O Clube Naval de Cascais recebe, este ano e pela primeira vez em Portugal, o Cascais Dragon World Championship, um dos mais importantes circuitos do mundo de regatas à vela, que se realiza de dois em dois anos e que contará com a participação dos melhores velejadores nacionais e internacionais desta classe, que disputam o troféu de uma das regatas mais difíceis de vencer no mundo da vela.
Ao longo dos nove dias de evento são esperados cerca de 4.000 visitantes para assistirem a um evento recheado de estrelas, que participam com 72 barcos, provenientes de vários países. Especial destaque para a frota do Reino Unido, constituída por 12 Dragões, a da Alemanha por 8 e a Austrália e a França com 7 barcos cada. No total, o Clube Naval de Cascais será o anfitrião de 18 países, incluindo a Alemanha, Austrália, Bélgica, Dinamarca, Emiratos Árabes Unidos, Espanha, Estónia, França, Grécia, Holanda, Hungria, Irlanda, Japão, Mónaco, Reino Unido, Rússia, Suécia e Turquia.
Portugal estará representado com uma frota de 11 barcos de respeito e com velejadores de elevado gabarito, como José Sotto Mayor Matoso, Gustavo Lima e Frederico Melo, campeões Europeus em 2013 em Cascais.
De referir ainda a participação de Patrick Monteiro de Barros, oito vezes Campeão Nacional Dragão e Velejador Olímpico que terá na sua equipa Alvaro Marinho, que conta com 4 diplomas olímpicos, 2000, 2004, 2008 e 2012.
Afonso Domingos que conta 4 participações Olímpicas nas classes 49er, Star e Nacra.
A participação internacional estará, igualmente, bem representada em número e qualidade, com uma lista de inscritos verdadeiramente notável, da qual constam personalidades de incontestada influência do panorama socioeconómico mundial, incluindo vários membros da realeza e de diversos governos. Em competição no Cascais Dragon World Championship estarão cerca de 230 velejadores, dos quais salientamos os melhores do planeta nesta classe, como os dois últimos Campeões do Mundo, Yevgen Braslavets (2015) e Klaus Diedrichts (2013). Também Lawrie Smith Velejador da Volvo Ocean Race, Andy Beasdworth Velejador da America's Cup e campeão mundial dragão.
A relevância do evento Cascais Dragon World Championship reflete-se também ao nível da economia local, uma vez que os velejadores virão acompanhados por cerca de 300 pessoas, provocando um impacto económico muito positivo em Cascais.
O programa desportivo prevê três dias de warm-up, antes da competição propriamente dita e, para que nem tudo se resuma à vertente competitiva, as tripulações, acompanhantes e convidados podem usufruir de um intenso programa social, que inclui happy hours diárias, o Regatta Dinner, jantar oficial do campeonato e a incontornável cerimónia de entrega de prémios, que se realiza no último dia do evento.
Outra característica importante do evento é a data de realização, 9 a 17 de junho próximos, ou seja, naquele que é considerado o melhor mês de vela do ano em Cascais, um elemento que irá também contribuir para o seu sucesso.
O Cascais Dragon World Championship é um evento organizado pelo Clube Naval de Cascais, com o alto patrocínio da Câmara Municipal de Cascais e do Turismo de Portugal e com o apoio das empresas, Casino do Estoril, Sagres, Vista Alegre, Leitão & Irmão, Holmes Place e Simões e Gaspar. Conta, igualmente, com a JC Decaux, Rádio Comercial e TVI24 como Media Partners e com a Certificação da Sailors for the Sea.
The Organising Authority (OA) is the Clube Naval de Cascais. The Clube Naval de Cascais recognises the assistance provided by the Portuguese Sailing Federation, the Portuguese Dragon Association and the International Dragon Association.
1.2 The Rules and Regulations of the International Dragon Association and the Dragon World Championship Rules will apply.
1.3 The prescriptions of the National Authority that will apply will be notified on the Official Notice Board.
1.4 In the event of conflict between the Notice of Race and the Sailing Instructions, the Sailing Instructions shall prevail (this changes RRS 63.7).
In accordance with Regulation 20.4.1, boats may be required to display advertising stickers chosen and supplied by the Organizing Authority.
3.1 Only International Dragon Class boats holding valid Measurement Certificates shall compete.
3.2 Persons in charge of boats shall be up-to-date members of their National Dragon Association.
3.3 The entry criteria stated in sections 5 to 12, and the qualification criteria stated in sections 14 to 17 of the Dragon World Championship Rules shall apply.
3.4 A maximum of 80 entries will be accepted.
3.5 Each National Association shall inform the Organising Authority of boats that will participate and qualify from its country, before 9th March 2017.
3.6 Formal entry from each boat shall be submitted via the entry web site on www.cncascais.com accompanied by the entry fee made payable to Clube Naval de Cascais (payment instructions in point 4.2 of this NOR).
3.7 Late entries may be accepted at the discretion of the OA and upon payment of a 50% entry penalty fee.
3.8 Entries will be finalised only upon completion of Registration.
4.1 The entry fee is 700 Euros.
4.3 Please mark payment with Cascais Dragon World Championship 2017 and the name or sail number of boat. All charges relating to transfer of the entry fee shall be paid by the remitter. The fee will include launching, craning out, mooring, opening and closing receptions, competitors' dinner, participation in the regatta, yacht and trailer parking from the 1st to 30th June.
4.4 Entries will not be confirmed until full payment is received. Entries, including the entry fee, shall be received prior to 09th May 2017.
The coach/support boat entry fee is 350 Euros and includes RIB parking onshore and berthing from 9th to 17th June, RIB hauling in and out, and social events for 1 person.
5.1 All boats shall register at the event race office from 10:00h Friday, 9th June to 18:00h Sunday 11th June.
5.2 At registration Entrants shall present the boat's Measurement Certificate, Insurance Policy and the Sail Registration Form.
5.3 Measurement of sails, weighing of the crews and measurement of boats will take place prior to the commencement of racing from Friday, 9th June 2017, 10.00h to Sunday, 11th June 2017, 18.00h according to the stipulations of the IDA Technical Committee.
5.4 Boats shall not present any unmeasured sails for registration and measurement.
5.5 No more than eight sails per boat may be submitted.
5.7 All participating boats shall be afloat and all crew weighed by the end of the registration period, that is, latest by 18:00 hours of 11th June.
Boats shall be kept in their assigned places in the harbour.
Boats will be moored at the Club swing moorings and at the Cascais Marina pontoons. Allocation of moorings will be at the sole discretion of the Organizing Authority.
7.1 Registration will take place from 9th June, 10:00h to 11th June 18:00h.
7.5 Only one race shall be scheduled for the first and last days. A maximum of 8 races shall be scheduled on the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th days. The schedule may be amended during the regatta to hold more than 2 races on any day if needed to complete a minimum regatta series.
7.6 On Saturday 17th June, no warning signal will be made after 16:00.
The courses to be sailed will be of windward/leeward type. The following charts will apply; Chart PT 526303 Baía de Cascais e Barras do Tejo and Chart PT 324204 Cabo da Roca ao Cabo de Sines. The Racing areas will be defined in the Sailing Instructions.
The Sailing Instructions (SI) will be available from Friday, 9th June, 10:00h upon the boat registration at the Race Office and online at the event's Website.
11.2 The trophy - The Royal Hellenic Cup known as Epathlon Vassileos - shall be held by the winning helmsman until the next Championship, but will remain the property of the donor. The holder shall be responsible for the care of the trophy (including insurance) and to see that it is in the hands of the Organising Authority by the start of the next Championship.
11.3 The Atkinson Corinthian Trophy will be awarded to the helmsman of the winning boat in the Corinthian series of the Dragon World Championship. The scoring will be the low point system as used in the World Championship except that in each race the first Corinthian boat will score a win, the second Corinthian boat will score a second and so on.
11.4 Masters Trophy (open to all competitors, Corinthians or Open) - will be awarded to the winning crew competing in the World Championship who are all over 50 years of age and have a combined age of over 165 years on the first scheduled day of racing. Competitors entering the World Championship should indicate to the organisers at registration if they are eligible for this Trophy.
11.5 Medals will be presented to the helmsmen and crew of the first three boats in the World Championship.
12.1 The Atkinson Corinthian Trophy will be awarded to the helmsman of the winning boat in the Corinthian Division of the Dragon World Championship.
12.2 For the Corinthian Division and Trophy the World Sailing Sailor Classification Code, Regulation 22, shall apply and all crew shall hold a valid Group 1 classification. Unclassified sailors will be deemed to be Group 3.
12.3 A boat entered in the Corinthian Division for the Corinthian Trophy shall also be entered automatically in the Open Division and shall be eligible for prizes and trophies in both divisions.
12.5 The closing date for the receipt of valid Corinthian entries shall be 9th May 2017. Each entry shall include a complete crew list and show the classification, World Sailing I/D number and classification expiry date for each crew.
12.6 All crew shall hold valid classifications from 9th May until after the regatta.Should a boat whose Corinthian entry has been checked and accepted need to change a crew member between the closing date of the entry and the start of the regatta, the name of the new crew member with their valid World Sailing I/D number must be submitted to the Organizing Authority for their approval.
12.7 All crew lists will be posted on the Official Notice Board or website.
12.8 A representative of the World Sailing Sailor Classification Commission may be present during registration and may carry out spot checks. Registration of a boat is not complete until the spot checks are completed.
12.9 The Classification Protest Time Limit is the end of protest time on the first day of racing.
13.1 The Low Point System of Appendix A will apply.
13.2 5 races are required to be completed to constitute a series.
(b)When 6 or more races have been completed, a boat's series score will be the total of her race scores excluding her worst score.
14.1 A boat shall neither make radio transmissions while racing nor receive radio communications not available to all boats. This restriction also applies to mobile telephone communications.
14.2 Race information will be given on marine VHF (156-162MHz). The channel will be stated in the SI. Race Committee communication to the race team on the water shall not be available to competitors.
14.3 The Organiser reminds participants that the use of marine VHF is governed by the applicable laws. It is the owner's/helmsman's responsibility to fulfil all legal requirements to carry and use marine VHF radio on board a yacht.
15.1 Team leaders, coaches and other support personnel may use "support craft" to assist their competitors on the water. They shall register at the regatta office during the registration period, presenting the boat's insurance policy, providing details of their boats and distinctive identification, which shall include flying a WHITE flag showing the national 3 letter code in BLACK (minimum height 120mm) of the country of origin.
15.2 Coach/support boats shall not tow participant boats out to the race course (unless requested to by the Race Committee) and may only tow boats in after the last competitor has finished.
15.3 Subject to SI, team leaders, coaches and other support boats shall stay more than 150 metres to leeward of the starting line and from the leeward marks and from any racing boat from the time of the preparatory signal until all boats have finished the last race of the day, or all races are abandoned. Support boats may be allowed up the course on one specified side only if special dispensation has been granted by the IDA (via application to the Jury) for reasons of safety, health, tourism, spectating, or sponsor's request. Such boats applying for dispensation shall not have a coach or World Sailing category 3 sailor on board. Support boats that have been granted dispensation will be issued with a different colour flag to Coach boats.
15.4 At all times, support boats shall comply with the directions given by the Race Committee. In particular this includes assisting with rescues when requested to do so.
15.5 Coach/support boats shall not contact their connected boats between races.
15.6 Support boats must be on call on VHF at all times.
Each participating boat shall be insured with valid third-party liability insurance with a minimum cover of 1.500.000€ per incident or the equivalent.
Competitors give absolute right and permission for video footage or photographs of themselves or their boat to be published in any media for press, editorial or advertising purposes.
A parking space will be allocated for each trailer. The Organising Authority will not be held liable for any damage to yachts or boats and/or trailers while parked in the Cascais Marina or the Club.
3.4 Each National Association shall inform the Organising Authority of boats that will participate and qualify from its country, before 9th March 2017.
3.5 Formal entry from each boat shall be submitted via the entry web site on www.cncascais.com accompanied by the entry fee made payable to Clube Naval de Cascais (payment instructions in point 4.2 of this NOR).
3.6 Late entries may be accepted at the discretion of the OA and upon payment of a 50% entry penalty fee.
3.6 Entries will be finalised only upon completion of Registration.


Henry, Anna, and Jose head from Boston to Paris for their most dangerous mission yet: to solve the mystery of an international art heist Shortly after they arrive, they learn that a member of the Silver Jaguar Society is working as a double agent, passing information to the criminal gang the Serpentine Princes -- but who could it be? When the senior members of the Society go missing, it's up to Henry, Anna, Jose, and their smug new comrade, Hem, to mount a rescue while staying hot on the trail of a missing masterpiece. Running around -- and below -- a foreign city filled with doppelgangers, decoys, and deceit, the three sleuths discover they're the only hope for the Society's survival.
Kate Messner is the author of THE BRILLIANT FALL OF GIANNA Z., winner of the E.B. White Read Aloud Award for Older Readers; CAPTURE THE FLAG, an SCBWI Crystal Kite award winner; HIDE AND SEEK; SUGAR AND ICE; EYE OF THE STORM; SEA MONSTER'S FIRST DAY; OVER AND UNDER THE SNOW; and the Marty McGuire chapter book series. A former middle-school English teacher, Kate lives on Lake Champlain with her family and loves reading, walking in the woods, and traveling. Visit her online at www.katemessner.com.


text:
HomePosts tagged 'France'
July 10, 2015 June 30, 2015 fasab Crime, Current Events, Factoids, Politics, Rants	a petit oui, America and France, America's snooping, American, American interventions in the Middle East, American people, americans, an official protest, apologizing, arrogant behavior, Conseil de la Défense, Current Events, damning, diplomatic maneuvers, disgraceful, do not represent, documents, education, Edward Snowden's revelations, emergency meeting, espionage, facts, Files, financial catastrophe, France, France's ambassador to the US, France's current head of state, Francois Hollande, french, French government ministers, French presidency, French Presidents, French readers, further reaction, Germany, Greece, Greek economic crisis, groveling, illegal and bad behavior, implicate, information, intelligence agencies, intelligence briefs, international issues, invasion of Iraq, iraq, Israeli-Palestinian dispute, Jacques Chirac, jointly monitor, Libya, mutual concern, National Security Agency, national security forum, Nicolas Sarkozy, no one is surprised any more, non-cooperation, NSA, NSA spying operations, Opinion, Oui, personal communications, politics, President Obama, President of France, protocol, published, Rants, Red White And Bleu, reputations of Americans, ruled France, Sacre Bleu, senior officials, spying, stronger response, syria, targeted, the American ambassador to France, the Ukraine, Thoughts, timely and important revelations, top secret intelligence reports and technical documents, trouble, United Nations, United States government, US, US spy agencies, veto, WikiLeaks
There has been a lot of activity in France lately concerning the United States government spying on three French Presidents.
The current President of France even called an emergency meeting of the Conseil de la Défense, the country's highest national security forum to discuss the emergence of documents that appear to implicate the US National Security Agency (NSA) – now who'da guessed that? – spying on Jacques Chirac and Nicolas Sarkozy, who ruled France from 1995 to 2012.
The documents further indicate that the NSA may have also targeted the personal communications of Francois Hollande, France's current head of state.
The files were published by WikiLeaks, which described them as "top secret intelligence reports and technical documents", detailing NSA spying operations against the French presidency, as well as espionage directed at several French government ministers and at France's ambassador to the US.
The documents include intelligence briefs, which detail the thoughts and diplomatic maneuvers by French presidents and other senior officials, on subjects such as the Greek economic crisis, the Israeli-Palestinian dispute, and the United Nations.
This is further evidence of more disgraceful and arrogant behavior by US spy agencies.
The thing is, however, no one is surprised any more.
Since Edward Snowden's revelations the world has come to expect illegal and bad behavior from Americans. It is as simple as that. And for the reputations of Americans it is as bad as that. Which is a great pity because these activities do not represent in any way the vast majority of the American people.
So, if they aren't a surprise to anyone, will the latest revelations cause trouble between America and France? I think the undoubted answer is "Oui", but only a "petit oui".
As befits normal protocol in these kinds of things, the American ambassador to France was summoned for what was called 'an official protest', but little or nothing more happened apart from President Obama getting on the phone with the French President, groveling and apologizing and assuring him in no uncertain terms "that the US is no longer spying on France".
No, I don't believe him either, but there it is.
There was no need for America's snooping. As with Germany, French and American intelligence agencies cooperate with each other regularly. They jointly monitor international issues of mutual concern, such as what is happening in Syria, Iraq, the Ukraine, Libya, and even the financial catastrophe that is Greece.
For now that will continue, but the road ahead looks bumpy.
Wikileaks has already made good on its promise that its "French readers can expect more timely and important revelations in the near future".
The latest release from the whistleblower website contains more documents that indicate that the National Security Agency (NSA), under orders from Washington, were tasked with collecting secret information not only about the economic policies of the French government and the country's financial sector, but on export contracts by French companies.
In fact every French-registered company involved in negotiations for international projects or other sales contracts valued at over $200 million, like car makers Peugeot and Renault and financial institutions like BNP Paribas and the agricultural credit union, were also subjected to US government secret snooping.
Washington's pathetic statements that none of this information is ever used to benefit American companies competing for international contracts rings mighty hollow with the French, and the rest of the world come to that.
This latest information is a lot more damning and may necessitate a much stronger response from the French – even if it is just to save face.
Like their attitude over the invasion of Iraq, I think any further reaction would include little or no cooperation in any future American interventions in the Middle East and maybe the use of a veto or two in the United Nations.
We might be at the start of a new meaning to the term "non" cooperation?
No More Quizzes – Not This June Anyway. (Except For This One!)
June 29, 2015 June 24, 2015 fasab Questions, Tests	America, ballet dancer, Bewick, bird, Black, books literature, born, British prime minister, calfskin, Calvados, canada, chief lawyer, city, classics of American literature, Colombia, countries, dancer, died, discoveries, distilled, dracula, education, Entertainment, Euxine Sea, FIFA, France, French city, fruit, general knowledge, Geography, history, Hooper, Idaho, Illinois, invented, inventions, Joan of Arc, leader of the Soviet Union, modern ballet, movies, music, nature, Nobel Prize, non-fiction, novels, organization, People, places, popular sports, published, Pulitzer Prize, put to death, questions, quiz, quizzes, rabies vaccination, Radar, represent, Russian, Saruman, Scaramanga, science, Scooby, Scooby-Doo, sea, short story collections, South America, sport, test, tests, The City Of The Kings, U S government, United States, Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen, wrong reasons
Welcome to final fasab quiz for June 2015.
Half the year almost gone, but not before you get the chance to try out these questions.
As usual, if you get stuck, you can find the answers waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay down below, but please NO cheating.
Q. 1. What was bought by the United States from France in 1803?
Q. 2. 'Black', 'Hooper' and 'Bewick' are all types of what bird?
Q. 3. What city in South America is known as 'The City Of The Kings' ?
Q. 4. Very recently in the news for all the wrong reasons, what organization do the letters 'FIFA' represent?
Q. 5. Who was the leader of the Soviet Union from the mid-1920s until his death in 1953?
Q. 6. What did Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen discover by accident on November 8 1895?
Q. 7. He was born in Illinois and died in Idaho and during his lifetime he published seven novels, six short story collections, and two non-fiction works, and was awarded a Pulitzer Prize and the Nobel Prize for Literature. Many of his works are considered classics of American literature. Who was he?
Q. 8. What name is given to calfskin, dressed and prepared for writing on?
Q. 9. Which sea is sometimes called the Euxine Sea?
Q. 10. What is the name given to the person who is appointed the chief lawyer of the U.S. government?
Q. 11. Name the famous Russian ballet dancer who changed the face of modern ballet?
Q. 12. Who invented the rabies vaccination?
Q. 13. Who is the current (2015) British Prime Minister?
Q. 14. Big points opportunity. How many countries lie between Canada and Colombia? (A point for the correct number and a bonus point for each one you can name correctly.)
Q. 15. What fruit is 'Calvados' distilled from?
Q. 16. What is 'Scooby' short for in the name 'Scooby Doo' ?
Q. 17. What does 'RADAR' stand for?
Q. 18. In which French city was Joan of Arc put to death?
Q. 19. What are the seven most popular sports in America? (A point for each correct answer and a bonus point if you can name them in the correct order.)
Q. 20. He was famous as 'Dracula', 'Scaramanga' and 'Saruman'. Who was he?
ANWERS
A. 1. The Louisiana territory (828,000 square miles).
A. 2. Swans.
A. 3. Lima, Peru. (Ciudad de los Reyes)
A. 4. The Fédération Internationale de Football Association, the international governing body of association football, futsal and beach soccer.
A. 5. Joseph Stalin.
A. 6. X-rays.
A. 7. Ernest Hemmingway.
A. 8. It is known as 'Vellum'.
A. 9. The Black Sea.
A. 10. He/she is known as the 'Attorney General'.
A. 11. Rudolf Nureyev.
A. 12. Louis Pasteur.
A. 13. David Cameron.
A. 14. There are 9 countries that lie between Canada and Colombia – they are The United States, Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama.
A. 15. Apples.
A. 16. Scoobert.
A. 17. 'RADAR' stand for 'Radio Detection and Ranging'.
A. 18. Rouen.
A. 19. 1. American Football 2. Baseball 3. Basketball 4. Ice Hockey 5. Soccer 6. Tennis and 7. Golf
A. 20. He was the wonderful actor Sir Christopher Lee.
Some Baby Facts Included Today.
April 28, 2015 April 19, 2015 fasab Factoids, Unusual	209 N Weber Street, American writer, americans, Anne Parish, Anne Parrish, Asia, babies, Boromir armor, browsing, chopped down, Colorado, Computers, continent, Crichton, crying sounds, directed by Steven Spielberg, education, England, Entertainment, er, ER movie, Europe, expert in computers or science, fact, Fact day, factoid, factoids, facts, fathered, fear of flying, first modern lighter, fool, four-wheel drive utility vehicle, France, geek, genetic legacy, geneticists, Genghis Khan, German chemist, global demand for toilet paper, government, Greek idea, harem, helicopter ride, hiked, husband, iconic, Indonesia, information, invented, Jack Frost and Other Stories, Johann Wolfgang Dobereiner, John Walker, Jurassic Park, Lord of the Rings, loved the book when she was a child, match, military vehicles, newspaper, northern Britain, number of children, overcrowding on the roads, Paris bookstore, Poor people, Professional Hitchhiker service, restricted some lanes of traffic, Sean Bean, separation from Asia, Soviet Union, tears, The Atlantic Daily Bulletin, the mountains of New Zealand, thousands of women, Titanic, trees, trivia, tweaked the meaning, UK, unsociable and over-diligent student, US, Willys MB Jeep, WWII, Y-chromosome
Yes, baby facts and a lot of grown up facts too in this selection.
Hope you find something of interest.
In spite of their crying sounds,
babies tears don't begin to flow until they
are around 4 to 13 weeks old.
Anne Parrish, an American writer was browsing
in a Paris bookstore one day when she came across
a book called, 'Jack Frost and Other Stories'.
She began to tell her husband how she loved
the book when she was a child.
He took the book, opened it,
and inside the cover were written the words
"Anne Parish, 209 N Weber Street, Colorado".
The Titanic had its own newspaper
called The Atlantic Daily Bulletin.
The term 'Geek' first showed up in northern Britain
in 1876, when it was used to refer to a fool.
Americans tweaked the meaning and by 1957 it meant
'an unsociable and over-diligent student'.
Of course, once computers turned up in the 80's,
'geek' took on a second meaning as
'an expert in computers or science'.
The first modern lighter was invented by
German chemist Johann Wolfgang Dobereiner in 1823,
three years BEFORE the match was invented
by John Walker in England.
One of the most iconic military vehicles of all time has to
be the Willys MB Jeep, manufactured from 1941 to 1945.
This small four-wheel drive utility vehicle has
a maximum speed of up to 65 mph (105 km/h)
and an operational range of 300 miles (almost 500 km).
It was used by several countries in WWII,
including the US, UK, France and the Soviet Union.
Technically Europe is not a continent,
it's separation from Asia was actually a Greek idea.
While filming Lord of the Rings
in the mountains of New Zealand,
Sean Bean refused a helicopter ride to a set
that was high in the mountains
due to his fear of flying.
He instead hiked up to the set
in his full Boromir armor
every day that they shot up there.
In Indonesia the government has restricted some
lanes of traffic to only cars with 3 or more people
to try to cut down overcrowding on the roads.
Some poor people from the city outskirts
take advantage of this law by offering drivers a
Professional Hitchhiker service,
so they can drive in the fast lanes.
Genghis Khan believed that a man could be measured
by the number of children he fathered
and consequently his harem included thousands of
women with whom he had a great many children.
So many, in fact, that geneticists have found
that roughly 8% of men in Asia carry his genetic legacy
in their Y-chromosome.
127,000 trees are chopped down every day
in order to keep up with the global demand
for toilet paper.
Holy S***!!!
The original ER movie was to be directed
by Steven Spielberg until he became more interested
in another of Crichton's projects: Jurassic Park.
Grab A Cup Of Coffee And A Croissant, It's Quiz Time!
April 27, 2015 April 26, 2015 fasab Questions, Tests	A Woman of Substance, Academy Awards, actor, best-selling debut novel, big bang, black and white face mask, book, breakfast delicacy, bushy tail, business organization, color, Croissants, cryogenics, director, education, England, Entertainment, European city, first English novel, France, general knowledge, Geography, Grendel's mother, hematite, history, history of the EU, hydrated magnesium sulphate, jersey, John Walton Sr, killed Grendel, largest eye of any animal, limonite, literature, Lord of the Rings trilogy, Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, Magnetite, major treaty, metal, motorways, movie sequels, movies, music, musical, Nebraska, North American mammal, ores, People, phonetic alphabet, Pilot, places, questions, quiz, quizzes, rings, Roman emperor, Saint Paul's Cathedral, science, sea creature, seasons, series, siderite, spring, state capital, Surrey, television, test, tests, The Forbidden City, The Waltons, Tour de France, town, wide acceptance, worn by the winners of each stage, writer
A cup of coffee and a croissant is pleasant at any time, but particularly on the first morning of the week if you have a quiz to try.
The usual wide range of questions, some rather difficult in this selection.
But remember if you get stuck you can always find the answers waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay down below, but please NO cheating!
Q. 1: What is 'The Forbidden City' better known as?
Q. 2: What is the connection between the Academy Awards and the Phonetic Alphabet?
Q. 3: Where are the breakfast delicacy of Croissants originally from?
Q. 4: What sea creature has the largest eye of any animal? .
Q. 5: What is studied in the science of cryogenics?
Q. 6: What are motorways called in France?
Q. 7: What business organization underwent a "big bang" in 1986?
Q. 8: Which musical Roman Emperor was originally named Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus?
Q. 9: 'A Woman of Substance', published in 1979, was a best-selling debut novel for which well-known writer?
Q. 10: Named after a town in Surrey, England where a spring containing it was discovered, how is hydrated magnesium sulphate better known?
Q. 11: Who killed Grendel and Grendel's mother?
Q. 12: What North American mammal has a black and white face mask and a bushy tail with between five and seven rings?
Q. 13: Saint Paul's Cathedral is in which European city?
Q. 14: Who played John Walton Sr. in season 1 thru 8 and the six movie sequels of The Waltons? (Five bonus points if you can name the actor who played the role in the pilot for the series.)
Q. 15: Where was a major treaty in the history of the EU signed in February 1992?
Q. 16: In literature which 1719 book has gained wide acceptance as 'the first English novel' ?
Q. 17: What is the state capital of Nebraska?
Q. 18: Magnetite, hematite, limonite and siderite are ores of which metal?
Q. 19: What color jersey is worn by the winners of each stage of the Tour De France?
Q. 20: Name the director of the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
A. 1: Beijing.
A. 2: Oscar.
A. 3: They come from Vienna, Austria, NOT Paris, France.
Q. 4: What sea creature has the largest eye of any animal?
A. 4: The giant squid.
A. 5: Very low temperatures.
A. 6: Autoroutes.
A. 7: The London Stock Exchange.
A. 8: Nero.
A. 9: Barbara Taylor Bradford.
A. 10: Epsom salts.
A. 11: Beowulf.
A. 12: A Raccoon.
A. 13: London.
A. 14: Ralph Waite was the actor who played John Walton Sr. in seasons 1 thru 8 and the six movie sequels. For your five bonus points, Andrew Duggan played the role in the pilot.
A. 15: Maastricht.
Q. 16: In literature which 1719 book has gained wide acceptance as 'the first English novel'?
A. 16: Robinson Crusoe.
A. 17: Lincoln.
A. 18: Iron.
A. 19: Yellow.
A. 20: Peter Jackson. .
============================= .
Make Sure You Smile – It's Fact Day.
March 31, 2015 March 29, 2015 fasab Factoids, Unusual	18th century, 9 volumes, accomplishments, affairs with women, animal attacks on humans, attentive seducer, ban on frowning, best-selling truck, best-selling vehicle in America, Casanova, cuddle hormone, deaths, Dickens, dog, eaten alive, education, Entertainment, equator, Europeans, executing people by guillotine, eyes, eyes blink, fact, factoid, factoids, facts, fake bookcase, fake books, fine, first black astronaut, first black astronaut in space, Florida, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, ford, Ford F-150, Ford's F-150, found the last survivor, France, funerals, German Shepherd, Giacomo Casanova, Guion Bluford, happier, history, history's most heroic animals, hospital visits, infested, information, International Space Hall of Fame, island, Italian adventurer, Italian city, Japanese troops, Keystone Heights, lecher, legal requirement to smile, Massive Ordinance Air Blast bomb, Middle Ages, Milan, MOAB, most powerful non-nuclear bomb, Mother of All Bombs, movie theatres, nobleman, pet, petting an animal, Pinon Road, Ramree Island, releases oxytocin in our brains, Robert Henry Lawrence Jr, saltwater crocodiles, secret door, September 11, serious injuries, seven hours of equal length, shelves, smile all the time, speaks more than one language, Star Wars A New Hope, summer, summer days, survivor detection dog, The Life of a Cat, time, Trakr, trampolines, trivia, turtles, United States Astronaut Hall of Fame, US. Military, winter, winter hour, World Trade Center attack, world's greatest disaster, world's population, WWII
It's not that the facts today are particularly funny, in fact some of them are the exact opposite.
But if you are in Milan and reading this post I bet you are smiling anyway.
Find out why.
Trakr, a German shepherd survivor detection dog,
made history when he became the dog that found the
last survivor of the World Trade Center attack on September 11.
For his accomplishments, Trakr was named
one of history's most heroic animals by Time.
Trakr died in 2009 at age fourteen.
75% of the world's population
speaks more than one language,
but 75% of the world's population
speak no English.
Having a pet makes you happier
because petting an animal
releases oxytocin in our brains,
which is sometimes known as
the "cuddle hormone".
The eyes blink on an average of
17 times per minute,
that's 14,280 times per day
or 5.2 million times a year.
In the early Middle Ages,
Europeans divided the day
into seven hours of equal length and,
because summer days are longer than winter ones,
a winter hour was about sixty minutes,
but a summer one was about 150 minutes.
A little bit confusing I think.
Trampolines contribute to at least
two deaths and numerous serious injuries
each year.
Giacomo Casanova was an 18th century
Italian adventurer and nobleman famous for
his numerous elaborate affairs with women.
Today, if a man is referred to as a 'Casanova',
it can mean anything from an
attentive seducer to a mere lecher.
In January 2012, dozens of turtles
were found dead in Keystone Heights, Florida,
at the end of Pinon Road.
No one, including the
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission,
has been able to figure out what happened.
The most powerful non-nuclear bomb
ever created by the US military is the
Massive Ordinance Air Blast bomb,
better known as 'MOAB'.
It is also more popularly known as
the "Mother of All Bombs".
Charles Dickens's house had a secret door
in the form of a fake bookcase.
The fake books on its shelves included
titles such as 'The Life of a Cat'
in 9 volumes of course.
Ford's F-150 has been the best-selling
vehicle in America for the past 33 years
and the best-selling truck since 1977.
Ford have sold over 34,000,000 of them
since they started production in 1948.
Last year alone they sold 753,851,
which is an incredible 2,065 a day,
or one every 35 seconds.
If you parked every Ford F-150
ever made side by side,
they would stretch for 49,802 miles (80,150 km),
the equivalent to twice around the Equator.
The first black astronaut was Robert Henry Lawrence Jr.,
but he died before he could travel to space.
The first black astronaut in space
(spending more then 28 days there)
was Guion Bluford in 1983.
He was inducted into the
International Space Hall of Fame in 1997 and into
the United States Astronaut Hall of Fame in 2010.
The world's greatest disaster suffered
as a result of animal attacks on humans
happened on Ramree Island during WWII.
The island is infested with saltwater crocodiles
and nearly 500 Japanese troops were eaten alive there.
When Star Wars: A New Hope was
first being shown in movie theaters
France was still executing people by guillotine.
Ending today's facts on a happy note,
if you want to visit Milan, Italy,
make sure to smile all the time as the
Italian city has imposed a ban on frowning.
It is a legal requirement to smile at all times,
except during funerals or hospital visits.
If you don't you can face a fine.
Don't Beam Me Up Just Yet, Scotty!
March 24, 2015 February 1, 2015 fasab Factoids, Unusual	Adolf Hitler, airplane tickets, airport security, American soldiers, American Telephone and Telegraph Company, American women, Ancient Egyptians, ancient toothpaste, bad luck, Beam me up Scotty, beautifully bound. brief impression, bitter, bizarre hospital-themed restaurant, bleeding gums, cell phone, Champagne, China, Chinese tradition, cleaning powder, cold weather, craigslist, Daniel Defoe, Denomination of Origin, dissolved into particles, dog, Don't judge a book by its cover, dressed as nurses, dried iris flowers, drinks, DS Music Restaurant, education, english, Entertainment, exam, fact, Fact day, factoid, factoids, facts, Ferdinand Porsche, first spacecraft to carry an animal, flavors, fluent in French, France, George Eliot, German National Prize for Art and Science, Guanajuato, Hello Girls, hospital beds, human body, humans, information, IV bottles, Jalisco, Laika, Matter, Mexican state, Mexico, Michoacan, Mint, Mr Tulliver, music, Nayarit, New York Times, Nikola Tesla, Nobel Prize, oldest-known formula for toothpaste, outward appearance, pepper, Pershing's forces in Europe, pregnant, pregnant Chinese woman, prolong battery life, quantum physics, rock salt, Russian, salty, savory/meaty, science fiction, scientific study, shopping for baby things, side effect, sour, Soviets, space, specific receptor areas, Sputnik 1, Sputnik 2, star trek, stressing, stroller, sweet, tables, Taipei, Taiwan, Tamaulipas, telephone operators, teleporter, Tequila, test, The History of the Devil, The Mill on the Floss, tongue, transmit messages via personal devices, trivia, umami, US Army, USSR, veteran benefits, Volkswagen Beetle, waitresses, war medals, west, wireless communication devices, women, world's first hybrid car, WWI, X-ray scans, YouTube
You will get what the title is all about later. Let's just say for now I'll still be buying my airplane tickets and enduring the rigors of airport security for a few years longer.
As for now it's Fact Day so have a look at the current offerings.
In cold weather keeping your cell phone
as close to your body as you can,
or in the inside pocket of an insulated base layer
will help keep it warm and prolong battery life.
In the West women usually start shopping for baby things
as soon as they discover they're pregnant
but in China a pregnant Chinese woman will avoid
getting a stroller before her baby is born because
according to Chinese tradition it's considered
bad luck to have an empty stroller in the house
while you're pregnant.
The world's oldest-known formula for toothpaste
was created by the ancient Egyptians
who used crushed rock salt, mint, dried iris flowers,
and pepper and mixed them to create a cleaning powder.
Research suggests this ancient toothpaste was more
effective than formulas used as recently as a century ago,
although it did have the unfortunate side effect
of causing bleeding gums.
A scientific study has suggested that if you
are stressing over an important test or exam,
writing down your feelings on a piece of paper
before an exam will allow you to achieve higher scores.
Contrary to many theories,
the tongue does not have specific receptor areas
for bitter, sour, salty, and sweet flavors.
In fact, there is a fifth taste (umami, for savory/meaty flavors)
and all zones of the tongue can sense all flavors.
After banning the Nobel Prize,
Adolf Hitler developed his own version
– the German National Prize for Art and Science.
Ferdinand Porsche was one of the awardees
for being the man behind the world's first
hybrid car and for the Volkswagen Beetle.
In a statement he gave to the New York Times in 1909,
Nikola Tesla predicted that it would soon be possible
to transmit messages via personal devices.
Today, we have wireless communication devices
that we bring with us anywhere we go.
A month after the USSR sent Sputnik 1 into space,
they sent Sputnik 2, which was the first spacecraft
to carry an animal (a dog named Laika) into space.
However, despite the Soviets initially claiming that
Laika had survived in orbit for a week,
decades later official Russian sources revealed
that Laika lived only a few hours
before dying from overheating.
Brave little doggie though.
During WWI "Hello Girls," as American
soldiers called them, were American women
who served as telephone operators for
Pershing's forces in Europe.
The women were fluent in French and English
and were specially trained by the American
Telephone and Telegraph Company.
In 1979, the U.S. Army finally gave war medals
and veteran benefits to the few Hello Girls who were still alive.
In its early days YouTube's founders used
Craigslist to try to popularize the site
by offering $100 to attractive girls who would
post ten or more videos of themselves.
Unfortunately, they didn't get a single response.
The phrase 'Don't judge a book by its cover'
goes back to at least the mid-nineteenth century
as found in George Eliot's 'The Mill on the Floss' (1860),
where Mr. Tulliver uses the phrase in discussing
Daniel Defoe's 'The History of the Devil',
saying how it was beautifully bound.
Its general meaning today, of course, is that
we shouldn't judge or make a decision about
someone or something based on a brief
impression or outward appearance.
Wise advice.
Just as true champagne must hail from France,
tequila has Denomination of Origin,
meaning that it has to be produced in Mexico,
mainly in the western Mexican state of Jalisco.
The states of Guanajuato, Michoacan, Nayarit,
and Tamaulipas are also acceptable.
Located in the city of Taipei in Taiwan, the
D.S. Music Restaurant has nothing to do with music at all.
In fact, it is a bizarre hospital-themed restaurant
where waitresses are all dressed as nurses,
tables are made from metal hospital beds,
drinks are served in IV bottles and
walls are decorated with X-ray scans.
Remember the teleporter Star Trek?
Well, it's no longer science fiction because now
matter can be dissolved into particles, transported
and reassembled at another location.
However, it won't be available for use on humans
in the near future because at the moment,
whilst it is indeed possible to scan every molecule
in the human body and reassemble it in another area,
according to Quantum physics, scanning and
reassembling changes the entire object.
You can't make an exact copy.
So don't beam me up just yet, Scotty!
Lots Of Names In Today's Quiz.
March 16, 2015 February 1, 2015 fasab Questions, Tests	19th century, 49ers, accredited, American football, animal, art, body, central characters, Chemical Element, city, Crimean War, education, Eliza Doolittle, end to the First World War, Entertainment, Entomology, famous painters, fashion capital of the world, fictional character, first human heart transplant, first man in space, France, general knowledge, Geography, George Bernard Shaw play, Ghillie, history, Hollywood musical, Ibex, impressionist movement, insulin, King of Scotland, literature, longest bone in the human body, longest rail tunnel in the world, movies, music, Na, Name, nature, organ, Paris, periodic table, piste, play, Prince Albert, Professor Henry Higgins, Queen Victoria, questions, quiz, quizzes, Roger Fenton, Scone, Seikan rail tunnel, sentenced to death by hanging, significant impact, skiing, spacecraft, sport, squire, surnames, T S Eliot, test, tests, The Murder in the Cathedral, tilted at windmills, treaty with Germany, Tristan da Cunha, two islands, United States, victim, vowel, Yuri Gagarin
Yes, lots of names in today's quiz, either as the answers or as part of the questions.
Some easy and some quite difficult, but you'll have to have a bit of knowledge of various subjects to answer them all correctly.
And as usual, if you get stuck, you can find the answers waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay down below, but please NO cheating!
Q. 1: In which city does the American football team the '49ers' play?
Q. 2: These two men had the same name, one was sentenced to death by hanging in the United States in 1859 and the other was a Ghillie who became close to Queen Victoria after the death of her husband Prince Albert – what was their name?
Q. 3: And still on the subject of names, separated only by a vowel, what were the surnames of two famous painters born in Paris, France during the 19th Century who had a significant impact on the 'impressionist' movement? (There is usually a point for each correct answer in questions like this, but in this case if you get one right you'll get them both right, so just one point up for grabs.)
Q. 4: What type of animal is an Ibex?
Q. 5: Who and what is 'Tristan da Cunha' ? (A point for each correct answer.)
Q. 6: Which treaty with Germany brought a formal end to the First World War?
Q. 7: What city is known as the 'fashion capital of the world' ?
Q. 8: 'Entomology' is the study of what?
Q. 9: In which organ of the body is insulin produced?
Q. 10: As well as skiing, which other sport takes place on a piste?
Q. 11: Who had himself crowned King of Scotland at Scone in 1306?
Q. 12: Who performed the first human heart transplant?
Q. 13: Who is the victim of 'The Murder in the Cathedral' in T S Eliot's play of that name?
Q. 14: In the Crimean War, Roger Fenton was the first person to be accredited in what capacity?
Q. 15: What fictional character famously 'tilted at windmills' and who served as his 'squire' ?
Q. 16: Which chemical element, number 11 in the Periodic table, has the symbol 'Na' ?
Q. 17: What is the longest bone in the human body?
Q. 18: In which spacecraft did Yuri Gagarin become the first man in space?
Q. 19: In which country are two islands linked by the Seikan rail tunnel, the longest rail tunnel in the world? (Two bonus points are available if you can also correctly name the islands.)
Q. 20: 'Professor Henry Higgins' and 'Eliza Doolittle' central characters in which George Bernard Shaw play and which Hollywood musical?
A. 1: San Francisco.
A. 2: John Brown.
A. 3: They are Édouard Manet (born 23 January 1832) and Oscar-Claude Monet (born 14 November 1840).
A. 4: A Mountain Goat.
A. 5: 'Tristan da Cunha' is the name of a famous Portuguese navigator and the name of an island in the South Atlantic that he first sighted it in 1506.
A. 6: The Treaty of Versailles.
A. 7: Milan.
A. 8: Insects.
A. 9: The Pancreas.
A. 10: Fencing.
A. 11: Robert the Bruce. (Think back to the final scene in the movie Braveheart.)
A. 12: Doctor Christian Barnard.
A. 13: Thomas Beckett.
A. 14: War Photographer.
A. 15: Don Quixote and his squire was Sancho Panza. (From the Spanish novel by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra.)
A. 16: Sodium.
A. 17: The femur, or thighbone, either answer gets you the point.
A. 18: Vostok 1.
A. 19: The country is Japan, and for your two bonus points the names of the islands are Honshu and Hokkaido.
A. 20: The play is called 'Pygmalion' and the movie version 'My Fair Lady'.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Technical demonstration of the making of beer, explanation of various types of beer, sampling of all available types of beer, guided tour of the brewery.
Enjoy, taste and discover the philosophy of Herwig Ertl!
Guided tour with show smithy, forging, history of the smithy - experience live forging and straightening of a tool, from start to finish.


text:
Why Be a Part of Cupid's Undie Run?
We could tell you why, but don't take it from us. Hear it from our past participants! Ever wanted to run in your underwear? Well, Cupid's Undie Run offers you [...]
Scout Petersen
What the 2021 Cupid's Undie Run looks like amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Let us start by saying f*ck pants and 2020. After a year like the last, it's about time [...]
Your Fundraising Dollars are Helping Bring New NF Drugs to Market
There have been exciting developments in NF research over the last few years, and in April, another big advancement was reached. The FDA recently granted 'Breakthrough Therapy Designation' (BTD) for [...]
Sarah Flinn
Don't Boil the Ocean of Cancer Research
How CTF's Targeted, Collaborative Research is Bringing About a Treatment for NF at Unparalleled Rates Donating money to cancer research can seem a bit like boiling the ocean. It's a big, [...]
Cupid's Charity
How Does Research Funding Actually Work?
All net proceeds from Cupid's Undie Run are donated to the Children's Tumor Foundation (CTF) to be used directly for neurofibromatosis (NF) research purposes. Net proceeds means that we cover our operating [...]
How Much Does NF Research Cost?
WE WANT TO CRUSH NF. Cupid's Undie Run is proud to work in alliance with the Children's Tumor Foundation (CTF) because simply put – they are the best when it [...]
In a world of shady charities that send pennies on the dollar to their "causes" we wanted to take a minute and let you know that when it comes to Cupid Charities, [...]
NF Facts You Should Know
It's no secret that we're dropping pants for a cause, but how much do you know about neurofibromatosis (NF)? A lot of our participants know that they're fundraising to find a cure, [...]
10 Things You Need to Know About Cupid's Undie Run
Cupid's Undie Run draws a crowd, because who doesn't like joining undie-clad do-gooders in parading around a city while hopped up on Moscow Mules? But sometimes in the hype and hoopla people [...]
Coffee with Cupid's
Cupid's Undie Run
Project: Cupid
Trick-or-TREATment
PARTNERS/PRESS
Cupid Charities d/b/a Cupid's Charity is a 501 (c)(3). | Ⓒ 2020


Just as a reminder, the illustrations I've been posting are client work which I'm permitted to show as portfolio pieces. I'm not writing these stories myself.
As you can see, this story involves a bear chase and (in case you're worried) has a happy ending.
This is my cousin, Brad, and his wife, Karisa, who were married on June 1st of this year. My gift to them was this portrait, a graphite drawing sealed in encaustic medium (heated wax and other components).
This sort of mixed media technique grew from the impetus of working for Inspire Prescott. I still haven't completely worked it out. So in truth, I experimented on my dear cousins :). Even so, I'm confident they were happy with it, and I can't wait to try another portrait in this style.
God bless your life together, Brad and Karisa.
And click here to see a snapshot album of the artwork I'm showing.
I spent the past week painting furiously and came up with these 4 new encaustic portraits — referencing Pre-Raphaelite portraiture and William Morris patterns and other old fashioned things. They will be hanging in the gallery for the next few months.
It took some time, but my Etsy shop is now well stocked with tiny paintings! :-). Please take a look and share, like, pin, tweet, enjoy. A warm thanks to you.
I opened an Etsy shop today to sell the decent-most of my tiny paintings and color sketches. It's called TheTinyPainting. So far, I've listed a number of encaustic 4″x 6″ paintings, and a near stamp-sized hummingbird watercolor. More to come ~ I'd love to know what you think!


text:
Keith Lionel Urban  (born 26 October 1967) is an Australian-American musician, singer, guitarist and songwriter known for his work in country music. Recognized with four Grammy Awards, Urban also received fifteen Academy of Country Music Awards, including the Jim Reeves International Award, thirteen CMA Awards and six ARIA Music Awards. Urban wrote and performed the song "For You" from the film Act of Valor, which earned him nominations at both the 70th Golden Globe Awards and at the 18th Critics' Choice Awards in the respective Best Original Song categories.

Urban has released 11 studio albums (one of which was released only in Australia), as well as one album with the Ranch. He has charted 37 singles on the US Hot Country Songs chart, 18 of which went to number one, counting a duet with Brad Paisley ("Start a Band") and the 2008 single "You Look Good in My Shirt". Urban also worked with numerous artists from different music genres, such as Pink, Nelly Furtado, Jason Derulo, Julia Michaels, and country artists like Dolly Parton, Dixie Chicks, Carrie Underwood, Martina McBride, Eric Church, and Reba McEntire.

In 1991, he released a self-titled debut album, charting four singles in Australia before moving to the United States the following year. He started a band known as The Ranch, which recorded one studio album on Capitol Nashville and charted two singles on the US Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.

Still signed to Capitol, Urban made his solo American debut in 1999 with a second eponymous album. Certified platinum in the US by the RIAA, it produced his first number one on the Hot Country Songs chart with "But for the Grace of God". "Somebody Like You", the first single from his second Capitol album Golden Road (2002), was named by Billboard as the biggest country hit of the 2000s decade. The album's fourth single, "You'll Think of Me" featuring his nephew and fellow country artist Rory Gilliatte, earned him his first Grammy Award. 2004's Be Here, his third American album became his highest-selling album, being certified 4× Platinum. Love, Pain & the Whole Crazy Thing was released in 2006, containing "Once in a Lifetime" as well as his second Grammy Award-winning song, "Stupid Boy". A greatest hits package titled Greatest Hits: 18 Kids followed in late 2007. Defying Gravity and Get Closer were released on 31 March 2009 and 16 November 2010, respectively. In September 2013, he released the album Fuse, which produced four more number ones on the Country Airplay chart. "John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16" was released in June 2015 as the lead single of his eighth American studio album, Ripcord. The album later produced the Country Airplay chart number-one hits "Break on Me", "Wasted Time", and "Blue Ain't Your Color", with the latter also becoming Urban's longest-reigning number one on the Hot Country Songs chart, spending 12 weeks atop the chart. His tenth album, Graffiti U, was released in 2018 and includes the Top 10 hit "Coming Home". His eleventh album The Speed of Now Part 1 was released in 2020 and includes the global hit "One Too Many" with Pink, in addition to Country Airplay top ten hits "We Were" and "God Whispered Your Name".

Urban was a coach on the Australian version of the singing competition The Voice and a judge on American Idol. In October 2013, Urban introduced his own signature line of guitars and accessories.

Early life
Urban was born on 26 October 1967 in Whangarei, New Zealand. He is the youngest son of Marienne and Robert "Bob" Urbahn (Urbański). At two years of age, Urban moved with his parents to Caboolture, Queensland, Australia. Expressing an early interest in music, he was at four given a ukulele, and at six he took up the guitar. From an early age Urban's influences reflected the tastes of his parents, who enjoyed country music. His father, who owned a convenience store, put an ad for a guitar teacher in his shop window. Urban took lessons from his teacher, Sue McCarthy, and began entering local competitions, in addition to acting in a local theatre company. Urban has stated that his guitar playing was influenced by two rock players, Mark Knopfler (Dire Straits) and Lindsey Buckingham (Fleetwood Mac).

In 1983, Urban was a contestant on the Australian TV talent show New Faces. A few years later, he began making inroads into the Australian country music scene, with regular appearances on the Reg Lindsay Country Homestead TV Program, Mike McClellan's Music Program, and various other TV programmes performing duets with local Brisbane girl Jenny Wilson. They won a Golden Guitar award at the Tamworth Country Music Festival. Urban also performed regularly on stage at the Northern Suburbs Country Music Club in Bald Hills, where he was a member. He was in a band called 'Kids Country', which performed during school holidays at various venues and made appearances on the Reg Lindsey show and Conway Country.

Musical career

1990–1999: Early years
In 1990, Urban signed with EMI in Australia and released his self-titled debut album. He appeared on the 1990 compilation album Breaking Ground - New Directions in Country Music, which was nominated for the 1991 ARIA Award for Best Country Album. He toured as a backup act to Slim Dusty between 1993 and 1994. In the mid-1990s, both people recorded a re-worked duet of Dusty's classic "Lights on the Hill". Urban appeared for the first time at the Grand Ole Opry backing Dusty. He also sang backing vocals on INXS's 1991 single "Shining Star".

Urban moved to Nashville, Tennessee, in 1992. The next year, he appeared in the music video for Alan Jackson's rendition of "Mercury Blues". He and Vernon Rust co-wrote "Jesus Gets Jealous of Santa Claus" on Toby Keith's 1995 album Christmas to Christmas, 4 Runner's 1996 single "That Was Him (This Is Now)", he played guitar on Garth Brooks' album Double Live (Garth Brooks album) and "Tangled Up in Love" on the Raybon Brothers' 1997 self-titled album. In 1997, he formed a band known as The Ranch, which included drummer Peter Clarke and bassist Jerry Flowers. The Ranch released one self-titled album for Capitol Records Nashville and charted two singles on the Hot Country Songs charts that year: "Walkin' the Country" and "Just Some Love". Throughout the late 1990s, Urban also played guitar on several other artists' albums, such as Paul Jefferson, Tim Wilson, and Charlie Daniels.

1999–2001: Keith Urban
Urban released his self-titled American debut album in 1999 under the production of session pianist Matt Rollings. It was led by the number 18 single "It's a Love Thing", followed by the number four single "Your Everything", which made him the first male New Zealand performer to reach the Top 10 on the US country charts. Its follow-up, "But for the Grace of God", written by Charlotte Caffey and Jane Wiedlin of The Go-Gos, became his first number 1 hit on the charts. The last single, "Where the Blacktop Ends", written by Steve Wariner and Allen Shamblin, went to number three. He won the Top New Male Vocalist Award at the 2001 Academy of Country Music Awards and the 2001 Country Music Association's Horizon Award. Allmusic's Thom Jurek described the first and third singles favorably, and praised the instrumental track "Rollercoaster", saying that Urban was "flat picking his Stratocaster like it was another extremity he was born with." He thought that those songs "balance the slick and sometimes too-soft production on the record".

2002–2006: Golden Road and Be Here

Urban released his second American album, Golden Road, in 2002. Of the 13 songs included on this album, Urban produced seven himself and co-produced the other six with Dann Huff. The album's lead-off single, "Somebody Like You", was released in July 2002 and spent six weeks at number one. The second single was the number three hit "Raining on Sunday" which Radney Foster had previously released as a single from his 1998 album See What You Want to See. The third and fourth singles from the album, "Who Wouldn't Wanna Be Me" and "You'll Think of Me", went to number one, with the latter winning him the Grammy Award for Best Male Country Vocal Performance in 2005.

On 22 September 2005, Urban's third studio album, Golden Road, was certified triple platinum, for sales of three million copies.

In 2002, Urban posed nude for Playgirl. On The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, he said that he regretted posing nude despite not showing any full frontal nudity.

In 2004, Urban performed "Lights on the Hill" at the Tamworth tribute concert following the death of Australian country singer Slim Dusty, an artist whom he had both written for and covered.

In 2005, Urban performed in front of European audiences for the first time. In May, he supported Bryan Adams on his UK and Ireland tour, which included dates at Earls Court, London, Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre, Glasgow, and The Point, Dublin. On 6 June a UK-only album, Days Go By, was released. The album contained songs from both Be Here and Golden Road.

"You Look Good in My Shirt" was originally intended to be the fifth single from this album. Instead, Capitol chose to release "Days Go By", the lead-off to his third American album Be Here. By late 2004, this song became Urban's fifth number one hit on the country chart. Although it was not officially released, "You Look Good in My Shirt" spent one week at number 60 on the country charts in July 2004 and remained a fan favourite. The next single from this album was the #2 "You're My Better Half", followed by the five-week number 1 "Making Memories of Us", which was written by Rodney Crowell and previously recorded by both Tracy Byrd and Crowell's side project The Notorious Cherry Bombs. The next singles from this album were "Better Life" and "Tonight I Wanna Cry". The former, which Urban wrote with Richard Marx, spent six weeks at number 1 and the latter spent three weeks at number 2. After this song, "Live to Love Another Day" spent 14 weeks on the country chart, reaching a peak of number 48, although it was never officially released as a single.

2006–2008: Love, Pain, & The Whole Crazy Thing and Greatest Hits: 18 Kids

On 21 August 2006, Urban's "Once in a Lifetime" debuted at No. 17, setting what was then a new record for the highest-debuting country single in the 62-year history of the Hot Country Songs chart. Despite the high debut, the song peaked at number 6. Following it was "Stupid Boy", which was co-written by Sarah Buxton, went to number 3, and won him his second Grammy Award for Best Male Country Vocal Performance in 2007. The album's next two singles, "I Told You So" and "Everybody", respectively peaked at numbers two and five. Urban released his first greatest hits collection Greatest Hits: 18 Kids on 20 November 2007. This compilation contains all of his Top 10 hits, along with two new songs, "Got It Right This Time (The Celebration) and a cover of Steve Forbert's "Romeo's Tune"."

In January 2008, Urban embarked on the "Love, Pain and the Whole Crazy Carnival Ride World Tour" with fellow country singer Carrie Underwood. In early May 2008, Urban debuted a new song at the Grand Ole Opry titled "A New Sunshine". That same month, Urban recorded a new version of "You Look Good in My Shirt" and released it as a single in June of that year. "Over the years it ("You Look Good In My Shirt") has always played like a hit song," Urban said. "That, combined with numerous requests from both fans and radio about why it was never a single, inspired us to get back into the studio and re-record the song." The single was a precursor to the "Love, Pain & the Whole Crazy World Tour" concert DVD release in the fall of 2008. Later that year, Urban served as a duet artist for Brad Paisley's single "Start a Band," on which both he and Paisley sang and played guitar. This song was included on Paisley's album Play and it went to No. 1 in January 2009.

2008–2010: Defying Gravity
Urban announced that the lead single for his fifth studio album would be titled "Sweet Thing". This song became his tenth number one hit. Capitol Records released the album, Defying Gravity, on 31 March 2009. The second single, "Kiss a Girl", was released in March 2009. Urban performed this song on American Idol, during the season 8 finale, as a duet with eventual winner Kris Allen. "Only You Can Love Me This Way", the third single, went to number one. The fourth single, "'Til Summer Comes Around", went to number three. The fifth and final single "I'm In" is a cover of a song by Radney Foster, taken from the same album as "Raining on Sunday" was. This song was also recorded by The Kinleys, whose version had been a Top 40 single in 2000. Urban's rendition went to number two. Between the two, Urban also made a guest appearance on then-labelmate Emily West's single "Blue Sky," which charted at number 38.

Urban's 2009 Escape Together tour, supporting the Defying Gravity album, featured many big-name opening acts, such as Taylor Swift, Sugarland, and Jason Aldean. On 27 June 2009, Urban filmed a video for the song, "Only You Can Love Me This Way", at the Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa.

In 2009, Urban was also a judge for the eighth annual Independent Music Awards to support independent artists' careers.

2010–2012: Get Closer
In May 2010, Urban entered the studio to begin work on a new album. The recording process was documented in a blog on his official website. At the beginning of September, it was announced that the album would be titled Get Closer and would be released on 16 November. "Put You in a Song" was released as its first single on 13 September. It went to number 2, followed by "Without You", "Long Hot Summer", and "You Gonna Fly", all of which went to number one. Urban wrote, "Put You in a Song" with Sarah Buxton and Jedd Hughes, and "Long Hot Summer" with Richard Marx. Preston Brust and Chris Lucas, who constitute the LoCash Cowboys, co-wrote "You Gonna Fly" with Jaren Johnston, then-member of the group American Bang. After "You Gonna Fly" fell from the charts, Urban released "For You", which was featured as the theme song of the 2012 action film Act of Valor and appeared on the film's soundtrack. The song peaked at number six on the country charts.

On 10 April 2012, Urban was invited to be a member of the Grand Ole Opry by Vince Gill at the third annual We're All for the Hall benefit concert which Urban organized. He was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry on 21 April 2012.

Urban plays guitar on Tim McGraw's early-2013 single "Highway Don't Care", which also features a guest vocal from Taylor Swift. This song is the third single from McGraw's album Two Lanes of Freedom.

2013–2015: Fuse

On 13 May 2013, Urban released the single "Little Bit of Everything", produced by Nathan Chapman. It was the first single from his eighth studio album, Fuse, which was released on 10 September 2013. The official music video for "Little Bit Of Everything" debuted on VEVO on 25 July 2013. Unlike his previous albums, Urban co-produced with 10 other producers on this album. The album's second single, "We Were Us", is a duet with Miranda Lambert. It reached number one on the Country Airplay chart in December 2013. The third single, "Cop Car", was released in January 2014. A fourth single, "Somewhere in My Car" was released in June 2014. A fifth single, a duet with Eric Church, "Raise 'Em Up," was released to country radio on 26 January 2015. It reached number 1 on Country Airplay in May 2015.

2015–2017: Ripcord
In June 2015, Urban released "John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16", as the lead single to his eighth American studio album, Ripcord. In October 2015, Urban teased a new song called "Break on Me"; it was released to the public on 23 October. It reached number one on the Country Airplay chart.
On 22 September 2015, Urban celebrated the tenth anniversary of his third studio album Golden Road being certified triple platinum, for sales of three million copies of his record. "Wasted Time" was released as the album's third single and it went on to reach the number one spot on the Country Airplay chart. "Blue Ain't Your Color" was released as the album's fourth single and became a huge hit for Urban. It topped the Hot Country Songs chart as well as the Country Airplay Chart, spending 12 weeks at number one on the former chart. "The Fighter", a duet with Carrie Underwood, was released as the fifth single from the album.

In 2016, Urban was selected as one of 30 artists to perform on "Forever Country," a medley of "Take Me Home, Country Roads", "On the Road Again", and "I Will Always Love You" which celebrates 50 years of the CMA Awards.

2017–2018: Graffiti U
On 8 November 2017, Urban released a new song titled "Female", which has been described as "an empowerment anthem partially inspired by the Harvey Weinstein scandal." Urban said that the song, "[a]s a husband and a father of two young girls...It affects me in a lot of ways. And as a son – my mother is alive," he added. "It just speaks to all of the females in my life, particularly. For a guy who grew up with no sisters in a house of boys, it's incredible how now I'm surrounded by girls. But not only in my house; I employ a huge amount of women in my team. The song just hit me for so many reasons." Kidman provided background vocals on the song. The song would serve as the lead single for Urban's tenth studio album.

It was announced that Urban's tenth studio album would be titled Graffiti U and that a world tour in support of it would begin in summer 2018.
On 19 January, the Ed Sheeran co-written song "Parallel Line" was released as a single in Australia and the United Kingdom. On 21 March, Urban released the album's second single "Coming Home", a heavily pop-influenced, upbeat song featuring a duet with pop singer Julia Michaels. This song also features a revamped version of the opening riff of Merle Haggard's hit "Mama Tried" throughout it and with his family's blessing, Haggard even received a posthumous credit for writing the song. Coming Home reached number one on the Mediabase Country Chart on 5 August 2018. As well as Julia Michaels, the album also features duets with Lindsay Ell, Shy Carter, and Kassi Ashton. Never Comin' Down was released to radio as the fourth single in August 2018.

2019–present: The Speed of Now Part 1
On 16 May 2019, Keith Urban released a brand new single, "We Were", a reflective mid-tempo ode to mischievous youth. "I like the idea that life just happens. At some point, whether in the moment or not, you just gotta go with it", he said. The track was co-written by Eric Church. On 24 November 2019, Urban played the halftime show at the Canadian Football League's Grey Cup championship in Calgary. On 27 February 2020, Urban released the single, "God Whispered Your Name" to country radio. The track was co-written by Contemporary Christian artist Chris August. On 24 April, Urban released the single, "Polaroid" to radio in Australia and the United Kingdom.

In May 2020, Keith Urban hosted a drive-in concert for medical workers. His latest gig was mostly just him and two other musicians playing on a flatbed truck in front of about 125 cars. Urban played at the Stardust Drive-In movie theatre, about 60 km east of Nashville, Tennessee, for a crowd of more than 200 medical workers from Vanderbilt Health. Later in May 2020, Urban announced his eleventh studio album, The Speed of Now Part 1, would be released on 18 September 2020. In July 2020, Urban released another promotional single, "Superman", which was released to radio in Australia. He followed that up with "Change Your Mind" in August 2020.

In the week prior to the album's release, Urban hosted the rescheduled 55th Academy of Country Music Awards and premiered the third North American single off the album, "One Too Many" with Pink, which would become Urban's first Top 10 all-genre song in his homeland of Australia. In December 2020, Urban was listed at number 29 in Rolling Stone Australia's "50 Greatest Australian Artists of All Time" issue. He is a featured artist on Taylor Swift's track "That's When" from Fearless (Taylor's Version), Swift's first re-recorded studio album, which was released on 9 April 2021. "That's When" is one of six "from the Vault" tracks that did not make the 2008 album. That year he also collaborated with Amy Shark on "Love Songs Ain't For Us", which also came out 2021.

In August 2021, Urban released the single "Wild Hearts", which he followed up with the single "Nightfalls" in March 2022. In July 2022, Urban released the single "Brown Eyes Baby," which was co-written by Morgan Wallen. He is slated to embark on his headlining "The Speed of Now World Tour" in June 2022, with Ingrid Andress as his opening act.  In October 2022, he released the single "Street Called Main".

Television and film appearances

The Voice
On 23 November 2011, Urban was confirmed as one of the four vocal coaches in the Australian version of the reality singing competition The Voice, alongside Seal, Joel Madden and Delta Goodrem. On 14 September 2012, Urban released a statement that he would not be signing back on for season two and was replaced by Ricky Martin. On 15 December 2020, it was announced that Urban would return to The Voice Australia season 10 for his second season replacing Kelly Rowland, alongside Jessica Mauboy, Guy Sebastian and Rita Ora. All judges returned for the eleventh season in 2022. However, in October 2022, it was announced that Urban would not be returning to the big red chair for the twelfth season in 2023 due to his upcoming tour.

American Idol
The Fox Broadcasting Company officially announced on 16 September 2012 that Urban would replace Steven Tyler as a judge in season 12 of American Idol alongside Randy Jackson, Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj. On 1 August 2013, it was officially confirmed that Urban would return as a judge for season 13. He was joined by former judge Jennifer Lopez and newest judge Harry Connick Jr. On 23 June 2014, Fox announced that Urban would return to the judging panel for season 14. Urban returned to judge the 15th season of American Idol in 2016.

Slim and I

Urban features in the 2020 Australian documentary film Slim and I, directed by Kriv Stenders, talking about the influence on his life of acclaimed Australian country music husband-and-wife duo Slim Dusty and Joy McKean. The film features interviews and covers of McKean songs by acclaimed contemporary artists including Urban (Lights on the Hill), Missy Higgins, Paul Kelly, and Troy Cassar-Daley.

Signature guitar line
In October 2013, during a concert in Tampa, Florida, Urban announced he would sell 'signature' guitars and accessories through Home Shopping Network (HSN). HSN offered the guitar packages twice in six months, resulting in 42,000 sales.

A portion of the proceeds benefit The Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation and the Grammy Foundation.

Personal life

Urban met Australian actress Nicole Kidman at G'Day LA, a Hollywood event promoting Australia, in January 2005, and they began dating six months later. They married on 25 June 2006 at the Cardinal Cerretti Memorial Chapel in the grounds of St Patrick's Estate, Manly, in Sydney.

On 2 February 2007, Urban filed a lawsuit against a New Jersey painter by the same name, who has a website called KeithUrban.com. The singer wanted to acquire the rights to the URL. The painter counter-sued. The lawsuit was settled in the painter's favour.

On 7 January 2008, Kidman said she and Urban were expecting their first child together. Kidman's publicist said, "the couple are thrilled and cannot wait". Kidman gave birth to a daughter in 2008 in Nashville, Tennessee. On his website, Urban said:

"Earlier this morning Nic gave birth to our beautiful baby girl, Sunday Rose Kidman Urban. We want to thank everybody that has kept us in their thoughts and prayers. We feel very, very blessed and grateful that we can share this joy with all of my loving fans today."

In 2010, Urban and Kidman had a second daughter by Gestational surrogacy at Nashville's Centennial Women's Hospital.

Urban is a citizen of New Zealand, his place of birth, as well as a citizen of both Australia and the United States.

Substance use and recovery
Urban has struggled with alcoholism and cocaine addiction in his past. In 1998, he checked into Cumberland Heights, a treatment center in Nashville.

On 19 October 2006, Urban checked into the Betty Ford Center in California. On 20 October, he issued a statement saying: "I deeply regret the hurt this has caused Nicole and the ones who love and support me. One can never let one's guard down on recovery, and I'm afraid that I have." On 18 January 2007, Urban announced his completion of rehab and his plans to go on tour to promote his album, Love, Pain & the Whole Crazy Thing.

Discography

Studio albums
 Keith Urban (1991)
 The Ranch (1997)
 Keith Urban (1999)
 Golden Road (2002)
 Be Here (2004)
 Love, Pain & the Whole Crazy Thing (2006)
 Defying Gravity (2009)
 Get Closer (2010)
 Fuse (2013)
 Ripcord (2016)
 Graffiti U (2018)
 The Speed of Now Part 1 (2020)

Filmography
 Back to the Outback (2021) – Doug (voice)

Tours

Headlining tours
CMT on Tour: Keith Urban Be Here '04 (2004)
Alive in '05 (2005)
Still Alive in '06 (2006)
Love, Pain & the Whole Crazy World Tour (2007)
Escape Together World Tour 2009 (2009)
Summer Lovin' 2010 Tour (2010)
Get Closer 2011 World Tour (2011)
Light the Fuse Tour (2013–14)
Raise 'Em Up Tour (2014)
ripCORD World Tour (2016–17) (Carrie Underwood joined Urban as co-headliner for the New Zealand and Australia shows)
Graffiti U World Tour (2018–19)
The Speed of Now World Tour (2022)

Co-headlining
A.C.M Presents : Keith Urban & Rory Gilliatte '6 String Bandits' Tour (2008)
Love, Pain & the Whole Crazy Carnival Ride Tour (2008) co-headlined with Carrie Underwood

Supporting tours
Brooks & Dunn's Neon Circus & Wild West Show 2001
Eagles Summer 2010 Tour (2010) – Opened for The Eagles and The Dixie Chicks

Awards and honours
Urban was appointed Officer of the Order of Australia at the 2020 Australia Day Honours for "distinguished service to the performing arts as a singer and songwriter, and to charitable organisations".

References

External links

1967 births
20th-century Australian male singers
21st-century Australian male singers
American Idol participants
ARIA Award winners
Australian pianists
Australian country guitarists
Australian country singer-songwriters
Australian expatriates in the United States
Australian male guitarists
Australian male singer-songwriters
Australian multi-instrumentalists
New Zealand emigrants to Australia
Australian emigrants to the United States
Capitol Records artists
Country pop musicians
Grammy Award winners
Grand Ole Opry members
Lead guitarists
Living people
Male pianists
Naturalized citizens of the United States
Officers of the Order of Australia
People from Brisbane
People named in the Paradise Papers
New Zealand male singers
Judges in American reality television series

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Q: Stopping frequency drift NTX2B FM transmitter I'm following the instructions here to connect an NTX2B (datasheet) to a Raspberry Pi Pico.
I have the circuit and code working correctly, however I'm having an issue with the frequency drifting.
The carrier remains stable, it is the modulating frequency that's the issue.
This frequency is determined by the voltage applied to the TXN pin on the NTX2B (VCO.) This is controlled by a voltage divider (resistors) and GPIO on the Raspberry Pi. I'm assuming thermal effects on the resistors are negligible and the Raspberry Pi GPIO voltage is stable
The circuit is currently assembled on stripboard, and solder quality is ok. No obvious shorts.
I do not currently have an antenna attached, ruling this as an issue out given the carrier is stable, and not seeing harmonics in waterfall chart.
Changing power supply has made no difference.
Anything obvious that I'm missing?

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Sharon is a specialist personal debt advisor based at the Edinburgh office of Scotland Debt Solutions. She has over 10 years' experience supporting people in resolving their personal finance problems and is ready to help you if you're struggling to cope with your debts.
There are Scotland Debt Solutions offices located in four major Scottish cities, namely Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee and Aberdeen. However, we recognise that it is not only residents in these cities who find themselves facing serious debt management problems. That's why our dedicated debt-help team provide their services right across the length and breadth of Scotland, emphasising our commitment in helping people towards a debt-free future – wherever they are.
If you live in Hawick then you can call the Scottish Borders Council to seek out help with managing your money on 01896 661 394 but you can also call Scotland Debt Solutions for specialist guidance on dealing with your debts. In Scotland, the most commonly used debt solutions are Trust Deeds, Debt Arrangement Schemes and Sequestration. We are experts in each of these distinct processes and we support hundreds of people each year in deciding which option is best suited to their needs.
You can reach our office in Edinburgh from Hawick either by taking the A7 or the A68, with either route getting you into the capital within an hour and 30 minutes. We can arrange to meet you at our office for a free consultation, or one of our experts can come to you in Hawick or wherever you are in the Scottish Borders.
We always aim to provide a compassionate and understanding service that is based on genuine expertise on all issues relating to personal debt solutions in Scotland. It really doesn't matter how you've found yourself struggling to cope with your debt burden, whether you've overextended your credit cards or you've become over reliant on payday loans. Maybe you've spent too much on knitwear; after all, that's what Hawick is famous for! But what really matters is what you do next and how you take action to overcome the problems you're facing.
Call us today on 0800 063 9250 to arrange a consultation with one of the debt help experts we have covering Hawick and the Scottish Borders.


Locality: United States, Colorado, Park, Mosquito Range, San Isabel National Forest, above & S. of USFS rd. 431, headwaters of Lynch Creek, N. trending cirque between W. & E. Buffalo Peaks ca. 1 mi. N. of E. Buffalo Peak.
Occurrence Remarks: 7.5' Jones Hill quad. Flowers pink. Substrate of Tertiary andesite.


Doing business in Pleasanton means employing an efficient HVAC maintenance plan that sustains a high level of air quality. At Airteks.com Inc, we understand changing technology and growing demands see companies of all sizes expanding and responding to increased workloads.
Taking care of heating maintenance before it becomes a larger problem is the best way to protect your investment and keep things running smoothly for years to come.
Check the thermostat— is it still working?
Check for leaks or pooling water around the base of the system.
If you can find the drainage tubing, inspect it for blockage or freezing.
Has it been a long time since your last inspection? There could be rodents or insects living in your ductwork! We can sort this out for you with a short visit and a closer look.
Need Help With Boiler Troubleshooting?
If you are having a hard time checking the pressure valves and gauges on your own, you could probably use a little boiler troubleshooting expertise. When they're functioning at top capacity, a boiler is a great way to keep temperatures in your building under control, as well as for heating up water for commercial use. If you're experiencing anything out of the ordinary it wouldn't hurt to send us an email or phone us to make an inquiry. You can never be too prepared for the unexpected.
Even if you've got the most reliable ductwork, fuel system, and combustion system on the market, there are still a number of factors that can go wrong.
It's best to be prepared for furnace maintenance before you are dealing with expensive repairs. We recommend checking your furnace for leaks and excessive levels of carbon monoxide at least once a year.
You might think a new heating and cooling system doesn't need heat pump maintenance. Even if you are not expecting any problems, sometimes nature takes it course in Pleasanton and you're dealing with surprises you may have never thought possible.
For more information on how to keep your new heat pump well-maintained and in excellent working condition, give us a call today. We are your local partners in HVAC maintenance in Pleasanton.


text:
Q: This comparison between a vector of numbers converted to a string and a string from a text file is not working? I am trying to compare a vector of doubles to a string of numbers. In the code below I just copied a line from the txt file and put it in the vector, converted each number to a string and concantenated it.
Then the program reads lines from the same txt files with the exact same format with the spacing. But, according to my code it cant find it.. anyone have any ideas? concanstring when printed is exactly the same as where i copied it from. If I cout newstring in the last loop before the if, it prints everything exactly like in the text file.
which looks like:
5 0 4 0 2 6 0 1 5 1 4
-0.00021 -0.00321 0.00045 0.00089 0.00435 0.00065
1 5 8 3 0 1 4 8 9 7 2
and so on.
int main()
{
std::vector <int> momentum{ 5,  0 , 4  ,2 , 6 , 0 , 1 , 5 , 1 , 4 };
std::string newstring;
std::string concanstring;
std::ifstream datafile("thedata.txt");

for (int i = 0; i < momentum.size(); i++)
{
    std::ostringstream newobj;
    newobj << momentum[i];
    concanstring += newobj.str();
    concanstring += " ";
}
std::cout  << concanstring;

while (std::getline (datafile, newstring))
{
    int x = newstring.compare(concanstring);
    if (x != 0) std::cout << "fail";
    else std::cout << "success";
}
}

A: You have an extra space at the end of concanstring because of which comparison fails, you  have to remove that extra space like this
int main()
{
std::vector <int> momentum{ 5,  0 , 4  ,2 , 6 , 0 , 1 , 5 , 1 , 4 };
std::string newstring;
std::string concanstring;
std::ifstream datafile("thedata.txt");

for (int i = 0; i < momentum.size(); i++)
{
    std::ostringstream newobj;
    newobj << momentum[i];
    concanstring += newobj.str();
    concanstring += " ";
}
concanstring.pop_back();
std::cout  << concanstring;

while (std::getline (datafile, newstring))
{
    int x = newstring.compare(concanstring);
    if (x != 0) std::cout << "fail";
    else std::cout << "success";
}
}

A: Instead concatenating strings read int and compare that.
int findFileNrWith(std::istream& in, const std::vector<int>& data)
{
    int lineNr = 0;
    std::string l;
    while (getline(in, l)) {
        std::istringstream line{l};
        auto stream_begin = std::istream_iterator<int>{line};
        auto stream_end = std::istream_iterator<int>{};

        auto result = std::mismatch(data.begin(), data.end(),
                                    stream_begin, stream_end);

        if (result == std::make_pair(data.end(), stream_end))
           return lineNr;
        ++lineNr;
    }
    return -1;
}

A: Found a way that works, and its less code so i'm happy :D if anyone thinks this is a bad way of doing it, please let me know :)
int main()
{
std::vector <int> momentum{ 5,  0 , 4  ,2 , 6 , 0 , 1 , 5 , 1 , 4 };
std::vector <int> newmomentum{};
std::string newstring;
std::ifstream datafile("thedata.txt");
int moment{};

while (std::getline (datafile, newstring))
{
    std::stringstream nextstring(newstring);
    for (int i = 0; i < momentum.size(); i++)
    {
        nextstring >> moment;
        newmomentum.push_back(moment);
    }
    if (newmomentum == momentum)
    {
        std::cout << "success";
    }
    else newmomentum.clear();
}
}


text:
Q: How can i get the uilabel text changed upon clicking a UIbuttion in the UITableViewCell I have UITableViewCell Cell Shown Below this Custom cell have two buttons for adding/subtracting the product quantity.I have set the current quantity as + button tag and able to get.but how will i set the label text 2 and so on when user click the + button.

i don't want to change the DataSource of the table view ie by adding the incremented value in the array from where the data coming into the UITableView and then reloading the tableView.
Also upon exploring the SO i Find
    CGPoint hitPoint = [sender convertPoint:CGPointZero toView:self.tblCart];
NSIndexPath *hitIndex = [self.tblCart indexPathForRowAtPoint:hitPoint];

to get the NSIndexPath for the cell that have the button.

A: You should create delegate method on your CustomCell.h file
@class CustomCell;

@protocol CellDelegate <NSObject>

-(void)plusButtonClick:(CustomCell *)cell;

@end

inside interface of .h file
@interface CustomCell : UITableViewCell
@property id<CellDelegate> delegate;
@end

Then on Click event of your plusButton call the delegate from CustonmCell.m like
if ([delegate respondsToSelector:@selector(plusButtonClick:)]) {
        [delegate plusButtonClick:self];
    }

Now at your viewController
-(void)plusButtonClick:(CustomCell *)cell{
int count = [[cell.textLabel text]intValue];
count++;
cell.textLabel.text = [NSString stringWithFormat:@"%d",count];
}

Hope this is what you want.

A: If your cell is custom, with its own custom Class, you should probably rather do it there, instead of in the TableViewController (e.g MyCell).
You have buttons in your class, so I presume you do have a custom class and have -(IBAction)s for each button? Or did you do something else? If you aren't doing this, then I recommend it. Then you could solve it with something like this (in MyCell.m):
#import "MyCell.h"

@implementation MyCell

/*...*/

-(IBAction)addQuantity{
    self.quantity++;
    [self.txtQuantity setText:[NSString stringWithFormat:@"%i", self.quantity]];
    //Do something more here
}
-(IBAction)subQuantity{
    self.quantity--;
    if(self.quantity<0){self.quantity = 0;}
    [self.txtQuantity setText:[NSString stringWithFormat:@"%i", self.quantity]];
    //Do something more here
}

/*...*/

@end

In this example, you'd have the property @property int quantity; declared in your MyCell.h-file, as well as the IBOutlet for the text-field named textQuantity. This code will only update the label's text, and the cell's own quantity-property, but not the data source. However, you should update the data-source as well (though you don't have to reload the tableView). So where I've written "//Do something more here", you should probably create a delegate-method from your custom cell to the tableView or tableViewController letting it know that the quantity-field was changed.

A: I achieve the required funtionality using the following
-(void)addQ:(UIButton*)sender

{
    CGPoint hitPoint = [sender convertPoint:CGPointZero toView:self.tblCart];
    NSIndexPath *hitIndex = [self.tblCart indexPathForRowAtPoint:hitPoint];
    NSInteger num=sender.tag;
    num=num+1;
    NSLog(@"%ld",(long)sender.tag);
    NSLog(@"hitIndex.row  is %ld",(long)hitIndex.row);
    [self alterTheQuantity:hitIndex.row  Num:num];
}
-(void)minusQ:(UIButton*)sender
{
    NSInteger num=sender.tag;
    num=num-1;
    if(num <0){
        num=0;
    }
    CGPoint hitPoint = [sender convertPoint:CGPointZero toView:self.tblCart];
    NSIndexPath *hitIndex = [self.tblCart indexPathForRowAtPoint:hitPoint];

    [self alterTheQuantity:hitIndex.row  Num:num];
}


text:
The power of people against poverty
Food, climate and natural resources
Conflicts and disasters
Extreme inequality and essential services
Gender justice and women's rights
Bangladesh Rohingya refugee crisis
Crisis in Democratic Republic of Congo
Crisis in Syria
Crisis in Yemen
Cyclone Idai in Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe
Hunger crisis in South Sudan
Working worldwide
End the suffering behind your food
Say 'Enough' to violence against women and girls
Stand for land rights
Join the global movement for change
Take part in Trailwalker
Oxfam Office in Al Dhale'e, Yemen Hit by RPGs
Published: 23rd December 2019
On 22 December, at around 1am, Oxfam's office in Al Dhale'e was hit by two RPGs (rocket-propelled grenades). One hit the roof, while the other hit the office gate. Neither of the guards on duty were injured and there were no other staff present. The offices of several other agencies in Al Dhale'e were also targeted at around the same time.
Due to the attack, Oxfam has suspended all staff movements and operations in the area and advised staff to stay home.
Muhsin Siddiquey, Oxfam's Country Director in Yemen, said:
"Our first priority has to be the the safety and wellbeing of our staff, and we are doing all we can to keep them safe. Aid workers should not be a target; it is essential that agencies are able to operate freely, without threats to the safety of staff and property.
Organisations like Oxfam are a key source of aid for millions of people struggling to survive the conflict in Yemen. Attacks on our operations ultimately hurt the Yemenis who rely on the assistance we provide."
Oxfam has been working in Al Dhale'e to provide people with equitable and safe access to water and sanitation services, cash assistance and food vouchers, as well as helping to build resilient livelihoods to cope with the impact of the conflict. The suspension of operations in Al Dhale'e will affect around 1,359 households who would have benefited from cash assistance and 5,000 people who would have benefited from infrastructure projects, as well as 485 people due to undertake vocational training activities.
Oxfam has been working in Yemen since 1983. Since the escalation of the conflict in 2015, we have reached more than 3 million people with life-saving assistance.
Muhsin Siddiquey, Country Director Oxfam Yemen / msiddiquey@oxfam.org.uk / +967 737 531 446
Sarah Grainger, Senior Press Officer / sgrainger1@oxfam.org / +44 7810 181514
For updates please follow @Oxfam
Stay up-to-date by subscribing to our newsletter:
How we fight inequality to beat poverty
How we are organized
Our finances and accountability
Our commitment to safeguarding
Issues we work on
Help us save lives
Take part in Oxfam Trailwalker
Contact | Privacy | Cookies notice | Terms & Conditions
Copyright © 2019 Oxfam International. All rights reserved.