Meal Notes: There's a reason gumbo is the official state cuisine of Louisiana. In a city jam-packed with deliciousness, gumbo is still my New Orleans go-to. This is my own gumbo recipe, combining a few favorite recipes into a simple version that still retains that signature gumbo richness. Although the roux* is necessarily time consuming, it's also easy enough to make and pays dividends in depth of flavor. Serve with a side salad or cornbread to make a full meal.
Source: Although I've mixed several sources for my version of gumbo, I borrowed most heavily from a copycat Gumbo Shop recipe available at Bacon Concentrate.
Prep: Dice chicken, bell pepper, and celery. Mince garlic. Cut sausage into 1/2 inch slices, then cut the slices in half.
Make the roux: In a dutch oven (or other heavy-bottomed pan), heat oil for about five minutes. Gradually add the flour, whisking until smooth. Switch to a wooden spoon and stir the roux constantly for about 20 minutes until it resembles at least the color of peanut butter - or, if you've got a glass of wine and good podcast going, keeping stirring for 40 minutes, until the roux resembles the color of dark chocolate.
Cook the vegetables and meat: When the roux is finished, stir in the bell pepper, celery, and garlic. Cook for for 3-5 minutes, then add the canned tomatoes and sausage. Cook for another 10 minutes before adding the diced chicken, chicken broth, and all of the spices.
Simmer: Leaving the pot uncovered, simmer your gumbo for anywhere from 40 minutes to an hour and a half. The longer it cooks, the richer the flavor will be. If you haven't already, now would be a great time to make your rice according to the package instructions.
Finish: Serve the gumbo with hot cooked rice mounded in the middle of each bowl.
*What is a roux? A roux is a mixture of fat and flour, simmered to varying degrees and often used as a base for sauces and soups in French cooking. The roux function to create depth, smoothness, and thickness. The version found in French cooking is typically much lighter in color than the version found in Cajun/Creole dishes. That said, there is no universal consensus on whether the proper roux color for gumbo is closer to peanut butter or dark chocolate. My two cents? The mixture should be at least light brown, but, after that, the proper color of the roux is the color you'll see when you're tired of stirring.
**File Powder v. Okra: Depending on who you ask, the word "gumbo" derives from either the West African word for okra or the Choctaw word for filé (powdered sassafras). Both ingredients are options for thickening gumbo and adding earthy flavor, leading to much heated linguistic/culinary debate over which is the superior, more authentic choice. As a non-expert, non-Louisianan, I wouldn't dream of entering the fray. I will simply say that I opt for filé powder because it eliminates the extra step of okra caramelizing. Also, most grocery stores in my area have file powder, while okra can be harder to find.


Prepared to Succeed at the Naples Children's Business Fair!
Over 100 children and their families attended an orientation on Tuesday, September 25 to get tips on how they can succeed as a young entrepreneur at the Naples Children's Business Fair.
The Children's Business Fair, a nationally-recognized program, is coming to Naples on Oct. 20. Sponsored by The Greater Naples Chamber of Commerce and the Leadership Collier Foundation (LCF), this national event gives students between the ages of 6 and 17 the chance to showcase their products, while promoting entrepreneurial skills.
The Acton Children's Business Fair is a national event originally developed by the Acton Academy Schools and Acton MBA Program. The organizations believe in the power of work and entrepreneurship to improve self esteem and strong communities. At the Naples Chamber and LCF we work each day to expand our workforce and diversify our economy. We understand that to affect real change in our workforce and community, we need to be strongly invested in connecting students to the educational and business opportunities to excel.
At the orientation Chamber vice president of events and development, Nikkie Dvorchak and vice president of the LCF, Amanda Beights, walked through the event timeline, set-up and tear-down and covered helpful tips for selling products and services.
It was a delight to see the excitement in our local students! They asked a variety of questions about the awards, their business presentation and were diligently taking notes.
We are expecting around 800 attendees at the Naples Children's Business Fair! There are over 106 "businesses" registered with over 150 students participating. There will be everything to buy from soaps to art and even magic!
Like the Facebook event here to stay informed!


text:
Kubernetes (K8s) is an open source container management platform. It provides a portable platform across public and private clouds. K8s supports deployment, scaling and auto-healing of applications. More details can be found at: http://kubernetes.io/docs/whatisk8s/

# 2. Problem statement
In Kuberntes 1.3, cluster federation was introduced and there were many improvement done in kubernetes 1.5. In Kubernetes 1.6, RBAC feature is introduced as Beta feature. Also with Kubernetes 1.7, network-policy is made a GA feature. In contrail 4.1, these features will be supported.

# 3. Proposed solution

## 3.1.1 Network-policy
With Kubernetes 1.7, NetworkPolicy has been moved from `extensions/v1beta1` to the new `networking.k8s.io/v1` API group. The structure remains unchanged from the beta1 API. The `net.beta.kubernetes.io/network-policy` annotation on Namespaces to opt in to isolation has been removed as well. Contrail-kube-manager needs to support these changes. Contrail has introduced the firewall policy framework. The framework simplified creation of a policy and application of the policy to Virtual-Machines, Containers and Pods. We plan to move network-policy implementation from Security-Group to Application Policy Set (APS).

## 3.1.2 RBAC
Mapping of RBAC policies between Kubernetes and Contrail.

## 3.1.3 Federation
Federation makes it easy to manage multiple clusters by synchronizing resources across multiple clusters and providing cross cluster discovery. Cluster federation enables high availabilty by spreading load across clusters. It also helps customers migrate applications across clusters avoiding vendor lock-in.

# 3.2.1 Implementation

# 4. Implementation

# 5. Performance and scaling impact

## 5.1 API and control plane
None

## 5.2 Forwarding performance

# 6. Upgrade

# 7. Deprecations
None

# 8. Dependencies

# 9. Debugging

# 10. Testing
## 10.1 Unit tests
## 10.2 Dev tests
## 10.3 System tests

# 11. Documentation Impact

# 12. References

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
"It's Been Really Empowering" - Lewis Reflects On 2022
In the frenetic, ultra-competitive and highly charged world of Formula One, finding time to reflect on experiences and memories during the season is sadly rare.
The off-season, however, provides that precious breathing space to pause and look back on the year just gone. Before he headed off for his winter break, we sat down with Lewis to talk about the rollercoaster season we've had as a team, analyse the good moments along with the bad, and look ahead to next year's challenge as the Team aims to fight back from 2022.
It's been a few weeks since the season ended. Now that the dust has settled, how do you reflect on the year we've had?
Lewis Hamilton: "It's been a very hard year for everyone. For me, it's been challenging in ways that I wasn't expecting, but I am incredibly grateful for that. I have felt more growth this year as a man, in terms of internal strength, than I have in many other years."
Toto said it has been the most important season in this team's history because we learn the most from the challenging times. Is that a view you also share?
LH: "If you look back at the team's entire history, it was here a long time before Toto and I joined and they had some really difficult years. Some of the people have been here for over 20 years and really been through the thick of it. I would say for our current team, in terms of the last 10 years, this has been the toughest year for everyone along with the most strengthening. There has been so much resistance, so much we have been up against, and I am thankful that we have. There are many people working here, along with many new people in the team, and this experience has been good for them too. When we win, there is a different gratitude now because it happened so often before."
From the position we were in at the start of the season to where we were at the end of the season, how do you assess the progress the Team has made?
LH: "It's been impressive, for sure. I always knew that we could do it. I never doubted that we would get there in the end, but there was lots of trial and error, and so much failure this year. There were times we brought upgrades and they didn't work, and times we tried different things and it didn't work. I tried so many things and failed so many times but through that you learn and grow. That's what it's been about this year. It's been about failure, breaking down egos, strengthening our relationships, and strengthening our communications. From that perspective it's been really empowering."
Were there any turning points and moments where you could tangibly feel the progress the Team was making?
LH: "The first big step was Barcelona, that was our first hint of there being more potential in the car. It turned out to be a bit of a false positive; the car was good there but then the races afterwards were difficult. It was like a ghost was in the car and it kept coming back. But then there was France and that felt like a good step with our first double podium of the season. And then there was Austin, too, with the update we had working well."
How did you find working with George in his first year as a race driver for the Team? How did your working relationship evolve and how integral was that in helping the Team progress on track?
LH: "I think it's been smooth and there has been a lot of growth. I have worked with many drivers before, so it was perhaps more normal for me but for him, it was probably more of an adjustment because he was new to the team and it was the first time we had worked together properly. He's been great to work with, pushing the car forwards technically and set-up wise. It's been a good first year as team-mates."
It's been a challenging year for all of us, how do you cope with the ups and the downs? How do you keep a positive mindset and stay motivated?
LH: "The fans continue to keep me going. This whole year, I was just hopeful we would get there. I kept trying to be the best team-mate I could be to everyone I worked with. We were all in the same boat, stuck together no matter what but we're all rowing in the same direction, needing to stay aligned. We just kept on working to make it through and get the best out of every opportunity."
Through the good times and the bad times, we've always had great support from the fans. How important is that for yourself and the wider team?
LH: "I think this has been the greatest year in my career in terms of fan support. There has been so much love and that's so appreciated in a time where the world is going through a really tough period. To see everyone excited for our sport, weekend in, weekend out, is so good. It's the most excited I've seen the fans and the most passionate, so the support feels like it is magnified. I felt like we've been on a journey together more than ever before."
Were there any on-track highlights from the season that stand out? Any battles or results that spring to mind?
LH: "Budapest felt great. Zandvoort was good too, and so was Silverstone with the atmosphere and being able to finish on the podium there. Brazil was a highlight for how happy the team was. I was nervous of losing the one-two and was grateful we crossed the line and secured it. I've not seen the team that happy in a while, so that felt great, given where I got knocked back to at the start."
And outside of racing, you're busy with lots of projects and interests. Do you have any highlights or something that you are most proud of achieving off-track?
LH: "The thing I'm most proud of is Mission 44. We have potentially one of the most diverse non-profit organisations operating in the UK and I have been to visit schools, I have seen the impact that it is starting to have, and I am so proud of this. I really feel like I'm living to do my purpose, and I feel like it's starting to have a tangible and positive effect. We are going to start seeing more equality for young kids and more opportunities for children from different backgrounds, so I am excited about that."
What makes you most excited for 2023?
LH: "I'm definitely excited for 2023. These last few years have been so difficult for so many around the world, so many people struggling with the war and many other things. I hope something kicks us all into gear to understand that we need to be more compassionate and caring to each other and I am praying for that all the time. A new year to be better, a new year to climb, keep fighting and unite even more. And it's another chance to fight for a World Championship."

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Notre Dame Bay is a large bay in Newfoundland, Canada. To the south it adjoins the Bay of Exploits.

The name, French for Our Lady Bay, dates to at least 1550, and is possibly a French translation of an earlier Portuguese name.

Trump Islands are located within Notre Dame Bay.

References

Bays of Newfoundland and Labrador

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Perrot news
Perrot & Richard set to revive century-old concert hall in Lyon
The city of Lyon has selected French design firm Perrot & Richard Architectes to renovate the Salle Rameau, a 100-year-old concert hall in Lyon that once hosted performances by the likes of Louis Armstrong and Ray Ventura. French real estate firm Companie de Phalsbourg will lead the €14.3m (US$16m, £12.3m) overhaul, which will see the Art Nouveau building's dilapidated facilities converted into an 840-capacity theatre, a rooftop bar, a restaurant,
Snøhetta, Cao Perrot and Schlögl & Süß Architekten present €34m Swarovski Crystal Worlds expansion
by Tom Anstey | 29 Apr 2015
A team made up of Snøhetta, Cao Perrot and Schlögl & Süß Architekten have created the architectural elements and designs for the €34m (US$37.3m, £24.3m) expansion of Wattens, Austria's Swarovski Crystal Worlds. The museum, opened in 1995 to celebrate crystal-maker Swarovski's 100th anniversary, was originally designed by artist Andre Heller, who was commissioned to design the 14-chamber museum. Reopening on 30 April, the expansion has nearly doubled the available space,
Polin Group
Market leader in design, manufacturing and installation of waterslides and water leisure developments.
Profile: Peter Cook: Peter Cook
"Somehow we'd caught the imagination of people"
As a book about radical architecture collective Archigram is released, we speak to one of the founders about the need for fun


text:
Writers / Aivars Ozoliņš
Aivars Ozoliņš
Writer and journalist Aivars Ozoliņš (1957) studied at the Faculty of Foreign Languages at the University of Latvia. Renowned as one of the first Latvian postmodern writers, he made his debut in the late 1980s with a novella entitled Almost a Hundred (Gandrīz simts, 1989). His seminal work is the book Dukts (1991), a cult classic of Latvian postmodernism fiction, which had clear intentions to cast doubt on the entire purpose of fiction and writing. Dukts consists of several unconnected stories, varying in style and length, but all of an experimental nature, full of wordplay, puns, parody and references to other texts in the same vein as the work of Daniil Kharms and Donald Barthelme. The most popular is the titular story – a humorous and absurd parody about what is described as an eponymous mythical "game of gods that everyone can play." Ozoliņš quit writing soon after the publication of Dukts and became a well-known political commentator. His works have been translated in Russian, English and Swedish.
Dukts. Riga: Liesma, 1991; Jumava, 2014.
Sapnīši un Gandrīz simts [Dreams and Almost Hundred] (Dreams by Eva Rubene). Riga: Zinātne, 1989.
Dukts
Dukts (Dukts)
Dukts is the only book-length publication of Aivars Ozoliņš. It is an exemplary work of postmodernism, in which influences as wide ranging as Kharms, Kafka, Barthelme and Latvian nonsense poet Ņurbulis intermingle to create a unique blend of literature about nothing. Perhaps fittingly, after Dukts was published, which was soon followed by the short story Pasaka Nr. 13 [Fairy Tale No. 13], the author has not published any other work since, and has abstained from talking publicly about his writing. However, Dukts is one of the very few books with staying power from that heady era in Latvian literature when authors immersed themselves in all that had been previously forbidden or unwelcome. In 2014 the book was republished, and it is being enthusiastically discussed yet again at universities and dorm rooms all over Latvia. The book offers a kaleidoscopic mixture of characters, ideas and wordplay, mostly centred on the concept of "Dukts" – a word with no real meaning in Latvian. As the narrator explains in the book: "The essence of Dukts (although as of yet we're not sure what it actually is) can be best portrayed by a single infinitely long, over-exposed film, which has to be seen instantaneously to be understood." The book then details all the futile historical attempts to define or comprehend Dukts before showing the concept in practice with a brilliant series of surreal short stories.
Contacts: izdevnieciba@jumava.lv www.jumava.lv
Dukts_by_A.Ozolins.pdf
Jumava (originally published by Liesma in 1991)
All languages available
About Dukts // Internet magazine Punctum.lv, 2015 [LV]
Guntis Berelis, Kā atrast ideālo valodu? Ceļā uz Duktu, review of Dukts // Guntis Berelis blog, 1993 [LV]
Guntis Berelis, review of Dukts // Guntis Berelis blog, 1992 [LV]


text:
Written By: Barbara Taylor Bradford
Narrated By: Buffy Davis
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers UK
Drama, heartbreak, redemption - condensed into an unputdownable novella from the master storyteller.
On the surface, Claire Saunders has it all. She has a rewarding career in fashion and a talented concert pianist daughter. Her loving husband is one of the country's most trusted diplomats.
But every now and again, she has to plaster her face in heavy make-up and wears sunglasses. She thinks she's hidden her secret from her best friends, but they know her too well.
Can her friends get her out of harm's way and protect her from a man who is as ruthless as he is charming and powerful? And along the way, can Claire learn to stop protecting the wrong people?
by Barbara Taylor Bradford
This title is due for release on February 3, 2014.
This title is due for release on February 3, 2014


text:
Bunny Yeager "How I Photograph Myself"
Installation of Bunny Yeager How I Photograph Myself
Self Portrait in Polka Dot Bikini with Rolleicord Camera, 1963
Hand-painted fiber print mounted to board
Image Dimensions: 20 x 16 inches
Framed Dimensions: 29 x 23 inches
Bunny in Handmade Negligee (after Jean Harlow) - Miami, FL, 1963
Image Dimensions: 21 1/2 x 17 1/2 inches
Edition 1/5
Bunny in Sweater - Miami, FL, 1963
Bunny in Lotus Position in Studio - Miami, FL, 1963
Bunny Seated on Bed - Miami, FL, 1963
Bunny in Lotus Position on Beach in Handmade Suit - Miami Beach, FL, 1963
Image Dimensions: 22 x 17 1/2 inches
Bunny on Sun Porch - Miami, FL, 1963
Bunny Self Portrait Viewing Photographs, Miami, FL, 1959
Image Dimensions: 18 3/4 x 19 inches
Bunny at Picnic Table in Handmade Bikini - Miami, FL, 1963
Bunny with her Burke & James 8 x 10 Camera, 1963
Digital pigment prints
Bunny in Black Lace with Exposure Meter, 1955
Image Dimensions: 9 x 7 1/2 inches
Framed Dimensions: 16 1/2 x 14 1/2 inches
Self Portrait in Black Lingerie with Camera and Mirror, 1955
Image Dimensions: 9 1/2 x 6 3/4 inches
Bunny Yeager in Black Lace with Her Rolleiflex Camera, 1955
Bunny in transparent nightgown with breasts exposed, 1965
Bunny in bed nude with sheet, 1962
Bunny in bed covered by a sheet, 1963
Bunny with Typewriter, 1963
Bunny in 2-pc. Suit with Mirror and Camera, 1955
Bunny in Floral top
Image Dimensions: 10 x 8 inches
Bunny with Bettie Page and Cheetahs at Africa, USA - Boca Raton, FL, 1954
Image Dimensions: 18.5 x 15.5 inches
Bettie Page Clutching her Hair at Key Biscayne, FL
Hand painted silver gelatin print
Bettie Page reclining with stuffed animal, 1954
Bettie Page Nude with Christmas Tree, 1954
Bettie Page on Chris Craft with Hand Behind the Head, 1954
Bettie Page Reclining on Sofa at Coral Gables, FL, 1954
Digital print on fine art paper
Bunny Yeager Self Portrait with Lori Shea, Naples, FL, 1954
Bunny and Elaine Lekas with Nero the Leopard - Miami, FL, 1965
Opening Reception: Saturday, July 25 from 6-8pm
Gavlak Los Angeles proudly presents a solo show of photographs by artist-model Bunny Yeager, including hand-painted photographs of Bunny, Bettie Page, numerous self-portraits, and images that reveal behind the scene secrets to how she created her work. Born Eleanor Linnea Yeager in Pittsburgh, PA in 1929, Bunny passed away in 2014 in Miami, Florida. The ironic innocence of Bunny Yeager's pin-up format compositions is palpable in the current pop-historical climate in which pornography is an explosive international industry, with a panoramic range between entertaining and damaging. In such a climate today, Yeager's work, and even her pseudonym "Bunny," operate like time capsules from a softer, less harsh, more voluptuous day. Both she and her subjects embrace the performance of a sticky-sweet, hyper-gendered sexuality along with a highly studied, poolside elegance where everyone plays along with full disclosure. What sets Yeager apart is her intentional authorship as a woman photographer in a man's world of looking at women. The multiplicity of identities she assumed for her herself and her "girls" is itself a lifelong conceptual act, as is the conscious presence of the camera as a second subject or muse. The apparatus is often revealed in her glamour shots, as if to reinforce her authorship as photographer.
Yeager was a model, beauty pageant queen, promoter, author, designer, scriptwriter, wife, mother of two, and a sought-after photographer and artist. Even though socially it was unheard of for a woman of her background to be an artist, she was on the cover of U.S. Camera in 1954, but the headline: "The World's Prettiest Photographer" points to the contradictory nature of what it meant then to be both model and photographer.
Yeager moved to Miami at 17 where she completed high school and studied photography at The Lindsay-Hopkins Technical College. It was then, in 1954, that she was asked by actress Bettie Page to photograph her. This lead to the famous January 1955 Playboy Magazine centerfold of Page wearing nothing but a Santa hat, launching Yeager's career as a nationally recognized photographer. Soon after, Yeager began to write "How To Photograph" books, such as her 1957 How to Photograph the Female Figure, publishing thirty books in total.
One piece, which perfectly captures the artist in her practice, is the photograph of blonde bombshell Bunny with a lipstick red tripod, red shoes, and red sweater. Her exquisite left leg points in a pose that is so intentional it is practically contortionist. Her toes pull the camera's matching cherry red selfie-cord, revealing the subversive nature of the model and artist all at once. Given that fashion photographers were men and models were women only adds to the transgressive tone of this image and of Bunny's extensive oeuvre of photographs.
Yeager's books in the 1960s such as How to Photograph Nudes and How I Photograph Myself influenced such artist-photographers as Diane Arbus and Cindy Sherman. Her work may be viewed within a longer history of subversive self-photographers, from the infamous Countess di Castiglione, known as "la divina contessa," who authored countless portraits of her face, body, costumes, and legs, over her entire lifetime and career as Italian consort to Emperor Napoleon. Also Vogue model-photographer Lee Miller comes to mind, photographing herself at times through the 1930s, with Man Ray as her muse and vice versa. We may even consider Bunny's work within the history of women and self-portraiture: Anguissola, Gentilleschi, Leyster, Cameron, and Kahlo. But the glamorous side of Bunny's projected self and others has masked these important associations. It is as if seduced for decades, we are unable to see past the beauty. We stop in our tracks at bombshell, bunny, and blonde. The discourse ends with pin-up girl. But this is perhaps just the blinding starting point for a conversation about how the human form can be both: mother and model, beautiful and meaningful, innocent and intelligent, experienced and engaging. The many faces and figurative hats (hairdos) of Bunny Yeager are revealed for the first time in Los Angeles.
Bunny Yeager's work was featured in 2010 at The Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh in the exhibition Bunny Yeager: The Legendary Queen of the Pin-Up, curated by Emily Hetzel and Eric Shiner. In 2012 she exhibited in Miami, Dallas, Berlin, and Bulgaria and published her retrospective book Bunny Yeager's Darkroom: The Golden Age of Pin-up with Rizzoli New York. In 2013 she had her first retrospective at the Museum of Art Ft. Lauderdale, curated by Peter Boswell. Her work was featured at Gavlak in Palm Beach in 2014 and her work is represented in Europe by Galerie Schuster Berlin, in Miami by The Center for Visual Communication and Harold Golen Gallery, in Dallas by PDNB Gallery, and in Los Angeles and Palm Beach by Gavlak.
-Lisa Jaye Young, Ph.D.
For more information concerning the exhibition, please contact Tabor Story at tabor@gavlakgallery.com, or (323) 467-5700.
Meet Bunny Yeager, The Iconic Pinup Model Turned Photographer
Bunny Yeager, a glamour girl and glamour photographer in one
See the Iconic Self-Portraits of the Woman Who Made Bettie Page Famous
Wall Street International
How I Photograph Myself
25 Jul — 29 Aug 2015 at Gavlak Gallery in Los Angeles, United States


text:
The situation with workers' rights 1 November 2019 – 30 April 2020 semi-annual infographic
Workers' rights are human rights
International Labour Day, May Day, symbolizes the struggle to preserve and promote workers' rights and is celebrated in honour of the victims and injured of the bloody strike of May 1 to 4, 1886 in Chicago. The strike was one of the first cries in a series of fights for improvement of workers' position in countries around the world. At the time, the workers demanded the introduction of an eight-hour working day, and after this goal was partially achieved for certain share of workers, the celebration of Labour Day did not stop. The struggle for the protection and promotion of workers' rights continues, and May Day remains and continues to be an annual expression of these demands so that the fate, rights and obligations of the workers can never again be determined without the workers.
Today, 134 years later, for many workers, a 40-hour workweek and a free weekend are still unattainable desires. This also applies to many workers in North Macedonia, who on a daily basis face a series of violations of their labour rights, which are considered human rights under our Constitution.
The Helsinki Committee remains an ally of the workers
The Helsinki Committee for Human Rights will continue to monitor the situation of workers' rights in the country and is ready at any time to engage constructively in all processes with stakeholders to ensure respect for labour.
Over the last six months, the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights has registered 214 applications covering more than 3,432 workers. More than 461 workers lost their jobs, and approximately 696 workers had their salaries reduced or not paid at all. In these extremely unpredictable and difficult times, being without a salary for most workers means risking their bare existence and that is why we need solidarity and togetherness.
Workers are people of flesh and blood, with their own inalienable human rights, feelings, life stories and dignity. It is high time we all stand in defence of workers' rights and ensure that demands older than a century – a decent life for all, regulation of working hours and paid overtime, social and health security, are finally met.
Trade unions need to overcome division
The consequences of the current situation will require an active dialogue between the social partners to find appropriate measures and steps to overcome the crisis and move forward towards sustainable economic development. That is why the divided trade union organizations should consolidate its differences as soon as possible and provide an adequate representation of about 800,000 male and female workers in the country who live mostly on wage labour. Situations, such as the one from last year's May Day, when the general unions held three separate protest marches, only worsen the workers' negotiating position and point to the formality of the union, at the expense of the essential needs and problems. That is why it is absolutely necessary to redesign the fight for worker's rights and create conditions for effective impact in the securing of social justice.
Institutions must protect workers from the effects of the state of emergency
Workers were also the first to be hit when the state of emergency was declared across the country to deal with the effects of the coronavirus. That is why on this day, we reaffirm the united requests to the Government of several trade unions and civil society organizations, which refer to the protection of the workers and the poor and which have not obtained an appropriate response from the institutions to date.
Moratorium on all terminations of employment contracts by employers (business reasons) and on all pay cuts during the state of emergency;
The possibility for persons whose employment has been terminated due to their own statement, by agreement or due to alleged violation of discipline to exercise the right to monetary compensation for unemployed persons. The reason for this is because many workers have been deceived by employers in the past and their employment has been terminated in this manner.
To restrict financial support to companies that have dismissed workers since the beginning of the crisis, i.e. since the beginning of March. Many companies that have dismissed workers in the recent weeks, under the current measures can receive state aid despite the layoffs.
To provide protection for independent workers (freelancers, independent contractors and similar types of workers), who are the most vulnerable category and have almost no social and health insurance. These workers, following the example with the independent artists and athletes, should receive financial support for the months of April and May 2020, in the monthly amount of at least 14,500.00 denars.
Prohibit the calculation of interest rates by banks, savings houses, financial companies and enforcement agents for the duration of the crisis, i.e., prevent the respective entities from profiting in this crisis on the burden of the debtors.
State institutions should initiate proceedings to establish liability in the event of criminal misconduct by employers in connection with contractual and other dismissals of workers in the preceding period.
The semi-annual report on the situation of workers' rights and data related to all 214 cases are available for download on the infographic below. The Infographic covers the period from 1 November 2019 to 30 April 2020 and was produced within the project 'Improved productivity through better labour legislation in North Macedonia', funded by the Good Governance Fund of the United Kingdom. Opinions and views stated in the contents do not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of the Government of the United Kingdom.
The situation with workers' rights 1 November 2019 - 30 April 2020 semi-annual infographic


The essential reaction is "does your homework!" Because several car purchasers as well as other automobile providers tend not to prepare beforehand, doing so will surely place you earlier one of the contour before the purchase also comes about. To sell a used cars and vehicle is always to participate in something that almost every person has to practical experience at some point in daily life. Should you handle it the correct way, you may get an outstanding expense to your automobile plus find the automobile advertising process interestingly simple.
You will need a selling price to advertise your car. While you possibly at present know, Kelley Glowing blue Publication is the most beneficial resource for creating whatever you can get for your vehicle in their present problem. Count on KBB; nevertheless don't wait to create a cost that best suits you. In some cases even KBB is wrong or fails to consist of the bells and in addition whistles inside your customized car.
Nobody wishes to obtain a messy cheap used cars for sale fresno. You require taking a moment to have the cars and vehicle willing to get by washing the exterior as well as inside fully. Consider adding some oxygen freshener to spruce details up and also make sure you organized each place and cranny. Your car demands to look great when driving a car about in addition to when parked curbside, so ensure that you remain in addition to the schedule washing.
Today it is quite easy to offer an automobile since advertising is really obtainable. There are many sites readily accessible to supply your car cost-free or possibly a tiny charge. Your selection of site will mainly depend upon the type of car you might be marketing and advertising and also the demographic you wish to get to.
Since your auto is ready for sale and unlock towards the marketplace, you can expect to definitely need to come up with connecting with customers. The arrangement approach inside the cars and pickup truck getting as well as vehicle advertising and marketing purchase may be complicated since so many individuals look on this knowledge of some anxiety and stress. In the event you in shape, comfortable, and also self-confident, you can expect to definitely be a reduce higher than the rest when you gratify folks contemplating your car or truck.
To seal an agreement in motor vehicle advertising will probably call for no less than some strain on your own part to inspire the customer. This may not be continuously the circumstance, yet is most likely than not. Will not imagine on your own as an aggressive salesman; take into consideration by yourself as a facilitator. The majority of people fidget to get but if you believe with your car and in addition are specific, that may equate quite possibly on the buyer that would like to have total confidence these are question a citrus.


text:
// Copyright 2012 Square, Inc.

package com.squareup.timessquare;

import static java.util.Calendar.DATE;
import static java.util.Calendar.DAY_OF_MONTH;
import static java.util.Calendar.HOUR_OF_DAY;
import static java.util.Calendar.MILLISECOND;
import static java.util.Calendar.MINUTE;
import static java.util.Calendar.MONTH;
import static java.util.Calendar.SECOND;
import static java.util.Calendar.YEAR;

import java.text.DateFormat;
import java.text.SimpleDateFormat;
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.Arrays;
import java.util.Calendar;
import java.util.Collections;
import java.util.Date;
import java.util.List;

import android.content.Context;
import android.util.AttributeSet;
import android.view.LayoutInflater;
import android.view.View;
import android.view.ViewGroup;
import android.widget.AbsListView;
import android.widget.BaseAdapter;
import android.widget.ListView;
import android.widget.Toast;
import com.squareup.timessquare.MonthCellDescriptor.PeriodState;

/**
 * Android component to allow picking a date from a calendar view (a list of
 * months). Must be initialized after inflation with one of the init() methods.
 * The currently selected date can be retrieved with {@link #getSelectedDate()}.
 */
public class CalendarPickerView extends ListView {
  public enum SelectionMode {
    /** Only one date will be selectable. */
    SINGLE,
    /** Multiple dates will be selectable. */
    MULTIPLE,
    /** Up to (and no more than) two dates will be selectable. */
    PERIOD,
    /**
     * Like {@link #PERIOD} but also selects all dates in between the two
     * selected dates.
     */
    SELECTED_PERIOD
  }

  private final CalendarPickerView.MonthAdapter adapter;
  private final DateFormat monthNameFormat;
  private final DateFormat weekdayNameFormat;
  private final DateFormat fullDateFormat;
  SelectionMode selectionMode;
  final List<MonthDescriptor> months = new ArrayList<MonthDescriptor>();
  final List<MonthCellDescriptor> selectedCells = new ArrayList<MonthCellDescriptor>();
  final Calendar today = Calendar.getInstance();
  private final List<List<List<MonthCellDescriptor>>> cells =
      new ArrayList<List<List<MonthCellDescriptor>>>();
  private final List<Calendar> selectedCals = new ArrayList<Calendar>();
  private final Calendar minCal = Calendar.getInstance();
  private final Calendar maxCal = Calendar.getInstance();
  private final Calendar monthCounter = Calendar.getInstance();

  private int visibleMonth;

  private final MonthView.Listener listener = new CellClickedListener();

  private OnDateSelectedListener dateListener;
  private DateSelectableFilter dateConfiguredListener;
  private OnMonthDisplayedListener monthListener;

  private OnInvalidDateSelectedListener invalidDateListener =
      new DefaultOnInvalidDateSelectedListener();

  public CalendarPickerView(Context context, AttributeSet attrs) {
    super(context, attrs);
    adapter = new MonthAdapter();
    setDivider(null);
    setDividerHeight(0);
    final int bg = getResources().getColor(R.color.calendar_bg);
    setBackgroundColor(bg);
    setCacheColorHint(bg);
    monthNameFormat = new SimpleDateFormat(context.getString(R.string.month_name_format));
    weekdayNameFormat = new SimpleDateFormat(context.getString(R.string.day_name_format));
    fullDateFormat = DateFormat.getDateInstance(DateFormat.MEDIUM);
    setOnScrollListener(onScrollListener);

    if (isInEditMode()) {
      Calendar nextYear = Calendar.getInstance();
      nextYear.add(Calendar.YEAR, 1);

      init(new Date(), new Date(), nextYear.getTime());
    }
  }

  /**
   * All date parameters must be non-null and their {@link Date#getTime()} must
   * not return 0. Time of day will be ignored. For instance, if you pass in
   * {@code minDate} as 11/16/2012 5:15pm and {@code maxDate} as 11/16/2013
   * 4:30am, 11/16/2012 will be the first selectable date and 11/15/2013 will be
   * the last selectable date ({@code maxDate} is exclusive).
   *

   * This will implicitly set the {@link SelectionMode} to
   * {@link SelectionMode#SINGLE}. If you want a different selection mode, use
   * {@link #init(SelectionMode, List, Date, Date)}.
   *
   * @param selectedDate Initially selected date. Must be between
   *          {@code minDate} and {@code maxDate}.
   * @param minDate Earliest selectable date, inclusive. Must be earlier than
   *          {@code maxDate}.
   * @param maxDate Latest selectable date, exclusive. Must be later than
   *          {@code minDate}.
   */
  public void init(Date selectedDate, Date minDate, Date maxDate) {
    selectionMode = SelectionMode.SINGLE;
    initialize(Arrays.asList(selectedDate), minDate, maxDate);
  }

  /**
   * All date parameters must be non-null and their {@link Date#getTime()} must
   * not return 0. Time of day will be ignored. For instance, if you pass in
   * {@code minDate} as 11/16/2012 5:15pm and {@code maxDate} as 11/16/2013
   * 4:30am, 11/16/2012 will be the first selectable date and 11/15/2013 will be
   * the last selectable date ({@code maxDate} is exclusive).
   *
   * @param minDate Earliest selectable date, inclusive. Must be earlier than
   *          {@code maxDate}.
   * @param maxDate Latest selectable date, exclusive. Must be later than
   *          {@code minDate}.
   */
  public void init(SelectionMode selectionMode, Date minDate, Date maxDate) {
    this.selectionMode = selectionMode;
    initialize(null, minDate, maxDate);
  }

  /**
   * All date parameters must be non-null and their {@link Date#getTime()} must
   * not return 0. Time of day will be ignored. For instance, if you pass in
   * {@code minDate} as 11/16/2012 5:15pm and {@code maxDate} as 11/16/2013
   * 4:30am, 11/16/2012 will be the first selectable date and 11/15/2013 will be
   * the last selectable date ({@code maxDate} is exclusive).
   *
   * @param selectedDates Initially selected dates. Must be between
   *          {@code minDate} and {@code maxDate}.
   * @param minDate Earliest selectable date, inclusive. Must be earlier than
   *          {@code maxDate}.
   * @param maxDate Latest selectable date, exclusive. Must be later than
   *          {@code minDate}.
   */
  public void init(SelectionMode selectionMode, List<Date> selectedDates, Date minDate,
      Date maxDate) {
    this.selectionMode = selectionMode;
    initialize(selectedDates, minDate, maxDate);
  }

  private void initialize(List<Date> selectedDates, Date minDate, Date maxDate) {
    if (getAdapter() == null) {
      setAdapter(adapter);
    }
    if (selectionMode == SelectionMode.SINGLE && selectedDates.size() > 1) {
      throw new IllegalArgumentException("SINGLE mode cannot be used with multiple selectedDates");
    }
    if (minDate == null || maxDate == null) {
      throw new IllegalArgumentException(
          "minDate and maxDate must be non-null.  " + dbg(selectedDates, minDate, maxDate));
    }
    if (minDate.after(maxDate)) {
      throw new IllegalArgumentException(
          "Min date must be before max date.  " + dbg(selectedDates, minDate, maxDate));
    }
    if (minDate.getTime() == 0 || maxDate.getTime() == 0) {
      throw new IllegalArgumentException(
          "minDate and maxDate must be non-zero.  " + dbg(selectedDates, minDate, maxDate));
    }

    selectedCals.clear();
    selectedCells.clear();
    if (selectedDates != null) {
      for (Date selectedDate : selectedDates) {
        if (selectedDate == null) {
          throw new IllegalArgumentException(
              "Selected date must be non-null.  " + dbg(selectedDates, minDate, maxDate));
        }
        if (selectedDate.getTime() == 0) {
          throw new IllegalArgumentException(
              "Selected date must be non-zero.  " + dbg(selectedDates, minDate, maxDate));
        }

        if (selectedDate.before(minDate) || selectedDate.after(maxDate)) {
          throw new IllegalArgumentException(
              "selectedDate must be between minDate and maxDate.  " + dbg(selectedDates, minDate,
                  maxDate));
        }

        Calendar selectedCal = Calendar.getInstance();
        selectedCals.add(selectedCal);
        // Sanitize input: clear out the hours/minutes/seconds/millis.
        selectedCal.setTime(selectedDate);
        setMidnight(selectedCal);
      }
    }

    // Clear previous state.
    cells.clear();
    months.clear();
    minCal.setTime(minDate);
    maxCal.setTime(maxDate);
    setMidnight(minCal);
    setMidnight(maxCal);

    // maxDate is exclusive: bump back to the previous day so if maxDate is the
    // first of a month,
    // we don't accidentally include that month in the view.
    maxCal.add(MINUTE, -1);

    // Now iterate between minCal and maxCal and build up our list of months to
    // show.
    monthCounter.setTime(minCal.getTime());
    monthCounter.set(DAY_OF_MONTH, 1);

    Calendar firstCellFinder = Calendar.getInstance();
    Calendar lastCellFinder = Calendar.getInstance();

    final int maxMonth = maxCal.get(MONTH);
    final int maxYear = maxCal.get(YEAR);
    int selectedIndex = 0;
    int todayIndex = 0;
    Calendar today = Calendar.getInstance();
    while ((monthCounter.get(MONTH) <= maxMonth // Up to, including the month.
        || monthCounter.get(YEAR) < maxYear) // Up to the year.
        && monthCounter.get(YEAR) < maxYear + 1) { // But not > next yr.

      // Find the most recent Sunday.
      firstCellFinder.setTime(monthCounter.getTime());
      firstCellFinder.add(Calendar.DAY_OF_WEEK, -(firstCellFinder.get(Calendar.DAY_OF_WEEK) - 1));

      // Find the last Saturday in the month.
      lastCellFinder.setTime(monthCounter.getTime());
      lastCellFinder.set(Calendar.DAY_OF_WEEK, Calendar.SATURDAY);
      lastCellFinder.set(Calendar.DAY_OF_WEEK_IN_MONTH, -1);

      MonthDescriptor month = new MonthDescriptor(
          monthCounter.get(MONTH), monthCounter.get(YEAR),
          monthNameFormat.format(monthCounter.getTime()));

      cells.add(getMonthCells(month, firstCellFinder, lastCellFinder));

      Logr.d("Adding month %s", month);
      if (selectedIndex == 0) {
        for (Calendar selectedCal : selectedCals) {
          if (sameMonth(selectedCal, month)) {
            selectedIndex = months.size();
            break;
          }
        }
        if (selectedIndex == 0 && todayIndex == 0 && sameMonth(today, month)) {
          todayIndex = months.size();
        }
      }
      months.add(month);
      monthCounter.add(MONTH, 1);
    }

    adapter.notifyDataSetChanged();
    if (selectedIndex != 0 || todayIndex != 0) {
      scrollToSelectedMonth(selectedIndex != 0 ? selectedIndex : todayIndex);
    } else if (monthListener != null) {
      monthListener.onMonthDisplayed(minCal.get(MONTH), minCal.get(YEAR));
      onScrollListener.onScrollStateChanged(this, OnScrollListener.SCROLL_STATE_IDLE);
    }
  }

  private void scrollToSelectedMonth(final int selectedIndex) {
    post(new Runnable() {
      @Override public void run() {
        smoothScrollToPosition(selectedIndex);
      }
    });
  }

  @Override protected void onMeasure(int widthMeasureSpec, int heightMeasureSpec) {
    if (months.isEmpty()) {
      throw new IllegalStateException(
          "Must have at least one month to display.  Did you forget to call init()?");
    }
    super.onMeasure(widthMeasureSpec, heightMeasureSpec);
  }

  public Date getSelectedDate() {
    return (selectedCals.size() > 0 ? selectedCals.get(0).getTime() : null);
  }

  public List<Date> getSelectedDates() {
    List<Date> selectedDates = new ArrayList<Date>();
    for (Calendar cal : selectedCals) {
      selectedDates.add(cal.getTime());
    }
    if (selectionMode == SelectionMode.SELECTED_PERIOD) {
      // Add all days in the period.
      for (int i = 2; i < selectedCells.size(); i++) {
        selectedDates.add(selectedCells.get(i).getDate());
      }
    }
    Collections.sort(selectedDates);
    return selectedDates;
  }

  /** Returns a string summarizing what the client sent us for init() params. */
  private static String dbg(List<Date> selectedDates, Date minDate, Date maxDate) {
    String dbgString = "minDate: " + minDate + "\nmaxDate: " + maxDate;
    if (selectedDates == null) {
      dbgString += "\nselectedDates: null";
    } else {
      dbgString += "\nselectedDates: ";
      for (Date selectedDate : selectedDates) {
        dbgString += selectedDate + "; ";
      }
    }
    return dbgString;
  }

  /** Clears out the hours/minutes/seconds/millis of a Calendar. */
  private static void setMidnight(Calendar cal) {
    cal.set(HOUR_OF_DAY, 0);
    cal.set(MINUTE, 0);
    cal.set(SECOND, 0);
    cal.set(MILLISECOND, 0);
  }

  private class CellClickedListener implements MonthView.Listener {
    @Override public void handleClick(MonthCellDescriptor cell) {
      Date clickedDate = cell.getDate();

      if (!betweenDates(clickedDate, minCal, maxCal) || !isDateSelectable(clickedDate)) {
        if (invalidDateListener != null) {
          invalidDateListener.onInvalidDateSelected(clickedDate);
        }
      } else {
        boolean wasSelected = doSelectDate(clickedDate, cell, false);

        if (wasSelected && dateListener != null) {
          dateListener.onDateSelected(clickedDate);
        }
      }
    }
  }

  /**
   * Select a new date. Respects the {@link SelectionMode} this
   * CalendarPickerView is configured with: if you are in
   * {@link SelectionMode#SINGLE}, the previously selected date will be
   * un-selected. In {@link SelectionMode#MULTIPLE}, the new date will be added
   * to the list of selected dates. TODO figure out the behavior in
   * {@link SelectionMode#PERIOD} and TODO {@link SelectionMode#SELECTED_PERIOD}
   * and document here. Write tests for this.
 If the selection was made
   * (selectable date, in range), the view will scroll to the newly selected
   * date if it's not already visible.
   *
   * @return - whether we were able to set the date
   */
  public boolean selectDate(Date date) {
    return selectDate(date, false);
  }

  /**
   * Select a new date. Respects the {@link SelectionMode} this
   * CalendarPickerView is configured with: if you are in
   * {@link SelectionMode#SINGLE}, the previously selected date will be
   * un-selected. In {@link SelectionMode#MULTIPLE}, the new date will be added
   * to the list of selected dates. TODO figure out the behavior in
   * {@link SelectionMode#PERIOD} and TODO {@link SelectionMode#SELECTED_PERIOD}
   * and document here. Write tests for this.
   *

   * If the selection was made (selectable date, in range), the view will scroll
   * to the newly selected date if it's not already visible.
   *

   *
   * @param override set the date as selected even if user selection is not
   *          allowed
   *
   * @return - whether we were able to set the date
   */
  public boolean selectDate(Date date, boolean override) {
    MonthCellWithMonthIndex monthCellWithMonthIndex = getMonthCellWithIndexByDate(date);
    if (monthCellWithMonthIndex == null || !override && !isDateSelectable(date)) {
      return false;
    }
    boolean wasSelected = doSelectDate(date, monthCellWithMonthIndex.cell, override);
    if (wasSelected) {
      scrollToSelectedMonth(monthCellWithMonthIndex.monthIndex);
    }
    return wasSelected;
  }

  private boolean doSelectDate(Date date, MonthCellDescriptor cell, boolean override) {
    Calendar selectedCal = Calendar.getInstance();
    selectedCal.setTime(date);

    // Clear any remaining period state.
    for (MonthCellDescriptor selectedCell : selectedCells) {
      selectedCell.setPeriodState(PeriodState.NONE);
    }

    switch (selectionMode) {
      case SELECTED_PERIOD: {
        // Clear additionally selected cells (Cals were not selected).
        while (selectedCells.size() > 2) {
          selectedCells.get(2).setSelected(false);
          selectedCells.remove(2);
        }
      }
      // NOTE: there is no break here. This code falls through and runs the
      // normal PERIOD code.
      case PERIOD:
        // Keep cell selected if this was both start and end date.
        if (selectedCals.size() >= 2) {
          if (selectedCals.get(0).compareTo(selectedCals.get(1)) != 0) {
            if (selectedCals.size() != selectedCells.size()) {
              throw new IllegalStateException(
                  String.format("Mismatched number of selected cells (%d)/dates (%d)",
                      selectedCells.size(), selectedCals.size()));
            }
            selectedCells.get(0).setSelected(false);
            selectedCells.remove(0);
          }
          selectedCals.remove(0);
          if (selectedCals.size() != selectedCells.size()) {
            throw new IllegalStateException(
                String.format("Mismatched number of selected cells (%d)/dates (%d) after removal",
                    selectedCells.size(), selectedCals.size()));
          }
        }
        break;

      case MULTIPLE:
        date = applyMultiSelect(date, selectedCal);
        break;

      case SINGLE:
        for (MonthCellDescriptor selectedCell : selectedCells) {
          // De-select the currently-selected cell.
          selectedCell.setSelected(false);
        }
        selectedCells.clear();
        selectedCals.clear();
        break;
      default:
        throw new IllegalStateException("Unknown selectionMode " + selectionMode);
    }

    if (date != null) {
      // Select a new cell.
      if (selectedCells.size() == 0 || !selectedCells.get(0).equals(cell)) {
        selectedCells.add(cell);
        cell.setSelected(true);
      }
      selectedCals.add(selectedCal);

      if (selectionMode == SelectionMode.SELECTED_PERIOD && selectedCells.size() > 1) {
        // Select all days in between start and end.
        Date start;
        Date end;
        if (selectedCells.get(0).getDate().after(selectedCells.get(1).getDate())) {
          start = selectedCells.get(1).getDate();
          end = selectedCells.get(0).getDate();
          selectedCells.get(1).setPeriodState(PeriodState.FIRST);
          selectedCells.get(0).setPeriodState(PeriodState.LAST);
        } else {
          start = selectedCells.get(0).getDate();
          end = selectedCells.get(1).getDate();
          selectedCells.get(0).setPeriodState(PeriodState.FIRST);
          selectedCells.get(1).setPeriodState(PeriodState.LAST);
        }

        for (List<List<MonthCellDescriptor>> month : cells) {
          for (List<MonthCellDescriptor> week : month) {
            for (MonthCellDescriptor singleCell : week) {
              if (singleCell.getDate().after(start)
                  && singleCell.getDate().before(end)
                  && (override || singleCell.isSelectable())) {
                singleCell.setSelected(true);
                singleCell.setPeriodState(PeriodState.MIDDLE);
                selectedCells.add(singleCell);
              }
            }
          }
        }
      }
    }

    // Update the adapter.
    adapter.notifyDataSetChanged();
    return date != null;
  }

  private Date applyMultiSelect(Date date, Calendar selectedCal) {
    for (MonthCellDescriptor selectedCell : selectedCells) {
      if (selectedCell.getDate().equals(date)) {
        // De-select the currently-selected cell.
        selectedCell.setSelected(false);
        selectedCells.remove(selectedCell);
        date = null;
        break;
      }
    }
    for (Calendar cal : selectedCals) {
      if (sameDate(cal, selectedCal)) {
        selectedCals.remove(cal);
        break;
      }
    }
    return date;
  }

  /** Hold a cell with a month-index. */
  private static class MonthCellWithMonthIndex {
    public MonthCellDescriptor cell;
    public int monthIndex;

    public MonthCellWithMonthIndex(MonthCellDescriptor cell, int monthIndex) {
      this.cell = cell;
      this.monthIndex = monthIndex;
    }
  }

  /** Return cell and month-index (for scrolling) for a given Date. */
  private MonthCellWithMonthIndex getMonthCellWithIndexByDate(Date date) {
    int index = 0;
    Calendar searchCal = Calendar.getInstance();
    searchCal.setTime(date);
    Calendar actCal = Calendar.getInstance();

    for (List<List<MonthCellDescriptor>> monthCells : cells) {
      for (List<MonthCellDescriptor> weekCells : monthCells) {
        for (MonthCellDescriptor actCell : weekCells) {
          actCal.setTime(actCell.getDate());
          if (sameDate(actCal, searchCal)) {
            return new MonthCellWithMonthIndex(actCell, index);
          }
        }
      }
      index++;
    }
    return null;
  }

  private OnScrollListener onScrollListener = new OnScrollListener() {
    private boolean shouldUpdateCells = true;

    @Override public void onScroll(AbsListView view, int firstVisibleItem, int visibleItemCount,
        int totalItemCount) {
      if (monthListener != null) {
        // Get point at center of view
        int centerX = view.getWidth() / 2;
        int centerY = view.getHeight() / 2;
        int centerItem = view.pointToPosition(centerX, centerY);
        if (centerItem != INVALID_POSITION && centerItem != visibleMonth) {
          visibleMonth = centerItem;
          MonthDescriptor month = months.get(visibleMonth);
          monthListener.onMonthDisplayed(month.getMonth(), month.getYear());
          shouldUpdateCells = true;
        }
      }
    }

    @Override public void onScrollStateChanged(AbsListView view, int scrollState) {
      if (shouldUpdateCells && scrollState == SCROLL_STATE_IDLE) {
        Calendar cal = Calendar.getInstance();
        MonthDescriptor month = months.get(visibleMonth);

        for (List<List<MonthCellDescriptor>> monthCells : cells) {
          for (List<MonthCellDescriptor> week : monthCells) {
            for (MonthCellDescriptor cell : week) {
              cal.setTime(cell.getDate());
              cell.setCurrentMonth(cal.get(MONTH) == month.getMonth());
            }
          }
        }

        adapter.notifyDataSetChanged();
        shouldUpdateCells = false;
      }
    }
  };

  private class MonthAdapter extends BaseAdapter {
    private final LayoutInflater inflater;

    private MonthAdapter() {
      inflater = LayoutInflater.from(getContext());
    }

    @Override public boolean isEnabled(int position) {
      // Disable selectability: each cell will handle that itself.
      return false;
    }

    @Override public int getCount() {
      return months.size();
    }

    @Override public Object getItem(int position) {
      return months.get(position);
    }

    @Override public long getItemId(int position) {
      return position;
    }

    @Override public View getView(int position, View convertView, ViewGroup parent) {
      MonthView monthView = (MonthView) convertView;
      if (monthView == null) {
        monthView = MonthView.create(parent, inflater, weekdayNameFormat, listener);
      }
      monthView.init(months.get(position), cells.get(position));
      return monthView;
    }
  }

  List<List<MonthCellDescriptor>> getMonthCells(MonthDescriptor month, Calendar startCal,
      Calendar endCal) {
    Calendar cal = Calendar.getInstance();
    cal.setTime(startCal.getTime());
    List<List<MonthCellDescriptor>> cells = new ArrayList<List<MonthCellDescriptor>>();

    Calendar minSelectedCal = minDate(selectedCals);
    Calendar maxSelectedCal = maxDate(selectedCals);

    MonthDescriptor currentMonth = months.size() > 0 ? months.get(visibleMonth) : null;

    while (cal.before(endCal)) {
      Logr.d("Building week row starting at %s", cal.getTime());
      List<MonthCellDescriptor> weekCells = new ArrayList<MonthCellDescriptor>();
      cells.add(weekCells);
      for (int c = 0; c < 7; c++) {
        Date date = cal.getTime();
        boolean isSelected = containsDate(selectedCals, cal);
        boolean isSelectable = betweenDates(cal, minCal, maxCal) && isDateSelectable(date);
        boolean isCurrentMonth = currentMonth != null && cal.get(MONTH) == currentMonth.getMonth()
            && cal.get(YEAR) == currentMonth.getYear();
        boolean isToday = sameDate(cal, today);
        int value = cal.get(DAY_OF_MONTH);

        PeriodState periodState = PeriodState.NONE;
        if (selectedCals != null && selectedCals.size() > 1) {
          if (sameDate(minSelectedCal, cal)) {
            periodState = PeriodState.FIRST;
          } else if (sameDate(maxDate(selectedCals), cal)) {
            periodState = PeriodState.LAST;
          } else if (betweenDates(cal, minSelectedCal, maxSelectedCal)) {
            periodState = PeriodState.MIDDLE;
          }
        }

        MonthCellDescriptor cell =
            new MonthCellDescriptor(date, isSelectable, isSelected, isCurrentMonth, isToday, value,
                periodState);
        if (isSelected) {
          selectedCells.add(cell);
        }
        weekCells.add(cell);
        cal.add(DATE, 1);
      }
    }
    return cells;
  }

  private static boolean containsDate(List<Calendar> selectedCals, Calendar cal) {
    for (Calendar selectedCal : selectedCals) {
      if (sameDate(cal, selectedCal)) {
        return true;
      }
    }
    return false;
  }

  private static Calendar minDate(List<Calendar> selectedCals) {
    if (selectedCals == null || selectedCals.size() == 0) {
      return null;
    }
    Collections.sort(selectedCals);
    return selectedCals.get(0);
  }

  private static Calendar maxDate(List<Calendar> selectedCals) {
    if (selectedCals == null || selectedCals.size() == 0) {
      return null;
    }
    Collections.sort(selectedCals);
    return selectedCals.get(selectedCals.size() - 1);
  }

  private static boolean sameDate(Calendar cal, Calendar selectedDate) {
    return cal.get(MONTH) == selectedDate.get(MONTH)
        && cal.get(YEAR) == selectedDate.get(YEAR)
        && cal.get(DAY_OF_MONTH) == selectedDate.get(DAY_OF_MONTH);
  }

  private static boolean betweenDates(Calendar cal, Calendar minCal, Calendar maxCal) {
    final Date date = cal.getTime();
    return betweenDates(date, minCal, maxCal);
  }

  static boolean betweenDates(Date date, Calendar minCal, Calendar maxCal) {
    final Date min = minCal.getTime();
    return (date.equals(min) || date.after(min)) // >= minCal
        && date.before(maxCal.getTime()); // && < maxCal
  }

  private static boolean sameMonth(Calendar cal, MonthDescriptor month) {
    return (cal.get(MONTH) == month.getMonth() && cal.get(YEAR) == month.getYear());
  }

  private boolean isDateSelectable(Date date) {
    if (dateConfiguredListener == null) {
      return true;
    }
    return dateConfiguredListener.isDateSelectable(date);
  }

  public void setOnDateSelectedListener(OnDateSelectedListener listener) {
    dateListener = listener;
  }

  /**
   * Set a listener to react to user selection of a disabled date.
   *
   * @param listener the listener to set, or null for no reaction
   */
  public void setOnInvalidDateSelectedListener(OnInvalidDateSelectedListener listener) {
    invalidDateListener = listener;
  }

  /**
   * Set a listener used to discriminate between selectable and unselectable
   * dates. Set this to disable arbitrary dates as they are rendered.
   *

   * Important: set this before you call one of the init() methods. If called
   * after init(), it will not be consistently applied.
   */
  public void setDateSelectableFilter(DateSelectableFilter listener) {
    dateConfiguredListener = listener;
  }

  public void setOnMonthDisplayedListener(OnMonthDisplayedListener listener) {
    monthListener = listener;
  }

  /**
   * Interface to be notified when a new date is selected. This will only be
   * called when the user initiates the date selection. If you call
   * {@link #selectDate(Date)} this listener will not be notified.
   *

   * See {@link #setOnDateSelectedListener(OnDateSelectedListener)}.
   */
  public interface OnDateSelectedListener {
    void onDateSelected(Date date);
  }

  /**
   * Interface to be notified when an invalid date is selected by the user. This
   * will only be called when the user initiates the date selection. If you call
   * {@link #selectDate(Date)} this listener will not be notified.
   *

   * See
   * {@link #setOnInvalidDateSelectedListener(OnInvalidDateSelectedListener)}.
   */
  public interface OnInvalidDateSelectedListener {
    void onInvalidDateSelected(Date date);
  }

  /**
   * Interface used for determining the selectability of a date cell when it is
   * configured for display on the calendar.
   *

   * See {@link #setDateSelectableFilter(DateSelectableFilter)}.
   */
  public interface DateSelectableFilter {
    boolean isDateSelectable(Date date);
  }

  /**
   * Interface called when a month has appeared on the screen.
   */
  public interface OnMonthDisplayedListener {
    void onMonthDisplayed(int month, int year);
  }

  private class DefaultOnInvalidDateSelectedListener implements OnInvalidDateSelectedListener {
    @Override public void onInvalidDateSelected(Date date) {
      String errMessage =
          getResources().getString(R.string.invalid_date, fullDateFormat.format(minCal.getTime()),
              fullDateFormat.format(maxCal.getTime()));
      Toast.makeText(getContext(), errMessage, Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
    }
  }
}


I'm not going to lie to you- looking at the color of wine isn't exactly the sexiest topic. Normally, when I start to cover this in my tours people glaze over. I can't lie - it amuses me a bit. I ask everyone to start examining the color of their wine and I get a few looks that tell me that they all think I have 20 heads, and that they are now dreading the next two hours. It's cool- I win them back later on.
The color of wine will tell you a lot. I like to think that the color of the wine is the secret holder of the wine. The nose is extremely important and of course so is the palate, both of which we'll talk about, but the color is the best lead in. It gives subtle clues to the type of grape, and even the age of the wine. Every grape varietal (or, you know, type) has it's own DNA. That DNA will affect multiple facets, such as the climate it's happiest growing in or the thickness of the skin. This DNA affects multiple aspects of the wine, but the first, of course, is the color. So let's get to it.
Here's the thing - there's a right way to look at wine, and a wrong way. You know when you're out to dinner at a nice place, and across the room you see a fellow diner hold his wine glass up to the light, critically inspect it, and immediately make a big show about swirling and sipping the wine? We've all seen him, and as much as we've wanted to roll our eyes at him, a part of us has thought- well he must know what he's doing. Let me tell you for once and for all, if he's holding that glass above his head and staring into the chandelier light- please go ahead roll your eyes. I'm definitely rolling mine.
The best way to look at your wine to properly view the color is to tip your glass, carefully, to a 40 to 45 degree angle, over something white. This could be the tablecloth, a plate, napkin, a white sheet of paper you carry especially for this purpose…oh is that just me? Moving on…Once the glass is tipped correctly, then look to what's known as the "rim". The rim is the edge of the sides of the wine. So where the wine volume is thin. Here look at the color. White wines that are young in age will be a light yellow, maybe like straw, and may show signs of green. As those wines get older, that green will become less and less, and the yellow will start to turn more golden and then start showing more and more soft brown notes. A well aged white wine will take on the color of amber. Red wine behaves very similarly- a young red however will show bright blue in the rim which will fade as it matures. Here, again, brown notes will creep in and we'll hedge towards the color tawny when we have significant aging.
I realize I'm writing in generalities when it comes to how many years it takes for those colors to fade or deepen. Unfortunately that's on purpose. This is not an exact science. Every wine will age differently and on their own timeline, but typically the first year or two of the vintage will show the green or blue notes, the following stage will remain for the next couple of years after that but each year will bring more and more brown tones to the color.
The other piece that we're looking at in that glass is the depth of pigment. Now this is harder to see in white wine, but in red - when you're tipping your glass can you see through the center of the liquid? This gets a bit more advanced but the different concentrations of pigments indicates the type of grape. Pinot Noir is easy to see through, whereas Cabernet Sauvignon is much more difficult.
I have to admit, I am not a wine expert at all. But, I also thought the color had to do with how long the wine comes in contact with the skins and that the oak can also make colors lighter or darker.
Great question Jason!! You're right - the depth of color is absolutely an indicator of the grape variety and we'll definitely talk about that here in future posts -but I wanted to keep this concentrated for now on simply the color spectrum. Thanks for reading!!
Where does the blue come from? I wouldn't have expected that at all.


Haven't found the right listing? There are 25 other Restaurants in Cambridge. Click here!
River View At The Point can be found at 1 Sunburst Hwy. . The following is offered: Restaurants . In Cambridge there are 25 other Restaurants. An overview can be found here.
Keywords Home-Cooked Meal, Omelettes, Restaurant, Sandwiches, Seafood Entrees.


Samsung started rolling out Android 9 Pie-based One UI to the Galaxy S9 and S9+ on the eve of Christmas day, but this rollout was limited to those who took part in the beta program.
Three weeks later, users of the S9 and S9+ in Kenya can now download and install Samsung One UI based on Android Pie on their devices. The update comes on the back of the Galaxy Note 9 receiving the same update in the country.
If you have the S9 with you, the One UI update is arriving as version G960FXXU2CSA2 while those using the S9+ should watch out for an update with version G965FXXU2CSA2. Besides installing Pie, you also get this month's Android security patch.
Speaking of which, the January 2019 security patch is also rolling out to the Galaxy Note 8. However, this update, which has version N950FXXS5CSA1, is still based on Android 8.0 Oreo. Samsung recently launched a beta program that brings Pie to the Note 8, but it is better to wait for the stable version this coming month.
For a better insight into what the new One UI brings, check out this Samsung page. You can also check out the page below to find out when your Samsung phone will receive Pie.


RETAIL INTERIOR DESIGN AND CUSTOM ART INSTALLATION.
Interior Design consultation, plaster wall textures, brick aging, wood panel design, metal patinas, faux finishes, treatment of visual merchandising displays. Photography by Conor Doherty.


I am going to do something here that is unprecedented in the annals of Lazy Sunday: I'm going to give a British crime series a mediocre review.
Wellllll, a couple of weeks ago, my dad and I started watching the Netflix series Safe. It was kind of comical. It took us two hours to watch the first episode—so many characters looked alike, talked impenetrably, had to crank up the closed captioning, gah. None of that had to do with the actual show, but it did make me feel like it was going to be a bit of a project to get through Safe.
We're taken to a gated community in a leafy suburb where pretty much everybody's got something murky going on.
Michael C. Hall (Dexter, Six Feet Under) turns British in his role as a surgeon with a missing daughter. I'm told his accent is variable and off, but I can't really tell (see above need for closed captioning).
Should you watch Safe? I'm almost done, and still curious to see how it pans out. There are strong performances in here, and I think that's why I'm hanging on. Marc Warren, who plays the surgeon's troubled Army mate, is awfully good. And Nigel Lindsay (Sir Robert Peel in Victoria) is over the top and comical as the party girl's dad.
I will say that Safe uses Extreme Close Ups like no other show I've seen. I'm all up in Michael C. Hall's corneas as he thinks hard about what his daughter must be up to.
Has anybody else seen this show? Am I missing something here?
Hello! We are watching this at the moment. It's bizarre but gripping. I think we're on episode 6 of 8 and will watch it to the end. There's so much going on in it but it's realky quite odd. Anyway, we're committed now so will see it through. I thought maybe we were the only people watching so I'm glad to see you're review.
You're missing nothing. Michael C Hall's attempt at an accent was almost enough on its own to stop me watching this. And the true mark of a bad series? I don't miss it now I've finished or even remember it. I'm certainly not looking forward to a second series the way I normally do.
Have you tried Midsomer Murders? I'm full-onobsessed and kind of wishTom Nettles was my friend in real life.
Haha. It was an odd one, wasn't it. All In all, I'm going to say I liked it. I love Michael C. Hall. And as for the accent, I've only recently begun to discern the difference between a Georgian and a South Carolinian accent so you can totally fool me with the whole British thing! I did get sick of it mid-way but then thought it got interesting again. I likes that I didn't figure out the ending too early.
Ugh. I need an edit button for when I miss a wacky auto-fill.
I am a bonafide British mystery addict. I liked Safe a lot but not quite as much as Harlan Conan's other British mystery, The Five.
Have you folks seen Unforgotten? Just starting its third series on British TV this week. Brilliant!
Is it on Britbox? I may have to get that just for the new season of Shetland. I don't think I can wait for it to get to Netflix!
Couldn't get through the first episode of Safe….switched over to a French series called The Forest. New police captain in town (handsome and divorced no less) investigates the murder of a high school girl whose two friends end up disappearing as well. One of the friends is the daughter of the police lieutenant. Some of the lieutenants actions are questionable and why the captain doesn't remove her from the case is too, but enjoyed it nonetheless.
Have any of you watched "Single Handed"? It's an Irish detective series from about 10 years ago which recently appeared on Amazon Prime. I was interested because it stars Owen McDonnell, who I loved in "My Mother and Other Strangers". While not as great as the very best of UK crime drama, it caught my interest and kept me watching. A HUGE plus for me was that it was filmed in rural areas of Galway County, so the scenery is spectacular. It's slow paced, thoughtful, and focuses on the corruption in the small town police station, with father & son pitted against each other. The acting is terrific. Perfect knitting show, imho.
Thanks! I have Prime and do not have Netflix so I appreciate the heads up.
I think it's worth watching 'til the end. I do love most of the British mysteries; right now I'm binging "Vera", but let me recommend a non-British, non-mystery series "800 Words" set in New Zealand.
I'm loving 800 words right now!!
Don't think you're missing anything. I started watching this, Brit-drama fan that I am, and found it convoluted and unbelievable. I got to the last installment and gave it a rest. Started watching it again and it's taken me three times to get to what are probably the last 10 minutes of the show and I'm not sure I even care how it ends. The weirdness and unbelievable plot twists are annoying. The only pleasure I get is watching the Audis and being nostalgic about my days in London when we were riding around in an Audi too.
I am also a Brit crime-drama junkie, found "Safe" to be watchable, but not top shelf. Try any of The Tunnel series – on our PBS channel, currently following Endeavour. This is a British-French collaboration with interesting and flawed characters and dark crime. What's not to love, but only garter stitch while viewing.
I tried but never could into Safe. Weird plot, so-so acting, lame script, at least to me. I just finished watching The Last Post which is about the British occupation of Yemen when it was a colony and the rebellion. Not a mystery, but very well done, good script, great acting, it surprised me. It's on Amazon, free for Prime members.
The Five was much better. Also, this is the first I'm realizing that the main character was played by Dexter — so much for my detective skills, though I never watched Dexter. I did at one point think to myself — is he supposed to be American? So I guess the accent was bad.
Watching this to the bitter end. Need to see the ending.
We loved it. Had none of the issues you mention. Loved Shetland, too, though the accents were much harder to understand.
We watched Safe, and all I can say is that if you are having some trouble now, wait until you get to the end. I was still glad I watched it because of the very two performances by the actors mentioned in your post— Marc Warren and Nigel Lindsay. And I was able to guess the murderer.
Unforgotten is a lot better. Now we are watching The Tunnel, a French/English crime show, but it is awfully grim. I'm not sure we will make it to the end, but Stephen Dillane is great. Nigel Lindsay appears in all three series. That man gets around.
Oh, The Tunnel is fantastic! The last season just started on PBS and I'm going to be sad when it's done. As for the grimness, I can always tell when the worst parts are coming so I look away.
The Tunnel is the Brit version of The Bridge from Denmark/Sweden. The Bridge is terrific, but because it is subtitled, not the most knit-worthy watching. We were able to watch The Bridge on Netflix while in Europe two years ago, but had to pay on Amazon, I think, in the States. I think there's an American version called The Border (US/Mexico). All of them deal with heinous and grisly crimes with political overtones in two jurisdictions.
Has anyone watched The Split with Nicola Walker? So, so good.
Yes, loved The Split! I can't wait until season 2. I like Nicola Walker in anything.
Haven't watched this one yet, but we have loved, Hinterland, and Marcella.
I am quirky in my British mystery tastes, and am willing to give a number of them mediocre reviews! When I love them, I really love them, like Scott and Bailey, Morse, Lewis, and Endeavour, both Tennisons, and Sherlock, though that's been getting weirder and weirder as the seasons go by. The next tier down for me are ones that I very much look forward to, like Vera, Inspector Lynley, Wallander, or the Jackson Brodie series. Oh, and Granchester and Doctor Blake (Australian, I know) are watchable, as are the old Agatha Christies and New Tricks. Then there are the ones that, perhaps inexplicably, are only meh to me. Shetland is probably first on the list, as they mucked around with Ann Cleeves excellent books, changing plots and characters. Finally, there are others that just don't grab me, like The Tunnel, and Hinterland. It will be interesting to see where Safe lands!
As a Brit and a knitter visiting friends in Texas, I did watch the whole series of Safe the other night. I loved Michael C. Hall in Dexter. This was not such a treat.
I would like to recommend Top of the Lake, set in Australia/New Zealand, starring Elisabeth Moss (The Handmaid's Tale), and Top of the Lake, China Girl, with Gwendoline Christie (Game of Thrones). Both series are quirky to say the least, but fascinating.
Another couple of series, starring Gillian Anderson and Jamie Dornan, is the Fall, set in Northern Ireland. I enjoyed these immensely.
I am now going to watch Five, to see if it's better than Safe.
I live not far from where they shot Top of the Lake. Great series, and it makes our scenery look awesome. Jane Campion was in charge so it was always going to be good (been a fan of hers since An Angel at My Table and The Piano).
I thought "Safe" got easier to follow as I went along (I think I had to rewatch the first episode to get it).
I'll have to try it, the fact that they imported an American actor to play a British character always galls me a bit. Or a lot. However, before going to the mediocre (I have no problem with mediocre-I like mediocre, it's easier to knit to) you really need to try New Tricks, which is a great show, one of the ones that can do heart-wrenching sadness and laugh-till-you-cry hysteria in the same five minutes.
I haven't heard of New Tricks! Is it on Prime or Netflix?
It's on hulu and amazon prime. Such great characters.
I have not seen it, but will watch, just for the fun of it. I love British detective shows, and even the mediocre ones have their moments. Thanks.
Are those of you who are struggling with Michael C Hall's accent British? I'm curious because I'm English and usually I hate American trying to do a British accent but I thought this one was okay. So did all my friends. I've just rewatched the trailer with your opinions in mind and I still don't see the problem.
I thought Safe was middling – my main issue with it was that a police officer living in a gated community would never be allowed to investigate a crime in that gated community. It was set in a city, not Broadchurch or Midsomer where our hero might be the only copper for miles, and might have to investigate their neighbours..
I fully admit to being "I won't watch if there's no closed-captioning" years old.
I generally love any member of the "British People Solving Things" genre, but Safe was meh.
I think I am just about closed-captioning years old. And definitely also a member of the British People Solving Things club.
Have any of you seen Tin Star? It's Canadian. I too was looking for something to knit to- I thought this might fit the bill. Yeah! Up to the end of the first episode! Agree with your thoughts re: most of these shows. Love my Acorn channel on Roku.
Yep, it's good. Tim Roth is really good in the lead as a sheriff with issues.
I do recommend Condor (with Jeremy Irons' son Max).
Appreciate all the suggestions on this thread!
Loved Broadchurch but you must watch Hinterland!
OK, I'll skip Safe! But DO NOT MISS "No Offence," on Prime. Talk about unintelligible dialogue, but when you do understand it, it sizzles!! And all the leads are female.
I liked it. Agree that it was a little weird/slow/confusing in the middle, and wasn't sold on his accent either, but you gotta watch it to the end. The last episode was good and suddenly everything makes sense. Kinda bummed actually that it seems as though it's unlikely there'll be a 2nd season.
I'm with you, except not. I settled in, ready for my usual pleasure watching a British crime drama. I watched for about 10 minutes. Michael Hall was a disaster. I was watching alone and thought there must be something wrong with ME! Then I thought maybe I just imagined the show. It was terrible.
Wow thanks for the great review of Safe, and a great bunch of leads for Brit shows. As a Ready For Closed Captioning years old person myself, Apple TV can close caption anything, but I find it hard to garter stitch I when read and watch. A non-mystery Brit show, As Time Goes By, is slow-TV, old fashioned and sweet. Mysteries not mentioned yet are Rosemary & Thyme about 2 gardening detectives. The Coroner, set in Devon with lovely scenery. Death in Paradise, a comedy-murder mystery set on an island in the Caribbean. My all time favorite is Midsomer. We've actually seen the entire series, and have started over. PS Rain Shadow is about 2 vets in the Outback. Good TV.
Just finished Keeping Faith, Brit/Welsh séries on Acorn. Mystery, beautiful scenery and realistic depiction of motherhood.


I discovered Jim's blog, "Just a Lil Blog," a few months ago and from the first post I read - I was hooked. Jim has made me laugh and cry, his voice is honest and poignant.
His blog header says it all: The true life adventures of a little girl with autism, and her struggles raising her two parents with only a big sister to help her.
Lily sees "Rockin' Santa" on the hearth the morning after we decorated the Family Room. She wanders over to pick him up, saying, "Santa Claus", clearly.
Maybe we've learned our lesson from all of Lily's adventures with other animatronic decorations. She'll be fascinated with him, no, obsessed with him, for a day or two before losing interest. I thumb the switch on and adjust the potentiometer dial to a higher volume. "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree," starts to play. It's been twelve months since I've heard it. It doesn't make me cringe yet. It will. Santa begins to sway to the music, cuttin' a rug to Brenda Lee's musical stylings. Lily gets excited and carries Santa too far from the power strip. The chord pulls taut then the lead pops out from the back of Santa's boot where it trails across the carpet to the plug-in and he goes silent, his Achilles heel pierced by an unseen arrow, or unpierced I suppose. Lily stumbles a bit at the unexpected release and looks around in slight confusion.
"You have to stand still with Santa. Be gentle," we admonish her, carrying Santa (and her) back to the hearth and plugging him back in. The music starts over. This time I do cringe a little. This process repeats itself a few times before the lesson sinks in and Lily contents herself with standing or sitting next to the power strip with Santa, or as far as he'll reach without pulling from the socket, a trip wire of Christmas spirit waiting to snare the unwary (her big sister, Emma, most likely).
The Christmas tree is up and decorated. Burgundy velvet ribbons weave in and out of pine boughs. Limbs drip with sparkling glass and shining brass ornaments, reflecting and refracting the glint from hundreds of white lights. Lily investigates it periodically. Once she leans in very close. The 'needles' (it's an artificial tree) are beaded with 'ice'. She opens her mouth widely and says, "I bite tree". I watch her from my chair, wondering where this is headed, but she leaves after a few minutes, the tree unbitten. This threat seems to have been more to see whether I'd let her bite the tree than for any gratification tree biting might have offered her.
Later she stands next to the tree watching me intently, taking blind swipes at it without taking her eyes from mine, an attention getting device of some kind, though my attention is fixed firmly on her.
"Be gentle with the tree, Lily," I tell her, for the tenth time. She hits it this time. The bows sway slightly and a faint jingle of ornaments shifting and swaying can be heard.
"If you hit the tree again, Lily, you're going to have to sit in timeout." She hits the tree again. She sits in timeout.
She leaves the tree alone then, at least for a while.
An advent calendar sits in the hallway. It's a big one, not one of the paper cut-out kinds with the flaps. It is shaped like a house with 24 doors. Behind each numbered door is candy, or a tiny ornament. When the doors open "Santa Claus is coming to Town" chimes, and a shuttered window like a cuckoo clock door opens revealing a child in winter clothes opening a Christmas stocking full of presents. Below the door, a scene animates; little townsfolk skate in circles around a tiny town that lights.
Lily ignores it, which is a blessing. Her sister, Emma, opens the doors daily for them both. Lily doesn't really eat the candy behind the door, and the ornaments for Emma's tiny tree are too fragile to be entrusted to her tender care, so really it's just for Emma. I dread the day she decides it's no longer beneath her notice.
On the main floor a large posterboard cutout of Santa Claus' head smiles benignly from the powder room door. It's a remnant from some past Christmas party, and Emma loves it, so we keep it, tacking it to the powder room door.
Lily walks past the door and pulls it off the tack. The tack clatters to the floor, skittering across the tile before scribing slow rocking quarter circles across the tile and coming to rest. I scramble to pick it up before she steps on it in her stocking feet.
"Lily, be gentle with Santa. Don't pull," I tell her. I tack the fallen head back onto the powder room door and guide Lily back into the 'safer' environs of the Family Room.
Santa sits ensconced in velvet. A human-sized elf stands to his right with a clipboard. We have a number so that we don't have to wait in line for our turn. Lily is allowed to play at the mall playground or investigate the Christmas train while we kill time. All the children waiting to see Santa are like Lily. And all of the children waiting in line are different than Lily. But you know what I mean. When it is Lily's turn the elf standing guard over Santa's person hands us a form to fill out. Both of us are there so one of use rides herd over Lily while the other fills out the form. It occurs to me that if I were a single parent, I'd have to fill out the form at the same time as I was watching Lily. I shake my head that an event designed to minimize stress for autistic kids and their parents could triumph so magnificently overall but stumble at the finish line over such an obvious issue. I again thank god that I'm not a single parent and that my wife is always there to support me.
When the paper work is filled out, Lily sits on Santa's lap. She occupies his right knee, while Emma sits atop his left. She is calmer when Emma is with her. Nevertheless a stranger with a white beard is holding her on his lap. She suffers this curiously for 5 – 10 seconds. She doesn't yank his beard, but seems to find brief fascination in the tuft of fur dangling from Santa's hat. We furiously thumb shutter buttons and pray for quick focus on digital cameras. She squirms a bit and escapes to a safe distance to watch as Emma relays both of their Christmas wishes. Lily's are guesses. She never really asks for anything except McDonald's. Santa will definitely be getting her a gift card there, if he wants any cookies this year.
When we visit our families' houses there are lots of decorations everywhere. It's beautiful, but dangerous for Lily. She wanders from "no" to "no", generally wreaking havoc on everyone's' houses without really understanding what all the hub-bub is about. The family is gathered together. There are more people than usual in each house, more "nos", more music and laughter and expectations.
We try to keep her entertained and minimize the destruction and still visit with the family, but it's stressful. Every holiday visit is stressful.
Lily knows who Santa is without really registering what he's supposed to represent. Lily knows how to say "Merry Christmas" (when prompted) without really understanding what that represents either. We put the gifts in front of Lily on Christmas morning, and sometimes she rips the wrapping paper, and sometimes she ignores it completely. She doesn't look forward to Christmas, or get excited Christmas Eve for the jolly fat man's impending housebreaking. Christmas for Lily has all the stress it has for me, but none of the magical payoff.
I'm doing my best to try to see the world from Lily's point of view. I feel like I'll be better equipped to help her if I try to see things the way she does. I feel like I'll better understand what she needs and wants.
Christmas is like magic to me. But Christmas is like magical holiday torture to Lily. Lily's sister, Emma, loves it. We all want Lily to love it too. But she doesn't. And that's okay. We'll still fight the good fight. We'll still try to make it special for her without removing those things that also make it special for her sister.
Some things we can't (or won't) change. The decorations will still go up. The music will still play. We'll still visit family. And Santa will still be the jolly prowler, sneaking into our home when we sleep to distribute presents. Even once Emma "knows", that probably won't change.
The biggest change and gift we can give Lily for Christmas is to adapt our expectations of what she'll get out of the experience to something more 'reasonable' given what we know about what Lily tolerates/likes/loves. She still loves the music. She'll get presents she'll enjoy (probably). But Christmas is NOT magic for her. Maybe it will be someday, but for now it's stress layered on top of stress. It's noise and crowds and intriguing fragile ornaments and decorations that invite, no demand, inspection but that cannot be touched. Our expectations for Lily need to be filtered through Lily's point of view.
We need to understand that Lily will want to hear "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" dozens and dozens of times. We need to understand and be patient with her when she investigates the tree, or pulls Santa off the door, or opens the advent calendar out of order, or breaks Christmas bulbs at her grandparents' houses.
Lily is a happy little girl. And it seems ironic that we'd take that happy little girl and make her miserable in an attempt to get her Christmas experience to line up with our expectations of what her Christmas experience should be.
Lily will have a merry Christmas, though Christmas day might not be any merrier than any other day of the week; December may be no jollier than any other month of the year. But if we're patient with her, and try to see things a little bit through her big brown eyes. Maybe it won't have to be less merry, less jolly. And relaxing our own expectations might make our holidays a little happier too.
It's not reasonable to take a child whose entire life and comfort is bound so rigidly to structure and routine, insert ten times the number of restrictions and expectations for one month, and expect perfect compliance, or even anything approaching perfect compliance.


text:
Turkey invades Syria: Civilians reportedly killed as Turkey's assault on Kurds escalates today
Turkey pressed its assault against U.S.-allied Kurdish forces in northern Syria on Thursday for a second day. Turkey pounded the region with airstrikes and an artillery bombardment that raised columns of black smoke in a border town and…
Turkish operation displaces 70,000 civilians in N Syria
The Turkish military campaign against the Kurdish forces in northern Syria has so far displaced 70,000 civilians, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights on Thursday. The military campaign, which was launched on Wednesday, also led to…
Turkey Says Ground Forces are Advancing in Northern Syria
Turkish ground forces pressed their advance against Kurdish fighters in northern Syria on Thursday, Turkey's Defense Ministry said, launching airstrikes and unleashing artillery shelling on Syrian towns and villages the length of its…
A cadre of the "medical team" in "Ras Al-Ayn": the pro-Turkey factions…
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights obtained the testimony of one of the cadres of the medical team that entered Ras Al-Ayn Hospital in order to evacuate the injuries in the shadow of the siege imposed by the Turkish forces and their…
Members of the pro-Turkey Division of Al-Hamzah kidnap a young man and burn the house of another one…
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights learned that members Al-Hamzah Division which is one of the Turkey-loyal factions, have kidnapped a young man, Mohamed Al-Abboud, in "Tal Halaf" area in Ras Al-Ayn city, after he refused to hand in…
News of SDF's withdrawal from Ras Al-Ayn is untrue .. and clashes continue against the pro-Ankara…
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored continued clashes between the Syria Democratic Forces and the regime forces on one hand, and the "Syrian National Army" that is loyal to Turkey on the other, where the pro-Turkey factions…
The regime's security services arrest young men and appropriate real estate of people who were…
Damascus Province - The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights: the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights learned from reliable sources that patrols affiliated to the "Military Security" branch have carried out a campaign of arrests since early…
Barrel bombs target the northern countryside of Latakia .. and about 44 airstrikes were carried out…
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights documented the killing of a member of the Islamic factions and the injury of others due to bombardment by the Russian warplanes on areas in the southern countryside of Idlib, in the same context,…
Kurdish Red Crescent manages to evacuate tens of wounded and about 5 bodies from Ras al-Ayn (Sari…
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights learned that the medical team of the Kurdish Red Crescent who entered Ras Al Ayn city after Saturday afternoon; managed to evacuate the injured and wounded people from the city and they are now on…
Remnants of war continue to explode in various Syrian territories claiming lives of more citizens
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights documented the death of a citizen from al-Hwaiz village in the northwestern countryside of Hama, as a result of the explosion of an artillery shell of the remnants of previous military operations,…


The Crystal Coast Blog» Is Hanna Headed for the Crystal Coast?
Is Hanna Headed for the Crystal Coast?
Based on current projections issued by the National Hurricane Center, it appears Tropical Storm Hanna will intensify into a hurricane before making landfall along the South Carolina/North Carolina border. NOAA's website also indicates the developing tropical storm will make landfall shortly after midnight Saturday morning. Because major damage can occur especially on the east side of a hurricane, all precautions should be made to protect life and property along the Southern Outer Banks.
If you reside along the Crystal Coast towns of Emerald Isle, Salter Path, Indian Beach, Pine Knoll Shores and Atlantic Beach it is strongly recommended you be attentive to any and all announcements by local authorities as this storm approaches the east coast of the US. If orders are given to evacuate the barrier island of Bogue Banks, do so. If you have rented a beach cottage or condo on the Crystal Coast and plan to arrive this weekend, it is recommended you contact your Crystal Coast real estate agency for information about your rental prior to your arrival date.
It is obviously our prayers this storm stay far out in the Atlantic away from the coast of the US.


As a hunter I confront the finality of my action each time I kill an animal. Each time, every time. It is a soul searching pause that is never easy.
When I was introduced to hunting by my father he instilled in me a deep and abiding appreciation for the fish, fowl and animals I would take. He made me pause to honor and thank them for the sustenance they would provide my family, or friends or me.
I have often searched for an explanation for the honor of the hunt. I think I found it.
A toast to hunters, hunting and the cycle of life.


Hodgson Russ served as co-counsel to Corvias Group and its student housing division, Corvias Campus Living, in connection with the company's recently awarded 65-year, $517 million contract, to develop, construct, manage, and maintain student housing for the University System of Georgia (USG). The USG Board of Regents selected Corvias for the first phase of the privatized student housing initiative at nine of its campuses after a competitive bidding process that ended in November 2014.
The innovative deal was structured as a public-private partnership (P3) to safeguard long-term affordability of housing for students, ensure flexibility of facility use, and to help reduce USG's student-housing debt without compromising housing quality. This multi-campus concession-based P3 student housing venture is at the cutting edge of public university collegiate student housing and is unique in terms of both its scope and duration. Hodgson Russ partner Terrence Gilbride led the Hodgson Russ team representing Corvias in the deal. He was assisted by attorneys Kimberly Sayoc and Rafael Pignataro. Hodgson Russ worked with a team of attorneys from the Atlanta, Washington, D.C., and Orlando offices of Holland & Knight in counseling Corvias Group on this transaction.
Corvias Group is a privately owned company that provides the U.S. military, colleges and universities, and public-sector clients with fully integrated development, construction, and property management services, as well as tailored solutions to environmental, energy and infrastructure challenges, using a public-private partnership model.