And then we did it. This past January, we decided to homeschool my 5-year old for the remainder of the kindergarten school year. It was both challenging and wonderful all rolled up into one big whirlwind, and it completely changed whatever opinions I had previously about homeschooling. Yet, it's still a very personal decision that has taken awhile for me to be vocal about.
Each homeschooling family have their own unique reasons for making the decision to homeschool. Our reason was that after several months of kindergarten, our 5-year old was shutting down. "I hate school!" she would cry while getting dressed in the morning. Every single morning was a battle to reassure her. She had gone to preschool every weekday since she was 2 and has always loved school. We assumed that this was going to be a natural transition. Maybe this was a phase? Lots of kids have a rough time starting elementary school, but these outbursts lasted for the entire first semester of kindergarten. Along with tantrums in the morning she exhibited extremes of every emotion when she wasn't in school. Over winter break she transformed back into the kid she was before starting kindergarten. She whistled to herself in the morning. She was different. She was herself. My partner and I worried. We didn't want her to lose her inquisitive, creative spirit and above all we didn't want her to hate learning.
She didn't return to school after winter break. Our days found a quiet rhythm. I enjoyed both children being home and taking on the responsibility of my daughter cultivating her learning. She found the flexibility encouraging. I used her interests and natural transitions of the year as a guide for her learning… OUR learning. Sure there were days that were hard and frustrating, but more often than not our days were filled with playing, creating, exploring, and moving at our own pace.
When we first started homeschooling there were a lot of questions. Have you ever thought about sending your child to a therapist to pinpoint why she doesn't enjoy school? Doesn't it drive you crazy to have your kids home all the time? Have you thought about private school? What will happen if you go back to work? Isn't homeschooling extremely time consuming? Aren't you worried about socialization? These questions were asked out of genuine curiosity or concern, but here's the thing– We gave a lot of careful consideration to all these questions for weeks. Lots of reading and researching and reaching out to individuals and in the end we decided it was worth a try. If it didn't work out, well then it was a good experiment. So far, so good! A lesson I continue to learn time and time again as a parent is that sometimes (actually most times) things don't go as planned. We're forced to adapt and improvise. We do our best to find what works best for our kids, for our family, and for ourselves. This is what works for us.
Originally, homeschool was a temporary arrangement and now we're faced with the decision of "Do we keep going? Are we a homeschool family now?" Regardless of what we decide, I'll always look back fondly on this time and think to myself.. I can't believe we did it. Even if it was only for 6 months, we did it.
Our Newest Family Members– Chicks!
Meet our sweet, little puff balls of love. Two weeks ago, we made a trip to pick up four day-old chicks from a local farmer and boy, oh boy, are we smitten chicken owners already. They're growing fast and we're already seeing glimpses of their personalities. Over the past several years, my partner and I have been talking about raising chickens and finally decided to go for it. Originally, we were waiting to own chickens until we were living in our forever-home, but that may take awhile. There's no time like the present, am I right?
The kids have been terrific with the chicks. On the way to pick them up, the the girls and I were giddy (and I was a teeny bit nervous), but so far it has been going well. Mira really loves ducks, and I did debate getting a couple ducklings as well but in the end decided chicks were enough for now, especially since we have no idea how to raise poultry. Lorelei is eager each morning to clean the brooder, spend time with them during the day, keep an eye on their water and food, and clean the brooder again at night before bed. We have quite a few chicken books in our personal library that we read often, but one that really struck a chord with Lorelei this past fall. Sonya's Chickens by Phoebe Wahl. Just like Sonya in the story, Lorelei repeatedly tells her chicks, "I'll be our mama." That book actually played a big part in our decision to start raising chickens this year.
Our brooder is a used plastic tub and an old window screen purchased from the Restore for $1.50. The screen is bungeed onto the tub, which is lined with newspaper and several inches of pine shavings. We have two cats that would probably love more than anything to have a chick sandwich for lunch, so the screen is a must. An inferred heat lamp is perched to a chair and bungeed for safety and that's our makeshift brooder set up!
We have zero experience owning chickens, so it's a learning curve. We're looking to build a portable chicken coop for our ladies, so if you have suggestions or coop preferences please leave a comment below. Actually… ANY chicken advice would be helpful if you have some to spare. I'm already daydreaming about fresh eggs in the morning!
Hello dear friends! How was everyone's holiday weekend? We stayed in town and had a casual Christmas at home with family and puzzles and jammies and candles and slow, slow days. This year, all decorations on our Christmas tree were a homemade smorgasbord of paper snowflakes, pinecone weavings, and such that accumulated throughout the past several weeks. It was our stress-free alternative to chasing a busy 2-year-old and unruly cats away from fragile ornaments. One of the more recent adornments to our small scotch pine were these wood and paper stars pictured above that look lovely against both twinkle lights and sunlight. The idea to make these sweet stars came from The Eric Carle Museum blog, and were so enjoyable to make and I created extras for the window that floods with cool light in the late afternoon. I'm considering making enough to hang in every window of the house to leave up throughout the new year!
How fancy is this DIY retro New Year's Eve crown? Here's a simple kid version DIY crown — Just add a few glittery star stickers and voila!
The clearest nights are the coldest nights, but star gazing is vivid and worth the frosty bite. Take a minute to enjoy the winter constellations. Here's a guide for constellations in the northern hemisphere.
This little book of the winter constellations.
A look back at winters of yesteryear in LFK. And an explanation behind the warm weather we've been having this winter.
If you're planning to party it up with kids for New Year's Eve, these confetti poppers will be a hit! Use the leftover confetti to make art.
A few more ideas of how to celebrate the New Year with children.
Last, but not least, an end of year reflection on purpose.
When was the last time you swung your partner round and round? I learned how to square dance in 4th grade and that was probably the last time I did any dosey doe-ing on my own accord. Earlier this week we attended an all-ages folk dancing introduction put on by the good people at Lawrence Folk. It was thrilling! My childhood self who watched Little Women almost every Saturday morning, dreaming of parties with organized dancing reveled in the experience. More often than not when I attend parties I feel awkward and self-conscious… I stand around talk, talk, talking, while I'm dream, dream, dreaming of social events of yesteryear. The shuffle of feet, the holding of hands, the gathering of community, and the dancing of dances that have been passed down through generations. This morning we have the radio on and are looking up dance steps, preparing from the next gather. Starting a Sunday off dancing is always a good start to the week.
Is there a lost practice from long ago that you wish still existed today?
Below I've listed few places to visit on the interwebs to start your week. I've had some recent illness that has kept me from posting the past several weeks and I'm finally starting to feel well enough to spend more time here again on SfCT. For little bits and pieces in between, follow along on Instagram.
Do you celebrate Thanksgiving? I share this article every year around this time because it's an important read, especially if you have or work with children: How to talk to your children about Thanksgiving's ugly history by Susan Rohwer. And this video Everything You Know About Thanksgiving is Wrong is also a good watch.
One photographer gives thanks to nature's tiniest gifts with this stunning photo series.
It just started getting chilly here in Kansas– Winter is almost here! These two articles: The Norwegian Secret to Enjoying a Long Winter & Get cosy: why we should all embrace the Danish art of 'hygge' are a great read on these two countries' positive outlook on the winter season.
How are you feeling this very moment? There's a poem for that feeling.
We Don't Need No Education, by Ben Hewitt via Outside is a lovely look inside his homeschooling life with two boys on a farm in Vermont. Their entire world is predominantly spent outside. Makes me want to live on a farm.
Matt Kirkland, a friend of ours, was kind of a big deal this past week when CNET pick up his fun side project: Dumb Cuneiform preserves your fleeting tweets in ancient symbols.
Ho Ho Ho! How great are these Santa sculptures by Phoebe Wahl? I'm reviewing her children's book, Sonya's Chickens, along with a fun activity to go along with it tomorrow on the blog!
Happy Halloween my witchies and ghouls! Are you dressing up this year? I still haven't put together my costume for a Halloween party this evening… It's a make it work moment!
What I enjoy most about Halloween is actually the tail end of Halloween. That moment in the late night when the trick-or-treating has ended, the kids are sleeping, the streets are dark and the afterglow of jack-o-lanterns are flickering and fading. It is quiet. My partner and I either read in the glow of our paper lanterns and Halloween baubles or watch something not-at-all-scary because someone is a wuss (me). While I enjoy the the hustle and bustle and dress-up and parties and goodies and pumpkin carving and rushing from door to door, that brief moment of calm after the leaves have settled is my Halloween.
Celebrate All Hallow's Read! All Hallow's Read is a tradition started by Neil Gaiman to give someone a scary book on Halloween or the week of Halloween. Here's a list of Neil-approved spooky books for all-ages AND if you want Halloween picture book recommendation for young little goblins check out this list.
Oh my stars! For pumpkin carvers, this constellation pumpkin idea via Fine and Feathered is simple and stunning.
Once your jack-o-lanterns have had their BIG night a-glow on All Hallow's Eve, consider turing your pumpkin into a bird feeder. The birds will appreciate your generosity as they fly south or prepare to bunker down for the winter months.
Make a friendly ghost appear before your very eyes for fun flashlight play in the dark via This Picture Book Life.
Bubble, bubble, toil, and trouble! Make spells and potions with these pretend potion play ideas for littles here and here.
Fall down the rabbit hole… Err… Troll hole (?) visiting the Spooky Science spotlight on Science Friday. I especially enjoyed this clip about the science behind why certain songs scare us complete with creepy music playlist.
Oh, hey Sunday! Before we get into the week, how is everyone's weekend?
On Friday, we ventured to Clinton Lake, a 15 minute drive from our house. Not a cloud in that wide blue sky, myself and two mom friends and seven kids for a picnic, hike, and playtime on the shore. The sumac was a brazen red in the tall golden grasses. Green is quickly draining from the leaves on the trees leaving vibrant ambers, reds, and browns. The native sunflower stalks are almost unrecognizable, petal-less and brittle, dried stalks standing tall with sunflower skulls.
It was a happy time of adult conversation and unadulterated free-play for the kids. Both activities rare and sacred. That was my highlight. Feeling thankful for that blue sky and new friends.
Speaking of fossils… Fossil hunting just became more connected with this fossil location and identification app. Looking forward to trying this out with the kids!
The National Book Awards shortlist finalists were announced last week. Check out what titles made the list!
Tired of answering all your kids questions? I love this article by a good friend, a dad of two young kids who has a few questions of his own.
Enjoy your day! Take it easy and have a great week.
This picture is of a "fairy path" the kids created one evening last week just before the sun slipped away.
Last week I had the best intentions of going to bed early. Every evening I made a silent declaration that tonight was THE NIGHT. It was happening. Instead, books piled high on my nightstand, another glass of red wine with a new friend, writer's block, and I fell through the infamous internet rabbit hole. Allowing these happy distractions resulted in blurry eyed mornings, but nothing a cup of coffee couldn't fix. Ah, well… Maybe this week.
Forecasted for tonight, the Harvest Moon is going to put on quite a show. It is a super moon, blood moon, and there will also be a total lunar eclipse. It's going to a spectacular sight! Here's more information on how to see the rare super blood moon total eclipse.
Today is also the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival, also know as the Harvest Moon Festival, a special holiday gathering with friends and family, giving thanks, and celebrating the harvest season in China and surrounding areas. To celebrate, have a moon picnic outside, make lanterns (like these) and turn out the lights, read a story about the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival (we enjoy this book), or make a wish on the moon. Another way to celebrate is eat round foods for dinnertime like pot pie, pizza, or a bowl of soup. If you have an Asian grocery store near you, pick up some mooncakes for a sweet treat. One of my former storytime families were from China and brought me mooncakes to the library one year and they were delicious! The mother of the family mentioned that what she enjoys most about Mid-Autumn Moon Festival is that when you look up at the moon, you think of loved ones far away, and it is comforting to know they are looking up at the same moon that evening thinking of you. If and when you look up tonight, look up and think of someone(s) you love. Who knows… They might be looking up at that very moment thinking of you.
Also, be sure to check out these Harvest Moon books and simple moon activities for kids.
I hope you're able to take a moment to soak in some moonbeams tonight! Have a great week!
Today is the first day of the fall season. This morning, the girls woke up to a couple tiny tokens and nature treasures from the autumn fairies, an equinox and solstice tradition in our house. The leaves have barely started turning (this photo is of an arrangement I made last year in late October), but it always happens fast. Autumn can be a busy time of year and I hope you're able to find some solace, even if it's only for a moment to enjoy the glow of an autumn evening. Maybe even catch a glimpse of that mischievous Harvest Moon.
As a reminder to slow down and take pleasure in this time of year, I wrote a to-do list for myself for these next several weeks.
Take a long walk with only the trees as companions.
Listen to records in the evening twilight.
Play outside with my babies.
What's on your autumnal to-do list?
Lookie who decided to join us.
I was writing in the back room while the baby napped and heard a scratching sound over my shoulder. Thinking it was one of the cats up to no good, I went out into the kitchen only to find no sign of shenanigans. I sat back down and started clacking away at the keyboard and the quiet scratching came again. I stopped and listened. Out of the corner of my eye I saw it. Our pet pupa was a pupa no more. A crinkly, orange leaf of a butterfly emerging from it's pale green sarcophagus. I watched in wonder.
I set her back on the stroller and within a few steps she lifted off and flew to one of the wild sunflowers that hover over the alleyway.
I'm rereading poems by my favorite poet, William Stafford. This blog is named after the last line in one of his poems. Anyway, the introduction of The Darkness Around Us Is Deep recounts an interview between William Stafford and Cynthia Lofsness and how during the interview she inquires about his practice about writing a poem every day asking, "What do you do if you're not so good that day?" and his response was "Well, then I just lower my standards."(xii). How often do I let fear take ahold of me before even trying? You see, I'm going though a transformation myself. My wings are new and I'm not quite sure where to go next. The definition of progress requires movement. Even if that movement is blind and the birds and the thunderstorms are at my heels, do I let that stop me? Do you?
So, the chat with the butterfly also happened to be a chat with myself.
If you are going through a similar transformation, have courage. Lower your standards. Don't be afraid. Lift off.
Stafford, W., & In Bly, R. (1993). The darkness around us is deep: Selected poems of William Stafford. New York: HarperPerennial.


