In need of some general machinery to make life easier?
We might just have what you're looking for. If we don't, let us know and we'll do our best to get our hands on it for you.
Sometimes being small is just as important! We love that these little machines can make light work of some pretty big tasks.
Connecting you with the right equipment is what we do. So, let's start out by asking: are you struggling to find reliable machinery for your job? Or are you often stuck with old equipment that lets you down or doesn't quite cut the mustard?


text:
Q: Relevant Dynamic Facebook Landingpage? Is it possible to present relevant/dynamic data/information to facebook-users who visits a facebook landingpage?
Example:
Person A (already logged in to facebook) visits http://apps.facebook.com/appname/ and sees relevant information, like "welcome Person A, X number of your friends are here..."
Thank you!

A: Facebook will not give you the User ID (Person A) until the user authorizes your application. From there you can get the user's friends that authorized the application (X number of your friends are here..)
A small example using the PHP-SDK could be found here.

A: What if it's an internal application? Can we get something from the URL? I heard something about getting the user location and age before they connect to the application.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
These are the exact hours workers are most productive at home
Working through the pandemic has at times felt like forcing a wayward piece into a jigsaw puzzle; not everyone has a conventional way of working.
Some of the more fortunate workers have extra space within their homes to dedicate solely to work, while others are forced to compete with housemates and stake our their workstation inside their homes like the colonizers that came to America.
Finding the right level of comfort during a pandemic and an unconventional working environment has been testing nearly everyone's stress levels, but the COVID-19 pandemic has also changed the way in which the employee actually works.
No, we're not talking about how you've been become Grandpa Joe from "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" sitting in bed all day — it's about how many American workers' productivity has changed on an hourly basis.
Earlier in the pandemic, there were reports finding that workers were spending more time on their laptops and working more hours than ever.
This was a worldwide trend as the average workday had increased by almost 40% in the US, or for an extra three hours. That meant Americans were working 11-hour days, which tallied as the largest increase in working hours in the world.
If someone is working more, it would be safe to assume that productivity has increased from pre-Covid times. However, that's not necessarily true, according to a new report.
Prodoscore, a software designed to help teams be more effective and productive, released data from 30,000 US-based users to look at the productivity of remote works. The report compares productivity levels from May through August during the pandemic to the same timeframe in 2019, when our working lives were mostly in the office.
While productivity saw a dip between May and August this year, with the report finding a 3% drop, there's been a 5% increase in productivity when comparing the same timeframe to 2019.
Perhaps this could be attribute to workers changing their work hours. At the beginning of the pandemic in March, workers were starting their days at 8:32 a.m., according to the report. Their days typically ended around 5:38 p.m.
Since people started to become acclimated to their surroundings and businesses increased working flexibility, employees pushed their start times nearly an hour later (9:20 a.m.) while ending earlier (5:00 p.m.).
But perhaps the most interesting takeaway from this report is how productivity periods have changed and become smaller during the pandemic. The report notes that workers are most productive between 10:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. currently, while the beginning of the pandemic saw workers crunching their creative juices between 10:30 a.m and 3:00 p.m.
"These deep insights, such as 'the productivity window' give organizations the necessary information to implement enterprise strategies for building resilience and social support and prevent burnout and fatigue among their workers." said Eric Frazer, Psy.D., a member of the Prodoscore Research Council and Consulting Psychologist, Assistant Clinical Professor-Yale University School of Medicine.
More:CoronavirusOffice LifeRemote WorkWork-Life Balance
Easier, shorter job applications with Apply4Me from Ladders

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Pac Man Invasion - Part Three
Here's last of it. Where it starts to get "good". This was published in Autumn 2003. I wrote it in 2002 and submitted it awn.com. Heather Kenyon was editor at that time. She demonstrated her smarts by not running it.
The allure of the alien can hardly account for the draw of anime on American teens. If the foreign was anime's only attraction the why are there no Yuri Norstein conventions? Why don't people parade in Tintin costumes?
partygoers at the upcoming "NorCon"
Why do grown men paint their face and hoot that their local businessman's football team? How come reasonable people lose their senses at the sight of a pop star? Why, again, do young boys and girls -mostly middle class, mostly suburban -make themselves up as cartoon characters?
The football fan wants to be part of something bigger, like an army without obligation. Thus, the cheerleaders, the chants, and the wave. Our reactions to celebrities have become a Pavlovian response. We want to view these people great, messianic and react to them with appropriate religious fervor.
The Otaku kids are different sorts of fans. Despite the trecent flood of anime on television, the stuff is still hard to come by [EDIT: in 2003 it was]. In larger cities, illicit trade from South East Asia brings in DVDs. Mom and Dad's credit line willing, Hong Kong copies are shipped everywhere across the continent from online retailers.
Here's where the conventions come in. The weekend of AnimeNext, two other conventions were held, one in Tysons Corners, VA, one in San Francisco. The following week there's one in Erlanger, KY and another in San Francisco (this specifically geared towards gay comics and anime). There's one nearly every week in small towns throught the United States. If a fan buys one DVD a week and he four best friends buy one DVD a week, those 20 titles would represent less than 33% of typical month's slate of anime releases.
Erlanger, KY, Tysons Corners, VA, the dates get circled. The population of these places is no different than the population of Secaucus, NJ. The convention attract teens girls, maybe 70% teen girls. The rest is divided evenly between teen boys and adults. They coordinate their costumes with their friends (the girls do). The parents check in, freak out on the inside, then skip to the mall for a few hours.
Authority, adventure, a safe sexuality and most importantly the anonymity of disguise while still being part of larger "alternative culture" may all contribute to the appeal. Post-war American culture has deified the rebel youth -from James Dean and Elvis to Bart Simpson. James Dean, Elvis and Bart Simpson are outsiders, they respond to "legitimate" culture. The anime hero is part of a civilization where everyone is alienated, the society has degenerated to a mass of lost individuals. The hero finds a personal salvation in the this isolation. The fans don't see themselves as Elvis against the squeare. The girl in the yellow hot pants knows that she is a square too.
Nobody -besides the panelists -came to AnimeNext for the panels. They didn't even come for the celebrity guests (voice actors bused in from across the Hudson). They came to be with their peers, their soceity of self-made superheroes. They came to show themselves as they would like to be, sexy and serious and out to save the world.
Back on the other side of the Hudson, a Chelsea gallery host an R. Crumb opening. It was wall-to-wall bodies despite the rain. Crumb's art also has roots in Mickey Mouse and Betty Boop. He's publicly dwelled on the sexuality of Bugs Bunny in drag and the eroticism of children's entertainment. His own work is explosive and manic, the product of an individual mind in a society which prides itself on the individuals it persecutes.
The kids here have their costumes too. Young men dressed like Depression-era crooners, young women in casual black. They form a cozy crowd. They are a mass of collective calm against the downpour outside. Chelsea art pratron wear a shellac of cool. There is strength in the uniform. The deity of the day is an icon of individualism. Their sly siding slides off when stood next to Secaucus' Otaku, nerdy children who draw individual freedom from the anime produced for mass consumption.
Posted by roconnor at 12:15 AM
Labels: cartoon culture, comics, criticism
2002 Exhibit Notes
Limited Expectations
5 Dollar Find
Animation Lesson #29
Midnight Confessions
Mice Infest the Everglades!
Wrong Way Down Sesame Street
Drawing the Line
Cartoon Controversy
More Days of Christmas in August
P T
I Just Want A Hula Hoop
Hop To It
See You In September
Projecting the Negative
Some Guys Will Shill Anything
Dog Dreams
Kalamazoo: Just For Cartoons?
Toontown
Scoooooooo


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Home Archive Public Relations Pessotto critical after first floor fall
Pessotto critical after first floor fall
TURIN, Italy, June 27, 2006 (AFP) – Italian giants Juventus' problems deepened on Tuesday as team manager Gianluca Pessotto was described as being in a critical condition after jumping from his second floor office in an apparent suicide attempt.
The 35-year-old former Italy international defender, who was appointed to the post only last month, apparently climbed onto the window sill of his office, holding a set of rosary beads, and jumped off bouncing off one car and onto another.
He was treated at the scene almost immediately and then taken by ambulance to the Le Molinette hospital suffering from multiple fractures.
Pessotto, who won the 1996 Champions League with Juventus and played for them for 11 seasons retiring at the end of the last campaign, had apparently been on his own in his office at Juventus Football club at the time of his fall.
Juventus are due to face a sports tribunal this week over the matchfixing scandal that has engulfed Italian football.
The row also involves Lazio, Fiorentina and AC Milan although reports suggest that five smaller clubs Empoli, Siena, Messina, Reggina and Lecce are also set to be charged.
News of Pessotto's hospitalization reached the Italian World Cup camp in Germany and a press conference called on the day after the team defeated Australia 1-0 to reach the quarter-finals of the competition was cut short.
italy juventus
Third option in Iran – Support the regime dissidents
War With Iran Might Be Closer Than You Think
Iran Elections – Creating Illusion of Democracy


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Q: "All that is gold does not glitter" "All that is gold does not glitter" is the first line of a poem from the Lord of the Rings and it's supposed to mean "not all gold glitters" but I'm struggling to see how this can be deduced.
If all that is gold does not glitter then it follows that "gold never glitters". If all gold doesn't glitter then there's no such thing as gold that glitters. This is quite different from the actual meaning. "Some that is gold does not glitter" would make more sense. Am I missing something? Does "all" actually mean "not all" in this context? It's really confusing.

It looks like "Not all that is gold does glitter" would mean the same thing, but in logic it has a different meaning.

