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Visions: National Spatial Reference System
The Future National Spatial Reference System
The National Spatial Reference System (NSRS) is a consistent, national coordinate system that specifies latitude, longitude, height, scale, gravity, and shoreline throughout the nation. NOAA's National Geodetic Survey defines and manages this coordinate system, which provides the foundation for mapping, charting, and a multitude of scientific and engineering applications.
Horizontal and Vertical Datums
The Future NSRS
With global positioning system (GPS) technology, a survey that once took days or weeks can now be completed in a few hours, with 10 to 100 times more accuracy. GPS satellites beam signals in real time to GPS receivers, like the one shown here, revealing their coordinates—where they are in space at any given time. Click image for larger view.
For nearly 200 years, NOAA's National Geodetic Survey (NGS) has defined and managed the National Spatial Reference System (NSRS)—a consistent coordinate system that defines latitude, longitude, height, scale, gravity, orientation, and shoreline throughout the United States. A consistent and accurate NSRS is critical for transportation, navigation, and communication systems; land record systems; mapping and charting efforts; and defense operations.
The NSRS is the set of reference points used by surveyors, geodesists, and others interested in precise positioning on the Earth's surface. Today, the NSRS consists of:
a network of precisely located, permanently marked, in-the-ground geodetic reference points;
a national network of global positioning system-enabled Continuously Operating Reference Stations (CORS), which supports three-dimensional positioning activities;
a consistent, accurate, and up-to-date national shoreline based on long-term water-level observations, which is used to develop nautical charts and aids accurate modeling of storm surge, coastal flooding, and pollution movements;
a set of accurate models that describe dynamic, geophysical processes that affect these spatial measurements, such as land subsidence (sinking) and uplift and movement of the Earth's crust; and
an accurate model of the Earth's gravity field.
For almost 200 years, NGS and its predecessor agencies have maintained these various components of our nation's NSRS. This story takes a brief look at today's NSRS and considers the exciting possibilities in defining the NSRS that will likely evolve over the next 20 years.
The Horizontal and Vertical Datums
The primary tool for establishing the NSRS has been datums, or mathematically defined systems that provide internally consistent geodetic coordinates. Two main datums make up the National Spatial Reference System—the horizontal datum and the vertical datum.
The Horizontal Datum
Brass monuments permanently affixed in concrete or surrounding bedrock indicate accurate geodetic reference positions within the National Geodetic Survey's horizontal and/or vertical datums. Click image for larger view.
A horizontal datum is a mathematically defined grid of lines of equal latitude and longitude which has been developed through the collection of specific points on the Earth whose latitude (or north-south location) and longitude (east-west location) have been accurately surveyed within the datum. In 1983, NGS "connected" all of the existing horizontal survey marks or monuments together and created the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83). This datum is the official horizontal datum to be used by federal agencies.
The Vertical Datum
The vertical datum is a mathematically defined surface to which heights refer and that has been determined using a collection of specific points on the Earth with known heights. This surface is often near, but not generally coincident with, mean sea level. Near coastal areas, mean sea level is determined with a tide gauge. In 1929, NGS compiled all of the existing vertical monuments and created the National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929 (NGVD 29).
Since then, movements of the Earth's crust changed the elevations of many monuments. In 1988, NGVD 29 was adjusted to remove inaccuracies and to correct distortions. The new datum, called the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88), is the official vertical datum to be used by federal agencies today. The official "datum origin point" for the NAVD 88 is the Father Point tide gauge on the Saint Lawrence River in Quebec, Canada.
The Future NSRS - Same Mission, Different Tools
The orbiting constellation of GPS satellites.
Over the past 20 years, GPS has provided a revolutionary new approach for defining and providing access to the NSRS. For the first time, fast and accurate three-dimensional coordinates (i.e., latitude, longitude, and elevation) relative to a global (not just nationwide) frame of reference were achievable without requiring line-of-sight connections between survey points.
In the next 20 years, the NSRS will be defined by improvements in four areas: expanded application of datum transformation tools, changes in the CORS, improvements in the geoid model, and wide-spread adoption of digital nautical charts. Incorporating these upgrades into the future NSRS will minimize the need for passive survey marks in the ground.
VDatum—A New Datum Transformation Tool
Elevation data for the coastal zone are essential for answering critical questions about erosion, wetland restoration, habitat conservation, land management, and smart growth. But coastal elevation data come from diverse sources and frequently have different vertical references. Data might be referenced to land-based benchmarks (elevation marks in the ground), tide gauges, or GPS satellites.
To combine or compare coastal elevations (heights and depths) from diverse sources, they must be referenced to the same vertical datum as a common framework. Using inconsistent datums can cause artificial discontinuities that become problematic when producing maps at the accuracy required for informed decisions about the coastal zone.
To address this problem, NOAA's National Ocean Service recently created a new datum transformation software tool called "VDatum." This tool allows elevations in one datum to be converted to another datum. VDatum can transform coastal elevations between 28 different vertical datums.
VDatum is now available for seven coastal regions and for many applications and technologies, including storm surge and coastal inundation models, tsunami research, shoreline mapping, coastline change analysis, sea level rise impacts, ecosystem resource management, navigation services, disaster mitigation planning, and many others.
In the future, many more coastal regions, including the Southern Chesapeake Bay, Maryland; Southern California; Pensacola, Florida region; and the Gulf of Maine, will be covered by the VDatum tool.
Continuously Operating Reference Stations (CORS)
Complementing the space-based GPS system is a growing nationwide network of continuously operating GPS reference stations called CORS. CORS is a network of hundreds of stationary, permanent GPS ground stations that provide position information (e.g., latitude, longitude, and height), 24 hours a day, seven days a week. This information will be updated at a variety of intervals—from hours to milliseconds.
This continuously operating GPS reference station, part of CORS, determines accurate elevations quickly, inexpensively, and in places where traditional methods are impractical, such as this marsh.
The CORS network is now a major component of NOAA's National Spatial Reference System that complements the system of survey marks. Working around the clock, CORS stations continuously receive GPS radio signals and integrate their positional data into the National Spatial Reference System.
NGS is the manager of CORS data, but the federal government is neither the owner nor the operator of the system. CORS has been a cooperative effort, but it has grown unevenly in terms of the distribution of reference stations across the nation, as well as the type of sites represented.
In order to address this problem, NOAA will work to establish a base of CORS around the U.S. that are operated by the federal government. This federally operated "foundation" network will be built and monitored carefully with well-known positions, velocities, and possibly seasonal variations. The base network will be integrated with all CORS, to build a comprehensive network to support three-dimensional positioning activities. However, because NGS will maintain and operate stations in key locations, there will not be any risk of stations being inactivated or disabled in such a way that coverage is compromised.
Also, in the future, data from the U.S. government-operated "foundation" CORS will be included in the International Earth Rotation Service Terrestrial Reference Frame (ITRF). The ITRF is the global horizontal datum. Inclusion of CORS data in the ITRF will ensure that the datum of the United States is consistent with that of other countries.
The Geoid
In 1990, NGS introduced a "geoid" model that represents the difference between GPS-determined geometric heights and gravity-related heights. NGS continues to improve the geoid model, using satellites and other airborne platforms to measure Earth's gravity field in even greater detail and incorporating these data into the geoid model.
The determination of orthometric heights (i.e., heights above the geoid) from GPS will rely essentially on the combined accuracy of GPS-derived ellipsoid heights and a gravity-based geoid model. In this way, absolute heights could be determined at any point on the Earth's surface that can access GPS signals. Control surveys requiring highly accurate local heights generally do not require absolute accuracy at the millimeter level, but rather require local height difference accuracies of that magnitude.
In the not too distant future, a control surveyor will be able to establish an absolute height mark to a few centimeters of absolute accuracy (using CORS and a gravity-based geoid model), and then distribute accurate local height differences relative to that mark through traditional geodetic leveling techniques. This will save hours, even days, of field work and thus have a huge economic impact on surveyors.
The National Shoreline
In the future, coastal mapping will be rapid and highly-automated, using integrated GPS and inertial measurement unit (IMU) technology to directly geo-referenced satellite data. Currently, humans must trace the shape of the shoreline from aerial photographs—a time-intensive effort. Using this new technology, computers, not humans, will identify the shoreline in digital images.
Left is a high-altitude aerial photography of Hudson River, New York. The same area is shown on a NOAA nautical chart on the right. Comparing these sources, created at different times, provides information on the rate of change in the coastal zone, which aids in the design of coastal zone mapping projects. Click images for larger views.
Prior to the 1980s, the NSRS was established and improved using traditional surveying techniques that have existed for centuries. With the advent of space-based technologies, including GPS and remote sensing satellites, the entire approach to defining and accessing the NSRS has and will continue to change into the future.
Continuously Operating Reference Stations coverage in the United States as of October 2006. Click image for larger view.
The use of passive monuments is no longer practical as the primary means of defining and accessing datums. There will always be some need for passive monuments (for example, to provide control in areas where GPS signals cannot be received or to provide a backup system in the event of a catastrophic GPS failure). However, in the future, NGS is not planning on expanding the already deteriorating network of passive points.
NGS has already begun to transform the definition and access of geodetic datums from the old philosophy of "passive marks in the ground" to the new philosophy of "virtual monuments in the sky." GPS satellites are tracked and their orbital positions are now known to within one to two centimeters. In contrast, the many passive survey marks placed in the ground over the past 200 years are often lost or disturbed and their motions are generally not tracked.
This leads to a strangely counterintuitive conclusion: We know more about the position of satellites 20,000 kilometers away from Earth than about the survey marks on the ground at our feet. In the future, the predominant portion of our positioning will be done relative to satellites, and not passive marks in the ground.
Contributed by Dr. Dru A. Smith, NOAA's National Ocean Service
National Spatial Reference System
Beyond ENCs: What Today's Technology Can Do for Tomorrow's Navigational Product
Bringing the Big Picture into Focus: The Future of Remote Sensing at NOAA
The Future of Global Navigation Satellite Systems: Anyone, Anywhere, Anytime, Any Accuracy by 2027
Geodesy Discovery Kit
NGS Geoid Page
VDatum Transformation Tool


"Danaë is an oil painting by Gustav Klimt, created in 1907. An example of Symbolism, the canvas measures 77 x 83 cm, and is in the Galerie Würthle in Vienna. Danaë was a popular subject in the early 1900s for many artists; she was used as the quintessential symbol of divine love, and transcendence.
"While imprisoned by her father, King of Argos, in a tower of bronze, Danaë was visited by Zeus, symbolized here as the golden rain flowing between her legs. It is apparent from the subject's face that she is aroused by the golden stream.


Namibia, or as it was known, South-West Africa before it gained independence from South Africa following a border war with Zambia and Angola, is a country in southern Africa and borders South Africa to the south and east, Angola and Zambia to the north and Botswana to the east. My father fought in those wars and he used to frighten the living daylights out of me. Back then it was still mandatory for all 18-year old men to enlist as soon as they had finished school. For me as a 5 or 6-year old back then, my biggest fear was to be sent to the front lines. After all, people died out there, and my father used to threaten me with it. 'If you don't clean your room now, I will send you to the border!' Needless to say, 2min later you could eat your morning coco pops off my bedroom floor. Since then, the country have changed dramatically and I will tell you about 2 of the best places to visit in Namibia.
The Namib Desert stretches for more than 1200mi along the Atlantic coast covering the entire Namibian coastline, which resulted in Namibia being one of the least densely populated countries on earth. It doesn't help that the country is also flanked by the Kalahari desert on the east side. I know the map looks really busy, but it's not. There's a whole lot of nothingness, decorated with a few breathtaking gems.
The capital of Namibia is Windhoek, so this is where your journey will start. As you exit the airport, after collecting your pre-booked hire car's keys, and applying sunscreen, you will be well on your way. 270 mi north lies Etosha National Park, which engulfs the Etosha Pan almost entirely and is home to 114 species of mammals, 340 bird species, 16 amphibian species and 110 reptile species, including the black rhino; an endangered specie that desperate needs help to survive. Being one of the few countries in the world, Namibia specifically address the protection of its natural resources and conservation in its constitution. There is also 1 type of fish. It must be crazy, because there is almost no water and the little water there is, is so full of salt, it will taste like my wife's cooking.
Protected by Etosha National Park, the large endorheic salt pan is 75 mi long and hardly gets any rain, resulting in the pan exhibiting a white and greenish colour. The surrounding woodlands consisting of mopane trees are populated by herds of elephant, various antelope species, leopards, giraffe, blue wildbeast and more. One visit to this park and you'll be like an elephant yourself; you will never forget the experience. Mopane trees play host to the mopane worm; an important source of protein for some of the local rural communities. I guess it's not only in China where they eat strange stuff.
Accommodation is plenty and you can choose to stay in anyone of the 5 camps spread out across the park; all fitted with lodges and four of which have facilities for camping. And don't worry, it's perfectly safe. All camps are protected by game-proof fences. But be advised; as with humans, animals have also evolved over the years. I heard about a gang of 6 lions, the Etosha Snaggletooths. They run around with a pair of wire cutters.
Okaukuejo camp has a post office, restaurants, 2 swimming pools, a tourist information centre and an observation deck by the floodlid waterhole where visitors staying over night can observe the nocturnal wildlife. Standard double room rates with two beds are around £70 or $90 per person, per night and up to £150 or $195 per person, per night if you want to kip in the premier waterhole chalet. Full rates can be found here.
Gates open around 06:00 in the morning and close around 19:00 in the evening. Entrance fees are around £5 or $6.50 for adults and children under 16 may enter free of charge. You will also need to pay £0.60 or $0.80 per day for that Hertz hire-car of yours. Paved roads and plenty of sign posts will keep you from getting lost as you view all the magnificent wild animals in their natural habitats, while enjoying the comfort of your air-conditioned car. If you din't spring for a car with air conditioning, you will melt faster than a soft serve ice cream.
Located in the south of Namibia and ONLY 665 mi from Etosha, the Fish River Canyon is the biggest canyon in Africa as well as the second most popular tourist destination in the country. 100mi long, 17 mi wide and 55 yards deep, this gigantic ravine is the perfect place to get rid of your mother-in-law. I just hope that yours don't run into mine, otherwise they might plot their revenge together.
Cutting deep into the dry and stony plateau, The Fish River is the longest interior river in the country. The hiking trail is one of the most popular trails in southern Africa and because of the extreme heat and possibility of flooding, you need to get a permit, which is only issued between the 1st of May and the 15th of September. You can obtain your permit from the Namibian Wildlife Resorts.
Around 55 mi long, the hiking trail is not fixed and you can follow any of the footpaths and go wherever you want to go and for as long as you want to go. No open fires are allowed on the trail and there are also no amenities. You will have to take all your needs with you in a backpack.
Only about 40% of the canyon is open to visitors and the rest is privately owned. Situated at the bottom end of the canyon and only 40 mi away from the Hobas view point, which you can easily drive to, is a very popular destination; a hot springs resort called Ai-Ais, where one of the eyes of the hot springs is located. Called 'Burning Water' by local dialect, this spring is a source of mineral and sulphur-rich water, which is very soothing for people suffering from rheumatism. After the long hike through the canyon, this is the place to relax where you can choose from various indoor pools with different temperatures and an outdoor pool.
Accommodation is plenty and you can choose from £30 or $39 pre person, per night for a standard double room with everything you will need to £37 or $48 per person, per night for a family chalet. Camping prices are £10 or $13 per night, per person and you can share the floor space with scorpions, spiders and other creepy crawlies. It makes for a fun-filled evening. I woke up with a slimy 16-inch millipede curled around my big toe. The echoes of my screams are still bouncing off the canyon's walls.
Should you want to overnight at the Hobas view point, you can pitch a tent under the Camelthorn trees and use the ablution blocks that are provided.
This country is landlocked, so no dipping in the ocean on this holiday I'm afraid. But don't worry, there are still plenty of things to do and tourists visit the country mostly for its wildlife. Around 70% of the country is covered by the Kalahari desert and around 10% of the entire population lives in Gaborone, the capital of Botswana. You can visit Gaborone and enjoy some local culture, a couple of holiday resorts and water parks and other touristy things, but we are just going to focus on the main wildlife reserve. There are plenty other and you can go where ever you like, but the Okavango Delta will be more than enough for you to see all the wild animals, including the big 5. In my opinion, these are some of the very best places to visit in Botswana.
The sheer beauty of this place helped it secure its position as one of the seven natural wonders of Africa. Each year 7 cubic miles of water is spread out over 5800 sq mi in the northern parts of Botswana to form this massive swamp inland delta. All water here ends up evaporating and transpiring and just flows into the Kalahari desert and slowly disappears. But the life it brings should be witnessed at least once in your life time. The whole process starts in May when the the rain-soaked highlands of Angola sends the floods more than 600mi to the delta where it peaks between June and August.
The humidity is quite high and the daytime temperatures can easily climb up to 40 degrees Celsius, so you will definitely need a hat. The majority of the 200,000 large animal residents don't live there year round and migrate when the summer rains start to fall. When winter approaches, they move back again to where they came from, so I would suggest that you visit in the summer, otherwise all you will see is water. And if water is all that you want to see, go and open the tap in your kitchen and let the sink fill up.
There are many, many species of animals, which range from the big 5 to plenty of antelopes, giraffes, baboons, hippos, cheetahs and more. 30,000 of those numbers belong to large herds of elephants and buffalo. Seeing these beasts migrate will stay with you forever. 71 species of fish and 400 species of birds call the delta home including, ostriches, cranes, eagles and owls. So be sure to bring your binoculars. To see the birds, not the fish.
People live there two; in fact five ethnic groups call the delta their home, where they rely on hunting, fishing and the collection of wild plants to survive. Some of the groups have cattle and used to live in the swamp. They retreated to the edge of the swamp after the 1930's due to the tsetse fly and the thread it possesses to their cattle. Since then the edge of the swamp had become very populated, so approach with extreme caution. These people are very shy, so don't spook them and risk a stampede.
As for the accommodation, there is plenty. From camps built on wooden islands with expedition style tents, private verandah and en-suite facilities and prices starting at around £750 or $975 per person sharing to a 160,000 hectare private concession on the western side of the delta with six luxurious tents overlooking the lagoon. These tents have en-suite bathrooms with separate showers, big mahogany double beds, private verandahs and wildlife getting so close that you can take the most breathtaking photos. These tents are not the cheapest and you can expect to pay around £1400 or $1800 per person sharing, however you do get quite a few perks by paying these prices.
Meals and drinks are included in the accommodation, just not premium imported drinks and champagne. Enjoy a candle and moonlight dinner with the love of your life el fresco style on the deck, superbly prepared by internationally-trained chefs. Also included in the accommodation price are all camp activities, laundry, wi-fi and park fees. And to complete it all, you can go for a quick workout in the gym and top it of with a relaxing swim in the pool.
If that is not enough, upon entering Abu Camp you will be introduced to the herd of elephants, where you can interact with them, walk with them and even participate in training and mud baths. Once you are done having a mud bath with the elephants, they will join you in the shower and wash your back.
Early mornings and late afternoons are the best times for game drives. Conducted in custom-designed open safari trucks, their extremely knowledgable staff will give you a tour of a life time. Your enjoyment will not only come from what you see, but also from what you will learn, from mating calls to following animal tracks. Once a guide have found the perfect location, he will pull over for a morning tea-break and at sundown you can honour the safari tradition with a sundowner drink. If an elephant steps on you at anytime, you don't have to worry too much; you are already in heaven.
The best place to do some bird watching is from a motorboat or mokoro (a traditional dugout canoe), while floating down the river and navigated by a skilled poler. Being at one with nature while disturbing the surroundings as little as possible is a romantic experience and will give you a very different perspective of the area.
Scenic light aircraft and helicopter rides can be arranged at the park and offer a bird's-eye view of the delta and an insight of its formation. It's a wonderful way to view all the different herds from above. Safaris usually end with a nightcap around the camp fire, recalling your day's experiences; a perfect way to end the perfect day.
And this is it for Namibia and Botswana folks. Safe travels.
Please feel free to share this page wherever you like by hovering over the blue square with the white cross below.
I have been to Namibia 5 years ago on a work related trip. I woke up before the sun came up and got home long after it set. Looking at all these amazing landscaped I am truly regretting not spending more time there. I do remember being captivated by the wildlife on my drive up to my location though.
I will definitely return in my private capacity to sample much of what this country has to offer.
Africa truly is a beautiful continent and most countries have something to offer. I was lucky enough to see Namibia once and experienced most of what I wrote about.
This sounds like an exciting place to visit. I am a little frightened of their wildlife there though. I noticed in the photo on the boat there were fishing rods. What kind of fishing can I expect there?
Haha, Ronnie, you have absolutely no reason to be scared. You will be protected at all times. I believe that catfish will be the most common, but also tigerfish and sickle barb.


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Finally, Your Real MPG
Fuel economy ratings haven't always lined up with actual drivers' results. Now, new estimates for 2008 will reflect real-world miles per gallon.
By Mark Solheim, Editor
The car industry has kept a dirty little secret for years: The widely publicized Environmental Protection Agency fuel-economy ratings overstate the miles per gallon you're likely to get.
Those of us who calculate our mileage at every fill-up knew the truth. The general public began to notice when the redesigned Toyota Prius hit showrooms several years ago. Although the EPA said the Prius got an astronomical 60 mpg in the city and 51 mpg on the highway, Prius drivers -- and the media -- registered miles per gallon in the 40s.
Find Out Your Car's Real-World MPG
Saving the World With French Fries
No-Gas and Low-Gas Cars
Toyota and other carmakers acknowledge that the EPA numbers often overstate fuel economy, but the testing process and window-sticker ratings are controlled by reams of regulations. Now, new tests for 2008-model vehicles will more closely reflect real-world fuel efficiency. Look for the revised numbers on the window stickers of 2008 models. For now, check out our new tool that gives you estimates of what fuel economy will be for about a thousand 2007 models under the new tests.
Driving like Grandma
Mileage tests were developed when we more or less channeled our grandmothers' driving. Cars are run in a lab on a treadmill. The air conditioner is turned off, test speeds are conservative, and there are no fast starts. In 1985, after an EPA study found that drivers were achieving lower fuel economy than predicted by the tests, the agency concocted a formula on paper to lower the official figures. But the formula didn't bring the numbers down far enough, and in 2002, the environmental group Bluewater Network (a division of Friends of the Earth) petitioned the EPA to update its procedures.
The new standards will get closer to reality by factoring in higher speeds, stop-and-go driving, more-aggressive acceleration, use of air conditioning and driving in colder temperatures. Mileage will still vary, but the tests will reduce estimated city mpg by 12%, on average, and highway mpg by 8%, according to the EPA. Hybrids' fuel economy is likely to get a haircut of up to 30% for city driving and 20% for highway.
Fuel-economy confusion
Carmakers generally approve of the new tests because they have heard enough grumbling from buyers. "It isn't good for anybody" when customers don't get the fuel economy shown on the window sticker, says Edward Cohen, of Honda North America. But given the lower mpg estimates, carmakers have a tricky marketing problem to reassure buyers that the 2008 models aren't less efficient. You can expect to see advertising that addresses the differences.
One of the first carmakers to face that challenge is Mitsubishi, which is introducing its redesigned Lancer sedan in March. The '06 Lancer (Mitsubishi is skipping the 2007 model) gets EPA-rated fuel economy of 27 mpg city and 35 mpg highway. The numbers for the 2008 model will fall to 22 mpg city and 29 mpg highway. On lists of top fuel misers, the new Lancer will be a no-show, at least until the other 2008s debut. One fix, at least for the Lancer, will be listing mpg under both the new and the old testing procedures, says Moe Durand, product public-relations manager for Mitsubishi.
The window sticker for all cars is undergoing a slight redesign, to allow annual estimated fuel costs to be more prominently displayed. For more information about the new fuel-economy labels, see www.mileagewillvary.com.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Q: body background image stretch height in iphone5 I am facing a serious problem in Iphone5 compatibility. I don't know what's the problem in Iphone5 cause when I check any other mobile device the body background image not stretched but when I check in Iphone5 the problem occurred.
Here is the website link.
http://divinotech.com/verp_new/

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Since I have nothing better to do (haha), I've decided to put together a nonfiction book proposal for a regional publisher. I've had the idea squirreled away in a file on my desktop for about two years. Today, I came across what seems like an ideal publisher. At one point I thought the topic (a ghost town close to me) would be a great setting for a novel. While it still might be at one point, this nonfiction idea is gaining traction in my mind. Who knows, it might go somewhere.
This entry was posted in Uncategorized and tagged ghost town. Bookmark the permalink.


Tutoring high school students in Maths.
Why/how did you get your start in the industry?
I always had an interest in risk and risk management, so it seemed a natural progression to pursue a career in the insurance industry.
Learning new things, and getting better at what I do.
Being outdoors, watching sports (especially if it's live), reading a good book and eating good food.


text:
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var browserify = require('browserify');
var reactify = require('reactify');
var source = require('vinyl-source-stream');

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    gulp.watch('public/javascripts/src/**/*.jsx', ['js']);
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gulp.task('default', ['js', 'styles', 'watch']);

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Blue Sky Organics is a certified organic olive farm with its own factory and olive press. This is the first organic olive farm in South Africa.
Blue Sky Organics is the home of the first certified organic olive and chilli products in South Africa- certified since 2001. Woman farmer of the year Liz Eglington is passionate about restoring our soils and eco-systems to health and balance so that our food can again provide us with vibrant health. She campaigns tirelessly against the indiscriminate and unethical use of poisons and pesticides that have destroyed our lands and reduced our food to dangerous commodities. To support these activities visit the farm, invite her to give talks and buy the delicious products.


Malaysia-based healthtech startup Naluri Hidup today announced an approximately MYR1 million (US$250,000) in seed funding round from Singapore-based healthcare analytics company BioMark and 500 Startups' Southeast Asia-focussed fund 500 Durians.
The new funding will be used to complete product development as well as commercial and clinical trials with the startup's industry partners.
"Our goal is for clinical trials to be completed this year, to enable the follow-up funding based on the results of the trials. Our platform will start as primarily a B2B platform for our partners (insurance companies, corporate employers, and hospitals) and we are expecting to launch our first trial with the platform by the first quarter of this year," Naluri co-founder Azran Osman-Rani told e27 in an email.
Co-founded in mid-2017 by Osman-Rani, Dr. Jeremy Ting and Dr. Hariyati Abdul Majid, Naluri is a platform that connect users with dedicated health psychologists.
They provide personalised coaching and use evidence-based Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Motivational Interviewing techniques to strengthen users' mental resilience and resolve to achieve and sustain better health outcomes such as weight loss, better stress management, or reduction in blood pressure or blood sugar levels.
As a B2B platform, it works with insurers, employers, and hospitals to offer a health psychology-based preventive health programme for at-risk policyholders and employees, and a rehabilitative programme for chronic illness patients.
In addition to connecting users with health psychologists, users are also able to access chat feature to connect them with certified dietitian, medical advisor, executive coach, fitness coach, and a peer support group. The platform also includes photo food journal, thought journal, weekly planner, and a weight monitoring feature.
Osman-Rani explained that the founding of the company was inspired by the loss of a family member to a preventable chronic disease.
"Existing solutions like corporate wellness programmes, wearables, diet programmes, and gym memberships have low retention rates. Many drop out because of mental resilience factors like self-esteem and confidence, stress and mental fatigue, and a lack of lifestyle problem-solving support," he said.
"There are models in developed markets that are achieving success with comprehensive online support for chronic disease users, but we see an opportunity to localise it for emerging markets with language, lifestyle culture, spiritual support to have better engagement for the mass market," he added.
As for the target market for the product, the startup sees an opportunity across Southeast Asia and other emerging market.


If your VR legs are steady and you prefer the immersion of natural locomotion, check out these great games that don't rely on teleportation.
Ready to watch a 3D Blu-Ray DVD in PlayStation VR? Follow these steps to ensure your experience is the best it can be!
Did you notice how great Cinematic Mode now looks on PlayStation VR?
PlayStation patch 4.50 is here, and PlayStation VR received some welcome updates when it comes to watching movies in your head-mounted display.
Interpupillary distance in PSVR is handled with software, but that doesn't mean you can't make some manual tweaks to get it perfect.
It may seem like little more than a well-placed teaser for the upcoming Psychonauts 2, but stepping into this world through PlayStation VR is a good way to feel closer than ever to some of the best characters every created.
You can technically use PlayStation VR without a PS4, but do you want to?
Just because PSVR has PlayStation in its name doesn't necessarily mean you need a PS4 to use it. To indulge your curiosity, we explain how the PSVR works and how to use it without a PlayStation 4.
Incredible VR experiences are all about immersion, and being able to feel those experiences in your body makes a huge difference.
Enabling sidetone volume in your PSVR is great!
Being able to hear your own voice while wearing headphones isn't usually something you want, but when playing in VR this adds a little more immersion to your experience.
Some VR games offer an alternative method of control to give you a little more freedom in the game, but there's a price to pay if motion sickness is a problem for you.


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text:
/**
\file	CsFiringRateStimulus.cpp

\brief	Implements the current stimulus class.
**/

#include "StdAfx.h"
#include "CsSynapseGroup.h"
#include "CsNeuronGroup.h"
#include "CsNeuralModule.h"
#include "CsSpikeGeneratorGroup.h"
#include "CsFiringRateStimulus.h"

namespace AnimatCarlSim
{

	/**
\brief	Default constructor.

\author	dcofer
\date	3/16/2011
**/
CsFiringRateStimulus::CsFiringRateStimulus()
{
	m_lpNode = NULL;
	m_lpEval = NULL;
	m_lpSpikeGen = NULL;
	m_fltActiveRate = 0;
	m_fltPrevAppliedRate = 0;
	m_fltConstantRate = 0;
	m_bStimWholePopulation = true;
}

/**
\brief	Destructor.

\author	dcofer
\date	3/16/2011
**/
CsFiringRateStimulus::~CsFiringRateStimulus()
{

try
{
	m_lpNode = NULL;
	m_lpSpikeGen = NULL;
	if(m_lpEval)
		delete m_lpEval;

}
catch(...)
{Std_TraceMsg(0, "Caught Error in desctructor of CsFiringRateStimulus\r\n", "", -1, false, true);}
}

/**
\brief	Gets the GUID ID of the node that is being stimulated.

\author	dcofer
\date	3/17/2011

\return	.
**/
std::string CsFiringRateStimulus::TargetNodeID() {return m_strTargetNodeID;}

/**
\brief	Sets the GUID ID of the node that will be stimulated.

\author	dcofer
\date	3/17/2011

\param	strID	Identifier for the string.
**/
void CsFiringRateStimulus::TargetNodeID(std::string strID)
{
	if(Std_IsBlank(strID))
		THROW_PARAM_ERROR(Al_Err_lInvalidCurrentType, Al_Err_strInvalidCurrentType, "ID", strID);
	m_strTargetNodeID = strID;
}

/**
\brief	Gets the post-fix current equation string. If this is null then an equation is not used.
If one is specified then that equation is used during the cycle on times.

\author	dcofer
\date	3/17/2011

\return	.
**/
std::string CsFiringRateStimulus::Equation() {return m_strEquation;}

/**
\brief	Sets the postfix current equation to use. If this is blank then the
current constants (current on/off) are used. If it is not blank then this equation is
used during the cycle on periods.

\author	dcofer
\date	3/17/2011

\param	strEquation	The post-fix string equation.
**/
void CsFiringRateStimulus::Equation(std::string strEquation)
{
	m_strEquation = strEquation;

	if(!Std_IsBlank(strEquation))
	{

		//Initialize the postfix evaluator.
		if(m_lpEval)
			{delete m_lpEval; m_lpEval = NULL;}

		m_lpEval = new CStdPostFixEval;

		m_lpEval->AddVariable("t");
		m_lpEval->Equation(strEquation);
		m_lpEval->SetVariable("t", 0);

		if(m_bIsActivated)
			m_fltActiveRate = m_lpEval->Solve();
	}
	else
	{
		//Remove the current eval.
		if(m_lpEval)
			{delete m_lpEval; m_lpEval = NULL;}

		if(m_bIsActivated)
			m_fltActiveRate = m_fltConstantRate;
	}
}

float CsFiringRateStimulus::ConstantRate() {return m_fltConstantRate;}

void CsFiringRateStimulus::ConstantRate(float fltVal)
{
	Std_IsAboveMin((float) 0, fltVal, true, "ConstantRate", true);
	m_fltConstantRate = fltVal;
}

float CsFiringRateStimulus::ActiveRate() {return m_fltActiveRate;}

float CsFiringRateStimulus::PrevAppliedRate() {return m_fltPrevAppliedRate;}

void CsFiringRateStimulus::Coverage(std::string strType)
{
	std::string strVal = Std_CheckString(strType);
	if(strVal == "INDIVIDUALS")
		m_bStimWholePopulation = false;
	else if(strVal == "WHOLEPOPULATION")
		m_bStimWholePopulation = true;
	else
		THROW_PARAM_ERROR(Cs_Err_lInvalidFiringRateCoverage, Cs_Err_strInvalidFiringRateCoverage, "Coverage", strType);
}

bool CsFiringRateStimulus::StimWholePopulation() {return m_bStimWholePopulation;}

void CsFiringRateStimulus::StimWholePopulation(bool bVal) {m_bStimWholePopulation = bVal;}

void CsFiringRateStimulus::CellsToStim(std::string strXml)
{
	CStdXml oXml;
	oXml.Deserialize(strXml);
	oXml.FindElement("Root");
	oXml.FindChildElement("Cells");

	LoadCellsToStim(oXml);
}

void CsFiringRateStimulus::Initialize()
{
	ExternalStimulus::Initialize();

	//Lets try and get the node we will dealing with.
	m_lpNode = dynamic_cast<Node *>(m_lpSim->FindByID(m_strTargetNodeID));
	if(!m_lpNode)
		THROW_PARAM_ERROR(Al_Err_lNodeNotFound, Al_Err_strNodeNotFound, "ID: ", m_strTargetNodeID);

	m_lpSpikeGen = dynamic_cast<CsSpikeGeneratorGroup *>(m_lpNode);
	if(!m_lpSpikeGen)
		THROW_PARAM_ERROR(Cs_Err_lNotSpikeGeneratorType, Cs_Err_strNotSpikeGeneratorType, "ID: ", m_strTargetNodeID);

	if(m_lpSpikeGen && m_lpSpikeGen->GetCsModule())
		this->StepInterval(m_lpSpikeGen->GetCsModule()->SimulationStepInterval());
}

/**
\brief	Calculates the on cycle current at this time step.

\author	dcofer
\date	3/17/2011

\return	The current on.
**/
float CsFiringRateStimulus::CalculateFiringRate()
{
	if(m_lpEval)
	{
		m_lpEval->SetVariable("t", (m_lpSim->Time()-m_fltStartTime) );
		m_fltActiveRate = m_lpEval->Solve();
	}
	else
		m_fltActiveRate = m_fltConstantRate;

	return m_fltActiveRate;
}

bool CsFiringRateStimulus::RateChanged()
{
	if(fabs(m_fltActiveRate-m_fltPrevAppliedRate) > 0.001)
		return true;
	else
		return false;
}

void CsFiringRateStimulus::ApplyRateChange()
{
	if(m_bStimWholePopulation)
	{
		for(int iIdx=0; iIdx<m_lpSpikeGen->NeuronCount(); iIdx++)
		{
			//First remove the previous active rate from this group
			m_lpSpikeGen->SpikeRates()->rates[iIdx] -= m_fltPrevAppliedRate;
			//Then add the next active rate to this group
			m_lpSpikeGen->SpikeRates()->rates[iIdx] += m_fltActiveRate;
		}
	}
	else
	{
		for( CStdMap<int,int>::iterator ii=m_aryCellsToStim.begin(); ii!=m_aryCellsToStim.end(); ++ii)
		{
			int iIdx = (*ii).first;
			if(iIdx >= 0 && iIdx < m_lpSpikeGen->NeuronCount())
			{
				//First remove the previous active rate from this group
				m_lpSpikeGen->SpikeRates()->rates[iIdx] -= m_fltPrevAppliedRate;
				//Then add the next active rate to this group
				m_lpSpikeGen->SpikeRates()->rates[iIdx] += m_fltActiveRate;
			}
		}
	}

	m_fltPrevAppliedRate = m_fltActiveRate;

	m_lpSpikeGen->SetSpikeRatesUpdated();
}

void CsFiringRateStimulus::StepSimulation()
{
	//If we are using a constant rate then there is no reason to recalculate and apply
	//Only do this if we are using an equation.
	if(m_lpEval && m_lpSpikeGen && m_lpSpikeGen->SpikeRates())
	{
		//First calculate the new rate.
		CalculateFiringRate();

		if(RateChanged())
			ApplyRateChange();
	}
}

void CsFiringRateStimulus::Activate()
{
	ExternalStimulus::Activate();

	//Only apply the changes here if we are using a constant rate.
	//If we are using a constant rate then we only apply it once in activate.
	//If using an equation it will get applied in StepSimulation.
	if(!m_lpEval)
	{
		CalculateFiringRate();
		ApplyRateChange();
	}
}

void CsFiringRateStimulus::Deactivate()
{
	ExternalStimulus::Deactivate();

	//Reset the data
	m_fltActiveRate = 0;

	//Apply this change
	ApplyRateChange();

	//Reset our variables.
	m_fltActiveRate = 0;
	m_fltPrevAppliedRate = 0;
}

void CsFiringRateStimulus::ResetSimulation()
{
	ExternalStimulus::ResetSimulation();
	m_fltActiveRate = 0;
	m_fltPrevAppliedRate = 0;
}

float *CsFiringRateStimulus::GetDataPointer(const std::string &strDataType)
{
	float *lpData=NULL;
	std::string strType = Std_CheckString(strDataType);

	if(strType == "ACTIVERATE")
		lpData = &m_fltActiveRate;
	else
		THROW_TEXT_ERROR(Al_Err_lInvalidDataType, Al_Err_strInvalidDataType, "StimulusName: " + STR(m_strName) + "  DataType: " + strDataType);

	return lpData;
}

bool CsFiringRateStimulus::SetData(const std::string &strDataType, const std::string &strValue, bool bThrowError)
{
	std::string strType = Std_CheckString(strDataType);

	if(ExternalStimulus::SetData(strDataType, strValue, false))
		return true;

	if(strType == "CONSTANTRATE")
	{
		ConstantRate((float) atof(strValue.c_str()));
		return true;
	}

	if(strType == "COVERAGE")
	{
		Coverage(strValue);
		return true;
	}

	if(strType == "EQUATION")
	{
		Equation(strValue);
		return true;
	}

	if(strType == "CELLSTOSTIM")
	{
		CellsToStim(strValue);
		return true;
	}

	//If it was not one of those above then we have a problem.
	if(bThrowError)
		THROW_PARAM_ERROR(Al_Err_lInvalidDataType, Al_Err_strInvalidDataType, "Data Type", strDataType);

	return false;
}

void CsFiringRateStimulus::QueryProperties(CStdPtrArray<TypeProperty> &aryProperties)
{
	ExternalStimulus::QueryProperties(aryProperties);

	aryProperties.Add(new TypeProperty("ActiveRate", AnimatPropertyType::Float, AnimatPropertyDirection::Get));

	aryProperties.Add(new TypeProperty("ConstantRate", AnimatPropertyType::Float, AnimatPropertyDirection::Set));
	aryProperties.Add(new TypeProperty("Equation", AnimatPropertyType::Float, AnimatPropertyDirection::Set));
	aryProperties.Add(new TypeProperty("Coverage", AnimatPropertyType::String, AnimatPropertyDirection::Set));
	aryProperties.Add(new TypeProperty("CellsToStim", AnimatPropertyType::Xml, AnimatPropertyDirection::Set));
}

void CsFiringRateStimulus::LoadCellsToStim(CStdXml &oXml)
{
	oXml.IntoElem();
	m_aryCellsToStim.RemoveAll();
	int iCount = oXml.NumberOfChildren();
	for(int iIdx=0; iIdx<iCount; iIdx++)
	{
		oXml.FindChildByIndex(iIdx);
		int iNeuronIdx = oXml.GetChildInt();

		if(iNeuronIdx < 0)
			THROW_PARAM_ERROR(Cs_Err_lInvalidNeuralIndex, Cs_Err_strInvalidNeuralIndex, "Neuron Index", iNeuronIdx);

		if(!m_aryCellsToStim.count(iNeuronIdx))
			m_aryCellsToStim.Add(iNeuronIdx, 1);
	}
	oXml.OutOfElem();
}

void CsFiringRateStimulus::Load(CStdXml &oXml)
{
	ExternalStimulus::Load(oXml);

	oXml.IntoElem();  //Into Simulus Element

	TargetNodeID(oXml.GetChildString("TargetNodeID"));

	ConstantRate(oXml.GetChildFloat("ConstantRate", m_fltConstantRate));
	Equation(oXml.GetChildString("Equation", ""));
	Coverage(oXml.GetChildString("Coverage", "WholePopulation"));

	if(oXml.FindChildElement("Cells", false))
		LoadCellsToStim(oXml);

	oXml.OutOfElem(); //OutOf Simulus Element
}

}				//AnimatCarlSim


text:
Bonnier AB (), also the Bonnier Group, is a privately held Swedish media group of 175 companies operating in 15 countries. It is controlled by the Bonnier family.

Background
The company was founded in 1804 by Gerhard Bonnier in Copenhagen, Denmark, when Bonnier published his first book, Underfulde og sandfærdige kriminalhistorier. Gerhard's sons later moved to Sweden. The Bonnier book publishing companies in Sweden that are part of book publishing house Bonnierförlagen now include Albert Bonniers förlag, Wahlström & Widstrand, Forum, and Bonnier Carlsen, as well as other book publishers and imprints in Sweden. Bonnier Tidskrifter publishes magazines, including Veckans Affärer, Damernas Värld, Amelia, Sköna Hem, Teknikens Värld, Resume, nearly a dozen crossword magazines, and the tablet magazine C Mode. Other subsidiaries include the film production companies SF Studios and Sonet Film; daily newspapers Dagens Nyheter, Expressen, Sydsvenskan and Helsingborgs Dagblad; business daily Dagens Industri; and medical journal Dagens Medicin.

International operations
In Denmark, operations include magazine publisher Bonnier Publications, which has subsidiaries in Norway, Finland and Sweden; business daily Dagbladet Børsen; film distributors SF Film and film producers SF Film Production.

Finnish operations include book publishers Tammi and WSOY; plus magazines from Bonnier Publications and film productions by FS Film.

In Germany, Bonnier Media Deutschland includes Ullstein Buchverlage, Piper Verlag, Thienemann Verlag and Carlsen Verlag, among others.

In Malta, Bonnier owned Evoke Gaming Ltd. This was divested in late 2017.

In January 2007, the Bonnier Magazine Group acquired 18 magazines from the American media company Time Inc. (at the time owned by Time Warner) and merged the operations with other publishing companies to create the U.S. based Bonnier Corporation. As a result, Bonnier Corporation owns over 40 magazines, including Popular Science, Saveur, Field & Stream, Outdoor Life and Popular Photography, a range of action sport magazines focused on motorcycling, as well as a number of niche travel and lifestyle titles.  Book publisher Weldon Owen was also part of the company. In 2013, Bonnier signed a deal with Source Interlink where they bought motorcycle franchises Dirt Rider, Motorcyclist, Sport Rider, Motorcycle Cruiser, Hot Bike, Baggers, Super Streetbike, Street Chopper and ATV Rider, whereas they sold Sound & Vision and the TransWorld franchise.

Bonnier's publishing in the United Kingdom has two main divisions: Igloo Books and Bonnier Books UK. A number of imprints operate within each division, most notably: Blink, Autumn Publishing, Hot Key Books, John Blake Publishing, Embla, Templar Publishing and Piccadilly Press, Zaffre and Studio Press. In 2015, Bonnier UK acquired commercial fiction publisher Totally Entwined. Weldon Owen UK and US was sold to Insight Editions in 2018.

Former operations include Piccolia in France and Five Mile Press in Australia which have both been liquidated.

Bonnier Publishing USA was formed in August 2016, then composed of the publisher Weldon Owen and the children's publisher, Little Bee. The president of Little Bee, Shimul Tolia, became the CEO of this group. Bonnier Publishing USA was sold to its management in 2019.

Bonnier owns business newspapers in Estonia (Äripäev), Lithuania (Verslo žinios), Poland (Puls Biznesu) and Slovenia (Finance Business Daily), as well as medical journals in Denmark, Norway, Finland, Poland, and Slovenia.

Bonnier is also behind several digital startups, including the tablet publishing platform Mag+ and children's toy app producer, Toca Boca (sold in 2016 to Spin Master).

In 2017, the Bonnier Motorcycle Group bought the AMA EnduroCross Championship, an off-road motorcycling series. The group also promotes the Quail Motorcycle Gathering, HighPipe, Track Day Shootout, Adventure Rally Series and Hot Bike Tour. Also in 2017, Bonnier sold Nordic Cinema Group to AMC Theatres.

On 20 July 2018, Telia Company announced the proposed acquisition of the Bonnier Broadcasting Group (which owns TV4 AB, MTV Oy and C More Entertainment) from Bonnier. The acquisition was completed on 2 December 2019.

On 6 February 2020, Bonnier Books UK launched literary imprint, Manilla Press.

Ownership
Bonnier is controlled by around 75 family members, including some seventh-generation heirs. Some well-known relatives and descendants of the Bonnier family include:

Time Inc. magazines acquisition
In January 2007, the Bonnier Magazine Group agreed to acquire 18 magazines that Time Inc. was divesting. The estimated price was US$225 million in cash and the assumption of about US$42 million in unfulfilled subscription liabilities (subscriptions already paid but not yet delivered.) The magazines in the package employed 550 people and included Outdoor Life, Popular Science, Field & Stream, Ski, Yachting, and Transworld Snowboarding, as well as 11 other titles that were part of Time Inc.'s Time4 Media Group. Also included were Parenting and Babytalk, which were part of the Parenting Group. That price was believed to be a multiple of about 11 times cash flow for a group that had net income of around US$20 million and revenue of around $230 million.

"We think we did a good deal, and we think Time did as well," said Jonas Bonnier, head of the Bonnier Magazine Group. Bonnier already had a small footprint in the US through a 50 percent stake in Winter Park, Florida-based World Publications, which owned the titles Islands and Spa, Saveur, Water Skiing, and Caribbean Travel & Life.

References

External links

Company Overview of Bonnier AB by Bloomberg Businessweek

Mass media companies of Sweden
Publishing companies established in 1804
Bonnier family
Swedish companies established in 1804

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Opthalmology Jobs, Consultant, Associate, Assistant professor Opthalmology Jobs, Recruitment in India.
Requirement of Professor is in one of the leading medical college of Gujarat.
Salary is negotiable. Requirement of senior resident is in the department of Opthalmology , one of the medical college which is located in Bungal , Punjab.


About a couple of months ago I took down our coach lights and gave them a makeover. I have a ton of projects it feels like going on so I was finally able to get them spray painted and hung back up a few weeks ago. They are still in great working order but were looking rather worn, so a little makeover was all they needed. So I gave them a good cleaning, then used painters tape and some newspaper to cover the glass.
First I sprayed them with the Hammered Metal.
As lovely as that was, I wasn't exactly happy with the look.
So, then I gave them a coat of Oil Rubbed Bronze in Metallic Metal (2 coats to be exact).
Finally, a look that I loved. Great thing was the Oil Rubbed Bronze looks wonderful with the house paint color.
I than gave them 2 or 3 (I don't remember exactly) of cleat coat as a protective sealer. What do ya think? I think they look great and it was a whole lot cheaper than replacing them. Winter is coming (we might be getting a little snow on Saturday…Oh my!), so I'll see at the end of the winter season just how well the new finish holds up.
When working with spray paint make sure that you read, understand, and follow the manufacturers directions and warnings printed on the can. Always work in a well ventilated area and wear protective gear made specifically for spray painting projects.


He is also the father of well-known singers Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle, and Usha Mangeshkar as well as composers Hridayanath Mangeshkar and Meena Khadikar.
Deenanath Mangeshkar, popularly known as Dina, was born at Mangeshi, Goa on 29 December 1900. His father, Ganesh Bhatt Abhisheki, was a Karhade Brahmin who served as priest at the famous Mangueshi Temple in Goa. The original surname of his family was "Hardikar," but because the family had the traditional privilege of performing the Abhishekam ceremony for the Shiva lingam of the Mangueshi Temple, they came to be known by the surname "Abhisheki." However, Deenanath did not inherit either of the two surnames of his father's family. This is because his mother Yesubai (sometimes referred to as Yesubai Rane) belonged to the Devadasi community of Goa, which is now known as Gomantak Maratha Samaj. Since the family lived in Mangeshi village in Goa, and Deenanath was born there, he was given the surname "Mangeshkar," which means "of Mangesh." Incidentally, Mangesh is the name of the deity worshipped in the Mangueshi Temple.


Customs Officers At JFK Seize 5 Deadly King Cobra Snakes Being Snuck Into The U.S.
King Cobras are the largest venomous snakes on the planet, and they can grow up to a ridiculous 18-feet in length. They are not native to American soil and the only place you can really find one is inside of a zoo.
On June 29, CBP officers assigned to the IMF conducted an examination of express mail from Hong Kong. The contents of one package were described as a "plastic tray," but an x-ray showed what appeared to be snakes in a round container.
Soooo, do they kill the snakes in this situation? Are they sold to a zoo? Anyone know what happens from here? I'd be shocked if they didn't kill the cobras because of the threat they pose but it also seems like it'd be fucked up to kill them when they could easily be sent to a zoo…Anyone know?


text:
Talkin is a village in Cumbria, England, close to Talkin Tarn.

Etymology
The name is of Brittonic origin. The Brittonic dialect known as Cumbric was formerly spoken in the area. According to A. M. Armstrong, et al., the first element, tal, means "brow" or "end" in Brittonic and modern Welsh, Cornish, and Breton. The second element is unclear. It may come from the Brittonic word which appears in Welsh and Old Cornish as can ("white") and Breton as kann ("bland, brilliant"). Talkin may be a hill-name meaning "white brow".

See also

Listed buildings in Hayton, Carlisle

References

External links
 Cumbria County History Trust: Hayton (nb: provisional research only – see Talk page)

Villages in Cumbria
Hayton, Carlisle


text:
Nathan Brindle - KC9YTJ
Author's details
Name: Nathan Brindle - KC9YTJ
Date registered: 29 December 2014 21:14Z
Amateur radio needs to get rid of its whingers. — 1 November 2019 12:35Z
Field Day — 23 June 2019 01:05Z
Again with MMDVM — 9 August 2018 15:39Z
Cautionary MMDVM tale — 30 June 2018 19:41Z
Why I hate FT8 — 17 June 2018 18:56Z
Author's posts listings
1 November 2019 12:35Z
I swear, most hams would complain if they were hanged with a new length of LMR400 coax.
The eHam online site just upgraded to a newer version of the SMF forum software. Looks great in a PC browser, looks horrible on a tablet or phone. Which is probably because they're still trying to get the kinks out of the upgrade.
eHam has needed to upgrade its SMF software ever since I've been a ham, but they've put it off because they have so many customizations that had to be re-done for the newer versions. So they finally pull the trigger and a bunch of old-timers are butthurt because it looks different and doesn't work the same way as the old one. "This site looks awful, can't we go back to the old one?" "eHam is no longer my go-to radio forum." Blah blah blah.
Bunch of whingey old men. I would think ham radio people would be more open to progress. And you wonder why we're making new Techs hand over fist but we rarely hear them on the air. You should listen to yourselves on the repeaters sometime, you might get a clue.
Go back to your straight keys, boys, the rest of us will move on.
(Wow, has it been that long since I posted? Arghh.)
As we are in Florida as we seem to be every year at Field Day time, I stopped in for a couple of hours today with the Amateur Radio Association of Southwest Florida at the Red Cross in Naples. They are running a 3F all-ICOM station for Field Day. While I was there, I made 4 QSOs for them on 20 meters (unfortunately I don't recall with whom; I should have written them down for myself). Propagation was lousy, the band was noisy, and stations were stepping all over each other. I think the stations I worked were in Ohio, Louisiana, Texas, and South Carolina.
(Yes, they were all logged by the club, I just didn't keep a personal log.)
I heard the guys working the 15 meter station make a few Qs with Indiana stations but I did not get the call signs. Wait, come to think of it, one of them was W9UUU, the Wabash Valley Amateur Radio Association (WVARA).
40 meters was not doing well but they figured it would pick up after sunset.
The ARASWF stations on 15M, 20M, and 40M are running under the call sign NV4Z and will be on the air all night and tomorrow morning till the end of the "festivities".
9 August 2018 15:39Z
Apparently there is an incompatibility between "Pi-Star:3.4.16 / Dashboard: 20180806" and the 1.3.7 MMDVM firmware that prevents things from working properly (the Pi-Star just sits there scrolling "IDLE", nothing shows up in the activity display, and the Trx field under Radio Info is blank instead of at least saying "Listening". (Indeed I think my Pi-Star wasn't receiving any activity at all.) So I upgraded to the 1.4.6 firmware and it appears to be listening again, but other than my own test with the Parrot earlier this morning, nothing has shown up.
Weird. Would be nice if there was some coordination where you could actually find out about these things before Pi-Star simply auto-upgrades you into oblivion.
Hmm, OK, seems to be working now, I just heard someone on 3118.
I've been fiddling around with my original JumboSPOT, trying to get it to CW ID, and I did finally figure that out; you have to go into the Expert configurators, choose MMDVMHOST, scroll down to the section called "CW ID", and change the "Enabled" parameter to 1, save then reboot. But it did not seem to be working with this particular JumboSPOT (although it was working fine with the other one, which is intended as a mobile hotspot).
So I thought, hmm, the firmware is kinda old (it was "ZUMSpot 1.0.2") and maybe it just needed an upgrade.
After searching all over hell's half acre for the instructions to do that, I found somewhere (and I can't find the link now) a video that explained how to pull down the latest firmware and install it. Effectively, you log into the SSH terminal, set the session to RW (with "rpi-rw"), and then clone the git repository for MMDVMHost with "git clone https://github.com/juribeparada/MMDVM_HS".
At that point, you do
cd MMDVM_HS/scripts
and you can "ls" to find out what you've got in that directory:
pi-star@pi-star(rw):scripts$ ls
build_fw.sh                install_fw_hsdualhat.sh    install_fw_rpi.sh
install_buildtools.sh      install_fw_hshat-12mhz.sh  install_fw_usb.sh
install_fw_custom.sh       install_fw_hshat.sh        mmdvm_hs_hat_fw.bin
install_fw_duplex_gpio.sh  install_fw_librekit.sh     STM32F10X_Lib
install_fw_duplex.sh       install_fw_nanodv.sh       zumspot_rpi_fw.bin
install_fw_gen_gpio.sh     install_fw_nanohs.sh
pi-star@pi-star(ro):scripts$
Points to make:
You MUST ensure that the GPIO20 and GPIO21 pins can connect between the JumboSPOT and the Pi (in this case, a Pi Zero W). Otherwise you won't be able to update the firmware no matter what you do. My first JumboSPOT/Pi Zero W unit did not have this connection, so I had to take the thing apart and add a pin socket to the JumboSPOT and a pin header to the Pi Zero W in this location. The second JumboSPOT I bought already had this covered, and when I put the second Pi Zero W together I installed a full-length GPIO header, so again, covered.
You MUST ensure that you choose the right firmware installer. Clue: It's NOT "install_fw_rpi.sh". You can flash it, and it boots, but it never actually initializes the listeners (although Pi-Star it claims it does). I figured out by checking the working unit — that was running "HS_Hat:1.3.3" — that it had to be the "install_fw_hshat.sh" installer. Once I reflashed the unit with the correct firmware, it worked fine.
I've said it before and I'm going to say it again: Pi-Star needs formal documentation to explain all of this shit. I cannot understand how such a complex operating system can be released for use by thousands of hams and the only way to figure out what some of the arcane settings are, and how to get the silly thing running in the first place, aren't clearly documented in a published manual (which for all of me could be a wiki). I know that hams don't read manuals, but I'm in the software business myself, and if you don't have published manuals, nobody takes you seriously, even if they never read the damn things.
I also understand that Pi-Star is free. That's no excuse, or it's the excuse of a lazy developer who doesn't document anything except in release notes. The documentation could be crowd-sourced using a wiki, for crying out loud.
Videos take too long to watch when you read 500 WPM. Give me text any time.
Digital Modes, General Commentary
Operators who jump in on top of a QSO you've already started with SOMEONE ELSE should be shot.
That's happened twice to me today on 20M. I mean, you CQ, they come back with their grid, you shoot them a report, and BANG some other operator with a more powerful signal jumps in with a grid like they didn't even know you were talking to the other guy — which is BS or why would I be sending him a signal report?
I'm going back to JT modes and maybe some Olivia.
[Edited for language. Apologies if you read the original. I was rather put out.]
Taking the zoom out of ZUMspot
23 April 2018 19:03Z
So I see that the ZUMspot folks have hit another speed bump on their road to general availability. Apparently the two-man crew that was the design and build team for ZUMspot have split up. HRO say they are still repping them (but aren't taking any orders at this time).
(Click to embiggenate. Link to page is https://www.hamradio.com/detail.cfm?pid=H0-015994.)
I've seen this problem time and time again in industry. Just one more tweak…just one more added feature…we promise we'll release Real Soon Now.
That was an approach that worked (to some extent) back in the old days. With the Chinese ignoring IP rights, and beating legitimate technology owners to the marketplace with their own copycat versions of the legitimate product sold through eBay and other dodgy suppliers, you have to be quick on your feet to make money on a product today before someone steals your idea.
For all the mouth noises being made in recent weeks (thank you, Donald Trump, even though I suspect this will end up being a nothingburger) by the Chinese government about protection of foreigners' IP rights, it boggles the mind that anyone would entrust production of anything to the Chinese. It may be cheap and fast, but you always run the risk of someone saying, "Gee whiz, this is a great product, let's ramp up production and sell some ourselves at half the price." And the Chinese government folks, whom you would think would normally be smacking them down for doing that, just sit, twiddling their thumbs, and grinning at the West taking another one on the chin.
Maybe NXDN support could have waited for the next version…
Maybe some American company could find a way to produce this sort of thing without it costing an arm and a leg, too. Some industrial production is slowly coming back from China as American companies are discovering that the Chinese are discovering that the Chinese people want raises and more compensation for their labor, and the things they make can be made here just as cheaply (and maybe more cheaply) than in China today. Also because of the threat of tariffs, but I think tariffs work better in the abstract than in the concrete; it's clear that the mere threat of tariffs has already caused the Chinese to back down in some areas, while still blustering and tossing around tariff threats of their own about others. And that's politics, into which I'm not going to delve any deeper on this blog.
For what it's worth, Connect Systems is in the same position with their CS7000 handheld, although I don't think anybody is actually cloning it like they are the ZUMspot. I was on the waiting list for a long time and finally cancelled my pre-order and bought the Tytera MD-380, when it became clear that the 7000 was going to remain vaporware for the foreseeable future. That was at least two years ago, and the 7000 is still vaporware.
I think the ZUMspot is a great little product. It's just too bad the Chinese duplicated it, called it the JUMBOspot, and stole their market because (in my opinion) they spent too much time dawdling over that "one more feature".
A good point from 1949
2 April 2018 01:32Z
I have a book here called "Radio and Television Mathematics" by one Bernhard Fischer, written in 1949. Dr. Fischer was, at the time, the Vice President in Charge of Training, American Television Laboratories of California. His book was intended as "a handbook to serve as a guide and reference book for the practical man, as a collection of problems for instructors, and as a review for those who want to acquire a rapid practical skill in solving problems in preparation for radio license examinations given by [the US FCC]." In his preface, he hits on a point that prospective or upgrading amateurs in this day and age of incentive licensing and open question pools might want to keep in mind as they study for their tests:
The intelligent reader knows he will not profit a great deal by merely reading the solutions as presented by the author. He will try to solve the problems by himself and compare his method with the one presented in the text. Only after he has endeavored seriously to solve a problem and has encountered difficulties which he feels he cannot overcome should he resort to the given solution as a last expedient.
In other words, don't just memorize the answers from the question pool. Actually learn how to solve the problems.
The League is wrong on this one
5 March 2018 21:55Z
I'm an ARRL member, have been ever since I got my ticket back in 2013. And I generally support the League kind of like I support the NRA — I don't necessarily agree with them 100%, but they're out there doing the work I don't have time to do myself. In the case of the NRA, protecting the 2nd Amendment, and in the case of the ARRL, protecting amateur spectrum from being overrun by commercial interests. Both organizations educate their constituencies and those who would like to be part of those constituencies. Typically they do less harm than good, and to repeat myself, they keep a watchful eye on things I don't have time to keep an eye on.
But the League's new advocacy of expanded HF privileges for Technician Class hams is going a bit too far.
The League proposes to "expand HF privileges for Technician licensees to include limited phone privileges on 75, 40, and 15 meters, plus RTTY and digital mode privileges on 80, 40, 15, and 10 meters." Why?
"This action will enhance the available license operating privileges in what has become the principal entry-level license class in the Amateur Service," ARRL said in its Petition. "It will attract more newcomers to Amateur Radio, it will result in increased retention of licensees who hold Technician Class licenses, and it will provide an improved incentive for entry-level licensees to increase technical self-training and pursue higher license class achievement and development of communications skills."
Excuse me? I thought that's what incentive-based licensing was all about already. You get a Technician license, rapidly discover (if you didn't already know) that you're limited to 6M and above except for a tiny phone segment on 10M and some CW frequencies on 15M, 40M, and 80M, and you're supposed to be "incentivized" to study for and pass the General license exam so you can widen your horizons. And then, if you're really smart (or can study and retain the material long enough), you can pass the Amateur Extra exam and all of the keys to the amateur radio kingdom are yours.
The fact is, too many hams are stuck at Technician as it is. Why would the League think it a good idea to expand their privileges rather than incentivize them to upgrade? I'm living proof (even as an Extra) that you can get stuck in the digital modes for a long time without doing anything else in radio. I don't do code, I get tongue-tied on phone, and I'm not a repeater guy. Plus I don't have a lot of time to spend on the air, so I get on, make a few quick digital Q's, and then I'm off to do something else. That said, I got WAS in about a year mostly doing digital. But that's me.
If FT8 is such a big deal, and Technicians want to get in on the FT8 bandwagon, the League ought to be telling them to study up and pass the General — not giving them yet another excuse to put off (likely forever) an upgrade to a level where they have very nearly all privileges available.
Besides, what are they going to do with an HF transceiver once they get bored with FT8 and the other digital modes? I mean, that microphone is just sitting there…and if you think they'll confine themselves to 80, 40, and 15 meters, you're dreaming. I mean, the serious ones will (I would have), but soon enough, we'll see the same issues across HF that we see now on the repeaters. (As if we don't already, but happily that seems to confine itself to a few watering holes rather than being spread all across the bands.) To date, HF seems to have been less affected by that than the repeaters, for probably several reasons, such as cost of entry, antennas, etc. But open up even a small part of HF to Technicians and the repeater abusers will undoubtedly come along — they'll find a way.
"Now numbering some 378,000, Technician licensees comprise more than one-half of the US Amateur Radio population." OK — so tell them to upgrade. But hmm, that isn't the real problem, is it?
ARRL said that after 17 years' experience with the current Technician license as the gateway to Amateur Radio, it's urgent to make it more attractive to newcomers, in part to improve upon science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education "that inescapably accompanies a healthy, growing Amateur Radio Service," ARRL asserted.
ARRL said its proposal is critical to developing improved operating skills, increasing emergency communication participation, improving technical self-training, and boosting overall growth in the Amateur Service, which has remained nearly inert at about 1% per year.
Then the ARRL isn't doing something right. There are lots of smart kids out there. Almost all of them have computers (or at least access to them) these days. There is so much going on in ham radio that uses computers. It's just another way to communicate without wires — and unlike your cell phone, you can talk to people on the other side of the world without having to rely on a technical infrastructure run by faceless corporations. (Yeah, OK, hyperbole, and don't get involved in DMR if you are looking for an infrastructure-free method of communications.)
Although, it's possible that the ARRL is doing everything it can, but outside influences are preventing the expansion of amateur radio. Fifty years ago, you could probably put up a 40-foot tower and hang big antennas off of it without causing anything more than maybe a little grumbling from your next door neighbor, or some bitching about RFI on channel 6 during Jeopardy. Today, doing the same thing runs you into a maze of zoning laws and HOA rules and neighbors who know their rights and think you're running down their property values.
Ground-mount verticals, stealth wire antennas, and even the suddenly-popular cobweb antenna might help solve that problem, but for the average new ham living in a HOA neighborhood, trying to get around the rules can be pretty daunting. The Amateur Radio Parity Act tries to help, with a "reasonable accommodation" rule similar to the existing PRB-1 that mandates "reasonable accommodation" for TV antennas and dishes, but the Act is stuck in Congress and there's a vocal group of hams who oppose it on the grounds that it constitutes an end run around HOA rules that you should have known about (and agreed to) when you bought your home — even if you weren't a ham then and suddenly decided, years later, that you wanted to be one.
But these issues can be dealt with; join a club and use their station, operate mobile, use stealth methods and operate at night, whatever. And they really don't affect the ability to use the repeaters when you can put a J-pole in the attic or disguise one as a garden decoration or something like that, so there's no real excuse even in a HOA to grouse that you can't get on UHF or VHF.
No, I think the main problem is that ham radio has simply become overshadowed by newer and flashier technologies, and most people think of CB when you talk about amateur radio. The reason for that is poor or (let's be kind) ineffective public relations and marketing on the part of those who care. And when I say "ineffective", I don't mean that the PR effort is either weak or no good, I mean that it simply tends to get lost in the noise.
For example: During the recent natural disasters that have occurred over the past year or so, there have been some real gems come out, showing how important the Amateur Radio Service is during emergencies — particularly in Puerto Rico, but also in Florida and Texas, and in California during the big fires there. But it doesn't seem to me that this information got any major play. It tended to get stomped on by the general human tragedy and the fecklessness of government, particularly that of Puerto Rico. Because after all, ham radio operators restoring communications in the aftermath of a disaster doesn't sell newspapers like stories about the suffering and deprivation of the region's inhabitants, or stories about a corrupt commonwealth government that's holding money and badly-needed supplies back from the professionals who can use them, to the point where FEMA and the Army Corps of Engineers need to step in and be the adults in charge so power can be restored to the island.
The Force of 50? What's the Force of 50? No habla inglés, señor.
If amateur radio can't get a boost out of stories like the Force of 50, what the hell can it get a boost from?
I can tell you right now, expanding the privileges of the Technician license is not going to cause that many more people to wake up one morning and decide, hey, I think I'll study up and get a ham radio license. As far as privileges go, there is already so much that a Technician can do at VHF and above. In the modern era, the one thing that really gave ham radio a bump came in 2005, and that was the FCC dropping the code test requirement. People like me — who had thought about getting into ham radio for years — no longer had to learn code, and frankly, that was my big stopping point. Well, that, and the high price of entry; we didn't have the money when I was a kid.
There is no comparable "bump" left, short of dropping the testing altogether. But at that point, we'd all become glorified CB operators. Luckily, I think the FCC, while it would love to rid itself of oversight of the Amateur Service, would still find itself bound by the IARU agreements that require amateurs to be licensed by their government. Frankly, I think that's the only reason we still have testing, but the FCC already handed that part off to the VECs years ago, and don't involve themselves in that aspect.
So, whither amateur radio, in a world of cell phones, the Internet, and satellite TV?
I mean, even a TV sitcom with a popular actor (who happens to be a ham) about a father and family man (who happened to be a ham) that uses ham radio as a major plot device didn't manage to turn that many new people into hams, did it?
There are all kinds of celebrities out there who are ham radio operators. Does that get the interest meter off the zero peg? Nope.
So what I'm going to tell you now, after all that's gone above, is that I don't have the answer. If I did, I'd use it to double the membership of my Scottish Rite valley. And I don't think the ARRL has the answer, either. But I know at least part of the answer is going to involve a lot more concentrated PR effort than I've seen since I became a ham five years ago. Ham radio just isn't a piece of the culture like it was in the mid-20th century, when it often appeared as a matter of course in movies and science-fiction novels, and the Radio Merit Badge was a big deal in Scouting. I don't even know if it can be taken back to that level, and frankly, I doubt it.
But one thing I do know is this: There is not a single high-school amateur radio club in any of the nine school districts comprising Marion County, Indiana. And if you don't get them young, good luck getting them when they're older.
DMR anywhere redux
DMR, General Commentary
Man, these little Chinese knockoff ZumSPOTs are pretty robust:
pi-star@pi-star(rw):~$ uptime
15:34:35 up 13 days, 5:33, 1 user, load average: 1.23, 1.16, 0.68
It's been running all that time on the battery box, although the battery box has been on the charger since last weekend. It ran the batteries down from 12.6 volts to 12.0 volts in five days. (It very quickly took the batteries from 12.8 volts in that photo to 12.6 volts. As I noted elsewhere online, these batteries aren't spring chickens.)
It is a bit annoying that I had to go into expert mode and open the SSH window to issue an 'uptime' command, though. That ought to be on the dashboard, and unless I've somehow missed it, I don't see it there. (I mean, I see the load averages, but I don't see the "up 13 days, 5:33" part.) Ah well.
Much as I hate to buy another Chinese knockoff, I'm seriously considering it, since the "official" ZumSPOT boards are still not available. I see that they're trying to add NXDN capability now. Hopefully at some point they'll poke it with a sharp object and declare it finished, but meanwhile, everybody and his aged grandmother in Shenzen is selling JumboSpots dated 11/17/2017 for $42 and free shipping, I have a spare RPi Zero W and an OLED screen sitting here, and could put a second one together as soon as I have the JumboSpot in my hands…et voila, I have one to mount permanently in the car.
This is, FWIW, the same reason I gave up on Connect Systems' vaporware CS7000 handheld (still in R&D!) and bought a Tytera MD-380. You can beat your product to death and keep adding features and swatting bugs and tweaking it till hell won't have it, then finally get the product out there and find others have moved on. The Chinese are selling ZumSPOTs right now for half the price the developers say they'll be selling them for through HRO, sometime in the sweet by and by.
Stick a fork in it, gentlemen. It's done. And your market is drying up fast. You didn't protect your IP well enough and the Chinese are eating your lunch in the marketplace.
DMR anywhere
18 February 2018 15:57Z
100% portable JumboSpot. Possibly a bit over-batteried…


This video, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3ZJNAO27nk, can also be seen at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCF5v7wcBzsPOaHdx_PAdkCw.
This video, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_NHBKAlRh8, can also be seen at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCF5v7wcBzsPOaHdx_PAdkCw.
This video, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAAFE56aywU, can also be seen at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCF5v7wcBzsPOaHdx_PAdkCw.


text:
Home	Home | Our Relationship | Official Reports
U.S. Country Commercial Guides – Cambodia 2017 (PDF: 759 KB)
Investment Climate Statements 2018 (PDF: 348 KB)
National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers 2017 (PDF: 3.46 MB)
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To Walk the Earth in Safety
This is the State Department's annual report on Humanitarian landmine clearance and conventional weapons destruction.
Country Reports on Terrorism
U.S. law requires the Secretary of State to provide Congress, by April 30 of each year, a full and complete report on terrorism with regard to those countries and groups meeting criteria set forth in the legislation. This annual report is entitled Country Reports on Terrorism. Beginning with the report for 2004, it replaced the previously published Patterns of Global Terrorism.
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices
The Country Reports on Human Rights Practices are submitted annually by the U.S. Department of State to the U.S. Congress in compliance with sections 116(d) and 502B(b) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (FAA), as amended, and section 504 of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended. The law provides that the Secretary of State shall transmit to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate, by February 25 "a full and complete report regarding the status of internationally recognized human rights, within the meaning of subsection (A) in countries that receive assistance under this part, and (B) in all other foreign countries which are members of the United Nations and which are not otherwise the subject of a human rights report under this Act." Reports on several countries are included that do not fall into the categories established by these statutes and that thus are not covered by the congressional requirement.
International Religious Freedom Reports
The International Religious Freedom report is submitted to Congress annually by the Department of State in compliance with Section 102(b) of the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA) of 1998. This report supplements the most recent Human Rights Reports by providing additional detailed information with respect to matters involving international religious freedom. It includes individual country chapters on the status of religious freedom worldwide.
Trafficking in Persons Reports
The Secretary of State submits the annual "Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000: Trafficking in Persons Report" to Congress. This report covers "severe forms of trafficking in persons" defined as: "(a) sex trafficking in which a commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such act has not attained 18 years of age; or (b) the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for labor or services, through the use of force, fraud or coercion for the purpose of subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery."
Country Reports on Advancing Freedom and Democracy
Pursuant to Section 2121 of the ADVANCE Democracy Act of 2007 (P. L. 110-53), the Department of State has submitted the "Advancing Freedom and Democracy Report " to the Congress regarding U.S. efforts to promote democracy and human rights in nondemocratic countries and countries undergoing democratic transitions worldwide. The Department chose the 106 countries represented after taking into consideration the Act's definition of a "non-democratic country or democratic transition country" and the requirement that the Department take into account the views of nongovernmental organizations.


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Bob Heskett's Past and Present – Home to Roost
Debbie Scott/June 15, 2017/ 1 Comment
A meeting to remember … by Debbie Scott
In June of 2011, I had the distinct pleasure and good fortune to meet three people who have not been heard from or featured in the little that has been written about Bob Heskett, but who were (and are) both important and fascinating parts of his life. Two of these people are sisters, and their story will soon be the subject of a book being written by one of them. The third person is a member of Betty's (and Bob's) own family. Where have these wonderful folks been? Well, I met them in Northern California.
It Began with An E-Mail
As most of Betty's fans know, her first husband, Robert ("Bob") Heskett, was killed in July of 1951, in a skirmish of some kind, while he was living and working in Oakland, California. Several versions of the fight which resulted in Bob's death have been discussed in our Forum. Members found and shared newspaper articles which verified that Bob had been fatally stabbed while defending a "lady friend" from her abusive ex-husband. Since I was living in Northern California, I decided to attempt to locate records from Oakland which might shed some light on what had become of Bob's attacker, Thomas Blake. I couldn't find any criminal records, however – had Thomas Blake been prosecuted? Did he plead self-defense and was released? After all, Bob had wielded a hatchet at Blake, and had landed at least one blow, wounding him on the forearm. A younger – and perhaps stronger – Blake then stabbed Bob squarely in the chest, hitting his heart. He fell down a flight of stairs, and died. So what happened afterward? Was Thomas Blake put in jail? I wondered if he might still be alive. It was conceivable; he would be in his 80's and perhaps was still in the Oakland area.
But Thomas Blake is a pretty common name, and I didn't get very far trying to locate him. Then, one day I received an e-mail that changed everything. One of Thomas Blake's daughters wrote, and wanted all the Friends of Betty MacDonald (bettymacdonald.net) fans to know the truth of what had happened on that warm night in July, 1951. She and her younger sister knew Bob Heskett, loved him, and – unfortunately – were witnesses to the fight that ended his life. Now using the name "Rose," Thomas Blake's daughter assured me that all she wanted to do was "get the truth out about Bob Heskett." After several e-mails back and forth, we arranged to meet in Northern California, where Rose's younger sister, Peg, still lived. In the weeks leading up to the meeting, Bob and Betty's grandson, Darsie Evans, also made arrangements to meet the Blake daughters. They wanted to tell him about his grandfather, and he wanted to hear everything they had to say.
Bob Wanted to be a Farmer – Again
Rose and Peg Blake are simply lovely people, and it was clear from the moment we all met that they wanted nothing more than to clear up any ambiguity about Bob Heskett. In fact, as soon as we were settled, Peg leaned over the table and looked Darsie squarely in the eye and said, "Your grandfather was a wonderful man. He was our hero!" You see, Bob and their mother, Thelma, were planning to marry. After years of abuse at the hands of Thomas Blake, Thelma and her girls felt they had found their knight in shining armor in Bob. He took care of them, played with them, made sure they had plenty to eat and a roof over their heads. In fact, they had only recently moved into Bob's apartment. The girls had stayed with a friend of their mother's most of the time, since Thelma worked two jobs to support them. That weekend, as most weekends, Bob and Thelma had brought the girls to his apartment in the city. While Thelma worked as a waitress, Bob took the girls to the park to feed the ducks or to the local ice cream parlor for a treat. He loved the girls, and he was looking forward to truly being a father – finally – at 55 years old!
Bob told Thelma he had found a cherry farm north of the city, and wanted to buy it and become a farmer (again). Thelma loved the idea of getting the girls out of Oakland, and getting alll of them as far away from Thomas Blake as possible. Her ex-husband was a violent alcoholic, who had put her in the hospital more than once. In fact, he had recently injured her so badly that she'd suffered a stroke (Thelma was only 35 years old), and had been hospitalized. During that time, Bob cared for the girls, and when Thelma was released, he cared for her during her recovery.
The Sad End of a Dream
So how did it happen? What brought on that explosive fight? Thomas Blake's daughters place the blame squarely on their father's shoulders. He came to Bob's second floor apartment that night, probably drunk, saying he wanted to see his daughters (Note: Thomas and Thelma Blake also had two older sons, but they did not live with Thelma). Maybe he'd heard that Thelma was going to marry Bob and might leave Oakland; no one knows for sure. But the girls were not there when their father arrived; they were still at their mother's friend's house in Oroville. Bob told him they weren't there, and Blake left.
Later that night, around midnight, Blake returned, demanding to see his girls, who were there by then. Bob and Thelma had picked them up for the weekend. But when Blake knocked at the door, Bob told him to come another time, it was late and the girls were asleep. Blake threatened Bob, and Bob grabbed a hatchet, warning Blake to leave. Blake apparently lunged at Heskett, and that is when Bob hit him with the hatchet. This started a scuffle which, unbeknownst to the adults, awakened the girls. They slept in a little alcove in the living room; it wasn't a big apartment. A boisterous fight was more than enough two young children.
The fight was quick and loud. Thomas Blake was drunk, angry, and accustomed to fighting. He was enraged at the hatchet wound, and just plain pissed! He pulled a knife and swiftly thrust it squarely into Bob's chest. Bob didn't have a chance; the wound was right in the heart. He fell down the flight of stairs and probably was dead before he hit the landing on the first floor. Two little girls and their mother stood at the top of the stairs, horrified. Rose says a newspaper reporter captured her standing on the steps, in her slip, looking down at Bob's lifeless body. I'd like to find that newspaper photo, though perhaps Rose has located a copy. That is how dreams end sometimes – in a dark hallway in the middle of the night.
A Little Justice for Bob
As I said at the beginning of this journey, I wondered if Thomas Blake ever was prosecuted for the stabbing which ended Robert Heskett's life. After all, a clever attorney might have made a case for self-defense, especially after Bob Heskett had wounded Blake with the hatchet earlier that night. But I am pleased to report that Rose and Peg cleared up the mystery. Their father went to prison – San Quentin! He was there for five years – which doesn't seem like much – but considering he might have gotten off altogether, it is some justice, after all. He went on to live a very odd life, marrying several more times after being released from prison. He died in 1974 in Riverside County, California.
Thelma also remarried, though she never forgot Bob Heskett. Her daughter Rose said she always thinks of her mother and Bob when she smells Atomic Fireballs candy – which they loved munching on – or Evening in Paris perfume, which her mother wore for Bob.
The Blake daughters lovingly shared these stories with Bob's grandson, Darsie – stories that no one else in the Heskett/MacDonald family had ever heard before! And I was the ever-so-lucky fly on the wall, observing and enjoying that pseudo-reunion between Darsie and two lovely women who may have been his aunts, had things ended different for his grandfather, Bob.
Robert Eugene Heskett served honorably in the U.S. Marine Corps in World War I. He is buried at the Golden Gate National Cemetery in San Bruno, California. You can "visit" his grave and leave a note and "flowers" by going to Find A Grave.
For more information about the death of Bob Heskett, go here.
Bob Heskett Thomas Blake
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Valorant streamer PROD Banned From Twitch Over Alleged Homophobic Slur
PROD, one of the most talented Valorant content creators on Twitch, was banned on July 24 for supposedly utilizing a slur during his stream.
PROD fans say he was misunderstood. I ©The Guard
The reason for his ban was the alleged use of the word "f*ggot" during his last Twitch stream. Viewers were confused at first as PROD's broadcast was seemingly laggy, only for them to refresh the page and be greeted by a "this channel is unavailable" message.
PROD himself and his fans claim that the whole situation is a complete misunderstanding. Those who tuned in to the stream mention that due to PROD's way of speaking, which is unsurprisingly similar to the infamous "Valorant accent," the phrase "f*ck it" sounded like the homophobic slur, take a look at the clip down below and judge for yourself:
PROD took to Twitter to express his discomfort with the whole situation, simply calling it (and yes you guessed it) "cringe."
I'm ngl [not gonna lie] this twitch ban sh*t is to f*cking cringe
He later followed it up with a quick clip, clearly in jest, pleading Twitch to finally unban him.
Woke up still not unbanned @Twitch pic.twitter.com/ES6CkKjdBN
— PROD (@ProdCM_) July 25, 2022
Who is PROD?
PROD is a stellar Valorant player that's turned down the opportunity to become a professional player in favor of creating content and streaming.
He currently boasts a sizable following on YouTube with over 70k subscribers and 146k Twitter followers. Most importantly, he had upwards of 500k followers on Twitch, making him one of the most popular Valorant creators on the platform. His popularity grew so much that The Guard ended up signing him as a content creator.
The 9-3 Curse on Valorant Explained
We know how hit or miss Twitch is when it comes to banning people and the lack of communication that can become a growing pain for creators amid uncertainty - for a lot of big creators, being banned from streaming platforms means losing access to their biggest (and sometimes only) source of revenue.
At the moment Twitch has yet to issue any kind of statement. PROD hasn't made public the duration of his ban or even whether he knows himself how long he won't be able to stream on the platform.
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