text:
A random assortment of thoughts and stories, including reviews of the things that really matter: comics, movies and music.
Comics Lust Table of Contents
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Comics Lust 11/25/2017
Welcome back, Donist World Denizens! For those of you new to our site, I'm Donist, and I am joined by Donist World CFO the Reverse Obie* (my friends' Boston terrier whose fur recently swapped colors) and by our marketing director/administrative assistant/party planner/turkey-taster Tulip (my dog, Reverse Obie's sister). Well, Denizens, the Donist World corporate office (Mom's basement) was closed for Thanksgiving and Friday as an active recovery day from the bounty of turkey, bourbon-barrel-aged beer, and pumpkin pie we merrily consumed. To be honest, we're still a bit sluggish today, but we're powering ahead to bring you the next installment of "Comics Lust" for your reading pleasure as you try your dagburned best to avoid yet another awkward conversation with Uncle Seth and Aunt Edna. (Don't worry, they should hopefully be leaving by late afternoon today…please let them leave today.) Anyhow, good luck dodging those relatives who seek to make your life miserable, drink some water (hydrating is good), go for a nice walk, and round out the afternoon reading some great comics. Thank you for reading!
*Obie, through his dabbling in arcane magiks mixed with ancient corrupt business practices, has had not just the colors of his fur switched, but a complete overhaul of his work ethic as well…I think I'm kinda okay with the mishap.
Not sure what "Comics Lust" is about? Take a look at the Introduction to "Comics Lust" post or take a look at the static "Comics Lust Table of Contents" page to jump to a topic.
Comics Lust
The Gift of Giving (Part 2)
Big 2 Superhero Comics for Those Who Like the Movies
Comic books are in our blood. We read tons of 'em, we love 'em, they are our obsession. So, it makes sense that we want to share our love of the medium with anyone we can: significant others, siblings, friends, co-workers, and possibly even our parents. One thing I've noticed over the past ten years is an increase in the number of people who are thrilled by the Marvel and DC movies yet they have never cracked open a comic book to experience that which made the movie possible. The stalwart champions of comics that usually come to our minds when we want to bring someone into our world usually goes straight to Batman: The Dark Knight Returns (Everythinged by Frank Miller, inked by Klaus Janson, colored by Lynn Varley, published by DC Comics, 1986), or more likely, Watchmen (Written by Alan Moore, illustrated by Dave Gibbons, published by DC Comics, 1986), but as monumental as these works are they might be considered "next level" comic books for those who've only visited the cinema or streamed at home; don't worry, though, your recipient should be ready for those by the second or third round of gifting. When someone raves about Thor: Ragnarok or Wonder Woman, you gotta be ready to drop some Thor or Wonder Woman truth on them while the spark is fresh.
Speaking of the Thor: Ragnarok movie, The Mighty Thor by Walter Simonson Volume 1 (Everythinged by Walt Simonson, published by Marvel Comics, 1983) is a great way to ride the lightning of the God of Thunder's popularity that will return them to the idea of Ragnarok, bring back the villain Malekith from Thor: The Dark World, and give them some alien action with the awesome Beta Ray Bill. Simonson's entire run is a blast showcasing his gorgeous art and an exhilarating story with massive stakes that make the book difficult to put down. Your friend will probably have some questions but that's when you jump in to save the day and get some conversations started. If you REALLY want to style-out your friend, you can literally go big with the recently released The Mighty Thor by Walter Simonson Omnibus (or get it for me; that thing's lovely) or point them in the direction of the second volume releasing in January to keep the love going. Come to think of it, you could also start them out on Thor: God of Thunder Vol. 1 - The God Butcher (Written by Jason Aaron, illustrated by Esad Ribic, published by Marvel Comics, 2012) for a story that also has huge stakes, glorious art, and that will carry them into the Lady Thor issues, all of which are a fantastic jumping off point for Thor's further adventures.
Since I also mentioned the fantastic Wonder Woman movie, fans of the film can easily slide into Wonder Woman by George Perez Vol. 1 (Written by Len Wein, Greg Potter, and George Perez; illustrated by George Perez, published by DC Comics, 1987) which not only retells the origins of Diana, but also Paradise Island, Steve Trevor, Ares, and so much more. The story is great on its own and more than stands up to the test of time—I just read this volume a few months ago—but I have to be honest that Perez's masterful art is the main draw for this series. You can't help but feel Wonder Woman's joy upon seeing the outside world for the first time, her smile stretched across her face in wonder at something new. You also never doubt that she can hold her own in a fight as she battles her way across cityscapes, the bluest skies, and backdrops of wondrous myth. There are two volumes currently available unless you're feeling really generous and kick down the Wonder Woman by George Perez Omnibus Vol. 1. If you want to delve even deeper into the Princess of Power, this time with the writer taking the lead on the series, then Wonder Woman by Greg Rucka is also a very safe bet as Rucka perfectly inserts Diana into the modern world as a diplomat from Themyscira. Princess Diana is a symbol of hope and strength not just for girls, but for everyone, and the runs by these two creators more than deliver that hope through great art and story.
If we're going to talk superheroes, then it'd be positively criminal not to bring up The Batman. Now, there are plenty of great Batman stories out there, but if I was going to introduce someone to the comics of the Dark Knight after they had watched Batman Begins an/or The Dark Knight, I would have to go with The New 52's Batman (written by Scott Snyder, illustrated by Greg Capullo, published by DC Comics, 2011). We don't have The Joker (yet), or The Riddler (yet), or any of Batman's extensive villainous nemeses, but rather the new and unnerving Court of Owls. Fans of the films will be right at home with Snyder's writing as it slowly and steadily ratchets up the tension while dancing along the edge of horror. Capullo's expert storytelling, character design and acting, and detailed backgrounds capture one's attention and refuse to allow you to look away. (Man, I really need to reread this phenomenal 12-issue storyline.) After that taster, I would definitely follow up with Batman: The Black Mirror (Written by Scott Snyder, illustrated by Jock and Francesco Francavilla, published by DC Comics, 2011). Originally published in Detective Comics #871–881, you will probably have to attach a note saying that this Batman is not Bruce Wayne, but rather Dick Grayson (aka…Robin/Nightwing), and that Dick is standing in for Bruce for reasons I don't remember and that don't really matter to the story. Again, this is an expertly told and freakin' stressful as all heck tale that is both scary and unnerving. Jock and Francavilla alternate on art depending on which character we are following, and both artists deliver some of the most stunning and memorable work on a Bat-title I have ever seen. I know plenty of Batman fans will take umbrage with what I'm about to say, but Batman: The Dark Mirror just might be my favorite Batman tale of all time.
The Avengers movie…yeah, I never thought I would see the day. I mean, I've been flipping through the comics since before I could read, but as a kid, I never thought there would be a movie, or that it would be so gosh-darn good. But recommending or gifting a comic to someone who has only seen the movie? Wow. Yeah. Not an easy thing to do given just how much continuity there is out there. I would, however, feel good about starting someone out with The Ultimates (Written by Mark Millar, illustrated by Bryan Hitch, published by Marvel Comics, 2002). Back when I was buying this in issues, it was utter torture to wait for new issues of this series I so completely loved. Millar's dialogue is sharp, humorous, at times badass, and when mixed with Hitch's "widescreen," thrilling splash pages and art the scope of the story is too large to describe. Readers will quickly identify most of the characters with their movie counterparts as well as see some parallels between the stories. Dang, this is a fun series. But then comes your friend's dreaded question: Who's this Thanos guy? Okay…well, they're just gonna have to go with the flow here when you hand them the worthy-of-worship The Avengers Versus Thanos (Mostly written by Jim Starlin, mostly illustrated by Jim Starlin, published by Marvel Comics, ) trade. This collection holds most of my top-five-favorite-comics material concerning Thanos and Adam Warlock as well as stories about Captain Marvel (the original one) and a whole host of other characters not (yet) found in the movies, but it will definitely give them a sense of who Thanos is and why he is very bad news for The Avengers. You will probably have to do some handholding on this one as your friend works through the comic, but that just means they're interested.
There are just too many great kick-off points for the ol' movie to comics transition, and I'll cover some more in another chapter down the road.
This Week's Reading List
Weirdworld: Warriors of the Shadow Realm TPB (Written by Doug Moench; illustrated by Mike Ploog, Pat Broderick, and John Buscema, select stories painted by Peter Ledger, published by Marvel Comics) This week there were no books in my pull. I know, I know, there is one particular massive event that I did not pick up, but I'm going to wait to get that one in trades at some point down the road. I did receive a Kickstarter series that I am thrilled to finally be able to read, and there is a certain massive tome that I am steadily making my way through, but I won't be talking about either of those until I have finished reading them. One rather substantial collection that I just finished and have been wanting to read since I first saw the ad back in the '70s was Weirdworld. Originally appearing as a short, black and white story in the magazine Marvel Super Action #1, the ad I saw was actually for Marvel Premiere #38, which was a colored expansion of the black and white tale. Elves, swords, scantily-clad women, and a hideous sea serpent as illustrated by the great Mike Ploog called to me, but, alas, finding that comic just wasn't in the cards for this here Donist. It's probably for the best, though, as attempting to gather the various stories of this magical world would have driven me mad. Also included in this collection are the following: Marvel Fanfare #24–26 (1986), Marvel Super Special #11–13 (1979), and Epic Illustrated #9, 11–13 (1981). I don't understand the order in which the material is presented in this trade, but each of the chapters is standalone and do not need to be read in the order of their release. The first story predates the animated The Lord of the Rings and Wizards films as a source of fantasy adventure and each tale of lost homes, evil wizards, monsters, and quests is just as thrilling today as they were back then. Ploog's art kicks off the story and believe me when I say it is gorgeous, and so is Broderick's, but it's when we get to Buscema's lovely line work and freakin' Ledger's fully and painstakingly painted pages from the Marvel Super Special issues where I became even more spellbound than I initially was. Moench has written many comics throughout the years that I wholeheartedly love, and Weirdworld is right up there with the rest. If you're in the mood for some swords and sorcery action, then you need to get this collection as soon as you can! VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
Posted by Don McMillan at 9:05 PM
Labels: Comics Lust, The Gift of Giving
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Don McMillan
My name is Don McMillan, but you can call me Donist for short. I am the author of the all-ages novel KIBBLES 'N' BOTS (available for the Kindle and via Kindle apps), and I live in Santa Barbara, California with my wife, Amy, and our Boston terrier, Tulip. I write prose and comics, I'm a graphic designer, and I letter comic books. Welcome!
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Comics Lust 11/4/2017
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text:
unless defined?(Motion::Project::Config)
  raise "ProMotion-XLForm must be required within a RubyMotion project."
end
require 'motion-cocoapods'

