The University maintains records of equipment acquired by purchases, received as gifts, via leases which may or may not be considered a purchase, on loan, on consignment, and through departmental fabrication. These records are used with other information to determine the depreciation charge for capital equipment, to assist in generating the financial statements, and to determine insurance coverage. It is the responsibility of the Department of Property Inventory to maintain the record of all capitalized equipment, with the exception of The College of Medicine at Hershey Medical Center which maintains its own records on capitalized equipment.
In order for equipment to be capitalized, it must meet certain criteria. Equipment that is capitalized is tagged with an identifying number, and assigned an administrative area code number denoting responsibility for the equipment. This, and other pertinent information, is entered into a computer data base which maintains the "perpetual" inventory of all capitalized equipment. Any changes in the equipment, such as transfer to a different location or disposal, must be reported to Property Inventory. This procedure explains the criteria for capitalizing acquisitions and the methods used to identify, tag, inventory and account for capitalized equipment. Forms required to complete this procedure are referenced where applicable.
The equipment must have a value of $5,000 or more.
The University receives equipment by the following methods: purchases, gifts, leased equipment which may or may not be considered a purchase, on loan, on consignment, through fabrication, and miscellaneous additions. All capitalized equipment acquisitions must be reported to Property Inventory to ensure proper record keeping.
These documents are processed through the normal Purchasing Services/Accounting Operations system.
NOTE: Use of the correct object class code for equipment acquisitions must be enforced when source documents are prepared to ensure proper recording of capitalized assets and reduce the amount of time spent by Property Inventory to review and adjust discrepancies. Refer to Object Classification Codes for a complete listing of object class codes and their intended use.
Vehicles acquired by the University either through purchase, lease, loan or gift must be reported on the Report of Vehicle Acquisition or Disposition Form.
Gifts-in-kind are another source of equipment to the University. Gifts are reported on the Gift Reporting and Transmittal Form (GRT).
Equipment fabricated by a department is considered an acquisition. The amount capitalized includes the actual cost of materials and direct labor. Contact Property Inventory before using Object Code 0705, for fabrication of capital equipment. The finished item must have a total value of $5,000 or more. Additionally, the use of the Purchasing Card in obtaining materials or paying for direct labor is prohibited.
Miscellaneous additions to equipment include equipment located during inventories that was not previously accounted for.
751 (Computer Equipment Purchases $5,000 and over).
This listing is broken down into four categories: General Budgets, Special Budgets, Miscellaneous Budgets (Restricted Funds), and a numerical listing of Purchase Order, IDCC, and GREQ voucher numbers for each of the Object Class Codes listed above.
The listing received from OAS generally does not include documents processed for The College of Medicine at Hershey Medical Center since they maintain their own inventory records; however, the listing is reviewed to check whether any such references are included. Voucher listings for Object Class Codes 455 and 459 are reviewed for any dollar amounts greater than $5,000. Copies of all Purchase Order, IDCC, and GREQ vouchers appearing on the listings for Object Class Codes 710, 715 and 361, as well as those vouchers greater than $5,000 for Object Class Codes 455 and 459 are made from Accounting Operations microfilm files. (Refer to the Note on page 2 regarding object class codes.) Copies of applicable documents for Object Class Code 361 will be made only when an item first appears on the voucher listing as a new acquisition due to the recurring lease payments for these items each month.
Property Inventory reviews the copies of all vouchers on the OAS Listing to determine if any acquisitions may have been assigned to an incorrect Object Class Code and to establish which items are actually capitalized equipment. Discrepancies are investigated and resolved as encountered. In determining the value of equipment, the inventory clerk adds actual cost plus shipping and installation charges. If the equipment is received by gift, lease purchase, fabrication, or if the equipment is found while inventorying, the amount recorded for capitalization is the fair market value. Copies of the vouchers are sorted by administrative area within the Budget Codes chart and distributed to the inventory clerk in charge of the corresponding area.
Two copies of the Miscellaneous Budget (Restricted Funds) listing are received from OAS; one copy is filed by Property Inventory and one copy sent to Research Accounting. Research Accounting reviews the listing and notifies Property Inventory which items are sponsor-owned and which equipment will be owned by the University at the completion of a project. Property Inventory updates their copy of the Miscellaneous Budget listing with this information.
Equipment received by the University as gifts is initially identified to Property Inventory by the Office of University Development (OUD). Further information for special handling is provided (when appropriate) by the Associate Treasurer's Office. OUD provides a copy of the Gift Reporting and Transmittal Form and any additional information identifying the equipment, to Property Inventory when it is processed through the gift reporting system. The Associate Treasurer's office forwards a copy of the Appraisal Summary (IRS Form 8283) when provided by the donor, which alerts Property Inventory to initiate an internal "tracking" procedure in order to comply with IRS regulations if disposal occurs within the time period specified by the IRS.
Equipment fabricated by a department is reported to Property Inventory by that department. For example, Property Inventory is contacted by the Financial Officer or research area with a request to report equipment that will be fabricated as part of a research project. After fabrication, Property Inventory reviews all applicable documentation (i.e., Purchase Orders, invoices, log of all materials and sources of funding expended in the construction and a summary of all labor costs) to determine the cost of the fabricated equipment and whether or not it should be capitalized.
NOTE: The purchase of materials to be used in constructing a piece of capital equipment (valued at $5,000 or more) should be coded as Object Class Code 705, Fabricated Capital Equipment, when purchased. (Contact Property Inventory before using this object code; the amount capitalized includes the actual cost of materials and direct labor; finished item must have a total value of $5,000 or more.) The use of the Purchasing Card in obtaining materials or paying for direct labor is prohibited.
Equipment fabricated by the Office of Physical Plant is reported on the Jobs in Progress Report ( Exhibit "A" ). This report is sent to the Property Inventory Department and distributed to the inventory clerk assigned to the corresponding area.
Equipment found while the Property Inventory clerks are taking inventories, that is not currently on file, is considered miscellaneous additions to equipment that requires capitalization if valued at $5,000 or more.
Penn State University Equipment Tag: A black and white bar-coded tag is used for University-owned capitalized equipment. The words "PENNSTATE" are printed on the tag in black. These tags are pre-numbered in order by Metal Craft, Inc. The numeric sequence of numbers needed are indicated on the Purchase Order by Property Inventory when a batch of tags is ordered.
Government-Owned Equipment Tag: United States Government-owned equipment is tagged with a red and silver tag. The words "U.S. Govt. Owned" are printed on the tag in red. A black and white bar-coded tag as described in #1 is also placed on government-owned equipment to facilitate inventorying. No eye-readable number will be embossed on the red and silver tag.
Sponsor-Owned Equipment Tag: Sponsor-owned equipment is tagged with a yellow and silver tag. The words "Sponsor Owned" are printed on the tag in yellow. Equipment received via gift that is accompanied by an Appraisal Summary (IRS Form 8283-refer to Internal Revenue Code; Sec. 170 [a]) is also tagged with a yellow tag. This tag is also used on leased equipment for insurance purposes. A black and white bar-coded tag as described in #1 is also placed on this category of equipment to facilitate inventorying. No number will be embossed on the yellow and silver tag.
Tag for Equipment that is not Capitalized: This tag is black and white similar to the bar-coded tag, but contains no number. The words "Property of Penn State" are printed on each white tag in black. It is placed on new equipment that is valued under the $5,000 capitalization criteria to assist the Property Inventory clerks during inventory. Also, equipment that is being "cannibalized" (disregarding value), and that is no longer useful, should be tagged with this tag.
NOTE: Various types of tags have been used in the past and are currently being used ( Exhibit "B" ). Property Inventory replaces these older tags with the current bar-coded tag as necessary. For example, if the old tag is found to be missing or unreadable during inventory it will be replaced. All new acquisitions will be tagged according to current procedures, as well as permanent transfers of equipment identified by a tag other than a bar-code tag.
Acquisitions which cannot be tagged, such as paintings or radioactive equipment, are assigned an item number and a special condition code when entered on the computer data base (condition code "W" - Number assigned - Not on item - see Exhibit "C" ). For the purpose of inventorying, "untagged" items are included on the numerical listing generated by OAS and can be identified by their condition code.
Capital acquisitions are assigned a bar-coded tag, the number of which is used to identify that item on the computer database. An administrative area code number is also assigned to denote the area responsible for each piece of equipment (see Budget Codes Chart for administrative areas). These tags are distributed to the Inventory Clerk in charge of the corresponding area.
As each Inventory Clerk prepares to tag equipment, they review the applicable documents (copies of vouchers, IDCC, etc.) for the equipment items they have been assigned to tag. Each document is stamped with a hand stamp ( Exhibit "D" ) which labels the headings for the following information: tag number, building number, room number, item name, model, serial number, manufacturer, custodian, and administrative area. As much of this information as possible is recorded from the documents before actual tagging of equipment. The Inventory Clerk then sorts the documents by location of the equipment according to building.
The Inventory Clerk contacts the college/area liaison to set up a time to accomplish the actual tagging. When the Inventory Clerk goes to tag the acquisitions, he/she will take with them the tags, and pre-stamped documents (vouchers, IDCC, etc.). The college/area liaison will assist in locating the equipment for the Inventory Clerk. A tag is selected for the item being tagged. If the equipment is government-owned or sponsor owned (refer back to "Types of Identification Tags" ), a second tag identifying the item as such will also be placed on the equipment. The tag is attached to the item in plain view and where it can be easily accessed by the bar-code scanner for subsequent inventory taking. Any information not previously recorded on the pre-stamped documents is completed by the Inventory Clerk.
After the physical tagging is completed, the Inventory Clerk transfers the information recorded on the pre-stamped documents to an Office Worksheet input form ( Exhibit "E" ). Certain condition codes are also assigned to denote the physical condition of the equipment ( Exhibit "C" ), location of equipment, items that cannot be tagged, items not being used and a general description of the equipment. These codes are used to sort the information on the data base into different categories as needed for various reports.
After completion of the input forms, a Property Inventory Aide reviews the forms and notes any necessary changes. The Property Inventory Aide Records forwards the forms to a Records Clerk who enters the information into the computer data base. (Refer to Exhibit "F" for a sample screen showing the detailed information maintained on the Property Inventory System data base.) This computer data base maintains the records of all capitalized equipment acquisitions. This information is used in determining the depreciation charge, to assist in generating the financial statements and in determining the amount of insurance coverage required for capitalized equipment.
Tagging equipment at non-University Park locations is done similarly to the procedure for tagging equipment at University Park, except for the actual, physical tagging. After the Assistant Supervisor reviews the documents for equipment at non-University Park locations, the Office Worksheet ( Exhibit "E" ) is completed with as much information as possible. At this point, a temporary number and a "Z" condition code (refer to Exhibit "C" ) is assigned to each piece of equipment so that it may be entered into the computer data base by the Records Clerk for capitalization even though the item has not been physically tagged yet. Property Inventory then prepares a copy of each document and sends the copies along with a Equipment Tagging Information Form/Non-University Park Locations ( Exhibit "G" ) and proper tags, to the appropriate equipment contact person at the non-University Park location. Property Inventory assigns a block of pre-numbered tags to each non-University Park location for use as needed.
The contact person completes the information needed on the Equipment Tagging Information Form/Non-University Park Locations ( Exhibit "G-1" ) and physically tags the piece of equipment. After completing the form, it is returned to Property Inventory. Property Inventory completes the information on the Office Worksheet ( Exhibit "E" ) which is reviewed by the Assistant Supervisor and then entered into the data base. The "temporary" number is replaced with the actual tag number and any additional information obtained is entered.
NOTE: The procedure described for tagging equipment at non-University Park locations may be used in certain instances at University Park if Property Inventory personnel are not able to tag the equipment themselves due to the nature of such equipment; the only difference will be that an Equipment Tagging Information Form-University Park ( Exhibit "G-2" ) will be used to record the pertinent tagging information required by Property Inventory.
Property Inventory personnel supervise and assist in the actual tagging of equipment at non-University Park locations when the equipment is purchased by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania - Department of Property and Supplies; and when equipment is purchased on special budgets for new facilities (generally located at a non-University Park location).
The non-University Park location contact person will notify Property Inventory when they have moved into a new facility and when all equipment that has been purchased from special budgets or from Commonwealth Property and Supplies accounts has been received. After the initial tagging has been completed, it will be the responsibility of the Campus/College to physically tag any additional equipment purchased on operating budgets (refer back to "Tagging By Contact Person") .
Equipment permanently transferred to another department is reported on the Report of Disposition or Permanent Transfer of Tangible Assets -DISP, which is sent to Property Inventory.
These transfers require updating of the information on the equipment data base such as administrative area, location custodian and other information as applicable. If the administrative area does change and the equipment is tagged with an old tag (other than a bar-code tag), the equipment will be re-tagged according to current procedures.
In the case of a temporary transfer of equipment to another University location, a Report of Temporary Relocation of Tangible Assets is completed and sent to Property Inventory. "Temporary" is defined as the relocation of equipment for a period of two weeks or more, up to and including one year.
Per University Policy FN14 , Temporary transfers of University equipment to a non-University location for the purpose of University business is reported to Property Inventory when the equipment is tagged and the transfer will be for a period of 30 days or more. The Request For Authorization to Use University Tangible Assets at a non-University Location is used for this type of transfer.
Updating of the data base information for a temporary transfer is at the discretion of Property Inventory depending on the length of time involved and nature of the transfer.
Property Inventory maintains copies of all transfer forms received. Property Inventory assigns a consecutive document number to each form and when the data base is updated that applicable document number is also entered to serve as a cross-reference for additional information concerning the transfer of equipment.
If an area determines that a different budget should have been charged for a piece of equipment, that area may request that Accounting Operations prepare a Journal Voucher to correct the entry. Journal Vouchers can only be used to adjust current year activity. All Journal Vouchers containing a capital equipment Object Class Code are reported to Property Inventory by OAS on a monthly listing.
Property Inventory researches each Journal Voucher to determine what changes need to be made to their data base to reflect the accounting change. Property Inventory record the applicable Journal Voucher number on the computer database for any equipment that is affected by the change.
Property Inventory performs a monthly reconciliation of the information contained on their inventory data base to Accounting Operations' records to ensure proper classification of equipment.
Any piece of capitalized equipment which is disposed of in any manner must be properly recorded on the Property Inventory computerized data base. Wherever possible, the tag must also be removed and destroyed. Any piece of equipment tagged with a red or yellow tag may not be disposed of until Property Inventory is notified. Any item with a red tag is government-owned and cannot be disposed of without specific permission from the government. Any item with a yellow tag is sponsor-owned or received as a gift. Disposal of a gift item so tagged must be reported to the donor and the IRS (IRS Form 8282) if disposal occurs within two years of the date of receipt of the gift (refer to the Associate Treasurer's Office and to IRS Regulations for more information).
Disposals are reported by department on the Report of Disposition or Permanent Transfer of Tangible Assets - DIS P. This form indicates the changes needed to be made by Property Inventory to update their computer data base. These disposals include equipment sent to Salvage and Surplus (refer to Procedure BS2011 - Salvage and Surplus Operation Including Sales Stores) , trade-ins, lost equipment, or dismantled equipment.
NOTE: If there is an exchange of money between departments, an IDCC form should reflect these amounts for capitalization purposes.
Used to make prior year corrections and to delete a record from the data base.
Reversal of a prior disposal. If for example, an item is discovered during inventorying that had previously been recorded as disposed, but is actually still being used, it will be reactivated as a miscellaneous addition in order to be included in current activity reporting.
Use of Disposal Codes "1" and "2" will omit the item from current activity reports but a record of the equipment remains on the data base for reference by Property Inventory. A record of equipment assigned a Disposal Code of "3" will remain on the data base only until the end of the fiscal year and then it will be deleted.
Physical inventories of movable and fixed equipment are performed by Property Inventory to verify the existence, location, condition, and use of equipment that is on their capitalized equipment data base. Physical inventories are required every two years by U.S. Government Regulation A-21. Also, when a furnished facility is acquired, a physical inventory is taken of movable and fixed equipment.
The Auditing Department performs periodic reviews of the Property Inventory Department to ensure compliance with procedures and proper record keeping.
The Property Inventory Department notifies the person in charge of the administrative area to be inventoried as to the date the inventory will start and the approximate time it will end. The department head should, in turn, notify the college/area liaison of the above information.
A listing of equipment (by administrative area, in building and room order) is requested by Property Inventory from OAS for the area to be inventoried. The Property Inventory Supervisor discusses the listing with the Inventory Clerk to identify areas where inventorying may be a problem (i.e., due to the nature of the equipment being inventoried). When the actual inventory is taken, two teams of inventory clerks, with the inventory listing, proceed in an orderly manner around each room. The college/area liaison may assist in the actual inventory process. If an item is tagged, the Inventory Clerks check the listing to verify the existing information. Equipment found without a tag, and which is estimated to be valued at $5,000 or more, is recorded on a PSU Inventory Information Sheet ( Exhibit "H" ). Any unusual circumstances noted while taking the actual inventory are also recorded on this form.
After the actual physical inventory is taken, equipment listed on the PSU Inventory Form is researched by the Inventory Clerk to determine actual cost, and for any item valued at $5,000 or more, how it was obtained. The item will then be tagged and entered on the capitalized equipment data base.
The Records Clerk enters a special code ("U" in the "Unlocated" field of the data base) for any piece of equipment not found during the actual inventory. Using this code, a report is generated of all items on the inventory listing that were not located by the Inventory Clerks. This report is sent to the budget executive for the area, who relays the information to the college/area liaison. The liaison tries to locate the equipment on this report. The report, signed by the budget executive, is returned to Property Inventory indicating which items were located by the department or that the item should be written off. Any equipment not found by Property Inventory personnel or department personnel is written off by Property Inventory as requested by the budget executive responsible for the equipment.
The unlocated equipment is categorized as a disposal on the computer data base by the Records Clerk. Equipment that the department indicates has been located will be assigned a condition code of "X" ( Exhibit "C" ) if Property Inventory does not revisit the area to verify this information. Revisiting an area is not always possible due to time constraints; however, an item assigned an "X" condition code during a prior inventory will be verified by Property Inventory.
For questions, additional details, or to request changes to this procedure, please contact the Assistant Controller.


