text:
Palainco Seriously light minded
"In my next life I will be an artist"- an interview with designer Carlo Nason
Carlo Nason is the creator of numerous extraordinary lighting pieces. Born…
Curiosity from the Palainco archive: Raak's bedside invention from the 1970s
A light switch, a wall socket and a bed lamp: three…
The world would be more beautiful if we were still using an Olivetti typewriter (Part 1)
Olivetti was an Italian manufacturer mostly renowned for producing typewriters; the…
Innovative evolution- When Massimo Vignelli worked for Arteluce
In the early 1960s, Massimo Vignelli and his wife Lella Vignelli…
"I try not to fall in love with my products" – an interview with designer Fabio Lenci
Fabio Lenci is an incredibly versatile designer. In his long career…
The fascinating life of the PH Tennis Lamps at the K.B. Hallen in Copenhagen
Widely considered a functionalist masterpiece, the K.B. Hallen in Copenhagen became…
Fungo, a luminous hallucination from Murano
Massimo Vignelli designed this stunning and elegantly curved, glass-blown mushroom-shaped silhouette…
"It's like giving children up for adoption"- Shigeaki Asahara on his lamps
Shigeaki Asahara, probably most famous for the designs he did for…
Colourful synergy – When Massimo Vignelli worked for Venini
Recently we published an article on Fungo, a glass-blown mushroom-shaped…
"It's all chemistry" — Fulvio Ferrari's little-known avant garde lamps
During a magical period for Italian design at the beginning of…
Recently we introduced you to the world of Olivetti…
Innovation by Gino Sarfatti: The three editions of model 1073
During his continuous, relentless activity in design from the end of…
Designers who mistook a hat for a lamp
Inspiration for a new design can literally be found anywhere. Through…
Lisa Johansson-Pape, first class lamp designer by accident
Purely beautiful and functional, these qualities characterise Lisa Johansson-Pape's (1907-1989) work…
Lyfa's logo dates back to prehistoric times
In its heyday, Lyfa produced highly original, imaginative and fashionable lamps…
How Gino Sarfatti made a Rodchenko avant garde lamp
It's likely that, when hearing the name Alexander Rodchenko, your thoughts…
The Panama Hat Lamp by Wim Rietveld for Gispen
Wim Rietveld (1924-1985) studied Industrial Design at The Hague Academy. After…
After countless turns, Eclisse turns 53
Eclisse – a play of light and shadow, of concealment, cast in…
The miracles that are called PH lamps – Part 2 – PH Floor lamps
Poul Henningsen (1894-1967), also known by the initials PH, was a…
Curiosity from the Palainco archive: Falkenbergs' rescue of secretaries
After the widespread adoption of the typewriter there was a great…
The miracles that are called PH lamps – Part 1 – PH Wall Lamps
Danish architect Poul Henningsen (1894 –1967), known by his initials, PH,…
Acrilica, the first golden medal for Joe Colombo
Cesare 'Joe' Colombo was a designer for only 10 years, but…
The miracles that are called PH lamps – Part 3 – PH Table Lamps
Poul Henningsen (1894–1967) was an architect, author, critic and creator of…
Facet and Facet-Pop: How to distinguish between two almost identical puzzles
Quite often, you will see the names Facet and Facet-Pop being…
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Rob LaZebnik (born May 6, 1962) is an American television writer.

He graduated from David H. Hickman High School in Columbia, Missouri and Harvard University. He currently works as a co-executive producer on The Simpsons and is credited with having written 20 episodes: "Treehouse of Horror XI" (the "G-G-G-Ghost D-D-D-Dad" segment), "Homer vs. Dignity", "Father Knows Worst", "Boy Meets Curl", "The Blue and the Gray", "The Daughter Also Rises", "The Changing of the Guardian", "The War of Art", "The Kids Are All Fight", "Friend with Benefit", "The Girl Code", "The Burns Cage", "Pork and Burns", "Throw Grampa from the Dane", "Baby You Can't Drive My Car", "101 Mitigations", "E My Sports", "Frinkcoin", "Manger Things", "Burger Kings" and "Portrait of a Lackey on Fire".

He co-created the Macromedia Flash cartoon series Starship Regulars on Icebox.com, and it was picked up by television network Showtime but never aired. He then co-created the series Greetings from Tucson, which aired for one season on The WB. LaZebnik has also been credited with writing episodes of Monk, The War at Home, Less Than Perfect, The Ellen Show and Empty Nest.

His wife, Claire LaZebnik, is an author and is the sister of television writer Nell Scovell. His son, Johnny LaZebnik, is also a comedy writer who has worked on The Simpsons. His brothers are Ken LaZebnik and Philip LaZebnik.

References

External links

Living people
1962 births
American television writers
American male television writers
Harvard University alumni
Hickman High School alumni
Writers from Columbia, Missouri

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Text;
using System.Drawing;
using ComputacaoGraficaProject.Model;
using ComputacaoGraficaProject.View;
using ComputacaoGraficaProject.Sintese.Primitivas;

namespace ComputacaoGraficaProject.Sintese.Transformacoes
{
    public class Transformacoes2D
    {
        private Bitmap imagem;
        private Ponto ponto;

        public Transformacoes2D()
        {
            ponto = new Ponto();
            imagem = new Bitmap(Referencias.sizeImageX, Referencias.sizeImageY);
        }

        // Retorna a matriz de translação.
        public List<double[]> transladar(double X, double Y)
        {
            List<double[]> matrizTranslacao = new List<double[]>();
            matrizTranslacao.Add(new double[] { 1, 0, X });
            matrizTranslacao.Add(new double[] { 0, 1, Y });
            matrizTranslacao.Add(new double[] { 0, 0, 1 });

            return matrizTranslacao;
        }

        // Retorna a matriz de escala.
        public List<double[]> escalonar(double X, double Y)
        {
            List<double[]> matrizEscala = new List<double[]>();
            matrizEscala.Add(new double[] { X, 0, 0 });
            matrizEscala.Add(new double[] { 0, Y, 0 });
            matrizEscala.Add(new double[] { 0, 0, 1 });

            return matrizEscala;
        }

        // Retorna a matriz de rotação.
        public List<double[]> rotacionar(double angulo)
        {
            double anguloRadianos = Math.PI * angulo / 180;

            List<double[]> matrizRotacao = new List<double[]>();
            matrizRotacao.Add(new double[] { Math.Cos(anguloRadianos), -Math.Sin(anguloRadianos), 0});
            matrizRotacao.Add(new double[] { Math.Sin(anguloRadianos), Math.Cos(anguloRadianos), 0});
            matrizRotacao.Add(new double[] { 0, 0, 1 });

            return matrizRotacao;
        }

        // Retorna a matriz de reflexão.
        public List<double[]> refletir(double eixo)
        {
            // Se tipo = 1, rotaciona em X.
            // Se tipo = 2, rotaciona em Y.
            // Se tipo = 3, rotaciona em X e Y.

            List<double[]> matrizReflexao = new List<double[]>();

            if (eixo == 1) // Eixo X
            {
                matrizReflexao.Add(new double[] { 1, 0, 0 });
                matrizReflexao.Add(new double[] { 0, -1, 0 });
                matrizReflexao.Add(new double[] { 0, 0, 1 });
            }
            else if (eixo == 2) // Eixo Y
            {
                matrizReflexao.Add(new double[] { -1, 0, 0 });
                matrizReflexao.Add(new double[] { 0, 1, 0 });
                matrizReflexao.Add(new double[] { 0, 0, 1 });
            }
            else if (eixo == 3) // Eixo X e Y
            {
                matrizReflexao.Add(new double[] { -1, 0, 0 });
                matrizReflexao.Add(new double[] { 0, -1, 0 });
                matrizReflexao.Add(new double[] { 0, 0, 1 });
            }

            return matrizReflexao;
        }

        // Retorna a matriz de cisalhamento.
        public List<double[]> cisalhar(double X, double Y)
        {
            List<double[]> matrizCisalhamento = new List<double[]>();
            matrizCisalhamento.Add(new double[] { 1, X, 0 });
            matrizCisalhamento.Add(new double[] { Y, 1, 0 });
            matrizCisalhamento.Add(new double[] { 0, 0, 1 });

            return matrizCisalhamento;
        }

        // Retorna a multiplicação de duas matrizes.
        public List<double[]> multiplicar(List<double[]> matriz1, List<double[]> matriz2)
        {
            List<double[]> novaMatriz = new List<double[]>();

            int a = matriz1.Count;
            int b = matriz2[0].Length;
            double[,] array = new double[a, b];

            for (int i = 0; i < matriz1.Count; i++) // Linhas da matriz 1.
            {
                for (int j = 0; j < matriz2[0].Length; j++) // Colunas da matriz 2.
                {
                    for (int k = 0; k < matriz1[0].Length; k++)
                    { // Linhas da matriz 2.
                        array[i,j] += (matriz1[i][k] * matriz2[k][j]);
                    }
                }
            }
            // Passando para a lista.
            for (int i=0; i < a; i++)
            {
                double[] linha = new double[b];
                for (int j=0; j < b; j++)
                {
                    linha[j] = array[i,j];
                }
                novaMatriz.Add(linha);
            }

            return novaMatriz;
        }

        // Retorna a matriz identidade.
        public List<double[]> matrizIdentidade()
        {
            List<double[]> matrizIdentidade = new List<double[]>();
            matrizIdentidade.Add(new double[] { 1, 0, 0 });
            matrizIdentidade.Add(new double[] { 0, 1, 0 });
            matrizIdentidade.Add(new double[] { 0, 0, 1 });

            return matrizIdentidade;
        }

        // Percorre o conjunto de transformações e realiza todas em sequênca.
        public void conjuntoDeTransformacoes(List<double[]> transformacoes)
        {
            // Inicia a matriz de transformação.
            List<double[]> matrizTransformada = matrizIdentidade();

            // Pega as menores coordenadas das retas.
            double X_original = 0, Y_original = 0;
            for (int i = 0; i < Referencias.listaRetas.Count; i++)
            {
                if (Referencias.listaRetas[i][0] < X_original)
                {
                    X_original = Referencias.listaRetas[i][0];
                }
                if (Referencias.listaRetas[i][1] < Y_original)
                {
                    Y_original = Referencias.listaRetas[i][1];
                }
            }

            // Translada para a origem.
            matrizTransformada = multiplicar(matrizTransformada, transladar(-X_original, -Y_original));

            // Aplica as transformações
            for (int i = 0; i < transformacoes.Count; i++)
            {
                List<double[]> transformacao = matrizIdentidade();

                // Explicação:
                // O array de números inteiros indica:
                // Posição 0: O número que indica qual será a transformação (1, 2, 3, 4 ou 5).
                // Posição n: Os parâmetros solicitados de acordo com a transformação.

                // Realiza a transformação.
                if (transformacoes[i][0] == 1)
                {
                    transformacao = transladar(transformacoes[i][1], transformacoes[i][2]);
                }
                else if (transformacoes[i][0] == 2)
                {
                    transformacao = escalonar(transformacoes[i][1], transformacoes[i][2]);
                }
                else if (transformacoes[i][0] == 3)
                {
                    transformacao = rotacionar(transformacoes[i][1]);
                }
                else if (transformacoes[i][0] == 4)
                {
                    transformacao = refletir(transformacoes[i][1]);
                }
                else if (transformacoes[i][0] == 5)
                {
                    transformacao = cisalhar(transformacoes[i][1], transformacoes[i][2]);
                }

                // Atualiza a transformação.
                matrizTransformada = multiplicar(matrizTransformada, transformacao);
            }

            // Realiza a translação inversa (Voltando para a posição original).
            matrizTransformada = multiplicar(matrizTransformada, transladar(X_original, Y_original));

            // Aplica as transformações.
            matrizTransformada = multiplicar(matrizTransformada, Referencias.matrizObjeto);

            // apresenta na interface.
            apresentarObjetoNaInterface(matrizTransformada);
            transformacoes.Clear();
        }

        // Apresenta o objeto na interface.
        private void apresentarObjetoNaInterface(List<double[]> matrizTransformada)
        {
            Referencias.matrizObjeto = matrizTransformada;

            // Lista de retas para apresentar na interface.
            List <double[]> listaRetas = new List<double[]>();
            for (int i = 0; i < Referencias.matrizObjeto[0].Length; i++)
            {
                listaRetas.Add(new double[] { Referencias.matrizObjeto[0][i], Referencias.matrizObjeto[1][i], 0 });
            }
            listaRetas.Add(new double[] { Referencias.matrizObjeto[0][0], Referencias.matrizObjeto[1][0], 0 });
            Referencias.listaRetas = listaRetas;

            // Atualiza a interface com as transformações.
            atualizarInterface();

            // Apaga as transformações.
            matrizTransformada.Clear();
        }

        // Atualiza a lista de coordenadas e a imagem na tela.
        private void atualizarInterface()
        {
            Retas retas = new Retas(imagem);
            retas.desenharRetas_PontoMedio(Referencias.listaRetas);
            retas.atualizarImagem();
            new Functions().listaParaViewDeCoordenadasDeRetas2D();
        }
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Q: I'm trying to draw objects using opengles in Android Native-activity, but I don't see anything I'm developing my game using opengles1.0 in Native Activity.
However, source code, which used to work well, doesn't work.
Nothing is drawing on the screen, but I want to know the cause.
This is my source code.
static int engine_init_display(struct engine* engine) {
// initialize OpenGL ES and EGL

/*
* Here specify the attributes of the desired configuration.
* Below, we select an EGLConfig with at least 8 bits per color
* component compatible with on-screen windows
*/
const EGLint attribs[] = {
    EGL_SURFACE_TYPE, EGL_WINDOW_BIT,
    EGL_BLUE_SIZE, 8,
    EGL_GREEN_SIZE, 8,
    EGL_RED_SIZE, 8,
    EGL_DEPTH_SIZE, 24,
    EGL_NONE
};
EGLint w, h, format;
EGLint numConfigs;
EGLConfig config;
EGLSurface surface;
EGLContext context;

EGLDisplay display = eglGetDisplay(EGL_DEFAULT_DISPLAY);[
eglInitialize(display, 0, 0);

/* Here, the application chooses the configuration it desires. In this
* sample, we have a very simplified selection process, where we pick
* the first EGLConfig that matches our criteria */
eglChooseConfig(display, attribs, &config, 1, &numConfigs);

/* EGL_NATIVE_VISUAL_ID is an attribute of the EGLConfig that is
* guaranteed to be accepted by ANativeWindow_setBuffersGeometry().
* As soon as we picked a EGLConfig, we can safely reconfigure the
* ANativeWindow buffers to match, using EGL_NATIVE_VISUAL_ID. */
eglGetConfigAttrib(display, config, EGL_NATIVE_VISUAL_ID, &format);

ANativeWindow_setBuffersGeometry(engine->app->window, 0, 0, format);

surface = eglCreateWindowSurface(display, config, engine->app->window, NULL);
context = eglCreateContext(display, config, NULL, NULL);

if (eglMakeCurrent(display, surface, surface, context) == EGL_FALSE) {
    LOGW("Unable to eglMakeCurrent");
    return -1;
}

eglQuerySurface(display, surface, EGL_WIDTH, &w);
eglQuerySurface(display, surface, EGL_HEIGHT, &h);

engine->display = display;
engine->context = context;
engine->surface = surface;
engine->width = w;
engine->height = h;
engine->state.angle = 0;

renderModule = RenderModule::getInstance();

renderModule->setupViewPort(engine->width, engine->height);

GLManager* glManager;
glManager = GLManager::getInstance();
glManager->engin = engine;
glManager->setAssetManager(engine->app->activity->assetManager);

ScreenManager* screenManager = glManager->screen();
screenManager->scrWidth = engine->width;
screenManager->scrHeight = engine->height;
screenManager->engine = engine;

renderModule->setGLManager(glManager);

renderModule->rendererSetting();

...
return 0;
}

draw_frame function
static void engine_draw_frame(struct engine* engine) {
if (engine->display == NULL) {
    // No display.
    return;
}
renderModule->setupViewPort(engine->width, engine->height);

GLManager* glManager = GLManager::getInstance();
ScreenManager* screenManager = glManager->screen();
GLfloat x = screenManager->getOGLX(engine->state.x[0]);
GLfloat y = screenManager->getOGLY(engine->state.y[0]);

//GLuint scrX = glManager->screen()->getScrX(x);
//GLuint scrY = glManager->screen()->getScrY(y);

if (screenTouched) {
    renderModule->setFakeMode(true);
}
renderModule->render();
if (screenTouched) {
    screenTouched = false;
    glReadPixels(engine->state.x[pointerIndex],
        screenManager->scrHeight - engine->state.y[pointerIndex],
        1, 1, GL_RGBA, GL_UNSIGNED_BYTE, pixels);
    renderModule->setFakeMode(false);
    renderModule->render();
}

glClear(GL_DEPTH_BUFFER_BIT);
eglSwapBuffers(engine->display, engine->surface);
}

rendererSetting function
void RenderModule::rendererSetting() {

glHint(GL_PERSPECTIVE_CORRECTION_HINT, GL_FASTEST);
glEnable(GL_DEPTH_TEST);
glDepthFunc(GL_LEQUAL);
glDepthMask(GL_TRUE);

/*
glHint(GL_PERSPECTIVE_CORRECTION_HINT, GL_FASTEST);
glEnable(GL_CULL_FACE);
glShadeModel(GL_SMOOTH);
*/
...
}

and setupViewPort function
void RenderModule::setupViewPort(GLuint width, GLuint height) {

    glViewport(0, 0, width, height);
    glMatrixMode(GL_PROJECTION);
    glLoadIdentity();

    GLfloat ratio = (GLfloat)((GLfloat)width * 1.0f) / ((GLfloat)height * 1.0f);

    glFrustumf(-ratio, ratio, -1.0f, 1.0f, 1.5f, 1000.0f);

    glMatrixMode(GL_MODELVIEW);
    glLoadIdentity();

    gluLookAt(0, 0, 200,                        //eyeXYZ
        0.0f, 0.0f, 0.0f,                   //centerXYZ
        0.0f, 1.0f, 0.0f);

    viewportSetUp = true;

