text:
Campaign of the Month: September 2021
D&D 3.0: Tales from Mystara
Davania
Across the Sea of Dread lies the mighty, mysterious continent of Davania. Its northern shores are covered with a lush, vibrant jungle teeming with life, both benign and deadly. Within these jungles are several clans of savages and barbarians, some humans, others not. Beyond the jungle's the continent is largely unknown to sages of the Known World. It is known that there are numerous ancient ruins however.
Davania is a place where one can brave a new world, carve out territory to settle, and defend brave colonists from savage natives. If you enjoy exploration and the new frontier, Davania is open to you.
Davania is the largest continent of Mystara and occupies most of the southern hemisphere.
Some of the subregions include:
Adakkia
Amalur lowlands
Aryptia
Brasol
Cestia
The Diamond Ranges
Everfeed
Ice Peaks
Izonda
The Jungle Coast – The Jungle Coast is a stretch of several hundred miles on the northern shores of Davania. Its exact size is still unknown as it is mostly unexplored. A rough estimate of its borders would be the coast facing the Bellissarian Sea to the east, the Meghala Kimata Plains in the south and the Garganin Grasslands to the west. Most of the Jungle Coast is unexplored, and no one is exactly sure what can be found in the vast new territory. Rumors abound of strange primitive cultures with wondrous monuments, such as crystal pyramids or deep sacrificial pits. The lands of the Jungle Coast are currently undergoing a mass colonization by the Empire of Thyatis. The natives, however, are none too pleased, and many battles arise from the competition for territory and defending of homeland. Still, the advance of civilization is steady, and there is much progress in the proper education of the locals.
Meghala Kimata – South of the Jungle Coast are the little-known Meghala Kimata Plains. In the north, the grasses are so tall and thick that one may easily get lost, never seeing the sun or civilization again. Towards the south, many hundreds of miles away, the grasses wither away, being subsumed by the deadly Meghales Amosses Desert, which no one yet has crossed, and, it is said, holds many dangers beyond description. A great river winds its way through the plains, and along its banks many mighty cities and nations rear their walls. Rumors abound of imposing ruins scattered amongst the grasses, telling of a time when civilization held northern Davania under its sway. Whether this is true or not, the plains beckon to all who have the courage to plunge into the interior, and behold what lies within.
Pelatan
Serpent Coast – West of the Jungle Coast is the region known to those of the Old World as the Serpent Coast. It is bounded to the north by the Sea of Dread, to the east by the Jungle Coast, to the west by the Serpent Strait and Yavdlom, and to the south by the Adakkian Mounts. It is here where the city-states or Kastelios and Garganin are located, perhaps the only true examples of civilization outside the Thyatian colonies. The Serpent Coast region is a land of rolling hills, pleasant grasslands, mighty rivers, and rugged coasts. Though it lacks the raw brutality of many of the Jungle Coast's native inhabitants, the more sophisticated cities here can pose dangers well known in Brun, including those unheard of. Outside the fastness of the cities' walls, nature holds sway, and few know who dwells there.
the Vulture Peninsula
D&D 3.0: Tales from Mystara Galero Galero 2016-06-25T01:22:42Z 2016-06-25T01:22:42Z
Last Update: June 25, 2016 01:22
by: Galero


text:
Two Tech Executives Are Opening an NFT Museum in Seattle to Give Decentralized Art a Centralized Home
Digital collectibles will be displayed on a series of custom-designed screens.
Taylor Dafoe, January 14, 2022
The Seattle NFT Museum's exterior. Courtesy of the Seattle NFT Museum.
A new museum dedicated to NFTs is opening in Seattle this month, providing a physical home for a famously dematerialized art form.
The Seattle NFT Museum (SNFTM), as the new space is called, boasts 30 custom-designed screens to display digital art and other collectibles. Programming will rotate, save for one permanent presentation: an exhibition that introduces the concept of NFTs and their potential.
Indeed, NFT education is an essential component for founders Jennifer Wong and Peter Hamilton, married tech executives with little experience in the world of art.
"We're not experts," Wong said in a statement. "We're here to learn as much as anyone. That is why we are counting on the feedback and support of NFT enthusiasts to continue growing the vision."
Happy New Year NFT Frens!!! Can't wait to meet so many of you in a couple weeks! 2022 will be a great adventure. pic.twitter.com/5NbvCA77Wr
— Seattle NFT Museum (@seanftmuseum) January 1, 2022
Located in a storefront in the trendy neighborhood of Belltown (where Wong and Hamilton also live), the place looks more like a gallery than a traditional museum. In reality, it will exist somewhere in between those two poles, functioning like a nonprofit exhibition space.
Artworks on view at the SNFTM may be available for purchase, but the exhibition space won't do the selling. Nor will it maintain a permanent collection or own any works of art; instead, the NFTs that are displayed will be done so via direct loans from artists and collectors. (Bonus: no complex shipping hurdles required!)
First up are examples from the collection of Seattle tech entrepreneur Aaron Bird, including artworks by Tyler Hobbs, Snowfro (née Erick Calderon), as well as various CryptoPunks. "Seeing the work of some of the world's most exciting projects on display in a physical space is going to be wild," the collector said.
Digital art has had a presence in museums for decades (net-art organization Rhizome, which is now under the umbrella of the New Museum, was founded in 1996). Apart from a few specialized galleries, however, traditional art institutions have not yet dipped their toes into displaying NFTs, which crash-landed into the art-world consciousness about a year ago.
"We started to visit our first NFT galleries a few months ago and started to see the dramatic effect it can have to see digital art live in person in full scale in a physical space and how that makes you think about the art and experience it in different ways," Hamilton told the Seattle Times earlier this year.
"We believe that there was an opportunity to create a physical space that can show the breadth of art and technology that is being developed and that can explore new domains and categories and show the general public really how expansive this medium can be."
In addition to the Bird collection, artworks by Blake Kathryn, Neon Saltwater, and Robbie Trevino will highlight the new museum's inaugural opening starting January 27. Admission to the space costs $15 a ticket.
Taylor Dafoe
News and Features Writer
NFT Collectors and Museums Have a Novel Problem: How Do You Deal With Art That an Artist Can Change at Will?
By Katya Kazakina , Dec 10, 2021
Museums Are Dipping Their Toes Into the Wild World of NFTs. Here Is What They Need to Know Before Plunging All the Way In
By Kate Brown , Aug 17, 2021
A Financier Plans to Open the 'World's Largest NFT Museum' in a Skyscraper Looming Over Central Park
By Ben Davis , May 26, 2021
From the New Immersive 'Mona Lisa' to the Implosion of the Artist Pension Trust: The Best and Worst of the Art World This Week
By Artnet News , Jan 14, 2022
Why Is This Dystopian Work of Chinese Art From the 2019 Venice Biennale Going Viral on TikTok?
By Vivienne Chow , Jan 14, 2022

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Hirani Engineering & Land Surveying, P.C., based in Jericho, New York, was formed in 1991 by Jitendra Hirani, P.E. The company provides civil and structural engineering, land surveying, laser scanning, construction inspection/management, site safety, special inspection and vibration monitoring services. The firm has grown to revenues exceeding $10 million annually. The firm is a certified Minority/Disadvantaged Business Enterprise. Today the firm's market sectors include transportation (highway, bridge, and rail infrastructure); building and facility projects inclusive of schools and colleges, medical care, housing, waste water treatment, commercial and site development; and municipal engineering.


As the name suggests, home care agencies in Lake Forest, Chicago provide basic nursing care services to a patient in your home, especially the elderly. In addition to basic health care, nurses from these agencies also focus on physical therapy, speech therapy and healthcare social service. Professional elderly home care services Lake Forest makes sure a senior citizen or patient receives proper care and assistance as prescribed by a medical professional. In fact, many home care agencies also teach you how to take care of your loved one. The primary motive of every home care agency is to help you regain freedom, assist you in daily tasks and make your feel better.
There are many home care agencies in Chicago. At times, making a choice may seem to be a bit overwhelming. Before you choose a home care agency, you should consider your financial constraints and requirements of your loved ones. You should also weigh your options, including short term and long term services, assisted living, nursing homes and so on. With some simple tips, you'll be able to make a much better choice. We have explained some effective tips for your help.
An Agency should be Certified - Home care agencies in Lake Forest, Chicago need to be licensed and certified. Before you choose a home care agency, make sure it has been certified by a concerned authority. It must have appropriate accreditation or licensing to operate in Chicago. A certified or licensed home care agency will have a professional and skilled staff to take care of your loved one.
Professional Employees - When you look into home care agencies in Chicago, try to gather information about the hiring policy of the agency. A home care agency should only employ highly qualified and skilled staff members, with extensive experience in nursing. Moreover, the hiring policy of an agency should also include a thorough background check and screening. The agency should train all its employees to take better care of your loved one.
An Agency should Provide Insurance Coverage - Before you hire a home care agency, you should inquire about insurance coverage. Most of the home care agencies in Chicago provide their own insurance policies to keep you covered. You also need to inquire about various home healthcare aides and whether they would customize the insurance policy according to your needs and requirements.
References - Last but not the least, while looking for home care agencies in Chicago, you should always ask for references. If an agency is not willing to provide references, you should take a step back. Past clients can give you a lot of information about the quality of services of a home care agency. An agency refusing to give references may be hiding something.
As mentioned earlier, there are many elderly home care services Lake Forest. With proper research and information, you will be able to choose a professional, reliable and reputed home care agency. You need to choose someone who can take good care of your loved one. It is always better to choose an agency which is dedicated and committed to healthcare.


Taking fine arts as a tool for communication, Aya is creating places and environments for everybody to enjoy, especially is seeking the possibility of fine arts as an education to cultivate aesthetic sensibility for children and students.
Under the concept "Things excite children, excite adults as well", She has been holding exhibitions, curating events and giving presentations where participants actively join handcrafting art products, in community-based local places such as zoo, museum and abolished school in which children and adults visit.
She has founded an art-related event producing organization "Journaniyal Art" in October 2015 as the representative.


