text:
It's official: Amazon is coming to Australia
The retail giant and instant gratification powerhouse has confirmed it will be launching down under. Gird your wallets.
Claire Reilly
April 19, 2017 7:43 p.m. PT
Claire Reilly Principal Video Producer
Claire Reilly is a video host, journalist and producer covering all things space, futurism, science and culture. Whether she's covering breaking news, explaining complex science topics or exploring the weirder sides of tech culture, Claire gets to the heart of why technology matters to everyone. She's a regular commentator on broadcast news and in her spare time, she's a cabaret enthusiast, Simpsons aficionado and closet country music lover. She originally hails from Sydney but now calls San Francisco home.
Expertise Space, Futurism, Science and Sci-Tech, Robotics, Tech Culture Credentials Webby Award Winner (Best Video Host, 2021), Webby Nominee (Podcasts, 2021), Gold Telly (Documentary Series, 2021), Silver Telly (Video Writing, 2021), W3 Award (Best Host, 2020), Australian IT Journalism Awards (Best Journalist, Best News Journalist 2017)
Alexa, is Amazon coming to Australia?
You'd better believe it.
The global retail giant has confirmed it will be making its way to Australian shores, making good on months of speculation and and hot takes from Australian media outlets.
And because one of the world's biggest companies likes to keep things low-key (despite CEO Jeff Bezos' recent attempts to dress like a giant robot), Amazon isn't giving us much to go off. The company has confirmed that it is in the planning stage, but that's about it.
"Amazon Web Services launched an Australian region in 2012, we launched a Kindle Store on Amazon.com.au in 2013, and we now have almost 1,000 employees in the country," the company said in a statement. "The next step is to bring a retail offering to Australia, and we are making those plans now."
Amazon isn't a total newcomer to the Aussie market, with the Kindle, Amazon Web Services cloud hosting and Audible e-book brands well-established on local shores. But there's no doubt Amazon has been getting busier Down Under.
The company started competing with streaming services Netflix and Stan with the recent Australian launch of Amazon Prime Video, bringing Top Gear redux "The Grand Tour" to Aussie fans. The company has also been on a hiring spree in recent months, looking to fill more than 100 jobs -- including in its grocery delivery division, Amazon Fresh.
But it's still not clear what Amazon's local presence will look like in a year's time.
One of the big questions is whether Australia will get the Amazon Echo from launch. The smart speaker -- known for its Siri-like voice command feature, Alexa -- can be used to set timers, convert measurements and answer trivia questions.
More on the Amazon Echo and Alexa
CNET's Amazon Echo Review
What can Amazon Echo and Alexa do?
The complete list of Alexa commands
But Alexa also relies on a bunch of other services, including Amazon tie-ins, to work at its best. In fact, the full list of Alexa commands is giddying.
You can ask Alexa to order items from Amazon's online store or play tunes from Amazon Music -- features that require those Amazon services to actually be established in Australia.
In the US, Amazon has also partnered with companies like Uber and Domino's to allow you to order rides and pizza using Alexa. It also pairs with many Internet of Things devices (the collective name for connected devices that talk to each other) that aren't available locally.
No doubt, Amazon will be spending the coming months setting up those kinds of partnerships in Australia so local Echo owners can eventually get those features out here too.
The Amazon Echo speaker uses Amazon's smart assistant, Alexa.
James Martin/CNET
That expansion is set to continue, with the company talking up its investment in the Australian market.
"We are excited to bring thousands of new jobs to Australia, millions of dollars in additional investment, and to empower small Australian businesses through Amazon Marketplace," the statement continued. "We are optimistic that by focusing on the things we believe customers value most -- low prices, vast selection, and fast delivery -- over time we'll earn the business of Australian customers."
There's no word yet on what a local Amazon will mean for Australian shoppers, and whether Amazon's complete offering (including services Amazon Prime, with its sweet perks like two-day shipping) will launch on Aussie shores.
But one thing is for sure -- Aussie retailers are on notice.
Does the Mac still matter? Apple execs tell why the MacBook Pro was over four years in the making, and why we should care.
Tech Enabled: CNET chronicles tech's role in providing new kinds of accessibility.


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text:
\section{Statement of the results}

We use the notation $U(n,x)$ for parabolic cylinder functions, solutions of the differential equation $y''(x)-(x^2 /4+n) y(x)=0$,
using the notation of \cite{Temme:2010:PCF}.

In \cite{Koch:2020:UBA} the following bounds for parabolic cylinder functions
are obtained (Proposition 3.3), which are presented as new, and which are
also stated in terms of Hermite functions in Corollary 3.2:
$$
1<\Frac{D_{\nu-1}(x)^2}{D_\nu (x) D_{\nu -2}(x)}<\Frac{\nu-1}{\nu},\,\nu<0,\,x\in {\mathbb R},
$$

\vspace*{0.3cm}

\footnoterule
The author acknowledges support from Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovaci\'on, project PGC2018-098279-B-I00
(MCIU/AEI/FEDER, UE).

\newpage
where $D_{\nu}(x)=U(-\nu-1/2,x)$. This is the same as saying that

\begin{equation}
\label{eso}
1<F_n(x)=\Frac{U(n,x)^2}{U(n-1,x)U(n+1,x)}<\Frac{n+1/2}{n-1/2},\,n>1/2,\,x\in {\mathbb R}.
\end{equation}

These inequalities are rediscovered in \cite{Koch:2020:UBA} as a consequence of the
monotonicity of $F_n(x)$, which is the new result in that paper. However the inequalities (\ref{eso}) were already
proved in \cite{Segura:2012:OBF}, Theorem 11. In this same theorem of \cite{Segura:2012:OBF}
an error was made in a different inequality when declaring its range if validity, but this
erratum does not affect the proof of statement (\ref{eso}). Surprisingly, the fact
that the inequalities (\ref{eso}) were already proved
in \cite{Segura:2012:OBF} was not acknowledged in \cite{Koch:2020:UBA} while
the erratum in the same theorem of \cite{Segura:2012:OBF} was analyzed in detail,
even providing graphical information.

We repair the error in Theorem 11 of \cite{Segura:2012:OBF} as follows (but the results on the `universal bounds' are kept intact and its proof remains the same). For convenience we denote
$$g_{\alpha,\beta}(x)=\Frac{x+\sqrt{4(n-\alpha)+x^2}}{x+\sqrt{4(n-\beta)+x^2}},$$
then:
\begin{theorem}
\label{principal}
Let $F_n(x)=\Frac{U(n,x)^2}{U(n-1,x)U(n+1,x)}$ then the following holds for all real $x$ and for $n>1/2$,
 except for the first inequality which only holds for $n>3/2$:
$$
\Frac{n-3/2}{n+1/2}g_{-\frac12,\frac32}(x)<
\Frac{n-1/2}{n+1/2}F_n(x)<1<F_n(x)<g_{-\frac32,\frac12}(x)
$$
\end{theorem}

\begin{remark}
Because the function $g_{-\frac32,\frac12}(x)$ is monotonically decreasing in ${\mathbb R}$ we have
that $F_n(x)<g_{-\frac32,\frac12}(x_0)$ if $x>x_0$ and, in particular
$$F_n(x)<\displaystyle\sqrt{\Frac{n+\frac32}{n-\frac12}},\, x>0.$$

This inequality appeared in Theorem 11 of \cite{Segura:2012:OBF} as being valid for all $x$, when
it must be restricted to $x>0$. This is the error discussed in \cite{Koch:2020:UBA}.
However, the so-called `universal bounds' (\ref{eso}) remain intact for $n>1/2$ and all real $x$.
\end{remark}

\begin{remark}
The first inequality in Theorem 11 of \cite{Segura:2012:OBF} is weaker that $F_n(x)>1$, $n>1/2$, and so it must be
 omitted. Instead we include a new inequality
(which is sharper for $x<0$ than for $x>0$).
\end{remark}

\section{Detailed proof of the theorem}

Having clarified which was the erratum analyzed in detail in \cite{Koch:2020:UBA}, all that remains, for completeness,
is to recall the proof of the theorem. We provide few more details than
in \cite{Segura:2012:OBF} in order to
settle the issue completely. We stress again that the `universal bounds'
and the proof for these results remains the same.

The starting point are the following two results, which are proven in \cite{Segura:2012:OBF} (Theorems 9 and 10) using properties of
the Riccati equations satisfied by the ratios of parabolic cylinder functions, supplemented with the use of the three term
recurrence relation. In the following, we denote
$$
h_n(x)=\Frac{U(n,x)}{U(n-1,x)}.
$$

\begin{theorem}
\label{bo1}
For $n>1/2$ and $x>0$ the following holds
$$
\Frac{2}{x+\sqrt{4n+2+x^2}}<h_n(x)<\Frac{2}{x+\sqrt{4n-2+x^2}}.
$$
\end{theorem}

The upper bound is one of the characteristic roots of the Riccati equation satisfied by the ratio $h_n(x)$ while the lower
bound is obtained from the upper bound and applying the backward recurrence relation $h_n(x)=(x+(n+1/2)h_{n+1}(x))^{-1}$: using
the upper bound we have that $h_n(x)^{-1}=x+(n+1/2)h_{n+1}(x)<(x+\sqrt{4n+2+x^2})/2$ if $n>-1/2$ (notice that the upper bound
of Thm. \ref{bo1} is valid for $n>1/2$ but that we have the shift $n\rightarrow n+1$). Therefore, if $h_n(x)>0$ (which holds for all $x$ if $n>1/2$ but also for $n\in (-1/2,1/2]$ if $x>0$) we obtain the lower bound.

\begin{remark}
A simple analysis of the Riccati equation suffices to check that $h_n(x)>0$ for all $x$ if $n>1/2$, but also for $n\in(-1/2,1/2]$ when
 $x>0$. Therefore, as mentioned, the first inequality in Theorem \ref{bo1} also holds for $n>-1/2$ when $x>0$, and it turns to an equality when
$n=-1/2$.
\end{remark}

\begin{theorem}
\label{bo2}
For $n>3/2$ and $x>0$ the following holds
$$
\Frac{x+\sqrt{4n-6+x^2}}{2n-1}<h_n(-x)<\Frac{x+\sqrt{4n-2+x^2}}{2n-1}.
$$
The upper bound also holds for $n\in (1/2,3/2]$.
\end{theorem}

Again, the upper bound is obtained from the analysis of the Riccati equation and the lower bound is obtained from
 the recurrence relation, but now applied in the forward direction, that is: $h_n(x)=(-x+h_{n-1}(x)^{-1})/(n-1/2)$
 (which explains why the lower bound has a smaller
range of validity).

