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The Standing Rock Follies
American's don't go in for subtle entertainment. It is no accident the BBC has no American competition. Our own PBS puts together bland assemblages of endless hours spent in earnest pandering along with tendentious documentaries. Though I do confess a certain fondness for their historical CSI show, Secrets of the Dead. But when PBS needs an audience (money raising time) they bring out TJ Lubinsky and his brand of "golden oldies". PBS doesn't do Shakespeare or Downton Abbey. Americans prefer close-ups of Doo Wop artists momentarily free of their walkers interspersed with wide angle shots of old folks swaying in time, mouthing the politically incorrect lyrics of 50 years ago.
Political theater in the United States is the same. We like our villains wearing black hats, stealing from widows, orphans or people of color. We like our good guys pure as the driven snow, oppressed by the Evil Empire and taking to the streets. We like our actors stereotyped with simple story lines, stories we can understand at a glance as we look up from FaceBook or the game.
And so our latest set piece tableau is the Standing Rock Follies. It's a simple story, a drama with the lines starkly drawn. Thinking is not required to follow the story. A small group of poverty stricken and oppressed indigenous people on the border between South and North Dakota are fighting the good fight against evil. An oil company seeks to bulldoze an oil pipeline dripping with pollutants across their land. This pipeline will desecrate their sacred and holy places while fouling their drinking water. It's just one more sorry episode in the endless story of the White Man oppressing the Red Man.
You have to admit, it's a story made for coverage by the evening news. As a side benefit, PBS can use a lot of the networks footage in their own documentaries, allowing them to keep PBS production costs down. After all, TJ Lubinsky's old Doo Wop artists are dropping like flies and the BBC continues to raise the fees for showing "Downton Abbey".
The actors in the Standing Rock drama are right out of Central Casting. A few brave members of the Sioux (per the approved usage – Indigenous People – Native American – AmerIndian – Original Peoples) are engaged in a lonely vigil against insurmountable odds to prevent a polluting pipeline from destroying their culture and drinking water. The polluting pipeline, Dakota Access by name, is the evil scheme of a calculating and ruthless billionaire to run rough shod over the sacred holy places of the poverty stricken Sioux in order to make obscene profits.
A callous and insensitive federal agency, the Army Corps of Engineers, is a willing accomplice to this blatant disregard for the health and holy places of the Sioux. President Obama, in a courageous attempt to stave off the Long Night of the Deplorables, stepped in and ordered the Corps of Engineers to rescind its permit to build the pipeline. At least for a day, there is a happy ending. The evil machinations of oil billionaires have been thwarted. The Sioux can continue to worship their ancestors in peace and drink unpolluted water. The Earth has been saved for a time. Right and justice have triumphed.
On the one hand, we have the Enlightened Peoples of the Earth. On the other hand, we have the Deplorables. Does the line get any more clearly drawn than at Standing Rock? How can such things happen in a nation seeking to be just?
Perhaps the best place to start is with things that can be measured and seen, once quaintly known as the facts before thrown into disrepute by the Clintons, statisticians and the cathedral of diversity. While I don't claim the superior knowledge possessed by journalists, scientists and activists, being only a simple engineer, I do speak with some experience. In a past life, I was an active participant in permitting and constructing thousands of miles of pipelines built in the lands crossed by the Dakota Access pipeline. In point of fact, we built a crude oil pipeline across the very same Missouri River, now threatened by the horror that is the Dakota Access Pipeline, some miles upstream from the disputed Standing Rock crossing.
Political theater, as any other play, needs the elements of either drama or comedy for it to capture an audience's attention. While there is a strong element of comedy at Standing Rock, the media has chosen to present it as drama so I will continue in that vein. At Standing Rock, we have a crude oil carrying pipeline that goes across the Missouri River, a mile or more across. This large pipeline, 30" in diameter transporting nearly 20 million gallons of crude oil per day, is said to pose an existential threat to the water in the river if it leaks, spilling all that oil into the river. Every one remembers the environmental catastrophe (?) that was the Deep Water Horizon explosion in the Gulf of Mexico back in 2010.
What if the Dakota Access Pipeline ruptures or leaks, destroying the drinking water supply for not only the oppressed and poverty stricken indigenous Sioux of the Standing Rock Reservation, but for tens of millions of other innocent people downstream? What if the Yellowstone Super Volcano erupts, turning a quarter of the United States and Canada into a lifeless wasteland? We fool ourselves if we think we can live in a world without risk. In the real world, people balance advantages against liabilities while calculating probabilities. Otherwise, we find ourselves drawn to careers in the media or the Humanities Departments of higher education.
The Dakota Access Pipeline will cross the Missouri River like all modern pipelines do. A drilling rig will set up on one side of the river, well back from the water, and use a water powered drill to drill a hole, only slightly larger than the pipeline itself, passing under the river and emerging on the other side of the river. The pipeline is designed to pass a minimum of 92 feet under the riverbed. The drill head will be continuously monitored and controlled, accurate to within a few feet. A mixture of water and clay is used to lubricate the drill, as well as carry away the mud, clays and rock drilled from the hole.
After the hole has been drilled, the pipeline's pipe is pulled through the hole. Silt fences and grass bale retaining walls prevent any mud/clay/rock from being washed into the river. There is nothing from the pipeline construction itself that might get into the river. The material removed from the drill hole is carefully dammed and hauled away.
After the pipeline crossing is in place, it is carefully inspected, multiple times by mechanical means as well as with electronic instrumentation capable of detecting microscopic imperfection, for any damage that might have occurred as it was pulled under the river. It is important to remind ourselves that the pipeline in question is made from high quality steel, carefully engineered to exact specifications, far superior to the steel that might be used in your automobile or the floor beams that support your house floor.
It is also useful to realize that the pipeline itself has a wall thickness of ¾ inch. Simply put, you could fire at it all day with your deer rifle to no effect. In addition, the steel is encased with two separate layers of hardened epoxy to protect it from corrosion. This epoxy coating is continuously monitored during operation of the pipeline to ensure unbroken electrical isolation from the surrounding clay/rock.
But as noted earlier, anything built by man can be broken. Perhaps a terrorist might anchor a pontoon boat over the pipeline, lower a large shaped charge explosive device capable of penetrating through the 100 feet of rock, clay and water and crack the pipeline releasing the crude oil being transported into the river. In such a case, self-contained automatic shutoff valves on either side of the river would slam shut, isolating the pipe crossing the river and stopping oil inflow within seconds.
Perhaps I am too close to my years in construction, but from my perspective, the chances of any meaningful, or even measureable, pollution of the Missouri River's water by the Dakota Access Pipeline to be very very low. The chances that the hysterical fears of the New York Times Editorial Page might occur are perhaps not quite the statistical probability of a Chicxulub asteroid strike or eruption of the Yellowstone super volcano, but within statistical shouting distance.
A moment's reflection and sober thought will bring recognition that the Standing Rock controversy is not about the Sioux, the pipeline or the Missouri River's drinking water. The pipeline is simply a stalking horse for other more distant concerns. Just as unfounded fears of well-meaning farmers in Nebraska were used to stop the Keystone Pipeline further east of Standing Rock in Nebraska, so too the wretched condition of the Sioux on the Standing Rock Reservation is being used to stop the Dakota Access pipeline. It is simply political theater, meant to shape opinion and create leverage in the land once known by the Sioux as the house of the Great White Father.
As you might suspect, political theater is not a play written by George Bernard Shaw or Anton Chekov. Political theater is more like a classic Disney movie, Cinderella and the evil stepmother. Thus we have the evils of polluting oil and greedy billionaires riding roughshod over Mother Earth and poor downtrodden Native Americans.
Again, facts have been given a bad name over the past decades. Donald Trump simply hitched a ride on the well-worn coat tails of social science, medicine and public broadcasting. After years of the corrosion caused by those mendicants, whatever solid ground remains under the reputation of facts has been almost completely eroded by the institutional biases of the fact checking organizations used by our media organizations.
The elusive nature of facts, of truth, is not something new to our age or the latest election cycle. Human beings have struggled with facts and the truth derived from those facts from the very beginning. Some two thousand years ago in a memorable cameo in the Gospel of John, Pontius Pilate posed the question, "What is truth?" Pilate stands in for all of us in our confusion when faced with those who seek to stampede us into emotional decisions. Just as the Jewish political leaders sought to railroad Jesus, so too do present day activists seek to push us into unwise short sighted actions. If we are to properly execute our duties as responsible stewards of God's great and glorious creation, we might well add an element of skepticism, even cynicism, as we are exposed to the political dramas diverting our news feeds and shaping our thoughts.
Wearing the black hat at Standing Rock we have polluting oil endangering our drinking water for the benefit of billionaires. That is a pretty nefarious villain, right, a modern version of the evil stepmother? A pipeline leaking oil into the pristine water of the Missouri River for the benefit of a greedy one per center is close to as good as it gets for the producers of political theater.
I offer not facts, those disreputable things, just my own observations. Lets start with the bad guys, often the most interesting characters in a play. Perhaps Dante, with his memorable portrayal of the Devil, began our culture's fascination with bad boys. The bad boy in this case, the evil billionaire seeking to build the nefarious pipeline, is a man named Kelcey Warren, CEO of Energy Transfer. As it happens, I have a small acquaintance with Kelcey Warren, having spent time in private conversation with him, admittedly back before he became a billionaire or evil.
In retrospect, my strongest impression of Kelcey was "surfer dude". To be honest, if I close my eyes and think about Kelcey Warren, the "surfer dude" in my own family comes to mind. There was just a relaxed air of nonchalance about Kelcey, a bit reserved but open and friendly as well. I remember him as a very down to earth and personable man, tanned, feathered hair. He was dressed casually, jeans and polo shirt, back in a time when that was rare in office environments. But what stuck in my mind was that he didn't wear socks. His office was spare, decorated with musical instruments and beach mementos. To the side of his desk, not as ornamentation but to be used, were a couple of guitars on stands.
I don't know Kelcey Warren, just as I don't know Warren Buffet, the house broken billionaire beloved by the smart set. But I have worked with Kelcey Warren's organization and I have worked with Warren Buffet's organization. Kelcey's organization was congenial, focused on getting things done. Warren Buffet's organization was fearful, wondering who would be sacrificed if the numbers weren't right.
Both men are smart businessmen, doing what they have to do to make a buck. But Kelcey Warren builds things. Warren Buffet takes what others have built, shakes them down and makes them more profitable. Both types are necessary in the business world. But I would rather rub shoulders with carpenters than house keepers.
Billionaires aside, the oil pipeline is said to threaten drinking water, that most sacred of substances. It is obvious to even the most insensitive observer that the smallest threat to our waters purity is too great to tolerate for the American citizenry. After all, American consumers spend $ 15 billion per year on bottled water, choosing to avoid the possibility of pixie dust in the free water flowing in their own faucets.
It cannot be denied that the oil in the Dakota Access Pipeline could leak into the pristine (?) waters of the Missouri River. While the probability of this happening is less than the probability that I might win the Powerball jackpot, there is still the possibility. But in the real world, the climate-controlled warrens of the coastal elites require prodigious amounts of hydrocarbon derived energy and raw materials. And despite the fevered fantasies of those elites, that energy and those materials require oil, either from the war torn fields of the Middle East or from our own fracked fields in the United States. Since some of the best oil in the United States is produced in North Dakota, that oil must cross the Missouri River.
Because of the previous political theater played out in Nebraska with the Keystone Pipeline, that oil from North Dakota destined to support the lifestyle of the Left Coast travels by train. Many plays, particularly political theater of even the most serious intent, are leavened with elements of comedy, even farce. Thus we have the comedic scenario of the nation's attention focused on the desperate struggle to stop an oil pipeline from crossing the Missouri River while only a few miles away railroad trains of 150 cars cross the river carrying that same oil, sometimes in trains only minutes apart shaking the bridge as they cross. In irony underlining comedy, most of those rail cars carrying the oil are owned by and earning premium profits for Warren Buffet, that beloved billionaire.
Thus our elites have judged a pipeline with its ¾" highly engineered steel walls buried under 92 feet of clay and rock to be riskier to the health and safety of the people in their care than the ½" common plate steel of a tank car riding above the river on a bridge of uncertain integrity. Adding injury to insult, the barely quantifiable risk of a pipeline leak is preferred by our elites to the certainty of the agonizing deaths of innocent citizens in the fiery explosions of tank car derailments. Already one such incident has occurred, resulting in the deaths of nearly fifty people sleeping in their beds. Of course the people at risk of fiery death live in fly over states or Canada, vote mostly Republican, own guns and go to church. Perhaps the election of Donald Trump is not so incomprehensible after all.
Many of the giant figures of the past century were monsters in human disguise. Perhaps that is always the case, but we have been forced into looking at them in the age of mass communication. One of those monsters, if not the most monstrous of them all, was Joseph Stalin. Responsible for the deaths of uncounted tens of millions, he nevertheless understood us, the human animal well. He had the gift of expressing the reality of who we are in a short and memorable way. During the 1930's the Soviet government orchestrated a famine in the Ukraine resulting in the deaths of at least six million people. During a meeting of high government officials at which the latest death tolls were being discussed, Stalin is reliably reported to have said:
"The death of one man is a tragedy, but the death of a million is a statistic."
Stalin said it, but those paid to manipulate us understand the underlying reality very well. We are regularly exposed to the stories of individuals who have experienced tragedy, injustice, abuse or oppression. Then follow stories packed with the studies of researchers, buttressed by statistics, that "prove" such treatment is common, an everyday occurrence in Amerika. There arises a call in the media that such injustice must be stopped. And so another strand in the web enmeshing our lives and circumscribing our freedoms is put into place.
But in keeping with Stalin's perceptive observation, while we obsess over the tragedies suffered by some small group or individual, we dismiss the injustice suffered by millions. Whether in the Middle East or the Rust Belt, our eyes glaze over when confronted with the suffering of millions. Those millions whose suffering is often caused by our own obsessive need to right every perceived wrong done to the favored few.
And so we come to the tragedy of the few in our tableau, the long suffering few of the Standing Rock Reservation. Again, I offer no facts, just simple observations from my own experience in the world of pipeline construction. Given the large and extensive tracts of Indian lands in the Western United States, anyone building or operating pipelines in that part of the world gains experience with the Indigenous People and their culture.
