like a kid from
Queens, has a taste for flashy cars and women, and lives in houses that
make one long for the understated elegance of Graceland. By the way, I
bet he watches Miss Universe, WrestleMania, and The Apprentice, and not
just because he's keeping an eye on his investments.
And gutter showbiz has, I'd contend, shaped his worldview. As president,
he's turned a Supreme Court nomination into a Bachelor finale, less
selected his Cabinet than cast it ("If I'm doing a movie, I'd pick you
. . . General Mattis"), and cannot shut up about ratings (he opened
the National Prayer Breakfast by remarking on the tanking popularity of
The Celebrity Apprentice, asking the room full of lawmakers and
dignitaries to "just pray for Arnold [Schwarzenegger, the new
host]").
Before I get to what Trump is, what Trump isn't: a businessman. Rather,
he's a showbusinessman, part con man—how many bankruptcies has he
declared? little guys has he stiffed?—part ham actor impersonating a
businessman. Even more so he isn't a president. The first few months of
his administration have been somewhere between Dr. Strangelove played
straight and Dr. Strangelove played camp. What he is is a reality star.
In fact, you could argue that he invented the concept. I was born in
1978, not in New York, and yet he's been on my radar since I can
remember, his life, his loves, his scandals constantly in the tabloids,
and what are "Page Six" and the National Enquirer but the Ur-E! and
Bravo?
The 2016 election wasn't Hillary vs. Trump. It was Movie Star
vs. Reality. Not only because Obama was Hillary's most dynamic surrogate
but because practically every star in Hollywood—movie, though TV and
music, too—campaigned on her behalf. And yet Reality won, proof that
movies don't hold sway over the public imagination as they once did, in
itself proof that the public wants a different type of relationship with
its stars. Stars used to be exactly that: radiant entities to be
marveled at from a distance. Thanks to social media, however, the
24-hour news cycle, distance is no longer possible. Perfectly O.K.,
since an up-close view is what we truly crave, each pore, each wrinkle,
each pimple in high definition. And who's interested in seeing a posed
photo these days? Better the ones without makeup or undies or even
knowledge. (When a star's lover or ex-lover sneaks an intimate shot and
then leaks it—ooo-wee, pay dirt.) And beat it with your puff pieces
already. We don't care about Johnny Depp's charity work. What we're hot
to know is, did he really smack Amber around and openhanded or closed
and was he loaded at the time? We continue to be moved by beauty. We're
also moved, though, and more powerfully, by ugliness: physical, social,
moral. Our stars are still stars, only the term now is ironic since we
don't look up at them but down.
Trump never feigned virtue during his campaign. And that's what made
him, for many voters, the authentic candidate. He was a brute and a son
of a bitch, except he, in the immortal words of Real Housewife Bethenny
Frankel, "owned it." And owning it, in the reality-TV world, which,
let's face it, is the world we are currently living in, absolves all
sins. It's why everything that was sure to bring him down—calling
Mexican immigrants rapists, ridiculing the disabled, speculating on the
menstrual cycle of a news anchor, etc.—didn't, if anything increased
his strength. He became a mash-up of Simon Cowell, Spencer Pratt, and
Teresa Giudice, a super-villain, as impossible to kill as he was to stop
Interesting to note: traditional stars are bowed but not broken when it
comes to Trump, indeed reality stars in general. They responded to his
inauguration party the same way Jay Z and Beyoncé responded to Kim and
Kanye's nuptials—by staying away in droves. Well, rejecting the
pretensions of the peacocking parvenu is one of the sweetest pleasures
left to the fallen aristocrat. Also interesting: it's Obama, the younger
man, and seemingly the more modern in every conceivable respect, who's
the throwback.
There's something Trump is every bit as fundamentally as a reality star,
and that's a stand-up comic. Lenny Bruce, specifically. (Hey, if Bill
Clinton was, according to Toni Morrison, our first black president, why
can't Trump be our first Jewish?) He's an eighth-rate version of Bruce,
to be sure, and an unwitting one. Has none of Bruce's hipness or
perspicacity. He does, however, have Bruce's shamelessness, and Bruce's
free-associative, buggy style, and he goes as far as Bruce. His mocking
of McCain was, in fact, like an updating of Bruce's "Jackie Kennedy
Hauling Ass to Save Her Ass" routine, and equally as blasphemous.
Timing is, of course, everything. It was in the 50s that Bruce, the
lounge-lizard dark prince, started to slay at the clubs in the more
happening cities. Now these days, the present day, is the polar opposite
of that tight-assed decade—gay couples can marry! movie about queer
black youth takes big prize at Oscars! transgender woman on the cover of
this very magazine!—except think again. The 2010s, with its safe
spaces and trigger warnings, its don't-say-thises and don't-think-thats,
where feeling like a victim is the hot pastime and male burden is the
new male privilege, are, in certain ways, even tighter-assed, a
neo-Victorian era masquerading as the waning days of the Roman Empire.
Political correctness is just another form of fascism. (That fascism now
