text:
package org.apache.hadoop.fs.loadGenerator;

import java.io.BufferedReader;
import java.io.File;
import java.io.FileReader;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.io.InputStream;
import java.net.InetAddress;
import java.net.UnknownHostException;
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.EnumSet;
import java.util.Random;

import org.apache.commons.logging.Log;
import org.apache.commons.logging.LogFactory;
import org.apache.hadoop.conf.Configuration;
import org.apache.hadoop.conf.Configured;
import org.apache.hadoop.fs.CreateFlag;
import org.apache.hadoop.fs.FSDataOutputStream;
import org.apache.hadoop.fs.FileStatus;
import org.apache.hadoop.fs.FileContext;
import org.apache.hadoop.fs.Path;
import org.apache.hadoop.fs.Options.CreateOpts;
import org.apache.hadoop.util.Time;
import org.apache.hadoop.util.Tool;
import org.apache.hadoop.util.ToolRunner;

/** The load generator is a tool for testing NameNode behavior under
 * different client loads.
 * It allows the user to generate different mixes of read, write,
 * and list requests by specifying the probabilities of read and
 * write. The user controls the intensity of the load by
 * adjusting parameters for the number of worker threads and the delay
 * between operations. While load generators are running, the user
 * can profile and monitor the running of the NameNode. When a load
 * generator exits, it print some NameNode statistics like the average
 * execution time of each kind of operations and the NameNode
 * throughput.
 *
 * The user may either specify constant duration, read and write
 * probabilities via the command line, or may specify a text file
 * that acts as a script of which read and write probabilities to
 * use for specified durations.
 *
 * The script takes the form of lines of duration in seconds, read
 * probability and write probability, each separated by white space.
 * Blank lines and lines starting with # (comments) are ignored.
 *
 * After command line argument parsing and data initialization,
 * the load generator spawns the number of worker threads
 * as specified by the user.
 * Each thread sends a stream of requests to the NameNode.
 * For each iteration, it first decides if it is going to read a file,
 * create a file, or listing a directory following the read and write
 * probabilities specified by the user.
 * When reading, it randomly picks a file in the test space and reads
 * the entire file. When writing, it randomly picks a directory in the
 * test space and creates a file whose name consists of the current
 * machine's host name and the thread id. The length of the file
 * follows Gaussian distribution with an average size of 2 blocks and
 * the standard deviation of 1 block. The new file is filled with 'a'.
 * Immediately after the file creation completes, the file is deleted
 * from the test space.
 * While listing, it randomly picks a directory in the test space and
 * list the directory content.
 * Between two consecutive operations, the thread pauses for a random
 * amount of time in the range of [0, maxDelayBetweenOps]
 * if the specified max delay is not zero.
 * All threads are stopped when the specified elapsed time has passed
 * in command-line execution, or all the lines of script have been
 * executed, if using a script.
 * Before exiting, the program prints the average execution for
 * each kind of NameNode operations, and the number of requests
 * served by the NameNode.
 *
 * The synopsis of the command is
 * java LoadGenerator
 *   -readProbability <read probability>: read probability [0, 1]
 *                                        with a default value of 0.3333.
 *   -writeProbability <write probability>: write probability [0, 1]
 *                                         with a default value of 0.3333.
 *   -root <root>: test space with a default value of /testLoadSpace
 *   -maxDelayBetweenOps <maxDelayBetweenOpsInMillis>:
 *      Max delay in the unit of milliseconds between two operations with a
 *      default value of 0 indicating no delay.
 *   -numOfThreads <numOfThreads>:
 *      number of threads to spawn with a default value of 200.
 *   -elapsedTime <elapsedTimeInSecs>:
 *      the elapsed time of program with a default value of 0
 *      indicating running forever
 *   -startTime <startTimeInMillis> : when the threads start to run.
 *   -scriptFile <file name>: text file to parse for scripted operation
 */
public class LoadGenerator extends Configured implements Tool {
  public static final Log LOG = LogFactory.getLog(LoadGenerator.class);

  private volatile boolean shouldRun = true;
  private Path root = DataGenerator.DEFAULT_ROOT;
  private FileContext fc;
  private int maxDelayBetweenOps = 0;
  private int numOfThreads = 200;
  private long [] durations = {0};
  private double [] readProbs = {0.3333};
  private double [] writeProbs = {0.3333};
  private volatile int currentIndex = 0;
  long totalTime = 0;
  private long startTime = Time.now()+10000;
  final static private int BLOCK_SIZE = 10;
  private ArrayList<String> files = new ArrayList<String>();  // a table of file names
  private ArrayList<String> dirs = new ArrayList<String>(); // a table of directory names
  private Random r = null;
  final private static String USAGE = "java LoadGenerator\n" +
  	"-readProbability <read probability>\n" +
    "-writeProbability <write probability>\n" +
    "-root <root>\n" +
    "-maxDelayBetweenOps <maxDelayBetweenOpsInMillis>\n" +
    "-numOfThreads <numOfThreads>\n" +
    "-elapsedTime <elapsedTimeInSecs>\n" +
    "-startTime <startTimeInMillis>\n" +
    "-scriptFile <filename>";
  final private String hostname;

  /** Constructor */
  public LoadGenerator() throws IOException, UnknownHostException {
    InetAddress addr = InetAddress.getLocalHost();
    hostname = addr.getHostName();
  }

  private final static int OPEN = 0;
  private final static int LIST = 1;
  private final static int CREATE = 2;
  private final static int WRITE_CLOSE = 3;
  private final static int DELETE = 4;
  private final static int TOTAL_OP_TYPES =5;
  private long [] executionTime = new long[TOTAL_OP_TYPES];
  private long [] totalNumOfOps = new long[TOTAL_OP_TYPES];

  /** A thread sends a stream of requests to the NameNode.
   * At each iteration, it first decides if it is going to read a file,
   * create a file, or listing a directory following the read
   * and write probabilities.
   * When reading, it randomly picks a file in the test space and reads
   * the entire file. When writing, it randomly picks a directory in the
   * test space and creates a file whose name consists of the current
   * machine's host name and the thread id. The length of the file
   * follows Gaussian distribution with an average size of 2 blocks and
   * the standard deviation of 1 block. The new file is filled with 'a'.
   * Immediately after the file creation completes, the file is deleted
   * from the test space.
   * While listing, it randomly picks a directory in the test space and
   * list the directory content.
   * Between two consecutive operations, the thread pauses for a random
   * amount of time in the range of [0, maxDelayBetweenOps]
   * if the specified max delay is not zero.
   * A thread runs for the specified elapsed time if the time isn't zero.
   * Otherwise, it runs forever.
   */
  private class DFSClientThread extends Thread {
    private int id;
    private long [] executionTime = new long[TOTAL_OP_TYPES];
    private long [] totalNumOfOps = new long[TOTAL_OP_TYPES];
    private byte[] buffer = new byte[1024];

    private DFSClientThread(int id) {
      this.id = id;
    }

    /** Main loop
     * Each iteration decides what's the next operation and then pauses.
     */
    @Override
    public void run() {
      try {
        while (shouldRun) {
          nextOp();
          delay();
        }
      } catch (Exception ioe) {
        System.err.println(ioe.getLocalizedMessage());
        ioe.printStackTrace();
      }
    }

    /** Let the thread pause for a random amount of time in the range of
     * [0, maxDelayBetweenOps] if the delay is not zero. Otherwise, no pause.
     */
    private void delay() throws InterruptedException {
      if (maxDelayBetweenOps>0) {
        int delay = r.nextInt(maxDelayBetweenOps);
        Thread.sleep(delay);
      }
    }

    /** Perform the next operation.
     *
     * Depending on the read and write probabilities, the next
     * operation could be either read, write, or list.
     */
    private void nextOp() throws IOException {
      double rn = r.nextDouble();
      int i = currentIndex;

      if(LOG.isDebugEnabled())
        LOG.debug("Thread " + this.id + " moving to index " + i);

      if (rn < readProbs[i]) {
        read();
      } else if (rn < readProbs[i] + writeProbs[i]) {
        write();
      } else {
        list();
      }
    }

    /** Read operation randomly picks a file in the test space and reads
     * the entire file */
    private void read() throws IOException {
      String fileName = files.get(r.nextInt(files.size()));
      long startTime = Time.now();
      InputStream in = fc.open(new Path(fileName));
      executionTime[OPEN] += (Time.now()-startTime);
      totalNumOfOps[OPEN]++;
      while (in.read(buffer) != -1) {}
      in.close();
    }

