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From Tarantino to 'Shazam,' fourteen more impressions from Comic-Con 2015
by: Drew McWeeny July 13, 2015
There were a number of things I did and said in San Diego this year that are not going to be covered as separate articles. In some cases, someone else at HitFix was in the room to write the thing up. In some cases, it's just about time. Whatever the case, though, here are some random impressions to help round out my coverage of the single biggest nerd hype event of the year.
1. Rob Kazinsky should be our new Shazam
I met Kazinsky on the set of "Pacific Rim," and while I thought he was solid in that film, his Australian accent was a nightmare. One of the things that I found most engaging at the Entertainment Weekly "New Warriors" panel was the way he offered that accent up as his greatest career regret so far. "You don't have to stop me on the street and tell me," he said. "Believe me. I know."
More than that, though, Kazinsky came across here as a guy who looks like the characters his inner nerd grew up loving, a comic-book fan who decided to become one of the drawings on his wall. He is very funny, and enormously self-deprecating. He told a story about an early moment in his career when someone tried to trade sex for the promise of work, and it was not offered up to make Kazinsky look cool or sympathetic. It was just an honest observation of one of this business's ugly truths, and the way he told it made Kazinsky seem like a straight shooter, clear-eyed and unafraid to tell the truth about how things work.
Comic-Con panels are about selling things. I'm not dumb. I get it. But one of the things they end up doing is humanizing these people who fans normally only see up on movie screens or on their TV. For me, the thing I watch most closely is how people reveal themselves or how they retreat and double down on the make believe. I don't judge people either way; I think both are valid reactions to fandom when you come face to face with it. But with Kazinsky, I think the guy who showed up for these panels is a guy who some filmmaker would do well to get onscreen. Might I suggest that Shazam, a little boy who is given a superhero's body to drive, might be the best use of this particular energy? It's "Big" in a cape, right? That seems like Kazinsky would fit that like a glove.
2. "The Hateful Eight" looks great
David Eckstein wrote about the panel for the Tarantino movie, and did a damn fine job with it, but the two things I would offer are this. (A) If you can see the movie in 70MM, you definitely should see the movie in 70MM. (B) I am super-excited about Ennio Morricone's brand-new score for the film, but the temp track for the seven-minute clip was the Morricone/Carpenter score for "The Thing," and it was an awesome use of temp track. Especially when Kurt Russell says, "Someone here is not what they seem to be." And (C) Bruce Dern does not gush often, but he gushed about how much he loves Quentin. That was amazing.
If you want more thoughts on "The Hateful Eight," you should check out this piece I wrote about the live-read he did of an earlier draft of the script.
Also… Tarantino says he wants to make at least one more Western. That's news, right?
3. "Kung Fury" has the best fans
When I was heading into Comic-Con this year, I was contacted about a few different possible panels. The one that sounded like fun to me was to present the cast and crew of "Kung Fury," and here's why. First, have you seen it?
So much of Comic-Con is about selling you something, and this panel simply wasn't. It was about something people have already seen and enjoyed, and they just wanted to come meet the people who did it. David Sandberg brought most of his cast, and it was pure joy. Every audience question was funny and fun and full of love, and even the most nervous person on that panel ended up having a good time. I spent most of the hour just laughing, and even without the promised appearance of David Hasselhoff (he was waylaid by emergency knee surgery), it felt positively celebratory. Sure, there was a big "Star Wars" concert I could have been at during that panel, but it was no mere sense of obligation that got me up on that stage. It was a pleasure, especially when they announced to that crowd that there's going to be a feature film version, and a reminder that Comic-Con is so much more than just what's happening in Hall H.
4. Hall H cannot continue this way
I'm sorry, Comic-Con. I know you try to figure it out every year, and I don't think the answers have anything to do with moving to another city. When you have almost 150,000 people at your event and less than 7000 seats in the main event hall, it just doesn't work. It's miserable for press trying to work the event, it's brutal on fans who just want to enjoy things, and it seems like the conditions outside have become almost intolerable. Sure, it's great when Zack Snyder drops by driving the Batmobile or when JJ Abrams and Kathleen Kennedy hand out free donuts, but that's not the experience that most people have at this point.
I know Comic-Con wants to try to keep that experience in that room, but I think that time has passed. Consider a press room where press can sit and see everything without taking a single seat away from the fans. Consider a spillover room where people can see the event and not feel left out. Consider a streaming Twitch channel where people can subscribe and watch the presentations.
And at this point, studios have reached the zero sum game. If they bring something they genuinely don't want to see leak, it will leak. If they bring something they release to the Internet immediately, people complain that they didn't see something special. And if it leaks and they don't hammer every single example of it offline immediately, people get cynical about it and say it's all just a stunt. The "Deadpool" footage evidently wowed the room, but the music they used wasn't cleared for use online. The same is true of the "Hateful Eight" clip, and I doubt Tarantino would want that online since so much of what he's pushing this time around is the theatrical experience. "Star Wars" did it right, but Disney knows full well that the buzz of Comic-Con is simply the fuse they use to light the global launch of something.
5. The "Fantastic Four" team should just stop talking
You're not canceling the 3D post-conversion because Josh Trank wants to keep the experience "pure" for the audience. You're canceling it because you just locked picture a few days ago.
Come on. At this point, release the film you're going to release. Stop playing the game of disinformation. And don't spin it. Just don't say anything if you've got to lie about it. The film is what it is, people will like it or they won't, and when you put out these kinds of statements, it makes it impossible for me to quote anything the filmmaker says at all.
I hope it's good. I really do. But I don't like this part of the game at all.
6. One zombie film per panel is enough
"Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" or "Patient Zero," Screen Gems. One or the other.
7. People want to see "Deadpool"
I wasn't in that room, but that's all anyone seems to be talking about now.
8. People aren't sure what they think of "Spider-Man"
I must have had 20 different conversations with people who love the character, but at this point, until they see what Marvel does with him, they just aren't able to figure out their feelings about another reboot. I'll say this… the comments that Denis Leary made at Comic-Con where he said part 3 of "The Amazing Spider-Man" was going to be about Peter Parker somehow getting the power to bring the people he loves back to life terrifies me. Talk about a bad idea. Marvel made the right move, and so did Sony. It could have gotten so much worse than it did.
9. People got baggage with Zack Snyder.
If someone doesn't like what Zack Snyder does, I get that. I can respect that. I like his work, but I am more than willing to concede that he makes some big choices, and those choice can easily drive audiences away just as much as they draw them in. But what I'm tired of is hearing that he's a "bad filmmaker."
If you insist on saying that, then I insist you don't know what filmmaking is. His choices are not his filmmaking craft. He has a remarkable ability to craft an image and to wrestle the impossible up onto the screen. There are very few filmmakers who can do what he does on a regular basis, simply on a technical level.
If we're going to have a real conversation about things, let's get more precise about things. There are plenty of filmmakers whose work I don't like, and I don't have to make preposterous claims about their basic technical proficiency to make my points about what it is I dislike.
10. Comic-Con can start and kill rumors at lightspeed
So, uh, Colin Trevorrow and Hall H. That didn't really pan out.
And while that sort of rumor would sometimes linger for weeks, here it was a very specific prediction (rescinded before the panel even started) that had a half-life of less than 24 hours.
I expected to hear more news break on more panels, but this year seemed like it was only about discussing things that had already been announced. We may have seen new images, but there was very little in the way of "news" that I heard at all. People are at parties with people from studios and various companies, and I heard a ton of rumors. Any that I'd print? Nope. Just because someone got loose with a bit of free booze in them does not mean that I'm going to take those things as fact.
11. Gwendolyn Christie is the new future Mrs. Drew McWeeny
Or, if it works better, I'm happy being Mr. Gwendolyn Christie. Fine by me.
I kid, but what I took away from seeing her on both the "Game Of Thrones" and "Star Wars" panels is that she is a force of nature. She's delightful and self-aware and completely in charge of how she approaches these intensely physical roles she's playing these days. Like Rob Kazinsky, I feel like we haven't yet fully seen her personality represented on film. Unlike Rob, she seems to be finding great roles one right after another right now, and filmmakers appear to have figured out just how awesome she is. I hope her character makes it through to the very last frame of "Game Of Thrones," and I hope she's not a one-and-done bad guy a la Darth Maul in the "Star Wars" universe. If we're looking for strong women in film, Christie seems to be an icon for our age.
12. People have the wrong idea about the Playboy party
I know quite a few younger people who RSVP'd eagerly for the Playboy party, and I heard some of the things they said about what they expected.
Oh, fellas. No. Uh-uh.
And trust me. Comic-Con is better for it.
Whatever the world "Playboy" means to people, that age has passed, and at this point, they're just one more corporate sponsor trying to keep their brand relevant. Comic-Con is an experience that is for everyone, and some of the most ardent and amazing fans I meet are young women. This is an event that is trying to bring new faces and new voices in all the time, and that's not going to happen if Comic-Con brings in events that are all about that sleazy predatory culture that used to be accepted and even encouraged.
There's a nasty clip making the rounds today of Bill Cosby snickering with Larry King about how he used to take a dose of a drug "no bigger than the head of a pin," and use that in a can of Coke to render a woman helpless. I don't think the phrase "Hellloooooo, America," has ever sounded more sinister or repulsive. What makes me sick is not just the Cosby side of the conversation, but the Larry King response. He rolls with it, adding to the laughter. It doesn't remotely shock him or upset him. I've seen that one before, and I've seen a few others, and in each case, Cosby and the person he's talking to seem to share this cultural reference point. There was a generation that believed "Spanish Fly" was something that was perfectly fine, something to be sought out. I suspect this story is going to continue to evolve, and recent events have started to point at Hugh Hefner being a big part of that scene. If that story gets written and Hefner ends up painted with the same brush, that Playboy name will vanish from the Comic-Con landscape completely.
Maybe it's time?
13. Congressman John Lewis won Comic-Con
I saw a lot of cosplay during Comic-Con.
We've published all sorts of collections of great cosplay from Comic-Con.
But Congressman John Lewis, who dressed as himself during the legendary march on Selma, won the event completely by leading a group of kids on a march through the convention center.
I had the opportunity to recreate what I wore on March 7, 1965 and march with some amazing young people. pic.twitter.com/0zjGj4jv86
– John Lewis (@repjohnlewis) July 12, 2015
14. You people are the best
How can I wrap this up without saying how much it means to me each and every time I run into one of you in public and you take the time to tell me that you enjoy what I do? That's not vanity talking… that's one of those things that any writer will tell you makes a difference. We work in solitude. Even with comments sections, it's hard to really get any idea what your work does for or to someone.
I walked into Comic-Con this year angry and irritated by having to be there. I leave renewed once again by the idea that you are out there, and some small part of this stuff means something to you. More than that, I was renewed by how much joy and happiness I saw, and I was reminded that this is not just hype and salesmanship. At its very best, Comic-Con is a place for people to come together and reassure one another that all of this means something, and that audiences aren't just looking for sensation. I met so many people who have had their lives impacted in so many ways, and it is clear that this week in San Diego means everything to them.
There were people I saw who I always love seeing in San Diego, and just as many people I did not get a chance to see but would have loved to have made time for, and I can't even begin to tell you how much it all meant. It's easy for me to be cynical or grumpy about things, particularly right now, but time and time again, when I do finally face my public, the rewards are overwhelming.
Thanks, folks. Let's do it again in a year.
Topics: #Deadpool, #Playboy, #Quentin Tarantino, #Spiderman, #Star Wars: The Force Awakens, #The Hateful Eight, #Zack SnyderTags: BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE, ComicCon 2015, congressman john lewis, Deadpool, Gwendolyn Christie, PLAYBOY, quentin tarantino, Rob Kazinsky, Shazam!, SPIDERMAN, star wars: the force awakens, The Hateful Eight, ZACK SNYDER