comes from the left doesn't make it any less stifling.) People are
almost comically alienated from their instincts. The super-ego reigns
TRUMP SPENT HIS CAREER CLINGING TO THE BOTTOM RUNGS OF THE ENTERTAINMENT
Enter Trump, pure id. No cruelty-free-tofu-nibbling,
prissy-European-taste-having, sorry-excuse-for-a-man man he. Unh-uh.
He's a big butch American hot dog. He's not tortured by the idea of
using torture. And a nuclear-arms race? Bring it on, sayeth he, those
loser countries will be eating our atomic dust: "We will outmatch them
at every pass and outlast them all." He's a swinging dick and an alpha
male, a maker of deals and a builder of buildings—why, the Manhattan
skyline is simply crammed with his erections! And since we're on the
topic of erections, he isn't one of those pencil-necked sissies who need
a woman to sign a permission slip before he'll try to hold her hand.
Hell no, he grabs pussy first, asks questions later. Is a masher of the
type that's supposed to have died out generations ago.
This isn't to say he's devoid of romantic feeling. Who could forget that
series of impassioned tweets from 2012 in which he urged Robert
Pattinson not to take back the cheating Kristen Stewart. (Had Pattinson
been his fella, he wouldn't have treated him so shabbily seems to be the
message he's trying to convey.) There is, too, the wistful, teenage-girl
note that creeps into his voice whenever he talks about Vladimir Putin.
"Do you think Putin will be going to The Miss Universe Pageant in
November in Moscow—if so, will he become my new best friend?" Does
Trump secretly long for the brutal quasi-dictator to take him in his
arms, crush him to his chest, make him dream again?
And then there's Trump's temperament, which is, and not to be a traitor
to my sex, on the womanish side. He clutches to his dignity as
tenaciously as a dowager to her pearls. Never does he let an insult roll
off his back. Make a dig about his hand size, for example, and he will
(in fairness, rightly) perceive it as a dig about his manhood. Could the
Donald's Donald be merely a Don? Not to hear him tell it: "My fingers
are long and beautiful, as . . . are various other parts of my
body." Touchy, touchy.
It was in 1961 that Bruce said the 10-letter word onstage, got arrested
for obscenity. His life was ruined, but it was the making of him. He'd
always been more than a guy in a rented tux telling jokes to drunks.
Suddenly, though, he was a rebel with a cause—Amendment Numero Uno. He
refused to be silenced, endured bust after bust, so that we might speak.
And, five years later, his martyrdom would be complete when he died in a
bathroom, fat, naked, a needle sticking out of his arm. The Christ who
said cocksucker.
If Trump were really smart, he'd have done the same. Not the
dying-next-to-a-toilet thing, the losing-in-order-to-win-big thing.
Trump feeds off the ardor of his fans, and his best chance of retaining
that ardor lay in defeat in a squeaker. Then he'd be able to claim that
he was the man who could be, nay, should be, king, and spend the
remainder of his days shaking a Byronic fist at the "rigged" system,
the ideal situation for someone who is, by nature, an outsider and a
rager. Instead, he pulled off the upset. Now he's on the inside of the
inside, in a job that requires, above all else, calm reflection and
sober judgment. No longer can he say whatever kooky little whacked-out
thought that pops into his skull. Not without bringing down a world of
shit, anyway (see: Obama wiretapping tweets). And, oh yeah, he's going
to actually have to deliver on his campaign promises or risk hurtful
comparisons to Crooked Hillary. And from there it's only a short jump to
the most painful scenario of all: the crowd's love turning into hate,
the cheers turning into jeers.
He's president of the United States. It's his nightmare. Our worst
Losing to wind next to his helicopter in Scotland.
Photo: By Michael McGurk/Alamy.
Losing to wind at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland.
Photo: By Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images.
Losing to wind as he heads to Indiana.
Photo: By Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images.
Losing to wind while he's in Scotland to discuss bankrolling an anti-wind-farm campaign in order to fight an off-shore development near his luxury golf resort.
Photo: By Danny Lawson/PA/A.P.
Losing to wind in the presence of Tom Brady.
Photo: From Boston Herald/Splash News.
Losing to wind while waving.
Photo: By Rob Carr/Getty Images.
Putting up a good fight but ultimately losing to wind in Scotland.
Photo: By Michael McGurk/Rex/Shutterstock.
By Michael McGurk/Alamy.
By Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images.
By Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images.
By Danny Lawson/PA/A.P.
Losing to wind while he talks to Patriots owner Robert Kraft before a game.
From Splash News.
Losing to wind at the house on the Isle of Lewis, Scotland, where his mother was born before she immigrated to the United States in 1929.
From PA/Alamy.
Losing to wind while boarding the Marine One helicopter at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland.
By Jonathan Ernst/Reuters.
Losing to wind while leaving One World Trade in New York.
From Boston Herald/Splash News.
By Rob Carr/Getty Images.
By Michael McGurk/Rex/Shutterstock.


