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Salyu x Haruka Nakamura to Perform the Ending Theme for TRIGUN STAMPEDE
08.December.2022 | ANIME&GAME / MUSIC
# Haruka Nakamura
# Salyu
Salyu and Haruka Nakamura's new song Hoshi no Kuzu α will be the ending theme song for the upcoming anime series TRIGUN STAMPEDE set to premiere on January 7, 2023. The show will air every Saturday at 23:00 on TV Tokyo and other stations. A new trailer for the series has also been released, in which you can hear a portion of the new track.
TRIGUN STAMPEDE Main PV
The new song was performed during Salyu and Haruka Nakamura's joint concert at Yebisu Garden Hall on December 22, 2021. Carefully composed with an almost prayer-like composition, fans will be able to pick out Haruka Nakamura's unique sound. When combined with Salyu's captivating voice, this song is sure to leave an impression on all listeners, whether they're a fan of the series or not.
Be sure to listen to the new song when TRIGUN STAMPEDE hits the small screen in January!
Comment from Salyu
"I'm Salyu, and I'm singing the ending theme for TRIGUN STAMPEDE.
This song was created along with my dear friend, the musician Haruka Nakamura.
The melody is powerful, encompassing a simple but intense series of emotions.
I simply sang the song honestly, going wherever my feelings led me.
We hope you enjoy the story and the lovely melody!"
Comment from Haruka Nakamura
"I wrote the song Hoshi no Kuzu with Salyu.
I was in charge of the lyrics and composition.
I'd be so happy if you read the lyrics. It's like a letter from me to her, and she sang this letter back to me.
The world is essentially a shining star, but it's pure chaos now.
We are all little pieces of one star, and that's why we wanted to make this a hopeful track.
I'd be so happy if this song encompasses the worldview of TRIGUN STAMPEDE!"
Next » TRIGUN STAMPEDE Opening and Ending Themes Available on One Album
Staring January 7, 2023 / Airing Saturdays at 23:00 on TV Tokyo, etc.
(TV Tokyo, TV Osaka, TV Aichi, TV Setouchi, TV Hokkaido, TVQ Kyushu)
*Episode 1 airing January 7 at 23:15
*Dates and times are subject to change
Official Site: https://trigun-anime.com/
27.January.2023 | ANIME&GAME / MUSIC
An album featuring both the opening and ending themes of the anime series TRIGUN STAMPEDE will be released on a single album on February 22, 2023 from TOY'S STORE. The opening, TOMBI, is performed by Kvi Baba, while the ending, Hoshi no Kuzu α, is performed by both Salyu and Haruka Nakamura.
Preorders are now available and those snagging a copy will also be gifted an original sticker featuring the album's artwork.
The record is only available in limited quantities and sales will conclude once the item is sold out.
TRIGUN STAMPEDE Non-Credit Ending
TOMBI, performed by Kvi Baba, was released on January 6 and has seen a surge in popularity, appearing on a number of popular playlists and reaching the top spot on the iTunes Rap and Hip-Hop chart.
The ending theme song, Hoshi no Kuzu α by Salyu and Haruka Nakamura, was released on January 13, 2023.
The jacket features an original design featuring the main character, Vash the Stampede, from the Trigun anime series.
The jacket was designed by Takahiro Yasuda, an art director and graphic designer belonging to the creative association CEKAI.
The non-credit ending video featuring the ending theme song is now available on the YouTube TOHO animation channel.
Be sure to tune into the long-awaited series TRIGUN STAMPEDE!
Record / V.A. Tombi / Hoshi no Kuzu α
*TOY'S STORE limited item (Quantities are limited and sales will end when stock runs out.)
*Purchase bonus: Original sticker (Same design as the record jacket)
TOY'S STORE:
https://store.toysfactory.co.jp/shop.asp?cd=67
https://store.toysfactory.co.jp/pc/shop.asp?cd=19
TOMBI – Kvi Baba (1st Major Single)
Streaming Sites: https://tf.lnk.to/kvibaba_tombi
Hoshi no Kuzu α – Salyu × Haruka Nakamura
Streaming Sites: https://TF.lnk.to/hoshinokuzu_alpha
Ending Theme for TRIGUN STAMPEDE by Salyu x Haruka Nakamura Streaming Now, New EP Announced
Hoshi no Kuzu α, the new song by Salyu × Haruka Nakamura, was released on streaming services on January 13, 2023.
The track will be used as the ending theme for the TRIGUN STAMPEDE anime series. It will be featured starting in the second episode which airs on January 14 at 23:00.
A six-song EP titled March of the Saints has also been announced, scheduled to release on March 8, 2023. Hoshi no Kuzu α will be included and the cover art has been released. Preorders are open now!
*Streaming Links: https://TF.lnk.to/hoshinokuzu_alpha
March of the Saints EP
*Purchase: https://tf.lnk.to/Seijanokoushin_EP
TrySail Releases Opening Theme Song for My One-Hit Kill Sister Anime Series
# Voice Actor
TrySail is a popular girl group consisting of three popular voice actresses: Momo Asakura,
Sora Amamiya, and Shiina Natsukawa. Since their debut in 2015, the girls have performed
incredible live concerts, managing to hold successful events at Yokohama Arena and the
Yoyogi National Gymnasium. TrySail's latest album, Re Bon Voyage, was released in
September 2021, reaching the #5 spot on the Oricon Weekly Ranking.
The group's newest song, Karei One Turn, will be used as the theme song for the 2023
anime series My One-Hit Kill Sister. The happy-go-lucky track can be heard in the second
teaser trailer for the show.
Along with this exciting anime tie-up, TrySail has announced the song flower. The song will be used to commemorate the group's upcoming event 'LAWSON presents TrySail Arena
Live 2023 ~Ai ni Yuku yacht! Minna de Aso-boat!~' Be sure to watch out for what else
TrySail has in store for fans in 2023!
My One-Hit Kill Sister
TrySail Official Site: https://trysail.jp/
'Chillin' in My 30s After Getting Fired from the Demon King's Army' Anime Theme Gets Streaming Release, Music Video
Hinano has released the lead song from her third single CHANGEMAKER on all major streaming services. The 16-year-old singer is known for her 4-octave high-tone vocals.
The song has been chosen to serve as the opening song for the anime series Chillin' in My 30s After Getting Fired from the Demon King's Army which began airing on TOKYO MX on January 7. The series has been adapted from the popular manga series by Rurekuchie currently serialized in Monthly Young Magazine.
Hinano's debut song nocturne was produced by Yuki Kajiura and served as the theme song for the anime film Deemo: Memorial Keys. Her next song Virginia was chosen as the ending theme for My Master Has No Tail.
The new song CHANGEMAKER shows Hinano trying her hand at creating a rock track for the first time. "When I first listened to the tentative track, I wondered if I could do it justice. It seemed so difficult, I didn't know if I could sing it," Hinano said. "By really feeling the song with both my mind and body, I channeled my will and was able to sing it properly." The music video for CHANGEMAKER was also released on January 7.
Hinano「CHANGEMAKER」
The up-tempo rock sound combined with Hinano's incredible singing ability makes this track unforgettable. Inspired by the desire to light up a dark world, this song is sure to make even the most gloomy day bearable.
© 岡沢六十四・るれくちぇ・講談社/解雇された暗黒兵士製作委員会
CHANGEMAKER – Hinano
Streaming Release: January 7, 2023
Streaming Links: https://lnk.to/CHANGEMAKER
Music Video: https://youtu.be/hLjbY1ZCqI8
Chillin' in My 30s After Getting Fired from the Demon King's Army
Airing January 7 at 22:00 on TOKYO MX
Official Website: http://ankokuheishi-anime.com/
Merchandise Inspired by SSSS.GRIDMAN Film Revealed, Rare Original Reproduction Images Shown
19.January.2023 | ANIME&GAME / FASHION / MOVIE
# SSSS.GRIDMAN
New merchandise has been revealed to coincide with the release of the SSSS.GRIDMAN compilation film on January 20, 2023. The film, along with the subsequent SSSS.DYNAZENON compilation film, will prepare fans for the original Gridman Universe film coming to theaters on March 24, 2023.
The SSSS.GRIDMAN film pamphlet features a summary of events seen in the film and includes new interviews with director Yoshiyuki Kaneko and singer Masayoshi Oishi.
SSSS.GRIDMAN Compilation Film Original Reproduction Image Set/SSSS.GRIDMAN Compilation Film T-Shirt/GRIDMAN & DYNAZENON Acrylic Keychain (11 varieties, random)/SSSS.GRIDMAN Compilation Film Pin (12 varieties, random)
The SSS.GRIDMAN Compilation Film Original Reproduction Image Set is a must-have item for fans, featuring 16 carefully-selected reproductions from the film in a special bag.
Plenty of other items are available for purchase including a commemorative T-shirt, keychains, and pins.
The SSSS.GRIDMAN compilation film is being directed by Yoshiyuki Kaneko, who served as assistant director on the anime series. The film will show a somewhat new interpretation of the story under this new direction.
Be sure to grab some of this exclusive merch before seeing the highly-anticipated original film Gridman Universe on March 24!
©円谷プロ ©2023 TRIGGER・雨宮哲/「劇場版グリッドマンユニバース」製作委員会
SSSS.GRIDMAN Compilation Film
Limited 2-week screening begins January 20, 2023
Participating Theaters: https://theater-ods.toho.co.jp/ssss-gridman/
Official Site: https://ssss-movie.net/
SSSS.GRIDMAN Compilation Film Bonuses Revealed
17.January.2023 | ANIME&GAME
# GRIDMAN
Based on the Tsuburaya Productions Gridman live-action tokusatsu series from 1993, the
SSSS.GRIDMAN anime series aired in October 2018. A sequel, SSSS.DYNAZENON, followed in April 2021.
Ahead of the release of GRIDMAN UNIVERSE, an all-new anime film coming in March, both SSSS.GRIDMAN and SSSS.DYNAZENON will be getting compilation films. Each will only be
in theaters for two weeks.
劇場総集編『SSSS.GRIDMAN』
The SSSS.GRIDMAN film will be in theaters starting January 20. Those buying tickets will
receive a special illustration card with a voice drama created by Akira Amemiya, the director of the SSSS series, while supplies last. The title of the drama is Hinekuremono Demo (Even if You're Cynical) starring Soma Saito (Sho Utsumi) and Hass (Akari Kito).
The newly-revealed illustration card's design features Yuta Hibiki, Sho Utsumi, Rikka
Takarada, and Akane Shinjo happily snapping photos.
SSSS.DYNAZENON will be released for two weeks starting March 10, and those buying
tickets will also get an illustration card and a special voice drama written by Akira Amemiya.
The SSSS.GRIDMAN compilation film is being directed by Yoshiyuki Kaneko, who served as assistant director on the anime series. The film will show a somewhat new interpretation of the story under his new direction. Both compilation films will include extra footage leading
up to the release of GRIDMAN UNIVERSE on March 24, 2023.
Limited 2-week screenings begin January 20, 2023
Admission Bonus: Illustrated Card with Voice Drama by Akira Amemiya
Official Website: https://ssss-movie.net/
Music Project Sizuk Performs Opening Theme for The Iceblade Sorcerer Shall Rule the World, Anime Music Video Released
Music composer Shunryu recently began the musical project Sizuk, creating numerous tracks for idol groups and anime series. Sizuk's first digital single Dystopia, released on January 6, serves as the opening theme song for the anime series The Iceblade Sorcerer Shall Rule the World. The music video, using plenty of footage from the anime, has also been posted to the official Sizuk YouTube channel.
Dystopia – Sizuk (Music Video)
The Iceblade Sorcerer Shall Rule the World Opening Theme Song
A Dystopia gift campaign is now underway on numerous streaming sites. Benefits vary, with one of the more impressive presents being an original voice drama by the stars of the anime series from mora. Physical goods are also available, including an A3-size poster and acrylic keychain designed by popular illustrator SOLANI.
©御子柴奈々・講談社/「冰剣の魔術師が世界を統べる」 製作委員会
Dystopia – Sizuk
(The Iceblade Sorcerer Shall Rule the World Opening Theme)
Stream & Download: https://Sizuk.lnk.to/Dystopia
Official Site: https://www.tbs.co.jp/anime/hyouken
Anime Series Insomniacs After School Gets April Release Date, New Visual and Trailer Revealed
# Kimi wa Hokago Insomnia
More information about the upcoming anime series Insomniacs After School has been revealed. The series is set to premiere on TV Tokyo in April 2023.
