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Category Archives: Books
Old news, but I just found out today while perusing a Time magazine at the dentist's office.
R.A. Montgomery dies at 78
I had a lot of fun with those books as a kid.
Tagged Choose Your Own Adventure, R.A. Montgomery
Hey, kids. I'm waaay behind in my reviews, as well as in keeping up with all of your reviews and my favorite blogs and websites. But I'm catching up slowly. Here's a two-fer-one.
Talk about extreme malpractice. Herman Webster Mudgett, a.k.a. Dr. Henry Howard Holmes, earned his medical degree in 1884 from the University of Michigan Medical School, but he must have skipped class the day they went over the Hippocratic oath because H.H. Holmes turned out to be one of the first documented serial killers in modern history, and possibly one of the worst. Do no harm? Do much harm.
Holmes was notorious for creating his famous "murder castle," a hotel created to cash in on the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. The huge, block-sized structure was the site of Holmes's medical practice and pharmacy as well as being a hotel intended to house the droves of sight-seers attracted to the fair. Holmes designed the building himself and it is only in retrospect that the bizarre interior made sense. Trap doors, rooms with inexplicable gas jets, hidden rooms, secret passages. All the better to murder you with, my dear. It was not unexpected that many of the tenants of the hotel were pretty, young women, naïve and wide-eyed, on their first ventures to the modern metropolis of Chicago, seeing as how charming and handsome the landlord was. And it was no coincidence that many of the women disappeared after their stay in the hotel.
When authorities finally arrested Holmes and searched the hotel the remains of the victims made the building's intent all too clear. Holmes was executed for his crimes in 1896, convicted of four counts of murder in the first degree and six attempted murders, but the actual body count is unknown and likely to be far higher, ranging from nine to a couple of hundred.
What I find so fascinating about H.H. Holmes is that he managed to get away with these crimes for so long. Even taking into account that law enforcement and forensic science in that age was nothing like it is today, Holmes was often described as being being irresistibly charming despite his cold, dead eyes. It seemed almost as if he was the Devil incarnate.
As far as Erik Larson is concerned, that's a fitting comparison. In The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic and Madness at the Fair that Changed America Larson tells the story of the murderous H.H. Holmes in parallel with the story of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition. Holmes' lurking evil contrasts chillingly with the optimism and spirit of the fair, supported well by Larson's careful research. He paints an outstanding picture of the era and I sometimes forget how much a hundred-plus years can make. Clearly, 1890's America was far more different from today than one would realize. There were many instances related by Larson that made me laugh out loud at how bizarre things then seem to a person of today's era. (I only wish I could give examples. I had to turn the book back in to the library a while ago). The only frustrating bit about the book–and it's not Larson's fault–is that I wish there had been more about H.H. Holmes and what made him tick. But Larson's narrative suffers from what every H.H. Holmes researcher would suffer from: Holmes was simply a cipher that probably no one would be able to fully understand. The Devil in the White City is an eloquent, entertaining and well-researched narrative of a veritable demon that walked among men. ★★★★✩
Another, more visual approach to the story of H.H. Holmes is Richard Geary's The Beast of Chicago: The Murderous Career of H.H. Holmes, which tells the tale in sequential art format (ie., comic or graphic novel formal–but, of course, it is not a novel, nor is it comic). Geary's black and white art perfectly lends an 1890s feel to the narrative and is a great companion piece to The Devil in the White City. Although there is no graphic gore or violence, the subject matter is of course rather ghastly and I find it amusing that my local library has it catalogued in the "young adult" section. This volume is one in a series, A Treasury of Victorian Murder, featuring other killers of the time and I'll probably be checking them out also at some point. Richard "Rick" Geary is an American comics icon and The Beast of Chicago is a must-read for comics fans, true crime aficionados and H.H. Holmes historians alike. ★★★★✩
Tagged Erik Larson, H.H. Holmes, Rick Geary, The Beast of Chicago, The Devil in the White City
Reacher is back…and this time it's personal! (said in my best movie trailer guy voice). It's also the name of the book, Personal, Lee Child's nineteenth and newest Jack Reacher thriller. In this one, faces from Reacher's past come back to haunt him. One is a deadly sniper he busted when he was a military police officer and who has been just released from prison, hungry for revenge. The other appears in the form of a young CIA officer who reminds Reacher of an army colleague whose death he feels responsible for. Ghosts of the past all around, Reacher lends his assistance to a CIA investigation regarding a potential assassination attempt at the G8 summit, an investigation that takes him from the back woods of rural America to the streets of Paris and London. This is convenient because Reacher needed to get his passport renewed anyway…
As usual, Child doesn't fail to please with Personal. It's got everything you expect from a Reacher novel: a little sleuthing, some unexpected violence and a hero who likes to make his own rules. And Reacher comes back with some good tough guy one-liners. After killing a scumbag thug in merry old England, Reacher defends his act to CIA Agent Casey Nice, telling her he was "too stupid to live." Nice says, "Stupidity isn't a capital crime. And there's no death penalty here, anyway," to which Reacher replies, "There is now."
This isn't to say that Personal is a masterpiece or anything. The plot is pretty goofy and Reacher, as he is wont to do, just sort of blunders through the investigation, accenting his copious use of unannounced violence with the occasional flash of plot-saving brilliance. In other words, it's a Reacher novel. I will say, though, that I was disappointed that Reacher mistakenly says that "force…is the product of mass times velocity squared," which is incorrect. Force equal mass times acceleration. I would have thought that Reacher, being a pretty sharp fellow, would have known this. Maybe he just got confused in the moment with kinetic energy, which is one-half of mass times velocity squared. After all, he was kicking in a door at the time. Whatever.
Personal is a fun, quick read and sates my Reacher fix. Reacher fans will enjoy.
Tagged Jack Reacher, Lee Child, Personal
Sometime in the '90s I acquired a strange little book called The Nihilesthete by Richard Kalich:
Not only was the cover artwork strange, but the format of the book was peculiar, being of unusually small dimensions and filled with 143 pages of tiny print on cheap paper. This was an edition published by Compac Reader Group and could be found at check-out stands of various stores, alongside gum, Slim Jims and the Weekly World News. The publishing outfit had other titles too, each small enough to fit in a shirt pocket. I don't know if they are still around or not, but it's been years since I've seen that sort of format. I don't think that was the edition in which The Nihilesthete was originally published, but that's the one I have.
Anyway, I didn't read The Nihilesthete for many years and it was only when I re-discovered it again among my things in 2011 that I read it. The book amazed me and I liked it so much that I wrote my first crappy little book review on a blog that I was thinking about keeping. The review itself was not very well written and I kinda dumped the blog, but I guess it's still up because I recently received an e-mail from Svetlana Pironko of Betimes Books asking if I would like to read Richard Kalich's newly published Central Park West Trilogy, a collection of three of his novels, including The Nihilesthete. Naturally I said yes. I'd been meaning to read more of Richard Kalich's stuff and this seemed like a great opportunity. I don't usually accept review requests (I'm mean, not that I get that many anyway), but having read The Nihilesthete, I knew Central Park West Trilogy was something right up my alley.
As I mentioned, Central Park West Trilogy is a collection of three of Kalich's novels:
The Nihilesthete (1987), the story of a perverse NYC social worker who, upon the discovery of a disabled, mentally challenged youth with a unique affinity for art, begins to slowly weasel his way into said youth's life with the ultimate goal of crushing the young man's spirit.
Penthouse F (2010), in which Kalich himself takes the lead role as the subject of an interrogation by an unnamed interrogator regarding the apparent double love suicide by an unnamed Boy and an unnamed Girl, a death, seemingly engineered by Kalich himself.
Charlie P (2005), the surreal, absurdist chronicle of a man who "lives life by not living it," whose days are filled with outlandish daydreams and obsessive self-examination, told in a series of vignettes rather than through a cohesive narrative.
Although the three novels are not connected through continuity, they do form a sort of trilogy within the context of the author's life. This amounts to a sort of imagined autobiography of the author, a Kafka-esque metafiction about a man who is trapped by his own obsessions, ambitions and the overwhelming encumbrances of life. Looking at the collection as a whole, Central Park West Trilogy is a stimulating glimpse into Kalich's unusual approach to his art and his craft, as well as his unique approach to the absurdities of life. I think Albert Camus would have approved.
Taken individually, the novels are very different in style. The Nihilesthete takes a more conventional approach (in style, if not in subject matter) by adopting a first-person POV in diary mode. Charlie P and Penthouse F diverge radically from convention but are still exceptionally engaging and readable.
If I were to nit-pick, however, I'd have to say that I find the arrangement of the novels curious since Charlie P concludes the volume rather than Penthouse F, which is chronologically the latest. I think a chronological arrangement would have provided a better flow, Penthouse F being a stronger work than Charlie P, in my opinion. But that's just my personal nit-pick and it doesn't negatively affect the collection as a whole too much.
In conclusion: ★★★★✩ (4/5) Central Park West Trilogy is a much welcomed collection of Richard Kalich's unique vision. Horrific and twisted at times, and dryly humorous at other times (and sometimes both at once), Kalich's grotesqueries do not trigger outrage so much as fascination. Some horrors make you want to turn away; Kalich's make you want to peer in deeper.
I have to admit that I've been reading more pulp trash than "literature" of late, and I'm not really "in the know" these days with what's going on in that world, but I certainly think that Richard Kalich deserves a wider readership (although I can't be sure he wants one; there's not a lot about him on the web. He seems rather low-key). If you are into the offbeat, I highly recommend that you give him a try, and with Central Park West Trilogy you can give him three tries at one go.
(Thanks go to Svetlana Pironko of Betimes Books for providing a digital copy for review and also to Richard Kalich (the man himself!) for providing a paper copy of the book. Visit Richard Kalich at www.richardkalich.com. Check out Betimes Books' other offerings at betimesbooksnow.wordpress.com).
Tagged Betimes Books, Central Park West Trilogy, Charlie P, Penthouse F, Richard Kalich, The Nihilesthete
Stick by Elmore Leonard
In 1985 there was this movie called Stick, starring and directed by Burt Reynolds and this movie was based on the Elmore Leonard novel of the same name, published in 1983. I haven't seen the film, but I've heard it's pretty lame. I even heard that Leonard's experience with the film was so bad that he disowned the whole deal. I guess others felt the same way since it was a box office flop. I just mention this because while reading the novel Stick I just could not see Burt Reynolds as Stick. I kept imagining him all through the novel as my main man Lee Marvin. And J.B. Smoove would have been the perfect Cornell. Now, I realize that you'd have to get a couple of time machines to get these guys together for a 1985 production, but hell, I would have seen that movie.
Stick's about a guy named Ernest "Stick" Stickley, an ex-con (though my dad would have argued that there is no such thing as an "ex"-con; once you're convicted you're convicted, unless it's overturned. It's pedantic, but I feel a compulsion to mention that) fresh out of the stir and ready to make a clean life for himself. He's moved to Miami to be close to his daughter and his hostile ex-wife (in this case "ex" works). He hooks up with a prison buddy called Rainy who's got a gig going on, but when it goes down things go horribly awry. Rainy gets himself killed, and Stick realizes that bullet was meant for the new guy–in other words him. Stick then lays low and gets a job as a chauffeur for a rich financial guy named Barry who's too slick for his own good.
But the world works in funny ways and Stick soon realizes that Barry has dealings with a weird dude named Chucky, the same guy that sent Rainy on his final, ill-fated job! Sooner or later Stick and Chucky's path are bound to cross and Stick's just remembered that he never got the five-grand promised him for that job. Throw in a smart and sexy financial advisor for Stick to chase and a Dude-Ranch-reject-cowboy-wannabe working with Cuban mobsters to chase Stick and you've got yourself a good time.
Stick is everything you'd expect a novel from Elmore Leonard to be: smart, witty and cool, with easy no-nonsense prose that sounds more like some guy just talking to you than reading a book. It's a good read. That being said, there's nothing in Stick that really stands out. The novel begins and ends pretty well, with a little bit of meandering fluff in between. But it's still a fun book full of interesting characters and sharp dialogue. I understand thatStick is a follow-up to Leonard's 1976 novel Swag, also featuring Ernest Stickley. I hear that one is pretty good, so I'll have to track it down.
My verdict: ★★★✬✩ (3.5/5 stars). Stick's a good book that just falls short of being excellent. There's everything you expect from Elmore Leonard and even though the plot sort of suffers from a lack of impetus, you still can't go wrong with anything Leonard writes.
Tagged Elmore Leonard, Stick
The Wrong Quarry by Max Allan Collins
Quarry doesn't kill just anybody these days. He restricts himself to targeting other hitmen, availing his marked-for-death clients of two services: eliminating the killers sent after them, and finding out who hired them…and then removing that problem as well.
So far he's rid the world of nobody who would be missed. But this time he finds himself zeroing in on the the grieving family of a missing cheerleader. Does the hitman's hitman have the wrong quarry in his sight?
Well, duh, obviously he does. After all, the title of Max Allan Collins' eleventh Quarry novel is The Wrong Quarry. Sort of a spoiler? Maybe. But The Wrong Quarry is a well-paced, thrilling read, punctuated by Quarry's witty, hard-boiled first-person prose.
It's a fun read, but I can't help but point out some goofy bits, mostly relating to Quarry himself. Despite being a cold-hearted killer-for-hire who cut his teeth in the 'Nam, Quarry himself is a bit of a dolt. For one, he is kind of a man-slut who can't say no to a back-alley blow-job by the town skank (who happens to have a heart-of-gold, by the way) and has a bit of an uncomfortable appreciation for nubile jailbait, in my opinion. Seems a little unprofessional. Also, it doesn't make a lot of sense that Quarry would kill the killers and then put on his private-eye hat to do some digging around. I mean, wouldn't it be smarter to at least try questioning the hitmen first before killing them? Just seems like he could save himself a lot of trouble is all I'm saying.
But it all seems to work out okay, even if Quarry's methods are less than efficient. The Wrong Quarry is neither smart nor clever and, when you think about it, is just kind silly. But it is a fun, quick read and I don't want to give the impression that I'm judging too harshly. Despite plot silliness, Collins makes Quarry a fun character to read.