    /** The write operation randomly picks a directory in the
     * test space and creates a file whose name consists of the current
     * machine's host name and the thread id. The length of the file
     * follows Gaussian distribution with an average size of 2 blocks and
     * the standard deviation of 1 block. The new file is filled with 'a'.
     * Immediately after the file creation completes, the file is deleted
     * from the test space.
     */
    private void write() throws IOException {
      String dirName = dirs.get(r.nextInt(dirs.size()));
      Path file = new Path(dirName, hostname+id);
      double fileSize = 0;
      while ((fileSize = r.nextGaussian()+2)<=0) {}
      genFile(file, (long)(fileSize*BLOCK_SIZE));
      long startTime = Time.now();
      fc.delete(file, true);
      executionTime[DELETE] += (Time.now()-startTime);
      totalNumOfOps[DELETE]++;
    }

    /** The list operation randomly picks a directory in the test space and
     * list the directory content.
     */
    private void list() throws IOException {
      String dirName = dirs.get(r.nextInt(dirs.size()));
      long startTime = Time.now();
      fc.listStatus(new Path(dirName));
      executionTime[LIST] += (Time.now()-startTime);
      totalNumOfOps[LIST]++;
    }
  }

  /** Main function:
   * It first initializes data by parsing the command line arguments.
   * It then starts the number of DFSClient threads as specified by
   * the user.
   * It stops all the threads when the specified elapsed time is passed.
   * Before exiting, it prints the average execution for
   * each operation and operation throughput.
   */
  @Override
  public int run(String[] args) throws Exception {
    int exitCode = init(args);
    if (exitCode != 0) {
      return exitCode;
    }

    barrier();

    DFSClientThread[] threads = new DFSClientThread[numOfThreads];
    for (int i=0; i<numOfThreads; i++) {
      threads[i] = new DFSClientThread(i);
      threads[i].start();
    }

    if (durations[0] > 0) {
      while(shouldRun) {
        Thread.sleep(durations[currentIndex] * 1000);
        totalTime += durations[currentIndex];

        // Are we on the final line of the script?
        if( (currentIndex + 1) == durations.length) {
          shouldRun = false;
        } else {
          if(LOG.isDebugEnabled()) {
            LOG.debug("Moving to index " + currentIndex + ": r = "
                + readProbs[currentIndex] + ", w = " + writeProbs
                + " for duration " + durations[currentIndex]);
          }
          currentIndex++;
        }
      }
    }

    if(LOG.isDebugEnabled()) {
      LOG.debug("Done with testing.  Waiting for threads to finish.");
    }
    for (DFSClientThread thread : threads) {
      thread.join();
      for (int i=0; i<TOTAL_OP_TYPES; i++) {
        executionTime[i] += thread.executionTime[i];
        totalNumOfOps[i] += thread.totalNumOfOps[i];
      }
    }
    long totalOps = 0;
    for (int i=0; i<TOTAL_OP_TYPES; i++) {
      totalOps += totalNumOfOps[i];
    }

    if (totalNumOfOps[OPEN] != 0) {
      System.out.println("Average open execution time: " +
          (double)executionTime[OPEN]/totalNumOfOps[OPEN] + "ms");
    }
    if (totalNumOfOps[LIST] != 0) {
      System.out.println("Average list execution time: " +
          (double)executionTime[LIST]/totalNumOfOps[LIST] + "ms");
    }
    if (totalNumOfOps[DELETE] != 0) {
      System.out.println("Average deletion execution time: " +
          (double)executionTime[DELETE]/totalNumOfOps[DELETE] + "ms");
      System.out.println("Average create execution time: " +
          (double)executionTime[CREATE]/totalNumOfOps[CREATE] + "ms");
      System.out.println("Average write_close execution time: " +
          (double)executionTime[WRITE_CLOSE]/totalNumOfOps[WRITE_CLOSE] + "ms");
    }
    if (durations[0] != 0) {
      System.out.println("Average operations per second: " +
          (double)totalOps/totalTime +"ops/s");
    }
    System.out.println();
    return exitCode;
  }

  /** Parse the command line arguments and initialize the data */
  private int init(String[] args) throws IOException {
    try {
      fc = FileContext.getFileContext(getConf());
    } catch (IOException ioe) {
      System.err.println("Can not initialize the file system: " +
          ioe.getLocalizedMessage());
      return -1;
    }
    int hostHashCode = hostname.hashCode();
    boolean scriptSpecified = false;

    try {
      for (int i = 0; i < args.length; i++) { // parse command line
        if (args[i].equals("-scriptFile")) {
          if(loadScriptFile(args[++i]) == -1)
            return -1;
          scriptSpecified = true;
        } else if (args[i].equals("-readProbability")) {
          if(scriptSpecified) {
            System.err.println("Can't specify probabilities and use script.");
            return -1;
          }
          readProbs[0] = Double.parseDouble(args[++i]);
          if (readProbs[0] < 0 || readProbs[0] > 1) {
            System.err.println(
                "The read probability must be [0, 1]: " + readProbs[0]);
            return -1;
          }
        } else if (args[i].equals("-writeProbability")) {
          if(scriptSpecified) {
            System.err.println("Can't specify probabilities and use script.");
            return -1;
          }
          writeProbs[0] = Double.parseDouble(args[++i]);
          if (writeProbs[0] < 0 || writeProbs[0] > 1) {
            System.err.println(
                "The write probability must be [0, 1]: " + writeProbs[0]);
            return -1;
          }
        } else if (args[i].equals("-root")) {
          root = new Path(args[++i]);
        } else if (args[i].equals("-maxDelayBetweenOps")) {
          maxDelayBetweenOps = Integer.parseInt(args[++i]); // in milliseconds
        } else if (args[i].equals("-numOfThreads")) {
          numOfThreads = Integer.parseInt(args[++i]);
          if (numOfThreads <= 0) {
            System.err.println(
                "Number of threads must be positive: " + numOfThreads);
            return -1;
          }
        } else if (args[i].equals("-startTime")) {
          startTime = Long.parseLong(args[++i]);
        } else if (args[i].equals("-elapsedTime")) {
          if(scriptSpecified) {
            System.err.println("Can't specify elapsedTime and use script.");
            return -1;
          }
          durations[0] = Long.parseLong(args[++i]);
        } else if (args[i].equals("-seed")) {
          r = new Random(Long.parseLong(args[++i])+hostHashCode);
        } else {
          System.err.println(USAGE);
          ToolRunner.printGenericCommandUsage(System.err);
          return -1;
        }
      }
    } catch (NumberFormatException e) {
      System.err.println("Illegal parameter: " + e.getLocalizedMessage());
      System.err.println(USAGE);
      return -1;
    }

    for(int i = 0; i < readProbs.length; i++) {
      if (readProbs[i] + writeProbs[i] <0 || readProbs[i]+ writeProbs[i] > 1) {
        System.err.println(
            "The sum of read probability and write probability must be [0, 1]: "
            + readProbs[i] + " " + writeProbs[i]);
        return -1;
      }
    }

    if (r==null) {
      r = new Random(Time.now()+hostHashCode);
    }

    return initFileDirTables();
  }

  /**
   * Read a script file of the form: lines of text with duration in seconds,
   * read probability and write probability, separated by white space.
   *
   * @param filename Script file
   * @return 0 if successful, -1 if not
   * @throws IOException if errors with file IO
   */
  private int loadScriptFile(String filename) throws IOException  {
    FileReader fr = new FileReader(new File(filename));
    BufferedReader br = new BufferedReader(fr);
    ArrayList<Long> duration  = new ArrayList<Long>();
    ArrayList<Double> readProb  = new ArrayList<Double>();
    ArrayList<Double> writeProb = new ArrayList<Double>();
    int lineNum = 0;

    String line;
    // Read script, parse values, build array of duration, read and write probs
    while((line = br.readLine()) != null) {
      lineNum++;
      if(line.startsWith("#") || line.isEmpty()) // skip comments and blanks
        continue;

      String[] a = line.split("\\s");
      if(a.length != 3) {
        System.err.println("Line " + lineNum +
                           ": Incorrect number of parameters: " + line);
      }

      try {
        long d = Long.parseLong(a[0]);
        if(d < 0) {
           System.err.println("Line " + lineNum + ": Invalid duration: " + d);
           return -1;
        }

        double r = Double.parseDouble(a[1]);
        if(r < 0.0 || r > 1.0 ) {
           System.err.println("Line " + lineNum +
                      ": The read probability must be [0, 1]: " + r);
           return -1;
        }

        double w = Double.parseDouble(a[2]);
        if(w < 0.0 || w > 1.0) {
          System.err.println("Line " + lineNum +
                       ": The read probability must be [0, 1]: " + r);
          return -1;
        }

        readProb.add(r);
        duration.add(d);
        writeProb.add(w);
      } catch( NumberFormatException nfe) {
        System.err.println(lineNum + ": Can't parse: " + line);
        return -1;
      }
    }

    br.close();
    fr.close();