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Category Archives: OWT short fiction competition
Online Writing Tips Short Fiction Prize 2017 4
by Online writing tips .com • featured market, OWT short fiction competition, Short fiction • Tags: competitions, Featured Market, OWT short fiction competition, publishing opportunities, short fiction
We hope you've all had a great summer and are ready to do some serious writing. After an unprecedentedly profitable first two quarters of 2016, the OWT team were able to spend our vacation touring Greek islands on the Online Writing Tips yacht. The good news is that you too can live like this, by winning the richest literary prize currently offered anywhere on this website.
Yes, the Online Writing Tips Short Fiction Prize is back for 2017, and the deadline has just been announced as midnight on March 15th (GMT). It's free to enter and international entrants are welcome. There's no theme, but to get an idea of what we're looking for, check out the runner up and winning story from 2016. In 2017, first prize will be a sumptuous £100, with £50 for second place, and £25 for third. All the submission information is available here – good luck!
"Wild Horses" by Darlene P. Campos: read the story that won 2nd prize in the 2016 OWT Short Fiction Competition Reply
by Online writing tips .com • OWT short fiction competition, Short fiction, Uncategorized • Tags: Darlene Campos, literary prizes, OWT short fiction competition, short fiction
My mother used to say, "Raising a child is like taming wild horses." She said this so often, I wanted to gag her mouth whenever she did. We lived in Houston, near the Buffalo Speedway. There weren't any horses – there were only rich people and richer people who probably had a ranch somewhere and a horse to go with it.
By the standards of the neighborhood, our house was small. Unlike my neighbors, I didn't have a nanny or a babysitter or a cook, because my parents thought it was a waste of money. But I had the museum. Dad was a physician at Ben Taub Hospital and he'd take time off from his day to pick me up from school and drop me off at the Houston Museum of Natural Science, where Mom was a docent.
When I was five years old, I wandered up the museum stairwell to the Hall of the Americas. I stumbled before an Aztec god statue who sat under a small, dim light. His head was a detailed skull with a hat made out of leaves and his open mouth and sharp teeth seemed poised to gobble me up. I screamed so loud, I fell backwards. Mom found me and carried me out to the busy hallway.
"Why are you yelling so much?" she asked, holding me close.
"I saw a scary statue. He had big teeth and a skull head."
"Oh, him? That god eats kids who don't behave the way their mommies and daddies want them to, but don't worry – that god can't keep up with a wild horse like you."
Mom was a docent at the museum for almost ten years. Then, one night, as she walked to her car after a special event, a group of four armed men demanded her purse and car keys. She pulled out her gun from her purse and shot one of them in the chest. The man was taken to Ben Taub down the street, but he died the following morning. Mom lived with tremendous guilt. She felt she had to stop doing something she loved as penance, so she resigned from the museum.
After the incident, Mom mostly stayed in. She clipped coupons from newspapers, performed do-it-yourself projects around the house, and re-arranged the living room furniture once a month. A couple of times a week, she invited the neighborhood wives over for coffee. They sat at the kitchen table, talking about nothing important. I think she really missed the museum and so did I because it brought us closer together.
The longer Mom stayed home, the more frequent the coffee invites became. The ladies arrived at four pm, discussed the amazing power of a coupon or a sale at the Galleria, criticized our decorations, and then asked when the next coffee get-together would be. Every time I heard them cackling downstairs, I stayed in my room until they left. But there was a time when my stomach rumbled, so I crept to the kitchen on my toes. One of them still spotted me by the pantry.
"No boyfriend at school yet, Verona?" she asked. "You're nearly fifteen."
"Not now," I answered as I reached into a box of granola bars. "Maybe when I'm older."
"You won't meet a boy at the museum. Nothing but dusty old bones there."
"I could have coffee with you if I wanted to see some dusty old bones," I muttered.
Eventually, Mom let me see my friends only once a week and she always told me she hated the way I dressed. I was comfortable in jeans and an old T-shirt, but she urged me to wear brightly colored dresses with large brimmed hats, which was how the other neighborhood daughters dressed.
"Those girls look like cheap umbrellas," I said.
She pinched my forearm. "I'm tired of you being a wild horse," she said. "We're going shopping this weekend. Mrs. Evans told me there's a twenty percent off sale at the Galleria."
"Mrs. Evans would buy a dead body if it was marked down."
"That's enough, Verona," Mom said. "At least her daughter looks like a woman."
The following Sunday, we went to the Galleria where Mom bought me three neon orange flower print dresses. I never wore them. I shoved them into my backpack and donated them to the clothing charity at school.
Every December, Dad took us to the holiday party at Ben Taub. I never liked going because he always pushed his young doctor friends my way. They only talked to me about all the money they made. Mom asked me to wear one of my bright orange dresses for the event. When I came downstairs in a black dress, she ordered me to change.
"I can't," I said with a forced frown. "My dresses were stolen."
"How did that happen?" she asked as she styled her hair into a bun, the same style the neighborhood wives wore when they went out.
"I took the Metro home from school last week, remember? I had my dresses in my backpack and the Houston Dress Bandit reached into it and took them."
"We're running late, Verona; tell me your ridiculous story later," she said. "Just get in the car and pray the neighbors don't see you in that black dress. You look like a grieving widow."
Dad drove us to Ben Taub still wearing his white coat. He spent most of his time at the hospital. On days when he performed operations, he brought his bloody scrubs uniform home in a plastic bag. Mom always took the sanguine scrubs and tossed them into the washing machine along with my clothes to conserve water for the environment. I watched the blood mix together with my dirty laundry.
At the party, Dad made a long, dull, monotone speech about his love for the hospital. He made the same speech every year, so I stopped paying attention after five minutes. I could see the edge of the museum from my seat. I wanted to burst out of the party, run across the street, and go see the dinosaur bones, though I had already seen them hundreds of times. But then Dad suddenly introduced me during his speech. He pointed to me from the podium, asking me to stand beside him as he did every year. I slowly approached him as everyone applauded.
"Here she is," he said and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. "This is my daughter, Verona. And to all you young doctors, she finally turns eighteen next month, and, yes, she's single."
After Dad's speech, three of the "young doctors" spoke to me. They asked me how school was going and if I planned to be a doctor as well. I shook my head. I wanted to volunteer at the museum like Mom did, but I knew that wasn't realistic. Mom got to volunteer because Dad made more than enough money to take care of us. If I did become a doctor, I doubted I would have any time to visit the museum at all. Dad left for work at 6:30 every morning and he didn't come home until nine or ten in the evening. I usually saw him for about half an hour each day.
"Why don't you want to be a doctor anyway?" one of the young doctors asked.
"Too much blood," I said.
"Who cares about blood? With all the money you'd make, you could live in a nice house and buy whatever you wanted."
"I can live without all that," I said. "I really can."
No matter how many young doctor friends Dad introduced me to, I never dated any of them. Instead, I fell in love with an electrician named Paul. I was working as a wedding planner at an office in River Oaks, when Paul walked in, crying because his fiancée had cheated on him. My manager reluctantly returned Paul's deposit. Before he walked out, I slipped a gum wrapper with my scribbled phone number into his hand because I thought he needed someone to talk to. I didn't expect us to fall in love, but two years later we were married, and a year after that I gave birth to our son, Ishmael. We bought a modest house in the Lindale Park area, fairly close to our jobs. Ishmael had his own room and we drove new cars. Together, we didn't earn anywhere near the amount of money Dad made, but we were satisfied.
Mom adored Ishmael. She started taking a crafting class six months before he was born, and every week she made him a hideous crocheted hat. I'd put the latest repulsive hat on him to be polite, but he'd always grab it from his head and throw it in the air.
"He hates them, Mom," I said.
"Oh, he'll grow into them," Mom said. "He's just a wild horse."
Planning weddings turned out to be much harder than I thought. I went to Rice University, but never finished because I didn't feel like I belonged there with the other wealthy students. My job would never make me rich, but it was still a nice income. At the same time, it was overwhelming. Sometimes I wanted to convince the couples who came in that marriage wasn't so wonderful if you weren't happy. I loved Paul, which is why I married him. I loved Ishmael, no matter how much I hated changing his diapers. I didn't love my life.
The weddings piled in so fast, I worked sixty hours a week and spent less time at home. Paul picked up Ishmael from daycare, cooked dinner, and put Ishmael in his crib at eight in the evening. By the time I got home, Paul was asleep. In the rare times we were awake together, we argued frequently, but I caused all the fights. I got upset at Paul over trivial things, such as an electrical tool on the floor or a dinner I disliked. Eventually, we slept in different parts of our house, but one of us always slept next to Ishmael.
But I think Ishmael knew something was wrong. He didn't sleep through the night as he used to. Paul said Ishmael refused his teddy bear, his toy car, and his favorite foods. I took a day off to take Ishmael to the museum. We looked at the dinosaur fossils, the Energy Hall, the pendulum, and made our way upstairs to the Egyptian Hall and the Hall of the Americas. Ishmael shuffled around in the Mesoamerica section. He grabbed my hand and led me to the Aztec god. Then he pointed at the Aztec god's leafy hat.
"Ugly hat," he said. "Grandma made that hat." I picked him up and held him close against my chest. He wiggled happily within my grasp.
"Good Mommy," Ishmael said as he kissed my cheek. "I love my mommy."
After another couple of weeks, Paul and I finally had a talk about what we were going to do with our marriage. Paul told me I could keep the house if we divorced, but he wanted us to have equal time with Ishmael, no matter who got custody.
"We can't afford a lawyer to get divorced," I said. "I don't even know why we're talking about this."
"If you really want to get divorced, we could save up for it," he said as he fixed the flickering lamp in our dining room. "Put away, say, ten or twenty bucks a month. By the time Ishmael's sixty-five, we might be able to afford it."
"We should have a bake sale. We'll hang a big sign for it in the yard. Every purchase goes towards Paul and Verona's divorce. Buy five brownies, get a free copy of the decree. Buy ten cookies and we'll reserve a seat for you at the courthouse."
"Verona," Paul said, shaking his head. "If we need some time off, that's fine with me."
"Is that what you want?" I asked.
He put his tools to the side. "I don't want a divorce," he said. "Not a divorce. At least, not yet."
"I don't either."
"But I love you too much to see you unhappy. Am I doing something wrong?"
"No," I said as I stroked his thick, brown hair. "Of course not."
We decided Paul would stay in our house and I temporarily moved with Ishmael to my parents' home. The separation wasn't meant to be for very long – we just wanted to see if we were happier without each other. Dad was retired now, but he continued working part-time at Ben Taub, conducting research with medical students. The day I came to live with him and Mom again, he gave me the names of eight male students. All single, all rich, all looking for a wife he wrote underneath the last name. I brought in the last of my belongings and I saw Mom sitting by the television, finishing another hat for Ishmael. When it was complete, she placed it on his head.
"No, Grandma, ugly hat!" he shouted and threw the hat so hard, it landed on my face.
"Mom, you really need to stop making him those hats – he hates them."
"I keep telling you he'll grow into them," she said. "And if he doesn't, then we'll just have to make him, won't we?"
"Nobody can force Ishmael to do something he doesn't like, trust me."
"I think I know where he learned that behavior," Mom said. "Throwing hats all over my house, who taught him to do such a thing?"
"Daycare did," I said. "All the kids throw hats there. It's a fad right now."
During the weeks I lived with my parents, Mom bought me five bright orange dresses, made more hats for Ishmael, and reminded me how raising him was like taming wild horses. Dad rarely spoke to me since, as usual, he was never home. Mom hovered over me all day long. She still invited the neighborhood wives over for coffee and once she made Ishmael wear a crocheted hat for them to see "how cute he looked." The second the hat touched his head, he tossed himself on the floor, kicking, screaming, and crying until I stepped in to remove the offending headwear.
"Thank you, Mommy," he said, rubbing his soaked eyes with his chubby fists. I picked him up and he rested his head on my shoulder. The neighborhood wives sneered at him.
"I remember when you were younger, you couldn't stand wearing nice clothes," one of them said. "Your son turned out just like you."
"He doesn't like having anything else on his head," I told her. "His brain already takes up too much room."
Aside from the coffee visits, each time I tried to feed Ishmael his dinner, Mom interrupted us and showed me the correct way to do it.
"Gentle strokes with your arm, Verona," she said. "Gently show him the spoon. If you don't do it gently, he will grow up with a fear of silverware. If he's afraid of silverware, he'll never go to the dentist and then he'll die of rotten teeth."
"You are so right, Mom. I couldn't live with a son who's afraid of spoons."
To get away from Mom and her silverware theory, I requested more hours from my supervisor. One day, right before closing time, there was a woman who came with her nervous fiancé to pick out a venue. She glanced at my venue book for a few minutes and then she asked which place on the list was the most expensive. Couples asked this question a lot because they assumed having a costly venue would equate with having the best marriage.
"Right now, it's the Houston Museum of Natural Science," I said.
"You can get married there?" she asked. Her fiancé sunk in his seat.
"Yes," I said. "The price only reserves the facility, not the catering or decorations or anything else you'd like. I don't recommend it to couples who make under a million dollars."
"Oh, you're funny," she said and turned to her fiancé. "That's the place for us, Jon."
"Honey, that's too much mon–" the fiancé began, but she kissed his lips before he could finish talking. He grabbed a pen from my desk, unsteadily signed the paperwork, and left a massive sweat stain from his palm over the first sheet.
After work that day, I stopped by my old house to check on Paul. He was sitting in front of the TV, eating a sandwich and wiping off mayonnaise that fell on his wedding ring. He stood up as soon as he saw me. Even though he visited Ishmael at my parents' house often, I was always working when he did so. We had not seen each other face to face in over three months, but he looked unchanged.
"Forget something?" he asked.
"I'm moving back in," I said.
Paul wiped his greasy hands on his jeans and hugged me. "I've missed you so much," he said. "I keep waking up at night because I think you'll be coming home any minute."
"Just give me time to get my stuff," I said. "I'll be back before the end of the month."
"I haven't changed anything since you left," Paul told me and rubbed my hand.