text:
Akshay Kumar's Dollar TVC crosses 1.5 million views on Youtube
09 May, 2016 - 06:14 AM IST | By indiantelevision.com Team
NEW DELHI: Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar's new Dollar TVC has crossed 1.5 million views on Youtube. As per Dollar's Facebook page updated on 5 May, the ad had crossed 1 million (10 lakh) page views within 10 days.
In the ad, Akshay, the brand ambassador of the Indian hosiery major, showcases different stunts highlighting fitness and flexibility in the fifth television commercial issued by Dollar Industries Limited. Dollar has commenced a 360-degree advertising campaign across print, electronic, outdoor and online media to promote the new commercial.
"The association with Akshay Kumar has created the perfect brand image for our company and it has been a journey worth mentioning. In this period our company has witnessed exponential growth in terms of sales, customer base, dealer distribution network and has become one of the most popular hosiery brands of the country. This is our fifth TV commercial with him and we are very confident that the commercial will have an instant connect with the audience, said Dollar Industries Ltd managing director Vinod Gupta.
Acclaimed international ad filmmaker Andzei Matsukevits has directed the commercial. Sainath Saraban, who was earlier working as the creative head of Leo Brunnet has scripted the TVC.
Dollar Industries Limited believes that with Akshay becoming the face of Dollar, the brand's products have received widespread acceptance across millions of homes in India and abroad.
"The concept of the TVC is catchy and in the same line of humour and using your brain. I am delighted that the company is growing day by day, flourishing each fiscal," said the brand ambassador.
"Dollar as a brand always believes in having a fit body and a fearless mind. And the new TV commercial is a reflection of this belief", added Gupta.
The growth of the company is on an upswing with annual growth rates averaging more than 18 percent year-on-year.
TVC story in brief
Akshay Kumar wearing a Dollar vest has been seen as a mix martial art specialist in the TVC, practicing with Winchu Wooden stand and suddenly challenged by a goon. The brand ambassador used a witty trick and won the fight without even touching him. The TVC ends up with the tagline "Jiske Collar Ke Niche Dollar Hota Hain, Usse Panga Nehi Lete Hain".
Akshay KumarAndzei MatsukevitsVinod GuptaSainath SarabanTVCDollar Industries Limited
Mumbai: After lagging behind Reckitt Benckiser (RB) for two consecutive weeks, Hindustan Lever Ltd (HUL) has regained the top position in the first week of 2022. According to data released by Broadcast Audience Research Council (Barc), HUL delivered ad volumes of 4551.67 for the period of 1-7...
Mumbai: Imagine Marketing Pvt Ltd (IMPL, the parent company of boAt) has announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Singapore based KaHa Pte Ltd, an end-to-end smart IoT product development company. The acquisition is expected to augment IMPL's capabilities to introduce...
Mumbai: Smart mobility solutions provider Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL) on Saturday announced its new campaign with the six- and seven-seater SUV – Alcazar, featuring Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan and Indian cricketers Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues, Taniyaa Bhatia and Shafali Verma. Under...
GUEST COLUMN: How effective social media campaigns can grow a business two-fold?
Mumbai: Social media has been enjoying its all-time high for quite a while now. The outbreak of the pandemic further accelerated its growth due to the rise in penetration and usage of the internet. Every organisation, no matter how small or big, took the digital route for its survival as it...
Mother Sparsh kickstarts #MomYouAreNotAlone campaign for new moms
Mumbai: Baby and mother care brand Mother Sparsh has kickstarted the #MomYouAreNotAlone campaign to spread awareness and promote conversations on postpartum blues. While statistics suggest that nearly seven out of every 10 mothers globally battle postpartum blues, more worrisome is the fact that...
GUEST COLUMN: Change of winds - The rise of Online Services in India
Mumbai: The Online Service industry is on a continuous upward path. This industry today contributes as much as eight per cent to the GDP of a fast-growing country like India. Online Services have always been there in the market but in the past two years, it has expanded massively to further sub-...
Pickrr appoints Sandeep Dinodiya as SVP & head of Engineering
SaaS-based logistics start-up Pickrr has announced the appointment of Sandeep Dinodiya as the senior vice president and head of engineering.
MAM Media and Advertising People
Mumbai: Bakery foods company Britannia Industries Ltd (BIL) on Friday announced the appointment of Amit Doshi as chief marketing officer, effective from 17 January. ''I am happy to welcome Amit back to the Britannia family. Amit's cross-sectoral marketing experience will be valuable in taking our...
HomeTown announces its flagship consumer-focussed 'Mano Ya Na Mano' campaign
Mumbai: HomeTown, the flagship store of Praxis Home Retail Ltd and a home solutions brand has announced its annual marketing campaign 'Mano Ya Na Mano' for its consumers. In order to drive buzz and salience, HomeTown has conceptualised a month-long sale starting from 8 January to February. The...