A: It means not everything that is gold glitters. Tolkien undoubtedly was borrowing from Shakespeare here, specifically the poem that one of Portia's suitors discovers when he reads the scroll associated with the golden chest that he has (to his loss) chosen:

"All that glisters is not gold—
  Often have you heard that told.
  Many a man his life hath sold
  But my outside to behold.
  Gilded tombs do worms enfold.
  Had you been as wise as bold,
  Young in limbs, in judgment old,
  Your answer had not been inscrolled.
  Fare you well. Your suit is cold—
  Cold, indeed, and labor lost."

The meaning is that even if a thing "glisters" (glistens) it is not necessarily true gold — plenty exists that is false. Tolkien offers an inversion of this when he says, in effect, that some things that are pure gold do not glitter.
Edit
Some meddlesome individuals reversed the wording in my first sentence so that it meant the exact opposite of what I said (and what is correct). I have changed it back.

A: The original was actually Shakespeare: all that glisters is not gold, but that needn't concern us here.
OP has simply misparsed the sentence - it actually means "Not everything that is gold glitters" (which is to say, "There are some things which are gold that don't glitter").
You can always Google "every x is not y" for more discussion of why this type of construction should be treated with caution. As it happens, I already knew what it means in this particular case (and I knew it was originally glisters), but I think the bottom line is the statement is inherently ambiguous, so you have to go for the interpretation that makes most sense in context.

Tolkien experimented with several variants of the "quirky inversion" of Shakespeare's original before finally settling on the The Riddle of Strider version (that appears twice in The Fellowship of the Ring). But I quite like this somewhat more "pithy" earlier draft...

All that is gold does not glitter;
  all that is long does not last;
  All that is old does not wither;
  not all that is over is past.

(I don't know whether the punctuation/capitalisation there was actually what Tolkien wrote).

A: Shakespeare's line is the best known example of this general phenomenon where a universal quantifier scoping over negation gives a counterintuitive meaning. The expected meaning of:

All that glisters is not gold.

Would be:

For each thing that glisters, it is not gold.

Instead, the meaning to be understood is:

Not everything that glisters is gold.

See Laurence Horn's excellent discussion of this phenomenon in Chapter 4 of his book A Natural History of Negation. (University of Chicago Press, 1989). Other examples Horn draws attention to are (p.226--7):

All things are lawful unto me, but all
  things are not expedient. (1Cor.6:12)
  Every one cannot make music. (Walton)
  Tout Ie monde n' est past fait pour l' art. (Rolland)
  Thank heaven, all scholars are not like
  this. (Richardson)
  All is not lost. (Milton, Shelley)
  Each man kills the thing he loves/Yet each
  man does not die. (Wilde)

Horn points out, even more interestingly, that while the English can be paraphrased into the intuitive:

Not all that glitters is gold.

In French, however, the "counterintuitive" version:

Tout ce qui reluit n'est pas or.

does not have an "intuitive" grammatical paraphrase. The following is ungrammatical in French:

*Pas tout ce qui reluit est or.

A: It seems to me that it means "not everything that has the value of gold is so obviously glittery to signal itself as gold."
It isn't pointing to gold as not glittering, but all metaphorically gold things are not as easy to spot as glittery gold.
As stated, this line coopts the line from the scroll that appears in Merchant which shows that not everything that DOES glitter is gold. This says the opposite.

A: IMO, The phrase means that not every thing of value has to shine like gold in order to be a thing of uncommon value... There are things of value, like art, that are not made of gold, but are considered quite precious. Another example would be the right tool for the job. The correct sized wrench would not be made of gold, but would be prized above the incorrect sizes. Although it would appear to be just like the other sized wrenchs in the toolbox, it would be valued above the ill fitting tools. It would not glitter, but for for the task at hand, it would be "gold".
In the case of LOTR, Strider, who looked like a common man, was uncommon, and in fact a type of gold that did not glitter until circumstances demanded it.

A: An interesting thread.  Suggest you read the book, and also Shakespeare's "all that glisters is not gold" (which Tolkien is quite explicitly playing upon).  This poem refers to Aragorn, who is not just a normal man - in fact, on first meeting him, he appears to be deeply suspicious, the kind of character one should steer well clear of, and goes by the ambiguous name of Strider - but despite his unpromising appearance he turns out to be (plot-spoiler warning!) the Heir of Isildur and the True King-that-Returns, Dúnadan.
Whilst the construction of the first line may not appear at first glance to be "logical" or even strictly grammatical, both Tolkien's "All that is gold does not glitter" and  Shakespeare's "All that glisters is not gold" employ poetic/dramatic licence - in many a poem is the order of words apparently illogical, but the words lure the mind into finding the truth behind the ambiguity.  There is a double meaning here:
(i)    Things that glister or glitter may turn out not be valuable at all - i.e. "not all that glisters is gold", in other words the glint of bling may turn out to be false or valueless;
AND ALSO
(ii)    Some things of immeasurable worth may not only NOT glister but appear to be dull and unattractive, or even apparently repellent, i.e. "Not all that is gold glisters".  This is similar to the adage that "old money whispers, new money shouts" - true value may not be obvious, indeed it may be hidden, unlike the false which may sparkle and be brash but turn out to be cheap.
Tolkien draws on some of the oldest myths and legends in the world - beware the lure of red gold, it may not be as valuable as it appears; and sometimes the field of diamonds lies hidden beneath apparently the most ordinary, or even ugly, of coverings.  Enjoy the quest.

A: "All that is gold does not glitter". Your logical interpretation is correct: "gold never glitters". The computer scientist in me agrees with this logical analysis, but the lyricist in me thinks the words flow so wonderfully that I can chalk it up to Poetic License.
P.S. On rereading my answer, even I was offended at describing myself as a lyricist in a discussion of such masters as Tolkien and Shakespeare. Please forgive my impudence.

A: I came here to voice my strong opinion siding with RobertRW and @Sloth (despite the latter's minus-1 answer score sans any response explaining why): I too find expressions like this utterly wrong translated conventionally, basically opposite of what the literal meaning is conveyed syntactically. "All S is not-P" implies that "No S is P."; simple logic.
What Shakespeare probably actually meant is "Not all S are P." or possibly "Not all P are S" or possibly both simultaneously, where S and P are both metaphorical attributes (despite the actual construction employed of "All S are not P", meaning something contradictory thereto).


text:
Q: Java XML - standalone attribute added I was writing a test case for one of my XML parsing methods.
The goal is to create a org.w3c.dom.Document from a string, then convert it back to string and compare it with the original input.
I have the following string as my input:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?>
<test>
    <test-node>${value}</test-node>

       <a2 a2="a2V"/>
       <a3 c1="a3V"/>

    <c c1="c1V">
       <c2 b1="c2V"/>
    </c>
</test>

It is converted from String to Document using this method:
public static Document convertStringToXMLDocument(final String xmlString) throws IOException, SAXException {
    try {
        return BUILDER_FACTORY.newDocumentBuilder().parse(new InputSource(new StringReader(xmlString)));
    } catch (ParserConfigurationException e) {
        LOGGER.error(e.getMessage());
    }

    return null;
}

For the conversion back to String I use this method:
public static String convertNodeToString(final Node n) {
    final StringWriter writer = new StringWriter();

    try {
        TransformerFactory.newInstance().newTransformer().transform(new DOMSource(n), new StreamResult(writer));

        return writer.getBuffer().toString();
    } catch (TransformerException e) {
        LOGGER.error(e.getMessage());
    }

    return null;
}

When I run the test case, it fails because of this:
Expected :<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?><test><test-node>${value}</test-node>   <a2 a2="a2V"/>   <a3 c1="a3V"/><c c1="c1V">   <c2 b1="c2V"/></c></test>

Actual   :<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1" standalone="no"?><test><test-node>${value}</test-node>   <a2 a2="a2V"/>   <a3 c1="a3V"/><c c1="c1V">   <c2 b1="c2V"/></c></test>

The problem is the standalone="no"
For some reason it is adding standalone="no" to the header which fails my test case.
Now i know i could remove it by setting document.setXmlStandalone(true);.
That would solve the case as long as my input does not specify standalone="no".
How can I achieve that it is not added or changed in any case?

A: Set standalone flag on your document instance
doc.setXmlStandalone(true);

before calling convertNodeToString()


text:
What They're Known For:
Howard University was founded in 1867 and in 2013 was ranked by U.S. News and World Report as one of the best National Universities in the country. Students can choose from over 120 areas of study and 80 majors to earn their degree.
Unique Opportunities:
Students at Howard University will find a welcoming environment at this historically black college.
Howard University attracts the nation's top students and graduates more on-campus African-American Ph.D.s than any other university in the world.
Classes have fewer than 20 students, so students will have the opportunity to receive individual attention from instructors.
Why We Love Howard University Online:
Since 1998, the University has produced a Rhodes Scholar, a Truman Scholar, six Fulbright Scholars and nine Pickering Fellows.
90% of students are able to acquire financial aid.
Howard University is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (3624 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104; (267) 284-5000; www.msche.org).
Howard University School of Business was the first business school in Washington, DC to be accredited by the Association of Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), the international accrediting body for both undergraduate and graduate business programs.
Total Online Enrollment:
Calendar Type:
Trimester schedule (Fall,Spring, Summer)
Delivery Format:
Online using Blackboard learning management system
Doctoral/Research University—Extensive
Geographic Restrictions:
Must be equipped with high-speed Internet connection such as DSL or cable modem. PC configuration must support Windows XP or greater.
On-Campus Requirement:
Three day on-campus requirement at end of program, as part of culminating capstone experience
Loans Offered:
Loans may be available. Applicants may apply by completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). FAFSA code: 001448


Lot Size: 10966 sq. ft.
GREAT LOCAION, GREAT HOME, GREAT PRICE. This very large Mfg. Home has exceptionally large rooms and has been recentlyupgraded. Enjoy laundry room, extra large living room, spacious kitchen with new appliances, nice size master bed room with walk in closet Master bathroom boasts large soaking tub, separate shower stall and very large in size.Yard is fully fenced so bring the animals, plenty of room for the RV and garden. New decks recently installed and new roof to keep you warm and dry. Carport will keep your automobile clean and safe.The location isvery close to down town Lower Lake and easy freeway access. Minutes to Walmart and schools. Great opportunity to buy a home withgreat location and ready to go.


