text:
NewsLexus
Lexus Sells the First 2021 LC500 Convertible Inspiration Series for $2 Million
Wade Thiel January 21, 2020
A Huge Sum The 2021 Lexus LC500 Convertible Inspiration Series VIN #01 is a special car. We weren't sure exactly what that would mean to collectors, but the car was recently bought for $2 million at the Barrett-Jackson event in Scottsdale, Arizona. The owner of the car will get in in July. All of the …
NewsNissan
The Nissan Leaf Nismo RC Is All Juiced Up and Ready for Speed
A Muscular EV Nissan brought the Leaf Nismo RC to the Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia, Spain, for testing. The electric twin-motor setup and all-wheel drive is good for 322 hp and 472 lb-ft of torque. The car is capable of a 0 to 62 mph sprint in just 3.4 seconds. That means this car …
VideoKoenigseggKoenigsegg Regera
Mr. JWW Checks Out the UK's First Koenigsegg Regera
The YouTube Star Gets to Check out the Regera Mr. JWW has quite the following on YouTube and is seriously well-connected in the supercar and hypercar circles. The Koenigsegg Regera is a highly sought after hypercar, and Mr. JWW had the change to get in the first UK-delivered Regera. The Supercar Blog notes that this …
2020 Jannarelly Design-1 UK Edition Revealed
A UK Version Ready for Action Jannarelly is a Dubai-based sports car company, and the Design 1 UK Edition is its latest sports car for British Roads. The company unveiled the new car at the Salon Prive. The UK Edition is a UK-only vehicle, obviously with some special colors, features, and decals. The company slapped …
VideoSupercar YouTubers
Video Roundup: Highest Mileage Aventador, Light Car Company Rocket, Top Gear Season 28 Teaser, and More
The Videos You Need to Watch Rounded Up Right Here It's been a little while since I've done a video roundup, and let me just say, that there are some seriously good videos out there of supercars and hypercars. The spectrum ranges from simple vlogging to more serious production levels. We've pulled together some of …
NewsVector
This Purple Vector W8 Twin Turbo Is Awesome and For Sale
Outbid the Others for This Purple Majesty The Vector W8 Twin Turbo is a supercar from the late 1980s that is arguably one of the wildest from the era. Only 17 production models were made. The cars were made from 1989 to 1993. The most shocking thing about the Vector W8 was how it looked. …
MAT New Stratos Could Fetch $1 Million at Auction
A Pricey Stratos, Indeed The MAT Stratos is the car inspired by the legendary rally race car, the Lancia Stratos. The new vehicle is going to auction, the first one to be produced. Expectations for the sale of this car are very high. According to Bonhams, the vehicle could fetch up to €900,000, which is …
NewsPorschePorsche BoxsterPorsche Cayman
Porsche Goes With a Flat-Six in Cayman and Boxster GTS
Kicking the Four-Pot to the Curb In the new 718 Boxster and Cayman GTS, Porsche has replaced the 2.5-liter turbocharged four-cylinder with a 4.0-liter naturally aspirated flat-six engine pulled from the Spyder and GT4. The four-pot engine is still available in the S version of the cars and below, but the GTS gets the six-cylinder …
Special ListsGreatest EverBest SupercarsBest by DecadeAll Time
Nick D January 15, 2020
Greatest Cars by Decade Most Important Cars for Each of the Last 10 Decades Most of our readers know that we take pride in our best cars by decade articles because we spend weeks of research on each one and because as car guys it is our once chance each decade to stop and think …
NewsPorsche
Porsche Posts Record Sales in 2019
It's Not All Doom and Gloom Porsche has always stood out as an automaker. The company makes some of the best sports cars out there and has for a very long time. While the cars stand out, so do the company's sales numbers. If you look at the sales numbers for 2019, you'll see that …
NewsKoenigsegg
Koenigsegg Mission 500 Concept Could Appear at Geneva
The Race to 500 kph The top hypercar and supercar manufacturers were all about hitting 300 mph. That barrier was broken by Bugatti in 2019. However, Bugatti didn't do the right things to have the Guinness Book of World Records certify the run. Despite this, there's video and photo evidence of the run. Bugatti did …
Special Lists2010sGreatest EverBest Cars 2010s
This Is Your Our List Of The Bests Sports & Performance Cars Of The 2010s The third post in our best cars of the decade series is all about sports and performance cars. This is a fun list to create because most of these cars have taken their hit in depreciation and are relative bargains …
Special Lists2010sGreatest EverBest SupercarsBest Cars 2010sBest by Decade
2010s Supercars: Hypercars, Hybrids & The Power Wars Continue. Your Ultimate Guide To The Best Supercars of the 2010s This is our second article in a series of posts about the awesome cars of the 2010s. We curate the best supercars, exotics and hypercars from the 2010s. This past decade was stacked with masterpieces and …
VideoFord
Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 Is Almost as Fast as a Porsche 911 GT3 RS
It's Close, Very Close There's a lot to love about the new Ford Mustang Shelby GT500. It's the most muscular of all of Ford's vehicles, but it's not just a fast in a straight line. The car can make its way around a racetrack really quickly. Quicker than you might think. Quicker than a Porsche …
NewsHondaHonda NSX
Honda Has an Updated Civic Type R for 2020
The Art of Front-Wheel Drive Gets Even Better The Civic Type R is one of those cars that many people love dearly and others don't like much at all. I drove a Civic Type R when it first came out. It was at an event, and I found it to be a wonderful front-wheel-drive sports …
Hagerty Points Out Collector Cars to Get in 2020
Wade Thiel January 9, 2020
Hagerty has Spoken Looking for a good car to buy to add to your collection? According to Hagerty, sports cars from the 1990s are hot right now among collectors. In the car collector world right now, it's all about the late 90s sports cars and supercars, including vehicles like the Dodge Viper GTS, Acura Integra …
NewsToyota
Toyota to Make Reproduction Parts Available for A70 and A80 Supra
Keeping the Classics Alive The Toyota Supra has a cult following. Fans love the A70 and A80 generation cars, and now Toyota will spend time and resources to reproduce various parts for these cars. It's a smart move by the company and one that should excite Toyota Supra-lovers everywhere. The project will be called GR …
NewsMcLaren
McLaren's BC-03 Could Cost $3.5 Million
A Pricey Machine for Sure The McLaren BC-03 is a hypercar that McLaren plans to only make 15 of. The car leaked in 2019 but there hasn't been much else out there about the car. the name BC-03 isn't the final name of the vehicle. It's just the code name, and the car will likely …
NewsAston Martin
The Aston Martin V12 Speedster Will Challenge McLaren and Ferrari
Let the Open-Top Car Game Continue If you wanted an Aston Martin speedster that would compete with McLaren and Ferrari's cars, then you're in luck. The company will build one. However, you probably won't get one. Aston will build only 88 of the V12 Speedster. The company released a sketch of the vehicle and it …
NewsAudiAudi R8
Sales Indicate Audi Needs to do Something with the R8
A Dramatic Sales Drop Should Kick Audi in Gear There's a lot to love about the Audi R8 it's an everyday supercar and one of the best ones out there. The vehicle is a handsome and fast machine, and it's not selling well. In 2018, the car sold 927 units. In 2019 it sold only …
NewsBugatti
Bugatti Teases a New Model for 2020
A Geneva Motor Show Reveal? Bugatti is starting off the year by teasing a new model. The company has a new model that EVO says will join the Chiron. It's unclear exactly what the new model will be, but from the teaser, we can guess that it will have a similar shape to many of …
In 2019 Lexus Sold 3 LFA Supercars
There are Still More Out There The Lexus LFA was one of the coolest supercars, but the company still has some new ones to sell despite the fact that the production of the vehicle ended in 2012. According to Carscoops, the automaker managed to sell three of these cars in 2019. These cars were new. …
NewsDodge
Is This 2018 Dodge Demon Convertible a Good Idea?
Only in Florida The Sunshine State is known for many things. Among them is the fact that there are some rather wild folks down there. This is perfectly exemplified in the purple Dodge Demon that was converted into a droptop. The owner apparently liked his Demon, but wanted to feel the sun on is face …
LamborghiniLamborghini HuracanLamborghini Huracan EVO RWD
Lamborghini Huracan Evo Rear-Wheel Drive
Lamborghini Huracan Evo RWD The New Rear-Drive Supercar The Huracan Evo is an amazing supercar, and Lamborghini is working to make the most of the design. The company released the Huracan Evo Rear-Wheel Drive. The model is a paired back version of the car that looks to be possibly the best version for the true …
Special ListsLotusFastestLotus ListsAll Time
Nick D January 3, 2020
Top 12 Fastest Lotus Cars. In Terms of Acceleration & Top Speed, These Lotus Cars Are Bloody Quick. We looked over the Lotus 0-60 mph performance data we have organized (yeah we know it needs to be updated) and realized that we had not taken the time to create the ultimate "Fast Lotus" list we …
Special ListsLotusGreatest EverLotus ListsAll Time
From the Esprit to Elan to Elise, here are the top 20 Greatest Lotus Cars Ever Produced Hot on the heels of our best Lotus race cars list we now are diving into the best Lotus production cars ever made. This all came about of course because we spent weeks creating a list of every …
NewsPaganiPagani Zonda
The Latest One-Off From Pagani is the Zonda Zun
The Zonda Lives! The Italian supercar known as the Zonda has been around since 1999. Pagani has just released its latest one-off version of the car, the Zonda Zun. The car was revealed last year, but now the driver has taken delivery and been spotted driving the car around London. The Zun is a memorable …
NewsLamborghiniLamborghini Espada
This Horrid Lamborghini Espada Hot Rod Is For Sale
The Worst Way to Ruin a Lamborghini Espada If you have no taste, if you hate yourself and hate Lamborghini, then this is the car for you. This hot rod Lamborghini Espada is wild, ugly, and is for sale at Hemmings. The car was built by Danton Arts Kustoms at the direction of the owner …
Best Lotus Race Cars In History
The Top 14 Greatest Lotus Race Cars Ever Made We recently put together a full list of all the Lotus race cars ever to turn a wheel on-track (we also created a full list of all Lotus production cars for those interested in that kind of thing). Part of that research was an eye-opening view …
Ford's Mustang Mach-E Top Trim Level Reservations Full
The Highest-End Clydesdale Seems to be Popular Say what you will about Ford's choice to make an electric SUV and call it a Mustang, the company seems to be fulfilling pre-orders easily enough. According to Automotive News, the top-level Mustang Mach-E pre-orders are full. The company didn't say how many pre-orders it has, though. The …


text:
See also: legal develop industry
"generate" in the news
electricity generated
Wikipedia declined to remove content from the community-generated site, citing its opposition to censorship.
They found mutations in two genes that caused the child to be deficient in a vital molecule known as Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD), which allows cells to generate energy and organs to develop normally.
Changes to air passenger duty could reduce the billions of pounds the charge generates for the government, which is expected to reach £3.7bn this financial year, according to Office for Budget Responsibility.
Canal Istanbul can generate $1 bln from passing ships annually: Minister
An additional $250 million is expected to be generated in ports and logistic centers, Turhan added.
The warning said staff were responding to an incident at the Pickering Nuclear Generating Station east of Toronto.
In Britain alone households generate 30% more waste, an extra 3m tonnes, in the month over Christmas.
Much of the heat generated by greenhouse gas emissions is going into the oceans, says the WMO.
An Art Fund appeal generated £1.5m from 8,000 donations.
Measures taken in the capital itself are unlikely to have a major effect on the smog however, as much of it is being generated by crop burning in areas around New Delhi, where farmers light fires to get rid of leftover crops and "stubble.
Each year, human trafficking generates more than $150 billion in profits – at the expense of human life – with children accounting for around a third of its victims.
In total, they employed 280 people last year, generating a turnover of TL 24 million.
Companies will lease the land for 60 years and the project will generate an estimated 10 trillion baht during the concession period, of which around 1.4 trillion baht will be profit.
According to the South China Morning Post, "The theory goes that at this time of year the moon and earth are in exactly the right alignment, the celestial bodies generating the perfect balance of forces needed to make it possible.
According to the Tourism and Sports Ministry, Ratchaburi welcomed 1.36 million tourists in the first seven months of this year, up 3.5% year-on-year, generating 2.49 billion baht in revenue, up 6.5%.
It is estimated that electricity generated by the farm can meet the power demand of Tay Ninh and supply additional power to the southern region.
Gravitational interactions with Jupiter generate tidal forces and heat, which keeps Europa's ocean liquid.
Its centre, which is almost 2 miles thick, generates its own weather system.
Once operational later this year, the £2.6bn Beatrice Offshore Windfarm Ltd (Bowl) project will generate enough power for more than 450,000 properties.
The map was first published on June 20 on Météociel, a French site that automatically generates weather pattern visualizations based on data from various forecasting models.
In the past 20 years nearly a third of American jobs were generated in just these two states.
It generates its electricity from diesel fuel generators with a capacity of 42 megawatts and has 7.5 million liters of fuel capacity.
The government hasn't quite gone that far, but it has unveiled a new energy master plan to increase the amount of renewable energy it generates to 20% by 2030.
With the increase of user-generated content, or citizen journalism, how should broadcasters treat the material?
These actions come in the wake of reports that a 'shocking' amount of plastic waste is generated by Vietnamese people.
The service is expected to generate more income for both border towns and will facilitate logistics and tourism, as travellers can take a slow train ride from Bangkok to Phnom Penh.
Supporters of the Hudson Yards project say the government incentives will pay vast dividends by creating an entirely new business district, generating thousands of new jobs and retaining many thousands more.
The fact that such a small number of users generated such a large number of the tweets suggests that the accounts were created for the purpose of producing negative content about the duchess, Hope Not Hate said.
Rubbing your hands vigorously together to generate energy and covering your eyes to block the light getting through, he says, helps ease out eye strain.
Omikuji fortunes are drawn at Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples, and are particularly popular around New Year, but these days they can also be randomly generated through online sites as well.
Why the media is unable to report on a case that has generated huge interest online
The team studied the membrane-bound IgE-positive B cell (mIgE+ B cell), which appears only in fetuses and infants and generates IgE.
The low pressure system generated in southern Kyushu will move north over the main island of Honshu, leading to rain in the Kanto region from the night of Dec. 11 and possible snow in mountainous areas, the agency said.
While the sudden awakening of the ordinarily docile geyser was a surprise, the real shock came when employees discovered that in addition to the expected rocks and dirt, the geyser had also ejected human-generated trash.
Foreigners, who want to be a citizen of Turkey, need to make a $500,000 investment, buy real estate worth $250,000 or generate jobs for at least 50 people.
In Part 1, we learned that Bitcoin is a decentralized currency, not generated or owned by any government or financial institution, and what hashing is.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
package me.deftware.client.framework.helper;

import me.deftware.client.framework.gui.GuiScreen;
import me.deftware.client.framework.minecraft.Minecraft;
import me.deftware.client.framework.render.shader.Shader;
import me.deftware.client.framework.util.minecraft.MinecraftIdentifier;
import me.deftware.mixin.imp.IMixinEntityRenderer;
import net.minecraft.client.MinecraftClient;

/**
 * @author Deftware
 */
public class WindowHelper {

	public static int getLimitFramerate() {
		return MinecraftClient.getInstance().options.maxFps;
	}

	public static void setLimitFramerate(int framerate) {
		MinecraftClient.getInstance().options.maxFps = framerate;
		MinecraftClient.getInstance().getWindow().setFramerateLimit(framerate);
	}

	public static long getWindowHandle() {
		return MinecraftClient.getInstance().getWindow().getHandle();
	}

	public static double getScaleFactor() {
		return MinecraftClient.getInstance().getWindow().getScaleFactor();
	}

	public static void setScaleFactor(int factor) {
		MinecraftClient.getInstance().options.guiScale = factor;
		MinecraftClient.getInstance().onResolutionChanged();
	}

	public static int getGuiScaleRaw() {
		return MinecraftClient.getInstance().options.guiScale;
	}

	public static int getGuiScale() {
		int factor = MinecraftClient.getInstance().getWindow().calculateScaleFactor(MinecraftClient.getInstance().options.guiScale, MinecraftClient.getInstance().forcesUnicodeFont());
		if (factor == 0) {
			factor = 4;
		}
		return factor;
	}

	public static boolean isFocused() {
		return MinecraftClient.getInstance().isWindowFocused();
	}

	public static boolean isMinimized() {
		return GuiScreen.getDisplayHeight() == 0 && GuiScreen.getDisplayWidth() == 0;
	}

	public static int getFPS() {
		return Minecraft.getMinecraftGame().getFPS();
	}

	public static boolean isDebugInfoShown() {
		return MinecraftClient.getInstance().options.debugEnabled;
	}

	public static double getGamma() {
		return MinecraftClient.getInstance().options.gamma;
	}

	public static void setGamma(double value) {
		MinecraftClient.getInstance().options.gamma = value;
	}

	@Deprecated
	public static void loadShader(MinecraftIdentifier location) {
		((IMixinEntityRenderer) MinecraftClient.getInstance().gameRenderer).loadCustomShader(location);
	}

	public static void loadShader(Shader shader) {
		((IMixinEntityRenderer) MinecraftClient.getInstance().gameRenderer).loadShader(shader);
	}

	public static void disableShader() {
		MinecraftClient.getInstance().execute(() -> MinecraftClient.getInstance().gameRenderer.disableShader());
	}

}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


A recent review in the Journal of Psychiatric Practice found cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to be beneficial for medication-resistant symptoms of schizophrenia. This is an important study because persistent symptoms are often disabling, lead to significant distress, and are associated with increased depression, anxiety, and risk of suicide. CBT as part of a treatment protocol with anti-psychotic medications has been shown to reduce these and other symptoms, and to increase adherence to treatment and insight; additionally, the effects are durable and cost effective. Working collaboratively with patients to improve understanding and coping has overall reduced suffering and improved functioning.


Join Laura at the Healthy Living Magazine Conference & Expo on Sunday April 8th as a featured presenter.
Trauma is not what you may think.
Have you endured unexplained or life lifelong symptoms?
Do you suffer from chronic illness, anxiety, depression, fatigue, physical pain or even cancer?
Did your symptom or illness manifest as the result of a past trauma?
The #metoo movement has done an amazing job at opening the doors on many fronts. Many are beginning to awaken and understand the reason they feel the way they do maybe due trauma – personal, generational, karmic and are finally searching for ways to address those innate needs.
Our bodies are miraculous beings fully equipped to heal themselves. Reiki taps into the body's innate abilities.
However, when we experience trauma, such as an accident, natural disaster, loss, or even abuse, those abilities become significantly compromised. Although, we are taught that time heals all wounds, we are learning this is not always the case. Many times these traumas manifest years later.
What happened to you does not have to be a life sentence. Join Laura for powerful presentation and discover how the system of reiki can empower you, remove toxicity, restore wholeness and create a healthier you!
Reiki supports the whole person physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually while drilling down on specific issues. Reiki is easy to learn and can be used in a home or clinical setting to enhance the health and emotional wellness of both self and others. It is also complementary with all other alternative or traditional medical treatments, and in non-invasive.
Jikiden Reiki® is the "direct" teaching of Reiki as it was taught in Japan before it was brought to the west in the 1930's. Because Jikiden Reiki® is free from Western influence, it differs from "Western" style of Reiki in approach, attitude, and ideas.
Jikiden Reiki® sessions focus on removing toxins from the body and guiding it towards wholeness. It is known for its effective treatment of acute and chronic conditions, as well as to address deep rooted beliefs, habits, traumas and addictions. Reiki has been effective treatment option like alleviating pain, pre-op and post-op surgery recovery, anxiety, skin conditions and posttraumatic stress.
Laura Joseph is a survivor of abuse, speaker, healer, intuitive, writer and teacher. She has a background as a college educator and domestic abuse advocate with over 15 cumulative years of experience in healthcare with a focus on trauma informed care.
Laura frequently travels as a guest speaker at conferences and organizations on healing trauma through spiritually based and holistic based practices. Laura brings her empathy, passion, compassion, and wit to assist in bringing out the best in you.


text:
Open-End Versus Closed-End Leasing
January 20, 2016 • by Paul Clinton
Photo courtesy of iStockPhoto.com.
The fleet leasing industry is taking a cautiously optimistic approach to coming changes in accounting standards that have reignited discussions about the leasing instruments that have become essential tools for procurement of fleet vehicles.
The Financial Accounting Standards Board's (FASB) new lease accounting may not have a seismic impact on fleet management when they arrive in early 2016, but fleet managers will need to assess the impact of including lease obligations on corporate balance sheets and should initiate thoughtful, preemptive conversations with their finance departments.
In the commercial fleet industry, leasing has become the dominant way companies acquire their vehicles, a trend that stands in stark relief to the public fleet realm, where fleet managers often deploy replacement reserve funds to fund fleet purchases.
Companies choose to lease their vehicles as a way to reduce the amount of capital tied up in non-core assets, as well as to reduce sales tax by paying tax on a leased vehicle similar to rental instead of paying tax on the vehicle purchase amount.
Commercial leasing has evolved from the early days of closed-end offerings, where fleet managers now face two main choices, including open-ended and closed-ended leases that offer basic benefits. An open-ended lease is set up as a "cost plus" arrangement, while the closed-end lease offers a fixed price.
Fleets that opt for leasing over financing or outright cash purchases still mostly prefer an open-ended TRAC lease, which can also be known as an operating lease. TRAC, which stands for Terminal Rental Adjustment Clause, is a certification that tells the Internal Revenue Service that the lease conforms to its tax codes and isn't considered a daily rental agreement. Open-ended leases typically offer a fleet manager more flexibility in dealing with variable mileage and greater input into remarketing decisions.
"We have found that the TRAC lease meets the objectives of the widest audience," said Bruce Wright, strategic consulting manager with Element Fleet Management. "The TRAC lease traditionally offers the lowest total cost of ownership over the long run of the portfolio due to the customer experiencing the actual depreciation based on their asset utilization patterns."
Other fleets prefer closed-end operating leases that provide greater cost certainty for tighter monthly budgets, smaller fleets, or executive fleets that tie vehicles to compensation.
"Companies turn to closed-end leases when they're looking to get a fixed-cost solution for the provision of vehicles rather than taking the risk themselves and waiting until the vehicle is disposed to know what their ultimate cost was," said Joe Pelehach, vice president of Motorlease Corp.
A third lease type, known as an open calculation lease, has arrived from Europe. The lease isn't widely offered by U.S. fleet management companies, and it offers a middle ground on costs and remarketing decisions. It functions like a closed-end lease with greater transparency.
Choosing a lease should always be undertaken with a clear idea of how the vehicle will be used in the field. Other factors that must be considered include the company's financial needs, operational requirements, asset type and utilization. Executives with fleet management companies suggested that fleet managers should calculate the total cost of ownership of a vehicle before choosing a leasing instrument.
Let's take a closer look at leasing options available to commercial fleets. Read our sidebar about the benefits of using capital to purchase fleet vehicles outright. Financing fleet vehicles is yet another option that may lose steam as interest rates rise higher.
Open-Ended Leasing: Flexibility and Control
Open-end leases have become pervasive in fleet leasing because they offer fleet managers greater control of asset utilization and disposal. In an open-end lease, the lessee agrees to a minimum term that's usually at least 12 months and can terminate the agreement at any point after the end of the term. The lessor then sells the vehicle. If the proceeds of the sale are greater than what was calculated in the agreement, the lessee receives a reimbursement. If the vehicle is sold for less, the lessee must reimburse the lessor for the difference.
Open-end leases carry no mileage restrictions and as a result appeal to companies with unpredictable mileage. High-mileage vehicles will depreciate faster, which will force the lessee to bear the brunt of higher use in the used-vehicle market. The lessee also assumes responsibility for remarketing decisions, including the risk or reward involving resale value.
"In North America, most fleets exist to serve as work and business tools and are not provided in lieu of compensation," said Norman Din, vice president of strategic sales with Wheels, Inc. "Because they are work tools, mileage is typically both high and varied."
Fleet management companies usually offer different kinds of open-end leases depending on the accounting guidance from the corporation's finance department. A lease would be considered a capital lease versus an operating lease if one of four factors is met, said Bryan Wilson, ARI's controller.
"The difference between a capital and operating lease comes down to the accounting guidance that governs leases," Wilson said. "If at least one of the four criteria is true then the lease would be classified as a capital lease on the lessee's account books."
A lease would be considered a capital lease if the ownership of the asset is shifted to the lessee, the lessee purchases the asset at below market price by exercising a "bargain purchase option," the lease term encompasses at least 75% of the useful life of the asset, or the present value of the minimum lease payments plus any lessee guarantee is at least 90 percent of the fair value of the asset at lease inception.
In the present leasing environment, a capital lease would be added to a company's balance sheet while an operating lease could be kept off the balance sheet, a situation that will likely change under the new accounting standards.
Open-end leases appeal to fleet managers with remarketing expertise who monitor the used-vehicle market and can sell vehicles during peaks in the value cycle.
Michael Bieger, senior director of global procurement for payroll servicer ADP, uses open-end leases for his fleet of mostly Ford Fusion Hybrid sedans for this reason. Bieger usually leases his 1,200 vehicles for about 36 months.
"The reason we don't have hard and fast end points is because we need flexibility to respond to market conditions," Bieger said. "We can cycle the vehicles out early should it be a good business decision for ADP. If you have a closed-end lease that opportunity is not provided to you."
Fleet management companies specializing in open-end leases include ARI, Donlen, Element, EMKAY, LeasePlan, and Wheels, Inc.
Closed-Ended Leasing: Predictable Outcomes
Closed-end leases can resemble retail leases and appeal to fleets seeking a fixed monthly payment. With this lease, the term is set and monthly payments are based on the estimated residual value of the vehicle at the end of the term. The leasing company estimates this value, and sets restrictions on mileage and wear. The lessee can walk away from the deal at the end of the term with no additional costs if the vehicle didn't exceed the maximum mileage or wear-and-tear parameters. The lessor sells the vehicle and assumes responsibility for any profits or losses caused by fluctuations in market value.
"Closed-end leases have the benefit of a predictable monthly payment with no residual risk to the lessee at term end," said Craig Lehmann, Donlen's director of equipment leasing operations. "With the lessor assuming the residual risk, the potential drawback is there are usage provisions incorporated into the lease, which could lead to end-of-term charges for customers that did not accurately project usage at lease inception."
Closed-end leases can carry penalties for mileage overages or increased wear and tear, but the fleet management companies offering these products say they make adjustments to gain customer loyalty.
"The mere prospect of having an excess mileage charge or early termination fee causes some fleets to remove closed-end leases from consideration," said Pelehach. "The reality is that whether a lessee is in a closed-end lease or an open-end lease, they are going to have to deal with the economic realities of the use of that vehicle, whether it is terminating a lease earlier than anticipated or driving higher miles."
As one way to ease the impact of unpredictable mileage, Merchants Fleet Management allows larger fleets to pool mileage to help even out driving patterns.
"The economics of a closed-end lease payment usually make sense when driver mileage is predictable," said Tom Coffey, vice president of sales and marketing for Merchants.
Similarly, Motorlease offers a mile-per-mile credit that allows a fleet to apply the unused miles from one vehicle to the mileage overage of another vehicle. Mileage overages that result in penalties can be viewed as a way to account for unplanned depreciation, Pelehach added.
"Assuming that the leasing company is fair in their excess mileage charge, the additional cost that is incurred by an excess mileage charge is nothing more than capturing the additional depreciation that occurs as a result of the higher mileage," Pelehach added.
Closed-end leases can also make more sense in an environment of rising interest rates, because the rate is fixed with other costs at the beginning of the term, said Pelehach. However, fleet management companies who offer open-end leases said rates can be fixed on those products as well.
Closed-end leases provide more certainty to fleet managers who worry about the future of the used-car market, which has been strong in recent years. These leases fix the cost of depreciation, which typically makes up the highest cost in the TCO equation.
"The used market is beginning to move off of those historic all-time highs, and looking at historical data can be dangerous if trying to calculate future expectations," Pelehach said. "That's a huge problem with open-end leases and TCO. You don't know what your TCO is until the vehicle is sold."
Closed-end leases can also find favor with multi-national fleets that manage vehicles in various countries to harmonize their lease accounting across the board.
"International accounting standards only recognize closed end leases as operating," said Brad Vliek, EMKAY's vice president of client services. "Because of this, U.S. syndicates with foreign parent companies typically choose closed-end leases for consistency with their parent company."
Lease accounting may drive a fleet's decision to steer away from a closed-end lease because the right to use an asset would be required for the entire lease term. Open-end leases average about six months of "right to use" with a minimum term of 12 months, said Wheels' Din.
Fleet management companies specializing in closed-end leases include LeasePlan, Merchants Fleet Management, and Motorlease.
Open Calculation Leases: A Hybrid Offering
LeasePlan has begun offering an open calculation lease that has been a popular offering in Europe because it functions similarly to a closed-end lease but with characteristics of an open-end. In Europe, fleets who opt for closed-end leases that don't list the components that make up the monthly payment.
The open calculation lease gives fleets the predictability of a set payment, but also offer more transparency about how the lessor arrived at that number. At the end of the term, the lease offers a risk-and-reward sharing scenario that usually involves the lessor paying the lessee half of the reward if the vehicle sells for more than the expected value. The lessor usually also agrees to shoulder the costs if the vehicle sells for less.
This type of lease also suits the European leasing market because vehicles are often sold in lots at auction rather than being sold individually. The lot allows a lessor to mix vehicles in various conditions to spread out risk and level the average selling price.
Closed-end lease terms tend to be longer and can range from 18 months to 36 months.
"Flexibility is important and that holds true when looking at leasing solutions," said Jon Toups, chief sales and marketing officer for LeasePlan USA. "At the end of the day, the lease has to meet the needs of the client's finance and accounting teams, so it's crucial to offer more than just one solution."
LeasePlan is the only fleet management company offering an open calculation lease in the U.S.
Purchasing Fleet Vehicles with Capital Outlays
Fleets often choose leasing over purchasing to avoid capital expenditures that may be better suited for other corporate goals. Companies willing to move forward with this outlay can reduce operating costs associated with hiring leasing service providers.
Sue Miller, the former fleet manager for McDonald's Corp., shifted the company from a self-funded leasing approach to a capital outlay approach in her 29 years with the company.
"When we analyzed the lease-versus-own approach, we realized we were adding a layer of expense and administration that wasn't necessary by financing our own leasing of the vehicles," said Miller.
Miller turned to fleet management service providers for other services and used what's known as an "unbundled" approach. She purchased the vehicles through dealers and hired a remarketing company to help with disposal. She also implemented a vehicle trade-in program that saved the company up to $400,000 a year, depending on the quality of the new vehicle.
"The unbundled approach became our mode of business," Miller said. "We just wrote a check for the cars, and added them to our ledger. During my tenure, we were a cash-oriented company. Paying for the car outright was still a benefit. With the weighted cost of capital, we were still coming out ahead by owning the car with no monthly billing reconciliations or adjustments that come with leasing. We set up straight depreciation for the car and managed it very cleanly in that regard. We had no early termination penalties and weren't constrained about how the vehicle was utilized or taking a vehicle in or out of service. We were in full control of the asset."
Related: New Accounting Rules Require All Leases on Balance Sheets
Originally posted on Automotive Fleet
Read more about Closed-End Leases Open-End Leases Fleet Management Companies FASB Taxation


When a detective is assigned to investigate the murder of an entire family, his inquiries lead him to a company where an employee is a serial killer. In his first film as a director, Korean Won-Chan Hong, previously the screenwriter of The Chaser and The Murderer (both directed by Na Hong-jin), brings us a blood-curdling drama set in the working world of contemporary Korea.
It all started with an original idea by the film's exectuvie producer and screenwriter, Choi Yun-jin, who presented me with a script based on her own experience of the corporate world. The story of O Piseu (Office) takes place in a constrained atmosphere and deals with people who are being driven crazy by stress. Unlike other thrillers, I think this film reflects the nature of contemporary Korean society through the medium of the crime genre.
What aspects did you focus on in terms of directing technique?
I delierately tried to restrict myself to the office space that serves as the bacdrop to the film. Since there are numerous constraints on positioning a camera in an office, and this can quickly lead to boring filming, I tried out several different kinds of shots so as to reduce the repetitive element, given that the maintenance of a film's rhythm is absolutely vital, even if often difficult to achieve.
What were your influences for making this film?
Korean society is currently experiencing a phenomenon whereby entire families commit suicide together. This is a serious social problem arising from the very structure of our society, in which working conditions and the degree of competition are particularly difficult. I was particularly attracted by the idea of making a film that could act as a social drama while following the conventions of the crime genre.
Before this first film as a director, you worked on The Chaser and The Murderer by Na Hong-jin. What did you learn from these experiences?
These two films occupy a special place in my career, since they enabled me to work as a screenwriter and to familiarise myself with the narrative structure of the thriller. They also taught me the importance of a passionate approach to film-making. As a director, Na Hong-jin works with an extremely high level of concentration and perfectionism. For me he is a friend, a source of invaluable advice and a form of master.
Can you tell us a little more about your desire to make films?
I think that all directors or screenwriters need to learn in silence and to find their own channel of expression. The motivation always comes from our love of film. I I hope that I will never lose my detachment and objectivity, so that my love for the cinema will last for ever.


For You Residence brings you a compact package of exotic accommodation, ample leisure opportunities and up to par business facilities. Rooms come in themed décor echoing Thai, Japanese, Chinese, and even Colonial settings giving you an authentic feel of a different culture. Enjoy in-house café dining if you don't feel like stepping out of your comfortable air conditioned room on a warm day.
Business persons will appreciate the internet facility and IDD telephones available. You can also rest assured that your meeting and conferencing needs will be taken care of very well. When you step out, you're in the Silom area famous for shopping, dining and a host of entertainment. The Skytrain can take you further to the various other attractions.


Engineers will be investigating the crash log in an attempt to ascertain the cause. We apologise for any inconvenience.
Service has been restored at 10:28 following our engineers restarting a process on one of the VoIP servers.


text:
Q: C CSV GLIB sort optmization I was asked a question on a recent interview at Sevone but I never got a response on how I did.  I only had 2 hours to complete the challenge and i could not get it to sort by gender.  Here is what I started with, and even further below was my solution
// Sevone Programming Challenge!

#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <string.h>
#include <glib.h>

//! This is the sex of a human.
typedef enum { MALE, FEMALE } Gender;

//! This is a human person.
typedef struct Person {
    //! The given name.
    char* firstName;
    //! The family name.
    char* lastName;
    //! The age, in calendar years.
    int age;
    //! The sex (see above).
    Gender gender;
} Person;

/** This is the bonus function.
  **/
void bonusFunction();

/** This is the core of the program.
  **/
int main( int argc, char** argv ) {

    // INSTRUCTIONS:
    //    Please refer to: http://developer.gnome.org/glib/2.30/glib-Double-ended-Queues.html
    // 1. Open "people.csv".
    // 2. Read in the list of people (format is "firstName lastName,age,{male|female}").
    // 3. Create a "Person" for each one read.
    // 4. Insert each "Person" into a GLib GQueue (this is a "double-ended queue", but think of it like a list).
    // 5. Sort the list (by using "g_queue_sort") by:
    //       1. Gender
    //       2. Last name
    // 6. Print out the list (by using "g_queue_foreach").  The format should be:
    //       (male/female) Last name, First name (age)
    // 7. Free up all memory (we're gonna valgrind this afterward).

// Ready for the bonus?
    bonusFunction();

    // KTHXBYE
    return( 0 );
}

/** This is the bonus function.
  **/
void bonusFunction() {
    //! This is the bonus array!
    int arrayOfInts[] = { 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34 };

    // BONUS!
    // 1. Loop through the bonus array and print it without using square brackets ("[" and "]").

    // All done.
    return;
}

Here is my solution, please let me know how to sort by gender or any other optimizations.
// Programming Challenge!

#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <string.h>
#include <glib.h>

//! This is the sex of a human.
typedef enum { MALE, FEMALE } Gender;

//! This is a human person.
typedef struct Person {
    //! The given name.
    char* firstName;
    //! The family name.
    char* lastName;
    //! The age, in calendar years.
    int age;
    //! The sex (see above).
    Gender gender;
} Person;

/** This is the bonus function.
  **/
void bonusFunction();

gint sort_lastName(gconstpointer a, gconstpointer b, gpointer data) {
    return strcmp( ((Person*)a)->lastName, ((Person*)b)->lastName );
}
void prt(gpointer per) {
 printf("%s, %s %d  \n ", ((Person*)per)->lastName, ((Person*)per)->firstName,((Person*)per)->age);
}

/** This is the core of the program.
  **/
int main( int argc, char** argv ) {
    puts("Starting SevOne Test\n");
    // INSTRUCTIONS:
    //    Please refer to: http://developer.gnome.org/glib/2.30/glib-Double-ended-Queues.html
    // 1. Open "people.csv".
    // 2. Read in the list of people (format is "firstName lastName,age,{male|female}").
    // 3. Create a "Person" for each one read.
    // 4. Insert each "Person" into a GLib GQueue (this is a "double-ended queue", but think of it like a list).
    // 5. Sort the list (by using "g_queue_sort") by:
    //       1. Gender
    //       2. Last name
    // 6. Print out the list (by using "g_queue_foreach").  The format should be:
    //       (male/female) Last name, First name (age)
    // 7. Free up all memory (we're gonna valgrind this afterward).

    char buffer[100];
    int counter=0;
    char * token;
    GQueue* q = g_queue_new();

    FILE *fp;
    fp=fopen("people.csv", "r");

    if( fp == NULL )
    {
        puts("Failed to open file");
        return 0;
    }

    while(fgets(buffer, sizeof(buffer), fp) != NULL)
    {
        Person *ptr_one;
        ptr_one = (Person *) malloc (sizeof(Person));

        // Get first name
        token = strtok(buffer," ");
        ptr_one->firstName=(char *)malloc(sizeof(char)*sizeof(token));
        strcpy(ptr_one->firstName,token);

        // Get last name
        token = strtok(NULL,",");
        ptr_one->lastName=(char *)malloc(sizeof(char)*sizeof(token));
        strcpy(ptr_one->lastName,token);

        // Get age
        token = strtok(NULL, ",");
        ptr_one->age=(int *)malloc(sizeof(int));
        sscanf (token, "%d", &ptr_one->age);

        // Get gender
        token = strtok(NULL,",\n");

        g_queue_push_tail(q, ptr_one);

    }

    // Sort list by last name
    g_queue_sort(q, (GCompareDataFunc)sort_lastName, NULL);

    // print the list
    g_queue_foreach(q, (GFunc)prt, NULL);
    if( fclose(fp) != 0 )
    {
        puts("Failed to close file."); /* prints !!!Hello World!!! */
        return 0;
    }
    g_queue_free(q);

// Ready for the bonus?
    bonusFunction();

    // KTHXBYE
    return( 0 );
}

/** This is the bonus function.
  **/
void bonusFunction() {
    //! This is the bonus array!
    int arrayOfInts[] = { 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34 };

    // BONUS!
    // 1. Loop through the bonus array and print it without using square brackets ("[" and "]").

    // All done.
    return;
}

And the CSV below
Brad Fawcett,24,male
Steve Settlemyre,29,male
Dave Hegenbarth,44,male
Cathy Colapiertro,41,female
Steve Mahoney,23,male
Dave Mulford,26,male
Doug Manley,24,male
Steve Carrington,24,male
Lauren Jordan,31,female
Tanya Bakalov,26,female

A: First you need to parse the gender properly :
    // Get gendor
    token = strtok(NULL,",\n");
    if(strcasecmp(token, "female") == 0)
        ptr_one->gender = FEMALE;
    else
        ptr_one->gender = MALE;

Then use an appropriate comparison function :
gint sort_gender(gconstpointer a, gconstpointer b, gpointer data) {
    return ((Person*)a)->gender - ((Person*)b)->gender;
}

And the bonus function :
void bonusFunction() {
    //! This is the bonus array!
    int arrayOfInts[] = { 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34 };

    // BONUS!
    // 1. Loop through the bonus array and print it without using square brackets ("[" and "]").
    int i;
    int *n = arrayOfInts;
    for(i = 0; i < sizeof(arrayOfInts)/sizeof(int); i++)
        printf("%d\n", *n++);

    return;
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Presentation skills training + practice with virtual reality = presenting with impact.
This highly tailored half-day course will provide you with tips and techniques for presenting with confidence and give you the experience of presenting your own presentation or speech in a safe, virtual space. We limit places to 6 and provide two trainers to ensure that the focus is on you and your development.
Whether you are an inexperienced speaker, feel unsettled about presenting or want to advance your communication skills further, this three hour workshop is a personalised experience using virtual reality tools for immediate impact.
This workshop uniquely combines real time feedback on pace, volume, filler words and eye contact in virtual reality scenarios, with expert tips and face to face presenatation techniques to create confidence and focus for your presenting skills. Much of the practice take place in a realistic but virtual environment. It is a fun and non-judgmental way of building skills.
Anyone looking to improve their presenting and public speaking skills, be it for work or special occasions like best man duties.
Simple but memorable techniques to use body language to create impact.
Head of Psychology at Durham University, Behavioural Scientist and author of The Social Brain. Richard translates his behavioural insights into tips and techniques that we use to help people develop themselves as leaders.
Our head office and Midlands training days are held at Innovation Birmingham (pictured) - the leading location for Birmingham's tech and start-up community. It is an ideal location, just off the A38 and with fantastic city centre transport links and superfast Wi-Fi access for all delegates. Secure on-site parking is also available.
We limit places to 6 people per masterclass and provide two trainers to ensure that the focus is on you and your development.
1I have a promotion code, how do I use it?
3Is my registration fee or ticket transferrable?
There is secured, paid parking onsite and paid parking across the street from iCentrum.
5Are there any prerequisites before attending the course?
6Do Enploy offer in house training as well?
We sure do!..We do offer customised, in-house programmes delivered at a location of your choice.
7How can I contact the organiser with any questions?


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I posted this on my personal blog previously, but really it belongs here. Hence the reblog.
I attended the Swedish Research Council'sannual symposium on artistic researchonNovember27th and 28th, and while there gave a presentation I had called «surviving Bologna». The talk – and the slides – were in Norwegian, but I have translated the slides, and post them here with some comment (since they are a little cryptic on their own).
I willemphasize:this is not a transcript, and I was a little more detailed and a little less flippant when actually presenting. But the content is more or less the same.
Not much to say about this one; I introduced myself andThe Norwegian Film School.
Wasn't the European education landscape lovely before Bologna? Wild, varied…and somewhat unpredictable.
This got a laugh. And, I'll admit, I hoped it would.


- Darin co-produced, mixed and mastered the acclaimed 2012 Nathan K. release "Dishes". He is currently co-producing, the forthcoming record by Nathan K.
-Stepdad is the name of a pop group that Nathan is a member of, comprised of Nathan, Ryan McCarthy, Mark Tafel, Alexander Fives, and Benjamin Weissenborn.
- Zachary shot and edited the music videos for "Leave Them" and "Bob Seger" from the 2012 release, "Dishes".
- Elise did the press photos for the 2012 release "Dishes".
- John shot the current black and white press photos in his studio in Grand Rapids, MI. John is also the primary songwriter in the folk group Strawberry Heritage.
-Jim did the album artwork for the 2012 release "Dishes", as well as several show posters for Nathan K. and other Michigan artists. He is one of Nathan's favorite songwriters.
- Emily did the album artwork for the 2010 release "Newspapers & Prayers" as well as several show posters for Nathan.
- Jim engineered, mixed, and mastered the 2010 release "Newspapers & Prayers".


The Alexander McQueen fw 2015 show was held inside La Conciergerie's hall of the guards, one of the largest surviving medieval parts of the site, and it was the perfect backdrop for the glamorous collection.
Punk meets romance seemed to be the theme with pink, red and black ruffle pieces floating down the runway. McQueen's signature pairing of leather and lace was also abundant. The details took our breath away!


As a fictional character created by James Patterson, Detective Alex Cross is a protagonist psychologist/detective that resides in Washington DC. To make matters even more challenging, Alex is a widowed father left with two children (Janelle and Damon) raised in the home by his grandmother, referred to as Nana Mama.
The series of Alex Cross novels are some of James Patterson's best work. The work is written in first person and narrated by Alex Cross who tends to reverse the point of view to look at the world through the villain's eyes. There are 20 novels in the entire series with a new one (Cross My Heart) about to be released in the latter part of 2013. This is a strong indicator that the series is far from being over.
As the protagonist in every novel in the series, the first novel of Alex Cross has him alone after his wife Maria met her demise by an assassin. He eventually meets Christina, falls in love and has his third child Alex Junior (Ali). Throughout the entire series, he is typically at odds against some criminal threat while living and working in Washington DC. At some point, Christina fears for her life and leaves.
The novels are full of tension. However, it is Alex's desire to remain close to his family even through its challenges. After Christina's departure, he begins to date again even though women often die or leave him over the arc of the entire series. At some point, he finally comes face-to-face with the individual that murdered the mother of his first two children. At the pinnacle of the story, Alex is doing everything in his power to take the man out, only to have that happen by John Sampson, his best friend. It was this gallant action of his best friend that helped Alex avoid wrapping himself up in a revenge killing.
With his wife's murder being solved, he can now move forward and find the peace he so desperately wants. In later novels, he begins a new relationship and finally marries Bree Stone, only to find he has a new nemesis out to get him. Alex and Bree adopt a girl found by Nana Mama, only to have her murdered in a subsequent novel. He avenges the murder and comes to terms with whether or not he should continue living the life of a detective. The series is far from over, as it becomes more complex in dealing with actions of the past with new archenemies continuing to arise.
In total, the Alex Cross series has had three theatrical film releases based on the books. This includes Along Came a Spider and Kiss the Girls and the newly released Cross. In addition, the entire book series has been released in both hardcover and paperback. There are even some that have been released as an audio book. The hardback covers tend to reach approximately 300 pages. The later novels have been upwards of closer to 400 pages long.
The original series began in the early 1990s, and continues through the 2010s. In nearly every novel, Alex Cross needs to use his forensic psychology skills as a way to solve the murders. However, he typically needs to do this while on the run, in an attempt to stay away from the antagonist in the story-line.
Patterson is a genius in that he writes an entire story that runs from beginning to end inside every novel, instead of continuing it on as a long series that lasts 20 books or more. This makes each novel riveting in its own right. However, there is a thread that follows through every novel in that Dr. Alex Cross continues to be highly specialized in forensic psychology. He works directly with the Washington DC Police Department before becoming an FBI senior agent.
One of the most intriguing components of the Alex Cross novel series is how Patterson so brilliantly switches the point of view or perspective of the reader over and again. Almost instinctively, the readers view the world as the detective only to be switched to the killer and back again. The entire series is written in first-person style with a point of view that is up close and personal. However, when Patterson writes other characters, he chooses to use third person.
Patterson continues to be brilliant when developing the suspenseful Alex Cross novels with plot lines that are written with the utmost precision. However, he does this with a delicate touch that pulls the reader into the story line.


The PlayStation (abbreviated PS, PSone, PS1, or informally as PSX) is a 32-bit fifth generation video game console released by Sony Computer Entertainment in December 1994. They ceased production of the Playstation 1 on March 31 2006, over 11 years since it was first produced.
The PlayStation was the first of the ubiquitous PlayStation series of console and handheld game devices. Successor consoles and upgrades include the Net Yaroze, PS one, PocketStation, PlayStation 2, a revised slimline PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, a revised PlayStation Portable Slim and Lite, PSX, and the PlayStation 3. On March 31, 2005, the PlayStation and PS one reached a combined total of 102.49 million units shipped, becoming the first video game console to reach the 100 million mark. As of July 20, 2008, the PlayStation has sold 102 million units.


The jolts of the tracks were stronger now and came at irregular intervals. With my arms outstretched, I held myself up between the walls of the tiny cabin. A metallic drone rose from the spattered steel-can, a whining and hissing and, now and again, something close to a laugh, something that had to have been crouching in the abyss, in the crushed stone of the railroad embankment, and it rang in my ears like a miserable Semey-Semey. I wouldn't be able to stay much longer, not unless I wanted to give some kind of explanation when I returned, something that would immediately become twice as long in the translator's mouth and ten times as long in the consul's ensuing comments.
As far as I knew in the meantime it wasn't illegal to have a Geiger counter. On the contrary, European travel-guides recommended it as a means of reassuring travellers, though they emphasised that the measurable levels in most areas had been below acceptable limits for a long time now. I'd never considered buying such a piece of equipment before, nor had I ever conceived the possibility of owning one. And so the grey-green, already somewhat worn little box, and the way I'd got it right before the train left from one of the many hooded peddlers blocking the platform with their strange goods, was all the more precious and peculiar. Almost everything held out to me as a 'Souweniiiir!' seemed to have come from the stockrooms of an empire and its army busy undergoing the process of total dissolution. And yet I'd also seen mountains of meat, animal skins, raisins, bread, and nuts in half-covered children's wagons, often in continuous movement, being pushed across the snow-covered platform right up to the steel treads of the railroad cars. In the end, though, no one came around to pay for anything at all; the counter had been my ticket inside.
It was its delicate crackle, the sizzling and grinding sound it cautiously, though continuously, emitted. Sometimes, when I brought it closer to my ear, I could hear a kind of melodious scratching, then a buzzing and whispering that, like a thin counterpoint, floated softly into the sound of the train where it could be devoured at any moment – suddenly my eyes filled with tears. All the challenges of my winter journey paled in comparison to what my counter wanted to confide in me. In spite of the hundred roubles, I hadn't really believed it would work like it was supposed to, and it was obvious it didn't work like it was supposed to, but at that moment I unmistakably felt it force its way into me.
I would have happily stretched out across the floor – entranced by the extraordinarily comforting image the little whispering box offered up to me with its melody: something I couldn't quite grasp, a face maybe, still a bit hazy, or a mask beneath which I'd find only a dogged, or simply observant, silence.
In addition to the previously agreed-upon stations of Pavlodar and Karaganda, in the weeks leading up to departure I had suggested a third place, Semey. Semey on the Irtysh. The consul had remained silent for longer than usual. Only from the consul's wife had a little list arrived, items for her and her family: an Advent wreath, some dominos, a medicine by the name of Uralyt. In the end, if reservedly, the consul had agreed to my suggestion. In Semey, however, he specified, it had to be the Dostoevsky house, which indeed would be an ideal spot for our theme; Cities in Nothingness – the title had been the translator's idea.
One of the consul's surprises was that I was to be accompanied by a Kazach dombra player and his thirteen-year-old daughter. The singer – who, thanks to her puppet-like appearance, the translator had instantly baptised our tiny, gleaming mummy – would pull the sounds from far away then stretch them out inside herself. To achieve this inverted, twisted deep-in-the-throat form of song she'd stand as if rooted, only her hands would move through the air, as if carefully spreading something over something else, something right there in front of her. It seemed terribly inappropriate to break the mesmerising silence that followed the song with my own voice: Brasilia, Nairobi, and then down to brass tacks, the miracle of Astana, the 'Capital of the Steppes'.
I picked the counter up from the sink another four, five, maybe ten times, turned it on and then off, laid it down, pressed it covetously to my ear and tried to concentrate. Soon I'd have to realise the long-awaited image would not come to light through effort alone. On the contrary.
Already the crackle and creak of its whispering failed to touch me with the same power, and was on the verge of slipping away completely. I had to calm down. As delicately as possible I investigated the functions of the two small toggle switches on its front. Together they silenced the little box. Alone, the left one unleashed a quiet vibration; the right controlled the acoustic and optical functions. Then all of a sudden, at the top of the counter – my little narrator, as I had half-jokingly coined the little, buzzing box – began to flicker and blink with a little red light. I quickly tore the little box from my sweat-covered hand and hid it in the front pocket of my shirt under my sweater. I wanted to return to my compartment immediately.
Before even comprehending the snap, the door hit me in the back. In front of me I saw the tiny woman with the peaked cap who the consul had called our Wagon-Mama. She pointed silently to her golden watch, the metal band of which cut into her forearm, then gestured over her shoulders back into the corridor. As I tried again to steady myself against the walls of the carriage, the Wagon-mama stood almost completely still, only in her knees was there a delicate, barely perceivable rocking, though from my perspective the jolts seemed to disappear into her body without a trace. Clearly I had made a helpless sickly impression, for without any ado the Wagon-mama grabbed me by the arm and pulled me out of the bathroom and into the safety of the car. Her touch was not unpleasant, it somehow made the little narrator's pressing influence – which I suddenly thought I could feel – a little less insistent, and that was why I let myself be led away without any resistance at all.
The woman was so slight that as we made our way through the corridor I could see out into the open over her peaked, mosque-like cap. In the shelter of the railroad embankment a thin, glittering copse of gold stood out from the snow; a single rider floated before the sinking sun. Against the emptiness that surrounded him he seemed too big, and yet was sharply delineated, like a dummy you could push slowly forward across the line between heaven and earth. Here you never know just how far you're seeing, the consul had said.
Entering the dining car we were enveloped by a vapour of used breath, which smelled of curd and fried food. The return of the prodigal son on the arm of the Wagon-mama – laughing, the translator filled our glasses and explained to me that the others — the consul, the small, gleaming mummy and her father — had waited at first, but had then excused themselves for their compartments. Her short, peroxide-blonde hair glowed, only her neck, left exposed, was overshadowed by a darkish down.
I drank, doubled-over, something foreign burned into me – breathe! breathe! the translator cried out, you must breathe more quickly, pant almost, like you're giving birth, only then will there be the right mixture in the body. How one was best supposed to then breathe she demonstrated herself by stretching up and raising her fearless eyebrows skyward. At the same time she swallowed and pumped her shoulders up and down, which forced her upper body into an intriguing movement. I carefully pulled at my sweater until I could see the narrator's little red light through the loosely woven wool. For a moment, I felt as excited as a child. I sat up with a jolt, but fell right back down onto the seat, the aisle blocked.
A uniformed man demanded our passports, another made a take-the-film-out-of-the-camera kind of gesture, but the translator simply laughed and touched my arm. Did I know that the little mummy's song had been about love for the Steppes, a feeling that transcended any other Kazach longing? Did I know that, here, while still alive, every deceased-to-be dragged a song behind themselves as each and every one of the Steppes' inhabitants was personally responsible for their own mourning song? If they didn't have one, nothing at all is sung, and people simply sit around the feet of the dead in silence, but the dead won't be able to find any peace because they'll be in debt forever. I was exhausted; in the meantime, I had begun to smile at everything, but that took energy and was tough to keep in check. Without a doubt there was something phoney in it all, but before that phoniness was revealed, I – far too quickly – grabbed the translator's hand.
Clutching at the safety rails we made our way along the cold, dully-illuminated walls. A stove, which served to heat the car, and a samovar crowded the beginning of every new corridor. The kettle was woven into a web of tubes and valves and ceaselessly emitted a greasy, shimmering steam, which then wobbled off down the corridor. Afraid of being touched by something clammy, something living perhaps, that I might want to shake off, I held my lips pressed tightly together and, with an elbow in front of my face, plunged into the fog.
Slowly I grew accustomed to the wavering darkness. Now I was the one walking ahead to open the heavy, half-iced doors so that the translator, bowing slightly, could slip her way through. A gesture that weakened from door to door and turned me inevitably into a string-like figure, precisely where the few steps through the blustery overpasses between the cars should've been enough to catch up with her.
I stumbled, collided against something on the floor, two or three legs suddenly jutting out into the corridor like fallen tree trunks. In some of the cars it was so dark I could easily see the faint red blinking of the little narrator beneath my sweater.
I stayed two-thirds of a car behind then put myself in a position to overtake the translator. From time to time I was pulled through the corridor by long jolts, but soon figured out I had to walk with shorter steps so that the floor would not take off from under my feet and run away from me. I could unmistakably feel the translator's eyes in the back of my head; I felt I was being compared to another, to a whole number of others, every one of them far away and not here in a night train named Turksib; a caravan of antiquated metal coaches, on a track called the silk rail that cut straight through the Steppes, from the Orient to the Occident, as the consul liked to say.
We'd already made it through twenty carriages or more before I noticed that there was no rule to the numberings: the train had simply grown somewhere along the way. The corridors turned into a provisional mineshaft which seemed to lead into a tougher, older form of time. No matter how hard I stared through the crusty mirror of the bolted windows into the grey, dirty tangle of frost blooms that crawled like eczema over the flanks of the carriages, not a single sign of life outside flashed by at all. No moon, no stars. Only my tired, unsubstantial self staring back and staggering with me through the tunnel: the stocky build, the wide shoulders between which the narrator's heartbeat blinked, from the vibration of the panes it shivered into a fist-sized, dark red glowing swarm, while at eye level a colourless and inscrutable face floated next to mine, and that's how we overtook the translator.
Snow dusted the sheet steel between the cars. Gooseflesh grew across my skin and onto my back like a cold, balsam-covered cloth across the rear of my skull where it became a wonderful kind of helmet that pleasantly moved when I raised my eyebrows even the slightest bit.
We stood indecisively before our compartments; the car rolled through a curve, I tried to cross my arms in order to better conceal the blinking of the box, the translator took a step back.
Two half-uniformed figures had emerged from the steam of the samovar; they paused for a moment then shuffled slowly into the corridor. They were clearly waiting for someone to acknowledge them and approve of their approach. The smaller man pushed the larger one in front of him, who, for his part, seemed reluctant and – with a half-bow as well as a carefully called Salam alaikum! – apologetic for the disturbance. I tried not to grin and thought about escaping to my compartment but the two moved closer. The large man I recognised as the stoker, the smaller the conductor of our car. Now and again his expectant face appeared to the left or right of the stoker's large body, but mostly remained hidden behind him.
The stoker pointed at me carefully. Nemetzki?! Before I could answer he clicked the heels of his boots together, bent his arms, and slightly raised his chin, his childlike face turning cold and strict. I tried to produce a small laugh to excuse the lot of us. I asked the translator to explain to the stoker, who was a whole head taller than we were, that he didn't need to greet me that way, that, if he really wanted to know, I myself had simply held the rank of private in the reserves, the reserves of a long since vanished People's Army, a rank that without any doubt was below that of a stoker of the famous Turksib – and with two fingers I touched the dirty silver shoulder piece hanging limply down from his blue uniform jacket.
Something snagged and got stuck in his chest. But his cracked lips remained in silent movement, his firm, small mouth opening and closing incessantly, ready to give form, whenever it was ready, to that still missing. And yet, no matter how hard he tried to stretch up onto the tips of his toes and push his chin even higher than us into the vault, toward the blue night-lamp of the car – as if he just had to make it up there – his thin throat made it clear that the rhyme with 'so sad and low' just didn't want to come to his tongue.
Within the light of the lamp his tight, glowing, mask-like face twitched, while those unclosing lips revealed the white shimmering strip of a protruding row of teeth: 'A legend fromz diztaant taim …' Groaning persistently and as if under too heavy a burden the stoker continued to repeat the line. The translator worriedly touched my arm, but I kept pointing at the stoker, convinced it was appropriate and not only a question of manners or sensitivity that he have the opportunity to finish on his own.
Following the tension that quickly and, due to the missing words, powerfully rose to the surface of my skin, my own mouth had been set into motion. Silently I spoke the long sought-after word between us, over and over, straight up to the chest of the stone-like man who stood only a hand's length away, as if through silent repetition I might whisper it to him from there. Without noticing, I'd adopted the stoker's upright bearing so that we were soon standing in front of each other like two low-ranking soldiers who, halfway through their greeting, had fallen out of time.
For a while, the stoker and I stayed in a fish song of sorts, made up of deep breaths, which surged back and forth from his shore to mine, yet never once made it to land. Once again, and more urgently this time, the translator took hold of my arm, and then I finally understood. This was his song. The one – however it had first found its way to him – he had chosen to make his personal, posthumous mourning song. How else could you understand the unrelenting, now somewhat doubtful and, even if faltering, never slackening seriousness of his appearance? 'Refuses-to-let-me-go' – I almost yelled it down the corridor of the thundering sleeping car, a liberation, a wake-up call whose trumpet-like intensity scared me. I found myself in the stoker's arms. He forcefully pulled me closer while, as if the decisive victory had been achieved, he repeated the line another time: 'Reeefuuz-lit-meee-goooor.' Then he pushed me away, only to pull me back once more and press me to his other cheek.
The conductor, who'd remained behind the stoker's back the whole time, clapped triumphantly and laughed while I tried to wrench my body away from the stoker's thanks – cautiously, so as not to harm the festivity of the moment. I laughed too and, holding back a wave of nausea, praised the stoker's pronunciation. I praised the Steppes, the Turksib, silk road and silk rail, the country, and the smoke-hole of the yurt, the one I knew was in the coat of arms – in other words, the stove in the centre, the stoker… The translator, who'd carefully stayed by my side all along, formed sentences out of my stammering, sentences which seemed to come from one single pharyngeal consonant of a, a long rrhaaarrhaaarrhaaa, and simultaneously called them into the stoker's ear – but the hugs were endless.
My nose was rhythmically pushed left and right onto or under the loose strings of his silver shoulder epaulettes. I could feel the stoker's warm, unshaven chin on my throat, and a pair of lips damply murmured on my ear and cheek, accompanied by a dark plosive that turned into a short, barely suppressed sob: 'Reeefuuz-lit-maaa-goooor.' I trembled. My heart began to race and my chest grew tight. However, it took me only a moment to realise that the stoker's clutches had switched the narrator to vibrate. I closed my eyes and saw a sluggish couple swaying through the all-too-narrow corridor… But by then it was too late. I was overcome by a great anger, and even hatred, that streamed directly into my fists. I saw my right one coming up from below, I could see it, like out of a drawing or a dream… my punching arm shot forward, the back of my hand and underarm creating a line… it flew into the glowing blue face and directly into the stoker's mouth while he was right in the middle of the next, unavoidable 'Reeefuuz-lit-maaa-goooor' and broke it, without warning and unceremoniously, splitting it apart forever.
As absurd as the belief in a shared past seems to me, it calmed me down. Couldn't it be, I thought, that this stoker, who had maybe once been a brother-in-arms, sought closure from our having met but had simply been unable to achieve it? Was some sign, some kind of gesture required? Surely there was some kind of law, a particular ritual, anchored in the stoker's culture from time immemorial, foreign maybe, but indispensible? Once again, even if it was pointless, I tried to get a little more air. But I was totally unprepared when, without any warning, the stoker thrust me an exhausted, deeply sighed 'Reeefuuz-lit-meee-goooor' from his tentacles and, doubtless only in the embarrassment of having to find an ending himself, kissed me on the mouth.
After that, everything moved quickly. A dull crack and then for a moment I was floating, at one with the stoker as support, in the air… breathe! breathe! I heard, but as if from far away. Then peace set in, and darkness.
It's still a wonder to me today that no one was truly hurt. The sudden jolt, a violent jarring underfoot, hurled us against the wall behind us and onto the ground. And so the stoker, even if he had wanted to, was unable to remove his kiss quickly enough. On the contrary. His teeth were firmly pressed between my teeth, and in our shared humiliating helplessness, I distinctly felt his warm, coal-like breath gust into me and – disoriented and overpowered as I was – I swallowed it, choked and swallowed.
When the Turksib finally released us from its grip, almost unconsciously I heaved the stiff body of the stoker from my own, perhaps too powerfully, and he crashed against the door of one of the sleeping compartments. Like an old, familiar hallucination, the barely dressed figure of the dombra player surfaced and, as if framed, stood in the entrance to his compartment before which the stoker lay outstretched. As the bigger man remained completely silent, the dombra player immediately began to yell at him. I swallowed and tried to breathe, twin tears running down my cheeks.
Through the half-open door of the compartment, I saw the horizontal and blurry figure of our tiny, gleaming mummy. Her left leg stuck out of the blanket a little and was bent. At first, the leg shone uniformly bright, almost white, like a paper cut-out reflected in the little light that fell into the compartment from the corridor; then, all the way at its furthest end, barely above the sheet, the white disappeared into a dark edge, as if finely striated.
And it was upon this edge that the translator's face appeared. She was now kneeling at my side, and slowly pushed an arm underneath my head while unswervingly translating: the so-called silk-reef… seventy years, never welded… blown away, the ice… not the worst, which means… is begging your forgiveness for the stoker… astonished and wide-eyed I sank back down as something cool streamed over my body in a soft, clear swell.
Far above me, at a curious height, I saw the conductor angrily speaking into the translator's back, waving a fist at the end of the corridor where the stove was located, and though the stoker was standing right next to him, helpless, with a glowing forehead, he remained exposed to the dombra player's assaults. I closed my eyes, choked, and a feeling of incomprehensible loss trickled into me. Just now, in winter, just now, in these temperatures, minus twenty… forty… sixty… the conductor had put on airs and the translator had to struggle to keep up with him, carefully translating everything down to me. I looked up at her, only up, and swallowed, amazed: by now she seemed pretty and familiar, a face, I thought, for which I had longed, maybe one for which I'd always longed. She carefully put a palm to my forehead, then to my chest, and it was only under the translator's caring hand that I noticed the narrator had gone silent.
I pulled myself up and took a step forward, but before I could finally correct the injustice that had befallen the stoker, the dombra player pivoted back into his room. By the time I turned around – each of my acts having become strangely slower – both the conductor and the stoker had nearly dissipated; hastily, and without a word of farewell, they huddled together and strode down the fog-filled corridor before dissolving into the steam of the samovar.
The couchettes were narrow, my movements awkward. It was difficult for me to calm down; I could taste the stoker, see him tearing open the fire door and continuously tossing coal into his stove; I swallowed, took a breath, quick and deep, but something remained, something continued to smoulder, something that would not let itself be swallowed. The words never again senselessly ran through my head. I felt the translator's hand on my shoulder gently push me away from her bedstead. Then she kneeled down, turned away from me, and nestled a cheek into the pillow of the backboard. I slowly moved towards her and as she took the subtle, regular undulations of the car into herself, its slight swing and sway, along with the stronger, irregular jolts of the Turksib – the reason I held onto her hips – in the space between the curtains before the compartment window, I saw a flood of dark red dots – but it was only a trail of embers enveloping the car.
Kruso by Lutz Seiler (translated by Tess Lewis) is out now from Scribe.
is a German poet and novelist.
Alexander Booth is a poet and literary translator. His translation of Lutz Seiler's collection of poems in field latin was published last year by Seagull Books. His work has appeared in numerous international print and online journals. After many years in Rome, at present he lives in Berlin.
This article is an online exclusive from June 2017.


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TV's Troubled Surgeon
Caterina Scorsone explores mental health issues while playing Dr. Amelia Shepherd on the show Private Practice
September 13, 2011 | By Lisa Bryn Rundle
Even though Caterina Scorsone (BA 2006 TRIN) worked as a professional actor throughout her childhood and teen years, the introspective Scorsone was never sure it should be her only path. She now plays the brilliant but struggling Dr. Amelia Shepherd on the TV medical drama – and Grey's Anatomy spinoff – Private Practice. As the fifth season of Private Practice begins, Lisa Bryn Rundle takes a history.
You started your acting career at age 8 on Mr. Dressup. Do you remember anything about that first acting gig?
I do! I remember the absolute shock when I walked into Mr. Dressup's house and it was in fact a studio! It was a horrifying moment of pulling back the curtain.
Oh God! And by the way, kid, Santa doesn't exist.
Exactly! And off-camera the "puppets" would, on occasion, make grown-up jokes. But still, it was an incredibly positive first acting experience. We sang and drew. Mr. Dressup – Ernie Coombs – was a lovely man.
When did you first realize you wanted to act? Was it a way to stand out as the middle child of five?
Basically, yes. It was a very creative family and there were so many of us! We were involved in the Canadian Children's Opera, and one of the children had an agent. One of my sisters wanted to try acting, so we both met with the agent. That's how it started. But I didn't think I wanted to be an actor at that age. I wanted to be a doctor.
And you've ended up as a doctor on TV. Why did you initially want to go to med school?
There's a big emphasis in my family on giving back, and medicine seemed like a perfect way to do that.
And you weren't sure at first that acting could be a way of giving back? Have you reconciled that?
Yes, I'd been acting at a pretty intense level until I was 18 or 19, but I stepped away from that and went to university really willing to follow my intellectual curiosity. My major was literary studies, and one of my minors was philosophy, and I discovered that our ability to understand ourselves through narrative is why humans are so special.
Is there one theory that seems to apply to your life today?
"The medium is the message" comes to mind a lot. As an artist I get to manifest theory with my body.
Your character on Private Practice and Grey's Anatomy has struggles…
Yes, at this point she suffers emotionally and chemically. She had her surgical privileges revoked because she fell off the wagon. So I explore depression, grief and substance abuse. I think – speaking of wanting to help people – I do get to articulate and illustrate for people what a struggle with substance abuse and mental health looks like.
What is the most complicated operation you've performed as a TV surgeon?
Ah, Amelia has done so many! The hardest to pull off as an actor – because I wasn't just faking it, and most of the time we just pretend – was suturing latex skin while I delivered lines. I practiced on chicken pieces. I got pretty good at it.
Caterina Scorsone on Mr. Dressup
Tags: , , Trinity College
Lisa Bryn Rundle


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R.U.R. is a business consulting and research firm and is named after a 1920 science fiction play of the same name by Czech writer and playwright Karel Čapek.
The acronym, which stands for "Rossumovi Univerzální Roboti" (Rossum's Universal Robots), was chosen as the company's name as it best reflects the modus operandi of people employed by the firm, each and every one of whom was sought out because of their strong work ethic and proven track record.
At R.U.R. we share a common belief that activities that are unlawful, dishonest and unethical need to be prevented and, where necessary, punished; while lawful, honest and ethical conduct must be rewarded.
Only the very best work for and on behalf of R.U.R., experts in their field for whom remuneration is secondary to enabling successful and principled business operations through the implementation of high-quality, ethical and lawful systems, secondary to the lawful and professional detection of those who violate legal and ethical norms and secondary to protecting and respecting the confidentiality and integrity of the client's data and business objectives.
Rossumovi is a word play on the Czech word rozum meaning reason or wisdom; we are Rossumovi or "Rossum's" because we use both reason and wisdom in our work, "Universal" because we are multi-disciplinary and "Robots" because, regardless of everything, we see every task we take on through to the end and in complete accord with client instructions.


The Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS) is the national host and data custodian of Redmap Australia.
The Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS) pursues multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary work to advance understanding of temperate marine, Southern Ocean, and Antarctic environments.The vision of IMAS is to be an internationally recognized centre of excellence for marine and Antarctic research and education. By translating nature in to knowledge, IMAS develops environmental understanding and facilitates sustainable development for the benefit of Australia and the world.


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7, West Street, Faversham, Kent, ME13 7JE, England+44(0)1795 591111
Ballooning! Ballooning! Ballooning! Cremorne Gardens, Chelsea... the first and only…
(AVIATION). (GREEN, Charles.) ~ Ballooning! Ballooning! Ballooning! Cremorne Gardens, Chelsea... the first and only Benefit ever taken by Mr Green, the Aeronaut, will take place on Monday next Sept. 1st, 1845... Mr Green will ascend at half-past Five o'Clock, in the Great Nassau Balloon! [London:] S. G. Fairbrother, [ 1845].
Single sheet (245 × 124 mm). Laid down.
Charles Green was the most celebrated British balloonist of the nineteenth century. In 1836 he made a record-breaking flight from London's Vauxhall Gardens, across the English Channel, landing at Weilburg in Nassau, Germany, giving rise to the name of the 'Royal Nassau Balloon'. The handbill explains the reason for this benefit flight undertaken by Green in the Great Nassau Balloon in a long newspaper extract. He had made an ascent from Vauxhall on August 20th but had crashed near Gravesend ('Mr. Green received several bruises, and had a narrow escape from a dreadful death') and his other balloon (The Albion) was torn to shreds. The wreckage was displayed at Cremorne Gardens as an attraction 'for the inspection of the curious and scientific'
Keywords: ballooning, english, flight, history, science & medicine
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This image released by FX shows Mj Rodriguez as Blanca in a scene from "Pose." A study says there are a record number of LGBTQ characters on network TV series airing this season. The program features the largest cast of transgender actors in series. (JoJo Whilden/FX via AP)
Study: LGBTQ characters on network TV hit record high
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A record-high percentage of LGBTQ characters are part of the new TV season's prime-time network series, according to the media advocacy group GLAAD.
The annual study by media advocacy group GLAAD out Thursday also found an increase in the characters' ethnic diversity, with slightly more LGBTQ people of color than white for the first time.
While the percentage of regularly seen LGBTQ characters on scripted broadcast series rose from last year's 6.4 percent to hit an all-time high of 8.8 percent, or 75 characters out of a total 857, GLAAD said the TV industry is still falling short.
The organization called on networks to reach 10 percent inclusion for LGBTQ characters in prime-time in the next two years to ensure that "entertainment reflects the world in which it is created," GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis said in a statement. The culture has changed for LGBTQ people but America is the midst of extraordinary tumult, she said.
"That means what happens on our television screens is now more important than ever before," Ellis said. Stories that explore the lives and identities of characters once invisible on screen remain "critical to accelerating acceptance for LGBTQ people."
The study singled out two series as history-making: the FX drama "Pose," which featured the largest number of transgender series regulars ever on a U.S. series, and CW's "Supergirl," with TV's first transgender superhero, Nia Nal, played by Nicole Maines, appearing this season.
Meanwhile, Nielsen announced it will begin reporting on what same-gender couples and their households are watching. The company, which already analyzes audiences by ethnicity, income and other demographics, said the new ratings data will help programmers and marketers "better understand the compelling opportunity these consumers represent."
GLAAD's Ellis lauded the move, calling it important to count LGBTQ viewers and to see how the American audience is connecting with LGBTQ characters and shows.
GLAAD has tracked lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer characters on TV for 23 years and began releasing its expanded survey, titled "Where We Are on TV," in 2005. The study analyzed the programming for the 2018-19 season on broadcasting, cable and the Amazon, Hulu and Netflix streaming platforms.
Researchers also looked at overall ethnic and gender inclusiveness and found a record percentage of black characters on network series at 22 percent compared to 18 percent last year. Latinos remained at last year's record 8 percent, while Asian-American and Pacific Islanders rose a point to 8 percent. Women, estimated to make up 51 percent of the U.S. population, held steady at 43 percent of network characters.
The new season has a record number of regularly seen characters who have disabilities, rising to 2.1 percent from 1.8 percent last season.
Other findings in the report:
— There is gender parity among LGBTQ characters on broadcast TV at 49.6 percent each for men and women, compared to last year's division of 55 male, 44 percent female.
— Across all platforms, including broadcasting, cable and streaming, the number of bisexual people rose from 93 last season to 117 in the current one. Transgender characters are up from 17 to 26, and HIV-positive characters went from two to seven.
— On cable channels, the number of regularly seen and recurring LGBTQ characters increased to 208 from last year's 173.
— Amazon, Hulu and Netflix original series had a combined 112 LGBTQ characters, a noteworthy increase from 65 characters last season.
Online: https://www.glaad.org/whereweareontv
Lynn Elber can be reached at lelber@ap.org and on Twitter at http://twitter.com/lynnelber.
Gays and lesbians
Social diversity
Broadcast television
Television ratings