text:
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How to manage the flow of people through very busy buildings
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Yilin Zheng
Getting back to work in busy buildings is a real challenge for businesses. But technology can provide vital support. In this blog, we explore how cutting-edge AI-powered cameras can protect workers, customers, visitors, and businesses themselves.
Normal daily life involves a lot of people moving around the inside of buildings. In bustling transport hubs, busy shopping centers, office blocks and warehouses, people are constantly moving past each other and between rooms and floors.
But for the moment, this way of life has been forced to a halt – and understandably so. Within an enclosed space, there is a greater chance of transmission of illness. So to restrict transmission, businesses must also control the movement of people through very busy buildings.
The challenge today is how to do this as efficiently as possible, without affecting business interests. As we adjust to a new way of life, businesses must embrace innovative ways to optimize the density and flow of people through their premises, to protect workers, customers and visitors, while also protecting their businesses.
The good news is, AI-powered video technology can support businesses of all sizes in this endeavor.
Protecting people and businesses with AI video
Intelligent video cameras, such as those within Hikvision's Flow Control Solution, use people-counting technology coupled with dynamic digital signage to display how many people are entering and leaving a building or indoor area. The cameras feature highly accurate 3D binocular vision and deep learning algorithms to accurately count the number of people flowing through, even in the busiest sites with multiple entrances and exits.
The same cameras can also support social distancing in areas where crowds and standing in line is unavoidable. When the camera identifies that people are standing closer than the pre-determined threshold, it will trigger an alarm. The cameras can also be linked to digital signage, to display a visual notice.
For even greater reassurance, businesses can add in thermal and mask-detection camera technology, to help ensure people are safe to enter a location in the first place. Hikvision's AI-powered cameras can intelligently identify whether someone is wearing a mask, while also effectively checking their skin temperatures. Equipped with this information, staff can then take appropriate action to reduce the risk of viral spread.
Putting the technology into practice
At a time when it's incredibly hard for businesses to balance profitability with safety, we know, from the projects that we're working on, that AI-powered video can offer business value.
Hikvision technology enables people managing office blocks, warehouses and supermarkets to accurately count everyone that enters and leaves the premises, to ensure they never exceed safe capacity. This data can also be linked to access control solutions, to physically prevent people from entering until it is safe to do so.
Retailers, especially, can make use of digital signage to display how many people are in a store, so that customers understand why they may need to wait in line. Indeed, in retail – where it's normal for people to wait at checkouts or crowd together in narrow aisles – making use of a Hikvision dual-lens camera can help businesses to maintain vital social distancing rules.
Meanwhile in indoor transport hubs – where people are not only gathering, but travelling on to new locations – adding in thermal screening and mask detection is especially valuable. Safe building capacity be managed, while any travelers that may show signs of a raised temperature or who are not wearing masks can be informed.
Technology such as Hikvision's can essentially help businesses to reopen as safely and profitably as possible.
Get the full back-to-business story
However, choosing the right technology is only one part of the back-to-business story.
Businesses should also be aware of the compliance, legal and HR requirements when installing and using this technology. And the technology must be effectively and expertly installed, to ensure it achieves its full potential.
That's why Hikvision has produced a detailed Back-to-Business eBook. This overviews our product portfolio, explains how to install them for the best results, and outlines the health and safety considerations for using them.
*Hikvision's temperature screening products are designed for the detection of skin-surface temperatures so as to achieve rapid preliminary screening in public areas. Actual core body temperatures should be further confirmed using clinical measurement devices. Under any circumstances, it is highly recommended to use Hikvision's temperature screening products in accordance with local laws and regulations.
Tags: Back To Business Crowd Safety Temperature Screening
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Lars Calmfors
Professor Emeritus of International Economics, Institute for International Economic Studies, Stockholm University; Research Fellow, Research Institute of Industrial Economics, Stockholm
Lars Calmfors is Professor Emeritus of International Economics at the Institute for International Economic Studies, Stockholm University and Research Fellow at the Research Institute of Industrial Economics, Stockholm. He chaired the Economic Council of Sweden, advising the Ministry of Finance, 1993-2001, the Swedish Government Commission on the EMU (the Calmfors Commission) 1995-96, the European Economic Advisory Group at CESifo 2006-08, the Swedish Fiscal Policy Council 2007–11, and the Swedish Labour Policy Council 2015–18.
He was a Member of the Council of the European Economic Association 1991–96, a Member of the Committee for the Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences 1996-98 and 2003-07, a Member of the Academy's Board 2001-07, and a Member of the Board of the Swedish Research Council 2007–12. He has been heavily involved in both the Swedish and the European economic policy debate. His main research has been on wage setting and labour market institutions, the determination of employment and working time, labour market integration of immigrants, monetary union, macroeconomic policy and fiscal policy institutions.
Articles by larscalmfors0
The case for numerical employment policy targets
What can Europe learn from Sweden? Four lessons for fiscal discipline
What are fiscal councils, and what do they do?