}

finally
gluLookAt function
void gluLookAt(GLfloat eyeX, GLfloat eyeY, GLfloat eyeZ,
GLfloat centreX, GLfloat centreY, GLfloat centreZ, GLfloat upX, GLfloat upY, GLfloat upZ)
{
    GLfloat f[3] =
    {
        centreX - eyeX,
        centreY - eyeY,
        centreZ - eyeZ,
    };

// make f and the up vector have unit length
GLfloat lengthOfF = sqrt(f[0] * f[0] + f[1] * f[1] + f[2] * f[2]);
f[0] /= lengthOfF;
f[1] /= lengthOfF;
f[2] /= lengthOfF;

GLfloat lengthOfUp = sqrt(upX*upX + upY*upY + upZ*upZ);
upX /= lengthOfUp;
upY /= lengthOfUp;
upZ /= lengthOfUp;

// use the cross product of f and Up to get s,
// and the cross product of s and f to get u
GLfloat s[3] =
{
    f[1] * upZ - upY*f[2],
    f[2] * upX - upZ*f[0],
    f[0] * upY - upX*f[1]
};

GLfloat u[3] =
{
    s[1] * f[2] - f[1] * s[2],
    s[2] * f[0] - f[2] * s[0],
    s[0] * f[1] - f[0] * s[1]
};

// Fill the matrix as prescribed.
// Note: OpenGL is "column major"
GLfloat M[16] =
{
    s[0], u[0], -f[0], 0.0f,
    s[1], u[1], -f[1], 0.0f,
    s[2], u[2], -f[2], 0.0f,
    0.0f, 0.0f, 0.0f,  1.0f
};

glMultMatrixf(M);
glTranslatef(-eyeX, -eyeY, -eyeZ);
}

In my opinion, there is a problem with renderSeting function and setupViewPort function. I would like to ask for help to resolve this issue.

A: If the distance from the center of the object is 200, but the size of the radius of the object is 1000, you are inside the object.
The distance to the back of the object is 1200 (1000+200). Since the distance to the near plane is 1000,

glFrustumf(-ratio, ratio, -1.0f, 1.0f, 1.5f, 1000.0f);

the object by the far plane of the viewing frustum.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Now available form Alchimia is Jack 47 F1 Fast version from Sweet Seeds, a feminised strain, not autoflowering, but faster flowering than her older sister Jack 47.
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The plants developed very vigorously, producing thick buds covered in trichomes with which at harvest time can yield up to 500-600 grams per square metre in 7-8 weeks of flowering after the change of photoperiod.
Its organoleptic properties consist of a fresh and sweet base with a lemony influence.
When buying 5 Jack 47 seeds it also says + two free seeds. Are the seeds Jack 47 or something else?
With this promotion (Sweet Seeds 10th Anniversary) you get free seeds of the same variety you're purchasing.
Do you want to give your opinion on Jack 47 F1 Fast Version or ask a question about this product?


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To assist Environmental Supervisor ensuring the environmental management in the operational area is carried out according to existing regulation, by monitoring environmental activities, supervise the vegetation and reclamation activities, monitoring top soil placement activities to achieve company target on Environmental issue.
To operate speedboat according to standard operational procedure.
To ensure availability of first aid in the accident and medical service to all site employee.
(While sending email applications, candidates must enter position applied in the subject column).


Foreclosures provide scam artists with an opportunity to prey on desperate homeowners. Many foreclosure assistance or rescue companies claim they can help for a fee. Fraudulent foreclosure professionals use half truths and lies to sell services that promise relief and fail to deliver. Their goal is to make a quick profit from you through fees or mortgage payments.
Our housing specialists regularly see clients who have paid anywhere from $1,000 to $4,000 to such companies, only to have their money disappear and their calls ignored. Once the client is victimized, he or she has little recourse except to lodge a formal complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), a nationwide consumer protection agency, or their state's Attorney General. The FTC is bombarded with this type of complaint and is only able to go after a small number of companies for false advertising.
Foreclosure rescue companies find homeowners in distress though various means—public foreclosure notices in newspapers, on the Internet, through files at local government offices, or by direct mail to homeowners. Some even advertise on television or with signs on highway signs and telephone poles.
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text:
The Road to Good Jobs
America needs more good jobs at good wages. The combination of deregulation, global low-wage competition, and the attack on unions has reduced the supply of reliable jobs with decent wages, benefits, and career prospects. This shift comes at a time when other
social supports have been cut. Any serious student of this subject knows two things. First, there is no single silver bullet. Second, any good jobs strategy needs to be anchored in politics -- and a very different politics than the dominant one.
With a different politics, we could have a national strategy of investment
in new technologies, such as energy-sufficiency, promoting not just clean-energy security but good domestic jobs. We could restore the right of workers to bargain collectively, and unions could again lead the way to a society of decent breadwinner wages. We could decide that all human-service jobs financed with public funds would be not low-wage, high-turnover jobs, but professions that were part of career tracks with decent wages. We could use the leverage of public outlay to create good, permanent private-sector jobs.
We could change the rules of the trading system so that trade did not produce a race to the bottom for workers here and overseas. We could link education and training strategies to actual rather than hypothetical good jobs, with what our Scandinavian friends call an active labor market policy. We could run our economy at or near full employment. We could have comprehensive immigration reform, with immigrants on the road to full citizenship rather than being a reserve low-wage army with no labor or civic rights.
The recent structural changes in the global economy, reducing labor's bargaining power and lowering labor costs for multinational corporations, are not some spontaneous result of technological changes or of foreign trade per se. Rather, they are the result of a specific brand of globalization that privileges property rights, while deliberately undercutting the social and labor rights that anchor the managed form of capitalism that has produced greater security and equality in most of the wealthy democracies.
Some of what America needs to promote development of good jobs is at odds with the current rules of the international trading system, most of them promoted by the U.S. government. For instance, if we embarked on an Apollo-scale program using public investment to create a new high-tech renewable energy industry that would produce exports as well as good domestic jobs, this strategy could well be challenged as illegal under the World Trade Organization.
At issue is not just the prevailing politics, but also the dominant paradigm of minimal government. A key question is how education and training interact with other necessary public policies. A better-educated, more highly skilled workforce is certainly part of the solution, but not the whole remedy. As all three authors of the following articles explain in different ways, simply commending more education paints with too broad a brush. The practical question is: What kind of education and training will rendezvous with what kind of jobs? Otherwise, a better-educated workforce will still find itself in an economy that fails to adequately reward skills. America does need more people to get degrees in math and science, so that these good jobs and the industries they support go to Americans rather than moving overseas. And we do need to make sure that young people finish high school well prepared for further learning. But improved human capital, by itself, doesn't necessarily alter the kinds of jobs the economy offers workers. What else do we need to do?
The three articles that follow illuminate this question, and begin an ongoing series on good jobs that will appear over the next year. Joan Fitzgerald, author of the recent book, Moving Up in the New Economy, begins by looking at paths to better jobs in human services, as well as the role of economic development. Harold Meyerson, our longtime senior writer on labor and the Prospect's acting executive editor, looks at the role of unions and community groups in promoting good jobs via community benefits agreements. Princeton economist and former Vice Chairman of the Federal Reserve Alan Blinder examines the offshoring threat to service as well as manufacturing jobs, and strategies for keeping good jobs at home. Professor Blinder was one of the first economists to challenge the orthodox view that trade has a trivial effect on wages and employment.
Upcoming articles will include a roundtable on the role of education as well as pieces on new rules for the trading system, on immigrant workers, and on other economic development strategies. We thank the Ford Foundation for supporting our work on good jobs and economic development, and The Atlantic Philanthropies for supporting our work on immigration.
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Despite Trump's disgusting policies, the right approach to economic refugees is far from obvious.
Robert Kuttner is co-founder and co-editor of The American Prospect, and professor at Brandeis University's Heller School. His latest book is Can Democracy Survive Global Capitalism? In addition to writing for the Prospect, he writes for HuffPost, The Boston Globe, and The New York Review of Books.
Follow Bob at his site, robertkuttner.com, and on Twitter.
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An in depth knowledge of HIQA standards and the regulations underpinning the standards as they apply to the Intellectual Disability service.
Support, assist and facilitate colleagues in achieving positive outcomes as developed for the Centre/Department.
Encourage a culture of openness and participation through effective communication.
Minimum of two years experience of leading or managing a team.
Have an in depth knowledge of HIQA standards and the regulations underpinning the standards as they apply to the Intellectual Disability service.
Completion of a recognised Management Programme or its equivalent is desirable.
Experience of managing staff is desirable.
Previous experience of working closely with families and members of the MDT.
Have proven organisational, interpersonal and teambuilding skills.
Please apply with a current CV for further information.


