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House Republicans approve 3-day wait period, 20-week ban for abortions
Brianne Pfannenstiel
bpfannenst@dmreg.com
House Republicans approved a bill restricting abortions Wednesday following hours of debate that was at times contentious, passionate and deeply personal.
"It was in 2003 at about 20 weeks that my son, Wayne Roland Holt's heartbeat disappeared," said Rep. Steven Holt, R-Denison, recalling how the umbilical cord had wrapped itself around his son's neck and his wife's labor had to be induced. "I held Wayne in the palm of my hand all night long while I wept. And I can tell you, Wayne Roland Holt was a human being — totally formed."
Holt was among the 55 Republicans who voted to approve Senate File 471, which would ban abortions once a pregnancy reaches 20 weeks and establish a three-day waiting period for women seeking any abortion. All 41 Democrats voted against it along with Rep. David Maxwell, R-Gibson.
The bill includes changes that must be approved by the Senate before it could be sent to the governor's desk.
Democrats argued the bill does not account for the wide range of circumstances that can lead women to seek abortions.
"We are typecasting women as unable to obtain the information they may need to make their individual decision," said Rep. Vicki Lensing, D-Iowa City. "You do not walk in my shoes, and I do not walk in yours – nor any other woman's. So to presume that we in this legislative body can make these decisions for other women without knowing or understanding their reasons or situations for their decisions is, in my opinion, presumptuous, disrespectful and insulting."
The majority of abortions performed in Iowa — about 94 percent — are done during the first 13 weeks of pregnancy, according to data from the Iowa Department of Public Health. The department does not specifically track abortions performed after 20 weeks, but found the remaining six percent occur between 14 and 28 weeks of pregnancy.
The bill as amended would allow an abortion after 20 weeks if doctors determine it's necessary to preserve the life or health of the mother. But it does not include exemptions for pregnancies resulting from rape or incest or for pregnancies in which a genetic anomaly makes life after birth impossible.
The House amended the bill to strip out criminal penalties, though it does allow women to pursue civil cases against providers who perform illegal abortions. It also allows physicians to be disciplined by the Iowa Board of Medicine if they're found to be in violation of the law.
The new three-day waiting period would be among the strictest on record. Twenty-seven other states have some kind of waiting period, though most are only a single-day restriction. Iowa would become the sixth state in the country to require a three-day waiting period for women seeking abortions, according to data from the Guttmacher Institute.
Rep. Joel Fry, R-Osceola and chair of the House Human Resources Committee, said he does not believe the waiting period creates an undue burden on the woman as some Democrats have claimed.
"We could figure out whatever hours you want to figure out," he said. "I believe that the key piece of this process is to make sure that we have the time for the decision to be made with all of the facts and have an informed choice being made..."
Many Republicans had expressed hope that anti-abortion legislation might go further and block even more abortions.
Some had introduced legislation declaring that life begins at conception, effectively outlawing all abortions. And the House briefly considered advancing with a "heartbeat" bill that would block most abortions after a fetal heartbeat can be detected, often as early as six weeks into a pregnancy.
But similar legislation in other states has not survived legal challenges, causing some Republicans to push back. They argued a better way to advance their cause would be to focus on changes that could have an immediate effect. Seventeen other states have enacted 20-week abortion bans.
Fry said the bill approved by the House Wednesday is a "monumental piece of legislation that protects life."
"At this point in time, this is the bill that we have before us," he said. "And it does a fantastic job, I believe, of continuing to keep that conversation of life being sacred and important."


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Find out what Chinese dishes to try in China (customer favorites): sweet and sour pork, kung pao chicken, fried noodles… See expert intros with pictures.
With a long history, unique features, numerous styles and exquisite cooking, Chinese cuisine is one important constituent part of Chinese culture. Chinese traditional dishes are famous for color, aroma, taste, meaning and appearance.
The following are the 8 most popular dishes among foreigners and Chinese. These dishes are available in most large restaurants in China. For customers' convenience, we also list their Chinese character names.
1. Sweet and Sour Pork
Sweet and sour pork (糖醋里脊) has a bright orange-red color, and a delicious sweet and sour taste.
At the very beginning there was only sweet and sour pork, but to meet demands, there have been some developments on this dish. Now, the pork can be substituted by other ingredients like chicken, beef or pork ribs. See How to Cook Sweet and Sour Pork.
2. Kung Pao Chicken
Kung Pao Chicken (宫保鸡丁) is a famous Sichuan-style specialty, popular with both Chinese and foreigners. The major ingredients are diced chicken, dried chili, and fried peanuts.
People in Western countries have created a Western-style gong bao chicken, for which the diced chicken is covered with cornstarch, and vegetables, sweet and sour sauce and mashed garlic are added. See How to Cook Kung Pao Chicken.
3. Ma Po Tofu
Ma po tofu (麻婆豆腐) is one of the most famous dishes in Chuan Cuisine with a history of more than 100 years. Ma (麻) describes a spicy and hot taste which comes from pepper powder, one kind of condiment usually used in Chuan Cuisine.
The milky tofu is enriched with brownish red ground beef and chopped green onion. It is really a tasty delicacy. See recipes for mapo tofu.
4. Wontons
Since the Tang Dynasty (618–907), it has been a custom for people to eat wontons (馄饨) on the winter solstice.
The most versatile shape of a wonton is simple a right triangle, similar to Italian tortellini. Wontons are commonly boiled and served in soup or sometimes deep-fried. The filling of wontons can be minced pork or diced shrimp.
5. Dumplings
With a long history of more than 1,800 years, dumplings are a traditional food widely popular in North China. Dumplings (饺子) consist of minced meat and chopped vegetables wrapped into a thin piece of dough skin.
Popular fillings are mince pork, diced shrimp, ground chicken, beef, and vegetables. They can be cooked by boiling, steaming, or frying. Dumplings are a traditional dish eaten on Chinese New Year's Eve. See How to Make Chinese Dumplings.
6. Chow Mein
The "Chow mein" (炒面) is the Cantonese pronunciation of the Chinese characters above, which means stir-fried noodles. Generally speaking, this stir-fried dish consists of noodles, meat (usually chicken, beef, shrimp, or pork), onions and celery.
For making chow mein, the noodles need to be cooked in boiling water for a while. After they becoming cool, then move to the step of stir-frying. See How to Cook Chow Mein.
7. Peking Roasted Duck
Peking duck (北京烤鸭) is a famous dish from Beijing, enjoying world fame, and considered as one of China's national dishes.
Peking duck is savored for its thin and crispy skin. The Sliced Peking duck is often eaten with pancakes, sweet bean sauce, or soy with mashed garlic. It is a must-taste dish in Beijing! Read more about Peking Roasted Duck.
8. Spring Rolls
Spring rolls (春卷) are a Cantonese dim sum of cylindrical shape. The filling of spring rolls could be vegetables or meat, and the taste could be either sweet or savory.
After fillings are wrapped in spring roll wrappers, the next step is frying. Then the spring rolls are given their golden yellow color.
It is a dish especially popular in Jiangxi, Jiangsu, Shanghai, Fujian, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hong Kong, etc. Read more about Spring Rolls.
One of the classic dishes of the Han people (90% of Chinese), sweet and sour pork is included in Zhejiang cuisine, Shandong cuisine, Sichuan cuisine, and Cantonese cuisine,...
Cigarette butts biggest pollutant caused by humans, experts say

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Long time collaborator and fellow Paradizer, Cooper, has been releasing games (and some other stuff) for the Atari ST range of computers for more than 10 years now. For his latest game, he decided to do a Kickstarter, but on his own terms!
In order to gauge interest from people and to promote his game, he decided to give it to people that actually register for it, but instead of just taking their money he'll do a lottery with the winner getting a working Atari Falcon030! It seems that enough people registered for the lottery to take place so it seems that his release model worked!
Now, about the game itself: You get a 4x4 chess grid where inside there are placed some chess pieces. The goal of the game is for the player to take a piece with each move and end up with just one piece in the board. Sounds easy? Well, 400 levels await those who dare take up the challenge, and it's really enjoyable. As a puzzle fan I found the idea really interesting, and I had to force myself to quit the game in order to write this interview, and that can't be a bad thing! (actually I booted Steem engine just to grab some screenshots, and kept saying "one more level"!) . By the way, take care because the pawn can only move upwards!
The graphics as usual are very polished and pleasant. Sometimes I can't tell the pieces apart, maybe another piece set could be drawn? The music consists of a lot of looped samples, so you don't get bored easy (one thing I noticed is that the samples are packed and it takes a few moments for the game to load and unpack the next, leading to a small gap in gameplay. Maybe there should be an option to unpack the samples for faster loading times?). There are a few glitches I noticed, but these track down to me not running the game from ST low resolution, so they're insignificant.
All in all, a great game for puzzle heads, and one I'll be personally be coming back to quite often. Well done!
P.S. I'm not sure how you can order it right now, but the homepage of the game is http://www.jegagneunfalcon.fr, perhaps contacting Cooper by e-mail (his address is on the Paradize homepage) will clear things up!


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Ниже приведен список университетов и колледжей провинции Хэбэй (Китай).

Обозначения
В статье используются следующие обозначения:
 Национальный: учебное заведение, управляемое одним из национальных министерств.
 Провинциальный: учебное заведение, управляемое властями провинции.
 Частный: частное учебное заведение.
 Независимый: независимое учебное заведение.
 Ω (): университеты имеющие высокий уровень поддержки со стороны центрального правительства КНР.

Университеты

Колледжи

Военные учебные заведения
  Воздушных сил НОАК (). Шицзячжуан. Является основным заведением по подготовке командного звена ВВС  Народно-освободительной армии Китая. Создана в декабре 1952 года после перевода в Шицзячжуан 4-й авиашколы НОАК.

Примечания

Ссылки

Списки высших учебных заведений Китая
Хэбэй

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Our pets' skin and coat is a good indicator of their overall health. Often pets develop a dry, itchy coat and irritated skin, as well as an unpleasant odor, when certain nutrients are lacking in their diet. Ensuring your pet has plenty of enzymes, probiotics and fatty acids from wholesome, natural sources gives a great boost to their skin, coat and wellbeing.


Facial Night Cream with glycolic acid. Its pleasant tensor effect is due to the dipeptide-1 acetyl.
Aloe Vera Gel for face and body.
Revitalizing Vitamin Mask. This oleaginous mask leaves the skin silky, soft, hydrated and radiant.
Eye & Lip Contour Care. Reduces the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines around the eyes and lips.
Soothing Moisture Balm-Gel. Calms, refreshes and moisturizes the skin.
Rejuvenating Complex. Provides moisture, smoothness and firmness.
Balancing Gel-Mask. Balances the production of sebum and skin pH, stimulates cellular regeneration and brightens the complexion.
Bio Cellulose Facial Mask. Biolift - A ground-breaking innovation in the world of facial skin care.
Made of top-quality collagen and caviar, this mask moisturizes, nourishes and regenerates the skin deep-down.
Silhouette Cream. Reduces the appearance of cellulite, moisturizes and firms the skin.
Soothing and Purifying Cream-Balm. Ultra-refreshing, soothing and purifying effect.


I resisted the temptation to put exclamation points at the end of the title for this post after looking through the past couple posts and realizing that I may be abusing this particular punctuation mark. Though the seed of my soul believes this title deserved them, my blog was starting to look like the insane shrieks of a 14-year-old girl at summer camp, so I decided to dial it back. I used no such restraint in the body of this post, however.
So, we collected cameras from our second tree, and it was a rather challenging tree to climb. I actually don't even know how I got the cameras up there in the first place. For all our efforts in this difficult climb we were rewarded with a pretty amazing experience. When you walk around the forest you can always hear howler monkeys in the general vicinity, but as I made my way into the crown of this particular tree, I found myself surrounded by monkeys on all sides! Throwing the goal of the climb to the wayside momentarily, I whipped out my camera and immediately started snapping photos and recording video…for about 12 seconds. I forgot to change the battery, and my heart sank when I saw the flashing red light of death on the screen. Yet another photography fail on my part. Ever the hero, Owen was able to swiftly pass his camera up to me, so I managed to get capture a bit of the scene. Please ignore the sound of my panting, but I don't know how to cut it out of the video. Plus, I was basically holding a reverse plank while dangling from a rope, so I would argue the panting was, while embarrassing, reasonably excusable.
As I sat in the tree, with howler monkeys all around and some capuchin monkeys a bit further off, I started thinking about what I was seeing. It's hard to read animals' expressions, even when they are fixedly staring at you from the neighboring tree. The difference between "What's this guy doing up here?" and "Get out of the way, I need to get home!" is probably pretty subtle. Monkeys are all over the island, and maybe my presence was confusing enough to attract their attention long enough for me to notice them. But, I couldn't help thinking that if such a thing as a canopy highway (a path that gets used over and over again by different animals, even different species) does exist, was I sitting right in the middle of it?
The rational, scientific skepticism that has been hammered into my head over the past few years tells me that I am projecting, that this is all just wishful thinking because deep down I hope that canopy highways do exist. Long gone are the days of lengthy, descriptive accounts of what researchers observed and "felt" they were seeing – at least in scientific journals, that is. Testable hypotheses, empirical evidence, and repeatable results are (as they should be) the name of the game these days. I realize that my hopeful speculation clouds some of my ability to scientifically reason in a situation like this, but the urge to explain my surroundings is sometimes stronger than my ability to remain completely objective.
If you're not familiar, kinkajous are related to raccoons and are reasonably common here, though because they are nocturnal (active at night) and arboreal (live in the trees), they can be hard to spot. They also make horrible pets, as Paris Hilton can attest. These ones seemed to be a little concerned about getting past the camera, but they eventually mustered the courage and jumped over.
Here's a better photo of this guy from the front. I say "guy" because, well, if you look closely in the video…yeah, it's a boy. Jackie Willis, the Barro Colorado Island mammal expert, said that people sometimes find them when they are looking in tree hollows and that she's found their remains in owl pellets! I can't imagine those quills would feel any better on the way back up as they do on the way down. Apparently they are reasonably common, but rarely seen. If Wikipedia is any judge of things (which I blindly believe it is), there doesn't seem to be all that much known about them - the page is practically empty!
I know I've already gone on about sloths so I won't get into it too much here, but doesn't it look massive compared to everything else?! Once again, I never thought I would be startled by a sloth, but his appearance was definitely alarming.
This one was clearly not impressed with Big Brother watching over him. His angry crusade against my camera actually ruined the remainder of the deployment, but I feel like it was worth it. For all the people who have asked me whether the monkeys mess with the cameras – yes, they do.
Alright, that's all for now. We're heading out to collect more cameras tomorrow, so hopefully there will be more to share. I don't want to jinx anything, but I'm so happy with our success thus far, I really hope we can keep that going!
Much to my surprise, the first collection day was actually schedule for today, not tomorrow. We grabbed the first three cameras and, as the title indicates, SUCCESS! I'll cut together an actual video showing the entire process of a climb at some point, but for now, here is what I captured of the first collection. Also, be warned that the camera work might make you a bit queasy. Even though I have a Go-Pro that I should be able to strap to my helmet, I have yet to install it. So, all the climbing shots are from my regular camera, which I held in my mouth.
Here are a few of the photos. I was SO excited to see that we actually got some animals. Also, all three are species I've never managed to get on my cameras before! It's just the first of many, but I'm so glad that I've got at least something to show for all our effort so far. The sloth isn't super easy to find, but see if you can spot it!
36 Cameras Up and Running!
We finished placing cameras in our 12th tree yesterday, which means all the cameras we have available to deploy are out in the forest. Collections begin on Monday and I'm feeling a bit anxious about what they will show (if anything!). Keeping fingers, toes, legs, and arms crossed – enjoy your weekend!
No this is not all 36 cameras, but you get the idea.


how do you make your own fish food?
has anyone ever used stress zyme?
Help me! kind of Pirana...????
My Piranah is sick...What to do?
I guess she hates the filter?
Piranahs fished in the river PO , Italy !!!
I have 2 RBP and they keep eating the plecos!!!!
90 Gallon Tank big enough?
my little buddy, the Piranha, please read!
how long do piranhas live?
Do my eyes deceive me? No piranha posts?


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One Person dead and two injured in shooting at Tennessee college campus
At least one person has been killed and a few others seriously injured in a gunfire that broke out on the campus of Tennessee State University in Nashville, police have reported.
The shooting which is said to have occurred around 11 pm on Thursday started from a dispute over a dice game in a courtyard, police said.
The police report did not say whether those involved in the shooting were students, and it is still unclear whether those involved has been taken into custody or not.
From the shooting site, three people were taken to Vanderbilt University Medical Center and were accounted for according to Nashville emergency communication center.
This comes bare a week after three people were shot and wounded during a house party near the same university campus.
There has been a series of shootings and gun violence in the past few months across the US and this has prompted a debate on the US Gun policy, some saying there is been to have more strict rules on heavy arms and ammunitions


This page lists the changes made in version 2.3 (2.3.0 - 2.3.1) of SEED-Platform.
The "Github Issue" numbers in parentheses have links to the SEED-Platform Open Source Github repository Issue List.
If there are links in the description of the changes, following those links will lead to a more detailed description of the changes.
Specify Time Period/Cycle: Each time a file is imported, it must be associated with a Time Period/Cycle.
Green Button Data: Green Button Data upload is disabled. This feature is being reworked.
Assign fields to Property / Tax Lot: The new data model requires that during field mapping, each field be assigned to either the Property or the Tax Lot table.
Display of mapping list is very slow when there are many fields (1215): In some cases, such as a Portfolio Manager file with 250 fields, the program can take over a minute to display values from the pulldown list in the Mapping field, or to let you type in a field.
Tabs for each table: There are now tabs for the Property and Tax Lot fields and records, depending on how the data is mapped.
Mapped field names sometimes not shown properly: In some cases, the actual "field name" may be displayed in the column header, such as in the case below property_type, rather than the "display name" which in this case should be Property Type. However, if there is data in the field, then the program has been able to put the data into the table.
Property Tab when only Tax Lot data is mapped: If Jurisdiction Tax Lot ID is mapped, there will be a View by Property tab showing just that field, when no fields were mapped to the Property table. This is currently there by design but can be confusing.
Changes for New Data Model: Matching has changed due to the new data model. Based on how field are mapped to "matching" fields, the program first does a "merge" on records and data in the same table, and then "pairs" records between the Property and Tax Lot tables.
Matching status dialog box does not reflect correct state of data (#1221): under some circumstances, when the program finishes matching, it presents a dialog box about the status of the matching. In this version, the information on that dialog is likely to be incorrect.
Program creates Property record even when only Tax Lot fields are mapped (#1219): under some circumstances when only matching a file to the Tax Lot table (for example if the Property tab was displayed in the Matching Review screen), the program will make an extraneous Property record that can be seen in the View by Property tab after the data has been matched.
Sometimes this Property record is paired to a Tax Lot record, in which case if it is deleted, the Tax Lot record is also deleted.
If it is not paired to a Tax Lot record (ie, there is no "+" to the left of the record, or no value displaying in the Associated Building Tax Lot ID or Jurisdiction Tax Lot ID fields, the record can be safely deleted.
Click on the Checkmark column to the left of the record to select the record and then Delete Selected from the Actions pulldown list.
Hand Matching is not enabled: The ability to match and unmatch records "by hand", i.e., override the automated matching done by the program (which existed in version 1.5), is not enabled in this version of the program.
Rework of Buildings (now Inventory) screen: Due to the new data model, there have been significant changes to the main screen where imported data is viewed.
See the V 2.0 Users Guide for a complete description of the new Inventory List and Detail views.
Info button to access Detail view: To see the detail view of a record, click on the "info" icon on the left side of the tab grid.
Actions pulldown: the Actions pulldown does not contain options for creating and adding to existing Projects, as Projects have not been implemented in this version.
Sorting alphanumeric fields does not work properly in all cases (#1218): There are some fields (generally defined as numeric) that the program is not sorting properly when the data is alphanumeric. One example is a Zip Code field that would generally have 5 digits, but in some cases may have 9 digits with a hyphen separating the 5 digit and 4 digit sections.
Some mapped data is not displaying in detail and list view (#1213): Under some circumstances, not all the mapped fields are displayed in the List or Detailed view, and are not available to select in the List Settings for either view. It is therefore important to check in both the Mapping Review screen and the final records in the Inventory lists (Property and Tax Lot) to make sure that all the fields in the original file are displayed. If they are not, it may be necessary to reimport the data and change either the mapping or the field names in the original file.
Slow display of records for large data sets (#1105): For organizations that have more than a few thousand records in either the Tax Lot or Property tables, the display of the records can take several seconds, because the program is loading all the records into the view. However, once the records are loaded, the actions in the view (filtering, sorting, etc) will be very responsive.
Deleting Records (#1214): Deleting records (from the Actions pulldown list) will delete associated Tax Lot and Property records. If this is not desired, it might be necessary to label the record in question for deletion but not actually delete it in this version of the program. Future versions may include the option to delete the record in question without deleting it's paired record, and should include the feature to allow un-pairing of records (unmatching "by hand"), which would then allow deletion of the records without deleting the previously paired record.
Hide Column doesn't persist (#1220): The Hide Column feature doesn't persist the state of hidden columns when moving off the current view. When coming back to that view, the hidden column will no longer be hidden.
The work around is to define which columns should be visible in the List view through the List Settings feature.
Default Detail view will not show all fields: The first time the Tax Lot or Property Detail view is accessed, not all the fields will be displayed. However, using the List Settings allows all the mapped fields to be selected for display (with the exceptions noted in #1213).
Import history not displayed (#1139) (but edit history is displayed): The import history for a given record is not being captured or displayed in the Detail view (this history was captured and displayed in V 1.5). However, when a record is edited in the Detail view, the program does keep the history.
Field Display status and order: In List Settings, the functions of selecting which fields to display and setting their order happens in the same screen and does not need to be saved. The last state of the fields is saved automatically.
Separate List Settings for Tax Lot and Property Detail view: The program allows a different List Settings "state" for Tax Lot and Property Detail views.
Multiple fields with the same name (#1171): In List Settings, there may be multiple instances of the same field name, possibly with the wrong marker for which table it belongs to, with no indication which will contain data.
Generally, the first one in the list will be the one that will display data. However, if that isn't the case, the work around for this situation is to select all of the fields, go back to the list view, determine which one shows data, and from the list view, use the Hide Column option (accessed from the down arrow in the upper right of the field column) to hide the fields that do not have data.
Admin screen: The list of organizations under the admin screen now shows the Parent ID if there are suborganizations, as well as the internal database organization ID, the date the organization was created, and the Property and Tax Lot record count by Cycle.
User account without an organization (#1024): The program will allow a superuser to create a user account without an organization, so make sure that all the fields are properly defined, including the organization, when creating new users.
Performance enhancements: It is much faster to view the organizations in the program, as well as to delete records from organizations.


text:
U.S., international authorities disrupt cybercrime organization responsible for $100M in damages
A transnational criminal organization that used malware to steal more than $100 million from more than 41,000 victims has been dismantled, U.S. and international law enforcement officials said Thursday.
Police in the United States, Bulgaria, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine took down the GozNym malware criminal network, Scott Brady, U.S. attorney in Pittsburgh said at a press conference in The Hague, Netherlands.
"It was truly the scope of this organization that made this campaign so dangerous," Mr. Brady said.
The GozNym gang's alleged victims included mom-and-pop businesses, law firms, international corporations and nonprofit organizations that benefited children with disabilities. Victims were both in the United States and Europe.
Mr. Brady said 10 defendants were named in a grand jury indictment handed down in Pittsburgh. They will be prosecuted in their own countries with the exception of five Russians who remain fugitives.
The leader of the network, along with his technical assistant faces charges in the country of Georgia. Another member will be prosecuted in Moldova.
Five Russians remain on the run from authorities.
Mr. Brady described the operation as "unprecedented" with U.S. Bulgaria, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine authorities cooperating to bring down the network.
"The only way to truly dismantle and disrupt these transnational networks is to do so in partnership," he said. "In this case, simultaneous prosecution in four partner nations represents a paradigm change in how we prosecute cybercrime."
The gang infected computers with malware through spearfishing attacks that captured online banking information, including account numbers. GozNym members would then use the account information to siphon money.
"It was truly a crime without borders," Mr. Brady said.
Federal authorities' GozNym probe stemmed from a 2016 investigation into an illegal international server known as Avalanche. That case resulted in the prosecution of a Bulgarian hacker, who pleaded guilty in a Pittsburgh courtroom in April.
The hacker, Kasimir Nikolov used the malware to stealing banking information from two Pittsburgh-area businesses, according to his plea agreement.


text:
Buchanan Co. bridge, tallest in Virginia, may finally open to traffic next year
by: Slater Teague
BREAKS, Va. (WJHL) – Virginia's tallest bridge may finally open to traffic next year, years after construction finished.
The Virginia Department of Transportation is planning to open the Route 460 Connector bridge that spans Grassy Creek in Buchanan County in 2020. Located near Breaks Interstate Park, the north end of the bridge virtually touches the Kentucky-Virginia state line.
The Grassy Creek bridge actually consists of two bridges that are approximately 1,700-feet long and 250-feet tall, making them the tallest in the state. Roads and Bridges magazine named it the No. 1 bridge project of 2013. It cost around $120 million to build the bridge and a short stretch of highway connected to its southern end.
Construction of the twin bridges was completed about four years ago according to VDOT, but they have remained closed to traffic because the highway leading up to them, future US Route 460, hasn't been completed.
The Grassy Creek bridge was built as part of VDOT's Route 460 Connector project. Once complete, the Virginia portion of the highway will run from the Kentucky state line and connect with the existing US 460 near Grundy. It will also intersect the Coalfields Expressway/US 121, which is also still under construction.
Just like the Coalfields Expressway, the goal of the Route 460 Connector project is to create a safe and reliable road through Central Appalachia that will generate economic development. Lack of infrastructure is an ongoing issue in the coalfields. Dickenson County, just west of Buchanan County, still doesn't have a four-lane highway.
The majority of the new US 460 in Virginia will be a two-lane limited access highway with truck climbing lanes in some areas. The Kentucky portion will be a four-lane.
VDOT says it will finally open the Grassy Creek bridge when Kentucky completes and opens the stretch of highway on its side of the state line, which will connect with the bridge's northern end. That's supposed to happen in late summer or early fall next year.
But even if Kentucky opens its stretch of highway and Virginia opens the Grassy Creek bridge next year, the segment of future US 460 south of the bridge still won't be complete. Drivers coming from Kentucky, after crossing the bridge, will have to turn onto an access road that leads to Breaks Interstate Park and Route 80.
VDOT expects to complete a roughly six-mile stretch of future US 460 from the Grassy Creek bridge to the Poplar Gap area sometime in 2021.
You can learn more about the Route 460 Connector project by clicking here or here.
by WFXR / Jul 17, 2019
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text:
Farah Daley
Posted on 26 February 2019 | 22,265 views | 33 comments
A 35-year-old woman travelling in a bus on the Second Link bridge towards Tuas Checkpoint died after the bus was involved in an accident in the early hours of Tuesday morning (Feb 26).
The bus driver and 11 other bus passengers were taken to hospital. Four other passengers were assessed with minor injuries and refused conveyance.
The 59-year-old bus driver was subsequently arrested for causing death by rash act, the police said in a statement.
According to the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF), two women were found at the foot of the flyover.
"One of the women had sustained serious injuries, and the other was pronounced dead at the scene by an SCDF paramedic," it said in a statement.
Facebook user Deejay Nesh posted photos taken at the scene of the accident.
In one of the photos, the front of a bus is exposed after sustaining apparent damage.
One of the windows on the right side of the bus is smashed through.
SCDF responded to the accident at 501 Jalan Ahmad Ibrahim at about 4.25am.
"Upon arrival at the accident scene, SCDF observed a bus against the side railing of the flyover," SCDF said.
"The bus driver was trapped in his seat and had to be rescued by SCDF using hydraulic rescue equipment."
"The bus driver and 11 passengers were conveyed to Ng Teng Fong General Hospital and National University Hospital by SCDF ambulances.
"There were four other passengers assessed with minor injuries and they refused conveyance to the hospital."
In response to a Stomp media query, the police said they were alerted to the accident at 4.21am.
"A 35-year-old female bus passenger was pronounced dead by paramedics at scene," a spokesman said.
"The bus driver and 11 other bus passengers were conveyed to hospitals.
"The 59-year-old bus driver was subsequently arrested for causing death by rash act.
"Police investigations are ongoing."
The accident also caused a major traffic jam at the checkpoint.
At 6.05am, the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) said the accident was blocking the heavy vehicle lane.
Buses and lorries coming from Malaysia towards Singapore were unable to enter the checkpoint at arrival while departure traffic was affected due to buses and lorries being diverted back to Malaysia.
At 10am, the ICA said the heavy vehicle lane at Tuas Checkpoint was open again for arriving buses and lorries.
Get more of Stomp's latest updates by following us on Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
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A version of this post was first published in the Andilit.com newsletter.
I remember riding my bike up that steep hill in town as a child . . .
. . . skinny legs straining, fluorescent-orange safety flag hanging limp over my head, and a wave of nausea cresting the back of my throat.
Between my house and our small "downtown" rose a steep (to me) hill that I struggled to climb. Determined as I was to conquer it without having to stand over the bike's white banana seat, stomping down hard on the pedals, I just never could build up enough strength to make it effortlessly to the top.
Usually, I had to slide off and walk my bike halfway up, trying not to feel like a tiny, 8-year-old failure.
The fact was . . . the peak was never my destination, anyway.
Once I made it over the top of the hill, I coasted west, jolted across the railroad tracks, and finally parked my bike against the K & J variety store. Quarters heavy in my pocket, I would prolong my anticipation by casually strolling the narrow aisles, warped wooden floors creaking under my gym shoes, until I reached my reward—cherry-flavored wax lips and a cellophane bag full of red licorice laces.
A few weeks ago in my online writing group, I was lamenting the slow progress of my second young adult manuscript.
Author and group founder Andi Cumbo Floyd asked why I felt so rushed. It was a simple but wise question.
Well, I'm way closer to death than I was in my wax lips days, for one, I thought. But the truth is, no one is waiting for me to finish this book (except maybe my dad).
Yet, I can't shake this sense of urgency–this feeling that "walking" my book up the hill is a kind of failure.
Of course, then, conquering the hill becomes the goal rather than part of the journey.
Pride tells us that to call ourselves real writers, we must get published traditionally or have X number of blog followers. That we must sell X number of books or garner at least a 4.36 star average on Goodreads.
But if the ultimate goal is simply to write, how we achieve that doesn't really matter. Will it matter that some days climbing that hill comes with strain and sore finger muscles? Will it matter that we had to get off the ride and walk for a while to catch our breath?
I admit that at the top of that steep hill, I would love for there to be a publisher with a gold medal, a contract, and a lifetime supply of red licorice.
But even that would still just be one stop along the road to the true destination—being a writer. Instead, with every hill climbed, we have written. We are better writers than we were at the bottom.
I loved this, and it was exactly what I needed to read. Thank you for sharing!
Good to connect with you! I see you worked with BTH.
So encouraging! Thank you. And I love that you have an online writer's group!
Hi, Amelia! I can let Andi know if you're interested in joining.


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Lack of toilets dangerous for everyone, UNICEF says
Girls' toilet at Beseka ABE Center in Fantale Woreda of Oromia State ©UNICEF Ethiopia/2014/Ose
NEW YORK/Addis Ababa, 19 November 2014 – Slow progress on sanitation and the entrenched practice of open defecation among millions around the world continue to put children and their communities at risk, UNICEF warned on World Toilet Day.
Some 2.5 billion people worldwide do not have adequate toilets and among them 1 billion defecate in the open – in fields, bushes, or bodies of water – putting them, and especially children, in danger of deadly faecal-oral diseases like diarrhoea.
In 2013 more than 340,000 children under five died from diarrhoeal diseases due to a lack of safe water, sanitation and basic hygiene – an average of almost 1,000 deaths per day.
"Lack of sanitation is a reliable marker of how the poorest in a country are faring," said Sanjay Wijesekera, head of UNICEF's global water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) programmes. "But although it is the poor who overwhelmingly do not have toilets, everyone suffers from the contaminating effects of open defecation, so everyone should have a sense of urgency about addressing this problem."
The call to end the practice of open defecation is being made with growing insistence as the links with childhood stunting become clearer. India, with 597 million (half the population) practising open defecation, also has high levels of stunting. Last week, UNICEF convened a conference in New Delhi called 'Stop Stunting' to call attention to the effect of open defecation on the entire population, particularly children. UNICEF's 'Take Poo to the Loo' campaign in India also works to raise awareness of the dangers associated with open defecation.
Asfaw Legesse a model in his community washes his hand after using a latrine. ©UNICEF Ethiopia/2014/Sewunet
"The challenge of open defecation is one of both equity and dignity, and very often of safety as well, particularly for women and girls," Wijesekera noted. "They have to wait until dark to relieve themselves, putting them in danger of attack, and worse, as we have seen recently."
Compared to other African countries, Ethiopia has made huge progress in reducing open defecation rates from 92 per cent in 1990 to 37 per cent in 2012. The Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) 2014 report from UNICEF/WHO confirms that Ethiopia is leading the charge in Africa in reducing open defecation.The community total sanitation and hygiene approach, supported by UNICEF and utilizing the 38,000 Health Extension Workers in the country, has greatly contributed to this success.
"The challenge of improving sanitation levels to ensure that the minimum standards of toilet construction remains in many rural areas across Ethiopia. With the rapid urbanisation of the country there is also a need to "reinvent the toilet" to make it affordable, durable and appropriate for high density urban dwellings. UNICEF is advocating for these, and greater focus on toilets in schools and health centres nationwide, to ensure greater access to improved sanitation," said Patrizia DiGiovanni, Acting Representative of UNICEF Ethiopia.
UNICEF's Community Approaches to Total Sanitation addresses the problem at the local level by involving communities in devising solutions, and has led to some 26 million people across more than 50 countries abandoning the practice of open defecation since 2008.
Eighty-two per cent of the 1 billion people practising open defecation live in just 10 countries: India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Sudan, Niger, Nepal, China, and Mozambique. The numbers of people practising open defecation are still rising in 26 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, though they have declined in Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean. In Nigeria, numbers of open defecators increased from 23 million in 1990 to 39 million in 2012.
Globally, some 1.9 billion people have gained access to improved sanitation since 1990. However, progress has not kept up with population growth and the Millennium Development Goal target on sanitation is unlikely to be reached by 2015 at current rates of progress.
The inter-governmental Open Working Group on the post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals have recommended that the new goals include a target of achieving adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all and ending open defecation by 2030.
Author UNICEF EthiopiaPosted on November 19, 2014 November 19, 2014 Categories Press Release, WASHTags hygiene, Latrines, sanitation, toilets, unicef, wash, water
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As Member States take different approaches to regulating telework, will the EU bring them into line?
The massive and rapid adoption of telework in 2020 in response to the COVID-19 lockdowns exposed gaps in the legislation governing telework arrangements across the EU Member States. In some cases, there was no regulation in place; in others, it was too restrictive. Governments scrambled to put temporary measures in place to cover the emergency situation and the urgent need to enable workers to work from home. Now that the pandemic is receding and wholesale telework seems to be here to stay, governments are faced with the need to properly regulate such arrangements. Member States are following different paths, but the EU might step in to promote some level of standardisation.
Working conditions and sustainable work, Teleworking, Digitalisation, Labour and social regulation
The third round of Eurofound's e-survey, fielded in February and March 2021, sheds light on the social and economic situation of people across Europe following nearly a full year of living with COVID-19 restrictions. This report analyses the main findings and tracks ongoing developments and trends across the 27 EU Member States since the survey was first launched in April 2020.
Living and working in Europe, Psychosocial risks, Youth, Teleworking, Trust, Work-life balance, Health and well-being at work, COVID-19, Living conditions, Inequality
The enormity of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the lives and work of Europeans is hard to capture, but Eurofound's priority in 2020 was to record and assess the experience of this societal upheaval across the EU Member States in all its detail, variety and modulation. Living and working in Europe 2020 provides a snapshot of how the COVID-19 confinement measures changed employment, work and quality of life in Europe, as gathered by Eurofound's research activities in 2020.
Living and working in Europe, Promoting social cohesion and convergence, Working conditions and sustainable work, Employment and labour markets, Digitalisation, Living conditions and quality of life, Industrial relations and social dialogue
Impact of the COVID-19 crisis on wages and wage setting
The COVID-19 crisis had a significant impact on wages and wage setting across Europe in 2020. The uncertain economic scenario, together with the difficulties inherent in online bargaining, led to a general postponement of collective agreements to 2021, especially at company level. Real wages maintained a positive trend during 2020 in most EU countries, with just modest increases, while higher increases were observed in the public sector.
Agreements, Collective bargaining, COVID-19, Industrial relations and social dialogue, Minimum wage, Pay and income
COVID-19 could be a catalyst for fundamental change that will define the Future of Europe
On 9 May, the Conference on the Future of Europe will get underway. Floated well before the COVID-19 outbreak, its timing in the wake of the seismic shifts precipitated by the pandemic, and its implementation alongside the European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan, means that the outcomes could be far-reaching.
Anticipating and managing the impact of change, COVID-19, Employment and labour markets, European Pillar of Social Rights, Gender equality, Teleworking, Youth
Good news for gender equality as we exit the COVID-19 crisis?
The pandemic has had differential impacts on women. Raised consciousness about them must be applied to advance gender equality in recovery measures. All crises have a strongly gendered impact and none more so than the current pandemic, across a range of indicators. While the virus itself seems to take a greater toll on men than women when it comes to fatalities, women appear to have been worse affected in terms of labour market impact.
Care, COVID-19, Employment and labour markets, Gender equality, Labour market participation, Pay and income, Teleworking, Work-life balance, Working conditions
Mixed impacts of COVID-19 on social dialogue and collective bargaining in 2020
A first analysis of developments in working life in 2020 shows that the COVID-19 pandemic had a considerable impact on social dialogue and collective bargaining in the EU, Norway and the UK, albeit to varying degrees. While in some countries, standard procedures were by and large maintained, in others, tripartite consultation was sidelined in the face of time pressure and an uncertain economic environment. Collective bargaining was often postponed or suspended indefinitely, especially in those sectors that were hit hard by government-imposed lockdowns. The number of renewed collective agreements decreased sharply in some countries.
Collective bargaining, COVID-19, Industrial relations, Industrial relations and social dialogue, Social dialogue, Teleworking
Policy responses from governments and social partners to the COVID-19 pandemic
EU Member States acted swiftly in the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, introducing measures aimed at cushioning the impact of the crisis on society, the economy and the labour market. In some countries, policies targeted businesses and employers directly; elsewhere, employees and self-employed people in sectors negatively affected by lockdowns were given dedicated support first.
COVID-19, European Green Deal, Industrial relations and social dialogue, Skills and training
Changing priorities: The impact of COVID-19 on national policy agendas
A first analysis of working life policies and developments in 2020 shows that the COVID-19 pandemic has in some cases speeded up and in other cases slowed down several policy developments in the EU, Norway and the UK, albeit to varying degrees, and dependent on national contexts. Increased teleworking led to a number of accelerated policy developments to address the new work reality for many employees.
COVID-19, Industrial relations and social dialogue, Social dialogue, Social protection, Teleworking
Long-term care (LTC) workforce: employment and working conditions
19 April 2021, European Parliament's Employment and Social Affairs Committee virtual meeting
Presentation by Hans Dubois, Research Manager, Eurofound
Care, Digitalisation, Employment relationship, Job quality, Living conditions and quality of life, Public services, Working conditions, Working conditions and sustainable work
Eurofound's European Quality of Life Survey (EQLS) examines both the objective circumstances of European citizens' lives and how they feel about those circumstances and their lives in general. This series consists of outputs from the EQLS 2003, the first edition of the survey.
Eurofound's European Quality of Life Survey (EQLS) examines both the objective circumstances of European citizens' lives and how they feel about those circumstances and their lives in general. This series consists of outputs from the EQLS 2007, the second edition of the survey. The survey was first carried out in 2003.
Eurofound's European Quality of Life Survey (EQLS) examines both the objective circumstances of European citizens' lives and how they feel about those circumstances and their lives in general. This series consists of outputs from the EQLS 2012, the third edition of the survey. The survey was first carried out in 2003.
Eurofound's European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS) paints a wide-ranging picture of Europe at work across countries, occupations, sectors and age groups. This series consists of findings from the EWCS 2005, the fourth edition of the survey. The survey was first carried out in 1990.
Eurofound's European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS) paints a wide-ranging picture of Europe at work across countries, occupations, sectors and age groups. This series consists of findings from the EWCS 2010, the fifth edition of the survey. The survey was first carried out in 1990.
Manufacturing employment outlook
This publication series explores scenarios for the future of manufacturing. The employment implications (number of jobs by sector, occupation, wage profile, and task content) under various possible scenarios are examined. The scenarios focus on various possible developments in global trade and energy policies and technological progress and run to 2030.


Arlington, Wash. – March 22, 2017 – OutBack Power Technologies, Inc., a designer and manufacturer of advanced renewable energy products and systems, will bring the Energy Express, its energy storage-focused roadshow to the 2017 NABCEP (North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners) Continuing Education Conference. The Energy Express van will showcase several energy solutions to help solar installers grow their businesses, including OutBack Power's ProHarvest line and the ICS Plus. The equipment on display at the show is designed for energy reliability and compliance, providing business owners, residents and installers with resilient platforms that adhere to the latest regulatory requirements.
The changing regulatory and policy climate can cause headaches for installers that need to stay current with new economic incentives, regulations and technology requirements. OutBack will showcase the ICS Plus, its integrated combiner solution, which provides arc-fault protection, advanced ground-fault protection and rapid shutdown. With the ICS Plus solution, OutBack Power is the only manufacturer with a UL1741-RSS-listed system from rooftop down to energy storage, helping installers meet current NEC 2014 and 2017 requirements. Also on display will be OutBack's ProHarvest products, which are specially designed for rugged 3-phase commercial installations, expanding professionals' opportunities across residential and commercial applications. NABCEP attendees will experience these offerings and other opportunities to train and expand their businesses with the arrival of OutBack Power's Energy Express, providing training for both residential and commercial applications.
To learn more about OutBack Power's Energy Express tour and find locations, contact OutBack Power at (360) 435-6030 or check out the tour stops at www.outbackpower.com/energyexpress.
OutBack Power Technologies, a member of The Alpha Group, is the leading designer and manufacturer of advanced power electronics for renewable energy, back-up power and mobile applications. Founded in 2001 with an emphasis on product performance and innovation, OutBack is now a brand leader in the renewables industry, backed by the resources of the 40-year-old Alpha Group. OutBack is established as the first choice of professionals designing systems for harsh environmental conditions and applications where reliability is paramount. Whether the application is village micro-grids in Africa, rural electrification projects in Latin America, remote off-grid cabins in Alaska, or a suburban home in Southern California, OutBack Power Technologies has set the bar for delivering advanced power conversion electronics. OutBack products and systems are sold through a network of distributors serving advanced solar installers around the globe. Famous for its legendary power electronics, OutBack is also a leader in the rapidly growing field of energy storage for PV systems. For more information, please visit www.outbackpower.com.


© 2018 CFL. All rights reserved.
Kamar Jorden out for the year with torn ACL ... MORE | Esks Derel Walker out 6-8 weeks with knee injury ... MORE.
TORONTO — The balance of power is shifting in the highly-competitive West Division.
With three straight wins to their name, including defiant victories against the Calgary Stampeders and Winnipeg Blue Bombers, the Saskatchewan Roughriders have jumped into second in the Nissan Titan Power Rankings.
Sneakers Star White Black Star Trim Sneakers Print Top Givenchy Red with Low The Riders aren't quite out of the water yet, with just three wins separating eight teams in the CFL going into Week 13. However, Chris Jones' club appears to be gearing up for a run among the other western heavyweights.
Elsewhere, the Eskimos, REDBLACKS and Bombers are all trending down, while the enigmatic Ticats are back in the top-four.
Even with Kamar Jorden and Ciante Evans sidelined, a limping Bo Levi Mitchell was able to lead the Stamps to a last-second win over the Eskimos in the annual Labour Day Classic. They'll hope the injuries aren't serious, but for now, Calgary can complete the sweep in Saturday's rematch with a chance to widen the gap in the West.
The additions of Matt Elam and Loucheiz Purifoy have made the Riders' defence that much scarier, while on offence quarterback Zach Collaros continues to settle in with his new team. With three straight wins against West Division opponents, Saskatchewan is the team to beat in the CFL right now outside of Calgary.
The Eskimos' offence has struggled in back-to-back outings against the league's top defences, combining for just 44 points in losses to Hamilton and Calgary while being shut out in four out of eight quarters. Things could get worse if star receiver Derel Walker misses any time, especially with a rematch against the Stamps on tap.
The CFL's top-ranked offence continues to churn out big production, and now the Ticats are figuring out how to finish, as evident in back-to-back comeback wins over Edmonton and Toronto. If Jeremiah Masoli can limit the game-changing mistakes, the Tabbies should have no problem pushing the REDBLACKS at the top of the East Division.
Is there a bigger mystery in the CFL than the Ottawa REDBLACKS? The top team in the East had no answers for the upstart Als, managing just 313 net yards and 11 points in a Week 12 loss. The talent is there on both sides of the ball, but Rick Campbell's team needs to find some consistency down the final stretch of the regular season.
Despite a big day from Andrew Harris, who hit the 100-yard mark in the first half alone, the Bomber offence continued to struggle in a loss to the Saskatchewan Roughriders. The Banjo Bowl is the perfect time to turn things around, and the urgency is high in the Manitoba capital — especially for veteran quarterback Matt Nichols.
The bye week came at the right time for the BC Lions, who just lost their leader and top receiver Emmanuel Arceneaux to a season-ending injury. Bryan Burnham, Ricky Collins and Kevin Elliott will need to step up as the Lions look to make up some ground in the closely-contended West, starting at home against the REDBLACKS.
The Alouettes are starting to see the light of day as they climb out of the CFL basement. Back-to-back wins over division rivals have them back in the mix of things, but there's more to it than the win total: this is a team playing inspired football on both sides of the ball, with 23-year-old quarterback Antonio Pipkin providing exactly the spark that was needed.
The Argos struggled on both sides of the ball on Labour Day, allowing 500-plus yards on defence while completing under 50 per cent of their passes on offence in a loss to the Ticats. From the quarterback situation to the impending arrival of Duron Carter, there's a lot to consider in the coming weeks as the Boatmen look to keep their season afloat.
Which Week 12 winner impressed you the most?


September due dates will soon be here.
October due date is coming for individual income tax returns.
Gifts from non-resident aliens can be subject to U.S. Gift Tax.
California enacts an earned income tax credit.
Property tax appeals filing deadline is coming.
Minerva Siemer on the carousel at the San Francisco Zoo.
Classes will be starting soon for most of the schools in our area. My grandkids tell me not to say the "S" word! Be careful as children become accustomed again to traveling to and from school.
My granddaughter, Minerva Siemer, celebrated her third birthday this month.
My wife Janet and I celebrated our 44th wedding anniversary this month. Janet has certainly been a blessing in my life and I feel very fortunate to have married her.
Janet's sister, Gail Johnston, is celebrating a birthday this month.
The extended due dates for calendar-year corporations, partnerships and trusts is September 15. Be sure to get the information for your extended return to your tax return preparer right away. If you need us to prepare your tax return, call Dawn Siemer on Monday, Wednesday or Friday at 408-918-3161 for an appointment.
The third quarter federal estimated tax payment due date for individuals, calendar-year trusts and most calendar-year corporations is September 15. California doesn't have a third quarter estimated tax payment due on September 15 because the first two payments are "front-loaded." In some cases, taxpayers will "catch up" on unpaid California estimated tax payments on September 15.
In case I get snowed and don't get out an October newsletter before October 15, remember that is the due date for extended individual income tax returns. Get the information to finish your tax returns to your tax return preparer right away. If you need us to prepare your tax return, call Dawn Siemer on Monday, Wednesday or Friday at 408-918-3161 for an appointment.
President Obama signed the Surface Transportation and Veterans Health Care Choice Improvement Act of 2015 on July 31, 2015.
Effective for tax years beginning after December 31, 2015, the initial due dates for income tax returns of partnerships and C corporations will be changing. The partnership due date will change from April 15 to March 15 (or 2 ½ months after year-end). The due date for S corporations will be unchanged at March 15 (or 2 ½ months after year-end). The due date for C corporations will change from March 15 to April 15 (or 3 ½ months after the year-end), except the due date for C corporations with tax years ending on June 30 will keep the September 15 due date until tax years beginning after December 31, 2025 when it will become October 15.
For years beginning after December 31, 2015, the due date for the FBAR (Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts) will be changing from June 30 to be the same as for individual income tax returns, April 15 with an extension available to October 15.
For information returns due (without regard to extensions) after December 31, 2016, mortgage servicers will be required to include more information on Form 1098, the annual mortgage interest statement.
Effective for all returns for which the normal assessment period remained open as of July 31, 2015, the statute of limitations has been extended to six years when there is an overstatement of basis resulting in an overstatement of income exceeding 25% of gross income stated on the return. This legislation overturns the Supreme Court decision in Home Concrete, 2012-1 USTC 50,315.
Executors of large estates that are required to file estate tax returns after July 31, 2105 will be required to report to beneficiaries the value reported on the estate return for property they receive. The date of death value reported on the estate tax return will be controlling for determining tax basis of the property when it is sold by the beneficiary.
Effective for months beginning after December 31, 2013, an individual won't be accounted for as an employee for large employers for required shared responsibility health care payments if that individual has medical coverage for the month under a program for members of the U.S. Armed Forces (TRICARE) or a VA health care program.
I recently attended an estate tax planning symposium. One of the speakers reminded us that nonresident aliens (individuals who are not U.S. citizens and live outside the U.S.) can be subject to U.S gift tax when they make gifts of real estate or personal property located in the United States. There is no exclusion except for the annual $15,000 exclusion per donee, per donor. We most often see this for gifts of real estate. Cash can also be personal property. It's best that transfers of cash be made outside the U.S., such as by opening a bank account outside the U.S. (which will also be subject to foreign bank account reporting, but not U.S. gift tax). Gifts exceeding $100,000 (cumulative for the year) also have to be reported by the donee on Form 3520. If a nonresident alien wants to make a gift to a U.S. person, he or she should get professional advice from a tax advisor familiar with the rules.
California has enacted a new earned income tax credit effective for 2015. The amount of the credit will depend on a percentage stated in California's budget act. The California credit will be computed by multiplying a modified federal credit amount by an "adjustment factor". For 2015, the factor is 85%.
For the California credit, "earned income" will not include self-employment income. Earned income will be employee wages.
The credit will only be available for individuals who have a qualifying principal place of abode in California more than half the year.
The credit is phased out at fairly low levels of gross income.
The deadline for filing appeal for a California property tax appeal in Alameda, Inyo, Kings, Orange, Placer, San Francisco, San Luis Obispo, Santa Clara, Sierra and Ventura counties is September 15, 2015. The deadline for other counties is November 30, 2015.
September 4, 2015, Janis Carney, attorney at law, Carney Elder Law, "Paying for long-term care for seniors in California"
September 11, 2015, Robert E. Temmerman, Jr., attorney at law, Temmerman, Cilley & Kohlmann, LLP, "I'm an executor. Now what?"
September 18, 2015, Robert E. Temmerman, Jr., attorney at law, Temmerman, Cilley & Kohlmann, LLP, "I'm a trustee. Now what?"
September 25, 2015, Peggy Martin, ChFC, CLU, The Family Wealth Consulting Group, "Legacy planning"


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Throughout history, the sun has been seen as the protective deity in the sky which drives away the evils of the world. This makes sense, as most major predators in the regions where humans first evolved were nocturnal. But the impact it's had on our creatures of legend have been colorful to say the least. From losing their powers to straight up burning apart, the sun is the great equalizer against evil throughout the world. But sometimes, the sun's effect is a little more unique, such as with everyone's favorite frozen friends – the Norse.
It makes sense the Norse would give the sun great powers. Being in a place where the bitterness of winter can be deadly even without predators, many stories and rituals involve how awesome the sun happens to be. Even in the face of destruction, the Norse say that Ragnarok will be preceded by three years of winter – an endless time of darkness and cold before the sun itself is swallowed by a wolf. And, of course, as the days grow shorter, the Norse believed that the world was entering a time of death and the skies were being filled with a "Wild Hunt" which could take people to their doom in the night. But this time would come to an end, the sun would return and warm the world, and all would be well. And the Trolls? Well those guys just straight up turned to stone.
Turning to stone, while often referenced in modern pop culture, was actually fairly unusual back in the day. Most situations with the sun involved a somewhat more violent death or a return to something else. And, while some could argue that the idea was simply that the Trolls were born of stone and they were doing the same as other creatures, this wouldn't mesh. In the lore, Trolls (which went by many names) were related to nature but not actually born from the earth itself.
So… why's a little sun give the big guys a hard on?
For those who've followed these posts for long, you probably won't be surprised to know that some of this is about the fact that we really don't know what the hell the Norse were talking about. Dwarves, Elves, and various other Scandinavian creatures were once very different than they are today – long ago transformed by reinterpretations over time. And, like al the other cases of it happening, Trolls are much the same. Because, as previously mentioned when talking about the impact of bells, Trolls weren't always their own entity. They used to be Jotunn.
The Jotunn, Norse Giants who would often battle with the Aesir and plague mankind, have had many stories traded about them over the years. Born of fire and ice, they were primordial creatures which represented an older form of the world, before it became the more hospitable place it is today. They were thought to live in another world, connected to ours through points in caves, forests, or mountains, and would occasionally come to Midgard, the domain of humans, to torment the weaker people in our world. Thor, defender of the common man (and most beloved of the Aesir among farmers) would then fight them off, the sound of their battles creating the thunder in most storms.
But you'd be forgiven for not knowing that Jotun were meant to turn to stone in the sun, as modern stories generally don't mention it in relation to them.
The reason for this is simple, centuries ago, as Norse beliefs fell out of being the mainstream and became a secondary religion in the area, the stories of creatures were somewhat lost and would be divided over time. Some aspects would remain in one camp, some traits would remain in another, and the oldest form of these myths would have been something in between. In the case of Jotunn and Trolls, these lines are particularly blurry as Trolls also receive many of the same descriptions, and, even now, may sometimes appear in the same mold as the Jotunn of old.
So then the question becomes: where does the story of these creatures turning into stone come from? The sun was supposed to rise and set over all of the cosmos in Norse mythology. Some domains, such as Svartalfheim, would be considered to be subterranean and shielded from the light, but Jotunheim (the home of the giants) was said to be on the same level as Midgard (home of the New York Giants). Both of these were exposed to the sun, on the surface, and a real world mountainous valley in Norway is called Jotunheim even today – meaning they thought the sun could touch that land and that the inhabitants were still somehow harmed by it.
But then, the fact they were gigantic raised an interesting question. if they were so huge, it's not like they could have easily hidden in the day. Most caves are narrow and tight fits, some allowing people to move around freely, but no one the size of a Jotunn. Where could anything that size possibly hide? Clearly these entities were great enough to cause thunder as they clashed with Thor, big enough that the force of their battle could create great winds and destroy villages or bring chaos to the forests. So how the hell is it that no one had ever seen one directly, rather than obscured by clouds? None of them had ever been witnessed, directly, in daylight. They had to have gone somewhere, right?
And that's where the human condition of pareidolia comes into play. As some people know, humans are fond of finding patterns in things and recognizing them as familiar objects. That cloud looks like a bunny. That toast looks like Jesus. That rock face looks like a human face.
We've all seen a mountain range that looks like someone lying down, or rocks that stack into a humanoid shape, it's a fairly common human experience. And because of this a story has long been passed around Scandinavia for every odd formation they encounter. Long after Jotunn and Troll became two different creatures, the story that explained the old problem stuck to the Trolls. The story puts the old dilemma to rest in a simple way: you don't see the giants because they've been turned to stone, and those faces are their corpses now sitting as an eternal memorial.
They'd be hard to miss if they could still move around.
I'd never heard of the Jotun before. Wouldn't it be interesting to hear the original legends about them? It's nice that we have scraps of them, though.


text:
Q: MongoDB Social Network Adding Followers I'm implementing a social network in MongoDB and I need to keep track of Followers and Following for each User. When I search for Users I want to display a list like Facebook with the User Name, Picture and number of Followers & Following. If I just wanted to display the User Name and Picture (info that doesn't change) it would be easy, but I also need to display the number of Followers & Following (which changes fairly regularly).
My current strategy is to embed the People a User follows into each User Document:
firstName: "Joe",
lastName: "Bloggs",
follows: [
 {
   _id: ObjectId("520534b81c9aac710d000002"),
   profilePictureUrl: "https://pipt.s3.amazonaws.com/users/xxx.jpg",
   name: "Mark Rogers",
 },
 {
   _id: ObjectId("51f26293a5c5ea4331cb786a"),
   name: "The Palace Bar",
   profilePictureUrl: "https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/businesses/xxx.jpg",
 }
]

The question is - What is the best strategy to keep track of the number of Followers & Following for each User?
If I include the number of Follows / Following as part of the embedded document i.e.
follows: [
{
  _id: ObjectId("520534b81c9aac710d000002"),
  profilePictureUrl: "https://pipt.s3.amazonaws.com/users/xxx.jpg",
  name: "Mark Rogers",
  **followers: 10,**
  **following: 400**
}

then every time a User follows someone requires multiple updates across all the embedded documents.
Since the consistency of this data isn't really important (i.e. Showing someone I have 10 instead of 11 followers isn't the end of the world), I can queue this update. Is this approach ok or can anyone suggest a better approach ?

A: You're on the right track.  Think about which calculation is performed more - determining the number of followers/following or changing number of followers/following?  Even if you're caching the output of the # of followers/following calculation it's still going to be performed one or two orders of magnitude more often than changing the number.
Also, think about the opposite.  If you really need to display the number of followers/following for each of those users, you'll have to then do an aggregate on each load (or cache it somewhere, but you're still doing a lot of calcs).
Option 1:  Cache the number of followers/following in the embedded document.
Upsides:  Can display stats in O(1) time
Downsides:  Requires O(N) time to follow/unfollow
Option 2:  Count the number of followers/following on each page view (or cache invalidation)
Upsides:  Can follow/unfollow in O(1) time
Downsides:  Requires O(N) time to display
Add in the fact that follower/following stats can be eventually consistent whereas the counts have to be displayed on demand and I think it's a pretty easy decision to cache it.

A: I've gone ahead and implement the update followers/following based on the same strategy recommended by Mason (Option 1). Here's my code in NodeJs and Mongoose and using the AsyncJs Waterfall pattern in case anyone is interested or has any opinions. I haven't implemented queuing yet but the plan would be to farm most of this of to a queue.
async.waterfall([

        function (callback) {

            /** find & update the person we are following */
            Model.User
                .findByIdAndUpdate(id,{$inc:{followers:1}},{upsert:true,select:{fullName:1,profilePictureUrl:1,address:1,following:1,followers:1}})
                .lean()
                .exec(callback);
        },
        function (followee, callback) {

            /** find & update the person doing the following */
            var query = {
                $inc:{following:1},
                $addToSet: { follows: followee}
            }

            Model.User
                .findByIdAndUpdate(credentials.username,query,{upsert:true,select:{fullName:1,profilePictureUrl:1,address:1,following:1,followers:1}})
                .lean()
                .exec(function(err,follower){
                    callback(err,follower,followee);
                });

        },
        function(follower,followee,callback){

            /** update the following count */
            Model.User
                .update({'follows._id':follower.id},{'follows.$.following':follower.following},{upsert:true,multi:true},function(err){
                    callback(err,followee);
                });
        },
        function(followee,callback){
            /** update the followers count */
            Model.User
                .update({'follows._id':followee.id},{'follows.$.followers':followee.followers},{upsert:true,multi:true},callback);
        }
    ], function (err) {
        if (err)
            next(err);
        else {
            res.send(HTTPStatus.OK);
            next();
        }
    });

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
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This entry was posted in children, Parenting, parenting tips, swim, swim moms, Swimming, swimswam, Uncategorized and tagged ask swim mom, swim, swim moms, swimming, tips for swim parents, what are the benefits of swimming, when they don't get their cut, when your child misses their goal by bleuwater. Bookmark the permalink.
Only someone evolved in swimming will understand. All along the journey with heartbreak came many success all while learning perseverance.
I know competitive swimming has helped my kids with their perseverance. I'm so grateful that we found the sport and they loved it. Thanks for commenting, Paul!


text:
Q: Other items in action bar? I want to put a check mark on my action bar instead of the 3 dots menu. The activity will then be finished after the check is clicked. How can I achieve this?

A: You can achieve this by adding your own menu in your activity/fragment.
and after adding all that use something like this
@Override
public boolean onOptionsItemSelected(MenuItem item) {
    switch (item.getItemId()) {
        case R.id.tick:
            finish();
            break;
    }
    return true;
}

A: Create a new folder under res folder named menu. Right click it and add a new menu resource, name it something like mymenu.xml. Add this code:
<item
    android:title="check"
    android:id="@+id/check"
    android:icon="@android:drawable/ic_dialog_info"
    android:orderInCategory="100"
    app:showAsAction="always"/>

You can change the icon to any other. Handle it in onOptionsItemSelected (like in above reply).


text:
Acton Institute founder says they don't believe in class struggle, they believe in class encounter
tags: Acton Institute, capitalism and christianity, Rev. Robert Sirico
Nearly a month ago, we reported on an action that took place before the Acton Institute's annual gala event at the DeVos Convention Center. The event featured US Secretary of Education as the keynote speaker, which is not surprising since her and her husband have contributed millions to the organization and her mother, Elisa Prince Broekhuizen, is a current member of the Acton board.
The other keynote speaker for the Acton Institute event last month, was the co-founder and Catholic Priest, Rev. Robert Sirico. Sirico naturally spoke about the mission of the organization, which is to integrate free market principles with a free and virtuous society. He spoke in theological terms and attempted to impress the audience with his use of latin, which you can see here, but I wanted to point out three points he made which are rather instructive for those who have a fundamental problem with the wedding of christianity and capitalism.
Rev. Sirico begins this commentary revealing his admiration for a "good bottle of wine" and a "good quarterly profit." Having heard Rev. Sirico on numerous occasions, he definitely enjoys a comfortable life and has nothing but admiration for the capitalist class.
Then Sirico makes a comment about "the poor" and demonstrates his contempt for the people who were protesting outside. Rev. Sirico arrogantly states that what those protesting want to do is make more programs for the poor. This is hardly the message and themes that were addressed by those who were protesting. In fact, the primary focus was on protesting Betsy DeVos and her attempts to undermine public education. You can see from the picture here on the right, that "the poor" aren't even mentioned.
However, there was a significant amount of anger directed at those attending the Acton Institute event, most of which are part of the capitalist class, showing up in tuxedos and evening gowns, using valet service and being escorted in by the police.
This second video again shows his contempt for those who engage in protest, even going as far as apologize to the Acton audience for being part of protest efforts some 40 years ago.
He then goes on to say that he hoped those protesting would go home depressed and that they would come to the realization that good intentions aren't enough. "If you are concerned about the poor and want to feed the hungry, learn how to make a bakery, learn how to build a business."
Again, Sirico demonstrates his arrogance by not even knowing why people were outside protesting. There were retired teachers participating in the demonstration, students, community organizers, bus drivers and several people who do anti-oppression work.
Then the Acton Institute co-founder uses faulty logic when arguing there is nothing wrong with educating people AND making a profit. He eventually admits that the purpose of education is to teach children, but he still clings to the idea that education should be able to be profitable. His faulty logic falls flat by then saying that people who educate children should be well compensated, which is exactly what teachers have been saying and fighting for, for years.
In this last clip from Rev. Sirico's talk at the Acton Institute event, he tries to make to point that their organization is against class struggle and class warfare. Please, this was a room full of members of the capitalist class who are deeply committed to doing away with unions, worker protections and redirecting public funding to the private sector.
Sirico then uses lofty language, like harmony and synergy. Rev. Sirico even states that the owners of business, "depend upon the worker." The Acton Institure co-founder that thinks he is being smart by deriding the classic book by Karl Marx, Das Kapital, going so far as to harass an airport worker for reading the book.
Rev. Sirico ends his comments by quoting Mother Theresa of Calcutta – "We don't have the right to condemn the rich. We don't believe in class struggle and class warfare. We believe in class encounter. Where the rich save the poor and the poor save the rich."
This quote is highly instructive, on many levels. First, if people haven't read the book by Christopher Hitchens on Mother Theresa, The Missionary Position: Mother Teresa in Theory and Practice, then I highly recommend it. One example from the book that Hitchens cites, is the fact that when Papa and Baby Doc Duvalier were ruling Haiti, Mother Theresa acted as a spiritual counselor to them. During this time, Mother Theresa never once publicly spoke out against the brutal human rights violations under the Duvalier regime, using the vicious tonton macutes, as a kind of death squad to silence critics of the regime. Not once, while she was counseling the Duvalier family, did she speak out about the massive levels of poverty that the majority of Haitians were subjected to.
Second, the whole idea that the rich and the poor have an encounter, is just plain offensive. The idea that the rich and the poor have an encounter reminds me of the way that some people wanted to talk about the 500th anniversary of the European invasion of the Americas. Some religious and secular people wanted to refer to this historic event as an encounter. The fact is, what happened should be referred to as an ongoing act of genocide and slavery, since this is exactly what happen to the indigenous people of the Western Hemisphere and the Africans who were forcibly removed from their own communities and sold into slavery in the so-called new world.
The fact that Rev. Sirico pay homage to Mother Theresa and justifies his organization's work by quoting her, should tell us exactly what we need to know about the Acton Institute and why they should be resisted.
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Acton Institute constructs a video to paint those protesting their annual event as "uncivil" | Grand Rapids Institute for Information Democracy
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text:
Captain America: Secret War (NINE)
August 13, 2020 Annlyel James	Leave a comment
Sam Wilson and Sharon Carter were sitting in the hotel room garnering as much information as they could about the terrorists and the potential motives behind their European raid when the door to the room opened. Jumping to their feet with their guns drawn they were prepared to eliminate the potential intruder but, to their relief, it was only Steve Rogers. They let their guard down and then was instantly surprised as Natasha Romanoff walked into the room shortly afterward.
Sharon smiled. Sam crossed his arms. As the door closed behind Natasha she nodded at Sam.
"Long time, no see," she said.
"Romanoff," he acknowledged with a nod. A second passed before he asked, "What are you doing here? Weren't you trying to kick our ass the last time we saw you?"
"Yes I was," she obliged apologetically. "But…my views on the Accords have changed."
"Tony Stark drove you crazy?" Sharon said.
Natasha smiled. "Pretty much."
"Don't worry guys," Steve Rogers said. "She's on our side now. We can trust her."
"Are you sure this isn't atrap?" Sam said. "You know her history. She could be playing the double-agent thing on us."
Natasha's expression soured. "You don't have to worry, Sam. I'm not working for the Deputy Task Force." She neared him. "And if I was working for them, I would've already caught all three of you."
Sam snorted. "Keep telling yourself that."
"Enough Sam, Natasha," Steve said, standing between them. "We have something much more pressing to deal with and that's The Horrors. As we speak they're causing terror throughout Europe. We need to stop them before they get any stronger."
"And how are we supposed to do that?" Natasha said. "Every camera in the world is looking for us. This isn't like old times. We can't just march into battle with the world cheering us on anymore. We're criminals, meaning we're no better than the bad guys."
"Someone's gotta stop them," Sharon said. "And we have to try."
Natasha nodded. "Okay, fine. I'm not going to be able to talk you out of this. But aren't we missing someone?" She looked around. "Where's Wanda?"
"She decided to face this Accords situation alone but we've kept in contact," Sharon said. "We called her just a few minutes ago and told her to meet us here in the states. She should be here tomorrow."
"So…is this where the secret meeting is supposed to take place?" Natasha asked.
Steve shook his head as he started packing a bag. "No. Turns out Peggy has a secret getaway located in the Blue Ridge Mountains in North Carolina. It'll have to act like our current headquarters for now."
"North Carolina?" Romanoff said. She nodded appreciatively. "That is unexpected."
Sam began to leave to go to his room and get his bags. "We should get moving. The more time we waste here the worst it gets for Europe."
"Agreed," Sharon said. She looked at her laptop, at the screaming European citizens who were crying for help, and her jaw clenched.
They needed to hurry.
Slow footsteps echoed in the dark alley as Louie left the bar to throw out the trash. As he threw three heavy trash bags into his restaurant dumpster he suddenly felt an uneasy feeling. He slowly turned and found a bald man with black shades staring right back at him. Shades covered his eyes, which didn't make sense considering that it was nighttime.
"Whatcha want?" Louie asked.
The man's stern expression didn't waver. "Tell me where Natasha Romanoff went," he said.
Louie spat on the ground. "Get out of here."
He made as if to go back to his business when suddenly he felt a strong grip on the back of his neck and a blade at his throat.
"I'm not going to ask twice," the man whispered in his ear. "I know she comes to this bar. I know she was seen with Steve Rogers tonight. Tell me where she is and you'll get to see your family again."
"I don't know where she went," Louie blabbed. "I only know that she and Captain America are planning to stop those terrorists in Europe and then they left. I swear that's all I know."
The Hunter snarled. The man was definitely telling the truth, leaving him in a pretty pickle.
"Good move," he hissed in the man's ear before knocking him unconscious with a punch to the back of the skull. As he let the man crumple to the ground he turned around, raising his wrist and pressing a button on his black watch.
From the alley's wall jumped a metal hound whose red eyes gleamed with deadly purpose. It was comprised of complex AI and was the true secret to his renowned success. He named it Orion.
He knelt before Orion, rubbing its metallic fur.
"Find Natasha Romanoff's scent," he ordered.
The dog didn't need to be told twice. He neared the unconscious man, sniffing his body and hands. His ears quickly rose and his expression became alert. He had acquired a scent.
"You got it?"
Orion barked.
"Then go!"
The dog barked once more before running down the alley faster than any normal dog could've. He too sprinted down the alleyway before jumping on his parked motorcycle. Swerving off of the sidewalk and onto the street he pressed the right side of his jet-black shades. Immediately the digital red screen on the inside of the lenses sprang to life and he was able to pinpoint his dog's location.
He pressed the gas and swerved through traffic, ignoring the frustrated horn blares and middle fingers thrown at him. He had fugitives to catch.
ActionBlack WidowBounty HuntersFan FictionNatasha RomanoffSam WilsonSharon CarterSteve RogersVillain
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text:
Yurumanguí is an extinct language that was spoken along the Yurumanguí River of Colombia. It is known only through a short list of words and phrases recorded by Father Christoval Romero and given by him to Captain Sebastián Lanchas de Estrada, who included them in the report of his travels of 1768. Thereafter the language and its speakers disappear from the historical record.

Father Romero's word list was discovered in the archives and published, with analysis and commentary, by Rivet (1942), who argued that the language was a member of the Hokan language family. This claim is considered poor and unconvincing; a critique is given by Poser (1992). Swadesh (1963) saw connections with Opaye and Chamicura (Maipurean). Adelaar notes similarities with Esmeralda (Takame). However, it is generally considered unclassifiable due to the paucity of data.

Varieties
Loukotka (1968) included a number of purported languages from the same region in a Yurimangui stock in his language classification.  These are Timba, Lili (at Cali), Yolo/Paripazo, Jamundi, and Puscajae/Pile.  However, he notes that nothing is known of any of them. Their locations were:

Timba - Canambre River
Lili - around Cali
Yolo (Paripazo) - San Joaquín River
Jamundi - Cauca River
Puscajae (Pile) - left bank of the Dagila River

Vocabulary
Below are selected entries from the 1768 Yurumanguí vocabulary given in Ortiz (1946), with original Spanish glosses and translated English glosses.

Bibliography
Loukotka, Čestmír (1968) Classification of South American Indian Languages. University of California, Los Angeles.
Ortiz, Sergio Elias (1946) Los Indios Yurumanguíes. Boletín de Historia y Antigüedades XXXII.731-748.
Poser, William J. (1992) The Salinan and Yurumanguí Data in Language in the Americas. International Journal of American Linguistics 58.2.202-22. PDF
Rivet, Paul (1942) Un dialecte Hoka Colombien: le Yurumangí. Journal de la Société des Américanistes de Paris 34.1-59.

References

Extinct languages of South America
Language isolates of South America
Languages of Colombia
Indigenous languages of the Americas
Languages attested from the 18th century