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Home > News > Tyler Hiatt named Gatorade South Dakota Boys Track and Field Athlete of the Year
Tyler Hiatt named Gatorade South Dakota Boys Track and Field Athlete of the Year
by The Seminole Tribune - August 5, 2019 August 19, 2019
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — Tyler Hiatt, grandson of Semiole Tribal member and veteran Stephen Bowers, and son to Seminole Tribal member Stephanie Bowers Hiatt, is a two-time state champion in track and field at Lincoln High School in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
In his junior year at the state track meet, the 6-foot-3, 245-pound Hiat threw the shot put 59 feet, 1 inch and the discus 182 feet, 11 inches earning him two state titles and the MVP in the field division for the South Dakota State Track Meet.
His discus throw ranked No. 59 in the nation among prep competitors in 2019 at the time of his selection while his effort in the shot ranked No. 94.
Tyler Hiatt, the Gatorade South Dakota Boys Track and Field Athlete of the Year, competes in shot put for Lincoln High School in South Dakota. (Courtesy photo/Michael Brown Photography)
The combination of Hiatt's athletic accomplishments in track and field, participation in concert choir and chamber choir and a 3.6 grade point average earned him the title of 2018-19 Gatorade South Dakota Boys Track and Field Athlete of the Year.
Hiatt, who is heading into his senior year, is being recruited for track and field from numerous Division I colleges including Nebraska, Kansas State, Baylor, North Dakota State, South Dakota State, University of South Dakota and Abilene Christian.
This summer and fall, Hiatt plans to visit colleges and make a decision about where he will continue his academic and athletic career. Currently, he is focused on finding a school that will help him pursue a career as a physician's assistant.
Tyler Hiatt, center, with his parents Stephanie Bowers Hiatt and Jon Hiatt, is a two-time state champion in track and field in South Dakota. (Courtesy Photo)
With roster full of Tribal players, Okeechobee All-Stars win state championship
Hollywood's Sylas Billie thrives on the mound


text:
import checkFsFileMime from './checkFsFileMime';

const filterFsFilesByMime = async (files, mime) => {
  const result = await Promise.all(
    files.map(async (file) => {
      const isMatch = await checkFsFileMime(file, mime);
      if (isMatch) return file;
      return undefined;
    }),
  );
  return result.filter(f => !!f);
};

export default filterFsFilesByMime;

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


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Q: Efficient way to upload multiple images to S3 from iOS I'm using Amazon S3 as my file storage system in the app. All my item objects have several images associated with them, and each stores only the image urls to keep my database lightweight. As such I need an efficient way to upload multiple images to S3 directly from iOS, and upon successful completion store their urls in the object I send to the server. I've perused the SDK and sample app Amazon provides, but the only example I've come across is for a single image upload, and goes as follows:
 func uploadData(data: NSData) {
    let expression = AWSS3TransferUtilityUploadExpression()
    expression.progressBlock = progressBlock

    let transferUtility = AWSS3TransferUtility.defaultS3TransferUtility()

    transferUtility.uploadData(
        data,
        bucket: S3BucketName,
        key: S3UploadKeyName,
        contentType: "text/plain",
        expression: expression,
        completionHander: completionHandler).continueWithBlock { (task) -> AnyObject! in
            if let error = task.error {
                NSLog("Error: %@",error.localizedDescription);
                self.statusLabel.text = "Failed"
            }
            if let exception = task.exception {
                NSLog("Exception: %@",exception.description);
                self.statusLabel.text = "Failed"
            }
            if let _ = task.result {
                self.statusLabel.text = "Generating Upload File"
                NSLog("Upload Starting!")
                // Do something with uploadTask.
            }

            return nil;
    }
}

For upwards of 5 images this will become a nested mess since I'd have to wait for each upload to return successfully before initiating the next, and then finally sending the object to my DB. Is there an efficient, code-clean for me to accomplish my goal?
URL to Amazon's sample app github: https://github.com/awslabs/aws-sdk-ios-samples/tree/master/S3TransferUtility-Sample/Swift

A: Here is my code I used to upload multiple images to S3, in the same time using DispatchGroup().
func uploadOfferImagesToS3() {
    let group = DispatchGroup()

    for (index, image) in arrOfImages.enumerated() {
        group.enter()

        Utils.saveImageToTemporaryDirectory(image: image, completionHandler: { (url, imgScalled) in
            if let urlImagePath = url,
                let uploadRequest = AWSS3TransferManagerUploadRequest() {
                uploadRequest.body          = urlImagePath
                uploadRequest.key           = ProcessInfo.processInfo.globallyUniqueString + "." + "png"
                uploadRequest.bucket        = Constants.AWS_S3.Image
                uploadRequest.contentType   = "image/" + "png"
                uploadRequest.uploadProgress = {(bytesSent:Int64, totalBytesSent:Int64, totalBytesExpectedToSend:Int64) in
                    let uploadProgress = Float(Double(totalBytesSent)/Double(totalBytesExpectedToSend))

                    print("uploading image \(index) of \(arrOfImages.count) = \(uploadProgress)")

                    //self.delegate?.amazonManager_uploadWithProgress(fProgress: uploadProgress)
                }

                self.uploadImageStatus      = .inProgress

                AWSS3TransferManager.default()
                    .upload(uploadRequest)
                    .continueWith(executor: AWSExecutor.immediate(), block: { (task) -> Any? in

                        group.leave()

                        if let error = task.error {
                            print("\n\n=======================================")
                            print("❌ Upload image failed with error: (\(error.localizedDescription))")
                            print("=======================================\n\n")

                            self.uploadImageStatus = .failed
                            self.delegate?.amazonManager_uploadWithFail()

                            return nil
                        }

                        //=>    Task completed successfully
                        let imgS3URL = Constants.AWS_S3.BucketPath + Constants.AWS_S3.Image + "/" + uploadRequest.key!
                        print("imgS3url = \(imgS3URL)")
                        NewOfferManager.shared.arrUrlsImagesNewOffer.append(imgS3URL)

                        self.uploadImageStatus = .completed
                        self.delegate?.amazonManager_uploadWithSuccess(strS3ObjUrl: imgS3URL, imgSelected: imgScalled)