Makoto Ojiro's coming-of-age manga series is set in Nanao City, Ishikawa Prefecture. It follows Ganta Nakami, a high school boy suffering from insomnia, and Isaki Magari, a girl with the same issue. Insomniacs After School is serialized in Shogakukan's Big Comic Spirits.
The second key visual and trailer have been released, giving audiences a better glimpse at this bittersweet tale. The new image shows Ganta and Isaki in different rooms with headphones on. The text reads "what are you doing right now?"
The trailer shows off the beautiful scenery around Nanao City. An event was recently held in the real-life city to celebrate the popular series.
Insomniacs After School Trailer #2
New characters and their voices are revealed for the first time in this exclusive trailer!
The cast includes Haruka Tomatsu, Seiichiro Yamashita, Lynn, Natsumi Fujiwara, Sumire Morohoshi, Mamiko Noto, Sho Karino, Gen Sato, and Konomi Tamura.
Insomniacs After School is only three months away. Will you be tuning in?
Cast Comments
Haruka Tomatsu (Yui Shiromaru)
Popular Works: Sword Art Online (Asuna), Yo-kai Watch (Keta)
"I absolutely love stars, so this role makes me super happy! Shiromaru is cool and doesn't talk too much, but he is kindhearted and pure, and it was super fun to play him. Since he's an older character, there are plenty of scenes where he gives helpful advice. This series is really heartwarming and I hope you'll tune in!"
Seiichiro Yamashita (Tao Ukegawa)
Popular Works: The Eminence in Shadow (Cid Kagenou / Shadow), More Than a Married Couple, But Not Lovers (Jiro Yakuin)
"There are things that are incredibly difficult to say to others, but things that you feel you need to say. I could really feel the romance behind sharing secrets as I worked on this project. It carefully handles difficult issues and reminds us how hard it can be to truly understand other people. That's why the human experience is so complex and dramatic. It's a wonderful work filled with love. Enjoy it!"
Lynn (Motoko Kanikawa)
Popular Works: Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury (Miorine Rembran), Uma Musume: Pretty Derby (Maruzensky)
"I love the atmosphere of the original work. The glimpses of ordinary life seen in every scene are so precious. Kanikawa is funny and cute and it was a blast to play her. I had a blast ad-libbing with the other cast members! I hope that this series reaches a ton of new people now that it's being adapted into an anime series!"
Natsumi Fujiwara (Kanami Anamizu)
Popular Works: SPYxFAMILY (Damian Desmond), Chuka Ichiban! (Mao)
"I was worried that Anamizu would be too difficult of a role for me, but thanks to everyone's help, I was really able to enjoy working on this series. The main character suffers from insomnia which is a terrible thing, but I was thrilled the entire time. After all, I love the stars! Ah, the splendors of youth! I can't wait to see how the final product turns out!"
Sumire Morohoshi (Mina Nono)
Popular Works: Aikatsu! (Ichigo Hoshimiya), The Promised Neverland (Ema)
"Nono is so adorable! I wanted to make sure her laid-back energy came through. She's gentle and kind and I think it will be completely apparent to audiences what kind of person she is. The work itself is both fresh and nostalgic at the same time, and it was so fun to work with the cast. I felt like I was back in high school again!"
Mamiko Noto (Usako Kurashiki)
Popular Works: Kimi ni Todoke (Sawako Kuronuma), Hell Girl (Ai Enma)
"I'm Mamiko Noto and I play the role of Usako Kurashiki. As a native of Ishikawa, it's such a pleasure to work on a series based in my home prefecture. Ms. Kurashiki is a charming teacher and one I wish I had when I was a student. The original work is so rich in content and character, both warm and sad…it's so detailed that it can truly feel like you're wrapped up in it. I'm sure the anime will be the same way. I hope you're looking forward to it!"
Sho Karino (Rui Haida)
Popular Works: Tokyo Revengers (Chifuyu Matsuno), Idolmaster SideM (Yukihiro Kamiya)
"This wonderful story is so meaningful. I was happy to experience it with everyone, with this entire cast. The scenery and starry skies will stick in your mind and make you want to go out and explore the night. Working on Insomniacs After School made me feel like I could enjoy my high school life again! Thank you so much!"
©オジロマコト・小学館/アニメ「君ソム」製作委員会
Insomniacs After School
Airing on TV Tokyo starting April 2023
Official Site: https://kimisomu-anime.com
The Legendary Hero Is Dead! Anime Series to Premiere in April 2023, Trailer and Second Visual Released
22.December.2022 | ANIME&GAME
More information about the upcoming anime adaptation of The Legendary Hero Is Dead! was recently revealed during a live broadcast on the PONY CANYON YouTube channel on December 16, 2022. The first trailer and second key visual were unveiled along with additional cast information.
The original manga series ran in Shogakukan's Ura Sunday magazine from 2014 to 2020. Written and illustrated by Subaruichi, Volume 20 is currently on sale.
During the live broadcast, it was announced that Touka Scott would be played by Wataru Kato. Shun'ichi Toki will play Sion Bladan, Marguerit will be played by Yurika Kubo, and Millie will be played by Sakura Shinfuku.
The Legendary Hero Is Dead! Trailer #1
https://youtu.be/mWl1PRtiTb8
Sakura Shinfuku is making her debut in the series after winning the Kimikoe Project, a competition to find and assist a new generation of voice actors. She plays the part of Millie Eunice, Yuna's younger sister and sword wielder on an adventure. Although nervous in the broadcast, the actress did her best, challenging senior voice actors in games to deepen their friendship.
The new visual shows Touka, Sion, Yuna, Anri, and Marguerit standing with brave expressions on their faces
Yuichi Nakamura's role as Kyle Osment has also been announced. Fans are looking forward to hearing how the actor portrays Sion's right-hand man, so be sure to tune in next spring!
(C)スバルイチ・小学館/勇者が死んだ!製作委員会
The Legendary Hero Is Dead!
Airing April 2023
Official Site: https://heroisdead.com/
YuYu Hakusho Anime Series Celebrates 30 Years with Rerelease of Exclusive Record Box
# YuYu Hakusho
To commemorate the 30th anniversary of the YuYu Hakusho anime series, a certain piece of exclusive merchandise is seeing a long-anticipated rerelease. The 25th Anniversary Single Record Box, originally released in 2017 to massive fanfare, is available to preorder now, with the release date set for February 18, 2023. Each record in the box is a unique color, making this item an incredible display piece.
YuYu Hakusho aired for a total of 112 episodes from October 1992 until January 1995, eventually finding popularity around the world.
The record box contains eight records with sixteen songs, including the theme song and character songs from the series. Each record's color matches the image of each song and character, with the red Disc 1 containing the fierce opening theme Hohoemi no Bakudan, and the popular ending theme Unbalance na Kiss wo Shite appearing the sky blue Disc 2.
Disc 8 contains the rare duet tracks WILD WIND by Kurama and Hiei and Omoide wo Tsubasa ni Shite by Yusuke and Keiko. These were previously only included in the limited edition Canime version only available online.
Those who purchase the album at the PONY CANYON RECORD SHOP will receive a clear folder with the 30th-anniversary logo and jacket photo while supplies last.
An exhibition celebrating the series' original author Yoshihiro Togashi is running until January 9, 2023.
30th Anniversary Rerelease – YuYu Hakusho 25th Anniversary Single Record Box
Purchase: https://pony-canyon.lnk.to/yuhaku30th
Isekai Fantasy Anime Handyman Saito in Another World to Premiere in January 2023
Kazutomo Ichitomo's Handyman Saito in Another World manga series is getting an anime adaptation in January 2023. The manga launched on Kadokawa's ComicWalker service in 2018 and the artist himself has over 350,000 Twitter followers. With over 450,000 copies sold, it's no wonder that these heartwarming characters will be coming to the small screen.
Handyman Saito in Another World will premiere on January 8, 2023, and the first key visual and second trailer has been released.
The new visual shows Saito and his crew taking on a dungeon, with Raelza, Franlil, Gible, and Ninia appearing, much to the joy of manga fans. The ending theme, Hidamari no Saido by Konoco, can also be heard for the first time!
Additional cast members have also been posted. Yoshitsugu Matsuoka will play Cains, Yu Serizawa will play Lychee, and Chikara Honda will portray Monpui. Jun Kasama will play Kisurugi, Shiori Izawa will step into the shoes of Primas, and Chiwa Saito will appear as Lavella.
The online advance screening of the first episode and a special program will air on December 17.
Be sure to add this to your list this winter!
The "heartwarming another world fantasy" series follow Saito, a normal handyman reincarnated into another world. He then forms a dungeon party with the beautiful warrior Raelza; Marok, an old and senile magician; and Lafanpan, a cute fairy.
©一智和智・KADOKAWA刊/「便利屋斎藤さん、異世界に行く」製作委員会
Handyman Saito in Another World
Premieres January 8, 2023
Official Site: https://saitou-anime.com/
Light Novel 'Yumemiru Danshi wa Genjitsushugisha' to Get Anime Adaptation in 2023, Trailer and Visual Released
24.November.2022 | ANIME&GAME
# The Dreaming Man is a Realist
The light novel Yumemiru Danshi wa Genjitsushugisha (The Dreaming Man is a Realist) has been a smash hit. Following a big win at the HJ Web Novel Awards 2019, it's no surprise that the series will be getting an anime adaptation in 2023! A teaser visual and trailer have been released along with ample staff and cast information.
The original light novel series was written by Okemaru and illustrated by Saba Mizore and was initially serialized as a web novel on the website Shosetsuka ni Naro in December 2018.
The teaser shows off the heroine Aika Natsukawa and her intense emotions, and is a perfect way to get anime fans curious about this unique series!
Yumemiru Danshi wa Genjitsushugisha Trailer
https://youtu.be/U4XEfsuA5Gg
The main staff and cast members have been announced and the series will be produced by Studio Gokumi and AXsIZ. Be sure to tune in next year!
Comment from Naoya Miyase (Wataru Sajo)
"My name is Naoya Miyase and I will be playing the role of Wataru Sajo!
All of the characters in this series are so charming, I can't help but swoon every time I see them.
Every time the two main characters misunderstand each other, I want to scream!
You'll probably want to do the same.
I hope you're looking forward to the series!
Please tune in!"
Comment from Akiho Suzumoto (Aika Natsukawa)
"I'm Akiho Suzumoto and I'll be playing Aika Natsukawa!
I'm excited to step into the role of Aika so that I can make the fan's heart pound!
Above all else, I'll try to embody her Goddess-like qualities, so tune in!
Comment from Yumiri Hanamori (Kei Ashida)
"I'll be playing the role of Kei-chan!
When the recording ended, I remember thinking "But they're in love with each other!"
Fans will be delightfully frustrated by the distance between Wataru and Aika. Seriously!
Look forward to watching Kei-chan as well, who is completely at their mercy…"
Comment from Mikako Komatsu (Kaede Sajo)
"I'll be playing the role of Kaede Sajo, Wataru's sister.
The recording has begun, and I'm so excited to see how I'll get to interact with the other characters.
We both wanted to create that realistic tension that only brothers and sisters have,
so be sure to tune in to this wonderfully awkward series!"
Comment from Kaori Ishihara (Rin Shinomiya)
"I'm Kaori Ishihara and I'll be playing Rin Shinomiya.
Kaori is a good girl and someone who people look up to. She's cool and serious, always working hard to solve her own problems–but something about that makes her so cute and fun to play.
We're currently in the middle of recording, so I'm really looking forward to seeing how the anime will play out!
The staff and cast are working so hard, so please look forward to the show!"
©おけまる・ホビージャパン/『夢見る男子は現実主義者』製作委員会
Yumemiru Danshi wa Genjitsushugisha (The Dreaming Man is a Realist)
Official Site: https://yumemirudanshi.com/


Before Instagram, image hosting scripts were quite popular to create our own image hosting website. The most popular opensource apps were Chevereto. I'm happy to see that the dev is still maintaining it!
Privacy settings and many more.
They also have 19 ad spaces to monetize your website if you wish.
The best is to give it a try with their demo.
The installation is pretty simple and require few dependencies. First, ensure you have a LAMP server (Apache2, PHP, MySQL). If you don't have, here is how to install LAMP server on Debian 9.
You probably want to use a subdomain (pic.mydomain.tld) or a dedicated domain name. The best is to go with a dedicated virtualhost to handle apache2 configurations.
It will then download the latest version. Next step will be to configure your database (I use PHPMyAdmin to create a dedicated user/pass/database). And finally to create your admin account.
Once done, you will be able to go directly to your admin panel.
Next step could be to add a SSL certificate using Let's Encrypt.


text:
GDLS-Canada Awarded $24 M LAV-A2 Contract by USMC
Category: Contracts
General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada has been awarded a USD$24 million contract to produce 13 Light Armored Vehicles (LAV-A2) for the U.S. Marine Corps. General Dynamics Land Systems, the Canadian company's parent corporation, is a business unit of General Dynamics .
The LAV-A2 is a mobile, survivable and lethal system for conducting a variety of functions, including security, reconnaissance, offensive and defensive operations as part of the Marine Air-Ground Task Force. The eight-wheeled vehicle operates on land and water. It is equipped with enhanced armor protection and an automatic fire-suppression system for crew protection, as well as a robust suspension for mobility.
Vehicle production will be performed at the General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada operations in London, Ontario, with the existing workforce. The first delivery is scheduled for June 2014 and the last delivery will be made in October 2014.
The Marine Corps has ordered 253 LAV-A2 vehicles since 2007. Over 800 units of an earlier version of the Light Armored Vehicle entered service with the Marine Corps in the 1980s and continue operational deployment today.
"General Dynamics Land Systems is proud of its heritage with the Marine Corps and is committed to serving the Corps with cost-effective mission-critical products and services," said Michael Bolon, senior vice president, Marine and Navy sector at General Dynamics Land Systems.
The contract was awarded through the Canadian Commercial Corporation, a Crown Agency of the Canadian Government.
GDLS
KONGSBERG Awarded Contract from GDLS Supporting US Army Stryker ECP Program
Fifty-one new Foxhound vehicles for the front line
BAE Systems gets R900m MRAP upgrade deal
More Automatic Ammunition-Handling on Stryker for Meggitt
General Dynamics Land Systems - GDLS
General Dynamics Land Systems - GDLS - Canada

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


The government is likely to scale back the size of the share auction in state-owned National Aluminium Co Ltd and offer a hefty discount to the market price because of limited float in the stock and sluggish demand outlook for the metal, two sources with direct knowledge of the situation said.
The government is likely to scale back the size of the share auction in state-owned National Aluminium Co Ltd (NALCO) and offer a hefty discount to the market price because of limited float in the stock and sluggish demand outlook for the metal, two sources with direct knowledge of the situation said.
Earlier on Wednesday, a panel of ministers approved selling a 12.15% stake in the aluminium producer through a share auction on March 15.


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text:
Zeroing In on House Republicans' Energy Agenda
Now that Republicans have taken the House, it looks like we'll be seeing a very different approach to energy and climate change policy next year, to put it mildly.
While it's unclear exactly what presumptive House Speaker John Boehner's (R-Ohio) energy agenda will be, we can get some idea of his thinking from the American Energy Act, a bill introduced by House Republicans last year as an alternative to cap-and-trade.
Here are the four main point of the bill, according to a summary:
"Increase production of American-made energy in an environmentally-sound manner."
"Promote new, clean and renewable sources of energy such as nuclear, clean-coal-technology, wind and solar energy."
"Encourage greater efficiency and conservation by extending tax incentives for energy efficiency and rewarding development of greater conservation techniques and new energy sources."
"Cut red-tape and reduce frivolous litigation."
Expect a great deal of discussion about expanding nuclear power. The House Republican bill calls for bringing 100 new nuclear power plants online in the next 20 years and streamlining the approval process at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. At the same time, the bill calls on the NRC to continue its review of the embattled Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository "without political interference," a clear reference to the Obama administration's efforts to prevent the site from accepting waste.
The bill also calls for expanded drilling in the Outer Continental Shelf and in the Arctic (this bill, of course, was introduced before the oil spill, so it remains to be seen how it would change as a result of the disaster). House Republicans would then use revenue from increased drilling to create a fund for renewable and "alternative" energy technology like wind, solar, so-called "clean coal" and biomass.
The proposal also calls for "cutting red tape and reducing frivolous lawsuits." This includes curtailing environmental reviews and limiting the review time allowed in environmental lawsuits. Here are two key sections from the summary:
Legal Reform: The bill curtails dilatory lawsuits that are designed to obstruct American energy exploration. While ensuring people a day in court, it expedites judicial review by imposing a 60-day deadline on legal challenges and requires cases to be filed in the District Court for the District of Columbia, to prevent forum shopping. …
Environmental Review: The bill reduces red-tape and cost to the Environmental Protection Agency arising from having to needlessly identify alternative locations for renewable energy projects, while ensuring a proper environmental review for the proposed action and no-action.
3858e843492c7bab10eaf2e1d5b02a1d9b4882bd865c082a7d16a93985415966553ae66f8515577628fdac67750fc2ab75714920945c619b34bb78437c068ae6


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Q: vuejs form computed property I have a simple form in VueJS that I would like to have a computed property for one of the form fields. I would like the computed property to be calculated as the user inputs data and then saved as a data property before submitting the form to the server.
 <form>

Revenue

      <input type="text" v-model="formData.revenue">

Expenses

      <input type="text" v-model="formData.expenses">

Operating Income

      <input type="text" v-model="formData.operatingIncome">

  </form>

JS
new Vue({
  el: '#app',
  data: {
    formData: {}
  },
  computed: {
    operatingIncome() {
      return this.formData.revenue - this.formData.expenses;
    }
  }
});

The computed property for operatingIncome does not calculate unless I explicitly create properties for revenue and expenses within the formData data object and change the <input> to a string interpolation. Any suggestions on how to make this work?

A: https://v2.vuejs.org/v2/guide/reactivity.html

Due to the limitations of modern JavaScript (and the abandonment of Object.observe), Vue cannot detect property addition or deletion. Since Vue performs the getter/setter conversion process during instance initialization, a property must be present in the data object in order for Vue to convert it and make it reactive.
Vue does not allow dynamically adding new root-level reactive properties to an already created instance. However, it's possible to add reactive properties to a nested object using the Vue.set(object, key, value) method.

Declaring the possible sub-elements of formData should do the trick:
data: {
    formData: {
        revenue: null,
        expenses: null,
        operatingIncome: null,
    }
},

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Zano Bi-weekly Report (3rd August 2021)
Welcome all! Time for another quick rundown of what the "Shadowy Super-Coders" of Zano project have been busy building on our unstoppable climb to digital cash privacy nirvana.
Wrapped Zano (wZANO)
We've now entered the testing phase for wrapped Zano, with a mess of wZano currently bouncing around the Ethereum Rinkeby testnet as we try our best to break something. Wrapping has been made as simple as possible and is triggered automatically in the Zano client when a send transaction is made to an Ethereum destination address. Unwrapping is done via a web interface. Full details and slick graphics upon release, but for now here's a shot of a very small amount of wZano in MetaMask.
The restore-db-from-metadata system (mentioned in the last update) has also been tested and is working fine.
Logo/Branding Explorations
We've been exploring potential new logos for Zano which has led to some deep, philosophical discussions on brand identity and what constitutes a great, or terrible, logo. It's still early days — I mention it more as an example of how deeply the founders care about the project. It should be reassuring to anyone who holds Zano that even something as seemingly simple as the logo is given serious thought.
Proof-of-Stake with Hidden Values
Val has made great progress with his RingCT compatible Proof-of-Stake scheme. While earlier iterations used zero mixins (or "decoys") in the staking transaction, this was later amended, with mixins included at a cost of 700 bytes each — a small increase in transaction size, but obviously preferable from a privacy perspective. This has since been reduced to 128 bytes per mixin — a huge saving — by using aggregated Bulletproofs.
Aside from this, he has also created a PoC implementation of the scheme in C++, which so far is working as expected, and has published the first draft of a technical paper describing the scheme titled "A Proof-of-Stake scheme for confidential transactions with hidden amounts": https://github.com/hyle-team/docs/blob/master/PoS/
Feedback, questions and critiques from cryptographers/mathematicians are especially welcome!
It's easy to understate the importance of this achievement — with very little fanfare he has potentially solved a genuinely difficult problem, one that many people didn't believe could be solved. Without this, it wouldn't have been possible to match or exceed the levels of privacy offered by certain other CryptoNote-derived projects while maintaining Zano's hybrid PoW/PoS consensus scheme. In other words, privacy-parity with CryptoNote's finest is only possible due to this breakthrough, so hats off to Valeriy on the achievement, we're very lucky to have him!
Community ("Zano Amplify")
In an effort to take our message of digital cash self-sovereignty to a wider audience, a Telegram bot is being built that will reward users for retweeting selected Zano-related tweets. So far user registration, twitter account validation and a fair bit of abuse protection has been done. Still to go: retweet detection and deciding on a reward scheme and distribution. More details as work progresses.
Thus concludes the latest biweekly progress report. We'd love to hear your thoughts and opinions in the Zano Discord/Telegram/Reddit groups. Till next time!


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Home » GAMING » The History of Shin Megami Tensei – Origins And Games
The History of Shin Megami Tensei – Origins And Games
BY Taylor Bauer July 24, 2021July 23, 2021
We're not too far off from getting our hands on Shin Megami Tensei V. Nintendo announced the game's arrival for November 2021 and I'm ecstatic. Other than expansions and remasters, the mainline series has not released a new game since 2013. That eight-year drought gave me time to revisit the series' past games. Like a lot of people, I learned of the series decades after it truly started. With a rich history of game development and a really interesting world to explore, fans need not play through every game to get caught up for the newest title this November. Of course, it's fun to play through a game's history, but that's also wildly time-consuming. If you're curious about the franchise, then read through our history of Shin Megami Tensei overview for the series. Let's start first with the series's origins and early development.
The Early History of Shin Megami Tensei
Image Credit: Atlus & SEGA
In the 1980s, the Digital Devil Story series of sci-fi novels was gaining massive traction in Japan. Writer Aya Nishitani and publisher Tokuma Shoten sought to expand the series into a multimedia experience by pursuing the creation of an OVA, or original video animation. The OVA launched in 1987, which prompted the next project: a video game. Interestingly, two companies acquired the license to make a game for the novels. Telenet Japan and developer Atlus would work on two separate titles. Through Namco, now known as Bandai-Namco, Atlus would focus on a traditional role-playing game. Simultaneously, Atlus also helped Telnet with the development of an action role-playing experience.
Much of the story in the game comes from the third novel in the Nishitani trilogy. The title and some details would still come from the first novel. The author stayed involved in the development of the projects. One early issue was the fact that the Famicom, Japan's name for the NES, featured hardware power limitations. Elements of the story and plot points gave way for complete a standalone gaming experience. Telnet beat Namco to the punch of publishing the game for players, but only by a few months.
The PC version of Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei launched between July and September 1987. The Famicom version launched on September 11 that same year. Despite hardware limitations, critics love the franchise's debut and its unique take on the JRPG dungeon-explorer experience. For many, the gameplay intricacies are what make the history of Shin Megami Tensei so appealing. Let's explore some of those noteworthy gameplay choices before going through more releases.
Interesting Gameplay Mechanics and Themes in the Series
One thing fans of the Shin Megami Tensei series will tell you is that these games are tough. They're definitely not your breeze-through JRPG experience. That said, some of the game mechanics are compelling enough to push through the more challenging passages.
One of the most interesting mechanics is the demon recruitment ability. As you play through the game, you gain demon allies to fight alongside you. As you collect demons, you can fuse them together to create more powerful partners. Battle occurs in a turn-based system known as Press Turn. The unique element of SMT's approach to turn-based combat is that both parties receive bonuses for attacking their opponent's weaknesses. With AI extra keen on what your weaknesses are, this is a big source of the difficulty.
I think the most impressive thing featured in the Shin Megami Tensei game history, however, is the Demon Negotiation mechanic. During battle, a demon can make a request of the player. While it's sometimes as simple as offering up an item, others request side quest completion. If you appease the demon, then they might consider joining you without a battle. Here's the catch: you can do everything asked of you and they can still choose to fight you. Demons also ask the player their opinion on different in-game events, which dictate their willingness to hear you out. It's a really tricky system in which to maneuver, but it's a wonderfully unique way to approach JRPG battles.
The History of the Mainline Series: Sequels to the Original Shin Megami Tensei
In 1990, the sequel to the first game arrived on the Famicom. Unrelated in plot, Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei II utilized similar gameplay elements and story outlines to solidify the style of the game series. The next release for Super Famicom would introduce the title we know well today. Shin Megami Tensei released in 1992 and introduced some franchise mainstays that still show up in new games. One element, for example, is the setting of a semi-futuristic Tokyo that is suddenly invaded by otherworldly enemies. A port of the game arrived on PC in 1993, PlayStation in 2001, and GameBoy Advance in 2003.
Next up was Shin Megami Tensei II, released for Super Famicom in 1994 and later for PlayStation and GameBoy Advance. The game introduced new characters and takes place decades after its predecessor. Expanded freedom for the player and the complicated yet steady story resonated with players. The game's characters became much more of a focus, helping define the series' emphasis on the gameplay element.
The Road to SMT V
Next up, a whopping nine years after SMT II, was Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne. The game released in 2003 for the PlayStation 2 and expanded the franchise's scope yet again. The added power of the PS2 allowed the series to move to 3D graphics and a broader world in which players could explore. The game was very difficult, which is why the HD Remaster released in 2020 for the Nintendo Switch added an easier difficulty. The compelling cutscenes and improvements made to game mechanics made it the first real modern entry for the series yet.
The next mainline entry, Shin Megami Tensei IV, released on the 3DS in 2013. The 10-year gap did not leave gamers empty, providing with spin-offs and expanded versions of past games. Still, the arrival of a true entry was celebrated. It's here where the franchise really started to take off in terms of a Western audience. The 3DS, arguably the best console of the decade if you ask me, helped grow the series immensely. A similar phenomenon occurred with the Fire Emblem franchise. This entry was mirrored heavily off the experience of the first game in the Shin Megami Tensei franchise. While the game still featured many of its noticeable themes and stylistic choices of past titles, veteran series designer Kazuma Kaneko was set aside for Masayuki Doi, who developed the main character and many of the demons. In Japan and the West, the game was a huge hit.
Shin Megami Tensei V – Finally Arriving in 2021
The wait for Shin Megami Tensei V isn't as long as other gaps in the numbered entry line of games. That said, new and old fans can't wait for more in this universe. Set in modern-day Tokyo, the game will be a hybrid between Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne and Shin Megami Tensei IV's gameplay and aesthetic. The release month was offered during the E3 2021 Nintendo Direct and is likely to be a huge release for Nintendo and Atlus to close the year.
If you enjoyed our history of Shin Megami Tensei article, then let us know what we should tackle next in the comments! Thanks for reading Comic Years for all things gaming, comics, and pop culture.
Featured Image Credit: Atlus & SEGA
GAMINGNintendo
JRPGNintendo SwitchShin Megami Tensei


According to the National Kitchen and Bath Association, roughly one in 10 households undertook a kitchen remodel or replacement in 2015, with two-thirds of them hiring a professional to do the work. When a home is feeling dated, the kitchen is usually part of the problem.At Morse Constructions, kitchens are almost always a main part of our whole house renovations and top the list of single room makeovers.
Kitchens are hardworking spaces that typically also serve as the hub of the home. We want them to both look and work great, but how they should look and work is often very subjective. Design aesthetics are obviously a matter of personal taste, but the way we use our kitchens also varies. What is right for one of Morse's clients may not be right for another. For example, we have clients who entertain frequently and need lots of space for food prep and in-kitchen socializing. We also have clients who eat out a lot and really don't need much more than a bare bones kitchen.
Many of these same questions are raised in an excellent article on Houzz called 5 Trade-offs to Consider When Remodeling Your Kitchen. Since even well-to-do homeowners rarely have unlimited budgets, the article addresses how to decide where to make compromises when creating a dream kitchen within a real-life budget. Just click any image in the slideshow below to view the whole article.


