text:
Santiam State Forest is one of six state forests managed by the Oregon Department of Forestry. The forest is located approximately  southeast of Salem, Oregon, and includes  on the western slope of the Cascade Mountains in three Oregon counties: Clackamas, Linn, and Marion. It is bounded on the east by the Willamette National Forest and Mount Hood National Forest. Silver Falls State Park is located west of the forest. The rest of the land surrounding the forest belongs to the Bureau of Land Management or is privately owned. The forest is managed as part of the Department of Forestry's North Cascade District.

Forest ownership

Oregon state forests consist of two types of land, Oregon Board of Forestry lands and Common School Forest Lands. These lands were acquired from two sources, are controlled by two different state entities and each has a distinct legal mandate that guides its management.

Board of Forestry lands were acquired either through direct purchase or through ownership transfer from Oregon counties in exchange for a portion of the land's timber revenue. The Department of Forestry manages these forest lands under the direction of the Board of Forestry. By law, these lands are managed to achieve a healthy, productive, and sustainable forest ecosystems that provides the people of Oregon a full range of economic, social, and environmental benefits. The majority of the forest revenue is distributed to Oregon counties and local taxing districts. In the Santiam State Forest,  i.e. about 98 percent of the land belongs to the Board of Forestry.

When Oregon was granted statehood in 1859, it received  of grazing and forest lands from the Federal Government specifically to support public schools. These lands are known as Common School Forest Lands and are owned by the Oregon State Land Board. The board consists of the Governor of Oregon, the Oregon Secretary of State, and the Oregon State Treasurer. The Department of Forestry manages Common School Forest Lands under a contract with the State Land Board. The purpose of these lands are to generate the greatest amount of revenue over the long run for the Common School Fund consistent with sound land and timber management practices. In the Santiam State Forest, only  i.e. about 2 percent are owned by the State Land Board.

History

Most of the land that makes up the Santiam State Forest was originally owned by large timber companies, often associated with railroads. The forest was heavily logged between 1880 and 1930. Most landowners did not reforest the logged areas, leaving the land to regenerate naturally. Forest fires burned large areas as well.

During the Great Depression, many owners saw little value in these lands and stopped paying taxes on their properties. As a result, counties acquired the land because of delinquent taxes or purchased the land for minimal amounts prior to foreclosure. Soon after these transactions occurred, the Oregon state legislature began allowing counties to turn their forest lands over to the state Board of Forestry. In exchange, the counties receive a portion of the timber revenue from the land.

Santiam State Forest land in Linn County was acquired by the Board of Forestry between 1939 and 1949. Marion County lands were acquired between 1940 and 1953, and Clackamas County lands were deeded to the state between 1942 and 1950. From 1943 to 1952, the state acquired additional forest land from private land owners through purchases and charitable donations.

By the time ownership passed to the state, natural regeneration had successfully reforested most of the forest. However, a large fire in 1951 burned nearly half the Santiam forest. The Department of Forestry quickly replanted the burned area. Prior to 1968, forest management activities were conducted by workers operating out of the department's Salem office. In 1968, a new forest headquarters was built in Mehama, Oregon.

A large forest fire in late summer 2020 has led to much of the forest being closed including the Shellbrook falls trailhead etc.

Topography

Santiam State Forest geologic history began 40 million years ago with the eruption of a chain of volcanoes, today's Cascade Mountains. During the Miocene era, 15 million years ago, the area was tilted and cracked resulting in many new lava flows. The rocks that result from this geologic activity are mostly basalt, andesitic flows, volcanic breccia, and tuff with smaller amounts of other igneous rocks.

Elevations in Santiam State Forest range from 1,000 to  above sea level. The terrain is characterized by long, steep slopes leading to broad ridge tops. Stream channels are common, and in most cases, have cut deeply into the hills. Higher elevations are rocky, especially on very steep slopes and ridge crests.

Water resources

 The Santiam State Forest has a temperate mountain climate. Late fall and winter seasons are normally wet, receives approximately  of precipitation per year. In winter, snow accumulation is not heavy except at the highest elevations. Summers are generally dry and warm. Extremely hot days are rare.

Portions of the Santiam State Forest are located within the community watershed areas for a number of Oregon cities including Detroit, Gates, Mehama, Lyons, Mills City, Salem, Stayton, Scotts Mill, and Silverton. In the southern area of the forest, the major streams are Rock Creek, Mad Creek, Snake Creek, Sardine Creek, and Stout Creek, which all flow into the North Santiam River. Major streams in the north are Butte Creek, Abiqua Creek, Cedar Creek, and Silver Creek. These creeks all flow into the Pudding River. In addition, Gawley Creek flows into the Molalla River.

The Santiam State Forest contains a few scattered wetlands, all smaller than . There are four high elevation lakes located within the Butte Creek Basin. These lakes provide important wildlife habitat, but are also popular recreation sites.

Wildlife

The forests of northwest Oregon provide habitat for hundreds of species of fish and wildlife. A total of 270 species including 63 mammals, 147 birds, 32 amphibians and reptiles, and 28 fish species are known to live in or near state forest lands. Many of these species have ranges that include the Santiam State Forest.

The Santiam State Forest is home to large, healthy populations of deer, elk, cougar, and bear. The North Cascade District conducts an annual spotted owl survey in the Santiam State Forest to monitor the owl population and habitat. The results of the survey show a small, but stable population of spotted owls are located within the forest.

There are  of fish bearing streams located on the Santiam State Forest with an additional  of streams that have not yet been classified. The North Cascade District is currently conducting fish presence surveys in order to classify the remaining streams. Completed stream inventories show the presence of both rainbow and coastal cutthroat trout. The lower reaches of Rock Creek, Mad Creek, and Stout Creek also support populations of wild winter steelhead.

Forest management

North Cascade District operates under a forest management plan that included timber harvesting at a rate of  to  per year. Clear cut harvesting is limited to  per year. Two important factors that influence the timber harvest are restrictions for spotted owl habitat and the emerging market for smaller-diameter saw-logs and veneer material.

 Douglas-fir is the primary tree species in the Santiam State Forest. In some areas, the Douglas-fir stands are mixed with western hemlock, western red cedar, red alder, and bigleaf maple. A few Pacific yew can also be found at the lower elevations. Mountain hemlock, noble fir, silver fir, and western white pine are found in the higher elevations. Douglas-fir areas that have been recently cut and reforested are characterized by even-aged layers of seedlings or saplings. Stands cut more than 15 years ago have grown into closed canopy stands. These areas have a dense, even-aged layer of rapidly growing Douglas fir trees. The forest also has some older stands that naturally regenerated prior to the establishment of the state forest. These areas are typically mixed conifer stands that include Douglas-fir, hemlock, western red cedar, and noble fir. The forest has only a few layered stands, approximately . These are the result of a selective cutting program during the 1970s and 1980s. These stands normally have an over-story of large Douglas-fir trees. There are ten separate patches of old-growth forest, totaling . These stands range in age from 120 to 500 years.

The Santiam State Forest has seven management basins delineated by major stream drainage areas and related land forms. The Butte Creek Basin has , and is located southeast of Silverton. The Cedar Creek Basin has , and is northeast of Silver Falls State Park. The Crabtree Basin has , and is located east of Lebanon, Oregon. The Green Basin has , and is northeast of Gates. The Mad Creek Basin has , and is located southeast of Mill City. The Rock Creek Basin has , and is located south of Mill City adjacent to the Mad Creek Basin. There is also a forest unit designated as the Scattered Basin. That unit has  located in scattered parcels throughout Clackamas, Marion, and Linn counties. These areas drain into the North Santiam River, South Santiam River, or the Pudding River.

Recreation

Santiam State Forest is used for a wide range recreation activities including camping, hunting, fishing, mountain biking, and horseback riding. The forest has five campgrounds, a number of maintained day-use areas, and  of hiking trails. One of the most popular sites is Shellburg Falls, located off Highway 22 near the town of Mehama. It has a quarter-mile hiking trail leading to the falls. It also has a one-half mile mountain bike trail constructed in 2006. Green Basin has two primitive hiking trails. One trail leads to the peak of Rocky Top Mountain where a fire lookout was once located. The other trail leads to a natural rock arch. Both of these trails are about one-half mile long. In the Butte Creek management area a short trail leads to Butte Creek Falls. The North Cascade District posts hiking information on kiosks at all the trailheads.

Oregon State Police troopers conduct vehicle patrols and provide law enforcement on the Santiam State Forest lands. Patrols enforce fish and wildlife, trespass, vandalism, and other state laws as well as fire regulations. Department of Forestry officers also patrol recreation areas and provide visitor assistance during high use periods.

References

External links
 Oregon Department of Forestry

Oregon state forests
Protected areas of Clackamas County, Oregon
Protected areas of Linn County, Oregon
Protected areas of Marion County, Oregon

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Mastacembelus micropectus is a species of fish in the family Mastacembelidae. It is endemic to Lake Tanganyika. It is threatened by habitat loss.