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Arr: C Farrall 5 Mary Did You Know Mark Lowry & Budy Greene 9 13 Piano Pno. S.A. S. Pno. S. S.A. Pno.... The musical, Mary, Did You Know?, presents a joyous message of hope created around one of the most dramatic and inspired songs ever written for the Christmas season.
Mary, Did You Know? A Christmas Musical. More Views . Mary, Did You Know? A Christmas Musical. Created by David Guthrie & Bruce Greer Arranged by Bruce Greer. Be the first to review this product. Created for SATB choir and narrator, this accessible work is designed for choirs of all sizes. The 35-minute length ensures the musical could easily be performed on a Sunday morning and still …... Contemplating Her in Song. Sung by the Daughters of St. Paul. Enjoy traditional Marian hymns as you reflect upon Mary's journey as the mother of God with the award-winning Daughters of St. Paul Choir.
A beautiful piece that my choir already love, even after just one rehearsal! This will become a firm favourite in our Christmas repertoire, although it could be performed at any time of the year really, particularly Easter. The arrangement is not too tricky.... The musical, Mary, Did You Know?, presents a joyous message of hope created around one of the most dramatic and inspired songs ever written for the Christmas season.
Arr: C Farrall 5 Mary Did You Know Mark Lowry & Budy Greene 9 13 Piano Pno. S.A. S. Pno. S. S.A. Pno.
Mary, Did You Know was written by Words andMusic by Mark Lowry and Buddy Greene. This beautiful song that captures thespirit of Christmas will be a great addition to the repertoire for Christmas andholiday programs. The song has since gone on to become a modernChristmas classic, being recorded by many artists over the years acrossmultiple genres.


text:
Carpomys melanurus is een knaagdier uit het geslacht Carpomys dat voorkomt op Mount Data en Mount Pulag in de provincie Benguet van Luzon, het grootste eiland van de Filipijnen. Daar leeft hij in hooglandregenwoud van 2200 tot 2700 m hoogte. De beschermingsstatus in onzeker: hoewel hij mogelijk lokaal algemeen is, is zijn verspreiding zeer klein.

In 2008 vond een groep van wetenschappers onder leiding van Lawrence Heaney een dood exemplaar van deze knaagdiersoort in Mount Pulag National Park. De vondst toonde aan dat de soort inderdaad voorkomt op een hoogte van 2200 tot 2700 meter en dat Carpomys melanurus, behalve op Mount Data ook voorkomt op Mount Pulag. Voor deze waarneming was de soort slechts op Mount Data waargenomen. De laatste waarneming betrof die door John Whitehead in 1896. Het dode exemplaar dat in 2008 op Mount Pulag gevonden werd had een dichte zachte roodbruine vacht, een zwart masker rond de grote donkere ogen, kleine ronde oren, een brede stompe snuit en een lange staart bedekt met donkerkleurig haar. Het woog 185 gram.

Literatuur

Dier uit het Oriëntaals gebied
Endemisch dier uit Groot-Luzon
Phloeomys-divisie
IUCN-status onzeker

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Measuring and evaluating a website's performance against the set objectives is one of the high priority tasks for a website owner. SEO is a continuous process and so is analyzing the traffic to your site. Every time you make changes to your website, you need to evaluate the outcome in order to be in alignment with your goals. Thankfully we have Google Analytics.
Today, it is un-thought of that you will not find any results on searching in Google, Yahoo! Or, MSN.There is a 100% certainty that you will find an answer. Customization is where search is headed. This post is about how Google has made it possible to find an answer for you whenever you search for something. And more often than not the search engines are managing to provide you the answer without having to go through a lot of irrelevant results. Let's take a look at how Google does it?
I sometimes wonder what would happen if Google were to suddenly remove Page Rank from the toolbar. There would be no Page Rank at all. What would we do then? How would we judge if a website is a great find to just another run of the mill website?
before linking to a website.
Here is an insight into the immense value that the webmaster tools provide us. I find the "Health" and "Traffic" part very-very useful when doing a SEO audit. And it certainly does not stop at SEO audit, the information that you can get here is of great value because it empowers you to make improvements in your site. Improvements that will impact your online visibility positively.
In order to carry out a SEO audit for your website, you will require access to data specific to your website's performance. If you have a Google webmaster account, it is a great place to begin your SEO audit process. If you do not have a Google webmaster account, it is time you got one.


The Cachet TV Lift Cabinet by ImportAdvantage is part of the company's line of $999 TV lift cabinets–offering a fine value without an ounce of sacrifice in craftsmanship. Finished in a rich, hand-applied tobacco color and fitted with solid brass hardware, the Cachet offers surge-protected on-board power for a TV and two components and a full 1-year in-home warranty.
The Cachet is very versatile and its center lift houses and lifts two additional pieces of electronics (such as a DVD player or cable box) with depths of 13 1/4" or less. The Cachet will hold flat-panel TVs up to 45 1/2" wide and 28 7/8" tall, and it comes with the lift systems pre-installed, as well as the built-in Infrared Relay System.
The Cachet is built from kiln-dried hardwoods and veneer, and it can accommodate a wide variety of home styles and color schemes.
See for yourself the value and beauty of the Cachet TV Lift Cabinet or any of the other fine TV lift cabinets from ImportAdvantage.


About Watermark Media Production Watermark Communications, Inc.
Watermark Communications, Inc., was founded in 1998 to serve clients with effective on-location media production solutions for audio and video.
Our projects have earned numerous Grammy and Stellar Awards and nominations. We specialize in personal attention to detail with each client's project; we are with you!
See samples of our credits, clientele, and producers/engineers who have enjoyed working with us on their projects lower on this page.
David Habegger, president and founder of Watermark Communications, Inc., is an Indiana native who has been involved in the production and engineering business for 30 years. In 1998, Habegger founded Watermark, headquartered in Tampa, Florida, and expanded operations to the Nashville, Tennessee, area in August 2003.
In the early years, Habegger was a studio assistant, traveled internationally as a live sound engineer, and eventually became a production coordinator and consultant. His production credits range from local church projects to concert sound in Madison Square Garden.
Habegger attended Purdue University and is an active member of the Nashville chapter of the Audio Engineering Society (AES) and the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS).


text:
Anastatus basalis är en stekelart som beskrevs av William Harris Ashmead 1904. Anastatus basalis ingår i släktet Anastatus och familjen hoppglanssteklar. Inga underarter finns listade i Catalogue of Life.

Källor

Hoppglanssteklar
basalis


text:
Trichosalpingus longicollis es una especie de coleóptero de la familia Mycteridae.

Distribución geográfica
Habita en Nueva Gales del Sur (Australia).

