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Home / Food & Drink / Chefs / Meet the chef: Jesus Escalera, renowned pastry chef of La Postrería in Guadalajara, Mexico
Meet the chef: Jesus Escalera, renowned pastry chef of La Postrería in Guadalajara, Mexico
By Jyoti Balani on 1st December 2020
Born in 1986 and originally from Utrera (Seville, Spain), Jesus Escalera began his career in the world of gastronomy without wanting to dedicate himself to it when at the age of 15 he worked one summer in a bakery. The following year he decided to study cooking at the Heliópolis cooking school in Seville and at the same time he worked in various restaurants in the city.
He admits that he was never passionate about sweets but being in the dessert section of that restaurant totally changed his way of seeing all the possibilities that the sweet world could offer. This led him to be head of pastry shop at El Bulli Hotel, at the restaurant Casa Marcelo, The Fat Duck and El Bulli restaurant.
After working at the Benazuza restaurant in Cancun as head chef, he decided with his partner Fer Covarrubias to come up with a project that he had in mind for years, a place dedicated exclusively to restaurant desserts and everything that encompasses sweets, giving rise to la Postrería. His dessert restaurant is recognised as the Best Sweet Experience de México, also as one of the 120 best restaurants in Mexico for three consecutive years, as Best Sweet Space Mexico for two consecutive years, among many others.
Jesús is the young and talented chef behind dessert-only restaurant La Postrería in Guadalajara, Mexico
At the same time, he is a sweet consultant with his company Sweet Concept, conducting dessert consultancies and trainings to renowned restaurants. He is also in charge of La Postrería Taller, a space reserved for tests, training and the training of professionals around the sweet world, as well as Kitchen Teachen, an online gastronomic training company and distribution of supplies, utensils and pastry and kitchen moulds. In 2018 he was named as Latin American Best Pastry Chef by the famous The World 50 Best Restaurant list.
What inspired you to become a pastry chef? You've been in the industry for quite some time. Would you have done anything differently when first starting out?
I started cooking almost by chance. The gastronomy path came to me unintentionally when I finished school and I didn't know what to do with my life. The opportunity to study cooking in a public school came up and I accepted it. When I started studying cooking, I tried to avoid pastry, since the first thing they teach you when you learn to cook is that cooking is more intuitive, tasting and pastry is more square and millimetre and that everything had to be exact (which I hated).
While I was studying, I started working in the afternoons in a restaurant, where they assigned me in the pastry section. Later, I worked in another restaurant on weekends and I was assigned in cold cooking and pastry sections. That same summer, I went to Mallorca to a hotel and I was assigned again in a pastry shop. Until then, the pastry shop that I had seen in most places was a sweet and soulless pastry shop. I kept wanting to switch to the kitchen.
After working in some other places, I was 19 years old and the opportunity came up to do an internship at the El Bulli hotel. I accepted and arrived when the season had already started. The chef asked me that, since I had arrived last, if I preferred sweet or any other section and, in my nervousness, I said sweet. I did not know that this nervous failure was going to mark my professional and personal life. When I entered the bakery section of that restaurant, I began to see the sweet/pastry/dessert world in a different way; I had never imagined a pepper ice cream or a sweet soup. The flavours, the plate montages, the techniques, everything seemed like a different world to me and from that moment, I fell in love with the pastry shop.
What is the philosophy and ethos behind the food you create?
One of the main objectives when creating desserts is to create a 'sweet culture', that is, to give dessert the prominence it deserves, using high quality products, applying the appropriate knowledge and technique to each ingredient and trying to go further, providing play, surprise and / or contrasts in each of the desserts, to make this a fundamental part of the gastronomic experience.
As children we were punished without dessert because this was the 'prize'. I want anyone who tries one of my desserts to feel like a child again, for this to be the most anticipated thing in a meal, with hints of humour, colourful finishes but always having flavour as the protagonist. To do this, we must understand that our tastes change as we grow and we try to change the monopoly of sugar on our palates to give way to sour and bitter flavours, to spicy, smoky nuances, thus creating what we call 'adult desserts'.
Jesús defies the limits of traditional pastry and reinvents desserts, playing with different textures and temperatures. Image credit: Appetizer Storyteller
What's the latest trend when it comes to baking and patisserie?
An interesting trend in recent years is to give more prominence to the ingredient, which directly interferes with the flavour and lightness of the dessert. Earlier, when making a raspberry compote, it only tasted sweet with a slight raspberry flavour. Since sugar is a natural preservative and pastry (filled with egg, dairy, fruits and other ingredients that have a short life).
Today's baking techniques try to make that raspberry compote taste a lot like fruit with a little sweet (or sour) nuance. For this it is very important to know the product and have a wide repertoire of techniques to get the most out of each ingredient. With this, in addition to creating more pleasant flavours, we manage to reduce the excess sugar, with which we get a lighter pastry that can be eaten immediately.
What is one food (pastry) trend you wish would just go away?
Unfortunately, in pastry there is a tendency to decorate excessively, where appearance is given more value than flavour content, using (or abusing) fondant, thick candies or inedible elements such as dried leaves, flower arrangements, etc. Our patisserie is committed to visual appeal but consistent with flavour, so that they complement each other. Any sprout, glaze or chocolate sheet goes directly according to the flavour of the dessert or, at least, does not interfere with the original combination.
What is your baking style and the philosophy behind it?
The style of pastry that I have used the most in my entire career is restaurant dessert. The world of desserts on the plate (also called sweet cuisine) tries to take advantage of pastry knowledge by applying it to salty cooking technique. The preparations are assembled at the moment, from the kitchen to the table. This allows us to play with many factors, both in terms of textures and temperatures (fluffy cotton candy that disappear in front of the diner; ice crystals that melt in the mouth; fragile millimetre-thick candies; creamy and unstable emulsions; very airy textures; hot / cold combinations; preparations with smoked and steamed dishes on the table; ice cream on the plate), as well as delicate and ephemeral assemblages (which, if it were a pastry shop, would be impossible to bear in a display case). All this with respect for the product as if it were a kitchen, giving importance to the flavour of each ingredient, within the appropriate taste combination and not succumbing to the false expectation that a higher priced ingredient is better than another.
Jesús was born in Utrera, a city near Seville in the south of Spain. Image credit: Appetizer Storyteller
In my dessert restaurant we create an aesthetic concordance with respect to flavour. For example, our Forest dessert has flavours of eucalyptus, pine, berries, herbs. Our cherry blossom dessert is made of cherries in textures, almonds and white flowers. Our Honeycomb dessert is made of honey, pollen and rosemary. Of course, it is not the only style we do at La Postrería (my dessert restaurant), but it is one of the most iconic.
What's your favourite comfort food?
I am a hamburger lover. After a hard day, being able to eat a good hamburger makes my life brighter (the more basic the better).
What's your favourite pastry or cake or baked product?
I can eat Viennoiserie at all hours of the day, every day. I also love donuts (basic glaze).
Who or what was your inspiration to become a pastry chef?
The person who inspired me with his style was Albert Adriá. During the five years that I was between El Bulli hotel and El Bulli, I imbibed a lot of their techniques and philosophy. His way of understanding desserts and his simplicity when talking about creativity changed my way of thinking. Of course, I am inspired by many other pastry chefs and friends such as Jordi Roca, Pierre Hermé, Cedric Grolet, Antonio Bachour, Ramón Morató, etc.
What is your advice to aspiring pastry chefs?
I can give you a lot of advice, but there are two very important ones: The first is consistency. Although it seems impossible, everything can be achieved. My parents did not have the money to enrol me in a very expensive private school, nor could I travel, but that was no excuse to not try to get to where I wanted, for example, being part of some of the best restaurants in the world like El Bulli or The Fat Duck, or, opening my own dessert restaurant, or, traveling around the world giving courses and conferences, or, cooking side by side with great professionals that I admired when I started and the fact that we are now friends.
The second piece of advice is to never lose your humility. Humility in pastry is waking up every day knowing that you can learn something new from anyone and apply it to your work and life. If you go forward with that idea, the world opens up to you and inspiration comes from many sides.
Jesús was the winner of the title of Latin America's Best Pastry Chef 2018
Would you consider yourself as an artist? Are you inspired by artists when you create your pastries? When you create different products everyday where do you get inspired from?
Whether cooking is an art or not is a matter of debate for many people. The kitchen is similar to an art studio, since we can awaken emotions through the creativity applied to an ingredient. But I think that art should be something that lasts over time, and cooking is ephemeral, since a dish only remains in the memory of the person and if another cook makes the same recipe, or the ingredients vary a bit it is already a different dish. So, I consider that cooking is not an art.
Another very different thing is creativity. Creativity is necessary in our society. We are all creative (to solve a problem, to find a way, to make ends meet), the important thing is to know how to focus on it and have fun with it. Whenever people ask me what I am inspired by, I give the same answer: I can explain a recipe, I can explain a technique, but it is very difficult to explain in words where creativity comes from.
It can be a landscape, a trip, another person we admire, a specific product, a song, a need, but it is important to work on it, an idea is useless if you do not work and exploit to get the maximum potential. I really like a phrase by Picasso that, in short, says "I don't know when the inspiration will come, but when it comes, I hope to be working."
The topic of local food, from smaller, specialised and personally known producers, is becoming more important. What are some of your local partners from whom you source?
Of course, local consumption is important for many factors. You help the local economy and that has a beneficial effect on your business. Being close, the product arrives in better quality and it is easier to control the seasons. The product is cheaper because one does not pay customs or many intermediaries.
When I arrived in Mexico, I didn't know many of the ingredients from here, so I cooked with foreign ingredients that I felt comfortable with. Little by little I was integrating these local ingredients without realising it (honeys, fruits, nuts, etc) and after a few years I understood that really, in the history of pastry we have always used ingredients that were Mexican and spread to the world, such as chocolate, vanilla, varieties of coffee and a large number of fruits that are common today in pastry making, so we decided to work with Mexican and Latin American producers, finding authentic gastronomic gems.
What would you say is the key/winning feature of your creations?
I think the key has been to find flavour blends that, despite being different, feel like they've been around for a lifetime. The combination of flavours, along with textures and aesthetics (in this order of importance) has been what has kept our customers coming back again and again. The flavour is the main and indisputable factor when we talk about cooking and pastry. To talk about flavour, not only is it enough to say over and over again that it is necessary to use excellent quality ingredients (which is more than obvious), but you have to know how to treat the ingredients and, in this case, that is when the technique comes into play.
The act of cooking begins when we apply a technique to an ingredient (either cutting, caramelizing, sautéing, baking, kneading, blending). Take, for example, flour, a basic ingredient in pastry that, by itself, is inedible, but when applying a technique and combining it with certain ingredients, becomes a base pillar for hundreds of breads, cakes, puff pastry, dough broken, crunchy, etc., giving way to a practically infinite diversity of flavours. The technique is, therefore, the link between the parameters of flavour, structure, texture and aesthetics.
What are the most important considerations when crafting your menu?
Mainly that there is variety for all tastes: fresh desserts, creamy desserts and chocolate desserts. It is also important not to make the client dizzy with many references, it is better to have few and vary them by season (this way the kitchen organisation is also easier) At the Postrería we have a dessert tasting menu that varies with the seasons. This is an 11-step menu, and we recommend it to be shared (since there are five desserts and six sweet snacks). We understand the tasting menu as if it were a food menu: 1st salad (light), 2nd Fish (medium), 3rd Meat (intense).
Our first steps in the tasting menu are light desserts, with nuances of fruit, flowers, citrus. The intermediate steps are more creamy (desserts with cheeses, white chocolate, yogurt, denser fruits). And the last steps are the intense ones, using ingredients such as dark chocolate, nuts, spices, alcohols, etc.
Jesús was the pastry chef at one Michelin-starred Casa Marcelo and three-starred The Fat Duck. Image credit: Appetizer Storyteller
Have you ever considered being a vegan chef? How practical is it being a pastry chef?
I never saw myself as a vegan chef, but I'm not against vegan pastry either. There are very good options of vegan ingredients to be able to make very good desserts.
We always say that we do not have a star dish, and that we try to make all the dishes on the menu No. 1. But the fact is that we are known for two desserts with which we opened La Postrería and those have been replicated in many restaurants (and that fills us with pride and joy). The first is mandarin cheesecake (year 2012) and the second is cherry blossom (year 2014).
Which is the dish you've created that you are most proud of and why?
Each dish has its own history and I have been proud of each one in its time. But one of my favourites is called the vanilla flower, it is a tribute to pastry and a very Mexican ingredient such as the vanilla pod (possibly my favourite ingredient). This dessert has ingredients that do not sound good, but when you taste it, it is pure magic, since we have used ingredients with vanilla notes that fit perfectly such as vanilla, Bourbon, coffee and black olive.
What are your future plans?
Currently I have a dessert restaurant, La Postrería, a workshop to teach classes (La Postrería Taller), a brand of advice for restaurants and sweet professional training and a page with online courses and distribution of kitchen products (Kitchen Teachen).
Future plans are to be able to take this to other countries. It was going to be this year, but the pandemic stopped everything, so while we were locked up, we decided to create digital books with all the recipes from recent years, summarising them in volumes: first volume Restaurant Desserts, second volume Pastries, third volume Macarons, fourth volume Chocolate, fifth volume Cakes and entremets, sixth volume Bakery.
lapostreriagdl.com
kitchenteachen.com
sweetconcept.mx
instagram.com/jesusescalerac/
Tags: baking chef desserts Jesus Escalera Mexico pastry patisserie
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Celebrating the Pulitzers at 100
Behind Brazil's leadership crisis
Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward says the "message managers" are gaining more power, but that journalism will always find a way to reveal the truth.
Courtesy of Simon & Schuster
Ahead of this weekend's gathering, journalist Bob Woodward muses on the press, and sees plenty of hope
By Christina Pazzanese Harvard Staff Writer
Date September 6, 2016 September 16, 2016
In a year when the media have been cast as untrustworthy villains in the tank to candidates of both major parties, Scottish essayist Thomas Carlyle's belief that the press — what he called the Fourth Estate — is as vital to the functioning of democracy as government itself can sound naïve and antiquated. But there are still plenty of true believers who take the media's public responsibility as an inviolable and sacred duty.
Many of the country's most accomplished truth-tellers will be on campus this weekend (Sept. 10 and 11) as the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard hosts a two-day celebration (click here for tickets) marking the 100th anniversary of the Pulitzer Prize. The prize recognizes outstanding achievements in journalism and the arts and is among the most prestigious awards given to reporters, photojournalists, critics, authors, poets, playwrights, musicians, and news organizations.
The event will feature past and present winners, including legendary biographer Robert Caro, a 1966 Nieman Fellow; documentary filmmaker Laura Poitras, who aided the publication of documents stolen by Edward Snowden that disclosed a national surveillance program; musician Wynton Marsalis, whose "Blood on the Tracks" was the first jazz composition to win a Pulitzer; and "Hamilton" creator Lin-Manuel Miranda, a 2015 winner, in a recorded presentation riffing on the theme of accountability and abuse of power.
Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward, who shared the 1973 Pulitzer with reporter Carl Bernstein for the investigation into the Watergate hotel break-in that led to President Richard Nixon's resignation, and who won again in 2002 for his work leading The Post's 9/11 coverage, will lead a panel discussion with Poitras and Dean Baquet, The New York Times' executive editor, on journalism's ongoing role in keeping governments honest.
With the mainstream media shrinking, Woodward spoke with the Gazette about the state of watchdog journalism and whether the political press has done a good job in deeply scrutinizing the 2016 presidential candidates.
GAZETTE: Awards founder Joseph Pulitzer's populist, sensational style of journalism would fit right into today's media environment. What's the state of watchdog journalism today, and how does it compare to, say, 50 years ago when you started, or at the creation of the Pulitzers a century ago?
WOODWARD: There's a lot of great work in journalism being done. The problem is the message managers in government, business, and everywhere — even the message managers/spokespeople in the media — have greater and greater power, so they assert that power by curtailing disclosure, limiting transparency. We know less and less about what really goes on. You have to dig and find people and records and documents, and it takes a long time. I was at a dinner sitting next to Al Gore, the former vice president. This was 10 years ago or so; he was out of office. I asked him how much we know about what goes on that's of consequence? And he said, "One percent," and I kind of died. I asked, "Well, suppose you wrote a memoir that told all, what would we know then about what goes on of consequence?" And he said, "Two percent." Lots of institutions have gone through a public airing. Certainly the White House; we did a book on the Supreme Court in 1979 ("The Brethren"), and the reaction was to button up. Same with the intelligence agencies: "Button up, tell less, and explain only when absolutely necessary." The impulse is to conceal and hide and not answer rather than to be forthright and come clean. They feel burned, they feel, "Gee, we can muscle our way through this."
The second part of this, which compounds it, I think, is the Internet, which is all impatience and speed most of the time. Everything comes and goes. Great stories that news organizations have done just go up in the ether. There's so much out there, how do you pick? What does it mean? And disclosures that really tell us about character — take Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton — that are important, that don't lead to investigations or grand juries or FBI inquiries or SEC actions, come and go. So there's this focus on, "Does it lead to an investigation?" Well, some of the things that lead to investigations are nonsense, and some of the things that don't are really essential to understanding who these people are.
GAZETTE: The political media has been roundly criticized this election season for its relatively toothless coverage during the primaries, particularly around Trump's unlikely rise and a habit of proffering false equivalence or "he said/she said" about candidates' statements and actions. Now, we have instances of media figures working for or openly advocating for Trump (such as editor Matt Boyle of Breitbart News advising and writing speeches for him, and former Fox News chairman Roger Ailes advising Trump behind the scenes). How do you grade the coverage thus far, and should the profession do its own "autopsy" after the election to reconsider what it's doing, and how?
WOODWARD: I would disagree that it was toothless. There was a lot of serious reporting during the primaries. At the end of March, Bob Costa, a reporter at the Post, and I interviewed Trump and we published the transcript and there are all kinds of things in there. For instance, he says, "I bring out rage in people," and he's proud of it. He forecast a giant recession, he was very pessimistic about the economy, and since then it's only done better. He was asked, because he was running in the primaries in the Republican Party, a party that contained Lincoln and Nixon, "Why did Lincoln succeed?" And Trump's answer was, "He did some things that needed to be done." [We then asked,] "Why did Nixon fail?" "Because of his personality." And we had to say, "Yeah, but his criminality was part of it." And Trump said, "Oh, yeah." It tells you who he is.
The same with Hillary Clinton. There were just voluminous stories on her. Let me give you an example from The New York Times, Feb. 20, 2016, a two-part series they did on Hillary's role in Libya. It explains her role, exactly what she wanted to do. At one point, after [Libyan leader Moammar] Gadhafi's death, it quotes her saying to some of her staff, "We came, we saw, he died.' There was a series of spectacular Post stories about the Clinton Foundation, about her time at the State Department, and so forth.
[Woodward digs into a file folder he keeps of recent Post stories on the Clintons and cites more than a dozen stories.]
Incredible, important stories that are well-documented. Really great work, things done in 2014, 2015, and early this year. I could give you a similar file on Trump, an amazing number of stories that are in the book "Trump Revealed" [by The Washington Post's Marc Fisher and Michael Kranish].
[Amazon CEO and Post owner] Jeff Bezos has these conferences. Last fall, I gave a talk about Nixon and the latest book I had done, "The Last of the President's Men," about thousands of documents from the Nixon White House that aide Alexander Butterfield escaped with and Butterfield's experience with Nixon, which we didn't know about. Afterward, Bezos came up and said, "Could we have known about Nixon before he became president?" And I said, "I think we could've done a better job." And he said, "OK, what we need to do is, when it gets down to two candidates, make sure we do the stories in the Post or do a series or do a book or whatever so no one can go into a voting booth in November and be able to say, 'I couldn't find out who these people were.'" I think we could always do better and we could always do more. I wouldn't worry about the criticism. Look at the record: It's remarkable but never sufficient.
GAZETTE: With ongoing efforts to delegitimize the press by politicians and others, in this post-factual world, is truth-telling or speaking truth to power as relevant or as effective as it once was, especially when many people now choose their own facts and seek out media outlets that confirm their views?
WOODWARD: There's been a lot of criticism of the press, some of it legitimate, some of it not legitimate, but I don't think anyone's succeeded in delegitimizing the press.
GAZETTE: Even though public opinion polling shows people say they trust the press as little as they ever have?
WOODWARD: But they always say that! (Laughs.) Go back to Nixon and Watergate. It was an overwhelming disbelief that this could have happened, that this was true. So skepticism, dislike of the press, that's something we should try to counter by being more factual, by doing a better job. But I wouldn't get tangled up and lose our emotional poise because there's some criticism. It just does not amount to delegitimizing the media, in my view.
GAZETTE: What I mean is that we know there's a sizable portion of people who believe that the press is illegitimate or that it's biased in favor of one side or another.
WOODWARD: There's a lot of that, there's no question. You're coming in very hard on this idea that it's over for the media. It's not over for the media. Look at the whole business about the email server. It was a combination of Congress and the media establishing what happened here — the State Department releasing stuff, and lawsuits, with judges involved. There's a whole phalanx of individuals and institutions working to get stuff out. In this case, it seems to be succeeding.
GAZETTE: Are you at all concerned about how the press will be treated in a Trump administration, given his practice of threatening and retaliating against news outlets, including The Washington Post, whose coverage he doesn't agree with, or his use of nondisclosure agreements to prevent aides and others from talking?
WOODWARD: No. They always say, "Oh you can't find out what goes on in the CIA, you can't find out what goes on in the White House." As I say, it's harder and the message managers have more power and authority, but you can still do it. If he has nondisclosure agreements, working hard you can get around those things.
GAZETTE: Do you think the heroic success you had with the Watergate investigation or your subsequent career …
WOODWARD: Delete "heroic." (Laughs.) We made mistakes, we were lucky, we had a publisher and editors who were willing to support us. They were the ones taking the risks. And if the Senate and the House impeachment investigation, the independent counsel — if you didn't have those, it would have died.
GAZETTE: Do you think your Watergate experience and then your career writing about the powerful improperly motivates young reporters to focus on unearthing sexy, career-making scandals rather than chasing stories like last year's Pulitzer-winning series by the Associated Press about enslaved seafood workers in Southeast Asia that led to saved lives? Few would have thought of fish-processing companies as powerful before that investigation.
WOODWARD: It turns out they were powerful and in control of people's lives in a shocking way. I thought that was a masterful piece of reporting. I try to write about presidents because they have extraordinary power. It makes a difference who is president. It's going to make a big difference whether Trump or Hillary Clinton is president — a defining difference, and it may define an era, quite likely.
GAZETTE: You'll be talking with filmmaker Laura Poitras and New York Times executive editor Dean Baquet about journalism's role holding governments accountable. Who or what entity merits greater scrutiny than they've received thus far?
WOODWARD: Anything that has power. I've tried to write about the White House, the CIA, the Supreme Court, the Federal Reserve, Congress, the intelligence agencies, and those at the government power centers. All of those deserve a very good look. The process of examining [Fox News chairman] Roger Ailes by that reporter from New York magazine, Gabe Sherman, the [sexual harassment] lawsuits, and other media scrutiny, led to the departure of Ailes.
The opposite side of this is, at times, there's a feeling of self-satisfaction, self-congratulation in the media. "Wow, look, we did that; we really got that right." There shouldn't be self-satisfaction because it's ongoing [work]. That, I think, triggers a lot of the public hostility to the press. They see people on these cable news shows sitting around, basking in self-love, in each other, and making declarations about politics and candidates and other things.
People look at that and say "What do they know? Who are they to say?" So it requires careful navigation between the points of being very aggressive and trying to be thorough and also not getting in a mode of high-fiving each other around the newsroom. Sometimes it is done right, sometimes not.
This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
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Stephanie Mitchell/Harvard Staff Photographer

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


I just got done recording a podcast with Richard Wang, Director of Threat Research for Sophos. He and I are going to be presenting at a breakfast seminar in Boston next week on the topic of cyber crime and why you should worry about it.
I just got done recording a podcast with Richard Wang, Director of Threat Research for Sophos. He and I are going to be presenting at a breakfast seminar in Boston next week on the topic of cyber crime and why you should worry about it. (See below). Come join us for breakfast at the Fairmont Copley Hotel in downtown Boston on Wednesday, October September 27th. Register for free by following this link.
As a sure sign that crime ware is growing look at this number that Sophos reports. 60% of all malware is in the form of Trojans. The total number of Trojans in their list exceeds the number of viruses, worms, etc by a huge margin.
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REPARATION & REHABILITATION COMMITTEE TRANSCRIPTS, POLICIES & ARTICLES
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Workshop Transcripts
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Ermelo, 8 July 1997, 102 pages (172 Kb)
Pretoria, 19 July 1997, 147 pages (219 Kb)
Bloemfontein, 28 July 1997, 75 pages (120 Kb)
Johannesburg, 18 Feb 1998, 110 pages (166 Kb)
PDF version of the TRC Policy and Workshop Transcripts [1.65mb]
Newspaper articles from the Mail&Guardian
TRC announces first reparations proposals - 11 November 1996
R3bn for apartheid reparations - 23 October 1997
First 700 official human rights victims declared - 7 May 1998
Truth commission pays first reparations - 21 October 1998
After the truth, it's time to pay up - 3 November 1998
Apartheid victims demand reparations - 24 September 1999
Truth commission pays out a pittance - 14 December 1999
Apartheid victims reject handouts - 3 January 2000
ovt hedges on TRC reparations - 10 May 2000


Crypto enthusiasts are always keen on global adoption. And that's the goal here—adoption.
It may only be a small step, but it's one that may work on a long-term scale. These cards may provide a way to seamlessly integrate the new revolutionary technology of cryptocurrency with the most familiar and basic games of old. Through playing with these cards, the opportunity to learn about crypto is evident.
And it does make sense. If we are going to enter a new era of monetary technology, perhaps getting your head around the basics sooner than later is a good move.
As you can imagine, crypto playing cards can be bought using cryptocurrency. The company accepts Bitcoin (BTC), Nano, Stellar (XLM), Ripple (XRP), NEO or GAS, Ethereum (ETH), and Litecoin (LTC). But it also accepts Paypal and credit cards too. A single deck will set you back around $15 USD.
So what do you think? Gimic or a potentially interesting start to a much bigger integration of crypto into society? Is there a cryptocurrency Monopoly yet? Someone needs to get on that one.


Budgeting is a way to plan your income and expenses over a period of time so that you can do your best to save or achieve some other goal.
If you're currently not having success saving money, it's time to reset your strategy.
If you haven't started a budget, that's going to be the first place to start.
Setting a budget is the best way to become a disciplined saver. To get started, review your bank statements, pay stubs and other financial documents to get an idea of where your money is coming and going.
One budgeting option is to calculate your fixed expenses and then look at your other needs — food, gas, clothing, entertainment, etc. Determine a number for weekly expenses and challenge yourself to stay within that budget.
Set a specific amount, such as $100 a week, and take that out of the bank in cash at the beginning of the week. Use that money for the week and try not to allow yourself to dip into other funds. Then, try to go down to $90 or $80 per week to see what you really need.
Once you've grown accustomed to living on your budget, you'll free more money for saving toward various goals.
Make a budget that is realistic to help you succeed. Sure, we'd all like to save 50 percent of our income each month, but depending on fixed expenses, that might not be possible. If you're able, use data from the previous year to help you budget. This might help remind you of expenses that happen every year during the same month.
First you will add up all your monthly income, after taxes.
Here is how a budget looks using Bankrate's Home Budget Calculator.
Auto insurance: $70 per month.
Home insurance: $10 per month for renters insurance.
Medical expenses: $60 budgeted for unexpected doctor appointments. Note: Health insurance wasn't considered because it was taken out before taxes.
Of course, unexpected expenses may occur. But if there are no unexpected doctor appointments or auto repairs – and fuel expenses are less than anticipated, for example – that will help increase the savings for the month.
A cash-back credit card may be a smart choice for making your purchases. This is because the cash back that you earn can usually be moved into your emergency savings account. If you develop that strategy, the cash back earning will bypass your checking account and go directly into your savings.
Debit cards can be a good method for people who want to spend only what they have and don't want to use a cash-only method. But losing out on cash back, unless you are a part of a debit card rewards program, is a major downside.
A budgeting app can remove some of the hassle of maintaining a budget on paper or a spreadsheet.
Both credit and debit card purchases automatically populate in certain budgeting apps, such as Mint. You go to the website first, sign up and then input your banking login information. After you do this, then you can view your accounts in the app.
Good Budget and Spending Tracker are others budgeting apps that both Android and iPhone users may want to check out. With these apps, you can manually put your income and spending in.
Always compare prices before making a purchase. Make a commitment to comparison shop for essentials and look for coupons and sales online or in your local newspaper. Then, buy the items with the best value.
Don't stop there. Take the difference of the amount you paid and the amount you would normally spend on the item and put that money into a savings account. Even if it's just a few dollars per shopping trip, those small sums will add up.
You can't spend what you don't see. Greg McBride, CFA, Bankrate's chief financial analyst, recommends people get started by automatically setting money aside each payday.
Many employers can split your paycheck deposit into a checking account and a savings account. Or if you're self-employed, schedule automatic transfers from your main checking account to your purpose-based savings accounts on a recurring basis.
What is the 50-30-20 budget?
30 percent: Wants. You deserve to enjoy some of your money.
20 percent: Savings. It's not the least important. It's at the end because it is the money you have left over. Some of this can also go toward paying past debts.
The premise is that there should be enough for each of the three categories and they are balanced against one another in a 50-30-20 split. In the book, the formula is compared to getting your cholesterol checked. If you aren't within the recommended levels, you can work to correct the problem. But if you don't test yourself, you'll never know.
How did our sample budget fare in the 50-30-20 test?
Must-haves are at $2,110, or 60.28 percent (over the target percentage).
Wants are at $572, or 16.34 percent (under the target percentage).
Savings is at $818, or 23.37 percent (over the target percentage).
So what can the family in our sample budget do? Fixed expenses were the biggest area of opportunity in this sample budget.
Perhaps a place that is a little farther from work, if that would have more affordable rent, might be a good solution to look into.
If applicable, getting a roommate could cut your top expense in half. If you are able to sacrifice comfort and privacy, this might make a significant difference in your monthly budget.
If one of the members of the household isn't working, even a part-time job would help add to the household income. Finding other ways to get additional income might be a way to help your balance sheet each month. A recent Bankrate survey found that side hustlers on average earn $8,000 annually.
Evaluate how you spend your time and see if there is an employment opportunity that can help you earn some extra money each month.
If you don't shop around, you'll never know whether you are overpaying.
Keep in mind that some insurance carriers have loyalty and safe driver discounts. So, switching often isn't always the best solution. Consider having your auto insurance and renters insurance with the same company to potentially save money, if you don't already.
Using coupons, making meals that have a greater opportunity for leftovers and joining a warehouse club could be ways to help lower the grocery bill.
Only necessary groceries are considered in the must-have category. Dining out and coffee shops count in the wants section.
You may have to make sacrifices with your wants in order to reach your savings targets.
Consider going to the baseball game or the movie theater outing – but not doing both. Or perhaps you can go to the baseball game and save money on tickets by getting seats not as close to the field. Or maybe you can have dinner before the game or watch a movie at home instead of at the theater. Maybe a minor league baseball game, instead of a Major League Baseball game, could still be a fun experience with a much lower price tag.
Is there a way to cut your electricity costs? Does the air conditioning need to be on at night? Are items left on while not in use?
Instead of going to the normal hair salon or barber shop, it might be worth checking out a local beauty school. They might have low-cost haircuts available to give students experience.
Perhaps you can save money by paying your auto insurance every six months. Some insurance companies might charge around $4 a month for the ability to pay your insurance on a monthly payment plan.
Also, when shopping online, you might want to consider a site such as Ebates, which gives you extra cash back. Ebates usually mails your cash-back checks quarterly. Deposit this right into your emergency fund.
If you get to the point where you're succeeding with your budget, you're going to start seeing your savings account grow and your debt disappear.
If you don't have an emergency savings account, open one up that has no minimum balance or a low minimum balance. Set the goal of getting at least $500 into this account. Once you accumulate a comfortable amount in your emergency savings, start paying off debt (if you have any) with the highest APR first.
Even though there are some very attractive high-yield savings accounts out there, your credit card balances – and probably your loans – are going to be at a higher APR than the annual percentage yield (APY) that you're going to earn on the savings account.
If you're paid every other week, two months of the year are going to be three-paycheck months. This is a great savings opportunity, since you're already budgeted to live off of two paychecks per month.
"So that's an opportunity to just slide that third paycheck directly into savings," McBride says.
When you have established an emergency savings account, paid off debts and have additional savings as well, what's next? Well, it depends on your goals. Now you can look ahead to large expenses, such as education, future automobiles, buying a home and more.


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Q: R; How to find the 'most close' and 'smaller' vector// and see another vector on the same row? I'm trying to find the vector which is the most close to 0.5  but not bigger than that. And I want to print another vector on the same row.
For example, I have table named 'exp' like this
num  possibility
1     0.16
2     0.43
5     0.64
4     0.12
3     0.76
.
.
.

And I'm trying to find, 'which possibility is the most closest and smaller than 0.5?'.
The answer is second row, which contains 'num==2' 'possibility==0.43'
But how can I find this with coding?
And I'm trying to calculate the '+-2' range of 'num' whose possibility is the most closest and smaller than '0.5'
 The num will surely be '5' and the range will be '3~7'.
But how can I do this at once with linked codes?
And whatif I have too many exp1, exp2, exp3, exp4... to do the same work? How can I automatically do this?
I tried things.
exp[which.min(exp$possibility-0.5 <0) -1 , 1]

x < exp[which.min(exp$possibility-0.5 <0) -1 , 1]+2
& x> exp[which.min(exp$possibility-0.5 <0) -1 , 1]-2

this is my best.
but I don't know why adding '<0' in the 'which.min' function makes difference, functioning like 'ifelse'. And how to find the 'closest smaller one' without using '-1' after 'which.min' function.
Actually I more want to know what are simpler and more useful tools.
Please help..

A: You can try something like this. you can basically set 3 to get variations. Also you could put this in a function and use lapply to iterate over all cols.
f=data.frame(a=seq(1:10), b=runif(10))
c=0.5
z=f$b-c
z=ifelse(z>0, 99, z) # add if you dont want values above 0.5
z=abs(z)
z1=order(z)[1:3]
f$b[z1]

A: In you first expression (and similarly for the second one), when you do exp$possibility-0.5 <0, a boolean vector is what you get and what it is fed into which.min you are getting the min out of a bunch of one and zeros (True and False) which is not what you want.

which possibility is the most closest and smaller than 0.5?

There are many ways to achieve, one is to set those larger than 0.5 to NA, first, which is done by the ifelse, then find the max probability with which.max like you mentioned:
exp$possibility[which.max(ifelse(exp$possibility> 0.5 exp$possibility> NA)),]

And I'm trying to calculate the '+-2' range of 'num' whose possibility
  is the most closest and smaller than '0.5' The num will surely be '5'
  and the range will be '3~7'.

You can store the number in a variable first ...
my.num <- exp[which.max(ifelse(exp$possibility> 0.5, exp$possibility, NA)), "num"]

... and subsequently retrive it by
exp[exp$num >= (my.num -2) & exp$num <= (my.num + 2), ]

or put replace my.num with the first expression if you really want a one-liner.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


No Child Allowed Outside: Children find refuge from violence throughout Wilmington – DelawareFirst.org has a great post about the Wilmington community's effort to help children traumatized by violence. "When Wilmington police spot a toddler at a crime scene, they call a clinician, just as they'd call a tow truck to the scene of a collision. They wouldn't have had that option before city police partnered with mental health professionals five years ago, says police chief Michael J. Szczerba. Last year, police referred more than 500 children to Community Development-Community Policing (CDCP), a program that matches social workers and therapists to children who have witnessed crime." This is the last of a three-part series on children and violence that was published this week. The first addresses the amount of violence children in Wilmington experience. The second looks at the toxic effects of chronic violence on children's brains and behavior. The posts include some video interviews; unfortunately they're not on YouTube, so we can't post them here.


A cozy sweatshirt with all the feels of the most wonderful time of the year! Our One Horse Open Sleigh fleece has whimsical charm that will have you looking adorable and festive all season long. This vintage inspired design is a classic that will turn into your go-to top from now until the flowers start blooming. Medium-weight, casual style for the barn or equestrian-inspired style for school.
Fabric: 50% Cotton/50% Polyester. Heather Grey. Machine wash cold, Inside out, Lay flat to dry.
Women's version worn by Horse Glam (Shannen Smyth Photography) and the East Coast Equestrian.


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Apple Store Lenox Square closes after shooting takes place nearby
Posted: November 20, 2020 9:23PM
Apple has shuttered its newly reopened Apple Store Lenox Square in Atlanta, Georgia, after a nearby shooting sent one man to the hospital.
Credit: 11Alive
The new Apple Store Lenox Square had just opened its doors on Friday, Nov. 20, after it was relocated from another storefront within the Lenox Square Mall. Apple's website indicates that it's now closed on Friday and Saturday, with plans to reopen Sunday.
According to local media, a man was shot at around 3:03 p.m. at the Lenox Square Mall. Helicopter footage of the scene from 11Alive shows that police cordoned off the area directly in front of the Apple Store location, along with the surrounding area.
Though details are scarce, police say that the victim was involved in an argument with a group of male suspects. One of the suspects shot the victim and then fled. Authorities have detained and are interviewing one suspect, according to Fox 5 Atlanta. The victim was reportedly shot in the rear, and has been taken to a hospital for treatment.
It isn't clear if the altercation took place in the Apple Store's line, or just close to it.
mobird	Posts: 662member
November 20, 2020 9:44PM
AppleInsider said:
Though details are scarce,...
...The victim was reportedly shot in the rear, and has been taken to a hospital for treatment.
Are they talking about the Apple store and where the incident took place.
OR ARE THEY-
Saying that the victim was shot in the ASS?
CloudTalkin	Posts: 905member
mobird said:
According to local news the victim was shot in the ass, while in the Apple store.
mr lizard	Posts: 319member
This must have been in a lawless nation like Somalia, or somewhere like Baghdad. Only there would people be allowed to walk around with guns and shoot at each other in the street.
Oh no wait it's in the United States.


text:
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Feb. 22, 2010: A message from Rep. Matt Shea
*JOIN ME AND REP. LARRY CROUSE TOMORROW EVENING AT 6:50 P.M. FOR A TELEPHONE TOWN HALL MEETING. DETAILS ARE BELOW.* I have been fighting hard to uphold the will... ...
Schmick e-newsletter: Feb. 19, 2010
This week, the House of Representatives voted 51-47 to pass legislation (Senate Bill 6130) overturning the voter-approved Taxpayer Protection Act (Initiative 960) which required a two-thirds vote in the Legislature... ...
Rep. Norma Smith's Legislative Update: Feb. 19, 2010
We are now on day 40 of the 60-day legislative session. Below are a few issue updates from week six of the legislative session, and a brief overview of the governor's...
Feb. 19, 2010: A message from Rep. Dan Kristiansen
Several days ago, I had a conversation with a small business owner who has done everything possible to avoid layoffs. Between the increases in workers' compensation insurance premiums and unemployment... ...
Feb. 19, 2010: A message from Rep. Terry Nealey
I hope you're having a great Friday afternoon. The sun is out over here in Olympia today, but in more ways than one, we've had a dark cloud hanging over... ...
Orcutt e-newsletter: Feb. 18, 2010
Last night, the House of Representatives passed legislation (Senate Bill 6130) to overturn the voter-approved Taxpayer Protection Act (Initiative 960) which required a two-thirds vote in the Legislature to raise... ...
Haler e-newsletter: I-960
Last week, I sent an e-mail asking for your input on attempts here in Olympia to make it easier to raise taxes. Legislation has been introduced (Senate Bill 6130) to... ...
Parker e-mail update: Feb. 17, 2010
Just a reminder that I'm hosting two town hall meetings this Saturday, Feb. 20 in Spokane. The first will be from 9-10 a.m. at Ridgeview Elementary School (5610 North Maple... ...
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Orange Township trustees will hold a special meeting at 2 p.m. today to discuss Administrator Gail Messmer's future with the township.
The notice also states that trustees will first go into executive session — closed to the public — before they meet in "regular session," which is open to the public.
Last March, Messmer filed a charge of discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission against trustees based on her gender, age and disability. Messmer, 55, was hired by the township in 2005.
"Ms. Messmer has no intention of being forced to do the same," states a letter to trustees from David T. Ball of the law firm of Rosenberg & Ball Co., LPA, dated March 5.
The EEOC charge states that retaliation has taken place in the form of transferring some of Messmer's key job responsibilities to younger employees; interfering with her job performance; and reassigning staff that had reported to her.
Messmer also alleges that a trustee defamed her during an open session; and that she has received smaller pay raises than younger employees.
In a Gazette article written following the letter's publication, Trustees Robert Quigley, Debbie Taranto and Lisa Knapp denied the charges. They also voted not to request remediation in the case.
Today's meeting will be in the township hall, 1680 East Orange Road, Lewis Center.


text:
Countrycide
Abby and Mike are on a long road trip to her sister's wedding when they stop to camp out for the night. Soon they're lost in the woods and at the mercy of nature–and something more sinister.
Director: Brett Kelly
Actors: Andrew Galligan, Joel Elliott, Lee Cyr, Peter Whittaker, Robin Hodge, Trevor Payer
On the eve of D-Day during World War II, American paratroopers are caught behind enemy lines after their plane crashes on a mission to destroy a German Radio Tower in…
Genre: Action, Horror, Science Fiction, Thriller, War
Toxic Shark
A tropical singles retreat takes a terrifying turn when guests realize a poisonous shark is infesting the surrounding water. Not only will it rip apart its victims, but it also…
A sexy supernatural love story about a bullied loner, Tam, who finds solace in the arms of Phum, a boy he meets at a haunted swimming pool. Phum reveals that…
The Night Watchmen
Three inept night watchmen, aided by a young rookie and a fearless tabloid journalist, fight an epic battle to save their lives. A mistaken warehouse delivery unleashes a horde of…
Creep 2
After finding an ad online for "video work," Sara, a video artist whose primary focus is creating intimacy with lonely men, thinks she may have found the subject of her…
Genre: Comedy, Horror, Thriller
The Strangers: Prey at Night
A family's road trip takes a dangerous turn when they arrive at a secluded mobile home park to stay with some relatives and find it mysteriously deserted. Under the cover…
The First Purge
To push the crime rate below one percent for the rest of the year, the New Founding Fathers of America test a sociological theory that vents aggression for one night…
Pari is a supernatural horror film in which a man attempts to help a woman named Ruksana, an abuse victim, who he found chained up in a hut.
Genre: Horror, Mystery
"Nails" is the story of Dana Milgrom (Shauna Macdonald), a track coach who's survived a near-death car accident, only to find herself almost completely paralyzed and trapped inside her own…
He's Out There
On vacation at a remote lake house, a mother and her two young daughters must fight for survival after falling into a terrifying and bizarre nightmare conceived by a psychopath.
Set in the near-future, technology controls nearly all aspects of life. But when Grey, a self-identified technophobe, has his world turned upside down, his only hope for revenge is an…
Genre: Action, Comedy, Horror, Science Fiction, Thriller


It's like I won a golden ticket to Willy Wonka's chocolate factory. That's what it feels like to be a SAS employee who's asked to go to SAS Global Forum, April 11-14 in Seattle. The buzz on the demo-room floor, hearing from thought leaders both entertaining and enlightening, the interaction between the brilliant developers and the genius folks who use the software … it's really an action-packed few days.
But with that golden ticket comes a lot of responsibility. In addition to providing on-site coverage for this blog, I'll be reconnecting with customers who have been using JMP for years as well as hosting members of the press who are just learning about JMP. But my self-imposed goal is to leave SAS Global Forum with no fewer than 10 new acquaintances, at least five of whom are using JMP and SAS together. I want to learn about their applications, and I want to turn those applications into success stories for the rest of the world to see.
So, if you're using JMP and some other SAS product together, I want to meet you.
After you take in Stephen Few's post-conference seminar and after you've been dazzled by my boss, Jon Weisz, at the Technology Connection, come find me. Seek me out between the papers presented by my JMP friends and colleagues, including my big boss, John Sall. When you build your agenda, build in time to share your story with me.
You'll find me on the demo-room floor or wherever JMP papers are being presented. I look forward to seeing you in Seattle!


text:
Curative Upends Traditional Employer-Based Healthcare Coverage by Launching a No Copay, No Deductible Health Insurance Plan
For Only One Monthly Premium, this First-of-its-Kind Health Plan Will Offer Free and Unlimited Access to a High-Quality PPO Network Together with a Centrally Located Health and Wellness Center Starting in the Austin, Texas Area
Leading COVID-19 Diagnostics Company Pivots to Offering a Plan Designed to Remove Barriers to Care and Empower Members to Engage in Total Wellbeing Through Proactive Relationship Management
Opening in early 2023, Curative Commons is located at 900 Congress Avenue in the heart of downtown Austin, Texas. Plan members get exclusive access to the Curative Commons, a next-generation health and wellness center with medical, wellness, community, and fitness resources.
AUSTIN, Texas–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Curative, a leading healthcare delivery company, today announced a new health plan with $0 copays and $0 deductibles for in-network care, encouraging proactive engagement by eliminating financial barriers to care. The only requirement to qualify is to complete a preventative health Baseline Visit, so that, members continue to have $0 deductibles, $0 copays, and $0 out-of-pocket costs for all in-network care including many brand-name, specialty, and generic medications. Approved by the Texas Department of Insurance, Curative's plan will first be offered in Travis and Williamson counties in the Austin area, and then throughout the state over the coming year.
"Austin Regional Clinic (ARC) is excited to collaborate with Curative and its innovative approach to health insurance."
Anas Daghestani, MD, president and CEO of the Austin Regional Clinic
"We're on a mission to drastically remake the United States' healthcare system. In a post-pandemic world, we are launching a health plan that delivers true cost transparency, breaks down unnecessary barriers to care and offers exceptional customer service," said Fred Turner, co-founder and CEO of Curative. "When it comes to traditional health insurance, somehow common sense suddenly goes out the window. If haircuts came with unexpected bills three weeks later, a restaurant didn't know their own prices, or you paid per episode for Netflix on top of your monthly subscription, you wouldn't accept it. So why accept it when it comes to something as important as your health? The Curative Insurance Company helps people focus on achieving good health rather than what they will have to pay for each visit. The only way to achieve true cost transparency is for all in-network services to be covered at $0 cost, so members actually know where they stand and can get the care they need without surprise bills or medical debt."
The Baseline Visit combines a preventative health assessment with a true health plan onboarding to not only identify opportunities for preventative care to avoid disease before it arises, but also improve members' health literacy and understanding of how to use their plan's benefits. During the Baseline Visit, members will be assigned a Health Navigator who will stay with them through their entire health journey, helping them understand their goals and specific needs, navigate the complex healthcare system, and provide support with scheduling an appointment or getting a prescription delivered to their home.
By completing the Baseline Visit within 120 days, Curative members will continue to only pay one competitive monthly premium for free access to all in-network healthcare services, including primary care and specialty care, office and hospital visits, telemedicine, prescribed pharmaceuticals, wellness, preventative care and mental and behavioral health care through a high-quality, PPO network. The comprehensive Curative network includes major providers such as the Austin Regional Clinic (ARC), Austin Diagnostic Clinic (ADC), all of St. David's facilities, among many others, as well as 24/7/365 access to a local physician in under 10 minutes via telemedicine.
In addition to a high-quality network of providers, Curative plan members will receive exclusive access to Curative Commons, a one-stop shop for health and wellness resources. Opening in 2023, Curative Commons, located at 900 Congress Ave. in downtown Austin, will feature a first-class fitness center with a variety of classes, nutritional counseling, healthy meals and snacks, and community event space.
"Out-of-pocket costs have increased dramatically over the last 20 years by almost 60%1. While the idea of shifting responsibility to patients so they can make cost-benefit decisions is nice, this is an outdated concept that has been proven not to work. Consumers do not price shop or make rational optimizations because it's impossible to know what services will cost; in fact, many providers don't even know the pricing," said Turner.
"As a result, essential and preventative care is often deferred or skipped altogether. While this drives a short-term cost saving, it can lead to a significant increase in long-term costs. Patients who could have stayed healthy now progress needlessly to chronic conditions, expensive ER visits, and specialty drugs that could have been prevented by investing early in these patients' health. Curative drives this early engagement by removing any financial barriers to care, and in the complex world of healthcare, the only way to make patients feel truly comfortable accessing the care they need is to guarantee $0 out-of-pocket cost for all in-network care," added Turner.
The Curative plan will be available to employers with 51 or more employees in the Austin metro area (first in Travis and Williamson counties). Curative will continue to announce new launch cities in other areas of Texas as part of its strategic phased approach, with additional states coming after that.
"Austin Regional Clinic (ARC) is excited to collaborate with Curative and its innovative approach to health insurance," said Anas Daghestani, MD, president and CEO of the Austin Regional Clinic. "Providing access to high-quality, connected care has always been part of ARC's commitment to our patients and communities, with a focus on keeping our patients healthy and on helping them achieve their goals. Curative's model is designed to do just that, and we look forward to working together to continue to drive healthcare innovation in Central Texas starting in Austin."
Since 2020, Curative has been best known for being a national leader in COVID-19 testing, having provided more than 35 million tests across thousands of testing sites in 40+ states, including over 150 sites in Texas. In response to the fluid nature of the pandemic, the company rapidly evolved to innovate, solve health care challenges, and deliver critical resources that supported community health needs. Curative's new health plan represents its next phase of growth and is the primary focus of the company following its successes in addressing other deficiencies in the healthcare system.
"Curative's entrance into health insurance is an important step in meeting the healthcare needs of Austin's growing population," said Bethany Leffingwell, senior vice president of strategic communications & programming at the Austin Chamber of Commerce. "Austin embraces positive change and those who champion it. And for that reason, we think Curative and Austin will be a perfect match."
To learn more about Curative and its new healthcare plan, visit www.curative.com.
About Curative
Curative was founded by its CEO Fred Turner in 2020 in Los Angeles, California, and is powered by a team of world-leading physicians, scientists, engineers, and health industry experts. Curative and its managed medical entities have been critical and a national leader in bringing COVID-19 testing and vaccine-administration resources to bear in response to the pandemic, providing more than 35 million tests and two million vaccines across thousands of locations in 40+ states. Concurrently, Curative has created and launched a first-of-its-kind employer-based health plan that offers unmatched cost transparency. Boasting a competitive premium with zero additional costs – all simply with the completion of a Baseline Visit – Curative is working to remake our healthcare system into one that works for and supports members' whole health and well-being through every step of their personal health journey. For more information, visit www.curative.com, or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or LinkedIn.
1 ps://www.healthsystemtracker.org/chart-collection/u-s-spending-healthcare-changed-time/#Total%20national%20health%20expenditures,%20US%20$%20Billions,%201970-2020
press@curative.com
Curative CEO Fred Turner featured in the Austin Business Journal: Disruptor deep in the heart of Texas
The Future of Work After COVID-19: What Employees Should Expect
A Close Look at the COVID-19 Impact on Health Care in Local Communities and Beyond
Curative Leadership
Curative Spotlight
Get the latest insights on the global effort to end COVID-19, as well as Curative's newest, innovative health services.
© Curative, Inc. 2023
Get the latest insights on the global effort to end COVID-19, as well as Curative's newest, innovative health services


Local favorite Alex Parez is playing this Sunday, Sept 30 night at Galaxy Hut. Music starts at 8:30pm, $5, 21+. Come help us celebrate the first year of his band Alex The Read Parez And The Hell Rojos album's existence! Guest performance by Derek Evry.


text:
Q: Scrollview keeps expanding vertically the more textviews are added into it So I have a tablelayout and I am using weights to split the rows vertically on the screen. I am dynamically adding textviews into the third row, but as I am doing so, the more of them I add, the more the scrollview and tablerow expands vertically (even though I constrained it using weight and constraintTop...)
Screenshots:
ui with no textview: https://imgur.com/a/xxZ4Tyv
ui with some textviews: https://imgur.com/a/ago0r9U
ui with a whole bunch of textviews: https://imgur.com/a/GBO5d1Z (the first two tablerows become completely covered by the third row)
My goal is to have it like this: https://imgur.com/a/6LsbG1I
Here is my XML:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<androidx.constraintlayout.widget.ConstraintLayout

xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
xmlns:app="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res-auto"
xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"

android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:id="@+id/main">

<TableLayout
    android:id="@+id/table"
    android:layout_width="match_parent"
    android:layout_height="match_parent"
    android:shrinkColumns="*"
    android:stretchColumns="*"
    android:weightSum="1">

    <TableRow
        android:id="@+id/UIDcontainer"
        android:layout_width="match_parent"
        android:layout_height="0dp"
        android:layout_weight=".2">

        <TextView
            android:id="@+id/UID"
            android:layout_width="match_parent"
            android:layout_height="match_parent"
            android:gravity="center"
            android:text="TextView" />

    </TableRow>

    <TableRow
        android:id="@+id/HOWTOcontainer"
        android:layout_width="match_parent"
        android:layout_height="0dp"
        android:layout_weight=".2">

        <TextView
            android:id="@+id/HOWTO"
            android:layout_width="match_parent"
            android:layout_height="match_parent"
            android:gravity="center"
            android:text="Approach your phone to the terminal"
            android:textStyle="bold" />

    </TableRow>

    <TableRow
        android:id="@+id/SCROLLVIEWcontainer"
        android:layout_weight=".6"
        android:layout_width="match_parent"
        android:layout_height="0dp"
        android:nestedScrollingEnabled="true">

        <ScrollView
            android:id="@+id/SCROLLVIEW"
            android:layout_width="match_parent"
            android:layout_height="match_parent"
            app:layout_constraintBottom_toBottomOf="parent"
            app:layout_constraintTop_toTopOf="parent"
            tools:ignore="SpeakableTextPresentCheck">

            <LinearLayout
                android:id="@+id/SCROLL"
                android:layout_width="match_parent"
                android:layout_height="wrap_content"
                android:orientation="vertical"
                app:layout_constraintBottom_toBottomOf="parent"
                app:layout_constraintTop_toTopOf="parent"/>
        </ScrollView>

    </TableRow>

</TableLayout>

</androidx.constraintlayout.widget.ConstraintLayout>

Here is the code for dynamically adding textviews:
val scroll = findViewById<View>(R.id.SCROLL) as LinearLayout
val tv = TextView(this)
        tv.text = "This is a textview" //my own function would go here
        tv.setPaddingRelative(0, 0, 0, 16)
        tv.gravity = 1
        scroll.addView(tv)

A: The weight is the importance when assigning space
From the Docs

This attribute assigns an "importance" value to a view in terms of how much space it should occupy on the screen. A larger weight value allows it to expand to fill any remaining space in the parent view.

You have give the scrollview more weight thus as you add more items it takes more space.
It look like you are actually trying to assign percentages of the screen
so something like the following should meet you needs and will perform better and be more flexible
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<androidx.constraintlayout.widget.ConstraintLayout

xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
xmlns:app="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res-auto"
xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"

android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:id="@+id/main">

<TextView
   android:id="@+id/UID"
   android:layout_width="match_parent"
   android:layout_height="0dp"
   android:gravity="center"
   android:text="TextView"
   app:layout_constraintHeight_percent="0.2"
   app:layout_constraintEnd_toEndOf="parent"
   app:layout_constraintStart_toStartOf="parent"
   app:layout_constraintTop_toTopOf="parent" />

<TextView
   android:id="@+id/HOWTO"
   android:layout_width="match_parent"
   android:layout_height="0dp"
   android:gravity="center"
   android:text="Approach your phone to the terminal"
   android:textStyle="bold"
   app:layout_constraintHeight_percent="0.2"
   app:layout_constraintEnd_toEndOf="parent"
   app:layout_constraintStart_toStartOf="parent"
   app:layout_constraintTop_toBottomOf="@+id/UID"/>

<ScrollView
   android:id="@+id/SCROLLVIEW"
   android:layout_width="match_parent"
   android:layout_height="0dp"
   app:layout_constraintHeight_percent="0.6"
   app:layout_constraintBottom_toBottomOf="parent"
   app:layout_constraintEnd_toEndOf="parent"
   app:layout_constraintStart_toStartOf="parent"
   app:layout_constraintTop_toBottomOf="@+id/HOWTO"
   tools:ignore="SpeakableTextPresentCheck">

   <LinearLayout
       android:id="@+id/SCROLL"
       android:layout_width="match_parent"
       android:layout_height="wrap_content"
       android:orientation="vertical"/>
</ScrollView>

</androidx.constraintlayout.widget.ConstraintLayout>

Producing:-


text:
Q: conflict when cross compile octeon with mips64 I use buildroot201802 for cross compile tool.
when I compile with mips64el-linux-gcc *.c -march=octeon -mips64
here is what I got:

but I do have target kernel modules file:quicksec.ko which is octeon with mips64..
I'm wondering how to solve it.

A: remove -mips64  from gcc invokation.  Instead add -mabi=64  to specify the ABI.
The machine arcitecture spec  -march=octeon   automatically selects mips64r2, so you don't need to attempt to specify that.
Besides, the most common OCTEON platforms use OCTEON in big-endian mode. So unless you know what you are doing, and verified from ELF headers the Endina mode,  instead of mips64el-linux-gcc you should be using the big-Endian compiler  mips64-octeon-linux-gnu-gcc.   But this is probably a different question / thread.
-Irfan /Paxym


text:
Presentation Recordings
W2W Foundation
Watch the recordings now!
2020 Women to Watch EMEA Virtual Awards & Leadership Conference
The Business Insurance Women to Watch Awards is the only recognition program that celebrates leading women from every facet of the commercial insurance industry including, risk management and related fields, such as consulting and law. Winners are recognized for their accomplishments, expertise, leadership and future prospects. Since its start as a recognition program in 2006, it has grown into an educational program aimed at the advancement of women in commercial insurance, risk management and related fields. A professional development and networking conference was added to the Business Insurance Women to Watch recognition program in 2011 to address the advantages of achieving greater gender diversity in leadership roles.
Now in its 15th year, the Women to Watch Awards and the associated professional development conference is one of the premier industry events honoring the achievements of female executives. Winners are recognized for their accomplishments, expertise, leadership and future prospects.
Winners will be recognized at two virtual events, which will include professional development programming for winners and others interested in the issue of gender diversity in the insurance sector. View the full agenda here.
Women to Watch from Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) will be recognized at a virtual event on 13 November and Women to Watch from North America and the rest of the world will be recognized at a virtual event on 10 December.
Winners for both programs will be announced on businessinsurance.com in October and profiled in the December 2020 issue of Business Insurance.
Both the professional development conferences and awards programs are open to all members of the insurance and risk management industries, including past winners, colleagues, family and friends.
The agendas for both programs will be announced soon.
View the Business Insurance Events Cancellation Policy here.
GLOBAL PRESENTING SPONSOR
COPYRIGHT © 2020 BUSINESS INSURANCE HOLDINGS | BUSINESSINSURANCE.COM


TUC offers both Outdoor and Indoor options each Fall. This page contains general information applicable to all Fall leagues including registration, league contacts and playoff notes.
You may register a full team or as an individual for fall leagues. For Fall 2018, Outdoor registration begins Thursday, July 19 @ 11:00 am (for both team sign-up and individual sign-up) and Indoor registration will open in late August 2018. Both typically close about a week before the league in question starts play, or when specific leagues reach capacity. If you have any questions about Fall registration, please contact the Manager of Member Services at 416-461-0882 ext. 2 or adults@tuc.org.
Be sure to register as soon as possible. This will not only help your chances of getting a spot in the league, but it also helps TUC determine which leagues will have enough registrations to be able to run. Leagues that do not have sufficient registration may need to be cancelled in advance of the league start date. Registration AND payment confirm your spot. If you register, but don't pay, this does NOT hold your spot! Complete fall team registration includes payment in full by the registration deadline and a minimum of 12 paid members on your roster within one week of your first game. If you have any questions, contact adults@tuc.org.
All players must be valid TUC members. If you possess a 2017/2018 membership that was valid for September 2017 - August 2018 then you must acquire a new membership in order to play in ANY Fall Leagues (league fees still apply). If you are joining the Club in the Fall we offer an Introductory membership for brand new TUC members, which runs through to August 31, 2019. To help introduce new players to Ultimate and to accommodate visitors from out-of-town, there are monthly membership options available. All players must sign the waiver of liability form before stepping on the field. In order to enforce these stipulations, we rely heavily on the honour system and on our team captains. Please abide by the Spirit of the Game when dealing with this (and any other game) issue.
The convenors for the 2018 Fall League's can be found on the TUC convenors page in September.
General questions about leagues should be addressed to the convenor listed for the league in question. However, in order to reduce the flood of emails to the convenor, if you are a player and have a question about TUC or the league, please ask your team captain first or contact the appropriate person as listed on the TUC contacts page. Your team captain is your first point of contact with TUC when it comes to administrative matters.


text:
Название Роллинг-Хилс  может принадлежать следующим географическим объектам:

Канада
 Роллинг-Хилс (Альберта)

Соединённые Штаты Америки
 Роллинг-Хилс (Вайоминг)
 Роллинг-Хилс (Калифорния) — город в округе Лос-Анджелес (Калифорния)
 Роллинг-Хилс (Кентукки)
 Роллинг-Хилс (округ Кларк, Индиана)
 Роллинг-Хилс (округ Мадера, Калифорния)
 Роллинг-Хилс-Истейтс (Калифорния)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia