Where Can You Find Reliable Medical Advice Online?
We all know the routine, you feel a bit under the weather and you quickly fire up Google, type in your symptoms and hit search. You quickly scan the search results, open a couple of webpages and within minutes you come up with several illness possibilities, some highly unlikely.
Online self-diagnosis is extremely unreliable. Any doctor you speak to will strongly advise against self-diagnosis via Google, Yahoo Answers and similar sites. The safer approach is to make your way to your local clinic and get yourself examined by a licensed medical practitioner.
But, most people will avoid making a trip to the doctor unless they really feel sick. Let's face it, it can be a tad inconveniencing and sometimes next to impossible to drop what you are doing.
There are a few reliable, free online medical services that are run by real doctors. One of these is HealthTap, which we first wrote about in early 2013 HealthTap: Get Real Medical Advice From Real Doctors HealthTap: Get Real Medical Advice From Real Doctors Read More . The service is fast, anonymous and free; allowing you to ask a medical-related question and get an answer from a real doctor.
As a result of complex liability insurance arrangements with Llyod's of London, the service is available internationally despite the fact that all doctors are located in the United States. However, while doctors can provide advice and suggestions, they cannot make real diagnoses or prescribe medication. There are currently over 37,000 doctors registered on the site and each doctor is rigorously vetted before being allowed to answer questions.
To ask a question, you need to register an account with HealthTap by completing four simple steps. The first step captures personal information while the second step requests information on health topics you're interested in, conditions you have, medications you take, symptoms you experience, or procedures you've had performed. Based on your interests in step two, step three provides you with a list of possible doctors to follow for updates and information. The final step asks you to add your personal doctor, assuming you have one. You can choose to skip this step if you don't have a personal physician.
Once you are done with registration you are directed to a page where you can ask questions for free and get them answered by real doctors. Before your question is submitted, you get the option to read earlier answers for similar questions asked by other users. You may be prompted to update your profile to get better answers from doctors. Take note that questions are limited to 150 characters so brevity is of utmost importance. But, if you donate 99 cents, your word limit is extended.
Once your question is answered, you get a notification via email. The service is pretty fast. I posted a mock question and received an answer within six minutes. The service is also available as a medical app on Google Play and the App Store.
In addition, for deeper engagement with doctors, you can also chat privately to a live, on-call doctor and get opinions based on symptoms, lab tests, images and other information you provide. The fee to ask a question privately is $9.99 per conversation.
US users may also book an appointment with a doctor by filling out an online form as shown below.
In addition to HealthTap, there are also other websites that connect you to US-based doctors for a fee. One of these is Doctors on Demand. Launched in December 2013 US-Based Doctor on Demand Launches Medical Consultation Service at $40/15 Minutes US-Based Doctor on Demand Launches Medical Consultation Service at $40/15 Minutes A new medical service launched this week called Doctor on Demand connects consumers with a US-licensed physician, via a computer, smartphone or tablet. Service calls are $40 for each 15 minutes of consultation. Read More , the service connects patients to US physicians via a computer, smartphone or tablet. The fee to use the service is $40 for 15 minutes of consultation. The service is also available as an Android app and iPhone app.
Urgent Care is a similar service that connects you to a registered nurse or doctor in the US via an iPhone app [No Longer Available]. Each call to a nurse costs $3.99 and there is no additional cost to connect to a doctor.
In addition to using online medical services such as HealthTap, there are lots of reliable medical content websites where you can look up information on symptoms and read up on general medical advice. The trouble is separating the wheat from the chaff. How do you tell that a medical content site hasn't been created by a bunch of quacks looking for advertising dollars? Well, it turns out that it's actually quite easy to separate the pros from the quacks.
The Geneva-based HON foundation is your guide to reliable medical information in the Internet. HON is a non-profit organization that promotes and guides how online health information is deployed and used. The organization is accredited to UN's Economic and Social Council.
Formed in 1995, HON has focused on the critical question of the provision of health information that respects ethical standards. It is the oldest and most reliable code for health information online. The HON Code of Conduct is a multi-stakeholder consensus on standards to protect people from false or misleading medical information.
There are eight principles of the HON Code, namely; authority, complementarity, confidentiality, attribution, justifiability, transparency of authorship, transparency of sponsorship and, honesty in advertising and editorial policy. You can read the full details of the HON Code of Conduct at their ethical policy page.
In order to attain HON Code Certification, websites must guarantee to comply with and pledge to honor the 8 ethical principles. A review by a team of medical and legal experts determines whether a website qualifies. Sites are reviewed once a year and a site must remain in compliance in order to continue displaying the logo. The code is currently used by over 5,000 health websites spanning 72 countries. It has been translated into 34 languages. Usage of the HON Code logo is aggressively policed by organizations such as Quackwatch, a US-based watchdog group that aims to combat fallacies, myths, misconduct and fraud in the global health industry. Incidentally, Quackwatch is also one of the most authoritative medical websites where you get answers to questions related to health fraud and quackery.
Find out if a medical website complies with the HON Code of Conduct by looking for the HON Code logo at the bottom of the site's page.
If you are using Firefox, you can also install the HON Toolbar which identifies HON Code certified sites while browsing.
As a general rule, sites run by the United Nations, national governments and government agencies also provide reliable medical information and advice. Examples of such sites include; World Health Organization (WHO), MedlinePlus, Healthfinder.gov and many more country-specific websites.
Many of these websites are great for looking up conditions and symptoms. They are also great resources to read up on general health information such as epidemic alerts, inoculation and travel advice.
At the end of the day, you should always seek the services of a registered medical professional. Self-diagnosis and self-medication are not recommended and can actually put your life at risk. Make use of services like HealthTap to connect with real doctors.
For your general health knowledge and information on diseases, only use sites that are HON Code certified. But, please take note that while HON Code certified sites are reliable sources of general medical information, they are not a substitute for a real consultation with a medical professional.
Have you been ill lately and needed medical advice online? How did you go about it? Do you know where you can find reliable medical advice online in your country? Please share with us in the comments below.
Well; being British, I always use our National Health Service site/portal. I also usually check out WebMD, medicinenet et al for the same question, for'balance', but the good old NHS works trustily for me in comparison.
According to my heart doctor ALL medical advice on the internet is bogus. NO exceptions. I tried to ask a question about something I saw on the Mayo Clinic site and he shut me down instantly. If it's on the internet - it's worse than useless because it is just wrong. He says that only quacks post medical advice on the internet, real doctors just don't do that. I should not even be looking at all. He is supposed to be the best heart doctor in the region. It looks to me like they need to educate the doctors as well as the patients.
Sounds like an ignorant doctor who doesn't know much about the Internet or who's afraid of change.
Totally agree with Tina on this ...there are thousands of highly qualified doctors giving medical advice online.
Please give the contact info for your heart doctor: name, city, etc. Please notify the Mayo Clinic that this heart doctor (and give them his name) considers the Mayo Clinic to be a hotbed of quackery with no real doctors on the staff there. Whenever you get into discusssions with other people say, "Dr So-and-so [his real name] told me the Mayo Clinic is a a quack operation because they give advice on the internet and that they don't have any real doctors at the Mayo Clinic."


A collaboration with conductor Florin Parvulescu, violinist Ittai Shapira and mandolinist Avi Avital.
Tikkun Olam was created in partnership with the Daniel Pearl Foundation, Los Angeles, and was made possible by the generosity of the Goldman Foundation, San Francisco, as well as other underwriters.
Premiered December 2014 by members of the San Francisco Symphony with students of the SF Conservatory, conducted by Florin Parvulescu.
Recording of complete piece is available upon request.
Highlights from double concerto "Tikkun Olam: The Life and Legacy of Daniel Pearl"


text:
// Module
import {Injectable} from '@angular/core';
import {Router, CanActivate} from '@angular/router';
import {Http,Headers} from '@angular/http';

// Service
import {AuthService} from '../services/auth.service';
import {UsersService} from '../services/users.service';

// 3rd Pathy
import { FlashMessagesService } from "angular2-flash-messages/module";

@Injectable()
export class AuthGuard implements CanActivate{
  userRole;
  ss12:any;
  constructor(
    private authService:AuthService,
    private router:Router,
    private flashMessage:FlashMessagesService,
    private userService:UsersService,
    private http:Http
  ){
    // this.getRole()
   }

   /**
    * Auth Guard canActivate Method
    * @memberOf AuthGuard
    * @returns {Boolean} True if you have acces. False if you dont have acces to this * route
    */
  // Protect Route with lowercase c. to restrict whatever page you nedd to extend the CanActivate interface and include the canActivate function. inside the function you put whatever logic you want and return true or false to Authorized access
   canActivate(){
    if (this.authService.checkLoggedIn()){
      // console.log("role from authservice: " + this.authService.userRole);
      //  restrict the acces for user and admin
      // if the user is Login check for the role of the user
      this.getRoleOfUser()
      this.detectLocalStorageChange();

       console.log(localStorage.getItem('role'),' role second');
      //  get the role of a user from local storage
       const role = localStorage.getItem('role')
       // user access
       if (role.localeCompare("2") == 0){
         console.log("El rol del usuario es 2 enviar ahora falso");
         return true;
       }else if (role.localeCompare("1") == 0) {
         console.log("el rol es uno")
         // Show a error message
         this.flashMessage.show("Acces Unathorized",{cssClass:'alert-danger',timeout: 5000});
        //  Wait half and second then set it back to the page they last visited
        //  setTimeout(function(){
        //    window.history.back();
        //  }, 2500);

         return false;
       }

    }
    // Else user is not connected
    else {
      this.showMessageUserNotLoggedIn();
    }
  }

  /**
   * Helper Function to get the role of a user. This function use the userId store in local storage to retrieve the role of a user
   * @throws show an error message if can't get the role of the user
   * @memberOf AuthGuard
   */
  // Helper Method
  getRoleOfUser(){
    /**
     * The id of the user
     * @type {string}
     * @readonly
     */
    const userId = localStorage.getItem('user')
    // var id;
    // make an http call to the API
    this.userService.getRoleOfUser(userId).subscribe(user => {
      // user send with the response
      localStorage.setItem('role',user[0].role);
    },
    err => {
      // observable can also return error
      console.log(err);
      // Show a error message
      this.flashMessage.show("An error has ocurred retrieving the role",{cssClass:'alert-danger',timeout: 5000});
      // redirect to the login page
      this.router.navigate(['/login']);
      return false;
    });

  }

  /**
   * @summary Function to detect if someone try to change the local Storage
   *
   * @desc I use this function to verify if someone try to change his role, if someone do that I redirect to the last page they were using ``` window.location.reload()```
   *
   * @memberOf AuthGuard
   */
  detectLocalStorageChange(){
    window.addEventListener("storage", function () {
       console.log("localstorage cambio");
       // Le doy redirect a una pagina 400 o a una pagina especial dicindole que ellos
       // no deben modificar el storage. Using below code
       // window.location.replace(Page Especial Url);
       this.location.reload();
     }, false);
  }

  /**
   * Show a message that the user is not logged in using the flashMessage Module
   * @see {@link https://github.com/moff/angular2-flash-messages }
   * @memberOf AuthGuard
   */
  showMessageUserNotLoggedIn(){
    // Unathorized Access
    // Show a error message
    this.flashMessage.show("Unathorized acces. Not login session found. ",{cssClass:'alert-danger',timeout: 5000});
    // redirect to the login page
    // redirect to login
    this.router.navigate(['/login']);
    return false;
  }

}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


The Department's ability to provide high-quality recreational services and clean and safe park space is largely dependent upon services provided by other City departments, most importantly, the Department of Public Works (DPW). Breakdowns in these interdepartmental service relationships compromise the effectiveness of services delivered to the public.
Develop formal service agreements with other City departments that articulate specific intergovernmental service expectations and standards.
Have the Department's management team convene meetings with the leadership of DPW to discuss long-standing issues related to the quality and timeliness of intergovernmental services. Develop quantifiable service metrics and standards, memorialize this information in formal service agreements, and regularly revisit these agreements to monitor compliance.
Between FY98 and FY99, a number of functional responsibilities were transferred from the Department of Recreation and Parks to the Department of Public Works. These functions included: building maintenance operations, trash collection, park cleaning, grass mowing, and tree maintenance. The rationale for the transfer of these functions was to allow the Department to focus its efforts on programming and to achieve costs savings through operational economies-of-scale that DPW's Bureaus of General Services, Solid Waste, and Transportation could provide.
Whether or not this transfer produced the desired effect remains an open issue (discussed further in recommendation 2-A of the DPW section of this report). While the transfer produced a positive budgetary effect, Department personnel and stakeholders familiar with the conditions of the City's recreation centers and park facilities feel that it has contributed to a further deterioration in conditions as the Department has little input in service priorities.
While this represents an issue that requires further study, it is clear that the Department must improve its efforts to articulate service expectations to the other City departments that provide internal services. The Department's most pressing need in this area relates to DPW.


text:
National Federation to Limit Number of Throws for H.S. Baseball Pitchers [Education Week]
By Bryan Toporek of Education Week
The National Federation of State High School Associations' board of directors approved a rule change earlier this week that requires each state's member federation to adopt a limit on the number of pitches that baseball players can throw during a game.
Previously, the NFHS required each state association to have "a pitching restriction policy to afford pitchers a reasonable rest period between pitching appearances," which were mostly based on the number of innings pitched. As Chris Boone of NFHS.org noted last March, one state limited pitchers to nine innings in one day and no more than 15 innings within a seven-day period.
The NFHS will not mandate specifics for each state's policy, but states can no longer base their pitching restrictions on innings rather than the number of pitches thrown.
"We're pleased that the rules committee worked in conjunction with the NFHS Sports Medicine Advisory Committee to find an acceptable and reasonable modification to this rule in order to emphasize the risk that occurs when pitchers overuse their throwing arm," said Elliot Hopkins, NFHS director of sports and student services and staff liaison for baseball, in a statement.
Last February, the Colorado High School Athletics Association approved a pitch-count proposal that went into effect this past season, which required rest days based on the number of pitches a player throws in a given day, either in a practice or a game. Varsity pitchers who threw 35 or fewer pitches in a day weren't required to have a day of rest, but those who threw 36-60 pitches must rest one day. Those who throw 61-85 must rest two days, and pitchers throwing 86-110 pitches must rest three days. The state's old rule limited pitchers to no more than 12 innings in three consecutive days.
The NFHS is perhaps drawing inspiration from Major League Baseball, which debuted its "Pitch Smart" initiative in November 2014 to preserve the arms of young baseball pitchers by limiting their wear and tear. The initiative produced a set of recommendations for pitchers at each age level, including the maximum number of throws they should make on a given day and how much rest they should have between outings.
MLB `Pitch Smart`
Create your own infographics
Other states have already been toying with the idea of pitch counts even before the NFHS' latest rule change. According to Jacob Unruh of The Oklahoman, the Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association adopted a trial pitch count rule in June that will only be in effect for the regular season, while its current innings limit will remain in place for the playoffs. Oklahoma's new rule will limit pitchers to no more than 120 pitches on a given day, and those who throw at least 100 must have four days of rest between outings. The Illinois High School Association likewise began "mulling a rule" earlier this year that would cap the number of pitches allowed in a given day, according to John Keilman of the Chicago Tribune.
Major League Baseball praised the NFHS for taking this step to reduce wear and tear on the arms of young pitchers.
"We are pleased to see the NFHS taking this significant step towards curtailing pitcher use and fatigue," said Chris Marinak, MLB's senior vice president of league economics and strategy, in a statement. "The health of high school pitchers is critical to the future prosperity of our sport. We will continue to work alongside USA Baseball as we further proliferate this important initiative."
Last month, physicians at Midwest Orthopedics at Rush, a Chicago-based hospital, called for all states to enact pitch-count limits for youth baseball pitchers, noting a majority of Tommy John surgeries between 2007 and 2011 were conducted on youth pitchers between the ages of 15 and 19.
"Elbow and shoulder injuries in throwing athletes have increased greatly in the past decade, and there is no sign of them slowing down because young elite pitchers are throwing faster and harder than ever in hopes of playing college ball and making the pros," said Dr. Greg Nicholson, a sports medicine physician at Midwest Orthopedics, in a statement. "That's why it's imperative for all high school state associations throughout the country to take action and regulate high school pitch count."
The NFHS granted the doctors' wish Tuesday. It's now up to each state's association to hammer out the specifics of their newly mandated pitch-count restrictions.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Located inside the captivating Desert Botanical Gardens At 1201 North Galvin Parkway in Phoenix, is Gertrude's restaurant. Known for its seasonally inspired cooking and combining American favourites and flavours from around the globe. The restaurant is situated in a beautiful oasis-like garden setting. It is a full-service restaurant with indoor and outdoor patio seating. The restaurant is named for the founder of the Botanical Gardens, Gertrude Divine. They use local producers, growers and artisans from around Arizona and the Southwest.
If you are visiting the Gardens, or coming for a musical concert or a ballet performance, then dining here, just from a convenience standpoint, should be pleasing. But if I'm being honest there were quite a few misfires. I also found the food to be heavy. Things were either deep fried or in a thick sauce. I would have liked to see more healthy choices on the mains. Perhaps some grilled fish or meats. The famous Korean chicken, had a thick, hard crispy exterior and was heavy on the sauce. The wild boar tacos were tough, dried out and too chewy. The plate was very beige and brown, and could have used some colourful garnish. They put more of an effort into the beverage program.
There are no bathrooms located at the restaurant and you have to go outside to use the public ones.
In my opinion, I wouldn't make a special trip here unless I happen to be visiting the gardens.


text:
package text.similarity

import text.analyzer.Tokenizer.Tokens
import text.vector.BinaryVector
import util.Config

/**
  * @author K.Sakamoto
  *         Created on 2016/05/23
  */
object Overlap extends Enumeration {
  val None,
  F,//similarity
  F1,//similarity
  Precision,//divergence
  Recall,//convergence
  Rus05//convergence
  = Value

  def calculate(v1: BinaryVector, v2: BinaryVector, convergence: Overlap.Value): Double = {
    convergence match {
      case F =>
        calculateF(v1, v2, Config.fScoreBeta)
      case F1 =>
        calculateF1(v1, v2)
      case Precision =>
        calculatePrecision(v1, v2)
      case Recall | Rus05 =>
        calculateRecall(v1, v2)
      case _ =>
        0D
    }
  }

  def calculatePrecision(v1: BinaryVector, v2: BinaryVector): Double = {
    calculateRecall(v2, v1)
  }

  def calculatePrecisionWithLCS(tokens1: Tokens, tokens2: Tokens): Double = {
    calculateRecallWithLCS(tokens2, tokens1)
  }

  def calculateRecall(v1: BinaryVector, v2: BinaryVector): Double = {
    calculateRecallWithLCS(v1.vector, v2.vector)
  }

  def calculateRecallWithLCS(tokens1: Tokens, tokens2: Tokens): Double = {
    Divider.divide(tokens1.intersect(tokens2).size.toDouble, tokens1.size)
  }

  def calculateF1(v1: BinaryVector, v2: BinaryVector): Double = {
    calculateF(v1, v2, 1D)
  }

  def calculateF1WithLCS(tokens1: Tokens, tokens2: Tokens): Double = {
    calculateFWithLCS(tokens1, tokens2, 1D)
  }

  def calculateF(v1: BinaryVector, v2: BinaryVector, beta: Double): Double = {
    calculateF(
      calculatePrecision(v1, v2),
      calculateRecall(v1, v2),
      beta)
  }

  def calculateFWithLCS(tokens1: Tokens, tokens2: Tokens, beta: Double): Double = {
    calculateF(
      calculatePrecisionWithLCS(tokens1, tokens2),
      calculateRecallWithLCS(tokens1, tokens2),
      beta)
  }

  def calculateF(precision: Double, recall: Double, beta: Double): Double = {
    val betaPow2: Double = beta * beta
    Divider.divide((1 + betaPow2) * precision * recall, betaPow2 * precision + recall)
  }

}


Milo's enchanting expression is sure to capture the hearts of everyone who meets him. His peachy-beige wool felt hands, feet and smiley face are the classic accompaniment to dark-mahogany mohair, while an authentic curly monkey's tail really brings his character to life. Part bean filled and fully jointed.


Thanks to the Winona CDL Defense Lawyer, hundreds of Commercial Driver's License holders regularly gained their desired results. We here at Jack Byno & Associates have been represent drivers in similar situations to your own for more than 25 years. We understand the ins and outs of the legal proceedings that are required in order to often gain the results our clients want. For many, we have attained a complete dismissal of the charges. We know that gaining a guilty conviction on a driving record is enough of a reason for many people to lose their livelihoods altogether, so that is why we work diligently to keep as many truckers on the streets as possible. To see what can be done for you, contact me now.
As a former municipal judge that use to preside over cases much like your own, Jack Byno has the insider's knowledge of the local courtrooms that many people need. With over 25 years of experience in handling CDL cases, he will not only work quickly, but effectively as well. Whenever hired, we also know that delivery routes can be demanding, so we will look for ways in order to keep you remote, such as attending court dates in your place when the situation allows for it. To find out more, complete an online form over on our contact me page, call us up by phone, or pay us a visit in person.
Should you have allowed your traffic citation to sit past its court date without addressing the issue by then, there will be a warrant out for your arrest. The Winona Traffic Ticket Attorney knows how to quickly post bonds for many such cases, though. Being hired on, we will ask for your citation number in order to immediately set out to complete your bond paperwork for you. We can even work with such clients who don't have that number handy by simply calling either the local municipal court if you dealt with that city's police department, or the Smith County Justice of the Peace Court for those who dealt with any other form of law enforcement. We will then send off your bond paperwork along with a Letter of Representation requesting a new court date by way of standard USPS mail delivery. You may choose to pick up those documents and hand deliver them to expedite the process. Once that new court date rolls around, we will then make plans to attend and be able to tell you if you have the option of being in attendance. Once the final ruling is given by the judge, we will then detail the results in a letter sent to your home address. Keep in mind that should court fees be incurred, they will be separate from attorney fees paid to us. Contact me to find out more.
With the Winona Speeding Ticket Attorney, you'll find the defense that has represented hundreds of truckers with both "serious" and "non-serious" charges. For those with a "serious" speeding violation, our law officer here at Jack Byno & Associates knows that many truckers might lose their license altogether if they do not gain the proper legal help. Even those with "non-serious" charges might be at risk of losing their job if their employer has a zero-tolerance policy over gaining a guilty conviction on record. Most tickets and warrants can still be fought, so contact me to find out if yours can too.
As the Smith County Warrant Roundup is underway, keep in mind that a routine traffic stop might end up in an arrest for anyone who has a past due moving citation. Hire the Winona Traffic Warrant Roundup Attorney and we'll post your bond fast without need of you to get involved. At this time, officers are pulling over long haul truckers for any number of minor traffic infractions, from going one mile over the speed limit to not using your blinker before beginning a lane change. Should you have a past due traffic ticket that needs to be taken care of, contact me now.
Whenever you wish to hire the Winona CDL Defense Lawyer to post your bond fast, know that we can only do so for those that are in alias status, which are gained from overdue tickets. These cannot have had a plea of "no contest" or "guilty" entered to the courts in person or by mail, nor have had a trial held over them. If you did go to a trial, lost, but then did not complete the resulting verdict, you will have a capias warrant. A law firm cannot assist in such matters further, for a judge gave their final ruling over the matter, so you'll have to either sit it out in jail or abide by the verdict given. To find out how we might be able to assist with your case, contact me now.
For more than 25 years, Jack Byno & Associates has been the law firm that countless Commercial Driver's License holders have turned to during their hour of need. We have saved many their jobs, and we're often able to cases to a close for less than what it costs to fill up a big rig with gas. Keep that in mind, should your delivery routes take you far away. To see how we might be able to take care of your matter quickly and remotely, contact me, the Winona CDL Defense Lawyer, and let's discuss the details of your case today.
- There are 217 households throughout Winona total.
- The Navarro Native American tribe originally inhabited the area that would become Winona.
- Winona, TX has a total population of 576.
Visit the following link for the official website for the City of Winona.


Offers to qualified buyers and subject to credit approval. Available on select vehicles. Prior sales excluded. Offers cannot be combined with other offers or applied to existing deals. Offers subject to change without prior notice. Must qualify through NMAC. *Nissan Private Offer Bonus Cash is available on select new 2017 and 2018 Nissan models. This exclusive offer is non-transferable. Offer valid for addressee only. See dealer for details. Expires 4/2/18.


If you're keen to forge a career involving research, one of the most valuable things you can do is master the art of scientific writing.
The ability to write a convincing scientific manuscript is such a rare skill that learning how to do it will set you ahead of your competition in terms of publishing your data, landing and keeping your ideal position and obtaining fellowships and grants. This one-day workshop is based on extensive linguistic research into the essential elements of successfully published peer reviewed research papers. It will guide you thorough a step-by step formula that takes the uncertainty, confusion and inefficiency out of the paper-writing process, regardless of your level of experience.
Please register ASAP to avoid disappointment. This workshop books out fast and places are strictly limited.


text:
Name | Type | Description | Notes
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**type** | **NSString*** |  | [optional]
**coordinates** | **NSArray<NSNumber*>*** |  | [optional]
**crs** | [**PBCrs***](PBCrs.md) |  | [optional]

[[Back to Model list]](../README.md#documentation-for-models) [[Back to API list]](../README.md#documentation-for-api-endpoints) [[Back to README]](../README.md)


Kids Fun, more than 70 games and activities to play, create, observe, learn and have fun!
Kids Fun, more than 70 games and activities to play, create, observe, learn and have fun while discovering nature and its animals.
Puzzles, matching, coloring, memory, hide-and-seek, dot-to-dot, spot the differences, stickers, mixed animals and a sound picture book… More than 70 activities and numerous surprises that will give your children hours and hours of fun, entertainment and discovery time!
The application contains no word and can be used by everyone all over the world. Its interface is intuitive and especially designed for young children. No need for explanations, just play!
Kids Fun an all-in-one, award winning app, sold in more than 50 countries!
"There is little doubt you will get your money's worth here. Kids Fun app is pure entertainment for the younger children."
"This app is jam packed with so many fun activities that it easily keeps little ones engaged. Kids Fun has quickly become one of my three-year-old daughter's favorite apps."
"This app should be in every preschool! Fantastic graphics, charming audio, and ease of use make this perfect for your kids. Show it to their teachers!!"
+ Kids Fun, more than 70 games and activities to play, create, observe, learn and have fun! is a highly rated app (4.5-star).


Harvest in approximately 1 years. Seedlings need to grow for about a year before fruiting. Remove first flowers. .
Alpine strawberries are the easiest to grow from seed. They produce tiny, triangular fruit with an intense flavour.
Chill the seeds, in a closed jar or plastic box, 2 - 4 weeks in a home freezer. Allow to return to room temperature in the closed container before sowing.
Sow seeds thinly on seed raising mix/compost. Cover with a thin layer of compost and water in. Keep under cover, either in a greenhouse or indoors near a window. Germination takes 2 to 8 weeks. Plant out into small pots to grow on when 3 leaves have appeared. Then transplant to garden when well grown. After about a year the strawberries will form low-growing, leafy plants,between 12 - 15cm (about 6 inches) high and will spread to about 50 - 100cm (20 - 40 inches). They have five petalled flowers, usually white or sometimes pink. The flowers are followed by delicious red fruits, which have their seeds on the outside. Later in the season, the plants send out runners like thin stems, across the garden. They will take root to form new plants.
Protect your plants with some sort of netting or bird scarer or you will lose most of your crop. Strawberries like well drained soil with plenty of humus . To prepare your bed, dig in some compost before planting and possibly use a liquid fertiliser during the growing season. Well fed strawberries taste better. To protect the fruit from moulds, use some form of mulch around the plants. Straw, pine needles, or black plastic are all suitable. Mulch will also help suppress weeds.
Strawberries can be used in any dessert needing soft fruit or berries. Summer pudding with raspberries and blackberries or boysenberries, mousse, trifle, dipped in melted chocolate or just with cream.
Sprinkle a bowl of strawberries with balsamic vinegar and a little sugar to enhance the flavour and colour.
Straight from the garden, warmed by the sun is best.
What strawberry seeds will grow in this zone and where can I buy them.
Google and then go to eBay. Look out - a few are China etc.
Give it a try. Probably need to plant April?May and allow them some shade each day - morning or afternoon shade.
Hi, I live in Kimberley, Northern Cape. Is it a good time to buy strawberry plants or should rather wait for August?
I press some strawberries on toweling paper. Its dry now. I want to know when can i plant it.
Seeds normally last a couple of years, but kept in a cool dark place they should last several years. According to this site, strawberry seeds should be sown in May to June for your climate. Shadecloth will be needed in the warmer months.


text:
@implementation Summoner

- (NSDate *)revisionDateAsDate {
    return [NSDate dateWithMillisecondsSince1970:self.revisionDate];
}

@end


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HomeEast Palo AltoSix-story building proposed for University Circle; traffic problems will get scrutiny
Six-story building proposed for University Circle; traffic problems will get scrutiny
Illlustration shows University Circle, a development that replaced Whiskey Gulch at Woodland Avenue, University Avenue and Highway 101 in East Palo Alto. Illustration by the project's owner, Columbia Property Trust.
One of the worst traffic backups in the mid-Peninsula is on University Avenue headed toward Highway 101. Cars headed east are backed up by a stoplight just east of San Francisquito Creek at Woodland Avenue.
Now the owner of the University Circle office complex, which includes the Four Seasons Hotel, wants to add a six-story additional building. But before that building is approved, they'll be required to conduct an environmental impact report that will examine the traffic backups on University Avenue and suggest ways to fix the problem.
The new building has been proposed by Columbia Property Trust, owner of University Circle. It would consist of 180,000 square feet of office space, and is set to be reviewed by the East Palo Alto's Planning Commission on Monday (April 22).
As part of the project, an environmental impact report will have to be completed, said Assistant City Manager Sean Charpentier. This would involve looking at University Avenue, and seeing if there is anyway to decrease the queuing that can go from the freeway entrance, through the Crescent Park neighborhood, back to Middlefield Road.
Charpentier said he anticipates there will be a "fair amount of scrutiny," regarding the transportation and traffic aspect of the report, especially along University.
The office building will replace a parking lot, and will host about 450 employees, according to a report from Contract Senior Planner Arthur Henriques and Planning Manager Guido Persicone.
The report is not being worked on yet, nor will it likely be discussed on Monday. As part of a 1991 settlement of a lawsuit between Palo Alto, Menlo Park, and the Crescent Park neighborhood, the new office building cannot be built until December 2023.
The suit was brought in 1987 by Palo Alto, Menlo Park and the Crescent Park neighborhood group against developer Joaquin de Monet and the city of East Palo Alto, according to the Stanford magazine Occasion.
De Monet wanted to build two 275-foot towers that would include movie theaters, offices and retail.
The suit was settled in 1991 but Monet wasn't able to move forward because his main tenant, Adobe, pulled out. Developer Linda Law took over the project in the late 1990s. She too was sued but eventually was able to build an office and hotel complex that opened in 2005.
Before University Circle was built, the area was known as Whiskey Gulch, which contained businesses and stores.
Sequoia High replaces Cherokee mascot with raven
Editorial: School board should drop the lousy Stanford deal
City officials push developer for retail
BY EMILY MIBACH Daily Post Staff Writer East Palo Alto Planning Commissioners told representatives of the University Circle complex Monday (April 22) that if they want to add another office […]
Neighbor sues city over proposed Newell Road bridge
By the Daily Post staff A neighbor of the Newell Road bridge is suing the city of Palo Alto, saying officials skipped an important step in preparing an environmental report […]
Replacement of troublesome bridge hits a snag
BY ALLISON LEVITSKY Daily Post Staff Writer Replacement of the Pope-Chaucer Street Bridge — which was blamed for much of the damage in the 1998 flood that inundated Palo Alto, […]


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Crime and Justice, Indigent Defense, Money, Politics
Commission in the crosshairs
Defense attorneys, criminal justice advocates and formerly incarcerated individuals share concerns about the Maine Commission on Indigent Legal Services during marathon public hearing.
by Samantha Hogan | November 20, 2019
Anthony Sanborn speaks to the Maine Commission on Indigent Legal Services on Tuesday, Nov. 19 in Augusta. Photo by Samantha Hogan.
Defense attorneys, criminal justice advocates and former prisoners packed a marathon 6½-hour public hearing Tuesday at the State House to voice concerns about the effectiveness of the state's current system to provide legal defense to Maine's poor.
The eight newly appointed members of the Maine Commission on Indigent Legal Services held the public hearing as they prepared to consider multiple reform proposals, including whether Maine should create a state-run public defender office.
Former state Chief Justice Daniel Wathen said Maine's judicial system needs a "cultural change," which accepts that the right to an attorney applies to everyone who faces the possibility of jail and not just those who are likely to receive a jail sentence.
"It's a legitimate question: whether you stick with assigned counsel or whether you go with a public defender system, but either way I think the key is funding and resourcing. We just can't continue to treat this as something to be endured," Wathen said.
Nearly a decade ago, the commission, with a staff of four employees, took over the management of the defense of Maine's poor from the judicial branch. It approves private lawyers that can be assigned by the courts to represent Maine residents who can't afford to hire their own lawyer.
Daniel Wathan, Maine's former Chief Justice, speaks to the Maine Commission on Indigent Legal Services during a public hearing on Tuesday at the State House. Photo by Samantha Hogan.
In the last three years, multiple investigations by lawmakers and outside groups have criticized the agency for its lack of oversight.
Alison Beyea, executive director of the ACLU of Maine, told the commissioners on Tuesday that the ACLU would consider suing Maine unless the state ensures that it is supervising court-appointed attorneys and training lawyers to provide a strong defense to the poor they represent.
The commission staff does not currently have the capacity to observe court proceedings or evaluate private attorneys assigned to represent the poor, according to executive director John Pelletier.
During the hearing, Beyea said the ACLU had helped a woman get a 40-day jail sentence reduced to a $100 fine. The client was originally represented by a court-appointed attorney who had been previously sanctioned by the Board of Overseers of the Bar for not providing adequate representation, she said.
"Maine is not going to be able to meet its Constitutional obligations with its current staffing, its reimbursement rate or its current delivery model," Beyea said. "At the state level, it is necessary to hire training staff who can provide meaningful training, auditors who can conduct oversight and lawyers who can provide support to private attorneys who are handling difficult or unfamiliar issues.
"In many communities, the state needs to establish a public defender office that has resources that are equal to or similar to the District Attorney's office."
A report by the nonpartisan Sixth Amendment Center estimated it would cost Maine $3 million annually to operate a public defender office in Cumberland County, which could handle 80 percent of adult and juvenile criminal cases. The center was hired to evaluate the commission last year, and in a report released in April, it identified multiple systemic problems with how the poor were defended in Maine.
Alison Beyea, executive director of the ACLU of Maine, speaks on Tuesday at a public hearing on the effectiveness of the Maine Commission on Indigent Legal Services. Photo by Samantha Hogan.
In fiscal year 2018, Maine spent more than $21 million statewide to provide court-appointed counsel to Maine's poor. The commission's spending has nearly doubled in the nine years since it began overseeing several hundred private defense attorneys.
The new commission has discussed whether Maine should transition to a public defender system or a hybrid system of private and state-employed attorneys since it began meeting in August.
Maine is the only state that does not have a public defender system that employs its own attorneys.
Chairman Josh Tardy said in an interview after the hearing that a decision on a public defender system would not happen before the 2020 legislative session, and that it would require input from the legislature and Gov. Janet Mills (D).
"We want to do it because we want to have a constitutionally adequate system. We're not doing it because we're afraid of a lawsuit," said Tardy, who has practiced law in Maine for 26 years and works as a lobbyist.
Anthony Sanborn Jr., who spent 27 years in Maine State Prison, testified in support of the commission's work at Tuesday's hearing.
Sanborn was sentenced in 1993 to 70 years in prison for the murder of his girlfriend Jessica Briggs when they were both 16. A deal with prosecutors freed Sanborn in November 2017 after 17 months of work on a post-conviction review by his court-appointed defense attorney, Amy Fairfield.
Sanborn became emotional while testifying and said he would have spent a billion dollars to go home.
In reality, Fairfield was paid $130,432 for 2,163 hours of work she and two associates billed on Sanborn's case. It was the most money ever paid by the commission on a single case.
The Maine Monitor last week published a three-month investigation that found a systematic lack of oversight of attorney billing during the agency's first nine years of operation.
Fairfield was the highest billing attorney in Maine in fiscal year 2018. At the state's flat $60-an-hour rate for court-appointed attorneys, the $275,612 she billed the state is equal to approximately 88 hours a week, excluding a small amount of expenses.
Some of the money reflected time billed by other attorneys at her firm under her name, but there is currently no public record of how much.
"I want to make it very clear that I will open my books, I will open my doors, I will do whatever anybody feels they need to see or do with regard to how our office runs," Fairfield said at the hearing.
Advocates for defendants emphasized that the state needs to focus its attention on reforming the Lawyer of the Day program, which provides free counsel to all defendants at their first appearance in court.
In a contest between the taxpayers and the clients, the taxpayers must yield."
— Jamesca Drake, president of the Maine Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
Inconsistencies with how the program is run in courthouses and by attorneys made many question whether defendants were being fully informed of the consequences of pleading guilty and if attorneys were arguing strongly enough for bail.
The Sixth Amendment Center also found that prosecutors were often speaking to defendants and offering plea deals before the person had waived their right to counsel. Plea deals have repeatedly been criticized as a way for prosecutors to move the docket.
Kennebec County District Attorney Maeghan Maloney argued that the commission may not want to take away a person's right to plead guilty early in a case.
Maloney said in response to a question that it would be possible for her office to compile a list of cases that prosecutors would seek jail time for and provide it to the commission's staff, so attorneys could be assigned before an initial appearance.
Sen. Michael Carpenter (D-Aroostook), chair of the state Judiciary Committee and a defense attorney, said the majority of his committee was ready to move forward with "significant reforms" to the state's defense system during the 2020 session.
Reforming Maine's defense system could cost the state more money, but people's constitutional right to have a defense lawyer represent them in court should be more important, said Jamesca Drake, the current president of the Maine Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.
"I certainly don't deny, and no one could deny, a crucial role that guilty pleas play in moving the docket," Drake said. "That being said, there's no reason why the plea needs to happen at the initial appearance. There's no need for the plea to have taken place before the defendant has had an opportunity to actually meet with an attorney, not a lawyer of day … but an actual appointed attorney."
"In a contest between the taxpayers and the clients, the taxpayers must yield," Drake said.
Correction: A previous version of this article misattributed testimony made by Jamesca Drake, the current president of the Maine Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, on when guilty pleas should be accepted to Kennebec County District Attorney Maeghan Maloney. The story has been updated.
ACLU of MaineAlison BeyeaAmy FairfieldAnthony Sanborn Jr.Board of Overseers of the BarFairfield & AssociatesFormer state Chief Justice Daniel WathenGovernor Janet MillsJohn PelletierJosh TardyKennebec County District Attorney Maeghan MaloneyLawyer of the Day programMaine Association of Criminal Defense LawyersMaine Commission on Indigent Legal ServicesMaine Supreme Judicial CourtMaine's Government Oversight committeePost-conviction reviewPublic defender systemSixth Amendment Center
Samantha Hogan
Samantha Hogan, The Maine Monitor's first full-time reporter, focuses on a range of government accountability projects. A 2019-2020 corps member for Report for America, she is spending this year reporting exclusively on Maine's court system through ProPublica's Local Reporting Network. Samantha previously worked for The Frederick (Md.) News-Post, covering state politics, agriculture, the environment and energy, and interned twice for The Washington Post. She lives with her cat Ida – named for the mother of investigative journalism, Ida Tarbell.


This option provides all details of leaves that the logged-in user has applied. Requesting or removing or changing leaves can be done through this window.
Users can use toolbar to change the view to see all leaves or leave of a particular year.
Step 1: Click on -> Click on button on to open "Add Leave" window.
Step 2: Set < From > date by clicking on calendar icon at the end of field.
Step 3: Set < To > date by clicking calendar icon at the end of the field. And this is optional, this feature is use to request leaves as range. It will take same date in < From> field as default.
Step 4: Select < Type > of leave as "Full Day" OR "Half Day".
Step 5: Type the reason for requesting leave(s) at the < Reason > field.
Step 6: Click on button to save the leave(s) request OR Click on button to exit. After requesting leave(s), it will appear as pending until it gets approved.
Users cannot request leaves for past days. Can request only for current date and future dates only.
This view is use to view leave that requested and status of the leave. It provide user to sort data according to the column title by clicking on the column header.
Step 1: Click on -> Click on drop-down arrow of option.
Step 2: Select view option either as < Year > or < All >. Default view option is < Year >.
For < Year > view, there are two navigation keys to help the user. By clicking on left arrow key, user can view leaves of previous years, and right arrow key changes the view to leaves of next year's according to the year mentioned between navigation key.
To change applied leaves that are in "Pending" sate. Users cannot change/ edit leaves that are approved or rejected.
Step 1: Click on -> Click on "Edit" icon of the action column that you need to change/ edit.
Step 2: Do the necessary modifications in the "Change Leave" window.
Step 3: Click on button to save the changes OR click on button to exit.
This option is to remove pending and upcoming requested leaves. Users cannot delete backdated, approved or rejected leaves.
Step 1: Click on -> Click on "Remove" icon of the action column that you need to remove.
Step 2: Click on "Yes" button on "Remove Confirmation" pop-up window to confirm the deletion.
You can use left side calendar panel to see holidays of logged-in user's country. Additionally the calendar of this panel view the dates that user may have applied in red color. All holidays are marked in yellow color.
This option facilitates to view the summary (total count) of leave taken by user in a particular calendar year.
Go to -> Click on option in "Leaves" window to open "Leave Summary Details" screen.
This display the total leaves taken by the user based on leave category. Users can change the calendar year through left and right navigation keys of option.


A study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology concludes that, for men, an attractive wife leads to a more satisfying marriage.
The study was designed to determine if a partner's attractiveness contributed toward having a more satisfying union by monitoring 450 newly-married couples for four years. It discovered that men married to an attractive spouse tend to be more committed to their marriage and are more concerned with satisfying their wife's needs. Consequently, a good-looking wife was found to be more satisfied because of a "happier" husband.
Due to varied factors, many couples may find themselves stuck in an unsatisfactory marriage, causing them to consider filing for a divorce. If you live in The Woodlands and are considering divorce, our lawyers from the BB Law Group PLLC are ready to help you with any related issues and legal needs. Call us at (832) 534-2589 to find out how we can help you move on with your life.


Laura Dronzek's new collection of landscape and still-life paintings are intimate in size, but offer views of grand themes suggested with richly layered surfaces. Her imagined landscapes are composed of the most basic features: a horizon line, a sky, and a subject, but so carefully rendered, that each one is precious. An avid gardener, Dronzek explores the core properties of form and color in her floral still-lifes as she seeks out mystery found in everyday objects.
Laura Dronzek's new collection of landscape and still-life paintings are intimate in size, but offer views of grand themes suggested with richly layered surfaces. As Laura Dronzek puts it, "It is the mystery found in the commonplace, the extraordinary in the ordinary that is worth examining." Her fictitious landscapes are composed of the most basic features: a horizon line, a sky, and a subject, but so carefully rendered, that each one is precious.


Wat Chiang Man, the oldest temple in town. Quiet lush spot.
Another beautiful temple in the centre Wat Chedi Luang. More buzzling, people worshipping, we joined the locals in offering some money and making a wish.
Food for thought, reason to stay in ASIA the new world power house….


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Wheat Growers adds 4 to senior teamWheat Growers adds 4 to senior team
Four new hires will help lead the 5,100-member South Dakota-North Dakota cooperative.
Farm Progress Staff
STORAGE: Corn is stored at a Wheat Growers facility near Aberdeen, S.D. Four new staff members have been hired to leadership positions in the cooperative.
Wheat Growers has hired four new team members who will help lead the co-op in serving its 5,100 member-owners.
John Husk joins Wheat Growers as senior vice president of operations. Prior to Wheat Growers, Husk most recently was general manager for Southern States Cooperative, Richmond, Va. His career has spanned both the grain and agronomy supply side of the agriculture industry. He has held leadership positions with Huntting Elevator Co., FREMAR Farmers Cooperative and Elburn Cooperative, where he was president and CEO for 12 years. Husk attended Austin Community College, Austin, Minn., and Iowa State University, Ames, in agriculture and agriculture business. For Wheat Growers, Husk will oversee country operations as well as the organization's maintenance and construction divisions.
Will Griffin joins Wheat Growers as manager of crop protection to replace Carl Moberg, the retiring ag chemical manager. Griffin comes to Wheat Growers from SNF Holding Co., Riceboro, Ga., where he served as agriculture business manager. Prior to working with SNF, Griffin held positions at Agriliance, Terra Industries and Gold Kist Cooperative. Griffin also has held numerous industry leadership positions and currently serves as vice chairman of the government affairs committee for the Irrigation Association, the leading membership organization for irrigation companies and professionals.
Adam Butcher has joined Wheat Growers as an agronomy sales manager and will oversee the Wheat Growers south region. Butcher holds a bachelor's degree in plant and soil science from Southern Illinois University and a master's in crop science from the University of Illinois. He also holds certified crop adviser and certified crop specialist certifications. Butcher has worked as a field agronomist working with growers in scouting, consulting and precision mapping. Prior to joining Wheat Growers, Butcher spent nine years with agriculture cooperatives in Indiana and Illinois where he served as a key account manager and regional sales agronomist, providing scouting, consulting and precision mapping services.
Greg Smith has joined Wheat Growers as director of marketing and communications to replace retiring Senior Vice President Stephen Briggs. Most recently with Molded Fiber Glass Co. in Aberdeen, Smith brings to Wheat Growers a wealth of experience in communications, marketing and industry relations. As vice president for Padilla Speer Beardsley in Minneapolis (now Padilla CRT), Smith launched and directed the agency's agribusiness practice. Smith's career experience includes marketing and public relations initiatives with BASF (crop protection, turf and ornamentals, pest control and vegetation management), Syngenta (crop protection and turf and ornamentals) Global Ethanol, Agri-Business Solutions, VBV Biofuels, the Starbar and Vet-Kem brands of Zoecon (now part of Central Lifesciences) and Rehbein Environmental Solutions.
About Wheat Growers
Wheat Growers is a grain and agronomy cooperative with more than 5,100 active member-owners in eastern North and South Dakota. With 40 locations throughout the region, Wheat Growers annually markets more than 170 million bushels of corn, soybeans, wheat and other crops. Founded in 1923, Wheat Growers is governed by a board of active producers elected to represent five districts, and backed by 45 delegates who serve as the liaison with the general members. Cooperative headquarters is located in Aberdeen, S.D.
Source: Wheat Growers
/author/compiled-by-staff, Farm Progress
/author/compiled-by-staff
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March 25, 2012 February 5, 2015 simoncolumb
Silly Symphony #1: The Skeleton Dance (Walt Disney, 1929)
"Disney Cartoons Present A Silly Symphony…"
I continue to read and watch classic Disney filmmaking, and The Skeleton Dance remains a crucial turning point in the History of Disney. At the time, Oswald the Rabbit – an idea Disney created – had been professionally-stolen from him and Mickey Mouse had now been established after the success of Steamboat Willie in 1928. What was so important at this period was not only the animation itself, but the use of sound. The Jazz Singer in 1927 confirmed the future of cinema was not silent, and Disney – despite having two silent Mickey films in the can – put the two films on hold until Steamboat Willie was created. It was a huge success and, consequently, the two films which were originally silent – Plane Crazy and The Gallopin' Gaucho – now had to be turned into sound-cartoons.
Bring out Carl Stalling
But now the entire issue of sound had to be extremely professional. Walt brought in Carl Stalling, a friend from Kansas City. Stalling and Disney would attend the regular meetings and arguments would beging between the two – Walt claiming that the music should follow the action on screen, whilst Stalling would argue the music comes first and the action second. "Another series would be launched in which the action would be keyed to the music". This became the Silly Symphonies.
Animated by legend Ub Iwerks, the sequence presents four skeletons who – when they are not in the grave of the deceased – they leap up and dance the night away, playing rib-cages like xylophones and fixing their bones together akin to the Sedlec Ossuary in Prague. Much like the Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin posts before, again, we have a film easily available and it can be viewed here. (Nb – It has been incorrectly claimed that the skeletons dance to the Danse Macabre, when in fact it is Grieg's March of the Dwarves that is played.
Previous The 400 Blows (François Truffaut , 1959)
Next Silly Symphony #29: Flowers and Trees (Burt Gillett, 1932)


In 1206 AD, a single Mongolian state was formed based on nomadic tribal groupings under the leadership of Chinghis Khan. He and his immediate successors conquered nearly all of Asia, European Russia; and sent armies as far as central Europe, Southeast Asia and Japan. Chinghis Khan's grandson Kublai Khan, who conquered China and established the Yuan dynasty (1279-1368 AD), gained fame in Europe through the writings of Marco Polo.
Although Mongol-led confederations sometimes exercised wide political power over their conquered territories, their strength declined rapidly after the Yuan dynasty in China was overthrown in 1368. The Manchus, a tribal group which conquered China in 1644 and formed the Qing dynasty, were able to bring Mongolia under Manchu control in 1691 with two main conditions: firstly, the Han nationalities should not be settled in its territory, and secondly, the Hans should not marry Khalkha Mongols. The Mongol rulers enjoyed considerable autonomy under the Manchus, keeping its border, language and culture. With the collapse of Manchu dynasty in 1911, Mongolia restored its independence. However, by the 1915 trilateral Treaty of Kyakhta between Mongolia, China and Russia, Mongolia was forced to accept Chinese suzerainty. In 1921, Mongolia reclaims its independence (on 11th of July, people's revolution) with the help of Soviet Russia. The Mongolian People's Republic was proclaimed on November 26, 1924, adopting the first constitution.
Mongolia joins the United Nations in 1961. During the confrontation between former Soviet Union and the PRC, Mongolia allied with Moscow, allowing deployment of Soviet troops over its territory. These troops were however withdrawn from Mongolia in 1992. Since this time, the country is maintaining equal, balanced policy towards its neighbors. In early 1990, peaceful transition to democracy and market economy occurs, with adopting of new constitution in 1992. Mongolia is a politically free country, which maintains multi-party system, with up to 80 percent of GDP being produced by private sector. Several parliamentary free elections were successfully organised. Mongolia considers itself as a strong holder of democracy in Inner Asia.
ECONOMY Main sectors: Mining: (22% of GDP, 61% of industrial output, contribution towards GDP growth – 5%); agriculture (Livestock, 2013, NSO: 45 mln, sheep – 20 mln (44,5%), goat – 19 mln (42,6%), cattle – 2,9 mln (6,4%), horse – 2,6% (5,8%), camel – 0,3 mln (0,7%)(16% of GDP and 40% of employment, contribution to GDP – growth agriculture – 1,8%); construction, services, manufacturing. FDI net inflow (World Bank): USD 4,7 bn (2011), USD 4,4 bn (2012), USD 1,8 bn (2013). GDP growth average between 2005 – 2013 is 7,9%.Resources: Coal (almost half is coking coal): proven reserves of 20,79 bn tonnes (2013, 10th largest coal source). Mongolia has further 173,3 bn tonnes of unproven coal reserves at around 300 mines. Copper: known reserves of 83,5 mln tonnes (2013)(12th largest copper source). Gold: proven reserves of 2400 tonnes (2013). Fluorite/fluorspar: proven reserves of 16 mln tonnes (4th largest in the world). Uranium: proven reserves of 140 thousand tonnes (Olympic dam – 358 thousand tonnes). Iron ore – approx. 1 bn tonnes; Zinc – 36 mln tonnes; Molybdenum – 972 thousand tonnes; Silver – 27 mln tonnes, Rare earth elements: est. 31 mln tonnes (16% of global reserves); Crude oil – 2,3 bn barrels.Trade (2014, 1-10, NSO): Export structure: Commodities – 82%, precious metals stones – 7%, textile – 6,7%. Main export partners: China 87.9%, Russia – 2%, Canada – 3.7%, UK 3,6%, others – 3,4%, Russia – 1,4% (2013). Major imports: Machinery and equipment, fuel comprise 58,6% of total imports, also, cars, food products, industrial customer goods, chemicals, building materials. Main import partners (2013): China 25.1%, Russia 23.5%, others – 20,8%, US 11.6%, Japan 7.8%, South Korea 7.6%.
Type of governance: Parliamentary republicLegislative branch: State Great Hural (Parliament), unicameral, 76 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve for a term of four years (Speaker of the Parliament – Mr. Z. Enkhbold, elected in 2012).Executive branch: Prime Minister and Cabinet, appointed by the Parliament (Prime minister – Mr. Ch. Saikhanbileg, appointed in December 2014).Judicial branch (independent): Supreme Court, serves as appeals court for people's and provincial courts but rarely overturns verdicts of lower courts; judges are nominated by the General Council of Courts for approval by the PresidentHead of State: President (symbolic), elected by popular vote to serve for a four-year term (President – Mr. Ts. Elbegdorj is elected for a second term in 2013).Political parties: 21 parties (2012, multi – party system) Parties with seats in the parliament (2014): Democratic party (35); Mongolian people's party (26); Justice coalition of Mongolian people's revolutionary party and Mongolian national democratic party (10); Civil Will – Green party (2). Also, there are 3 independent members in current parliament.
Administrative division Territory of Mongolia is divided administratively into 21 aimags (province) and the capital city. Each aimag has a Governor; each aimag has number of soums (in total there are 331 soums in Mongolia), each soum has number of baghs. Average population in soums is up to (around) 5000 people. Capital Ulaanbaatar city has 9 districts. Governance of administrative and territorial units of Mongolia is organised on the basis of combination of the principles of both self-government and central government.
Foreign policy Mongolian parliament approved three basic documents defining foreign policy: Concept of National security, Concept of Foreign policy and the Military doctrine. Mongolia pursues open, non-aligned, multi-pillar foreign policy. Mongolia encouraged pursuing active third neighbor policy.In 1992, Mongolia declared its nuclear weapon-free-status, enshrined in a law, a policy, which later was endorsed by UN's SC's all 5 permanent members – nuclear powers.Mongolia is a member of many international institutions and forums: ARF, OSCE, ESCAP, ASEM. Also, Mongolia is an observer at SCO, has signed partnership agreements with the EU and NATO. Mongolia successfully organised the International Conference of New and Restored Democracies in 2003; and chaired the Community of Democracies in 2011. Mongolia will host ASEM's 11th summit in 2016.To date Mongolia maintains diplomatic relations with 173 countries.


But this connection leaps at me without effort or expectation as I search one passage in the book. Tolkien's party of dwarves, one hobbit, and a wizard, recovered from their second or third near-death experience, continue their quest. They pause on the edge of Mirkwood Forest, a dark, mysterious place they have good reason to fear, and Bilbo pleads with their departing wizard about the path ahead.
There are no safe paths in this part of the world, either. Life takes us to scary places where pain happens and loss blindsides us from places we least expected it. A spouse is unfaithful, a child turns her back on you, a doctor tells you your mind or your body is going to fail, slowly but surely.
We had a plaque on our wall when I was a little girl with a poem that said, "God did not promise . . . flower-strewn pathways all our lives through." I used to stand over the heating vent and read that poem a lot. Because it was warm there, and I liked the poem. Now I realize, cheesiness aside, the author sure got that right.
We fear that path of pain, because we fear we may never get to the other side. We may just curl up on the path and end the quest right there. So, we try other ways, detours around, which end up taking us far afield. We pop pills; drink, smoke, or inject something; buy something new; or, if you're Elizabeth Gilbert and publisher-financed, you escape on an around the world odyssey.
The thing about loss is, like the Forest, we really have to go through. We can't circumvent it. We can't ignore it. We can't put on a happy face and pretend it didn't happen. We dare not mouth Bible verses or insipid quotes off of Pinterest that make it sound like we're on a higher spiritual level with the whole thing when we really are not. Those things work only until, having detoured away from the scary giant spiders in the forest, we find ourselves facing goblins and wolves hundreds of miles away and realize we've gained nothing and gotten much farther off the path.
Going through makes us healthier people. Wholer people. Better people. People who understand that life has an exquisite tenuousness about it we never valued. Who don't waste time grasping at grudges or playing hide and seek with honesty. People who look for ways to hold out grace because we know other humans are as afraid as we are. Who realize that being afraid is an illusion that keeps us from completing the quest.
I hate grief. I hate loss. I really hate giant spiders. But I love the other side.
Sometime the grief is so big I don't know how to even begin. I look at it like I am standing at the top of a cliff, looking over the canyon. I know I have to go down into the canyon and climb back out of the other side. I just wonder which is the safest and least painful way to do it? I realize that now matter how I do it, there is going to be more pain than I can even image. So I have sat down and I am resting until….. I can feel that God is in the lead.
After a vicious MS attack I awoke in the middle of a quagmire. I could not see the other side, the view was murkey, my thoughts a confused ball and my emotions were a flat line. Barely able to funcion I took the stance, "Lord, I want to learn everything you can teach me from this diease." It has been scary and many times I wanted to quit. I totally get Bilbo! But I think He allows dark places to help us see His glory more clearly. If we listen for His song, the sounds in the darkness aren't as scary.
Jill, I appreciate your post today. Thanks for the encouragement. We will make it to the other side–He's leading the way.
Hi, Carol. Daily physical pain has got to be one of the hardest things to keep looking for the positive in. I just know that, though I hate some of the things I've been through, I would never want to go back to being the person I was before God took me through them. Yes, life can be extremely murky, and your image of listening when we can't see is great.
I can hear your pain, and even though I don't know what it is, I recognize that canyon. I haven't been on the other side that long. Or maybe not yet quite standing. As i heard Sunday, sometimes we walk away from the struggle with a limp we'll keep forever, but we should be proud of that limp. It means we wrestled and grew. I will pray for God's lead for you.
Thanks, Rose. You are awesome for tweeting!


text:
What If Foundation
Transforming the lives of Haitian children through food and education programs
Na Rive Pilots
Catherine Lelong
Interim Executive Director
"Haiti is in my blood and my heart. Since I was a child, I've been impressed by how a nation with such great injustices and tormented history has managed to embody such wonderful warmth, liveliness and strength - making the Haitian culture so special and unique. I feel fortunate to have found What If Foundation and take part in helping Na Rive improve the lives of children and families in Ti Plas Kazo. I believe in the kindness, empathy and focus the foundation stands for and, most of all, that transformation in Haiti will come through small community-driven steps towards the bright future it deserves. Piti piti na rive."
Mia Masia
Donor Relations Associate
"My work for What If Foundation is a constant reminder of the existence of compassion. As I open letters, read messages and communicate with donors, I know they feel part of something extraordinary and wonderful. It is a joy for me to hear why people choose to give to Haiti and what brought them to the What If Foundation family. I've travelled extensively in the West Indies, but being in Ti Plas Kazo for the opening of the Father Jeri School was especially memorable. I was able to see, first-hand, the direct and remarkable impact our donors and partner are making in Port-au-Prince."
Patricia Stevens
"I first developed an interest in Haiti when I traveled there with a church group thirty years ago. It was a blessing, therefore, to subsequently meet Margaret Trost, What If Foundation's Founder. I was inspired by Margaret's generous response to her own experience in Haiti, and I was pleased to be able to serve on the What If Foundation Board for several years. For the past four years, I have continued my involvement with the Foundation through volunteer bookkeeping work. It is a privilege to have a role in supporting the work of the What If Foundation – programs which enrich and empower the lives of so many children."
Natalie Linden
Writer (consultant)
"When I became a mom, it was amazing to me how immediately I felt a love and responsibility for all children. I work with What If Foundation because I believe every kid deserves an equal shot in life, and the What If Foundation's partnership with Na Rive is incredibly effective at creating those opportunities for as many kids as possible. I feel honored that I can use my expertise to support their efforts and actually change lives. My time writing for the What If Foundation is the best part of my week."
Natalie is a Freelance Writer and Brand Strategist.
Catherine is a Global Marketing Strategist.
"After the 2010 earthquake I was looking for a way to help the victims in Haiti and I learned about What If Foundation's sustained efforts to help in Port-au-Prince. As a mother, its mission to provide education as well as nutrition to very poor children resonated with me very much. Furthermore, I was impressed because What If Foundation is a small organization that partners closely with a Haitian nonprofit. This partnership has resulted in effective programs that directly impact the lives of thousands of children. I feel fortunate and excited to be able to make a difference by being part of the What If Foundation team."
Elizabeth is an Assistant Clinical Professor, Department of Psychology, UC Berkeley.
Laura A. Crabb
Board Treasurer
"I read Margaret Trost's book, On That Day Everybody Ate, and was moved by the spirit of the Haitian people. The impact on me through words was experienced in person by my son when he visited Haiti in the summer of 2014. His stories, along with my passion to educate and support our youth, brought me to the What If Foundation. The energy the youth bring is inspiring and I want to encourage all efforts that work to achieve their advancement. I am honored to be part of a grassroots organization that has already proven to be successful."
Laura is a Senior Vice President at Wells Fargo Bank.
Kate Doherty
"I had the pleasure of visiting Na Rive in 2014, during a trip with Margaret, our Founder, and got a crash course in the history and the wonderful people of Ti Plas Kazo. It was impossible not to want to be more involved with the awe-inspiring work What If Foundation enables. Being able to witness the audacity of hope that struck me when I read Margaret's book On that Day Everybody Ate, I found myself wanting to give wind to the wings that hope flies on. The legacy and vision of Father Jean-Juste is alive and well at Na Rive, and it is such an honor to be a part of that."
Kathy is a Pastoral Associate at Sacred Heart & Our Lady's Collaborative.
"It has been an honor and a pleasure to be a member of the What If Foundation Board for the last few years, working to support Na Rive with education and nutrition programs in Ti Plas Kazo. I am incredibly proud of the Father Jeri School which hundreds of children attend, and of the long-lasting food program which serves thousands of children for whom the meal we provide is often the only one they will have that day. I look forward to continuing to work with the Board and Na Rive to help the school thrive, nourish these children, and change the course of their lives."
Susan is Supervising Deputy Attorney General, California Department of Justice.
Adeline Dougherty
"When I visited Haiti after the 2010 earthquake, I was amazed at the perseverance and optimism of the Haitian people. Volunteering at a hospital, surrounded by people who had lost everything, I only saw smiles around. It was a very inspiring experience and made me realize how much I took for granted. I am so grateful to work with the to help our neighbors rebuild their beautiful country. I believe that every child should have access to basic needs, like food and education."
Adeline is a strategist at Google.
Margaret Trost
"Having the opportunity to be in partnership with Fr. Jean-Juste when he was alive and to continue supporting his vision for the Ti Plas Kazo community with Na Rive is one of the greatest joys and privileges of my life. The care, heart, and devotion that goes into making the food and education programs in Port-au-Prince possible – both in the states through the What If Foundation board, staff, and donors and in Haiti through the members of Na Rive – is beautiful and inspiring. Love in action. Piti piti na rive! Little by little we will arrive."
Margaret is the Founder of the What If Foundation.
Bryan Sirchio
"I had the privilege to introduce What If Foundation founder Margaret Trost to Haiti during a trip I led in 2000. It has been a joy to watch this program grow and evolve, and I am proud to be associated with it. I served on the What If Foundation board for over 10 years and I continue to work with various grass roots organizations in Haiti. The dignity and respect for the Haitian people at the heart of every aspect of What If Foundation's methodology is what touches me most deeply and inspires me most consistently to stay connected and to let others know about this wonderful organization."
Bryan is the Founder and Director of Crosswind Music Ministries, Haiti Allies.org, and CEO of the Convergence Music Project.
Mark Zaifman
"I read Margaret Trost's book, On That Day Everybody Ate, and it inspired me greatly. To be of service to a cause that helps so many Haitians was a calling impossible to ignore. To give back, to help those in need is the reason I so eagerly wanted to join as a board advisor. At the end of the day, it won't be about how much money we made, or how many possessions we owned. It will be about what we did as individuals to make this world a better place for those in need. It's an honor and privilege to be part of an organization that is making such a tremendous impact on the lives of so many."
Mark is the Founder of Spiritus Financial Planning.
Na Rive
Our Haitian partner, Na Rive, carries out the vision of celebrated Haitian human rights activist Father Gerard Jean-Juste ('Jeri') and runs the programs the What If Foundation funds. The Na Rive team led by Program Director Lavarice Gaudin, who worked closely with Father Jeri and took the reins of Na Rive after Father Jeri's death in 2009, continues to work tirelessly through turbulent political and economic times to ensure that food, education, and hope are available to as many children and families as possible.
Na Rive is a Haitian nonprofit organization with deep roots in Ti Plas Kazo. The name Na Rive comes from the Haitian proverb "piti piti na rive," which means "little by little, we will arrive." Their ingenuity, resourcefulness, love and perseverance fuel every step they take to improve the lives of children and families in the Ti Plas Kazo neighborhood and beyond. We are incredibly proud to support their vision for the future of this community and for Haiti at large.
"Few organizations in Haiti have successfully helped those in need, and even fewer organizations have let Haitians lead the way. This is what makes the What If Foundation and its partnership with Na Rive unique and impactful."
Lavarice Gaudin, Program Director, Na Rive
info@whatiffoundation.org
1569 Solano Ave., #192
Berkeley, CA 94707, USA
Copyright © 2020 What If Foundation


text:
Loyang Secondary School : exterior
Streets and Places
Tan, Chun Wei
Little Red Dot Collection {18549142}
This 2009 photograph shows an exterior view of Loyang Secondary School, located at 12 Pasir Ris Street 11, in a Housing and Development Board (HDB) housing estate. The school was initially housed in East View Secondary School in Tampines, and only moved to its present premises in 1990. Title devised by Library staff.
From the Little Red Dot Collection. All rights reserved. National Library Board, 2009
High schools--Singapore--Photographs
High school buildings--Singapore---Photographs
Aerial photographs showing Pulau Tekong, Yew Tee, Bukit Panjang, Mandai Road, part of Johore Bahru
Aerial photographs from east to west across central part of Singapore
Aerial photographs from east to west showing: Ama Keng to Bukit Panjang, Mandai
Aerial photographs showing Causeway through Bukit Panjang, Yew Tee, Mandai and Woodlands, part of Johore Bahru
Aerial photographs showing Chua Chu Kang Road
Aerial photographs showing Sungei Seletar through Seletar and Sungei Punggol to Sungei Serangoon, across Ama Keng to Yew Tee
Aerial photographs showing Chua Chu Kang, Ama Keng, Yew Tee
Aerial photographs from east to west across northern part of Singapore


Check out NACo's PILT Toolkit, an important advocacy tool for America's public lands counties. In this toolkit you will find several useful resources designed to help county officials educate Congress, the administration and the public on the importance of the Payments in Lieu of Taxes program and the need to fully fund PILT in FY 2018 and beyond.
This toolkit includes a sample Op-Ed and Letter to the Editor along with talking points on the importance of PILT to help you write your own.
Remember to tag your members of Congress in your tweets and Facebook posts. Sample tweets and posts for social media are provided in this toolkit.


text:
[Mika Kobayashi Profile]
Singer songwriter, born in Hiroshima, Japan.
Mika, as a live artist, has been pursuing a solo career as a songwriter who sings with the piano. She has been performing across Japan with a focus in Tokyo, and also touring overseas, especially in Europe.
Her work includes:
Drama: NHK morning TV serial story "Mare", "Iryu 3– Team Medical Dragon 3"
Movie: "Platina Data" etc.
Animation: "Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress", "Attack on Titan(Giant of Advance)", "Gundam UC", "Aldnoah Zero" etc.
TV Commercial: UCC Full Throttle
Game: "FINAL FANTASY XI", "XenobladeX" etc.
She established her own independent label "miccabose" in 2016, despite the fact that, after many years of experience, she had realized the life of a freelance artist is a difficult one. She chose to continue on this thorny path.
[Mika Kobayashi, Biography]
Mika started to learn to play the piano when she was young, but she grew to be more passionate about acting and was more interested in acting when she was an elementary school student. In her 5th grade, she performed a monologue for the first time in front of all the students at her elementary school.
When she was in high school, she loved singing so much that she created a music band. This led her to a decision to pursue a career as a singer.
She moved to Tokyo at the age of 18 and started to compose songs. However, she immersed herself in dancing for a few years since the dance craze was booming in Japan at the time. Naturally, she became a singer/ songwriter who can dance with backing dancers.
When Mika was 22 years old, she was awarded a grand prize at a vocal audition with over 1000 applicants. However, she started to receive requests from people in the music industry to create a type of songs which did not match her taste. That is when she began to question whether that was really what she wanted to do.
After some twists and turns, she finally found her own style as a singer and songwriter. Then at the age of 25, she started the music career which better reflects her core-self.
It can be said this is when her real music activities actually began.
Having felt that she went the long way around to reach this point, she felt an urge to create something original based on her personal experiences. She started to create a stage performance combining "Acting and Music", collaborating with performers and actors she believed presented high-grade performance. She has been also taking on a challenge to visualize "Mika Kobayashi's music".
She performed in her work "Itoguruma (Spinning Wheel)" in Italy, in which an actress performs as a doll. Almost all the audience stayed to the end of her performance and gave her a standing ovation, despite the fact Italy is where reviewers are known for their harsh comments, and that audiences usually leave a venue if they feel the performance is not worth watching. That is when Mika realized her expression style can convey her messages even in a foreign country.
Since then, she has been integrating her stage performance with her own narration and images on a screen, based on her album concept whenever a new one is released. More and more people are becoming her fans every year and look forward to her new works.
Mika performed in the annually-held performance "Kaiseki Series" in Japan and the annual performance "SAMURAI SPIRIT" overseas, both of which were conducted in collaboration with Samurai Sword Artist Kengishu KAMUI. They were both extrememly successful.
The performances were put on at "Blue Note Jazz's Hall of Fame" in Poland, and the "Hermitage Museum" in Russia, the 3rd biggest museum in the world. For these performances, not only were all the seats were filled, but also they received a thunderous standing ovation. She is planning to continue to put on the performance with KAMUI in various countries.
The show "Uta Katana Sekai", in which Mika and Kengishu KAMUI performed together for the first time in a long time, served as a compilation of their works. It became such a big hit that the show was repeated.
In the field of pop culture, Mika is known for singing theme songs of many popular animated TV programs and movies. She also has been putting on live performances in foreign countries and participating in annual events, mostly animation related ones.
She has a reputation for her unique staging style, integrating her dancing and acting experiences. She is talented in creating various stages relevant to the theme of an event.
Her goal is to continue to express herself as "Mika Kobayashi", collaborating with a wide variety of artists, such as visual creators, photographers, musicians, and performers.
Schedule (Overseas)
August/2(fri)-4(sun) Rosengarten, Mannheim, Germany
AnimagiC2019
act:Mika Kobayashi / and so on
https://animagic.de/animagic2019/mika-kobayashi-2019
https://animagic.de/animagic2019/kamui-2019
https://animagic.tickettoaster.de/produkte
Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/AnimagiC.de/photos/a.337722536271692/2366309900079602/
Twitter : https://twitter.com/AnimagiCtweet/status/1145633606372642817
Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/p/BzXrvFan07p/
▶To Discography Page
▶To Movie Page
小林未郁 mika kobayashi
@miccabose


text:
package com.google.cloud.tools.jib.cli.buildfile;

import com.fasterxml.jackson.annotation.JsonCreator;
import com.fasterxml.jackson.annotation.JsonProperty;
import com.google.cloud.tools.jib.api.Ports;
import com.google.cloud.tools.jib.api.buildplan.AbsoluteUnixPath;
import com.google.cloud.tools.jib.api.buildplan.ImageFormat;
import com.google.cloud.tools.jib.api.buildplan.Port;
import com.google.cloud.tools.jib.cli.Instants;
import com.google.common.base.Preconditions;
import com.google.common.collect.ImmutableMap;
import com.google.common.collect.ImmutableSet;
import java.time.Instant;
import java.util.List;
import java.util.Map;
import java.util.Optional;
import java.util.Set;
import java.util.stream.Collectors;
import javax.annotation.Nullable;

/**
 * A yaml block for specifying a jib cli buildfile.
 *
 *
Example use of this yaml.
 *
 *
{@code
 * apiVersion: v1alpha1
 * kind: BuildFile
 * from: see }{@link BaseImageSpec}{@code
 * creationTime: 100
 * format: docker
 * environment:
 *   env_key: env_value
 * labels:
 *   label_key: label_value
 * volumes:
 *   - /my/volume
 * exposedPorts:
 *   - 8080
 * user: username
 * workingDirectory: /workspace
 * entrypoint:
 *   - java
 *   - -jar
 * cmd:
 *   - myjar.jar
 * layers: see }{@link LayersSpec}{@code
 * }

 */
public class BuildFileSpec {
  private final String apiVersion;
  private final String kind;
  @Nullable private final BaseImageSpec from;
  @Nullable private final Instant creationTime;
  @Nullable private final ImageFormat format;
  private final Map<String, String> environment;
  private final Map<String, String> labels;
  private final Set<AbsoluteUnixPath> volumes;
  private final Set<Port> exposedPorts;
  @Nullable private final String user;
  @Nullable private final AbsoluteUnixPath workingDirectory;
  /**
   * Entrypoint has special behavior as a nullable list. When null, it delegates to the existing
   * base image entrypoint. If non null (including empty) it overwrites the base image entrypoint.
   */
  @Nullable private final List<String> entrypoint;
  /**
   * Cmd has special behavior as a nullable list. When null, it delegates to the existing base image
   * cmd. If non null (including empty) it overwrites the base image cmd.
   */
  @Nullable private final List<String> cmd;

  @Nullable private final LayersSpec layers;

  /**
   * Constructor for use by jackson to populate this object.
   *
   * @param apiVersion the api version of this buildfile
   * @param kind the type of configuration file (always BuildFile)
   * @param from a {@link BaseImageSpec} for specifying the base image
   * @param creationTime in milliseconds since epoch or ISO 8601 datetime
   * @param format of the container, valid values in {@link ImageFormat}
   * @param environment to write into container
   * @param labels to write into container metadata
   * @param volumes directories on container that may hold external volumes
   * @param exposedPorts a set of ports to expose on the container
   * @param user the username or id to run the container
   * @param workingDirectory an absolute path to the default working directory
   * @param entrypoint the container entry point
   * @param cmd the container entrypoint command arguments
   * @param layers a list of {@link LayerSpec} that define the container filesystem
   */
  @JsonCreator
  public BuildFileSpec(
      @JsonProperty(value = "apiVersion", required = true) String apiVersion,
      @JsonProperty(value = "kind", required = true) String kind,
      @JsonProperty("from") BaseImageSpec from,
      @JsonProperty("creationTime") String creationTime,
      @JsonProperty("format") String format,
      @JsonProperty("environment") Map<String, String> environment,
      @JsonProperty("labels") Map<String, String> labels,
      @JsonProperty("volumes") Set<String> volumes,
      @JsonProperty("exposedPorts") List<String> exposedPorts,
      @JsonProperty("user") String user,
      @JsonProperty("workingDirectory") String workingDirectory,
      @JsonProperty("entrypoint") List<String> entrypoint,
      @JsonProperty("cmd") List<String> cmd,
      @JsonProperty("layers") LayersSpec layers) {

    Validator.checkNotNullAndNotEmpty(apiVersion, "apiVersion");
    Validator.checkEquals(kind, "kind", "BuildFile");

    Validator.checkNullOrNotEmpty(creationTime, "creationTime");
    Validator.checkNullOrNotEmpty(format, "format");
    Validator.checkNullOrNonNullNonEmptyEntries(environment, "environment");
    Validator.checkNullOrNonNullNonEmptyEntries(labels, "labels");
    Validator.checkNullOrNonNullNonEmptyEntries(volumes, "volumes");
    Validator.checkNullOrNonNullNonEmptyEntries(exposedPorts, "exposedPorts");
    Validator.checkNullOrNotEmpty(user, "user");
    Validator.checkNullOrNotEmpty(workingDirectory, "workingDirectory");
    Validator.checkNullOrNonNullNonEmptyEntries(entrypoint, "entrypoint");
    Validator.checkNullOrNonNullNonEmptyEntries(cmd, "cmd");

    this.apiVersion = apiVersion;
    Preconditions.checkArgument(
        "BuildFile".equals(kind), "Field 'kind' must be BuildFile but is " + kind);
    this.kind = kind;
    this.from = from;
    this.creationTime =
        (creationTime == null) ? null : Instants.fromMillisOrIso8601(creationTime, "creationTime");
    this.format = (format == null) ? null : ImageFormat.valueOf(format);
    this.environment = (environment == null) ? ImmutableMap.of() : environment;
    this.labels = (labels == null) ? ImmutableMap.of() : labels;
    this.volumes =
        (volumes == null)
            ? ImmutableSet.of()
            : volumes.stream().map(AbsoluteUnixPath::get).collect(Collectors.toSet());
    this.exposedPorts = (exposedPorts == null) ? ImmutableSet.of() : Ports.parse(exposedPorts);
    this.user = user;
    this.workingDirectory =
        (workingDirectory == null) ? null : AbsoluteUnixPath.get(workingDirectory);
    this.entrypoint = entrypoint;
    this.cmd = cmd;
    this.layers = layers;
  }

  public String getApiVersion() {
    return apiVersion;
  }

  public String getKind() {
    return kind;
  }

  public Optional<BaseImageSpec> getFrom() {
    return Optional.ofNullable(from);
  }

  public Optional<Instant> getCreationTime() {
    return Optional.ofNullable(creationTime);
  }

  public Optional<ImageFormat> getFormat() {
    return Optional.ofNullable(format);
  }

  public Map<String, String> getEnvironment() {
    return environment;
  }

  public Map<String, String> getLabels() {
    return labels;
  }

  public Set<AbsoluteUnixPath> getVolumes() {
    return volumes;
  }

  public Set<Port> getExposedPorts() {
    return exposedPorts;
  }

  public Optional<String> getUser() {
    return Optional.ofNullable(user);
  }

  public Optional<AbsoluteUnixPath> getWorkingDirectory() {
    return Optional.ofNullable(workingDirectory);
  }

  public Optional<List<String>> getEntrypoint() {
    return Optional.ofNullable(entrypoint);
  }

  public Optional<List<String>> getCmd() {
    return Optional.ofNullable(cmd);
  }

  public Optional<LayersSpec> getLayers() {
    return Optional.ofNullable(layers);
  }
}