We all are witnessing a rapid growth of digital design tools which are pushing the boundaries of design in any possible way. Parametric Softwares, Plug-ins, Add-ons, Scripts and Toolsets are developing so fast and designers add them into their available catalogue of tools every day, simple and sweet! At the same time, there is a growing interest between architects and designers to use new concepts in their projects to leave the notion of postmodern 'concept' and pursue a new line of form generation through application of material systems, bottom-up design methods, bio-informed structures, etc. Here, search for new possibilities, new material systems, new algorithms, and generally new methods of design and fabrication is in the front line of research.
Architecture « ParaPractice ParaPractice Architecture CRISTINA PARREÑO AT ARCO MADRID: PAPER CHANDELIERS Architecture ARCO Measuring Machine Architecture + Parametric Design DIY 5 Axis Architecture + Industrial Design Kuka Research Architecture + Parametric Design Rhino ++ Grasshopper – Plethora Project Plethora-Project.com is an initiative to accelerate computational literacy in the frame of architecture and design. It aligns with the "show me your screens" motto of the TopLap live-coding group attempting to get rid of Obscurantism in digital design. Directed by Jose Sanchez Contact me at : jomasan@gmail.com Bio: Jose Sanchez is an Architect / Programmer / Game Designer based in Los Angeles, California. He is partner at Bloom Games, start-up built upon the BLOOM project, winner of the WONDER SERIES hosted by the City of London for the London 2012 Olympics.
RHINO: GRASSHOPPER DEFINITIONS - RHINO / GH This definition was developed for my final thesis project to generate a louver system based on functional requirements within the building. The performance was then tested in Ecotect. A large part of my thesis design involved invertible arena seating with many moving parts. Kangaroo Grasshopper Origami Origami Animal - How to Make the Origami Grasshopper 1 Kangaroo Grasshopper OrigamiAutor: Gongming LiuCategory: Film & AnimationPublished: 2012-10-30 Kangaroo Grasshopper Origami. This How to make an Origami Kangaroo Grasshopper Origami Model was made on 2012-10-30 by Gongming Liu. In this section you will find a Video Tutorial published on YouTube, about how to fold an origami model or the step by step instructions to make it. I hope you found the instructions clear and I hope you enjoy folding It.
Biomimesis and the Geometric Definition of Shell Structures in Architecture Semra Arslan Selcuk, PhD Candidate Department of Architecture, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey . e-mail: semra@arch.metu.edu.tr Al J Fisher, MEng Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering, University of Bath, UK . e-mail: a.j.fisher@bath.ac.uk Adaptive Scaffolding This definition creates a thickened ground geometry from two sloping curves. Scaffolding grows out of the thickened ground, and its dimensions are derived from the ribs in the ground. This scaffolding can then be trimmed by a curve and a cylinder as if it were growing around walls and buildings.
Download Please note that Scriptographer currently still is beta software. By downloading it from this page, you agree to these terms: The Scriptographer software is provided to you "as is", and we make no express or implied warranties whatsoever with respect to its functionality, operability, or use, including, without limitation, any implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or infringement. We expressly disclaim any liability whatsoever for any direct, indirect, consequential, incidental or special damages, including, without limitation, lost revenues, lost profits, losses resulting from business interruption or loss of data, regardless of the form of action or legal theory under which the liability may be asserted, even if advised of the possibility or likelihood of such damages. After downloading, please read the installation instructions.
RhinoVAULT Beta Funicular Form Finding The Rhinoceros ® Plug-In rhinoVAULT emerged from current research on structural form finding using the Thrust-Network-Approach to intuitively create and explore compression-only structures. Using reciprocal diagrams, it provides an intuitive, fast method, adopting the same advantages of techniques such as Graphic Statics, but offering a viable extension to fully three-dimensional problems. Grasshopper to Catia Progress Update We're continuing progress with Dassault Systèmes on implementing Catia into architectural process. Our first course of study aims at the Grasshopper/Catia workflow, and since our previous post, we've delved into Knowledgeware, the scripting platform for Catia. Our conclusion: Knowledgeware is awesome. In our previous post, we were using Power Copy to create a generative model. While this process worked, there were a lot of manual steps involved, and updating geometry involved deleting all previous geometry and then reimporting. We've had similar issues with importing geometry to other applications, but Knowledgeware fixes these issues in Catia.
Kinetic architecture (1/3) « VANGUARQ Kinetic architecture (1/3) fLUX, Binary Waves – Lab[au] Another great project by LAb[au], "fLUX binary waves" is an urban and cybernetic installation based on the measuring of infrastructural ( passengers, cars…) and communicational ( electromagnetic fields produced by mobile phones, radio…) flows and their transposition into luminous, sonic and kinetic rules.
Path Mapper Help As a result of a request please find a series of examples for using the Path Mapper component. The First installment of this is showing the Path Mapper imitating some already existing components. Flatten, Graft, Simplify and Flip Matrix.


Last week, Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.), chair of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, released a bill reauthorizing the Higher Education Act (HEA), the Promoting Real Opportunity, Success, and Prosperity Through Education Reform (PROSPER) Act. In keeping with our early assessment of the legislation, we'll be bringing you our analysis of the bill's provisions. Check out our previous posts on accountability and affordability in the bill. Our third post, below, lays out what the PROSPER Act's approach to innovation in higher education.
It's no surprise that, in the name of innovation, lots of old restrictions and rules are gone in the proposed bill. But that raises particular concerns about how these changes will distort the higher education marketplace going forward. We believe that innovation needn't be at odds with protecting students. Unfortunately, however, this bill falls into the old trap of equating innovation with giveaways to industry without any student protections.
The bill also includes a definition for competency-based education programs, and makes them fully eligible for aid -- a shift, since right now CBE programs operate within a framework designed for more traditional programs. But it may also be too much, too fast. When Reps. Polis (D-CO) and Messer (R-IN) introduced a CBE bill earlier this year, they recognized the challenge of retrofitting the statute to fit new programs, and the risk of doing so without protecting taxpayer dollars. To that end, they proposed a demonstration project to act as a laboratory for learning about how CBE programs do and could operate, how best to distribute financial aid through a non-standardized medium, and how to hold poor-performing programs accountable for their actions. It's a basic step that was taken, for instance, before expanding federal financial aid to online education programs. Moreover, the PROSPER Act would leave out certain protections from the Polis-Messer bill, like establishing a reasonable timeframe for an academic year and requiring programs to evaluate their competencies and translate them to credit hours to ensure taxpayers are getting what they pay for. While CBE has significant potential to help students complete their degrees on their own (faster or slower) schedules, opening the floodgates too quickly presents a huge risk, to students and to the field.
The bill would effectively shorten the minimum timeframe for a program from 15 weeks to 10 weeks. But unlike bipartisan bills that have pushed a similar concept, it would do so without any added limits on those programs, quality assurance measures like the completion and placement rate minimums currently in law , or guardrails to protect students -- and it would make them fully eligible both for Pell Grants and federal student loans. That's concerning, since research suggests many short-term credentials carry very little value for students. This provision will undoubtedly lead to more students taking on debt for credentials of little to no value.
Perhaps the riskiest proposal in the bill should sound familiar to followers of the 2016 Department of Education experiment known as EQUIP, which allowed institutions to partner with non-institutional providers like coding bootcamps to offer the majority (or an entire) program of study. (Current restrictions bar colleges from offering more than 50 percent of the program that way.) The PROSPER Act would permit those kinds of noninstitutional education providers--those that haven't gone through the checks that actual colleges must, like obtaining state authorization, becoming accredited, or passing financial responsibility and other tests from the Department of Education--to offer up to 100 percent of a college's program, for which the institution can receive just as much federal student aid. And there are no quality restrictions in place, save a requirement that the accreditor assure that the contract meets its standards for contracting out services. There are no standards or expectations for what the institution is responsible for when it outsources the educational delivery; no limits on federal aid; and no requirement for any serious quality review, let alone a review of the noninstitutional provider beyond what's included in the contracts.
The bill's effort to infuse a stronger workforce orientation into our higher education systems came as no surprise and is evident in multiple provisions, including proposed changes to the Pell Grant and Federal Work-Study programs. The new Title II is a discretionary, competitive grant program that would fund partnerships between employers (or their representatives) and higher education institutions to establish "earn-and-learn programs" for students. The programs would include paid, structured on-the-job training in conjunction with learning delivered by an institution of higher education, lasting as little as three months but no longer than two years.
Overall, it's great to see the House recognizing the need to support and improve programs that connect students to high-quality work experience and facilitate their transition into good jobs. The authors clearly had the costs of program development in mind: grant funding can support new curriculum designs, learning assessments such as certification exams, and student workplace supports. Sustainability and performance monitoring are also important features of the new bill. Performance metrics are drawn from the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, and include employment and earnings reporting requirements. And grant applicants would have to specify how they'd finance the program after the end of the grant period.
But the use of the term "apprenticeship" is a misnomer for the "earn learn programs" actually funded in the bill. And it appears most of the grant money is tilted toward helping the employer subsidize as much as half of the student's wage and for purchases of equipment--but it's not clear whether the funds can also cover students' tuition costs to help participating colleges. In fact, the "Expanding In-Demand Apprenticeships" program seems designed around the assumption that the best way to engage employers in building earn-learn programs is to subsidize wages. We believe there are other, more effective strategies for expanding apprenticeship opportunities within higher education. In fact, on December 6th, we'll be releasing a set of recommendations for how to do just that. These efforts can exist alongside but separate to further (and also welcome) initiatives to develop shorter-term earn-and-learn options. Stay tuned as we continue to engage policymakers on this important work.


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Q: Why we use iterator categories instead of just overloading for iterators accordingly? Consider a typical (simplified) implementation of std::advance function for iterators:
template<typename Iterator,typename Dist>
void advance(Iterator& it, Dist n)
{
    typedef std::iterator_traits<Itarator>::iterator_category c;
    advance_impl(it, n, c);
}

template<typename Iterator, typename Dist>
void advance_impl(Iterator& it, Dist n, std::random_access_iterator_tag)
{
    it += n;
}

template<typename Iterator, typename Dist>
void advance_impl(Iterator& it, Dist n, std::input_iterator_tag)
{
    while (n--)++it;
}

I know that we can write all advance_impl in one function with branching using constexpr if, but let's leave that for a moment.
Why do we use this instead of just overloading std::advance for corresponding iterators? Why do we need traits at all here?


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Resting on over a quarter of an acre, this 3 bedroom, 2 full bath ranch is located in one of Indy's most established neighborhoods! Welcoming floor plan boasts specious living with fireplace and easily flows into the dining room-perfect for family dinners and upcoming holiday parties! Open kitchen has breakfast bar, stainless appliances, unique farm sink, and ample cabinetry. Family room is filled with natural light and has second masonry fireplace. Over-sized master suite is on trend with sliding barn doors leading to bath and walk-in closet. Fully fenced, private rear yard, offers space to run and play, fire pit, plus expansive wood deck with built-in hot tub and seating. Close to schools, shopping, and restaurants. Truly A must see!
Listing courtesy of Encore Sotheby's International. Selling Office: Keller Williams Indpls Metro N.


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Advanced Technology Research Council Announces 'ASPIRE' – to Drive the Creation of Future Transformative Technologies
The newly established Advanced Technology Research Council (ATRC) has today announced its strategies to drive the creation of future transformative technologies with the launch of its dedicated technology programme management pillar, ASPIRE.
ASPIRE works in consultation with cross-sector industry stakeholders to frame problem statements that can be resolved through research and development. By defining the problem, setting milestones, and monitoring the progress of the projects, ASPIRE enables a clear path from 'lab to market.' ASPIRE will make impactful decisions associated to the selection of research partners and the allocation of funding. It will confirm that its R&D priorities align with Abu Dhabi and the UAE's broader development goals.
ASPIRE will also launch grand challenges which will bring together local and international innovators to work on important research that aims to solve the world's most pressing problems. Spearheading such competitions will strengthen Abu Dhabi and the UAE's position as an international hub for advanced technology research.
In three months since the first Advanced Technology Research Council board meeting, ASPIRE has started designing several grand challenges and international competitions in advanced technology. ASPIRE will also run the Mohamed Bin Zayed International Robotics Challenge (MBZIRC), the biennial international robotics competition which has a US$5 million prize fund. In addition, ASPIRE is set to launch a global competition in partnership with the XPRIZE Foundation. The global competition is funded by Ghadan 21, Abu Dhabi's accelerator programme, which is driving the emirate's development by investing in business, innovation and people.
Speaking about the launch of ASPIRE, His Excellency Faisal Al Bannai, Secretary-General of Advanced Technology Research Council, said: "Ideas are what power our global economies and societies. As such, we seek to make the innovation process more accessible. By managing and investing in relevant research and development projects, we have the opportunity to address some of the world's most critical challenges — empowering us to transition to a better tomorrow."
Advanced Technology Research Council was established to set the R&D priorities for Abu Dhabi. A first of its kind research and technology body in the Middle East region, the Council is mandated to guide breakthrough discovery and disruption, 'applied research' and advanced technologies with a commitment to long-term funding for greater influence and impact across the R&D ecosystem and the UAE more broadly. The Council reinforces Abu Dhabi and the UAE's status as a global hub for innovation and contributes to the development of the knowledge-based economy.


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EuroPCR 2022: Short DAPT shows benefit for high-bleeding risk patients regardless of PCI complexity
Analysis of the MASTER DAPT trial, presented as a late-breaking trial at EuroPCR 2022 (17–20 May, Paris, France), found that patients undergoing complex percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) using the Ultimaster (Terumo) biodegradable-polymer, sirolimus-eluting stent saw a lower rate of bleeding after one-month of dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT), compared to those who had aE longer course of DAPT.
The findings of the analysis were presented by Pascal Vranckx (Hasselt University, Hasselt, Belgium) and simultaneously published in the European Heart Journal.
In his presentation, Vranckx summarised the findings of MASTER DAPT, which were originally presented by Marco Valgimigli (Cardiocentro Ticino Foundation, Lugano, Switzerland) at the European Society of Cardiology's 2021 congress (ESC 2021, 27–30 August, virtual), and published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
The trial found that in high-bleeding risk patients, after intervention using the Ultimaster stent, one month of DAPT was shown to be non-inferior when compared with more than two months of DAPT for the net and major adverse clinical events, and was superior for reducing major and clinically relevant non-major bleeding.
"We all know that patients undergoing PCI with more advanced coronary artery disease will require more complex procedures and remain at increased risk of short and long-term adverse ischaemic events," commented Vranckx. "For that reason and against that background, we wanted to assess the consistency of the treatment effects of one-month of DAPT, versus more prolonged DAPT based on PCI and patient complexity."
For the analysis, high-bleeding risk patients were selected one month after the index procedure. If they were free from ischaemic and bleeding events they were allowed to enter the trial and were treated either with an abbreviated, one-month, DAPT regimen followed by single antiplatelet therapy at the discretion of the operator, versus a more prolonged, "standard" DAPT treatment, lasting at least three months after the index procedure for patients on oral anticoagulation.
Endpoints of the trial were net adverse clinical events (NACE), major adverse cardiac and cerebral events (MACCE), and major or clinically-relevant non-major bleeding events according to BARC classification.
Complex PCI was classified according to criteria including the treatment of three or more vessels, implantation of three or more stents, treatment of three or more lesions, bifurcation with two stents implanted, a total stent length of >60mm, or chronic total occlusion as target lesion. In addition, the investigators also did a sensitivity analysis on a more comprehensive complex PCI definition, including left main stenting and graft stenting.
Baseline, angiographic and procedural characteristics stratified by PCI complexity were well balanced between the two antiplatelet regimens.
Turning to the results, Vranckx detailed that the rate of NACE saw no statistical difference for both and non-complex lesions, with a similar picture for MACCE.
In terms of major or clinically-relevant non-major bleeding, he detailed that the same Kaplan Maier curves appear as were seen in the primary trial, with a difference between abbreviated versus non-abbreviated DAPT between complex and non-complex PCI arms.
"[These are] very consistent findings in this trial, reassuring and mimicking the major trial, as presented in The New England Journal of Medicine," he said.
However, the findings are couched by some limitations, including that it was an open-label study and randomisation was not stratified based on PCI complexity. He also noted the absence of a universally-accepted definition for complex PCI, and said the results may not apply to patients treated using other stent platforms.
In his concluding remarks, Vranckx told EuroPCR attendees that in patients at high-bleeding risk who had undergone implantation of the Ultimaster sirolimus-eluting stent, regardless of the PCI complexity, the discontinuation of DAPT at a median of 34 days compared with continuation of treatment for a median of 193 days was associated with similar rates of NACE and MACCE, as well as a lower rate of major or clinically-relevant non-major bleeding.
EuroPCR 2022
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Bushy Park is the second largest of the capital's eight Royal Parks.
Located near Hampton Court Palace, Bushy Park's mixture of woods, gardens, ponds and grassland makes it a fantastic place to enjoy wildlife with roaming herds of Red and Fallow Deer.
The park is also home to the famous Chestnut Avenue, a formal Baroque water garden and the beautiful Diana Fountain.


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The NHS Wales stand inspired Daniel
"The event definitely gave me the confidence boost I needed to make the decision that a career in emergency care was for me."
SkillsCymru is a series of annual events that take place in Wales and attract up to 10,000 people each year. Young people can attend the events for free and get involved with interactive features, hands-on demonstrations and challenging activities. Both young people and their families can learn about the huge range of careers, apprenticeships and training opportunities available in Wales and catch a glimpse into what their future career pathway could look like.
NHS Wales exhibit at SkillsCymru every year. Sharon Jenkins, Careers Officer for NHS Wales, explains why: "SkillsCymru is a fantastic opportunity to inform and inspire the next generation of potential employees about NHS Wales and the roles we have to offer.
"I would definitely recommend exhibiting at SkillsCymru; if you're looking for future talent and want to encourage young people to work in your organisation this is an excellent opportunity to engage with a captive audience of over 10,000 students at a pivotal time in their career journey."
Daniel Roberts visited the NHS Wales stand at SkillsCymru and he's completely changed his career path, Daniel had always wanted to work with the ambulance service but wasn't too sure how to get his foot in the door. As a result of his visit to the event and speaking face-to-face with the staff on the stand, he's now training to become an Emergency Medical Dispatcher for the Welsh Ambulance Service NHS Trust.
Daniel said: "I would definitely recommend visiting SkillsCymru, especially if you aren't sure what career you want. The event definitely gave me that confidence boost that I needed to make the decision that a career in emergency care was for me."
Download Daniel's story here.
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On this day of Baisakhi i bring you this typical punjabi recipe from the land of Punjab. Actually i got this recipe from a dear friend of mine Shobha Keshwani`s blog. I took a look at it and wanted to make it a little differently… So thanks to Shobha , who is a dear dear friend of mine ( we yet have to meet and give each other a hug) i just tweaked her recipe a teeny weeny bit and made it a little more "internationally". For her PINDI CHOLA RECIPE click HERE. I served them with a whole wheat baked kulcha which i will also share the recipe.
Grind the onions, ginger and garlic to a paste in a blender ( i used my bullet). Heat the oil/ghee in a pan and add the paste. Cook it over medium heat till it starts to stick…once it sticks to the bottom add a bit of water and continue to cook it till its slightly browned and the raw smell has gone. This is an important step…Try to use a good nonstick pan for this. While onion paste is browning grind the whole spices to a powder ( i used the spice jar for my bullet to do this). Once the paste is done, add the powdered spices, salt and red chilli powder. Then add the boiled chickpeas/chola/garbanzos and mix well. Lastly add the lemon juice to taste. Goes well with puris, naans or kuchas. I made a kulcha out of whole wheat flour and sharing the recipe below. Serve with onion rings, chopped coriander leaves and green chillies.
Mix the yogurt and the soda bicarb and leave it for a few minutes. You will see bubbles, then add the oil, salt and the water. Mix well. Add enough whole wheat flour so you can make a dough out of it. Add the flour you need spoon by spoon till you get a soft dough. Put it in a covered container and keep in a warm place for about 3-4 hours. After that time, just knead it again, Make into balls. Roll out into rounds not too thin and bake in a hot tawa (iron gridle or pan) till slightly browned on both sides. Serve with your chickpeas. These kulchas can also be frozen.
NITU DIDI TIP: For Jains, please omit the onion paste and just proceed.
This entry was posted in Breakfast, Everything Vegetarian, Floury Matter, Fusion, Gluten Free, Healthy Options, Indian Restaurant Dishes, Jain recipes, Lentils, Low Cost, Magic Bullet, Nitu´s Spicy Delights, Quick Recipes, Veg Starters, Vegan and tagged bullet, chickpeas, chola, chole, garbanzos, healthy, kulchas, punjab, spicy, Vegan, vegetarian. Bookmark the permalink.