Supplementary Executive Retirement Plans – Canadian Benefits Associates Inc.
A non-registered retirement plan setup for key executives / employees, owners, professionals. SERPs provide benefits in excess benefits that are capped in a registered pension plan due to legsilation, i.e. Income Tax Act (Canada). SERPs are setup to ensure that key employees to remove the impact of the legislative cap on retirement income and/or to maintain the key employees current standards of living in retirement.
These plans are setup for upper management (usually senior executives) to introduce equity and remove the limitation imposed by the Income Tax Act for high wage earners. These plans are usually unfunded but can be funded (RCA) or secured.


text:
Флаг муниципального образования Песча́ное сельское поселение Тбилисского района Краснодарского края Российской Федерации — опознавательно-правовой знак, служащий официальным символом муниципального образования.

Флаг утверждён 1 ноября 2010 года решением Совета Песчаного сельского поселения № 90 и 29 марта 2011 года внесён в Государственный геральдический регистр Российской Федерации с присвоением регистрационного номера 6799.

Описание
«Прямоугольное зелёное полотнище с отношением ширины к длине 2:3, несущее вплотную к середине верхнего края повёрнутый вершиной вниз красный равнобедренный треугольник (ширина основания 3/5 длины полотнища); на зелёной, части расположена жёлтая фигура из герба поселения в виде трёх соприкасающихся углами прямоугольников, два боковых, отходящие от оси вверх, со скруглённым верхом, средний, отходящий от оси вниз, со скруглённым низом; посередине полотнища — изображение двух жёлтых скрещённых пик с белыми кистями, верхние концы которых частично скрывают две нижних стороны треугольника, а нижние концы пик пролегают по местам соединения прямоугольников; посередине треугольника — изображение жёлтого пламени».

Обоснование символики
Флаг Песчаного сельского поселения языком символов и аллегорий отображает географические особенности расположения поселения и его историю.

Песчаное сельское поселение расположено вдоль реки Степной Зеленчуг. Изгибы реки аллегорически отражены кривой линией (непрерывный контур сторон и закруглений прямоугольников), а три жёлтые части флага — аллегория трёх хуторов, составляющих единое поселение (Староармянский, Песчаный, Верёвкин).

Перекрещённые крестом пики на флаге поселения — символ памяти о казаках во главе с сотником Андреем Гречишкиным, принявших 15 сентября 1829 года неравный бой с превосходящими силами горцев рядом с ущельем у Песчаного брода на реке Зеленчук, и предпочётших смерть позорному плену. Пика с маленьким флажком (серебряными кистями) — символ кавалерии, основного вида казачьего войска.

Пламя — символ долга отданного многими поколениями казаков на службе России, символ вечного огня, горящего на памятниках героям.

Зелёный цвет символизирует весну, здоровье, природу, молодость и надежду.

Красный цвет — символ силы, мужества и доблести, труда, красоты и праздника.

Жёлтый цвет (золото) — символ урожая, богатства, стабильности, уважения, солнечного тепла и энергии.

Белый цвет (серебро) — символ чистоты, открытости, божественной мудрости, примирения.

