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Morning Ethics Warm-Up, 12/20/18: I Promise, I'm Looking Hard For Uplifting Ethics Stories For The Holidays. And Failing….
December 20, 2018 / Jack Marshall
(If I don't get the lights on the tree today, I'm hurling myself into a pit of rabid reindeer…)
1. Open Forum report: Another intense, varied, and impressive performance by the Ethics Alarms crew in my absence yesterday. 23 different commenters raised and debated the following issues, many of which I haven't touched yet, because I am wholly inadequate to my task. Among them:
The ethics of fighting a specious criminal charge,
Texas' school districts for making employees sign a pledge not to boycott or advocate against Israel?
The bump stock ban
The plea deal of Jacob Walter Anderson
"The Innocent Man"
The Xmas package-snatcher trap.
Stepha Velednitsky
"Without Precedent: Chief Justice John Marshall and His Times" by Joel Richard Paul.
The yellow vest protests and the meager US coverage of them
Prada Monkey
Trump's decision to pull out of Syria
2. Favorite dishonest and manipulative note out of many in the 12/18 Times: Reporters Carl Hulse and Julie Davis write in"Tennessee Senator, A Proven Deal-Maker, Won't Seek Re-election"…
Senator Lamar Alexander, Republican of Tennessee and one of the last bridges to bipartisanship in the Senate, announced on Monday that he would not seek re-election in 2020…His decision to leave is more evidence that Washington has become less attractive to legislators interested in steering a middle course on seemingly intractable issues such as education and health care….
Fake news, and deliberate distortion. In fact, Alexander's decision may have nothing to do with the job becoming "less attractive to legislators interested in steering a middle course," and his own words, meaning his own stated reason for leaving, don't suggest that at all. Alexander is 78. In 2020, he would be 80, meaning that by the end of a new term he would be 86, or sick, or dead. "I've had my turn," Alexander is quoted as saying. "Everything comes to an end sometime, and it is good to know when that should be." He also said that he wants to leave the Senate "at the top of my game."
The current U.S. news media is untrustworthy, dishonest, incompetent and despicable, and frankly, I am beginning to regard anyone who continues to deny this the same way.
3. Second favorite dishonest and manipulative note in the same edition: The article is "Trump Parkland Panel Attacks Protections For Minority Students." The online versions of many Times articles have headlines that are less partisan and misleading than the print editions. On-line, this piece is headlined "Trump Officials Plan to Rescind Obama-Era School Discipline Policies."
That's a straight, informative headline. The print edition reflects the bias and tone of the article, which implied a racist motive behind the plan to reverse the irresponsible and racialist Obama Education Department directive that schools had to pull back on disciplining African-American students because a "disproportionate" number were being suspended. Here was the highlight, though:
"The commission's focus was part of a broader effort to reject the previous administration's race-conscious education efforts, which have included siding with Asian students suing Harvard to end affirmative action…"
Wow. Let's pass over the illiterate composition—it should be "has," not "have included," since the subject is "a broader effort," not "efforts"—and move right to the fact that supporting a race discrimination suit by Asian-American students (not "Asian") is demonstrating hostility to the benign Obama era "race-consciousness," which included, at least at Harvard, Princeton, and other "woke" schools, rejecting qualified Asian-American citizens because they aren't the right color.
4. Yeah, but President Trump lied about the size of his Inauguration crowd…Two reports that the Senate Intelligence Committee published this week showed that Google, Twitter and Facebook "evaded" and "misrepresented" themselves and the extent of Russian activity on their sites. The companies were also criticized for not turning over complete sets of data about Russian manipulation to the Senate, concluding "Regrettably, it appears that the platforms may have misrepresented or evaded in some of their statements to Congress."
That is to say, they lied under oath. Consequences?
5. How TV makes the public stupid, Chapter 16,895,943: For some reason I ended up watching ten excruciating minutes of "Deal of No Deal" last night. The contestant had one briefcase unopened, and two left to choose. The remaining amounts in the three briefcases were $400,000, $ a million dollars, and a hundred bucks. The dealer agreed to give her $500,000 for the briefcase she had chosen but not opened, ending the game. The woman and her family were ecstatic, but Howie Mandel, the host, cautioned: "Now wait. You don't know if you made a good deal or not!" In other words, if the container she "sold" had the million inside (it didn't), then she made a "bad deal."
No, Howie, you idiot. This is another plea to consequentialism, the destructive but popular concept that whether a decision is right or wrong, ethical or unethical, wise of dumb depends on subsequent results or information that were unknown when the decision was made. The contestant's decision was exactly the same whether the suitcase had just a hundred dollars or the million. Her deal was to accept a half-million dollars in hand rather than risk a 66.6% chance of getting a lot less money. Put another way, she accepted $500,000 to surrender a one in three chance to win a million dollars, but also to avoid the same odds of just getting a hundred dollars.
It was a good deal no matter what was in the brief cases.
6. Oh, why not? Here's yet another untrustworthy, dishonest, incompetent and despicable journalism note. Reporters Without Borders correctly reported that the U.S. had the fifth-most journalists killed in the line of duty in 2018, tied with India and behind Afghanistan, Syria, Mexico, and Yemen. So naturally this was how it was reported:
United States added to list of most dangerous countries for journalists for first time https://t.co/R2NAYvS1jl— NBC News (@NBCNews) December 19, 2018
Report: US joins ranks of world's most dangerous places for journalists for first time https://t.co/P0UAin3chj pic.twitter.com/oR861HKkrz— The Hill (@thehill) December 18, 2018
Welcome to our Brave New World. Words have consequences – and calling us the enemy of the people and "fake news" has led to this: https://t.co/u5y50K7akW— Brian J. Karem (@BrianKarem) December 19, 2018
The grand total of journalists killed in the U.S. this year was six. (The global total was sixty-three.) On June 28th, a lunatic who had a personal grudge with a local Maryland newspaper, Capital Gazette, killed four employees. It was the single worst attack on journalists in modern U.S. history, but it was also just one incident. The other two deaths were journalists covering Tropical Storm Alberto in North Carolina who were killed when a tree fell on the highway.
Alex Griswold points out, " The Reporters Without Borders report also tracked the number of journalists imprisoned, taken hostage, or "disappeared" on the job. Unsurprisingly, the U.S. appears on none of those lists. By using only verified deaths as a metric for "danger," countries like Turkey, China, Iran, and Egypt get a pass because they prefer to merely imprison and torture journalists."
7. Hypocrisy on parade! New York State Senate Bill S2857A, sponsored by Kevin S. Parker, would "amend the insurance law, to require firearm owners, prior to such ownership, to obtain and continuously maintain a policy of liability insurance to cover any damages resulting from the use of such firearm." I wonder how many advocates for this not-so-subtle effort to make accessing a constitutional right so burdensome that it would be impossible for most citizens protested indignantly efforts by states like Texas to impose burdens on abortion clinics and pre-abortion requirements on those seeking the procedure? My guess: almost all of them. Yet it's the same illegal device, and one that the courts have routinely and rightly rejected.
Such people don't care about or respect the Constitution. They just want to protect the rights they approve of.
Hypocrites.
"bias makes you stupid", Ethics Alarms Award Nominee, Government & Politics, Journalism & Media, Law & Law Enforcement, Rights
"Deal or No Deal", Consequentialism, hypocrisy, lies, mainstream media bias, misrepresentation, New York, Second Amendment, Senator Lamar Alexander, social media
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32 thoughts on "Morning Ethics Warm-Up, 12/20/18: I Promise, I'm Looking Hard For Uplifting Ethics Stories For The Holidays. And Failing…."
Paul W. Schlecht
1–Have you determined that none of the Open Forum contributors are in the same…um…Claas as a certain Herr Relotius?
If the game wasn't over yet and they still had the option to change their mind, as the host of Deal or No Deal, isn't it his job to keep them playing? After all, the longer you play, the more likely you are to lose. If the game was already over, I suppose it doesn't matter if they made a good deal or not. The fact that they were on the show in the first place was a good deal.
Howie is not the biggest brain you will ever meet, and nor are the purveyors of that show.
Luck and a good understanding of statistics help win. And the ability to walk away when 'enough is enough.'
Rusty Rebar
Not really though. It would be if his goal was to get the contestant as little money as possible, but that is not the game he is playing. His job is to make the round a spectacle, not to save money for the show. The contestant is trying to make as much money as possible, but the show is just trying to sell advertising, the money they pay to contestants is just a write off, and far cheaper than having to pay a bunch of actors and script writers etc… If someone wins a million, that is just going to make for a popular episode, cause people to talk about it over the water cooler the next day, cause more people to watch the show next time so they can see it happen.
In any event, I just so happened to have that channel on last night as well. They act like they are picking someone out of the crowd, but that is obviously not true. In this specific instance they brought out a friend of the contestant as a surprise… If it was a random choice, how did they know to bring this friend out from the other side of the country? In the next episode, they contestant wanted to give his wife the wedding that she wanted, but they were unable to afford so many years ago, plus she had lost her wedding ring… but somehow, the show had known this was going to happen, and just so happened to have a selection of engagement rings on hand for just such an occasion.. oddly they also had a mirror and razor on hand for when they would brow beat the contestant into shaving his beard that he "dearly loved" for an extra $10k.
But none of that is important, it does not have to make sense, and the more winners the better, because the goal is to make money on advertisements, not to save money on contestants.
Michael West
6) This is all to continue working the completely dishonest narrative that the Trump Administration is a nascent dictatorship who is starting by eliminating the 'free' press.
A press that is literally undermining the Constitutional Republic with eagerness and the only consequences faced are toothless rantings from the President. A press that GETS TO RUN amok because Trump is NO totalitarian.
Oh the vapors!
adimagejim
Can we upgrade (downgrade) US journalism to "enemies of civilization" or at least "enemies of free thought"? With the evidence at hand, it feels like it is time.
Aleksei
#7 This Kevin Parker also wanted to introduce legislation that would make future NY gun permit applicants submit their social media for state review, to make sure they have right think. Somebody called him out on his use of a special parking pass, he tweeted to the lady to kill herself. I guess under his hypothetical law, he would be unfit for a gun permit! What a coinky-dink. I'm sure though if that law was a thing, he would just say it was a joke, a little harmless banter, no harm no foul, it's not who I am, I'm not perfect, and so on.
Jim Tantillo
If it's not too late to add another possible topic for ethical reflection, I'm wondering what Jack or anyone else thinks about the Brian Kolfage fundraising effort on gofundme to raise money for the border wall on the U.S./Mexico border. In three days they've raised $5 million from 80,000 donors. I think it is a terribly interesting phenomenon, with a lot more going on than meets the eye.
I donated today, and it was 3 million and only 60,000 donors this morning. I sent a pointer to Jack
Even if it raises the money, the actual construction would be a near impossibility as a private venture, thus would still require Congressional legislation to move forward.
Is this not just a softer, kinder version of the "yellow jacket" riots in France that Macron capitulated too? Should this gofundme influence politicians similarly?
In my humble opinion; game shows are a cancerous infection upon the broadcasting airways. I refuse to watch any of them under any circumstances; even when I personally knew a person that was a contestant (or whatever they call them) on Jeopardy I refused to watch it.
Wait…such a blanket assessment? Surely Jeopardy or even Wheel of Fortune bear distinctions from Deal or No Deal…?
Michael West wrote, "Wait…such a blanket assessment? Surely Jeopardy or even Wheel of Fortune bear distinctions from Deal or No Deal…?"
Sure there are relevant distinctions between game shows, one big one in the list you provided is that Howie Mandel is part of Deal or No Deal and I won't watch anything that he's part of, I simply can't stand his presence on camera.
I think that game shows are a cancerous infection upon the broadcasting airways, but that's just the ignorant opinion of one of those terrible people that's shunned by pompous theatrical know-it-all's because I don't like the stage show Les Miserables.
#6 It's all about how you phrase the propaganda to get the desired emotional response.
Glenn Logan
2 Lamar Alexander – This is just one more example of the desire of the media to tell us what we should think in regular news pieces and not just in opinion articles. It's shameful, violates the trust of their readers, and does a fair imitation of Pravda. In fact, Pravda may be ethically superior to the New York Times when it comes to reporting political news.
Also, I'm proud of Alexander for not echo the likes of Ruth Bader Ginsberg and Nancy Pelosi by staying past the time when their faculties have begun to deteriorate. That shows the kind of self-awareness and devotion to competence every government official should emulate.
4 Consequences? For Democrat-supporting tech companies? You jest, surely.
5 Consequentialism
No, Howie, you idiot. This is another plea to consequentialism, the destructive but popular concept that whether a decision is right or wrong, ethical or unethical, wise of dumb depends on subsequent results or information that were unknown when the decision was made.
Bravo, Jack! I have tried to explain this to my wife a couple of times, and I think she gets it now. It was a good deal because she had a 33% chance of getting almost nothing. Had the next pick revealed the million dollar prize, another 33% chance, she would've had to settle for something around $250k, because only an insane, wealthy, or gamble-holic person would take a 50/50 chance at getting $100 bucks if offered that much. The lady made an excellent deal no matter what the case contained.
7 Hypocrisy
Based on a 2010 FBI report about household burglaries (the most recent I could find):
Higher income households experienced lower rates of burglary
Rates of household burglary were generally lower for higher income households than lower income households (table 3). Across all categories, the risk of burglary was higher for households living in rental properties. Households living in rental properties experienced higher rates of burglary when no one was home and while the residence was occupied than those who owned or were in the process of buying their homes.
New York's proposal would place more low-income people in jeopardy of being subjected to a burglary/home invasion without recourse to firearms for protection. Since they can't afford the insurance anyway, they will be easier targets than the wealthy who can.
And they say Democrats are for helping out the poor guy/gal. Not when it comes to things they hate, apparently.
#2. Glenn Logan said,"…I'm proud of Alexander for not echo[ing] the likes of Ruth Bader Ginsberg and Nancy Pelosi by staying past the time when their faculties have begun to deteriorate. That shows the kind of self-awareness and devotion to competence every government official should emulate."
Well said! And, as a Tennessean who talks to a LOT of my fellow Tennesseans knowledgeable about politics, I haven't encountered a single person who doesn't believe Senator Alexander's retirement decision to be for just the reasons he stated, and everyone I know appreciates his knowing when it is time to move on.
Thanks for correcting my lousy grammar, or spelling, or whatever that epic fail of a sentence was. 🙂
I have always been a fan of Alexander, and I liked his father as well. I'm originally from Tennessee (the Bristol area) although I can honestly claim roots in Kentucky and Virginia as well. So I kind of treat Tennessee as a co-home state.
1) Prada Monkey wasn't discussed. Sad face.
Michael Ejercito
7. Hypocrisy on parade! New York State Senate Bill S2857A, sponsored by Kevin S. Parker, would "amend the insurance law, to require firearm owners, prior to such ownership, to obtain and continuously maintain a policy of liability insurance to cover any damages resulting from the use of such firearm."
How is this going to guarantee those shot in gangland drive-bys will get financial compensation- let alone deter gangbangers from doing drive-bys in the first place?
Does the bill require liability insurance companies to cover criminal acts?
Let's pass over the illiterate composition—it should be "has," not "have included," since the subject is "a broader effort," not "efforts"—and move right to the fact that supporting a race discrimination suit by Asian-American students (not "Asian") is demonstrating hostility to the benign Obama era "race-consciousness," which included, at least at Harvard, Princeton, and other "woke" schools, rejecting qualified Asian-American citizens because they aren't the right color.
Has any defender of Harvard's policies ever explained how this is better than that school rejecting Linda Brown's application to enroll because she was not thew right color?
Harvard has no defense. All it can do is posture and pretend it's "woke," while appealing to the extreme leftists on its faculty.
I am sure you know who Linda Brown was.
"she was not the right color?"
Perhaps Yellow's the new White?
P.M.Lawrence
… The woman and her family were ecstatic, but Howie Mandel, the host, cautioned: "Now wait. You don't know if you made a good deal or not!" In other words, if the container she "sold" had the million inside (it didn't), then she made a "bad deal." … This is another plea to consequentialism, the destructive but popular concept that whether a decision is right or wrong, ethical or unethical, wise of dumb depends on subsequent results or information that were unknown when the decision was made.
Now, hang on. You're just guessing what was going through the host's mind, and condemning him for that.
It's entirely possible that he was making a very sound and valid observation, that the player had not worked things through well enough, that it would be prudent to think harder even if the choice – through moral luck – was anyway the right one in the sense that it was what due thought would have come up with.
I would have to know him far better to be that sure of his consequentialism.
Well, no, Jack has watched the show before, and that shtick is always at the end of every game. Whether Howie actually believes it or not is irrelevant — he is spreading the disease of consequentialism.
Now who's doing consequentialism?
What the host believes is not irrelevant, and not only because chucking out mens rea like that also takes you yourself closer to consequentialism. It's because there is that other possibility, that he is advocating prudence, thinking things through. If so, and even if the wrong message is heard, he himself is not a consequentialist. We would need other information than his consequences to show us that.
Because guess what – if you are judging him for the wrong message being heard, for the hearers going all consequentialist instead of prudent, you are judging him for that effect – the consequence. (And the same goes for anyone who endorses your view with the Romany word for "dog".) That is all the more so if – by chance rather than by design – they had already picked the best bet on the information available*, so that further thought could not have given them a better consequence.
I did once hear of a foreigner on a train who had a poor grasp of idiomatic English. Someone saw him dangerously near an open window and shouted "look out!", so he did – and the approaching bridge collected his head. Was that good advice or bad advice?
* There are scenarios in which going for broke makes more sense than going for the greatest expected gain, say if someone needed enough to pay for an expensive and urgent operation, so that a sure thing for not enough was not as good as a smaller chance of enough. Half a loaf may be better than no bread, but half a lifeboat is just as bad as no lifeboat if only a whole one can get you to safety (just ask Captain Bligh).
The "host" on game shows is in essentially an actor who drives a drama. Commenter Rusty Rebar at 12/20 12:19pm above explains it thoroughly. I will add that as an actor, he is required to express all the necessary emotions, including empathy and helpfulness, etc. that will, in short, make the viewers like him. If they didn't think he was a nice, kind person deep down (which they have no way of knowing since when he is on stage; he is doing only what he is supposed to be doing) they would complain about it and he would be replaced. …. Now, I have to take that back. Complain, sue and join #MeToo, is what they'd do, today.
There was a game show that had a host (I had to Search for both names since all I remembered was the host's behavior): Richard Dawson hosted Family Feud 1976-85. As far as I know, he kissed every female contestant and put a waist-clutch that looked tighter than a girdle around every female finalist . This attitude quickly encouraged the women to take their turns on camera by coming on to him. Both the studio and home audiences loved it — or so some unofficial polls showed — and however uncomfortable and "assaulted" any of the "girls" might have felt, there were no lawsuits, and the company that had tried to get him to stop looked at the ratings, and let it slide for nine years.
I thought it was pretty slimy, but most girls I knew then thought it was okay, and "wouldn't mind" being fondled. The guys thought Dawson was a cretin and if he touched a female member of their family, from grandma on down, they'd … do all sorts of badass things to him.
See what you think and whether you'd like to "get to know im better."
This may be considered uplifting.
RE: The Xmas package-snatcher trap.
The bad news: Those that enjoyed it got  punk'd!
The good news: Those that got punk'd were by no means alone; "more than 38 million views in three days"
Your links never seem to work for me… using multiple platforms.
Mea maxima culpa; you're not alone, slick, some (not all) of them don't.
https://gizmodo.com/viral-video-of-glitter-bomb-for-package-thieves-exposed-1831254130
Me & my IT guy (Zoltar) are working on a resolution.
Anywho, that some of them don't work is not a reflection of who I really am, they were taken out of context, and I apologize to anyone whom I unintentionally offended; can't you see I'm the victim here…?
I feel for you Paul. On the other hand, you duped me into thinking that you had put up Real links and I kept hitting them and hitting them and hitti….. well, just like that baby that went viral because she kept hitting the pages in a (paper) magazine, trying to make it moooove. Anyway, can you not link by doing a copy/paste on the URL? (That will probably turn out to sound ridiculous because even my best friends call me computer-illiterate. … and chase me down the street shouting "cyberdummy, cyberdummy."


The beastmen were aiming with their bows atop the stone wall.
"Aim towards the incoming enemy infantry! Now, shoot!" I ordered.
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This chapter was originally posted on http://www.rebirth.online/novel/the-ability-to-make-town/26.
All the arrows were shot at once by my order. The arrows poured down like rain and pierced into the ground.
However, the enemy soldiers aren't there.
"Ladders were attached to the walls! The enemy is climbing up the walls! Drop the boulders!" I barked.
The beastmen dropped the boulders from the walls according to my instructions.
But, there was no one getting hit by the boulders.
"The enemy got inside! Stab them!" I yelled.
The beastmen with short spears thrusted them into the open space. Naturally, because it's an open space, there can't be any enemies there.
Then, what on earth are we doing?
It goes without saying that this is a training exercise in preparation for a potential enemy attack.
Sandra Kingdom was defeated this time. But, what kind of action will the kingdom take in future?
If they become angered, will they send their army back once again? Or, after this heavy defeat, will they come back to attack after careful preparation? Or, could they have concluded that there are low gains but high risks so they will not concern themselves with this land any more?
However, there is no answer. That is so because there are too few pieces of information to deduce the answer from.
Thus, if Sandra Kingdom attacks again, we need to be prepared here. First of all, I need to expect the worst result so that I can prevent it from happening.
Therefore, I decided to do training once a week.
On top of the stone walls, yelling with gusto were the beastmen wielding short spears, fighting an invisible enemy. At the beginning, everyone was embarrassed. However, when they saw me taking the mock battle seriously, their embarrassment and hesitation disappeared.
"UOOO! You damned humans! We will make you realize the terror of the Goblin Tribe!" One of the goblins swung his own knife around wildly.
It's good to have fighting spirit, but, based on the small body of the goblin tribe, they merely troops in charge of supplies. So, why they are here? Because I didn't know when they might need to fight, so I don't mind their presence.
In addition, each tribe's chief will take command together with me, so they continue to practice to switch positions accordingly.
"Alright! The simulation ends here! Thanks for your hard work! Please return your weapons and move to collect the arrows promptly!" I announced.
After they were finally freed from the stiff atmosphere, everyone's serious expressions changed into smiles. While shouting joyously, everyone descended from the walls to collect the arrows.
Meanwhile, my eyes were looking at the man from the Goblin Tribe.
"Hmph. Humans are nothing in the face of the Goblin tribe." The man of the Goblin tribe muttered so with satisfied expressions although there was nothing there.
Autumn was soon over, and winter had arrived. The air became cold. During this season, the townspeople liked to warm themselves with Hibachi.
Because there is a need to be careful of carbon monoxide poisoning, I asked them to be careful if they felt a sour taste linger in their mouth from the end of autumn to the beginning of winter.
Thanks to that, people who become unconscious because of carbon monoxide poisoning was a thing of the past. Later, everyone took careful note of the ventilation when they use the Hibachi.
As for the person who became unconscious, because they were discovered early, they managed to be saved.
Well, I didn't need to worry for myself since I don't use a Hibachi. I am eating oranges while huddled inside the warm kotatsu. Viva modern civilization!
On one of the winter days, I was watching a DVD of an overseas comedy drama while inside the kotatsu at home.
"Hahahahahaha!" Wild laughter escaped from me.
Gee, even if it's another world, I can still live a modern life. This is so good.
Is this what they call luxury?
Then the telephone I placed at the corner of the room rang. I pressed the pause button to stop the video. There should be no tasks that need to be reported today.
I picked up the phone uneasily.
"Fujiwara-sama? This is the Leopard tribe." The voice on the other end of the line reported.
It's a trifling story, but there are two telephones that connect to my house now. One at Chief Jiharu's house, and another one was entrusted to Kobold tribe's store. Everyone except the Wolf tribe usually uses the one at the store.
The voice of the leopard tribesman a while ago didn't seem to be in a hurry. That means it shouldn't be something important.
"Humans came over again." The person stated calmly.
"There are 3 people. They introduced themselves as merchants, and said that they came for business. They want to talk to the head of the town." The leopard tribesman continued his report, unruffled.
What, there's only 3 people, huh? I was relieved although I felt strength leaving my body. So that's why the person from other side can report it calmly, huh?
"Understood. I will go there immediately. Please keep the humans outside the town. Don't start a fight. Absolutely don't do that, okay?" I ordered firmly before hanging up.
"However, merchants, huh?" I grinned.
I think that they are most likely spies from the Sandra Kingdom disguised as merchants. But, if they were truly merchants, then it would certainly be a good opportunity for me.
Before long, we might need to prepare for a war. If you ask what is the most important thing needed for that, I can confidently say that it's money.
The ability to make town. This ability is extremely simple. I can buy everything with money and organize the town. With only this, financial power is obviously needed.
To be honest, as long as there is money, everything can be done with this ability. But, if I don't have any money, I can't do anything. The less money I have, the possible things I can do will be fewer.
The problem is lies in increasing the funds. Currently, there is still 49,8 billion yen. The profit increased from the town's businesses, but only slightly.
A town with a population that doesn't even reach 2,000 people... If we're looking at long term, we have a reasonable income. But we can't get a remarkable increase within a year.
Shall we sell the city and try creating a new town in the middle of the desert where no foreign enemies exist? I also thought about something like that.
But, that is out of question.
When I [sell] what I [purchased], there is an unfavorable condition that shouldn't be overlooked. Once you [purchase] it, you can only [sell] it for 1/100 of its original value.
This was a town I built using around 50 billion yen. If the sale price becomes only 500 million yen, I wouldn't be able to sell it easily.
I can't expect income from the town. Then, what should I do?
If inside isn't good, then look outside. We need to pay more attention to human society. If I sell something unusual to the humans in this world, I will be able to earn a ton of money.
That method is falling right in front of me now.
"Fufufu, the time has come. Alright, let me show you my various spices." While I erase my smile naturally, I readied my body.
After I equip my usual equipment, I ride Catherine to the north gate of town. A large crowd of people have already gathered there.
Urgh. Although I told them not to put a hand on the humans, it still isn't okay to intimidate them by surrounding them.
Well, I understand their feelings. After Frost came to the town, the human army appeared on this land. That's why everyone in town was thinking that even though there were only a few humans, they still need to be cautious.
"Please make way!" I shouted as I informed everyone my arrival.
The crowd yelled as they divided into two and formed a path in the middle.
Are you curious about this reaction? Since I repelled the human army alone, I gained even more admiration from the beastmen than before.
And then, on the road ahead, I can see three humans with their carriages. One of them was a woman with red hair wearing a coat, while the other two were a blond man and woman wearing silver armor.
The only common thing between these three people was that they were young. None of them looked to be over 30 years old.
"Oh, finally someone who seems to be able to understand has come." Among the three people, the woman with red hair spoke.
I can hear a little bit of accent clinging to her words. As for my impression of her, she seems to be a friendly woman. She doesn't seem to be vigilant, nor did she try to coerce or flatter me. She is just friendly. At least it looked like that.
But, the man and woman, who seemed to be swordsmen, flanking her were different. Both had their hands on their sword hilts while watching the beastmen carefully.
"My name is Elsa Polo. The master of the Polo firm. You are the head of the beastmen town, Fujiwara-san right?" Elsa introduced herself.
"Yes, that's right. How do you know about me?" I asked warily.
"I heard stories from the scholar, Frost-han. He also asked me to deliver a letter to you. Here." She took out a letter from her breast pocket.
However, the distance between us was around 10 meters.
"Can someone take the letter on my behalf?" I asked.
Following my words, a man from the Leopard Tribe stepped forward.
"What, aren't you being too cautious?" The woman smiled.
"You can say that to those two swordsmen." I retorted. as Elsa handed the letter to the man of the Leopard Tribe.
Even after hearing what I said, the two swordsmen still had their hands on their swords, and didn't switch their stances.
"Ah, stop, stop it! Reina! Ryle! I have already said it before we arrived here! You only need to act as bodyguards until we reach the town! Don't fight with the beastmen! Release your hands from the sword hilts now!" Elsa ordered, annoyed.
They looked at each other, then separated their hands from the sword hilts and stood straight obediently.
"Is it ok like this? If you are still not satisfied, do you want to take custody of their swords?" Elsa asked.
"Yes, please." I smiled at her.
"Eh?" Elsa squeaked in bewilderment.
"Shouldn't you say "I don't mind" here? It's where you should trust us right?!" Elsa protested.
"No, because one's life is more important than trust." I replied smoothly.
"Uuu... Then it can't be helped! Reina! Ryle! Put down your swords!" Elsa demanded.
After hesitating for a moment, Reina and Ryle threw the swords onto the ground while clicking their tongues. That tongue-clicking wasn't for us, but for Elsa.
While the beastmen picked them up, Elsa seemed to feel awkward as she gave me a bitter smile.
"With this, can you trust us a little bit?" She pleaded.
I opened the letter from Frost and read the contents. What was written there was apology after apology, and that he felt bad. There were also details about how the army was dispatched to this town.
As for the details, it matched with the contents of Romatto, who was still being held captive.
First of all, he apologized without any words of excuse. Assuming that Elsa is a spy, then Frost wrote this letter to make me lower my guard. How naive.
"Then, I heard that you are a merchant?" I asked after stowing away the letter.
"That's right. We came here to do business with you. I heard from Frost-han about an unusual liquor. Anything is ok. If there is something rare and unusual, can you sell it to us?" Elsa explained.
"Hmm..." I thought about the situation at hand.
There wasn't any suspicious behavior for now. Anyway, I will hear what she has to say first before making my decision.
"Alright. I will allow you into the town." I decided.


Negative energy can be found almost everywhere. There are people complaining about life constantly, practicing bad habits and bringing you down. The emotions they spread influence your thoughts and actions in a bad way so avoiding the sources of negative energy is obligatory if you want to be more successful. Everyone can be easily affected by negative emotions and the only exceptions are people who learned how to deal with it.
1. They create happiness from within.
Happy people don't base their happiness on external stimulation. They realize once the stimulant is gone, their mood would be ruined. Instead, they look for internal sources of positive energy and practice mindfulness.
2. They practice positive thinking.
Thoughts influence your actions, so, if you think negatively, there's no bright future ahead of you. Positive people don't believe in the excuses their minds come up with. Through positive affirmations and finding the good side of any problem, they make sure they are mentally set up for success.
3. They look for reasons to believe in themselves.
"Never let the negativity get to you. There are gonna be a lot of people you have to plow through, but as long you believe in yourself, that's all that matters." – Becky G.
4. They cut off negative people.
Your surroundings have a tremendous impact on yourself. If you spend time with positive people, you are more likely to be happy and content. On the other hand, if you are too close to naysayers and complainers, you will have a hard time removing the negativity from your life.
Physical training is associated with releasing endorphins which are responsible for "feeling good." Treating your body the right way pays off and results in reduced stress and boosted happiness. You don't need expensive gym memberships – a walk will do the trick!
6. They spend time in the nature.
Being in the nature clears your mind and relaxes your body. Positive people dedicate a part of their day to get outside and admire the beauty of our planet. It's a great way to load your batteries!
7. They avoid impulsive spending.
Nowadays, extra deals and sales fight for your attention, so it's easy to end up lost in the buying mode. Whereas excessive buying may make you feel better instantly, from a long-term perspective, it's an unhealthy habit positive people avoid at all costs. They would rather invest in experiences to discover the world and create some great memories.
Positive people embrace failure as they realize it's the only way to learn and grow. Whenever they collapse, they work hard to get at the top again instead of giving up. Even though a failure brings negative emotions, they comprehend these are brief and will fade away quickly. To accelerate the process, they keep thinking positively.
9. They take full responsibility.
Positive people always give themselves the responsibility for what happens in their lives. Whether it's a success or failure, it's always an effect of their actions and thoughts. A positive person will never blame external factors and focus on things within the reach that could be improved.
By doing that, they pursue being better and experience constant progress instead of getting frustrated by things out of their control.
10. They learn to control their thoughts.
A mind can be easily brought out of control by sudden negative thoughts. Positive individuals know that they can't stop the thoughts from arising but they get to choose their actions or responses to the thoughts. To achieve this discipline they practice meditation or mindfulness.
11. They devote some time to relax.
Instead of trying to be perfect, positive people realize sometimes you need to slow down, make your goals and ambitions secondary and simply loosen up. They also accept that there are times in life where it seems that there is no movement at all. In a nutshell, they take a step back to move further the next day.
12. They believe there's always a solution.
Sometimes, life hits you hopelessly hard. At these moments, you tend to doubt your abilities to solve the current problem. The fact is, there's always a way to overcome an obstacle and positive people keep that in mind. Even if they reach rock bottom, they believe it happens so they can get to the top even stronger.
13. They know when to say no.
The value of saying 'no' and 'yes' at the right moment is priceless. Opposed to misconceptions, these two words have an immense power and how you use them dictates what happens in your life.
Positive people focus on their priorities instead pleasing others. That's why they know there are many things you don't need to say yes to.
14. They don't look for anyone's approval.
If you let others' opinions paralyze you, you will have a hard time feeling good and happy. Many people are afraid of not getting validation and being criticized. Positive individuals think and act quite the opposite.
They use disapproval as an indicator of being authentic and true. The fact is, there are countless things you don't need anyone's approval for though you think you do.
Stick to your goal and the negativity in your life will be reducing in impact by the minute.