Motion::Project::App.setup do |app|
  lib_dir_path = File.dirname(File.expand_path(__FILE__))
  app.files << File.join(lib_dir_path, "ProMotion/XLForm/cells/xl_form_image_selector_cell.rb")
  app.files << File.join(lib_dir_path, "ProMotion/XLForm/cells/xl_form_color_selector_cell.rb")
  app.files << File.join(lib_dir_path, "ProMotion/XLForm/xl_form_class_methods.rb")
  app.files << File.join(lib_dir_path, "ProMotion/XLForm/xl_form_module.rb")
  app.files << File.join(lib_dir_path, "ProMotion/XLForm/xl_form_view_controller.rb")
  app.files << File.join(lib_dir_path, "ProMotion/XLForm/xl_form.rb")
  app.files << File.join(lib_dir_path, "ProMotion/XLForm/xl_form_screen.rb")
  app.files << File.join(lib_dir_path, "ProMotion/XLForm/xl_sub_form_screen.rb")
  app.files << File.join(lib_dir_path, "ProMotion/XLForm/xl_form_patch.rb")
  app.files << File.join(lib_dir_path, "ProMotion/XLForm/value_transformer.rb")
  app.files << File.join(lib_dir_path, "ProMotion/XLForm/validators/validator.rb")
  app.files << File.join(lib_dir_path, "ProMotion/XLForm/validators/url_validator.rb")
  app.files << File.join(lib_dir_path, "ProMotion/XLForm/validators/regex_validator.rb")

  app.pods do
    pod 'XLForm', '~> 3.0.0'
    pod 'RSColorPicker'
  end
end

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Q: How to get a C# string type from an int8 pointer using DllImport I would like to use a DLL function that was written in C but I don't know how to write the DllImport function to retrieve a string in C#.  The C function signature looks like this:
void ni845xStatusToString (int32 StatusCode, uInt32 MaxSize, int8 * pStatusString);

I would like to get the string that pStatusString is pointing to.  My C# code looks like this:
[DllImport("Ni845x.dll")]
public static extern void ni845xStatusToString(int StatusCode, int MaxSizeOfStatusStr, ref IntPtr StatusStrPtr);

Then inside my function I use it like this:
IntPtr statusStrPtr = IntPtr.Zero; // = new StringBuilder(1048);
ni845xStatusToString(error, 1048, ref statusStrPtr);

string statusStr = Marshal.PtrToStringAnsi(statusStrPtr);   // <-- HERE returns empty string and statusStrPtr is not zero.

MessageBox.Show("Error description: " + statusStr);

I don't get any errors using this approach but statusStr is always empty.
Thank you.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


globallistic: Portable Player Market a Losing Proposition?
The intense portable mp3 space is creating some horrific earnings results, with iRiver parent ReignCom Ltd. the latest to show a big downturn. The Korean portable mp3 manufacturer revealed a quarterly operating profit loss of 82.8 percent, with total earnings hitting 2.92 billion won ($2.91 million) on revenue volume of 122.6 billion won (US$122.2 million). But overall sales jumped 46 percent, with heavy turnover powered by some deep price discounts. Those low prices, coupled with heavy marketing costs, helped to create the earnings drop.
The ReignCom showing mirrors a result from Singaporean manufacturer Creative, which recently revealed a 72% first quarter earnings downturn. In that situation, the cocktail of super low prices and high marketing costs were also to blame, with Creative playing a dangerous strategy of catch-up. While that approach could eventually payoff, the market was recently surprised by a low-budget entry from SanDisk, with the flash memory chip manufacturer successfully entering the portable mp3 space will little marketing expenditures. Surprisingly, the company recently ranked second behind iPod in the US according to NPD Group, with SanDisk leveraging key distribution arrangements with big retailers like Best Buy."
Where is innovation? Everyone is so busy trying to build iPod clones that they all end up hawking commodity product that can only compete on price. I don't remember what marketing guru said it, but to paraphrase... "charge a premium and then justify the price". Why can't anyone learn that from Apple? iPod is dominating the market while it is the MOST expensive device in it's class. In my opinion, the main reason that no one can loosen Apple's stranglehold on the portable player market is... Accessories (or lack thereof). Maybe I'm biased because I used to work in the electronic accessory business, but people have proven (for decades) that they like to accessorize, and "personalize", their electronics (Blueberry iMac anyone?). It's time for Creative to go knock on Belkin's, Bose's and Monster Cable's door and offer up some dollars (either hard cash or marketing money) to get them on board with lines of compatible goodies.
I have a creative mp3 player zen related site. Please take a look and feel free to post a link to your blog on the links page.


Throughout the autumn, churches across the country will be having Harvest Festival services. These often involve bringing food donations and sometimes toiletries to give to food banks or homeless charities. Often there'll be hymns and songs that say 'thank you' to God for all that he provides, every day. Why not find out whether your local church has a Harvest Festival? Visit www.achurchnearyou.com to find your local church.
A line in the Lord's Prayer asks God to 'Give us this day our daily bread'. When we say that line, we're asking God to provide the basic things in life that keep us healthy and happy. It can start with the food we need to eat each day, but for lots of different reasons, not everyone has enough.
So saying thank you for our food is important – we might thank the person who cooked it, and we might go back further and think of the people in the shops where we bought the ingredients, and even trace it right back to the farmers who grew the crops in the first place.
For children who are old enough, trying talking about this together one meal time, taking each item on the plate and thinking about where it came from and all the people and work that has gone into bringing it to your table.
Saying grace before a meal is a way of saying thank you to God for making the earth and everything in it – all good things come from God, and it's up to us to use them in the very best and most generous way.
One, two, three, four, five, thank you God that I'm alive.
Six, seven, eight, nine, ten, thank you God for food. Amen!
"Thank you God for food, and family, and friends. Amen.
As you have blessed us, help us be a blessing for others. Amen.
Take a piece of A4 paper, and in the middle draw round a medium sized plate to make a circle, then in that circle draw round a smaller plate. You should have something that looks a little bit like a plate. Then draw a fork outline on the left, and a knife outline on the right, and a spoon above – don't worry about the quality of the artwork!
Now, have some fun decorating your plate with pictures of their favourite food – you can draw pictures yourself, or cut them out of magazines, or use pictures from food packets – and you can even label them if your child is old enough to start learning to read.
Somewhere on your paper, perhaps at the top or in a corner, write 'Thank you God' in big letters and colour it in – this is your thank-you place mat, a reminder of all the good things that God gives us.
Once you've finished decorating, you can either laminate your artwork, or slip it into one of those plastic folders and seal up the end with sticky tape.
Use your place mat at family meal times as a reminder of your thankfulness for all God's blessings, and particularly for food.
This is such a fun activity, that you can create a new one every so often, with updated favourite foods, and perhaps even write a little 'grace' prayer of your own to go on it? Or simply include one of the prayers on this page.
If your child is a bit of a fussy eater, you could try making their food more fun. Maybe arrange the veggies in the shape of a smiley face?


The 7th evros gaida seminar has reached its end.
Many young kids participated in order to get acqainted to the beauty of the evros gaida.
The highlight of the 5 day seminar was without any doubt the musical visit to the ninty year old gaida player Pehlivanis Giannis at the village of Lagos one day before the end of the seminar.


The Disney World resort, adjacent to Disney's Boardwalk, offers many amenities and great dining spots.
With school starting soon and our summer days fading, my family and I ventured to Orlando for one final fling before we resume our busy schedules.
I was impressed with our room at the Swan Resort. It featured a huge window on one side, with a balcony on another (which we discovered was an ideal place to watch fireworks at night). The kid-friendly resort features several activities onsite, including beach volleyball, miniature golf, numerous swimming pools, hammocks, tennis courts, and our favorite, an area to roast marshmallows and make S'mores.
There was so much to do onsite that we did not visit any parks, however, a benefit of staying there includes complimentary transportation to all Walt Disney World theme parks and attractions; FastPass+ service, which allows guests to reserve up to three select theme park experiences up to 60 days in advance of their visit, and the extended park hours benefit.
If you are planning a trip to the resort, I suggest a visit to the swimming grotto pool and borrowing a volleyball from the staff (for free) to play with in the water. Peppy music is played poolside, and there is ample seating in the sun and shade. We also saw several families renting the swan paddle boats, playing in the arcade room and making sand castles on the beach area.
We did our best to exercise by renting a family-style bike at the boardwalk and swimming laps in the pool to justify all our meals at the resort's restaurants.
Breakfast at Fresh Mediterranean Market was delicious, and the brunch at Garden Grove not only featured a full buffet, but was a great way to meet Disney characters. For lunch we ate at Picabu, which is cafeteria style and allowed us to get exactly what we each wanted.
My favorite meals of the trip were the dinners at Kiomos — try the spicy rainbow roll — and Todd English's bluezoo, a AAA Four-Diamond restaurant, featuring coastal cuisine by this internationally acclaimed chef. Our daughter's favorite nightly treats were the ice cream sundaes at Fountain, which were delicious.
One highlight of our trip was watching La Nouba by Cirque du Soleil at Disney Springs. My husband and I had seen the show years ago, but we wanted our little girl to experience it before it ends in December. During its lifespan, the show will have been performed nearly 9,000 times, which is more than any Broadway show in history, with the exception of "Phantom of the Opera." Watching our daughter's eyes staring at the amazing athletes trampoline across the stage and the acrobats balance high in the air on tiny props was incredible.
My favorite elements of the show were the bike riding duo which performs daring stunts on stage and in the audience, and the aerial ballet which is performed in silks. My husband and daughter were amazed at the tenacious diabolo maestros who continued to outdo each other with precise movements.
I hope you enjoy a fun getaway to enjoy quality time with your family before school starts.


text:
package org.apache.hc.client5.http.impl.cache.ehcache;

import org.apache.hc.client5.http.cache.HttpCacheStorage;
import org.apache.hc.client5.http.classic.ExecChain;
import org.apache.hc.client5.http.impl.cache.CacheConfig;
import org.apache.hc.client5.http.impl.cache.CachingExec;
import org.apache.hc.client5.http.impl.cache.HeapResourceFactory;
import org.apache.hc.client5.http.impl.cache.TestProtocolRequirements;
import org.easymock.EasyMock;
import org.junit.After;
import org.junit.AfterClass;
import org.junit.Before;
import org.junit.BeforeClass;

import net.sf.ehcache.CacheManager;
import net.sf.ehcache.config.CacheConfiguration;
import net.sf.ehcache.config.Configuration;
import net.sf.ehcache.store.MemoryStoreEvictionPolicy;

public class TestEhcacheProtocolRequirements extends TestProtocolRequirements{

    protected final String TEST_EHCACHE_NAME = "TestEhcacheProtocolRequirements-cache";

    protected static CacheManager CACHE_MANAGER;

    @BeforeClass
    public static void setUpGlobal() {
        final Configuration config = new Configuration();
        config.addDefaultCache(
                new CacheConfiguration("default", Integer.MAX_VALUE)
                    .memoryStoreEvictionPolicy(MemoryStoreEvictionPolicy.LFU)
                    .overflowToDisk(false));
        CACHE_MANAGER = CacheManager.create(config);
    }

    @Override
    @Before
    public void setUp() {
        super.setUp();
        config = CacheConfig.custom().setMaxObjectSize(MAX_BYTES).build();

        if (CACHE_MANAGER.cacheExists(TEST_EHCACHE_NAME)){
            CACHE_MANAGER.removeCache(TEST_EHCACHE_NAME);
        }
        CACHE_MANAGER.addCache(TEST_EHCACHE_NAME);
        final HttpCacheStorage storage = new EhcacheHttpCacheStorage(CACHE_MANAGER.getCache(TEST_EHCACHE_NAME));
        mockExecChain = EasyMock.createNiceMock(ExecChain.class);

        impl = new CachingExec(new HeapResourceFactory(), storage, config);
    }

    @After
    public void tearDown(){
        CACHE_MANAGER.removeCache(TEST_EHCACHE_NAME);
    }

    @AfterClass
    public static void tearDownGlobal(){
        CACHE_MANAGER.shutdown();
    }

}


text:
Spotify Business Model Spells Challenges for IPO and M&A
The online music leader has been posting impressive growth ahead of its IPO. But both investors and potential suitors are unlikely to ignore the challenges posed by its business model and stiff competition.
Eric Jhonsa
Jan 5, 2018 10:11 AM EST
In some ways, music streaming giant Spotify is similar to video streaming giant Netflix Inc. (NFLX) - Get Report , but in some other important ways, it's not.
Assuming Spotify goes public at a valuation close to the $19 billion it has reportedly seen in private trades, the company will be valued at less than $300 per paid subscriber. That's well below Netflix's valuation of roughly $800 per paid sub, even though Spotify has been growing even faster than Reed Hastings' firm.
The valuation difference has a lot to do with differences in the companies' business models. It also likely has something to do with how Spotify arguably faces greater competitive threats -- particularly from tech giants looking to bundle their music services with other content -- and the fact that the company's substantial losses have (in spite of its leading position in a "hot" market) kept a lid on M&A speculation.
According to several media reports, Spotify has confidentially filed for a U.S. IPO that's expected to happen in the first half of 2018. The IPO will avoid the traditional banker-led route in favor a direct listing: No new shares will be sold and there will be no IPO roadshow. Instead, Spotify's existing, privately-owned shares will become tradeable on public markets.
As Bloomberg's Matt Levine notes, this approach could yield a fair amount of early volatility. So could the fact that Spotify -- much like Snap (SNAP) - Get Report prior to its early-2017 IPO -- has many of the hallmarks of a battleground tech stock.
On one hand, the company remains the undisputed leader in a fast-growing online music market, and continues to post impressive growth. Spotify paid subscriber base doubled from 30 million to 60 million between March 2016 and July 2017, and the company just announced in a tweet on Thursday that it had hit 70 million. Revenue rose 52% in 2016 to $3.5 billion, and -- following a report stating first-half revenue totaled $2.2 billion -- is believed to have approached $5 billion in 2017.
And though tastes vary from one online music fan to another, Spotify's paid services are still seen by many as the gold standard in areas such as ease-of-use, playlist quality and content recommendations, and at least on par with rivals in fields such as music selection and audio quality. And as with Netflix and Roku (ROKU) - Get Report , the fact that Spotify's management (unlike those of the tech giants it's squaring off against) is solely focused on a streaming business/platform has contributed to very solid execution.
The power of inertia also can't be overlooked. Spotify subscribers who have spent many hours creating custom playlists, and who have seen Spotify's algorithms get very good at recommending songs and artists to them thanks to all of the listening data they've shared, will often need a lot of convincing to jump ship and subscribe to a rival service.
However, all that growth, and all those loyal subscribers, doesn't mean that Spotify has cracked the code for long-term profitability. In spite of 52% revenue growth, operating loss rose 48% in 2016 to $422 million, and was reportedly somewhere between 100 million and 200 million euros in the first half of 2017.
Those 2016 losses have much to do with the fact that Spotify's gross margin -- what's left of revenue after backing out the cost of delivering its services - was only around 15%. For Spotify's Premium (subscription) services, gross margins were around 18%. Those margins, in turn, have a lot to do with the heavy content costs incurred on account of Spotify's licensing deals with top music labels, which result in labels and artists being paid based on how often their tracks are streamed.
This cost structure, which admittedly may have improved a bit last year thanks to new licensing deals that feature restrictions on Spotify's ad-supported service, is of course very different from what Netflix has in place. Whether the company has 10 million subs or (as it does today) 110 million, the costs Netflix incurs to license popular content or finance an original show mostly remain the same. This yields operating leverage that Spotify lacks.
Throw in Spotify's heavy spending in other areas -- sales/marketing, R&D and G&A spend respectively totaled 417.9 million, 206.9 million and 175.2 million euros in 2017, with each rising substantially from 2015 -- and you have a recipe for giant losses that aren't evaporating as revenue grows. While greater spending discipline in areas such as marketing and G&A would help its bottom line, it isn't clear that Spotify has a path to large and sustainable long-term profits that doesn't feature price hikes.
And in spite of Spotify's popularity, getting away with such price hikes won't be easy. Unlike Netflix, which hiked prices in many big markets two months ago, nearly all of Spotify's content is available on rival services from the likes of Apple (AAPL) - Get Report , Amazon.com (AMZN) - Get Report , Alphabet's (GOOGL) - Get Report YouTube, Tidal and Pandora (P) . And in the cases of Apple, YouTube and Amazon, the companies seem willing to accept low margins for their streaming services in the name of pursuing strategic goals, can keep their marketing costs down by cross-selling music services to their giant user bases and are keen on bundling music and video services.
Whereas most online music services (Spotify's included) cost $10 per month for individual plans, Amazon charges Prime members only $79 per year ($6.58 per month) for its Amazon Unlimited music service. And Prime, as we know, also comes with the popular Prime Video service, among many other things.
Meanwhile, the $10-per-month YouTube Red service pairs ad-free YouTube with the Google Play Music service (it could soon be replaced by a music service better integrated with YouTube) and original video content. And Apple, which now has over 30 million Apple Music subs, has reportedly set a $1 billion budget for original video in 2018.
In addition to spelling tougher competition for Spotify and increasing the pressure for the company to invest in growing its limited video library -- it reportedly overhauled its video strategy in October -- such moves by rivals make any Spotify price hike a very risky proposition. And the presence of such deep-pocketed competitors limits Spotify's negotiating leverage with music labels. Indeed, in spite of the company's low margins, many in the music industry continue to push for higher payouts.
These challenges probably aren't lost on tech and media firms evaluating Spotify's merits as an acquisition target. And they probably won't be overlooked by public investors after Spotify goes through with its unconventional IPO.
Editor's note: This article was originally published by The Deal, a sister publication of TheStreet that offers sophisticated insight and analysis on all types of deals, from inception to integration. Click here for a free trial.
Apple and Alphabet are holdings in Jim Cramer'sAction Alerts PLUS Charitable Trust Portfolio. Want to be alerted before Cramer buys or sells AAPLor GOOGL? Learn more now.
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Craig Grady reports: Half term was coming up, we were looking for something to amuse the kids and so we decided to visit Balamory. For those who have no idea Balamory is a kids' TV programme based in a fictional town on a Scottish island. It is actually set in Tobermory on the Isle of Mull. It would have been called Tobermory but for the Womble of the same name; they thought it might confuse the older watchers of children's television.
We left East Yorks on Bank Holiday Monday afternoon and drove up to stay with a friend just outside Carlisle. We thought this would be a good breaking point for an 8hr journey with two small children. (We spotted a campsite at Tebay services beside the M6, for people wishing an overnight stop on route). The Tuesday morning we set off for Scotland, the weather in Carlisle was superb and less than 30 mins later we crossed the border into Scotland, the land of four seasons in a day. The torrential rain at the border was short lived and followed by murky grey skies until we passed Glasgow. We stopped for a coffee and a stretch at Luss just off the A82 on the banks of Loch Lomond. This is a lovely spot with plenty of picnic seating, toilets, burger bar and shop selling superb Scotch pies. After this we had to press on for Oban and our Ferry. We left Carlisle at 8:30 and arrived at Oban at 1:30 with an hours break at Luss. If you are considering going to Mull, then I would advise you to check/fill up with fuel in Oban.
We travelled down the east side of the island along single track windy roads with extreme slopes and stunning views, the Bongo handled these superbly, although I felt the need to select low gear and hold to get up the very steep half mile climb out of Tobermory. About 5 miles west of Salen on the B8073 we found a small camping area at the side of the estuary, it had no facilities although toilets were available as was water at a local saw mill 200yds away. It was however incredibly tranquil and beautiful and remarkably cheap at £5 per night and you could have a campfire, this added to the sea breeze should help keep the midges at bay. We actually stopped at the big site at Craignure on the last night, the facilities are superb but I felt it was very expensive at over £20 per night. The sea breeze helped with the midges here although as soon as it calmed they were back. There are two other campsite that I was made aware one was at Fishnish and was a nice looking site with good facilities. The other, which was a verbal recommendation was at Fionnphort in the far south of the Island and was on the waters edge with tremendous views although no electric hook ups. The family who recommended this were from Hampshire and had loved this site.
On the way back we had a couple of nights at the Keilder forest campsite, which was located and equipped wonderfully and had lots to do all around it although the midges were still a bit of a nuisance.
The bongo covered over a thousand miles in a week and as is usual performed faultlessly and returned over 30mpg. If anyone was considering going to Mull, I would give the following recommendations.
2) Allow plenty of time for journeys on Mull, as all the roads except about 17 miles are single track with passing places.
3) If possible book one night at a time so you are free to explore the island.
4) Visit Aros park just outside Tobermory as it is a fantastic place to spend a day.(some campers appeared to be camping here but I don't know if gates or toilets are locked.
5) Pre book ferry crossings as some are always full and while your tickets is valid for any ferry you will only be put on after those who have reserved a space. There is no charge for reserving a space.
Overall it was a great Bongo trip and I will visit again (probably at Easter) and will allow more time so I can spend some time in Oban as it looks really nice as well. I was also pleasantly surprised to see a blue Bongo heading towards Mull as I headed home (looks aghast).


text:
Sailing Program
Learn to Sail
Junior Sailing
Jr. Sailing Summer Camp
Sailing Charters
Our Instructors/Captains
Paddling Program
Instructors/Captains
KEITH DAHLIN
A UCSC graduate in Marine Biology, Keith holds a 100 ton USCG Capt. License and is both an ASA certified sailing instructor and a US Sailing Certified Instructor.
Keith taught sailing for 25 years through Pacific Yachting and Sailing in Santa Cruz, CA and was instrumental in the creation of the O'Neill Sea Odyssey Program which provides a hands-on educational experience to encourage the protection and preservation of our living sea and communities. With the move of his family to Port Angeles he has brought his deep experience to the area and teaches adult sailing as well as coaches the Junior Sailing Program.
He shares his passion for our ocean ecology and sailing with his three sons by cruising as a family whenever possible and looks forward to exploring the Puget Sound further on the families Sweden 41.
STEVE SPEIDEL
Steve has experienced the joys of sailing from the early age of 10 on Gravelly Lake in Tacoma, WA. By High School he was building a Sunfish in shop class. After serving a four-year tour in the US Navy, he worked as crew delivering sailboats on the West Coast and through the Caribbean Sea to Mexico. After gaining a degree in Environmental Design, Steve moved back to Seattle and immediately purchased an 18 foot daysailer. He and his wife Terri later settled on a Catalina 22 pop-top, (which they still have today).
After retiring from his "day job", Steve has rescued several sailboats from neglect and made them available to non-profit organizations. His current passion is cruising on an Ericson 36 RH with his grandsons and passing the pleasures of sailing on to the next generation. Steve sits on the Ship Committee for Port Angeles Sea Scout Ship 1212 and holds a Merchant Marine US Coast Guard license for operating 50 and 100 ton vessels with a Sailing Endorsement.
ERIC LESCH
Eric holds a bachelors degree in Biology and holds a US Coast Guard Six Pack License. Working as a Fisheries Observer, Eric spent two full years of his life at sea, including five winters in the Bering Sea. His time as an Observer allowed him to experience the power and beauty of the ocean at its wildest. Eric always had a passion for sailing, and in 2010, he bought his own boat, a Tartan 30. He regularly sailed the windy Columbia River, first near Portland and later out of Astoria where he had access to the Pacific through the Columbia River Bar. Eric moved to the Peninsula from Astoria in 2018, sailing his Tartan 30 up the coast to take advantage of the amazing cruising on the Salish Sea. His favorite cruising destinations include Port Townsend, Victoria, and Matia Island.
Eric became involved with the Community Boating Program in 2020 and coaches the Port Angeles High School Sailing Team. He also organizes regular sailboat races for the Port Angeles sailing community. Eric finds purpose in empowering others to experience the joys of sailing and to explore the ocean around them.


text:
Artina McCain
Described as a pianist with "power and finesse" (Dallas Arts Society), "beautiful and fiery" (KMFA Austin) and having a "sense of color, balance and texture" (Austin Chamber Music Center) Artina McCain, has a built a three-fold career as a performer, educator, and speaker. Recent performance highlights include guest appearances with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Oregon East Symphony, and the Memphis Symphony Orchestra. As a recitalist, her credits include performances at the Mahidol University in Bangkok, Hatch Recital Hall in Rochester, Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens in Jacksonville, FL and the Desoto Arts Commission in Desoto, TX. In 2022 she will make her debut at Wigmore Hall in a concert of works by African composers.
McCain's performances have been heard on radio CKWR Toronto, KMFA Classical Austin, and Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK). Television appearances include features on CSPAN for the MLK 50 Commemoration. McCain is a three-time Global Music Awards winner for the album "I, Too" (Naxos), a collaboration with soprano Icy Monroe, focused on African American Spirituals and Art Songs.
Dedicated to promoting the works of Black and other underrepresented composers, McCain curates Black Composers Concerts for multiple arts organizations and is an American Prize winner for her solo piano recordings of these works. She has toured the works of Black Female Composers with award-winning artists Gwendolyn Alfred, soprano and James Rodriguez, baritone. She has also won performance awards for curating the Austin Chamber Music Centers' Black Composers Concert from the Austin Critics Table. In 2021, Hal Leonard will publish her transcriptions of African American Folk Songs.
McCain was a featured inspirational leader in the award-winning PBS documentary series Roadtrip Nation: Degree of Impact in an episode exploring the real-world impact of professionals with doctoral degrees in and outside of academia.
After years of battling a performance injury and now enjoying 10 years of full recovery, McCain is an advocate for musicians' wellness. Her article on performance injury and Muscle Activation Techniques was published in Clavier Companion and she is a regular contributor for the Piano Magazine. To help other musicians, she hosts an annual Musicians Wellness Forum in Austin, TX which explores the benefits and options for alternative care. McCain has presented on these topics and others at the Music Teachers National Association Conference and the National Conference of Keyboard Pedagogy.
McCain has performed and served on the faculty of numerous summer festivals including the Austin Chamber Music Festival, the Illinois Summer Youth Music, the Gateways Music Festival in Rochester, NY, and the Walled City Music International Piano Festival and Competition in Ireland. McCain graduated cum laude from Southern Methodist University. She received her Master of Music from Cleveland Institute of Music and holds a doctoral degree from the University of Texas at Austin.
Currently, she is Assistant Professor of Piano and Coordinator of Keyboard Studies at the Rudi E. Scheidt School of Music at the University of Memphis and Co-Founder/Director of the Memphis International Piano Festival and Competition. Artina McCain is a Yamaha Artist.
Watch Artina's recent ACMC performance of Undine Smith Moore's Afro-American Suite, now available on our YouTube channel!


text:
Q: Publish Page along with content I have created a PageLayout associated a content type with codebehind which has a button.When button is clicked it checks in and publishes the page.The functionality works but the problem the content is not getting saved on the page.
But when I click the check in button (out of the Box) on top of the page it saves the content.
Here is the code:
SPList pagesList = SPContext.Current.Web.Lists["Pages"];
SPFolder folder = pagesList.ParentWeb.GetFolder(SPContext.Current.Web.Url + "/" + pagesList + "/" + "PhlyEventsPages");
SPListItemCollection itemCol = pagesList.Items;
foreach (SPListItem item in itemCol)
{
    if (item["FileLeafRef"].ToString()==getCurrentUrl())
    {
        if (item.File.CheckOutStatus == SPFile.SPCheckOutStatus.LongTerm)
        {
            item.File.Update();
            pagesList.Update();
            item.File.CheckIn("Page Created");
            item.File.Publish("Published");
            break;
        }
}

A: Well, your code grabs the OLD copy of the item. You need to call Update() on the SPContext.Current.ListItem, that's where the POST data gets put.


text:
Air Force Weather Satellite Space Debris Hazard a Concern
By Craig Covault, on March 9th, 2015
DMSP Air Force weather satellite is depicted in polar orbit near Alaska. Photo Credit: Lockheed Martin
The U.S. Strategic Command's Joint Space Operations Center (JSpOC) at Vandenberg AFB, Calif., is monitoring a cloud of new space debris in polar orbit to notify operational satellite controllers about potential collision hazards for critical military and civilian spacecraft and the manned International Space Station (ISS) which could cross paths with the new debris.
The potentially dangerous debris was caused by the the Feb. 3 explosion of the 19-year-old, $500 million USAF Defense Meteorological Satellite Program DMSP-13 weather satellite, built by General Electric's Astro Space Div. and later acquired by Lockheed Martin.
"JSpOC personnel will continue to assess this event to learn more about what happened and what it will mean for users within this orbit," said USAF Col. John Giles, JSpOC Director.
The satellite was orbiting near Antarctica when a joint team of ground controllers with the Air Force and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Suitland, Md., noted a sudden temperature spike in the satellite's electrical subsystem, followed by an unrecoverable loss of attitude control.
DMSP Defense Meteorological Satellite undergoes inspection prior to launch. Photo Credit: Lockheed Martin
The JSpOC at Vandenberg then quickly identified a debris field near the satellite, indicating that it had broken into at least 46 pieces. The Center continues to track the debris and will provide conjunction warnings if required, the Air Force said.
Six DMSPs remain operational. The satellites are used to cue imaging reconnaissance spacecraft operators to cloud-free areas and to provide units like SEAL teams with critical weather information, even for small landing zones.
Along with NOAA polar orbiters, the DMSPs also provide extremely detailed data on hurricane intensity and ground tracks. The 12-foot-long (3.7-m) spacecraft weighs 1,832 lb. (831 kg).
The Air Force declined to reveal the breakup until amateur trackers discovered the debris cloud. Russell Eberst in Scotland, one of the most experienced trackers, discovered the failure Feb. 9. Eberst is affiliated with the SeeSat-L tracking group. The observation of 46 pieces of debris through March 8 indicates the explosion was small, imparting only 0.1 meter per sec. velocity to the parts, said Canadian Ted Molczan who coordinates SeeSat-L data.
According to the Air Force, DMSP 13 was the oldest continuously operational satellite in the 52-year history of the weather constellation.
In 2014, the vehicle eclipsed 100,000 orbits while it provided continuous optical and infrared weather imagery to globally distributed users. Launched in March 1995, DMSP Flight 13 reached nearly 20 years of operational service.
"Due to an earlier loss of recording capability mission data and the launch of more modern DMSP satellites, Flight 13 transitioned from a primary mission satellite to a residual satellite in 2006," said the Air Force.
The Air Force said that "DMSP Flight 13 provided critical atmospheric data for flight operations in OPERATION ALLIED FORCE, OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM and OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM. During its lifetime, DMSP Flight 13 also provided thousands of hours of weather imagery to the Air Force Weather Agency and the U.S. Navy's Fleet Numerical Meteorology and Oceanography Center."
This is the second aging DMSP to explode in orbit. In April 2004 the 13-year-old fully retired DMSP-11 broke into 56 pieces of debris. Investigators believe that breakup was caused by a battery explosion, also a potential factor in the DMSP-13 incident. Both satellites had far exceeded their four-year design lives.
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March 9th, 2015 | Tags: Air Force, Craig Covault, Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP), DMSP, DMSP 13, Joint Space Operations Center, JSpOC, Satellite Breakup, U.S. Strategic Command, USAF, Vandenberg Air Force Base | Category: Air Force, Craig Covault, Department of Defense, low earth orbit, Military Space, News, NOAA, satellite, Space, Technology, United States Air Force, USA, Vandenberg AFB
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2 comments to Air Force Weather Satellite Space Debris Hazard a Concern
Excellent article, Craig. One wonders about other aging satellites that may pose a threat to ISS and future manned missions beyond Earth orbit.
Gary Church
Human crewed Von Braun wheels in GEO and shielded with water acquired from lunar ice deposits are the solution to the present decaying satellite junkyard. The SLS modified with wet workshops and carrying semi-expendable robot landers to ferry up lunar water derived from ice deposits is the key.


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When is Easter in 2023? When are the Easter bank holidays? Why does the date change every year?
Ukraine conflict: Kyiv attacked by kamikaze drones say officials
Kyiv has been hit by at least four explosions - with a presidential adviser blaming "kamikaze drones" sent by Russia.
By Stephen Mcilkenny
17th Oct 2022, 9:25am
Several loud explosions have rocked the centre of the Ukrainian capital, as waves of explosive-laden suicide drones struck a week after Russia orchestrated a massive air strike across the country.
Kyiv city mayor Vitaliy Klichko said the central Shevchenko district of the capital had been hit, and urged residents to take shelter with an Associated Press photographer who was out shooting morning scenes of Kyiv caught one of the drones on camera, with its triangle-shaped wing and pointed warhead clearly visible against the blue sky.
Drones came in several waves and buzzed overhead with angry hums from their engines. There was no immediate word on casualties – although social media posts showed a fire in the area of the apparent strike, with black smoke rising into the early morning light.
Local residents and police officers run after a drone attack in Kyiv on October 17, 2022, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. - Ukraine officials said on October 17, 2022 that the capital Kyiv had been struck four times in an early morning Russian attack with Iranian drones that damaged a residential building and targeted the central train station. (Photo by Sergei SUPINSKY / AFP) (Photo by SERGEI SUPINSKY/AFP via Getty Images)
Russian forces struck Kyiv with Iranian Shahed drones, wrote Andrii Yermak, the head of the Ukrainian president's office, in a post on the Telegram social media site.
Moscow has repeatedly been using the so-called suicide drones in recent weeks to target urban centres and infrastructure, including power stations.
Strikes in central Kyiv had become a rarity in the last several months after Russian forces failed to capture the capital at the beginning of the war.
Last week's early morning strikes were the first explosions heard in Kyiv's city centre in several months, and put Kyiv as well as the rest of the country back on edge as the war nears nine months.
A drone flies over Kyiv during an attack on October 17, 2022, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. - Ukraine officials said on October 17, 2022 that the capital Kyiv had been struck four times in an early morning Russian attack with Iranian drones that damaged a residential building and targeted the central train station. (Photo by Sergei SUPINSKY / AFP) (Photo by SERGEI SUPINSKY/AFP via Getty Images)
Monday's blasts seemed to continue what many fear could become more common occurrences in urban centres.
The strike on Kyiv comes as fighting has intensified in the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk in recent days, as well as the continued Ukrainian counter-offensive in the south near Kherson and Zaporizhzhia.
The UK's Ministry of Defence (MoD) said in their latest intelligence update that Russian attacks could be a result of strained forces elsewhere.
In their update, the MoD said: "Logistical issues faced by Russian forces in southern Ukraine have likely become more acute following damage to the Kerch Bridge on 08 October 2022. Repair efforts are ongoing, and it is open to some traffic.
"However, a large queue of waiting cargo trucks remains backed up near the crossing.
"Russian forces operating in southern Ukraine are likely increasing logistical supply flow via Mariupol in an attempt to compensate for the reduced capacity of the Kerch Bridge.
"With the Russian presence in Kherson strained, and the supply routes through Crimea degraded, the ground line of communication through Zaporizhzhia Oblast is becoming more important to the sustainability of Russia's occupation.
"The city of Melitopol is a junction of supply routes and hosts a major Russian aviation presence."
President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday night in his evening address that there was heavy fighting around the cities of Bakhmut and Soledar in the Donetsk region.
The Donetsk and Luhansk regions make up the bulk of the industrial east known as the Donbas, and were two of four regions annexed by Russia in September in defiance of international law.
On Sunday, the Russian-backed regime in the Donetsk region said Ukraine had shelled its central administrative building in a direct hit.
UkraineRussiaVolodymyr Zelensky


At Iceland's second largest glacier, Langjökull, you can find a breathtakingly beautiful man-made ice cave you can easily visit all year round. It is actually the largest man-made Ice Tunnel in the world and has quickly become one of the more popular tours in Iceland. Find out more!
Where is Into the Glacier located?
How to be dressed on an Into the Glacier tour?
Langjökull or the long glacier as its name would be translated to in English is the 2nd largest glacier in Iceland and covers an area of about 950 km². It is on average about 1200 to 1300 meters above sea level and sits on a massive plateau of hyaloclastite mountains.
Until only recently the what lies beneath the surface of this voluminous glacier remained a mystery known only to a few glaciologists and scientists but today you can visit the blue ice wonderworld that awaits inside the glacier.
Into the Glacier is a glacier adventure tour where you take a monster truck ride up onto a glacier, dress in your warmest and literally, step into the glacier. Inside the largest man-made ice tunnel in the world, you will find different layers of ice and volcanic ash, incredible crevasses and ice sculptures and even an Ice Chapel!
This tour truly is an adventure to remember. The tunnel has been lit up to show you the geological wonders and the history of the ice cap and as a welcomed extra, providing you with plenty of photo opportunities!
The story of the Into the Glacier adventure begins in 2010. Two men, by the name of Baldvin Einarsson and Hallgrímur Örn Arngrímsson, started to dream about an ice cave on the glacier. Before this time no ice cave had ever been found on the glacier so in order to make this happen the ice cave would have to be man-made.
By this time people, especially tourists, had already started to explore the glacier, on glacier hiking or snowmobiling tours but they had a vision of taking the unique experience of exploring a glacier in the North Atlantic to a new level. They wanted to take them to the heart of the glacier and knew that Langjokull, which is very often snow-covered, possessed a truly captivating array of blue colored ice and this is something they wanted to share.
With this bold vision, they set sails and gathered a team of top engineers and a geophysicist. They were to study the glacier, plan, model and prepare the construction and with a whole lot of determination the dream started to take form. These experts along with their scientific expertise and of course some financial and political support were able to turn the dream into the largest man-made ice cave in the world.
The glacier Langjökull was once called Baldjökull.
There is a chapel inside the ice tunnel and wedding have been held there!
Some believe that Langjökull was once two or more glaciers that then merged together to form one big one.
Langjökull glacier reached a record size in 1840.
Close to Langjökull is an icecap called Ok, which was once a glacier but lost its place on the list due to its shrinking size. This is often referred to as the Icelandic version of the Pluto.
Into the Glacier is located on Langjokull glacier at the southwestern corner of the glacier. Its closest recognized attraction is the Deildartunguhver hot springs and the Krauma baths that sits right beside it. The distance from Reykjavík is about 150 kilometers or 93,2 miles.
You can easily get picked up in Reykjavík for the Into the Glacier experience but for those who have a car on their own, they can meet up closer to the cave. The tour departs from two different locations, Húsafell and the Klaki Base Camp.
During winter the meeting point is at the Húsafell Center (from the 16th of October to the 31st of May). At Húsafell you will be picked up on a monster truck and brought by expert drivers all the cave's mouth via the Klaki Base Camp. Not only will this be an adventurous experience on its own, driving over rough terrain in a gigantic vehicle but also is it safer for those driving in a smaller automobile or don't have driving experience in this sort of terrain. This is why the road leading to the site is closed off from regular traffic during this time. With the exception of the monster trucks of course.
During summer (from the 1st of June to the 15th of October) participants meet at the Klaki Base Camp. Note that 4×4 vehicles are required to get to the Klaki Base Camp.
The drive from Reykjavík to Húsafell Center should take about an hour and 40-50 minutes. Note, there is another Húsafell in the South so you need to be extra careful to follow us to the right one. You follow Ring Road one in a northerly direction, past mt. Esja and onwards through the undersea level tunnel Hvalfjarðargöng. Just as you are about to drive over the bridge to Borgarnes you see a sign to the right pointing onto road 50. Take that turn and continue onwards into the beautiful Borgarfjörður. This road you keep on for 33 kilometers (20,5 mi) even though it changes its ranking to 518 at the Deildartunguhver Hot Spring intersect. You make a left turn off the 518 to the Húsafell center for the meetup and the Into the glacier Super Truck is very obvious!
The drive from Reykjavík to Klaki Base Camp starts out the same as the drive to Húsafell. Out from Reykjavík via road 1, through the undersea tunnel in Hvalfjörður and right before reaching Borgarfjörður you make a right to road 50. This road you continue on for a long time, a few miles in it changes to 518 but you continue past Deildartunguhver, Reykholt and Húsafell. You make a right turn into road number 550 just as you are passing out from a small forest. Note that road 550 is a gravel road and only suitable for 4×4 vehicles. Make sure your rental is allowed on F-Roads before entering. If not we urge you to book the pick up from Húsafell. About 20 minutes driving on 550 will have you at Klaki Base Camp, it is a white hut and marked with Into the Glacier signs.
The tour departs from Klaki Base Camp approximately 40 minutes prior to the scheduled departure time from Húsafell. Please check in at Klaki base camp at least 15 minutes before your tour.
Warmly! No matter the season, you are still visiting the inside of a glacier and will need to dress accordingly. Dressing in wool is advised, thermal underwear and thick socks are also great!
Inside the tunnel, you will be provided with ice spikes for your shoes so make sure to wear boots with sturdy soles so they will fit well and you won't feel the spikes through them.
The closest camping ground to the Into the Glacier cave on Langjökull is the one at Húsafell. There are a few camping grounds at Husafell all of them very popular. The main one is located in between summer cottages and therefore has all the basic services on hand. It is within walking distance of the nearby golf course, the swimming pool and a playground for the kids. You can even find a small supermarket in the cottage neighborhood and of course the Húsafell Bistro Restaurant.
The facilities at the campground include showers, bathrooms, electricity, running water hot and cold, cooking stations, washers and tumble dryers.
Price: Adults pay per night 1500 ISK with an additional cost of 400 ISK for each tent.
Open: 20th of May to the 20th of September.
The other two campgrounds are the Vallarsvaedi and Reydarfellsskogur. They are located about 2 km (1,2 mi) away from the main one and offer more basic facilities.
Price: Adults pay per night 1100 ISK and children (7-17) pay 600 ISK. There is an additional cost of 400 ISK for each tent.
The Into the Glacier tour runs all year round and can easily be done at any time. The fact that it is man-made works to our advantage here as the weather gods don't control the operation of the tour as much as they do with natural glacier ice caves.
The main difference is where you can meet up for tours. During winter you cannot meet up at the Klaki Base Camp as the road leading to it is closed off for regular traffic. Your options in winter are meeting the tour guide at Húsafell or simply have them pick you up from Reykjavík.
Day tour from Reykjavik to visit the man-made ice tunnel in Langjökull, Iceland's 2nd largest glacier, ride in a super truck and visit some famous attractions.


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$1M Challenge Grant
Starting the Mission
Asteroid Institute
Institute Advisors
Founding Circle
Asteroid Circle
Tito's CHEERS $1 Million Challenge Grant
Understanding What it Takes to Divert Asteroids, by Dr. Ed Lu
Katie Young (and deleted user accounts)
ad03@asteroidday.org
Asteroid Institute Senior Researcher Dr. Sarah Greenstreet was the lead author on a recently submitted research paper entitled, "Required Deflection Impulses as a Function of Time Before Impact for Earth-Impacting Asteroids," with contributors, Mike Loucks, John Carrico, Tatiana Kichkaylo, Mario Juric, and myself. This paper examines the range of difficulty (technically the magnitude of the imparted change in velocity) for deflecting asteroids depending upon how long prior to impact action is taken. We find that there is a considerable spread in difficulty to deflect asteroids, with some requiring an order-of-magnitude more or less deflection impulse than the median. We identified the easy cases as being primarily asteroids with more highly sensitive trajectories due to being affected by an earlier close approach to a planet. Unfortunately, the easiest to deflect asteroids are also the ones that are most difficult to identify as being on an impact trajectory. The more difficult cases, on the other hand, were primarily due to asteroids on an overtaking trajectory with Earth (or vice-versa), much like a rear-end car collision on a highway. From a scientific standpoint, what was significant about this work is that we were able to quantify the actual distributions of deflection difficulty as a function of time before impact.
The practical application of this work is that it helps us better understand the planetary defense requirements for both asteroid tracking as well as asteroid deflection. Knowing the types of orbits that are most difficult to deflect will help us design telescope observing strategies for finding those impacting asteroids earlier in order to be able to deflect them with less difficulty. Conversely, knowing the types of orbits that are the most difficult to identify as threats also will help us design observing strategies to focus more attention on these asteroids. And by better understanding the range of deflection scenarios we are likely to face, we will also better understand not only how much we need to alter asteroid trajectories in order to deflect them, but how long ahead of time we must take action. These results will help us understand the requirements for real-life spacecraft designs to deflect asteroids. Over the next few years, this work will be especially relevant as asteroid deflection tests are carried out.
For instance, the upcoming NASA Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission will be launched in July 2021 to test out a kinetic impact asteroid deflection by running into a small asteroid and measuring the resultant change in trajectory. For the first time, humanity will intentionally change the orbit of a celestial body! You can follow updates on this exciting mission at the DART homepage. One big unknown in this mission is how much asteroid material will be thrown off in the collision with the DART spacecraft, which affects how much impulse is transmitted to the asteroid. A principal goal of the DART mission and a proposed ESA follow-on mission called HERA is to measure this effect. Once we better understand the real-world effectiveness of kinetic impactors and other asteroid deflection mechanisms, we will be able to use this knowledge together with our understanding of required deflection impulses from Dr. Greenstreet's paper to better plan for and execute an actual asteroid deflection (which we know we will someday be faced with).
To carry out the work on the Greenstreet et al paper required the simulation of the trajectories of 10 thousand theoretical (or virtual) asteroids whose orbits were chosen to match the distribution of actual Earth impacting asteroids, which required us to build a very fast asteroid orbit propagator. A propagator allows us to calculate the future location of an asteroid based on an initial location and velocity, taking into account the gravity fields of the Sun and planets, as well as other much smaller effects including the gravity of other asteroids, the non-sphericity of the Sun and planets, and even corrections due to the curvature of space-time from Einstein's General Theory of Relativity! The computational infrastructure we built for this research paper will also become a key building block of the Asteroid Decision and Mapping project.
Copyright © 2022. All rights reserved B612 Foundation. Federal Tax ID 54-2078469


Sarah Harriet and I watched the movie He Named Me Malala at lunchtime and I have been emotionally fragile ever since. I boo-hooed through the movie, especially when Malala met with Nigerian parents of kidnapped schoolgirls and whenever they showed girls around the world eager to learn in school.
He Named Me Malala is a powerful film because it so beautifully shows the special bond between Malala and her father Ziauddin. It raises the question of whether Malala would have spoken out if not for her father. Malala answers that question for me: she would not be who she is without her special parents and she made her own choices to speak out. She is also being who God created her to be.
I appreciated the opportunity to see film clips of Malala publicly advocating for girls' education before the Taliban attack. She elected to be a spokesperson even before she became world famous.
Malala embodies courage and her story is hugely inspiring. The film also gives a non-stereotyped view into Muslim life in Pakistan. Davis Guggenheim made great directorial choices including illustrating some of the foundational stories in pastel animation. They matched the narrative tone.
Overall, his greatest gift is in gaining Malala's family's confidence, thereby giving us a more intimate profile in courage.
Malala's dedication to the 63 million girls who are out of school is remarkable. It is also a cause we should all support. So much good comes from girls' education. Worried about over population? There is a strong correlation between girls' education and falling birth rates. Worried about poverty? There is a strong correlation between girls' education and family well being.
You can support international girls' education through The Malala Fund. Or through a number of other organizations working toward the same cause: Camfed, CARE, and World Vision.
P.S. There was a powerful trailer for the movie Suffragette shown before the feature. It looked like it is going to be great and I am not sure I will be able to watch: INTENSE!


