text:
Susan Park Ochsner, Ph.D.
2019-11-05 /in /by Academic Web Pages
Post-Doctoral Fellows
Susan received her B.A. degree ('04) in Biology at Johns Hopkins University. After working for a number of years at the Institute of Human Virology, the FDA, and Aeras Global TB Vaccine Foundation, where she worked on HIV vaccine and diagnostic assay development, and clinical TB vaccine assessment, Susan entered the Ph.D. program of Biological Sciences at the University of Maryland, College Park. She joined the lab of Dr. Xiaoping Zhu where she developed a novel mucosal FcRn-mediated subunit vaccine for influenza. Susan completed her Ph.D. in 2018 and joined the lab of Dr. Dan Barouch shortly after, where she continues to work on developing subunit vaccines. Currently, Susan is developing novel HIV-1 Env trimers as vaccine candidates using the unique Signature-based Epitope Targeted (SET) mutation platform to induce tier 2 bNAbs responses in the guinea pig and NHP models.
https://cvvr.hms.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Susan-Park-Ochsner-PhD.jpg 181 137 Academic Web Pages https://cvvr.hms.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/cvvr-header-banner-long-white-bg.png Academic Web Pages2019-11-05 15:12:492020-02-17 11:02:01Susan Park Ochsner, Ph.D.


This is the sort of story that gives me goose bumps.
A few years ago, antiquity experts discovered a Parisian apartment left totally untouched for more than 70 years. On the Right Bank, near the Opéra Garnier, in the 9th arrondissement the stunning home had been unoccupied since 1942.
The mild temperatures and a thin layer of dust worked in historys favour and preserved everything – everything – in wonderfully, perfect detail.
It was an interiors time capsule.
The owner of the apartment, Mrs. De Florian was a Parisian socialite. She moved to the South of France just before World War II broke out in Europe and never, ever returned to Paris. She simply closed the shutters and locked the front door and left.
Mrs. De Florian paid rent on the apartment for the next seven decades before she died at the age of 91.
One of the experts that worked on the discovery said it was like stumbling into the castle of Sleeping Beauty where time had stood still since 1900.
The house was a cave of treasures with soaring wooden ceilings filled with mirrors, porcelain, art and a dressing table full of brushes and perfume bottles.
The stuffed ostrich was typical of the period and the Mickey Mouse soft toy (below) pre dates the war.
This is where the story gets even more fabulous.
A painting of a beautiful woman in a pink gown was also discovered in the apartment.
The team suspected the painting was the work of Giovanni Boldini, one of Paris' most important painters of the Belle Époque period. They found stacks of love letters tied with ribbon which confirmed that it was a work of the great artist.
The woman in the painting was Mrs. de Florian's grand-mother, Marthe de Florian who was Boldini's muse and lover.
The painting was sold for $US3 million at auction.
What I find so intriguing about this tale is not so much the painting and the treasures but what the apartment doesn't tell us.
Ms De Florain's secret holds so many unanswered questions: Why did she never return to Paris? What kept her away? Why did she keep the apartment and not sell it? What did her grandmother tell her of the love affair with Boldini? Why did she conceal the painting for all those years?
Fabulous – the mystery makes it more so I think.
fascinating!!! i want all the furniture…will they auction off everything and sell the apartment or keep it as is??


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Nonprofits, by definition, depend on fundraising and donations for their revenue. One method of fundraising that is often overlooked is corporate giving.
Corporate giving occurs when for-profit companies donate money or resources to nonprofits and charities. Many corporations offer their employees a variety of giving programs in order to encourage them to be charitable.
The most commonly known form of corporate giving is corporate matching. Through matching gift programs, corporations will match their employees' donations, usually at a 1:1 ratio (though some companies go as far as to match donations at a 4:1 ratio!). In other words, if an employee working at a company with a 1:1 matching gift program were to donate $100 to a nonprofit of their choice, their company would respond by donating another $100 to the same nonprofit. This way, employees can be sure to maximize their donations.
The majority of companies with gift matching programs match donations to any educational institution, or any organization with 501c3 status (that is, a nonprofit organization exempt from federal income tax). Certain companies, however, will only match donations made to specific types of organizations, be it educational institutions, cultural organizations, health services, civic organizations, or environmental organizations. In addition, corporations often set minimums and maximums to their matching amounts. Minimum matches tend to range from anywhere between $1 and $100, while maximum matches can be anywhere between $1,000 and $15,000, depending on the company.
Of course, gift matching requires a few steps to be done on behalf of the employees as well. They must submit the appropriate paperwork, whether this consists of manual paperwork due to the company's HR department, or whether the company has a matching gift submission website allowing employees to submit their request electronically. In both cases, employees must include basic information about the nonprofit as well as about their donation (amount donated, currency, date, etc.).
As for the nonprofits, there are a few steps they can take as well in order to reap the full benefits of corporate matching. Firstly, they should encourage their donors to look into corporate matching and see if their companies offer any matching gift programs. Secondly, nonprofits should familiarize themselves with top corporate matching companies – a short list includes British Petroleum, General Electric, Gap, Johnson & Johnson, and Microsoft.


text:
Choosing Between Amazon AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud
In yet another battle royale between the Big Three in cloud computing, take a look at this concise pros and cons list and decide the winner.
Tanya Kumari
Jul. 25, 18 · Cloud Zone ·
Shifting to Cloud Computing: Why Do It at All?
Cloud storage has taken the world by storm and there are some significant reasons behind it. Everyone remembers the days when every bit of office work had to be documented in triplicate. Not only did it waste money, it also wasted a lot of time. This is where technology enabled a leap – and things started moving to the cloud.
But even that had its shortcomings. The process was still redundant and the documents shared online would not be automatically updated across its multiple copies whenever someone edited them. Some would argue that this was a good thing as it afforded a simple but effective form of security. However, with the advent of cloud computing solutions, none of these things are of concern any longer, and here are a few reasons why:
Increased Flexibility and Convenience: Create a document and upload it to a cloud platform. Anyone with unrestricted access can change it accordingly; you can track the changes as well. There is a unique copy of the document that is reflected uniformly across all users.
Reduced Management Issues: Cloud computation solutions are usually billed on the go. As a result, the budgetary and management issues can be minimized using the cloud.
Scalability: It is extremely simple to scale up the magnitude of any operation when on a cloud platform. Through cloud application development, new resources are instantly available at a very cheap rate and the more people use it, the cheaper the services get.
The Showdown – AWS vs Azure vs Google Cloud
Amazon Web Services has been a top-notch provider of cloud application development platforms that are tiered in terms of usage. Offering over a hundred different platforms ranging from Core Computation and Content Delivery Networks to IoT and Game Development, AWS offers the complete set of solutions across more than six modes of payment and hundreds of templates in every programming language.
Enterprise-friendly services are scalable and flexible to the core. For high-end computational services, it does not get better than this. The pay-as-you-go feature enables the subscribers to avail only the features that are required without having to buy features with no value to their business.
As its logo suggests, Amazon makes it a point to provide all services from A to Z. In fact, there are nearly a hundred different platforms for dedicated cloud application development tailored for different purposes and comes with special hardware for each.
Security is no joke with AWS: elements like the configuration options, management policies, and reliable security make it much easier to trust their cloud services. The best thing is that there are layers of security encryptions that protect everyone's data.
Autoscaling is a developer's dream and this dream definitely comes true with AWS. Leave all the unimportant management issues on autopilot. It is absolutely safe in the hands of Amazon Web Services. This allows the developer focus only on the development and programming.
The hybrid cloud structure of AWS is a definite setback. Hybrid clouds are cloud computing solutions that integrate a private cloud and a third-party public cloud. While this has its merits, using third-party solutions can lead to unexpected situations.
The unlimited number of options is definitely a good thing. But despite the high quality of resources and the endless list of services, AWS is not a very user-friendly option and requires some knowledge of the environment beforehand for best use.
Microsoft requires no introduction to anyone on the planet as a behemoth in the tech space. It should be of very little surprise to anyone that Microsoft offers its own cloud computing solutions. Known simply as Azure, the Microsoft cloud platform has a superb track record and is well-known for providing the best answers. Flexible billing, affordable pricing, and a host of certifications are all to be expected from this global giant in cloud application development.
Development of any form of technology is meaningless without testing. Azure ranks the highest with regards to testing tools and cloud application development which is certainly for the better. With tools made for testing everything, from mobile apps to IoT devices and Digital Marketing to Business SaaS apps, there is no way to go wrong with MS Azure.
Azure offers a better Platform-as-a-Service, or PaaS, when compared to other platforms strictly because it sticks to a private cloud computing environment and does not share the access to any third-party cloud servers. The PaaS of MS Azure is extremely sturdy.
Azure Autoscaling options make it easy to work with the cloud environment. There is something extremely freeing about not having to worry about the billing details and payment plans when a developer is on a coding binge and Azure enables this option fully.
Since this is a Microsoft product, it integrates extremely well with other Microsoft products as well. This includes Windows Server, System Center, and Active Directory. Adding to it is the use of Virtual Machines for better performance.
Power outages are extremely annoying and Azure comes with its own share of outages. The sense of helplessness is almost overpowering and the sad thing is that Microsoft Azure does have data backup and restoration facilities. So, while the data is still secure for everyone, there will be times when it becomes totally inaccessible.
While Azure has outstanding support within Windows and other Microsoft environments, its capabilities are still painfully limited to other platforms. This can be the worst thing for cloud computing solutions because of the intended universal nature of cloud technology and its advantages over managing huge data centers.
Google has actually been extending its cloud services for free without anyone noticing it in the Gmail app. The universally loved email service has a 15 GB free cloud storage that makes it a preferable choice over other email service providers. But this is not the full extent of Google Cloud Platform by a long shot. Google prides itself on charging exactly on usage and unlike its core competitors, bills per minute instead of per hour. There is also no disputing the quality of the services that makes Google Cloud Platform a fan favorite amongst the developers across different platforms and programming languages worldwide.
In terms of Data and Analytics tools, nothing beats Google and there is no disputing the fact. From the newbie to the seasoned developer, everyone admires how effectively and easily the Google Cloud Platform integrates data from different platforms and uses it.
Google has been at the leading end of major technological advancements recently and they realize that the future of Cloud Computing or any sort of computing is rather volatile. This is why they create technology that is unlikely to be hampered by future technology or at least upcoming technology. They call it "Future-Proof Infrastructure."
The services that Google Cloud Platform provides are completely serverless. What this means is that the resources of the server are maintained dynamically by Google Cloud Platform itself. This reduces data lag, low site-load speed, and improves the CDN.
Like its core competitors, Google Cloud Platform also provides auto-scaling. Additionally, the developers can create custom machine types as per convenience. The scalability and the sheer processing capabilities of the GCP are almost overwhelming.
The Google Cloud Platform, for all its remarkable features and advancements, is still very young and this means a smaller variety of services in terms of cloud computing solutions. This is not to say that the existing solutions are any poorer, though!
There is little to no server coverage for Google Cloud Platform in Europe, Asia, Africa, and South America. The servers are remarkable in the United States, but there is a lot of need for aggressive expansion especially in South America and Africa.
A Few Things to Consider Before Shifting to Cloud
There are lots of things that need some serious thought before just shifting to cloud application development.
The first thing to consider is the compartmentalization of data – sorting out what data to migrate and what data to keep locally. Deciding the best deployment model for the company is important – IaaS, PaaS, or SaaS. Of course, in the case of a migration, the organizational paradigm and the resource handling must be radically changed as well. These are only a few of the things to keep in mind before shifting to cloud technology. The advancements are huge in the field, but in order to make certain that the results are as promising as they sound, it is best to do personalized thorough research.
Cloud Wars, Two Years Later: How Many 800lb Gorillas Are Still in the Room?
On-Demand Compute Pricing: AWS vs. Azure vs. Google
Azure Matching AWS When It Comes to Serverless Storytelling
amazon aws ,google cloud ,microsoft azure ,cloud ,cloud migration
Published at DZone with permission of Tanya Kumari . See the original article here.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


OverviewA monster collecting, breeding, and fighting game for the Game Boy Color. Terry's sister has been kidnapped and he must find and save her at any cost.
Battle and breed monsters from the Dragon Quest franchise in this addictive take on the monster collecting genre. Explore randomized dungeons in search of loot and more monsters to collect. Monster breeding works similarly to Demon Fusion from the Shin Megami Tensei series. This is a fairly open-ended RPG for the Gameboy Color. If you are a fan of Shin Megami Tensei or looking for a more complex adventure in the vein of Pokemon, this little gem is worth a try.
Now you can add videos, screenshots, or other images (cover scans, disc scans, etc.) for Dragon Warrior Monsters (USA) to Emuparadise. Do it now!


text:
package org.jump.parser;

import org.antlr.v4.runtime.*;
import org.antlr.v4.runtime.tree.ParseTree;
import org.antlr.v4.runtime.BailErrorStrategy;
import java.util.*;

import org.jump.parser.grammer.*;

public class JumpGen {
    @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        String str = "";
        str += "   # hello world \n sql() {\"yes\"} \n";

        str += "    # text";
        if (args.length > 0) {
            str = args[0];
        }

        ANTLRInputStream input = new ANTLRInputStream(str);
        JumpLexer lexer = new JumpLexer(input);

        CommonTokenStream tokens = new CommonTokenStream(lexer);
        JumpParser parser = new JumpParser(tokens);
        parser.setErrorHandler(new BailErrorStrategy());

        ParseTree tree = parser.statement();
        Analyzer builder = new Analyzer();
        ArrayList<Object> res = (ArrayList<Object>) builder.visit(tree);
        System.out.println("Finally obtained string is: " + res.toString());
    }

    @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
    public ParseResult parse(String queryString) {
        ANTLRInputStream input = new ANTLRInputStream(queryString);
        JumpLexer lexer = new JumpLexer(input);
        lexer.removeErrorListeners();
        lexer.addErrorListener(DescriptiveErrorListener.INSTANCE);

        CommonTokenStream tokens = new CommonTokenStream(lexer);
        JumpParser parser = new JumpParser(tokens);
        parser.removeErrorListeners();
        parser.addErrorListener(DescriptiveErrorListener.INSTANCE);

        ParseTree tree = parser.statement();
        Analyzer builder = new Analyzer();
        ArrayList<AbstractCommand> res = (ArrayList<AbstractCommand>) builder.visit(tree);

        return new ParseResult(res);
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


South Africa lose the opening match of the 2009 ICC Champions Trophy yesterday when Sri Lanka defeated them at Centurion in Pretoria. This put the Proteas under so much pressure for the rest of the series.
Here two moments which i think switch the game in Sri Lanka's favour.
Tillakaratne Dilshan getting his 100. He ended up making 106.
JP Duminy clean bowled by Ajantha Mendis for a duck.


text:
Editorial: U.S. needs the workers that ICE targeted
This image released by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) shows a Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) officer guarding suspected unauthorized immigrants in Mississippi on Wednesday.
(Handout / Getty Images)
Unauthorized immigrants do many jobs that Americans disdain.
Less than a week after the worst massacre targeting Latinos in modern U.S. history, the Latino community was jolted again Wednesday by one of the biggest Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids ever. ICE's arrests of 680 unauthorized immigrants working at seven Mississippi chicken-processing plants, coming on the first day of school, led to a new round of videos of innocent, vulnerable Latino children who had been forcibly separated from their parents on top of the thousands in the custody of the Border Patrol. CBS aired wrenching footage of an 11-year-old in Mississippi sobbing over her parents being taken away and plaintively declaring her dad did nothing wrong.
Of course, in the eyes of President Donald Trump and his supporters, the dad got what he deserved, and if his family suffers as a result, it's no one's fault but the dad's. This cold-hearted view is void of compassion, yes, but here are two points that show just how out of touch it is with U.S. economic realities.
The first point is that America has a huge shortage of workers, and that hundreds of thousands of unauthorized immigrants who work in difficult jobs such as slaughtering chickens are filling low-wage jobs that most U.S. citizens disdain. By only offering 5,000 EB-3 visas for low-skill jobs a year to foreigners while knowing the number of such jobs available in the U.S. is vastly higher, the federal government is presiding over a status quo that can't work by design. As Vox noted, "The most in-demand jobs are exactly the kinds of jobs that unauthorized immigrants are doing" — food processing, housekeeping, cooking, construction and menial labor.
It wasn't one of the newspapers that Trump and his supporters love to bash that warned the president in 2017 that his views on immigration could hurt the U.S. economy. It was the conservative, pro-business editorial board of The Wall Street Journal that said the U.S. government should actively seek bigger and better guest worker programs, especially in agriculture and construction.
So why doesn't the U.S. government do so? It's not just because anti-immigrant sentiment is pronounced in the era of Trump. It's because of a cynical awareness that even without guest worker programs, many unauthorized immigrants will still show up to do these low-skill jobs.
Which brings us to the second point about the ICE raids that counters Trumpian bluster. If the federal government truly wanted to keep out unauthorized immigrants, it would aggressively use existing laws and regulations to target the companies that hired them. Of course the owners of the chicken-processing plants knew that many or most of their workers were providing them with fake or fraudulent credentials. But the owners hired them anyway — because they not only knew such workers were less likely to complain about work conditions but because the owners knew they wouldn't face significant sanctions for hiring them.
This gets to the incoherence — or maybe just the raw hypocrisy — of the Republican Party on immigration. The GOP's Chamber of Commerce wing welcomes unauthorized workers as being crucial to U.S. prosperity. But it keeps quiet when the GOP's populist wing depicts unauthorized immigrants as moochers, criminals and worse.
The silence — the complicity — of U.S. business interests needs to end. The demonizing of people doing jobs that Americans won't do and the tormenting of their families isn't just bad for the U.S. economy. It's a blight on America's soul.
EditorialsLatestOpinion
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Is the American economy stronger than we think? Perhaps.
Crash of PSA Flight 182 vivid 35 years later
Please, don't take Camp Palomar away
I am a proud sixth-grader at Bell Middle School who just returned from sixth-grade camp last month.
Electoral College is best way to choose U.S. president
The Electoral College is once again under siege.


Looking to get involved? Sign up for one of these programs!
Bread Cooking Demo ($4): Learn more about baking different types of breads on Monday, March 14 from 5:15-6pm.
Achieve Results - Weight Management ($0): This small group will provide discussion, accountability & resources as you explore your stress management and coping techniques.
TOOLS (Try Out Other Lifestyle Strategies) for Weight Loss ($0): This 10-week program is for those with a BMI of 40+ and focuses on meal planning, self-monitoring, mindful eating, dining out and label reading. Program runs March 16-May 18 on Wednesdays from 6:45-7:45am.
Mission Motherhood: Connect & Rebuild ($0): Connect with other moms to discuss the joys and challenges of life with a new baby. Learn gentle exercises that help heal the core & pelvic floor.
March 1: Gear up for Golf ($0): In this two-part series you will experience strengthening and stretching exercises aimed to improve your golf swing. Meets April 5 & April 12 from 5:30-6:30pm.
March 3: Living Well with Chronic Conditions ($50): This program focuses on you getting the support you need, finding practical ways to deal with pain and fatigue, discovering better nutrition and exercise choices and learning better ways to talk with your doctor and family about your health. Program runs April 15-May 19 on Thursdays from 4:30-7pm.
March 4: Nutrition & Fitness ($0): Learn to fuel your body when exercising while improving your overall nutrition on March 21 from noon-1pm.
March 14: Pick up the Pace Running Series ($0): This two-session series will offer strategies on how to increase speed/distance, overcome obstacles and barriers, and help you improve your nutrition during your training. Meets April 11 & April 25 from 4:15-5:45pm.
March 15: Gratitude Adjustment Series ($0): This two-session workshop will allow you to explore the joy that can come from practicing heartfelt gratitude. Meets April 12 & April 19 from 5:30-7pm.
March 17: Swim Lessons ($0): Gain confidence in your stroke and refine your swimming technique. Meets weekly.
March 22: Yoga Workshop - Yin Yoga ($0): This specialty workshop will focus specifically on Yin Yoga, which is a slow-paced style of yoga with poses that are held for longer periods of time (5 minutes or longer). Workshop is held on Saturday, April 16 from 12:30-1:30pm.
Look as many are coming so soon.


text:
Baseball Field Dedicated to Carmine Argenziano
The high school unveiled Carmine Argenziano Baseball Field, dedicated in honor of the former coach, in a May 14 ceremony dominated by moving speeches from family and colleagues such as Board of Education trustee Al Centamore.
Argenziano had a storied three-decade career in Deer Park highlighted by a dozen league championships. His teams included the 1980 Suffolk County and Long Island champions; the 1997 county and Long Island champions and New York State runners up; and the 2004 county and Long Island champions and New York State semifinalists.
"It's a great honor for my father that the field was dedicated after 30 years of coaching baseball," said Ryan Argenziano, Carmine's son and the Falcons' current baseball coach. "He really put his heart and soul into this baseball program. He would give all the credit to his former players and the Deer Park community, because he always felt that without them, there'd be no program."
View the ceremony and speeches here.


We live in a world that's very image conscious. You've only got to look at fashion magazines to realise how unrealistic standards of beauty have become. When you're a teen, switching off from feeling pressured to always look good can be difficult. Teens are forced to take part in many different social occasions, and at times it can be very distressing for them. It is, however, possible for you as a parent to teach your teen about body positivity, thereby developing a healthy habit for life.
There's no good trying to hide the fact that your teen has their own flaws. Let's face it, most of us have. The important thing is to be realistic about body image rather than trying to pretend they don't exist. If they've got to go to a party help them find outfits that flatter their body shape or a hairstyle that compliments their face.
When you're talking with your teen about any kind of problem, it's important to look at it from their perspective. Until now, their life has been very different from yours, and they're going to have different priorities. The wedding they've been invited to might not seem like such a big deal to you, but your teen wants to make a good impression, and you can help them.
It's not very often a teen looks further ahead than just a couple of weeks. You need to help them understand that beauty standards will come and go but what's most important is for them to understand is that it's how they feel about themselves that matters. Give them some examples, and they'll soon understand what you mean. The internet is a great tool for looking back at how beauty standards have changed. In the 90s, for example, slim was beautiful, whereas a decade later it was large breasts and bottoms that were considered the rage. Hairstyles are another example of how standards quickly change. It's impossible for anyone to keep up with these changes so just because your teen doesn't fit the current standard, doesn't mean they won't fit in a few years and you can help them appreciate that.
Teens can become very depressed about the way they look, so it's important to recognise the signs of depression. If they've stopped socialising with friends and become very angry and upset, they may be struggling and need your support and help. There are many things you can do to help your teen, and one of the most important is to keep the channels of communication open. You might have problems getting through to them in which case you'll need to seek professional help. Centres such as Ignite Teen Treatment can help in this type of situation.
Teaching your teen about body positivity doesn't have to be a big issue. Be a good role model and display healthy body positivity yourself. Talk to them about how they're feeling and try to understand why they might want to change their body.


text:
December 2, 2017 April 19, 2019
Compare The Pair – Steve Kerr vs. Robert Horry
WHATEVER the sport is you can't a championship without everyone playing their role. Of course, if your lucky enough to have transcendent superstars like Hakeem Olajuwon, Michael Jordan, Shaquille O'Neal and Tim Duncan that improves your chances, but the lesser known players in the mould of Steve Kerr and Robert Horry play an integral part in successful teams. Both Kerr and Horry went on to win multiple titles each with every NBA Finals from 93-94 to 02-03 featuring at least one of the duo. Championships aside, it's tough to break down which player had the better career. But I'm going to do it anyway.
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POSTSEASON SUCCESS
IN each of his 16 seasons, Robert Horry made the playoffs en route to winning seven NBA championships. Kerr came close seeing postseason action 11 times out of 15 and owned a better strike rate than Horry with five titles. When they got to the playoffs though things panned out quite differently for the two. Horry actually averaged more minutes per game in the playoffs (28) than he did in the regular season (24.5) for his career, while the same can't be said for Kerr.
Edge: Horry
OFFENSIVE TALENT
NO one in the NBA has a better career shooting percentage from three than Steve Kerr. He was Kyle Korver before Kyle Korver existed wreaking havoc in the 90's by canning 45.4% of his 3-point shot. Horry was a respectable shooter himself (34.1% from 3 for his career) and had a few more moves in his repertoire than Kerr. The crafty guard gets the nod here though with his lethal marksmanship reigning supreme.
Edge: Kerr
Image from history.bulls.com
DEFENSIVE TALENT
FOR all the shooting prowess that Kerr brings to the table there wasn't a lot of defensive accolades coming his way. He was fine, but not in the same class as Horry. The Rockets/Lakers/Spurs forward averaged nearly a block and a steal a game in an era when he had to square off with the likes of Kevin Garnett, Dirk Nowitzki and Shaq when he wasn't on his team. Easy one here.
BEST MOMENT
HORRY – HOW do you pick? There is a reason that Horry is more affectionately known as 'Big Shot Bob'. Whether it be hitting the game-winner in Game 1 of the '95 West Finals for Houston, his game-winner in Game 4 of '02 West Finals for the Lakers or his game-winner in Game 5 of the '05 NBA Finals for the Spurs, Horry was as clutch as they come. While there are countless moments that stand out his heroics in that Game 5 against the Spurs when he scored 21 points in the last quarter and overtime with the game-winner on top (all at the age of 34) stands above the rest. And it's a constant reminder to everyone out there to guard the guy inbounding the ball.
KERR – THIS one is easy. We all know the prestigious rep that Jordan has for breaking the hearts of fans across the globe, but in 1997 it was Kerr's turn. With the score's locked at 86 in Game 6 of the NBA Finals, Jordan passed the duties to Kerr to determine the result as he helped seal his second championship. He has hit plenty of big shots before, but this one is the best hands down.
TWO guys defined by their clutch ability have plenty of moments that will be remembered in NBA history. Big shot Bob has more, but both of them helped swing the result of playoff games and series in their team's favour. Purely based on the story behind Kerr' '97 game-winner it's hard to pick against him here.
Edge: Kerr. Just.
NEITHER of the two won a ton of awards during their careers with the exception of championship rings. Horry managed to crack the 2nd rookie team after his first season and Kerr starred in a three-point shootout back in 1997. Throughout college, Kerr did make a few All-American teams that give him the slight edge.
VERDICT – ROBERT HORRY
IF you purely look at their numbers than there is no denying that Horry was better, but he still wins without looking at stats. He was able to contribute to seven championship teams for three different franchises over a longer time. Kerr was probably the most lethal shooter of his generation and some could say he changed the way that teams used the 3-point shot. He is best remembered for his Bulls days and he had a few good seasons with the Spurs, but from day one until the season he retired Horry was serving his role to help his teams win.
Peace ✌
Posted in Compare The Pair, SportsTagged Basketball, NBA, Robert Horry, Sports, Steve KerrLeave a comment
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Very nice parish. Good services. Not too small, not dark, good acoustics. Well presented and maintained. Set back from the road if you're approaching from Mount Street.
This is a welcoming church in the centre of London. It is set in a park which provides short pretty walks in good weather. There are several services on a Sunday. We went to the 11.00 am service. It was in Latin reflecting the cosmopolitan nature of the congregation. It was followed by a drink in the hall where we were made very welcome.


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La cugina Phillis (Cousin Phillis) è un racconto di Elizabeth Gaskell, pubblicato in quattro parti nel 1864. La storia coinvolge Paul Manning, un giovane alla sua prima esperienza di lavoro, il suo collega e ingegnere ferroviario Edward Holdsworth e sua cugina Phillis Holman. . Inoltre, da alcuni, viene ritenuto il lavoro che prelude al romanzo più noto della scrittrice, Mogli e figlie del 1865.

Personaggi
 Paul Manning (il narratore, cugino di Phillis)
 Mr Manning (padre di Paul)
 Mr Edward Holdsworth (ingegnere e sovrintendente di Paul)
 Mr Holman (ministro della chiesa indipendente)
 Mrs Holman (moglie del ministro)
 Miss Phillis Holman (figlia di Mr e Mrs Holman)
 Mr Ellison (socio in affari di Mr Manning)
 Miss Lucille Ventadur (alla fina moglie di Mr Holdsworth)
 Betty (la serva di casa Holman)

Opere di Elizabeth Gaskell
Racconti di autori inglesi

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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Q: Save telegram bot logs in a text file A telegram bot I created in python uses pyTelegramBotAPI API.
To review logs, I was advised to use this line:
logger = telebot.logger

Now I can see my logs only in the terminal I'm running the bot with and when I close this terminal, the log data is lost.
How can I save this logs to a text file?

A: From what I read in documentation here, it should be possible to use Python's handler to logger.
Have you tried something like this
import logging
logger = telebot.logger
telebot.logger.basicConfig(filename='filename.log', level=logging.DEBUG,
                    format=' %(asctime)s - %(levelname)s - %(message)s')

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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Andrew Weaver: The World of Politics and the World of Science
Interview with Andrew Weaver, one of Canada's leading climate scientists at the University of Victoria in British Columbia, who in 2013 made history when he became the first ever Green Party member elected to a provincial...
Interview with Andrew Weaver, one of Canada's leading climate scientists at the University of Victoria in British Columbia, who in 2013 made history when he became the first ever Green Party member elected to a provincial legislature in Canada.
In 2007, Weaver was part of the climate-change team that won the Nobel Prize for their work for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Weaver--now a politician--says that if our politicians behaved more like scientists and less like opportunistic lawyers, we might have a fighting chance to curb climate change.
In this Green Interview, Weaver shares his insights into how politics intersect with science and how his foray into politics has deepened his conviction that political reform is a necessary step if we want to stop climate change.
Chris Beckett, Silver Donald Cameron
The Green Interview


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Home Mutual Funds
ITI Mutual Fund launches NFO for dynamic bond fund
in Mutual Funds
ITI Mutual Fund on Friday launched a new fund offer (NFO) for a dynamic bond fund, which will invest in debt and money market instruments. The NFO will close on 9 July and the bond fund will be benchmarked against Crisil Dynamic Debt Index.
This is the 13th fund launch by the fund house, which started operations in April 2019.
The objective of the fund is to maximize returns through the active management of portfolios comprising debt and money market instruments. The fund will follow a strategy that is structured in a manner that offers investors the benefit of dynamic fund management through flexible asset allocation and active duration management.
Dynamic bond funds are ideal for investors who may find it difficult to judge the interest rate movement. These bond funds help investors minimize interest rate risk as they offer flexibility to alter the portfolio maturity according to the interest rate scenario.
"With ITI Dynamic Bond Fund, we seek to address the needs of investors who are looking for an all-season product which aims to provide steady returns by investing in debt and money market instruments," said George Heber Joseph, chief executive officer and chief investment officer, ITI Mutual Fund.
According to the fund house, the majority of investments will be in AAA or A1+ or equivalent rated securities. The scheme will be managed by Vikrant Mehta.
The minimum application amount for the NFO is ₹5,000, and in the multiples of ₹1, thereafter. There will be nil entry or exit load to the scheme. There are already more than 20 dynamic bond funds available in the market, and over the past year, these funds have delivered an average return of 4.77%, while three-year returns stand at 7.63%, 5-year at 7.14% and 10-year at 8.30%.
Compared with this, State Bank of India's fixed deposits (FDs) have delivered a return of 5.1% over the past year, 6.7% on a three-year basis, 7% on a five-year basis and 8.75% on a 10-year basis.
However, returns from FDs are taxed as per investor's slab rates, while short-term capital gains (up to three years) from debt schemes are taxed as per slab rates, long-term capital gains (after three years) are taxed at 20% with indexation benefit.
Investors should keep in mind that compared with FDs, which are understood to have low risk, dynamic bond funds come with moderate risk.
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Newgrange discovery suggests dogs were domesticated twice
by Gordon Hunt
A study into bone remains at Newgrange has shed new light on how dogs were domesticated by humans, with it likely to have happened separately, and concurrently, across the continents.
There's a wonderful new DNA retrieval technique that Trinity College Dublin's Dan Bradley is pioneering, which has achieved some remarkable discoveries in the past 12 months.
Bradley and his team can sequence almost the entire DNA genome of something that died thousands of years ago by simply using its ear – the petrous bone, to be precise.
Press your finger behind your ear and you will feel a part of dense bone, the petrous. After the tissue and other DNA wastes away from other parts of the body – human or otherwise – the petrous keeps valuable doses for centuries.
Another discovery
Previously, Bradley teamed up with colleagues in York to successfully sequence 80 skeletons found in the UK that had been decapitated – a landmark discovery.
A similar story emerged in Africa last year, when a 4,500-year-old skeleton was sequenced by a different team of scientists – this was an even greater landmark, as Africa's often arid environment makes DNA retrieval remarkably hard.
Now, the petrous is playing a central role in finding out where and when humans first domesticated wolves into dogs, thanks to bone remains found at Newgrange.
The true genesis of domesticated dogs is often debated, with Asia and Europe both argued as the starting point – hunter-gatherers working alongside wolves to hunt and eat, then gradually raising wolves themselves, domesticating them into what we see today chasing frisbees in TV commercials.
Comparisons are key
So, Bradley and an international team of scientists looked at a 4,800-year-old 'medium-sized dog' that was excavated from the Neolithic passage tomb. They compared it with DNA from 59 ancient dogs living between 14,000 and 3,000 years ago.
What they found was a distinct deviation, demonstrating a separation between modern dog populations currently living in east Asia and Europe.
"It's only in the last two years or so that we've really started to look at genomics in pre-history," Bradley said recently. "Up until then we were looking at modern genetics, how events in the past would have given us modern genetic patterns."
Wolves galore
Bradley and his team now suggest that dogs were first domesticated from geographically separated (now extinct) wolf populations on opposite sides of the Eurasian continent.
At some point after their domestication, the eastern dogs dispersed with migrating humans into Europe, where they mixed with and mostly replaced the earliest European dogs.
Victoria Mullin, a researcher at Trinity who was joint first-author on the paper, said: "The role of the Newgrange dog in its neolithic community is a mystery. However, now in the 21st century it is playing a vital role in understanding the process of domesticating man's best friend."
Image of terrifying dog and casual wolves via Shutterstock
Related: research, Trinity College Dublin, genetics
Gordon Hunt is senior communications and content executive at NDRC. He previously worked as a journalist with Silicon Republic.
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You will notice right away that we enjoy our profession. We are good at it, if we do say so ourselves. Through a tender or offer we will respond directly to your questions and needs. Your assignment is transformed into an outcome of which you will be proud. Promise.
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Our method is characterized by our short lines and quick turnaround times. We also strive to be easily accessible so that you will remain fully involved in your project from the beginning. And we like clear-cut action; flexible where possible, steadfast where necessary. And always with pleasure.


Nestled against the banks of Belleville Lake, the Belleville area is an attractive city that nearly 4,000 people call home. Its nostalgic Main Street is lined with sidewalks, lamp posts, charming storefronts, and tall trees.
Besides the sparkling lake, part of Belleville's appeal comes from its businesses. An industrial park is located along the railroad in Belleville, and I-94 is just minutes from downtown Belleville across the lake.
Commuting around Belleville to nearby Ann Arbor, or to Detroit about 30 miles away, is convenient from the residential community.
Belleville residents support their local businesses downtown and along the lake. From dining along Main Street to attending the city's art shows, Belleville residents enjoy a high quality of life within the supportive community.
From lakeside concerts to park amenities, life along the lake is highly enjoyable for Belleville residents. The 1,270-acre lake offers easy access to fishing, boating, and exploring the Belleville Lake area.
The housing styles and options in Belleville vary from 1-bedroom waterfront condos to single-family ranch homes with a boat dock. Many homes are lakeside properties along Belleville Lake.
Our real estate website was designed with you in mind. Whether you're a first-time home buyer or a seasoned house hunter, browse our home buyer tools at any point during your real estate search. View frequently asked home buyer questions, request a relocation package for Belleville, and connect with us for more information about purchasing Belleville real estate.
Learn the true value of your Belleville property and request your neighborhood sold report to price your home competitively in the local real estate market. When it comes to selling your home, you can rely on seasoned real estate agents to guide you through the home selling process. We guarantee that you will be satisfied working with our team. List your Belleville home with us today and let's work together to meet your real estate goals.


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Q: How can I persist cached tables in memory after the program ends (Apache Spark)? I'm new to Apache Spark and have a simple question about DataFrame caching.
When I cached a DataFrame in memory using df.cache() in python, I found that the data is removed after the program terminates.
Can I keep the cached data in memory so that I can access the data for the next run without doing df.cache() again?

A: The cache used with cache() is tied to the current spark context; its purpose is to prevent having to recalculate some intermediate results in the current application multiple times. If the context gets closed, the cache is gone. Nor can you share the cache between different running Spark contexts.
To be able to reuse the data in a different context, you will have to save it to a file system. If you prefer the results to be in memory (or have a good chance of being in memory when you try to reload them) you can look at using Tachyon.

A: If you are talking about saving the RDD into disk , use any of the following -

The link is for pyspark , same is available for Java/ Scala as well-#
https://spark.apache.org/docs/latest/api/python/pyspark.sql.html
If you were not talking about disk , then cache() is already doing the job of saving the same in memory


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Book Launch: Knuckleball
One Eye Press is thrilled to kick off the 2015 Singles season with the launch of Knuckleball by Tom Pitts.
About Knuckleball
Hugh Patterson is an old-school cop and die-hard Giants fan rooted in the San Francisco Mission District. When he's struck down in the line of duty, the whole city is aghast. But Oscar Flores, a 15-year old Latino boy obsessed with baseball, witnesses the gruesome crime and has a plan to assuage the city's grief and satisfy his own vision of justice. Against the backdrop of a weekend long series with the Dodgers, the gripping crime story plays out against the city's brightest monuments and darkest alleys.
Early Praise for Knuckleball
"Knuckleball is a bruiser of a story that reads as fast as the title implies, and sits heavy in your mind long after you've read the last page. Pitts obviously knows the darkness of his city's gangland and portrayed here against the light of America's favorite pastime, while showing both sides their proper respect, is nothing short of remarkable. It's classic good and evil, hope and despair, but with Pitts, nothing is ever that cut and dry, and rarely does anyone get away clean. Conversational prose, brilliant ensemble casts, ratcheting tension, and the hint of something unexpected right over the next page is the reason to read Tom Pitts in the first place, but with Knuckleball, I'd say he knocked it out of the park. Top notch."
—Brian Panwich, Author of BULL MOUNTAIN
"In Knuckleball, Tom Pitts finds the beating heart of San Francisco's Mission District, then reaches into its chest and rips that heart out. An ambitious and tightly-packed slice of modern crime fiction."
—Jordan Harper, Author of LOVE AND OTHER WOUNDS
"A gut-punch of a story written at a blistering pace by a master of street noir. If you dig tales with wire-tight tension, stuffed with characters that massage the margins of life then pick up Mr. Pitts latest work."
—Mike McCrary, Author of REMO WENT ROGUE and GETTING UGLY
About Tom Pitts
Tom Pitts received his education on the streets of San Francisco. He remains there, working, writing, and trying to survive. His new novel, HUSTLE, and his novella, PIGGYBACK, are available from Snubnose Press. Tom is an acquisitions editor at Gutter Books and editor of the Flash Fiction Offensive. Find links to more of his work at: TomPittsAuthor.com.


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What Fabien Cousteau learned from living underwater for 31 days
Oct 10, 2014 / Kate Torgovnick May
Ocean exploration has been the Cousteau family business for three generations. In this fascinating Q&A, aquanaut Fabien Cousteau discusses everything from why we need underwater cities to what it's like to beat your grandfather's world record.
In 1963, Jacques Cousteau lived for 30 days in an underwater laboratory positioned on the floor of the Red Sea, and set a world record in the process. This summer, his grandson Fabien Cousteau broke that record. The younger Cousteau lived for 31 days aboard the Aquarius, an underwater research laboratory nine miles off the coast of Florida. While he and his team conducted experiments — they did three years worth of science in 31 says — and held virtual classroom sessions with students around the world, each moment of their adventure was captured on film. Lots of the footage can be found on the Mission 31 YouTube channel, and Cousteau is making a documentary about his Mission 31 experience.
We caught up with Fabien Cousteau just before he spoke at TEDGlobal 2014. Below, an edited transcript of our conversation.
I'm much more comfortable underwater than I am on land. I've been diving since my 4th birthday.
What were your biggest goals with Mission 31?
The biggest goal was to connect the world with the oceans in a way that sparks a new dawn of ocean exploration. For the satiation of curiosity, but also for the very tangible benefits that it gives us — a better grasp on what oceans mean to climate change, and a better understanding of what the over-consumption of natural resources means to us as a species. It really is a closed-loop system that returns to haunt us.
I didn't want to talk about these things in a way that generates animosity or disinterest. I wanted to talk in a way that is empowering, through a conduit that everyone can attach themselves to: adventure, discovery, new and interesting information, new things that people haven't seen before. I wanted to find a way to deliver information that is scientifically and educationally constructive, and that also tantalizes us.
The hardest part for me was the lack of time. I know that sounds strange because 31 days underwater sounds long, but it wasn't nearly enough for what we needed to do.
We've explored less than 5% of our ocean world, and very few people know that. But there's a new interest showing its face with regards to oceans. Whether it's President [Barack] Obama's declaration about creating a protected zone in the United States' waters in the Pacific, or whether it's the country of Palau declaring that all its waters are off-limits to commercial fishing, there are so many signs that are encouraging, compared to what the last two decades brought us. But there's a lot of work to do. We need to leverage that momentum and continue rolling that into the future, if we're to imagine a different course than we've set for ourselves. I wanted to do my part.
What was life like aboard the Aquarius? What was surprisingly easy underwater, and what was surprisingly difficult?
I don't think anything was surprisingly easy. [Laughs] Honestly, I'm much more comfortable underwater than I am on land; I've been diving since my 4th birthday. So the easiest part, for me, was the living situation. Sleeping in tight quarters is not foreign to me. Calypso, which was my grandfather's ship, was a World War II minesweeper — a military ship with very tight quarters. Much tighter than the Aquarius, actually. I also live in New York City, so I'm used to tripping over my own things and bumping into people.
I think the hardest part for me was the lack of time. I know that sounds strange because 31 days underwater sounds like a long time, but it wasn't nearly enough for what we needed to do. Soon it was, "Oh my gosh, we only have 29 days. Oh my gosh, we only have 7 days left." As time went on, I noticed that we started disconnecting a bit from the topside world — from you air-breathers. We started really living in our own little microcosm. We obviously had daily visitors and were connected via wifi — we had Skype classroom sessions, for example. But more and more, we concentrated on our daily lives and what it was to be on that final frontier. I would venture to bet that if you're to look at the future of space exploration, for example, those colonists that want to go populate Mars, that for the first month they're going to want to communicate with Earth a lot, but afterwards, they might feel that disconnect that we felt. It's very interesting, the similarity between space and ocean. NASA saw it — that's why astronauts train underwater before they go into space.
The food was also difficult for me. It was quite literally astronaut food.
The food was also difficult for me. It was quite literally astronaut food, because we were very limited in the type of cooking we could do — we could only reheat things through hot water and a microwave, because we couldn't have open flames down there. Also, after the first day or two, your taste buds go a bit numb, so your enjoyment of food gets dulled. I don't like hot sauce, but I put hot sauce on a lot of things just to taste it.
Of course being away from friends and family — and my dog, Heidi — that was difficult in the beginning, but less difficult as time went on. I'm used to traveling, so that certainly was less difficult of a transition for me than for some of the other aquanauts.
Why 31 days?
It was symbolic — one extra day than my grandfather did. Mission 31 is based on the history of Conshelf II, my grandfather's expedition back in the '60s. It was a good benchmark for us, both historically and emotionally. The fact that we did one day longer is inconsequential, really, though it does mark the next step in ocean exploration. We picked that number more to say: for one lunar cycle, human beings lived and worked underwater, and here's what we found.
Doing this in modern times afforded us a lot of things that just weren't possible back [in my grandfather's time]. First, we were able to invite people in real time to be part of the expedition, virtually speaking. My grandfather never had that kind of communications platform. All he had was traditional media — and he did wonders with that. But by June 15th, we had already reached millions of people through the traditional press alone.
Second, we were able to do three years worth of science in one month. Ten to twelve scientific papers will be generated from Mission 31 because we had that luxury of time — we were able to be on the bottom for up to 12 hours a day.
Finally, we were able to impassion students around the world, in all six continents. We reached something like 70,000 students. This is a fantastic education platform.
Yes, we need to build a future underwater city. Or better yet, a network of them around the world.
All those things, to me, culminate in: yes, we need to build a future underwater city. Or better yet, a network of them around the world. As we push further, longer and deeper, we can learn a lot more. We can invite more people to do this kind of ocean exploration, so that we know more about our planet. This is our life-support system — water is a circulatory system of this planet. It connects us all, and we know so little about it. It's mind-boggling to me. I've spent my life doing this — our family's spent three generations doing this — and yet we have barely scratched the surface of our ocean world. For young people, there's a lot to be done. I plan on continuing for many decades to come, if life affords it to me.
Do you think your grandfather would have been thrilled or a little upset that your mission went one day longer than his?
I think he would have been thrilled. I don't think he would have been upset at all. If I were to imagine what he would think or say, it would be that this is a wonderful way to connect people with the ocean. It's picking up where my grandfather left off. I would've loved for him to be around so I could learn from his wisdom. That said, we did our homework — we talked to some of the elders [who were on his mission] and are still around.
Did you consider going longer than 31 days for Mission 31?
No, quite simply for budgetary reasons. This is the first time that a non-governmental endeavor has gone this long — and for good reason. It's extraordinarily expensive, it's extraordinarily difficult, and it requires some very special training.
When you were growing up, did you ever consider any other career paths besides ocean exploration?
Oh, I was encouraged to explore other career paths. My family would have supported anything. They weren't set on my going into the family business.
It's a kaleidoscope. It's Pandora's box. It's a place of magic and mystery and beauty and danger. There's always something new, every dive.
I grew up on expeditions — my first was when I was seven. It's such a different world. It's a kaleidoscope. It's Pandora's box. It's a place of magic and mystery and beauty and danger. There's always something new, every dive. So it's more that it would be very difficult to find a career that would trump that. I tried! I went to school for environmental economics, and I went into international business and marketing afterwards. I did stints in different places — I worked at Seventh Generation, I worked in graphic design, I worked in interior design. All those were very short-lived careers for me, because at the end of the day, my mind and my soul kept driving me back to the ocean. To the thing that really attracted me to this life — which is the adventure, the discovery.
Climate change starts in the ocean.
Can you give us a sneak peek of some of the discoveries made on Mission 31 that are especially exciting?
We looked at the zooplankton that live in and around coral reefs. We looked at how temperature variations really disrupt the zooplankton, which are the basis of life underwater. The animals and colonies — like corals and sponges and all these things — depend on zooplankton to feed on, and the metabolism of the colonies gets shut down because of the temperature variation. Of course, it's not just about the zooplankton; it's about us. Because what happens to the zooplankton affects the web of life. Climate change starts in the ocean. The ocean relegates and dictates weather patterns on land, and we see the repercussions of that.
By and large up until now, scientists have been studying these things by diving down from a boat or by sending an ROV. Those offer very finite moments [of observation]. What we are able to do [on Mission 31] is not only peek through the keyhole to try and figure things out, but also open the door and stick our foot in. We got a taste of what it could be like to really spend quality time at the bottom, and study these things day after day. To get a nice long data set that's not just a month long, but maybe a year long. That would give us a much better pulse of what's happening to the oceans.
We also did a lot of work with man-made pollutants — especially around fertilizers and toxic chemicals — as it pertains to coral colonies. That was fascinating, because we used cutting-edge technology called PAM, a pulse amplitude modulated fluorometer. It's a small, touch-sensitive computer that's enclosed in an acrylic cylinder, with a laser that tests for the fluorescence of coral. It gives a good read on how they're doing physiologically by the way they feed and by the way they luminesce at night. We looked at their high activity time — late at night, early morning — and we compared that to midday. That data set, because it was done three times a day, gives us a much better set than would be done from a boat. You can only do that maybe once or twice a day from a boat, and most likely, it will be broken up because of bad weather, visibility, equipment failure, diver limitations, etc.
Additionally, we've also taken up an enormous data set of sponge DNA. I know that sounds weird, but we're working with Northeastern's sea program to collect DNA from over 40 different sponges so that we can catalog them and have their DNA strands — so that if we lost a species, we'd still have that on catalog, and could eventually do something with it.
Finally, we also worked on predator-prey fear behavior. What happens to a coral reef system and its inhabitants when the predators are taken away? What happens to algae, what happens to prey fish, what happens to the system itself, when we overfish a place? We came up with some surprising finds. Anecdotal evidence right now, because the paper hasn't been published — but to me, that was pretty interesting.
And of course, we have a lot of anecdotal stories of how the local residents of our underwater city started becoming used to us because we were there for an extended period of time. There's always a period of adaptation and, in the beginning, it'd be very difficult to get close to any of these animals. They acted in strange ways because there we were — we were the invaders of their cities. But soon, we were accepted as co-inhabitants. That, to me, is really good, because it opens up a whole new perspective of what animals do when we're not around on the coral reefs.
I mean, I could go on and on.
Fabien Cousteau
Jacques Cousteau
Mission 31
TED Global
TEDGlobal 2014
Crazy things people do … in the name of science
How to investigate the bottom of the ocean -- without getting wet
4 ways to get people to care about the ocean
Could these three moons help us find life beyond Earth?


I can't stress enough how important learning is for a young child. I read to my 12 month old daughter on a daily basis and I try to always teach her new words. Even though she can't express to me verbally that she's learning, I know she's retaining the information. The best thing you can do for your child as a parent is to teach and help them learn as much as possible.
Learning through play is something children enjoy. It's a lot easier for a child to want to learn when there is play or fun involved. Wonster Words is a game app that is available for a free download on iOS, Amazon, and Google Play for Android users. This entertaining game helps kids under the age of five spell new words using phonics, word families, digraphs and more. Your child will be delighted and excited as they learn more every day.
With fun mini games that offer repeat plays and animations that reinforce the definitions of words in fun way, your child will be learning in no time. The best part about Wonster Words is that it encourages children to engage and explore without the stress of scoring or quizzing.
Your child can choose from a range of words and have the ability to sound out the words to form the word.
This app is perfect for everyday use to help reinforce learning. I can guarantee your little one will love when it's Wonster Words time! Overtime they will feel accomplished and proud of themselves. The app would be perfect to use while they're in preschool and even before too. There's no such thing as learning too much. Once they hit kindergarten, they'll excel in the classroom learning environment thanks to Wonster Words. The best part about this app is that it's portable. Take it on vacation or even to Grandma's house, learning will never stop no matter where you are.
Go ahead and let your child flourish academically today. You can give all the credit to Wonster Words!
*DISCLOSURE* This is post sponsored by Wonster Words. All thoughts are strictly my own.


Super Sopper machines were invented by Gordon Withnall in 1974.
They are an original Australian icon, His son now wants to retire, hence business for sale.
The intellectual property, plans, contacts. website and current orders for sale.
Small light engineering firm could manufacture these machines.
Current owner willing to work through an agreed transition period with new owner.


text:
Next West Virginia Senate Election: 2012, Not This Year : It's All Politics It's official: The Senate race to succeed Robert Byrd in West Virginia won't occur until 2012, when his term was expiring. There will be no special election in 2010.
Political Junkie
With Ken Rudin
Next West Virginia Senate Election: 2012, Not This Year
Ken Rudin
The uncertainty over when the next Senate election in West Virginia will take place has been resolved.
The election, of course, is to succeed Robert Byrd (D), who died early this morning. Gov. Joe Manchin (D) has the power to name a successor. But there was some confusion in state election law over whether it meant there would be a special election this year, or whether Manchin's choice would serve until 2012, when Byrd's term was up.
Secretary of State Natalie Tennant (D) settled things today by deciding the election will take place in 2012, not this year. For the election to have been held this year, candidates would have had to file during the filing period, and "that filing period has already passed":
That means the election for the unexpired term would be the next election cycle which would take place in 2012. Candidates will be nominated in the primary and elected in the general of 2012.
In fact, there will be two Senate races on the ballot in November 2012 for the same office: the one commencing in January 2013, and one that would fill the remaining five weeks or so of Byrd's term. The same candidates may run in both elections.
Manchin, who is term limited in 2012 and clearly wants the Senate seat, has said he will not appoint himself. His choice to fill the seat is expected to be announced in the next week or so. It is expected that person will keep the seat warm for Manchin.
My post earlier today discusses potential candidates.
Republicans last won a West Virginia Senate race in 1956. Sen. Matthew Neely (D) died in office, and former Sen. Chapman Revercomb (R) -- riding President Eisenhower's coattails -- easily defeated Gov. William Marland (D) in the special election. Two years later, Revercomb got clobbered by Byrd.
Assuming the popular Manchin is the Democratic candidate in 2012, the GOP record of futility could continue. But 2012 is a long way away. And it is a presidential year. In 2008, Barack Obama received just 43 percent in West Virginia.
Natalie Tennant
Joe Manchin
Robert Byrd


It's the first day of fall and that means football season is well under way.
dip recipe. This recipe for corn dip is super easy to prepare and everyone loves it!
I like to serve it with tortilla chips or corn chips - either way it's delicious!
Be sure to check out all of the recipes below and try them at your next tailgate party.
Good luck to your favorite team!
Spray an 8 x 8 bake dish with cooking spray.
In a large mixing bowl combine all ingredients.
Spoon into prepared bake dish. Bake for 25 minutes or until cheese is bubbly.


text:
St. Louis Neighborhoods
The Ville Neighborhood
The Ville is a north St. Louis neighborhood bound by Taylor Avenue to the west, Sarah Street to the east, St. Louis Avenue to the north and Dr. Martin Luther King Drive to the south:
I must admit, I've really been looking forward to this day trip following the reading I've done in advance of my visit. There is a lot of historical information available on the this important neighborhood. The Ville should be one of our greatest sources of regional pride based on its impact on African American culture and society. A remembrance that St. Louis was a place where African Americans could thrive and make their own way as middle and upper class citizens in the early 20th century.
This neighborhood was the childhood home to Chuck Berry for pete's sake. That alone makes this place noteworthy, but the history is much richer than even the brown eyed handsome man.
From the Ville's website (I set out to find some of the structures mentioned on their website, the photos are mine, not the Ville's website):
The Ville was for many years the cradle of African-American culture and home to many black professionals, businessmen and entertainers. The Ville nurtured a rich heritage for the black population of the City of St. Louis.
Out of this diverse group, many institutions emerged: Sumner High School, the first high school for black students west of the Mississippi, Turner Middle School, Marshall and Simmons Elementary School. St. James African Methodist Episcopal Church and Antioch Baptist Church have been providing spiritual support to this community since the late 1800's and continue to be leaders in stabilizing and revitalization efforts. Tandy Parks acts as the front yard of Sumner High School providing many recreational activities for area residents. The Homer G. Phillips Ambulatory Care Center is the major health care facility in the Ville community which is housed in the former Homer G. Phillips Hospital.
The Ville is included in a local historic district. As of the 2000 census data, 97% of the 2,695 residents were black. That is a 25% decline from 1990's census count. 1,492 housing units existed in 2000, 73% were occupied, 36% owner occupied and 64% rented.
Some more prominent locations and people from this pivotal area in African-American history:
The Ville originally belonged to Charles M. Elleard, a florist and horticulturist who maintained a conservatory and greenhouses on the tract. Elleard donated most of the products of his nurseries to his friends. During Elleard's twenty or so years at his property on Goode and St. Charles Rock Road, the area became known as Elleardsville. In the late nineteenth century, Elleardsville (later shortened to "The Ville") attracted German and Irish immigrants, along with some African Americans. The neighborhood's first black institution, Elleardsville Colored School No. 8 (later renamed Simmons School), opened in 1873.
Between 1920 and 1930. The Ville went from being 8% African American to being 86% African American. More and more African American institutions were established and the area thrived. Much of the "eliteness" in the Ville's reputation dates from this period. The most famous resident of The Ville at this time was Annie Malone.
Annie Turnbo Pope Malone came to St. Louis in the early part of this century and began making and selling beauty products. She called her products "the Poro System". She then became so successful that she was able to build her own million dollar building to house her various enterprises. The Poro Building became an important symbol of African American enterprises and was located near Sumner High School in the heart of the Ville. The building housed her Poro College of Beauty Culture and her manufacturing plant as well as a number of other organizations.
While in St. Louis, Annie Malone was a generous contributor to the St. Louis Colored Orphan's home and the St. James A.M. Church . She successfully pushed the city to pave streets in the Ville. Annie Malone is remembered as a generous philanthropist, a civic leader, and one of the most successful African American entrepreneurs in the city's history. The St. Louis colored Orphan's Home moved to the Ville from Natural Bridge Road in 1922 thanks to a large gift from Annie Malone. The Home was later renamed the Annie Malone Children's' Home.
St. James African Methodist Episcopal Church was organized in 1885 and further established an African American presence in the community. As part of a "turnkey" project, St. James A.M.E. helped finance a home for the elderly, know as James House Senior Citizens, across the street from the church, at the former site of Poro College.
The Charles Henry Turner Open Air School for Crippled Children, the first of its kind for African American children in the city, opened at 4235 Kennerly, in 1925. The school was named for a distinguished entomologist with numerous scientific publications to his credit who taught at Sumner High School from 1908 until 1922. The Open Air designation had to do with the belief at the time that fresh air was helpful to those suffering from tuberculosis and fresh air was part of the regimen at the school. The school later became the C.H. Turner Middle School Branch.
Sumner High school opened in 1875 as the first African American high school west of the Mississippi. The school is named for Senator Charles Sumner, who in 1861 became the first prominent politician to call for full emancipation. Originally established at 11th and Spruce streets, Sumner moved to 15th and Walnut streets in 1895. It acquired its present home in the Ville in 1910 when citizens petitioned the Board of Education to move the school away from the saloons and pool rooms near its downtown location.
Sumner Normal School, which had been a department of Sumner High School, became a college in 1925 and took the name Sumner Teachers' College. In 1930, the name was changed again to Harriet Beecher Stowe College and it was housed in a portion of the Simmons School. In 1940, a new facility was built on Pendleton to house the teachers' college. With desegregation in 1954, Stowe College merged with the all white Harris Teachers' College.
Billups Avenue, named after Kenneth B. Billups, a musician, teach and Sumner alumnus, who served as chairman of Sumner High School's music department and founded the Legend Singers, and opera star Grace Bumbry was one of Billups' most successful students. Billups Avenue runs west of Sumner High School, on a section that was formerly part of Pendleton, extending from Kennerly on the north to Martin Luther King on the south.
Homer G. Phillips, a lawyer and community leader who lived near the Ville, is associated with the successful passing in the 1920's of an $87 million bond issue that included a million dollars for an African American hospital. In 1931, after the bond was passed but before the hospital could be built, he was assassinated by unknown assailants while waiting for a streetcar. The hospital, with a 177-bed capacity, opened in 1937 and was named after Phillips. The hospital remained open until 1984 and employed 800-900 people.
In 1938, the Tandy Community center, named for Captain Charleton Tandy, and early politician, equal rights activist, and Civil War hero, opened its doors. Since that time it has offered recreational facilities to the members of the Ville, specifically such sports as boxing, basketball, swimming, dancing, crafts, and dramatics. In the adjoining Tandy Park are the tennis courts where Arthur Ashe, among others played.
Antioch Baptist Church, one of the oldest Protestant churches in the Ville, was incorporated in 1884. The present church building, at Annie Malone Drive (formerly Goode Avenue) and North Market, dates from 1920. Rev. James Cook, one of Antioch's most memorable pastors, gained recognition for his direction of the Pine Street YMCA and his activity in the civil rights movement.
John Marshall Elementary School, built in the 1900's, is the only school in the Ville area not originally intended for African American students. In 1918, Marshall became an intermediate school for African Americans. It has served the area as an elementary school since 1927.
In 1972, Easton Avenue and a portion of Franklin Avenue were renamed Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive as a tribute to the Baptist clergyman and civil rights activist who was slain in 1968.
Holy cow, that's some amazing stuff. With this being black history month, I was thinking the SLPS system should focus part of the curriculum not only on MLK, George Washington Carver, Rosa Parks, etc, but also direct the focus squarely upon a the history of the Ville. This place is teeming with American history, especially African American history. Annie Malone, Chuck Berry and others should be part of my kids public education.
However, upon my visit today, the Ville would not be described as welcoming; not a place to explore and cherish the history. Obviously, the German and Irish immigrants who settled this place are long gone, the black middle and upper class that called this place their own starting in the 1920's and 30's are long gone. Sadly, this neighborhood is literally falling in on itself.
I find beauty in most places in the city, and the Ville is no exception. I'm a sucker for history, and I wish the natives had taken better care of this neighborhood and protected it's great history for all to enjoy for years to come. Sadly, I think the residential base will continue to dwindle and the historic homes will continue to fall. There is a lot of new suburban-styled construction in the Ville that I chose not to profile, but most of the structures look similar to this:
Here are some photos of the devastating losses as well as some of the beautiful homes/businesses/structures hanging on:
Here are some interesting signs, businesses from the past and present, etc. Sara-Lou Cafe is not technically within the boundaries of the Ville, but I couldn't resist. You've got to respect a place that offered frogs and liquor.
Dr. Martin Luther King Drive has some nice new sidewalks and parking meters. The street must have been the "Main Street" of St. Louis in its heyday. This street is an American urban photographers treasure trove! Check out some scenes on MLK drive in the Ville:
The Harlem Tap Room is at MLK and Whittier:
There is a tribute above the entrance to it's 1946 founder Ezell Nance Senior who passed in 1992:
The former Enterprise Cleaning Company building:
The more solid parts of the neighborhood are right around Sumner and along St. Louis Avenue.
As with nearly all St. Louis neighborhoods, there are beautiful churches. Man, the Catholics got down to business when it came to cathedrals. St. Matthew's is no exception:
And this is what I love about America....freedom of choice:
Being a former product of Belleville, Illinois not unlike the Stag Brewery, I had to embellish this next scene. But it isn't just too contrived, the empty Stag bottle was directly in front of the wall.
Hey, STL Style and Belle Vegas...interested in a postcard collaboration?
Go check out the Ville. It's cool and it's sad and it's rapidly vanishing. So go soon.
Tagged: 2010_1, The Ville
Newer PostThe Tiffany Neighborhood
Older PostMarine Villa Neighborhood


Thanks to the wonderful invitation, I recently went to MiCasa All Suite Hotel for their #BeyondTheHour Earth Hour event.
Starting as a symbolic lights out event in Sydney in 2007, Earth Hour, which will be held on the 30th of March globally, is now the world's largest grassroots movement for the environment, inspiring millions of people to take action for our planet and nature.
23rd of March was the kick off of a week-long 'MiCasa Beyond the Hour' effort. Starting off that evening with a 'light's out' session at public areas adorned only with the use of minimal lighting or candlelight. Guests gathered by the pool to witness the giant 60+ logo made of 365 candles – dedicating a candle a day to mother earth.
Following closely throughout the week, the team at MiCasa would engage in selfless efforts to keep the fire burning till the finale on 30th March through thematic efforts that starts from home right through the workplace.
MiCasa also introduced their newly set up 'Edible Garden' to the guests, where herbs were plucked freshly to concoct the Botanics & Spice Mocktail being served that evening.
It is MiCasa's effort to cultivate a communal garden that would be environmentally beneficial. Staying true to the hotel's tagline of 'Botanics & Spice', fresh herbs are plucked and used by the hotel's Chefs from this same garden.
We were treated scrumptious dinner at the Tapas Bistro & Bar. Oysters were part of the special promotion that evening aptly themed – The World is your Oyster. Our oysters platter with 4 different varieties – Fresh, Deep Fried, Kilpatrick and Mornay). It was a fete of the senses and palate at the Tapas.
Next, we had the appetizer combo consists of Caesar Salad, Deep Fried Camembert Cheese and Smoke Salmon Bruschetta. For main course, guests can choose to have the Pan Fried Pink Ling or Grilled Marinated Lamb Chop, which is equally delicious to me.
A triple treat serenade from guest bands keeps the evening at a hype with lots of oldies as well as some pop rock songs.
Join MiCasa All Suite Hotel and millions across the globe to be a part of Earth Hour and turn off the lights. To participate, log on to www.earthhour.org.