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Q&A with Craig Calcaterra of NBC Hardball Talk
March 15, 2013/Dan DiLoreto
Every once in a while, we try to bring you an interview with someone who we think is not only relevant, but you would be interested to hear about. This time around, we have Craig Calcaterra, the editor for NBC Sports Hardball Talk. This was one of my favorite interviews and not just because baseball is my favorite sport, but because Craig really took the time to answer his questions with depth and insight. For those of you who may be bloggers or aspiring writers, you will enjoy his journey from the court room to the computer desk. For those of you who like to hear a little bit about the behind the scenes stuff, you will enjoy hearing about his segments on NBC Sports. It really does have something for everyone.
TT: Was writing your first passion? I noticed in November you had tweeted that it was your three year anniversary of quitting your job as a lawyer. What was that process like? How hard was the decision and what led you to NBC Hardball Talk?
Writing was something I always wanted to do. Even when I was a teenager. I didn't know what it entailed or really what I'd write about other than having a vague idea it'd be about sports, but I felt like I wanted to be a writer. I lost that thread for a long time, but when I started to get burned out on the law I tried to think about what I really wanted to do and what I was good at. And it occurred to me: writing.
The process of quitting the law wasn't exactly linear. I wanted to spend some time doing things I liked, so I spent spare time writing. And as time went on I became more and more serious about it, to the point — a year or so in to blogging in my spare time — it occurred to me that I could maybe do it. Getting to HardballTalk wasn't so much a decision as it was an opportunity. Aaron Gleeman contacted me out of the blue one day, said NBC was starting Hardball Talk and that they needed someone to help out. They didn't have to ask me twice. It was part-time for a few months but then, eventually, NBC asked me if I wanted to do it full-time. Quitting the law to write full-time was a no-brainer.
TT: So you took the opportunity and ran with it? I like it. You mention that you were blogging in your spare time. Is that when you started your ShysterBall Blog and, subsequently, joined Hardball Times?
Yes. Going back to 2004 or so I had a legal blog called "Shyster." It wasn't much of a blog. Not too many people read it. It mostly dealt with the excesses of the legal industry, the rot in law firms and promoted innovations like companies which outsource rote legal work to India and stuff. Since I was working in a law firm at the time I couldn't use my real name, so "Shyster" was both the blog's name and my nom de guerre.
In April 2007 I woke up one morning, said to myself "I think I'll start a baseball blog." I can't remember what it was that inspired me to do it. I had written a weekly baseball column for an online magazine back in 2001-02 which no one read and which has disappeared from existence, but I had never blogged about it. I figured it would be secondary to my legal blog so I called it "Shysterball" and continued to use the same name. The legal blog quickly died and all of my efforts were poured into Shysterball because it interested me.
I wrote Shysterball on Blogspot for the next year and a half or so, at some point deciding to use my real name, though I can't remember why. In November 2008 Dave Studeman of The Hardball Times asked if I'd be willing to move the blog over there, so I did, keeping the Shysterball name.
TT: Wow, so we can date your writing days back to 2001-02? Impressive. Do you ever miss the profession you left? Because it seems that you have hit the proverbial jackpot with Hardball Talk.
Yeah, but the early writing was kind of random. Late in the 2001 season a friend emailed me an article that a well-known national baseball writer did lamenting Barry Bonds' breaking the single season home run record, and the upshot was that the players today couldn't hold a candle to the players of yesteryear. My friend said "this guy is so right …" At the time I had immersed myself in the then-emerging sabermetric movement and spent a lot of time at forums like Baseball Primer, reading Rob Neyer and that sort of thing, so I was both willing and able to respond back with an expletive-filled screed about how wrong that writer was, how you can compare players across eras, what park effects meant and all of that, and THAT, my friend, is why he was wrong.
My friend forwarded my email to a friend of his who was launching a web magazine called "Bull Magazine." He asked if the email could be cleaned up for publication, I agreed and up it went. In early 2002 he asked me to do a weekly baseball column so I said, sure, why not. It's long gone now, but it was a nascent blog, even though I hadn't heard the term before, reacting to things much the way I do now. I kept that up for almost a year, until the guy with the magazine lost interests and I realized that I needed to focus more on my legal career.
During its run, that column wasn't read by many, but it was read by a couple of influential people, I came to find. Neyer read it and sent me a nice note once. Keith Law, who then had just been hired by the Toronto Blue Jays read it and did the same. I really don't know who else read it or in what numbers, but when I began Shysterball five years later there were a few who told me that they read the old stuff and were happy to have me writing again. I think that helped Shysterball gain some momentum early.
As for missing the law: not really. I miss a few random things. I liked going into a courtroom and arguing my case. I liked some of the people I worked with. But for the most part I was pretty much done with it by the time I left and was thinking about how I could transition into other things.
TT: Positive reinforcement from colleagues can always help to motivate! Now you are a full-time NBC Hardball Talk employee, a "Blogger in Chief" according to your Twitter profile. What is your typical day like?
My day usually starts the night before. During the season I start composing my "And That Happened" daily recap feature as the east coast games end around 10:30 or so. I can usually get all but the west coast game recaps done before I go to sleep at 11:30 or so. I wake up between 5:30 and 6 AM, finish the west coast recaps and put the post up. I do morning things like get my kids ready to school between 6 and 8 and then from then until around 5:30 or 6pm I just scan the news, Twitter and read emails while posting twice an hour or so depending on what's happening. Evening is with the family and then it starts again.
The wraparound recap schedule can be tough and I'm thinking about just punting the night before parts and writing the whole recap in the morning, but there is a vocal contingent that wants "And That Happened" live at 6am or so. I have a couple of weeks to figure it out, though.
TT: So you're one of the lucky ones that gets to work from home, huh? A lot of people long for the chance to work from their home. Is this something you love and does it have a downside? Do you have an actual office somewhere else and how are appearances on NBC Sports handled if you are working from home?
Working from home is nice. Positives outweigh the negatives by far. I like not having to drive anywhere in the morning. I like being able to wear big sweatshirts and pajama pants until noon if I like to. And, most importantly, I like always being here when my kids get on and off the school bus each day. Negatives: way less face-to-face adult interaction on a day-to-day basis, which can be weird. It's not that important for me in the moment. I am sort of solitary by nature. But when I do go out and see people it takes a bit to adjust to actual in person conversation because, really, I get a lot less of it than people who work in an office.
I have flown back and forth to the studio in Connecticut on several occasions for in-person appearances, but most TV appearances are done via the little studio I have in my basement. NBC sent a guy out here a couple of years ago and, no kidding, set up an HD camera, lighting and a dedicated T1 connection for me. I put up a little bookcase with baseball knickknacks in the background. All in all it's like a glorified video conferencing setup from which I can do live TV, beamed back and forth to the NBC Sports Network studio in Connecticut, or tape HBT Extra segments with folks back there and have them later put up on the site.
TT: Wow. Working from home definitely sounds like something I could get used to. Tell me the truth, how many times have filmed something for NBC in a shirt and tie with gym shorts on?
Not gonna lie: in the summer anyway it's almost always suit, dress shirt, shorts. There is way, way more truth to this John Clayton commercial than you know. Like, when I saw it I laughed out loud forever. Not because it's so funny, but because it's so true.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USHZZ5bwASU
TT: So working from home is obviously one of the perks of the job. What would you say is the biggest perk, or the one you enjoy the most, afforded to you because of your role at Hardball Talk?
I don't know if it's a "perk," per se, but the best part of the job is really just getting paid to do what I was doing already. Watching and reading about baseball, writing about it and talking to people about it. You know what they say: find a job doing what you love and you'll never work another day in your life. There's truth to that.
TT: You, sir, have just described the dream job. So it's safe to assume that baseball is your passion, right? If so, then who is your favorite team? Can having a favorite team cloud your judgement on stories? Ever find it hard to remain unbiased?
I'm a Braves fan. Have been since I moved from Michigan to West Virginia in 1985 and all I could get were Braves games on TBS (I still have a love of the 1970s-early 80s Tigers, but it doesn't carry over to later Tigers teams). I suppose it's possible that one could have their judgment clouded by having a rooting interest, but I'm way more skeptical of writers who claim to have no rooting interest. It's baseball! How can you not root? Either you're lying when you say you don't have a team you care more about or you've somehow lost touch with the greatest sport on the planet. Either way, it's sad.
OK, I realize that's extreme. The ethics of the newspaper industry are such that reporters are conditioned to NEVER reveal a bias. I think that's kind of silly, because we all have biases and no matter how hard we try to hide them, they infect what we do. To guard against this I am totally up-front with readers and tell them, often, that I'm a Braves fan. With this knowledge they, in turn, are able to check me for my biases or, at the very least, take things I say with a grain of salt, knowing my predispositions. I think in today's media age, where readers are on a far more equal footing with writers than they used to be, such a setup is preferable to the great unknowns of the past.
All of that said, I do try to be fair and realistic about my team. I mess with Phillies fans a lot and many have taken that to be a function of my Braves fandom, but really it's just a function of how fun it is to wind up Phillies fans, who tend to skew overly sensitive. When I'm assessing the actual baseball merits, I think I'm pretty fair. I will call out the Braves for dumb stuff they do. I will laud division rivals for good things they do. Ultimately, whether I'm doing OK with all of this is up to the readers and they keep coming back, so I think I'm handling it OK.
TT: Braves? Really? Ugh. I'm an Indians fan. Sure, the 1995 World Series was great (depending on who you ask, of course) because 5 of the 6 games were decided by 1 run, but it still hurt. Although, as it turned out, not as bad as the 1997 World Series…
I love the fact that you find it hilarious to rile up Phillies fans. I agree, they are the most fun to piss off. I'm sure you attract more than your fair share of haters. How often are people blowing up your email or twitter with hate? Do you just ignore it? How bad do you want to respond?
I don't get too much. I think the vast majority of readers know that when I'm talking smack it's with a wink and a tongue firmly planted in cheek. It's just baseball. The only trouble comes when people take things EXTREMELY seriously and think I do too. In those cases I may mess with them a bit, but I usually ignore them. I'll argue with people who want to argue but if someone just flings invectives they're not worth the time. Well, maybe they're worth a "yo momma" joke, but then I totally ignore them.
To be honest, I got way more angry responses and threats when I was a lawyer than I ever have as a writer.
TT: Haha! I love haters and trolls…especially when they come at you and their spelling and grammar is awful.
I have to admit I have a man crush on Bryce Harper. Mike Trout and Jason Kipnis are close too. Who do you think is the best young gun in the league and will be around for a long time to come?
All three of those guys are going to be around for a while. If I had to pick one of those guys, though, I'd pick Trout just because of all of the tools he has. Harper, though, I think is going to have a breakout year. It's hard to remember that he was just 19 last season. One gets the sense that he's got a good work ethic and a healthy ego, and those two things combined with native talent are what makes a superstar.
TT: Agreed. I think Harper is going to drop jaws this year.
Alright Craig, you've been great. Thanks for the interview! Last question! We have spring training in full swing now and we are less than a month from Opening Day. Give me your "way too early to tell-outlandish-you can't be serious-how could you pick them-World Series prediction".
Predictions are a sucker's bet, but I can't help myself: Nationals vs. the Angels in the World Series. Nats win. This, however, is about 99.6% likely to be wrong.