text:
A Brief History of the SEC's Adventures in Cryptoland
The 7 SEC actions that defined 2018, and why they matter for crypto entrepreneurs in the new year and beyond.
By Guillermo Jimenez
Jan 4, 2019 Feb 16, 2019
The terrain might be rough, but the land is rich and fertile. PHOTO CREDIT: Shutterstock
They say it's never really a party until the cops show up. And in cryptoland, 2018 was the year the SEC came bursting through the door and brought the record player to a screeching halt.
Through a series of enforcement actions, hearings, and (at times, contradictory) public statements, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission made at least one thing clear: the ICO-driven crypto frenzy of 2017 got a little out of hand, and it plans on sticking around to make sure it doesn't happen again.
Who would have thought crypto investors would be U.S. securities law experts by the end of 2018
— Joseph Young (@iamjosephyoung) December 26, 2018
What is less clear, however, is precisely what crypto startups and ICOs did wrong—or, more importantly, what they should do going forward. And what does this mean for crypto in 2019? Here's a recap of the SEC's most important actions over the last year to help make sense of how things might shake out in the next:
1. The SEC's case of the Munchees
Munchee was a blockchain-based restaurant review service that had planned on using its MUN token to power its "social-networking app for food." Here's the problem: the token was being explicitly sold to investors as a way for them to profit from Munchee's enterprise, according to the SEC's complaint (and Munchee's own marketing materials).
While the SEC's shutdown of the Munchee ICO technically happened at the tail end of 2017, it set the stage for all of its future enforcement actions in 2018.
In the end, the SEC stopped the $15 million ICO dead in its tracks before the deal went through, and Munchee consented to refunding its investors every last dime. The cease-and-desist order marked the first time that the SEC made reference to its July 2017 "DAO Report of Investigation," which introduced the crypto world to the "Howey Test"—the measuring stick the Feds use to determine if an asset should be legally considered a "security" and regulated as such. For its cooperation, Munchee received no further penalties or fines. And in a pattern that would become all too familiar by year's end, the company saved face by neither admitting nor denying the SEC's charges—its business instead quietly disappearing, leaving promises of a "new offering in the near feature" unfulfilled.
2. The "fraudsters" and other low-hanging fruit
The SEC spent the early part of 2018 going after what pundits and other observers largely considered "easy targets," charging various crypto startups and their respective executives with outright fraud. While the individual facts and circumstances of each case differed, AriseBank, Centra Tech, Titanium Blockchain, and Tomahawk Exploration all met a similar fate: no admission of guilt, but settled charges, refunds, fines, and disgorgements all around just the same. Aside from dealing with the SEC, the individuals behind AriseBank and Centra Tech face additional criminal charges from various U.S. law enforcement agencies over the alleged frauds they committed.
The first half of the year served as a warning shot across the crypto bow—the SEC began making examples of blockchain companies that it claims willfully deceived the public. These were the first signs that the Commission would start taking a serious look at the (alleged) swindlers that many claimed had saturated the ICO market. But as we saw with Munchee, willful wrongdoing isn't a necessary condition to end up on the SEC's naughty list.
3. Hinman's moment of clarity
One of the SEC's most significant attempts at "guidance," outside of its enforcement actions, came from William Hinman, director of the SEC's division of corporation finance, in mid-June. He offered the clearest and most comforting words a crypto regulator spoke all year: Bitcoin and ether are definitively not securities, in the SEC's view, because they operate on decentralized networks. However, Ethereum-based tokens—like those sold during most ICOs—are another matter altogether, and that's where things get complicated.
Hinman listed several reasons why a digital token might be considered a security, providing examples that hinge on how the asset is packaged and sold to investors, and for what purpose. He then clouded the whole thing up with this little nugget: "I would like to emphasize that the analysis of whether something is a security is not static and does not strictly inhere to the instrument," he said. "Even digital assets with utility that function solely as a means of exchange in a decentralized network could be packaged and sold as an investment strategy that can be a security."
But he offered some hope: "Over time, there may be other sufficiently decentralized networks and systems where regulating the tokens or coins that function on them as securities may not be required." In any event, Hinman's "sufficiently decentralized" caveat has become a refuge for ICO-funded startups seeking to remain outside of the SEC's crosshairs. Whether that's ultimately enough remains to be seen.
1/ $ETH came to market as a security, but a big part of what's protected #Ethereum from regulators recently is the amount of innovation happening atop the platform.
— Chris Burniske (@cburniske) December 21, 2018
4. The curious case of Reginald Buddy Ringgold III
The SEC continued its example-making exercise through mid-2018, going after unregistered broker-dealer (and self-described "ICO Superstore") TokenLot and bitcoin trading platform (and alleged "unregistered security-based swaps dealer") 1Broker in September. Then things got weird.
In early October, the SEC took action against the now infamous California-based, tokenized derivatives exchange Blockvest. The Commission alleged that the company and its founder, Reginald Buddy Ringgold III, engaged in all manner of fraud and obtained an emergency court order to squash Blockvest's ICO and freeze Ringgold's assets.
Ringgold, however, maintained his innocence, telling Decrypt that there was "no ICO to stop" and that no actual token sales had yet taken place. And in late November, Blockvest actually got a federal court to kinda-sorta agree: Judge Gonzalo Curiel ruled that the SEC had not yet done enough to prove a securities offering had taken place and denied the Commission's request for a preliminary injunction.
If that doesn't sound like much of a victory, that's because it isn't. But here's why it matters: Judge Curiel went through painstaking lengths to explain precisely why the SEC failed to prove Blockvest's token is a security, providing insight as to how federal courts might apply securities laws in other cases brought against ICO-funded companies in the future. That's a pretty big deal, according to Gabriel Shapiro, an attorney at the blockchain-focused DLx Law LLP. It's worth paying attention to how this one unfolds in 2019.
This is the critical thing about the Blockvest opinion and drives home the point I've been making: the risk capital test is not U.S. federal law. It's California law. Don't listen to people who tell you the opinion means nothing. It means a lot. https://t.co/gK56kd5Elp
— Gabriel Shapiro (@lex_node) November 28, 2018
5. The SEC opens up its "ICO Office"
In mid-October, the SEC at last announced the launch of the Strategic Hub for Innovation and Financial Technology, or "FinHub," a new division designed to directly engage with the crypto-curious public. The SEC said that FinHub would act as a central point for investors, developers, and other interested parties to file inquiries via a dedicated web portal, and serve as "liaison to other domestic and international regulators."
While FinHub has remained relatively quiet since its launch, it's likely to gain a more prominent role in the SEC's handling of crypto startups in the coming year.
On a side note: A week prior to the SEC's FinHub announcement, Decrypt, in partnership with Yahoo Finance, reported that the Commission had begun quietly pressuring hundreds of crypto startups to settle charges over unregistered securities dealings, pay fines, and refund their investors. Up to this point, the SEC had not yet made public any charges against companies that had completed an ICO yet committed no violation other than an alleged "unregistered securities offering." But that would soon change.
6. The quiet war on ICOs goes public
By mid-November, the SEC's worst kept secret had come to light: virtually every ICO ever conducted could soon become the target of an enforcement action—if it hadn't already.
The sacrificial lambs in this case were the cannabis-industry-focused Paragon and decentralized payment platform Airfox. The SEC, once again referencing its DAO Report, claimed that both companies "conducted ICOs in 2017 after the Commission warned that ICOs can be securities offerings." And that's it. No fraud. No other wrongdoing. They just did some ICOs the way pretty much all ICOs had been done. And the crypto industry reacted to the news exactly the way you'd expect: slightly exaggerated dread.
Landmark case today. This is going to happen hundreds and hundreds of times in the next 2-3 years until all the ICOs are gone. pic.twitter.com/MuT515BzeD
— nic carter (@nic__carter) November 16, 2018
Every crypto company that raised funds through a public token sale is currently at risk of being forced to pay back every single dollar to their initial investors.
The level of risk may differ for each company, but it's non-zero for all of them & it still hangs over their heads.
— Jake Chervinsky (@jchervinsky) December 14, 2018
While there appears to be a growing consensus that most, if not all, ICO-funded companies will eventually face some sort of rescission order (i.e. be forced to pay back their investors), ICOs aren't dead. They're being forced to evolve. And that's good news for both investors and the startups being built to meet the needs of these emerging, regulator-friendly models.
7. Token-shilling celebs given no quarter, and other honorable mentions
It's not just the companies doing the selling that can be held liable for unlawful securities dealings. It turns out that those who use large enough platforms to promote these investment schemes can also be fined and disgorged. Who knew? Not Floyd "Money" Mayweather and DJ Khaled. They found out the hard way.
Other big-deal moments in the case of SEC v. Crypto include the enforcement action against EtherDelta founder Zachary Coburn—jeopardizing the future of all decentralized exchanges—and the SEC's block-teasing Bitcoin ETF delays. These too will have consequences in the new year. But we've given you enough to think about.


