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About David Eastman
David's Voting Record
Gun Control & The 2nd Amendment
The Sanctity of Life
The Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend
Strengthening and Protecting the Family
Fighting for Better Outcomes for Students
Fighting for Small Business: The Engine of Job Creation
Maximum Sustainable Yield: Our Constitutional Obligation
Sustainable State Budgets and the Next Generation
The Binding Caucus and My Position on the Governor's Recall
The 90-Day Session
Positively Eastman
Why Do Alaska's Legislators Sell Out to Democrats After Every Election? The Answer is Simple.
Written by David Eastman on November 10, 2020 November 14, 2020
(Published November 10, 2020; Revised and expanded November 13, 2020)
The last time Alaskans elected a Democrat majority in the Alaska State Senate was in the 1970's, more than four decades ago.
The last time Alaskans elected a Democrat majority in the State House was in the early 90's, nearly three decades ago.
The last time Republican legislators allowed Democrat legislators to control the State House was…just this year (and the year before that…and the year before that…and the year before that).
Alaskans keep electing Republicans to the legislature in clear majorities (Republicans hold roughly 58% of seats in the State House today), but no matter. Once elected, they immediately put Democrat legislators in power. Despite that 58% majority, the Alaska State House is run today by a lifelong Democrat legislator from Dillingham.
Likewise. Republicans currently hold 65% of seats in the Alaska State Senate, but you wouldn't know it. Republicans in the Senate are led by a Senate Majority Leader who is a lifelong Democrat.
Why do Republican legislators keep selling out to Democrats? Simple. Because, somewhere along the way, they lost respect for the voters who elected them. There—I said it.
Once that respect is lost, the Binding Caucus steps in and provides ample incentives (both rewards and punishments) for them to abandon whatever allegiance they may have had to the voters of their political party. Over the years, a belief has arisen among legislators that when they are in Juneau they can get away with putting loyalty to their fellow legislators above loyalty to the voters who elected them. That is, until now.
August 2020—A massacre at the ballot box
On August 18th, the corruption of the Binding Caucus was put on trial, and Alaskan voters issued their verdict in the Republican Primary. In both the house and the senate, the verdict was the same; legislators who advocated for maintaining the Binding Caucus experienced a cataclysmic defeat.
As the counting of absentee ballots begins today, Republicans in the Alaska Legislature will have already lost more than 100 years of cumulative legislative experience when they return to Juneau in January. In other words, even if every Republican beats every Democrat today (which is unlikely), the leadership of the binding caucus in the legislature has already suffered a massacre. And it took place entirely within the Republican Party.
Twelve Republican legislators will not be coming back to Juneau next year, most after unsuccessfully running for re-election earlier this year. When you consider that Alaska has the smallest state house, and the smallest state senate, of any state in the country, that is an astonishing statistic. The most senior Republican members of the State House and Senate were each unsuccessful in convincing voters to return them to office. More than that, the two most powerful Republican legislators in the House, and the two most powerful Republican legislators in the Senate, were also unsuccessful at the ballot box. More than 100 years of experience in the legislature—gone. And any Democrat victories this week will only add to that number.
One would think that any surviving Republican legislators would be on notice to avoid the mistakes of their peers. Unfortunately, that's not the way this game works. Of those that remain, the most senior Republicans in the House, as well as in the Senate, are already pushing to reconstitute the same corrupt Binding Caucus system to which they have grown so accustomed. Some are declaring publicly that they will even refuse to collaborate with their fellow Republican legislators without it.
Elections have the ability to change out legislators, but elections alone can't replace a legislative culture that has gone off the rails. To accomplish that, you need men and women of courage in the legislature who are willing to insist on a better way.
What is wrong with the Binding Caucus Culture?
The practice of extorting votes from fellow Republican legislators is based on a lie. That lie may be obvious to members of the public, but it is no longer obvious to some of those I serve with in the legislature today, so let me explain.
Either the people of Alaska are deserving of respect from those in the legislature, or they are not. The lie says they are not.
Either legislators, as elected representatives of the people, are deserving of that same respect from their fellow legislators, or they are not. Again, the lie says they are not.
And if they are not, then it is perfectly acceptable to coerce, extort, threaten, bully and punish your fellow Republicans serving in the legislature if they are an obstacle to your personal political agenda.
The lie was expressed quite candidly by one of my Republican colleagues earlier this year:
"As a Republican legislator, you represent the caucus, you represent us, you are accountable to us."
And there you have it. No mention of representing the people of one's district. To some, the only people that matter are the ones in Juneau.
Another Republican legislator was even more curt: "I can go to the leadership of the Democrat-led Caucus and have you expelled from the legislature whenever I want."
Let that sink in for a moment. In the mind of some Republican legislators today, your ability to serve your constituents as an elected legislator is predicated first on your willingness to support that legislator's personal political agenda. And if you aren't supporting the personal agendas of your fellow legislators with sufficient enthusiasm, they can simply invalidate your election and then feel completely justified in having you replaced with someone who will be more accommodating.
And this is how Republican legislators treat one another in Juneau.
The idea of respecting the will of voters: gone.
The idea of legislators first loyalty being to those they represent: gone.
The idea of Republican legislators being loyal to Republican principles and values: gone.
The idea of legislators acting in accordance with their conscience and campaign promises: gone.
The idea of legislators honoring state law: gone.
If you think I exaggerate on that last bullet, reflect a moment on what happened in the senate last year. In July, the governor called legislators to Wasilla to authorize last year's PFD. According to state law, the governor was entirely within his legal authority to designate the location for the meeting. More than one-third of legislators answered that call and traveled to Wasilla. The remainder attempted to designate their own location, but failed to garner enough votes to do so legally. After trying to secure the votes and coming up short, they decided to take a novel approach. They simply declared that they didn't need to follow the law, and flew down to Juneau anyway. What's more, Republicans in the senate then publicly declared that they would punish any of their fellow Republican legislators who had followed the law and assembled in Wasilla with the governor.
Simply for following state law and attending the meeting in Wasilla, they stripped the Senate Majority Leader (Sen. Mia Costello, R-Anchorage) of her position. Let that sink in a moment. Simply for following the law, and for no other reason, they stripped the third most powerful Republican legislator of her position, and her fellow Republicans in the senate selected a Democrat legislator to serve as their Senate Majority Leader in her place.
In the eyes of a majority of her Republican senate colleagues, she didn't represent her constituents or herself when she chose to honor the law, she represented them. And if they chose not to follow the law, they were justified in punishing her for her decision to follow it.
Welcome to being a Republican in the Alaska legislature in 2020. I know, you're probably saying "where can I sign up, right?"
The main battle in the Alaska legislature today isn't between Republicans and Democrats. Actually, it is being fought entirely within the Republican camp. On the one side you have a handful of conservative legislators who have been fighting for the right to represent their constituents without first obtaining permission from other legislators to do so. On the other side, you have Republican legislators for whom the give and take of compromise and negotiation with their fellow legislators is an entirely foreign concept, and the only solution is the consolidation of power in the hands of a small few (usually them).
I have been on the front lines of this fight each year that I have been in office.
Over those four years, no small amount of time has been spent discussing whether or not a handful of legislators will decide for us how we will vote on important votes, what bad legislation we will be permitted to critique, and which rules or laws we must break (or allow to be broken). Of course, each time conservatives assert the right to fairly represent their districts, we hear the threat—sometimes subtle, sometimes not so subtle—that if we won't agree in advance to vote how we are told, some of those same legislators can and will put Democrats in power who will be willing to do so.
This arrangement turns the concept of representative government on its head. The legislators whose votes are not for sale suffer the worst treatment, while those legislators willing to bind their votes to their fellow legislators get to auction those votes off to the highest bidder. Republican legislators willing to facilitate the consolidation of power in the hands of just a few legislators are rewarded handsomely for doing so, while those who insist on representing their district are treated worse than Democrats by many of their Republican peers.
In the end, this arrangement leaves voters with the least amount of power (it really doesn't matter who the people elect if they are just going to vote how they are told when they arrive in Juneau), and it leaves lobbyists with the greatest amount of power (how much easier is it for a lobbyist to only have to convince 5-6 legislators to adopt a policy than to have to try and convince all 60 legislators to do so?).
Despite repeated punishments of various kinds, and public opposition from some of my Pro-Binding Caucus colleagues at election time, I have let it be known that my loyalty will remain to the Alaskans I represent in the Mat-Su, and to my own conscience which guides me in voting on their behalf. My vote is not for sale to a small group of legislators in Juneau, and neither is my loyalty. Needless to say, this hasn't won me any favors in a legislature that relies on the Binding Caucus to achieve consensus and silence dissent.
And those are the battle lines going into today's ballot count. Will legislators represent the values of those that elected them, or will they instead be coerced into representing the values of a small group of legislators? Of course, if the latter prevails, it removes the people of Alaska from the equation entirely.
What if we eliminate the Binding Caucus?
Some mistakenly believe that if we simply eliminate the binding caucus, all will be well again. Unfortunately, it is not so easy.
The Binding Caucus is a symptom of a problem that runs much deeper. Instead of facilitating the ability of legislators to represent their constituents, much of the machinery of the legislative branch of government has been repurposed to prevent that very thing from taking place. Today, Republican legislators are faced with the very real threat that if they won't agree in advance to vote how they are told under a binding caucus, some of their fellow Republican legislators will put Democrats in power who will be willing to do so. In either scenario, the caucus consolidates power at the expense of the people who lose their right to meaningful representation in the halls of government.
The relationship between a voter and their elected representative was once held to be a sacred component of our constitutional system of government. No longer. A third party, the caucus, has inserted itself into that relationship and demanded first claim to the loyalty of legislators. And armed with the power of the legislative branch of government, the caucus has ample tools with which to coerce desired behavior on the part of legislators. Yes, a few still resist, but most legislators have learned to accommodate this third party. The real victim of course is the people, who stand to lose the loyalty of the very representatives sent to Juneau on their behalf.
The lie that a legislator's role in Juneau is to represent their fellow legislators has grown so strong today that it extends beyond those in the formal binding caucus to any member of the legislature, whether in a binding caucus or not. The constituents I represent would never tolerate my disenfranchising them by joining a binding caucus. And so I never have. But that has not stopped the threats from some of my fellow Republican legislators.
One point of great contention this year was the minting of 5,000,000 $1 copper coins for circulation here in Alaska. It was an exceedingly liberal proposal that my district did not support, and I did everything in my power to kill it. But my fellow Republican legislators joined Democrats in supporting it, and I was told by Republican legislators that it was wrong of me to publicly try to kill a policy that they were supporting. When asked by the ADN, why my fellow Republican legislators chose to side with Democrats to publicly punish me earlier this year, this was the first reason they cited. And what's more, many of my fellow Republican legislators believed themselves completely justified in treating a fellow Republican legislator worse than a Democrat for maintaining and publicly advocating for a position that accurately reflects my conservative, Republican district. This is the power the lie holds in Juneau today. Again, 'your first loyalty isn't to voters, your first loyalty is to "us". And if you oppose "us", we can punish you and the people you represent.'
The process of sanctioning legislators has now been weaponized and used against conservatives
The corruption of the caucus system has turned the entire process of sanctioning legislators on its head today. Procedures that were meant to address issues like public drunkenness, bribery and election fraud, are now instead used to threaten and punish legislators for being too conservative, refusing to lie, or refusing to break the law.
This isn't about the give and take of compromise over policies. This is about an ultimatum: "Get in line, or be punished."
Of course, such punishments never stop at the legislator themselves. When the caucus punishes a legislator they also punish the Alaskans that legislator represents.
This past year, the caucus made this explicit. In issuing its punishment of a legislator, it explicitly communicated to voters in one region of the state that it disapproved of who they had elected, and publicly advised them to elect someone more to the liking of legislators in Juneau. As they had not done so, it removed that region's voice on a key committee. Incredibly, the caucus explained to the public that the Mat-Su should not be concerned over this because it would be looking out for their interests by selecting a legislator from another part of the state who would look after the interests of the Mat-Su just as carefully as the legislator the people had elected to look after their own interests.
It would be difficult indeed to find a more glaring example of the contempt that some legislators have for the people of Alaska today.
How can a system of free and fair elections exist, when the government assumes the right to weigh in on whether the people have chosen the "right kind" of legislators? When the government assumes the right to punish the people for the choices they made at the ballot box? When the government uses taxpayer resources to publicly declare to each voter in the state its position that the people of one part of the state should not re-elect a particular legislator, and just to ensure they get the message, it moves at the same time to deprive those same Alaskans of their voice on a key committee.
In the conflict between a lie and the truth, only one can prevail. Either legislators are justified in their recent decisions to punish legislators and the Alaskans they represent, or they are not. Either they have an obligation under our constitutional system to respect the will of the people following an election, or they may continue to hold voters in contempt for their choices, use various punishments to coerce voter behavior, and use taxpayer resources to communicate the preferences of those in Juneau when it comes to who should and shouldn't be re-elected on Election Day.
One thing is for certain. The culture that has prevailed among Republicans legislators up 'til now has given incredible power to the small group of Republican legislators who issue the threats, while disenfranchising each and every Alaskan voter who turned up to vote thinking they were voting for a Republican agenda. What is needed today, more than ever, are men and women of courage in the legislature who will insist on a better way. If they do not, legislators may never recover the respect for voters that has been lost, the temptation to sell out to Democrats will continue to be too powerful for some Republicans to withstand, and a Republican agenda will always remain just out of reach.
Trump Lost and Jeffrey Epstein Killed Himself
What Happens When Losing an Election Becomes Intolerable? — Rep. David Eastman
Alaskan Legislators Join with Legislators from Idaho and Arizona to Defend the U.S. Constitution
Owned and operated by David Eastman.
Paid for by Freedom-Loving Alaskans for David Eastman, 3060 N. Lazy Eight Ct. Ste. 2, #332, Wasilla, AK 99654
Copyright © 2021 - Freedom-Loving Alaskans for David Eastman