References

micropectus
Fish of Lake Tanganyika
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot
Fish described in 1962
Taxa named by Hubert Matthes


text:
Q: Parse String to Generate Output String in Specific Format I am looking to generate a Sequence Number in this format
00000A
00000B
00000B

and so on till
00000Z

and then
00001A
00001B
00001C
...
00001Z
...
00010A

till
99999Z

I know that I can generate Max 2.6 million rows using this method but I guess that is enough
so, if I have the a String, lets say 26522C, Now i want the next number as 26522D
or If I have 34287Z, i want 34288A
I can write the Algorithm about it but there will be lots of parsing of the input string characters by characters
I was wondering is there any easier way of doing it
String GetNextNumberInSequence(String inputString)
{
   if (inputString.Length == 6)
   {
     var charArray = inputString.ToCharArray();
     char[] inputChars = { charArray[0], charArray[1], charArray[2],charArray[3],charArray[4],charArray[5] };
     if(Char.IsDigit(charArray[5]))
     {
       //Parse first 5 characters
     }
   }
}

A: You can achieve this by converting a number to Base36.
Take a look at this sample:
private const string CharList = "0123456789abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz";

public static String Base36Encode(long input, char paddingChar, int totalWidth)
{
    char[] clistarr = CharList.ToCharArray();
    var result = new Stack<char>();

    while (input != 0)
    {
        result.Push(clistarr[input % 36]);
        input /= 36;
    }

    return new string(result.ToArray()).PadLeft(totalWidth, paddingChar).ToUpper();
}

and then use it this way:
for(int i = 0; i < 1000; i++)
{
    Debug.WriteLine(Base36Encode(i, '0', 6));
}

which will produce this:
000000, 000001, 000002, 000003, 000004, 000005, 000006, 000007, 000008, 000009, 00000A, 00000B, 00000C, 00000D, 00000E, 00000F, 00000G, 00000H, 00000I, 00000J, 00000K, 00000L, 00000M, 00000N, 00000O, 00000P, 00000Q, 00000R, 00000S, 00000T, 00000U, 00000V, 00000W, 00000X, 00000Y, 00000Z, 000010, 000011, 000012, 000013, 000014, 000015, 000016, 000017, 000018, 000019, 00001A, 00001B, 00001C, 00001D, 00001E, 00001F, 00001G, 00001H, 00001I, 00001J, 00001K, 00001L, 00001M, 00001N, 00001O, 00001P, 00001Q, 00001R, 00001S, 00001T, 00001U, 00001V, 00001W, 00001X, 00001Y, 00001Z, 000020, 000021, 000022, 000023, 000024, 000025, 000026, 000027, 000028, 000029, 00002A, 00002B, 00002C, 00002D, 00002E, 00002F, 00002G, 00002H, 00002I, 00002J, 00002K, 00002L, 00002M, 00002N, 00002O, 00002P, 00002Q, 00002R, 00002S, 00002T...
and the positive thing about this approach is that you can convert this back to number by using:
public static Int64 Base36Decode(string input)
{
    var reversed = input.ToLower().Reverse();

    long result = 0;
    int pos = 0;

    foreach (char c in reversed)
    {
        result += CharList.IndexOf(c) * (long)Math.Pow(36, pos);
        pos++;
    }

    return result;
}

A:     private static String GetNextNumberInSequence(String inputString)
    {
        var integerpart = int.Parse(inputString.Substring(0, 5));
        var characterPart = inputString[5];
        if (characterPart == 'Z')
            return string.Format("{0}{1}", (++integerpart).ToString("D5"), "A");

        var nextChar = (char)(characterPart + 1);
        return string.Format("{0}{1}", (integerpart).ToString("D5"), nextChar.ToString());
    }

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Q: Tensorflow attention OCR inference code I am trying to run the attention ocr in the tensorflow models https://github.com/tensorflow/models/tree/master/attention_ocr . I can find the script for training and evaluating on the FSNS dataset but they do not have code to run inference on a single image. I want to test it with my images and see how good it performs.
Here is what i tried for the inference part but I get error "Attempting to use uninitialized value AttentionOcr_v1/conv_tower_fn/INCE/InceptionV3/Conv2d_1a_3x3/weights"
      dataset = common_flags.create_dataset(split_name=FLAGS.split_name)
      model = common_flags.create_model(dataset.num_char_classes,
                                        dataset.max_sequence_length,
                                        1, dataset.null_code)

      #images: A tensor of shape [batch_size, height, width, channels].
      images_actual_data = Image.open("imagename.jpg").resize((600, 150))
      #Increase dimension of data and make it 4D
      images_actual_data = np.expand_dims(images_actual_data,axis=0)/255.0
      slim.get_or_create_global_step()
      master_checkpoint = "trained_files/attention_ocr_2017_05_17/model.ckpt-399731"
      inception_checkpoint = "inception-v3_2016_08_28/inception_v3.ckpt"

#inference code
      with tf.Session() as sess:
        init_op = tf.initialize_all_variables()
        sess.run(init_op)
        images_placeholder = tf.placeholder(dtype=tf.float32,shape=(1,150,600,3))
        endpoints = model.create_base(images_placeholder, labels_one_hot=None)
        model.create_init_fn_to_restore(master_checkpoint, inception_checkpoint)
        predictions = sess.run(endpoints.predicted_chars, feed_dict={images_placeholder: images_actual_data})

Here is the output log

    DEBUG 2017-08-01 21:20:58.000825: model.py: 314 images: Tensor("Placeholder:0", shape=(1, 150, 600, 3), dtype=float32)
    DEBUG 2017-08-01 21:20:58.000827: model.py: 319 Views=1 single view: Tensor("AttentionOcr_v1/split:0", shape=(1, 150, 600, 3), dtype=float32)
    DEBUG 2017-08-01 21:20:58.000827: model.py: 186 Using final_endpoint=Mixed_5d
    DEBUG 2017-08-01 21:20:59.000906: model.py: 325 Conv tower: Tensor("AttentionOcr_v1/conv_tower_fn/INCE/InceptionV3/Mixed_5d/concat:0", shape=(1, 16, 72, 288), dtype=float32)
    DEBUG 2017-08-01 21:20:59.000909: model.py: 328 Pooled views: Tensor("AttentionOcr_v1/pool_views_fn/STCK/Reshape:0", shape=(1, 1152, 288), dtype=float32)
    DEBUG 2017-08-01 21:20:59.000909: sequence_layers.py: 421 Use AttentionWithAutoregression as a layer class
    DEBUG 2017-08-01 21:21:01.000588: model.py: 331 chars_logit: Tensor("AttentionOcr_v1/sequence_logit_fn/SQLR/concat:0", shape=(1, 37, 134), dtype=float32)
    INFO 2017-08-01 21:21:01.000864: model.py: 511 Request to re-store 117 weights from trained_files/attention_ocr_2017_05_17/model.ckpt-399731
    INFO 2017-08-01 21:21:02.000021: model.py: 511 Request to re-store 104 weights from inception-v3_2016_08_28/inception_v3.ckpt

    Traceback (most recent call last):
      File "/Users/sxa091/everything/example_projects/tf_projects/models/attention_ocr/python/eval_image.py", line 84, in <module>
        app.run()
      File "/usr/local/lib/python2.7/site-packages/tensorflow/python/platform/app.py", line 48, in run
        _sys.exit(main(_sys.argv[:1] + flags_passthrough))
      File "/Users/sxa091/everything/example_projects/tf_projects/models/attention_ocr/python/eval_image.py", line 80, in main
        predictions = sess.run(endpoints.predicted_chars, feed_dict={images_placeholder: images_actual_data})
      File "/usr/local/lib/python2.7/site-packages/tensorflow/python/client/session.py", line 778, in run
        run_metadata_ptr)
      File "/usr/local/lib/python2.7/site-packages/tensorflow/python/client/session.py", line 982, in _run
        feed_dict_string, options, run_metadata)
      File "/usr/local/lib/python2.7/site-packages/tensorflow/python/client/session.py", line 1032, in _do_run
        target_list, options, run_metadata)
      File "/usr/local/lib/python2.7/site-packages/tensorflow/python/client/session.py", line 1052, in _do_call
        raise type(e)(node_def, op, message)
    tensorflow.python.framework.errors_impl.FailedPreconditionError: Attempting to use uninitialized value AttentionOcr_v1/conv_tower_fn/INCE/InceptionV3/Conv2d_1a_3x3/weights
         [[Node: AttentionOcr_v1/conv_tower_fn/INCE/InceptionV3/Conv2d_1a_3x3/weights/read = Identity[T=DT_FLOAT, _class=["loc:@AttentionOcr_v1/conv_tower_fn/INCE/InceptionV3/Conv2d_1a_3x3/weights"], _device="/job:localhost/replica:0/task:0/cpu:0"](AttentionOcr_v1/conv_tower_fn/INCE/InceptionV3/Conv2d_1a_3x3/weights)]]

A: Everyone has his own favorite way to store and read images, so this snippet is incomplete intentionally.
Here is one many possible ways to populate the images_actual_data:
import skimage.io as io
import numpy as np

fn = '600x150_image_with_4_views_%i.jpg'
images = [io.imread(fn % i, dtype='float') for i in range(batch_size)]
images_actual_data = np.stack(images)
images_actual_data = 2.5*(images_actual_data - 0.5)  # normalize values

Note that you need to use the same type of the normalization which was used during training.


You can write for us, help with research, and consider becoming an associate, a consultant or a supporter-partner. We are always looking for subject-matter experts who bring deep knowledge and experience of NATO or NATO-related issues – especially in relation to specific member states. If you meet this description we would love to talk with you. Likewise if you have expertise in, or ties to, the media, parliament or Congress, the blogosphere or the advocacy community in any NATO Member State, Partner or Contact country.
Last but by no means least, your financial contribution at this early stage could make a big difference -- enabling us to convene experts, craft policies, get the message out, rebut misinformation and ultimately move NATO reform in a positive direction.
Offers of help in various ways are genuinely welcome. To get more information, offer feedback or guidance, suggest key analyses or experts to consult, or explore a financial contribution, please contact Ian Davis, Director [idavis at natowatch.org].
You can also make a donation via PayPal by clicking here.


Expecting mothers deserve good skin care too!
Pregnancy is not just about watching what you eat and put in your body, but what goes on your skin as well. Harmful ingredients can still be absorbed through the skin and you don't want to risk your baby's health! Here are some of our favourite pregnancy-safe skincare products to make this journey a little easier for you.
Having a baby is a blessing, but one of the downsides is when stretch marks start to appear to give room for the baby's growth. When the skin stretches too much it can start to itch or hurt, which is why applying a lotion is important.
Formulated with Bio C-Elaste™, pure cocoa, shea butter and Vitamin E, Palmer's Cocoa Butter lotion will relieve dryness and itchiness that comes with stretch marks. This lotion can be used all over the body and might reduce the likelihood of developing stretch marks when used daily.
Complete with five types of hyaluronic acid, this Hada Labo cream keeps your face hydrated for smoother and more supple skin. This cream is rich in texture, but absorbs quickly into the skin to provide long-lasting moisture. To apply, just massage it gently and pat for better absorption!
Protect yourself from harmful UV rays with this SPF 50 Neutrogena sunscreen. This sunscreen is free from PABA (Para-Aminobenzoic acid), which can sometimes cause allergic reactions. Additionally, it won't clog your pores or leave a sticky feeling this sunscreen is oil-free and non-comedogenic.
It's not easy being pregnant – you feel tired and sore at the end of the day. Treat yourself and wind down with this shower gel by ANMYNA. The formula is delicate, but effectively cleanses away dirt and oil from the skin. This mild recipe is suitable for pregnant women, you'll feel refreshed with the floral aroma of this shower gel after every bath!
Due to hormonal changes, pregnant women tend to experience breakouts more regularly. Not to fret, this the Body Shop tea tree facial wash is here to the rescue! Tea tree oil removes impurities and oil without drying out the skin, resulting in clearer skin when used every day.
Kiehl's Creamy Eye Treatment with Avocado is a lifesaver for those with tired eyes. The avocado oil helps restore moisture to your skin while the shea butter protects the skin from dehydration. The unique texture of this eye cream prevents it from migrating into your eyes after application.
Organic products are typically better for the skin as they do not contain harmful chemicals or ingredients. This organic night cream from Eminence contains ingredients such as argan oil, jojoba oil, and shea butter to hydrate the skin. Enriched with Monoi, it nourishes and firms your skin – experience rejuvenated skin when you wake up.
All I need are cats and dogs.


