1998-03-23 Assigned to AT&T CORP. reassignment AT&T CORP. ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST (SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS). Assignors: STUNTEBECK, PETER H., HANSON, BRUCE LOWELL, GOLDBERG, RANDY G., MANE, AMIR M.
A method and apparatus providing a communication service in which sponsors pay for communication services initiated by a caller. A caller may invoke the service by entering only the telephone number identifying the desired connection. A communication switch interprets the digits entered by the caller, determines whether the caller wishes to invoke the advertiser supported communication service and if so plays a message to the caller. At the end of the message the communication switch completes the desired connection.
Some systems that provide advertiser supported communication services are in place. See, for example, "Europe Offering Free Calls, But First, A Word From . . .", New York Times, Sep. 28, 1997. Typically, shown in FIG. 8( a), such service providers connect communication equipment to a communication network, such as the Public Switched Telephone Network ("PSTN"). Such equipment may connect to the PSTN via a private branch exchange, PBX1, connected to a switch, SW3, of the PSTN.
To place a call to a party at telephone T 2 using the advertiser supported service, a calling party at telephone T1 must enter two telephone numbers. The first telephone number represents the service provider. It causes the communication network to connect telephone T1 to PBX1. When this call is completed, the calling party must enter a second number identifying the party to be called (at telephone T2). After PBX1 plays an advertisement to the caller, it forwards the call to telephone T2.
The known advertisement supported communication service also consumes unnecessary resources within the communication network. Because the call is forwarded from PBX 1 to telephone T2, the call path extends through the network in two "legs" as shown in FIG. 8(b). In a first leg, the call path extends from telephone T1 to PBX1 via switches SW1, SW2 and SW4. In the second leg, the call path extends from PBX1 to telephone T2 via switches SW4 and SW5. Also, the call path consumes the resources of two call paths in switch SW4, the switch connected to the advertisement supported service provider. The call path traverses switch SW4 once as it extends from telephone T1 to PBX1, and a second time as it is forwarded from PBX1 to telephone T2. The service therefore consumes unnecessary resources in the PSTN. Accordingly, there is a need in the art for an advertiser supported communication service that conserves resources within the communication network.
In a second embodiment, a communication service provides an affinity group telecommunication service. A telecommunication switch determines whether when a caller generates an off-hook condition. Based upon the interface between the switch and the caller's telephone equipment, the switch determines if the caller is a member of an affinity group. If so, the switch applies a handling option to the call.
FIGS.  8(a) and 8(b) are block diagrams illustrating a known advertisement supported communication service.
Turning now to FIG. 1, there is shown a central office switch  100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. A central office switch 100 is the communication equipment that connects directly to the caller's telephone 10. The central office switch 100 includes a switch matrix 110 and a processor 120 that controls the switch matrix 110. The switch matrix 110 is connected to telephones 10, 12, 14 over telephone lines. The switch matrix 110 also is connected to other switches in the communication network (not shown) over an interconnecting trunk line 112. The central office switch 100 includes a voice information server ("VIS") 130 and a database 140, both connected to the switch matrix 110. The processor 120 and switch matrix 110 of the central office switch may be found in a model 5ESS switch, currently available from Lucent Technologies of Murray Hill, N.J. The VIS 130 may be the Conversant system, also commercially available from Lucent Technologies.
The database  140 contains customer profiles for each telephone served by the central office switch. According to an embodiment of the invention, customers desiring to participate in the advertisement supported service would preregister. Accordingly, the customer profiles identify for each telephone whether the customer is a participant in the advertisement supported service. Optionally, it may include demographic or psychographic information such as age, gender, income level, address, etc., which information could be used to provide target specific advertisements. Alternatively, the database 140 may store customer histories including such information as messages played to the customer in the past or the rates of such messages.
In addition to customer profiles, the database  140 also may store advertisements as message data to be interpreted and played by the VIS 130. Furthermore, the database may provide a demographic profile of an intended audience for the advertisements.
The central office switch  100 provides advertising supported telecommunication services to subscribers. In an embodiment, the system provides the advertising supported communication services according to the method of FIG. 2.
To begin an advertising supported telephone call, a caller generates an off-hook condition at the caller's telephone  10. The central office switch 110 identifies the caller by identifying the telephone line that generated the off-hook condition (Step 1010). The processor 120 receives entered digits or speech from the telephone 10 identifying a telephone to be called (Step 1020). As part of the call set-up procedure, the processor 120 determines whether the caller is a participant in the advertising supported telecommunications service (Step 1030). If the caller is not a participant, the processor 120 completes the call according to traditional processes (Step 1040) and aborts the method of FIG. 2.
However, if the telephone  10 is a participant in the service, the processor 120 selects and plays an advertisement to the telephone 10 (Step 1050). The processor 120 causes the switch matrix 110 to connect the telephone 10 to the VIS 130. The processor 120 selects a message contained in the database 140 and causes the VIS 130 to play the selected message. The processor 120 may select messages at random. Optionally, the processor 120 may refer to the demographic profile of the caller and the demographic profile of the advertisements to identify an appropriate advertisement to be played to the caller. If so, the processor 120 may select a message based on a correlation between the two profiles. In a second option, the processor 120 may prompt the caller to select one message from several options. The caller may select an option by a dialed, touch-tone or spoken command, either of which may be decoded by the VIS 130.
Upon conclusion of the advertisement message, the processor  120 generates a billing record representative of the call (Step 1060). The billing record identifies information typical to known billing records in communication networks such as the time of the call, the originating telephone and the terminating telephone. Additionally, the billing record indicates that the call was made pursuant to the advertisement supported communication service. The billing record may identify the message that was played or the identity of the message's sponsor and, optionally, any rate information associated with the message. In an embodiment, advertisers may provide different rate premiums to callers for listening to their messages. Rate premiums cause callers to receive discounted or free calls.
The processor  120 begins call set-up procedures to connect telephone 10 with the telephone identified in the entered digits received at Step 1020 (Step 1070). Optionally, messages may be presented to the caller and/or the called party during the progress of the call itself. In one embodiment, short messages, of 10 seconds or less, may be interspersed every five minutes. The processor may terminate the method at the conclusion of the call.
As an option, the processor  120 may be programmed to monitor activity from telephone 10 while the advertisement is being played at Step 1050. The caller may be instructed prior to hearing the message that it may request to be connected to a representative of the advertiser at the conclusion of the desired call. The representative may be a human attendant or an interactive automated voice response system. Thus, as an option, the VIS monitors signals received from telephone 10 while it plays the selected message to determine whether the caller makes such a request (Step 1080). If so, the processor 120 places a second call between telephone 10 and a representative of the advertiser (Step 1090). The telephone number of the representative may be stored in database 140 along with the messages themselves. If the caller makes no such request, the processor 120 terminates the method. Also, at the conclusion of Step 1090, the processor terminates the method.
At anytime during the progress of the message, the caller may command the processor  120 to abort the message. The abort command may be a predetermined touch-tone or spoken command that is decoded by the VIS 130. In response, the processor 120 commands the VIS 130 to discontinue the message. The processor 120 completes the desired call according to any discount to the caller.
At Step  1020, the processor 120 may be configured to recognize emergency numbers ("911" or an equivalent). Detection of an emergency number causes the method to terminate and an emergency call connection to be made as is known.
By providing a database co-located with the central office switch  100, the service advantageously accommodates both national and regional advertising. As is known, the central office switch 100 typically serves subscribers of some discrete geographic region. Accordingly, the database 140 may be configured to store advertising messages of regional advertisers. Also, the database may be configured to store messages of national advertisers or may coordinate with a second database (not shown) within the communication network that stores the national advertisements. In this distributed database scheme, the processor 120 may select among regional and national advertisements based on any desired criterion, including prompting a caller for the caller's preference.
The present invention finds application in switches other than a central office switch  100. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the present invention may be implemented in telecommunication switches 210-240 in an interexchange communication network ("IXC") 200. There, the IXC 200 is populated by a number of communication switches, such as model 4ESS switches available from Lucent Technologies. When the IXC 200 establishes a call connection between telephones 10 and 30, for example, each switch in the connection path acts as a switching node. The switch 210 includes a processor and switch matrix (not shown) in a manner similar to central office switch 100. A switch that implements the present invention may be provided with a VIS 250 and database 260 either directly or indirectly through other switches.
An IXC switch such as  210 that implements the present invention can also operate in accordance with the method of FIG. 2. If a caller at telephone 10 attempts to complete a call that traverses the IXC 200, an IXC switch 210 in communication with the central office switch 100 may implement the method of FIG. 2. First, the IXC switch 210 identifies the calling party (Step 1010). The IXC switch 210 may receive an automatic number identifier ("ANI") from the central office switch 100 that identifies the calling party. The IXC switch 210 receives the entered number entered at telephone 10 (Step 1020). The IXC switch 210 determines whether the caller is a participant in the advertisement supported service (Step 1030) and, if so, selects and plays an advertisement to the caller (Step 1050).
To determine whether the caller is a participant in the service, the IXC switch  210 need not be co-located with the database 260. The IXC switch 210 may communicate with the database 260 via one or more intermediate switches 230 in the IXC 200. The IXC switch 210 queries the database 260 to determine whether the ANI received from the central office switch maps to a participant to the service.
To play a message to the caller, the communication switch  210 establishes a call path between telephone 10 and the VIS 250. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3, IXC switch 210 is provided in direct communication with the VIS 250 and may establish the path directly to the VIS 250. However, IXC switch 220, which may provide the service to telephone 30, communicates with switch 210 to establish the desired call path to the VIS 250. Accordingly, there is no requirement that the VIS 250 be co-located with a switch that performs the method.
Steps  1060 through 1090 are performed as described in connection with FIG. 1.
The present invention may also be implemented with telephone equipment that is not associated with any particular subscriber. For example, in FIG. 1, central office switch  100 is provided in communication with a pay phone 20. Advertisement supported communication services may be provided to a pay phone 20 in accordance with the method of FIG. 4. There an advertisement supported call is initiated when a person generates an off-hook condition at the pay phone 20. The processor 120 identifies the off-hook telephone as a pay phone 20 and receives entered digits entered there (Steps 2010 and 2020). The processor 120 then selects and plays an advertisement to the caller (Step 2030). As with the method of FIG. 2, the processor 120 causes the switch matrix 110 to connect the pay phone 20 to the VIS 130, selects a message from the database 140 and causes the VIS 130 to play the message to the person at the pay phone 20.
When the message concludes, the processor  120 generates a billing record (Step 2040) and places a call to a telephone identified by the entered digits.
As with the method of FIG. 2, the processor  120 may optionally determine whether the caller requested to be connected to an advertiser at the conclusion of the call (Step 2060). If the caller at the pay phone 20 has made such a request, at the conclusion of the call, the processor 120 connects the pay phone 20 to an agent of the advertiser.
In the pay phone embodiments, the selection of messages may be influenced by predetermined selection criterion. Geographic location is one such criterion. The switch  100 may be programmed to associate pay phones in certain locations, such as an airport, with certain messages. Thus, the present invention may provide targeted advertising to callers even when the callers' identity is not known. Of course, consumers benefit from being freed from having to enter change or charge card information to a pay phone.
The advertisement supported communication service of the present invention also finds application where preregistration has not occurred. Such a method is shown in FIG. 5. According to this method, the central office switch  100 receives entered digits entered at telephone 10 (Step 3010). The central office switch determines whether the entered digits also include a request that the call be placed under an advertisement supported call (Step 3020). For example, the entered digits may include a prefix code designating the advertisement supported service. If not, the central office switch 100 completes the telephone call according to traditional processes (Step 3030).
If the caller does request an advertisement supported call, the processor  120 selects and plays an advertisement to the caller (Step 3040). At the conclusion of the advertisement message, the processor 120 generates a billing record (Step 3050) and connects the caller to the telephone identified by the entered digits (Step 3060). Optionally, when the caller has been connected with the called party, the processor 120 may terminate the method of FIG. 5.
Alternatively, however, the VIS  130 may determine whether the caller requested that a connection to a representative of the advertiser at the conclusion of the desired call (Step 3070). If so, the processor 120 connects the caller to the advertiser's agent (Step 3080). If the caller made no such request, or when the processor 120 has connected the caller to the advertiser's agent, the processor 120 terminates the method.
The methods of the present invention impose no order of operation between the presentation of messages and the completion of calls. In FIGS. 2, 4 and  5, the methods illustrate call completion as being made after the message is played to the caller. These steps may be inverted consistent with the principles of the present invention.
As an example, FIG. 6 illustrates a method very much like the method of FIG. 2 in which the steps of connecting the caller to the dialed telephone (Step  1070) and selecting a message to be played to the caller (Step 1050) are reversed. In this embodiment, when the caller completes the desired call, the caller is presented with the advertising message. When the message has been played to the caller in its entirety, the billing record may be generated awarding the caller the rate discount (Step 1060). Of course, the switch 100 may determine if the caller hangs up before the message completes. In this case, the central office switch 100 does not award the rate discount.
The order of operation shown in FIG. 6 possesses an advantage over that shown in FIG. 2. At Step  1050, when the message is selected, the call has been completed and the length of the call is known. The system may use the length of the call as a selection criterion. Because longer calls typically are more expensive, the system may select messages with higher rate premiums for the longer calls.
FIG. 7 illustrates a method of operation of a communication switch in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. According to the method, the switch receives dialed digits entered by the caller (Step  4010) and determines whether the caller requested affinity group services (Step 4020). If so, the switch provides the requested service (Step 4030). The switch also generates a billing record representing the affinity group call (Step 4040). The switch places a call to the called party (Step 4050).
If, at step  4020, the call is not an affinity group call, the switch completes the call according to conventional procedures (Step 4060).
placing a call connection from the caller to the called party.
, wherein the receiving step is performed in a central office switch.
, wherein the receiving step is performed at a communication switch of an interexchange communication network.
, wherein the playing step includes a step of selecting a message at random.
selecting a message based on a correlation between the caller's profile and a profile of an intended audience of the message.
responsive to the selection, playing the selected message.
selecting a message based on the length of the call.
, further comprising a step of generating a billing record representative of the call, the billing record identifying a rate premium associated with the message.
, wherein the billing record further identifies the message that is played.
, wherein the billing record further identifies a sponsor of the message that is played.
, wherein the playing step occurs during the call connection of the placing step.
at the conclusion of the message, places a call connection as determined by the entered digits.
responsive to the signal from the voice information server, the processor identifies a contact associated with the selected message and places a second call to the contact.
, wherein the switch is a central office switch connected to the caller's telephone by telephone lines.
, wherein the switch is provided in an interexchange communication network and communicating with the caller's telephone via other communication switches.
, wherein the processor selects messages to be played at random.
the processor selects one of the messages to be played based on a correlation between the caller's profile and the messages' profiles.
responsive to the selection, the processor selects a message to be played.
, wherein the processor generates a billing record of the call, the billing record identifying the message that is played.
the billing record identifies the rate premium of the message that is played.
at the conclusion of the message, placing a call as dictated by caller input.
, wherein the caller input is entered digits.
, wherein the caller input is a spoken command.
when the caller requests to be connected to a contact associated with the played message, placing a call connection between the caller and the contact.
completing the requested call connection to a termination point.
, further comprising, when the caller is to be a recipient, a step of playing the information announcement prior to the completing step.
, further comprising, when the caller is to be a recipient, a step of playing the information announcement subsequent to the completing step.
determining whether the caller is a participant to sponsor supported communication services and, if so, the caller is to be a recipient of the stored information announcement.
, wherein the detecting step determines the caller to be a recipient of the stored information announcement when the request includes a request for such an announcement to be played.
thereafter, completing a call request.
, wherein the applying step includes a step of generating a dial tone signal unique to the affinity group.
playing the selected message to the caller.
NL1015569C2 (en) * 2000-06-29 2002-01-02 Vsn Beheer B V A method for establishing a telephone connection.
NL1015582C2 (en) * 2000-06-30 2002-01-02 Vsn Beheer B V A method for establishing a telephone connection.
DE10049342A1 (en) * 2000-10-05 2002-04-11 Fred Fuggenthaler Broadcasting acoustic acquisition in radio transmissions, or loudspeaker messages in shops, etc.


The clock is ticking. The men's basketball tournament at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games tips off on 6 August. The nine coaches of teams already in the Olympic field have been able to analyze their group opponents since Friday, when the draw for the event was held at the House of Basketball (FIBA's headquarters) in Mies, Switzerland.
For the fans, anything is possible. They can start to let their imagination run wild.
Australia's unease about a possible meeting with Quarter-Final nemesis USA in the first knockout game at a third straight Olympics? Relax. That won't happen.
Both teams are in Group A with China, Venezuela and two of the three FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) winners. Two-time defending champions USA will be prohibitive favorites in their pool and the tournament. But danger always lurks at every turn in international basketball.
In Group B is a tantalizing mix of heavyweights. Argentina, Brazil, Lithuania, Nigeria, Spain and the other OQT winner will trade blows, looking for a top-four finish and if possible a top-three in order to avoid a likely clash with the USA in the first knockout game. The Americans are not certain Group A winners, yet no one will be betting against them.
There are 31 finalists for the 12-man USA squad. Head coach Mike Krzyzewski and USA Basketball supremo Jerry Colangelo have the unenviable task of naming their final squad. One certainty would appear to be Stephen Curry, a two-time world champion with the USA and reigning NBA MVP. Will Olympic gold medal-winning veterans in 2008 and 2012 that missed the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup, players like LeBron James and Chris Paul, return for Rio?
Remembering how the team played at Spain 2014, one could imagine that the 10 players from that side that have been made finalists will be in the Olympic squad.
Can anyone beat the USA? Talent-rich Australia may give them a tough game in Group A. Should France win the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) in Manila and Serbia prevail in the Belgrade one, both sides would enjoy the challenge of facing the Americans if they landed in the group.
The crossover could be tricky for the USA, too. Imagine the atmosphere in the Carioca Arena 1 should the hosts face the USA in the Quarter-Finals. Brazil almost beat the USA in the Preliminary Round at the 2010 FIBA Basketball World Cup. Spain, Argentina or Lithuania would pose a threat to the USA in the last eight.
How can it be that a Boomers program with such a long history in international basketball has yet to reach the podium of a major event? That may change this year. Head coach Andrej Lemanis will have a terrific, experienced backcourt with Pat Mills and Matthew Dellavedova, a powerful frontline with Andrew Bogut and Aron Baynes and solid wings in Joe Ingles and Ryan Broekhoff.
.@balapat: "I think #Rio2016 is going to be one of the best shots that we have had in a long time and maybe ever, and we want to make the most of it. That should be very exciting."
Australia will have a deep, talented roster at the Rio Games. Remember how good they were at last year's FIBA Oceania Championship when Ingles and Baynes did not play?
It seems Lemanis's squad will be good enough to finish second in Group A and should at least finish end up in the top four for the third consecutive Olympics. But it's not out of the question they could finish fifth, depending on their result against Venezuela. One thing is for sure. If they were to advance, the Boomers would run through a brick wall in a bid to reach the last four.
A young, tenacious, physical China under veteran coach Gong Luming won the 2015 FIBA Asia Championship title. They will need to have the same spirit and be fully healthy to have any success in Rio. China were terrific with their home crowd behind them last year. The best player of all was their three-time Olympian, Yi Jianlian.
.@Yi_JL: "There were many young players that had not experienced this sort of test and they faced a lot of pressure but we fought for every ball with a tenacious defense to win the championship. At the #FIBAAsia2015, the team was younger, so to win the championship and earn straight qualification for #Rio2016 makes me proud and is moving. I have to thank my teammates, the fans and my family."
That event is no comparison to the level of competition they will face this time. Every game will be like a do-or-die clash for the Chinese. The clash with Venezuela is one that the Far East side will already be identifying as a must-win game for them to have a shot at reaching the Quarter-Finals.
Anyone that has seen Venezuela head coach Nestor 'Che' Garcia in action will know that he can match wits with anyone and do a good job of making adjustments during games. Add his nous to an emotionally-charged up squad that is hellbent on proving last year's FIBA Americas Championship win was no fluke and the Vinotinto should be dangerous. They will try to recreate the magic of their Semi-Final triumph over Canada which punched their ticket to Rio.
The USA are likely to be too tall of an order for Venezuela but none of the other sides, including any of the OQT winners, will be striking fear into Garcia's men.


text:
package metricapp.dto.credentials;

import java.io.Serializable;

import lombok.Data;

@Data
public class CredentialsDTO implements Serializable {

	private static final long serialVersionUID = -5659470161268420949L;

	public String username;
	public String password;

}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) provides LSTA funds to Minnesota through the Grants to States Program. The annual allotment is based on population, and is currently $2.7 million.
A five-year strategic plan, approved by IMLS, identifies Minnesota libraries' current needs and goals. All Minnesota LSTA funds, including all competitive grant projects, address one or more of the five goals in our five-year plan.
There are no current grant opportunities. Subscribe to the State Library Services newsletter for updates.


What a huge week in sneakers around the celebrity circuit this week, lead by none other than DJ Khaled.
Now, we know this dude has the plug at Oregon, but this week he rocked out some serious exclusives, including the unreleased "Rust Pink" Air Jordan 1, Eminem x Carhartt Air Jordan 4 and the Black KAWS x Air Jordan 4. He was also spotted in the GR "Win Like '82" Air Jordan 11.
But this week wasn't just about DJ Khaled – there was plenty of heat on offer from the likes of Quavo, Usher, Conceited and more!
Take a look through at who wore what this week below and let us know who took out your top spot this week in the comments section below!


text:
RJ Reynolds Behind Push To Ban Ephedra
WINSTON-SALEM, NC - The Washington Post revealed Tuesday that a three-month investigation has shown that the consumer-advocacy group Consumers Against Unsafe Supplements (CAUS), which has been campaigning for the ban of ephedra, is quietly funded by the nation's second largest tobacco company, RJ Reynolds. Andrew Schindler, RJR CEO, was quoted as saying, "As a company, we are wholly dedicated to improving the health of the American public. To that end, we have conducted our own research into the deleterious effects of ephedra. Having concluded that it is indeed a health-hazard, we formed CAUS to bring about a change. That is our democratic right."
"RJR is not a champion of health issues," said anti-tobacco activist Brenda Bell Caffee, "and while I agree that ephedra is a problem, I am uncomfortable with the idea that a company that sells a dangerous product that is known to stimulate people and help them lose weight is itself taking up the fight against what is essentially a competing product."
"We do not see ephedra as a competing product," responded Schindler, "we are not in competition with anyone that doesn't sell tobacco. Yes, tobacco is dangerous. So is sky-diving. People make choices and we support the right to make choices, even dangerous ones. But ephedra is not a choice, it is a drug. We are certainly against that."
When asked about the apparent contradiction of a company selling a dangerous product and using those profits to try to ban another dangerous product, Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson replied, "Any port in a storm, ya know? If RJR wants to fund an initiative to ban ephedra, I'm for that. If an ephedra manufacturer wants to fund more anti-smoking ads, I'm for that, too. I'm not picky about who funds what, I just want to make a healthier America."
"That's all any of us want," said Schindler.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
City & County Government in Pacolet, SC
Town of Pacolet
Branch Library
Pacolet, SC 29372
About Town of Pacolet:
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text:
Q: Cannot change type to nullable in generic method I am creating a generic converter
Here is a sample code of the generic converter
bool TryReaderParse<TType>(object data, out TType value)
{
    value = default(TType);
    Type returnType = typeof(TType);
    object tmpValue = null;

    if (returnType == typeof(DateTime))
    {
        tmpValue = StringToDatetime(data.ToString());
    }
    else if (returnType == typeof(DateTime?)) // THIS IF FIRES
    {
        tmpValue = StringToNullableDatetime(data.ToString());
    }

    value = (TType)Convert.ChangeType(tmpValue, returnType);  // THROWS
}

public DateTime? StringToNullableDatetime(string date)
{
    DateTime? datetime = null;
    if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(date))
    {
        datetime = DateTime.Parse(date, new CultureInfo(Resources.CurrentCulture));
    }

    return datetime;
}

And this is how I use it:
void foo()
{
    DateTime? date = null;
    TryReaderParse<DateTime?>("25/12/2012", out date);
}

The thrown exception says that it cannot convert from DateTime to Nullable<DateTime>. Since, the method creates and returns a nullable type, how come the casting fails?
At the end, I want to have a nullable DateTime, in this particular example.
edit The problem is that StringToNullableDatetime method returns a Datetime? and the casting says that cannot convert from Datetime
Since the StringToNullableDatetime method returns a nullable datetime, how is it possible that the Convert.ChangeType cannot see that the passed argument is nullable?
Ps. I've read answers like this one that do the opposite (casting from nullable).

A:
The thrown exception says that it cannot convert from DateTime to Nullable<DateTime>. Since, the method creates and returns a nullable type, how come the casting fails?

Good question. This fails because there is no such thing as a boxed nullable. When you convert a DateTime? to object, you either get a null reference, if the DateTime? was null, or you get the boxed value, a DateTime. You never get a boxed nullable struct; there is no such thing.
Therefore you end up with either null, or a valid DateTime in that box. You then tell Convert to convert that to a nullable DateTime, and Convert does not know how to do that.
My advice is that you abandon this line of attack entirely; this code is borderline abusive of generics. Any time you make a switch on the specific type of a generic, your code is no longer generic and you are probably doing it wrong. If you want to do a "try"-style method for datetimes then just write that:
DateTime? TryReadDateTime(object data)
{
    ... return null if the object cannot be read as a datetime ...
}

Write such a method for every type that you intend to read. The user would much rather write:
DateTime? d = TryReadDateTime(data);
if (d != null) ...

Than
DateTime d;
bool b = TryRead<DateTime>(data, out d);
if (b) ...

A: From the documentation, this line will error if:

value is null and conversionType is a value type

Nullable<T> is a struct and hence a value type, thus you can't use this method call if your value is null. You already handle dates separately, so why use ChangeType in those cases anyway?

A: The way nullables, generics, and boxing interact is weird.  You may be better off defining two methods:

bool TryReaderParse(object data, out TType value);
bool TryReaderParse(object data, out TType? value) where TType : struct;

Within the second method, your code can simply produce a TType and assign it to the TType? without difficulty.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
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Leaked Audio Depicts U.S. Diplomat Cursing E.U.
Americans pointed the finger at Russia for the leak
By Noah Rayman Feb. 06, 2014
Follow @TIMEWorld
A newly disclosed audio recording purportedly depicts a conversation between two American diplomats, in which one curses the European Union as they discuss how to handle turmoil in Ukraine.
American officials were quick to suggest a Russian role in the apparent leak, which came as Russia is engaged in a tug of war with the E.U. and the United States for influence over Ukraine. The audio recording, incorporated into a video with Russian subtitles and posted on YouTube Tuesday, appears to be a conversation between the top U.S. diplomat for Europe, Victoria Nuland, and the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, Geoffrey Pyatt, discussing how to resolve the ongoing standoff between the Ukraine government and protesters camped out in the streets.
At one point, the voice apparently belonging to Nuland suggests that United Nations efforts should take precedence over the E.U. position, adding, "f–k the E.U."
An aide to Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin shared the clip on Twitter Wednesday before it had gained widespread notice. "Sort of controversial judgment from Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland speaking about the EU," he wrote.
Sort of controversial judgment from Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland speaking about the EU (3:01) http://t.co/ifsuc44d14
— Dmitry Loskutov (@DLoskutov) February 6, 2014
"I would say that since the video was first noted and tweeted out by the Russian government, I think it says something about Russia's role," White House Press Secretary Jay Carney told reporters Thursday. He didn't comment on the authenticity of the recording, which has yet to be independently confirmed.
State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said that if the Russians were responsible for bugging and leaking the conversation, it would be "a new low in Russian tradecraft."
Psaki also said Nuland had apologized to her E.U. counterparts for her comments, the AP reports. When asked if the video was authentic, Psaki said: "I didn't say it was inauthentic."
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text:
Global Sustainable Outcomes Q2 2020
After the collapse in global stock markets in Q1, 2020 – triggered by Covid-19 – the second quarter saw a marked recovery, with global markets bouncing strongly off lows. This rebound has been fuelled by global government fiscal and monetary stimulus programmes, the size of which have not been seen since the Global Financial Crisis. Having behaved more defensively in the first quarter (falling 14.7% vs the MSCI ACWI decreasing by 21.3%) the Global Sustainable Outcomes strategy lagged the recovery, rising 17.4% against the market rise of 19.4%.1
Although stock markets have recovered back towards highs, global economies and societies have taken a severe hit with several countries reporting their worst unemployment and economic figures in history over the quarter. Covid-19 has served to highlight global social inequalities as people in lower-income communities have been disproportionately affected by the crisis. They tend to work in lower-paid, service jobs most impacted by the shutdowns or are unable to work from home while doing their jobs – putting them at greater risk of exposure to the virus. This has contributed towards greater social and political discontent in many parts of the world. During this quarter we saw the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement which started as a protest over systemic racism in the US and has since spread globally. Many companies, including sports brands such as Adidas and Nike, recognise that they need to introduce more active employment policies to address the lack of diversity in their employee base. However, embracing diversity in the workplace is not just good for society but for business too. By having a workforce that better reflects your consumer, you can better develop products and services to meet their needs. For example, in the retail sector women are the biggest consumer segment yet they are mostly absent from top level management. In Britain, not a single retailer in the FTSE 350 is run by a woman while in Europe only 3% of the 87 main consumption and retail goods companies are female-run (according to EU-backed European Women on Boards).2 Most large companies now say that improving gender, racial and ethnic diversity of their workforce is an important goal.
Companies have also been coming under increased scrutiny during the pandemic of their treatment of workers, suppliers and local communities. Media allegations of worker exploitation at UK retailer Boohoo led to a customer boycott and a Twitter storm. The subsequent 49% collapse in Boohoo shares3 demonstrates how social factors such as poor labour and supply chain practices can have a real impact on financial valuations. Shares remained 24% down in mid-August, showing that the effects outlast the social media storm.
Ultimately, we're seeing investor focus moving from not just the "E" (Environmental factors) in ESG but now also to the "S" (Social factors) with aspects such as supply chain transparency, employment policies and support for local communities increasingly impacting company reputation and values. In the Global Sustainable Outcomes strategy, we hope that by investing in companies positively contributing towards our social themes we can help create a more inclusive world.
Sustainable theme focus: a green recovery
During the peak of the lockdown in London, it felt more like we were living in the countryside than one of the biggest cities in the world. The sky was strikingly blue, while the sound of birds chirping was no longer drowned out by the noise of cars and overhead aeroplanes. London was not alone. The global lockdown resulted in an unprecedented drop in global carbon emissions which fell 6% in the first quarter of the year and were down 17% in April alone!4
Source: Source: Nature Climate Change, 19 May 2020.
Unfortunately, this clean air was temporary. The first thing I noticed when lockdown eased was how poisonous traffic fumes smelt. How much damage does this polluted air cause to our lungs and those of our children? If governments could react so swiftly to a deadly respiratory virus, why can't they react as urgently when dealing with air pollution and climate change? It turns out that I wasn't alone in this thinking. For many, this pandemic has highlighted just how fragile humans are and accentuated the sense of climate change urgency.
With major economies launching large fiscal stimulus programmes, governments have been given a once in a lifetime opportunity to recover and grow in a greener more sustainable way. Unfortunately, the world's two superpowers and largest polluters, China and the United States, have focused instead on short-term economic recovery, with their programmes supporting polluting industries such as oil, gas and coal. But Europe and many other countries including the United Kingdom, South Korea and Japan are all seeking a different path to economic recovery, one which also focuses on tackling climate change. The UK government plans to invest nearly £1.3 billion in "green" building projects5 and provide £2 billion in energy efficiency grants to support jobs and the economy.6 They have also allocated nearly £350 million to help cut emissions from heavy industry, construction and transportation.7
European Green Deal which set an ambitious roadmap towards a climateneutral, circular economy. Instead of de-emphasising these long-term climate policies in favour of short-term economic intervention, the EU has instead placed this Green Deal at the centre of its recovery plans. The EU commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, stated "Sooner or later we will find a vaccine for the coronavirus. But there is no vaccine for climate change. Therefore [we] need a recovery plan designed for the future."8 The EU Recovery Plan aims to kick-start an accelerated decarbonisation drive in Europe, bringing €1.8 trillion of investment in the next seven years. All of this will be aligned with climate Global Sustainable Outcomes | News & Views Q2 2020 | 3 Company Q2 2020 sustainable impact highlights Company Sustainable Category Advanced Contributor Europe's leading frozen food company, Nomad Foods, has recently enjoyed a strong boost to sales. If you've been balancing childcare and working from home, Birds Eye (one of its core brands) frozen fish fingers and vegetables is a quick, healthy meal. The frozen food category generally has positive health attributes while also contributing to lower food waste. Nomad Foods also has a strong focus on sustainable sourcing as well as innovation around protein alternatives with its new Birds Eye "Green Cuisine" range. Sustainable Leader Sika is the global leader in construction chemicals with a focus on sustainability. Its value-added solutions seek to improve productivity, better resource efficiency and lower carbon emissions for the construction industry. It will be a beneficiary of the EU Green Deal where part of the focus is renovating existing buildings to be more energy efficient. (Source: Recovery plan for Europe, European Union, May 2020). Sustainable Leader Atlas Copco is a world-leading provider of sustainable productivity solutions, providing products that improve energy efficiency, productivity and safety for its diverse customer base. A key focus of its product innovation is on improved energy efficiency; such as its new vacuum pumps which are used to help manufacture semiconductor chips. The most recent generation of its vacuum pumps reduce customers' energy consumption by 60% vs previous generations. Given this focus on improved energy efficiency for its customers, it is a clear beneficiary of the EU Green deal. (Source: Recovery plan for Europe, European Union, May 2020). Advanced Contributor Across its global software platform, Intuit is using the power of technology to help solve people's most important financial problems. Its products (TurboTax, QuickBooks and Mint) help individuals and small businesses. It now has >50 million users globally. In 2015 it became carbon neutral with 76% of its internal energy consumption from renewables – it now has a target to be carbon negative by 2030! Intuit's mission is to power prosperity around the world with an aim to increase the survival rate of all small businesses on their platform by 10%. "Everyone – no matter who they are, no matter where they live – should have the opportunity to prosper" – Sasan Goodarzi (CEO). (Source: Highlights from Intuit Corporate Responsibility Report, Jan 2020). Source: Columbia Threadneedle Investments analysis/internal reports, 13 August 2020. The mention of any specific shares or bonds should not be taken as a recommendation to deal. All intellectual property rights in the brands and logos in this slide are reserved by the respective owners. neutrality targets whilst 30% of the total funding, c.€550 billion, will be spent in climate-related projects.
Key beneficiaries of this spend will be sectors such as renewable energy, clean transportation, buildings renovation (targeting improved energy efficiency) and hydrogen, as these areas are helping to tackle carbon emissions. July saw the release of the EU's "Hydrogen Strategy for a Climate Neutral Europe" which will likely accelerate the decline in costs for green hydrogen globally as well as helping Europe to become a leader in the field. Transitioning to a more circular economy is also a key part of the plan with the EU introducing a new plastic tax next year, which will favour companies providing alternatives to plastics as well as recycling solutions. Of course, creating jobs is a critical part of any recovery package with the EU plan aiming to create at least a million green jobs with support for workers in polluting industries to enter these new roles.
EU Climate Chief, Frans Timmermans, argues that a green shift will help create many more jobs, supporting stronger and more sustainable economic growth. Alongside the recovery package, the EU is also proposing to strengthen its 2030 target for emissions reduction from 40% to 55% based on 1990 levels.9 This level of ambition, if approved, would imply bigger cuts in emissions in the next 10 years than we have seen in the last 30! A Democratic win under Joe Biden will see the United States follow Europe's lead. Biden has pledged to "build back better" in the US with $2 trillion for Clean Energy and Infrastructure Spending over four years.10 Of course, we'll have to wait until November to find out if a Green US economic recovery will become a reality. We own several companies in the Global Sustainable Outcomes strategy which will benefit from these green recovery investments, including: Orsted (offshore wind); Samsung SDI (EV supply chain); Kingspan (building insulation) and Sika (energy efficient building materials); Trane Technologies (energy efficient heating and ventilation equipment) and Johnson Matthey (the hydrogen value chain).
Company Q2 2020 sustainable impact highlights
Pauline Grange & Jess Williams
Portfolio Manager, Global Equities & Portfolio Analyst, Responsible Investment
1 Bloomberg, 1/4/2020
2 Bloomberg (https://www.bloombergquint.com/business/ male-bosses-in-european-retail-decide-what-women-want), 27/7/2020. 3 Bloomberg, 9/
4Temporary reduction in daily global CO2 emissions during the COVID-19 forced confinement, Nature.com, 19/5/2020.
5 https://www.gov.uk/government/news/1-3-billion-investmentto- deliver-homes-infrastructure-and-jobs
6https://www.gov.uk/government/news/quality-assurance-atheart- of-new-2-billion-green-homes-grants
7https://www.gov.uk/government/news/pm-commits-350- million-to-fuel-green-recovery
8https://twitter.com/vonderleyen/ status/1260578816268865537?lang=en
9Recovery plan for Europe, European Union, May 2020.
10The Biden Plan to Build a Modern, Sustainable Infrastructure and an Equitable Clean Energy Future, joebiden.com, July 2020.


text:
TAC Report update: As homeless numbers increase, county, city alter plan of action
Adam Duvernay
aduvernay@registerguard.com
Efforts to better understand how many people in Lane County are experiencing homelessness over the past year showed there are significantly more of them than previously estimated, and the county will have to adjust before winter comes.
The recommended level of transitional housing and emergency shelter beds in a 2019 report guiding county homelessness response is not enough with the new numbers, and early estimates on costs to create shelter options over the course of 12 months is nearly $19 million.
Those were some of the takeaways from a Tuesday presentation before the Lane County Board of Commissioners and the Eugene City Council. The two bodies met in a joint session to get an update on the implementation of the TAC Report, a 2019 study that offered recommendations on reducing homelessness throughout the county.
The report, put together by Boston-based Technical Assistance Collaborative, emerged from the group's commission to create a public shelter feasibility study. The TAC report found about 69% of people experiencing homelessness in Lane County were on the streets as opposed to in shelters, compared to about 34% on the national level.
The report recommended a 75-bed shelter, among other housing options.
But the TAC Report used point-in-time counts taken each month of 2018 to estimate 1,365 adults experienced homelessness that year. The county since has built a name directory of people accessing homelessness services, and in 2019 it identified 9,769 individuals, said Eugene Joint Housing and Shelter Strategist Sarai Johnson.
"We have a lot more people flowing through the system than we thought," she said.
Johnson said the name directory shows that the number of people accessing services during the summer months is smaller than during winter months. She said most non-summer months see about 4,500 people use the county's homelessness services.
She said the pandemic has somewhat skewed some of this year's data considering many service providers were closed during the earliest months of the local outbreak.
Johnson said in June 2020, 75% of people accessing homelessness services live in Eugene, about 10% live in Springfield, about 5% live in Cottage Grove, about 4% live in Florence, about 2% live in Oakridge and about 4% live elsewhere in the county. Johnson said per capita homelessness is fairly similar in cities across the county.
Because a large percentage of them are unsheltered and because the pandemic makes less feasible some of the county's traditional winter strategies, such as Egan Warming Center, preparing for the rainy cold months ahead now is important.
"We need to find as much non-congregate shelter as we possibly can," Johnson said.
Johnson pointed to four options for finding such shelter in the coming months: safe sleeping villages, which are microsites the likes of which the county deployed during the pandemic; hotel and motel rooms; quick-build units that are longer lived, such as modular structures; and congregate shelters designed with room for social distance.
The TAC Report, based on an estimate of 1,365 adults experiencing homelessness during 2018, suggested the county and city set up a program to assure 189 housing vouchers, 250 people in a rapid rehousing program per year, a 75-bed shelter and building 350 permanent supportive housing units, Johnson said in her presentation.
But the new name directory caused local staffers working on these issues to increase those numbers, adding 110 transitional housing units over five years, growing the number of people given vouchers to 200, putting 475 people in emergency shelters and 373 in alternative shelters and adding six permanent supportive housing units.
Johnson said early estimates on costs over the course of 12 months is nearly $19 million and includes nearly $2 million for quick-build options with 100 beds; $4.6 million to fill 150 beds at hotels and motels; $3.6 million for 200 beds at congregate shelters; $6.44 million for 500 beds in safe sleeping villages and $1.98 million for a service navigation center with 75 beds.
Contact reporter Adam Duvernay at aduvernay@registerguard.com or 541-338-2237, and follow him on Twitter @DuvernayOR.


text:
← A Taste of FOGCon
The Food Service Conundrum →
The Longer FOGCon Post (With Photos!)
Posted on March 10, 2020 by Marion
I think I went to as many readings this year as panels at this year's FOGCon. That suited me fine. Readings at FOGCon are uniformly wonderful and 2020 was no exception.
The first one I went to featured Daniel Marcus, who read an outrageous and hilarious SF story called "Jesus Christ Superstore." You've read the title, so if I tell you it is set in Texas and includes a satirical use of quantum physics, that may be all you need to know.
Laura Blackwell read, "The Wise and Patient Mother" which will appear in Weirdbook in 2021. The story takes a look at those who history has depicted as monsters. It's about rage, grief and hope.
The first panel I attended was about Societal Defaults That Carry Into Genre. The participants discussed class, gender, race and skin color, but then they drilled down a little deeper, looking at narrative structure and underlying values. Garret Croker, guest of honor Mary Ann Mohanraj, Alyc Helms and Karen Brenchley participated and Lisa Eckstein moderated. It was a thoughtful discussion. As Eckstein noted during the panel, they could have talked about this topic for another couple of hours.
Dave Smeds
Later, Dave Smeds read the poignant beginning of a story about a grieving man and a "wind sister," an elemental creature. The story had the tone and tropes of a fairy tale.
Garrett Croker reads.
Garrett Croker read from a science fiction story that was written in response to Star Trek, and more specifically, Picard, while Marie Brennan shared a section from a new epic fantasy trilogy she is co-writing with Alyc Helms, called the Rook and Rose series.
Later, when I read with Alyc, she read another section from the same work. It's good fun, dripping with opulent clothing, class warfare, economic injustice, elegant intrigue, weaponized gossip, and silken flirtation. Book One comes out in November.
On Saturday, I was on the Archives and Genre panel, which ranged widely; actual archives and libraries, the differences of each, the value and necessity of the "lone" archivist who champions a writer or other creative. We toyed with questions of the How and the What, as well as who controls the archive and who has access. Norm Sperling shared some nice bits about the number of telescope archives he uncovered in his drive to collect them. Bradford Lyau studies in archives and has a science fictional archive of his own. Mary Ann Mohanraj talked about the funding for current libraries, and also about food and cooking archives. The seventy-five minutes flew by!
Michael R Johnson and Daryl Gregory
Effie Seiberg
Daryl Gregory, Michael R. Johnson and Effie Seiberg read. Gregory shared a deeply emotional story about traumatic brain injury, guilt, neuroscience and free will. Johnson read a tense sequence from the second book of his military SF trilogy. MILSF is not my go-to but I liked the main character and the set-up of this piece very much.
Seiberg, who did not attend the convention for health reasons, participated via pre-recorded video with her sweet, funny and nearly too on the-nose retelling of Rumpelstiltskin with a millennial project manager who will give up nearly anything to keep her job and her health insurance. I'd read this story on the page and chuckled; with Effie reading it and doing the character voice for the magical goblin character, I, like everyone else in the room, was laughing out loud.
(l to r) Heather Rose Johnson, Vylar Kaftan (m), Marie Brenan, Beth Barany, Beth Plutchak
How Deep Do We Dig? Aka "The Research Panel," featured Vylar Kaftan as moderator, Heather Rose Jones, Beth Plutchak, Beth Barany and Marie Brennan. The topic was originally, "When do you stop researching?" and that got discussed, because several panelists acknowledged that research can be a tempting procrastination for them – but when you get a bunch of writers who love history and research on a panel, you're going to learn about researching too. They also spent a few minutes on the vexing issue of how much to include in the work itself.
Heather Rose Jones provided a metaphor that I liked, from the tales of Ali Baba. Ali Baba, that consummate con artist, once set up a caper by borrowing a bunch of his mark's baskets "to haul something." He cleverly slipped one or two gold pieces into the weaving of the baskets and gave them back, leaving his mark to think he had hauled gold in them – so much gold, in fact, that he didn't even notice when a couple of piece stuck to the bottom of the baskets. Research details can be like this – choose one or two vivid, accurate details and place them in your work; it evokes the world without you stopping the story to provide paragraphs of data.
Marie Brennan, whose first work was technically a "secret history," also brought up the difference between that (where it theoretically happened in our world) versus alternate history, where you can make any changes you want or need.
Nisi Shawl was also unable to attend in person because of health concerns. She did participate in two of her scheduled events via video conference, and later stayed on the call to "hang out" virtually with a group of happy friends and fans.
Shades of Fear; Color in Horror, was not about skin color (although that came up); it was about the use of color to create a mood. Ramona Lyons moderated, Chelsea Davis, L.S. Johnson, and E.M. Markoff were the panelists. This was a very well-prepared panel that talked mostly about use of color in film, not written works. As a result of it I have two new writers to seek out; Johnson and Markoff.
I read at 9:30 on Saturday night, with Nancy Jane Moore and Alyc (pronounced Ah-liss). Nancy's work in progress is inspired by Dumas and the musketeers. She shared an actiony, funny section that featured sword fights and knife throwing. Alyc read another selection from Book One of Rook and Rose, and I shared a little bit from the sequel to Aluminum Leaves. For so late on a Saturday night, we had a nice turnout, about twelve people.
FOGCon is always held the weekend of the time change, which makes me feel bad for early Sunday morning panelists. The Value of Hopepunk panel started at 10:30, which wasn't awful. Alyc Helm moderated, and the panelists were Ian Hageman, Keyan Bowes and Elwin Cotman. Cotman and Hageman are both men of color and anarchists, and different flavors of anarchist, which was great for the panel. Bowes is from India and in her sixties, so she brought a different vibe to the panel. Elwin coined the phrase "struggle-punk" as a possible substitute for hope-punk, but Bowes said she felt "hope was the engine of the struggle." This was another panel who had planned well for the topic, and another discussion that could have continued for another hour as far as I was concerned.
FOGCon offers writing workshops, usually on Sunday. An established writer is the workshop leader and each group has three writers. Work has to be submitted in advance so workshoppers have time to comment. This is a very valuable feature for writers at any stage! I skipped it this year because of time, but my writing friend who attended one found hers useful and validating.
All in all, it was a great weekend. I'm looking forward to seeing how next year goes.
This entry was posted in View from the Road. Bookmark the permalink.
2 Responses to The Longer FOGCon Post (With Photos!)
Terry Connelly says:
This sounds fascinating, especially the world-building part. I m impressed that you wre an esteemed panelist. Well, deserved.
The research panel was good fun, with some nice tips about what to research. It's different when you are creating a "second world" out of whole cloth, of course.


So I just got my Crawdad and Air spirit up to 25 and threw my Idol in there for a random pvp match, keeping the Air spirit alive with his heal, and wish, whilst aoeing down the enemy with cyclone/wild winds is awesome, but I was wondering if there's a better 3rd pet to add to this team.
I added the idol just because it has high survivability, and quite high damage/utility with a weather effect and rupture, but wondering what other people tend to use in these kinds of teams.
Not sure if this one fits in with your team or not but the Spawn of Onyxia has a self heal move and a two other moves with decent damage. I usually start off with him and watch the fireworks.
Why would you add the Idol, its weather is a direct counter to your tactic?
The only pets that are unaffected by weather spells are elemental so hypothetically you would be able to defeat a weather effect. But then again my main rotation is Spirit of Competition , Crimson Lasher and a rare Coral Snake So I might bias... I you don't have to have a weather affect sometimes, but seeming as how both Pandaren Air Spirit and Magical Crawdad have heals and the Air Spirit has a few DoT's depending on how you set them up... you might want to go with something that hit's really heavy with a lot of heath or has a variety of different damage skills..
maybe a Stunted Shardhorn, Jungle Grub or a frog for Cleansing Rain because it Restores 27 health to your team reduced hostile DoT's 1 round and gives water abilities a huge bonus. It'll also get rid of that pesky darkness, just watch out for a flock of seagulls!
Note that all but one of these are Dragon-type, so determine your team's third member accordingly.


text:
Q: How can I draw a vector field (quiver plot) on a surface in 3D? I'd like to draw a vector field on a torus using PGFPlots and/or TikZ. I managed to do it using ePiX, based on the file decorate.xp from the example gallery, but then I have to do z-sorting by hand, which is very ugly. How can I get PGFPlots and/or TikZ to give the same result? It seems to me that PGFPlots can plot the vector field using quiver, and plot the torus as a surf, but not both at once. Is it possible to get around this by chopping up the drawing into smaller pieces? How should I do that?
NB: The code is a hack, and is probably badly written and formatted. Any tips for improving the figure and/or code are appreciated!
/* -*-ePiX code based on on the example file decorate.xp-*- */
#include <algorithm>
#include "epix.h"
using namespace ePiX;

const int N1(60);  // latitudes
const int N2(60);  // longitudes

const double du(2*M_PI/N1);
const double dv(2*M_PI/N2);

const double r_0(.999); // minor radius
const double R_0(1);    // major radius

P F(double u, double v)
{
    return polar(R_0 + r_0*Cos(u), v) + P(0,0,r_0*Sin(u));
}

namespace ePiX {
class mesh_quad {
private:
    P pt1, pt2, pt3, pt4, center;
    double distance;

public:
    mesh_quad(P f(double u, double v), double u0, double v0)
      : pt1(f(u0,v0)), pt2(f(u0+du,v0)), pt3(f(u0+du,v0+dv)), pt4(f(u0,v0+dv)),
        center(0.25*(pt1 + pt2 + pt3 + pt4)),
       distance(max(max(max(norm(pt1-camera.viewpt()), norm(pt2-camera.viewpt())),
        norm(pt3-camera.viewpt())), norm(pt4-camera.viewpt())))
    { }

    double how_far() const { return distance; }

    void draw() const
    {
        P direction(center-camera.viewpt());
        P normal((pt2 - pt1)*(pt4 - pt1));
        normal *= 1/norm(normal);

        fill(Gray(normal|(recip(distance)*direction)));

        pen(0);
        quad(pt1, pt2, pt3, pt4);

        fill(false);
    }
};

class mesh_vf {
private:
    P pt1, pt2, center;
    double distance;

public:
    mesh_vf(P f(double u, double v), double u0, double v0)
    {
        pt1 = f(u0,v0);

        double C = 2 * (pt1.x2() - 8);
        double Gamma = -C * Sin(u0) * Sin(v0);
        double Delta = C * (1 + Cos(u0)) * Cos(v0);

        pt2 = f(u0,v0) + .005 * P(Gamma * Sin(u0) * Cos(v0)
            + Delta * (1 + Cos(u0)) * Sin(v0),
            Gamma * Sin(u0) * Sin(v0) - Delta * (1 + Cos(u0)) * Cos(v0),
            -Gamma * Cos(u0));

        center = .5*(pt1 + pt2);
        distance = min(norm(pt1-camera.viewpt()),norm(pt2-camera.viewpt()));
        //distance = norm(center-camera.viewpt());
    }

    double how_far() const { return distance; }

    void draw() const
    {
        plain(Black());
        arrow(pt1, pt2, .3);
    }
};

class by_distance {
public:
    bool operator() (const mesh_quad& arg1, const mesh_quad& arg2)
    { return arg1.how_far() > arg2.how_far(); }
    bool operator() (const mesh_vf& arg1, const mesh_vf& arg2)
    { return arg1.how_far() > arg2.how_far(); }
    bool operator() (const mesh_quad& arg1, const mesh_vf& arg2)
    { return arg1.how_far() > arg2.how_far(); }
    bool operator() (const mesh_vf& arg1, const mesh_quad& arg2)
    { return arg1.how_far() > arg2.how_far(); }
};
} // end of namespace

int main()
{
    picture(P(-2.5,-3.5),P(3.5,3), "12x10cm");

    begin();

    set_crop();

    viewpoint(sph(10, 80 * M_PI / 180, 30 * M_PI / 180));

    // background grids
    pen(Gray(.5));
    grid(P(-2, -2, -2), P(2, 2, -2), 4,4);
    grid(P(-2, -2, -2), P(2, -2, 2), 4,4); // n.b. (z,x) divisions
    grid(P(-2, -2, -2), P(-2, 2, 2), 4,4);

    label(P(2, 0, -2), P(-15, -15), "$y$", bl);
    label(P(2, -2, -2), P(-2, -2), "$-2$", bl);
    label(P(2, -1, -2), P(-2, -2), "$-1$", bl);
    label(P(2, 0, -2), P(-2, -2), "$0$", bl);
    label(P(2, 1, -2), P(-2, -2), "$1$", bl);

    label(P(-2, 2, 0), P(15, -15), "$z$", br);
    label(P(-2, 2, -1), P(2, 0), "$-1$", br);
    label(P(-2, 2, 0), P(2, 0), "$0$", br);
    label(P(-2, 2, 1), P(2, 0), "$1$", br);
    label(P(-2, 2, 2), P(2, 0), "$2$", br);

    label(P(0, 2, -2), P(0, -20), "$x$", b);
    label(P(-1, 2, -2), P(0, -3), "$-1$", b);
    label(P(-2, 2, -2), P(0, -3), "$-2$", b);
    label(P(0, 2, -2), P(0, -3), "$0$", b);
    label(P(1, 2, -2), P(0, -3), "$1$", b);
    label(P(2, 2, -2), P(0, -3), "$2$", b);

    // build and draw a torus with vector field
    std::vector<mesh_quad> mesh;

    for (int i=0; i<N1; ++i)
    for (int j=0; j<N2; ++j)
    mesh.push_back(mesh_quad(F, i*du, j*dv));

    sort(mesh.begin(), mesh.end(), by_distance());

    std::vector<mesh_vf> vf;

    for (int i=0; i<N1; ++i)
        for (int j=0; j<N2; ++j)
            vf.push_back(mesh_vf(F, i*du, j*dv));
            // vf.push_back(mesh_vf(F, (i+.5)*du, (j+.5)*dv));

    sort(vf.begin(), vf.end(), by_distance());

    int j = 0;
    for (unsigned int i=0; i<mesh.size(); ++i)
    {
    mesh.at(i).draw();
        if (j < vf.size())
        {
            for ( ; (vf.at(j).how_far() > mesh.at(i).how_far()) && (j < vf.size()); j++)
                vf.at(j).draw();
    }
    }
    for ( ; j < vf.size(); j++)
        vf.at(j).draw();

    //label_color(Red());
    //spot(P(0,2,0));

    tikz_format();
    end();
}

Here is a screenshot of the result:

A: What about directly exporting your matlab figure to Tikz?
Then you can do some further formatting in the generated tikz file.
Take a look at http://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/fileexchange/22022
Cheers

A: Not a timely reply, but in case it's helpful to posterity, the code below uses fewer ePiX internals:

The strategy is to plot the surface first, then to overlay the vectors manually; vec_field() draws individual arrows, draw_surface() does the overlaying. The scene is manually chopped into three blocks to fine-tune the hidden object removal (see comments).
The vector field is specified by my_F(), and may be changed as needed. The return value should be a periodic, pair-valued function of u and v.
Andy
/* -*-ePiX-*- */
#include "epix.h"
using namespace ePiX;

const double MAX(2); // outside radius of torus

const int N1(40);  // longitudes
const int N2(20);  // latitudes

const double r0(0.95); // minor radius
const double R0(MAX - r0);    // major radius

domain dom(P(0, 0), P(360, 360), mesh(N1, N2), mesh(3*N1, 3*N2));

// torus parametrization
P Phi(double u, double v)
{
  double rad(R0 + r0*Cos(v));
  return P(rad*Cos(u), rad*Sin(u), r0*Sin(v));
}

// vector field to plot (in plane coordinates)
P my_F(double u, double v)
{
  P loc(Phi(u, v));
  double x(loc.x1()), y(loc.x2()), z(loc.x3());
  return 0.05*P((x - y)*(x + y), 2*x*y); // adjust as desired
}

// auxiliary mappings
// partial derivatives (manually computed)
P Phi_u(double u, double v)
{
  double rad(R0 + r0*Cos(v));
  return P(-rad*Sin(u), rad*Cos(u), 0);
}

P Phi_v(double u, double v)
{
  return P(-r0*Cos(u)*Sin(v), -r0*Sin(u)*Sin(v), r0*Cos(v));
}

// draw vector if surface element faces camera
const double du(360/N1);
const double dv(360/N2);

void vec_field(double u, double v)
{
  double u1(u + 0.5*du), v1(v + 0.5*dv); // middle of mesh element
  P loc(Phi(u1, v1)),
    Xu(Phi_u(u1, v1)), Xv(Phi_v(u1, v1)), dir(Xu*Xv); // cross product

  if (0 < ((camera.viewpt() - loc)|dir))
    {
      P tmp(my_F(u1, v1)), // vector field in coordinates
    vec(tmp.x1()*Xu +  tmp.x2()*Xv); // field in R^3

      dart(loc, loc + vec);
    }
}

// will chop scene manually; group repeated drawing commands
void draw_surface()
{
  pen(White(), 0);
  surface(Phi, dom, -1); // cull back-facing elements

  plain(Black());
  for (int i = 0; i < 2*N1; ++i)
    for (int j = 0; j < 2*N2; ++j)
      vec_field(0.5*i*du, 0.5*j*dv);
}

int main()
{
  picture(P(-3, -2.5),P(3, 2.5), "12x10cm");

  begin();
  degrees();
  camera.at(sph(10, 80, 30));

  P O(0, 0, 0), // origin
    back(-MAX, -MAX, -MAX); // back corner

  // axes and labels
  arrow(back, back + (2*MAX + 1)*E_1);
  label(back + (2*MAX + 1)*E_1, P(-4, 0), "$x$", l);

  arrow(back, back + (2*MAX + 1)*E_2);
  label(back + (2*MAX + 1)*E_2, P(0, -4), "$y$", b);

  arrow(back, back + (2*MAX + 1)*E_3);
  label(back + (2*MAX + 1)*E_3, P(0, 4), "$z$", t);

  label_mask(White());
  axis aX(P(-MAX,  MAX, -MAX), P( MAX, MAX, -MAX), 2*MAX, P(0, -4), b);
  axis aY(P( MAX, -MAX, -MAX), P( MAX, MAX - 1, -MAX), 2*MAX - 1, P(-2, 0), l);
  axis aZ(P(-MAX,  MAX, -MAX + 1), P(-MAX, MAX,  MAX), 2*MAX - 1, P(0, -2), br);

  aX.draw_labels();
  aY.draw_labels();
  aZ.draw_labels();

  // background grids
  black(0.5);
  grid(P(-MAX, -MAX, -MAX), P(MAX,  MAX, -MAX), 2*MAX, 2*MAX);
  grid(P(-MAX, -MAX, -MAX), P(MAX, -MAX,  MAX), 2*MAX, 2*MAX);
  grid(P(-MAX, -MAX, -MAX), P(-MAX, MAX,  MAX), 2*MAX, 2*MAX);

  black();

  fill(White());
  // manually chop the scene
  clip_face(O, -E_3); // bottom half
  draw_surface();
  clip_restore();

  clip_face(O, E_3); // top back quarter
  clip_face(O, -E_2);
  draw_surface();
  clip_restore();

  clip_face(O, E_3); // top front quarter
  clip_face(O, E_2);
  draw_surface();
  clip_restore();

  tikz_format();
  end();
}


text:
from app.api.api import (
    SystemStatusHandler,
    SystemStatusWebsocketHandler,
    WebSocketURLHandler
)

urlprefix = r'/api'

urlpattern = (
    (r'/api/systemstatus', SystemStatusHandler),
    (r'/api/systemstatuswebsocket', SystemStatusWebsocketHandler),
    (r'/api/websocketurl', WebSocketURLHandler),
)


text:
#ifndef NEWSBOAT_HISTORY_H_
#define NEWSBOAT_HISTORY_H_

#include "libnewsboat-ffi/src/history.rs.h"

#include <string>

namespace newsboat {

class History {
public:
	History();
	~History() = default;
	void add_line(const std::string& line);
	std::string previous_line();
	std::string next_line();
	void load_from_file(const std::string& file);
	void save_to_file(const std::string& file, unsigned int limit);

private:
	rust::Box<history::bridged::History> rs_object;
};

} // namespace newsboat

#endif /* NEWSBOAT_HISTORY_H_ */


text:
The Rev. Jim McDonald
mailto:fathermcdonald@gmail.com
Sheila Woodard, Parish Administrator
Dr. Russell Stinson, Organist and Choirmaster
Suzanne Magouyrk, Children and Youth Sunday School Director
Isabelle Tenace, Acolyte Master
Jim Johnson, Church Treasurer
Virginia Wray, Clerk
Jo Cargill-Krugg, Altar Guild
Paul Hance, Usher Coordinator
Katie Moser, Sexton
Kim Dunlap
Scott McSpadden
Bill Olson
Carol Crosby
Lee Conditt
David Taverner
Fred Krug
Judy Purnell
Pat Mulick
A History of St. Paul's
There have been Episcopalians living in Batesville since shortly after the town's founding in 1819. Some of them were among the town's leading citizens. Leonidas Polk, the first "Missionary Bishop of Arkansas and the Indian Territory," made his first trip to Arkansas in 1839, and had intended to visit Batesville, a promising village of 300-400 persons, with the idea of establishing a mission. However, circumstances prevented his coming north from Little Rock, and Bishop Polk went south and west.
Later missionary Bishops Freeman and Lay made visitations to Batesville, preaching and celebrating the sacraments. In late 1865, the Rev. Charles H. Albert began work here, and St. Paul's Parish was formally organized on March 3, 1866, by Bishop Lay and Mr. Albert. The first building was erected in 1869 (at the site where St. Paul's stands today) and was consecrated by Arkansas' first Diocesan Bishop, Henry Niles Pierce, in 1873.
The Rev. C.A. Bruce served starting in March 1869, for four years as St. Paul's second rector. He was much loved here and throughout eastern Arkansas. Since its founding in 1866, St. Paul's has had its "ups and downs," due primarily to financial problems and the rapid turnovers of clergy. Yet in 1911 Bishop Winchester hailed St. Paul's as "the banner parish of the Diocese."
In the mid to late 20th century, we have been blessed with many fine rectors, such as Cotesworth P. Lewis, R.E. Dicus, Frank Butler, David Watts, and Mark Linder, all of whom emphasized youth ministry, fulfilling a vital need for the community as well as the church.
And through the years, the parish has also been blessed, as it is today, with strong and faithful lay leaders and members, many of whose families have served Christ in this place with distinction for several generations. Yet St. Paul's is a welcoming church family, open and receptive to all who will worship and serve God in this place and time.
(For more history of St. Paul's, see Worthy of Much Praise, by Nancy Britton and Dora Le Ferguson, and White Already to Harvest, by Margaret Simms McDonald.)
Today, St. Paul's is a vibrant welcoming parish with approximately 260 active members. Our ministries include daily Morning Prayer, celebrations of Holy Eucharist mid week and on Sundays, Christian Education for all ages on Sunday as well as seasonal offerings. Our space is fully utilized not only for our own programs, but by various community groups spanning a wide range of interest from AA to Habitat for Humanity to Yoga classes. St. Paul's has a history of involvement in many community assistance programs including founding of the program which is now a community-wide food bank with its own location, active participation and financial support of Family Violence Prevention, Inc. St. Paul's has a significant number of members who are on the committees which have established a Habitat for Humanity affiliate in Independence County and has given significant financial support to this ministry as well. Two major outreach projects which involve many of St. Paul's members are the Independence County program to provide gifts for children at Christmas and the collection of food for Help and Hope (the community food bank). In addition, many individuals are active in numerous community service agencies and the parish itself provides financial support for local, diocesan, and national outreach ministries.


If you recieved a Notice during installation or when printing your forms that you are running a Demo Copy of the software, you need to run your software with Admin Rights.
5) Reinstall (click NEXT all the way through) and accept agreement but nothing else. Continue clicking next until you receive the Finish button (uncheck both boxes (Run TFP20.##/LaserLink/TaxRight now & View the TFP20.##/LaserLink/TaxRight Help file now)). Then click on icon and run program.


text:
require "spec_helper"

describe Sandy::Provider::PSEG::Report do
  describe ".initialize" do
    context "with an empty response" do
      before { HTTParty.stub(:get).and_return("") }
      it "raises an informative error" do
        expect { Sandy::Provider::PSEG::Report.new }.to raise_error(LoadError, "PSEG response was not recognizable.")
      end
    end
  end

  describe "#areas" do
    subject { Sandy::Provider::PSEG::Report.new.areas }
    it { should be_an_instance_of Array }
    it { should_not be_empty }
  end
end


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Timothy Worley (born September 24, 1966) is a former American football running back who played for the Georgia Bulldogs in college, and the Pittsburgh Steelers and Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL).
Worley began his collegiate career at the University of Georgia in 1985. He was the team's second leading rusher as a freshman with 627 yards and led the team in touchdowns with 10. That same year, he scored an 89-yard touchdown against No. 1 ranked Florida, finishing with 125 yards rushing and leading Georgia to a 24-3 upset. To date, Worley's 1985 team is the first—and only—UGA football team to defeat the #1 ranked team in the country.
Worley's sophomore season ended early due to a torn anterior cruciate ligament. The injury was so severe that he needed almost two years of rehab, forcing him to sit out all of the 1987 season. He also became academically ineligible during that time, and worked hard at a junior college (while rehabbing his knee) to restore his grade point average, and his NCAA eligibility.
In 1988, Worley re-emerged with his focus balanced on both the books and the football field. He led Georgia in rushing with 1,216 yards, which ranks seventh among Georgia running backs for a single season. He was named first-team All-American by Kodak, the Walter Camp Football Foundation, and the Football Writers Association of America. United Press International named him its SEC Offensive Player of the Year. He finished his career at Georgia with 2,038 yards, 27 touchdowns and 5.8 yards per carry (fifth all-time at Georgia).
He was selected in the first round (7th overall) of the 1989 NFL Draft by the Steelers.
Worley showed promise in his rookie season, amassing 770 yards rushing and five touchdowns on 195 carries. His production fell off his second season, however, as he earned only 418 yards and no touchdowns. He was injured for most of the 1991 NFL season and was suspended the following year from the NFL due to missing two mandatory drug tests. He also had a problem holding onto the ball; he had 16 fumbles during his three-plus years in Pittsburgh.
The Steelers traded Worley to the Bears in 1993 for a fifth-round draft pick. The trade, intended to enhance the Bears' rushing attack with Neal Anderson and to resurrect Worley's career, failed on both fronts. Failure to produce on the field, and a series of arrests off the field, plagued Worley. After appearing in only five games during the 1994 NFL season, the Bears released him, and Worley chose to retire from the NFL.
On October 23, 2007, Worley was inducted into the Georgia-Florida Hall of Fame, which recognizes the careers and outstanding performances that have occurred during the decades-long rivalry.
Worley's troubles with the law resurfaced on April 13, 2008, as he was arrested for speeding and failure to maintain the lane in Smyrna, Georgia. It is commonly believed that Worley was arrested for driving under the influence, however he was never charged with that offense nor with a DUI. Officers used a Taser to subdue Worley after an altercation with the arresting officer. Police held Worley in custody on outstanding warrants from Arcade in Jackson County and Social Circle in Walton County. Worley now credits that police officer with "saving his life," and refers to the incident as the defining moment prompting his re-commitment to his faith and fueling his entrepreneurial spirit.
Worley was also inducted into the Robeson County Hall of Fame in 2011.
In 2013, Worley was selected as the University of Georgia's "SEC Legend." Based on stringent criteria outlined by the Southeastern Conference, Worley was chosen by the most senior administrative officers at the University of Georgia, with the athletic director, Greg McGarity, having the final say in the decision. He will be honored on the field during the 2013 SEC Championship game in Atlanta.
Worley co-founded a consulting firm—Worley Global Enterprises—with his wife, Dee. He leads the Motivational Speaking division, with a strong focus on Life Skills Consulting, and his wife leads the Marketing Communications and Business Consulting divisions. He has two children, Taylor and Brandon from a previous marriage.
↑ "Sampson, Worley among seven inductees to Roberson Sports Hall of Fame". FayObserver.com. Jan 29, 2011. Retrieved 16 November 2013.


text:
Hamden Fish and Game Protective Association
info@hamdenfishandgame.com
Shooting Events
Please Log In to view the latest alerts, events, and newsletters.
A Traditional Hunting, Fishing, and Shooting Sports Club.
The Hamden Fish and Game Protective Association Inc.
Traditional Sports Club
The Hamden Fish and Game Protection Association Inc. is a traditional hunting, fishing, and shooting sports club. Located on Willow Street in the Mount Carmel Section of Hamden, CT. Hamden Fish and Game sits on over 80 acres of woodlands near Sleeping Giant Mountain.
Membership is open to anyone interested in shooting, fishing, and the outdoors. Families are encouraged to join and enjoy the club together. GET THE MEMBERSHIP FORM.
The club is "managed" by elected officers and directors, chairs are appointed for a multiplicity of Shooting - Hamden Fish and Game events and undertakings.
The grounds consist of a clubhouse, a picnic grove and pavilion, an archery range, Ryan's Pond which is regularly stocked with pan size trout, four skeet and trap filds - one of which also contains a sporting clays/5-stand, setup and a multipoint 100 yard pistol and rifle range. The club's facilities are normally open year-round.
www.hamdenfishandgame.com
© 2019 The Hamden Fish and Game Protective Association Inc.
Website powered by ISG Drupal CMS


One of my music therapy courses this term is called Music, Community, and Culture – something to make us more aware of a method of music therapy called Community Music Therapy that encompasses the three aspects listed above.
Each week we are required to blog about things we've learned, our insights, self-reflections, questions we may have… the works! And I would like to share them here with you – one central blog (database) for everything, right?


It's Sunday, meaning that it's Single of the Week here at WFM. We take a listen to all of the tracks that have been released this past week and give our stamp of approval naming it Single of the Week. It also gets placed in our Single of the Week 2019 Playlist!
Ever since laying eyes on Demob Happy when they supported The Cribs, it was quite obvious they had something about them. Their new track 'Less Is More' continues their rise in music as they deliver once again after their sophomore album last year.
The track features a riff which wouldn't sound out of place in an early Kasabian album, fused together with these lush, laid back vocals. If you've listened to Demob Happy before, then you know what you're going to get, as it would sit well in their Holy Doom album. If you haven't listened to them, pin your ears back, and enjoy.
That's it for Single of the Week this week. If you think you have a single of the week on your hands then make sure you get in touch!
Keep up with the Single of the Week Playlist on Spotify below!


text:
New York Times eliminates political cartoons, two months after apologizing for 'clearly anti-Semitic' caricature
Updated: Jun. 11, 2019, 9:51 a.m. |
Published: Jun. 11, 2019, 9:36 a.m.
A Jack Ohman cartoon from The Oregonian in 2010.bn
Douglas Perry | The Oregonian/OregonLive
The New York Times became the latest newspaper to abandon political cartooning -- just a year after winning a Pulitzer Prize for the discipline for the very first time in its history.
The Times said Monday it "would no longer publish daily political cartoons in its international edition." It cut loose contract cartoonists Patrick Chappatte and Heng Kim Song.
The decision comes less than two months after the newspaper apologized for publishing a syndicated cartoon it said was "clearly anti-Semitic and indefensible."
That cartoon showed President Donald Trump wearing a kippah and being led around by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, depicted as a guide dog wearing a Star of David.
On his website, Chappatte lamented the Times' decision to forgo political cartooning, blaming the outrage caused by the Trump-Netanyahu caricature.
"I'm afraid this is not just about cartoons, but about journalism and opinion in general," he wrote. "We are in a world where moralistic mobs gather on social media and rise like a storm, falling upon newsrooms in an overwhelming blow. This requires immediate counter-measures by publishers, leaving no room for ponderation or meaningful discussions. Twitter is a place for furor, not debate. The most outraged voices tend to define the conversation, and the angry crowd follows in."
The New York Times said it would "continue investing in forms of opinion journalism, including visual journalism, that express nuance, complexity and strong voice from a diversity of viewpoints."
The elimination of political-cartoonist positions is usually positioned as a cost-saving measure, but, as Columbia Journalism Review wrote back in 2007, many cartoonists believe they increasingly have been muzzled by editors "who avoid race, religion, corporate power and other subjects that might offend."
During the golden age of newspapers in the early years of the 20th century, U.S. papers employed around 2,000 political cartoonists, according to the Herb Block Foundation. Newspapers' cartoonist ranks are now down to about two dozen.
The Oregonian did not replace its longtime political cartoonist, Jack Ohman, after Ohman left for the Sacramento Bee in 2012. Ohman won a Pulitzer Prize for the Bee in 2016. The Oregonian continues to publish syndicated editorial cartoons.
-- Douglas Perry
@douglasmperry
Visit subscription.oregonlive.com/newsletters to get Oregonian/OregonLive journalism delivered to your email inbox.


The team at Bonner Law brings more than 75+ years of experience to the table.
More than 75 years in private civil practice gives us the knowledge, experience, and expertise to serve your needs. Our firm was built on strong principles, and our work is guided by a set of core values. Our clients are the most important part of our practice. We want to give them the best possible service. Overall, the team of professionals at Bonner Law Firm, P.C. will provide excellence in every aspect of your case.
I have had the pleasure of working with Brad for many years now. He is a man of integrity with tremendous problem solving skills and work ethic. He is very intelligent and has always exhibited a broad knowledge of the issues while offering an elegant solution to the situation. His solutions are well thought through and reasonable from a cost perspective. He knows how to be firm without jeopardizing the deal. I always feel like my interests are paramount with Brad and frankly wouldn't make a move without his input.
I have been a client of Brad's since 2007. He has taken on several cases for me. Even when I had given up on the legal system, Brad never stopped working for what he knew was right. He is the kind of person you want in your corner. He continues to stay positive, and keeps his clients in the loop. I will always have faith in whatever Brad tells me he is going to do for me — he has NEVER steered me wrong.
As an attorney, Brad combines his true gentlemanly demeanor with the tenacity of a pit bull. He represented three of my business associates and me, and we got the exact settlement we wanted! Anyone Brad represents comes out of the situation impressed with his crackerjack skills. He knows how to speak softly and get the job done!
Brad was instrumental in successfully bringing together four separate business entities from different regions in the US to form our new company in 2000. Since then, he has always been there to help us with day-to-day legal issues and the inevitable legal conflicts with competitors, customers and suppliers. Utilizing Brad's skills and knowledge, we have been able to focus on our business and operations knowing we can rely on him to take care of our legal issues. Now, getting him to go fishing with us — that's another issue altogether.
The financial industry requires working hand in hand with the legal profession on a regular basis. Over the course of my career, I've dealt with law firms ranging from some of the top big-city firms in the world to one-attorney firms in small towns. I rank Brad as one of the top attorneys I've worked with.
Nick is my go-to guy. Not only does he represent me, but he represents the ethics I strive to embrace. In reality, he keeps me between the lines. His thoroughness and ability to adapt to any situation while bringing clarity and innovation to his profession is beyond astonishing. If you're looking for an attorney who is going to put you as the client first, Nick Crandall in your guy.
I have worked with Nick Crandall over the past several years on numerous clients and it has been an absolute pleasure. In my opinion he is extremely professional, knowledgeable, and timely with both his communication and projects. When I discover Nick Crandall is representing my clients I can be assured they are being treated well, getting quality thorough advice, and are well taken care of in regard to their legal needs and requirements.
My husband and I worked with Bonner Law Firm this summer as we bought our first home directly from an owner. Since this was our first time buying a home, the for-sale-by-owner process was a little intimidating and we were nervous about missing something along the way. Nick walked us through the entire process step by step, welcoming every question we had, and giving us an overview of everything that would happen. Having him by our side really made us feel like we had someone advocating for us and supporting us the entire way, while also explaining the options we had available to us to keep this process within our budget. Nick really made the process of a private sale so much easier than we imagined, and we would highly recommend working with Bonner Law Firm to our friends and family.


Half-length portrait of a young girl with blonde hair, dressed in a suit of armour and chain mail with her hands raised to her chest in gesture. There is a background of dense trees with dappled sunlight falling on the girl from the left. A bird sits on the girl's right shoulder with a ploom that extends dramatically to the chest area, the girl has a red blanket wrapped round her right arm.


The surface area of any prism measures its complete exterior. The prism, a three-dimensional solid, has two identical bases, which are parallel to one another and connected by rectangular sides. The prism's base determines its overall shape — a triangular prism has two triangles for its bases. The prism's surface area depends on the areas of its bases and sides; you can easily find a triangular prism's surface area with both the area and perimeter of the triangular base and the length of its rectangular sides, which is called its height.
Select one of the base triangles and then measure the perpendicular distance, called its altitude, from one of its angles to the side that is opposite the angle. Measure the length of the opposite side, called its base, and then multiply the altitude to the base to calculate the areas of both bases — the area for a triangle is 1/2 * altitude * base; by dropping the 1/2 you are finding the area for two identical triangles. For an example, the perpendicular distance is 4 inches and the side length is 6 inches — the area of the two bases is 24 square inches.
Measure the three sides of one of the bases and then add them together to find its perimeter. For this example, let the sides measure 6 inches, 5 inches and 5 inches — the perimeter is 16 inches.
Multiply the perimeter by the prism's height. In this example, let the height be 10 inches — multiplying 16 inches by 10 inches results in 160 square inches.
Add the product of the perimeter and height to the area of the bases. Concluding this example, adding 24 square inches to 160 square inches equals 184 square inches.
Check your calculations with an online prism calculator (see Resources).
E., Chance. "How to Find the Surface Area of a Triangular Prism Easily." Sciencing, https://sciencing.com/surface-area-triangular-prism-easily-8672034.html. 24 April 2017.


text:
Q: android app player not playing live streams over the internet I have an android app for playing videos and live streams. I am using xampp as my server for the videos. and am using NodeJS media server for video streaming .everything works well on my local network for both videos and live streaming. So I decided to access my app over the internet. the videos play well but the live streams are so slow and break up all the time. It is only happening in the app. If I play the live stream over the internet using vlc it plays well. I was thinking maybe the ports are conflicting. this is how I port forward my ports Xampp is on port 80 internal port and port 80 external port. and NodeJS media server is on both 8000 for external and internal ports.
the only different thing in my setup is that I replaced my local IP with my WAN IP for accessing over the internet.


These solid oak benches are hand-crafted using traditional mortise and tenon construction. The beauty of the natural wood is the focus of this quiet design by Peter Cardew Architects. Two sizes: low 72''l x 16.75''w x 8''h, 60''l x 14.75''w x 16.75''h.