                        return nil
                    })
            }
            else {
                print(" Unable to save image to NSTemporaryDirectory")
            }
        })
    }

    group.notify(queue: DispatchQueue.global(qos: .background)) {
        print("All \(arrOfImages.count) network reqeusts completed")
    }
}

and this is the critical part, where I lost at least 5 hours.
URLs from NSTemporaryDirectory must be different for each image!!!
class func saveImageToTemporaryDirectory(image: UIImage, completionHandler: @escaping (_ url: URL?, _ imgScalled: UIImage) -> Void) {
    let imgScalled              = ClaimitUtils.scaleImageDown(image)
    let data                    = UIImagePNGRepresentation(imgScalled)

    let randomPath = "offerImage" + String.random(ofLength: 5)

    let urlImgOfferDir = URL(fileURLWithPath: NSTemporaryDirectory().appending(randomPath))
    do {
        try data?.write(to: urlImgOfferDir)
        completionHandler(urlImgOfferDir, imgScalled)
    }
    catch (let error) {
        print(error)
        completionHandler(nil, imgScalled)
    }
}

Hope this will help!

A: As I said on H. Al-Amri's response, if you need to know when the last upload is complete you can't simply iterate through an array of data and upload them all at once.
In Javascript there is a library (Async.js I think) that will make it easy to do background operations on individual elements of an array, and to get callbacks when each one finishes and when the entire array is finished. Since I'm not aware of anything like that for Swift, your intuition that you have to chain the uploads is correct.
As @DavidTamrazov explained in comments, you can chain your calls together using recursion. The way I solved this problem was a little more complicated since my network operations are done using NSOperationQueue to chain NSOperations. I pass an array of images to a custom NSOperation that uploads the first image from the array. When it completes, it adds another NSOperation to my NSOperationsQueue with the array of remaining images. When the array runs out of images, I know I'm complete.
Following is an example I chopped out of a much much larger chunk I use. Treat it as pseudocode because I edited it heavily and didn't have time to even compile it. But hopefully it's clear enough on the framework for how to do this with NSOperations.
class NetworkOp : Operation {
    var isRunning = false

    override var isAsynchronous: Bool {
        get {
            return true
        }
    }

    override var isConcurrent: Bool {
        get {
            return true
        }
    }

    override var isExecuting: Bool {
        get {
            return isRunning
        }
    }

    override var isFinished: Bool {
        get {
            return !isRunning
        }
    }

    override func start() {
        if self.checkCancel() {
            return
        }
        self.willChangeValue(forKey: "isExecuting")
        self.isRunning = true
        self.didChangeValue(forKey: "isExecuting")
        main()
    }

    func complete() {
        self.willChangeValue(forKey: "isFinished")
        self.willChangeValue(forKey: "isExecuting")
        self.isRunning = false
        self.didChangeValue(forKey: "isFinished")
        self.didChangeValue(forKey: "isExecuting")
        print( "Completed net op: \(self.className)")
    }

    // Always resubmit if we get canceled before completion
    func checkCancel() -> Bool {
        if self.isCancelled {
            self.retry()
            self.complete()
        }
        return self.isCancelled
    }

    func retry() {
        // Create a new NetworkOp to match and resubmit since we can't reuse existing.
    }

    func success() {
        // Success means reset delay
        NetOpsQueueMgr.shared.resetRetryIncrement()
    }
}

class ImagesUploadOp : NetworkOp {
    var imageList : [PhotoFileListMap]

    init(imageList : [UIImage]) {
        self.imageList = imageList
    }

    override func main() {
        print( "Photos upload starting")
        if self.checkCancel() {
            return
        }

        // Pop image off front of array
        let image = imageList.remove(at: 0)

        // Now call function that uses AWS to upload image, mine does save to file first, then passes
        // an error message on completion if it failed, nil if it succceeded
        ServerMgr.shared.uploadImage(image: image, completion: {  errorMessage ) in
            if let error = errorMessage {
                print("Failed to upload file - " + error)
                self.retry()
            } else {
                print("Uploaded file")
                if !self.isCancelled {
                    if self.imageList.count == 0 {
                        // All images done, here you could call a final completion handler or somthing.
                    } else {
                        // More images left to do, let's put another Operation on the barbie:)
                        NetOpsQueueMgr.shared.submitOp(netOp: ImagesUploadOp(imageList: self.imageList))
                    }
                }
            }
            self.complete()
         })
    }

    override func retry() {
        NetOpsQueueMgr.shared.retryOpWithDelay(op: ImagesUploadOp(form: self.form, imageList: self.imageList))
    }
}

// MARK: NetOpsQueueMgr  -------------------------------------------------------------------------------

class NetOpsQueueMgr {
    static let shared = NetOpsQueueMgr()

    lazy var opsQueue :OperationQueue = {
        var queue = OperationQueue()
        queue.name = "myQueName"
        queue.maxConcurrentOperationCount = 1
        return queue
    }()