Students across the Tampa Bay area are heading back to school on Friday, August 10 and Monday, August 13. Send us your 'First Day of School' photos and we could share them on TV! Email: webteam@wfts.com or post them on our Facebook page .


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Q: Не получается склонировать модуль модульного проекта из ветки на gitlab У нас есть репозиторий gitlab, в котором находится модульный проект, и множество веток. Я хочу синхронизировать свою ветку с ветками других разработчиков и сейчас мне нужно в свою ветку dev скопировать ветку dashboard_dev другого разработчика. Я работаю с git через меню Intellij IDEA: выбираю VCS -> Git -> Pull, в меню ставлю галочку рядом с веткой dashboard_dev и нажимаю Pull. Часть проекта удалось получить, но модуль dashboard-core, находящийся в ветке dashboard-dev, спуллить не получилось. Сейчас этот модуль есть в удаленной ветке, но отсутствует в локальной.
Почему так получилось? Как можно склонировать этот модуль себе?

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


So I haven't logged in for a few months. Apparently all of my sites were hacked and a couple have been blocked by Google. Ugh. I think I've fixed the problem but if there are any other issues please let me know. Cross-posted to all my current sites lol.


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Bolivia Experience
Lake Titicaca is located in the Andes, on the border of Peru and Bolivia. It's the largest lake in South America and often referred as the "highest navigable lake" in the world. Copacabana, on the Bolivian shores is a small town with a stark white, 16th-century Basilica of Our Lady of Copacabana, revered for a series of miracles. El Calvario, towering above the town is a sacred enshrined hill with incredible views of Lake Titicaca.
This comprehensive tour of Bolivia begins with a visit to the city of Tiwanaku, located near the southern shore of Lake Titicaca. It was the capital of a powerful pre-Inca civilization that dominated the Andean region between 500 and 900 AD. Travel to Samaipata, near Santa Cruz, best known for the pre-Colombian ruins El Fuerte. Located in the foothills of the Cordillera Oriental it's the main jumping-off point for forays to Parque Nacional Amboró.
TRAVEL UNTAMED ON THIS 8 DAY BOLIVIA ADVENTURE…
And, experience god Viracoca, who rose from the depths of Lake Titicaca.
Visit Lake Titicaca, one of South America's largest and highest lakes in the world.
Explore Tiwanaku, one of the most important pre-Inca ruins in all of South America.
We carefully select the world's best boutique tour companies in each destination.
La Paz is located at 3,650 m (11,975 ft) and you may feel heavy breathing on your first day.
The UV radiation is very high. Ensure that you have a good quality strong sunscreen.
Bolivia Experience Bolivia
La Paz, Lake Titicaca, Santa Cruz, Samaipata Ruins
(8 Day Tour – Travel Any Day)
In La Paz Meet and greet on arrival at La Paz airport, the highest airport in the world and take a private transfer to your hotel where you can relax and become accustomed to the altitude (over 12, 000 feet above sea level).
Overnight: La Paz hotel.
Day 2 – Tiwanaku Ruins Tour
La Paz Moring visit to Tiwanaku Ruins. Tiwanaku was, during its splendour period, the largest city in the world and is considered to be "the Cradle of the American Civilizations". Here you will see the Monoliths, the temples of Kalasasaya and Kontiki, the Akapana artificial Pyramid, their metal and ceramic art work and Bolivia's national symbol, the astronomically aligned Sun Door, just some examples of the advanced development achieved by this culture.
Continue to Huatajata Harbour on the shore of Lake Titicaca and check into your luxury hotel on the shores of this sacred lake. Here you will have the opportunity to learn more about the Inca culture at the nearby Antiplano Museum and even have your future told by the local shaman, Tata Benjo while he peers deeply into his sacred coca leaves.
Overnight: Inca Utama Hotel & Spa (B)
Lake Titicaca Transfer by road to Copacaban. In Copacabana visit the Shrine and the Dark Virgin who brought peace among the tribes of Lake Titicaca. Also visit the local handicraft market. Then board a hydrofoil and cruise to the Moon Island. At the Moon Island you will visit "Inak Uyu", Sun Virgins temple; the place where the most beautiful virgins of the Incas used to light a sacred fire dedicated to their god and now considered one of the most important ruins on the lake. Continue to Sun Island to visit Pilcocaina Sun Temple continue by soft trek with llamas to the lodge.
Overnight: Posada del Inca (B)
Day 4 – Explore Sacred Sites
Lake Titicaca Visit the Inca Stairways and the Sacred Fountain believed to give eternal youth and happiness. Lunch at the archaeological and panoramic Uma Kollu; restaurant which interior wall is a Takana, an authentic Inca scenery of the breathtaking view of Sacred Lake Titicaca and the Royal Range of the Andes Continue to Copacabana by motor boat or hydrofoil and transfer to Huatajata Harbour. Visit the Inter Cultural Integration program in the Andean Roots Eco- Village and the villagers who built the RA II and TIGRIS for Thor Heyerdhal epic expeditions. Night visit to Alajpacha native observatory, to understand the Andes Cosmo-vision
Overnight: Inca Utama Hotel SPA (B, L)
La Paz Island of Pariti: The new Archaeological discovery on Lake Titicaca: Visit the Island's the Museum of Pariti where you will observe the high artistic quality in over 100 Tiwanaku ceramic pieces.
Kalauta Island: The largest ancient necropolis on Lake Titicaca, is reached through swinging Totora reed canals. Light walk to the Quewaya Community and board a totora- reed boat to the Urus-Iruitos Floating Islands.
The Urus-Iruitos Floating Island: Visit their authentic island and understand the 5.000 years of history of this culture. After the visits return to Huatajata and later take private transfer to La Paz.
Overnight: Hotel in La Paz (B)
Day 6 – Transfer & Tour
Santa Cruz Transfer to Sucre airport for your flight to Santa Cruz. Meet and greet on arrival and transfer to your hotel. This afternoon, enjoy a city tour of Santa Cruz. Walking on the streets of Santa Cruz evoke the charm and the colonial tradition, combined with a growing commercial activity. Visit the Zoo, one of the most complete in South America; the San Lorenzo Basilica and its museum, la Casa de la Cultura, the "Cica" or centre for the investigation of local crafts, the Arenal Park with the famous mural painted by a local artist Lorgio Vaca and the ethnic folk museum.
Overnight in Santa Cruz hotel (B)
Samaipata Transfer by road (120km) from Santa Cruz Samaipata. The pre-Incan ruins at Samaipata and the region east of Santa Cruz called the Chiquitania, where the cities of Concepcion. These ruins are located on the top of a mountain that is like a stone tower rising from the tropical vegetation. Strange carving on a giant rock such as a huge snake and other enigmatic figures, have generated countless archaeological debates and inspired Erik Van Deniken in his books on out of space visitors.
Overnight: Samaipata hotel (B, L)
Day 8 – Depart
La Paz Transfer to the Santa Cruz airport for your flight to La Paz.
Getting There There are no direct flights from Britain to Bolivia. The most direct routes go via Madrid, Miami, Buenos Aires or São Paulo, each of which is connected by daily flights from London; British Airways flies to each of these destinations, and there are numerous other options for both Miami and Madrid. Air Europa, has flights from London via Madrid to Buenos Aires and Lima, from where you can take a connecting flight.
When to go The most popular time of year to travel to Bolivia is between April and October. This is winter and the dry season, when days are usually sunny, and the skies crystal clear, making this the best time of year for trekking and climbing. It is also the best time for visiting the hot and humid lowlands, when temperatures are generally slightly more pleasant though rain remains a possibility all year round. November to March is summer and the rainy season though more pronounced in the lowlands.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


"Innovation Approach to Professionalizing Adult and Lifelong Learning in Asia and Europe"
ASEM LLL HUB RN3 Seminar: Professionalisation of Adult Teachers and Educators in ASEM countries, 11-12 October 2010, Hanoi, Vietnam.
The e-ASEM Research Network Meeting and Seminar: "Increasing Opportunities for e-Learning in Lifelong Learning"
ASEM LLL Conference: "Increasing Opportunities and Removing Obstacles for Lifelong Learning"
ASEM LLL Hub RN5 Workshop:"Managing and Developing Core Competences in a Learning Society"
ASEM LLL HUB RN1 Meeting: "Development of ICT skills, e-learning and the culture of e-learning in Lifelong Learning"
ASEM LLL HUB RN2 Meeting: "Workplace Learning as Competence Development"
ASEM Conference: "Teachers and Trainers in Adult Education and Lifelong Learning. Professional Development in Asia and Europe"
ASEM LLL HUB RN3 Meeting: "Professionalisation of Lifelong Learning with a special emphasis on teacher training"
16-19 June 2009, Riga, Latvia.
ASEM LLL HUB RN4 Meeting: "National strategies of Lifelong Learning"
ASEM LLL HUB RN5 Meeting: "Core Competences"
3rd e-ASEM Network Follow-up Meeting: 'e-Learning in Asia-Europe: Co-operation & Partnership"
ASEM Forum on Lifelong Learning, 'Learning Unlimited', May 2012, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Asia-Europe Conference on Teachers and Trainers in Adult Education and Lifelong Learning, June 2009, Germany.
Asia-Europe Conference on Frameworks for Supporting Lifelong Learning, November 2008, Beijing, China.


The Wagerr price for January 1, 1970 is $0.10. To see real-time price of the cryptocurrency have a look at the box above the price chart. The total value of the cryptocurrency in circulation now stands at $17,808,172.
As such it is regarded as the most expensive virtual currency globally as of January 1, 1970. To see the price development in more graphic details the Wagerr price chart above can be used.
We are aware of the fact that the price of Wagerr changes all the time. In an effort to enable you to monitor the real time WGR price level, we provide a live update feed.


text:
Bitcoin 4 mins
BTC Remains Cheapest Cross-Border Money Transfer Solution Despite Fees
newsbtc 4 years ago
Next Article: Bitcoin Price Watch; Live Trade On!
Bitcoin is often touted as the long-awaited answer to expensive remittance solutions, such as Western Union and MoneyGram. Sending money overseas is a very costly manner, even when using bank transfers, But a recent report published by The World Bank shows how remittance transfer fees have started to decrease slowly throughout December 2015.
Decreasing Remittance Fees Are A Positive Sign
When one tries to send money around the world, it is important to take the associated fees into account. Convenience comes at a fairly steep price in the remittance world, and fees can amount to double digits rather quickly. That being said, there is an increase in the number of both sending and receiving countries worldwide, indicating a lot of people are still using these services despite the costs.
At the same time, the costs associated with remittance seem to be decreasing. Based on the report published by The World Bank, the average cost of sending a remittance transfer sat at 7.37%, which is a decrease from the previous level of 7.52%. On paper, this may not amount to much, but it's a small step in the right direction.
Furthermore, most country corridors now offer options to send money around the world at a cost of less than 10% of the total amount. Exact numbers were not provided in the report, although there are now more countries where sending money has become cheaper. That being said, less than ten percent can still mean numbers of 9% or higher, which is still far from cheap.
To put this into numbers anyone can understand, a US$500 remittance transfer to the other side of the world will cost – on average- US$36.85. However, based on the sender's location, that cost can be as high as 9.99% of the original amount, resulting in a fee of US$49.95. It is clear to anyone in the world to see there is still a lot of room left for future improvements and lower remittance fees.
As one would come to expect, The World Bank touched upon some very sensitive topics as well. South Africa remains the most expensive G20 country to send money from, whereas Russia is the least expensive. China and South Africa and the two most expensive receiving markets. Last but not least, Mexico and India are the cheapest receiving markets.
There is no denying how sending money through popular remittance solutions like Western Union – as well as commercial banks – is still the most expensive solution. At the same time, post offices have started offering a similar and cheaper alternative, although fees are still sitting around the 5.88% mark on average. But there is a far cheaper option available to everyone in the world, and that is Bitcoin.
Bitcoin Is Cheap, Cross-Border, And Universal
Sending money around the world relies on three very simple factors. First and foremost, people have to be able to both send and receive the funds in a convenient manner. Travelling hours to the nearest remittance agency or post office is not convenient by any means. Especially now that so many people in developing countries are using cheaper smartphones, mobile transfers seem to be the preferred medium.
Secondly, the solution has to work across borders, without any interference from banks or governments in the process. As more players are involved in moving funds from country A to country B, the amount ending up in the recipient's pocket will dwindle. Finding a cross-border money transfer service without too many intermediaries is a major challenge.
Last but not the least, people want to move funds across the world at the cheapest rates possible. Based on the Report by The World Bank, traditional finance offers no solution in that regard. But there is a more than viable alternative that checks all of these boxes, and more, in the form of Bitcoin.
Unlike what most people may assume, Bitcoin is a global payment method, that transcends country borders, and is not controlled by governments or banks. As a result, people can send money anywhere they want at little to no cost, while transfers take mere minutes to complete. Plus, Bitcoin wallets can be installed on a computer, mobile devices, or tablets, without requiring additional hardware to do so.
Source: The World Bank
BTC Remains Cheapest Cross-Border Money Transfer Solution Despite Fees was last modified: March 26th, 2018 by newsbtc
Tags:bitcoinCommercial BanksCross-borderG20money transferNewsOpinionremittanceThe World Bankwestern union Play BTC Games, ETH Games, USDT Games, BCH Games, LTC Games


Does your hosted email service include webmail?
Yes. We have a very rich webmail interface that includes a rich-text editor for composing email, easy-to-use interface, contacts import from a variety of mail clients, spam controls for blacklisting, a responsive interface for mobile devices and and much, much more.
To sign-in to your new webmail portal, go to https://webmail.mailhostingservice.com/ and enter your full email address and password, all emails should be sent and received via this portal. You will also see any new mail coming in over the next several hours.
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outgoing smtp server requires authentication?
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Our hosted mail service uses SMTP and POP3 to send and receive email.
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Our outgoing SMTP servers require authentication. Check your mail client configuration and ensure that feature is enabled.
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You must enter your full email address as your username. Your mail client may have removed the domain name when you configured your mail account.
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text:
Pandemic aid won't last forever. Here is how Milwaukee, Milwaukee County avoided budget cliffs they will face later
Milwaukee and Milwaukee County have wrapped up their 2022 budgets with both spending plans having been buoyed by federal pandemic assistance.
"Surprisingly and fortunately, both budgets were able to get by without significant service reductions," said Rob Henken, president of the nonpartisan Wisconsin Policy Forum that produces annual analyses of the city and county budgets.
Federal aid helped the local governments make ends meet, and Henken expected a similar scenario in the 2023 budgets as well.
He also added a word of caution: "These dollars will be exhausted and the structural holes for both governments will certainly re-emerge and could be more serious than they were pre-pandemic."
How much did the city and county budgets come to?
On Nov. 5, the Milwaukee Common Council adopted a $1.76 billion 2022 budget.
Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett vetoed a single provision that would have moved an empty attorney position from the City Attorney's Office to create a special counsel role for the Common Council. The council sustained the veto.
On Nov. 8, the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors adopted a $1.28 billion budget for next year.
Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley did not issue any vetoes.
What are the property tax levies in 2022?
The city budget includes a 2% increase in the property tax levy — the total amount collected in property taxes — to $305 million.
That means the tax levy increase will translate into $30.87 more, or $1,304 total, in property taxes for a home valued at $127,900, the city's 2021 average, according to the budget office.
The county's adopted budget raises the property tax levy to $309.5 million, about 1.8% higher than the 2021 levy of $303.97 million.
What role did federal aid play?
The city and county have approached the spending of federal American Rescue Plan Act funds differently but they also faced different circumstances.
The city has decided how to spend half of the nearly $400 million it is expected to receive while the county is taking its time to determine how to spend the $183.7 million it has been allocated.
Also, fortuitous circumstances at the county meant elected officials there did not have to lean on that pot of money to balance the 2022 budget in contrast to the City of Milwaukee.
The county's budget includes about $11 million in ARPA funds out of the $183.7 million received.
In all, the city's 2022 budget relied on $74.3 million in ARPA funds, according to the city Budget Office.
The ARPA funds allowed the city to avoid major public safety cuts, Henken said.
As for the county, without transit-specific federal aid, he anticipated that service cuts would have been on the table and potentially an increase in the wheel tax.
More:Amount raised from Wisconsin wheel taxes triples in four years, new report shows
The Milwaukee County Transit System received $191.4 million in transit-specific federal aid, of which the 2022 budget relies on $72 million for operations and $20 million for a transit study, according to the county.
What were the biggest topics of discussion?
At the city it was the looming pension spike and police funding. At the county it was the Sheriff's Department and parks.
The city socked away $40 million in preparation for an anticipated spike in its annual pension contribution starting in 2023 — $30 million more than Barrett had initially recommended. That should bring the pension reserve fund to about $82 million by the end of 2022, allowing the city to pull from those savings to ease the impact of the increase on city services.
Council members added the $30 million by substituting pieces of other departments' budgets with ARPA funds, which freed up tax dollars to put toward the pension.
The city also limited the decrease in its police force, funding three police classes next year for a total of 195 new recruits. That means the department is expected to lose about two dozen positions in 2022, dropping sworn strength to 1,657 on average over the course of next year.
In the 2021 budget, the city lost 120 police officer positions. That followed a loss of 60 positions in 2020. The decreases have been made by not replacing officers who have left, not through layoffs.
The county was able to avoid any major service cuts, with leaders saying the spending plan invested in residents, public safety, mental health and more.
The most hotly debated amendments sought to pull funding from the Sheriff's Department and redirect it to other priorities.
Supervisor Ryan Clancy's efforts to remove funding from the department were labeled a "vendetta," "an assault" and a "false choice" by his board colleagues. He took issue with those characterizations.
The county's parks, which face perpetual and deep funding challenges as a service that is not mandated by the state, also took center stage in the board's budget discussion.
One approved amendment set aside about $1.6 million to be used by the department on actions approved by the County Board, including opening and staffing pools, maintaining "mission critical infrastructure," seasonal staffing and more.
What is expected in the coming years?
Henken said good fortune and in some cases prudent management have allowed the city and county to delay budgetary cliffs.
At the city, that cliff is the pension spike, he said, while at the county, it's a large structural hole in its transit budget.
"ARPA now has provided an opportunity to further push them back, but they are still very much out there and could be very consequential in terms of significant staffing and service cuts when the ARPA dollars are exhausted," he said.
One potential relief valve is a county sales tax, though the specifics are currently undefined and its approval faces uncertain prospects in the state Legislature.
This is a weekly feature for online and Sunday print readers delving into an issue in the news and explaining the actions of policymakers. Email suggestions for future topics to jsmetro@jrn.com.


Backpacks for Kids, beyond supplying me with a summer routine filled with daily office work, loading backpacks, and shopping, is invaluable to the confidence and growth of children experiencing economic hardship. Each social worker expresses to me how I give hope to the students who are able to walk into school on the first day feeling unstoppable, with no barriers to their success. I feel their gratitude and have become invested in the communities I visit each year.
I have made the greatest impact by undertaking a nonprofit and extending its influence, while fulfilling my devotion to the common good. Service to me is not about visiting an impoverished community once, building strong relationships with the children there, and leaving them behind to settle back into their daily routines while I return to mine, remembering more of the fun I had than the change I made, and not wondering where the children may be now that I'm gone.
While I do not know the children I help, I feel a special bond with them because I see their names on a tag each year and pack their backpacks, remembering the backpacks I had given them the year before. I imagine the child behind the name tag and wonder if just a backpack is enough to give her the determination to thrive at school. I am reassured by the service workers that the kids are uplifted, and these adults who feel like Santa as they deliver the backpacks at their favorite time of year are just as excited.
I hope that my dedication to service inspires my friends to lead outstanding efforts and realize that, as active citizens, we can bring confidence and excitement to children close to home by contributing our knowledge and resources to the next generation of scholars.
More importantly, I hope my excitement and drive will be passed on, and stuffed backpacks are available to an increasing number of needy kids each year. Leading such a project has nurtured heart-warming experiences that I will carry forever.
Hello im John. Im 25 years old. I was looking for a good backpack for my kid and never found any. But recently i came across Puku Pals by accident, read the good reviews and bought it myself, and guess what, kid loves it. So i wanted to spread the word. Kids are our future and they deserve to have the best.
Im curious if anyone else have bought any of these backpacks. Let me know your experience. Are you happy with your purchase ? How do you like the build quality ?


text:
Tom Joyner Morning Show
ANALYSIS: Urban League Report Shows Blacks Losing Ground to Whites and Hispanics
Written By: Michael H. Cottman, BlackAmericaWeb.com
Morial said the SOBA Report Equality Index in years past has provided a single national measure of the financial disparities between Blacks and Whites and Hispanics and Whites. But this year the report includes for the first time rankings of 80 U.S. urban cities, from the most equal to the least equal on the income disparity scale.
The report said that Georgia's Augusta-Richmond County area reported the smallest unemployment gap where 13.3 percent of Blacks are unemployed compared to 8.5 percent of whites. Morial said the largest jobless gap was discovered in Madison, Wisconsin, where 18.5 percent of Blacks are unemployed compared with 4.4 percent of whites.
The report also found that Minneapolis/ St. Paul showed one of the largest income gaps between Blacks and whites with Blacks earning $28,744 a year compared to $71, 376 for whites.
"In every city we looked at, there were income disparities," Morial said.
The National Urban League is pushing for several economic measures, including an increase in the minimum wage to $10.10 by 2016. Republicans vehemently oppose raising the minimum wage, saying it would cost too many jobs.
Meanwhile, Morial said he hopes the 2014 National Urban League report will serve as a rallying call for black America.
"We want people to be empowered by the information and use the information in their efforts to raise awareness for advocacy at the local levels," Morial said.
(Photo: AP)
Like BlackAmericaWeb.com on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter.
ANALYSIS: Urban League Report Shows Blacks Losing Ground to Whites and Hispanics was originally published on blackamericaweb.com
Black income disparity	, Marc Morial	, Michael Cottman	, Michael Cottman commentary	, The Urban League
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text:
Travel agents present series of proposals to facilitate restart of Cyprus tourism
It is imperative to restart the tourism sector, in order to return to normal conditions and strengthen the economy, which is suffering from the impact of the pandemic, says the Association of Cyprus Travel Agents (ACTA), while presenting a series of proposals to facilitate the industry's rebound.
Speaking during a press conference, ACTA President Vasilis Stamataris said that the overall approach should facilitate efforts to attract tourists and minimise additional costs.
In our view, tourism is extremely important for Cyprus' economy and should not become a victim, he added.
Tourists, he went on, have very few or no "close contacts" with the community, i.e. Cyprus residents and as a rule, they are following the rules and adhere to protocols more than anyone else when it comes to using masks or social distancing.
Stamataris also said that Cyprus tourism is suffering for years in terms of competitiveness, due to high costs. In this crucial phase we must be much more careful and it is imperative that we avoid the burden of extra costs, though decisions that in some cases lead to fewer benefits, he added.
During the press conference, ACTA President also presented a series of suggestions, which, he said, may help significantly in better managing the crisis, successfully restart the industry and help improve viability prospects.
Among others, ACTA proposes a geographical compartmentalization of Cyprus by district when it comes to epidemiological classification, so that tourist areas are not "burdened unjustly."
We need to do whatever is necessary to protect these resorts from a potentially poor epidemiological situation in other areas, he said, adding that otherwise the financial ramifications would be "disastrous".
He proposed, moreover, that frontline tourism employees are vaccinated as a priority while the second test required for arrivals from "red" category countries is substituted with a rapid antigen test, with the state covering the cost.
He added that there should be further restrictions to the transportation of people arriving from "green" category countries or those who have at least one negative PCR test conducted within the last 72 hours.
According to Stamataris, there is a significant gap when it comes to the protocol concerning the handling of vaccinated people after their arrival. "We cannot wait for the 'green pass' since there may be possible delays" while the terms "may not be satisfactory" he added. Several European countries move on with their own measures and Cyprus should do the same, he said.
The President of ACTA also said that extending government guarantees will afford more protection to consumers who may not be able to travel soon.
He went on to propose further measures, to boost the sector's competitiveness through VAT reductions and loans, among others.
The tourist season has already started and several countries are preparing, by taking the necessary measures to tackle the pandemic, adhere to basic rules, search for solutions and come up with innovative regulations while undertaking various initiatives, and "we ought to do the same" he concluded.


text:
Botryosphaeria marconii is a fungal plant pathogen that causes stalk and twig blight on hemp.

References

marconii
Fungal plant pathogens and diseases
Eudicot diseases
Fungi described in 1914

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Q: Seaborn Boxplot: get the xtick labels I am using Seaborn to make a boxplot using data from a pandas dataframe.
colorpalette = sns.hls_palette(8,h=.9)
g = sns.boxplot(x="estimator", y="mean_score", data=dFrame, palette=colorpalette)

g.set(ylabel='Mean Accuracy', xlabel='')
plt.show()

This results me in the previous figure. As you can see the ticklabels are too long to be in one line. So, I plan to use textwrap on the xticklabels to span them over multiple rows. In order to get the labels, I tried using
g.xaxis.get_ticklabels()

Returns me the following
<a list of 9 Text major ticklabel objects>

If I try it in a loop like this
for item in g.xaxis.get_ticklabels():
    print(item)

I get the following output
Text(0,0,'ExtraTreesClassifier')
Text(1,0,'RandomForestClassifier')
Text(2,0,'GradientBoostingClassifier')
Text(3,0,'LogisticRegression')
Text(4,0,'DecisionTreeClassifier')
Text(5,0,'kNearestNeighbors')
Text(6,0,'LinearSVC')
Text(7,0,'Perceptron')

Is there a way to do it more efficiently using default functions/methods in seaborn.