    // Copy vectors to arrays of values, to avoid autoboxing overhead later
    durations = new long[duration.size()];
    readProbs = new double[readProb.size()];
    writeProbs = new double[writeProb.size()];

    for(int i = 0; i < durations.length; i++) {
      durations[i] = duration.get(i);
      readProbs[i] = readProb.get(i);
      writeProbs[i] = writeProb.get(i);
    }

    if(durations[0] == 0)
      System.err.println("Initial duration set to 0.  " +
          		                             "Will loop until stopped manually.");

    return 0;
  }

  /** Create a table that contains all directories under root and
   * another table that contains all files under root.
   */
  private int initFileDirTables() {
    try {
      initFileDirTables(root);
    } catch (IOException e) {
      System.err.println(e.getLocalizedMessage());
      e.printStackTrace();
      return -1;
    }
    if (dirs.isEmpty()) {
      System.err.println("The test space " + root + " is empty");
      return -1;
    }
    if (files.isEmpty()) {
      System.err.println("The test space " + root +
          " does not have any file");
      return -1;
    }
    return 0;
  }

  /** Create a table that contains all directories under the specified path and
   * another table that contains all files under the specified path and
   * whose name starts with "_file_".
   */
  private void initFileDirTables(Path path) throws IOException {
    FileStatus[] stats = fc.util().listStatus(path);

    for (FileStatus stat : stats) {
      if (stat.isDirectory()) {
        dirs.add(stat.getPath().toString());
        initFileDirTables(stat.getPath());
      } else {
        Path filePath = stat.getPath();
        if (filePath.getName().startsWith(StructureGenerator.FILE_NAME_PREFIX)) {
          files.add(filePath.toString());
        }
      }
    }
  }

  /** Returns when the current number of seconds from the epoch equals
   * the command line argument given by <code>-startTime</code>.
   * This allows multiple instances of this program, running on clock
   * synchronized nodes, to start at roughly the same time.
   */
  private void barrier() {
    long sleepTime;
    while ((sleepTime = startTime - Time.now()) > 0) {
      try {
        Thread.sleep(sleepTime);
      } catch (InterruptedException ex) {
      }
    }
  }

  /** Create a file with a length of <code>fileSize</code>.
   * The file is filled with 'a'.
   */
  private void genFile(Path file, long fileSize) throws IOException {
    long startTime = Time.now();
    FSDataOutputStream out = fc.create(file,
        EnumSet.of(CreateFlag.CREATE, CreateFlag.OVERWRITE),
        CreateOpts.createParent(), CreateOpts.bufferSize(4096),
        CreateOpts.repFac((short) 3));
    executionTime[CREATE] += (Time.now()-startTime);
    totalNumOfOps[CREATE]++;

    for (long i=0; i<fileSize; i++) {
      out.writeByte('a');
    }
    startTime = Time.now();
    out.close();
    executionTime[WRITE_CLOSE] += (Time.now()-startTime);
    totalNumOfOps[WRITE_CLOSE]++;
  }

  /** Main program
   *
   * @param args command line arguments
   * @throws Exception
   */
  public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception {
    int res = ToolRunner.run(new Configuration(),
        new LoadGenerator(), args);
    System.exit(res);
  }

}


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Bourdain was found dead in his hotel room in Strasbourg, France where he was shooting the series Parts Unknown for CNN. According to CNN, his death is suspected to be a suicide.
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So, now that my blog is ready to be published, I thought this would make the perfect first entry to let you all know what I've been up to in the past 8 months.
In November 2017, I will be leaving home once again to work and travel in Australia (which has been on my bucket list for 7 years now!). I thought starting a blog to write down absolutely everything exciting happening to me would be the perfect way to keep everyone up to date PLUS something for me to look back on years later. I will be posting memories as I go, sharing tips and asking for your recommendations.


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We've trawled through the picture archives to bring you nine of the best art deco building you can see in Edinburgh today.
9 amazing photos of Edinburgh's finest art deco buildings you can see while out on a walk
Edinburgh rightfully has a reputation as a city of historic sandstone townhouses and tenements – but there are some stunning art deco buildings amongst the more traditional designs.
18th Dec 2022, 4:55am
When art deco began to emerge, it was viewed as fresh and cutting-edge, providing an elegance without the over-adornment of the Victorian and Edwardian eras.
In the 1930s Edinburgh's architects brought the style to the Capital, and while some – such as Portobello's open-air pool and the Embassy Cinema at Boswall Parkway – no longer remain, many still stand.
We've trawled through the picture archives to bring you nine of the best art deco building you can see in Auld Reekie today.
Undefined: readMore
1. Maybury Casino, South Maybury
Designed by architects Patterson and Broom in 1935, the Maybury Casino originally opened as a roadhouse at a cost of £25,000. Following its closure in 1987, it underwent an extensive renovation, reopening as a conference centre. In 1997 it was bought over by Stakis Casinos. The entrance tower of the casino was designed to resemble the radiator grille of a classic American car. (Pic: Darrin Antrobus)
Photo: Darrin Antrobus
2. image-33.jpg
Art deco in suburban Edinburgh: 30 Old Kirk Road. (Pic: Google Maps)
Photo: Google Maps
3. St Andrew's House, Regent Road
Constructed between 1934 and 1939 on the former site of Calton Jail, St Andrew's House is regarded by many as one of Scotland's foremost examples of grand art deco. It serves as the offices of the Scottish Government and is protected with a Category A listing. (Pic: Kim Traynor)
Photo: Kim Traynor
4. Capital Building, St Andrew Square
Stood on the south west corner of St Andrew Square where it meets George Street is the Capital Building. Completed in 1939 the six-storey masterpiece also ranks as one of the city's last attempts at art deco before the outbreak of the Second World War. It is said that the Capital Building attracted a lot of criticism when it was first built as it was deemed as being unsympathetic to the existing architectural fabric of Edinburgh's Georgian New Town. (Pic: Google Maps)
EdinburghEdwardianVictorianPortobello

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Our seven all-flash storage system 2016 finalists include products from flash-only vendors, as well as vendors that offer all-flash versions of existing hybrid arrays.
The seven finalists in the Storage magazine/SearchStorage all-flash storage system category underscore the steady enterprise adoption of all-flash technologies. Most of these all-flash vendors represent familiar names in the storage world, and the arrays are a mix of systems created specifically for flash and platforms adopted from hybrid arrays.
Eligible products in the category include systems that can only be purchased as a flash storage system, with no hard disk drives. The category includes systems for Fibre Channel and iSCSI SAN, NAS, multi-protocol systems, converged and hyper-converged infrastructure products, DAS, solid-state storage drives (SSDs), disk controllers, flash-based caching appliances, storage virtualization appliances and cloud-integrated flash storage.
The Hitachi VSP F800 is the first VSP array that uses Hitachi's intelligent flash module drives (FMDs) instead of SSDs. Hitachi claims its FMD storage is five times faster than SSDs and reduces controller overhead by shouldering data reduction tasks. Inline data compression scales FSP V800 arrays to 448 TB of usable storage and up to 1.4 million IOPS. Companion products include VSP F400 and F600 all-flash storage.
Both FlashSystem A9000 and A9000R (see below) cloud arrays use IBM's Spectrum Accelerate codebase and custom-designed flash modules. Midsize enterprises and smaller cloud service providers form the primary target market for the 8U A9000 flash building block, which has raw flash capacity of 105.6 TB and scales to 300 TB per array with data reduction. IBM claims its FlashCore technology provides at least a nine-fold boost to A9000 flash endurance.
IBM's new rackmount A9000R flash storage system targets large enterprises and hyperscale cloud service providers. A9000R arrays integrate IBM FlashCore with grid architecture for high availability and comprehensive data reduction. It uses four grid controllers, two flash enclosures and InfiniBand switches to federate node connectivity and deliver 2 million IOPS and bandwidth of 18 Gbps. Raw capacity of 633.6 TB per rack scales to 3 PB per rack with presumed 5:1 data reduction.
The V7000F all-flash array is a complement to the IBM V7000 family of midrange hybrid arrays. The V7000F system contains 512 GB of flash cache per controller and supports 1.92 TB and 3.84 TB flash drive capacities. The enclosure has 10 CPU cores that IBM claims gives a performance boost up to 45%. Each enclosure supports up to 20 expansion shelves and 504 drives for an estimated 2 PB of capacity.
Finalists in our all-flash storage system category underscore the steady enterprise adoption of all-flash technologies.
This SF19210 is the first SolidFire all-flash storage array launched since NetApp acquired SolidFire in February 2016. SF19210 replaces the SF9010 as SolidFire's high-end array. SolidFire rates SF19210 to deliver 100,000 IOPS and sub-millisecond latency. It is also the highest capacity SolidFire flash storage system, holding 10 1.92 TB SSDs for 19.2 TB of raw storage per node. Effective storage scales from 36.3 to 72.7 TB per node after data reduction.
Nimble was a latecomer to all-flash storage, launching AF-Series in February after years of selling exclusively hybrid flash arrays. Nimble all-flash storage system uses 3D NAND flash drives across four AF-Series models: AF3000, AF5000, AF7000 and the flagship AF9000. Four AF-Series arrays can be managed as a single cluster. Non-disruptive scaling allows customers to scale up from 20 TB to 2 PB and scale out to 8.2 PB and 1.2 million IOPS.
With IntelliFlash HD, Tegile launched a high-capacity system that delivers two tiers of flash storage. The base hardware building block is a 3U InfiniFlash IF100 all-flash chassis by SanDisk Corp. (now part of Western Digital Corp.). Tegile stuffs IF100 with 512 TB of SanDisk PCIe NAND flash, its Tegile 2U controller and performance-optimized enterprise MLC flash drives as a caching and deduplication layer. A 42U rack tops out at 10 PB of effective capacity.
Which of the all-flash storage system finalists most piques your interest?
Tegile is really moving in hard. We have the 100% read/write to flash unit with spinning disks, and their interface and support- plus free training every 6 months or so- is first rate. I'm a fan- we moved from Nimble- and am looking forward to upgrading to the all flash array in the future.
GHOSTatAlphaBetas: Are you moving from Nimble hybrid or all-flash?


