This is a good medallion to give to someone to mark their time they come in to the program. Al-Anon Medallions Welcome – Engraved – The text on the back says "One Day At A Time" and it is only $6.15 to get your name and date engraved on it.
Add a year in the middle of the medallion for $2.00.


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Chinese Auto Giant Geely Explores SPAC Deals
One of China's largest car makers, Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co., is making plans to tap into the surging market for SPACs.
The multinational company, which owns Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd. GELYY 1.49% , Volvo Car Group and several other electric-vehicle brands, is in talks to sponsor a special-purpose acquisition company that could raise $300 million in a Nasdaq initial public offering, according to people familiar with the matter.
In addition, the Hangzhou-based group is considering taking one of its European electric-vehicle subsidiaries public by merging it with another SPAC and boosting its valuation sharply, to as much as $40 billion, the people said.
SPACs, also known as blank-check companies, raise money by selling stock publicly and listing on exchanges before finding private businesses to merge with. They have surged in popularity and drawn record sums of money from global investors, Many startups also see mergers with SPACs as a faster and easier way to go public.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


A Prince George's County man is searching for a good Samaritan who helped save his life.
Jorge Mondino, 73, had a heart attack behind the wheel last Saturday in Fort Fort Washington triggering a crash involving two other cars.
When Officer Sollars arrived on the scene, a small group of people were performing CPR on Mondino, including a woman. Sollars said she was dressed in scrubs and later identified herself as a doctor.
Officer Sollars never got a chance to ask the woman's name. He said all he knows about the good Samaritan is that she lives in Garrett County and she drove a red Chevy Silverado pickup truck. He said she's about 5 and a half feet tall with dirty blonde hair and glasses.
Mondino's family says they are thankful he will be home for Christmas.


Mark and I founded X2X, Inc. for the same reason many companies are founded - we had a problem we wanted to solve, and the available solutions just weren't good enough. In the years after Mark's divorce, he found that he was spending hours a week just trying to stay on top of managing his schedule, finances, and communications all related to the kids. We decided to build a set of tools, now called Family Plan™, that would help families thrive after a breakup - reducing conflict along the way.
Mark and I, along with the rest of our great team, are working hard to get these tools into your hands. We are building a company that is dedicated to making a positive difference in the lives of children and their parents, and we are excited to move forward with you! Interested in being a Family Plan™ beta tester? Let us know!


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Q: Paypal Payment using IPN method not redirecting after payment I have implemented PayPal Payment with IPN method and its working fine. Its making payments and sends the notification back to merchant site. However, after completing the transaction successfully it doesn't redirects customer to success page URL (merchant website). It stays on paypal and doesn't shows any redirect url.
we refer this url for implementation:
http://www.evoluted.net/thinktank/web-development/paypal-php-integration
Can any one help?
Thanks in advance.

A: You have to turn auto return On in your PayPal account settings otherwise the return url is ignored

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


A little bit of what you fancy could be good for the heart, as well as the soul, a study suggests.
Research on more than half a million adults found that those who ate chocolate in moderation had a lower risk of heart failure than those who avoided such treats.
Scientists found those eating up to three bars monthly had a 13 per cent lower risk of heart failure compared with those who ate none.


Betty Irabor, the founder of Genevieve Magazine, has shared the story of a broke Nigerian guy who has two degrees but unemployed. She said the guy got across to her for job placement and she used her influence to secure an interview for the guy via an HR company but told the recruiting company to keep her anonymous.
According to her, the HR company sent the guy an email inviting him for an interview and the guy failed to show up even after a call was put across to the guy. The guy reportedly told the HR company that he didn't apply for any job with them.
Someone I know got an invite for an Interview for a job he didn't apply for, we didn't hear from him for a week after going for the interview. He was kidnapped, robbed, tortured and almost killed. All his savings taken, he was dumped in a remote village. You should have told him.
A person who has searched endlessly for a job, and has fallen victim of several job scams, (probably travelled a good distance only to realize that the job wasn't real) would be very circumspect about unsolicited job interviews.
However, mother luck has smiled on the guy as she said she has been Interviewed afterwards.
Did DJ Exclusive Really Pay For Views For His 'Pangolo Video' On Youtube?!?


Anne Boleyn, Second Wife of King Henry VIII of England. Second wife of King Henry VIII who was later executed. Painter unknown.. Wallpaper and background images in the Kings and Queens club tagged: anne boleyn queen of england england tudors royalty.


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Pick out the correct statement.
A. The available energy in an isolated system for all irreversible (real) processes decreases
B. The efficiency of a Carnot engine increases, if the sink temperature is decreased
C. The reversible work for compression in non-flow process under isothermal condition is the change in Helmholtz free energy
D. All (A), (B) and (C)
For an ideal gas, the internal energy depends upon its __________ only. Those solutions in which there is no volume change upon mixing the components… The principle applied in liquefaction of gases is Steam undergoes isentropic expansion in a turbine from 5000 kPa and 400°C… When pressure is applied on the system, ice ↔ water, then The difference between isothermal compressibility and adiabatic compressibility… Which is a state function? Mollier chart is a __________ plot. For equilibrium process (i.e. reversible) in an isolated system In case of a close thermodynamic system, there is __________ across the… The change in Gibbs free energy for vaporisation of a pure substance is Absolute zero temperature signifies the In the reaction, H2 +I2 2HI, addition of an inert gas will Which of the following is a widely used refrigerant in vapour compression… The fugacity of a gas in a mixture is equal to the product of its mole… Consider the reaction, C + O2 CO2; ΔH = - 94 kcal. What will be the… The four properties of a system viz. P, V, T, S are related by __________… Work done in an adiabatic process between two states depends on the No work is done by the system, when a reaction occurs at constant The main feature of Carnot refrigeration cycle is that, it __________ increases with increase in pressure. Which of the following is Clausius-Clapeyron Equation for vaporisation… What happens in a reversible adiabatic expansion process? In the ammonia synthesis reaction, N2 + 3H2 2NH3 + 22.4 kcal, the formation… Choose the condition that must be specified in order to liquify CO2 (triple… The minimum number of phases that can exist in a system is Entropy of an ideal gas depends upon its Keeping the pressure constant, to double the volume of a given mass of… Standard temperature and pressure (S.T.P.) is As the temperature is lowered towards the absolute zero, the value of…
English Grammer MCQ Visual Basic MCQ Problems on Numbers MCQ Electric Current MCQ Php Programming MCQ Alphabetical Series MCQ Statutory Deductions MCQ Alchohols MCQ Surface Area MCQ Rearrangement Set 4 MCQ Rearrangement Set 13 MCQ Clock MCQ


In my summer psychology class, my portion of our group presentation involved examining psychological disorders, specifically multiple personality disorders. The themes of multiple personalities has been explored in many films and television shows. Pop culture books examine the nuances of people like "Sybil" and "Eve". As I delved into the mysteries of dissociative identity disorders, I became suspicious of three particular people: Me, Myself and I. Yikes. I think I have this disorder.
First, there is Tammy Jo, the ideal woman that JD married: that would be the woman wh o goes to church, cleans her house meticulously, cooks 5+ course meals for her guests, and operates a small hostel for the family and friends who often show up for visits and extended stays. This woman is usually congenial, fun-loving and likes to entertain. Socially she is comfortable and enjoys being around friends and family. When she is engaging, she can be the life of the party. This woman has not been seen since 2005. There is an ongoing manhunt to find her. If you see her, please phone J.D.
Second, there is Tam, the nursing student wannabe: this person is a hyperactive student who stays up all night, preparing papers, lab rep orts, and group projects. She is often attached to the internet, leaves much of the housework undone for months at a time, and laments that while she has perfection in her academic life, she loathes the idea of cooking and laundry. She is prone to impatience, fits of worry and anxiety about the last set of applications she has mailed out to various nursing schools. She waxes and wanes between feeling superior and utterly despondent about her station in life. Tam has good grades but feels she is discriminated against because of her age. While self confident, she thinks there is no end in sight, and can be seen mumbling in the corner "I just want to be a nurse". She escapes from her non-reality of being an actual nurse, by voracious reading of books having nothing at all to do with nursing. She consumes massive amounts of caffeine, hangs out with other women who do this and is generally a cynic when it comes to most things. She thinks that Tammy Jo will be found when she finally becomes a nurse. Ha! What a farce. Despite her evil tendencies to be fiercely competitive, she will make an exceptional nurse someday.
temperaments and complexities. She can be seen driving up and down the freeways all during the day and night, taxiing her children to their social engagements and educational pursuits. She hasn't had her hair done in three months and periodically checks her toenails to see if t he polish from June still looks good. She has no use for pantyhose or closed toed shoes, and thinks a good meal can be found at the lof t at Nugget Market in Town Centre. The Mom laughed louder than anyone else at the movie "Mamma Mia" and sobbed her guts out during the scene when Meryl Streep painted her daughter's toe nails. Mom needs hormonal assistance in Thyroid world, and thinks that losing weight will solve all the world's problems. She can be seen occasionally enjoying a glass of wine and frequently will kiss her husband on the cheek and pat him on the back. He puts up with that. She thinks he's a saint. He is still looking for Tammy Jo…if you see her, don't forget to call him.
If you did a psychological disorder examination on me, Holy Crap, you'd get your PhD right there then!