Welcome at Hotel My Bags, please put you at ease, a room is ready for your summer holidays.
You can enjoy the musical coktail on the sea side and watch the infinite blue sky kissing the horizon.
An tour is planned to visit the exotic wonders of the island.
The few clouds and light breeze bring shadow and freshness when it's too hot.
Rendez-vous in the evening for a scuba diving session and a dancing night in the ball room after the dinner.
Maybe you'll meet your soulmate there.


Cat Growth Chart: Cats are small cats that grow incredibly fast. In just one year they go from weighing around 100 grams when they are born to 2 or 3kg ten months later. But in addition, they are considered adults from 6 or 7 months, because at that age they begin to have heat and therefore if the mating occurs the cat will give birth to their own offspring. With only six months yes.
A grows very faster and if you are cat lover and do your have a cat then you must know about the kitten growth chart because it is necessary to have a look at your pet. Here in our article we are going to share the kitten growth chart weight as per their stages. So check our article and know more about it.
But the growth of the cats does not end during the first year, but in the second and third year their body will expand a little and they will also increase in weight as their development nears its end. Know each stage that your friend is going to spend and enjoy each of them with the camera in hand because time goes by very quickly and you will soon see that your little ball of hair has become a Mr. Cat.
2 How Old are Cats?
Here we detail the different stages of growth that your cat will experience throughout his life. In each one we will explain the changes that occur in your body and behavior so you know at all times how your cat is growing. Here will be the cat age chart simply have a look at it.
The kittens are born blind and deaf. They depend on the mother to maintain their body temperature, eat and stay clean as she helps them to relieve themselves. At this early age they already recognize the odor of their mother's saliva and are guided by smell to follow it, although it will not be until the third week of age that this sense will have fully developed. This will be the kitten size chart for the newbies.
More or less after two weeks they will open their eyes and begin to explore their surroundings but staggering is that until 17 days will not be able to walk well. For now they stay close to the mother who will not hesitate to defend them against whoever is needed. That is why at this stage it is better that if we live with dogs we never leave them alone with cats.
At three weeks we can start weaning giving them canned food (better if it is natural). It is also a good age for them to learn to do their necessities on a tray since they can do their own necessities. You can teach them by putting them gently in the hygienic sand after each meal, this way you will see how very soon you will understand that this is where you have to go whenever you need it.
With four weeks they start playing with each other jumping over the mother and biting each other. At this stage they learn that they must control the strength of their teeth as they can sometimes hurt. You can see more information on cat teeth from us.
With functional eyes and ears cats will be able to maintain body temperature and with a huge desire to explore everything they begins a very important stage: Socialization. Little by little your mom will stop breastfeeding them so the kittens will have to learn to be a little independent. So at this age it will be time for the animal to have contact with humans. We will have to take them gently and give them caresses and pampering so that they can associate us with something positive (love) since it is expected that these cats will not be frightened by people but quite the opposite.
With eight weeks they can be adopted. But you should know that they are very active and very playful something that perhaps your furniture does not like too much. Although if you have a scraper at your fingertips there should be no problems.
At this age the cat "is already" a cat. He already has everything he has to prepare for adulthood. He does not need the mother to survive and it is very likely that he will start wanting to go abroad something that we will only allow him if we are completely sure that he will not be in danger.
The females will go into heat around 6 months. If you only want a friend a pet, it will be more than advisable to sterilize or castrate them (both male and female) around this age. Although it can be done between 4 and 6 months it is best to wait until 6 months, to avoid development problems (especially in the case of males). Also if you give her permission to go for a ride, this will prevent your cat from coming home with a wound or if it is a female with some surprise (pregnancy).
Now yes, you already have an adult cat. You may think that you sleep too much but you should know that they love to play especially at night. Yes, they are nocturnal animals so if you want your sleep at night you will have to take advantage of the times when you are awake during the day to play with him and "tire him out". In the market you will find many types of toys such as strings, laser pointers, plush toys… Choose those that you think you will like the most and have fun with your best hairy friend.
During this stage the cat will finish developing and begin to show adolescent behaviors. It is usual that during these years he does what he wants disobeying even the orders that we give him. Despite their size they are still puppies that love to play and get attention something they always achieve, right?
Little by little we will notice that our cat is not as eager to play as before. Spend a lot of time sleeping (around 14h per day) and their behavior becomes more territorial if possible. In fact from these ages it is complicated (but not impossible) to accept a new cat in its territory that by the way it is your home. You need to see the cat weight chart and then analyze your cat growth. At this time even your cat licks you and you can see this article why does my cat lick me and know about the pet cats.
From the age of seven a cat begins to age. They become even more sedentary and calmer. Your friend will spend a lot of time resting and not so much playing. Of course, it will continue to do so at times. But as you get closer to old age you will not have as much desire to pursue toys.
Your cat is older You will notice how your appetite decreases and that your senses deteriorate. It can produce dermatological changes develop hyperthyroidism and its claws can grow too much due to little use. They spend less time cleaning themselves, something that will soon be seen on their fur, which will lose its shine.
Read Also: Why Do Cats Sleep So Much?
How long do cats grow? As we have seen, the cat is a feline that has a very fast growth. In just one year your bones and muscles will reach adulthood. This means that certainly he will be ready to 'see the world' or in the event that he can not leave to be a Lord Cat.
His behavior will notice that it will change little by little. The desire to play will remain high. But as time goes by you will prefer a session of caresses and not so much fun. This does not mean that we do not have to play with him. But we simply will not see him running around with as much energy as when he was a puppy.
But, despite the fact that it is recommended to feed them (croquettes) for adult cats after one year of age. Their development will not be over yet. If during the first months your skeleton develops from the second year we will see that it 'takes body' that it widens. It's when the muscle mass ends up developing. This development can last more or less, depending on the final size of the animal and the breed. But it will usually end at 3 years.
From then on, and from my point of view we will have a truly adult cat, in every way. Hope you have simply got an idea of cat weight chart by age.
This is the correct information about the growth of cats. As am a cat house owner i know very well about the cats.


text:
import {Component, OnInit, OnDestroy, AfterViewChecked, ViewChild, ElementRef, Renderer, Input, Output, EventEmitter, ChangeDetectorRef, forwardRef} from '@angular/core';
import {ControlValueAccessor, NG_VALUE_ACCESSOR} from '@angular/forms';
import {FancyImageUploaderOptions, ImageResult, ResizeOptions} from './interfaces';
import {createImage, resizeImage} from './utils';
import {FileUploader} from './file-uploader';
import {UploadedFile} from './uploaded-file';
import 'rxjs/add/operator/filter';
import * as Cropper from 'cropperjs';
import {CropOptions} from './interfaces';
import {cssTemplate, htmlTemplate} from './template';

export enum Status {
  NotSelected,
  Selected,
  Uploading,
  Loading,
  Loaded,
  Error
}

@Component({
  selector: 'fancy-image-uploader',
  template: htmlTemplate,
  styles: [cssTemplate],
  host: {
    '[style.width]': 'thumbnailWidth + "px"',
    '[style.height]': 'thumbnailHeight + "px"',
    '(drop)': 'drop($event)',
    '(dragenter)': 'dragenter($event)',
    '(dragover)': 'dragover($event)',
    '(dragleave)': 'dragleave($event)',
  },
  providers: [
    {
      provide: NG_VALUE_ACCESSOR,
      useExisting: forwardRef(() => FancyImageUploaderComponent),
      multi: true
    }
  ]
})
export class FancyImageUploaderComponent implements OnInit, OnDestroy, AfterViewChecked, ControlValueAccessor {
  statusEnum = Status;
  _status: Status = Status.NotSelected;

  thumbnailWidth: number = 150;
  thumbnailHeight: number = 150;
  _imageThumbnail: any;
  _errorMessage: string;
  progress: number;
  propagateChange = (_: any) => {};
  origImageWidth: number;
  orgiImageHeight: number;

  cropper: Cropper = undefined;
  fileToUpload: File;

  @ViewChild('imageElement') imageElement: ElementRef;
  @ViewChild('fileInput') fileInputElement: ElementRef;
  @ViewChild('dragOverlay') dragOverlayElement: ElementRef;
  @Input() options: FancyImageUploaderOptions;
  @Output() onUpload: EventEmitter<UploadedFile> = new EventEmitter<UploadedFile>();
  @Output() onStatusChange: EventEmitter<Status> = new EventEmitter<Status>();

  constructor(
    private renderer: Renderer,
    private uploader: FileUploader,
    private changeDetector: ChangeDetectorRef) { }

  get imageThumbnail() {
    return this._imageThumbnail;
  }

  set imageThumbnail(value) {
    this._imageThumbnail = value;
    this.propagateChange(this._imageThumbnail);

    if (value !== undefined) {
      this.status = Status.Selected
    } else {
      this.status = Status.NotSelected;
    }
  }

  get errorMessage() {
    return this._errorMessage;
  }

  set errorMessage(value) {
    this._errorMessage = value;

    if (value) {
      this.status = Status.Error;
    } else {
      this.status = Status.NotSelected;
    }
  }

  get status() {
    return this._status;
  }

  set status(value) {
    this._status = value;
    this.onStatusChange.emit(value);
  }

  writeValue(value: any) {
    if (value) {
      this.loadAndResize(value);
    } else {
      this._imageThumbnail = undefined;
      this.status = Status.NotSelected;
    }
  }

  registerOnChange(fn: (_: any) => void) {
    this.propagateChange = fn;
  }

  registerOnTouched() {}

  ngOnInit() {
    if (this.options) {
      if (this.options.thumbnailWidth) {
        this.thumbnailWidth = this.options.thumbnailWidth;
      }
      if (this.options.thumbnailHeight) {
        this.thumbnailHeight = this.options.thumbnailHeight;
      }
      if (this.options.resizeOnLoad === undefined) {
        this.options.resizeOnLoad = true;
      }
      if (this.options.autoUpload === undefined) {
        this.options.autoUpload = true;
      }
      if (this.options.cropEnabled === undefined) {
        this.options.cropEnabled = false;
      }

      if (this.options.autoUpload && this.options.cropEnabled) {
        throw new Error('autoUpload and cropEnabled cannot be enabled simultaneously');
      }
    }
  }

  ngAfterViewChecked() {
    if (this.options && this.options.cropEnabled && this.imageElement && this.fileToUpload && !this.cropper) {
      this.cropper = new Cropper(this.imageElement.nativeElement, {
        viewMode: 1,
        aspectRatio: this.options.cropAspectRatio ? this.options.cropAspectRatio : null
      });
    }
  }

  ngOnDestroy() {
    if (this.cropper) {
      this.cropper.destroy();
      this.cropper = null;
    }
  }

  loadAndResize(url: string) {
    this.status = Status.Loading;

    this.uploader.getFile(url, this.options).subscribe(file => {
      if (this.options.resizeOnLoad) {
        // thumbnail
        let result: ImageResult = {
          file: file,
          url: URL.createObjectURL(file)
        };

        this.resize(result).then(r => {
          this._imageThumbnail = r.resized.dataURL;
          this.status = Status.Loaded;
        });
      } else {
        let result: ImageResult = {
          file: null,
          url: null
        };

        this.fileToDataURL(file, result).then(r => {
          this._imageThumbnail = r.dataURL;
          this.status = Status.Loaded;
        });
      }
    }, error => {
      this.errorMessage = error || 'Error while getting an image';
    });
  }

  onImageClicked() {
    this.renderer.invokeElementMethod(this.fileInputElement.nativeElement, 'click');
  }

  onFileChanged() {
    let file = this.fileInputElement.nativeElement.files[0];
    if (!file) return;

    this.validateAndUpload(file);
  }

  validateAndUpload(file: File) {
    this.propagateChange(null);

    if (this.options && this.options.allowedImageTypes) {
      if (!this.options.allowedImageTypes.some(allowedType => file.type === allowedType)) {
        this.errorMessage = 'Only these image types are allowed: ' + this.options.allowedImageTypes.join(', ');
        return;
      }
    }

    if (this.options && this.options.maxImageSize) {
      if (file.size > this.options.maxImageSize * 1024 * 1024) {
        this.errorMessage = `Image must not be larger than ${this.options.maxImageSize} MB`;
        return;
      }
    }

    this.fileToUpload = file;

    if (this.options && this.options.autoUpload) {
      this.upload();
    }

    // thumbnail
    let result: ImageResult = {
      file: file,
      url: URL.createObjectURL(file)
    };

    this.resize(result).then(r => {
      this._imageThumbnail = r.resized.dataURL;
      this.origImageWidth = r.width;
      this.orgiImageHeight = r.height;

      if (this.options && !this.options.autoUpload) {
        this.status = Status.Selected;
      }
    });
  }

  upload() {
    this.progress = 0;
    this.status = Status.Uploading;

    let cropOptions: CropOptions = undefined;

    if (this.cropper) {
      let scale = this.origImageWidth / this.cropper.getImageData().naturalWidth;
      let cropData = this.cropper.getData();

      cropOptions = {
        x: Math.round(cropData.x * scale),
        y: Math.round(cropData.y * scale),
        width: Math.round(cropData.width * scale),
        height: Math.round(cropData.height * scale)
      };
    }

    let id = this.uploader.uploadFile(this.fileToUpload, this.options, cropOptions);

    // file progress
    let sub = this.uploader.fileProgress$.filter(file => file.id === id).subscribe(file => {
      this.progress = file.progress;

      if (file.error) {
        if (file.status || file.statusText) {
          this.errorMessage = `${file.status}: ${file.statusText}`;
        } else {
          this.errorMessage = 'Error while uploading'
        }
        // on some upload errors change detection does not work, so we are forcing manually
        this.changeDetector.detectChanges();
      }

      if (file.done) {
        // notify that value was changed only when image was uploaded and no error
        if (!file.error) {
          this.propagateChange(this._imageThumbnail);
          this.status = Status.Selected;
          this.fileToUpload = undefined;
        }
        this.onUpload.emit(file);
        sub.unsubscribe();
      }
    });
  }

  removeImage() {
    this.fileInputElement.nativeElement.value = null;
    this.imageThumbnail = undefined;

    if (this.cropper) {
      this.cropper.destroy();
      this.cropper = null;
    }
  }

  dismissError() {
    this.errorMessage = undefined;
    this.removeImage();
  }

  drop(e: DragEvent) {
    e.preventDefault();
    e.stopPropagation();

    if (!e.dataTransfer || !e.dataTransfer.files.length) {
      return;
    }

    this.validateAndUpload(e.dataTransfer.files[0]);
    this.updateDragOverlayStyles(false);
  }

  dragenter(e: DragEvent) {
    e.preventDefault();
    e.stopPropagation();
  }

  dragover(e: DragEvent) {
    e.preventDefault();
    e.stopPropagation();
    this.updateDragOverlayStyles(true);
  }

  dragleave(e: DragEvent) {
    e.preventDefault();
    e.stopPropagation();
    this.updateDragOverlayStyles(false);
  }

  private updateDragOverlayStyles(isDragOver: boolean) {
    // TODO: find a way that does not trigger dragleave when displaying overlay
    // if (isDragOver) {
    //  this.renderer.setElementStyle(this.dragOverlayElement.nativeElement, 'display', 'block');
    // } else {
    //  this.renderer.setElementStyle(this.dragOverlayElement.nativeElement, 'display', 'none');
    // }
  }

  private resize(result: ImageResult): Promise<ImageResult> {
    let resizeOptions: ResizeOptions = {
      resizeHeight: this.thumbnailHeight,
      resizeWidth: this.thumbnailWidth,
      resizeType: result.file.type,
      resizeMode: this.options.thumbnailResizeMode
    };

    return new Promise((resolve) => {
      createImage(result.url, image => {
        let dataUrl = resizeImage(image, resizeOptions);

        result.width = image.width;
        result.height = image.height;
        result.resized = {
          dataURL: dataUrl,
          type: this.getType(dataUrl)
        };

        resolve(result);
      });
    });
  }

  private getType(dataUrl: string) {
    return dataUrl.match(/:(.+\/.+;)/)[1];
  }

  private fileToDataURL(file: File, result: ImageResult): Promise<ImageResult> {
    return new Promise((resolve) => {
      let reader = new FileReader();
      reader.onload = function (e) {
        result.dataURL = reader.result;
        resolve(result);
      };
      reader.readAsDataURL(file);
    });
  }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Disney pixar finding dory kids tadpool life vest, designed for kids Weighting 30 - 50 pounds. Specially designed to allow full range of motion of arms, adjustable waist strap, zippered back for easy on/off. Designed for safety and comfort for all water sports. Features: 30 SPF, zippered back, adjustable waist strap, arm flotation, us Coast guard approved, UL approved, 1 inch webbing, neoprene material.


A classic Relaxed Fit Bell Sleeve Top now in thin striped print. Effortless chic look with wide bell flutter half sleeves and side slits which gives you the perfect flare for the season. Goes nicely with jeans, leggings, shorts and even skirts.


On Monday last week, the darling of Silicon Valley became the most valuable American car company, surpassing General Motors, the Detroit granddaddy with $10 billion in sales on nearly 10 million vehicles. Shares of Tesla, run by high profile chief executive Elon Musk, put the company's value at $51.5 billion, above GM's $50.2 billion. Tesla blew by Ford ($44.6 billion) last week. Musk's company produced just 84,000 cars last year, with starting prices of $68,000.
Tesla's lack of pricing power is going to lead to its demise, Bob Lutz, former vice chairman of General Motors, told CNBC, two days after the electric automaker briefly topped GM's market capitalization as the nation's most valuable vehicle manufacturer.
Despite's GM's dominance in car sales (its U.S. market share is 17.3 percent compared with 0.2 percent for Tesla), analysts admire what Musk has built. "Making cars is a hard business," Ivan Feinseth, chief investment officer at Tigress Financial Partners said, "and putting together in such a short time a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility along with a dealer and showrooms and a support network of service centers and charging facilities, that is very hard." Despite this engaging story, the Tesla ending is still up for grabs.


text:
News Article/Announcement MCA Namibia draws curtain on successful Compact implementation as Omaheke Library is handed over to the people
The Millennium Challenge Account Namibia (MCA-N) wrapped up the successful implementation of the N$3 billion Namibian Compact with the hand-over of the Omaheke Regional Library, the last of the three built with funding from the American people to the tune of N$167 million. The new regional library was officially inaugurated by Education Minister David Namwandi at Epako in Gobabis on 25 November 2014.
In an effort to redress inequalities in the access to knowledge and learning resources, MCA-N funded and equipped such Regional Study and Resource Centres (RSRCs) at Oshakati, Helao Nafidi and Gobabis. The new centres provide an alternative to the one-room community libraries which have insufficient space to meet student and learner demand, as well as insufficient collections of materials to support secondary-level and distance students.
MCA-N CEO Penny Akwenye said her organisation was proud to officially hand over the last Regional Library to the Namibian people and urged members of the community to make use of the facility. Akwenye said communities who live in remote areas had not been forgotten as these will be served by the mobile library units, which are equipped with books, computers and television screens.
"Enjoy the great opportunities and exciting learning experiences these facilities offer – now and in future," Akwenye told the large crowd of Omaheke residents that gathered to witness the inauguration of the library. Minister Namwandi paid tribute to MCA-N and the American Government's Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) for making the three regional resource centres possible. "I am humbled to be standing in front of this superb facility. Not only is the building a joy to behold, but the thought of the impact of this library this centre will have on the community of Omaheke is dazzling and overwhelming," the Education Minister emphasised.
He said with the launch of the Omaheke facility, Namibia was inaugurating a new era on knowledge accumulation, a new access to information and the empowerment it offers to all that make use of it. Namwandi said the Regional Study and Resource Centres (RSRCs) were a "one-stop for knowledge, free knowledge and everyone, young and old is welcome." "No longer is the access to information a privilege of a few. The 21st century's explosion of information has levelled the playing field. Now, we all have an equal opportunity to gain knowledge," said Minister Namwandi. He added that while it was important for the community to make use of this new fountain of knowledge, it was also incumbent upon them to look after the facility and not allow anyone to vandalise the centre.
Omaheke Regional Governor Festus Ueitele said the library will go a long way in addressing the high level of illiteracy and unemployment in the region."We want all the citizens of this region to be able to read, write, converse and value ideas and thoughts. Therefore, it is our aim to propagate libraries and the value they have to offer to all the citizens of this region. I am hopeful that this beautiful library, which is the biggest library in Omaheke, will educate the people of Omaheke for decades to come," said Governor Ueitele.
Speaking on behalf of the American Government, U.S. Embassy Chargé d'Affaires in Namibia, John Kowalski, said the new Study and Resource Centre creates an opportunity for the people of Omaheke to access the information they need to build their knowledge and explore the world. "This centre will provide you with the answers and direction you seek to gain the knowledge and confidence to land a better paying job, improve your business and help make your dreams come true. Enter it. Explore it," Kowalski appealed to the community.
Omaheke resident and historian, Alex Kaputu, described the RSRC as a "dream come true" for the people of the region. "We will watch this facility with an eagle eye and we will ensure that it does not become a white elephant," Kaputu said, urging local resident to make the library their "second home". Willisa Springbok, a Community Skills Development Centre (COSDEC) trainee, said the library was helping to simplify the office administration and computing course she was doing. "This library offers a comfortable environment with a wide selection of books and modern computers. We also have internet, which helps with our research," said the 19-year-old Willisa.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Q: Make `Ctrl + W` and `Ctrl + Alt + H` in zsh behave the same as in bash In bash behavior is like this:

*

*Ctrl+W deletes the word behind the cursor up to the next space

*Ctrl+Alt+H deletes the word behind the cursor up to the next seperation charcater like ., ,, -, / etc.

In zsh both Ctrl+W and Ctrl+Alt+H behave like the latter one in bash.
I would like the same behavior as in bash.

A: This does what you want, regardless of what's in $WORDCHARS, and makes the killed words available to yank:
# Create a new widget.
zle -N backward-kill-space-word
backward-kill-space-word() {
  # Inform the line editor that this widget will kill text.
  zle -f kill

  # Set $WORDCHARS for this command only.
  WORDCHARS='*?_-.[]~=/&;!#$%^(){}<>' zle .backward-kill-word
}

# See comments above.
zle -N backward-kill-bash-word
backward-kill-bash-word() {
  zle -f kill
  WORDCHARS='' zle .backward-kill-word
}

# Bind the widgets to keys.
bindkey   '^W' backward-kill-space-word
bindkey '^[^H' backward-kill-bash-word

Alternatively, I've released a plugin called zsh-edit, which comes with more sophisticated versions of these keybindings.

A: You can set the special characters that are considered part of a word with the WORDCHARS variable. This has influence on how words are deleted by Ctrl + W:
WORDCHARS='~!#$%^&*(){}[]<>?.+;-_/\|=@`'

However it also has influence on Ctrl + Alt + H. We want this behavior to only apply to Ctrl + W. But there's a trick that we can do. Let me explain:
You can rebind the key combinations to different functions (see man zshzle). And there are 2 functions that actually have the same behavior:

*

*backward-delete-word

*backward-kill-word

You can also redefine these functions with zle -N <func>. I'm not completely sure how it works but you get an idea if you read the code, anyway, it does the trick.
By default both Ctrl + W and Ctrl + Alt + H are mapped to backward-kill-word. So we can redefine backward-delete-word and then bind that to Ctrl + W:
# Make `Ctrl + W` behave like it does in Bash, deleting words separated by
# spaces. We do this by redefining the `backward-delete-word` function and bind
# that to `Ctrl + W`.
SPACE_WORDCHARS='~!#$%^&*(){}[]<>?.+;-_/\|=@`'
backward-delete-word() WORDCHARS=$SPACE_WORDCHARS zle .$WIDGET
zle -N backward-delete-word
bindkey "^W" backward-delete-word

Yeah, now Ctrl + W deletes bigger words than Ctrl + Alt + H!
Edit:
Very sadly I'm now discovering that this approach lacks some functionality, when you delete a word, it doesn't get yanked to the paste buffer (Ctrl + Y). Haven't found a solution for that yet..

A: I ultimately found my desired behavior with these bindings:
# Configures bindings for jumping/deleting full and sub-words, similar to
# the keybindings in bash.

# Jumping:
# Alt + B                Backward sub-word
# Ctrl + Alt + B         Backward full-word
# Alt + F                Forward sub-word
# Ctrl + Alt + F         Forward full-word

# Deleting:
# Ctrl + W               Backward delete full-word
# Ctrl + Alt + H         Backward delete sub-word
# Alt + D                Forward delete sub-word
# Ctrl + Alt + D         Forward delete full-word

# Which characters, besides letters and numbers, that are jumped over by a
# full-word jump:
FULLWORDCHARS="*?_-.,[]~=/&:;!#$%^(){}<>'\""

backward-full-word() { WORDCHARS=$FULLWORDCHARS zle .backward-word ; }
backward-sub-word() { WORDCHARS="" zle .backward-word ; }
forward-full-word() { WORDCHARS=$FULLWORDCHARS zle .forward-word ; }
backward-kill-full-word() { WORDCHARS=$FULLWORDCHARS zle .backward-kill-word ; }
backward-kill-sub-word() { WORDCHARS="" zle .backward-kill-word ; }
forward-kill-full-word() { WORDCHARS=$FULLWORDCHARS zle .kill-word ; }
forward-kill-sub-word() { WORDCHARS="" zle .kill-word ; }

zle -N backward-full-word
zle -N backward-sub-word
zle -N forward-full-word
zle -N backward-kill-full-word
zle -N backward-kill-sub-word
zle -N forward-kill-full-word
zle -N forward-kill-sub-word

# For `forward-sub-word` we use the built-in `emacs-forward-word` widget,
# because that simulates bash behavior.
zle -A emacs-forward-word forward-sub-word

bindkey "^[b" backward-sub-word
bindkey "^[^b" backward-full-word
bindkey "^[f" forward-sub-word
bindkey "^[^f" forward-full-word
bindkey "^[^h" backward-kill-sub-word
bindkey "^w" backward-kill-full-word
bindkey "^[d" forward-kill-sub-word
bindkey "^[^d" forward-kill-full-word

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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R for Reproducible Scientific Analysis

      lesson home

Writing Data

Overview

      Teaching: 10 min

      Exercises: 10 min

      Questions

How can I save plots and data created in R?

      Objectives

To be able to write out plots and data from R.

Saving plots

You have already seen how to save the most recent plot you create in ggplot2,
using the command ggsave. As a refresher:

ggsave("My_most_recent_plot.pdf")

You can save a plot from within RStudio using the 'Export' button
in the 'Plot' window. This will give you the option of saving as a
.pdf or as .png, .jpg or other image formats.

Sometimes you will want to save plots without creating them in the
'Plot' window first. Perhaps you want to make a pdf document with
multiple pages: each one a different plot, for example. Or perhaps
you're looping through multiple subsets of a file, plotting data from
each subset, and you want to save each plot, but obviously can't stop
the loop to click 'Export' for each one.

In this case you can use a more flexible approach. The function
pdf creates a new pdf device. You can control the size and resolution
using the arguments to this function.

pdf("Life_Exp_vs_time.pdf", width=12, height=4)
ggplot(data=gapminder, aes(x=year, y=lifeExp, colour=country)) +
  geom_line() +
  theme(legend.position = "none")

# You then have to make sure to turn off the pdf device!

dev.off()

Open up this document and have a look.

Challenge 1

Rewrite your 'pdf' command to print a second
page in the pdf, showing a facet plot (hint: use facet_grid)
of the same data with one panel per continent.

Solution to challenge 1

pdf("Life_Exp_vs_time.pdf", width = 12, height = 4)
p <- ggplot(data = gapminder, aes(x = year, y = lifeExp, colour = country)) +
  geom_line() +
  theme(legend.position = "none")
p
p + facet_grid(. ~continent)
dev.off()

The commands jpeg, png etc. are used similarly to produce
documents in different formats.

Writing data

At some point, you'll also want to write out data from R.

We can use the write.table function for this, which is
very similar to read.table from before.

Let's create a data-cleaning script, for this analysis, we
only want to focus on the gapminder data for Australia:

aust_subset <- gapminder[gapminder$country == "Australia",]

write.table(aust_subset,
  file="cleaned-data/gapminder-aus.csv",
  sep=","
)

Let's switch back to the shell to take a look at the data to make sure it looks
OK:

head cleaned-data/gapminder-aus.csv

"country","year","pop","continent","lifeExp","gdpPercap"
"61","Australia",1952,8691212,"Oceania",69.12,10039.59564
"62","Australia",1957,9712569,"Oceania",70.33,10949.64959
"63","Australia",1962,10794968,"Oceania",70.93,12217.22686
"64","Australia",1967,11872264,"Oceania",71.1,14526.12465
"65","Australia",1972,13177000,"Oceania",71.93,16788.62948
"66","Australia",1977,14074100,"Oceania",73.49,18334.19751
"67","Australia",1982,15184200,"Oceania",74.74,19477.00928
"68","Australia",1987,16257249,"Oceania",76.32,21888.88903
"69","Australia",1992,17481977,"Oceania",77.56,23424.76683

Hmm, that's not quite what we wanted. Where did all these
quotation marks come from? Also the row numbers are
meaningless.

Let's look at the help file to work out how to change this
behaviour.

?write.table

By default R will wrap character vectors with quotation marks
when writing out to file. It will also write out the row and
column names.

Let's fix this:

write.table(
  gapminder[gapminder$country == "Australia",],
  file="cleaned-data/gapminder-aus.csv",
  sep=",", quote=FALSE, row.names=FALSE
)

Now lets look at the data again using our shell skills:

head cleaned-data/gapminder-aus.csv

country,year,pop,continent,lifeExp,gdpPercap
Australia,1952,8691212,Oceania,69.12,10039.59564
Australia,1957,9712569,Oceania,70.33,10949.64959
Australia,1962,10794968,Oceania,70.93,12217.22686
Australia,1967,11872264,Oceania,71.1,14526.12465
Australia,1972,13177000,Oceania,71.93,16788.62948
Australia,1977,14074100,Oceania,73.49,18334.19751
Australia,1982,15184200,Oceania,74.74,19477.00928
Australia,1987,16257249,Oceania,76.32,21888.88903
Australia,1992,17481977,Oceania,77.56,23424.76683

That looks better!

Challenge 2

Write a data-cleaning script file that subsets the gapminder
data to include only data points collected since 1990.

Use this script to write out the new subset to a file
in the cleaned-data/ directory.

Solution to challenge 2

write.table(
  gapminder[gapminder$year > 1990, ],
  file = "cleaned-data/gapminder-after1990.csv",
  sep = ",", quote = FALSE, row.names = FALSE
)

Key Points

Save plots from RStudio using the 'Export' button.

Use write.table to save tabular data.

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text:
Irony Day
Happy "Constitution Day." Here are the Three Most Unconstitutional Things the Government is Doing Right Now
While the country celebrates the Constitution, Republicans in Congress, Donald Trump, and even the Obama administration are all shamelessly violating it.
Jay Michaelson
Constitution Day is this week—September 17 officially, September 16 as it's being celebrated at schools across America.
Which is ironic, because rarely has the Constitution been so flagrantly flouted as in the annus horribilis of 2016. There's no shortage of unconstitutional acts to choose from, depending on your point of view. Conservatives and libertarians are still litigating the constitutionality of Obamacare, for example, although Article III of the Constitution grants that power to the Supreme Court. Liberals, meanwhile, have begun to wonder whether there are any limits on when the government can spy on all of us.
And none of us knows whether the Obama administration's immigration actions are constitutional, because the short-staffed Supreme Court was too broken to decide.
But for my money, there are three constitutional howlers so outrageous as to merit special attention on this Constitution Day: the Obama wars, the Supreme Court stalemate, and almost everything Donald Trump says.
1. War Without War
Did you know that Article One, Section Eight of the Constitution states that Congress has the power to declare war? Did you know that the last time it did so was during World War II? What about all those other wars since then: Korea, Vietnam, the Gulf Wars (plural!), Afghanistan—did they never happen?
Well, not constitutionally they didn't—there never was a formal "Declaration of War," and since there wasn't, there was never really any war. (Tell that to the veterans, the fallen, the enemy combatants, and the civilian casualties from Pusan to Peshawar.)
But in most cases, Congress at least authorized the use of force—including the second Gulf War, which Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump supported, before they were against it, and the war in Afghanistan.
Both of those wars are over, in case you were confused—Iraq on December 15, 2011, and Afghanistan on December 28, 2014. Those U.S. soldiers still on the ground, the warplanes, the battles against ISIS—none of that is really war, you see. Nor were the U.S.'s adventures in Libya. None of those activities have been authorized by Congress, notwithstanding what the constitution says.
Of course, war is different these days. One no longer issues Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and one no longer formally declares war either. Indeed, Congress recognized the effective nullity of Article I, Section 8, back in 1973, when it passed the War Powers Resolution, meant to require presidents to obtain congressional approval within 90 days of engagement.
Then again, the War Powers Act (as it's known) may itself be unconstitutional, and is basically never enforced by the Supreme Court, which has noticed that the party complaining of violations always seems to be the one not holding the White House at the moment. Liberals and conservatives alike recognize that invoking it is basically a political ploy.
As a result, we've grown used to war without "war." After all, what is a "war on terror," really? The Obama administration's use of drone warfare, for example, is now well-documented. Is it part of a declared war? No. Part of an undeclared but congressionally authorized war? No. Is it constitutional? Well, that depends what the meaning of the word "is" is.
2. Oaths without Actions
What's worse than undeclared war? Unfulfilled oaths of office.
The Appointments Clause of the U.S. Constitution, Article II, Section 2, says that "The president shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint… Judges of the Supreme Court."
In 2016, this clause has been violated like never before in U.S. history. For longer than any other time in the history of our country, a seat on the Supreme Court has remained vacant while a fully qualified candidate has been denied even a hearing by the U.S. Senate. Whatever consequences this unprecedented inaction has had on the dispensation of justice, it is blatantly unconstitutional.
"Shall," in constitutional language, means "must." It means that the president must nominate judges, and the president and Senate must work together to get them appointed. While, of course, the Senate can set its own rules as to how to do so, it must do so.
Which it hasn't.
September 16 isn't just Constitution Day, after all—it's also the six-month anniversary of Merrick Garland's nomination to the Supreme Court. That isn't just a record—it blows away the record, previously held by Louis Brandeis, who waited 125 days after he was nominated by Woodrow Wilson. And he, of course, got hearings, a vote, and a confirmation.
Republican spin doctors have sold America the line that this is business as usual— that Democrats have stalled nominees in the past, that it's an election year, that the people should decide. That's a pack of lies. No nominee has been stalled like this, no informal custom has ever stopped a nomination of someone this early in an election year, and the people decided already, when they elected President Obama to a full eight years in officenot seven and a quarter.
And it's not just Judge Garland. Over the last year and a half, the Senate has confirmed 17 lifetime-appointment judges. In the same period in 2007-08, the Democrat-led Senate confirmed 45. This is completely unprecedented, and has caused a judicial emergency throughout the system.
Every Republican Senator who has refused to move forward with a bona fide confirmation process has violated his or her oath of office, and the U.S. Constitution. Their actions may or may not determine the outcome of the election, but they will go down in history as among the most outrageous constitutional violations in history.
3. That is, unless Trump becomes president.
Although he hasn't done anything unconstitutional yet—after all, he's not yet in office—I couldn't observe Constitution Day without noting how many blatantly unconstitutional, criminal actions Donald Trump has promised to undertake.
If he puts into practice his belief that Mexican Americans cannot fairly discharge their duties (as judges, as federal employees, as whatever), if he acts on his promise to bring back open racial profiling, he would violate the Equal Protection Clause.
If his administration singles out Muslims based on their religion, if it implements Trump's statement that all students must "salute the flag," it would violate the First Amendment.
If he builds the transit camps and other infrastructure necessary to deport eleven million undocumented immigrants, if he indeed deports people merely accused but not convicted of crimes, he would violate the Due Process Clause.
And of course, if he follows through on promises to bomb the families of terrorists and torture people in ways "worse than waterboarding," he would probably not violate the Constitution, but he would be a war criminal, which probably counts for something.
Good thing the Supreme Court will be there to check Donald Trump's unconstitutional abuses of power.


text:
Home » Sports » Skiing
Smooth Vonn stretches lead in World Cup
Source: Agencies | February 2, 2009, Monday | Print Edition
LINDSEY Vonn of the United States won her first super-G race in two years with a dominant performance on a demanding course yesterday in Garmisch-Paternkirchen, Germany, to extend her overall World Cup lead.
The win was a major boost two days before another super-G kicks off the World Championships in Val d'Isere, France, but Vonn said she did not consider herself a favorite for the gold medal in the event.
"It's an amazing day. I am in good form and I have a lot of self-confidence," said Vonn, who also won Friday's slalom. "But I don't consider myself a great favorite for the super-G in Val d'Isere. The downhill and the super-combi are my goals.
"These two wins here meant a lot to me," she said.
Vonn, who earned her fifth win of the season, also tied Tamara McKinney's American women's record of 18 career victories.
"I feel very honored to be on the same level with Tamara," she said,
The American tamed the demanding redesigned Kandahar course in 1 minute, 22.16 seconds, beating Anja Paerson of Sweden by .39 seconds. Another Swede, Jessica Lindell-Vikarby, who won the previous super-G in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, was .72 back in third place.
"It was a very difficult course today. It was icy and bumpy," Vonn said. "I am incredibly happy."
Vonn also became the first winner on the new course, rebuilt for the 2011 World Championships. The women's race was originally slated for Saturday but had to be postponed because of fog. A men's downhill, also scheduled for Saturday, was also called off.
With the super-G victory, Vonn has now won in all disciplines this season except the giant slalom.
By collecting a maximum 100 points from each of her last two races, Vonn now has 1,114 points in her bid to win the overall World Cup title for the second straight season. Maria Riesch of Germany, who finished fifth in her hometown race, remains second, 179 points behind.
"Lindsey will win the overall title and she's deserved it," Riesch said. "She is the best."
Vonn thought it was still premature to talk about the overall title.
"There are a lot of races left and Maria will remain my toughest challenger," she said.
Nadia Fanchini of Italy finished fourth to remain ahead in the super-G standings.
Also, Manfred Moelgg and Giorgio Rocca gave Italy a 1-2 finish in a men's World Cup slalom in Germany yesterday afternoon.
Moelgg, the defending World Cup slalom champion, rallied to win the last race before the World Championships start tomorrow in France.
The two Italians trailed Reinfried Herbst after the first run but moved past the Austrian with fast second heats. Herbst settled for third.
Moelgg won by a hefty margin in a combined time of 1 minute, 46.77 seconds on the sunny Gudiberg slope. Rocca took second in 1:47.06 and Herbst finished in 1:47.37. Herbst had won the previous slalom race last week in Schladming, Austria.


text:
Liam Hendriks is dominating with the fastball
Since getting DFA'd last year, Hendriks has added velocity and spin to his four seamer.
By Kenny Kelly@KennyKellyWords Aug 29, 2019, 12:00pm EDT
Share All sharing options for: Liam Hendriks is dominating with the fastball
Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images
The 2018 Athletics thrived with an extremely reliable bullpen. They were led by the breakout of Blake Treinen, who had previously been a middling reliever before turning in one of the most dominant seasons of the last decade.
The 2019 A's have survived with a moderately reliable bullpen, led by the breakout of Liam Hendriks. Hendriks had also been a middling reliever before turning in one of the most dominant seasons of the last decade.
Hendriks has certainly had an interesting journey the past two seasons. On June 25, 2018, Hendriks was designated for assignment. No one wanted to give a roster spot to a matcher with 7.36 ERA, so he cleared waivers and accepted the assignment to Triple-A Nashville. Hendriks didn't return to the major league roster until September 1st. Over the last month, he has posted a 1.38 ERA and earned enough trust to open the American League Wild Card game in New York.
During his time in Triple-A, Hendriks fixed a mechanical flaw, gaining velocity in the process. Before his time in Nashville, Hendriks sat ~92-93 MPH with the four seamer, when he returned to the Majors, he was consistently hitting 96 mph with ease.
This year, Hendriks is leading relievers in fWAR at 3.1 and ERA at 1.21 (his ERA on the season is 1.43 when including his two appearances as an opener which would rank him second behind Kirby Yates). He doesn't rank as highly in advanced run estimators; he ranks 12th in SIERA and 9th in strikeout minus walk rate for instance. Regardless, he's having an excellent year for any reliever, especially one who was DFA'd and passed up just over a year ago.
Hendriks, like so many others, found success by ditching the sinker, which for the early part of his career, was his primary fastball. Like many others in today's game, he adjusted away from the sinkerball, and in 2016, he began throwing the four seamer more often. In 2017, and 2018, he ditched the sinker more often replacing the secondary offering with a slider.
This year, he's all but abandoned the pitch, along with a rarely-used changeup.
Baseball Savant
Hendriks didn't have poor results with the sinker last year. Per Baseball Savant, hitters whiffed at 18.9 percent of the sinkers they swung at and produced a .229 xwOBA against the pitch. Both of those marks were better than his overall numbers against the four seamer.
The sinker didn't fit into Hendriks' new game plan. With his newfound velocity and nearly 100 extra rpm of spin, Hendriks is throwing more fastballs at the top of the zone. High spin fastballs resist gravity better and stay off a hitter's swing plane more effectively. When thrown at the letters, that effect is amplified.
Liam Hendriks Four Seam Fastball
Avg. Spin Rate (RPM)
Avg. Plate Z (ft.)
Avg. Velocity (mph)
2018 Pre-DFA 2272 2.66 93
2018 Post Call-Up 2335 2.63 96.1
2019 2361 2.72 96.2
Hendriks' fastball has a 29.9 whiff percentage this year, an 11.9 point jump from last season and the highest mark of his career. With his fastball taking on new life, he hasn't needed to throw the sinker which is a slower pitch that doesn't stay off the bat plane as well.
Hendriks has benefited from some major luck this year. Despite a 50.7 fly ball rate in record-setting year for home runs, Hendriks has only allowed two balls to leave the yard. A 2.6 HR/FB percentage isn't sustainable unless Hendriks has cracked the dinger code.
Even if Hendriks were giving up a normal amount of homers, this would still be an impressive season. This has been one hell of a bounce back. When he was designated for assignment last year, it made sense that no one took him. In hindsight, Hendriks has made every team look mighty foolish.
Kenny Kelly is a writer for Beyond the Box Score and McCovey Chronicles. You can follow him on Twitter @KennyKellyWords.


text:
Meeting:2018/11/01/EGM
< Meeting:2018/11/01
<< Social 25 October 2018 18:00:00 | Current Event: 1 November 2018 18:00:00 | Workshop 8 November 2018 18:00:00 >>
<< Meeting 11 October 2018 18:00:00 | Current Meeting: 1 November 2018 18:00:00 | Meeting 15 November 2018 18:00:00 >>
This EGM was called by the Webmaster(Cori Haws), in the absence of President or Secretary. At least 24 hours notification was given by email to the society mailing lists.
1 Purpose of EGM
2 Conduct of the EGM
2.1 Chairperson
2.2 Quorum
2.3 Amendments
3 Proceedings of the EGM
3.1 Attendance
3.2 Point of order 1
3.4 Point of order
3.4.1 Nominations
3.8.1 Union Enquiry
3.8.1.1 Questions Asked
3.8.1.2 Response
3.8.1.3 Summary
3.8.2 Constitution amendments
Purpose of EGM
Copied verbatim from the official notification :
There are three issues that will be discussed and voted upon:
Item 1) Election of President
Item 2) Election of Secretary
Item 3) Potential Re-election of positions currently held by staff members pending a response from the union.
Item 4) Election of Equipment and Facilities Secretary
Item 5) Amendment to the constitution regarding committee positions (Pending response from Union)
Conduct of the EGM
Unless otherwise specified, these guidelines are the opinion of the Secretary, rather than rules laid out in the constitution, and can be overruled by the Chair.
Copied verbatim from the SUWS Constitution:
Every full member of the Society present at a general meeting shall be entitled
to one vote upon every voting matter. Only full members are entitled to vote and
no proxy votes shall be accepted for any purpose.
Quorum:
The quorum at all meetings shall be 10% of the full members.
The Secretary of the Society shall keep minutes of all general meetings, which
shall be made available to the Societies Officer and the Societies Department Committee.
At the EGM, no business other than that specified in the written statement shall be discussed.
The Secretary shall serve as Chairperson, unless a full member present feels that a conflict of interest is apparent.
(See Point of order 1).
If this occurs, then replacement candidates shall be nominated by the full members present, and then from the nominees, one shall be elected. Any full member shall be eligible for nomination, including the Secretary.
According to the official list on the SUSU admin site there are 34 members of SUWS, including both full and associate members. Consequently if there are more than 3.4 full members present at the meeting, we would be quorate (the actual number required is smaller, as it should not include the 10% of associate members).
Full membership is defined in the constitution as:
Full membership is open to any registered student.
a. The Society committee at a General Meeting shall first approve amendments
to the constitution.
b. The committee shall hold a vote to pass any constitutional changes. This
shall be done by ballot or a show of hands, at the discretion of the Chairperson.
Should there be a tie, the Chairperson may vote.
Accordingly, the following procedure will be followed for each amendment under consideration:
The committee present at the meeting will vote as to whether to approve putting the amendment to a vote.
If the committee present approves:
The proposer (in all of these cases, the Secretary) will describe why he feels the amendment should be passed.
An opportunity will be given for a member to present an opposing viewpoint.
A vote will be held amongst all the full members present at the meeting.
The committee will vote to ratify the vote of the members. (See Point of order 3).
This page on the wiki shall be considered the minutes of the meeting after it has been concluded. Consequently, it should not be modified after this time, and page protection shall be applied.
Proceedings of the EGM
List of committee members present:
Number of the following (including members of the committee):
Full members present:
Associate members present:
Others present:
Total present:
Point of order 1
Selection of a Chairperson
How many members are present?
Is this greater than, or equal to, 3.4?
Point of order
"Election of President"
Cori - 4
Freddie - 2
RON - 0
"Election of Secretary"
Abstain - 2
"Election of Treasurer"
Freddie - ?
RON - ?
"Election of Committee Position without Portfolio"
Kajetan - 3
Dan - 0
"Discus Staff on Committee"
Union Enquiry
Whether or not Staff may be on the committee
Whether this has changed recently.
Whether positions may be appointed by a committee.
Whether committee positions may be restricted to certain members
Copied verbatim:
It has always been the case that members of the public or of University/Union Staff cannot hold positions on society committees. This is laid out in Rule 1, which I have attached to my email as a PDF. More details can be found under section 1 that explains the different membership types to the Union. Only full members, who are currently enrolled students, can hold a position on a society committee. This is because we are a student-led organisation and so it is important that those leadership positions within our affiliated societies are held by students.
Until recently the Groups Hub system has not been able to distinguish between students and staff. This has made it very difficult for us to enforce the rule around society committees. With a recent improvement to the system, we are now able to look into this properly and address the issue.
We understand that it can be useful to have University Staff members, or members of external organisations within the society but they must only act in an advisory capacity and must not hold positions of leadership within the society. However, it is important to also note that University staff members do not have an automatic membership to SUSU but instead need to apply for temporary membership on a rolling yearly cycle in order to join our clubs and societies. Again, this has always been the case but without the technological support it has been difficult to enforce.
I have also attached a copy of our Membership Form to my email. University staff interested in clubs and societies can apply for membership by filling in this form and dropping it at our reception in Building 42.
With regards to one of the roles only being available to students with a Radio License, this should be fine. However, I would suggest that it is advertised to members with clearly define eligibility criteria and put out for nomination and election still rather than being appointed.
Only full members, who are currently enrolled students, can hold a position on a society committee.
Staff members may not hold committee positions
Committee positions may have well-defined eligibility criteria.
Appointments should be avoided
Constitution amendments
The following amendments were approved 4-0.
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