The Wolverhampton Wanderers may have secured promotion to the Premier League and lifted the Championship trophy but Platform81 won the challenge when it came to helping them showcase their celebrations!
With their final match against Sunderland out of the way, the only thing left to do earlier this month was for the Wolves to celebrate. As thousands of fans were expected to flock to the city to celebrate the clubs success, we were tasked with the design and build for a website where fans could follow live updates of the promotion party as it unfolded on 7th May.
A specific hashtag, #Proud2BeWolves, was suggested which would act as the anchor for activity throughout the day. Using the specific hashtag we were able to combine all social media platforms onto one 'social wall'.
Updating every few minutes, it gave fans in the moment updates about the parade and allowed them to get involved by pulling through their photos and comments from their personal social accounts. Administered by Wolves the page showed posts from the club account plus posts from fans through the day.
Fan engagement was high with the hashtag trending throughout the day. User generated content (UGC) is an important tool for brands, especially on social media. Photos, videos and comments by fans and followers help promote a business while reaching the right target audience in a more natural and authentic way.
"Collating user generated content in this way not only encouraged fans to engage with the club, but it's also a great way for the club to look back on the achievement."


Includes an SE quiz generator with hundreds of problems and a web book of your reference manual books. Monthly Renewing.
Depth topics include General Analysis and Steel Structure for Lateral Forces, and Steel Structure and Wood Structure for Vertical Forces. Monthly Renewing.


findstuffnear.me 9 out of 10 based on 800 ratings. 200 user reviews.
Chevrolet CST 10. SOLD. Year: 1970; Make: ... Mileage: 566; This 1970 Chevy CST is the nicest truck we have ever had grace our showroom. ... as is the fuse box.


text:
Q: How to save multiple data at once to backend from angular I have two angular forms where the data has to be sent to the backend, I was able to save one form to my backend, but even though I did the same thing to my other form it does not work. I could not find the error, could maybe someone give me a pointer and tell me what I am missing.
This is my form (just the part which does not work)
<form [formGroup]="matrialBuyForm" (ngSubmit)="saveMaterial()">

                Seller Name

            <input type="text" class="form-control" aria-label="Sizing example input"
                   aria-describedby="inputGroup-sizing-sm"
                   formControlName="seller"
                   name="seller"
            >

                Price

            <input type="text" class="form-control" aria-label="Sizing example input"
                   aria-describedby="inputGroup-sizing-sm"
                   formControlName="price"
                   name="price">

</form>

This form is initialized with button click because I have to be able to save multiple entries in one go
The ts file:
ngOnInit() {
    this.materialAddForm = this.fb.group({
      name: [''],
      articleNumber: [''],
      materialType: [''],
      quantity: [''],
      buyInformation: this.fb.array([])

    })
    this.matrialBuyForm = this.fb.group({
      seller: [''],
      price: [''],
    })
  }

  buyInformation(): FormArray {
    return this.materialAddForm.get("buyInformation") as FormArray
  }

  saveMaterial() {
    this.sellerService.addSeller({
      name: this.matrialBuyForm.value.seller
    }).subscribe(console.log);
    this.priceService.addPrice({
      amount: this.matrialBuyForm.value.price
    }).subscribe(console.log);
    this.materialService.addMaterial(
      {
        materialName: this.materialAddForm.value.name,
        material_code: this.materialAddForm.value.articleNumber,
        material_type: this.materialAddForm.value.material_type,
        quantity: this.materialAddForm.value.quantity,
      }

    ).subscribe(console.log);
    this.materialAddForm.reset()
    this.matrialBuyForm.reset()

    console.log(this.materialModel)

  }

  newBuyForm() {
    return this.fb.group(({
      seller: [],
      price: [],
    }));
  }

  addSellerInput() {
    this.buyInformation().push(this.newBuyForm())

  }

this is method to save price:
addPrice(price: PriceModel): Observable<HttpResponse<any>> {
    return this.http.post<PriceModel>(environment.api_server_url + 'services/moniestamanufactoring/api/prices-add', price, {
      observe: 'response'

    });
  }

and this is to save seller:
addSeller(seller: SellerModel): Observable<HttpResponse<any>> {
    return this.http.post<SellerModel>(environment.api_server_url + 'services/moniestamanufactoring/api/material-sellers-add', seller, {
      observe: 'response'

    });
  }

This is the ts file. the form which is not saved is materialBuyForm. I am using the addSellerInput method to generate the form itself with each click from new. But I can not even save one information. I could not find my mistake I checked it all over.
The console gets for Price and Name the value of null and I do not know why

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


A start-up company into High Density Energy Storage field headquarted in Andra Pradesh in Southern India.
A Swedish cleantech company founded in 2006 to develop and market the breakthrough WoodRoll® technology.
Alabama Power is an electric utility headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., U.S., focused on providing innovative energy solutions to improve customers' lives.
Founded in 2010, Sunfire GmbH develops and manufactures high-temperature electrolysis (SOEC) and high-temperature fuel cells (SOFC).
GB Eco Solutions was founded in 2010, initially dedicated exclusively to the area of remediation and revitalization of contaminated areas (soil and groundwater).
Finalist 2017 C-Tech Innovation Ltd.
With a 40-year history C-Tech Innovation is one of the UK's most successful integrated research, technology and innovation organizations with clients across the globe in multiple sectors.
Proton Power (PPI) has developed a patented renewable energy system that produces inexpensive hydrogen on demand from biomass and waste sources.
Glasitt AS produces a foam glass called Glasopor®.
Oparz has developed products that utilize their 3D heater as an engine.
The winner of Kanthal® Award in 2015 was ArcelorMittal Atlantique et Lorraine Desvres site for their innovative use of Kanthal® APMT™ rollers on the galvanizing line.


text:
Back To Career Explorer
CAREER PROFILE:
Ali Haeri
Revelstoke ski guide turned musician embraces freelance life.
He launches in with deep, damp licks dripping swamp water right out of the Delta. Born of blues, his rhythm is opposingly upbeat. Next, his wailing vocal tremolo shores up a bellied tone that undercuts the seriousness of the lyrics, "I'm going to make it big, play on that big stage…" The song doesn't take itself seriously, but is still masterfully polished. Like its composer, it's a walking contradiction.
At a youthful 40 years old, with his first full-length album in hand, Ali Haeri—who goes by the stage name Al Lee—took the long way 'round to his dreams. Listening to him at a music festival, a ski-town bar or by record, you'd never know you were rocking out to a computer programmer-turned-snow-scientist-turned-musician. Today, Ali—a joyful Revelstoke resident and new father—has struck a long-sought balance playing music in the summers and ski guiding in the winters. But it took a while.
Born in Iran and raised in Montreal, the calm-spirited overachiever loved skiing more than anything growing up. After graduating university with a degree in computer science and working as a programmer until he was 25, he wasn't satisfied. He quit, moved west, and worked towards a ski-guide certificate. When he finally got it, he landed a job as an avalanche technician in Glacier National Park. It was a government snow-science gig, and steady work. But the same pent-up feeling eventually took hold. So two years ago, he left to pursue the dual passions that now make up his life, finally putting his guide's certificate to its intended use. Busier than he could ever imagine being, freelancing has turned out to be his dream.
"I think I'm pretty much going in the opposite direction everyone else is," he says laughing. "Comfort kind of scares me."
But this has always been obvious. Ali isn't just a ski guide, he's a highly accomplished ski mountaineer with descents in the history books. He says steep skiing and music aren't the most obvious combo, but are actually very similar.
"It's the feeling of accomplishment," he explains. "Both are risky. Conditions might have sucked, but it doesn't matter. The fact is you did it. That's very much the feeling you get after you've performed."
And, it would seem, after you've had the courage to reinvent yourself as many times as it takes.
"A life that's too scripted is something I try to avoid," the happy freelancer now proudly posits.
Check out Al Lee's new self-titled album at https://allee.bandcamp.com/album/al-lee
Follow his gigs at https://www.facebook.com/Al-Lee-1065546006871744/
This article may not be republished without the express permission of the copyright owner identified in the article.
Related Career Summary
Ski/Snowboard Instructor
Ski and Snowboard Instructors have the enviable job of spending their days on the slopes. These patient individuals teach everyone from wee tots to active seniors how to improve their…
For all current job openings