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Air Liquide to Build and Operate for Shagang a Low Carbon Gas Plant Which Is Also the World's Largest for the Steel Industry
July 9, 2021 By admin Leave a Comment
PARIS – Liquide (Paris:AI) and Jiangsu Shagang Group, the largest private steel enterprise in China and one of top 5 globally1, have signed a new long-term agreement for the supply of industrial gases in Zhangjiagang City, Jiangsu Province, China. Air Liquide will invest around 100 million euros towards the construction of a world-scale Air Separation Unit (ASU) on the site, where it already operates two other ASUs. Designed to use low carbon energy, this state of the art plant will allow to significantly reduce CO2 emissions over time. This new ASU will also be a new source of krypton and xenon to address the growing demand of the Electronics industry, as well as other air gases for our industrial merchant activity in China.
Under a 20 year-long contract, Air Liquide will build, own and operate a new state-of-the-art ASU with a daily capacity of 3,800 tonnes of oxygen. It is the largest single ASU for the steel industry in the world, as well as Air Liquide's largest ASU in China. When the new unit starts up at the end of 2023, it will bring the total installed oxygen capacity to over 8,000 tonnes per day on the site.
The new ASU is equipped with the proprietary solution AliveTM, an innovation that allows for the storage of up to 60 MW of energy per day, enabling flexibility in the grid and contributing to a higher reliability of gas supply. Replacing old assets installed on the customer site, and using an incremental proportion of low-carbon energy, this new ASU will contribute to a lower carbon footprint for this flagship site, in line with Air Liquide's journey towards carbon neutrality.
This ASU will be a key source of krypton and xenon for Air Liquide, addressing the growing demand of the Electronics industry. The Zhangjiagang site will also become Air Liquide's largest liquid oxygen and nitrogen source in China, with its Ultra Purity Oxygen capacity positioning it strategically to support small-and-medium sized customers of liquid and packaged gases, including local hospitals requiring high-purity medical gases, in East China.
François Abrial, Member of the Air Liquide Group's Executive Committee supervising Asia Pacific, said, "This new contract further enhances Air Liquide and Shagang Group's long-term partnership which was established in 2007. With this state-of-the-art low carbon plant, we are committed to leveraging our innovative solutions to help our customers reduce the carbon footprint of steel-making and other industries. This is a new illustration of our commitment to act for a sustainable future and reach carbon neutrality by 2050."
Shen Wenrong, Chairman of Jiangsu Shagang Group, said: "Air Liquide boasts advanced ASU technology and expertise in engineering & manufacturing and digitalized operations. Building on our strong cooperation, this new contract will further strengthen our relationship while bringing down Shagang's production cost and energy consumption. Echoing China's objectives for carbon peak and carbon neutrality, we look forward to working with Air Liquide to explore decarbonizing steel-making through technologies of hydrogen metallurgy and carbon capture."
Air Liquide China
Air Liquide in China operates nearly 120 plants and employs close to 5,000 employees. With a strong presence in the key coastal industrial areas, Air Liquide is now expanding into the center, south and west. Its main business activities include industrial and medical gas operations, Engineering & Construction (designing, manufacturing and installing air separation units/hydrogen facilities), as well as Innovation activities.
A world leader in gases, technologies and services for Industry and Health, Air Liquide is present in 78 countries with approximately 64,500 employees and serves more than 3.8 million customers and patients. Oxygen, nitrogen and hydrogen are essential small molecules for life, matter and energy. They embody Air Liquide's scientific territory and have been at the core of the company's activities since its creation in 1902.
Air Liquide's ambition is to be a leader in its industry, deliver long term performance and contribute to sustainability – with a strong commitment to climate change and energy transition at the heart of its strategy. The company's customer-centric transformation strategy aims at profitable, regular and responsible growth over the long term. It relies on operational excellence, selective investments, open innovation and a network organization implemented by the Group worldwide. Through the commitment and inventiveness of its people, Air Liquide leverages energy and environment transition, changes in healthcare and digitization, and delivers greater value to all its stakeholders.
Air Liquide's revenue amounted to more than 20 billion euros in 2020. Air Liquide is listed on the Euronext Paris stock exchange (compartment A) and belongs to the CAC 40, EURO STOXX 50 and FTSE4Good indexes.
Filed Under: Tech Tagged With: Steel Industry, carbon neutrality
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Legendary captain Milkha singh passes away at age 91 due to Covid complications.
Flying Sikh 91-year-old Milkha Singh breathed his last at PGIMER on Friday night.
Milkha Singh, Honorary sportsman, also known as flying Sikh contracted the virus on May 20, 2021. He and his wife Nirmal Kaur was tested positive for covid 19 last month after battling with the virus for many days his wife passed away and five days after the demise of his wife 85-year-old Nirmal Kaur, He was tested positive after one of their family cooks tested positive and was admitted to a private Mohali hospital on May 24. Singh had been discharged on May 30 before he was admitted to the Covid ward in the Nehru Hospital Extension at PGIMER on June 3 due to dipping oxygen levels.
The former Indian athlete had tested negative for Covid-19 on Thursday earlier this week and was shifted from the Covid ICU to the medical ICU at PGIMER but unfortunately, his situation became critical and he had started having complications including fever and dropping of oxygen saturation level. After battling with the deadly virus, he left us on 19th June 2021. It's a really sad day for all Indians.
He was the pride of the nation who He also represented India in the 1956 and 1964 Olympics and was honoured with the Padma Shri award. ' the ones we love are never gone, they will live within our hearts. Milkha Ji will always live in our hearts.
We all pray for peace and comfort for the Milkha Ji's family and loved ones at this difficult time and offer our condolences to you all.
Peddler Media.
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If you a looking to select the best water pump for your rainwater tank then you will see specifications like rated and maximum flow rates or head. What do they mean? What should you look for? Will the pump be adequate for your needs? The focus of this article will explore the question of rated and maximum "head" in water pressure pumps.
What is Pump "Head" and "Total Head"?
When talking about how pumps work, or looking over pump specifications, you will come across maximum and rated "head" distance. If you don't know much about water pumps, then you are probably just wanting to know how much pressure it can output and whether such is adequate for your needs. So, what is head? Why is it even mentioned when you just want water pressure!?
Pump head is about water pressure your pump can handle, only vertically. If you were to attach pipes to your pump and extend them vertically upwards, how far can your pump pressurise water against gravity? This is important to know, especially since your water source and pump will likely be lower than its access points on your property. Intuitively, a pump that exerts more pressure should be able to pump water higher and therefore have a higher head.
With a general understanding of "head" there is another term you may have heard about – total head. What is "total head"? It is important to understand that the height a pump can pressurise water to is also affected by how full your tank is. A pump will be able to pressure water higher when received from a fuller tank than one that is almost empty. "Total head" is therefore a much more useful figure which removes the height of water in your tank from the equation.
Now we understand what pump "head" is, there are normally two figures listed for this in pump specifications: "Rated Head" and "Maximum Head." How are we to understand these two different values?
It is best to examine what it would mean for a pump to have a maximum head of 35 metres. This means that under ideal install conditions, the pump can pressurise water to this height. Surely, this would be suitable for most home owners. Perhaps it would suffice, but there are two missing questions that must be answered before going with such a pump.
The first question is the actual water flow rate once pressured to the maximum height? The point at which it is zero pressure is generally considered the "maximum head". This means your access points will need to be much lower than the maximum head or water just won't flow from your taps.
The second is that maximum head represents ideal install conditions. The pipes plumbed around your property and into your home often have bends in them, t-joins, small tubing, distances and the like. The pipework can impact upon the "maximum head" pressure, and this is where "rated head" is better to observe. The figure under "rated head" represents the ideal height you should consider its use for – most pumps will quite simply not deliver above their rated head.
Finally, you will want to know what pressure you might expect at certain heights. This is where pump manufacturers often provide line charts mapping head to expected water flow. If you measure the height from the location of your pump to your highest water access point, then you should have a good idea of what pump you will need.
To make it easier, most manufacturers recommend the number of taps a pump is good for. You should now be in a good position tell if one manufacturer is overstating, although most are generally adequate reflections if you take into consideration not all access points will be used at once, water saving taps and aerators or the like might be getting used.