The route chosen by the builders of the Dakota Access Pipeline demonstrated they were experienced in dealing with the First Nations. The builders adjusted the route of the pipeline to avoid crossing the Standing Rock Reservation. Hidden among the "facts" of the Standing Rock Follies is the fact that the Missouri River crossing of the pipeline, as well as the entire route of the pipeline, carefully avoids all Sioux land. No one of any experience ventures any closer to Native American land than absolutely necessary. Dealing with Indian tribes has much in common with dealing with Iran and its Ayatollahs.
It is a sad truth that to travel through the Indian Reservations of the West is to be torn by the tragedy of the circumstances of the people living there. One cannot be human and not be touched by what one sees. Anybody's heart is gripped by a wish to help, but what is to be done? Simply pouring money and assistance into the Reservation has been tried for generations to no discernable effect.
Those forced by circumstance to deal with the Original People on a business basis quickly come to understand the reasons behind their poverty and distress. Their culture is a straightjacket from which they have not broken free. Their culture, celebrated and clung to, was suited to a Neolithic life style which disappeared nearly two centuries ago. It simply does not work in the 21st Century. Nor did it work in the 20th Century. Nor did it work for most of the 19th Century.
By and large, the inhabitants of the Indian Reservations live a life built on a sustainable life style with an artisanal work force. It is a vision of the world idealized by our elites. But even the blind man can see where such practices lead. For life on the Reservations to change, culture must change.
More than anything else, the Democratic Party has driven our own wider culture into the morass of Identity Politics, which celebrates and seeks to preserve unchanged the cultures of those Americans hobbled by their dysfunctional culture. By dividing us into a Balkans of sexuality, gender and ethnicity, the Democratic Party has achieved a great deal of electoral success at the cost of erasing our individuality.
At Standing Rock, we see this broad stereotyping of people introducing an element of humor, though perhaps a humor of the macabre. Underlying and making possible the stand off at Standing Rock is the whole sordid history of how the White Man stole the Indian's land from them. Suffice it to say that both Hollywood and our schools have solidly implanted the by now common sense understanding that our United States was created out of land stolen from the people who lived here before, the American Indian. We cheated. We stole. We raped and we killed the people living here before the depressing arrival of the White Man.
Perhaps so, lets not argue the point now. But what the Identity Politics of our current day have robbed us of is the delicious spice of the real stories that unfold before us. Let us remember that the folks being abused at Standing Rock are not just American Indians, but are the Sioux. In popular myth perhaps no other tribe has been so put upon by injustice and sheer brutal oppression, at Wounded Knee, at Pine Ridge and now at Standing Rock. The creative community celebrated Russell Means, an outspoken Sioux who had a star turn portraying the Yoda-like Chingachook in The Last of the Mohicans. As the creative community frequently does when seeking to make political points, they conveniently forgot that Mr. Means was a Sioux activist intimately connected with terrorism, murder and violence on another Sioux Reservation.
But let us return to the 19th Century, the time when the White Men stole the Great American West from their natives. During the 1800's, on two continents, two masses of indigenous peoples are expanding, in Southern Africa and the American West. Both of these indigenous peoples are vigorous cultures, growing in population, moving into new lands and replacing those who lived there before. Both are ruthless in their expansion, killing the men, enslaving the women and children as they take over new lands. Then in mid-century, both of these indigenous peoples run into equally powerful and ruthless opposition.
Both of the expanding indigenous people groups win the initial skirmishes and force back the advancing opposition. At the time they imagine they have solidified and made permanent their conquests. But as is common on the borders between two aggressive expanding people, there continues skirmishes and incursions along the borders separating the two powers. Then in the 1870's the escalating pressures along the frontiers on both continents expand the clashes into major confrontations. On both continents, the indigenous peoples win dramatic victories, nearly annihilating their opponent's military force in the field at the beginning of these new confrontations. But in winning these battles, they create the conditions that will inevitably end the stalemate bring their ultimate downfall.
In Africa, the Zulu peoples expanded south out of Central Africa, creating a larger and larger empire under their control, butchering and enslaving all those native peoples who stood against them. Then they ran into the Boers and the British of South Africa. At Isandlwana, the Zulu annihilated a British force, killing nearly 1,300 British troops.
In the United States and Canada, the Sioux peoples expanded out of the Great Lakes region, creating a larger and larger area under their control, butchering and enslaving all those Indian tribes living in the Dakotas and surrounding areas. Then they met the expanding United States, moving westward along with the railroad and cattle drives. A series of victories known as Red Cloud's War in northeast Wyoming forced the United States back, acknowledging defeat and leaving the Sioux in possession of their conquered territories in what is now Southern Canada, the Dakotas, Wyoming and Montana.
But then gold was discovered in the Black Hills of South Dakota and conflict inevitably returned. The Sioux scored big victories against the United States Army at Rosebud Creek and the Little Big Horn. At the Big Horn, six companies of the 7th Cavalry commanded by a genuine Civil War hero, George Custer, were wiped out to a man, an event of such notoriety that it echoes even today.
In both Africa as well as the United States, the immense differences in populations and the resources available to Western Civilization forced the Zulu and the Sioux to bow before the inevitable. In both cases, a Stone Age culture was unable to compete with an industrialized people. In both cases, the victors, memory hazed by the passage of time and distance from the conflict, have heaped humiliation on the memory of the defeated, those who fought with honor, by assigning them the role of victim.
But now macabre humor inserts itself. The present day Sioux, conveniently forgetting their own past, claim sacred and holy status for lands stained with the long forgotten blood of the Pawnee, the Arapahoe, the Mandan, the Crow, the Arikara; those the Sioux themselves killed and enslaved. It is as if the Germans claimed the sites of concentration camps in Poland, because of their sacred significance to the German people. One can not help but laugh.
Skewering the honest concerns of those with soft but perhaps naïve hearts is perhaps a mean thing to do. But there are those who cynically manipulate those soft hearts to their own purposes. How are we to respond to such cynical manipulation? Hardening our heart is not the way to defend others and ourselves from those who seek to manipulate that admirable aspect of our humanity. We are instructed by our Lord and Savior to have soft hearts, touched by the poor and our fellows carrying heavy burdens. But we are also called to be wise, rightly discerning the path of wisdom from the path of foolishness.
Standing Rock is a travesty, a foolish episode with great power to harm many promoted by those who aspire to power, but how is anyone to know? Common sense, as well as Scripture, point us to the teaching of our children. The Book of Proverbs expresses it thus:
"Train up a child in the way that he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it."
Certainly, we are serious about the training of our children. Nobody spends more on Education than the United States. But incidents like Standing Rock point to the less than helpful lessons we are teaching. Perhaps those who design our curriculums and write our textbooks require more supervision. Perhaps we should revisit our old friend, Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvilli or Joseph Stalin as he liked to call himself, who had some perceptive views on the subject, reproduced below:
"Ideas are more powerful than guns. We would not let our enemies have guns, why should we let them have ideas?"
"Education is a weapon, whose effect depends on who holds it in his hands and at who it is aimed."
One Response to "The Standing Rock Follies"
esbenshade says:
The BIA should fold its tent and tell all Native Americans if you can't make
a living on the "res" you better move! The US tax payer will not longer support you.
Only way things will change for all Native Americans.


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Q: How to import templates with Structr behind a proxy I am following the Structr tutorial (https://support.structr.com/article/232) on a Linux machine. It fails when trying to import the jumbotron template from the Internet. I think this is because my machine is behind a proxy, so Structr and/or Java need to be configured to use that proxy.
Structr does not seem to have a proxy setting in the configuration file, and it does not seem to take the env variable http_proxy into account.
Could you please tell me what is the best way to configure the proxy settings for Structr?
Thank you.

A: From version 2.1 (to be released around GraphConnect San Francisco 2016), Structr will support outbound HTTP proxy connections. There will be a global, a personal (bound to your user ID) and a use-case specific configuration (for instance a different proxy for each external site you configure in the Crawler).

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


In a world where competitive threats appear around every corner, public relations firms can be forgiven for being doubly concerned about the the rise of management consultancies as credible digital players.
That is because it brings together two trends that have always ranked high among the potential risks that keep smarter PR industry executives awake at night. On the one hand, management consultancies have long been mooted as a source of competitive tension, given their ability to offer strategic reputation counsel (if not implementation) to C-suite executives.
On the other hand are pure-play digital agencies. While these firms have not necessarily impacted the social media and content work that accounts for the bulk of PR agency digital revenue, there is no question that the likes of Digitas and Razorfish have used their clout and capabilities to corner digital budgets.
Which brings us, rather neatly, to one of the more compelling agency acquisition trails of recent years: the hectic pace at which management consultancies have been hoovering up digital players, in such as areas as interactive design, data analytics, customer experience and product innovation.
As AdAge's 2016 Agency Report reveals, of the world's top five digital agencies, three are owned by consulting giants, namely Accenture Interactive, IBM iX and Deloitte Digital. And many others have been active too, as R3's regular acquisition reports confirm, with digital agencies being snapped up by PwC, KPMG, BCG, Wipro, EY and even McKinsey.
Underpinning this trend is the steady drumbeat of disruption that is reshaping much of the business world. Consulting giants are typically charged with helping clients transform their business, across areas that include technology, talent and customer relationships. Today, all of that requires sophisticated digital insight and — in many cases — relationships with senior figures beyond the CEO and board-level.
There may also be a realisation among these companies that the mammoth consulting contracts are becoming more scarce; hence a measure of diversification — into a demonstrably high-growth area — makes sense, even if it brings them into competition with marketing and communications agencies.
At Cannes earlier this year, I caught up with IBM's global iX leader Paul Papas to talk these developments through in greater detail. Papas admitted that there are parts of IBM's business that now compete with existing partners, whether in terms of agencies like OgilvyOne and Ketchum, or software players like Salesforce and Adobe.
Papas believes that a behavioural mindset gives his company an edge when it comes to execution. And, certainly, the examples he offered appeared to bear this out. For example, IBM used touch table technology and sophisticated analytics, including its proprietary Watson cognitive offering, to help the Toronto Raptors optimise its trade and player management.
For a beverage maker, meanwhile, IBM mapped each of its Tokyo vending machines and overlaid the locations with weather data and prior purchasing behaviour. By correlating the two, the company was able to predict the sales impact of weather changes, and factor that into geo-location marketing promotion, ultimately driving more sales.
That consulting companies now describe CMOs as a logical progression of their client base must be of some concern to the agency world. Our Global Communications Report research has already explored why PR agencies are desperate to access the bigger marketing budgets that have typically been the preserve of advertising and media agencies; adding another 800lb gorilla into the mix cannot make this challenge any easier.
That competition is not just limited to client work, of course, but also talent. If the tussle with the likes of Google and Facebook for digital marketing talent was not daunting enough, agencies now face the prospect of having to prove their employer credentials are good enough to take on yet another new group of rivals.
And yet, many PR firms, at least, appear relatively sanguine about the threat of management consultancies. This may well be because that oft-mooted (hypothetical) spectre of McKinsey eating Burson-Marsteller's lunch never quite materialised. There were a handful of acquisitions (FTI Consulting, Sitrick, the rise of Teneo) but, for the most part, the big corporate PR firms have remained the go-to players for crisis and reputation management work and for broader reputation counsel.
Yet if that was deemed a victory, you could argue it was a pyrrhic one. One of the factors that has insulated PR firms from the threat of management consultancies has been the former's slavish focus on execution, often in the form of media relations and public affairs. Few management consultancies believe that this kind of implementation work is worth their time — strategic counsel has historically proved far more profitable, and they have left the commoditised end of this market to PR firms. The inability to measure reputation in a sustainable manner has hardly helped either.
Accordingly, Manson sees the consultancies as more of a threat to the big digital players like DigitasLBi and Sapient. But as strategy bleeds into execution — particularly when it comes to digital content, CRM and digital analytics — management consultancies are likely to find it increasingly difficult to preserve a hegemony around thinking, and not doing.
And, if nothing else, their recent digital acquisition track record indicates a genuine move towards the implementation end of the spectrum. The IBM iX examples, which combine digital analytics with marketing insight, provide a clear reflection of this trend.
Consider also this: Accenture bought design consultancy Fjord and, for the most part, has left it alone. While McKinsey might not be rushing to design client infographics anytime soon (even if it does have 800 people working for its Digital Labs unit), the longstanding critique of consulting firms — that they deliver an explosive strategy and leave someone else to pick up the pieces — looks increasingly like the relic of a more analogue past.
Which should, inevitably perhaps, bring areas such as earned media and earned influence onto their radar too, as critical tools in the digital customer equation. Wilson thinks that the specific expertise of PR firms in this regard will serve them well even as the competitive threat expands. But she is under no illusions about the size of the challenge.
Perhaps the biggest challenge for consulting firms, meanwhile, will be same one that PR agencies have struggled with — integrating younger digital talent into an employee culture that can still lean heavily towards the elite corporate MBA stereotype.
HWB © 2019. All Rights Reserved.


Spark of Madness is a Chapter for Dead by Daylight. It holds the darkest and most experimental form of treatment - where health is not the goal, just madness. The Doctor will see you now, whether you want to or not. The only glimpse of hope is a young girl, one who never gives up and always finds a way.
Intelligence is a weapon that must be thwarted.
This doctor will never stop, treatments will never be too experimental.
A young girl who is in it to win, no matter what the game or the rules.
A research institution that slowly turns into a prison.
The Spark of Madness Chapter includes a new Killer, a Survivor and a Map.
Carter had good intentions, at first. He set out to understand the human psyche. But wars and secrecy disrupted his good intentions, and instead Carter started to experiment with more and more unwilling test subjects that entered were brought to him. Instead of understanding, he sought means of controlling. By any means necessary. Sometimes words and texts are as useful as bonesaws and electricity.
Is it a gift or a curse? The Entity has ignited a corrupted and inexhaustible spark in the Doctor's heart which allows him to generate electroconvulsive power at will. His vicious treatment corrupts the minds of those it touches. Victims shocked by the spark begin to lose their grip on reality and, with repeated exposure, inevitably succumb to madness.
The Doctor comes with 3 new perks.
Your presence alone instills great fear. Survivors within your terror radius suffer from inefficiency.Survivors' item consumption rates are increased.
Meticulous in your approach, terrifying in your application.While in a chase, your terror radius is increased. Otherwise your terror radius is decreased and your field of view is increased. Field of view gains do not stack.
You are fuelled by your hate for progress.Overcharge a generator by performing the Break Generator action. The next survivor interacting with that generator is faced with a difficult Skill-check. Failing the Skill-check results in an additional generator regression. Succeeding the Skill-check grants no progress but prevents the generator explosion.
Feng found the light in computer games early on. And she wouldn't let go. It became her life. And a goal for her to reach. She started out with low level competitions held at internet cafés. Striving to climb the ladder. The only thing that got in her way was her lone wolf attitude. A solitary life in front of a screen fitted her perfectly. But teams...is something completely different. But what proved to be a downside in the world of the living, might just save her life in another.
Feng Min comes with 3 new Perks.
You are apt at handling machinery with the greatest care and precision.The noises caused by your repairs and their hearing distance are reduced. On a failed repair Skill-check, there is a chance the generator's explosion will be prevented.
Your acute senses are on high alert.When the Killer performs the break action within range, the killer is revealed to you.
After performing a vault, break into a sprint. Activates in chases only.Causes Exhaustion. Lithe cannot be used while Exhausted.
A research facility should be a place where minds grow, where learning happens. But the Léry Memorial Institute is quite the opposite. It's a place where the human brain is turned into something unpleasant and broken.. Electricity is the everywhere and dirty tools are found laying around. The facility is a place where all methods are acceptable - as long as information is retrieved. Whether the "subject" is alive after the procedure is not important.
Nowadays the facility is abandoned but the methods are not. Snow and rust have replaced the screams and tears. A few marks on the walls and the furniture, some books… Nothing else remembers all those who lost their minds and their lives in there.