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Smithsonian Voices
From the Smithsonian Museums
EARTH OPTIMISM
How the Smithsonian is Creating a Path for Students to Meet Global Sustainability Goals
The Smithsonian Office of International Relations is always finding new and innovative ways to showcase how the Smithsonian is part of a shared, sustainable future for the Earth. Aviva Rosenthal, Director of the Smithsonian's Office of International Relations, shares how the Smithsonian Institution-wide legacy, resources, and goals can also help foster a sustainable learning path for students around the globe.
Cat Kutz
How does international engagement fit into the Smithsonian Institution's mission?
In 1867, shortly after the Institution's founding in 1846, the International Exchange Service was founded at the Smithsonian to share scientific discoveries and publications with the world. The Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama has been a leader in tropical forest and marine ecosystem research for over 100 years and continues as a vital voice in the global scientific community today. The Smithsonian plays a global role as the national museums of the United States of America. In many ways, others see us as a de facto Ministry of Culture. International engagement is not only intrinsic to our mission, but we as professionals are made better for the knowledge, lessons, and perspectives we gain from our international peers and partners. The stories we share with American and international audiences are richer for our shared experiences, intertwined histories, and ability to listen and discover from each other's viewpoints. Finally, our day-to-day work in scientific research, curating meaningful exhibitions, or designing impactful education programs cannot take place without the help of international scholars, researchers, partners, and of course, students who participate in exchanges.
Why are global exchanges important to the Smithsonian?
The Smithsonian is proud to be a leader in global capacity building and exchange, ensuring we are all working together towards a more resilient, equitable, and sustainable future. We have been international since our founding – we have increased and diffused knowledge with and through international peers and partners and will continue to listen and learn from colleagues in every discipline. I believe our perspectives and work are enriched by that exchange. The Smithsonian represents the best of the U.S. in the world – our creativity and innovation, our curiosity, our wish for a better future – and it is in this role that we can continue to be conscientious leaders and learners alongside our global counterparts.
For the Smithsonian as the world's largest museum, education, and research complex, international partnerships and exchanges, especially between students, are essential for being a global leader in identifying the threats and mitigations of climate change and providing meaningful STEM education programs to support earth's resilience and sustainability. They are also essential as we continue to be a leader in cultural heritage resilience and rescue through multiple efforts to protect and preserve intangible and tangible cultural heritage.
Domestically, we are prioritizing direct engagement with pre-K-12 classrooms to foster an evidence-based approach by providing resources that support a well-rounded education, cultivate creativity and imagination, and ignite a passion and appreciation for lifelong learning. Global exchanges help us amplify that effort.
What are some of the most important outcomes of this program?
The Smithsonian is proud to be a leader in the quest to understand and educate about life on a sustainable planet. Every one of us has a role to play in making that a reality. Our shared sustainable future depends on our capabilities to take individual as well as collective action for solving global challenges. This program was a tremendous success for bringing together museum professionals, non-government organization and civil society leaders, cultural practitioners, and of course educators and students, all to discuss ways to create more inclusive, equitable, and sustainable communities. Both the spring and fall series enabled participants to consider local realities and examine them alongside international realities. Conversations allowed participants to think about what their communities are doing well and what they could be doing better, learning from the past and looking to the future – this is something the Smithsonian is really excited about.
Does the Smithsonian do a lot of work with international students?
We are part of a global community of educators, students, and lifelong learners. We are working every day to make our collections, research, and programs more accessible to more people around the world, and students are no exception. Annually, the Smithsonian welcomes hundreds of international interns and fellows into our ranks, in person and virtually (one of the Office of International Relations interns this semester is a student in Ireland!). We also welcome international school groups and delegations for visits, guided tours, and hands-on experiences, though admittedly the pandemic has made this more challenging.
The Smithsonian represents the best of the U.S. in the world – our creativity and innovation, our curiosity, our wish for a better future – and it is in this role that we can continue to be conscientious leaders and learners alongside our global counterparts.
The silver lining of the pandemic, however, is that we – like so many – have increased emphasis and effort on our digital outreach – creatively expanding our online programming and educational resources, making them available to even wider audiences, such as international students. We do acknowledge, however, that not everyone has the same access to digital resources, and so, when possible, we try to meet audiences where they are. One notable example was a 10-part television broadcast series we developed with support from the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta, Earth Optimism Indonesia TV, showcasing topics such as Our Oceans: Protecting Coral Reefs, Building One Healthy Planet, My Career in Conservation and More. Together with the Indonesian Ministry of Education and Culture, we created this content for its Learn at Home COVID-19 distance learning program (in some cases, this is the only way to provide educational content to 50 million youth who do not have access to the internet). We also developed a complementary online series for Indonesian and other Southeast Asian educators to elaborate on topics that came up in the television series and provide tools for K-12 teachers to use in classrooms around the topics of environmental conservation and climate change action.
How can educators and professionals find opportunities to work with the Smithsonian and its experts?
The Smithsonian Institution is made up of 21 museums, 9 global research centers, more than 20 libraries, and the National Zoo, so we are a very big organization! The Smithsonian's Office of International Relations serves many functions, one of them as "the front door" for global entities, such as Ministries of Culture, Education, Science and more. You can learn more about our office at https://global.si.edu/. If there is a specific museum or unit you are trying to reach, you can always reach out to them directly or visit the Smithsonian's main website, https://www.si.edu/, to learn more.
I also urge educators and students alike to explore the Smithsonian Learning Lab, in particular our distance learning materials or even reach out directly to Smithsonian educators (via [email protected]). In our firm commitment to supporting teachers and students around the globe, the Learning Lab provides access to millions of digital resources from across our museums, research centers, collections, libraries, archives, and beyond. Pre-packaged collections with lessons, activities, and recommended resources can help teachers find material appropriate for their students – or allow students to connect directly with Smithsonian content.
Cat Kutz | READ MORE
Cat Kutz is the former communications director for Earth Optimism.
Earth Optimism Smithsonian In France
Bunnies, Bears, and Other Stories to Beat the January Blues
Five Things That Made Us Optimistic in 2022
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Weekly News Roundup (17)


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Grilla Grills Offers Scholarship for Secchia Institute for Culinary Education Student
Grand Rapids, Michigan. December 2018.
Grilla Grills is proud to offer a $500 scholarship to an aspiring culinary student with our Grilla Grills Secchia Institute of Culinary Education Scholarship to assist them in furthering their culinary education.
We'd like to give a big congratulations to our scholarship recipient, Amanda! We received a lot of fantastic entries, and are excited for the opportunity to give back to the local community in this way. We have awarded her $500 to put toward furthering her culinary education at Gand Rapids Community College.
"We are thankful for the community support of our students through scholarships like this. Amanda Barnett is a prime example of a non-traditional student following a dream here at the Secchia Institute for Culinary Education. She is a deserved winner of this scholarship. Congrats to her and thanks to Grilla Grills!" – Werner Absenger, PhD, MS, Director of Secchia Institute for Culinary Education, Grand Rapids Community College.
Amanda was an absolute joy to meet and as we spoke, we learned a little more about her and her future plans.
"Thank you Grilla Grills for this scholarship! My dream is to run an after school cooking program for youth, so this scholarship helps not only me but all of the youth that will benefit from my learning too!" – Amanda Barnett
A little more about Amanda and her grilling experience!
Are you involved in any extracurricular activities?
My career began in education. I was a K-8 ESL (English as a Second Language) teacher before moving on to culinary school. As a teacher, I created and ran many after school clubs for students, including GEMS (girls excelling in math and science), garden club, and cooking club . Cooking Club was such a success and so much fun that I decided to learn more about the culinary craft so that I could run an after-school program full-time. I still volunteer in the school garden where I taught, and I still spend a lot of time with former students and their families– we share recipes and cook food for each other. I share with them what I learn in school, and they share dishes with me from their native countries. Additionally, up until this school year began, I was vice president of the board for my neighborhood organization, Oakdale Neighbors. Due to having night classes, I had to step down from an official position for now, but I still remain involved by volunteering at community events and reading with children monthly at our neighborhood's "little free library." In addition to community events, I also play on a community soccer league called the Grand Rapids Champs League. It is designed to build community across the city– each neighborhood has its own team and home bar or restaurant, and you travel around the city each week to play a new team and meet new people. I have represented the south side team for four years now. I have met many friends from many backgrounds and who are involved in many cool projects across the city thanks to this league!
Describe the best grilled food you've ever eaten. Talk about the whole grilling/eating experience and why it was great. (You don't have to be the cook!)
I love pushing the boundaries and helping people think of interesting ways to cook food and use common tools to create new dishes! Earlier this summer, I was thinking about all of the produce grown locally here in Michigan and how I could use more of it. Every summer, my friends love to host barbecues. The menus for the day are usually heavy on the meat side, but I really wanted to tie in more produce. One day, I seasoned up some asparagus and peaches. At first, my friends thought I was a weirdo for throwing peaches on the grill, but they ended up being the big star of the night! To prepare them, I cut them in half, soaked them in a citrus olive oil, and then grilled them face down. Once they had nice grill marks, I sprinkled them with cinnamon sugar and served them with ice cream. Everyone went back for seconds, and grilled peaches became a staple at every barbecue I attended this summer. It was so fun to prepare something new for my friends and to see them get excited about it. The heat of the grill really pulled the sweetness out of the peaches– it was almost as if you were eating a mini peach pie (but it was just the freshness of the peach)!
When you think of grilling, what thoughts or memories come to mind?
Grilling is such an ancient form of cooking that brings together people of all generations and across all continents. When I began culinary school, the grill scared me the most. Cooking with fire was just not something I had much experience with, but it was something I wanted to get really good at. I began reading about and watching documentaries about grilling. One of my favorite shows is David Chang's Ugly Delicious. Season 1 Episode 5 is all about barbecue. He travels across the southern United States analyzing "What is BBQ?" He then travels around the world and looks at so many cultural food traditions that use barbecue methods for so many regional dishes. He really pushed my thinking about what grilling can be. As a chef, it is so important to look at techniques and think about where they come from and how to execute them well. We can then put our own twists on them and continue to push boundaries and introduce our own flair into ancient and traditional ways of cooking. It's truly exciting!
Share a story about smoking (food) and what went well or didn't go well.
For the past year and half, I worked at a restaurant in Grand Rapids, MI. They have a smoker, and the chefs love to smoke foods! While I worked there, I learned a lot about smoking meats– and even vegetables, fruits, and cheeses! This summer, my chef was experimenting with smoked fruits and vegetables for a vegan dinner the chefs were hosting at the restaurant. The most interesting experiment, to me, was smoked watermelon. The watermelon let out a lot of its juices, and the juices became dark and had a very smokey, ham-like flavor to them. It was very interesting! The flavor was different than what everyone expected, but it turned out to be a new and interesting technique and use of the smoker!
It's not too late to apply to our National Culinary Scholarship! Apply or share with someone you know today.


Slately: You were always so kind to me, Holly.
Even at my very lowest.
I used you foolishly. I risked you when I ought to've kept you close.
Slately: Well, what I wish no longer matters.
I have done my part. I hope it's been enough.
If it has, then I shall see you very soon now.
Jack Snipe: Any special tactics in mind?
Parson Gotti: No. Kill them and don't die.
Antium: It's just up ahead, Lord!
Parson Gotti: It'd be different if you had juice. Or if Wanda was here.
I never thought to ask if you're any good in a melee fight. Are you?
Jack Snipe: Only in theory.
Antium: Explosion in the target area!
This page was last edited on 30 July 2015, at 13:08.


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OpenFalklands
Focussing on telecommunications on the Falkland Islands
Broadband, Regulation
OneWeb's LEO constellation and the Falkland Islands.
Posted on 25/08/2022 26/08/2022 Authoropenfalklands
Since 2020 there has been a tremendous increase in consumer interest in LEOs in the Falkland Islands, but this has been myopically focused on SpaceX's Starlink service.
A OneWeb LEO satellite (Source: OneWeb)
Caveat: This post is based on public information. Its views are those of the author alone.
I last wrote about Starlink in 2021 when the company announced service availability in Chile. This provided the intriguing possibility of marginal coverage of West Falkland Island. Marginal, because of the geographic reach of Starlink's earth gateway in Punta Arenas, Chile.
This post is about the OTHER global LEO megaconstellation called OneWeb. OneWeb is partially owned by the British Government and is one of only two LEO constellations to offer truly global coverage by the end of 2023.
The Falkland Islands are now in the geographic coverage of the OneWeb constellation and the Chilean gateway and service could possibly be provided to the Falkland Islands by November 2022.
OneWeb's bankruptcy.
How did the British Government get involved? This is what Reuters said in November 2020:
"Satellite operator OneWeb said on Friday it has emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection with $1 billion in equity investment from a consortium of the UK Government and India's Bharti Enterprises, the new owners of the UK-based company.
The investment puts OneWeb on track to compete with Elon Musk's SpaceX in the race to use low-Earth orbit satellites to provide high-bandwidth and low-latency communication services."
OneWeb is merging with Eutelsat.
On July 26th 2022, the UK Government announced that OneWeb would merge with Eutelsat.
"OneWeb, a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite constellation of which the UK government is a minority shareholder, has today signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Eutelsat Communications to merge the 2 companies, with the objective of creating a single, powerful global player in connectivity.
Eutelsat will add its 36-strong fleet of Geostationary Orbit (GEO) satellites to OneWeb's LEO constellation, with 428 satellites already in orbit, to generate combined revenues of €1.2 billion and address an even wider range of customer requirements.
The merger is positive news for UK taxpayers: having made a $500 million investment in OneWeb 2 years ago, the UK government will now have a significant stake in what will become a single, powerful, global space company, working on the sound financial footing needed to make the most of the technological advantages it has to compete in the highly-competitive global satellite industry, against companies around the world."
Eutelsat is a competitor to Intelsat. Intelsat currently has a contract with Sure Falkland Islands to provide the satellite backhaul link to Europe's Internet backbone. Sure took over from Cable & Wireless and has an exclusive licence with the Falkland Islands Government (FIG) to provide telecommunication services in the Falkland Islands.
A quick guide to OneWeb
OneWeb's constellation ( Source: OneWeb)
OneWeb's 648 LEO satellites are located at an orbital altitude of 1,200km, much higher than Starlink's constellation altitude of 500 to 600km, giving it geographic reach benefits.
OneWeb's altitude ( Source: OneWeb)
The low latitude of the LEOs enables a much lower latency than those provided by GEO satellites currently used on the Falkland Islands.
OneWeb's latency ( Source: OneWeb)
As would be expected, OneWeb has a wide range of User Terminals (UT):
"Dimensions range from parabolic antennas measuring 73cm (29″) in diameter and 77cm (30″) tall inside a protective radome, to smaller electronically steered antennas (ESA) measuring 53cm (21") wide and 18cm (7") tall."
Examples of OneWeb's User Terminals ( Source: OneWeb)
OneWeb and the Falkland Islands.
Let's examine OneWeb in relation to the Falkland Islands.
Earth gateways: Oneweb's Chile gateways are nearing completion and are nearly ready for the service launch. The most appropriate gateway for the Falkland islands is located south of 50 degrees. OneWeb's most southerly gateway covers the whole of the Falkland Islands.
One of the OneWeb Chile gateways is below 50 degrees ( Source: OneWeb)
LEO satellites: There is coverage of all the Falkland Islands.
Service availability: OneWeb's service into the Falkland Islands will be on a 24x7x365 basis. This is a crucial requirement for both consumer and business broadband services.
Upload and download speeds: An average download rate is projected to be 195Mb/s with an average upload speed is 32Mb/s. However, a test deployment on aircraft showed a download speed of 260Mb/s with a latency of well under 100ms.
Signal Quality and availability: Several 'objections' were raised by Sure to the use of O3b's equatorial (Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) satellite network several years ago. These were because the Falkland Islands are located at the southerly fringe of O3b's satellite coverage. This means that signals to the satellite will have to follow a very long path through the atmosphere from the Falkland Islands to the Equatorial O3B satellites and thus could suffer from excessive signal degradation and unreliability due to rain scattering the signals in the atmosphere. Snow and ice are other issues that could cause degradation. Reduction of these effects requires using large tracking dishes on the Falklands. These concerns do not apply to a OneWeb service on the Falkland Islands.
Local regulation: OneWeb requires regulatory and FIG approval to supply services in the Falkland Islands. More on this in the next post.
Business strategy: StarLink's business strategy is to operate as a Business-to-Consumer (B2C) service. This means that SpaceX provides its broadband service directly to customers in their operating countries in competition with incumbent providers. This creates significant issues in communications monopoly countries such as the Falkland Islands.
OneWeb's business model is that of a Business-to-Business (B2B) where they provide local services using what the company calls Distribution Partners (DP).
"Do you have a vision for how OneWeb connectivity can power your network solution? Do you have a customer base ready for low-latency, high-speed connectivity? Can you ramp up your business using APIs, automation, and self-service tools? Can you manage logistics and supply chain, and serve customers end to end? Is it time to enhance or scale connectivity for your enterprise, community, government, maritime, or aviation business?
If your answer is yes, then OneWeb would like to hear from you. Our channel partner program offers strength in partnership, to serve enterprise-grade broadband that you can flex to your customers' needs, when, where, and how you want it."
The obvious choice would be for Sure Falkland Islands to become OneWeb's Distribution Partner in the Falkland Islands.
LEOs are like a steam train rushing down the tracks. They are the future for isolated islands like the Falkland Islands to provide an enhanced high-speed broadband service sitting alongside existing broadband networks. They are not the future; they are here today. However, it is legitimate to ask whether Falklands Islands communications legislation is ready for this. More in a coming post.
Copyright: January 2022, OpenFalklands
comment1 Comment on OneWeb's LEO constellation and the Falkland Islands.
A Formal Complaint to the FI Communications Regulator regarding VP8/SQ1SGB's amateur radio operation in Antarctica
St Helena: Plans for an Island-Wide Fibre-Optic Cable Network Being Developed
One Reply to "OneWeb's LEO constellation and the Falkland Islands."
Ken Westmoreland says:
Hear, hear – though not so much LEO being a steam train rushing down the tracks as Sure being a rabbit in the headlights.
You're absolutely right about the myopic fixation on Starlink, also encountered on St Helena, but it's partly the cult of Elon Musk, who is seen as cool rather than some fuddy-duddy type, and partly because it sells directly to the public, although there are domestic licensing issues, as you've detailed elsewhere, unlike OneWeb, which is B2B.
Given that the latter has been bailed out at great expense by the UK taxpayer, however, I don't think it's in any position to thumb its nose at any potential customer base or revenue stream.
Sure's business model is that of a big fish in a small pond – all the markets it operates in are small, Jersey being the largest. Thankfully, unlike Guernsey, which sold its telco to Cable & Wireless, and then to Sure, Jersey kept its one in public ownership and built an FTTP network that Sure is only just building in Guernsey, something Alistair Beak failed to mention in his recent visit to St Helena.
As it happens, Maestro Technologies have built FTTP in the UK, through F&W Networks – https://fwnetworks.co.uk/our-network/coverage/current/ – as well as in Spain. However, because it's not a retail brand, it's easy for Beak to dismiss it, even though 'Sure', unlike 'Cable & Wireless', means nothing to most people in the UK.
Perhaps, in addition to being a distribution partner for OneWeb in the Falklands, Sure South Atlantic should resell F&W Networks fibre broadband as well as MVNO 5G in the UK, though maybe the Falkland Islands Government should buy it out, so that whatever profits it makes from the UK venture flow back to Stanley, not Manama via St Peter Port!
One thing that will be interesting to see is what will happen with TV in the Falklands, and how that will affect the relationship with BFBS, which, strictly speaking, shouldn't be providing TV to non-military audiences at all. If Sure (or whoever succeeds it) can assign IP addresses in the UK to subscribers in the Falklands, that should remove the need for VPNs or DNS to get round geoblocking.
That means the newly launched Sky Stream service should work there – its channel lineup identical to what you'd get from Sky Glass, so far superior to what BFBS entitled viewers get via satellite in the Falklands or through the TV Player, never mind what civvies get via the MiPlayer. Yes, there's the issue of timeshifting by 3 to 4 hours, but linear TV is in decline anyway.
As things stand, in St Helena, your IP address changes from one day to the next, from one in the UK to Guernsey and then to the Falklands. It's not even clear what Regional Internet registry it comes under. Logically, it should come under AFRINIC, like French Réunion, just as the Falklands comes under LACNIC, but the website doesn't even list it as a country on the drop-down list – https://afrinic.net/membership/list/
LEOs and VSAT legislation in the Falkland Islands
Update #3: Amateur Radio Call Sign Allocation for British Antarctic Territory, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands
Ken Westmoreland on OneWeb's LEO constellation and the Falkland Islands.
Ken Westmoreland on LEOs and VSAT legislation in the Falkland Islands
Chris on LEOs and VSAT legislation in the Falkland Islands
John Stephen Bone on LEOs and VSAT legislation in the Falkland Islands
Breaking isolation in the world's most remote island – St. Helena – Inframore – Infrastructure & More on News: St Helena Communications Licence Market Engagement
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Aguilar Morejón, Miriam Concepción and Interiano Zarceño, Sandra Patricia and Quezada Henríquez, Marlene Elizabeth (2008) Analysis of individual oral instruments for testing oral english proficiency. Bachelor thesis, Universidad de El Salvador.
The following research work focuses on the analysis of oral individual instruments for testing oral English proficiency such as the oral presentation, oral interview and oral performance. This topic is very important because every university student studying the Bachelor in English degree has to be evaluated in oral skill and all teachers must deal with evaluation. It requires that both, students and teachers know how to handle with this issue. The findings of the research reflect the advantages, disadvantages and criterion of the oral presentation, oral interview and oral performance. In addition good remarks and aspects of improvement were found during the evaluation process in the three previous oral instruments; for instance, the management of the oral test, the attitudes of the teachers such as being confident with the students, prepared in advanced with a guideline, being friendly or serious with students, those issues influence in students result in an oral test. On the other hand, positive and negative attitudes from the students and teachers were noticeable during the oral instruments development; the guidelines to record students' performance have some gaps. Setting and equipment to keep data are also analyzed in this research. Therefore, oral proficiency has to be well tested, because if a student does not speak English very well, he will not be able to communicate accurately, that is the reason this research is helpful to students and teachers of the Foreign Language Department because both of them deal with oral evaluation every semester mainly in oral presentation, oral interview and oral performance.


text:
Q: Long initialization time for model.fit when using tensorflow dataset from generator This is my first question on stack overflow. I apologise in advance for the poor formatting and indentation due to my troubles with the interface.
Environment specifications:
Tensorflow version - 2.7.0 GPU (tested and working properly)
Python version - 3.9.6
CPU - Intel Core i7 7700HQ
GPU - NVIDIA GTX 1060 3GB
RAM - 16GB DDR4 2400MHz
HDD - 1TB 5400 RPM
Problem Statement:
I wish to train a TensorFlow 2.7.0 model to perform multilabel classification with six classes on CT scans stored as DICOM images. The dataset is from Kaggle, link here. The training labels are stored in a CSV file, and the DICOM image names are of the format ID_"random characters".dcm. The images have a combined size of 368 GB.
Approach used:

*

*The CSV file containing the labels is imported into a pandas
DataFrame and the image filenames are set as the index.

*A simple data generator is created to read the DICOM image and the
labels by iterating on the rows of the DataFrame. This generator is used to create a
training dataset using tf.data.Dataset.from_generator. The images are
pre-processed using bsb_window().

*The training dataset is shuffled and split into a training(90%) and
validation set(10%)

*The model is created using Keras Sequential, compiled, and fit using the training and validation datasets created earlier.
code:
def train_generator():
   for row in df.itertuples():
       image = pydicom.dcmread(train_images_dir + row.Index + ".dcm")
       try:
           image = bsb_window(image)
       except:
           image = np.zeros((256,256,3))
       labels = row[1:]
       yield image, labels

train_images = tf.data.Dataset.from_generator(train_generator,
                                              output_signature =
                                             (
                                               tf.TensorSpec(shape = (256,256,3)),
                                               tf.TensorSpec(shape = (6,))
                                              )
                                              )
train_images = train_images.batch(4)
TRAIN_NUM_FILES = 752803
train_images = train_images.shuffle(40)
val_size = int(TRAIN_NUM_FILES * 0.1)
val_images = train_images.take(val_size)
train_images = train_images.skip(val_size)

def create_model():
   model = Sequential([
                       InceptionV3(include_top = False, input_shape = (256,256,3), weights = "imagenet"),
                       GlobalAveragePooling2D(name = "avg_pool"),
                       Dense(6, activation = "sigmoid", name = "dense_output"),
                       ])
   model.compile(loss = "binary_crossentropy",
                 optimizer = tf.keras.optimizers.Adam(5e-4),
                 metrics = ["accuracy", tf.keras.metrics.SpecificityAtSensitivity(0.8)]
                 )
   return model

model = create_model()
history = model.fit(train_images,
                    batch_size=4,
                    epochs=5,
                    verbose=1,
                    validation_data=val_images
                    )

Issue:
When executing this code, there is a delay of a few hours of high disk usage (~30MB/s reads) before training begins. When a DataGenerator is made using tf.keras.utils.Sequence, training commences within seconds of calling model.fit().
Potential causes:

*

*Iterating over a pandas DataFrame in train_generator(). I am not sure how to avoid this issue.

*The use of external functions to pre-process and load the data.

*The usage of the take() and skip() methods to create training and validation datasets.

How do I optimise this code to run faster? I've heard splitting the data generator into label creation, image pre-processing functions and parallelising operations would improve performance. Still, I'm not sure how to apply those concepts in my case. Any advice would be highly appreciated.

A: I FOUND THE ANSWER
The problem was in the following code:
TRAIN_NUM_FILES = 752803
train_images = train_images.shuffle(40)
val_size = int(TRAIN_NUM_FILES * 0.1)
val_images = train_images.take(val_size)
train_images = train_images.skip(val_size)

It takes an inordinate amount of time to split the dataset into training and validation datasets after loading the images. This step should be done early in the process, before loading any images. Hence, I split the image path loading and actual image loading, then parallelized the functions using the recommendations given here. The final optimized code is as follows
def train_generator():
    for row in df.itertuples():
        image_path = f"{train_images_dir}{row.Index}.dcm"
        labels = np.reshape(row[1:], (1,6))
        yield image_path, labels

def test_generator():
    for row in test_df.itertuples():
        image_path = f"{test_images_dir}{row.Index}.dcm"
        labels = np.reshape(row[1:], (1,6))
        yield image_path, labels

def image_loading(image_path):
    image_path = tf.compat.as_str_any(tf.strings.reduce_join(image_path).numpy())
    dcm = pydicom.dcmread(image_path)
    try:
        image = bsb_window(dcm)
    except:
        image = np.zeros((256,256,3))
    return image

def wrap_img_load(image_path):
    return tf.numpy_function(image_loading, [image_path], [tf.double])

def set_shape(image, labels):
    image = tf.reshape(image,[256,256,3])
    labels = tf.reshape(labels,[1,6])
    labels = tf.squeeze(labels)
    return image, labels

train_images = tf.data.Dataset.from_generator(train_generator, output_signature = (tf.TensorSpec(shape=(), dtype=tf.string), tf.TensorSpec(shape=(None,6)))).prefetch(tf.data.AUTOTUNE)
test_images = tf.data.Dataset.from_generator(test_generator, output_signature = (tf.TensorSpec(shape=(), dtype=tf.string), tf.TensorSpec(shape=(None,6)))).prefetch(tf.data.AUTOTUNE)

TRAIN_NUM_FILES = 752803
train_images = train_images.shuffle(40)
val_size = int(TRAIN_NUM_FILES * 0.1)
val_images = train_images.take(val_size)
train_images = train_images.skip(val_size)

train_images = train_images.map(lambda image_path, labels: (wrap_img_load(image_path),labels), num_parallel_calls = tf.data.AUTOTUNE).prefetch(tf.data.AUTOTUNE)
test_images = test_images.map(lambda image_path, labels: (wrap_img_load(image_path),labels), num_parallel_calls = tf.data.AUTOTUNE).prefetch(tf.data.AUTOTUNE)
val_images = val_images.map(lambda image_path, labels: (wrap_img_load(image_path),labels), num_parallel_calls = tf.data.AUTOTUNE).prefetch(tf.data.AUTOTUNE)

train_images = train_images.map(lambda image, labels: set_shape(image,labels), num_parallel_calls = tf.data.AUTOTUNE).prefetch(tf.data.AUTOTUNE)
test_images = test_images.map(lambda image, labels: set_shape(image,labels), num_parallel_calls = tf.data.AUTOTUNE).prefetch(tf.data.AUTOTUNE)
val_images = val_images.map(lambda image, labels: set_shape(image,labels), num_parallel_calls = tf.data.AUTOTUNE).prefetch(tf.data.AUTOTUNE)

train_images = train_images.batch(4).prefetch(tf.data.AUTOTUNE)
test_images = test_images.batch(4).prefetch(tf.data.AUTOTUNE)
val_images = val_images.batch(4).prefetch(tf.data.AUTOTUNE)

def create_model():
    model = Sequential([
    InceptionV3(include_top = False, input_shape = (256,256,3), weights='imagenet'),
    GlobalAveragePooling2D(name='avg_pool'),
    Dense(6, activation="sigmoid", name='dense_output'),
    ])
    model.compile(loss="binary_crossentropy", optimizer=tf.keras.optimizers.Adam(5e-4), metrics=["accuracy"])
    return model
model = create_model()

history = model.fit(train_images,
                    epochs=5,
                    verbose=1,
                    callbacks=[checkpointer, scheduler],
                    validation_data=val_images
                   )

The CPU, GPU, and HDD are utilized very efficiently, and the training time is much faster than with a tf.keras.utils.Sequence datagenerator