Примечания

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (1979)
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is a 1979 BBC adaptation (made in association with Paramount) of John le Carré's celebrated 1974 spy novel of the same name. Alec Guinness stars as the masterspy George Smiley.
Things are not going well for the Circus. The Circus (so-called because it has its headquarters in Cambridge Circus) is le Carré's fictionalised version of Britain Secret Intelligence Service, sometimes known as MI6. An operation in Czechoslovakia went horribly wrong with a British spy ending up with to bullets in his back. Eighteen months later another disaster followed with the defection of two high-ranking KGB officers ending in another fiasco. The Circus officer involved, Ricki Tarr (Hywel Bennett), spent six months on the run but now he's surfaced in London and he has a disturbing tale to tell. Tarr's story makes it clear that there is a Soviet mole (code-named Gerald) in the Circus. Worse than that, the mole must be one of the five top-ranking men in the Circus. That means that an internal investigation would be completely pointless. The investigation will have to be carried out by someone who is both an insider and an outsider. Someone like George Smiley, formerly the number two man at the Circus and now retired.
The former chief of the Circus (known only as Control) had had strong suspicions and Smiley had shared those suspicions. Control had narrowed the field down to five suspects. The first is Percy Alleline (Michael Aldridge), a man whose skills at political manoeuvring are vastly more impressive than his skills as an intelligence officer. For the purposes of his ow investigation Control has given Alleline the code name Tinker. The second is the brilliant and urbane Bill Haydon (Ian Richardson); Control has dubbed him Tailor. The third suspect is the boisterous and somewhat unstable Roy Bland (Terence Rigby); he has been given the code name Soldier. Number four is the ambitious Toby Esterhase (Bernard Hepton) - he is Poor Man. Control's final suspect is George Smiley - Beggarman.
Control is now dead and the new chief is Alleline. George Smiley is no longer a possible suspect - he was forced into retirement and it is clear that the mole is still in the top echelons of the Circus.
Smiley's investigation is official but it has to be undertaken without the knowledge of any of the four remaining suspects or anyone else in the Circus who might alert the mole.
Smiley's greatest assets are his patience and his thoroughness, and most of all his remarkable memory. His memories are crucial since his investigation is in fact a journey into the past. At times the distant past. The mole might well have been working for the KGB for decades. Smiley's memories of Karla may be important as well, Karla (Patrick Stewart) being the KGB spymaster who recruited Gerald. Smiley had encountered Karla twenty years earlier - in fact he'd tried (with a striking lack of success) to recruit Karla as a double agent.
Memory is also important in the sense that the Circus is in a sense living in the past, trying to recapture the glory days of the Second World when Britain was a great power. Those glory days are long gone. To many in the Circus this seems like a kind of betrayal. They started their careers with high hopes and high ideals but now they are simply a rather unsuccessful intelligence agency of a third-rate power.
Betrayal is of course the other major theme. The original novel was obviously partly inspired by the spectacular real-life act of betrayal by Kim Philby, the senior MI6 officer who was a Soviet spy for the whole of his lengthy career. In fact one of the many MI6 operatives whose cover was blown by Philby was John le Carré, who worked as a real-life spy for MI5 and later MI6 until the early 1960s. Betrayal was something le Carré experienced at first hand and this doubtless goes a long way to explain George Smiley's relentless pursuit of the mole in the novel.
The book deals with betrayals on multiple levels - not just actual treason but betrayals of hopes and ideals and also personal betrayals. The TV adaptation is surprisingly successful in translating these complex interlocking themes to the small screen. This is a very cerebral spy drama with very little action. The lack of action could have been a problem in a seven-part TV serial but the psychological tension and the suspense are sufficient compensation and on the whole it works very well. The one criticism that could be made is that the final episode, much of which is a kind of epilogue, drags a little. This doesn't matter so much in the novel but for TV I think it should have been tightened up a little. On the other hand it does offer the opportunity to make Gerald's motivations much clearer.
The adaptation is remarkably faithful to the novel, both in terms of plot and characterisation.
I was not entirely convinced by Terence Rigby's slightly caricatured performance as Roy Bland and I thought that Bernard Hepton made Toby Esterhase much too English (he's supposed to be Hungarian). On the whole though the acting is fine. Alec Guinness is physically not quite right as Smiley but he captures Smiley's quirks of character so well that it's hard to imagine anyone else in the role. Michael Aldridge (who was so delightful in the 60s spy series The Man in Room 17) is perfect as the rather oily Percy Alleline. Ian Richardson plays Haydon with an admirable sense of style and self-assurance. Anthony Bate is excellent as the Circus's political master Sir Oliver Lacon, a typical politician whose main concern is to limit the political damage to the government.
The co-production deal with Paramount meant that the BBC had plenty of money to throw around on location shooting and the result is a very handsome production.
The only real weaknesses are in fact reflections of weaknesses in the source novel - the identity of the mole is a little too obvious and the emphasis on Smiley's train wreck of a private life is such that there is at times a danger that the viewer will start to regard with contempt rather than sympathy.
The DVD includes a fine documentary on John le Carré in which the author takes at length about his own experiences as a spy. The documentary also includes some fascinating comments from a former very senior KGB officer and also from the former head of the East German secret police (who spent his leisure hours in the 1960s reading John le Carré spy novels).
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is engrossing television. Highly recommended.
Labels: 1970s, british tv, spy series
Alfred Hitchcock Presents - And So Died Riabouchinska (1956)
And So Died Riabouchinska was broadcast in 1956 as the twentieth episode of the first season of Alfred Hitchcock Presents. It's based on a Ray Bradbury story and boasts an interesting cast headlined by Claude Rains and a young Charles Bronson.
I'm particularly fond of horror and mystery stories featuring ventriloquists' dummies -they always make for lots of creepiness.
Claude Rains plays Fabian, a vaudeville performer at a time when vaudeville was not exactly booming. A man is found murdered in the theatre where he is appearing. The man had apparently been trying to get to see Fabian, for some important but unknown purpose. Detective Krovitch (Charles Bronson) is the investigating officer and he finds that interviewing Fabian is a slightly odd process since Fabian's doll Riabouchinska insists on being part of the conversation. Krovitch is doubtful as to whether Fabian is being entirely truthful but he suspects that the doll is telling the truth.
The doll was modeled after a real woman, a young and very beautiful woman with whom Fabian was acquainted. Possible quite well acquainted although this was more than twenty years earlier so what connection could it have with the murder of the stranger in the theatre?
Mel Dinelli adapted Bradbury's story for the small screen. Dinelli was not a prolific screen writer but he did have a few rather impressive credits including the suspense classic The Spiral Staircase. As for Bradbury I've always had mixed feelings about him as a writer although I do admit that at his best he could be very atmospheric and very subtle.
And So Died Riabouchinska is the kind of story that Bradbury did very well and the television adaptation works pretty effectively. It's typical Bradbury in that it suggests something supernatural but it remains only a suggestion.
Claude Rains gives a very fine performance, managing to be quite disturbing without being too excessive about it. Charles Bronson hadn't yet found his feet as an actor although there are signs of his later minimalist acting style. In this TV play he's at his best when he tones his performance right down.
There are better television and movie ventriloquists' dummy stories but And So Died Riabouchinska is still a worthy example of an odd little sub-genre. It's certainly worth seeing for the terrific and surprisingly restrained performance by Claude Rains. Highly recommended.
The first season of Alfred Hitchcock Presents is of course easily obtainable on DVD in all markets.
Labels: 1950s, american tv, anthology series, crime series, horror, suspense
The Sandbaggers, season two (1980)
The Sandbaggers, made by Britain's Yorkshire Television, ran for three seasons from 1978 to 1980. This series took the gritty realistic and cynical spy drama further than it had ever been taken before, and in fact it took that approach about as far as it could be taken.
Ian Mackintosh created the series and wrote all of the episodes of the first two seasons and some season three episodes before his tragic death at the age of 39 in 1979. Mackintosh had earlier created the successful Warship series while still serving in the Royal Navy. There have been persistent rumours that Mackintosh had actually been a serving member of the Secret Intelligence Service or had at least been seconded to the SIS at some point during his naval career. The accuracy of his knowledge of the inner workings of the intelligence community has fueled these rumours although it's also possible that he simply did his research very very thoroughly. Mackintosh himself was non-committal on the subject.
Either way the series presents a remarkably accurate picture of how real-life spies actually operate and how the intelligence community interacts, sometimes catastrophically, with government. Of course some liberties were taken for dramatic effect - even a hyper-realistic spy series has to have a bit more action than a real-life spy would normally encounter.
Mackintosh wanted the series to be accurate but with the focus largely on the internal politics of the SIS and its interactions with its political masters and with the CIA.
The result is a series that is fascinating but also unremittingly bleak and horrifyingly cynical. I watched the first season a while back and at times I found it to be just a little too nihilistic and despairing. You really have to be in the mood to watch this series. If you do happen to be in the mood it can be riveting television.
The Sandbaggers are a very small and specialised team department of the SIS. They handle the really dirty and dangerous jobs. There are never more than three Sandbaggers, working under Neil Burnside (Roy Marden). Burnside had been a Sandbagger and is now the SIS Director of Operations, responsible for all operations involving field agents. His relations with his superiors are uneasy.
Season two opens with At All Costs. A year after a disastrous operation in Berlin the SIS receives an offer that is almost too good to be true. The head of the Bulgarian secret service has offered to provide the SIS with extraordinarily valuable information. The offer is so good that it surely has to be a set-up. And yet it could be real, and if it is real it's an offer that cannot be passed up. The Bulgarian secret service chief will only had the information over to Sandbagger Two. This in itself is suspicious, but then again there could be a valid reason. Burnside is full of misgivings but "C" (the head of the SIS, played by the wonderful Richard Vernon) is keen. The SIS is about to have its already meagre budget slashed and they need a major success. The operation goes ahead.
This episode encapsulates most of the major themes of the series - the impossibility of knowing whether you're going to be double-crossed or not, the necessity to go ahead with insanely high-risk operations for political reasons, and most of all the all-pervasive sense of fear when operating alone in a hostile country knowing you may be walking straight into a trap.
In Enough of Ghosts the Sandbaggers have to deal with terrorism and they find out that not all the fanatics are on the terrorists' side.
In Decision by Committee an aircraft is hijacked. Two very senior British military men are aboard and they are the principal targets of the terrorists. What the terrorists don't know is that there are two other notable passengers - a Sandbagger and a CIA operative. The British government in the manner one would expect from a government - they do a great deal of discussing but are desperate to avoid making any actual decision. Neil Burnside however is determined to do something. It is an unwritten law in the Secret Intelligence Service that if a Sandbagger is in trouble some attempt must be made to get him out of it. This puts Burnside at odds with his superiors. A very tense episode and a very good one.
A Question of Loyalty presents Burnside with multiple problems - a failed operation in Warsaw and a possible double agent in Stockholm. It's a complex web of deceptions in which, as so often in this series, the biggest problems are posed by friends and allies rather than enemies.
It Couldn't Happen Here is an exceptionally provocative episode. A Cabinet Minister is involved in a car accident in Germany. A woman is killed and she happens to have been a Secret Intelligence Service officer. The Cabinet Minister's behaviour after the accident was questionable to say the least and Burnside decides to do some digging. The results are alarming. MI5 and the CIA have been digging into the Minister's past as well, with equally alarming results. While this is happening the American Secret Service has borrowed both Sandbaggers to protect an American senator. Neil finds out that his old friend at the CIA, Jeff Ross, has some rather colourful conspiracy theories about political assassinations. Of course such things could never happen in Britain, except that maybe they could if the circumstances were extraordinary enough. And those extraordinary circumstances may have already arisen.
Lots of fascinating and breathtakingly cynical political machinations in this excellent episode.
Operation Kingmaker has something you definitely don't expect in an episode of The Sandbaggers - humour. Low-key understated cynical humour but moments of humour nonetheless. Neil Burnside is playing a dangerous internal political game for very high stakes.
I'm not sure whether the second season was actually better than the first or whether I'm just a bit more in tune with the intentions behind it but I did enjoy season two. It's still pretty bleak although the good guys do sometimes win. That of course is assuming we're meant to see the SIS as the good guys. In fact we really don't see much of the KGB at all. They're more like a constant background noise but there's very little focus on actual active KGB operations.
The acting is a major strength. Roy Marsden is terrific as Neil Burnside, a man for who we feel some sympathy and some admiration while at the same time his personal flaws, his recklessness, his cold-blooded cynicism and his often poor judgment appall us. He's a very flawed hero indeed. He combines ruthless ambition with an extraordinary ability to sabotage his own career.
Richard Vernon (who happens to be one of my favourite English actors of this era) is superb as "C" - a bit crusty and pompous but shrewd and flexible and very confident.
Ray Lonnen has one of the more sympathetic roles this series has to offer as Sandbagger One Willie Caine. Willie is a complex man who detests violence but has spent six years in the Special Operations Section in which violence is all part of the job. He's also the closest thing to a friend that Neil Burnside has.
Bob Sherman is the CIA's station chief in London, a cheerful slightly amoral character who has established a very close and amicable working relationship with Burnside.
Each episode is basically a standalone drama although there is certainly some degree of character development (Burnside for example becomes steadily more obsessive and his judgment becomes increasingly erratic). While there are no real multi-episode story arcs actions do have consequences for the characters and those consequences are evident in later episodes.
The Sandbaggers is not exactly light entertainment. It's an ambitious and very cerebral spy drama with the focus on motivations and political consequences rather than action. Highly recommended.
The Sandbaggers is available on DVD in both Regions 1 and 2.
Labels: 1970s, 1980s, british tv, spy series
Out of This World - Little Lost Robot (1962)
Out of This World is a science fiction anthology series made by Britain's ABC Television in 1962, hosted by Boris Karloff. The series began with a one-off episode produced by the renowned Sydney Newman as part of the Armchair Theatre series. The series proper was produced by Leonard White with Irene Shubik as story editor. Irene Shubik went on to produce the rather similar BBC anthology series Out of the Unknown. Sadly only one episode of Out of This World has survived, Little Lost Robot, with a screenplay by Leo Lehmann based on an Isaac Asimov short story.
Perhaps unfortunately Little Lost Robot is a very atypical episode of the series, according to Leonard White, differing markedly in both tone and style from the other episodes.
Little Lost Robot deals with Asimov's famous Laws of Robotics. The First Law of Robotics is that a robot cannot harm a human being, or allow any harm to come to a human being. Unfortunately, for reasons best known to themselves, the commanders of a space station in the vicinity have decided to alter the First Law slightly. They have modified several Nestor robots. These robots are still forbidden to do active harm to a human but they can allow a human to be harmed. Even more unfortunately one of the modified robots has become lost. The chief engineer, in a moment of irritation, rather unwisely lost his temper and told the robot to get lost. The robot, being very literal-minded and being compelled by one of the other Laws of Robotics to obey any order given by a human, proceeded to get lost.
The missing robot has not been found but it has been located. A shipment of twenty (unmodified) Nestors has just arrived from Earth but there are now twenty-one robots in the group rather than twenty. The lost robot has concealed itself among the other twenty. And there is absolutely no way of telling which of these robots is the modified version.
The top robot psychologist in the solar system, Dr Susan Calvin (Maxine Audley), has been sent from Earth to sort out the problem and identify the rogue robot. She devises a series of clever tests to fool the modified robot into revealing itself but the robot seems to be able to stay one jump ahead of her.
The situation is increasingly critical. The modified Nestor has been communicating with the twenty unmodified robots and there is a danger that all twenty may adopt the same changed version of the First Law. The end result may be a robot mutiny, or even a robot rebellion.
These are robots that are quite unlike anything we would think of today as robots. They are not mere machines. They have personalities and they have emotions. They are perhaps more like mechanical slaves (and indeed the slave analogy is made explicit at one point in the story).
If you are prepared to accept the idea of robots with feelings than can be hurt then the story is reasonably engaging and clever.
Maxine Audley as Dr Calvin and Clifford Evans as the space station commander Major-General Kallner both give fairly good performances. Gerald Flood plays the chief engineer and he's the villain of the piece. He detests robots. Flood plays him as a sort of wicked slave-owner who both fears and hates his slaves.
The robots themselves are what you would expect from early 1960s television - they're crude mechanical men and look much too obviously like guys in tin suits. A bigger problem is that it's difficult to accept that these painfully slow-moving tin men could be potentially dangerous. The robots are as bad as anything you will find in 1960s Doctor Who.
Even worse the script really doesn't do anything to make us feel any sense of potential menace. There are rare moments when we might feel some anxiety for the safety of one of the characters but these moments fall flat.
Luckily things finally come together with the very effective ending.
Several Out of This World episodes were remade for the BBC's Out of the Unknown series, the bad news being that most episodes of that series have been lost as well.
The BFI have done an admirable job with their DVD release. The highlight is the audio commentary which features producer Leonard White. White makes some interesting and provocative points, noting that television drama as a distinctive format that took advantage of the unique characteristics of the medium (such as the fact that early 1960s television was done more or less live) is something that sadly no longer exists. The liner notes include a couple of essays on the production history of the series. Image quality is pretty good. The DVD also includes audio-only versions of two of the lost episodes.
Little Lost Robot has enormous historical interest and despite its flaws it's worth a look.
Labels: 1960s, anthology series, british tv, sci-fi
Alfred Hitchcock Presents - And So Died Riabouchin...


text:
Q: Java2D: interaction between XWindows events and frame rate I'm experiencing an unexpected interaction between system events and the window refresh rate in simple Java2D applications on Linux/XWindows. It is best demonstrated with the small example below.
This program creates a small window in which a half-circle is displayed at different rotations. The graphics are updated at 60 frames per second in order to produce a flickering display. This is achieved through a BufferStrategy, namely by calling its show method.
However, I note that when I (a) move the mouse over the window so that the window receives mouse-over events or (b) hold down a key on the keyboard so that the window receives keyboard events, the flickering increases visibly.
As the rate at which BufferStrategy.show() is called is not affected by these events, as can be seen by the print-outs on the console (they should constantly be at around 60 fps). However, the faster flickering indicates that the rate at which the display is actually updated, does indeed change.
It looks to me that actual, i.e., visible 60 frames per second are not achieved unless mouse or keyboard events are generated.
public class Test {
    // pass the path to 'test.png' as command line parameter
    public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception {
        BufferedImage image = ImageIO.read(new File(args[0]));

        // create window
        JFrame frame = new JFrame();
        Canvas canvas = new Canvas();
        canvas.setPreferredSize(new Dimension(100, 100));
        frame.getContentPane().add(canvas);
        frame.pack();
        frame.setVisible(true);

        int fps = 0;
        long nsPerFrame = 1000000000 / 60; // 60 = target fps
        long showTime = System.nanoTime() + nsPerFrame;
        long printTime = System.currentTimeMillis() + 1000;
        for (int tick = 0; true; tick++) {
            BufferStrategy bs = canvas.getBufferStrategy();
            if (bs == null) {
                canvas.createBufferStrategy(2);
                continue;
            }

            // draw frame
            Graphics g = bs.getDrawGraphics();
            int framex = (tick % 4) * 64;
            g.drawImage(image, 18, 18, 82, 82, framex, 0, framex+64, 64, null);
            g.dispose();
            bs.show();

            // enforce frame rate
            long sleepTime = showTime - System.nanoTime();
            if (sleepTime > 0) {
                long sleepMillis = sleepTime / 1000000;
                int sleepNanos = (int) (sleepTime - (sleepMillis * 1000000));
                try {
                    Thread.sleep(sleepMillis, sleepNanos);
                } catch (InterruptedException ie) {
                    /* ignore */
                }
            }
            showTime += nsPerFrame;

            // print frame rate achieved
            fps++;
            if (System.currentTimeMillis() > printTime) {
                System.out.println("fps: " + fps);
                fps = 0;
                printTime += 1000;
            }
        }
    }
}

A sample image to use with this program (the path to which must be passed as a command line argument) is this:

So my (2-part) question is:
Why is this effect happening? How can I reach actual 60 fps?
(Bonus question for commenters: do you experience the same effect also under other operating systems?)

A: Q: Why is this effect happening?
Short answer: One must call canvas.getToolkit().sync() or Toolkit.getDefaultToolkit().sync() after BufferStrategy#show
Long answer: Without an explicit Toolkit#sync pixels do not make it to the screen until X11 command buffer is full or another event, such as mouse move, forces a flush.
Quote from
http://www.java-gaming.org/index.php/topic,15000.

... even if we (Java2D) issue our rendering commands immediately the video
  driver may chose not to execute them right away. Classic example is X11 - try timing a loop of Graphics.fillRects - see how many you can issue
  in a couple of seconds. Without toolkit.sync()  (which in case of X11 pipeline does XFlush())
  after each call or at the end of the loop what you actually measure is how fast Java2D can
  call X11 lib's XFillRect method, which just batches up those calls until it's command
  buffer is full, only then they're sent to the X server for execution.

Q: How can I reach actual 60 fps?
A: Flush the command buffer and consider turning on OpenGL acceleration for Java2D with System.setProperty("sun.java2d.opengl", "true"); in code or -Dsun.java2d.opengl=true command line option.
See also:

*

*Java animation stutters when not moving mouse cursor

*http://www.java-gaming.org/index.php/topic,15000.

*Drawing in Java using Canvas

*http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/articles/java/mixing-components-433992.html


There's a lot of uncertainty today in the eco-friendly flooring world. What's really green and what do all of these green certifications mean? As a longstanding green flooring industry advocate aware of some of the environmental issues in the industry, Tesoro Woods has created a green flooring guide. When shopping for flooring, it's important to know what makes wood flooring products truly eco-friendly.
Recycled wood typically uses by-products or "waste wood" of another manufacturing process. This can be things like sawdust, veneer backing boards or peeler cores that get re-purposed and re-milled into new products. Tesoro Woods labels these flooring products as Recycled Post Industrial.
Reclaimed wood usually refers to already manufactured wood products that are re-manufactured into new ones, like wood flooring. Examples of this process include timbers from fences, old crates or pallets that are re-milled.
Salvaged wood refers to the direct reuse of wood products that can be salvaged from sources like river or lake bottoms, orchards and forests. Wood products can also be salvaged from doors or timbers in deconstructed buildings. Tesoro Woods labels these products as Salvaged from Building Deconstruction.
How can you tell if wood products come from well-managed forests as opposed to irresponsible or illegal sources? The answer lies in the independent certification of forests and forest products. Credible forest certification sets high standards for responsible forestry, audits forests and plantations to ensure that standards are followed. By purchasing certified products, you are supporting truly responsible forestry practices and purchasing green flooring.
Tesoro Woods believes that the Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®) is currently the foremost credible forest certification program. Currently, Tesoro Woods is certified by the FSC® and authorized to label our products with their proper labels, such as FSC® 100%, FSC® Mix, FSC® Recycled and the various current combinations.
The US Green Building Council's (USGBC) main activity is to develop and administer the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System. LEED was created in the late 1990's by pioneers in the green building movement to create a common standard for defining and assessing environmentally-responsible, whole-building, high-performance design and building practices.
There is no such thing as a LEED-certified product because LEED only certifies buildings. LEED is based on a system of credits and points. You have to earn a certain number of points to achieve LEED certification for a building. All of Tesoro Woods' products contribute to a variety of LEED credits that relate to green flooring.
The issue of indoor air quality gained attention in the 1980's when people learned that many building materials emit harmful chemicals into the air which can make people sick. Today, people are concerned with VOCs, volatile organic compounds. When it comes to flooring, formaldehyde is the most common VOC. We've discussed VOCs and formaldehyde in depth in our blog post, available here.
FloorScore® is a certification awarded by SCS Global Services, the same group that awards FSC® certifications. It states that the certified product has met the indoor air quality (IAQ) certification standard for hard surface flooring materials, adhesives, and underlayments. All Tesoro Woods flooring products are FloorScore® certified and either labeled Low VOC or No VOC according to California's emissions standards.
Learn more about all of the certifications and language Tesoro Woods uses on our products to explain its eco attributes on our Environmental Attribute Guide.