Susie J. Jackson, 87, lived a long life full of energy and love for her family and fellow church members.
A member of Emanuel AME Church for many years, Jackson was a fixture at Sunday services and Wednesday night Bible studies. She served as a trustee and as an usher. She sang in the adult choir for many years and later enjoyed being a member of the church's senior citizens group.
Jackson attended Buist Elementary School and Burke High School in Charleston. She was one of six sisters and four brothers and married to the late Walter Jackson. She and her husband raised their son, Walter, Jr., on Charleston's East Side, and she later raised a daughter, Annette Jackson. When Walter, Jr. moved out of the house, Jackson displayed her "good Samaritan" spirit and offered his room to two young people in her neighborhood who needed shelter.
Close friends and family recall that as an octogenarian Jackson was healthy, active and showed no signs of slowing down. She adored her three grandchildren and eight great grandchildren. She never missed a graduation because she was very passionate about education.
Jackson was very kind-hearted, often giving of her time and resources. Her home was warm, inviting and always a popular place to have good food, fellowship, and fun.
Two weeks before her death, Jackson took a trip to see a cousin's graduation and visit her son and grandchildren in Cleveland, Ohio. This trip was a little different because she decided to leave cards with her great grandchildren for their upcoming birthdays. She would normally have mailed them from her home in Charleston. It was as if she knew she would not see them again.
Jackson's legacy of love and service to others has touched many people who have come to appreciate her as a dedicated servant of God.


March 8 UN International Women's Day_our Yellow Rose Day-"Women in the Changing World of Work"
and "Be Bold For Change"
Honoring women with ties to Fort Collins who have helped to create the fabric of city we live in. Unbeknownst to them they left incredible legacies for girls and women to learn from and follow in their foot steps.
June 2016: High Tea at Avery House Gardens held to recognize the first 24-women selected and to introduce project to the community.


maintenance free railing systems by sunspace sunrooms are a great way to frame your outdoor living area suitable for indoor or outdoor use and on stairs.
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75- floors and interior walls of small houses. 89- stairs for two or more dwellings. stairs. 133- dimensions. 134- handrails. 135- central handrails.
architectural railings & grills - manufacturer of architectural railings & grills, stairway railings, metal stair railing, wall cladding from galaxystainless. is a manufacturer, trader and distributor of stainless steel balusters, wooden baluster and acrylic baluster which can be used for interior designing purpose. . kenya+254.


text:
Zac Goldsmith on UK tree planting Targets
Hundreds of thousands of trees to be planted across England
The initiative will see £12 million allocated to successful applicants to four different funds.
Hundreds of thousands of trees will be planted in England following funds awarded as part of National Tree Week.
The initiative, funded by the Nature for Climate Fund and announced by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Forestry Commission, will see £12 million allocated to successful applicants to four different funds.
The funds will support natural regeneration and urban greening projects across England.
The Local Authority Treescapes Fund will plant 260,000 trees outside of woodlands in 139 local authorities and the Urban Tree Challenge Fund will plant a further 25,000 trees in England's urban areas.
"Trees are at the heart of our ambitious environmental programme as we work to deliver on the promises we made at Cop26 and treble tree planting rates by the end of this Parliament"
A third fund, The Woods into Management Forestry Innovation Fund, will finance 17 projects to help woodlands recover from the impact of pests and diseases.
The Tree Production Innovation Fund will make more than £1 million available to 16 projects to diversify England's trees.
Forestry Minister Lord Zac Goldsmith said that trees are at the heart of the UK's "ambitious" environmental plans.
"This targeted package of funding will help us to build back greener and regenerate natural spaces across the country for the benefit of all," he said.
"Trees are at the heart of our ambitious environmental programme as we work to deliver on the promises we made at Cop26 and treble tree planting rates by the end of this Parliament."
"At the local level, trees and woodlands are the lifeblood of communities, essential to supporting wellbeing, reducing pollution and improving people's quality of life."

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Home / Result / HSSC Final Result & Cut off for the post of Pharmacist Advt. 1/2015, Cat 03
HSSC Final Result & Cut off for the post of Pharmacist Advt. 1/2015, Cat 03
Final Result for the post of Pharmacist For Health Services ,Haryana and ESI Against Advt. No. 1/2015, Cat No. 03
HSSC has notified that on the basis of Written Examination, Scrutiny of Documents and interview/Viva-Voce for the post of Pharmacist of Health Services, Haryana and ESI, Against Advt. No. 01/2015, Category No.03 the Commission has finalised the result.
The result has been shown roll no wise and category wise and the marks secured by the last selected candidate in each category have been shown in the bracket.
1. The result of the Roll No. 29309705 with held in Compliance of direction of Hob'ble High Court in CWP No. 21360/2017 and the above result is subject to the final outcome of this writ petitions no. 21360/2017 and 23201/2017 and any other writ petitions pending in the Hon'ble Court.
2. The result of SBC/BC(C) category (06 Posts) has been withheld as per letter no. 42/187/2015-5GSI Dated:25.08.2016 issued by chief secretary, Government of Haryana in view of directions of the Hon'ble High Court that no appointments in service shall be made on the basis of the provision of the Haryana Backward Classes (Reservation in services and admissions in educational insitutions) Act 2016 to the castes mentioned in schedule-III i.e. Backward Class Block 'C'. The SBC/BC(C) Category candidates,except those who have availed the benefit of age relaxation,have been considered against general vacancies.
3. The result of EBPG category (06 Posts) has been with held in view of the orders passed by the Hon'ble Punjab and Haryana High Court in CWP No. 18514/2016 and other connected writ petitions. The EBPG Category candidates, except those who have availed the benefit of age relaxation,have been considered against general vacancies.
To view Result & cut off- Click here


This is my final preliminary sketch for my next painting. It is on 18×24″ paper, but the painting will be 20×26. I designed the scales on him which means it may not be exactly like a real one would look. I also didn't take time to shade in the shell. Next I need to get it transferred to my watercolor paper and begin my next painting in my sea turtle series.
Posted on August 11, 2014, in Sea turtles. Bookmark the permalink.	2 Comments.
Thank you, Jill. I am beginning to think I'm going to have to make drawing them part of my life's work. I saw an article in "Drawing" magazine about an artist named Jimmy Wright who has been drawing and painting sunflowers in many different ways for many years. Pretty interesting.


When people talk of "bucket list experiences", we're almost positive that trekking in the Virunga Mountains in Volcanoes National Park in search of rare mountain gorillas was one of the things they had in mind. Rwanda is the land of a thousand hills and home to this true African bucket list experience, one of the most unique wildlife adventures the continent has to offer. A humbling and even emotional encounter, it's bound to be one not soon forgotten.
Upon arrival at Kigali Airport in Rwanda, you will be met by a local representative who will assist with your transfer to your Kigali hotel for an overnight stay. The fascinating city is yours to explore at your leisure for the remainder of the day.
Kigali is a great place to begin or end any Rwanda journey owing mainly to its convenient location in the geographic centre of the country. The city is not only clean and safe, but boasts extremely friendly people who are warm and welcoming. There are a plethora of excellent and interesting cultural activities and sights, including award-winning museums, a burgeoning music scene and some of East Africa's most memorable dining experiences. This is Kigali and it's waiting to be discovered.
An elegant hotel situated in the heart of Kigali on one of the city's most charming boulevards - expect fantastic dining options, vibrant bars and private terraces.
Following breakfast on Day 2 you will be collected from your hotel by your driver/guide for a morning city tour which will include a visit to the Genocide Museum. Later, you'll depart on a scenic drive headed north-west through the beautiful terraced hillsides that display Rwanda's gorgeous landscape (the drive is approximately 2.5 hours). Arrive at Ruhengeri (Musanze), the base for gorilla trekking at the Parc National des Volcans (Volcanoes National Park). The town itself, located just 25km from the Uganda border, is a small and friendly city that offers great views of the surrounding volcanoes. The most famous destination in Rwanda, the park has become synonymous with mountain gorilla tracking safaris - no visit to the country would be complete without viewing these incredible primates.
You'll depart early on Day 3 (06h30am) and drive to Volcanoes National Park Headquarters for registration. Here, the park staff then determines which group of gorillas you will visit – there are roughly 740 still remaining in their natural habitat. They will also discuss your fitness level with you, as well as advising you on trekking times and conditions. There are a total of 80 gorilla permits available each day with a maximum of eight trekkers per group (so as to minimise any disturbance of the gentle creatures). It's important to book well in advance to secure a permit.
Once you've been assigned to a group, the lead guide will brief you on the trekking procedures as well as the ''do's and don'ts'' while in the presence of the gorillas. Be sure to listen carefully as this is all very important information. You'll then return to your respective vehicles for the drive up the mountain to the start point. Porters may be hired (at an additional cost) for during the trek to help carry your backpack and any gear - we advise that you utilise this service.
Trekking can take anywhere from two to six (or more) hours if the gorillas move before the park rangers have managed to locate them. The guides stop frequently to allow trekkers a chance to rest and take photos along the way. At the end of your trek, you will be transferred back to the lodge for lunch after which the afternoon can be spent at your leisure. You may choose to visit the twin lakes of Bulera and Runhondo, or visit the local markets.
Please note that only children of 15 years of age and older are allowed into the park for the trek.
Leaving from the foothills of the Virunga Volcanoes, you'll drive south past coffee, tea and banana plantations on a breathtaking scenic drive to Kigali (drive is approximately 2 hours). The endless green hills will make it abundantly clear why Rwanda truly is called the land of a thousand hills.


text:
How Directional Speakers Work
Buy Soundlazer
What is a parametric speaker?
Experiments with parametric and directional speaker systems have been going on since the early 1960s. Ultrasonic sound has much smaller wavelengths than regular audible sound making it much more directional than a traditional loudspeaker system.
Most speakers are designed to throw sound as far and loud as possible. Parametric speakers are more like a laser beam with the sound focused at high intensity into a relatively small area. The result is that two people can be standing only a few feet apart from each other yet only one of them will hear the directional audio waves emanating from the parametric audio source.
Parametric Speakers Have Many Uses
The affects of parametric speakers are not only a great demonstration of how sound propagates through air but also offer many useful applications. Some of the possible uses for this amazing technology are:
In areas with large groups of people such as subways, airports and other public places, it may be beneficial to have a message playing at escalator landings, door entrances and other places where only the people in that small area need to hear the announcement.
Parametric speakers like the Soundlazer have already been used in commercial advertising. A person standing under a billboard to large video screen is the only one able to hear a recorded message. The advantages to this are twofold. The ultrasonic waves, being focused will get the attention of the listener and the repeated message will not be heard by others. Patrons and store clerks that would normally be distracted by the same message repeating over and over on a daily basis will no longer be annoyed by advertising that uses parametric technology.
Security / Alarm Systems
Parametric speakers combined with high decibel sirens have been used to deter robberies and other criminal activities.
There are rumors surfacing on the web that some political candidates have used parametric arrays to beam live information directly into the ears of public speakers so that no earpiece or TelePrompTer is needed. While this hasn't been confirmed, it does offer interesting possibilities.
#SL-01 open source parametric speaker
Mini Directional Audio Kit swivel mount array (NEW ARRIVAL)
The Soundlazer Project
THIS IS ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY!
This website and products are the result of experimentation with ultrasonic carrier waves to transmit audio in a directed beam of sound. A few companies around the world have had mixed results with this technology. The goal here has been to build a low cost, open source, parametric array so that experimenters and hobbyist can help take this technology to the next level.
Doing a quick Google search for "parametric speakers" or directional sound will return a small number of results and little information on exactly how this fascinating technology works. The websites for the few commercially available products do not explain the science or drawbacks such as limited bandwidth in the audio signal, exponential signal drop off through air and the many other factors that make this audio phenomenon difficult to master.
There have been a couple of "homebrew" projects coming out of Japan and other parts of the world with questionable results. Limitations in time, money and expertise in the field of ultrasonics and parametric speaker design have slowed the advances in this field until now.
Introducing the Soundlazer
-the first open source, hackable parametric speaker with integrated DSP (digital signal processor) that offers the best sounding directional audio.
Directional sound that you control
-An on board signal processor conditions the audio from your iPhone, iPod, iPad, computer or any other source. The sound can only be heard by someone standing in the Soundlazer's path. Like a laser, the parametric array sends the audio signal over a ultrasonic beam which can also be bounced off of walls, statues or any other hard object to make the sound appear to be coming from another direction.
Open Source and Customizable
-All design files and programming instructions are included with each Soundlazer. Those who wish to dig into the inner workings of the device can purchase the Sigma Studio USB programmer and software from Digikey and create their own custom waveforms to improve the sound or expand the Soundlazer to unlimited possibilities.
The Soundlazer startered on Kickstarter Kickstarter
Because of all the technology and quality of the enclosure, building the first run of this product was going to be a bit pricey. Crowdfunding seemed like the best route to go. With group buying power, I was able to build the Soundlazer in a large enough quantity at a price we all can afford.
Here is the original Kickstarter page
And the latest addition to the Soundlazer family recently funded on Kickstarter.
The Soundlazer SNAP was a one time Kickstarter project and is no longer available and has been replaced by the updated models shown below.
Sale! $129.00 $89.00
Mini Transducer Array with Enclosure and Swivel Mount
Mini Pro Amp Kit
98 Large Ultrasonic Speaker Array
Shop for Soundlazer
Mini Pro Amp Kit $418.00 $379.00
98 Large Ultrasonic Speaker Array $249.00
#SL-01 open source parametric speaker $299.00 $269.00
Mini Transducer Array with Enclosure and Swivel Mount $199.00
Invention Therapy
Directional Speakers
Soundlazer Shop
Richard Haberkern
Sonic Levitation
Soundlazer © 2021. All Rights Reserved.
Website maintained by Richard Haberkern


text:
package com.datastax.driver.mapping;

import com.datastax.driver.core.CCMTestsSupport;
import com.datastax.driver.core.utils.CassandraVersion;
import com.datastax.driver.mapping.annotations.*;
import com.google.common.base.Objects;
import com.google.common.collect.Sets;
import org.testng.annotations.AfterMethod;
import org.testng.annotations.Test;

import java.util.Set;
import java.util.UUID;

import static org.assertj.core.api.Assertions.assertThat;

/**
 * Tests for
 * JAVA-541 Add polymorphism support to object mapper
 * JAVA-636 Allow @Column annotations on getters/setters as well as fields
 */
@SuppressWarnings({"unused", "WeakerAccess"})
@CassandraVersion(major = 2.1)
public class MapperPolymorphismTest extends CCMTestsSupport {

    Circle circle = new Circle(new Point2D(11, 22), 12.34);
    Rectangle rectangle = new Rectangle(new Point2D(20, 30), new Point2D(50, 60));
    Square square = new Square(new Point2D(20, 30), new Point2D(50, 60));
    Sphere sphere = new Sphere(new Point3D(11, 22, 33), 34.56);

    @Override
    public void onTestContextInitialized() {
        execute(
                "CREATE TYPE point2d (\"X\" int, \"Y\" int)",
                "CREATE TYPE point3d (\"X\" int, \"Y\" int, \"Z\" int)",
                "CREATE TABLE circles (circle_id uuid PRIMARY KEY, center2d frozen<point2d>, radius double, tags set<text>)",
                "CREATE TABLE rectangles (rect_id uuid PRIMARY KEY, bottom_left frozen<point2d>, top_right frozen<point2d>, tags set<text>)",
                "CREATE TABLE squares (square_id uuid PRIMARY KEY, bottom_left frozen<point2d>, top_right frozen<point2d>, tags set<text>)",
                "CREATE TABLE spheres (sphere_id uuid PRIMARY KEY, center3d frozen<point3d>, radius double, tags set<text>)");
    }

    @AfterMethod(groups = "short")
    public void clean() {
        execute("TRUNCATE circles", "TRUNCATE rectangles", "TRUNCATE squares", "TRUNCATE spheres");
    }

    @UDT(name = "point2d")
    static class Point2D {

        // test mix of field and getter - getter should win
        @Field(name = "wrong")
        private int x;

        private int y;

        // test private constructor + "immutability"
        private Point2D() {
        }

        public Point2D(int x, int y) {
            this.x = x;
            this.y = y;
        }

        @Field(name = "X", caseSensitive = true)
        public int getX() {
            return x;
        }

        @Field(name = "Y", caseSensitive = true)
        public int getY() {
            return y;
        }

        @Override
        public boolean equals(Object o) {
            if (this == o) return true;
            if (o == null || getClass() != o.getClass()) return false;
            Point2D point2D = (Point2D) o;
            return getX() == point2D.getX() &&
                    getY() == point2D.getY();
        }

        @Override
        public int hashCode() {
            return Objects.hashCode(getX(), getY());
        }
    }

    @UDT(name = "point3d")
    static class Point3D extends Point2D {

        private int z;

        // test private constructor + "immutability"
        private Point3D() {
        }

        public Point3D(int x, int y, int z) {
            super(x, y);
            this.z = z;
        }

        @Field(name = "Z", caseSensitive = true)
        public int getZ() {
            return z;
        }

        @Override
        public boolean equals(Object o) {
            if (this == o) return true;
            if (o == null || getClass() != o.getClass()) return false;
            if (!super.equals(o)) return false;
            Point3D point3D = (Point3D) o;
            return getZ() == point3D.getZ();
        }

        @Override
        public int hashCode() {
            return Objects.hashCode(super.hashCode(), getZ());
        }
    }

    interface Shape2D {

        Set<String> getTags();

        // test annotation on interface method, should get inherited everywhere
        @Transient
        double getArea();

    }

    interface Shape3D {

        double getVolume();

    }

    static abstract class Shape implements Shape2D {

        @PartitionKey // annotated field on superclass; annotation will get inherited in all subclasses
        protected UUID id;

        protected Set<String> tags;

        public Shape() {
            this.id = UUID.randomUUID();
            this.tags = Sets.newHashSet("cool", "awesome");
        }

        @Column(name = "wrong") // gets overridden in all subclasses
        public abstract UUID getId();

        public void setId(UUID id) {
            this.id = id;
        }

        @Override
        public Set<String> getTags() {
            return tags;
        }

        @Override
        public boolean equals(Object o) {
            if (this == o) return true;
            if (o == null || getClass() != o.getClass()) return false;
            Shape shape = (Shape) o;
            return Objects.equal(getId(), shape.getId());
        }

        @Override
        public int hashCode() {
            return Objects.hashCode(getId());
        }
    }

    @Table(name = "circles")
    static class Circle extends Shape {

        @Column(name = "center2d") // overridden by a getter in Sphere
        @Frozen
        protected Point2D center;

        // tests unusual field name (i.e. does not correspond to getter/setter)
        // will be considered as a separate "property" with no getter nor setter;
        // thus needs to be annotated with @Transient
        @Transient
        private double _radius;

        private long writeTime;

        public Circle() {
        }

        public Circle(Point2D center, double radius) {
            this.center = center;
            this._radius = radius;
        }

        @Column(name = "circle_id")
        @Override
        public UUID getId() {
            return id;
        }

        public Point2D getCenter() {
            return center;
        }

        public void setCenter(Point2D center) {
            this.center = center;
        }

        public double getRadius() {
            return _radius;
        }

        // builder-style setter; because the field isn't named in a standard way,
        // if this setter is not detected the test would fail
        public Circle setRadius(double radius) {
            this._radius = radius;
            return this;
        }

        @Override
        // inherits @Transient
        public double getArea() {
            return Math.PI * (Math.pow(getRadius(), 2));
        }

        // tests computed columns - no setter
        @Computed(value = "writetime(\"radius\")")
        public long getWriteTime() {
            return writeTime;
        }

        // mismatched setter - getter is declared in Shape
        public void setTags(Set<String> tags) {
            this.tags = tags;
        }

        @Override
        public boolean equals(Object o) {
            if (this == o) return true;
            if (o == null || getClass() != o.getClass()) return false;
            if (!super.equals(o)) return false;
            Circle circle = (Circle) o;
            return Double.compare(circle.getRadius(), getRadius()) == 0 &&
                    Objects.equal(getCenter(), circle.getCenter());
        }

        @Override
        public int hashCode() {
            return Objects.hashCode(super.hashCode(), getCenter(), getRadius());
        }
    }

    @Table(name = "rectangles")
    static class Rectangle extends Shape {

        private Point2D bottomLeft;

        private Point2D topRight;

        public Rectangle() {
        }

        public Rectangle(Point2D bottomLeft, Point2D topRight) {
            this.bottomLeft = bottomLeft;
            this.topRight = topRight;
        }

        @Column(name = "rect_id")
        @Override
        public UUID getId() {
            return id;
        }

        @Column(name = "bottom_left")
        @Frozen
        public Point2D getBottomLeft() {
            return bottomLeft;
        }

        public void setBottomLeft(Point2D bottomLeft) {
            this.bottomLeft = bottomLeft;
        }

        @Column(name = "top_right")
        @Frozen
        public Point2D getTopRight() {
            return topRight;
        }

        public void setTopRight(Point2D topRight) {
            this.topRight = topRight;
        }

        // test annotation in class method
        @Transient
        public double getWidth() {
            return Math.abs(topRight.getX() - bottomLeft.getX());
        }

        @Transient
        public double getHeight() {
            return Math.abs(topRight.getY() - bottomLeft.getY());
        }

        @Override
        // inherits @Transient
        public double getArea() {
            return getWidth() * getHeight();
        }

        @Override
        public boolean equals(Object o) {
            if (this == o) return true;
            if (o == null || getClass() != o.getClass()) return false;
            if (!super.equals(o)) return false;
            Rectangle rectangle = (Rectangle) o;
            return Objects.equal(getBottomLeft(), rectangle.getBottomLeft()) &&
                    Objects.equal(getTopRight(), rectangle.getTopRight());
        }

        @Override
        public int hashCode() {
            return Objects.hashCode(super.hashCode(), getBottomLeft(), getTopRight());
        }
    }

    @Table(name = "squares")
    static class Square extends Rectangle {

        public Square() {
        }

        public Square(Point2D bottomLeft, Point2D topRight) {
            super(bottomLeft, topRight);
            assert getHeight() == getWidth();
        }

        @Column(name = "square_id")
        @Override
        public UUID getId() {
            return id;
        }