My verdict: ★★★✬✩ (3.5/5 stars). The Wrong Quarry doesn't win any awards for cleverness or even common sense, but Max Allan Collins makes the ride a fun one. Even if Quarry is just kind of spinning his wheels on an investigation (and frequently getting laid in the process) it's fun to tag along.
Tagged Hard Case Crime, Max Allan Collins, Quarry
A brief history of everything: two by Stephen Hawking
Sometimes when I'm trying to sleep I let my mind wander off and I start to think about space and stars and planets. I like to imagine what it would be like to be a cosmic traveller like the Silver Surfer or something, with the ability to travel to the boundaries of the universe and to the beginning and end of time and beyond, if there is a beyond. Of course, this takes a considerable amount of imagination and I can't help but eventually come to an impasse when I reach the outer limits of human comprehension. This usually occurs about three or four in the morning. After realizing that the greater mysteries of the universe have kept me up for the better part of the night and I need some sleep, I then usually start thinking about simple stuff, like cars, pizza, girls or something.
Someone else who has thought a lot about this kind of stuff (you may have heard of him) is a guy named Stephen Hawking. And of course you've heard of him. Hawking is one of the greatest minds of this era and I looked to a couple of his books to help me along my cosmological journey: The Theory of Everything: the origin and fate of the universe and The Illustrated Brief History of Time.
As illuminating as these two books are, I have to point out that they are practically the same book. Both highlight Hawking's main arguments and conclude with considerations regarding the reconciliation of general relativity with quantum mechanics. When I say these are practically the same book, I do not exaggerate. Entire chapters (like "Black Holes Ain't So Black" and "The Direction of Time") are very near duplicates. I've had to return The Illustrated Brief History of Time to the library so I can't now directly compare the two, but suffice to say that reading both titles is unnecessary. I would probably recommend The Illustrated Brief History of Time first since it benefits from being illustrated and expands upon the first edition. The Theory of Everything is introduced as a series of lectures by Hawking. If so, I surmise that they are canned lectures taken from A Brief History of Time, so there's no point in reading both. The books are so similar, even down to the exact same jokes and anecdotes, that I wonder why they were published under separate titles.
Anyway, the ideas presented therein are nothing short of fascinating and presented in perhaps the easiest possible of ways for the layman. Even so, some of the concepts are a little dense for non-scientists and take a bit of careful reading to get through. Fortunately, Hawking is a good writer and makes it a point to present these concepts in an as accessible manner as possible.
Hawking first covers the general historical concepts of the nature of the universe and how they have developed through the times, settling on the "Big Bang" theory of origin. He writes about the importance of black holes and how important they are in relation to gravity, light and space-time. He covers notions on the eventual fate of the universe, the progression of time and concludes with thoughts on the unification of physics, reconciling general relativity with quantum theory, creating a "theory of everything."
It's all pretty deep stuff. But besides the science aspect, The Theory of Everything and A Brief History of Time are amazing reflections on how humans envision existence and the universe, stretching our viewpoints beyond traditional concepts of reality, boundaries and linear time. It really is extraordinary and while the stuff is mostly theoretical it does serve, for me anyway, as a more acceptable model for the basis of the universe than any arbitrary, tradition-based cosmology (ie, religion) could. That is not to say that the idea of god is left out of Hawking's worldview, but it is reserved for the things we can't explain with science; the rest are matters of fact and logic.
My verdict: ★★★★✬ (4.5/5 stars) for both, since both books have practically the same content. The Illustrated Brief History of Time is nice to start with because of the helpful illustrations and diagrams, but The Theory of Everything is more compact and, in some ways, flows better than the former, since not all of the illustrations in The Illustrated Brief History of Time are that useful. Just from a personal standpoint, neither book receives a full 5★ from me simply because they are too similar (I advocate recycling, but cans and newspapers and stuff–not books you've already written). Either way, both books are wins and are profoundly fascinating.
Tagged big bang, black holes, physics, quantum, relativity, space, Stephen Hawking, universe
The Double by George Pelecanos
The Double is the second outing of George Pelecanos' war-vet-Marine-turned-private-eye Spero Lucas, who was first introduced in The Cut. I have not read The Cut, but I'm going to get to it since I enjoyed The Double and Pelecanos is on the fast track to becoming one of my favorite authors. That being said, I probably didn't enjoy The Double as much as I should have. That was no fault of the author, but rather circumstance.
The past few weeks have been a mess. I won't go into too much detail (not for privacy reasons, I just don't feel like getting into background and context right now), but long story short: mom fell, seriously injured her good eye, went through emergency surgery and spent time at an extended care facility to recover. That's basically what happened, but I'm leaving out a number of details that made this event an absolute ordeal for both mom and me. At any rate, most of the upsetting stuff is over, but mom's recovery of her eyesight is up in the air. Sure, I get all that life-is-a-beautiful-gift stuff, but let's face it: sometimes it just fucking sucks. (This whole ordeal deserves a more complete write-up, but I'll take care of that outside of this book review).
So that, in a nutshell, is what kind of distracted me from enjoying The Double as fully as I would have under more pleasant circumstances. Anyway, Spero Lucas' specialty is finding lost items and The Double has Lucas on the tail of a stolen painting entitled "The Double." Lucas is hired by a woman who had the painting stolen from her by a aging misogynistic beach bum who screwed her over, literally. She just wants the painting back, but Lucas wants justice, and not just the kind of justice that the law provides.
Spero Lucas has an interesting background, being one of three adopted sons of a variety of ethnicities in a Greek-American family. Race is understated in Pelacanos' books and it took me a while to picture Spero in my mind (I kept imagining him as African-American, but I think his school teacher brother is African-American and Spero is white). Does it matter? Pelecanos leaves that for you to decide. But the obtuse way he writes about race and race relations in his books shows that while he is a genre-based writer, genre-based fiction can express important issues in innovative ways. Does it matter? Is it important? Pelecanos seems to say, yes, it is important, and no, it doesn't matter. Pelecanos' characters are definitely closely identified with their racial and ethnic backgrounds, but at the same time their personas extend beyond the archetypes on which lesser authors often fall back. Racial and ethnic identities in Pelecanos' world belong to the characters and not the other way around.
Actually, Spero Lucas, at first glance, seemed to me a rather boring character. He's a former Marine, a vet of the Iraq war. He likes to bike, kayak and keep fit. He enjoys music. He likes a little beer and the occasional toke of weed. He's polite and cool and never has much trouble attracting the ladies, but is always surprised when he does. He had a hard time in the war, but he's pretty stable and turned out all right. It doesn't get to him. He's perfectly normal. Right.
That's where The Double turns it around. Lucas is a far more complex character than Pelecanos initially lets on. Lucas may be normal, but he has his issues. He so good at hiding his issues, he's fooled himself into thinking he's okay. He's so good that he's fooled the reader into thinking that he's okay, a normal dude. Only when we see him gun down bad guys as if he were still a Marine in Iraq, or watching the window of his adulterous lover's apartment at night do we get the sense that Lucas' dark (dark, not evil) side is just beneath his normal guy exterior and barely in check. "The Double" is not just the name of the painting, or the title of the book, but also a clue to Lucas' persona.
The Double is seemingly a straight-up crime thriller, but illuminates the dark little corners of Lucas' mind in subtle ways and is a good example of why Pelecanos is probably one of the best writers around today. (But I have to say, George, you should know by now that Glocks don't have manual safeties. At least not usually. Sorry–just me, picking my nits.)
Tagged George Pelecanos, Spero Lucas, The Double
Massive by Ian Sample
If you don't know what the Higgs boson is (and you're not a physicist) then don't feel too bad. For us non-physicists, the concept is fascinating, but still rather obtuse. If you are a physicist and don't know, then you may consider seeking a different profession because this has been one of the most, if not the most, compelling questions in science for the past forty years. Discovery of the Higgs boson could have profound ramifications on how we know our universe and even our very existence. The media has bestowed upon the Higgs boson the unfortunate nickname "the God Particle," a name universally loathed in the scientific community for its pretense. Peter Higgs, one of the original theorists and for whom the particle is named, prefers to call it the "so-called Higgs boson," recognizing, with characteristic modesty, that he was not the sole scientist who worked on the original theory.
Whatever you wish to call it, you'll have to wait at least through next year for the big news. In 2012 a particle was discovered at CERN that is a likely candidate for the Higgs boson, but the Large Hadron Collider at CERN is undergoing maintenance and doesn't come back online until next year. In the meantime, you have the opportunity to bone up on particle physics before then. A good way to start is with Ian Sample's Massive: the missing particle that sparked the greatest hunt in science.
First, just to make sure we are on the same terms, let's talk about what a Higgs boson is. Now, as I mentioned, I'm no kind of physicist, but if I had to give a quick explanation (as I understand it) the Higgs boson is a theoretical particle that answers the question of why things have mass and why the universe is not a hot mess of energy zipping around in all directions. Here's a little illustration I've stolen that explains it:
And here's a self-test I've stolen from somewhere else to check if you do understand:
Now that we've got that settled, Massive is a surprisingly understandable and entertaining account of the search for the Higgs boson. Sample does an admirable job of making this concept something even I can understand (even if tenuously) and does so in an often dryly humorous manner. But even though the book centers around the Higgs theory and other related theories, the real story is about the scientists behind the search, the sometimes cutthroat competition and raging egos between them, catastrophic setbacks and the media, who does their best to misunderstand the concepts in favor of big headlines.
★★★★✩ (4/5 stars): Massive is an excellent account of the search for the Higgs boson, and the exciting part is that the search is on-going, with potentially significant results next year. Maybe most important is Sample makes science accessible and engaging and to wrap your mind around this stuff really makes you feel more in tune with the world around you and realize what an amazing thing life and the universe can be.
If I were to suggest improvements to the book, I'd add a section of photos. I like to connect the names of the scientists involved with faces and I think visual representations of the particles at play would help in a great way. Furthermore, a photo of a supercollider would certainly show more effectively how awesome these devices are. Lacking photos, I went to Google:
That is really something.
Despite the lack of photos or illustrations, Massive is fascinating and a must for science buffs. Originally published in 2010, try to find a newer copy published in 2012 with a new afterword by Sample and is more up to date.
Tagged CERN, Fermilab, Higgs boson, Ian Sample, Peter Higgs, science
Wolverine: The Best There Is— Not so fast, bub.
I've been a fan of Wolverine ever since I was but a wee nerd, spending my hard-earned 60 cents on The Uncanny X-Men issue #173. Comic prices may have gone up, times may have changed, but thankfully Wolvie is still "the best there is" at what he does…and what he does "ain't pretty." I remember getting all excited when Wolverine and the X-Men made an appearance on the cartoon Spidey and His Amazing Friends, but now we have movies with Wolverine! And Hugh Jackman is probably the best actor for Logan there could be (even though he's too tall). Yeah, Wolverine is a bad ass. But Wolverine: The Best There Is isn't. The best there is, that is.
Charlie Huston writes and Juan Jose Ryp illustrates this tale in which Logan is captured by a psychotic asshole named Contagion who is collecting super-types with survivability powers. As we all know, one of Logan's mutant powers is fast healing (case in point, remember when the Silver Samurai sliced through Wolvie's torso, only stopping because of his adamantium-fused spine? If you can remember this, respect, my fellow comic nerd). Contagion also has some obscure super-types helping him, like Madcap and Yi Yang (remember her? Yeah, neither did I. I think she only appeared in Marvel UK books around thirty years ago) and is trying to save his son who is horribly afflicted with some kind of sickness. Thus, Logan, with his exemplary regeneration powers, becomes the subject for Contagion's sadistic experiments.
Well, that's basically the start of it. It goes on, but who cares? I expected more from Charlie Huston, but this Wolverine story arc (twelve issues of it…geez) just wasn't very good. Logan had little personality beyond the stuff he's known for and he was generally ineffectual here. This is not the Wolvie I know. It seemed like Huston let Wolvie's agency in the story take a back seat to all the stupid supporting characters who no one cares about. Despite all the "action," it was boring.
Speaking of "action," this was the bloodiest, goriest Wolverine comic I have ever read. I know that Wolverine is a violent character and I'm not averse to gore when it has a purpose, but this was just ridiculous. This was like a horror show, like if Wolverine was in a Saw movie. There were times I wondered if I was reading a Wolvie comic or the super-gory Faust. Heads are decapitated, limbs are severed, guts are puked out, there is blood everywhere…but for some reason the profanity is replaced with "#######," as if letting a "fuck" or "shit" slip by is going to offend someone after seeing a blood soaked Wolverine impale Yi Yang with his claws (and she gets off on it!). It's just dumb.
While Ryp's art has a certain distinctive style, I don't think he's a good fit for Wolverine. I particularly hated the way he drew his face and could not maintain correct height proportions (yes, I am a nerd, but this is canon: Logan is 5'3″ according to OHOTMU. In another title I may have enjoyed Ryp's art more, but for this title it just wasn't a good fit.
The verdict: ★★✩✩✩ (2/5 stars). Wolverine: The Best There Is is sadistic, ridiculous and boring. Just because Wolverine can recover from anything doesn't make torturing him fun to watch. But to make matters worse, Wolverine is pretty lame here and settles with being carried away with the plot rather than kicking the plot in its ass. I expected better from Charlie Huston, but maybe he's just not a comics guy. Ryp's art saves this from being a 1-star production. Even though I didn't care for it here, I can tell he's got some drawing chops. Wolverine: The Best There Is is not even close to the best. I'd pass.
Tagged Charlie Huston, Juan Jose Ryp, Logan, Wolverine, X-Men