This blog is AWESOME!! I enjoyed reading about all my favorite veg restaurants, and learning new things. As far as the burger at Hugo's I actually ordered that a couple weeks ago, and also got the ranch as one of my three options. It was totally runny for me too, and I thought that might have just been a one-off, but it sounds likes that's how they normally make it. The burger itself was super yummy though. Also, I didn't know Leaf Cuisine had soft serve ice cream!! That's really exciting and I can't wait to try it. Thanks for creating this blog. Looking forward to reading future entries.
Thanks, Denise! I'm so glad you enjoyed reading my posts so far!! But, that's sad Hugo's ranch was runny for you, too. They need to thicken it up!


text:
Clavariachaete is a genus of fungi in the family Hymenochaetaceae.

Species

Clavariachaete peckoltii
Clavariachaete rubiginosa

Hymenochaetaceae
Agaricomycetes genera


text:
Hanebo socken i Hälsingland ingår sedan 1974 i Bollnäs kommun och motsvarar från 2016 Hanebo distrikt.

Socknens areal är 359,41 kvadratkilometer, varav 332,70 land. År 2000 fanns här 2 944 invånare.  Tätorterna Sibo och Kilafors samt sockenkyrkan Hanebo kyrka ligger i socknen.

Administrativ historik
Hanebo socken har medeltida ursprung. 1324 utbröts Skogs socken.

Vid kommunreformen 1862 övergick socknens ansvar för de kyrkliga frågorna till Hanebo församling och för de borgerliga frågorna bildades Hanebo landskommun. Landskommunen utökades 1952 och uppgick 1974 i Bollnäs kommun. Församlingen uppgick 2006 i Hanebo-Segersta församling.

1 januari 2016 inrättades distriktet Hanebo, med samma omfattning som församlingen hade 1999/2000.

Socknen har tillhört fögderier, tingslag och domsagor enligt vad som beskrivs i artikeln Hälsingland. De indelta soldaterna tillhörde Hälsinge regemente, Livkompaniet.

Geografi
Hanebo socken ligger mellan Ljusnan och sjön Bergviken i norr, i söder mot Gästriklands gräns, i sydöst mot Söderhamns och Ockelbo kommun, i väster mot Bollnäs sockens gräns.  Socknen har odlingsbygd vid vattendragen och sjön och är i övrigt en kuperad skogsbygd med höjder som når drygt 400 meter över havet vid Stora Locksjöknoppen.

I byn Hårga (dial.Hôrga) började Hälsingehambon.

Fornlämningar
Från stenåldern finns lösfynd och järnåldern finns gravhögar.

Namnet
Namnet (1302 Hanabo) kan innehålla förleden hane, tupp av skogsfågel' som kan ha överförts till sjöar i närheten av kyrkan, 'sjöar/tjärnar där det finns (orr) tuppar'. Efterleden är bo, 'bygd'.

Se även
Hanebo församling

Referenser

Noter

Externa länkar

Socknar i Hälsingland

Indelningar i Bollnäs kommun


text:
About Kerim
Carlos Fuentes on why multilateralism matters to Latin America:
U.S. support for brutal dictatorships in Chile, Argentina and Uruguay in the name of anti-communism caused great suffering. The overthrow of Jacobo Arbenz in Guatemala and Salvador Allende in Chile. The Central American wars in the 1980s and their high body counts. These Latin American grievances were balanced by a perception that the U.S. never formally renounced the principles of international law and the hope that it would reaffirm them again.
What is alarming about the Bush administration is its formal denunciation of the basic rules of international intercourse. With us or against us, President Bush declares starkly and simplistically. The U.S. acts according to its own interests, "not those of an illusory international community," asserts national security advisor Condoleezza Rice.
Is it strange that many Latin Americans should see in these statements an aggressive denial of the only leverage we have in dealing with Washington: the rule of law, the balance obtained through diplomatic negotiation?
Responsibility vs. Rights
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Copyright P. Kerim Friedman.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


I have been having this problem during sixth form and now during uni, basically i get on well with all my classmates and some of them and talk to alot in class about the work and life in general but how do i turn classmates into friends outside of class and general people you can hang around with after class?
On the way out of class ask if they want to go for a coffee or something. Or ask if they're going to the [whatever is on that night].
If you're still in your freshers week, ask what they're doing and if you can go with.
Just get talking to people on night's out, people in your halls!
Classmates into friends, find common ground!
Same classes as your friends?


text:
Massachusetts Hands-Free Driving Law Is Now In Effect05:08
<iframe width="100%" height="124" scrolling="no" frameborder="no" src="https://player.wbur.org/news/2020/02/23/massachusetts-hands-free-phone-distracted-driving-law"></iframe>
Sharon BrodyTwitter
Traffic congestion on southbound on Massachusetts Interstate 95 during a morning commute. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)
This article is more than 1 year old.
The new law, signed by Gov. Charlie Baker in November, severely restricts the use of mobile phones and other hand-held devices when people are behind the wheel.
State Sen. Will Brownsberger helped craft the new law. He joined Weekend Edition's Sharon Brody to talk about its importance.
This segment aired on February 23, 2020.
WBUR's Morning Edition
What's Allowed Under The New Hands-Free Driving Law? We Drove Around With An Expert To Find Out
What You Need To Know About The New Distracted Driving Law In Mass.
Sharon Brody Twitter News Anchor
Sharon Brody is the voice of WBUR's weekend mornings. On Saturdays and Sundays, she anchors the news for Weekend Edition and other popular programs.


Is there anything better than celebrating summer weather in the Ocean State? Rhode Island is a summer paradise. With seafood festivals, quaint beaches, and even whale watching, you'll never have a dull moment here. Check out the 10 best summer activities to do in the state!
Grab your suitcase, a bike or a kayak, and hop onto a ferry to Block Island! There are great activities going on all summer long, such as Restaurant Week and the Block Island Music Festival.
During June of each summer, enjoy the best of Providence's live music, dance, and food scene. The arts festival takes over nearly every public space in the city, bringing the city together all over the course of three sunny days.
Take a drive through Colt State Park's 464 acres of lawns and stone walls, giving great access to plenty of Rhode Island's most scenic bits of shoreline with views of Narragansett Bay.
Lobsters, steamers, and chowder—oh my! You can stuff yourself full of all the Ocean State's best seafood at this event, hosted each year by the Charlestown Chamber of Commerce.
WaterFire is the quintessential Providence event—join locals and out-of-towners at this semi-regular arts festival that takes place across the Providence River.
Roger Williams is one of the country's oldest zoos, located in a park spanning 40 acres. Whether you love animals or are just there for one of the many festivals or workshops they host, you'll enjoy being surrounded by nature at the zoo.
Bring a picnic to the beach and enjoy a day spent in the sand at Easton Beach! Located at the start of the Cliff Walk, East Beach offers soft sand and relaxing waves—it's the perfect spot for a hot summer day.
Celebrate the LGBTQ community at Providence's own pride celebration. Providence's parade takes place at night, with neon lights and banging music to accompany each group's display of pride!
Stop into this adorable Hope Street café for the best ice cream in Rhode Island. You'll most certainly want to try the mint chocolate chip, made with real, fresh mint for a refreshingly sweet taste. Take your cone and wander around the shops along Hope Street during a warm summers' day.
Take a tour with Frances Fleet and try to spot some whales off of the port of Galilee. You'll most often find beautiful finback whales, but perhaps also the majestic humpback, false killer, or pilot whale.


text:
Q: Android/Java - How pass a global variable value from main activity to a runnable class I have a global variable in my main activity called "pinNumberConverted". I need to get the value of this variable in another class of type runnable (inside there is a server socket). How can i do it?
This is the main activity:
public class AndroidServer2 extends Activity {

  Random pin_generator = new Random();
  public int pin_number = pin_generator.nextInt(9000-1000 +1) +1000; //generate a random code for the first connection with the kiosk
  public String pinNumberConverted = String.valueOf(pin_number);
  Thread fst = new Thread(new MyServer()); //declaration of a new thread

@Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
    super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
    setContentView(R.layout.activity_android_server2);
    initialize();
}

@Override
protected void onResume(){
    super.onResume();
    Utilities utilities = new Utilities();
    utilities.connectionInfo(this, wiFi, wifiInfo, ipAddress, wirelessName, pin, ipAddressConversion, serverIp, pin_number);
    if (fst.isAlive() == false){
        fst.start();
    }
  }
}

This is the runnable class:
public class MyServer implements Runnable{

    //Need to pass the information taken from connection info method in Utilities.java
    public Handler handler = new Handler();
    public ServerSocket serverSocket;
    MyServerMethods myServerMethods = new MyServerMethods();
    AndroidServer2 androidServer2 = new AndroidServer2(); //this doesn't work and give error in runtime

    @Override
    public void run() {
        try{
          ServerSocket parent = new ServerSocket(); //create a new socket
          parent.setReuseAddress(true);
          parent.bind(new InetSocketAddress(serverPort)); //bind the server port and reuse it if necessary
            if ( serverIp != null){
                Log.i("Status","READY");
                while (true){
                    Socket client = parent.accept(); //accept the incoming connection
            //Here i need to take the value of the global variable from the main activity
               } catch (Exception e) {
            e.printStackTrace();
        }
      }
}

Thanks


text:
Q: Array where there is a non-numeric argument to binary operator I was running my code, when I received the following error message:
"Error in t-1: non-numeric argument to binary operator"
The error is in p[t]<-p[t-1] in the function:
p<-rep(0, dimension)

price<-function(n, dimension){

  p[t]<-p[t-1]

...
}

this function is recalled into another function where p[t=0] is equal to 1. T represents the time at which an order is submitted. At the beginning, i.e. for t=0, p[t]<-1. I also tried to change p[t-1] into p[t] and p[t] into p[t+1], but it gives me the same error.
Could you please tell me how I can fix this error?
Thank you


When our children were toddler's I used to say to my wife, if anything happens and you decide to leave, the kids stay with me. A few years later, when they were teenagers, I said to my wife, if anything happens and you decide to leave, the kids go with you! The philosophy governing my grandson's status is very clear; Everyone is expendable except, him. A little humor can go along way to keep you sane.
I revamped my internal operating system some time back. For many years I approached everyday without being deliberate. I accepted feelings, thoughts, and actions as the collective summation of who I am. I viewed shortcomings, deficiencies, and flaws as permanent spots. Weaknesses that I felt guilty about. When shame took root I had an abiding sense of fatality and impending doom! I learned; what you think about you bring about. Doggone these irrefutable laws!
There are four things I insist on every day! The decision to make this a daily ritual is, arguably, the best gift I've ever given to myself. Any day I can, check these off my to-do-list, I declare a great day. Time to celebrate!
The Sweet Spot – Laugh so hard your stomach hurts.
The Soft Spot – Cry over someone else's pain.
The Strong Spot – Help make life better for another person.
The Solidarity Spot – Refuse to think destructive thoughts about myself or others.
This is my unfolding story and I'm sticking to it!
Your family, friends, strangers, and service workers provide abundant touch-spots to exercise goodwill. I love to write the note of encouragement, make the call to cheer someone, or affirm a person online. Pay a compliment to a cashier, look a security guard in the eye when I greet them, and acknowledge people by name. Connection is a choice. You will never run out of chances to make someone's day!
A moment is waiting to take your breath away. Can You Spot It?
There's one promise, I made to myself, that has remained constant. I will forever be a student of life. My devotion for learning, understanding, and meaning has never needed motivation. Periods of despair, darkness, and confusion always succumb to the greater pledge of finding the light. From my childhood until now, I learn.
What I don't know troubles me. I recognize it as fear. A carryover pattern from feelings of inadequacy, insecurity, and something missing. As I've gained proper perspective, and insight into reality, I've been successful in eliminating dominating negatives. Self-defeating self talk, wallowing in self-pity, mourning a life I thought I should have had nearly caused me to miss my life.
The could have – should have – would haves of life can be thoroughly debilitating. The ever-present "now" is the ticket to paradise. It's never to late to get it right. For yourself. For those you love. Simply because you can. Comparing is chaining yourself to a journey that was never yours. We are bombarded with ads, about 5000 a day, specifically designed to make us believe we, can't be what we want to be, unless we buy what they're selling.
Whether it's designer shoes, the latest technology, or motivational roadmaps if we aren't convinced of our own inherent value we are prey for the prophet profit. Financing the seller's dream. Nothing wrong, in my opinion, with enjoying the best of everything. If you can afford it. If it doesn't enslave you. If it doesn't prevent the real you from emerging. The untold riches aren't in what we get. They're in what we give!
I didn't make it to High School Graduation. I've always been sorry I didn't attend the Prom. I hear it was a lot of fun for many. I haven't walked across a stage to receive a Degree. A number of Certifications and Licenses has been my institutional achievements. I've devoured as many seminars, workshops, and courses I could manage. I've read hundreds of books. I've had the good fortune to be around people who inspire me. I've also experienced shyster's, con artists, and gamers. Part of my higher education is being able to differentiate.
I've gotten over my lack of formal education much better than some have gotten over their B.S. I do have an appreciation for the hard work, dedication, and sacrifice for all those who spend years in the classroom. And use their acquired skills to make the world better. I also hold in high esteem, everyone who stays in school, outside houses of learning. When I see all the social chaos, lack of corporate integrity, and governmental corruption I know the wisest and brightest aren't the most visible.
I do feel regret over academic shortcomings. Not because of what someone else might think of me. But, because of my love of learning. I will stay a student for as long as I'm alive. I hope to avoid my Cap and Gown for years to come. Part of my romance with life is keeping my mortarboard elusive!
What do you think about your level of knowledge?
AwarenessDestinyDiscoveryDivine IntentionPersonal GrowthRick Amitin BloggerRick Amitin speakerRick Amitin WriterThe Elusive Mortarboard!
Feeling rundown? WebMD admonishes you to give your body a boost — with laughter. If people can get more laughter in their lives, they are a lot better off, says Steve Wilson, MA, CSP, a psychologist and laugh therapist. (who knew) Having been a regular sit-down comic, performing for free over many years, I'm about to stand up and get paid. Laughter by itself might not be a cure-all. But working in concert with a positive attitude, the support of family and friends, a good sense of humor can pay huge dividends.
It is believed that we change physiologically when we laugh. William Fry, a pioneer in laughter research, claimed it took ten minutes on a rowing machine for his heart rate to reach the level it would reach after just one minute of hearty laughter. And laughter appears to burn calories, too. Maciej Buchowski, a researcher from Vanderbilt University, conducted a small study and determined 10-15 minutes of laughter burned 50 calories. (Is this diet featured on Dr.Oz?) If I can bottle, and patent laughter, I'm gonna be rich. Oh yeah, carbs will still be a problem. Shucks, portion size does matter. Exercise too? Dang it!
I've been without a laugh before. I can attest it's no fun. Personally, laughter has saved me, many times. A good old-fashioned belly laugh can transform you faster than two shots of 5-Hour Energy. (My own opinion. No supporting data available) More of my own insights reveal real life experiences, of deep laughter, can set you free. It's also sustainable. Tip: Keep thinking about what made you laugh so hard. For as long as you can. Before you return to what occupied you before you laughed. Hey, if you don't have your own plan use mine until you do. Just sayin!
The latest research also shows that laughter, humor, and happiness play a key role in longevity. My analysis is this; if you go around like you're the designated bump on a dill pickle you might want to go ahead and make your final arrangements early. I know everything isn't laughable. Certainly not to everybody. We were walking to a cooking class with our grandson when a bird, totally without regard for human life, did the unmentionable on his head. I'm not usually a hunter, but if I had Schwarzenegger's machine gun, or even David's sling shot there would be one dead bird laying in the street in downtown San Francisco. Our boy didn't think it was funny. And it wasn't. But his reaction was. I hid my chuckles the best I could.
I'm getting dressed one morning. With pants and shirt already on, I slipped into one sock when, the phone rings. I throw the other sock over my shoulder. I'm in a hurry but the person on the phone isn't picking up on the signals. I finally escape Ma Bell only to find my other sock is missing. I conducted a thorough investigation before filing a missing sock report. I took the one sock off and put on another pair.
I head down the road and decide to make a quick stop at the store. I rush in, find what I want, head for check out. Standing in line something catches my eye. I look down to find the missing sock had mysteriously returned. I didn't ask where it had been. I just reached up, graciously took it into my hand, and placed it in my pocket. My sock had come home. It was an intimate moment I desperately wanted to be alone with. Scanning my immediate surroundings, for possible intruders, I locked eyes with a woman who obviously had violated my wishes.
Yes, she was laughing. At me! I had to laugh too. On the way out she asked me how long I had looked for the sock? I know it's not nice to laugh at other people. And, if my intuition is correct, I'm too late to give you permission. You've probably already had, a belly full, at my expense! Well, you're welcome. Here's to good health!
I invite you to share a personal funny in comments!
Who doesn't love a good nursery rhyme? I'm talking classics here. Remember, Wheels on the Bus? How about, Pat a Cake? Or, Humpty Dumpty? Ok, so I've dated myself. Maybe a little diddy from childhood conjures up warm memories for you. Times when you sat on the lap of someone making you feel loved, special. It's quite possible you've performed some of your chart toppers, for the enjoyment, of your own child, niece, or nephew. Are you really going to try to convince us you didn't have fun doing it?
I've had the best time making stuff up to sing to Jaden. Partly because I'm creative and partly because I don't have many nursery rhymes committed to memory. Bedtime stories, when I was a child, weren't a high priority at my house(s). Hey, everybody can't have a storybook beginning. I mean, what would happen to the therapy industry? Self help wouldn't even exist as a noble, life long, pursuit. Besides, Jaden likes my made-up tunes enough to request them. Alright. If you insist. I'll give you one. Just one.
m the "55 and over" menu, I've had lots of practice dealing with mistakes. Mine and yours, if I know you.
Let me explain. We've all been mirrorized (embellished word). We've been looking into the words said to us, the ones that cut us deep. We've interpreted the actions of people, who didn't know our value, as settled fact. Some of us have incorrectly accepted less, thinking, we are unworthy of any better. Many have preprogrammed mirrors. Every time we look at ourselves we know what to expect. We adventure only to its allowable limits.
Magic Mirror is the correct line in the fairy tale. I'm trying to be gentle here. I want to let you down easy. There is no magic mirror in real life. All negative affects from hurtful actions, self-inflicted wounds, or words of terror are commutable. Able to be permanently pardoned. Any and everything done from a misspelled perception can be undone. No life sentence required. All the junk is temporal. It ends when you've had enough.
We stand still and travel from fantasy to reality. Wayne Dyer famously instructed, "when you change the way you look at things – the things you look at change." You owe it to yourself to own what you see, think, and feel about yourself. Not sanctioning debilitating opinions and behaviors from others. If you agreed with them you have probably sabotaged yourself. The next time you look in the mirror don't ask the mirror to tell you anything. Tell yourself, the truth about what, you see!
Mirror Mirror on the Wall I am ___________________________!
It's a big deal for me to walk my grandson to school everyday. It's only about a five-minute stroll down a very busy street. I say the same thing to him every morning as we weave in and out of sidewalk traffic. I tell him; you know it's going to happen. What Papa? I'm going to love you more when you come home than I do right now. Sometimes I get a smile and sometimes I get a frustrated, you tell me that everyday, Papa!
If I could line up all the little boys in the world and pick the one I want to be my papa boy, I would pick you. I know Papa, you say that all the time. Guess I have to keep finding new ways to say the things I want him to know. When we get to the school he always gives me a big hug and says, I'll see you later, Papa! I whisper in his ear, or look him in the eye, and say our secret theme!
I want Jaden to get the best education he can, and then, I want him to get over it. He might be learning some things that he will never use. For me, Algebra was a test to see if I would stay in school, and nothing more. It deposited a bad memory I'm yet to get over. If not for the nice young lady sitting next to me, helping me understand, I might have made a picket sign and went on strike. I can't remember ever using algebraic axioms to solve life problems. But, I have solved many problems. I wonder if that's the whole point?
It's important that Jaden learn, as early as he can, challenges are daily occurrences. Developing a masterful skill set, capable of navigating the most troubled waters, is necessary. Take life in stride is the foundational message I'm trying to instill in Jaden. If you are prepared, even for the unexpected, you won't be sidelined. Learn to take a punch. When knocked down, learn, how to get back up!
I find a big difference between challenges and trouble. Challenges, arise organically, and are a natural part of living in a world with other people. There are differing thoughts, customs, religions, and governments. We are challenged to respect one another. And, treat each other with dignity. Trouble? Well, that's what we generally bring on ourselves. Talking when we should be listening. Playing when it's time to be working. Complaining when we're suppose to be resolving.
Most of our demons possess us when we develop bad habits. I know an exorcism is more dramatic than creating rituals that lead to a fulfilling life. Only we can decide whether we're dealing with challenges or trouble. Excellence is the arch-enemy of mediocrity. And, excellence is always an option. No matter what! The problem with shooting yourself in the foot, repeatedly, is you eventually run out of toes.
Our secret theme is simple; Excellence and no Trouble!
What is your theme, mantra, or ritual that keeps you heading in the right direction?
For The Love Of Pajamas!
Being on the outside, looking in, isn't always a bad thing. Case in point; Window Shopping. Looking at stuff, without touching, smelling, or trying anything on is a way to save big. Of course, you won't be able to parade around in designer trends or the latest fashions.
I have a friend. I won't mention his name but, his initials are, Rick Dempsey. We share an affinity for shopping. Some have suggested that we are a couple of guys in touch with our feminine sides. As if shopping belongs exclusively to females.
I can tell you whether we felt stressed, depressed, or on top of the world we could shop. I'm definitely the better shopper. One time we went to Tijuana' back when good deals, especially for leather, were worth the trip. On this bargain hunt we had another friend with us. Our guest and I negotiated respectable deals before we headed back across the border. Dempsey claimed he wasn't looking for anything and didn't make a purchase.
It's common for traffic to be backed up to get through the border checkpoint. There were merchants, including sad-looking children, knocking on the car windows trying to sell you something while you're stuck in traffic. It takes a lot of self-control not to buy things. This day Dempsey failed miserably. He impulsively purchased an awful green colored purse. claiming his wife loved green. He believed it to be leather. It turned out to be pure vinyl. He tragically overpaid.
Oh yes! We were relentless. For the hour drive home we didn't let him catch his breath. Laughing at him. Teasing him. Bad color, paid too much, and vinyl to boot. We get to his house and he proudly presents his prized purchase, in hope of redemption, to his wife. Her response was priceless. What made you buy that? she asked. I was thinking of you, he quipped. You can always use another purse, he begged. And you love green, he demanded. I don't need another purse, she stated. And this green is terrible. Plus, it's vinyl. I don't remember how long I was on the floor but my stomach was sore from laughing for several days. Buy with your emotions and suffer the consequences. In retail and in life.
Turnabout is fair play. It's Christmas time. Dempsey and I are shopping at Nordstrom's Rack, in San Diego. One last gift for my wife. We'd been shopping for hours. We combed the store and I was striking out. Money was tight. I was hoping to find an unbelievable deal for fifty bucks. We were about to reach the exit doors when I spotted the sale rack. Everything for $20.00.
I tore into it. Boom! 100 percent silk pajamas. Small and petite. The gods had smiled on me. I pulled them down and headed to check out. Feeling like once again I had out done my friend. Did you find everything? the lady asked. Yes ma'am. This is my last gift. I'm done Christmas shopping two weeks early. I pulled out thirty dollars to cover the sale and tax when the lady said, that will be a hundred, seven dollars, and thirty-two cents.
There must be a mistake, I said. I got these off the rack that said everything for $20.00. I'm sorry, she replied. Somebody must have hung them there by mistake. Dempsey was just about to die laughing. I had bragged about what a good shopper I was. Displaying my discipline when he tried to get me to buy things. Saying, he knew my wife would love it. I held my ground until I came up with the deal of the season. He showed no mercy. Obviously holding a grudge. Relishing in his chance to get back at me for Tijuana'.
The lady asked if I still wanted the pajamas. There was a long line. She said I'm sure your wife will love 'em. I didn't have enough money. I pulled out a credit card and completed the transaction. My best buddy was choking on his retribution. Although Tina wore them they were not her favorite. They were cold in the winter, hot in the summer, and slippery too. If it's not what it's advertised to be it's best to put it back. In retail and in life.
FOR THE LOVE OF PAJAMAS? I think not!
Have you made any bad purchases?
The day I realized the only thing I need is clarity.
The day I understood forgiveness is not connected to worthiness.
The day I became love I stopped looking for it.
Please share what makes you go, hmmm.
Awarenessblogging101DestinyDiscoveryDivine IntentionPersonal GrowthRick Amitin BloggerRick Amitin speakerRick Amitin WriterThings That Make You Go Hmmm!


text:
Money Talks Program Is a Financial Game Changer for Local Black Women
By: Sarah Dieleman Perry, Director of Economic Opportunity at Neighborhood Allies
If you're looking for it, you can find a lot of data on what's known as the "racial wealth gap." According to the Federal Reserve, a typical (median) white family in 2019 owned $184,000 in wealth, compared with $23,000 for a typical Black family – a difference of eight times. Considering gender as well as race, Goldman Sachs reports that the median single Black woman owns 92% less net wealth than the median single white man – a difference of 13 times. Much of this gap is due to wage disparities and is compounded by inequities in housing, education, and health. The traditional ways to gain and build wealth – inheritance, homeownership, and business ownership – are more difficult for Black women to access due to the generational legacy of unjust policies and systems.
One other avenue to building wealth is investing in capital markets. Could a program that encourages Black women to invest be a practical way to address the racial and gender wealth gap? Research from 2021 suggests four reasons that women of color invest in the stock market at much lower rates than other groups:
Lack of actionable knowledge
Lack of market access
Lack of investor identity
Lack of resources
We decided to address at least three of those with a new program that eventually became known as Money Talks.
First, Neighborhood Allies put together the concept – that creating a supportive environment for local Black women to learn from experts and each other would lead to gains in both confidence and knowledge of financial issues and investing. Then, we recruited a team – Jessica Perrone, owner of Her Financial IQ; Tamika Barrett, director of family development at Open Hands Ministries; Veronique Scullion, financial planner at Northwestern Mutual; and Violet Graham, controller at Neighborhood Allies. Thanks to a grant from the U. S. Conference of Mayors and outreach efforts from City of Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey, we were able to begin recruitment.
We advertised the opportunity for 50 women to join two cohorts, 25 in afternoon sessions and 25 in evening sessions, and 670 Black women in Pittsburgh expressed interest in participating. To understand the overwhelming demand for this program, here's what a few of them said in response to the question, "What is your motivation to participate?"
These expressions of hope for transformation also became the motivation for the team as we prepared to meet the 50 participants.
After a few months of planning and curriculum development, Money Talks officially launched in March 2022. The first part consisted of seven sessions about basic financial wellness – financial attitudes and beliefs, credit, debt, saving, risk, and making a financial plan. During the summer, we hosted "Money Chats" sessions. These forums focused on guiding attendees through the HerFinIQ Budgeting Workbook – a checklist to determine readiness to invest and move participants through a series of pre-investing actions. They investigated spending habits, learned budgeting skills, cut costs, identified savings, and committed to paying down credit card debt. These sessions created a platform where women could share their goals and struggles with money in a non-judgmental space; topics that are frequently taboo in society became touchpoints for hope and progress.
Halfway through the program, we conducted a survey. Nearly half responded, and of those, 100% increased their knowledge and confidence, and 100% said they planned to establish/increase an emergency fund, pay down debt, and save for a long-term goal.
In September, the second part of the Money Talks program consisted of five sessions about types of investment accounts, various ways to invest, estate planning, and an overview of stocks, market sectors, and ETFs. By the end of these classes, one woman said that while she used to ignore her retirement account statements, she now feels empowered and excited by them.
Throughout the sessions, we encouraged participants to seek free, one-on-one financial counseling from the Pittsburgh Financial Empowerment Center, free consultations with a Black female financial planner, and additional community resources for banking and saving such as Fund My Future PGH.
At the end of the program, we asked participants what Money Talks meant to them. Here are a few of their responses:
Jessica Perrone, who developed the curriculum and created the workbook, observed:
"Many women find talking about money and investing scary. However, with Money Talks, we provided a financial roadmap for women to build generational wealth, diminishing the fear and stigma of financial institutions and investing. I often say, 'Your financial future will be brighter than your past.' It was from the first day these ladies signed up for Money Talks, by investing in themselves, that their future started looking up."
Tamika Barrett, another one of the trainers, commented on the power of community: "People who are very wealthy do not build wealth on their own. They join together to create networks; they share information and lobby for rules to be changed. They know how to play the game. What we're doing here is amazing – we're showing up, having conversations in community, learning things that will help each other succeed. What's so powerful is that we know we're not in this alone."
Based on the success of the initial launch of Money Talks, we're working to raise funding for a program expansion in 2023. We expect that creating a self-paced online instructional model combined with monthly live Q&A sessions will allow us to invite many more to participate.
For more information on Money Talks, please contact Sarah Dieleman Perry at sarah@neighborhoodallies.org.


text:
Lyttelton Port Tug Procurement
Improving the port's ability to accommodate larger visiting vessels safely and efficiently into the future.
Safeguarding future expansion
Lyttelton Port's existing second tug had reached the end of its service life, and with a newly deepened marine channel, a more powerful tug was required to safely handle larger vessels into the future. We worked closely with the port over a four-year period to develop the justification for change, and specify the requirements for a new vessel. We then managed the end-to-end procurement and delivery process, culminating in the arrival of LPC's new harbour tug Piaka in mid-2019.
An international team effort
Our involvement in the project started with developing a robust set of documentation that clearly defined the current situation, challenges and limitations, and a recommended project direction. We worked with users to define a basic set of requirements, and then with international marine experts to confirm the best course of action for procurement of a new vessel. We managed a competitive international procurement process involving multiple shipyards from around the world, and then provided coordination and oversight during design and construction, including engaging independent third party inspection in the shipyard. We also with the delivery process, local documentation, and registration and certification with Maritime New Zealand for commercial operation in New Zealand.
Piaka was designed and constructed in accordance with Lloyds Register rules, an international set of maritime standards that specify quality and safety requirements.
The tug has a 75T bollard pull capacity, with two main engines generating over 4000kW of power and driving two 2.7m diameter propellers that can point in any direction.
The vessel was built in Singapore, with major equipment packages sourced from the USA, Europe, and Singapore, and integrated by the shipyard.
Piaka was delivered from Singapore to Lyttelton under its own power on a voyage around the top of Australia that took almost a month.
ashton.peters@rubix.nz
Ashton joined us in 2013 following five years working on oil and gas mega-projects in Australia. His mix of talent, skill and experience and his desire for personal growth has seen him take on a role as Regional Lead, where he adds significant value to our business and keeps the entire team on its toes.
Read Ashton's full bio


Disclaimer: The Chord Mojo was sent to me in exchange for Audiogarden.fr bannering on Headfonia.com, the unit can be kept in our collection for reference. We had to get the Mojo via a reseller as Chord wasn't interested in sending us a Mojo for review. Nathan bought his unit himself.
We've seen several very successful products from Chord such as the 2cute DAC, the Hugo, Hugo TT and of course the TOTL reference DAVE. Now Chord is back with their smallest and most portable DAC/Amp unit ever released and it was developed especially for use on the go with your phone. A lot of people are using their phones as source nowadays and for a while I feared that phones would completely take over DAPs. Lately however we've seen so many new good and affordable DAPs that – at least for now – DAPs still seem to rule the audiophile world. The good thing is Mojo works with a whole lot of different sources and you can basically use it with any device, but more on that later.
No this isn't the first time we feature the Mojo. In fact, Nathan has looked at the Chord Mojo a few months ago already and he absolutely loved it. He also did a follow up article on a Japanese balanced Mojo MOD he loved even more. A lot of people however kept asking me about my own opinion on the Mojo and so our friends from AudioGarden.fr sent me over a unit to have a closer look at. Nathan and myself have a completely different style of writing, so do read up on both his articles first as he surely touches points I won't elaborate on. The Mojo still goes for about $599 USD. How do we feel after a few months? Is it still as hot?
Mojo was launched in London during a very big event in of the more famous hotels. We weren't invited but it is clear Chord Electronics wanted to put the Mojo on the worldwide map since day one. Looking at where the Mojo is a few months later, Chord has certainly succeeded in making the Mojo a big hit. Chord is especially famous for making its own top quality DACs using their FPGA technology, they simply don't use any out-house developed DAC chips like those from Sabre, AKM, Cirrus, etc. and so far this has really been paying off for Chord Electronics. I love the DAC – if I may call it that – inside the Hugo a lot but tech-wise the new Mojo's DAC is a few miles ahead of the Hugo.
Even though the Mojo was mainly developed for use with smartphones it, just like the Hugo, is all about versatility. Mojo also works with your Windows or Apple PC and it can be connected to DAPs over optical, coax and USB. A lot of people simply use the optical or coaxial out from their DAP to the Mojo. Recently Astell&Kern made the USB-out available from their AK70 and AK380 DAPs and because of that the number of AK70/Mojo setups seems to have skyrocketed. Just look for AK70 on Instagram and be amazed how many people hook it up to the Mojo. Dignis even developed a leather AK70/Mojo case, which says enough about its popularity.
Mojo has 3 digital inputs. 1 x TOSLink optical capable of playing 44.1KHz to 192KHz PCM and DSD64 in DoP format. 1 x 3.5mm COAX SPDIF capable of playing 44.1KHz to 384Khz PCM (768KHz special operation) and DSD64, DSD128 in DoP format. 1 x micro USB capable of 44KHz to 768KHz PCM and DSD64, DSD128 and DSD256 in DoP format (which is far more than the Hugo can decode). Driverless on Mac, Android and Linux OS. However Windows Vista, 7, 8, and 10 will require a driver. DSD playback is supported using the DoP Standard 1.0 with 0xFA / 0x05 markers.
The Chord Mojo is beautiful. Chord uses top quality materials and the Mojo is very well machined. The unit feels smooth and soft and it's a pleasure to hold, 100% made in the UK. On the top of the unit you immediately notice the three buttons which actually are tiny turnable balls. These "balls" have several uses: First of all there is the power button (hold for 2 seconds to turn on) that lights up when it is receiving data. When it does so, it shows you what type of sample frequency is being received by changing the color of the ball. You push the ball to select the proper input.
Basically the Mojo uses the same color system as the Hugo does. The other two balls are there to set the volume. Mojo allows you to set the volume extremely precise with a lot of steps. By pushing down both these buttons during power up, you'll set the Mojo to be used as Line Out (3V). Once powered on, pushing both volume buttons changes the brightness of the Mojo balls.
On the bottom of the unit, Chord has already added 4 small rubber feet so the unit doesn't hurt the device you're stacking it up with and it helps stabilizing the Mojo on your desk. On the front of the unit you'll find both 3.5mm single ended outputs and on the back from left to right there are the Coaxial Input, the USB-input, USB-power and the optical input. I do hope to see a Rev. 2 of the Mojo with a balanced output one day, I hate switching back to 3.5mm cables with my monitors. Battery wise the Mojo loads in 4 hours and that gives you up to 10h of playtime at most. The Mojo can be used while it is charging but it will get a little hot when you do that. The Mojo does have an inbuilt thermal cutout for safety.
Size wise the Mojo measures 82L x 60W x 22H (mm) and weighs around 180grams which makes it a very small and powerful package. It is so small in fact that it looks weird when stacked with a modern smartphone. It pairs perfectly with the AK70 on the other hand.
Compared to the Hugo the Mojo is small. While I love the look of the Hugo, especially when it in its leather jacket, the Mojo simply is more beautiful. I'm not a fan of the new Mojo jacket though.
thanks for the review and out of curiousity, would an amp like the Violectric V100 or a portable like ALO's National/International give the mojo more "juiciness" (organic, earthy mids)?
I'm currently using the mojo with the audeze LCDX and HD650, and ALO greenline throughout.
looking forward to your feedback!!
thank you for your prompt response !! btw, do you have any idea if the Lake People 109 would be an affordable alternative for the violectric in terms of tonality? or you do get what you paid for.
Excellent review. My only dap is the Sony ZX2 and I have found that I prefer the sound coming directly out of the ZX2 using my balanced Noble K10's. However I have a pair of Audeze Sines which the ZX2 simply does not drive very well and it is then that I turn to the Mojo to provide the power. Just wish there was an alternative as there are not many cable options to hook up the ZX2 to the Mojo. I suppose i could change the dap but I like the sound of the ZX2 so maybe I need to change the amp?
The HA-2 ain't bad, but for sound it's more like a $150 amp than a $300 amp. It certainly looks nice and mates well with a similar-size phone.
The original AK100 is a perfect fit sizewise and with 32GB + 2 slots (SanDisk 200GB) = 432GB. Not bad for small portable stack. I switched to an AK120 Titan – a little bit taller but it has 128GB internal storage for a total of 528GB.
Great and spot on review. I too prefer hugo over mojo a lot. I'd like to know more about the HD800(S)/HUGO combo as l'm looking for a headphone to pair with my hugo. Does hugo has enough power to drive HD800(S) its full potential?
I had demoed the hdvd800 and quite like its sq. How do u compare them?
It seems we're the minority though. Mojo is loved by a lot of people. I wouldn't say Hugo has the same ability to power the HD800(S) like a full sized desktop ss or tube amp but the synergy with the Hugo is there. Hugo makes it sound more like a tube amp makes the Senns sound, but I like it very much. Full potential, I don't think so.
I'm not a fan of the Sennheiser amps. they're not bad at all, but they have nothing special going for them either. Just "another" amp.
I don't have the Mojo, but since there's not a lot of info on comparisons, I figured I'd add this – my new DragonFly Black sounds very similar to the Oppo HA-2, except the HA-2 has more treble 'splash', being possibly brighter or maybe having more distortion. In any case I like the DF Black better. But I also have a AR M2 music player in the house that beats both – very smooth treble with just as much detail as the DF and HA-2, but less irritating. The DF Black is a super deal compared to the HA-2 which costs 3 times as much, so if the DF Red is better than the Black, the Red might make a good comparison to the Mojo.
Can you please compare Mojo with Fiio X7 / Fiio X7+Picollo? My headphones are ATH-M50X and Fidelio X2. Thank you.
Nice article Lieven. For me the MoJo would've been hot if it's price was at around $400 or so, especially since the Celsus Sound Companion One is now available at $349 and it's wireless. I hope more manufacturers follow that route.
I agree, it's a tad too expensive for the SQ but it it very versatile and small.
was going to sell my ifi IDSD (paired w Ether Cs) and decide between Mojo, Hugo or ALO CDM as the total solution-not a combo of any of the foregoing. With your reviews, I lean now more toward the Hugo (wondering if they would modify to decode higher-res files tho?) now that the price has dropped, or ALO CDM with the Mojo in 3rd place….I go mobile with android/ USB/Tidal frequently but just as frequently use the DAC between my PC (Tidal source) and my full size Classe amp/preamp and Sonus Fabers in my office setup. In one simple recommendation-which would you pick for those multiple uses without going crazy? (also-I wont tube roll, EVER) once I get it right, Im kinda done….
Unless you are looking for a "colder tonality" Mojo and CDM would be preferable to Hugo, my experience was validated by Dan (MrSpeakers) who said on headfi that Mojo is much better than Hugo when paired with the Ether C.
My introduction to this level of audio equipment came about while researching my potential purchase of the Oppo HA-2. I had been looking for a DAC/AMP for my Android Nexus 6 at the time.
The only problem was all the reviews I read up until then were mentioning something called the Chord Mojo and how it was a DAC to be considered. My interest was piqued. A few further reviews but now primarily on the Mojo git me doing something I very seldom do, purchasing blind.
Personally I have not regretted my decision once. I have owned my Mojo since November 2015 and at the time the TOTL DAP was the AK240. I had since purchasing my Mojo compared as best I could side by side the Mojo and Nexus 6 with the entire AK range at one sitting and personally preferred the Mojo especially when taking into consideration the expenditure £399 v £2500. During this sitting I compared headphones from the Grado SR325e, Audeze EL8, Shure SE535, Sennheiser IE800, Audeze LCD2 and Sennheiser HD800 with the Mojo performing amicably with all.
All things considered, SQ alone I have found very little to better the Mojo and I have to include the later AK players which I since listened too. For me it's the sound stage, imagery and details provided that has not been artificially widened but IMO a truer 3D image of the music as was meant to be.
If anything it justifies my love of the Mojo (at 3-4 times the cost an AK380 is way out of the question) but I'm now also very interested in a Hugo for my brother. I was worried that the added cost wouldn't be worth it, but I think from this review you seem to say it still is. Heck, if I was loaded I probably would've got the Hugo instead but the Mojo was at the upper limit of what I could afford and justify and I'm still very happy with it, especially because I don't mind a darker or more congested sound and I plan to use it with IEMs mostly whereas my brother is mainly interested in full size.
How to compared with X7 + Am2??
Am I right in thinking the lights can't be turned off while the unit is on? Thanks.
Another great review Lieven! I enjoyed the read. Been toying around for a while about getting a simple 2nd setup since there are a couple of used Mojo's going for decent prices over where I'm at. Although I can't help but think about the Hugo. In your experience, how is the Hugo with very sensitive IEMs? In terms of gain / noise (quiet background).
thanks!. SQ wise I prefer the Hugo but the Mojo is easier to use. It also is more silent with very sensitive iems, that's disadvantage the Hugo unfortunately has. What IEM do you think will be an issue?
How many more times can you tell us the Hugo sounds better? I'm not stupid, I didn't think Chord were having a laugh by charging £1000 more for the Hugo. But if people's budget is £400 they don't want to constantly hear that it's not as good in this way and that way or the other,this only spoils the excitement and makes it seem like they are purchasing an inferior product.
Btw Jeff, Lieven just said Hugo better in some regards, he did not say Mojo was a inferior product, so don't take it seriously.
One thing Lieven didn't mention and Mojo really shine over Hugo. Mojo is a much much more portable/mobile dac, only about 1/3 of Hugo size.
Hello and thank you for this review , i have one question , i have the ak 70 , i have connected it with the Mojo by an micro usb but when i play my dsd they became 176… why?
Donyou think the Mojo is a good match for the Audese LCD-XC? And what about the Hugo with the XC?
XC and Mojo not really, but with the Hugo it is very nice!
What is best headphone combo with Mojo? I have mojo with DT770 AE. I think with DT770, mojo don't show it's full potential.
I hate to just recommend a higher price, but in this case it makes perfect sense. The new Beyers like the DT1770 and the Amiron are "Tesla 2.0", and will give you a clear, smoother sound with a tighter bass. I have the DT1770, which complements the closed-back DT770ae very well, although the Amiron is open-back.
Thanks for the advise, i also consider to buy DT1770. But i still curious how planar sound. Is it good combo with HE400i or maybe with more expensive HE560 ?
Thanks for the advice. Really appreciate it. I will try to audition the Amiron and HE400I.
Can you please suggest the best DAC/amp or DAP for Shure SE846?
Got a Mojo with the beyerdynamic DT1770 and I think it's hard to find a better combo for the ????. I know €1000 is a lot of money for the most people, but it's worth every penny. Mojo vs Hugo is not a fair comparison, €1790 vs €499 is a big gap. But they have the same DNA.
First at all thank you very much for all your very interesting reviews.
Do you think the Mojo is a good match with my Ultrasone Edition 8 ?
If not, do you have a another suggestion ? I use a Galaxy S7.
Thank you. Honestly, the Ultrasone isn't for me at all. So I can't really recommend anything for it.
Comparing DF red & mojo as I have both .DF red is great ,nice full sound & good separation but mojo is more than double in price and is better in every sense by a good margin.A far more audiophile device.
Hello I'm from Indonesia. I want to ask about your opinion. Is a smartphone or portable player more suitable combined with Chord Mojo? I personally often use iPhone and AK 70 when using Chord Mojo as a daily device.
Is there a difference in sound quality if I use a different source outside the file I use?
Thankyou for the response. I honestly ask like this because I am arguing with my friend. According to him there will be no difference in sound because it will still be the same. The difference is the last output, whether we use iem or headphones. But I disagree. Because in my opinion there are still different voices through the iPhone or DAP. For iem, which is more compatible with Mojo, is it Layla or Kaiser Encore? Please give your opinion.
Lot of people now having issues with the Mojo.
Battery seems to die just after12 months.
Mine will not output sound .
Seems to be a lot of complaints around the same issue.


ZURICH (Reuters) - Nestle NESN.VX, the world's biggest food company, is looking at ways to reduce its $30 billion stake in cosmetics firm L'Oreal (OREP.PA), Bloomberg reported on Saturday, citing sources with knowledge of the matter.
Nestle has told L'Oreal of its intentions, and the two companies have discussed the issue with banks, though no decision over the possible timing of any sale, which could take years, has been made, the report said.
Nestle is under pressure to make its intentions clear towards the cosmetics firm, its partner of 40 years, when the ties that bind them loosen in April.
The Swiss company owns a 29.5 percent stake in L'Oreal and the expiry of a 10-year right of first refusal agreement with the Bettencourt family in April should make it easier for Nestle to sell, though it has no urgent need to do so.
Talks have picked up as the expiry of restrictions approaches, the report said.
A spokeswoman for L'Oreal declined to comment. Nestle declined to comment beyond pointing to a statement on its website that says the board is addressing the future of the stake "with great attention in the framework of the group's global nutrition, health and wellness strategy".
L'Oreal chief executive Jean-Paul Agon told Le Monde newspaper last month the French cosmetics giant has the means to buy the stake held by Nestle, thanks to its net cash position and 9 percent stake in drugmaker Sanofi (SASY.PA).
Agon said the shares held by Nestle could be canceled if L'Oreal repurchased them, thereby boosting earnings per share for remaining shareholders.


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What Safety Features Does Uber Plan to Implement That Will Make Traveling Safer for Both Riders and Drivers?
CNN recently reported that the rideshare giant Uber has taken some steps in the direction of improving its level of safety for both riders and drivers. After Uber was placed under the spotlight back in April for the numerous reports that were filed against the company claiming drivers sexually harassed or assaulted the riders they were supposed to be transporting, the company now is moving forward with repairing its image. The company announced they are implementing some new safety features that are expected to make riders feel safer the next time they decide to hail a rideshare vehicle using their app.
So far, these are the safety features the company has unveiled to the public:
The company will integrate a "GPS-powered tool [into the app] that uses a smartphone's sensors to detect unexpected stops or an impact during a crash." CNN highlighted that "if a crash is suspected, a prompt will appear on both rider and driver phones' with safety features like a prompt to order another ride paid for by Uber or use the 9-11 emergency call button." While Uber has already made the in-app 911 feature available to riders earlier in the year, it is "now accessible for drivers." According to Sachin Kansal, who is the director of safety product at Uber, the company wants "to proactively reach out to the rider, check in and make sure they can get help if they need it," and they may very well in the event a car crash occurs.
Uber will also be adding a "hands-free" feature that will be beneficial for drivers as it will allow them to accept trips "via voice commands." This will help prevent a driver from operating their vehicle while glancing down at their phone.
Uber will be removing exact pick-up and drop-off locations from each drivers' trip record history along with receipts to help "protect rider privacy."
Aside from the safety improvements the company plans to implement, Uber also announced that they would be publishing a "safety transparency report" that would be visible to the public on its platform. The report would "put numbers behind how many sexual assaults and other incidents occur." The CEO of Uber, Dara Khosrowshahi, told CNN that although he can't give an exact date as to when the report will be available, he suspects sometime next year. Despite the efforts that are being made, not every auto accident can be prevented. And if you were involved in a wreck in Shreveport, LA while being transported in an Uber vehicle or while operating one, you may want to find out what your legal rights are and how much compensation the incident entitles you to collect. Shreveport, LA accident lawyer Ross Downs at The Law Offices of Ross Downs is one of the best lawyers in the field and would be happy to take the time to sit down and explain all of this to you. To get an initial consultation scheduled or to speak to with an LA accident lawyer regarding another type of accident that occurred in Shreveport, call this office now at 318-281-7677. You can reach The Law Offices of Ross Downs at: Bastrop Office 517 North Washington Street Bastrop, LA 71220 318-281-7677 Monroe Office 4214 Hwy 165 N. Monroe, LA 71203 318-325-7677
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FAQComing to the decision to file for divorce can be a confusing, emotional, and painful experience. For one, presumably, the person from whom you're about to separate is someone you've loved and had many great times with. Secondly, there are always complications beyond simply the separation of 2 people from a legal agreement. Money is a big one, as are children and property. The Charlotte Observer recently laid out the 3 things we most need to think about when considering filing for divorce. Unless they're in a unique situation, the vast majority of married couples live together and have shared ownership of various things such as houses and even debt. North Carolina law mandates that any asset or debt for either party during marriage can be split up. Assets that are obtained during this period are called "marital property", and debts incurred are called "marital debts." Most often, these are split equally between the spouses. Certain things, such as inheritances, aren't generally considered marital property, except under very specific circumstances. It's best to have a divorce attorney take a look at your assets and debts and see what qualifies and what doesn't. Then there's money. Many times, one spouse has…
Exclusive AreasLouisville, KY – After eight years of marriage, movie stars Anna Faris and Chris Pratt have filed for divorce. According to one Louisville news station, WHAS11 News, Anna Faris and Chris Pratt have filed for divorce. They released a joint statement on their social media pages announcing their decision to move forward with divorce lawyers, explaining they "tried hard for a really long time, and that they "were really disappointed." While making custody arrangements for their five-year-old son Jack will not be easy, it will hail in comparison to the task of dividing their assets that their divorce attorneys have in front of them. Since both of the actors' careers didn't take off until after they wed in 2009, there's a chance that they did not have a prenuptial agreement. If that is the case, then their divorce will definitely not be cheap. Legal experts clarify that by not cheap, they predict the divorce turning into a financial disaster. Jason Hopper, a divorce lawyer not on the case, told Fox News that Pratt may stand to lose quite a bit of his recent earnings if no prenup was signed. The reason? Most of his success came after the duo wed.…
SitemapDivorce is messy and complicated at the best of times, but when you add in billions of dollars, a multinational corporation, and a previous spouse, it can have more twists and turns than a telenovela. Hopefully, that means Lorena Tassinari finds herself in familiar territory after suffering another defeat in a long, drawn out divorce battle that has spanned several lawsuits and crossed the border from Mexico to the United States. The Dallas News Reports that Tassinari lost her latest lawsuit in July in a Dallas courtroom in her fight to retain at the very least part of her late husband's tortilla empire. She was married to Roberto Gonzalez Barrera, who controlled Gruma SAB de CV, known as Mission Foods in the United States, which is the largest tortilla maker in the world. The company has a net worth of $2.6 billion. The reason his spouse at the time of his death has to fight for a share of the company is that it's unclear whether he was actually divorced from his first wife at the time of his marriage to Tassinari. He had been married to Graciela Moreno since 1949, and had divorced her prior to his marriage to…
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On 5 March 2019, around 600 people took part in an event to commemorate the round-ups that took place in March 1943 in Nancy, France. It was organised by the Amicale de Mauthausen and the Amis de la Fondation pour la Mémoire de la Déportation and involved 500 secondary school pupils from the Nancy region with their teachers and the Gusen survivor Stéphane Lewandowski.
The town hall, into which Mayor Laurent Hénart invited participants, formed the starting point for a walk of remembrance. With the pupils taking on an active role, the walk took in the locations and sites of memory connected to the round-ups of 3 and 5 March 1943 in the centre of Nancy, during which 300 young people were arrested in an act of arbitrary violence by the Gestapo and the Wehrmacht. Around half of these young people were deported to the Mauthausen concentration camp; only 88 returned home.
Wreaths were laid at the Memorial to the Round-ups of 3 and 5 March 1943 in rue Raugraff and the Marseillaise rang out. The event concluded with speeches by the mayor, by the organiser Lamaï Becher, by pupils, and by representatives of the Mauthausen Memorial.
This was the first time that the Mauthausen Memorial had taken part in this commemorative event and sympathies were expressed for the families whose wounds caused by this inhuman and arbitrary act have never healed.


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Q: Record and play by clicking a buttom I have a code that plays a sound, records audio (by clicking one button) and plays the file recorded (by clicking another button). I want to know how to modify it in order to record and play the sound when I click the first button so when I click the second button I can heard the recorded sound that I played first.
That means: I want to know how to start record and play my audio file in record folder, both of them, only by clicking a button.
This is my code just now:
    public class MediaPlayerExample2Activity extends Activity {
private static final String LOG_TAG = "AudioRecordTest";
private static String mFileName = null;
private RecordButton mRecordButton = null;
private MediaRecorder mRecorder = null;
private PlayButton   mPlayButton = null;
private MediaPlayer   mPlayer = null;
private void onRecord(boolean start) {
     if (start) {
     startRecording();        }
     else {
     stopRecording();        }    }
     private void onPlay(boolean start) {
     if (start) {
     startPlaying();        }
     else {
     stopPlaying();        }    }
     private void startPlaying() {
     mPlayer = new MediaPlayer();
     try {
     mPlayer.setDataSource(mFileName);
     mPlayer.prepare();
     mPlayer.start();        }
     catch (IOException e) {
     Log.e(LOG_TAG, "prepare() failed");
     }    }    private void stopPlaying() {
     mPlayer.release();
     mPlayer = null;    }
     private void startRecording() {
     mRecorder = new MediaRecorder();
     mRecorder.setAudioSource(MediaRecorder.AudioSource.MIC);
     mRecorder.setOutputFormat(MediaRecorder.OutputFormat.THREE_GPP);
     mRecorder.setOutputFile(mFileName);
     mRecorder.setAudioEncoder(MediaRecorder.AudioEncoder.AMR_NB);
     try {
     mRecorder.prepare();
     }
     catch (IOException e) {
     Log.e(LOG_TAG, "prepare() failed");
     }        mRecorder.start();
     }
     private void stopRecording() {
     mRecorder.stop();
     mRecorder.release();
     mRecorder = null;
     }
     class RecordButton extends Button {
     boolean mStartRecording = true;
     OnClickListener clicker = new OnClickListener() {
     public void onClick(View v) {
     onRecord(mStartRecording);
     if (mStartRecording) {
     setText("Stop recording");
     }
     else {
     setText("Start recording");
     }
     mStartRecording = !mStartRecording;            }
     };
     public RecordButton(Context ctx) {
     super(ctx);
     setText("Start recording");
     setOnClickListener(clicker);
     }    }
     class PlayButton extends Button {
     boolean mStartPlaying = true;
     OnClickListener clicker = new OnClickListener() {
     public void onClick(View v) {
     onPlay(mStartPlaying);
     if (mStartPlaying) {
     setText("Stop playing");
     }
     else {
     setText("Start playing");
     }
     mStartPlaying = !mStartPlaying;
     }        };
     public PlayButton(Context ctx) {
     super(ctx);
     setText("Start playing");
     setOnClickListener(clicker);
     }    }
     public MediaPlayerExample2Activity() {
     mFileName = Environment.getExternalStorageDirectory().getAbsolutePath();
     mFileName += "/audiorecordtest.3gp";
     }
@Override
 public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
 super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
 setContentView(R.layout.main);

MediaPlayer mPlayer = MediaPlayer.create(this, R.raw.pru);
 mPlayer.start();

 LinearLayout ll = new LinearLayout(this);
 mRecordButton = new RecordButton(this);
 ll.addView(mRecordButton,
 new LinearLayout.LayoutParams(
 ViewGroup.LayoutParams.WRAP_CONTENT,
 ViewGroup.LayoutParams.WRAP_CONTENT,
 0));    setContentView(ll);
 mPlayButton = new PlayButton(this);

 ll.addView(mPlayButton,
 new LinearLayout.LayoutParams(
 ViewGroup.LayoutParams.WRAP_CONTENT,
 ViewGroup.LayoutParams.WRAP_CONTENT,
 0));       setContentView(ll);    }

@Override
 public void onPause() {
     super.onPause();
     if (mRecorder != null) {
     mRecorder.release();
     mRecorder = null;
     }
     if (mPlayer != null) {
     mPlayer.release();
     mPlayer = null;
     }    }}

Thanks!! I hope you understand my question!!! ;)


text:
Dealey Plaza's Trayvon Martin Protest a Sign of Loud, Good Things to Come?
Jim Schutze
Jim Schutze | March 26, 2012 | 10:50am
Sunday the Dallas Peace Center chose Dealey Plaza, where JFK was killed almost a half century ago, as the site for a protest demanding justice in the killing of Florida teenager Trayvon Martin.
It's hard to feel good about anything associated with the Martin story, but Dealey Plaza was a good place to start.
Dealey Plaza, where JFK was killed almost a half century ago, has become the city's de facto Trafalgar Square, a natural stage for protest, an inviting platform for speaking truth to power.
The kind of people who have always run this city despise the use of Dealey Plaza as a Roman forum for anti-establishment rants. For decades the power structure in Dallas has tried to write off the JFK conspiracy theorists who inhabit the plaza on weekends as unsightly nut cases who need to be erased from view by an army of jack-boot scrubbing bubbles.
That's why it's such a great place for protest. The stubborn enmity of the city's moneyed right-wing oldsters, the too-many-toddies set, probably has done more than any other factor to turn Dealey Plaza into Dallas' most vibrant public venue. Despise us, and we will come.
Dealey Plaza has history. It has presence. And it's in their faces. We owe a great debt to the JFK theorists. Like monks in the Dark Ages, they have kept protest alive in a city that can't stand it.
Three days ago The Dallas Morning News published an editorial that started out, "There is no ground in Dallas more hallowed than Dealey Plaza."
Yeah? And so what was their idea? Well, what's the best thing to do with anything sacred, according to the toddies? Remodel it, of course! The more expensive the remodeling, the better.
Their dream, they said, was, "A more ambitious roster of projects" that would "nearly double the cost by further upgrading signage, landscaping and lighting, and by creating an operating endowment to make sure the site is cared for properly in the future."
Oh, joy! Double the costs! What could be more fun?
They want signage? Landscaping? Money money money? You got it. Scrubbing bubbles. They want to scour and sanitize the place -- make it look like a shopping mall courtyard reeking of Clorox -- the way they're trying to do with the rest of downtown. It's the "broken windows" theory of crime-fighting -- but on meth. In Dallas it should be called the Gilded Windows theory of how to exterminate all signs of life.
The Gilded Windows theory says you should make everything really fancy, so you'll have a right to kick out all the unfancy people. Get rid of the homeless, of course. But also get rid of those damned JFK people who are out there raising doubts all the time. Get rid of everybody. Put up a velvet rope, electrified perhaps, and turn the whole place into a militarized azalea zone.
Where the city really has shown its hand is in its efforts to pre-emptively lock down Dealey Plaza during next year's 50th anniversary of the murder of JFK there in 1963. I have written about it a lot.
A year and a half before the anniversary, the city has granted a one-week moment-of-silence permit to the official Sixth Floor Assassination Museum with an admonishment that no other groups can be licensed to have moments of silence at any time during the official week of silence.
Can you even believe that crap?
I'm thrilled to say there are strong signs that a movement is building to occupy the plaza for some portion of that week. There is even a Facebook page already called "Occupy Dealey Plaza."
Some of the organizers have been including me in an email stream. Here are some of the things they are saying:
"If anything is to be accomplished it needs to start soon."
"We are: (1) calling for new members and (2) will discuss strategy soon."
"We already know we'll get arrested in Dealey Plaza."
"We can be carted off quickly from one main spot. Cameras never showing what happened. Therefore, we need to be distributed through the crowd so that if one person is arrested, 50 others are still dotted through the crowd."
"We will hold our banners and call for a Moment of Silence and then speak truth to power about the assassinations of the 1960s and since."
It was a really good thing to see the Martin protest at Dealey Plaza on Sunday. Couldn't have been a better home for it. Dealey Plaza is the true beating heart of the real Dallas, a city that is stubbornly alive and courageously determined to speak freely, no matter how badly the too-many-toddies may want to shut us all down.
Jim Schutze has been the city columnist for the Dallas Observer since 1998. He has been a recipient of the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies' national award for best commentary and Lincoln University's national Unity Award for writing on civil rights and racial issues. In 2011 he was admitted to the Texas Institute of Letters.


This pose builds stamina and strength in the legs as well as stretching the psoas, quadriceps and lower back.
Care should be taken around contraindications such as heart problems and high blood pressure. Variations should be taken for those with neck or shoulder problems, including keeping arms at should height or hands on hips (as opposed to raise above your head), and keeping head and neck facing forwards (as opposed to looking up).