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Home/australia/Gunman in Yoga Studio Recording Fixed, Racist, Misogynistic Videos in 2014
Gunman in Yoga Studio Recording Fixed, Racist, Misogynistic Videos in 2014
australia navva November 3, 2018 australia
"I do not think a woman understands the social pressure that an adolescent male wears to get rid of this stigma that society has thrown on," he said. "This virginity is a burden."
BuzzFeed News was the first time videos were released.
On Friday when Mr. Beierle started shooting in the studio, Hot Joga Tallahassee, some of them fought against him, preventing the greater tragedy, said Michael DeLeo, head of the Tallahassee Police Station.
Officials identified the victims who were shot and killed by Dr. Nancy Van Vessem (61) and Maura Binkley (21). Three of the victims were released from the hospital on Saturday morning. The other two were in a stable state, the police said. Of the injured victims, four were women and one was a man.
John Thrasher, president of Florida State University, said on Twitter on Saturday that Ms. Binkley was a student at the University and was Dr Van Vessem's former teacher. According to the profile presented at the University's website, Dr. Van Vessem is responsible for coordinating Tallahassee's third and fourth anniversary translations.
Pam Irwin, Executive Director of Capital Medical Society, a member of Dr. Van Vessem, said he was a personal friend of others.
"He was a great doctor who gave passion to healthcare," Irwin said. – Without knowing him, he was a mentor. He represented how to serve others with wisdom, ethics, sympathy, and cooperation. "
Ms. Binkley graduated in May, said Azalee Vereen, her aunt. Ms. Binkley worked in journalism and German linguistics and was prepared for life after the college, for example with programs such as Fulbright and Teach for America.
How long does it take for Vicks to work on nail fungus?
Australian Defense Forces can use Collins Class submarines for another 30 years while waiting for nuclear replacement
Black Phone trailer: Scott Derrickson faces childhood traumas in a horror movie
Whittaker's Peanut Butter and Jelly Chocolate Block Coles, Woolies, Big W Crazy.
Pies's peace deal: Browne will be president – Herald Sun.
'I'm waiting for a dream': search for dark matter under 1 km of Australia | Australian news


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CHIPS Articles: DoD ESI's Successful New Approach for Enterprise Resource Planning
DoD ESI's Successful New Approach for Enterprise Resource Planning
By Chris Panaro - October-December 2004
The Enterprise Software Initiative
The Department of Defense (DoD) Enterprise Software Initiative (ESI) is a joint Defense Department project to leverage the buying power of the DoD for commercial information technology products and services. By consolidating requirements and negotiating Enterprise Agreements with vendors, the DoD realizes significant Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) savings in services, software acquisition and maintenance. The ESI goal is to develop and implement a DoD-wide process to identify, acquire, distribute and manage enterprise information technology (IT) assets.
In the next five years, it is estimated that DoD will invest over $12 billion on commercial-off-the shelf (COTS) software and related services to automate business systems and operations. Considering that the 2004 Standish Group Chaos Report estimates that over 70 percent of IT projects are late, over budget or fail, the focus on best practices in the acquisition and implementation of these software applications is critical.
With the mandate of the Clinger-Cohen Act to "develop and use best practices in the acquisition of information technology," the DoD has become a leader in leveraging buying power and implementing best practices in program management.
In late 2001, the DoD Logistics Domain made a significant commitment to adopt and deploy commercial best practices in the acquisition and implementation of COTS business application software. The "Log Domain" gathered program managers and experts from DoD Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and supply chain programs to form the Program Implementation Group (affectionately termed the "PIG").
The PIG was chartered to capture and deploy best practices so that all programs will benefit from the lessons learned and overall experience of the group. The group immediately recognized the benefit of using the experience of industry representatives to gather commercial perspectives on major software implementation projects. Among the many tools it shares, the PIG developed an Enterprise Integration Toolkit (EI Toolkit), illustrated in Figure 1, to provide a roadmap, tools, templates and checklists for programs to use when embarking on a COTS IT project.
The Web-based toolkit includes sample business cases, Request for Proposals (RFPs), contracts, status reports and hundreds of other tools to use through an entire program life cycle. Already, the toolkit has been discovered and used by other government agencies, including the California Department of Motor Vehicles, Alberta, Canada and the Australian Navy.
One immediate benefit of the toolkit is the ability to share common software objects needed to interface ERP software with other DoD systems. If an object has been developed by one program, another program can leverage that investment and use the object for its operations. This has resulted in considerable savings already since the budgeted costs of an ERP project typically allow up to 40 percent of the total cost for software objects.
Collaboration throughout DoD
With a common mission to use the buying power and expertise of the Defense Department, the ESI has been negotiating DoD-wide software license and maintenance agreements since 1998. Obtaining deep discounts off GSA Federal Supply Service prices, ESI has saved the Defense Department more than $1.5 billion by securing terms that help even the smallest program reap the benefits of DoD's cumulative buying power.
After years focused on software license and maintenance agreements, ESI joined forces with the PIG to tackle the contracts that demand the largest percentage of a COTS IT program budget — software implementation/systems integration.
In a typical commercial IT project involving COTS packaged software, $5 is spent for a systems integrator for each $1 spent on software license fees. Based on an Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 2003 finding, the government ratio is as high as $15 to $1. ESI brought to the table its expertise in negotiating enterprise-wide purchases — and the PIG brought its collective expertise in ERP and supply chain software implementations.
Fixed-Price Services
The result of this cross-organization effort is a contractual structure that follows the phases and steps of implementation methodologies proven in more than 18,000 business systems projects. The Enterprise Agreements were awarded in May 2004 to five systems integration fi rms: Accenture LLP, BearingPoint, Computer Sciences Corp., Deloitte Consulting LLP and IBM. The agreements permit any DoD program to order fixed-priced services that follow a vendor's phased methodology and include descriptions of tasks, deliverables, acceptance criteria, duration and price.
The agreements provide a full range of services including: configuration; integration; installation; data conversion; training; testing; object development; interface development; business process reengineering; project management; risk management; quality assurance; and other professional services for COTS software implementations.
The concept of "commoditizing" a service so that future DoD programs can order services using a best practices contract structure and not just a menu of discounted labor rates is timely — and at the leading edge of acquisition excellence.
Developing a process in accordance with a proven implementation methodology brings discipline to scope management of COTS implementations and ties payment firmly to the achievement of desired results. Each vendor provided a fixed-price table describing services aligned to methodology for a standard project scenario, including a baseline of user quantities, modules, locations and other key factors involved in a typical ERP project. Figure 2 is an example of a fixed price table.
Where a future DoD program deviates from the standard scenario, fixed prices are provided for variances in scope (e.g., additional number of users, locations, interfaces, etc.). To accommodate these variances, a fixed-pricing menu, shown in Figure 3, was developed and reflects the extensive experience of the integration firms selected and the maturity of their respective methodologies.
In addition, contractors are required by the Enterprise Agreements to follow procedures to ensure that the government is not paying for services or products that have been purchased in an existing DoD program using similar COTS products. Objects referred to as reports, interfaces, conversions, extensions (RICE) permit the reuse of technology assets and eliminate redundant purchases. This practice is enforced by the Enterprise Agreements and is expected to result in considerable savings. RICE objects are priced as commodities in the Enterprise Agreements. Figure 4 shows an example of a commoditized RICE pricing table for software objects.
Performance-Based Payment
The ESI and PIG joint effort focused on contracting practices that reward contractors for achieving stated government objectives — not just for time and effort spent.
The Enterprise Agreement process incorporates a performance-based approach to tie contract payments to the achievement of an organization's goals and objectives. The Enterprise Agreements incorporate an incentive structure using baseline variables, acceptance criteria, performance metrics and a payment approach.
Outcomes are defined by project, phase or deliverable to best fit the goals of the customer. Figure 5 depicts one of the performance-based approaches.
The Enterprise Agreements provide flexibility in ordering based on specific scenarios. For example, the selected approach may use incentives to reward on-time performance, high customer satisfaction or quality of post-implementation support. A share-in-savings incentive is also provided to better align government and vendor interests in reaching targeted improvements in operational metrics.
The key to entering a performance-based payment structure is having a clear and objective baseline which you can measure against the desired improvement. Think of it as needing a clear understanding of your current body weight before you would pay someone to help you lose weight. Without knowing where you are (your baseline) and where you want to be (your target), performance-based payment structures are difficult to nail down.
As with all acquisition efforts, the work done early in the life cycle is crucial to an effective contract. The program team must clearly articulate the business case or financial justification for the investment being made. This gets defined in greater detail in the requirements gathering process so that a formal requirements document can be attached to the final contract. This process ensures that the contractor will provide services that satisfy the requirements or objectives set by the business sponsors.
As with all major acquisitions, it is to the buyer's advantage to solicit bids from multiple vendors. You will find that pricing can be reduced and team qualifications enhanced with the proper level of competition.
In a performance-based payment scenario, the percentage of payment that is tied to performance should be a variable that bidders compete until the highest percentage of risk is appropriately borne by the contractor.
The Enterprise Agreements were solicited using the GSA Federal Supply Service and eBuy, a component of GSA Advantage. eBuy is an electronic Request for Quote (RFQ) system designed for federal buyers to prepare RFQs, directly online for a wide-range of services and products offered through the GSA Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) program. e-Buy allows RFQs and quotes to be exchanged electronically between federal buyers and Schedule contractors.
We used e-Buy to satisfy the requirements of Section 803 of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2002. These agreements were established on a competitive best-value basis as GSA Schedule Blanket Purchase Agreements (BPAs) and are available for ordering by all DoD components. Task orders must be competed among the five BPA holders in accordance with the fair opportunity provisions unless a regulatory exception applies.
The Enterprise Agreements are much more than negotiated discounts. They provide an in-depth knowledge base for any program about to embark on a COTS implementation. Following a disciplined methodology reduces risk, and tying payment to desired results transfers risk to a vendor that has proven technical expertise.
The Enterprise Agreements are excellent examples of government and industry working together to bring best practices to DoD programs that will be investing billions of dollars on business systems during the next five to 10 years.
Chris Panaro provides contract support to the Assistant Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (OADUSD) Logistics Systems Management. He is an adviser to the DoD ESI program.
TAGS: Efficiencies, ESI, ITAM
Figure 1. Enterprise Integration Toolkit.
Figure 2. Fixed Price Table Example.
Figure 3. Fixed Pricing Menu Example.
Figure 4. Commoditized RICE Software Object Pricing Table.
Figure 5. Enterprise Agreement Performance-Based Approach Structure.
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Christine Carter Gates, left, was appointed to the Doyline town council last week. Gates is pictured with Mayor Steven Bridwell.
DOYLINE — Christine Carter Gates has been appointed as Doyline Alderman, filling the seat left vacant when Steven Bridwell was appointed mayor.
Bridwell was appointed mayor following the resignation of mayor Gary Carter following his domestic abuse arrest.
A special election will be held in October to fill the council and mayor seats. Qualifying for that election will take place in July.


Surrounded by his family he was called home to the Lord on Friday May 31, 2002 at age 77. Loving husband of Frances Nee Groppi for 53 years. Beloved father of Dan, Tom, Gary, Jean Mark Teutenberg and Mary Bill Stadler. Devoted grandpa of Justin, Paul, Amy, Katie, Anthony and Kevin. Brother of Marie Bud Dumont and the late Joan VanOoyen. Son of the late Stella and the late Ignatius Bolanowski. Also survived by sisters-in-law, brothers-in-law, nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends. Vistation Monday 4-8 PM at the Funeral home with a prayer vigil at 7 PM. Funeral Services Tuesday 10 AM from the funeral home to Immaculate Conception Church, S. Kinnickinnic and E. Russell Ave. for a Mass of Christian Burial at 10:30 AM. Interment Mt. Olivet Cemetary. Retiree of Miller Brewery. Member of Steam Fitters Local 601. Ted was a staff Sergeant during WWII in the Marine Corps. He was an avid hunter and fisherman who loved the outdoors.


The number of musicians in Shakespeare's plays is vast: almost every play includes some form of music. The singers are easier to determine than the instrumental musicians, as there are usually (though not always) directions for who, and how many people, should sing a song – the lyrics are also often included. Shakespeare's singers are usually servants or professional musicians. Though singing was a respectable pursuit in private, it was not deemed appropriate for an individual of decent social standing to sing in public. There are some exceptions to this, such as Ophelia's singing. When Balthasar (a lord) sings "Sigh No More, Ladies" in Much Ado About Nothing, he only does so after protesting multiple times that he has little talent, and he sings reluctantly when persuaded by his peers.
Cartoon musicians from Shakespeare's time, from an illustration of the Globe Theatre.
There are a few professional musicians in the play who stand out, as they have multiple songs, and much is made of their talents. The two with the greatest number of songs are Autolycus, in The Winter's Tale, and Feste, in Twelfth Night, who both sing five songs.
Autolycus is a ballad-seller by profession. In Shakespeare's time, ballad-sellers were a popular sight in both the town and the countryside, usually found on street corners, or at fairs and markets. They would sell songs printed on "broadside" sheets of papers – commonly known as "broadside ballads". The ballad-singer would carry a stock of the most popular and recent songs with him, and would sing the songs himself to advertise them to the public. A ballad-seller like Autolycus would be singing almost constantly on the streets, and it is not surprising that Shakespeare has him sing a number of rustic folk songs, many of which sound improvised and autobiographical.
4. Will You Buy Any Tape?
Click here to listen to one of Autolycus' songs, arranged and performed by Jon Boden for the RSC's 2012 production of The Winter's Tale.
Illustration of Autolycus selling ballads in "The Winter's Tale".
Feste is a fool who sings and plays the pipe and tabour. He is employed by the lady Olivia to entertain her household with witty comments and songs, but he also travels to the duke Orsino's court to sing there when requested. This was typical of professional musicians from Shakespeare's time, who would often be called upon to play at different venues, including the homes of the gentry, events including weddings – and possibly to provide theatrical music in the playhouses. The musicians would be ready to play a range of music. When asked to sing by Sir Toby Belch and sir Andrew Aguecheek, Feste asks them if they would rather hear a song about love or "good life", to suit their mood – and he sings a mournful song for the melancholy Orsino on request.
LEFT: Feste with a lute in the 1979 RSC production of Twelfth Night. RIGHT: Viola and Feste Feste in the 2009 RSC production of Twelfth Night.
It is thought that Feste's songs may have been originally meant for Viola, who comes to Orsino's court disguised as a man, in order to sing "in many sorts of music". However, as Viola apparently doesn't sing at all throughout the play, there is a theory that the young apprentice boy who would have been playing Viola (teenage boys always played the women's roles) may have had to give up his songs as his voice had broken when he was supposed to perform.
Nevertheless, Feste's role as fool would have fitted well with the profession of itinerant musician. Both Feste and Autolycus' roles were familiar to members of Shakespeare's audience as professional merrymakers, and Shakespeare could easily use them to add music to liven up a scene.


I work with children as a dance instructor. I teach young kids the basics of ballet, jazz, tap, and acrobatics, and teach them how to count and work with music.
I work as a sales associate and cashier. I also conduct regular inventory of products and update computer files.


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The Commander of the Finnish Defence Forces is General Timo Kivinen.
The commander of the Finnish Defence Forces is the chief of defence. The commander decides on the implementation of the Defence Forces' tasks and on the use of their capabilities. He steers the Defence Forces' activities in order for the Defence Forces' to achieve their objectives.
The commander of the FDF takes the strategic decisions on national military defence and commands the activities of the services and the National Defence University. The following generals are directly subordinate to the chief of defence:
the Army, Navy and Air Force commanders
the chief of the Defence Command
the rector of the National Defence University.
In terms of the military chain of command, the commander of the Defence Forces is directly subordinate to the president of the republic. The commander of the FDF answers either to the president of the republic or the Council of State on the execution of FDF-related decisions.
The Defence Command functions as the supreme headquarters of the chief of defence and as the central administrative authority for the defence establishment. The Defence Command prepares all issues ordered by the commander and all matters pertaining to the entire Defence Forces.
The chief of defence is an expert adviser to the Cabinet Committee on Foreign and Security Policy in matters concerning the defence of the nation.
General Timo Kivinen (b. 1959)
Military Academy 1979–1982
Instructor, Uusimaa Battalion 1982–1985
US Army Airborne and Ranger Courses, USA 1983
Instructor, Army Academy, Lappeenranta 1985–1986
Infantry Captain Course 1986–1987
Company Commander, Uusimaa Jaeger Battalion 1987–1988
Staff Officer, Helsinki Military District Headquarters 1988–1991
War College 1991–1993
Assistant Chief of Staff and Chief of Staff, Uusimaa Jaeger Battalion 1993–1994
Senior Staff Officer, Defence Command Finland 1994–1997
United Nation Staff Officer Course, Sweden 1996
Deputy Commanding Officer, Finnish Jaeger Battalion in SFOR 1997–1998
Finnish Defence Attaché in Austria, Hungary (resident) and Ukraine 1998–2001
Commander, Utti Jaeger Regiment 2001–2004
International Visitors Programme, USA 2003
Head of Department and Vice President, National Defence University 2004–2007
National Defence Course 2006
High Command Course 2007
Royal College of Defence Studies, UK 2008
Assistant Chief of Staff, Plans and Policy Division, Defence Command Finland 2009–2010
Brigade Commander, Karelia Brigade 2011–2014
Generals, Flag Officers and Ambassadors Course, NATO Defence College 2012
Special Assignment, Defence Command Finland 2014
Deputy Chief of Staff, Strategy 2015–2017
Chief of Defence Command Finland 2017–2019
Commander of the Finnish Defence Forces 1.8.2019–
Married, four children
Italian Chief of Defence on official visit to Finland
Commemorative speech by Commander of the Finnish Defence Forces at the 105th Anniversary of the Jaeger Training in Germany
Handover ceremony of new Commander of the Finnish Defence Forces
Commander of the Finnish Defence Forces will make a working visit to Norway
Commander of the Finnish Defence Forces in Irak
Tweets by Finnchod


Joe Malmquist has loved music since he began taking violin lessons in 4th grade. Today he conveys that love to the 45 to 50 young musicians in the Schaumburg Youth Orchestra.
In a conducting style that ranges from understated to dramatic, he leads the orchestra in music that includes selections by Richard Wagner, Johannes Brahms and Jean Sibelius.
"At times it's subdued because I . . . have come to the understanding that you've got to be able to motivate yourself to coordinate, think and listen to the music," he says. A conductor isn't "really the nucleus of all the musical thoughts."
"But at times I can be flamboyant because these are young people, and sometimes you really can get a lot more out of them when they see your deep commitment and involvement with the musical gesture."
The Schaumburg Youth Orchestra is the most advanced of three musical groups for students sponsored by the Prairie Center for the Arts, 201 Schumburg Ct. Students from all over the suburbs are accepted into the groups by audition. The others are the Schaumburg Youth Chamber Ensemble, for intermediate players, and the Schaumburg String Ensemble, for beginners.
Malmquist was asked to organize the orchestra in 1989, he says. He also interviewed for the post of conductor and was hired.
His purpose as conductor, he says, has been to "make intelligent choices in literature that would stretch them but not break their backs."
He also understands that teenagers have other commitments. Most of the players are gifted academically and are active in many extracurricular activities, notes Malmquist, who teaches music at Hoffman Estates High School.
Colleagues and players say that understanding makes Malmquist a good conductor.
"He loves the music, and he loves the kids-he's able to tie the two together," says Rob Pileckis, the orchestra's production supervisor and manager. "As seriously as he takes the music, he respects they have other priorities . . . and does not try to make music their whole lives."
"He doesn't expect us to give up everything for orchestra," says Jennifer Becker, 16, who plays violin and is a junior at Hoffman Estates High School. "He's always willing to compromise if we have other commitments."
Because of the players' academic and extracurricular pursuits, Malmquist knows that the music needs to be interesting and challenging but not overwhelming.
"They really want to do well and work hard," he says. "All of that factors into how much time they have, and most of them overbook and overschedule themselves. They have the ability to follow through, but they don't always have the organizational ability to budget their time."
For instance, because the orchestra rehearses weekly, it's a big adjustment for the players to realize that they'll only play together once a week and the rest of the time they'll have to practice on their own, he says. Most student musical groups, like high school bands, practice every weekday.
They need to learn that it can't be "out of sight, out of mind and on to the next project" just because there's not another rehearsal until the next week, he notes.
When there is a hard spot in the music, players must practice it at home as early as they can, he says. "I have to teach that kind of professional pride."
"He'd always help us manage our time. That allowed a lot of us to stay in the orchestra," recalls Mike Manning, 18, an All-America gymnast who played cello with the orchestra for three years and is a freshman majoring in music at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb.
"He had little hints. If we had 10 extra minutes (during the day, he'd tell us to) pull out our instruments and practice. And if we didn't have our instruments, he'd tell us to pull out the music and work out the rhythm by tapping our feet.
"He never put a guilt trip on me if I couldn't make a rehearsal," Manning adds. "He'd say, `I like you here, but I understand you have other obligations.' "
"My players know I sit on both sides of the podium real often," Malmquist says. "I sit through professional rehearsals with lots of different conductors, and I stand in front of the orchestra playing the other role. Both are real learning experiences.
"As a player, I've come to understand what the conductor is going through and how he views my offerings, and as a conductor, what all those players are going through, viewing my rehearsals."
Malmquist plays violin in the Elgin Symphony Orchestra, Illinois Chamber Symphony and substitutes in other Chicago-area orchestras.
He does something with the students that he learned while playing for Margaret Hillis, the recently retired director of the Chicago Symphony Chorus, who was sometimes guest conductor of the Elgin Symphony.
"I try very hard to do that with students as I'm conducting.
Manager Pileckis notes: "He believes in giving everyone their fair share of the spotlight. He gets everyone involved in the act" by making everyone feel important.
The orchestra plays about a half-dozen concerts a year. Rehearsals and some of the concerts are in the Prairie Center. Other concerts are in various suburban locations.
This season's repertory includes the Orchestral Suite No. 2 by J.S. Bach and "Irish Tune from County Derry" arranged by Percy Grainger.
The youth orchestra is important, Malmquist says, because "it fills a niche"-it pulls together students with talent and similar interests from different high schools, he says.
"I remember, when I was in a high school, having a real sense of frustration because my level of interest was shared by only three or four other kids."
Malmquist started playing violin at age 9 in Monmouth (near Galesburg), where he grew up.
He graduated in 1974 from Monmouth High School, where he played violin in the orchestra.
He received a bachelor's degree in English literature from Western Illinois University in Macomb in 1979 and a bachelor's degree in music education in 1981. He started teaching music at Hoffman Estates High School in Township High School District 211 that year.
He became a music teacher because he said the other career choices he had been considering, such as law or teaching English, would have meant "hanging up the violin and not doing music anymore."
In 1985, while still teaching, he received his master's degree in string development, which is the teaching and performance of all stringed instruments, from the University of Wisconsin in Madison.
Because most of his music activities are in the evenings, he can go home after school to spend time with his family-his wife, Marge, and their son, 8, and daughter, 11. They live in Hampshire (near Elgin).
Malmquist believes that playing a musical instrument builds character in students. "It forces them to use their inner resources, patiently working at something year in and year out to see little successes. It's important that people learn to do that.
"It's extremely satisfying watching the development of the kids," he adds, "watching them respond to the challenge. They really love the music, and they take tremendous pride in being able to play it well."


text:
namespace blink {

class Navigator;
class NetworkInformation;

class NavigatorNetworkInformation FINAL
    : public NoBaseWillBeGarbageCollectedFinalized<NavigatorNetworkInformation>
    , public WillBeHeapSupplement<Navigator>
    , DOMWindowProperty {
    WILL_BE_USING_GARBAGE_COLLECTED_MIXIN(NavigatorNetworkInformation);

public:
    virtual ~NavigatorNetworkInformation();
    static NavigatorNetworkInformation& from(Navigator&);
    static NavigatorNetworkInformation* toNavigatorNetworkInformation(Navigator&);
    static const char* supplementName();

    static NetworkInformation* connection(Navigator&);

    virtual void trace(Visitor*) OVERRIDE;

private:
    explicit NavigatorNetworkInformation(Navigator&);
    NetworkInformation* connection();

    RefPtrWillBeMember<NetworkInformation> m_connection;
};

} // namespace blink

#endif // NavigatorNetworkInformation_h

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


It may interest you to know that every minute; the United States uses nearly a million dollars worth of energy. While it's easy to keep track of the amount of energy you use at home, it's a lot harder to know how much you're using at work. Any electrician will tell you that implementing small changes in your workplace and behaviour can add up to lots of savings for the company, which may lead to savings for you too. Here are some green tips for energy efficient ways to save power at work.
Pros like electricians Brisbane will tell you to turn off your computer, or at least the monitor, when you know there are going to be lengthy periods of non-use. One of the simplest and best ways to conserve energy is to turn off equipment when it's not being used. The Department of Energy recommends turning off your personal computer's monitor if you're not going to be using it for 20 minutes or longer. If you know you will be away from your computer for more than two hours you can save energy by switching off both the monitor and the computer itself. It's understandable if turning off your computer completely isn't right for your workplace, so many computers have a "sleep" or "power down" mode that can still save energy. Also unplug any equipment which isn't being used for extended periods. This doesn't just apply to computers but to any equipment in your workplace, such as fans, phone chargers and coffeemakers.
It's an excellent idea to replace traditional light bulbs with energy-saving bulbs, as any electrician will tell you. There are some workplaces where all the lights are controlled by a single switch, so that all the lights have to be switched on even if light is only required in one area. Bad idea. Installing several switches prevents wasteful use of light, saving energy and lengthening the life of each light bulb. An additional option is to install motion sensors which automatically turn the lights off if no one is in a certain area. You can also assess the lights presently in use in your workplace. Are they all absolutely necessary? By taking the step of removing lights that are not necessary to requirements you will save energy.
It's been stated that about half of the energy used in office buildings goes for heating and cooling. Electricians Brisbane or any other professional electricians will tell you that this is no surprise. By successfully reducing this usage even it's only by a small amount, you could make a noticeable dent in your workplace's energy bills. During the winter time leave the blinds open on any south-facing windows to let the sun's warmth contribute to heating the room. At night the blinds should be closed to minimize the amount of heat lost and also to reduce the energy needed to bring your workplace up to a comfortable temperature in the morning. In the summer time, use blinds to keep the excess heat of the sun out. You can also minimize the amount of heat coming into and exiting your workplace by installing a rotating door and making sure that any large freight doors are closed as soon as deliveries are made.
Biography: Jake Hyet is an expert on saving energy, having worked as static electrician independently, and for static electricians Brisbane. He has written extensively on the topic.
I hope you have found this article – Green Tips for Energy Efficient Ways to Save Power at Work – informative, and you will share your own experiences below in the comment box and please take the time to click on the share button, many thanks; see more articles on The Daily Green Post home page.
Reducing energy use and being more energy efficient are definitely the first steps to being a little greener with energy. The next step is to install solar panels on your home. It's now cheaper than what many think.


text:
Q: how to implement stack interface using queue? so i have an stack and queue interface based on list interface. Now , i have to create a stack interface only using queue interface without using any list or stack operations.
here is my code queuestackm.py
from queuem import *

class Stack(Queue):
    def __init__(self):
        self.s1=Queue()
        self.s2=Queue()

def isemptys(s):
    return isemptyq(s.s1)

def push(s,x):
    enqueue(s.s1,x)

def pop(s):
    while not isemptys(s):
        tmp=dequeue(s. s1)
        enqueue(s.s2, tmp)
    x = dequeue (s.s2)
    while not isemptyq(s.s2):
        tmp2=dequeue (s. s2)
        enqueue (s. s1, tmp2)
    return x

def gettop(s):
    while not isemptys(s):
        enqueue(s.s2, dequeue(s.s1))
    tmp3 = getfront(s.s2)

    while not isemptyq(s.s2):
        enqueue(s. s1, dequeue(s.s2))
    return tmp3

def displays(s):
    displayq (s. s1)

i can only use operation from this file queuem.py to implement all these function .
i just cant seem to get gettop and pop function right.
here the codes that are relevant
queuem.py

from listm import *

class Queue(List):
    def __init__(self, que=None):
        List.__init__(self, que)
        self.rear = length(self)

def isemptyq(q):
    if isempty(q):
        return True
    else:
        return False

def enqueue(q, x):
    q.rear= q.rear + 1
    insert(q, q.rear, x)

def dequeue(q):
    if isemptyq(q):
        print("Dequeue error, queue underflow!!!\n")
        return -1
    else:
        tmp = get(q, 1)
        delete(q, 1)
        q.rear = q.rear - 1
        return tmp

def getfront(q):
    if isemptyq(q):
        print("Getfront error, queue underflow!!!\n")
        return -1
    else:
        tmp = get(q, 1)
        return tmp

def displayq(q):
    display(q)

listm.py
class List:
    def __init__(self, extlist=None):
        if extlist is None:
                    self.inlist = []
        else:
            self.inlist = extlist

def length(L):
    return len(L.inlist)

def isempty(L):
    if len(L.inlist)==0:
        return True
    else:
        return False

def get(L, i):
    if isempty(L):
        print("The get() is unsuccessful!")
        print("The list is empty!")
        return -1
    elif (i<1) or (i>length(L)):
        print("The get() is unsuccessful!")
        print("The index given is out of range!")
        return -1
    else:
        return(L.inlist[i-1])

def locatebyvalue(L, x):
    position = 1
    for item in L.inlist:
        if x == item:
            return position
        else:
            position = position+1
    return -1

def locatebyid(L, idd):
    position = 1
    for item in L.inlist:
        if item.id == idd:
            return position
        else:
            position = position+1
    return -1

def insert(L, i, x):
    if (i<1) or (i>length(L)+1):
        print("The insert() is unsuccessful!")
        print("The index given is out of range!")

