text:
Forever Young, Part 2
On Sunday morning My mother, Tom, and I went to the 8:30 mass at my mom's church in Seaford, Our Lady of Lourdes,
...where a lovely May altar had been set up outside the church.
The altar inside Our Lady of Lourdes church.
Laura, one of my mother's home helpers, was at the service and afterwards came over for a chat,
...and a photo op.
After church my mom, Tom, and I headed over to Pizza King, my mom's usual Sunday morning breakfast venue (see yesterday's post),
...where my mom declared that if I was going to keep taking her picture then she was going to start hamming it up,
...and where the waitress arrived at our table with my mom's standard cup of decaf before we even sat down. "On Sunday morning we always know she's coming so we always save her a booth," our waitress explained.
I guess there are some things to be said for small-town living.
The food was yummy:
My mom ordered her usual, "one, one, and one" (except that on the bacon it looks like they threw in two),
...and I ordered my usual, sunny side up eggs with potatoes and toast.
Tom went with the blueberry pancakes, which were huge and deliciously fluffy.
Soon after breakfast we headed to my brother's beach house in Bethany Beach, about an hour form Seaford along the Delaware coast.
When we arrived at my brother's house we were greeted by my niece's puppy Macy, who'd found herself a cozy spot in the sandy front yard.
After spending some time catching up with family members,
...my sister-in-law set out some yummy snacks,
...which we all enjoyed.
My sister-in-law, Tom, and I went out for a walk to the beach.
...where the Atlantic coastline was all shades of grey on this chilly, overcast day,
..such a different color scheme from what we'd recently seen along the Pacific coastlines in Los Angeles,
...and Hawaii,
...but still beautiful in its own grey way.
After our walk we said our good-byes then headed back to Seaford.
For dinner we opted to return to Pizza King as it was the restaurant closest to my mother's house,
...the price is right,
...and the food is good.
My mom had the fish and chips,
...Tom had the turkey dinner,
...and I ordered the cheese steak,
...which was as close to a Philly Cheese Steak as I've had outside of Philly (except that I ordered mushrooms on my cheese steak. A real Philly Cheese Steak doesn't have mushrooms).
As everyone was in the mood for dessert (like when are we not?),
...my mom and Tom ordered the blueberry pie,
..and I had my favorite of all favorites, coconut cream pie.
I'm happy to report that this was a particularly melt-in-your mouth delicious slice.
After dinner we did a little shopping at Walmart.
Then we returned home from our long, busy day, all of us old enough to appreciate what a gift a long, busy day is.
Over this past Memorial Day weekend Tom and I drove from Columbus, Ohio, to Seaford, Delaware, to visit my mother, who will turn 97 years old in June.
Though I talk to my mom on a regular basis, it had been almost a year since I'd last seen her and I was wondering how she would look, how she would be, now,
...compared to two years ago,
...or one year ago.
Here's how my mother looked when she greeted us upon our arrival last Friday night,
...with a bowl of fruit salad that she'd made for us, an assortment of cookies and sweets, and a refrigerator full of snacks and drinks.
Also there to greet us were my mom's three cats, strays she's adopted,
...Blacky,
...Hidey, so named because he likes to hide,
...and Sylvester, a pretty black and white ball of fur who refused to sit still for a picture.
As usual, I was amazed at how well my mom was doing, how good she looked, and how cheerful she was.
Though in truth she's always been a pretty cheerful lady.
I'd heard from siblings who live closer to my mom than I do that she was refusing to use her walker.
But then I saw for myself that she in fact was using her walker,
...to store things in and hang things on.
"I'm not going to use that old thing," said my mom of her walker, "it makes me feel like an old lady and I don't want to feel like an old lady!"
Can't argue with that.
Especially when we woke up the following morning to find that my mom,
...looking lovely,
...had fixed us a beautiful breakfast of cheese omelettes, bagels, fruit salad, and sticky buns.
After breakfast my mom pulled out a box of chocolates.
Now, candy immediately after breakfast is more than even I, the Sugar Queen, can handle. Tom likewise declined.
My mom, however, dug in.
"I really shouldn't eat so much chocolate," she said.
"No, Mom," said I, "you should keep eating exactly what you're eating and doing exactly what you're doing."
It occurred to me that maybe we all should start eating chocolate after breakfast.
In truth, besides the benefits of chocolate, my mother has the benefit of two wonderful ladies who are her tag-team of in-home helpers:
...her dear friend Fran,
...and Laura, who make it possible for her to continue to live an active life.
Every morning either Fran or Laura swings by my mom's house and takes her to Mass. Afterwards they go for breakfast at McDonald's with my mom's church group, except on Sundays when they go after church to breakfast at a local restaurant called Pizza King,
...where one can get a great breakfast, and lots of other dishes besides pizza. Go figure.
After breakfast Fran or Laura generally drive my mom to doctor's appointments, shopping trips, or to run whatever errands need to be run. Then they head home where the ladies take care of whatever house work needs to be done, usually finding time to fit in a game or two of Scrabble with my mom. My mom's helpers generally leave by mid-afternoon and she's good for the rest of the day and evening, though friends, neighbors, and my brother and his wife often stop by to visit.
After breakfast and chocolates my mom showed me some pictures from the Christmas party she hosted last December.
...of the yummy-looking food,
...and my brother Michael with five of his ten kids.
Then I spent some wandering around my mother's house, looking at things,
Among some of my mother's mementos I came across these photos of my father,
...and this local news article from a couple of years ago.
I asked her about this table set up in her dining room,
...and my mother explained that this is for the weekly meetings of her Legion of Mary group who, since they lost their former meeting site, now hold their meetings at her house.
Later that afternoon my mother saw her next-door neighbor, one of her many good neighbors who watch out for her, out in his back yard,
...so she walked over to his yard and invited him and his cute poochie to come over for a visit since Tom and I were there.
At dinner time we we went to eat at my mom's favorite restaurant, the Stargate Diner,
...a homey place,
...family owned,
...with the nicest ambiance,
...and the biggest portions of the best food.
My mom ordered the salmon stuffed with crab meat,
...while Tom had the sea trout,
...and I had the eggplant parmesan.
Our meals were ginormous, and came with soup or the salad bar as well.
During dinner the daughter of the owner walked around the restaurant talking to the guests.
"Romaine, why did they seat you here?" she asked my mother, who is one of the regulars, "I was looking for you in the other room."
After our delicious and pleasant dinner at the Stargate, we came home,
...and Tom and I went for a walk around my mother's neighbor-
When we got back my mom had the desserts ready and waiting.
Thoughts On Memorial Day, 2017
Earlier today, as Tom and I sat whiling away the time,
...stopped in the Memorial Day traffic headed west on Interstate 70 on our way back home to Columbus, Ohio from a visit to my mother in Seaford, Delaware,
…I ruminated aloud, mostly just to make conversation: "So who exactly do we honor on Memorial Day? All Americans who've served in the military who've died? Or just the ones who've died in wars? Or do we honor all war veterans living and dead? – which I guess we do anyway on Veterans Day, when we honor all veterans, living and dead, whether or not they've fought in a war. What do you think?"
Tom, who tends to know a lot about American history, military history, and many things in general,
…replied that the celebration of Memorial Day – originally called Decoration Day – began soon after the Civil War as a remembrance of that war's dead, though the North and South at first celebrated on different dates.
Eventually, Tom continued, the name of the holiday changed as well as the date, which was switched about 30 or 40 years ago* from the fixed date of May 30 to the last Monday in May in order to give us a three-day weekend.
By then, according to Tom, the original intent of the holiday had likewise evolved into a more inclusive commemoration. "This used to be a day commemorating those who died in the Civil War," he said, "but nowadays Memorial Day has become a day to remember not only members of the American military who've died in wars, but all veterans, living and dead, as well as anyone, veteran or not, who's died that we wish to memorialize."
Then Tom added, "But I think the real purpose of Memorial Day should be to recall all the Americans who've died in wars. If once a year we as a nation looked at the number of American lives lost in wars it might serve as a cautionary against rushing into future wars."
And I thought, well, that would be good, and maybe it might. In a different world.
For what it's worth, I looked up the number of American service members who have died in all the wars, good and bad, that we've fought in the past 241 years since the birth of our country.
Over 1.1 million Americans have died in wars. Over 500,000 of these died during The Civil War. Of those 500,000, most died from disease and infections.
* I looked it up: Memorial day was switched from May 30 to the last Monday in May in1971.
Happy Memorial Day.
1.http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/many-americans-died-u-s-wars/
2.https://www.google.com/search?q=what+did+most+soldiers+die+of+in+civil+war&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8
SOS...SOS...SOS
Jared Kushner and Russia's ambassador to Washington discussed the possibility of setting up a secret and secure communications channel between Trump's transition team and the Kremlin, using Russian diplomatic facilities in an apparent move to shield their pre-inauguration discussions from monitoring, according to U.S. officials briefed on intelligence reports.
Ambassador Sergey Kislyak reported to his superiors in Moscow that Kushner, son-in-law and confidant to then-President-elect Trump, made the proposal during a meeting on Dec. 1 or 2 at Trump Tower, according to intercepts of Russian communications that were reviewed by U.S. officials. Kislyak said Kushner suggested using Russian diplomatic facilities in the United States for the communications.
The meeting was also attended by Michael Flynn, Trump's first national security adviser.
In addition to their discussion about setting up the communications channel, Kushner, Flynn and Kislyak also talked about arranging a meeting between a representative of Trump and a "Russian contact" in a third country whose name was not identified, according to the anonymous letter.
Erick Prince, the former founder of the private security firm Blackwater and an informal adviser to the Trump transition team, met on Jan. 11 – nine days before Trump's inauguration – in the Seychelles Islands in the Indian Ocean with a representative of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The above is not a passage from a novel. The words were not lifted from a spy thriller of intrigue and high treason about the infiltration of the American government at the highest level by an alliance of powerful individuals secretly in league with a hostile foreign power.
Jared Kushner is not an invented character,
....not a fictional son-in-law of a fictional President who, motivated by a lust for self-enrichment and power, attempts to set up a secret channel of communications between himself and Moscow.
A meeting between an advisor to the President and an agent of a brutal Russian dictator on an island in the Indian Ocean; a clandestine plot to set up a liaison between an American and a "Russian contact" in a mysterious third foreign country – such treachery is not the brainchild of some story-writer's imagination.
No, the above is from the front-page news story of yesterday's Washington Post.
In normal times such a news story would have shocked and rocked our country and the world, would have made the heart of every American race to think that the President's closest advisor, the husband of the President's daughter, was at the head of a secret conspiracy of White House insiders in collusion with a foreign power opposed to our national interests and the values upon which our nation was founded.
In normal times a Jared Kushner would have by now been escorted by Federal officers from his luxury high-rise office in handcuffs. In normal times this sort of thing would have been news. It would have been treason of momentous proportions. It would have been one for the history books.
But in these times? Eh. Jared Kushner's collaboration with Russian operatives is merely the outrage du jour – for half the country. The other half, if they even pay attention, will ask with a yawn and a shrug, "So what if he wants to talk to the Russians?"
The Justice Department won't make a move against Kushner because the Attorney General has also been in secret communication with the Russians, except that's likewise no secret anymore and apparently no big deal, either. Congress won't take any action against Jared Kushner because both The House and The Senate are ruled by Republican apparatchiks, none of whom dare think or act for themselves,
… and are tied to following their leader down the garden path to Hell if required of them.
*Flying a flag upside down means "Help. We are in dire trouble."
"Russia diplomat: Kushner sought secret channel," by Ellen Nakashima, Adam Entous and Greg Miller, The Washington Post, May 27, 2017, page 1.
Donald Trump, Our Embarrassment In Chief
Good Lord, has there ever been a more embarrassing time to be an American?
That overseas tour that was supposed to be Donald Trump's big opportunity to appear Presidential before the world?
That video of him shoving aside the Prime Minister of Montenegro and planting himself front and center, his extra-wide girth displacing everyone else in the group ?
Then straightening his lapels and striking that ridiculously pompous Louis the Sixteenth pose?
Cringe worthy.
Did I say Louis the Sixteenth?
No, make that Frank Drebin, the bungling and unfailingly inappropriate police detective in the "Naked Gun" comedies.
...who's always causing embarrassing international incidents.
Here, if you haven't already seen the video of Donald Trump pushing the Prime Minister, look at it now:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrTOlNDMTvg
You can't unsee that.
Look at the European dignitaries around him – are they chuckling?
Sigh. Well, if they weren't then, they are now. Everybody is. Good Lord.
But that video-recorded debacle isn't even the biggest or worst embarrassment perpetrated upon our country by our … choke…gag… President.
Far worse was Donald Trump's intelligence spill a few weeks back during his meeting – inappropriate in and of itself – with a couple of high-ranking Russian foreign ministers,
...among them Sergey Kislyak, who it appears already has his tentacles reaching a little too deeply into the White House and the Trump dynasty.
But couldn't that scene between Trump and Putin's people likewise have come straight out of a "Naked Gun" episode? Say, "Frank Drebin meets the Russians?" Can't you see it? Detective Drebin– played by Donald Trump, who does the part in real life better than Leslie Nielsen did on screen - has been entrusted by U.S. intelligence with some sensitive top secret information, but while trying to show off and one-up his adversaries he accidentally blabs what he was supposed to be protecting to the people he was supposed to be protecting it from.
The surprised Russians exchange happy glances while Drebin's's (Trump's) staff members slap their foreheads. Funny stuff, no?
Except in real life. In this case Donald Trump's behavior was worse than embarrassing ; his big careless mouth may have blown the cover of an Israeli operative working deep in ISIS territory, jeopardizing not only the life of the operative but our trust relationship with an important ally.
And yet in terms of a recent national embarrassments, perhaps the pièce de résistance was the announcement made last week by infuriated British officials after the terrorist bombing in Manchester that the United Kingdom would no longer share intelligence with the United States after classified photographs and police evidence on suspects was leaked by from the American intelligence community to the press.
How mortifying for us as a nation that our intelligence agencies, once considered the gold standard, have been devalued to junk-bond status. How sad for us to suffer such a down grade in world standing that we, who once sat at the head of the table no longer even deserve a place at the table as far as at least one of our closest allies is concerned.
And though Donald Trump has denounced the leak of the Manchester bombing evidence by American agents and has promised to find and punish the leakers, the responsibility for that offense lies squarely at his own feet. The White House has been leaking like a sieve since the beginning of the Trump administration,
…Trump himself being a prime offender.
If there's no responsibility, no competence, no discretion and very little maturity, even, at the top, there will a lack of those qualities within the ranks below. Donald Trump's staff and subordinates can't be trusted to be discreet, closed-mouthed and protective of their President because they harbor no respect for, no admiration or fondness of, and therefore no loyalty to him. Or, now it seems, to their own mission under his presidency.
And, unfortunately for us Americans, when a country is being governed by a low comedy dog-and-pony act, the citizens who elected the Ring Master will also end up looking like clowns.
I suppose It's no wonder we love our monster movies,
...as we're currently loving "Alien Covenant," the most recent blockbuster in the saga of a ruthless, faceless, soulless, but exceptionally opportunistic and seemingly inexterminable alien,
...who lurks in its dark habitat just waiting to pounce upon, terrorize and destroy humanity, even though it was humans who haplessly gave it ascendancy through our own folly, naivete, and greed.
No wonder we find this particular monster so engaging.
But while "Alien Covenant" continues to rule number one at box offices nationwide, another monster movie has, sadly, been languishing under the radar, at least here in Columbus, Ohio.
The movie "Colossal" never made it to the local mainstream theaters,
...nor even to the Drexel, our home for independent and arty film,
...but was relegated to the Gateway Film Center across from Ohio State,
...which shows the artiest, most out-there, weirdest movies that come to Columbus,
...among which "Colossal" probably is,
...yet in a weirdly wonderful way.
Anyway, the movie is a monster movie/dark comedy starring Anne Hathaway,
...in the kind of role she could probably do in her sleep.
She plays a young woman named Gloria who has lost herself in a sea of drinking and partying, has been fired from her job in New York and dropped by her boyfriend, who kicks her out of the apartment they shared together.
Broke and at loose ends,
...Gloria has no option but to move back to her small, down-on-its-luck Midwestern home town and live in the vacant house left to her by her parents.
She meets up with Oscar, played by Jason Sudeikis, a local slacker she went to school with who offers her a job in the run-down bar he inherited,
...which facilitates the continuation of her drink-all-night-sleep-all-day lifestyle.
Meanwhile the rest of the world is in shock and uproar over a Godzilla-like monster that has materialized in Seoul, South Korea, wreaking death and destruction upon the city.
Gloria eventually becomes aware that the monster has the same nervous tics as she does,
...and stomps around Seoul every night at the same time as she's stumbling home every morning in a drunken haze.
The rest of the movie is a wildly entertaining metaphor for...well...that's what one could stay up all night discussing:
The destructive manifestation of repressed hurt, fear, emotional trauma, rage, jealousy, and/or self-loathing?
The Freudian theory that one must uncover the origins of one's dysfunction before one can deal with one's dysfunction?
Whether the need to control is a manifestation of abuse or whether abuse is the manifestation of a need to control?
Monsters can beget monsters can beget monsters can beget monsters; so conquering your own monster may well involve conquering a correlative monster?
All of the above? None of the above?
Tom, with whom I saw "Colossal,"
..came up with what I thought was a brilliant deduction about the movie: That Seoul was chosen as the setting because this is a city that lives with the danger that two foreign powers with destructive capabilities could play out their hostilities on South Korea's soil.
An awesome observation, say I.
As I write this "Colossal" is still playing in one lone theater at the Gateway Film Center.
If anybody goes to see it let me know. We can talk about it afterwards.
Songs On The Death Of Children
Now the sun wants to rise as brightly
as if nothing terrible had happened during the night.
The misfortune had happened only to me,
but the sun shines equally on everyone.
Now I see well, why with such dark flames
in many glances you flash upon me
O Eyes: as if in one look
to draw all your strength together.
You would tell me with your brightness:
We would gladly stay with you!
I often think: they have only just gone out,
and now they will be coming back home.
The day is fine, don't be dismayed,
They have just gone for a long walk.
Yes indeed, they have just gone out,
and now they are making their way home.
Don't be dismayed, the day is fine,
they have simply made a journey to yonder heights.
They have just gone out ahead of us,
and will not be thinking of coming home.
they rest as if in their mother's house:
frightened by no storm,
sheltered by the Hand of God.
You must not enfold the night in you.
You must sink it in eternal light.
- From Songs on the Death of Children by Friedrich Rückert
Alien Covenant: A Prequel That's A Sequel To A Prequel To A Prequel
Last Friday night Tom and I went with a couple of friends to see "Alien Covenant," the latest episode in the long-running "Alien" saga, which, by the way, is neither as scary nor as metaphysical as the movie poster would seem to suggest, still it was a pretty good effort in both scariness and metaphysicality, and I enjoyed the movie well enough,
...not the least reason being that I saw it at the Marcus Pickerington Cinema, where we were able to snag the Friday $5 Early-Bird Senior Special,
...and sit in the amazing DreamLounger reclining seats
...which were so sublimely comfy that it was practically worth the five bucks just to be able to spend a couple of hours sitting back and taking a load off.
As for "Alien Covenant," I think I would have liked it more had I been more invested in the on-going story; but alas, this was the first of the "Alien" movies I'd seen.
Still, "Alien" being kind of a late 20th Century icon, I of course knew something about it,
...and could certainly recognize its hallmark monster well enough to figure out about halfway through the film that "Alien Covenant" is meant to be a prequel to the original "Alien," or mayhaps a prequel to one of a number of subsequent prequels and sequels that might come to fruition before the franchise has run its lucrative course.
Of course, had I read a review of "Alien Covenant" before going to see it I would have found out in advance that this film was a prequel; but it was kind of thrilling to have figured it out on my own.
My son Tommy, an "Alien" saga fan who also was likewise intending to see this latest installment informed me when I talked to him after seeing the film that that "Alien Covenant" is not only a prequel to "Alien," but the sequel to the first prequel, which was the 2012 movie "Prometheus."
In any case, "Alien Covenant" had an involved enough story line that afterwards I felt the need to have a group recap of the film, and we all felt the need for some food,
...so afterwards we went to the Greek Star, a nearby Pickerington restaurant,
...with a cute, cozy interior,
...where they served up the most extraordinarily generous and delicious gyros,
...though the next time I go to this place I'm going to just order a big basket of the Greek Feta Fries,
...crispy seasoned fries smothered in feta cheese and gyro sauce that were beyond amazing,
...and upon which we all feasted while we deconstructed the theme, plot points, story arc, and action sequences of the film,
...well, actually we just talked about the movie.
But we all agreed that the script writers didn't spell everything out, but left some things for the audience to figure out and interpret for ourselves, which we enjoyed doing.
Anyway, after seeing "Alien Covenant" I felt the desire to see all the episodes of the "Alien" epic so as to find out what preceded this installment and where it's all headed to.
So the following night, Saturday night, I decided to start at the very beginning (a very good place to start - sorry I couldn't resist), with the original 1979 movie,
...of which I snagged a copy,
...watched, and concluded was a better movie than the one I'd seen the previous night, and which, I'm guessing, is probably the best of the bunch.
But then, of course, "Alien" had the advantage of being its own story and the simplicity of its plot line, which was in essence a variation of cat-and-mouse thriller,
...sort of a sci-fi intersection of Agatha Christie's "And then There Were None,"
...the original jump-out-and-getcha thriller"Wait Until Dark,"
...and "Snakes On A Plane," whose writer must surely have drawn at least a whiff of inspiration form "Alien."
"Alien" also had the advantage of Sigourney Weaver, who's always great in every film she's ever been in, including this, her break-out role,
..in which she looked just a little more fetching fending off the monster in her undies,
...than did Katherine Waterston fending off the monster in her undies in "Alien Covenant,"
...though it can be said of Katherine Waterston that she does in this film bear a much greater resemblance to her frail-looking-but-courageous-and resourceful-in-the-face-of-terror predecessor Audrey Hepburn, who played the beleaguered heroine of "Wait Until Dark,"
...which is a good thing.
But I'm only saying, in the next sequel-prequel they better figure out a way to stick Sigourney Weaver in somewhere. (Maybe she could play her own veteran space-traveler mom? What do you think?)
Rachel And Jason's Wedding, Part 3
Rachel and Jason's wedding reception was held at the Emerald Event Center,
...which was conveniently located just down a hallway from the lobby of our hotel, the Residence Inn.
The reception began with a 6 pm cocktail hour,
...where we enjoyed the most delicious appetizers,
...savory lamb chops,
...and Bloody Mary shrimp cocktails,
...served outside on the patio,
...and inside in the entrance hall.
The entrance hall was set up with messages of love from Rachel and Jason to each other,
...photographs of of the wedding days of the newlyweds' parents and grandparents,
...and a table at which guests could share wedding day thoughts and wishes for the bride and groom placed in boxes to be opened on future anniversaries.
Alyssa and Michael, sister and brother of the bride.
Stacey and Audrey, sisters of the groom.
Then the doors of the reception hall opened,
...the guests found their tables,
Mike and Lisa, parents of the bride.
Ken and Mary Jane, parents of the groom.
The seats were place-set with shots of moonshine.
The color of the lid of the shot indicated to the servers which meal the guest had ordered, the salmon-colored lid indicating the salmon, the white lid indicating the filet mignon.
There was also a vegetarian option - I'm guessing indicated by a green lid?
When all the guests were seated the celebration began with the entrance of the wedding party followed by Jason and Rachel,
...and their first dance as husband and wife.
Next came the cutting of the cake,
...followed by wonderfully funny, touching speeches by
the father of the groom,
...the Maid of Honor,
...and the Best Man.
Then began the feasting,
...starting with a salad,
...followed by a choice of salmon, which Tom had and pronounced delicious,
..or the smothered-in-mushrooms filet mignon, which I had, that was fork-tender juicy and soooo tasty! Especially good was the side of potatoes, a sort of hashbrown-mashed potato fusion - so good!
The vegetarian option was a pesto pasta,
...which I have on the good authority of my vegetarian sources,
...was also excellent.
After the feasting began the dancing,
...starting with the father-daughter dance,
...followed by the mother-son dance,
...then we all joined in the dancing,
...taking a break for the delicious desserts,
...then we danced the night away,
...and celebrated the gift of being here,
...to celebrate two beautiful young people,
...whose happily ever after was just beginning.
The following morning, the day of the wedding, started off with the hotel's great buffet breakfast which people ate sitting here, there, and everywhere, all around the lobby,
...including at the color-changing bar (see yesterday's post),
After breakfast some of the out-of-town family members went to visit Tom's 98-year-old dad in his assisted living facility, which was not far from the hotel,
...so that the family could share with him some of the joy of the day.
Charlie Liszkay
Meanwhile the bride and her ladies were getting ready,
...as were the groom and his men,
...and the guests.
Mary Jane, mother of the groom, ready for the wedding.
The wedding took place at beautiful St. Christopher Church.
But the beauty of the setting could not compare to the beauty of the joy that radiated from the faces of the Rachel and Jason's parents,
...or of the love that shown in Rachel and Jason's eyes.
After the wedding the guests and the wedding party gathered outside the church,
Alyssa, sister of the bride and Maid of Honor, Michael, brother of the bride, and Lisa, mother of the bride,
...Randy, brother of the groom, looking every inch the best man,
...to wait for the grand arrival of the happy newly weds.
...where the sweetness of the moment was emphasized by the arrival
of a cupcake truck,
...which handed out the most delicious cupcakes to the wedding guests, though I had to take the deliciousness of the cupcakes at the word of the other guests, as I, along with Tom, Claire, Tommy and Emily had to hurry back to the hotel after the wedding,
...to set up a snack for out-of-town family hosted by the parents of the groom.
This little après-wedding get-togther was another nice opportunity for family to re-connect,
...and was greatly enjoyed,
...by the relatives of all ages.
After the snack there was time to relax for a bit out on the patio.
Then it was time to get ready for the reception.
Nothing like the joy of a wedding to put love in the air.
...To be continued


It can be hard being a role player in the NBA. Sometimes you are called upon, and sometimes you aren't.
I was doing a workout after practice with a young player that was in his second full year out of the G-League. The player wasn't right that day, and you could tell something was bothering him.
These are tough positions to be in as a skills coach. On the one hand you have to support the organization and your head coach. And on the other hand, a player is opening up to you and you can't leave them hanging either.
"That's the truth." At that moment his body language changed. He seemed to remember how fortunate he was to being doing what he was doing for living.
Sometimes we can get overwhelmed with some of stuff that is out of our control and we forget that this is a game. Sure, we are competitive and want to beat people, and sometimes its our job. But if it is your job to play or coach basketball, just keep in mind, you have already won.


text:
I've been a little busy today but here are several news items that deserve Grits readers attention:
Investigator calls for HPD crime lab special master
With problems continuing to surface at the Houston Police Department Crime lab, investigator Michael Bromwich told a joint legislative committee that the agency needed a "special master," a move opposed by Chief Harold Hurtt and Harris County District Attorney Chuck Rosenthal.
TYC intake facility officially transfers to TDCJ
The Texas Youth Commission's Orientation and Assessment duties have been officially transferred from the unit in Marlin to the facility in Mart, near Waco. The Marlin unit has been transferred to the adult prison system. Good luck to all the former Marlin employees.
Shaquanda featured in Seventeen
TYC's most celebrated former inmate, Shaquanda Cotton, told her story in a two-page spread in the current issue of Seventeen magazine, reports the Paris News. It's a full-page article written in the first person with Veronica Byrd.
El Paso bribery scandal
Since I've been writing recently about bribery I should point out coverage of a simmering payola scandal in El Paso County involving the commissioners court. A commissioner and the county judge's chief of staff have already been indicted.
Prison warden dies in accident
Prison warden Clarence Mosley died in an apparent accident in the employee swimming pool at the Ferguson Unit in Madison County. Condolences to his friends and family. Mosley had been with TDCJ for 22 years.
Texas jail capacity expanding
Nicole at Texas Prison Bidness has an item on jails currently planned or under construction in Texas. She also provides an interesting chart detailing the 18 Texas counties where jail operation has been privatized.
Warden Clarence Mosley died at the employee swimming pool on the Ferguson unit grounds, not his own.
Thanks, and I'm sorry I screwed it up. I've corrected it in the text.
Now, if you could just correct the spelling of his last name; Mosley.
Texas just executed prisoner number 400 since capital punishment was reinstated. We should reflect on all of the misery these killers inflicted on society.
I usually reflect on how ironic it is that we kill people to punish them for killing people. "It's wrong to kill and we're gonna kill you for doing it."
I usually reflect on why it's wrong to show people that kidnapping or criminal confinement is wrong by confining them in a prison.
Can't follow the apples to oranges comparison. But you're right, the punishment should fit the crime. I say: Let's bring back the good old Medieval days. Thieves get their hands cut off. Women who commit murder will be strangled and then burnt. People who illegally hunt will have their ears cut off, high treason will be punishable by being hung, drawn and quartered and slaves or servants who try to run will have a foot chopped off.
Shaquanda Cotton. Poor child. A victim of her mother's low self-control.
If this occurred you would have a lot less crime.
If this occurred we would live in a fascist dictatorship.
@9:36-If only it were that simple. Less crime? Maybe, but consider the financial costs...infections, prosthetics, hearing aids, disability payments...the list is endless.
And when I reflect on little Ms. Cotton I get distracted thinking, "What is a Shaquanda? Does that word mean something?"
Hey 9:47,where have you been? We're already living in a facist dictatorship. It's called the Bush/Cheney Regime!!
The solutions to crime can be more easily found in the social problems that contribute to criminal behavior. Writing about chopping off people's feet and hands is a waste of time and energy.
Punishment only targets the problem after it occurs. Incarceraton separates the criminal from society but does nothing about the causes of crime.
Far more effort needs to be directed toward removing the causes of criminal behavior. Decriminalization of victimless activities would be a good place to start!!
RE:TYC intake facility officially transfers to TDCJ
"As hard as one might try a person just can't underestimate TYC"
That is a faithful saying that one can always depend on. Some swamps are just to big to drain. Its a crying shame.
I'm sorry, did you say the employee swimming pool at a TDCJ unit??? Really?
WOW are there tennis courts and room service too?

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Champions Trophy Hockey 2018
Champions Trophy hockey: Australia halt India's winning run with 3-2 win
The Indians have struggled to tackle the Australian challenge in recent years, winning just two of their 11 encounters.
India's dream start to the Champions Trophy hockey tournament in Breda, Netherlands, was brought to a grinding halt on Wednesday when they went down 2-3 to Australia in their third league encounter.
The Indians have struggled to tackle the Australian challenge in recent years, winning just two of their 11 encounters against the world number one side and were once again found wanting when the Kookaburras pressed forward in numbers.
To their credit, the Indians did not drop their guard and tried to fight back till the last minute, but the Commonwealth Games champions were too clinical once they took the lead.
Lachlan Sharp (6th minute), Tom Craig (15th), and Trent Mitton (33rd) found the net for Australia while Varun Kumar (10th) and Harmanpreet Singh (58th) scored the goals for India.
Slow start
India once again were slow to start and that allowed the Australians to build early pressure. The Indians were happy to sit back and their opponents capitalised on a small mistake in clearing the ball. Eddie Ockenden had an easy entry into the striking circle and Lachlan Sharp had the easiest job of tapping the ball in on the goalmouth in the sixth minute.
The goal, however, woke up the Indians as they began pushing ahead in numbers and earned two quick penalty corners. On both occasions, Birendra Lakra failed to stop the push cleanly but Lalit Upadhyay was there to control the ball and release it to SV Sunil, who crossed it across the goal from the right and Vivek Prasad made no mistake in firing it home.
It was the best period of the first quarter for India as they came close to scoring a couple of times. Vivek Prasad's shot from just outside the circle found no deflection and the Australian goalkeeper was alert to stop Mandeep Singh's cracking shot.
But just when it looked like the two teams would share the spoils in the first quarter, Australia's Tom Craig made the most of the goal mouth melee following two sharp saves by PR Sreejesh in the 15th minute.
India were clearly the more adventurous team in the opening half, making more circle penetrations and earning five penalty corners. But for one attempt from Harmanpreet Singh they hardly forced the Australian goalkeeper Tyler Lovell into making a save.
At the other end, Sreejesh ensured that India stayed in the hunt as they came up with two brilliant saves, as the Australians failed to convert any of their four penalty corners.
Numerical disadvantage
India's numerical disadvantage, with Sunil and Manpreet Singh sitting out after getting green and yellow cards respectively, hurt them at the start of the second half as Australia pushed ahead in numbers and Trent Mitton gave the finishing touch to a fine run from Craig in the 33rd minute.
Australia clearly dominated the proceedings thereafter in the third quarter as they pressed harder but the Indian defence ensured that there were no further goals.
Vivek Prasad came close to scoring the second goal for India, eighth minutes from the final hooter, when Dilpreet Singh played him inside the striking circle. However, the Australian defence managed to deflect the ball out.
With just under three minutes left, Harmanpreet finally managed to convert a penalty corner with a low sweep to the left of the goalkeeper. But India failed to find the equaliser despite earning another penalty corner, allowing Australia to go to the top of league standings with seven points. India slipped to third with six points from three matches.
Hockey: Despite the final heartbreak, India take home many positives from Champions Trophy


text:
namespace agg24
{
    class pixel_map
    {
        public:
            pixel_map(unsigned width, unsigned height, pix_format_e format,
                      unsigned clear_val, bool bottom_up);
            ~pixel_map();
            void draw(HDC h_dc, int draw_x=-1, int draw_y=-1, int draw_width=-1,
            		  int draw_height=-1) const;
            pix_format_e get_pix_format() const;

            unsigned char* buf();
            unsigned       width() const;
            unsigned       height() const;
            int            stride() const;
            unsigned       bpp() const { return m_bpp; }
            rendering_buffer& rbuf() { return m_rbuf_window; }
            platform_specific*  m_specific;
            PyObject* convert_to_argb32string() const;

        private:
            void        destroy();
            void        create(unsigned width,
                               unsigned height,
                               unsigned clear_val=256);

            unsigned char*   m_buf;
            unsigned         m_bpp;
            rendering_buffer m_rbuf_window;

        public:

    };

}

#endif

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Open Heart International (OHI) are excited to announce that we have reached our 5000th patient!!!! What an amazing achievement by all our volunteers! Thank you to everyone who has contributed to the work of OHI.
Meet 2 year old, Nishant who was our special 5000th patient. He is an only child to Harimaya Thapa who lives in a village called Kailali in Nepal. Nishant has a contracture to his right knee, ankle and foot which he received due to falling into a fire when he was just 6 months old.
His mother travelled for three days to get him to the Scheer Memorial Hospital for screening. Nishant recieved his life changing surgery on Friday preformed by Dr Pennington. We are happy to report he is recovering very well!
It was a very special moment for the OHI Team here in Nepal when Nishant walked for the first time in his life. With the help of Dr David Pennington and team Physio Nat, Nishant took his first steps and was soon tearing up and down the hall way laughing and shouting. A very proud moment for everyone!
Once again a massive thank you to everyone who has support OHI in our journey, it wouldn't have been possible without you having the same vision as us.


text:
Iraq: Ready to Fly
Iraq is championing the cause of 'tourism not terrorism' as the military presence in the region is scaled back. But while plans for hotels start to hit the news, Paul French questions the ability of airports in the region to cope with a new tourist trade.
Paul French
Now that Allied troops have begun pulling out of Iraq, those in charge of stimulating investment in the region are hoping for an influx of new Western invaders brandishing credit cards instead of rifles.
Using the slogan 'tourism not terrorism', the government is opening tourism bureaus in several countries and sending delegates abroad to find out how they can make the most of natural assets such as the land of Babylon and the Garden of Eden. Elsewhere, bodies such as the Iraq Investment and Reconstruction Task Force and the Investment Commission have been busily attracting new backers for the region's ambitious tourism project.
A US investment company laid the foundation stone for the luxury Baghdad Two Rivers hotel in July 2008 while a five-star Rotana Hotel will open in Erbil later in 2009. Airlines have gradually started adding Iraq back to their rosters and in April 2009 Bmi announced that it would be the first British carrier to resume commercial flights to the country in 2010. But after decades of bombing and under-investment, will the airports be ready to welcome them?
International rescue
Saddam International Airport was closed to commercial flights in 1991 after the UN imposed restrictions on Iraq following their invasion of Kuwait. Once the dictator was overthrown the airport, which had suffered from decades of neglect, years of war and weeks of looting, was rebuilt thanks to a $17.5m cash injection from USAid and reopened in July 2003 as Baghdad International.
"The airport already welcomes international traffic and will play a significant role in the region's rebuilding."
After starting with a trickle of passengers using Iraqi Airlines, the airport is experiencing much more traffic now that the likes of Middle East, Royal Jordanian and Turkish Airlines have started running regular flights through the facility. But could it cope with a big upturn in passenger numbers?
"Absolutely," says Captain Sabeeh al Sheibany, GA of Iraq's civil aviation authority. "Baghdad International is the main airport for foreign visitors into Iraq. The airport is currently operating to a capacity of five million passengers a year and when the final terminal is complete, a situation which is very close, we will be able to cope with up to seven-and-a-half million people a year."
Pilgrims' progress
When Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki inaugurated a new airport in Najaf in the summer of 2008 he called it a "historic moment which goes beyond the mere opening [of] an airport; it is a message that the process of building new Iraq has been kicked off".
Not only does the new airport have a symbolic significance, it is also hoped that it will spearhead a jump in religious tourism. Around nine million pilgrims visit the shrine of Imam Ali, the son-in-law of the Prophet Mohammad, in the city and other holy sites nearby each year, and planners hope the airport will increase visitor numbers by 10% annually.
"The new airport at Najaf is an important boost for religious tourism in the area," says Captain al Sheibany. "There are many holy sites and once the final two phases are complete, two million people will be able to use the airport to access them.
"No-one can predict how stable the region will be once Allied troops are withdrawn."
"A new airport has also been planned between Najaf and Karbala. When it is completed in 2014, the Al Furat Al-Awsat airport will allow another 15 million people access to the region each year."
Oil inspiration
On 4 June 2005 a goat was slaughtered on the tarmac of Basra International Airport to celebrate the arrival of the first proper domestic passenger flight since the 1991 sanctions.
The airport was heavily damaged during the Gulf Wars but, thanks to a $25m grant from USAid, a spacious modern terminal has been built and staff and infrastructure invested in. It now handles up to seven passenger and cargo flights a day and most importantly, is the focal point of plans to rebuild the oil-rich Basra province.
"The airport is already welcoming international traffic and will play a significant role in the rebuilding of the region," says Captain al Sheibany. "Many foreigners will work in the oil industry in the Basra province and they, along with tons of equipment, will be shipped through the airport before beginning work in the oil fields."
In a nation desperate to be reborn following years of war, airports are vital in terms of providing jobs, boosting tourism and helping stimulate growth in the oil industry. Now, thanks to a combination of grants and private investment, Iraq's airports are in better shape than they have been for decades.
"There is huge potential for air transportation in Iraq."
However, despite the withdrawal of troops and decrease in fatality rates, a spectre of danger still hangs over Iraq. Violence from insurgents is still common and no-one can predict how stable the region will be once allied troops are withdrawn completely.
Will those security fears, coupled with falling oil prices, threaten the rehabilitation of Iraq's airports? Or will nothing get in the way of the country's great white hope for a better future?
"There are no security issues threatening the rehabilitation of Iraq's airports," says Captain al Sheibany. "We are insulated to some extent from the falling oil price by moving towards privatisation and attracting outside investment into our aviation fields. There is huge potential for air transportation in Iraq. We are expecting the capacity next year to be three times what it is today and, in the long term, we are putting the infrastructure in place to help the country become a tourist hotspot."
Aerospace, Defense and Security Lead and Report Bundle
Defense and Civil Spends on Aircrafts in Iraq: 2016 to 2024
Defense Spends on Helicopters in Iraq: 2016 to 2024
Global Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) Deals in the Aerospace, Defence and Security Sector, Q2 2021 - Top Themes - Thematic Research
Hypersonic Technologies (Aerospace and Defense) - Thematic Research
G.A. Holdings Limited
Turkish Airlines Inc
Bmi, Inc.


All new suppliers must be set up in Capital One's supplier master database before we can issue purchase orders and pay invoices. To initiate supplier setup, request the supplier onboarding package from your Capital One business contact. The packet will come to you via email.
If you need to make changes to your company's profile, such as remit-to addresses, banking information, or any other supplier account information or profile updates, email our Supplier Enablement Team for assistance.
PO-based invoices should be submitted via the Coupa Supplier Portal (CSP).
Non-PO based invoices should be submitted to our Invoicing mailbox.
Consulting, contracting, and services firms should continue to submit invoices electronically in Beeline. If you need help submitting an invoice in Beeline, please reach out to the FlexForce team by email or by calling 844-933-3260.
Jim Gorzalski, Chief Procurement Officer, announces Capital One's transition to Coupa.
Capital One seeks to deliver simplicity, accuracy, and transparency in how we do business.
On September 20, 2016, Capital One and its suppliers began transacting on the Coupa Supplier Network (CSP). With Coupa, Capital One is delivering simple, industry-leading technology that enables faster payments, greater visibility into invoices and transactions, and an intuitive user experience that makes doing business with Capital One even better.
This transformation was about Capital One's commitment to service excellence and optimizing our supplier experience, while continually enabling them to meet their business objective in a simple and powerful way.
We encourage you to use this website to learn more about the upcoming changes and associated benefits and timing. Thank you for visiting.


So today I completed the third and final day of my PADI open water divers course; it has been one of the best experiences of my life and I am so glad I decided to do it. I would like to give a special thanks to Super Divers Phuket for making this experience such an amazing one, you guys made it fun, exciting and easy. Anyone wanting to do any sort of diving adventure I would highly recommend going through Super Divers, they are really well priced and extremely professional. This final day consisted of a further three dives, the first two dives were just off an island called Racha Noi. The waters here are that dreamy turquoise blue colour and the visibility was at an amazing 20 metre range.
So my first dive of the day was amazing we went down to about 18metres (deepest I had been) where the water was still a lovely 30degrees. During this dive we managed to see much sea life with my highlights being a well hidden Flounder fish, and ugly looking Giant Moray eel and a fantastically colourful Kuhl Stingray- which the instructor had to point out a number of times as the stingray was near impossible to see and how he found it I will never know.
The second dive of the day was another fantastic underwater adventure with some great visibility at a depth of 16meters. Through this clear blue water we managed to see a great variety of sea life including a number of gardens eels, a large Titan Triggerfish and cool looking Peacock Mantis shrimp. During this dive however we were also made to complete a few diving skills as part of the course, these skills included the controlled emergency swimming ascent (CESA), the alternative breathing option and the clearing of our masks while underwater. Completing these skills was actually a cool experience, as during these 6 dives there were a couple of times when my mask leaked and let in some eye burning sea water, and knowing how to clear them without surfacing is a handy skill.
Our third and final dive was the deepest by far, in this dive we ventured down to 24meters, this was an amazing experience- although it was filled with a great deal of equalizing- and I enjoyed every minute of the adventure. This dive was very different to the other dives as this time we were fortunate enough to travel down to a shipwreck (Harruby Shipwreck) and a look around the man-made reefs near by. The ship was sunk on purpose to act as an artificial reef following the damage caused by a storm a couple years ago – for me this was by far the best and most exciting dive I went on. The fish in this area were also a lot friendlier and more accustomed to humans and this allowed for better photo opportunities haha. Some of the fish I saw along this dive were a Yellow Boxfish, the Shaded Batfish, a Devil Scorpionfish and the Giant Pufferfish. There was also a huge school of barracuda which just kind of floated around the area, at one time I even found myself encircled by these fish and it was an awesome sight to have these fish swimming all around me.
I have managed to upload a video of the shipwreck and the fish I found within it. Enjoy watching it.
I must also say that after completing this course I am definitely going to further my diving repertoire by getting my advanced open water certificate and possibly even doing a speciality course in wreck and cave diving, but that is research for another time. I hope you all enjoy the photos and video attached, I am also in the process of uploading some more videos and will post them when I get a chance.
On some other news we are nearing the end of our holiday here in Phuket and that means we have some big decisions coming up. For starters we have to find a place to live for the next year in Bangkok, and we are hoping to get this done this Sunday. I shall be keeping you guys informed every step of the way and will hopefully be able to give you guys some good advice should you wish to do the same thing haha.
This looks amazing and I love your pics!!!!!
Wow Shaun, well done on your diving. The photo's are incredible – so beautiful under the sea!!!!


text:
Nyelandsvej is a street in the Frederiksberg district of Copenhagen, Denmark. It runs from Falkoner Allé in the southeast to a roundabout at the north end of Dalgas Boulevard in the northwest. The more urban, eastern part of the street, between Falkoner Allé and Nordre Fasanvej, separates an area with Copenhagen Business School's Solbjerg Campus and Frederiksberg Centret  to the south from the Svømmehal Quarter to the north. The western part of the street is passes the multi-purpose venue Keddelhallen and  Frederiksberg Hospital before entering an area with Single-family detached homes.

History

Nyelandsvej was established in 1883-84 and received its name on 17 April 1884. It is named for Stephan Peter Nyeland (1793-1875), provisionmaster (proviantforvalter) at the Naval Administration (Søetaten), who from 1837 to 1875 owned a country estate on Falkonér Allé on which part of Nyelandsvej, Langelandsvej and Bentzonsvej were built.

Københavns Mælkeforsyning ("Copenhagen's Milk Supply"), whose name was later changed to Solbjerg Majeri (Solbjerg Dairy), opened on the street at No. 25 in 1884. Its old buildings were replaced by new ones in the 1920s and it developed into one of the largest employers in Frederiksberg. It had direct access to Frederiksberg Station's goods yard. The dairy closed in the mid-1970s.

The street section west of Nordre Fasanvej was also established in 1884 but was called Bergersvej until 1900. Copenhagen County Hospital (Københavns Amts Sygehus) was built on the north side of the road in the 1890s. The buildings became part of Frederiksberg Hospital when Copenhagen County Hospital completed its move to Gentofte in 1939.Frederiksberg Incineration Plant opened on the other side of the street in 1903.

Notable buildings and residents

Skolen på Nyelandsvej ("The School on Nyelandsvej") at No. 23. is a public primary school. It was built in 1891–92 to design by Christian Laurits Thuren.

No. 27– is the former home of Frederiksberg Seminarium and now houses Metropolitan University College's Department of Education and Learning.

The Godthaab Church (No. 51) was inaugurated in 1911. Designed by Gotfred Tvede, it is part of a complex which also included Godhaab Parish's day care center (Godthåbs Sogns Menigheds Børnehave) and General Classens Asyl. The adjacent residential building (Nyelandsvej 53-63/Nordre Fasanvej 48) were built from 1913 by Arbejdernes Andels-Boligforening from a design by Viggo Thalbitzer and is one of the first examples of a public housing estate in Denmark.

The multi-purpose venue Keddelhallen is occupies the surviving buildings of Frederiksberg Incineration Plant. They were adapted for their current use in 2001.

Transport
Fasanvej Station is situated kust south of the intersection with Nordre Fasanvej. It is served by the M1 and M2 lines of Copenhagen Metro.

References

External links

Streets in Frederiksberg

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


It's only a minute long, and doesn't show all that much besides the environments and a glimpse at our potential protagonists/antagonists, but Rockstar Games has dropped off a teaser trailer for the long-awaited Red Dead Redemption 2.
Red Dead Redemption 2 is an epic tale of life in America's unforgiving heartland. Coming Fall 2017.
Red Dead Redemption 2 is scheduled to release worldwide sometime in fall 2017 for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Make sure to drop by Amazon to preorder it of course.


use of delegated authority during 2016 by the community and social services department under schedule 'd' city of ottawa by-law no. 2016-369, as amended by by-law no. 2016-398.
Motion To: That the Community and Protective Services Committee recommend Council receive this report for information.
Motion To: That the Community and Protective Services Committee recommend that Council: 1. Approve amendments to the Property Standards By-law (No. 2013-416, as amended) as outlined in Document 1 and described in this report to: a) Define and replace the word "abutting" with "neighbouring" in the provisions of the by-law that address outdoor lighting; b) Repeal the definition of "graffiti" and repeal the term where it is used in the by-law; c) Incorporate various minor 'housekeeping' amendments to the by-law; 2. Approve an amendment to the Graffiti Management By-law (No. 2008-1, as amended) as outlined in Document 1 and described in this report; 3. Authorize the Manager, By-law and Regulatory Services Branch, to finalize and make minor adjustments to the amending by-law.


The Marketing Apprenticeship has been designed to address the challenges for employers of all sizes across the public, private and not-for-profit sectors.
It will attract new talent into the Marketing industry and help to up skill the workforce to meet employer skills priorities.
Intermediate apprentices- are likely to work in job roles such as marketing assistant, market research assistant or events management assistant; undertaking a range of activities which might include collecting market research data, analyzing competitor activity, contributing to marketing campaigns, planning and organising an event or exhibition and using a range of digital technologies.
Advanced apprentices-are likely to work in job roles such as marketing co-coordinator, junior marketing executive/officer, advertising account executive or market researcher; undertaking a range of activities which might include conducting market research, designing and evaluating marketing plans, contributing to advertising and promotional campaigns and events, maintaining a portfolio of products and managing budgets.
The Marketing Apprenticeship is designed to help the learner progress to the next level in a marketing team - with a Level 2 or 3 qualifications the learner can move into a leadership role.


WOW! TEXAS: Presidio. 15 acres by Rio Grande River. On Hwy #170. Surveyed. Mountain Views. Owner financing. $7,995. $98/month. www.westforkranches.com. 888-420-0200.
$15 $170 $98/month. $995. 7 888-420-0200. acres BY financing Grande Hwy. mountain on owner Presidio. Rio. River surveyed. Texas. views. WOW! www.westforkranches.com.


text:
Harriet Adeline (Nokelby) Stadum: Aug. 31, 1916 – Dec. 12, 2020
Tuesday, December 22, 2020 3:00pm
Our beloved mother, Harriet Adeline (Nokelby) Stadum, age 104, was born on Aug. 31, 1916, in Norwegian Grove Township, Minn. She grew up in Pelican Rapids, Minn., graduating from Pelican Rapids High School in 1934.
On March 22, 1941, Mom married our father, Lloyd. They relocated to Oregon and, later, Washington state, where she lived in the Richmond Beach community of Shoreline for over 50 years. In 2017, she moved to Whidbey Island, Wash., She passed away at The Homestead, in Coupeville, Wash., on Dec. 12, 2020.
Mom loved and followed Jesus for 80 years and was active in her church, Bible Study Fellowship, and Christian Women's Club. She was a wonderful cook, and enjoyed sewing, singing and playing both the piano and organ.
Along with our father, she passed the love of music and harmony on to us, her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She was a full-time homemaker until her children were grown, when she began working for King County Social Services.
Mom was preceded in death by our father, Lloyd, their beloved 1-year-old son David and son-in-law Ross.
Mom is survived by her remaining children, Ruth (George) Stoddard, John (Kathy) Stadum, Carol (Dan) Mills, and Chris Hillstead; grandchildren Tim and Mark Stoddard, Julia (Philip) Clare, Anders Stadum, Kit (Karis) Mills, Jeff and Erik Mills, Kelsie (Ben) Anderson, Tryg (Athea) Hillstead; and great-grandchildren Peter and Andrew Mills, Beckett and Dashiell Anderson, Vincent Clare and Thorin Hillstead. Mom is also survived by her dear sister-in-law, Rose Stadum, and many special nephews and nieces.
Our family would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to each of Mom's loving, exceptional caregivers, Dorris Trussler and Tiffany Williams, of The Homestead, and Pat Bayliss.
We would also like to express our appreciation to Dr. Sanders and both WhidbeyHealth Palliative and Hospice Care, for their respectful and compassionate care of Mom.
Remembrances may be made to Samaritan's Purse or Seattle's Union Gospel Mission.
Isabel Elizabeth (Rodriguez) Bryant: Nov. 30, 1936 – Nov. 30, 2020
Saul Kitz: Dec. 11, 2020
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Letter: Save the shock-and-awe flyovers for the enemy
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Deborah Barrow-Daumen: Nov. 19, 1961 – Sept. 10, 2020
Deborah Barrow-Daumen passed away on Sept. 10, 2020.


Subject: Re: [Gnu-arch-users] Arch history?
resources online; announcement to follow.
"public" archives are in CVS (or BitKeeper :-).
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text:
Nirmal Kulkarni
Devadatta Naik
Rahul Prabhu Khanolkar
Atul Arun Sinai Borker
Adithi Muralidhar
Millipede Project
Flipbook on Lesser Mammals
Plateau Surveys and Mapping
Nature Camps and Training
Conserving Otter Habitats in Goa
Crocodile Project
Survey of Mugger crocodile in Goan water bodies such as lakes, rivulets, streams will be carried with the following objectives: To identify and note the mugger crocodile habitats, (lakes, rivulets, streams) in Ponda taluka, and document mugger nests and breeding activities. Secondly photo documenting various activities of mugger to study their life cycle will be
Otters serve as bio-indicators of the riverine ecosystems. Of the 3 species found in India, Small-clawed Otters and Smooth-coated Otters are found in Goa. While Smooth-coated Otters occupy a lot of human modified habitats the Small-clawed Otters mainly restrict themselves to forest streams. While both species were once common, recent observations as well as informal
The Mhadei Research center is now also a platform that trains young naturalists, brings communities and wildlife enthusiasts together, and helps strengthen community outreach programs for researchers as well as grassroots activists.
Our own teams work with schools, village councils and youth clubs across the states of Goa, Karnataka and Maharashtra through an array of projects and outreach programs.
Bats are a vital component of India's biodiversity and play key ecosystem roles as seed dispersers, pollinators and pest control agents. Bhigmad Wildlife Sanctuary, in the Western Ghats Biodiversity Hot spot, is unstudied but likely hosts very high diversity of bats in India. We intend to characterize the distribution and diversity of bats in the sanctuary by surveying all habitats and at caves.
The Mhadei Research Center conducts workshops that include opportunistic surveys, lectures on field data collection and in situ photography of Western Ghats biodiversity.
Field identification techniques of micro fauna, demonstrations of basic bird surveys, training in use of field equipment and discussion of natural history are also be a part of such workshops and training programs.
Locally known as sadas, these rocky plateaus are found in several pockets of Chorla, much of which are unexplored and some not even discovered! Though they may visually seem as life-less, they in fact bustle with floral and faunal diversity, many of which are specialized to live in crevices and depressions of the rocks and along the slopes. An attempt to protect these floral and faunal-rich habitats led to MRC exploring and documenting these plateaus.
The project was started with an objective to create a Flipbook on the Lesser Mammals of Goa. The Flipbook will contain photographs and basic information like Latin names, Local names, size and weight, conservation status and threats, population trend, etc. about the different species of lesser mammals. The Flipbook can be used as a pocket size field guide for identification of various species of small mammal found in Goa.
In the glamour of big mammals, birds and snakes many a times one can see that micro fauna is always being neglected. Apart from few medically important groups of micro fauna, no substantial efforts are taken to understand these creatures. The diplopods or millipedes are one of such groups which is very poorly known.
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Stay at Hilton Garden Inn Silver Spring North while you're in town for the National Cherry Blossom Festival. Our hotel is approximately 10 miles away from all of the festivities of the nation's biggest springtime celebration in Washington, D.C. Guests can take the metro to all of the fun events, like the parade, Blossom Kite Festival, and Waterfront Fireworks Show.
Hilton Garden Inn Silver Spring North is a contemporary hotel, featuring standard King and Two Queen Bed guest rooms perfect for couples, families, and groups. Our hotel has complimentary on-site parking. After a day of fun at the festival events, return to the hotel to relax in your comfy guest room and enjoy our indoor pool, fitness center, and complimentary WiFi.
While staying at our hotel, have breakfast or dinner in our restaurant onsite or enjoy drinks in the lounge.
Plan your trip to enjoy the Cherry Blossom Festival and book your stay at Hilton Garden Inn Silver Spring North.


Whether you are a Webmaster or a web marketer, your main concern should be how to increase your link popularity. The more popular your link is the more traffic you'll draw. There are several available methods on the market that allow you to drive targeted traffic. Pay-per-click (PPC) seems to be the most popular.
The other popular methods are list building and email marketing, search engine optimization also known as SEO, and article marketing. No matter what method you might be interested in; you still need money for it. SEO and article marketing are, nevertheless an exception in this case. If you opt for PPC you should prepare yourself as it can be really expensive and you may run out of money in little time.
Depending on how much time you allow for the results to be shown you can choose from the other methods available. Though it takes longer, you can choose list building and marketing, but the subscribers are also obtained through PPC traffic, which leads us once again to expensive costs. There are just two methods left for you to pick from: SEO and article marketing.
You can pick them whether you are using or not article submission software. Important thing to know: it is much more difficult than it appears. Although it can be difficult and confusing, search engine optimization is a true science and art. As a newbie, you should know that link popularity is the most important aspect about SEO. One single day is enough for the population of million of WebPages.
It's practically impossible to review each page for relevancy, reason for which spiders are there to do the job. They will be looking for key factors also known as link popularity of a web page. In the end it's fair to let the Internet community choose what's relevant.
Voting a certain web page is definitely a preference vote. Can you see now the purpose of increasing the popularity link? People who are targeting a more competitive market should have an off-page optimization which matters more than an on-line one. Reason: Off-page optimization offers you quality back links or simply increases link popularity of your web page.
Increasing the link popularity of your web page: In order to increase the link popularity of your web page, you'll have to do more than placing two more links. One of the factors that count to the search engine is the quality. For instance, the authority websites offer a higher quality.
Thus, those that have them in their web page have a higher traffic. But having such a link on your web page will cost you some money. One solution is to search for the authority websites with high PR and which will agree with placing the link from your website to their page. These are free article directories.
Websites such as EzineArticles, GoArticles, SearchWarp and Article City are all high PR web sites. The benefit will not only be that it will work better than a hundred other websites, but you will also have relevant content surrounding your link and thus to the keyword you are targeting. And this is how you get a higher evaluation for your web page. You can also have the possibility to utilize the target keyword as the anchor text for your link in the article.
Now you can see why people are interested in article directories and in article submission software. They do the whole job for you and you only. Imagine how they will help increasing your link popularity.


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Interview: Mark Potter, CTO, HPE
The head of Hewlett-Packard Labs speaks to Computer Weekly about a new era of computing, where memory is no longer a constrained resource
The Machine is the largest research and development programme in HPE's history. Its goal is to deliver memory-driven computing.
Memory-driven computing puts memory, not the processor, at the centre of the computing architecture. The Machine represents HPE's research programme for memory-driven computing. Technologies coming out of the research are expected to be deployed in future HPE servers.
The elevator pitch is that because memory used to be expensive, IT systems were engineered to cache frequently used data and store older data on disk – but with memory being so much cheaper today, perhaps all data could be stored in-memory rather than on disk.
By eliminating the inefficiencies of how memory, storage and processors currently interact in traditional systems, HPE believes memory-driven computing can reduce the time needed to process complex problems from days to hours, hours to minutes, minutes to seconds, to deliver real-time intelligence.
In an interview with Computer Weekly, Mark Potter, chief technology officer (CTO) at HPE and director of Hewlett Packard Labs, describes The Machine as a wholly new computing paradigm.
"Over the past three months we have scaled the system 20 times," he says. The Machine is now running with 160TB of memory installed in a single system.
Superfast data processing
Fast communication between the memory array and the processor cores is key to The Machine's performance. "We can optically connect 40 nodes over 400 cores, all communicating data at over 1Tbps," says Potter.
He claims the current system can scale to petabytes of memory using the same architecture. Optical networking technology, such as splitting light into multiple wavelengths, could be used in the future to further increase the speed of communications between memory and processor.
Modern computer systems are engineered in a highly distributed fashion, with vast arrays of CPU cores. But, while we have taken advantage of increased processing power, Potter says data bandwidth has not grown as quickly.
"Memory-driven computing is the solution to move the technology industry forward in a way that can enable advancements across all aspects of society"
Mark Potter, HPE
As such, the bottleneck in computational power is now limited by how fast data can be read into the computer's memory and fed to the CPU cores.
"We believe memory-driven computing is the solution to move the technology industry forward in a way that can enable advancements across all aspects of society," says Potter. "The architecture we have unveiled can be applied to every computing category – from intelligent edge devices to supercomputers."
Compute power beyond compare
One area of interest for this technology is how it could be applied to build a high-performance computer (HPC), such as an exaflop-scale supercomputer.
The Machine could be many times faster than all the Top 500 computers combined, he says, and it would use far less electrical power.
"An exaflop system would achieve the equivalent compute power of all the top 500 supercomputers today, which consume 650MW of power," says Potter. "Our goal is an exaflop system that can achieve the same compute power as the top 500 supercomputers while consuming 30 times less power."
It is this idea of a computer capable of delivering incredibly high levels of performance compared with systems today, but using a fraction of the electrical power of a modern supercomputer, that Potter believes will be needed to support the next wave of internet of things (IoT) applications.
"Our goal is an exaflop system that can achieve the same compute power as the top 500 supercomputers while consuming 30 times less power"
"We are digitising our analogue world. The amount of data continues to double every year. We will not be able to process all the IoT data being generated in a datacentre, because decisions and processing must happen in real time," he says.
For Potter, this means putting high-performance computing out at the so-called "edge" – beyond the confines of any physical datacentre. Instead, he says, much of the processing required for IoT data will need to be done remotely, at the point where data is collected.
"The Machine's architecture lends itself to the intelligent edge," he says.
One of the trends in computing is that high-end technology eventually ends up in commodity products. A smartphone probably has more computational power than a vintage supercomputer. So Potter believes it is entirely feasible for HPC-level computing, as is the case in a modern supercomputer, to be used in IoT to process data generated by sensors locally.
Consider machine learning and real-time processing in safety-critical applications. "As we get into machine learning, we will need to build core datacentre systems that can be pushed out to the edge [of the IoT network]."
It would be dangerous and unacceptable to experience any kind of delay when computing safety-critical decisions in real time, such as for processing sensor data from an autonomous vehicle. "Today's supercomputer-level systems will run autonomous vehicles," says Potter.
Near-term deliverables
Technology from The Machine is being fed into HPE's range of servers. Potter says HPE has run large-scale graph analytics on the architecture and is speaking to financial institutes about how the technology could be used in financial simulations, such as Monte Carlo simulations, for understanding the impact of risk.
According to Potter, these can run 1,000 times faster than today's simulations. In healthcare, for example, he says it is looking at degenerative diseases, where 1TB of data needs to be processed every three minutes. HPE is looking at how to transition whole chunks of the medical application's architecture to The Machine to accelerate data processing.
Read more about HPE's The Machine
HPE has developed a concept computing architecture which it says will power future generations of applications. We find out how it will change IT.
HPE aims to push the limits of computing by moving the memory bottleneck it claims is limiting the performance of application software.
From a product perspective, Potter says it is accelerating its roadmap and plans to roll out more emulation systems over the next year. He says HPE has also worked with Microsoft to optimise SQL server for in-memory computing, in a bid to reduce latency.
Some of the technology from The Machine is also finding its way into HPE's high-end server range. "We have built optical technology into our Synergy servers, and will evolve it over time," he adds.
Today, organisations build massive scale-out systems that pass data in and out of memory, which is not efficient. "The Machine will replace many of these systems and deliver greater scalability in a more energy-efficient way," concludes Potter.
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The Logan MCV's unashamed target is to offer huge amounts of space for not much cash – and on that basis it hits the mark. Sure, there are compromises to be made – including noisy engines and below-par safety and security test scores – but get beyond those and the MCV is a fine budget choice.
We'd go for the 0.9-litre petrol engine. That does sound small, but it's got a turbocharger, so is acceptably powerful. It'll be a better bet than the non-turbo 1.2 petrol and the noisy 1.5-litre diesel.
Entry-level models are seriously sparsely equipped, so we'd recommend mid-range Ambiance trim, which at least offers the barest of essentials and crucially keeps the price low. Higher-spec Laureate versions have much more equipment, and are a good choice if you must have a few toys, but they erode the car's chief selling point – its bargain price.


We have developed SlashPRO Slash Resistant Clothing to effectively improve your personal safety, by offering cut/slash protection to highly vulnerable areas, to which common body armour (bullet or stab resistant vest) do not offer any protection whatsoever.
To help you understand why slash resistant clothing makes real operational sense, please allow me to explain some extremely important things about human anatomy and its relevance to combat (or in this case your defence and survival) in a very short moment.
Let me start with a a brief story of an incident, which took place on Monday morning, the 18th April 2018, when a 8 year-old boy left home with a kitchen knife and walked into his central Minnesota elementary school. Minutes later he slashed three fellow pupils aged 8, 9 and 13 years-old, all of which requiring surgery.
I have explained in my previous article "The Rise of Global Knife Crime" to the best I could, why more and more criminals carry knives and why more and more terrorists utilise knives to reach their misguided objectives. Above however highlights once again that one doesn't require intense knife training to cause damage to others, and that you, as a homeland security professional or enforcement agent, must subsequently accept that anyone carrying a knife represents a real danger, even if he/she looks like he/she hasn't got a clue what he/she is actually doing.
The following really highlights the potentially irreparable and even deadly consequences of being slashed by either someone who knows what he/she is doing, or by someone who just wildly swings that knife and ultimately may well get 'lucky'. I don't claim to be a medical expert, hence please forgive me if something isn't 100% medically accurate or precise phrased. However, based on my understanding of this subject matter I can assure you that the following information is reliable enough to be taken serious, and for you to either consider issuing your team with slash resistant clothing, or indeed for you to consider wearing it whilst on duty.
Those who know how to use a knife effectively will understand when it comes to knife combat, stabbing and blood loss will not necessarily and quickly incapacitate an attacker. Combat expert and author Michael Janich did an excellent research on this topic, and after careful analysis of forensic data, modern trauma medicine and consulting with experts on this subject matter, Janich's research concluded the very same.
In fact, in an article titled "The Realities of Knife Stopping Power" featured in a 2011 Guns&Ammo publication, Janich mentioned a case wherein a combatant received 50 stab wounds and still managed to fight for five minutes before collapsing due to collective blood loss, and I personally have witnessed cases of individuals who have survived multiple stabbings and made their way home without any assistance.
In a self-defence situation (or indeed in a situation where your operation requires you to incapacitate an assailant) every single second counts and can indeed make the difference between life and death. If you wound an attacker, but he still has the ability to do the same to you, you may still die.
When/if someone is knowledgeable enough and his intention is to immediately incapacitate you, you really have to understand human anatomy.
To hold anything in your hand, such as a baton, CS gas or shield (if you are a police officer), the muscles of your forearm contract and pull on the flexor tendons, which pass through your wrist and are attached to your fingers. If someone cuts or slashes the tendons or the muscles that power them, this connection is broken and your hand will no longer be able to close or to hold your baton, CS gas, shield or anything else you might be holding.
This concept applies to all muscle groups, tendons and limbs. If someone cuts or slashes the key tissues responsible for you moving a limb, he would most likely disable or at least severely hinder your limb's function. Sometimes this is referred to as 'biomechanical cutting'.
Based on the above, your flexors tendons or muscles of the forearm, the biceps and triceps muscles of your upper arms, and the major quadriceps muscles just above the knee require reliable abd effective protection from such deliberate attack or cut.
Just above the knee, where the muscles narrow and connects to the patellar tendon, this area is typically covered by a just single layer of trousers material. It is a comparatively large target, and if someone is close enough to reach your body, that person will clearly also be close enough to reach your quadriceps. Cutting this target is called 'mobility kill'... you will no longer be able to effectively defend yourself and hence it is extremely likely you will be defeated or eliminated.
Although many will claim that this approach doesn't work, historical evidence from both sources around the world suggests very differently. Perhaps the best-known reference comes from the Filipino martial arts, which have a very highly evolved edged-weapon culture. Their key tactic is called "defanging the snake"… meaning targeting the attacking limb to destroy its structure and function. According to their symbolism, the weapon is the "fang" and the arm wielding it is the "snake." Removing the fang from the snake immediately eliminates the primary threat to the defender… the attacker's weapon.
In the traditional Filipino knife arts, aiming to cut the attacker's wrist or forearm is one of the prime objectives. The goal is to sever the flexor tendons that connect the forearm muscles to the fingers, destroying the attacker's ability to grip his weapon. Cutting the muscles on the inside of the forearm can produce the same effect.
Can you slowly see what I can see? Can you see the risks involved when confronted by someone wielding a knife? Most of us are concerned about being 'stabbed', but many trained specialists might have other plans… and that's when slash resistant clothing starts making sense.
The below graphic and following bullet points will give you a reasonable understanding of the most vulnerable 'slashing targets'. Each 'successful' cut or slash can or will either lead to rapid blood loss and subsequent death (most likely caused by a) shock and b) blood loss, or dramatically decrease your mobility. However, please note below graphic does not feature all targets, but is simply a selection of some of the key targets of the front of a human torso. Targets trained professional will aim for to cause maximum harm, pain or death.
Due to the 'worst case scenario outcome' we strongly advice to look or re-look at the potential use of slash resistant clothing within your line of work.
1 - The side of the neck and throat just about even with the adam's apple. This area contains the Carotid Artery and Jugular Vein. If either is cut the attacker will bleed to death very rapidly. The Carotid is approximately 1.5″ below the surface of the skin, and if severed unconsciousness will result in approximately 5-15 seconds.
4 - A slashing cut across the biceps can a) disable any motion of the arm and b) as it contains multiple veins it can cause rapid blood loss.
6 - A horizontal cut across the neck and throat will not only sever your Jugular Vein and cause death, but it will also cut the trachea and ligaments that control movement of the head.
7 - A powerful slash across your pectoral muscle will destroy your ability to throw punches with any power.
8 - A powerful vertical slash, leading to the penetration of the abdominal wall will result in loss of motion, and possible disembowelment.
10 - A more than one-inch penetrating slash to the inside of the forearm between the radius and ulna bones will sever the radial artery (this artery runs across the top of the radius bone 2-4 inches behind the base of your thumb). is. Severing the radial artery can result in unconsciousness in as little as 30 seconds, and death in as little as two minutes.
11 - The brachial artery run along the inside of your arms. This artery is deep, but severing it will result in unconsciousness in as little as 15 seconds, and death in as little as 90 seconds.
All of the potential injuries following any of the above highlighted cuts could be prevented.
I haven't written this brief article as a scaremongering tactic.
I haven't written this brief article to provide those bad men/women who currently plan attacks on other good human beings with additional information to cause further harm or harm in a more effective fashion.
There are men and women out there who have made a professional choice in their lives to protect other human beings, facilities, venues, events and infrastructure from the bad guys. We at PPSS Group genuinely believe those men and women have the moral and legal right to be equipped appropriately, and this brief article simply highlights the risks and threat they face sometimes on a daily basis. Risks and threats the general public is not aware of or simply cannot see or comprehend.
We are extremely passionate about their safety and our mission is to let the world know that their safety can be improved dramatically, without compromising their ability to operate and function effectively.
The question simply is do you care enough?