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Kaltura and Verbit Expand Partnership for Video Captioning
Verbit, a transcription and captioning company, has expanded its partnership with Kaltura, provider of the Video Experience Cloud. Verbit brings Kaltura's customers in the education and corporate settings captions and searchable video capabilities.
This comes as COVID-19 continues to drive a massive shift to virtual events, online learning, and remote work, dramatically increasing the need for transcription and captioning.
"As the COVID-19 pandemic has moved our in-person lectures to virtual ones, accurate transcriptions and captions have never been of greater importance," said Mark Nichols, senior director of universal design and accessible technologies at Virginia Tech, which uses Kaltura for its remote classes. "Even when the pandemic is behind us, accurate captions will remain vital, ensuring that all lectures are accessible, inclusive, and engaging for students."
"Driven by major global shifts toward remote engagement, video has rapidly become mission-critical across many industries, and as such, the need for video accessibility and searchability have increased accordingly," said Zohar Babin, executive vice president of platform and growth at Kaltura, in a statement. "Our partnership with Verbit enables Kaltura customers to provide accessible content to all their users without compromising on quality across languages."
"We're thrilled to bring our collaboration with Kaltura to the next level, servicing world-class universities and corporations of all types and sizes," said Jacques Botbol, vice president of marketing at Verbit, in a statement."This is a strong vote of confidence in our technology from a leading, innovative video provider. We look forward to our continued collaboration as we bring transcripts and captions of the highest quality to Kaltura's customers."
Captioning Sees an Impressive Pace of Progress
Technology advances are making real-time captioning possible, and progress has just begun.


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LARC NEWS Posted: 12/13/2020 1:44:05 AM
APOLLITICAL PENCE HOLDS OFF TELL CARTEL TO WIN
THE 48TH RUNNING OF THE CHAMPION OF CHAMPIONS
The 48th running of the Grade 1, $600,000 Champion of Champions began with nine out of the 10 Quarter Horses in the race already being Grade 1 winners. The prestigious 440-yard race finished with all 10 starters being Grade 1 winners after Dunn Ranch LLC & Valeriano Racing Stables LLC's Apollitical Pence earned his first victory at the highest racing level thanks to a hard-fought neck victory over Martha Wells' Tell Cartel on Saturday at Los Alamitos Race Course.
Ridden by Raul Valenzuela for trainer John Cooper, Apollitical Pence overcome trouble at the start, as he broke out and was bumped a couple of times before floating to the inside. Once he found some room to operate, the gelding by Apollitical Jess turned on the jets, as he moved from fourth to second to battle Rosenthal Ranch's Powerful Favorite at the midway point of the quarter mile classic. The Dunn Ranch and Womack Cavender Farms-bred runner continued strongly in the final half, moving ahead of Powerful Favorite and then managing to keep the sophomore star Tell Cartel at bay to record his ninth career win in 23 starts. Certainly no win has been bigger for Apollitical Pence, who was scoring the third stakes win of his career, his first coming in the Grade 3 Heritage Place Derby at Remington Park in 2019 before he added the Grade 2 Mighty Deck Three Stakes at Remington Park on March 6.
As far as Grade 1 races were concerned, few active horses had knocked on the door as often as Apollitical Pence. As a 2-year-old in 2018, he qualified to the three Grade 1 futurities with seven-figure purses at Los Alamitos – the Ed Burke Million Futurity, Golden State Million Futurity, and Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity. In 2019, he finished third in the Grade 1 Los Alamitos Super Derby last year and fourth in the Grade 1 Championship at Sunland Park Stakes. In 2020, Apollitical Pence was third in the Grade 1 Downs at Albuquerque Championship Handicap and third in the Debbie Schauf Remington Park Invitational Championship Stakes. He qualified to the Champion of Champions after running second in the Z. Wayne Griffin Directors Trials on November 15.
Then, after a bumpy start in the Champion of Champions, Apollitical Pence began to knock on the door of an elusive Grade 1 victory early on and 20 seconds into the race, he came busting through. Winning at 12-1 odds, Apollitical Pence is the eighth largest longshot winner in the history of the Champion of Champions. Covered the 440-yards in :21.442, he earned $300,000 for the win to take his career earnings over the one-million-dollar mark. He has now earned $1,017,391 and has finished in the money in 18 of 23 career outings.
Cooper, who is the dean of Quarter Horse trainers at Los Alamitos, was picking up his 1,500th Quarter Horse victory at the Orange County track, joining a club with only two other members, the legendary Blane Schvaneveldt and Paul Jones, the sport's all-time leader in earnings. Cooper was saddling his second winner in the Champion of Champions, his first coming with Mr. Doty Bars over 40 years ago. When Cooper saddled Mr Doty Bars to victory in the 1979 Champion of Champions, ESPN was only three months old, Wayne Gretzky had scored his first ever goal just two months earlier, the Seattle Supersonics were the reigning NBA champions, the Pittsburgh Pirates, led by Willie Stargell, had just won the World Series, and Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner Spectacular Bid was on his way to being named 3-Year-Old Male Horse of the Year.
Cooper also did not have a beard back then, which he does now after growing a stylish one for the past few months.
"I think it's time to shave it now," said Cooper, the neatly trimmed facial hair barely visible behind his face covering. "Or maybe it gave me good luck."
Cooper has trained some true superstar in Quarter Horse racing. Over the years, he's saddled champions Moonist, Separatist, Sign Of Lanty, Chingaderos and Cartel Jess Rockin, the nation's champion 2-year-old filly after Cooper saddled her to victory in the Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity for the late Ron Hartley.
"I'm proud of (Apollitical Pence)," Cooper added. "I knew that he could run better than he did in the trials. He's a good gate horse and left there running. I'm so happy I can hardly talk. It doesn't get better than that. It really doesn't. I don't want to toot my horn. I just liked it. I don't care if they know I'm here until I beat them. He's a grand horse. I'm really happy."
The start of the Champion of Champions was delayed for several minutes after Bos Time Machine broke through the gate. Outrider Keith Craigmyle did a phenomenal job catching him shortly after and the race went on moments later. Through it all, Apollitical Pence and the rest of the horse behaved perfectly awaiting the start.
"We've schooled him in the mornings, and he runs in a (flipping halter). It doesn't bother him. I just watched him and (Dexxter), who broke good. I knew he was going to run a big race. He just looks good. He's blossomed."
Cooper considering retiring at the end of the year, but it looks like he'll be around for a bit longer.
"I was going to do that," he said. "This was going to be my last year, but (Dana) Hartley come to me and said 'John, you got dad to buy all them good mares and breed them to high-fire horses and now you're going to leave? I said, 'There's things I want to do,' and they told me to just go do them and just train them horses. I'll stick around for a little bit."
Winning rider Raul Valenzuela was away from Los Alamitos and from all of racing from 2015 to 2019, but he's had a nice comeback season at Los Alamitos since returning earning this year. Valenzuela has won 29 races in 2020, highlighted by his outstanding ride aboard Apollitical Pence.
"It was a spectacular race," he said. "He got away with them. Halfway down there, he was fighting, fighting. About the gap, I felt he pricked his ears back and bore down and gave me a second gear. That's how we held on to get the win. It's been a long, long road for me. I can't put it into words. This goes out to my father. I dedicate this win to him, (Raul Valenzuela, Sr.). It means the world to me. I wouldn't be here without him. He's a trainer in Arizona and like I said this goes out to him. Warming up, Apollitical Jess felt good. I took him out earlier in the week. Cooper said get on him. He's a mature horse. He does his job and he knows what he's out here for. He gives it his all."
As for Dunn Ranch and Valeriano Racing Stables, they campaign the winners of five of 11 races in 2020 with earnings of more than $600,000. In addition to Apollitical Pence, Dunn Ranch and Valeriano Racing Stables also campaign Champion of Champions finalist Dexxter, who was the Horse of the Meet at Remington Park in 2020 and a three time Grade 1 winner. Dunn Ranch also owns Southern Wagon, the runner-up in the Los Alamitos Oaks and winner of the La Pacifica. They previously owned the brilliant filly Aint She Tempting in partnership with Levings Racing LLC. After Aint She Tempting qualified to the Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity, Dunn and Levings sold the filly to top owner/breeder Julianna Hawn Holt.
In addition to the accomplishments of Apollitical Pence and Dexxter, Valeriano Racing Stables has won 12 other races from 54 starts for earnings of $1,393,947 this season. The wins included four graded stakes races, including the Grade 1 Ed Burke Million with Chance To Excel and the Grade 1 All American Derby with Gold Heart Eagle V. Valeriano Racing Stables' two other graded stakes win – the Grade 2 Heritage Place Derby with Inaugurator and the Grade 3 Easy Date Stakes with Pj Splash Of Joy.
Owned and bred by Martha Wells, Tell Cartel was seventh at the start before starting to roll at the midway point. He moved into the top five, then third and finally second place to earn $96,000 for his effort for trainer Matt Fales and jockey Ruben Lozano. Now headed for stallion duty at Fales Ranch in Arizona, Tell Cartel retires as a three-time derby winner at Los Alamitos this year and with victories in nine of 19 starts and earnings of $796,386.
Rosenthal Ranch LLC's Powerful Favorite ran a very solid race throughout, as he was broke sharply, remained in the top two spots and just got caught late to end up in third place. Ridden by Eduardo Nicasio for AQHA champion trainer Chris O'Dell, Powerful Favorite earned $60,000 to raise his lifetime bankroll to $890,222.
Ed Allred's Chocolatito had a troubled start as he got bumped and was in eighth place at the start. He made a big run in the final 200 yards to move up from seventh to fourth place. Oscar Andrade, Jr. rode Chocolatito for trainer Scott Willoughby. He earned $42,000 to take his career bankroll to $283,953.
A couple of stallion notes about the Champion of Champions, Apollitical Pence is the first Champion of Champions winner for AQHA World Champion Apollitical Jess, who won this race in stakes record time of :20.93 in 2010. In addition, the second, third, and fourth place finishers were all sired by Favorite Cartel.
The top four finishers in the Champion of Champions were followed by six Grade 1 winners in the following order: Eagle Coast, Dexxter, Curls Happy Wagon, Hotsempting, Zoomin For Spuds, and Bos Time Machine.