Highlights of the Foundation's Work in 2016.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation will host the top four teams from a case competition involving MBA students from colleges around the country.
U.S. businesses are very much involved in philanthropy, which is why America is the most generous and philanthropic country on the globe.
American organizations play a huge role in global development. Find out just how critical they are here.
How can data and innovation help us tackle some of society's toughest challenges?


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Why Hours Played Is Virtually Meaningless
A prevalent ideology in gaming suggests that everyone — whether you're a drooling gamer like my friend down the road or a fart-sniffing critic like myself — should keep up with how many hours they spend playing a game. Similar to open-world ideology and consumer-review ideology, this perspective is deceptive and should be ignored. There are several reasons why.
1. Hours played has nothing to do with a game's overall quality.
Theoretically, you can enjoy playing a mediocre game for more than 100 hours. I did this with Street Fighter V, the weakest game in that series since the arcade original. The reason I spent so much time with Street Fighter V is that I am a very competitive person who has played every Street Fighter sequel. Similarly, most gamers can name an average or below-average game that they have played with friends for numerous hours. From such observations, we can arrive at another critical truth: enjoyment alone has nothing to do with a game's overall quality.
2. Hours played often has little to do with whether we love or hate a game in general.
Let's get one thing out of the way: in many cases, you must spend at least several hours with a game to give it a fair shot. This reminds me of my experience with Arkham Asylum more than a decade ago. I remember playing the first hour of Arkham Asylum at a friend's, and I could not help but wonder why my friend thought the game was special. The opening was a bit tedious, and the mechanics seemed superficial when I was finally able to engage with them. A year or so later after this first impression, I ended up buying Arkham Asylum. After putting just a little more time into the game, I was able to understand my friend's adoration (not that understanding someone else's adoration is the point).
Once you grasp what a game is going for, though, you're not going to change your mind about it with more hours played. To give a different example, I was annoyed by Persona 5's approach to tutorialization and storytelling for the first 12 hours that I played it. After 70 hours, my opinions only became more crystallized. Why? Games are like pop song choruses. They tend to repeat themselves. As such, just as you won't come to praise what you find to be a crappy pop song after hearing it 100 times, you're not going to magically fall in love with a game after playing it for 100 hours. You might become more skilled after 100 hours, but you can be good at a game that you think is substantially flawed. It happens all the time.
3. Hours played often has little to do with finishing a game.
First we have to know what we mean with "finishing a game." If we define it in the simplest way (i.e., if "finishing a game" means to view some version of closing credits), hours played before we finish a game can vary for multiple reasons. Existing skill and the time it takes to improve skill are obvious factors and can lead to fewer or more hours. Another variable is whether the gamer in question is a curious cat. Does this person like to meander about in virtual environments? Does this person, before finishing a story, like to screw around and find different tricks or glitches to "break" the game? Does this person always press any button they can to skip story-focused segments? Does this person get distracted by sidequests? We could ask such questions for a long time.
Others might define "finishing a game" as beating a final boss AND uncovering what they consider significant secrets or parts of a game. My personal interpretation of "finishing a game" is more straightforward: to me, you're finished when you're ready to move on from the game for whatever reason. Perhaps you're not good at the game and wish to quit, perhaps you're good at the game but find it uninspired and stupid, perhaps you'd like to keep playing the game but don't have the time, or perhaps you've beaten the game 10 times in a row and want to experience something else. In any case, hours played doesn't tell us why or if someone is finished with a game in the overwhelming majority of cases (exceptions include so-called narrative-focused games that require little, if any, skill to see the finale of the story).
4. Assuming that "finishing a game" means to see closing credits, this also frequently says nothing about whether or why we like the game in question.
The first time I played Castlevania was before the age of 10. Even though I found the game very interesting and was able to view the closing credits of other infamously difficult NES games of the era (such as Contra and Ninja Gaiden), I thought I would never get past the Grim Reaper boss on the fifth stage. It basically took me more than a decade of trying (with extremely long breaks, of course) to kill the cheap bastard and go on to conquer the rest of the game with no trouble.
I couldn't begin to determine the number of hours I put into Castlevania before I "finished it" (I still play it to this day). Like I said in the title, hours played is virtually meaningless. Meaning is found in feelings: I thought Castlevania was a good game the entire time, and "finishing" it didn't make it lesser or greater. It was always fucking Castlevania.
Like it or not, most video games are like Castlevania (exceptions include works that invite full readings without much skill, such as Off-Peak, Actual Sunlight, or Proteus). You know what you're getting after several hours of observing the same kind of stuff. It's as simple as that. (What's more, the suggestion that games should only or primarily be played to be "finished" doesn't make sense. Why would you want to spend hours and hours just for the closing credits of something you hate for 10 different reasons?)
Granted, if you want to talk specifically about the ending of a game, or its final level, or its climactic boss fight, and so on, yes, you should have seen the final credits or at least gotten close enough to them in order to make particular claims about any of these things. If I had reviewed the original Castlevania before beating Dracula, I could have reasonably called it a very good game, but I couldn't have said, for instance, that Dracula is a great boss fight.
The truth is almost nobody seems to care if you've not beaten a game yet and you love it. But if you despise the game and haven't beaten it, you're tantamount to a corrupt dictator. My stance is that, unless you're talking about specific things that occur at the end of a game, seeing the closing credits isn't relevant to what you think about a game's pop song chorus, if you will. And let's not forget, too, that many of the greatest video games will likely never be beaten by anyone reading this: BurgerTime, Galaga, Xevious, Ms. Pac-Man, and on and on we could go. Gamers have a rich history of not beating games, only to hold and share passionate opinions about their qualities. It's a tradition that I find instructive and significant from a critical standpoint, within reason.
Posted in Uncategorized on April 3, 2019 by Jed Pressgrove. 5 Comments
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I don't understand your first and second point. Is anyone talking about hours spent on a game for enjoyment? Unless someone thinks you rushed a game I don't hear this point brought up frequently elsewhere.
Your logic with 3 kind of reminds me of film critic Mike D'Angelo, deciding that during film festivals he'll only give unknown film makers 30 minutes of his time and if he doesn't think there will be much to it, he leaves. Granted he only does it with unknown film makers and always stay for one's he respects.
I'm honestly fine for people to review games and not finish them beforehand, but your wording for your third points are honestly hilariously pretentious. Paraphrasing, part of "finishing" a game for you, I imagine would be to fully understand what the artists were going for in a game. So do you not ever go back to a game and have your mind changed? I assume not since you brought up the Arkham example. Did you finish that game and then unfinished it, or did you just never "start" that game?
"And let's not forget, too, that many of the greatest video games will likely never be beaten by anyone reading this: BurgerTime, Galaga, Xevious, Ms. Pac-Man, and on and on we could go."
You love bringing this up and using it as a shield don't you? Granted I hear this conversation all the time with film with Griffith, Eisenstein, Lang, Lubitsch. Although with film I feel like it's easier to trace lineage and influences.
Mitch North says:
I don't totally agree but it's a valid opinion. I've been following the Sekiro fallout and my belief is that if you're able to play for a decent period of time, and can communicate your thoughts well, then your view is as valid as anybody who's finished a game.
Obviously that doesn't mean giving up after 20 minutes but it does mean that a few hours is often enough to 'get it' (maybe something like 25% of the game's play-time). I think how your argument is framed in your review/essay/article will illustrate its depth. For me an interesting point made from 5 minutes of gameplay is better than a 'perfect' opinion formed after 50.
The reason I don't totally agree is that sometimes games do open up over time. I can give two recent examples: Mario Odyssey, which improves after the main story is done, and Nier: Automata, which breaks free from its shackles on Route C. There's nuances because it works in some cases, whereas in others it's poor design (Persona 5 being a good example).
Beyond that, games people play for a long time frequently create a type of 'stockholm syndrome'. The more somebody plays, the more likely they might choose to overlook its flaws because they're committed to being good at it. That creates bias and that's not the mark of a good critic. Further, Nick Yee's research on MMORPGs illustrates that' burn out' can also impact feeling if a game is played for too long (or the Dota 2 effect).
More personally, I had the situation happen to me recently with Octopath Traveller. I considered the game 'finished' after 15 hours of playtime because it seemed quite clear that it wasn't going to rapidly change what it was doing. Why persist? Nobody on any forums I visited suggested anything to the contrary.
Soba Mask says:
So, with this long apologie, you just gave the reason to people who criticize you about Sekiro's review.
Sorry, there is no other way to see it. You could post this a month before and maybe you could be right, but at this moment, you are just mad because people is right about you as critic.
There is no point here, just mere apologies about a review that has zero value, and not because people, is only because of you.
Princess Rescuer says:
This. So much. Many of my favorite games are very short or at least offer short play sessions. Replay value outdoes padding every time. A game that's too short can easily be replayed and come back to. A game that overstays its welcome will almost certainly lose interest.
AResoundingYeesh says:
"But if you despise the game and haven't beaten it, you're tantamount to a corrupt dictator. My stance is that, unless you're talking about specific things that occur at the end of a game, seeing the closing credits isn't relevant to what you think about a game's pop song chorus, if you will."
Absolutely. If you play the first hour or so of a game and you don't already have a pretty good idea of what the rest of the game looks like, it probably wasn't designed very well. Art can do weird things sometimes, which is perfectly acceptable, but the most quality of it usually attempts to be consistent in its delivery from start to finish. Even a story with a fantastic twist that you have to experience to understand is generally going to have the same beats in the last 10 minutes that it had in the first 10 if put together by a skilled practitioner.
Though there are certainly cases in creative works where something gets notably better further in, that's not a defense of the material, so much as it is something people can sometimes find worth communicating to each other, if they think that someone will enjoy something more if they "stick it out" and don't want them to miss out because of some struggles earlier on in a piece of work. In other words, if you need to get to the end to "get it," that says something about the piece of art, not about you. It is the job of the artist to convince you to come along for the entire ride, not the job of fans who have already finished.
For example, I love the game KOTOR, but I know someone who tried it and never really "got it." It would be silly for me to argue that they should have pushed through because the experience is "worth it." How am I to know that it would be for them? The beats (story and gameplay) in the beginning of the game are, in my assessment, strong beats that are consistent with the beats in the middle and at the end. If someone does not jive with those beats at the beginning and has compelling reasons pertaining to their preferences that explain why those beats don't work for them, I don't see any reason to believe they are going to grow to love them with more time invested and if their arguments are compelling, I would consider their criticism to be a valid perspective on the game.