We rounded up the best anniversary gifts by year, with unique and romantic ideas for him, her, and them.
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Let there be light: The luminous modernism of Richard MeierEver since his self-proclamation as part of the New York Five, Richard Meier has risen through one top commission after another to the dizzy heights of architectural stardom. From Madison Square Garden to Shenzen, China, his sleek, luminously white modernism has created some of the most high-profile, and distinctive, buildings of the 20th and 21st centuries.Meier s portfolio is as varied as it is illustrious. He has worked with Roman treasures (the Ara Pacis Museum), seaside resorts (Jesolo Lido Village), civic centers (San Jose City Hall), and private clients in the Hamptons. On each project, Meier s hallmarks are careful grid plans, and expansive use of white surfacing and glass. The buildings are as much beacons of brilliance from the exterior as they are temples to clarity and purpose inside.This introductory book traces Meier s complete career to explore the making of a cult architect. With abundant images, we take in all his most famous projects, such as the Getty Center in Los Angeles, as well as his most recent works such as the OCT Shenzhen Clubhouse in Shenzhen, China and the Burda Collection Museum in Baden-Baden, Germany.About the series: Each book in TASCHEN s Basic Architecture series features: an introduction to the life and work of the architect the major works in chronological order information about the clients, architectural preconditions as well as construction problems and resolutions a list of all the selected works and a map indicating the locations of the best and most famous buildings approximately 120 illustrations (photographs, sketches, drafts and plans)"


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Resources from both the PolyConf 2015 talk and relational interpreters workshop

PolyConf 2015:
http://polyconf.com/

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Talk

`append`, `appendo`, proof checker/theorem prover code:
`talk-code/scheme-interpreter/poly-scheme.scm`

Semantics for the WHILE language adapted from 'Semantics with Applications: A Formal Introduction' by Hanne Riis Nielson and Flemming Nielson.  Wiley Professional Computing, (240 pages, ISBN 0 471 92980 8), Wiley, 1992. Revised 1999 version available online at:
http://www.daimi.au.dk/~bra8130/Wiley_book/wiley.html

Symbolic execution example adapted from Stephen Chong's slides (with content from slides by Jeff Foster):
http://www.seas.harvard.edu/courses/cs252/2011sp/slides/Lec13-SymExec.pdf

Symbolic execution code in WHILE:
`talk-code/while-interpreter/poly-while.scm`

Example symbolic execution call:
`talk-code/while-interpreter/poly-trans.scm`

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Workshop

Write a Relational Scheme Interpreter in miniKanren

This workshop will cover the fundamentals of programming in miniKanren, an embedded domain specific language for
constraint logic programming. We will begin with an overview of the miniKanren language, and will write a few
simple miniKanren relations that "run backward." We will then write a more sophisticated miniKanren program: an
environment-passing Scheme interpreter, written as a relation. We will extend the interpreter in various ways, and
explore how the interpreter can be used for program synthesis.

Minimal Scheme/Call-by-Value Lambda-calculus interpreter, written in Scheme:
`workshop-code/interp.scm`

Minimal Scheme/Call-by-Value Lambda-calculus interpreter, written in miniKanren:
`workshop-code/interpo.scm`

Transcripts from the workshop:
`workshop-code/trans.scm`,
`workshop-code/trans2.scm`

miniKanren.org:
http://minikanren.org/

Faster miniKanren implementation (Racket and Vicare Scheme):
https://github.com/michaelballantyne/faster-miniKanren

Racket:
http://racket-lang.org/

Vicare Scheme:
http://marcomaggi.github.io/vicare.html

Veneer (client-side JavaScript compiler for miniKanren):
http://tca.github.io/veneer/editor.html

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Sanremo the city of flowers, architecture and art.
Sanremo, the fourth center of Liguria is known as the city of flowers. The lush flora of the city is due to the mild climate which characterizes the Italian Riviera.
A temperate climate, a slight breeze that blows constantly and winter never too hard.
Sanremo was founded in Roman times along the Via Julia Augusta. In Trececnto passed under the Maritime Republic of Genoa. Napoleon was at the end of 700, while in 1814 it was annexed to the Kingdom of Sardinia Savoy.
Today it is the seat of the Sanremo Festival of the Italian Song, the "Festival di Sanremo", which takes place at the Ariston theater every year for the past more than half a century. The city is home to more than a hundred years the Casino.
As for the architecture and art, Sanremo has some points of particular interest: the Castello Devachan, in a style that recalls the Art Nouveau, built at the end of 800, the Collegiate Basilica Cathedral of San Siro, the Russian Orthodox Church, wanted by the Russian nobility who came here to spend the winter at the end of 800.
Sanremo is a place ideal for a summer holiday, to enjoy the beautiful summer Liguria, and for a stay during the spring, during the festival, in winter, when the weather is mild and the scenery is gorgeous.
The protection offered in Sanremo from mountain ridge that rises immediately behind it makes the climate of the city is by far the most gentle among those detected in Liguria in northern Italy and in the top part of the center (similar climatic conditions will meet just south of the city of Rome).


