Marathi theatre has always been regarded as one of the most culturally rich theatre traditions in the country. Right from the 18th century the Marathi theatre has been present. It seems King Patwardhan of Sangli requested novelist Vishnu Bhave to write an evocative play for entertaining his guests and Bhave wrote 'Sita Swayamvar' which was performed on November 5, 1843, in that princely state. It was inspired by Karnataka's folk theatre form of Yakshagana.
The Marathi stage has evolved in Bombay (now Mumbai) because this city has always been a business city; it had the infrastructure and money which helped the formal performers to grow. Because of the majority Maharashtrian workers community in the city who lived in the chawls the free time was used to practice dramas, keertans, pravachans and powadas. The artists used to practice in whatever space was available to them; sometimes varandahs, staircases and the open grounds. Lavanis such as "Mumbai Nagari Badi Banka, Jashi Ravanachi dusari Lanka" by Patthe Bapurao and Annabhau Sathe's "Mazi Mumbai, Arthat Muumbai Konachi" were super duper hits those days. People flocked to the theatres to watch these lavanis.
Maharashtra has had long theatrical tradition, one of its early references is found in cave inscriptions at Nashik. Marathi theatre started flourishing in the middle of the 19th century. It includes forms like Sangeet Natak (Musical drama), Tamasha (folk dance), Ekpatri prayog etc. It continues to have a marked presence in the State of Maharashtra. Marhathi theatre is not famous outside Maharashtra; maybe because Marathi as a language is quite difficult and a lot of stress is laid on the richness of the language by the writers; the gamut of Marathi dramas ranges from humorous social plays, farces, historical plays, musical, to experimental plays and serious drama. We have seen the likes of Annabhau Kirloskar, P. L. Deshpande, Vijay Tendulkar, and Mahesh Elkunchwar, Bhalaji Pendharkar, Raja Paranjape, Annabhu Sathe, Vinda Karandikar, Arun Sadhu, P. K. Atre, Daya Pawar etc who were known and are known even today for their par excellence. But, there is one big problem in staging a drama and continuing it for long time. We find Marathi dramas live a short life span, though some of them have great content. They are forgotten easily. Perhaps it is because Maharashtra faces multiculturalism and therefore the Marathi theatre takes a backset. Most importantly, Marathi theatre faces many political and social undercurrents. There is a sea change in terms of quality and context which are changing like never before. The conditions today cannot be compared to the previous decade.
Marathi Theatre can be described as never-ending energy; live moments, live interaction, superb dialogues, and great backdrops of stage, superb background music scores, and a strong tradition of 150 years which can never die. Besides, Marathi dramas are sharp, witty and very rich in content. They make you think even hours after you've watched a show. Marathi theatre is evolving with newer ideas, newer concepts and much more experiments. The new breed of directors is experimenting with forms of theatre. No other place in India has so much of 'commercial theatre' like that in Maharashtra. If you have three movie shows in Plaza, the theatre bang opposite to it, Shivaji Mandir, has three shows of plays on the same day.
The various genres of Marathi scripts are also a reason for people to watch plays. Comedy, serious depiction of the society, political satires, musicals, romantic, tragedy, rags to riches stories and mission – it has it all. Marathi theatre fascinates its viewers with its large variety.
The cultural connection of Mumbai and Pune with its regional theatre shows that the stage is not dying, it is experimenting and it has long way to go. It has managed to carve a special niche and that's reason enough to say that there's plenty of hope for the art in the state of Maharashtra.
Both cinema and drama are based on story. Both drama and cinema depend primarily on performers who resent and communicate the story to the audience. A stage play or a screenplay is like reading a novel. Dramas are livelier and thrilling as you see the actor's performance right in front. The audience can clap and applaud the actors on the stage. The actors also in response give their best dialogue delivery, voice modulation, gestures thus bringing in more energy in the theater. Drama is on the spot. There are not takes and retakes; it delivers effect on the spot therefore it connects with the viewers more honestly. Drama is more difficult for an actor.
Both drama and cinema share certain common features; they both use sets, props, costumes, music and other sound effects. Communication is the essence in both drama and cinema. Even in the silent era, films relied heavily on human speech that was understood through contextual instinct; a combination of gesture, facial expression, and lip reading; and inserts of printed, projected text. If a drama is dull or boring viewers crate a commotion whereas if a cinema is boring they simply walk out of the theatre. Bothe cinema and drama have their fan following. Everybody cannot enjoy drama; an audience that has been raised on films, do not enjoy dramas.
Marathi theatre has come a long way. While Gujarati, Hindi or English theatre is 'merely weekend theatre', catering to the thinking and upper class, Marathi theatre is all about the masses mainly because of the way it gets people to relate to the script. Mumbai and Pune are hubs of Marathi plays. In Mumbai and Pune, there are these niche classes of people who usually do not miss watching a play every week. Mumbai is the economic capital and Pune is the cultural capital of Maharashtra state. There are at least 15-20 theatres in Mumbai which host only Marathi plays right from Prabhadevi to Thane: Rabindra Natya Mandir, Shivaji Natya Mandir, Ranga Sharda, Dinanath, Gadkari Rangayatan and many more theatres are witness to the love Mumbaikars have for this art form. And in Pune: Bal Gandharva Rang Mandir, Tilak Smarak Mandir, Bharat Natya Mandir, Sudarshan Hall, Moreshwar Hall, Yashwantrao Chavan Natya Mandir etc are famous for Mrathi drama lovers. Mumbai and Pune showcase the love for performing art relatively much more, compared to other cities like Bangalore or New Delhi which relatively have fewer auditoriums.
The amount of theatre that is being done on the commercial as well as parallel stage in Marathi cannot be compared to any other regional theatre today. It is facing some technical, political and financial problems today, which I am sure, will be sorted out sooner or later. The Marathi theatre scene is the most happening in the whole of India.
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About 10 years ago, the club originated as a group of friends living in and around Godalming who enjoyed getting out to ride together. Soon ten became twenty, twenty became thirty and so on. We grew into a community of people with a common interest. Whether for fun or challenge, we all loved cycling in one way or another. In about 2006, the originally separate clubs of VC Godalming and Rother Valley Cycling (based in Haslemere) joined together and became Velo Club Godalming and Haslemere - VCGH.
Club members live in a large geographical area around the towns of Godalming and Haslemere. That geographical spread gives us fantastic local knowledge which we share and enjoy together. Anyone with a bit of experience is welcome to lead a club ride, and so we're always discovering new little climbs, a village shop that's started to serve hot drinks or a new bike shop. These are the things which keep club riding interesting.
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When you accept a pet into your home, you want them to live a long and healthy life, so you can enjoy their companionship for the longest time possible. But senior animals may develop health problems, just as people do, that need special vet care to stay active and comfortable. At Trinity Pet Hospital in Laguna Hills, we understand the special care the senior animals need.
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We pay particular attention to the needs of our guests and we would like to make them feel freely in the hostel. Following this we are out of favour with extra beds added to standard dormitories – all our rooms are private. There are single or double beds available and a possibility of extra bed, which is paid separately.
We offer a kitchen to a guests' use (fully equipped self catering kitchen with: fridge, kettle, cooker, dishes, cutlery etc.) and a lounge with TV. Also available: breakfasts to order, laundry service, a barbecue to make in a small garden next to the hostel.
…from a main bus and railway station?
Take a bus number 208 and go to Grottgera stop or Nowy Kleparz stop and from there a bus number 179 or 164 straight to Rondo Matecznego stop. You can take a taxi of course (the cost should be around 30 PLN).


Perhaps you could post your thoughts on what the upcoming budget will look like, or comment on it after its released.
It fluctuates by time of day. In Indian time there are more Indian readers. As of 10 PM on Sunday (25 February) the distribution of "recent" users is: India (53%), US (14%), Australia (6%), UK (5%), Hong Kong (4%), etc.
But these numbers reflect visitors to the blog on the web only. A lot of dissemination is happening in ways that I can't count. I put the full text of the blog entry into the RSS feed, which is getting pushed out into various RSS feedreaders, RSS->email, republication of the RSS feed by other services, etc. I believe most of my readers never show up at this web page. So one really doesn't quite know where it's going.
I believe that roughly two-thirds of the readership is in India.
Excellent, incisive blog. Always top class analysis on financial markets. You provide a high level view. I think You are the right person to give a road map for Indian finance professionals in the areas of financial engineering,Quantitative finance. I think most of the finance courses in MBA are bland lacking in sophistication, rigor and intellectual depth. Any universities offering computational finance or financial engineering. You remind me of NN Taleb of fooled by randomness.
Hi Ajay - Came across your blog while browsing some comments on FRBMA. Excellent work and really good analysis. I work as Economist for BMR & Associate. In fact it is a coincidence of sorts that yesterday only my senior Mukesh Butani and I were appreciating your recent article in BS.
Do let us have your thoughts on outcome budget. De-finance the contribution, if you like. Lets see Ajay Shah contribute to the welfare administration.
I am a researcher and nowadays dealing with Indian economy. I need some basic information about the monetary policy of RBI. I have looked at it s web page several times but could not find general statement of MP. I mean main frame or model.is it using inflation targeting or something else and besides what is the exchage rate policy what are the operational tools and so on.
Perhaps you could post about your views on career for External Commercial borrowings.
I appreciate your blog indeed!
CNBC does a good job of bringing experts views to junta at large (like me) but most of the times the experts do a poor job of explaining the world around and taking a clear stand. More annoyingly, a huge recency effect reflects in their analysis.
In that background, your comments on credit policy today were refreshingly insightful. I wish more experts could be like you.
Looking you up landed me at your blog which I realize, is a great source of learning on key economic and financial issues in our country.
I really like your blog and always look forward to a new post every day. I am one of your non-India users who uses RSS feed to read the blog and actually hardly visit your page!
I really like your latest post 'Don't sweat the quant stuff'. Keep it coming!!!
Am based in HK and would like to send you some questions for a magazine feature on the Indian economy - what is your mail id?
The tragedy of cotton farmers committing suicide in Maharashtra and not Gujarat is discussed very well. There are lessons to be learnt for the public policy in the country. Circulated the article to the candidates going for the IAS interview.
Thanks a lot Mr.Ajay Shah.
It takes me hours to figure out what you write. Why don't you put less strain on your brain and write simpler English, atleast you can try to.
Oh well, I can too try to improve my vocabulary.
Perhaps, we can try both.
Higher education means higher brain torture and the torture never stops, though I still love the torture and many people round the globe too, just like you seem to enjoy.
one word for ur blog - AWSOME ! keep it up !
I look forward to reading each one of them as soon as they get published .in fact I read old ones again to enjoy .
HI Ajay, I am jinesh, I accidentally drop in to your blog and I found it very much informative and interesting. The way you have presented the topics is simply fantastic. I am especially interested in the Forex market and I got so many article on currency market. I am interested in making my career in to the currency market. Thanks for creating such a useful blog. I also wanted to ask form where I can get the book tittled "Around the World on a Trillion Dollars a Day" by Gregory J. Millman.
I was surfing google and finally landed into your blog..
1) Do u think pension companies have to consider mortality rate? it assumes more significance cuz of higher life expectancy rates now a days. As per my knowledge in 'annuity for life' cases, companies dont take into account life expecatncy of the customer and the annuity rate thus turns out to be unjustified and perhaps inadequate...can i have more light on this issue?
just for the intro, i am pursuing MBA prog from IMT Ghaziabad. I worked for 5 yrs in pvt life insurance sector.
can we have your thoughts on the sub prime woes in the US market and its contagious effects in Europe now . Alos is it the testing time for CDO markets ?
HI ajay, You seem to be very knowledgeable on Indian Markets. I need some clarity. Is it possible to get in touch with you other than by way of this blog? will be more obliged than you can imagine. Please CONTACT ME AT asma_kapoor@hotmail.com.
I must say your blog is just the best. The areas being covered and the the way they have been classified is absolutely great.
I came across your name referencing an article you had written about the Farmer Suicides in a blog called India Indeed. So checked your blog out, great stuff! You obviously know what you are talking about!
excellent article on the SWF funds...i am looking forward for your other posts.
As a student from IGIDR, I feel great to have taught by Dr Ajay Shah. I was never a voracious reader about financial markets but your blog has made easy to understand and very interesting at the same time.
Very interesting and brain storming reading indeed!
I came across your blogs today and found them most intersting and informative.Your profile, an excellent rarely found.
In your today's blog on 'rupee policy' you mentioned about MSS Issuance by RBI, may I request you to kindly explain what is MSS Issuance?
Superb analysis!..i am also a regular reader of your column, and its always informative.
stop by and take a look..
If you remember i met you on the flight to Delhi from Mumbai.You suggested me to read your blog and then i was completely clueless.
Since then i have been reading your blog and it gives great insight into the finance stream to enhance my knowledge of a MBA.
I've read your blogs and various articles on NPS..those are really quite informative. There are some serious concerns about the unorganised sector bill, I feel you can throw much light on. Right now I just need to know can anybody become a CRA and operate on its own for the micro segment of the society without any govt approvals?
Congrats! Yours is one of the best blogs on Indian capital markets I have come across. I am a fan of NIFTY BEES myself.
I liked your article on high fund management costs in India. During my recent visit to a well known Shahrukh-Khan-endorsed bank, they tried to hard sell a ludicrous insurance and MF combo (called ULIP or smth)...the exhorbitant fees made me wonder if the AMCs are getting away with murder in India? I work in a bank myself so have nothing against cross-selling but they should respect the fact that clients do have some IQ.
Not exactly blog-related, but I'm teaching myself maximum likelihood estimation in R, and I found your page on MLE estimation of OLS models to be incredibly helpful in figuring out how to get started. Thank you for posting it on the web!
I regularly read through your blog( at least skim through it) but most times can't make out much of the financial terms.I'm an engineering under grad but would like to understand the mechanics of our financial systems.Can you suggest some good books which can help me in making sense out of your blog posts.
Hi Ajay, your blog is a must read for me from time to time - though I also generally catch up on your columns on BizStd.
Newsweek's recent issue talks of $200/barrel oil. Goldman Sachs has made that prediction. There are blogs out there like seekingalpha etc where some folks have written about a future price of crude oil @ $300/barrel.
I am in disbelief over whats going on in the Crude oil market. This reeks of a global contagion. Sure the Oil rich countries will be richer but something seems to be wildly amiss.
I am scared that the way things stand if $150/barrel oil does come to pass, and the oil bonds issue becomes a Fiscal deficit issue (I havent read about your opinion on the FRBM yet I wanted to write this note first - FRBM Act, I am sure was stillborn anyway). If the new Fin.Min next year has to balance the economy, he will have no choice to keep raising Petrol/Diesel and Gas prices till there is some ongoing balance. This will probably have a highly inflationary impact most definitely. I see that last 5 years of economic growth being reversed in the next 3 years. It may be far-fetched but a recession most likely anyway.
What are your views on this and the big question - Are these oil prices really in a bubble, or we should be living scared about our way of life?? I mean should the mantra be Conserve, walk, cycle, use public transportation and say good buy to my Honda car.
Hi Ajay, what are your views on the illiquidity that persists in Stock Options in India. The traded volume & OI have been continuously dwindling. Can a change in the strike parameters make a change or would physical delivery be an important element ?
It appears that due to the fear of post market exercise, even for a few ruppes profits by option buyers, the sellers are not coming forward. Would love to hear your views.
Kindly inform us of the seminars and workshops you are conducting / taking part in…..I remember one by you long time back at Taj Palace, New Delhi. It was a CMIE users meet.
It will be nice of you if could inform us when you will be taking a work shop…...or conducting a seminar.
Your effort to educate us through the blog is much appreciated.
Ajay, it was nice to attend your Currency Futures presentation at Delhi today. The last time I heard you was in 1995 when you came to delhi while NSE was being formed. It is always a pleasure to hear you talk.
I scanned your labels for the word "poverty" and could not find. You seem to a more of a financial economist but still your views on the topic of poverty will be (I guess) worth looking for.
Poverty is one thing that surprises me so much because, we just haven't been able to tame it(Despite the efforts & resources diverted to it). Some day we will have a pop-in cure for cancer, I am not sure about the same for Poverty. I would like your views on that topic.
Secondly, One suggestion here, you can add the "search blog" feature offered by blogger to your blog, it will make easier for people searching specific information.
Considering your pro-activeness in posting comments on financial matters, I am surprised at your silence on the current trumoil in the global markets.
Any views (review?) on your suggestions on functioning of Central Banks (made in the recent past) especially in the light of the current siutation/actions??
1. Why do so many male economists have a beard ?
2. Why do most Indian female economists dress so simply and boringly ?
Is it not "cheap signaling"..why define ones profession by the attire..
For the book, see here. Or just ask google.
The financial crisis has seen varied responses from the RBI and the govt- using monetary policy and fiscal policy as tools. Could you throw some light on when would a monetary policy response be more effective than a fiscal policy response and when would the converse be true? Also, what would the govt need to do when both of them fail? If you were the finance minister, how would you respond to the financial crisis(having the benefit of hindsight)- in terms of stimulus packages..etc...?
Can you write/publish something on-How can an Indian Institution/FII borrow money (finance) either onshore (INR) or offshore (USD)against Pledged Indian equities.
Think summarizing the existing conditions and some recommendations will be of hugh interest to your readers.
I would like to know why the RBI uses WPI for its policy purposes instead of CPI to measure inflation ?
It seems almost all countries use CPI and not WPI.
The WPI is declining while Consumers feel the reverse when they go to market.
Is the difference in frequency (CPI- Monthly while WPI- weekly) only reason ?
Surely, the RBI also knows this.
Have been a fan for long. Whenever sanity deserts me, I turn to your blog.
Found out about your blog at http://inforum.in/blog/2009/05/12/15-must-read-indian-blogs-about-investing-business and it is really good. I also have a financial blog at http://desimoney.blogspot.com do you mind doing a link exchange?
Your blog is like being in touch with an intellectual all the time....every time i turn up to it i came out learning something..thanks sir.
Congratulations Mr Shah for getting noticed. But what I didn't like is that you got NOTICE-d in more than one way. Wish you the best in 2010. May the truth prevail..
Ajay: Enjoy reading your posts. Just thought I would point you and your readers to this interesting piece by Chris Blatman, featuring a new study involving a randomized experiment on largeish Indian textile plants in Maharashtra. The study is fascinating at two levels: First, its results. Second, as a pointer to where (a part of) the literature seems headed in terms of methodology.
Rana, Thanks for your comment. I did endup writing about it: see here.
How about providing a market based solution for saving tigers from extinction. though it may sound absurd, but privatizing the animal under certain supportive regulation can help increase the number of tiger. what i mean to say is that treating the tiger just as one treats the horses, the only thing would be to have a cage and people with farm houses- the really rich one would be easily afford it. this may have its own undesired consequences but it is certainly and idea to be considered.
Just a question - are there any ETFs based on the NSE Govt Securities Index?
Thanks in advance for the response and pointers!
RBIs todays hike in repo rate is justified(BY THEM) thru the inflation figures.
Please give us a perspective on use, effectiveness and effciency of the "monetary policy/tools" in current Indian Economic Structure-State.
I am glad to have found your writing Mr Shah. Your analyses of economy and institutions are sorely needed. Please could you elaborate on what the principles of a good infrastructure for India would be?
I was very lucky to 'read' your Paper "Black, Merton & Scholes----"
(Econ & Polit Weekly 1997) It would take time to digest such Scholarly Papers.
1. While you use the general term 'economic agents', I felt woth reference to Capital Markets, the 'Economic Agents' of any importance are 'Buyers', 'Sellers' and the 'brokers'.
It seems to me that Your concept of 'WELFARE' needs to be defined in this context.
YOu have correctly (I feel) explained "through these Methods, Risk is not destroyed, it is only transferred from one economic agent to another"
I wish to add that since Black-Scholes Model' has an application for Option-pricing in real markets located in various geographic-locations, it is,in practice, a new field of "Continuous-time" Finance applied at 'discreet intervals of time'! (Alike to analysing a 'nonlinear system' as a combination of 'locally-linear' systems and as a B.Tech. in Aero Engg, surely you know.
If you are likely to be very busy to attend to mundane queries, I request you to pass on the Questions to any of your student-researchers to elucidate.
Hi, I just read your article on rupee depreciation...and you explained it like a professor. I aspire to be an economist and your articles really helps me to understand complex attributes of economy, quite easily.please continue this good work. By the way, I have a question. I got admitted in a University in Japan, and my classes would start September next year. Yen has been appreciating for more than a year. Will the depreciation of Rupee against dollar mean, rupee will have faster depreciation against yen too?
I read your joint paper with Ila Patnaik titled "Did the Indian capital controls work as a tool of macroeconomic policy?" The conclusions derived in the paper are that capital controls imposed in India are very porous, and were incapable of achieving the desired macroeconomic goals.
I thought you would have something to say on the budget. No links to interesting reads as well?
Listened to your interview on CNBC today. Was good to see someone talking a lot of sense, being able to uncover the underlying trends prevailing in the country (by overlooking what is meaningless even though the media constantly forces that data down one's gullet), and presenting it in simple language for laymen like me!
The optimistic closing note wrt India's long-term future was also welcome (and hopefully true!).
If you come across assessment of the damage done to India's GDP on account of the UK disaster, that would be great thing to share.
I am listening to your interview on ET Now via youtube. Your analysis of the RBI response to the rupee slide is both insightful and correct. The problem with the CAD is fundamentally structural in nature and the slide in the rupee is simply a symptom and also stems from a lack of confidence in the govt's management of the economy. The RBIs introduction of capital controls demonstrates how desperate they are for short term fixes and the willingness to roll back many years of moving towards an open economy.
I predicted these problems in 2011 by simply observing the complacent response and lack of urgency to the looming issues confronting India.
It is very refreshing to listen to your straightforward and candid opinion on these issues.
Its been quite some time since we last received your "interesting reading" post. I look forward to it eagerly!
Congratulations on your selection on committee on common clearing system for all commodity exchanges.
I can see new changes coming.
Waiting for your comments on views expressed by RBI Guv on FSLRC.
expected an enlightening article from you on the concerns over unhedged forex exposures of corporates. Wonder who will abosrb the risk if hedging is made compulsory?


text:
Originally published 8/4/14
One of the great fictional characters of all time, Captain James Tiberius Kirk of the Starship Enterprise, hated losing so much he actually changed the rules of the game. For Star Trek fans, you will remember the tale of the "Kobayashi Maru, No Win Scenario." In the television show and later in the movie series, the Kobayashi Maru was a training exercise in a flight simulator for future leaders of star fleet command. The exercise is programmed by a computer to offer the captain (in this case Kirk) zero possible outcomes of success. Basically, the ship crashes and the crew dies no matter what the captain does, thusly a "no win scenario" (the Maru even has its own Wikipedia page).
Our fearless Captain Kirk, having failed the test on numerous occasions, became the first and only person to ever defeat the Kobayashi Maru. On the eve of the exam, Kirk changed the program to offer him a winning outcome. While he was reprimanded for essentially cheating on the test, he was also commended for creative thinking. Kirk changed the game.
As tourism professionals, we rarely encounter "no win scenarios", but we can still learn from William Shatner's character. We must always look for winning opportunities to change the playing field and slant the outcome in the favor of our destinations. Here is one real life example I have seen that achieved a game changing outcome.
In 1999, the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) had 16 teams and was the country's first collegiate super conference. That year a core group of members from the WAC left to start their own league, known as the Mountain West Conference. The departure of these members presented some challenges for the WAC, and an opportunity for our sports commission in Tulsa.
The University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV) was part of the group that left for the new conference. UNLV at the time was the long running host of the WAC basketball championship. With their departure, essentially the history of the event, its sponsor support, and the arena it was played in, moved to the new Mountain West Conference along with UNLV. The WAC had to find a new home for their marquee event, and replace the financial loss of its title sponsor.
The WAC issued an RFP to all of their members, including the University of Tulsa. The RFP was for two years. Seven schools, some with their DMOs and sports commissions, put forth bids. Our bid in Tulsa, with the University and the Sports Commission as partners, was very unique in three ways. One, we brought a title sponsor to the table as part of our bid. If the tournament was played in Tulsa, the title sponsor would commit cash and other resources to support the event. We changed the game.
Second, our title sponsor put terms in the agreement that the tournament would need to be in Tulsa for three years rather than the two that were in the RFP. That too changed the game.
Lastly, in putting together our presentation, one member of the our team (who knew nothing about sports by the way) asked what turned out to be a very important question. "What is the order of presentations for the seven cities, and how long does each have?" The answer was we (Tulsa) were last of the seven cities to present and each city got an hour. That meant the athletic directors and administrators would be in a hotel conference room ALL DAY covering the same information over and over. We anticipated that by the time we got in there, they would be zombies. We had to change the game for them to take notice of our bid.
When we entered the presentation area, we were wearing tuxedos and tennis shoes, and the four of us that presented came in whooping and hollering and throwing Nerf basketballs all over the room. We got their attention, we had fun with it, and we charged up the audience. We opened our presentation by saying (essentially) "we appreciate the time you have spent in this room all day, and we want to respect that." We used less than half our time, hit the key points, and then had one of our community leaders ask for the sale. He did so by saying, "I'm a volunteer, here to invite you to our city. We are up here in these costumes which I get is odd, but we wanted to really grab your attention, knowing you have been here all day. Costumes or not, one thing I can tell you about the people in Tulsa is that they are VERY good at what they do and this will be the biggest event in our city when you are there. Thank you for your time, we'd love to have you in Tulsa. I hope you can use the time we left for a well-deserved break" and we walked out.
The WAC awarded us the tournament for three years when the RFP only had two up for bid. At that time it was a big deal for our destination. We changed the game, and the WAC leadership responded positively. There are opportunities for our destinations like this to change the game every day. Where the opportunity presents itself, let's be like Captain Kirk and create winning scenarios even when one doesn't appear to exist.
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
'Is saving your skin worth all the damage you're doing?'
Posted byEditor February 26, 2021 Posted inUncategorized
INDEPENDENT: Nicola Sturgeon said prosecutors were autonomous of government.
Nicola Sturgeon faced opposition leaders at First Minister's Questions on February 25, 2021. This is the text of my Scottish Daily Mail sketch of proceedings.
First Minister's Questions is an unpredictable affair. Sometimes Ruth Davidson gets the better of Nicola Sturgeon. Sometimes Jackie Baillie does. Sometimes Sturgeon barely has to flick open her briefing folder to brush their attack lines aside.
Yesterday was different. We saw something we might never have seen in her six-and-a-half years in the job: Sturgeon cornered.
She's been caught out, pulled up and dragged over the coals, but seldom has she appeared so outflanked and so alone. She looked like a woman who had glimpsed behind her and caught sight of how little road was left.
That didn't mean she buckled. She came out swinging when Ruth Davidson raised the Crown Office's censoring of Alex Salmond's Holyrood inquiry evidence.
Davidson read aloud from one of the redacted passages: 'The First Minister told Parliament … that she first learned of the complaints against me when I visited her home on April 2, 2018. That is untrue and is a breach of the ministerial code.'
The Tory group leader pointed out that these words did not 'risk identifying complainers'. Then, in that exaggeratedly quiet voice she adopts to sound solemn: 'What is it about those two sentences of evidence that is so damaging that they should be censored? Is it just that they are damaging to the First Minister?'
'The fact that Ruth Davidson has stood up and perfectly legitimately recounted that version of events… demonstrates that all Mr Salmond's allegations and claims about me are in the public domain,' Sturgeon replied.
She expected to be 'questioned on every aspect of the matter' and pledged to 'answer those questions fully and to the best of my ability'.
Her tone grew graver: 'Anyone who is suggesting that prosecution decisions… are in any way politically influenced or politically driven is not just wrong and completely lacking a single shred of evidence… they are signing up to a dangerous and quite deluded conspiracy theory.'
Davidson engaged in a sleekit spot of a wordplay by suggesting that — 'to the public' — the whole business 'looks like a cover-up' because 'the exact evidence that has been redacted is the most damaging to her personally'. Ascribing that view to the public was intended to keep her hands clean if Sturgeon is vindicated in the end.
The phrase 'cover-up' was red-rag territory and Sturgeon charged straight for it. It was 'important, necessary and entirely legitimate' to scrutinise her but it was 'not legitimate… to pursue a conspiracy theory or scorched-earth policy that threatens the reputation and integrity of Scotland's independent justice institutions just because they happen to dislike the government'.
By this point, it was obvious she wasn't talking to Davidson, which was confirmed when she suggested public confidence in the system was being 'sacrificed… on the altar of the ego of one man'.
You had to pinch yourself to remember this was Nicola Sturgeon talking about Alex Salmond. Together, they made the SNP the natural party of government in Scotland. At odds, they seem hellbent on tearing each other down.
The Tory accused Sturgeon of 'deflection', adding: 'There is just one further question that I want to ask. Is the First Minister saving her own skin worth all the damage that she is doing?'
It was a proper air-sucker of a question, though the Covid-imposed reduction in FMQs attendance undercut the impact.
Sturgeon insisted she was only interested in 'the reputation of our country and the integrity of our institutions', but added with hot spite: 'There is a reputation that is perhaps disintegrating before our eyes — and it is not mine.'
Jackie Baillie claimed the name of one of the Salmond complainers was given to the ex-leader's chief of staff, something she called 'an extraordinary breach of confidentiality'. Sturgeon shot back that she was 'accepting at face value Alex Salmond's account of all this'.
If one thing was clear from this raw, resentment-drenched FMQs, no one will ever accept anything at face value in Scottish politics ever again.
Witness for the prosecutors
The Ghost of Holyrood Past returns to haunt Sturgeon


