Two days after Elaine's hurriedly planned wedding, the reason for the ceremony arrived premature and stillborn.
John, whose first wife had died from complications of the Spanish flu, was now a widower for the second time. He refused to hold the funeral of her mother until Elaine arrived. He wanted all his children there, but Elaine, the only child born of his second marriage and the only child he read to at night, was over six hundred miles away with a husband who chased oilrigs in eastern Montana. Josephine, the oldest child, now seventeen years from the burial of her own mother, would be at the funeral; however, the other children had their own families and rarely visited.
After his second wife died, John hung three photographs and a painting on his bedroom wall. A blurry sepia-tone of his first wife on their wedding day, a second photo of his youngest son in his Army uniform proudly displaying his tech sergeant stripes, the third picture was of Elaine. Then he hung a framed painting of a large yellow circle given to him by Elaine years earlier.
John had inherited the Rock House homestead from his father and other relatives, who had carried their legendary jars the Volga Germans filled with Turkey Red wheat from Ukraine. As soon as his father proved-up the homestead, he replaced the sod hut with the Rock House that John inherited in addition to the ownership or control of over 3,800 acres of land in three states.
In the years since John's father settled in Ninnescah county, Berdan had built a bridge across the Ninnescah River that linked with another town, and proceeded to transform itself from a muddy village with a wooden cavalry fort and open sewage into the county seat of Ninnescah County with brick streets, a city sewage system, a new military base, a country club, a public health nurse, and three doctors; however, the town was without a hospital.
There were four hotels in Berdan. The three-story Calabeck where a few traveling salesmen shuffled in and out; the four-story Briggs where pool sharks hustled hubristic locals; and the flat-as-the-plains Maxwell where very few travelers stayed. Then, there was the Webster Hotel. A new eight-story, blond brick building with marble wainscoting, polished brass doors, and a palace-sized lobby with a pharmacy on one side and a full service restaurant on the other. A solid walnut reception area dominated the north side of the lobby.
Droughts, floods, fires, wars, recessions, depressions and death passed through this state, but it was the wind that controlled. Flags whipped, trees cracked, shingles flapped with a drum roll then flew away leaving ripped tarpaper and slatted wood as poor protection for what was to follow.
There had been a hard freeze in March, then more wind and erosion followed by inflated prices and deflated income. When the wind blew in, and the land blew away, the water evaporated, the money dissolved.
In a normal year, John's crops were knee-high by the fourth of July, but now it was late August, and the blistered crops had grown no higher than an inch above his ankle. Last year, his land was moist, his grain amber. But with two growing seasons each year, the last two seasons yielded negatives – no ale-colored husks of corn, no golden bales of hay, no amber waves of grain.
The drought and depression combined with a reduced crop yield, plunging prices, property seizures, and the Volstead Amendment resuscitated a business spawned well before statehood.
John and Josephine met in the center of the Rock House inside a hidden room accessible through a door in the back of his bedroom. They hatched plans to offset the impact of the collapse of wheat and cattle prices.
Though born in this country, Josephine carried the resonance of her father's Volga German accent. As astute and sturdy as her mother had been, her tight smile and suspicious eyes told the story of a daughter who saw herself valued only for her utility to the family. She joined the family business during high school to handle the numbers – yield per acre, cost of doing business, margins, and the family bank accounts lodged in three states.
It was Josephine who calculated the size of the interior room with its limestone interior walls, trap door, and fifteen-foot radius that had been used by John's father as a shelter from Indians. She had done the math; the hidden room provided seven hundred and six sq. ft. of storage space. It was Josephine who suggested that it become a staging area for the nightly deliveries of moonshine.
"Damn dry land," said John, "Less than half the normal rain." He pulled his long-ashed Camel from his mouth.
"Maybe it'll rain," said Josephine.
"If it did rain, it'd fall on brick-hard soil and bleached-out wheat." John waited for her reaction; when there was none, he recited the state's constitutional provision, "The manufacture and sale of intoxicating liquors shall be forever prohibited in this state," he sat silent, and, in that moment, commanded her full attention, "except for medical, scientific, and mechanical purposes.
And that, presents us with an exploitable moment." To Josephine, her father's mellow Volga German sounds created music in the hidden room.
Since 1881, there had been statewide prohibition. The 21st Amendment made liquor legal, but in this state, prohibition was constitutionally fixed. No open saloons, no liquor stores, no county options.
John inhaled, then exhaled his next sentence, "The owner of the Webster Hotel cannot afford to operate it." John nipped from his Four Roses bottle, then continued, "We are going to buy it." Swallowed and said, "We can take the hotel over just by assuming his monthly payments." Waited for Josephine to object. Heard nothing, and went on, "We'll have a full-service private restaurant. Like a country club, but with lower monthly dues." Looked at Josephine as she nodded, then added, "Plus we'll have a drug store on the opposite side of the lobby." The ash of his cigarette grew longer, but never wavered.
"I talked with the sisters at the school. They want a hospital in Berdan, but they'll never have the money to build. We can do a dollar-a-year lease to the sisters; and their hospital can be on the top two floors. We'll run guests on the lower six floors." Waited for Josephine's reaction.
John's aunt saw the white chat clouds on the flat highway trailing the Sheriff's car as it turned off the county road onto the hard dirt drive to the Rock House. The sheriff, John's brother-in-law, was still angry with John for derailing his dead sister's vocation as a nun, although he had never set foot inside a convent, a seminary, and rarely a church.
When the Sheriff turned into the drive, he passed four railroad tracks, then a cattle trough next to the windmill on the far side of the barbed wire fence, a clothesline where two headless chickens hung by their feet while their necks oozed blood.
John stood outside the Rock House, his half-seen visitor framed by the endless rolling prairie that bisected the sky a million miles away. The Sheriff handed him a telegram. "Elaine's coming home, John, but she'll be late." He saw John's eyes move from the telegram to the church across the street, then said, "I'm sorry".
The persistent wind swept unimpeded through Canada, the Dakotas, Nebraska, Kansas, and changed everything in John's world. The wind hit and delivered a sharp twist that burned his face, then coarsely shifted while dust whirls, combined with baseball-sized dirt clods, attacked his barn. The walls of his barn had become a graveyard for grasshoppers.
John swallowed, made the Sign of the Cross, walked inside the Rock House, and, while the Sheriff stood next to him, called the mortuary to tell them of the delay.
His dinner remained untouched and cold. His aunt looked at him, patted his side of the table, then said, "Remember when Elaine outgrew her cradle? And you kept it. In fact, you still have it. Called it her manger." Elaine's manger. John engineered a smile and made a decision.
Josephine leaned forward as if what could have happened had been delayed, and in her matter-of-fact manner reminisced about the time at the Lemon Park swinging bridge when Elaine tried to walk on the thick rope handrails.
John reached for his Camels. With a flick of the wooden match against his thumbnail, he brought the flame to his cigarette. He decided to forgo his usual shot of Four Roses bourbon from the half-pint bottle behind the picture of the Last Supper next to the Napoleon clock on the kitchen counter.
The others at the table heard a viscous sniff, waited for the appearance of his handkerchief. They remained silent when he lowered his head, and, once again, made the Sign of the Cross.
John listened to a few more stories about Elaine, then stood, stuffed the half-pint into his back pocket, and, followed by Josephine, walked from the table to his bedroom, then entered the circular room through a hidden door at the back of his closet.
He now had another death in the family, another wife to bury, but tonight he and Josephine had work to do. He knew he would not sleep easily even with the comforting sound of a windmill's turns and creaks.
John's shoes clicked as he walked on the wooden railroad platform toward the wall-mounted telephone. He lifted the receiver, waited for the operator, told her the number, then fed nickels into the machine.
While he waited for Elaine's train, he thought of her wedding. Despite being hurriedly planned, it was held in the church. She wore a white dress, and with her arm in his, they followed the ring bearer and flower girl down the aisle. At the reception, the young beauty of the family danced with her father while guests pinned money on her wedding train. At the dais, tradition dictated that she remove her shoes, and push them behind her chair to serve as receptacles for more cash.
When Elaine arrived at the train station, she was driven straight to the mortuary to be next to her mother. John followed in his own car. It was then he decided there would be no open casket. He stopped and called the mortuary before Elaine arrived.
John knew the family traditions at the mortuary dictated that relatives recite the rosary for twenty-four hours. When the optimal number of people were present, somewhere around the sixteenth rosary, an aunt would faint. Hours later, the family formed a line, bent over the casket, and kissed the dead. Then the uncles and cousins lifted the dead from mortuary to hearse, from hearse to church, from church to grave.
For the second time in seventeen years, John watched as his wife was lowered into the grave. He waited until the priest finished reading, then hesitated. Part of his soul had ripped. Within an instant, he felt weak, heavy, and old. He turned around, leaned forward, placed the telegram and Elaine's manger into the grave, then knelt while his daughter's coffin was lowered.
He would be there when the generations shifted. He would be there when they shifted a second time, and a third time. He was in all of them; but now, after the burials, after the dinner, and after the farmers left to do their chores, John sat at his desk inside the hidden room behind his bedroom at the Rock House.
He heard the windmill turn and creak. Tonight, sleep would wait. Tonight, he and Josephine had work to do.
John Stupp is the author of the 2007 Main Street Rag chapbook The Blue Pacific and the 2015 full-length collection Advice from the Bed of a Friend (also by Main Street Rag).
A Pushcart nominee, Lana Bella has a diverse work of poetry and fiction published and forthcoming with over 130 journals, including a chapbook with Crisis Chronicles Press (spring 2016), Ann Arbor Review, Chiron Review, Coe Review, Harbinger Asylum, Literary Orphans, Poetry Salzburg Review, Poetry Quarterly, QLRS (Singapore), Sein Und Werden (UK), White Rabbit (Chile) and elsewhere, among others.
Thomas Elson lives in Northern California. He writes of lives that fall with no safety net to catch them. His short stories have appeared in the Pennsylvania Literary Journal, Red City Review, Clackamas Literary Review, Perceptions Magazine, and The Literary Commune.


Many around the world just celebrated the Lunar New Year, marking a time of renewal and for many a time to reset on what's important. For us in the Accenture Technology Labs, it's a time when we renew our annual Technology Vision, which outlines some predictions on which technologies will have a significant impact on organizations – for both their IT departments and their businesses overall – in the next few years. We do this annual report on the future of IT because technology has become pervasive, and is pushing the boundaries of what's possible in every industry, every market and every business. In fact, we believe that Every Business is a Digital Business – technology innovations now represent trends in both business and technology.
Our premise for the Accenture Technology Vision 2013 is pretty simple: if you don't know what's going on, you can't prepare for it, and you certainly can't take advantage of it. Within Accenture, we use the Vision as an input to guide our technology R&D investments; externally, we use the Vision to help our clients not just identify and understand key emerging technologies, but also use them to make their business performance even better – and stand out from the competition.
But the Technology Vision is just a starting point. Yes, it provides a lens for us to focus in on the technology landscape and shows us where to turn next, but it is only useful if we can translate the Vision into real solutions, addressing real problems in real industries. That's why this year's Vision presents 100- and 365-day plans for each technology trend so that organizations can take the insights and act upon them. And this is also where the Accenture Technology Labs comes in – as an innovation engine within Accenture, we work closely with start-ups and technology companies to craft inventive concepts that can help enterprises use emerging technologies to measurably improve business performance.
Stay tuned to this blog for more detail on each of the seven Accenture Technology Vision Trends as well as a peek into the research and activities the Technology Labs conducts. Our experts will highlight not only the technologies disrupting the business world, but also how those disruptions present opportunities for companies ready to take advantage of them.
To read the full Technology Vision 2013 report, and to watch videos relating to the individual trends, visit www.accenture.com/technologyvision.


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Mamata Banerjee writes to PM Modi over 100% FDI in coal mining
Bengal Chief Minister Mamta Banerjee has in a letter written to the Prime Minister Modi showed her reservation over 100% FDI in coal mining and asked him to reconsider the same
PSU Watch Bureau - June 26, 2020
Mamata Banerjee writes to PM Modi, expresses 'serious reservation' over 100% FDI in coal mining
New Delhi/ Kolkata: Bengal Chief Minister Mamta Banerjee has expressed reservations about the central government's decision of allowing 100% foreign direct investment (FDI) in coal mining. In a letter written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, she has requested him to reconsider the decision. "I express my serious reservation on this policy announcement on cogent grounds. This policy can neither bring foreign direct investments nor can it bring technologies or know-how which we are unable to access today," West Bengal CM wrote in her letter to Modi on Thursday night.
"The recent trend and empirical evidences clearly showcase the interest of global investors more in renewable energy projects as compared to coal mining projects. In fact, research suggests that about 100 global financial institutions have divested their thermal coal investments. Therefore, FDI in thermal coal is a far cry," Mamta Banerjee said.
The chief minister described the coal ministry's move to shift the desk offices of four of the Coal India Ltd's subsidiary companies from the state as an "abrupt decision" and requested the prime minister to intervene in the matter.
"I would, therefore, request you to kindly reconsider the decision of allowing 100% FDI in the coal sector and also strongly urge your kind intervention for advising the ministry of coal not to go ahead with the decision of Coal India Ltd to wind up their subordinate offices from Kolkata," she concluded.
"The recent trend and empirical evidences clearly showcase the interest of global investors more in renewable energy projects as compared to coal mining projects. In fact, research suggests that about 100 global financial institutions have divested their thermal coal investments. Therefore, FDI in thermal coal is a far cry,"- Mamta Banerjee, West Bengal Chief Minister
(PSU Watch- India's Business News centre that places the spotlight on PSUs, Bureaucracy, Defence and Public Policy is now on Telegram. Join PSU Watch Channel in your Telegram and stay updated)
Mamta Banerjee letter to PM
100% FDI in coal mining
Coal News
FDI in Coal Mining

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Q: How to config jest to work with ES6 modules? Javascript I'm using JEST for testing some javascript code in ES6 Modules. It looks like this:
import Block from "./block.js";

export default class Blockchain {
  constructor() {
    this.chain = [Block.genesis()];
  }

  addBlock({ data }) {
    const previousBlock = this.chain[this.chain.length-1];
    const newBlock = Block.mineBlock({ lastBlock:previousBlock, data });
    this.chain.push(newBlock);
  }
}

But when I executed the unit tests it appears the following message:

ReferenceError: module is not defined in ES module scope This file is
being treated as an ES module because it has a '.js' file extension
and
'/mnt/c/Users/carlo/Documents/github-repos/blockchain_development/package.json'
contains "type": "module". To treat  it as a CommonJS script, rename
it to use the '.cjs' file extension.

I'm using Babel for compiling the ES6 modules and the development script works perfectly.
So the problem is related with Jest not being able to execute the ES6 Modules.
If anyone can help me out with this I would appreciate it.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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Die Stadtwerke Witzenhausen GmbH sind der regionale Versorger der hessischen Stadt Witzenhausen im Werra-Meißner-Kreis in Deutschland. Sie versorgen die Stadt mit Strom, Wärme, Wasser und sind außerdem für die Abwässer, den Betrieb des Freibades und des Stadtbusses zuständig.

Geschichte
Die Stadtwerke wurden am 28. November 1921 gegründet.

Seit dem 18. Dezember 1900 wurde die Stromversorgung durch die Berliner Akkumulatoren- und Elektrizitätswerken betrieben.
Ab dem Jahre 1936 versorgten die Stadtwerke die Bürger mit Wasser. Lange Zeit gab es keine großen Veränderungen.
Ab den Jahren 1970 bis 1974 gab es zwei Veränderungen. Es erfolgte die Industrieansiedlung im Gelstertal und eine Gebietsreform.
Von 1987 an wurde die Sparte Wärme eingerichtet.
Ab dem Jahre 1994 übernahmen die Stadtwerke den öffentlichen Personennahverkehr (ÖPNV).
Schon ein Jahr später erfolgte die Aufnahme des Versorgungsbereiches Abwasser als fünfte Sparte.
Im Jahre 1998 wurde die Gründung der heutigen Stadtwerke Witzenhausen GmbH und der Witzenhäuser Abwasserentsorgung vollzogen.
Noch im gleichen Jahr übernahmen die Stadtwerke die Betriebsführung der Schwimmbäder in Witzenhausen.
2010 wurde die Werra-Strom GmbH gegründet.

Zahlen und Fakten 2011

Strom
 Strommenge: 89.226 MWh
 Trafo- und Schaltstationen: 72
 Länge der Leitungen: 258,5 km
 Anzahl der Zähler: 8.250

Wasserversorgung
 Wasserabgabe Trinkwasser: 691.000 m³
 Wasserabgabe Brauchwasser: 290.000 m³
 Länger Leitungen: 218 km
 Anzahl der Zähler: 6.403

Abwasser
 Kläranlagen (mechanisch-biologisch): 10
 Regenüberlaufbecken: 18
 Regenrückhaltebecken: 3

Öffentlicher Personennahverkehr

Die Stadtwerke betreiben den Stadtbus Witzenhausen mit derzeit zwei Linien.

Linienübersicht
Folgende Linien werden von den Stadtwerken bedient:
 Linie 211.1: Bahnhof – Ellerberg – Markt – Bahnhof
 Linie 211.2: Bahnhof – Bischhausen – Wartenberg – Markt – Bahnhof

Weblinks
 Website der Stadtwerke Witzenhausen

Einzelnachweise

Organisation (Witzenhausen)
Busunternehmen (Hessen)
Verkehrsunternehmen (Hessen)
Witzenhausen
Witzenhausen
Witzenhausen
Gegründet 1998
Unternehmen (Werra-Meißner-Kreis)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Vítězslav Lahr (* 15. července 1929, Harrachov) byl československý lyžař, sdruženář.

Lyžařská kariéra
Na VII. ZOH v Cortina d'Ampezzo 1956 skončil v severské kombinaci na 12. místě. V roce 1958 skončil na Mistrovství světa v klasickém lyžování v Lahti v severské kombinaci na 15. místě.

Odkazy

Reference

Externí odkazy
 Olympic.cz
 Lahti 1958

Českoslovenští sdruženáři
Čeští sdruženáři
Českoslovenští olympionici
Narození 15. července
Narození v roce 1929
Narození v Harrachově
Žijící lidé
Muži


In his most provocative and caustically funny book yet, Greg Palast, author of the national bestseller The Best Democracy Money Can Buy, once again gives us the straight scoop on the stories that Big Media won?t report. Digging up reams of documents marked ?secret? and ?confidential,? Palast provides the latest lowdown on Bush?s secret plans to seize Iraq?s oil, the fix planned for the 2008 election, who drowned New Orleans, and the horror and the humor of the War on Terror. With diligent detective work, moral outrage, and a keen sense of the absurd, Palast takes on the ?armed and dangerous clowns that rule us? as only he can.


text:
Signs of progress in Conn. and at NLHS
Published May 15. 2014 12:01AM
'We should maybe take 30 seconds to celebrate, and then get back to work," was Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's assessment of news that Connecticut high school seniors had the best reading scores in the nation on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, better known as the "nation's report card."
Connecticut students also scored at the top in the math test with three other states and only Connecticut and Arkansas showed improvement in both their reading and math scores since the last time the test was taken in 2009. The state was one of only 13 states taking the test that allowed their scores to be released.
That was the good news and the reason for the governor's declaration that there is reason to celebrate, but not to overdo it.
The test measures proficiency, in this case defined as competency over challenging subject matter, in reading and math and the bad news is Connecticut didn't have to perform all that well in reading or math to lead the nation.
The state's high school seniors scored a 50 percent proficiency rating in reading, compared to a 36 percent rating nationwide, while the state's 32 percent proficiency in math was seven points ahead of the 25 percent national average.
It doesn't require proficiency in math to conclude that half of the state's seniors are therefore not proficient in reading and two-thirds lack competency in performing challenging math problems.
And the achievement gap between white students and minority students in Connecticut and across the nation remains discouragingly wide, according to the national report card.
The test indicated 58 percent of the state's white high school seniors are proficient in reading, compared with 26 percent of black students and 26 percent of Hispanic students.
The math results were far worse with 40 percent of the state's white seniors proficient, compared with 12 percent of Hispanics and a dismal 6 percent of black seniors.
The test results did show a significant reduction in the previous achievement gap between white and minority students in reading, though not in math. The gap between whites and minorities in reading dropped 9 percentage points while the gap in math stayed approximately the same in the past five years.
More than 100 Connecticut high schools, chosen to be demographically representative of the state, participated in the tests last year and, despite the mixed results, Connnecticut appears to be among the very few showing some movement in the right direction.
Education Commissioner Stefan Pryor believes the progress is due to the adoption of more rigorous education standards since "the state committed itself to the Common Core State Standards in 2010."
He also pointed to the state's investment of $150 million in the poorest performing school districts and, as we recently saw in New London, increased state support, combined with efforts at the local level to improve school performance, is making a difference.
Recently, New London High School was awarded a bronze medal as part of U.S. News & World Report's "2014 Best High Schools" rankings. While no one would confuse the urban high school with the schools that received top academic ranking from the magazine, the level of improvement impressed those doing the evaluating.
Bronze medal schools "performed better on state reading and mathematics assessments than their poverty level would lead one to expect" and had "disadvantaged student subgroups that performed better than the state average."
The Connecticut Academic Performance Test scores have been improving for NLHS students. Superintendent Nicholas Fischer, who will be leaving at the end of this school year, called the progress dramatic. U.S. News apparently agrees.
The Day congratulates the students, teachers, administrators and the New London Board of Education for this recognition. But as the governor noted, keep the celebration short and get back to work.
U.S. News recognizes New London High School with national honor
Emily DeRoehn - All-Area Girls' Soccer Player of the Year


Craig is being bullied by lawyers again, and could do with your support.
No doubt there'll be plenty more over the weekend.
It's not the first time that Schillings have played this game. Their top-secret threats are so very special that they're protected by copyright even. Bless 'em. Bless 'em dry.
My copy of the letter appears below the fold at the 'Usmanov' blog* (woo-hoo! chase me!) because I miss the love that Schillings used to send my way. Repeat it in a post of your own if you're feeling frisky, but do be aware that there may be a legal risk, even from these clowns.
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One Response to "Schillings and Spicer could be a lot nicer"
This kind of thing makes me furious, I'll do my bit!


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Hanstone Gold Announces Appointment of CFO
Hanstone Gold Corp.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, May 25, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hanstone Gold Corp. (TSX.V: HANS) ("Hanstone" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has appointed Mr. Roger Jewett, CA, CPA as its Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Jewett replaces Dong Shim who has been the Company's interim CFO since April 21, 2022. Management is grateful for Mr. Shim's corporate assistance acting as interim CFO and wish him the best in his current and future endeavors.
Mr. Roger Jewett, CA, CPA is the owner of A Fresh Approach Inc., a corporation through which Mr. Jewett provides contract Chief Financial Officer services to private and public companies. Mr. Jewett is currently the Chief Financial Officer of Guardian Exploration Inc., a public oil and gas exploration and development company, and Ocumetics Technology Corp., a Canadian research and product development company. Mr. Jewett provides financial services to a number of private companies in the aviation, medical device, software development and oil and gas resource sectors.
Mr. Jewett is the past CFO of Enerjet, a Boeing 737 charter operator, and Resorts of the Canadian Rockies, a private Canadian ski hill operator and resort developer. He also previously held the positions of Director, President and CFO of Rare Method, formerly a TSXV-listed interactive marketing firm. Mr. Jewett holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the University of New Brunswick and holds CA and CPA designations.
"We are delighted to have an experienced individual of Roger's caliber join our executive team," commented Raymond Marks, Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Marks continued, "Roger's dynamic background and wide-ranging financial management experience will add significant depth and expertise to our executive team. We look forward to working with him to assist in the advancement of Hanstone's Golden Triangle exploration & development programs moving forward."
The Company further notes that it has engaged Ms. Monita Faris to act as its Corporate Secretary. Based in Vancouver, Monita Faris has worked as a consultant for over 23 years, providing corporate and securities compliance services to private and public companies.
About Hanstone Gold:
Hanstone is a precious and base metals explorer with its current focus on the Doc and Snip North Projects optimally located in the heart of the prolific mineralized area of British Columbia known as the Golden Triangle. The Golden Triangle is an area which hosts numerous producing and past-producing mines and several large deposits that are approaching potential development. The Company holds a 100% earn in option in the 1,704-hectare Doc Project and owns a 100% interest in the 3,336-hectare Snip North Project. Hanstone has a highly experienced team of industry professionals with a successful track record in the discovery of gold deposits and in developing mineral exploration projects through discovery to production.
Ray Marks, Chief Executive Officer
Carrie Howes, Director of Communications, +1-(778)-551-8488, carrie@hanstonegold.com
Or visit the Company's website at www.hanstonegold.com
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
GOBankingRates
How Much Cash To Have Stashed at Home at All Times
Digital payment platforms like Venmo, PayPal and CashApp have changed the way we use and keep physical cash on hand. Most people rarely keep cash on their person, much less at home. However, there are...
Where Will Verizon Communications Stock Be in 1 Year?
Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) posted its fourth-quarter report on Jan. 24. Verizon's stock held steady after that mixed report, but it's still fallen about 24% over the past 12 months as the S&P 500 dipped 7%. What challenges does Verizon face?
Apple May Soon Be Next to Bet on Foldable Tech
While technology's lightning-fast advances prevent it from following the same upcycling circle as fashion, certain stylistic elements of the past also inevitably go from being passé to attractive to new generations. Over the last year, more and more tech analysts have been writing about the resurgence of "foldable tech" or the good old flip phone. The Motorola Razr was the the top-selling cellphone of 2005 and, in 2020, Samsung tapped into that nostalgia with the Galaxy Fold Flip series.
A Major Amazon Prime Perk Is About to Skyrocket in Price
There are roughly 200 million Amazon Prime members around the world, and with so many member perks and benefits offered by the service, it's easy to understand why. Amazon continues to roll out new perks on a regular basis. The tech giant announced in January it would bring low cost prescription access to its e-commerce platform via Amazon RX, available at $5 per month, on top of the standard $139 Prime membership.
SoFi beats earnings estimates, revenue up 58% annually
Yahoo Finance Live anchors discuss quarterly earnings for SoFi.


text:
Category Archives: Better Living Through Stories
The season five finale of Steven Universe felt like a perfect encapsulation of what makes the show so great — it made a case for its themes and worldview while acknowledging just how difficult it can be holding to those views. Steven, and the family of Crystal Gems he's built, have often struggled to navigate the labyrinthine paths of healing and reconciliation with humans, gems, and monsters they've come across but they have never stopped trying to walk that path. Steven Universe can be surprisingly dark for a children's show, but that makes its messages land with that much more weight. The writers know how hard it is to have empathy for everyone you meet, even the enemies who want nothing less than your eradication. Fighting, the shows says, is necessary sometimes to protect yourself and the people you love. But you should never, ever lose sight of your true goal: to change the minds of the people you disagree with, to find a way towards peaceful resolution.
For those who have no idea what I'm talking about, Steven Universe is an animated show about the titular half-human, half-alien boy as he comes of age in an idyllic beachside town. His father is a washed-out rocker who now owns a car wash, and has ceded the bulk of Steven's education to three genderless (but female-presenting) aliens named the Crystal Gems. His mother, Rose Quartz, was the leader of an uprising against a tyrannical galactic empire ruled by the Diamonds, mysterious but incredibly powerful beings who have set very rigid roles for everyone under them and seek to colonize other worlds to keep their empire perfect.
Over the past five seasons, Steven has matured considerably. He has dealt with problems with his human friends; helped repair the trauma endured by the Gems (his caretakers and Rose Quartz's lieutenants during the uprising); eased tensions between oblivious, panicky townsfolk and the aloof aliens that share the town with him; and learned just how difficult it is to be who you truly are in a world that is constantly seeking to mold you into a category it feels more comfortable with. As I've taken this journey with him, I've found myself trying harder to understand where people are coming from and work with them from that perspective. It's not easy — these days it feels impossible — but it's also necessary. Steven Universe has given me, and hopefully a lot of the children who watch it religiously, a blueprint for emotional maturity that I'm not sure we can get from too many other places.
One of the many things I love about the show is the nature of its dialogue and how it presents its worldview. Steven Universe is not a preachy show, though it does wear its themes proudly on its sleeve. The Crystal Gems are a wholly diverse expression of femininity: there's uptight, proper Pearl; tomboy-trickster Amethyst; mysterious, self-possessed Garnet. The culture of the Gems gives us an entire society of women with a kaleidoscope of personalities, body types, and stories without diminishing Steven or any of the other men populating Beach City. Personal and cultural disagreements between characters are handled promptly and discreetly; people talk and listen, truly absorbing someone else's point of view while advocating their own. Most of the time, everyone involved realizes something they could do better, and commit themselves to doing it.
These days it's really easy to paint people we disagree as inhuman monsters. On the right, any attempt to square injustices or correct harmful attitudes is met with "SJW" or "NPC". Folks like us are viewed as hordes of weak-willed communists who won't rest until white men are left with nothing. On the left, most who question the prevailing wisdom of social justice are branded quickly as bigots, Nazis, or hopelessly clueless and dismissed or attacked accordingly. The division has become so white-hot that any attempt to establish a dialogue is frequently met with derision from both sides. The time, it seems, for discussion is over; all that's left is the fighting.
And I get it: our reality is far more complex and difficult than the world of Steven Universe. People of color, people of different gender expression and sexual preferences, even the economically disadvantaged — we've all been treated so badly for so long despite peaceful resistance, civil disobedience, voluntary separation, assimilation and integration, and so many other coping mechanisms that steadfast, unyielding resistance feels like the only option left to us. If we look to our history, especially in the United States, we see that often the only way to affect change is to disrupt the comfort of the status quo enough that there's no choice. Eventually, things reach a tipping point where what's come before cannot continue.
But it does, only in a different way. The underlying illness of anti-social, bigoted, racist, xenophobic thinking doesn't go away. It merely finds a new way to express itself. Colonialism gives way to capitalist exploitation. Slavery gives way to segregation and institutionalized oppression. While one system is eventually recognized as cruel and inhumane, it is merely replaced by another one that is better on paper but not in spirit. The reason we have Nazis and white supremacists on our streets again is that they never actually went away — they simply changed the way they operate so that they can hide in plain sight. If we turn this tide back, society will change, sure. But we'll have to keep fighting, and another layer of lingering, generational resentment will form the soil where a new crop of bigots can flourish.
Like Steven, we're in a time where we have to fight in order to protect ourselves and the people we love from the forces that seek to eradicate us just for being different, for being ourselves and not the rigidly-defined roles society has set out for us. We cannot tolerate the callous disregard of another person's dignity, right to life, or right to happiness. But we also have to remember that our ultimate goal is something else entirely: the end of a need for fighting. And we can't do that without changing minds. That cannot be done through violence or total defeat. It has to be done through understanding the motivations behind these attitudes and behaviors, honoring the same impulses within us, and finding a way to shift perspectives so those impulses are put towards a more common good.
We'll still need to live together after the fighting is done. The more either side uses these scorched earth tactics, the more difficult that will be to do. I'm not naive enough to think that we can just talk our way out of this current flashpoint, but I am hopeful enough to believe that more talking can ease the fighting and build a better foundation for whatever peace can be found here. If we are to take up the mantle of the social justice warrior, we have to have a better sense of what being a warrior means. We're not seeking the end of our enemies; we are seeking the end of enmity. Part of that work is finding a way to purge ourselves of the hostilities we harbor, even to the people (and yes, they are still people) who have done and said horrific things. That is not an easy thing to do. It might take us our entire lives. But if we don't want to end up right back here in 50 or 60 years repeating this cycle, it's what we must do. Anything less is a kind of social insanity, repeating the mistakes of our history with the full expectation that things will turn out different this time.
I'm exhausted being angry all of the time. There are still people I can't talk to because I know they're not speaking in good faith; when you know someone is manipulating communication for their own ends, there's no solid foundation with which to build a relationship. There's simply no way to trust them. I just have to disengage and hope that they can find their way through some other means. But I try very hard not to write someone off if I can help it. No one is too far gone that they can't come around. No one is irredeemable. I have to believe this, because I would want someone else to believe this of me. We all want to be accepted, forgiven, embraced. Think about what it would take for a Trump (or Hillary) voter to mend your relationship; use this as your North Star. Even though we might get lost in the fog of war for a time, trust that it's still there. Always move towards it. Never lose sight of it. It may take an impossibly long time to get there, but any step we can take is a good one.
Posted by Jakebe on January 28, 2019 in Better Living Through Stories, Buddhism, Politics, Pop Culture, Television
Tags: culture wars, identity politics, social justice, social justice cleric, Steven Universe
I Resolve to Suck This Year
Being a writer with an anxiety disorder is a hell of a thing. Writing is already a really difficult endeavor; those of us who can't imagine doing anything else with our lives likely have a pantheon of influences and beloved authors that have shown us just how powerful the written word can be. But our own works frequently fall short of that brilliance. It can be almost impossible to get the words out the way they appear in our heads. Add to that the process of editing your own work for flaws, accepting critiques at every stage of the process, and submitting your work for judgement by editors and audiences, and…it's a minor miracle most writers ever leave the bed in the mornings.
But when your brain is wired for MAXIMUM SENSITIVITY TO DANGER, coping with the worries that come with being a writer can feel literally impossible. I've struggled with this all my life, and it's the biggest reason I'm so bad at finishing stories and pushing them out there. If I'm completely honest with myself, I have to realize just how much it matters what other people think of the words I write. There's the garden-variety vanity, sure, but there's also a sense of responsibility to deliver on the promise of my intentions. If I want my writing to be a comfort to others who feel alone and invisible, then I have to work extra hard to make sure they feel seen and understood. That can't happen with my current level of craft, and I know it. So I noodle around with ideas, realize that I don't have the chops to execute them, panic about my own suckiness, and shut down.
Of course, I already know the answer to this dilemma. In order to be a good writer, you have to be a bad one first. You have to let yourself be derivative and hackneyed; you have to populate non-sensical worlds with flat characters. By doing your best and still falling short of the mark, you learn perspective on how to shape things a little better the next time; most importantly, you train yourself to let a story go out into the world even though you'll never feel it's ready.
Tell that to my anxiety-riddled brain, though. Every story must be perfect in its first draft or it's worthless. Rough drafts are simply failed stories. Published work is a desperate cry for approval, not anything to be proud of. Putting out work now will destroy any audience I might have who were somehow duped into thinking I could string sentences together. I'll never be published. I'll never get better. I don't have whatever it is that makes a great writer. I'll never be able to do what I want with my work.
All of this, in my head, crowding out my thoughts whenever I sit down.
While it would be really nice to just not care what other people think and fall into the writing, I'm not sure my brain works that way. Still, if I'm going to be a writer I have to find a way to make peace with the part of myself that screams "DANGER!" whenever I sit down at my desk. I'm hoping that by standing up and making a formal declaration about my intention to be a bad writer, I can deal with that fear.
So here goes: 2019 is the year where I will be a terrible writer. I'm going to write bad stories with disappointingly written characters, and I'm going to publish them here and elsewhere. But you know what? I'll learn from each failure and, hopefully, by the end of the year, I'll have a few stories that aren't so bad.
Writing is a profession where there's no way around it; you learn by doing. This year I'll focus on the action and try not to worry so much about the results. There will be a lot this year that I'll be embarrassed by later, and that's fine. Even folks like Vonnegut, Bradbury and Due have works they'd rather not talk about floating out there. What makes me think I'm any better than that?
I know I'm not, and there's a freedom in allowing yourself to think small. 2019 is the year of the small victory; consistent days of writing, constant output, incremental improvement. Eventually, I truly hope, through the work I'll figure out how to beat my anxiety around it. Wish me luck.
Posted by Jakebe on January 4, 2019 in Better Living Through Stories, mental-health, Self-Reflection, Writing
A Letter Of Intent
2018 was a challenging year for a whole lot of different reasons. The biggest, of course, is the challenge of watching our society continue to fracture and become more acidic under the "guiding hand" of the Trump Administration. The frequent attacks — from all quarters — against people of color, QUILTBAG individuals and allies, religious and cultural minorities has been exhausting. Over the past two years, the persistent stress of making it through America today has made me angry, colder, more withdrawn. It's been difficult watching myself let fear and anger take over my actions, and I don't like the person I've become. That's why this year I want to renew my focus here and elsewhere. I want to use stories to spread peace and compassion through this blog by sharing my experiences coping with mental health, writing, and social justice; sharing thoughts and lessons about being a better writer and reader; and deconstructing the stories I read and watch to discuss their impact on me and the wider world.
It is not easy dealing with mental health issues under our current political environment, and I hope being more open about my particular struggles will encourage more of us to discuss them openly and without judgement. My depression, anxiety, and ADHD all combine to express in fairly specific ways through my experience, but one aspect of this expression I share with many others is the feeling of isolation, of being invisible. We see this all the time on social media; those of us in bad spaces crying out to the dark and hoping that someone understands what we need. What makes these times so hard is not having a clear idea of what it is we actually do need; sometimes it takes sitting down and examining our thoughts to figure that out. I hope that being open about my process will help someone else as they untangle theirs.
This is especially true when it comes to my writing. The anxiety that's been bundled up in my craft has prevented me from being productive for far too long, and I want to devote a huge chunk of my focus this year to learning how to deal with that. I realize I'm still in that space where I've thought a lot about stories and I know what well-told ones look and sound like; but I haven't practiced nearly enough to polish them to the point they shine. Learning to let go of my perfectionism and anxiety is as necessary as it is hard. Learning to become a better writer means working harder but caring less about the result. Figuring out how to do that will be a big topic for me this year.
Of course, my writing has been and will continue to be political — social justice will be at the top of my mind because how could it not be? I'll be writing a lot about that here, too; putting down my thoughts about the state of the union helps me not only figure out what I think and why, but it provides an underserved perspective that needs more light on it. I'm under no illusions that what I think is correct or even that interesting. But I'm in a unique place not only in the furry and sci-fi/fantasy communities, but also the Afro-Futurist and African diaspora. I know I have angles on things that most of us might not see. I hope that by talking about things as I see them, I can encourage others to pay more attention to different perspectives.
I'm hoping that my perspective will be challenged, and that I can use those challenges to temper my beliefs or discard them if they don't hold up to scrutiny. I'm also hoping that these discussions will help me figure out my own writing process. I'm still figuring out the best way to actually produce stories that I'm proud of, and in order for me to do that I'll need to write about experiments and insights that have worked (or not worked) well. Since writing is such a subjective and personal practice, what works for me might not work for others; what hasn't worked for other people might be just the thing I need. I want The Writing Desk to be a place where we can compare notes and encouragement, to share ideas that might leads us all a little further down the path.
The most important way to improve writing, besides talking about it at length, is reading a LOT. One of my major goals for 2019 is to read at least 25 books; I've spent far too long away from being an avid reader, and I think that's seriously hurt my ability to write but also be engaged in the world around me. It's way too easy to become insular and inert as we age, and reading the perspectives and stories of other people is an excellent way to remind ourselves to be a bit more mentally spry. I sincerely believe that art is dialogue, a continuing conversations artists have with society, other works, and their own audience. Being a part of that dialogue is necessary in order to be a well-rounded artist.
So I'll be doing my best to write specific reviews more often here — not just of books and short stories, but of movies, seasons of TV shows, comic books and the like. Making these reviews a more regular practice helps to train me towards thinking critically about stories as well as thinking more clearly about what sorts of impact I want a story to have. If I know what I find most important in the stories I fall into, then I have a stronger guiding principle towards my own writing. Reviewing reveals as much about the reviewer as it does the work, as often as not, and I'm curious about what my reviews would reveal about me.
Eventually, I want to start talking about popular culture in general — the kinds of stories we tell ourselves, and what can be gleaned about our society by looking deeply into that. If art is a conversation, then it pays to look at what our conversations tend to be about. What does it mean if, say, fantasies have fallen out of fashion, or if werewolves are the hot new monster? How does our celebration of the latest "It Person" reflect on us? How does the tone and content of our condemnation reveal our collective values? To be honest, overthinking pop culture is one of my favorite things, and I'm hoping that by putting a personal focus on how I relate to it I can begin developing the vocabulary to really dive into that.
This year, I want The Writing Desk to be a place where people go to find perspectives they haven't encountered before. I want this to be a community of good friends having interesting conversations about what we love and what it means to love the things we do. I want to frame genre fiction and pop culture through a Buddhist lens to show how universal it is to center compassion and mindfulness. I want this to be a mechanism through which I know myself, and come to be known by others. If you're along for the ride, welcome. I'm really looking forward to our conversations, all year long.
Posted by Jakebe on January 2, 2019 in Better Living Through Stories, Buddhism, mental-health, Pop Culture, Self-Reflection, Writing
(Geekery) Serving Our Stories, Ourselves
We don't live in times where self-reflection is encouraged often enough. I mean, I understand why it feels so hard to take a moment to check in with ourselves and make adjustments where needed; making sure we're living up to our own values feels awfully self-indulgent when so many people around us feel as if they're under an existential threat to their existence. But even now, with the world on fire, it's more important than ever to examine the narrative we've given ourselves to see if it's helping us or holding us back.
I was blown away several days ago by Hannah Gadsby's Netflix stand-up special, Nanette. Like most Americans, this is my first real exposure to the veteran Tasmanian comic — and if she's serious about following through on her decision to give up comedy, that's a shame. The first 15-20 minutes reads like a retrospective of the material she's known for, gentle and self-effacing reflections about the pain of growing up lesbian in small-town Australia. But then she declares that she might need to quit comedy and the set becomes something else entirely — a deconstruction of her career and the failings of comedy (and society) to heal the trauma endured by the marginalized.
One of Gadsby's central arguments in Nanette is that repeating the story of her traumatic experiences in her routine has encouraged her to focus on the wrong parts of it so she can't take the lessons from them she needs to. Worse still, when she shares her story that way the impact of them only serves to cement the shame and humiliation she's internalized from being told that she was "wrong" at a very early age. What she shares with her audience stops at the punchline, which is only there to release the tension that's built by talking about disapproval from her family and neighbors for being gay, or the confrontation she has with a gay-bashing man late at night. While the diffusion of that tension is fuel for her comedy, it also forces her to focus on the parts of the story that denies the closure she needs to make peace with her past.
So she gives us the full context of her stories and forces us to sit with the full weight of the tension she's been dealing with her entire life. This is what it's like for those of us on the margins of society, she says. All that pain and anger and confusion swirls inside of us with no outlet beyond the one we make for ourselves, and even then we have to diminish it, round off the sharp edges, and sweeten it up to make it palatable for mainstream audiences. Those of us in the minority build a life swallowing our own shame and anger in order to prioritize the comfort of those who've never had to experience it. Her refusal to do that any more, even in the space of a single stand-up special, forces us to reconsider the way we tell our own stories and the effect that decision has on us.
Taking ownership of our own story is one of the most powerful things we can do. In Nanette, during one particularly fiery invective, Gadsby says "There is NOTHING stronger than a woman who's been torn apart and put herself back together again." The latest pod of episodes for Steven Universe season 5 is an amazing example of how empowering it is to recontextualize the story of your past. By focusing on the parts of the story that gives you the most strength, you free yourself to choose what you pack in your own personal baggage.
After the latest revelation — that Rose Quartz and Pink Diamond are actually the same being, and that Pink's shattering was staged so that the Earth could be free from the rule of the Diamonds — the Crystal Gems struggle to reconcile with the fact that everything they thought they knew about fundamental parts of their history is a lie. Rose, their leader in the revolution, is actually the "tyrant" they were fighting against the whole time. Garnet, the fusion of Ruby and Sapphire, takes it especially hard — Sapphire runs off devastated, saying that her relationship to Ruby was built on a lie this whole time.
In their time apart, both Ruby and Sapphire take the time to absorb this new information and consider what it means for them. Sapphire, in learning the truth about Rose/Pink and how she was inspired to fight the Diamonds because of Garnet's (then) unheard-of fusion, decides to recommit to her relationship with Ruby. Ruby, on the other hand, decides to make a go of being her own person before realizing that the person she wants to be is the person that chooses Sapphire.
To celebrate their refusion, Ruby, Sapphire and Steven plan a wedding, and it's the first half of "Reunited" (the season finale?) that serves as a tremendous capstone to their journey. Steven's song, "Let's Only Think About Love," instantly lodged in my brain as a panacea against the panic inspired by the overwhelming litany of problems we have to face in this day and age. Garnet's decision to focus on the parts of her new story that forges a connection becomes a rallying cry for everyone in Steven's family to do the same. It's a beautiful sequence that reminds me of how important it is to celebrate the love we have in our lives. Yes, there'll be time to fight the evils of the world but we also have to give ourselves room to remind ourselves of what we're fighting for. We fight for the ability to celebrate our resilience and our diversity and our hard-won joy. We fight for the chance to make sure others don't have to fight so hard to be happy.
Both Hannah Gadsby and Garnet take stock of their lives and the narratives that have sustained them as a means of figuring out how they relate to themselves and the world around them. Gadsby decides it's necessary to discard a huge part of her identity in order to move forward, while Garnet decides to remain who she is. Both of them come out of the exercise with a much clearer sense of themselves and their purpose, and watching them go through that painful work is engrossing, angering, exhilarating.
I've long been a proponent of setting aside my feelings on a political issue in order to try to meet people where they are; I still believe that the only way you get someone to shift their beliefs is by making sure they're comfortable enough to be flexible. But at the same time, it's so important to make sure we express ourselves in a way that asserts and affirms our humanity and our right to exist. It does us no good to perform as the meek and unthreatening minority when all it does is undermine our sense of self-worth; it's not our lot in life to be the stewards of comfort for those with the privilege to look away from the inherent tension in our lives. Making sure we've taken care of our own stories, that we're telling them in the way that helps us and people like us, allows us to connect in ways that are fundamentally important to our well-being and helps us erase the history of shame we carry with us.
That is worth so much more than the conditional approval of someone too fragile to be comfortable with diverse perspectives and the tension present in anything different. We're worth so much more than that.
Posted by Jakebe on July 9, 2018 in Better Living Through Stories, Politics, Pop Culture
Tags: Garnett, gay fiction, Geekery, Hannah Gadsby, Nanette, social justice, Steven Universe, storytelling
(Politics) Fighting to Save the Things We Love
"That's how we're going to win: not fighting what we hate, saving what we love." – Rose Tico, Star Wars: The Last Jedi
Last week, the actress who played Rose, Kelly Marie Tran, deleted her Instagram account after months of harassment rooted in racism and misogyny by trolls who hated her inclusion in the Skywalker Saga. Tran became the first Asian-American woman to join the main cast of a Star Wars film (in the ninth film of the franchise); she was the first Asian woman on the cover of Vanity Fair when the magazine did a cover story that also featured costars John Boyega and Oscar Isaac. This woman, who was the first in her family to attend college in America, who is the daughter of immigrants fleeing the Vietnam War, who got to break barriers in a franchise she had been a fan of her entire life — this was how she was accepted into the Star Wars community, with months of racist attacks from people who should have been celebrating her.
I've been thinking a lot about Kelly Marie Tran and what happens to the trailblazers who try to take a place at the table of fandom. Leslie Jones — the actress and SNL comedienne who joined Paul Feig's all-woman Ghostbusters reboot — experienced much the same thing in 2016 after Milo Y. began tweeting to her directly and sharing fake posts supposedly from her account. She, too, was chased off social media for a time.
These are just the most prominent recent examples of a toxic fandom killing the joy of creation and inclusion for people. It's happened in the fandoms for My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Steven Universe, Doctor Who, and Star Trek — all genre staples for an entire generation that gives us messages of acceptance and brotherhood as part of their core tenets. Instead of proving the message of the show in their communities, the people who populate Twitter and Reddit and Tumblr and various message boards have shown time and again that they would rather punish women and people of color for being visible in their fiction than the showrunners and community leaders who have been responsible for some hideous abuses to those of us who are most vulnerable and voiceless.
It's been a frustrating thing to watch. At precisely the point we should be celebrating the explosion of diversity in the science-fiction and fantasy fandom, we have to watch the folks gaining visibility for us for the first time get harassed out of public spaces from people who feel like only they (and the folks like them) get to own it. These folks will attempt to frame the conversation through disingenuous means and rhetorical tricks, as if the violent, emotional response to inclusion can be couched in "logical debate" and a "reasonable difference in opinion". I think it's important to call these reactions what they are: greed, bigotry, and hypocrisy. It's also important to state — in no uncertain terms — that this kind of hate has no place in a fandom that's been dedicated from the beginning towards the resistance of a tyrannical, racist power structure deciding who does and doesn't matter. And it's important to fight against that hate as much as we can, so we don't allow it to take root and fester within our fandoms.
But I would argue it's more important to support and lift up the people who've uplifted us within the fandom. It's more important to let Kelly Marie Tran know that there are many, many more people who support her than it is to give visibility to the people who have worn down her love for Star Wars and its fans. It's more important to support Leslie Jones and the new Ghostbusters by talking about why we loved it than it is to push back against the fans who can't deal seeing women taking the helm of a favorite franchise. It's more important to show up for the creators who are putting themselves out there, willing to be visible and show us something different, who are stepping up to represent us at a time that's so desperately needed. I think to really turn the tide and save the reputation of our various fandoms, we need to make our love louder than their hate.
This is more than performative action. Focusing on the things we love — and expressing our support for them — changes the tone of the entire conversation. It reminds us daily why we spend so much time and energy in these spaces, keeps us focused on the positive things that fandom has brought into our lives, makes us more resilient against the never-ending tide of negativity that can overwhelm us on the Internet. Keeping the lessons of the stories we love and the attributes of our favorite characters close in our hearts can show us the way towards responding from a more positive place: we can condemn the actions of terrible people from a place of love for what we're protecting, not hate for the people sullying it. That matters, because it leads us to make better choices in our response. It helps us to internalize the principles these stories mean to instill in us.
A few years ago, superhero movies were so concerned with spectacle that the stories forgot about the people meant to exist within those set-pieces. Entire neighborhoods were destroyed by an alien invasion or scientific accident or mythical end-game, and the camera followed each punch and counter-punch between the hero and the big bad on screen; occasionally, we could see fleeting glances of ducking, panicked citizens fleeing in the background. Once the criticism against this got loud enough, there was a (perhaps slight) course-correction: we saw more scenes of superheroes saving people, making sure the innocent were OK before going off to stop the bad guy. It's a small detail, but it's so important. We can't forget why we fight. We can't be so absorbed in defeating evil that the innocent people around us fade into the background. We can't ignore them precisely because they're supposed to be the most important piece of this puzzle. This is why we're fighting in the first place.
There is no shortage of people who need to protected these days. There are people of color, LGBQTIA+ people, immigrants, the poor, the homeless, people with disabilities, children in the care of an incompetent and uncaring government. While we should absolutely be protesting the government's policies that fail these vulnerable populations, we should also be working to help them however we can. It's not enough to fight this administration to keep from doing harm; we have to help those who are most affected by its callous treatment. What are we doing on that side of the coin? How do we check in to make sure they're OK?
It might not feel as glamorous or as visible or even as easy as protesting, but it's absolutely the most important thing to do right now. Support Kelly. Support Leslie. Support one another. That's how we win without losing ourselves.
Posted by Jakebe on June 18, 2018 in Better Living Through Stories, Buddhism, Politics, Pop Culture, Self-Reflection
Tags: engaged buddhism, Ghostbusters, Kelly Marie Tran, Leslie Jones, politics, SFF fandom, star wars
(Movies) Oscar Season
Yesterday the Oscar nominations were released, signaling the beginning of the Academy Awards season! There's a small subset of us who love this time of year; in the months leading up to it (beginning in December), my ears perk up to see what's opening — especially in limited release — to get a bead on what studios hope to qualify for an award. I collect accolades from the Golden Globes, the Screen Actors' Guild, the Directors' and Producers' Guild of America, and best-of lists from major critics to see how the race is shaping up; it's interesting watching movies rise and fall from the pack, and after a few weeks you hear the same actors, directors and films again and again.
Then, some magical early morning in late January, the nominations are released and we begin the breathless conjecture about the surprises and snubs, who will win and who should win, or why certain baffling choices were made. The Oscars are a big deal for cinephiles, is what I'm saying, and this year is shaping up to be really interesting based on the nominees alone.
The first big shock is the film that received the most nominations — The Shape of Water. Guillermo del Toro's indie fantastic romance got 13 nods, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress (for Sally Hawkins), Best Supporting Actor AND Actress (Richard Jenkins and Octavia Spencer), Best Screenplay and a bevy of technical nominations. Christopher Nolan's Dunkirk, a summer blockbuster I slept on earlier last year, came in second with 8 (including Picture, Director, and Score). An interesting fact! Christopher Nolan has NEVER been nominated for Best Director before, despite four nominations from the Directors' Guild of America for previous work.
I did not see The Shape of Water coming. My understanding of the chatter was that del Toro would likely get in for Best Director and Sally Hawkins was a dark horse for Best Actress, but the amount of love the movie got on Tuesday morning was really something. I haven't gotten a chance to see it yet, but I've heard nothing but great things — it's definitely bumped up several notches on my 'must-see' list. It's really cool to see a movie like this become a flag-bearer for quality cinema in 2017, and I'd like to think diversifying the voting body of the Academy had a lot to do with it.
Get Out, the ground-breaking horror film from Jordan Peele, was nominated for four Oscars — Best Picture, Director, Actor and Screenplay. Peele is only the third person ever to have nominations for Best Picture, Director and Screenplay after their first movie, which is mind-blowing to think about. In fact, the whole Best Director field is a crazy one this year. Greta Gerwig is only the *fifth* woman to be nominated for the award (Lady Bird, which also has a Best Picture nomination); there's Nolan and del Toro picking up his first nominations; and then there's Paul Thomas Anderson with his second nomination for The Phantom Thread. It's truly strange to have such an accomplished group of neophytes, especially where two white guys feel like underdogs.
Denzel Washington, the Greatest Actor of All Time Period, picked up his eighth nomination for Roman J. Israel, Esq. (who?) while Daniel Kaluuya picked up his first nomination for Get Out; this is the first time two black actors have been nominated in the category since 2001, when Denzel beat Will Smith (Ali) for his performance in Training Day.
Octavia Spencer is joined in the Best Supporting Actress race by none other than Mary J. Blige(!!!) for Mudbound, a Netflix film that serves as the streaming channel's breakthrough to the big dance. Mudbound also boasts the first woman ever nominated for Best Cinematography (Rachel Morrison, who also filmed Dope, Fruitvale Station, and BLACK PANTHER), as well as the first black woman ever nominated for multiple awards in the same year — that's right, Mary J. picked up another nomination for Best Original Song. Fun fact! Rachel Morrison, in addition to being my new favorite cinematographer, is in a same-sex family with her wife and son.
There are so many other nominations to be excited about. While The Big Sick only picked up one nomination, it netted a big one: Best Original Screenplay for Pakistani-American Kumail Nanjiani and his wife, Emily V. Gordon. Gary Oldman might finally get his long-overdue award for his turn as Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour; Willem Dafoe has his third nomination for The Florida Project; Allison Janney and Laurie Metcalf scored Best Supporting Actress noms with portrayals of difficult mothers; Logan(!!) picked up a Best Adapted Screenplay nomination, making history as the first screenplay adapted from a comic book to do so.
I'm really looking forward to watching as many of the Oscar-nominated movies as I can, speculating on what will win, debating which movies I like best with my husband and friends, and hosting a party to watch the ceremony in just over six weeks. I'm deliriously happy that our activism for diversifying the Oscars — both the Academy membership AND the nominations and awards — is starting to pay off with exciting filmmakers being recognized for telling exciting, unique stories. There's still a long way to go, mind — representation for Asian, Native American, LGBQT (ESPECIALLY trans people), and people with disabilities is still an issue that needs to be addressed. But this year the nominations aren't a parade of period pieces or biographies; the Best Picture line-up of the last several years have really broadened to reflect the best (and even most popular) films of the year.
Over the next few weeks, I'll post thoughts about the Oscar race, especially as I see more and more films. I hope you don't mind me geeking out about movies, because that's what's happening next.
Posted by Jakebe on January 24, 2018 in Better Living Through Stories, Movies, Pop Culture
Tags: black cinema, movies, oscars 2018
(Fandom) Afrofuturism and Furry
Over the weekend I attended Further Confusion 2018 with over 3,400 other furries in San Jose, CA and let me tell you, it was a pretty great time. I got to catch up with a lot of friends from all over the country and meet a few new ones, including folks I've had an internet crush on for a good little while now. Nice seeing all of you, and I hope you folks come back next year!
The highlight of the convention for me was getting to run my very first "Afrofuturism and Furry" panel on Sunday. I had a good little group come in to listen to me jaw on about the Afrofuturist movement, its history and purpose, and why it actually makes a good fit for furry fiction. Whenever I talk about race in furry circles, I worry about the pushback — it can be a surprisingly touchy subject for those of us who pretend to be talking animals, especially in this political climate. Everyone was awesome, though, and I appreciate the openness and respect from the audience as they asked questions and related some of their hesitations about tackling things. When the panel was over, I promised the folks in attendance that I'd write up a follow-up here so they could grab additional resources if they wanted.
First, here are a few good places to go if you want to learn more about just what Afrofuturism is:
"What is Afrofuturism?", Ebony Magazine Online
Afrofuturism: A Four-Part Series, The Root / Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4
Afrofuturism, as defined by good ol' Wikipedia
Now that you've got a primer, here are a couple of places you can go to sample Afrofuturist music:
Afrofuturism: A Spotify Playlist
"We Are In The Future", This American Life
"Space Is The Place" – Sun Ra (this is the soundtrack of a 1970s film STARRING SUN RA)
If you're interested in a few essential Afrofuturist stories, don't worry man — I've got you covered:
Afrofuturist 419 by Nnedi Okorafor (Clarkesworld Magazine)
FIYAH: Literary Magazine of Black Speculative Fiction
A List of Afrofuturist Literature (Afrofuturism.net)
And finally, a few furry-specific Afrofuturist stories:
Elephantmen! (Image Comics) – I included this here because of the many parallels between the titular genetically-engineered chimera and the historical experience of black Americans; brought to a strange country for a specific purpose that has now ended, with a history forged by the theft and ruination of black bodies and a present that alienates and disrespects them.
The Pack (Midas Monkee) – This is a comic about a pack of Egyptian werewolves, which is LIT AS FUCK
Yohance (Midas Monkee) – Space opera with a purely African aesthetic and absolutely amazing art.
Afrofuturism deals with the alienation of belonging to a group that has been historically segregated; the reclamation of an identity that was lost long ago; the water that both erased our cultural connection and serves as a fertile environment to uncover new life; and how being who you are disgusts or angers people who have nothing to do with you. It is longing and sorrow, hope and determination, anger and defiance, provocation and self-reflection. It asks us to know who we are, know how we work within a culture that is hostile but promising, what values we want to take with us into the future. It challenges us to question so many of the assumptions we've made about science-fiction and storytelling in general. There's so much that can contribute to furry writing and deepen the themes we deal with in our fiction. I highly recommend checking out a few of the links above; there's bound to be something for just about anyone!
Posted by Jakebe on January 17, 2018 in Better Living Through Stories, Furries, Politics, Pop Culture, Writing
Tags: afrofuturism, black writing, furry fiction


Cloud Stacking Plan uses page-redirects when it comes to outputting your data, such as when printing stacking plans or reports.
In order to ensure you will not encounter difficulties with this, please review the guide below, on how to configure your browser for managing pop-ups with this system.
4. Un-select the "Block pop-up windows" and close security window by clicking on X.
4. Uncheck the checkbox "Block pop-up windows" and click OK.


text:
Mac Miller Album Showed There Was so Much More to Do
Sophie Pierce|January 30, 2020
Released on Jan. 17 of this year, Mac Miller's posthumous album, "Circles," explores inner demons, love and hope.
Mac Miller was a man of many different identities. Split into three brilliant alter egos: Larry Fisherman, Larry Lovestein and Larry Dollaz, he was an illustrious rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Stripping away the stage names, he was simply Malcolm James McCormick. A young, white rapper from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. From his hit song "Blue Slide Park" (2011) to "Swimming" (2019), he continued to provide us songs to get us through our worst and best days.
Because of an accidental drug overdose in 2019, "Swimming" is the last album Miller produced while alive. "Swimming" was a new, raw and real sound. It was clear from the beginning that he was trying to create something different, something that was revolutionary.The first track, "Come Back to Earth," conveyed a tentative sense of hope: "I was drowning, but now I'm swimming / Through stressful waters to relief." A Little over a month later, he passed away.
His death was devastating—it didn't seem fair. Miller was producing art with massive potential, and was at a new height for his career. There had to be more to his story.
In fact, there was more. Miller left behind a collection of unpublished songs with the intent to make a connection between the two albums: "Swimming" in "Circles". With the help of Jon Brion, a composer famous for shaping the opulent textures of "Swimming," the collection of unfinished tracks was completed and Miller's final album, "Circles," was debuted.
Posthumous albums tread tricky moral ground. There are more questions than answers when releasing music the artist won't hear. His family posted a statement to Instagram making it clear they were handling the decision thoughtfully:
"This process has no right answer. We simply know that it was important to Malcolm for the world to hear it."
Important might be an understatement, because it was paramount to his legacy. The decision to complete the final chapter gave long-time Mac Miller fans closure and captivated new fans with its comforting fusion of hip- hop, psychedelic folk, and funk.
While the style of each song is wildly different, the tone of the overall album stays consistent: somber, contemplative and genuine. Miller's vocals range from staccato to mumbles to clear and angelic. "Circles" is a candid conversation about the survival mindset that Miller found himself in.
"Complicated" opens with an exposed synth melody and uses reverb to emphasize the Millers' lazy drawl over the synth-pop beat. We get a glimpse of his thoughts on his confused headspace: "Inside my head is getting pretty cluttered / I try, but can't clean up this mess I made / 'Fore I start to think about the future / First, can I please get through a day?"
As he battled with addiction, he penned the lyrics on tracks like "Blue World":"The devil on my doorstep bein' so shady / Mmm, don't trip / We don't gotta let him in, don't trip / yeah, yeah / I let it go, but I never go with it."
We can only presume the devil he references is his own mental health and relationship with addiction, a common theme in his work. However, there is a danger in analyzing the lyrics of a dead artist.
In the end, there will never be a verdict from Miller himself on these speculations. One thing is for sure though: Miller's lyrics are always emotionally charged and honest, while his distinct laid-back charm makes every song feel like home.
While Miller's sound morphed over the years, the direction of his first to the last album has stayed consistent in their ability to make sense in times of confusion. He has songs for every emotional point of his life. You have the groovy irresistible beats of "Dang!" off the album "The Divine Feminine" (2016) making you want to dance around the kitchen and forget all your problems. Then you turn around and fall into a melancholy contemplating life and death during"Ascension," from 2015's "GO:OD AM."
It is a tragedy to lose a staple artist at such a young age. From the prospects of the album "Swimming" and the albums "Circles", he hd a lot more to offer for the future. He may never know how many lives he touched and will continue to with his music.
His songs helped plenty of people through some of their darkest days. In the words of Ariana Grande, "Wish I could say, 'Thank you' to Malcolm / 'Cause he was an angel."
The editor may be reached at [email protected]
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With summer approaching fast, and a vast amount of celebrations beginning to take place, I wanted to use the opportunity of my friend Lauren's birthday to host a mini cocktail party. I did this with the aim to bring a few of my hosting tips together and to create something I could not only enjoy with my friends but something that I could also share on my blog.
Beginning with the theme of the whole evening: rose gold, because let's face it, would it really be a cocktail party if there wasn't some form of rose gold involved? There is such a craze for this theme when it comes to parties and celebrations and I have to admit, I am definitely a fan of it as well. It looks simplistic but chic at the same time, and of course, it's just rather Instagram-able!
I am such a perfectionist and I definitely have an eye for detail and perfection. I like to tie loose ends to ensure that nothing is done half-heartedly.
The main focus of the whole set up was these amazing curtain fairy lights that I purchased from Amazon. Now I am not going to lie, it was a rather impromptu purchase and I didn't really know how they were going to turn out… but OH MY, they looked amazing. For £16, it completely transformed the room and made it look like I had made a lot more effort than I actually had. And it made the best background for photographs.
With it being Lauren's birthday, she did, of course, also have a say in what she wanted at her birthday celebrations so she did give me some bits and bobs to include in my set up. This included these glamorous 'Happy Birthday' balloons which she also purchased from Amazon.
When it came to what I wanted to place on the table, I wanted to be sure that it wasn't too busy. I began by laying out a pink/gold table cover that I found in Sainsbury's and I placed out a wire string of fairy lights, because well, I simply can't get enough of them! This gave me a base to work with and I used this to draw in the different colours I wanted to use.
The idea of the party came from how we wanted to have a little gathering before jumping on a train to our night out so I knew that people would be spending the majority of their time having a drink and socialising. With this in mind, I tried to keep the different things on the table relevant and easy to access.
With the paper cups and the champagne flutes, I really wanted to make these look a little bit different to just simply placing them on the table. So I decided to use some wooden circles which I purchased last year for Blogmas from Hobbycraft. I used these as stands for the different things on the table.
I included my Polaroid camera because I wanted to have something to document the evening, and who doesn't love a good old polaroid snap?!
The paper cups, straws and cocktail stirrers were all purchased from Partyrama for less than £10. They have some fab little bits for every occasion at very reasonable prices. The delivery was quick and the products arrived as expected. I really would recommend having a look if you are planning an event.
Across the other side of the table, I set out the champagne flutes with stirrers, next to a stand of cupcakes – these were shop bought, but if you are more organised, you could bake and decorate them to match your theme! I also included a wire basket that I found in Primark a few months ago and I used this for some napkins. I tried to use things that I already had and avoided spending too much money. It can be so simple to make something look fab once you set your mind to it!
You don't need to spend a lot of money to make something look good, you just need to be creative.
Finishing in the centre of the table, I placed a rose gold tray that I purchased from TK Maxx, along with some pink bowls that I found in Sainsbury's to serve a few snacks and nibbles. I only chose to do crisps and snacks but you could definitely serve up more if you wanted to. As I mentioned, our evening was purely a 'pre-drink' type of party, but if yours was going to be lasting longer, you could definitely elaborate and put on more of a yummy spread!
Planning and hosting a party can sometimes be a bit daunting as you want everyone to enjoy themselves, but you really don't have to go to much effort to make something special. Little details go a long way and although it might look like I went 'all out', in reality, when you break it down – I only placed things on the table in a pretty way and went a bit mad on fairy lights!
Don't stress about the cost of a party, as long as everyone has fun and are smiling, that is all that matters.
Our evening was most definitely a success and I can't wait for my next hosting opportunity, because I absolutely loved getting so creative.
I hope this post has inspired some of you to get creative at your next social event! I'd love to see your creations so please tag me in your pictures!


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Q: Gun is moving up and down with fps camera in unity I have downloaded my standard assests from unity 2017.1.4.But when i connect my gun with fps camera that gun is also moving up and down with the camera.

A: Im not sure i understand your problem but if you want to lock the object in place use:
    Vector3 pos;
    Quaternion rot;
    private void Awake()
    {
        pos = gameObject.transform.position;
        rot = gameObject.transform.rotation;
    }
    private void Update()
    {
        gameObject.transform.position = pos;
        gameObject.transform.rotation = rot;
    }

or even better this to set it from the editor:
    [SerializeField] Vector3 pos;
    [SerializeField] Quaternion rot;
    private void Update()
    {
        gameObject.transform.position = pos;
        gameObject.transform.rotation = rot;
    }

If this wasn't it try to provide more information on your problem
Dont worry about the downvotes it happens even in the best families


The demand for occupational medicine is high, and so is the potential income.
Occupational medicine encompasses any services concerned with the safety and well-being of workers. The government requires that these services be done to protect employees, and the care is paid for by companies or select individuals with no insurance involved.
This type of work is available to DCs even in small towns. It brings with it a certain prestige, and once you've earned a solid reputation, the companies you serve with occupational medicine will eventually ask you to be their company doctor for work injuries. Chiropractors—are you listening yet?
When you offer occupational medicine, you put yourself in the driver's seat where you can keep expanding the range of your services. You might get paid cash to answer the phone when someone gets injured just to tell the employer whether it's a problem you want to handle, or if it warrants a visit to the local emergency room. As a reference, I get paid $100 to answer the phone, and if it's after hours, I get paid $750 to check out an injury (even if I don't treat it).
Many jobs require a physical exam to ensure employees can do a job without injuring themselves or others. Truck drivers are required to get a physical every one to two years. The purpose is to ensure they are eligible to operate a large vehicle without harming themselves or the millions of other passengers on the road.
The federal government gave chiropractors a golden egg for the first time in history by allowing them to participate in these evaluations despite the objection of the American Medical Association. The other jewel that comes with administering Department of Transportation (DOT) physicals is this: Prior to May 2014, every MD, DO, NP, PA, and DC could sign off on a truck driver physical. That means there were more than 800,000 healthcare providers that could do the work. As of May of 2014, to do these physicals, a provider has to take a 12-hour certification course and pass a test. The number of certified providers now stands at only around 60,000 for the entire country.
The available work is funneled to the providers who are certified. There are approximately 14 million drivers, so $40 to $100 per physical equates to $560 million to $1.4 billion in revenue. Truck drivers are also tested randomly for drug and alcohol use. Other jobs require physicals to test for problems such as colorblindness if an employee will have to decipher color codes, e.g., certain electrical components.
Many physicals require not only visual acuity but hearing acuity and lung capacity (painters or fire fighters who wear respirators). Workers' hearing also has to be protected in loud environments to prevent loss, and the government mandates annual hearing testing based on safety rules.
There are mandates for heavy-metals testing to protect workers from toxin exposure as well. In all, there are about 12 services that DCs in most states can provide. Some require further training or certification, and others do not. Let's look at the simpler services.
Ordering blood work and running heavy-metals panels at a lab does not require extra certification. Any DC whose current scope of practice allows lab work can do this. The best thing about heavy-metals testing is that you don't have to draw the blood at your office. You can have the patient walk into a local lab (or even a local medical clinic you hire), and that operation will draw the blood and send you the results.
Your job is to report back to the employer that the worker is in the normal range or not. If you identify a problem, you inform the company that the employee needs to be moved from any areas of exposure and retested monthly until toxin levels are back to normal.
Extremely high toxin levels would prompt you to refer the employee to a specialist for chelation therapy with the goal of removing the heavy metals from the body. But you get paid to monitor the safety and well-being of all the employees. It's as easy as ordering the blood draw; reading the results as normal, slightly above normal, or much higher than normal; and reporting those results back to the employer. You get paid about $100 to $200 to do this work.
Many tests in non-DOT-related industries also do not require certification. Services including physicals, drug testing, DNA testing, alcohol testing, vision testing (vision acuity by Snellen chart, color with an Ishihara book) for non-DOT-related work can be provided without additional certification.
What will the financial impact on your business be? Well, you can contract with a company to do whatever work it needs on a pay-immediately basis or at least within 30 days of invoice. Say a company has 300 workers, and it wants to drug test 10 percent randomly every month. That's 30 drug screens at around $30 to $60 (depending on your area of the country), which is $900 to $1,800 of income in about three hours.
What's more, a well-trained staff member can provide most evaluations (except physicals) without your direct supervision. So you can have one of your employees visit a company, do the work, and bring you back a check even when you're on vacation.
Many companies want several services accomplished when you or your staff shows up. If a company wants drug and alcohol tests done at the same time, you can bill for both. And if they want the work performed monthly, it's a steady stream of income.
Opportunities for occupational medicine abound with local businesses, government agencies (city, police, fire), state agencies (e.g., child protective services), and federal agencies (e.g., Army depot workers). So no matter where you are, there's work to be done. Don't let someone else be the one to fill the void.
Jim Raker, DC, FADP, CME, CWP, is a certified DOT medical examiner and the CEO of Ark-La-Tex Health Center in Texarkana, Arkansas. He has 25 years of experience in private practice including occupational health with several companies. He can be reached at arklatexhealthcenter@gmail.com.


text:
Document Texts (1)
Related Document Texts (1)
Old S60 (1)
All V40 (3) Old S60 (1)
All Historical (2) Safety (3) Technology (2)
V40 Gen I (1)
S80 (2007) (1)
All V40 Gen I (1) S80 (2007) (1) Volvo XC60 (1)
Volvo Car Corporation's pedestrian airbag: here's how it works
Seven sensors, advanced technology and an airbag that deploys at lightning speed in the windscreen area.
May 23, 2012 ID: 43844
The all-new Volvo V40 – Safety & Support: The most IntelliSafe Volvo model ever
Adding several new high-tech features to a full deck of safety and support systems from larger models makes the all-new Volvo V40 the most IntelliSafe Volvo so far.The new features include world-first Pedestrian Airbag Technology, Lane Keeping Aid with haptic auto steering, an ingenious Park Assist Pilot, automatic Road Sign Information, Active High Beam and a Cross Traffic Alert radar system at t...
Mar 06, 2012 ID: 42212
Volvo Car Corporation still leads airbag development after 25 lifesaving years
The first Volvo car equipped with an airbag left the assembly line in 1987. The company has extended the technology with several world-firsts since that time. Volvo was first with both the seat-mounted side airbag and the Inflatable Curtain (IC) - and in 2012 the technology's 25th anniversary was celebrated with the introduction of the groundbreaking pedestrian airbag in the all-new Volvo V40.
Global safety rating results confirm Volvo Cars' safety leadership
Every year is a safety year at Volvo Cars. The company is working towards the vision that by 2020, nobody should be killed or seriously injured in a new Volvo - and data from independent rating institutes all over the world emphasise and reinforce this life-saving philosophy. The most recent results are a Top Safety Pick+ for both the Volvo S60 and XC60 in the United States and an outstanding Best...
Apr 02, 2013 ID: 48494
VOLVO V40 (1995-2004)
The V40 was the result of a joint-venture between Volvo Cars and Mitsubishi; the two companies built their own series of cars on a common technical platform side by side in the Dutch NedCar plant.
Jun 27, 2013 ID: 49842
Word Doc (.doc) 9.2 KB
HTML (.html) 9.2 KB


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Brief background of case: The Semai of Kampung Senta lay claim to 2,206 hectares of customary land by way of native title under common law. In 2013, a private company started encroaching on their land close to their residential houses, prompting them to lodge police and other reports to stop the encroachment. However in 2013, they were served with eviction notices from the company. The company, Bionest Corporation Sdn Bhd, claim that they are the rightful owner of 113.7 hectares of the land in dispute, and have the title deeds to show for it, and is now suing them for trespass. The Semai are counter-suing to set aside the eviction order and for a declaration that the land is theirs by way of native title under common law.
The hearing was supposed to start today, 21 May 2015, in the Ipoh High Court. Bah Tony Williams-Hunt is the lawyer on record, with Aaron Matthews, Darmain Segaran and Dr. Yogeswaran also for the Semai plaintiffs.
According to Bah Tony, the Perak State Legal Adviser asked for a postponement saying that she needed more time to reply to the Expert Report submitted by Colin. The court granted her this. The court has fixed 19 June for further case management and 6 August for hearing. The State Legal Adviser is looking for a history expert to respond to Colin's report. If there is none, she will opt to cross-examine Colin on the hearing day.
In the meantime, the opportunity was taken to submit a Supplementary Appendix to the Expert Report. Basically this supplementary appendix contained photos of various sites in the village, including the areas under dispute, some old graves and other places that are aimed at helping the parties familiarise themselves with the content and context of the Kuala Senta Customary Territory.
Brief background of the case: The Temiar living in the 7 villages of Pos Belatim in the Gua Musang district of Kelantan filed a Judicial Review in 2011 against the Kelantan State Government and its Land Administrator. They were responsible for alienating the Temiars' customary territories to the state-owned Ladang Rakyat Development Corporation, who in turn leased it out to a plantation company for 99 years to plant oil palm. The judicial review was thrown out by the high court judge. The Temiars appealed the decision and the Court of Appeal ruled in November 2014 that the judge erred in his decision and ordered the case to be re-heard at the Kota Baru High Court before a new judge. This was done on 14 April 2015, with the judge holding back his decision.
According to Dr. Yogeswaran, the state's preliminary objections have been dismissed and were held to be of no substance. Justicew Zainal held that the Orang Asli's application was not frivolous. He also observed that there was 'something' there for the Court to determine in respect of the effect of the ladang rakyat agreement on the applicants' common law rights based on their claims of pre-Merdeka occupation of the lands in question.
The Court of Appeal's earlier order for discovery of documents also apparently influenced the learned judge in wanting to hear the application on its merits. The Court then ordered that it will proceed to hear the judicial review application.
The court also fixed the following dates: 21 June 2015 - case management for state to respond to expert report. 14-15 September 2015 - Hearing and cross examination of deponents. 13 October 2015 - Submissions.


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Q: Share a private git repository on GitHub with a specific user as read-only I'm finally trying to learn how to git, so I'm writing a rather extensive thesis with version control on GitHub. I have a free GitHub pro account, thanks to my University, so I can add private repositories.
I need to add my supervisor, so he has access to the documents, but I want his his GitHub account to have read-only rights.
How do I allow read-only access to a private repository on GitHub with a specific user?

A: Considering that a collaborator on a simple GitHub repo has push access, you have a few options:

*

*transferring your repo to an organization (that you have created): you can then restrict push: Then you can add an external collaborator with only read access:

(the image shows wirte access, but the point is: you can select "Read")

*or you can protect and restrict write access to branch (but you need to do that for all branches)


The publishing world is shaking things up–indie presses, traditional publishing, self-publishing … it's both confusing and exciting. As I wade through all this I will likely document some of the adventures here.
Queries Will Drive You Mad!