Michael Gove is right. My time studying History at school and university was dominated by Left-wing thinking.
Consciously or subconsciously, the educational elite indoctrinates a generation of young people.
The dominance of the Left is deep-rooted and for all to see, especially when it comes to the teaching of history. I write as a 21-year-old graduate of History and Politics, just six months out of university.
Don't get me wrong: I had some superb teachers and lecturers, both throughout my time at school and while studying for my degree - individuals who enthused and inspired and knew their subjects inside out.
But the majority of them were rabidly Left-wing and the subjects they chose for their students matched their own misguided outlook on society.
The world wars formed a significant and central platform of my curriculum. It is well documented that the Nazis form the cornerstone of historical learning at school – and those who say the period is given too heavy an emphasis are probably right.
But the problem of history teaching in British schools and universities is more profound than that. It really is as Michael Gove describes; years of what accurately can be described as Leftist propaganda, delivered by a profession dominated on the whole by Leftist figures.
I studied the Crimean War at GCSE. The work of Florence Nightingale and Mary Seacole was lauded, the inept and out-of-touch British Army officers belittled. We watched The Charge of the Light Brigade, the 1968 film portraying the incompetence of the British military leadership. Produced during the Vietnam War, the film reflected the anti-war sentiment central both to the period and to the lessons I attended.
Thrown into my course was the tale of the Cold War world and the escapades of the "brutal neo-colonialist Americans", not least during that brutal proxy war in Indochina.
We watched Apocalypse Now in class when studying that conflict, the Oscar-winning Hollywood epic starring Martin Sheen, Robert Duvall, and Marlon Brando. Specifically, we were shown the graphic inhumanity of American napalm attacks. Both the method and the content of the lessons had a Left-wing agenda.
At A-level, my history course was heavily based around the American Civil Rights movement and the Russian revolution. My teacher, whom I liked and respected but fundamentally disagreed with on countless areas, was a self-proclaimed anarchist. He openly called for the dismantling of liberal democracy.
Not taking his gospel at face value, I was probably made more Right-wing by him, a fact that was conveyed to him by my mother at a parents' evening. I fear I was in the minority. The sons and daughters of Liberal Democrat voting teachers, nurses and doctors were much more receptive to his persuasive classroom rhetoric.
We would listen to Black American music in the classroom, encouraged to pay particular attention to the lyrics as a means of comprehending the race struggle.
We would listen to the powerful oratory of Malcolm X and Stokely Carmichael - framed and hailed as heroes.
The lessons were a hive of intellectual activity. The limits of the curriculum were stripped away and grades put by the wayside, for something else was the priority.
This was one of the best state schools in the country for a reason – it rightly encouraged independent thought and taught beyond the prescriptive box-ticking curriculum. But the history teachers still indoctrinated, and these were teachers at a grammar school in one of the safest Tory seats in the country.
Then, at university, the module options ranged from the bizarre to the ridiculous. Conventional political and military history has been broadly consigned to the dustbin by contemporary academics. They are traditional relics, we were told as undergraduates, and social and cultural history must come to the fore.
I arrived on campus, a mere 18 years old, excited to be studying a history joint honours degree at a university recently ranked in the UK's top-five for doing just that. I was looking forward to looking at modern British history, the study of Empire, the Napoleonic Wars, continental tussles through the ages and the great historical players and actors.
I was met with something rather different. Learning about the past can no longer be done by looking at kings, queens, politicians, battles and landmark events, I was told. Instead, we should study the music, food, diaries and other such social and cultural markers of ordinary, average people.
This type of historical study may have its merits, of course. But it was the extent to which traditional methods were discarded that shocked me. As in life, surely there must be a reasonable balance?
I had an entire final year module devoted to The Beatles and their impact on Sixties social change, as key actors in Left-wing direct action and upheaval. The tutor, much like my teacher at school, was a huge sympathiser.
He too was a fine lecturer and we had an excellent relationship. But the fact a major section of my history degree was based on the Left-wing ramblings of John Lennon and Yoko Ono says all you need to know about the predominance of Left-wingers in our educational establishments. His specialism, for your information, a leading history tutor at one of our top universities, was 20th-century love.
We studied Asian development through the centuries as a means of attacking brutal British imperialism (incidentally taught via the medium of contemporary novels). We learnt about the European Union, painted as the great continental peacemaker. We learnt about Barack Obama's remarkable grassroots fundraising efforts to beat the idiotic American Republicans and Tea Party crew.
We were encouraged to read critiques of Obama's presidency, not from those on the centre and Right who had concerns about healthcare reform or a weak and disjointed foreign policy, but just those on the Left like Tariq Ali, friend of the aforementioned Malcolm X and John Lennon, who bemoaned Obama for not being as radically Left-wing as first hoped.
And we listened to attack after attack on Right-wing organisations, such as the Cato and Adam Smith Institute, from bitter and biased professors.
Looking back now, it was all the more extraordinary. Both what was taught and the way it was conveyed was so incredibly partisan.
In one of my modules, we were given the opportunity to choose a particular form of historical study and write an analytical essay on its merits and deficiencies. Intrigued by Niall Ferguson's work in the counterfactual field, I asked whether I could look at "what if?" questions and their function for etiology. That took some pleading, Ferguson being widely isolated in the academic community, as one of the few conservative historians, his work sneered upon.
I am not bemoaning a vacuum of historical truth telling, for every individual has his or her own prejudices. My issue is that the pendulum has swung so far in the favour of the Left it has almost shifted a full 180 degrees.
Even when traditional heavyweight topics are studied, they are framed and layered with a notable Leftist predisposition.
When it came to my dissertation, I managed to retreat to something more traditional, in the form of British defence policy and the Falklands conflict. Luckily, my supervisor was just about the only in the department without a Left-wing grudge to bear. To be expected I suppose, as an expert in intelligence and strategic defence.
But my point is, Michael Gove is right, as he is on a lot of things. He might be Satan to the Left, the teaching unions and professionals in schools who will resist change at all costs, but he is the best education secretary in my lifetime.
He understands the problems in our state schools. And he understands the problems with history as it currently is taught.
He must be allowed to change history teaching for the better.


text:
Patton Funeral Home LLC
Send Flowers for Roderick
Roderick E Ball
May 16, 1963 ~ December 7, 2020 (age 57)
Roderick Earl Ball born on May 16, 1963 in Anniston, Alabama, took his heavenly plight suddenly on Monday, December 7, 2020 in Laurel, Maryland at his residence.
Rod was known for his master cooking skills along with Restaurant Management at Steak-N-Shake, Applebee's, and Nando's Peri-Peri in Silver Spring, Maryland. He also was an avid sports fan of the Dallas Cowboys displayed by high energy, boisterous antics, and trash talking. When he came in the room you knew he was there. He had a gift to gab. Former member of Ott the Top Riders Bike Club of Knoxville, Tennessee, and member of the Class of 1983 Austin East Roadrunners.
Preceded in death by parents: James Ball and Jimmie Ruth Stephens Ball Kyle and step-father, Charles Kyle; grandparents, Orrige Ball Sr. and Mary Busby Ball; Willie and Adelaide Stephens; brother, James "Chuck" Ball, Jr. and sisters, Cassandra and Brenda Gaston.
He leaves to cherish his memories: Loving Companion: Michelle Jackson; Former Wife: Julia Ball. Children: Ventonio (Ashley) Foster, Rodica Ball, Rodeseai Ball and devoted daughter: Jaylyn Ball and Paris (Man's Best Friend). Grandchildren: Grayson Pitchford, Ryan Bethel, Oshun Ball, Amaria, Sasha, and Zoe Foster. God Son: Johnavon Brown. Siblings: Barbara Page, Bernard Ball, Orrige (Marcy) Ball, Patrice (Kenneth Hicks) Ball, Bettina Ball, Brandy (Gregory) Cousar, Toni (Whitney) Leath, Robert (Rosie) Kyle, Kevin Kyle, Natasha Kyle, Alisha Kyle, and Malisha Kyle. Aunts and Uncles: Bernice Duckett of Los Angeles, CA., Willie Tony (Precious) Stephens of Waukegan, Ill., Grace Stephens of Knoxville, TN., Dianne Crayton of Detroit, MI., Eugene (Gilda) Stephens of Farmington Hills, MI., Linda (Lawrence) Davis of Detroit, MI., Thelma (Haywood Craig) Smith, David Stephens, Angela (Josh) Dailey, Wilma and Wilbert Stephens all of Knoxville, TN., Mary Ball Bell of Detroit, MI., Betty Ball Malone of Anniston, AL; several devoted nieces, nephews, and other relatives too numerous to name.
Special Friends: Angela and LB Keith, the Jackson Family, Nando's Peri-Peri Restaurant Silver Spring, MD., Ott the Top Riders Bike Club, Gary Kershaw, Albert Harris Sr., Albert Harris Jr., Rob Mooney, Larry McKenzie, Anthony McCurdy, Bishop Gary and Lady Frenchie Wright and the Class of 1983 Austin East Roadrunners.
Tuesday, December 22, 2020, there will be a public walkthrough from 4:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. at Payne Avenue Baptist Church, 2714 Martin Luther King, Jr., Avenue, Knoxville, TN. Social distancing and face coverings are required. A service will follow for immediate family and close friends.
Wednesday, December 23, 2020, the interment will take place at 11:00 a.m. at Highland South Cemetery, Knoxville, TN where a white dove release will conclude the service. During this time, we will remain in compliance with the Governor's Executive Order #17 (COVID-19). Flowers may be delivered to the church the day of the walkthrough/service. Services will be live streamed at Facebook.com/ Pug Fuller Video. Professional arrangements entrusted to Patton Funeral Home, Brian L. Buckmon, LFD 1-800-824-8283 or www.pattonfuneralhome1962.com.
To send flowers to Roderick's family, please visit our floral store.
© 2021 Patton Funeral Home LLC. All Rights Reserved. Funeral Home website by CFS & TA | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy


Rumors of suspected active shooter on Fort Hood earlier today (Feb. 22nd) spread quickly, but post officials say that the rumor was unfounded.
According to our news partner KWTX News 10, Fort Hood's public information office said Wednesday that reports of an active shooter on post are untrue. The post's Directorate of Emergency Services is conducting an investigation into an "incident", but did not explain what that incident was.
There were reports of soldiers being placed on lockdown, but soldiers had returned to normal duty by noon.


Do refrigerators make noise? Refrigerators with a regular compressor make lots of noise compared to the refrigerators with a digital inverter compressor. Digital inverter compressor in refrigerators works according to cooling requirement. A digital compressor will run at its full capacity at the beginning to achieve the set cooling level inside the refrigerator. When the cooling level is reached, it will slow down to a level where it can maintain the cooling level.
Here you read about best refrigerators under 75000 Rupees in India market. The selected refrigerator models are from top brands LG, Samsung, Bosch, Hitachi, and others. They are currently a top favorite in 50000 to 75000 Rupees price range.
For side-by-side refrigerators, the three top favorite brands in India market are LG, Hitachi, and Haier. Among them, LG is the most preferred brand since its side-by-side refrigerator models have a smart operation and lots of convenience features. Currently, the best-selling LG side-by-side refrigerator in the market is B247SLUV. In spite of being so huge and a heavy home appliance, it is super easy in use.
The 5 best reasons why you should consider this 687-Liter LG side-by-side refrigerator are its inverter linear compressor, Multi-Air Flow cooling system, LG's smart ThinQ Artificial Intelligence, Multi Digital Sensors, and LG's express freezing technology. Because of these advanced refrigerator technologies, the refrigerator model consumes less electricity, maintains a uniform cooling inside, does lots of operations and settings automatically.
The moisture balance crisper of this LG refrigerator is spacious enough to store vegetables and fruits for a week. LG's fresh balancer technology keeps humidity levels by sealing the vegetable box to keep stored fruits and vegetables fresh for many-many days.
A heavy home appliance like this LG side-by-side refrigerator must have an inverter compressor. If you cannot order it because of its high price, then give up your plan to buy a side-by-side refrigerator now. A side-by-side refrigerator with a regular compressor will burn lots of electricity.


The permanent exhibition of Frank Brangwyn's (1867-1956) work recognises that Brangwyn, whilst most of his life resident in the UK (and becoming a knight of the realm) was actually born in Bruges. His style is immediately recognisable, and cannot be pigeon holed into any movement even though he lived when many movements flourished. He also lived in the age of the maturing of the industrial revolution, when sail gave way to steam. His dark and foreboding etchings of the break-up of 'men'o'war' (e.g. HMS Britannia) in my view rival the far more celebrated JMW Turner's Fighting Temeraire. For respect for the subject and without the sentimentality of a setting sun, Brangwyn thrusts the death of an era into the eye with an unrelenting vision of darkness even as the demolition takes place in broad sunlight. Industrial life features a lot in Brangwyn's etchings, the steam and dark recesses against the light of furnaces catch muscular men shovelling, hammering metals, pouring molten iron – a bravura chiaroscuro use of the medium of etching.
Brangwyn's muscular figures also populate his series of lithographs of the 14 Stations of the Cross. These could represent Jesus carting his great timber nemesis through a factory, where shafts of light penetrate the murk and the gaze of pressing crowds (and the occasional dog). This too shows a man hard at work and who like so many young men in the factories wouldn't live for very much longer – the Great War and all. In these pictures pressing onlookers are eager spectators, pruriently engaged but curiously indifferent. Timber is hoisted around again, like the dismembered beam of an old ship. For technical brilliance I would locate Brangwyn's etchings practically on the same plane as Rembrandt's, but his woodcuts are no less accomplished. It's good that this is a permanent exhibition. It's like meeting an old friend each time I go. Had Brangwyn been part of a movement he may have been better remembered today. I can't think of another artist of his period who did so much to capture ordinary – but extraordinary – labour.


text:
import unittest
import time
from fam.exceptions import *
from fam.tests.models.test01 import GenericObject, Dog, Cat, Person, JackRussell, Monkey, Monarch, NAMESPACE

"""
Wrapping the test case in BaseTestCases allows these base test to hide from the test runner and
only be called in the sub classes with specific databases

"""

class BasicBaseTestCases:

    class BasicTests(unittest.TestCase):

        db = None

       # Test the app
        def test_app(self):
            self.assertNotEqual(self.db, None)

        def test_make_an_object(self):
            dog = Dog(name="woofer")
            self.assertEqual(dog.namespace, NAMESPACE)
            self.assertEqual(dog.type, "dog")
            self.assertEqual(dog.name, "woofer")
            self.assertEqual(dog.__class__, Dog)

        def test_make_an_object2(self):
            dog = Dog(name="woofer")
            self.assertEqual(dog.talk(), "woof")

        def test_make_a_sub_object(self):
            jack = JackRussell()
            self.assertEqual(jack.talk(), "Yap")
            jack.name = "jack"
            jack.age = 12
            self.db.put(jack)

        def test_make_an_object_saved(self):
            dog = Dog(name="woofer")
            dog.save(self.db)
            self.assertEqual(dog.namespace, NAMESPACE)
            self.assertEqual(dog.type, "dog")
            self.assertEqual(dog.name, "woofer")
            self.assertEqual(dog.__class__, Dog)
            self.assertNotEqual(dog.key, None)
            # self.assertTrue(dog.schema.startswith("http://glowinthedark.co.uk/test/dog"))

        def test_make_an_object_double_dispatch_saved(self):
            dog = Dog(name="woofer")
            self.db.put(dog)
            self.assertEqual(dog.namespace, NAMESPACE)
            self.assertEqual(dog.type, "dog")
            self.assertEqual(dog.name, "woofer")
            self.assertEqual(dog.__class__, Dog)
            self.assertNotEqual(dog.key, None)

        def test_make_an_object_with_additional_properties(self):
            dog = Dog(name="woofer", collar="leather")
            dog.home = "hackney"
            self.db.put(dog)
            self.assertEqual(dog.home, "hackney")

        def test_fail_with_additional_properties(self):

            def wrong_monkey():
                return Monkey(name="bonzo", collar="leather")

            def collar_monkey(monkey):
                monkey.collar = "leather"

            self.assertRaises(FamValidationError, wrong_monkey)
            monkey = Monkey(name="bonzo")
            self.assertRaises(FamValidationError, collar_monkey, monkey)

        def test_make_an_object_saved_cas(self):
            paul = Person(name="paul")
            paul.save(self.db)
            cat = Cat(name="whiskers", owner_id=paul.key, legs=2)
            cat.save(self.db)
            self.assertEqual(cat.namespace, NAMESPACE)
            self.assertEqual(cat.type, "cat")
            self.assertNotEqual(cat.rev, None)

        def test_get_cat(self):
            paul = Person(name="paul")
            paul.save(self.db)
            cat = Cat(name="whiskers", owner_id=paul.key, legs=2)
            cat.save(self.db)
            another = Cat.get(self.db, cat.key)
            self.assertEqual(cat, another)

        def test_ref_to(self):
            paul = Person(name="paul")
            paul.save(self.db)
            cat = Cat(name="whiskers", owner_id=paul.key, legs=2)
            cat.save(self.db)
            self.assertEqual(cat.owner, paul)
            self.assertEqual(cat.owner.name, "paul")

        def test_ref_to_with_object(self):
            paul = Person(name="paul")
            self.db.put(paul)
            cat = Cat(name="whiskers", owner=paul, legs=2)
            cat.save(self.db)
            self.assertEqual(cat.owner, paul)
            self.assertEqual(cat.owner.name, "paul")
            catback = self.db.get(cat.key)
            self.assertEqual(cat, catback)

        def test_ref_from(self):
            paul = Person(name="paul")
            paul.save(self.db)
            cat = Cat(name="whiskers", owner_id=paul.key, legs=2)
            cat.save(self.db)
            cat2 = Cat(name="puss", owner_id=paul.key, legs=2)
            cat2.save(self.db)
            cats = list(paul.cats)
            self.assertEqual(len(cats), 2)
            cats = list(paul.cats)
            self.assertTrue(cats[0] == cat or cats[1] == cat)

        def test_ref_from_multiple_index(self):
            paul = Person(name="paul")
            paul.save(self.db)
            cat = Cat(name="whiskers", owner_id=paul.key, legs=2)
            cat.save(self.db)
            dog = Dog(name="fly", owner=paul)
            self.db.put(dog)
            cats = list(paul.cats)
            self.assertEqual(len(cats), 1)
            dogs = list(paul.dogs)
            self.assertEqual(len(dogs), 1)
            animals = list(paul.animals)
            self.assertEqual(len(animals), 2)

        def test_refs_with_inheritance(self):
            paul = Person(name="paul")
            paul.save(self.db)
            jack = JackRussell()
            jack.owner_id = paul.key
            jack.name = "jack"
            jack.save(self.db)

            self.assertEqual(list(paul.dogs)[0], jack)

        def test_refs_with_other_inheritance(self):
            paul = Monarch(name="paul")
            self.db.put(paul)
            jack = Dog()
            jack.owner = paul
            jack.name = "jack"
            self.db.put(jack)
            dogs = list(paul.dogs)
            self.assertEqual(dogs[0], jack)

        def test_delete_cat_dd(self):
            paul = Person(name="paul")
            self.db.put(paul)
            cat = Cat(name="whiskers", owner_id=paul.key, legs=2)
            self.db.put(cat)
            key = cat.key
            another = self.db.get(cat.key)
            self.assertEqual(cat, another)
            self.db.delete(cat)
            revivedcat = self.db.get(key)
            self.assertEqual(revivedcat, None)

        def test_delete_dog_to_refs(self):
            paul = Person(name="paul")
            paul.save(self.db)
            dog = Dog(name="rufus", owner_id=paul.key)
            dog.save(self.db)
            key = dog.key
            dog2 = Dog(name="fly", owner_id=paul.key)
            dog2.save(self.db)
            self.assertTrue(dog2.owner is not None)
            key = paul.key
            dog.delete(self.db)
            revivedpaul = self.db.get(key)
            self.assertTrue(revivedpaul is None)
            refresheddog2 = Dog.get(self.db, dog2.key)
            self.assertTrue(refresheddog2.owner is None)

        def test_delete_cat_refs(self):
            paul = Person(name="paul")
            paul.save(self.db)
            cat = Cat(name="whiskers", owner_id=paul.key, legs=2)
            cat.save(self.db)
            key = cat.key
            cat2 = Cat(name="puss", owner_id=paul.key, legs=2)
            cat2.save(self.db)
            revivedcat1 = self.db.get(key)

            self.assertTrue(revivedcat1 is not None)

            paul.delete(self.db)
            revivedcat2 = self.db.get(key)

            self.assertTrue(revivedcat2 is None, "revivedcat2: %s" % revivedcat2)

        def test_delete_dog_refs(self):
            paul = Person(name="paul")
            paul.save(self.db)
            dog = Dog(name="rufus", owner_id=paul.key)
            dog.save(self.db)
            key = dog.key
            dog2 = Dog(name="fly", owner_id=paul.key)
            dog2.save(self.db)
            reviveddog1 = self.db.get(key)
            self.assertTrue(reviveddog1 is not None)
            paul.delete(self.db)
            reviveddog2 = self.db.get(key)
            self.assertTrue(reviveddog2 is not None)

        def test_update_cat(self):
            paul = Person(name="paul")
            paul.save(self.db)
            cat = Cat(name="whiskers", owner_id=paul.key, legs=2)
            cat.save(self.db)
            cat.name = "blackie"
            cat.save(self.db)
            self.assertEqual(cat.name, "blackie")
            self.assertEqual(cat._properties["name"], "blackie")
            self.assertFalse("name" in cat.__dict__.keys())

        def test_update_cat_fails(self):
            paul = Person(name="paul")
            paul.save(self.db)
            cat = Cat(name="whiskers", owner_id=paul.key, legs=2)
            cat.save(self.db)
            cat.colour = "black"
            cat.save(self.db)
            def change_colour():
                cat.colour = "white"
            self.assertRaises(FamImmutableError, change_colour)

        def setcatfood(self):
            self.cat.food = "biscuits"

        def test_update_catfood(self):
            paul = Person(name="paul")
            paul.save(self.db)
            cat = Cat(name="whiskers", owner_id=paul.key, legs=2)
            cat.save(self.db)
            self.assertRaises(Exception, self.setcatfood)

        def test_update_dogfood(self):
            dog = Dog(name="fly")
            dog.food = "biscuits"
            dog.save(self.db)

        def test_update_fails_without_rev(self):
            dog = Dog(name="fly")
            dog.save(self.db)
            dog.rev = None
            dog.name = "jess"
            self.assertRaises(FamResourceConflict, self.db.put, dog)

        def test_update_works_without_rev(self):
            monkey = Monkey(name="fly")
            monkey.save(self.db)
            monkey.rev = None
            monkey.name = "jess"
            self.db.put(monkey)

        def test_uniqueness(self):

            paul = Person(name="paul")
            self.db.put(paul)
            dog1 = Dog(name="rufus", owner_id=paul.key, kennel_club_membership="123456")

            dog1.save(self.db)
            time.sleep(1)

            print(dog1.as_json())
            dog2 = Dog(name="fly", owner_id=paul.key, kennel_club_membership="123456")
            print(dog2.as_json())
            # self.db.put(dog2)
            self.assertRaises(FamUniqueError, self.db.put, dog2)
            # print "*********** end ***************"