As explained in Remark 4 of \cite{Segura:2012:OBF}, in fact, the previous two
 theorems hold for all real $x$. Indeed, we observe that if in the upper bound of Theorem \ref{bo2} we replace $x$ by $-x$ we obtain the
 expression of the upper bound of Theorem \ref{bo1}; this means that the upper bound of Theorem \ref{bo1} holds for all real $x$.
Then, applying the recurrence relation the lower bound of Theorem \ref{bo1} also holds for all real $x$ and $n>1/2$.
Similarly for the lower bound obtained in Theorem \ref{bo2} by applying forward recurrence.
Therefore, we can write the following:

\begin{theorem}
\label{prev}
For all real $x$ the following holds:
\begin{enumerate}
\item{}$
h_n(x)<\Frac{2}{x+\sqrt{4n-2+x^2}},\,n>\frac12
$
\item{}$
h_n(x)>\Frac{2}{x+\sqrt{4n+2+x^2}},\,n>\frac12 \mbox{ (also true for $n>-1/2$ when $x>0$)}
$
\item{}$
h_n(x)>\Frac{n-3/2}{n-1/2}\Frac{2}{x+\sqrt{4n-6+x^2}},\,n>\frac32
$
\end{enumerate}
\end{theorem}

Note that the last inequality in this theorem is the lower bound in Thm. \ref{bo2} but with $x$ replaced by $-x$.

From this last theorem, Theorem \ref{principal} follows using that $F_n(x)=h_{n}(x)/h_{n+1}(x)$:

\begin{enumerate}[label=(\alph*)]
\item{}Considering (1) of Theorem \ref{prev} and (2) but with $n$ replaced by $n+1$ we have $F_n(x)<g_{-\frac32,\frac12}(x)$.
\item{}Using (1) with $n$ replaced by $n+1$ and (2) we have $F_n(x)>1$, and this
also holds for $n\in (-1/2,1/2]$ when $x>0$.
\item{}Considering (1) and (3) but with $n$ replaced by $n+1$ we have $F_n(x)<(n-1/2)/(n+1/2)$.
\item{}Using (1) with $n$ replaced by $n+1$ and (3) we have $F_n(x)>\Frac{n-3/2}{n-1/2}g_{-\frac12,\frac32}(x)$.
\end{enumerate}

We notice that the function $F_n(x)$ has a shape similar to the functions $g_{\alpha,\beta}(x)$, $\alpha<\beta$ and that the selection
$\alpha=-1/2$, $\beta=1/2$ gives the exact limit values as $x\rightarrow \pm \infty$. We propose the following conjecture

\begin{conjecture}
$F_n(x)<g_{-\frac12,\frac12}(x)$ for all real $x$ and $n>1/2$.
\end{conjecture}

\begin{remark}
Numerical evidence suggests that this is indeed an upper bound. If so, the bound $g_{-\frac12,\frac12}(x)$ would be
 the best possible upper bound of the form $g_{\alpha,\beta}(x)$, because the limits as $x\rightarrow \pm \infty$ are the exact values
of $F_n(\pm \infty)$. The bound is also sharp as $n\rightarrow +\infty$.
\end{remark}

\bibliographystyle{amsplain}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaArXiv


Coeur De Lion Geocube Multicolour Necklace 4409101500, Minimalist design maximum joy. Timelessly beautiful necklace designed by Carola Eckrodt. Hand-finished from shimmering rhinestone rondelles with Swarovski crystals in combination with real stainless steel 316L, polaris and delicate glass cylinders. The fastener is made from hard-wearing stainless steel 316L.


text:
How the media covered DJ Henry's death
Colby Payne, Contributing Writer
On the fateful night of Oct. 17, 2010, there were no media members to be found on 1006 Broadway street when DJ Henry and his friends were leaving the Finnegan's grill restaurant. Nor should there have been, it was just an ordinary Sunday night… until it wasn't.
When Aaron Hess stood in front of DJ Henry's car that night firing bullets into the windshield, the evening turned to tragedy. Before anyone could report on the shooting, before anyone even knew they would have to report on the shooting, a witness of the brutality pulled out their flip phone and began filming the scene.
The video recorder gathered footage of the events transpiring as Aaron Hess was attended to by paramedics for a hurt knee while DJ Henry was handcuffed face down, bleeding out as police officers scurried away anyone who tried to help.
The police attempted to say that DJ Henry was trying to run over Aaron Hess, they tried to say that the police on the scene didn't stall on getting him immediate medical help or threaten anyone who attempted to help Henry. Luckily, there was a flip phone recording the police, luckily the media didn't fall for the police's cover-up.
Immediately the media reports on the case were rightfully suspicious of what the police were telling the public. Everything the police came out with seemed to contradict with witness reports and the media broadcasted that suspicion to the public.
Media outlets such as The New York Post, CBS Boston and even The San Diego Union-Tribune were all immediately sympathetic to the DJ Henry case, barely reporting on the lies spewed at the press release done by the Mount Pleasant Police.
Despite all of this, DJ Henry was not given justice. Aaron Hess was not indicted by a Westchester grand jury. In fact, the ignorance of Hess and the police department behind him continued. Aaron Hess was awarded officer of the year in 2011 by the Police Benevolent Association of the Pleasantville Police Department, they followed that by suing Briarcliff Wines & Liquors claiming that the store is responsible for DJ Henry being drunk. However, Henry's case was unrelated to his BAC at that time.
As years pasts, DJ Henry's case, like so many others before and after him faded back into obscurity in most of the country, without the justice he deserved.
The Henry's continued their fight for their son, their brother, their Danroy Henry. In 2016, they received a $6 million settlement in their wrongful death lawsuit against Pleasantville and Aaron Hess. In 2017 they settled their lawsuit against Mount Pleasant and received an undisclosed amount of money, a large donation to the DJ Henry Dream Fund, and a public apology for what had transpired seven years prior.
Then in 2018 DJ Henry's name was brought back to national attention when CBS aired an hour-long special titled "Defending DJ." The special raised questions about the case for many around the country.
Why were the police so reckless that night? Why did Aaron Hess fire into DJ Henry's car? Why did the police try to sweep it under the rug? Why was Aaron Hess not found guilty? The questions continued the next year when the NFL Players Coalition would release a public service announcement focusing on the DJ Henry case.
In June of 2020, amidst the social uprising following the death of George Floyd, DJ Henry's case would be brought back to attention. A petition was started to reopen the case, and the media began to go back in time to that fateful night in 2010. In July, a group of celebrities including Jay-Z and Rihanna penned a letter to Attorney General William Barr to investigate the wrongful death of DJ Henry.
Now, in October 2020, in the ten years that have passed since that night, what had at one time seemed like a dim hope, now seems like a bright promise for potential justice in the future.
It is certain that DJ Henry's name and story is here to stay.
When you search his name into Google, you will find the story of DJ Henry, a smiling young football player with the potential to do anything he wanted but had everything taken from him.
You will see the story of DJ Henry's parents, who in the years since that night have fought not only for their own son, but for the tons of sons and daughters impacted by police brutality.
NYC English Professors Hold an Event to Discuss Language Bias in the Classroom
To turn tragedy into triumph: How DJ Henry Dream Fund supports young talent
DJ Henry's friends and former assistant coach share the impact he had on them
Diversity plays key role at Pace

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Microsoft Paint isn't going anywhere
Alanna Martinez,
Screenshot/BI
Fear not Microsoft Paint fans, the beloved, 32-year-old user-friendly art program isn't going anywhere.
In an announcementat the beginning of this week, Microsoft included MS Paint among features that would be "removed or deprecated" in the forthcoming Windows 10 Fall Creators Update, first reported the Guardian.
But after a swift and passionate outpouring from fans and longtime users praising the rudimentary graphics software, the company has released a follow-up statement reassuring nostalgic MS Paint devotees that the program won't be disappearing all together, according to an updated article from Smithsonian.
"MS Paint is here to stay, it will just have a new home soon, in the Windows Store where it will be available for free," wrote Megan Saunders, general manager for Windows Experiences 3D for Everyone Initiative, in a blog entryposted Monday evening to the company's website.
The program was first released in 1985 and later updated in the '90s to allow users to draw and paint in color, according to Smithsonian, and save files in JPEG form, reports the Guardian. The software may have been simple in its offerings but features such as the ability to adjust imagery pixel-by-pixel, have been a major draw for professional artists and amateurs alike.
In the company's latest announcement, Saunders also notes that Paint 3D, the company's newest graphics app which was released in April and comes with a slew of advanced tools for 3D image making, will include many of the same features — "like photo editing, line and curve tools, and 2D creation" — offered by MS Paint, and is also available for free with the Windows 10 update.
Read the original article on Observer. Copyright 2019. Follow Observer on Twitter.
SEE ALSO: Microsoft is planning to kill off 'Paint' after 32 years
More: Observer Microsoft Paint Windows 10 jpeg