← NOBEL PEACE PRIZE ACCEPTANCE SPEECH OF PRESIDENT TRUMP.
This may be the most important news item of the century!
Incase you missed this in today's news. The significance is that the 'other' great nations of the world are proposing to continue business in their own currencies and will quit using the US dollar as the global trading currency.
US dollars became the world's currency after WW2 when it replaced the pound sterling 73 years ago! The ramifications for the US could be devastating resulting in complete isolation.
And Russian President Vladimir Putin has spoken to German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Turkey's President Recep Erdogan about how to save the 2015 agreement with Iran, according to Russia's official press agency TASS. Putin has long advocated for a new financial system with China that would circumvent the reach of U.S. sanctions, which also target his country.
This entry was posted in Trump and tagged money. Bookmark the permalink.


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Trans Siberian Orchestra Message Boards › Trans Sibieran Orchestra › TSO General
Alex Skolnick talks Savatage, TSO in new interview
danfromnj
01-03-2018, 03:38 AM (This post was last modified: 01-03-2018, 08:25 AM by danfromnj.)
As part of my long-running TSO Interview Series, I caught up with guitarist Alex Skolnick. Though Alex has a long and varied career in several genres of music, for this interview, we focused on his time with Savatage and TSO.
Some of the subjects we covered:
- Why he took the Savatage gig and why he did not continue on with them
- The man who deserves a lot of the credit for TSO's stage moves
- The song that Alex loved to play each TSO show
- The one song that Alex recorded for TSO
- His favorite moments with TSO
- And much more!
http://musicandartinterviews.blogspot.co...lnick.html
sundance7490
Location: Rio Rancho, NM
01-03-2018, 09:26 AM (This post was last modified: 01-03-2018, 09:27 AM by sundance7490.)
YES!!!!! Oh my gosh Dan, you have no clue how happy this interview made me. I love reading and seeing Alex in his interviews and was hoping you'd get to interview him one day. What a complete surprise. It's great hearing how his love for the sound of music over just the showmanship of performing still holds strong. But even in Trans-Siberian Orchestra he found his niche in the trademark moves and enjoyed them ;-) I'm a bit shocked all he got for the albums was a few riffs and then Believe and that's it! Truly we all love Al's guitar works, we know we do because he's a genius. But so is Alex and if I had him working at my fingertips, I'd so be utilizing his incredible talent a lot more than just one official song in two albums in nine years. Imagine how much less others are getting?
Great interview.
Interesting how he never mentions Chris Caffery. I wonder if their relationship is strained. I think Caffery was one of the guys who wanted Alex to play Criss' solos closer to their originals.
groo1322
Location: Valdosta, Ga
This part of the interview hit me .....
"There would be parts of the show where I remember feeling lost. I would be playing a part that required a lot of technique, I'm putting my heart into it and I was trying to figure out why people didn't seem to be noticing. Then I look to my left and the girls are doing these dance moves and to my right there is an explosion and fire and then a platform coming down. I started having enough moments like that along with the feeling of how much energy I was expending that I realized it was time to go."
When we saw the show in Orlando I was watching the girls doing their dance during the ending of The Mountain and while I was watching them I realized that over to the right Al Pitrelli was just killing it. Everyone's attention was on this dance while Al was off to the side just playing his heart out. I get the feeling this is what Alex was talking about.
About 4 and a half minutes in .... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8z-J36JT...u.be&t=281
(01-03-2018, 10:59 PM)groo1322 Wrote: This part of the interview hit me .....
I, for one, do not watch the dancing. I'm usually in the first 5 rows so I am watching the band more. Even the lights and pyro are not paid much attention to, in part, because the full effect isn't there when you're close. It's there just enough to not be a distraction and focus on everyone else.
HunterRouth
Thank you so much for this incredible interview.
I've always had my thoughts of why Alex left but was never sure and I am glad to know that there were musicians who think that TSO has become "a little much entertainment" for the aspect of musicianship in some ways (not everything). I still love TSO.
I've never thought the dancers were cool for this show. It takes away from the music and it used to infuriate me being younger. Regardless of how beautiful those girls are and how great they are at singing. The show is about emotion, music and the story. Sometimes the dancing was cool when they are singing in the background and etc.
Because I watch the West all time and frankly there has not been a show I loved as much when Skolnick was in the band. Because the show now in recent years seemed so choreographed until this year. Which was quite a step up from years before. More improvised solos and etc like him and Caffery used to do.
I'd love to see Alex come back some day but I totally get why he left. Nice to have some clarity.
I wonder what the "drama" was about? I figured everyone in TSO got along fairly well. Nice to hear some background on David Z too.
MikeNY
Killer interview! I never see Alex talk this extensively about Tage and TSO! Good stuff man! He was always my favorite guitarist in TSO and I liked that he didn't do the showboating that they encourage now.