text:
Government of Slovak Republic Bilateral Scholarships for International Students
BILATERAL SCHOLARSHIPS FOR 2023/2024
Bilateral Scholarships
The Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sport of the Slovak Republic offers bilateral scholarship to foreign nationals for the academic year 2023/2024, based on bilateral agreements (between the governments/ministries).
Eligible countries:
Belgium-French Community/ Walloon region, Bulgaria, China, Croatia, Czech Republic, Egypt, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Israel, Kazakhstan, the Republic of North Macedonia, the Republic of Moldova, Montenegro, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, Serbia, Ukraine.
Scholarships are awarded to applicants nominated by the competent authorities of eligible countries. National authorities are either education ministries or/and respective agencies designated by the ministries in the home country. Applications sent by individual applicants directly to the Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sport of the Slovak Republic will not be processed.
The scholarship is usually designed for study stays of students (bachelor/master level) and/or or research stays of PhD students. The length of scholarship (usually ranges from 1 to 10 months), the categories of eligible recipients (students on bachelor/master level/researchers/ teachers /PhD students) depends upon the agreement concerned.
The scholarship cannot be awarded for a complete course of study leading to a degree (unless stated otherwise in the agreement).
If not specified otherwise, the stays shall take place not earlier than 15 September 2023 and not later than 30 August 2024. The Ministry reserves the right to change the requested term of scholarship and/or place any applicant to a course and/or higher education institution different from those indicated in his/her scholarship application form, if admission as requested by the applicant is not feasible.
The scholarship can only be used within the implementation period, it cannot be postponed to the following academic year.
The details about scholarship types, quotas for 2023/2024 and deadlines for applications is in the table of quotas enclosed to this call. Coverage and financial responsibilities of agreement parties are specified in the agreements directly.
The amount of monthly scholarship for academic year 2023/2024, if not specified otherwise in bilateral agreement:
For students (bachelor/master level): 400 € per month (from February 2022; instead of 280 €).
For PhD students: 734 € per month (from February 2022; instead of 330 €).
For university teachers or researchers (without title PhD. or equivalent): 734 € per month (from February 2022; instead of 550 €).
For university teachers or researchers (with title PhD. or equivalent): 1015 € per month (from February 2022; instead of 550 €).
Application procedure:
Application form is attached to this call and can be downloaded from
https://www.minedu.sk/scholarships-offered-within-the-framework-of-bilateral-programs-of-cooperation-for-20232024/
Printed and signed version of this application form is still essential. Please, print filled in form, sign it and send 1 original and 1 copy together with all the supporting documentation requested in the application form to your national authority.
Deadline for applications
The competent authorities of eligible countries are responsible for the selection process of nominees. The nomination letter (including the list of nominees) must be delivered to the Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sport of the Slovak Republic at the latest on 1 April 2023, if not specified otherwise. Specification is indicated in the table of quotas enclosed to this call.
Postal address: Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sport of the Slovak Republic, Stromová 1, 813 30 Bratislava, Slovak Republic.
The nominating authority will be informed about the final decision of the Ministry by 30 June 2023.
The Ministry reserves the right to make a final decision on applications.
Recommendations for applicants:
The application form shall be filled in Slovak (alternatively Czech) language or in English. Supporting documents as listed and requested at the end of the application form shall be provided in one of those languages only.
The nominated candidate shall propose 2 scholarship periods in the application form (one preferred, and one alternative);
Following documents should be attached to the application:
structured curriculum vitae,
motivation letter (stating the personal and professional motivation of the applicant for the stay in Slovakia),
detailed study, teaching or research programme proposal,
invitation letter or letter of acceptance from the host institution (if applicable)
the copy of the passport in case of students from third countries
recommendation(s):
students (bachelor/master level): 2 recommendations from university teachers of the university that issued the transcript of study records,
PhD students: 1 recommendation from the PhD thesis supervisor,
University teachers and researchers: 1 recommendation from the home institution (head of department, leader of the research group etc.)
in case of students (bachelor/master level): transcript of study records for up to now study at the home institution,
in case of PhD students, university teachers and researchers: list of own publications related to the research programme of the stay,
copy of PhD diploma or its equivalent
Photo in size 3,5 cm x 4 cm (passport style photo) attached to each the original and the copy of the application form
The communication language at Slovak institutions is Slovak (alternatively Czech) or English. In case the applicant does not command Slovak (Czech) language on the satisfactory level, it is necessary to state the level of English in the application (and if possible to provide also official confirmation of language skills/certificate). Only if the invitation letter/letter of acceptance from the Slovak host institution states a communication language other than Slovak or English, the stay can be organised in that respective language (in such case it is necessary to state the level of the respective communication language in the application form, and if possible to provide also official confirmation of language skills/certificate).
The application form has to be signed by the applicant in person and the applicant must agree with personal data processing in all cases, otherwise the application cannot be accepted and processed.
Applications for the Summer school of Slovak language and culture (Studia Academica Slovaca)
in August 2023 should be submitted only in the online system of the Comenius University. Information on the courses can be found at https://fphil.uniba.sk/katedry-a-odborne-pracoviska/sas/studium-courses/summer-school-sas/. The application process will be active in February 2023. National authorities should confirm the list of nominated candidates by diplomatic channel.
Should you need more information, you may contact SAIA, n.o. (Slovak Academic Information Agency, www.saia.sk).
Part of the scholarship, provided by the Slovak side, is financed under Investment 4, Component 10 of the Recovery and Resilience Plan of the Slovak Republic – co-financing from the European Union from the NextGenerationEU mechanism.
Candidates for scholarship programmes in the Slovak Republic have the obligation, if necessary, to tolerate control activities and audits and to cooperate with the authorities of the Slovak Republic and the European Union or persons authorized by these authorities in their control or monitoring activities or in the performance of audits in connection with the financial resources provided as part of the scholarship. However, it is assumed that the controls and audits will be primarily focused on relevant Slovak entities involved in the scholarship process.
In accordance with the mentioned bilateral agreements, a candidate for a scholarship stay in the Slovak Republic cannot receive financial support providing a scholarship stay at the accepting institution in the Slovak Republic from another source, or from another scholarship programme.
https://www.minedu.sk/bilateral-scholarships-for-20232024/
Weidenfeld-Hoffmann Scholarships and Leadership Programme/ Oxford University, UK
Call for Applications/ Careers at Buildings Performance Institute Europe


I have your yop poll pluging version 6, its working fine for laptop and pc, but in mobile it not shows the total result and graph. Iam using your template 'Standart Without Button 2'. and I set to vote only once. but the user can submit vote after reload in mobile device.
Excuse me. But in that link which you gave us we do not see the plugin.
Did you choose "PHP Cookie" or "IP Address" from the settings? Please tell us so that we can help you.
If you do not want that after reloading of the page can not make vote again, so you need simply choose the option "IP Address" from the option.


text:
In Theaters: 28 Weeks Later
Posted by v-jtoyoshima
If there's one thing worse than a horror remake – it's a second-rate horror sequel, and so often 2nd rate seems to be the rule these days. But sequel 28 Weeks Later is set to break the pattern.
I wasn't a big fan of Danny Boyle's original 28 Days Later (it owed a bit too much to Romero), but it was a well done, effectively scary movie. It also brought us the yes-or-no zombie debate that rages to this day: Are they zombies or just infected? Whatever they are, they return in this sequel that, while set six months later, actually took four years to reach the screen.
Boyle is one of the producers of the new film, directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, a Spanish filmmaker who made the excellent Intacto
a few years ago. This second installment is said to be more political
and intense than the original. It features a solid cast that includes
the excellent Robert Carlyle and the lovely Catherine McKormack.
One promising comment: It's said to be pretty unpredictable about who
lives and who dies — one of the things that makes a horror film.
The early reviews have been excellent: Fangoria and Dark Horizons both offered raves, but one of the best thus far comes from none other than New York Magazine,
whose critic said that it, "Validates [his] faith in the
disreputable." Now that's the kind of reviews horror movies are
supposed to get! It opens on Friday.


Our beautiful single storey 5 bedroom villa is situated within the prestigious community of Sandy Ridge. This much sought after location places you in the ideal position to experience all that Orlando has to offer, be it the fun and excitement of the many world famous theme parks and attractions, to the more laid back pursuits of golfing, shopping, eating and drinking.
Sandy Ridge is located just off Highway 17/92 to the south of Disney. The Interstate 4 can easily be reached and provides direct access Southwest to Tampa and the Gulf coast (60 minutes), Northeast to the centre of Orlando and the Airports (Orlando airport 30 minutes, Sanford airport 60 minutes), and the Atlantic coast attractions and beaches (60 minutes). A number of local amenities can be found just minutes away from the front gates including a bank, petrol station, Publix supermarket, Super Wal-Mart, and a variety of shops, diners, bars and restaurants.
Walt Disney World can be reached in just 15 minutes, and the majority of the main attractions such as Universal, Seaworld, and International Drive in around 30 minutes. There are several quality golf courses nearby which cater for every level of golfer including Southern Dunes, Ridgewood Lakes and Champions gate, and a further 20 more within a 20 mile radius.
Our 5 bedroom, 3 bathroom villa is the perfect base from which to explore Orlando's many attractions and will provide you with a luxurious and peaceful haven in which to relax and enjoy Florida's wonderful sunshine.
Just 15 minutes from Disney!


text:
Q: Glance alway show null objc I'm using Xcode 7b5.
I've read everything I could find on glances. But I still can't get this simple thing to work.
My Glance always shows a null error inside of awakeWithContext in the watch simulator
I'm using Objective-C for the language.
I've imported WatchKit and WatchConnectivity
Here is the code in my ViewController on the iPhone:
// glance used on the watch
NSUserDefaults *defaults = [[NSUserDefaults alloc] initWithSuiteName:@"group.testing.test"];
//set a value of SystemState for the key
[defaults setObject:SystemState forKey:@"SharingStatus"];
 // synchronise
[defaults synchronize];

The "SystemState" is just some text. In GlanceController.m I have this:
//use group user defaults
 NSUserDefaults *defaults = [[NSUserDefaults alloc] initWithSuiteName:@"group.testing.test"];

//get the object
NSString *statusData = [defaults objectForKey:@"SharingStatus"];
NSLog(@"Error = %@", statusData);

I have set up an app group for the main iPhone target as well using that same group for the watch extension target.
My developer account shows the App Group does indeed exist.
On the phone side in code I can find the App Group Preferences on disk using this:
[[[NSFileManager defaultManager] containerURLForSecurityApplicationGroupIdentifier:@"group.testing.test"] relativePath]);

So I know "SystemState" value is saving to the shared folder
But for whatever reason the Glance always returns null. Now I am lost. Any ideas?

A: NSUserDefaults doesn't work between your iOS app and the WatchKit extension on watchOS 2 as the processes are running on separate devices. You will have to use the WatchConnectivity framework APIs to transfer the content and changes.
To learn why this is necessary, and how to do this I'd suggest starting with watching some of the general WatchKit WWDC videos and then moving on to the WatchConnectivity one.


Recent updates + free workshop by Hankook Cosmetics!!
Havn't been updating for sometime~ So gonna update on what I've been up to recently!
I joined a kpop contest, semi-finals is this Sat!
Hankook Cosmetics will be holding workshops, and they'll start from the Time Curator Series which is about anti-aging skincare or even reversing the effect that time has caused your skin e.g. fine lines, wrinkles and sagging skin. Best of all, its FREE and you get to try the products!!!!!
The workshop will be held by artistes Silver Ang and Mint Leong! Woohoo!


and we're with you every step of the way.
Having a baby is a big job.
Bring along someone who knows the ropes and will give you all the confidence you need.
Manhattan Birth does not participate in "tier pricing" based on number of births alone.
Each doula is free to determine her own price.
Contact our doulas directly to confirm pricing and availability.


text:
GRC steht als Abkürzung für:
 Charta der Grundrechte der Europäischen Union, Abkürzung in EU-Rechtsschriften
 Gendarmerie royale du Canada, siehe Royal Canadian Mounted Police
 German Resuscitation Council, siehe Deutscher Rat für Wiederbelebung
 Griechenland, nach ISO 3166 und olympisches Länderkürzel
 Ghana Railway Corporation, siehe Ghana #Schienenverkehr
 Glenn Research Center, Forschungseinrichtung der NASA
 Governance, Risk & Compliance, zentrale Handlungsebenen eines Unternehmens
Gordon Research Conferences, Reihe internationaler Fachkonferenzen

grc steht als Abkürzung für:
 Altgriechische Sprache nach ISO 639-2 und 639-3
 mittelgriechische Sprache nach ISO 639-2 und 639-3

Abkürzung


text:
Fastest-growing gold ETF using fee war to redefine industry
Bloomberg News | February 11, 2019 | 6:36 am Precious Metals Gold
Will Rhind has seen the top of the gold market, and the bottom. Now, the leader of the fastest-growing bullion-backed ETF in the past year is redefining it by forcing down the fees paid by investors.
Rhind, 39, joined the World Gold Council, the company behind SPDR Gold Shares, in 2007, just as exchange-traded funds were starting to gain investor attention. He watched assets hit an all-time high in 2012, followed by a shift in sentiment that sent the precious metal plunging to a bear market one year later.
In 2017, Rhind entered the market with his own shop, GraniteShares Gold Trust. Now he's in the midst of a fee war with his former employer and other ETFs that's helped boost his fund's value to $458 million, from less than $12 million a year earlier. The price cuts are coming at a time when gold prices have jumped about 9.5 percent since August.
Once clients see the value of the product "then it doesn't matter whether it's provided by a big firm or a small firm,'' Rhind said in a telephone interview. ''Big companies get used to doing things in a certain way. But I think in the next 10 years it's going to be drastically different.''
Initially, GraniteShares carried a fee of $2 for every $1,000 invested, below the amount charged by iShares Gold Trust and about half that of SPDR Gold. Less than a year later, the World Gold Council and its distributor State Street Global came up with a cheaper alternative — SPDR Gold MiniShares, which trades under the ticker GLDM.
"We were conscious that there was a move toward lower expense ratio across the board in ETFs and we wanted to be part of that because we want to make our clients have value products,'' George Milling-Stanley, head of gold strategy at State Street Global Advisors, said in a telephone interview.
Rhind's response was to go even lower, cutting his fee to $1.749.
''Evidence shows that lowering fees by as little as one basis point can be a difference of hundreds of millions of dollars in flows across the entire ETF industry, not just the gold space,'' James Seyffart, an analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, said in a phone interview. ''Cost is a big determinant in return over the long run."
Even with a fee that's less than half the median of rates charged by 25 U.S. non-leveraged precious metal-ETFs tracked by Bloomberg, GraniteShares, which trades under the ticker BAR, struggled to gain traction at the beginning. Its assets, which began at $2.6 million didn't reach the $100 million mark until June of last year.
BAR's holdings climbed almost 39 times in the 12 months through Feb. 8 to 348,032.6 ounces, the fastest growing among gold-backed ETFs tracked by Bloomberg. Its bigger rival, SPDR Gold MiniShares, saw its assets soar 23 times since it was created in June. SPDR Gold Shares, the largest in the industry, is down about 778,000 ounces over the past year.
While BAR's assets are a drop in the bucket compared with SPDR Gold Shares's $35 billion in holdings at that time, Rhind's strategy is less about how much others are losing and more on the future of his own company. His main goal: Having ''a product that can stand on its own two feet'' in a crowded marketplace.
''We've just got to be as competitive as we can and continue to maintain our proposition of being the lowest-cost product in the market,'' Rhind said "If we can continue to do that, we'll continue to be competitive."


A beautiful saturday morning is not the best time to choose to go sound recording on the Gower Peninsula. Swansea airport may be small but when the weather is good at the weekend, it would seem there are plenty of aviators who want to get into their airplanes.
It wasn't just the small planes that were out – the vapour trails in this photo prove the number of inbound flights to the UK first thing on a Saturday morning. They weren't the only ones enjoying the sunshine. The sound clip below proves that the birds were out in force as well. Click to play or listen to it on SoundCloud.
Posted in birdsong, Field Recording, Travel, Weather and tagged airplanes, aviators, birds, birdsong, blue sky, field recording, Gower, Gower Peninsula, planes, Swansea Airport, UK, vapour trails, wales.


That overzealous data entry project, coupled with continued long days at the computer, is making my arms feel less than entirely happy. So I'm trying to be more conscientious about staying off the computer. It's challenging, but a side-effect is that I'm getting lots of other things done.
1. A shawl made from yarns that my sister-in-law gave me. I think I might be about 1/3 of the way through? This one is going to take a while, and I'm not particularly motivated to work on it in the Arizona summer heat, heh.
Better finished sooner rather than later.
3. (not pictured): I am staining and finishing a board to fit over the hole in the sewing machine table. The wood stain is so smelly, but on the other hand it's drying much faster here than the sewing machine table did in California, where I had to work in cool, very damp conditions.
4. (also not pictured): Re-potting succulents in freshly fired ceramic plant pots and trying to make sure they're happy. Ceramics starts up again on Thursday. The glaze pick-up date from the previous ceramics session happened while I was out of town, so my officemate kindly picked up a few pieces for me. But I think there should have been around twice as many pieces as she found, so we shall see.
This entry was originally posted at https://rebeccmeister.dreamwidth.org/1229563.html. Please comment there using OpenID.


Marc Jacobs eyeglasses combine utility with glamour, playing off the designer's penchant for elevating streetwear looks from casual to luxury style. This eyewear takes its cues from classic design to create stunning, trendsetting eyeglasses.
Infuse every day with luxury wearing Marc Jacobs eyeglasses. This designer's frames for men and women showcase an edgy sophistication in glasses suited for work days and weekends. A pair of aviator-style glasses in plastic frames instead of the more conventional metal is an unexpected twist on a classic frames style, while blending a round shape with a cat-eye results in a distinctive hybrid glasses frame.
Explore our collection of Marc Jacobs designer eyeglasses to find frames that blend timeless looks with a dash of streetwear style. This line serves up a range of chic silhouettes so you can find the fashion frames that complement your features. Find versatile rectangular frames together with oval, rounded edge, cat-eye, and square frames—each with a thoughtful accent that adds interest.
Fashion-forward men and women will appreciate the understated and adventurous options in our collection of prescription eyeglasses by Marc Jacobs. Tortoiseshell glasses with a gold metallic double bridge exude a refined look, while black or a marble pattern in a chunky profile demand more attention. These Rx frames are crafted in high-quality materials, including high-impact plastic and stainless steel, which is hypoallergenic and nickel free.
You'll find traditional tortoiseshell, metallics, and solids here, but the Marc Jacobs eyeglasses line also features an abundance of frames in bright colors, from pinks and purples to reds and greens, as well as frames that mix metal and plastic to striking effect. The brand's familiar Double J logo or 'Marc Jacobs' appears as a design element on the temple arms. As an authorized retailer, Frames Direct sells only authentic Marc Jacobs glasses, guaranteed.