text:
Home » Cricket » 2016 ICC World Twenty20 Group 1: England can beat title holders Sri Lanka again
2016 ICC World Twenty20 Group 1: England can beat title holders Sri Lanka again
Sam Barnard, Assistant Sports Editor | March 25, 2016
England v Sri Lanka
ICC World Twenty20, Match 29
Friday, March 26th
Play starts: 14:00 GMT
Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi
Live on Sky Sports 2
England ready to roar against Lions
England (8/15 match favourites with Coral) can all-but secure a place in the 2016 World Twenty20 semi-finals by beating Sri Lanka (6/4) in this Group 1 encounter, and will eliminate the defending champions in the process.
Eoin Morgan's men were beaten in their tournament opener against the table-topping West Indies, but have since gone on to defeat South Africa after a thrilling run chase before nervously edging out impressive qualifiers Afghanistan.
Sri Lanka, on the other hand, can firmly increase their hopes of qualification, after the setback of all losing to the Windies, but will be without injured Lasith Malinga, who has ruled himself out of the competition.
The Lions can boast a better record against England in T20 meetings, having won four out of six including most recently in 2014, but their skipper Malinga did most of the damage with the ball that day.
Smashing Root to see England through
That means the likes of Joe Root, who was instrumental for England in beating the Proteas' impressive total of 229, can play with even more freedom.
Yorkshireman Root tops the England batting market at 11/4, while he is the subject of an enhanced Coral wincast with odds of 5/1 for him to be best batsman and his team win.
Alex Hales (3/1), meanwhile, will be hoping to recover in time after missing out against Afghanistan to injury. His magnificent unbeaten knock of 116 off just 64 deliveries in the last World Twenty20 helped England be the only team to beat eventual champions Sri Lanka that campaign, while he's also hit 66 past them before too.
Captain Morgan and his deputy Jos Buttler have hit decent scores against the Lions too, so are respective 5/1 and 13/2 shouts in the batting market.
Spin has been key for England
Moeen Ali also impressed with the bat late in England's innings to help them post a respectable score against the courageous Afghans last time out, and is 10/1 in the same market again.
Predictably, spinners Adil Rashid (11/4 favourite to get the best figures) and Ali (4/1) have been best with the ball on Indian soil for Trevor Bayliss this tournament so far.
David Willey (10/3), Chris Jordan (7/2) and Ben Stokes (4/1) have also provided decent back-up too.
Sri Lanka have much talent despite loss of Malinga
For Sri Lanka, evergreen Tillakaratne Dilshan has hit the highest score so far for them with 83 not out against Afghanistan, and tops the market at 11/4 for his team again.
Thisara Perera, meanwhile, is a very tempting bet to take at 12/1, having hit scores of 49 and 23 (not out) against England before, while he also got the most runs for the Lions against the West Indies with 40.
Dinesh Chandimal and Angelo Mathews are also decent chances at 3/1 and 5/1 respectively.
All-rounder Perera has also impressed with the ball, taking 3-33 against Afghanistan, so is again an enticing 5/1 to be best bowler for Sri Lanka again.
Others to look out for are spinners Rangana Herath (10/3 favourite) and Jeffrey Vandersay (7/2).
Check out our cricket archive for more on the World Twenty20.
Coral's top tip: Root is a brilliant 5/1 to be best England batsman and his team win.
« 2016 ICC World Twenty20: Australia and Windies to edge Pakistan and South Africa
2016 ICC World Twenty20 Group 2: Australia have a shout to eliminate hosts India »
Sam Barnard
Sam has been writing for Coral since January 2014, and is the assistant editor of the news site. As well as the main betting sports, football, tennis and cricket, he covers the likes of golf, F1 and darts too, the latter of which has become a particular favourite. Sam enjoys playing as much as writing about sports, but niggling injuries have limited his participation in recent years, so is happy to mainly watch the pros such as Manchester United, Yorkshire CCC, Raymond van Barneveld and even Gibraltar national football team instead.
Alan Shearer | 11.06.2016
Shearer looks ahead to England v Russia
Black Caps edge thriller to preserve unbeaten record
Crocked Chigumbura to miss Ireland clash


B. Ahlgren, P. A. Aranda-Gutierrez, P. Chemouil, S. Oueslati, L. M. Correia, H. Karl, M. Söllner, A. Welin, IEEE Communications Magazine (2011) 62--70.
Ahlgren, Bengt, Pedro A. Aranda-Gutierrez, Prosper Chemouil, Sara Oueslati, L M. Correia, Holger Karl, Michael Söllner, and Annikki Welin. "Content, Connectivity, and Cloud: Ingredients for the Network of the Future." IEEE Communications Magazine, no. 7 (2011): 62--70. https://doi.org/10.1109/MCOM.2011.5936156.
B. Ahlgren et al., "Content, connectivity, and cloud: ingredients for the network of the future," IEEE Communications Magazine, no. 7, pp. 62--70, 2011.
Ahlgren, Bengt, et al. "Content, Connectivity, and Cloud: Ingredients for the Network of the Future." IEEE Communications Magazine, no. 7, 2011, pp. 62--70, doi:10.1109/MCOM.2011.5936156.


text:
import time
import serial
import platform

from rhusb.sensor import RHUSB

delay = 1
count = 10

if __name__ == '__main__':
    print("Platform: {0}".format(platform.system()))
    if platform.system() == "Windows":
        device = "COM4"
    else:
        device = "/dev/ttyUSB0"
    print("Device: {0}".format(device))
    print()

    try:
        sens = RHUSB(device=device)
        print("PA: [{0}]".format(sens.PA()))
        print("C: [{0}]".format(sens.C()))
        print("F: [{0}]".format(sens.F()))
        print("H: [{0}]".format(sens.H()))

        print("\nStarting {0} periodic readings every {1} seconds".format(count, delay))

        while count:
            print("--> {0}".format(sens.PA()))
            count -= 1
            time.sleep(delay)

    except serial.serialutil.SerialException:
        print("Error: Unable to open RH-USB Serial device {0}.".format(device))

