If your motivation for working out is to earn that glass of wine afterwards, wine runs might be your ideal form of exercise. These events come in a variety of shapes and sizes. You can take a booze-filled walk, run a 5K ending in wine festival, or even marathon for the chance to win a magnum of wine.
Below is our list of top wine runs and walks, based on attendance and popularity. New to the list this year are Dionysus Dash runs, added by popular request. We've also noted differences in wine drinking formats for each race. We recommend considering these differences when making your decision. The list is sorted by date, but it can also be searched by name or location.
Have a favorite wine run you think should make this list? Comment or send us a note!
February 16, 2019 Special Edition Divas Half Marathon Temecula, CA Starts and ends at Monte de Oro Winery, including a complimentary wine tasting.
March 30, 2019 San Antonio Wicked Wine Run Austin, TX A 1K Tasting Walk offers 4 wine tasting stops along the route. The event ends in a Wicked Post Race Party with food trucks, live music, and wine.
March 3, 2019 Napa Valley Marathon Napa, CA No wine, but the race winds through renowned, scenic vineyards all the way from Napa to Calistoga. Winners receive etched double magnums of Napa Valley wine.
March 23, 2019 Santa Barbara Wicked Wine Run Santa Ynez, CA A 1K Tasting Walk offers 4 wine tasting stops along the route. The event ends in a Wicked Post Race Party with food trucks, live music, and wine.
March 23, 2019 Dallas/Fort Worth Wicked Wine Run Dallas/Fort Worth, TX Race through Lost Oak Winery. A 1K Tasting Walk offers 4 wine tasting stops along the route. The event ends in a Wicked Post Race Party with food trucks, live music, and wine.
March 30, 2019 Austin Wicked Wine Run Austin, TX Race through Spicewood Vineyards. A 1K Tasting Walk offers 4 wine tasting stops along the route. The event ends in a Wicked Post Race Party with food trucks, live music, and wine.
April 6, 2019 Dionysus Dash Arizona Florence, AZ Run through the beautiful Windmill Winery, followed by wine tasting and music.
April 6, 2019 Corpus Christi Wicked Wine Run Galveston, TX Race through Haak Vineyards & Winery. A 1K Tasting Walk offers 4 wine tasting stops along the route. The event ends in a Wicked Post Race Party with food trucks, live music, and wine.
April 13, 2019 Oklahoma Wicked Wine Run Washington D.C. A 1K Tasting Walk offers 4 wine tasting stops along the route. The event ends in a Wicked Post Race Party with food trucks, live music, and wine.
April 14, 2019 Dionysus Dash Livermore Livermore, CA Run through the acclaimed Concannon Vineyards, followed by wine tasting and music.
April 27, 2019 St. Louis Wicked Wine Run Defiance, MO Race through Defiance Ridge Vineyards. A 1K Tasting Walk offers 4 wine tasting stops along the route. The event ends in a Wicked Post Race Party with food trucks, live music, and wine.
May 4, 2019 Portland Wicked Wine Run Dayton, OR Race through Stoller Family Estates Vineyard. A 1K Tasting Walk offers 4 wine tasting stops along the route. The event ends in a Wicked Post Race Party with food trucks, live music, and wine.
May 11, 2019 Nashville Wicked Wine Run Nashville, TN A 1K Tasting Walk offers 4 wine tasting stops along the route. The event ends in a Wicked Post Race Party with food trucks, live music, and wine.
May 18, 2019 Galveston Wicked Wine Run Houston, TX A 1K Tasting Walk offers 4 wine tasting stops along the route. The event ends in a Wicked Post Race Party with food trucks, live music, and wine.
May 18, 2019 El Paso Wicked Wine Run El Paso, NM Race through La Vina Winery/Vineyards. A 1K Tasting Walk offers 4 wine tasting stops along the route. The event ends in a Wicked Post Race Party with food trucks, live music, and wine.
May 18, 2019 Dionysus Dash Atlanta Atlanta, GA Enjoy post-race wine tasting and music.
TBA Fresno Wicked Wine Run Sanger, CA Race through Kings River Winery. A 1K Tasting Walk offers 4 wine tasting stops along the route. The event ends in a Wicked Post Race Party with food trucks, live music, and wine.
May 18, 2019 Houston Wicked Wine Run Waller, TX A 1K Tasting Walk offers 4 wine tasting stops along the route. The event ends in a Wicked Post Race Party with food trucks, live music, and wine.
May 19, 2019 Run Wine Country Windsor, CA Race through the scenic Russian River Valley, and then unwind with a postface food and wine festival.
June 1, 2019 SoCal Wine Country Women's Half Marathon & 5k Temecula, CA Run through Southern California Wine Country, and then toast your accomplishments afterwards.
July 7, 2019 Fueled by Fine Wine Half Marathon Dayton, OR Run through Oregon's Dundee Hills AVA, followed by a post-race celebration with 25+ local wines.
July 7, 2019 Dionysus Dash Sacramento Sacramento, CA Enjoy post-race wine tasting and music.
July 20-21, 2019 Napa to Sonoma Wine Country Half Marathon Napa, CA Run from Napa to Sonoma, with options for post-race wine tastings.
August 3, 2019 Dionysus Dash Napa Napa, CA Enjoy post-race wine tasting and music.
August 3, 2019 Minneapolis/St. Paul Wicked Wine Run Stillwater, MN Race through St. Croix Vineyard. A 1K Tasting Walk offers 4 wine tasting stops along the route. The event ends in a Wicked Post Race Party with food trucks, live music, and wine.
August 24, 2019 Denver Wicked Wine Run Fort Lupton, CO Race through River Garden Winery. A 1K Tasting Walk offers 4 wine tasting stops along the route. The event ends in a Wicked Post Race Party with food trucks, live music, and wine.
August 31, 2019 Indianapolis Wicked Wine Run Sheridan, IN Race through Blackhawk Winery and Vineyard. A 1K Tasting Walk offers 4 wine tasting stops along the route. The event ends in a Wicked Post Race Party with food trucks, live music, and wine.
September 28, 2019 Omaha Wicked Wine Run Omaha, NE A 1K Tasting Walk offers 4 wine tasting stops along the route. The event ends in a Wicked Post Race Party with food trucks, live music, and wine.
October 27, 2019 Dionysus Dash Lodi Lodi, CA Race through Mettler Vineyards; then enjoy post-race wine tasting and music.
Thanks Walter, we appreciate it!


President Obama spoke today by phone with President Ashraf Ghani of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to commend the bravery of Afghan National Defense and Security Forces and to underscore that he looked forward to continuing to work closely with President Ghani and the broader Afghan Government to support their efforts to provide security for the Afghan people. The President expressed his condolences for the Afghan civilians killed and injured when a U.S. military airstrike mistakenly struck a Doctors Without Borders field hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan. During the call, President Obama expressed regret over the tragic incident and offered his thoughts and prayers on behalf of the American people to the victims of this incident, their families, and loved ones. President Obama and President Ghani reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening the partnership between the United States and Afghanistan and to continuing their dialogue about ways to deepen diplomatic, economic, and security cooperation to promote a more stable and secure Afghanistan.


text:
They've Gone Down in History for Their 1999 Running Ruse
We Have an Australian Open Winner
Ex-NFL Linebacker Dies Days Before 26th Birthday
It Looks Like Russian Athletes Will Compete in 2024 Games
Uber Eats Delivery Guy Interrupts College Game
Australian Open Evicts Pro-Russia Demonstrators
'Netflix Curse' Hits Australia Open Players
State Bills Seek to Prevent Kangaroos Becoming Shoes
American Mikaela Shiffrin Just Made History
On His Breaks, Lifeguard Wins Big-Wave Competition
For 2nd Straight Year, 49ers Are a Win Away From Super Bowl
AFC Championship Game Will Be a Rematch
Barkley Marathons
They Have 60 Hours to Run 100 Miles. It's Nearly Impossible
Only 15 people have managed to get to the end of the Barkley Marathons in time in 36 years
By Kate Seamons, Newser Staff
Posted Jul 3, 2022 4:25 PM CDT
A stock photo of Frozen Head State Park, where the race takes place. (Getty Images / Kannan Sundaram)
We've written about the Barkley Marathons in the past and can't resist an update. The punishing 100-mile race is eye-poppingly difficult, so much so that no runners managed to finish in 2022—or many of the previous years. Since its 1986 founding, only 15 have managed to complete all five rounds of the same loop through Frozen Head State Park in Tennessee within the allotted 60 hours. The Guardian looked at this year's race, which kicked off on March 8 with about 40 participants. One of them was first-timer Enrico Frigeri, a 34-year-old from Brazil. One element that did him in was the books that are hidden along the route, which runners need to find and tear pages from. Making it harder, the course is unmarked—runners have to figure it out with a map and compass.
Those who finish—two laps clockwise, two counterclockwise, and the last in the direction the lead runner picks, if a lead runner manages to get that far—will have have logged about 120,000 feet of elevation change. Co-founder Gary 'Lazarus Lake' Cantrell, aka Laz, says all successful entrants are well-qualified. They pay just $1.60 to enter (plus a random item; first-timers have to fork over a license plate from their home state or country) and receive a "letter of condolence" confirming their slot. Laz gives the No. 1 bib to the person who is christened least likely to finish even one lap; they run with the nickname "human sacrifice." (Read more about the "world's most hellish race" here.)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Through my photographic work I am dissecting my ideas of memory and how the past, present, and future blend together into a single moment, or frame.
When moments are experienced, they are captured into our memories through the original "eye." You could call this the eye of childhood or inexperience. There is an innocence and excitement in seeing everything as new. As we grow older our "eyes" change. They are changed by our experiences, gained knowledge, and our moral lessons. When the moments are re-experienced, by recalling, they are interpreted through a new "eye." I believe that this re-experiencing of a memory forever changes the original moment. The moment can no longer be experienced through the veil of innocence, it has been pushed through a screen of all the moments' in-between then and now, not only changing how we recall it but changing the memory itself. A blending of eyes if you will. Through my artistic practice I use these thoughts and ideas to create visual representations of my own memories. Sometimes bold and simplistic moments and then others, muddied moments with all the thoughts, emotions, and merged recollections.
I look to the camera to show the effects of the different eyes in our lives. Each camera has a different way of recording the scenes around us. Be it the mechanisms or refinement used in the creation of the lenses, or the simple knowledge of the age of the camera. Two images of the same setting captured from two different cameras will not return the same results, much like how two different people will have two different experiences of the same moment. By using different cameras I am capturing images through different eyes. I call them memory-lines.