    else:
        L.inlist.insert(i-1, x)

def delete(L, i):
    if isempty(L):
        print("The delete() is unsuccessful!")
        print("The list is empty!")
        return
    elif (i<1) or (i>length(L)):
        print("The delete() is unsuccessful!")
        print("The index given is out of range!")
        return
    else:
        del L.inlist[i-1]

def display(L):
    print(L.inlist)

stackm.py
from listm import *

class Stack(List):
    def __init__(self, stk=None):
        List.__init__(self, stk)
        self.top = 0

def isemptys(s):
    if isempty(s):
        return True
    else:
        return False

def push(s, x):
    s.top = s.top + 1
    insert(s, s.top, x)

def pop(s):
    if isemptys(s):
        print("Pop error, stack underflow!!!\n")
        return -1
    else:
        tmp = get(s, s.top)
        delete(s, s.top)
        s.top = s.top - 1
        return tmp

def gettop(s):
    if isemptys(s):
        print("Gettop error, stack underflow!!!\n")
        return -1
    else:
        tmp = get(s, s.top)
        return tmp

def displays(s):
    display(s)

And i use this file to run queuestackm.py
qstest.py
from queuestackm import *

def main():
    qs = Stack()
    if(isemptys(qs)):
        print("The stack is empty now.")
    else:
        print("The stack is not empty now.")
    push(qs, "a")
    push(qs, "b")
    push(qs, "c")
    print("The push operations has been performed three times.")
    if(isemptys(qs)):
        print("The stack is empty now.")
    else:
        print("The stack is not empty now.")
    top = gettop(qs)
    print(f"Now, the top element is '{top}'.")
    print("Now, the stack is containing ", end="")
    displays(qs)
    pop(qs)
    de = pop(qs)
    print("The pop operations has been performed two times.")
    print(f"The last popped element is '{de}'.")
    push(qs, "d")
    push(qs, "e")
    top = gettop(qs)
    print(f"Now, the top element is '{top}'.")
    print("Now, the stack is containing ", end="")
    displays(qs)

main()

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Home > November 2002 - Volume 17 - Issue 6 > A double-blind, placebo-controlled multicentre study of mema...
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A double-blind, placebo-controlled multicentre study of memantine in mild to moderate vascular dementia (MMM500)
Wilcock, G.a; Möbius, H.J.b; Stöffler, A.bon behalf of the MMM 500 group
International Clinical Psychopharmacology: November 2002 - Volume 17 - Issue 6 - p 297-305
The aim of the reported trial was to investigate the safety and efficacy of memantine in mild to moderate vascular dementia (VaD). This was a 28-week, double-blind, parallel, randomized controlled trial of memantine 20 mg daily versus placebo which was conducted in 54 centres in the UK. Memantine is a uncompetitive, moderate affinity N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist. Patients with a diagnosis of probable VaD and Mini Mental State Examination total scores between 10 and 22 were eligible for inclusion. Primary efficacy parameters were the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive Subscale (ADAS-cog) and the Clinical Global Impression of Change (CGI-C). A total of 579 patients were randomized and 548 patients with at least one post-baseline efficacy assessment qualified for the intent-to-treat analysis. At endpoint, memantine was shown to improve cognition relative to placebo in VaD: the change of ADAS-cog from baseline differed by a mean of −1.75 points (95% confidence intervals −3.023 to −0.49) and a median of 2 points between the two groups, while CGI-C ratings showed no significant differences between treatment groups. A total of 77% of all memantine-treated patients experienced adverse event, versus 75% of the placebo-treated patients, dizziness being the most frequent adverse event (11% versus 8%, respectively). Memantine was well tolerated and safe.
aBristol University, Department of Care of the Elderly, Frenchay Hospital, Bristol, UK
bMerz Pharmaceuticals, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Correspondence to Hans Jörg Möbius, Merz Pharmaceuticals, Eckenheimer Landstrasse 100, D-60318 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Tel: +49 69 150 3311; fax: +49 69 150 3399; e-mail: hj.moebius@merz.de
Received: 11 March 2002; accepted 23 July 2002
© 2002 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Inc.
International Clinical Psychopharmacology17(6):297-305, November 2002.
ADAS-cog, cognition, memantine, NMDA receptor antagonist, randomized controlled trial, vascular dementia
Articles in PubMed by G. Wilcock
Articles in Google Scholar by G. Wilcock
Other articles in this journal by G. Wilcock
Medication satisfaction in schizophrenia: a blinded-initiation study of paliperidone extended release in patients suboptimally responsive to risperidone
The effect of OROS methylphenidate on the sleep of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder
High-dose escitalopram for the treatment of obsessive–compulsive disorder
The attitude of patients towards antipsychotic depot treatment
Early intervention in psychosis: the critical-period hypothesis