EDMONTON—You'll believe it when you sea it.
Edmonton is home to apartment buildings and garden suites made of shipping containers, also known as sea cans, but for the first time, a shipping container house built for immediate sale is slated to hit the local MLS market.
"The most exciting part for me about the house is the fact we get to introduce something that hasn't been done before — putting in an open concept, 2,000-square-foot home in a lot that somebody can buy," said Adam Morris, the developer behind the project.
The trend of sea can homes has grown more popular in recent years as developers recognize the environmental, social and practical benefits of reusing shipping containers for residential construction.
Westgate Manor, a 20-unit apartment building at 95 Ave. and 163 St. made of 48 shipping containers, went up in 2017, while local company Honomobo has been turning modular shipping containers into garden and garage suites for several years.
Andrew Mills was taking a stroll in his Queen Alexandra neighbourhood on Friday when he noticed a crane lowering a shipping container on top of the foundation at 7222 106 St. Mills is president of the ECO Solar Home Tour Society, a group that hosts annual tours of energy efficient and solar-themed homes in Edmonton.
He's a fan of shipping container homes not only because they're more energy efficient when compared to conventional homes, but also because they're a form of recycling on a grand scale.
Most shipping containers come to North America from China, but it turns out it's cheaper to construct new ones in China than to send the empty ones back.
"They're making a one-way trip and all those containers accumulating in yards around the city need to be turned into something else. So to turn them into homes is a great opportunity. And it's a better use of resources," Mills said.
Morris, with Copperblock Capital Corporation, joined with Sweet Suite Home Builds to make the shipping container house in Queen Alexandra a reality.
By using recycled steel instead of wood, Morris said his project saves the equivalent of 16 mature pine trees. The structure is also more energy efficient and airtight due to the steel frame and insulation.
Other benefits of shipping container homes are their durability, their resistance to fire, extreme weather and mould, as well as a substantially shorter construction timeline, which creates less neighbourhood disruption.
Steel frames are traditionally only used in towers because they're much more expensive.
"As soon as you introduce a shipping container that's been sitting in a yard that nobody wants, all of a sudden we're able to achieve a cost to build that's much more compelling and much more competitive," said Jon Schiedel, the house's project manager.
Since the shipping containers already exist, the project is expected to take about two months.
Copperblock cuts and welds the containers at their factory so they only have one side wall, then delivers them to the site before completing the house.
As an advocate of energy-efficient homes, Mills said he's happy to see the project going up in his neighbourhood, while other passersby seemed intrigued by the project over the weekend. Neighbours have been supportive, Schiedel said.
"When we first say shipping container home and then we show them the finished product, they honestly can't believe what we're showing them is actually built out of shipping containers," he said.
Morris said he's planning for a list price of $799,000 when the project goes on the market, which is roughly on par with other homes in the neighbourhood.
Because of the additional design and adaptation work needed to convert shipping containers into modular blocks that can be used in a home, the overall construction costs are slightly higher than in a conventional build.
For that reason, Morris said he's taking a hit on profit, as well as taking a "huge risk" by putting the house on the open market.
But it's worth it for what he calls his passion project.


text:
January 27, 2018 / 8:30 AM / a year ago
Shock gives way to despair in Kabul after ambulance bomb
Akram Walizada
KABUL (Reuters) - Kabul was in despair on Sunday, a day after a Taliban suicide bomber killed more than 100 people and wounded at least 235 in the worst attack in the Afghan capital in months.
A week ago, the Taliban killed more than 20 people in a siege of the city's Intercontinental Hotel. Another six people were killed in an assault claimed by Islamic State on the office of aid group Save the Children in the eastern city of Jalalabad.
Despite pressure on President Ashraf Ghani's Western-backed government to improve security, the attacks show no sign of abating, giving rise to helpless anger among residents.
"How are we to live? Where should we go?" asked shopkeeper Mohammad Hanif, who was in his shop near the site of the explosion when it went off.
Interior Minister Wais Barmak said the casualty toll had risen to at least 103 dead and 235 wounded. He said at least two vehicles painted as ambulances were involved in the attack, one of which blew up at when it was stopped at a police checkpoint.
Security officials have warned of possible further attacks.
The Taliban said their attack was intended as a message to U.S. President Donald Trump who last year sent more American troops to Afghanistan and ordered an increase in air strikes and other assistance to Afghan forces.
"The Islamic Emirate has a clear message for Trump and his hand kissers that if you go ahead with a policy of aggression and speak from the barrel of a gun, don't expect Afghans to grow flowers in response," Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement, using the term the use to describe themselves.
The attack in one of the most heavily protected parts of the city, close to foreign embassies and government buildings, was the worst seen in the Afghan capital since a truck bomb near the German embassy killed 150 people in May.
"People were running everywhere to escape, there were wounded people lying on the ground, people with wounds to their arms, legs, heads," Hanif said.
Despite a major tightening in checks following the May 31 attack, the ambulance was able to get through the checkpoints, apparently without difficulty.
"People don't have work. There's no life for people in Afghanistan. People have to look for a life somewhere else, there's nowhere," said shopkeeper Sameem.
With Ghani embroiled in confrontation with provincial powerbrokers defying central rule, pressure is mounting on the government to set aside political divisions and focus on security.
An Afghan shopkeeper looks at the broken glass window of his shop near the site of a bomb attack in Kabul, Afghanistan, January 28, 2018. REUTERS/Omar Sobhani
"The situation is absolutely unacceptable to the people," said a former government minister, Abdul Hadi Arghandiwal.
"The government spends a lot of time and energy in political rivalry and infighting at a time when it has to pay more attention to security."
'TERRORIST WAR'
Former U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad called for Ghani's government and its main political rival, powerful northern leader Atta Mohammad Noor, to "come together and resolve their differences".
"Fighting terrorism and protecting the people is job one. I hope they rise to the occasion," Khalilzad said on Twitter.
Saturday's attack, described as "an atrocity" by the head of the U.N. mission in Afghanistan, drew universal condemnation from neighboring countries and allies who had expressed confidence that the new U.S. strategy was producing results.
Following a recent visit to Kabul, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, said the strategy was working and pushing the insurgents closer to peace talks.
However, the Taliban have dismissed any suggestion that they have been weakened by the U.S. approach and say they will only agree to talks when international forces leave Afghanistan.
The United States, which has accused Pakistan of helping the Taliban and has cut off some aid, urged all countries to take "decisive action" to stop the violence.
Afghan officials also say the insurgency is being directed from outside their country.
"This is not a civil war, this is a terrorist war imposed on the Afghan people," said Masoom Stanekzai, head of Afghanistan's main intelligence agency.
"This is a war in which the Afghan people are being used as tools and burned like firewood every day."
Pakistan, which denies accusations it fosters the Afghan war to undermine old rival India's growing influence there, condemned the attack and called for "concerted efforts and effective cooperation ... to eradicate the scourge of terrorism".
Slideshow (17 Images)
Afghanistan declared Sunday a day of mourning and said Monday would be a day off to allow care of the victims' families. Joko Widodo, president of Indonesia, which has the world's biggest Muslim population, was due to visit Kabul on Monday, Ghani's office said.
Widodo has proposed that Indonesian Islamic scholars could help promote Afghan peace, media reported recently.
Additonal reporting by James Mackenzie, Robert Birsel and Hamid Shalizi; Editing by Robert Birsel and Raissa Kasolowsky


MARSHALL – The Southwest Minnesota State women's and men's track & field teams head to Collegeville today to compete at the St. John's Invitational.
Action begins at 11 a.m. and will be held at the Donald McNeely Spectrum.
SMSU, which has competed in four meets this season, will have one more following Saturday's meet on Feb. 15 in Brookings, S.D. The Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Championships will be held on Feb. 22-23 in Mankato.


text:
What is your Dad's Favourite Song?? Father's Day Contest 2017
LAST WEEKEND TO GET YOUR SONGS IN!!!
WHAT IS YOUR DAD'S FAVOURITE SONG???
Send me the name of your dad's favourite song, along with a pic of you guys together, for a chance to win an $80 gift card at Jukebox in DDO! You can send your tunes and pics to melodymay@royallepage.ca or by messenger on Facebook! Contest ends on June 18th (Father's Day) and the winner will announced on Tuesday, June 20th. Best of luck and Happy Father's Day to all!!
TED MCDERMOTT - THE SONGAMINUTE MAN
"Dad was a singer all his life - he was a Butlin's Redcoat and then travelled around singing in clubs around the country. He worked in a factory after he got married and still did the bit of singing on the side. His nickname is The Songaminute Man - simply because of how many songs he knows. In the last few years his memory has deteriorated a lot - often not recognizing family and with many aggressive episodes. However, now when we've got him singing again he's back in the room. It's these moments that we treasure." -Simon McDermott
Ted McDermott is now 80 years with deteriorating Alzheimer's disease. His son, Simon, captured this heartwarming Dashcam footage last summer of him and his father driving around and crooning away to the old-time hit Quando, Quando, Quando. The viral video landed Ted a record deal with Decca Records and he released his first single in September. All royalties from sales of the album were split between the Alzheimer's Society and a fund to help care for Ted and his wife. On his own, Simon has already raised over $220,000 for the Alzheimer's Society after starting a JustGiving page for his dad.
I encourage you to visit Simon's JustGiving page at https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/songaminute and like The Songaminute Man's page on Facebook. This is a beautiful story of how the power of music can forge unforgettable memories and keep both the human spirit and relationship between a father and son alive during the most difficult and precious of times.
Happy Father's Day weekend to all and best wishes of good health to you and yours!
WHAT'S YOUR DAD'S FAVOURITE SONG??
We're off and running with a great start to our Father's Day contest! Entries have already begun trickling in, with many eager to share their father's favourite tune and vocal talents!
Think this contest describes your dad a little too perfectly? Send me the name of his favourite song by email at melodymay@royallepage.ca or via messenger on Facebook, and snap a pic (or video!) of you guys together for a chance to win an $80.00 gift card at JukeBox in DDO! Bonus points if you can get him to sing the song in the video!
WHAT IS YOUR DAD'S FAVOURITE SONG??
If your dad has a favourite song that he loves to sing around the house, in the shower, or even with the kids in the car, send me the name of the tune at melodymay@royallepage.ca or via messenger on Facebook along with a pic of you guys together for a chance to win an $80.00 gift card at JukeBox in DDO! Bonus points if you can get him to sing the song in a video!
Contest runs until June 18th (Father's Day) and the winner will be announced on June 20th. Best of luck and keep the music coming!
Father's Day Contest 2017
Is your dad a closet crooner like Sinatra? Have you ever overheard him channelling his inner Elvis, McCartney or Mercury in the shower? Perhaps you've heard him belting out some Celine or Cher in the car?
Whether its by singing, humming or whistling, our dads always seem to have a tune in their heads! Be it the Backstreet Boys, Taylor Swift or Bruno Mars, our dads are never ones to shy away from a chance to let their "overlooked potential" shine...
Here's your chance to give your father the big break that he's been looking for, just in time for Father's Day! Send me the name of your dad's favourite song along with a pic (or video!) of you and your old man! Bonus points if you sing the song in the video!
Contact me via email at melodymay@royallepage.ca or via messenger on Facebook!
Contest ends on Father's Day (June 18th), when a draw will then be held and the winner will receive an $80.00 gift card at Jukebox in D.D.O.!
The winner will be announced on June 20th. Best of luck to all and happy singing!!
Please enter the security code displayed:
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text:
Sarah Palin Pitches Herself For The View
Posted by Ellen -7835.60pc on July 07, 2014 · Flag
It looks like Sarah Palin wouldn't mind being part of that "lamestream media" she's always knocking. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Palin let it be known that even though she's "really excited" about the upcoming second season of her current show on The Sportsman Channel, she might be just what The View needs. And guess which "fair and balanced" news network that currently employs her she didn't mention?
The Hollywood Reporter interview was conducted by email, presumably so Palin wouldn't get any trick questions about what newspapers she reads or her thoughts on foreign policy. Instead, THR lobbed softballs such as, "What was your favorite show from season one?" and "What television shows do you like to watch with your family?"
Palin's answer to that last question was, "Amazing America! Getting outside to experience our amazing America is better than watching pretty much any show, other than our own." One can understand her naming her current reality TV show, especially when the interview seemed timed around the announcement of its second season. But don't you think it odd that a political pundit and former politician wouldn't mention Fox News as a family favorite, too? Especially when she is, apparently, still a paid contributor?
Even more noteworthy, as far as I'm concerned, when asked if she was interested in hosting a political talk show, Palin didn't mention Fox News, but The View:
Any interest in doing a political talk show, either on TV, radio or the Internet?
Maybe. But the politics would have to be interspersed with a whole lot of fun and real life and inspiration showcasing American work ethic, because those topics are all pretty much the antithesis of today's politics, which I find incorrigibly disastrous! It'd be so much fun to shake it up taking on issues that make audiences objectively consider all sides, and I'd do it with my own real-life groundedness, candor and commonsense that I'm known for. Media needs that today, versus the condescension that oozes from TV and radio. I hear everyone recently got canned from The View, maybe a show like that needs a punch of reality and a voice of reason from America's heartland to knock some humble sense into their scripts. You know, someone willing to go rogue.
Something tells me that The View is going to want someone who can actually discuss issues and, probably, reads newspapers.
photo credit: Sterin via photopin cc
Showing 14 reactions
mj - the same one commented 2014-07-09 06:14:51 -0400 · Flag
Hollywood Reporter: "What television shows do you like to watch with your family?"
Palin: "All of 'em!"
Steve St John commented 2014-07-08 20:06:28 -0400 · Flag
MM: "Am I the only one who finds this amusing?"
No – you're not.
j hentai commented 2014-07-08 18:49:02 -0400 · Flag
sorry, last comment should have started with the word bemused, not benused,
benused said: "words fail me." as they do la palin!
doors17 commented 2014-07-08 13:03:15 -0400 · Flag
I would be very surprised if she did. I guess it's possible but unlikely since she needs the protective shield of Fox with host who never challenge, disagree or do any follow-ups to her answers and just react as if Winston Churchill just spoke to them from the grave.
She knows she's in a perfect place to continue the act at Fox or just allow herself to speak before conservative friendly only crowds. To be a regular on The View would expose her weaknesses and while she would be given the subjects of what issues will be discussed, she won't have the home court advantage that Fox provides. She knows she's in the perfect place to be to continue making money.
She represents nothing more than ratings for the Fox audience who want to hear her childish rants against the President.
scooter commented 2014-07-08 12:16:15 -0400 · Flag
How I would love to see Princess Dumbass of the North aka Snow Snookie eviscerated by Whoopi Goldberg.
Sandman2 commented 2014-07-08 12:14:22 -0400 · Flag
She doesn't have enough space on her hand to write down all the subjects they talk about in a day!
Plus, they must know that she can make one sentence last for 15 minutes or more with her word salad speaking style.
She's a human filibuster machine! Which wouldn't work great for having a "conversation" with others.
Just 'cause she's really stupid doesn't mean that ABC has to be really stupid and hire the moron.
She'll probably tell us that if they don't hire her, they are taking away her 1st Amendment rights!
Sheeeesh!
Lakeview Greg commented 2014-07-08 11:44:42 -0400 · Flag
Short term ratings boom, long term ratings bust. I really do not think ABC would put her on there permanently. Drat, mornings need more comedy!
R L commented 2014-07-08 11:28:13 -0400 · Flag
The View should take the Quitter up on her offer.
Without her ghost writers and handlers The Quitter would most likely expose herself as the dumb ass she truly is.
mlp ! commented 2014-07-08 08:11:29 -0400 · Flag
'groundedness'?
You're right, bemused. Such stupidness just leaves one speechless.
Prince Sarah of Alaska and Lizzie should do a female version of the film, 'Dumb and Dumber.' They can play themselves.
These both airheads would make a great comedy duo.
Bemused commented 2014-07-08 03:27:25 -0400 · Flag
Sarah Palin said: "… and I'd do it with my own real-life groundedness, candor and commonsense that I'm known for."
Words fail me.
Joseph West commented 2014-07-08 01:22:07 -0400 · Flag
Yeah, Sarah. Everyone got "canned" from "The View."
The same way YOU got "canned" as Governor of Alaska.
Except the ladies "canned" from "The View" didn't have any scandals they were running away from.
Still, a "canned" ham is better suited to be a host for "The View" than you are.
The Whore of Babble-On's miniscule intellect limits her to regurgitating prepared right-wing talking points. The View probably had its quota filled during the tenure of Lizzie Hasselback.


I've found myself having a lack of free time in recent weeks and that's meant it is tougher to spend it updating this blog. It's terrible, since this is one of my favorite things to do.
I always thought that if I worked harder it would afford more things both financially and give me more freedom to do stuff I like outside of work. My life has not turned out that way at all. Oh well. It's always better than not working. Besides, I've realized that it'll take a lot more than the 50 people who visit this blog each day to make a living at it (but, I'm super grateful for the 50 who do... I love you).
Half eaten Smothered ChicKEN burrito.
Best thing on the Taco Bell menu.
cereals have appeared at Walmart Market.
I definitely think of Shaq.
with little bacon crumbles in the lid.
on top of scrambled eggs.
this Pecan Pie baking kit.
or it'll ruin your holiday gathering.
I would have made my mom buy it.
gives this cheap t-shirt a thumbs up!


text:
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Globalization;
using System.Linq;
using Skahal.Infrastructure.Framework.Commons;

namespace Skahal.Infrastructure.Framework.Pooling
{
	/// <summary>
	/// Pool service.
	/// </summary>
	public static class PoolService
	{
		#region Fields
		private static Dictionary<string, IPool> s_pools = new Dictionary<string, IPool> ();
		#endregion

		#region Properties
		/// <summary>
		/// Gets the pools count.
		/// </summary>
		/// <value>The pools count.</value>
		public static int PoolsCount {
			get {
				return s_pools.Count;
			}
		}
		#endregion

		#region Public methods
		/// <summary>
		/// Gets the item.
		/// </summary>
		/// <returns>The item.</returns>
		/// <param name="poolName">Pool name.</param>
		public static object GetItem(string poolName)
		{
			return GetPool(poolName).GetItem();
		}

		/// <summary>
		/// Gets the item.
		/// </summary>
		/// <returns>The item.</returns>
		/// <param name="poolName">Pool name.</param>
		/// <typeparam name="TItem">The 1st type parameter.</typeparam>
		public static TItem GetItem<TItem>(string poolName)
		{
			return (TItem) GetPool(poolName).GetItem();
		}

		/// <summary>
		/// Releases the item.
		/// </summary>
		/// <param name="poolName">Pool name.</param>
		/// <param name="item">Item.</param>
		public static void ReleaseItem(string poolName, object item)
		{
			GetPool(poolName).ReleaseItem(item);
		}

		/// <summary>
		/// Releases all items in all pools that fit in release filter specified.
		/// </summary>
		/// <param name='releaseFilter'>
		/// Release filter.
		/// </param>
		public static void ReleaseAll (Func<object, bool> releaseFilter)
		{
			if(releaseFilter == null)
			{
				ReleaseAll();
			}

			foreach (var p in s_pools) {
				p.Value.ReleaseAll(releaseFilter);
			}
		}

		/// <summary>
		/// Releases all items in all pools.
		/// </summary>
		public static void ReleaseAll()
		{
			ReleaseAll((i) => true);
		}

		/// <summary>
		/// Gets all available pools.
		/// </summary>
		/// <returns>The all pools.</returns>
		public static IList<IPool> GetAllPools()
		{
			return s_pools.Values.ToList();
		}
		#endregion

		#region Private methods
		/// <summary>
		/// Registers the pool.
		/// </summary>
		/// <param name="pool">Pool.</param>
		internal static void RegisterPool(IPool pool)
		{
			if(pool == null)
			{
				throw new ArgumentNullException("pool");
			}

			if(s_pools.ContainsKey(pool.Name))
			{
				var msg = String.Format(CultureInfo.InvariantCulture, "Already exists a registered pool with name '{0}'. The pool names must be unique.", pool.Name);
				throw new InvalidOperationException(msg);
			}

			s_pools.Add(pool.Name, pool);
		}

		/// <summary>
		/// Unregisters all pools.
		/// </summary>
		internal static void UnregisterAllPools()
		{
			ReleaseAll();
			ClearAllPools();
		}

		internal static void ClearAllPools()
		{
			s_pools.Clear();
		}

		/// <summary>
		/// Gets the pool.
		/// </summary>
		/// <returns>The pool.</returns>
		/// <param name="poolName">Pool name.</param>
		private static IPool GetPool (string poolName)
		{
			if(!s_pools.ContainsKey(poolName))
			{
				var msg = string.Format("The pool with name '{0}' was not found.", poolName);
				throw new InvalidOperationException(msg);
			}

			return s_pools [poolName];
		}
		#endregion
	}
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Many of the problems we face in life occur from shortcuts.
As the celebration of Easter and the resurrection of Jesus draws near my thoughts are turned towards those three days that changed history and eternity for everyone.
The events leading up to the crucifixion deserve our attention and there is much to be gained by understanding the motive and agenda of everyone involved that led to that hill on Calvary on the day of Passover.
There are many characters who walk across the stage of this event planned and directed by God before time began. But there are two groups and two individuals who are the primary suspects as we seek to understand who killed Jesus.
Greed, religion, and politics have caused more death and upheaval in this world from that time to now. In the events leading up to His death we find all three present with our suspects.
Judas possibly also had a political motive expecting Jesus to use his power and miracles to overthrow the hated Roman government.
The religious order the scribes the Pharisees the Sadducees certainly had a political and religious motive. Jesus was basically exposing them for who they were and in the process showing them up with real power and authority.
It is noteworthy that Herod who felt threatened by the king he had been told would soon be born went to the scribes to inquire as to where this promised king would be born. Searching Old Testament prophecies they found it would be Bethlehem. When the prophecy was fulfilled along with many other prophecies the scribes would surely be familiar with how could they have missed Jesus as the expected Messiah?
Pilate had political motive to allow the death of Jesus although he did not at first go along with it.
"innocent man" caved to the pressure brought by the religious order fearing reprecussions from his bosses if he couldn't keep things under control.
This group had more reason to be suspects than any of the others.
Because they were the reason Jesus said He came to die.
Whether we leave him on the cross and write it off as a fable a myth or failed experiment, or celebrate Him risen from the dead His purpose for coming cannot be denied.
Willingly laying down His life for you and I.
Judas had a part in it, the religious order had a part, as did Pilate but in the end it was you and I. And everyone who has lived and died since the garden.
There are lessons and hope in this story. The lesson is no matter where you are or what you have done you can change your mind, change direction.
Pilate could have. The consequences of rejecting Jesus were severe.
The beautiful temple revered by the Pharisees was reduced to rubble. Just as Jesus predicted it would be.
A few years later Pilate was relieved of his duties, transferred into oblivion, sent away in disgrace.
The hope- When we ask "who killed Jesus?" The answer is all of us. But in this story Jesus was no victim, and the perpetrators have a chance for full pardon and the opportunity to receive everything Jesus died for.
If you believe in a God who is going to execute judgment with perfect justice, then you can leave it in his hands and do what Jesus told you to do: love your enemies.


I have drawings and a floor plan that I would like converted into 3d to present to the congregation.
Build a simple application that allow user to manage family and individual: Create, Add, Edit Delete, able manage school class and grade, able to export report in pdf/excel/word template. Must know ASPNETZERO.
I have a dataset of 110,003 churches in the US. The dataset includes the name of the church together with other details. I need to populate a column with the date of opening. This requires Googling each church to find its date of opening and populating each row. I am posting an example dataset with 30 cases.
Hello, Annie. This is Troy in San Antonio again. I ...Troy in San Antonio again. I was wondering if you would it would cost to get your help with creating a RSS feed in a word press for me to be able to upload audio sermons for a church I am working for. Thought it might take about an hour or 2. Is that something you can do? If so, what would be cost?
I need someone to redesign my church logo. Urgent project.
We are a small church plant needing to draw traffic to our website and FB page to share our vision and mission. We are looking at "You want a Church were you can impact the World the Way Christ has Impacted Your Life" We have missional work going on in Africa and a small non-profit that provides Counseling & Case Management Services as well.
Our parish needs a new high quality logo. I would like the main image to be based on a simple labyrinth (possibly in white?) with a col...image to be based on a simple labyrinth (possibly in white?) with a color background. I have included a rough illustration. The text of the logo would be "St. Ann's Episcopal Church" I am thinking a horizontal logo.


As a professional event photographer, I'm always getting asked what my favourite venues are in London. Of course, there's lots of things that make a venue great – it could be the attitude of the management, the whizzy tech facilities, or something about the history.
So here are ten of the best – guaranteed to make me smile when a booking comes in.
This really does have everything – spaces large and small, with the jewel being the historic Faraday Lecture Theatre: the home of science, and venue for the unveiling of some of the greatest discoveries of all time. Excellent vantage points and always good for interesting shots. This is one of my favourites: camera on pole held way out above the theatre from the top gallery.
Formerly part of north London's rail infrastructure, with an unusual circular design that used to house a turntable, it's naturally photogenic. Given a good production and lighting, it's pretty hard to beat for bigger events.
After the terrible fire that destroyed much of this historic ship, a visionary design team rebuilt it on an enclosed space – and made the void below the hull into a beautiful event venue. So you are eating and drinking and dancing underneath a freaking massive boat! Drinks on deck are also great fun, surrounded by lots of history.
The Livery halls are the homes of London's ancient trade guilds, and the Drapers' – in the heart of the City – is one of the grandest. Pretty formal, but works very well for larger events, with spacious reception rooms for drinks beforehand.
This used to be the Commonwealth Institute in Holland Park but got a full makeover as it became the new home for the Design Museum. Great events team, and lots of event spaces, all of which look very lovely. As they should, I suppose.
For smaller events, especially with a technology theme, the Digital Catapult in Euston offers clean, bright space, with killer views over London's most beautiful railway station.
Top floor. 360 views of London. Middle of everything. Be there at sunset. Thank me later.
Is it cool? Yes. Is it quirky? HELL YES. This private members' club in Shoreditch has to be seen to be believed. Downstairs it's all classic Victorian boozer chic. Upstairs it's a decadent madhouse of curios, butterfly displays and massive stuffed animals. Either the giraffe or the polar bear will be the big hit, I guarantee.
Ok, a quick bonus one. This is a bit of a cheat as it's not technically an event venue itself, but it does have great spaces like the Cloisters and Cellarium, and if you book in there you can add on tours of the cathedral. Beautiful, historic and genuinely awe-inspiring.


text:
Alturi » News Items » South America » Brazil » Brazil: Bolsonaro in homophobic outburst as corruption scandal swirls
Brazil: Bolsonaro in homophobic outburst as corruption scandal swirls
12/20/2019 | The Guardian
Brazil's far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro, has launched a homophobic attack on a journalist from one of the country's top newspapers in an apparent bid to divert attention from a spiraling corruption scandal involving his son. "You look terribly like a homosexual," Bolsonaro – who has previously boasted of being "proudly" homophobic – told the reporter, when asked about the politically explosive money-laundering inquiry that saw investigators raid a series of addresses linked to his family on Thursday. Many observers interpreted the outburst – which came as a new poll showed Bolsonaro's approval ratings hitting record lows – as a deliberate attempt to draw the media's gaze away from the investigation into his senator son Flávio.


text:
namespace kepler {
namespace vulkan {

MeshRenderer::MeshRenderer(const shared_ptr<Mesh>& mesh) : _mesh(mesh) {
}

MeshRenderer::~MeshRenderer() noexcept {
}

shared_ptr<MeshRenderer> MeshRenderer::create(const shared_ptr<Mesh>& mesh) {
    return std::make_shared<MeshRenderer>(mesh);
}

void MeshRenderer::draw() {
    if (_mesh) {
        size_t count = _mesh->primitiveCount();
        for (size_t i = 0; i < count; ++i) {
            //_mesh->primitivePtr(i)->draw();
        }
    }
}

void MeshRenderer::onNodeChanged(const shared_ptr<Node>&, const shared_ptr<Node>&) {
    if (_mesh) {
        _mesh->setNode(node());
    }
}

shared_ptr<Mesh> MeshRenderer::mesh() const {
    return _mesh;
}

bool MeshRenderer::getBoundingBox(BoundingBox& box) {
    if (_mesh) {
        box = _mesh->boundingBox();
        return true;
    }
    return false;
}

const std::string& MeshRenderer::typeName() const {
    static std::string typeName("MeshRenderer");
    return typeName;
}

}
}


The "King of the Blues", guitarist and singer BB King, has died aged 89. King, known for his hits My Lucille, Sweet Little Angel and Rock Me Baby, died in his sleep in Las Vegas. Here's a video of BB King speaking to the BBC in 2009 where he talks about his beloved Lucille, U2, inspiration an about death.


text:
Posts Tagged People's History Museum
Lockdown Research: Who Unfurled The Manchester 'First In The Fight' WSPU Banner?
Posted by womanandhersphere in Lock-Down Research, Uncategorized on December 3, 2020
Manchester WSPU Banner,, c. 1908
A reader of this blog has asked me to confirm who was the 'Mrs Rachel Scott' who unfurled the 'First in the Fight' Manchester WSPU banner in 1908.
You will remember that I wrote here about the discovery of the banner and the subsequent appeal that resulted in it being acquired by the People's History Museum in Manchester. In that piece I wrote that I suspected that the woman given the honour of unfurling the banner was the Mrs Rachel Scott who had been the WSPU's first honorary secretary, rather than Rachel Scott, wife of C.P. Scott of the Manchester Guardian. And, of course, the merest further investigation showed that it was indeed Mrs 'Secretary' Scott who had unfurled the banner – not least because Mrs C.P. Scott had died three years earlier, in 1905.
But my enquirer was still interested in finding out something of Mrs Rachel Scott, the 'unfurler'….so I have done a little delving. For, although her name has often been mentioned in studies of the early days of the WSPU, she has not, as far as I can see, hitherto been credited with a real life.
I can report that she was born Rachel Lovett in Chorlton, Lancashire, in 1863, one of the many (at least 9) children of Thomas Lovett and his wife, Elizabeth. Her father was a labourer in the oilcloth industry and in 1871 the family was living next to the Marsden oilcloth factory at Canal Side, Newton Heath. Rachel's older sisters became weavers or winders as soon as, aged 14, they left school. However, the 1881 census shows that Rachel had escaped this fate and, aged 17, was working as a pupil teacher. She presumably continued teaching until her marriage in 1890 to Henry (Harry) Charles David Scott, the son of a schoolmaster. Harry was at this time described as a 'cashier' but by 1901, when the family, now with four children, was living at 5 Duncan Street, Broughton, he was 'managing director of an engineering firm'. In fact, he worked for the Manchester firm of Royles for most of his life, becoming chairman of the board of directors. At the turn of the 20th century he was a strong supporter of The Clarion, the socialist newspaper, and was a member of the Independent Labour party, paying the rent of the Party's Manchester meeting room.
For we know it was through the Manchester ILP that Mrs Emmeline Pankhurst encountered Rachel Scott, who was one of the women she invited to the meeting at her house in Nelson Street, Manchester, on 10 October 1903, at which the Women's Social and Political Union was founded. Mrs Scott was appointed the WSPU's first secretary and had a letter published in the 30 October 1903 issue of The Clarion alerting fellow Socialists to the existence of this new organisation and appealing 'to all women Socialists to join in this movement to press upon party and community the urgent need of giving to women the vote, that they may take their share of the vote for social emancipation'.
Rachel Scott maintained her involvement with the Manchester WSPU for some years, noted as present at various meetings and demonstrations, for instance appearing on Platform 12 at the WSPU Hyde Park demonstration of Sunday 21 June 1908 (described in Votes for Women, 18 June 1908, as 'well-known as a capable speaker and hard worker in the Manchester district') and, of course, was singled out to present the banner to the Manchester WSPU on 20 June 1908, the day before the Hyde Park meeting. The banner hadn't been ready in time to be unfurled with others in the Queen's Hall in London.
Rachel Scott was on the platform at a meeting in Manchester's Free Trade Hall on 19 January 1909 when Christabel Pankhurst received a rapturous welcome but I get the impression that after this she rather fades from view, perhaps less interested as it became clear that the WSPU was no longer a supporter of the socialist movement with which, in 1909, she was still actively involved. Certainly, she did not boycott the 1911 census and was at home ('Arrandale', Crofts Bank Road, Urmston) on census night with her husband and by now five children. Her eldest son was a 'student of chemistry', another was an 'engineering apprentice', and a third was a clerk. The other two children were still at school.
One of Rachel's sisters was living with the family in 1911, as she appears to have done all their married life. Another of Rachel's sisters died that year but had previously worked as a superintendent in the 'Imbecile Wards' of the Crumpsall (Manchester) Workhouse. Yet another sister had for a time been employed as a nurse in the same workhouse. Presumably both positions had been an improvement on the sisters' earliest employment in the cotton industry. Doubtless both from her own experience and that of her sisters Rachel Scott was well apprised of the state of the poor and afflicted and had hoped that the WSPU would be a means of improving their lot. She may have become disillusioned.
Rachel Scott died in 1925. Of her sons, one was killed during the First World War, one became an analytical chemist, another an engineer designer, and the fourth emigrated to Australia. Her daughter married, but died in 1935. Harry, still a director of Royles, was appointed a magistrate in 1931 and died in 1937.
Copyright All the articles on Woman and Her Sphere and are my copyright. An article may not be reproduced in any medium without my permission and full acknowledgement. You are welcome to cite or quote from an article provided you give full acknowledgement.
emmeline pankhurst, manchester wspu, People's History Museum, WSPU, wspu manchester banner
Suffrage Stories: Manchester's Banner Comes Home
Posted by womanandhersphere in Suffrage Stories on September 6, 2017
Manchester WSPU Banner, c. 1908
A couple of months ago I was astounded to spot the appearance of this banner in the catalogue of a Leeds auction house. It seemed impossible that such an important item of suffrage memorabilia should suddenly surface in this way.
Having been in the business of dealing in books and ephemera for well over 30 years I have a deeply-rooted suspicion of anything that looks too good to be true. It probably is. It seemed unlikely that anyone would go to the lengths of faking this banner..but one never knows. But if it was 'right', what a fantastic survival.
Everything did look 'right' – see the wonderfully period lettering – and the banner is documented. The Manchester Courier, Monday, 22 June 1908, describes its first unfurling – on the previous Saturday in Stevenson Square, Manchester. The report describes the banner as having the words '"The Women's Social and Political Union" printed in a white border flanking a purple centre where the motto is "Manchester First in the Fight" and "Founded by Mrs Pankhurst'. Although by 1908 WSPU headquarters was centred in London, here was Manchester claiming its rightful place as 'First in the Fight'. For it was at a meeting at Mrs Pankhurst's house at 62 Nelson Street, Manchester, that the idea for the new society had emerged on 10 October 1903.
The banner was unfurled to the skirl of bagpipes and received eulogia from Rona Robinson and Mary Gawthorpe. The woman who was given the honour of unfurling the banner is noted merely as 'Mrs Scott'. I think this must be the Mrs Rachel Scott who had been present at the first meeting of the WSPU – and subsequently was appointed secretary – rather than Mrs Rachel Scott, wife of C.P. Scott, editor of The Manchester Guardian…..but more investigation is needed here. And then, to add a final flourish to the occasion, Victor Grayson MP made a speech, declaring that 'he was prepared to sacrifice himself on the altar of woman's ideal'.
Of course I toyed with the idea of bidding for the banner. Such an item is incredibly scarce – the last one I know to have been for sale on the open market was auctioned in the early 1980s. It went to a very knowledgeable American collector and is now in the collection of a US university . But it was obvious that the perfect home for Manchester's WSPU banner would be the People's History Museum in Manchester. Surely it was really much more sensible, even if not the most smart business decision, to alert them to its existence in the hope that they would be able to bid for it themselves?
The People's History Museum had known nothing of the forthcoming auction and were thrilled at the prospect of the possibility of acquiring the banner. Thus, on the day of the auction, representatives from the Museum went over to Leeds and, when viewing the banner, discovered, not only did it look and feel 'right', but that it still had attached the label of the maker, Thomas Brown, a well-known Manchester banner maker of the period.
The story that slowly emerged about the recent history of the banner is the stuff of dreams.
It had been given to a small independent charity shop in Leeds about ten years ago and had been in a cupboard ever since. The charity looks after elderly people in the local area and apparently it had been left to them, along with the other contents of his house, by an old man with no family. His mother had come to Leeds from Manchester in the 1930s. Her name was believed to be 'Edna White', but it isn't known how she came to have the banner.
I watched the auction on-line and was horribly disappointed when it became clear that the PHM had reached their upper bidding limit and that the banner had been bought by another party for £13,600 (plus all the auctioneer's premiums, VAT etc).
However, all was not lost and that 'other party' was prepared to sell the banner to the PHM for a sum that gave him a not entirely unreasonable profit. The museum was awarded funds from various bodies to cover a substantial part of this sum, and Crowdfunded to raise a further £5000 to complete the purchase.
The money was raised within a few days – and the 'First in the Fight' banner is now in the care of the People's History Museum, where it will take pride of place in an exhibition next year to mark the centenary of the Representation of the People Act.
Update June 2018: The Manchester WSPU banner, full conserved, now takes pride of place in the People's History Museum new exhibition 'Represent: Voices 100 Years On!'
People's History Museum, WSPU banner


text:
The Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Cochin, is one of the oldest organisations of its kind in the country. The Chamber has a chequered history. Facing several challenges boldly and upholding its avowed objectives during the pre-independence era, the Chamber could emerge as one of the premier Chambers of Commerce in India – thanks to the endurance, hardwork, sacrifice and vision of the founding fathers and worthy and dedicated successors.
Towards the close of the nineteenth century, some of the Indian Merchants sat together and pondered deeply over the possibility of organising an Association to stimulate commercial enterprise and to protect, promote and safeguard the interests, privileges and rights of the Indian Business Community. The result of their deliberations was the formation of an association called "The Cochin Native Merchants' Association" in 1897. That Association continued to function till 12th January 1912 when the name was changed to "Indian Chamber of Commerce". Subsequently the word 'Industry' was added and the Organisation came to be called "Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industry".
Since its inception, the Chamber had to witness several vicissitudes and overcome many a stumbling block. This did not, however, dampen the enthusiasm of the builders of this Organisation, but instead, it helped them to draw greater inspiration for sustained and dedicated efforts towards making it vibrant and effective in all respects. Now the Chamber has emerged as one of the pioneer organisations of trade and industry.
The Chamber's has been the accredited voice of the mercantile community duly recognised and respected by Governments of all hues and it enjoys representation on important committees constituted by the State and Central Governments and public utility services.
The Indian chamber of commerce & industry strives with a mission to proactively influence the public policies and issues that impact the economy of the country and to work hand in hand with the Government aiming at the prosperity of commerce & industry. The Indian chamber also realizes its obligations to the society and gives great importance to facilitate education, health and infrastructure development.
The Challenges of the future are immense and diverse. We believe that the future is for those organizations which could mold their functionality in line with the constantly changing global scenario. The Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Cochin will always be at the forefront safeguarding the interests of trade & industry and evolving itself to cope up with the inevitable changes in the economy.
AFFILIATION AT THE NATIONAL LEVEL
The Chamber is affiliated to the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and the All India Organisation of Employers (AIOE), New Delhi.
The Management of the affairs of the Chamber is vested in a 23 member Committee. The President and the Vice-President are elected at the Annual General Meeting of the Chamber and hold office till the next AGM. The Secretary is the Chief Executive Officer of the Chamber.
While rendering useful and effective service to the business community, the Chamber has been making significant contributions in the fields of education, health services and other social welfare projects, as well. The pivotal role played by the Chamber in the establishment of The Cochin College, the construction of a Children's Ward in the Mattancherry Women & Children's Hospital as well as Children's Park at Koovapadam, donation of a Cobalt Unit to the Government Hospital at Ernakulam, and handsome donations to educational & service institutions in and around the City, etc. provide ample proof of the active involvement of the Chamber in projects and programmes for the benefit of society at large. The latest in the series of such projects is an institution called "DISHA" meant for challenged children.


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text:
Q: Looping to Create and Add New Objects to ArrayList Edit to save you from reading through this whole post
tldr: an object's fields should not be static unless you want all instances of that object to have the same value for that field
I'm trying to create and populate an ArrayList of Blog objects. I do know the generic way do this:
create ArrayList of Blogs
loop (some condition)
     create new Blog
     add this Blog to AL

However, when I attempt to do so within the while(datareader.read()) loop, all of the elements in the ArrayList are exactly the same Blog. Specifically, I end up with an ArrayList filled with multiple pointers to the very last Blog object from the database table. Here is my code:
 public static ArrayList AllBlogs()
    {
        SqlDataReader dr = anonPage.ExecuteReader("SELECT * FROM Kristina_Blogs");

        ArrayList allBlogs = new ArrayList();

        if (dr.HasRows)
        {
            while (dr.Read())
            {
                Blog b = new Blog();

                //grab a row from Kristina_Blogs and assign those attributes to b
                b.setTitle(dr["title"].ToString());
                b.setMessage(dr["message"].ToString());
                b.setId(dr["id"]);

                allBlogs.Add(b);
            }
        }
        dr.Close();
        return allBlogs;
    }

As I said before, the result of this is an ArrayList filled with pointers to the very last blog from the Kristina_Blogs table. I imagine the ArrayList allBlogs  looks like [b, b, b, ... b] and therefore they ALL get updated when I say b.setTitle() etc. But how can this be the case if I am creating a NEW Blog object at the beginning of each iteration?

Here is some extra info that you don't have to read but it might clear up some confusion about the structure of the problem:

*

*Blog object has id, title, and message fields and their respective getter/setters

*Kristina_Blogs is a table representing these blogs with columns for id, title, message

*The suggestions say to include a tag for my DB engine but I can't find a tag for it: Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio

*This code works perfectly when I use an ArrayList of Strings instead of Blogs

Edit: Including the code from Blog class
public class Blog
{
    public App myApp;
    public static string Title;
    public static string Message;
    public static int Id;

    //constructors
    public Blog() { }
    public Blog(App App) { this.myApp = App; }

    //all getters and setters look like this
    public string getTitle() { return Title; }
    public void setTitle(string t) { Title = t; }

}

A: The main problem you have, as I mentioned in comments is your member variables are static, so when you set the value, they change in all instances. you should change your code this way:
public class Blog
{
    public int Id { get; set; }
    public string Title { get; set; }
    public string Message { get; set; }
}

And fill your list this way, don't forget to add using System.Linq;:
var result = new List<Blog>();
var connection = @"your connection string";
var command = "SELECT * FROM Kristina_Blogs";
var adapter = new System.Data.SqlClient.SqlDataAdapter(command, connection);
var dataTable = new DataTable();

//Get data
adapter.Fill(dataTable);

dataTable.Rows.Cast<DataRow>().ToList()
            .ForEach(row =>
            {
                var b = new Blog();
                b.Id = row.Field<int>("Id");
                b.Title = row.Field<string>("Title");
                b.Message = row.Field<string>("Message");

                result.Add(b);
            });

return result;

Note:

*

*When you create a member static, it is shared between all instances of that calss.

*In C# you can use property to get or set values, you don't need to setX or setY, when you get the value of a property, the get code of that property will execute and when you assign a value to a property the set part of it will execute. you can define properties this way:

Property:
private int id;
public int Id
{
    get
    {
        return id;
    }
    set
    {
        id = value;
    }
}

or more simple:
public int Id { get; set; }

A: All of the fields in your Blog class are static, meaning they're shared between all object instances.  You want them to be instance field (meaning not static) so that each object has its own copy of each of those values.

A: Remove the static attributes from your class:
public class Blog
{
   public App myApp;
   public String Title;
   public String Message;
   public int Id;

//constructors
public Blog() { }
public Blog(App App) { this.myApp = App; }

//all getters and setters look like this
public String getTitle() { return Title; }
public String getMessage() { return Message; }
public void setTitle(String t) { Title = t; }
public void setMessage(String m) { Message = m; }

}

When you use static variables, all instances of an object will contain the same values in those variables. By removing the static keyword, you are allowing different instances of the object to hold different values.
Now, every time you create a blog object, that object's Title and Message etc, will contain its own information.

A: I would make a quick method to prevent null value from throwing error
    public static string GetSafeString(SqlDataReader reader, int index)
    {
        if (!reader.IsDBNull(index))
            return reader.GetString(index);
        else
            return string.Empty;
    }

Replace this code:
        while (dr.Read())
        {
            Blog b = new Blog();

            //grab a row from Kristina_Blogs and assign those attributes to b
            b.setTitle(dr["title"].ToString());
            b.setMessage(dr["message"].ToString());
            b.setId(dr["id"]);

            allBlogs.Add(b);
        }

With This Code:
         while (dr.Read())
        {
            Blog b = new Blog();

            //grab a row from Kristina_Blogs and assign those attributes to b
            b.setId(dr.GetInt32(0));
            b.setTitle(GetSafeString(dr, 1);
            b.setMessage(GetSafeString(dr, 2);
            allBlogs.Add(b);
        }

Where the number is the index of field in the record and assuming "id" is an integer. Also consider moving creation of "Blog" object outside of loop and just change values.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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