    # class RefNameTests(unittest.TestCase):
    #
    #     # this test that refs whos name doesnt end with _id fail
    #     def test_misnamed_ref_to_fails(self):
    #
    #         def duff_import():
    #             from fam.tests.models import test02
    #             print(test02)
    #
    #         self.assertRaises(FamError, duff_import)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


There's a nuclear power plant right down the road from where I grew up. For most of my youth I lived in a campground in NJ, and every time we wanted to get a pizza (or a calzone), my father would make a right hand turn out of the entrance of the campground and we would drive through the pine trees, until we crossed a little bridge where people would be standing there, fishing.
The bridge went over a stretch of water that was drawn on and used to cool the reactor inside the nuclear power plant that was visible just through the trees. I never understood why anybody would fish so close to the nuclear power plant. There was water available in almost any direction, and that other water wasn't directly in contact with a massive, radioactive bomb.
But, I guess from an early age, I realized that there are things on this planet that cannot be explained, because not everything on this planet is built on the foundation of logic.
Here's the thing about the pizza place, it was all alone on the side of the road, and throughout my youth it changed many times. It went from being a pizza place, to a massage parlor, and then when the massage parlor was busted for prostitution ring, the massage parlor became an ice cream stand. Why put a pizza place so close to a nuclear power plant? Why put a massage parlor so close to a nuclear power plant? Why serve ice cream so close to a nuclear power plant? All these questions and more and none will ever be answered.
But there is this comforting fact, living this close to the blast radius. In the event of a fallout, death would be instantaneous, and there would be no long term suffering as a result of the effects of radiation exposure and the horrors it could pound against on the human body. I was told, there would be a flash and the flash would barely be perceived, because we would already be blown away into ash and there would be not a second of suffering.
Of course, there was the next line of thought … why live anywhere near the nuclear power plant at all? Why not live away from the danger?
Well, first off, there was the Atlantic Ocean, and all the beach you could handle. All the jumping in, the splashing in the waves. All the sun tan and the ferris wheel and the board walk. It was worth it, to die instantly, for the ocean.
But, the truth is, the nuclear power plant and all the danger it meant (mostly imaginary danger anyways, as nuclear power is statistically not that dangerous at all), faded into the background of the day to day life. Nothing could happen in our small town because nothing every happened in our small town. Not a visit by a movie star. Not a dragon landing top of the church and smiling. Not the Russians invading the elementary school, coincidentally while we were going our drills, of get down under the desk and curl into a ball in the event of the fallout sirens wailing.
Oh, and how did we get to the town to begin with?
That one is easy, my grandfather was part of the crew that built the power plant, he moved the family here in the 60s to have a shorter commute. And when I was old enough, I went into the same trade. Heavy construction. And I did briefly, get a job at the plant.
The outage was to last thirty days. There were two shifts. Day and night. Both twelve hours. Thirty days straight, Saturdays and Sundays.
I was lucky because my parents still had a house in town, and instead of living in the motel down the street from the plant, I could just drive through my childhood home town and commute the ten minutes to work, rather than driving from my apartment in New York City.
I was twenty six years old and I'd worked in various places doing welding, but I wasn't hired to come and work at the nuclear plant to do welding. I would be just another body, dressed sometimes in a decontamination suit, and other times in a long sleeve t-shirt and a pair of Levis, waiting for whatever the task would be in the plant. The waiting. There is more waiting in a nuclear power plant than I believe there is anywhere else on the surface of this Earth, discounting, possibly, solitary confinement in a jail cell. To do any job, there are meetings upon meetings, and none of them involve you, you're just there waiting.
Before you're even in the physical plant, there is waiting. In order to gain security clearance you have to go to a set of steel buildings on the side of the highway at the foot of the plant, and sit through a week of interrogations by the FBI, screenings by psychologists (including a written and spoken tests), not to mention classes on nuclear theory, which every single person had to ace in order to get through the barbed wire. The person who would be mopping the floor of the nuclear power plant had to understand fission, contamination, gamma rays, isotopes, radioactivity, transmutation and any other number of endless things that had next to nothing to do with their bucket and their mop. There were also classes on walking into a contaminated area, how to put on your decon suit with your radiation meter clipped to your suit. Before you go into a radioactive area, your suit has been checked for leaks, filling it up around you like a balloon and waiting to see if the air stays in.
Inside the plant, the floor will be painted yellow everywhere that you can walk. Wherever the floor is painted purple, you must have on your decontamination suit and all other equipment that goes with it. To leave the yellow safe area and cross into the purple radioactive area, you will cross through a simple plastic swing gate, and all that will separate you from the rest of the people in the plant is a simple rope that goes from corner to corner. It reminded me of the early 90s when there was still smoking sections in restaurants, and you would be sitting there in the Diner in the non-smoking section and the smoking section would be immediately next to you. Everything mixed. Or like, for instance, a peeing section in a swimming pool.
What the classes teach you in the steel building, are believe it or not, mostly about how to take the suit off, not particularly how to put the suit on. Anyone can slap the suit on. But the suit has to be taken off in a specific order, and all the parts of the suit, discarded into a trash can just outside the radioactive area, you'll track radioactive particles all over the earth. You'll even take them home to your family if you're not careful.
Before dawn, I walked from the gravel lot, up a steep hill and through the trees. In the trees was a watch tower with a man holding a machine gun. He had a helper there with him, ready to unload his machine too. I have to remind myself almost daily not to say "Good morning" and give a happy little wave, because I don't want to get shot 60 something times, but it's hard, my mom raised me to say hello to everybody like a happy little sucker. To get into the nuclear power plant for a typical day of work you have to cross through countless security check points after the watchtower. Each check point has some combination of machine gun, barbed wire, turnstile, security badge, ID besides the badge, German Shepard, etc. Everyone is stone serious and if you feel like joking around, rest assured you can joke around in thirty days when the outage is over and you are returned back to the regular world. This is not the regular world.
After a mile of zig zags through security, I finally landed at my destination, the trailer where all the other contractors are housed. I grab a seat at an open table, and I'm told that my foreman is in a meeting about a meeting about a meeting that involves the work for the day. My work for the day. I fill out some more paperwork, and then I'm still waiting for my foreman and I'm told I will be waiting, god knows how long for his return, these meetings can birth sub-meetings and further sub-meetings. Nothing happens quickly inside a nuclear power plant. Every move is calculated out into sprawling minutia.
I take out a paperback book that I am carrying in my lunch box and it doesn't take five minutes until someone comes over and warns me that I can be fired for reading anything that isn't related to the nuclear power plant. I either have to be reading safety pamphlets or booklets pertaining to nuclear theory. No newspapers, no novels, not even a love letter from Sweet Mary Jane Etcetera.
I'm told that I can walk around the outside of the facility in a circle, can't hit a moving target. There is a soda machine and a vending machine and keep moving, your foreman will find you when it's time to go and do this job.
I begin to walk around from approximately 8 am until approximately 2 pm, where I am finally found, sitting in a shaded storage area, reading a Kurt Vonnegut novel, surrounded by PayDay candy bar wrappers and crushed Mountain Dew.
I've done nothing wrong, I'm fitting in perfectly, my foreman is pleased to meet me. He explains that the job I will be doing, the one that involved all of these meetings and all of these other meetings about the previous meetings, involves me dressing up in a decontamination suit and walking off the yellow, safe area of the walkway, and into the purple, radioactive area. I will be going into the radioactive area, all by myself, with a phillips head screw driver and I will be tightening four screws on a panel that the bosses at the plant are concerned could have loosened over time.
My foreman and I go through about forty pages of pre-job-plan paperwork and then I sign my name in blood and don the decontamination suit and head through the plastic swing gate and into the little velvet roped area. The screws they were concerned about are not loose at all and I am not able to tighten them any farther.
I undress in the magical order, tossing my decontamination suit into the radioactive trash and stepping gingerly out of the contaminated area. My meter says that I was exposed to a minor amount of radiation. A close eye is kept on the total amount of radiation a worker can be exposed to on a daily basis, a monthly basis and a yearly basis. If you reach the threshold for any, you are sent home with pay until time clears you again.
The second day is just like the first, only in a different part of the plant. The third and forth and fifth days are like those days too. I'm almost insane by the sixth day. I have guzzled 96 Mountain Dews and eaten 53 PayDay bars, I've read 8 Kurt Vonnegut novels. Each day I have to keep walking around and looking busy but there is nothing to do from 8am until about 2 pm, sometimes worse than that. There's other people walking around doing the same thing but there's not too much of an opportunity for chitchat because they are all pretending to be stone serious so they don't get fired. The only happy people there are the janitors. The janitors have something to do. They are forever mopping inside the plant, keeping the radioactive particles washed off the yellow walkways. The janitors are the best paid janitors on the globe and they are smiling and whistling to themselves and life is good because they have a task to accomplish and there is no waiting. There is always mopping to do.
On the seventh day, I am caught for the second time reading a novel when I am supposed to be busy walking around looking busy even though I am not legally allowed to do any work whatsoever until the nuclear planning is all planned out and the work permits are in my foreman's hands.
Instead of being fired though, I am rewarded in a way. They see that I have a high tolerance for sitting perfectly still and not falling asleep (most of the other construction workers are not able to sit in a chair without falling asleep in minutes of silence and solitude, but here I am hours and hours of just sitting here like a slug, book in hand).
I am given a job sitting on the outside of a hatch that goes down into the bowels of the plant.
Countless inspectors are climbing down into the hatch to look around at the cooling pits, that have been drained, and it is my job to make sure that every single pen or pocket full of coins, or ear plug, or even a set of dentures, comes up back through the hatch with the inspector who is going down to inspect the cooling pits.
My job is serious as a heart attack and so no one jokes around about me grilling them about the pens. For all they know, the disaster at Chernobyl happened because someone left a Russian Bic down there in the cooling pit. Blue ink.
The inspector shakes his head, no he does not need the pen. He hands the pen over to me and I add it to my pile of pens that I have collected from the many inspectors.
I don't get to read any more Kurt Vonnegut in my chair, and I'd eased up on the soda and the candy bars, but by the time the outage was over, I'd acquired a five gallon bucket full to the brim with all kinds of different pens that the inspectors didn't ask to have back.
On my way though the scanners on the final day, I was happy to see that the pens were not radioactive and I could take them all home with me and I'm sure, some of these ubiquitous pens, floating around my apartment even to this day, ten years later, are from back when I worked in the nuclear power plant just down the street from the campground where I grew up.
This much is true, I was able to buy my first computer with that money from that outage, and with that computer and some of those pens, I wrote my first novel. That first novel was about a man driven insane by the slow motion of daily life.
It was the first thing I'd written that I didn't want to see blown away into instantaneous ash by the fallout of this that and the other thing.


text:
Are Wave Pools Sustainable?
Ever since Kelly Slater first unveiled his man-made tube machine in Lemoore to the spellbound public back in 2015, wave pools have seemingly popped up all over the map. What were once thought of as chlorinated novelties are now the center of a fast-expanding wave pool industry. Do a quick Google search and you'll find surf parks in Waco, Lemoore, Palm Springs, Melbourne, Bristol and more. With dozens of others in various stages of planning and construction, artificial waves will likely only become more prevalent in surfing in the years to come.
But in an era where climate change is fueling arctic wildfires, Atlantic superstorms and global sea-level rise, any surfer who still values natural aquatic playgrounds should be asking about the environmental impacts of these surf parks. While it may be a simple question, the answer is, of course, very complicated.
Constructing a surf park is an incredibly resource-intensive undertaking even if everything is done "right". The cost of constructing a wave pool (including the surrounding facility) falls in the range of anywhere from 20 to 200 million dollars. Just the wave pool itself requires a lot of land. Wavegarden, one of the leading wave-generating technology companies, requires a minimum of 394 x 394 ft (or about 3.6 acres) to build their smallest pool. Their standard size Wavegarden Cove requires 492 x 492 ft (or about 5.6 acres) – and that's not taking into consideration the additional land required for commercial buildings, beach areas, parking lots, etc.
Photo Credit: Taras
Surf Ranch
For a hot and arid location like Palm Desert, there would seem to be an inherent danger of overusing water resources in operating a wave pool. Yet Palm Desert will soon to be the world's wave pool epicenter with four pools within an hour drive of one another, with locations at Wet 'n' Wild Palm Springs (Palm Springs Surf Club), Desert Willow Golf Resort (DSRT SURF), Coral Mountain (Kelly Slater Wave Co.) and Kohl Ranch (Thermal Beach Club) scheduled to open in the next few years.
When it comes to addressing the environmental sustainability of a surf park, there is a wide range of criteria that needs to be met. Things like wastewater treatment, waste management, reducing harmful emissions, minimizing use of toxic substances (i.e pesticides, swimming pool disinfectants, etc) and more are all factors that go into creating a comprehensive sustainability picture.
We've chosen three main elements to consider in assessing a wave pool's environmental impact: the materials used to construct the wave pool basin and surrounding facilities; how much energy is used to generate the waves; and, of course, how much water is used to keep the pool in operation. While those are by no means the only factors, they are certainly the most obvious, and for the sake of this article, they will be the focus.
Thankfully, many modern wave pools have shown concern for sustainability in those three areas. But even with the best intentions, most cutting-edge technologies and most ethical construction processes, you can't build any large facility of this kind without some environmental impact. We'll get to that, but first let's look at some of the creative ways surf parks are mitigating their impact.
Photo Credit: Katie Rodriguez
The Wave: Bristol, the first surf park to be powered with Wavegarden's Cove technology, officially opened to the public in October of last year.
How Wave Pools Are Built
To build any structure, especially one intended to hold millions of gallons of water, you of course need materials that ensure the structure is strong, resilient and safe – which is what makes concrete the most used building material on Earth. Cement (the key ingredient in concrete) production alone accounts for 8 percent of the world's CO2 emissions, and uses a ton of water – almost a tenth of the world's industrial water use in 2012. On the flip side, concrete can be recycled, as well as combined with other materials to create strong and safe structures — which is what some wave pools are doing to mitigate their carbon footprint.
In Bristol, UK The Wave has incorporated materials like natural clay plaster on the inside of the clubhouse, recycled steel for the roof, recycled glass in the insulation and recycled building rubble for the work surfaces. Soil fill was used to cut back on the amount of concrete used in the retaining walls of the lake by 50 percent, and plastic fibers were mixed with the concrete used in the lakebed.
The developers of Surf Snowdonia in North Wales – which used to be a former aluminum factory site – also put a heavy emphasis on using recycled materials. During its construction, truckloads of heavy metals and hydrocarbon (the main ingredient in crude oil and most pesticides) were removed from the site, and much of the stone, steel, cast iron and copper was recycled for the facility infrastructure. Over 85 percent of the stone required for construction was used from crushed and repurposed onsite materials.
URBNSURF in Melbourne, Australia has a wave pool basin that incorporates enough recycled concrete to make it the largest recycled concrete structure in Australia. During the park's construction they incorporated over 18,000 tons of recycled concrete in the walls and floor of the wave pool basin and in the service roads surrounding the park. Additionally, they sourced materials from local suppliers to minimize their carbon footprint from the transport, and they retained all felled trees to use as part of the landscaping.
Photo Credit: Wavegarden
Over 85 percent of the stone used to construct Surf Snowdonia in North Wales was repurposed from the former site.
The Water Wave Pools Use
It doesn't take an advanced degree in environmental science to understand that wave pools require an enormous amount of water to pump out artificial peelers. According to Wired, the Surf Ranch in Lemoore is filled with 15 million gallons of UV-and-chlorine-treated water — 250,000 of which can evaporate from the lagoon on an extremely hot day (yeah, not great).
For the surf parks that happen to be in places that receive an abundance of rainfall (i.e., Northern Wales), water scarcity isn't as much of an immediately pressing problem. However, water is an increasingly deficient resource in much of the world due to growing populations and climate change. According to the United Nations, "over 2 billion people live in countries experiencing high water stress." The ways in which surf parks manage their water is heavily contingent on location – how scarce water is in that area, how they recycle their water, and how much water is lost due to evaporation.
URBNSURF is situated within the Melbourne Airport precinct, which has an environmental team that CEO Andrew Ross has worked with since the wave pool's conception to try to manage its resource usage. Their site is connected to the airport's $11 million stormwater harvesting and treatment system to cut back on water usage.
Surf Snowdonia sits adjacent to a hydroelectric power station, which pulls rainwater from the reservoirs in the Snowdonia mountains and down through the plant to power households in the neighboring areas. The water is recycled from the outflow of the plant, treated with a UV filtration system (versus chlorine or other chemical treatment), and then sent to fill the 6-million-gallon pool.
In California, DSRT SURF's founders John Luff and Doug Sheres are working with the City of Palm Desert to convert non-play golf turf to native desert landscaping. "We found a solution that effectively involves us taking 20 acres of grass away from the golf courses, not even in play areas of the course," explains Luff. This program, which they call the "Turf of Surf Program", will reduce water use at the golf course by 34.8 million gallons a year, 40 percent more water than the lagoon is estimated to use in a year according to Desert Sun News.
Photo Credit: URBNSURF
"Our annual [water] usage for URBNSURF Melbourne is only about 8% of what is used on a typical 18 hole golf course each year" founder Andrew Ross shares. "This is despite the fact that we cater to about three times the amount of guests a golf course would see each year."
The Energy Needed to Power Waves
The extraction and use of oil, natural gas and coal (fossil fuels) as a main source of energy has put our planet in its current climate crisis. They degrade land and critical ecosystems, they pollute and acidify our waters and they're responsible for air pollution and serious health implications. Using alternative forms of renewable energy such as solar (which is what the Surf Ranch runs on), wind, and hydroelectricity is a no-brainer, as each has become widely available and trusted 'clean' forms of power.
The Wave's CEO Nick Hounsfield brought on Chris Hines, cofounder of Surfers Against Sewage and now an influential sustainability consultant and speaker, to make sure his wave pool met the best sustainability standards in terms of energy usage. In fact, Chris Hines went as far as striking up an agreement that he would only agree to come on board if the pool was powered by 100 percent renewables (which it is now). In his opinion, "you cannot justify running a surf park if it's going to have a detrimental effect on the climate and oceans through its energy and/or material and resource use. It's morally wrong and against the spirit of what surfing's about". (We couldn't agree more).
Likewise, URBNSURF's CEO Andrew Ross also prioritized the usage of renewables. "100% of the energy we consume on site, including for the operation of our wave generator, is sourced from an energy provider that generates 100% renewable energy for supply into the Australian energy grid," says Ross.
Photo Credit: Ted Grambeau
Mitch Crews, testing out the facilities at URBNSURF
How Do We Know if a Surf Park is Sustainable?
Well, that depends on how you define it. "Sustainability" is a heavily marketed term that can oftentimes be misleading. What it actually means to be "sustainable" is relatively ambiguous, yet it's demanded by consumers.
When it comes to wave pools, organizations like STOKE Certified have emerged to try to help surfers and consumers "duck dive the greenwash" by analyzing the environmental impact of these facilities. And their analysis of wave pool operations goes far beyond just recycling and carbon offsetting.
Jess Ponting, an Associate Professor in Sustainable Tourism at San Diego State University and co-founder of STOKE, believes there is a way forward in terms of a sustainability standard. "The STOKE standard helps developers systematically across a range of hundreds of sustainability data points, to figure out what they need to work into all aspects of their surf parks – from surf schools to hard surfing equipment, from their restaurants to their facilities," says Ponting.
"Both tech companies and developers are, in my experience of working with several of both, genuinely concerned about being as sustainable as possible" Jess shares. "The main shortcoming across the industry at this stage is the lack of a clear and comprehensive approach to sustainability. Most efforts, while very commendable, are happening in isolation. Wheels are being invented and reinvented. Facets of sustainability beyond environmental performance are being overlooked in some cases for want of an understanding of what good sustainability practice might look like."
Accreditation processes like STOKE require surf parks to go through a continuous evaluation (every 2 years) to keep up with evolving sustainability standards. Additionally, the finished reports on how surf parks measure up to the list of criteria are made public on their website.
But even if surf parks continue to find increasingly creative ways to mitigate their environmental impact, you cannot build anything without at least some degree of impact. At least for surf parks, which are used by a group of people who care about the environment innately, we can insist that our patronage requires operators to hold their facilities to the highest environmental standard.
But Ponting is optimistic that surf parks can make a change for the better. "I see potential for this industry to showcase all kinds of best practice sustainability measures, to educate about sustainability… local environmental issues, social justice issues (race, gender, indigenous peoples), surf therapy etc. I see opportunities to bring new demographics into a space for learning about marine and coastal conservation, even creating new activists for those environments who live nowhere near them."
So what can surfers do? "Vote with their wallet," says Carl Kish, co-founder of STOKE. "Similar to how more surfers are being concerned with what food they're eating, where their clothes are coming from, and how their boards are being made, surfers can influence the future of surf parks by supporting those wave pools with authentic and transparent sustainability claims. Ask questions, learn, and duckdive the greenwash—surf park developers will take notice."
The Bomb Hole EP. 16—Justin Meyer
ISA Awarded Landmark Decision by Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to Uphold Governance of Stand Up Paddling at Olympic Level