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


How to Get Your Debts Legally Dismissed With Legal Debt Dismissal?
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Each debtor will have a credit score. The score is obtained from the number of loans, loan term, timeliness of installments, and the number of installments. The score will influence the decision of the bank to submit a loan. The most influential thing in determining the credit score is the accuracy of payments and the number of installments. A debtor will have a good credit score when he can pay installments on time. Late payments will affect the bank's rating. The bank will see how often a debtor pays installments; the more often, the worse. Late payments will result in a low credit score of a debtor. This will affect the bank's decision when the debtor applies for a loan at a later time.
You need to know that debt settlement is also included in the bank's assessment criteria. There are debt settlement pros and cons. Some debtors will consider it as the best way to settle debts. Those who agree with debt settlement are those who do not want to lose their guarantees. Some of them are aware that debt settlement will reduce their credit score, some are not aware, and the rest do not care about credit scores as long as they do not lose their collateral.
Without debt settlement, the bank will determine your credit score from several aspects (loan amount, loan term, timeliness of installments, and installment amount), but when you apply for debt settlement, this will be the criteria for credit score by the bank. Debtors who submit debt settlement are usually those who often make late payments. As mentioned earlier, late payment is a criterion that will reduce the credit score of a debtor. The decrease in credit score will be greater when a debtor submits a debt settlement. This will be very bad for your banking records. Let us say that you will find it very difficult to get a loan or even get a refusal to apply for a loan. Everything must have a positive and negative side; one side is that you will not lose assets, but on the other hand, you may have difficulties in getting banking services.
Is it Good to do Debt Settlement?
Well, this depends on you. The above paragraph has stated that debt settlement has a good side and a bad side. So, when you ask "Is it good to do debt settlement?" The answer is "Relative". This will be bad when you think about the possibility of another loan application in the future. We never know when urgent needs will come. When these needs come and you don't have enough money to cover it, then one way is to apply for a loan from the bank. With the debt settlement record, you will be faced with the possibility of refusing a loan proposal or getting a loan far below the amount you need. This will clearly put you in a very difficult position. You might think that you will apply for a loan from another bank. Well, in fact, every bank has the authority to ask for someone's credit score from another bank and it is bad for you.
The good side of debt settlement is that you will not lose the assets that you guarantee to the bank. Debtors often make the house as a guarantee of applying for a loan to the bank. The problem is simple, the bank will most likely approve your loan proposal when you guarantee your house. With the debt settlement, you will still be able to pay off debts and still have your assets. This is good for all family members because they will not lose their homes due to debt. After your debt is complete, you will feel like you have a new life or a second chance. Imagine if you had to lose your home, what would you do? Another debt? Well, not having a home is one of the worst things in your life, I assure you that. This all goes back to everyone's decision. You alone can decide what's best for you and your family.
One thing you should know is that a debt settlement agreement does not only involve you and the bank, but there is a third party called the debt settlement companies or debt settlement attorney. The company or attorney will help you to submit the settlement. They will help you to calculate the amount of decline in the ideal amount of settlement. But you also have to know that they will get some money every month from the new installments that you have. Although this does not mean that this is a bad thing, often the decrease in the number of installments that you will get is not too far from the amount of the initial installments.
Never think that you will get a large number of installments. The debt settlement calculator will only produce, at most, 20% of the initial installments. This amount does not include the amount of money that will be deposited to the settlement company/attorney. Overall, the largest possible number of pieces you can get is 10-15%. Like it or not, this calculation mechanism applies. This is why there are still many debtors who are declared bankrupt or lose their assets. The company or attorney is more likely works on credit card debt settlement.
The debt settlement will be recorded on a debtor credit report or credit score like forever. The bank will not delete this record to be taken into consideration when a debtor wants to apply for a loan at a later time. Before applying for a loan, you should think about the number of installments and time. Adjust to your financial condition. Taking small installments but in a long time seems like a good choice. This is based on the ability to fulfill daily needs and the high possibility for you to pay off debts. It will be better than you have to file debt settlement or even end up losing your assets.
You cannot underestimate your credit report because this record will determine your relationship and the bank in the future. This note is absolute. This will be the main basis for banks to determine service policies for you. Not only loan service, but this record will also be used to determine policies for providing other services such as credit cards or housing loans.
What is Better: Debt Consolidation or Debt Settlement?
Actually, it is difficult to determine which is better between debt consolidation and debt settlement. These two debt repayment policies both have advantages and disadvantages. You alone can determine which is better between the two. Debt consolidation may have more convenience, but it is very difficult for a debtor to get it. A debtor will get a debt consolidation, only when he has more than one debt and usually in large amounts. These debts will be combined and then he can pay them with low interest. This is usually done by a debtor who has debt from bank, credit card and housing debt at the same time. Basically, these two types of debt repayment assistance work in the same way; provide the smallest installment interest. The bank will not provide a better solution than that. For banks, the debtor only has two choices; pay off debt or lose assets.
Debt is something you can only do in a forced state. Having debt is not a pleasant thing. You have a risk of losing something in a debt agreement. A debt will not be a problem as long as you can pay it, but this will cause serious problems (and trigger other problems) when you can't pay it. When you experience difficulties in repaying debt, one of the best options you have is to file a debt settlement. This will help you to pay off your debt. In this situation, the only thing you can do is follow the solutions and rules given by the bank. Before you submit a debt settlement, it is better if you are looking for debt settlement reviews and conduct a consultation with the bank regarding the possibility of providing such facilities.
It's also important to learn chapter 13 bankruptcy. What is it exactly? It's a kind of bankruptcy that allows people to look for debt relief through the court of law. Usually, it happens in people who deal with home foreclosure. It helps them stop the foreclosure immediately. They can use it to keep their homes and other possessions safe while facing creditors. Some people also use it to get back on track. Still, they need the help from a lawyer to file this type of bankruptcy. So, is it recommended to use a service to help them deal with debt collectors? It depends on the companies' reliability. Some of them promise more than they can help.
Life can be tough sometimes. Many people are struggling under lots of debt. This makes debt negotiation important. People are able to deal with debts and make things more controllable. This is what they call credit settlement. For instance, they can negotiate lower payments. This can work either in a permanent or temporary way. Before they call in the collector, they must make a plan. Not to mention they should learn some negotiation strategies. Unfortunately, not all people are able to negotiate. They need to use the help from an expert, instead.
Remember, debt settlement also works on students. For instance, they can file student loan bankruptcy. There are several options for student loan repayment. Not all students know how to get student loan relief, though. It's a thrilling experience when students are unable to pay back their loans. They may think about their credit score. It's going bad, for sure. No worries. They have a solution. The simplest strategy is to delay payments on their loans. This can be done through forbearance programs. There are other methods, as well. They can consolidate their loans into a single loan.
Overall, debt is a common issue among people. In many cases, they aren't able to repay their loans. They can avoid it by taking a discharge petition. Once the court grants them a discharge order, they become a bankrupt person. This gratification helps them release their current debts. That means they are able to wipe clean their debt using such discharged bankruptcy. As the result, they can make a fresh start. They are able to open for a business, apply for credit, etc. This doesn't affect their credit score. Unfortunately, they lack information and experience. Filling this petition isn't easy. I most cases, they need a lawyer.
Whether it is bankruptcy student loans or regular bankruptcy, people can walk away from their debts. Student loans and mortgages are measured problematic to release, though. The law has made it complicated to discharge both student and mortgage loan. It's due to common belief. Promoting an access to higher education and homeownership is considered beneficial for the society. Homeownership helps people build prosperity. In terms of education, they can achieve better salaries with it. The bankruptcy discharge is though in student loans and home loans. It becomes easier if people hire an attorney.
Today, many people are into debt write off. They look for a better debt settlement. However, they must learn the risk as well. For example, they put their house in danger. The most popular form of settlement is refinancing the house. It makes sense in terms of finance. The loan rates are indeed lower than those rates of the credit card. There's a problem, though. Home refinancing turns unsecured debt into the secured one. People must risk their house in this process. As an alternative, they can take bankruptcy loans. It's useful when they are living with uncontrollable debts.
Another consideration is the credit card lawsuit. They are able to negotiate a credit card. However, credit reporting agencies observe the process in a regular manner. Not to mention people should be 3 months behind on their CC payments. This is a prime requirement prior to negotiating. After all, credit card forgiveness remains on their report for years. Just because they have gained forgiveness, doesn't mean they can wipe out their debt entirely. On top of that, they can't avoid bad credit with it.
Credit card is an easily available source of capital arrangement which is ideal to be used in urgent needs of funds. But to earn more and more financial gains, banking and finance sector has promoted it as a source for shopping and other daily expenses. Credit cards comes with the high interest payouts upon the used credit limit, hence it is an expensive way to attain redundant facilities. It is seen, often, that this payback with high interest becomes issue at the time of payment and causes a credit card debt to a person, making them defaulter.
In case of payment default, people use to go with the couple of option; debt settlement and debt dismissal. Debt settlement is a process of settling down the entire amount at negotiated price whereas debt dismissal is a process under which it is not required to pay back the debt amount entirely. Credit card debt dismissal can be done without and with prejudice. The option of debt dismissed without prejudice is followed by a legal case against defaulter or the debt collector can sue the defaulter again. Once the creditor has notified any of its debt holders, it is necessary to make the arrangements of debt discharge or to challenge them in the court of law.
As soon as the case is called upon by the respected court of law, the decision can be taken into consideration by the legal bench and further judicial proclamation consisting of debt relief or debt payout orders can be obtained. In case of looking for dismissal of entire debt, a person can claim a social security aspect to guard its payout failure. This can be done by asking for considering regarding individuals debt to income ratio (DTI), which represents part of debtor's monthly income used to pay its loan amount. If the ratio of the DTI of a defaulter exceeds more than a legally determined scale then the debt payout is considered as unjust and can be dismissed by the honorable court of law. These kinds of judgments are based on the argument that the person's ability of payout a debt is misinterpreted for the purpose of false financial gain by the credit company and thus now default amount should be bear by them. It is not advised and illegal to borrow the loan beyond the capacity of person's debt to income ratio, which is a measure of an individual debt paying capacity.
Debt Troubles Got You Down?
Do you have at least $10,000 in credit card and other unsecured debt?
Are you struggling to make your payments?
Has your lender violated your rights as a consumer?
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Our network of Attorneys can represent you and LEGALLY HAVE YOUR DEBT DISMISSED using U.S. Federal laws!
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Chances are, if you have had your credit cards for more than one year and have had a change in the terms, conditions and/or interest rate in your card…then your rights have been violated under U.S. Federal Law. Most likely, your bank has treated you with unfair & deceptive practices and these violations can be the basis for our panel of attorneys to DISMISS YOUR DEBT!!
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Availble to consumers who are current, delinquent, being sued; but not for those who are post judgement…..
In the last quarter (4Q 2012), our panel member attorneys have dismissed or partially dismissed over $1,776,766.12 in consumer debt. These dismissals included various stipulations that included many of them having no 1099 liability and the trade line being deleted as well.
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The results that the attorneys on our panel can achieve are real. They are documented and can be discussed with your assigned attorney when he reviews your case and accepts you as a client.
If you have so much debt, you may begin to find a way out. Most of the people would prefer a debt resolution or debt settlement. The debt resolution vs debt settlement is an option to solve any debt matter. It is a choice which promises to help you solve your debt problem for much less than what you have owed to be a solution for their financial woes. However, it is not that easy to solve the debt. Debt settlement is not everyone and without consequences and pitfalls. What is actually debt settlement? It is simply hiring a debt settlement services or debt resolution companies to help you negotiate on the personal collection, loan, and credit card to get lower payoffs. Some of those debt negotiation services usually offer their service as debt consolidation in which the objective is the debt settlement negotiation with your lenders or creditors.
The debt settlement is known to be able to reduce the payment which you must do each month that will be converted into manageable payment. You first have to accumulate numbers of debt you have so your debt negotiation services will manage your debt. Usually, it is done by onetime payment and the service will handle your debt about 75% of your balance. Somehow, debt settlement can be a great idea to save money and you will never pay to your creditor anymore. You may settle your debt with a zero balance but your delinquency history will still be there.
You may need to know that this process will harm your credit, but if you really do not have a way to solve your debt, applying for credit card debt settlement can be a good idea. Somehow, you will still be called by your creditor and ask about the payment. It happens to you because you do not tell your creditor that you are in the program of debt settlement and then forward your creditors to the debt resolution companies for faster solution relating to your debt. You also need to be more "saving" and throw out your spending habit and start with the debt resolution. After the debt is settled, you can go to the program of credit repair for credit rebuilding up. The process may take a long time but it can be better for you.
If you decide to hire a debt settlement service, then it means that you hire a debt settlement attorney to negotiate with your creditor or when you want to get credit card debt settlement. The service has a duty to negotiate much lower money to pay for you. The debt negotiation services will pay your debt to the creditors, but you also have to pay debt settlement to the company each month. You must be asked for not to communicate with your collector or lender when hiring a debt settlement company. The purpose is to make your collector feels desperate over the debt payment so that they will be open minded and be able to accept the settlement deal that will be made. The deal is made so that the credit card company or the lender will agree to let you pay lower payoff.
There are also some debt settlement pros and cons that you have to know. There is a clear benefit of debt settlement in which you can pay single monthly payment that is really affordable and it is even much lower. Suppose the settlement is acceptable, you may pay so much lesser than your debt. The amount would be less than 50 percent of the actual debt which means that you can save your money for the future.
Somehow, you must not forget the cons of the debt settlement that you may not wish to have. There are several cons that you can get when dealing with debt settlement. The debt settlement cannot be used by the people who do not have poor credit. So, you must have very poor credit unless your credit score will be dangerous. When you finally settle your credit card debt relief government, the Credit Card Company, collector, and the lender would make a debt report as "the settlement accepted which will make your credit card report damaged for 7 years.
In addition, despite you do not care about your collector as you are asked by the debt negotiation services, they would still make a late payment status report that will be given to credit bureaus in which it is still becoming bad until the account goes to collection or charged off or it is already settled as it becomes the main goal of a debt settlement company. There is still another drawback in which when you pay the settlement service, the company commonly does not tell you the exact money you must pay monthly and how much is the fee for the service.
In summary, debt settlement service or debt negotiation services can be a good option for those who really need it but it can also be bad. It is better for you to solve your debt without debt resolution companies when you can solve it by yourself. Besides, this debt settlement letter also cannot be used by arbitrary persons. It means that there are some people who can use this settlement service. Suppose you really want to hire a debt settlement service, you have to know the exact cost that you have to pay each month to the company so that everything will be clean and transparent and you will not get a loss at all.
© 2018 How to Get Your Debts Legally Dismissed with Legal Debt Dismissal?


text:
Monitoring – an overlooked aspect of fund selection
by Expert Investor Europe 20 January 2017 30 March 2021
Over the years, there have been numerous papers and books dedicated to the art of fund selection. However, there is an equally important question that tends to be overlooked: when to dump a fund?
To illustrate that point: the term 'fund deselection' only gets 15 hits on Google, compared with 344,000 for 'fund selection'.
Every self-respecting fund selector has a standardised fund selection process. But when we asked the fund selector audience at a recent pan-European EI congress, half of delegates said they did not have a specific process on how to deselect funds (see chart 1).
Being selective
Fund monitoring and deselection often do not get the attention they deserve, says Jeroen Vetter, a consultant who has helped several Dutch wealth managers over the years to improve their fund selection process.
"My experience is that there usually is not much wrong with the way they select funds. The process is usually robust. But fund selectors often stop there. They don't fully appreciate that monitoring should be an integral part of the fund selection process," he says.
According to Vetter, fund selectors should already have the monitoring process in mind when selecting a fund. "They should identify the strong and weak points of the fund during the selection process," he says. "This ought to give fund selectors vital hints on what areas to monitor most strictly."
He advocates adopting a 'traffic light' model (see chart below), which involves fund selectors assigning a green, orange or red colour to each aspect of a fund when doing their due diligence.
"For example, if a fund is small, or is relatively unimportant for an asset manager in terms of revenue generation, they know size is a criterion they should mark orange or red, because such a fund risks being merged or liquidated," he says. "If a fund is highly dependent on one manager, or if a few analysts are responsible for all the alpha, it is important to monitor team changes."
Performance focus
However, in practice most fund selectors tend to just monitor performance, if only because qualitative aspects of a fund are more difficult and more time-consuming to track. And in the end, clients judge their wealth managers on the returns they deliver. Therefore, this is the one area that logically gets most attention.
Tanja Wennonen-Kärnä, senior portfolio manager at Evli Bank in Finland, is one of these fund selectors who initially focus exclusively on quantitative factors when monitoring a fund.
"In addition to the funds we are invested in, we also monitor a few competitors in the same asset class,' she says. "Altogether, we monitor about 40 funds, including some in-house funds. We monitor the performance of all of these funds superficially on a weekly basis. Once a month, we conduct a more in-depth review, to check whether anything unusual has happened to the fund".
Story continues on next page
Tagged: Evli Bank, Jeroen Vetter, Portolani, Tanja Wennonen, Tim Peeters


Let's have a brief look at the regions were we can expect to find wild flowers, and then I'll describe some special places that I have visited and what I found of interest.
I'll start with the larger region of Chania, called the prefecture of Chania.
Crete is divided into four prefectures (called Nomos, these four are Chania, Rethymnon, Heraklion and Lassithi) and every prefecture is divided in some districts which are divided in many municipalities, which include several towns and villages. A map of the municipalities can be found at: http://www.chania.gr/map.jsp?lang=en. The prefecture of Lassithi is in some botanical books called Sitia.
The prefecture of Chania is divided in five districts ( or provinces, these are Kydonia, Kissamos and Apokoronas in the North and Selino and Sfakia in the South) who are divided into 25 municipalities (http://www.chaniacrete.gr/maps/chania_big-en.gif and http://www.interkriti.gr/ ). The western part of Crete is much greener than the eastern site, which is more dry and some parts indeed look like a moonscape (like the slopes of mount Psiloritis). Therefore more flowers can be found, sometimes in great numbers in the west of Crete, that is: Chania.
The district of Kydonia includes the city of Chania, Souda and the peninsula of Akrotiri in the east and Maleme to the west and to the White Mountains (or Lefka Ori) in the south. Its southern border runs through the middle of the White Mountains, which have more than 30 summits with a height over 2000m. The highest summit, Pachnes is only 3 meters lower than Psiloritis (central Crete) at 2453m.
The three northern districts consist of fertile lowlands and hills. The coastal zone is one endless sandy beach where tourist activities are concentrated.
The two districts in the south of the prefecture of Chania (Selinou and Sfakia) are different from the three northern provinces. There are only few small sandy beaches, the mountains ending abruptly in the sea. The vegetation is drier, although Selinou consist of many fertile hills with mainly olive trees. The mountains of Sfakia are cut by several deep gorges (Samaria, Imbros and many other) which run from north to south, to the Libyan sea. Sfakia is, because of its isolated and mountainous character, the most unspoiled and also very traditional.
Culturally, Crete (and especially Chania) has always been situated on the crossroads of civilizations and in many ways acts as a bridge between the countries of Western Europe, the Near East and Africa. You'll find remnants of the Minoan civilization, the Romans, the Francs, the Venetians, the Turks, yes even from the Egyptians and, more recently, from the Germans. The coastal zone of Kydonia and Kissamos is the main touristic area of West Crete. It has a long sandy beach stretching to the peninsula of Rodopou. This has encouraged the touristic development and you'll find long lines of hotels, apartments, restaurants, travel agent, car rentals and other tourist offices. (This is a place that I try to avoid as much as possible.) I prefer to leave the coastal area and move inland, there you'll find a whole different scene, an agricultural countryside where the main crops are citrus (mainly oranges and lemons), but you can also meet Kiwi, Avocado, Banana, Mango, Kumquat, Cactus and several others, and, in the higher and drier hills, olive trees. Here you can also find many chestnut trees and platanes. And flowers everywhere, along the roads, in the orchards, in the fallow fields. The area is particularly beautiful in the early spring. In the middle of Chania city, you'll find the endemic Petromarula growing out of the old walls of the Arsenali.
The peninsula of Akrotiri is situated immediately east of Chania and is known for a lots of flowers in spring. Villages here are Marathi, Kalathas and Stavros (where the beach scenes of Alexis Zorbas were filmed). Almost the year around you'll find in this area a lot of flowers and not many tourists.
Here is also The Park for the Preservation of Flora and Fauna ( see: http://www.park.tuc.gr/index_UK.php) from the Technical University of Crete.
From June to October, hordes of tourists cross the Plateau of Omalos to that tourist attraction: the gorge of Samaria. The plateau of Omalos is located at an altitude of about 1100m completely surrounded by mountains. From here you get a nice view into the gorge of Samaria, far below. The plateau and the surrounding mountains are full of flowers.
In the section "Selected Regions" I give a description of special places, that you can use for excursions. I'll try to show you how to get there, what you can expect to find there and I'll give description of selected plants.
New places will be added from time to time. After I visited a special place or region, it takes some time to organize my photographs, to search for information, to make a description and add a map. So please come back regularly.


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Andy Parker is even thinking of buying a gun of his own.
Andy Parker, the father of murdered WDBJ journalist Alison Parker, renewed his call Friday for politicians to enact "reasonable" gun control measures. He said the cause was so important to him that he was willing to become an advocate even if it puts his life in danger.
"When you're in the media, as you know, and when you're taking on an issue like this, there are a lot of people who take exception to what you're saying," Parker said during a press conference Friday afternoon.
He added that he doesn't own a gun but he may buy one to protect himself. Although he hasn't received any threats yet, he said he doesn't want to "take any chances."
"I don't own a gun. We don't have a gun in our family," Parker said. "I'm probably going to have to get one. Sad to say, but I -- unfortunately, that's just the world we live in."
Alison Parker, 24, and her cameraman, Adam Ward, 27, were gunned down Wednesday morning during a live broadcast for WDBJ, a Roanoke, Virginia-based station. The gunman, whom police have identified as former station employee Vester Lee Flanagan, filmed the shooting and posted footage of it on social media. He killed himself later Wednesday after a police chase.
In the days since his daughter's death, Parker has started forcefully advocating for politicians to restrict access to firearms. On Thursday, he said he was willing to become the "John Walsh" of the issue, referring to the man who created "America's Most Wanted" and became a prominent victims' rights advocate after his son was murdered in 1981.
During his press conference Friday, Parker called on the media to take action as well.
"I'm hoping that this time is different," he said. "She is one of you guys. ... And you need to use that voice, and we need to keep the pressure on the politicians to not be afraid of the NRA.
"It's time that we hold these people's feet to the fire and shame them wherever we can," he added.
Flanagan passed a background check and legally bought two handguns from a federally licensed dealer in Virginia last month. During his press conference, Parker compared gun control reforms to wearing a seat belt, arguing that stricter background checks and other measures won't protect people 100 percent of the time, but they'd be a good first step.
"I want to go to the Virginia legislature, and I want them to look me in the eye and tell me why can't we have a reasonable proposal, any reasonable background check," he said. "You know, the things that common-sense dictates. I want them to look me in the eye and tell me why they don't want to support that."
Parker's father praised Gov. Terry McAuliffe's (D) response to the tragedy, noting that the governor was the first public official to call him. He said he has not heard from Virginia's two U.S. senators, Tim Kaine (D) and Mark Warner (D), although both put out statements expressing their condolences after the shooting.
Warner spokesman Kevin Hall said the senator called and left a message for Parker this afternoon, but they haven't yet been able to connect.
"The senator knows Mr. Parker and wanted to be respectful of the family's privacy at a time of unimaginable grief," said Hall.
Kaine spokeswoman Amy Dudley said the senator was "heartbroken" by the shooting.
"Senator Kaine has not yet reached out to the victims' families out of respect for their space and privacy during this difficult time of grieving," Dudley said. "At the appropriate time, he looks forward to working side-by-side with the families and all Virginians who want to push tougher legislation through Congress to reduce gun violence and prevent such tragedies from happening here and across the country."


