The Portage Lakes race was my "A" race for the year, meaning it was the most important race for me in 2012. I have not been able to do the Olympic distance back in June in Deer Creek Park and there were a lot of "firsts" for me in this race, including first open water swim (in a race), first wet suite in a race (I had little practice on vacation in Canada this summer), and finally first Olympic distance race! This was almost too exciting and I was a bit nervous before the race. Having done three Sprint races in the past two years it was a big step up. The Olympic distance triathlon includes the following: 1,500 m swim (0.93 miles), 40 km bike (24.9 miles) and finally 10 km run (6.2 miles).
As it turns out there was another first in this race with the time 2:22:28. I won in my age group and was 9th overall :-). Results are posted here. I was hoping for the podium, but the first place was a nice result to have.
I started my taper 7 days before the race gradually shortening training rides and runs and swims, but kept doing workouts at race pace intensity or faster. Four days before the race I dropped all cross training, two days before the race had complete rest with no active work at all.
Portage Lakes is only 2 hours drive from Pittsburgh, so I decided to drive on Saturday and found a real nice camp ground in the park where I slept in my Honda Odyssey minivan. I removed all middle row seats and folded down rear seats and got myself 8 feet by 4 feet of sleeping space. I put a mattress inside of the car and slept like a king, except I could not sleep too well (always a hard thing for me to do before a race). It was about 48 degrees at night (9 Celsius), but I had plenty of warm and fuzzy things to keep myself in comfort. This was my first time sleeping in the car, so for a moment I thought - is it possible to suffocate with all windows being rolled up? I kinda knew the car is not airtight and all, but still.. who wants to die before his A race :-) ? On iPhone I googled up few articles and made sure I will be ok as it turns out there are some pretty detailed articles on the subject, here is one example.
On race morning I woke up at 6am (my race start time was 8:30am), ate half of the cooked yum potato, hot tea, whole wheat flat bread with about 3 tablespoons of peanut butter, an apple and left the camping site. It took only 10 min to get to the race where I setup my gear for transition. About 1 hour before the race I ate little more flat bread and seeds+nuts bar with tea and 20 min before start ate one GU gel with little bit of water.
It was still very cold in the morning and I feared the swim, considering that it had been only 48 degrees at night. But then to my relief the announcer said that the water was 72 degrees - much much warmer than the air and the swim was still wet suite legal! Lots of folks got into the water for warm-up, but I waited and only got into my race uniform 20 min before the race start. I did a little bit of warmup for 5 minutes, but nothing major. I think it must have been about 60 degrees at the time of the start and about 70 degrees at the time of finish.
Here is a brief video of the transition area. I do want to make a mental note to myself about the mistake I made on the swim - I did not water my goggles and just put them dry. This made the fog so bad that I could hardly see anything after the first 10 min of the swim and it did not occur to me to kick on the back to clean and adjust those darn goggles.
The swim consisted of two loops around buoys and swimming in wet suit was nice. To my surprise I even passed few people on the swim (and yes, there were folks who passed me on the swim). The swim part did not feel too hard (like it did for my Sprint pool swims). But the most difficult thing was to swim straight. I wish I had GPS with me to record all zigzagging I did... Regardless, my swim split was 29:58, which includes 1 min run into the transition area, which translates into about 1m 46 sec per 100 yards. Not a bad result for me, but I guess this is a big help from the wet suit. I was the 5th out of the water in my age group.
Transition from swim to bike was easy and took 56 seconds. As always, I kept shoes clipped into the bike. I had the 4th fastest T1 in the race and that is considering the fact it was my first time pulling the wet suite off in a hurry - I did not practice this science before :-). I guess the other thing that helps is not to have socks when biking and do the fly mount on the bike.
It was very cold for the fist 15 minutes of the bike while I was still wet from the swim and did not warm up enough. I biked hard, but not all-out hard to keep something in my legs for the run. Not a single person passed me on the bike, except for one guy 29 years old (according to his markings on the leg) who kept passing me after I would pass him for the n-th time. About 20 min into the bike I took one GU gel and 10 minutes before completing the bike took another GU gel. During the bike I had consumed almost a full bottle of Gatorade, which I carried in between my aerobars. The bike course had few hills. My bike split was 1:12:57 - fastest in my age group, which means 20.4 mph average, but considering hills this is not bad. In fact, the roads were open to traffic during the race and I had to pass a car on the left using the incoming traffic lane once on the hill when that car was stuck going slow behind bunch of riders who were walking bikes up the hill. There were a handful of other times when cars in my lane made me adjust speed a little bit. Overall the traffic was not bad at all, but it could have been even better without it.
T2 took me 45 seconds - that was also the 4th fastest T2 in the race. I planned to run in socks, but during transition setup in the morning decided to run with no socks, just like I did all Sprint races. This seemed to be a great decision as my Kinvaras felt very comfy during the run. I never run in training with no socks - only when racing.
The start of the run felt hard, but in about 10 min I finally got my legs back from biking and settled into the pace going at constant speed (at least I felt it was constant). The funny thing about my past two Sprint races was that by the time I started running well and feeling good and increasing the pace, the race was over. Here on 10K run I had a lot more time to run in a "normal leg condition". I decided not to wear my Garmin GPS for the race as it is a hassle to put it on and did not want to lose any more time in transition than I had to. On the run I also passed a lot of people and only one guy passed me in the last 50 yards on the finish line, but since I saw his marking on the leg stating he was 32 years old and not in my age group, I did not bother to out-sprint him, although I feel sorry about it now as it would have been a fun thing to do (easy to say it today - not so sure I had much left in me yesterday). My run split was 37:50, which is about 6:05 pace - second in my age group. This is faster compared to my Sprint races, but not surprising - for one, the run course was mostly flat, plus I increased intensity of training runs this summer. In training I ran intervals of 800 yards at 5:30 to 6 min pace and this seemed to help a lot. This season was the first time I started doing a mix of intervals, hill repeats, tempo and long runs. All the previous years I did not feel ready for this kind of work and simply ran at comfortable pace anywhere from 7:30 to 9 min depending on the distance with long runs on weekend.
Here is me 30 minutes after the finish and after having lots of oranges, bananas and watermellon pieces :-).
So far this was all good stuff. Now about the bad stuff. One VERY negative experience that most people got in this race was that the the run course was totally screwed up. In one particular spot nobody knew exactly which way to go and there seemed to be no race official to direct people. I had to stop three times (!!!) on my two big loops and ask for directions and exit to the finish as people seemed to go into different places. The turnaround points had no timing mats and no officials. No, I did not see anybody cheat, but one could if he wanted to. Because of the poor markings of the run course, I thought I only needed to do two big loops and two small loops and was sprinting to the finish only to find out that I had to do one more small loop, after which I accelerated to the finish and found out I had to do one more small loop, after which I did not have much strengths to accelerate anymore as I was not sure how many more small loops they will tell me to do, but thank goodness that was the last one. Whoever designed the run course, needs to be educated on how to do it properly and draw proper pictures before posting on the race website. Now I am looking at the top overall winners of the race and it shows that #1 and #2 runs for this 10K are respectively 1 min 22 sec and 2 min 42 sec slower than the world record for 10K. How realistic is that that the guys did 1,5K swim, 40K bike and only came within 1 or 2 min of the world record meaning they ran at 4m 27 sec pace for 10K in triathlon? The 2012 Olympic Gold Medalist Alistair Brownlee ran an incredible 29:07 this summer to win the Olympic triathlon race in London. At the same time if you look at the results for this race, you can see that two of the top 10 finishers ran this 10K in 29 min and 27:42. I guess they should have represented USA in London then - these guys ran faster than Alistair was in London! Very very disappointing. I bet you some top finishers likely did not do 4 small loops as I and others were directed to do. I don't pretend for the overall win, but it just shows you that not only I was confused with the run course.
I was 11th fastest overall on the bike, but only 19th fastest overall on the run and 37 overall on the swim. I am usually almost as good of a runner as I am a biker, but the results this past weekend show me being twice as far from the top on the run as on the bike - at least compared to other folks. At the same time being 37th on the swim out of total of 88 is an improvement for me as I am usually in the second half out of the water - and yes, I did see plenty of people cutting corners on the buoys during the swim with nobody stopping them.
I find it interesting to compare my results to the results from this summer Olympics in London. In summary, I swam 76% slower than the first place Olympic winner, biked 24% slower and ran 30% slower.
What's next? Well, next year I plan on doing Half-Ironman race or two, plus a couple of Sprint and Olympic races (perhaps one of each). I am not sure yet. In the meantime, I definitely need to work on my swimming and I already found a swim / triathlon coach - Kimberly Schwabenbauer to help me with that. I will describe my swim learning experience in a future post.
I also got myself a new pair of Newton Gravity shoes, which I did not even wear leading to the race as I am so used to my Saucony Kinvara, which I love, but want to experiment with shoes as I am feeling some tension in the front part of the sole of my right foot - near middle fingers (could it be the front part of the plantar fascia?). Usually it is the back part of it that causes problems, so I am not sure what is going on. I feel this every time for a couple of days or even more after high intensity runs.