Otunba Gani Adams is the National Coordinator of the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC). He speaks with FREEDOM ONLINE on the protest against the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega, and why President Goodluck Jonathan will be reelected on March 28.
What prompted the Lagos protest?
For the past four months, the INEC Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega, has been playing pranks with voter registration. The issue of PVCs, inconsistency about the distribution of PVCs and short changing of the South-West, among others, prompted the protest. A few days to the election, INEC is telling us that about 81 per cent of people have collected their PVCs but in South-West, those with PVCs are not up to 70 per cent. We strongly believe Jega deliberately wants to deny majority of Nigerians their franchise. Probably, he is targeting some selected states from getting PVCs.
What also prompted the protest was the illegal creation of 30,000 polling booths by INEC in the North against the South. When this idea came up seven months ago, many organisations criticised the action but Jega is yet to address that. There is also the issue of under age registration in the North. When the allegation was made, the INEC chairman did not issue any categorical statement to denounce it. These three issues gave us a serious concern as Nigerians. That shows clearly that we don't have confidence in him any more.
So, we have come to the conclusion that Jega cannot conduct a credible election in Nigeria. One of the ingredients of democracy and free and fair election is that everybody must be registered and get their PVC to exercise their civic rights. In a situation when a larger majority have been denied their rights, it would cause problem. So, we members of the Coalition are saying he is not capable of conducting the election. He should go on his terminal leave and allow another person to conduct the election.
Do you think whoever replaces him will perform better?
What gives you the impression that the person will not perform better than Jega? Do you know that two days to the election, INEC chairman can change any state Resident Electoral Commission (REC) and replace him with another person? So, the same can happen to INEC Chairman. Nobody is indispensable. I believe whoever that would take over from Jega would learn from the mistake of his exit. Such a person will not want to fall victim of how his predecessor was removed from office. Former electoral boss, Prof. Humphrey Nwosu, who conducted the 1993 election, started well, but he was influenced by some bad eggs in the system.
Recently, you promised President Goodluck Jonathan six million votes. Was the rally a way of showing your strength?
The rally was basically for Jega, but at the same time, it was an opportunity to send a message to show that we still support President Goodluck Jonathan to continue his transformation agenda. There is no OPC member who will not vote for President Jonathan.
President Goodluck Jonathan has won our hearts because of his promise to implement the national confab reports. Since 2010, his administration has been peaceful unlike when our kinsman was at the helm of affairs. President Jonathan is peace loving, no provocation from his government against any ethnic nationality and he never targetted us as a group to destroy. That gave us confidence that this is the type of government we desire in Nigeria.
It is generally believed you are backing Jonathan because of the pipeline contract recently awarded to you.
No, the issue of the pipeline contract has been on for about two years now. You will realise that some groups in the South-South have been doing the job for the past five years. It was Dr Fasehun who raised the issue then. The contract the NNPC has just given us is to test run and guard pipelines for three months after which they would now confirm us. We were also given some guidelines to follow on the amount they pay their personnel. When the issue of the pipeline became public, spokesperson for the All Progressives Congress, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, was running from pillar to post on the contract, castigating us and the presidency. If care is not taken, I will fight him spiritually and morally. I'm not going to send anybody to do the work for me. I will do it myself. I'm not Fasehun he thinks he can rubbish. Where was Lai Mohammed before Tinubu made him Chief of Staff in Lagos? If all these APC people in South-West are truly Yoruba sons, they would have withdrawn from their master, Tinubu, after watching the documentary on AIT. The Yoruba are people of integrity. I don't know why some of them are still with Tinubu, probably he has put them on oath. The opposition, led by Tinubu, will always insult President Jonathan and he will simply smile. You always see calmness in him. The way and manner Nigerians and opposition people are abusing the president, if it were when Bola Tinubu was governor of Lagos State and he was abused like that, that person would have been a dead person. Jega, Tinubu and APC can't stop Yoruba from voting for Jonathan. Look at the documentary been aired on AIT. Full of facts and figure. Now, he has hired lawyers to seek injunction and stop airing of the documentary. He should have approached the court to denounce the facts in the documentary. Why is he running from pillar to post if he is not guilty of the crime? I am using this opportunity to call on the judiciary to stop protecting corrupt individuals in the society.
interest of the Yoruba with the rally.
I heard about them but I can't reply to such a parasite group. I'm beyond that level. Tinubu can give anybody money to react. They are a faceless group. Forget them, my brother. I want them to come out, show their faces and tell me I am not in control of OPC.
During the rally, why were some OPC members armed with guns and dangerous weapons?
The picture shown by Channels Television was an old picture taken during the rally organised by the Baba Fasehun faction of OPC during the anti-Boko Haram rally on the same Ikorodu road in September, 2011. Thank God you were at the rally. Did you see anybody with arms or dangerous ammunition? This is just propaganda from Tinubu and the APC to discredit us. I see Channels TV as a station with integrity. They should not allow APC destroy the image they have built for years.
How do we check violence during the election?
My advice to my members is that they should be peaceful and law abiding because I was impressed with what I saw at the rally on Monday with their turn out in large number. Also, there were about 25 Nollywood actors and actresses in the protest. The rally was not actually an OPC affair alone. But we had the largest population.


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MOVIE TRAILERS / TRAILERS / VIDEOS
'A Quiet Place Part 2' Trailer: Emily Blunt Finds Other Survivors in Horror Sequel
January 2, 2020 January 2, 2020 - by Guillermo Troncoso
The first big trailer for 2020 has arrived!
Paramount Pictures has released the first official trailer for A Quiet Place Part II, the follow-up to the 2018 hit starring Emily Blunt and John Krasinski. The latter returns at the helm for the sequel, which finds the remaining members of the Abbott family stepping away from their farm and into the wider world.
Millicent Simmonds and Noah Jupe return as the Abbott children, with Cillian Murphy and Djimon Hounsou on board as other survivors. As the strong first trailer unveils, the sequel will also be offering us a look at when these sound-sensitive monsters first attacked, with Blunt and co. in a wonderfully-shot car sequence that reminds of Steven Spielberg's War of the Worlds and Alfonso Cuarón's Children of Men.
The first film was fantastic; a tightly constructed nail-biter that juiced its contained setting nicely. It's not a film that needed a sequel, but that ending certainly left the door wide open for one. Let's hope Krasinski, who is sole writer here after co-writing the first, can strike twice.
A Quiet Place Part II will be arriving in Australia on March 19 and opens in the US on March 20.
Official synopsis for A Quiet Place Part II:
Following the deadly events at home, the Abbott family (Emily Blunt, Millicent Simmonds, Noah Jupe) must now face the terrors of the outside world as they continue their fight for survival in silence. Forced to venture into the unknown, they quickly realize that the creatures that hunt by sound are not the only threats that lurk beyond the sand path.
TaggedA Quiet Place Part IICillian MurphyDjimon HounsouEmily BluntHorrorJohn Krasinski
'Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway' Trailer: James Corden's Bunny Leaves the Farm in Fun-Looking Sequel
Previous Article Ten of the Best 2019 Movies You May Have Missed
Next Article 'Uncharted' Movie: Another Delay Expected as Yet Another Director Exits, Holland & Wahlberg Still On Board
Hope it's as good as the first movie.


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Barrême is a town situated in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence département (Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur région). The town of Barrême is the administrative centre of the canton of Barrême and belongs to the district of Digne-les-Bains. The inhabitants of Barrême are called Barrêmois and their number in the 1999 population census was 433. The town's surface is 37.4 km². Barrême has the following code INSEE: 04022 and is associated with the following postal code: 04330. It is situated at an altitude of about 760 meters.
The town in France furthest from Barrême is Ouessant (1012.1 km as the crow flies).
The inhabitants of Barrême are called "Barrêmois".
Homonyms: There is no other town with the name ''Barrême'' in France.
Suggest a new link about Barrême ?


Muslim Men Attack Somali Church Leader in Ethiopia: "WASHINGTON, DC - International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that on August 21, two Somali Muslim men attacked a well-known Somali church leader in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa.
Mohamed Ali Garas, a convert from Islam, was returning home at 9 PM when two Somali Muslim men called his name. Garas went to meet them and one of the men struck him on the head with a wooden club. Garas fell on the ground and continued to be hit. The other Muslim man joined in, kicking Garas in the chest and stomach. The Muslim men fled after an Ethiopian neighbor came to the scene.
Suicide bomber attacks Somali hotel, killing 32: "MOGADISHU, Somalia – A suicide bomber and gunmen wearing military uniforms attacked a hotel near Somalia's presidential palace Monday, sparking a running gun battle with security forces. At least 32 people were killed, including six Somali parliamentarians.
A parliamentarian who was at the Muna Hotel said there were 'dead bodies all over' and he labeled the scene a massacre.