"That's why I didn't leave you in charge of Ishmael. He'd still be in the same diaper." We looked at each other and we kissed for the first time in three months.
When I got back to my parents' house that evening, Dad was helping Mom serve dinner. I placed Ishmael in his highchair and took a seat next to him. Dad sat across from me, and as we ate he asked, "How many suckers did you plan weddings for today?"
"I don't know, ten?"
"Marriage isn't easy," he said, chewing his food loudly. "Quality time is the real key to keeping marriage fresh. The reason why most of them end so soon is because some people can't take one damn day off from work and relax with their family."
"Dad, you've been married for thirty-five years," I said. "And you've been home with Mom for one or two of them."
He glared at me. Then he shook his head and clicked his tongue. "What do you know about marriage? You can't even keep yours together."
"At least my husband is involved with our son's life," I said.
"Verona!" he said and banged his fork on the table. "I was working to support this house. If you had married a doctor like I asked you to, you wouldn't be here with us. You could have had a house just like this one and you could have stayed home with Ishmael instead of planning dumb weddings. But you're just like your mother – too focused on things that don't matter."
"Please, both of you," Mom interrupted. "Stop fighting and eat."
That evening, I surprised Paul when I arrived home past one in the morning. He had fallen asleep on the couch with popcorn crumbs all over his shirt. He took Ishmael from my arms and whispered that he would put him in his bed. I made my way to my old bedroom at the end of the narrow hallway. The bedspread, pillowcases, and the cough drop wrappers on the nightstand were all the same. Dust covered the tips of the blinds over our window. Our stained curtain hung crookedly on the right side. Paul walked into the bedroom a few minutes later, his hand over his mouth to cover his yawning.
"Did you bring everything?" he said.
"Almost," I said. "But I brought Ishmael and myself. We're the important stuff."
"Verona, I'm sorry I didn't clean up better around here," Paul said, in between a large yawn. "Cleaning was the last thing on my mind."
"Don't worry about it, let's go to sleep." Paul approached the bed, but then he stopped to take a deep breath. I moved part of the blanket for him. He stayed in place, not moving until I got up and stood next to him.
"Are you going to leave me again?" he asked. I wasn't sure if he was serious or sleep talking like he sometimes did. I touched his light mustache and he looked right at me.
"I'm home for good," I said. Paul nodded. He collapsed on our bed, his blue electrician cap still resting on his head. I caressed his ear until I fell asleep.
Two weeks later, Mom called me at work. She swore Dad didn't mean what he said. "Verona, he's got nothing against Paul or you or Ishmael. Please come over and visit us. You three are welcome for dinner tonight if you want. I won't even make Ishmael wear a hat."
"I can't today, Mom. I have four couples waiting for final plans."
"Then what about lunch this Saturday afternoon? Would that be okay? I miss seeing my grand wild horse. I've got some nice, new hats for him to wear at preschool. I'm sure he'll love them." I told her the weekend was fine.
Dad wasn't at lunch, which didn't surprise me. Mom said he and a neurologist were working on a genetics project and it took up most of their time. Ishmael didn't want to eat any of the turkey breast sandwiches Mom prepared. Paul tried cutting them into tiny pieces for him, but Ishmael grabbed every portion and threw them across the room. Mayonnaise, turkey bits, and lettuce were all over the place.
"Have you been using gentle strokes when you show him a spoon?" Mom asked me as she wiped mayonnaise off the curtains.
"I don't feed him with a spoon, Mom. I throw his food on the floor and he sticks his face in it until he's done eating."
"You're still a wild horse, you know," she said, though her tone wasn't endearing. "It's been over thirty years and I haven't tamed you yet."
"Mom, you've lived in Houston your entire life. What on earth would you know about taming a horse?"
"Nothing, that's why you're still wild," she said.
Driving home, Paul sang lullabies off-key to Ishmael to make him sleepy for his afternoon nap. He sang the same lullaby over and over again. Ishmael began to cry and he covered his little ears with his hands.
"Ugly singing, Daddy," he mumbled. "Bad Daddy. You can't sing."
"Stop torturing him, Paul," I said. "It's bad enough he has five new hats."
"I'm only trying to make him sleepy, dear."
"Then talk to him about replacing a light fixture."
Weeks passed and I didn't speak to either of my parents. Part of me didn't want to and part of me said I should pick up the phone, call them, and talk to them, even if it would only be for a few minutes. Paul urged me to at least meet them for coffee.
"Why don't you meet them for coffee?" I said.
"Because I don't like coffee and they're not my parents," he said and placed two slices of bread in the toaster. "Your mom makes terrible hats for Ishmael, but it's kinda sweet at the same time. And your dad paid for our wedding, too. When we were separated and I'd go visit Ishmael at their house, they didn't seem so bad."
"You didn't grow up with them, Paul."
"Verona, you lived in a house on Buffalo Speedway. When I was a kid, I was lucky to have something to eat for dinner."
Three months passed. I spoke to Mom on the phone twice a week, but I didn't visit her. Every time we talked, she told me Dad said hello and asked if I had anything to say to him that wouldn't be blocked by the FCC. I never gave her an answer. Even so, no matter how rigid I tried to be, I really missed both of them. I missed getting those horrible hats for Ishmael. I missed wondering where Dad was. I actually missed Mom calling me a wild horse.
Just three days after I last spoke to Mom, Paul hurt himself on the job. He was installing a chandelier on a twenty-foot ceiling when his leg suddenly cramped. He cracked his kneecaps and landed flat on his back. He had several cuts and bruises and bled through his clothes. An ambulance took him to Ben Taub. I rushed by Ishmael's preschool to pick him up early and take him to my parents' house. Before I could ring the doorbell, Dad opened the door for us.
"Paul's fine," he told me.
"Shouldn't you be out looking for more single doctors I'll never be interested in?"
"I stopped by his room. He broke both knees and needs back surgery, but he'll live."
"What about all the blood?"
"It dried up. It's all gone now," he shrugged. "Like you."
"Dad, I just came to leave Ishmael with Mom."
"I know," he said and touched my shoulder. "Mom's not here. She's at the museum. She's a docent again. You can leave Ishmael with me or you can take him to her. I'll be home all day if you decide to come over for dinner later." He knelt down to Ishmael to speak to him.
"Do you want to play with me or Grandma today, Ishmael?" he asked. Ishmael raised both of his arms up in the air as he happily exclaimed, "Crazy Grandma!"
Dad smiled. For once, he put an arm around me and it wasn't in front of a group of young doctors.
Mom stood at the entrance to the Paleontology Hall with a baby-blue crocheted hat on her head. Ishmael ran to her and she picked him up and kissed his face.
"Would you watch Ishmael for a little bit while I go visit Paul?"
"Of course, but the Aztec god will eat him if he doesn't behave," she said. Ishmael pulled her hat off her head and threw it on the floor.
"Ugly hat, Grandma," he said.
"Ishmael, that's mean, say you're sorry," I said, but Mom laughed as she reached down for her hat.
"Oh, let him be, Verona," she said. "Nobody's ever going to be able to tame this little wild horse. He just needs to run free." When Mom tried to put her hat back on, he yanked it away from her hand and gave it to me.
"Trash, Mommy, this goes in the trash," he said. I took the hat and shoved it into my purse.
"Go check on Paul," Mom said. "We'll be all right."
But before I left for the hospital, I took the elevator to the Hall of the Americas. It was as dim-lit as ever. Through a crowd of running children, I made my way to the Mesoamerica section. The Aztec God was there with his skulled head and leafy hat, showing his big, sharp teeth, ready to eat any child who misbehaved. I waved hello to him. The children had run to the Egyptian Hall, and I was left alone, listening as their shouts grew quieter. I stood there for a long time. Then I thanked the Aztec God for never catching up with me.
Darlene P. Campos is an MFA candidate at the University of Texas at El Paso's Creative Writing Program. In 2013, she won the Glass Mountain magazine contest for prose and was awarded the Sylvan N. Karchmer Fiction Prize. Her work appears in Cleaver, Red Fez, Bartleby Snopes, Elohi Gadugi, The Writing Disorder, Connotation Press, Word Riot, The Boiler Journal, Plain China, and many others. She is from Guayaquil, Ecuador but has lived in Houston all her life. Her website is www.darlenepcampos.com
Twitter: @DarleneCampos91
Facebook: www.facebook.com/darlene.campos
"Roached" by Julia Thomson: read the story that won the 2016 OWT Short Fiction Competition 7
by Online writing tips .com • OWT short fiction competition, Short fiction • Tags: Julia Thomson, literary prizes, OWT short fiction competition, short fiction
Clarence had a thief in the invasive way that some people had ants or termites or roaches. Little, forgotten things had started disappearing, right under his nose, soon after he was abandoned by his longtime girlfriend, Vernice.
"Vernice, what you done with my shirt?" he cried out to his empty house. He stomped through his bedroom and across the breezeway to the clothesline. Ghostly silhouettes rippled in the light evening breeze, but his blue shirt wasn't there. Gone as if he'd never hung it up that morning.
Call her, he thought. Just ask if she got the Coming to America DVD. But as soon as he heard her curt "hello", he blurted out: "Vernie, you know my blue shirt, the one you got me that time in Miami?"
"You calling me 'bout your shirt?"
"I can't find it."
"What you expecting me to do? Fly to Eleuthera and find your shirt that you got in a ball on the floor?"
"I keeping the place nice for when you come home."
"Don't call me when you find it." She hung up.
Clarence sank down in Vernice's chair and threw one of the cushions across the room. You fool, he thought. You can't even ask how she doing? More…
Congratulations to the winners of the 2016 OWT Short Fiction Prize Reply
by Online writing tips .com • Getting published, OWT short fiction competition, Short fiction, Uncategorized • Tags: Creative Writing, Darlene Campos, Julia Thomson, literary prizes, Luke Harris, short fiction, short fiction prize
Here's something else I never thought about before we founded a writing competition: competition isn't very nice. We're now ready to announce that three people will receive prizes, knowing that more than 140 people have been disappointed along the way. We've tried to make our decisions as fairly and diligently as possible, but disappointing news isn't nice to receive or deliver. While some authors may have been disappointed not to make the longlist, and twenty of those longlisted may have been disappointed not to make the shortlist, it may be that the most disappointed are those who made the shortlist but aren't among our three winners. To those who didn't make the longlist, that may seem greedy, but it's fair and proper to want to win – that's what competition is for.
In our society, competition is often championed for economic reasons. An investment-based economy requires perpetual growth, and a major stimulant to growth is to create situations in which individuals and institutions have to compete. In many ways, this is obstructive to human happiness. It has given us hundreds of thousands of cold callers whose misfortune it is to cajole consumers into switching mobile phone operator or utility provider. It has left us unprecedentedly unequal, alienated from each other, working for more hours than ever before, and seeking treatment for mental health problems from depression to anorexia. Its main achievement has been to produce loads of stuff, much of which has value only when accrued competitively.
I'd go so far as to suggest that competition damages relations within a community. This is why, for thousands of years, civilisations have created designated times and spaces for competitions. The social function of pankration, duelling, jousting, boxing, rugby, chess, and writing contests is to allow people to practice competition in ways that don't have negative effects on the wider community. A recurring theme of the etiquette associated with competition is that when the competition is over, regardless of the result, the contestants cease to view each other as competitors and treat each other as friends and colleagues. The competition has to stay in a designated space because anybody who devoted their life to "the activity or condition of striving to gain or win something by defeating or establishing superiority over others" would be behaving like a total dick.
For this reason, I think designated competitions are healthy. When one enters a writing competition, one hopes to win, one wishes to achieve at the expense of others, and if one doesn't, one reasonably concludes that the judges are a bunch of sub-literate charlatans. Then, later, we can go back to supporting each other and caring for our fellow writers. We might write alone, but literature is a necessarily shared endeavour, and we're stronger and healthier when we cooperate rather than compete. Meanwhile, you send your story off to the next competition – within which space it's fair to assume that yours is the best, and that anyone who doesn't get that is a total moron.
On this occasion, our three winners are:
3rd place (£25): Luke Harris
2nd place (£50): Darlene Campos
1st place (£150): Julia Thomson
Congratulations to all of the above, who will receive their prize money this week. In a close contest, Canadian author Julia Thomson clinched first place with her short story "Roached." It impressed for the complexity of its themes and its skillful characterisation. The story benefits from its vivid setting on the small Bahamian island of Eleuthera, and it features a protagonist who is idiosyncratic and flawed but entirely sympathetic. We asked for stories that would make us laugh or cry or both, and this one combines comedy and pathos. It's richly layered and full of subtext. It's an absolute zinger and we're thrilled to be publishing it on the site next Monday.
Thank you again to everyone who entered – judging hasn't been easy, but it has been a treat.
Shortlist announced for the 2016 OWT Short Fiction Competition 2
by Online writing tips .com • OWT short fiction competition, Short fiction • Tags: competitions, Judging writing contests, OWT short fiction competition, short fiction, submissions
When we launched the Online Writing Tips Short Fiction Competition, we didn't think much about how we would judge the entries. We didn't decide in advance on any particular process, and we didn't discuss the values that would inform our judgements. We wrote in the submissions guidelines that we wanted the stories that would move us – stories that would make us laugh or cry or both. That seemed to pretty much cover it. Had someone pushed us for a further explanation we would probably have mumbled about fairness and objectivity, without realising how problematic – even impossible – those concepts are.
So we've made the process up as we've gone along, and we're still unsure about the values that inform it. We've moved to a multi-judge system, employing four judges, two of whom read the stories 'blind', without access to the authors' names or cover letters. The stories should stand on their own merit, right? Reputation and previous success – or, in the case of two of the longlisted authors, knowing the competition organisers – shouldn't make any difference. And we've started using a points system: the judges rank the stories in order of preference, and then we add up the scores and put forward the stories with the lowest totals (no, we won't reveal the scores). Such a quantitative process gives an impression of objectivity, and it stops me and Phil arguing indefinitely, but what if it's a process that favours safe and competent stories over high-risk works of art? What if a story wins because everyone thought it was pretty good, while the pieces that most thrilled and excited each judge alienated the others? More…