Whenever my wife and I have been in the market for a new home I've had a few personal deal breakers when visiting a property. One is that I'd never buy a house at the bottom of a ravine for fear of flooding issues during spring thaw or in heavy rains. Another is that we rejected a promising home because it had about 50 stairs to get up the steeply sloping lot to the front door. Aside from the inconvenience for us, I reasoned that young families and elderly buyers would also shy away. The third is that I wouldn't buy a house on a corner lot. Here's why.
In addition to additional snow shovelling, corner lots also have larger side lots so there's more grass to mow. But, given that corner lot houses are typically set back from the sidewalk, the yard tends to be on the side of the house, meaning there's little privacy until you install a large, solid fence or view obstructing shrubbery. If you don't install either, you can count on kids – and at least a few uncouth adults – cutting across the corner of the lawn as a shortcut, and passersby peering into your windows.
You also might not be buying as much as you think. One man recently discovered that a side yard adjacent to the Toronto townhouse that he'd been paying property tax on was actually owned by the city, meaning there was nothing he could do to stop Bell from installing a large piece of equipment in the space he'd planned to use himself.
Keep in mind that one or both of the street frontages will have a stop sign at the corner, meaning you'll hear more than your share of squeaky brakes when people pull up to stop. You'll also have to deal with headlights shining in the windows as cars turn the corner.
Depending which way the wind blows (and we mean that literally), the house or your privacy fence/shrubs can also become collection points for neighbourhood trash.
The long and the short of it is that there are a lot of downsides to a corner lot, and the sale price will almost always reflect that.
Of course, there are exceptions to every rule. If a home has particularly nice curb appeal, extra curbs help accentuate that appeal.
In that case, if the owner is a green thumb, the grass is definitely greener on a corner lot.


Dance Zone Entertainment which serves Canterbury, Queenstown and the South Island is a proud member of the Disc Jockey Association of New Zealand (DJANZ). We would like to share some of their tips about how to find the right DJ for your event and one who you can trust. This is a real challenge because you can't generally see a DJ at work at another party, school, karaoke, event or wedding reception.
Begin your phone call by indicating the date, time, and location of your special event. If they're not available, no sense talking much further!
How long have they been a DJ and how many events have they performed?
With sufficient experience, a professional disc jockey will be able to act as (or assist) your master of ceremonies and smoothly guide your celebration from start to finish. With experience comes confidence and knowledge, too. Many things can happen during an event - some are expected, others are not. The experienced professional has the ability to handle any situation which may arise and will be able to react spontaneously to correct the problem as if nothing ever happened.
The seasoned professional will also know how to introduce interactivity to the night in a tasteful and energetic manner. With this same experience, your entertainer will read the crowd and intuitively know what music to play at what time.
It's your party! Will your prospective entertainer cheerfully accept your suggestions or will their ego make it hard to accept requests? Can they provide a play list with a wide variety of songs that you can choose from? Will they play additional CDs that you may want to provide?
Let the DJ ask you questions also such as what you do or don't want to hear. You want someone who takes an interest in what YOU want. You want a DJ who is flexible, and has a substantial selection, so that virtually any reasonable request from your guests can be fulfilled, providing it meets your acceptable music criteria.
What is their appearance like?
Are they well groomed? Your DJ should be freshly shaved and clean with tidy hair. Will they wear a formal dinner suit (tuxedo), business dress, tidy-casual, or a Hawaiian shirt, black jeans and sports shoes? Find out ahead of time and make your preferences known!
What kind of equipment do they use and what is their technical expertise?
You are paying money for a professional and they should have new-looking, quality equipment and know how it operates. Make sure it's predominantly pro equipment, not home stereo or consumer grade. There is a difference! You are hopefully hiring someone who takes their job seriously, so make sure they have made the investment in quality equipment.
Do they have back-up equipment on hand in case of an emergency?
Even professional equipment can fail on occasion, so it is important to know whether your DJ has extra components, or hopefully another entire sound system available to them. Usually, only the top-notch pros invest the extra money to ensure that everything works on your event date and backup systems are in place.
Will they personally be the DJ for your reception?
If not, when can you meet the DJ who will work at your function so you can feel comfortable with that person and make sure you are on the same wavelength? WARNING! Some DJ's will book your event and then pass it on to another DJ to play your night.
Are they reputable and will they provide you with references?
Do local venues, hotels, photographers and other event professionals give you a good referral of the company? Remember, if you receive references from a DJ, they're going to be only the best ones. Ask to speak with other wedding professionals or to see the references on paper if you're uncertain.
Have they ever performed at your chosen location?
Ask the DJ if they have ever performed at your venue before. It helps if they have a rapport with the staff, if they already know the place, how to get there, what the acoustics are like and where the power points are. Things like this just make it less likely that you will have any problems.
Don't take a risk with the entertainment for your once-in-a-lifetime event! Not surprisingly, most professional, reputable DJs charge more for their services than a hobby DJ who is just looking to make a few extra bucks on the side. Question a company that is low in cost. There's a good chance you will be putting the success of your event at risk in order to save a few dollars. Be certain that you understand their basic fee, set-up times, overtime charges, due dates for deposits and balances, and arrival time.
The entertainment really can make or break your event. If your workmate's "friend" will do it for $200 less than a reputable, experienced, professional DJ, think twice before jumping at the lower price. Paying a little more for a much better disc jockey is usually a great investment.
Do they require a deposit and a written agreement?
If not, why not? If a DJ is serious about his business, he will want an agreement and a deposit. The agreement should offer a guarantee that he personally will show up on the day and will perform for the times you have decided on. If there's no deposit and no agreement, there's nothing to bind him to your event. A professional DJ will insist on a deposit to confirm your date and a contract/agreement is your protection.
Do they offer lighting equipment if you want it?
Can your DJ provide aesthetically pleasing additional lighting? Modern effects lighting can really add to the liveliness and energy of the night and makes the dancing just that much more special. Some DJ's still use floor- standing, headlight-sized floodlights called light-boxes with a basic chase pattern. These flood the room with light with no dynamic impact and are clumsy, bulky looking lights. A quality operator will usually offer a set of exciting controllable intelligent effects that are elevated to avoid shining in the eyes of seated guests.
How do they handle themselves on the microphone?
Announcements should be clear, concise, energetic, polite and not overdone. Usually your guests are not interested in hearing a DJ "ham it up" over the microphone. Does your DJ have any radio, television or acting experience? Have they acted as master of ceremonies before and do they have the wedding knowledge to handle last-minute changes of plan? Talking well on a microphone effectively is a skill that takes much practice and experience. Listen to how they speak with you on the phone- are they confident, eloquent and polite?
Are you comfortable with your DJ?
Once you feel you've found an established disc jockey in your price range, with the music selection you like, make your final selection based on personality. Some DJ's like to steal the show. These DJ's are always on the microphone, like to be very visible and very loud. The other end of the spectrum is the DJ with a lack of any personality who does nothing except play the music, while other companies are an even mixture of the two. Usually you can get a feel for style simply by talking to the disc jockey over the phone.
Are they a member of a DJ Association and do they invest in educational materials?
Being a member of an organisation of professional DJs has a number of advantages. Association DJs can share experiences with each other, help with challenges, offer advice and discuss the latest techniques and technology. They have invested time and money in their business, which indicates that they are serious about what they do.
If the DJ you are considering is not a member of a group or organisation, ask why not. Would you hire a master builder ahead of once who wasn't affiliated?
These are just some of the most important questions to ask to distinguish a true professional from an amateur. Some intrinsic qualities (general hygiene, attention to detail, business ethics, courtesy and politeness, the ability to spontaneously change the master plan when required, etc) may be more difficult to quantify unless you meet with that person.
One final suggestion is for you to carefully listen to not only what an event professional says when you ask questions, but how they say it. Do they speak with knowledge, passion, enthusiasm and a desire to really help you create a successful event? If so, you should book them quickly as they will be in demand!