Good morning everyone :) I do hope you've all been enjoying Blogmas, I have been loving it and it's helped me get through December and the craziness without having to worry about what I should post on the blog or try to come up with an interesting post.
Right, so today's prompt is about Christmas in our home countries. For some of us we are still living in the country we were born, but for many others, we have moved overseas.
So I'm Portuguese and some of my fondest memories of Christmas are from Portugal, so I figured that is what I would share with you today.
Welcome to Christmas in Lisbon, Portugal.
Pai Natal (Father Christmas) brings the presents on Christmas Eve rather than Christmas Day. The presents are usually left under the tree, or in shoes by the fireplace.
The main meal is on Christmas Eve and it's called the Consoada, it usually consists of the Cod Fish boiled, with potatoes and some sort of greens. After dinner, a lot of people will then go to church for the Missa do Galo (Mass of the Rooster). Usually during the mass, a statue of baby Jesus is brought out and people will line up to kiss it. Then it is placed in the Presepio (Nativity Scene). It's quite a lovely service.
The traditional Christmas decoration in Portugal is the Nativity Scene, a lot of stores will put up elaborate and stunning Nativity scenes on their windows. We used to enjoy going to town just to go look at all of them.
Remember how I said we always have a table with tons of goodies on there? That is what most Portuguese houses will have. Traditional food, cakes, appetizers, nuts and all sorts of things.
One thing we always had and I can never find here in the States are the Christmas crackers. You know what those are right? They would contain some candy and a Christmas hat that we would all put on our heads. In the one photo I shared of us as little kids at Christmas, you can see those hats on our heads. I know I can buy them online but I don't really ever see them in the stores.
The traditional cake for Christmas is the Bolo Rei (King's Cake). It will usually sit right in the middle of the table and inside there is a broad bean (fava) and a little gift. Usually these tiny little trinkets hidden in the cake. If you find the trinket you can keep it, but if you find the bean then you have to buy the cake the following year.
Christmas in Portugal is a big family gathering, a time to sit together and eat good food, catch up and bond. I love the fact that I'm Portuguese and that I can pass these traditions onto my children and hopefully one day when they have children of their own, they will be able to share these with them too.
I love hearing about Christmas in Portugal. It's the little customs that make it so special. Many of the things you described for Christmas we did when I was a kid also, but they were more spread out through the entire holiday. like the cake was for Epiphany on the 6th. I really miss nativities here - when I was a kid they were more prominent with many churches doing living nativities and centering their programs around it.
I've found Christmas crackers at Cost Plus World Market (if you have one near you in ID) and at our Smith's (Kroger) grocery store! Smith's has them out closer to New Year's Eve but I bet you could find them before Christmas. Good luck!
I LOVE reading all about the different traditions from other countries and cultures! It's just fascinating to me. Thanks for sharing and I loved your photos!
I think there was mix up as on your original blogmas list today said Christmas tree reveal. So I had my post all done and went to find your icon for it and on your icon list from Blogmas Day 1 post you had the countries post listed next. So I just stuck with the original list and did my tree reveal as I don't have a home country to share. Hope that's ok!
It's so neat learning about other cultures and how they observe Christmas! Love all the pictures you included!
Wow Christmas in Portugal looks beautiful!
Loved reading your post! Lisbon must be so beautiful at Christmas time! Hope you do carry on the traditions you're able to (the cake etc....). We also have crackers in England and I can't get them here, and they can't be sent by post, so I make my own for the children (minus the 'banger' bit)....I was thinking of doing a mini tutorial next week......(they're very easy but I'd kind of like to see if I can do a 'tutorial' type post)......LOVED your post today!
Beautiful pictures. I loved hearing about your Portugese Christmas.
We have Christmas crackers every year here. Did yours have cheesy jokes in too?
We have started using Christmas Crackers in the last few years. Lovely traditions and photos.


My sons are turning 16 and 19 this month. We have come a long way, but we still have a long way to go. It's good work, so I do not mind.
I have been running and working and drawing and painting and lettering since January and now coloring since February 1 with Kathy Racoosin's The Daily Marker 30 Day Challenge. I had done a lot of coloring and cards that I just did not publish online. Sometimes I felt that the photos were not good enough. Sometimes I felt the art was not good enough and sometimes I was right about both and sometimes I was just insecure. Maybe I got tired of that.


While many diets can help you lose weight, they don't work over the long term because you will probably gain it back. These are the striking results of our recent study of more than 3,500 Withings scale users. But wait! We also discovered what really does work. Want long-term weight loss success? Keep reading and use the dropdown menus to see how our results apply to your age class, gender, and BMI.
Diets are the 2nd most popular method to lose weight, with 83% of our users saying they've followed a diet to lose weight. Among women over 40, diets are most popular method. But, for long-term weight loss, we found that diets just don't cut it. We decided to look closer and find out what does work.
What diets do people flock to? Globally, Withings users prefer low calorie diets, such as Weight Watchers, over the Dukan and Atkins diets. And although eating like a caveman seems like the definition of old school, we saw that the Paleo diet is much more popular with people in their 20s than people over 50.
Yes, diets help people lose weight. But our study revealed that no matter what diet you choose, people gain back 65% of the lost weight in the six months following the diet. Even worse: you undo all that hard work and you can change the body's fat-to-muscle ratio, as regained weight is mainly fat.
Coach.me also ran a study to compare popular diets. They found that adherence made people lose up to 4x more weight, and that simply giving up soda and fast food contributed to extra 1.2% of weight loss. Check out the full results here.
So if diets don't go the distance, what does? Not to sound like your mom, but the answer is clear: good eating habits matter. Amazingly, the probability of being overweight is increased by 42% when people eat quickly, and is reduced by 26% when people eat at least 4 fruits or vegetables per day.
Probability of being overweight vs. having a normal BMI.
Here's a simple, but astonishingly powerful key to success: Track food, track weight, and don't stop, because it works. We observed that when overweight or obese users track their weight and food intake regularly, they lose over 7 times more than users who are not regular trackers.
more weight is lost on average by users that track regularly their weight and food intake.
Ready to take to the next step to a healthy weight loss?
A Wi-Fi scale that features highly accurate weight, full body composition, and seamless tracking in the Health Mate™ app to help you reach your goals.
A Wi-Fi scale that features weight, BMI, and automatic sync to the Health Mate™ app, where you can view trends and find extra motivation to reach your goals.
This study was conducted by Nokia based on data gathered from a panel of more than 3,500 users of Nokia connected scales. Weight loss was determined according to the declared diet duration, and historical weight data.
Nokia guarantees the confidentiality of personal data and protects the privacy of all its users. Therefore, all data used for this study was rigorously anonymized and aggregated in order to avoid any re-identification.
A detailed glossary of diet types can be found in this WebMD link.


I believe many instructional designers have come across the same dilemma: sometimes it is just hard to find right images and video for the instructional materials. The content expert sent you a big word document with all the contents that s/he wants to put into the course. However the content is so abstract and it is hard to find good images to come with the content. Not to mention if you don't have the budget to pay $2000 per year for a stock photo account.
So I found Kinetic Typography can help. I started exploring ways to make Kinetic Typography videos two days ago. After downloading a couple of kinetic Typography templates and trying them out, I figured the best way to make a kinetic typography video is to start from the scratch. Because the animation of texts have to be so closely paired with their meaning, and the specific tune of your video, it is actually not worth the time to try to modify an existing kinetic typography template. Instead, it is probably more time efficient to start from scratch.
This entry was posted in Adobe After Effects, Instructional Design and tagged after effects, kinetic typography, video by Rui. Bookmark the permalink.


ANDRA and Willowbank Raceway are pleased to announce an exciting new event will be added to the 2013 calendar featuring championship rounds of Top Fuel and Top Alcohol.
Darren Morgan Racing went into last weekend at the Perth Motorplex with high expectations having won the first 2 rounds of the ANDRA Top Fuel Championship.
After much anticipation the 2013 calendar of events for Hidden Valley Drag Strip has now been released.
A new crop of Doorslammers are rapidly reaching completion for their on track debut.
The new Greene Machine Funny Car made its first test pass on Saturday night at Perth Motorplex, provided an added treat for fans watching the third round of the ANDRA Top Fuel Championship.
FUCHS Top Fuel dragster pilot Phil Lamattina has made his third finals appearance in row after the first three rounds of the current ANDRA Championship season.