This is an adapted version of the sermon I preached this weekend. The Spiritual Gift of the Week is "Service." The gospel reading is Luke 10:38-42.
There was a church called St. John's by the Gas Pump. And St. John's by the Gas Pump made shoofly pies. It was something they did every year. It was a fundraiser, and a great time of fellowship for everyone who came out to bake. But over time, the group of bakers dwindled. Some died, some got tired of it, some moved away. It wasn't as easy to get new help as it once was. Until one year, when only one woman came out to bake. We'll call her Martha. Why not.
Martha was frustrated. Shoofly pies were important to her. This was a major part of how she contributed to her church. It meant a lot to her to come out and share this time with her friends and family. It meant a lot to her to train younger women and men in the ancient art of the shoofly. But now she couldn't do it. She was so frustrated and upset. Nobody supported this ministry anymore. It felt like nobody supported her. She was alone. Things weren't the way they used to be. And so she went to the pastor.
Martha was disappointed and hurt. She didn't really expect that the pastor would help, but she certainly didn't expect that response. She felt unimportant, like everything she'd worked for was not only gone, but had been worthless all along.
I can certainly see how Martha could take it that way. But I actually don't think that's what Jesus was saying.
After all, this is the same Jesus who made it clear in last Sunday's story of the Good Samaritan that we are to do things to help one another.
This is the same Jesus who compared the kingdom of God to a woman kneading bread.
The same Jesus who cried out that the Pharisees were neglecting justice and the love of God.
The same Jesus who did good works of healing and teaching, even on the Sabbath day.
I don't think Jesus was telling Martha, or us, not to do things. I don't think Jesus was telling Martha, or us, that our daily work is useless or unimportant.
Besides, we don't need Jesus to tell us that. We tell that to ourselves all the time. Don't we? Don't you sometimes think that what you do isn't important? That nobody notices? That nobody cares? Don't you sometimes feel like you're just wasting your time, spinning your wheels? While someone else is doing the important work? While someone else is doing the things that matter? While someone else is making all the decisions?
I wonder if that's how Martha felt. I wonder if we're all Martha.
Martha, Martha, you are so worried and distracted by so many things. You are worried and distracted by the voices that tell you that you're unimportant. The voices that tell you that you don't make a difference. The voices that tell you that you don't matter.
Martha, Martha, you are so worried and distracted by the tragedies that surround us. By a world in which black men are killed so easily, and police are killed so easily. By a world that tries to divide itself into those who care about the lives of African Americans, and those who support our law enforcement. A world that tells us you can't do both. By a world so full of anger and hatred. Where it seems there is no room for people of goodwill. Where there is no room for healthy disagreement. A world in which you could never make a difference.
Martha, Martha, you are so worried and distracted by so many things. There is need of just one thing. Christ. The Christ at whose feet Mary sat, listening. The Christ whom Martha was also serving, just as well, but who forgot that. Sometimes serving Christ means doing the dishes. Sometimes serving Christ means cutting the grass. Sometimes serving Christ means painting, or vacuuming, or photocopying, or unclogging the toilet. That is just as important as playing the organ, just as important as preaching the gospel. That's why we're looking at twenty Spiritual Gifts this summer…because I am not the only one here who is called by God. All of us are, called to different things. And what you are called to do, whether it's Service or something else, is so important.
Remember that. You are called to the things you do, the places you go, the relationships you inhabit. When we are worried and distracted, we forget that. We forget that God has placed us where we are to take care of one another, to build up one another, to serve our neighbor. Martha, Martha, your sister Mary listened to Jesus. You listen to him too! Listen to Jesus telling you that you are God's child! Listen to Jesus telling you that you are an important part of God's story! Listen to Jesus telling you that through you God will change the world!
It can take time to really hear that. Take the time you need. Listen to scripture. Listen to the words spoken to you in Holy Communion: this is my body and blood, given for you. Listen to the words spoken in the rite of Healing: in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ, be strengthened and filled with God's grace, that you may know the healing power of the Holy Spirit.
And then do the things you have to do. Do the things you're called to do. Take the kids to soccer practice, because God calls you to raise them well. Take out the trash, because God calls you to provide a home that is safe. Go to your job that may not feel like a calling, because God may be calling you to be a sign to your co-workers that they are loved. Read the news that is so terrible, because God may be calling you to be a sign of hope for black people, whose lives do matter. God may be calling you to be a sign of hope for police officers, whose lives do matter. God may be calling you to be a sign that there is hope for our nation. That there is always hope, because God is here. God is here. God is here. And one way or another, you are called to proclaim that through your actions.
I know it's so hard to remember that. Martha, Martha, we are so distracted. There is need of only one thing: God. And God is here. Amen.
You are a terrific writer!
There are those few lines again. I am God's child and I am an important part of God's story. Through me God will change the world. Love.
I can see how…I treat all people the same hopefully others will see this and maybe just maybe they will open their hearts to others too.and they will pass it on.
I also see how I must stop stressing about getting things done. Especially at work. Others say to chill, take one thing at a time, I am just one person. Well, I think I need to close my eyes , take a deep breath and say…Sherry, sherry…listen to Jesus.
Thanks for sharing, great sermon. You always remind me that I am important and God does love me.
Thanks, Sherry. It's hard to remember this on a daily basis. Good luck!


Why does hot water not last when I shower and turns cold very swiftly for no distinct reason?
Sometimes the indications of a faucet for hot water and cold water are the wrong technology round, and you need to call in a specialist plumber to fix it.
There are bags of reasons behind the lack of hot water, so before a plumbing specialist commences the patch up the source of the predicament must be found initial Water heaters provide hot water for the household, so it is imperative to choose the best one for your desires To have hot water, you need to set up a 30, 40 or 50 gallon water heater depending on the everyday water consumption. The shower head optimizes the stream of hot water and as a result, could save you a considerable amounts of money every year. For hot water to gush you will require a water heater placed in position by a trained plumbing specialist from Barking and dagenham IG11.


We saw it earlier this week, but only showing up for 2 of our ~200 locations.
Yeah. Seemed to be a tiny, quiet rollout, then BOOM.
UPDATE: We've seen some of the descriptions showing up, but only in mobile and under the Menu tab. There are some weird formatting issues, with descriptions that fit within the character limits being cut off. And in one case, we see the descriptions showing publicly, but disappear in the GMB dashboard.
Are you talking about the "Services" list (the name + price + section + description), or something else? Also, any screenshots you can share?
Categories weren't always the best match. Often they were too broad. So it's good to see them going in this direction.
Yeah. The categories list has always been odd. Too broad in some places, and way too specific in others.
I see it for 2 out of 3 businesses – all in completely different verticals.
I'm not seeing it in any of my UK locations, Phil. The categories list is inadequate so this sounds like an improvement.
What types of businesses are those? I wonder if Google's held back on certain industries.
I personally manage 2 locations which I'm seeing them both on at the moment. It's good to see more detailed options coming for GMB. This along with the description I think are great for communicating the value of a business without the need to even go to a website. Of course nothing will take the place of a good website but this is helpful also.
Google giveth and Google taketh away. They're trying to minimize the need to click on your site. Some sites are so anemic that Google truly will eliminate the need. It may be a different story for sites that have more going on, perhaps for businesses that offer bigger-ticket services that customers really want to research.
Phil–we're seeing this across almost all our accounts in HVAC, solar, home performance, insulation, etc. We're excited about it–for years, our sector of high performance energy efficiency contractors have not had appropriate categories.
The big question, however, is where will this information appear? We're seeing nothing in the KP so far. Could this really be only meta data?
The "Services" show up in patches. In the Google Maps app the "Services" shows up under "Menu." In a mobile browser the "Services" tab shows up, but nothing happens when you click on it. Nada on desktop at the moment.
Thanks Phil. How goofy is that? A fork and knife "menu" link for an Air Conditioning Contractor that leads to services. Oy. Not seeing in mobile browser, btw, perhaps because we've been active with Posts and Q&A?
Nope not yet. Not here where I am in sunny San Diego. I just checked and all I see is an "attributes" field to fill in…funny thing is, its self populated with only the words "+women led" as something that I can add, and nothing else.
I hope it does hit my dashboard soon, I'd love to take advantage of that, if there is any.
after I clicked once or twice on the women led word in that section, it turned green with a checkmark, click it again and a circle with a line thru it with women led in the center was next and looked like it would appear in the results.
I really don't like a subliminal stop signal on my listing so decided to go back to the option to not change it and leave it blank.
But, yeah, the jury is out on the benefits of this thing.
I should've updated this long ago, sorry about that Phil. Yeah, I started to fill it out when I seen that tab in the MOBILE BROWSER, which is a flippin pain in the backside. I HATE typing stuff on my phone, but I'm stuck with it until that voice dictation function actually works and makes sense of what I say.
Its kinda funny google is making all of us do this on our phones instead of just typing with a keyboard.
You can fill out "Services" on desktop. It's just that it only shows publicly on mobile.
Why don't I see the "Services" tab on my pages? HVAC contractor, located in Florida.
It should show up if you view your page in a mobile browser. It's not showing up on desktop yet.
I have seen feedback from other marketers that by changing the category temporarily to one with the feature you want and then changing it back the feature might still be there. Could be worth a shot.
Has anyone seen any boost in rankings from adding services? Does Google factor this in to SEPRs at all?
I haven't seen a boost from "Services." But it would be nigh impossible to notice one, because in any good local SEO campaign there is other dust flying and other variables (like competitors) swirling around.
Other people might have noticed a difference, though.