Typical dishes in LA are not easy to define since the region offers a huge variety of cuisines from Thai, Chinese and Italian to Mexican. In addition, you can grab a burger at a drive through franchise or American diner or choose to nibble your way around a whole food farmers market. Gourmet food trucks are a popular trend and offer up quick, satisfying and unique food wherever they happen to park up.
For those who want to dine in style and rub shoulders with the A-list, West Hollywood is prime restaurant territory. Celebrity-owned restaurants are thick on the ground here; Ago Restaurant offers an upscale Italian dining experience masterminded by film legend Robert De Niro, while Crossroads is a vegan eatery opened by Oprah's favourite chef. Of course, it's not all fine dining and expensive bills; Pink's Hot Dogs is a popular Hollywood fast food landmark and well worth seeking out for its legendary chilli dogs.
• Ago Restaurant, 8478 Melrose Ave. Tel: +1 323 655 6333.• Crossroads, 8284 Melrose Ave. Tel: +1 323 782 9245.• Pink's Hot Dogs, 709 N La Brea Ave. Tel: +1 323 931 7594.
Found a few blocks away from Santa Monica Beach, the pedestrianized Third Street Promenade is where hungry people head for a lavish selection of top city restaurants. Grab an outdoor table and indulge in a spot of people-watching – Loteria Grill serves up flavorful Mexican classics, while if you wander a little further you'll come across Wolfgang Puck Express, an eclectic eatery serving cheap yet gourmet fast food. Recommended dishes here are the fennel sausage pizza and meatloaf sandwich.
There are numerous farmers' markets scattered all over Los Angeles, but the market held at 'Third and Fairfax' was the original first opened in 1934. Begun by farmers during the depression, Farmers' Market is now a historic L.A. attraction - an outdoor eating and shopping area where local entrepreneurs sell some of the best food in the city. Niche speciality stores – often selling just one thing, such as hot sauce – jostle here with eateries serving up every cuisine under the sun. It's not cheap, but it's definitely unique.
• The Original Farmers' Market, 6333 W 3rd Street. Tel: +1 323 933 9211.
A few miles east of Downtown in the metropolis of Los Angeles lay the San Gabriel Valley, a place where nature meets urbanization. Savoury Taiwanese and Hong Kong cuisine is served in the most luxurious Chinatown in North America. Wander down Atlantic Boulevard and devour yummy Chinese food from many roadside market stalls or visit San Gabriel's bounty of delectable Chinese restaurants. After banqueting to your heart's delight, take a stroll around the Descanso Gardens and sweetly smell the musky aromas of the blooming flowers that are a prime attraction of the neighborhood.
• Elite Restaurant, 700 South Atlantic Boulevard, Monterey Park, 91754. Tel: +1 626 282 9998.
As the center of early Japanese immigration, Little Tokyo has turned into a thriving community filled with cinemas, traditional restaurants and exciting sightseeing opportunities. Known as 'J-Town' by the locals, is buzzing at weekends and evenings serving sushi to eager visitors after sightseeing First Street, the district's most historic area, where the Japanese American National Museum is based. Catch a play featuring the enthusiastic East West Players at David Henry Hwang Theatre, America's first Asian American theatre.
• Sushi Gen Restaurant, 422 E Second St, Los Angeles, CA 90012. Tel: +1 213 617 0552.
The KoreaTown Galleria at Olympic and Western offers breath-taking city views of the City of Angels that you can enjoy as you tuck into scrumptious Korean-style Bento boxes in one of the tasty restaurants. This most populated district in the city celebrates in style with the Korean Festival and Parade in the city park of Seoul International where you can relax with a refreshing milkshake. Booming in KoreaTown is the rise of the Latino influence that has developed delectable Mexican Food with Korean ingredients.
• Yong Susan, 950 S Vermont Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90006, United States. Tel: +1 213 388 3042.


Calling all Young Royals…come and try out our Christmas presents!
Christmas is just around the corner and the Royals are looking for a team of Young Royals to visit the Reading FC Megastore, one day after school, to test out a selection of Christmas presents and then rate them!
If you are a Young Royal, and fancy giving some of the Royals Christmas goodies the once over, then simply send your name and full contact details to youngroyals@readingfc.co.uk.
Three Young Royals will be selected at random and invited to visit the Reading FC Megastore, the winners will also receive a special goody bag!
Not a Young Royal yet? Click here to find out how to join!


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Q: Programmatically tab out of a legacy form field In MS Word version 2202 (2019) I have a legacy form field (a plain text box) in a document that calculates on exit and fills a number of other fields with the result of calculations.
I'm looking for a way to use VBA to tab out of that form field and trigger the calculations. In other words, to function as if the user pressed the tab key when in the form field, exiting from the field, and triggering the calculations and filling of other fields.
I've tried the following code:
Selection.TypeText Text:=vbTab

but it doesn't work because the document is restricted from editing -- other than filling forms. This restriction prohibits this code from emulating pressing the tab key.
Thanks.

A: All you need after editing the field is:
ActiveDocument.Fields.Update

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Increasingly in the West, China is being characterized as a threat to the liberal international order, one that must be overcome through economic, political, technological and even military means. Supposedly, free and open societies, led by the United States, need to push back against the policies of the Chinese Communist Party to preserve a rules-based international order in 21st century. For others, this approach spells disaster. It ignores the history and dynamics propelling China's peaceful rise to superpower status. Rather than undermining the post-war order, China is its best, and maybe only, guarantor in an era of declining U.S. leadership, increased regional instability and slowing global growth.
The Spring 2019 Munk Debate will move the motion: is China a threat to the liberal international order?
Until recently, H. R. McMaster was the 26th Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs. He served as a commissioned officer in the United States Army for thirty-four years before retiring as a Lieutenant General in June 2018.
From 2014 to 2017 McMaster designed the future Army as Director, Army Capabilities Integration Center and Deputy Commanding General, Futures, US Army Training and Doctrine Command. As Commanding General, Maneuver Center of Excellence at Fort Benning, he oversaw all training and education for the Army's infantry, armor, and cavalry force. His extensive experience leading soldiers and organizations in wartime includes Commander, Combined Joint Inter-Agency Task Force Shafafiyat in Kabul, Afghanistan from 2010 to 2012; Commander, Third Armored Cavalry Regiment in Iraq from 2005 -2006; and Commander, Eagle Troop Second Armored Cavalry Regiment in Operation Desert Storm from 1990-1991. McMaster also served overseas as advisor to the most senior commanders in the Middle East, Iraq, and Afghanistan.
H.R. led important strategic assessments including the revision of Iraq strategy during the 'surge' of 2007 and efforts to develop security forces and governmental institutions in post-war Iraq. In 2009-2010 he led an assessment and planning effort to develop a comprehensive strategy for the greater Middle East.
McMaster was as an assistant professor of history at the United States Military Academy from 1994 to 1996 where he taught undergraduate courses in military history and history of the Korean and Vietnam Wars as well as a graduate course on the history of military leadership for officers enrolled in the Columbia University MBA program.
H.R. has published scores of essays, articles, and book reviews on leadership, history, and the future of warfare in many publications including Foreign Affairs, The Wall Street Journal, and The New York Times. He was a contributing editor for Survival magazine from 2010-2017, and is a current Senior Fellow at The Hoover Institution. His award-winning book, Dereliction of Duty: Lyndon Johnson, Robert McNamara, the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Lies that Led to Vietnam, is a New York Times bestseller.
H.R. was commissioned as an officer in the United States Army upon graduation from the United States Military Academy in 1984. He holds a PhD in military history from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His military awards include the Silver Star Medal, Army Distinguished Service Medal with oak leaf cluster, the Bronze Star Medal with oak leaf cluster, and the Purple Heart.
Michael Pillsbury is one of the world's foremost China strategists. Called a "hawk" by the New York Times and "the leading authority on China" by President Donald Trump, he is a senior fellow and the director for Chinese strategy at the D.C.-based Hudson Institute think tank.
Pillsbury was born in California in 1945, earned his undergraduate arts degree from Stanford University and his masters and doctorate degrees from Columbia University. After graduating, he was the assistant political affairs officer at the United Nations and, later, an analyst at RAND Corporation, a U.S. non-profit think tank created to bolster research analysis for the U.S. armed forces. It was there that he began advocating for the United States to create intelligence and military bonds with China, which became U.S. policy during the Carter and Reagan administrations.
A staff member for four U.S. Senate Committees from the late 1970s to the early 1990s, Pillsbury also served as special assistant for Asian affairs in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, under President George H. W. Bush.
Pillsbury is the author most recently of The Hundred-Year Marathon: China's Secret Strategy to Replace America as the Global Superpower, published in 2015.
Kishore Mahbubani is a Singaporean academic, author and former President of the United Nations Security Council. He is a senior advisor and professor in the practice of public policy at the National University of Singapore, and was the dean of the university's Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy from 2004 to 2017.
Mahbubani studied philosophy at the University of Singapore and earned a master's degree in the same subject from Canada's Dalhousie University in 1976. His career as a diplomat with the Singapore Foreign Service included time in Cambodia during the Cambodian Civil War, postings in Malaysia, Washington, D.C., and New York, where he was Singapore's ambassador to the United Nations for two terms, and was president of the U.N. Security Council twice.
The author of numerous books, including the provocative collection of essays Can Asians Think: Understanding the Divide Between East and West, Mahbubani published Has the West Lost It? A Provocation in 2018.
Numerous lists of globally influential speakers and thinkers bear Mahbubani's name. London-based Prospect magazine called him one of the top 50 world thinkers in 2014 and the Financial Times listed him in 2009 as one of the top 50 individuals who would shape the debate on the future of capitalism.
Huiyao Wang is founder and president of one of China's top independent think tanks, the Center for China Globalization. He received his MBA from the University of Windsor in 1985, and a PhD in international business and global management from the University of Western Ontario and the University of Manchester. He was a senior fellow at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada, and a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C.
He is currently dean of the Institute of Development Studies of China's Southwestern University of Finance and Economics.
Early in his career, Wang served with the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations and Trade, overseeing the international expansion of Chinese companies, and he has worked as Quebec's chief trade representative in Hong Kong and China.
Wang has published more than 70 books, and hundreds of articles and papers in Chinese and English on global trade, governance, migration, Chinese inbound and outbound investment, Chinese diasporas and Chinese think tanks.
He is a frequent speaker at international conferences, such as the Davos World Economic Forum and the Paris Peace Forum, and was named one of the most influential people in 2018 by China Newsweek magazine.


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Banana exports generate $2 million so far this year
30 Oct 2013 - 05:00AM
Banana exports to the United Kingdom between January and September this year varied from a low of 135 boxes, generating EC$2,700 in September, to a high of 1,980 boxes in January and April, respectively, generating EC$39,000 each month.
Meanwhile, exports to the regional market saw a low of 6,190 boxes, generating EC$94,000, in April, and a high of 10,000 boxes, in February, earning EC$158,000.
The combined total export to the two markets has so far generated about EC$2 million.
Minister of Agriculture, Saboto Caesar, in presenting the figures in Parliament on Tuesday, said they must be considered in the context of the devastating impact of Hurricane Tomas, three years ago.
He noted that today, Oct. 30, marks three years since the storm, which destroyed 98 per cent of the nation's banana cultivation.
"And that is not taking into consideration the April Floods [of 2011]," he said of the weather event that flooded the coastal town and farming district of Georgetown.
Caesar also noted that it has been two years since the launch of Operation Cutback, which saw 600 acres of bananas being felled as the Ministry of Agriculture tries to combat black sigatoka, a disease that causes the leaves of banana trees to wither and fruits to ripen prematurely.
"The numbers that I am going to speak to are relatively low, if a comparative analysis is done prior to Hurricane Thomas. But I just want the farmers who are listening and for persons who are following the figures to appreciate the numbers within this particular context," he said.
He however did not mention that black sigatoka ran amok amidst the failure of the Ministry of Agriculture, then under the leadership of Montgomery Daniel, to spray against the disease.
"Mr. Speaker, many farmers are returning to the industry, and as I noted earlier in an answer, we are on a path to recovery. We lost 98 per cent of the bananas in 2010, Oct. 30 when we were struck by hurricane Tomas, and we are doing our best as a Ministry, as a sector. I must commend the farmers who continue to work day in, day out, to continue to build this industry," Caesar further told Parliament.
The number of boxes of banana exported monthly to the United Kingdom and the revenue generated are as follows:
Banana export to the UK and revenue generated. (k=thousand)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sept
Boxes 1,980 1,035 1,215 1,980 1,575 540 990 270 135
Revenue $39k $20k $24k $39k $31k $10k $19K $5.4K $2.7K
Banana export to the Caribbean and revenue generated. (k=thousand)
Boxes 8,545 10k 8,900 7,654 9,422 6,608 7,595 6,190 7,337
Revenue $132k $158k $137k $118k $143k $148k $114k $94k $91k
Tags:Saboto Caesar
One reply on "Banana exports generate $2 million so far this year"
pvpalmer says:
Thomas was almost 3 years ago and banana takes a few months to grow, so why is Saboto Caesar still using the hurricane as an excuse for the failure of this government to rebuild the banana industry. He should be also pointing fingers at Montgomery Daniel, the dodo responsible for the disaster inflicted on the banana industry.
True, Ralph put you in a bead end ministry to make way for Camillo, but you can use some imitative to encourage farmers to rebuild the banana industry. I have some lands I can lease the government to start planting bananas. Go around to every village and farming community to see what's there, and talk to people about working with the government to rebuild the industry. I am sure you would be able to challenge Camillo for the top job, if you can show you have some leadership skills.


In order to fully understand food allergies, you need to understand what they are and how serious they can become if proper precautions are not taken to manage them. A food allergy is a medical condition where exposure to a food causes a harmful immune response, known as an allergic reaction. This occurs when the immune system attacks proteins in the food that are normally harmless. These proteins that trigger this reaction in the body are called allergens.
•	Anaphylaxis – a serious reaction that is sudden in onset and can cause death.
There are than 170 foods currently reported to cause allergic reactions. It is estimated that up to 15 million Americans have food allergies, including 5.9 million children. Roughly 1 in 13 children, or two in every classroom. Of these children, about 30 percent are allergic to more than one food.


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You may recall a post about a trip to San Francisco, where I mentioned a very special visit to Ira Yeager Studios. If you have followed me for a while, you are familiar with my undying love for Ira Yeager.
After learning about this exhibition from 2010, I found this image on the Ira Yeager Studios website. .. Quite a collection of mirror portrait paintings!
Visiting the Shotwell Street Studio in person only intensified said coveting and ultimately provided the push needed to acquire yet another Ira Yeager painting.
I mean I love every single one of them.
We were shocked and delighted when we saw this one beautifully displayed in the Studio in San Francisco!
It would be fine with me to have an Ira Yeager painting in every room in my house. In fact, if I continue at this pace, I just might!
just beautiful, and what a prefect place for this beautiful piece.
What a perfect spot for your beautiful painting!I hope you are going to Blacberry Farm to spend the weekend with him!!


Recent polls shows Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders lagging behind rival Hillary Clinton when it comes to the number of black supporters. A CNN poll revealed that Clinton is leading among black voters.
Bernie Sanders gathered his supporters in Charleston, South Carolina, on Tuesday to pitch his candidacy in a state that is slowly getting to know him. Sanders talked about civil rights, Wall Street, and fair wage reforms. The Vermont senator also attended a Tuesday prayer breakfast with African-American church leaders in Columbia.
Those lines won him many supporters in Iowa and ensured his victory in New Hampshire. However, his chances of winning South Carolina are rather bleak. In South Carolina, Clinton is notably more popular among voters over 45, while Sanders is popular among the younger electorate. However, what makes things different in this state is that the black vote is the most crucial, as African-Americans are likely to make up the majority of the South Carolina voters. Most of them support the Clintons.
According to polls released by CNN, Hillary Clinton got 65 percent of South Carolina black voters, while Bernie Sanders got 28 percent. White voters favor Sanders with 54 percent compared to Clinton's 40 percent. Black American women generally favor Clinton, who positions herself as a champion of women.
Despite the low poll results, Sanders advised his supporters to not lose hope. "We were 50 points behind in the polls, and we ended up with a virtual tie," he said of the Iowa caucuses. "In New Hampshire, we were 30 points down and we won. I am almost embarrassed to tell you how far behind we are here." According to CNN, overall, the former Secretary of State leads sanders in South Carolina 56 percent to 38 percent.
Sanders was reportedly joined by Erica Garner, daughter of Eric Garner, who died after being held in a police chokehold in 2014. Another Bernie Sander supporter who attended the gathering was South Carolina Rep. Justin T. Bamberg, the African-American lawyer for the family of Walter Scott, who was an unarmed black motorist that was shot dead last April by a North Charleston, S.C. cop.
However, Sanders still has to establish good and lasting relationships with the public since many people in South Carolina barely know him. When Clinton spoke in Harlem, she highlighted the importance of building relationships with people.
According to campaign manager Jeff Weaver, Bernie Sanders and his camp are aware of this problem, which is why they have paid canvassers who go door to door in the African-American community to spread the senator's candidacy. They also have been airing ads on black-oriented radio stations and TV that emphasize his commitment to civil rights. With their efforts, the Sanders campaign remains positive that they will be able to boost the senator's popularity in South Carolina before the elections start.


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Alliance goes carbon neutral
The Alliance Party has become the first party in Northern Ireland to have carbon neutral election leaflets, the carbon emissions involved in their production have been completely offset.
General Secretary and North Down Candidate, Stephen Farry comments: "Most of the Alliance Party's election leaflets have been printed as carbon neutral publications and carry the CarbonNeutral logo.
"Alliance is paying a small premium on its printing costs to cover the carbon emissions produced during the manufacturing and shipping of the paper used in the production of the leaflets. The remaining emissions associated with the printing of our election leaflets are covered by our printers GPS Colour Graphics. GPS offset the emissions by supporting a number of environmental projects in Jamaica, Chiapas in Mexico, and in the United Kingdom.
"GPS has been recognised as Irish Environmental Printer of the Year over the past two years.
"Alliance is conscious of the vast quantities of paper that are a necessary part of an effective election campaign. All parties should be aware of the environmental impact of their activities. We are grateful for the opportunity to give something back."


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Reason: A Goddess with Feet of Clay
By Philippe Mathieu Wednesday, December 30, 2015 IBDP Student Blogs, IBDP Teacher Blogs, TOK, TOK Deduction, knowledge, Logic, Rationalism, Reason	0
In the wake of the French revolution in the 1790s emerged a new religion, the Cult of Reason. This new faith was dedicated to the de-Christianizination of Europe and in churches all over France a new goddess was enthroned. Sensibly the new high-priests shied away from objectifying Reason by setting up statues of it, instead women, often young and scantily clad, were sat on newly erected altars whilst holding torches symbolizing enlightenment. Reason was to shine its guiding and liberating light throughout the world and bring eternal peace, freedom and universal brotherhood – well, it hasn't quite worked out that way. Of all the Ways of Knowing, Reason is often assumed to be the most powerful and objective tool for generating pure knowledge and absolute truth. It is therefore worth exploring the foundations and justifications for these claims.
Rationalism, the belief in Reason as the supreme source of and justification for knowledge, is based on the idea that all knowledge claims stand or fall by virtue whether they can withstand the razor-sharp examination of the rational mind. Why this should be so has to be accepted as an undeniable truth, for Rationalism has no choice but to find its justification within itself since it does not accept the authority of any other source of knowledge. Knowledge claims, we are told, must not only be based on well-supported evidence and they must also be logically coherent. Logical coherence, it is claimed, is based on universally accepted and objective rules which guide the potential knower towards incontrovertible truths. If only it were so, the purest form of rational thought is deductive reason which proceeds from accepted premises inexorably towards an unarguable conclusion. This may work well in most areas of Mathematics for example, where syllogisms generally use numbers, letters or symbols but the moment you begin to replace them with language based premises all sorts of cracks begin to appear. It is for example perfectly possible to arrive at completely nonsensical conclusions using immaculate logic or to produce 'knowledge' already assumed in the premises. Logic is a very effective tool for demonstrating the force of what you already believe but it is hopeless at generating genuinely new ideas; this is because it has to begin with unprovable assumptions from which flow concepts already present within them. But do not take my word for it, Bertrand Russell surely one of the most highly regarded advocates of Reason admitted that "deduction has turned out to be much less powerful than was formerly supposed; it does not give new knowledge, except as to new forms of words for stating truths in some sense already known." Every deductive argument suffers from the fatal flaw that in the end it will always be dependent on an act of faith, either in its assumed premises or in its possible conclusions.
The assumed authority of Reason in Western Thought has of course many causes, some I would like to contend are largely psychological rather than purely philosophical. Logic appeals to the way our brains operate, consciously or sub-consciously we are constantly trying to find meaning and coherence in our experiences, and Reason provides us with the tools for doing so. We must find reasons for and in everything. Logic also serves to achieve one often over-looked expression of our survival instinct, having to have the last word. Rational arguments give us the illusion of expressing great truths when in fact their main purpose is to overcome our opponents whose arguments generally are no less logical than our own. Logic is the most powerful servant of Rhetoric. We trust Reason also because we abhor uncertainty, it gives us the illusion of standing on solid ground. Reason is also as shot-through with biases as any other Way of Knowing. We often reject arguments not because their logic is faulty but because they undermine our sense of certainty in our own beliefs. The perpetrators of the terrible acts in Paris last month did not lack a rationale, but their logic lead them to entirely different conclusions from the majority. In the face of such barbarism logic is entirely impotent for although we may find their reasons unpalatable, they use logic to justify their actions, just as much as we do.
Logic is therefore, very much 'in the eye of the beholder.' Either the rules of logic are not as fixed as some imagine them to be, or we seem to be notoriously incompetent at applying them. Either way, Reason seems to promise more than it can deliver. This is not to say that Reason should be abandonned altogether, but one should simply be honest about its limitations and imperfections. It does remain an essential companion to the other Ways of Knowing but one would do well to heed the wise words of Blaise Pascal, "There are two equally dangerous extremes: to exclude Reason and to admit nothing but Reason." By all means let us behave and think rationally, but let's not be blinded by Reason's cold and emotionally empty promise of a brave new world.
Thinking: Fast or Slow?
CONTEMPORARY ART and THEORY OF KNOWLEDGE
The Beauty in Maths
How can Faith be a WoK?


b. Such a person shall submit initial medical evaluation reports to the Commissioner. The medical reports shall require information regarding the person's overall fitness to drive and recommendations regarding the necessity to furnish medical progress reports, the recommended frequency of such progress reports and the length of time such progress reports should be required. The medical report or progress report shall also permit the physician to recommend that the person submit to such motor vehicle written, road, and eye tests as the physician deems appropriate.
c. Upon the failure to furnish medical reports or progress reports, or upon receipt of an unsatisfactory medical report or progress report, the commissioner shall suspend for an indefinite period the person's license, privilege to operate, or right to obtain a Driver's License and such license shall remain suspended until the Commissioner receives a subsequent and satisfactory medical report or progress report.
d. In evaluating medical reports and progress reports, the Commissioner may require and consider reports from other physician. The Commissioner shall not be responsible for the costs of such medical examinations and reports and progress reports.
e. In evaluating the person's fitness to operate, or to obtain or hold a license, the Commissioner may also consider any other pertinent facts, reports, or information in his or her possession.
f. Any person who holds a Vermont Commercial Driver's License and who is engaged in interstate commerce (between states), is subject to Part 391 of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations.
Source. June 16, 1991, S. O. S. Rule Log #91-24.
Amended. March 15, 1996, S. O. S. Rule Log #96-20.
Code of Vermont Rules, rule 14 050 040.
Physical and mental examinations, see 23 V. S. A. § 637 et seq.
Restricted licenses, see 23 V. S. A. § 612.


We are wrapping up the blog tour for Ashen City, and I am BLOWN AWAY by the amazing reviews posted by my readers. Ashen City was definitely my favorite book to write in this series, but I had no idea it would be the readers' favorite as well. So grateful to everyone who took a chance on this series!
For those who haven't ordered them yet, you can purchase Black Tiger and Ashen City on Amazon.com.
NOW, for the last and final post in the tour, I am sharing 10 fun facts about Black Tiger!
Rain did not exist in the first draft. He popped in as a convey-information-through-dialogue side character, and ended up taking over the story. Typical Rain.
My first glimmer of this series came to me when I toured the mega caverns below Louisville.
There used to be an epic fight scene in Black Tiger where all the prisoners battled against each other in an arena and the winner was set free. It was supposed to mirror the gladiatorial contests of Ancient Rome, but because the idea was too much like The Hunger Games, I took it out.
The first three chapters are almost word-for-word exactly the same as when I first wrote them.
Ember's name used to be Iva (Inspired by an Amish reality show I was watching at the time).
I was originally going to have velociraptors instead of black tigers.
Black Tiger used to have no Christianity and a lot of edginess, then it had no edginess and was very Christian. It only felt right and real when it had a little bit of both sprinkled in.
The characters Rain and Forest were inspired by the Damon and Stefan Salvator from the tv show The Vampire Diaries.
FINALLY, I am having a GIVEAWAY where you could enter for a chance to win a paperback of either Black Tiger or Ashen City, an adjustable "Inhale/Exhale" ring, Louisville skyline bookmarks, and a journal! Enter here.
YOUR TURN! Were there any facts above that you saw coming? Which ones surprised you?
This is awesome! I am shocked by quite a few of these, especially with Ember's older name and personality. Also, I thought it pretty funny when imagining velociraptors in the series rather then black tigers. Can you imagine the panic that could quickly ensue?
Also, this has been such a fun blog tour! I have greatly enjoyed fanigrling with all the bloggers over such an awesome series (and to think, it's not even over yet!! :D).
Thanks for sharing such fun facts with us!
Haha, yes. Sometimes I wish I'd stuck with the velociraptors. haha!
I'm trying to imagine Black Tiger with no Rain, and my brain just can't compute the idea!
There would just…be no story. Sometimes I feel like the series is really about him.
Love these! Now I'm going to HAVE to get Ashen City to continue on with Ember's adventure. And #9…yes!


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Media > Movies > Wes Craven : Thank You
Wes Craven : Thank You
By Stew Miller on September 1st, 2015
We lost another cultural icon this week when horror director, Wes Craven shuffled this mortal coil after succumbing to cancer at 76. Without delving too much into the fact that cancer is a monstrous creature with little concern for which lives it takes, I'll just say that the sooner we can it eradicated the better. Anyway, Wes Craven… such a loss and such a personal one for me.
Before I go on, no, I never met the man so I did not know him at all. But ya know what, it doesn't matter because I felt a personal relationship with him all because of the very first "real" horror movie I'd ever seen. Sure, I knew classic Universal monsters and yes I grew up watching scary things here and there, but it was Freddy Krueger who really kick started my adoration for modern horror. Wes Craven's Freddy Krueger. My all time favorite horror icon.
I was 12 in 1986. I knew who the recent slashers were just by hanging out with my older friend, Kerry. My parents weren't very fond of him because he was a few years older than me and likely had a less than innocent influence on me. But I didn't care because I looked up to him, and since I didn't have an older sibling, Kerry was the guy. He kept me up to date on all the recent pop culture stuff, much of which was horror related. Kerry was a huge horror fan, so through him I learned about Jason, Michael, Leatherface, The Tall Man… the list went on and on. Yes, I was both intrigued and scared to death by his gory discriptions, but I always wanted to know more.
Well the time had come. It was my turn to finally get my own eyes on this kind of horror, and I was about to find out just how much I could fall in love with a horror icon. I was staying the night at Kerry's and he had a few movies rented on VHS to break in the brand new 500 dollar VCR his family had purchased. I honestly don't remember what the other flicks were, but the one that made me flinch a little was A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge.
Now understand I had no idea then just how vicious Freddy was, and just how influential this movie would eventually become to my life. I also didn't know then who Wes Craven was, what he had to do with A Nightmare on Elm Street and Freddy himself, and I certainly was unaware that he really had nothing to do with this particular sequel. But I didn't care; I was about to get my first taste of the slasher genre whether I really wanted to or not.
The fact was, I was scared to death. I wasn't ready for this kind of movie! Where was I going to go if I woke up with bad dreams I was inevitably going to have? I wanted to leave because it was just too much. But the Kerry gave me an ultimatum: watch the movie and don't turn away or get punched in the balls. Well, my mind was obviously made up. Kerry was very influential that way.
Needless to say, I watched and I really, truly can remember sitting there transfixed with a mixture of terror and excitement as though it were yesterday. Nearly 30 years ago I sat there and grinned like a fool as I absolutely fell in love with Freddy Krueger and horror. And now, nearly 30 years later, the man who made it possible for this man to become the horror fan he is has died. I'm sad, but, you know what? If I'm lucky his nightmares will live with me forever. Thank you, Wes Craven.
Ten Memorable Movie Tough Guys
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