President Obama's emotional siding with Trayvon Martin in the Rose Garden Friday, hailed by some as a moment of leadership on race relations, is an egregious abnegation of duty that could help lead to race riots and further deaths.
Obama Friday expressed sympathy for Trayvon and said if he had a son "he'd look like Trayvon." Obama's comments gave the highest official imprimatur possible to a variety of people who are attempting to create mass protest in response to the tragedy.
Speaking just as the 20th anniversary of the Rodney King riots approaches, Obama has now aligned himself with these forces.
And yet the facts of the case are not clear and, as our readers have pointed out, local reports currently being ignored by the media indicated that Martin's shooter, George Zimmerman, was being beaten by Martin after being attacked by him, and was screaming for help when he shot him.
This doesn't mean that Zimmerman is innocent. He acknowledged following Martin, and it could be Martin was the one acting in self defense, or that he perceived himself to be in danger. The point is, we don't know. If Obama has new information, he should share it. Otherwise his job is to calm the situation, not throw in with those who want to ignite it.
Like Jesse Jackson, who declared that "blacks are under attack," according to the Los Angeles Times.
Jackson predicted that the protests will continue to multiply in number and that the ranks of protestors will swell until Zimmerman is arrested.
The New Black Panther Party is printing "Wanted, Dead or Alive" posters for Zimmerman.
Al Sharpton is on hand, insisting he doesn't want violence. But if Al Sharpton has ever entered on a scene that subsequently became calmer and less prone to violence, I'd like to know about it.
Obama is the nation's chief law enforcement officer and protector of the Constitution, not its chief moral authority. While it's understandable as a black man he would have a particularly emotional stake in this, Obama must act first as president of all of us and ensure due process and, at the very least, avoid inflaming the situation.
After the officers who beat Rodney King were initially declared innocent, Los Angeles erupted in violence and there was real fear the rest of the nation was about to go up in flames as well. It could happen again. Obama, the president, may now be partially complicit if it does.
Obama never learns: his brain is like an Etch A Sketch. You would have thought that he would've learned his lesson after mouthing off about the incident in Cambridge involving a black Harvard professor, but no, Obama just shook his Etch A Sketch brain and erased the incident before turning the knobs again.
It is important to consider that President Obama is motivated only by political self interest and any benefit he can attain by pandering to racial resentment fueled by the rest of the race envy peddlers. This is a president that has no sense of dignity or shame for his hypocrisy and even less regard for getting at the truth of the matter before speaking. He does everything this way so why would he change at this point?
I went to Wikipedia to get a synopsis of this shooting. What I found is that, unlike the LA Times that reports "facts that are not in contention," there are items of contention, as you point out. Trayvon's death is horrendous and the reading public deserves to hear all the contentious facts.
Wonder what Obama is going to say if someone acts on the $10,000 bounty the NBP put out on Zimmerman. He really should think about how things are perceived when he makes comments.
I'm upset also but, your CAPS are making it hard to read your post.
Black Leadership – wherever and whoever they may be – need to reign this in a bit. Jeez, it's only friggin' March.
They could end up – Law of Unintended Consequences being as it is – quite accidentally, starting an actual Race War.
Do you think those people in South Carolina in 1858 would have said the things they said and did the things they did if they could have been given a vision of the Palmetto State in 1865?
If Obama wants a race War he will have it. You can't buy ammunition in centeral Fl. everybody is out, or the price is up 300%.
I believe he DOES want a race war, and he will fan the flames of discontent all the way to the election, with any issue that presents himself. It is absolutely necessary to get that high black voter turnout, which is a bit in question as of late.
I've noticed the consistent references to Zimmerman as a white-Hispanic.
I wonder why? Are we to refer to Obama as the first white-black president? What does race matter unless someone is trying make a matter of race?
White and Black mixed as colors equal Gray, which is entirely what this Pressintent(sic) is.
Keith – any truth to the rumor that the question was a plant? Was someone from press secretary's office seen whispering to a reporter? I've never seen Obama answer a shout out previously. If it was a plant, he is not "partially complicit" if violence erupts. He is fully responsible.
I've seen that reported on several sites, including Fox News, but what he whispered to that reporter is unknown. Coincidence? Heh.
Obama had to of known a question like that was coming, especially his "advisors" Sharpton and Jackson fanning the media flames.
I don't think Zimmerman will ever get a fair trial now, nor will all the race baiting bring that boy back to life.
No matter how much the phony leaders of the "Black" community wish it, it is not 1956. There is no "Jim Crow" mentality out in the real world. Affirmative Action has been applied and used in almost everything from schools to jobs. If the "Black" community isn't prospering, then they must look to themselves for answers.
The incident was investigated by the local police force, not the KKK. There were witnesses with testimony that would have decided the proper action, if any, that the police should take to follow the law.
By entering this sad incident with his personal feelings and his concerns about his own children, our President has left no doubt that he is really the first "Black" President, and not the POTUS.
And there we have the truth that no one will say aloud — thank you, SRD.
If Jesse and Al are leaders, then the people who follow are in deep doodoo.
I have been saying this for months. for Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, it is always going to be Selma in 1962, and there will always be "colored" drinking fountains and mean bosses who won't hire black people.
they're not interested in seeing the world as it is, because if they did they'd be out of a job.
I find it ironic that a Hispanic-on-black crime is being painted as a return to Jim Crow. actually, I'm surprised Farrakhan isn't spinning it as a plot by the Joos (because the shooter's name is "Zimmerman")!
I live in North Carolina, and for some Afro-Americans it IS still 1962. Everything done is for racial reasons.
My dad used to say when I was a kid and it's still true: it's not the whites who have a problem with the Blacks; it's the Blacks who have a problem with the Whites. Not true for everyone, but a good generalization.
He just needs the votes in FL. It was a horrible situation for the family, but the president to take advantage of a family in pain is just shameful. Then again he exploits his own children and sends them to dangerous places. I haven't heard a peep from the man who is suppose to be the leader of this country about the horrible natural disasters that occurred recently. He is not here to lead Americans white, black, yellow, brown, purple, etc … he is here to take advantage of us, reap from our hard work, and just have his name in the history books.
While I agree that it is a terrible loss to the family, they don't seem to want this race war to end either. There are plenty of ways to tell everyone to stop and I haven't heard any of them expressed by the family.
Chris – great minds think alike. It's all about Florida. MSLSD is on it by blaming Jeb Bush (whose name has been bandied about for VP). They already tried bashing Marco Rubio.
One more case to remind everyone – this was the same crapola that ensued with Prof. Gates and the lead up to the election of Scott Brown in Mass.
Is PMSNBC still on the air? What idiot or idiots would air a network hemorrhaging money at a galactic pace.
G.E./Jeffrey Immelt and a $140 billion dollar bailout is a quite a tourniquet.
No doubt about that Sadie.
How interesting that the supposed phoney Ulsterman White House Insider predicted that the whole "race" thing would be amped up until the election. Surprise once again ,he is correct. This was just a gift given to the Obama campaign. Obama sees this as just another way to gain votes.
I hate to say this but I can see riots if he loses in November. This country is so much more racially divided now than in years,all because of Mr. Hope and Change!
I predict that Obama will overreach with this alleged 'gift' and the matter will blow up in his face.
My guess is that there will be riots if he looses. I followed election returns in '09 at the National Press Club in DC; several media folks were in attendance. They had inside info to be on alert in case obama didn't win and that riots would take place in a variety of cities.
Ir is too bad that the work of MLK Jr., and other blacks and whites who fought so hard and sacrificed so much for civil rights, is now being undone by Obama and the sleazy blacks that pass for leaders to the black community in America. I speak specifically of Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson and Louis Farrakhan – all men of the cloth supposedly who should know better and who should be ashamed of themselves. I do not think it will be long before the likes of the "Honorables" Sheila Jackson Lee and Maxine Waters will weigh in and further inflame the situation.
All the facts are not yet know regarding this unfortunate incident. This is not a political incident and it should not be made into one. To top it off, we have the GOP candidates putting their two cents in. Sean Hannity unfortunately is doing his best to fan the flames as are the network news channels.
I feel bad for the family who lost their son and I hope if the situation warrants, George Zimmerman is punished. But, there are more pressing issues than this in our nation and the politicians need to stay the heck out. A much better message from Baraka Obama would have been silence.
For the president to speak about this the way he did before the investigation is complete shows once again his ignorance and lack of leadership. He must have a desire to start a race war….why?
Also think the question was planted. That statement suggesting that the young man might look like his son was meant to personalize the incident. It is always all about him. Where is the race baiter now? He jumped on AF1 and headed out of the country for a few days…leaving the country in turmoil and bitterly divided by his words.
Agree and agree. This was a planned statement and IMO, a poorly thought out one. This will not benefit him in any way except with the Black community that he seems to have in his pocket simply because he is "one of them".
There are frightening days ahead, this isn't over.
After all, wasn't it the Obama owned media who told us – Don't worry your pretty little heads about that Executive Order he just "updated" – to seize control of all private industry even in a non-emergency situation. He is looking for his Kristallnacht. Look for the flash mobs to do more than stealing in the coming days ahead.
I've been feeling that for a year…the Occupy stuff was just a warm-up act. Scary times ahead.
all. What group will be next the over 60 boomers evil that we are!
…surfin' around on the Southern Poverty Law Center website…It's such a good thing Watchdog Groups like this keep track of racists…wait a minute this looks like a target list!!
Just another reminder that a black man should always pack heat, especially when entering a predominately white neighborhood. If Trayvon had been carrying a .357, justice would have been served to Mr. Zimmerman, tout suite and a la carte.
U realize the neighborhood has more minorities than whites. It has also seen a dramatic upswing in crime, not to mention Mr. Zimmerman is at least part hispanic. Do some fact checking next time.
I thought it was a 'gated' community.
Wouldn't you think Obama would speak to the incredible black on black violence going on in his home town? 40 some shootings over just one weekend? Any of those people look like the son you never had, Obama?
I know it doesn't fit the narrative, but it wasn't a "predominantly white" neighborhood.
Seriously, when someone – and to quote Micheal Jackson, "it doesn't matter if your Black or White" – has you on the ground and you feel your life is threatened and you can't retreat, you have the Right to make it stop – in Florida, even in Illinois.
To quote this article "Obama is the nation's chief law enforcement officer and protector of the Constitution, not its chief moral authority.". OBAMA IS NEITHER one of these. The OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT is the nations chief law enforcement officer and protector of the constitution. This statement was nothing but a declaration of war.
Google: "Channon Christian and Christopher Newsom".
Why was there no presidential or community outrage?
That is a horrific case. To hear that these people will be retried because the judge in the case was an addict. Not a peep out of this administration or their sycophant press about justice for the brutally murdered couple. Wrong skin shade and Tennessee isn't a swing state.
Isn't it interesting how photos of Trayvon (RIP) seem to get youger and younger?
It seems Zimmermann pursued on foot, phone in hand, turned on advisement of the dispatcher and got clocked in the back of the head.
I'm a former [redacted] and that's what to looks like to me – at this point.
Oh, yes–to the extent I knew any facts.
There is some basketball team that will be wearing hoodies in his honor. Tell me this isn't an orchestrated crisis.
We don't know all of the facts in the case. Hopefully, justice will be served. It does seem curious that Trayvon Martin was shot on Feb. 26 and only now is there an uproar about the shooting.
My friend (white) attributes this to the MSM just not being interested and lauds Sharpton, et al., for insisting that the case become news.
He has no interest in hearing about the white kid who was doused by black kids with gasoline — apparently this is not newsworthy.
Let me guess…he's one of Obama's koolaid drinkers?
Wow, just saw this. Black Panthers offering a bounty for Zimmerman.
Critical Race Theory. The laws don't apply to minorities.
We don't know if Trayvon was innocent as has been proposed. But if Obama was really concerned for innocents who could have looked just like his son, he would condemn the murder of the thousands or tens of thousands of would be look-a-likes torn apart in abortions by the millions. But he doesn't, instead he embraces and advocates for those murders. Obama is nothing more than an opportunist and demagogue trying to inflame the populace. A truly vile snake.
Well said but, Eric "Snake in the Grass" Holder is the head reptilian in Washington D.C..
If it isn't bad enough that he is waging class warfare, he seems intent on inciting race warfare. There is absolutely no other intention to be derived from his remarks. He sure doesn't need to pander for votes from the black community.
Could you imagine any former President, on the death of a white at the hands of a black making that comment? Considering the news that his campaign has written off middle class whites, is it any wonder there is such polarization of the electorate?
If riots ensue, Sharpton, Jackson and the New Black Panther Party should all be arrested and tried for inciting their followers. Of course, there will never be a Federal Investigation into their activities-at least while Obama is still in office.
If it could be proven that these elements conspired (by communication with each other and planning) then I believe you have actionable offences to laws currently on the books.
The only good that can come of this is, if the Hispanic community realizes that one of their own is being thrown to the wolves and they act accordingly at election time. I would hope they would see that Obama has been using them for nothing more than to further his re-election.
Where's LaRaza on this issue?
Not saying anything that I have seen…interesting.
This shooting was tragic, no question about it. But we do not have all the facts, period! And I doubt that Obama was armed with 'facts' – as was the case with the Cambridge police officer. No facts – just hateful, race-baiting rhetoric!
That said, I wonder if Obama would have dramatically referred to young Trayvon as 'his son" had this boy been an unattractive young man with dark skin, dreadlocks and tattoos! The fact that Trayvon was good looking, athletic, intelligent, and light skinned plays right into the Obama narrative – straight out of central casting.
The fact that the self-appointed guardian of the community was packing a weapon is very troubling – adding more grist to the mill for the gun control lobby. Obama and Holder will be all over this for the next 8 months!
Undoubtedly, Obama will try to fan the flames of racism for the next 8 months, but I trust the American people to see through him. We have been down this road before with him – and we all know who the real racist is! Trayon is just a prop – not unlike the Greek columns and the fake doctors and nurses who stood next to him in the Rose Garden.
Didn't the POTUS actually say in his statement about that incident that we don't know all the facts but , the Cambridge Police acted "stupidly".. Seems I head that correct me if I'm wrong.
All these groups feel embolden due to Holder, "my people" and all. The Panther's were caught, on tape intimidating voters, the case was ready to go and the DOJ dropped it. All the DOJ cases are race based, it is frightening to me.
The death of any young person is a tragedy, but this is another useful distraction for our President to blissfully weigh in on. Like on the Cambridge incident, he doesn't stray far from his prejudices.
Chris – you just nailed it! Why didn't I thiink of that? You're a genius! It's all about FLORIDA! Good job!
I read that this particular condo complex was 4% hispanic and 4% African American. It is predominantly white!
Maybe the condo complex is mainly white, but i read that the neighbhorhood is 49% white.
And I read that Trayvon was on a five-day-suspension from school and that is why he was across town instead of being at his family home. Nice kid.
But all of this proves that we don't have facts, just what we read.
He lives in Miami and he was up in Orlando.
He was suspended from school at the time. Also, notice the more recent photo of him.
It says he was suspended for "being in an unauthorized area" of the school. I wonder what that means.
As I wrote before,this was predicted by the Ulsterman White House Insider. They were just waiting for the right opportunity to swing into full action,and it fell into their laps. Here's the original interview.
blondie, thanks for link and reminder. The race tactics used by the WH are similar to the ones used by muslims.
Keith, I believe the correct term is not "partially" complicit, but simply "complicit." And Obama is very much so.
On my blog, tomorrow morning at 0900 hours, I will post an article in very stark terms, along with video, sustaining that it has become likely that George Zimmerman did NOT — repeat did NOT "murder" Martin at all, rather it appears that he was indeed defending himself against Martin's attack as claimed.
The truth be told whether the professional agitators like it or not.
There is no question that Obama was totally out of line in making a public statement and clearly taking sides. He had no facts or evidence to go by, only that it was a black kid shot by a white/Hispanic male. There are always always two sides to every story. But, he by choice has totally swept the media and the civil rights gang into a mass frenzy. ABC is doing a special on Sunday night, news online and on TV are adding to the hysteria, and Zimmerman, whether justified or not, will not get a fair trial by jury. A jury will be intimidated just by hearing the president defend the victim. Al Sharpton and his cohorts have screamed racism for years, and they really need to quit fueling the old flames of the 60's and the Civil War…move on and let it go. The only racism is theirs when they call it that, when it becomes their excuse for everything that happens to a black person. It is unbelievably one sided. White, Hispanic, Asian, and all the other groups are shot, beaten, killed, harassed, and victimized, and nothing absolutely nothing is said in their defense. We have no civil rights union to march and preach and spread the fear and distrust that has been going on since the 1960's and long before. This country will never be free of the cry of racism as long as there are narrow minded obvious bigots on the rampage. So, we are actually the victims here; we are blamed for enforcing the laws. The damage has been done thanks to the president, whose comments were totally inane. If I had a son, he stated…etc…well, you don't and what does that have to do with the incident or justice…nothing, nada, zero. Think before you speak and take the time to let Florida and the courts do their job.
Well said Sharon! But, keep in mind that everything this guy does is politically motivated….he needs Florida and thinks by empathizing with the "victim" he'll gain some votes. I doubt it as the facts come out in this case.
I find it funny Sharpton and Jackson only seem to care about black people when the cameras are on them.
And now Attorney General's self described "people", the Black Panthers,are offering a $10,000 bounty on this man. Would it be too much to suggest that this is illegal and perhaps someone should arrest them?
And isn't it typical … insert yourself into a controversy … and then head out of the country!
This event is a gift from whatever heaven Obama and his Communist cronies worship and will dominate the political scene until election day. Obama, Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, Louis Farrahkan, the Black Panthers, and any other race pimp will say anything to stir the pot and they will never be called out by the so called media. I remember the "long hot summers" of the 60's. This summer will be far worse and is designed to get the Race Pimp in Chief re-elected.
April of 1992. Rodney King beaten. Then as now I thought we had progressed enough to share dialogue and make this "learning experience" as our leader has iterated many times. Hey I am a white man and the California cops that beat Mr. King were overreaching their authority, and possibly in Florida, Zimmerman acted wrong but, we don't know the facts because 300,000,000 plus of us WERE NOT THERE. This is a local issue and here in Texas it's none of my business.
Zimmerman- "a white Hispanic" with a photo of a dour person and a 3 day beard.
Martin- "an African-American" and a photo of a happy smiling kid (whose picture gets younger every day).
It kindda sets the stage and summarizes it for the mob.
Well, according to CNN (so…y'know…) Zimmerman has a laceration on the back of his head and a broken nose.
It's possible…likely even, they had some words, Zimmerman was waived-off by the Dispatcher and as he makde his way back to the vehicle Trayvon clocked him from behind and then started wailing on him. It could have been the bottle of tea he had just bought.
It wasn't intentional disinformation; I had just watched Soledad O'Brien's CRT meltdown for like the ninth time – and it just keeps getting better and better every time I see it!
Obama should keep his damn nose out of this problem. All that muslim idiot is causing more hatred, which is what he likes to do. I just pray to God that he is a one term too many president. I have never seen anyone that is evil as he is.
The man, a black friend of the family who spoke to Zimmerman tonight, told ABC News that Zimmerman was weeping for days after the shooting, which sparked protests across the country, and he insisted that Zimmerman, who is Hispanic, is not a racist.
There are some really, really weird stories going around right now. Any way you look at it, two families have been hurt very badly for the actions of one night. If the story is true that Martin had Zimmerman on the ground and Zimmerman was yelling for help . . . some people jumped the shark.
I think some people needed to just wait until all the facts come out. Such a very, very sad story for everyone involved.
Very good and sensible short commentary.
That part of Obama being what he is supposed to be, is true. But, because he is an unconstitutional president by him not meeting the Constitutional requirement of being a "natural born citizen," Obama possesses nothing in him to do the honorable and correct thing. Why would he? He is usurping Constitutional law, which he has violated, and been allowed, to trample!
Hence, I don't believe Obama will perform honorably in this situation, except to exploit it as it appears he has already done.
Will the trial be somewhat like the one in "Bonfire of the Vanities " ?
I am amazed that Obama, who claims he has studied law ( although we don´t know much about the result of that ) can deprive the defendant of a fair trial in this manner. Well, maybe not that amazed, this man seems to be really indifferent to other people and to rules.
Dear God, I feel sorry for the urban cops with the summer coming.
The melange of "occupy", the AfAm race baiters and the SEIU thugs is truly frightening.
What will the crazy bloodlusting Dems do to stay in power?
WELL, but we all know the police acted STUPIDLY, right?
How can an impartial jury be selected now?
It just occurred to me that Obama is going to come back from South Korea and give us another "historic" speech. All the Obots will swoon, the MSM will crown him King Of America, and the gullible will vote.
Classic Obama actions: disappear until others have handled the situtaion, come back and criticize their actions and "frame" the problem in a wide view.
He should have kept his mouth shut about his imaginary son and he should keep his mouth shut now. He has nothing to offer in the situation.
…nice catch of his SOP, Annona. Sometimes that kind of behavior is called "cowardice".
I read on Daily Caller today that more facts are coming out and that the tide may turn in favor of Zimmerman.
Also read that the New B Panthers are offering a reward for the capture of Zimmerman…ridiculous!
Newt is correct that Obama was out of line to get into this .
After Obama's alter ego, Eric Holder, called us a 'Nation of Cowards', I have nothing but contempt for Obama and his race-baiting crew! The 'coward' is Obama…who should have fired Holder 5 minutes after he uttered those scurrilous words!
first hand observations of the situation here in CA – ground zero for the illegal and gangs.
Obama has done nothing, nada, to address the black v Latino gang situation! There are NO white gangs, unless you include the Russian and Armenian gangs here in CA.
The U.S. is becoming a multi-cultural nightmare – not a 'melting pot'. Obama has added Muslims to the mix …just to make it more of a tinderbox! He tells the Latinos to 'punish their enemies (us)' at the voting booth while Holder upholds the rights of Black Panthers!
In order to assure Obama's reelection, Holder has declared that it's unconstitutional to require voter ID!!! It's unfair to poor black minorities! We all know this is BS – it's the illegal alien votes Obama is looking for! Obama is guilty of high crimes and misdemeanors for tampering with a Federal election!
Not only is this guy, Obama, unfit to serve – he is a danger to our democracy! He IS the enemy within – the same enemy he took an oath to defend us against!


I'll take app dev for $1000. The art of asking technical interview questions.
Code Reviews, do I really have to?
I've been working professionally in application development since the fall of 1998. I'm a consultant, and I've been in quite a few environments over the years. However, I have also worked as a full-time employee in leadership positions in places. I began interviewing candidates for technical positions in 2007. Even after having been the interviewee many times before I quickly realized that asking the right questions isn't nearly as easy as it looks.
The first technical interviews I conducted tended to be like quiz shows. All of the advice I could find on technical interview questions centered asking very specific technology related questions, or more academic questions on fundamentals of things like object orient programming. My problem at this point was that I relied strictly on these questions, and tailored them to my exact needs at the time. There is nothing fundamentally flawed with asking these questions. They are important in establishing somebody's base line abilities, but they really don't give the full technical picture by any means. This level of interviewing is a beginning skill set that is important, and I don't mean to criticize, but was not nearly important as I thought it was at the time.
So, what was I missing? How could I be doing better? I try to be introspective, and I try to acknowledge when I'm wrong on an approach. I suspect that if you are reading this you may even be that way too.
It turns out the candidate has only used a very minute part of the framework, and its not one that's even very meaningful to me.
The candidate indeed used the framework, but it was indirectly through a wrapper API that somebody else created.
People seeking jobs are trying to catch your eye so they can have a conversation with you to prove whether they are right for your job. Its just human nature to exaggerate your skills at times on a resume to get that initial conversation started. Resumes are really just sales materials, and as the interviewer you have to probe those sales pitches from the resume to see if you will really be buying what you expect.
Another key skill to interviewing is to tailor your interview questions to the type of position you are hiring for. This may sound obvious, but its easy to get hung up in asking interview questions aimed at your ideal candidate, who you want to work with for years and years. These questions really may not be appropriate if you are looking to hire somebody temporarily for a 3 month project. In fact, questions for short term candidates should probably be much more technically specific. You don't have time to train them up on your current technology stack. You need the candidate to be able to hit the ground running. On the other hand, if you are hiring for long term positions you should probably de-emphasize specific technical skills and concentrate on general problem solving skills, learning skills, and team interaction skills. Technical skills certainly still matter for long term positions, but you have plenty of time for the candidate to grow into some of the skills missing from your ideal profile.
A manager comes to you with the requirement to build a web page to collect a customers credit card information. This is the only requirement you have been provided. What would your next steps be? How would you go about solving this problem?
I hope that the candidate will say that they would ask for more information. Perhaps the candidate will suggest proposing more specific requirements to review with the manager/customer/end-user.
In addition, I like to ask candidates how they would solve a critical problem at 3 o'clock in the morning that has no easy solution. Honestly, all I'm looking for on this question is what resources a candidate will turn to when there is not a readily available answer to the problem, and no one there to just provide a solution. I want to know things like would the candidate go to Google, Stack Overflow, technical forums, etc. to help them in solving the problem.
Remember to ask fundamental questions of all candidates. I like to ask questions about OOP like describe the difference between a class and an object, or between a class and a structure. Another fair question is to ask about polymorphism. Design patterns can be a good thing to throw out to the candidate to. Design pattern knowledge helps establish whether a candidate is aware of common development techniques, and is willing to look at other ideas besides there own. I also like to ask about the difference between a clustered and non-clustered index. Asking questions involving string building can be useful too. I like to ask a question about how you would build a string coming back from database records. I'm trying to determine does the developer know that strings are immutable, and that they should be using a stringbuilder instead. If I'm dealing ASP.Net developers I like to ask questions like how do you handle object state between web requests. I try to keep the questions steered away from super nit-picky things that can be looked up on the internet anytime if you need it. I'm more concerned with do you know these basic fundamentals that will help you in knowing what to look for online.
Finally in this area I like to know how candidates handle learning new technologies they have never worked with. I have never worked on a project where I knew everything up front. At my current client they have many technologies that no one locally has worked with so these learning skills become even more important. Often times candidates say they will just look at the code and try to figure it out. That can be a very dangerous answer with third party libraries that aren't readily obvious in their use. My hope is that the candidate would talk about finding tutorials on using the framework and online forums to help in learning the best practices. The answers may be very similar to the question on handling the critical problem at 3 AM, but in a way that's part of the point. They should indicate similar skills.
The final area I like to emphasize in my interview questions involves the types of teams a candidate has worked on. I want to know things like every project you've ever worked on has been 1 person projects. This may be appropriate if I've got a small budget and can only afford one resource. I might need somebody who can be completely self-reliant. On the other hand, if I'm working on a large project that involves many people that same candidate may not as ideal. They may just like to go solve every problem on their own, and be incapable of learning to work within the confines of a team. I want to know is this candidate somebody who is used to having somebody direct them technically, and receiving quality assurance bugs that may or may not seem like criticism to them.
In the end, an effective technical interview should not have felt like a game show to either the interviewer or interviewee. The best interviews should turn in to more of a conversation rather than a quiz. Even in a technical interview you should strive to determine whether the candidate is somebody you have a rapport with. In particular, if you are not the only person interviewing the candidate you may not know if other the other interviewers have covered any of these issues. Candidates you hire are people you will have to work with for some time so you want to make sure they are more than just encyclopedias of knowledge. You want to prove in the interview that they know what to do with that knowledge, and that they can work with you.
Well, my blog has been down for awhile now. I haven't been really very good about keeping it up, and then my old blog engine got messed up. I've now switched over to something a little more reliable. I switched to WordPress. I'm a software developer, but frankly I don't feel like creating a blog-based website from scratch. I would rather spend my time learning new technologies. Anyway, to anybody who has tried to come to my site, I apologize for it being down for so long.
I have worked on many different teams, and code reviews have been mandatory on some, optional on others, and flat out not done on others. In addition, code review as a term seems to have a very vague meaning that's open to interpretation. I would like to share some of my experiences with code reviews, and what some of the benefits are of them.
First off, let me share that I am a believer in code reviews done right. I believe they are a fantastic tool for learning new techniques and sharing knowledge in a team when done right. In addition, they tend to help produce higher quality code by being promoting proactive quality checks in performance, overall code quality, and potentially business logic.
So there are generally 2 styles of code reviews I've experienced. Each has its own strengths and weakness. The first style I will call "Delta Based Reviews", which tends to be done more frequently on smaller chunks of code and tends to focus more on the quality aspects of review rather than the learning aspects. The second style I will call "Presentation Based Reviews", which tends to be more of a group exercise done less frequently. This style tends focus more on the educational aspects of code review. I will spend the rest of this blog discussing these 2 styles in more detail.
Delta based reviews can happen very frequently, and be performed by a single peer, or the entire team. Delta based reviews utilize version control systems such as TFS, SVN, GIT, Mercurial, etc. to determine all of the code changes done in a branch, commit, or changeset. The reviewer will select the appropriate unit from the version control system and review all of the changes to code made in this unit. Reviewers typically disregard any unchanged code as irrelevant to the code review. Typically the reviewer will look for any glaring bugs or performance issues in these reviews. If the scope of the change is significant the reviewer may look into things like architecture and design to insure that the code is meeting minimal organizational standards, and provides appropriate levels of future maintainability. These types of code reviews work as an excellent part of the quality assurance process.
If they are done on a frequent basis they can catch issues quickly while they are still on the developer's mind before the code is ever deployed to other environments. I have worked with these types of review at three levels of frequency: by release, once a week, and for every development feature an individual developer has worked on. When these types of code reviews happen on a more frequent basis they become an invaluable tool in the quality assurance process. However, they can also cause the reviewers to pay less attention in the review than they should if they are overburdened by too many code-reviews all the time.
The second style of code review, which I call the "Presentation Based Review" is based more on presenting new APIs, or new architectures to a team. These reviews tend to be more aimed at educating a development team on new pieces of code that are available to the team. However, they also provide the team with the ability to provide feedback to better optimize the APIs being presented to them. These type of code reviews can also lead to review of the business functionality being provided, and can occasionally benefit from having a business analyst involved to provide feedback for questions that may arise during the review.
Presentation Based Reviews can also morph out of the "Delta Based Reviews" by providing a chance for code reviewers to discuss the results of their delta based reviews with the team. One or two presenters may choose to discuss the results with the team to help them learn better performance and maintenance coding techniques. Remember, the objective of this type of review is not to humiliate any single developer, it is to help the team as a whole learn and grow. If possible try to hide the developer's name whose code is being presented, unless they are ok with their name being used.
When code reviews are done right the provide a great mechanism to improve developer knowledge. However, be careful not to turn code reviewing into a chore that must be done on a scheduled basis. Also, do not force code reviews on to your team just for the sake of doing code reviews. Teams that understand the benefits and objectives of code reviews have the opportunity for excellent growth. There is more to gain from the collective wisdom of the group, and that is the ultimate objective of the review.


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text:
What the Paris Climate Meeting Must Do
Le Bourget airport just north of Paris is the place where Charles Lindbergh landed the Spirit of St. Louis. That event 88 years ago could now be interpreted as foreshadowing the era of globalization. Tomorrow, the world's nations will meet there under the banner of the UN Framework on Climate Change (UNFCCC). COP21, also known as the 2015 Paris Climate Conference, will, for the first time in over 20 years of UN negotiations, aim to achieve a legally binding and universal agreement on climate, with the aim of keeping global warming below 2°C.
Read More: COP21: What's It All About?
By THE EDITORIAL BOARD NOV. 28, 2015
In 1992, more than 150 nations agreed at a meeting in Rio de Janeiro to take steps to stabilize greenhouse gases at a level that would "prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system" — United Nations-speak for global warming.
Many follow-up meetings have been held since then, with little to show for them. Emissions of greenhouse gases have steadily risen, as have atmospheric temperatures, while the consequences of unchecked warming — persistent droughts, melting glaciers and ice caps, dying corals, a slow but inexorable sea level rise — have become ever more pronounced.
On Monday, in Paris, the signatories to the Rio treaty (now 196), will try once again to fashion an international climate change agreement that might actually slow, then reduce, emissions and prevent the world from tipping over into full-scale catastrophe late in this century. As with other climate meetings, notably Kyoto in 1997 and Copenhagen in 2009, Paris is being advertised as a watershed event — "our last hope," in the words of Fatih Birol, the new director of the International Energy Agency. As President François Hollande of France put it recently, "We are duty-bound to succeed."
Paris will almost certainly not produce an ironclad, planet-saving agreement in two weeks. But it can succeed in an important way that earlier meetings have not — by fostering collective responsibility, a strong sense among countries large and small, rich and poor, that all must play a part in finding a global solution to a global problem.
Kyoto failed because it imposed emissions reduction targets only on developed countries, giving developing nations like China, India and Brazil a free pass. That doomed it in the United States Senate. Copenhagen attracted wider participation, but it broke up in disarray, in part because of continuing frictions between the industrialized nations and the developing countries.
The organizers of the Paris conference have learned a lot from past mistakes. Instead of pursuing a top-down agreement with mandated targets, they have asked every country to submit a national plan that lays out how and by how much they plan to reduce emissions in the years ahead. So far, more than 170 countries, accounting for over 90 percent of global greenhouse emissions, have submitted pledges, and more may emerge in Paris.
Will these pledges be enough to ward off the worst consequences of global warming? No. Scientists generally agree that global warming must not exceed 2 degrees Celsius, or 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit, from preindustrial levels. Various studies say that even if countries that have made pledges were to follow through on them, the world will heat up by 6.3 degrees Fahrenheit by the end of this century. That would still be much too high, and it would be guaranteed to make life miserable for future generations, especially in poor low-lying countries. But it would at least put the world on a safer trajectory; under most business-as-usual models, temperature increases could reach 8.1 degrees or higher.
Eventually, of course, all nations will have to improve on their pledges, especially big emitters like China, India and the United States. If the Paris meeting is to be a genuine turning point, negotiators must make sure that the national pledges are the floor, not the ceiling of ambition, by establishing a framework requiring stronger climate commitments at regular intervals — say, every five years. This should be accompanied by a plan for monitoring and reporting each country's performance. Earlier meetings have done poorly on this score.
Other important items dot the agenda. One is how rich nations can help poorer ones achieve their targets. Another is stopping the destruction of tropical forests, which play a huge role in storing carbon and absorbing emissions. The meeting also seeks to enlist investors, corporations, states and cities in the cause. Michael Bloomberg, who made reducing emissions a priority as mayor of New York, will join the mayor of Paris in co-hosting a gathering of local officials from around the world.
The test of success for this much-anticipated summit meeting is whether it produces not only stronger commitments but also a shared sense of urgency at all levels to meet them.
Posted on November 29, 2015	/ 0	/ Tags	Big Ideas, Carbon, Climate change, COP21, Copenhagen agreement, David Mayes, Earth Hour, environment, featured, food production, global agriculture, Global economy, global politics, global security, global warming, globalization, ice cap melting, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, International Energy Agency, IPCC, Kyoto agreement, Le Bourget, leadership, management, mayo615, nuclear fusion, Paris, Paris climate change meeting, Rio treaty, rising temperature, sea level rise, sustainability, UNFCCC, United Nations, Water	Categories	Big Ideas Carbon Clean tech Climate Change Research Earth Hour Economy Energy Efficiency Environment and Lifestyle Global Global Climate Change Global politics Globalization Leadership Nuclear Fusion Smart Grid Smart meter Sustainability
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


The fossilised jaws of one of the largest predators known to science are going on in display in Dorset, the remains of the 2.4 metre long jaws of a gigantic marine predator, a Pliosaur, are providing scientists with clues about just how dangerous swimming would have been in the mid Mesozoic.
According to palaeontologist and Plesiosaur expert Richard Forrest, Tyrannosaurus rex was a "kitten" compared to this ferocious short-necked Plesiosaur. Although, it is difficult to estimate the size of the entire animal based on partial jaws and elements of the skull this creature, whose fossils were found in late Jurassic coastal strata on the aptly named Jurassic coast (Kimmeridigian faunal stage), scientists speculate that this huge carnivore could have exceeded over 50 feet in length. The fossils were found by a local collector, who was lucky enough to discover them after elements of the fossil had eroded out of the unstable cliffs. The collector kept returning to the same spot to see what tide and time was revealing of the monster. The fossils found to date have been purchased by Dorset County Council, who hope to display this beast at the local county museum.
The picture shows the huge lower jaw bones of the as yet not fully scientifically described Pliosaur, the tip of the jaws is facing the camera. The animal that possessed these powerful jaws would have been able to swallow an adult human in one bite.
Related to the long-necked Plesiosaurs, Pliosaurs became the top marine predators from the early Jurassic into the Cretaceous. They were characterised by their short, powerful necks, massive skulls and huge jaws filled with large, pointed teeth. An animal such as the Dorset find would have been the top predator in the ecosystem. This may help explain why so many Ichthyosaur bones have been found that indicate an attack or feeding from a huge predator. Indeed, one fossilised skeleton of an Ichthyosaur indicates that it may have been bitten in half. A Pliosaur with 2.4 metre long jaws such as this leviathan would have been capable of such a feat. Pliosaurs and Plesiosaurs evolved an unusual method of swimming, one that is not known in nature today. These animals used their huge four flippers to power their way through the water. Each flipper would have twisted as it beat up and down, creating a backward thrust that drove these large animals forward. The motion is a little like flying underwater, it is thought that most of the propulsion came from the rear flippers but even the front flippers may have exceeded 3 metres in length and been immensely strong.
Experts are suggesting that this latest discovery could turn out to represent one of the largest Pliosaurs ever found. Although a full study has yet to be carried out and scientists are confident that more fossils of this specimen will be found soon, early estimates put this animal at around 10-16 metres in length and weighing between 7 and 12 tonnes. These estimates are not the exaggerated estimates so typical of a big Pliosaur discovery. The 25 metre length of Liopleurodon is open very much to question, but there is no doubting this was a big beast, capable of eating everything else in the Jurassic seas around 150 million years ago.
The scale drawing above compares a frogman with a Killer Whale (Orca) and the new Pliosaur. Although the drawing shows the Pliosaur at the top end of the estimated size for this beast, even at 10 metres long it would have been much bigger and heavier than a Killer Whale. This new discovery could rival other recent finds as being the largest carnivore known from the fossil record. A Pliosaur named "Predator X" found in Svalbard, is estimated to be around 16 metres long. A slightly earlier find "The Monster of Aramberri" discovered in 2002 in Mexico is believed to be of a similar size to the Dorset find.
The specimen has yet to be properly prepared in a laboratory, but early indications are that it has been remarkably well preserved and more of the specimen might be buried in the cliff and eroded out.
Plesiosaur expert Richard Forrest, commented that the skull was in very good condition, most skull material associated with Pliosaurs has been compacted or even crushed flat, so little anatomical data can be assembled. However, this specimen is in almost 3-D so the great power and strength of the jaws can be appreciated.
It is certainly true, just as top sea predators today are much bigger than apex land predators, the same would have occur ed in the Mesozoic. The advantage of having water to help support their weight would have given Pliosaurs the opportunity to grow bigger and heavier than even the largest carnivorous dinosaurs.
Dorset County Council has purchased the fossil remains for £20,000, Heritage Lottery Funds were used to secure this unique specimen.
These huge predators certainly capture the public's imagination, animals like Liopleurodon are very popular with dinosaur fans and our taste for super predators seems unlikely to be diminished, indeed our fascination for these huge marine reptiles seems to grow with every new exciting discovery.
Despite improvements in nutrition, medicine and even with modern training techniques and supplements today's top athletes would be no match for some of our ancestors a leading anthropologist has claimed.
Modern humans would lose out in physical contests against ancient humans and against other species on the Hominid family tree, that is the claim by the anthropologist Peter McAllister in his new book entitled "Manthropology: The Science of Inadequate Modern Man". Whilst we can understand some of the headline grabbing information provided in the various press releases to publicise the launch of this particular book, once an understanding of certain hominid species is gained, the hypothesis suggesting that modern humans are wimps in comparison to our ancestors is not very surprising.
For example, in Peter's book he states that a Neanderthal woman could beat Arnold Schwarzenegger in an arm wrestle.
Not wishing to put a damper on the Governor of California's physical prowess, we are sure that Mr Schwarzenegger at his peak would have been very strong. However, Neanderthals do have some anatomical advantages that might just give them the edge if an armwrestling contest was ever to be held. For example, although Neanderthals were shorter than most modern humans (males about 1.70 metres tall, females about 1.52 metres), they were stockilly built and heavily muscled. Evidence of the heavy musculature appears in the extremely large muscle attachment scars on the fossil bones and the bowing of some of the limb bones. A male Neanderthal would have weighed around 80 kilogrammes and both sexes would have been immensely strong. Studies of the fingers and wrist bones show that they had a much more powerful grip than a modern human. Their strong muscles, squat stature and the different proportions in the arm bones, particularly the shorter lower arm would give a Neanderthal female a distinct advantage in a strength contest against a bodybuilder such as Mr Schwarzenegger.
Studies of "Boxgrove Man", believed to be 500,000 year-old fossil remains and other evidence of Homo heidelbergensis found in West Sussex give an indication of just how big and strong some of our ancestors were. A tibia (shin-bone) discovered at Boxgrove in 1993 is massive in its proportions and strength. It is believed to have belonged to a male, well over 1.80 metres tall and easily weighing 80 plus kilogrammes. The site revealed the remains of complete animal carcases that had been butchered at that location. There was the fossils of a complete horse, two rhinoceros, each one weighing an estimated 700 kilogrammes, yet these animals had been killed and then carried back to this site and then cut up for food.
It is not only the Neanderthals and H. heidelbergensis that come out on top in physical contests against our own species, our ancestors too, were capable of some amazing physical feats. Mr McAllister has also studied the preserved footprints of aborigines in Australia and his work suggest that they were capable of running at up to 23 mph, bare foot and over soft mud in their pursuit of prey.
The prints of six men chasing prey and Mr McAllister's study of them leads him to believe these men if trained and provided with modern running shoes could beat Usain Bolt in a sprint. Peter claims that these ancient ancestors of ours could theoretically reach sprinting speeds of up to 28 mph.
Usain Bolt reached 26mph at last year's Beijing Olympics, but Mr McAllister claims that with modern training and spiked running shoes, an aboriginal man would be capable of 28mph.
The anthropologist blames modern lifestyles for our decline in speed and power.
"At the start of the industrial revolution there are statistics about how much harder people worked then. The human body is very plastic, and it responds to stress. We have lost 40 per cent of the shafts of our long bones, because we have much less of a muscular load placed upon them them".
This is very true, you only have to read accounts of working people's lives 100 years ago to learn how long and how hard they had to work. Some of the old farmers in Cheshire remember, how their fathers and grandfathers worked in the days before tractors and modern machinery. Gathering the harvest was extremely hard work, with some of the corn crops cut with scythes. I remember being told the tale by one very old gentleman, that in the days before WWII when the reaper binder was still not that common on small holdings, a man's worth was measured in how much corn he could cut in a day. Compared to the lives of our grandparents, we modern humans have it relatively easy with our office jobs and commuter lifestyles. Still, studies of the skeletons of people dating from the Middle Ages indicate that we 21st Century folk are certainly a lot taller and healthier than that particular group of people from human history. In fact, modern people are about us tall as our human ancestors from the New Stone Age, but we certainly did not have to work as hard to get our daily bread. One thing is for sure we certainly lived longer, a Neolithic person could perhaps hope to reach 35-40 maybe, for us, scientists are predicting in twenty years time, reaching 90 years of age and beyond will be much more commonplace.


text:
The Department of Health and Human Services Appropriations Act of 2008 or the HHS-Labor-Education Appropriations Bill () is a bill introduced in the House of Representatives during the 110th United States Congress by Rep. David Obey.

President G.W. Bush vetoed the act because of the cost and because it would ban the use of childhood flu vaccines that contain thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative that has been alleged to cause autism.

Status

The bill passed the House of Representatives and the U. S. Senate. It was vetoed by President Bush on November 13, 2007.  The House failed to achieve a two-thirds majority to override the president's veto by two votes on a 277–141 vote.

References

Proposed legislation of the 110th United States Congress
Vaccination law
United States federal appropriations legislation
Thiomersal and vaccines
Vaccination in the United States

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Gagetown Cider Company makes a wide range of apple-based products, from dry wines to sparkling, low-alcohol cider, to intensely sweet iced-apple wine. It also blends with cranberry, wild blueberry, wild elderberry, and other fruit. Apples come from a gorgeous orchard overlooking the Saint John River.


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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


I happened across an ad for this book while scrolling through Twitter one night and the blurb immediately enticed me. Something about it just drew me right in, perhaps it was the reference to #WittyScotsBanter that grabbed me or the bond between Mary and her granpa but I knew that I had to read it! So a huge thank you to Ross Sayers and Cranachan Books (what a superb Scottish name for a publisher!) for the ARC, which I volunteered to read and to provide my honest review.
Do you ever find yourself having a really childish thought, or not knowing a basic fact and having to Google it to avoid embarrassment? Well, I do. Fortunately, I was able to take all these silly thoughts and put them into a character.
After I read James Kelman's Kieron Smith, Boy a couple of years ago, I wrote a LOT of stories as a child narrator. Always boys though. Then I decided to challenge myself and write from a female POV instead. Shortly after, I decided a little girl's relationship with her grandfather would be a great basis for a novel. This would allow me to show how a wee girl would be influenced if she only had her Granpa to learn from, as well as what she would teach her Granpa. Enter Mary Sutherland.
Mary is 8, and clever for her age. She likes James Bond, Elvis Presley, and playing the keyboard. She has a hard time making friends at school, which only makes her closer to her Granpa, Arthur. She's never been on holiday before, but that's about to change!
Because of her close relationship with her Granpa, I wanted to give her some interests most girls her age wouldn't necessarily be 'into'. Her and her Granpa spend many nights dancing to Elvis, or watching Bond films. I was keen not to make her an out-and-out 'tomboy' though. Just because she likes Bond doesn't mean she doesn't want to watch Frozen! (She had to wait for the DVD, Granpa wouldn't go to the pictures to see it…).
Mary also has a lot of thoughts on everyday occurrences that grown-ups don't seem to notice. Why is it brunette and not brownette? And why was Pierce Brosnan only allowed to be in a few Bond films? He was the best one!
Mary learns a lot about friendship, family, and loyalty in the book. She sees people at their best and worst, and realises that nobody's perfect.
I really hope readers like Mary, and I can't wait for everyone to meet her!
Although a crime is the foundation that #marysthename is built upon, it isn't really #crimefiction in a traditional sense and it is a slight deviation from my normal choice of genre. However there is something completely and utterly captivating about this book that just draws you in and churns you up inside out!
Eight year old Mary and her granpa are caught up in a robbery in the bookies where he works. Not long after Mary's granpa tells her they are going on a summer long holiday to the Isle of Skye. She is excited by the adventure and not that sad to leave her Stirling home for the summer as she feels quite isolated and friendless there. However Mary soon begins to realise that her granpa wasn't being entirely truthful with her at all.
This isn't a "wham bam thank you mam" paced read but rather a gentle yet fiercely emotionally read. The narrator is 8-year-old Mary and I immediately connected with her, whenever I picked up the book to read I was transported into the inside of Mary's head. Despite her young years she is a wise wee girl and her dialogue is intelligent beyond her years. There is a charm, an innocence, vulnerability as well as a matureness about Mary that makes her a strong and well-developed character. I think that shows a tremendous skill from the author to form such a well-rounded character from one so young. Mary will have you going from howling with laughter to howling with tears as you read this book.
Initially I completely got granpa and the reasons for his actions – his wee Mary is his whole world and this shines through throughout the book but when they moved to Skye I saw a different side of him that I wasn't so keen on. Despite everything Mary continued to be his protector yet he continued to tell her lies but by the end I got his reasons all over again but was left weeping throughout this story.
Mainly set on the Isle of Skye although it starts off in their hometown of Stirling; the dialogue in the book is local but don't let this put you off – it is not such that you need to be Scottish to understand but it gives you a real sense of authenticity – my internal voice delighted in reading this book in the dialect that just works so well for it.I've never been to Skye before but the author managed to pick me up and transport me there with his description – I could see the big Pink House of Mary's dreams and could imagine Granpa having his wee dram of an evening while telling Mary a merry tale or two!
Honestly this book had my emotions churned up and spat out right from the very beginning; I laughed and cried throughout the book, my heart was warmed and it was broken – this book chewed me up and spat me out. And being Scottish and also having such a close relationship with my own grandparents I could honestly describe this book as opening the pages and crawling up onto my granda's knee as I relived so many happy memories.
Mary's the Name is a quirky yet powerfully evocative tale that will both warm and break your heart simultaneously – go grab yourself a wee corner to read in and settle yourself down, you are going to love it!
To buy the book head over to Amazon and get clicking!
thanks Ross, hope you have had an awesome day!
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text:
using System;

namespace SharpPerceptual.Gestures {
    public interface IGestureSensor {
        event Action GestureSwipeLeft;
        event Action GestureSwipeRight;
        event Action GestureSwipeUp;
        event Action GestureSwipeDown;
        event Action GestureHandWave;
        event Action GestureHandCircle;
    }
}


text:
Here's how to deal with working on your own in the gig economy
Rachel Grieve, University of Tasmania
Photo: Strelka Institute for Media, Architecture and Design/flickr. Licensed under Creative Commons 2.0
The nature of work in the gig economy – where workers have to support themselves and take on the risk associated with the job – undermines some of our fundamental human needs and can create a significant amount of mental stress.
People often define their worth to society, friends, and family through their job. In fact, when people are asked "If you were to get enough money to live as comfortably as you would like for the rest of your life, would you continue to work or stop working?", studies consistently find that most people say that they would keep working.
With work playing such an important role in our lives, it's not surprising that the stress of insecure work can have a huge big impact.
It's not uncommon for people to feel insecure about their job at various times in their working life. This insecurity comes from concerns about the future of their work, whether it will continue in the future, the nature of the job, or a combination of the two.
Job insecurity is associated with emotional exhaustion, depression, anxiety, and even heart disease. But with the gig economy, this sort of insecurity is part and parcel of the job.
According to the well known hierarchy of needs it's essential that our physiological, safety, and security needs are met. Feelings of security can come from having a job, a home, and sufficient financial means. Once these needs are met, then we turn our motivation to the remaining levels of the hierarchy of needs: belonging, esteem, and (for some) self-actualisation.
For workers in the gig economy, the motivation to meet these safety and security needs can understandably become overwhelming. They might withdraw from family and friends, struggle with their mood, and stop enjoying the things that used to give them pleasure (think that sounds a lot like depression? You're right).
Freelance work is more stressful for some
The lack of security that comes from this type of work is not a problem for all of these workers. Different life circumstances will mean the stakes involved with gig work change over time.
It's important to differentiate between people who use contracts through choice, versus those who feel like contract work is their only option.
Workers in the gig economy might also have a different experience based on age. Worrying about how much money you can put into your superannuation feels quite different depending on whether you are 20 or 50.
Similarly, someone who chooses to do some driving for Uber on the weekend to make a little extra money on top of their permanent job, will have a difference experience of gig work than someone who relies on their Uber driving to pay their rent.
This means that for some, the insecurity of gig or contract work is unlikely to have a negative effect on their mental health. If you are doing the contract work by choice or using it to "top up" your main source of income, then the insecurity of that work isn't likely to be a problem.
A person's personality can also play a role. If you're a risk taker you might feel quite comfortable with the prospect of long periods without work, and short-term contract work might suit. But someone who is risk averse is likely to find the lack of security very stressful, potentially leading to negative psychological outcomes like anxiety and depression.
Some people will be very well suited to freelance work. Enterprising individuals tend to be ambitious and self-confident, and can enjoy starting and carrying out series of different projects. Work in the gig economy might also be easier for those who are more creative or autonomous, who prefer independent contract work, rather than trying to fit into an organisational structure.
Coping with freelance and contract work
If freelance workers are struggling to stay mentally healthy in the gig economy, there are a number of coping strategies they can try.
Getting emotional and social support from people around you (particularly those in a similar position) can be valuable. Of course, if you are an freelancer, you might not have a water cooler to stand around for debriefs.
Freelancers could consider getting some social support from other workers online. Be it online or offline, sharing strategies to deal with work-related problems and managing stress will help to make a difference.
Focusing on what is good about the situation (known as positive reappraisal) might also be helpful. This is more than just thinking positively, it means emotionally reframing a situation in a constructive and realistic way. For example, rather than focusing on the down-time between contracts as a lost opportunity, freelance workers could instead see it as an opportunity to start the ground work on their own small business, with a view to securing a more stable income stream.
Finding a mentor can be difficult in a gig economy, but a good mentor can help you identify what you need to do to survive and thrive in your chosen field. A mentor's support and guidance can be invaluable in building career success, and importantly, can also help to reduce psychological strain.
Historically, finding a good fit between the job and the worker was considered to lead to workplace success. This principle still applies in the gig economy.
Although the way we work is changing — and seems likely to keep changing for the foreseeable future — for the right person at the right time in their life, gig work can provide the chance to independently match their skills with the demands of the marketplace.
Rachel Grieve is a Senior Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Tasmania.
australian stories contributor the conversation


text:
Q: Insert Dictionary into MongoDB with c# driver I am in a situation where I can't predict which fields my MongoDB document is going to have. So I can no longer create an object with an _id field of type BsonID.
I find it very convenient to create a Dictionary (HashTable) and add my DateTime and String objects inside, as many times as I need it.
I then try to insert the resulting Dictionary object into MongoDb, but default serialization fails.
Here's my object of Type HashTable (like a Dictionary, but with varied types inside):
{ "_id":"",
"metadata1":"asaad",
"metadata2":[],
"metadata3":ISODate("somedatehere")}

And the error from the driver I get is:

Serializer DictionarySerializer expected serialization options of type DictionarySerializationOptions, not DocumentSerializationOptions

I googled it, but couldn't find anything useful. What am I doing wrong?

A: The driver needs to be able to find the _id field. You could create a C# class that has just two properties: Id and Values.
public class HashTableDocument
{
    public ObjectId Id { get; set; }
    [BsonExtraElements]
    public Dictionary<string, object> Values { get; set; }

}

Note that we have to use Dictionary<string, object> instead of Hashtable.
You could then use code like the following to insert a document:
var document = new HashTableDocument
{
    Id = ObjectId.GenerateNewId(),
    Values = new Dictionary<string, object>
    {
        { "metadata1", "asaad" },
        { "metadata2", new object[0] },
        { "metadata3", DateTime.UtcNow }
    }
};
collection.Insert(document);

We can use the MongoDB shell to confirm that the inserted document has the desired form:
> db.test.find().pretty()
{
        "_id" : ObjectId("518abdd4e447ad1f78f74fb1"),
        "metadata1" : "asaad",
        "metadata2" : [ ],
        "metadata3" : ISODate("2013-05-08T21:04:20.895Z")
}
>

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


When you're organizing a new business in Florida, there are several entities to choose from, from sole proprietorships and partnerships to corporations and more. One increasingly popular structure is the Limited Liability Company, or LLC.
An LLC is a business entity that combines the strong liability protection of a corporation with the flexibility, simplicity, and tax advantages of a partnership. Like all other structures, it has pros and cons that you should be aware of before deciding whether or not an LLC is the best formation for your new company. The most common ones appear below.
An LLC designation offers many distinct advantages.
Compared to corporations, LLCs are simple to set up and run. The paperwork is less complicated, and you are not required to maintain minutes or record resolutions.
Unless you specify otherwise, LLCs are pass-through entities, meaning that all profits go directly to members without being taxed at the company level. Instead, the members include this money on their personal federal income tax returns. Because LLC profits are not regarded as earned income, they are not subject to the self-employment tax.
The same principle applies if the company loses money: all members can claim the loss on their personal returns and lower their tax burdens. This pass-through taxation bypasses the dilemma faced by C-corporations, where profits are taxed first as business income and again on the personal income taxes of each owner after distributions.
Unlike corporations, LLCs in Florida have no restrictions on the number of members or the management structure. Florida even allows the formation of single-member LLCs, which some states don't. These companies may also be owned by foreigners and corporate entities.
Under the Florida LLC Act, you can opt to have your business managed by owners or designated managers who don't have to be members. The latter arrangement is more convenient if you and the other owners lack experience in running a business.
LLCs are like corporations in that they shield you and any other owners from personal liability for business debts. Unless you guaranteed company debts using your personal assets, your liability is limited to the amount you invested in the company. Assets separate from the LLC, such as homes, cars, personal bank accounts, and private investments are generally protected.
If you decide to form a single-member LLC, there is a potential downside: In 2010 the Florida Supreme Court ruled in Shaun Olmstead, et. al, vs. Federal Trade Commission that the owners of single-member LLCs had limited asset protection. In that particular case, the court ruled that their ownership interest can be seized by a creditor to satisfy an unpaid judgment against the single member. This outcome suggests that adding at least one more member will offer better liability protection.
Although an LLC presents several advantages for small business formation, some disadvantages need to be considered first.
Although simple to set up, LLCs are more expensive to create and maintain due to initial and ongoing costs. In 2018, the Florida Department of State charges a $100 filing fee and $25.00 Registered Agent fee to create a new LLC, followed by $138.75 to file an annual report. Annual reports submitted after May 1st incur a filing fee of $538.75.
There is limited flexibility in an LLC ownership transfer. Members must indicate in the operating agreement whether or not ownership can be transferred and, if so, whether the consent of other members is needed. This requirement can make it difficult for you to pass on your business interests to family members.
LLCs are relatively new concepts compared to partnerships and corporations. There is, therefore, limited legal precedent to draw from when disputes arise, which means that cases involving LLCs have less predictable outcomes.
Although LLCs are proving to be popular among small business owners, their advantages and disadvantages should be reviewed with an experienced Florida business law attorney before you make your decision. At Trembly Law Firm, we would be pleased to meet with you, review your business goals, and help you decide if LLC formation is right for you. To schedule a consultation, please contact us.


Sino-British aircraft company Yuneec has successfully test-flown the E430, the world's first electric two-seater plane, in Los Angeles.
Last night, the E430 made its first flight as an FAA-approved experimental aircraft.
Two flights totalling nearly two hours were completed successfully with a height of over 3000 feet being achieved from Los Angeles's Camarillo airport.
Test pilot Dave Morss put the E430 through all the basic flight test manoeuvres and said he was very pleased with the way the E430 handled, so much so that he really enjoyed the second flight.
Electric is a new era in aviation and there are concerns over various aspects of electric power, such as batteries, which remain to be fully regulated. The two-seater E430 uses a 40kW Power Drive 400 engine driven by either four or six 30Ah lithium polymer batteries.
The aircraft is almost completely silent in operation, can fly for between 1.5 to 2 hours with four batteries, or up to 2.5 hours with all six. It can be recharged from normal 240V sockets, in around three hours.
Flight tests will continue for the next two days after which it is hoped that the FAA will sign off the E430 for its journey to the annual Oshkosh Airventure show on Tuesday.


Worship is more than the music we sing on Sunday morning. It's being aware of God's presence and giving Him glory in ALL that we do. Worship can happen whenever and wherever we are! The worship ministry of RCC exists, above all, to glorify God, worshiping Him in spirit and truth.
If you'd like to know more or get involved in any of these worship ministries, please contact Ronna Bemis.
Praise band & worship teams help prepare hearts for worship. Rehearsals vary according to members schedules. Music styles blend traditional with contemporary.
Soloists, ensembles, duets and musicians are encouraged to be a part of our worship ministry. New groups and ensembles are being developed. Goals for the future include a children's choir, teen/young adult ensemble, a women's quartet or ensemble, a contemporary ensemble, and more!
The goal of the Media Ministry is to help worshipers draw closer to God through what they see and hear. Lighting, sound, video… the gift of technology can touch our senses and draw us into focus spiritually more than many people realize. The video and audio technicians working behind the scenes are vitally important to the atmosphere of worship. Commitment level varies.
Jesus often used parables to help people understand His messages more clearly. Jesus' parables used the familiar things of life to teach spiritual truth. The use of drama is much the same for us today. Dramas, whether monologues or short skits, can help draw out an important truth in the message presented from God's Word. If you have a "talent for the stage", and would love to share that gift in ministry, please contact Pat or Ronna.


text:
The Gender Attitude of the Lebanese October Revolution
Al Alieh, Ayah
The Lebanese political landscape has long been dominated by an underlying confessional balance of power. In 2019 and 2020, however, the October 17 Revolution emerged to challenge the status quo, exerting pressure on the Lebanese government to push for systemic reform, thereby bringing a decade-long political structure to the verge of collapse. Among the structural challenges brought against the confessional regime are women taking the lead in the reform and revolutionary movement. A role that exposed confessionals not only as a communitarian share of power, but also as a male order regime. More importantly, however, the protest has set in motion an irreversible momentum that shaped a new public attitude toward politics and society in rejection of women subjugation. This thesis explores the fundamentals of Lebanese gender perspective that is being reshaped by the public protest movement. It surveys diverse online and phone samples of respondents to highlight common gender-based themes and emerging perceptions as they relate to women and political representation. The findings demonstrate that a convergence is developing across political divide in support of gender quotas as well as in reforming civil status laws. The findings are indicative of an overwhelming bottom-up, cross confessional, and politically diverse drive, undermining patriarchal elites' reluctance to women's civil and political equality. They also stipulate that 2022 elections' support will be highly formulated by candidates' adoption to women political and civil rights.
Name: Ayah_Al_Alieh_The ...


text:
L'East Coast Tour è il secondo tour del gruppo musicale pop rock e alternative rock statunitense R5, svoltosi tra novembre e dicembre 2012.

Informazioni sul tour
Il 19 ottobre 2012 Ross ha annunciato il tour e le 13 date previste su Twitter. Il tour è iniziato il 15 dicembre 2012 a Madison, in Wisconsin, ed è terminato con uno spettacolo a Syracuse il 31 dicembre 2012. Ha incluso 13 date in Nord America, in particolare lungo la East Coast. Inoltre durante la tournée per la prima volta il gruppo si è esibito fuori dagli Stati Uniti, al Mod Club Theatre di Toronto, Canada.

Nel corso del tour, gli R5 hanno eseguito i brani contenuti nel loro primo EP, Ready Set Rock, oltre che alcune canzoni tratte dalla colonna sonora della serie TV Austin & Ally, di cui uno dei membri del gruppo, Ross Lynch, è protagonista, la cover di Shut Up and Let Me Go dei The Ting Tings e il brano natalizio inedito Christmas is Coming.

Per promuovere il tour la band ha lanciato il concorso "Crazy 4 U Contest". I fan del gruppo avevano la possibilità di spedire delle foto tematiche sulla canzone What Are You Crazy 4 a Everloop.com e i primi cinque classificati hanno vinto alcuni premi e una video chat di cinque minuti su Skype con la band.

Artisti di supporto
 Brandon and Savannah
 Taylor Mathews

Scaletta
Crazy 4 U
Medley:
Heartbeat
Can't Do It Without You
Better Together
Not a Love Song
Heard It on the Radio
Can You Feel It
Say You'll Stay
Cali Girls
Keep Away
Shut Up and Let Me Go (cover dei The Ting Tings)
What Do I Have to Do?
Love To Love Her
Wishing I Was 23
Take U There
A Billion Hits
Christmas Is Coming

Recensioni
Lauren Hoffman di Concert Music Magazine ha recensito positivamente i concerti e ha affermato che gli R5 sono "una band davvero unica e divertente" e che "hanno sicuramente fatto il loro ingresso nel mondo della musica". Ha inoltre detto che le performance live erano energiche, emozionanti e accattivanti e che i membri erano elettrizzati ed emozionati con il pubblico, non solo per i soldi. Hoffman ha infine aggiunto: "sicuramente ci ha lasciati a volere ancora di più!".

Date del tour

Note

Tour musicali del 2012
Tour degli R5


Around 400 trainee engineers will be hired across Scotland as part of the largest recruitment drive ever undertaken by Openreach.
The announcement follows news that Openreach, Scotland's leading digital network business, will accelerate plans to build more ultrafast Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) broadband across the UK.
The 400 new roles in Scotland, part of 3,500 available across the UK during the next 12 months, will be located across the country, including more than 50 posts in Highlands & Islands; around 40 each in Edinburgh, Aberdeenshire and Argyll & Bute; more than 30 in Dumfries & Galloway; and 25 in Perth & Kinross.
Openreach's 'Fibre First' programme will deliver expanded 'full fibre' FTTP networks in up to 40 towns, cities and boroughs, setting it on a trajectory to reach ten million British premises by the mid-2020s. It has committed to making FTTP available in three million British homes and business by the end of 2020 and, if the conditions are right, intends to go significantly further, bringing the benefits of FTTP technology to the majority of homes and businesses in the UK.
Edinburgh is one of the first eight cities in the UK where the roll-out will commence, and around 30 of the new recruits in the Capital will work on the Fibre First programme.
Clive Selley, chief executive of Openreach, said: "These trainee engineers will be playing a vital role in the future success and prosperity of Scotland. Over the last year our 3,000 Scottish engineers have been the driving force behind making 'superfast' broadband available to more than 93% of the country, whilst also improving our customer service performance - but we want to do more.
The Scottish Government's Connectivity Secretary Fergus Ewing said: "This is very welcome news for broadband users across Scotland, not to mention the 400 trainee engineers who will help to implement Openreach's ambitious plans. Last year when I met Openreach I was reassured by their plans to hire more engineers and today's announcement shows that they acted upon it.
Fraser, who started out as an apprentice, added: "Becoming an engineer can be an incredibly rewarding career, and we're constantly improving our training and recruitment programmes to make sure we attract and keep the best engineers in the business. This year we've invested heavily in upskilling our people, so they can now do more for customers in a single visit, and we recently launched new career pathways to give our engineers a clear sense of the skills, accountabilities and experience they need to get where they want to be.
Ultrafast broadband is defined as speeds of 100 Megabits per second (Mbps) whilst Superfast broadband is defined as speeds of more than 24Mbps.
Openreach is creating 12 new fibre training facilities across Britain in Bradford, Bolton, Cardiff, Croydon, Hertford, Livingston, Nursling, Peterborough, Thornaby, Yarnfield, Exeter and the Thames Valley.
The new training schools are designed to simulate the typical British street, giving new recruits and existing engineers the opportunity to develop and enhance their skills in an authentic; immersive and controlled environment.


Scientific name: Lilium candidum L.
Lilium, Latin li, white; +lium, flower; Greek leirion, the name applied to the eastern Mediterranean Lilium candidum.
candidum, meaning shining or pure white.
The Hebrew word Shoshan (shushan), translated as "lily" means beautiful flower. The word may derive from 'shesh', the root for "six", which matches the number of petals of this flower, the three outer ones known as sepals thus creating a two part, six pointed , hermaphrodite which is the source of the symbol hexagram.
Hexagram is a six pointed star made up of male fiery triangle and female watery triangle representing both sexes and connection of the two triangles representing the three outer sepals and three inner petals. It is mentioned in the bible relating to King Solomon.
"Susan" is at present the Arabic name applied to species of Iris in Israel.
There are many "lily" references in the Bible like: Lilium candidum, Anemone coronaria, Hyacinthus orientalis, Iris pseudacorus, Lilium chalcedonicum, and Nymphaea alba.
Lilium candidum is the lily of the dark woods and Hyacinthus orientalis is the lily of the grassy fields.
The Israelites regarded the lily as the choicest among flowers and used it as a source of perfume. In ancient Hebrew poetry, the lily was always a favorite simile as a symbol of purity.
The white lily is found eight times in the Song of Solomon, it is the most mentioned flower in the Bible.
King Solomon (10th century BCE) referred to the lily of the valleys, shoshanat haa'maqim, in his Song of Songs 2:1.
White lilies adorned the capitals of columns in many ancient civilizations, in Egypt, Assyria and Crete as well as in Salomon's Temple in Jerusalem: "The capitals at the tops of the pillars in the [Temple] vestibule were shaped like lilies and were four cubits high," declares 1 Kings 7:19.
The prophet Hosea (8th century BCE) described the lily as the flower symbol of Israel: "I will be like the dew to Israel; He will blossom like the lily, and he will take root like the cedars of Lebanon...." (Hosea 14:5).
From the Second Temple period (6th-1st century BCE), the lily became a popular motif in Jewish art. Both, the fleur-de-lis motif and the six-petaled star motif of the lily flower became classical.
Dioscorides provides a detailed prescription of a perfume whose main ingredient is lilies and gives it the name of Susinum.
After you have mixed together nine pounds five ounces of oil, five pounds three ounces of calamus and five ounces of myrrh] in fragrant wine, boil it, let the oil run through a strainer, pour it out again, and add three pounds six ounces of cardamom (bruised and steeped in rain water). Allow it to be sufficiently steeped together, then strain it out. Take three and a half pounds of this thickened oil and a thousand (counted) lilies, and having stripped off their leaves, put them in a broad but not deep jar. Pour in the oil, stir it around with your hands (that have been previously rubbed with honey) and let it stand for a day and a night.
The next morning pour it into a cupped strainer and presently (when it is strained) separate the oil on top from the water that is strained out with it, because it will not permit the water with it, like rosaceum, but when heated together it grows hot again and is spoiled. Pour it out again into other jars smeared with honey, first sprinkling a little salt in there and taking away the filth carefully as it gathers together. Take the strained aromatic stuff out of the basket, and placing it into a broad jar pour in on it again the same amount of the aromatised oil as at first. Put in ten teaspoons of bruised cardamom, stir it well with your hands, and after waiting a little strain it out, removing the filth off from that which runs out. Pour on the oil again a third time, repeat [the procedure] throwing in the cardamom and the salt with it, and press it out (first smearing your hands with honey).
That which was the first strained out will be the best, the second the next after that, and the third the least.
Then take another thousand lilies and strip off theirleaves, lay them in order and pour on them the oil that was first strained out. Work methodically, doing the same things over again as you did at first, mingling cardamom [as before and afterwards straining it out]. Do the same the second and the third time, placing into it the cardamom, afterwards straining it out and repeating the procedure. As often as you steep fresh lilies in there, (by so much) you shall have the ointment stronger.
Finally when it seems to you that you have enough, mix with every preparation seventy-two teaspoons of the best myrrh, ten teaspoons of crocus and seventy-five teaspoons of cinnamon. Some take the same amount of crocus and cinnamon (having pounded and sifted it), put it into a jar with water, and pour on it the ointment from the first pressing: afterwards (leaving it alone a little while) they put it into little dry jars (first smeared around with gum or myrrh and saffron and honey diluted with water). Do the very same things to the second and third pressings. Some make it with nothing else but oil balaninum or some other oil and lilies. The oil which is made in Phoenicia and in Egypt is thought to excel most, the best being that which smells [most] of lilies.
Oil of lilies was produced by maceration or similar, since no fragrant essential oil can be derived from the flowers.
Pliny the Elder (Pliny, Naural History XXI.126) claimed that lily boiled with oil makes hair grow on burns and John Gerard (1545-1612) recommended lily bulb ground in honey, mixed with oil or grease, for the very same problem.
The lily is seen as a symbol of purity and in Christian tradition is devoted to the Virgin Mary. The archangel Gabriel is the angel of the Annunciation, in which he appears before the Virgin Mary. His attribute is a Lily held in the hand.
Among female saints the lily belongs especially to Catherine of Siena (1347 - 1380), Clare of Assisi (1194 - 1253), , Euphemia (c. 307, Chalcedon, Bithynia) and Scholastica (c. 480 - 543).
In pre-Christian times the lily was sacred to Juno (Hera),and sister of Jupiter, Queen of Heaven.
Lilium Candidum has been the symbol of purity, chastity and virtue and was accordingly readily adopted by the Church to associate the Virgin Mary's sanctity with events of special significance.
Bernard of Clairvaux (1090 – 1153), a French abbot and the primary builder of the reforming Cistercian order, wrote in the twelfth century: "Mary is the violet of humility, the lily of chastity, the rose of charity, and the glory and splendor of the Heavens.
It was a handbreadth[a] in thickness, and its rim was like the rim of a cup, like a lily blossom. It held two thousand baths.
upon Shoshannim, [A Psalm] of David.
My beloved is mine and I am his; he browses among the lilies.
Your breasts are like two fawns, like twin fawns of a gazelle that browse among the lilies.
My beloved has gone down to his garden, to the beds of spices, to browse in the gardens and to gather lilies.