text:
First Christmas without him...
Touching: The Queen Honours Prince Philip In Preview Of Xmas Speech
December 24, 2021 - 05:45 pm / Lucas Anderson
Queen Elizabeth II has released a photo from her upcoming Christmas speech. In the address, the Queen is expected to speak on losing her husband Prince Philip. Just in the preview, you can already see several tributes to the Queen's late husband.
We're now a day away from Queen Elizabeth's annual Christmas speech.
Every year, people around the world tune in for the Queen's year-end address. This year will be a bit different, however, as the 95-year-old is expected to pay tribute following the death of her husband Prince Philip.
The Queen honours Prince Philip in Christmas speech 2021
The Queen has recorded her speech at Windsor Castle, and a preview photo has been released ahead of Christmas Day. Already, you can spot several tributes to Prince Philip, including a nice picture of the Queen and her husband front and centre.
But there's more than just the framed photo. The Queen, wearing a red woollen dress, accessorized with her sapphire chrysanthemum brooch.
It's the same brooch she wore for her and Philip's 1947 honeymoon photoshoot and on their 50th anniversary in 2007. Only, the Queen has now moved it to her right side, and there's speculation she did so to signify that she's in mourning.
For more on the Queen's Christmas speech and tributes to Prince Philip, please watch the video above.
Queen Elizabeth will be staying in Windsor over the holidays and is expected to be joined there by at least Prince Charles and Duchess Camilla.
Princess Charlene To Receive Holiday Visit From Husband And Kids
Queen Elizabeth Spending Christmas 2021 With Royal Family
Royal Tradition: THIS Is What The Queen Eats Every Year At Christmas
Queen Elizabeth II,
Prince Philip,
Prince Charles,
Duchess Camilla
Royals,
Queen Elizabeth: Preview Prince Philip Tribute In Christmas Speech 2021


text:
Ross Simpson Partner
Contact details Tel +44 (0) 117 902 7787 +44 (0) 7970 949 393 Email ross.simpson@burges-salmon.com
Ross is a partner in the real estate team, specialising in land and rural property. He is dual qualified to practise in Scotland and England and Wales. Ross' clients include traditional landowners, farmers, family trusts and investors.
His wide-ranging rural expertise spans the purchase and sale of estates, farms, forestry, island properties, sporting rights and salmon fishings.
Ross also undertakes complex strategic land work advising on contracts associated with major projects regularly acting for consortia of landowners.
Ross' expertise extends to renewables and he deals in all aspects of advising in relation to proposed and existing schemes.
Ross presents at professional events and is a member of the Agricultural Law Association and the Crofting Law Group. Ross is also a Writer to Her Majesty's Signet and has recently been appointed as an external examiner to the University of Glasgow.
Acting for a purchaser in the acquisition of a large mixed use estate, bought for conservation purposes, subject to extremely tight timescales and praised by land agents for efficient handling and expert advice.
Acting for an institutional landowner on the disposal of a significant agricultural and residential investment estate comprising some 1,700 acres situated in the Midlands.
Acting for two family trusts in relation to ongoing performance under a completed hybrid agreement over land to the north west of Cardiff allocated for the development of 7,000 homes.
Advising a private investment management firm in relation to financing of 52.9 MW wind farm at Blackcraig, Dumfries and Galloway.
Acting funder-side on the project financing of a 26.65MW wind farm at Quixwood Moor, Berwickshire.
Admitted as a solicitor: Scotland (2004); England & Wales (2017)
Estates and Land
Rural Property Transactions
Scottish Real Estate
View all expertise
COVID-19: a guide for employers
COVID-19 is presenting an unprecedented challenge for businesses. With people at the heart of the crisis, in this booklet we provide guidance on the key issues for employers
UK-EU Relationship After Brexit
The Test and Trace Scheme: what does it mean for employers?
Burges Salmon appoints heavyweight Fintech lawyer


The Drake Ensemble are pleased to announce a very special Fourth Anniversary concert featuring Schubert's magnificent String Quintet, featuring Stephen Orton (Principle - Academy of St Martin in the Fields; Chilingirian Quartet). Programme: Frank Bridge: Three Idylls Schubert: String Quintet Purcell: Fantasias (to be confirmed) Players are: Kirsty Orton, Frances Pryce - Violins Shelagh McKail- Viola Marie Connell, Stephen Orton - Cellos. The intimate setting at the Drake offers a wonderful opportunity for audience and musicians to experience and play music in the setting for which it was composed. As usual the Drake Offers a 20% discount on food from their excellent Gastropub menu. Be sure to arrive in good time to order and enjoy your meal.


text:
Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): November 30, 2022
621 NW 53rd Street, Ste. 260
Boca Raton, Florida, 33487
(Address of principal executive offices, including zip code)
(Former name or former address, if changed since last report)
Title of each class Trading Symbol(s) Name of each exchange on
which registered
Common Stock, par value $0.0001 per share SBIG The Nasdaq Global Market
Warrants, each exercisable for one share of Common Stock, at an exercise price of $11.50 per share SBIGW The Nasdaq Global Market
Emerging growth company ☒
Item 7.01. Regulation FD Disclosure.
On November 30, 2022, SpringBig Holdings, Inc. announced certain cost reduction initiatives including certain workforce reductions. A copy of the press release is furnished as Exhibit 99.1 to this Current Report on Form 8-K and is incorporated by reference.
The information in Item 7.01 and in the accompanying Exhibit 99.1 is being furnished and shall not be deemed "filed" for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"), or otherwise subject to the liabilities of that section, nor shall they be deemed incorporated by reference in any filing under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Exchange Act, regardless of any general incorporation language in such filing, except as expressly set forth by specific reference in such a filing.
Exhibit No. Description of Exhibit
99.1 Press release dated November 30, 2022.
104 Cover Page Interactive Data File (embedded within the Inline XBRL document).
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
November 30, 2022 By:
/s/ Jeffrey Harris
Name: Jeffrey Harris
Title: Chief Executive Officer
springbig Announces Cost Reduction Actions to Accelerate Path to Profitability and Strengthen Financial Profile
Boca Raton, Fla. -- November 30, 2022 -- SpringBig Holdings, Inc. ("springbig" or the "Company") (NASDAQ: SBIG), a leading provider of SaaS-based marketing solutions, consumer mobile app experiences, and omnichannel loyalty programs to the cannabis industry, today announced that the company is undertaking a series of initiatives to reduce costs and drive efficiency in order to accelerate its path to profitability. These cost-cutting measures will allow the company to prioritize growth opportunities, right-size its expense structure and preserve capital while strengthening its financial position.
"Our focus remains on consistent execution and expanding the reach of the springbig platform, while optimizing our organization to deliver profitable growth. We believe that the steps we are announcing today will produce an annual operating expense run rate in 2023 that is expected to be approximately 21% less than annualized operating expenses incurred for the nine months ended September 30, 2022, shortening the timeline to our goal of positive EBITDA during 2023, and we continue to expect an acceleration in revenue next year." said Jeffrey Harris, CEO and Chairman of springbig.
As part of the initiatives announced today, Springbig has announced a workforce reduction of 37 positions, or 23% of the company's headcount through a combination of layoffs and attrition to ensure its long-term health. The company expects a one-time cash restructuring charge for the layoffs of approximately $0.2 million in Q4 of 2022.
Harris added, "We greatly value the collaborative efforts of our talented colleagues responsible for building springbig into the platform it is today, and I want to thank all of our employees for their focus and dedication through this process".
About springbig
springbig is a market-leading software platform providing customer loyalty and marketing automation solutions to cannabis retailers and brands in the U.S. and Canada. springbig's platform connects consumers with retailers and brands, primarily through SMS marketing, as well as emails, customer feedback system, and loyalty programs, to support retailers' and brands' customer engagement and retention. springbig offers marketing automation solutions that provide for consistency of customer communication, thereby driving customer retention and retail foot traffic. Additionally, springbig's reporting and analytics offerings deliver valuable insights that clients utilize to better understand their customer base, purchasing habits and trends. For more information, visit https://springbig.com/.
Certain statements contained in this press release constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of federal securities laws. The words "anticipate," "believe," "continue," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intends," "outlook," "may," "might," "plan," "possible," "potential," "predict," "project," "should," "would," and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. Forward-looking statements are predictions, projections and other statements about future events that are based on current expectations and assumptions and, as a result, are subject to risks and uncertainties. Many factors could cause actual future events to differ materially from the forward-looking statements in this press release, including but not limited to the risks and uncertainties described under "Risk Factors" 'of the registration statement on Form S-4, the proxy statement/prospectus relating to the business combination, the Company's Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") on June 21, 2022, and in the Company's Form 10-Q for the period ended September 30, 2022 filed with the SEC on November 14, 2022, and other documents filed by the Company from time to time with the SEC. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties (some of which are beyond the control of springbig), and other assumptions, which may cause the actual results or performance to be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements, and the Company assumes no obligation and does not intend to update or revise these forward-looking statements other than as required by applicable law. The Company does not give any assurance that it will achieve its expectations.
Ryan Flanagan
ICR Strategic Communications & Advisory
ir@springbig.com
Phoebe Wilson
MATTIO Communications
springbig@mattio.com


Susan is a freelance reporter for The Observer who writes about people in North Powder and Union as well as education, health, science, business and outdoors stories. She has been writing for The Observer since fall 2016. Previously, she was the education reporter at The Columbian, the daily newspaper in Vancouver, Washington. She earned her journalism degree from Western Washington University. Susan grew up on a sheep ranch near Chewelah, Washington. She has enjoyed returning to rural life and the myriad outdoor adventures available in Eastern Oregon. Her latest pursuit is learning to fly fish from a kayak. She writes a personal blog at http://paddlingherowncanoe.blogspot.com/.


text:
Le Viaduc de Verrières est un viaduc autoroutier français situé sur l'autoroute A75 dans le département de l'Aveyron. Ce pont en poutres-caisson enjambe la vallée du Lumansonesque, sur la commune de Verrières.

Le viaduc
Il est un maillon important de l'autoroute A75. Il fait partie intégrante du contournement de Millau, il est situé près du village de Verrières. Aujourd'hui, il souffre de la notoriété de son prestigieux voisin le viaduc de Millau. Construit de 1999 à 2002, il surplombe la vallée du Lumansonesque de près de 140 m.

Caractéristiques
Le viaduc de Verrières permet le franchissement par l'autoroute A 75, d'une vallée très encaissée au Nord de Millau. Ce viaduc dont le tracé est une courbe de rayon 1 800 m a une pente de 1 %. Large de 23,5 m, il comporte quatre voies de circulation. Le tablier, d'une épaisseur de , est composé d'un caisson métallique et d'un hourdis en béton armé. La charpente métallique a été lancée avec l'aide d'un avant-bec et d'un mat de haubanage provisoire. Le hourdis a été préfabriqué et mis en place au moyen d'un chariot mobile équipé d'une potence.

Les fondations des piles sont réalisées à l'aide de puits marocains de sept mètres de diamètre. Les semelles des piles sont intégrées dans les fûts.

Galerie

Voir aussi

Références

Articles connexes
 Viaduc de Millau
 Verrières
 Pont à poutres
 Aveyron
 Liste de ponts de l'Aveyron

Liens externes

Pont dans l'Aveyron
Pont autoroutier en France

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia