text:
centerfield maz
Former Mets Second Baseman: Brad Emaus (2011)
Bradley Mark Emaus was born on March 28th, 1986 in Kalamazoo Michigan. The six foot right had hitting infielder attended Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana.
There he was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 11th round of the 2007 draft. He hit .298 in 2010 at AAA Las Vegas in the Pacific Coast League & was drafted away (Rule V) by the New York Mets that winter.
As the new Terry Collins managerial era began, everyone had a chance of making the ball club. The Mets were fed up woth Luis Castillo & he was released in mid March. Emaus had a good spring surprising everyone & manager Collins named him the clubs second baseman for 2011.
He found himself as the teams Opening Day second baseman batting in the seventh position. He drew a walk that day & got his first career hit the next day against the Marlins in Florida.
On April 5th he singled off the Phillies Cole Hamels driving in the fifth run of a Mets six run third inning, in a game they went on to win 7-1. In his fourth career game he had two hits and was batting .308 but it all fell apart from there.
By April 17th his average fell to .162 with no extra base hits, and he was designated for assignment. He was sent back to Toronto soon after. Justin Turner was called up & took the position over for the remainder of the season.
Emaus was traded to the Colorado Rockies for a minor leaguer & hit .313 at AAA Colorado Springs with 9 HRs & 28 RBIs in 45 games.
In January 2012 he was traded to the Boston Red Sox system but was released. He resigned with the New York Mets & batted .212 at AAA Buffalo in 73 games the rest of that year.
Retirement: Since then he has retired from playing & has opened up a hitting academey at Monroe, Louisiana.
Remembering Bobby Ojeda's Tragic Boating Accident (1993)
Steve Olin, Tim Crews & Bob Ojeda March 22 nd 1993: was an off day from Spring Training, for three Cleveland Indians pitchers; Former Mets 1986 World Champion pitcher; Bobby Ojeda, Tim Crews & Steve Olin. The three friends, took out an 18-foot open-air bass boat & went out fishing & gator hunting in the darkness of the evening on Lake Nellie in Clermont, Florida. Tragedy struck, when the boat rammed into a private dock that jutted out some 250 feet into the still waters. Two other Cleveland Indians personnel had arrived to meet the fishing party just as the horror took place. They heard Bob Ojeda saying they needed help. The two men jumped into the water and called out for someone to call 911. 27 year old pitcher; Steve Olin was killed instantly. 31 year old pitcher; Tim Crews was alive but was struggling to breathe suffering from massive head wounds. Bobby Ojeda was in & out of shock, he was suffering from head lacerations but was coherent. The
Remembering Sal Bando: Former Italian / American All Star (1966 - 1981)
Salvatore Leonard Bando was born February 13, 1944, in the Little Italy section of Warrensville Heights, 16 miles southeast of Cleveland, Ohio. His father Ben was a self-employed carpenter & accomplished softball infielder. His mother Angela was a home maker who also enjoyed sports playing both softball & basketball. Ben & Angela had a daughter Victoria & sons Salvatore & Christopher. The six-foot third baseman played baseball at Arizona State University with his future Oakland teammate Rick Monday & seven others who made the major leagues. There his manager was the legendary coach Bobby Winkles who would later go on to coach Bando in Oakland in 1974. Winkles would also manage the California Angels. In 1965 Bando batted .317 was All Conference & batted .480 (12-25) with 9 RBIs in the College World Series. Bando was selected in the sixth round of the 1965 draft after Rick Monday who was the first-round pick of the Kansas City Athletics. MLB Debut: He got
Remembering Vixen Founder / Guitarist; Jan Kuehnemund (1961-2013)
centerfieldmaz was shocked to learn of the sudden passing of Jan Kuehnemund, the founding member of the all female metal band Vixen. Jan was a fantastic guitarist, song writer & women pioneer in Heavy Metal. I am a huge fan of hard rock all girl bands & Vixen were one my long time favorites. Janice Lynn Kuehnemund was born November 18th, 1961 in St. Paul Minnesota. The female guitarist formed one of the first all female Metal bands in Minnesota with singer Janet Gardner while in high school in 1980. By 1985 they moved the band to Los Angles California, to be part of the Heavy Metal scene. In 1987 the classic Vixen line up of Jan Kuehnemund (lead guitar) Janet Gardner (vocals/ guitar) Share Pederson (bass) & Roxy Petrucci (drums) formed & released their debut album the following year. Vixen 1988 In a world of all male Heavy Metal bands during its heyday, Vixen were groundbreaking in being an all female metal band. The Runaways, with Joan Jett & Lita Ford
The Odd Couple TV Show's Beloved Supporting Cast
On this the 45th Anniversary Season of when my favorite television show of all time The Odd Couple first debuted it's time to pay tribute to the great supporting cast. Murray Greshler was a big hit with fans as the simple minded bumbling NYPD Officer: Murray the Cop . Murray was a long time friend of Oscar Madison & usually becomes the subject of Oscar's jokes. Some great lines referenceing Murrays nose are "N ose' Feliciano" / "Tokyo Nose" & "Come inside Murray, your sucking up all the air in the hallway". Even Felix chimed in asking him if the other army reserve soldiers made fun of him saying "when you look up it looks like a two car garage". Murray would become one of both Felix & Oscars best friends appearing 73 of the 114 Odd Couple episodes . Murray wouldn't think twice about double parking his patrol car double parked outside the Park Avenue or Central Park West building where Felix & Oscar
The 1970's Oakland A's Ball Girls- (MLB's First)
In the days of the early seventies the Oakland A's won three straight Championships & changed the face of baseball forever. The team's controversial owner was known to be cheap in paying his star players & known to meddle in the teams on field affairs. He drove managers crazy & even had Dick Williams resign after winning his second straight World Series. But Finley also revolutionized baseball in many other ways. He was instrumental in getting the designated hitter in the American League & have the World Series played at night, so fans could attend after work. He gave his players fancy names like Catfish, Blue Moon & True Blue. When his star Reggie Jackson refused to shave his beard, he encouraged the whole team to grow facial hair by paying them $200 each. The A's team even grew their hair long, a sign of the times. But before that baseball players had not had facial or long hair since the 1800's. He introduced bright colored yello
Celebrating the 1973 N.L. Champions with Game & Player Posts All Year
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TOM SEAVER
MIKE PIAZZA
JERRY KOOSMAN
BUD HARRELSON
DWIGHT (Doc) GOODEN
MOOKIE WILSON
RON DARLING
ED KRANEPOOL
JERRY GROTE
CLEON JONES
FELIX MILLAN
RON SWOBODA
WALLY BACKMAN
TERRY COLLINS
Former Mets Manager
GARY GENTRY
AL WEIS
JOE PIGNATANO ("Piggy")
LENNY RANDLE
SANDY ALOMAR SR.
ART SHAMSKY
TOMMY LASORDA
RALPH BRANCA (Brooklyn Dodgers)
BOBBY THOMPSON (NY GIants)
FOX Sports' Kevin Burkhart
Bob Brenly
2001 World Champion D-backs Manager & Broadcaster


text:
Гелікон (гора)
 Гелікон (духовий інструмент)
 Гелікон (струнний інструмент)
 Гелікон-опера - оперний театр у Москві

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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text:
package gov.nasa.ensemble.core.plan.formula.js;

import gov.nasa.ensemble.common.CommonUtils;
import gov.nasa.ensemble.common.extension.ClassRegistry;
import gov.nasa.ensemble.core.activityDictionary.ActivityDictionary;
import gov.nasa.ensemble.core.activityDictionary.ActivityDictionaryEvent;
import gov.nasa.ensemble.core.activityDictionary.ActivityDictionaryListener;
import gov.nasa.ensemble.core.model.plan.EPlan;
import gov.nasa.ensemble.core.model.plan.EPlanElement;
import gov.nasa.ensemble.core.model.plan.util.EPlanUtils;
import gov.nasa.ensemble.core.plan.formula.FormulaEngine;
import gov.nasa.ensemble.dictionary.EActivityDef;

import java.util.Date;
import java.util.HashMap;
import java.util.List;
import java.util.Map;
import java.util.StringTokenizer;

import org.apache.log4j.Logger;
import org.mozilla.javascript.Context;
import org.mozilla.javascript.EcmaError;
import org.mozilla.javascript.EvaluatorException;
import org.mozilla.javascript.NativeObject;
import org.mozilla.javascript.Script;
import org.mozilla.javascript.Scriptable;
import org.mozilla.javascript.ScriptableObject;

public class JSFormulaEngine extends FormulaEngine implements ActivityDictionaryListener {

	private static final Logger LOG = Logger.getLogger(JSFormulaEngine.class);
	private static final List<PlanElementScriptableObject> PLAN_ELEMENT_SCRIPTABLE_OBJECTS = ClassRegistry.createInstances(PlanElementScriptableObject.class);
	private Scriptable activityDictionaryScope = null;

	public static final String VAR_CURRENT_TIME = "currentTime";

	protected final ActivityDictionary ad;

	public JSFormulaEngine() {
		this(ActivityDictionary.getInstance());
	}

	public JSFormulaEngine(ActivityDictionary ad) {
		this.ad = ad;
		this.ad.addActivityDictionaryListener(this);
	}

	public Object evaluate(String formula) throws Exception {
		Context context = Context.enter();
		Scriptable scope = context.initStandardObjects();
		scope.setParentScope(getScriptableActivityDictionary(context));
		return evaluateString(formula, context, scope);
	}

	private Object evaluateString(String formula, Context context, Scriptable scope) {
		Script script = compiledExpressionsMap.get(formula);
		if (script == null) {
			script = context.compileString(formula, "<cmd>", 1, null);
			compiledExpressionsMap.put(formula, script);
		}
		long start = System.currentTimeMillis();
		Object value = script.exec(context, scope);
		long end = System.currentTimeMillis();
		if (LOG.isDebugEnabled()) {
			debugExpressionEvaluation(formula, end - start);
		}
		return value;
	}

	private void debugExpressionEvaluation(String formula, long duration) {
		Integer count = incrementCount(formula);
		Long totalDuration = addToTotal(formula, duration);
		long average = totalDuration / count;
		LOG.debug(average + ": "+formula);
	}

	private Long addToTotal(String formula, long duration) {
		Long totalDuration = formulaTotal.get(formula);
		if (totalDuration == null) {
			totalDuration = 0L;
		}
		totalDuration += duration;
		formulaTotal.put(formula, totalDuration);
		return totalDuration;
	}

	private Integer incrementCount(String formula) {
		Integer count = formulaCount.get(formula);
		if (count == null) {
			count = 0;
		}
		count++;
		formulaCount.put(formula, count);
		return count;
	}

	private Map<String, Integer> formulaCount = new HashMap<String, Integer>();
	private Map<String, Long> formulaTotal = new HashMap<String, Long>();

	@Override
	public Object evaluate(EPlanElement planElement, String formula, Date date) throws Exception {
		try {
			Context context = Context.enter();
			Scriptable scriptableActivityDictionary = getScriptableActivityDictionary(context);
			Scriptable scriptablePlanElement = createScriptablePlanElement(planElement);
			scriptablePlanElement.setParentScope(scriptableActivityDictionary);
			EPlan plan = EPlanUtils.getPlan(planElement);
			if (plan != null) {
				Scriptable scriptablePlan = createScriptablePlan(plan);
				ScriptableObject.putProperty(scriptablePlanElement, "plan", scriptablePlan);
				scriptablePlan.setParentScope(scriptablePlanElement);
			}
			scriptablePlanElement.put(VAR_CURRENT_TIME, scriptablePlanElement, date);
			for (PlanElementScriptableObject obj : PLAN_ELEMENT_SCRIPTABLE_OBJECTS) {
				ScriptableObject.putProperty(scriptablePlanElement, obj.getClassName(), obj);
				obj.setParentScope(scriptablePlanElement);
				obj.setPlanElement(planElement);
			}
			Object value = evaluateString(formula, context, scriptablePlanElement);
			debugExpressionResult(planElement, formula, value);
			return value;
		} catch (Exception e) {
			processException(e, formula);
		} finally {
			Context.exit();
		}
		return null;
	}

	private void debugExpressionResult(EPlanElement planElement, String formula, Object value) {
		// use reference versus LogUtil for performance
		if (LOG.isDebugEnabled()) {
			LOG.debug(new StringBuffer(planElement.getName())
				.append("\n\t"+formula)
				.append("\n\t"+value)
				.toString()
			);
		}
	}

	protected ScriptablePlanElement createScriptablePlanElement(EPlanElement planElement) {
		return new ScriptablePlanElement(planElement);
	}

	protected Scriptable createScriptablePlan(EPlan plan) {
		return new ScriptablePlan(plan);
	}

	@Override
	public Object getValue(EPlanElement planElement, String formula, Date date) throws Exception {
		return evaluate(planElement, formula, date);
	}

	private static Map<String, Script> compiledExpressionsMap = new HashMap<String, Script>();

	public Object evaluate(EActivityDef activityDef, String formula) {
		Context context = Context.enter();
		Scriptable adScope = getScriptableActivityDictionary(context);

		Scriptable scope = new NativeObject();
		scope.setParentScope(adScope);

		ScriptableActivityDef scriptableActivityDef = new ScriptableActivityDef(activityDef);
		scriptableActivityDef.setParentScope(scope);

		try {
			return evaluateString(formula, context, scriptableActivityDef);
		} finally {
			Context.exit();
		}
	}

	@Override
	public Object getValue(EPlanElement planElement, String formula) throws Exception {
		return getValue(planElement, formula, null);
	}

	public synchronized Scriptable getScriptableActivityDictionary(Context context) {
		if (activityDictionaryScope == null) {
			activityDictionaryScope = CommonUtils.getAdapter(ad, Scriptable.class);
			if (activityDictionaryScope == null) {
				LOG.warn("no activity dictionary scriptable found");
				activityDictionaryScope = context.initStandardObjects();
			}

			Object wrappedOut = Context.javaToJS(System.out, activityDictionaryScope);
			ScriptableObject.putProperty(activityDictionaryScope, "out", wrappedOut);
		}
		return activityDictionaryScope;
	}

	@Override
	public void definitionContextChanged(ActivityDictionaryEvent evt) {
		switch(evt.getType())
		{
		case DEF_ADDED:
		{
			// clear the cache
			synchronized (this) {
				activityDictionaryScope = null;
			}
			break;
		}
		default:
		}
	}

	public static String getMessage(Exception x, String formula) {
		String message = null;
		if (x instanceof EcmaError) {
			EcmaError e = (EcmaError) x;
			message = "Evaluation error: " + e.getMessage();
			StringTokenizer tokenizer = new StringTokenizer(formula, "\n");
			for (int i = 0; i < tokenizer.countTokens(); i++) {
				String line = tokenizer.nextToken();
				message += "\n\t" + line;
				if (i + 1 == e.lineNumber()) {
					message += "\n\t";
					for (int j = 0; j < e.columnNumber(); j++) {
						message += ' ';
					}
					message += "^";
				}
			}
		} else if (x instanceof EvaluatorException) {
			EvaluatorException e = (EvaluatorException) x;
			message = "Evaluation error: " + e.details();
			StringTokenizer tokenizer = new StringTokenizer(formula, "\n");
			for (int i = 0; i < tokenizer.countTokens(); i++) {
				String line = tokenizer.nextToken();
				message += "\n\t" + line;
			}
			return message;
		} else {
			message = x.getMessage();
		}
		return message;
	}

	protected void processException(Exception x, String formula) throws IllegalStateException {
		throw new IllegalStateException(getMessage(x, formula), x);
	}

}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
HomeNationalHawaiian locals beg tourists to stay home, citing COVID-19 concerns
Hawaiian locals beg tourists to stay home, citing COVID-19 concerns
Tue, August 24, 2021 by ABC News
PinkOmelet/iStock
(HONOLULU) — Many local Hawaiians have been asking tourists to stop visiting the islands during the pandemic, and the governor is now echoing their calls.
"It is a risky time to be traveling right now," Gov. David Ige said at a press conference on Monday. "We know that the visitors who choose to come to the islands will not have the typical kind of holiday that they expect to get when they visit Hawaii."
The delta variant is ravaging Hawaii, with the state having more confirmed cases than at any point in the pandemic. Averaging more than 700 cases a day, according to Johns Hopkins University & Medicine, roughly 72% of the state's hospital beds are full.
Despite the growing number of cases across the country, particularly in areas with low vaccination rates, tourism is quickly matching pre-pandemic levels. In June 2019, there were 277,930 daily visitors on average, according to the Hawaii Tourism Authority. In June 2021, that figure was back up to 255,936.
Only about 62% of Hawaiians are fully vaccinated, according to Johns Hopkins, creating a growing risk for those who remain unvaccinated as tourism ramps back up.
Hawaii Tourism Authority President and CEO John De Fries told ABC News that the visitor experience to the state will not be the same. Restrictions are in place that reduce restaurant capacity, and many events or venues are simply closed.
However, De Fries added, although tourism in Hawaii tends to slow toward the end of the summer anyway, residents have said for quite some time that wide-reaching tourism has been a danger to locals.
"During our lockdown in 2020, we were able to see what Hawaii was like without tourists and we realized the adverse impacts that tourism is having on our islands," said Healani Sonoda-Pale, a spokesperson for the local advocacy group Ka Lahui Hawaii. "When tourism came back, it came back with a vengeance."
During the lockdown, Sonoda-Pale and other Hawaiians enjoyed empty beaches, emptier streets, short lines at grocery stores and the comfort of knowing that delicate ecosystems were safer. Tourism was taking a toll on the natural environment and the well-being of locals and native Hawaiians, according to the HTA.
But when the islands began to loosen restrictions during the summer, coronavirus cases began to climb, and endangered animals quickly became playthings for tourists.
The island has had to increase the patrolling of Turtle Beach, where sea turtles were being harassed by hundreds of tourists, and one visitor was fined $500 for touching endangered monk seals, as more videos of tourists posing with the Hawaiian animals has gone.
"They don't come here with any kind of respect or idea of some of the things that they're doing are actually hurting our environment, or hurting our communities and hurting the residents and the Kanaka Maoli people here," Sonoda-Pale said.
However, tourism doesn't seem to be going away any time soon — it's the largest source of private capital for the Hawaiian economy, according to the HTA. But Sonoda-Pale said the pandemic is a perfect time to reimagine the community's relationship to tourism.
Before the pandemic, which highlighted the island's alarming reliance on tourism, De Fries said the HTA has been attempting to make moves toward educating visitors on the culture and the treatment of the land and people.
"Malama means 'to care for, to protect, to nurture,"" said De Fries. "If you care about Hawaii, when you travel here, you must understand the ways in which we Malama. There's a heightened level of visitor awareness and appreciation and sensitivity that we are committed to sharing with the visitor."
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Six family members, including baby, shot dead at home in targeted 'massacre': Sheriff
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Delphi double murder trial will stay local but with jury from another county, judge rules
Mom fatally shoots home invader to protect her 2 kids: Sheriff

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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text:
David Maritz
01: Kafue – The Book of David (Preamble)
02: Kafue – The Book of David (The Road)
03: Kafue – The Book of David (Crocodile)
04: Kafue – The Book of David (Pebbles)
05: Kafue – The Book of David (Dilemma)
06: Kafue – The Book of David (The Great West Road)
07: Kafue – The Book of David (Dinai)
08: Kafue – The Book of David (Vultures)
09: Kafue – The Book of David (Thunderstorm)
51: School Stories (Bravery)
52: School Stories (Serpents)
53: School Stories (Setting an example)
54: School Stories (Lady Godiva)
55: School Stories (English Teacher)
Contact David Maritz
david.kafueriver@gmail.com
Chapter 4: Pebbles
North of the Limpopo and Zambezi rivers, late October is when the vestiges of winter have been burned away by the resurgent, almost brutal vitality of the sun as it slides south over the equator. Before the rains arrive to provide a temperate cooling, the early summer heat can be unbearable, so hot that it is said to drive people to suicide, hence the epithet 'suicide month'.
At least there was respite from the heat as I sat at the end of the polished wooden table in the shady coolness afforded by the chitende's tall thatch roof. I gazed out over the deck, which cantilevers out under the roof's brow like a big jealous African giant sticking out its tongue at the view and the river drifting past at its feet.
It was fortunate no guests were at the lodge to witness our dramatic struggle to save Eddie's life. If the events of the morning had left me shaken, they would most certainly have rattled any foreign visitor. With the lodge manager being away, I was glad I had been able to get back in time to help.
Having the unusual unfoldings fresh in my mind, I mulled over its reasons and potential repercussions.
At the same time I quenched a thirst exacerbated by the morning's stresses. The tall glass of cold orange juice added to the soothing effect of the shade. While I enjoyed its chill I waited for a sandwich of dry 'biltong', grated onto slices of thinly buttered bread.
The excitement had consumed so much energy that in addition to being thirsty, I was hungry.
Since my duties included the training of the scouts doing the poaching abatement on the hunting concession adjacent to the national park, it afforded me scraps of venison, left over from trophy hunts, from which I made biltong jerky. With biltong, it was easy to bribe the kitchen staff to make sandwiches. Everyone in Africa loves biltong.
Looking up I saw it was Precious approaching, carrying the carefully-sectioned sandwich, not wrapped in the customary wax paper, but offered on a simple white plate as if I were a paying guest.
That it was Precious bringing my sandwiches was unusual. I knew enough about the staff to know that she was not part of the dining service crew.
Hher floating gait brought her across the small buffalo-grass lawn from the opening in the thatch which obscured the kitchen from guests. Approaching from my left, as the servers are trained, she twisted slightly to the side with her left hand extended as she wordlessly set the plate, with its simple fare, before me.
Then her footsteps quietly retreated.
After chewing a few bites and savoring the salty fattiness of the tougher meaty grits left in the shards on the bread, I washed it all down with a final gulp of cold juice. Then my mind, moving its concentration away from its focus on food, went back to chewing on the tougher mental issues.
"Muti!"
Being a child of Africa I was familiar with the concept. But I wondered what sort of muti Precious referred to. Translated directly, it meant medicine. But muti had existed in the Bush long before modern medicine was brought here by the missionaries. The ancient traditional muti is the stock-in-trade of the nganga, the African Witch Doctor.
So much for all our imposed Western civilization. Witchcraft is as alive and well in Africa today as it was at the time of David Livingston. Muti could come in any form: potions, spells, or curses. It didn't matter how much of the Muslim or Catholic or Adventist people had embraced, at the final reckoning, the thing most feared and respected out here is the muti.
Only a month ago one of the scouts, a devout Adventist, had not shown up for patrol for a week. When he finally reappeared, his explanation was that some rival had paid a nganga to cast a curse to impair his performance. It put him to sleep for a week he said.
I smiled as I thought how out here it was a plausible explanation.
But, experience has conditioned me to always be ready for the unexpected in Africa. The events of the morning certainly had served as a refresher.
I heard it again, a soft polite cough from behind, and then another.
Turning to glance behind me, there it was, that splash of the unexpected.
She was back in the shadows of the wall that leads to the deck, sitting on the concrete floor.
She supported herself gracefully with her arm extended; the other lay languidly across her lap. Her long legs were tucked sideways, to form a parallel V, the traditional form of a woman showing respect, patiently requesting and waiting for an audience with a 'chief'.
Here patience is a necessary requisite, and the woman of the Bush have more of it than anyone I have ever encountered. But this form of supplication, coming from Precious, halted my chewing as effectively as a slap in the face.
I sat staring at her as, once again, she poured the ink of her eyes over me.
I took a deep breath.
"Okay Precious. What in the world is going on? Come and sit here, and help me to understand."
"No Bwana. Not here."
"Precious," I reiterated, "wat the hell is going on? Please explain it to me?"
In the darkness of her eyes I detected the simmering glow of her passion.
"Bwana. I want you to wait for me at your camp area. I will be there later when I finish. Here there are too many ears."
With that she rose and disappeared through the gap in the fence.
Dumbstruck, I didn't even finish my sandwich. This behavior, this ordering of a older man to do something, coming from a woman, out here in the Bush, an order to an authority figure, was, to put it mildly, unusual.
I sat for a while, even more perplexed than before. Then I remembered I needed to send a message to Ernest Banda, the head warden, that I wouldn't be able to meet. I distracted my thoughts by sending him a WhatsApp text to this effect.
After sending the text, I set out to walk back the kilometer to my campsite, where I would wait for Precious.
From the chitenge, the path leads across a small gully towards the chalets, before edging back towards the river and on to the open fire pit. More a platform than a pit, logs of Leadwood are placed upon it to smolder. The Leadwood is a tree so hardy that it can survive in shallow poorly drained soils. Thus, with the randomness of seed dispersal, some trees species find themselves spending heir lives trapped in desiccated austerity.
The shallow layer of clay that prevents the rainwater from draining away, also prevents roots from reaching deeper to seek moisture once the surface water evaporates, which occurs quite quickly under the glare of the African sun.
I could dnot help thinking that this was a metaphore for those of my ilk.
The harsh conditions toughen and temper the timber and make the Leadwood ideal as firewood. Dense and slow burning, it smolders for hours. It smolders after the sundowner drinks and the guest dinner is served. It smolders all night, until the girls coax its glow back to life at dawn, so its flames once again welcome those who gather for coffee as they watch the sun rise to the snorts of the hippos splashing back into the river.
How shallow the clays of this continent had shown themselves to be to those of my ilk, but how those who had stayed had been toughened in the desiccation of our cultural roots, and how many times our embers had been blown on by the continents breath, like now.
What a day!
It seemed a lifetime ago that I had heard the shout of "Iwe", coming from the portly gate guard.
Now, with the sun sliding westward from its zenith high overhead, I walked past the smoldering logs. Their thin wisps of pale grey smoke twisted upwards, like my thoughts, where they slowly separated and split before scattering into the warm sky.
Instead of heading directly to my camp along the track furthest from the river, I had chosen to stroll beneath the hanging branches of the big river trees separating the open grasses of the dambo from the river. My scout training activities were ancillary to those of the Lodge, so I'd been offered this campsite, a kilometer upstream, which allowed me to keep a low profile when clients were present.
Sitting outside my tent under the shade of a big mahogany tree in a favorite canvas chair, with my legs stretched out before me, and the fingers of my hands interlaced and resting on my belly, so that my elbows spread out beyond the sagging armrests like the wings of a broody chicken, I continued to chew the cud of events.
The view from where I sat is one of my favorites. There is something about its simplicity and lack of clutter that appeals to my sense of aesthetics. It is minimally touched by the hand of man, unchanged from how it was over a hundred years ago, when, Orlando Baragwaneth paddled his dugout canoe past here on is way to "discover" the copper of Katanga to the north.
On the one side the thick arbor line defines the river's edge as it heads down towards the lodge. On the other, the copses of big trees seem to float on old abandoned ant-hills, almost as if laid out by some master gardener.
As this copse patchwork spreads back from the expanse of the grassy dambo, just as the freckles on the cheeks of a redheaded girl merge up into the fire of her hair, so too do the trees coalesce and blend into the flat bushveld which stretches as far as the eye can see, if one could get high enough above its canopy to look.
The sun's rays were slanting obliquely from the west when I noticed her figure crossing the open ground between the chitenge and the road skirting past on its way towards the Shalamakanga dambo.
As she approached I reexamined her tall figure. She had lost a sliver of the usual assertive sway which characterizes her stride. There was a hint of furtiveness in how her head scanned to the sides, or even glanced back over her shoulders.
Reaching me, she wordlessly sat on the chair I proffered.
We sat in silence, looking out at the view before I turned and asked. "So what is going on?"
She took her time before focusing her gaze on me, "It is bad muti Bwana!"
From the simple wooden chair on which she was sitting, she extended a long leg and kicked at a leaf laying on the floor.
"We have been waiting for it."
"What do you mean, waiting for it?"
"In the village Bwana, they say that there is muti put on us. So we knew it would happen."
"Ahh, Precious!" I exclaimed, "How are you sure of this?"
"Bwana! You know the ways of Africa. You, from what they say, have always lived with us Africans, and you know these matters, how they affect us."
Sittting in silence, I looked across at the strangely aloof aura of the young woman. The long single braid of her hair which had dangled down her back earlier in the day, was now looped around the crown of her head like a coiled cobra. There was no frivolousness about her demeanor. I instinctively knew that what she was telling me needed to be taken with all its implied seriousness.
"So what are they saying in the village about this muti?"
"Bwana, they say that the poachers have some powerful ngangas on their side. Ngangas who give them muti. It can even make them invisible."
A vague unease niggled at the edge of my consciousness. Witchcraft in Africa is one of the hardest obstacles to overcome.
"Bwana, this muti, they are saying it may be also able to curse the people here, and to harm them. We didn't know when it would happen, or to whom. But we were expecting it. Eddie was the unlucky chosen one."
"Yes, Precious maybe that is so, but then we can get some other muti against it."
"Bwana, I have done that. You have not known about this situation, but it has been getting worse for a few months. Even the ngangas we have here are nervous. That is because other strange ngangas, with strange messages are involved. Because of that, I didn't know what sort of special muti I needed, as we had not yet seen the effect of any of the new muti from the outside."
"So what did you get?" I asked.
As she delicately fingered the snail shells on the thin leather strand around her neck, she said," The nganga gave me these to keep away the bad ancestor spirits."
"And Bwana," she continued, "He said I should make loud noises and singing to warn them away".
I looked at her, contemplating her words for a moment. It now made sense why she had been ullulating when I arrived at the beginning of the drama, and why she screamed before chasing the old mystery man away.
"So Precious doesn't that mean everything will now be OK?"
"No Bwana, this new muti, it was brought here by a special nganga. A nganga all the way from the Mlimo. He flew here on the back of a hyena. It was one of the darkness nganga's."
My unease deepened as I digested her words.
"Mlimo?" I queried incredulously, "Are you sure it was from the Mlimo?"
"Yes Bwana, it was the same nganga who decades ago gave the muti to Mushala. I have a relative who saw that nganga flying at night."
I had heard of the fable of Mushala, and I detected a tone of reverence in the way she mentioned his name.
Again I could see the black ink in her eyes, and how the sensuous pout of her lips barely moved as she continued, "They say that it is very strong muti."
It had been decades since I had heard any reference to that strange mysterious part of the spiritual fabric of the bushland. Mlimo! Up here on the other side of the Zambezi River! It seemed impossible! Why would the ngangas of that extraordinary oracle stretch their tentacles out so far. . But it was Precious who had tendered the reference to Mlimo. There was no way that she could have made that up if there wasn't some fire smoldering at the base of her smoke.
Things were not getting any clearer.
I asked slowly, softly, almost to myself, "Why the Mlimo?"
It had been decades since I last visited the Matopos Hils, hundreds of kilometers away, far to the south, where the oracle cave of the cult is situated. The Matopos is an exquisitely beautiful, eerie area. Its hills are unique in that they are formed from a jumble of gigantic granite inselberg domes. It is a place that oozes a sense of the spiritual. A place of rocks and huge boulders stacked and piled up on top of each other, like the aftermath of some gigantic dice of destiny, rolled by the long forgotten Gods of Munhamutapa. It is the spiritual Jerusalem of Sub-Saharan Africa. A place of black eagles, and their soaring spirits.
It is where, I was told, once a decade, at midnight in the chill of a moonlit winter's night, the ghost of Cecil Rhodes rises from his grave, and links arms with that of Leander Starr Jameson. Then the shadows of the men of the Shangani patrol descend from the fresco of their tomb monument as they all greet Chief Lobengula and his Matabele warriors. They form a circle with the ethereal spirits of the even more ancient Khoisan painters of the rock religion. Then in unison they clap and shout their despair, as, like me, they mourn the Africa that once was, and the Africa they, each of them, in their disparate and futile ways, envisioned and vainly hoped for, even as it was pulled from their grasp by successive uncaring generations.
But despite the change, it is still the place of the Mlimo, the resilient vestige of that Khoisan religion, daubed thousands of years ago in stark splendor, on the remote rock canvas of the caves.
"Precious why are you telling me about this muti?" I waited for her to look up, "But, why are you also scared to tell me in front of the others?
"Bwana", her hands were folded in her lap, as she quietly spoke without raising her eyes.
"Do you know that Eddie was paying my uncle lobola?"
I have often wondered how Shakespeare derived the themes and plot lines of his creations. I have since realized that he surely was an astute observer of life. Drama was all around him. But some of the stuff, out here in the bush, its reality and jig sawed events, are no less worthy than those which once caught the bard's attention. Lobola is the still common practice of buying a wife from her father, mostly in payments of livestock.
"No, I did not know".
"Yes, Bwana. He has made almost half the payment. Another year and he wil be able to buy the last few cows to give to my uncle." Seeing the question in my raised eyebrows, she added, "He is paying my uncle because my father is dead."
"So Bwana, they will understand that I resist. Even if it is the Mlimo, even if it is not marriage that I want."
She crossed and uncrossed the long lovely length of her legs and nervously looked around.
"They will expect that. They will not be concerned. They will smile at my efforts, because they know my muti has no chance against theirs."
"But Precious, I still do not understand why you are hesitant to tell me these things, why you hide from the others."
She shrugged and shook her head, almost as if weary at having to explain the obvious.
"Bwana, did you not see that stranger? Did you not hear him tell you not to meddle?"
The gaunt features of the phantom stranger flicked back into my mind.
"Did you not recognize the crocodile. It came back to claim its sacrifice. It was disguised as that old man!"
The people here are saying that if I interfere too much, like you did, that crocodile will come back to take some other sacrifice. That is what they are scared of. They must not see me interfering more than is expected, otherwise they will force me to leave."
Precious continued, "Only you, as a muzungu, can stop this! Even the Mlimo, after a hundred years, have not yet perfected their curses on the white man."
She paused before continuing. "So you must act. That Crocodile has been moving for hours. It will be meeting with the hyena when he brings the nganga of darkness. They will be talking about you. They will be discussing what to do with you".
My unease spread into a distant dread. Dealing with poachers was one thing, they could be tracked, hunted and trapped. This I could do, that is what I was here for. I had tracked and hunted for most of my life. In Angola I had studied its most intensely exciting variation, the tracking, hunting and ambushing of the human animal, with some of the world's best practitioners. I was lucky, I had been a good student, and Moses had been an excellent teacher.
However, tracking and dealing with mystical witchcraft figures was something completely different.
"So bwana, Go! Go before it is too late". You need to get close and discover their weaknesses. You must stop them."
With that she stood.
I stared at her with perplexity as she walked away, with a rejuvenated swagger.
I was not sure why I was here!
After all, if I could glance with squinted eyes into the future, to see things in historical context, maybe I could understand why I find myself filled with a hollow feeling of helplessness as I listen to my feet crunch on the pebbly gravel of this wide shallow riverbed.
Or even better, if I could fly higher than the Crowned Eagle which I see almost daily soaring overhead, I know I would look down on this flat wide portion of the world, and even without a view of history, see myself for what I am. An African by all measures, except one, I was a pale skinned descendent of colonialists.
I am no more than a pale scab on the dark skin of Africa, a scab attempting in its diminutive and most probably futile way, to heal some of Africa's wounds. Now more than seven decades after the first cries for freedom from colonialism rang out from the Abadare Forests in Kenya, I, or my peers, can hardly still be blamed for any of the sub-continents old unhealed wounds, let alone for the new. Instead, now most are self-inflicted by the African inheritors of that native freedom.
And yet, maybe my gloom stems from those echoes of guilt, because I am still a member of the white tribe of Africa, a tribe which was so central to upsetting the ancestral way of life. It is a tribe which, today, as a powerless minority, can be so easily identified and conveniently used as the cause of many of its maladies.
Maybe, even though I bridle at the suggestion of blame, like some genesis of abuse, I sense that I am still at its root, and so need to forever give redress to the undeserving descendets of the abused.
But also, maybe it is because I know that I am probably too late to take up the scalpel and stitches to any wound. I realize that issues needing dexterity and mental skill should most effectively be handled by hands younger and steadier than my own past-prime fists.
I don't know why I am drawn to the people and places like this. Is it to escape the past and seek a new future? Or is it to escape even further back behind the past blighted with failed relationships and the obliteration of an identity. Or maybe it is an attempt to shape a future as a reflection of the past?
But the pebbles are crunching beneath my boots.
Reaching down, I pick one up and flick it into the pool spreading before me. The pebble is as round, smooth and nondescript as any of the others, except for its color. It is almost black, with its dimpled surface etched by a few hairline streaks of quartz that cut across its oblong shape like distant lightning in the night sky.
As the rings of the small splash ripple outwards I remove my boots to wade through the ankle-deep water, which, like the chain of a necklace, is still sliding slowly between the scattered pools as they dot down-stream.
I wonder where that single pebble came from, and how long it lay there amongst the bed of the other pale pebbles under the soles of my shoes.
I wonder how long it had taken for the aeon's to wear its original shape to resemble the roundness of its peers. Like culture, time could change its shape, but not its color.
But now, for the first time in its ancient existence, it had been picked up and flicked by some external destiny into a different pool, where once again it would find itself in the grind and rub of life with, and against all the others of its seeming ilk.
Then, after the soon to arrive floods of summer it would again blend with the other pebbles at the bottom of its new hollow. It would shiver and tickle as the flooding waters tug at its shape. Only the strongest of surging eddies would budge it.
If it had remained where it originally came from, maybe hundreds of kilometers away, would I have noticed it laying as a single pebble amidst other similarly black, quartz streaked peers. Probably not!
And me? After years of laying in the dry river bed of life, with all my edges knocked away, what destiny was it that had tossed me into this backwater of Africa, the latest shallow, murky pool of my existence.
Much of my genome had arrived at Table Bay from Europe 300 years ago on a Dutch East India-man, , and the rest, almost a hundred years ago, to a coffee farm, in the highlands of Kenya.
Now, like the pebble I had tossed, only my color distinguished me from the thousands that surrounded me. But that made all the difference. That color, still cursed in much of Africa, singled me out.
"Go, Go now, before it is too late!"
Her voice still echoed in my mind. In which of these pools would I find a crocodile lurking, waiting to burst out of the slime at the bottom to grab my leg, or arm, and drag all that awareness of history beneath the ripples of time. It would not care about the color of my white 'mzungu' skin.
Would the darkness of my nurture be enough to make ripples big enough to affect the surface of this wide, flat verdant pool of Eden. Or would there be a surge strong enough to budge, or bury, the pebble of my existence.
This uncertainty clouded my mood with gloom. Did I still have enough energy, like the flashes of some quartz in a rock, to light up the dimness of a fading life.
It weighed on my spirit.
Some fated destiny had picked me up and tossed me here.
Unlike Moses, I am not a believer, but sometimes I wished I had his faith. His certainty that it is all ordained and has purpose.
Life would be so much easier if I felt it had some grand plan, instead of being brought here on the back of a fucking hyena.


text:
NY is Unclear About Nuclear
The State of New York may be a microcosm of our nation's energy past and future. New York has been trying to balance nuclear power plant retirements with new gas-fired generation while also encouraging the development of renewable power assets. On Friday morning, April 30, the last functioning nuclear reactor at Indian Point was shut down. For the past 60 years, electricity from this nuclear power plant provided New York with 565 Terawatt-hours of electricity. Before the second reactor was shut down last year, Entergy, the operator of Indian Point, estimated that the output of the two reactors supplied the Lower Hudson Valley and New York City with approximately 25% of its electricity. Environmentalists and politicians alike have described Indian Point as a threat to the safety of the millions of people who live near the plant, located 35 miles north of New York City, and many cheered its removal from service.
The retirement of the last two Indian Point reactors eliminated approximately 2,000 MWs of generating capacity from grid in the last year. Over the last three years, new downstate power assets have helped to make up for some of this lost generation. Three new natural gas power plants, the Bayonne Energy Center (120 MW), CPV Valley Energy Center (678 MW) and Cricket Valley Energy Center (1,020 MW) recently started supplying electricity to areas in and around New York City. And while this is encouraging, another strong contingent wants to limit the amount of new power plants fueled by natural gas and other fossil fuels due to environmental concerns.
New York has made great strides in reducing carbon emissions through the addition of 12,739 MWs of clean energy since 1999 while cutting emissions by 52% during that same period. Despite this progress, some question if renewable electricity alone can meet the state's growing demand for electricity. Similar debates are occurring in other states across the country. At a recent press conference, Richard Dewey, the CEO of the New York Independent System Operator (NYISO), said that while wholesale electricity prices and carbon emissions are both down, he believes new technologies will be necessary to meet the state's long-term sustainability and reliability goals. New transmission lines to bring solar and wind energy in the northwest parts of the state to its population centers downstate will help, but that alone will not be enough to solve the state's power needs.
Models suggest that the combination of wind, batteries, and solar will be sufficient to meet the state's renewable targets by 2030 but the longer-term goals will require new technologies. Dewey said, "When we start looking at what 2040 looks like, you look at the performance of ... existing assets and the storage capabilities of existing battery technologies, and all our models suggest there are just enough days when the wind doesn't blow and the sun is shielded, and not enough battery storage to fill those gaps." Dewey went on to say that the NYISO is looking to the development of green hydrogen, carbon capture and sequestration, and new nuclear technologies to meet the state's future energy needs.
Given the recent closure of Indian Point, it is ironic to consider that advanced nuclear reactors may have a place in New York's energy future. And while it is unlikely that any new nuclear-generating stations of size will be built in this country, there are several initiatives underway for the development of small modular reactors. One company, NuScale, has entered into an agreement to build 12 small reactors for 46 utilities in the western US. The need to reduce carbon emissions has led many policymakers and environmentalists alike to believe that nuclear energy must be a part of the solution to curb the earth's rising temperature. While the doors may have closed at Indian Point, a larger portal may open where advanced reactor technologies have a place along with wind, solar, batteries, and green hydrogen in fighting climate change.
Topics: Markets NYISO Sustainability Renewables Resiliency
Written by 5
Founded in 2011, 5 comprises a team of energy innovators, commodity traders, analysts, engineers, and former energy supplier executives. Together, they serve a broad array of private and public sector clients throughout the United States and Mexico, providing strategic advice on energy-related matters including procurement, demand-side management, rate optimization, regulatory intervention, benchmarking, bill auditing, RFP management, sustainability planning services, renewable power, and distributed generation. With an eye on growth, 5 has initiated a number of strategic partnerships and acquisitions, including the 2019 acquisition of Luthin Associates. 5 has been named to the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing companies in the U.S. for five consecutive years. The firm has also received numerous accolades and national awards for its corporate culture, leadership and innovation, including 5 consecutive years as a top 10 Best Company to Work for in Texas according to Texas Monthly Magazine.
Controlled Expansion Versus Explosive Growth
Delayed Auction, Worth the Wait


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> going. I think what you are thinking about would be right up my alley.
> would think that maybe that could be used for all images of Rockbox.
> like to build? What do you think?
have set up systems other than the centrally-hosted ones.
In reply to: Scott Berry: "Re: building accessible vmware images to work with Rockbox."
Next in thread: Daniel Dalton: "Re: building accessible vmware images to work with Rockbox."
Reply: Daniel Dalton: "Re: building accessible vmware images to work with Rockbox."


text:
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Adam's Calendar is controversially suggested to be the oldest man-made structure in the world
By GAGmen
August 19, 2020 | 09:50am
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Adam's Calendar is controversially suggested to be the oldest man-made structure in the world. Sometimes referred to as "African Stonehenge", it predates both Stonehenge and the Great Pyramid of Giza by tens of thousands of years. Located in Mpumalanga, South Africa it is a standing stone circle about 30 meters in diameter and has been …
Adam's Calendar is controversially suggested to be the oldest man-made structure in the world. Sometimes referred to as "African Stonehenge", it predates both Stonehenge and the Great Pyramid of Giza by tens of thousands of years. Located in Mpumalanga, South Africa it is a standing stone circle about 30 meters in diameter and has been estimated by some accounts to be more than 75,000 years old. Various astronomical alignments have been identified at the site and it is possibly the only example of a completely functional, mostly intact megalithic stone calendar in the world.
Adam's calendar is location in Mpumalanga, a picturesque region in South Africa ( Wikimedia Commons )
Scattered throughout the mountains of South Africa are thousands of stone circle ruins. The first estimates of the number of these ruins was made in 1891 by English explorer Theodore Bent. He estimated there were about 4,000 in this area of the world. By 1974 the estimate had risen to 20,000. Today, researcher and authority on the subject, Michael Tellinger, has estimated the number of ancient stone ruins to be 100,000 or possibly much higher. Some of these "stone circles" have no doors or entrances while most are connected by an expansive network of channels that are often misinterpreted as "roads" by some historians. This connected grid of circular ruins are immersed in a seemingly never-ending expanse of ancient agricultural terraces surrounding the structures. Adam's Calendar is considered to be the most famous among these ruins.
Screenshot from Google Earth showing just a tiny area in South Africa, which is rich with ancient earthworks and stone structures ( Google Earth )
Known by African elders, as the "The Birthplace of The Sun" or "Inzalo y'Langa", the site was first brought to public attention in 2003 by South African pilot Johan Heine. He had been flying over the mountains of Mpumalanga, South Africa for over 20 years and took an interest in the thousands of strange circular stone objects scattered throughout the region and began photographing them. In consulting experts on their origins, he was informed that they were the remains of "cattle kraal" (livestock enclosure) left behind by the Bantu people when they migrated from the north around the 14th century. Today this theory seems far from definitive as the structures are unlike any other Bantu cattle-kraal designs, which are usually made of thorny shrubs, with a single entrance/exit for the cattle. There are also several thousand of them spread over tens of thousands of miles.
Bantu cattle kraal ( Image source )
An air crash involving one of his crew brought Johan to discover the mysterious monolithic circle by accident. On route to find one of his pilots who crashed his plane on the edge of the cliff, Johan noticed an arrangement of large stones sticking out of the ground next to the crash site. While rescuing the injured pilot down the side of the cliff, Johan walked over to the monoliths and realized they were aligned to the cardinal points – north, south, east and west – as well as the equinoxes and solstices. There were at least 3 monoliths aligned towards the sunrise, but on the west side of the aligned monoliths there was a strange hole in the ground. After weeks and months of measuring and making observations, Johan suspected it was a stone calendar.
The site is aptly named Adam's Calendar because the stones are placed to track the movement of the sun, which casts shadows on the rock. It still works perfectly as a calendar today by following the shadow of the setting sun, which is cast by the taller central monolith onto the flat stone beside it. This remarkable calendar was originally a large circular stone structure resembling Stonehenge and in the center of the 'circle' are two upright stones which are said to have been carved. Its original shape is still clearly visible from satellite images. The stones are all dolomite, weighing up to 5 tons each, and are said to have been transported from a distant site. It should be noted that the area surrounding Adam's Calendar is extremely rich in gold. Several mining shafts have been reported in the area with one of the richest working mines in the world today being the Sheba Gold Mine, located in Mpumalanga. Not only did the rich gold reefs attract attention in the 1880's, but the early evidence of historic civilizations mining for minerals were described in writings by the early Europeans.
Rodney Hale's plan of Adam's Calendar with alignments as they were in 11500 BC ( andrewcollins.com)
The first calculations of the age of the calendar were made based on the rise of Orion, a constellation known for its three bright stars forming the "belt" of the mythical hunter. The Earth wobbles on its axis, so the stars and constellations change their angle of presentation in the night sky on a cyclical basis. This rotation, called the precession completes a cycle about every 26,000 years. By determining when the three stars of Orion's belt were positioned flat (horizontal) against the horizon, it is possible to estimate the time when the three stones in the calendar were in alignment with these stars. According to Tellinger, a calculation done by astronomer Bill Hollenbach based on the rise of Orion suggested an age of the site of at least 75,000 years. A further calculation done in June 2009, suggested an age of at least 160,000 years, based on the rise of Orion 'flat on the horizon' but also on the 'erosion of dolerite stones' found at the site. Some pieces of the marker stones had been broken off and sat on the ground, exposed to natural erosion. When the pieces were put back together about 3 cm of stone had already been worn away. These calculation helped assess the age of the site by calculating the erosion rate of the dolerite.
Michael Tellinger testing the sound acoustics of the site ( andrewcollins.com)
The latest and most interesting discovery of the stone circles and Adam's Calendar is the sound frequencies of the rock formations from the earth below them. With modern technology, Tellinger and scientists have been able to detect and measure sound frequencies with acoustic properties made from the earth inside the circles which conduct electricity. These sound frequencies of the earth under the stones are shaped as flowers of sacred geometry as they surface to the ground.
There is still much about Adam's calendar that is yet to be understood, including who built them, what their civilization was like, and how they constructed it with such precise measurements. Perhaps in time, more research will piece together this prehistoric mystery.
Top image: Adam's calendar, Mpumalanga, South Africa ( getaway.co.za)
Filed under Adam's Calendar , African Stonehenge , history , oldest man-made structure , Science
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text:
Novel hereditary forms of pheochromocytomas and paragangliomas
Patricia L M Dahia
Pheochromocytomas and paragangliomas are catecholamine-secreting tumors of neural crest origin that arise from the adrenal medulla or extra-adrenal sympathetic paraganglia, respectively. Over the last decade, the extensive genetic heterogeneity of these tumors came to light with the identifica- tion of multiple susceptibility genes. These mutations account for at least one-third of pheochromo- cytomas and paragangliomas, the highest inheritable proportion of any known human tumor. This chapter will present an overview of genetic and molecular features of the most recently identified hereditary forms of pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma: those caused by mutations in five genes of the succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) complex, the transmembrane-encoding gene TMEM127 and the MYC-binding partner, MAX. Initial genotype-phenotype correlations, as well as emerging functional data, have aligned the new mutants either with defects in hypoxic-angiogenic signaling (SDH-related) or kinase receptor/mTOR pathways (TMEM127 and MAX). These findings, in combina- tion with those of the more well-established syndromes, have been relevant for guiding clinical follow-up. The progress of recent years in understanding the pathogenesis of pheochromocytomas and paragangliomas is expected to continue to improve patient screening and to become, in the long term, the catalyst for development of new therapeutic options for surgically untreatable tumors.
Endocrine Tumor Syndromes and Their Genetics
S. Karger AG
https://doi.org/10.1159/000345671
Dive into the research topics of 'Novel hereditary forms of pheochromocytomas and paragangliomas'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.
Paraganglioma Medicine and Dentistry 100%
Neoplasm Medicine and Dentistry 80%
Pheochromocytoma Medicine and Dentistry 80%
Gene Medicine and Dentistry 60%
Succinate Dehydrogenase Medicine and Dentistry 40%
Mutation Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology 40%
Catecholamine Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology 40%
Dahia, P. L. M. (2013). Novel hereditary forms of pheochromocytomas and paragangliomas. In Endocrine Tumor Syndromes and Their Genetics (Vol. 41, pp. 79-91). S. Karger AG. https://doi.org/10.1159/000345671
Novel hereditary forms of pheochromocytomas and paragangliomas. / Dahia, Patricia L M.
Endocrine Tumor Syndromes and Their Genetics. Vol. 41 S. Karger AG, 2013. p. 79-91.
Dahia, PLM 2013, Novel hereditary forms of pheochromocytomas and paragangliomas. in Endocrine Tumor Syndromes and Their Genetics. vol. 41, S. Karger AG, pp. 79-91. https://doi.org/10.1159/000345671
Dahia PLM. Novel hereditary forms of pheochromocytomas and paragangliomas. In Endocrine Tumor Syndromes and Their Genetics. Vol. 41. S. Karger AG. 2013. p. 79-91 doi: 10.1159/000345671
Dahia, Patricia L M. / Novel hereditary forms of pheochromocytomas and paragangliomas. Endocrine Tumor Syndromes and Their Genetics. Vol. 41 S. Karger AG, 2013. pp. 79-91
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title = "Novel hereditary forms of pheochromocytomas and paragangliomas",
abstract = "Pheochromocytomas and paragangliomas are catecholamine-secreting tumors of neural crest origin that arise from the adrenal medulla or extra-adrenal sympathetic paraganglia, respectively. Over the last decade, the extensive genetic heterogeneity of these tumors came to light with the identifica- tion of multiple susceptibility genes. These mutations account for at least one-third of pheochromo- cytomas and paragangliomas, the highest inheritable proportion of any known human tumor. This chapter will present an overview of genetic and molecular features of the most recently identified hereditary forms of pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma: those caused by mutations in five genes of the succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) complex, the transmembrane-encoding gene TMEM127 and the MYC-binding partner, MAX. Initial genotype-phenotype correlations, as well as emerging functional data, have aligned the new mutants either with defects in hypoxic-angiogenic signaling (SDH-related) or kinase receptor/mTOR pathways (TMEM127 and MAX). These findings, in combina- tion with those of the more well-established syndromes, have been relevant for guiding clinical follow-up. The progress of recent years in understanding the pathogenesis of pheochromocytomas and paragangliomas is expected to continue to improve patient screening and to become, in the long term, the catalyst for development of new therapeutic options for surgically untreatable tumors.",
author = "Dahia, {Patricia L M}",
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AB - Pheochromocytomas and paragangliomas are catecholamine-secreting tumors of neural crest origin that arise from the adrenal medulla or extra-adrenal sympathetic paraganglia, respectively. Over the last decade, the extensive genetic heterogeneity of these tumors came to light with the identifica- tion of multiple susceptibility genes. These mutations account for at least one-third of pheochromo- cytomas and paragangliomas, the highest inheritable proportion of any known human tumor. This chapter will present an overview of genetic and molecular features of the most recently identified hereditary forms of pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma: those caused by mutations in five genes of the succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) complex, the transmembrane-encoding gene TMEM127 and the MYC-binding partner, MAX. Initial genotype-phenotype correlations, as well as emerging functional data, have aligned the new mutants either with defects in hypoxic-angiogenic signaling (SDH-related) or kinase receptor/mTOR pathways (TMEM127 and MAX). These findings, in combina- tion with those of the more well-established syndromes, have been relevant for guiding clinical follow-up. The progress of recent years in understanding the pathogenesis of pheochromocytomas and paragangliomas is expected to continue to improve patient screening and to become, in the long term, the catalyst for development of new therapeutic options for surgically untreatable tumors.
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DO - 10.1159/000345671
BT - Endocrine Tumor Syndromes and Their Genetics
PB - S. Karger AG


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text:
Direct Speech
Internet broadcasting
Actual for communities
Cooperation of territorial communities
Association of communities
Strategic and investment development
How to submit a request for information
Form for Information Request
Information about reimbursement for copying or printing documents
For managers of communal enterprises, institutions, institutions
Contests, grants
DYTIATKO International Children's Media Festival
The interesting Kharkiv Region
Symbolics
The Emblem of Kharkiv Region
The Flag of Kharkiv Region
The Anthem of Kharkiv Region
94 countries have already announced participation in DYTIATKO International Children's Media Festival this year
&nbspHits: 1658
The preparation to XII DYTIATKO International Children's Media Festival founded by Kharkiv Regional Council is going on under the conditions of quarantine. The organization committee accepts applications for participation in 25 nominations and special nominations of the festival - personal, group, thematic ones – with the deadline no later than May 31, 2020.
At the present moment 743 competitive projects have been submitted by 683 participants from 94 countries. Iran, India, the USA, France, Ukraine take the lead.
Sergii Chernov, President of the Media Festival, Chairman of Kharkiv Regional Council, noted that "back in the day this festival was founded with the purpose to fight against negative side of things dominated in the national television and filmland. Over these twelve years the situation with activity of children's studios in Ukraine has brought a vast improvement. Quite a number of new available online formats have appeared recently, more quality children's content is being created."
Sergii Chernov, a founder of the Festival, stated that DYTIATKO is not standing still as well.
"This year few new nominations have been introduced: "The Best Series for Children" and "Best Social Advertisement by a Children's Studio". We have a positive feedback related to this initiative and the projects are being submitted. We expect the same activity from young bloggers, we first introduced to them the contest of video bloggers "DYTIATKO.Like". Besides, there is an extra opportunity – a new All-Ukrainian Children's Contest of Graphic Design "DYTIATKO.Art".
We appreciate and take delight in participation of authors from other countries. But especially we cheer for our national video makers and our Ukrainian and Slobozhansky media area. So, we invite all tele-, radio-, online studios to join the festival family DYTIATKO and submit the projects.
DYTIATKO Intentional Children's Media Festival was founded in 2009 by Kharkiv Regional Council. The festival is non-commercial, the participation in it is free. The festival is held among children's creative television, animation and radio studios, groups, teams and individual authors, as well as television companies and associations, producer centers making programs and films for children.
DYTIATKO has partnership relations with children's film festival all over the world and international organizations; it is supported by the Council of Europe and is a member of CIFEJ and ECFA.
DYTIATKO Festival will take place on September 2-5, 2020.
The applications and projects for participation can be submitted till May 31, 2020 by filling in the online-form.
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Kharkiv Regional Council
Phone: +3 8057 700-40-57, Fax: +3 8057 700-53-35
Sumska Street, 64, Kharkiv, Ukraine, 61002
2006-2020 © Kharkiv Regional Council. All content is available according to license Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license


text:
Common Sense Conservative
Meet Fred Upton
Fred Upton is known as a sincere, hardworking leader who listens to all perspectives, supports our Midwestern values, and achieves results for Southwest Michigan. Fred's focus remains on passing important legislation to encourage job creation, protect taxpayers, help our community and enhance the quality of life for everyone in Southwest Michigan and throughout our country.
Fred knows how to get things done in Washington and back home in Southwest Michigan.
Prior to his election to Congress, Fred worked for President Ronald Reagan in the Office of Management and Budget. While at OMB, Fred developed a keen understanding of fiscal issues and the critical importance of cutting deficit spending and reducing the debt to protect the nation's fiscal integrity. Fred is fighting hard to put our nation's fiscal house back in order through spending cuts and reforms like the Balanced Budget Amendment and the line-item veto.
The Dowagiac Daily News calls Fred a "breath of fresh air in polarized Washington" who "keeps company at the highest levels of the federal government, but he never forgets where he comes from." Fred's hometown paper, The Herald Palladium, calls Fred an "engaged, positive representative" who has "effectively pulled the levers of government that have allowed key infrastructure projects to move forward." Additionally, in 2016, independent outlet Newsmax named Fred one of the "Top 25 Hardest Working Members of Congress".
In 2010, Fred was selected by his colleagues to serve as Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which has jurisdiction over issues relating to energy, the environment, healthcare, telecommunications, commerce, manufacturing, trade, and oversight and investigations. He currently serves as Chairman of the Subcommittee on Energy. As Chairman, Fred was widely respected for his bipartisan track record of successful initiatives. During his tenure, he ushered more than 200 pieces of legislation into law.
These commonsense bills focus on our shared priorities: encouraging economic growth, protecting American families and local initiatives, strengthening Medicare now and for the future, combating drug abuse, banning pollutants that harm our Great Lakes, strengthening pipeline safety laws, updating our out-of-date chemical safety laws, reforming our broken mental health system, and creating good paying jobs for folks right here in Southwest Michigan.
Fred is also the leading driver of the bipartisan 21st Century Cures Initiative which will speed up the development and approval of life-savings drugs and devices - helping patients and families in need across the country. 21st Century Cures also supports local jobs by modernizing regulations to enable medical manufacturing to thrive in Southwest Michigan. Thanks to Fred's leadership, 21st Century Cures was advanced in the House of Representatives and U.S. Senate by overwhelming, bipartisan votes and was signed into law at the end of 2016.
Fred is a graduate of the University of Michigan, and remains a Wolverines and Cubs fan. He and his wife Amey of 30 years are the proud parents of two children.
Join Fred
Paid for by Upton for All of Us
402 State St, St. Joseph, MI 49085, United States
By providing your phone number, you are consenting to receive calls and texts, including autodialed and automated calls and texts, to that number from Upton For All Of Us.


Hi, the Coles here. You are a short form away from helping us bring help and hope to isolated people in need in Papua New Guinea - thank you! Your Direct Debit set up will be carried out on a secure connection.


How should we deliver our sessions?
People are more likely to stay involved if they feel welcomed and believe that it's worthwhile coming along.
People are more likely to stay involved if they feel welcomed and believe that it's worthwhile coming along. They are more likely to come back if they have fun and feel that the session is manageable. The type of activity, its difficulty and intensity all have a part to play in how much people enjoy it and develop a sense of belonging. They must be given careful consideration. The people you involve in the delivery of your activities will also have a significant impact, particularly for people who have been inactive and may lack confidence.
The University of Strathclyde's report tells us that projects which adopt a person-centred approach tend to have a greater impact on levels of inactivity than those which simply consider the usual barriers and motivations faced by different types of people.
The evidence suggests that 'small steps' approaches (ie setting a series of achievable goals) can be effective in nudging people towards more activity, but only if each step is followed by another step.
getting a sense of what the next stage might be in order to maintain or increase that person's levels of physical activity.
Work with people at an activity level that suits them individually, responding to what they say about the activities that interest and motivate them.
Tailor one-to-one sessions to their unique situation and capabilities. Be ready to adapt as necessary.
Make sure those involved in delivery are good at relating to other people.
Consider non-traditional approaches to delivery and, if you can, involve the wider community.
Stay positive at all times, even if someone's resolve has slipped or they've missed some sessions.
Don't expect too much at once or set goals which are too ambitious. Using the 'small steps' approach allows lots of smaller successes which helps people stay motivated.
Support people on a journey through which they become incrementally more active, step-by-step, while acquiring new skills and confidence.
People who haven't been active for many years may come along expecting to fail. They may need lots of encouragement to stretch themselves and go beyond what they think they can achieve.
In group activities be aware that there may be a wide range of levels of fitness. However, people may be unwilling to be moved on to a more advanced group if their main motivation is social or if they have formed a strong bond with the activity leader. Assess each individual's ability and make it easy for them to participate at their own level.
Flexibility to allow clients to rejoin when their mental health permits.
"It makes me get up in the morning because I know I have to be somewhere – otherwise I would just stay in bed all day".
Who else can help? How can we stay responsive to people's needs?


text:
BBLOG
BBG Media Highlights – March 4, 2014 – Voice of America Ukrainian Service lacks resources to update Twitter and Facebook
BBG Watch Commentary – "BBG Media Highlights" are distributed by the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) – a U.S. federal agency.
We re-post "BBG Media Highlights" without any guarantees of their completeness.
Please check our website for any additional reporting on U.S. international media outreach.
Not found in "BBG Media Highlights" but worth reading:
As Russian occupation of Ukraine expands — Voice of America Ukrainian Service lacks resources to update Twitter and Facebook, BBG Watch
Daily Beast and FT expose 'Putin's Crimea Propaganda Machine', World Media Watch
No Voice of America correspondent with Kerry in Ukraine – no live online coverage of his just ended news conference in Kyiv, BBG Watch
BBG Media Highlights – March 4, 2014
About Our Networks
— techPresident lists Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Voice of America as sources for breaking news, live blogs and analysis out of Ukraine.
— VOA's Steve Herman finalist for the Shorty Award for social media's best journalist.
— AP and Mashable note RFE/RL involvement in Yanukovych document project.
— Time for diplomacy. MSNBC interview with Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy, Rick Stengel.
— Internet, television or radio? EurasiaNet publishes a piece on the BBG's media research data on Russia.
— To broadcast to Africa, you need to do it in the language of your target audience. VOA does.
— All Access Music Group and Radio World on the management changes at RFE/RL.
— All Access Music Group on Karen Kornbluh nomination to the BBG.
— "The station also includes news reports from all over the globe and many different perspectives, from Voice of America to Vatican Radio to news from the Communist Party of China."
— Clinton documents released include some on RFE/RL.
— Radio World on Relay, a new liveblogging tool developed by the BBG.
— What's next for shortwave? Radio World and Southgate Amateur Radio News note that the BBG is seeking comments.
Citations of BBG Networks
— New York Times cites RFE/RL's Tom Balmforth, uses RFE/RL photos in Ukraine reporting.
— Deadly stabbing attack in China. WLRN and the Telegraph cite Radio Free Asia reporting on Uyghurs in China
— Bloomberg Businessweek cites VOA report on China's position on Ukraine.
— Quartz notes that reading RFE/RL history of Crimea can make you smarter.
— Mother Jones cites RFA reporting on problematic smog in China.
— How Iranian media are reporting on Ukraine. Iranian cites Radio Farda report.
— Yonhap cites VOA report that North Korea has imported $63 million and exported $11 million in defense equipment.
— Foreign Affairs cites RFE/RL reporting on constitutional protocol not being followed in Ukraine.
— CNBC puts VOA story on bitcoins in its Friday roundup.
— What you can learn about the Ukraine crisis from RT coverage.
— WaPo opens tech outpost in NYC.
— What has "gone wrong" with democracy?
— David Satter on Ukraine.
— The linguistics behind internet memes.
The Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) is the independent federal agency that oversees all government-supported U.S. civilian international media. The mission of the BBG is to inform, engage and connect people around the world in support of freedom and democracy. Networks within the BBG include the Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, the Middle East Broadcasting Networks (Alhurra TV and Radio Sawa), Radio Free Asia, and the Office of Cuba Broadcasting (Radio and TV Marti). BBG programming reaches an audience of 206 million in more than 100 countries and in 61 languages.
BBG Media Highlights
VOA Ukrainian
No Voice of America correspondent with Kerry in Ukraine - no live online coverage of his just ended news conference in Kyiv
BBG FY2015 Budget Request - IBB bureaucracy gets 34% of $721 million - programmers will absorb most of $12 million cut


One Wee Bird: Half Rec Quilt - Not A Glamorous Name!
I know I promised my final finish last week but I think a week of blogging almost wrecked me as much as the points on this baby!!
This is NOTHING to do with the pattern by Nicole from Snips Snippets which was in one of the Love Patchwork & Quilting Mags.....but Half Rectangle Triangles and I are not friends!!
Only and I mean only from now on, unless they are foundation pieced I will not sew a freestyle HRT ever again!!
Oh my Lordy Lordy and a few other choice non child friendly words do you think I could get my blocks to match the measurements from the pattern??!!
I even made a template up out of plastic and everything for trimming.... but those little bastards were always a little off....even with a scanty scant 1/4" seam!
Luckily my longarmer extraordinaire saved this wee baby with her wonderful custom quilting, which I hope you can appreciate despite the gloomy day these pics were taken.
Isn't this lovely and it always amazes me how a simple quilt can be transformed into something completely eye catching just by the choice of quilting....sigh...wishing I was better at it!
And when I've finished my Bee commitments I'm hoping to have this one below finished to show you...I've been spending every spare minute on it....lots of piecing but such a fun project!!
Oh, I love the quilt at the bottom! Those HSTs look fine to me, and it's a very pretty quilt!
It was worth the angst - such a pretty quilt! Great work!
Domestic Bliss! I made my first quilt tutorial using that line LOL! You should try my Shards pattern for easy HRTs :) But yours looks amazing anyway!
I have never tried half rectangles. I am not sure I want to now! Did you have to square (rectangle) them up after sewing? That is the only way I can make HSTs work - make them a whisker bigger and trim.


It was then we realized that she's been watching infomercials like they're favorite soap operas.
I figure there's nothing terribly wrong about it. It's not as if she has access to any cash (thank God!). And, maybe after seeing a zillion of them over a period of a couple of years, she'll realize they all kind of come around again – they're all either trying to help you chop tomatoes faster, clean your house faster, or lose 30 pounds in a miraculous amount of time.
And the ones that make it to the "As Seen On TV" section of the convenience stores? Well, I guess she can save her allowance for those ones.
How about you? Are you always stunned at the amazing power of infomercials? What are your favorites?
This entry was posted in Reviews, Teens, Your Thoughts? by Lauren Christopher. Bookmark the permalink.
Well, at least we know where we can find the perfect gifts for her!!!!
Maybe she'll want that super easy car washer????
Anyway, thanks for the fun comment.
You know who else liked infomercials? Her Nana Connie. Like grandmother, like granddaughter.
Well, its just not for kids! A number of years ago my husband and I went to a home and garden show where they have lots of 'infomercial-like' presentations but they are LIVE and IN PERSON. But wait, there's more! You can take home this wonderful pressure-fryer for only one low payment of $$$$$ and start your way to delicious, healthy meals for your whole family faster than you can say 'what on earth are we going to do with this thing'!!! I wandered away from Tom for a peek at the decorating vendors in the next row and by the time I got back to him we were the proud owner of a pressure-fryer that I think we used for one month. It now has a special place in the very back of our cabinet.
So its not just kids!
Aunt Helene — Oh, gosh, so Uncle Tom likes those, too, huh? Yeah, those "live" ones are even more tempting! I know I've stood for a very, very long time watching the Ginsu knives demonstration at the Orange County fair. I think the same guy is there every year. I never succombed at the fair, but I know Chris has gone and purchased those knives here and there ever since — he was sold the very first time we saw it!
Infomercials really make me think about advertising a lot. Because as much as we make fun of the "wait! there's more!" concept, we all really buy that stuff! They're doing something very, very right.


Classic Solid Dog Harness Made For Last - Dark Orchid Size: Chest Girth 20"-26"
Classic Solid Dog Harness Made For Last - Dark Orchid Size: Chest Girth 26"-39"
Inspired by the warm weather, Blueberry Pet's new classic collection is perfect for everyday wear. Elegant and simple, this Medium Turquoise harness is made to show off your dog's unique style all year long. With the heavy duty buckles and D-ring, this durable dog harness is made to last long.
Classy style in a handpicked trendy Dark Orchid color.
Nylon fabric with high density webbing to add durability.
The nickel coded D-ring for long last.
Those buckles are made from recycled plastic bottles for an eco-friendly purpose.


When publishers, with heavy heart, stamp "literary fiction" on books nowadays, they generally mean to brand them as serious in intent, not hitching a lift on genre or journalistic trends. The Lay of the Land is literary in that it is an entirely linguistic edifice. What happens? Frank's consciousness happens. Unlike his short stories, which found "success" only when sold to Hollywood back in the 1960s, it is practically screenproof.
From James Campbell's TLS review of Richard Ford's The Lay of the Land.


ATLANTA — Another rapper finds himself in trouble in metro Atlanta, this time for a fight at a hotel.
Police say rapper NBA YoungBoy, whose real name is Kentrell Gaulden, was arrested for his role in a scuffle Monday afternoon.
Atlanta Police responded to a fight call at the Hyatt House hotel off Marietta Street in Downtown Atlanta. According to police, housekeeping employees entered a room that was supposed to be empty, but were confronted by Gaulden and another female occupant.
Police say Gaulden told the woman, later identified as Starr Thigpen, to get the staff out of the room. That's when police say Thigpen hit one of the employees in the face, starting a fight that spilled into the hallway until another employee could run to get help.
When police arrived, Gaulden and Thigpen were still in the hallway outside of their room. Gaulden was charged with Disorderly Conduct-Use of fight words and possession of marijuana-less than an oz. Thigpen was charged with Disorderly Conduct-Act of violence toward another, and possession of marijuana-less than an oz.
Both were taken to the Atlanta City Jail.
This marks the fifth arrest of a high-profile rapper in Atlanta in the past few weeks. Bow Wow, Lil Baby, 21 Savage and Young Nudy all made headlines for various, unrelated incidents.


I know. I've been slacking on the Family Focus Friday posts. Life has been so busy lately with Spring Break and work and "mommying" that I've been almost dreading writing on a Friday. But it's so important to make sure that every week I slow down from the posts that I sometimes HAVE to write and focus on what really matters. Like My Wildflower.
Thursday. Oh Thursday, how it always comes down to this. This Thursday, we were feeling extra pressure. Playing catch up from our cruise, stressful jobs and looming holiday on the horizon…you can imagine the scene. Feeling pretty deflated from our busy week, my husband and I made a decision. We were eating out. Not too out of the ordinary, we try to eat out as a family every month if we can. However, this dinner had a surprise attached. I had no idea that our dinner would have ended up like this. Dinner Surprises is the topic of my Family Focus Friday, and certainly worth writing about less than 24 hours after the occurrence. So what happened, you ask?
One of my favorite things to do these days is take picture of my kids. Being themselves. And lately, this little camera ham has been LOVING the spotlight, even asking to "picture me." Seriously, can she be any more a blogger mom's daughter? But on this occasion of a "picture me" session, something was…off. Something is missing here.
There are days when I adore my phone. Then there are days when I HATE my phone. Insert one of "those" days. Soooo….as a blogger, I have this horrible habit of taking lots and lots and LOTS of photos on my phone. I email them to family. I share on social media. I use them in my posts. And for the few special pictures, I leave them on my phone for printing at a later date.
Turn the clock forward about 2 years. An overwhelmingly full phone of photos was slowing down my daily routine. And this momma hadn't backed up her photos as diligently as she could. (Don't even get me started with iCloud!) So in a "good mom" mode one day I went to hook up my phone to the computer to download the pictures off my phone for printing. I was pumped to get this task finally checked off my list. Then the unthinkable. Instead of downloading, my computer decides to ERASE all 2000+ photos from my phone. O. M. Goodness. What do you do when your phone photos are erased?