text:
Newborn survives toss down NYC trash chute
A newborn tossed down a housing project's trash chute survived the eight-story fall because he landed on a pile of garbage and the compactor was jammed, investigators said Monday. ...
NEW YORK – A newborn tossed down a housing project's trash chute survived the eight-story fall because he landed on a pile of garbage and the compactor was jammed, investigators said Monday.
A maintenance worker heard a baby's cries coming from the trash compactor in the Walt Whitman Houses on Sunday morning. The baby was taken to Brooklyn Hospital, where he remains in stable condition, said Jerry Schmetterer, spokesman for the Brooklyn district attorney's office. He said the baby did not appear to have been injured in the fall.
Laquasia Wright, 18, was arrested on charges of attempted murder and endangering the welfare of a child. Police said it appeared Wright had given birth shortly before tossing the baby. She was also being treated at Brooklyn Hospital on Monday and it was unclear when her arraignment would take place.
A man who answered the phone at Wright's home declined to comment, and no lawyer information was immediately available.
A large amount of trash had collected in the compactor room over the weekend, which likely cushioned the baby's landing, police said.
"The garbage probably saved that baby's life," said longtime resident Deborah Lewis, 61.
Neighbors said Wright lived with her mother and other relatives in the building. They added that she was heavy-set, which may have made it difficult to notice a baby bump. Police said Wright had hidden the pregnancy.
"It's a shame because she's a very sweet child," Lewis said. "She was probably scared to death."
Another neighbor, Denise Roberts, 22, said Wright seemed worried and upset lately when she saw her outside the building.
"Her face always looked lost," she said.
Roberts' mother, Vicki Cooper, said she was just relieved the baby had survived.
"That was nothing but the Lord to find the baby like that in the garbage," Cooper said.
Administration for Children's Services spokeswoman Elysia Murphy said the agency was investigating, along with police. In such situations, the city normally takes custody of a child while it makes long-term care arrangements. The agency will explore whether a relative or someone close to the family would be an appropriate caregiver.
"The decision will be made based on what we believe will keep the child safe," Murphy said.
The baby was discovered just two weeks after another newborn was rescued from the trash in a hospital restroom in Queens. That baby was found alive and hospitalized but died on May 18. The mother, Dawa Lama, 23 was already facing charges of assault, reckless endangerment and endangering the welfare of a child. A grand jury is now considering adding additional charges, according to the Queens district attorney's office.
A state law called the Abandoned Infant Protection Act gives parents up to 30 days to leave a newborn in a hospital, police precinct, firehouse or other safe location. If the baby is not injured and the parent is not suspected of a crime and promptly notifies the authorities, he or she can leave the baby anonymously and without fear of prosecution.
Storybook brings slain child's imagination to life
US report adds details on Cold War Nazi intel
Japan quake causes day to get a wee bit shorter
Oil prices fall as Saudis hint at raising supplies
DA: New York Beach Bodies May Be Work of Serial Killer
2010 sees fewest fatal police shootings for NYPD


Hi again guys, long ago.
I found recently some images from first states of Blade of Darkness.
Is possible you guys know that but this is the origin of Demon icon.
things like this just makes me want BoD 2 even more.
If RebelAct hadn't gone down the tubes I would have bought an X-Box.
They obviously put a lot of work into the project.
Apparently the Barbarian was originally supposed to wield axes and I do have a faint memory of actually seeing somewhere the Barbarian wielding two of them at the same time. Amazon can also be seen wielding a sword, which suggests that the original plan was to have her fight with one-handed weapons.
Final game rarely if ever uses textures above 256x256 resolution. It seems like that's because they are simply reusing the ones from early development that are a relic of the old technical limitations.
It's interesting to see that quite a lot of stuff was retained, considering the prolonged and continually delayed development of the game.
Overall, had the game been released in the 90s, it's possible it would have played a lot more like Heretic II.
Speaking of weapons for barbarian imo dwarf's spiked club, heavy club and club should belong to him. They look rather "primitive" and "barbaric" and don't fit to finesse craftsmen like dwarfs.


text:
Emporia grisescens is a species of snout moth in the genus Emporia. It was described by Ragonot in 1887. It is found in Tunisia.

References

Moths described in 1887
Phycitinae
Endemic fauna of Tunisia
Moths of Africa

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Attack of the 100-Year Old Startup
Category: Mission & Institutional Planning
Posted on Oct 1, 2018
Photo by Skye Studios on Unsplash
Brendan Ciecko, CEO & Founder, Cuseum
At first glance, museums and startups may not seem to have an overwhelming amount in common. The majority of museums are not-for-profit, mission-driven institutions and operate in a different realm than the high-growth (and high risk) enterprises of Silicon Valley. Over the last few years, however, I've noticed something very interesting happening in the museum space. Museum professionals are talking about their jobs like they're working at a 100-year old startup.
"I thought about it and actually talked about it for a number of years as a kind of 100-year old startup." – Arnold Lehman (on transforming the Brooklyn Museum in New York)
"I feel like I'm working at a 100-year old startup." – Tim Gihring, Minneapolis Institute of Art
"Feels very much like a startup within a 100+ year old institution, but like all startups, there is only the opportunity to grow." JiaJia Fei, Director of Digital at the Jewish Museum New York
In particular, I think that we owe people like Max Anderson (veteran museum director), Nancy Proctor ("Museum as Startup", Executive Director at MuseWeb Foundation), Rob Stein (Executive Vice President and Chief Program Officer at the American Alliance of Museums) and other industry professionals who are taking the lead on innovation in the museum space a lot of credit for looking at their work in new ways, and starting conversations about how to keep museums relevant and sustainable. But what exactly do museums and startups have in common, and what are the productive takeaways that each of these spaces can lend each other?
Finding the Overlap Between a "Museum Mentality" and a "Startup Mentality"
As someone who is uniquely positioned to observe these two seemingly opposite mentalities overlap, I would argue that the commonalities between them point to a brighter (and exciting) future for both institutions of cultural heritage and startups. Asking ourselves, "What can museums learn from startups?" is one thing, but I think that we can also flip the script and ask, "What can startups learn from museums?" There is a lot of innovation that the museum community deserves credit for, and some of their more traditional practices have also been successfully translated into compelling approaches to business.
What Can Startups Learn From Museums?
Rethinking your business model? The Harvard Business Review published a piece in 2011 directing professionals to look to art museums, and that advice continues to hold true now more than ever. Ray Weaver, an Assistant Professor at Harvard Business School, highlights the way that museums present organized information and objects, and draws parallels to how some web businesses (and retailers), such as Apple, successfully use a "curatorial" approach to their products for growth and profit. With an abundance of potential products, curating and highlighting particular offerings can produce positive responses from customers and make them more inclined to complete a purchase. Web companies such as Groupon and Facebook have succeeded at intelligently presenting and organizing information that adds value beyond just the discounted offerings and social networking function that they are respectively known for.
Museum Values in the Startup World: Founder Insights
Museum values haven't just served the likes of Facebook and Apple – they are working for smaller software companies, too. Chances are that, at some point in your professional life, you have used (or at least heard of) Basecamp. Basecamp is one of the most successful bootstrapped companies in the software space and its founder, Jason Fried, has publicly referenced the museum space as a guide to how successful products should be conceived and developed – in essence, Jason says that you should follow a "museum model" when thinking about your product:
"Software has no edges. This makes it more difficult to stop it from expanding beyond where it should. Think of your product as a museum and the features as the pieces of art you select. Only the most important pieces should make it into the museum." – TechCrunch, 2009
Fried offers further insight into the parallels he draws between museums and product development:
"If a museum had every piece of art in the world, it's not a museum, it's a warehouse. The museum is a museum precisely because it turns down most of the pieces of art and curates only the best ones. Likewise, learn to say no to feature requests." – No More Startup Myths, 2015
Seeing a successful business in the software space looking to museums for inspiration is exciting, and speaks to how cultural institutions can provide useful, transferable guidance to businesses' focus. There is a lot written about focus in the business world (notably immortalized in cult-favorite books like Al Ries's best-selling Focus: The Future of Your Company Depends On It), and one could also argue that in the museum space focus has similar importance in terms of ensuring future sustainability and producing carefully curated displays and exhibitions.
Flipping the Lens Back: What Can Museums Learn From Startups?
To come full circle, we have to ask, "What can 100-year-old startups [a.k.a. museums] learn from startups?" There are a few words that are often thrown around when thinking about qualities of successful startups, such as the methodologies of "agile" and "lean." Being agile and lean has transformed the way businesses operate, whether a startup is building its first prototype or a large corporate takes steps to cast off the shackles of clunky, cumbersome layers of management. And while these approaches deserve consideration as museums examine their own businesses models, what really stands out in the rhetoric of the innovation community as far as its potential applications to the museum space is the directive to make mistakes and do so faster (these particular words of wisdom come from Andrew Grove, co-founder of Intel). Grove isn't the only one with this in mind, of course. Attend any talk on innovation and entrepreneurship and you'll probably hear a variation of the below:
"Fail fast, fail forward."
"Fail fast, fail often."
"Fail early, fail fast, fail often."
"Fail fast and cheap. Fail often. Fail in a way that doesn't kill you."
Undeniable proof of the growing presence of a startup mentality in the museum space was the talk titled "Fail Early, Often and Off-Broadway" given at the 2014 American Alliance of Museums Annual Meeting session and featuring the prowess of top museum directors such as Kaywin Feldman (Director of the Minneapolis Museum of Art), Brian Kennedy (Director of the Toledo Museum of Art), and John Wetenhall (Director of the GWU Museum and the Textile Museum).
The mindsets of being agile, lean, and failing fast are accepted in the startup community and ingrained in Silicon Valley culture, and this emphasis at the annual AAM meeting a few years ago indicates that this attitude has an increasing ubiquity in the museum sector.
Learning to Thrive in Uncertain Times
I won't try to blur the fact (or reality) that museums, as organizations, have different responsibilities than businesses. Museums are perfectionists and have a commitment to cultural preservation and education. It's in the museum's nature to exist in perpetuity, and there is no "exit strategy". But these are uncertain times for museums around the country and the world. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, one of our country's biggest museums, is in financial peril, with an estimated deficit of $15 million last year. The current administration has proposed eliminating the National Endowment for the Arts, which provides much needed support for museum initiatives around the country. It has become increasingly important and even urgent to think about how we, as museum professionals, can react to these realities and make small pivots sooner rather than later to avoid large-scale financial crises and flourish in the face of an unpredictable future. How can we be more nimble and leverage the startup spirit?
Exceptional things are bound happen when we not only share amongst each other, but also look to communities outside of our own. We should seize opportunities to learn from the innovation sector and its mantra to fail early, and fail often. It's time to begin an open dialog about failure, agility, and lean startup scrappiness as it applies to museums, because we can only hope that 900 years from now, in the year 2918, the future generations of our community will be talking about our endeavors and the joys of working at the brilliant 1,000-year-old startups called museums.
Brendan Ciecko is the founder and CEO of Cuseum, a platform that helps museums and cultural organizations engage their visitors, members, and patrons. Ciecko has been building technology since the age of 11 and has been featured in Inc. Magazine's "30 Under 30" list, as well as WIRED, Entrepreneur, The New York Times, The Guardian, Esquire, and PC Magazine for his work in design, technology, and business. Ciecko has spoken at top culture conferences such as Museum Computer Network, Museums and the Web, Museum Next, and MIT Hacking Arts. In addition, Ciecko currently sits on the Steering Committee of the Museum Council at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the Digital Advisory Board for the Neue Galerie New York, and the Community Advisory Board for the Massachusetts International Festival of the Arts. He holds three patents in the area mobile technology.