text:
Q: Flutter Undefined class 'PurchaserInfo' I have a flutter project which was working fine since yesterday. Today I am seeing class not found error for couple of packages even though the packages are imported.
Error: Undefined class 'PurchaserInfo'.
Code:
import 'package:purchases_flutter/purchases_flutter.dart';

PurchaserInfo purchaserInfo = await Purchases.purchasePackage(_package);

pubspec.yaml
environment:
sdk: ">=2.7.0 < 3.0.0"

purchases_flutter: ^4.3.1

IDE:
VSCode or Android Studio
I also checked RevenueCat's documentation and they I do not see any error.
I tried flutter clean and flutter pub get.
Please see the following image of the issue.

A: I also get that error.  When using an earlier version it works for me.
purchases_flutter: ^3.8.0

A: I also get that error in latest version of reveneucat.
Change PurchaserInfo to CustomerInfo then the problem will be resolved.
some example code here:
CustomerInfo purchaserInfo = await Purchases.purchasePackage(
        myProductList.firstWhere(
            (element) => element.offeringIdentifier == productIdentify),
      )

A: ClassName PurchaserInfo has changed to CustomerInfo in v4.0
Change PurchaserInfo to CustomerInfo
CustomerInfo purchaserInfo = await Purchases.purchasePackage(_package);

Find the full changelog here


2017 Phishing Trends Report is significant in the sense that it will help companies in their cyber security and awareness efforts and guide their focus on the departments that are more vulnerable to social engineering attacks.
2017 Phishing Trends Report revealed that employees in departments that handle large-scale data have problems recognizing phishing emails.
Over 91% of system breaches have been caused by a phishing attack. Today, phishing attacks continue to be one of the most successful attack types initiated by email.
Especially spear phishing, an attack schemed against a certain individual, has been popular in manipulating high-profile incidents. In this study, the business departments were investigated and a risk percentage was determined according to emails opened, links clicked and forms submitted.


IG offers the choice of Direct Market Access (DMA) for UK equities, as well as international markets. While DMA is common in many countries, it's not widely available to retail investors in the UK, since British brokers tend to use a market maker-based system instead. This will be most relevant to active traders.
The currency conversion commission of 0.3% is much lower than most other providers in the UK market. Currency commissions are a large and easily overlooked (well-hidden in the case of some brokers) cost of dealing in overseas markets, with some firms charging up to 2%. These costs are unjustifiable and it's encouraging to see a new entrant to the market deciding to compete on this from the outset.
Together with the option of a ISA with no annual fee, this should make IG a particularly competitive choice for holding international stocks in a tax wrapper. HMRC rules mean that it's not possible to hold foreign currency in an ISA, so capital gains and dividends must be converted back into sterling each time. This makes high FX charges particularly onerous in this type of account.
IG are running a temporary promotional offer for new clients of one month's commission-free online trading plus a discounted rate of £6 per trade on UK stocks thereafter until 31st December 2014. This could be a good deal for investors who want to set up a diversified portfolio quickly and cheaply.
Since IG's stockbroking service is a new launch, I haven't yet received any comments on it from readers. If you're an early user and would like to provide some feedback, please leave a comment below or send me an email via the contact form.
Unfortunately they do not support Stop Buy orders for foreign stocks within the ISA/Stockbroking account, neither does YouInvest (they don't even support Limit order for foreign stocks).
I've not tried Saxo due to the minimum requirement of £50K for the ISA, nor other brokers due to the high FX fees.
Do you know any broker that supports Stop Buy orders within an ISA account for foreign stocks by any chance?
That's quite surprising given that IG are a very trading-focused platform. Not sure, but iDealing may do so.
I've just opened an IG ISA. Seems OK and good value.
My main issue is the lack of GTC limit orders. They have "Day Limit" orders, but these cancel at the end of the day. Given ISA's are supposed to be for long term investment, it seems silly that I have to log in each morning just to re-enter a buy order.
Hopefully they'll fix this soon.


With miles of coastline and waterways, state parks, a national wildlife refuge, rural agricultural communities and a diverse population of marine wildlife, the health of our environment is crucial to our daily life, making it the perfect focus as we continue our VB Resolutions series for 2017. With the Research and Conservation Division at the Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center, located just south of the boardwalk, conservation opportunities abound in VB. Whether you want to get your boots in the mud or simply make more environmentally conscious choices, there are many ways to join the effort of keeping Virginia Beach clean and beautiful this year and beyond.
While the Virginia Aquarium is a fun place to visit for the whole family, the marine science center's primary goal is to inspire conservation through education, research and sustainable practices, and they're always recruiting visitors of all ages to join them! With so many fun ways to get involved, the Aquarium makes this a particularly easy resolution to accomplish, but no less of an important one. You can sign up to take a behind-the-scenes look at the its daily operations, join its award-winning stranding response team to help rescue and learn more about our local sea life, or join in on the team's efforts to build new oyster reefs.
As perhaps the perfect culmination of a healthier 2017, the Virginia Aquarium also works to make our favorite food healthier for both our bodies and for the environment with its Sensible Seafood Program, which promotes ocean-friendly seafood. The popularity of menu items like cod, salmon, tuna and shrimp has provoked destructive seafood farming and fishing practices on a global scale. Through a series of Sensible Seafood partners, the program promotes buying local, so as to not support these detrimental practices, in turn delivering a fresher and tastier dish to your table. You can join this delicious cause simply by supporting those restaurants and businesses that have partnered with the program and by checking out this useful pocket guide on making better seafood choices. And don't miss out on the Annual Sensible Seafood Fest, which brings together some of our area's best chefs, who give us a taste of just how good sustainable seafood can be!


