text:
Maybe Doctors Will Save Us All
Thu., Nov. 5, 2020
By Ken Deutsch, Julie Strack
Ken Deutsch and Julie Strack co-authored this article.
We're living in a social climate where life-and-death topics are divisive and politicized, including strategies to combat the COVID-19 pandemic and address health disparities. At the same time, we're surrounded by more bad information than ever before.
Experts on the frontlines of our nation's health crises are quickly adapting to the moment. Many physicians are becoming increasingly savvy about working through social and traditional media platforms to put scientific and patient-focused perspectives at the center of discussion.
For 10 years, JPA Health has been tracking how health professionals engage among themselves and with others online through GRETEL, our proprietary insights platform. In the past, it was commonplace to see health professionals using social media—in a professional capacity—limit their posts to their area of expertise.
However, once in a while, these providers might address political and social issues ranging from disparities in care to sexism in their profession. However, when we looked at patterns in the use of specific keywords and hashtags, we found that topics directly related to medical specialties (i.e., oncology, surgery) outpaced discussions on general social issues.
This article is featured in O'Dwyer's Oct. '20 Healthcare & Medical PR Magazine (view PDF version)
This started to shift two years ago, and the trend has dramatically accelerated in 2020.
Today, physicians are discussing social issues more frequently than issues directly related to their medical specialties. They're frequently discussing topics related to both public health and social justice, including advocacy for research-based measures to slow the spread of COVID-19, support for Black Lives Matter and visibility of the disproportionate impact of the pandemic on underserved communities.
This trend began to emerge two years before the COVID-19 pandemic, when physicians propelled their perspectives to the center of the national conversation on gun safety. In a November 2018 tweet, the National Rifle Association stated that "doctors [should] stay in their lane [on gun control]," sparking an outpouring of posts from physicians on how they witness the effects of gun violence as healthcare providers. Physicians drew wide attention to the issue of gun safety and positioned themselves as influential advocates. The discussion resulted in a viral hashtag, #ThisIsMyLane, which was widely shared by physicians in late 2018. For example, a prominent post leveraging this hashtag by Dr. Judy Melinek was retweeted more than 100,000 times and received more than 500,000 likes on Twitter. Dr. Melinek also authored an article on the topic for Vox, titled, "The NRA told doctors to 'stay in your lane' on guns. I'm a doctor. This is my lane." Shortly thereafter, CNN covered the controversy.
A year of crisis
The dramatic events of 2020 put this trend on fast-forward, as many healthcare professionals elevated their voices to advocate for health and equity in response to urgent and unprecedented challenges. In March 2020, medical professionals of every specialty commented on COVID-19 more frequently than topics within their specialty area or any other health issue. While the conversations started with the cancelling of medical conferences and support for healthcare workers directly impacted by COVID-19, the conversation shifted to amplify broader public health messaging around #FlattenTheCurve and calls for PPE production.
When discussions on measures to combat the pandemic on individual and systemic levels became politically divisive, healthcare professionals took leading roles in advocating for research-based public health measures, such as social distancing and wearing a face covering while in public. For example, following a statement from President Trump in March that he'd like to see the nation's businesses and churches open by Easter, physicians vocally pushed for continued social distancing to protect the public. The Council of Medical Specialty Societies, a coalition representing more than 800,000 physicians, authored a letter to the administration to "support travel and gathering restrictions to slow the transmission of coronavirus disease 2019." Influential physicians also warned of negative health consequences in a host of top-tier print and broadcast media outlets.
In late May and early June, millions across the globe began to speak more vocally about issues related to race in the U.S. in response to the Black Lives Matter movement. Healthcare professionals joined the conversation to advocate for social justice and health equity for Black communities. In addition to discussions about race and policing related to Black Lives Matter, many influencers including physicians advanced parallel discussions on health equity. Statistics on the disproportionate loss of life from COVID-19 within underserved communities were frequently discussed alongside issues related to Black Lives Matter. Physicians amplified awareness of all these social justice issues and advocated for greater equity within healthcare systems. For example, data within JPA's GRETEL demonstrates that posts from medical professionals on #BlackLivesMatter were roughly equivalent in June to posts on their medical specialties.
Advocacy for political and social issues related to public health are likely to continue accelerating in the future. Many people across the nation, including physicians, increasingly understand the urgency of promoting sound science within public conversations.
But while interest in communicating is increasing among physicians and scientists, debates continue about the most effective ways to promote scientific information and avoid sharing content that either may intrude on patient privacy or sow further division.
For instance, some criticized #ThisIsMyLane social media posts—which contained images of gun violence—for being too graphic or triggering to some viewers, and for potentially violating patient privacy. Debates continue about the most effective ways to engage members of the public who have little trust in science and medicine on the importance of public health measures.
Communications professionals have an important role to play in these discussions. We have an opportunity to apply our expertise to best practices in scientific communications and partner with healthcare professionals to increase the visibility of their perspectives.
As an example, we can contribute to existing scientific programs, which have been initiated by organizations such as the National Institutes of Health. As part of existing or new initiatives, it may be helpful to develop workshops for healthcare professionals on effective online communications and contribute to the development of best practices for scientific communications. There's also still an urgent need for research on effective methods for promoting adherence to public health measures among members of the public. This research will likely call for collaboration among experts in communications, social science and public health.
In our view, the medical community has been unexpectedly bold with their social content. This presents a huge opportunity for collaboration to get quality, trusted information out to a public being bombarded from all sides. As communicators, we should embrace this courageous approach.
Ken Deutsch is Executive Vice President of Research and Insights at JPA Health. Julie Strack is Account Director of Research and Insights at JPA Health.
Category: Healthcare PR


text:
#ifndef TARANTOOL_XROW_IO_H_INCLUDED
#define TARANTOOL_XROW_IO_H_INCLUDED

#if defined(__cplusplus)
extern "C" {
#endif

struct ev_io;
struct ibuf;
struct xrow_header;

void
coio_read_xrow(struct ev_io *coio, struct ibuf *in, struct xrow_header *row);

void
coio_write_xrow(struct ev_io *coio, const struct xrow_header *row);

#if defined(__cplusplus)
} /* extern "C" */
#endif

#endif /* TARANTOOL_XROW_IO_H_INCLUDED */

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Kaidan
Debian Edu
IBM Closes Red Hat Acquisition, Kaidan 0.4.0 Released, Android Apps Can Track You Even If You Deny Permission, Debian Edu 10 "Buster" Now Available and MIT Researchers Create New AI Programming Language
by Jill Franklin
News briefs for July 9, 2019.
IBM closes its acquisition of Red Hat for $34 billion. From the press release: "The acquisition redefines the cloud market for business. Red Hat's open hybrid cloud technologies are now paired with the unmatched scale and depth of IBM's innovation and industry expertise, and sales leadership in more than 175 countries. Together, IBM and Red Hat will accelerate innovation by offering a next-generation hybrid multicloud platform. Based on open source technologies, such as Linux and Kubernetes, the platform will allow businesses to securely deploy, run and manage data and applications on-premises and on private and multiple public clouds." In addition, the release notes that IBM will preserve Red Hat's independence and neutrality, and also that "Red Hat's unwavering commitment to open source remains unchanged".
Kaidan 0.4.0 has been released. This version of the "user-friendly Jabber/XMPP client" comes after a year and a half of development and now includes "multiplatform-support for all common operating systems like Linux, Windows, Android and macOS". See the ChangeLog for all the details.
Android apps can track your phone even if you deny permissions. According to The Verge, "researchers say that thousands of apps have found ways to cheat Android's permissions system, phoning home your device's unique identifier and enough data to potentially reveal your location as well." The article notes that even if you deny permission to one app, "a second app with permissions you have approved can share those bits with the other one or leave them in shared storage where another app—potentially even a malicious one—can read it. The two apps might not seem related, but researchers say that because they're built using the same software development kits (SDK), they can access that data, and there's evidence that the SDK owners are receiving it. It's like a kid asking for dessert who gets told 'no' by one parent, so they ask the other parent."
Debian has released Debian Edu (also known as Skolelinux) 10 "Buster". This distro is "based on Debian providing an out-of-the box environment of a completely configured school network". The Debian Edu developer team is asking users to test and report any issues back to debian-edu@lists.debian.org, so they can continue to improve it. See the Debian Edu Wiki page for a list of all the new features and updates.
MIT researchers used Julia to create Gen, "a new probabilistic programming system with programmable inference". From MIT News: "Users write models and algorithms from multiple fields where AI techniques are applied—such as computer vision, robotics, and statistics—without having to deal with equations or manually write high-performance code. Gen also lets expert researchers write sophisticated models and inference algorithms—used for prediction tasks—that were previously infeasible." The article also notes that "Due to its simplicity—and, in some use cases, automation—the researchers say Gen can be used easily by anyone, from novices to experts."
Jill Franklin is an editorial professional with more than 17 years experience in technical and scientific publishing, both print and digital. As Executive Editor of Linux Journal, she wrangles writers, develops content, manages projects, meets deadlines and makes sentences sparkle. She also was Managing Editor for TUX and Embedded Linux Journal, and the book Linux in the Workplace. Before entering the Linux and open-source realm, she was Managing Editor of several scientific and scholarly journals, including Veterinary Pathology, The Journal of Mammalogy, Toxicologic Pathology and The Journal of Scientific Exploration. In a previous life, she taught English literature and composition, managed a bookstore and tended bar. When she's not bugging writers about deadlines or editing copy, she throws pots, gardens and reads. You can contact Jill via e-mail, ljeditor@linuxjournal.com.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
@interface NSData (AESCrypt)

- (NSData *)AES256EncryptWithKey:(NSData *)key;

- (NSData *)AES256DecryptWithKey:(NSData *)key;

@end


Review: Everything I need in a checklist on one nice laminated sheet.
Review: I used one of these for a Cherokee 180 I flew previously. To me, these cards are much easier and quicker to use because its all there, without flipping thru pages, its either on the one side of the page (normal procedures), or the other (emergencies). Also, slides easily into the side pouch!
Review: Flexible, easy to slip into a side-pouch of a C172.
Review: All info on one page. Easy to scan.


Getting more details from a Plugin from the Scanner?
Is there an easy way to get more data from a plugin scan like number of programs and other things? Or I will need to create my own PluginFormat class and copy the whole VST format into that? That looks ugly. Just checking… thanks.
Doesn't look like it, unless you recreate the plugin that the scanner already created and destroyed previously. Maybe you could change the PluginDescription and PluginDirectoryScanner codes to provide more info into the PluginDescriptions.
Indeed, TXS. A last resource would be to re-scan for the extra information, and just load one by one in a different call. Or just hack the current code, which I don't want to.
hack the current code, which I don't want to.
Add numPrograms field to PluginDescription and fill that for VST2 plugins.
changed 3 files with 7 additions and 5 deletions.
I didn't test that yet, though.


text:
Dual reactivity of B(C6F5)3 enables the silylative cascade conversion of: N -aryl piperidines to sila-N-heterocycles: DFT calculations
Miaomia Zhou, Sehoon Park, Li Dang*
The first catalytic access to bridged sila-N-heterocycles from piperidines via cascade sp3 and sp2 C-Si bond formation all mediated by a single catalyst B(C6F5)3 (A) has been recently developed by Park and Chang. Described herein is a theoretical study of the B(C6F5)3-catalyzed silylative cascade conversion of N-aryl piperidines (H) to afford polycyclic azasilaheterocycles with a strong emphasis on the dual reactivity of B(C6F5)3. The DFT calculations show that the catalyzed reaction involves three steps of the cascade reaction: (i) the formation of tetrahydropyridine (I) upon dehydrogenation of the piperidine; (ii) β-selective hydrosilylation of tetrahydropyridine; (iii) an intramolecular sila-Friedel-Crafts reaction to form a bridged sp2 C-Si bond. The N-silyl piperidinium borohydride (A′) turns out to be the thermodynamically favored, resting species of the overall reaction, which is consistent with the observation of a species such as A′ during borane catalysis. The DFT calculations suggest that the β-selective hydrosilylation of I is the rate-determining step in the entire catalytic cycle, while the liberated I reacts with B(C6F5)3 to form a zwitterion consisting of iminium and borate units (O). The calculated sila-Friedel-Crafts reactions of a range of presupposed silylated (cyclic)aza intermediates imply the importance of structural integrity on the piperidinyl unit of substrates.
Organic Chemistry Frontiers
https://doi.org/10.1039/c9qo01437c
10.1039/c9qo01437c
Dive into the research topics of 'Dual reactivity of B(C6F5)3 enables the silylative cascade conversion of: N -aryl piperidines to sila-N-heterocycles: DFT calculations'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.
Tetrahydropyridine Chemical Compounds 100%
Piperidines Chemical Compounds 91%
Hydrosilylation Chemical Compounds 78%
Piperidinium Chemical Compounds 50%
Catalysis Chemical Compounds 45%
Density Functional Theory Chemical Compounds 43%
Zwitterion Chemical Compounds 40%
Borohydride Chemical Compounds 39%
Zhou, M., Park, S., & Dang, L. (2020). Dual reactivity of B(C6F5)3 enables the silylative cascade conversion of: N -aryl piperidines to sila-N-heterocycles: DFT calculations. Organic Chemistry Frontiers, 7(7), 944-952. https://doi.org/10.1039/c9qo01437c
Zhou, Miaomia ; Park, Sehoon ; Dang, Li. / Dual reactivity of B(C6F5)3 enables the silylative cascade conversion of : N -aryl piperidines to sila-N-heterocycles: DFT calculations. In: Organic Chemistry Frontiers. 2020 ; Vol. 7, No. 7. pp. 944-952.
@article{d543a8c76d7146209f69bfd503b14b11,
title = "Dual reactivity of B(C6F5)3 enables the silylative cascade conversion of: N -aryl piperidines to sila-N-heterocycles: DFT calculations",
abstract = "The first catalytic access to bridged sila-N-heterocycles from piperidines via cascade sp3 and sp2 C-Si bond formation all mediated by a single catalyst B(C6F5)3 (A) has been recently developed by Park and Chang. Described herein is a theoretical study of the B(C6F5)3-catalyzed silylative cascade conversion of N-aryl piperidines (H) to afford polycyclic azasilaheterocycles with a strong emphasis on the dual reactivity of B(C6F5)3. The DFT calculations show that the catalyzed reaction involves three steps of the cascade reaction: (i) the formation of tetrahydropyridine (I) upon dehydrogenation of the piperidine; (ii) β-selective hydrosilylation of tetrahydropyridine; (iii) an intramolecular sila-Friedel-Crafts reaction to form a bridged sp2 C-Si bond. The N-silyl piperidinium borohydride (A′) turns out to be the thermodynamically favored, resting species of the overall reaction, which is consistent with the observation of a species such as A′ during borane catalysis. The DFT calculations suggest that the β-selective hydrosilylation of I is the rate-determining step in the entire catalytic cycle, while the liberated I reacts with B(C6F5)3 to form a zwitterion consisting of iminium and borate units (O). The calculated sila-Friedel-Crafts reactions of a range of presupposed silylated (cyclic)aza intermediates imply the importance of structural integrity on the piperidinyl unit of substrates.",
author = "Miaomia Zhou and Sehoon Park and Li Dang",
note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} the Partner Organisations 2020.",
doi = "10.1039/c9qo01437c",
journal = "Organic Chemistry Frontiers",
Zhou, M, Park, S & Dang, L 2020, 'Dual reactivity of B(C6F5)3 enables the silylative cascade conversion of: N -aryl piperidines to sila-N-heterocycles: DFT calculations', Organic Chemistry Frontiers, vol. 7, no. 7, pp. 944-952. https://doi.org/10.1039/c9qo01437c
Dual reactivity of B(C6F5)3 enables the silylative cascade conversion of : N -aryl piperidines to sila-N-heterocycles: DFT calculations. / Zhou, Miaomia; Park, Sehoon; Dang, Li.
In: Organic Chemistry Frontiers, Vol. 7, No. 7, 07.04.2020, p. 944-952.
T1 - Dual reactivity of B(C6F5)3 enables the silylative cascade conversion of
T2 - N -aryl piperidines to sila-N-heterocycles: DFT calculations
AU - Zhou, Miaomia
AU - Park, Sehoon
AU - Dang, Li
N1 - Publisher Copyright: © the Partner Organisations 2020.
N2 - The first catalytic access to bridged sila-N-heterocycles from piperidines via cascade sp3 and sp2 C-Si bond formation all mediated by a single catalyst B(C6F5)3 (A) has been recently developed by Park and Chang. Described herein is a theoretical study of the B(C6F5)3-catalyzed silylative cascade conversion of N-aryl piperidines (H) to afford polycyclic azasilaheterocycles with a strong emphasis on the dual reactivity of B(C6F5)3. The DFT calculations show that the catalyzed reaction involves three steps of the cascade reaction: (i) the formation of tetrahydropyridine (I) upon dehydrogenation of the piperidine; (ii) β-selective hydrosilylation of tetrahydropyridine; (iii) an intramolecular sila-Friedel-Crafts reaction to form a bridged sp2 C-Si bond. The N-silyl piperidinium borohydride (A′) turns out to be the thermodynamically favored, resting species of the overall reaction, which is consistent with the observation of a species such as A′ during borane catalysis. The DFT calculations suggest that the β-selective hydrosilylation of I is the rate-determining step in the entire catalytic cycle, while the liberated I reacts with B(C6F5)3 to form a zwitterion consisting of iminium and borate units (O). The calculated sila-Friedel-Crafts reactions of a range of presupposed silylated (cyclic)aza intermediates imply the importance of structural integrity on the piperidinyl unit of substrates.
AB - The first catalytic access to bridged sila-N-heterocycles from piperidines via cascade sp3 and sp2 C-Si bond formation all mediated by a single catalyst B(C6F5)3 (A) has been recently developed by Park and Chang. Described herein is a theoretical study of the B(C6F5)3-catalyzed silylative cascade conversion of N-aryl piperidines (H) to afford polycyclic azasilaheterocycles with a strong emphasis on the dual reactivity of B(C6F5)3. The DFT calculations show that the catalyzed reaction involves three steps of the cascade reaction: (i) the formation of tetrahydropyridine (I) upon dehydrogenation of the piperidine; (ii) β-selective hydrosilylation of tetrahydropyridine; (iii) an intramolecular sila-Friedel-Crafts reaction to form a bridged sp2 C-Si bond. The N-silyl piperidinium borohydride (A′) turns out to be the thermodynamically favored, resting species of the overall reaction, which is consistent with the observation of a species such as A′ during borane catalysis. The DFT calculations suggest that the β-selective hydrosilylation of I is the rate-determining step in the entire catalytic cycle, while the liberated I reacts with B(C6F5)3 to form a zwitterion consisting of iminium and borate units (O). The calculated sila-Friedel-Crafts reactions of a range of presupposed silylated (cyclic)aza intermediates imply the importance of structural integrity on the piperidinyl unit of substrates.
U2 - 10.1039/c9qo01437c
DO - 10.1039/c9qo01437c
JO - Organic Chemistry Frontiers
JF - Organic Chemistry Frontiers
Zhou M, Park S, Dang L. Dual reactivity of B(C6F5)3 enables the silylative cascade conversion of: N -aryl piperidines to sila-N-heterocycles: DFT calculations. Organic Chemistry Frontiers. 2020 Apr 7;7(7):944-952. https://doi.org/10.1039/c9qo01437c


text:
Q: Finding best representative point in a group of latitudes and longitudes I have a cluster of 10 Latitudes and Longitudes. I want to find the optimal location to do set up a lemonade stand.
So in other words, I need to find the best representative point of the group of latitudes and longitudes.
I'm aware of how to find the centroid (center), but I don't necessarily want the centroid.
I just want to find what point (latitude, longitude) is best representative of the cluster.
Im a beginning python learner, so I'm having a little trouble finding some approaches. I'd really appreciate it if someone can link sources or name some methods as to how I can do this.

A: Centroid is basically average of your latitudes and longitudes
so the easiest way to find one is by
latsum = sum(latitudes)
lonsum = sum(longitudes)
centroid = (latsum/len(latitudes) , lonsum/len(longitudes))

The sum function does what it says and the len function gives you the length of list which in your case is 10.
Since you mentioned that the best representative is what you need, you might need to clear out any outliers in your data.
https://machinelearningmastery.com/how-to-use-statistics-to-identify-outliers-in-data/
This is a good resource for you to start understanding making data science operations in python.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Frank J. Malina
Fabrice Lapelletrie (FR) on a pioneer of kinetic art
Wed 7.2. - 19:00
Frank Joseph Malina (1912-1981) is a renowned artist and scientist with Czech family pedigree. Alongside Nicolas Schöffer he is considered to be an important pioneer of kinetic art. His fascinating life career is composed of two main stories – first of an experimental creator who invented original light-kinetic systems that allowed him and other artists too to produce sui generis moving abstractions, and the second of a world-famous scientist known as the "godfather" of U.S. space program. He closely collaborated with a mathematician Theodor von Kármán and finally developed the first rocket to break the 50-mile altitude mark, becoming the first sounding rocket to reach space. However, right after the WW2 he quit his scientific duties and moved to Europe where he joined then newly established UNESCO. His responsibility was to support development of science and to supervise research of Earth's driest areas. His artistic career began in 1953. He also exhibited in Prague - František Šmejkal produced his show in 1966. Two years later Malina founded a revue for art, science and technology named Leonardo. New tradition was established at that moment of artists being encouraged to describe their artistic experiments with technology and scientific concepts in a way similar to explanatory papers. The purpose was, of course, to examine and document possibilities of art to evolve, not to get trapped in a circuit of hermetic "a bit too deep interpretations" characteristic of the mainstream artworld. Today published by MIT Press, Leonardo is a leading journal for exchange of ideas among artists and researchers for whom creativity and technology is a common denominator. A lecture by the French PhD candidate Fabrice Lapelletrie who is writing about Malina's oeuvre in the perspective of interdisciplinary dialogue of the 50s, 60s and 70s will highlight a period when new technologies initiated parallel development in art.
Malina occupies an important place in kinetic art. He belongs to the trend inaugurated by Thomas Wilfred that could be termed informal in opposition to the constructivist and geometric tendency of a large number of kinetic artists whose principal forerunner was Laszlo Moholy-Nagy. (Frank Popper)
olats.org


text:
PlaceSpeak launches first consultation in Northern Ireland
Yuri Artibise November 20, 2014
PlaceSpeak is happy to announce the launch of our first UK consultation topic in Belfast, NI—The South West Gateway Masterplan – conducted by the South Belfast Partnership Board. The pilot project can be viewed at www.placespeak.com/southwestgateway.
The South West Gateway Masterplan, commissioned by The Department for Social Development working alongside Belfast City Council, South and West Belfast Partnership Boards and other partners, will identify a range of strategic actions for the regeneration of one of Belfast's most important economic areas.
"The South West area of Belfast is a vital node of economic and social activity within the City. It is now time, over the next 14 weeks, for people from the local communities, businesses and wider public to have their say on this vision."
—Mervyn Storey, Minister for Social Development for Northern Ireland.
Briege Arthurs, CEO of South Belfast Partnership, welcomed the innovative use of digital technology to this project adding:
"South Belfast is renowned for leading innovation within the creative and digital industries sector. I am delighted to to welcome Placespeak to carry out their pilot in my area. The results of this pilot will provide us with a series of views which can be authenticated back to its place. This is a great opportunity for local people and businesses to speak and I would urge everyone to become involved."
PlaceSpeak understands the importance of engaging citizens in decisions that affect them to generate verifiable, location-based evidence. The principles of accessibility and inclusivity, transparency, respect, diversity and integrity are the foundation of strong democracies. We have embraced them at PlaceSpeak and are delighted that the Government of Northern Ireland has joined us.
PlaceSpeak founder and CEO, Colleen Hardwick, delivered a talk at TedXBelfast in June 2012 at the Titanic, where she was introduced to leaders in the Northern Ireland innovation and technology community and members of the local community planning and political establishment. These conversations informed the creation of a NI presence intended as a technology hub for the UK and EU.
Southwest Gateway Project
The South West Gateway Masterplan has been commissioned by The Department for Social Development working in partnership with a range of stakeholders including Belfast City Council and South and West Belfast Partnership Boards. Once finalised the plan will serve to inform future investment and policy making for this part of the city.
The masterplan study area extends from the Falls and Andersonstown Roads in the West to the main railway line in the east and from Stockman's Lane in the south to the Bog Meadows and Windsor Park in the north. Bordering the study area are the neighbourhoods of The Village, Donegall Road, Falls Road, Andersonstown and Lisburn Road.
Consultants from The Paul Hogarth Company have prepared draft concept proposals which sets out a vision of the area's physical development potential that can be used by statutory bodies and private developers over the next decade, to inform their regeneration and development priorities.
The South West Gateway Masterplan has been commissioned by the Department for Social Development. The concepts for the draft Masterplan can be viewed on the Place Speak website. The Paul Hogarth Company has been appointed from a consultancy framework to produce the concept Masterplan for the South West area of Belfast. The consultation period will close on 22 February 2015.
Webinar: Ideas for Engaging Neighbourhoods on Affordable Market Housing
Renewing Riverview—Third Online Open House


Higher Performance – the ability to execute individual components independently, and in parallel.
Modularity – the ability to have separate components, in many cases written in different languages. You can split your code base into clean smaller modules.
Flexibility and ability to evolve at a faster pace – separate components can be upgrade or replaced without affecting the rest of the system.
Bug handling – you can track bugs at the separate module level, and handle them with separate teams as needed.
Scalability – for new functionality, you can easily add a new module and integrate it into your application.
Testing – unit testing, integration and performance will have separate workflows for each module. This makes testing more manageable, and allows splitting it into smaller chunks, also making the process more effective.
Increased Agility – this modular model allows for more dynamics around features release and upgrades. Only the targeted module needs to be upgraded at one time, leaving the rest of the application intact.
Rapid prototyping – you can easily build PoC's and integrate them into the larger application without affecting existing functionality.
Team skill-set and capabilities – you can engage a specific skill-based team for a single module, with no impact on other skills required in other modules.
Cloud computing is typically an implementation of decoupled architecture.
In Enterprises, a lot of the custom applications are being designed to also take advantage of this pattern.
There are various styles that satisfy some of the decoupling requirements, and within the Microsoft stack, we gain support for some, like the Microservice Architecture which has gained some obvious popularity lately. In Microservices Architecture, each service encapsulates a small piece of well defined business functionality, and they are loosely coupled. All services communicate through APIs.
Another common model is the Web-Queue-Worker. This is the typical separate between a front-end and a back-end, where an asynchronous message queue is being used to facilitate communication.
Then, there's the Event-driven Architecture. Here, a publish-subscribe model is enforced, and it's commonly used for application using large volumes of real time data, like IoT implementations.
Of course, there are other styles that align with the concepts of decoupling, and it's probably impossible to name them all. But these seem to be some of the most recognized in the Microsoft domain, as far I've seen.
This is all nice to know, but in the domain on Business Applications, the platforms are provided, and the extensibility is guided by the offered APIs.
I want to argue here that knowing and understanding these architectural patterns can and will allows us to deliver more value to our customers when implementing solutions.
Let's take integrations as an example. In most cases, integrations rely on ETL (Extract, Transform, Load). Very seldom there's no Transform.
Now, ETL can be real-time or batch.
All good now, but, how does that play into Decoupled Architecture, you might ask. As the platforms evolve, we're seeing a growing need for integrations. Whether it's some still remaining old legacy platforms, a lot of new modular services and platforms serving only a small specific business need, various customer channels, existing public portals, etc. the need is only growing. We have all kinds of revolutionary new platforms now to integrate, rather than going the traditional way of one single monolithic solution offering to serve the enterprise.
In the next post I'll be looking at options for Decoupled Architecture when designing integrations. I'll be looking at some of the tools provided by Microsoft, and how we can leverage these to create a truly decoupled integration.


text:
Ms Heather McCormack
hmccormack@kirby.unsw.edu.au
Heather has worked in communications, health promotion, and program management roles across the sexual health and blood-borne virus sector. She is currently a Senior Program Manager at the NSW STI Program Unit, with a primary focus on Aboriginal programs.
Heather received her Bachelor of Media Communications from Charles Sturt University and her Master of Public Health (Social Research) from UNSW. She is also in the first cohort of Australian health promotion practitioners to receive accreditation from the International Union of Health Promotion and Education.
Heather's research interests include social aspects of sexual health, accessibility and acceptability of sexual health services to diverse populations, and optimising public health interventions relating to sexually transmissible infections and blood-borne viruses. She has a particular interest in peer-led research models. Her PhD examines strategies to increase routine and opportunistic STI and BBV testing for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in NSW.
Master of Public Health (Social Research)
Graduate Certificate in Consumer and Community Engagement
Bachelor of Media Communications
Diploma of Community Development
https://www.linkedin.com/in/hemcc/
McCormack H, 2016, 'To tackle hepatitis C, we need to close the justice gap', in Finlay S; Williams M; McInerney M; Sweet M (ed.), #JustJustice: Tackling the Over-incarceration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, Croakey, Australia, pp. 178 - 179, https://croakey.org/download/43883/
McCormack H; Nathan S; Varma R; Haire B, 2021, 'Dissonances in communication with sexual health consumers in an inner-Sydney sexual health clinic in relation to health literacy: A mixed-methods study', Health Promotion Journal of Australia, vol. 32, pp. 133 - 142, http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/hpja.429


As an early childhood teacher of many years and a student of cognitive psychology, this picture makes me more than a little nervous. It is not so much what the children are doing - technology is a part of our world and they are exploring and learning.
What bothers me is what they are NOT doing. They are not moving around, they are not breathing fresh air and integrating sensory information, they are not talking, they are not playing with each other. All of these activities are essential for healthy development and learning.
It is interesting to note that when Steve Jobs, founder of Apple, was asked how his children liked the iPad he responded: "They haven't used it. We limit how much technology our kids use at home."
I am not one of those who believe that technology ruins brain development. I believe that technology encourages a different kind of development.
I am not one of those who believe that technology stifles creativity. I believe technology can inspire as much creativity as crayons and paint - you just need to find apps that give the equivalent of a blank piece of paper instead of a coloring book page with lines.
However, I do know that God's plan for how children learn has not changed because we have developed technology for even the youngest among us to use. Children still need to talk, to run around, to create things with found objects, to imagine they are someone else. They need to sing, shout, and argue. They need to make mistakes and get into trouble. They need to problem solve and learn to get past failure.
Technology is great, but don't let it replace childhood.


Genevieve has been undercover for so many years, she no longer knows who she is or for what she's supposed to be fighting. When she discovers a hidden prisoner who may be of importance, she takes matters into her own hands.
Grave Mercy is on my favorites shelf. I struggled to finish this. Hundreds of pages/five hours could have been eliminated.
Both mc's got on my nerves, most especially Genevieve.
The narrators didn't help the cause. Thank technology for variable speed playback.
I love the "his fair assassin" books. Annith and Isme being my favorites and Sybellas my least. Some of the reason I disliked this book might have been that only half the time we are following a new character and half we are back with Sybella. Nothing really happens in this book except that both main characters whine a lot about their fate and make poor decisions. There is very little romance either. Just when I thought it was getting interesting the book ended and left so many unanswered questions and plot lines for the next book.
Back to the word of Saint Mortain.
I love being back in the his fair assassins world with the followers of Saint Mortain (#StillteamDeath). I very much enjoyed both Sybella and Genevieve stories.
Sybella protecting her beloved Douches of Brittney ... her sisters and her love Beast. Amidst the treachery of the french court.
Genevieve had her own trist with the mysterious Maraud, the prisoner she'd rescued from the dungeon who had purposely left there to die. I have to say when I got to the end I would like what! It ended a bit abruptly and now I cannot wait for the next story. All and all a good fast paced read.
Seriously love me some assassin nuns.
Filled with intrigue, mystery, suspense, drama, action, and romance. A sheer delight made even more interesting with two points of view.


On July 1, Mexico will hold elections for president and for the 128 seat Senate and 500 seat Chamber of Deputies. It seems clear that the presidency will be lost by the candidate of the currently ruling National Action Party (PAN). What is to be decided is whether the candidate supported by most of the left, including independent trade unions and social movements, can come from behind and beat the candidate of the old, formerly ruling Revolutionary Institutional Party (PRI).
The current president, Felipe Calderon, of the PAN, was elected by a tiny margin in 2006 over former Mexico City "mayor" Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador of the Revolutionary Democratic Party (PRD) and the "For the Good of All" Coalition. Lopez Obrador, whom friends and enemies alike call "AMLO", and his supporters insist that the election was stolen, which seems highly likely.
For Calderon, the last six years have been a disaster. Economic problems have worsened, and the sense of security of the Mexican people has been badly shaken by a drug war that has killed at least 50,000 people. President Calderon's solution for the problem of criminal narco cartels has been to declare "war" on them, and to put the armed forces, heavily subsidized by the United States through the "Merida Initiative", onto the streets of cities.
The result has been no letup in the violence of the cartels, but a great increase in complaints about violations of human rights. The elimination of top and intermediate level drug lords has set off violent turf and leadership wars in which dismembered corpses are piled at public intersections as warnings to rival gangs. There have been numerous killings of newspaper reporters trying to cover the drug war. Central American immigrants traveling through Mexico on their way to the United States are kidnapped; sometimes dozens at a time, and either held for ransom or forced to help the cartels. If the ransom is not paid or the migrants refuse to cooperate, they are massacred.
In these circumstances, the PAN candidate for the presidency, former Secretary of Education Josefina Vazquez Mota, finds herself far behind the candidate of the formerly ruling Revolutionary Institutional Party (PRI) and the Green Ecological Party (a right-wing party in Mexico), State of Mexico governor Enrique Peña Nieto. She has now also dropped behind AMLO in the polls.
Peña Nieto is a media candidate: He is as young and handsome and has a Desi Arnaz coiffure. But as governor of the huge State of Mexico he ran a repressive regime. Furthermore, the PRI was ousted from the presidency in the 2000 presidential elections because voters were sick of its corruption and abuse of power.
The AMLO campaign, carried on via united front called "MORENA," is working to remind voters of the PRI's history, but is hampered by media bias in favor of Peña Nieto. AMLO supporters accuse the TELEVISA network and others of sabotaging the first presidential debate by scheduling coverage of an important football match to conflict with it.
AMLO has the support of most, but not all, of the left, of the independent labor unions and social movements and many other sectors, based on his support for working class interests, but the PRI still has a massive patronage machine at the state and local level, controlling 19 governorships and hundreds of municipal governments. This and the media bias is a daunting challenge for AMLO and his allies running for Senate and Chamber of Deputies seats.
Progressive young people appear to be trying to make up lost time, using the same social media communications techniques that have mobilized so many in the "occupy" movements around the world. On Wednesday May 23, there was a massive youth protest in Mexico City, which was billed as opposition to Peña Nieto and to media bias instead of support for AMLO, but clearly was progressive in tone. There have been demonstrations in many other places. This past weekend, there was a rally in the historic Tlatelolco Plaza, site of a massacre carried out by the Mexican army and police against demonstrating students in 1968.
Mexico does not have a runoff system for either the presidency or the legislative seats (though it does have proportional representation in legislative elections), so the name of the game now is for AMLO, a powerful campaigner, to try to catch up with what most, but not all polls show as a substantial lead by the PRI standard bearer.
Peña Nieto appears to be a lightweight who has to be carefully guided by his handlers not to spout embarrassing bloopers (he was asked about rising food prices, a big issue in Mexico, and revealed that he knew nothing about it, giving the excuse that he is not the person who does the food shopping in his household).
If Peña Nieto wins, many believe he will cut deals with the drug cartels. He has also promised to deal with the problems of the state owned oil monopoly, PEMEX, by partial privatization that many think is the foot in the door for full privatization.
He has promised to promote "labor reforms" that resemble the right wing policies of Calderon, and that would seriously harm collective bargaining rights that are already severely damaged in practice by heavy handed repression against those unions, like the Electricians and the Mine and Metal Workers, who do not bow to government and management demands. AMLO wants to build up PEMEX without privatization, expand the rights of workers and unions, and defend Mexican national sovereignty.


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326 Walt Whitman Rd #103 Huntington Station, NY 11746
NAET Allergy Elimination
Managing Sports Pain
Stress and Anxiety Management
Suffolk County Acupuncture is in its fifteenth year of serving the Long Island community. Our caring experts are dedicated to treating every patient with compassionate, quality health care. We pride ourselves in creating a Zen-like calming oasis from the outside world where you can escape for an hour and enjoy the peace and quiet.
"We pride ourselves in creating a Zen-like calming oasis from the outside world where you can escape for an hour and enjoy the peace and quiet."
James Vitale has had a lifelong passion for health and fitness, which drew him to the healing arts. After living and studying in Japan and China for several years, he returned to his home on Long Island and has been serving the Long Island community for over 15 years. His extensive knowledge in Acupuncture, Chinese Herbs, NAET, Nutrition and Qigong allows him to offer a more comprehensive approach to health and wellness. James travels back to Japan regularly to further his studies of Acupuncture, Healing and martial arts.
James was inspired to specialize in fertility by personal challenges of conceiving. Having experienced the pain and despair of a diagnosis and ultimately the joy of a successful conception and childbirth, he truly understands what couples are experiencing. It is his mission to help as many couples as possible overcome the obstacles to parenthood.
Some of James' accomplishments include:
Advanced Japanese Acupuncture Certificate – Tristate College of Acupuncture 2017
ASNY board member 2014-2016
Founding Member of Edo Kai Traditional Acupuncture Society 2001-2016
Instructor New York College of Health Professions Since 2007
Instructor Tristate College of Acupuncture Since 2009
NAET Certification Since 2010
On-call Acupuncturist for Long Island IVF
Nominated Best Acupuncturist 2012, 2018
2018 Achievements in Healthcare Award from Long Island Business News in the category of Alternative Medicine
Danielle Woods M.S., L.Ac
Danielle's passion for holistic health and wellness began with a personal journey. After having little success with conventional medicine, she started to see a vast improvement in her health after receiving acupuncture treatments and incorporating mindfulness practices for autoimmune issues and job stress. Not only did this approach restore her health, but she was eager to share her experience and help others on their own paths to recovery. Danielle attended New York College of Health Professions where she graduated at the top of her class. Additional training and education include:
Pain Management through Structural Balancing
Mind, Body Medicine/Releasing Toxic Emotions
Christina Biancaniello M.S., L.Ac
Christina Biancaniello began her journey into the acupuncture as a patient. Her search for natural ways to balance her mind and body led her to acupuncture and physical arts which have helped her tremendously after a car accident left her with chronic back pain as a teenager. Eager to help others and share the relief, she studied and graduated from New York College of Health Professions with the Clinic Award for 2015. In 2017 she studied at Tri State College of Acupuncture to further refine her treatments and techniques with many Traditional Japanese Acupuncture masters. Christina hopes to provide help to others living through similar experiences to realize that acupuncture can help them naturally.
Some of Christina's credentials include:
Facial Acupuncture and Anti-Aging techniques
Sarah Larysz for Rybka Solutions Site Map


Several articles about university rankings feature Rice. A video from KTRK features the Rice campus, and the accompanying article mentions that the financial website SmartAsset ranked Rice No. 1 in Texas based on graduates with the highest initial earning potential and No. 1 in Texas among "best value colleges and universities" based on tuition, student living costs, scholarship and grant offerings, retention rate and starting salary; the article also mentions that Rice students receive an average of $36,192 in scholarships and grants. KHOU, Houston Business Journal and the Texas Tribune mention Rice is ranked No. 16 in the nation in U.S. News & World Report's "Best Colleges" guidebook. The Eagle mentions that Rice is No. 13 in the nation according to Money magazine. An article from Vanderbilt News mentions that Rice was ranked No. 14 in U.S. News & World Report's 2017 rankings.
A National Science Foundation grant for $1.5 million has been awarded to Rice researchers to develop Project ASTRO, which is a fleet of autonomous aerial drones that coordinate with each other to detect, track and model airborne hazards. Postdoctoral researcher Riccardo Petrolo and Baker College junior Patrick Han are featured on a KHOU-TV segment.
Anna Mikulska, nonresident fellow in energy studies at Rice's Baker Institute for Public Policy, is quoted in an article about the possible global impact to the oil and gas industry if the U.S. levies sanctions against Iran.
An article cites research from Stephen Klineberg, professor of sociology and founding director of Rice's Kinder Institute for Urban Research, which determined that Fort Bend County has nearly equal shares of Asian, Hispanic, black and white residents.
A recent study by Rice's Kinder Institute for Urban Research that determined Harris County could save millions of dollars a year by consolidating overlapping law enforcement agencies and sharing technological resources is discussed on a new episode of "Houston Matters" and is mentioned in Houston Public Media's roundup of news stories of the day. Kyle Shelton, director of strategic partnerships at Rice's Kinder Institute for Urban Research, is quoted.
Troy Schaum, associate professor of architecture and the designer of the Transart Foundation building near Houston's Menil Collection, is featured and pictured.
An article mentions that Roy Hofheinz studied at Rice.
Mark Jones, the Joseph D. Jamail Chair in Latin American Studies, professor of political science, fellow in political science at Rice's Baker Institute for Public Policy and fellow at Rice's Kinder Institute for Urban Research, appears on a television broadcast discussing midterm elections, and he is interviewed on Texas Public Radio and quoted in The Politicus about the U.S. Senate race between Rep. Beto O'Rourke, D-Texas, and Republican incumbent Sen. Ted Cruz. Jones is also interviewed by Texas Public Radio and quoted by the Texas Monitor about the likelihood of Texas' next House speaker being more conservative than current speaker Joe Straus. Jones is quoted in WOAI about Mexican cartels' human smuggling, and he is also quoted in the Weatherford Democrat about the "political minefield" of ending the Affordable Care Act's provision protecting individuals with pre-existing conditions.
History Professor Douglas Brinkley appears in two television broadcast discussing presidential politics, and he is cited in a radio broadcast.
A television broadcast mentions OpenStax, a Rice-based publisher of open educational resources.
An article about the Laura and John Arnold Foundation mentions they donated $6.6 million to Rice to establish and house the Texas Policy Lab, which will bring academics and policymakers together to solve real-world problems facing Texans.
An article mentions that Rice collaborated on a study with researchers at the National Institutes of Health and other institutions that determined asthma patients with a specific genetic profile exhibit more intense symptoms following exposure to traffic pollution. Co-author Marie Lynn Miranda, Rice's Howard R. Hughes Provost and a professor of statistics, is quoted.
An article about expanding the search for alien life to include distant, non-Earthlike planets quotes and cites research from Adrian Lenardic, professor of Earth, environmental and planetary sciences.
An article mentions that Mikki Hebl, the Martha and Henry Malcolm Lovett Chair of Psychology in Rice's School of Social Sciences, spoke at the INSEAD Gender Initiative's Women at Work conference. An interview with Hebl is also included.
Dan Wallach, professor of computer science and of electrical and computer engineering and a Rice Faculty Scholar at the Baker Institute for Public Policy, is quoted in an article detailing the need for voter protections ahead of the November midterms elections.
Two articles feature rapper Bernard "Bun B" Freeman mentions that he is a former distinguished lecturer at Rice.
An article mentions that singer Ronnie Milsap was offered a scholarship to attend Rice.
An article mentions that Associate Professor of History Caleb McDaniel will serve on a task force established to make recommendations on the interment and reburial of human remains believed to be from Texas' defunct convict-leasing system. The remains were discovered at a construction site in Fort Bend County.
Jim Krane, the Wallace S. Wilson Fellow for Energy Studies at Rice's Baker Institute for Public Policy, is quoted in an article about how Saudi Arabia's oil production has the lowest carbon emissions per barrel among major producers.
An article mentions José Nelson Onuchic, the Harry C. and Olga K. Wiess Professor of Physics and Astronomy, is a keynote speaker at the 17th European Conference on Computational Biology in Athens, Greece.
Alumnus John Mauldin '72 authored a blog post and mentions the Rice Initiative for the Study of Economics.
Alumnus Stephen Facey '75 is featured and pictured.
Alumnus Alberto Gonzalez '79, former U.S. attorney general, is featured.
An article mentions that Dow supports the Tomodachi-STEM @ Rice University Program, which sends 10 female Japanese university STEM students to a five-week research program at Rice.
Mike Massimo, former adjunct professor of mechanical engineering and materials science at Rice, is featured and pictured in an article about the patience and perseverance needed to become an astronaut.
Alumnus Eric Williams '05 is featured and pictured.
Yasuaki Onishi's "reverse of volume RG" art installation, which was exhibited at the former Rice Gallery, is pictured.
An article about grappling with dual South Asian and American cultural identities in Texas mentions a study by Rice's Kinder Institute for Urban Research, which notes that Houston is one of the most diverse metropolitan areas in the United States, with the Asian population growing the fastest.
Several articles and television broadcasts mention Rice football's 43-29 loss to the University of Hawaii Sept. 8.
Several articles mention the Rice football team's loss to the University of Houston.
An article about the Baylor Classic volleyball tournament mentions that Rice defeated the University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley and highlights players Nicole Lennon and Shelby Livingstone. Volleyball Magazine mentions that Rice lost to Baylor.
An article mentions that the Rice Tournament was held at Holloway Field. Top Drawer Soccer mentions that the Owls defeated Tulsa University 2-0 and highlights players Annie Walker, Lianne Mananquil, Marissa Topolski and Dominique Mazero.
An article mentions that Garrett Braden plans to play football at Rice.
An article exploring the revenue of college football programs in Texas mentions that Rice is ranked No. 9 in the state.
Pakistan's new prime minister, Imran Khan, must be commended for his pledges to reduce child stunting and improve maternal health in the country, according to a global health and human development policy expert at Rice's Baker Institute for Public Policy. Stunting is impaired growth and development caused by poor nutrition, repeated infection and inadequate psychosocial stimulation.
City planners are often faced with the difficult task of deciding which buildings stay and which ones go, a clash between development and days of yore. However, new research from Kevin Loughran, a postdoctoral research fellow in the Rice School of Social Sciences' Department of Sociology, suggests growth and preservation can go hand in hand in Philadelphia. Loughran focused on the development of Philadelphia's Independence National Historical Park, which he said presented an ideal case for examining the tension between history and growth in urban redevelopment.
Rice ranks among the top 20 national universities in the 2018 U.S. News & World Report's "Best Colleges" guidebook, retaining its position as the highest ranked university in Texas. In the latest edition of the college guide published today, Rice ranks No. 16 — the highest in Texas — among more than 300 national universities that offer a full range of undergraduate majors and master's and doctoral degrees and that place a strong emphasis on research. Rice has remained in the top 20 since first appearing on the list in 1988.


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IRONMAN Magazine
Larry Scott Fitness & Nutrition was featued in the latest issue of IRONMAN Magazine
A Lifetime of success defines defines the life of "the Legend Larry Scott." His historical accomplishments in the body bulding word have been fueled by pure passion. on top of larry's 6 titles, he is also the recipient of two different Lifetime Achievement Awards. One from national Fitness Trade Journal in 2006, and the other from Jarka's Gym at the Pro World Masters in 2011.
From One Legend to Another
My Mentor, My Friend
I was saddened by the news that my dear friend Larry Scott passed away this March. Larry was a wonderful guy; always smiling, always complimentary, and always the consummate gentleman. But Larry also had a huge impact on me politically—one so profound that it would inform my policymaking when I served as California's governor.
Larry Scott had been a hero to me since I started lifting weights back in the early 1960's. Along with guys like Reg Park, Steve Reeves, and Bill Pearl, Larry represented the very best of bodybuilding at the time, and he stood as an example of what I hoped to become. I first got the chance to meet Larry when he guest posed at the 1966 Mr. Europe competition, held in Germany. Originally I had seriously questioned whether I even wanted to compete, since I'd already placed second in the Mr. Universe contest. But when I heard Larry would be there I knew I had to make the pilgrimage; I had to meet him. After I won he came out, and the place absolutely erupted. There was no question: he was a superstar, yet he couldn't have been more gracious or friendlier to the lumbering young contest winner who greeted him in severely broken English.
When Joe Weider brought me to America in late 1968 my first thought was that I wanted to train where the great Larry Scott trained, which was Vince Gironda's gym in Studio City, in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles. Larry had retired from competitive bodybuilding by that point (he would make a brief comeback in 1979) but would still frequent Vince's, and so I got to know him during my earliest days on American soil.
Just as when we'd met two years earlier in Germany, Larry was warm and friendly, and in time he would become a mentor. He was a treasure trove of invaluable training and nutrition information and I cherished the opportunity to train with him whenever I could. Yet for as much as Larry had influenced me in terms of training and nutrition, his biggest impact had nothing to do with bodybuilding at all.
When I met Larry he was selling insurance, and he was the first person to explain to me the importance of having coverage as a resident of the United States. I was used to the Austrian system, where everyone had health coverage. At the time Joe Weider only paid me $60 per week, though, so I wasn't sure I could afford insurance. However, Larry found a plan that cost just $23.40 a month, so I went for it. He also convinced me of the importance of having disability insurance: My profession was my body, and if anything happened to it I'd have no income. So, I bucked up for an additional $5 a month for disability insurance. I wasn't sure I'd ever need any of it, but the knowledge that I had it gave me comfort.
In 1972 Larry Scott's guidance paid dividends. In South Africa, during a guest posing appearance, the stage fell apart and I went down, tearing a ligament in my left knee. In November of that year I had surgery to repair the damage, which was, thankfully, covered by my insurance plan. Moreover, because I was unable to do the posing appearances that were part of my income at the time, my disability insurance kicked in. I didn't even have to fight for it. Larry Scott had saved me from going broke!
When I became Governor of California and pushed for healthcare reform to cover everyone, people said, "You're a Republican. Why are you interested in this?"
I didn't think of it as a Democrat or Republican issue. Between my Austrian upbringing and Larry's quick intervention when I arrived in America, health insurance has always been a no-brainer for me.
All of this is to say that Larry Scott has had a major effect on my life and on my way of thinking in profound ways, and that without his friendship and guidance I wouldn't be the man I am today. I miss you, Larry.
~ Arnold Schwarzenegger
- See more at: http://www.flexonline.com/general-news/one-legend-another#sthash.30cEdbAO.dpuf
Continue Reading Story > >
LARRY SCOTT "THE LEGEND"
Scott's first retirement at the age of 28 sent shock waves throughout the sport. But Scott had other priorities, and after two Olympia wins, he felt he had done all he could do in competitive bodybuilding.


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The Don't-Miss List: Luna Negra in 'Moniquilla and the Thief of Laughter'
Kelly Kleiman
Luna Negra in "Moniquilla and the Thief of Laughter"
I guess I shouldn't be surprised at a brilliant one-man Iliad--after all, the bardic tradition is precisely of one man telling an epic story. But Timothy Edward Kane's embodiment of all the characters in the agonizing finale of the Trojan War is amazing nonetheless. With only a handful of contemporary references, the script (by Denis O'Hare and Lisa Peterson) and performance make clear that wars of conquest are all the same, and all more costly than worthwhile. The Court Theatre production runs only through next weekend (December 11); hop on the Metra and see it. Tickets are from $10 to $60.
And while you're venturing out of downtown, head to Berwyn for Saturday's sneak preview of the upcoming 5th season at 16th Street Theater. The season's theme is "Love, Faith and the Unknown," and the FREE preview will include excerpts from each of the upcoming plays. The festivities begin at 5 p.m. While you're out there, see if there's a seat left for Holiday Stories (a seasonal tryptych by company-affiliated playwrights Elizabeth Berg, Rohina Malik and Tanya Saracho), which closes on Sunday. Tickets are $18.
Laura Molzahn
Try on Paper Shoes tonight, tomorrow night, and next Thursday and Friday with Rachel Bunting's The Humans. She describes her dance-theater project on memory and loss, two years in the making, as "something like a twisted and crinkled map in my hands that refuses to be folded up… ever, ever again." Thursdays and Fridays through Dec. 9 at Hamlin Park Fieldhouse.
There are two, count them, two! kids' dance shows this weekend that are not The Nutcracker. Luna Negra Dance Theater launches its family series, Luna Niños, with Gustavo Ramirez Sansano's Moniquilla and the Thief of Laughter at Stage 773, Saturday and Sunday with two shows each day. Expect "flying pendulums, jungle spies, bursting water balloons, and secret laboratories." Also this weekend: Hubbard Street 2's Harold and the Purple Crayon, in matinees at the Harris Saturday and Sunday.
At Link's Hall, Synapse Arts presents new works by Suzy Grant, Samantha Spriggs, and artistic director Rachel Damon. At the DuSable Museum of African American History, Muntu Dance Theatre of Chicago presents its fall series, this year titled "Spice It Up!" And at Architectural Artifacts, Mordine & Co. hosts a free "fête champagne," which includes performances of excerpts from Shirley Mordine's LifeSpeak and work in progress.
Jonathan Abarbanel
Bah! Humbug! Eff the Xmas cheer and--for one night only—indulge your darkest fantasies and desires with DEATHSCRIBE, next Monday, Dec. 5, 8PM at the Mayne Stage in Rogers Park (1328 W. Morse). This chilling night out offers five horror-genre radio plays, staged with a live Foley artist to ensure that every bone-crunching, gut-wrenching, squeaky-doored, blood-splashing moment sounds—uh—accurate . . . and then some. Deathscribe is an annual presentation of WildClaw (sic) Theatre, the only Chicago troupe devoted entirely to horror (not just at Halloween). We trust that Deathscribe will be much more than horrible.
Remy Bumppo Theatre Company and its new artistic director, Timothy Douglas, offer their take on Pierre de Marivaux's elegant 18th Century French romantic comedy, Changes of Heart, in a heralded English version by Stephen Wadsworth. The original play has characters derived from the Renaissance Italian commedia dell'arte, such as Harlequin. It's anyone's guess if they will survive Douglas's update to 1960's Chicago, and whether Harlequin will appear in hippie beads and bell-bottoms. Changes of Heartruns through Jan. 8 at The Greenhouse in Lincoln Park.
#16th Street Theater
#An Iliad
#Court Theatre
#holiday stories
#Iliad
#Timothy Edward Kane


Diabetes has been seriously underrated as a global public health issue, and with spiritual fasting, diabetes increases the danger it brings for a patient. In India, festivities are filled all throughout the year.
Hyderabad: Diabetes has been seriously underrated as a global public health issue, and with spiritual fasting, diabetes increases the danger it brings for a patient. In India, festivities are filled all throughout the year. Most often these festivities are accompanied by extensive fasting. People with diabetes become more exposed to the dangers of fasting or excessive feasting.
The severity of diabetes can be gazed with the alarming statistics by IDF Diabetes Atlas 2017 that states "Diabetes kills 1 person every 8 seconds around the world. Worldwide, 451 million people are diabetic, out of which, 72.9 million are in India." Fasting may look like a tip of the iceberg, but it is a major triggering factor that worsens the condition for a diabetic.
According to IDF Diabetes Atlas 2017, 693 million people are going to be affected by diabetes, as it is expected to increase by 2045. Kerala has the largest number of diabetes patients, followed by Tamil Nadu and Punjab, according to Endocrinologists and Diabetologists in the state.
"If a diabetic fasts, potential health hazards include hypoglycaemia, hyperglycaemia, dehydration and acute metabolic complications observes diabetic ketoacidosis. It is important to keep a tap on your blood glucose levels as the chances are that during the fast your blood glucose levels may drop too low. It is advisable to keep your doctor informed if you decide to fast," said Dr Faraz Farishtey, director at Sparsh Diabetic centre.
"In Type 2 diabetes you see that people are generally obese and have large abdomens. As the patient gains weight, it gets worse. Fasting should not be done without consulting a doctor. Patients should plan a visit to the doctor 6 to 8 weeks ahead to get an overall assessment to decide their risks during fasting," said Dr Ravi Muppidi, director at AED Hospital.


Artist Prints: Many of Marc's artworks are available as fine art digital prints. Professionally photographed and printed on large format inkjet printers, these prints are limited edition numbered bottom left and signed bottom right. The paper used is 320g Hahnemuhle archival watercolour paper or Van Gogh cotton canvas. The process employs fade resistant, HP Vivera archival inks, which boast a 100+ year fade-proof guarantee.
These prints are also available in varying sizes. The paper prints are sold plastic wrapped on an acid-free foamcore backing board. The prints on canvas can be provided stretched or rolled in a core for easy transporting. The canvas print is treated with a high quality scratch resistant matt art-sealant. Directly behind the stretched canvas print is a fixed board which gives the frame rigidity, prevents warping and ensures the frame hangs flush against the wall. Large frames are cross braced to further prevent warping.
Please visit Marc's Shop to find out sizes and prices of available artworks or Contact Marc if you need further information.
Gallery Representation: Some of Marc's artworks are sold out of his studio, directly to buyers, but he has found that having a strong representation amongst established galleries and agencies, has been beneficial. In December 2015 The Studio Art Gallery, of which Marc is a co-owner, situated at the new art center on Imhoff Farm in Kommetjie, opened its doors to the public. In addition to a good representation of Marc's artwork this gallery also represents a select group of other artists, including South Africa's top landscape painter Donna McKellar.
Online Platforms: Besides this website, you will also find Marc's artwork represented by various selling platforms that have a respectable online profile.


Our Cabarets have a relaxed environment where you can enjoy some good food and drink, and the wonderful a capella harmonies and ringing chords that are part of the Barbershop style.
Our headliner this year is "Overtime," a championship quartet that keeps the tempo moving on their up-tunes, and the audience laughing with their humor and comedy songs.
A Sweet Adelines quartet, "In Cahoots," will also be joining us to entertain you with their soaring harmonies.
group rate of 12 tickets for the price of 10 ($200), a 20% benefit.
or advertise your business in our program!
download ad form pdf file to print and mail or download,edit, save and email.
coffee, & fine dessert. No host beer & wine bar.
2000 Senior quartet champions "Overtime"
You may also include a "note to seller" if you have special instructions with your order.
Tickets ordered will be available at Will Call on the night of the show.


Odia as a premier department emerged in the year 1986 to meet the anxiety of higher studies on literature. During the year 1993 the department was sanctioned honours course with 16 seats to expand its horizon for higher learning further more.
During the academic session 2012-13, 2013-14 and 2014-15 students enrolment in pass and honours in Odia has conveyed their interest in the field.
? Dr. Sudhansu Bhusan Dash, M.A., Ph.D.
• Teaching Experiences: 29 yrs.
• Seminars attended – a) National - 10 b) international-01, on the theme of "Building Nations of Peace: Our Shared Responsibility".
Dr. SANGRAM KESHARI PARIDA, M.A., Ph.D.
• Teaching Experiences – 03 yrs.


BANGKOK: Telephone dialing codes in Britain have just been changed radically in what has been labeled "The Big Number Change", the British Chamber of Commerce in Thailand reports. The changes entail the introduction of new telephone codes and local numbers for six locations: Cardiff, Coventry, London, Northern Ireland, Portsmouth and Southampton. There are also changes made to certain mobile phone, pager and personal numbers, and to special and premium rate numbers. The international code to call London, previously + 44 171 for inner London and + 44 181 for outer London, is now + 44 20 for the whole London area. All London telephone numbers change from seven-digit to eight-digit numbers. Inner London numbers have an additional 7 inserted after the area code. Outer London numbers have an additional 8 inserted after the area code. For example: + 44 171 280 7500 is now + 44 20 7280 7500, while + 44 181 123 4567 is now + 44 20 8123 4567.


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Hitchikers Guide News
codejnki writes, Over at Yahoo News there is information about the latest casting decisions on the forthcomming Hitchikers Guide to the Galaxy movie. Nice to see things moving forward.
Published by Brian, in Movies.
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4 replies on "Hitchikers Guide News"
Vesh says:
Effin' perfect. I'm in love with the casting so far, I hope the rest of the production shines as brightly.
codejnki says:
Re: Well…
My first memories of the HHGTTG was the BBC mini-series broadcast just prior to Dcotor Who on my old PBS station. I don't think I was ten yet. Since then I've read just about anything I could get my hands on that had Douglas Adams name on it (even Starship Titanic which was horrible). Honestly I'm not sure I could ever accept other actors in these roles. The BBC's images are so engraved in to my brain. But instead of being a nay-sayer I can't wait to see the finished product.
Timeshredder says:
I first encountered Hitchiker's… as the BBC series from the 80s, too, though I was a bit (cough) older than ten. The actors did a good job, and there was something terribly entertaining about the incredibly low-budget effects.
Still, I'm hoping the movie's approach does it justice.
matthewd says:
Honestly I'm not sure I could ever accept other actors in these roles. The BBC's images are so engraved in to my brain. But instead of being a nay-sayer I can't wait to see the finished product.
Try listening to the original radio version. Most of the same actors, but not all. It may help you get used to the idea of different actors. The original Trillian was quite a bit better than the TV series, IMHO (The LP version has yet another Trillian) It's too bad she was cut out of the story after the first six episodes…


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Scribblenauts Unlimited
5th Cell
Nintendo 3DS is probably no longer something strange to players because this is a device with a lot of technological improvements. This handle console is the first to be equipped with the technology high enough to get games with 3D graphics format without glasses. So this device quickly became a global craze, and all its games received popularity from many players. Most of the games included here are games with high graphics format for players to experience. But when there are so many games, players will quickly get bored, so there should be something different from the majority to attract players. And that game is Scribblenauts Unlimited – an exciting puzzle game for players to experience. This game has a lot of new features that players can experience. In the countless games with a high level of graphics, this game stands out as something different from the present. If players are bored with high graphics, this game will be a great choice.
This game is a puzzle game, so those are the only things that this game has a lot of different puzzles to challenge players. But the answers to these puzzles are not typical; they have a lot of unique for players to experience. This uniqueness is creativity; people have lots of ways to be creative in answering questions. This makes the difference in this game compared to other games in the same category for players to experience. For example, the player will be tasked with bathing a pig, and now that the player has soap, what do you need to do to complete? Players just need to type the word Soap, and you'll get a lot of soap to use.
When players make their journey to discover this place, there will be many characters that players will meet. Examples are fairies, Batman, Joker, mermaid, and many other unique NPCs. Each character gives players a unique experience for you to experience.
Fire Emblem Fates: Special Edition
Role-Playing, Strategy
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D
Buzz!: The Sports Quiz
Rayman: Raving Rabbids
Tetris Worlds
Egg Mania: Eggstreme Madness
Buzz! The Music Quiz


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Haaretz | Opinion
Drowned Syrian Boy Exposes Israeli Hypocrisy
Why are Israelis so moved by the image of a dead Syrian refugee, but oblivious to the plight of a slain Palestinian child?
Candles and an image of the Syrian boy Aylan Kurdi at a protest condemning the death of migrants on their way to Europe, in Barcelona, Spain, September 4, 2015.Credit: AP
Two photographs. In the first a face buried in the sand, a tiny body dressed in rags, his bare feet askew, dried blood on one of them. In the other, face buried in the sand, feet in small shoes resting next to each other, the tiny body awash in water. They are almost the same age and the similarity between them is amazing and shocking. Ismail Bahar, in the first picture, Aylan Kurdi in the other. Two dead toddlers, lying on the seashore, separated by a year and a few months and a few hundred kilometers.
Syrian Refugees Don't Know What Lies Ahead
Four Syrians Formally Charged Over Drowned Boys
Israel, Like Europe, Needs to Take Stock
The first photograph appeared all over the world and was concealed in Israel. That compassionate newspaper, Yedioth Ahronoth, did not publish it on its front page and did not caption it "the toddler who moved the world." The death of Ismail did not move anyone in Israel. In contrast, the dead Aylan became a worldwide icon, including, of course, Yedioth Ahronoth, which knows what is likely to move Israelis.
A Palestinian child in Gaza, killed by Israel Air Force pilots' bombardment together with his three small cousins during Operation Protective Edge, while they were playing soccer on the beach, is not "moving." A Syrian child of the same age, who drowned while fleeing with his family to Europe is "the toddler who moved" the world. And if this amount of hypocrisy was not enough, we will add only that no one stood trial in Israel for the criminal killing of Ismail (the case was closed). Following Aylan's death in a criminal accident, a few suspects were arrested in Turkey.
Israel has no right to sanctimoniousness over the tragic death of Aylan Kurdi, nor to tsk-tsk at the photograph, nor to feign shock, nor to "offer aid," and certainly not to preach to Europe. There is a disaster zone that Israel created in its own back yard, an hour and a quarter's drive from Tel Aviv. In that horrific region, the Al-Amla family told a Swedish journalist who visited their home in Rafah about the enormity of their disaster: They are victims what has become known as "Black Friday" in Rafah, when the Israel Defense Forces went criminally amok in an attempt to retrieve an abducted soldier. The father, Wa'el, lost a leg. His wife, Isra, lost both legs. Their 3-year-old son Sharif, lost a leg and an eye. Wa'el's brother, his sister-in-law and his 11-year-old sister were killed.
They are all victims of the rockets fired at them from Israeli aircraft on that Friday, when they were attempting to flee their homes to their grandmother's house. Their fate is no less shocking than that of the Kurdi family. The difference is that their tragedy was caused by the IDF. The government and public opinion in Israel should have taken responsibility for this act, should have expressed shock and assisted the family. In refraining from doing so, Israel revealed a level of insensitivity so great that it cannot now react with consternation over other tragedies without exposing its own hypocrisy and double standard.
That hypocrisy is also seen in the shock at the fate of the refugees converging on Europe. A country that torments tens of thousands of asylum-seekers has no right to criticize Europe for its attitude toward refugees. If Israel had wanted to make a small contribution to the struggle of the world's refugees, it should have taken in the handful of asylum-seekers it already has, allowed them to work and live in dignity and opened a gradual track to citizenship for them. Those who are shocked at Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orban's statement that the stream of refugees threatens "the Christian roots of Europe," have to explain what the difference is between concern over the "Christian roots" of Europe, which sounds very bad in Hungarian, and concern for the "Jewish character" of Israel, which sounds excellent in Hebrew.
Only one source of homegrown pride is absolutely justified in all this: Hungary and Bulgaria want to learn from Israel how to build a border fence, and in Israel they're proud of this, of course. Are we or are we not a light unto the gentiles?


Finding out cheats and secrets for more is true because of the reason to dig out more and more latest updates in order to play the game efficiently. The cheat codes and secret keys help to find out the rule-bending tips and tricks that work with GTA (V Single Player) in GTA Online. It executes effectively for open world and job segments of the game.
North Yankton Glitch Visit: The one single Glitch in GTA 5 and GTA Online allows the players to explore the Snowy City in the Sky. The town of Ludendorff, North Yankton will become easily access to the players once they start following the cheat codes. However, to activate the Glitch and to force down the city to spawn, the player has to follow the instructions very carefully.
Make more Friends: Making more friends and network connections help to make more money. Added to it, the player can buy more properties and save the assets. Making friends and making more money help yielding high on the jobs, which can be able to repeat quickly and easily.
Passive Mode: In order to survive against the bounty attacks, you can make use of the passive mode. You can switch to the passive mode that allows going more into the business with no fear of your enemies shooting down. When you execute this, a Bounty will be placed on you, however, when people hunt you and shot you down, the bullets will not harm you. Be careful that this action can be taken place when the Bounty is placed initially.
Secret Weapons – Cars & Baseball – You can find plenty of exotic cars, which are very expensive in GTA online. Those are the cars, which are not easily available in other parts of the world, hence, you can make sure to check them out as and when, when you find them. As it, you can find baseball bats to use one of the weapons in GTA 5.
GTA Glitches under the Stairs – In GTA V, you can find a number of glitches under the stairs with a view to the outside world. Wherein the player can be able to throw grenades and shoot outside with the help of cops.
Cannon Doors – In order to get those glitches – cannon doors, you need to have a sports car first. It is one another weapon to find out the secrets and scratch the codes. Once after equipped yourself perfectly, you have to get into the designated location (provided in the root video) to get into the sliding door of any house.
It is quite common to get bored with the regular and usual game modes. Hence there are cheats and secret codes are available online to add more fun, frolic and extra excitement to the game in order to play by knowing more updates and forwarding phases.


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An expat acquaintance of mine was walking down a street in a Bangkok tourist area recently. She hailed a cab to get her to her office, but the driver, seeing she was a Westerner, quoted her twice the regular cost. She refused and got out of the cab. But she didn't have to hail another one. The same driver who tried to scam her flagged one down for her – an honest taxi this time. Mai pen rai: It's all good.
That's Bangkok for many expats: a laid-back land full of gentle people and everyday kindnesses mixed with the occasional good-natured attempt to part you from more of your money than is strictly fair. During my first trip to Thailand last year, I proved easy prey for a man who flashed me a badge at the Grand Palace and told me it was closed for Buddha Day. He directed me instead to his friend the tuk-tuk driver, who he promised would take me to other scenic attractions. Dazed by heat and jet lag, I agreed, even though I'd not only read about this exact ruse in guidebooks, but been personally warned by my husband. The Grand Palace doesn't close, there's no "Buddha Day� and the driver's real plan was to goad me into buying jewelry and custom-made suits. And yet, I found myself in a tuk-tuk – a small, open wagon named after its sputter – tuk-tukking away from the very sight I'd traveled half the city to see. The only thing saving me from total humiliation that day is that I immediately realized I'd been conned and got out. My sputter was louder than the engine.
It's easy to see why Bangkok is a land of opportunity for many, scam artists included. While prices are high for things that many Westerners would consider necessities, like quality education and food from their home countries, the overall cost of living means that I can be a full-time mom for the first time since my 7-year-old was an infant. He, my husband and I came here on New Year's Day 2012 from a suburb in New York, where the three of us didn't have a single day off together. My husband and I both worked at media jobs we adored, but our opposite schedules -- built around one of us always being present for our son – meant we rarely saw each other. New York's chilly winters bothered me more and more, and I always seemed to have a cold. I had no time or energy for friends or pursuits of my own. The only thing I looked forward to was collapsing into bed at the end of the day, but insomnia often kept me awake. I was always sprinting for the finish line, but I never got to take a victory lap.
Then, a tiny escape hatch opened, offering a glimpse of a new life. We rented out our house, packed up our things and came to Thailand. We felt we'd been whisked away to a fairy kingdom where the sun shone all the time and Mama didn't have to go to work. We reconnected as a family, going on outings to the vast Chatuchak Weekend Market or Bangkok's gleaming multistory malls. My son enrolled at a school with children from around the world, where he got a level of attention not possible at a public school in the U.S.
We've learned some lessons along the way, like watching out for scam artists. We've also tested the limits of Thais' willingness to bargain. Walking near our hotel among the bustling street stalls of Sala Daeng, , my son found many things he wanted to spend allowance money on – T-shirts, key chains, a gold-plated dragon. We used these purchases to try to teach him the art of negotiation.
He'd pick something out and I'd pull him aside. "I'm going to get that now, Joe, but I'm going to pretend that I don't want to get it,� I'd say.
His lips would tremble and his eyes fill with tears. "But you said we could buy it,� he'd quaver.
We'd walk over to the stand. "Five hundred baht,� I'd say.
"Seven hundred,� the stall owner would say. I'd make a show of shaking my head and pretending to go. But the whole charade would fall apart when Joe started to bawl. That's how I learned that a little boy's tears can have a remarkable effect on even the most hardened stall owner, though, and more than once, Joe and I would both end up walking away happy.
While we're still honing our bargaining skills, we've picked up other habits and preferences with ease. Joe is now a fan of street food like fish balls and squid satay. He always takes off his shoes when he enters a home or classroom. He knows that grownups, and sometimes even teenagers, will give him their seat on a crowded train, and he's learned to wai them like a pro, holding his clasped hands to his forehead and bowing in a gesture of respect and thanks. If you want to see a tickled Thai, have a little Western boy wai them.
We've also learned to deal with heat and rain. When we first arrived, we'd angle for our destinations even during the city's torrential downpours, wrestling ourselves along sidewalks jammed with stalls and trying not to poke anyone with our umbrellas. A few times, Joe was so soaked by the time he got to school that I had to buy him a new uniform. Now, heavy rain means we stop. Take a break. Find a comfortable place and wait for it to ease up. Same with heat. No one hurries here, and especially not in the hot season.
But the best part of living here is my freedom. If my family needs me, I can be there for them.
Our new home is in a quiet compound, with good friends from the school living next door. A pool lies right outside, and French doors open to greenery that surrounds us. I told an expat friend that it feels like I'm on vacation. "That's the thing about Thailand,� she said. "It always feels like that.� My husband bicycles forty minutes to work, a vast improvement over his New York commute. I can even fall asleep now, and although there are times when I wake up and have no idea where I am, I know that I'm going to be OK. Mai pen rai. It's Bangkok and it's all good.
On New Year's Day 2012, Kathy Drouin-Keith and her family left their suburban New York life for Bangkok after her husband was offered a job there. Leon works as a journalist and Joe, 7, is in an international school. Kathy runs the household and writes about life in Thailand. They've gotten used to the giant monitor lizards that live under their house and they've learned to say "Not too spicy!� in Thai.
It is so wonderful to hear about your adventures in Thailand. I'm thrilled to hear it is going so well for all of you!
Your very good at describing Bangkok. I am glad to hear you are doing so well.
I enjoyed your article and am happy your family is enjoying life in Thailand! Your article was informative and interesting.
What makes this article so special are the wonderful descriptions, sights sounds and tastes....I could actually visualize Joey bowing in respect, got the feel of the rain...you made it all come so alive...thank you for sharing...feel like I made a trip to Thailand without the 9 million hour trip.
What a great article Kathy! I'm ready to leave hearth and home and head east. Then I remember the scary monitor lizards and think I'll stay here on ravaged Long Island. You made a wise choice to be a full time Mom. I had to work and have always regretted it. Joe will probably never forget his Mom waiting for him to come home. At seventy I can still see my mom at the door.
Kathy - this is a very well written article, I enjoyed reading it. I hope you continue to enjoy Bangkok.


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Middle-earth: Shadow of War is doubling down on the nemesis system and Lord of the Rings lore
On the same day Shadow of War was announced, journalists were taken to a movie theatre in downtown San Francisco to watch a developer walkthrough on the big screen
A screenshot of Middle-earth: Shadow of War.
Josh McConnell
SAN FRANCISCO — Monolith Productions says it's surprised no one else has tried expanding on the popular nemesis system it created for its popular Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor game back in 2014, so the developer is taking on the task itself.
On the same day that Monolith and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment announced Middle-earth: Shadow of War — the sequel to
Shadow of Mordor — earlier this month, a group of journalists were taken to a movie theatre in downtown San Francisco during the Game Developers Conference to watch a 30-minute walkthrough on the big screen.
"The goal of (the nemesis system) was to make every single enemy you face unique and personal to each player, so they could create their own stories, rivalries or revenge missions with these personal enemies," said Michael de Plater, Monolith's vice president of creative, during the demonstration.
"What we wanted to do this time is not only expand that enormously, but also extend it to the world — to actually make the world represent the personality and uniqueness of these different enemies."
In Shadow of War, the nemesis system's biggest change is it now includes fortresses, which means the kind of tribe that happens to be in charge will influence the world around it. The creatures of the leader will be more prominent throughout the nearby land, plus the type of ruler in the fortress can spread influence on the world around it through things like the weather, lighting and atmosphere.
"We certainly wanted to make sure we didn't rest on our laurels with the nemesis system, and we wanted to make sure that we were going to push and evolve it to the next level," said Philip Straub, Monolith's director of art, during an interview with the Post after the walkthrough.
"Shadow of Mordor was our first foray into an open world game. The nemesis system was new and we had all of these new components… So I think our goals were to take that solid foundation and just really push on it from multiple axis."
The updated nemesis system is also expanding to followers, de Plater said, adding an extra layer of procedurally generated strategy to the game that can include betrayals, friendships, saviours and loyalty. An example given during the walkthrough was having a spy in enemy ranks that takes down a chief and convinces a guard to switch sides, therefore remembering the decision that his life was spared going forward.
"When we say procedurally generated, we are talking about a number of systems working together," said Straub. "You have the content and the way it evolves relative to your interactions. You also have the intelligence of the A.I. and what they have to say relative to your interactions. There are just a lot of components."
There are other new elements to be found in Shadow of War. Monolith has done an even deeper dive into Lord of the Rings lore to create an extensive amount of expanded cultures and societies within the game that may be lost on casual fans but appreciated for the hardcore segment.
There are brand new enemies and weapons which have their own strengths and abilities, adding to the strategy component to major ballads. Some orcs can mount enemies or giant dragon-like creators now, while others may simply be more resistant to elements such as fire.
A lot more RPG elements have been added to the game as well. New powers are obtained after completing challenges or slaying bosses, for example. There are also new player, loot and skill systems.
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"A key goal for us with this game after Shadow of Mordor was to really pay off the epic promise of Lord of the Rings," de Plater said. "In doing that, we wanted to expand the scale of everything. So there's a more epic story and a much more epic and massive world."
Though journalists didn't get a chance to play the game, Shadow of War looks promising from the 30-minute walkthrough we had. The graphics were a step up, battles were more intense and the new nemesis system seems to be introducing new worlds and storylines to help remove some of the repetitiveness of the first game.
"We just want people to play the game, enjoy it, have a good experience and feel challenged," Straub said. "Enjoy the nemesis system. Enjoy exploring the world, experiencing the story and just be immersed."
Middle-earth: Shadow of War releases on Aug. 22 for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Windows 10 PCs. Support will also be coming for Microsoft's upcoming Project Scorpio.
jomcconnell@postmedia.com
Twitter.com/JoshMcConnell
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