text:
VIDEO: Alex Ovechkin Is An NHL All-Star Skills Champion Again
By Martin Shatzer Jan 29, 2011, 10:05pm EST
Share All sharing options for: VIDEO: Alex Ovechkin Is An NHL All-Star Skills Champion Again
For the third time in a row, Alex Ovechkin has won the Breakaway Challenge at the NHL All-Star Game Skills Competition. And this year he didn't even have to wear a cowboy hat, Canadian flag, or goofy glasses to win it.
Ovechkin won the challenge due mostly to his second and fourth attempts. On his second try, Ovechkin juggled the puck on the end of his stick before flipping the puck high into the air and quickly rotating his stick to take a baseball swing at the puck, connecting with the shaft. At attempt was saved by Marc-Andre Fleury, but Ovechkin's fourth attempt was not. With his final try and with the title on the line, Ovechkin skated down the ice using the butt of his stick to control the puck, and as Fleury layed down on the ice, Ovechkin dropped to his knees and shot the puck into the net.


Piano, guitar, vocal lessons at your place. Sydney Eastern suburbs. 5 years old children welcome.
I offer individualized piano, guitar, singing instruction for both children and adults. Students may learn classical or popular repertoire, proper technique, effective practicing, keyboard theory and music history.
I've been teaching since 1986 and currently teach 15-20 students in private homes. I am a patient teacher who enjoys helping each student achieve his/her individual potential. I enjoy the challenge of helping students understand notation, rhythm and harmony.
My main teaching goal is for my students to enjoy making music. I provide my students with a comprehensive learning experience that helps them to develop their full musical potential. Also, I try to make the learning process fun so that my students enjoy playing instruments and look forward to their lessons each week!
In every lesson, you'll be playing music as well as learning scales, finger exercises and sight reading. As your ability grows, you'll also be exposed to more advanced aural and rhythm skills along with improvisation, composition, musicology and performance.


Shohei Ueda, Yusuke Tani, Takehiro Nagai, Kowa Koida, Shigeki Nakauchi, Michiteru Kitazaki; Perception of a thick transparent object is affected by object and background motions but not dependent on the motion speed. Journal of Vision 2015;15(12):823. doi: 10.1167/15.12.823.
While a thick transparent object such as glass ball is in front of a textured background, the texture is perceived as distorted through the object. This distortion field is a cue for judging refractive index of transparent objects (Fleming, Jäkel, & Maloney, 2011). We aimed to investigate effects of the dynamic distortion field on judging the refractive index of transparent objects. A test and a matching stimulus were presented adjacently on a CRT monitor, and subjects were asked to adjust the refractive index of the matching stimulus to make its material identical to the test stimulus. In Experiment 1, the test stimulus was randomly chosen from stimuli of five refractive indices (1.3-1.7), and either rotated around the vertical axis or remained stationary. The matching stimulus was always stationary and subjects could change its refractive index. We found that the perceived refractive index was higher with the moving object than the static object. In Experiment 2, the background texture of the test stimulus moved horizontally back and forth instead of object motion, and we found that the background motion also increased the perceived refractive index. We varied the background-motion speed (38 to 300% of Experiment 2) in Experiment 3. We confirmed the overestimation effect of the moving background, and we found that the degree of the overestimation was independent of the motion speed. In conclusions, the dynamic distortion field caused by object- or background-motion raised the perceived refractive index, but its motion speed did not matter. Thus the results cannot be explained by overestimation of distortion field by its dynamic change. Rather the dynamic distortion field may make the perceived rigidity of the object more than the static distortion field, and induce the overestimation of refractive index since the rigid materials generally have higher refractive index than the non-rigid materials.


This is old version Rolling Sky 1.2.2 apk for Android, you can install it if you want to downgrade or install old app. It is top Casual apps from Clean Master Games.
It could be a great reference of a cool game to let you train your reflex in the right way. Playing this game is also carried up with fun music and pleasant themes as well. So, whenever you get bored, just wear up your headset and play this fantastic game through your smartphone and then, the boring will go away, immediately. By the way, if you are using any devices that powered by Android such as any certain smartphone or tablets, you could download this game at Google Play, simply.
The update version for this game is V5.1.9.1 which already available on 13th June 2016. When you get this game application updated, you are able to enjoy the better enhancement graphic as well, without being worried to make you phone running slow. More and more people are playing this awesome game day by day, so why don't you try to play the challenging Rolling Sky for android now, then?
A challenge to test your ultimate speed and fast reflexes!
Optimized the lag problems in some devices.


text:
As línguas polissintéticas são línguas cujas palavras contêm um alto número de morfemas em seu léxico. Uma língua sintética possui mais de um morfema por palavra, o que ocorre na maioria das línguas, mas uma língua polissintética possui tal grau de ligação morfológica que normalmente é usada para expressar que ocorre, de certa forma, a incorporação, como a união de verbos e substantivos na mesma palavra. Pelo menos, o número, a pessoa e o tipo de substantivo tanto do sujeito como do complemento directo são de alguma forma marcados no verbo, o que permite que a ordem das palavras seja muito livre. Alguns exemplos de línguas polissintéticas são o groenlandês, algumas línguas da família tupi-guarani e diversas línguas do Cáucaso.

Classificação
A classificação de línguas quanto a fatores morfológicos vem sendo utilizada há anos na linguística. Dentre as possibilidades morfológicas das línguas sintéticas, os idiomas polissintéticos apresentam o maior número de morfemas por palavra dentro de um contínuo. No outro extremo estão as línguas isolantes.

Tome-se o exemplo da seguinte palavra em groenlandês:

Aliikusersuillammassuaanerartassagaluarpaalli.

(trad. "Entretanto, eles dirão que ele é um ótimo comediante/ator, mas…")

Aquilo que no português seria expresso numa frase, é dito nesse idioma polissintético pela combinação de diversos morfemas que se juntam à palavra-base, no caso aliiku-, que significa "entretenimento". Analisemos a palavra:

aliiku-sersu-i-llammas-sua-a-nerar-ta-ssa-galuar-paal-li

entretenimento-prover-Verbo transitivo-um-bom-em-COP-dizer.que-REP-FUT-certamente-mas-3.PL.SUBJ/3SG.OBJ-mas

Os diferentes morfemas se unem geralmente à raiz do substantivo ou verbo e contêm significados que seriam expressos por meio de diferentes palavras numa Língua flexiva, como é o caso do português.

Tipologia linguística

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


It's nice to be home. We returned last night to a clean, calm home and I was able to just warm up a meal I had in the freezer, put the clean clothes away and start a load of wash and then I was done.
She came after we left, straightened up and cleaned the house. Heaven, I tell you. Absolute heaven.
There now you know my dirty secret. I can't keep my house clean without help. I can't tell you how much this pains me. It really does. I feel that I should be able to do this and not pay good money for clean toilets but try as I might I can't make it happen. So I make sacrifices in other areas and I pay. It's money well spent since I don't function well in disorder and I am much happier when the house is neat and tidy.
I have another travel tip for everyone. Check with the Department of Transportation website for the states you will be traveling through. They give really important information regarding construction and road closures. This made the trip home much more enjoyable since we were able to pinpoint where all the traffic would be and plan alternate routes ahead of time. Having the GPS helped with that as well.
I never would have thought to do that but my husband is a genius and actually thought to check while I was driving down after hearing how much trouble I was having on the trip down. North and South Carolina have sensors on the actual interstate that can give real time updates about slow downs and accidents. Pretty cool huh? He was able to tell me over the phone exactly at what mile marker the traffic slowed and where it sped up. These little things can make or break your trip if you have little ones in the car.
Now I need to get going on clearing out the learning room and planning next year. I think it would be much easier if I just went over to Jennifer's house and left the children there. Honestly, have you seen that learning environment? It's just absolutely beautiful, a real inspiration.
Jennifer? Honey, could you come here and do that for me? Plllleeeeeaaaasee!
I have 3.5 kids and traveling 3 hours was an ordeal for me recently. That whole traveling while pregnant business is for the birds just like "pregnant over 30" is as well.
This baby kicks the seatbelt, I am PRAYING she isn't a carseat claustrophobic.
Thanks so much, Mary Ellen! Glad you enjoyed the pics and the post…and I'll be over for tea tomorrow…ok? lol!


Your pet is more than a name on a chart at Canine Acres. While some call it boarding, we like to think we "host" your dog at our state-of-the-art boarding facility.
Pets are an important part of your family.
We realize that as the pet parent, you must choose the pet boarding accommodations best suited for you and your pet. At Canine Acres we understand this. That is why we treat our guests like they're our own. We do everything we can to make them feel comfortable and at home.
Peaceful music continuously fills the boarding suites to create a relaxing environment. The boarding area is separated into different accommodation "zones" to reduce noise and minimize stress.
Each guest is individually monitored and charted throughout the day. During these inspections, we check on your pet's overall well-being, and we make sure they have clean bedding and fresh water.
Our spacious, fenced-in running areas provide an ideal place for your dog to enjoy exercising every day. Each guest – or family group – is let out into their own run where they experience safe interaction with our other guests through the fenced in area. This allows them to socialize with other dogs while also promoting exercise and good health.
To make your dog's stay extra special, we also have amenities that you can add to their vacation.
Dogs four months and older need up-to-date documentation of Rabies, Distemper, and Bordetella vaccinations administered by a veterinarian.
Please Note: Canine Acres has a 2-night minimum stay over our peak season and holidays. This minimum is effective any night falling on or over the following dates.
Multiple dogs (same run) 20% off.
*First pet is the regular rate with 20% off for each additional dog.
We require all dogs to be on leash and collar when on our premises at all times.
You are encouraged to bring your pet's regular food. Our house food is available at a rate of $1.50 per meal.
Medication is administered free of charge with the exception of insulin injections, blood glucose checking, or advanced medication which will be administered at an additional fee.
Medication is administered free of charge. Advanced medication administration, insulin injections, and blood glucose checks will be provided at an additional fee.
You are welcome to check-in or check-out your pet anytime within our business hours on the day of their departure.
You are encouraged to bring your pet's regular food, as a sudden change of food can cause pets to have an upset stomach. We ask that you please bring your pet's food in an airtight storage container.
You are welcome to bring a blanket or bed (must be machine washable) for your pet's comfort while boarding. You may also pack toys, treats or chew bones. We do provide bedding for all our boarding guests should you choose not to bring your own. We also have elevated canvas beds available for rent during your pet's stay. All dogs must be on a collar and leash while on the Canine Acres' premises.
All dogs will stay in their own suite or with another dog in the same family if requested. Outdoor exercises or activities will be conducted individually or as a family. You can request "Social Time with Canine Friends" or "Daycare," which is a staff-monitored playtime with other dogs available for an additional fee.


I sat down with my calendar to try to plan this years Christmas and New Year, and as always, I need your help.
Sunday 16th November – Hoping to go have a look around Scar House and Angram reservoirs. Haven't decided what we will be doing there yet, so if you have any suggestions, let me know.
Friday 28th November, 11am – Fitness Assessment. Find out how you have changed since last time.
Saturday 29th November, 5:30pm – Night run then some kind of food. Going through Skipton Woods in the dark, joining the 3 species of bat who live in there! Then going for a meal of some kind afterwards. Don't know what or where for the meal yet, so if you got any suggestions, let me know.
???? – Christmas reservoir dash and meal. Don't know what date yet. Depends on when people are back/free/not eating. But plan is to whizz round somewhere like Thruscross reservoir and then chow down at Mackenzies Smokehouse on their Christmas menu. Let me know dates and times that are good, or if you have better venues in mind.
Boxing Day – Last year we dashed up Sharphaw and had a hot drink on the top…similar this year or somewhere different?
← The kind of trainer I want to be.


text:
Violence, and Silence, in Nelson's 'Paranoid Park' In Blake Nelson's novel, Paranoid Park, a 16-year-old skateboarder is implicated when a transit cop is killed at the local skate park, and withdraws into silence as a way of dealing with it. Director Gus Van Sant recently released a film version of the novel.
Violence, and Silence, in Nelson's 'Paranoid Park'
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/89146284/89142842" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
March 27, 200811:00 AM ET
Heard on Fresh Air
Blake Nelson is the author of eight novels for adults and young adults. Courtesy of Writers House hide caption
Courtesy of Writers House
In Blake Nelson's novel, Paranoid Park, a 16-year-old skateboarder is on hand when a transit cop dies at the local skate park.
(As critic David Edelstein wrote in his review of Gus Van Sant's recently released film version, "Alex was at the scene of the death — although guilt or innocence are inadequate to describe what he did.")
After the incident, Alex withdraws into silence rather than report the crime to authorities.
Nelson is the author of eight books, including They Came From Below, Exile and Girl. He talks to Terry Gross about the inspiration for the novel, which owes a debt to Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment, and about writing in the world of young-adult literature.
Excerpt: 'Paranoid Park'
March 27, 20083:50 PM ET
Penguin Young Readers Group
January 3, Seaside, Oregon (Night)
Dear ______ ,
I'm here, at my uncle Tommy's beach house. It's about nine o'clock at night. I'm upstairs, by myself. I've got my pen, my spiral notebook. . . .
I don't know how to start. I don't even know if I can do this. But I will try. It can't make anything worse. . . .
Outside it's raining and dark. I can hear the surf crashing in the distance like little bombs going off.
All right. Just went downstairs and made some hot chocolate. Dude, chill out and write something. That's me talking to myself. I just have to start at the beginning, take it easy, take it slow. . . .
Paranoid Park. That's where it started. Paranoid Park is a skatepark in downtown Portland. It's under the Eastside Bridge, down by the old warehouses. It's an underground, "street" park, which means there are no rules, nobody owns it, and you don't have to pay to skate. They say some old-school guys built it years ago, and somehow it's survived all this time.
A lot of the best skaters come there, from California and the East Coast and all over. It's also kind of a street-kid hangout. There's all these stories, like how a skinhead got stabbed there once. That's why they call it Paranoid Park. It has that dangerous, sketchy vibe to it.
My first connection to Paranoid was through Jared Fitch. He's a senior at my school. He's pretty insane, but cool, though, and one of the best skaters at our school. He does stuff like skating off the back of a delivery truck going forty miles an hour while someone videotapes it.
That's how we became friends. I was just getting good at skateboarding, and he would show me stuff. He had videos of things he'd done. He also had other skate videos—stuff you couldn't find at the local mall. He just knew what was up, so the two of us became friends.
Last summer we skated every day. We'd go downtown to different places, like this old parking garage that was condemned that everyone snuck into and partied in. That's when we really became friends. And other spots, like the famous "Suicide Stairwell" by the river where everybody used to go. Places like that.
Like I said, I wasn't on Jared's level yet, but I was learning. And he liked that I was young and eager. He liked being the teacher and showing me stuff.
Anyway, during the last week of summer, we were downtown one day and Jared said we should check out Paranoid Park. I didn't say anything at first. I had heard of it, of course, but had never thought of going there. I had assumed it was out of my league. But when I said I didn't think I was ready, Jared laughed and said something like: "Nobody's ever ready for Paranoid Park."
So we went. I was nervous, naturally, but I was also kinda psyched. Skating Paranoid. That was an accomplishment. That was something you could tell people about.
We drove over the Eastside Bridge and circled around underneath it. We parked next to an old brick building. I remember seeing train tracks in the street. They were shiny, like they were still in use. As it turned out, they were.
The park itself was above us, tucked right under the bridge. You could hear the cars and trucks rattling by overhead. The area around there was mostly industrial buildings—old warehouses and parking lots, falling-down fences and stuff. There was one real office building farther down the road, so secretaries would drive by every once in a while. They looked a little scared of the kids hanging out there.
We carried our boards up the dirt hill and ducked through a hole in the chain-link fence. We crawled onto the platform and found ourselves looking out over the whole layout. It was actually smaller than I expected, and also kind of trashed. There were old beer cans around, and garbage, and Cholo graffiti. But there was something about it, a kind of aura.
There weren't many people—a couple guys were skating, a dozen or so more stood along the wall to our right. We watched a scrawny older guy in the bowl across from us nail a lip-grind. He wore brown slacks, cut off at the calf, with black socks and black ragged Vans. He had two huge tattoos on his arms and a big scar across his stomach. His deck was some weird old thing, totally beat to hell, but he killed. He was great.
The other guys there were the same. Not only could everyone skate, they all had their own "look." I had seen hard-core skater guys here and there downtown. But I had never seen them all in one place. This was their place, I realized. The center of the true skate universe. Or at least that's what it felt like to me.
Jared dropped in and rode up the bowl across from us. I got nervous watching him. Like I said, he was one of the best skaters I knew, but that was nothing compared to those guys. I dropped in, too, and went around a couple times and managed not to make an ass of myself. It was sweet, though—the adrenaline rush of it. You were in the big leagues at Paranoid.
This was the last week of summer vacation. It was also the week Jennifer Hasselbach first called me. She was this girl I'd hooked up with at the beginning of the summer. She had been a camp counselor all July and August, so we hadn't seen each other. But now she was back, and she really wanted to hang out. She called me three times that week.
I wasn't that into it. I mean, she was cute and everything. But when I tried to tell her about Paranoid Park, she didn't get it at all. She was like, "Why would you want to hang out at some dirty place if you could go to Skate City?" Skate City was where all the local Preps skated. It was this lame indoor park behind the mall. If she couldn't see the difference, what was the point?
Another thing, and I guess this is important: All that summer, my parents were fighting and talking about separating, so there was a lot of stress about that. My little brother Henry was throwing up all the time. My mom almost moved out, and then she didn't, and then my dad started staying at my uncle Tommy's. It was a bad time; the whole summer was kind of a disaster. I think this was another reason I hung out more with Jared. He was so "out there" that when you were with him, you forgot about everything else. That was also the appeal of a place like Paranoid Park—you got the feeling no matter how bad your family stuff was, those guys had it worse. Those guys were true outcasts. Some of them probably lived their whole lives on the streets. You had nothing on them.
Anyway, so school started. It seemed fun for about a week and then it sucked as usual. Jared and I just got more into skating. We decided to go to Paranoid again. We planned to go on a Saturday night. That Saturday was September seventeenth.
We had it all planned. I told my mom I was going to sleep over at Jared's so we could go early to the Winter Sports Expo. And since Jared's mom was going to Las Vegas that weekend, we would be free to do whatever. We could stay out all night if we wanted.
The only bad thing was that Jennifer Hasselbach wanted me to come out with her that night. She was being really flirty at school, and hinting that she would do stuff. It was tempting. But I really wanted to check out Paranoid. I figured I could hang out with her another time.
So that was the plan. I would get my mom's car. We would stay at Jared's. And we'd go to Paranoid and see what was up.
Excerpted from Paranoid Park by Blake Nelson with permission from Penguin Young Readers Group. Copyright (c) 2008 by Blake Nelson. All rights reserved.
Blake Nelson's Web Site
Books Featured In This Story
by Blake Nelson
Paperback, 180 pages |

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Q: Webpack 3.5 + React + Postcss not recompiling after changing CSS files I'm experiencing a problem with webpack 3.5 + react + posts.
The configuration is this:
const path = require( "path" );
const ExtractTextPlugin = require( "extract-text-webpack-plugin" );
const CopyWebpackPlugin = require( "copy-webpack-plugin" );
const ManifestPlugin = require( "webpack-manifest-plugin" );
const webpack = require( "webpack" );
const env = process.env.MIX_ENV || "dev";
const isProduction = ( env === "prod" );

module.exports = {
  entry: {
    app: [ "./web/static/css/app.css", "./web/static/js/app.jsx" ],
    vendor: [ "react", "react-dom", "highcharts", "moment", "axios", "react-table",
      "redux", "react-router", "raven-js" ]
  },
  output: {
    path: path.resolve( __dirname, "priv/static/" ),
    filename: "js/[name].js"
  },
  devtool: "source-map",
  resolve: {
    extensions: [ ".js", ".jsx", ".css", ".png", ".svg", ".gif", ".jpeg", ".jpg", ".eot", ".ttf", ".woff", ".woff2" ],
    modules: [
      "web/static",
      "node_modules"
    ]
  },
  resolveLoader: {
    modules: [ "node_modules" ]
  },
  module: {
    rules: [
      {
        test: /\.(eot|ttf|woff|woff2)$/i,
        use: [ {
          loader: "file-loader",
          options: {
            outputPath: "../static/fonts/",
            publicPath: "../fonts/",
            name: isProduction ? "[name]-[hash].[ext]" : "[name].[ext]"
          }
        } ]
      },
      {
        test: /\.(jpg|jpeg|png|gif|svg)$/i,
        use: [
          {
            loader: "url-loader",
            options: {
              outputPath: "../static/images/",
              publicPath: "images/",
              limit: 8000, // Convert images < 8kb to base64 strings
              name: isProduction ? "[name]-[hash].[ext]" : "[name].[ext]"
            }
          }
        ]
      },
      {
        test: /\.(css)$/,
        use: ExtractTextPlugin.extract( {
          fallback: "style-loader",
          use: [
            {
              loader: "css-loader",
              options: {
                minimize: isProduction,
                importLoaders: 1
              }
            },
            {
              loader: "postcss-loader",
              options: {
                plugins: [
                  require( "stylelint" )(),
                  require( "precss" )(),
                  require( "autoprefixer" )()
                ],
                sourceMap: true
              }
            }
          ]
        } )
      }, {
        test: /\.(js|jsx)$/,
        include: /js/,
        exclude: /node_modules/,
        use: [
          {
            loader: "babel-loader"
          }
        ]
      } ]
  },
  plugins: [
    new CopyWebpackPlugin( [ {
      from: "./web/static/assets"
    } ] ),
    new webpack.ContextReplacementPlugin( /moment[\/\\]locale$/, /pt-br/ ),
    new ExtractTextPlugin( "css/app.css" ),
    new webpack.optimize.CommonsChunkPlugin( {
      name: "vendor",
      filename: "js/vendor.bundle.js"
    } )
  ]
};

The first compilation of the assets occurs perfectly, if I change some JS or JSX file the recompilation happens with success. However after changing any CSS file the react components will break.
Warning: React.createElement: type is invalid - expected to string (for built - in components) or a class / function (for composite  components) but got: undefined. You are likely to export your component  from the file it's defined in. Check the render method of Header.
If I use webpack 2.7 it works fine.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Q: Does PyTesseract OCR give the confidence of the text detection or text extraction? When Pytesseract is used with the command pytessract.image_to_data it returns many values, one of which is the confidence. What does this confidence signify? Is it the confidence of the text detection i.e. whether text is present or not?
Or is it the confidence of the actual text extracted?
If anyone can also point me towards the source where the answer to this question is found, will be really thankful.

A: *

*What does this confidence signify? Is it the confidence of the text detection i.e. whether text is present or not? Or is it the confidence of the actual text extracted?
Represents the prediction accuracy of the current text in the bounding box. It is safe to say confidence of the extracted actual text. As stated in here you could use it for filtering weak detection.
So how can we use it in an example?
Assume we have the following example:

And we want to recognize the text with a confidence greater 40%.
The result will be:

If we look at the bounding box:

Detected
Result
Confidence

ESTATE
96

AGENTS
96

=!
48

As we can see SAXONS is not recognized. Confidence is also a good indicator for the pre-processing efficiency.
For instance if we apply adaptive-threshold

Detected
Result
Confidence

ESTATE
51

AGENTS
69

SAXONS
42

From above we can see that all the texts are recognized, but the previously recognized text confidence is greater than the current ones.
Result will be:

Code:

# Load the libraries
import cv2
import pytesseract

# Load the image
img = cv2.imread("example_03.jpg")

# Convert it to the gray-scale
gry = cv2.cvtColor(img, cv2.COLOR_BGR2GRAY)

# threshold
thr = cv2.adaptiveThreshold(gry, 255, cv2.ADAPTIVE_THRESH_MEAN_C, cv2.THRESH_BINARY, 71, 71)

# OCR detection
d = pytesseract.image_to_data(thr, config="--psm 6", output_type=pytesseract.Output.DICT)

# Get ROI part from the detection
n_boxes = len(d['text'])

# For each detected part
for i in range(n_boxes):

    # If the prediction accuracy greater than %50
    if int(d['conf'][i]) > 40:

        # Print the confidence
        print("\nConfidence: {}\n".format(d['conf'][i]))

        # Get the localized region
        (x, y, w, h) = (d['left'][i], d['top'][i], d['width'][i], d['height'][i])

        # Draw rectangle to the detected region
        cv2.rectangle(img, (x, y), (x + w, y + h), (0, 0, 255), 5)

        # Crop the image
        crp = thr[y:y + h, x:x + w]

        # OCR
        txt = pytesseract.image_to_string(crp, config="--psm 6")
        print(txt)

        # Display the cropped
        cv2.imshow("crp", crp)
        cv2.waitKey(0)

# Display the mask
cv2.imshow("img", img)
cv2.waitKey(0)


It's not true I had nothing on, I had the radio on.
When it comes to the video channels and the programs, the radio stations, the music is geared towards kids, and it's made by kids.
I can turn on the radio right now and be inspired.
Listeners will wonder what an Englishman is doing on the German radio tonight. You can imagine that before taking this step I hoped that someone better qualified than me would come forward.
If Michael Steele doesn't make you sad, well, then there's radio host Rush Limbaugh, no longer content with wanting the President to fail, Rush is now calling out Mr. Obama as a girly man.
Going on the radio is like talking to a nice girl you know; you think of perfect things to say and things to talk about but you can't premeditate love or the media.
I suppose, ... but that's why they get it wrong. That's why they wouldn't play Take Me Out on the radio at first, because according to pop theory, it isn't a hit. It starts with one song and changes into another. In theory, it's all wrong. The same with Do You Want To.
It's easy to get discouraged sometimes when you listen to American rock radio because everything is so bland, so self-referential.
Our local programming teams have done an extraordinary job creating great Spanish-language radio that has resulted in impressive audience growth. In San Jose alone, time spent listening for persons 12+ in spring 2005 surged 205 percent versus spring 2004. That's a clear indication that our stations are airing great programming that U.S. Hispanics have been looking for on the radio.
We are a Spanish radio station company that goes after Hispanics that are bilingual. They really live in two cultures.
The popularity comes from the fact that these radio stations play a real broad catalog of music, so they aren't as repetitive.
Last year, Clear Channel Radio announced plans to launch Spanish-language formats in markets where there was a need for more Hispanic-targeted programming. The success of KLOL/Mega epitomizes the very essence of what we hoped to accomplish.
This radio station means a lot to a lot of people.
It's not about conservative or liberal. It's about the full selection of radio programming which is based on popularity here in the States.
As the U.S. Hispanic population continues to grow, Clear Channel Radio recognizes the importance of expanding radio programming that appeals to the unique tastes and styles of this diverse group.
Internet and Radio are very exciting categories for the Clio Awards because they are disciplines that have undergone dynamic change in the past few years. Aside from their unique individual applications, they have both become critical components in many of today's most successful integrated marketing campaigns and are segments bursting with new forms of creative excellence.
The captain made a distress call and later switched off the radio communication to avoid being traced by the hijackers. He told us that they were safe and were sailing to destination.
Offline advertisers will no longer be content to be told that their radio ad will be heard by a potential audience size or demographic. Instead, they'll come to expect detailed reports and accountability. They'll want to know how effective the radio ad was and whether it resulted in new business. The same level of accountability that search marketers have been held to will now apply to traditional advertising. Expect the skills learned by those search marketers to be in very high demand.
You could think of the TNF molecule, which sounds the alarm, as a very weak radio transmitter. It moves very slowly as it carries its warning message to neighboring cells, so it is unable to send that message over long distances. However, we discovered that the cellular pathways that pick up this signal act like extremely sensitive radio receivers. They can pick up the alarm message from exposure to even a very small amount of TNF. This turns out to be a very smart strategy on the part of the cells.
I was listening to the radio and they were playing some music in my cell. I heard a voice through the music.
It's been a whirlwind. Everybody's been so supportive, especially here in the home base -- radio, press, fans, everybody. The feedback has just been tremendous. I use this phrase over and over, but it's been like a family reunion for me.
This station has so much history to it. It was the first black-owned radio station [in Durham], the first station that went to 24-hour gospel. So many superstars came through this door. Most of the announcers at other stations got their start at WSRC.
After having just spent five weeks there as the reward for the radio competition I went crazy. I knew I had to go back [to the US] to be among people who enjoy the same things as I, and who want to do the same thing.
It's prohibitively expensive to deliver high-quality music over wireless Internet streaming. That's where the benefit of satellite radio comes in.
Radio was so important to everybody back then; there was no TV. Columbia Square was the epitome of radio. Everything was modern. It was beautiful.


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Home Alternatives 11 Best Hulu Alternatives to Watch Your Favorited Shows in 2022
11 Best Hulu Alternatives to Watch Your Favorited Shows in 2022
Hulu is an online streaming app that made its first appearance in the mid-2000s. There is one thing in Hulu, which is of different tastes. Hulu always presented their audience with the shows aired just one day before the said date. The audience has the opportunity to watch those series/episodes for a few weeks if someone failed to watch the show for the first time. The idea caught up quickly with the world, and Hulu scored a vast audience.
However, every good thing has some drawbacks. Hulu offered only a selected few web series to binge and had restricted accessibility, which caused displeasure and discontentment among the viewers. This lead to frustration among the viewers, and over a while, Hulu lost a considerable amount of viewers. If you are one of them and are disappointed, you definitely don't have to worry your head off about it. There are several other alternatives to Hulu to binge-watch your favorite shows.
1 11 Best Hulu Alternatives to Watch Your Favorited Shows in 2022
1.1 1. Netflix
1.2 2. Amazon Prime Video
1.3 3. Sling TV
1.4 4. Crunchyroll
1.5 5. cCloud TV
1.6 6. UK Turk and Bennu
1.7 7. Pluto.TV
1.8 8. Crackle
1.9 9. Popcorn Time
1.10 10. USTVnow
1.11 11. Putlocker
2 Summing Up
There are indeed several free alternatives to Hulu, and if you take a lot at those services, then the list goes on, but all of them are not reliable for the long run. In other words, those unpaid alternative apps are slow, usually are of poor quality, and unreliable. Moreover, without a doubt, they are generally illegal and skirt copyright laws.
In contrast to these, the paid subscriptions are much reliable and are extremely dependable in the long term since they provide better, faster, and convenient services for a very minimal fee if you keep in mind the variety of uninterrupted shows that you get to watch in extremely high quality. The fast access and high viewing quality of the shows make the paid subscriptions worth it.
There are also some Kodi addons similar to Hulu. The Kodi addons was formerly a media center first, and then it developed as streaming services. Kodi has several unofficial Addons to come into existence. Some of these Add Ons are good alternatives to Hulu.
If you don't want to go for a paid subscription or use the Kodi Addons, you don't have to be dissatisfied. Here is a list of a few of the best free and paid Hulu Alternatives to watch your favorited shows.
AnimeTosho
MovieTube
It can be easily said that Netflix is the king of all online and offline streaming apps. It has been around for a long period of time, even before Hulu and other online streaming apps. Comparing Hulu and Netflix, Netflix does offer more options for movies and series. The only drawback that Netflix has is that you won't be able to stream the recent episodes of any series which are aired.
In spite of this drawback, Netflix has a huge number of series archived, which you can easily stream. Netflix also offers the option for online and offline streaming. Netflix is an international streaming app, available all over the world. In contrary to this, Hulu is only available to the USA and Japan.
Netflix not only has a wide variety of web series and movies that you can stream anytime but also creates Netflix Originals, some of which have proven to be huge hits all over the world, which adds another point in favor of Netflix. Additionally, you don't have to depend on a proxy and shady VPNs for streaming a show, unlike Hulu. Hulu charges extra for an ad-free experience, but that's not the case with Netflix. The debate can go on for ages, but ultimately it depends on the preference of the user.
2. Amazon Prime Video
Amazon released this Instant Video in 2006 to compete with the ever-growing online streaming apps like Netflix and Hulu. It provided movies and web series to the audience for free. They ranged from modern to classic times.
Amazon Prime Instant video even offers several new releases, but you have to pay a small fee for that. Free movies are only limited to the users who opt for the Amazon Prime subscription, which can be a major drawback, but if you once get the subscription, then it's a pretty smooth deal for you.
Of course, you cannot expect it to offer a huge variety like Netflix since the subscription fee is considerably lower than Netflix. In addition to all these, Amazon Prime also provides a wide selection of originals like Netflix, which is a major advantage that it has over Hulu. Even though Amazon Prime Instant video does not provide you with the immediate releases like Hulu, but this drawback gets canceled out by all the major advantages that you get in this device.
3. Sling TV
Many people may not have heard the name of this service because it is much newer compared to the other online streaming services, but in spite of its relative newness, Sling TV has made quite a name for itself. The tagline this service sports is 'a la carte TV,' which basically means 'TV the way you want it'. It is just as it sounds.
Instead of wasting precious money on useless TV packages which are filled with channels, you don't intend to watch it ever. Sling TV allows you to opt for only those channels that you actually want to watch. In this way, there is no wastage of your valuable money, and it is extremely beneficial to cord-cutters who are looking to cut off all the extra fluff.
Sling TV is very similar to Hulu because it lets you access the fresh TV releases, and even though the catalog that they provide is not so varied, it is still a great experience to watch the show as they air. Its major drawback is its geographic limit. Sling TV is currently streaming only in the USA, but if you opt for a VPN, then you can watch it abroad too, like Canada, the UK, etc.
Hulu is known for its huge random collection of anime, which it offers to its viewers. Even though Hulu still offers a large variety of anime that the users can enjoy, it cannot be compared to Crunchyroll. Crunchyroll is an online streaming app, especially for steaming anime, and it is for anime lovers all over the world.
Crunchyroll has a huge number of more than 25,000 episodes of anime, Asian dramas, and animated movies. It has everything from Naruto, Attack on Titan, etc. The service is available to a wide range of locations, and you can even stream high-quality anime for free. The ads are also kept to a minimal level. This app is a must-have for all hardcore anime lovers and fans.
5. cCloud TV
This streaming device has a lot of advantages. Some of them are the wide range and variety of content that the user can access or opt for. The subscription fee for cCloud TV is also comparatively cheaper and marks one of its strong suits. The third advantage that cCloud TV offers are its worldwide availability.
Nevertheless, every candle has a shadow, and thus, cCloud TV has major drawbacks too. The video quality and reliability are lacking in cCloud TV. It ultimately depends on the kind of add-on that you use. Using an add-on like Kodi can give the user access to various channels from all over the globe. From live sports to documentaries, you can access all of these from cCloud TV.
6. UK Turk and Bennu
Despite several mysterious disappearances and deleted sources, a few of the Kodi add ons are still around. Two of them are UK Turk and Bennu. Both of them are extremely good and offer the audience a large variety of free content like movies and TV shows worldwide. There is no region restriction in these two streaming add ons.
The video quality is also of very high quality, which makes the experience even more enjoyable. They provide a large number of workable links and an endless supply of content from all the regions. They really are incredible devices to stream quality content and also the worthy alternatives of Hulu.
7. Pluto.TV
You may never have heard about this one, but it is an extremely beneficial online streaming service. It's an underdog in this industry, but that doesn't make it useless. In fact, you can stream live news to live shows for free on this app. It is connectible to a variety of streamers like Google TV or Apple TV.
After the confirm connection, you can easily stream hundreds of shows for free. It may not have the options range as wide as Hulu, but you won't ever fall short of entertainment on this app. Free TV, free sports, etc. are all available at your fingertip without paying any fee. What can be better than this?
8. Crackle
Crackle is an online streaming device developed by Sony. It is available in 21 different countries, which is a huge advantage over Hulu, which is limited to only a few regions. You don't have to pay any fee for any subscription for using Crackle, you can just download it, and you are good to go.
The only drawback is that it doesn't provide you with as many content options as Hulu, but since it is entirely free, we cannot complain, can we? You may experience some ads while watching any show, but that's just a small price to pay. Crackle also provides several original shows like Netflix and Amazon Prime Instant Video. It is really a worthy alternative to Hulu.
9. Popcorn Time
Now let's be honest. We have all heard of Popcorn Time and used it at least once in our life. It's true that Popcorn Time has shut down several times due to copyright issues. However, it always reverts back, and each time it appears to get better with even more content. There is obviously no putting down Popcorn Time. It always resurfaces with a new URL and more content, like a Phoenix.
It mainly focuses on famous Hollywood movies, and you may not find many TV shows or classical movies here, but you can even stream new movie releases here, and some really high content movies are available on Popcorn Time, so be sure to check them out too. If you have never tried this app and are searching for a free online streaming app, then we highly recommend you to try this.
10. USTVnow
The owners have specifically designed this for a targeted audience. The owners have designed this streaming app for the travelers and military stationed outside the US who miss out on the local news from back home. USTVnow helps in broadcasting live news and cable TV to those who are stationed or living outside the US temporarily or permanently.
You can even upgrade to the paid version to watch more content and regular TV shows. It is not the best Hulu Alternative and hardly serves the purpose, but it is extremely beneficial for those who are specifically looking for news from local US news channels.
11. Putlocker
Putlocker is not much of a popular fellow among the world of online streaming devices, but it has somehow managed to survive all the storms. Just like Popcorn Time, Putlockers has taken down several times for copyright issues. However, it always managed to come back with different URLs.
It basically provides you several links to the show or movie you search for. Nothing is put out upfront, which causes poor video streaming quality and makes it less likable among the viewers. The experience is not a smooth one but as far as an unpaid alternative goes. This one just makes this list to end.
Yahoo View
MovieWatcher
Indeed, Hulu is a great streaming service app. Indeed, why should you only stick to one when you have so many other options to explore? We have listed the list of the best alternatives to Hulu. Go and try each of them and enjoy streaming.


Bakersfield's lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community and their supporters united as one at the 12th annual Bakersfield Pride event that was held on Oct. 17 at Stramler Park.
Several people who have attended Pride in previous years have stated that the turn out for this year's event was probably the biggest they have had since they started Bakersfield Pride 12 years ago.
Blankenship has been attending Bakersfield Pride for the past six years and has been with her girlfriend Heidi Ryken, 44, for two years.
She said that she went to this year's event with the intent to get legal documents for her girlfriend and herself to see if they can get power of attorney over each other in the event that something might happen to one of them.
Blankenship and Ryken were referred to an attorney who helps the LGBT community deal with situations like theirs.
At the event, several local vendors and non-profit organizations set up camp to provide information about their organization to people as well as to sell clothing and items with flags and symbols commonly used in the LGBT community, such as the well-known rainbow that represents diversity as well as gender symbols for men, women, and transgender people.
Among the many vendors, the Gay and Lesbian Center of Bakersfield, a non-profit organization aimed to educate and raise awareness for issues involving sexual orientation, gender identity, as well as gender expression throughout the LGBT community, were there to provide information on the programs, services, and activities that they offer.
A project that the Gay and Lesbian Center has been working on, called the Speak Up project, ensures that local school districts are complying with Seth's Law.
The law was passed in 2012. The law indicates that all school districts must adopt and enforce a strong anti-bullying policy that prohibits any type of bullying especially the bullying of students who identify with the LGBT community.
The California law was named after a 13-year-old Tehachapi boy named Seth Walsh who had committed suicide after his school failed to address the anti-gay bullying he had been dealing with.
The Speak Up project shines a direct spotlight on anti-gay bullying and strongly encourages students who are being bullied because of their sexual orientation or their gender identity to speak out about the bullying because there are now consequences for bullies themselves.
Bakersfield's Gay and Lesbian Center also has Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) and Safe Youth projects available for students attending high school who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender.
Also in attendance at Bakersfield Pride was Bakersfield College's own Gender and Sexuality Awareness club.
BC'S GSA came out to try to get more people involved with the club by passing out BC merchandise. They also tried to get the community more involved with BC football games by handing out tickets.
Juarez also stated that although it was awesome to see new students being recruited into GSA on their Constitution Day, it reminded him that he would need to touch up the educational part to newcomers to inform them of other problems and issues that arise in the LGBT community.
"We want more people to learn about the LGBT community and other pressing issues people in the community face, so we would like to expand more on that with the new members," said Juarez.
Bakersfield College's Student Government Association (SGA), which Juarez is also a part of, offers a Safe Space program that was created to provide a safe and supportive environment for students involved with the LGBT community at BC.
The diversity of the event ranged from infants to elderly people, which showed the LGBT community how supportive families were toward them.
The event provided hours' worth of entertainment such as bands, belly dancers, a choir called Rainbow Voices, and the event concluded with the 2015 Pride Drag Show that had drag queens, from the Bakersfield Community of Drag Queens, strutting across the stage in glittery costumes while they lip-synched to popular hit songs.


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Q: Post multiple objects with jquery, dynamic field inputs I am looking to post back using Jquery (Java, Spring-Data Server side).  I am looking to pass back multiple objects while using dynamic input fields on client side.
Server side service can handle saving multiple TimeOffRequests as an Itterable List.  However, With having 2 input fields tied to the object I am struggling to format the data properly. Currently will return 4 objects in the array vs 2  Any help would be greatly appreciated
HTML:

        <fieldset>

                            <input type="date"  name="startDate" id="startDate" placeholder="Request Date" class="hasDatepicker">

                            <input min="0" max="8" type="number" name="hour" id="hour" placeholder="Hours">

                         +

                    <textarea rows="5" name="comment" placeholder="Notes"></textarea>

        </fieldset>

            <button onclick="submitTimeOffRequest()" class="btn btn-primary">
                Submit
            </button>

JS Submit
function submitTimeOffRequest(){
     var timeoffRequests = [];

     $("input[class = ptoDate ]").each(function () {
         var date = $(this).val();

         $("input[class= ptoHours]").each(function () {
             var hours = $(this).val();

             item = {};
             item ["date"] = date;
             item ["hours"] = hours;

             timeoffRequests.push(item);
         });
     });

     $.ajax({
         contentType: 'application/json',
         type: "post",
         data: JSON.stringify(timeOffRequests),
         url: "/api/timeoff/" + masterEngId,
         async: true,
         dataType: "json",
         success: function() {
             location.reload(true);
         },
         error: function(){

         }
    })}
}

JS Dynamically add input fields
var counter = 1;
function addInput(divName) {
var dateIdString = "startDate" + counter;
var hourIdString = "hour" + counter;
console.log(dateIdString);

    var newdiv = document.createElement('div');
    newdiv.innerHTML = "
" +
        "
 " +
        "" +
        " <input class = 'ptoDate' type='date' name="+dateIdString+" id="+dateIdString+"  placeholder='Request Date'</input> " +
        " " +
        "
" +
        "
" +
        "" +
        "<input type='number' class='ptoHours' name="+hourIdString+" id="+hourIdString+" placeholder='Hours'>" +
        "" +
        "
" +
        "
 x  " +
        "
 " +
        "
";
    document.getElementById(divName).appendChild(newdiv);
    counter++;
}


text:
Postles is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:

Alfred Postles (1903–1976), New Zealand cricketer
Bryce Postles (1931–2011), New Zealand cricketer
Charles Postles Jr., American politician
James P. Postles (1840–1908), American soldier

See also
Postle (surname)
Postles House


Feel at home in Freehold with free Wi-FiMake your visit to New Jersey more comfortable at Radisson Hotel Freehold, which features 121 rooms and suites with modern amenities like a flat-screen TV and free Wi-Fi. Earth tones create a soothing ambiance in every room, and down comforters and feather pillows lull you to sleep at night. When you wake, brew a fresh cup of coffee and get to work at the large desk. Traveling with family or friends? Our Deluxe Suites feature a separate living room, two TVs and sleeper sofa. If you're here for work, consider upgrading your stay to a Business Class Room.
Reserve a Guest Room and enjoy a choice of one or two queen beds and all standard amenities, including a coffeemaker, an in-room safe, free Wi-Fi and a mini refrigerator.
This comfortable room features one spacious king-size bed and all the perks of a Guest Room.
For extra space and amenities, consider the Deluxe Suite, featuring a bedroom with one king-size bed, an armchair with an ottoman and a flat-screen LCD TV. Stretch out on the full-size sleeper sofa to watch TV in the separate living room, or take advantage of the bathroom's premium rain showerhead to feel more refreshed.
Our romantic Bridal Suite features a master bedroom with one king-size bed, an armchair and a flat-screen LCD TV. Relax with your loved one on the sleeper sofa in the living room while sipping a drink from the bar. The master bathroom includes a rain shower with four jet-spray heads.


This long weekend I decided to try my hand at some star photography. The timing was good because it was a new moon, and skies would be dark. I just needed a location away from lights. Why not Lostock Dam? It's almost 100 km from Newcastle and the landscape is pretty, too.
Here are some views just north of Gresford.
A bit further on you cross the Paterson River on this ricketty old bridge.
I wonder if there are platypuses in there….
Lostock is nestled in this valley and the dam is a bit further on.
I arrived at the dam about 30 minuted before sunset.
The star photographs each are a 25 second exposure at f2.8, ISO 2000.
This shot was taken about 60 minutes after sunset, and we are looking south. You can see the Southern Cross at the bottom, and the black smudge is known as the 'coal sack'.
These shots were taken about 90 minutes after sunset, facing west to get a better view the Milky Way.


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FORT WASHINGTON, MD – The ongoing revitalization of the Maryland harness racing industry will be on full display at Rosecroft Raceway Tuesday evening when an accomplished field of eight invitational and stakes pacers will compete in the inaugural edition of the $100,000 Potomac Pace.
Shamballa, the only horse to defeat superstars Always B Miki and Wiggle It Jiggleit in the same race, and Mach It So, who finished second behind Always B Miki at Meadowlands last Saturday, were entered for the one-mile pace on Rosecroft's acclaimed five-eighths of a mile oval.
"We're excited to bring this kind of race and this caliber of horses to Rosecroft," said Sal Sinatra, President and General Manager of the Maryland Jockey Club, whose parent company The Stronach Group acquired Rosecroft this year. "We think this is one of the best races for older pacers this year. We want to thank the horsemen who will participate in this race, as well as the horsemen at Rosecroft, who have supported us and have been partners with us since this summer. We also want to thank our great fans who continue to support Standardbred racing in Maryland."
Rosecroft once ranked among the premier Standardbred racetracks, regularly hosting many of the sport's brightest stars, including Mack Lobell, Cam's Card Shark and Forrest Skipper. The scheduling of the Potomac Pace, which has attracted many of most celebrated pacers and most prominent trainers and drivers in the country, signifies track management's commitment to revitalize Maryland's harness industry.
"Our goal is to continue building racing in Maryland and we think this is a major step in the right direction for Rosecroft," Sinatra added.
With Always B Miki recently retired and Wiggle It Jiggleit on the sidelines for a couple months, the Potomac Pace will be contested by most of the best horses currently in training. Shamballa and Mach It So will be joined behind the mobile starting gate by Wakizashi Hanover, Dealt a Winner, Keystone Velocity, All Bets Off, Mel Mara and Split The House.
Shamballa, a 6-year-old gelding owned by trainer Rick Zeron, TAO Racing, Cool Cat Racing and Howard Taylor, registered his career mile mark of 1:47.1 at Meadowlands Aug. 6 while finishing a length ahead of 2015 Horse of the Year Wiggle It Jiggleit in the $225,000 U.S. Pacing Championship, in which Always B Miki finished fourth. Shamballa finished second, beaten by a length, when Always B Miki set a world record at the Red Mile in 1:46 Oct. 9.
Scott Zeron will drive his father's pacer in the Potomac Pace.
Mach It So, trained by Jeffery Bamond Jr., is a winner of 33 career races and $1.6 million in purses while regularly competing against the best free-for-all pacers. Tim Tetrick is scheduled to return to the sulky after driving the 6-year-old gelding to his runner-up finish behind Always B Miki last weekend.
Tri County Stable's Wakizashi Hanover registered a career achievement last year by defeating Wiggle It Jiggleit in the $1 million North America Cup at Mohawk Raceway. The son of Dragon Again, who will be driven by Trace Tetrick, broke through with a 1:49.2 victory in a Dover Downs Open Pace last week after missing the first half of the 2016 season following throat surgery.
Mel Mara, a two-time open winner at Dover since finishing third behind Wiggle It Jiggleit, in a Yonkers invitational pace Oct.15; Split The House, fourth behind Always B Miki, Wiggle It Jiggleit and Shamballa in the Breeders' Crown Oct. 28; All Bets Off, a $2 million earner who has been competitive with the top pacers all season; Keystone Velocity, runner-up behind Mach It So at Yonkers last time out; and Dealt a Winner, third behind Wiggle It Jiggleit and Always B Miki in the Canadian Derby at Mohawk in September; round out the field.
"The Potomac Pace is awesome for our racing program. It puts us back on the map," Rosecroft Racing Secretary Peter Hanley said."The more people see our program, the more they will see that our races have good full fields and competitive payoffs. This race will help to grow our program."


text:
China urges continuous efforts to build higher-quality Belt and Road
by admin · Published November 23, 2021 · Updated November 24, 2021
By He Yin, People's Daily
The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) should aim for high-standard, sustainable and people-centered progress, Chinese President Xi Jinping said at a symposium on the development of the BRI held on Nov. 19 in Beijing.
Over the past eight years, regions across China have opened wider to the world through the BRI, and a win-win cooperation has been achieved between China and participating countries, Xi noted at the symposium, which was the third of its kind.
In his speech, Xi systematically summarized the important achievements and experience gained by China in the joint construction of the BRI, analyzed the new circumstances facing the endeavor, and put forward clear requirements for continuing promoting the joint efforts for the high-quality development of the BRI.
Xi's remarks manifested China's firm resolution and the sense of responsibility of a major country to leverage the joint construction of the BRI to continue expanding high-level opening-up, sharing development opportunities with the rest of the world, and advancing the building of a community with a shared future for mankind in the new era.
As an ancient Chinese teaching goes, "All good principles should adapt to changing times to remain relevant." Grasping the trend of the times of peace, development, cooperation, and win-win results, Xi proposed the BRI in the autumn of 2013.
Over the past eight years, China has adhered to the principle of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits and focused its efforts on promoting "hard connectivity" of infrastructure, "soft connectivity" of rules and standards, as well as an people-to-people connectivity, achieving tangible and rich fruits in advancing the high-quality development of the BRI through joint efforts.
Today, the BRI is a public product widely welcomed by the international community and the largest platform for international cooperation. As of November 2021, China has signed more than 200 documents on BRI cooperation with 140 countries and 32 international organizations, and third-party market cooperation agreements with 14 countries, including Japan and Italy.
In addition, certain cooperation concepts and proposals of the BRI have been written into the outcome documents of important international mechanisms, such as the United Nations (UN), Group of 20 (G20), the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).
As the circle of friends of the BRI continues to expand, the quality of cooperation under the initiative is becoming higher and higher, which ushers in better and better prospects of BRI development.
Countries around the world should seize the opportunities brought about by the BRI cooperation to achieve mutual benefit and win-win results, said UN Secretary-General António Guterres.
The BRI, which focuses on promoting development, the greatest common denominator that suits the interests of all countries, and brings benefits to the peoples along its routes, is a Chinese solution to openness, cooperation, and common development.
In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, China and other BRI countries have worked more closely together to create a Health Silk Road for pooling strength to fight the pandemic.
By sharing opportunities for mutual benefit and win-win results and deepening trade, economic, and investment cooperation with BRI countries, China has injected impetus into global economic recovery.
With firm confidence in common development, China and the countries along the routes of the BRI have unleashed drivers of economic growth, benefiting people around the world.
The Belt and Road is being developed into a model of cooperation for meeting challenges through unity, a model of health for protecting people's safety and well-being, a model of recovery for restoring economic and social activity, and a model of growth for unlocking development potential.
The initiative has brought tangible benefits to the peoples along its route, creating tens of thousands of local jobs, and turning farmers who depended on rain-fed agriculture into skilled workers and management personnel, which is the best interpretation of the value and significance of the joint construction of the BRI.
Facing profound changes and a pandemic unseen in a century, the world has entered a period of new turbulence and transformation. China has offered its firm solution to further promoting the high-quality development of the BRI through joint efforts. It will cement the foundation for development, explore new fields for cooperation with steady steps, better serve and build new development paradigm, comprehensively strengthen risk prevention and control, and enhance overall planning and coordination.
Embarking on a journey to fully build a modern socialist country, China will continue upholding the principle of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits, deepen political mutual trust, trade and financial connectivity, as well as people-to-people and cultural exchanges with other Belt and Road countries, so as to advance the high-quality development of the BRI through joint efforts and provide new opportunities for the rest of the world through its own development.
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The big space headlines recently have been about the asteroid 2016 QA2, how close it came to Earth and how it was discovered just a few hours before its fly-by.
The media were a bit emphatic in their concern. "Earth Just Narrowly Missed Getting Hit by an Asteroid," was the headline in Popular Mechanics, and a close match for other media reaction to QA2's close shave.
Keeping an eye on the skies isn't a new hobby. NASA has been doing it since 1998, when the Near-Earth Object (NEO) Program Office was established at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory to "coordinate NASA-sponsored efforts to detect, track and characterize potentially hazardous asteroids and comets that could approach the Earth." And less than a year ago, the space agency formalized the program, naming it the Planetary Defense Coordination Office (PDCO).
It's a matter of record that we've been pounded by our share of space rocks over the millennia. One of the most recent was the meteor of 2013 that came roaring into the atmosphere at 18 kilometers a second and exploded 22 kilometers above the Russian town of Chelyabinsk.
It carried the force of 30 of the atomic bombs that leveled Hiroshima, Japan, in World War II. The shock wave terrified the locals, and more than 1,000 people were treated for injuries caused primarily by windows blown in by the force of the blast.
This safely qualified as a space boulder, fully 18 meters across, but just to give a sense of scale, the Chicxulub asteroid that likely ended the reign of the dinosaurs was 10 kilometers across.
2016 QA2 runs an estimated 15 to 45 meters in size. But if a meteor that big hit Earth's atmosphere, it could cause some serious damage to a populated area.
But asteroids are a fact of life on Earth. NASA estimates that about 100 tons of "stuff" rockets into our atmosphere every day — everything from dust to gravel to rocks — and the only impression they makes on us is if we look up into the sky on a clear night and make wishes on the ones that burn up in the atmosphere.
But if there was "nothing" to worry about, NASA wouldn't have a Planetary Defense Program. The space agency has discovered more than 14,000 Near-Earth Objects (NEOs) buzzing around in space. Of those, almost 900 have a diameter of one kilometer or more. Asteroids that size would do significant damage if they hit Earth.
Nearly 4,000 other NEOs on NASA's radar have a diameter of 300 to 1,000 meters. These could do significant local damage, and create potentially deadly tsunamis if they hit the ocean. And they do enter our atmosphere. About 100 years ago, an asteroid exploded in the air above the mostly uninhabited Tunguska region in eastern Siberia and flattened trees in a 2,000-kilometer area. That rock was 36 meters across.
If that same meteorite had struck in a metropolitan area, former NASA astronaut Ed Lu told Congress in 2013, it could destroy "an area roughly the size of metropolitan Washington, D.C."
So, it's in our best interest to keep a watchful eye on the NEOs. Next week, NASA is scheduled to launch the OSIRIS-REx mission that will visit one the of biggest Near-Earth Objects — an asteroid called Bennu. It has a reasonably high probability of hitting our planet sometime in the 22nd century.
At nearly 500 meters in diameter, it's one of the larger NEOs out there. NASA is hoping the OSIRIS-REx flight will gather enough information about Bennu, and asteroids in general, to help plan for how to deal with them in the future.
So, what happens if we find a dangerous asteroid on a collision course? There's no coordinated strategy at the moment, but there are two real options: Blow it up way out in space, or get people out of the way. Both options are possible.
NASA and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) are gaming out ways to do both. The United Nations has recommendations on the table to create worldwide warning networks and advisory groups to plan for what is, ultimately, the inevitability of something big hitting the Earth.
And NASA is moving forward with something it calls the Asteroid Redirect Mission (ARM). The goal is to "move" a multi-ton boulder headed to Earth into a safe orbit around the moon, and they're planning this project for the 2020s.
When all is said and done, getting killed by an asteroid is incredibly unlikely. Keep in mind that not a single human has been killed by an asteroid in all of recorded human history. And according to NASA, "no large object is likely to strike the Earth any time in the next several hundred years." So, relax, go outside and wish on a falling star; don't worry about one.