BEN Hunt is setting himself to take on the player he rates the form halfback of the competition on Thursday.
Hunt has already acquitted himself well this year against the likes of Johnathan Thurston and Cooper Cronk in 2017, but said today Mitchell Pearce was playing as well as anyone.
Pearce and the Roosters come to Brisbane of the back of their first loss of the year, going down to Manly last weekend.
Hunt praised the way Pearce had started the season.
"I think he is the best half in the competition at the moment," he said today.
"You can really see how much they missed him last year by what he brings to them this year.
"He is all over the place - he is organising his forwards, getting their shifts going and helping (five-eighth) Luke Keary play well.
"Like I said, I think he is the best at the moment.
"I enjoy playing against all those quality halves, seeing how I can match up with them.
"That is the really big challenge for me this week."
Two competition points is actually the really big challenge for the Broncos at the moment.
After three losses in their last four games - by the margins of one, two and three points - the side is desperate for a win.
And Manly may have given them a key to victory.
Hunt said starting with tempo was the plan at Suncorp Stadium on Thursday.
"It is a massive challenge - I think they are the best in the competition at the moment," he said.
"I think we have to come out with lots of energy and play it really quick.
"We can try and keep them on the back foot as much as we can and tire their big boys out."


text:
Top 5 Tips for Video Chat On Android
Without a doubt, Android apps keep getting better as technology advances. Although some Android apps may have recently changed their tune, the Android video chat function has remained the most common. We'll learn how to create video chat applications for Android with ZEGOCLOUD, win this post. Tip 1. What is…
How to Make an Audio Call
The Audio Call, also known as a Voice call or telephone call, has been a fundamental part of communication for centuries. From the earliest versions of the telephone to modern-day smartphone apps, the Audio call allowed people to connect with each other no matter where they were. Creating an Audio…
How to Make a Voice Call App
Voice call is now a vital part of many social media apps. WhatsApp, Facebook, and Twitter have voice features that can be used for passing information through calls and voice notes. Adding voice calling features to an app can be very troublesome, especially if you're doing everything from scratch. We…
How to Make a 1-on-1 Video Chat App
1-on-1 video chat is a great way to get in touch and share information in real-time in a visually appealing format. It is one of the most loved features in messaging apps, as modern computing devices are now built with enhanced data transfer speeds and improved multimedia processing capacities. In…
live chat for android app
The availability of mobile phones and minute computing devices has fuelled the continuous growth of chat apps. People and even businesses now use app chats for various purposes like Slack for quick information transmission, and for even meetings and collaboration. In this article, we'll learn what app chats are and…
5 Best Karaoke Apps for iPhone and Android
If you're in search of the best karaoke app for your iPhone or Android device, you're in luck! Karaoke apps have come a long way in recent years, offering features like lyrics syncing, vocal effects, and a vast library of songs to choose from. In this article, we'll explore some…
How to Make Karaoke App with ZEGOCLOUD SDK
Are you ready to create your very own free karaoke app? It's easier than you think with the right tools and resources! Whether you're a seasoned developer or just starting out, there are plenty of options available to help you bring your karaoke app idea to life. In this article,…
How to Make a TV Karaoke App
Are you interested in creating your own karaoke app for TV? Look no further! Our guide on how to make a karaoke app for TV will walk you through the necessary steps to turn your TV into a karaoke machine. Whether you're a seasoned developer or a beginner looking to…
How to Make a Karaoke Track
A karaoke track is a version of a song with the vocal tracks removed or reduced in volume. If you're a musician or music enthusiast looking to make karaoke tracks, there are a few steps you can follow to achieve professional results. How to Make Karaoke Songs with ZEGOCLOUD API…


text:
Q: Why php service do not get variables? From UI I make call:
$http.post('services/loadCategory.php', {
    'id'    :'1',
    'type'  :'string'
}).then(function(response) {
    debugger;
    ...
}, function(response) {
    ...
});

On PHP service I can't get variables from body POST request:
include ("bd.php");
header("Content-type: text/html; charset=windows-1251");
// ----- ----- ----- ----- -----
if (isset($_POST['type'])) {
    $type = $_POST['type'];
}
if (isset($_POST['id'])) {
    $id = $_POST['id'];
}
//
exit(json_encode(
    array('type' => iconv('windows-1251', 'UTF-8', $_POST['type']),
          'id' => iconv('windows-1251', 'UTF-8', $_POST['id'])
)));

Request from service: { id:'', type:'' } How fix that?

A: When posting JSON to PHP, the $_POST variable is empty. To get the raw JSON in your PHP, use the following:
if ($_SERVER['REQUEST_METHOD'] == 'POST')
{
    $data = json_decode(file_get_contents('php://input'), true);
}

You can then access the data with $data['id'] and $data['type']
Check the incoming $data with print_r($data);

A: After doing a quick search about this issue, it appears that PHP has a hard time deserializing the POST body sent by AngularJS. AngularJS sends all information JSON encoded (application/json) as compared to most other JavaScript variants which send the content as application/x-www-form-urlencoded.
To fix this, you should either set the content-type of your request to application/x-www-form-urlencoded or you can try one of the solutions below which came from a similar question.
Based on this question, it would seem that the following code (provided by Felipe Miosso) seems to solve the problem:
  // Your app's root module...
  angular.module('MyModule', [], function($httpProvider) {
  // Use x-www-form-urlencoded Content-Type
  $httpProvider.defaults.headers.post['Content-Type'] = 'application/x-www-form-urlencoded;charset=utf-8';

  /**
   * The workhorse; converts an object to x-www-form-urlencoded serialization.
   * @param {Object} obj
   * @return {String}
   */
  var param = function(obj) {
    var query = '', name, value, fullSubName, subName, subValue, innerObj, i;

    for(name in obj) {
      value = obj[name];

      if(value instanceof Array) {
        for(i=0; i<value.length; ++i) {
          subValue = value[i];
          fullSubName = name + '[' + i + ']';
          innerObj = {};
          innerObj[fullSubName] = subValue;
          query += param(innerObj) + '&';
        }
      }
      else if(value instanceof Object) {
        for(subName in value) {
          subValue = value[subName];
          fullSubName = name + '[' + subName + ']';
          innerObj = {};
          innerObj[fullSubName] = subValue;
          query += param(innerObj) + '&';
        }
      }
      else if(value !== undefined && value !== null)
        query += encodeURIComponent(name) + '=' + encodeURIComponent(value) + '&';
    }

    return query.length ? query.substr(0, query.length - 1) : query;
  };

  // Override $http service's default transformRequest
  $httpProvider.defaults.transformRequest = [function(data) {
    return angular.isObject(data) && String(data) !== '[object File]' ? param(data) : data;
  }];
});

Alternatively, you might be able to fix this problem by adding the following line of code to your PHP:
$params = json_decode(file_get_contents('php://input'),true);

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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My family loves board games. We love sitting around a table and engaging in some friendly, and sometimes not so friendly, competition. Plus, we own just about every game that's been created since 1990, so we have a lot to work with.
The beauty of the board game though, I think, is it's competition, or the acknowledgement of the competition. I believe that in life we are all too often playing a game , especially in our culture. Who has the bigger house, the better car, the higher paying job? We are constantly in competition with one another, but no one ever wants to admit it. Because if we admit we're playing a game, then at some point we'll have to admit when we're losing.
The beauty of the board game is that it allows us to acknowledge competition, laugh, and have fun with it, therefore freeing ourselves from it's grip and opening us up to the possibility of some honest, sincere connection with those we love the most. We drop the facade that we are so important or that we are invincible and laugh at our mistakes and even celebrate them, because after all, it is only a game.
When we remove the need to be the best, we allow ourselves to be vulnerable to Christ like community.
Shelby escorts link