The only way it could be a better prediction is if he had the Indians winning it all! BIG thanks to Craig Calcaterra for this interview! I had a great time and learned a lot. Hope you guys enjoyed it as well! Be sure to check Hardball Talk regularly so you can be up to date on all things MLB! Check your local listings for the NBC Sports channel too!
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DargonZine 12, Issue 6
Talisman Zero Part 6
By: Dafydd Cyhoeddwr
This entry is part of 38 in the series Talisman
Orlebb sat in his bedroom and fumed. Nothing! Two weeks of trying, and he had received nothing except a very nice wooden bust of himself from Kendil, a kiss from Eldinan, and a flat out rejection from Nikkeus.
It shouldn't be working out like this. He thought that his meeting with Kendil had gone well. There had been lots of sly innuendo; a good connection on a basic level. He had been sure that an assignation was forthcoming. But no, just the bust — head and shoulders only, so why had he had to pose like that for so long? It was fine artistry, and those tools he had been storing away in his inventory had certainly found the right hands to use them. But nothing more had come of the gift.
And then there was Eldinan — that model ship had obviously meant a great deal to her. His informants had told him of her connection to the captain of _Celene's Fire_, and he had put that together with the identity of the sailor's son in the village. It had been a small matter to put a little poison in the man's flour, and naturally the distribution of the man's effects had been left to him. And she had kissed him, only on the cheek, but still! Yet nothing more had come of it: no invitation, not even a smile and a wink as they passed in the halls.
Then there was Nikkeus. He seemed so much younger than the others, though he knew the musician was a year older than Kendil. But there was an innocence about him, maybe in those large so-green eyes.
The lute had been another item from Orlebb's inventory. He had acquired it several years ago, when a skaldric had come to Wudamund and had subsequently fallen on hard times. The lute had been collateral for a loan, which had led to another loan when the man's 'sure thing' at the backroom gambling tables hadn't paid off. And eventually, it had led finally to a quiet knife in an alley — none of Orlebb's doing, strictly the result of excessive gambling debts. Orlebb hadn't recovered his loans, but the lute itself was worth far more than he had lent to the skaldric, so he didn't mind the loss.
Orlebb had had the lute tuned by one of the keep's musicians, and then presented it. The Hrothgrim lute had seemed to belong in the young man's hands, and Nikkeus had played it with consummate skill. That tune had made Orlebb feel warm, happy, light inside. He hadn't planned what happened afterward, but those eyes staring at him so openly, and the good feeling inside of him, had prompted him to bypass all of his schemes and just kiss him.
But it hadn't worked. It was his first direct rejection, but once the boy passed the story around, they would all hate him. The time for subtle maneuvering was over. But what could he do?
He decided, finally, to meditate, as he usually did when he was confused.
He stood and walked over to the small table set against a wall of his room. He knelt on the stool in front of it as if it were a shrine — which it almost was. He took up the small clay jar of fragrant oil that rested to one side, and poured a bit into the small brass bowl on top of the contraption that seemed to be the focus of the table. It consisted of a pole atop which sat the brass bowl and from which was suspended a cylinder made of some kind of painted parchment wrapped around a brass wire frame. Hanging from the bottom of the cylinder were tiny brass bells.
With practiced ease, Orlebb took hold of the cylinder carefully and spun it. The bells chimed softly, the seemingly random splotches of paint on the parchment flowed together with the cylinder's rotation, becoming pleasing and eye-catching patterns. A humming arose from the object where the cylinder's supports came into contact with the central pole. A delicate scent started to waft up from the brass bowl on top as the oil within it was heated by something inside the pole.
Orlebb placed his hands flat on the table before the memory wheel and stared at the patterns. As he let the patterns ease the confusion in his mind, he mused that this was probably the last memory wheel in existence. Twenty years ago, when a teraehran of Fretheod soldiers had encountered his people's small village just to the south of the Darst mountains, they had first made overtures of friendship to the somewhat isolated group of people. But the Lord Keeper of Wudamund at the time had harbored grand plans. It had been his dream that Province Drabethel, as the Fretheod conquerors called the northern part of the continent, would become more than just a remote outpost of the empire. Wudamund had existed for hundreds a nd hundreds of years as just a tiny enclave of the empire. That Lord Keeper had intended to conquer the entirety of the north of Cherisk, so that proper colonization could ensue. So the very next time a Fretheod teraehran had come to his village, they had come not with trade goods, but with drawn swords.
Orlebb had been eighteen at the time, and had tried to help defend his village at first. But his people were not used to fighting other people. The wall around the village had been plenty to keep the animals of the forest out, and of course they all knew how to hunt because they needed to live. But hunting people had never been a sport they took to, and so were unprepared for fighting against thinking beings.
Orlebb had seen the way the tide of battle was going, and he had decided not to die with his people. He had gone back to his house, gathered up all of his things, including the memory wheel, and slipped over the wall on the other side of the village from the fighting. He had hidden in the woods until the victorious Fretheod soldiers had started marching back to their own homes. He followed, and ended up at Wudamund.
Orlebb closed his left eye, and the colors of everything he looked at shifted, lightening and gaining a yellowish cast. He opened his left eye and closed his right, and the colors darkened, taking on a greenish cast. He stared at the patterns on the still moving cylinder with each eye separately, and as usual, he saw different things with either eye. He sometimes wondered about his mismatched eyes and the way they saw things differently. Had the eyes he had been born with somehow foretold the way he currently sometimes found himself two different people? His upbringing in the village had been so different from the role he had played amongst the Fretheod, a role he played well enough to attain the highest rank possible to a native. Would his father have been proud of his accomplishments? Did it matter? His father was long dead, and Orlebb had this life to lead all by himself. Different colors, different lives, but none of that was helping him work his way into the trio!
He opened both eyes and a blend of the two shadings, the two sets of shapes he had seen in the spinning cylinder, took form before him. He concentrated on the patterns, in finding the meaning in them. The tinging of the bells and the hum of the inner pole soothed his thoughts, and the scent of the burning oil made those soothed thoughts drift with the shapes on the cylinder. He drifted for a time like that, the cylinder spinning and spinning far, far beyond when it should have stopped.
Finally, the oil scent dissipated, and the cylinder began to slow. Orlebb started to blink as the swirling patterns became splotches of paint again, and after a moment, he smiled as broadly as he ever did. He knew what to do next.
That night he took a sack and started collecting things into it from his bedroom. He chose small items mostly — his metal comb, one of the small round stones he had played marbles with back in his village — but some larger ones as well.
One such was a statue that he kept on his mantle. As he lifted it down, he recalled with fondness winning it from his best friend at Ajee-ra, a game that was part gambling, part sport, and part puzzle. Miffet's family had put great significance on the statue, using it as a point of pride in the village. Miffet's father had supposedly found the statue in the ruins of a vast city buried underneath the Darst mountains. Everyone in the village held him to be a great explorer, despite the fact that he had never been able to lead anyone back to where he had found the city.
Orlebb had envied his best friend Miffet the acclaim caused by the statue. So, he had set it up so that the Ajee-ra game had come out in his favor. The statue had passed to him, but Miffet had told his father that someone had stolen it. Orlebb had gained the statue, but Miffet's family had lost none of the acclaim. His failure to discredit Miffet's family bothered him, but the fact that he had the statue and Miffet didn't pleased him more.
The statue was distinctly odd looking. It was in the shape of two obelisks fastened base to base. A quartet of limbs projected from each face of the lower obelisk and arched downward to form a four pointed base of support for the object, while the four faces of the upper obelisk had a bump on each one, as if further limbs were retracted inside the shape. Strange markings — writing? — covered the upper obelisk on all sides.
He lowered it carefully into the sack and continued around the room. He thought about adding the memory wheel, but finally decided against it. When he felt he had gathered up enough, he took his keys and left the room.
He went directly, yet cautiously, to the small workroom that had been reserved for the project that Eldinan's trio was working on. Zawk had spent a great deal of time there, and though it wasn't common knowledge, Orlebb had learned that the crucible the erlantrielk had been commissioned to build was set up in there and had been activated. While Zawk worked on creating the mold, the others were slowly feeding materials into the crucible to be melted and merged into the single substance that would form the basis of the talisman they were building.
Orlebb had no difficulty entering the room, and he looked at the vat that was sitting within a lifting frame. It appeared to be made of wood, but it was about half filled with a strangely glowing liquid that gave off a lot of heat. Orlebb opened his sack and started to feed its contents one by one into the magical crucible.
Item after personal item vanished into the glowing soup in the tub, some liquefying completely as they fell unnaturally slowly from the rim to the level of the contents. Orlebb was almost giggling, feeling a resurgence of a little boy's 'playing with fire' glee, by the time he pulled out that strange statue and slipped it over the edge carefully. He watched the edges of the statue start to melt, the legs going first as it slowly fell toward the liquid. He thought he saw the mixture glow a bit brighter as the statue sank beneath the surface, and then flush purplish before returning to its normal white-yellow glow. But he might have imagined it.
He turned from the tub and started to walk back to his rooms. Now everything was set. Items of personal importance to him had been mixed into the talisman's substance, which made him part of the bonding. He had a couple of months to figure out how to be there when the invocation was made — he figured that it would take his active participation in the ceremony for everything to be finalized. But then, he would be part of the group, and they would even like it, no matter how they felt now.
Eldinan had made the decision the night before. She had been toying with it for a while, but it was a big step. Sacrificing her anhekova meant acknowledging that a fundamental change had come to the empire. Then again, she had just endured one of her most difficult ocean voyages thanks to the failure of the Yrmenweald, so that fundamental change was a fact whether she acknowledged it or not.
That was why she was reaching into her storage chest this morning and lifting out her anhekova. She slid it out of the soft cloth bag where she kept it in off-duty times like this and gazed at it fondly. She ran her eyes over the slightly imperfect oval of milky stone, the exquisite knot-work in the wood of the shaft bearing the slight wear marks from being handled over the years. She made an attempt to remove the crystal from the setting, but realized that she wasn't going to be able to free it without damaging the shaft. It would just all have to go. She mourned the imminent loss of this material tie to her grandfather, but once it was part of the talisman, it would be with her forever.
She carried the staff down to the workroom and knocked on the door. Kendil opened it and she walked in. Without much ceremony at all, she walked over to the magical vat that was almost full of glowing, molten liquid. She held the anhekova out in front of her and placed her hand on the cwicustan crystal. No contact, as usual. She silently bid it, and all it stood for, farewell, and let it drop into the vat. As it passed the lip of the vat, it slowed down as if it was falling through thick oil, and the wooden shaft started immediately to flame. The shaft was ashes by the time the crystal oval struck the liquid. Both elements sank quickly under the surface, as odd as it was for ashes to sink. Eldinan was turning away when she could have sworn that the liquid flashed an eerie blue for a brief moment, but it went back to its normal color quickly and she decided she had imagined it.
Kendil was just letting Nikkeus into the room. The musician was carrying a basket full of odds and ends and he smiled at the others in the room before going over to the vat and starting to throw the objects in one by one. Eldinan watched him for a moment — he seemed to be enjoying his task, much like a boy might play at sticking different materials into a fire to see how they burned. With a chuckle, she turned and walked over to Kendil, who was standing next to a large domed contrivance sitting on a table next to the vat.
"So that's it, eh?" she said.
"That's it all right," said Kendil. "The mold for the talisman's basic form. Zawk assures me that it will hold perfectly."
She looked into the opening at the top of the dome, and saw that the inside of the dome was shaped as she had imagined the talisman's general shape would be. "How much longer?"
"Well, Nikk is adding what should be the last load of oddments. We'll wait a bit once he's done, and then start pouring."
Nikkeus took his time, but Eldinan wasn't impatient enough to make him hurry. Besides, it was fun to watch him play. In time he was finished, and after waiting a while longer to ensure that everything was melted and mixed, Kendil moved the table into position. Using the lever on the side of the lifting apparatus, he hoisted the vat into position over the mold. There was a bar attached to the bottom of the vat, and he used this to tip the vat so that the molten liquid inside poured perfectly into the opening at the top of the talisman's mold. The liquid glowed brightly with heat, but Eldinan just squinted and watched it pour.
Every last drop of the liquid ran out of the vat, revealing its incongruous wooden sides. Kendil lowered it back into place on the frame, and then dragged the frame into a corner of the workroom. "Zawk says that by tomorrow the enchantment on the vat will dissipate. Until then, we should all keep clear of it."
Eldinan looked at the domed form sitting on the table with the small pool of glowing liquid showing at its top. Already the glow was dimming now that the liquid had been removed from the crucible that had kept it hot. "So, all we can do now is wait, right?"
As the three of them headed back to their room, Eldinan was very pleased. The first actual step had been taken, and now the first physical evidence of their talisman had been produced. The equinox was weeks away and there was still a great deal of work to do, but finally it was starting to look like their private krovelathan ceremony was going to happen!
Kendil stood in the workshop and looked at the talisman on the table in front of him. Their design was slowly being revealed in the strange stone-like substance that the talisman was made from, and it looked even more magnificent as it was slowly revealed in three dimensions than it had on the parchment where it had been sketched.
The disk of the talisman had been divided roughly into three equal sections, one for each of them. Three-banded Geronlel knot-work wove all over the surface of the talisman and even though it was currently composed of grooves indented into the surface to hold the metal and glass bands that made up the complicated plan, it still looked intricate and impressive. They had also worked totem beasts into the knot-work design, two examples of each of their chosen totems in each section but worked so that each of those examples blended with the totem animal of each of the others' where the sections met. The result was both beautiful and elegantly symbolic of the tripartite bond that the talisman was supposed to represent.
The carving was going well, even though Elin had never carved anything before and Nikk had only carved a few things into wood. Kendil himself wasn't nearly as proficient with stone as he was with wood, but somehow, the stone-like composite material that looked like heavily veined marble carved like sandstone without that soft stone's actual softness. Once Elin and Nikk had painted the sketched design onto the talisman's surface, those parts of the stone that didn't belong to the finished product just seemed vanish under the chisels borrowed from the masons' workshops.
The carving was about halfway done. The three of them had set up a schedule at Kendil's suggestion. He felt that if they did just a little at a time, and worked in pairs so that someone with some kind of carving experience was there at all times, they stood the best chance of not making any hideous mistakes. And it seemed to be working perfectly. The three sets of totem beasts were really taking shape — Nikk's cats, Elin's falcons, and his own foxes, each entwined with one of the other totems. The reverse spaces for the knot-work were beginning to spread out from the beasts since there was a little extra work going on with them so that the two metal bands could be cast right on the talisman and would lock into place. The third band, which would be composed of glass, had been altered slightly from the original plan so that it could accommodate wedges of wood that would hold it in properly once it was created.
He was early this morning. Elin was taking her time in the bathing room but he expected her down shortly. He was somewhat surprised when he arrived that the room hadn't been cleaned as it usually was. Even though they locked it up tight every night, when they came in in the morning, it was swept and polished up perfectly. Of course someone else had keys, but it wasn't normal for the workrooms to be cleaned regularly by the cleaning staff.
He heard a key in the lock of the room and turned toward it. Elin would have just knocked, so who could it be? The door opened and Orlebb walked in carrying a mop and bucket, and rags. He closed the door behind him and turned around, and let out a little gasp as he saw that the room was occupied.
"Oh, ah … You are here early, Kendil. I was just …" Orlebb lifted the bucket and rags with a shrug, then set them down next to the door.
Kendil hadn't seen very much of the castellan since delivering the wooden bust he had made for the man. He still recalled the vague disquiet that he had felt while they talked. That the castellan himself was performing cleaning services in their workroom only made him even more uneasy.
Orlebb walked over to the table, saying, "I hope you and the others don't mind that I undertook to keep your workspace clean myself. I understand that this project of yours is something of a secret, and thought that it would be more discreet to do it myself." He stopped by the talisman and stared down at it. Kendil didn't like the almost proprietary look that the castellan gave it. "Yes, this is an amazing work of art." He looked up and asked, "So, what might it be for?"
Kendil thought that Orlebb looked smug as he asked his question, but he couldn't imagine that the man knew what their talisman was really for. "Oh, it's just something to keep Eldinan, Nikkeus and myself busy over this winter. None of us are used to the kind of inactivity that winter in Wudamund means and Nikk had this idea … and, well, here it is."
Orlebb nodded knowingly, and said, "Yes, I can understand how such a backwater place as Wudamund might be lacking in excitement for folks from the heart of the empire. And you can only stay in bed for so long per day, eh?" He chuckled, and Kendil frowned slightly. "Well, you just go ahead with your work and I'll clean up as usual. Don't mind me." He walked back to his bucket and mop, grabbed some rags, and started dusting down the table top.
Kendil stood still for a moment, but finally decided that he couldn't take the humming, or the sidelong glances that were always backed by the slightest of smirks. He said, "I think I'll go see what is keeping Elin. We'll be right back." He hurried out, but he couldn't get the thought out of his head as he walked back to the Green Tower. What did Orlebb know or think he knew about the talisman?
Nikkeus found himself amazed by the results the three of them had produced so far. The carving of the body of the talisman had gone flawlessly, and the stone-like base was perfectly set up for the next step. The tracks in the stone that would contain the interlaced bands had been worked just right — the two tracks for the metal bands were flanged at the base, while the track for the glass band was dotted with slots for the wooden wedges.
He was finishing up the preparatory steps to casting the first band. Each metal band would to be hollow, as well as continuous. So, a form had been constructed to take up space in the middle of each band that would dissolve as the poured metal cooled. Also, the places where the bands crossed required blockages and bridges so that each band would keep its shape and cross properly.
It had been Elin who had figured out just exactly how to place the bridges and blockages. She had said it was like a puzzle whose pieces had just fit together in her mind, leaving her with the answer without her even having to put much thought into it. Nikkeus thought that it was something like his musical talent and Kendil's carving skill, just not as well recognized. It had certainly proved useful with the talisman.
Once the solution had been found, the three of them took turns working on the preparation — there was only room for one to work at a time. The other two worked on gathering and melting the metals for the first band. This melting only needed a normal crucible and a very hot fire, so it was done before he had finished the last details. But he caught up quickly, and finally everything was ready for the first pour.
The crucible was moved into position carefully. All three of them held their breath as they tipped it slowly over the track for the iron band and watched the molten metal pour out and flow around the proper grooves in the talisman.
Soon the track was filled properly, and Kendil and Nikkeus took the crucible back to the fire. Then they all stood around the table, watching the white-hot metal rapidly change color as it cooled. Even when it had returned to its normal dull silver, the metal still radiated enough heat to be felt a hand's breadth from its surface.
So, they waited longer, chatting about the design and discussing the structural elements that would be needed for the next band. Nikkeus found himself really enjoying their conversation, the way they were all concentrated on the same thing, all bringing their different talents together to produce a single object. It was so symbolic of their relationship, that he felt himself filling with a tingling lightness whenever he thought of it. The feeling made him just want to giggle and jump, but he didn't want to seem childish in front of his lovers, so he just savored the sensations and grinned.
Finally, the metal had cooled enough to handle. All three of them carefully worked to remove the forms and ease the bridges out from under the band. Then, Nikkeus tapped it with a small hammer and it rang with a very interesting tone. They all smiled at each other, and Nikkeus said, "Perfect!"
Kendil fetched some polishing cloths, and in short order, with three sets of hands working on it, the metal band was soon gleaming brightly. Even though it was only one third of the knot-work, it had its own beauty as it traced a continuous path around the entire talisman, beginning in the center of one of the cats and ending in the other cat. Elin said, "It's already a work of art!" and everyone agreed with her.
Elin and Kendil went to work emptying and cleaning the crucible, while Nikkeus went to work on the talisman again, starting to build the same things into the track that would contain the next band. He had barely started when Kendil came over and said, "We still don't have enough brass and such to fill out the second track. Elin and I are going out to scrounge. Would you like us to fetch some lunch?"
Nikkeus said, "Yes. Thanks."
Kendil hugged him, and Eldinan kissed him. "Don't work too hard. I'll take the next session," she said as the two of them walked out of the room.
Nikkeus was happy that the ambitious plan had worked, but there was more to do, and the idea for the third band was even more ambitious. He was working away steadily when the door to the workshop opened and Orlebb walked in.
He was carrying a sack and a tray of food. He walked right up next to Nikkeus and set both items down on the table. The sack clinked like it was full of metal as it settled.
Orlebb said, "I heard that your project needs more metals of value, and I just happened to have some lying around. You know, odds and ends of fancy tableware, left behind jewelry, that sort of thing. And when I saw Captain Eldinan in a hallway, she mentioned you were wanting some lunch. I believe she and Kendil are taking their meal as they search for more materials."
The castellan looked at the talisman, and said, "Oh, my health, that looks fantastic! And, yes, I see how you set it all up, bridges and forms and what's this? The bands are hollow then?" He tapped on the iron band with his fingernail, and then with the hilt of his knife when his first try produced nothing. At the tone the hilt produced from the band, he laughed — without smiling. "A work of art visually as well as aurally. Not that I should have expected anything else from the three of you, right?"
Nikkeus was not comfortable at all with the castellan in the room. He didn't like the way the man was looking at the talisman, and how did he dare rap on it with his dagger? But he liked it even less when Orlebb looked up at him — there was a look on the man's face that seemed … hungry? Nikkeus almost recognized something familiar in the look, but not quite. Perhaps it was that unsmiling mouth that hampered his recognition.
The silence stretched longer and longer, and Orlebb just continued to look at him with that hungry stare. Finally, Nikkeus said, slowly, "Um … Thank you. For the praise, and the food. And the metal. And … ah … I should get back to, well, work …"
Orlebb nodded, and said, "Yes, yes, more work. It is all moving along quite well, eh?. And I have work to do as well. Keep up the amazing work, Nikkeus."
Nikkeus sighed with relief as the castellan left the room. He pulled over a chair, and started nibbling at the lunch of meat, cheese and bread, trying to regain his composure. Maybe once he and Elin and Kendil were officially, if untraditionally, bonded, he would feel safer around that strange man.
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Dargon Things
Things are Dargon-specific characters, places, or items unique to the world of Dargon. The Things below appear in this story. You may click on one to see its definition and the stories in which it appears:
Ajee-ra
anhekova
Celene's Fire
Cherisk
cwicustan
Darst Range
Drabethel
Eldinan, Captain
erlantrielk
Fretheod
Geronlel
Green Tower, the
Hrothgrim the Skaldric
Kendil
krovelathan ceremony
memory wheel
Miffet
Nikkeus
Orlebb
teraehra
Wudamund
Yrmenweald
Zawk
F&SF Magazine
Kethrios
Suvudu
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text:
Le Dernier Message est un roman policier de Nicolas Beuglet paru en 2021.

Une enquêtrice recherche le meurtrier d'un homme qui a été mutilé puis excérébré. Elle découvrira les activités de l'organisation criminelle « Olympe ».

Résumé
Quand le récit commence, Grace Campbell est une policière écossaise qui a été mise à l'écart à la suite d'une erreur professionnelle commise un an auparavant.

Un meurtre vient d'être commis dans l'abbaye d'Iona située sur l'île d'Iona, à l'ouest de l'Écosse. Le monastère ne comprend qu'une demi-douzaine de moines. La victime, Anton Weisac (dont on découvrira plus tard qu'il s'agit de l'anagramme d'Isaac Newton) est un homme qui a trouvé refuge dans le monastère depuis quelques mois. Tous les moines sont suspects puisque le meurtre n'a pu être commis que par l'un d'eux. À la surprise de Grace, Anton Weisac, mutilé et excérébré, n'a aucune existence légale : on ne retrouve sa trace sur aucun fichier et ses empreintes digitales ne donnent aucun résultat.

La découverte d'un local secret dans lequel la victime avait entreposé du matériel de recherche et ses archives montre qu'elle s'intéressait à des questions d'astronomie, et notamment au fond diffus cosmologique. L'audition des moines permet aussi de savoir que la victime a reçu la visite d'un homme mystérieux qui pourrait bien être le tueur.

La poursuite de l'enquête mène Grace à s'intéresser à une grotte mystérieuse située à 300 km de là, toujours en Écosse, où elle découvre le repaire secret d'une organisation, « Olympe », qui y a entreposé plusieurs milliers de cercueils. Elle est sauvée de la mort par une agente de la DIA, Naïs. Les deux femmes s'allient pour rechercher Neil Steinabert, un second homme poursuivi par Olympe. À la recherche de Neil Steinabert (dont on découvrira plus tard qu'il s'agit de l'anagramme d'Albert Einstein), leur enquête les mène jusqu'à Nuuk puis au village de Kapisillit, au Groenland, où elles se retrouvent l'assassin d'Anton Weisac (il est le fils du consul des États-Unis en Écosse). Grace et Naïs tentent de retrouver Neil avant le tueur.