A: Having a matplotlib axes instance ax (as it is e.g. returned by seaborn plots),
ax = sns.boxplot(...)

allows to obtain the ticklabels as
ax.get_xticklabels()

The easiest way to get the texts out of the list would be
texts = [t.get_text()  for t in ax.get_xticklabels()]

Wrapping the text could be done as well on the fly
texts = [textwrap.fill(t.get_text(), 10)  for t in ax.get_xticklabels()]

and even setting the text back as ticklabels can be done in the same line
ax.set_xticklabels([textwrap.fill(t.get_text(), 10)  for t in ax.get_xticklabels()])

A: The accepted answer didn't work for me (there was message like: 'FacetGrid' object has no attribute 'get_xticklabels'.
but this worked:
g.fig.autofmt_xdate()


Amuse Bouche literally means to make your mouth happy. It's really kind of like a little sample, an appetizer, but in small proportions to get one ready for the bigger meal ahead. This "sampling" course can be served with drinks at a cocktail hour or as a sit down ice breaker for a party.


Satoshi Nakamoto launched Bitcoin with the following message: "The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks." The new technology was born as both a technological advance and a reaction to the 2008 financial crisis.
The idea of a completely decentralized currency reflected widespread anger with the financial and political institutional responses to the crisis. Ten years later, Bitcoin's underpinning technology, blockchain, is, interestingly, being embraced by the very institutions its creator lashed out at.
The line between Bitcoin and blockchain is blurry for many, but make no mistake: they are not the same thing. Blockchain is a technology, while Bitcoin is an application of that technology. Nowhere is this more evident than in the recent news that Russian hackers used Bitcoin to fund hacking efforts in the 2016 election, while investigators used the blockchain to discover the payments.
Blockchain, like any technology, can certainly be used for nefarious purposes, but many experts believe early adopters can shape it in a way that negates the influence of bad actors.
"To get behind it and back it now is going to put people at an advantage, either politically or economically," Quant Network founder Gilbert Verdian told the New York Times.
Many states and nations are adopting the technology for everything from voting to making public services and foreign aide more efficient. The following examples illustrate the potential of blockchain in government.
Nothing seems to be more synonymous with government bureaucracy than public assistance programs and foreign aid. Charities and individuals must go through months, even years, of red tape to prove to obtain critical funding.
Blockchain-based welfare programs are improving the process by saving governments thousands of hours of time and millions of dollars on inefficient programs.
Foreign aid has always been a bureaucratic nightmare. According to Foreign Policy magazine, some foreign aid workers, in the midst of intense war or famine, must complete hundreds of pages of grant plans, budgets, a 14-point checklist and be approved by third-party financial institutions to even be considered for foreign aid. By the time the financial aid arrive, the circumstances are usually much worse.
Blockchain's smart contracts, lack of inefficient third parties and instantaneous cryptocurrency payment methods can help foreign aid become much more impactful.
Here are a few examples of blockchain is benefitting government assistance programs at home and abroad.
Public Aid Application: The United Nations World Food Programme recently created a platform using ethereum blockchain to deliver aid.
The UN completed its first successful trial when it transferred cryptocurrency-based food vouchers to 10,000 refugees in Pakistan. The trial was so successful that the UN plans to expand the program to 500,000 Syrian refugees, currently in Jordan, by the end of 2018.
Public Aid Application: The UK has teamed up with GovCoin in order to develop a blockchain for welfare payments.
The app is a digital version of a "jam-jar." Crypto is divided into separate accounts, or "jars," to cover rent, grocery and utility costs.
Besides the efficiency of automatic payments, GovCoin also circumvents banks, which can hold much-needed welfare money for long periods of time.
Public Aid Application: Ankr Network is a cloud-based blockchain infrastructure for businesses.
The company has developed a Proof of Useful Work (PoUW) method that lets anyone with idle computers or extra data space to rent out their computing power for data mining.
Ankr believes that compensating everyone for using their computers to mine data can lead to a Basic Universal Income, which could supplant a traditional government welfare system.
Public Aid Application: Denmark's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has partnered with virtual currency platform Coinify to use blockchain in foreign aid delivery.
The biggest benefit of blockchain for Denmark is the time and money saved by foregoing the involvement of a third-party financial institution. Instead of relying on banks, donors and Denmark's foreign aid fund can directly send money to groups collecting aid via cryptocurrency.
We've all experienced the headache of government red tape, but blockchain may be the answer to ending the public sector's reliance on paperwork, third parties and physical contracts.
Blockchain-based "smart contracts" set parameters that parties must agree upon before executing a transaction, but are only initiated if all pre-negotiated stipulations are met.
For example, a local government contracts Acme building company to build a new bridge. Acme charges the government $1,000 for their services. In order to execute the contract, the blockchain's decentralized nodes will have to unanimously agree that 1) the government has $1,000 to spend; 2) the government owns the land on which they want the bridge built; and 3) Acme company is legally allowed to construct bridges. Once all criteria are met, the contract will immediately initiate the project.
During the project any violation of contractually agreed upon parameters can be enforced in real-time as opposed to after the fact. Without relying on middlemen like lawyers, smart contracts save time and money, as well as establish trust between parties.
Smart contracts aren't just for municipal infrastructure projects. According to a study by the US Department of Transportation, seven out of 10 government executives believe blockchain will have a disruptive impact on major public and private sector contracts.
Everything from billion dollar defense contracts to the purchase of public lands could be eventually be "smart." By cutting out middlemen, government agencies can potentially save thousands of hours of paperwork and millions of dollars in redundant fees — and it's already happening.
We've rounded up a few examples of governments and government agencies exploring or implementing blockchain-based smart contracts.
Smart Contract Application: Under its Government IT Initiatives program, the US General Services Administration is looking into adopting ledger systems, like blockchain, into everyday federal government use.
The agency held the U.S. Federal Blockchain Forum in 2017 and is looking into using smart contracts for patents, trademarks, IT purposes and foreign aid delivery.
Smart Contract Application: In March 2018, the State of Tennessee unanimously passed Senate Bill 1662, which recognizes the legality of blockchain-based smart contracts.
In the bill, the state grants legal authority to those using smart contracts when conducting electronic transactions, protecting ownership rights and securing certain private information. The governor hopes the law will be be an example of positive blockchain implementation that other states, as well as the federal government, can eventually follow.
Smart Contract Application: Known as the "city of the future", Dubai has pledged to fully transfer its contract and paperwork systems of more than 100 million documents to blockchain by 2020.
Officials believe running on a secure, efficient and transparent blockchain will save the city over 25 million man hours and $1.5 billion annually.
Federal and state governments have trillions of tax, identification, real estate contracts, birth and death certificates that must be accounted for at all times, along with trillions of archived public documents that must be maintained. Many organizations looking for a way to secure and organize those documents see great promise in blockchain.
In 2015 alone, hackers obtained the personal details, fingerprints, employment history, financial information and social security details of over 20 million Americans. Identity thieves prey on the vulnerability of government and big bank computers to gain access to passport, social security and banking information.
A simple malicious email to an unsuspecting employee can expose thousands, if not millions, of U.S. citizens to identity fraud. Blockchain has the ability to stop hackers in their tracks through safe identity encryption.
Blockchain's private encryption combined with unique cryptographic identifiers can allow any government employee or individual to safely and quickly find the proverbial needle in a haystack of information. The following are a few examples of how blockchain is revolutionizing government record keeping.
Record Keeping Application: The Illinois Blockchain Initiative is seen as one of the leading U.S. entities seriously exploring blockchain technology in government.
The state-funded initiative is looking into different ways to use the ledger to maintain the data integrity of passport, birth certificate, death certificate, voter registration and social security information.
Illinois officials believe blockchain is not only a safer option to store this important data, but a more efficient option as well.
Record Keeping Application: The Delaware Blockchain Initiative has explored blockchain in both public record organization and private sector data security.
The initiative has mostly focused its efforts on archiving public documents like historical records and laws, but since Delaware is home to roughly 65% of all Fortune 500 companies, the state is looking into how to protect the financial information of the companies and their shareholders using encrypted ledgers.
Record Keeping Application: Australia is teaming up with IBM to make the Land Down Under one of the top countries in the world integrating blockchain into its record keeping process.
Currently, the country is using the technology to combine its passport and birth certificate databases into one blockchain-backed base. Both IBM and government officials believe blockchain brings a heightened level of data integrity and security to record keeping.
From maintaining data integrity to discovering crimes faster, blockchain has myriad uses in law enforcement. According to law enforcement veteran and cybercrime investigator Paul Marrinan, blockchain makes records immutable, can track criminals attempting to use false identities and enables secure information sharing.
The greatest attribute blockchain brings to policing is chain of evidence. In a chain of evidence, blockchain records every event and detail (police body cam footage, arrest data, police reporting, etc.) in sequential order with timestamps, creating a detailed timeline of events. Because the data is irrefutable, investigators and court systems can use it to piece together legitimate evidence for trial.
Authorities can also use chain of evidence for easier detection of crimes, especially in the financial sector. If a criminal is trying to use a false identity or access unauthorized financial information, the blockchain will immediately recognize this action as malicious, alerting authorities.
Here are a few examples of how blockchain is taking hold in law enforcement.
Law Enforcement Application: Chronicled builds blockchain-based networks that feature a transparent chain of custody that allows permissible parties to view information.
Law enforcement officials can use the company's blockchain ledger to view any suspicious activity, like drug trafficking. Additionally, Chronicled has developed tamper-proof shipping containers that register and track all contents throughout the shipping process, making it simple for law enforcement to use as evidence.
Law Enforcement Application: Elliptic creates blockchain-based forensic investigation tools used by law enforcement, financial institutions and intelligence agencies.
The company's technology allows authorities to scan cryptocurrency exchanges for illicit relationships and transactions. Elliptic's tools have helped law enforcement spot drug trafficking, extortion, tax evasion and even attempted terrorism.
Law Enforcement Application: Toronto's Blockchain Financial Crime Center specializes in identifying financial crimes, especially when it comes to cryptocurrencies.
The company uses ledger technology to trace crypto transactions and identify criminal activity for governments, corporations and law enforcement.