Retirement and retirement planning have a very different look today, with new rules, new strategies, and often, modified expectations. According to a recent Gallup survey, most Americans now believe they will be able to retire at age 67. This is up from 66 last year, 63 ten years ago, and age 60 in the 1990's. For many, the ideal of relying on Social Security and pensions, and filling days with golf, tennis, grandchildren and travel seems a bit removed from this new reality; both retirees and those planning to retire face serious challenges and some difficult questions. When should I take Social Security? Will I be able to live comfortably if I defer benefits? Should I plan to work in retirement, and if so, how will my income affect Social Security and taxes? Do I have a realistic written income and investment plan? How much can I spend from my investment portfolio without fear of running short? These are issues that pre and post retirees are grappling with as they come to terms with retirement in the 21st century.
As we reevaluate our assumptions for retirement income, consider the following. We are living longer. Savings returns are at historic lows. Many 401(k) and retirement accounts have not yet recovered from the last recession. Understanding and structuring Social Security benefits still remains a key element of retirement planning. First, there are important timing issues to consider. While most retirees still take Social Security as soon as they are eligible, taking early benefits may no longer be the best option. Don't view Social Security in isolation; consider it in light of all of your income sources. This will help you make an informed decision about when to apply. Individual and family circumstances should be part of the equation as well. Look at current and future cash needs, health, family longevity, your ability to work in retirement, other income sources, and providing income for a surviving spouse. Your first step, if you are approaching retirement, should be to contact the Social Security administration and check your employment record. Be sure there are no working years that have been skipped or misreported, and review your and your spouse's benefits at various ages.
If you were born in 1942, your full retirement age, (when you would receive 100% of your benefit), is 65 and 10 months. If you start taking benefits at age 62, you will get 75.8% of the monthly amount you would have received at full retirement age (but you will receive benefits for an additional 46 months.) If you defer to age 64 and 2 months you'll receive 88.9% of the full monthly benefit. As a spouse, if you defer benefits until your full retirement age, you will get at least 50% of the monthly benefit your spouse receives at full retirement age. At age 62, you would only get 35.4% of that monthly benefit.
Want to work or need to work?
Volunteering and community work have always been a part of retirement. Now, for many, earning income may have to take precedence. This can mean a simple part-time job, starting a small business, or even embarking upon a second career. There are other benefits too, in addition to the financial considerations. We know that work can bring needed direction and purpose to our lives, and it can often help give shape and order to a retirement lifestyle. The numbers are clear, though; according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, one in five workers aged 50 and older has a retirement job today, and more than 75% of workers aged 50 and older expect to have some type of job after retirement.
At full retirement age you can earn as much as you want and still receive your full Social Security. However, if you are working, collecting Social Security, and have not reached full retirement age, the situation changes. Once your earnings exceed a certain dollar amount ($14,640 in 2012) the Social Security administration will deduct $1 from your benefits for every $2 you earn over the threshold. These benefits are not truly lost, though. Once you reach full retirement age the Social Security Administration will recalculate your benefit amount to make up for amounts withheld due to earnings. Since many people retire mid-year there is a special rule that applies to earnings for a single year, usually the first year of retirement. Under this rule, you receive a full Social Security check for any whole month you are retired, regardless of your earnings.
Calculating how much you may safely withdraw from savings and investments to supplement Social Security and pensions remains one of the most vexing concerns for retirees. We'll explore in future articles how a written investment and income plan that takes into consideration longevity, tolerance for risk and your individual circumstance can make the decision-making process easier and more reliable.
With proper financial planning, retirement years can remain golden years. You may just have to work a little to make it happen.


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Six lessons from the ASEAN EV and Hybrid Summit
Witnessing the electric revolution of the car
AutoIndustriya.com July 06, 2017 14:39
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'Why reinvent the wheel?'
For over a century, we've become all too familiar with the internal combustion engine. Load up gas, drive away and repeat when running on fumes. However, with more stringent emissions and concerns about air quality, manufacturers are forced to find other ways to keep us mobile. After all, there's only so much oil in the world and it is a finite resource that can't power us forever.
This brings me neatly to the recently concluded 1st ASEAN EV and Hybrid Summit. During the Summit, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Toyota, and Lexus showed off a couple of their hybrids and EVs, as well as other companies presenting their solutions. Needless to say, we are at a crossroads in motoring.
Touring around the show floor, I saw various applications of electric propulsion, as well as different kinds of hybrids from standard models to plug-in versions. The ideas are ingenious, which stretch the limitations of the good old internal combustion engine. The question is, 'what's holding us back?'
It starts with support
During the summit, two words were being thrown around rather frequently: government support. Unlike the West, some countries in the ASEAN region haven't quite warmed up to the idea of hybrids and EVs. In the local setting at least, these types of vehicles are seen more as a novelty, rather than a transport solution. Heck, the LTO couldn't even register a Tesla as there is no engine number.
At least there are steps to move forward towards alternative power. CAMPI (The Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines, Inc.), reiterated the importance of Hybrids and EVs. During the pre-event press conference, Rommel Gutierrez, president of CAMPI said, "I think we need support or incentives to bring in the technology. We will be pushing for incentives in Congress and Senate. It's not a direct fund from the government, but something that will encourage manufacturers to bring in the technology".
At least we're beginning to see some progress in terms of hybrids and EVs. The Department of Energy (DOE) said they are exploring the 'possibility of integrating electric vehicle charging areas in gasoline stations.' while CAMPI is seeking exemptions for the said vehicles.
Logical step forward
Yutuka Sanada, Nissan's regional senior vice-president and head of operations committee for Asia & Oceania, also made interesting points. He said that we are at a point where the cost of making long-lasting batteries is going down while the cost of making internal combustion run cleaner is on the rise. For him and Nissan, going electric isn't just an eco-friendly solution, it's the logical way to go.
There is a big challenge shifting to EVs as it means a major infrastructure overhaul throughout the nation. Having accessible charging points is a challenge, especially in less developed provinces. Again, it all boils down to government support and their commitment to make the country go green. Of course, the manufacturers present during the Summit also showed EVs that don't need to rely on a plug to get going — such as recharging from solar panels or hot-swappable batteries.
Hybrids: the stepping stone of EVs
Perhaps hybrids can be best described as a transition for electric vehicles since it still comes with an engine. Since going into mass consumption back in 1997, hybrids have evolved with greater electric-only range, as well as plug-in models which rely less on regenerative braking to recharge the batteries.
In the Summit were the Lexus NX200h, Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV, and Toyota Prius PHEV. Each of the cars displayed represented the different applications of hybrid powertrains. Plug-ins and traditional hybrids have the same purpose in mind: to boost economy and efficiency of internal combustion engines through electric power.
A pragmatic solution according to Nissan
Also in the Summit was the Nissan Note e-Power which Nissan vehemently says isn't a hybrid. To some degree, I agree. While it still has a gas engine, it is there merely to serve as a generator for the electric drive system. There is no engine assistance when on the move as the Note e-Power solely relies on the electric motors to drive the car.
Think about it: You won't have to fear losing power since you don't have to plug it in and the engine will only kick in if the battery is low on charge. That means you run on zero emissions most of the time and fill ups will be a rare occurrence. With little infrastructure to support full EVs in ASEAN, it's an ingenious solution to range anxiety.
Constant evolution
There is only so much you can do with the traditional gas and diesel powertrains. As pointed out above, it will be more difficult to keep these engines clean as emission regulations get tighter. Whether we like it or not, traditional engines may eventually fall out of favor. We have to accept the electric revolution for us to continue experiencing the joys, and conveniences, of personal mobility.
While not in our lifetimes, oil will run out, but with the small yet substantial collection of cars presented during the Summit, the future is happening now and it looks bright. All we need now is a gentle push to get the ball rolling in our country.
Tech to the Rescue: Apps that prevent distracted driving
The Anti-Distracted Driving Act will take effect soon, here are some apps that can limit distractions from your mobile device.
Eric Tipan 2017-07-04 14:52:01
Last hurrah: Driving Cagayan with the Isuzu Crosswind
After sixteen years of service, Isuzu Philippines bids farewell to the Crosswind with one last drive to northern Luzon
2017-06-29 12:48:06 Marcus De Guzman