All these pics are taken from my mobile phone MOTOG 3rd Gen. If you are visiting Varanasi, then sunrise is a must visit thing, I know waking up early is not easy but guys believe me its really worth visiting. Enjoy your travel, Thanks.


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Posts Tagged 'Amazon Kindle'
Attention authors with a never-before-published novel
Posted: October 3, 2014 in Books in general
Tags: Amazon, Amazon Kindle, Amazon publishing, authors, crowd-source publishing, crowd-sourcing, KDP, KDP Select, kindle
Amazon has advised its authors it will be welcoming submissions for English-language books in Romance, Mystery & Thriller, and Science Fiction & Fantasy genres under its new publishing program. The news follows last week's announcement that the publishing pace-setter plans to launch a crowd-sourced publishing program that will see participating authors receive US$1500 plus 50% royalties on net eBook revenues.
It appears at this early stage the program is only available to authors resident in the U.S. – or, more exactly, to authors "with a valid U.S. bank account and U.S. social security number or tax identification number". Even so, it will no doubt appeal to those many thousands (tens of thousands?) of authors who are eligible…
And if Amazon's recent expansion of its territories, book-lending arrangements, Kindle ereader sales and the like is anything to go on, it's very likely the new publishing program will be expanded beyond the U.S. before long.
Regardless, here's the letter (unabridged) we've just received from Amazon, explaining its progam in more detail:
Thanks for subscribing to receive updates on Amazon's new publishing program! We're excited to announce that we'll be opening for submissions in a couple weeks.
We'll be welcoming submissions for English-language books in Romance, Mystery & Thriller, and Science Fiction & Fantasy genres. Any adult with a valid U.S. bank account and U.S. social security number or tax identification number is eligible.
It only takes 15 minutes to complete a submission. Here are the things that you should prepare to successfully submit your book:
Complete, never-before-published manuscript & book cover image – We're looking for 50,000 words or more in Word format and a book cover image that reflects the essence and uniqueness of your book. Make sure your work is ready for others to read. Only the first pages will be posted to the website (approx. 3,000 words).
Book one-liner – A very short pitch (no longer than 45 characters) for your book that will be used on the homepage and throughout the website. Think of examples like "Space opera meets the Middle Ages" or "How far will one woman go to save her family?"
Book description- Help readers understand the content and quality of your book. Keep the description to 500 characters or less.
Your bio & picture – Give readers a chance to learn more about you. You will also have a chance to answer relevant questions regarding your book and personal story in a short Q&A section.
We'll also ask you to review and accept our submission and publishing agreement that grants us a 45-day exclusivity period to post your excerpt and tally nominations. If chosen for publication, you will receive a $1,500 advance, 5-year renewable term, 50% eBook royalty rate, easy rights reversions, and Amazon-featured marketing. If not, you automatically get all your rights back at the end of the 45-day exclusivity period.
We'll send you an email as soon as we're open for submissions.
Amazon plans crowd-sourced publishing program
Posted: September 27, 2014 in Books in general
It appears Amazon has stolen the march on competitors by announcing plans to launch a crowd-sourced publishing program that will see participating authors receive US$1500 plus 50% royalties on net eBook revenues.
The revolutionary publishing progam comes hot on the heels of Amazon's Kindle Unlimited (KU) initiative, which offers KU subscribers unlimited eBook borrows and which is predicted to further change the publishing landscape – and change it dramatically – if it hasn't already.
While crowd-sourcing may not be new (feature films have been crowdsource-funded with much hoopla and fanfare) it's a fairly new phenomenon in the publishing game. Certainly, other publishers have tried it – two others if our sources are correct – but there's no doubt Amazon's crowd-source funding will be highly visible. And, if our experience with the publishing giant is anything to go by, it will be highly successful.
The Digital Reader had the best summary of the new program we could find. Quoting Amazon's PR department, it reports, "Authors will be asked to submit their complete, never-before-published book and cover. After a few days, we will post the first pages of each book on a new website for readers to preview and nominate their favorites. Books with the most nominations will be reviewed by our team for potential publication."
According to the columnist, Amazon's contract terms for authors are as follows:
Guaranteed advance & competitive royalties: You will receive a guaranteed $1,500 advance and 50% royalties on net eBook revenue.
Focused formats: We acquire worldwide publication rights for eBook and audio formats in all languages. You retain all other rights, including print.
5-year renewable terms, $5,000 in royalties: If your book doesn't earn $5,000 in royalties during your initial 5-year contract term, and any 5-year renewal term after that, you can choose to stop publishing with us.
Easy reversions: After two years, your rights in any format or language that remains unpublished, or all rights for any book that earns less than $500 in total royalties in the preceding 12-month period, can be reverted upon request – no questions asked.
Early downloads & reviews: One week prior to release date, everyone who nominated your book will receive a free, early copy to help build momentum and customer reviews.
Featured Amazon marketing: Your book will be enrolled into the Kindle Owners' Lending Library, Kindle Unlimited as well as be eligible for targeted email campaigns and promotions.
To read The Digital Reader's full report go to: http://the-digital-reader.com/2014/09/22/amazon-publishing-crowd-source-next-books-now-recruiting-kdp-authors/#.VCCBKBYXPCY
The KDP discussion forum on Amazon's planned initiative makes for interesting reading also. Here's the link to it: https://kdp.amazon.com/community/thread.jspa?threadID=207604&start=0&tstart=0
Happy reading! Lance & James
Kindle Unlimited soon to launch internationally?
Posted: September 1, 2014 in Books in general
Tags: Amazon, Amazon Kindle, Book publishing, ebooks, Frankfurt Book Fair, Goodreads, kindle, kindle ebooks, Kindle Unlimited, KU, publishing
There's a rumor that Amazon will soon be launching its controversial Kindle Unlimited ebook subscription reading service internationally.
Kindle Unlimited subscribers can download as many ebooks as they like.
The-digital-reader.com (quoting BuchReport.de as its source) reports that that Amazon will launch Kindle Unlimited at the Frankfurt Book Fair in October.
The writer admits he/she doesn't know who BuchReport's source is, but says, "I tend to believe this rumor."
If true, the expansion of Kindle Unlimited has major ramifications for readers, authors and publishers worldwide. As we reported in our blog of August 10, "Almost overnight, Kindle Unlimited is changing the entire environment of not only the way people read, but also the way the world's major publishers continue to sell books – or try to."
Here's an excerpt from the-digital-reader.com article:
As I reported when Kindle Unlimited launched in July, there was a report coming from a French publisher via the French media blog Actualitte that Kindle Unlimited would launch in France in September or October.
The Frankfurt Book Fair runs from 8 to 12 October this year, so it fits with the time frame, and since it is a major international book fair this would be an ideal time and place for Amazon to launch Kindle Unlimited. We still don't know for sure whether Amazon will launch in select countries or every where at once, but I would bet on a global launch.
Launched in the US just over a month ago, Kindle Unlimited enables Amazon customers to download and read up to ten ebooks at a time. It costs $8.99, and offers access to a catalog of over 600,000 titles.
Amazon hasn't revealed yet how many subscribers have signed up, but there are signs that KU is already having an effect on the Kindle Store best seller list.
Unlike Amazon's competitor's Scribd and Oyster, the Kindle Unlimited catalog draws almost entirely upon indie titles distributed via the KDP Select program with only a smattering of traditionally published books mixed in. Amazon has signed HMH, Scholastic, Wiliey, and a few other major publishers, but they do not yet have a deal with any of the Big 5 US trade publishers.
There's also no information on major publishers in other countries and who they might have signed a deal with, but I would expect that information to be revealed when Kindle Unlimited launches internationally.
To read the full report go to: http://the-digital-reader.com/2014/08/25/kindle-unlimited-launch-internationally-frankfurt-book-fair/
German speakers can access the original BuchReport here: http://www.buchreport.de/nachrichten/verlage/verlage_nachricht/datum/2014/08/22/kindle-limited.htm
★★★★★ INVITATION: We'd love to hear from our followers, fellow authors, publishers/indie publishers and readers what you think about Kindle Unlimited. Let us know if you feel as positive about Amazon's latest initiative as we do…and if not why not. Thanks!
Amazon's Kindle Unlimited a game-changer for readers AND authors
Posted: August 10, 2014 in Books in general
Tags: Amazon, Amazon Kindle, Book publishing, ebooks, Goodreads, kindle, kindle ebooks, Kindle Unlimited, KU, publishing
Amazon's controversial Kindle Unlimited subscription reading service was released late last month and despite all the naysayers and doomsdayers we believe the early signs indicate it'll be a win-win for readers and authors alike.
For those who don't yet know, paying the $9.99 per month Kindle Unlimited fee allows readers to download as many ebooks as they like – hence the word "unlimited". It has been dubbed by the many journalists as The Netflix of reading.
Almost overnight, Kindle Unlimited is changing the entire environment of not only the way people read, but also the way the world's major publishers continue to sell books – or try to. Perhaps justifiably, the big publishers are scared and fear they are losing control of the way they have monopolized book distribution for eons. As more and more book stores go under, the competition to dominate the ebook market is reaching fever pitch.
But as published authors, and also keen readers, we have little sympathy for the big 5 publishers. If Kindle Unlimited does prove to be a better deal for authors, and readers can read as many books as they like, then who cares what the likes of Random House or Harper Collins think? At the end of the day it's a free market and whoever presents the best deal (in this case Amazon) for readers and writers should triumph in the end.
What follows are some excerpts (that we tend to agree with) from a recent letter Amazon sent to authors around the world regarding a heated legal dispute they are engaged in with leading publishing house Hachette. Many of these comments strongly relate to Amazon's Kindle Unlimited scheme which is predicted to lower the prices of ebooks over time and lead to unprecedented book sales for authors…
Just ahead of World War II, there was a radical invention that shook the foundations of book publishing. It was the paperback book. This was a time when movie tickets cost 10 or 20 cents, and books cost $2.50. The new paperback cost 25 cents – it was ten times cheaper. Readers loved the paperback and millions of copies were sold in just the first year.
With it being so inexpensive and with so many more people able to afford to buy and read books, you would think the literary establishment of the day would have celebrated the invention of the paperback, yes? Nope. Instead, they dug in and circled the wagons. They believed low cost paperbacks would destroy literary culture and harm the industry (not to mention their own bank accounts). Many bookstores refused to stock them, and the early paperback publishers had to use unconventional methods of distribution – places like newsstands and drugstores. The famous author George Orwell came out publicly and said about the new paperback format, if "publishers had any sense, they would combine against them and suppress them." Yes, George Orwell was suggesting collusion.
Well… history doesn't repeat itself, but it does rhyme.
Fast forward to today, and it's the e-book's turn to be opposed by the literary establishment. Amazon and Hachette – a big US publisher and part of a $10 billion media conglomerate – are in the middle of a business dispute about e-books. We want lower e-book prices. Hachette does not. Many e-books are being released at $14.99 and even $19.99. That is unjustifiably high for an e-book. With an e-book, there's no printing, no over-printing, no need to forecast, no returns, no lost sales due to out of stock, no warehousing costs, no transportation costs, and there is no secondary market – e-books cannot be resold as used books. E-books can and should be less expensive.
Perhaps channeling Orwell's decades old suggestion, Hachette has already been caught illegally colluding with its competitors to raise e-book prices. So far those parties have paid $166 million in penalties and restitution. Colluding with its competitors to raise prices wasn't only illegal, it was also highly disrespectful to Hachette's readers.
The fact is many established incumbents in the industry have taken the position that lower e-book prices will "devalue books" and hurt "Arts and Letters." They're wrong. Just as paperbacks did not destroy book culture despite being ten times cheaper, neither will e-books. On the contrary, paperbacks ended up rejuvenating the book industry and making it stronger. The same will happen with e-books.
Many inside the echo-chamber of the industry often draw the box too small. They think books only compete against books. But in reality, books compete against mobile games, television, movies, Facebook, blogs, free news sites and more. If we want a healthy reading culture, we have to work hard to be sure books actually are competitive against these other media types, and a big part of that is working hard to make books less expensive.
Moreover, e-books are highly price elastic. This means that when the price goes down, customers buy much more. We've quantified the price elasticity of e-books from repeated measurements across many titles. For every copy an e-book would sell at $14.99, it would sell 1.74 copies if priced at $9.99. So, for example, if customers would buy 100,000 copies of a particular e-book at $14.99, then customers would buy 174,000 copies of that same e-book at $9.99. Total revenue at $14.99 would be $1,499,000. Total revenue at $9.99 is $1,738,000. The important thing to note here is that the lower price is good for all parties involved: the customer is paying 33% less and the author is getting a royalty check 16% larger and being read by an audience that's 74% larger. The pie is simply bigger.
But when a thing has been done a certain way for a long time, resisting change can be a reflexive instinct, and the powerful interests of the status quo are hard to move. It was never in George Orwell's interest to suppress paperback books – he was wrong about that.
A comprehensive list of books that can be read for free by Kindle Unlimited subscribers can be found here on the book reading social media site Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/genres/kindle-unlimited
Popular Kindle Unlimited Books