Modules – Advanced PrestaShop modulesThe Best PrestaShop Modules, Plugins and Extensions for PrestaShop 1.7 and PrestaShop 1.6. Get PrestaShop Modules for your PrestaShop Transformer Theme, your PrestaShop Panda Theme and More!
Search by category module for PrestaShop 1.7.
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This topic contains 13 replies, has 8 voices, and was last updated by yobo Feb 11.
Here are some shared translation packages. You can download any one you need. They might contain other users' information, like email addresses, phone numbers. So please double check all translations before putting your sites online.
How to import them: http://doc.prestashop.com/display/PS16/Translations "Import a Language Pack Manually" section.
This topic was modified Oct '17 by yobo.
This topic was modified Oct '17 by Jonny.
thank you very much for translations but I have 3 questions.
1. Are this translations only for Transformer theme or for the whole Prestashop?
or for the Transformer 4 with Prestashop 1.7?
3. Have anybody the german translations?
1. The translations are just for the Transformer theme only.
2. They are just for the Transformer theme v3, if you are using the Transformer v4, please view my documentation to download translation files from corwdin.com.
3. It is a goog idea that customers can share their translations for the Transformer v3 in Prestashop 1.6 there, that is welcome.
This reply was modified Oct '17 by yobo.
I don't understand how to translate the theme.
could you please reply me?
Does the German translation for Transformer Theme for Prestashop 1.6 exists?
Hello. Where can I translate to russian this? 1.7 Thank you.
Hello, I rent German translator services to do translation for Transformer PS 1.6.
Only FO Theme and main FO modules were done so it's only for user and not for administrators.
Feel free to contact me in private to arrange a deal.
can transformer 4 translation files be used for version 3?
Is there translation platform like for version 4 where people put translation files?
@info68 Can send me the German translation so can other customers download it? thanks for your great work.
[NEW MODULE] WebP module for PrestaShop to have smaller images and fast loading.
[NEW MODULE] ImageMagick for PrestaShop with ajax generator, with it you will have high quality optimized images.
[OPTIMIZATION] It's recommended for everyone to take a look at this post Why pagination is slow, switching combination is slow, add-to-cart is slow, all AJAX requests are slow on my PrestaShop site?
Note for 1.7.5.0. (1) If you find modules on the "BO - Modules" not showing correctly after upgrade to 1.7.5.0, some module's configure buttons and descriptions are missing. That's a cache related issue, you can fix it by removing the file in the \var\cache\dev\doctrine\cb\ folder. (2) Upgrade your "Products in the same category" to 1.0.4 after upgrade your site to 1.7.5.0. (3) Upgrade your Transformer theme to v4.3.2 and Panda theme to v2.4.2.
Upgrade your Transformer theme to v4.2.6 and Panda theme to v2.3.6 before upgrading your site to 1.7.4.0.
Upgrade your Transformer theme to v4.2.2 and Panda theme to v2.3.2 before upgrading your site to 1.7.3.1.
It's recommended to post questions here on the support forumns, because we answer questions posted on the support forums first.
How to get updates of Transformer theme and Panda theme if you have bought them on Themeforest.
Why pagination is slow, switching combination is slow, all AJAX requests are slow on my PrestaShop site?
How to speed up PrestaShop site – Optimized front end.
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Crowley Solicitors has a reputation for providing Employment, Equality, Industrial Relations, Litigation and Data Protection advice of the highest quality available in Ireland.
We advise on the most challenging and complex assignments, for organisations and individuals. Our approach combines excellence of legal advice with commercial thinking, tailored for each client's particular needs and importantly, their culture. We consistently invest in and develop our business and our people for the benefit of our clients.
We regard our people as our greatest asset and the embodiment of our firm's culture and values.
Our ambition is to be consistently recognised by each of our clients as their go to advisors. This is supported by a partnership approach with our clients, which is collaborative and which we believe sets us apart.
Copyright © Crowley Solicitors - All Rights Reserved.


On the second day of arrivals into China's Sailing City, PSP Logistics was the first to arrive in and join and receive its famously warm welcome from the hospitable Host City.
PSP Logistics' sixth place finish is its best result yet in the 2015-16 series, bettering its previous best eighth place in the race into Cape Town.
Clearly pleased with his team's improved performance, Skipper Max Stunell says: "Well that had a bit of everything! This leg in all has been quite the challenge. Since starting off in Australia in very hot, sweltering conditions, there was a lot of shipping and fishing fleets to contend with, and then recently it got bitterly cold. It has been painful being on deck for more than half an hour in the past week or so. Definitely the coldest we have experienced so far.
"The crew has done really well and we're all really pleased with our result. Everyone pulled together and worked really hard in the tough times and it has finally paid off as we hoped! We have been practicing hard and trying to keep our boat in good shape. As we go further in this journey, the crew have become much better at sail changes without damaging anything which really paid off in the storm and made a real difference, and then it is also down to a lot of pure grit and determination.
On arrival to the pontoon, round the world crew member Henrik Schonfeld, 22, from Munich, Germany says: "It was great. That was two intense weeks I think with everything from no wind at all to about 60 knot storm force gusts. I think as a crew we all pulled together and dealt with the challenges very well.
"We thought we might even have been able to catch up with GREAT Britain at the end there and get fifth place but that was just out of our reach in the end, but we're all really pleased with our sixth place finish now and we don't have many damages on the boat so that's also really good. I think we have been waiting for our first good result but we always knew that it would come eventually. We're a very happy and safe boat which is the most important thing for us at the end of the day.
The team then took to the stage, where Skipper Max was presented with his cloak which symbolises the ancient Chinese legends of returning warriors, and the crew received their commemorative red scarves and monkeys, the animal which represents the 2016 Chinese New Year.
The next team to arrive in was seventh placed Qingdao, which received a heroes welcome into their home port as hundreds of media and supporters gathered at the marina to greet them. To read what Skipper Bob Beggs and his crew made of the experience, click here.
The first of the afternoon arrivals was Da Nang - Viet Nam led by Skipper Wendo Tuck. The team left behind their home port at the start of The Sailing City • Qingdao Cup so the arrival into China was reminiscent of what they had experienced a few weeks ago themselves.
"This welcome is incredible! Even before getting off the boat we could see where we had to walk through the crowds so I got my camera ready to play tourist. It looks and sounds amazing. When you are greeted like this in port it just makes you forget all about the bad times and you think this is so worth it!"
As has been well documented by all the teams, the storm that hit in the Yellow Sea earlier in the week produced some difficulties for Da Nang - Viet Nam in terms of the sail damage sustained, as Skipper Wendo recalls: "It was a tough leg. We were all set up for the front that was coming through, we had a couple of reefs in and the right sails up but it just kept building and building. So we got the Yankee down and as we went to put our third reef in the top slider of our mainsail came off which meant that we couldn't use our mainsail and had to drop it in 60 knots. That sucked.
"Next up is the Pacific Ocean crossing and it's going to be a toughie but we are up for the challenge!"
The next team arrival was ninth place Visit Seattle. With the team in high spirits as ever as they enjoyed their ceremonial welcome, Skipper Huw told us: "That was fantastic. Dare I say the best yet?? I don't know! It's such a stark contrast from just bashing your way upwind for what feels like forever to get here. Also I love my cloak! They say I have to wear it all week and I say, let them try and stop me!
"This race was everything. A very strong start, a frustrating middle bit, but that's the way it was, and then we spent the last two days trying to catch up. Plus we had a phenomenal storm, absolutely unbelievable, so we went through that but we came out of it smiling. We're all looking forward to arriving into our home port now. Very exciting. It is almost finally our turn to go home!"
Tenth place IchorCoal just became the final team to arrive today, sneaking into port within the strict daylight arrival rule that exists here. Ahead of the arrival ceremony, Skipper Darren Ladd says: "This race was going pretty well until the last few days when that massive storm hit just outside of Shanghai. It took us at full force and knocked us back for about 18 hours but since then we had a good run up picked back up and we then had everything from hurricane force winds to nearly nothing. But the last twelve hours, the winds were perfect and we made it here just in time which is brilliant as we wanted to celebrate Rob Davis' birthday today, and now we also get to see the rugby tonight!"
"This has been a really really hard, really cold leg, and all the crew have got up there and done it. It feels superb to be here now though. We're all really relieved. This is my first time in China. All I know is I like the food and I've enjoyed the welcome here, so so far so good!"
IchorCoal crew member Rob Davis, who joined the race in Cape Town, is celebrating his 47th birthday today. On stage he was presented with a welcome beer and the city officials wished him a Happy Birthday. Having made it into port just before sunset, Rob said: "I've never had a birthday like this before and it was the best present ever to get in tonight because my Clipper Race journey ends in Qingdao so there are so many reasons to celebrate. The welcome was so special and the people here clearly love their sailing. I loved the drummers!
"I can't believe I'll be back to work in five days, I know where I'd rather be! Now it's all over for me but I've done the best part of 20,000 nautical miles. There have been some highs, some lows, but overall it's been a wonderful experience. Fabulous!"


This is where champions are built.
Just ask any Amsoil Championship Snocross Pro Open rider. Chances are, they've shredded with us.
Everyone is welcome at open practice! Men women, children of all ages and skill levels from beginner to pro.
Be the first to know of schedule changes, updates and more by joining our email and text message list.
Wonder what you can do during a track rental?
A practice pass allows you to utilize our facility for Open Practice during our scheduled times. Practice punch cards and passes can be purchased on-site at The Chalet. Riders can pay for the full punch card up front or pay as you go and receive the same perks!
If you have not had a chance to ride at ERX recently, we highly recommend that you stop on out and take a few laps. Our track crew has worked hard to bring you one of the best tracks you will ride anywhere. Running a 25-second track enables us to bust the track up daily giving you a track that is full of fluffy snow that mimics the ISOC National tracks, and is much easier on your body, sled, and equipment.
This is the only dedicated 120 track anywhere, providing a challenging and safe venue for our 120 riders to hone their skills on a real snocross track. Check out our calendar for open practice dates/times.


Supervised, autonomous robotic soft tissue surgery on a live subject in an open surgical setting is feasible and outperforms standard clinical techniques in a dynamic clinical environment, a new study shows.
The study, involving surgeons and scientists from Sheikh Zayed Institute for Pediatric Surgical Innovation at Children's National Health System, was published May 4 in Science Translational Medicine. It reports the results of soft tissue surgeries conducted on both inanimate porcine tissue and living pigs using proprietary robotic surgical technology, Smart Tissue Autonomous Robot (STAR), developed at Children's National. This technology removes the surgeon's hands from the procedure, instead utilizing the surgeon as supervisor, with soft tissue suturing autonomously planned and performed by the STAR robotic system.
Soft tissues connect, support or surround other structures and organs of the body; they include tendons, ligaments, fascia, skin, fibrous tissues, fat, synovial membranes, muscles, nerves, and blood vessels. More than 44.5 million soft tissue surgeries are performed in the U.S. each year.
"Our results demonstrate the potential for autonomous robots to improve the efficacy, consistency, functional outcome, and accessibility of surgical techniques," said Dr. Peter C. Kim, Vice President and Associate SurgeoninChief of the Sheikh Zayed Institute. "The intent of this demonstration is not to replace surgeons, but to expand human capacity and capability through enhanced vision, dexterity, and complementary machine intelligence for improved surgical outcomes."
While robotassisted surgery (RAS) has increased in adoption in health care settings, the execution of soft tissue surgery has remained entirely manual, largely because the unpredictable, elastic, and plastic changes in soft tissues that occur during surgery require the surgeon to make constant adjustments.
To overcome this challenge, STAR uses a tracking system that integrates near infrared florescent (NIRF) markers and 3D plenoptic vision, which captures light field information to provide images of a scene in three dimensions. This enables accurate, uninhibited tracking of tissue motion and change throughout the surgical procedure. This tracking is combined with STAR's intelligent algorithm that guides the surgical plan and autonomously makes adjustments to the plan in real time as tissue moves and other changes occur. The STAR system also employs force sensing, submillimeter positioning, and actuated surgical tools. It has a bedside lightweight robot arm extended with an articulated laparoscopic suturing tool for a combined eight degrees of freedom.
"Until now, autonomous robot surgery has been limited to applications with rigid anatomy, such as bone cutting, because they are more predictable," said Axel Krieger, PhD, technical lead for Smart Tools at the Sheikh Zayed Institute. "By using novel tissue tracking and applied force measurement, coupled with suture automation software, our robotic system can detect arbitrary tissue motions in real time and automatically adjust."
To compare the effectiveness of STAR to other surgical procedures, the study included two surgeries performed on inanimate porcine tissue, linear suturing and an endtoend intestinal anastomosis, which involves connecting the tubular loops of the intestine. The results of each surgery were compared with the same surgical procedure conducted manually by an experienced surgeon, by laparoscopy, and by RAS with the daVinci Surgical System. Intestinal anastomosis was the surgical procedure conducted on the living subjects in the study.
The Children's National research team conducted four anastomosis surgeries on living pigs using STAR technology; all subjects survived with no complications. The study compared these results to the same procedure conducted manually by an experienced surgeon using standard surgical tools.
All surgeries were compared based on the metrics of anastomosis, including the consistency of suturing based on average suture spacing, the pressure at which the anastomosis leaked, the number of mistakes that required removing the needle from the tissue, completion time, and lumen reduction, which measures any constriction in the size of the tubular opening. The comparison showed that supervised autonomous robotic procedures using STAR proved superior to surgery performed by experienced surgeons and RAS techniques.
Source: Children's National Health System; May 4, 2016.


Although a community center is typically a non-profit organization that provides communities with a safe place to assemble and address their needs, we know a community center business in Bangladesh as a good source of profit. But, as it involves years of planning, fundraising, and advertising, starting a community center can be a long process. For a particular geographic area or social group to gather for different types of activities, a community center provides a meeting place and/or an educational focal point for citizens.
It's common to be marriage ceremonies apart from the place to arrange the classes, team sports, movies, and plays. There are some community centers those are privately financed and provide classes for a fee, but some are publicly funded community centers.
Marriage is one of the largest events in Bangladesh and as there are not enough spaces to observe the day, the demand for a community center business comes here strongly. Apart from the marriage event, there are a birthday celebration, marriage anniversary, business party, promotional ceremony, opening ceremony etc are greatly needed the community centers in Bangladesh.
As the business needs along time along with planning, fundraising, and advertising, the business is not spread over the country. It means that you have a good chance to start this business. Also, it's a very profitable business like many other businesses. These all are should inspire you in order to start this business in Bangladesh. But, keep in mind that it's a big one to star community recreation business.
Not only it's that you and your staff get out into the community to spread the word about the awesome resources you're providing to those who live but work around you as the owner of a community recreation center as well. Also, you should be keeping in touch with community event organizers and set up informational booths. Well, let's get top 10 tips to start a community center business in Bangladesh.
This is very first and foremost one to make a well-researched business plan that will be able to summarize your entire business. You should provide a healthy social base for the community envisioning how it will conduct with local citizens. So, interviews with school administrators, librarians, clergy, politicians, and businesspeople in your town or city to identify the needs of the locals you wish to serve.
And you can increase the likelihood that prominent citizens in your area will help make the center a reality being specific about your goals and taking a proactive stance.
This is another very important one is to determine what your community center will offer. For example, it offers access to computers from a community technology centers. And in the same way, a youth center gives kids and teenagers a place to socialize and participate in meaningful after-school activities. But, it's better to set your target as a community center that will serve various ceremony and parties.
It depends on the type of community center business whether you should hire paid or volunteer staff. So, make a list of the activities so that you can coordinate schedules and arrange the space to suit each class. For example, it should be removed for Tuesday's marriage ceremony that of the Monday's tutoring. It's appropriate for your clientele when you purchase office supplies and furniture and decorate the community center.
One of the goals of your new recreation center is to gain new members that are safe to assume. Also, consider finding out the better way to do that than by offering special discounts. Or, it's unique to your recreation center if you could even offer special savings on exercise classes, party rentals, and other services.
Why not use it to promote your recreation center as social media has a huge impact on the everyday lives of people everywhere? If you run special promotions, you can encourage Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter users to "like" or "follow". When someone takes the time to follow your page and encourage participation with photo or trivia contests, you should offer "online only" coupons for those that.
It doesn't mean you can't also plan a special open house event a few weeks later because your community recreation center is already open. Still, the chance is to remain unknown to some community members. In this case, you'll get help from an open house event. Also, it'll help encourage people to come out and see it for themselves. Moreover, you should use the social media to promote your open house events.
Being a partner with local organizations is one of the best things you can do after the opening of your new community center business. And it's also a great way to initiate good relationships with other organizations while offering sponsorship programs.
Everyone would be thrilled if you're awarded $3-million to build the community center. But, without some real, most of them are vocal opponents. When you undertake any community-wide project be prepared for criticism.


text:
Q: forwarding domain with htaccess but keep the url structure I have a parked domain www.my-domain.com
I also have a hosted active domain sub.active-domain.com
I want to forward www.my-domain.com to sub.active-domain.com but keeps the url on
structure in the browser from sub.active-domain.com
example:
sub.active-domain.com/content/market.html
will shows on url become
www.my-domain.com/content/market.html
how to do it thru the htaccess file ? or should i do it thru the DNS or CNAME ?

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The purpose of this article is to call attention to the revolutionary idea of multi-reflection. This idea allows the design of new engines, space propulsion systems, storage of a beam and solar energy, transmission of energy over millions of kilometers, a new weapon, etc. This method and its main innovations were offered by the author in 1983 in the former USSR. Now the author shows in a series of articles the huge possibilities of this idea in many fields such as space, aviation, energy, energy transmission, beam amplification, light transformation and so on. This article considers the direct transfer of light beam energy to mechanical energy and back.