text:
Tag: Kanye west
Kanye Wests Yeezy sneaker line worth Sh100billion – Forbes
Posted on July 10, 2019 by Maureen Waruinge
Kanye West is the third highest earning celebrity on earth.
In a rare interview, the 42-year old talked with Forbes about his design process, what the future holds for the Yeezy brand, and more—in a way only he can.
Below is some of the takeaways from the interview:
He tells the magazine that he sees his diagnosis of bipolar disorder not as a hindrance but as a "superpower" that unlocks his imagination.
He disclosed
"Crazy is a word that's not gonna be used loosely in the future. Understand that this is actually a condition that people can end up in, be born into, driven into & go in & out. & there's a lot of people that have been called that 'C' word that have ended up on this cover."
Will Kenya West outsell Micheal Jordan?
While the Jordan line does approximately $3 billion in annual sales; West's upstart is expected to top $1.5 billion in 2019 and growing. West still owns 100% of Yeezy, a holding that made him a centimillionaire much earlier in life than other competitors—including Michael Jordan
Kanye thinks Yeezys are the "Lamborghini of shoes" and Adidas is trying to keep them limited. In the interview he said
"There's a little bit of Lamborghini in everything I do. Yeezy is the Lamborghini of shoes."
Kanye West makes more off royalties than Michael Jordan does.
The Addidas Yeezy line is one of the most popular sneaker lines.
According to Forbes, the Air Jordan line does roughly $3 billion in annual sales. Adidas Yeezy is projected to top $1.5 billion in 2019. One thing that Ye already has MJ beat in is royalties. West reportedly makes 15-percent royalties on wholesale in comparison to Jordan's estimaed 5-percent royalties on wholesale Air Jordan sales. The 42-year old also still owns 100-percent of the Yeezy brand—something that has helped him become a centimillionaire faster than some of his footwear counterparts like Jordan.
He owns 100 percent of Yeezy and it's going to make him a billionaire. He said
"I am a product guy at my core. To make products that make people feel an immense amount of joy and solve issues and problems in their life, that's the problem-solving that I love to do."
Also read more here
Posted in Fashion, Featured on Homepage Slider, Gossip, Latest, LifestyleTagged Forbes, Kanye west, Yeezy
Kim Kardashian expecting fourth child as their surrogate goes into labour
Posted on May 10, 2019 May 10, 2019 by Peninah Njoki
Kim Kardashian and Kanye West's surrogate is in labor.
The power couple are currently at the hospital awaiting the baby boy according to her sister Kourtney.
Her sister Kourtney Kardashian broke the news during an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on Thursday.
Kim Kardashian, 38 was also set to appear on the show, however Kourtney revealed the reason for her absence – much to the shock of both the audience and their mother Kris Jenner, who was left bewildered.
It remains unclear if the 41-year-old rapper and 38-year-old reality star will be in the delivery room though Kim was during the birth of daughter Chicago.
Kenyan celebrity mothers can take a few lessons from Meghan Markle
Kim was spotted out on Thursday while grabbing a milkshake in Los Angeles, however it is unclear if she knew at that point if the labour process had began.
Kim may not have been present but her three kids daughter North, five, son Saint, three, and daughter Chicago, 15 months made a surprise appearance with three more of their cousins.
Back in January, Kim confirmed that they were expecting their fourth child during an appearance on Watch What Happens Live.
Though she also confessed to spilling the beans when she had too much to drink at their star-studded Christmas Eve party.
She told Andy Cohen: 'I got drunk at our Christmas Eve party and told some people. I can't remember who I told because I never get drunk.'
It was reported in January the couple's second surrogate is an African-American married college graduate in her Twenties who has been married for five years
Posted in LatestTagged classic 105, Kanye west, Kim Kardashian, Surrogacy
These celebrities are battling with bipolar disorder
Posted on December 24, 2018 December 27, 2018 by Peninah Njoki
Bipolar is a mental illness, a condition that affects a person's thinking, feeling or mood. It also affects someone's ability to relate to others.
Among the top most mental conditions include
Bipolar Disorder – Bipolar disorder causes dramatic highs and lows in a person's mood, energy and ability to think clearly.
ADHD – Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a developmental disorder where there are significant problems with attention, hyperactivity or acting impulsively.
Schizophrenia – Schizophrenia causes people to lose touch with reality, often in the form of hallucinations, delusions and extremely disordered thinking and behavior.
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder – PTSD is the result of traumatic events, such as military combat, assault, an accident or a natural disaster.
From buying their wives Lamborghini's on anniversaries to flying private jets, here are the flashiest pastors in town
Borderline Personality Disorder – Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is characterized by severe, unstable mood swings, impulsivity and instability, poor self-image and stormy relationships.
Depression – Depression is more than just feeling sad or going through a rough patch; it's a serious mental health condition that requires understanding and treatment.
Schizoaffective Disorder – Schizoaffective disorder is characterized primarily by symptoms of schizophrenia, such as hallucinations or delusions, and symptoms of a mood disorder, such as depressive or manic episodes.
Early Psychosis and Psychosis – Psychosis is characterized as disruptions to a person's thoughts and perceptions that make it difficult for them to recognize what is real and what isn't.
Dissociative Disorders – Dissociative disorders are spectrum of disorders that affect a person's memory and self-perception.
Below are some of the good, the bad and the ugly of social media on bipolar victims.
Good for kids struggling to socialize
While there's nothing better than a genuine face-to-face relationship, there are some adolescents who are so shy that anxieties will flare up, so social media actually helps facilitate connection to other people, says Dr. Joel Young, founder and medical director of the Rochester Center for Behavioral Medicine.
Hyper-focused interests
Social media can also be beneficial for those children who have obsessive symptoms that are common in bipolar disorder and Asperger's syndrome.
Young observes that
"Unlike the natural world, where lecturing without discrimination on one subject is a recipe for social isolation, that kind of thing is what makes the Internet tick,"
Such a platform offers children and teens the opportunity to network, learn about the world, learn about people's experiences, and access endless information.
It's an invaluable tool when used, say, to learn a new language from another child at the other side of the world.
Children with mental health illness, they are generally more vulnerable than the average child, and by being exposed to an Internet world of others, it widens the opportunity to be attacked and exploited.
Online bullying can be a prolific problem many parents and educators see and find challenging to deal with.
Self-esteem and social development
The negative impact social media can have on teens is seen in a profound way on self-esteem. It is all too easy for faceless individuals from anywhere in the world to cruelly criticize others, widening the potential for damaging emotional behavior.
For children with the co-illness of ADHD and bipolar disorder, the over-stimulating medium of social media itself can have negative effects due to its overwhelming nature.
"Kids with ADHD can find it hard to focus, even in normal circumstances," explains Young. "When you have too much stimuli, it's highly problematic."
Lack of self-control
For kids with bipolar or ADHD, they lack the built-in capability of self-control. So, having such a world of "instant gratification" available, can be too appealing and obsessions can easily set in.
These kids can also be prone to technology addictions and it's not uncommon for teens to stay up all night glued to their screens.
Ooh my ovaries: Photos of Nick Mutuma's daughter that will melt your heart
It affects people of all classes and among celebrities who suffer from bipolar include Maria Carey, Kanye West.
Speaking to People Magazine, Maria said she was diagnosed with Biopolar2 disorder in 2001 and only came to terms with it recently.
She is now going to therapy regularly and taking medication.
"Until recently I lived in denial and isolation and in constant fear someone would expose me," she says of keeping the diagnosis private. "It was too heavy a burden to carry and I simply couldn't do that anymore. I sought and received treatment, I put positive people around me and I got back to doing what I love — writing songs and making music."
'She's only 15 but tempts me so much by sending me her nudes, I am tempted to give in and smash her' Cries city man
After much speculation about his mental health, Kanye West has set the record straight in his latest album 'Ye' which was launched recently.
"I hate being Bi-Polar it's awesome,"That's why I f**k with Ye / That's my third person / That's my bipolar s**t, ni**a what / That's my superpower / Ni**a ain't no disability / I'm a superhero, I'm a superhero."
Jean -Claude known to many as Van Damme for his tough guy act on movies, is also among the many celebrities battling bi-polar.
The man whose career has spanned over two decades began to crush and burn in the 90's. This was due to excessive partying, a string of failed marriages and a cocaine addiction formed after the 1995 bomb Sudden Death.
'I always thought men with a big manhood can never go broke, But I am so broke despite my heavy load' Cries a member of team mafisi
Van Damme admitted to doing about 10 grams a day at his worst. He checked himself into a clinic in 1996 for substance addiction treatment, although prematurely exited seven days later, and relapsed only a few years later.
Things improved in 1998 when he was diagnosed with rapid cycling bipolar disorder. Rapid cycling bipolar is where mood swings between high and low are much more frequent.
He was prescribed sodium valproate, a mood stabilizing drug that is also used to treat epilepsy, and by his account responded very well
According to Justin Bennett while getting his life back in line Van Dammwe also reunited with a previous wife, Gladys Portugues, and has remained happily married since.
Van Damme still struggles, but he's open about those struggles and seems less and less to be fighting the world.
Posted in Featured on Homepage Slider, Health, International, Latest, Lifestyle, Local, TrendingTagged #Bipolar, classic 105, Kanye west, Maria Carey, Van Damme
Kim Kardashian reveals Chicago West's middle name on Instagram
Posted on July 3, 2018 by vanessa njenga
While Kim opted not to give her other two children North, 5, and Saint, 2, middle names, she seems to have changed her mind for her newest addition Chicago – who was born via surrogate in January this year.
Taking to social media, the reality television star shared a sweet selfie with the five-month-old and revealed her middle name was 'Noel' – the same as hers.
'Chi Noel,' captioned Kim, punctuating the names with love heart emojis.
And it appears as though the newborn has a special place in Kim's heart, giving her the same middle name as her own, according to Mail Online.
My children don't even know I am famous says Kim Kardashian
Noel was also considered as Chi was due around Christmas Day, perfectly complimented the Holiday theme of North and Saint and it had fitted into Kim's previous confession that she wanted a one syllable name.
The Carters: Jay Z and Blue Ivy enjoy holiday with Beyonce as she shows off curves in summer dress
Posted in Featured on Homepage Slider, Gossip, International, Latest, Lifestyle, TrendingTagged classic 105, Kanye west, Kim Kardashian West
Pomp and fun as Kanye West celebrates birthday as he turned 41
Posted on June 9, 2018 June 9, 2018 by Peninah Njoki
Life begins at 40 ,this was evident as US rapper Kanye west celebrated his 41st birthday with family and friends in a night full of fun and laughter.
His wife Kim Kardashian could not let the day go unnoticed as she took to her social media platform to wish her hubby a happy birthday with the caption with a picture of the hip-hop star seated on a private jet, their four-month-old baby daughter Chicago on his lap, she wrote:
'Happy Birthday babe!!!!! It's been a wild year but we're here & life is good!'
Kanye West with his family
The mother-of-three said she was 'proud' of her hard-working husband.
'So proud of you dropping back to back albums & fulfilling your dreams. You inspire me to make the impossible always become a reality. Love you.'
The accompanying picture showed Kanye with the infant nestled between his legs, checking his cell phone.
How TV presenter Sheila Mwanyigha celebrated her birthday
According to Daily Mail the image appeared to have been taken at the same time as a shot she shared back in April, captioned Party Of Five. That image also included Kim and the pair's older children, North and Saint.
Kim wasn't the only member of her family to celebrate Kanye on Friday, with her mom Kris Jenner sharing a touching message.
'Happy birthday to my son Kanye!!' 'Thank you for being a constant inspiration, for being the most wonderful father, friend, husband and son. I am so blessed to have you in my life. #HappyBirthdayKanye #proudmama#love.'she wrote to her son-in-law, who lost his own mother Donda 11 years ago.
And Kim's little sister Kendall Jenner joined in, sharing a picture of Kanye with the caption 'Happy birthday big bro.'
Kim previously revealed she is planning 'an intimate little dinner' for Kanye's birthday.
Grandparents heartbreaking stories on being blocked from seeing their grandchildren
Rapper Kanye West as he blows candles during his birthday as he turned 41 party
The Keeping Up With The Kardashians star decided to keep things low-key and throw him a small meal with their close friends and family at their house in Los Angeles.
Speaking to E! News, the 37-year-old beauty said: 'I'm planning a dinner for him at our house. Just an intimate little dinner with friends.'
Media Personality Julie Gichuru celebrates first born son as he turns 18
And the Bound 2 hitmaker certainly deserves to be waited on hand and foot on his special day as he's been busy working in the studio over the past few months on his recently-released seven-track album Ye – for which the couple hosted an album listening party on Thursday night.
Kim also left him to clear up the mess after their daughter North's unicorn-themed birthday party at the weekend and wanted him to be there when she opened her gifts.She explained: 'He's at home babysitting. He was going to come, and he wanted to come, but I'm staying a few extra days in New York. And so I said, "You know our daughter had her birthday party last night. She needs to wake up and open her presents, so you're going to have to take that shift." So he did that!'
Kim's low-key approach to Kanye's birthday will no doubt come as a surprise to fans as she stocked a plane with Japanese snacks and magazines for his 40th birthday last year and made him guess where they were going.
Taking to her Twitter account earlier this year, the reality star uploaded a photograph of Kanye beaming at the camera with his stash of Japanese candy sat in front of him.
She accompanied it with the caption: 'Throwback to that time I surprised Kanye with a trip to Japan for his birthday! He had to guess where we were going based on the snacks and magazines I had the plane stocked with! He was happy! (sic
Read more on https://classic105.com/latest/
Posted in Featured on Homepage Slider, International, Latest, Lifestyle, Local, TrendingTagged Daily Mail, Donda, Kanye west, Keeping Up With The Kardashians, Kendall Jenner, Kim Kardashian, kris jenner
Should wives be blamed when their husbands are on a downward spiral like Kanye West?
Posted on May 2, 2018 May 2, 2018 by Maureen Waruinge
Are the actions of a grown man the responsibility of his wife? Let's talk about that.
For a while now, we have been treated to all manner of antics by Kanye West, and literally everyone is saying he is on a downward path, and that his wife should stop him.
Social media users are blaming Kim Kardashian, saying she should take away his phone, or better yet stop him from appearing and speaking in public.
Rapper Snoop Dogg has even said that the type of woman a man marries is important. He is comparing Beyonce's situation to Kim Kardashians, adding that Beyonce has kept her man in check while Kim has failed to do so. Do you agree?
Here are some comments from social media users, and keep up with the Kardashians.
Kenyatta Jones…Snoops point. I believe he was saying that you can see the change in the men by the women who they are with. Beyonce has made a positive impact in Jay's life and it shows and Kim has not made a positive impact in Kanyes life at all. As long as he has been with her he never looks or seems happy, and his behavior is erratic. I don't see any positive change or influence she has bought to his life……even with the kids. Of course you can't blame her for his behavior but he does seem worse off with her than he was when he wasn't with her. Essence you got this point all wrong!
Kimberly Hardison… Oh please…..she is his FREAKIN WIFE!!!!! No way in HELLLLLL I'm gonna watch my man driving off a cliff and not try to stop him. It's called a damn INTERVENTION!!! That chick is self absorbed and so is he…Essence ….. STOP IT. This is straight FOOLISHNESS
Fiona Mcdonald-Brown …They are to hold each other accountable, so it is her job to hold him accountable for his actions and stupid things that comes out of his mouth. If she can't help him then no one can!
Peta Jones …she's a narcissist and so is he and they just feed each other's over inflated egos. Since he married her he's been on a downward spiral…I guess it can just be a coincidence
Bernice Child… Damn right!! Besides, Kim can't even be responsible for herself so why would anyone expect her to be responsible/accountable for his out of control arse
Sabrina Brady.. No but the power his wife's influence has a lot to do with it. They are both self-absorbed people. She only notices when someone else speaks on it and it her husband!
Meme Lane ..Who's to say that she didn't try to help him? She has 3 damn babies to take care of. Kanye has to want it for himself. Sometimes all that you can do is pray without ceasing and let God handle the rest.
Jacqueline Whyte.. This man is crazy, and Kim is going through hell trying to hide it! She knows if she announced it publicly people will devour her, so she's just standing back. I really feel sorry for her!
Latisha Manuel Howell …She doesn't have to be his parent, just his Peace
She seems like the annoying clingy type, so I can imagine he doesn't have any peace
Posted in LatestTagged Beyonce, Jay Z, Kanye west, Kim Kardashian
Jay Z Reveals His Mother Gloria Carter Is A Lesbian In Lyrics On New Album
Posted on July 1, 2017 by Tracy Mutinda
Jay Z revealed his mother is a lesbian on his new album 4:44.
The superstar made the revelation about Gloria Carter in the lyrics to the soulful track Smile.
'Mama had four kids but she's a lesbian / Had to pretend so long, that she's a thespian,' raps Jay Z, who has spoken of how his father's absence contributed to his troubled youth in public housing in Brooklyn.
'Don't matter to me if it's a him or her / I just want to see you smile through all the hate,' he raps.
In doing so, the husband of Beyonce confirms for the first time hushed rumors about his mother's sexuality. He also explains how she turned to substances to cope with the stigma.
Smile opens with a snippet from Stevie Wonder and closes with a poem by Gloria herself, who recites: 'The world is changing and they say it's time to be free / But you live with the fear of just being me.'
Jay Z, like many rappers of his generation, employed homophobic slurs in his early music but was also one of the first prominent voices in hip hop to speak out in favour of gay rights.
Jay Z elsewhere throws veiled barbs at other rappers, including onetime protege Kanye West, who last year ranted against Jay Z and in support of then President-elect Donald Trump before entering a hospital.
The rapper has especially harsh words for the estate of pop icon Prince, a longtime rebel in the music industry, who had signed a deal with Tidal shortly before his death.
He denounces the 'greedy bastards' who have commercialized Prince with moves such as bringing his catalogue onto leading streaming service Spotify.
Posted in Featured on Homepage Slider, Gossip, International, Latest, LifestyleTagged Gloria Carter, Jay Z, Jay Z News, Kanye west
Kim Kardashian's Son Saint West Turns ONE, Reality Star Shares a Warm Photo Cuddling The Toddler
Posted on December 6, 2016 by Cynthia Misiki
Saint West turned one-year-old on Monday. And the Kardashian/Jenner family was quick to take to social media to wish the little boy a happy first birthday.
Kim Kardashian's best friend Jonathan Cheban started the celebration in a post on her website kimkardashianwest.com with a gushing note to the only son of Kim and Kanye West.
'I can't believe today is Saint's first birthday! One thing people may not know about me is that I'm obsessed with babies, LOL,' he wrote. 'In honor of his birthday, I convinced Kim to let me share some never-before-seen pics! Happy birthday, Saint!'