Bibliographie

Liens externes

 Le dernier message de Nicolas Beuglet: la folle énigme écossaise, lefigaro.fr/livres
 Le Dernier Message, culture-tops.fr
 Le Dernier Message, XO Éditions

Roman se déroulant en Écosse
Roman se déroulant au Groenland
Roman se déroulant dans les années 2020
Thriller (roman) français
Roman policier français
2021 en littérature policière


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If you are a mum that has been looking for home based business opportunities, you have probably come across quite a few advertisements. Some of these advertisements may mention that you can start a home based business for no money, little money or for a specified sum of money. Since you are serious about starting a home based business and being a work from home mum, you may have even contacted companies who are offering work from home jobs. After going over the responses, you have noticed that some companies have requested that you send them money in order for you to start your own home based business. If you have been told that you need to pay a company in order to start your own home based business, you may be wondering if it is a legit opportunity.
Just because a company requires that you send them money does not mean that their business opportunity is a scam. There are several reputable companies out there that do require a small upfront fee. There are ones however that will take your money and run. How do you determine the difference between the two?
First, you need to find out what exactly you will be paying for. Legitimate companies will have no problems sending you information on what you will receive for your money. If you are going to be selling products, you may have to pay an upfront fee in order to receive a starter kit containing the products you are going to be selling. If this is the case, the company should inform you of what products you will be receiving for the money you are paying them.
If the company you are interested in is vague about what you will be receiving for the money they want you to pay, this could be an indication that it is a scam. If you feel this is the situation, you can also ask the company for references. If you receive references, make sure to look up the telephone numbers yourself to make sure the numbers you were given do not just lead back to a representative at the company you are interested in.
When trying to decide if a home based business opportunity is legit or a scam, common sense will lead you in the right direction. If it seems too good to be true, then it probably is. There are a great number of work from home opportunities out there. If you find that the company you are interested in is not legitimate, do not give up and look for a company that is.


Carphone Warehouse is already getting ready to sell future products, or so they announced, as the word goes round revealing quite a tempting offer. Basically, if you buy a Windows 7 PC, you'll get a free smartphone with Windows Mobile 7 on it.
The offer will be available in the UK only, as far as we know, but there's a long time ahead of us, till the OS hits the market for real. Let's hope that those free smartphones will be decent, maybe even dreamy, like the HTC Touch HD, not some old 2006 device.
Would you buy a Windows 7 PC knowing that it comes with such an appealing bonus?


text:
An update of Blanchard's and Leigh's estimates in 'Growth Forecast Errors and Fiscal Multipliers '
Jan Mohlmann, Wim Suyker 01 December 2015
Olivier Blanchard and Daniel Leigh's work on growth forecast errors and fiscal multipliers in 2009-2011 has been highly influential. This column extends their approach to recent years. The authors do not find convincing evidence for stronger-than-expected fiscal multipliers for EU countries during the sovereign debt crisis (2012-2013) or during the tepid recovery thereafter.
Fiscal multipliers and Eurozone consolidation
Sebastian Gechert, Andrew Hughes Hallett, Ansgar Rannenberg
Fiscal consolidation: At what speed?
Olivier Blanchard, Daniel Leigh
Is high public debt harmful for economic growth? New evidence
Ugo Panizza, Andrea Presbitero
Failed forecasts and the financial crisis: How to resurrect economic modelling
Volker Wieland, Maik Wolters
Blanchard and Leigh's IMF working paper "Growth Forecast Errors and Fiscal Multipliers" (Blanchard and Leigh 2013a, 2013b) and its preceding Box in the IMF World Economic Outlook (IMF 2012) have been widely discussed, and have clearly influenced the policy debate and possibly the policy stance in some countries. For many, the work of Blanchard and Leigh presents convincing evidence that during the Crisis multipliers were larger than expected (e.g. Krugman 2012, Davies 2012, Fatás and Summers 2015). Their results support other research indicating larger multipliers when the output gap is strongly negative (e.g. Auerbach and Gorodnichenko 2012, 2013, Baum et al. 2012). However, research from the OECD (OECD 2014, Lewis and Pain 2015) suggests this result depends on the inclusion of Greece in the sample and that a more important explanation for the forecast errors is the assumption that the Eurozone Crisis would dissipate and sovereign bond yields would narrow.
The forecasts by Blanchard and Leigh are made using information available early in a given year. If countries which were expected to improve their structural fiscal balance performed worse than expected, then fiscal multipliers would be underestimated in the forecasts.1
The update and extension
We have extended their estimates up to 2015 and updated their estimates on the basis of more recent actual data on economic growth (the IMF World Economic Outlook of October 2015). We use their selection of 28 countries (EU27, excluding Estonia and Latvia, including Iceland, Norway, and Switzerland).
Figure 1. Economic growth and the output gap, Eurozone, 2007-2015
Source: IMF World Economic Outlook October 2015.
Table 1. Estimated β-coefficient
Note: Table 1 reports point estimates and Newey-West standard errors in parentheses (corrected for heteroskedasticity and autocorrelation up to one year). Statistical significance levels of 1%, 5% and 10% are indicated by ***, ** and *, respectively. Due to data availability Lithuania and Luxembourg were not included in 2009-2010, 2010-2011, 2011-2012; Romania was not included in 2011-2012; Cyprus was not included in 2013-2014, 2014-2015.
Table 1 shows our estimation results and the results of Blanchard and Leigh. (We were able to reproduce Blanchard and Leigh's estimations using the October 2012 data.) While actual economic growth, used to calculate the forecast error, in Blanchard and Leigh is based on the World Economic Outlook database of October 2012, we use the October 2015 version of this database. As Blanchard and Leigh did, we find a negative and statistically significant coefficient for 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 but not for 2011-2012. Our estimated coefficient for the period 2010-2011 is even larger than the original estimate (although the difference is not statistically significant). For 2012-2013 we find a larger estimate than Blanchard and Leigh, but due to the higher standard error the estimated coefficient is no longer significant at the 5% level. For this period, Blanchard and Leigh's estimate was rather premature as the predictions in October 2012 were applied as outcomes. In the two periods we added, our estimated coefficients are close to zero. No negative coefficient for recent years could be seen as consistent with the end of the Crisis as indicated by the pick-up in economic growth, although the output gap has remained sizeable (see Figure 1). However, it could also indicate learning by IMF forecasters. As Blanchard and Leigh did, we find a statistically significant negative coefficient in the panel forecast for 2009-2013. This result holds for the prolonged period 2009-2015. However, we do not find a statistically significant coefficient when we perform the panel analysis for the period 2011-2015.
The policy relevance of this result is that on the basis of the Blanchard-Leigh approach, there is no evidence that during the recent crises fiscal multipliers were higher than expected. There are indications this is true for the credit crisis (2009) but the evidence is less convincing for the sovereign debt crisis (2012-2013). While the drop in output in the Eurozone was smaller during the sovereign debt crisis, the output gap was almost as severe as in 2009 (see Figure 1). These results indicate that using the Blanchard-Leigh approach, there is no evidence that multipliers are currently higher than before the Crisis, assuming a similar monetary policy reaction function.
Auerbach, A and Y Gorodnichenko (2012), "Measuring the Output Responses to Fiscal Policy", American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, vol. 4(2), pp. 1-27.
Auerbach, A and Y Gorodnichenko (2013), "Fiscal Multipliers in Recession and Expansion", in: Alesina, A. and F. Giavazzi (eds.), Fiscal Policy after the Financial Crisis, University of Chicago Press.
Baum, A, M Poplawski-Ribeiro and A Weber (2012), "Fiscal Multipliers and the State of the Economy", IMF Working Paper 12/286.
Blanchard, O and D Leigh (2013a), "Growth Forecast Errors and Fiscal Multipliers", IMF Working Paper 13/1.
Blanchard, O and D Leigh (2013b), "Growth Forecast Errors and Fiscal Multipliers", American Economic Review: Papers and Proceedings, vol. 103(3), pp. 117-120.
Davies, G (2012), "High Fiscal Multipliers Undermine Austerity Programmes", Financial Times blog.
Fatás, A and L H Summers (2015), "The Permanent Effects of Fiscal Consolidations", CEPR Discussion Paper 10902.
IMF (2012), "Are We Underestimating Short-term Fiscal Multipliers?", Box 1.1 in World Economic Outlook, October.
Krugman, P (2012), "The IMF and the GOP", New York Times blog.
Möhlmann, J and W Suyker (2015), "An Update of Blanchard's and Leigh's Estimates in Growth Forecast Errors and Fiscal Multipliers", CPB Background Document.
Lewis, C and N Pain (2015), "Lessons from OECD forecasting during and after the financial crisis", OECD Journal: Economic Studies, 2014(1):9.39.
OECD (2014), "OECD forecasts during and after the financial crisis: A Post Mortem", OECD Economics Department Policy Notes No. 23.
1 The equation estimated by Blanchard and Leigh and by us is:
Forecast error of ΔYi,t:t+1 = a = β Forecast of ΔFi,t:t+1|t + ɛi,t:t+1,
where ΔY represents the cumulative change in real GDP in country i and ΔF represents the change in the general government structural fiscal balance in percent of potential GDP. A negative sign for β indicates that countries which were expected to improve their structural fiscal balance performed worse than expected by the forecasts.
Topics: Global crisis Macroeconomic policy
Tags: forecast errors, fiscal multipliers, output gap, Eurozone crisis
Jan Mohlmann
Economist in the Public Finance sector, CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis
Wim Suyker
Program Leader Public Finance, CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis