The Member of Parliament elect for Walewale Constituency in the Northern Region, Dr Sagre Bambangi has urged unity among all residents of the area, irrespective of political affiliation, saying it is time to put behind their partisan differences and pursue a vigorous development agenda.
Dr Sagre made these remarks when he interacted with newsmen in Accra at the weekend after having gone through the required registration process as one of the new members of the next Parliament.
He indicated that the development challenges in the West Mamprusi area were enormous and would require unity of purpose to deal with.
"Poverty and hunger do not discriminate; they afflict everyone without regard to political, gender or ethnic background".
Dr Sagre who is a lecturer at the University for Development Studies (UDS) mentioned education, health and agriculture as key areas he will focus on during the next four years.
"The BECE results in the constituency have been poor over the years, which is not very surprising considering the fact that there are only two public Senior High Schools and not a single post-secondary educational institution in the whole constituency", he noted, while reiterating his determination to reverse the trend.
The MP-elect expressed thanks and appreciation to his constituents for the confidence reposed in him and gave the assurance that he would not let them down.
He indicated, however, that his effectiveness as their representative in Parliament would depend on their continued support, and pledged to keep in constant touch with the people.
Dr Sagre acknowledged Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, running mate to Nana Akufo-Addo in the December 7 elections, for all the support accorded him during the campaign period.
He also paid tribute to his predecessors whose efforts kept the Danquah-Busia-Dombo tradition in the constituency alive and who laid "the foundations for us the younger and upcoming generation to inherit".
"The late Mohammed Abdul Saaka who contested the seat for Progress Party in 1969, late Alhaji Inusah Issaka for PFP in 1979, Ben Bukari Salifu in 1992, S.S. Nayina for the Great Alliance in 1996, Amadu Abdul-Karim in 2000 and Nabilla Sulemana in 2004/2008, all deserve special mention for their hardwork in providing the foundations upon which we have also come to build today", he said.
He urged party members and supporters in the constituency to keep calm and to refrain from any acts that may disrupt the peaceful atmosphere that currently prevailed in the area.
The Walewale Constituency is one of five in the Mamprugu area of the Northern Region, the others being Nalerigu-Gambaga, Yunyoo, Bunkpurugu, and Yagaba-Kubori.
Dr Sagre won the constituency seat in the December 7 parliamentary election with 19,328 votes. His closest contestant, Azortibah King James of the NDC polled 15,192, followed by Abdallah Abubakari of PNC who got 10,171 votes.
Bagmarigu John Simon of PPP and Soalisu Shaibu of NDP polled 251 and 86 votes respectively.


text:
Hilda Maria Käkikoski (31 de gener de 1864 – 14 de novembre de 1912) fou una política, escriptora i professora finlandesa. Fou una de les primeres 19 dones parlamentàries, electes el 1906.

Primers anys i carrera
Käkikoski nasqué a Lapinjärvi el 1864, com a Hilda Maria Sjöström. Es traslladà a Hèlsinki pel seu compte als 14 anys per a atendre una escola superior per a nenes amb una beca. Hi canvià el seu cognom suec pel de Käkikoski, que era el dels seus veïns finlandesos. Després de fer els estudis secundaris, treballà com a tutora privada fins al 1888, quan s'inscrigué en la universitat; es doctorà en Història finlandesa i nòrdica el 1895. Fou professora en una escola de Hèlsinki, ensenyant història i llengua finesa de 1891 a 1902.

Segons anava desenvolupant interés pel feminisme i el sufragi femení, es feu membre de l'Associació Finlandesa de Dones i escrigué articles per a la revista de l'associació. Fou vicepresidenta de l'associació el 1895, fins al 1904. El 1906 es presentà a les eleccions pel conservador Partit Finlandés al recent Parlament finlandés; l'elecció del 1906 fou la primera en què les dones van poder votar i ser votades. Käkikoski va guanyar en el seu districte, Uusimaa, i esdevingué una de les 19 primeres dones a ser triades per al parlament. No es va presentar a la reelecció el 1910 per problemes de salut.

Obra literària
El treball literari de Käkikoski inclou cançons infantils, poesia i relats curts. El 1902 començà a escriure una història de Finlàndia en quatre volums. Continuà el projecte fins a la seua mort, al 1912; l'obra, però, mai no va ser completada.

Vida privada
Käkikoski era lesbiana. Una de les seues primeres relacions fou amb la professora i activista Fanny Pajula, amb qui convisqué sis anys fins al 1895. Més tard, Käkikoski tingué una relació amb la seua amiga casada Hildi Ennola, la seua amiga nord-americana Frances Weiss, la diaconessa Hanna Masalin i l'activista política Helmi Kivalo; Käkikoski mantingué totes aquestes relacions fins a la mort.

Referències

Diputats a l'Eduskunta

Morts a Hèlsinki
Escriptors
Lesbianisme
Alumnes de la Universitat de Hèlsinki
Naixements del 1864

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
MDNA Life Sciences launches new prostate cancer test in UK
Diagnostics developer MDNA Life Sciences has partnered with Aspire Pharma to introduce the new Mitomic Prostate Test (MPT) for clinical use in the UK.
The blood test is intended to identify individuals with clinically significant prostate cancer. Credit: PublicDomainPictures from Pixabay.
The blood test is intended to identify individuals with clinically significant prostate cancer or those who require treatment. It analyses mitochondrial DNA as biomarkers to determine whether a man has or does not have the cancer.
The Mitomic Prostate Test works as a qualitative in-vitro polymerase chain reaction assay to detect the 3.4 kb mitochondrial DNA deletion and the 18S rRNA nuclear DNA sequence.
Commonly, prostate cancer is diagnosed based on Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) levels, which is said to be associated with high false-positive results.
MDNA Life Sciences noted that only 25% of men who undergo a biopsy after finding increased PSA levels have prostate cancer. This leads to unnecessary prostate biopsy procedures in many individuals.
The company expects the new test to help minimise the number of prostate biopsies by up to 30%.
MDNA Life Sciences chief science officer Dr Andrew Harbottle said: "We exploit the unique characteristics of mutations in mitochondrial DNA, which can act as biomarkers, providing us with a unique and detailed diary of damage to the DNA. This enables us to accurately detect many difficult to diagnose diseases and conditions, such as prostate cancer.
"Just as importantly, the ability of our Mitomic Prostate Test to determine that clinically significant cancer is not present can help to significantly reduce the number of prostate biopsies required, thus saving costs in the health system and reducing stress and discomfort for many men."
In a clinical study conducted in alliance with the University of Cambridge, the MPT biomarker demonstrated a higher than 99% negative predictive value.
This is expected to delay or eliminate the need for additional diagnostic tests in individuals with a negative MPT result, as they are considered to be highly unlikely to have clinically significant prostate cancer.
The test was also found to have 92% sensitivity, allowing men with a positive result to be referred for immediate medical intervention.
Initially, the Mitomic Prostate Test will be available through private healthcare clinics. HMR Labs in London will handle result reporting for the test. Aspire Pharma is working with the NHS to expand the test's availability.
IKA-Werke
Laboratory Equipment for Medical Devices
VARIOPRINT
Printed Circuit Boards for the Medical Market
Newcastle University scientists develop test to identify skin cancer risk

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Xbox One will not launch with any indie games
In recent years, indie games have become a huge part of the gaming culture, with many of them receiving accolades, including ones like Journey...
New Dead Rising 3 Screenshots Show Co-Op Action
Capcom has released some new screenshots for Dead Rising 3 showcasing the co-op action. The first player takes control of the main character...
Exclusive Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes footage debuts at TGS
Hideo Kojima, Director of the upcoming Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes, demonstrated today an exclusive gameplay footage at Tokyo Game...
Microsoft warns against setting up Xbox One vertically
While the original Xbox wasn't able to be set up vertically, the Xbox 360 had this capability and even had stands you could buy to support it...
First Gameplay Trailer For NBA Live 14
The first in-game footage for NBA Live 14 has now been released by EA Sports. NBA Live 14 is making its comeback after the series was dormant...
Microsoft details plans for Japanese-developed exclusives for Xbox One
Microsoft knows that it must deliver Xbox One exclusive games to compete with the Playstation 4 and they have a plan to add to the list of...
NBA 2K14 Crews mode return detailed
One of the most exciting features for the upcoming NBA 2K14 is the return of a very popular mode in the past known as Crews mode. Crews mode...
Ryse: Son of Rome runs natively at 900p
Ever since its unveiling at E3 this year, Ryse: Son of Rome has been one of the more anticipated exclusive launch titles coming to Xbox One this...
Get $10 Upgrade With Xbox One Call of Duty: Ghosts
Microsoft and Activision have now confirmed you can get Call of Duty: Ghosts on Xbox One for only $10 if you buy the Xbox 360 version first....
NBA Live 14 Receives Release Date And First Screenshot
EA has announced the official release date and first screenshot for NBA Live 14. NBA Live 14 marks the return of EA's long running basketball...
Rumor: Grand Theft Auto 5 leaked Xbox 360 code shows PS4 and PC build
With Grand Theft Auto 5 arriving on Tuesday, there is no real surprise that there will be some leaks of the game in the days prior. Supposedly, a...
David Hayter Not Playing Metal Gear Solid V
David Hayter is too upset that he's not in Metal Gear Solid V, that he's not even going to play the game. David Hayter was interviewed by...
First retail Xbox One box unveiled
Fresh off the assembly line, Major Nelson, Xbox LIVE Director of Programming, revealed on Twitter the first official retail box of the much...
Battlefield 4 Open Beta to arrive on October 1
Battlefield 4 is considered by many to be the most anticipated shooter of the upcoming fall season. Of course there is the latest Call of Duty...
Assassin's Creed 4 Black Flag Next Gen Trailer Released
Assassin's Creed 4 Black Flag's Associate Producer Sylvain Trottier runs through some of the features gamers can expect to see in the next...
Dead Rising 3 Is R18 In Australia
The Australian Classification Board has rated Dead Rising 3 with a R18+ sticker. Thankfully, this means Dead Rising 3 will be shipped out to...
Fox Engine will not be licensed out says Kojima
With the absolutely gorgeous looking Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain coming out in the future, many of course have been wondering whether...
Dead Rising 3's Map Revealed
The Dead Rising 3 map has been revealed and it's bigger than the previous games. The main reason Dead Rising 3 has a bigger map is because...
Unboxing Watch Dogs' DedSec Edition
Ubisoft has released a short video showcasing the good stuff you get from Watch Dogs' DedSec Edition. This huge edition of Watch Dogs is not...
Mega Man creator uses Kickstarter to fund Mighty No. 9
The last few years have been very rough for Mega Man fans as games like Mega Man Legend 3 have been cancelled while nothing else Mega Man related...
Xbox One launch game receives audio overhaul
In something that I have personally never heard happening before, an Xbox One launch game has had to be completely redone sound wise. Paul...
Ubisoft's Uplay will be part of next generation titles
Ubisoft's Uplay first made an appearance on the current generation of consoles with the release of Assassin's Creed II and now we knwo that the...
There Might Be A Huge Release Date Gap Between Kingdom Hearts 3 and Final Fantasy XV
Square Enix has hinted that it's unlikely we'll see Kingdom Hearts 3 and Final Fantasy XV released around the same time. Kingdom Hearts...
EA Shares Drop Due To Low Madden 25 Sales
EA's share price dropped dramatically due to the "low" sales that Madden 25 earned in its first week. Selling over 1 million copies in the...
Page 220 of 234...217218219220221222223...