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Tours in the High Tatras, Slovak Paradise and the best of North-East Slovakia
Amazing experience!
Available daily upon request
For private groups of 2 to 8 persons
Air-conditioned vehicles
Hotel/accomodation pick up and return
Tour guide and transfer included
Entry fees included
Tour Number
Price pp (2-3 persons)
Order/Info
Tour 1 UNESCO Spis I. – Spis Castle and the medieval towns of Spisska Kapitula and Levoca 6 hours 103 EUR pp 71 EUR pp Info
Tour 2 UNESCO Spis II. – Spis castle and the medieval towns of Spisska Kapitula, Levoca and Kezmarok 8 hours 123 EUR pp 90 EUR pp Info
Tour 3 Medieval town of Bardejov – UNESCO – and wooden churches of North-East Slovakia 9 hours 129 EUR pp 82 EUR pp Info
Tour 4 Dunajec river raft in Pieniny National Park and Stara Lubovna (Open-air museum or castle) 9 hours 124 EUR pp 89 EUR pp Info
Tour 5 Dobsinska Ice Cave – UNESCO – and mansion-house Betliar 9 hours 124 EUR pp 89 EUR pp Info
Tour 6 Dobsinska Ice Cave – UNESCO 4 hours 89 EUR pp 63 EUR pp Info
Tour 7 Slovak Paradise National Park and Dobsinska Ice Cave – UNESCO 7 hours 129 EUR pp 84 EUR pp Info
Tour 8 Skalnate Pleso (Rocky Lake), Belianska Cave and Goral village of Zdiar 6 hours 149 EUR pp 116 EUR pp Info
Tour 9 Slovak Paradise National Park gorge adventure 7 hours 117 EUR pp 78 EUR pp Info
Tour 1. UNESCO Spis I. – Spis Castle and the medieval towns of Spisska Kapitula and Levoca approx. 6 hours
Spis castle, Spisska Kapitula and Levoca are the evidence of the development of individual urban typology of medieval settlements. They form a remarkable set of military, political and religious elements of the type common in medieval Europe. They were strongly linked among themselves, influenced each other, but never merged into one unit. In Spis region the three settlements have been preserved in their entire, original and unaltered form which, as a set, cannot be found anywhere else in the world!
Spis castle (Spissky hrad) – UNESCO – one of the largest Central European castles built in the 12th century providing magnificent views of the surrounding scenery
Spisska Kapitula – UNESCO – a medieval town documented as early as 1235; original medieval houses; 13th century late Roman St. Martin's cathedral with valuable side altars, stone sculptures and wall paintings
Levoca – UNESCO – a beautifully preserved medieval town boasting its Renaissance Old Town Hall, original city wall, burghers' houses, 14th century St. James' Church housing the world's highest wooden Gothic altar splendidly carved and painted by Master Paul of Levoca in around 1520.
Price for 2-3 persons: 103 EUR pp
Price for 4-8 persons: 71 EUR pp
Order the tour
Tour 2. UNESCO Spis II. – Spis castle and the medieval towns of Spisska Kapitula, Levoca and Kezmarok approx. 8 hours
Spis castle, Spisska Kapitula and Levoca are the evidence of the development of individual urban typology of medieval settlements. They form a remarkable set of military, political and religious elements of the type common in medieval Europe. They were strongly linked among themselves, influenced each other, but never merged into one unit. In Spis region the three settlements have been preserved in their entire, original and unaltered form which, as a set, cannot be found anywhere else in the world! Town of Kezmarok was founded in the 13th century by merging three settlements. It acquired 'town privileges' in 1269 and became a free royal town in 1380. Kezmarok was a very lively town in the past centuries with more than 40 craftsmanship guilds between the 15th and the 19th centuries. Its dyers, carpenters, weavers, cloth makers and goldsmiths were famous throughout Europe.
Levoca – UNESCO – a beautifully preserved medieval town boasting its renaissance Old Town Hall, original city wall, burghers' houses, 14th century St. James' Church housing the world's highest wooden Gothic altar splendidly carved and painted by Master Paul of Levoca in around 1520
Kezmarok – wooden articular church – UNESCO – evangelic, purely wooden folk Baroque church with even nails made of wood built in the times of religious oppression of Protestants; spectacular building of Eclectic New evanjelic church designed by famous Viennese architect Theofil von Hansen
Tour 3. Medieval town of Bardejov – UNESCO – and wooden churches of North-East Slovakia approx. 9 hours
Bardejov is historically and culturally a very rich city considered one of the most beautiful Slovak towns. The historical centre of Bardejov together with the complex of buildings forming Jewish suburb from the early 18th century was included in the UNESCO in 2000. Wooden Churches of the Slovak Carpathians mountain area document the coexistence of various religions in a relatively small geographic area. They were built during the 16th – 18th centuries, thus represent Baroque buildings with the use of Gothic and Renaissance building elements. Differences in their outward appearances and interiors represent differences in religious traditions and customs.
Bardejov city centre – UNESCO – considered the most beautiful medieval square in Slovakia lined with Renaissance burgher houses built on the typical medieval narrow plots perpendicular to the square
The Old Town Hall – a gorgeous early 16th century Gothic-Renaissance building which became the national cultural monument in 1985
St. Egidius' Gothic Basilica – the dominant of the town that houses a precious collection of Gothic altars. Its capacity is 3000 people, of which about 500 are seats
Hervartov – UNESCO – and Trocany; Greek-Catholic and Roman-Catholic wooden churches near Bardejov, made entirely of wood; there is not even one iron nail to be found in their constructions!
Tour 4. Dunajec river raft in Pieniny National Park and Stara Lubovna (Open-air museum or castle) approx. 9 hours
Since the second century BC Dunajec river served for transporting various goods. Initially the wooden rafts were used by Greek and Roman merchants trading with amber. Wooden raft rides for transporting people date back to the 18th century. This northern region, whilst outwardly looking rugged and inhospitable, can be proud of abundance of its unique folk architecture, historical buildings and natural beauties. The 9 km-long route, which lasts approximately 90-120 minutes, starts in Cerveny Klastor and leads down to the village of Lesnica.
Wooden raft ride along the Dunajec River gorge amidst the wonderful natural scenery of Pieniny National Park, an attraction that is unique in Europe; not a white water raft
Pieniny hills – the symbol of Zamagurie region with the "Three Crowns" gorgeous massif at their centre
Lubovna Castle – a remarkable landmark built in the middle of the 13th century by order of Hungarian king Ondrej III. as a border castle and outpost protecting trade routes to Poland
The open-air museum at the foot of Lubovna Castle hill showcases the past culture of housing and farming, such as a blacksmith's workshop, a forester's house or a water mill. A wooden Greek-Catholic church of Matysova from 1833 is one of the most valuable pieces to be found here
Tour 5. Dobsinska Ice Cave – UNESCO – and mansion-house Betliar approx. 7 hours
Located on the south-western edge of Slovak Paradise National Park in the Spiš-Gemer karst, Dobsinska Ice Cave, a national natural monument and one of the most important world's caves, has been inscribed onto the UNESCO world heritage list since 2000. The first bunch of cavers descended underground in 1870. Thanks to them and the town of Dobsina the cave was open to the public just a year afterwards, in 1871. A national cultural monument mansion-house Betliar is one of the most beautiful Slovak mansion-houses and also the most visited one. It is settled in the middle of an English-style park, one of the largest and nicest in Slovakia. Stefan Andrassy had it built in the early 18th century. The whole history of the mansion-house is connected with this family. Back in times the park provided space for various sports activities like tennis and cricket, which the earls and their friends liked playing.
Dobsinska Ice Cave – UNESCO – a breath-taking experience in the heart of Slovak Paradise National Park, offering unmissable views of its icefalls, ice stalagmites and columns and ice floors (Please note that average temperature in glaciated parts is -3.9°C to -0.2°C and average temperature in non-glaciated parts is 0.8°C to 3.5°C.)
Mansion-house Betliar – a picturesque originally furnished art-and-history museum exhibiting a massive unique collection of books from the 15th to 19th centuries, housing culture of the nobility in the 18th and 19th centuries, collections of exotic trophies and hunting weaponry, Egyptology, pictures, etc.
Large Englih-style park surrounding the mansion-house with rare exotic plants, artificial cave and waterfall, three fountains, pond and more, all arranged and used by the Andrassys in the past; the park is inscribed on the list of world's historical gardens
Tour 6. Dobsinska Ice Cave – UNESCO approx. 4 hours
The true highlight of Slovak Paradise National Park, Dobsinska Ice Cave, is a national natural monument and one of the most important caves in the world. It has been inscribed onto the UNESCO world heritage list since 2000. Athough the entrance to the cave called "ice hole" had been known for ages, it was just in 1870 when the first cavers dared to descend underground. Thanks to them and the town of Dobsina the cave was open to the public just a year afterwards, in 1871. Since 1893 and up to 1946 the cave was also open for all-year-round public ice skating. Some professional Czechoslovak figure and speed skaters trained here back in 1950s, too. Glaciated surface in the cave reaches almost 10,000 square metres, ice volume approximately 110,000 cubic metres and the maximum thickness of ice in the Great Hall reaches 26.5 metres. A truly unmissable experience!
Dobsinska Ice Cave – UNESCO – a breath-taking ICE excursion in the heart of Slovak Paradise National Park, offering grand views of its ice formations such as icefalls, ice stalagmites and columns and ice floors, but also non-glaciated formations such as stalagmites, stalactites, flowstone crusts and layers of moonmilk
After descending only several tens of meters you will find yourselves in an ice kingdom as the one in a fairy tale! (Please note that average temperature in glaciated parts is -3.9°C to -0.2°C and average temperature in non-glaciated parts is 0.8°C to 3.5°C.)
Tour 7. Slovak Paradise National Park and Dobsinska Ice Cave – UNESCO approx. 7 hours