text:
Press Room NEWSLETTERS
Improve, Rethink, and Renew
ESSA Update
IDEA Monitoring Findings
Rebuilding Rural America
Quote to Note
On January 16, Secretary DeVos spoke at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) as part of the conference "Bush-Obama School Reform: Lessons Learned." Following are excerpts from her remarks. Video is available here.
"Everyone wants students to be prepared and to lead successful lives. We can't say that sort of public harmony exists in other policy arenas.... Our unity of purpose here presents an opportunity. But while we've changed some aspects of education, the results we all work for and desire haven't been achieved. The bottom line is simple: federal education reform efforts have not worked as hoped. That's not a point I make lightly or joyfully. Yes, there have been some minor improvements in a few areas. But we're far from where we need to be.
"We saw two presidents from different political parties and philosophies take two different approaches. Federally mandated assessments. Federal money. Federal standards. All originated in Washington, and none solved the problem. Too many of America's students are still unprepared. Perhaps the lesson lies not in what made the approaches different but in what made them the same: the federal government. Both approaches had the same Washington 'experts' telling educators how to behave. The lesson is in the false premise: that Washington knows what's best for educators, parents, and students.
"Federal mandates distort what education ought to be: a trusting relationship between teacher, parent, and student. Ideally, parent and teacher work together to help a child discover his or her potential and pursue his or her passions. When we seek to empower teachers, we must empower parents as well. Parents are too often powerless in deciding what's best for their child. The state mandates where to send their child. It mandates what their child learns and how he or she learns it. In the same way, educators are constrained by state mandates.
"We will not reach our goal of helping every child achieve his or her full potential until we truly change. Let me offer three ways we can move forward in that pursuit. First, we need to recognize that the federal government's appropriate role is not to be the nation's school board.... The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) takes important steps to return power where it belongs by recognizing states—not Washington—should shape education policy around their own people. But state lawmakers should also resist the urge to centrally plan education.... That brings me to point number two. To finish the analogy...let's call a new play: empowering parents. Parents have the greatest stake in the outcome of their child's education. Accordingly, they should also have the power to make sure their child is getting the right education.... Which leads to my final point: if America's students are to be prepared, we must rethink school.... 'Rethink' means we question everything to ensure nothing limits a student from pursuing his/her passion and achieving his/her potential. So each student is prepared at every turn for what comes next.
"It's past time to ask some of the questions that often get labeled as 'non-negotiable' or don't get asked at all. Why do we group students by age? Why do schools close for the summer? Why must the school day start with the rise of the sun? Why are schools assigned by your address? Why do students have to go to a school building in the first place? Why is choice only available to those who can buy their way out or buy their way in? Why can't a student learn at his or her own pace? Why isn't technology more widely embraced in schools? Why do we limit what a student can learn based on the faculty/facilities available?"
Over a three-week period, in the aftermath of Hurricanes Irma and Maria, Acting Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education Jason Botel traveled twice to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands—the second time with Secretary DeVos. In successive Medium posts (1 and 2), Botel summarizes his experiences and outlines the Department's ongoing support. "It is a courageous, can-do spirit I'll remember most from visiting Puerto Rico [and the Virgin Islands]," he noted, "and I know it will continue to fuel our partnership with [their] hard-working leaders and community members."
Secretary DeVos recently announced the approval of a number consolidated state plans under ESSA. Minnesota and West Virginia (January 10 release) and Arkansas, Maryland, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Washington, Wisconsin, Wyoming, and Puerto Rico (January 16 release) were among the 34 states and Puerto Rico to submit their state plans by the final deadline of September 18. "States continue to embrace the flexibility and power given to them under ESSA," stated the Secretary. "I am pleased to approve these plans, which comply with the requirements of the law. I look forward to seeing how the states turn ideas into action to improve outcomes for all students."
ESSA requires the Secretary to issue a written determination within 120 days of a state's submission of its plan, unless the state requests additional time for its revisions.
Meanwhile, in a letter to Chief State School Officers, the Department offered states flexibility on using remaining School Improvement Grant (SIG) funding.
Last week, the Department released findings of monitoring activities related to Texas Education Agency's (TEA) compliance with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). This comes after the Department's Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) initiated monitoring following reports of significant decline in the number of children identified as children with disabilities eligible for special education and related services in Texas. The monitoring report lists three specific areas in which TEA failed to comply with federal law: (1) TEA failed to ensure that all children with disabilities were identified, located, and evaluated, regardless of the severity of their disabilities; (2) TEA failed to ensure that a free appropriate public education (FAPE) was made available to all children with disabilities; and (3) TEA failed to fulfill its general supervisory and monitoring responsibilities to ensure that school districts properly implemented IDEA's child find and FAPE requirements.
In 2004, Texas implemented a special education representation indicator of 8.5% to measure the percentage of students enrolled in special education and related services. OSEP found that indicator resulted in a declining identification rate of children with disabilities in the state. Data from TEA demonstrates that the number of children identified as children with disabilities under IDEA declined from the 2003-04 to 2016-17 school years by 32,000 students, even as total enrollment grew by more than one million students.
As early as November 2016, TEA began taking steps to address initial concerns expressed by OSEP, including issuing a letter to every district emphasizing their child find responsibilities under the IDEA. TEA supported OSEP in obtaining necessary information through the Department's monitoring, including coordinating a series of listening sessions throughout the state which were attended by OSEP and TEA staff. Additionally, Texas Governor Greg Abbott, with state legislators, implemented a new law that prohibits the use of school performance indicators that solely measure total number or percentage of enrolled children receiving special education and related services (cover letter).
President Trump established the Rural Prosperity Task Force in April 2017 to identify legislative, regulatory, and policy changes needed to secure a prosperous future for rural America. The task force, chaired by Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, consists of representatives from 22 federal agencies and local leaders. In a new report, the task force identifies more than 100 actions centering on five key areas: (1) electronic connectivity, (2) improving quality of life, (3) supporting a rural workforce, (4) harnessing technological innovation, and (5) rural economic development (fact sheet and Executive Order on Streamlining and Expediting Requests to Locate Broadband Facilities in Rural America).
On January 8, President Trump resubmitted to the Senate a number of Department nominations: Mitchell Zais to be Deputy Secretary of Education, James Blew to be Assistant Secretary for Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development, and Kenneth Marcus to be Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights. (Subsequently, all three were approved by the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee and advanced to the full Senate.)
Yesterday (January 18), Secretary DeVos joined Congressional leaders and over 200 students at a rally to celebrate school choice and parental involvement in education, becoming the first Secretary of Education to participate in National School Choice Week.
In a blog post, School Ambassador Fellow Elmer Harris calls "local heroes" directly into action by urging them to apply to be a 2018-19 full- or part-time Fellow at the Department.
The first Wednesday of each month, the agency's current cohort of School Ambassador Fellows host #FellowsAtEd Twitter chats at @USEDGOV.
Another blog post recaps the fifth-annual ED Games Expo, held at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
The Department released the transcripts of the first round of negotiated rulemaking on Borrower Defense to Repayment and Gainful Employment regulations.
According to a First Look report from the agency's National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), revenues and expenditures increased in public K-12 education for the second consecutive year, reversing a decline in spending in the prior four years after adjusting for inflation (blog post).
The Department's What Works Clearinghouse celebrated its 15th anniversary in 2017 (Looking Back), continuing to identify evidence-based practices for educators.
The Corporation for National and Community Service released a new toolkit for superintendents, principals, and other education stakeholders about using national service to strengthen education. This toolkit helps determine school's needs, find the right national service program, and apply for resources that best fit the school. It also includes examples of how districts and states are utilizing national service.
The Endowment for the Arts is collaborating with the Education Commission of the States on a Statewide Data Infrastructure Project for Arts Education.
"I'm aware that change—the unknown—can be scary, that talk of fundamentally rethinking our approach to education seems impossible, insurmountable. But not changing is scarier. Stagnation creates risks of its own. The reality is...we should be horrified of not changing. Our children don't fear their futures. Think of a newborn, born into hope—not fear. They begin life with a clean slate, with a fresh set of eyes to see things we don't currently see. That's how students begin their life-long learning journeys—with unlimited potential, yet with limited time. Their dreams, their hopes, their aspirations, their futures can't wait, while another wave of lawmakers puts yet another coat of paint on the broken 'system.' One year may not seem like much to an adult, but it's much too long for the child who still can't read 'Goodnight Moon.' We, the public, can't wait either."
— Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos (1/16/18), in her remarks at the American Enterprise Institute
Next week, Secretary DeVos will participate in the Education World Forum in London. Ministers and advisers representing over two-thirds of the world's population will gather to discuss education policy.
Digital Learning Day (February 22) is just over a month away. The goal is to highlight more examples of how great teaching paired with technology can improve student outcomes.
The Library of Congress is accepting applications for week-long summer programs for K-12 educators through March 21. Held at the Library, the professional development provides educators with tools and resources to effectively integrate primary sources into classroom teaching—with a special emphasis on student engagement, critical thinking, and construction of knowledge.
Credits, Subscribe & Unsubscribe
ED Review is a product of the U.S. Department of Education Office of Communications and Outreach, State and Local Engagement
To be added or removed from distribution or submit comments (we welcome your feedback!), please contact Managing Director Adam Honeysett at (202) 401-3003 or Adam.Honeysett@ed.gov. Or, visit http://www2.ed.gov/news/newsletters/edreview/.
This newsletter contains hypertext links to information created and maintained by other public and private organizations. These links are provided for the user's convenience. The U.S. Department of Education does not control or guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness, or completeness of this outside information. Furthermore, the inclusion of links is not intended to reflect their importance, nor is it intended to endorse any views expressed, or products or services offered, on these sites, or the organizations sponsoring the sites.


The Pensions Regulator (TPR) recommended allowing plenty of time for ensuring that increasing contributions were in line with the legal minimums, but many employers did not heed this advice.
The minimum parameters for qualifying pension schemes for automatic enrolment include minimum contribution levels. These were set at low levels initially to help employers manage the costs of introducing automatic enrolment, with a timetable set out for how the minimum contribution levels would increase over time.
Originally, the increases were planned to come into effect in October 2017 and October 2018. To simplify the administration of automatic enrolment, the Government announced at the Autumn Statement in 2015 that the two rises to the minimum contribution levels would be deferred to the following April, to coincide with the tax year.
The Employers Duties (Implementation) (Amendment) Regulations 2016 came into force on 1 October 2016 to put this change into effect.
The rules specify the minimum employer contribution and the minimum total contribution. Employees are required to make up any shortfall between the employer's contribution and the minimum total contribution.
For example, from 6 April 2019 the minimums will be 8% in total with 3% from the employer. If the employer contributes the minimum 3%, then employees must contribute at least 5%. If the employer contributes 6%, then employees must contribute at least 2%. If the employer contributes 8%, then employees need not contribute (depending on the scheme's rules).
Employers and employees can choose to contribute rates that are above the minimum levels.
TPR's communications stress that employers need to prepare for the increases in plenty of time, including communicating with affected staff.
Employers should have liaised with their pension scheme providers at an early stage – the provider would have been able to confirm whether increases are necessary (contributions might already exceed the new minimum) and have agreed what the balance of employee and employer contributions will be (employers may choose to cover any increase in staff contribution rates themselves). The pension scheme may have rules and processes in place that cover how to increase contributions.
Employers should identify affected staff and communicate with them. The Pensions Regulator provides guidance on increasing contribution rates (phasing) for employers on its website. This includes a template letter to employees that employers can download and adapt for their own use. Alternatively, the pension scheme might also provide a template letter or plan to communicate with scheme members directly.
Note that the first increase must have been implemented with effect from 6 April 2018 even if this is in the middle of a pay period, however increases can be implemented sooner than the statutory increase date.
Pension scheme members who do not wish to pay increased contributions may, depending on the pension scheme's rules, be allowed to remain on a lower contribution rate or to reduce their contribution rate after the general increase (known as 'opting down'). However, technically it is still opting out of the Automatic Enrolment scheme because the minimums requirements are not met, so there may be other implications.
As you would expect, more detailed information on all aspects of increases in minimum contributions for automatic enrolment pensions aimed at pension, payroll and software developers is also available from TPR.
Qualifying earnings – this is the earnings band used to calculate minimum contributions and is aligned with National Insurance thresholds. The band for the tax year 2017-18 was between £5,876 and £45,000.
The band for the tax year 2018-19 is between £6,032 and £46,350.
Earnings trigger – this is the prescribed level of qualifying earnings at which the employer must take action to enrol the worker automatically into a suitable pension scheme. The earnings trigger is £10,000 for the tax year 2018-19 (unchanged from the tax year 2017-18).
The 2018-19 figures received parliamentary approval in March 2018.
When the earnings trigger was first introduced, the income tax threshold was also £10,000 so that individuals who do not pay tax would not be enrolled automatically into a pension scheme. From April 2015, the tax threshold rose above the earnings trigger, which did not change, so that now there is a growing number of individuals who do not pay income tax but who are being enrolled into pension schemes.
For schemes that operate tax relief on a relief at source basis, the pension provider will claim the tax relief, including that due to non-taxpayers. Where schemes operate the net pay arrangement, the tax relief is given through the payroll by reducing taxable pay. However, employees whose earnings are below the tax threshold, but above the earnings trigger, do not have any taxable pay and therefore miss out on the tax relief.
This anomaly may be a relevant factor for organisations considering which AE pension schemes to offer to their workforce, particularly as minimum contributions have now increased. TPR suggests that employers with workers who not pay tax should consider choosing a pension scheme that operates relief at source.
For many employers the increase to these rates will have had little or no affect as they are already contributing in excess of the legal minimums. However, this isn't straight forward as implementing other rate increases might be, such as the minimum wage rates, and all factors need to have been considered.


text:
Mild Mannered Reviews - Smallville Comics
Smallville: Season 11 - Chapter #58
Released Digitally: August 2, 2013
"Olympus" - Part 3
Writer: Bryan Q. Miller
Reviewed by: Marc Pritchard
Back on Themyscira, 15 years ago, Diana gives Steve Trevor a football she made from the skin of the largest boar on the island and they engage in some eventually riparian horseplay that ends with Steve falling into the water and Diana jumping in with him. They get close.
Just then, Diana's mother and sisters appear. They scold her for violating their laws and one of the sisters (perhaps not a biological sister) insists that the "little man" must be put to death. Though Diana tries to fight them off, the women are successful in capturing Steve, leaving Diana behind in the shadows.
Zip ahead to now. Lois Lane steps onto the roof of an historical building near the National Mall in Washington, D.C. to encounter the mysterious "woman in white" who saved Martha Kent from The Cultists. Lois tries to get the woman to explain who she is and what she wants, but they are interrupted by a pair of attacking harpies.
Cut to DEO headquarters, where Steve Trevor is giving Clark Kent a tour and explaining the DEO's purpose - to deal with aliens and magic and supers while keeping it all secret from a public that "can only take so much, so fast." They, too, are interrupted by an alert that calls Steve away and compels Clark to remove his glasses...
Back at the Mall, Lois and Diana are fighting the harpies and Diana is impressed with Lois's skills. She also reveals some of her identity and admits that she is not invulnerable to "magick and gods," which prompts Lois to mention her fiancée, who can relate. "What suitable mate can there be for a woman as independent and strong as you, sister?" asks Diana, just as Superman arrives and makes quick work of the harpies.
Moments later, Steve Trevor and the DEO appear and take official ownership of the situation. But as Diana recognizes her secret childhood playmate, so does Lois recognize a former lover, surprising Superman, who doesn't much show it.
Elsewhere, Lord (presumably Felix) Faust, leader of The Cultists, makes a cauldron offering of a henchman's (seemingly one of the harpies) severed hand and renews his pledge to his master to plunge the world into darkness!
Story - 3: Ack, guys, I don't know what to say this week. There's a lot going on here, some of it excellent, some of it... not. But nothing especially stand-out one way or the other (thus the middle-of-the-road score). Best I've got just now are a few basically disconnected observations and thoughts, in no particular order...
The mystery surrounding Diana is palpable, despite (or maybe because of) the flashback scenes. The one surrounding The Cultists, however, is trite. I mean, it would have been more mysterious if that guy hadn't turned out to be Felix Faust and we had nothing but the story itself to go on. But fine, these dudes aren't Miller's invention, which anyway is mostly to be expected, and I won't spend much more time than this and the next sentence or two lamenting the use of the name Faust for a stereotypically sinister magic-using type of character. I mean, I'm someone who's read, more than once, both the classic Marlowe and Goethe tragedies, so please just forgive me for being sensitive to the cliché. Plus, Felix Faust was first created back in the 60s, a time when it was probably less of a cliché than it would be today (though still very much one).
There's Clark, taking his glasses off at the earliest possible opportunity again - a Clark, I should add, that seems to have been working on his mild manners so much that he's shown earlier with his tongue sticking out in that familiarly earnest, gosh-golly academic kind of way. I get what removing the glasses signifies, but there's also some dude standing right behind him when he does it. It's not like he and Steve are the only two people in the facility. Bah. It's the little things, Smallville, and this probably wouldn't have been noticeable if the glasses hadn't been such a problem on the show.
The flashback scenes (analepsis as that smarty-pants T.A. Ewart would say) are very strong, and I believe them completely. Young Diana's dialogue in particular is top-notch. As much as I don't need my super-hero stories to be safe for kids (and do, in fact, prefer them not to be), based on this stuff I'd read a Miller-penned kids-oriented book for sure.
There is a vibrancy to this arc so far that is unusual for Smallville, in a very good way. A lot of it is the art, which has a life of its own, but it's the little things with this, too. (Funny the way that is.) Exposition boxes that no longer intrude, a broad set of circumstances (black magic) that hasn't exactly been confronted before (the Zatanna episodes notwithstanding, which were more about high jinx and tomfoolery than anything, and the stuff from Season 4, which I find to be largely incoherent), a plot that seems to be sustaining its clarity and logic. All good stuff.
At least Diana didn't call Lois "amazing." Phew. Otherwise, the line she did have (see the synopsis) was a bit too on the nose, as it were. Having her recognize Lois's strength is classic Smallville and thematically appropriate besides but, for reasons I can't quite put my finger on, I don't believe the older Diana as much as I do the younger one. The spoken formality rings differently from each of them, in a way that seems to give power to the child while sapping it from the adult. Like I say, I can't quite put my finger on it but I'll try and remember to come back to this as the arc proceeds.
So, what is the statute of limitations on when you stop calling a former lover or whatever your "ex"? "He's kind of my ex," says Lois, about Steve. It's singular and present tense. Does anyone reading this refer to people they dated in high school (or earlier, the only time(s) conceivable that Lois and Steve could have been a couple) in this way, especially after seven years and who knows how many flings and other former lovers in the interim (that, here, it couldn't be more clearly implied, we know about)? What would happen if I chose right now to call Lois a sl—
Ok, forget it. But is this necessary? Does anyone actually want more romantic uncertainty and tension between Lois and Clark, between Clark and anybody? I don't, and it's not because I don't have a perfectly functional endocrine system. If I was into petitions or other efforts to directly influence somebody else's creative process for my benefit, I'd ask Bryan Q. Miller please to let Superman remain oblivious to (more or less... call it disinterested) the emergent Diana>Steve>Lois triangle and whatever mayhem ensues from it until no sooner than the denouement in chapter 12. Ideally, he will not even really notice when Diana flirts with him, which flirt with him, however subtly, she must.
Because he's Superman now, right? The Donner Superman, even. "Lois... I never lie." It's pretty much looked that way to me at least since he and Lois shared that look through the window of Air Force One in the finale. And he's committed to her in a "soul mate" kind of understanding, yes? So there are no more SECRETS or LIES between them, or for that matter between him and basically everyone (except for the secret... identity... Blast!)?
Point (!): that's territory more than amply explored already, Smallville. We're ready for something new!
Art - 5: I love Jimenez's work but the way he draws especially Clark and Superman in this issue struck me as more than usually like Ryan Ottley's pencils on Invincible and, thus, more than usually unlike Smallville. But technically pretty much flawless and flawlessly expressive, so really, what do we care?
Cover Art - N/A:
Action Comics #14
Smallville: Season 11 - Chapter #22 (Digital Comic Book)
Superman Beyond #11 (Digital Comic Book)
Young Justice #22
Superman Family Adventures #7
Superboy Annual #1
Injustice: Gods Among Us - Chapter #1 (Digital Comic Book)
Young Romance - New 52 Valentines Day Special #1
Young Justice #25 [Final Issue]
Superman Family Adventures #10
Injustice: Gods Among Us - Chapter #10 (Digital Comic Book)
Superman Family Adventures #12 [Final Issue]
Man of Steel - The Prequel (Digital Comic Book)
Adventures of Superman - Chapter #1 (Digital Comic Book)
Superman Unchained #1
Justice League #22 (Trinity War - Part 1)
Justice League of America #6 (Trinity War - Part 2)
Justice League Dark #22 (Trinity War - Part 3)
Adventures of Superman - Chapter #10 (Digital Comic Book)
Justice League Beyond 2.0 - Chapter #1 (Digital Comic Book)
Action Comics #23.1/Cyborg Superman #1
Action Comics #23.2/Zod #1
Action Comics #23.3/Lex Luthor #1
Action Comics #23.4/Metallo #1
Superman #23.1/Bizarro #1
Superman #23.2/Brainiac #1
Superman #23.3/H'El #1
Superman #23.4/Parasite #1
Batman/Superman #3.1/Doomsday #1
Justice League #23.1/Darkseid #1
Justice League #23.2/Lobo #1
Justice League #23.3/Dial E #1
Justice League #23.4/Secret Society #1
Teen Titans #23.1/Trigon #1
Teen Titans #23.2/Deathstroke #1
Forever Evil #1
DC Universe vs. Masters of the Universe #1
Action Comics Annual #2
Superman/Wonder Woman #1
Teen Titans Annual #2
Earth 2 #16
Smallville: Titans - Chapter #1 (Digital Comic Book)


text:
Free Will Is as Real as Baseball
Cosmic VarianceBy Sean CarrollJuly 13, 2011 6:40 PM
A handful of musings about free will have been popping up in my blog reader of late. Jerry Coyne has been discussing the issue with Eric MacDonald in a series of posts (further links therein). Russell Blackford writes a long post that he promises isn't the post he will eventually write, David Eagleman has an article in the Atlantic, and Zach Weiner also chimes in. So we have a biologist studying theology, an ex-Anglican priest turned agnostic, a philosopher and neuroscientist both of whom write science fiction, and a webcartoonist studying physics. That constitutes a reasonable spectrum of opinion. Still, what discussion of reality is complete without a cosmologist chiming in? In some ways, asking whether free will exists is a lot like asking whether time really exists. In both cases, it's different from asking "do unicorns exist?" or "does dark matter exist?" In these examples, we are pretty clear on what the concepts are supposed to denote, and what it would mean for them to actually exist; what's left is a matter of collecting evidence and judging its value. I take it that this is not what we mean when we ask about the existence of free will. It's possible to deny the existence of something while using it all the time. Julian Barbour doesn't believe time is real, but he is perfectly capable of showing up to a meeting on time. Likewise, people who question the existence of free will don't have any trouble making choices. (John Searle has joked that people who deny free will, when ordering at a restaurant, should say "just bring me whatever the laws of nature have determined I will get.") Whatever it is we are asking, it's not simply a matter of evidence. When people make use of a concept and simultaneously deny its existence, what they typically mean is that the concept in question is nowhere to be found in some "fundamental" description of reality. Julian Barbour thinks that if we just understood the laws of physics better, "time" would disappear from our vocabulary. Likewise, discussions about the existence of free will often center on whether we really need to include such freedom as an irreducible component of reality, without which our understanding would be fundamentally incomplete. There are people who do believe in free will in this sense; that we need to invoke a notion of free will as an essential ingredient in reality, over and above the conventional laws of nature. These are libertarians, in the metaphysical sense rather than the political-philosophy sense. They may explicitly believe that conscious creatures are governed by a blob of spirit energy that transcends materialist categories, or they can be more vague about how the free will actually manifests itself. But in either event, they believe that our freedom of choice cannot be reduced to our constituent particles evolving according to the laws of physics. This version of free will, as anyone who reads the blog will recognize, I don't buy at all. Within the regime of everyday life, the underlying laws of physics are completely understood. There's a lot we don't understand about consciousness, but none of the problems we face rise to the level that we should be tempted to distrust our basic understanding of how the atoms and forces inside our brains work. Note that it's not really a matter of "determinism"; it's simply a question of whether there are impersonal laws of nature at all. The fact that quantum mechanics introduces a stochastic component into physical predictions doesn't open the door for true libertarian free will. But I also don't think that "playing a necessary role in every effective description of the world" is a very good way of defining "existence" or "reality." If there is anything that modern physics has taught us, it's that it's very often possible to discuss a single situation in two or more completely different (but equivalent) ways. Duality in particle physics is probably the most carefully-defined example, but the same idea holds in more familiar contexts. When we talk about air in a room, we can describe it by listing the properties of each and every molecule, or we speak in coarse-grained terms about things like temperature and pressure. One description is more "fundamental," in that its regime of validity is wider; but both have a regime of validity, and as long as we are in that regime, the relevant concepts have a perfectly good claim to "existing." It would be silly to say that temperature isn't "real," just because the concept doesn't appear in some fine-grained vocabulary. We talk about the world using different levels of description, appropriate to the question of interest. Some levels might be thought of as "fundamental" and others as "emergent," but they are all there. Does baseball exist? It's nowhere to be found in the Standard Model of particle physics. But any definition of "exist" that can't find room for baseball seems overly narrow to me. It's true that we could take any particular example of a baseball game and choose to describe it by listing the exact quantum state of each elementary particle contained in the players and the bat and ball and the field etc. But why in the world would anyone think that is a good idea? The concept of baseball is emergent rather than fundamental, but it's no less real for all of that. Likewise for free will. We can be perfectly orthodox materialists and yet believe in free will, if what we mean by that is that there is a level of description that is useful in certain contexts and that includes "autonomous agents with free will" as crucial ingredients. That's the "variety of free will worth having," as Daniel Dennett would put it. I'm not saying anything original -- this is a well-known position, probably the majority view among contemporary philosophers. It's a school of thought called compatibilism: see Wikipedia, or (better) the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Free will as an emergent phenomenon can be perfectly compatible with an underlying materialist view of the world. Of course, just because it can be compatible with the laws of nature, doesn't mean that the concept of free will actually is the best way to talk about emergent human behaviors. (Just because I know the rules of chess doesn't make me a grandmaster.) There are still plenty of interesting questions remaining to be clarified. At the very least, there is some kind of tension between a microscopic view in which we're just made of particles and a macroscopic one in which we have "choices." David Albert does a great job of articulating this tension in this short excerpt from a Bloggingheads dialogue we did some time back. I don't generally think that the superior wisdom one acquires via training as a physicist grants one the power to see clearly through complicated issues and make philosophical conundrums dissolve away. But this is a case where insights from physics might actually be useful. In particular, what we are faced with is the task of reconciling effective theories at different levels of description that have apparently incompatible features: the impersonal evolution of the microscopic level (whether we go all the way to atoms, or stick with genes and neurons) and the irreducible possibility of "choice" at the macroscopic level. This kind of tension also appears in physics. Indeed, the arrow of time is a great example. The microscopic laws of physics (as far as we know) are perfectly reversible; evolution forward in time is no different from evolution backward in time. But the macroscopic world is manifestly characterized by irreversibility. That doesn't mean that the two descriptions are incompatible, just that we have to be careful about how they fit together. In the case of irreversibility, we realize that we need an extra ingredient: the particular configuration of our universe, not just the laws of physics. In fact, the connection goes beyond a mere analogy. If you look up arguments against compatibilism, you find something called The Consequence Argument. This is based on the "fundamental difference between the past and future" -- what we do now affects the future, but it doesn't affect the past. Earlier times are fixed, while we can still influence later times. The consequence argument points out that deterministic laws imply that the future isn't really up for grabs; it's determined by the present state just as surely as the past is. So we don't really have choices about anything. (For purposes of this discussion we can ignore the question of whether the microscopic laws really are deterministic; all that really matters are that there are laws.) The problem with this is that it mixes levels of description. If we know the exact quantum state of all of our atoms and forces, in principle Laplace's Demon can predict our future. But we don't know that, and we never will, and therefore who cares? What we are trying to do is to construct an effective understanding of human beings, not of electrons and nuclei. Given our lack of complete microscopic information, the question we should be asking is, "does the best theory of human beings include an element of free choice?" The reason why it might is precisely because we have different epistemic access to the past and the future. The low entropy of the past allows for the existence of "records" and "memories," and consequently forces us to model the past as "settled." We have no such restriction toward the future, which is why we model the future as something we can influence. From this perspective, free will is no more ruled out by the consequence argument than the Second Law of Thermodynamics is ruled out by microscopic reversibility. None of this quite settles the question of whether "free will" is actually a crucial ingredient in the best theory of human beings we can imagine developing. I suspect it is, but I'm willing to change my mind as we learn more. The context in which it really matters is when we turn to questions of moral responsibility. Should we hold people who do bad things responsible for their actions -- even if our understanding of neuroscience improves to such an extent that we can identify precisely which gene or neuron "made them do it?" (This is the focus of Eagleman's article.) This is a resolutely practical question -- who gets thrown in jail? Criminal law has the concept of mens rea, guilty mind. We don't find people guilty of crimes simply because they committed them; they had to be responsible, in the sense that they had the mental capacity to have known better. In other words: we have a model of human beings as rational agents, able to gather and process information, understand consequences, and make decisions. When they make the wrong ones, they deserve to be punished. People who are incapable of this kind of rationality -- young children, the mentally ill -- are not held responsible in the same way. Might we someday understand the brain so well, reducing thought to a series of mechanical processes, that this model ceases to be useful? It seems possible, but unlikely. We know that air is made of molecules, but the laws of thermodynamics haven't lost their usefulness. Thinking of the collections of atoms we call "people" as rational agents capable of making choices seems like a pretty good theory to me, likely to remain useful for a long while to come. At least, that's what I choose to think.


text:
Q: Using CDN clears page content I have a reference to a CDN on my page with a fallback script in case this cannot be reached.
<script type="text/javascript" src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/knockout/3.5.1/knockout-latest.min.js" integrity="sha384-PA7LgTHoYGwvEy2evWvC3sNOQlmK/vfk//sStiSk3QK3fUDO8oN3VKvHgSPyVKqx" crossorigin="anonymous" ></script>
<script type="text/javascript">(window.ko)||document.write('<script type="text/javascript" src="/bundles/knockout?v=20200622" ><\/script>');</script>

This reference is placed on html file that is dynamically loaded by ajax and added with jQuery:
$.ajax({ url: action, cache: false }).done(
   function (data, textStatus, jqXHR) { contentCtrl.html(jqXHR.responseText); }
);

But when this html is added on the page, the page is cleared, and only the html for the fallback remains. Anyone know how I can solve this? (I suspect this has something with the document.write that is executed from the fallback?)

A: According to here document.write clears the page by calling document.open first after the page is loaded (which is your use case since I assume your ajax call happens after loading the page). You might want to look into $.getScript instead.


Chelsea will look to book their place in the fourth round of the FA Cup when they take on Norwich City in their replay at Stamford Bridge this evening.
Antonio Conte has made several changes to his starting eleven with Willy Caballero coming in between the sticks while David Luiz and Ethan Ampadu join Cesar Azpilicueta in defence.
Davide Zappacosta replaces Victor Moses on the right while Kenedy is given another chance to impress on the left with Tiemoue Bakayoko joined by Danny Drinkwater in midfield.
Willian and Pedro will support Michy Batshuayi in attack as Alvaro Morata and Eden Hazard drop to the bench where they are joined by the likes of N'Golo Kante and Andreas Christensen.
Caballero; Azpilicueta (c), David Luiz, Ampadu; Zappacosta, Bakayoko, Drinkwater, Kenedy; Willian, Batshuayi, Pedro.
Subs: Eduardo, Christensen, Sterling, Kante, Musonda, Hazard, Morata.


text:
package it.playfellas.superapp;

import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.Collection;
import java.util.Collections;
import java.util.List;
import java.util.Random;

/**
 * Created by affo on 06/08/15.
 */
public class RandomUtils {

    public static <T> List<T> choice(T[] array, int n) {
        int size = n > array.length ? array.length : n;

        List<Integer> indexes = new ArrayList<>();
        for (int i = 0; i < array.length; i++) {
            indexes.add(i);
        }

        Collections.shuffle(indexes);
        List<Integer> rndIndexes = indexes.subList(0, size);

        List<T> ret = new ArrayList<>();
        for (Integer i : rndIndexes) {
            ret.add(array[i]);
        }

        return ret;
    }

    public static <T> List<T> choice(Collection<T> coll, int n) {
        return (List<T>) choice(coll.toArray(), n);
    }

    public static <T> T choice(Collection<T> coll) {
        return (T) choice(coll.toArray());
    }

    public static <T> T choice(T[] a) {
        return a[(new Random()).nextInt(a.length)];
    }
}


text:
import React, { Component, PropTypes } from 'react';
import { vec2 as Vec2 } from 'gl-matrix';

import NumberInput from './numberInput';

export default class VectorInput extends Component {
  handleChange(pos, e) {
    let vec = Vec2.create();
    if (this.props.value) Vec2.copy(vec, this.props.value);
    vec[pos] = parseFloat(e.target.value);
    if (this.props.onChange) {
      this.props.onChange({
        target: {
          value: vec
        }
      });
    }
  }
  render() {
    const { value } = this.props;
    return (
      <div className='vector-input-component'>
        <NumberInput value={ value && value[0].toFixed(3) }
          onChange={this.handleChange.bind(this, 0)}
        />
        <NumberInput value={ value && value[1].toFixed(3) }
          onChange={this.handleChange.bind(this, 1)}
        />
      </div>
    );
  }
}

VectorInput.propTypes = {
  value: PropTypes.any,
  onChange: PropTypes.func
};


text:
A farewell to the front-engine Corvette on Route 66
Founder & Resident Photographer
From Hagerty by Benjamin Preston
Only a month remains before Chevrolet pulls back the curtain on its long-awaited mid-engine Corvette. It will mark the first time since the Corvette's 1953 debut that it was anything but a front-engine, rear-wheel-drive two-seater, even if the mid-engine design has been in the works since Zora Arkus-Duntov began testing the first layout of the design in the late-'50s. For everyone who cares about Corvettes, this is a big deal.
To celebrate the last of these glorious high-tech fossils, I set out on a journey across another of America's bygone icons: historic Route 66. Behind the wheel of a 2019 Corvette Grand Sport, I motored from Chicago to L.A. on a road that doesn't really exist anymore, in a car that almost doesn't.
Full disclosure: I don't fit neatly into the aged-in-place Boomer demographic that makes up the Corvette's core buyers. I'm 40—as old as guys who had Corvettes were when I was a kid. (Most Corvette owners are closer to 60.) As such, I'm not old enough to remember anything about Route 66 other than the nostalgic images flashed on television from time to time throughout my life. But I do know what both represent in the broader context of American culture. Route 66 is America's road, and the Corvette is America's sports car. Just ask any of the dozens of foreign tourists I encountered along the 2448 miles between Chicago and Los Angeles.
The Corvette became a Route 66 icon in spite of itself. The desperate Okie migrants in John Steinbeck's novel The Grapes of Wrath struggled along what Steinbeck called the Mother Road toward California in barely-functional jalopies two decades before the 'Vette hit GM's glitzy Motorama shows. Jack Kerouac spent plenty of time on 66, but the Beat novelist wasn't a Corvette guy either. Most vacationers during the highway's glory days were pre-Corvette, too. Clark Gable was known to drive a fast car between Hollywood and the rest of America on 66, but his ride was a '49 Jaguar XK120 roadster.
It was the Route 66 television series in the early '60s that cemented the automobile's place in the annals of America's Main Street. The premise was simple: Two guys drove around the country in a Corvette and got odd jobs, meeting people ensconced in obscurity and helping them through whatever problems they faced. The irony is that—unlike, say, The Dukes of Hazzard, The Rockford Files, or Starsky & Hutch—the car was only a bit player in the show, which almost never took place anywhere near 66. But that's all it took to crystallize the association. As I sped through crumbling, mostly vacant towns, I saw little Corvette logos sprinkled everywhere. I didn't see many other 'Vettes, though.
By the time the chrome-mawed '53 Corvette arrived on showroom floors, 66 had already hit its peak. Three years later, President Eisenhower signed the Federal-Aid Highway Act into law, sounding the death knell for old-fashioned highways like 66. The interstate system was born, gradually increasing the speed of traffic by sending it whooshing around all the little towns 66 had plodded through in the middle decades of the 20th century.
Limited-access highways raised speeds and Corvettes got faster. In 1963—the year the Corvette Sting Ray was introduced—it could be had with a 360-horsepower fuel-injected 327 cubic-inch V-8 that could get the little car to a top speed of 142 mph. By the late '60s, Chevrolet was stuffing big-block engines rated at more than 400 horsepower between the car's narrow fiberglass fenders.
As muscle cars began to die after 1970, so too did Route 66. The interstate construction juggernaut was well on its way by then, chewing up everything in its path in the name of progress. Sections of old 66 remained, but where it was more convenient to tear it up and lay down high-speed asphalt ribbons, the Mother Road was subsumed. In 1985, 'U.S. 66' ceased to be an official route designation.
Fortunately, both Route 66 and the Corvette have rebounded since the dark days of Detroit malaise, albeit in different ways. These days, the base Corvette engine—including the one in the Grand Sport model I drove—is rated at 455 horsepower. On top of that, it handles as well as or better than many Italian and German sports cars that cost a lot more money.
For its part, 66 is enjoying a renaissance of sorts. Keen attention from travelers foreign and domestic alike (it's one of the bucket list things to do) has led to a number of restorations among the old motels, diners, and gas stations along the route. Notable establishments include the Blue Swallow Motel in Tucumcari, New Mexico; the Phillips 66 gas station, feed store, and cafe in Spencer, Missouri; the Tower Conoco & U-Drop Inn in Shamrock, Texas; and the Arcadia Round Barn in Arcadia, Oklahoma.
Add into the mix the attractions that have sprouted amid the ruins—Red Oak II, just outside Carthage, Missouri; the modern murals of Miami, Oklahoma; the McDonald's museum in San Bernardino, California—and you have a rich cultural tapestry that has to be the longest (by distance) living museum in the world. At the very least, it's a testament to the uniquely American knack for roadside attractions and a celebration of nation of entrepreneurs who are willing to go to any length to bring in more customers (I'm looking at you, World's (Second) Largest Rocking Chair, Leaning Tower of Britten, and Twin Arrows).
Even with the resurgence, things are changing. The old places are dying out. Even among the success stories, there are many other places that no one had the funding or the desire to bring back to life. On the more densely populated eastern end of the route, many old motels and defunct filling stations unable to turn a profit languish as truck parking or construction equipment storage. Nearby, abandoned lanes of the old highway hide in the weeds. Out West, the mass migration of so many Americans toward the same cities and suburbs is felt even more acutely, and signs of abandonment—even of structures built in recent decades, far after Route 66 withered from a state of practical use—are stark.
The two giant arrows that once stood showed motorists the way to the Twin Arrows Trading Post outside Flagstaff, Arizona, are quietly rotting away. One day they'll fall and that will be that. The Roger Miller Museum in Erick, Oklahoma shut its doors for good more than a year ago as the towns around it have lost their vital spark.
New things spring up where the old ones once were, though. In many places, weeds live where restaurant patrons once parked. There are less desolate examples, too, like the gleaming row of Tesla Superchargers standing behind the Tower Conoco in Shamrock, Texas. Although the building has been restored, complete with a mannequin-filled diner, it no longer sells gasoline.
As a platform for a trip down memory lane, the seventh-generation Corvette was something of a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it was fast and comfortable to sit in for long stretches. On the other hand, it was difficult to get in and out of repeatedly (even for someone like me, who is in reasonable physical condition) when you want to see roadside curiosities every 15 minutes. It's a fresh-looking modern car, but it's also anachronistic––a computerized dinosaur that, when driven as it's designed to be driven, drinks a whole lot of dinosaur juice.
Still, it was the ideal car for a tour of America's boom-years. After all, I was looking back at a time when the Corvette was the come-to-life concept some of this country's most creative and industrious people were just dreaming up. Even in a car and on a road that had each run its course, the nostalgic energy was palpable.
Plus, I had only a week to do the whole thing, so in typical American fashion it was a fast-paced trip—drive, stop, photos, drive, stop, photos. That's when modern interstate highways and a car designed to travel them quickly came in pretty handy. When the road turned to dirt for 14 miles after crossing the Texas border into New Mexico, that was fine, too—fat Grand Sport slicks be ****ed.
More than anything else, a trip down old Route 66 was a chance to think about where things are headed. Not just with the Corvette, which is reinventing itself to compete with the European supercars that have been tempting the young-wealthy to give up their money for decades now.
Where are we headed? Looking for fragments of a now-obsolete roadway from the seat of an archaic kind of car puts things into perspective. We've been doing the same interstate highway thing for more than half a century, and if the traffic congestion and decaying roads we're seeing now is any indication, the system is showing signs of its age. Everyone likes to point toward technology as our ultimate savior—but whether autonomous cars and better battery technology will improve life or create more problems is very much an open question.
The Corvette thundered into Santa Monica at the end of my trip in the predictable fashion—too fast, covered with splattered bugs and looking a bit downmarket compared to the shiny Porsches and Lamborghinis you see scurrying all over the place in L.A. I didn't care. It's a fantastic car and bore proudly the battle scars of a monumental trip down America's memory lane.
I thought of all the people who had made it across the parched hell of the Mojave Desert in the old days, without air conditioning or GPS, to the salty, welcome breeze blowing off the Pacific. After all, finally getting there, fundamentally changed, had always been the point of going west.
WhiteHot Arctic White with Adrenalin C7
'RedHot' Prod.Wk 7 Oct '13 Museum Del. 29 Oct '13- Sold Oct '21
Contributing Member of the National Corvette Museum
Web site: https://www.daumphotography.com/
blog: https://insight.daumphotography.com/
tooold2race
Founding, Sr. Contributing Member & Patron
Location: Keller, Texas
I think this 'farewell' to the FE Corvette is a lot like the 'farewell' to the convertible in the 1975 model year. Remember Corvette and Cadillac??? Then what happened??? But, hey, if it gets folks excited and talking about the brand, and out driving 'em, that's GREAT....
2020 HTC Torch Red with lots of goodies. Built in September. Museum Delivered in October......
Other toys in the garage: Ferrari California, BMW i8 Roadster, Bentley Flying Spur, Chevy SSr
Thanks jeff, I enjoyed the article. Lot of nostalgia and Automobile History. I loved that show (Route 66) as a kid.
Originally posted by tooold2race View Post
Good point indeed. Time will tell!
Thanks Jeff. Fun article to read. We have been on parts of Route 66 three times, and each one was a lot of fun. Perhaps our C8 will take us from one end to the other?
If you have some recent pictures of your travels on Route 66, preferably in your Corvette, please feel free to post them here.
Senior Contributing Member & Patron
Just a great read...and photography as well to tell the story.
thank you so much for sharing.


A kind of motorized traction that is designed to help relieve back pain. Spinal decompression gently stretches the spine and changes its force and position. The result is that pressure is taken off spinal discs, thus reducing the level of pain felt.


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As James Ehnes explains in his latest how-to video, col legno means "with the wood" and refers to the use of the back of the bow — the wooden part — to play the violin.
When played off the string, it creates an earthy, twangy sound. Occasionally a composer will ask the violinist to play col legno tratto, wherein the violinist actually passes the back of the bow over the strings to produce a softer, whooshier sound.
Watch Ehnes demonstrate col legno and share a potentially money-saving pro tip in the video below.