Referencias

Longicollis
Coleópteros de Australia


text:
Food Supply Chain Challenged to Creatively Meet Sustainability Goals
Oct 22, 2021 9:31:00 AM / by FreshByte Software
The global supply chain's mission of moving food from farm to market, and onto our nightly tables, sounds simple but can be quite complex with government regulations, transportation, communication, and other logistical issues at play.
A call for more transparency and tracking, previously pegged to food safety issues, has been reinforced as the food supply chain is challenged to creatively meet new sustainability goals and initiatives.
"While it comes with its challenges, addressing sustainability measures to limit climate change, resource depletion and labor inequality has made an impact in bolstering the fresh produce industry and the communities it serves," wrote Deborah Hauss last month in Produce Business. "Global supply chains are continually being pressed not only to report sustainability data but to improve on farm practices where needed."
The food supply chain is looking for creative ways to:
Reuse the use of plastics
Decrease fresh food waste
Add consumer-friendly recycling language on packaging
"As retailers raise the bar on their own sustainability procedures, they also have upped the ante with their supply chain partners to scale their effect," says Hauss.
Consumers Willing to Pay More for Sustainability
Consumers are increasingly calling for, and showing a willingness to pay extra, for sustainable practices in the food supply chain.
FMI, the food industry association, reported in August in their "Top Trends in Fresh: Opportunities with Sustainability-Minded Consumer" that:
Shoppers who are willing to make trade-offs for the environment represented 27 percent of fresh food spending in Q2 2021
These shoppers also spend 30 percent more than other shoppers on fresh foods
Theses valuable shoppers expect recyclable packaging and biodegradable ingredients and see organic, grass-fed and all-natural claims in the fresh aisles as givens
"They are starting to prioritize sustainability claims around food waste, animal welfare and nitrate-free products too," says the FMI.
Walmart Leads the Way on Sustainability Initiatives
Walmart, still the largest retailer in the United States despite Amazon and other ecommerce companies eating into their market share, is leading the way on sustainability initiatives.
"Walmart's sustainability efforts prioritize people and the planet by aiming to source responsibly, eliminate waste and emissions, sell sustainable products and protect and restore nature," Laura Himes, Walmart's senior merchandising director of produce, told Produce Business. "Specifically, we focus on four key areas: climate, nature, waste and people in supply chains."
Walmart's ambitious sustainably initiatives include:
emissions across global operations by 2040 by harvesting enough wind, solar, and other energy sources to power facilities with 100 percent renewable energy; zeroing out emissions from all its vehicles; and transitioning to low-impact refrigerants for cooling and electrified equipment for heating.
Working with supplies to avoid 1 gigaton of greenhouse gas emissions by 2030
Protecting, managing, or restoring at least 50 million acres of land, and 1 million square miles of ocean by 2030
Working towards 0 waste in operations in key markets
Aiming to reach 100 percent recyclable reusable or industrially compostable private-brand packaging by 2025
Achieve 15 percent in absolute reduction in total virgin plastic use by 2025
"Our vision at Walmart is to help transform food and product supply chains to be regenerative, working in harmony with nature - to protect, restore and sustainably use our natural resources," says Kathleen McLaughlin, Walmart's executive vice president and chief sustainability officer.
Alphabet Soup? Audit Requests Overload Supply Chain
While the sustainability initiatives and goals aim to make the world a better place, the executive for the food supply chain can lead an alphabet soup of information and audit requests.
"And with each retailer sending its own individual request, a ripple effect results in an overload of paperwork some supplies are hard-pressed to provide in a timely manner," writes Hauss.
Ed Treacy, vice president, supply chain and sustainability for the Produce Marketing Association (PMA) says that there are "more than 150 different sustainability audit schemes produced and distributed by buyers nationwide."
The PMA has a Sustainability Assessment Tool and Communication Guide to help those in the food chain navigate the sustainable demands.
"Sustainability is inherent in much of what we do, and as the original stewards of the land – we are uniquely positioned to provide leadership across many industries over the globe," says the PMA. "One of the most direct ways to immediately make this impact is to recognize the transformative efforts happening in the industry and communicate it to various audiences."
A great ally to meet sustainability initiatives is traceability software such as FreshByte Software, which offers state-of-the-art traceability, backwards and forwards.
Contact FreshByte Software today to learn more about how software can help the global food supply chain trace and track product from the originating vendor to the end-user.
Tags: Sustainability


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MOUNT VERNON–RedTail Track and Field opened the outdoor season at Cornell College on April 6, scoring multiple top-8 finishes on the way to placing second (men) and fifth (women) in team rankings.
The men's team had an eventful meet, placing 2nd overall in team points. Desmond Stevens and Zak Packingham added points to the RedTail scoreboard with strong performances in the 100-meter dash, placing third (11.23) and eighth (11.35) respectively. In the men's 200-meter dash, Stevens joined Riley Little and Kenny Beard to claim three of the top eight spots. Cameron Williams finished second in the 400-meter dash, just shy of the NJCAA national-qualifying time. Cameron Williams placed 2nd overall in the 400m, with a 49.24, just shy of the 48.4 NJCAA qualifying standard.
Placing 6th and 7th respectively, Payton Bahl and Ryan Millikin competed in the 800m. Nick Durnin placed first in the 400h, and Peter Torkelson placed 3rd in the same race. Desmond Stevens, Cameron Williams, Kenneth Beard, and Zak Packingham ran the 4x100 Relay, placing second. Head coach Tyler Mulder expecs this event to "make some noise" at Nationals. Zak Conger was the event champion in the high jump, landing at 6'4.75. All field events were covered by Cole Overton, where he placed 7th in shot put.
The women's team also showed up ready to work, placing 5th overall in team points. Paighton Malek and Kraton Allen placed 4th and 5th respectively in the 100m. In the 200m, Emily Hovden placed 9th overall, but set a new college PR for herself. Emma Hartz was the meet champion in the 400m, with Mulder mentioning her strength and excitement for the season. Joanna Topham hit the national qualifying standard in the 1500m, placing second overall with 4:51.88, and setting a new PR, and in the 5k, placing second with 18:56.55. Madison Larsen also placed 3rd in the 5k. Zarreel Knox placed 5th overall in the triple jump, and is expected to hit a big PR soon. Shot put, discus, hammer, and javelin were all covered by Mari Shavers.
"Our outdoor season just began this weekend and we couldn't have had more perfect weather for a track meet! We look forward to the month of April as we have a lot of fun meets on the schedule," said Mulder.
RedTail Track and Field hits the road again on April 19th for a meet in Dubuque.


text:
Q: flutter: Unhandled Exception: type 'Null' is not a subtype of type 'String' I tried to use Moralis API to call NFT via wallet address, but got following error.
Unhandled Exception: type 'Null' is not a subtype of type 'String'

These are the code lines that were pointed out as having errors.
final meta = jsonDecode(map?['metadata']);

    meta_name = meta['name'] ?? '';
    meta_image = meta['image'] ?? '';
    meta_description = meta['description'] ?? '';

if (response.statusCode == 200) {
      nfts = jsonDecode(response.body)['result'].map<Nfts>((result) {
        return Nfts.fromMap(result);
      }).toList();
    }

The full code for the first one is below.
import 'dart:convert';

class Nfts {
  late String total;
  late String page;
  late String page_size;
  late String cursor;
  late String result;
  late String token_id;
  late String token_address;
  late String amount;
  late String owner_of;
  late String token_hash;
  late String block_number_minted;
  late String block_number;
  late String contract_type;
  late String name;
  late String symbol;
  late String token_uri;
  late String metadata;
  late String last_token_uri_sync;
  late String last_metadata_sync;
  late String minter_address;
  late String meta_name;
  late String meta_image;
  late String meta_description;

  Nfts({
    required this.total,
    required this.page,
    required this.page_size,
    required this.cursor,
    required this.result,
    required this.token_id,
    required this.token_address,
    required this.amount,
    required this.owner_of,
    required this.token_hash,
    required this.block_number_minted,
    required this.block_number,
    required this.contract_type,
    required this.name,
    required this.symbol,
    required this.token_uri,
    required this.metadata,
    required this.last_token_uri_sync,
    required this.last_metadata_sync,
    required this.minter_address,
    required this.meta_name,
    required this.meta_image,
    required this.meta_description,
  });

  Nfts.fromMap(Map<String, dynamic>? map) {
    total = map?['total'] ?? '';
    page = map?['page'] ?? '';
    page_size = map?['page_size'] ?? '';
    cursor = map?['cursor'] ?? '';
    result = map?['result'] ?? '';
    token_id = map?['token_id'] ?? '';
    token_address = map?['token_address'] ?? '';
    amount = map?['amount'] ?? '';
    owner_of = map?['owner_of'] ?? '';
    token_hash = map?['token_hash'] ?? '';
    block_number_minted = map?['block_number_minted'] ?? '';
    block_number = map?['block_number'] ?? '';
    contract_type = map?['contract_type'] ?? '';
    name = map?['name'] ?? '';
    symbol = map?['symbol'] ?? '';
    token_uri = map?['token_uri'] ?? '';
    metadata = map?['metadata'] ?? '';
    last_token_uri_sync = map?['last_token_uri_sync'] ?? '';
    last_metadata_sync = map?['last_metadata_sync'] ?? '';
    minter_address = map?['minter_address'] ?? '';

    final meta = jsonDecode(map?['metadata']);

    meta_name = meta['name'] ?? '';
    meta_image = meta['image'] ?? '';
    meta_description = meta['description'] ?? '';
  }
}

The full code for the second one is below.
class NftsProviders{
  Uri uri = Uri.parse('https://deep-index.moralis.io/api/v2/(personal metamask wallet address)/nft?chain=polygon&format=decimal');

  Future<List<Nfts>> getNfts() async {
    List<Nfts> nfts = [];

    final response = await http.get(uri, headers: {
      'accept': 'application/json',
      'X-API-Key' : 'o1g9ywaRjZvZaeaByxhZc7mFOBVVvDJEksU0jeZ8b34fNX03ISTc72fltfsAnuYG'
    });

    if (response.statusCode == 200) {
      nfts = jsonDecode(response.body)['result'].map<Nfts>((result) {
        return Nfts.fromMap(result);
      }).toList();
    }
    else {
      throw Exception('Failed to load NFT');
    }

    return nfts;
  }
}

With this API, I tried to create a Gridview.builder.
class NftsScreen extends StatefulWidget {
  @override
  _NftsScreenState createState() {
    return new _NftsScreenState();
  }
}

class _NftsScreenState extends State<NftsScreen> {
  List<Nfts> nfts = [];
  bool isLoading = true;
  NftsProviders nftsProvider = NftsProviders();

  Future initNfts() async {
    nfts = await nftsProvider.getNfts();
  }

  @override
  void initState() {
    super.initState();
    initNfts().then((_) {
      setState(() {
        isLoading = false;
      });
    });
  }

  @override
  Widget build(BuildContext context) {
    return Scaffold(
      appBar: AppBar(
        title: Text("nfts http"),
      ),
      body: isLoading
          ? Center(
              child: const CircularProgressIndicator(),
            )
          : GridView.builder(
              gridDelegate: SliverGridDelegateWithFixedCrossAxisCount(
                  crossAxisCount: 2,
                  childAspectRatio: 0.5,
                  crossAxisSpacing: 20,
                  mainAxisSpacing: 20),
              itemCount: nfts.length,
              itemBuilder: (context, index) {
                return Container(
                  padding: EdgeInsets.all(8.0),
                  child: Column(
                    children: [
                      // Text(nfts[index].name),
                      // Text(nfts[index].metadata),
                      CupertinoButton(
                          onPressed: () {},
                          // CircleAvatar with NetworkImage(nfts[index].meta_image)
                          // size of 100, 100
                          child: CircleAvatar(
                            radius: 100,
                            backgroundImage: NetworkImage(nfts[index].meta_image,),
                          )
                      )
                    ],
                  ),
                );
              }),
    );
  }
}

I want to request NFT information according to the user's wallet address called from Firebase.
Thanks in advance.

*

*This is part of the api call response.

{
  "total": null,
  "page": 1,
  "page_size": 100,
  "cursor": null,
  "result": [
    {
      "token_address": "0x53a0018f919bde9c254bda697966c5f448ffddcb",
      "token_id": "46388765668907266497641806581710410401632846941109288029645926940148068689172",
      "owner_of": "0xe3281571a136c11cc66d225902d494d29aaf7cb9",
      "block_number": "30362645",
      "block_number_minted": "30362645",
      "token_hash": "8b025de30055bd161b2774da64fc283a",
      "amount": "1",
      "contract_type": "ERC721",
      "name": "EDNS",
      "symbol": "EDNS",
      "token_uri": "https://api.edns.domains/metadata/0x53a0018f919bde9c254bda697966c5f448ffddcb/46388765668907266497641806581710410401632846941109288029645926940148068689172/metadata.json",
      "metadata": "{\"name\":\"goyangtwo.meta\",\"description\":\"Domain goyangtwo.meta from EDNS Domains\",\"image\":\"https://api.edns.domains/metadata/0x53a0018f919bde9C254bda697966C5f448ffDDcB/46388765668907266497641806581710410401632846941109288029645926940148068689172/image.svg\",\"attributes\":[{\"trait_type\":\"TLD\",\"value\":\"meta\"}]}",
      "last_token_uri_sync": "2022-12-06T14:08:39.924Z",
      "last_metadata_sync": "2022-12-06T14:08:44.789Z",
      "minter_address": "0x805ec22fca66eca02e244689b47fc2f180a94f01"
    }
  ],
  "status": "SYNCED"
}

A: can you share the response of the api call, most probably there will be a typo in the JSON decoding
meta_name = meta['name'] ?? '';
meta_image = meta['image'] ?? '';
meta_description = meta['description'] ?? '';

try quicktype.io to generate response models

A: What's the source of Nfts? Do you not have accidently defined a field like cursor or total as String instead of String? Otherwise, please provide the code for Nfts as it might have fields of type String without defaults that are not present in the json, causing the Nfts.fromMap(result); to fail.
As a general tip, it is wise to NOT assume that this will always succeed. In case it fails, then i.e. return null instead of crashing your app.
Edit added solution:
In the function
Nfts.fromMap(Map<String, dynamic>? map) {}

the variable map will be the full map (with total, page, result, etc. entries) which does not contain a metadata tag, so...
final meta = jsonDecode(map?['metadata']);

will be the same as
final meta = jsonDecode(null);

which is the reason for the error message. A string is expected!
However, you already jsonDecode (d) the response, so why do it again, because you already have a map of the response :)
You just need to pick the right tags from the map.
final result = map?['result'];
final metadata = result?['metadata'];

    meta_name = metadata?['name'] ?? '';
    meta_image = metadata?['image'] ?? '';
    meta_description = metadata?['description'] ?? '';

  final result = map?['result'];
  final metadata = result?['metadata'];

  meta_name = metadata?['name'] as String? ?? '';
  meta_image = metadata?['image'] as String? ?? '';
  meta_description = metadata?['description'] as String? ?? '';

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Memorial Tributes: Volume 20 (2016)
Chapter: GLENN F. KNOLL
PDF FREE Download Hardback $75.00 Add to Cart Ebook $59.99 Add to Cart
« Previous: THEODORE C. KENNEDY
Suggested Citation:"GLENN F. KNOLL." National Academy of Engineering. 2016. Memorial Tributes: Volume 20. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/23394.
GLENN F. KNOLL
Elected in 1999
"For contributions and technical leadership in the field of ionizing radiation detection and application."
BY DAVID WEHE
SUBMITTED BY THE NAE HOME SECRETARY
GLENN FREDERICK KNOLL, professor emeritus of nuclear engineering and radiological sciences at the University of Michigan, died April 20, 2014, at the age of 78.
He was born on August 3, 1935, to Reverend Oswald and Clara Bernthal Knoll. He earned a BS in chemical engineering from Case Institute of Technology in 1957, master's from Stanford University in 1958, and PhD in 1963 at the University of Michigan, where he joined the faculty.
A gifted teacher and brilliant researcher, Dr. Knoll was a mentor and role model for generations of students. Colleagues claimed they made careers out of his innovative ideas by turning them into applications in their fields such as nuclear medicine, radiography, oil well exploration, nuclear physics, environmental stewardship, and homeland security.
From 1979 to 1990 Professor Knoll chaired the Department of Nuclear Engineering, whose size and prestige, under his leadership, matured to its current level. After returning to the faculty ranks, he initiated a new research field of room-temperature semiconductor radiation detectors and led this effort until tapped to serve as the interim dean of engineering (1995–1996). He then returned to his true calling, teaching and research, until his retirement in 2001.
Former University of Michigan president and colleague James Duderstadt said, "Glenn Knoll left his legacy for science with a half century of world leadership in nuclear measurement. But he was also fun-loving and kind, he took young faculty and graduate students under his wing."
Dr. Knoll's contributions have been recognized widely. In addition to his election to the National Academy of Engineering, he was inducted as a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering, and the American Nuclear Society (ANS). He was also honored with the Glenn Murphy Award of the Nuclear Engineering Division of the American Society for Engineering Education (1979), the ANS Arthur Holly Compton Award in Education (1991), the IEEE Career Outstanding Achievement Award, and the IEEE Third Millennium Medal.
He participated in the formulation of post-9/11 planning through ideas published in the 2002 National Research Council report Making the Nation Safer: The Role of Science and Technology in Countering Terrorism.
Dr. Knoll enjoyed the technical fraternity of colleagues and travelled internationally to participate in their lives. He served as an International Atomic Energy Agency reviewer of international programs and taught his radiation detection course on every continent but one. As editor of the journals of his field, he was universally known and respected. His textbook, Radiation Detection and Measurement (Wiley, 4th ed., 2010), remains the standard reference of the field after four decades and is available in multiple languages.
On the day of his death Dr. Knoll was as active as ever, reviewing proposals and writing white papers to meet imminent deadlines. He sent final ideas for the June 2014 Symposium on Radiation Measurements and Applications (SORMA), the international conference that he launched nearly 50 years ago.
In talking with former colleagues and students it became clear that Dr. Knoll had a playful, competitive spirit. A man of innumerable talents he enjoyed travelling, music and singing in the glee club, and driving his Harley-Davidson. He played
softball on the Nuclear Nine (as a solid third baseman) and had a passion for fencing, paddleball, and racquetball. He also enjoyed a monthly game of poker.
Recollections of Son Thomas F. Knoll
My Dad introduced me to nearly every part of my life, from my profession to my hobbies. He was an engineer, which he described to me as using math and science to make useful stuff, and gave me my first introduction to all three.
My family used to take many long car rides together. At least they seemed long to a little kid sitting in the back of the car. We travelled back and forth from Ann Arbor to Frankenmuth to visit my grandparents, and during the summer we spent a week or two at my grandparents' cottage on Houghton Lake. To pass the time on these car rides, my Dad would make up math problems for me to try to solve in my head. They started out as simple arithmetic problems—multiplying two-digit numbers together, etc.—and as I got older they progressed to problems in algebra and geometry.
Eventually I got good enough at solving these problems that Dad could no longer make up problems in his head that were hard enough to challenge me. But the math teaching did not stop then, and we switched over to pencil and paper. He taught me the basics of differential calculus when I was 13.
When Dad was writing the first edition of his textbook, I was able to pay him back for some of his math instruction by solving some equations for his book, including a fourth-degree polynomial that still appears in the current edition.
He also introduced me to science. One strong memory I have is a night at the cottage on Houghton Lake, which is far enough from big cities that the view of the stars at night can be spectacular. On one clear night he took me out on the dock, and using a flashlight as pointer taught me the constellations, which I remember to this day.
He kept all his issues of Scientific American magazine organized by year in cardboard library shelf boxes. I spent many hours learning science by reading them while growing up.
Only recently did the availability of digital online archives convince him that it was OK to throw them out.
The third part of engineering is "making stuff." One my favorite memories is of Dad taking me to see one of the greatest feats of engineering ever, the Saturn V rocket, and the launch of Apollo 17. He took me along to a conference in Miami and afterward we drove up to Cape Kennedy to watch the launch. The minimum age for the VIP viewing area next to the vehicle assembly building was 16. I was only 12 at the time so he told me to "act old." I was lucky that by that time I was nearly six feet tall, so nobody called us on it.
In the basement of our house he built a wood shop, which he taught all three of his sons to use. I have fond memories of making furniture together, including a couple of pieces that are still in my mom's house.
I started to make model airplanes, at first plastic miniatures like Dad used to make and later radio-controlled gliders. This started a lifelong love of aviation. As a hobby, I have a pilot's license and fly my own airplane.
My dad taught me how to play golf, a game I love playing. This is one subject where he was probably not the world's best teacher. While I eventually got good enough to beat him, I'm fighting a slice that I think I copied from his swing.
But the greatest influence he had on my life was in my profession. He provided my first introduction to computer programming. I remember a Saturday afternoon at a computer lab watching him write a simple computer program in FORTRAN to compute mortgage interest. He showed me the printout of the program and explained the steps. He said I would probably be good at computer programming. He was right.
The other part of my profession that he introduced me to was photography. He gave me an Argus rangefinder camera when I was about 10, and taught me to develop film and make prints in a darkroom we built together in the basement. I combined my knowledge of computer programming and photography when John and I created Adobe Photoshop.
So I can honestly say that I owe the start of nearly everything in my life to my Dad. Thank you, Dad.
Recollections of Son John A. Knoll
Dad was a great man. A man of great warmth and goodness, humor, generosity, and of course an immense intellect. He was a man who was extraordinarily productive with a powerful work ethic. He set the bar very high, and every day I aspire to live up to his example.
I owe much of who I am today to the influences of the household in which Mom and Dad raised me. My brothers and I grew up in a loving and stable environment, one that encouraged curiosity, experiment, and creative expression.
What we learned from Dad, both by example and direct tutorship, was that it was possible to succeed at almost any endeavor if you were willing to make the investment and do the work. Dad behaved as though there were no fields that were beyond our abilities to master. We learned to question assumptions, be skeptical, and not accept the status quo.
I've been living in California for 34 years now and I work with many people from all over the world. One thing I've noticed from a thousand conversations is that people who grow up in cold climates develop indoor hobbies. Growing up in Ann Arbor, Tom and Pete and I had a lot of indoor hobbies. More than half of those began by observing Dad engaging in one of them. We'd take an interest, try it ourselves, and they would become our hobbies too.
For me, five hobbies I picked up from Dad led pretty directly to the career I've so happily engaged in my whole life.
Dad used to build model kits of World War II aircraft. He was very good at it. They were beautiful and captivating with lots of intricate detail. I was fascinated by them and started trying to learn that skill. It took me nearly a decade to be any good at it, but eventually I got to be good enough that I worked professionally as a model maker for the first four years of my film career.
Dad built a darkroom in our basement and taught us the basics of photography, including how to develop film and make prints. A favorite memory of mine is when he bought me my first really good camera. I had learned on a super-bare-bones camera and was ready for something more sophisticated.
We went to the local camera shop where we browsed the selection. The salesman, seeing a 14-year-old kid, kept showing us simple starter cameras that didn't have the features I wanted. Looking down into the case, I spotted a camera that looked like it had everything I wanted: full manual, various automatic settings, double exposure mode, etc.
"What about that one?" I asked.
"Oh, you don't want that camera. You'd have to be a nuclear physicist to use that camera!"
Needless to say, that was the camera we bought. I loved it. It served me well for 25 years.
When an appliance like a television broke we would take it to the basement workshop and fix it. I learned the basics of analog circuitry that way and developed a great interest in digital electronics that I still dabble in today.
In the spring of 1978 Dad got an Apple ][ computer that he used for developing and testing signal processing algorithms. It was this really cool and exotic bit of high technology right there in our house. He showed us how it worked and encouraged us to learn how to use it. Boy did I ever take advantage of that!
That early exposure and encouragement led pretty directly to a lifelong passion for writing software tools and pushing the limits of using computers for creative expression. It also led pretty directly to my getting involved with Thomas in the development of Photoshop.
Making Stuff in the Shop
Dad had a nicely equipped workshop in the basement. He used it to fix things, build some really nice furniture, and generally engage in a lot of DIY. We got recruited to help on the bigger projects. That had a pretty big effect on me, too. I got to be very comfortable around woodworking and metalworking tools and learned that making things for yourself wasn't a big deal. Again, this has served me very well in my professional life.
All of those hobbies came together in what I ended up doing for the last 35 years in visual effects for film. I've seen a lot of success in film, but so much of it came directly from Dad's influence and example. Glenn is still very much alive in who I am, how I approach problems, and how I see the world.
When someone they love dearly passes, a lot of people express regrets about all the things they didn't get to say, the events they wish that person had been there to share, the regrets that they didn't make a greater effort to include them in their lives. I have none of those regrets. Dad knew how much we loved him. He was there to share in all of the most important events of our lives, and it was wonderful.
Glenn married Gladys Hetzner on September 7, 1957, and she survives, as do their three sons: Thomas Frederick, of Pacific Palisades; John Andrew (Jennifer), of San Rafael, CA; and Peter Glenn (Carola), of Andover, New Jersey. He delighted in grandchildren Andrew, Hannah, Harlow, Lisa, Alexander, and Jane. Also surviving are a brother, Alan Knoll (Ruth); sister, Marie Kaiser; in-laws, Judith and David Berger, Virginia and Wayne Hatwich; and many nephews and nieces.
We have lost a legendary friend and colleague.
Next: RIKI KOBAYASHI »
Memorial Tributes: Volume 20 Get This Book
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This is the 20th Volume in the series Memorial Tributes compiled by the National Academy of Engineering as a personal remembrance of the lives and outstanding achievements of its members and foreign associates. These volumes are intended to stand as an enduring record of the many contributions of engineers and engineering to the benefit of humankind. In most cases, the authors of the tributes are contemporaries or colleagues who had personal knowledge of the interests and the engineering accomplishments of the deceased. Through its members and foreign associates, the Academy carries out the responsibilities for which it was established in 1964.
Under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering was formed as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. Members are elected on the basis of significant contributions to engineering theory and practice and to the literature of engineering or on the basis of demonstrated unusual accomplishments in the pioneering of new and developing fields of technology. The National Academies share a responsibility to advise the federal government on matters of science and technology. The expertise and credibility that the National Academy of Engineering brings to that task stem directly from the abilities, interests, and achievements of our members and foreign associates, our colleagues and friends, whose special gifts we remember in this book.
Front Matter i–xii
WILLIAM F. ALLEN JR. 2–7
CHARLES A. AMANN 8–11
FREDERICK T. ANDREWS 12–19
ALBERT L. BABB 20–25
JAMES E. BAILEY 26–29
RICHARD H. BATTIN 30–39
TED B. BELYTSCHKO 40–45
ARTHUR E. BERGLES 46–51
J. ROBERT BEYSTER 52–57
HENDRIK B.G. CASIMIR 58–65
SUBRATA K. CHAKRABARTI 66–71
ESTHER M. CONWELL 72–79
EUGENE C. FIGG JR. 80–83
VLADIMIR HAENSEL 84–93
R. RICHARD HEPPE 94–99
PHILIP G. HODGE 100–103
JOHN C. HOUBOLT 104–109
THOMAS P. HUGHES 110–113
CHARLES V. JAKOWATZ JR. 114–121
H. RICHARD JOHNSON 122–131
HOWARD H. KEHRL 132–137
ANTHONY KELLY 138–143
THEODORE C. KENNEDY 144–147
GLENN F. KNOLL 148–155
RIKI KOBAYASHI 156–161
CHARLES C. LADD 162–165
FREDERICK F. LING 166–173
ROBIN MILNER 174–179
JOHN B. MOONEY JR. 180–185
RICHARD K. MOORE 186–191
MARK V. MORKOVIN 192–197
TOSHIO MURA 198–203
THOMAS J. MURRIN 204–209
YURI A. OSSIPYAN 210–215
LAWRENCE T. PAPAY 216–221
NORBERT PETERS 222–227
ROBERT PRICE 228–237
ALLEN E. PUCKETT 238–245
DENNIS M. RITCHIE 246–249
HERBERT B. ROTHMAN 250–255
ANDREW P. SAGE 256–259
THORNDIKE SAVILLE JR. 260–263
ROBERT S. SCHECHTER 264–273
REINHARDT SCHUHMANN JR. 274–281
HARRIS M. SCHURMEIER 282–287
ASCHER H. SHAPIRO 288–293
JOHN A. SIMPSON 294–299
ERNEST T. SMERDON 300–305
THOR L. SMITH 306–309
ELIAS SNITZER 310–313
S. DONALD STOOKEY 314–319
G. RUSSELL SUTHERLAND 320–325
JOHN J. TAYLOR 326–329
GARETH THOMAS 330–333
PAUL E. TORGERSEN 334–339
WALTER K. VICTOR 340–345
JOHN J. VITHAYATHIL 346–349
MILTON E. WADSWORTH 350–357
ALBERT D. WHEELON 358–363
ROBERT M. WHITE 364–371
MAX L. WILLIAMS JR. 372–375
ALEJANDRO ZAFFARONI 376–380
APPENDIX 381–382


The American Historical Association welcomes comments from readers. Historians celebrate intellectual communities governed by mutual respect and constructive criticism. The preeminent value of such communities is reasoned discourse-the continuous colloquy among historians holding diverse points of view who learn from each other as they pursue topics of mutual interest. A commitment to such discourse-balancing fair and honest criticism with tolerance and openness to different ideas-makes possible the fruitful exchange of views, opinions, and knowledge.
In short, letter writers and commenters should always address the ideas at hand, and refrain from remarking on the person who has those ideas.
Comments posted online should be no more than 500 words.
Comments should be governed by mutual respect and constructive criticism. The editors will not accept for publication, in print or in digital form, any statement that contains ad hominem attacks, namely, attacks that disparage a particular person or group of people rather than attempting to engage with ideas. Ad hominem attacks include abusive statements and remarks on a person's character or reputation.


Just a quick 'un today as I've had a bit of an IT security emergency going off in the background at work (15 minutes before home time but isn't that always the way!).
Volleyball was good last night, however I need to speak to the lovely Diabetes people at City hospital to ask them about my Exercise doses and Temporary Basal Rates because forty minutes in to the session my blood sugar was at 2.6, even though I had set my TBR to 50% two hours before going and set the "Exercise 1" setting when I had my dinner at half past six.
I was going to call them today but work got on top of me a bit so I'll have to speak to them on monday because I have a match, rather than a practice, on Monday night. My gut instinct is that I need to drop my exercise percentage to -50% too, at the moment it's set at -30%, which obviously isn't enough of a drop to keep me on the level while I'm playing/practicing!
One more quick thing, if you ever get a pump remember that it knows better than you do! The other night (in fact three nights ago) it reminded me to change my infusion set and I thought "I only changed it two days ago, I'll wait until tomorrow", as I mentioned in a previous post. However I was wrong, so that meant I had had the infusion set in too long. I thought nothing more of it but should have listened to it because now I have a bit of a funny hard lump where it was in too long. It has gone down a bit but it's taking it's time. Pretty sure it's nothing to worry about but it means that when the pump tells me to change my infusion set I really should listen.
Wasn't that short a post was it?!?!?