Explore how Unleashed can help make managing your sales team easier than ever. Including how to add and edit new team members, so that they show up when adding Sales Orders into Unleashed. Plus, how to create a customised Sales Enquiry report, which is a great way of calculating commission for each salesperson.


text:
Q: I have a simple problem which should return an integer whose count is odd in an array function findOdd(A) {
  var distinctElements = [...new Set(A)];
  distinctElements.forEach(x => {
    var count = A.filter(y => y === x).length;
    if (count % 2 != 0) {
      return x;
    }
  });
}

I don't understand why program is still executing after return statement.

A: Your return statement is being executed within a scope.
Try replacing the function with:
function findOdd(A) {
    var distinctElements = [...new Set(A)];
    for (x of distinctElements) {
        var count = A.filter(y => y === x).length;
        if (count % 2 != 0) {
            return x;
        }
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Following initial success in North America after launching on the Galaxy 19 satellite in November 2013, ViewSat shares its perspective on the broadcasting landscape within the region and its growing FTA (free to air) audience.
With approximately 86 percent of the North American population using Pay-TV services, ViewSat offers a cost-effective alternative to the growing numbers unable to accommodate the rising subscription fees of many Pay-TV providers. As households are required to purchase a FTA receiver, a one off cost to access hundreds of channels, a growing number of consumers are opting for this solution to meet their viewing requirements.
This change has bought North America more in line with ViewSat's established regions of Sub-Saharan Africa and the MENA (Middle-East, North African) region where the Pay-TV penetration is significantly lower. The MENA region is dominated by FTA services, whileu Sub-Saharan Africa audiences are concentrated around FTA, with elements of Pay-TV also.
ViewSat is currently broadcasting a number of channels from Sub-Saharan Africa and the MENA region into North America via Galaxy 19. The company has understood its client's specific requirements and has intelligently chosen to broadcast via Galaxy 19 platform, which enjoys excellent penetration to ethnic audiences across the continent.
While ViewSat is primarily a FTA broadcast service provider, the company will look to supplement its existing streaming solutions with greater OTT capacity in 2014.
For more information on ViewSat, please visit.


text:
Q: Does 'mysql.connector.connect()' support 'with' block? According to the documentation one two we should close connector each time we connect it.
import mysql.connector

cnx = mysql.connector.connect(**config)
# do some stuff
cnx.close()

Does it support with interface to do something like this?:
with mysql.connector.connect(**config):
    #do some stuff


text:
HEAVY METAL & THE GLOBAL PANDEMIC : Seattle's Doom/Sludge Trio deathCAVE
jkevinlynch July 20, 2020 Heavy Metal & The Global Pandemic, Music
Heavy Metal and the Global Pandemic is a new series that focuses on examining how metal bands are dealing with the COVID-19 world. Heavy Metal is unique as a genre for often writing songs steeped in dystopian imagery, the darker side of the human condition, and of course – death. However, these are unprecedented times for everyone, including musicians with an inclination for chaos.
Formed in 2018, the Seattle-based doom trio deathCAVE may be a relatively new band, but the members are veterans of the underground. Bassist/vocalist Freiburger (Throne of Bone, Brain Scraper), drummer Benny Koslosky (Swampyheavy), and guitarist/vocalist Tony Muñoz (Razorhoof, Worship) have been honing their skills for several years prior to forming deathCAVE. The band released a three-song demo last year that earned them a spot on the Northwest Terror Fest, which has since been postponed to next year. Nevertheless, their debut LP Smoking Mountain is slated for an August 14th release.
An alluring and consuming fusion of thrash, psychedelic, stoner, and doom elements with lyrics based on personal stories reinterpreted in the realm of mythological tales, deathCAVE's Smoking Mountain revolves around the concept of inevitable death and decay of not only humans, but nature as well. The thundering five-track offering, [features] guest vocals by Andrea Vidal (Holy Grove), Dave Verellen (Botch, Narrows), and Neil McAdams (Black Breath) as well as a track dedicated to late Black Breath bassist Elijah Nelson.
In the meantime, the band has unveiled the opening psalm "Death Cave." The track explores the band members' own personal "death caves," and sets the mood for the sonic journey to follow. "It's about the darkest internal place that holds all our fears," says Freiburger, "the place that holds all our self-doubts, failures, and sorrows, and what it's like when one goes into a deep place and can't get out."
You can pre-order Smoking Mountain from Bandcamp and stream the first single below. You can also follow the band on Facebook, Instagram, and Spotify.
How has the COVID-19 pandemic impacted your band, be it cancelled tours or studio time?
deathCAVE: We have cancelled numerous shows, including Northwest Terror Fest and our full US tour in support of our debut full length.
Where are you sheltering in place and what are your circumstances? Are you alone or with family? How are you coping?
deathCAVE: Benny lives with his girlfriends and is an essential worker. Tony has also been working and lives with our dear friend Wes from Heiress. Freiburger lives with his girlfriend and has been keeping busy. We are all emotional humans, so this has been rough on us all, but we are doing our best to stay positive and try to focus our time and energy on improving our well-being.
How are the members of your band staying connected?
deathCAVE: Group text and also Freiburger and Tony play virtual Farkle over Facetime with other friends as well.
Concepts of "virus" and "pandemic" are no strangers to heavy metal lyrics and imagery. Is it strange that we're now living in such a world? Also, have the current circumstances provided any inspiration for writing new material?
deathCAVE: It's absolutely strange and the mixed emotions that come with it definitely provide some inspiration. Most of our lyrics are based off of personal stories that we alter into mythological stories. It makes it easier to put passion behind what we sing about. We might not spell it out super clear, but what we are living through currently will for sure affect the music we write in the future.
The absence of live music is no doubt affecting the audiences and communities who thrive on the experience of seeing bands perform. But, as performers, what's it like for you not knowing when you will be able to return to the stage?
deathCAVE: Honestly? Incredibly depressing. Besides loving playing shows more than most things in life, we are all also super fans of music and spend most of our free time in local venues going to shows. We understand with current situations the importance of maintaining safe distances, but it still leaves us in a pretty low place.
Music provides solace for many in times of hardship. What have you been listening to in these strange and uncertain times?
deathCAVE: Isn't that the truth! We actually made a Spotify playlist where we each chose five songs to contribute exactly that. It is called deathCAVE quaranTUNES.
deathCAVE's debut LP "Smoking Mountain" (AUG 14) is available to pre-order now via Bandcamp.
Covid-19, Deathcave, Doom, doom metal, Heavy Metal & The Global Pandemic, Metal, Pandemic, Sludge
Previous MY 10 FAVORITE: Punk & Metal Albums by Electric Vengeance
Next HEAVY METAL & THE GLOBAL PANDEMIC: South African Sludge Juggernaut Ruff Majik


text:
Zwierzyniec – zniesiona osada leśna w Polsce położona w województwie warmińsko-mazurskim, w powiecie lidzbarskim, w gminie Lidzbark Warmiński.

W latach 1975–1998 miejscowość administracyjnie należała do województwa olsztyńskiego.

Miejscowość została zniesiona 1 stycznia 2020 roku.

Zobacz też: Zwierzyniec

Bibliografia
 TERYT

Lidzbark Warmiński (gmina wiejska)


text:
Q: How can you get the current recording volume reading from the microphone? How can you get the current recording volume reading from the microphone? By this, I'm referring to the loudness of the sound that is being recorded by the microphone. I've searched MSDN for hours, but to no avail... So, I'd appreciate the help.

A: Actually, I think there is no simpler way than to obtain some audio using the older mixer or newer WASAPI API (i.e. start recording) and determine the volume (i.e. signal strength) yourself. For this purpose, you can easily calculate the root mean square, which is equal to the average signal power.

A: By "Determine the volume yourself" do you mean: start recording and then use a separate thread to open the recorded file, tail it and determine the amplitude? Because that sounds fairly complicated and proc heavy - and if you don't mean that, how else to get at the recorded audio?


text:
← Mystery in White: J. Jefferson Farjeon (1937)
Love and Death on Long Island: Gilbert Adair →
Take Me to Paris, Johnny: John Foster
"He was like an exotic bird, the only one of his kind."
The title of John Foster's memoir, Take me to Paris, Johnny, is emblematic of the character and life of Juan Céspedes, the author's lover until Juan's death from AIDS in 1987. The two men met in New York in 1981 when John, a lecturer at the University of Melbourne, travelled to America to research a book.
The memoir begins when John Foster travels to Guantánamo to visit Juan's family. The visit which took place a year after Juan's death should have been the end of Juan's story, but in Foster's hands, it becomes the graceful introduction. It's a moving, powerful beginning: travelling to a beautiful foreign country of "red earth, banana plantations and hills that were crowned with a darker canopy of royal palms," eventually to arrive at a landscape that has a "desolate air; it was brown, scarred and smudged with a confusion of railway marshalling yards. The end of the line."
Deeply interested in dance and loathe to follow his state assigned career, Juan struggled under Cuban culture in which individualism was not encouraged, and like other young friends, Juan "more charmed than ever by the forbidden music from the radio station ar the base," decided to seek political asylum by escaping to the US naval base at Guantánamo. And it was in this fashion that Juan finally landed at age 15 in Hell's Kitchen in 1969 "where the Catholic agency had installed its Cuban refugees in a cheap apartment house."
The other residents, according to Juan 's calculation, consisted of 25 per cent ex-cons, 25 per cent drag queens and 50 percent addicts.
From 1969 until 1981, when Juan met John Foster, Juan's history is patchy but involved attempts at establishing a professional dance career and a series of patrons–including a priest, but the relationships ended perhaps because Juan's "tastes [were] too expensive or his occasional tantrums too exhausting." Juan carefully constructed narratives around these relationships:
They each occupied a space in his memory, and he referred to them habitually, and most fondly, as if they were a line of popes or kings in whose reign an event could be located. That was the way he ordered his memories, very tidily, in much the same way that he arranged his life, in little compartments, so that there would be no unnecessary confusion or unpleasantness
Foster met Juan when the latter was homeless, and a one-night stand morphed into a long-distance relationship. Finally Juan, already ill with various mysterious ailments, moved to Australia where his tenuous residency teetered on a bureaucratic foundation. Some of the details regarding the illness were difficult to read, but Foster powerfully brings home the times and the fears. I'll mention the Grim Reaper ad here and luckily and coincidentally I saw it recently on an Australian television programme. I'm glad I saw it as I wouldn't have understood Foster's reactions to the ad; it's one of those things you have to see for yourself.
Take Me To Paris, Johnny is Juan's story, as the author intended, but ultimately it's the story of a relationship. We see Juan through the eyes of Foster: an exotic figure with a taste for drama, engaging, entertaining, a man whose very existence defies his humble hard-scrabble beginnings.
We walked home, stopping off at the corner store to buy a bottle of Lucozade. According to the label Beecham Bros supplied this energizing drink by appointment to HM the Queen, which Juan imagined she probably swigged in large quantities to fortify her in her battles with Mrs Thatcher.
While Foster remains in the background, refusing to assign blame or guilt to Juan, their relationship most effectively holds a mirror up to reflect back Foster's character to the reader. Author John Foster wanted to create a story that transcended death and decay (the afterword by John Rickard goes into some explanation on this issue), and it's through this afterword that Foster's character shines through. He was a remarkable human being–full of love, tenderness and grace.
Filed under Foster John, Non Fiction
Tagged as AIDS, australian non fiction, Memoirs
4 responses to "Take Me to Paris, Johnny: John Foster"
kimbofo
Sounds intriguing… I was a teenager when those Grim Reaper ads first appeared. It was the ghostly voice over that scared me more than the imagery. *shudder*
This sounds good for a lot of reasons.
I just Googled The Grim Reaper PSA. I had never seen it before. Remarkable is an understatement!
This sounds very interesting. It reminds me a bit of Olivia Laing's The Lonely City which I've read earlier this year but haven't reviewed yet. You might like it. I googled that Grim Reaper ad. Made me shudder.
Teresa Pitt
This is a beautiful, moving yet often very funny account of Juan Cespedes' life, written by his lover John Foster. My book group is reading it for our October 2019 class, and I'm finding it quite enchanting. Highly recommended.


Mystifying Stump Valley mixed House and Disco to a Balearic, almost hypnotic Ambient "zen".
According to legend Stump Valley moved their whole studio offline and into the woods.
The whole record breathess tranquility. The kick feels like a steady pace to walk to in the forest. The different themes are uplifting. It's like watching the sunrise while birds are chirping in the background. The heavy bass on the flipside aspires the opposite. From Disco to echoes and drums into a spiritual groove.
The Stump's offer a record for listening pleasures that sets the vibe at a party. Check!


Written by RwB on 12 September 2016 .
Corney Keller has added six more years (1757 to 1762) of marriages to his magnificent series of transcriptions of the Cape Town Dutch Reformed (Nederduits Geremormeerde Kerk) records.
His transcripts of these marriages (1696 to 1756) have also been adapted for the eGGSA BDM database and can be searched there.


Patčhai kānrīan kānsō̜n thī song phon tō̜ khwāmplīanplǣng thaksa thāng wichāchīp khō̜ng phūsamret kānsưksā parinyā thō thāng kānbanchī Khrōngkān MAP Khana Phānitchayasāt læ Kānbanchī Mahāwitthayālai Thammasāt = [Instructional factors affecting change of professional skills of graduate in master's degree from Master of Accounting Program, Faculty of Commerce and Accountancy, Thammasat University] / dōi Tūangsak Manīpakō̜n.
ปัจจัยการเรียนการสอนที่ส่งผลต่อความเปลี่ยนแปลงทักษะทางวิชาชีพของผู้สำเร็จการศึกษาปริญญาโททางการบัญชีโครงการ MAP คณะพาณิชยศาสตร์และการบัญชี มหาวิทยาลัยธรรมศาสตร์ = [Instructional factors affecting change of professional skills of graduate in master's degree from Master of Accounting Program, Faculty of Commerce and Accountancy, Thammasat University] / โดย ตวงศักดิ์ มณีปกรณ์.
Tuangsak Maneepakorn, Thammasat University. Faculty of Commerce and Accountancy.
By: ตวงศักดิ์ มณีปกรณ์, 2530- .


text:
» Audiobooks » The Eyes of Orion
Paper, $25.00
ePDF
Memoir of a Cold War Soldier
Spare Not the Brave
Pacific Time on Target
The Eyes of Orion
Five Tank Lieutenants in the Persian Gulf War
Audiobooks, Military History
Alex Vernon, Neal Creighton, Jr., Greg Downey, Rob Holmes and David Trybula
Audiobook Sample
Winner of the Army Historical Foundation Distinguished Book Award, The Eyes of Orion is a highly personal account of the day-to-day experiences of five platoon leaders who served in the same tank battalion in the 24th Infantry Division during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm.
While professional soldiers and historians will undoubtedly glean much from this narrative, the heart of the account concerns the experiences of the five young lieutenants as they prepared for and served in combat—from their deployment to Saudi Arabia through their six months in the desert training for war, their four days in combat and several weeks of occupation in Iraq, and finally their homecoming. The authors treat their combat experience in Saudi and Kuwait from the perspective of junior officers, all in their twenties and just out of college (four are graduates of West Point and one received his commission through an ROTC program), who served on the front line—facing physical, personal, moral, and leadership challenges.
Alex Vernon is assistant professor of English and chair of American Studies at Hendrix College in Conway, Arkansas. He is of most succinctly bred (The Kent State University Press, 2006), editor of Arms and the Self: War, the Military and Autobiographical Writing (The Kent State University State University Press, 2005), and author of Soldiers Once and Still: Ernest Hemingway, James Salter, and Tim O'Brien (2004).


text:
Australia's warmest end to July in decades
August 1, 2011 — 12.08pm
Pollen season kicks in
Much of central and southern Australia has had its warmest end to July in decades, with the last few days of the month 3 to 8 degrees above average.
To get at least four days of this warmth at the end of July without a cool change is rare, Brett Dutschke, senior meteorologist at weatherzone.com.au said.
It hasn't happened in more than 100 years in some places, he said.
In each of the past four days, Adelaide reached 19 degrees and Hobart 15, their warmest end to July in more than 120 years of records.
Canberra also hit 15 degrees over four days, its warmest end to July in 36 years.
Melbourne had a top of 19 degrees yesterday and today's expected maximum is also 19.
In central Australia, Alice Springs' four days of 25 degrees is the first time July has ended this way in 38 years, he said.
For the east coast, it was not as warm. It was the warmest end to July in only seven years for Brisbane, reaching 21 degrees for 11 days, and the warmest end in six years for Sydney, hitting 20 over four days.
The jetstream forced cold fronts to slip south of the mainland after peaking in Western Australia, leaving much of the country with clear skies and mild north-westerly winds.
These winds have fed off warm waters off Western Australia, giving Perth its warmest end to July in 33 years, six days of 20 degrees despite 60mm of rain.
And August will start even warmer as north-westerlies pick up. A colder change is still a few days away.
Weatherzone.com.au is owned by Fairfax Media, publisher of this website.
Follow Environment on Twitter


a. Why are ratios useful? What are the five major categories of ratios?
Ratios are useful to evaluate a firm's financial statements and one can also compare their performance with other firms, or the industry average.
Meaning, they are being a bit more efficient than the industry average in using their assets to generate sales.
The industry total asset turnover is 2.5 times while the firm's is expected to be a 2.0 times. The firm is below the industry average due the increase in inventories and accounts receivables.
d. Calculate the 2007 debt, times-interest-earned, and EBITDA coverage ratios. How does Computron compare with the industry with respect to financial leverage? What can you conclude from these ratios?
Debt Ratio = total liabilities / total assets Debt Ratio = $ 1,539,800/ $3,516,952 Debt Ratio = 0.44 = 44% The industry average is 50%, which means creditors have supplied 50% (half) of their financing. The firm's debt ratio is lower than the industry average, 44%, which is a good sign. They should try to minimize it a bit more or not let it increase.
The industry and the firm's TIE are almost the same (firm's is 6.28 and the industry average is 6.2). They are both covering interest charges on their debt in the same length of time.


text:
Back Outdoors & Nature | December Newsletter
Choosing the Perfect Puppy
Pippa Mattinson - Ebury Press
Somewhere out there is the dog of your dreams! With over 200 breeds to choose from, how do you know which would be right for you? In this book you will discover how to compare pedigree with mixed breeds; at-a-glance information on the most popular dog breeds in the world; how to choose...
How to Speak Whale: A Voyage into the Future of Animal Communication
Tom Mustill - ?Grand Central Publishing
What if animals and humans could speak to one another? Tom Mustill - the nature documentarian who went viral when a thirty?ton humpback whale breached onto his kayak - asks this question in his thrilling investigation into whale science and animal communication."When...
In a Land of Awe: Finding Reverence in the Search for Wild Horses
Chad Hanson - Broadleaf Books
A stirring invitation to awe--and to what it means to be wild. Out on the edges of our frantic twenty-first-century nation, bands of wild horses stand nestled together, calmly nuzzling each other to maintain the bonds of family. Prairie hills unfurl around them, and the sky provides...
Locked in Time: Animal Behavior Unearthed in 50 Extraordinary Fossils
Dean R Lomax - Columbia University Press
Fossils allow us to picture the forms of life that inhabited the earth eons ago. But we long to know more: how did these animals actually behave? We are fascinated by the daily lives of our fellow creatures -- how they reproduce and raise their young, how they hunt their prey or elude their...
The Marine World: A Natural History of Ocean Life
Frances Dipper - Comstock Publishing Associates
Format: Print book
The Marine World is a book for everyone with an interest in the ocean, from the marine biologist or student wanting expert knowledge of a particular group to the naturalist or diver exploring the seashore and beyond.With color illustrations, line drawings, more than 1,500 color photographs,...
Slow Birding: The Art and Science of Enjoying the Birds in Your Own Backyard
Joan Strassmann - TarcherPerigee
A one-of-a-kind guide to birding locally that encourages readers to slow down and notice the spectacular birds all around them.Many birders travel far and wide to popular birding destinations to catch sight of rare or "exotic" birds. In Slow Birding, evolutionary biologist Joan...
That Wild Country: An Epic Journey Through the Past, Present, and Future of Americas Public Lands
Mark D Kenyon - Brilliance Audio
Format: Audiobook
From prominent outdoorsman and nature writer Mark Kenyon comes an engrossing reflection on the past and future battles over our most revered landscapes - Americas public lands. Every American is a public-land owner, inheritor to the largest public-land trust in the world. These vast expanses...
Wild Nights Out: The Magic of Exploring the Outdoors After Dark
Chris Salisbury - Chelsea Green Publishing
"The book gives adults ideas for activities to get kids outside after the sun goes down, from night hikes to trapping moths. It's also a fascinating meditation on humans' relationship with darkness." -- Outside "A fun, inventive adventure guide about helping children...
Wild new world : the epic story of animals and people in america
DAN FLORES - W W NORTON
A deep-time history of how humans engaged wildlife in North America, by the best-selling and award-winning author of Coyote America.In 1908, a cowboy discovered bones from an extinct giant bison near Folsom, New Mexico. When archeologists found handmade weapons embedded in the fossils,...
At Home on an Unruly Planet: Finding Refuge on a Changed Earth
MADELINE OSTRANDER - Henry Holt and Co.
A science journalist explores how our relationship to home is shifting in an era of planetary upheaval, offering stories of resilient communities on the front lines of climate change and reflecting on how to reimagine our lives.This past summer, one in three Americans experienced some kind...


If a picture is worth a thousand words then a gorgeous photo of a ball field being kissed by the sky is certainly worthy of several posts. Fastpitch.TV was generous enough to allow me to do a series of blog posts about different aspects of this photo. The story unfolds best if you read the posts in order.
If you are anything like me you hate making mistakes. Only thing I hate worse is immediately reading something new that would have helped me avoid the mistake. I'm going to share my most recent mistake … which involves running my mouth when I should have just been silent.
Last Friday evening I was hosting my 7th annual Christmas Batting Extravaganza. 4 straight hours of batting and competition at a local batting cage. Shannon Murray one of my former students and assistant coaches, is now a senior in college and came by to visit, hit and speak about her experience in the recruiting process and her experiences as a collegiate player. She did a fantastic job. After she completed I asked the 20 players that were if they had any questions for Shannon while they had this opportunity. Then I made a huge mistake.
I paused for an entire 1 and 1/2 seconds and when nobody shot their hands into the air I said "Wow, you have such a great chance right now and none of you want to take advantage of it." Paused for another 1 1/2 seconds and proceeded to say "Ok lets get back into the cages since there are no questions." Two huge mistakes on my part in less than 5 seconds.
I returned home. Excited that the event had gone so well except for "in my head" the fact that the girls were to "intellectually lazy to even ask questions about what could be the most important pending decision of their softball lives." I slept restlessly and awoke about 3 hours later. Decided I might as well read some more of the book that I'd been having troubles sitting down. Fortunately for me the author reached off the 2nd page I read and smacked me in the face with the answer I needed.
The problem wasn't a blonde moment. The problem wasn't that they didn't care about their futures. Shannon had done such a great job communicating that she actually held the attention of 20 teenage ball players late at night. They were so focused on her and actually listened that they didn't have time to formulate a question. The problem wasn't them at all, it was that I could hardly take a breathe before I had to move on and fill the void of … silence.
Whether you are a coach, a parent or a player I highly recommend picking up a copy of "Stop the Drama: The Ultimate Guide to Female Teams" by Doc Robyn Odegaard. It is filled with practical explanations that will help you, like me, understand the silly things that we do that lead to drama. Things like filling in the "whys" in our own heads with negative responses instead of asking why. Things like the fact that if you want good questions, good responses you have to take the time and allow people to think. Even though the silence can be deafening while they are.
For many of the softball players I work with, and likely many around the country and the world this fall marks a serious time of transition. They started the year on teams that they had been on for a year or more and now find themselves on new team. Their former teams were marked with tremendous friendships and they knew exactly where they stood with the coaching staff. This weekend I watched many of these new teams finish the final games of this fall season, and frankly it hurt to watch many of them struggle.
If I could speak to those teams, I would say to them that just like an airport, teams are a "zero sum game." You can't see the romantic homecomings at the terminal gates, without also realizing that just beyond that couple there is a heartbreaking scene going as a family is separated. Planes cannot land, if they don't first take off from somewhere else.
For those of you on new teams my advice is simple, remember the good times you shared but let go of the grip those old teammates have on your heart. Don't spend your time comparing the players/coaches/parents of the new team to those people. Accept the fact that they are different. Embrace those differences. Look at each one of these teammates and realize that they are now in your life for a purpose and figure that out. Find what it is that you can learn from each of them.
For those of you who have lost great friends and have new teammates now on board. Try to imagine how they must feel, and how heart broken they must be for they are the ones who had to board the plan and depart from another town, another city, another team and they now find themselves smack dab in the middle of your team. Don't wait for them to make the first move, and don't just try and meet them half way, be the initiator. The one who opens your heart, is willing to accept the situation and reach out to them first, and reach out often.
Our former friends/teammates will always have a dear place in our heart, nothing can change that. But our new teammates can as well if we just let them. But teams can't function effectively if players are still playing in their hearts with teammates that are miles away. There is sadness in leaving, but their can be happiness in new beginnings if you allow it.
The more I hear the word "fair" used in conjunction with the word "not" on a softball field, the more I'm beginning to see it as a 4 letter word. One that should be avoided at all costs, and stricken from one's vocabulary.
The world is full of situations that aren't fair and we all recognize that, yet somehow we allow players to get by with the notion that everything in the softball world should be fair. The truth is that situations are neither fair nor unfair, they simply are. Any time spent analyzing the fairness of the situation is time lost that could better be spent adjusting to and dealing with the situation.
You are the best hitter in the world, and yet the coach is "unfair" and bats you dead last. Did you ever stop to think that by batting dead last you get the least respect from the opposing team's pitchers so you likely get better pitches to hit? Do you really want the fairness of having to handle the exact same pitching focus that is afforded to the #4 hitter on the team, and the expectations of everyone on the team that you will produce big hits every single at bat?
You hit a solid line drive that travels 175 feet on a rope, a rope that ends in the glove of the center fielder. While the player on the opposing team closes her eyes, and dips under the pitch badly. Her ball travels 78 and a 1/2 feet as a popup, one that drops 1/2 foot beyond the arms of your diving second basemen in right field. Is that fair that you killed the ball but didn't get a hit, while they had a blooper and did get a hit? Or is it simply a matter of odds that as you spray your line drives around sooner or later one will be straight at a player, and the odds that the other player's consistent bloopers will sooner or later happen to drop right outside the reach of your fielder?
Another player is seemingly gets "special" treatment from their parents, while you seem to be challenged every single time your father looks in your direction. Is that un-fair to you? Or is it really un-fair to the other player who's parents have given up trying to help them grow and develop because it takes to much work.
One of your friends is on a great team. One where they have several awesome players, and they win every game. The players all get along and bake cookies for each other every weekend. While you are on a team that is struggling to ever win, and players yell at each other on and off the field. Is that really fair to your friend that she takes a back seat while the other players carry the team and lead it to greatness? How is that preparing her for the real world, where she will be on her own, while you get the honor of stepping up and becoming a leader due to necessity, and while you don't win all of your games you are becoming prepared to win the game of life.
If you've read any of my former posts you probably realize by now that my writing is meant to encourage athletes, coaches and parents alike. I try to string together words that perhaps you have read before, in a way that makes them sound fresh. Recently one of my batting students made me realize how cliché some of our sayings can be at times and yet how critically vital they are to continue to repeat.
One of the things as a coach and an instructor that I realized a long time ago is that anyone can look good when everything is going there way. But how you react when you are in the batter's box and the umpire made that strike call even though the ball bounced is what really separates the average players from the great players. What I've found is that average players allow the "happenings" around them to determine their "happiness." While the players with the ability to win long term, and throughout life, are able to maintain control of the 6" between their ears despite the circumstances around them going against them.
That's so profound right. Just follow that advice and all the weeds in your life will turn to roses. Well on paper everything sounds profound, but when you are a 14 year old girl like my student Jessie how does that work when you are in a big tournament and the coach benches you 2 games in a row for no fault of your own, 2 tournaments in a row. How do you control that 6" between your ears then? That's kind of where the "rubber hits the road" as they say.
Back to what I was writing … Average players tend to react to negative situations in a way that disables them from contributing in a positive way for the team, and often carry those situations with them for several innings if not all the way home with them and sometimes throughout their entire life. While players that control the 6" between their ears by realizing that the umpire, the coach, their parents, their teammates, other coaches, other players all have one thing in a common; They are human. Humans make mistakes. Humans let you down. Humans tell you one thing, but do another. If you accept in your mind that others will make mistakes, just like yourself, then when they do it isn't quite so hard to accept/handle.
Back to Jessie … final game to get into the championship and she finds herself on the bench. End of the game, 2 players on base and the coach calls her in to pinch hit. She could pout right? "Sit me on the bench and now you want me to hit, well I don't care if YOU lose the game or now this will teach you." She could have done that. But what she did was wait for her pitch, no I'm not going to tell you what her pitch is because you might play her at ASA Nationals, and drives the snot out of it and helps her team win the game. Surely now she's earned her way into the lineup for the championship game. But No! Championship game starts against one of her best friends and she finds herself on the bench again. After the coach had previously apologized for having done that in the past and said he would do a better job of remembering who sat which games.
Back to what I was writing … Average players bring their baggage from the past onto the field with them. The players that want to be their best, the players that want to win are able to leave that baggage at home because they realize they can't play with all of it draped on their back.
Winners are separated from others by the way they control their effort and their attitude.
Whether you are a parent, a coach or a player there are a million things that you have absolutely no control over no matter how much you try. Close your eyes for a few minutes and think through several recent really bad situations. How did you react? Did you let the umpire, your parents, your coach, your teammates, the other team, your boss, your colleages control the 6" between your ears or were you able to control of your effort and your attitude despite everything going against you.
Back to Jessie … Championship game. Late innings. Score 0 to 0. Coach once again calls upon her in a crucial situation and asks her to bunt. Ouch! How's that going to work? She's got to be furious. She's got to want to kill the ball and prove something to her coach and her best friend. Yeah NO! That's not how Jessie rolls. She lays down a perfect bunt and not only moves the runners into scoring position, she gets on herself. Next girl delivers the game winning hit and she is now a champion. Or was she already a champion for controlling the only 2 things which she could control; Her Effort and Her Attitude?
This is the time of the year when many people feel the need to write down their "New Year's Resolutions." This tradition of becoming introspective and looking forward to a "better life" dates all the way back to 153 BC when the mythical king of early Rome, Janus, was placed at the head of the calendar. Janus had two faces and could look back on past events, while also looking forward to the future. Webster's defines the word resolution as "a formal expression of opinion, will, or intent." Which sounds really good, but let me share why I don't think that will really work.
A common definition of insanity is continuing to do the same things, but expecting different results. Which is exactly why I think the idea that you will change your life by writing New Year's resolutions down on a piece of paper is as mythical as the Roman King Janus for whom the tradition started with. My firm belief is that the only way you will actually make any lasting changes is to spend the time necessary to actually identify and write down what your dreams are. Find those visions that you think about in the back of your mind constantly, that you would do anything to achieve.
Do you want to be a collegiate All American? Do you want to be the starting pitcher for your high school? Do you want to be known as the best coach in softball history? The parent that your teenagers love talking to? Identifying these dreams is the first step, but also the hardest. Many are afraid to admit things like those for fear that they will fail. For fear that they will be laughed at. For fear that they aren't good enough to achieve them. So instead of admitting that they have a dream, their fear keeps them in the same cycle of coming up with "resolutions" on January 1 and then falling right back into "settling" by February 1.
So quite settling, admit your dreams, and then go out and pursue them with a passion this year instead of just making a wish list.
Is there a difference between being hurt and being injured?
One of the hardest things in this game is knowing as a coach where the line is between a player being hurt and a player being injured. The longer I'm around this game, and the more amazing young ladies I watch the harder it is for me to know the difference between her needing to come out of the game, and her being able to push forward. Just when I think I know the level to which they can ignore the pain, another player comes along and demonstrates to me that I still underestimate the ability for heart to go further in overcoming the pain that I had previously seen. This past weekend I watched one of the players that I work with frequently do something that raised my expectations of just how tough a player can really be even further.
Before I share the specifics about her let me share that I already had high expectations. At a recent National Professional Fastpitch event I had Caitlin Lowe sign a poster I had made for one of my top slappers. When I gave my player the poster she said "Coach you have no idea how much I love Caitlin Lowe. As a young girl I watched her run into a fence and break her nose. I want to be like her." At which point I interrupted her and asked "you want to break your nose running into a fence?" She said "Of course not. She came back the next day and played ball. I want the chance in my career to show the world how tough I can really be, just like her." Of course I knew what Caitlin Lowe had done. I had also watched this player gut out a 102 fever one time and the flu another time to play exceptional ball. So I had no idea that what I had witnessed from her didn't even scratch the surface of what she was really willing to go through if need be in order to show the world how much love she really has for the game.
So back to the story … this young lady dove for a ball in the first game of her tournament. The timing was off just a bit and she broke both knuckles on the index finger of her throwing hand as she tried to cover up the ball. The odd shape of her finger, the purplish color of it and the fact that it was about double the size in seconds was the first clue that it was definitely broken. Her coach and the umpires both wanted to do the humane thing and take her out of the game. Fighting through the tears and the pain she refused to leave. You would have to know her to understand that that battles wasn't one that her coach or the umpire were going to win so they allowed her to remain in the game. Big deal, seen that lots of times, that just the background for what I really wanted to share. By morning her finger was swollen worse and it was obvious that she couldn't throw. But she insisted on hitting, and in practice demonstrated that she could still hit despite being down 1 critical finger. She destroyed the ball all day long. I was there to watch her the first game on Sunday and honestly looking at her finger almost made me sick. But she was determined to continue hitting. Not only did she hit, she ended up in a situation that I'm not sure I'll ever forget. At my clinics I teach/encourage very aggressive base running. Well here she was on base after crushing the ball, and just when I thought she'd done all she could to impress me she took a huge lead and begged the catcher to snap back to first base and then proceeded to do a perfect dive back into first. Broken finger and all.
Macy showed me this weekend that her heart was in fact much bigger than I had previously given her credit for. I'd love to hear from others who've seen girls with amazing hearts that shine through the pain and the tears. Those that have demonstrated for you that the line between being hurt and being injured is sometimes really hard to find.


As an adolescent I gave up studying and went to work in a factory where I got involved in the workers' struggles. After some years I picked up my studies again and became a nurse, which I loved.
I worked in a hospital which was quite far from my village and I had to live in another town. I got to know other people, very different from those I was used to. Among them was the person who is still my best friend. She was very committed at a faith level; I used to tease her but we were still the best of friends. I came to know what she was interested in, and began to go with her to her prayer meetings. I liked this aspect of Church and began to experience a certain attraction to a life of faith.
I have always loved nature and often felt the need to walk alone on a mountain top. It was suggested to me to go to the Gubbio mountains where some women were living in a Hermitage. These turned out to be very important days for me, during which I had a deep experience of God. After that, I went to the Hermitage as often as I could, eventually deciding to spend a longer time there. I was able to go more deeply into the Bible and my relationship with God, and to look carefully at myself.
After some months I felt ready to return to the world. I needed to work, and wanted to have an experience of sharing life with poorer people. I went to work in the fields picking tobacco leaves, sharing life with young men from North Africa and with poor Italian women. That was when I decided I wanted to become a Sister, living close to people, because people need a closeness to those who in some way represent the Church. It was decision-making time for me. Someone told me about the Ignatian Exercises, introducing me to a Jesuit who invited me to Rome to follow the Exercises. I stayed in a house known as Villa Lante, belonging to the Religious of the Sacred Heart.
At that time the Noviceship was in the little house just beside the main house. The Sisters took in young women and they welcomed me there. I felt very happy with the Sisters. That was in 1994. I knew that the Congregation had just finished a Chapter, and one day I came across a little book on the table about the Chapter and I started to read it. I was caught by what was written in it and when I came to "The Eucharistic Dimension of our Spirituality" I seemed to have found the place where I could live my desire for contemplation and my commitment to the poor.
A few months later I entered the Society of the Sacred Heart. It was not easy for me in the Noviceship, as my parents became ill and died soon after, very close to one another.
My ministry has always been with marginalized people: the homeless, drug addicts, abused children, trafficked women, AIDS victims… Very quickly I came to realize that I needed skills to avoid the pitfall of becoming too over-involved, of ignoring my own needs by focusing on the needs of others: I mean, that in order to be of real help, I needed professional formation and so I went to university and trained as a Professional Educator.
Before, I met God in nature, in silence and in harmony. With the passing of time I had the grace of discovering God where it might seem that He is not present. There, in misery, violence, poverty… a huge emptiness. However, the greater the emptiness, the greater still did I find the Love of God to fill this emptiness, this vacuum.
I love our charism of discovering and making known His Love. I think that is what the world needs, above all in the difficult times in which we live now. I think it is always a challenge to live it in the present, now, in reality.
I have had the possibility of living in other Provinces of the Society of the Sacred Heart: Chile, Colombia and most recently in Ireland. I feel a gratitude in my heart for the Sisters and other people I have met in each of these. Thanks to technology, some of these relationships are still alive, in spite of time and distance.
From 2012 to 2014 I lived in the Democratic Republic of Congo, working in the refugee Camps with the JRS (Jesuit Refugee Services). Despite having contracted malaria five times, and being in the crossfire of armed conflict, it was a wonderful experience. I have rejoiced in the reality that Love has two facets: giving and receiving. When persons love me so much, this means that they have received Love.
In October 2015 I will begin a new experience with migrants in Sicily. It will be in an international and inter-congregational community, set up by UISG (International Union of Superiors General). There will be three RSCJ from Europe: Florence de la Villeon, Maria Gazcol and myself. It gives me great joy to think of being able to do something in Italy with other sisters, and above all with my own RSCJ sisters. At the moment we are talking a lot in the Society about the reconfiguration of Europe and it seems to me that this situation is signalling the path we should follow: Sisters who respond to a mission, ready and willing to go where people need us. I am grateful to Kathleen Conan, our General Superior, and to Maria Teresa Devoto, the Provincial of Italy, for this opportunity.


text:
import { Observable } from 'rxjs/Rx';

export class BrowserViewports {
  static getBrowserViewports(): any {
    return {
      innerHeight: window.innerHeight,
      innerWidth: window.innerWidth
    };
  }

  static onBrowserViewportsUpdate() {
    return Observable.fromEvent(window, 'resize')
      .debounceTime(500)
      .map(() => {
        return this.getBrowserViewports();
      });
  }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Eighth annual U.S. Sand Sculpting Challenge draws thousands to downtown San Diego
"Into the Future," by Thomas Koet, of Florida, won Sculptor's Choice at last year's event.
(U.S. Sand Sculpting Challenge / )
A dozen of the world's top sand sculptors competed for a $60,000 purse over Labor Day weekend
By Joshua Emerson Smith
Team Sand Squirrel work on their sand sculpture in I.B. Challenge Class during the U.S. Sand Sculpting Challenge in downtown San Diego on Sunday, September 1, 2019.
Sand artists from around the country and beyond showed off their artistic sides in San Diego this Labor Day weekend at the U.S. Sand Sculpting Challenge and Dimensional Art Exposition.
The exposition, now in its eighth year, was expected to draw about 40,000 people to the Broadway Pier and Pavilion over the holiday weekend.
A dozen of the profession's top artists participated upon invitation in the competition, which offered $60,000 in cash prizes. The event also included food trucks, beer, live music and rows of high-end craft vendors.
Throughout the weekend, several bands performed, including those covering the songs of The Beach Boys, Beatles and Bob Dylan. An Elvis tribute band, Suspicious Minds, put on shows Saturday and Sunday evenings.
This year's theme was "Wonder," intended to parallel the Port of San Diego's Wonderspaces art exhibit and the Wonderfront Music & Arts Festival in November, explained cofounder Joyce Summer.
Summer and her husband, Gordon, spearheaded the event eight years ago after first helping to put on the Imperial Beach U.S. Open Sandcastle Competition until it was discontinued in 2011 due to overwhelming crowds.
"It was an instant success," she said of the exposition located in downtown San Diego. "This is a true family event."
The works of art on display included everything from the bizarre and abstract to references to pop culture, such as depictions of Stevie Wonder and Wonder Woman.
"My thing is pleasing the people," said John Gowdy, whose sculpture of the female superhero was drawing large crowds on Sunday.
"Here you have a local artist judging panel," added the 62-year-old from New Jersey, who got into sand sculpting after spending more than two decades as a firefighter. "That's why you see a lot of abstract pieces here. But I like to please the people with simple things."
Much of the art was as intellectual as it was meticulously crafted, such as Brian Turnbough's rendering of a man floating among geometrical shapes and below a hole or perhaps a portal.
"I put a lot of thought and energy into what I'm creating," said the 40-year-old from Illinois. "I go home, and I'm wiped every night, just beat. But it's fulfilling to put your time into something you really love."
Turnbough said he does about three sculpture competitions a year, with San Diego's event perhaps the top one because of the high level of the talent, the high quality of sand and other amenities provided by the organizers.
"You get more time at this event than you do at a lot of other events," he said. "We're sheltered, so we're not at the mercy of the weather like we would be on a beach."
Team members with Archisand Professional Sand Sculpture put the final touches of their sculpture, titled "Dreams Take Flight." Left to right are Ko Tanaka, Alex LeBon, Greg LeBon and Amy Tanaka.
To make the event possible, the exposition shelled out about $15,000 to haul in 300 tons of high-quality sand to an open-air building on the Broadway Pier.
The results impressed Yan Gao, 56, of Saber Springs. "When you see how they do it, that's the amazing part. I never thought sand can make those sculptures — very intricate and creative."
Many of the participating artists said they sculpt sand as their main source of income, pulling in thousands from corporate installations.
Greg LeBon, 60, of Laguna Hills is an architect by training, but he got into sand sculpting in the early 1980s. Today he runs Archisand, a professional sand sculpting business that has worked for companies such as Google, Honda, Coca-Cola and Netflix.
LeBon said he had been attending the U.S. Open Sandcastle Competition in Imperial Beach for several decades before it was closed down. That's when he worked with Summer and her husband to launch the event now being held along the Embarcadero.
"This is one of the best events on the circuit," he said, adding: "If it wasn't for Gordon and Joyce's passion for this art and for the three-dimensional art, these sand sculptors here wouldn't have this venue to preform in."
EnvironmentLatestSan DiegoTop Stories
Joshua Emerson Smith
Sport cyclists and car culture collide in San Diego's massive expansion of bike lanes
Advocates and elected officials hope to woo novice bikers with new 'protected' lanes that separate riders from drivers
San Diegans share 2021 New Year's resolutions as pandemic escalates
Experts urge people to make resolutions they can follow through on
San Diego continues to tout greenhouse-gas reductions that never happened
San Diego climate plan relies on inaccurate data for tailpipe emissions from cars and trucks
Refugee church community pulls together for Christmas as pandemic takes its toll
St. Luke's Episcopal Church in North Park and its nonprofit partner RefugeeNet provide essential resources for a hard-hit congregation
Diary of a recovery: A City Heights neighborhood braces for a grim winter
Along University and Euclid avenues, businesses and people are in survival mode until the pandemic lifts
Groups sue over Otay Ranch Resort Village, citing species, wildfire and climate
The legal challenge is the latest in a string of such lawsuits to block housing on undeveloped land
San Diego mayor unveils proposals on homelessness, climate change, equity in 'State of City' speech
But Gloria says city is 'fragile' because of pandemic, financial problems that won't end any time soon
New San Diego-area community choice energy program feuding with SDG&E
San Diego Community Power says SDG&E is manipulating rates to undermine its rollout
Researchers exploring how San Diego County wetlands can be part of climate-saving strategies
Lagoons hold promise for 'blue carbon' capture
Flood-resistant oyster reefs may soon return to Mission Bay
San Diego launching study to determine impact on sea level rise, water quality, wildlife
Public meetings slated to discuss San Diego's electric and gas franchise agreements
Recently extended, the existing deal with SDG&E runs through June 1


Extreme/Paired Programming in Java or .NET.
I have two openings. Location is Dearborn, MI – duration 12+ months, renewed annually.
Each candidate must take a coding test and complete two additional rounds of web based interviews.
Candidates must have experience in Extreme/Paired Programming in Java or .NET. Must be interested in being a lead/coach/mentor to other team members.
Client is looking to bring on several Software Craftsmen with a passion for agile development. We are looking for candidates experienced in a variety of programming languages. Software Craftsman will serve as Technique Coaches and work onsite with our client to develop code and educate their fellow developers on XP practices. Client is looking for developers that are continuously looking to improve their craft and have the ability to coach and motivate others.
5+ years' experience with Extreme Programming (XP) practices like Test Driven Development (TDD), pair programming, refactoring, simple design, clean code, etc.


A few weeks ago I discovered I had the world's smallest problem. A tiny patch of skin between the knuckles of my little finger and the next one up on my left hand had got a bit dry.
Now, you may remember, if you ever watched the video from my attempt at making mince pies, that I'm not really a fan of putting things on my hands. When it was suggested that all I needed was a bit of hand cream, I was filled with dread and had no idea where to start.
I immediately uttered a cry for help from that inimitable resource – Twitter.
Thank you to everyone who responded, it was fabulous doing some research. Of course, I ignored all the advice, and picked the smallest tube I could find in the shop. I didn't want to spend too much on something I wasn't sure I'd be able to use.
The process was not pleasant, and I started out by putting the tiniest bit on the problem area. Then I got a bit braver and eventually I was actually doing the whole hand-rubbing-together-till-it-dries thing. I liked the smell of the stuff, it reminded me of my mother.
Anyway, it's all worked out well as we're now about ten days on and my hands are all smooth and lovely again. Question is, do I have to keep using this stuff? And more importantly, could I actually face doing it forever?
Question is, do I have to keep using this stuff?
Probably not every day. You should be fine just using it occasionally, but in the winter you'll need to use it a bit more often because your skin dries out more.
First you should know although I am not concerned with how "lovely" my hands are. However I do dislike dry spots, of which I have many due to my (old) age and hobbies which involve a lot of outdoor manual work.
I have spent a lot of time handling chemicals and occasionally I have ended up with dry skin as a result. The best cream I have ever found is Vaseline intensive care although I know people who swear by E45.
Actually Swarfega might be the UK equivalent.
Here in the colonies (U.S.) we use a wonderful product named 'Bag Balm'.
We've had some excellent feedback about the clear up of eczema with NewGenn products – none are harsh or alcohol based and we're UK / EU based. I can get a sample to you for your experiment?


Unsold homes in Malaysia have reached a value of MYR22.5 billion (USD5.4 billion), an overhang Putrajaya aims to remedy with a range of affordable residential schemes, Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin said in a media briefing yesterday via Malay Mail.
Seventy-three percent of the overhang consists of units priced below MYR250,000, a range classed as affordable in Malaysia.
The government is mulling a home ownership exposition to sell overhang homes at lower price points, the minister revealed.
"We will also discuss with Bank Negara and investment houses where they said they agree to assist in home financing scheme so buyers will have some leeway on obtaining approval," she added.
Property seekers in Malaysia's B40 income group as well as first-time home buyers will get priority in the programmes. To ensure debt serviceability, the government will discourage those identified as being unable to afford the units from making purchases.
However, the government is ready to waive legal fees and help negotiate for longer repayment times on behalf of first-time home buyers unable to get access to credit.
Another scheme will involve the promotion of rent-to-own units as a step toward home ownership. "This is part of our plans to ensure the B40, especially the first time home buyers will be able to own a home. They will rent for a period between three to five years and the money will be converted [as a deposit] as the property value appreciates," Zuraida explained.


text:
Q: A good TDD-Friendly .NET file IO library As many of you know, the System.IO namespace is abysmally designed.  I would like a free library that wraps the file IO functionality in a sane way (read: doesn't require you passing strings all over the place).  I remember reading some time ago that there is a small handful of these libraries already written (and the author was surprised that there were not more).  I think it was one of the guys on devlicious or codebetter or Los Techies that did one of them.
Does anyone know what I'm talking about or another good File IO wrapper?
Edit: I suppose I should specify that I do Test Driven Development and my concerns are largely (but not entirely) around System.IO's test friendliness.

A: What's wrong with System.IO.FileInfo?

I was curious, so started to create a set of wrappers using ReSharper. It took me 16 minutes, and I haven't tested it, and don't know if it meets your needs. Still, I thought I'd outline the process I used:

*

*Create a new class library project

*Make Class1 public and rename it to be FileSystemInfoWrapper

*Give it a private field _fsi of type FileSystemInfo (resolve the class to get the namespace imported)

*Click the field and choose to Initialize in Constructor

*Click the field again and use ReSharper -> Code -> Generate (Alt+Ins); Choose Generate Delegating Members; Click "Public" to get all public members

*Same for FileInfo, but also derive from FileSystemInfoWrapper and remove the duplicate members (ReSharper could have done better here)

*Same for DirectoryInfo, but also derive from FileSystemInfoWrapper and fix duplicates

*For each of the wrappers, click the class then use ReSharper->Refactor->Extract Interface

*Have IFileInfoWrapper and IDirectoryInfoWrapper derive from IFileSystemInfoWrapper, and remove duplicates.

The result is interfaces that include the methods and properties of the corresponding classes, and concrete classes that delegate to the original classes and implement the interfaces. You should then be able to create your own mock classes, and change your code to use the interfaces instead of directly using the System.IO concrete classes.

A: I think you're looking for this question and this blog post.
I've only wrapped System.IO.File and System.IO.Directory though. No FileInfo or other stuff.

A: I'm curious what's so abysmal about the design of the System.IO namespace. Granted, choosing a particular interface or class can be somewhat of an arbitrary exercise, but I'm not familiar with the problem of having to pass strings around all over the place.
Perhaps you could give some more information about your particular issue?

EDIT
You seem to indicate that you want classes that build upon the System.IO namespace that will allow you to test without writing to the file system. I'm not seeing how you can adequately test a function that writes to the file system without it, well, writing to the file system. If you want to test your logic from a writing perspective, then allow you functions to take System.IO.Stream or System.IO.TextWriter, whichever is more appropriate. This will allow you to test the various components of your code without necessarily having any outside impact; just pass a System.IO.MemoryStream instead of a System.IO.FileStream. Obviously you won't run into issues like running out of space, access denied, etc., but you can't ever encounter those errors without running live against the file system. That's why you can expose outer functions that take System.IO.FileInfo or a string path (or an array/IEnumerable<> of either, whatever you need) that can provide another level of testing that's live.
The System.IO namespace is pretty well populated, and I've never run into a particularly non-OO approach being used.

A: Ok, I went digging.
This is the article I was referring to.
And this is the API (spawned from the ndepend project

A: There's a quite comprehensive set of adapters provided at http://systemwrapper.codeplex.com. You'll find pretty much all of System.IO is wrapped, along with quite a few other System namespaces (wrapping the DateTime class is always a good move if you're working with time-sensitive calculations).


text:
Stråsø Plantage er et dansk naturområde, der ligger på Skovbjerg Bakkeø i Vestjylland. En del af plantagen hører til Natura 2000-område nr. 64. Plantagen, der omfatter mange forskellige naturtyper, er en af de største af sin slags i Danmark med et areal på 3.300 hektar. Området er ejet af den danske stat og administreres under Naturstyrelsen fra Klosterhede Statsskovdistrikt. En stor del af plantagen, primært hedeområder, er fredet. Stråsø Plantage og Vind Hede blev i 2018 udpeget som en del af Danmarks Naturkanon.

Plantagen ligger i tre kommuner: Holstebro (ca. 40 %), Herning (ca. 40 %) og Ringkøbing-Skjern Kommuner (ca. 20 %).

Historie
Fra for cirka 14.000 år siden blev området, der nu er Stråsø Plantage, så småt dækket med planter, hvorpå fulgte forskellige dyrearter, og med dem fulgte mennesket på jagt efter dyrene. Lige øst for plantagen er der fundet spor af en boplads fra stenalderen, lige som der inden for plantagens område findes flere gravhøje fra bronzealderen.

Da jordbrug blev almindeligt, havde bønderne for vane at rydde et stykke skov for at dyrke afgrøder, og når udbyttet blev for småt, fældede de nye områder, hvorpå processen gentog sig. Dette førte efterhånden til, at størstedelen af området blev relativt goldt, hvorpå heden overtog pladsen. Dyrkningen fortsatte, men med beskedent udbytte, og bøndernes dyr græssede på hederne og i engområderne langs vandløbene.

I 1600-tallet nåede heden sin største udbredelse, og helt frem til omkring år 1800 var der hede i cirka 40 % af Jylland. Herefter begyndte man at opdyrke jorden med mere effektive metoder, så der i 1950 blot var 8 % af Jylland, der var hede. Imidlertid er den vestlige del af Jylland ofte udsat for kraftige vestenvinde, der kan forårsage jordfygning, og for at imødegå dette, begyndte staten i anden halvdel af 1800-tallet at opkøbe jordområder og tilplante dem med skove, hvilket beskyttede markerne især øst for skovene. I 1859 var H.C. Andersen forbi området og kunne fra Lærkehøj, omtrent midt i den nuværende plantage, se ud over et gigantisk område, og han blev efter sigende inspireret til at skrive en af sine mest kendte sange, "Jylland mellem tvende have". Også Kaj Munk havde tilknytning til området, idet han i en periode ejede Vind Hede, og derfor har en del af denne hede senere fået navnet Kaj Munks Hede.

I 1891 købte staten hedegården Stråsøgaard, og etableringen af skov begyndte i området. Plantagen fik navn efter gården, og jordopkøb fortsatte i nabolaget til 1940-42. En del af området blev bibeholdt som hede. I 1942 blev Ulfborg Statsskovdistrikt oprettet til bestyring af plantagen.

Plantagen var i 2013 hårdt ramt af den store storm i december 2013, hvor en stor mængde træer væltede.

Naturtyper
Stråsø Plantage er karakteriseret ved, at den består af flere naturtyper fra kulturskov over naturskov, hede med indlandsklit, mose og eng til dyrket agerjord. Kulturskoven er opstået ved beplantning efter etableringen af plantagen. Naturskoven er sandsynligvis rester af den oprindelige skov, der visse steder har fået mulighed for at overleve. Der er flere store heder, hvoraf de tre største er Vind Hede i den østlige del af plantagen samt Nørre og Sønder Vosborg Hede henholdsvis i nordøst og sydøst. Engene er områderne nærmest ved Råsted Lilleå (eller blot Lilleå), som snor sig gennem området og er tilløb til Storå. I små lommer i området er der dyrket agerjord.

Kulturskovene i plantagen består overvejende af nåletræer. I de senere år er kulturskov arealet gradvist reduceret for blandt andet at lade heden overtage et større område.

I området omkring tæt på Lilleå, især på strækningen fra lidt sydøst for Fuglsang Bro og nordvest på til omkring Gosmer Bro finder man områder præget af egekrat. Disse menes at stamme fra den oprindelige skov i området. Egene er her ret små og forkrøblede, hvilket blandt andet skyldes århundreders hugst af træerne samt græssende dyr. Egekrattene er fredede.

Hederne har en langt mere næringsfattig jordbund, og her finder man primært lav bevoksning domineret af lyngarter. Heden plejes for at undgå, at store planter skal komme til at dominere landskabet. Plejen foregår blandt andet ved nedskæring og kontrollerede afbrændinger. Visse steder på hedearealerne, blandt andet omkring Stolbjerg, finder man indlandsklitter og hedesøer. Nogle af klitterne ligger nøgne hen, mens andre er tilvokset med planter fra de omkringliggende heder.

Moser og engarealer i nærheden af Lilleå nyder godt af det stærkt snoede åløb. I de seneste år der etableret genslyngninger, efter at åen i en periode har været rettet ud flere steder.

Flora

Træsorterne i de dyrkede skove omfatter blandt andet bjergfyr, rødgran, ædelgran, kæmpegran, skarntydegran (tsuga), søjlegran (omorika) og sitkagran.

I områderne med naturskov finder man foruden eg også bævreasp og tørst blandt træer. Jordbunden her er mere frodig end de heder, der ligger tætpå, så her finder man småplanter som liljekonval, anemone og kohvede.

På hederne finder man typisk lav bevoksning som klokkelyng, mosebølle, tyttebær, revling og den eneste naturlige højere plante, ene. Blandt de knap så almindelige arter finder man fx guldblomme, tormentil og kattefod. Desuden finder man sjældne arter som vårkobjælde samt forskellige former for gøgeurter samt ulvefod.

En række svampearter findes ligeledes i plantagen, heriblandt rødlistede arter som kantet ridderhat (Tricoloma avernense), duft-ridderhat (Tricholoma matsutake), suppe-ridderhat (Tricholoma apium), blålig og orange korkpigsvamp (Hydnellum caeruleum, Hydnellum aurantiacum).

Fauna

Blandt pattedyr er det kronhjorten, der står særligt markant, og bestanden er i de senere år vokset til over tusind dyr.

Stråsø Plantage var sandsynligvis det første sted, ulven begyndte at yngle i Danmark, da den i 2010'erne igen kom til landet. Det var her, der første gang blev fotograferet ulvehvalpe, og det var også i den sydlige del af området, at en lokal beboer i april 2018 skød en ulv.

Andre større pattedyr, der lever i plantagen, er rådyr, ræv, grævling, odder, hare, mår og egern. Bæveren er i de seneste år kommet til fra det oprindelige udsætningsområde i Klosterhede Plantage og holder til ved Lilleå.

Vind Hede var et af de sidste steder, urfuglen levede naturligt i Danmark, og heden var derfor fredet som urfuglereservat. Den observation af den sky fugl på heden fandt sted i 1996; få år senere, i 2001, blev urfuglen officielt erklæret for uddød i Danmark.

Efter urfuglens forsvinden er det nu stor regnspove, der er den mest markante fugleart, der yngler på Vind Hede. Andre fuglearter på hederne er stor tornskade og natravn. Størstedelen af Vind Hede er beskyttet som vildtreservat, hvilket vil sige, at der ikke er adgang om foråret i yngleperioden, ligesom der resten af tiden kun er begrænset adgang. Ved Lilleå kan man finde isfugle, mens rovfugle som musvåge, duehøg og spurvehøg ligeledes findes i området samt mere sjældent havørn og fiskeørn. Med de seneste års ændring til et mere varieret landskab er der kommet nye fuglearter som grønspætte, sortspætte og ravn til området.

Den ret sjældne trehornede skarnbasse findes på hederne i plantagen. I Lilleå finder man fisk som stalling, bækørred, ål og vildlaks. Den fredede hugorm lever også i hedeområderne. I vandhullerne, der findes forskellige steder i plantagen, kan man finde stor vandsalamander.

Rekreative anvendelser

Den varierede natur i plantagen er velegnet til vandreture, og der er mange stier og skovveje, der gør dette muligt. Der findes tre afmærkede vandreruter i plantagen: Gosmerturen (ca. 6 km), Stolbjergturen (to varianter) og Lystbækturen (3,3 km + 6,7 km samt 0,6 km kørestolsegnet). Derudover er det tilladt at cykle over hele området, idet man skal være opmærksom på, at der overvejende er tale om grusveje. Vandring og cykling kan kombineres med geocaching, idet der er flere mål herfor i plantagen. Der findes tre lejrpladser i området, hvor det er muligt at tænde bål.

Badning er muligt i en badesø i områdets nordvestlige del. Lystfiskeri er mulig med fiskekort i Lilleå, mens de mange fiskesøer ikke rummer fisk. Nogle af lodsejerne inden for plantagens område ejer jagten der, mens andre dele udbydes som dagjagt. De vigtigste jagtdyr er kronhjorte, rådyr, harer og ræve.

Kørsel på mountainbike er mulig på en bane anlagt i et bakket terræn øst for Sønder Vosborg Hede. Desuden er ridning og kørsel med hestevogne mulig på vejene og brandbælter.

Endelig kan nævnes, at det er muligt at blukke bær og planter i skoven. Især tyttebærplukning er eftertragtet på hederne, hvilket understøttes ved, at de skovveje, der ellers ikke er åbne for almen trafik, hvert år åbnes for bilkørsel i den sidste weekend i august for at gøre adgangen lettere. Også svampeplukning er mulig, og det er ikke svært at finde kantareller og rørhatte i området. Blomster og andre planter kan plukkes, idet man skal være opmærksom på de fredede arter (heriblandt vårkobjælde, gøgeurter og arter af ulvefod).

Kommerciel udnyttelse
Plantagen er ud over at være rekreativt område også basis for skovdrift, hvor der fældes træ til tømmer og juletræer og klippes grangrene til julepynt. Skovens drift sker med skyldig hensyn til dyrelivet og biodiversiteten, og som en sideeffekt er de store skov- og hedearealer med til at sikre rent drikkevand.

Blandt de aktiviteter, der foregår i plantagen, er frøavl og forsøgsarbejde med en række træsorter.

Noter

Referencer

Eksterne henvisninger
 Stråsø Plantage, Naturstyrelsen
 Vind Hede og Stråsø Plantage under Danmarks Naturkanon hos Naturstyrelsen

Vildtreservater i Danmark
Skove i Danmark
Naturkanon
Herning Kommunes geografi
Holstebro Kommunes geografi
Ringkøbing-Skjern Kommunes geografi


The lights become stronger and we see Dysart sitting alone, as a nurse enters the stage and announces the arrival of Mrs Salomon. Dysart says that sometimes he blames Hesther Salomon, a magistrate, for the events which followed, since she introduced him to his new patient.
Hesther enters and she and Dysart chat, until he notices that she is upset. She explains that she has been in court, and has managed to prevent a seventeen-year-old boy from being sent to prison for a long time only by saying that Dysart will treat him. Hesther says that Dysart alone can treat him, because he will not be shocked and will be able to handle the case appropriately.
She explains that he blinded six horses with a metal stake, and that in court he would only sing, rather than speak. Dysart's professional interest asserts itself, especially after Hesther suggests that there is something unusual about the boy, Alan.
Hesther leaves and the nurse brings in Alan, who is unresponsive when Dysart greets him.
Hesther Salomon: Shaffer give this eminent female professional typically Jewish names.
Madam Chairman: Dysart addresses Hesther as Madam Chairman as a reference to her role as a magistrate. A magistrate, or Justice of the Peace, is someone who volunteers to hear criminal cases in a court of law, who can give out sentences and decide who is guilty.
Spanish fly: an aphrodisiac made from a green beetle.
the adjustment business: psychiatry – Dysart is referring ironically to the work he does.
How do Hesther and Dysart interact?
What do you think their relationship is?
Is there a difference between their friendly chat and their professional discussions?
Do you find the facts of the Strang case shocking?
Why do you think Dysart agrees to take the case?


text:
Eight Twenty-Five 825
La Volpe Bianca
The White Fox
Dyamond on Ice Written in the Stars
The White Fox is the twenty-fifth episode of the eighth season of Winx Club.
Icy has frozen Sky, dropping him into an icy lake from the top of a waterfall, so Bloom and the other Winx transform into their Sirenix form to save him.
The Winx are swimming in the waters to save Sky.
Sky finds a pocket of air to breathe and rest, though he notices his leg is injured and cannot walk properly. The water starts to rise however, and his suit's aqua mode is damaged. He tries to climb out but fails due to his injured leg.
Suddenly, the walls around the Winx start to crumble, alarming the Winx. Flora notices a passage which Sky may have traveled to and go after him.
This turns out to be right as they notice a drowning Sky who runs out of air. They save Sky and break out of the cave into open air. Bloom notices he is cold, and uses her Dragon Flame to warm him, re-awaking Sky. Bloom is relieved and questions Sky's presence. Sky explains his desire to be with her, but Bloom dismisses this and questions him about what happened.
Sky tells them about the events that transpired (meeting the fox and getting attacked by Icy). And Bloom tells him to stay, to which Sky protests, though Bloom clarifies her meaning. Tecna repairs his suit for the second time. Bloom tells him to keep a safe distance while following them.
Icy brings the fox to the tree from her flashback, though now covered in ice, and reminisces her childhood. The flashback continues, though quickly turns into an eerie and ominous one, with a shaman witch and ice golems suddenly appearing and the sky turns dark. The land icing over wherever she went. She questions for the kingdom's castle location, to which Sapphire openly contests and openly introduces herself against Icy's instructions. Irritated, the witch transforms her into the white fox. The witch intimates Icy who introduces herself on command, and reluctantly answers, and the witch proceeds to conquer the kingdom. Icy cries over the current state of events, picking a remaining flower. Icy declares she will break the curse of the Witch, be as brave as her sister, and as the strongest witch of all, will be back to free her. The flashback ends.
Icy tries to transform her sister, and it works for a short moment. When it fails, Icy admits that she is not yet strong enough, and apologizes for returning so quickly, getting her hopes up. Icy promises she will succeed one day. Darcy and Stormy her overhear the fox being labeled a sister, and question it. Icy reminds the girls that they are not real sisters, and that the fox, Sapphire, is her only true sister. Stormy questions the transparency between the witches, and Icy comes clean about her backstory. This makes the others understand Icy's reluctance to come to the planet. Icy lays out a plan, to get new powers from Valtor after they succeed in their mission, and if Valtor does not keep his word, they will challenge him and free themselves from their control. Icy reveals her motives for becoming a witch was for her sister.
Sapphire reveals she knows the location of the star, and leads them to it. They find it, though it sends Icy flying and rejects all magical attempts to retrieve it. Stormy, in her rage tries to destroy the rest of the castle it hid in to get to it, alerting Sky who signals the rest of the Winx. Icy chastises Stormy, and debates with the rest on how to get the star. Icy reveals the magic of the Shaman Witch, but Sapphire goes ahead to retrieve it. The rest are delighted by such, though before they can celebrate, are confronted by the Winx, in which they engage in a full battle. This puts her sister in danger. The Winx flee from Darcy and Stormy who are putting them in danger as Icy tries to convince her sister to get out of the increasingly dangerous situation. Icy decides to take matters into her own hands, and uses her magic to pull back her sister, though with Sapphire's reluctance. Outside, the Winx continue their battle. Icy saves her sister, and the star appears, and goes into the hands of Icy, who demonstrated sisterly love, much to the disappointment of the Winx, who did not get intimidated.
Still on Dyamond, Icy tries to use the Prime Star to heal her sister. Which also helps free the Trix of their mark. It works for a few moments, and they share a tearful hug that does not last long as she reverts back to her original state. Icy breaks down over this, though she refuses to give up, and expresses interest in reuniting once again and returning.
At Alfea, the Star Case reveals that a winner has yet to be determined, giving the Winx some hope. The Winx debate over future events, and decide not to give up. Bloom announces that they will invade Valtor's palace to retrieve his Prime Stars to win, and that she has a plan.
The Trix gain the last of the Prime Stars.
Star of Sisterly Love
Shaman Witch
Bloomix the Power of the Dragon
When Icy is about to reach out to Sapphire's hand, she is seen having Darcy's gloves instead of hers.


text:
BESSY II (286)
HZB own research (113)
Science Highlight
Missing link between new topological phases of matter discovered
The Bismut doping is enhanced from 0% (left) to 2.2% (right). Measurements at BESSY II show that this leads to increased bandgaps. © HZB
HZB-Physicists at BESSY II have investigated a class of materials that exhibit characteristics of topological insulators. During these studies they discovered a transition between two different topological phases, one of which is ferroelectric, meaning a phase in the material that exhibits spontaneous electric polarisation and can be reversed by an external electric field. This could also lead to new applications such as switching between differing conductivities.
The HZB researchers studied crystalline semiconductor films made of a lead, tin, and selenium alloy (PbSnSe) that were doped additionally with tiny amounts of the element bismuth. These semiconductors belong to the new class of materials called topological insulators, materials that conduct very well at their surfaces while behaving as insulators internally. Doping with 1-2 per cent bismuth has enabled them to observe a new topological phase transition now. The sample changes to a particular topological phase that also possesses the property of ferroelectricity. This means that an external electric field distorts the crystal lattice, whereas conversely, mechanical forces on the lattice can create electric fields.
The effect can be used to develop new functionality, which is also of interest for potential applications. Ferroelectric phase-change materials are employed in DVDs and flash memories, for example. An electrical voltage displaces atoms in the crystal, transforming the insulating material into a metallic one.
The bismuth doping in the PbSnSe films investigated at HZB served as a perturbation. The number of electrons in bismuth does not fit well in the periodic arrangement of atoms within the PbSnSe crystal. "Tiny changes in the atomic structure give rise to fascinating effects in this class of materials", explains HZB researcher Dr. Jaime Sánchez-Barriga, principal investigator coordinating the project.
Following detailed analyses of the measurements, only one conclusion remained: the bismuth doping causes a ferroelectric distortion in the lattice that also changes the allowable energy levels of the electrons. "This problem kept us puzzled during several beamtimes until we reproduced the scientific results on a whole new set of samples", adds Sánchez-Barriga. "Potential applications could arise through ferroelectric phases - ones that have not been thought of before. Lossless conduction of electricity in topological materials can be switched on and off at will, by electrical pulses or by mechanical strain", explains Prof. Oliver Rader, head the department Materials for Green Spintronics at HZB.
Publication in Nature communications (2017): Topological quantum phase transition from mirror to time reversal symmetry protected topological insulator
Partha S. Mandal, Gunther Springholz, Valentine V. Volobuev, Ondrei Caha, Andrei Varykhalov, Evangelos Golias, Günther Bauer, Oliver Rader, Jaime Sánchez-Barriga
doi: 10.1038/s41467-017-01204-0
Note: The investigation has been conducted in close collaboration with researchers from Johannes-Kepler-Universität Linz who also grew the samples. Partha S. Mandal, who carried out the measurements on the material system as part of his dissertation was supported by the Helmholtz Virtual Institute "New States of Matter and their Excitations".
arö
A new method of infrared spectroscopy developed at BESSY II makes single-measurement observation and analysis of very fast as well as irreversible reaction mechanisms in molecules feasible for the first time. Previously, thousands of such reactions have had to be run and measured for this purpose. The research team has now used the new device to investigate how rhodopsin molecules change after activation by light – a process that is the basis of how we see. [...]
Topological materials for information technology offer lossless transmission of signals
New experiments with magnetically doped topological insulators at BESSY II have revealed possible ways of lossless signal transmission that involve a surprising self-organisation phenomenon. In the future, it might be possible to develop materials that display this phenomenon at room temperature and can be used as processing units in a quantum computer, for example. The study has been published in the renowned journal Nature. [...]