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Tunable Bessel light modes: engineering the axial propagation
Tomáš Čižmár and Kishan Dholakia
SUPA, School of Physics & Astronomy, University of St Andrews, North Haugh, St Andrews, Fife, KY16 9SS, Scotland
T Čižmár
K Dholakia
Tomáš Čižmár and Kishan Dholakia, "Tunable Bessel light modes: engineering the axial propagation," Opt. Express 17, 15558-15570 (2009)
Diffractive optical elements
Optical fields
Spatial light modulators
Digital holography (090.1995)
Original Manuscript: July 7, 2009
Virtual Journal for Biomedical Optics Vol. 4, Iss. 10
Due to their immunity to diffraction, Bessel light modes potentially offer advantages in various applications. However, they do exhibit significant intensity variations along their axial propagation length which hampers their applicability. In this paper we present a technique to generate Bessel beams with a tunable axial intensity within the accessible range of spatial frequencies. The beam may be engineered to have a constant intensity along its propagation length. Finally, we demonstrate how one can form a Bessel beam with a varying propagation constant along its axial extent which results in a tunable scaling of its lateral cross-section.
©2009 Optical Society of America
High quality quasi-Bessel beam generated by round-tip axicon
Oto Brzobohatý, Tomáš Čižmár, and Pavel Zemánek
Flattening axial intensity oscillations of a diffracted Bessel beam through a cardioid-like hole
Jia-Sheng Ye, Li-Juan Xie, Xin-Ke Wang, Sheng-Fei Feng, Wen-Feng Sun, and Yan Zhang
Opt. Express 26(2) 1530-1537 (2018)
Arbitrary shaping of on-axis amplitude of femtosecond Bessel beams with a single phase-only spatial light modulator
Ismail Ouadghiri-Idrissi, Remo Giust, Luc Froehly, Maxime Jacquot, Luca Furfaro, John M. Dudley, and Francois Courvoisier
Generation of nondiffracting Bessel beam using digital micromirror device
Lei Gong, Yu-Xuan Ren, Guo-Sheng Xue, Qian-Chang Wang, Jin-Hua Zhou, Min-Cheng Zhong, Zi-Qiang Wang, and Yin-Mei Li
Generation of multiple Bessel beams for a biophotonics workstation
T. Čižmár, V. Kollárová, X. Tsampoula, F. Gunn-Moore, W. Sibbett, Z. Bouchal, and K. Dholakia
J. Durnin, J. J. Miceli, and J. Eberly, "Diffraction-free beams," Phys. Rev. Lett. 58, 1499–1501 (1987).
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J. Baumgartl, M. Mazilu, and K. Dholakia, "Optically mediated particle clearing using Airy wavepackets," Nature Photonics 2, 675–678 (2008).
M. A. Bandres, J. C. Gutiérrez-Vega, and S. Chávez-Cerda, "Parabolic nondiffracting optical wave fields," Opt. Lett. 29, 44–46 (2004).
T. Čižmár, V. Garcés-Chávez, K. Dholakia, and P. Zemánek, "Optical conveyor belt for delivery of submicron objects," Appl. Phys. Lett. 86, 174,101:1–3 (2005).
V. Garcés-Chávez, D. McGloin, H. Melville, W. Sibbett, and K. Dholakia, "Simultaneous micromanipulation in multiple planes using a self- reconstructing light beam," Nature 419, 145–147 (2002).
V. Karásek, T. Čižmár, O. Brzobohatýmánek, V. Garcés-Chávez, and K. Dholakia, "Long-range one-dimensional longitudinal optical binding," Phys. Rev. Lett. 101, 143601 (2008).
X. Tsampoula, V. Garcés-Chávez, M. Comrie, D. J. Stevenson, B. Agate, C. T. A. Brown, F. Gunn-Moore, and K. Dholakia, "Femtosecond cellular transfection using a nondiffracting light beam," Appl. Phys. Lett. 91, 053902 (2007).
K.-S. Lee and J. P. Rolland, "Bessel beam spectral-domain high-resolution optical coherence tomography with micro-optic axicon providing extended focusing range," Opt. Lett. 33, 1696–1698 (2008).
P. Johannisson, D. Anderson, M. Lisak, and M. Marklund, "Nonlinear Bessel beams," Opt. Commun. 222, 107–115 (2003).
P. Dufour, M. Piché, Y. D. Koninck, and N. McCarthy, "Two-photon excitation fluorescence microscopy with a high depth of field using an axicon," Appl. Opt. 45, 9246–9252 (2006).
Z. Bouchal, J. Wagner, and M. Chlup, "Self-reconstruction of a distorted nondiffracting beam," Opt. Commun. 151, 207–211 (1998).
O. Brzobohatß ižmár and P. Zemánek, "High quality quasi-Bessel beam generated by round-tip axicon," Opt. Express 16, 12688–12700 (2008).
T. Čižmár, V. Kollárová, X. Tsampoula, F. Gunn-Moore, W. Sibbett, Z. Bouchal, and K. Dholakia, "Generation of multiple Bessel beams for a biophotonics workstation," Opt. Express 16, 14024–14035 (2008).
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Agate, B.
Alonzo, C. A.
Anderson, D.
Bandres, M. A.
Baumgartl, J.
Bouchal, Z.
Broky, J.
Brown, C. T. A.
Brzobohatß ižmár, O.
Brzobohatýmánek, O.
Chávez-Cerda, S.
Chlup, M.
Christodoulides, D. N.
Cižmár, T.
Comrie, M.
DeMarco, B.
Dholakia, K.
Dogariu, A.
Dufour, P.
Durnin, J.
Eberly, J.
Garcés-Chávez, V.
Gerchberg, R.
Glückstad, J.
Gunn-Moore, F.
Gutiérrez-Vega, J. C.
Honkanen, M.
Jarutis, V.
Johannisson, P.
Karásek, V.
Kollárová, V.
Koninck, Y. D.
Lee, K.-S.
Lisak, M.
Marklund, M.
Mazilu, M.
McCarthy, N.
McGloin, D.
Melville, H.
Miceli, J. J.
Palima, D.
Pasienski, M.
Paškauskas, R.
Piché, M.
Rodrigo, P. J.
Rolland, J. P.
Saxton, W.
Sibbett, W.
Siviloglou, G. A.
Stabinis, A.
Stevenson, D. J.
Tsampoula, X.
Turunen, J.
Wagner, J.
Zemánek, P.
Nature Photonics (1)
Fig. 1. A Bessel beam generated by an annular aperture in a back focal plane of a lens. R is the radius of the annular aperture, d is the annulus thickness and f is the focal length of the lens.
Fig. 2. Axicon-generated Bessel beam. w is the half-width of the Gaussian beam and α is the angle under which the light is refracted by the axicon.
Fig. 3. Bessel beam generated by an oblate-tipped axicon.
Fig. 4. An example of the spatial spectrum obtained by equation (10) for the case of k r0/k=0.01 and k·zmax =1.5·106.
Fig. 5. The retrieved on-axis intensity for a spatial spectrum truncated to the range of kr /k∊〈0,0.02〉.
Fig. 6. The retrieved on-axis intensity for a spatial spectrum from the Fig. 4 enveloped by a Gaussian function centered at k r0 with a half-width of k r0/4.
Fig. 7. Spatial spectrum of Bessel beam with the uniformly growing intensity over the interval z∊〈-zmax ,zmax 〉 for the same parameters as in the previous case. In this case the spectrum is complex and we show its absolute value.
Fig. 8. The retrieved on-axis intensity for a spatial spectrum from the Fig. 7 enveloped by a Gaussian function for the same parameters as in the previous case.
Fig. 9. Left: Hologram generated by the above described procedure described in 5.1. Right: resulting field in the image plane.
Fig. 10. The comparison between the simulation and the experimentally obtained data for the case of the quasi-Bessel beams with the uniform intensity, uniformly increasing and uniformly decreasing intensity.
Fig. 11. The comparison between the simulation and the experimentally obtained data for the case of the quasi-Bessel beams with a growing and a decreasing central core diameter and the beam with the central core reducing in diameter towards both axial directions from the center. The plotted curves showing the central core diameter were obtained by fitting the Bessel beam profile to the data.
Fig. 12. The intensity of the same signal recorded at different places of the CCD chip.
(1) S(kx,ky,z=0)=∬−∞∞U(x,y,z=0)e−i(kxx+kyy)dxdy.
(2) S(kr,z=0)=∫0∞U(r,z=0)J0(krr)rdr ,
(3) U(r,z=0)=∫0∞S(kr,z=0)J0(krr)krdkr .
(4) U (r=0,z)=∫0kkzS(k2−kz2,z=0)eikzzdkz.
(5) U (r=0,z)∝sin(bdz)z eiaz ,
(6) U (r=0,z)∝ze−(ztanαw)2+ikzcosα,
(7) U (r=0,z)=A(z)eikz0z,
(8) S(k2−kz2,z=0)=12πkz∫−∞∞A(z)eikz0ze−ikzzdz.
(9) A (z)={1,if∣z∣≤zmax0,if∣z∣>zmax
(10) S(kr,z=0)=sin[zmax(kz−kz0)]πkz(kz−kz0)
(11) U(r=0,z)=A (z)eikz0(z)z


Enticing your customer has become harder as companies are commencing invaluable ideas within call centres to involve prospects and reach the targeted audience. Unlikely, customers are demanding high-quality services due to inevitable growth in technology and gadget. Who likes to roam about the town in search for services these days, when facilities are just at the tips of your finger? Now, most call centres have started initiating techno-centric methods to elevate customer satisfaction, whether outbound call centres or inbound call centres the techniques to fetching long-term relationship with the customer is just indistinguishable.
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Hence, outbound call centres India embraces an important position in the outsourcing industry. Moreover, this service provides are globally accepted for providing remarkable services and magnificently handling customers ranging from cool and calm ones to the ranting and agitating buyers. Therefore, logistic companies using outbound contact centre solutions that also are accountable for delivering methodical 24 hour telephone answering service has high chances in building and correcting the economic status of the market.


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MarylandReporter.com (http://marylandreporter.com/2013/12/15/rascovar-column-corrections-secretary-maynard-is-underrated/)
Rascovar column: Corrections Secretary Maynard is underrated
By Barry Rascovar
For MarylandReporter.com
Public Safety Secretary Gary Maynard
No good deed goes unpunished, they say. Retiring Maryland Corrections Secretary Gary Maynard can attest to that.
Had Maynard not turned to the FBI for help in investigating gang smuggling and complicity by prison guards at the Baltimore Detention Center, he'd be retiring with plaudits all around for his seven-year performance.
Instead, Maynard walks away with a mixed record.
Undone by the FBI
In 2011, Maynard's department uncovered massive drug smuggling, sex and gang activity at the city jail that involved guards.
He could have arrested a few people at that time, called a press conference so the governor could gloat about the crackdown and ignored the deeper, more troubling problem — an out-of-control Detention Center filled with guards who were aiding inmate gang members.
But that's not Maynard's style.
A veteran prison manager — and retired brigadier general — insisted on getting to the bottom of this problem. So he reached out to the FBI for assistance.
He got help, all right. What he didn't expect was grandstanding.
The FBI held a flashy press conference to detail the outrageous criminal activity the bureau had uncovered. But it failed to stress that Maynard had requested the two-year investigation. Instead, Maynard became the fall guy.
Maynard's Response
Any scandal involving gangs, guards, drugs and sex is going to gain national prominence. Maynard was portrayed, unfairly, as the inept corrections chief who countenanced such behavior.
Unlike many public officials who run for cover during a crisis, Maynard accepted full responsibility — even though his hands had been tied during the two-year FBI probe.
He responded not by resigning or picking a fight with the FBI — though
he had cause — but by moving his office to the Detention Center, continuing the investigation and indictments and shaking up the city jail's management and operating procedures.
It's now a safer place, one that is run firmly by the state, not the inmates.
Maynard laid the groundwork for more sweeping city jail changes in the years ahead.
These include gradually replacing the Civil War era facility — as his department suggested last summer and a special commission recommended last week.
Lost in the sensational publicity: Maynard's substantial achievements in Maryland.
What he accomplished
Not only did he shut down the notoriously dangerous and antiquated House of Correction in Jessup, Maynard did so in a hurry, moving 842 hardened criminals to new locations without advanced notice.
He's made state prisons less dangerous for those working there. Serious assaults are down 60 percent.
Perhaps best of all, he found ways to make a dent in the number of repeat offenders, cutting the state's recidivism by nearly 20 percent.
Prisons and rehabilitation get little attention, or funding, from elected officials until there's an embarrassing incident. Then they react. That's what is happening this time.
What will lawmakers do?
Here's a prediction: Reforms involving the city jail will sail through the legislature this coming year. Campaigning incumbents want to brag about their efforts to restore law and order at the Detention Center.
Maynard leaves behind a better managed Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services and safer prisons holding fewer repeat inmates.
In departing, he deserved more praise for his overall record. But as Shakespeare put it, "the good is oft interred with their bones."
www.politicalmaryland.com


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Cathedral runs over St. Aloysius for 1A title
Green Wave rides ground game for win
Cathedral runs over St. Aloysius for 1A title Green Wave rides ground game for win Check out this story on clarionledger.com: http://on.thec-l.com/1CPInsu
Courtney Cronin, The Clarion-Ledger Published 11:03 p.m. CT Dec. 5, 2014 | Updated 12:25 a.m. CT Dec. 6, 2014
Cathedral running back Dee Fleming, left, gets by St. Aloysius defender DeMichael Harris in Friday's MHSAA Class 1A state championship game in Starkville.(Photo: Chris Todd/Special to The Clarion-Ledger)
STARKVILLE – Cathedral was just as dominant the second time around.
In their second meeting of the year, the Green Wave's potent rushing attack got the best of St. Aloysius once again.
This time, though, the prize was much sweeter.
Cathedral won its first state championship in school history with a 49-14 win over its biggest rival in Friday's MHSAA Class 1A championship in Starkville.
The Green Wave made a quick statement on the ground.
Jardarius Anderson returned the opening kickoff 74 yards, and two plays later, Cathedral took an early 7-0 lead.
St. Aloysius put its first points on the board in the first quarter after Connor Smith connected with Lane Hynum for a 7-yard touchdown.
But the Green Wave ran over the Flashes' defense.
Cathedral went on to score 42 unanswered points.
Green Wave coach Ron Rushing said he expected quarterback Wyatt Booth to play a large role in establishing the run.
Booth did just that.
On 14 carries for 108 yards, Booth accounted for four rushing touchdowns.
In racking up 288 yards on the ground, Cathedral also relied on Dee Fleming to make plays, including a statement-making stiff arm on a touchdown that was called back in the second quarter.
"You just have to be unstoppable," Fleming said. "That's what makes plays. I knew I had to make a play for the guy next to me."
#MSPreps gallery: Friday's MHSAA state football championships
Cathedral quarterback Wyatt Booth throws a deep sideline route behind the blocking of running back Christian Jenkins against St. Aloysius for the Green Wave's third touchdown in the MHSAA Class 1A state football championshp game on Friday, December 5, 2014, at Davis Wade Stadium on the Mississippi State University campus in Starkville. CHRIS TODD
Cathedral receiver Jardarius Anderson (9) catches the Green Wave's third touchdown against St. Aloysius defender Donald Woodson (6) in the MHSAA Class 1A state football championshp game on Friday, December 5, 2014, at Davis Wade Stadium on the Mississippi State University campus in Starkville. CHRIS TODD
St. Aloysius quarterback Connor Smith throws against Cathedral in the MHSAA Class 1A state football championshp game on Friday, December 5, 2014, at Davis Wade Stadium on the Mississippi State University campus in Starkville. CHRIS TODD
Cathedral running back Dee Fleming gets by a St. Aloysius defender to score a two-point conversion after the Green Wave's fourth touchdown in the MHSAA Class 1A state football championshp game on Friday, December 5, 2014, at Davis Wade Stadium on the Mississippi State University campus in Starkville. CHRIS TODD
St. Aloysius quarterback Connor Smith runs into the Cathedral defensive line in the MHSAA Class 1A state football championshp game on Friday, December 5, 2014, at Davis Wade Stadium on the Mississippi State University campus in Starkville. CHRIS TODD
Cathedral's Jardarius Anderson (9) tears through the St. Aloysius kickoff team for a long return to open the MHSAA Class 1A state football championshp game on Friday, December 5, 2014, at Davis Wade Stadium on the Mississippi State University campus in Starkville. CHRIS TODD
St. Aloysius head coach B.J. Smithhart tries to motivate his Flashes against Cathedral in the MHSAA Class 1A state football championshp game on Friday, December 5, 2014, at Davis Wade Stadium on the Mississippi State University campus in Starkville. CHRIS TODD
Cathedral receiver Jardarius Anderson (left) grimaces after taking a hit by St. Aloysius defender Rhett Verhine in the MHSAA Class 1A state football championshp game on Friday, December 5, 2014, at Davis Wade Stadium on the Mississippi State University campus in Starkville. CHRIS TODD
Cathedral running back Dee Fleming (22) gets by St. Aloysius defender DeMichael Harris (5) at the start of a 62-yard run in the MHSAA Class 1A state football championshp game on Friday, December 5, 2014, at Davis Wade Stadium on the Mississippi State University campus in Starkville. CHRIS TODD
St. Aloysius quarterback Connor Smith (7) looks to beat a Cathedral defender in the MHSAA Class 1A state football championshp game on Friday, December 5, 2014, at Davis Wade Stadium on the Mississippi State University campus in Starkville. CHRIS TODD
Cathedral head coach Ron Rushing calls a play for the Green Wave against St. Aloysius in the MHSAA Class 1A state football championshp game on Friday, December 5, 2014, at Davis Wade Stadium on the Mississippi State University campus in Starkville. CHRIS TODD
Cathedral quarterback Wyatt Booth struggles for additional yardage against St. Aloysius in the MHSAA Class 1A state football championshp game on Friday, December 5, 2014, at Davis Wade Stadium on the Mississippi State University campus in Starkville. CHRIS TODD
St. Aloysius quarterback Connor Smith throws deep after rolling out of the pocket against Cathedral in the MHSAA Class 1A state football championshp game on Friday, December 5, 2014, at Davis Wade Stadium on the Mississippi State University campus in Starkville. CHRIS TODD
Cathedral running back Dee Fleming looks for a hole in the St. Aloysius defense for the Green Wave in the MHSAA Class 1A state football championshp game on Friday, December 5, 2014, at Davis Wade Stadium on the Mississippi State University campus in Starkville. CHRIS TODD
Cathedral quarterback Wyatt Booth hits St. Aloysius defender Connor Smith on his way to scoring the Green Wave's fourth touchdown in the MHSAA Class 1A state football championshp game on Friday, December 5, 2014, at Davis Wade Stadium on the Mississippi State University campus in Starkville. CHRIS TODD
Cathedral quarterback Wyatt Booth pushes St. Aloysius defender Connor Smith out of his way en route to scoring the Green Wave's fourth touchdown in the MHSAA Class 1A state football championshp game on Friday, December 5, 2014, at Davis Wade Stadium on the Mississippi State University campus in Starkville. CHRIS TODD
St. Aloysius fans cheer for the Flashes against Cathedral in the MHSAA Class 1A state football championshp game on Friday, December 5, 2014, at Davis Wade Stadium on the Mississippi State University campus in Starkville. CHRIS TODD
Cathedral fans cheer for the Green Wave against St. Aloysius in the MHSAA Class 1A state football championshp game on Friday, December 5, 2014, at Davis Wade Stadium on the Mississippi State University campus in Starkville. CHRIS TODD
Cathedral head coach Ron Rushing gets an ice water bath from the Green Wave players after their 49-14 victory over St. Aloysius in the MHSAA Class 1A state football championshp game on Friday, December 5, 2014, at Davis Wade Stadium on the Mississippi State University campus in Starkville. CHRIS TODD
Cathedral head coach Ron Rushing and Green Wave lineman Jacob Hamilton (56) celebrate their 49-14 victory over St. Aloysius in the MHSAA Class 1A state football championshp game on Friday, December 5, 2014, at Davis Wade Stadium on the Mississippi State University campus in Starkville. CHRIS TODD
Cathedral head coach Ron Rushing and the Green Wave celebrate their 49-14 victory over St. Aloysius in the MHSAA Class 1A state football championshp game on Friday, December 5, 2014, at Davis Wade Stadium on the Mississippi State University campus in Starkville. CHRIS TODD
A Cathedral player kisses the trophy after the Green Wave beat St. Aloysius 49-14 to capture the MHSAA Class 1A state football championshp game on Friday, December 5, 2014, at Davis Wade Stadium on the Mississippi State University campus in Starkville. CHRIS TODD
Cathedral defensive back Andrew Beesley kisses the trophy after the Green Wave beat St. Aloysius 49-14 to capture the MHSAA Class 1A state football championshp game on Friday, December 5, 2014, at Davis Wade Stadium on the Mississippi State University campus in Starkville. CHRIS TODD
Bassfield's Rashaud Green scores for the Yellowjackets despite the tackle attempt by Calhoun City's Brieton Sykes on Friday, December 5, 2014, at Davis Wade Stadium on the Mississippi State University campus in Starkville. CHRIS TODD
Bassfield running back T'Roderick Daniels sheds a Calhoun City defender on Friday, December 5, 2014, at Davis Wade Stadium on the Mississippi State University campus in Starkville. CHRIS TODD
Calhoun City's Brieton Sykes looks for the next Bassfield defender while trying to break free on Friday, December 5, 2014, at Davis Wade Stadium on the Mississippi State University campus in Starkville. CHRIS TODD
Calhoun City quarterback Chakel Gates (7) spins away from Bassfield's Gerald Reese (3) on Friday, December 5, 2014, at Davis Wade Stadium on the Mississippi State University campus in Starkville. CHRIS TODD
Calhoun City head coach Perry Liles calls out to his defense against Bassfield on Friday, December 5, 2014, at Davis Wade Stadium on the Mississippi State University campus in Starkville. CHRIS TODD
Bassfield's Tyrique Smith (right) hangs on to Calhoun City running back Brieton Sykes as teammate Jamal Peters (2) arrives to help with the tackle on Friday, December 5, 2014, at Davis Wade Stadium on the Mississippi State University campus in Starkville. CHRIS TODD
Bassfield's Jamal Peters runs through the arm tackle by Calhoun City's Kemon Hall on Friday, December 5, 2014, at Davis Wade Stadium on the Mississippi State University campus in Starkville. CHRIS TODD
Calhoun City quarterback Chakel Gates (7) against Bassfield behind the blocking of Clint Wolfe (66) on Friday, December 5, 2014, at Davis Wade Stadium on the Mississippi State University campus in Starkville. CHRIS TODD
Brieton Sykes (center) holds onto the ball in a pile of players as teammate Jessie Nabors (29) pushes one way and Bassfield's Jamal Peters (2) pushes the other on Friday, December 5, 2014, at Davis Wade Stadium on the Mississippi State University campus in Starkville. CHRIS TODD
Bassfield running back T'Roderick Daniels looks for a hole in the Calhoun City line on Friday, December 5, 2014, at Davis Wade Stadium on the Mississippi State University campus in Starkville. CHRIS TODD
Calhoun City running back Brieton Sykes scores untouched against Bassfield on Friday, December 5, 2014, at Davis Wade Stadium on the Mississippi State University campus in Starkville. CHRIS TODD
Kemon Hall (21) returns a kick for Calhoun City as Bassfield's Drudon Knight reaches for the tackle on Friday, December 5, 2014, at Davis Wade Stadium on the Mississippi State University campus in Starkville. CHRIS TODD
Bassfield quarterback Timothy Arnold throws over a Calhoun City defender on Friday, December 5, 2014, at Davis Wade Stadium on the Mississippi State University campus in Starkville. CHRIS TODD
Bassfield's Jamal Peters tries a stiff arm to avoid the tackle by Calhoun City's Jessie Nabors on Friday, December 5, 2014, at Davis Wade Stadium on the Mississippi State University campus in Starkville. CHRIS TODD
Calhoun City's Jessie Nabors stops Bassfield's Jamal Peters by pushing him out of bounds on Friday, December 5, 2014, at Davis Wade Stadium on the Mississippi State University campus in Starkville. CHRIS TODD
Calhoun City running back Patrick Gardner scores for the Wildcats on Friday, December 5, 2014, at Davis Wade Stadium on the Mississippi State University campus in Starkville. CHRIS TODD
Brieton Sykes lunges for extra yardage for Calhoun City as Bassfield's Tyrique Smith rides him to the ground on Friday, December 5, 2014, at Davis Wade Stadium on the Mississippi State University campus in Starkville. CHRIS TODD
Bassfield receiver Jamal Peters shrugs off the tackle attempt by Calhoun City's Patrick Gardner on Friday, December 5, 2014, at Davis Wade Stadium on the Mississippi State University campus in Starkville. CHRIS TODD
Bassfield's Jamal Peters leaves a Calhoun City defender in his wake as he sprints down the sideline on Friday, December 5, 2014, at Davis Wade Stadium on the Mississippi State University campus in Starkville. CHRIS TODD
Calhoun City running back Brieton Sykes tries to break free from two Bassfield defenders on Friday, December 5, 2014, at Davis Wade Stadium on the Mississippi State University campus in Starkville. CHRIS TODD
The Bassfield Yellowjackets celebrate their third consecutive MHSAA Class 2A football state championship on Friday, December 5, 2014, at Davis Wade Stadium on the Mississippi State University campus in Starkville. Bassfield beat Calhoun City 60-35. CHRIS TODD
Bassfield head coach Lance Mancuso gets the traditional ice water bath as time expires in the 60-35 victory over Calhoun City in the MHSAA Class 2A football state championship on Friday, December 5, 2014, at Davis Wade Stadium on the Mississippi State University campus in Starkville. CHRIS TODD
Calhoun City fans cheer for their Wildcats against Bassfield on Friday, December 5, 2014, at Davis Wade Stadium on the Mississippi State University campus in Starkville. CHRIS TODD
Bassfield fans cheer for their Yellowjackets against Calhoun City on Friday, December 5, 2014, at Davis Wade Stadium on the Mississippi State University campus in Starkville. CHRIS TODD
South Panola's Cole Rotenberry breaks into the Oak Grove secondary and runs away from Warrior defender J.C. Keys (12) to score the first touchdown in the MHSAA Class 6A state championship football game Friday night, December 5, 2014, at Davis Wade Stadium on the Mississippi State University campus in Starkville. The game was delayed by a power outrage in the first quarter. CHRIS TODD
South Panola's Cole Rotenberry sprints past Oak Grove defender J.C. Keys (12) to score the first touchdown in the MHSAA Class 6A state championship football game Friday night, December 5, 2014, at Davis Wade Stadium on the Mississippi State University campus in Starkville. The game was delayed by a power outrage in the first quarter. CHRIS TODD
South Panola's Cole Rotenberry evades Oak Grove defender Cameron Myers to score the first touchdown in the MHSAA Class 6A state championship football game Friday night, December 5, 2014, at Davis Wade Stadium on the Mississippi State University campus in Starkville. The game was delayed by a power outrage in the first quarter. CHRIS TODD
South Panola quarterback Tyler Pogue throws a swing pass for the first touchdown in the MHSAA Class 6A state championship football game Friday night, December 5, 2014, at Davis Wade Stadium on the Mississippi State University campus in Starkville. The game was delayed by a power outrage in the first quarter. CHRIS TODD
South Panola's Demetrivs Market tries to break free from Oak Grove's Dwayne Lee in the MHSAA Class 6A state championship football game Friday night, December 5, 2014, at Davis Wade Stadium on the Mississippi State University campus in Starkville. The game was delayed by a power outrage in the first quarter. CHRIS TODD
Oak Grove head coach Nevil Barr strikes a thoughtful pose on the sideline early in the MHSAA Class 6A state championship football game Friday night, December 5, 2014, at Davis Wade Stadium on the Mississippi State University campus in Starkville. The game was delayed by a power outrage in the first quarter. CHRIS TODD
Oak Grove's Trevelle Carey tackles South Panola's Cole Rotenberry in the MHSAA Class 6A state championship football game Friday night, December 5, 2014, at Davis Wade Stadium on the Mississippi State University campus in Starkville. The game was delayed by a power outrage in the first quarter. CHRIS TODD
Deonte Spates runs the ball for Oak Grove in the MHSAA Class 6A state championship football game Friday night, December 5, 2014, at Davis Wade Stadium on the Mississippi State University campus in Starkville. The game was delayed by a power outrage in the first quarter. CHRIS TODD
South Panola's Desmond Lester tackles Oak Grove quarterback Cameron Myers in the MHSAA Class 6A state championship football game Friday night, December 5, 2014, at Davis Wade Stadium on the Mississippi State University campus in Starkville. The game was delayed by a power outrage in the first quarter. CHRIS TODD
Oak Grove's Deonte Spates runs the ball against South Panola in the MHSAA Class 6A state championship football game Friday night, December 5, 2014, at Davis Wade Stadium on the Mississippi State University campus in Starkville. The game was delayed by a power outrage in the first quarter. CHRIS TODD
Oak Grove players wait on the sideline in the darkness after a blackout hit the MHSAA Class 6A state championship football game Friday night, December 5, 2014, at Davis Wade Stadium on the Mississippi State University campus in Starkville. The game was delayed by a power outrage in the first quarter. CHRIS TODD
Emergency lighting and cell phones were the only visible light sources after the blackout delayed the MHSAA Class 6A state championship football game Friday night, December 5, 2014, at Davis Wade Stadium on the Mississippi State University campus in Starkville. The game was delayed by a power outrage in the first quarter. CHRIS TODD
Oak Grove fans cheer for their Warriors before the blackout and rain hit in the MHSAA Class 6A state championship football game Friday night, December 5, 2014, at Davis Wade Stadium on the Mississippi State University campus in Starkville. The game was delayed by a power outrage in the first quarter. CHRIS TODD
South Panola fans clad in rain gear cheer for their Tigers in the MHSAA Class 6A state championship football game Friday night, December 5, 2014, at Davis Wade Stadium on the Mississippi State University campus in Starkville. The game was delayed by a power outrage in the first quarter. CHRIS TODD
Cathedral's strong start stifled St. Aloysius' defense, something Booth attributed to the mentality his teammates took upon entering the game.
"We were just meaner than they were," Booth said. "We came out ready to play and probably were more prepared than they were."
The Flashes made their first trip to the state title game since 1981, and despite the loss, they don't feel they're walking away empty handed.
"We only lost to one team this year, and it was them," the St. Aloysius coach said. "We feel like they're the best team in 1A but still feel like we could have played better. ... Hopefully we can get them back one day."
Contact Courtney Cronin at (601) 961-7091 or ccronin@jackson.gannett.com. Follow @CourtneyRCronin on Twitter.
Wyatt Booth,Cathedral
Senior quarterback led Cathedral's scoring attack with 108 yards rushing and ran in four touchdowns.
The most points allowed by St. Aloysius this year and a season-low in points scored by the Flashes.
It's only her second buck, but it's a monster.
How former Mississippi State guard took unlikely path to coaching
Ole Miss staff built from some of 2015's best teams
Steve Spurrier Jr., others to join Mississippi State coaching staff


text:
Meet the Creative Team.
Interested in getting involved with Pen and Paper Theatre Company?
We are looking for ambitious, knowledgable and passionate individuals who are looking for a challenge.
If you have no experience, little experience or a whole book of experience we want to hear from you.
Send the following to: Hello@penandpapertheatre.co.uk
CV | A Headshot | Personal Statement
Look forward to hearing from you!
Earning his BA Honours in Theatre and Drama at The University of South Wales, following gaining a First Class Foundation Degree at Bridgend College, Jordan is currently studying his MA in Theatre at Guildford School of Acting.
Jordan shares his passion through delivery of a large repertoire of performance ranging from traditional musicals, modern pantomimes and contemporary theatrical works, with 10 years experience.
Spending a lot of his time off the stage, and behind the scenes, but is no stranger to performance. He has much experience across the board and has featured as the dame in 11 pantomimes, where he holds the traditional form in very high regard.
Jordan Forse
Founder & Company Director
Based in the Vale of Glamorgan and Cardiff, Jordan is a vivid and colourful personality continuing to champion exciting and engaging theatre both on and off stage.
Jordan focuses on Directing, Writing, Education, and a yearly appearance as a Pantomime Dame, and thrives when exploring themes in the potential of human behaviour, especially mentally and socially, all the while experimenting with the physicality. He also uses his writing to investigate his curiosity in utopian and dystopian genres.
Harvey George Wilcox
Marketing Executive.
Chray Williams
Youth Theatre Co-Leader
Trained within Musical Theatre with a Masters Degree at UWTSD following a BA Honours at USW, Chray has performed roles such as Veronica from 'I love you, You`re perfect, Now change!' and a featured singer in 'Nadolig Big Band Christmas' with the Rhys Taylor band. Chray has also performed as a solo vocalist in cabaret evenings as well as performing in many pantomimes over the years. She gained her first professional credit as a young ensemble member in the UK tour of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, directed by Chris Hornby.
Based in Cardiff, Chray has a passion for musical theatre and specifically movement, she enjoys studying ways in which the body can move to reveal a story and how a cast can move together as an ensemble. Chray focuses on genres of movement that are in the mediums of Jazz, Tap and contemporary. Chray hopes to explore different ways movement can be injected into contemporary theatre, that allows the words to become the music to which we move, Chray also has an interest in contemporary welsh theatre and enjoys the work of playwrights such as Gary Owen.
Chray is looking forward to continuing perfecting her skills and knowledge as a performer and hopes to one day help work towards making theatre an inclusive place for everyone and work towards the representation of welsh talent.
Niamh Owen
Youth Theatre Production Assistant.
Niamh is an 19 year-old stage manage, dancer and Artist.
She has performed for most of her life, however she often has too much time on her hands, and has a passion for Stage and Production Arts.
She has worked on several shows including Into The Woods, Cinderella and Aladdin to name a few, as well as working internationally via digital platforms.
Based in South Wales, she has just graduated from Bridgend College where she studied Production Arts, and is now currently studying Stage Management and Technical Theatre at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama for the next three years.
Associates.
Nicholas Currie
Actor, Writer and Director
Nick Currie is has been a supporter of Pen and Paper Theatre Co. CYF since day dot, and is working closely with Jordan in creating new works. His passion for writing is taking strong place within Pen and Paper's latest venture.
Nick is an actor and writer from South Wales, who is currently undertaking an MA in Acting at Central School of Speech and Drama. Upon finishing his studies he hopes to stage is a production of a full length play that is currently in development.
Philippa Howe
Make-Up Artist, Writer and Actor
Philippa started acting from a very early age and it left a lasting impression. It was all she wanted to do, but in her spare time Philippa found herself artistically indulging in art, crafts and more particularly- writing. Philippa began writing late at night when she couldn't sleep but slowly progressed into stories and scripts.
Philippa's career choice turned to makeup and prosthetics for TV and Film. A practical, yet satisfying career choice and has seen her work with the most wonderful people.


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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2013 Week 8 Hansard (4 June) . . Page.. 2196..
Ombudsman is responsible for the scheme in Queensland and there is probably a stronger link between the Ombudsman's role than there is in the Public Trustee's role. That is one of the issues that I am considering and seeking further discussion on.
The bill clarifies the range of visitable places. I recognise that in some respects this is an improvement. However, I think there is also room for further discussion here about removing the requirement for a service to receive government funding to be considered a visitable place altogether. People are vulnerable, regardless of whether or not the service they are receiving is government funded or not. I believe that any distinction based on this is artificial and that this is an area where I am willing to have further discussion.
The bill also clarifies access to health records. One issue that the clause does raise is that where a person is not able to give consent, an official visitor will need to seek consent from the person's guardian to view the records. As knowledge of the health records may be an important part of the OV's role in ensuring that appropriate treatment and care are being given, a process will need to be set up to ensure that ongoing, proactive consent can be given by guardians so that OVs can inspect a health record during their visits.
In relation to the crisis support unit at the AMC, I am comfortable that the changes do not substantially affect the current arrangements in the ACT where both the Corrections official visitor and the Mental Health official visitor can visit people detained in the CSU. The bill articulates a process for each OV to work within their role and scope of skills. I think that the official visitors are more than capable of exercising their professional judgement to make any reporting and complaints resolution arrangements work in an efficient and effective way.
Overall, the Greens support the bill in principle. I would like to acknowledge the productive approach that has been taken to working between officials and the minister, with me and my office, to ensure that we have in place an effective scheme that reflects the views of the community that has been so clear in what it wants from the official visitors. As is often the way with new ways of working, there are indeed some aspects of the original bill that could be improved and it is a testament to the good will of all the parties present that we continue to refine this important protection and reporting service in the desire to care appropriately for those that need it most. Those comments made, and noting the discussion I am still undertaking, the Greens support the bill in principle.
MS GALLAGHER (Molonglo—Chief Minister, Minister for Regional Development, Minister for Health and Minister for Higher Education) (10.22): I thank other members for their support for this bill.
The Official Visitor Amendment Bill 2013 was developed in close consultation with government and community stakeholders, with significant effort and careful attention to detail. The effort to produce this bill reflects the government's commitment to maintain the policy intent of the Official Visitor Act and the schemes that existed before it—in mental health, juvenile justice rehabilitation and adult corrections.


The government has promised £20m to fund projects to create 'digital roads' with smart technology.
Highways England has set aside the funds to invest in projects that will change the way the UK's motorways and major roads are designed, managed and used.
They are launching two competitions to find firms that want to develop innovative new technologies to make it easier and more efficient to manage the country's road network.
All submissions must be suitable for trials on England's motorways and A-roads, but the competition is open to companies of any size. Entrants will be split into two competitions, one focusing on potential schemes that need funding for feasibility studies and the other will look at proven schemes that are further along in development.
Entries close in May, with proposed start date of Septemer for the winning projects. The successful bids will be administered by Innovate UK, which connects the businesses with potential partners and investors.
Those interested in entering the competition are encouraged to join a webinar hosted by Innovate UK and Highways England on Thursday 14 February.
Mike Wilson, Highways England's Executive Director for Safety, Engineering and Standards, said, "This is an exciting opportunity for entrepreneurs, collaborative partnerships, and organisations of any size to help shape the roads of the future.


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Older: Tech Sightings, May 1, 2014 Newer: Tech Sightings, May 6, 2014
New Technologies Bolster Autism Therapies
Aida Akl
Posted May 2nd, 2014 at 2:21 pm (UTC-5)
FILE – A research Assistant looks over brain scans of a six-year-old at Georgetown University Hospital in Washington as part of an effort to understand what goes wrong inside the brains of children with autism. (AP)
Technology is a work in progress. It might not have all the answers to humanity's problems, but it can go a long way toward alleviating some of them. Such is the case with the autism spectrum disorder, a group of brain development disorders characterized by difficulties in communication, social interaction and repetitive behavior that has benefited from technology in a variety of ways.
For starters, online connectivity has made it possible for families in remote areas to stay in touch with therapists to get the intervention their kids need.
"We've been able to reduce disparities in diagnosis and in access to treatment by having families set up cameras in their homes and set up Skype sessions," said Alison Singer, Co-founder and President of the Autism Science Foundation.
While it is not an ideal situation, she says it is a huge improvement to people's lives. "The alternative was that these families just had no access and their parents would rely on what they could read in books," she said. "And this is certainly superior to that. I mean we still encourage live therapists, but this is certainly a step up from parents just relying on themselves to provide therapies."
But the most direct way that technology has impacted autism intervention is through the use of assistive communication devices, particularly with non-verbal autistic individuals who "are able to use very specific types of communication devices with a touchscreen … where they touch … a picture and then the device will speak the word for them."
FILE – A child mimics 'Kaspar' the robot's two handed sign for hiding during a research project in Hatfield, England. (AP)
Robots, too, are reaching across communication barriers that live therapists could not breach. Singer says autistic children who have difficulty socializing with people are "interested and attracted to the robots that we've created to work with the live therapists in therapeutic environments."
Typically, a concealed human speaks for the robot and directs it. "What the studies from Notre Dame showed was that when you use the same therapists interacting live with the child versus that same therapist being the voice and action behind the robot … the children responded better to the robot in many instances," she said.
While this is a great tool to work with, Singer warns that technology "is not a substitute for human interaction," but a tool to help autistic children gain these skills while still having fun.
Another promising new tool is Social Clues, an iPad puzzle-adventure game for autistic children co-created by speech pathologist Karen Okrent and game director Jeremy Bernstein in conjunction with the University of Southern Californian's Advanced Games program. Bernstein says the idea for the game was born when "Karen and fellow therapist peers could not find a tool that would do the things she wanted."
Social Clues was created to fill the void. Bernstein says it is one of few interactive therapy tools built to reinforce and supplement the education autistic kids get in school or with their therapists.
"The game follows two introverted children, Pete and Kate, whose toys have gone missing and must now venture out into the community and learn to socialize in order to solve the mystery," he said. "The game's primary focus is teaching person-to-person communication, using elements from several evidence-based therapies."
The game nudges children looking for the toys to communicate and solve problems and provides what Bernstein calls a "road map for conversation, a template for children with autism to effectively navigate person-to-person communication." It also keeps track of player choices and progress to help therapists customize intervention.
After initial testing with autistic children and clinicians and therapists, the duo teamed up in recent months with Children's Hospital Los Angeles and others to test the game with children of varying cognitive abilities.
Singer says these types of tests are crucial. "We always recommend that if an organization wants to make a specific claim about the therapeutic benefits of an intervention, that … the interventions need to withstand the rigorous clinical trial," she said.
Another relatively new technology – gene sequencing – is being used to try and root out the cause of autism. Singer says "we know now that autism is a … genetic disorder. We can identify the genetic disruption in about 40 percent of the cases of kids with autism."
Finding the genetic disorder behind autism is "slow and painstaking work," she said. But once the genes have been identified, then tests can commence to mimic the disruptions and test intervention types at a faster pace.
Aida Akl Twitter
Aida Akl is a journalist working on VOA's English Webdesk. She has written on a wide range of topics, although her more recent contributions have focused on technology. She has covered both domestic and international events since the mid-1980s as a VOA reporter and international broadcaster.
Tags: autism, gaming, social clues, tech, technology, techtonics
One response to "New Technologies Bolster Autism Therapies"
Genetic links to autism and epilepsy are extremely under researched and completely ignored in medicine. Warning: DO NOT use VALPORIC ACID (DEPAKOTE), PHENOBARBITAL or Tylenol—- if the patient has abnormal ANK3 (Ankyrin-G nodes of ranvier) variant. Doctors don't routinely test for this genetic marker in seizure patients so beware! For instance, if an autistic patient with EPILEPSY develops abnormal behaviors while taking any of these drugs a genetic test should be done to rule out ANK3 de novo missense mutations! Better to use CBD strains of medical cannabis, Vitamin D, Selenium, Lamictal and Racetams like Keppra.


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Comparing the old to the new: A comparison of similarities and differences of the accreditation standards of the chiropractic council on education-international from 2010 to 2016
Innes, S.I. ORCID: 0000-0001-7783-8328, Leboeuf-Yde, C. and Walker, B.F. ORCID: 0000-0002-8506-6740 (2018) Comparing the old to the new: A comparison of similarities and differences of the accreditation standards of the chiropractic council on education-international from 2010 to 2016. Chiropractic & Manual Therapies, 26 . Article number: 25.
Chiropractic programs are accredited and monitored by regional Councils on Chiropractic Education (CCE). The CCE-International has historically been a federation of regional CCEs charged with harmonising world standards to produce quality chiropractic educational programs. The standards for accreditation periodically undergo revision. We conducted a comparison of the CCE-International 2016 Accreditation Standards with the previous version, looking for similarities and differences, expecting to see some improvements.
The CCE-International current (2016) and previous versions (2010) were located and downloaded. Word counts were conducted for words thought to reflect content and differences between standards. These were tabulated to identify similarities and differences. Interpretation was made independently followed by discussion between two researchers.
The 2016 standards were nearly 3 times larger than the previous standards. The 2016 standards were created by mapping and selection of common themes from member CCEs' accreditation standards and not through an evidence-based approach to the development and trialling of accreditation standards before implementation. In 2010 chiropractors were expected to provide attention to the relationship between the structural and neurological aspects of the body in health and disease. In 2016 they should manage mechanical disorders of the musculoskeletal system. Many similarities between the old and the new standards were found. Additions in 2016 included a hybrid model of accreditation founded on outcomes-based assessment of education and quality improvement. Both include comprehensive competencies for a broader role in public health. Omissions included minimal faculty qualifications and the requirement that students should be able to critically appraise scientific and clinical knowledge. Another omission was the requirement for chiropractic programs to be part of a not-for-profit educational entity. There was no mention of evidence-based practice in either standards but the word 'evidence-informed' appeared once in the 2016 standards.
Some positive changes have taken place, such as having bravely moved towards the musculoskeletal model, but on the negative side, the requirement to produce graduates skilled at dealing with scientific texts has been removed. A more robust development approach including better transparency is needed before implementation of CCE standards and evidence-based concepts should be integrated in the programs. The CCE-International should consider the creation of a recognition of excellence in educational programs and not merely propose minimal standards.


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Reverse sensitivity testing: What does it take to break the model?
Pesenti, S. M., Millossovich, P. & Tsanakas, A. (2018). Reverse sensitivity testing: What does it take to break the model?. .
Sensitivity analysis is an important component of model building, interpretation and validation. A model comprises a vector of random input factors, an aggregation function mapping input factors to a random output, and a (baseline) probability measure. A risk measure, such as Value-at-Risk and Expected Shortfall, maps the distribution of the output to the real line. As is common in risk management, the value of the risk measure applied to the output is a decision variable. Therefore, it is of interest to associate a critical increase in the risk measure to specific input factors. We propose a global and model-independent framework, termed 'reverse sensitivity testing', comprising three steps: (a) an output stress is specified, corresponding to an increase in the risk measure(s); (b) a (stressed) probability measure is derived, minimising the Kullback-Leibler divergence with respect to the baseline probability, under constraints generated by the output stress; (c) changes in the distributions of input factors are evaluated. We argue that a substantial change in the distribution of an input factor corresponds to high sensitivity to that input and introduce a novel sensitivity measure to formalise this insight. Implementation of reverse sensitivity testing in a Monte-Carlo setting can be performed on a single set of input/output scenarios, simulated under the baseline model. Thus the approach circumvents the need for additional computationally expensive evaluations of the aggregation function. We illustrate the proposed approach through a numerical example of a simple insurance portfolio and a model of a London Insurance Market portfolio used in industry.
This is the pre-peer reviewed version of this article, published in final form in the European Journal of Operational Research, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejor.2018.10.003
Bayes Business School > Actuarial Science & Insurance
Text - Submitted Version
Pesenti, S. M.
Millossovich, P.
Tsanakas, A.
29 January 2018 Published


Google has hit it out of the park with a brand new YouTube app, specifically designed for young children. It's called YouTube Kids, and it was designed especially your 3-6 year olds. While it may be designed for young children, it is also really fun for us who are young at heart!
As a father of two young daughters, I like that Google is trying to prevent young eyes from accidentally seeing videos on the Internet that were never intended for them to see. If you are in Canada, you can access the app when you are on a US IP via VPN or using a tool like HotSpotShield.
The app, which is pre-filled with access to family friendly content, is just fun to use. It is colorful, and filled with music and sound effects. Your kids can choose from 4 main categories and the ability to search.
Shows: Your kids can watch fun video shows including the Sesame Street Channel and Thomas & Friends Channel.
Music: Here, you will find music channels that lead to hundreds of kid-friendly songs and hours of fun. This is bound to be the favorite section for many toddlers who can sit through every iteration of "Wheels on the bus" that YouTube can serve them and still be excited.
Learning: With PBS Kids and Khan Academy, your kids can really learn while using the app on a tablet or phone.
Explore: Here is where you kids can use their creativity with channels like Play-Doh and Simple Kids Crafts.
Search: You can help your kids search by typing in search words. Google has even added the ability to search by voice.
YouTube Kids has some well thought out parental controls. There is a timer, a way to leave feedback, and the capability to turn off the music and sound effects. In addition, there is a way to disable searching, so that only the content on the app will be viewed.


There have been churches on this site for centuries - the Domesday Book mentions a church here, but the walls and roof of the current building are from the thirteenth century and the windows and chancel screen from the fifteenth. The interior was remodelled in 1703 and its character today comes largely from that period.
The church has an early fifteenth century wallpainting of St Christopher partly covered by a Stuart Royal Arms, and a colourful, magnificent seventeenth-century wallpainting monument to Sir Richard Powlett, with an image of Time and Death on either side.
There is also a colourful and intricately carved Jacobean monument to Sir Richard Powlett, who died in 1614 - the monument would have once sat in the middle of the wallpainting monument, an early eighteenth-century reredos, two hatchments and a Royal Arms of 1701 and a pretty bell turret.
Access is from the private lane to adjacent houses across a level grass churchyard (CCT vested)and there is a step at the door. There is also limited parking.
Why not make your visit more enjoyable and informed by finding out about this church and the CCT before you visit?
All our Hampshire churches are in CCT's West region.


Over 6 million women in America struggle to achieve and maintain a healthy pregnancy. Now, a new study has found that our poor sleep might be to blame when it comes to fertility battles.
Researchers from Washington University in St. Louis followed the sleep patterns of women who were trying to conceive by having them wear a smartwatch. They then discovered one shocking connection: Women who maintain the same bedtimes on a regular basis were able to become pregnant at much higher rates than those who had erratic bedtimes.
Dr. Berman, who is a representative for ToConcieve, says that many other hidden factors can impact a woman's fertility as well, including poor iodine levels, the use of OTC medications like ibuprofen, eating a lot of red meat, and being exposed to many air pollutants (as well as lead pollution in a woman's water source).
ToConcieve was created by ob-gyns in conjunction with Callitas Health Inc. (CSE: LILY, OTCBB: MPHMF, FWB: T3F2). The fertility enhancing gel is unlike any other fertility product on the market in that it actually encourages the woman's body to create more of her own lubricant, which in turn may increase the activation of sperm and the woman's chances of pregnancy. Unlike every other lubricant on the market, ToConceive doesn't just add chemical lubricants to a woman's body, it actually encourages her to make more of her own natural lubricant which not only adds to her pleasure, but also may improve her chances of natural conception.


"We were all nomads once," declares noted travel writer Herbert Ypma. Nomad Deluxe reawakens this deep-seated universal desire to jump on a plane, train, or boat and escape to the most distant reaches of the globe. From the remote Siwa Oasis in Egypt to the rugged Adirondacks, from a frigid ice hotel in the Arctic Circle to the craters of the arid Atacama Desert, and from the Aeolian Islands to Zighy Bay and everywhere in between, this book is an authentic guide to being a modern-day nomad in the know, to experience these thrilling adventures armed with the expertise of those who have already left their footprints. Discover Ying Yang, the wave phenomenon caused by a reef in the Maldives; follow a Berber guide across the Atlas Mountains; and explore new and exotic travel destinations never before imagined. Ypma's well-informed commentary and gripping anecdotes make Nomad Deluxe an inspiring read. One look at his remarkable original photography, and suitcases will practically pack themselves.