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What Should You Do To Get IRS Tax Penalty Relief?
The deadline for extending the tax payment is coming up soon. On October 17, everyone owes money to the IRS, except for people who live in disaster zones.
The IRS said that 19 million people filed their tax returns for 2021. But penalties for unpaid balances have gone up since April 18.
People don't know what to do or how to pay their taxes, though. Some taxpayers owe the IRS a lot of money, but there are ways out of every plan.
Request instalment payments. Payment plans are a frequent strategy to handle IRS debt.
What to do if you owe the government money?
It is a "long-term monthly payment plan through the IRS." Taxpayers who owe the IRS less than $50,000 should apply for an instalment plan online.
Offer as a way to reach a compromise: You can pay the IRS less than you owe. Make an offer in compromise to settle your IRS obligation.
Sheneya Wilson, a certified public accountant and the founder of Fola Financial in New York City, says that you can "significantly knock down the total amount due."
If you want to use the "Offer for compromise" option, you should have all of your tax returns filed on time, except for those for which you have a valid extension.
Relief from a fine The penalty relief helps people who were not able to pay the IRS because of "circumstances beyond their control."
If there is enough proof to show that you missed the deadline by accident or for a good reason, the IRS will let you off the hook.


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A$AP Rocky pleads not guilty to assault as Stockholm trial begins
American rapper A$AP Rocky pleaded not guilty to assault charges in a Swedish court on Tuesday, on the first day of a trial that has grabbed the attention of US President Donald Trump and the world's media.
Best known for his song "Praise the Lord," the 30-year-old performer, whose real name is Rakim Mayers, was detained almost a month ago following a street brawl in the capital Stockholm on June 30. If convicted, A$AP Rocky, who was charged with assault last week , could face up to two years in prison.
On Tuesday morning, Swedish public prosecutor Daniel Suneson read out the charges against the artist and two other men in his entourage. Suneson said they assaulted the victim by kicking and beating him with a whole or part of a glass bottle while he lay on the ground.
A$AP Rocky's lawyer, Slobodan Jovicic, maintains his client did not commit any crime. The rapper asserts that he was acting in self-defense when he threw the victim to the ground and stepped on his arm.
Both members of A$AP Rocky's crew, Bladimir Corniel and David Rispers, also deny any wrongdoing.
Magnus Stromberg, a lawyer for the victim, said his client is seeking 139,700 Swedish krona in damages (about $14,600).
The Stockholm District Court was packed with international press and A$AP Rocky's family members, including his mother, Renee Black, who sat still, staring straight ahead as the charges were read out.
Others in the audience were audibly sobbing and shaking their heads as Suneson showed evidence, including surveillance footage from the burger restaurant where the fight began.
In photos of the crime scene displayed to the court, a broken glass bottle was visible on the street where the brawl took place and a fragment of what appeared to be the same bottle could be seen stuck in A$AP Rocky's sweater.
Suneson said police had not found any finger prints or DNA on the bottle.
Footage of the altercation posted by TMZ and clips shared by A$AP Rocky himself, which have been at the heart of the investigation, were also played in court.
The prosecutor suggested on Tuesday that one of the videos shared by A$AP Rocky on Instagram had been edited to omit the moment when his security guard grabbed the victim by the neck and lifted him off the ground.
He also shared text messages exchanged between different members of A$AP Rocky's team, who spoke about "cleaning up" and "deleting" the videos.
As the prosecutor detailed the case against A$AP Rocky, the rapper's fans were gathered in a nearby room to watch the proceedings unfold on a big screen.
"I'm a big fan of A$AP Rocky," Marie-Thiella Hakizmana, one of those gathered at court, told CNN. "I think he will be convicted -- there is quite a lot of evidence against him. It would be right to convict him, but he shouldn't get a very long sentence, since he was provoked."
"I mean, there are laws in Sweden, just because you are a celebrity doesn't mean you should get away," she added.
That fact is something that Swedish authorities tried to impress upon Trump after he took an interest in A$AP Rocky's case, campaigning for the rapper's release.
The US President said on Twitter that he had spoken with Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven and "offered to personally vouch for (A$AP Rocky's) bail, or an alternative."
But Swedish law doesn't have a bail system and after Swedish authorities refused to release the musician, Trump tweeted: "Give A$AP Rocky his FREEDOM. We do so much for Sweden but it doesn't seem to work the other way around. Sweden should focus on its real crime problem!"
In response, Löfven's spokesperson Mikael Lindström said in a statement to CNN that "all people in Sweden are equal before the law."
"The Government is not allowed, and will not attempt, to influence the legal proceedings, which are now ongoing," Lindström said.
Several high-profile celebrities including Kim Kardashian West, musical artists Post Malone and Shawn Mendes, and actress Jada Pinkett Smith have also thrown their support behind the rapper, petitioning for his release using the hashtag "JusticeForRocky."
The trial, at the Stockholm District Court, is scheduled to continue on Thursday and Friday.
Under Swedish law, A$AP Rocky could face a maximum penalty of two years in prison. However, according to Swedish media, the prosecutors have indicated they do not expect to ask for the maximum penalty.


Camera phones, besides killing privacy, tact, deliberation over what information should be public, and manners, are now killing the postcard.
Granted, I have piles of postcards collected over my lifetime that guilt prohibits me from dumping or nostalgia requires I keep, and I think on certain levels I'd like to burn them all just to lighten my pack rat load.
But. They remind me friends who thought of me while on their exciting, far off vacations. They are images of art works that moved me on my fourth grade trip to the Getty. The old one. They are funny or plain or antiquated. One found by my dad in a box somewhere implies that on some level I was fated to meet my husband: it's an Italian relative's familiar handwriting on a postcard depicting still largely accurate scenes of Ipswich, England, in the 1960s.
They are some thing look at while wating for driving companions to buy twinkies at rest stops. They allow you to ironically herald your arrival in Bakersfield.
I'm going to start buying them and sending them again.


The BRB series resistors are resistor boxes that assembled with wirwound braking resistors and can be suitable for rugged applications with very high power rating. This resistor group is designed for heavy duty and harsh conditions such as elevators, cranes or for braking of big electrical motors. T..


Many of these are free to enter. There isn't always a monetary reward if your work wins or is published, but sometimes recognition is its own reward.
Detective Ben Waterhouse sat on the lumpy futon in the living room reviewing his notes while the coroner finished photographing the man's body. There wasn't much to go on. The name on the mailbox in the lobby said the occupant of apartment seven was George Wheeler, but there was no record of a George Wheeler in any database.
The super said the man kept to himself. Twenty-two of his neighbors interviewed so far claimed they didn't know him or his name. Most of the interviewees volunteered the man in apartment seven was ugly and that he had burn scars on the right side of his face.
The coroner left and the detective studied the body on the bed. His left hand looked like it was reaching for the cell phone. Waterhouse picked up the phone and pressed the home button. There was no passcode. He checked the man's phone contacts. None. He checked his text messages. None. He studied the apps on the phone. The Weather Channel, Google, and a flashlight. No email. No Facebook. No Instagram. The detective tapped the photo app and let out a low whistle. Nine thousand photos. He started swiping the photos with his index finger. Hundreds of photos of women; all appeared to be strangers. He'd photographed them in the subway, in café's, at bus stops, in museums; all public places and the majority of women were not looking at his camera. Next he tapped "Memories" and started swiping the photos again. He didn't whistle this time.
The first woman was drinking a cup of coffee at an outdoor café. The awning said, "Get Wired." The detective knew the place; it was on 57th Street. He swiped the next picture. It was of the same woman except she was dead. There were 'before and after' photos of twenty-five women. First photo alive. Second photo dead. All twenty-five had severe burns on the right side of their faces.
Photograph number twenty-six showed a young girl, he estimated she was between eighteen and twenty. Upturned nose, blue eyes, shoulder-length red hair. Pretty smile. There was no after photograph.
Back at the station house, the detective went to his superior's office and updated him.
"Let me see," Commander Hanson said.
He stared at the photograph and looked up ashen-faced.
"That's my daughter," he said.