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Home » Movies » Joi "SJ" Harris Identified As The Stuntwoman Killed On The Set Of Deadpool 2
Joi "SJ" Harris Identified As The Stuntwoman Killed On The Set Of Deadpool 2
Posted by Kaitlyn Booth August 15, 2017 Comment
Yesterday it was reported that a stunt woman had died on the set of Deadpool 2 in Vancouver. Details were scarce for awhile but we know that the woman was going down a set of stairs on a motorcycle when she lost control and went through a glass window. Deadline has ID-ed the stuntwoman as professional road racer Joi "SJ" Harris. Harris was the first African-American road racer and this was the first time she had performed stunts for a movie.
Photo taken from Facebook
Harris was performing a stunt for actress Zazie Beetz, who plays Domino. She was not wearing a helmet because the character was not supposed to be wearing a helmet.
"A source close to the situation said Harris, who was an experienced road racer, had been rehearsing the stunt all day Saturday. A studio production source said that there were "two full days of rehearsals over the weekend, and on Monday, they ran the stunt five-plus times before filming."
Deadline is reporting that members of the crew have come forward and said that they are being run "ragged". They are working long days that include weekends. Deadpool 2 is slated for a June 2018 release, so while this isn't a rushed production, they can't exactly move slowly, either.
"'People are exhausted by the schedule,' one crew member told Deadline, noting that they were working multiple 16-hour days in a row. That, however, is disputed by a studio production source, who said the daily shooting schedule on the Vancouver set is 12-13 hours, and there were only two 15-plus-hour days, about three weeks ago."
Star Ryan Reynolds tweeted his condolences earlier today.
pic.twitter.com/82bD6JOpYH
— Ryan Reynolds (@VancityReynolds) August 14, 2017
Director David Leitch also gave a statement to Deadline:
"I'm deeply saddened by the loss of one of our stunt performers today. No words can express how I and the rest of the Deadpool 2 crew feel about this tragedy. Our thoughts are with her family, friends and loved ones in this difficult time."
Harris was an outspoken advocate for female racing. She began motorcycle riding in Brooklyn and after 1,500 training hours became the first African-American woman licensed to actively compete in American Motorcyclist Association races. Although an on-track injury kept her from racing until 2014, she began to compete in the American Sportbike Racing Association/Championship Cup Series.
Harris said on her website:
"I've learned to accept that I am not the greatest rider that exists and that there is always something to learn when on track and pushing limits. Sometimes I'm going to eat it if I'm impatient. Everything takes time. Face your fears — you never know what you can be missing out on."
The production has been halted until further notice, but Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson said that the city will continue to support the filming at the accident's location once the crew is ready:
"We are extremely saddened to hear of the tragic incident that took the life of a stuntwoman working on the set of Deadpool 2 downtown earlier today. Our condolences go out to her family and friends, and to all those working on set who have been impacted by the loss of their colleague. We will continue to support the crew and production as they work to recover emotionally and as they continue their next phase of filming."
This is the second fatal accident involving a stunt performer this year; on July 12th, stuntman John Bernecker died from a fall on the set of The Walking Dead.
Joi Harris was a badass. We send our condolences to her family and friends. May she rest in peace.
About Kaitlyn Booth
Kaitlyn is the Editor-in-Chief at Bleeding Cool. She loves movies, television, comics, and political satire. She's a member of the UFCA and the GALECA. Feminist. Writer. Nerd. Follow her on twitter @katiesmovies and @safaiagem on instagram. She's also a co-host at The Nerd Dome Podcast. Listen to it at http://www.nerddomepodcast.com
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(Last Updated August 15, 2017 10:38 am )
Wrestling Legend Ric Flair's Surgery Was A Success
Anya Taylor-Joy And Director Robert Eggers Sign On For 'Nosferatu' Remake

