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Instagram Releases New Features to Celebrate its 10th Birthday, Including Stories Map
Instagram is celebrating its tenth birthday, and to mark the occasion, it's added a couple of new, celebratory features and updates, ranging from visual additions to the expansion of its eCommerce tools.
The main celebratory element is its Stories Map, which provides a private look at where you've posted Instagram Stories from (when you've used a location sticker) over the past three years.
Which is interesting, but it also serves as a reminder that Instagram is tracking you and your movements, even within your seemingly 'disappearing' Stories.
Of course, publicly posted Stories which include a location sticker are already searchable within the app, providing additional perspective on what else people are posting about in that location, so it's not a huge stretch in terms of functionality. It just might feel a little invasive, and serve as a reminder of Facebook's data tracking capacity, as an aside from providing the retrospective buzz that Instagram would be hoping to inspire.
Instagram's also adding a range of variable icons for the app, aligning with the iOS-14-inspired trend of customized home-screens, which has seen many users posting screenshots of their new iPhone layouts online.
Now, you can choose from a range of app icons to better suit your custom theme. The new icons were spotted in testing by Chris Messina late last month, and can be accessed by:
Updating your Instagram app to the latest version
Heading to your profile, then tapping the 'Settings' cog icon
Drag the screen down in the main menu to reveal the hidden app icons listing
????♀✨ How to activate Instagram's hidden birthday featurepic.twitter.com/S20CxT28Xk
— Matt Navarra (@MattNavarra) October 6, 2020
In addition to these more fun, personal additions, Instagram has also added in-stream shopping for IGTV this week, which sees a new shopping bag icon added to IGTV videos when shopping tags are applied by the creator.
That could add another motivator for brands and influencers to use IGTV - while maybe more interesting, Instagram also has noted that a similar shopping tab for Reels will also be coming soon.
eCommerce is a key element of Instagram's growth strategy, and along with the addition of Shops, adding more, streamlined ways to buy products in-stream will be critical to maximizing the platform's revenue potential. Instagram added shopping tags in Stories back in 2018.
Shopping in Reels could be particularly interesting – one of the more underrated elements of potential in TikTok's projected rise is in-stream shopping, which has become an essential element of the Chinese version of the app, called 'Douyin'.
Douyin generated over $122 million in revenue last year, mostly via eCommerce, not direct advertising. That's more than 2x what TikTok brought in, and if TikTok is to reach its full monetization potential, it will also need to tap into shopping and facilitating purchases from its short video clips.
That's why Walmart is looking to partner with Oracle in buying out the app – and if TikTok can successfully bridge that gap, and generate significant revenue via eCommerce, that could lead to major opportunities.
No platform has successfully monetized short-form video in western markets as yet. In-stream shopping could be the key to unlocking that potential, which is why Instagram is looking to add the same to Reels, just to make sure it keeps tabs on its key rival. Just in case.
Instagram has also shared some new usage updates, along with an overview of the app's history and growth.
Among its usage insights, Instagram has shared that:
900 million emoji reactions are sent within the app each day
50% of Instagram users watch a video in-app every day
KPOP is the No. 1 most-discussed music genre among IG users
More than a million posts mentioning "meme" are shared daily
But the key stat that stood out is this:
"The average user sends 3x more DMs than comments"
That's particularly important when you consider that Facebook is working to integrate its various messaging tools, and add more ways for users to connect in private via Instagram, as opposed to posting to their main feed.
The initial excitement of being able to post publicly on social has been overtaken by judgemental division, which has slowly pushed people into more and more enclosed spaces to avoid triggering arguments and disagreements over what you share online. That's made messaging a much bigger tool for connection, and while people are still posting regularly, and Stories have seen a big jump, messaging has emerged as the key connector in the last two years.
These stats from Instagram underline that growth once again, and while private messaging is not the ideal vehicle for marketing at scale, it's worth considering such usage in your strategic planning.
It's interesting to consider how Instagram has evolved over the last decade, and how social media usage overall has changed the way we interact and engage. And while these new additions provide a means join in the celebration, the milestone also serves as a time to reflect on where social media, more generally, is headed, and where we might be place in another ten years.


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James Horner, cockroach of composers?
Posted by Vadim Rizov on December 1st
It's winter, the indie companies are flailing, the bloggers are despairing, the economy still sucks and the only true blockbuster on an understocked December slate is "Avatar." You think indies are endangered? Pity the poor composers of film scores. Where once they cranked out orchestral majesty for most major releases, they've now become an optional component, victim to changing tastes and the commercial allure of the all-song soundtrack.
But one's risen above the purge. After working steadily through plenty of high-profile gigs ("Star Trek II," "Apollo 13," etc.), James Horner ensured himself the professional equivalent of tenure by writing the score for "Titanic," which sold 27 million copies worldwide and was the highest-selling primarily orchestral soundtrack ever.
Even though everyone bought the disk for Celine Dion's little song, correlation is often causation in Hollywood. And sure, Horner's feeling the changing times as much as anyone — would the Horner of 1995, who scored "Casper," "Braveheart" and "Apollo 13" (out of six that year, no less), be happy knowing he'd be doing "Bobby Jones: Strokes of Genius" in 2004? But hey, he's working.
And high-profile gigs do still exist. Horner just devoted a year and a half of his life to "Avatar." This has resulted in an unusually lengthy LA Times profile in which Horner says things like "What I have done is create a world that uses a tremendous amount of colour — colours that we haven't heard before" with a straight face.
By "color," he means "a small bit of orchestral music, then three or four ethnic instruments will play and then somebody will sing and then the orchestra will do something and it has to all be seamless over, say, a 12-minute sequence." LIKE NOTHING WE'VE EVER HEARD. Sure. "Ethnic instruments." And electronics. These are new.
For those of you not immersed in the fast-paced arguments and controversies of the film score world, you should know that the Times profile is basically a softball pitch, with London Symphony Orchestra principal tuba player Patrick Harrild reminiscing about working with Horner, who he claims couldn't possibly be nicer. This results in some inadvertent hilarity — "The first score I recorded with him was the one about little people — 'Willow,' " he says, which is as good a summary as any.
So, in case you didn't know, James Horner — whose scores, for over a decade now, have rarely been anything other than sentimental strings, warmed-over classicisms and the occasional "exotic" element (Zorro!) — is a very controversial guy who, a decade ago, become symbolic of everything wrong with contemporary film scores.
He was attacked by Alex Ross in the New Yorker and the good folks at Film Score Monthly went around in circles for months on the question of how much he stole from himself/classical music, whether or not he was a horrible human being, etc. In the late '90s, in short, there wasn't a single film score composer more polarizing amongst the kind of person who cares about these things.
But a decade's passed, and Horner stands atop the heap, proudly employed, convinced of his own worth and still entrusted with expensive projects. He writes the kind of generically "old-fashioned" scores that just scream "Hollywood movie" and (like Donald Trump says) "quality." Those kind of movies, for better or worse, are no longer as popular as they once were, and with them goes the expensive niche once held by Horner's scores.
So when you watch "Avatar," you might as well be watching the last stand of the old-school film composer. But for now, Horner says "Hollywood movie" in the old-fashioned sense, while no one knows what's to come next.
[Top photo: "Avatar," 20th Century Fox, 2009]

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Hvammstangi er en landsby i det nordvestlige Island. Landsbyen ligger på halvøen Vatnsnes ved fjorden Miðfjörður og er hovedby i Húnaþing vestra syssel med en befolkning på 580 indbyggere.

Byer på Island

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


This week on #biosteelbreakdown we take a closer look at Digestive Enzymes and why chewing your food might not be enough! What they are, why you need them, and so much more!
This week's #biosteelbreakdown takes a closer look at two of our favorite things, protein, and plants! More specifically, plant-based protein. We often place emphasis on meat and animal protein but neglect the value of plant-based protein unless we are on a specific diet. Our goal with today's episode is to help highlight the benefits of plant protein, as well as a few great examples.
Winter. A time of year that makes you want to stay inside and curl up with a blanket while you fight off a never-ending cold. Fortunately, this week's #biosteelbreakdown has the answer…Bone Broth! Used for thousands of years, bone broth has made a resurgence in popularity and for good reason. A recovery drink packed with immune boosting nutrients, you can't go wrong with a big cup of broth.
Sylvie shared her recipe here!