text:
import java.io.*;
import java.util.HashMap;

class PredictCSV {
    private static String modelClassName;
    private static String inputCSVFileName;
    private static String outputCSVFileName;
    private static int skipFirstLine = -1;

    private static void usage() {
        System.out.println("");
        System.out.println("usage:  java [...java args...] PredictCSV (--header | --noheader) --model modelClassName --input inputCSVFileName --output outputCSVFileName");
        System.out.println("");
        System.out.println("        model class name is something like GBMModel_blahblahblahblah.");
        System.out.println("");
        System.out.println("        inputCSV is the test data set.");
        System.out.println("        Specify --header or --noheader as appropriate.");
        System.out.println("");
        System.out.println("        outputCSV is the prediction data set (one row per test data set).");
        System.out.println("");
        System.exit(1);
    }

    private static void usageHeader() {
        System.out.println("ERROR: One of --header or --noheader must be specified exactly once");
        usage();
    }

    private static void parseArgs(String[] args) {
        for (int i = 0; i < args.length; i++) {
            String s = args[i];
            if (s.equals("--model")) {
                i++; if (i >= args.length) usage();
                modelClassName = args[i];
            }
            else if (s.equals("--input")) {
                i++; if (i >= args.length) usage();
                inputCSVFileName = args[i];
            }
            else if (s.equals("--output")) {
                i++; if (i >= args.length) usage();
                outputCSVFileName = args[i];
            }
            else if (s.equals("--header")) {
                if (skipFirstLine >= 0) usageHeader();
                skipFirstLine = 1;
            }
            else if (s.equals("--noheader")) {
                if (skipFirstLine >= 0) usageHeader();
                skipFirstLine = 0;
            }
            else {
                System.out.println("ERROR: Bad parameter: " + s);
                usage();
            }
        }

        if (skipFirstLine < 0) {
            usageHeader();
        }

        if (modelClassName == null) {
            System.out.println("ERROR: model not specified");
            usage();
        }

        if (inputCSVFileName == null) {
            System.out.println("ERROR: input not specified");
            usage();
        }

        if (outputCSVFileName == null) {
            System.out.println("ERROR: output not specified");
            usage();
        }
    }

    public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception{
        parseArgs(args);

        water.genmodel.GeneratedModel model;
        model = (water.genmodel.GeneratedModel) Class.forName(modelClassName).newInstance();

        BufferedReader input = new BufferedReader(new FileReader(inputCSVFileName));
        BufferedWriter output = new BufferedWriter(new FileWriter(outputCSVFileName));

        System.out.println("COLS " + model.getNumCols());
        // Create map of input variable domain information.
        // This contains the categorical string to numeric mapping.
        HashMap<Integer,HashMap<String,Integer>> domainMap = new HashMap<Integer,HashMap<String,Integer>>();
        for (int i = 0; i < model.getNumCols(); i++) {
            String[] domainValues = model.getDomainValues(i);
            if (domainValues != null) {
                HashMap<String,Integer> m = new HashMap<String,Integer>();
                for (int j = 0; j < domainValues.length; j++) {
                    System.out.println("Putting ("+ i +","+ j +","+ domainValues[j] +")");
                    m.put(domainValues[j], new Integer(j));
                }

                domainMap.put(i, m);
            }
        }

        // Print outputCSV column names.
        output.write("predict");
        for (int i = 0; i < model.getNumResponseClasses(); i++) {
            output.write(",");
            output.write(model.getDomainValues(model.getResponseIdx())[i]);
        }
        output.write("\n");

        // Loop over inputCSV one row at a time.
        int lineno = 0;
        String line = null;
        // An array to store predicted values
        float[] preds = new float[model.getPredsSize()];
        while ((line = input.readLine()) != null) {
            lineno++;
            if (skipFirstLine > 0) {
                skipFirstLine = 0;
                String[] names = line.trim().split(",");
                String[] modelNames = model.getNames();
                for (int i=0; i < Math.min(names.length, modelNames.length); i++ )
                  if ( !names[i].equals(modelNames[i]) ) {
                    System.out.println("ERROR: Column names does not match: input column " + i + ". "+names[i]+" != model column "+modelNames[i] );
                    System.exit(1);
                  }
                // go to the next line
                continue;
            }

            // Parse the CSV line.  Don't handle quoted commas.  This isn't a parser test.
            String trimmedLine = line.trim();
            String[] inputColumnsArray = trimmedLine.split(",");
            int numInputColumns = model.getNames().length-1; // we do not need response !
            if (inputColumnsArray.length != numInputColumns) {
                System.out.println("WARNING: Line " + lineno + " has " + inputColumnsArray.length + " columns (expected " + numInputColumns + ")");
            }

            // Assemble the input values for the row.
            double[] row = new double[numInputColumns];
            int j = 0;
            for (j = 0; j < inputColumnsArray.length; j++) {
                String cellString = inputColumnsArray[j];

                // System.out.println("Line " + lineno +" column ("+ model.getNames()[i] + " == " + i + ") cellString("+cellString+")");

                String[] domainValues = model.getDomainValues(j);
                if (cellString.equals("") ||    // empty field is default NA
                    (domainValues == null) && ( // if the column is enum then NA is part of domain by default !
                      cellString.equals("NA") ||
                      cellString.equals("N/A") ||
                      cellString.equals("-") )
                    ) {
                    row[j] = Double.NaN;
                } else {
                    if (domainValues != null) {
                        HashMap m = (HashMap<String,Integer>) domainMap.get(j);
                        assert (m != null);
                        Integer cellOrdinalValue = (Integer) m.get(cellString);
                        if (cellOrdinalValue == null) {
                            System.out.println("WARNING: Line " + lineno + " column ("+ model.getNames()[j] + " == " + j +") has unknown categorical value (" + cellString + ")");
                            row[j] = Double.NaN;
                        }
                        else {
                            row[j] = (double) cellOrdinalValue.intValue();
                        }
                    } else {
                        try {
                          double value = Double.parseDouble(cellString);
                          row[j] = value;
                        } catch (java.lang.NumberFormatException e) {
                          row[j] = Double.NaN;
                        }
                    }
                }
            }
            for (; j< numInputColumns; j++) row[j] = Double.NaN;

            // Do the prediction.
            //model.predict(row, preds);
            preds = model.predict(row, preds);

            // Emit the result to the output file.
            for (int i = 0; i < preds.length; i++) {
                if (i == 0 && model.isClassifier()) {
                    // See if there is a domain to map this output value to.
                    String[] domainValues = model.getDomainValues(model.getResponseIdx());
                    if (domainValues != null) {
                        // Classification.
                        double value = preds[i];
                        int valueAsInt = (int)value;
                        if (value != (int)valueAsInt) {
                            System.out.println("ERROR: Line " + lineno + " has non-integer output for classification (" + value + ")");
                            System.exit(1);
                        }

                        String predictedOutputClassLevel = domainValues[valueAsInt];
                        output.write(predictedOutputClassLevel);
                    }
                } else {
                    if (i > 0) output.write(",");
                    output.write(Double.toHexString(preds[i]));
                    if (!model.isClassifier()) break;
                }
            }
            output.write("\n");
        }

        // Clean up.
        output.close();
        input.close();

        // Predictions were successfully generated.  Calling program can now compare them with something.
        System.exit(0);
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


The Reader celebrates World Book Night with a Shared Reading group giveaway of Jo Bell's Kith.
It's World Book Night and here at The Reader we've been celebrating with a book giveaway in our Shared Reading groups. The annual event run by our friends at The Reading Agency aims to get books into the hands of a diverse range of people, particularly those who are or have been disconnected from reading in the past.
The Reader shares that aim and though our Shared Reading groups, which are free to attend and welcome to all, we bring literature to life by reading stories and poems aloud. Today, as part of World Book Night, Reader Leaders in Merseyside have been reading poems from Jo Bell's collection Kith in Shared Reading groups at libraries, care homes, day centres, hospices and health centres. We've also been giving away copies of the book as part of World Book Night, so group members can enjoy the collection at home and share with friends and family.
1 week ago by thereaderorg Interested in playing your part in the Reading Revolution? We have a number of roles including Chef, Finance Assistant, Community Engagement Lead, Story Hunter and Catering Supervisor. Search The Reader Liverpool Jobs for details.


If you didn't already know, HubSpot has its very own Content Management System (CMS), a web development platform that goes above and beyond more traditional CMS platforms. We are huge HubSpot fans here at New Breed and we have experienced exponential success with our own website built on the HubSpot CMS. You may now be wondering how you can get your own website started on this platform, so here are three steps you can take now to get started.
Do you know what a CMS is? Do you know what CMS you're currently using? These are important questions to answer and will shape your next steps when moving to the HubSpot CMS. At its core, a CMS is a platform that allows you to manage online content from one central location. Some common CMS platforms include WordPress, Drupal, Joomla, and the HubSpot CMS.
2. Why Choose the HubSpot CMS?
Moving your site to the HubSpot CMS has many benefits, but here are a few that are our favorites!
All-in-one integration with marketing automation and analytics software, landing pages, blog posts, CTAs, among the many HubSpot tools.
Now that you've determined which CMS you're currently using, let's take the next step to HubSpot's version of a CMS. HubSpot's CMS offers a full integration with their greater marketing automation platform, allows users to control all the aspects of their digital presence and content from one central hub.
There are two paths you can take when moving your organization to the HubSpot CMS. If you're currently using a different CMS platform, you can migrate to the HubSpot CMS and the HubSpot Marketing Hub, which is one of the most powerful marketing tools available and will provide countless opportunities to improve your marketing beyond a new website. However, if you're not ready to make the full transition, you can also just move to the HubSpot CMS on its own.
At New Breed, we feel that your website should be your best salesperson, or what we like to call a Sales-Ready Website. This means that the site navigation structure and design is driven by your buyer personas with clear conversion paths. While switching to a new CMS, it's also a good time to reassess your current site and your marketing goals. Are they still in alignment? Is your website helping to achieve those goals? Are your buyer personas accurate and relevant? Before migrating to the HubSpot CMS, talk with your organizations' stakeholders and marketing strategists so that you can be confident your new website is set up to be a lead generation machine.
Now that you've ready to get started on the HubSpot CMS, download one of our CMS Website Redesign and Development packages and let us help you seamlessly optimize your website on the CMS. We have years of experience optimizing our own website, as well as assisting our clients with theirs, and can set you up for a successful site build on the HubSpot CMS.