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Almost all modern radio stations stream their programming over the Internet, and the Wunder Radio app has created one of the most powerful tools for seeking out and finding nearly any station in the world. Currently, the directory lists more than thirty thousand stations.
Those who download the app will be able to search for stations by the genre of music they play or their geographic location. Each one that qualifies as a favorite can be bookmarked and saved for later listening. The built-in GPS feature can also search for all area stations and broadcasts as well using the individual's current position, and there are even railroad broadcasts from RailroadRadio.net too.
The app will also give the listener access to emergency scanner streams and national weather broadcasts from NOAA stations as well. The Wunder Radio app also features a built-in browser to allow for more detailed local information.
There are other radio apps available, including Tuner Internet Radio and Internet Radio Box, but the Wunder Radio app provides access to much more than music. It is compatible with Blackberry, Windows Mobile, iPhone and iPod Touch devices.
The cost for the app is $6.99 and users can access the developer's website to see a complete listing of the in-app station directory. It is compatible with more than a dozen languages as well.
If you want to listen to every possible local radio station, or check in with the programming from your hometown whether it is in London or San Francisco, this app makes it easy to do!


The 18-year-old from London is one of UK's up and coming music artists with over 250 million views on Vine and another 100 million interactions on Musical.ly. His latest song, '5 Bucks' has generated something of a buzz in the music community and the singer's loyal fan army only wants to hear more from the star.
Pop singer Houssein South has been amassing a strong fan following ever since he appeared on Vine. The 18-year-old from London is one of UK's up and coming music artists with over 250 million views on Vine and another 100 million interactions on Musical.ly. His latest song, '5 Bucks', has generated something of a buzz in the music community and the singer's loyal fan army only wants to hear more from the star.
Meaww: Can you briefly tell us who/what was your inspiration?
Houssein: When I was really young I was obsessed with Green Day… I went to a few of their shows, I bought their live DVD and I would just watch the lead singer, Billie Joe Armstrong perform over-and-over again. I think that sparked my initial interest in music and performing… but then my family have always been so supportive as well and think I'm way better than I actually am — this encouragement and positivity has kept me loving music and pushed me to want them to always be proud of me.
Meaww: How do you balance your work and personal life?
Houssein: I don't feel like music is work, it's more just my life, so I never feel like 'ok, I'll work for an hour then relax'- because I want to keep doing it as much as I can for as long as I can.
Meaww: What is your advice for those who are just starting out or are keen on entering the field?
Houssein: If you are passionate about music and want to have a bit of a laugh then go for it, just do what makes you feel the happiest and most confident, and hopefully it will work out for you! But if you just want to get famous, and don't actually care for the music, then maybe try something else that you have more passion for.
Meaww: Is there a place and time you think you are at your creative best?
Houssein: I have my best thoughts at 3 am when I know I have to wake up the next morning, so I'm trying to get to sleep — I'm like 'uhhhh why do I have to have this idea now?' I get my phone out and write it down now, and the bright screen doesn't help me try to get back to sleep!.
Meaww: Does every artist need an inspiration?
Houssein: I don't think you always need a direct inspiration, sometimes ideas might just come through naturally — maybe they're subconsciously inspired by something else, but you don't always have to go out of your way to get inspired.
Meaww: How important do you think social media is these days?
Houssein: Social media is the biggest thing — bigger than TV, radio, newspapers… social media made all of those sources more accessible, more real and more interesting. It's given a lot of people voices, who never would have had the resources to be heard — whether that's a kid singing on YouTube or an oppressed freedom fighter pleading for international help. Everyone has a use for the internet, and its impact can be groundbreaking. Traditional mainstream companies are as scared of social media as banks are scared of Bitcoin.
Meaww: What significance does competition have for you?
Houssein: The entertainment industry is a very competitive world, but I am not competing against anyone… I'm just making the tunes I love and hoping other people will like them too.
Meaww: What's that one thing you hold above anything else?
Houssein: My mum has always got to be the number one priority. She's always supported and helped me and so I always gotta make sure that I give that back.
Meaww: What's one thing that you have done and regretted and wish you could get a chance or go back and change it?
Houssein: My early YouTube videos. I'm not sure I'd actually want to change them though because they fuelled my passion for creating, and they're kind of funny to watch now.
Meaww: At what stage does it stop being about art and start becoming about money and fame?
Houssein: Money is very important at the moment, as I am independent, which means I fund all of my music myself — but it's only important because of the music, I need the money to do what I love doing. I don't think this will change, I'll always need money to do my passion, maybe buy a nice coat here and there, but other than that…money isn't that important and neither is fame. It's all about the music.
Meaww: Tell us something you've discovered about yourself — both negative and positive — after becoming a celebrity.
Houssein: Positive — I'm a pretty positive guy, hate doesn't get to me or other people being negative… I don't get upset very often, just because I'm happy with everything that goes on around me. I don't take everything too seriously. Negative — I am so impatient. If a producer is mixing a song for me today, I want it finished yesterday.
Meaww: How do you judge character? Do you suspect every person who wants to befriend you?
Houssein: That sounds like a lot of effort! Like I said before, I don't take everything too seriously — if someone is chatting to me and they seem nice, then I'm happy and believe that they're a cool person. If they suddenly grabbed me by the collar and said "give me a shoutout on your Instagram or else" — then maybe I would be slightly suspicious of their character.
Meaww: Where do you see yourself 10 years from now?
Houssein: Retired, in an old people's home, with 6 kids off at college.
Meaww: What's the best advice you've ever received?
Houssein: It was from my vocal coach, David Grant, and he said 'always be the kindest person in the room' - it's pretty simple, but it stuck with me and I always try to follow it.
Meaww: What is an ideal day for you?
Houssein: Barbados. Sitting in the shade outside. Sipping on some English Breakfast Tea. Eating some finger sandwiches. Then going out and exploring, doing adventurous stuff.


Whether your business is just starting out or already in full flight, it's never too early or late to start building a strong brand identity. It's all about knowing who you are, what you stand for and establishing trust and credibility with clients. Here are six easy ways to set your brand apart.
What do you do? What's your story? How are you different from your competitors? Take some time fine-tuning your offering and the unique benefits your clients can count on so you can confidently stake your place in the marketplace.
Define your target market and get a good understanding of what makes them tick. Maybe you have one core client base; maybe you're talking to a few segmented markets. Either way, an intimate understanding of your core demographics will help steer your brand and product offerings.
A successful brand is recognisable both in name and looks. This starts with both a compelling business name and logo that communicate your core brand values. These two elements will appear on everything, so it pays to get it right.
Think about your business language and tone. Do you speak with a unique and defined voice? Are you authoritative, straight-talking, quirky or casual? Ideally you and your employees should use one consistent voice when communicating to clients.
Once you've established your key messages, tone, look and feel stick to them. Create brand identity guidelines and use them consistently across all communication channels so they work together to reinforce your brand and business character.
Brands don't get built overnight. However, with a bit of patience and persistence you will gradually build brand awareness, trust and loyalty.
Contact your local Snap Centre to find out how we can you help design a meaningful brand identity for your business.


text:
National Social Care Conference 2019
English | Cymraeg
the foremost showcase and networking opportunity for the social care sector in Wales
Day 1 Programme – Wednesday 11 September
Day 2 Programme – Thursday 12 September
NSCC18 Conference & Workshops
NSCC18 Research Chattoria
This post is also available in: Cymraeg (Welsh)
The conference will be opened to delegates from 10.45am on Wednesday 11 September. Check our Day 1 and Day 2 Programmes via the links below:
Day 1 Programme
Josh Llewellyn-Jones OBE
Lee Ridley, aka Lost Voice Guy
Prof. Sir Sam Everington OBE
Hibo Wardere
Isabelle Trowler
Junior Smart
Dr Kate Allatt
Prof. Ann John
Dr Phil Cooper MBE
Key highlights of this year's conference include:
Josh Llewellyn-Jones OBE – Cardiff native Josh is a Cystic Fibrosis warrior who's completed many feats of physical endurance including becoming the world record holder for lifting 1-million kilos in under 24 hours, to raise vital awareness and funds for CF.
Lee Ridley, aka Lost Voice Guy – Award-winning comedian, Lee is the 2018 winner of Britain's Got Talent. Despite being unable to speak as a result of his cerebral palsy, Lee nonetheless has much to say and uses a voice synthesizer to great effect in his routine.
Professor Sir Sam Everington OBE, GP Bromley by Bow Partnership, Tower Hamlets – Sam Everington is a GP at The Bromley by Bow GP partnership, an innovative community organisation with over 100 projects supporting wider determinants of health. He's founder of the social prescribing movement and a trustee of the King's Fund.
Junior Smart – Founder of SOS Project, a multiple award-winning service which offers intensive support to vulnerable young people and carries out preventative work with those at risk.
Hibo Wardere – Hibo is a Somali-born campaigner against female genital mutilation (FGM), author, and public speaker based in London.
Isabelle Trowler – Isabelle is the government's Chief Social Worker for Children and Families. She is a founder member of the What Works Centre for Children's Social Care, a member of the National Panel for Child Safeguarding Practice Reviews and the National Stability Forum.
Dr Kate Allatt – Kate astonishingly survived and thrived after a brainstem stroke at 39 years of age, with a Locked In Syndrome diagnosis.
Prof Ann John – Ann John is a Professor in Public Health and Psychiatry at the Swansea University Medical School. She chairs the National Advisory Group to Welsh Government on the prevention of suicide and self-harm. She is an honorary consultant in Public Health medicine for Public Health Wales.
Dr Phil Cooper MBE – Dr Phil Cooper is a Nurse Consultant and Clinical Transformation / Suicide Prevention Lead at North West Boroughs Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust. Phil is also a co-founder, trustee and education lead / clinical presenter with State of Mind Sport.
Deputy Minister for Health and Social Services, Julie Morgan AM – The Deputy Minister supports the work of the Minister for Health and Social Services. Julie has been a Welsh Assembly member for Cardiff North seat in the Welsh Assembly since the 2011 elections.
Director of Social Services and Integration for Welsh Government, Albert Heaney – Albert is the Director of Social Services and Integration in Wales for the Welsh Government, former Corporate Director of Social Services for Caerphilly County Borough Council and past President of ADSS Cymru.
Councillor Huw David – Huw is the current Leader of Bridgend County Borough Council and the Welsh Local Government Association Spokesperson for Health and Social Services.
About ADSS (Cymru)
The Association of Directors of Social Services (ADSS) Cymru is the national leadership organisation for social services in Wales. Our role is to represent the collective voice of local authority directors of social services, and heads of services on national and regional issues of social care policy, practice and resourcing.
About Social Care Wales
Social Care Wales brings together social care workforce regulation, workforce development and service improvement in one organisation. We have an influential role in shaping research priorities and building strong links with stakeholders to improve care and support across Wales.
Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama
Castle Grounds
Cathays Park
Cardiff CF10 3ER


ExhaustWorx are Irelands leading supplier of stainless steel exhausts. At Exhaustworx, in partnership with Longlife UK, we have a combined 30 years of experience in exhaust design and manufacture, so whatever your requirements, you can be assured that we have the necessary expertise to provide a solution. Whether you have purchased a classic car, a performance car, or simply want to upgrade to a high quality fitting for your everyday car, a stainless steel exhaust is a stylish, performance enhancing addition to any vehicle.
We manufacture all of our exhausts from 304 grade stainless steel which, once fitted should give you a lifetime's trouble free use.
We have so much confidence in our Longlife exhaust products and installation service that we provide an industry leading transferable lifetime warranty on all our exhaust systems. This is designed to give our customers complete peace of mind. In the unlikely event that a problem arises, simply make an appointment and we will carry out any remedial work required, free of charge. The warranty is valid for the life of the car, so if you sell the car, the warranty can be transferred to the new owner.
Loud or quite, high performance or standard replacements…….we have the best exhaust solution for you. Trust us!
We keep our prices competitive without compromising on quality. The initial outlay on an Exhaustworx exhaust using Longlife products will soon prove to be a worthwhile investment and over time should save you money in your vehicle running costs. At ExhaustWorx we aim to make our products as affordable as possible, and we are pleased to be able to offer a finance option for customers who would prefer to spread the cost of upgrading to a stainless steel exhaust.
Relax in our customer waiting area, take a seat and enjoy some complimentary coffee and tea while we work on your vehicle.
Our very well equipped ExhaustWorx main bay, while we operate another 4 ramps in our IceTronix workshop, this bay is exclusively set up for the welding, tube bending and fabrication of exhausts.
ExhaustWorx is a subsidiary of IceTronix.com and we can offer more than just exhaust fabrication for your vehicle. Give us a call to discuss what other modifications are possible!
Why are we better than the competition and not just on price ….
We pride ourselves on always doing the best job possible for our customers and providing several options for them to consider.
1 . We use super high quality materials.
We mainly work with stainless steel 304 grade and have the option to manufacture the exhaust systems with either MIG or TIG welding depending on the customers choice. We use high quality laser cut 8mm thick flanges and new gaskets to ensure a high quality seal on all joints in the exhaust system.
2. We use custom designed silencer boxes.
We are the only agent for LongLife exhaust products in Ireland.Because of our unique relationship with them we can special order nearly any size or design of exhaust silencer with most bore sizes. This means when we are designing your exhaust we can get the correct design silencer boxes which inevitably means a higher quality job is achieved as we are not trying to make the wrong design boxes fit which can result in a bad exhaust flow (reducing the cars performance) and also make the exhaust system prone do damage or breakage.
3.All our fabricators are fully qualified.
All our fabricators have done many courses on welding and fabrication.They work on each customers car like they are working on there own car and give 110% to ensure the the design and style of the system are to the highest standard.Our skilled fabricators can tune the exhaust note on your custom exhaust to meet your desired needs.Some customers want no noise change from there old exhaust to there new exhaust , some customers want no noise change at idle but when when driving the car higher the car sounds sportier , some customers just want it LOUD!!
We give a lifetime warranty on all our full exhaust systems manufactured by our fabricators using the Longlife products.
This warranty can be transfer from one owner to the next owner with a small administration fee.This means the exhaust system is fully covered by warranty until the car meets its end of life.


text:
Online abuse and harassment silence important voices in conversation, forcing
already marginalized people offline.

**Harassment Manager** is a web application that aims to empower users to
document and take action on abuse targeted at them on online platforms. It is
designed for anyone that experiences significant online harassment, which can be
episodic or an ongoing challenge. The tool has been built and tested using a
community based research and design process with active Twitter users that
experience significant and/or frequent harassment (more details about our
research process and published results are available on
[Arxiv](https://arxiv.org/abs/2202.11168)). Target users include folks who are
disproportionately impacted by online harassment such as women and other
marginalized groups, journalists, activists, and politicians.

This web app was built by [Jigsaw](http://jigsaw.google.com), a unit within
Google that explores threats to open societies and builds technology that
inspires scalable solutions, in collaboration with Twitter. To detect
potentially harmful comments, it uses Jigsaw's [Perspective
API](http://www.perspectiveapi.com), which uses machine learning to identify
"toxic" language. We define toxicity as language that is rude, disrespectful or
likely to make someone leave a conversation. You can read our [model
cards](https://developers.perspectiveapi.com/s/about-the-api-model-cards) to
learn more about how our machine learning models are trained.

## Development

- [Setup](docs/1_setup.md) contains a technical overview of the application and
  how to set up dependencies
- [Development](docs/2_development.md) covers how to set up a local environment
  for development
- [Deployment](docs/3_deployment.md) contains instructions on how to deploy the
  application

## Support

For any technical issues, please create an issue in this repository. For
additional support and to contact us, see
https://developers.perspectiveapi.com/s/contact-us.

## Resources

There are many organizations, tools, and resources to support people who are
experiencing online harassment. Below, we've included a few sources of
information, as well as organizations and tools that can be used to help
navigate.

### Get Informed

- [OnlineSoS Action Center](https://onlinesos.org/action-cente)
- [PEN America Online Harassment Field Manual](https://onlineharassmentfieldmanual.pen.org/)

### Explore Digital Tools

- [Block Party](https://www.blockpartyapp.com/)
- [HeartMob](https://iheartmob.org/)
- [Squadbox](https://squadbox.org/)

### Connect with Organizations

- [Cyber Civil Rights Initiative](https://cybercivilrights.org/faqs-usvictims/)
- [Coalition Against Online Violence](https://onlineviolenceresponsehub.org/)
- [Coalition for Women in Journalism](https://www.womeninjournalism.org/)
- [Committee to Protect Journalists](https://cpj.org/campaigns/safety-women-nonbinary-journalists-online-offline/)
- [Crash Override Network](http://www.crashoverridenetwork.com/)
- [Glitch](https://fixtheglitch.org/)
- [OnlineSOS](https://onlinesos.org/)
- [PEN America](https://onlineharassmentfieldmanual.pen.org)
- [Reporters' Committee for Freedom of Press Hotline](https://www.rcfp.org/legal-hotline/")
- [Right to Be](https://righttobe.org/)
- [Squadbox](https://squadbox.org/)
- [Tall Poppy](https://www.tallpoppy.com/)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Welcome to 18 Admiral Crescent, a charming nearly new townhouse in the heart of Angus. This home is move-in-ready and perfect for those buyers looking to be part of a vibrant and active community.
The main floor provides open-concept living with a kitchen, breakfast room and living room, which opens up to the backyard. A powder room is tucked neatly away off the main foyer.
Upstairs, the master bedroom provides a tranquil retreat at the end of the day with it's walk-in closet and 4-piece ensuite. Two additional light-filled bedrooms complete the space with access to a neutral 4-piece bathroom.
The basement boasts a finished rec room with a gas fireplace for those cold winter nights watching movies with the family. A raw, untouched space provides opportunity to develop a fourth bedroom or an in-home office. A large laundry room finishes off the level with a rough-in for a 4th bathroom.


Song puts his name across as one of the most visually and socially incisive directors in China today. Chinese director Song Chuan unravels tensions in China's rural backwaters via a slick, urbanized woman's return to her village.
Thanks to a poetic yet probing approach, Ciao Ciao's contemplative take on the homecoming narrative strikes both an emotional and visual chord.
… the gorgeous scenery and finely drawn characters of this visual masterpiece pull the viewer deeper and deeper into the narrative, despite an ominous sense that the tension simmering just under the surface could explode at any time.


Take your Python skills to the next level with a discussion of classes and objects.
You're probably tired of hearing me say it, but indulge me one more time - when it comes to object-oriented programming, very few languages have Python's capabilities.
This is primarily because Python was built from the ground up as an object-oriented language, and so provides built-in constructs that make it simple for developers to structure code for maximum reusability. Python's "dynamic typing", which automatically recognizes objects like numbers, strings and lists, and negates the need to declare variable types and sizes, offers an advantage not found in languages like C or Java, while automatic memory allocation and management, together with a vast array of pluggable libraries and high-level abstractions, complete the picture.
Over the course of this two-part article, I'm going to take an in-depth look at Python's OO capabilities, together with examples and explanations to demonstrate just how powerful it really is. I'll be covering most of the basics - classes, objects, attributes and methods - and a couple of the advanced concepts - constructors, destructors and inheritance. And if you're new to object-oriented programming, or just apprehensive about what lies ahead, don't worry - I promise this will be a lot easier than you think.
In Python, a "class" is simply a set of program statements which perform a specific task. A typical class definition contains both variables and functions, and serves as the template from which to spawn specific instances of that class.
These specific instances of a class are referred to as "objects". Every object has certain characteristics, or "properties", and certain pre-defined functions, or "methods". These properties and methods of the object correspond directly with the variables and functions within the class definition.
Once a class has been defined, Python allows you to spawn as many instances of the class as you like. Each of these instances is a completely independent object, with its own properties and methods, and can thus be manipulated independently of other objects. This comes in handy in situations where you need to spawn more than one instance of an object - for example, two simultaneous database links for two simultaneous queries, or two shopping carts.
Classes also help you keep your code modular - you can define a class in a separate file, and include that file only in the pages where you plan to use the class - and simplify code changes, since you only need to edit a single file to add new functionality to all your spawned objects.
which can then be used to access all object methods and properties.
As stated above, each instance of a class is independent of the others - which means that, if I was a snake fancier, I could create more than one instance of veryBigSnake(), and call the methods of each instance independently.
As the illustration above shows, once new objects are defined, their individual methods and properties can be accessed and modified independent of each other. This comes in very handy, as the next few pages will show.
It's also important to note the manner in which object methods and properties are accessed - by prefixing the method or property name with the name of the specific object instance.
Every class definition begins with the keyword "class", followed by a class name. You can give your class any name that strikes your fancy, so long as it doesn't collide with a reserved word. All class variables and functions are indented within this block, and are written as you would normally code them.
In order to create a new instance of a class, you need to simply create a new variable referencing the class.
In English, the above would mean "create a new object of class veryBigSnake and assign it to the variable 'alpha'".
You can now access all the methods and properties of the class via this variable.
"execute the method set_snake_name() with parameter 'Peter Python' of this specific instance of the class veryBigSnake".
You'll have noticed, in the examples above, a curious little thingummy called "self". And you're probably wondering what exactly it has to do with anything.
The "self" variable has a lot to do with the way class methods work in Python. When a class method is called, it requires to be passed a reference to the instance that is calling it. This reference is passed as the first argument to the method, and is represented by the "self" variable.
An example of this can be seen in the set_snake_name() function above. When an instance of the class calls this method, a reference to the instance is automatically passed to the method, together with the additional "name" parameter. This reference is then used to update the "name" variable belonging to that specific instance of the class.
Note that when you call a class method from an instance, you do not need to explicitly pass this reference to the method - Python takes care of this for you automatically.
In this case, I'm calling the class method directly (not via an instance), but passing it a reference to the instance in the method call - which makes this snippet equivalent to the one above it.
In this case, the constructor sets up a couple of variables with default values and prints a short message indicating that a new object has been successfully created.
The set_snake_type() and set_snake_name() functions alter the object's properties, while the who_am_i() function provides a handy way to see the current values of the object's properties.
>>> # notice that the beta snake has been created with default properties!
Notice I said "technically". It is generally not advisable to do this, as it would violate the integrity of the object; the preferred technique is always to use the methods exposed by the object to change object properties.
Just as an illustration - consider what would happen if the author of the veryBigSnake() class decided to change the variable "name" to "snake_name".You would need to rework your test script as well, since you were directly referencing the variable "name". If, on the other hand, you had used the exposed set_snake_name() method, the changes to the variable name would be reflected in the set_snake_name() method by the author and your code would require no changes whatsoever.
By limiting yourself to exposed methods, you are provided with a level of protection which ensures that changes in the class code do not have repercussions on your code.
As you can see, the class's constructor initializes an object with four variables: the name of the city, an indicator as to whether the city time is ahead of, or behind, Greenwich Mean Time, and the difference between the local time in that city and the standard GMT, in hours and minutes.
Once these attributes have been set, the display() method takes over and performs some simple calculations to obtain the local time in that city.
And that's just about it for the moment. You now know the basics of Python's object-oriented programming paradigm, and should be able to construct and use your own objects. While you're doing that, remember that I'll be back next week with some more dope on the topic - the second part of this article will cover inheritance, overrides, destructors and the built-in Python functions that help you navigate between classes and class instances. Don't miss it!
This article was first published on 11 Oct 2001.


We were lucky enough to have been selected to appear on a public broadcasting station's show Live From Center Stage.
Whenever the badn is performing, we can see that they are really passionate on what they do. I don't usually do this, but I am wiling to be a new fan of "Cat and the Moon" and be called as one of the many cosmic kittens! Through these videos, I can definitely say that they did not fail. They are still the band to wrecking with. In everything the do, they always make sure to give their 100% best because that is the best reward they could give to their supporters. Every video you posted above was worth watching. Their pieces are worth listening!


text:
Natacha Gachnang (Vevey, 27 oktober 1987) is een Zwitsers autocoureur. Ze reed in 2009 het Formule 2-kampioenschap.

Carrière
Gachnang begon haar carrière in de autosport aan het einde van de jaren negentig in de karting. Van 2002 tot 2005 reed ze in het Duitse Formule BMW-kampioenschap. Tijdens het laatste jaar dat ze in deze reeks uitkwam, behaalde ze drie podiumplaatsen en eindigde ze op de zesde plaats in de eindstand. In 2006 reed ze in het Duitse Formule 3-kampioenschap en behaalde ze één podiumplaats. In 2008 stapte ze over naar het Spaanse Formule 3-kampioenschap en ging racen voor de Campos Grand Prix. Ze stond dat jaar vier keer op het podium en werd derde in de eindstand. In 2009 stapte ze over naar de Formule 2. Het werd een teleurstellend jaar waarin ze een keer binnen de top tien wist te finishen. In 2010 ging ze aan de slag in het FIA GT1 World Championship. Tijdens de trainingssessies van de eerste race op het Yas Marina Circuit crashte ze zwaar en brak haar rechter scheenbeen, later dat jaar kon ze weer aan de slag en reed ze onder meer de 24 uur van Le Mans.

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 Website Natacha Gachnang (gearchiveerd)

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text:
Ritualized Anxieties over BMD
by Michael Krepon | May 20, 2013 | 22 Comments
In November 1996, I had the good fortune to attend an ISODARCO conference in Chengdu, with the added bonus of a side trip to visit China's nuclear laboratory complex at Mianyang. Back then, ISODARCO – an enterprising Italian NGO founded in 1966 by Edoardo Amaldi and Carlo Schaerf — had somehow managed to corner the market on Track II conversations on strategic issues with Chinese counterparts. Not sure how the Italians managed to do this.
To my knowledge, the Mianyang visit was the first of its kind. Needless to say, foreign visitors were on a very short leash, but our entry was a significant gesture by our Chinese hosts, demonstrating serious intent to engage on strategic issues. These doors were soon closed as a result of the Cox Commission inquiry and report.
Jeffrey, our ACW information-gathering omnivore, somehow got ahold of my trip report and passed it along. My seventeen year-old assessment demonstrates, in dismaying detail, how ritualistic the anxieties over missile defenses have become. Countries of concern may have changed – back then, coercive PLA missile tests prompted debates over selling TMD to Taiwan — but not much else. Have a look:
Chinese concerns about TMD appear to be strongly felt, if considerably over-dramatized. Since unimpeded and deep reductions of US and Russian strategic forces are in China's national security interest, it makes complete sense that Beijing would support strongly the ABM Treaty and embrace fully the arguments developed in the United States to defend the treaty. Nonetheless, the crux of Chinese concerns over TMD clearly appears to be related to Taiwan and Japan, not to their public litany of arguments.
China would clearly rather not have to deal with new defense requirements posed by TMD deployments in East Asia. None of the Chinese participants second-guessed the PLA' s missile tests directed against Taiwan, even in private, but surely they must now appreciate the boost that these firings have given to TMD programs in the United States. On the other hand, several Chinese colleagues said in private that the exercises "worked," in that they reduced support in Taiwan for independence. It will be very interesting to see what lessons the PLA has internalized as a result of its missile-firing military exercises…
Great care is therefore required regarding the provision of TMD to East Asia. How does the United States convey the messages that we are prepared to support friends against threatening missile attacks, that we are serious about devaluing weapons of mass destruction and missile delivery systems, but also that we wish to further improve bilateral relations with China? US actions regarding TMD need to be calibrated in order to be interpreted correctly by Beijing. If US messages are misinterpreted, the TMD issue could foster troubling behavior by Beijing across a broad range of issues…
The worst case assessments of advanced TMD deployments circulated by some US arms control groups have subsequently been adopted in toto by the Chinese government. US opponents of advanced TMD, however, do not believe that the THAAD or Navy Upper Tier programs would actually provide the coverage they have depicted, since they assume that relatively simple counter-measures would vastly shrink the defended area or eliminate it entirely. Nonetheless, US analysts who present the worst case have done so in the belief that Russian and Chinese experts would likely succumb to worst case thinking and over-react in negative ways.
My sense from talking privately with Chinese technical experts is that they, too, clearly understand the utility of counter-measures. As one Chinese participant told me in confidence, China understands that its case against TMD is quite overdrawn, but that it is "practical" to adopt a worst case view. This is not to say that China views US missile defense programs with equanimity. To the contrary, Chinese experts are most definitely concerned about the possible negative impact of US missile defense programs on deep, deep cuts in US and Russian arsenals, and China strenuously opposes TMD deployments in Taiwan and Japan. The combined deployment of advanced TMD and multi-site national missile defenses would greatly trouble China. But these are very different concerns than China's public stance, which echoes the case made in the United States by some NGOs.
A perverse feedback loop is at work here: The worst case that arms controllers warned about has been rhetorically embraced by China, even though experts from both countries know better. How might NGOs avoid this echo chamber effect whereby worst case assessments become mutually reinforcing, just as in the Cold War? In the future, it might make sense to think about the formulation of arguments with multiple audiences in mind. For example, in addition to showing vugraphs of the considerable theoretical potential of upper tier TMD systems, why not also show how coverage would shrink due to countermeasures? A refocusing of the TMD debate, especially on the Navy's upper tier's susceptibility to countermeasures, might be particularly useful at this time for both domestic and foreign audiences.
It makes sense that debates over BMD are as ritualistic as those over nuclear weapons and arms reduction treaties. All have much in common: deployments and agreements are highly symbolic, and in most cases, political utility exceeds military utility. The dramatis personae fear slippery slopes, so argue tenaciously to avoid ceding any ground. Habits of mind are passed along from one generation to the next, and the debaters rarely depart from well-rehearsed scripts.
Debates over missile defenses are prompted by three circumstances: (1) when arms controllers seek to constrain missile defense programs and deployments; (2) when true believers in BMD assume positions of responsibility in a new administration; and (3) when prompted by the actions of a competitively disadvantaged nuclear-armed state.
The first of these conditions no longer applies to treaties, but continues unabated since skeptics remain convinced that the military utility of missile defense programs do not justify their expense. The second is likely to reoccur with the next Republican administration. The third condition – states that seek to gain leverage by means of missile flight tests — is now the principal driver of BMD programs and deployments. Whenever these coercive warnings occur, skeptics of missile defenses highlight the military deficiencies of BMD, while downgrading their symbolic and political utility.
Advocates of missile defenses are on weak ground when they argue for deployments at any cost, regardless of technical limitations. Skeptics of missile defenses are on weak ground when they diminish the political and symbolic value of missile defenses. How much BMD is required to convey alliance solidarity against a weak but unpredictable state like North Korea and to help shore up the NPT? Not that much – and certainly not enough to negate the Russian and Chinese nuclear deterrents.
Nonetheless, anxieties about missile defenses are imprinted in the Kremlin's DNA, and it would be most unwise for Washington to take steps that would unnecessarily lead Moscow to retain nuclear force structure or for Beijing to expand it. Great care has always been required in sizing national missile defense deployments. In my view, the strongest argument against a third NMD site is that deploying more deeply flawed interceptors constitutes an ill-conceived jobs program. Repeating dire warnings emanating from Moscow is not a strong argument. Russian as well as Chinese strategic analysts and defense scientists are quite competent. They know how to penetrate US missile defenses. So why get so spun up by echoes from the Cold War?
Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: China, ISODARCO, Mianyang, NMD, Russia, TMD
Echoes are referent to the conversation of the problem. As a policy guy, you perform laudable work toward avoiding circumstances involving practical examinations of the effects of nuclear detonations on military or civil targets.
BMD is an engineering problem about the practicalities of warhead negation in flight in the event of failed deterrence or accident. Admittedly, a hard problem with no room for incompetence. Will, desire or wishful thinking on the part of policy people or the political class does nothing to aid BMD development and just 'throwing money' at various concepts hugely damages 'real' BMD as wanting something badly gives you that item 'badly'. The great failure of the missile defense advocacy from Reagan onward was that 'want' was politicized and threats were selectively cited to promote various programs without serious engineering and architecture development. BMD is a tool in the nuclear risk management portfolio; develop a consensus as to the level of risk you wish to mitigate with BMD and task the development of BMD consonant with that job.
Jonathan Granoff (History)
if country was so hell bent on attacking the US with a nuclear weapon why would they use a weapon with a return address?
yousaf (History)
Good point but you assume logic prevails in fielding strategic missile "defense" — I commented on this aspect earlier:
http://www.thebulletin.org/web-edition/features/re-examining-the-conceptual-basis-of-strategic-missile-defense
Article Highlights
* An improved strategic missile defense system would not stop our adversaries from possessing nuclear weapons — it would only encourage a change in how such weapons are delivered.
* Unlike other delivery methods, an ICBM launch is easy to detect and ascribe to a given nation, making it unlikely our enemies would use these long-range missiles.
* The real danger of a workable missile defense is that countries may abandon ICBMs in favor of other delivery methods that they would be less inhibited to use.
John Schilling (History)
In increasing order of importance:
1. They don't want that; it would just make the United States very, very angry. They might, in extreme cases, want to attack the United States with enough nuclear weapons to actually destroy it, but at that scale there is no anonymity or plausible deniability.
2. Since that sort of thing is very much a matter of last resort, you want to make absolutely sure nobody goes off-mission and pulls the trigger before you are good and ready. That means basing the weapons somewhere you have absolute control and security.
3. What nuclear weapons are actually good for is not attacking people, but threatening to attack people. But, as Dr. Strangelove famously pointed out, trying to threaten people with a secret weapon doesn't really work so well.
4. If you were paying attention in the first place, you'd have noted that Michael Krepon's most excellent article was not about people who might hypothetically want to attack (or even threaten) the United States with nuclear weapons, but people who want to threaten Taiwan with nuclear weapons. As with most domestic disputes, the obvious suspect is unlikely to succeed with any plan for clever misdirection.
Since you asked. I suspect your question may have been purely rhetorical, but I have the bad habit of sometimes answering those questions anyway…
No President and no administration, regardless of political orientation, can bathe in the luxury of your rhetorical question or your certainty. Instead, administrations have to figure out how best to handle improbable threats that disturb the peace of allies and friends that have abstained from making nuclear weapons, despite their ready ability to do so.
Magpie (History)
I think the big difference going onwards – the biggest game changer that military tech has seen in a very long time – will be anti-ship ballistic missiles. If they can't be satisfactorily countered then this will have massive implications for US force projection – and right now we've got the Chinese 21-D and the Iranian Khalij Fars. It's not out of the realms of the possible that these systems, or next-gen developments of them, could basically deny China and Iran's sea interests to practical US use-of-force.
Aegis can theoretically engage three targets simultaneously – though I'm not aware of a successful test with more than two. Cost-for-cost, it should be very practical to overwhelm an Aegis-based defence. Quite apart from the relative platform costs, there's the ongoing issue of keeping sufficient Aegis defence on-station – while your ASBMs can be parked in compounds for as long as you like. Then all you need is something capable of detecting the enemy.
Look at Taiwan with non-Chinese navies removed from the equation. Look at the Gulf with Iran holding the ability to remove a carrier group almost at will, or ready to back up any wee patrol boat's demands. All with conventional warheads – and therefore *usable*. I doubt they're at that threat level yet, but I can't see any reason to think they can't be in the fairly near future. It changes the picture a very great deal, and if the US is not working very hard on improved ABM defences then I reckon they're making a big mistake.
—Would anti-ship ballistic missiles lead to an arms race of diesel-electric submarines armed with artillery pieces?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_submarine_Surcouf
This huge submarine carried twin 8 inch guns in a single turret, quite a formidible armament for a submarine, and in a hangar aft of her conning tower was an observation aircraft, a Marcel Berson-411, capable of a speed of 100 knots with a range of 400 kilometres. A cargo of torpedoes, 14 by 500mm, and another 8 by 400mm added to her fighting abilities. A 16 foot motor boat was also on board.
http://ahoy.tk-jk.net/macslog/FrenchSubmarineSurcoufthe.html
As one of the few people on earth who fricking loves the ol' Collins (in those twenty minutes a year when it works):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collins-class_submarine
…then yeah, I digs da diesel. Who the hell puts a reactor in a thing that's supposed to get shot at? That's just dopey.
But no matter how much people point at how hard it might be to find a carrier to shoot at, I really can't see it. I mean, if the Iranians can get anything at all to 20,000 feet they can get (hazy) line of sight to the other side of the Gulf. Even their dodgy ASBMs have optical guidance – one solid fix should do it. A 5 minute flight time isn't going to let a carrier group get THAT far away.
If the Chinese did go ahead and MIRV their 21-D and produce the new beasty in numbers (or if they might in the near future), then they own a hefty slab of the western pacific, even if people haven't really noticed yet.
(DF-21D, not D21. WTH, me?)
http://www.nbcnews.com/id/44412133/ns/technology_and_science-innovation/t/us-army-orders-its-first-batch-suicide-drones/
—What about diesel-electric subs with suicide drones ionstead of artillery?
A torpedo *is* a suicide drone!
Mark Gubrud (History)
Yes, China and Russia have competent scientists and military analysts who know that countermeasures can easily defeat current US BMD technologies. However, they also have their paranoid, gullible and clueless, just like we do.
That is one thing. Another is that ensuring defeat of US BMD costs them something, and when we are done with current plans at the end of this decade, what comes next? Does the US BMD enterprise shut down at that point, or is it on to the next, grander, and perhaps more dangerous scheme? Will Russia and China then face a further round of costs to ensure defeat of BMD, or might there even be a danger of vulnerability to a US first strike?
And what of the space weaponization implications, given that US BMD systems are already ASAT-capable, and the dream of space-based BMD weapons has never quite died?
For all these reasons, Russian and Chinese concerns about and protests against US BMD are not just ritual.
It may just be that they are concerned not just about their own security risks, but also the economic and political costs of endless rounds of measure and countermeasure, and about global security and stability as well. As should we all be.
The rhetorical question in quick form should cause one to reflect that an adversary not capable of overcoming bnd would only approach such existential actions in stealth. a false security system cannot, be cured by better management. Only by understanding, nuclear weapons as the unacceptable problem that.they actually are will there be sufficiently serious efforts made to set the compass point of
elimination in place and move from management to global elimination. Does that mean overnight. Of.course not. Does it mean that a standard can be put into place with which, to evaluate present policies? Yes. Based on a, standard as to whether a policy, moves, in the direction, of the compass, bmd is way of course.
JO (History)
As to China's interceptor capabilities, I'm a little surprised Jeffery hasn't posted about the recent undeclared Chinese suborbital launch from Kunpeng to GTO.
http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=31898.0
http://www.spaceflight101.com/chinese-rocket-launch-may-2013.html
jeannick (History)
@ Magpie
"I think the big difference going onwards – the biggest game changer that military tech has seen in a very long time – will be anti-ship ballistic missiles."
Been giving those a lot of thoughts , there is an institute in Harbin which make self controlled sea automation
there is all kind of drones , including a full visual on half of the pacific with observation swarms.
with fifth generation jet fighter ,
the pilot is a weight liability
Oh yeah, drones are the future, maaan. And you're right: fighters would be way better without needing to worry about a human getting turned to mush by high-gees. Drones are also a lot more *usable*: you're not risking dead citizens.
For now it's super-complicated on land, since there are masses of wrong-targets. That requires an operator, and that causes control delay and opens up all sorts of counter-measures. Eventually the AIs will be better, but for now it's a pain.
But it's WAY easier at sea: go to this rough location, and attack anything that isn't ocean. Same thing whether your 'drone' is above water (missile / reentry vehicle) or below (torpedo / mine).
Bloody hard to hide an aircraft carrier.
Weapon system to be fitted with Multiple Independently Targetable Re-entry Vehicles
The configuration of Agni-V, India's long-range nuclear weapons capable ballistic missile, is set to be changed to make the 5,000-km weapon system deadlier and capable of attacking multiple targets.
The modification is to enable fitting Agni-V with Multiple Independently Targetable Re-entry Vehicles (MIRVs), V.K. Saraswat, Director-General of the Defence Research and Development Organisation and Scientific Advisor to the Defence Minister, told The Hindu. Another test in the present configuration of the three-stage missile would be conducted later this yea
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/agniv-to-be-modified-to-attack-multiple-targets/article4758676.ece
"Missile defense cooperation is another area we should pursue, and the United States continues to seek a path forward with Russia due to our belief that missile defense cooperation will advance the security interests of us all – the Russian Federation no less than the NATO countries.
The Soviet Union responded confidently to the 1983 Star Wars proposal regarding global missile defense, embracing the notion of technical countermeasures on strategic offensive forces to address this issue. Russia should be no less confident today, when the missile defense system that the United States and its allies are developing is specifically and definitively limited in nature and very capable technical countermeasures are installed on all Russian ICBMs and SLBMs."
The above is a direct quote from:
Revitalizing Security Cooperation in Europe
Rose Gottemoeller
Acting Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security
Conference on Military and Political Aspects of European Security
Moscow, Russia, May 23, 2013
http://www.state.gov/t/us/209917.htm
Clearly she is as reliable, sober, and professional a diplomat as we might find. In her speech, with eloguence, she made the case for greater cooperation. However, the speech did not point out the cost of "Star Wars" in preventing the realization of the shared vision of Presidents Reagan and Gorbachev of a nuclear weapons free world.
What would follow from her remarks should be formalizing a limitation such that in the event of technical advances BMD would still not threaten Russia's interests and hopefully embodying this and other assurances in legally binding instruments. There are still advocates for space based deployments you know. Moreover, I question for how long Iran or North Korea will remain incapable of similarly overcoming the BMD systems with "technical counter measures". Of on going concern, there is hardly a reasoned open debate on the costs to arms control progress that BMD presents.
Question to technical experts in this conversation. Please forgive my limited knowledge. I am a law professor and policy wonk rather and not a technical expert. Can a missile defense system be created that would be of value that would not hold back progress on arms control and disarmament? If so, what would it look like and why is the debate not focusing on achieving this result?
panterazero (History)
I bet this is a REAL rookie question, but what's the effective diff between an ASBM which sounds like an inordinate pain to develop, and an anti-ship cruise missile (e. g. As-4) which is easy to build, tote, and throw, drinks cheap booze, and can be had in numbers?
Closing speed. 3M45 has a maximum speed of Mach 2.5, BrahMos has Mach 3, and I believe both of those speeds would be reached only on diving profile attacks similar to a ballistic profile. These are within the envelope for current missile interceptors and much easier to defend against.
Ballistic missiles: 9K720 Iskander is a reasonable match in terms of flight profile: maximum speed Mach 6-7 at 50km altitude, plus it can make evasive/targeting maneuvers. All numbers here are from wiki.
The ASBM has to solve Mach 7 targeting of a stationary carrier-sized object, while the interceptor must target a potentially stealthed ~4 foot circle with capacity for a lot of off-axis high G rocket evasive acceleration. So – if effective targeting for the ASBM can be sorted out and that is a real technical challenge in itself – there is no realistic counter.
I should just have quoted wiki it says it better than I did:
"The Russian Iskander-M cruises at hypersonic speed of 2100–2600 m/s (Mach 6–7) at a height of 50 km. The Iskander-M weighs 4615 kg, carries a warhead of 710–800 kg, has a range of 400–480 km, and achieves a CEP (Circular error probable) of 5–7 meters. During flight it can maneuver at different altitudes and trajectories and can pull up to 20 to 30 G to evade anti-ballistic missiles. For example, in one of the trajectory modes it can dive at the target at 90 degrees at the rate of 700–800 m/s performing anti-ABM maneuvers"
Did I say I was a rookie?
I had NO NOTION of the sophistication of the Iskander-M, or the duration of its development, or even (here he blushes) its existence. Apprised of all that in one wikislug, I respond with a faint and high-pitched "oh."
Thank you very much for dragging me by the (rapidly graying) hair into the new century. (Mach 7 and vernier motors, godalive…)


text:
Q: Can not access EKEventStore in OSx I try to use EKEventStore with checking for document in web and reference. But still got below problem that seem like I can not access store in OSx. Mine is 10.7.5, please help suggest what I did wrong on this.
#import "AppDelegate.h"
@implementation AppDelegate
@synthesize store = _store;
@synthesize defaultCalendar = _defaultCalendar;

- (void)applicationDidFinishLaunching:(NSNotification *)aNotification
{
    // Insert code here to initialize your application
    self.store = [[EKEventStore alloc] initWithAccessToEntityTypes:EKEntityTypeEvent];
    self.defaultCalendar  = [self.store defaultCalendarForNewEvents];
}

- (IBAction)startPress:(id)sender {
    NSLog(@"Default calendar:%@ is nil:%@", [self.defaultCalendar title],(self.defaultCalendar));
    NSArray *calendars = [self.store calendarsForEntityType:EKEntityTypeEvent];
    NSLog(@"Total calendars %lu", calendars.count);
}

This is result that came out in Log
2013-02-02 08:24:42.429 iCalendarProfiler-Test01152013[2296:403] Default calendar:(null) is nil:(null)
2013-02-02 08:24:42.429 iCalendarProfiler-Test01152013[2296:403] Total calendars 0

A: EKEventStore for OS X is available since 10.8, is not available for OS X 10.7.5

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