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Q: Using CHelper plugin in IntelliJ for a coding contest I quite recently discovered a coding site, with coding contests : CodinGame, and in order to solve the problems, we have to hand them over only one file with a main (in the following example, the class Player), and if other classes are needed, we include them in this file.
For this purpose (and seen to be working for another coding site), I have downloaded intelliJ and the plugin CHelper in order to put all the source files into one java file (it is supposed to be the purpose of the CHelper plugin). The problem is: I don't understand how to use/setup this plugin for my coding site. I know it should work because another user of this site has already used the plugin for this purpose.
What I want
For a more detailed example of what I want, here is the class with a main:
// Class Player in file Player.java
public class Player {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        System.out.println(new Cell(1,2).toString());
    }
}

And this class Cell is in another java file :
// Class Cell in file Cell.java
public class Cell {
    int x,y;
    public Cell(int x, int y) {
        this.x = x;
        this.y = y;
    }
    public String toString() {
        return "["+x+","+y+"]";
    }
}

And I would like the plugin to merge the two (or more) java files in order to have this :
// Generated : 2 files merged into one file: Player.java
public class Player {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        System.out.println(new Cell(1,2).toString());
    }

    // Class Cell merged in this file
    public class Cell {
        int x,y;
        public Cell(int x, int y) {
            this.x = x;
            this.y = y;
        }
        public String toString() {
            return "["+x+","+y+"]";
        }
    }
}

What I achieved
I installed IntelliJ correctly, and downloaded the CHelper plugin.
I installed the toolbar menu buttons linked to TopCoder (the site that this plugin is expressly made for), but the Launch TopCoder button throws a RuntimeException : cannot run program .../javaws no such file.
With some tasks downloaded from TopCoder, I succeeded in merging 2 files into one : TaskA.java into Main.java (with templates downloaded)
What would be ideal
If an Eclipse plugin could work like what I want, I would be very happy to know of it. In fact, that was what I was looking for at the beginning of my search, and I only found some plugin for the IntelliJ IDE.