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Ministry of Truth: 'Climate Deniers' targeted as German Politicians Aim To 'Ban Lies'
A major target of Internet control are 'climate deniers'. Broder writes: "The use of the term 'climate denier' is a nice example for this type of demagogic self-appraisal. It sounds similar to 'Holocaust denier' and suggests the affirmation of a crime against humanity; when in fact no one denies there is climate and that it changes – as it has for millions of years.'
By: Marc Morano - Climate DepotDecember 13, 2016 9:27 AM with 0 comments
Germany's Coming "Ministry of Truth"? …Leading German Politicians Aim To Ban Lies …"Climate Deniers" Targeted
By P Gosselin on 13. December 2016
Die Welt published an opinion piece by one of the rare remaining fighters for liberty in Germany, Henryk Broder.
Leading German politician Volker Kauder of the CDU party aims "to ban lies from the Internet" thus suggesting the establishment of a Ministry of Truth. Image cropped from volker-kauder.de/index.html, CDU.
With the stunning anti-establishment results coming from Brexit and the US presidential election, and the surging populist right wing parties across Europe, it is not an overstatement to say that the old continent's established political class is in a state of sheer panic. And they are now reacting with disturbing proposals: policing the Internet for lies.
"Climate deniers" on trial?
Broder is now asking at Die Welt: "Are we getting a Ministry of Truth? Will 'climate deniers' be soon put on trial?"
The basis for the proposed Internet intervention is, of course, the claim that Internet users are too stupid to recognize "true" information and thus they unwittingly accept Russian "propaganda", for example, as facts. Responsible for the distribution of false information are especially the large social media platforms such as Facebook, Youtube and Twitter – and so a clamp-down is necessary and overdue.
Leading politician Volker Kauder of Angela Merkel's CDU party recently wrote in an opinion piece in Welt am Sonntag: "If the Internet continues to lie, then it's over with freedom."
Readers are free to interpret that sentence as they wish. I certainly would not take it lightly, however.
Government as keepers of the truth? "Wishful thinking"
First Broder calls Kauder's belief that traditional news sources such as "governments, parties and associations" are neutral and doing a good job of informing the public as "wishful thinking" and he reminds readers that these elements too are also driven by their own self interests and commit the sins of "defaming critics, spreading untruths and distorting reality".
A major target of Internet control are "climate deniers". Broder writes:
The use of the term "climate denier' is a nice example for this type of demagogic self-appraisal. It sounds similar to 'Holocaust denier' and suggests the affirmation of a crime against humanity; when in fact no one denies there is climate and that it changes – as it has for millions of years.
The question that remains is what is man's share and whether the travelling Climate Conference circus can agree on an end to climate change. Just asking that question today is heresy."
Broder then criticizes Kauder's statement that "criticism is a part of democracy, even when it's harsh and caustic, but that it must not be 'vulgar'", and asks who shall judge what is what?
I have a suspicion. Could it be that the vulgarity of the citizens results from the feeling that they are being screwed and deceived by politicians, if I may express this in vulgar terms? Is it possible that this feeling may not be without justification?"
Flipside of the contempt shown by the elites
German politicians such as Kauder also are lashing out at the brutalization witnessed in the public discourse, especially in the Internet. However Broder argues that it is simply the flipside of the contempt shown by politicians, citing German Green party honcho Claudia Roth who insulted protesters to their face at a rally in Dresden earlier this year. Broder writes that Roth ought not be surprised when protesters angrily shouted "piss off" in response.
Now Kauder is calling for a body of laws for regulating the Internet, claiming that that the discussion has gone long enough. He openly proposes fines for site operators.
Banning lies would mean banning the occupation of politician
In summary Broder thinks it all smacks of "megalomania" and that what Kauder proposes sounds more like "more surveillance, more state, more protection for politicians and – fewer rights for citizens".
Broder warns of the dangers of arbitrarily determining what is a lie, and what isn't. Will claims that the refugee and euro policies are a failure and that the German Energiewende will crash and burn qualify as lies too, and thus be subject to punishment? Broder then brings up the subject of politicians and their habit of constantly telling lies.
And if the government plans to ban all lies, then won't it mean a de facto ban for the occupation of politician?"
Clearly politicians such as Kauder have not thought this out at all. We suspect what is driving the latest political drive is not the lies that are circulating in the Internet, but the inconvenient truths that they don't want us to see. Ultimately George Orwell's Ministry of Truth was in fact "The Ministry of Public Deception."
History shows it's a bad idea
Too often societies have been burned in history by those who claimed to be the keepers of the truth. Yet everyone knows that anyone making that dubious claim is very likely an outright liar, and is in fact just desparate in the forum of open discussion.
Germany's mainstream politics is looking more and more dangerous by the day (if I may be so vulgar). Little wonder that neglected and insulted voters are finding "alternatives" increasingly attractive.
– See more at: http://notrickszone.com/2016/12/13/germanys-coming-ministry-of-truth-leading-german-politicians-aim-to-ban-lies-climate-deniers-targeted/#sthash.xIUiw6rE.dpuf
Filed under: debate, germany, intimidation


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Braunschweig International Film Festival
Braunschweig IFF
November 7th | 13th 2022
Braunschweig International Film Festival, founded in 1986, the filmfest is the oldest festival in Lower Saxony, Germany. Started by a handful of cinema enthusiasts it has developed into an audience festival for 25,000 visitors. Around 280 film industry professionals – filmmakers, actors, producers, composers, press – attend the festival to see about 170 full-length and short films on six screens. Since 2009 the festival operates its own cinema, the UNIVERSUM Filmtheater, with two screens for 87 and 207 seats.
Young European cinema of the highest standard is one of the trademarks of Braunschweig Int'l filmfest. "Music & Film" is Braunschweig's second focal point, drawing attention to the sound of the moving images. International premières, cinéma d'auteurs, film concerts, retrospectives, tributes and four awards round off the filmfest's profile, giving the audience and the press ample scope for new discoveries.
Braunschweig Int'l filmfest devotes itself to a long neglected aspect of cinema history and culture: the close relationship between film and music. Since 2002 we have invited famous film composers to present a selection of their films and talk about their work in a music master class. In cooperation with the Braunschweig State Orchestra, one of the oldest orchestras of the world, filmfest also showcases film concerts with new compositions.
The City of Braunschweig
Authentic historic sights and old quarters, post-modern architecture, a rich cultural heritage, urban charm and expansive parks and natural landscapes – Braunschweig, the city of "Henry the Lion" and home of 257.000 inhabitants, unites the past and the future, the historic and the visionary, the traditional and the innovative.
Writer Wilhelm Raabe, composer Louis Spohr and mathematician Friedrich Gauß lived here and through them art, science and esprit developed. Braunschweig is home to the Herzog Anton Ulrich-Museum, the first public museum to open in Germany in 1754. Lessing's "Emilia Galotti" premiered in 1772 as did Goethe's "Faust I" in 1829. Since 1963 Lower Saxony's only university for fine arts is located in Braunschweig.
The European Actors Award
With the European Actors Award THE EUROPA, Braunschweig International Film Festival celebrates actresses and actors for their outstanding artistic performance and contribution to the European film culture. DIE EUROPA is being awarded since 2007. Previous award winners have been Hanna Schygulla, Bruno Ganz, John Hurt, Stellan Skarsgard, Isabelle Huppert, Olivier Gourmet, Barbara Sukowa and lately, in 2014, Mads Mikkelsen. In addition to the prize money of 15.000 Euros donated by main sponsor Volkswagen Financial Services AG, a bronze statue called THE EUROPA, will be awarded. The statue DIE EUROPA was designed by the Brunswieck artist Sabine Hoppe.
The following is a full listing of all rules and regulations governing the submission of a film to the 36thBraunschweig International Film Festival, organized by the non-profit association Internationales Filmfest Braunschweig e.V. (hereafter called »the festival«), which apply to the individual awards-series and sections.The person submitting the film (hereafter called the »submitter«) acknowledges that he or she has obtained consent from any and all owners, creators, writers, producers and/or other authorized representatives of the film and understands that by submitting the film to the festival he or she confirms that he or she has read and agreed to all rules and regulations set forth below.The 36th Braunschweig International Film Festival will take place from Nov. 7th to 13th, 2022. In the event of tightened measures or event cancellations due to COVID-19, the festival reserves the right to relocate the festival programme to digital space. In any case, the film festival will once again consult with the submitter.
Feature Film 2022
Films may be submitted to more than one section. The artistic department reserves the right to assign submitted films to other sections within the curation as well as to not select submitted films for the festival.
Open to first and second feature films of European origin. The director must live and work in Europe or the film must be produced in Europe. The minimum runtime is 70 minutes. There are no limitations on content or genre. However, documentaries are excluded from participation. The film must not have been theatrically released, broadcasted on television in Germany or be available to purchase as DVD, Blu-ray or stream. German-festival or world premieres and films from the year 2021 will be first choice.
Short Film 2022
Films are submitted with the mention of genres/themes. The artistic department reserves the right to assign submitted films together into sections within the festival curation as well as to not select submitted films for the festival.
Open to all short films with a maximum runtime of 15 minutes. Open to documentaries. German-festival or world premieres and films from the year 2022 will be first choice.