Slovak Paradise, a spectacular wild forest area, is a real natural gem of north-east Slovakia. It was proclaimed the Protected Landscape Area in 1964 and recategorised to be the National Park in 1988. It offers wide meadows, plateaus and chasms, gorges and canyons, but also as many as 350 caves and many waterfalls. Dobsinska Ice Cave, a national natural monument, has had its well-earned place on the UNESCO world heritage list since 2000. As a huge rarity, right after it was open to the public in 1871, it started attracting the attention of tourists. Glaciated surface in the cave reaches almost 10,000 square metres, ice volume approximately 110,000 cubic metres and the maximum thickness of ice in the Great Hall reaches 26.5 metres. The cave is one of the first electrically illuminated caves in the world with its electric lighting finished in 1887. In 1890 a concert was held in the cave's Great Hall to the tribute of Karl Ludwig von Habsburg.
Hike through the beautiful scenery of Slovak Paradise National Park
Tomasovsky View, a rocky terrace-shaped ledge providing excellent views of the White Creek Valley, the Hornad Canyon and the High Tatras; easy hike but still an adventure!
Dobsinska Ice Cave – UNESCO – a breath-taking ICE excursion in the heart of Slovak Paradise National Park; amazing ice formations such as icefalls, ice stalagmites and columns and ice floors, beautiful non-glaciated formations such as stalagmites, stalactites, flowstone crusts and layers of moonmilk
After a few-minute descend you will find yourself in a remarkable world of ice; a fantastic experience! (Please note that average temperature in glaciated parts is -3.9°C to -0.2°C and average temperature in non-glaciated parts is 0.8°C to 3.5°C.)
Tour 8. Skalnate Peso (Rocky Lake), Belianska Cave and Goral village of Zdiar approx. 6 hours
Skalnate Pleso, a mountain lake located in the Rocky Valley bellow the southern cliffs of Lomnicky Peak in the High Tatras, has become the most popular tourist place in Slovakia. It offers the greatest panoramic views of the surrounding peaks of the High Tatras mountains. There is also an astronomical and meteorological observatory near the lake. Belianska Cave is the largest and the only stalactite mountain cave in Tatra National Park open to the public. The entrance to the cave was discovered by gold diggers in the beginning of the 18th century. Thanks to the financial support of the town of Spisska Bela the cave was open in 1882. Due to fantastic acoustics its Musical Hall is sometimes used for organising classical music concerts. Zdiar, a typical Goral village, has kept its originality for cenuries. The beauty of this several hundred years old folk architecture is even enhanced by the position amidst the wonderful natural settings bordered by the Belianske Tatras mountains in the south and the Spisska Magura mountains in the north.
Cable car ride up to Skalnate Pleso – grand views of the mountains; an adventure worth experiencing!
Skalnate Pleso – more breath-taking views of the High Tatras peaks
Belianska Cave – wonderful time spent underground surrounded by flowstone waterfalls, pagoda stalagmite, cave pools and all other forms of admirable cave decoration (Please note that average temperature in the cave is 5.0°C to 6.3°C )
Zdiar – hundreds of years old village preserved in its original shape, a living museum of folk architecture
There is a possibility to order a horse-drawn carriage to show you around the village – approx. 1 hour; additional 40 EUR per carriage for up to 8 people
Tour 9. Slovak Paradise National Park gorge adventure approx. 7 hours
Slovak Paradise, the eastern neighbour of the Low Tatras, is a popular wild forest area, a real natural gem of north-east Slovakia. It was proclaimed the Protected Landscape Area in 1964 and recategorised to be the National Park in 1988. It offers wide meadows, plateaus and chasms, gorges and canyons, but also as many as 350 caves and many waterfalls. Once you are there, the diversity of karstic forms, fauna and flora and the touch with the marvelous nature will definitely fill you with a sensational feeling and charge you with new energy!
Hike through the beautiful gorge of Slovak Paradise National Park; superb views of the canyons and waterfalls; approx. 5 hrs hike
Wooden and metal ladders up the gorge; bridges over the mountain streams; waterfalls at your fingertips; creepers and chains to overcome the rocky massifs
A real touch with the nature, a great adventure!
Additional general information
Pick up from your hotel within the area of Strbske Pleso, Stary Smokovec, Tatranska Lomnica and Poprad
Departure time – upon agreement, best between 8am and 9am
Payment possible by bank transfer in advance or in cash upon the start of your tour
Transfer, tour guide and all entrance fees included in the tour prices
Meal and tour insurance not included in the tour prices
Lengths of tours are approximate
Please note that by paying for the tour you by default agree to accept and abide by our terms and conditions.
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Tours from Bratislava (Bratislava Airport)
Tours in the High Tatras, Slovak Paradise and the best of North-East Slovakia (Poprad Airport)
TOUR 1: UNESCO Spis I. – Spis Castle and the medieval towns of Spisska Kapitula and Levoca
TOUR 2: UNESCO Spis II. – Spis castle and the medieval towns of Spisska Kapitula, Levoca and Kezmarok
TOUR 3: Medieval town of Bardejov – UNESCO – and wooden churches of North-East Slovakia
TOUR 4: Dunajec river raft in Pieniny National Park and Stara Lubovna (Open-air museum or castle)
TOUR 5: Dobsinska Ice Cave – UNESCO – and mansion-house Betliar
TOUR 6: Dobsinska Ice Cave – UNESCO
TOUR 7: Slovak Paradise National Park and Dobsinska Ice Cave – UNESCO
TOUR 8: Skalnate Pleso (Rocky Lake), Belianska Cave and Goral village of Zdiar
TOUR 9: Slovak Paradise National Park gorge adventure
Cooperation offer for tour operators, tour agencies, bus companies and groups
info@slovakiatouring.com
Bank details: Fio banka, Slovakia
SWIF/BIC: FIOZSKBAXXX
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text:
Making Blue Jay in Black and White
by Paula Bernstein
in Directing, Director Interviews, Directors, Filmmaking
Alex Lehmann, Blue Jay, Mark Duplass
It's been a momentous year for cinematographer Alex Lehmann, who successfully made the transition to director/DP with his first two features. His documentary feature Asperger's Are Us, about the first comedy troupe consisting of openly autistic people, premiered earlier this year at SXSW, where it was bought by Netflix. Blue Jay, Lehmann's narrative feature debut, recently premiered at TIFF and will hit select theaters on October 7 before heading to digital on October 11 and Netflix later this year. Mark Duplass and Jay Duplass executive produced both films.
Starring Mark Duplass (based on his screenplay) and Sarah Paulson as two former high school sweethearts who reconnect in the small town they had each left years earlier, Blue Jay is a bittersweet romantic drama which stands out for both its leads' heartfelt performances and for its textured black and white cinematography.
Shooting his narrative feature in black and white was a bold undertaking, but working with editor Chris Donlin, Lehmann did significant pre-production work to ensure a crisp, cinematic look.
Filmmaker recently asked Lehmann shooting black and white, working as his own DP, and more.
Filmmaker: Did you always know the film would be in black and white? Why was that important to you? Were there other films you looked to for inspiration?
Alex Lehmann: We decided early on in prep to shoot in black and white. We talked about a need to strip down unnecessary elements as a way to buck the trend of loud indies. The result is a very simple film focusing on the characters and the spaces we create for them. There were no direct inspirations but I grew up watching Truffaut and Jarmusch and certain filmmakers who started simple and character based.
Filmmaker: Given that Mark Duplass wrote the script, executive produced and starred in the film, how much did you discuss the look of the film with him before you began shooting? Did he have strong feelings about shooting in black and white?
Lehmann: We were both excited about shooting black and white from the get-go. He did have strong feelings about the black and white; in fact, I remember when he first suggested it. I was very excited about the opportunity, but kept wondering if the audience would appreciate it or consider it a gimmick. Mark's the kind of guy who sees what really excites you and challenges you to follow your gut.
Filmmaker: What sort of legwork did you have to do in pre-production to ensure the cinematic black and white look? Can you walk Filmmaker readers through the process a bit?
Lehmann: I had a good sense that I wanted to use Canon's ME-20 based on other tests I'd done. We shot tests for Blue Jay in a number of conditions including daylight and extreme low light, then took it into Blackmagic Design's DaVinci Resolve and created some LUTs. Those LUTs where imported into Odyssey onboard monitors and we lit/composed with the LUTs, which helped tremendously. Creating a black and white look after the fact wouldn't have had the same effect.
Filmmaker: What were some of the advantages and disadvantages of being both director and DP? Did you intentionally keep the crew small to maintain an intimate feel on the set?
Lehmann: There wasn't a need to get on the same page with my DP or explore ideas, I knew what I wanted visually. The movie is a simple one that was improvised organically on set. We shot chronologically and without a script, instead going off of a plotted guideline. All of my attention was on the actors and the story, the look and shot selection had largely been decided well in advance. We kept the crew very small. The energy of a set can really impact the tone of a film, and Blue Jay relies heavily on the intimacy that is Jim (Duplass) and Amanda (Paulson) hanging out alone in a small house.
Watch the film's trailer below:
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"I Have Four Days to Edit My Director's Cut": Bethany Rooney on Directing TV By Jim Hemphill on Nov 17, 2015
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All the looks you need to see from the most fashionable festival in the world.
On September 24, the most stylish festival on earth came to London for the first time. With Grace Jones, SZA, Lady Leshurr, Little Simz, GAIKA, and more on the wonderfully diverse and boundary-testing lineup, it was bound to be a day full of color and light. Fittingly, bold makeup, daring prints, and brightly colored two-pieces ruled the day. Here's 32 portraits capturing our favorite looks from the historic Victorian venue, Alexandra Palace.