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In an Ideas piece, Fortier says primaries would be better if open to independents.
Primaries are best with independents
By JOHN FORTIER
In an otherwise positive Election Day for the Republican Party last week, the vote in N.Y. 23 revealed the GOP's split between moderates and conservatives, party leaders and activists, locals and outsiders. It also raised the question: How should a party pick its candidates for office?
One answer now embraced by many party leaders is that a primary might have avoided the fratricidal outcome in upstate New York. While this advocacy for primaries is largely sound, it is not without complications. Sometimes, of course, party leaders select excellent and victorious nominees. And primaries have their own problems of low turnout and polarization, not to mention that there are many ways to conduct a primary.
Despite the temptation to make primaries a family affair — with only the most committed party members voting — our political system and the parties themselves would be better off if primaries were open to independents and if parties promoted higher-turnout contests. Otherwise, primaries will favor extremes, disadvantage local parties and produce less electable candidates.
It is situations like the one involving Dede Scozzafava that drive soul-searching about the merits of a primary process. Scozzafava, the Republican nominee in the race to replace departing GOP Rep. John McHugh, came into the news as conservatives around the country became alarmed by her stances on unions, abortion, gay marriage and the stimulus package. Encouraged by the Club for Growth and fueled by talk radio and potential 2012 presidential candidates, a more conservative Republican, Doug Hoffman, took advantage of New York's Conservative Party ballot line to run an insurgent candidacy to the right of Scozzafava. When Scozzafava's poll numbers plummeted, she exited the race and threw her support to Democrat Bill Owens. Owens then beat Hoffman, making him the first Democrat elected to the district in more than 100 years.
After this debacle for the GOP, party leaders quickly coalesced around a lesson to be learned: The process for picking Scozzafava was flawed.
While in most congressional elections, the major political parties hold primaries and allow voters to select party nominees, this process is sometimes dispensed with in special elections. In N.Y. 23, 11 Republican county chairpersons selected Scozzafava; voters did not participate in a primary process.
Would a GOP primary have avoided the series of events that led to the loss of a Republican seat? One strongly implied answer is that Hoffman would have beaten Scozzafava in a primary. This scenario implies that local party leaders were squishy pragmatists out of touch with Republican voters who would have come to the polls. But it is not clear that Republican voters in this district might not have instead displayed a moderate streak, in keeping with the district's politics and an appreciation of Scozzafava's public service to her community.
Another argument for primaries is that no matter who emerged victorious from a primary, the seas would be calmer, for the people would have spoken. And it would have looked like sour grapes for the primary loser to mount a third-party challenge in the general election.
These arguments have merit. But consider the governor's race in Virginia, where Republican Bob McDonnell trounced Democrat Creigh Deeds. McDonnell was, by all accounts, an excellent candidate. Was he chosen by Republican voters in a primary? No. Virginia Republicans met in a convention that selected McDonnell. Republican voters had no say.
More problematic for primaries is their tendency to select candidates toward the extremes of the political spectrum. Primaries are almost always low-turnout affairs. Curtis Gans of the Committee for the Study of the American Electorate found that only 15 percent of eligible voters cast votes in the midterm congressional primaries in 2006. Even a highly contested Democratic Senate primary in Connecticut between Joe Lieberman and Ned Lamont drew out only 11 percent of Democrats. Low-turnout elections tend to be dominated by the most energetic activists — that is, liberals in a Democratic primary and conservatives in a Republican one. And primaries are tailor-made for groups like the Club for Growth, which can bombard a congressional district with money raised nationwide to turn out a few thousand votes and affect the primary outcome.
Among the countries of the world, America is unusual in that it regularly invites its voters to select the nominees of its parties in primaries. In most parliamentary systems, party leaders pick the candidates and voters vote only in the general election. But to honor the democratic character of the primary process and to select candidates with broad support, it is incumbent on parties to run inclusive primaries with as high a turnout as possible.
In the 1960s, when Republicans were in the minority in the South, they began to open their primaries to all voters, to attract Democrats and independents to their party. More difficult is overcoming the low turnout rates for primaries, but scheduling primaries on the same day as other significant elections is one way to broaden the voter pool.
N.Y. 23 has made primaries the preferred choice of GOP party leaders. But running exclusive, low-turnout primaries will favor the conservative activist voices in the party over others, just as moderate local party leaders favor their ilk. Primaries are the answer, but they should be ones in which candidates fight it out before a large and diverse electorate that includes independents — a recipe for strong candidates and a stronger party system.
John Fortier is a research fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.
Dede Scozzafava


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Biden says transition is cooperating with Trump staff on Covid-19
Joe Biden has promised to seek multilateral approaches to common problems like the coronavirus and arms control. PHOTO: AFP
https://str.sg/JbEU
WASHINGTON (BLOOMBERG, REUTERS) - US President-elect Joe Biden said his transition team will not be "so far behind the curve" now that the Trump administration has begun cooperating on the fight against the coronavirus and providing access to intelligence reports after a three-week delay.
"We're already working out meeting with the Covid team in the White House," Biden said in an interview on NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt to air Tuesday (Nov 24).
"And how to not only distribute, but get from a vaccine being distributed, to a person being able to get vaccinated. So I think we're going to not be so far behind the curve, as we thought we might be in the past," he said.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has also indicated on Tuesday that the State Department has begun the transition process after the General Services Administration (GSA), the federal agency that must sign off on presidential transitions, on Monday told President-elect Joe Biden he could formally begin the hand-over.
"Today we began the process to see what the GSA's decision was, and will do everything that's required by law. We'll make this work," Pompeo said in an interview with Fox News.
The long-delayed transfer of power freed up funds, access to current administration officials and classified information for Biden and his team. Most significantly, Biden will now have access to the presidential daily briefing from the intelligence community and to the Trump administration's vaccine distribution plans.
"There's a lot of immediate discussion, and I must say, the outreach has been sincere," Biden said Tuesday. "There's has not been begrudging so far. And I don't expect it to be. So yes it's already begun."
The S&P 500 Index closed at an all-time high and the Dow Jones Industrial Average topped 30,000 for the first time as Biden's transition gathered speed and a third promising vaccine candidate emerged.
The move to begin the formal transition came after Trump had faced increasing pressure from lawmakers, former officials and business leaders to start the transition process, three weeks after the vote that Biden won decisively.
Trump still hasn't conceded the election and his team is arguing against the result in multiple court fights, though those efforts have not yielded results.
The NBC interview also took place hours after Biden formally announced his foreign policy and national security teams, including Antony Blinken as secretary of state, signalling an effort to calm international relations after a tumultuous four years under Trump.
Trump finally gives his administration green light to proceed with Biden transition
Dow scales 30,000 on Covid-19 vaccine headway, Biden transition
Biden has promised to seek multilateral approaches to common problems like climate change, the coronavirus pandemic and arms control.
"It's a team that reflects the fact that America is back," Biden said as he announced the team, which also includes Jake Sullivan as national security adviser, Avril Haines as Director of National Intelligence, Alejandro Mayorkas as homeland security secretary, Linda Thomas-Greenfield as UN ambassador and John Kerry as climate envoy.
"Ready to lead the world, not retreat from it. Ready to confront our adversaries, not reject our allies. And ready to stand up for our values."
Michigan certifies Biden election win: Officials
Trump faces rising pressure from allies to concede election to Biden
US PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION 2020


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Shadowrun Chronicles - Boston Lockdown
For Fans Only
In Stock. Buy Now»
Steam PC version reviewed.
'Shadowrun Chronicles: Boston Lockdown' (originally billed as 'Shadowrun Online') is a Kickstarter project developed by Cliffhanger Productions. Besides the use of the setting and some similar mechanics, it is unrelated to the other Shadowrun Kickstarter by Harebrained Schemes ('Shadowrun Returns'). It has been in Steam's Early Access for about a year, and is now seeing a full release.
The Shadowrun setting was first published in 1989 as a pen-and-paper roleplaying game. It incorporates several genres, primarily cyberpunk and fantasy. Set in the mid to late 21st century, magic has seen a revival on Earth, and creatures like elves and dwarves are born to human parents who have carried their long-dormant genes. Other humans are transformed into orcs and trolls during puberty. Dragons rise up and, able to take human form, busy themselves as the executives of powerful multinationals that have mostly supplanted traditional government. Cybernetic and biological enhancements run amok. Players take the role of "shadowrunners", mercenaries specializing in corporate espionage.
'Boston Lockdown' is a turn-based strategy game with an overhead view, not unlike the recent 'XCOM' reboot (the Firaxis franchise I mean). Like any MMO or RPG, each playthrough starts with character creation. All of the major Shadowrun races are available, including the troll. Points can be spent in the expected classes - brawlers, gunslingers, Deckers, riggers, wizards, etc. A character isn't locked into one class; it's more of a buffet. You can be a hacking shotgun-wielding mage if you like, although the jack of all trades is master of none.
After a confusing non-sequitur of a prologue, the character is dumped into a sleazy alley where all manner of illegal arms and upgrades can be purchased, and fixers offer jobs to shadowrunners. I then entered into the sketchy world of shadowrunning, which often involves stealing stuff from violent people. Every mission put me in a medium to large map, full of tiles, where each character can move, take cover, and shoot at one another, or use more exotic attacks. After I had a few missions under my belt and racked up the ability points, I was able to add abilities more interesting than the standard shooting and slashing. Turret hacking, magical fireballs, aerial drones, and more can be used to liven up the fights.
Despite the customization available in both shadowrunner appearance and abilities, enemy diversity isn't quite as deep. The bad guys tend to make reckless decisions and put themselves at risk, lessening the strategic options of each match. This is somewhat mitigated in later levels, where the lack of AI quality is made up for by the sheer amount of enemies that flood the maps. Still, many enemies are content to use their entire turn to run right up next to my bruiser character, foregoing their attack, and then getting sliced up by a machete on the next turn without inflicting any damage to my team.
The storyline did little to hold my attention, which is a shame because it is so intrusive. Jane, a human Decker with a distinct Boston accent, frequently interrupts fights with chatty instructions. Most of the missions are kind of generic smash-and-grabs, and don't change much as the story progresses. There is always combat, even when playing with the less combat-inclined classes like Deckers. Things are more fun in co-op, where a partner can join each mission and bring along a henchman. I had a good time playing as a huge trollish brute, going Leroy Jenkins in each mission, while my more prudent partner held back and covered me as necessary. Unfortunately, whenever I completed a mission with a guest, they were not paid at the end. Also, at the time of this writing, I could not find any options for PvP content, which seems like a missed opportunity.
'Boston Lockdown' looks like what I would expect from a cyberpunk/fantasy theme. It manages to fit together disparate elements, like elves and glitzy neon lights, without being ridiculous or melodramatic. The character models are basic, but the environments and backdrops for the maps, and especially the seedy, back-alley mission hub, look better. The game uses a good physics engine that allows for more realistic movement and the occasional awesome ragdoll. There are very few glitches or bugs, as expected from a game that spent a long time in beta.
The sound effects and soundtrack perfectly match the 'Shadowrun' setting with their dark, synthy undertones and relentless, subdued beats. The voice acting doesn't achieve quite the same level.
The co-op is where most of the replay comes in, as working with partners greatly relieves the repetition inherent in the mission pool. The co-op mechanics just aren't welcoming, with very limited matchmaking, an awkward party system, and reduced rewards for guests.
'Boston Lockdown' is an online Shadowrun game that manages to admirably translate the popular setting's quirky sci-fi/fantasy romance, but struggles with the online bit. The narrative is less of a strong glue holding everything together - it's more of a thin balm that can be more pervasive than entertaining. If you want to do some shadowrunning with some friends and don't mind the price point, it's not a bad entry in the franchise. If you're not into co-op, there are better options in the turn-based strategy genre.
Sid Meier's Civilization VI
Nobunaga's Ambition: Sphere of Influence - Ascension
Armello
Romance of the Three Kingdoms XIII