One can't fault Insomniac for trying to move on with their gaming lives. After all, they've been making the same two or three franchises for over a decade. It's been a whole lot of Ratchet, and a whole lot of Resistance. Clearly, they wanted to spread their creative talents and see if they could create yet another winning franchise.
Fuse doesn't get them off to a very good start.
If you've ever seen an action movie, you know the plot to Fuse. There's a secret alien element that allows for the creation of extinction-event level weapons. The government loses control of this element to an evil paramilitary group, and calls in the best of the best to get it back. That would be Overstrike 9, made up of Dalton, Kimble, Izzy, and Naya. While a diverse crowd, they severely lack in personality. Sure, there are some sarcastic one liners and a few attempts to create a back story, but they aren't enough. Okay, so Dalton doesn't like cats. How, exactly, am I supposed to care about that? Naya's father is working for the evil organization. Maybe this would cause some interesting conflict? Nope? All right then. The other two don't even get that token bit of treatment. I have no idea what Izzy is about, except that she likes to ignore orders to satisfy her own curiosity. Again, that's not an endearing trait.
Beyond the team, the story is just bland. Sure, it's got enough explosions to make Michael Bay happy. There's an odd romance angle thrown in there, only to be forgotten moments later. There are pieces of an interesting story. They just aren't put together. The main villain is instantly forgettable. It doesn't help that most of his lines are spoken from a loudspeaker. Try as I might, I just couldn't care about the world of Fuse. It was just so generic.
Bland also perfectly describes the game's graphics. Technically, they're solid. There's even some slight exaggeration in the character models, a vestige of the game's previous campy attitude. Some of the animations are missing some frames, but they're not that bad really. Where things fall apart is in the fact that you'll see the same kinds of locations you've seen in hundreds of games before. Oh look, there's an enemy base in that snowy mountain. Who would have guessed? Each underground complex is full of the same blank corridors followed by open rooms with two stories. It's like they made this game from a stencil.
The lack of personality and emotion carries over to the voices as well. The characters just seem to be sociopaths, hellbent on racking up as large a body count as possible. On the way to that goal, they may make a joke or two, scream at you to get down, or feign shock at some traumatic event. It never feels genuine. Musically, the game hits the standard notes, and seems to be attempting to make things more dramatic than they are. It was a bit too much, like something out of Lost or Inception, though. It could get comical at times. The effects are the best part, with the unique weapons sounding as otherworldly as you'd hope.
Mechanically, this game is about as solid as you could want. You move with the left stick, aim with the right, zoom in with the left shoulder button, fire with the right, and so on. You can snap into cover, vault over obstacles, roll to dodge attacks, and throw a punch when the time is right. The controls are tight, precise, and configured in such a way as to avoid mistakes. This isn't like Uncharted, where you can roll of the edge of a cliff instead of hiding behind a cement divider. I never had an issue getting the game to do what I wanted it to.
The star of the game is the Xenetech weapons, which are created with that alien element I mentioned earlier. Each character has a specific X weapon, which represents the only practical difference between them. Dalton has the mag shield, Kimble has the crossbow, Izzy has the scatter gun, and Naya has the warp rifle. The mag shield can absorb enemy fire and send it back to them. The crossbow is good for tons of damage, and the bolts can be detonated to send fiery death to those around it. The scatter gun and the warp rifle are pretty similar. Both fire regular shots that build up to a critical mass. When that mass is met, some kind of interesting event occurs. Izzy's gun surrounds enemies with black crystal that can be shattered for an instant kill. Naya's rife creates a black hole that can chain and take out many enemies at once. There are other weapons in the game, but you won't use them unless you run out of ammo for these weapons. A regular old pistol just seems too bland.
That's the problem really. The game really wants you to use those X weapons. In fact, it rewards significantly more experience for kills with those weapons. Taking somebody out with the crossbow was good for nearly three times as much experience as a kill with any other basic weapon. Also, the basic weapons just don't do enough damage. I could empty an entire clip of bullets into an enemy with the assault rifle, or I could launch one blast with the mag shield. The choice was easy for me. In fact, I would often scramble to find ammo despite the inherent risks of death and the fact that I had extra mags for my pistol at the ready. It's not even that these weapons are particularly fun to use. They're just so much more useful.
If you complete a mission in this game with less than a hundred kills, you're impressively bad at games. Enemies come by the truckload, and it makes killing them incredibly easy. The AI is just dumb. They'll stand straight up and take shots that come to them, or run closer to you so as to make it an easier shot. The tougher enemies just have incredible amounts of health. They display no thought for tactical considerations. They attack you seemingly at random, and gleefully walk into traps and crossfires. There are six missions in the game, and I ended my first run through with easily over a thousand kills. That doesn't even account for all of the kills my teammates surely must have scored themselves. It's just wave after wave of mindless drones. They only advantage they have is sheer numbers. You might miss one by accident.
Level design in this game is basic beyond belief. While the game introduces things such as climbing mechanics, ducking through vents, and hacking turrets, none of these things are available during combat. Battles are simple affairs, with you on one side of the room and the bad guys on the other. Take out all of the bad guys, move to the next room, and then take out the bad guys there. You can't get simpler than that.
At times the game does seem to cater towards advanced strategies that require teamwork to pull off. Shield enemies are a pain, but you can easily team up to flank the guys so that one of you can pull off a shot. With other human players, this is possible and even somewhat fun to do. However, the AI is useless. They never perform useful functions. They may heal you if you fall, but they'll normally just sit still until you move forward. Since you can't command them in any way, you're stuck trying to do everything yourself. Playing this game by yourself is a chore.
There are two modes of play. The campaign takes place over six different missions and offers various checkpoints and difficulties to keep you coming back. Since characters gain levels and upgrade their abilities to a small degree, there's some incentive to come back to reach the next plateau. Then there's echelon mode. This is kind of like a horde mode, except that each wave brings with it a specific objective you must complete. You may have to protect an area, take down a specific target, or cover an ally as they transport an item from one location to another. The objectives are random and challenging, making this a fairly engaging mode to play. The kicker is that you won't want to play unless you have an advanced character, meaning you'll need to play around in the campaign a bit before you have a chance at making it past more than a few waves.
In the end, this game suffers from a number of issues. While it's solid, it's also bland and uninspired. It controls as well as you could want, but the precise controls aren't really needed when enemies stand around like cardboard cutouts. Four player co-op is great, but playing with other people can only make up for so much poor level design and dumb AI. I suppose the game satisfies an itchy trigger finger well enough, but it isn't good enough to justify full retail price. This is the first time I've ever been truly disappointed with an Insomniac title. I'm hoping they revisit this idea, but give it some more attention, and a heck of a lot more personality.
In Fuse, you shoot things. What's that? That description a little lacking for you? Try playing the game! Fuse is a bland, uninspired blob of a game. While it controls well, looks fine, sounds solid, and offers four player online action, it does so with vanilla characters, lazy level design, and downright boring action. It's lazy is what it is. I never thought I'd say that of an Insomniac game. These are the guys who came up with the gun that turned people into sheep and the disco ball that could be used to make even the biggest boss get down and boogie. None of that charm and inventiveness made it into Fuse. This is just another overpriced, generic shooter that no one will remember in a year. That just makes me sad.


text:
namespace zookeeper {

// Describes a ZooKeeper URL of the form:
//
//     zk://username:password@servers/path
//
// Where username:password is for the 'digest' scheme (see ZooKeeper
// documentation regarding "access controls using ACLs") and servers
// is of the form:
//
//     host1:port1,host2:port2,host3:port3
//
// Note that in the future we may want to support authentication
// mechanisms other than 'digest' and have a URL of the following
// form.
//
//     zk://scheme:credentials@servers/path
class URL
{
public:
  static Try<URL> parse(const std::string& url);

  static const char* scheme()
  {
    return "zk://";
  }

  const Option<Authentication> authentication;
  const std::string servers;
  const std::string path;

private:
  URL(const std::string& _servers,
      const std::string& _path)
    : servers(_servers),
      path(_path) {}

  URL(const std::string& credentials,
      const std::string& _servers,
      const std::string& _path)
    : authentication(Authentication("digest", credentials)),
      servers(_servers),
      path(_path) {}
};

inline Try<URL> URL::parse(const std::string& url)
{
  std::string s = strings::trim(url);

  if (!strings::startsWith(s, URL::scheme())) {
    return Error("Expecting 'zk://' at the beginning of the URL");
  }
  s = s.substr(5);

  // Look for the trailing '/' (if any), that's where the path starts.
  std::string path;
  do {
    size_t index = s.find_last_of('/');

    if (index == std::string::npos) {
      break;
    } else {
      path = s.substr(index) + path;
      s = s.substr(0, index);
    }
  } while (true);

  if (path == "") {
    path = "/";
  }

  // Look for the trailing '@' (if any), that's where servers starts.
  size_t index = s.find_last_of('@');

  if (index != std::string::npos) {
    return URL(s.substr(0, index), s.substr(index + 1), path);
  } else {
    return URL(s, path);
  }
}

inline std::ostream& operator<<(std::ostream& stream, const URL& url)
{
  stream << URL::scheme();
  if (url.authentication.isSome()) {
    stream << url.authentication.get() << "@";
  }
  return stream << url.servers << url.path;
}

} // namespace zookeeper {

#endif // __MESOS_ZOOKEEPER_URL_HPP__

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Q: How to understand the nature of an imported .pkl file I imported the file edges.pkl for my code. I wish to understand the type/nature of this file which I am storing in edges . For this I've tried to print the following code. Can someone help me in understanding the type of this file? So that I can further process it! I want to slice the edges file into a smaller file (with less entries) so that I can run it with less computational resources!
Code:
with open('data/'+args.dataset+'/edges.pkl','rb') as f:
    edges = pickle.load(f)

print('.......')

isinstance(edges, list)
print('edges',len(edges))
print('edges_shape',np.shape(edges))
print('1:5',edges[1::5])
print('1:2',edges[1::2])
print('edges_0',(edges[0,:]))
print('edges_1',len(edges[1]))

print('.......')

Error:

.......
edges 4
edges_shape (4,)
1:5 [<18405x18405 sparse matrix of
type '<class 'numpy.int64'>'  with 19645 stored elements in Compressed
Sparse Column format>]
1:2 [<18405x18405 sparse matrix of type '<class 'numpy.int64'>'   with
19645 stored elements in Compressed Sparse Column format>,
<18405x18405 sparse matrix of type '<class 'numpy.int64'>'    with 14328
stored elements in Compressed Sparse Column format>]
Traceback (most recent call last):   File
"/Users/anshumansinha/Desktop/GTN_gatech/main.py", line 66, in

print('edges_0',(edges[0,:])) TypeError: list indices must be integers or slices, not tuple

..
Additional code:
num_nodes = edges[0].shape[0]
    print('num_nodes', num_nodes)
for i,edge in enumerate(edges): # i goesthrough numbers [0,1,2,3...] and edge through edges.

        print('i',i)
        print('edge.shape', edge.shape)
        print('edge',edge)

        if i ==0:
             A = tf.expand_dims(tf.convert_to_tensor(edge.todense(), dtype= tf.float32), -1)
        else:
             A = tf.concat((A,tf.expand_dims(tf.convert_to_tensor(edge.todense(), dtype= tf.float32), -1)), -1)

    A = tf.concat((A, tf.expand_dims(tf.convert_to_tensor(tf.eye(num_nodes), dtype= tf.float32), -1) ), -1)

    print('shape',A.shape)

Output:
...
num_nodes 18405
i 0
edge.shape =  (18405, 18405)
edge   (4057, 438)  1
  (4058, 1945)  1
  (4059, 866)   1
  (4059, 1945)  1
  (4060, 472)   1
  (4060, 1299)  1
  (4060, 2250)  1
  (4061, 1415)  1
  (4062, 2437)  1
  (4063, 289)   1
  (4064, 3381)  1
  (4064, 3852)  1
  (4065, 1605)  1
  (4066, 1317)  1
  (4066, 3355)  1
  (4067, 2898)  1
  (4068, 3951)  1
  (4069, 1746)  1
  (4070, 3041)  1
  (4071, 468)   1
  (4072, 1809)  1
  (4073, 1352)  1
  (4074, 1352)  1
  (4075, 747)   1
  (4076, 1890)  1
  : :
  (18367, 4001) 1
  (18368, 3169) 1
  (18369, 206)  1
  (18370, 107)  1
  (18370, 2020) 1
  (18371, 1532) 1
  (18372, 1671) 1
  (18373, 1599) 1
  (18374, 582)  1
  (18374, 1963) 1
  (18375, 920)  1
  (18376, 1590) 1
  (18376, 3044) 1
  (18377, 248)  1
  (18378, 596)  1
  (18379, 2690) 1
  (18380, 1434) 1
  (18381, 470)  1
  (18381, 2766) 1
  (18382, 1547) 1
  (18383, 3350) 1
  (18384, 334)  1
  (18384, 470)  1
  (18384, 1590) 1
  (18384, 3044) 1
2022-07-10 16:58:36.500345: I tensorflow/core/platform/cpu_feature_guard.cc:151] This TensorFlow binary is optimized with oneAPI Deep Neural Network Library (oneDNN) to use the following CPU instructions in performance-critical operations:  AVX2 FMA
To enable them in other operations, rebuild TensorFlow with the appropriate compiler flags.
i 1
edge.shape =  (18405, 18405)
edge   (438, 4057)  1
  (1945, 4058)  1
  (866, 4059)   1
  (1945, 4059)  1
  (472, 4060)   1
  (1299, 4060)  1
  (2250, 4060)  1
  (1415, 4061)  1
  (2437, 4062)  1
  (289, 4063)   1
  (3381, 4064)  1
  (3852, 4064)  1
  (1605, 4065)  1
  (1317, 4066)  1
  (3355, 4066)  1
  (2898, 4067)  1
  (3951, 4068)  1
  (1746, 4069)  1
  (3041, 4070)  1
  (468, 4071)   1
  (1809, 4072)  1
  (1352, 4073)  1
  (1352, 4074)  1
  (747, 4075)   1
  (1890, 4076)  1
  : :
  (4001, 18367) 1
  (3169, 18368) 1
  (206, 18369)  1
  (107, 18370)  1
  (2020, 18370) 1
  (1532, 18371) 1
  (1671, 18372) 1
  (1599, 18373) 1
  (582, 18374)  1
  (1963, 18374) 1
  (920, 18375)  1
  (1590, 18376) 1
  (3044, 18376) 1
  (248, 18377)  1
  (596, 18378)  1
  (2690, 18379) 1
  (1434, 18380) 1
  (470, 18381)  1
  (2766, 18381) 1
  (1547, 18382) 1
  (3350, 18383) 1
  (334, 18384)  1
  (470, 18384)  1
  (1590, 18384) 1
  (3044, 18384) 1
i 2
edge.shape =  (18405, 18405)
edge   (4057, 18385)    1
  (4058, 18385) 1
  (4059, 18385) 1
  (4060, 18385) 1
  (4061, 18385) 1
  (4062, 18385) 1
  (4063, 18385) 1
  (4064, 18385) 1
  (4065, 18385) 1
  (4066, 18385) 1
  (4067, 18385) 1
  (4068, 18385) 1
  (4069, 18385) 1
  (4070, 18385) 1
  (4071, 18385) 1
  (4072, 18385) 1
  (4073, 18385) 1
  (4074, 18385) 1
  (4075, 18385) 1
  (4076, 18385) 1
  (4077, 18385) 1
  (4078, 18385) 1
  (4079, 18385) 1
  (4080, 18385) 1
  (4081, 18385) 1
  : :
  (18360, 18403)    1
  (18361, 18403)    1
  (18362, 18403)    1
  (18363, 18403)    1
  (18364, 18403)    1
  (18365, 18403)    1
  (18366, 18403)    1
  (18367, 18403)    1
  (18368, 18403)    1
  (18369, 18403)    1
  (18370, 18403)    1
  (18371, 18403)    1
  (18372, 18403)    1
  (18373, 18403)    1
  (18374, 18404)    1
  (18375, 18404)    1
  (18376, 18404)    1
  (18377, 18404)    1
  (18378, 18404)    1
  (18379, 18404)    1
  (18380, 18404)    1
  (18381, 18404)    1
  (18382, 18404)    1
  (18383, 18404)    1
  (18384, 18404)    1
i 3
edge.shape =  (18405, 18405)
edge   (18385, 4057)    1
  (18385, 4058) 1
  (18385, 4059) 1
  (18385, 4060) 1
  (18385, 4061) 1
  (18385, 4062) 1
  (18385, 4063) 1
  (18385, 4064) 1
  (18385, 4065) 1
  (18385, 4066) 1
  (18385, 4067) 1
  (18385, 4068) 1
  (18385, 4069) 1
  (18385, 4070) 1
  (18385, 4071) 1
  (18385, 4072) 1
  (18385, 4073) 1
  (18385, 4074) 1
  (18385, 4075) 1
  (18385, 4076) 1
  (18385, 4077) 1
  (18385, 4078) 1
  (18385, 4079) 1
  (18385, 4080) 1
  (18385, 4081) 1
  : :
  (18403, 18360)    1
  (18403, 18361)    1
  (18403, 18362)    1
  (18403, 18363)    1
  (18403, 18364)    1
  (18403, 18365)    1
  (18403, 18366)    1
  (18403, 18367)    1
  (18403, 18368)    1
  (18403, 18369)    1
  (18403, 18370)    1
  (18403, 18371)    1
  (18403, 18372)    1
  (18403, 18373)    1
  (18404, 18374)    1
  (18404, 18375)    1
  (18404, 18376)    1
  (18404, 18377)    1
  (18404, 18378)    1
  (18404, 18379)    1
  (18404, 18380)    1
  (18404, 18381)    1
  (18404, 18382)    1
  (18404, 18383)    1
  (18404, 18384)    1
shape (18405, 18405, 5)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


The Environment Agency uses the Floodline Warnings Direct (FWD) system to send messages to customers to warn them about flooding from rivers and the sea.
The Environment Agency use three types of warning - Flood Alert, Flood Warning and Severe Flood Warning.
A Flood Alert will be used to warn people of the possibility of flooding and encourage them to be alert, stay vigilant and make early preparations for flooding. A Flood Alert will be issued earlier than a Flood Warning, to give customers advance notice that flooding is possible.
A Flood Warning will be used to warn people of expected flooding and encourage them to take action to protect themselves and their property.
A Severe Flood Warning will be used when there is a significant risk to life or significant disruption to communities and we need to encourage customers to take action to protect themselves and follow the advice of the emergency services.
To check if you are at risk from flooding or to register for their free Floodline Warnings Direct service, please call Floodline on 0845 988 1188 or visit their website: Environment Agency. You can also request or download a personal flood plan template, find general advice and information about flooding.
The Health Protection Agency's role is to provide an integrated approach to protecting UK public health through the provision of support and advice to the NHS, local authorities, emergency services, other Arms Length Bodies, the Department of Health and the Devolved Administrations. The Agency was established as a special health authority (SpHA) in 2003.
Gov UK gives you easy access to government information and services. It uses simple language and presentation across the web, TV and mobile. Directgov works closely with government departments to bring information for the public all together in one place.
NHS Direct is here to make a difference to the lives of people in England, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year… They are here for you whenever you have health worries and they have the knowledge and experience to give you real help and reassurance. They provide expert health advice, information and reassurance, using their world class telephone service and website.
The Business Continuity Institute (BCI) was established in 1994 to enable individual members to obtain guidance and support from fellow business continuity practitioners. The BCI currently has over 5000 members in 90 countries.


Today students finished up the rest of the lab stations for our chemical and physical changes lab. Afterwards we discussed our results from each station and also watched Crash Course Chemistry: Periodic table. If you missed the labs, you can watch a version of each of the experiments in the video playlist below.


Since Ibrahim Abu Thuraya lost his legs in an Israeli attack a decade ago, he and his wheelchair have been a regular feature at protests along Gaza's border with Israel.
On Friday, he became one of four Palestinians to be killed in a day of demonstrations against US President Donald Trump's decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital and move its embassy to the contested city.
Pictures of Abu Thuraya at protests along the border have been widely circulated on social media after it was confirmed he was killed.
The Palestinian health ministry said he was shot in the head by an Israeli sniper.
In video footage recorded early on Friday, Abu Thuraya could be seen carrying the Palestinian flag and waving the victory sign at Israeli soldiers across the border.
"I want to go there," he says, referring to the other side of the border, as a number of young men surrounding him also waved Palestinian flags, while others threw stones towards the troops.
"This land is our land, we will not give up. America has to withdraw its decision," Abu Thurayeh said in another video posted on social media.
A few hours before his death, despite having no legs he climbed an electricity pole to raise the Palestinian flag, eyewitnesses and journalists present said.
The former fisherman had become a symbol of resilience in the besieged coastal enclave, under a strict Israeli blockade for over a decade.
He lost both legs and a kidney when an Israeli helicopter targeted him during Operation Cast Lead in 2008, when Israel's army killed more than 1,400 Palestinians in three weeks.
His family say he was targeted after he brought down the Israeli flag and raised the Palestinian flag along the border zone.
"It did not stop him from demonstrating for Jerusalem," his brother Samir told AFP after his death was confirmed on Friday.
"He went alone every day to the border".
Before being injured he had been a fisherman, an industry strangled by strict Israeli restrictions on fishing zones which are enforced by military vessels off Gaza's coast.
Abu Thuraya then began washing cars to help support a family of eleven, waking up at 7am and strapping equipment to his wheelchair before hitting Gaza's streets.
"Please never look at my disabled body, look at the great job I'm doing," Abu Thuraya told Irish activists in 2012.
"I never felt despaired. It's not the end of the world and life should go on."
Thousands are expected to attend his funeral on Saturday.
Comment: For many, Israel's occupation of Palestine, and the resulting conflict, invoke religious sentiment. But it's justice we should be seeking, not religious sovereignty, writes Amal Awad.
In-depth: Palestinian protesters angry at Trump's Jerusalem decision tell The New Arab they have little trust in their leadership and Arab allies.


text:
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Q&A: How one wine and spirits wholesaler found success in a new ERP system
Encompass Technologies
(Mexcor International Wine & Spirits)
This post was sponsored by E8 ERP.
With new wine and spirits products launching regularly, SKU proliferation continues to be an issue, and the complexity of operating as a wholesaler in the space has increased significantly. From inventory tracking and warehouse automation to logistics and sales execution, a comprehensive ERP system can help solve challenging aspects of the supply chain and streamline operations, setting wine and spirits wholesalers up for success. We talked to to Houston-based Mexcor International Wine & Spirits' Chief Financial Officer Scott Kliever about selecting E8 ERP as their new software provider and why they chose the system.
What challenges were you facing and how did you decide a new ERP system would solve those?
Scott Kliever
We had an ERP system that had not been upgraded for years, nor was it being used to its full capacity. Routing was being done manually, there was no locator system in the warehouse or on routes, or even tracking of return products back to the pick slots. Financials were also being done manually from downloads out of the system which didn't allow for time to create a financial reporting/KPI analysis.
What opportunities were you missing?
We weren't tracking a number of important operational KPI's, so we had no way of knowing where we were missing opportunities. Since our financial reporting was being done by hand on spreadsheets, consistency was lacking. The sales team didn't have accurate sales reports showing revenue and margins by product type, so that was really holding us back in a lot of ways. Our order tracking and forecasting was also falling behind, which can create a lot of problems when it comes to servicing customers.
How would a new ERP system address these challenges and help you take advantage of opportunities?
From our view, a new ERP would put everything together from one end of our business to the other. We envisioned an all-in-one system that would eliminate the need to bolt-on products to gain full system functionality. When you're working with multiple systems, it's easy for data to get lost in translation and it creates unnecessary difficulties. When errors are created as a result of data feeding in from all of these disparate systems, it's extremely hard to find where the error is even coming from. With a comprehensive system, that worry is alleviated.
What did you look for when selecting an ERP vendor?
With such a big decision at hand, we wanted to see proof. Systems can look nice on paper but in the end, it's really about the long-term partnership and the industry specificity of a system. We looked for a vendor that had years of experience working with companies similar to our operation, the bandwidth to successfully train our employees and the capacity to implement change to the operating software over time.
What benefits did you see once you implemented a new solution?
The access to data is huge, whether it's determining our most profitable accounts or getting data out to supporting vendors like banks, customers and suppliers. Along with that, we've seen improvements in daily route planning and increased inventory accuracy. We've also implemented electronic data interchange (EDI) to streamline the process of collecting payment from our customers.
The functional areas of our new system meet our needs and continue to be upgraded as we grow. I have no doubt this will support all our needs as we implement new customer-focused interactive portals and attract new employees to the company who want to be part of creating new experiences.
What advice would you offer others in the industry looking to bring in a new system?
Training is crucial. It really sets the course for the entire implementation and helps get the whole team comfortable with the new system that will be their new day-to-day reality.
This one may be obvious but I feel like it's worth mentioning -- be solely focused on your ERP selection and implementation. Don't try to install a new system when you have other things going on because making full use of your time and resources will pay off.
One of our strategies was to ask each vendor to do a full encompassing write-up on project parameters, system functionality and a full cost breakdown. The ability to see a side-by-side comparison of cost and associated features is key to making an educated decision. We made sure the vendors were aware of our company, what we do and how we do it. One huge consideration I already mentioned is paying attention to where you'll need bolt-on products. One vendor may be cheaper, but bolting on a product may make that option substantially more expensive.
When you have all of these items identified upfront with associated warehouse, transportation, and equipment costs, the ability to make an ERP selection becomes much less daunting.
Scott Kliever joined Mexcor International Wine & Spirits as chief financial officer in 2018, bringing over 25 years of broadline foodservice, supply chain and wholesale distribution experience to compliment the Mexcor family of businesses. Kliever began his career working at his family-owned customized distribution and freight brokerage business and went on to work at Sysco, helping to bring technology, efficiencies and operational accountability change to the private equity Merchants organization.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
If you enjoyed this article, sign up for WSWA Smartbrief or check out all of SmartBrief's food and travel newsletters as we offer more than 30 newsletters covering the food and travel industries from restaurants, food retail and food manufacturing to business travel, the airline and hotel industries and gaming.
Encompass Technologies, Mexcor International Wine & Spirits, wine, wholesalers, ERP
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Peg Shelving Support Hardware And Shelf Brackets BO003 fix securely into any gridwall. Use with any gridwall system displays, and apply a shelf lip to your shelf to stop your products from slipping off. The standard size is 8 inches, but they are also available in 7 other bracket lengths. Welcome to contact us and confirm every details before place your order.


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Obama's Great Jewish Conspiracy That Isn't
By Susan L.M. Goldberg 2014-01-28T20:00:09
chat comments
Typical mainstream media disinformation campaign ...bet the "Joos" are behind it; their leader, Bibi, loves to be called "King".
Last Thursday, Seth Mandel at Commentary covered a disturbing news report featured in the Jerusalem Post:
A US official close to President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry said both men are disturbed over what is being perceived in their inner circle as "Jewish activism in Congress" that they think is being encouraged by the Israeli government, Israel Radio reported on Thursday.
The official has informed Israeli government figures that the president and secretary of state are disappointed over repeated attacks made against them by leading members of the Jewish community in the US.
According to Israel Radio, Israeli diplomats and foreign officers have warned against this trend. According to officials based in foreign missions, the Israeli government is increasingly being viewed as fanning the flames among American Jews by encouraging them to promote the official government position while making no room for opposing viewpoints.
FrontPage Magazine, the Weekly Standard , and Breitbart were among the bigger conservative sources to pick up on the story, but that's not surprising. The shocker is the lack of coverage on the part of left-wing Jewish-American news sources, like the Forward and Tablet Magazine. Even the non-partisan Jewish Telegraphic Agency has failed to cover the story that, as Tom Wilson at Commentary succinctly explains, has extremely plausible grounding in the scenario of current peace talks.
So much for an Israel lobby on American shores. The "Joos" who are supposedly taking orders from Israel don't even bother to say a word to defend their dreaded Lord and Master Zion in the face of the Obama administration's aggression. Guess they didn't get the memo.
The one Jewish American response that hasn't come from a conservative news source was written by a former Forward editor ...and published in Israel's left-wing Ha'aretz. Commenting on Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper's address to the Knesset, former Forward editor and current editor of the New York Sun Seth Lipsky writes:
The American leader is sending out word that he is "disturbed" by "Jewish activism in Congress" against his administration's entente with Iran. Obama and Secretary of State Kerry, according to Israel Radio, are even blaming Prime Minister Netanyahu's government for encouraging Jewish leaders to criticize the White House. We haven't had this tone since President George H.W. Bush carped about being "one lonely little guy" beset by the Israel lobby.
Obama's message hints at the kind of double-dual-loyalty libel that Harper confronted so bluntly in articulating the basis of the policies that have made him the most pro-Israel premier outside Jerusalem. ...
...What is so striking about Harper's speech is not the ardent expressions of friendship — all recent American presidents, including Obama, have done the same. Particularly George W. Bush, who, in the well of the Knesset, spoke of the "Chosen People" and called the Jewish state "the redemption of an ancient promise given to Abraham and Moses and David." What is striking about Harper's speech is the willingness to confront political correctness and call the hostility to Israel for what it is.
That's what makes Israel the "holy land": 2 Jews with 3 opinions can still manage to agree on 1 thing: Political correctness can't mask blatant hostility towards Israel.
If only the American Jews would get the memo. After all, my fellow politically conservative Jews and I can't be the only ones bringing food to the "We've Conquered the World" after-party.
https://pjmedia.com/lifestyle/2014/1/29/obamas-great-jewish-conspiracy-that-isnt/
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Concrete planters like Magnolia have a lightweight, durable construction that makes them a favourite for home and commercial gardens alike. What is more, those garden and street planters are beautiful and they will be a sturdy, long-lasting decoration. The nature of concrete gives an original theme for designers. Concrete can be f. e. g. beautifully matched to stones, glass and modern furniture. Concrete planters can be large, so heavy plants or even tries can be supported. Caring for concrete planters is much easier than with other materials.


text:
Strategy Lessons From Jean Tirole
Unlike Paul Krugman, another MIT PhD of Tirole's generation with similar renown as a model builder who has gone on to a second career as a highly visible and controversial public intellectual, Tirole has mainly just kept on building those models — and at a seemingly youthful 61 will presumably just keep building them unless the prize curse gets to him. In the early 1980s, the game theory approach to studying industries promised to be the next big wave in strategy. MORE
Rivkin Game Theory Porter Finance 8
Career Game Theory Incentives Rivkin
Unlike Paul Krugman, another MIT PhD of Tirole's generation with similar renown as a model builder who has gone on to a second career as a highly visible and controversial public intellectual, Tirole has mainly just kept on building those models — and at a seemingly youthful 61 will presumably just keep building them unless the prize curse gets to him. In the early 1980s, the game theory approach to studying industries promised to be the next big wave in strategy.
Rivkin 8


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2019 Mitsubishi Galant Price In USA – Mitsubishi could be recognized due to its sporting activities automobiles then Sports utility vehicles, however its household automobile often will get neglected with the herd. Mitsubishi relocated to transform it truly is prospects with all the intro just last year in the innovative Galant. Offered an important refreshening each inside and outside, a Galant elegant style then worth loaded regular gear collection must show a luring bait intended for consumers purchasing the better popular Honda Accord then Toyota Camry.
On the flip side, intense innovative competitors by Chevrolet's Malibu, as well as the Hyundai Sonata then Kia Optima, signifies how the Galant is a tricky marketplace. Search for Mitsubishi to go on providing numerous desirable motivator courses to really make it even simpler to get a 2019 Galant. Each of our 2019 Mitsubishi Galant is provided a brand new sterling silver colored fine mesh grill and much more interior noise efficiency. Anti- secure braking systems Stomach muscles), grip manage and in addition balance manage have become regular over the range, although the V6 design is decreased, departing merely the several tube ES and in addition SE cuts.
In case you are trying to find a sport automobile by using a V6 engine or perhaps a sunroof, you are going to need to stay with Honda and even Nissan. Even though it would come with a heart go through port, an Galant's back seatback can not be flattened downward. and even though each directing offers exact opinions generally in most movements, the software can feel a little sluggish to react throughout very difficult driving a car. Each of our SE toned, using its very low account 18 in . operation auto tires, supplies specific dealing with with out a unpleasant trip.
As the 2019 Mitsubishi Galant is incorporated in the exact same marketplace section as being the Honda Accord and in addition Toyota Camry, a new highly effective entrance nasal area, sloping fastback back home window and in addition quick outdoor patio top provide your look all of its individual. Often the athletic SE appears to be directed immediately by clients who demand several doorways but additionally desire much more persona when compared with just about all vehicles offer you. It provides many understated details the set it up separate stylistically, for example 18 in . Ralliart metal rims, stainless fatigue finishers as well as a shade entered back lips spoiler.
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Well between the past 3 weeks we have celebrated my mom and my husbands birthdays. Tomorrow we are celebrating my dads as well. I made them all their own special "edible" gift this year. My mom saw my mother-in-laws fruit arrangement I made her back in July and pretty much demanded (with some jealousy in her voice) that she has one as well. I have pictures on my blog The Perfect Present!.
So first was my mom's birthday and for whatever I reason I really didn't get good pictures of this gift by itself so here it is with my daughter 🙂 We also got her flowers since her anniversary was the day before.
Next we celebrated my husband's 36th. Now he's a picky one to shop for. He doesn't want much and what he wants he just gets himself… never filling me in on things he would like to have. He also doesn't have a sweet tooth. He doesn't care for cake so I decided to make him a cake out of the few "junk" food things that he enjoys.
Last but not least (because my brother-in-law is turning 15 next week!) we have my dads gift. Now when I made my mom her fruit arrangement he looked at me and with his sarcastic self said "You better not make me no stinkin' fruit arrangement for my birthday!" I just laughed and said I know! Rather a "cake" made from his favorite candy including the original 1928 double bubble gum and ring pops because my kids will be spending the day and want to devour it LOL!
Now if I could just start doing this for a living that would be fantastic! I love making these things!
Next Next post: We Survived!


Thinking about a quilt- in some ways it all sounds a bit bizarre and I know others will laugh at me. But I guess I'm used to that, and maybe that's part of me I need to express. I have put off sewing for a long time so actually this process may be a valuable one spiritually for me- addressing a 'me' part that has been neglected. I find a piece of material, and the piece I want for the centre is from my wedding dress. All that is left now is the cuttings from the rim at the bottom. I have cut two pieces and have joined them, in the centre like a barrier across. The title will go on the piece at the end. Then it dawns on me the two halves are the beginning and the end- the alpha and the omega. The sign for Alpha will go on now.


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text:
La província de Kunar (paixtu: کونړ) és una divisió administrativa de l'Afganistan al nord-est del país. La capital és Asadabad. La superfície és de 4.942 km² i la població de 390.200 habitants (estimació de 2006).

Districtes

Referències

Kunar


Thanks for the great response to 99 Bottles of Oil on the Wall last week! I hope you found the first installment of this ongoing series educational and fun. Last week, we took 5 down, passed them around, so this week, 94 bottles of oil on the wall.
But first, a housekeeping note: With each installment of 99 Bottles of Oils on the Wall, I'll give one of the featured oils away. For free. No strings attached. To enter, follow my page by clicking on the moving Follow icon at the bottom right of this page. I'll randomly choose the winner from those of you who choose to follow me on this oily journey. This week's giveaway oil is Celery Seed. Good luck, all!
Brain Power: I got off easy this week, because I recently blogged about Brain Power.
Carrot Seed: Carrot Seed is available as a Young Living Essential Oils Singles and as part of the new dietary essential oil Vitality line. This means you can diffuse, directly inhale, apply topically or use it as a dietary supplement. To apply topically, dilute 1:1 (1 part essential oil with 1 part carrier oil) and apply 1-2 drops on location. Carrot Seed helps with skin conditions, water retention and liver. Carrot Seed is produced from the distillation of the seeds of the wild carrot plant (not carrots) and has a mildly sweet aroma with earthy, herbaceous notes. Carrot Seed is found in Young Living Essential Oils' Animal Scents and Rose ointments.
Cedarwood: One of my favorite essential oils! I use it every day. I put a drop of Cedarwood per ounce in my shampoo and conditioner, along with Lavender and Rosemary, to strengthen and grow my hair. I also add a drop of Cedarwood and Lavender to my mascara to lengthen and grow my lashes. I use Cedarwood in my Nighty Night and Focus roller bottle blends. Cedarwood can be diffused, directly inhaled or applied topically. Cedarwood has a warm, balsamic aroma that helps to create a calming and comforting atmosphere when diffused. Cedarwood is found in many of Young Living Essential Oils' skincare products and in proprietary blends, such as Grounding, Highest Potential, Inspiration, Into the Future, Live with Passion, Sacred Mountain and Stress Away (another daily favorite of mine!).
Celery Seed: Like Carrot Seed, Celery Seed is available as both a Young Living Essential Oils single and as part of the Vitality line. Celery Seed is produced from the steam distillation of dried seeds and was used historically for its calming, relaxing and uplifting aroma. Celery Seed can be diffused, directly inhaled, applied topically, used as a dietary supplement and in cooking. Dilute 1:2 with a carrier oil for topical use. Celery Seed helps with digestion, liver and pain caused by inflammation. Celery Seed is found in Young Living Essential Oils' GLF and JuvaCleanse products.
Christmas Spirit: I owe a friend of mine a bottle of this Young Living Essential Oils' proprietary blend as a housewarming present. She loves it! And no wonder, Christmas Spirit is a blend of Orange, Cinnamon Bark and Black Spruce. It doesn't have to be Christmas for you to use it, either. Christmas Spirit can be diffused, directly inhaled or diluted 1:1 with a carrier oil to apply topically. This blend truly is about the smells and feels. Christmas Spirit is a purifying blend of evergreen, citrus and spice, reminiscent of winter holidays and is said to bring joy, peace, happiness and security. Sun/skin sensitivity, if applied topically is possible, because Orange is an ingredient. Orange essential oil is photosensitive, meaning several hours need to pass between application and sun exposure, or be sure to apply sunscreen to avoid skin irritation.
So much goodness in these 5 essential oils and blends. I have to tell you, in addition to educating myself and you, I've discovered the unexpected pleasure of falling in love all over again with these oils!
Don't forget to Follow Oils & Spoils for a chance to win this week's giveaway, a 5 ml bottle of Celery Seed essential oil. Congrats to last week's winner of a 5 ml bottle of Basil essential oil.
Until next time, diffuse Christmas Spirit like it's the most wonderful time of the year, even if it isn't. It will make you feel like it is.
I really am a a bit lazy this week. Same updates as posted at the bottom of last week's blog, 99 Bottles of Oil on the Wall. Seriously great Young Living Essential Oils promotions (freebies) with May orders. If you've been wanting to try essential oils, you have a few choices: You can add your order to mine, which will be placed Friday, May 20, and get 14 percent off retail price. You can order a Premium Starter Kit, which makes you a wholesale member who gets 24 percent off on future orders. And if there are items that you want that are not in the Premium Starter Kit, I can walk you through your order to ensure you get maximum promotions (freebies).


1. The examination will be entirely based on the syllabus and will be in an MCQ format.
2. Candidates will be acknowledged with a 'Certificate in Critical Care' for the completion of the course.
3. Accommodation will be provided @ Rs. 2000/- per month if needed.
1. Candidates will have to pay the entire amount at the time of registration or the enrolment.
2. A candidate is eligible for the Nursing Course only if he/she has a degree in B. Sc. or GNM.
What is the peculiarity of this course?
This course facilitates Direct Patient Contact Learning on live ICU patients.
Do you have any placement facilities?
Candidates that perform fairly well in their training sessions and the final exam will be placed at Horizon Hospital.
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Along with enhancement of your skills, those aspiring to go abroad will be highly benefited from this course.
Why is this course unique?
This course highlights the ingenious technique of Real-Life Simulation.


text:
import {BehaviorSubject} from 'rxjs/BehaviorSubject';

import {ActivatedRoute, ActivatedRouteSnapshot, RouterState, RouterStateSnapshot, advanceActivatedRoute, equalParamsAndUrlSegments} from '../src/router_state';
import {Params} from '../src/shared';
import {UrlSegment} from '../src/url_tree';
import {TreeNode} from '../src/utils/tree';

describe('RouterState & Snapshot', () => {
  describe('RouterStateSnapshot', () => {
    let state: RouterStateSnapshot;
    let a: ActivatedRouteSnapshot;
    let b: ActivatedRouteSnapshot;
    let c: ActivatedRouteSnapshot;

    beforeEach(() => {
      a = createActivatedRouteSnapshot('a');
      b = createActivatedRouteSnapshot('b');
      c = createActivatedRouteSnapshot('c');

      const root = new TreeNode(a, [new TreeNode(b, []), new TreeNode(c, [])]);

      state = new RouterStateSnapshot('url', root);
    });

    it('should return first child', () => { expect(state.root.firstChild).toBe(b); });

    it('should return children', () => {
      const cc = state.root.children;
      expect(cc[0]).toBe(b);
      expect(cc[1]).toBe(c);
    });

    it('should return root', () => {
      const b = state.root.firstChild !;
      expect(b.root).toBe(state.root);
    });

    it('should return parent', () => {
      const b = state.root.firstChild !;
      expect(b.parent).toBe(state.root);
    });

    it('should return path from root', () => {
      const b = state.root.firstChild !;
      const p = b.pathFromRoot;
      expect(p[0]).toBe(state.root);
      expect(p[1]).toBe(b);
    });
  });

  describe('RouterState', () => {
    let state: RouterState;
    let a: ActivatedRoute;
    let b: ActivatedRoute;
    let c: ActivatedRoute;

    beforeEach(() => {
      a = createActivatedRoute('a');
      b = createActivatedRoute('b');
      c = createActivatedRoute('c');

      const root = new TreeNode(a, [new TreeNode(b, []), new TreeNode(c, [])]);

      state = new RouterState(root, <any>null);
    });

    it('should return first child', () => { expect(state.root.firstChild).toBe(b); });

    it('should return children', () => {
      const cc = state.root.children;
      expect(cc[0]).toBe(b);
      expect(cc[1]).toBe(c);
    });

    it('should return root', () => {
      const b = state.root.firstChild !;
      expect(b.root).toBe(state.root);
    });

    it('should return parent', () => {
      const b = state.root.firstChild !;
      expect(b.parent).toBe(state.root);
    });

    it('should return path from root', () => {
      const b = state.root.firstChild !;
      const p = b.pathFromRoot;
      expect(p[0]).toBe(state.root);
      expect(p[1]).toBe(b);
    });
  });

  describe('equalParamsAndUrlSegments', () => {
    function createSnapshot(params: Params, url: UrlSegment[]): ActivatedRouteSnapshot {
      const snapshot = new ActivatedRouteSnapshot(
          url, params, <any>null, <any>null, <any>null, <any>null, <any>null, <any>null, <any>null,
          -1, null !);
      snapshot._routerState = new RouterStateSnapshot('', new TreeNode(snapshot, []));
      return snapshot;
    }

    function createSnapshotPairWithParent(
        params: [Params, Params], parentParams: [Params, Params],
        urls: [string, string]): [ActivatedRouteSnapshot, ActivatedRouteSnapshot] {
      const snapshot1 = createSnapshot(params[0], []);
      const snapshot2 = createSnapshot(params[1], []);

      const snapshot1Parent = createSnapshot(parentParams[0], [new UrlSegment(urls[0], {})]);
      const snapshot2Parent = createSnapshot(parentParams[1], [new UrlSegment(urls[1], {})]);

      snapshot1._routerState =
          new RouterStateSnapshot('', new TreeNode(snapshot1Parent, [new TreeNode(snapshot1, [])]));
      snapshot2._routerState =
          new RouterStateSnapshot('', new TreeNode(snapshot2Parent, [new TreeNode(snapshot2, [])]));

      return [snapshot1, snapshot2];
    }

    it('should return false when params are different', () => {
      expect(equalParamsAndUrlSegments(createSnapshot({a: 1}, []), createSnapshot({a: 2}, [])))
          .toEqual(false);
    });

    it('should return false when urls are different', () => {
      expect(equalParamsAndUrlSegments(
                 createSnapshot({a: 1}, [new UrlSegment('a', {})]),
                 createSnapshot({a: 1}, [new UrlSegment('b', {})])))
          .toEqual(false);
    });

    it('should return true othewise', () => {
      expect(equalParamsAndUrlSegments(
                 createSnapshot({a: 1}, [new UrlSegment('a', {})]),
                 createSnapshot({a: 1}, [new UrlSegment('a', {})])))
          .toEqual(true);
    });

    it('should return false when upstream params are different', () => {
      const [snapshot1, snapshot2] =
          createSnapshotPairWithParent([{a: 1}, {a: 1}], [{b: 1}, {c: 1}], ['a', 'a']);

      expect(equalParamsAndUrlSegments(snapshot1, snapshot2)).toEqual(false);
    });

    it('should return false when upstream urls are different', () => {
      const [snapshot1, snapshot2] =
          createSnapshotPairWithParent([{a: 1}, {a: 1}], [{b: 1}, {b: 1}], ['a', 'b']);

      expect(equalParamsAndUrlSegments(snapshot1, snapshot2)).toEqual(false);
    });

    it('should return true when upstream urls and params are equal', () => {
      const [snapshot1, snapshot2] =
          createSnapshotPairWithParent([{a: 1}, {a: 1}], [{b: 1}, {b: 1}], ['a', 'a']);

      expect(equalParamsAndUrlSegments(snapshot1, snapshot2)).toEqual(true);
    });
  });

  describe('advanceActivatedRoute', () => {

    let route: ActivatedRoute;

    beforeEach(() => { route = createActivatedRoute('a'); });

    function createSnapshot(params: Params, url: UrlSegment[]): ActivatedRouteSnapshot {
      const queryParams = {};
      const fragment = '';
      const data = {};
      const snapshot = new ActivatedRouteSnapshot(
          url, params, queryParams, fragment, data, <any>null, <any>null, <any>null, <any>null, -1,
          null !);
      const state = new RouterStateSnapshot('', new TreeNode(snapshot, []));
      snapshot._routerState = state;
      return snapshot;
    }

    it('should call change observers', () => {
      const firstPlace = createSnapshot({a: 1}, []);
      const secondPlace = createSnapshot({a: 2}, []);
      route.snapshot = firstPlace;
      route._futureSnapshot = secondPlace;

      let hasSeenDataChange = false;
      route.data.forEach((data) => { hasSeenDataChange = true; });
      advanceActivatedRoute(route);
      expect(hasSeenDataChange).toEqual(true);
    });
  });
});

function createActivatedRouteSnapshot(cmp: string) {
  return new ActivatedRouteSnapshot(
      <any>null, <any>null, <any>null, <any>null, <any>null, <any>null, <any>cmp, <any>null,
      <any>null, -1, null !);
}

function createActivatedRoute(cmp: string) {
  return new ActivatedRoute(
      new BehaviorSubject([new UrlSegment('', {})]), new BehaviorSubject({}), <any>null, <any>null,
      new BehaviorSubject({}), <any>null, <any>cmp, <any>null);
}


text:
Home » News » Mirena IUD » Texas Woman Sues After Suffering Mirena Uterine Perforation
Texas Woman Sues After Suffering Mirena Uterine Perforation
December 10, 2015 By: Ava Lawson Mirena IUD
Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals is being sued for permanent injuries, financial losses and emotional distress allegedly caused by the defective nature of its Mirena intrauterine device (IUD). Plaintiff Alicia Sloan claims that the manufacturer did not comply with federal standards relevant to the sale of prescription products in the U.S., by failing to provide adequate information about the risk of IUD migration through the uterine lining or wall after insertion.
According to arguments raised in her Mirena lawsuit, Sloan has sustained and will continue to incur economic losses, and has been burdened with physical, emotional and financial injury due to the unreasonably dangerous nature of the intrauterine device. The complaint was brought in the United States District Court, District of New Jersey where Sloan is demanding a trial by jury and damages for related health care costs, future medical monitoring, as well as severe pain and suffering.
She is also seeking punitive damages against Bayer on the basis of their alleged "wanton, willful, fraudulent and reckless" conduct in regards to the design, marketing and sales of the Mirena IUD.
IUD migration leads to hysterectomy
On September 23, 2010, Sloan had the Mirena IUD inserted by her health care provider at John Peter Smith Health Network Medical in Fort Worth, Texas. The procedure went as planned with no unforeseen complications. In 2014, Sloan was told by her doctor during a routine pelvic exam that she could no longer see the IUD within the uterus. Two days later, the plaintiff had an ultrasound, which still showed no signs of the T-shaped plastic device.
Finally, on May 8, 2014, Sloan's doctors performed an X-ray and discovered that the Mirena birth control device had perforated the patient's uterus and was resting in the abdominal cavity. Because of this serious complication, the plaintiff was forced to undergo a laparoscopic surgery to remove the IUD along with a hysterectomy, which removes the uterus and the potential for bearing children in the future.
Like hundreds of other Mirena plaintiffs, Alicia Sloan is a young woman (31 years old) and still in her prime childbearing years. She argues that Bayer was negligent in failing to advise patients and the medical community about risks and potential side effects of the IUD despite knowledge of these dangers.
Other lawsuits pending against Bayer allege the following types of Mirena injuries:
Migration and embedment
Uterine perforation
Adhesions and cysts
Chronic infections
Mirena insufficiently tested, claims plaintiff
Bayer is charged with numerous transgressions including concealing and/or misrepresenting information from healthcare professionals, the FDA, and consumers concerning the severity of Mirena complications compared to alternate forms of contraception.
The plaintiff further asserts that Bayer repeatedly told consumers and the medical community that Mirena was just as safe as other hormonal contraceptives and intrauterine devices, without conducting appropriate pre-market trials to ensure these claims were actually true.
In fact, the complaint cites a communication sent by the Department of Health and Human Services' Division of Drug Marketing, Advertising, and Communications (DDMAC) to Bayer in regards to their Mirena advertising campaign. The defendant's "Simple Style" live presentation offered to busy moms presented the IUD as a safe and easy way to help women look and feel great while enhancing the level of intimacy and emotional satisfaction between partners. The DDMAC pointed out that Bayer made several unsubstantiated claims in an effort to boost sales, while downplaying common side effects such as weight gain, acne and breast tenderness.
Drugs.com: Mirena, http://www.drugs.com/pro/mirena.html
Food and Drug Administration, Mirena (levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine system) http://www.fda.gov/Safety/MedWatch/SafetyInformation/Safety-RelatedDrugLabelingChanges/ucm119274.htm
Human Reproduction, Intrauterine contraception: incidence and factors associated with uterine perforation--a population-based study http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22763376


During our stay in Berlin, we took a day trip to nearby Potsdam, which is a small town filled with elaborate palaces from the Prussian Empire era. It's a really nice place and we're glad we went. It's also where the Potsdam Conference was held to end World War 2, after the defeat of Germany, so there's a lot of history here. Schloss Sanssouci is the big yellow palace above the tiered garden, which was a sight to behold. It's within a giant green park that also contains at least 3 other palaces – such a beautiful park, very peaceful. The town of Potsdam itself is very grand with amazing apartment blocks and cobblestone streets; it also has a Dutch Quarter (which are the red brick buildings towards the bottom of the post) which is very quaint. This first picture below is actually the water pump house for the city which was built in an Islamic style a few hundred years ago, when that was all the rage. Potsdam is a beautiful town and if you have spare time around Berlin, it's well worth a visit.