Residential land in 80 cents for sale in Kothanalloor, Ettumanoor - Kottayam, Kerala. Suitable for constructing house with all amenities including road access, boundary clear, all facilities around there. Price - Negotiable.


text:
Experience HQ
Reasons To Fall In Love With Situs Poker Online
by LIAM on August 12, 2021
Developed during the early 19th century, the game of situs poker online has massively grown to become a family card game combining the strategies of gambling and luck online casino games. The winner of each hand is determined by the various modifications of betting done along with the right combination of cards in the player's hand. This hand will remain hidden until the end of the game.
The Gameplay
With the inclusion of one or two jokers, a 52-card pack is used https://www.996ace.com/sg/en-us/. Each player will have a hand consisting of five cards whose combinations will rank from five-of-a-kind to no-pair-of-a-kind.
Five of a kind
It's the hand that combines five cards belonging to the same rank. But this combination is only possible by using the wild card which exist only four different ranks in a pack of cards- heart, spade, diamond, and club. This wild card can be a joker or any other special card.
Ranking is based on the combination that involves five cards all belonging to the same suit, such as a jack-high straight flush having a spade of J, 10, 9, 8 and 7. The key point in the straight flush is that each flush in situs poker online is ranked by the value of its highest ranking card.
As the term suggests, it consists of four cards belonging to same ranking and one card belonging to another rank which is known as the kicker.
It ranks above the flush but below the wild card, having a combination of three cards of the same rank and two cards of another rank. The entire ranking of the hand is determined by ranking of its first three cards and then the next two cards.
Flush is similar to Straight flush other than the fact that the cards might not be in sequential order.
It is the key ingredient to the game where one or two players are asked to place a bet. This betting may occur during several intervals of the game, which can either be 'ante' where players need to put in an initial contribution, or it can be a 'blind bet'. The shuffler will deal the cards, and players start developing their hand as the game progresses. End of each round of situs poker online involves the gathering of all bets in a pot.
In case there remains more than one player, at the end of the last round, there occurs the final showdown, which involves players revealing their hands. The player with the highest rank of cards is the winner and gets the right to claim the pot.
Thus, situs poker online is a game which will never grow old or tiring as it requires a lot of thought, strategizing, and studying. What one love about it, is that it's not a solved game, you learn as you progress. Every round plays out differently increasing the competition as well as the challenge.
Truth about Poker Online Industry! Is it really worth it?
Intriguing Facts about the History of Casinos
How to Play Live Casino Online Without Money
How to Play Poker And Win
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jny_OJhKC1U
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Anchorage Project Access (APA) is the only health care safety net program of its kind in Alaska, serving uninsured individuals and families, with limited financial resources, by providing access to donated specialty medical and dental care through our network of volunteer providers. Anchorage is a medically underserved area; this contributes to the extensive barriers to accessing health care experienced by our most vulnerable community members. APA was founded through a collaborative effort of local physicians and community stakeholders dedicated to addressing these barriers and increasing access to health care for those in our community most in need.
APA ensures that community members without resources or health insurance obtain life-saving medical treatments. APA does not charge for its services. In partnership with over 690 local specialists, our network of volunteer providers donate care through APA's Medical and Dental Programs. These donating providers represent over 40 medical specialties that provide essential medical care to individuals and families who otherwise would not have access to these services. APA reduces the overutilization of hospital emergency departments and improves health equity and health outcomes by ensuring physicians and other community partners can effectively and efficiently donate their services. APA provides the operational infrastructure that allows physicians to restore health to Alaskans through a patient centered model. Addressing social determinants of health for every patient, APA staff connects individuals and families to community resources including: housing, employment, financial, food, transportation and other essential services.
APA is a nonprofit program operating administratively under Christian Health Associates (CHA). APA offers a welcoming system of care for patients by conducting eligibility screening for donated services, reviewing medical/dental treatment referrals, coordinating appointments for donated care, assisting patients in navigating complex systems of care, providing assistance in applying for health insurance, and ensuring patients establish a primary care health home for ongoing preventive care. Since 2005, APA has provided over $53.2 million in donated care.
"Anchorage Project Access gives people hope when they may have lost hope. The people who do this, the contributors, are the absolute critical pieces in the puzzle. Sometimes it takes a lot of humility to come and say, 'I need help.' It's been a real life changer for me personally."
– Yvette Conides (former APA patient)


Stem color:Blue, brown, black, red.
Mainly applied on computer keyboards,cash registers,industrial equipment and Man-Machine interfaces.
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Welcome to contact us for more question or comment.


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NASA Asteroid Tracker: Gigantic 853ft 'Potentially Hazardous' NEO Headed For Earth This July
By Inigo Monzon
NASA's asteroid tracker has detected a massive near-Earth object that's currently headed for the planet. According to the agency's Center for Near Earth Object Studies (CNEOS), the approaching asteroid is almost twice as big as the Great Pyramid of Giza and is categorized as a "potentially hazardous asteroid" or PHA.
Data collected by CNEOS on asteroid 2010 PK9 revealed that it is currently travelling at a speed of 37,000 miles per hour. The agency estimated that the asteroid is about 853 feet-long, which is big enough to dwarf some of the most well-known national monuments including the Washington Monument and the Statue of Liberty.
According to CNEOS, 2010 PK9 will reach its closest distance to Earth on July 26 at 3:04 pm ST. During this time, the asteroid will be about 0.02107 astronomical units or almost 2 million miles from the planet's center.
The asteroid was first observed on Aug. 5, 2010. Based on the information collected by CNEOS on 2010 PK9, the asteroid has been a frequent visitor to the orbits of Mercury, Venus and Earth.
The earliest known record of 2010 PK9 was its approach on Mercury on June 1, 1900. It approached the planet from a distance of 0.044518 astronomical units or around 4.1 million miles away.
The last time that the asteroid was within Earth's vicinity was on Sept. 3, 2018. CNEOS predicted that the asteroid will approach the planet again on Aug. 25, 2022.
So far, 2010 PK9 has been keeping a relatively safe distance from the planets that it visits. As indicated in CNEOS' projections regarding the asteroid's future visits, Earth is safe from a possible impact event.
Of course, the risk of 2010 PK9 hitting Earth still lingers since the projections probably do not take into account the forces in space that can alter the asteroid's trajectory. For instance, a different and unknown asteroid could collide with 2010 PK9, nudging it into a path straight to Earth.
2010 PK9 could also get pulled by the gravitational forces of Mercury, Venus and Earth. This could alter the asteroid's current course and bring it into a collision path with Earth in the future.
Astronomers Discover New Record-Breaking Asteroid
7 Asteroids To Approach Earth This Week