        @Override
        // inherits @Column and @Frozen
        public Point2D getBottomLeft() {
            return super.getBottomLeft();
        }

        @Override
        // inherits @Transient
        public double getHeight() {
            return getWidth();
        }

        @Override
        public boolean equals(Object o) {
            if (this == o) return true;
            if (o == null || getClass() != o.getClass()) return false;
            if (!super.equals(o)) return false;
            Square square = (Square) o;
            return Objects.equal(getBottomLeft(), square.getBottomLeft()) &&
                    Objects.equal(getTopRight(), square.getTopRight());
        }

    }

    @Table(name = "spheres")
    static class Sphere extends Circle implements Shape3D {

        private long writeTime;

        public Sphere() {
        }

        public Sphere(Point3D center, double radius) {
            this.center = center;
        }

        @Column(name = "sphere_id")
        @Override
        public UUID getId() {
            return id;
        }

        // overrides field annotation in Circle,
        // note that the property type is narrowed down to Point3D
        @Column(name = "center3d")
        @Frozen
        @Override
        public Point3D getCenter() {
            return (Point3D) center;
        }

        @Override
        public void setCenter(Point2D center) {
            assert center instanceof Point3D;
            this.center = center;
        }

        // overridden builder-style setter
        @Override
        public Sphere setRadius(double radius) {
            super.setRadius(radius);
            return this;
        }

        @Override
        public boolean equals(Object o) {
            if (this == o) return true;
            if (o == null || getClass() != o.getClass()) return false;
            if (!super.equals(o)) return false;
            Sphere sphere = (Sphere) o;
            return Objects.equal(getCenter(), sphere.getCenter());
        }

        @Override
        public int hashCode() {
            return Objects.hashCode(super.hashCode(), getCenter());
        }

        // test annotation on implementation
        @Override
        @Transient
        public double getVolume() {
            return 4d / 3d * Math.PI * Math.pow(getRadius(), 3);
        }

    }

    /**
     * Validates that fields and methods from a parent class {@link Shape} are inherited for a mapped entity
     * class {@link Circle}.
     *

     * It also ensures that methods overridden in {@link Circle} are given precedence and that their annotations are
     * used.   In the case of circle, the {@link Circle#getId()} method overrides the parent and specifies a
     * {@link Column} annotation that will be used instead of the parents annotation ('wrong').
     *

     * Lastly, it defines another column 'radius' that is defined by having {@link Circle#getRadius} and
     * {@link Circle#setRadius} properties, while it has a {@link Transient} field '_radius' that should not be pulled
     * in by the mapper.
     *
     * @test_category object_mapper
     * @jira_ticket JAVA-541, JAVA-636
     */
    @Test(groups = "short")
    public void should_save_and_retrieve_circle() throws Exception {
        MappingManager mappingManager = new MappingManager(session());
        Mapper<Circle> circleMapper = mappingManager.mapper(Circle.class);
        circleMapper.save(circle);
        assertThat(circleMapper.get(circle.getId())).isEqualTo(circle);
    }

    /**
     * Validates that property methods such as {@link Rectangle#getWidth} and {@link Rectangle#getHeight} are not
     * considered as they are marked as {@link Transient}.  It also ensures that overridden method
     * {@link Rectangle#getArea} inherits its parent's {@link Transient} annotation.
     *
     * @test_category object_mapper
     * @jira_ticket JAVA-541, JAVA-636
     */
    @Test(groups = "short")
    public void should_save_and_retrieve_rectangle() throws Exception {
        MappingManager mappingManager = new MappingManager(session());
        Mapper<Rectangle> rectangleMapper = mappingManager.mapper(Rectangle.class);
        rectangleMapper.save(rectangle);
        assertThat(rectangleMapper.get(rectangle.getId())).isEqualTo(rectangle);
    }

    /**
     * Validates that {@link Square} inherits its properties from its parent class {@link Rectangle} and its parent's
     * class {@link Shape} and that its methods {@link Square#getBottomLeft} and {@link Square#getHeight} inherit
     * annotations from its parent.
     *
     * @test_category object_mapper
     * @jira_ticket JAVA-541, JAVA-636
     */
    @Test(groups = "short")
    public void should_save_and_retrieve_square() throws Exception {
        MappingManager mappingManager = new MappingManager(session());
        Mapper<Square> squareMapper = mappingManager.mapper(Square.class);
        squareMapper.save(square);
        assertThat(squareMapper.get(square.getId())).isEqualTo(square);
    }

    /**
     * Validates that {@link Sphere} inherits its properties from its parent class {@link Circle} and most importantly
     * can specialize the type of {@link Sphere#center} to a {@link Point3D} instead of a {@link Point2D}.
     *
     * @test_category object_mapper
     * @jira_ticket JAVA-541, JAVA-636
     */
    @Test(groups = "short")
    public void should_save_and_retrieve_sphere() throws Exception {
        MappingManager mappingManager = new MappingManager(session());
        Mapper<Sphere> sphereMapper = mappingManager.mapper(Sphere.class);
        sphereMapper.save(sphere);
        assertThat(sphereMapper.get(sphere.getId())).isEqualTo(sphere);
    }

}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
California reports record 695 virus deaths in a day
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain
California health authorities reported Saturday a record one-day total of 695 coronavirus deaths as many hospitals strain under unprecedented caseloads.
California's death toll since the start of the pandemic rose to 29,233, according to the state Department of Public Health's website.
Meanwhile, hospitalizations are nearly 22,000, and state models project the number could reach 30,000 by Feb 1.
A surge of cases following Halloween and Thanksgiving produced record hospitalizations in California, and now the most seriously ill of those patients are dying in unprecedented numbers.
Already, many hospitals in Los Angeles and other hard-hit areas are struggling to keep up and warned they may need to ration care as intensive care beds dwindle.
Every intensive care unit bed at St. John's Regional Medical Center in Oxnard is full, and emergency rooms are packed across Ventura County, about 60 miles (97 kilometers) northwest of Los Angeles, the Ventura County Star reported.
When a code blue is sounded at the hospital signaling a cardiac arrest, nurse Yesenia Avila says a little prayer.
The codes have been coming often. On one particular shift, she said three COVID-19 patients died within an hour.
"We've never seen this much death before," Avila told the newspaper. "I've been in health care for 22 years, and I've never been scared. Right now, I am ... I fear for my children."
The biggest fear is that hospitals will be tipped into rationing care in a few weeks when people who ignored social distancing rules to gather with friends and relatives for Christmas and New Year's Eve start showing up for medical care.
The post-Christmas surge was worsening in Los Angeles County, where figures released Thursday and Friday showed a new daily caseload of nearly 20,000, significantly above the average of about 14,000 new cases a day over the last week. In all, 100,00 new cases were recorded this week.
With new figures released Saturday, the county surpassed 12,000 deaths caused by COVID-19—1,000 of which happened in the last four days.
"The speed with which we are reaching grim milestones of COVID-19 deaths and cases is a devastating reflection of the immense spread that is occurring across the county," said Barbara Ferrer, public health director for Los Angeles County. "And this accelerated spread reflects the many unsafe actions individuals took over the holidays."
Dr. Paul Simon, the county Department of Public Health's chief science officer, told the Los Angeles Times he expects the number of hospitalizations and deaths to remain high throughout January because of what occurred over the holidays.
"We're going to see high levels of hospitalization and, sadly, deaths over at least the next two to four weeks."
Los Angeles County has a fourth of the state's population, but it accounts for about 40% of COVID-19 deaths.
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Citation: California reports record 695 virus deaths in a day (2021, January 10) retrieved 18 January 2021 from https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-01-california-virus-deaths-day.html
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