A: So I finally found a way to do what I wanted: the guy who had done it shared me a link to the help I needed.
I am going to sum it up specifically for CodinGame here.
I- Toolbar buttons
The important buttons to add to the menu toolbar are

*

*create new task

*modify task

*delete task

*Edit project settings

Now, we have some buttons in the red rectangle :

II- Edit settings
Then we have to edit project settings :

*

*set the default directory to your default package

*output directory is for the generated source file

III- Create task
Next thing, we have to create a new task (green "+" button) and set it up using the advanced option. We add the tests input and known output with the button Edit tests. We say we want the generated file to be called Solution.java, and the class where we are going to write is going to be called CGXFormatter.java

We now have two files which have appeared in our package .../puzzle :

*

*CGXFormatter.java with a method solve, which is where we are going to read the input and give our answer in the output

*CGXFormatter.task, which contains the info on the test cases, etc. in order for the plugin to generate the source file

IV- Write your solution
For example, we are just going to print "This is the result" in our CGXFormatter class (but we could have created another class file and called it, it would have worked by copying the definition of the class in the generated solution class). Like this :
package com......puzzle;

import java.util.Scanner;
import java.io.PrintWriter;

public class CGXFormatter {
    public void solve(int testNumber, Scanner in, PrintWriter out) {
        out.println("This is the result");
    }
}

V- Generate the solution
Last step: click on run. Then we have the directory generated which is created, and in it, we have the Solution.java file newly generated. We can read this :
import java.io.OutputStream;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.io.InputStream;
import java.io.PrintWriter;
import java.util.Scanner;

/**
 * Built using CHelper plug-in
 * Actual solution is at the top
 *
 * @author XXX
 */
public class Solution {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        InputStream inputStream = System.in;
        OutputStream outputStream = System.out;
        Scanner in = new Scanner(inputStream);
        PrintWriter out = new PrintWriter(outputStream);
        CGXFormatter solver = new CGXFormatter();
        try {
            int testNumber = 1;
            while (true)
                solver.solve(testNumber++, in, out);
        } catch (UnknownError e) {
            out.close();
        }
    }

    static class CGXFormatter {
        public void solve(int testNumber, Scanner in, PrintWriter out) {
            out.println("This is the result");
        }

    }
}

VI- Last step
Okay, there still remains a little problem: in CodinGame, the solution class should not have public in front of it, so just put class Solution instead of public class Solution and you're done.
If you want, you can also put it in a script to do it automatically with a multirun (plugin to install in IDEA, also).
That's it, you're done.
VII- Edit Octobre 2019
If the plugin complains about not finding a net.egork.... class, you can add these steps that I found here

Update Intellij IDEA to the latest version. Secondly, you go to File
  -> Settings... -> Plugins and search for the chelper plugin. It is required to run the task run configurations, and it supplies you with
  the buttons on the toolbar, too. After you have done that, you should
  be getting the error about impossibility to find and load class from
  net.egork... Now you go to the jetbrains plugin site, search for
  chelper plugin there, and download the latest zip archive. After
  unzipping it, go to File -> Project Structure... -> Libraries -> + ->
  Java, select recursively the folder you just unzipped until you get to
  a bunch of jars that contain that missing class in the error. After
  you have added those jars to your classpath, along with JDK, it should
  be enough

As a side note, I remarked that the out.println didn't work as I intended (I don't know why), so I replaced it by System.out.println instead of using the proposed out object in the solve method.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Preparing to publish as an NPM package.
A parser is a function that takes a **ParserInput**, a **ParserOutput** and returns a **ParseResult**.
A combinator is a higher-order function that takes one or more **Parser** functions as input and produces a new function that wraps and executes them in some particular way.
+ or -- matches one of a list of parsers. After one Parser matches the input, the or exits with a success result.
+ and -- match all of the listed parsers in order. If one fails to match, the and exits with a failure result.
+ opt -- optionally match a parser; always produces a success result.
+ all -- match the given single parser until matching fails; return all matches as a single match. If the given Parser does not match at least once, returns a failure result.
+ any -- collect all input as a single match up to the point that the provided parser matches. Always successful.
+ exact -- require that the given parser consume all available input; otherwise, parsing fails.
+ apply -- execute the given ParserAction if the given parser succeeds.
If such a function is provided to a Parser, it will be executed on a successful match. The returned **ParserOutput** object then becomes the return value for the Parser. This mechanism allows calling code to have use-specific state that is recorded and mutated on parser matching.
There's pretty decent documentation available for PComb. Take a look at the [Getting Started](https://chiselapp.com/user/acrossland/repository/pcomb/wiki?name=Getting+Started) page and the [API Reference](https://chiselapp.com/user/acrossland/repository/pcomb/wiki?name=API+Reference).
Also, the source repo has extensive automated tests and a somewhat complex example application to look at to see how it works in practice.
The [source code](https://chiselapp.com/user/acrossland/repository/pcomb/home) for PComb is freely available.


The Dwarf Arctic Blue Leaf Willow is a low growing Willow suitable for low hedges. This shrub is compact, slender-branched and has silvery green leaves. Definitely is useful for damp sites. This plant will require periodic renewal pruning in spring and fall.
The Dwarf Arctic Blue Leaf Willow is a low growing Willow suitable for low hedges.
This shrub is compact, slender-branched and has silvery green leaves.
This plant will require periodic renewal pruning in spring and fall.
Renewal prune for best results. You can do this in spring or fall.


WELLESLEY HILLS, Mass. (January 14, 2019) – MassBay Community College Automotive Technology program will be exhibiting at this year's New England International Auto Show January 17 – 21, 2019 at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center.
Visitors of the Auto Show can stop by the MassBay Automotive Technology exhibit booth (411 and 413) where we will be displaying a brand new BMW X3 M40 and a model engine. Guests will be able to speak with current students, faculty, and staff from the Ashland Automotive Technology Center to learn more about our automotive cooperative education program, where students can earn a paycheck at a local dealership while earning their Associate Degree. In partnership with BMW, General Motors, Jeep/Chrysler, and Toyota/Lexus, MassBay Auto students study and work on state-of-the-art equipment and vehicles, while being taught by our ASE Master-certified faculty. The MassBay Automotive Technology program has a 99 percent job placement rate upon graduation.
The New England International Auto Show is the region's largest new vehicle automobile show, as well as one of the nation's oldest and longest-running automotive industry shows. The event is presented by the Massachusetts State Automobile Dealers Association and produced by the Paragon Group.


*FG500 has now replaced by the newly improved FG400!
Menzerna Fast Gloss FG500 is the 'cutting' compound in Menzerna's 3 step system. This compound is designed to quickly remove sanding marks, scratches and oxidation. Unlike older style compounds, FG500 is non-gritty and very smooth.
FG500 is designed to remove up to 1500 grit sanding marks, and is suggested for use with Cutting or even Wool Pads. Ideally this compound is used after wet sanding with 2000 or 3000 grit paper or discs if required.
The Menzerna OEM range are designed for most paint finishes including solid colour, regular clear coat and CeramiClear (e.g. late model Mercedes and BMW). Care should be taken when working with older softer paint finishes.
The paint surface requires finishing following FG500, we would suggest Menzerna PF2500 to refine and develop depth and gloss.


Nearly every dementia caregiver, irrespective of 'type' of dementia, has heard this heartbreaking plea. They may already be at home or they may be struggling to accept their new surroundings after a move to a residential / nursing home, but this simple statement is still jarring. Home means a host of different things for different people, but dementia tends to take this concept to a new and confusing extreme.
It's fairly well accepted by dementia experts that the "home" most older folk wish to return to is their childhood home. In the later stages of Alzheimer's disease, for instance, it is thought that an older person may tap into remaining memories from long ago and revert to a younger period in their minds. The passage of time becomes confusing and overwhelming, so they seem to crave the familiarity of their family home or call out for long-deceased family members and friends as a source of comfort.
Remember that not every case of dementia is the same.
Caregivers/ care staff often ask me how to handle requests to go home. Many people initially take this desire at face value, especially from loved ones who are living in long-term care settings. However, it's important to understand that giving in to these appeals is not guaranteed to be successful.
Many families struggle with a decision to move their loved ones OUT of a residential setting and in with them, but, (be warned!) this rarely pans out. Although the move makes sense logically, older folk in the middle and late phases of dementia do not handle change well. It's probable that this person would become agitated and disoriented by yet another move and would still not consider it to be "home." Unfortunately, this realisation doesn't make navigating such a heartbreaking routine any easier.
Caregivers and staff can gently remind the person, "This is your home," each time their anxiety increases. That's okay, but it may not help much. If the person gets upset by hearing this, then drop it. Correcting or arguing with them will only make the situation worse. This is when you need to take a deep breath and accept that you will continually hear this plea. Expect it. Absorb it. Plan ahead. Then, begin using the distraction and redirection routine I demonstrate during my courses.
Validation and redirection are a dementia caregiver's secret weapons. What this means is that, once the plea begins, you acknowledge their request and validate their feelings. Then you gently guide their attention to a different object, activity or topic of interest. If there is something in their immediate environment that is prompting this desire to go home, try moving to a different room or area to eliminate this stimulus.
How long will this distraction last? Maybe a minute or two, maybe an hour. It may not work at all, but it's a start. If the first attempt doesn't work, then try something else. Just remember to be respectful and understanding. Bring out a photo album, put on their favourite old movie, take them to an activity or class at the home or play some soothing music. Ask them about their childhood, their career, time at school or starting a family of their own. Mastering redirection requires a lot of trial and error, so be patient and take note of what works and what doesn't.


More Details About Acupuncture and Infertility | All reproductive medical centers have acupuncture and infertility therapies for different medical conditions. An acupuncture infertility therapy can treat some fertility disorders through stimulating different pressure points of the body. After a miscarriage, one can already undergo on this therapy.
All reproductive medical centers have acupuncture and infertility therapies for different medical conditions. An acupuncture infertility therapy can treat some fertility disorders through stimulating different pressure points of the body. After a miscarriage, one can already undergo on this therapy.


Munchkin Shakespeare Kickstarter Launches Tomorrow!
Sign Up For The Moop's Monstrous Mailer Today!
Who Is Going To OwlCon? We Are!
Munchkin Apocalypse: Judge Dredd Is Looking For Justice!
SJ Games Is Heading To ECCC!
Moop's Monster Mashup Gets Modified For Its Second Printing!
Join Moop To #PlayMunchkin At Your Local Retailer On March 4!


There are few things that have the ability to ruin your health, mood, and quality of life quite as dramatically as chronic stress that's poorly handled.
Whatever the struggles you may be facing in your life, the degree to which you're able to manage your stress response determines, to a large degree, how hard you're going to be knocked back by any given incident.
If you're involved in a car accident, you can always, fortunately, get in touch with a professional such as accident lawyer Rand Spear from Philadelphia, in order to handle to legislative issues involved.
When it comes to improving your resilience against stress, however, it pays to take a broadly holistic approach.
Here are some suggestions for handling stress better in your life.
"Mindfulness meditation" can mean different things to different people, and the specifics of the exercise can vary from one instructor or methodology to the next. In general, though, mindfulness meditation emphasises directing your focus and attention towards a particular "anchor" — such as your breath — and gently returning your focus to it whenever it wanders.
The purpose of mindfulness meditation, and mindfulness practices more broadly, is to train your mind to focus more on the present moment, than on its own ruminations, anxieties, and thought-loops. What's more, it seems to work. Scientists have conducted studies which link mindfulness meditation with greater happiness and satisfaction, less likelihood of stress, and better mood control over all.
If you're the kind of person whose mind races uncontrollably, consider meditation and various other mindfulness practices in order to return your attention to the present.
It's a well-known fact that the less sleep and rest a person gets, the higher their body's output of stress hormones, and the lower their ability to deal properly with that continual flood of stress hormones.
If you're chronically sleep deprived — and especially if you rely on stress-inducing stimulants such as caffeine and nicotine, in order to power through your day — you can reasonably assume that you're in a continuous state of physiological stress at any given moment.
To begin reversing this harmful state of affairs, focus on getting as much rest as you possibly can. Cut down your stimulant use so that you can sleep better, and make the time to actually give your body the sleep and recovery it needs.
A major source of stress, particularly in the modern world, is the tendency of people to compare themselves to the rich, famous, and successful around them — or even just to their friends and colleagues — and feel depressed as a result.
The constant sense of needing to work harder to keep up with the Joneses can be devastating.
The solution to this, is to stop comparing yourself to others, and to start comparing yourself to who you were yesterday. This way, you can still focus on growth, without getting carried away with negative projections and assumptions about other people.


The Rats is a survival horror text-based adventure game that runs on the Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum computers. It is based on the novel of the same name by James Herbert.
The player plays as the main character Harris. The player has to select one or more verbal options to perform actions to allow Harris progress against the rat threat and ensure he doesn't get killed. If Harris dies, the game is over.
Besides Harris, the player will be frequently playing as minor characters trying to stay alive from the rat threat. While it is not crucial to keep them alive, saving them grants the player additional reinforcements and research to aid against the rat threat.
The game also includes simulation sequences that allow the player to strategically send reinforcements to areas where the rat threat grows.


Available for only one year from Kenner, this fine example was pulled directly from an original shipping case in mint, uncirculated condition. The Alien toy line was short-lived as most children did not see the R-rated film on which it was based. Note: the dome on the head is slightly out of position.


text:
Repairs And Restoration To The FEA Power Infrastructure
Repairs to the FEA power infrastructure that had sustained extensive damage from the onslaught of TC Winston continue in most parts of Fiji where there is FEA power reticulation. The
by fea chief executive officer, hasmukh patel
FEA chief executive officer Hasmukh Patel.
Repairs to the FEA power infrastructure that had sustained extensive damage from the onslaught of TC Winston continue in most parts of Fiji where there is FEA power reticulation.
The damages include and are not limited to, electricity generation assets, transmission towers and lines, sub-transmission poles and lines and the entire power distribution network around the country including electricity meters.
The FEA teams and contractors are working simultaneously on the transmission, sub-transmission and distribution lines in multiple areas in order to restore power supply.
Listed below are the damages that had been sustained by the FEA power infrastructure.
Power generation assets
1.1. Wailoa Power Station – Water damage to control circuits resulted in multiple unplanned outages affecting the Central Division during the early part of restoration.
Repairs were completed at 6:00am on Tuesday March 2 and supply stabilised.
1.2. Nadi Power Station – There were damages to the building structure and temporary repairs have been undertaken on the building structure and the power station is fully operational.
Permanent repairs will be undertaken in the month ahead.
1.3. Vuda Power Station –There were damages to the building structure and generators in the power station. Temporary repairs have been undertaken on the building structure.
Generators were water logged and repairs were completed by Wednesday February 24 and the power station is fully operational. Permanent repairs will be undertaken in the month ahead.
1.4. Levuka Power Station – There were damages to the power station roof and generators.
Temporary repairs have been undertaken on the building structure. Generators were water logged and repairs were completed by Wednesday February 24, and the power station is fully operational.
1.5. Nadarivatu Camp Site – All roof structures of the camp site has been destroyed with a warehouse housing spare parts for the power station. Staff are temporarily sheltered at the Nadarivatu Power Station. Power Station is not operational due to fallen towers which are being repaired. Tenders have been called for the design of the new camp site, completion anticipated by later this year.
1.6. Nagado Power Station – There were damages to the building structure (roofing) and roller shutter door at the power station. Repairs to the roof and roller shutter door is expected to be completed by next week. Generators were water logged and repairs were completed on Saturday 12th March and the Nagado Power Station came on-line at 8:49pm on the same day.
Transmission assets
We have three steel lattice transmission towers that were damaged.
2.1. Wailoa to the Western Division – A fallen tower on the Wailoa to Vuda in Lautoka transmission line had cut off power supply from the Wailoa Power Station to the Western Division.
A temporary tabular pole structure has been constructed and supply normalised. Permanent repairs still pending. A temporary tubular pole structure was constructed and the Wailoa to Vuda transmission line was energised at 4:42pm on Saturday March 5, 2016.
Power shedding (rationing) stopped in Nadi and Lautoka once this line was energised. Once full restoration is completed, tenders will be called for turnkey design and construction of a new permanent tower.
2.2. Nadarivatu transmission – There are two fallen towers on the Nadarivatu transmission line which has cut off power supply from the Nadarivatu Hydro Power Scheme to the grid.
There has also been extensive structural damages to a third tower (T13).
We have been able to construct a temporary pole to replace T11 on Wednesday March 2, 2016. Works on T1 is expected to be completed before Wednesday March 24, 2016.
We have engaged the services of an expert to access the structural damages on T13. Full assessment is expected to be provided within the next week before necessary repairs are undertaken.
Once full restoration is completed, tenders will be called for turnkey design and construction of new permanent towers.
Fortunately, the transmission line from Wailoa to Cunningham Road in Suva remained intact and is transporting power from the Wailoa Power Station to the Central Division of Viti Levu.
Sub-Transmission Lines
3.1. Vuda to Rarawai 33kV Sub-transmission Line – This power line transports power from Vuda towards Ba and further into Tavua and Rakiraki. A total of 36 locations required repairs out of the 296 poles in this sub-transmission line.
Damages to these poles were as follows: 7 poles totally fallen and needed replacement, 21 were leaning and needed to be straightened, & 8 locations required repairs due to extensive damages.
Repairs had been carried out and the line has energised at 2:00pm on Thursday March 10, 2016. Permanent repairs will need to be undertaken at some locations and this will be programmed for execution at a later convenient date.
3.2. Rarawai to Vatukoula 33kV Sub-transmission Line – This power line further transports power from Ba towards Vatukoula, Tavua and Rakiraki. Repairs were completed on this line and it was energized at 4:08pm on Tuesday 15th March, 2016.
3.3. Wainikasou Power Line 33kV Sub-transmission Line – This power lines transports power from the Wainikasou Power Station to the Wailoa Substation and then onto the National Grid. There were 48 power poles out of 412 that required repairs/replacement.
This line was energised at 3:40pm on Wednesday March 16, 2016.
The greatest damage to our power distribution network has taken place between Lautoka to Korovou along the Kings Road and the various roads that tee-off from the Kings Road between these areas. The distribution network in Levuka has also been damaged severely.
The FEA requires additional workforce and machinery as listed below to expedite and complete repairs to the damaged power lines in these areas to restore power supply.
Power restoration is crucial as it is needed for the effective operations of other sectors such as hospitals and health centres, water & sewerage treatment plants, cities, towns and industrial areas, residential, etc.
4.1. Repairs to the Distribution Line
There was extensive damages to the entire FEA power distribution network in the areas of Viti Levu, Vanua Levu (Labasa and Savusavu), and Ovalau.
Repairs and restoration of power supply in Labasawas completed on Tuesday March 1, 2016. The Labasa FEA team moved to Savusavu together with the Contractors to assist the teams in Savusavu on Wednesday 2nd March, 2016. Restoration in Savusavu in expected to be completed by Monday 21st March, 2016.
The Labasa and Savusavu FEA team together with contractors will then be deployed to Viti Levu to assist with repairs and restoration in the areas of Korovou (RKS, QVS and Dawasamu) and Rakiraki.
FEA teams have been working to repair and restore power supply to the main centres of Levuka which includes the Levuka Hospital, water and sewerage treatment plant, PAFCO and Levuka town as well as Delana Methodist School and Levuka Public School. Two contractors from the Central Division will be moving to Levuka this weekend to assist with power restoration.
Certain portions of the distribution network that were on the coastal front has been severely damaged and had to be redesign and will be reroute to new locations which is expected to take some time.
Restoration works are continuing in all other affected parts of Viti Levu.
The damaged components includes Power Poles, Power Lines, Cross Arms and other line hardware.
4.2. Personnel engaged with power restoration
A total of 625 persons are directly involved in the repairs to these damages and power restoration. This includes FEA personnel, contractors, casuals, and 10 New Zealand linesman and a project manager.
We are expecting second team of 10 NZ linesman to be joining us over the Easter weekend and a third team of 10 in the first week of April, 2016.
The NZ linesman will be bringing in 2 crane trucks next week and another 2 in the first week of April, 2016 to aid with repair and restoration works.
4.3. Repairs works carried out by licensed registered electrical contractors
We had also engaged the services of Licensed Registered Electrical Contractors to assist with repairs of the power lines.
FEA teams scope the required repair works that need to be carried out in a certain area and agree on a fixed price before works are given to any particular contractor.
These contractors are paid the agreed price upon completion of works and are not paid on a daily basis.
Once repairs are completed on the specified area, the electrical contractors can than work on other areas.
Once the distribution lines are repaired by FEA personnel and/or the nominated FEA contractors, FEA inspects these lines before it is energised.
Service lines and retail
distribution assets
5.1. Customer service line
Customers may also experience delays in restoration of power supply in the event of damages to their service mains or dwelling/installation.
In this case, the customer needs to get in touch with a licensed electrical contractor to assess damages, lodge a permit with FEAs Regulatory Unit and carry out the necessary repairs, at the cost of the customer.
Once repairs are complete, the electrical contractor will contact the FEA Inspectors to organise connection of power supply.
If power supply has been restored in your locality and you still do not have power and if there are no damages to your installation and/or service mains, customers should log a fault call with the FEA Contact Centre on 132 333, and a team should be able to attend to the fault as soon as practically possible.
This may take a few days depending on the magnitude of customers affected.
It is important to note that all electrical installations must be first inspected by FEA inspectors before connection to the FEA grid. This includes standby or stand-alone generators to avoid any electrical mishaps.
5.2. Electricity meters
In many cases, especially in Western Viti Levu, household electricity meters have also been blown away and/or damaged together with the houses.
Once the distribution lines are repaired and restored and the Service lines are repaired, FEA personnel will inspect the meters and if required will replace these meters before connecting power supply.
In the event that the meter boxes are damaged, it is the responsibility of the customers to engage the services of licensed electrical contractor and have this repaired or replaced.
Cost of damages
Our preliminary estimate of cost of repairs and replacement to the FEA Power Infrastructure is estimated to be in the vicinity of $20m. This figure will be confirmed once full restoration has been undertaken and permanent repairs have been completed.
Source: Fiji Electricity Authority
Feedback: jyotip@fijisun.com.fj
FEAFEA power reticulationFiji Electricity AuthorityFijiNewsHasmukh PatelTC Winston


text:
Helcogrammoides chilensis är en fiskart som först beskrevs av Cancino, 1960.  Helcogrammoides chilensis ingår i släktet Helcogrammoides och familjen Tripterygiidae. Inga underarter finns listade i Catalogue of Life.

Källor

Abborrartade fiskar
chilensis

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


It's the most magical time of the year and there's nowhere better to celebrate than in the heart of Soho, London's most famous neighbourhood. With decor celebrating Soho's past and a menu of fresh, seasonal favourites, guests can enjoy a unique festive dining experience with us at Old Compton Brasserie.
Enjoy a decadent 3-course menu featuring traditional roast turkey with all the trimmings, hearty pressed pork belly with colcannon mash and bramley apple sauce, and favourites from our plant-based selection. Whether you're celebrating with friends, family or coworkers, we have it all wrapped up nicely.
Enquire with us for more information about Christmas with us.


text:
Luna Kafé record review
US - Oregon - Full Moon 164 - 01/30/10
Laura Veirs
July Flame
Raven Marching Band Records/Bella Union
Laura Veirs is out with her 7th album - on her own record label, Raven Marching Band Records in the US and back on Bella Union (Europe and rest of the world). For those not familiar with Laura Veirs, she is a singer/songwriter from Oregon, manoeuvring very elegantly in a folk-inspired indie rock landscape. This being a landscape well crowded with artists, Laura is bringing a lot to the table - her songs and albums got a touch, feel and nerve to them asking for your attention! It might be Laura's confident voice, elegant musical arrangements, the somewhat rural dreaming lyrics - or more likely - the sum of the parts.
This is Laura's best album so far, though check out her earlier albums like Carbon Glacier, Year of Meteors and Saltbreakers, if you haven't done so. July Flame should definitely have the potential to reach out to new listeners. Actually the album came in #1 on the Billboard Heatseekers Albums - top-selling albums by new or developing acts - and also made the much-referenced Billboard 200, debuting at #124!
July Flame refers to a variety of peach, which Laura supposedly saw a at farmers market; learning the name of the fruit, she wanted to write a song about it! The title track is one of the best songs on the album. Together with great songs like "Summer Is the Champion" and "Wide-eyed, Legless", this album, though with its always lurking somewhat melancholic feel to it, should send us dreaming towards summertime and should warm winterfozen souls out there. July Flame is recorded and mixed at Laura's and producer Tucker Martine's home in Portland.
Laura is now out on her European tour, visiting Oslo February 9th at Cafe Mono. With her well performed concert at the same venue during her Year of Meteors' tour in 2005 in mind, and with the album bearing signs of an even more confident, developed and fine-tuned artist, this should be a very nice concert! Yet to see of course, is whether she is still a well kept secret by some niche fans or whether July Flame now has opened the eyes (or ears) of more Laura Veirs fans-to-be. I wouldn't hesitate too long to get a ticket for one of her shows coming near you!
Copyright © 2010 Torkil Sletten


It's been ages since I posted anything about music because, well, I haven't been listening to any. I've been completely engrossed in my technical writing for months now, and technical writing does not play well with music. Or at least it doesn't for me because my focus has to be on clarity and precision, not creativity.
I've enjoyed my break from creative writing, but I've really missed the music, so my thanks to the Offspring for telling me about the soundtrack to the movie 'Mongol'.


By connecting multiple neurons, the true computing power of the neural networks comes, though even a single neuron can perform substantial level of computation [Ler91]. The most common structure of connecting neurons into a network is by layers. The simplest form of layered network is shown in figure 2.7. The shaded nodes on the left are in the so-called input layer. The input layer neurons are to only pass and distribute the inputs and perform no computation. Thus, the only true layer of neurons is the one on the right. Each of the inputs is connected to every artificial neuron in the output layer through the connection weight. Since every value of outputs is calculated from the same set of input values, each output is varied based on the connection weights. Although the presented network is fully connected, the true biological neural network may not have all possible connections - the weight value of zero can be represented as ``no connection".


text:
Developmental plasticity of ascending spinal axons studies using the north american opossum, Didelphis virginiana
Jonathan R. Terman, Xian M. Wang, George F. Martin
The objectives of the present study were to determine if axons of all ascending tracts grow through the lesion after transection of the thoracic spinal cord during development in the North American opossum, and if so, whether they reach regions of the brain they normally innervate. Opossum pups were subjected to transection of the mid-thoracic cord at PD5, PD8, PD12, PD20, or PD26 and injections of Fast Blue (FB) into the lower thoracic or upper lumbar cord 30-40 days or 6 months later. In the PD5 transected cases, labeled axons were present in all of the supraspinal areas labeled by comparable injections in unlesioned, age-matched controls. In the experimental cases, however, labeled axons appeared to be fewer in number and in some areas more restricted in location than in the controls. When lesions were made at PD8, labeled axons were present in the brain of animals allowed to survive 30-40 days prior to FB injections but they were not observed in those allowed to survive 6 months. When lesions were made at PD12 or later, labeled axons were never found rostral to the lesion. It appears, therefore, that axons of all ascending spinal pathways grow though the lesion after transection of the thoracic cord in developing opossums and that they innervate appropriate areas of the brain. Interestingly, the critical period for such growth is shorter than that for most descending axons, suggesting that factors which influence loss of developmental plasticity are not the same for all axons.
Developmental Brain Research
Fasciculus gracilis
Marsupial
Spinobulbar
Spinocerebellar
Spinothalamic
Dive into the research topics of 'Developmental plasticity of ascending spinal axons studies using the north american opossum, Didelphis virginiana'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.
Didelphis Medicine & Life Sciences 100%
Axons Medicine & Life Sciences 52%
diamidino compound 253-50 Medicine & Life Sciences 22%
Opossums Medicine & Life Sciences 21%
Spinal Cord Medicine & Life Sciences 18%
Terman, J. R., Wang, X. M., & Martin, G. F. (1999). Developmental plasticity of ascending spinal axons studies using the north american opossum, Didelphis virginiana. Developmental Brain Research, 112(1), 65-77. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0165-3806(98)00162-X
Developmental plasticity of ascending spinal axons studies using the north american opossum, Didelphis virginiana. / Terman, Jonathan R.; Wang, Xian M.; Martin, George F.
In: Developmental Brain Research, Vol. 112, No. 1, 11.01.1999, p. 65-77.
Terman, JR, Wang, XM & Martin, GF 1999, 'Developmental plasticity of ascending spinal axons studies using the north american opossum, Didelphis virginiana', Developmental Brain Research, vol. 112, no. 1, pp. 65-77. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0165-3806(98)00162-X
Terman JR, Wang XM, Martin GF. Developmental plasticity of ascending spinal axons studies using the north american opossum, Didelphis virginiana. Developmental Brain Research. 1999 Jan 11;112(1):65-77. doi: 10.1016/S0165-3806(98)00162-X
Terman, Jonathan R. ; Wang, Xian M. ; Martin, George F. / Developmental plasticity of ascending spinal axons studies using the north american opossum, Didelphis virginiana. In: Developmental Brain Research. 1999 ; Vol. 112, No. 1. pp. 65-77.
@article{ae340948eaaa4c9d84c9bec020111514,
title = "Developmental plasticity of ascending spinal axons studies using the north american opossum, Didelphis virginiana",
abstract = "The objectives of the present study were to determine if axons of all ascending tracts grow through the lesion after transection of the thoracic spinal cord during development in the North American opossum, and if so, whether they reach regions of the brain they normally innervate. Opossum pups were subjected to transection of the mid-thoracic cord at PD5, PD8, PD12, PD20, or PD26 and injections of Fast Blue (FB) into the lower thoracic or upper lumbar cord 30-40 days or 6 months later. In the PD5 transected cases, labeled axons were present in all of the supraspinal areas labeled by comparable injections in unlesioned, age-matched controls. In the experimental cases, however, labeled axons appeared to be fewer in number and in some areas more restricted in location than in the controls. When lesions were made at PD8, labeled axons were present in the brain of animals allowed to survive 30-40 days prior to FB injections but they were not observed in those allowed to survive 6 months. When lesions were made at PD12 or later, labeled axons were never found rostral to the lesion. It appears, therefore, that axons of all ascending spinal pathways grow though the lesion after transection of the thoracic cord in developing opossums and that they innervate appropriate areas of the brain. Interestingly, the critical period for such growth is shorter than that for most descending axons, suggesting that factors which influence loss of developmental plasticity are not the same for all axons.",
keywords = "Fasciculus gracilis, Marsupial, Regeneration, Spinobulbar, Spinocerebellar, Spinothalamic",
author = "Terman, {Jonathan R.} and Wang, {Xian M.} and Martin, {George F.}",
note = "Funding Information: The authors wish to thank Drs. L.B. Jakeman and J.S. King for reading early drafts of the manuscript and Ms. Mary Ann Jarrell for technical assistance. Our studies were supported by USPHS Grants NS-25095 and NS-10165.",
journal = "Developmental Brain Research",
T1 - Developmental plasticity of ascending spinal axons studies using the north american opossum, Didelphis virginiana
AU - Terman, Jonathan R.
AU - Wang, Xian M.
AU - Martin, George F.
N1 - Funding Information: The authors wish to thank Drs. L.B. Jakeman and J.S. King for reading early drafts of the manuscript and Ms. Mary Ann Jarrell for technical assistance. Our studies were supported by USPHS Grants NS-25095 and NS-10165.
N2 - The objectives of the present study were to determine if axons of all ascending tracts grow through the lesion after transection of the thoracic spinal cord during development in the North American opossum, and if so, whether they reach regions of the brain they normally innervate. Opossum pups were subjected to transection of the mid-thoracic cord at PD5, PD8, PD12, PD20, or PD26 and injections of Fast Blue (FB) into the lower thoracic or upper lumbar cord 30-40 days or 6 months later. In the PD5 transected cases, labeled axons were present in all of the supraspinal areas labeled by comparable injections in unlesioned, age-matched controls. In the experimental cases, however, labeled axons appeared to be fewer in number and in some areas more restricted in location than in the controls. When lesions were made at PD8, labeled axons were present in the brain of animals allowed to survive 30-40 days prior to FB injections but they were not observed in those allowed to survive 6 months. When lesions were made at PD12 or later, labeled axons were never found rostral to the lesion. It appears, therefore, that axons of all ascending spinal pathways grow though the lesion after transection of the thoracic cord in developing opossums and that they innervate appropriate areas of the brain. Interestingly, the critical period for such growth is shorter than that for most descending axons, suggesting that factors which influence loss of developmental plasticity are not the same for all axons.
AB - The objectives of the present study were to determine if axons of all ascending tracts grow through the lesion after transection of the thoracic spinal cord during development in the North American opossum, and if so, whether they reach regions of the brain they normally innervate. Opossum pups were subjected to transection of the mid-thoracic cord at PD5, PD8, PD12, PD20, or PD26 and injections of Fast Blue (FB) into the lower thoracic or upper lumbar cord 30-40 days or 6 months later. In the PD5 transected cases, labeled axons were present in all of the supraspinal areas labeled by comparable injections in unlesioned, age-matched controls. In the experimental cases, however, labeled axons appeared to be fewer in number and in some areas more restricted in location than in the controls. When lesions were made at PD8, labeled axons were present in the brain of animals allowed to survive 30-40 days prior to FB injections but they were not observed in those allowed to survive 6 months. When lesions were made at PD12 or later, labeled axons were never found rostral to the lesion. It appears, therefore, that axons of all ascending spinal pathways grow though the lesion after transection of the thoracic cord in developing opossums and that they innervate appropriate areas of the brain. Interestingly, the critical period for such growth is shorter than that for most descending axons, suggesting that factors which influence loss of developmental plasticity are not the same for all axons.
KW - Fasciculus gracilis
KW - Marsupial
KW - Regeneration
KW - Spinobulbar
KW - Spinocerebellar
KW - Spinothalamic
JO - Developmental Brain Research
JF - Developmental Brain Research


text:
Q: How to add additional description for voice over (only) I have a page that has 10 search results. The first result is more of a answer card (similar to answers you see as the 1st result in google).
Now I am trying to figure out a way to add additional description to the answer card just for voice over..For ex: "This is the best answer for your question" but I don't want to display that for normal users. Is there a way to do that?
Currently I have the below html which I manipulate on the fly to add the values using javascript.
Any idea is appreciated

            View full article →

             Is this helpful?

A: Separate is not equal.  Unless there is some visual thing, showing an answer as "the best" you probably should not do this, it can be confusing to have additional content for sighted VoiceOver users.
Regardless, the attribute you want is aria-label.


text:
using System.ComponentModel;
using CasualMeter.Core.JsonConverters;
using Newtonsoft.Json;

namespace CasualMeter.Core.Entities
{
    public class Settings : DefaultValueEntity
    {
        [DefaultValue(100)]
        public double WindowLeft { get; set; }

        [DefaultValue(100)]
        public double WindowTop { get; set; }

        [DefaultValue(1)]
        public double Opacity { get; set; }

        [DefaultValue(1)]
        public double UiScale { get; set; }

        [DefaultValue(true)]
        public bool IsPinned { get; set; }

        [DefaultValue(false)]
        public bool UseCompactView { get; set; }

        [DefaultValue(false)]
        public bool ShowPersonalDps { get; set; }

        [DefaultValue("{Boss} {Time} : @{Name} {DPS} {DamagePercent}")]
        public string DpsPasteFormat { get; set; }

        [DefaultValue(30)]
        public int InactivityResetDuration { get; set; }

        [DefaultValue(5)]
        public int ExpandedViewPlayerLimit { get; set; }

        [DefaultValue(false)]
        public bool UseGlobalHotkeys { get; set; }

        [DefaultValue(false)]
        public bool OnlyBosses { get; set; }

        [DefaultValue(true)]
        public bool IgnoreOneshots { get; set; }

        [DefaultValue(false)]
        public bool AutosaveEncounters { get; set; }

        [DefaultValue(false)]
        public bool UseRawSockets { get; set; }

        [JsonConverter(typeof(LanguageConverter))]
        [DefaultValue("Auto")]
        public string Language { get; set; }

        [DefaultValue(false)]
        public bool PartyOnly { get; set; }

        [DefaultValue("")]
        public string TeraDpsUser { get; set; }

        [DefaultValue("")]
        public string TeraDpsToken { get; set; }

        [DefaultValue(false)]
        public bool ExcelExport { get; set; }

        [DefaultValue(false)]
        public bool DetectBosses { get; set; }

        [DefaultValue(true)]
        public bool SiteExport { get; set; }

        //since you can't set DefaultValueAttribute on objects
        private HotKeySettings _hotkeys;
        public HotKeySettings HotKeys
        {
            get { return _hotkeys ?? (_hotkeys = new HotKeySettings()); }
            set { _hotkeys = value; }
        }
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Power disturbances that impact traffic signals and Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) not only create potentially dangerous conditions for transportation users but immediate gridlock and congestion on arterials and outlying intersections – impacting air quality, noise levels and transit times. Year to year, traffic control system failure accounts for an immeasurable number of automobile accidents, personal injury/fatalities and insurance claims. While this is no surprise to those of us familiar with the challenges of transportation, many may be unaware that strategically deployed and reliable backup power can minimize or even neutralize the root cause of many of these problems.
HOW PREPARED ARE YOU FOR THE NEXT POWER DISTURBANCE?
Without a continual power supply, busy traffic intersections go dark and chaos ensues. A properly designed outdoor battery backup system keeps your traffic intersections alive. Traffic flows, accidents/injury is minimized and lives potentially saved.
A FXM Family Power Supply (UPS) provides reliable, clean power to your traffic intersection for 8 hours or more after utility power fails. With low upfront procurement, installation and maintenance costs, backup power is within reach of your traffic operations budge.
Remote battery testing and diagnosis that drastically lowers maintenance time and cost.
FXM family of uninterruptible power supplies (UPS) are designed to provide clean, reliable backup power for Traffic applications. Featuring an automatic voltage regulator (AVR), each FXM UPS provides power stability in varied power conditions as well as the ability to switch to emergency backup power without interrupting power to the intersection. Choose the FXM 350 and 650 for ITS, 1100 for standard signalized intersections or choose the FXM 2000 for larger intersections or railway crossings with multiple turn lights and other additional power requirements.
The factory installed Ethernet/SNMP card allows communication with the UPS remotely through any web browser and is capable of notifying up to four different email addresses. Outgoing notifications can be customized with selectable severity levels and triggered by events, faults and/or alarms.
To help us design an Uninterruptible Power Supply for your traffic or ITS application, please fill out the following form.


text:
Q: Get bounding box from array of points I have a Rails 5 API only project. I have nodes that have latitude/longitude details stored on them. I am using the Rails Geokit gem to do some of the other geographic work.
I want to return to the consuming client the bounding box that contains all of the points contained in an array. Is there a simple way to do this? Most of the examples show you using an already known bounding box, not generating one.

A: All you need in order to determine the bounding box for a set of coordinates is the min and max of both latitude and longitude, i.e. the extreme west, east, north, and south values. From these you can construct the southwest and northeast points that span the bounding box.
Now I'm not familiar with geokit, so I don't know the class name of a coordinate, but you should be able to translate that to the correct class name (I'm calling it Point):
points = [...] # List of nodes
west, east = points.map(&:longitude).minmax
south, north = points.map(&:latitude).minmax
sw = Point.new(longitude: west, latitude: south)
ne = Point.new(longitude: east, latitude: north)