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What a shot! 27 amazing sports photos
Updated 0546 GMT (1346 HKT) March 11, 2019
Photos: What a shot! 27 amazing sports photos
Keon Broxton of the New York Mets crashes into the wall attempting to catch a fly ball during the sixth inning of a Grapefruit League spring training game against the Boston Red Sox on March 9, in Fort Myers, Florida.
From left, Zdeno Chara, Charlie McAvoy and Brad Marchand of the Boston Bruins celebrate with Patrice Bergeron after he scored the game winning goal during an NHL game against the Florida Panthers on Thursday, March 7 at TD Garden.
Simona Halep plays a forehand against Kateryna Kozlova during their women's singles third round match of the BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden on March 10, in Indian Wells, California. Halep defeated Kozlova in straight sets to advance to the round of 16.
Liam Williams knocks down Joe Mullender during the British Middleweight Championship at the Royal Albert Hall, London on Friday, March 8. Williams defeated Mullender in two rounds.
Denmark's Viktor Axelsen plays a shot during the men's final match of the All England Open Badminton Championships against Japan's Kento Momota at Arena Birmingham on Sunday, March 10.
Six-year-old Joan Stiltner receives an autographed baseball from Chicago White Sox left fielder Joel Booker before the team's spring training game against the Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday, March 7, in Glendale, Arizona.
Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Scott Harrington is checked into the glass by Winnipeg Jets left wing Brandon Tanev during the third period of an NHL game at Nationwide Arena on Sunday, March 3.
University of Kentucky guard Keldon Johnson blocks a shot attempt by Jalen Hudson of the Florida Gators in the first half of an NCAA basketball game on Saturday, March 9, in Lexington, Kentucky.


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require "test_helper"

class PermissionUpdaterTest < ActiveSupport::TestCase
  def users_url(application)
    url = URI.parse(application.redirect_uri)
    "https://#{url.host}/auth/gds/api/users/#{CGI.escape(@user.uid)}"
  end

  setup do
    @sso_push_user = create(:user, name: "SSO Push User")
    SSOPushCredential.user_email = @sso_push_user.email

    @user = create(:user)
    @application = create(:application, redirect_uri: "https://app.com/callback", with_supported_permissions: %w[user_update_permission])
    @signin_permission = @user.grant_application_permission(@application, "signin")
    @other_permission = @user.grant_application_permission(@application, "user_update_permission")
  end

  teardown do
    SSOPushCredential.user_email = nil
    SSOPushCredential.user = nil
  end

  context "perform" do
    should "update the application with users information" do
      expected_body = UserOAuthPresenter.new(@user, @application).as_hash.to_json
      http_request = stub_request(:put, users_url(@application)).with(body: expected_body)

      PermissionUpdater.new.perform(@user.uid, @application.id)
      assert_requested http_request
    end

    context "successful update" do
      should "record the last_synced_at timestamp on the permissions" do
        stub_request(:put, users_url(@application))

        PermissionUpdater.new.perform(@user.uid, @application.id)

        assert_not_nil @signin_permission.reload.last_synced_at
        assert_not_nil @other_permission.reload.last_synced_at
      end
    end

    context "failed update" do
      should "not record the last_synced_at timestamp on the permissions" do
        stub_request(:put, users_url(@application)).to_timeout

        begin
          PermissionUpdater.new.perform(@user.uid, @application.id)
        rescue StandardError
          SSOPushError
        end

        assert_nil @signin_permission.reload.last_synced_at
        assert_nil @other_permission.reload.last_synced_at
      end
    end

    context "handling changes in data since job was scheduled" do
      should "not attempt to update if the User doesn't exist" do
        SSOPushClient.expects(:new).never

        PermissionUpdater.new.perform("#{@user.uid}foo", @application.id)
      end

      should "do nothing if the application doesn't exist" do
        SSOPushClient.expects(:new).never

        PermissionUpdater.new.perform(@user.uid, @application.id + 42)
      end

      should "not raise if the user has no permissions for the application" do
        @signin_permission.destroy!
        @other_permission.destroy!

        expected_body = UserOAuthPresenter.new(@user, @application).as_hash.to_json
        http_request = stub_request(:put, users_url(@application)).with(body: expected_body)

        PermissionUpdater.new.perform(@user.uid, @application.id)

        assert_requested http_request
      end
    end
  end
end

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Cool changeable 7 color backlight source.
Subtle ergonomic design, the most subtle touch.
4 multimedia shortcut keys & 4 office shortcut keys make it easier to use.
Large grinding process "palm holder, more comfortable using &you can adjust the keyboard height.
The keycap using laser engraving technology, durable wear does not fade.
With LED light, even at night to experience the game is quite suitable.
The keys of "W" "A" "S" "D" having special engraving.
Four-star watertightness. It can direct water flushing.
With blue and red LED light, whirlwind streamline, dual-spring big spaces.
Game exclusive optimization design, Ergonomically designed, comfortable to grip and use.
Fashion and contemporary bright-black design of outlook is perfectly for any working space.
Skylimite backlight gaming keyboard designed for gamers, keyboard with 7 color backlight effect, coupled with the cool and beautiful shape.
The upper and lower lid and the caps are made of high strength ABS plastic, can be an effective anti-violence and anti-beat frequency of use for high-intensity gamers.
This keyboard is just epic. I bought it and I was amazed by how smooth and durable the keyboard was. The colored lighting was really impressive. The shape and size of the keyboard is for any gamer, and I'd recommend this over razer keyboards. Overall there is really no disadvantage to having this keyboard!
Copyrights © 2013 Skylimite — All rights reserved.


Shortly after a hearing about the use of red-light cameras in New Haven, I was nearly hit by a black Mercedes SUV speeding through a red light. Unfortunately, I'm not alone: Too many people in New Haven are endangered by red-light runners.
The swirling political tides in Connecticut could lead to the abolition of the death penalty in the state next year.


text:
Kirsten Dunst Reveals Her Fear Of Dying From COVID Pushed Her To Try For Baby No. 2 While Filming 'The Power Of The Dog'
By Melissa Romualdi. 8 Nov 2021 11:32 AM
Kirsten Dunst — Photo: Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic
Kirsten Dunst opened up about how the coronavirus brought fear into her life.
Dunst revealed that her fear of dying from the virus played a big role in trying for a second child with partner, Jesse Plemons.
The 39-year-old actress was working on her new movie "The Power Of The Dog" with her fiancé, Plemons, when the pandemic hit. Flash forward to the night of the film's wrap party and baby number two for the couple was conceived.
READ MORE: Benedict Cumberbatch Menaces His Way Through The New Trailer For 'The Power Of The Dog' With Kirsten Dunst
In an interview with The Times, Dunst spoke about filming in New Zealand and being there when the pandemic struck, confessing her fear of dying if she caught COVID because she was a smoker during that time.
"We would go to the grocery store and take off our clothes and wipe down afterwards. No one knew anything, it was terrifying, and at the time I smoked so I was like, 'Oh my God, if I get this I am gonna die,'" Dunst revealed.
It was fear that motivated the actress to try for her second child James, now 6-months-old. "I was like, as soon as we are done with this movie, let's try and have another baby," said Dunst.
READ MORE: Kirsten Dunst Shows Off Charming Los Angeles Ranch-Style Home To Architectural Digest
Dunst also opened up about the time she checked herself into rehab for depression. She was in her late 20s and believes it unfolded from the never-ending pressure of work.
The actress was scared to take medication to ease the pain but eventually changed her mind. "All I'll say is that medication is a great thing and can really help you come out of something. I was afraid to take something and so I sat in it for too long. I would recommend getting help when you need it," Dunst shared.
READ MORE: Kirsten Dunst Welcomes Baby No. 2 With Fiancé Jesse Plemons
Dunst added that she felt "free" following the birth to her first son, Ennis, three, with Plemons, and thinks her acting has changed for the better, putting herself more out there, since becoming a mother.
"The Power Of The Dog" hits theatres on Nov. 17 and will be available to stream on Netflix on Dec. 1. It premiered at TIFF 2021.
Celebs Country Club Jesse Plemons Kirsten Dunst Movies The Power Of The Dog
Cardi B To Cover Funeral And Burial Costs After 17 Die In Tragic NYC Fire
Valerie Bertinelli Remembers Her 'Hot In Cleveland' Co-Star Betty White
'Cheer 2' Cast Reveal How The Show's Success Caught Them Off Guard
Ricky Gervais Says It's Not The End For 'After Life', Stars Talk Christmas Special
'America's Funniest Home Videos' Pays Heartfelt Tribute To Bob Saget


Redwood Writers, Sonoma County branch of the California Writers Club.
Sonoma County Bookmobile: Begun by Glen Weaver, this provides free books throughout the area, with particular attention to outlying and low-income areas. We urge people to contribute books to this organization, in addition to local library sales.
The Living Room, Santa Rosa: We support this organization for homeless and at-risk women and children. Our annual Harvest dinner features donations to the group.


LIFE AS A LOSER #163: "SNAP ME PERFECT!"
The first big grownup book I ever remember reading cover to cover was, not surprisingly, about baseball. It was called "Snap Me Perfect!" and it was written by Darrell Porter, a catcher for the St. Louis Cardinals. Porter was not just any catcher; he was my hero. The first year I cared about sports – I was far more interested in playing four-square and doing math problems during recess, much to my father's chagrin – was 1982, when I was turned on to the Cardinals. That team was full of memorable characters, from Ozzie Smith's backflips at shortstop to Willie McGee's leaping catches in centerfield to Joaquin Andujar's lunatic antics on the mound, but my favorite player was Darrell Porter.
wore those late '70s style of eyeglasses, with the enormous, thick lenses and black frames as thick as copper tubing. His batting stance looked like a man leaning backwards after being startled by something; he arched his back and crouched to the point that his left ear was almost parallel with the ground. He had recently been acquired by the Cardinals' new manager, Whitey Herzog, from the Milwaukee Brewers, in a trade in which the Redbirds had given up their popular starting catcher Ted Simmons. Porter wasn't popular with the St. Louis fans for most of the 1982 season, but that didn't matter to me. I'd never watched Simmons play, but I loved the way that Porter looked like a regular guy, like someone in my family, really, and battled his heart out every game. When the nine innings were over, you could always count on Porter look like he'd just been beaten repeatedly with something blunt and heavy, he'd survived and he couldn't wait to get out there again.
My faith in Porter was rewarded when the Cardinals, shocking all prognosticators, won the National League East and advanced to the playoffs. St. Louis beat the Atlanta Braves (managed by Joe Torre) in three games, and Porter was the hot hitter, batting .555 in a three-game sweep and earned Series MVP honors. But Porter shone brightest in the World Series, a seven-game war with those same Milwaukee Brewers. His clutch hitting and leadership of the fickle Cardinals pitching staff were vital, and when he caught Bruce Sutter's final ninth-inning fastball past Gorman Thomas, clinching the Cardinals' first title since 1967 (and, to this date, last title), he was awarded the World Series MVP trophy. Porter was finally everyone's hero, but he was mine first. I immediately told my baseball coach – my dad – that I wanted to play catcher from then on, and I did, up until my final game, 11 years later.
My family and I attended the First Baptist Church in those days, but only because my grandparents did, and not with any real urgency. In 1985, my father and I were both baptized, but more out of obligation than anything else; I was of the age, and Mom had been bugging Dad to go with me so I'd feel more comfortable. My minister, Rev. Sanders, an old fishing buddy of my grandfather's, knew I was a huge Cardinals fan and took me aside the day of my baptism and asked me if I'd read Darrell Porter's autobiography. I had no idea he'd written one, and gleefully took it home and scoured through it.
In the late 1970s, Porter had played for the Milwaukee Brewers and Kansas City Royals, I learned, but he was run off the team (by Brewers owner Bud Selig and, later, Herzog himself) for a reason I couldn't comprehend: He was addicted to drugs. Specifically, cocaine. The first half of the book chronicles – poorly; neither Porter nor his collaborator, an editor at the Christian Guideposts magazine, were particularly adept at sizzling prose, not that I would have noticed the difference at the age of 10 – Porter's early career, and his insatiable need for cocaine, including an paranoid episode where he became convinced the Kansas City Royals' play-by-play announcer was telling fans that Porter was shooting heroin before games (Porter went after him with a shotgun). This was heady stuff for a 10-year-old, and I couldn't imagine why my minister, on the day I was baptized, would give it to me.
But, of course, halfway through the book, Porter has a spiritual awakening, joins a church, cleans up and resurrects his career, and the book ends with him hugging Sutter and the Cardinals winning the World Series and Porter hugging his baby girl and quoting Scripture. The title "Snap Me Perfect!" comes from Porter's wishes that God could just cleanse him and "snap him perfect," and his final realization that his road would be a rocky one that he could only survive through Christ, and so on. He traveled the country after his career was over, preaching and telling his story of recovery to church groups. My youth minister had actually just seen him speak, and he had received the book and given it to me.
I was deeply inspired by the book as a child, and I took it to youth group meetings through the beginning of high school, when I'd decided to become a youth minister. Later, I discovered women and alcohol and all the trappings and glories of a sinful life, and I kind of dropped the whole Christian thing, and I really haven't given it much thought anymore, save for going to church with my family on holidays. I've pretty much been snapped pretty-freaking-far-from-perfect, and, frankly, I'm OK with that. I mean no harm.
But back then, I read that book cover-to-cover, over and over, and once, on a Cardinals promotional tour throughout the Midwest, I even met Porter himself, and he signed my book "Jesus Saves. – DP." I've lost that book in the clutter of the years. I should check my parents' attic sometime.
Last August, I was at work when I received an email from a fellow Cardinals fan sending me to a Yahoo news sports story. It was a brief, two paragraphs, a minor story about a player baseball fans had long since forgotten about. Darrell Porter, former catcher for the Milwaukee Brewers, Kansas City Royals and St. Louis Cardinals, had been found sitting alone in his truck, dead of an apparent drug overdose.
There was no mention of his book, or his past recoveries, only a small line about the 1982 World Series and an upcoming toxicology report.
I ordered his book the other day. It should be here any day. Why do I want to read it again? What is it that I'm trying to remember? Am I being morbid and just looking for clues? Or do I just want a nostalgic look back and a time when anything looked possible, when nothing could not be overcome, when I was hopeful and wanted to believe everything would be OK?
We are all struggling with our private demons. As we grow older, we hope that we will become wise and avoid repeating the mistakes of the past. But we are who we are, and sometimes, that's too much for anyone to overcome.
I want to be that seven year old kid who just wants to play baseball and be free. Perhaps I should have learned then that the world is harder than it seems, that humans fail and struggle and lose and die. Perhaps that's a lesson I could have used. Because now, to be honest, that seven-year-old kid just looks like a fool.
Life as a Loser runs every week. Join the Life as a Loser discussion group at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/onecrappycolumnist.


text:
(Redirected from Leamington Spa)
Coordinates: 52°17′29.62″N 1°32′8.57″W / 52.2915611°N 1.5357139°W / 52.2915611; -1.5357139
Royal Leamington Spa (or Leamington Spa) is a town in Warwickshire, UK. In 2001 it had a population of 45,300. Until 1784 it was not a town but a village. It was in this year that two local men called Benjamin Satchwell and William Abbott discovered a spring in the village. The two men, and others from the town, began to use the water for treatment of illnesses, which was a common practice in those times. The town quickly developed into a spa town with many rich people visiting to 'take the waters'. Because of this the town grew quickly. The town soon became famous and a popular holiday resort. When spa water stopped being fashionable fewer people came on holiday to the town, but rich people still went to live there when they were old. In modern times Leamington does not treat many people with the water but it is still known as a pleasant place to live. It is also popular for shopping.
The town is built by a river called the River Leam which flows through the middle of the town from east to west. The town is now connected to another town called Warwick. Other nearby settlements include Kenilworth (about six miles away), Rugby (about sixteen miles away) and Coventry (about ten miles away).
Architecture[change | change source]
The Parade and surrounding streets feature large Regency town houses typically with white façades, sash windows and high ceilings. Most of the buildings in the centre are listed.
Media related to Royal Leamington Spa at Wikimedia Commons
Retrieved from "https://simple.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Royal_Leamington_Spa&oldid=5600737"
Spa towns in the United Kingdom
Towns in Warwickshire


He is the master of charm. A dip of the chin and a grin while those blue eyes look up through his blonde overgrown fringe will get me every time. "Okay Mum, thanks Mum, thanks for finding my sock, love you Mum" he says with a kiss before skipping off to the car. And it's then as I grab the keys that I notice his homework is still on table, next to his lunch box.
I pondered their job descriptions as members of our family: the packing of the dishwasher each night, table setting, making of beds, and the responsibility of teeth cleaning and hair washing that is barked up the stairs each night.
Had I ever stopped to ask what their expectation of me was? What was my job description in their minds?
The third traveller, who will make a fine Prime Minister one day (when he can find both his socks) told me my responsibility was to provide a healthy diet and a good education.
"I think you should always be on time".
I'd been late picking him up from school, the wound was still fresh.
"Fair enough, I promise not to be late tomorrow. Your dissatisfaction has been noted." I winked.
The second little traveller has a cold, with her head on the table she requested I look after her when she was sick. "And I agree, you should keep lollies in the fridge" a smirk appeared.
I was shocked, for two reasons; number one was because I thought I'd done a reasonably good job at being at as many events as I could. The second and more important reason though, was because I was beginning to feel like she'd outgrown me needing to be at everything. A particular track and field event came to mind, an event where I'd almost felt like the invisible woman as she wandered from the high jump to the long jump with her girlfriends. I'd received the occasional wave in my direction, and there was a brief exchange when she'd needed money for a drink – but apart from that, I was on my own. I think every mother of a tween/teen has been there. On the receiving end of the please just stay over there, there's no need to come too close incase you make me look uncool look.
I've been told when I've cheered too loudly, or I've made a dumb joke. I've laughed at the wrong moment, and I've sat in the wrong spot. And then there was the day when I enthusiastically called Emily, Hannah, at the school gate. Oh my god, sooooo embarrassing!
What I hadn't considered though, was that this was all okay – because I was there. It was all a part of the job description. I'm meant to be embarrassing. And although I may not need to be front and centre of the action anymore. That's okay.
As long as she feels like I'm there.