2. An event or circumstance that causes one to feel frustrated.
3. The prevention of the progress, success, or fulfilment of something.
That is exactly what I am feeling. Andy Currie Photography has given me beautiful photos of a wedding I conducted for Frith and Andrew on the 14th of February 2014. Yes this year! The photos tell the story of a loving couple and great wedding party up at the Sign of the Bellbird and a lovely ceremony at Trents Vineyard. The day was amazing! So I wanted to share them through another site only to be frustrated by them not meeting the criteria. So enjoy the beauty and quality work of Andy Currie Photography with an added black border around the them!


text:
Q: Why VS Code, C build works but run code not? This is my code. When i run the code it sends me an error:
helloworld.c:8:16: error: storage size of 'bin' isn't constant

static int bin[size];

but when i do a build the exe works. Help pls.

A: The initializer of a static variable must be known at compilation time. That's why the declaration of bin is rejected. Instead you need to declare bin as a pointer to an integer and allocate memory dynamically, that is at run-time:
int *bin = malloc(size * sizeof *bin);

As pointed out by rioV8, you should also free the allocated memory with free(bin) when you are done with bin.


text:
Q: How to deal with Variable data over time in associations In linked models (let's say a drink transaction, a waiter, and a restaurant), when you want to display data, you look for informations in your linked content :

*Where was that beer bought ?

*Fetch Drink transaction => Fetch its Waiter => Fetch this waiter's Restaurant : this is where the beer was purchased
So at time T, when I display all transactions, I fetch my data following associations, thus I can display this :
TransactionID   Waiter   Restaurant
1               Julius   Caesar's palace
2               Cleo     Moe's tavern

Let's say now that my waiter is moved to another restaurant.
If I refresh this table, the result will be
TransactionID   Waiter   Restaurant
1               Julius   Moe's tavern
2               Cleo     Moe's tavern

But we know that the transaction n°1 was made in Caesar's palace !

Solution 1
Don't modify the waiter Julius, but clone it.
Upside : I keep an association between models, and still can filter with every field of every associated models.
Downside : Every modification on every model duplicates content, which can do a LOT when time passes.
Solution 2
Keep a copy of the current state of your associated models when you create the transaction.
Upside : I don't duplicate the contents.
Downside : You can't anymore use fields on your content to display, sort or filter them, as your original and real data is inside, let's say, a JSON field. So you have to, if you use MySQL, filter your data by makin plain-search queries in that field.

What is your solution ?

[EDIT]
The problem goes further, as it's not only a matter when association changes : a simple modification on an associated model causes a problem too.
What I mean :

*What's the amount of this order ?

*Fetch Drink transaction => Fetch its product => Fetch this product's Price => Multiply by order quantity : this is the total amount of the order
So at time T, when I display all transactions, I fetch my data following associations, thus I can display this :
TransactionID   Qty   ProductId
1               2     1

ProductID   Title   Price
1           Beer    3

==> Amount of order n°1 : 6.
Let's say now that the beer costs 2,5.
If I refresh this table, the result will be
TransactionID   Qty   ProductId
1               2     1

ProductID   Title   Price
1           Beer    2,5

==> Amount of order n°1 : 5.
So, once again, the 2 solutions are available : do I clone the beer product when its price is changed ? Do I save a copy of beer in my order when the order is made ? Do you have any third solution ?
I can't just add an "amount" attribute on my orders : yes it can solve that problem (partially) but it's not a scalable solution as many other attributes will be in the same situation and I can't multiply attributes like this.

A: Event Sourcing
This is a good use case for Event Sourcing. Martin Fowler wrote a very good article about it, I advise you to read it.

there are times when we don't just want to see where we are, we also want to know how we got there.

The idea is to never overwrite data but instead create immutable transactions for everything you want to keep a history of. In your case you'll have WaiterRelocationEvents and PriceChangeEvents. You can recreate the status of any given time by applying every event in order.
If you don't use Event Sourcing, you lose information. Often it's acceptable to forget historic information, but sometimes it's not.
Lambda Architecture
As you don't want to recalculate everything on every single request, it's advisable to implement a Lambda Architecture. That architecture is often explained with BigData technology and frameworks, but you could implement it with Plain Old Java and CronJobs.
It consists of three parts: Batch Layer, Service Layer and Speed Layer.
The Batch Layer regularly calculates an aggregated version of the data, for example you'll calculate the monthly income once per day. So the current month's income will change every night until the month is over.
But now you want to know the income in real-time. Therefore you add a Speed Layer, which will apply all events of the current date immediately. Now if a request of the current month's income arrives, you'll add up the last result of the Batch Layer and the Speed Layer.
The Service Layer allows more advanced queries by combing multiple batch results and the Speed Layer results into one query. For example you can calculate the year's income by summing the monthly incomes.
But as said before, only use the Lambda approach if you need the data often and fast, because it adds extra complexity. Calculations which are rarely needed, should be run on-the-fly. For example: Which waiter creates the most income at Saturday evenings?
Example
Restaurants:
| Timestamp  | Id | Name            |
| ---------- | -- | --------------- |
| 2016-01-01 |  1 | Caesar's palace |
| 2016-11-01 |  2 | Moe's tavern    |

Waiters:
| Timestamp  | Id | Name     | FirstRestaurant |
| ---------- | -- | -------- | --------------- |
| 2016-01-01 | 11 | Julius   |               1 |
| 2016-11-01 | 12 | Cleo     |               2 |

WaiterRelocationEvents:
| Timestamp  | WaiterId | RestaurantId |
| ---------- | -------- | ------------ |
| 2016-06-01 |       11 |            2 |

Products:
| Timestamp  | Id | Name     | FirstPrice |
| ---------- | -- | -------- | ---------- |
| 2016-01-01 | 21 | Beer     |       3.00 |

PriceChangeEvent:
| Timestamp  | ProductId | NewPrice |
| ---------- | --------- | -------- |
| 2016-11-01 |        21 |     2.50 |

Orders:
| Timestamp  | Id | ProductId | Quantity | WaiterId |
| ---------- | -- | --------- | -------- | -------- |
| 2016-06-14 | 31 |        21 |        2 |       11 |

Now let's get all information about order 31.

*

*get order 31

*get price of product 21 at 2016-06-14

*

*get last PriceChangeEvent before the date or use FirstPrice if none exists

*calculate total price by multiplying retrieved price with quantity

*get waiter 11

*get waiter's restaurant at 2016-06-14

*

*get last WaiterRelocationEvent before the date or use FirstRestaurant if none exists

*get restaurant name by retrieved restaurant id of the waiter

As you can see it becomes complicated, therefore you should only keep history of useful data.

*

*I wouldn't involve the relocation events in the calculation. They could be stored, but I would store the restaurant id and the waiter id in the order directly.

*The price history on the other hand could be interesting to check if orders went down after a price change. Here you could use the Lambda Architecure to calculate a full order with prices from the raw order and the price history.

Summary

*

*Decide of which data you want to keep the history.

*Implement Event Sourcing for that data.

*Use the Lambda Architecture to speed up commonly used queries.

A: I like the question as it raises something very straightforward and also something more subtle.
The common principle in both cases is that 'History must not change', meaning if we run a query over a specified past date range today the results are the same as when we run that same query at any point in the future.
Waiters Case
When a waiter changes restaurants we must not change the history of sales. If waiter Julius sells a drink yesterday in restaurant 1 then he switches to sell more drinks today in restaurant 2 we must retain those details.
Thus we want to be able to answer queries such as 'how many drinks has Julius sold in restaurant 1' and 'how many drinks has Julius sold in all restaurants'.
To achieve this you have to abstract away from Julius as a waiter by bringing in a concept of staff. Julius is a member of staff. Staff work as waiters.  When working in restaurant 1 Julius is waiter A and when he works in another restaurant he is waiter B, but always the same member of staff – Julius.  With an entity 'Staff' the queries can be answered easily.
Upside:
No loss of historic data or excessive duplications.
Downside New entity Staff must be managed. But waiter table content is reduced making net overhead of data storage is low.
In summary - abstract data subject to change into a new entity and refer back to it from transactions.
Value of Order Case
The extended use case regarding 'what is the value of this order' is more involved. I work in cross-currency transactions where value for the observer (user) in the price list changes from day to day as currency fluctuations occur.
But there are good reasons to lock the order value in place. For example invoice processing systems have tolerance for a small difference between their expected invoice value and that of the submitted invoice, but any large difference can lead to late payment whilst invoice handlers check the issue. Also, if customers run reports  on their historic purchases then the values of those orders must remain consistent despite fluctuations in currency rates over time.
The solution is to save into the order line:

*

*the value of product in the customers currency,

*or the rate between custom and supplier currency,

*but ideally do both to avoid rounding errors.

What this does is provide a statement that 'on the date that this order was placed line 1 cost $44.56 at exchange rate 1.1 $/£'.  Having this data locked in allows you to invoice to the customers expectation and provide consistent spend reports over time.
Upside: Consistent historic data. Fast database performance as no look-ups required against historic rate tables.
Downside: Some data duplication. However, trading off against overhead of storage and indexation for historic rate storage plus indexation then this is possibly an upside.
Regarding adding 'amount' to your order table - you have to do this if you want to achieve a consistent data history. If you only work in one currency then amount is the only additional storage concern. And by adding this one attribute you have protected history.  Your other alternative is to store a historic cost table for drinks so you know in January beer was $1, in February it as $1.10 etc  and then store the cost-table key in the transaction so that you can look up the cost if anyone asks about a historic order. But the overhead on storing the key PLUS the indexes needed to make this practicable will outweigh the storage cost of cloning 'amount' onto the order record.
In summary - clone cost data that will change over time.


I have had a mirror which was attached to a wall in my bathroom. It travelled across the room about 3ft, landed in my bath, still the right side up and with no cracks or being smashed. We actually heard this happening.
Did you see it move from the wall into the bath or did you just hear it? Can you tell us what you heard and where were you (obviously not in the bathroom) when you heard this happen?.
Who was in the house at the time and were they all within your sight when this happened?
Also is there a possibility that the mirror could have been moved by human hands and that you may have been subject to a prank?.
I'm not doubting your experience but all possibilities have to be explored before we even consider a paranormal source for this occurence.


text:
BAD Chapter 68: Can you withstand 3,000 Jin of coquetry? (2)
BADidleturtletranslations 27th April 2020
Nothronychus evolved from the Coelurosauria clade, which included Tyrannosaurus, to the family of Therizinosauridae. Therizinosauridae (Reaping lizard) was named this way because their claws were as sharp as sickles. Nothronychus was the largest species in the family of Therizinosauridae.
Although Nothronychus evolved from the same clade as Tyrannosaurus, it had long changed to an herbivore, but its size was still very large. It could stand up with its strong hind legs. Its front claws were also longer than those of the Tyrannosaurus family and had sharp sickle-like shape. These claws were used for extreme defense and aggression.
The whole body of Nothronychus looked like a huge kettle from a distance. Its bottom portion was huge and stable. It's really fierce when standing up to fight.
Not long after, Gulu saw a Tyrannosaurus rex fell to the ground by the Nothronychus.
The rest of the Tyrannosaurus rex was shocked and didn't dare to fight again. After the Nothronychus left, these Tyrannosaurus rex returned and began eating the body of their dead companion.
Tyrannosaurus rex had always eaten the same kind. When food was scarce in the dry season, female Tyrannosaurus rex would even eat their own cubs. What's more, their dead companion shouldn't be left as food to other carnivorous dinosaurs.
Of course Gulu, as a human being, had a really hard time accepting such things as eating one's companion, but he now got used to it. Many carnivorous dinosaurs would eat their own kind, not just Tyrannosaurus rex.
At this time, the sky in the desert area where the Gigantoraptors were located quickly darkened. The wind was blowing hard, throwing up yellow sand all over the sky.
Although the swamp and the desert with the Gigantoraptors were very close, only separated by a small stone hill and both sides could still see each other, their weather was quite different.
This side of the swamp was still sunny and unaffected by the desert.
What's more, Gulu and Mungo who were at the edge of the forest couldn't even feel a little of the strong wind.
The weather was very strange. To me more precise, the landform here was very strange. These two places, the swamp and the desert, were so close to one another, yet appeared vastly different. It's really unusual.
Unfortunately, Gulu was a paleontologist, not a geologist or a climatologist. In a short period of time, he couldn't find the reason for this strange phenomenon.
He saw that the sandstorm was getting bigger. Yet, the Gigantoraptor parents were still lying on the nest. They were lying face to face with each other, with their wings covered to protect the nest.
Gulu noticed that the sandstorm was extremely strong. If those eggs hadn't been protected by the Gigantoraptor parents, they would have been blown away.
One didn't know how long the sandstorm continued. Gulu saw that the sand had buried half of the Gigantoraptors parents' bodies.
If they didn't leave here by this time, they wouldn't be able to walk away and would be buried alive in the sand.
Gulu's eyes filled with tears. In the dinosaur world, there're parents who ate their cubs because of hunger, but there're also parents who dared to be buried alive to protect the eggs that had not yet hatched.
In fact, the Gigantoraptors parents could easily escape. They could escape to the swamp, the fern plains or forest nearby. Where could they not go? With their strength, they could survive anywhere and laid eggs again, after these ones were gone.
Yet, they laid motionless on the nest.
In the evening, the sandstorm finally stopped. The Gigantoraptor parents were buried alive in the sand. One couldn't even see a piece of their feathers.
Gulu sighed. In fact, nature was the real killer. What if the Gigantoraptors parents won against the Tyrannosaurus rex, didn't they still get buried alive?
Although Gulu felt sorry for two Gigantoraptor parents, he recognized that this was normal in the dinosaur world.
What he should consider now was why there was such a different surface environment around here.
Support the translator. Read for free. at .idleturtle. translations . for full notes and pictures
According to Gulu's observation of this era, he was very sure that the planet was now in the early Cretaceous period of the earth.
The Cretaceous period was the heyday of dinosaurs and the most suitable time period for their survival.
Dinosaurs lived on the earth for 150 million years from Triassic to Jurassic to Cretaceous period.
The Cretaceous period was the longest of all eras on Earth, with 80 million years (and an error margin of 300,000 years, give or take). This was now early Cretaceous period, which meant that there're at least 79 million years before dinosaurs became extinct.
These 79 million years were the heyday of dinosaurs. Even if various natural disasters frequently occurred, dinosaurs could still live well.
Dinosaurs had strong adaptability and survival ability. Across the span of three eras while experiencing the rupture of the mainland, rising sea level and complex climate changes that led to the diversification and evolution of dinosaurs, they still ruled over Earth for 150 million years.
It could be said that dinosaurs were the most successful animals in history. To surpass dinosaurs, human beings must first survive on earth for more than 150 million years.
It's only been 3 million years since the earliest human appeared. Compared with 150 million years, 3 million years was just too short.
Of course, there may be people who think that dinosaurs lived longer but what's the use of them. They had no evolved civilization. Yes, humans had evolved advanced civilization, but how long could it last?
Using the whole history of the earth as comparison, Gulu now lived in a time when dinosaurs were at their peak, which could last for 80 million years.
Therefore, Gulu wasn't afraid of catastrophes such as the end of the world or the extinction of dinosaurs. What danger did exist was that the mainland was splitting up and natural disasters would become more frequent.
Mungo: "Gulu, let's go home quickly. It's getting dark."
Gulu looked at Mungo and felt very happy. He's reborn to the heyday of dinosaurs. He met such a good Tyrannosaurus rex as Mungo and met so many other lovely dinosaurs. These dinosaurs still had 80 million years to multiply and live.
Of course, Gulu also recognized that he might experience many, many natural disasters in his dinosaur life. He may also witness the division of the mainland, the formation of new continents and oceans, in addition to the formation of mountains as tall as the Himalayas.
No matter how many natural disasters he would encounter, no matter how many ups and downs he would experience in the future, as long as Mungo was with him, together with Gaya, Guji, Gudong, Pado, Babana, Pachi, Dudu…as long as he had these many loving dinosaurs going through them with him, he would only feel happiness.
Gulu: Ah, this is the best dinosaur era. Ah, my future dinosaur life must be dazzling and thrilling.
Thinking about it, Gulu couldn't help but feel a boiling passion. He ran faster and faster. It seemed that as long as he ran fast enough, he could overcome all terrible natural disasters and protect every dinosaur that he wanted to protect.
Mungo: "Gulu, slow down. Don't run too fast."
Gulu slowed down and said, "Mungo, do you know that dinosaurs could still live for 80 million years? Do you know how long 80 million years is? It's super long ah…"
Along the way, Gulu popularized the basic common sense of the dinosaur era to Mungo. Although Mungo didn't understand, he liked Gulu to talk to him about it.
Gulu felt that his state of mind was really good. He knew that natural disasters were terrible, but what's the use of being afraid? The days still had to go by. Happiness was the most important thing.
And Gulu thought that he could protect every dinosaur he wanted to protect!
Mungo and Gulu soon returned to the vicinity of Pado's ethnic group.
Pado immediately came out to pick up Gulu.
It's because he had seen strange changes on the surface of the environment today and thought a lot, for example, about how to protect Pado's and Mungo's ethnic group in the future when encountering various natural disasters, that Gulu felt a bit sentimental.
He ran towards Pado and slammed into him. He kept rubbing his head against Pado and said, "Dad, I miss you so much. Do you miss me?…"
To be honest, Gulu was no longer a small cub now. Although he was still a cub according to his age, he weighed over 3,000 Jin. It still hurt when he run fast and cannoned onto Pado's legs.
Gulu's current height was only up to Pado's belly. Because of his action, the food in Pado's belly was swinging up and down and going from left to right, which wasn't very comfortable.
Although Pado was now very strict with Gulu, as a Dad, he still hoped that his cub was very close to him. He's very happy that Gulu played coquetry with him like this. Gulu had not played coquetry with him like this for a long time.
So, although his son's huge horn shield was rubbing uncomfortable on his belly, Pado still replied, "Yes, of course I do. Dad also misses Gulu."
Mungo was a little puzzling. Even when Gulu went to his Tyrannosaurus rex group to live for a few days before, he didn't come back like this.
Gulu stretched out his big head from between Pado's thick forelimbs. they could just squeeze out Gulu's big head.
Under a giant male Triceratops stood a small Triceratops. Mungo didn't know why, but he felt that it's very cute. One big and one small. Not to mention, Gulu was always cute.
Gulu stood on tiptoe. His back still couldn't touch Pado's belly. Just now it's his head under Pado's body that rubbed against Pado's belly.
Pado knew that Gulu always liked to compare to him like this. He just wanted to know when he would grow up to his height.
Gulu was a little disappointed: "Dad, I think I'm growing too slowly. When will I grow as big as you? Look, my legs are still half as long as yours…"
Pado: "You are now growing sideways. You see, your head is almost unable to squeeze out from under me. Haven't you grown up a lot? You are already the fastest growing cub in the whole ethnic group, faster than when I was a child…"
When Pado said these things, his eyes were full of stars and his head held high up. He's very proud.
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icnzzy
17th March 2021 8:52 am
BUN Chapter 5: Goodbye, Research
TELD Chapter 1: The Power Fails
← BAD Chapter 68: Can you withstand 3,000 Jin of coquetry? (1) ← BAD Chapter 68: Can you withstand 3,000 Jin of coquetry? (3)


Obituary for Rebecca J. "Betty" Croisdale | Rhoney Funeral Home, Inc.
Rebecca J. "Betty" Croisdale, a longtime resident of Wilson, NY, passed away at home under the care of Niagara Hospice and surrounded by her loving family on Friday, November 23, 2018. She was born in Niagara Falls, NY on January 3, 1929 the daughter of the late William and Agnes [Laughlin] Darby.
Mrs. Croisdale graduated from Niagara Falls High School. She married her beloved husband of 69 years Clarence E. Croisdale on September 24, 1949. Clarence and Rebecca were inseparable, they worked side by side and truly enjoyed their lives together. She was the owner and President of Croisdale Fabrication and Metal Works located in Niagara Falls for over 35 years where she worked with her husband, son and daughter in the family business.
Mrs. Croisdale enjoyed spending time with her family, traveling, boating and cruises.
In addition to her husband, she is survived by her loving children Karen A. Gravanti and Mark C. (Cynda) Croisdale, four grandchildren Mark E. (Dawn) Croisdale, Andrew E. (Erin) Croisdale, Jon Michael Gravanti and Gabrielle J. (Carl) Hall, four great grandchildren Keira, Keegan, Sophia and Gavin which she truly enjoyed spending time with. Sadly Rebecca did not get to meet her 5th great grandchild to be born next month.
She was the sister of the late William, John and Fredrick Darby.
The family would like to thank everyone that took part in Rebecca's care, especially Peggy.
Rebecca was very generous to many organizations that she was passionate about. She always supported those that helped others in need, Some of her favorites were St. Jude's, Wounded Warriors and the American Cancer Society.
Funeral services will be held on Monday at 10:00 Am at the RHONEY FUNERAL HOME, 901 Cayuga Street, LEWISTON, NY, with the Rev. Matthew Kofahl officiating.
Flowers are gratefully declined. Memorials may be made in her name to St. Jude Children's Research or to Niagara Hospice.
Entombment in Riverdale Cemetery, Lewiston, NY.


text:
Auction winners write the next chapter for Never Never Land nursery rhyme characters
KNKX Public Radio | By Kari Plog
1 of 3 — Never Never Land Humpty Dumpty.jpg
A historical photo of the entrance to Never Never Land at Tacoma's Point Defiance Park.
Metro Parks Tacoma
2 of 3 — NeverNeverLandTacoma_PMB_20211114_070.jpg
Rod Collen and his girlfriend, Shannon Garrett, are rehoming some of the statues from the now defunct Never Never Land at their mushroom cabin on Key Peninsula. Collen won Little Miss Muffet, Three Men in a Tub and Little Jack Horner from a Metro Parks auction. He purchased the statues for just under $6,000 and they will soon be the main attraction on an art trail around the cabin's property.
Parker Miles Blohm, KNKX
A picture of the mushroom cabin in progress on Key Peninsula. Rod Collen and Shannon Garrett are hoping to finish the 700-square-foot structure by next summer. It includes an art trail where the Never Never Land statues will eventually live.
Half a century ago, a collection of life-size statues turned a piece of Tacoma's Point Defiance Park into a whimsical escape from reality — a place unlike anywhere else in the Pacific Northwest at the time.
For decades, nursery rhyme characters like Little Red Riding Hood and the Three Little Pigs jumped off the pages of classic storybooks and into the woods at Point Defiance. Now, a small group of loyal fans are keeping those stories alive.
In September, the statues that comprised the exhibits went up for auction. In total, Metro Parks Tacoma sold 35 items that, until then, had collected dust in storage for years awaiting an uncertain future.
But who are these people who collectively spent more than $61,000 to bring home pieces of a now-defunct theme park? As one of them put it, they're "regular people of regular means" who care a lot about this quirky chapter of Tacoma history. And all of them have different ideas for preserving the relics.
In the woods near Penrose Point State Park on Key Peninsula, Rod Collen and his girlfriend, Shannon Garrett, are building a home away from their Tacoma home, which is less than a mile from Point Defiance. And they are building something on the property that you've probably never seen before: a 700-square-foot cabin shaped like a giant mushroom.
Every weekend for more than two years, they have worked on the structure and transformed the two acres around it into a fantasy world.
"This is like our legacy," Collen told KNKX during a tour. "We've created something that's completely unique. There won't be two of these anywhere in the world."
And there's something else that will make this place one of a kind.
Their project includes a quarter-mile art trail decorated with odds and ends from estate sales, garage sales and thrift stores that's meant to be explored.
And it's growing all the time. Soon, the main attraction will be Three Men in a Tub, Miss Muffet and Little Jack Horner — complete with a plum on his thumb — that Collen purchased in the auction for just under $6,000.
Collen says it's more than he ever imagined spending on something like that. But he says it's hard to put a price on a piece of his childhood, a slice of history cherished by so many people.
"My initial reaction was, 'Oh, I want that,' but then it was like, 'Oh, I don't need that,'" he told KNKX Public Radio. "And then having two weeks to think about it before the auction closed I was like, 'Oh, I gotta have that.'"
A picture frame hangs from a tree in the woods on Key Peninsula, part of the art trail in progress at the mushroom cabin under construction by Rod Collen and Shannon Garrett.
Collen wasn't alone. The auction was competitive. He and others who purchased items were surprised they won at all.
Greg, who prefers not to share his last name, won Little Pig and Wolf from "Three Little Pigs" and the goats and troll from "Three Billy Goats Gruff."
"How they were displayed in Never Never Land was the goats were on a bridge and the troll was in action of sliding down the hill after one of the billy goats knocked him down," said Greg, who plans to recreate exhibits in his yard. "I have a water feature with a bridge, and I'm going to put them in that."
A historical photo of the Three Billy Goats Gruff exhibit at Never Never Land. Greg, who prefers not to share his last name, is recreating this exhibit in his yard.
Mark Knecht said Mary's lambs will fit perfectly in his wife's whimsical garden that she named Narnia, which is located at their home on the Washington coast.
"In the Narnia garden, my wife has a sculpture of a sea serpent. She has a figurine of a troll; I think his name's Fred," Knecht said during a pit stop en route to the lambs' new home. "So I think these will just be part of the beauty of that garden."
Courtesy of Mark Knecht
Mary's lambs are seen at Mark Knecht's home in Long Beach, Washington. They are now a permanent fixture in his wife's garden, which she named Narnia.
To understand the strong desire people feel to own these statues, it's important to understand their storied past.
For decades, Never Never Land welcomed park visitors with a giant Humpty Dumpty sitting on a stack of storybooks. It's an iconic image for many people who grew up in Tacoma. Trails covering 10 wooded acres were peppered with depictions of two dozen classic stories, like Old Mother Hubbard and Hansel and Gretel. Live mice scurried through the clock from Hickory Dickory Dock. And kids played on a slide cascading out of the Old Lady's giant shoe.
The park opened on the Fourth of July in 1964, created by Canadian Alfred Pettersen. It was privately operated on leased land until Metro Parks purchased it in 1986.
A historical photo of kids playing on the slide inside the Old Lady's giant shoe at Never Never Land.
Claire Keller-Scholz, a historian for Metro Parks, helped rehome the statues. They had to go through an extensive deaccession process in order to be auctioned off.
Keller-Scholz says there was a lot of energy in those early years of the park. Storytellers did live performances, and families traveled long distances to visit.
"This is certainly one of those pieces of Tacoma history that really attracts a lot of attention in a really personal way. It's people who have memories of going with their friends and their family," Keller-Scholz said during a walk through the woods of the old Never Never Land site. "So it is something that is very tied to that nostalgic childhood and that has a really strong pull for a lot of people."
But over time, the park's popularity also attracted some unwanted attention. Loitering, vandalism and even theft made upkeep difficult. Eventually, the challenges of managing the open-air attraction were too great. Never Never Land closed in the early 2000s. Then in 2011, an arsonist set fire to the pagoda where the statues were stored, destroying half the collection.
At least one attempt to reopen the park fizzled out. Now, the statues are in the care of dedicated fans who all agree it's the next best thing to reopening the park.
That iconic Humpty Dumpty at the Never Never Land entrance was one of the most popular items, selling for nearly $10,000.
Humpty now lives 25 miles away in Graham. He made the journey to his new home on a flatbed truck and is in the care of Jennifer Pellegrini and her family.
Courtesy of Metro Parks Tacoma
A sighting of Humpty Dumpty in the wild, in transit to his new home in Graham.
Pellegrini says Humpty is the centerpiece for a magical collection created for her children who have special needs. With a nonverbal son who has severe autism, she says family outings can be challenging. So they have made their home a destination.
"They play Donkey Kong on the big console next to a switchboard that has a Predicta on top of it, and that's their version of normal, while Ronald McDonald is blinking above them," Pellegrini said. "But the way it's put together is like a mosaic, and we've done that as a family."
A rotary phone booth at the home of Graham resident Jennifer Pellegrini. Her family now owns the giant Humpty Dumpty that used to sit at the entrance of Never Never Land. Humpty will be the centerpiece of a quirky collection that Pellegrini's family has created for her children, who have special needs.
Pellegrini, who is from Oregon, doesn't have her own memories of Never Never Land — those are all her husband's memories. But she says it's special to watch him preserve a piece of his childhood and share it with their kids.
Pellegrini says there is also a responsibility to share that nostalgia with people outside her home. For her, that means working with Metro Parks to bring Humpty to public places, perhaps even Point Defiance, to raise awareness about autism. She wants to teach people that they can create the world they want for their kids just like her family has.
"It doesn't need to be a big, 11-foot fiberglass egg. It could be a magical tent with Christmas lights, the twinkle lights and sheets, and just the right story with just the right voices," she said. "That somehow we could just build our own world to escape to and everyone's world gets to be theirs."
Back in the woods on Key Peninsula, Rod Collen and Shannon Garrett are already building their own little world to escape to — in the spirit of Never Never Land. It's a world they plan to share with others, too.
"I imagine everybody who's purchased these feels the same way," he said, "that you feel some responsibility to them to not keep it to yourself."
Right now, the Butcher, the Baker, the Candlestick Maker, Miss Muffet and Jack Horner are huddled in Collen's Tacoma home until their magical mushroom cabin is finished. Then Collen plans to rent the cabin out for people to explore, hopefully by next summer.
Courtesy of Rod Collen
Miss Muffet, the Butcher, the Baker, the Candlestick Maker and Little Jack Horner are pictured in their temporary Tacoma home as they await relocation along Rod Collen's art trail on Key Peninsula.
If you can't make it out to see the statues in their new home, there are still reminders of Never Never Land hidden along the wooded trails of their old one at Point Defiance.
All you need to explore them is a little imagination.
South SoundTacomaPoint DefianceMetro Parks Tacoma
Kari Plog
Kari Plog is an award-winning reporter covering the South Sound, including Pierce, Thurston and Kitsap counties. She came to KNKX in 2018 as the station's online editor. Before transitioning to public radio, Kari worked as a print journalist at The News Tribune in Tacoma.
See stories by Kari Plog


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