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Doncaster Council is seeking to commission a supported accommodation and outreach support service for adults and children fleeing or living with domestic abuse.
Doncaster Council is seeking to commission a supported accommodation and outreach support service for adults and children fleeing or living with domestic abuse. The contract will be for an initial period of 2 years with 2 x 12-month extensions available subject to performance and funding. The maximum annual financial envelope to deliver this service is 315 000 GBP.
— children and young people's service.
The 3 elements of the service should ultimately aim to improve a client's quality of life/recovery and promoting/maintaining independent living for themselves.
Doncaster Council is seeking to commission a supported accommodation and outreach support service for adults and children fleeing or living with domestic abuse. The contract will be for an initial period of 2 years with 2 x 12 month extensions available subject to performance and funding. The maximum annual financial envelope to deliver this service is 315 000 GBP.
This accommodation and support service is intended to be of a short-medium term duration. It is the intention that people in the service will move on where appropriate in a planned and structured manner. To this end the Contractor will empower clients so that they can live independently and thrive following the abuse. The level of support offered to the clients will vary and will be based on the ongoing assessed needs of an individual client.
Initial contract period is for 24 months, however the council may wish to extend for an addition 2 12 month periods subject to funding. Estimated value of the contract is based upon the full contract duration including the options to extend.
Tenders open by authorities, which will be via the Strategic Procurement team and authorised personnel.
The Council will incorporate a minimum 10 calendar day standstill period at the point when the information on the award of the contract is communicated to tenderers. If an appeal regarding the award of a contract has not been successfully resolved the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (SI20105/102) provide for aggrieved parties who have been harmed or are at risk of harm by a breach of the rules to take action in the High Court (England, Wales, Northern Ireland).


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Tag: AntminerS19Pro (page 1 of 2)
Bitmain Signs Agreement with ENEGIX to Host Miners at the 180MW facility
July 23, 2021 / Nathaniel Yu / 0 Comments
Hong Kong, July 23, 2021 – Bitmain – the world's leading producer of cryptocurrency mining hardware, announces partnership with ENEGIX to host Antminer S19 Pro in their 180MW facility.
ENEGIX is the operator of one of the largest data centers in the world. The team is in the business of designing, building, and operating data centers since 2017. The current 180MW facility, commissioned in late 2020, is the company's third data center. It is designed to host more than 50,000 current-generation mining rigs.
"Enegix is a clear leader in design and operation of large-scale mining facilities. Their success over the years has put them on the map for all major bitcoin miners. Bitmain is pleased to have a solid strategic partner in the region", said Bitmain Mining Division Vice President.
"ENEGIX is pleased to be able to offer Bitmain the remaining capacity of its 180MW facility. This step from the leading manufacturer of ASIC miners is very important for our company, as it shows trust in our operation. We hope that starting this cooperation will be beneficial for both companies for the years to come." – said Yerbolsyn Sarsenov, ENEGIX CEO
In view of the recent surge in demand from miners, ENEGIX aims to develop additional mining infrastructure in the coming years. The company is in the process of securing power purchase agreements and developing design projects for additional mining facilities, planned to be executed in Kazakhstan.
Bitmain Facilitates Long-Term Partner Core Scientific Becoming the Largest Miner Hosting Provider in North America with over 58,000 additional S19 Series Antminers
December 18, 2020 / ADMIN / 0 Comments
76,024 S19 Series Antminers are Purchased by Core Scientific in the past 16 months
Hongkong, Dec. 18, 2020 – Bitmain – the world's leading producer of cryptocurrency mining hardware, today announced a new purchase deal with Core Scientific, the largest blockchain hosting provider in North America. More than 58,000 additional S19 Series Antminers will be shipped to Core Scientific through September 2021, bringing the total purchase of Bitmain's S19 Series to 76,024 in the past 16 months for the value of over 129 million USD.
Back in June this year, Core Scientific has bought 17,595 units of Bitmain's next-gen Antminer 19 Series. Ever since then, the market demands for digital asset mining has been growing significantly and driving hosting service providers, such as Core Scientific, to expand their facilities. Bitmain's S19 Series has been the top-selling mining machine in the global market ever since launched. With the custom-built 7nm chip from Bitmain, S19 Series has set a new industry standard and proven its stable yet efficient performances.
"Since our last purchase agreement with Bitmain in June, Core Scientific has witnessed surging demand from new and existing customers in addition to a significant uptick in institutional interest for digital asset mining in North America. I am very pleased to note that over 17,000 of Bitmain's new-gen digital mining machines have been stable and operating efficiently within Core Scientific's facilities. This is instrumental as we compete for head-on for global hash rate and solidify our position as the largest hosting provider in North America." Said Kevin Turner, President, and CEO of Core Scientific.
"Core Scientific has been a long-time customer and friend to us. Together we have been driving the digital asset mining ecosystem in North America. This new purchase is another strong proof of their determination to take the game to the next level by facilitating more customers to participate in the mining market. We are honored and glad that our products can be part of it." said Irene Gao, Antminer Sales Director of NCSA Region, Bitmain.
Earlier this year, Bitmain just announced to set the very first and only cooperative repair center in North America through a partnership with Core Scientific. Before that, Core Scientific cooperated with Bitmain to bring the very first Antminer Training Academy to North America last year.
Marathon Patent Group Purchases Additional 10,000 S19 Pro Miners from Bitmain
October 27, 2020 / ADMIN / 0 Comments
Bitmain – the world's leading producer of cryptocurrency mining hardware announces that it has signed another purchase contract with Marathon Patent Group, Inc. ("Marathon"), the largest Bitcoin Self-Mining companies in North America for the purchase of an additional 10,000 next-generation Antminer S19 Pro Miners. With the purchase of 10,500 S19 pro miners in August and other deals earlier in the year, Marathon has by far bought a total of 22,660 Bitmain S19 pro miners this year.
500 S19 Pro Miners will be delivered to Marathon in November this year and beginning in 2021, thousands of S19 pro Miners will be shipped and deployed every month up until June. Marathon is looking at a total hash rate of 2.57 EH/s once all these 22,660 Antminers are in place.
"This collaboration continues to strengthen our cooperation and will extend to future work together as Marathon expands its presence. It is also another strong endorsement for Bitmain's next-generation S19 Pro Antminers, which houses the most advanced chipset and impressive power efficiency of 29.5±%5 J/TH. We are glad to close another significant deal in North America and keen to enable more customers to boost mining capacity with an efficient approach." said Irene Gao, Antminer Sales Director of NCSA Region, Bitmain.
Bitmain Closed another Antminer Deal with Riot Blockchain, adding up to a total of 20,000+ miners Purchase within a year
Bitmain – the world's leading producer of cryptocurrency mining hardware announces that on top of the recent 5,100 Antminers deal and 8,000 Antminers purchase last month, Riot Blockchain, a Nasdaq-listed cryptocurrency mining company signed another purchase deal of 2,500 Antminer S19 Pro (110 TH), scheduled for receipt and deployment in December this year. In total, Riot has purchased 22,640 Bitmain miners within a year.
"This year has witnessed a significant expansion of our partnership with Riot. Overall, Riot purchased over 20,000 Antminers from us within this year. We are glad to accompany and support their growth across North America and becoming one of the top players in the market. This continuously growing partnership is also another strong proof of our industry-leading Antminers S19 Pro, which features a remarkable hash rate of 110 TH/s with an energy efficiency of 29.5±% 5 (J/TH). " said Irene Gao, Antminer Sales Director of NCSA Region, Bitmain.
Last month, Riot just signed a deal of 8,000 Bitmain S19 Pro Antminers and another 5,100 two weeks ago. Starting from a 4,000 S17 Pro deal in this February, 20,140 Bitmain miners have been purchased by Riot within a year.
Bitmain Signs Another Cooperation Agreement for Data Center and Custody Services with KASH PARTNERS
Bitmain – the world's leading producer of cryptocurrency mining hardware, announces the signing of a new cooperation agreement between Bitmain Supercomputing Center Research Institute (BSCI) and KASH PARTNERS.
KASH PARTNERS is one of the largest cryptocurrency mining companies in Korea. The company plans to invest 10 million US dollars with stable income activities such as domestic construction of data centers, mining hardware acquisition, and custody services. By providing the most advanced mining hardware at present, the Antminer S19 Pro. Bitmain will support KASH PARTNERS with achieving their goal of a 30MW facility that can operate nearly 10,000 units of the most advanced miners.
"KASH PARTNERS has been a longtime friend of ours. We would be more than happy to broaden our cooperation and deepen the partnership that we have together. With the full deployment of the 30MW facility, we are paving the way for their goal of a 50MW facility. This will be a milestone for both Bitmain and KASH PARTNERS", said Jelly Fan, Director of BSCI, Bitmain.
Forge Ahead with Determination
October 7, 2020 / ADMIN / 0 Comments
A Review on Bitmain's H1 2020
The year 2020 has seen strong turbulence in global markets and industries. In such a time of uncertainty, Bitmain continues to deepen its strengths with industry-leading chip R&D advantage, launch superior products that reset the industry standards. Meanwhile, through its leading experience and expertise, Bitmain keeps on completing its business ecosystem deployment centered on "hash rate" by launching new businesses and services in the hope to drive the development and upgrade of the entire market.
New Product to Drive Industry Standards: Breaking Record Highs Again with the Antminer 19 Series
Antminer 19 Series (Antminer S19 Pro, S19, T19)
In the past few months, Bitmain has once again proved its strong R&D capability through the launch of its record-breaking Antminer 19 Series, which delivers an impressive performance in the global market.
Antminer S19 Pro, S19
On 27 February, Bitmain officially announced the Antminer S19 and S19 Pro. Equipped with a custom-built 7nm chip from Bitmain and enhanced circuit architecture, the Antminer S19 series reset the industry standards with record-breaking power efficiency. The Antminer S19 Pro features a hash rate of 110 TH/s, and an impressive power efficiency of 29.5±%5 J/TH. The Antminer S19 is equipped with a hash rate of 95 TH/s, and power efficiency of 34.5±%5 J/TH. S19 Pro and S19 strongly proved Bitmain's outstanding innovation capability and position as a leader in the market.
Antminer T19
On June 1st, Bitmain launched the Antminer T19, which is housed with the same generation of custom-built chips found in the Antminer S19 and S19 Pro. Utilizing the new APW12 power supply and upgraded firmware, the T19 offers faster start-up speeds for an optimized mining experience. The T19 is equipped with a hash rate of 84 TH/s ± 3% and has a power efficiency of 37.5 J/TH ± 5%. Comparing with the previous Antminer T17, the T19 greatly improves performance, allowing miners to achieve better efficiency and earnings.
Antminer Z15
On May 7th, Bitmain launched the Antminer Z15, featuring a hash rate of 420 KSol/s, and 1510 W power consumption. This is the 3rd generation of Bitmain's Equihash algorithm miner, which is used for mining ZEC (Zcash) and other cryptocurrencies under Equihash mining. Antminer Z11 was the model with the highest hash rate in the market before Z15, which has made significant improvement on both hash rate and power efficiency.
New Deals to Support Growth Globally: Avoid Potential Shortage through Long-Term Deals
In the past few months, Bitmain has announced multiple purchase deals of millions of USD. Through these long-term deals, Bitmain has built strategic relations with customers while ensuring a stable supply cycle.
On June 27th, the leading blockchain hosting provider Core Scientific announced that it has again partnered with Bitmain to facilitate the purchase of 17,595 units of the Antminer 19 Series. Before that, Core Scientific cooperated with Bitmain to bring the very first Antminer Training Academy to North America last year.
The Nasdaq-listed cryptocurrency mining company Marathon Patent Group announced on August 14th that it has entered into a Long-Term Purchase Contract with Bitmain for the purchase of 10,500 next-generation Antminer S19 Pro ASIC Miners. It is expected that the total 13,520 Antminers will be generating 1.55 Exahash upon full installation.
On August 18th, Riot Blockchain announced a new milestone purchase of 8,000 Antminer S19 Pros from Bitmain with delivery starting January 2021 and continuing through April 2021 until the order is complete. Until then, Riot Blockchain has purchased over 20,140 Antminers from Bitmain within a year.
New Services to Raise Industry Standards: Comprehensively Improved Customer Experiences
Since the beginning of the year, Bitmain launched a series of new offerings, aiming to advance customer experience from all perspectives.
Bitmain Supercomputing Center Research Institute (BSCI)
Bitmain Supercomputing Center Research Institute
Bitmain announced the establishment of the Bitmain Supercomputing Center Research Institute (BSCI) in April. BSCI aims to provide customers with one-stop services on supercomputing centers, from introductory consulting, investment construction, and quality upgrades. It will provide a "turnkey" service for supercomputing centers, which includes standardized design and evaluation of the center, engineering management and consulting, and operation of the supercomputing center.
Hash Guard
Bitmain's Hash Guard Capabilities
Earlier this year, Bitmain launched the service "Hash Guard", to provide high-standard maintenance and repair services that set standards for the market. Originally, Hash Guard was a miner operation and repair team established by Bitmain Group in 2014. After five years of growth and development, it has formed a professional team covering miners' operation, repair, electrical, network, and system development. With a good reputation and excellent professional ability in the industry, our service scope is now spread all over the world. In China, North America, Europe, Central Asia, and other regions, Hash Guard is operating more than 50 data centers and has managed 600,000 miners.
R2-D2 Miner Development
Early in 2020, Bitmain made the decision to channel efforts into the creation of the new R2-D2 branch, the brainchild of the strategic business unit at Bitmain, built to cater for the next generation of mining technology. R2-D2 is an initiative that facilitates investors in having exclusive rights to build their own Antminers. As part of the program, customers will have exclusive usage rights for one year. It works as a long-term solution aimed at growing the mining industry while evolving into the usage of multiple cryptocurrencies. This initiative has more than 40 core design team members working on it, with more than 10 years of professional experience. This development is huge for Bitmain who have been championing mining innovator since 2013.
Upgrade on Training Courses to Attract more Participants: Standardized Training System to Nurture Talents Ready for the Future
Ant Training Academy is a training service project (hereinafter referred to as "Ant Academy" or "ATA"), which was launched by Bitmain based on years of knowledge dissemination and technology inheritance and accumulation. It is the sole training institution and certification authority officially certified by Antminer.
In August, ATA announced the upgrade on its course plan, to attract more talents with more course setting options, in the hope to prepare more qualified professional staff for the industry.
Currently, the core course of ATA is maintenance training, with the upgrade presently including the 19 Series training program. Also, it now has two options in terms of training periods –a long-term training program lasting two weeks, and a short-term training program lasting five days only – each class now scaled down to eight participants, with the option of elective courses to match the needs of different groups. Successful course participants will qualify for a "Certificate of Accomplishment", which will include an assessment of their skill level.
Only those who sit through the night could embrace the first ray of sunshine. Bitmain will keep on the Hashrate-centered strategy to advance the evolution of the entire industry and keep on forging ahead to explore more possibilities.
Bitmain signs $23 million Antminer S19 Pro Contract with Marathon Patent Group
September 4, 2020 / ADMIN / 0 Comments
Bitmain's S19 Pro ASIC Miner Continues as The Miner of Choice For North Americas Largest Bitcoin Miners
Singapore, Sept. 04, 2020 – Bitmain – the World's leading producer of cryptocurrency mining hardware is accelerating their momentum with the execution of this contract valued at over $23 million. Marathon Patent Group ("Marathon"), a Nasdaq-listed cryptocurrency mining company based in Las Vegas Nevada, has entered a Long-Term Purchase Contract of $23 million to purchase 10,500 Antminer S19 Pro. Bitmain's Antminer S19 Pro is equipped with the most advanced chipset currently available.
"We are excited to close this deal which dramatically expands our relationship with Marathon. Powered by a new generation custom-built chip from Bitmain, Antminer S19 Pro features industry-leading performance and power efficiency, which we believe will significantly boost Marathon's mining capacity. Once fully deployed, these Miners will bring in a new era of Bitcoin mining, and we cannot wait to see Marathon unleash their market potential with this additional capacity." said Irene Gao, Antminer Sales Director of NCSA Region, Bitmain.
Merrick Okamoto, Marathon Patent Group, Inc.'s Chairman and CEO stated, "Bitmain's S19 Pro ASIC Miner outperforms all other Miners we have deployed by producing and energy efficiency of 29.5 ± joules per terahash (J/TH.) Upon delivery and full installation, Marathon's mining operation will produce up to 1.55 Exahash."
Bitmain Signs $17.7 million Antminer S19 Pro Deal with Nasdaq-Listed Riot Blockchain
Singapore, Aug. 24, 2020 – Bitmain – the world's leading producer of cryptocurrency mining hardware continues its partnership with one of the few Nasdaq-listed cryptocurrency mining companies – Riot Blockchain ("Riot", "Riot Blockchain" or the "Company") by executing another purchase agreement of 8,000 next generation Bitmain Antminer S19 Pros. The Antminer S19 Pro is another hot-selling miner launched by Bitmain earlier this year, featuring a hash rate of 110 TH/s, with a power efficiency of 29.5±%5 J/TH. This new $17.7 million contract with Riot marks another global milestone of Bitmain's Antminer S19 Pros.
"We are glad to continue and expand our cooperation with Riot. Riot is a long-term friend of ours, and we have witnessed and assisted them building up a powerful mining operation in North America. Equipped with the most advanced chipset currently available, our Antminer S19 Pro redefined the industry standard of hash rate with an outstanding power efficiency. We believe this new purchase help will Riot expand a leading position in the market and fulfill their business vision, which we are more than happy to be and continue being part of." said Irene Gao, Antminer Sales Director of NCSA Region, Bitmain.
This purchase agreement has a defined delivery schedule of 2,000 S19 Pros per month starting in January 2021 and continuing through April 2021 until the order is complete.
"Riot Blockchain deeply values the relationship developed with Bitmain over the years. We are focused on building our mining operation with the most efficient hardware on the market, therefore the S19 Pro has been the leading choice during this growth period. Riot set the ambitious hash rate goal of 1 EH/s by early 2021, even though sourcing hardware can be exceptionally challenging during the current pandemic and in this economic climate. Bitmain provided us with exceptional service in a path towards achieving our goal and because of their robust supply chain we are scheduled to exceed it. We value our relationship with Bitmain and look forward to supporting each other as our industry grows." Jeff McGonegal, CEO of Riot Blockchain.
Starting from a 4,000 S17 Pro position in December 2019, 15,040 total Antminers have been purchased by Riot within a year. When the new S19 Pros are fully deployed, Riot expects its total hash rate capacity to be approximately 1.45 EH/s (1,446 PH/s) while utilizing approximately 47 megawatts (MW) of energy.
The story behind the ASIC evolution
April 29, 2020 / ADMIN / 0 Comments
When Bitcoin mining first started in 2009, it was considered a niche hobby for cryptocurrency enthusiasts. Since then, it's grown into a billion-dollar industry – with Bitmain leading this growth since 2013.
Bitmain's entrance into the mining market in 2013 saw the emergence of the 'ASIC era', as the company sought to bring ASICs to the masses. Specifically designed to mine cryptocurrencies, the demand for ASICs has since continued to grow alongside the advancement of the bitcoin mining industry.
BTC mining: from hobby to global industry
Back in 2009, the only hardware needed to mine Bitcoin was a simple home computer (provided it had reasonable specifications). These computers would run standard multi-core CPUs, which would produce BTC at a rate of 50 per block. This would equate to a few dollars of profit per day.
Fast forward ten years and Bitcoin mining generated five billion U.S. dollars in revenue in 2019. Despite industry growth volatility, these figures suggested an overall increased demand for bitcoin miners.
These demands first accelerated in October 2010, when the code for mining bitcoin with GPUs was released to the general public. Although the public was able to mine bitcoin for themselves, it quickly became evident that it was still not easy for GPU users to scale hash rates. So, it was only once FPGAs were introduced that mining really began to scale, as FPGAs are more power-efficient than GPUs.
By 2012, the mining industry was advanced even further with the adoption of ASIC technology. These miners were carefully designed for the specific use of mining cryptocurrencies, replacing the need to tweak the field-programmable component of FPGAs after purchase. As there will always be a need and approach to making a specific computation more efficient, ASICs were a natural progression in the Bitcoin mining industry.
Antminer is born
By November 2013, Bitmain introduced its very own ASIC: the Antminer S1, which had a hash rate of 180 GH/s. Just a few months later, the Antminer S2 model was released, with a significantly higher hash rate of 1 TH/s.
Bitmain's ASICs were quickly getting more powerful, and more energy-efficient over time.
Antminer S1: Launched 2013
Rapid rise of Antminers as BTC makes history
Over the next few years between 2014 and 2019, Bitmain released numerous Antminer models to the market. In 2014 alone, Bitmain released miners such as the Antminer S2, S3, S4, and S5 – all with the aim of providing more efficient and profitable hardware to miners in order to keep up with the demands of the growing bitcoin mining industry.
On top of this, Bitmain launched the AntPool mining pool in 2014, further highlighting Bitmain's commitment to helping decentralize the bitcoin network and put the majority of hashing power into the hands of consumers. This commitment was further highlighted in Bitmain's 2015 launch of BTC.com, which introduced the top-leading blockchain explorer that efficiently offered users all information on the network. By 2016, BTC.com also launched its own pool platform.
With BTC making its historic price run in 2017, Bitmain continued to release batch variations of the S9 as well as entirely new models, such as the Antminer T9 which had a hash rate of 11.5 TH/s.
As the Bitcoin market continued to grow, Bitmain released 8 SHA256 models throughout 2018.
As the Bitcoin market continued to grow, Bitmain released the Antminer S15 in 2018, which was launched at the World Digital Mining Summit. The Antminer S15 provided long-term energy efficiency through its use of Bitmain's 7nm chip that integrates over 1 billion transistors per unit.
By 2019, Bitmain had introduced its most popular Antminer models to date: the Antminer 17 Series.
Antminer Design Advancements
Antminers and the future of mining …
Since 2013, Bitmain has shown commitment to developing new technologies that overcome the new challenges of mining – and the significance of Bitmain's advancements makes them leaders by example in the field.
Today, Bitmain continues to pursue its vision of bringing the future of mining to all. And that is why Bitmain has released the Antminer S19 and Antminer S19 Pro models, featuring hash rates of 95 TH/s and 110 TH/s respectively. The Antminer S19 series represents the evolution of Bitcoin mining, from the very first Antminer S1 to the ever-popular Antminer S9, reaching the present-day Antminer S19. The mining community has taken great leaps of development.
New Genenration Antminer S19 and S19 Pro

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


On April 9, juniors at DHS will put their weeks of preparation to use when they take the SAT.
The SAT, a standardized college entrance exam, is possibly one of the most impactful tests in a students high school career. For this reason, Dunlap juniors have spent the last nine weeks studying and preparing to take it.
To prepare for the test, students were organized into groups of math and English, spending four weeks focusing on each area using the resources of Khan Academy, as well as instruction from teachers.
The juniors are not the only ones involved in testing on April 9. Sophomores will be taking the PSAT, and freshmen will be taking the PSAT 8/9.
Seniors will spend the day visiting a college or doing community service at Wildlife Prairie Park.


text:
Perry N. Halkitis, PhD, MS, MPH, Contributor
Dean & Professor School of Public Health Rutgers University
The Disease That Defined My Generation
PBS recently aired a documentary, The Boomer List, examining the life stories and experiences of those born in the United Sates between 1946 and 1964. According to these parameters, I too am a baby boomer having been born in 1963. But despite this chronological reality, I have never felt any particular kinship or connection with the baby boomer generation, a sense that was validated as I listened to the interviews of most of those who were depicted in the documentary.
The ideas of historians William Strauss and Neil Howe provide ample explanation for why I feel the way that I do. Beginning with their seminal work Generations, Strauss and Howe postulated a framework for delineating generations that has less to do with historical intervals defined by years than by the shared sensibilities. In their view, a generation shares age location in history. Those who constitute a generation experience significant historical events, social trends, and other phenomena while in similar developmental period of their lives. Because of these experiences, members of a generation are shaped throughout the course of their lives by these elements that they encounter during their childhoods an/or emerging and young adulthoods. In this perspective, I am a member of Generation X and not a baby boomer. That seems right to me.
But my point has less to do with my being a baby boomer or member of Gen X than it does with me being a member of another generation -- the AIDS Generation. For those of us who came or were coming of age during the late 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s, our experiences were shaped by this epidemic that was devastating our country and taking countless lives. All of us who came of age at the time are members of the AIDS Generation -- men and women, gay and straight, HIV-positive and HIV-negative. Whether we experienced the epidemic front and center in cities such as New York or Los Angeles or whether we watched it from afar in news accounts in our small hometowns, this disease defined our formative years and is forever embedded in our consciousness.
I explore these ideas in my book, The AIDS Generation: Stories of Survival and Resilience, in which I document the life experience of 15 gay men who are long-term survivors of the epidemic. For gay men of my generation, in particular, this disease has left its inedible mark and has defined our lives for the last three decades. In the book I write:
Many of my generation entered our teens and young adulthood in this historical period of the 1970s and 1980s with a sense of confidence and zeal due to the efforts of our predecessors, the Stonewall generation--who spent years hiding their identity--demanding their rights and easing the path for us. We had also the energy of the civil rights and women's rights movements to support us. This is not to say that we came into our own with ease and without fear. Many of us still remained in our closet throughout our high school years for fear of being found out to be a faggot. Still, the promise for sexual freedom and sexual expression existed within our grasp. Little were we to know that we would become the AIDS Generation, and that within a decade this deadly disease would destroy our physical, emotional, and social lives. I know this because I am part of the AIDS Generation (p.5)
Some 33 years after the initial diagnosis of HIV in the United Sates and with hundreds of thousands deaths of gay men in the last three decades, the disease that defined my generation continues to afflict us. In 2010, 72 percent of all new HIV infections were among gay and bisexual men, and those entering their formative years nowadays continue to do battle with this disease. It is true that some conditions in the lives of gay men have improved in the last three decades. We now have effective treatments to fight HIV infection, the use of an HIV antiviral in the form of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) provides us with another powerful tool in our arsenal to prevent the disease from spreading, and historic legislation enacted over the last several years has enhanced our civil rights and protections. Be that as it may, this disease continues to haunt us and negatively impact our lives.
On September 27th as we acknowledge the National Gay Men's HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, it is time for all of us to take stock and band together socially, politically, and emotionally to demand an end to the AIDS epidemic -- an idea espoused by progressive leaders such as New York's governor, Andrew Cuomo.
I am a member of the AIDS Generation. And unless we continue to fight this disease on all fronts and enhance and protect the health of gay men, my generation is only the first of many generations of gay men who will continue to battle this despicable disease.
Ralph Lauren Drops Sponsorship Of Golfer Justin Thomas After Gay Slur Pro-Trump Protests Fizzle Out At Capitol Buildings Across The U.S. Lindsey Graham, Ignoring Trump's Role In Riot, Bashes Pelosi For Weak Capitol Security Twitter Temporarily Suspends QAnon Rep. For Election Disinformation, Inciting Violence
Queer Life Queer Voices HIV and AIDS Generations


text:
Interview:1997/06 Guitar World
Ozzy Osbourne meets Marilyn Manson and all hell breaks loose
Interview with Marilyn Manson & Ozzy Osbourne
[Guitar World ]
by Alan DiPerna
Ozzy Osbourne meets Marilyn Manson-five words guaranteed to give apoplexy to censors, evangelists and moral watchdogs everywhere. A few months before this summer's Ozz Fest, Guitar World arranged for these two titans of demonic shock rock to meet for the very first time, via a conference call. The grandad of devil metal and the music's new Great Dark Hope couldn't be more dissimilar, outwardly. While Osbourne talks a blue streak, punctuating nearly every sentence with the F-word, Manson is quiet and subdued. Picture it: a genuine, English working-class wildman holding discourse with an equally genuine middle-class Midwestern misfit. But the two of them found plenty of common ground as soon as they settled down for a Satanic summit meeting.
Guitar World: It's an honor to bring you two guys together for the first time.
Marilyn Manson: It's definitely an honor for me. Back when I was 15 years, I never would've though that one day I'd be playing a tour with Ozzy Osbourne. It's great being a part of something that had an impact on you when you were growing up.
Ozzy Osbourne: Of all the new bands, Marilyn Manson is the one that really stands out, for me. I gotta tell you, man, the name of your band is fucking great. I think it's a great angle. Really cool.
Marilyn Manson: I appreciate that. The name is a statement on American culture.
Ozzy Osbourne: They re-run these Charles Manson biographies on TV all the time. I mean Charles Manson must be the most publicized fucking mass murderer of all time.
Marilyn Manson: Well, they created his image-the media. If they'd ignored him, he just would have been like anybody else in jail. But they made him into an icon, then they bitch about the fact that he's an icon. That's something that's always fascinated me-this endless circle. And I think the same thing happens with us, Oz; they make us into these antichrists, then they bitch about us.
Ozzy Osbourne: But that's been the story of rock and roll ever since it started – going back to Elvis Presley.
Guitar World: How did each of you got into the Satanic imagery that's been so prominent a part of your music?
Ozzy Osbourne: Talking about myself, it's not purely satanic. Black Sabbath was never really a Satanic band, although we did touch on topics like Satanism and devil worship in certain songs. It was just a different angle. If you think back to the late Sixties and early Seventies, it was all fuckin' flower power and how wonderful the fuckin' world is. That just didn't seem true to us. The world was fucked.
Marilyn Manson: I feel a certain relationship to that as well, because the way political correctness is now.
Ozzy Osbourne: But don't you agree with me?
Marilyn Manson: Absolutely. For Marilyn Manson fans and people who are affected a lot by this music, the idea of somebody like Satan doesn't necessarily represent evil; it represents an anti-mainstream mindset.
Ozzy Osbourne: Anti-establishment, right. Like yourself, I have been treated like the fucking antichrist. I've now been sued by about 25 people who claim their kids committed suicide from listening to my music. That's total crap.
Marilyn Manson: I've always said that if someone is stupid enough to want to kill themselves over music, then that's what they deserve. That's one less stupid person in the world.
Ozzy Osbourne: It would be a very bad career move on my part, don't you think, if I intentionally put out records that make people commit suicide? If everyone who buys the record is gonna fucking shoot themselves, then the follow-up wouldn't sell many records, would it?
Guitar World: Marilyn, can you recall the first time you heard an Ozzy Osbourne or Black Sabbath record?
Marilyn Manson: When I was a kid. I went to a private Christian school where they really discouraged us from listening to music. Once, they had a seminar where they said, "Now this is the type of stuff you can't be listening to." They held up albums by Black Sabbath, Queen, Led Zeppelin...and played them backwards. Immediately, of course, this is what I became interested in listening to, because I wanted to know why they didn't want me to hear it. One thing I didn't realize was that my parents had the first Black Sabbath album in their collection.
Ozzy Osbourne: When I was a kid, if my father told me not to do anything I would immediately run out and do it.
Marilyn Manson: Exactly. I remember when I first put it on, it scared me a little bit. It was dark, in its sound and in what was being said. I was immediately attracted to it. I guess that was the part of me that really wanted to get it, because it felt like that had been suppressed for so many years. It kinda just opened me up. I've said this before: Black Sabbath was my introduction into heavy metal.
Ozzy Osbourne: I enrolled my kids in a Christian school in L.A. The other day my son comes home from school and says, "Dad, is it true what my teacher said to me today? He said he went to one of your concerts a few years back, and that you handed `round a big bowl and made all the audience spit into the bowl, and that you wouldn't perform until you drank all their spit." I said to my son, "Jack, do you think I would do that? Do you think that's true?" And he said, "No, it sounds like bollocks. It's bullshit." I haven't had my kids baptized or christened or any of that. I haven't made them any religion. I think it should be their choice. But a teacher at this same school told my daughter, "Well you know, if you're not christened, you're not going to go heaven." It's just a bunch of fucking bullshit, as far as I'm concerned. I don't believe there's a heaven upstairs and a hell downstairs. I think we've got both hell and heaven here on earth. It's all here for us.
Marilyn Manson: Yes. The one thing I did learn from going to Christian school was that I enjoyed the Bible. I enjoyed a lot of the stories. I just hate the way America has deformed the religion.
Ozzy Osbourne: But you see, you can make the Bible say whatever you want it to say. You can take one passage and link it to another passage, like that guy Jim Jones who massacred all those people in his religious cult a while ago. It's very dangerous. Now, on the road, I found that one of the heaviest places for groupies is Salt Lake City. Which is supposed to be all fucking Mormons, you know? And the groupies are in fucking droves outside the venue.
Guitar World: Have you found that to be the case Marilyn?
Marilyn Manson: Salt Lake City, yeah. There was that incident where I wasn't allowed to play Salt Lake City.
Ozzy Osbourne: You and me both, brother. I've had people fucking stop my tour bus and turn me around.
Marilyn Manson: We had a problem in Salt Lake City in the past, but we did a show there the last leg of our tour that was very successful, despite all the resistance we had. We actually played a ski lodge outside of Salt Lake City. Because there was no place in town where anyone would let us play. As for the groupie scene, I couldn't say for sure, but I would assume that it's because people who feel so repressed would obviously go more out of their way to react – sexually, musically, however it's gonna be – whenever their given any chance to. I've found that the best crowds we've had were in Salt Lake City, Oklahoma City…all these places where there was so much resistance against us playing. The audience was great. It was so worthwhile to go there. It was like missionary work. I've always compared what we do to Christianity, in it's own way.
Ozzy Osbourne: Weird things happen in the name of religion. Years ago, I was on my way to play in a place called Tyler, Texas. And the sheriff told my tour manager he couldn't guarantee my safety because someone from a local quarry had stolen a load of dynamite and they were going to blow the fucking venue up. Of course, I didn't turn up for the gig. I didn't fancy going on in bits and pieces.
Marilyn Manson: I had an interesting thing happen recently in Texas. I like to have oxygen off to the side of the stage when I'm performing. And the paramedics refused to give me oxygen because of who I was. The people had to force them to. Because they were Christians, they didn't want to help me. I didn't think that was very Christian of them.
Ozzy Osbourne: You're telling me things I've been through all my career. It shows how hypocritical they are. Cause in the bible, it says that all men are equal in the eyes of the lord. Now I've been injured in gigs and been to the hospital and they wouldn't treat me because of who I was. Because I'm Ozzy Osbourne and your Marilyn Manson, if me and you have a car wreck, they're gonna leave us to die in that car.
Marilyn Manson: I know, it doesn't make any sense.
Ozzy Osbourne: Can I explain something to you? Without the likes of you and I, they ain't got a purpose, these fuckin' Bible punchers. One time, I got on my tour bus after a gig and we drove for seven or eight hours. We stopped at a truck stop in the early hours of the morning for a cup of coffee. We were out in the middle of nowhere. And this guy walks up to me and gives me one of these leaflets: "Jesus saves." And I say to the guy, "Where did you come from? There's nothing for miles and miles around here." He says, "I've been following you all night." I says, "You been following the bus all night just to give me this fucking piece of paper? You don't want to go a church, my friend. You want to go see a fucking psychiatrist." I'm not knocking religion. I don't believe in bad things. I'm not a Satanist. It's just a theatrical role I play. If you want to go on about Satanism and suicide, you've got to go right across the board and pick on Shakespeare, too. Romeo and Juliet was all about suicide. It didn't start with rock and roll. Why do they pick on us? You go into an art gallery and there's pictures of Satan, pictures of nude women...In my opinion, we've got just as much right to be artists as a guy who paints on a piece of canvas or writes a poem or a play or movie script.
Guitar World: Where you two guys seem to differ is in how you draw the line between your onstage personas and who you are offstage. Marilyn, you've told me in the past that you were disappointed in Alice Cooper because he does make that distinction between who he is onstage and who he is offstage.
Marilyn Manson: Well, you can't be exactly what you are onstage all the time you're offstage. Because then going onstage would no longer be an outlet for you. Your volume knob can't be on 10 at all times. But at the same time, what has disappointed me about different people in the past is when they say one thing one time and then say something completely different another time.
Ozzy Osbourne: I toured with Alice Cooper just over a year ago, in South America. And to be perfectly honest, it was sad. It was like vaudeville. I mean he's more interested in playing fucking golf than writing songs.
Guitar World: Well he's a conservative now, isn't he?
Ozzy Osbourne: I mean that's ok, but the kids don't want to hear it. You can't change horses in midstream. You can't start doing one thing and then decide "Oh, I want to start playing golf with fucking Bob Hope." Or at least I can't. That ain't Ozzy Osbourne. And if you don't like the way I am, fuck you.
Marilyn Manson: I think that's proof why Ozzy is still as big and great as Ozzy is. You never sold out.
Ozzy Osbourne: Well you know, one thing I never do is explain myself. There's nothing to explain. Like with this tour, they're saying "Ozzy Osbourne going on tour with Marilyn Manson? I don't want my kids to see that." But it's in a funny sort of way, that's the best thing they can ever say. Because the more they say that, the more the kids want to come. Cause the kids say "Well what is going to happen?" You know what's going to happen? We're gonna kick butts and take names. That's what we're gonna do. We're gonna fucking change their lives. We're gonna change their religion. We're gonna turn them into our people. We're gonna recruit them.
Marilyn Manson: That's the biggest thing everyone's afraid of.
Ozzy Osbourne: FUCK 'EM! It's their loss and our gain.
Marilyn Manson: The biggest thing the conservatives are afraid of is that we're encouraging people to think and be creative and break out of the closed-minded mentality of mainstream America. Thinking for yourself-that's scarier than any devil image. I think people haven't looked closely enough at what Marilyn Manson is. It's extreme positive and extreme negative together. It's not all as dark as people would like to think. I mean, they would love for me to be someone who tortured animals or molested children. But I'm way more frightening than that because I'm way more real. And what I have to offer is the truth. That's more scary than any kind of crime I could commit.
Ozzy Osbourne: You think you've been slandered? Cardinal O'Connor in New York actually got on the fucking pulpit one day. . . This is a cardinal, next one down from being the Pope, you know? He gets up on his fucking thing and tells the congregation that I am the antichrist. And that's wrong, that is. `Cause you're gonna get some wacko out there that's gonna buy a Saturday Night Special and pop me one in the back of the fucking head, thinking that he had a vision from Christ. That is my fear. If it comes from the Church, then it's all right for some of these nutcases. The clergy is in a more dangerously powerful position than you or I will ever be. Because if a Cardinal gets on the pulpit and tells his congregation that I, Ozzy Osbourne, am the reason for all the badness in the world, then you're gonna get some nutcase want to wipe me out, you know?
Marilyn Manson: That's like putting a price on your head.
Ozzy Osbourne: I've had that. I've had threats to my life. Part of the reason I run around so much onstage is because somebody told me a moving target is harder to hit.
Marilyn Manson: What do you think is more dangerous, to be standing on stage or in front of an abortion clinic? What I always wonder is who's being helped by those who blow up abortion clinics?
Ozzy Osbourne: Well with the abortion issue, I think that's a woman's choice.
Marilyn Manson: But who's being helped by those who blow up abortion clinics? That's what I always wonder.
Ozzy Osbourne: The priorities in America are so fucking weird. I mean, you can't smoke a fucking cigarette in public in California, but you can go buy a machine gun. Just the other night, we were coming out of the studio and some guy got shot five times in the fuckin' `ead right across the road from us.
Marilyn Manson: The other thing is that everyone in America feels so guilty, they have to put on this pseudo Puritanism. TV makes you feel that you don't fit in if you don't buy the right kind of shampoo. And these religions make you feel guilty-that if you don't believe in their God, you're not going to their heaven. And that's why everyone's so miserable. If people would just relax and enjoy art and music more, they would be happier.
Ozzy Osbourne: It's kind of a religious blackmail, that's what it is.
Marilyn Manson: Exactly. Well, it's victimization. They're forcing you into being a victim. You're always feeling guilty because you've been born a sinner, or born a consumer, in TV's case.
Guitar World: Marilyn, do you have the same fear Ozzy expressed earlier, of maybe being shot by some nutcase?
Marilyn Manson: I wouldn't call it fear. But obviously I've asserted myself as an antichrist in my time. So I'm sure there's lots of people who, because of their religious beliefs, would feel it a duty or pleasure to put me in the ground. Thos people make bomb threats at every single show that we play, pretty much. But if I were to live in fear. I wouldn't be able to enjoy what I do. In fact, I think the sense of danger makes life more exciting to me. Without the risk of death, what's the point of living?
Guitar World: So how do you guys feel about the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? You've both been acknowledged by that institution.
Ozzy Osbourne: You know what? It's one big hand job.
Marilyn Manson: I felt like they didn't do a very good job on my statue. It was great to be there, but it didn't look like me.
Ozzy Osbourne: I've gotten a grammy and all that shit. I like the recognition. Of course I do, I'd be a fucking liar if I said I didn't. But I'm not pissed off if I don't get one or anything.
Marilyn Manson: I don't think that compares to the feeling you get from being onstage in front of an audience.
Ozzy Osbourne: Absolutely. You cannot beat that. If you got a gig that's going great, there's no sex, drug, drink or award that can beat that feeling.
Marilyn Manson: I agree. That's the real payoff.
Ozzy Osbourne: And you know what? That is God given. That is the nearest thing to spirituality that I've ever come across.
Marilyn Manson: That's right. You and I both, over the years, have read about and researched the occult and magic. But I think the closest thing to that power that I've ever encountered is being onstage.
Ozzy Osbourne: Absolutely. I mean it's like the Hitler vibe. In my opinion, Hitler was the first guy to get an audience aroused to that degree.
Marilyn Manson: Oh, it goes back as far as Julius Caesar: someone discovering the power that exists between a performer or leader and an audience.
Ozzy Osbourne: I'm so glad you agree with me. So many frontmen now just stand there like dorks. My job is to get up on that stage and get that crowd jumping out of their fucking seats, and I will do absolutely anything I can to accomplish that. I don't rehearse; I just go for it. Some nights I suck, some nights I'm okay; but every now and again I have one that really is a ballbuster. I don't drink or take drugs anymore, but I can quite understand why people want to get fucked up after a gig. Because, I don't know about you, but the adrenaline rush I get is like a mega amphetamine. I'm whizzin' around the fuckin' hotel room all night. I don't want it to stop. But then I say, "Hold back Ozzy, you've got another nine shows to do."
Guitar World: Marilyn, how do you deal with that post-show exhilaration – being that vibed up, then having to come down to reality?
Marilyn Manson: It's hard. I feel very drained after a performance, and not just physically. It takes a lot out of me mentally too. It's hard to deal with. Sometimes I have to be around people. Other times I can't be around anybody. It's different everyday, it's never the same.
Ozzy Osbourne: Before I go onstage, I have to go through this kind of ritual, to make the transition from being Ozzy offstage to being Ozzy onstage. I have to focus myself. I kind of pre-do the show. But everytime I go out on that stage, everything that I thought beforehand is totally blown out the window. I can't stand people talking to me – like social chats – before I go on fucking stage. I can't do it.
Marilyn Manson: I can't either.
Ozzy Osbourne: It's kind of like a boxer going into a boxing ring. I can't stand it if somebody goes "Oh you remember me Ozzy? From when you came around to my house in 1975?". Fuck off, you know? If any part of the day is the worst time to talk to me, it's before I go onstage. I still get nervous as hell. I still think I'm gonna suck. Sometimes my voice goes out. Sometimes I'll walk onstage and everything you can possibly imagine goes wrong. But I just get on with it.
Guitar World: How does Marilyn Manson prepare for a show?
Marilyn Manson: It's very similar to what Ozzy said, in that I cannot be talked to or be bothered for at least three hours before a show. I like to be by myself and don't like to think about anything or talk to anybody.
Ozzy Osbourne: Exactly. That's a sign of a true performer in my opinion. 'Cause people say to me, "Ozzy you've been doing it for nearly thirty years, surely you must not have stage fright." But as time goes on, I get worse. That just shows me that I'm still striving to reach something.
Guitar World: Any chance that we will so you two together onstage this tour?
Ozzy Osbourne: Listen, there's a possibility of anything.
Marilyn Manson: If Ozzy invites me, I'll be up there.
Ozzy Osbourne: I'm really looking forward to this tour. I know it's going to be a great time. And I say to you guys from Marilyn Manson, if we can do anything at all to give you assistance in any way, don't ever hesitate to ask. We're not all high and mighty you know. We're here to accommodate you in every possible way. If anybody on my team does something to you that you don't like, you come straight to us, tell us what the problem is and we'll sort it out. And that's from me.
Marilyn Manson: I appreciate that Ozzy.
Ozzy Osbourne: There's nothing worse than being on the road with people you don't like. We're all a fucking team. What's mine is yours, you know?
Marilyn Manson: Great man, thanks again.
Ozzy Osbourne: `Cause we're all out there to do one job, and that's to give them kids the best day of their fucking lives.
Marilyn Manson: I think we will do that.
http://marilynmansonfirst.tripod.com/readmarilynmansonmagazinespart1/id18.html
http://www.ozzyhead.com
Retrieved from "http://www.mansonwiki.com/w/index.php?title=Interview:1997/06_Guitar_World&oldid=101479"
Antichrist Superstar era


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"The First Hostage" hits #1 on best-seller list one day after CIA director warns ISIS using chemical weapons.
On the day after CIA Director John Brennan told the CBS News program "60 Minutes" that the Islamic State is using chemical weapons in Syria and Iraq, a novel about ISIS using chemical weapons against its enemies in the Middle East has hit #1 on a national best-seller list.
I'm pleased to report that The First Hostage has just become the nation's #1 best-selling novel in the North American Christian book market, according to the Evangelical Christian Publishing Association. It is also the #7 of all Christian best-sellers, both fiction and non-fiction, this month.
In January, The First Hostage spent four weeks on the Publishers Weekly hardcover fiction best-sellers list. It also hit the USA Today list, though it did not hit the New York Times list.
This is the second in a series of thrillers about J.B. Collins, a fictional foreign correspondent tracking the threat posed by ISIS to the U.S., Israel, Jordan, and a group of other Mideast countries. The previous novel, The Third Target, was released in January 2015.
They are both the first — and, thus far, the only — novels in the world about the threat of the Islamic State.
On behalf of my wife and me — and the entire Tyndale House Publishing team — please let me say thank you so much for your enthusiastic support of this thriller, and The Third Target before it, which hit all the general market lists when it released last year and was also a #1 best-seller in the Christian market. We deeply appreciate how so many of you are blogging and Tweeting and writing on Facebook about both novels, and writing so many positive reviews on Amazon, B&N, Goodreads, and other book sites.
Since many of you keep asking, please rest assured that I am hard at work right now on the third novel in this J.B. Collins series. We expect this next one to release in January 2017 and I'll certainly keep you posted on my progress along the way.
Order The First Hostage today — a new political thriller (four weeks on the Publishers Weekly best-seller list) about ISIS plotting a chemical weapons attack against Israel, Jordan and the United States — it's now available in hardcover, e-book and audio formats.
FACT SHEET: The Iranian leadership's Apocalyptic Beliefs
FACT SHEET: The Islamic State's Apocalyptic Beliefs
What the next US president will need to know about Iran and Islamic State. (my column in The Jerusalem Post)
What's the difference between Apocalyptic Islamic eschatology & Biblical eschatology? And why does it matter? (Video & sermon notes)
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« CIA Director warns ISIS using chemical weapons & poses "a threat that keeps him up at night." Here's the latest.
President Obama will meet with Jordan's King today. Do Obama & the leading presidential candidates truly understand the magnitude of the threat ISIS poses to Jordan? »


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Chicago Reporter (https://www.chicagoreporter.com/7-charters-get-ok-daily-pe-approved/)
7 charters get OK, daily PE approved
By Sarah Karp | January 22, 2014
The Board of Education approved Wednesday the opening of seven charter schools over the next two years, including a school that has ties to a mega-church whose pastor is an ally of Mayor Rahm Emanuel. But board members expressed reservations about some of the charter proposals, as well as the daily physical education policy that also was approved.
Nine charter proposals that could have resulted in 20 schools were up for approval, but district officials recommended that four proposals be rejected and that one operator, Intrinsic Schools, only be allowed to open one of the four schools they were requesting. Board members followed those suggestions.
Curtis Sharif STEM Academy founder Deborah Umrani said she will appeal the denial to the state's Charter School Commission, which has the power to overrule the board decision and allow the charter to open independently from CPS. Connected Futures Design Team Leader Ron Giles said he was surprised by the denial, but that the board of the proposed charter school has yet to meet to decide whether to appeal. The leadership of Be the Change, the other charter proposal that was denied, could not be immediately reached after the board vote.
The threat that the state commission—created in 2011—could overrule a CPS denial was mentioned several times in the board meeting. For the first time last year, the commission approved a proposal that CPS had turned down: two Concept Charter Schools, which are now operating in the city.
The following charters were approved, though some proposals did not get unanimous support and others must meet certain conditions and come back to the board for a final green light:
1) Concept: One school in Chicago Lawn and one school in Chatham (2014)
2) Intrinsic: One school on the Northwest Side, location to be determined (2015)
3) Noble Street: One campus in Belmont-Cragin and one to be located temporarily downtown (2014)
4) Chicago Education Partnership: One campus in Austin (2015)
5) Great Lakes Academy: One in South Shore (2014)
Board members Carlos Azcoita voted against the Concept School in Chatham, the Chicago Educational Partnership, the Noble Street downtown campus and Great Lakes Academy because they are not in neighborhoods considered priority areas by CPS. CPS has prioritized communities where overcrowding is a problem.
Though she only voted against one of the approved charters, board member Andrea Zopp shared Azcoita's concerns about putting new schools in areas where they are not needed. "What is the reasoning for putting schools in areas where there is overcapacity?" she said. "Why would we take limited resources and spread them out among an increasing number of schools."
CPS Chief Incubation Officer Jack Elsey said that CPS has a legal responsibility to consider all charter proposals submitted and that the ones not in priority communities are going to fulfill a need for better schools (though there is no guarantee that the new schools will be high-quality). Elsey noted that, with student-based budgeting, money follows children (though that does not directly address Zopp's concern about spreading resources too thin).
Mega-church development
Charter operators and their allies also made the case. Ald. Howard Brookins brought Rev. Charles Jenkins to the podium and Jenkins, though not registered to speak, was allowed to do so.
Jenkins is spearheading Project Legacy, a massive development that will include a Concept Charter School. A close ally of Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Jenkins will collect nearly a million a year in rent from Concept.
Jenkins argued that Chatham, where there is high unemployment and violence, desperately needs the development. He said several charter schools asked to be part of the project and project leaders vetted Concept.
"Yeah, people are still upset about school closings," he said. "But when I say this is going to be a math, science and technology school, they are like yes, I want that."
Great Lakes Academy Katherine Myers said that one-third to 49 percent of students in South Shore leave the neighborhood for school. "Great Lakes wants to be part of the solution," she said.
Noble Street also had several parents and students come up, one after the other, to talk about the positive impact the charters have made for them. One alum read a letter written by another alum who is now a student at Harvard University.
But students, parents, teachers, union representatives, including CTU President Karen Lewis, and aldermen challenged the idea of opening charters schools, especially after the closure of 49 schools last year. Several of them were specifically against the Noble Street slated to go into the Belmont-Cragin neighborhood close to Prosser High School.
"Every time you open new charters, neighborhood schools lose students and they lose money," said Dalia Mena, a student at Steinmetz.
Erika Clark, an activist parent, charged that charter schools are only seen as good enough for poor, black and brown students.
"Why are Lincoln Elementary School and Sauganash Elementary (two schools in well-to-do neighborhoods largely white neighborhoods) get annexes while Belmont-Cragin, a Latino neighborhood, gets a charter school?" she asked board members, who did not answer.
New PE policy
Though it did not garner as much public comment, board members were also concerned with the new physical education policy. Currently, most elementary school students only have physical education twice a week and high school students only for two years.
Since 1997, CPS has had a waiver to be excused from the state law requiring daily physical education, but the district is allowing that waiver to expire at the end of this year.
CPS Chief Health Officer Stephanie Whyte said there are four big concerns about this change in policy: staffing, space, scheduling and equipment. But she feels as though her department has done necessary work to resolve those concerns.
The district has a $2.2 million federal grant and will use some surplus TIF money to buy equipment and additional teachers, she said. Also, schools will be asked to put together action plans and the district will direct resources where they are most needed.
Already Whyte said it has become clear that some high schools will need help to implement the new policy. Whyte did not say how many additional teachers will be hired in order for the district to meet the requirement.
But several board members were skeptical. They said they have heard from principals that they are unclear about what is going on and worried about how they will work physical education into the schedule of their students every day.
"Something will have to come off the table," board member Deborah Quazzo said. "Schools might have to take away technology or another special to make way for this."
Quazzo said she wants district officials to monitor the decisions that principals are having to make in order to meet the requirement.
Azcoita asked whether high school students will have to give up some Advanced Placement classes for physical education.
Whyte countered that physical education should be seen as an academic course and that studies have shown that students do better in classes after exercising. She said high school students would not lose out on Advanced Placement classes, but they will have five electives instead of seven.
District officials are encouraging principals to look at creative ways of implementing the requirement without having physical education replace things like art. One idea to meet both the new art expectation of 120 minutes a week and the physical education requirement is to offer dance during gym.
The Chicago teachers' strike isn't just about kids – it's about union power too
Teachers' unions often say they go on strike to improve conditions for students. A closer look at recent walkouts suggests they are also fighting for something else: membership.
Counterpoint: As college graduates, we are Urban Prep's reputation
As Black boys from the "hood," we weren't supposed to succeed in college but we did because of Urban Prep, a group of alumni write in a response to criticism of the school.
Chicago's Urban Prep Academy – known for 100% college acceptance rates – put reputation ahead of results
Urban Prep Academy in Chicago made a name by boasting about its 100% college acceptance rates for graduating seniors. A founding teacher at Urban Prep explains why that statistic is misleading.


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Theo Hernández close to Bayer Leverkusen
He also met with Milan director of football Paolo Maldini. Real Madrid left back Theo Hernández is close to finalizing a deal to join Bayer Leverkusen this summer, according to a report from AS.
However, the defender had a meeting with Milan director of football Paolo Maldini in Ibiza to discuss a potential transfer to the Italian club, according to pictures from El Chiringuito de Jugones.
Real Madrid have reportedly reached a ?20 million agreement with Bayer Leverkusen and Theo's agent is already working on getting a good deal for the defender, but Milan's interest could ultimately change it all considering the size of the club. Theo is not in Zidane's plans and will leave the club after a very disappointing debut season in Real Madrid and a discouraging loan deal in Real Sociedad where he couldn't even gain control of the starting left back spot.
The Italian side are also reportedly interested in Dani Ceballos, Martin Odegaard and Borja Mayoral as they try to rebuild and compete for the Serie A title once again, something which will not be easy if Juventus keep improving their team year after year.


Quotes, translations, credits, of a well known phrase in several languages.
Have you hugged your wolf today?
Have you put your arms around your wolf today?
Have you given your wolf a hug today?
Have you petted your wolf today?
Waitress, this meal is still alive.
Waiter, this meal is still alive.
We humans do not regenerate.
Please direct me to the nearest sentient mammal.
You are not my guide. My guide was bipedal.
Useful phrases for space travellers.
What do you think it means? "Have you hugged your assault rifle today?"


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Opportunity knocks for UNIQ Students
Written by D Simpson| March 21, 2017| Gifted and Talented, News
The gifted and talented programme in Wallace continues to highlight the tremendous ability that many of our students possess. On this occasion, congratulations must go to three Wallace students who have been awarded coveted places on Oxford University's prestigious UNIQ programme for Summer 2017!
Ryan Simpson, Rebecca Lynn and Cameron Beattie have all been successful in their applications to the courses that run at Oxford Colleges over the coming months. It is without doubt that their acceptance to these courses represents a fantastic opportunity for them to realise their full potential and broaden their horizons before applying for degree courses next year.
Ryan has gained a place on a Politics, Philosophy and Economics course, fitting for a student who has been exceptionally dedicated to a range of commitments relating to this field! Ryan has attended public speaking events, served in political mock elections, is a former member of the UK Youth Parliament and has also led main assemblies in Wallace.
Rebecca has gained a place at the newly launched UNIQ Conference as well as a reserve place on the Oncology course and this is undoubtedly a reflection of Rebecca's superb academic record! Impressively, Cameron has also attained a place in the Computer Science Summer School, which is reflective of his growth mindset in having a curiosity about how things work, and the ability he displays in using Maths to problem solve.
Each of these opportunities are 'all expenses paid' places and will allow the students to gain a better understanding of the demands and expectations of study at one of the world's most recognised educational establishments. Ryan, Rebecca and Cameron continue to apply high levels of determination to their academic commitments and these summer school placements, acquired through the Gifted and Talented programme, have provided unmissable opportunities for them.
Senior Teacher, and Gifted and Talented coordinator, Mr McKnight, commended each of the students on their acceptance to the range of activities. He remarked,
"Ryan, Rebecca and Cameron have the academic and personal traits to really benefit from the UNIQ programme. The opportunity and exposure, that an immersive experience in Oxford will provide, is sure to motivate and engage each of them greatly as they look ahead to making the big decisions associated with the university application process in the coming year. I hope their success this year will encourage more of our students to apply for the UNIQ programme in future years. I look forward to hearing about each of their courses and wish our students the best of luck as they travel to Oxford in the coming months!"
Gifted and Talented UNIQ
Elektra is Harvard bound!
Oxbridge offer for Laura
A Super Curricular Summer
Bronze at the Biology Olympiad


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"Self-concept Orientation and Organizational Identification: A Mediated" by Chun (Grace) Guo, Jane K. Miller et al.
Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to test a mediated model of the relationship between self-concept orientation (individualist and collectivist) and organizational identification (OrgID, Cooper and Thatcher, 2010), with proposed mediators including the need for organizational identification (nOID, Glynn, 1998) as well as self-presentation concerns of social adjustment (SA) and value expression (VE, Highhouse et al., 2007). Design/methodology/approach: Data were collected from 509 participants in seven countries. Direct and mediation effects were tested using structural equation modeling (AMOS 25.0). Findings: Individualist self-concept orientation was positively related to VE and collectivist self-concept orientation was positively related to nOID, VE and SA. VE mediated the relationship between both self-concept orientations and OrgID. In addition, nOID mediated the relationship for collectivist self-concept orientation. Practical implications: This study identifies underlying psychological needs as mediators of the relationship of self-concept orientation to OrgID. Understanding these linkages enables employers to develop practices that resonate with the self-concept orientations and associated psychological needs of their employees, thereby enhancing OrgID. Originality/value: This study provides a significant contribution to the OrgID literature by proposing and testing for relationships between self-concept orientations and OrgID as mediated by underlying psychological needs. The results provide support for the mediated model as well as many of Cooper and Thatcher's (2010) theoretical propositions, with notable exceptions.
Version posted is the authors' preprint.


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Bananama Republic (http://www.bananamarepublic.com/2012/02/28/the-callcenters-now-have-a-name/)
The "callcenters" now have a name
By Okke Ornstein | February 28, 2012
Left: Rafael Perez G.
It's not a secret that president Martinelli employs a media smear and attack task force that routinely goes after political opponents and critics of his rule. The operation is known in Panama as the "callcenters", and is the media and online equivalent of Noriega's former "Dignity Battalions". They'll launch vicious attacks on social networks like Twitter, post sleazy videos on YouTube, publicize heavily edited phone intercepts of opposition figures and so on.
Little was known about who were running these "callcenters". However, last week Telemetro journalist Alvaro Alvarado revealed that one key player's first name was "Rafael". This Rafael would be the real person behind the @El_Duende_HP Twitter account, which spouts a constant stream of bile and venom against anyone even remotely critical of the Martinelli administration.
Rafael is, in fact, none less than Rafael Perez G., a La Prensa journalist who went to work at the Presidency after his newspaper helped secure Martinelli's victory.
We know him. Once upon a time, he was a promising member of the press and did investigative work. Your editor once smuggled him into the El Renacer prison wearing a hidden microphone (disguised as a ballpoint) and tape recorder (taped to his leg) to interview an Italian drug trafficker. It's difficult to believe that he is now editing attack videos and managing online smear campaigns on behalf of an Italian mobster and his accomplices, but it's true nevertheless.
Once the news came out - on Twitter - about @El_Duende_HP's real identity, there was some confusion because some people thought it was Rafael Perez Jaramillo, who is also a journalist and author. However, Perez Jaramillo has real ethics and a spotless career which includes his work for the Truth Commission investigating the crimes of the dictatorship. He told Bananama Republic on the phone that he wasn't worried about the mix-up, because the truth would come out soon enough.
La telaraña de La Prensa
Rafael Perez G. is the second former La Prensa employee who is now doing dirty work for Martinelli. It seems likely that he works closely with Julio Moltó, who also worked for La Prensa in the IT and new media department and who now heads the Presidential Security Council. It is that shadowy council that was responsible for the phone blackout during the recent indigenous protests. Moltó is also the prime suspect in the cases of phones of opposition leaders being tapped and (edited) recordings put online.
La Prensa's promoting of the designated election winner and then having its people secure prime government jobs is not new. During the 2004 election campaign, this same Rafael Perez G., then still working for La Prensa, told your author how everybody knew that the diario libre was supporting Torrijos so that CEO Federico Humbert would get to be Panama's ambassador in Washington, and assistant editor Ricardo Lombana Panama's consul in the US capital. Nothing about this could be said, and nothing critical of Torrijos could be written on penalty of being fired and "never work in this town again". Lombana then returned to La Prensa without any questions asked, and eventually resigned in some controversy that - believe it or not - involved ethics.
La Prensa has never addressed any of this (and other) journalistic corruption. Instead, the paper is in some sort of show stand-off with the Martinelli administration, with the latter claiming unfair criticism and the paper alleging "attacks on press freedom". The reality is that competing daily La Estrella is far more critical of the Martinelli government than the generally tame La Prensa.
Balbina next old hag of Panama politics to flirt with dead leader
First Mireya's death porn with Fufo and now Balbina with Omar: What is it with the old hags of Panamanian politics that makes them flirt with the rotting corpses of yesterday's rulers?
Martinelli opens 2012 circus season
The best part was towards the end when he directly addressed his ministers, explaining to each one of them how the evil opposition in cahoots with the media would capture them, torture them and rape them in front of their families, just because they can, and how he would do nothing to help them.
Desperate Martinelli sends malware
Martinelli's government of business people put its IT arm at work and launched a really bad attack video and a malware email campaign.
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