    func submitOp(netOp : NetworkOp) {
         opsQueue.addOperation(netOp)
    }

   func uploadImages(imageList : [UIImage]) {
        let imagesOp = ImagesUploadOp(form: form, imageList: imageList)
        self.submitOp(netOp: imagesOp)
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Witcher: Blood Origin review: A Netflix spinoff Henry Cavill needs
Amaya December 12, 2022 8 min read
This time last year, Netflix's Witcher universe was in a state of flux: even with some missteps in Season 2, the series produced one of its best episodes ever, making clever work of even the franchise's more twisted revelations and spin-offs in abundance. News broke last month: Henry Cavill, the actual Superman who landed the role of Geralt Gravitas, would be replaced by Hunger Games actor Liam Hemsworth.
Still, like so many shows, it seemed possible The witcher could live on – after all, what was a single actor for a multiverse, especially one with a critically acclaimed prequel just over a month away? But the intense research makes each new step into the Witcher universe feel heavier (even if an initial foray has already been made outside the original show with Nightmare of the wolf, the animated movie about Geralt's mentor). And unfortunately, The Witcher: Blood Origin is the worst-case scenario: a very messy and unappealing series that casts doubt on the world of The Witcher's potential in a post-Cavill era.
1200 years before Geralt and Ciri's unorthodox father-daughter relationship. Blood origin covers some of the most important events in the universe, such as the creation of the first Witcher and the Conjunction of the Spheres, "when the worlds of elves, men and monsters merged into one." For those less invested in Witcher's lore, the trailers also promised Michelle Yeoh as a sword master, which should dramatically improve the potential of almost any property.
The actual thrust of Blood originHowever, the story lies elsewhere. Éile (Sophia Brown) is an elite elf warrior of the Raven clan who has turned her back on her life of fighting to become a wandering bard. But difficulties on the mainland lure her back to the sword and throw her along with Fjall (Laurence O'Fuarain), a warrior elf from the rival Dog clan. As the two untangle the larger war they've been thrown into, they assemble a group of fun-loving adventurers, including Meldof (Francesca Mills), a dwarf with a hammer and a proverbial ax to sharpen; Brother Death (Huw Novelli), a warrior with a bloody past; and Yeoh's Scían, an unparalleled fighter who wants to retrieve a sword sacred to her people. Awaiting them in the capital is the evil Chief Sage Balor (Lenny Henry), who seeks more powerful magic to conquer other worlds, and Princess Merwyn (Mirren Mack), an elven ruler desperate to break the confines of the patriarchal monarchy.
Photo: Lilja Jonsdottir/Netflix
Photo: Susie Allnutt/Netflix
In other words, Blood origin there's a lot going on, especially for just four episodes (an order cut from the reportedly six that were planned and shot). And yet Élie and Fjall are at the heart of the story, and where the seams become visible, if not completely falling apart: as we watch their relationship grow from uneasy allies to brothers-in-arms, it's clear the series has no time or care for meaningful interests or emotions. We know absolutely nothing about these characters, and once the backstory is fleshed out, it feels sloppy and late, so removed from the through line of their story that it reveals how few details really matter to the show. When someone close to Élie is threatened or Fjall thinks back to the woman he loves, the feeling is supposedly vital to their story, but also instantly forgotten, leaving no lasting imprint on their arc or character.
Which is the most shocking Blood origin. The series is – perhaps more than anything I've ever seen – deeply rooted in exposition. And yet nothing is explained or explored; minute facts are tossed and discarded with the same clumsy care. The warrior clans of Fjall and Éile have no distinguishing features that separate them. There's a class conflict that keeps being referenced by a song Élie is famous for, but there's never much thought about what that actually means, in-universe, aside from "lower class people are more hungry than their elite counterparts '.
The group of warriors the duo recruits for their cause each have their own backstory as well, but often those seem to exist purely to tell the audience about, and that's it. Magical twins Syndril and Zacaré (Zach Wyatt and Lizzie Annis) weep over a tragic event in their past and that is the magnitude of its impact. When Élie promises Scían the chance to reclaim the sacred sword from her people, it is introduced into the conversation with no explanation of how Élie would have known it was gone. Meldorf's entire quest is satisfied in her first two introductory scenes (and it could have been done in one, too).
In a stronger show, these could be fascinating implications of the bigger world and the histories we don't see, or tell details about how insignificant these conflicts really are, or even just a little mistake to be brushed aside. Here they all just feel like obvious mismanagement, a sign of how much has been confusingly left out to bolster the story to its end point.
None of this has to be a death sentence for a franchise. The Star Wars prequel series has its defenders, who appreciate the interesting ideas one can discover in George Lucas' messy execution. But Blood origin doesn't offer the same joys, even from a prequel perspective. It gives so much to tell that it forgets to show why the major events of the Witcher universe are important to the story. Most of his revelations are sidelined or edited to shreds, forcing the beats to be explained through a voiceover narrated to Jaskier (Joey Batey) in The witcher's timeline. As a result, characters can't argue for themselves, and the bigger prequel implications never add anything new or substantive to the world we're supposed to see its origins from.
Even worse, it shows how little audiences need of this, and how damaging it can be to mine the nooks and crannies of the franchise too deeply – how thin the universe of The Witcher's high fantasy can feel if it's not anchored by a greater intensity. Sure, there are elves and dwarfs and goblins and mages. There are scary monsters that want to eat you, and magical prophecies. In The witcher we get the feeling that our understanding of these things is limited and serves the parts of it that we need to know. They are a smaller piece of a larger, more expansive world, suggesting a richer story if only we had the time to look that way.
But when Blood origin's creators use elves interchangeably with humans, the corner of the universe loses any remaining distinction. What's the difference between an elf and a human in The Witcher – magic? Power? Ears? Inside Blood origin it seems… to be nothing. And if there is nothing fundamentally different about these beings, their world, or their problems, what does it matter if their sphere gets conjunction with that of the main world?
There may be deeper answers in the wider Witcher lore, but Blood origin is so interested in a self-contained story that it seems actively unable to sit next to the other properties. While Nightmare of the wolf felt a bit insignificant when restrained The witcher's consideration of monstrosity or Yennefer's desire for motherhood, it still struggles coherently with the deeper conundrums of Witcher lore. And in the end, it manages to at least provide the window into an important chapter of The Witcher's history.
Blood origin, on the other hand, only seems to be able to make that conversation poorly at best, loosening the rules of the universe to the point of incoherence. In a fantasy world like The Witcher's, those boundaries are what sets it apart; we should know that chaos magic has an extreme cost. But nothing in the text of Blood origin explain what makes Balor's invocation of it different from what he did before. While his greater ambitions of conquering other cultures are standard enough, the finer points of his perspective fall by the wayside, flattening his – and everyone else's – fights.
Whatever there is to be said about power and who wields it just can't be considered that deeply because Blood origin is so tightly packed with meaningless exposition and toothless backstory. There are clearly bigger ambitions there – like the way Merwyn feels trapped in her role – but they can't amount to much when each scene is tasked with simultaneously introducing and delivering new motivations. Merwyn is ostensibly a power player, but she never feels like it, as her choices feel fleeting at best. And this fast, disjointed pace is the backbone of every story. There's no time to savor the calmer, smarter moments that define the best scenes of the Witcher universe.
And so the conflicts of Blood origin becoming remarkably frictionless, moving vertiginously and robotically along tracks simply because the story demands it. At best, they make the conflict inside The witcher actually looks crazy, and at worst – well, it makes you question whether there's much steam at all in broadening this universe onto the screen (a ridiculous notion for a story that spanned decades of books, short stories, and video games propelled!).
Art is experimental by nature and experiments can fail. But Blood origin booms loudly, each echo of its impact more disturbing than the last. This show doesn't have to answer or The witcher can exist without Henry Cavill – but it's a disturbing look at what the universe could be without a stable presence like his. Cavill isn't the only thing making The witcher; some of the most interesting things in the universe have nothing to do with him at all. But he's a defining feature of it, a constantly devoted fanboy who finds such depth in a character that it would be so easy to make really boring. As our perspective character, he (or the people who care about him) set the tone of the show, and the poignancy he delivers shines through in stories that don't even feature him.
Blood origin exists as the opposite of that: a world with no defining fantasy features, a multiverse that not even Michelle Yeoh can save. It's a textureless world populated by generic archetypes fighting to get from point A to point B because the plot wants it to. The problems are deeper than not having a star to root the world in. The Witcher: Blood Origin eventually falls victim to the risk that every multiverse (and there are many) runs when it expands too eagerly and loses what makes it special. Blood origin doesn't have time to think about what makes the Witcher universe unique or meaningful, leaving it just a confused, reckless attempt to get more Witcher stuff out the door. If there is hope The witcher to survive the loss of a star and build itself into a larger universe, it will have to make a better case than this.
The Path Of Water Splashdown
USMNT's Gio Reyna scores a half-volley on Borussia Dortmund's return


text:
Protocol Buffers repeated field serialization
--SKIPIF--
<?php require 'skipif.inc' ?>
--FILE--
<?php
require 'test.inc';

$foo = new Foo();
$foo->appendRepeatedField(2);
$foo->appendRepeatedField(3);

var_dump($foo->serializeToString());
?>
--EXPECTREGEX--
string\(6\) \"\x80\x1\x2\x80\x1\x3\"


Given how much the travel and tourism business continues to depend on them, it is no surprise that the GDS sector leaders reported growth in 2017, and prepared to begin the New Year on an optimistic note. However, the sector's main players are also taking care to stay a step ahead of the impact evolving technology has had on their customers' demands.
Statistics portal www.statista.com, listed the revenue of selected global distribution systems in 2016, stating USD4.71 billion for Amadeus, USD3.37 billion for Sabre, and USD2.35 billion for Travelport, also reflected in an information portal www.businesstravel-iq.com report that for the first quarter (Q1) of 2017, Amadeus held 44 percent, Sabre 36.3 percent and others, including Travelport 19.7 percent of the air market share.
It is clear that the GDS industry reported expansion in 2017 and remains positive about this year. Elaborating on the growth, Antoine Medawar, vice president, Amadeus MENA indicated, "Given the steady progression of our MENA businesses, and the wider confidence in the region's travel industry, we ended 2017 strong with optimism heading into 2018."
Matthew Powell, senior director, India and agency commerce solutions, AFMESA, Travelport, also reported a strong 2017 saying that Travelport was, "Confident of another solid year globally, as well as across the Middle East and Africa, in 2018."
Announcing its third quarter (Q3) 2017 results, Sabre meanwhile reported a revenue increase of 7.3 percent, a 4.8 percent growth in Airline and Hospitality Solutions revenue, and a Travel Network increase of 8.6 percent with a bookings growth of 3.2 percent.
GDS technology has transformed the travel industry over the past decade, advancing both the way consumers make their travel arrangements, and the means the industry uses to meet their clients' requirements.
Medawar noted that more recently, the rise of e-commerce behaviours had led to online travel agents (OTAs) and the creation of metasearch companies specialising in traffic acquisition through comparing prices across the Internet without offering booking services.
"Again, GDS technology plays an important role in that ecosystem," he said. And it is not only those directly part of the industry that are optimistic about the endurance of GDSs.
Travel, tourism and hospitality research portal Phocuswright, in an October 2016 report entitled GDS Technology and the Future of Travel Distribution, reported that despite rumours of their imminent demise, GDSs are still alive and well.
The technology that supports the business services that they provide will have a profound and lasting effect on the way travel is distributed through the over 50,000 travel agents in the world.


text:
Q: Checking for keyboard inputs uses too much cpu usage, Is there something wrong with my code? Im making a simple music  player so i can pause music when i am in full screen applications. The code works fine but i noticed that it uses around 15% cpu usage. Im just wondering if i did something wrong with my code.
import keyboard

listedSongs = []
currentSong = "idk"
while True:
    if keyboard.is_pressed('alt+k'):
        i = 1
        paused = False
    elif keyboard.is_pressed('alt+q'):
        break
    elif keyboard.is_pressed('alt+s'):
        if currentSong not in listedSongs:
                listedSongs.append(currentSong)
                print(listedSongs)

Any help would be appreciated :)

A: The biggest reason it's consuming so many resources is this:
while True:

In essence, the program never stops to wait for anything. It's checking constantly, over and over, to see if the buttons on the keyboard are pressed. A better way, that's much less costly on the computer, is to assign a "callback" to be called whenever your desired key is pressed, and have the program sleep in between key presses. The keyboard library provides this functionality:
import keyboard
import time

listedSongs = []
currentSong = "idk"
exit = False  # make a loop control variable

def alt_k():
    i = 1
    paused = False

def alt_q():
    exit = True

def alt_s():
    if currentSong not in listedSongs:
        listedSongs.append(currentSong)
        print(listedSongs)

# assign hooks to the keyboard
keyboard.on_press_key("alt+k", alt_k)  # on press alt+k, execute alt_k()
keyboard.on_press_key("alt+q", alt_q)
keyboard.on_press_key("alt+s", alt_s)

# main loop
while not exit:
    keyboard.wait()  # "block" for input (essentially, do nothing until a key is pressed and yield CPU resources to anything else that wants them)


text:
Q: Rewrite Url with out extension I am using Intelligencia for my url-rewrite functionality.
<configSections>
    <section name="rewriter" requirePermission="false"
        type="Intelligencia.UrlRewriter.Configuration.RewriterConfigurationSectionHandler, Intelligencia.UrlRewriter"/>
</configSections>

The below rule its working fine for my search page
<rewrite url="~/search/(.+).aspx" to="~/search.aspx?type=$1"/>

but i need to write my search page with below rule
<rewrite url="~/search/(.+)" to="~/search.aspx?type=$1"/>

If i run with above rule i am getting page not found error.
Plz advice me is there any setting in IIS.

A: Here is an article (with a downloadable solution sample) to use Routes to map to extensionless "SEO Friendly" urls:
http://goo.gl/BBnsa


text:
Home See & Do Books Books in Review: Fiction, politics, and sweet Island reads
Books in Review: Fiction, politics, and sweet Island reads
Six of Time magazine's top 10 nonfiction books in 2017 had to do with the 2016 presidential race, the state of our national and world union, and with women's issues, including sexual predation by men.
With national concern soaring about the safety of our nation and of women, look for more of the same next year, as harsh light is shone on our cultural shortcomings and growing concern about the ability of our president to run the affairs of state.
We got the same sense of the trend in books with Island connections that we reviewed in 2017. Only three fiction titles made the list of top reads this year. Eight dealt with Island life in biography and history, and we read some top-flight essay and photography books.
Six books we read dealt with understanding the politics of our times against the backdrop of real-time 2017 events.
Two others were luxurious reads, one a history of Benedict Arnold by Nathaniel Philbrick, and the other, "Tides," by Jonathan White, captures the nature and impact of ocean tides, a mostly overlooked twice-a-day event here.
Many of us have the sense these days that the center is not holding or, at least, that someone's moved our cheese, so seasonal resident Amor Towles' "A Gentleman in Moscow" was a welcome break from predicting political Armageddon. Mr. Towles followed up his first book, the bestselling "Rules of Civility," with this delightful tale of brutish post-Revolution Russia. The hero actually is a gentleman, by temperament, who's a welcome relief from the self-serving adolescent political chatter we hear daily.
Island resident Susan Wilson published "Two Good Dogs," the fifth in her canine fiction series about life from a dog's perspective. Ms. Wilson's dog characters don't solve crime or wisecrack, but move easily in a human world.
Fellow resident Linda Fairstein doubled up this year with "Deadfall," the 19th Alexandra Cooper
crime thriller, and debuted her first book for middle-school readers. Called "Into the Lion's Den," the book features tweener Devlin Quick, a kid with a nose for mystery.
Resident Richard Patterson got out of the gate early and vociferously with "Fever Swamp," a reprise of his weekly columns at Huffington Post. Mr. Patterson, an early anti-Trump voice, reprised his columns with extended margin-note updates on what he — and Donald Trump — got right and wrong during the campaign last year.
Two other books I recommend about the matter of national health include "A Colony in a Nation," MSNBC news guy Chris Hayes' look at the racial divide in this country. Mr. Hayes told The Times that he purposely did not mention Donald Trump, but allowed the reality of two separate treatments under our laws to stand on its own, without the help of Trumpian dog whistles.
On that subject, I have scratched my head all year about the dizzying effect of Vladimir Putin on Mr. Trump. Masha Gessen, a Russian-American journalist who worked in Russia before and during the Putin ascendancy, offers a richly detailed and chilling picture of the Russian president in "The Man Without a Face: The Unlikely Rise of Vladimir Putin." Originally published in 2013, her story tracks Mr. Putin as a street kid in St. Petersburg through a career as a gray bureaucrat before his ascension in 1997 to the Russian presidency.
Putting the best face possible on it, we can hope the Trumpian allure relates to images of macho Putin, bare-chested, riding his horse in Russian hills, and not the means by which Mr. Putin converted a nascent Russian democracy into an autocratic kleptocracy by disassembling the foundations of law, governance, and free press.
We had a delightful look at dissent and natural living in "What Would Henry Do?" a whimsical look at how Henry David Thoreau would regard the world today. Essentially a collection of essays, the book includes a piece by Island resident Holly Nadler.
This year produced an excellent cadre of books about the Island and living on it, including Chilmarker Conrad Neumann's prose and poetry in "Up Island Poems" and a sweet but haunting sprig of poems, "Not so dear Jenny," from former Island resident Jennifer Tseng. James Hart contributed an autobiography, "Lucky Jim," which chronicles his life and times, including a long marriage to Island resident Carly Simon.
No Island publishing year is complete without photography books. Two particularly stand out.
Longtime resident Peter Simon galvanized 50-plus years of Island photography into "Martha's Vineyard: To Everything There Is a Season," a visual masterpiece compendium of our life and times.
Chappaquiddick scientist and author Edwina L. Rissland brought us "Morning Shore: A Turn of the Year on Chappaquiddick," a slim volume of her photographs, including an opening essay and epigrams that perfectly suit her photos. Ms. Rissland ranges far for her epigrams, from classical Haydn to Beatle George Harrison, and to Island voices, including Laura Wainwright, Kevin Keady, and Dan McLagan.
This article by Jack Shea originally appeared on mvtimes.com.
Author talk with Kate Hancock
'To the New Owners' is a meditation on gratitude
'The Believers,' Alfred Woollacott's saga of hope and belief


Web technologies have advanced a whole lot within the past decade. It's provided an excellent stage for those entrepreneurs to operate their company online. The possibilities offered to purchase and sell products on line are fantastic and every company now is trying to create a Custom Web Design. As a way to help you to get cash and also sell goods online, you should own a website – A website which may let them purchase these products online and represent your manufacturer to your own guests. Webs999 is a Professional Web development company in India and we also offering an Affordable Custom Web design Packages in Uttam Nagar East, Delhi.
A static web page is a HTMl page that is provided to user as it is saved on the web server. A static web page provides the same amount of information to all users despite of the level of a visitor as each page is coded in plain HTML. Though today's servers are able to provide different language options to users depending upon the location of the user, but the actual content remains the same.
Dynamic Website Designing required advanced and more complicated coding than static websites designing. The layout of the pages and the content of the web pages are created separately. All the content is stored in a database. Words, numbers, and images are stored as unique elements in the database and put together to be displayed on a page, only if asked. This allows you to provide individual information to the user and let them personalize the content according to their preferences.
Redesigning a website is more than getting a new look; in fact it is about having an all-in-one solution to offer your website visitors exactly what they are looking for. It's about refreshing your online presence with a new appealing web experience.
At Webs999, compelling engagement through a seamless user experience is what we strive for. We change your entire outdated design and functionality to create a great brand impression. We analyze you current structure to offer you a complete solution with our artistic touch, creative aesthetics and outstanding fucntionality. We start by taking a step back, foreseeing at the bigger picture and trying to plan a perfect and effective design.
When looking to put together a website, one of the things any website owner will want is to make one that consists of responsive web design. With a responsive design, website owners will have a site that will appeal to many visitors and help improve their reputation online. By putting together a responsive web design, a business or individual can have an online presence that heavily involves the visitor so that they can learn more about the site as well as having a more interactive experience.
Responsive Designs for a website will usually include a number of benefits such as providing more appeal to browsers, getting more exposure, making sales more easily and also providing more information. As a result a responsive website design is something that will make a good website into a great site.
Every good eCommerce Website should have a fixed goal and should be able to target the user section it is best suited to. It should be well defined, should have an easy to use and interactive UI, it should also be smooth and secure. The naming of the website should be unique and catchy so that it remains in the minds of the users. Publicity of the website is also essential to have good traffic. The website should be advertised with key features, some products and services, some photographs and guarantee seals on social media platforms which are highly popular amongst the people these days.
We're in a time when technological advances happen quickly in Mobile Website Design, and new players are constantly being introduced.Website owners are bound to re-evaluate the means their website are designed as, nowadays, everyone surf the net from anywhere by gadget that are handy. Mobile website designing allows website owners, to design especially their websites for the utilization of smaller gadgets customers. Everything from direction to touch screen like from iPad to Smart Phones needs to be considered in the designing stage.


This Valentine's Day, don't just show your love to your significant others. Make sure to woo your retail customers as well with romantic signage specially designed to grab their attention.
To achieve this, make it a point to be always tuned in to your target market's wishes. For retailers, a foolproof way to get customer traffic is to market your products as a Valentine's Day gift. The key is to communicate that your product is not just a run-of-the-mill Valentine's Day present, but THE Perfect Gift. Here are some novel ways to do it.
Who doesn't love freebies? Let's face it: few words can draw a crowd like "free" can. It's a human trait you can (and should) definitely exploit, especially on a consumer-driven holiday like Valentine's Day. Entice your customers by giving them sweet treats, like some candy or chocolate, with a minimum purchase.
Take advantage of the Valentine's Day hype by running a sale and advertising it on all your marketing channels. Ramp up engagement by personalizing the content your customers will receive—make sure your marketing emails bear the recipients' names or, if you have more budget, run a program on Facebook that can let the user make personalized memes or send romantic notes to people they love. You can also give customers a special QR code which they can scan to enjoy special discounts or treats. Few things are more enticing than the prospect of an offer that only a few can enjoy.
More isn't always merrier—but on Valentine's Day, it surely is. Get your customers to buy more by offering bigger discounts for more items. Case in point: Take advantage of Nixplay's Valentine's Day sale to get big discounts on the Nixplay Iris—up to 25 percent off when you buy three frames, only until February 14!
Make your digital signage on point.
For retailers with brick-and-mortar stores, digital signage is a great investment that will yield massive returns all year round. If you're thinking of getting a digital signage system for your establishment, there's no better time to take the plunge than now. You can use digital signage not just on Valentine's Day, but for your succeeding campaigns as well.
Nixplay Signage is a great option for your digital signage needs. Its easy plug-and-play setup, coupled with its integrated software and hardware solution, makes installation a total breeze. The best part? You can control what's shown on your Nixplay Signage displays wherever in the world you may be.


text:
What Will Really Happen If I Eat That Moldy Cheese?
by: Katie Macdonald
My sister and I always joke that there's nothing to eat when we're at our parents' house. Of course, there's food. But between jars of mayonnaise that have become permanent fixtures in the fridge and green beans canned during the first term of the Bush presidency, we question how much of it is edible. My parents take the dates on their foods very casually—a light suggestion, really.
Turns out they're not wrong, says Dr. Pritish Tosh, Infectious Diseases Physician and Researcher at the Mayo Clinic (also: Moldy Blue Cheese Fan).
"It's important for people to realize the distinction between expiration date and a 'best by' or 'use by' date," says Tosh. "Most food people have in their pantry or refrigerator don't have expiration dates. They have a 'use by' date."
The Real Shelf Life of Pantry Items (& When to Pay Attention to Expiration Dates)
All of these dates can be confusing, Tosh acknowledges. We associate a couple of terms with determining whether food is fit to consume or not. Here's a breakdown:
Best Before or Use By Date: A matter of taste, not safety. These are recommendations from the manufacturer on how long you can expect food to maintain optimal flavor, consistency, and taste, as suggested by the manufacturer. You can still eat food that's past this date, but use scent or taste to determine if it's spoiled.
Sell By Date: Similar to "Best Before" or "Use By" dates, it tells stores how long to display the product for sale for inventory management.
Expiration Date: Although expiration dates are typically conservative, it's important to follow them. They indicate when foods start to spoil, although it's just as crucial to note off odors, flavors, or textures (even before expiration dates).
Consuming spoiled foods will typically only cause an upset stomach, although improperly stored canned goods can cause botulism.
"Is someone likely to contract botulism by eating cheese that's had mold adjacent to it? It's unlikely," Tosh says. "But is there a chance that there could be some toxin gastrointestinal illness? Yes, it's possible. The more contaminated the food is, the more likely it is."
The Need-to-Know Guide to Botulism, For Safe Canning & Preserving
How to Store Your Produce So It Lasts Longer
Fresh Vegetable Storage Bags
More Options Shop Fresh Vegetable Storage Bags Now
Nevertheless, there are some foods that can be used even though they have mold, says USDA Communications Coordinator Amanda D. Heitkamp.
It's normal for hard salami and dry-cured country hams to have surface mold. Just scrub it off, she says. With hard cheeses and firm fruits or vegetables, cut off at least one inch around and below the mold spot, but toss soft cheeses, fruits, and vegetables with mold.
"Remember that you only see part of the mold on the surface of food—gray fur on forgotten bologna, fuzzy green dots on bread, white dust on Cheddar, coin-size velvety circles on fruits, and furry growth on the surface of jellies," she says. "When a food shows heavy mold growth, 'root' threads have invaded it deeply."
To limit food waste and reduce risk of sickness, Heitkamp suggests rotating the foods in your pantry and refrigerator so that you use the oldest foods first, while Tosh recommends editing your grocery list before heading to the store.
"When considering whether to get the super-sized jug of mayo, think of what you will probably go through in a reasonable amount of time," he says. "I think it's easier to look at the per unit price when shopping and buying more than you need than it is to imagine the cost of unused food."
One way to recycle leftovers
Do you toss foods that have passed "best by" dates? Share your best ways to keep foods fresher, longer!
It's here: Our game-changing guide to everyone's favorite room in the house. Your Do-Anything Kitchen gathers the smartest ideas and savviest tricks—from our community, test kitchen, and cooks we love—to help transform your space into its best self.
On the Cheap
BerryBaby
Written by: Katie Macdonald
katiemacdonald.contently.com
Katie is a food writer and editor who loves cheesy puns and cheesy cheese.
by: Patricia
by: debb4444
Life Hack It
by: April
BerryBaby June 19, 2018
I cleaned out the fridge every Sunday. Get rid of sad produce and leftovers.
If I ever saw a gray, fuzzy, little animal forming on anything(!) it's history! Mold starts on the inside and moves out. So even if the obvious is removed, it's still in the food. Not worth saving IMO.
Smaug June 18, 2018
It's important to remember that temperature as much as time determines the lifespan of foods in the freezer and refrigerator.
702551 June 18, 2018
Smaug is right. If a refrigerator thermostat is altered by two degrees, there can be significant impacts to the longevity of the contents.
Also worth noting is the location of said items within the fridge. The temperature isn't consistent throughout the interior. The door is usually the warmest and while many people stick their milk in door shelves, this is actually the worst place to store fresh dairy in terms of longevity (it's great for convenience).
Since cold air is heavier than warm air, the coldest spot tends to be near the back bottom, adjacent to where the cooling elements are. That's basically why lettuce in a produce crisper drawer is typically the first casualty of frost if the thermostat is set too low.


Featuring one 6mm heart shaped Cubic Zirconia gemstone, set in solid 9ct gold. Dimensions: 14mm from top to bottom, 6mm wide at the widest point. This pendant comes with an 18 inch, solid 9ct gold chain. Supplied in a luxury gift box. Made in England.