(AFP)- US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and UN Secretary General Kofi Annan agreed on the need to send a special UN envoy back to Sudan after the world body's representative to Khartoum was expelled, US officials said.
But Washington did not suggest demanding that the Sudanese government accept the return of the ousted diplomat, Jan Pronk of the Netherlands, said State Department spokesman Sean McCormack.
Pronk, 66, was ordered out of Sudan at the weekend after reporting in a personal weblog that the Sudanese army had suffered major losses in fighting against rebels in the strife-torn Darfur region, reports Trend.
Annan's spokesman said earlier this week that Pronk retained the full support of the UN chief and continued to hold his position as the secretary general's personal envoy to Sudan.
Rice discussed the issue with Annan on Wednesday, but agreed only that the position of UN envoy to Sudan be maintained, without endorsing Pronk in that role, McCormack said.
"She and Secretary General Annan agreed on the importance of that function continuing to be performed on behalf of the UN in Sudan," he said.
"Whether or not to send Mr Pronk himself back or send somebody else in that post is up to Mr Annan," he said.
The dispute with Sudan complicates delicate diplomatic efforts to persuade Khartoum to comply with a UN resolution demanding deployment of UN peacekeepers into Darfur, where at least 200,000 people have died since a rebellion by the region's ethnic African population erupted.
The government of President Omar al-Beshir stands accused of funding and arming an Arab militia held responsible for much of the violence.
Beshir's regime has consistently rejected a strong UN presence in Darfur, charging that the plan was part of a US-engineered plot to invade his country and plunder its resources.
McCormack said Washington was growing increasingly worried about ongoing violence against civilians in the vast Darfur region.
"It is not getting any better and we're very concernd that it could well be getting worse," he said.
The United States has called on Sudan's partners in the Arab League to step up pressure on Khartoum to accept the UN force, notably by reassuring Sudanese leaders that the peackeepers would not be tasked with arresting officials held responsible for crimes against humanity in Darfur.
"We have said in public and in private that that is not in the mandate of this UN force and we've asked Arab states that have contacts and influence with the Sudanese government to reassure them on that score," McCormack said.


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FUNDRAISER FIT FOR A KING
4th December 2004 By Steve Parmenter
KEVIN KING, managing director of Heritage International Transport Ltd, pledged £250 for every other £250 received by the Fighting Fund yesterday – and it raised a staggering £7,000.
King, who is a big Whites fan, promised on this website's fans forum to match all £250 pledges and donations until he had paid a maximum total of £5,000.
The club received 14 donations, for a total of £3,500, and King's company will match that – meaning the Fighting Fund will received £7,000 from just one day's fundraising.
But there is more good news. King has now offered to match further £250 donations until he has paid £5,000 into the club's Fighting Fund.
So that means we just need another SIX donations to see this scheme raise an amazing £10,000.
King said: "What a magnificent response from all concerned, No pre knowledge or notification of this event happening, just a great and positive reaction – It just goes to prove the local (and not so local) people do have what it takes to save this club.
"The amount of money raised so far, not just this event has been first class. Thank you everyone who has contributed.
"We still have work to do to achieve the aim – but what a boost."
And he added: "In view of this very generous gesture by so many, we will keep this offer open to ensure that its maximum benefit is achieved.
"In the 16 hours our offer was open, we had 14 donations. If the other six people are able pledge the same amount then we will honour our pledge to match that as well.
"Let's get to that £5,000 figure, generating £10,000 for the club in one event. Thank you all very much – I hope we have gone along way to achieving the ultimate."
← GREAT START BUT STILL A LONG WAY TO GO
BROWNE: WE DON'T BATTLE HARD ENOUGH →
14 TJ Bramble
20 Marvel Ekpiteta