text:
People Helping People of Fauquier County
Information about PHP
PEOPLE HELPING PEOPLE (PHP) Mission Statement
People Helping People provides emergency financial assistance to families and individuals in Fauquier County, Virginia.
PHP has been providing this important service to the community for over 25 years.
Biography of PHP
PHP was chartered with the Commonwealth of Virginia in 1990 as a non-profit Corporation, 501 (c) (3) with an annual budget between $60,000-$80,000. We are a non-denominational Christian-based organization that was founded with the purpose of helping citizens of this county who are in immediate financial need. Our assistance covers such items as paying utility bills to avoid disconnection of service, assist paying rent/mortgage to avoid eviction and potential homelessness.
Summarization of assistance
People Helping People (PHP) assists low income families and families undergoing hardship due to circumstances beyond their control, i.e. loss of employment, health issues, death in the family.
The maximum assistance over a 12 month period per family/individual is $300. This is to help overcome a temporary hardship. We do not disburse cash but make payments directly to the provider of services. During the COVID-19 pandemic the maximum assistance has been increased to prevent eviction from home or disconnection of utility services.
In 2021, we received over $150,000 in support from grants, area churches, local businesses and individuals! This support allowed People Helping People to provide assistance to 496 individuals (31adults over 65) and 335 children. In addition to financial assistance, our volunteers provided over 1,000 hours in support to People Helping People.
PHP staff is 100% volunteer. The overhead cost (telephone, office supplies, internet) over the past years did not exceed 5%. Office space is donated by Saint James Episcopal Church. 95% of all donations are distributed to assist people in need.
Elfie Schmid, President
Sandy Benfit, Treasurer/Secretary
Bob Springman
Ed Wright
Jan Polk
Rod Kastrup
Bettie Shiflett, Deborah Hoke
People Helping People received the President's Volunteer Service Award, GOLD MEDAL for services in the community. Eleanor Johnson , 95 years young, received the LIVE TIME Award for her services to PHP.


Camping holidays are a good way to pleasantly change your habits and adopt a holiday rhythm. Our hosts will do everything they can to entertain you and each week they offer different and original themes which will be the guiding light for your holidays. As well as daytime activities with games or live shows, evening events are planned so that your holidays will also be times for celebration. Wiggle your hips to the sound of a DJ mixing all styles for everybody's pleasure and make the most of the dance evening. The campsite also offers spectacles, cabaret concerts, etc.
After a beautiful day of visiting and exploring all the riches around Saint Hilaire de Riez, enjoy a friendly and festive moment sitting comfortably on the campsite terrace opposite the pool and enjoy your holiday as it should be enjoyed!


text:
Justice Department appeals order it cannot represent Trump in E. Jean Carroll case
By Stephen Rex Brown
The U.S. Department of Justice filed a lame-duck appeal Wednesday of a ruling it cannot represent President Trump in a defamation suit brought by New York City advice columnist E. Jean Carroll.
The move, Carroll's attorney Roberta Kaplan said, was yet another delay tactic in the case. Carroll claims Trump raped her two decades ago.
President Donald Trump (left) and E. Jean Carroll. (right) (Associated Press/AP)
"We are not at all surprised that the current Department of Justice, which filed its motion to intervene in E Jean Carroll's case at the request of the White House, is appealing Judge Kaplan's decision. From the very start of this case, Donald Trump's number one goal has been to avoid discovery and cause delay," Kaplan said.
It's not known if the incoming administration of President-elect Joe Biden will pursue the legal arguments supported by current U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr.
"It remains to be seen whether the new Attorney General will agree that Trump was acting within the scope of his employment as President when he defamed our client. In any event, we are confident that the Second Circuit will affirm the District Court's comprehensive and well-reasoned opinion," Kaplan said.
Carroll went public last year with allegations that Trump raped her inside a Bergdorf Goodman department store in the 1990s. Trump responded by calling her a liar and declared she was "not my type."
Judge Lewis Kaplan ruled in October that Trump's remarks were not part of his official duties as President – meaning the Justice Department had no business representing him.
"While commenting on the operation of government is part of the regular business of the United States, commenting on sexual assault allegations unrelated to the operation of government is not," Kaplan wrote.
Barr has said that if the Justice Department is allowed to rep Trump the case will be automatically dismissed due to legal protections for the government.
The notice of appeal filed by the Justice Department did not include new legal arguments. But it does raise the prospect of further delay in the case.
The Justice Department intervened in Carroll's case, which was first filed in N.Y. state court, in September. At that time, Carroll was seeking a DNA sample from Trump to determine if it matches unidentified male DNA on a dress she claims she wore during the alleged rape.
Carroll says she never washed or wore the dress after the assault, until she put it on for a photoshoot accompanying the filing of her lawsuit.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Well, last night Pedro scored 2.5 (haha) goals and an assist whereas during his cameo CHO looked like he was auditioning for the latest Zombie-fest movie (and he wasn't much better vs LFC at the weekend).
He can do one - watching him laughing and joking with Pep after the game is beyond the pale.
Presumably you are not talking about last night's play? I've seen funeral corteges move faster than the interminable efforts last night. Super slow and lacking any fizz whatsoever. I've even gotten to the point where I get very excited when, following an opposition attack, Kepa grabs the ball and charges to the edge of the penalty area full of purpose and then, in one anti-climatic moment, he stops, clings to the ball like a long-lost lover, and then waits for the opposition to get back into position, likewise for us and then, when everyone is nice and ready he throws/kicks it to a defender (using the term loosely) and off we go with our set play piece of shuffling the ball around the box whilst hapless sod from the opposition tries to lamely get the ball etc etc. And then my despondency sets in yet again.
Not a trick question but is this really the much vaunted and hyped up Sarriball? Please tell me it is not so.
Oh the irony... just like we are doing today.
Dross. Can we not get Barclay and Giroud on?
He was *iss poor today when he came on - running around like a big half-hearted floppy rag doll. No commitment to making tackles. Not going to ever be a Chelsea great.
No, I'm not being 'silly'. When he's good he's very very good. But more often than not he's not really at the races. How many times has he been out of form since he's been here? I've lost count tbh. He's hardly the reliable player that can constitute part of the spine of our team week after week. Too many people look at him with rose tinted glasses imo.
Just checked and Hazard is currently at 0.5 goals a match and 0.33 assists a match. Although he hasn't scored in the PL for around a couple of months now. Not exactly top of the world form is it. Just needs to go - he doesn't want to be here.
Dross of the first order. Not one player stood out for me. Same problem re striker. Same old same old pass left pass right pass back pass every direction except towards the frigging goal. Is Kepa really a £70m keeper? - he doesn't look top dollar to me. Hazard is a joke, usual running around looking great but when did he last score. RM can have him for all I care. Losing faith in Sarri too. Glad I never went tonight too.
Well, I hope that this incident and yesterday's Southampton incident finally shut the VAR naysayers up.
Candidate for worst opening post of the year?


JP Infra is fast maturing into a business with ambitious growth plans and a powerful vision of the types of development it wants to bring to market.The company is growing fast and has already put in place a number of measures to facilitate its next period of growth. To accommodate a three-fold increase in staff it has moved into bigger and better equipped offices. This move has coincided with a change from manual processing to automated (ERP) systems. It has also coincided with the introduction of new HR practices and a comprehensive company-wide training programme The dynamism of the company's leadership, which was recognised in 2015 with a Young Achievers Award for our director Mr Shubham Jain, has been complemented with new Heads of Department for all the principal areas of the business. Each has been tasked to develop and enhance the professionalism and expertise of every member of staff.


text:
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using System.Text;
using System.Threading.Tasks;

namespace Graphbook.Contracts
{
    public interface IUserProfile: IUser
    {
        string ProfilePictureUrl { get; }
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


The Bay Meadows Learning Center is staffed with award-winning PGA Professionals who use latest video equipment, teaching aids, and launch monitors to give our students the best possible instruction. Our instructor's use V1 Academy Video which allows them to send via email or text message a recap of your lesson for later review. Our Academy Members are all issued their own secured website where all their video lessons are stored for personal review 24/7/365.
Since this video was produced we have doubled the size of our indoor putting green and recently added TRACKMAN 4 in our bays. TRACKMAN 4 is a dual radar system that can be used on the putting greens, the golf course or driving range tee. This gives our instructors the edge in helping our students.
Our facility provides large turf tees, numerous target greens, three practice putting greens, and multiple practice bunkers and a new 90-yard practice hole that is ideal for private instruction and practice. In addition, we provide 12 driving mats for our golfers who prefer that type of teeing surface. All of these features make the Bay Meadows Family Golf Course & Learning Center one of the finest practice facilities in Northern Michigan.


The HD-3001HB is a great general-purpose, standard-size servo. Two ball bearings help reduce friction and improve performance. The lead is terminated with a standard "JR"-style connector, which is Futaba-compatible. You can find more information about this servo under the specifications tab and in its datasheet (379k pdf).
If you are looking for a similar servo that is capable of continuous rotation speed control as opposed to limited-range position control , consider the Power HD continuous rotation servo AR-3606HB, which has comparable size, weight, speed, and torque.


text:
jstemwedel
What to do when your coauthor doesn't return your calls.
By jstemwedel on February 14, 2010.
Dr. Isis considers a downside to having coauthors and an ethical question it raises:
Imagine a hypothetical postdoc that has just left graduate school, although this could easily be an assistant professor that has just left a postdoc. She has some minor publications either published or in press. The draft of her major publication from her thesis work is written, ready for submission, and has been sent to the coauthors for their approval. Her major advisor has approved the work. Of the additional four coauthors listed on the paper, three have replied to the postdoc that they approve of the manuscript . One has been completely and entirely silent for many weeks.
Despite repeated attempts in multiple media (phone calls, email, letters) by the postdoc to contact the missing coauthor, he remains silent. What does our poor, not-currently-publishing postdoc do? Several of the participants in this discussion have suggested the postdoc publish the paper without the missing coauthor's assent. Almost every time I have heard this type of scenario discussed, the advice is to include the coauthor and submit the work. I'm not sure that is the best course of action.
Of course, this is at least an instance where there was a serious attempt made to contact the coauthor, to show him or her the manuscript before it is sent to the journal. It doesn't always happen that way.
But, as Dr. Isis notes, this state of affairs is still suboptimal, especially in light of official policies and procedures at a number of the scientific journals that might receive such a manuscript:
[H]ere is the statement of authorship from one of the journals I have submitted work to, emphasis a la Isis:
The Editors of the journals of the American Physiological Society (APS) expect each author to have made an important scientific contribution to the study and to be thoroughly familiar with the original data. The Editors also expect each author to have read the complete manuscript and to take responsibility for the content and completeness of the manuscript and to understand that if the paper, or part of the paper, is found to be faulty or fraudulent, that he/she shares responsibility with his/her coauthors. The Mandatory Submission Form, which is published in the journals, should be signed by each author. In cases in which obtaining a signature from each author would delay publication, the corresponding author's signature is sufficient provided that the corresponding author understands that he or she signs on behalf of the other authors who have not signed the form. An author's name can be removed only at his/her request, but all coauthors must sign a change of authorship agreement for any change in authorship (additions, removals, or change of order) to be made.
Key to the publication of an article is the authors' agreement about the work and shared responsibility in cases of misconduct. So, I wonder about the ethics of including an author who does not explicitly assent to the publication of an article when one cannot guarantee that all of the authors have read the work.
I also wonder why the default is to include the author. Seems to me that, based on these types of statements from journals, the appropriate course of action would be to exclude the author from the authors list and acknowledge their work in the body of the work.
Here, there are several ethical issues that are intertwined.
The most immediate one is the question of whether a manuscript submitted to a journal meets that journal's official policy as far as who is listed as an author and what responsibilities each of the persons listed as authors have met prior to the submission of the manuscript. If the form that needs to accompany the manuscript requires the signature of all five authors (in the scenario Dr. Isis discusses), clearly it would be out of bounds to forge the signature of author #5 who hasn't been responding to emails about getting the manuscript polished off and submitted. Such a forged signature would be misrepresenting to the journal editors that author #5 was actively involved in preparing the final version of the submitted manuscript, or that author #5 was explicitly endorsing the submitted manuscript.
Radio silence is not an explicit endorsement under these circumstances.
Now, the statement of authorship Dr. Isis cites does seem to have an exit clause for circumstances in which getting the actual signature of author #5 "would delay publication," namely, that the corresponding author signs on behalf of author #5. But, is this a good move in circumstances in which author #5 has not weighed in at all on the final manuscript being submitted with his or her name on it as an author?
This may depend on what level of involvement author #5 has had in the steps leading up to the final version of the manuscript.
Has author #5 made an important contribution to the study? Presumably the answer to this question is yes, else the other four authors could simply acknowledge his or her contribution to the project rather than trying repeatedly and unsuccessfully to elicit a response on the final version of the manuscript.
Is author #5 thoroughly familiar with the original data? This might be something the other authors can assure if the five authors have had serious discussions about the whole body of results on which the manuscript rests. But if author #5 hasn't been an active participant in these discussions -- especially in discussions about the data obtained by the other four authors -- then this might be too big an assumption to make.
Does author #5 agree with the conclusions the manuscript offers about the data? Again, this may be something for which the other four authors can vouch on account of earlier discussions of the results with author #5. But if author #5 hasn't been a part of such conversations with the coauthors, who really knows what author #5 thinks of the conclusions?
Given that the names in the author line on a published paper are supposed to communicate something to the people reading that paper (and perhaps using it as the starting point for a new research project themselves, and maybe assuming that they can contact the listed authors to ask detailed follow-up questions about the techniques, data, or conclusions described in that paper), it seems like the corresponding authors should get a clear read on where author #5 stands.
In a post about authorship from about a million years ago, I wrote:
I suppose there are possible worlds in which who is responsible for what in a scientific paper might not matter. In the world we live in now, however, it's useful to know who designed the experimental apparatus and got the reaction to work (so you can email that person your questions when you want to set up a similar system), who did the data analysis (so you can share your concerns about the methodology), who made the figures (so you can raise concerns about digital fudging of the images), etc. Part of the reason people put their names on scientific papers is so we know who stands behind the research -- who is willing to stake their reputation on it.
The other reason people put their names on scientific papers is to claim credit for their hard work and their insights, their contribution to the larger project of scientific knowledge-building. If you made a contribution, the scientific community ought to know about it so they can give you props (and funding, and tenure, and the occasional Nobel Prize).
But, we aren't in a possition to make accurate assignments of credit or responsibility if we have no good information about what an author's actual involvement in the project may have been. We don't know who's really in a position to vouch for the data, or who really did heavy intellectual lifting in bringing the project to fruition. We may understand, literally, the claim, "Joe Schmoe is second author of this paper," but we don't know what that means, exactly. ...
Science strives to be a fact-based enterprise. Truthful communication is essential, and the ability to connect bits of knowledge to the people who contributed is part of how the community does quality control on that knowledge base. Ambiguity about who made the knowledge may lead to ambiguity about what we know. Also, developing too casual a relationship with the truth seems like a dangerous habit for a scientist to get into.
What does this mean for the four authors who are ready to publish? Do they have to just wait until they hear back from author #5, from whom they have been trying to get a response for what seems like an unreasonably long time?
Surely, in undertaking this collaboration, author #5 assumed some responsibilities to the other four authors.
One of these responsibilities is to actually participate in the collaboration -- in doing his or her part of the data collection and analysis, in helping to draw reasonable conclusions from the results, in turning a critical eye to the various places in the work where bias might have crept in or where conclusions are not as well supported as they could be.
Another is to facilitate the communication of the results to the rest of the scientific community. It isn't knowledge if it stays in the lab notebooks. Especially if the research that built the knowledge was funded in part with public monies, there is an obligation to make the resulting knowledge public.
Here, we might wonder if an author could hold up a submission on his or her coauthors an account of not being as convinced that it's ready -- maybe the results won't feel like knowledge without more data, or an additional analysis to rule out a possible problem. That seems reasonable provided that the author with these worries is communicating them to the coauthors so they can be addressed. Keeping mum about such concerns is the exact opposite of what a responsible scientist should do.
What if, in a group of five authors, four are satisfied that the data are complete and the conclusion is well supported but one is not convinced? This might be a moment where something like explicit authorship could help.
To the extent that scientific projects are collaborative and that multiple persons have made substantial intellectual contributions to what is reported in the literature, I think the best policy is one of transparency about just what those contributions were. There are journals in which each the contributions of each of the authors on a paper are laid out in detail. Flagging who is responsible for which piece of the research makes it easier for other scientists to direct their questions to the co-author who can best answer their question. As well, in the event of some piece of the project turning out to be ... problematic, there's some sense of who fell down on the job.
While it's not clear to me that this happens a lot in explicit authorship, I'm not sure why it couldn't be used to specify: "Author #5 designed experiment X, generated Y data, and was part of the discussions about how to interpret Z. Despite being part of those discussions, Author #5 is not fully persuaded about the interpretation of Z presented here." This would be a way to acknowledge the real (rising to the level of authorship) contribution of author #5 without erasing a legitimate difference in commitment to the conclusions the other four authors are comfortable presenting to the larger scientific community.
Of course, it's hard to know whether radio silence is best interpreted as assent, dissent, or just unwillingness to be bothered.
Here, I think it's probably wise for people who are embarking on a collaboration to discuss what they are promising each other during the phase when it's time to get the results out to the world. Why not promise to weigh in on the manuscript in its various versions within a reasonable interval of time (and specify it at the beginning, whether it be a month or a week)? Why not talk through what the other collaborators ought to assume if one collaborator doesn't chime in? Why not affirm the responsibility to make oneself available to participate in the necessary scientific back-and-forth, and to sign off on the finished product (or, if one cannot sign off on it, graciously decline authorship in favor of an acknowledgment of contributions to the project)?
The graduate students and postdocs reading this are already aware of a big flaw in this proposal: sometimes collaborations occur among scientists on different ends of the power gradient. What if it's your advisor who is being poky getting back to the coauthors (of whom you are one) on the current state of the manuscript? What if you have a serious interest in getting the work published soon, not just because the data is solid and the conclusions are well-defended, but also because your funding is running out and you need to go on the job market and a publication or two would really help with that?
In this situation, it's quite possible that a coauthor is falling down not only on responsibilities to the other authors, and to the funders (who paid for knowledge to be built and shared), and to the larger scientific community (who are supposed to be a part of the larger project of critically assessing those results, and who might well put the new knowledge to good use to make even more new knowledge), but also to his or her scientific trainees. An advisor (or a PI supervising a postdoc) is in the business of making new scientists as well as new scientific knowledge. Putting aside the legitimate needs of those new scientists in training is not ethical. Moreover, it's pretty crappy.
The challenge, though, is in figuring out how to hold feet to the fire when those feet belong to someone with much more power in your professional community than you have. Perhaps some of you will offer strategies for doing this in the comments.
Ethical research
tribe of science
authorship. mentoring
In my estimation, an completely unresponsive co-author is committing professional misconduct. Depending on the details of the situation, I wonder if legal pressure could be brought to bear (though probably not, as there are rarely contracts or other documents to enforce accountability for researchers).
Strategies for dealing with unresponsive co-author: Document everything. Records time and day of attempted phone calls, keep emails.
Most institutions should have some mechanisms for investigating misconduct. Most people have someone else that they answer to. Faculty to a department chair, dean, and vice-presidents.
By Zen Faulkes (not verified) on 14 Feb 2010 #permalink
My advice for this situation is to send one final email with the final version of the manuscript attached and a one week deadline to comment and accept coauthorship. If the person still does not respond by the deadline, I would acknowledge them but not include them as a coauthor.
Regarding differences in power (at least in the physical sciences): If you are a graduate student or postdoc, you can not submit anything without your PI's approval. If your PI is the radio silent person (hard to imagine this would be true for weeks), sorry, but you have a bad situation. That sucks, but your PI is the quality control and his/her reputation is on the line. Don't even think about going rogue on this - I'd dismiss a student who crossed that line.
I do not worry nearly as much about the power difference between a current graduate student trying to publish the paper and an unresponsive former group member or collaborator. These people will usually have little to no ability to mess with your career.
By Special Guest … (not verified) on 14 Feb 2010 #permalink
âAcknowledge them but not include them as a coauthorâ is the wrong way to go. What happens if unresponsive contributor goes to the journal and says, âI made sufficient contributions to this to warrant authorship under widely these guidelines. This person submitted this manuscript without proper acknowledgmentâ?
Then youâre probably in more trouble than the unresponsive contributor is.
I'm not sure I agree Zen. If you can document many efforts to contact the person over weeks and months, culminating in a final communication giving a reasonable grace period, I feel that the silent collaborator loses the right to complain. One could even send that final communication containing the drop-dead date by certified mail to ensure that it was received.
In the extreme case of the silent coauthor legitimately being too busy to deal with the manuscript, they could write a single email saying "All OK - keep me on the paper" or "I have concerns about the work and would not like to be included". That takes 10 seconds plus the time to skim the manuscript. If you can't spare that courtesy to your collaborators within a reasonable period of time, they must be allowed to move on without you.
Has the author contacted the four other authors who were OK with the paper to see if they can prod the nonresponder to do anything? Maybe they are familiar enough with this person to call them up, get them to actually answer the phone, and ask "What gives?". Is this a coauthor with a track record of not responding, or is there something else going on that no one knows about (illness, family crisis, etc.)?
I'd love to say that the authors should send the nonresponder a note that "if we don't hear from you by XXX, we will assume that you are OK with the MS", but that won't work. This person needs to sign off on the authorship documentation, needs to be involved enough to contribute if a journal wants rewrites, he/she need to be responsible for his/her work.
If this individual won't step up to take ownership of their coauthorship, I'm thinking that the remaining authors will need to decide among themselves whether this person contributed enough to hassle with getting them to jump through the authorship hoops.
By Kim (not verified) on 14 Feb 2010 #permalink
SGL: Thereâs some responses on Dr. Isisâs blog on a similar point. The tactic of âdemotingâ unresponsive contributor is more defensible than I first thought.
But as I wrote over there, Iâd still be very worried about the ramifications of submitting something without that unresponsive contributorâs input. Because, on the face of it, âI was not given sufficient opportunity to contributeâ puts the burden of proof on the other authors to show that there was that opportunity.
But this emphasizes what I said my earlier post here: document everything. And if you really feel you must submit, tell the editor everything up front. Anything else is a ticking time bomb.
What is this paper about? The Kobayashi Maru?
By Pinko Punko (not verified) on 16 Feb 2010 #permalink
I think that journal editors should be more responsive to this type of situations, since they do occur more frequently than we are willing to admit. One way to do so is to include in the Statement of Authorship the possibility of an unresponsive coauthor where the corresponding author could justify removing the name of the unresponsive coauthor in the rare cases when several ways of communication attempts failed (copies of letters and e-mails should accompanied the submission) and enough time had been given to the coauthor (30 days?) to respond. Under these circumstances, the corresponding author can make the decision of either to drop off or to include the coauthor name on the list of authors.
By Solomon Rivlin (not verified) on 20 Feb 2010 #permalink
Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road.
With this post, I say goodbye to ScienceBlogs. Am I leaving because of the fiasco with the PepsiCo blog? Not directly. That's not to say that there weren't serious issues raised by the whole incident. Many of these lie in the realm of journalistic ethics, at least as understood by people you…
Friday Sprog Blogging: waking up.
Younger offspring: Mom? I have a question. Dr. Free-Ride: OK. Younger offspring: If I got up really early -- Dr. Free-Ride: I hope you won't. Younger offspring: No, I won't, but if I got up really early, way before it's time to wake up, like, midnight, and I tried to open my eyes and wake up,…
Research methods and primary literature.
At Uncertain Principles, Chad opines that "research methods" look different on the science-y side of campus than they do for his colleagues in the humanities and social sciences: When the college revised the general education requirements a few years ago, one of the new courses created had as one…
Friday Sprog Blogging: climate change and ecosystems.
Driving home with the Free-Ride offspring yesterday, we heard a story on the radio that caught out attention. (The radio story discusses newly published research that's featured on the cover of Nature this week.) When we got home, we had a chat about it. Dr. Free-Ride: What did you guys learn…
Americans for Medical Progress names two Hayre Fellows in Public Outreach.
Today Americans for Medical Progress has announced two recipients for academic year 2010-2011 of the Michael D. Hayre Fellowship in Public Outreach, designed to inspire and motivate the next generation of research advocates. This year, I'm especially wowed by their project. From the AMP press…
Blue Moons: Fact or Fiction?
Blue Moon You knew just what I was there for You heard me saying a prayer for Someone I really could care for... -Richard Rodgers & Lorenz Hart Tonight is the last night of 2009, there's a full Moon, there's a sliver of a partial lunar eclipse, and it's the second full Moon this month. Q: Does having two full Moons in a month make it a Blue Moon? A: In our modern times, yes, that's what we…
You're not from around here, are you?
"A journey is a person in itself; no two are alike. And all plans, safeguards, policing, and coercion are fruitless. We find that after years of struggle that we do not take a trip; a trip takes us." -John Steinbeck Here on Earth, we all get to enjoy the delight of being located in an extremely fortuitous place in our Solar System. Not just today, mind you, but billions of years ago, when the…
Comments of the Week #139: From Escaping Gravitational Waves To The Universe's 2016 Changes
"They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself." -Andy Warhol Any week that passes by that leaves you knowing more than when you started is a good one here at Starts With A Bang! I hope this past week didn't disappoint, as many of you became acquainted not only with our latest podcast on parallel Universes, but with some amazing new articles on science and the…


Behind The Thrills | Be an official member of the Orlando Polar Bear Club at Gaylord Palms' ICE! Be an official member of the Orlando Polar Bear Club at Gaylord Palms' ICE!
Be an official member of the Orlando Polar Bear Club at Gaylord Palms' ICE!
The Polar Bear Club has a long history of crazy guys braving very cold temperatures to jump in freezing water and act like, well, Polar Bears. It's a tradition that dates back over 100 years to Coney Island and the basic belief was that a brief dip in very cold water could not only boost one's speed to get back into warm clothes, but it could also boost stamina, virility and immunity. It's with that thought in mind that Gaylord Palms has been named the official meeting spot of the Orlando Polar Bear Club. The only problem, it doesn't exactly get cold in Orlando.
ICE! at Gaylord Palms Hotel is a chilly walk through 2 million tons of ice that tell a story. This year, it's Dreamwork's Merry Madagascar that gets the frozen treatment. It's also Merry Madagascar that will be the place for the Orlando Polar Bears to make their official "plunge". Since there is no water cold enough, participants are invited to come out to Gaylord Palms and take a leisurely stroll through the 9 degree ICE! exhibit and even slide down the ice slides…in your bathing suit.
The fun starts at 7:30 a.m. at Gaylord Palms and will include a "warm up" party after the plunge with hot cocoa, where participants will be officially inducted into the Orlando chapter of the Polar Bear Club. The Club has been doing this since 2008, and since the club does a lot of charity work, Gaylord Palms will be donating a portion of the proceeds to a local charity.
All participants are encouraged to wear swimsuits, though summer clothes such as shorts and t-shirts may also be worn. All swimsuitsmust be in good taste-no thongs or speedos. Shoes are required, hats and gloves are suggested.
Safety is first-ICE! is kept at 9 degrees, which is colder than even the coldest of Florida days. Participants should only plan to spend just a few minutes in ICE!
This is not a contest. There is no prize for getting through the fastest or staying in the longest…it's very cold, so take a quick walk through the exhibit and then get warmed up!
For more information, including tickets, be sure to visit the official Gaylord Palms Polar Bear Club page!


text:
LAPACK Users' Guide, Third Edition
Title: LAPACK Users' Guide, Third Edition
Author(s) E. Anderson, Z. Bai, C. Bischof, S. Blackford, J. Demmel, et al
Publisher: Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics; 3 edition (January 1, 1987), eBook (August 22, 1999)
eBook: HTML
LAPACK Users' Guide provides an introduction to the design of the LAPACK package, a detailed description of its contents, reference manuals for the leading comments of the routines, and example programs
LAPACK (Linear Algebra PACKage) is a library of numerical linear algebra subroutines designed for high performance on workstations, vector computers, and shared memory multiprocessors. Release 3.0 of LAPACK introduces new routines and extends the functionality of existing routines. The most significant new routines and functions include: 1. a faster singular value decomposition computed by divide-and-conquer 2. faster routines for solving rank-deficient least squares problems: Using QR with column pivoting using the SVD based on divide-and-conquer 3. new routines for the generalized symmetric eigenproblem: faster routines based on divide-and-conquer routines based on bisection/inverse iteration, for computing part of the spectrum 4. faster routine for the symmetric eigenproblem using "relatively robust eigenvector algorithm" 5. new simple and expert drivers for the generalized nonsymmetric eigenproblem, including error bounds 6. solver for generalized Sylvester equation, used in 5 7.computational routines used in 5
Mathematical and Computational Software
Numerical Analysis and Computation
Fortran Programming
LAPACK Users' Guide, Third Edition (E. Anderson, et al)
The Mirror Site (1) - HTML
LAPACK95 Users' Guide (Vincent Barker, et al)
This book provides an introduction to the design of the LAPACK95 package, a detailed description of its contents, reference manuals for the leading comments of the routines, and example programs.
Numerical Recipes in Fortran 90: Art of Parallel Scientific Computing
This book contains a detailed introduction to the Fortran 90 language and to the basic concepts of parallel programming, plus source code for all routines from the second edition of Numerical Recipes.
Numerical Recipes in Fortran 77: The Art of Scientific Computing
The product of a unique collaboration among four leading scientists in academic research and industry, Numerical Recipes is a complete text and reference book on scientific computing.
Numerical Recipes in C: The Art of Scientific Computing
This is a complete text and reference book on scientific computing. This is the second edition with C programming. In a self-contained manner it proceeds from mathematical and theoretical considerations to actual practical computer routines.
Computational Physics and Scientific Computing in Fortran
This book is an introduction to the computational methods used in physics, but also in other scientific fields. Fortran is used for programming the core programs and data analysis is performed using the powerful tools of the Gnu/Linux environment.
Tea Time Numerical Analysis: Experiences in Mathematics
This textbook was born of a desire to contribute a viable, free, introductory Numerical Analysis textbook. The ultimate goal of this book is to be a complete, one-semester, single-pdf, downloadable textbook designed for mathematics classes.
The Art of Polynomial Interpolation (Stuart Murphy)
Exploring the techniques of interpolating data allows us to view the development and birth of a polynomial. This book is focused on laying a foundation for understanding and applying several common forms of Polynomial Interpolation.
Numerical Algorithms: Computer Vision, Machine Learning, etc.
This book presents a new approach to numerical analysis for modern computer scientists, covers a wide range of topics - from numerical linear algebra to optimization and differential equations - focusing on real-world motivation and unifying themes.
Numerical Methods and MATLAB Programming for Engineers
It covers the fundamentals while emphasizing the most essential numerical methods. Readers will enhance their programming skills using MATLAB to implement algorithms, discover how to use MATLAB to solve problems in science and engineering.


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One in ten women suffer rape
One in ten women in the UK have been raped and over 80% of victims would not report the incident to police, according to a new survey on the hidden scale of rape and sexual assault in this country.
The survey was conducted by parenting network Mumsnet, who questioned 1,609 women in the past two months.
It found 10% of respondents had been raped and 35% had been sexually assaulted. 83% of women who had been attacked did not make a report to the police, and over two-thirds said they would hesitate telling the police due to low conviction rates.
Over 50% of those questioned felt society at large was unsympathetic to rape victims and the issue of rape.
In response Mumsnet has launched a "We Believe You" campaign, to support women who have suffered rape and sexual assault by raising awareness of how common these crimes are.
Justine Roberts, Mumsnet co-founder, said, "The results of our survey are really shocking. We simply shouldn't accept that we live in a country where one in ten women are raped and over one-third sexually assaulted. Things are made worse by the feeling among many women that they can't talk about these crimes for fear of being treated unsympathetically, denying them access to practical and emotional support when they need it most."
Katie Russell on behalf of Rape Crisis (England & Wales), which is backing the initiative, said, "We welcome this campaign's determination to dispel the negative myths and misconceptions that prevent women and girls from accessing the support they want, need and deserve."
Barnardo's and the End Violence Against Women coalition are also supporting the campaign. For more information, click here.


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Home / Resources / Green Cards Through National Interest Waivers
Honolulu, Hawaii Immigration Attorney Helps with National Interest Waivers
A law firm providing assistance to those with exceptional abilities and advanced degrees
A foreign national may qualify for an immigrant visa under the Employment Based Second Preference Immigrant Visa Category if they hold a master's or higher degree or if they are workers of exceptional ability. For most foreign nationals to qualify under this category, they would need to have a job offer and an employer willing to go through the labor certification process. Certain foreign nationals, whose entry is deemed to be in the national interest of the United States, may qualify for a waiver of the job offer and labor certification process. This exception is often called "the National Interest Waiver" or "NIW". These foreign nationals may file the petition themselves (without a job offer) and avoid the labor certification process
Attorney KahBo Dye-Chiew of the Law Offices of KahBo Dye-Chiew in Honolulu has been helping professional workers establish permanent residence in the United States since 1991.
What are the key requirements for obtaining a National Interest Waiver?
There are two key requirements for obtaining a National Interest Waiver/NIW:
The professional must have a U.S. master's degree or higher (or its foreign equivalent) or be a person of "exceptional ability in the sciences, arts or business." A person who has a bachelor's degree and five years of progressive experience in the field has the equivalent to a master's degree.
The professional's entry into the United States must be in the national interest of the United States.
How is national interest determined?
In December 2016, the Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) set out a new method of analysis to assist the USCIS to determine if a foreign national should qualify for a waiver of the labor certification process through this National Interest Waiver/NIW. To qualify, the foreign national must demonstrate that he/she meets the following three prongs of the test:
The foreign national's proposed endeavor has both substantial merit and national importance;
The foreign national is well positioned to advance the proposed endeavor; and
On balance, it would be beneficial to the United States to waive the requirements of a job offer and thus of a labor certification.
1st prong – What is an area of substantial merit and national importance?
For this prong, the focus is on the specific endeavor that the foreign national wishes to undertake. Neither the statute nor the most recent case specifically defines the types of jobs or work that would qualify. However, the following characteristics, which were listed in an old case are still useful to consider in determining if the proposed endeavor is of significant merit and national importance:
Improves the U.S. economy (including creating more jobs in the United States)
Improves wages and working conditions of U.S. workers
Improves education and training programs for U.S. children and under-qualified workers
Improves healthcare
Provides more affordable housing for young and/or older and poorer U.S. residents
Improves our understanding of the U.S. environment, making more productive use of natural resources
Fulfills a request from an interested U.S. government agency.
These are just examples to help in your analysis of whether the proposed endeavor might be of significant interest and national importance.
2nd Prong – Well-positioned to advance the proposed endeavor.
This part of the analysis focuses on the foreign national's own qualifications. The USCIS will be considering the foreign national's education, skills, knowledge and their record of past successes and even the interest of any future customers, users, investors or other relevant factors to confirm that the foreign national is well-positioned to undertake the endeavor. This is where awards that the foreign national has won, publications in peer-reviewed journals, citations to those publications, and letters of recommendation are used to show that the foreign national is the best person to advance the proposed endeavor.
What factors are being balanced in the 3rd prong?
The third prong in this new test seeks to balance the interests of the United States to protect the domestic labor supply by requiring the labor certification process vs. recognizing that there are factors in the national interest that could outweigh those protections. For example, the USCIS must evaluate factors such as whether in the light of the nature of the foreign national's qualifications or proposed endeavor, it would be impractical to secure a job offer or obtain a labor certification and/or whether the national interest in the foreign national's contributions is sufficiently urgent to warrant forgoing the labor certification process. For the petition to be successful, the consideration of the relevant factors, must, taken together, indicate on balance, it would be beneficial to waive the requirements of the job offer.
Entrepreneurs may qualify for a National Interest Waiver
On August 2, 2011, the White House announced new initiatives for entrepreneurs who create jobs for the U.S. economy. National Interest Waivers may apply if approval of the EB-2 visa petition would be in the national interest of the United States. For more information, see the Q&A issued by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services describing how entrepreneurs may be eligible for EB-2 visa classification.
Contact an experienced immigration lawyer for assistance with National Interest Waivers
Professionals with advanced degrees or exceptional ability may be able to speed up the green card process by avoiding the labor certification process through National Interest Waivers if they meet certain qualifications. The Law Offices of KahBo Dye-Chiew in Honolulu offers assistance in requesting National Interest Waivers and achieving permanent residence in the United States. Call the firm now at 866-510-7082 or use the convenient online contact form to schedule an appointment.


Well, the choice is yours, you can put your feet up and peruse the seed and plant catalogues by the fireside or take advantage of milder days when you can get things done in the garden. It's handy to make a check list of things to do in December.
Check for damage to fences and trellis, gutters and drains that may have leaf blockage, plant supports, fishponds freezing over, greenhouse heaters and winter protection structures. All's well? Good.
There may be some digging to be done and you can improve the soil as you go, adding a peat substitute or lime free compost to alkaline soil and hydrated lime to acid soil. Not sure what type of soil you have? You can get a soil test pH testing kit at the garden centre or online. It's good to dig clay soil in winter when it's more workable and the frosts will break it down. Dig in loads of organic matter – well-rotted farmyard manure, spent mushroom compost or composted bark - as you go.
You can sow alpines from seed this month since they need the cold to wake them up. Place a sheet of glass on bricks over the area so they don't get too wet. If it's still mild lift and divide herbaceous perennials and consign the prunings of any you cut back to the compost.
Clear beds of any weeds and finish off your tidying of beds, borders and containers. Look out for any diseased wood, leaf or vegetation and burn or remove it from the garden, don't put it on the compost where disease can over winter on plant debris and in the soil. Take the opportunity to clean up garden tools and the greenhouse, giving it a good wash down with a disinfectant solution of Jeyes fluid and replenish the soil ready for spring planting.


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Home / Labelling / Register of Protected GIs and Other Terms / Geographical Indications / Pokolbin
Pokolbin Geographical Indication
Pokolbin (sub region)
The Australian Geographical Indication 'Pokolbin' was entered in the Register of Protected Names on 29 July 2010 in response to a direction from Wine Australia pursuant to section 40ZD of the WAC Act.
The Geographical Indication Pokolbin is a subregion located within the region of Hunter which is located within the zone of Hunter Valley which is within the State of New South Wales, Australia.
The official maps used to support the textual description of the boundary of the Geographical Indication Pokolbin are:
Bulga topographic & orthophoto map
Sheet 9132-4S, Second Edition
© Land and Property Information NSW. 2001
Greta topographic & orthophoto map
Cessnock topographic & orthophoto map
Sheet 9132-2N, Third Edition
Broken Back topographic & orthophoto map
The beginning point of the boundary is located on Bulga map (Sheet 9132-4S) at grid reference LJ357841 being the junction of an unnamed vehicular track and an unnamed four-wheel drive track; then proceeds in a south-easterly direction along the unnamed vehicular track to the edge of the map at grid reference LJ359840; on to Greta map (Sheet 9132-1S) at grid reference LJ359840; then proceeds in a south-easterly direction along the same unnamed vehicular track to its junction with Hermitage Road and Old North Road at grid reference LJ369829; then proceeds in a northerly direction along Hermitage Road to the northern boundary of the parish of Ovingham at grid reference LJ371837; then proceeds in a south of easterly direction in a straight line along the northern boundary of the parishes of Ovingham and then Rothbury to its junction with Hanwood Road at grid reference LJ438826; then proceeds in a south-easterly direction along Hanwood Road to its intersection with Main Road at grid reference LJ446819; then proceeds in a generally southerly direction along Main Road to Belmont Bridge on Black Creek at grid reference LJ431785; then proceeds in a generally south-easterly direction along Black Creek to the edge of the map at grid reference LJ451752; on to Cessnock map (Sheet 9132-2N) at grid reference LJ451752; then proceeds in a generally southerly direction along Black Creek to its junction with Bellbird Creek near Cessnock at grid reference LJ463672; then proceeds in a generally south-westerly direction along Bellbird Creek to Kendall Street in Bellbird at grid reference LJ426630; then proceeds in a generally westerly direction along Kendall Street and then Bimbadeen Road to its junction with Mount View Road and Mount Bright Road at grid reference LJ393639; then proceeds in a generally northerly direction along Mount Bright Road to its intersection with The Great North Walk walking track at grid reference LJ389659; then proceeds in a generally north-westerly direction along The Great North Walk to its junction with an unnamed vehicular track at grid reference LJ382664; then proceeds in a north-westerly direction along the unnamed vehicular track to its junction with Mount Bright Road and an unnamed road at grid reference LJ379668; then proceeds in a generally westerly direction along the unnamed road to its junction with Pokolbin Mountains Road at grid reference LJ374669; then proceeds in a westerly then northerly direction along the unnamed road to its intersection with an unnamed vehicular track at grid reference LJ369672; then proceeds in a generally northerly direction along the unnamed vehicular track to the eastern boundary of the Pokolbin State Forest at grid reference LJ369693; then proceeds in a east of northerly direction along the eastern boundary of the Pokolbin State Forest to grid reference LJ372718; then proceeds in a generally westerly then northerly then easterly then northerly direction along the eastern boundary of the Pokolbin State Forest to grid reference LJ368725; then proceeds in a generally westerly then northerly then westerly direction to the edge of the map at grid reference LJ361728; on to Broken Back map (Sheet 9132-3N) at grid reference LJ361728; then proceeds in a generally westerly direction along the eastern boundary of the Pokolbin State Forest to grid reference LJ352727; then proceeds in a generally northerly then easterly direction along the eastern boundary of the Pokolbin State Forest to the edge of the map at grid reference LJ361729; on to Cessnock map (Sheet 9132-2N) at grid reference LJ361729; then proceeds in a generally easterly direction along the eastern boundary of the Pokolbin State Forest to grid reference LJ365729; then proceeds in a generally northerly then westerly direction to the edge of the map at grid reference LJ361730; on to Broken Back map (Sheet 9132-3N) at grid reference LJ361730; then proceeds in a generally westerly then northerly direction along the eastern boundary of the Pokolbin State Forest to the edge of the map at grid reference LJ361733; on to Cessnock map (Sheet 9132-2N) at grid reference LJ361733; then proceeds in a generally northerly then easterly direction along the eastern boundary of the Pokolbin State Forest to grid reference LJ365733; then proceeds in a generally northerly then westerly direction to the edge of the map at grid reference LJ361737; on to Broken Back map (Sheet 9132-3N) at grid reference LJ361737; then proceeds in a north of westerly direction along the northern boundary of the Pokolbin State Forest to its junction with an unnamed vehicular track at grid reference LJ356738; then proceeds in a generally northerly direction along the unnamed vehicular track to its intersection with Broke Road at grid reference LJ357749; then proceeds in a generally westerly direction along Broke Road to the edge of the map at grid reference LJ351751; on to Bulga map (Sheet 9132-4S) at grid reference LJ351751; then proceeds in a generally westerly direction along Broke Road to an unnamed four-wheel drive track at grid reference LJ344752; then proceeds in a generally northerly direction along the unnamed four-wheel drive track to its junction with the unnamed vehicular track at grid reference LJ357841; which is the beginning point for the boundary.


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Carl's Jr. Logo
Carl's Jr. Logo PNG
Carl's Jr. Restaurants LLC is among the best-known fast-food restaurant chains in the US. It also operates in Australia and Canada. Carl's Jr. was established in 1941 in the imitated states and today has almost 1,5 thousand restaurants on all continents. The chain, which started from a hot-dog truck, has grown into a global franchise famous for its hamburgers and chicken.
The history of the brand started in 1941 when Carl Karcher and his wife, Margaret Karcher, bought a hot dog cart in Los Angeles. Several years later, they already had four hot dog stands in Los Angeles. In 1956, they opened the first two Carl's Jr. restaurants.
Known as "Carl's Jr Drive-In Barbecue" for the first 15 years of its existence, the restaurant featured a very typical for its times' visual identity — it was a vertically oriented banner with the wordmark and a massive star on top of it.
The monochrome star featured a triple outline and was sitting on a black banner with "Carl's" lettering in capitals, which had another banner under it. It was a trapezoid, where the white "Drive-In Barbecue" wordmark was set.
The name was shortened in 1956, and the emblem was redrawn in the same year. A smiling yellow star in a red outline was dancing near the red lettering in a bold sans-serif typeface, having a soda in one hand and a hamburger in the other one.There was also a version showcasing a more minimalist star without the drink and hamburger. Here, the wordmark was placed below.
The star was simplified and placed above the inscription in 1977. Now the letters were jumping, but all the additional detail were removed. The contours of all the elements were redrawn in order to look stronger and more solid.
The star was placed on the left of the wordmark again in 1985, but there was also the version with the previous composition in use by the food-chain during this period. The most significant change of those years was about the inscription, which gained a new rounded serif typeface and a bold solid dot at the end.
In 2006 the logo was completely redrawn again, and the white color was added to the official palette. The star was placed diagonally on the left of the white script wordmark, which was outlined in black and placed on a red banner, which repeated the contour of the lettering. The delicate yellow "Charbroiled Burgers" in all caps was placed on the red underline of the banner.
The red background and lettering "Charbroiled Burgers" disappeared. The name of the brand grew black. In earlier versions, the star appeared without the face, while later the face made a comeback.
The lettering was rewritten in a simpler and more confident typeface with fewer curves, and the star gained a strict red outline. The emblem was also coming out from the inscription more to the left, becoming a separate element of the visual identity. The eyebrows, which had been removed from the 2017 Carl's Jr logo, returned. The letters "r" and "s" were tweaked. The design was developed by the Havas agency.
The custom script typeface of the Carl's Jr. logo was designed specifically for the brand and doesn't have many analogs, though it is pretty close to such fonts as Kathya Script, Ethan Italics, and TT Polls Script Bold, which also look neat, elegant and very confident.
As for the color palette, the combination of black and yellow evokes a sense of energy and professionalism, while delicate red details elevate the whole logo, adding warmth and passion to it.
Jack in the Box Logo
Wendys Logo
El Pollo Loco Logo
KFC Logo
Taco Bell Logo
Starbucks Logo
Burger King Logo
Pizza Hut Logo
Dunkin Donuts Logo
Tim Hortons Logo
Chick-fil-A Logo
Kohl's Logo


Newsight Imaging, an Israeli startup that develops CMOS Image Sensor chips for machine vision geared to the robotics, automotive, Smart City, Industry 4.0 and mobile devices markets introduces the NSI3000EVBX, a full reference design kit for advanced 3D depth imaging.
The kit is based on the company's NSI3XXX line sensor family, which supports its eTOF (enhanced Time Of Flight) patented technology.
The company claims that its eTOF technology delivers an accurate, long distance and high frame-rate acquisition of depth points, in addition to unique solutions such as reflection filtering. Unlike other technologies, calculation of each depth distance point with eTOF technology requires minimal clock cycles and a small number of frames; this makes it well-suited to low power consumption devices, such as mobile devices, including smartphones, while significantly reducing overall costs.
The NSI3000EVBX reference design board is now available from Macnica Europe.


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Robert H. McNulty
, Urban Sustainability Laboratory
Robert.McNulty@wilsoncenter.org
Environment Governance Society and Culture Urban Studies Asia Australia and New Zealand Europe France United Kingdom North America United States
President, Partners for Livable Communities
Wilson Center Projects
"Global Fellow in Resiliency and Sustainability"
Aug 15, 2014 — Nov 30, 2018
Robert McNulty received his business degree at the Haas School of Business and a doctorate in law at Boalt Hall at University of California, Berkeley. He has been a fellow, twice appointed, at the Harvard School of Design, a Fellow at Yale University, and was the Acting Director of the Graduate Program in Historic Preservation within the School of Architecture at Columbia University, where he also taught as an adjunct faculty member for eight years.
He is the founder and president of Partners for Livable Communities, a nonprofit now approaching its 40th anniversary, founded out of the National Endowment for the Arts (the equivalent of the Arts Ministry in the U.S.).
Partners for Livable Communities is supported through a combination of philanthropic and corporate funds, including the Ford Foundation, American Express Financial Services, and the banking industry—particularly as it relates to their community reinvestment obligation and how they support low- and moderate-income needs.
Robert McNulty works with Blair Ruble, Director of the Resiliency and Sustainability program to focus upon key issues: how the relationship of arts and culture and heritage, i.e. amenities, can be retooled and redirected to support social capital, including receptivity and hospitality to newcomers—immigrants, support for low-income individuals on their health, economic well-being, and educational achievement. He is also interested in the rise of thinking that business should have a social dimension with a variety of tools where the free market enterprise does not victimize the growing inequities but sees equity of opportunity as a long-term security device upon wealth and capital markets.
Harnessing the Power of Grey: Aging Societies and Revitalizing Regional Urban Centers in Japan and the United States


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Starship's Robots Pulled From University of Pittsburgh After Accessibility Incident
The University of Pittsburgh has paused its recently launched robot delivery program with Starship after the autonomous rovers impeded the movement of people in wheelchairs.
According to WESA in Pittsburgh:
Pitt doctoral student and wheelchair user Emily Ackerman said on Monday that she got trapped on Forbes Avenue as traffic approached because a Starship Technologies robot was blocking the only accessible entrance to the sidewalk.
WESA also wrote that this follows another incident earlier this month at Pitt when Alisa Grishman, who is also in a wheelchair, said she was blocked on a sidewalk by one of Starship's robots.
In response, the school and Starship have pulled the robots from the street for further review. After the publication of this post, Starship sent us the following statement: "Starship reviewed the footage and confirmed that Emily was able to access passage onto the sidewalk."
In addition to the University of Pittsburgh, Starship's robots are now roaming around the University of Houston, Purdue, George Mason University and Northern Arizona University. We have not heard of any other similar incidents at this time. George Mason, in fact, more than doubled its robot fleet earlier this year.
Starship incorporates different design features and technology to make its robot/human interactions safe. The robots are designed to be the width of the average person's shoulders, so they don't take up too much room, they move at a walking pace, and live human teleoperators can take over and drive the robot should it get stuck.
But as this incident at Pitt highlights, more real world testing needs to be conducted before we see a bunch of robots scurrying around outside of campuses and on packed city streets. Let's not forget that last year Starship rival, Kiwi, had one of robots accidentally catch fire on a street near the University of California at Berkeley.
Ironically, autonomous robots have great promise to make delivery more accessible to everyone, especially those who are infirmed or otherwise housebound. Starship and other delivery robot companies now need to make sure that they can disrupt the delivery industry without dangerously disrupting the lives of others.
UPDATE: The original story used a statement provided to WESA. We replaed it with the statement sent directly to The Spoon.


This entry was posted on Friday, November 1st, 2013 at 11:30	and is filed under QOTD. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
2010: DSC: the Dropbox music request show!


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Android News / Check Out These High-Res, Watermark-Free Galaxy Tab A8 Renders
Check Out These High-Res, Watermark-Free Galaxy Tab A8 Renders
Alongside the flagship Galaxy Tab S8 series, Samsung also has an affordable Android tablet in the works. Dubbed the Galaxy Tab A8 (2021), the new tablet has appeared in leaked renders ahead of launch. Well, we have seen the device in renders before, but the latest leak (via) is free of any watermarks, giving us a much clearer look at it. The latest leak also shows the tablet in multiple colors.
The Galaxy Tab A8 (2021) sports a budget-ish look with large bezels all around the display. We have a single front-facing camera that sits at the top bezel when you hold the device in landscape orientation. In that orientation, you'll find the USB Type-C port and two speaker grilles on the right edge. The tablet features a quad-speaker setup with two more speakers on the left. There's also a microphone hole on the left edge.
The power button and volume controls are at the top edge, along with a second microphone hole. The SIM tray resides at the bottom. We can also see a 3.5mm headphone jack port at the corner on the right edge. On the back, the Galaxy Tab A8 (2021) features a single camera and that's pretty much it. There's not even an LED flash at the back.
Spec-wise, we are expecting a 10.5-inch LCD panel with Full HD+ resolution and a 60Hz refresh rate. There's reportedly a UNISOC processor under the hood, with Samsung offering up to 4GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. The cameras are a 5-megapixel sensor (front) and an 8-megapixel sensor (back). The tablet draws power from a 7,040mAh battery.
Galaxy Tab A8 (2021): price and launch date
The Galaxy Tab A8 (2021) first appeared in leaks in mid-September. The frequency of leaks has gone up in recent weeks, revealing pretty much all its key specs and design details. But that's not it. We now also have the tablet's possible European pricing. Revealed by the same source last week, the upcoming affordable offering from Samsung will reportedly start at €240 for the base variant that comes with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage. The highest-specced model will equip 4GB of RAM and 128GB of storage and could cost €360. There's a 4GB+64GB variant that could be priced at around €300.
As far as the launch date is concerned, reports suggest the Galaxy Tab A8 (2021) will enter mass production in a few days. Samsung is planning to unveil the new tablet sometime next month. So it's not a very long wait now before the device goes official. We will keep you posted.


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The Palais – Seaside Living at Wynnum
70-78 Bay Terrace, Wynnum, QLD 4178 See 16 more projects in Brisbane - East
This is independent editorial content written by a PropertyMash Journalist. While we try to ensure all information is as accurate as possible, please double check with the developer or real estate agent directly before making a purchasing decision. The information contained within this article may be incorrect or out of date.
Wynnum location, 15km from Brisbane's CBD
Five level multi-use development
One (1), two (2) and three (3) bedroom apartment living
Priced from $510,000 to $920,000
Permanently unobstructed water views
The Palais is a five-level commercial and residential development located in the heart of Wynnum, a seaside town set on the shores of Moreton Bay and located 15km south of Brisbane's CBD.
191 StrattonLuxurious apartments with views of Manly Harbour
QuattroIndooroopilly apartments with a focus on livability
The top three floors of The Palais are residential apartments, with four different layout and pricing options, and all apartments take in some of Wynnum's spectacular panoramic bay views.
Brisbane City Council's recent decision to allow for higher building limits in Wynnum has been to the advantage of property buyers and investors seeking stunning coastal views.
Facing onto Wynnum's main street, Bay Terrace, The Palais is a five level multi-use development designed by Think Tank Architects, and is divided into two lower-level commercial zones and three upper-level residential zones.
The aesthetic is unmistakably modern, with strong vertical and horizontal lines featuring prominently. It's a signature style of Think Tank, who are setting up shop in one of The Palais' first-level commercial areas.
The ground floor will feature a wine bar and the top three floors of The Palais will be residential, facing northeast, and will take in some of Wynnum's spectacular panoramic bay views.
Together with the building's aesthetic, it is definitely the views that make The Palais special, particularly with the fact that the views are protected thanks to stringent council regulations.
There are four different layouts available: Three (3) bedroom, two (2) bathroom; two (2) bedroom, two (2) bathroom; two (2) bedroom, two (2) bathroom and study, and two (2) bedroom, one (1) bathroom.
Prices start at $510,000 and rise to $920,000. At the time of writing, more than a third of the residences had been sold.
An added bonus and in keeping with the current trend of premium apartment design, there is a communal roof terrace. And considering just how spectacular the views are, you'd expect it to be a popular area with residents.
It would be easy to think that Wynnum is miles away from the hustle and bustle of city life, but it's actually part of Brisbane city – at least in terms of council classification.
The town is located on the shores of Moreton Bay, about 15km east of Brisbane's CBD. Thanks to the contours of the coastline, you can clearly see the Port of Brisbane from the Wynnum foreshore.
By car, it is about half an hour's drive from the city.
Railway access is excellent as the area is serviced by three stations on the Cleveland line. Wynnum Central is nearest to the apartments, at only a few hundred metres. Wynnum and Wynnum North Stations are both within 1.5km. All three stations provide access to the Brisbane CBD (about 40 minutes' ride) and the end-of-the-line town of Cleveland (about 20 minutes away).
Opposite the site. 13/01/2016.
Bus stop 97 is only 150 metres away for a bus to the city.
Local sporting clubs include Wynnum Seagulls Rugby League Club, Wynnum Bugs, Rugby Union Club, Wynnum-Manly District Cricket Club and Wynnum Golf Club.
The Wynnum Esplanade is a highlight of the area. On a clear day you can easily make out Moreton Island and North Stradbroke Island, in Moreton Bay.
Together, Wynnum and the neighbouring town of Manly (often referred to as Wynnum-Manly) stretch along 10km of waterfront. And as the scenic esplanade is perfect for outdoor exercise, it is very popular with runners, cyclists and dogs walking their people.
Bay Terrace. 13/01/2016.
Manly hosts a creative market on Sundays. All kinds of one-off items are on sale, attracting tourists and locals alike. Manly Boat Harbour, just 2.5km from The Palais apartment site, is the largest boat harbour in the Southern Hemisphere, with more than 3000 wet berths and dry standings.
There are several schools within 5km of The Palais. These include Wynnum State High School, Wynnum West State School, Brisbane Bayside State School and Iona College (a Catholic boys' school).
And as the apartments are in the business district of Wynnum, Coles Supermarket is less than 600 metres away.
Bay Terrace – opposite direction. 13/01/2016.
A great source of local information is to be found on WYNNUM WHAT!? The Facebook site is loaded with helpful local updates – especially if you've lost a pet, or seen someone else's pets gallivanting about!
Check it out at: https://www.facebook.com/WYNNUM.WHAT.4178/?fref=ts.
Neighbouring Projects / Competition
Thanks to the Brisbane City Council's recent building height amendment, 5-storey and up to 8-storey builds are now allowed at selective locations, resulting in many new developments.
High Point (77 Chestnut Street, Wynnum) is worth investigating. It is about five blocks away from The Palais and about a block further back from the water. The views may not be quite as uninterrupted as those from The Palais, but the standard of design is impressive.
Alto (100 Florence Street, Wynnum) can't go without mention. Standing 8-stories high and situated just 250 metres away it will be the tallest building in the Wynnum-Manly area. The proposed architecture is similarly striking to that of The Palais, and it too will be a mixed-use affair.
Both these developments are under construction with their completion slated for this year.
Builder / Developer Profile
Think Tank Architects takes pride in distinguished design and attention to detail. The company was founded by director Michael Jullyan in 1992.
The Cullen Group developed this project. Wayne Cullen is the founding director of the boutique construction firm. The company prides itself on its 'quality over quantity' approach.
Investment Analysis – Rent / Onsite Managers
Rental return is around 4.5%.
Sales agent Reno Muscat, of Remax, explains it: "Rent return will run at approximately 4.5% gross per annum, e.g. (a) $600,000 unit should return around $27,000 per annum. Gross rental yield = $520 per week. Return on investment consists however of both rental yield and capital growth – the bay view will ensure the ongoing higher rate of capital growth."
There is no onsite management for this development.
Sales Agent Profile
Tandi Gill and Reno Muscat are the sales agents.
Tandi is the co-owner of Remax Advantage Project Management and worked formerly as a highly successful chartered accountant. Now part of the family business she has accrued an outstanding sales record.
Reno – originally from Hawkesbury in New South Wales – is a sales associate at Remax and has a background in human resources. He has worked in real estate since 1998 and has achieved some of the highest sales rankings in the local industry.
Written: 1 March 2016, Updated: 14 October 2016
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text:
Adelaide and Port Adelaide investigate..
Adelaide and Port Adelaide investigate claims of racial slurs directed at Eddie Betts and Paddy Ryder
By JAKE BOURKE
The behaviour of football fans in Adelaide has come under scrutiny following multiple claims of racial abuse in the wake of Saturday night's showdown.
The Crows are furious after gun forward Eddie Betts was again subject to slurs from Power fans.
But Port Adelaide has since revealed it's investigating claims its own player – Paddy Ryder – was also racially taunted by a spectator during the match.
The Crows said they condemned 'any such behaviour' in a strongly-worded statement.
'It's abhorrent and disgusting,' the club said.
'In listening to our playing group and our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander players in particular, it is clear how damaging and impactful racism is to them and their families.
'Our entire playing group and our club stand together on this, unequivocally.'
Port Adelaide said it would make no further comment until its investigations were completed.
Hawthorn star Shaun Burgoyne leads the AFL's advisory board for indigenous players and said enough was enough.
'We're sad that our brothers and sisters are still experiencing racial vilification, despite the ongoing education and promotion done within the football industry and wider society,' he said.
'This has been happening for far too long and we, as indigenous footballers, have had enough.
'We deserve more respect than we are being shown.
'The abuse directed towards players is more than just words and people need to understand the impact that it has on the player, their family, their children and their community.
'While it's heartening that these incidents are being called out, there's a lot of work to do before we can claim to be a truly inclusive game.'
It's not the first time Betts has been subject to racial abuse from a Port Adelaide fan, with the Power cancelling the membership of a female supporter who threw a banana at the superstar forward last season.
AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan said the football community must continue to call out racism whenever it occurs.
'Racism is hurtful and damaging to individuals and communities, and when it happens in football, we must call it out,' he said.
'Our game has a responsibility to our players, and a role to play in the community on issues of racism and vilification.
'Our players deserve respect, and we ask that people understand the impact of their comments on them, their families and our community.
'We know our game can do more.'
Saturday night's showdown was also marred by a violent brawl in the crowd, which was caught on camera.


Clear script (or Oirat clear script, Todo bicig, or just Todo) (Mongolian: Тодо бичиг, todo bichig) is a Mongol alphabet created in 1648 by the Oirat Buddhist monk Zaya Pandita Oktorguin Dalai for the Oirat Mongol language. It was developed on the basis of the traditional Mongolian alphabet with the goal of distinguishing all sounds in the spoken language, and to make it easier to transcribe Tibetic and Sanskrit.
The clear script is a Mongolian script, whose obvious closest forebear is vertical Mongolian. This Mongolian script was derived from the Old Uyghur alphabet, which itself was descendent from the Aramaic alphabet. Aramaic is an abjad, an alphabet that has no symbols for vowels, and clear script is the first in this line of descendants to develop a full system of symbols for all the vowel sounds.
As mentioned above the clear script was developed as a better way to write Mongolian, specifically of the Western Mongolian groups of the Oirats and Kalmyks. The practicality of clear script lies in the fact that it was supremely created in order to dissolve any ambiguities that might appear when one attempts to write down a language. Not only were vowels assigned symbols, but all existing symbols were clarified. All of the 'old' symbols, those that did not change from the previously used script, were assigned a fixed meaning, based mostly on their Uyghur ancestors. New symbols and diacritical marks were added to show vowels and vowel lengths, as well as distinguish between voiced and unvoiced consonants. There were even some marks enabling distinctions such as between ši and si which are unimportant for words written in the Oirat language but are useful for the transcription of foreign words and names.
The clear script was used by Oirat and neighboring Mongols, mostly in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. It was widely used by its creator and others to translate Buddhist works so that they might better spread the Buddhist religion throughout western Mongolia. Though the script was useful for translating works from other languages, especially Tibetan, it was also used more informally, as evidenced by some letters from the late 1690s.
The script was used by Kalmyks in Russia until 1924, when it was replaced by the Cyrillic alphabet. In Xinjiang, China, the Oirat people still use it, although today Mongolian education takes place in Chahar Mongolian all across China.
There is an alphabetic order in clear script, as in other related scripts, but the order for clear script is not the same as its Mongolian parents or Aramaic ancestors.
↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Kara, György. Books of the Mongolian Nomads. Bloomington: Indiana University, 2005.
↑ 4.0 4.1 Gnanadesikan, Amalia. The Writing Revolution. West Sussex: Wiley-Blackwell, 2009.
↑ Chuluunbaatar, Otgonbayar (2008): Einführung in die mongolischen Schriften. Hamburg: Buske.
This page was last modified on 26 December 2015, at 01:41.


The 2nd team was at home taking on Nottingham Trent 1s who were still looking for their first game of the season, after losing to the newly promoted Worcester. The 2s started with a 4-3-3 system, which suited their fluid playing style. Will Worthington put them ahead during the 1st half when he superbly rounded the keeper and slotted home to give the 2s a deserved lead. Worthington had been shifted to left wing from his usual left back position and he was reaping the benefits when he doubled his tally during the 2nd half after Jacob lever's cross.
At 2-0 the 2s were looking relatively comfortable and were keeping the ball well, however Trent were served a lifeline after a 30 yard deflected shot left 2s goalkeeper Jake Weakes no chance. The final fifteen minutes were mostly played inside Loughborough's half with Trent pushing for the final goal. Loughborough, however, managed to hold out and keep their 100% record for the season and finished the day top of BUCS Midland Alliance 1A.
This has been a common fixture over the last three years of the BUCS Midland 2A league and has always proven to be a close game with both sides winning their home fixtures last year. The 3s struggled to cope with the physical and organised Staffordshire 1s during the first half and went 1-0 down.
Loughborough 4s were in buoyant mood after their well deserved point against the Loughborough 3rd team last week and travelled to newly promoted Oxford Brookes. The 4s started well and looked the better side from kick off; Oxford Brookes played a somewhat Stoke City-esque style and looked for the head of their 6ft 5 striker at every possible opportunity. Tom Read gave the 4s the lead with a superb free kick from 25 yards out into the top left hand corner, despite it taking a knick off the 4s striker Luke Griffiths who still tried to claim the goal. Just five minutes later, Jamie Williams put in a delicious cross for Andrew Kenny who nodded in for his 1st goal for the club. Just before half time, Luke Griffiths got brought down in the box while trying to turn, Tom Read then got his second of the day by firing the penalty into the top left hand corner.


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text:
package io.spring.concourse.releasescripts.artifactory;

import io.spring.concourse.releasescripts.ReleaseInfo;
import org.junit.jupiter.api.AfterEach;
import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;

import org.springframework.beans.factory.annotation.Autowired;
import org.springframework.boot.context.properties.EnableConfigurationProperties;
import org.springframework.boot.test.autoconfigure.web.client.RestClientTest;
import org.springframework.core.io.ClassPathResource;
import org.springframework.http.HttpMethod;
import org.springframework.http.HttpStatus;
import org.springframework.http.MediaType;
import org.springframework.test.web.client.MockRestServiceServer;
import org.springframework.test.web.client.response.DefaultResponseCreator;
import org.springframework.util.Base64Utils;
import org.springframework.web.client.HttpClientErrorException;

import static org.assertj.core.api.Assertions.assertThatExceptionOfType;
import static org.springframework.test.web.client.match.MockRestRequestMatchers.content;
import static org.springframework.test.web.client.match.MockRestRequestMatchers.header;
import static org.springframework.test.web.client.match.MockRestRequestMatchers.method;
import static org.springframework.test.web.client.match.MockRestRequestMatchers.requestTo;
import static org.springframework.test.web.client.response.MockRestResponseCreators.withStatus;
import static org.springframework.test.web.client.response.MockRestResponseCreators.withSuccess;

/**
 * Tests for {@link ArtifactoryService}.
 *
 * @author Madhura Bhave
 */
@RestClientTest(ArtifactoryService.class)
@EnableConfigurationProperties(ArtifactoryProperties.class)
class ArtifactoryServiceTests {

	@Autowired
	private ArtifactoryService service;

	@Autowired
	private ArtifactoryProperties properties;

	@Autowired
	private MockRestServiceServer server;

	@AfterEach
	void tearDown() {
		this.server.reset();
	}

	@Test
	void promoteWhenSuccessful() {
		this.server.expect(requestTo("https://repo.spring.io/api/build/promote/example-build/example-build-1"))
				.andExpect(method(HttpMethod.POST))
				.andExpect(content().json(
						"{\"status\": \"staged\", \"sourceRepo\": \"libs-staging-local\", \"targetRepo\": \"libs-milestone-local\"}"))
				.andExpect(header("Authorization", "Basic " + Base64Utils.encodeToString(String
						.format("%s:%s", this.properties.getUsername(), this.properties.getPassword()).getBytes())))
				.andExpect(header("Content-Type", MediaType.APPLICATION_JSON.toString())).andRespond(withSuccess());
		this.service.promote("libs-milestone-local", getReleaseInfo());
		this.server.verify();
	}

	@Test
	void promoteWhenArtifactsAlreadyPromoted() {
		this.server.expect(requestTo("https://repo.spring.io/api/build/promote/example-build/example-build-1"))
				.andRespond(withStatus(HttpStatus.CONFLICT));
		this.server.expect(requestTo("https://repo.spring.io/api/build/example-build/example-build-1"))
				.andRespond(withJsonFrom("build-info-response.json"));
		this.service.promote("libs-release-local", getReleaseInfo());
		this.server.verify();
	}

	@Test
	void promoteWhenCheckForArtifactsAlreadyPromotedFails() {
		this.server.expect(requestTo("https://repo.spring.io/api/build/promote/example-build/example-build-1"))
				.andRespond(withStatus(HttpStatus.CONFLICT));
		this.server.expect(requestTo("https://repo.spring.io/api/build/example-build/example-build-1"))
				.andRespond(withStatus(HttpStatus.FORBIDDEN));
		assertThatExceptionOfType(HttpClientErrorException.class)
				.isThrownBy(() -> this.service.promote("libs-release-local", getReleaseInfo()));
		this.server.verify();
	}

	@Test
	void promoteWhenCheckForArtifactsAlreadyPromotedReturnsNoStatus() {
		this.server.expect(requestTo("https://repo.spring.io/api/build/promote/example-build/example-build-1"))
				.andRespond(withStatus(HttpStatus.CONFLICT));
		this.server.expect(requestTo("https://repo.spring.io/api/build/example-build/example-build-1"))
				.andRespond(withJsonFrom("no-status-build-info-response.json"));
		assertThatExceptionOfType(HttpClientErrorException.class)
				.isThrownBy(() -> this.service.promote("libs-milestone-local", getReleaseInfo()));
		this.server.verify();
	}

	@Test
	void promoteWhenPromotionFails() {
		this.server.expect(requestTo("https://repo.spring.io/api/build/promote/example-build/example-build-1"))
				.andRespond(withStatus(HttpStatus.CONFLICT));
		this.server.expect(requestTo("https://repo.spring.io/api/build/example-build/example-build-1"))
				.andRespond(withJsonFrom("staged-build-info-response.json"));
		assertThatExceptionOfType(HttpClientErrorException.class)
				.isThrownBy(() -> this.service.promote("libs-release-local", getReleaseInfo()));
		this.server.verify();
	}

	private ReleaseInfo getReleaseInfo() {
		ReleaseInfo releaseInfo = new ReleaseInfo();
		releaseInfo.setBuildName("example-build");
		releaseInfo.setBuildNumber("example-build-1");
		return releaseInfo;
	}

	private DefaultResponseCreator withJsonFrom(String path) {
		return withSuccess(getClassPathResource(path), MediaType.APPLICATION_JSON);
	}

	private ClassPathResource getClassPathResource(String path) {
		return new ClassPathResource(path, getClass());
	}

}


text:
#ifndef _ASM_NIOS2_BYTEORDER_H
#define _ASM_NIOS2_BYTEORDER_H

#include <linux/byteorder/little_endian.h>

#endif


Marvin Architects Challenge Best of Show winners, Patrick Ahearn and Dale Hubbard, talk about working with Marvin and their winning projects. The Architects Challenge is an annual juried competition celebrating excellence and innovation in architecture and design. Submissions are accepted every spring.
Lou Manfredini discusses easy ways to make your home more energy efficient. Tips include programmable thermostats, weather stripping around windows and doors, proper insulation, and installing energy-efficient windows and doors. Learn more about Marvin's energy-efficient construction.
The Ultimate Sliding French Door delivers the elegance of a French door in a space-saving sliding version. It features the traditional lines of a French door, including extra-wide stiles and tall bottom rails. An ergonomically designed handle is easily cradled in your palm and a multi-point lock delivers added security. Now available with the beautiful traditional shadow-lines of a raised panel or the crisp, clean look of a flat panel. Can meet a Design Pressure Rating of 40.
Marvin Windows and Doors' heritage extends back to 1904 when the current company president's grandfather George Marvin came to Warroad, Minn. It continues today with third and fourth generation family members working in all levels of the company.
Lou Manfredini talks about what you should look for when shopping for windows for your home in his Windows 101 course. He covers the differences between window styles and features, what you should look for when choosing windows for your home, what to look for in window performance, and how to maximize energy efficiency. Learn more about what makes Marvin windows different.


text:
Michigan Democrats Push For Penalizing Poor Gun Storage
By Jake Neher • Dec 31, 2015
Stored Gun With Safety Lock
Credit Wikipedia Media Commons / wikipedia.org
Gun owners would face harsh penalties for storing guns where minors can access them. That's under a new bill in the state House.
The Michigan Public Radio Network's Jake Neher reports on new legislation designed to penalize gun owners for irresponsible storage.
20 House Democrats have signed on to House Bill 5195. Gun owners could face felony charges and get up to five years behind bars and a fine of up to $5,000 if a minor gets hold of a gun and injures or kills someone – including his or herself. "There are stiff penalties in this bill. There should be stiff penalties because this is the worst kind of tragedy, and it's something that we can prevent," said state Representative Jim Townsend (D-Royal Oak), the bill's sponsor. "We should be doing the most we can to make sure that these weapons are not falling into the hands of children or other people who can harm themselves or others."
The bill also spells out lesser penalties for gun owners if a minor gains access to a firearm and exhibits it in public or in the presence of another person "in a careless, reckless, or threatening manner." And it requires gun sellers to provide written statements to buyers and post notices in stores about penalties for failing to safely store guns.
27 states have similar laws on the books. It's unlikely the House's Republican majority will support the bill.
Like 89.1 WEMU on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
— Jake Neher is the State Capitol Reporter for the Michigan Public Radio network. Contact WEMU News at 734.487.3363 or email us at studio@wemu.org
Michigan House of Representatives
Michigan Democrats
Public Hearing On Discharging Weapons In Ann Arbor
By Jorge Avellan • Oct 21, 2015
LocalWiki
The Ann Arbor city council wants your opinion on whether or not they should approve a moratorium that would temporary allow weapons to be fired in the city. They will do this through a public hearing.
Michigan House Adopts Bills To Relax Air Guns Rules
By Rick Pluta • Feb 27, 2015
The state House has adopted legislation that would exempt air-, spring-, and gas-powered guns from Michigan firearms laws.
The legislation is backed by the NRA. Supporters says Michigan's rules are stricter and out of step with most other states and the federal government.
Pro-Gun Groups Blast Michigan Senate For Passing 'No-Carry Zone' Exemption
By Jake Neher • Feb 19, 2015
Retired federal law enforcement officials would be able to carry concealed weapons in "no carry zones" under a bill approved by the state Senate. The bill got overwhelming bipartisan support.
"No carry zones" include places such as schools, day care centers, taverns, hospitals, and sports arenas where concealed weapons are prohibited.
Supporters say former federal agents face extraordinary danger.


Saudi Arabia said Thursday it banned five vehicles loaded with camels from entering Mecca in a bid to protect pilgrims from contagious diseases.
Omar Al Faqih, director of the branch of the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture in Mecca, said his office was implementing the decision of the Health Ministry, the official Saudi Press Agency reported.
The Health Ministry also bans slaughtering camels in Mecca as a precautionary measure to protect the health of pilgrims visiting the holy Islamic city from all over the world.
Camels have been proven to be the source of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) Coronavirus that has killed hundreds of people in Saudi Arabia alone since the first diagnosed case in 2012.
The kingdom has witnessed a major decline in new MERS cases or deaths from the virus because of drastic measures taken by Saudi authorities in association with international health organisations.
In 2017, more than 2.3 million pilgrims performed Hajj in Mecca.
The statistics released on Thursday by the General Directorate of Passports showed that the number of foreign pilgrims visiting Mecca this year has reached 603,764 so far.


text:
The Mueller poll Trump is excited about deserves a closer look
Does half the country really believe the Mueller investigation is a "witch hunt"? Maybe not.
UNITED STATES - JUNE 19: FBI Director Robert Mueller testifies before a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in Dirksen Building on oversight of the FBI. ...
March 19, 2019, 4:49 PM UTC / Updated March 19, 2019, 4:51 PM UTC
By Steve Benen
Throughout the investigation into the Russia scandal, the polling has been fairly steady: the public has been generally skeptical of Donald Trump's claims, while maintaining confidence in Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation.
Yesterday, however, poll watchers received a bit of a surprise.
Amid signs that special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian election interference may be near its conclusion, a new USA TODAY/Suffolk University Poll finds that trust in Mueller has eroded and half of Americans agree with President Donald Trump's contention that he has been the victim of a "witch hunt."
The president, naturally, was thrilled with the results, which he eagerly touted on Twitter.
That may not have been a good idea. The same results, for example, found that 52% said "they have little or no trust in the president's denials that his 2016 campaign colluded with Moscow in the election that put him in the Oval Office." It would suggest that Trump's frequent rebukes of Mueller and hits team haven't improved the president's own credibility with the public.
But what explains the results that show roughly half the country endorsing the "witch hunt" line? Especially in the wake of another equally reliable recent poll that found only a third of the country agreed with Trump's "witch hunt" claim?
This is a good pollster that utilizes a sound methodology, though in this case, the wording of the specific question raised some red flags.
"President Trump has called the Special Counsel's investigation a 'witch hunt,'" the question read, "and said he's been subjected to more investigations than previous presidents because of politics. Do you agree?"
As a rule, yes-or-no survey questions should focus on a single issue -- and this question went much further. When respondents answered in the affirmative, were they endorsing (a) Trump's "witch hunt" assertions, (b) the idea that he's been subjected to more investigations than his predecessors, or (c) the idea that the scrutiny is politically motivated? Was a "yes" answer an endorsement of one of those three points? More?
The ambiguity is a problem.
To be sure, it's possible that much of the public has soured on the investigation. The president and his cohorts have repeated the "witch hunt" line nearly as many times as they've said "no collusion," and it's not unrealistic to think the constant repetition has influenced Americans' attitudes.
That said, if the USA Today/Suffolk poll is the only real evidence of the public endorsing the White House's rhetoric, I'd recommend some caution.