One of the two new images is of Saint grabbing the face of the Keeping Up With The Kardashians star as she tries to kiss him.
Family members chimed in as well. Khloe, 32, wrote on her site khloewithak.com: 'I can't believe how quickly time flies!
'Watching my little Saint grow this past year has been amazing. He's seriously such an angel and could not be more adorable. What a light he's been for our family!'
And Kendall, 21, wrote on her site kendallj.com: 'Saint, I can't believe it's been a year since you came into our lives! You're the sweetest addition to the fam. Even though you're still so young, you already have the most happy and amazing personality. I love you!'
Kourtney, 37, chimed in with a sweet message, posting on Instagram: 'I can't believe this was one year ago today. Happy birthday my little Sainty.'
Momager Kris Jenner, 61, also shared her note on Instagram: 'Happy birthday to our sweet angel, Saint!'
She included the hashtags family and love.
Momager Kris Jenner, 61, also shared her note on Instagram: 'Happy birthday to our sweet angel, Saint!' She included the hashtags family and love.
TMZ reported on Saturday Kanye was not taking the correct amount of his medicine for a longstanding psychological condition.
Though it was reported there were problems between Kim and Kanye and she wanted a 'break,' E! News contradicted that report on Sunday and claimed Kim still loves him and has no plans to leave him.
Kim has not been on social media or made a public appearance in two months.
Posted in LatestTagged Kanye west, Kim Kardashian, KOURTNEY KARDASHIAN, kris jenner, Saint West
Kim Kardashian Throws Little Celebration To Mark Husband Kanye West's Homecoming And Their Son's First Birthday
Posted on December 3, 2016 December 2, 2016 by Cynthia Misiki
It's been a traumatic couple of weeks for her family.
And so Kim Kardashian decided to skip her usual extravagant celebrations in favour of a 'low key' party this week to mark both her husband Kanye West's return from hospital and their son Saint's first birthday.
Kanye was discharged from hospital on Wednesday, after suffering a reported 'nervous breakdown' over a week ago, while little Saint will turn one on December
Kim, 36, was keen to celebrate with her nearest and dearest according to insiders, and managed to throw together a 'little celebration' at her house in Los Angeles on Wednesday.
A source has told Us Weekly: '[Kim held] a little celebration with a little cake but it was very low-key.'
Kim – who also has three-year-old daughter North with her partner – invited her family to the party, with her sisters Khloe, Kourtney and Kylie all uploading a snapchat of dozens of star shaped metallic balloons filling the room.
Although it was supposedly a small get together, the Kardashian/Jenner family are 'just happy' the 'Famous' rapper is home safe and the brood can slowly start to get their life 'back to normal'.
The source explained: 'Everyone is just happy he's back home and things can go back to normal.'
Meanwhile it has been claimed Kim is struggling to handle everything that has befallen the family in recent weeks.
Despite Kanye finally being discharged from hospital after his breakdown last week, his wife is still having difficulty coping.
'Kim is really stressed out,' an insider told People magazine on Thursday. 'Everyone is trying to pitch in and help her out to relieve some of that and everything she's going through.'
Just last month, Kim personally went through an ordeal of her own when she was robbed at gunpoint while staying at a luxury apartment in Paris.
Undoubtedly, the incident did no favours for Kanye's mental well-being – he left in the middle of his concert when he heard the news – and now his breakdown appears to be having further affect on his wife.
Posted in LatestTagged Kanye west, Kim Kardashian, North West, Saint West
Kim Kardashian And Kanye FIRE Longtime Bodyguard Pascal Duvier a Month After The Paris Gunpoint Attack
Posted on November 5, 2016 by Cynthia Misiki
Kim Kardashian and Kanye West have reportedly made the decision to part ways with their longtime bodyguard Pascal Duvier.
Entertainment Tonight spoke with two sources who each claim that the Kardashian-West family made the 'tough decision' to let Pascal go, four years after he first started working with Kanye.
News of Pascal's firing comes exactly one month after Kim was robbed at gunpoint inside her Paris apartment by a group of men who made off with $11million worth of jewels.
Pascal was out at a Paris nightclub providing protection for Kim's siblings Kourtney and Kendall at the time of the robbery, leaving Kim alone in her bedroom with no bodyguard when the men broke in.
Kim has largely avoided going out in public since the attack, and TMZ reports that for an intimate family dinner to celebrate sister Kendall's birthday on Wednesday she brought along three off-duty cops.
Those $100-an-hour cops came in addition to the personal bodyguards of each sister, meaning that security almost outnumbered the 20 guests.
Kim also did not wear any jewelry for her night out.
In the aftermath of the robbery, both Kim and Kanye seemed to show their support for Pascal, who stayed on as their bodyguard and was seen protecting the couple in New York City immediately after the robbery.
A shift began to occur in recent weeks though according to some close to the family, with Kanye becoming increasingly concerned about the safety of his wife Kim and their two children, North and Saint.
A source told Entertainment Tonight a few weeks back: 'Kim and Kanye are reassessing their security detail now. Kanye is freaking out – this really threw him for a loop.
'There will be a lot of things that change now in terms of security, especially with the children.'
And it was not just Pascal whose employment was terminated by the Kardashian-West family either according to another source.
'Pascal, along with a couple other security members of their team, were recently let go by Kim and Kanye,' said the individual.
'It's a pretty tough situation overall and they love Pascal, but they couldn't take any more chances.'
Kim had spent the days before the attack praising Pascal on social media, writing on Twitter just five days before the robbery: 'My security @PascalDuvier is a G!'
That tweet came just after Pascal slammed celebrity prankster Vitalii Sediuk to the ground when he came up behind Kim and tried to grab her while she was entering a Paris Fashion Week event.
Then, just one day before the multi-million dollar jewel heist, Kim posted a paprazzi photo of herself entering the Balenciaga fashion show in Paris with Pascal right behind her, joking that 'this guy is always in my shot.'
Pascal and his boss seem to have shared a love for social media too, with the bodyguard frequently posting photos and tweets.
He also posted the day before the robbery, writing on Twitter: 'You don't become a bodyguard overnight. It's a job with dedication, responsibility, and passion.'
Posted in Featured on Homepage Slider, International, Latest, Lifestyle, TrendingTagged Kanye west, Kim Kardashian, North West, Paul Duvier, Saint West
Happy Birthday Kanye West, Rapper Turns 38
Posted on June 8, 2015 by Michelle Wangari
Kanye West is turning 38 today 8th June. The rapper who is currently expecting his second born with wifey Kim Kardashian has quite a lot of achievements to write home about this year.
He was the cover of time magazine most influential people. He also received an honorary doctorate from the School of Art Institute Chicago for his influence in pop culture, fashion and music. That and news that he is going to be a daddy can't be surely a bad 2015 for Kanye, he may even afford a smile.
Let's just say we cannot wait for the release of his new album 'SWISH' that he is currently working on after making the announcement in May.
Posted in Latest, Lifestyle, TrendingTagged Caityln Jenner, Kanye west, Kim Kardashian
Kim K Releases Wedding Photos To Mark Anniversary
Posted on May 24, 2015 by Lourraine Chituyi
In preparation to celebrate her one year anniversary of her unforgettable wedding to Kanye West, Kim Kardashian is sharing new photos from her epic wedding weekend in Paris in 2014.
-Hollywoodlife
Posted in Featured on Homepage Slider, Lifestyle, RelationshipsTagged Anniversary, Kanye west, Kim Kardashian, wedding
Kanye West receives honorary doctorate
Posted on May 12, 2015 May 12, 2015 by Michelle Wangari
Kanye West might be a college dropout, but now he has an advanced degree. The rapper received an honorary doctorate from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) Monday for his "transformative, genre-defying work." In his acceptance speech, he described what the honor means to him.
"This honor is gonna make your lives easier," he said. "Two reasons: You don't have to defend me as much and I'm going to make all of our lives easier. And it's these Floyd Mayweather belts that are needed to prove what I've been saying my entire life. Whether it's the cosign of Paul McCartney grabbing me and saying, 'It's okay he doesn't bite white people.' Or The New York Times cover. Or the Time 'Most Influential' cover. And now, a doctorate at the Art Institute of Chicago."
"When I was giving a lecture at Oxford," he continued, "I brought up this school because when I went on that mission to create in other spaces — apparel, film, performance — it would have been easier if I could have said I had a degree at the Art Institute of Chicago."
Lisa Wainwright, dean of faculty and vice president of academic administration at SAIC, told the Los Angeles Times that it had decided to give West the honorary degree after he publicly mentioned the school.
"I read it and thought, 'Wow, this is a fantastic moment.' Here is this major figure in the cultural landscape promoting art school, this guy from Chicago saying art school is cool. So we thought, 'This man deserves an honorary doctorate from us!' He should have gone here."
Kim Kardashian, who is currently in Brazil on business, commemorated her husband's milestone with an Instagram post.
West attended Chicago's American Academy of Art for one semester on a partial scholarship before transferring to Chicago State University, where his mother, Donda West, was head of the English Department, according to Rolling Stone. After one semester there, he dropped out to pursue his music career. And the rest is history.
-http://www.huffingtonpost.com/
Posted in Featured on Homepage Slider, International, Latest, LifestyleTagged Doctorate, Honour, Kanye west, Kim Kardashian, music
Kanye West : Marriage , games and cheating
Posted on April 22, 2015 by Lourraine Chituyi
If you are Kanye West, you will always be surrounded by women and that will be temptation enough for one to cheat, those are sentiments shared by Kanye's step mum and sister.
Apparently he used the children's game Connect 4 to judge someone's intelligence.
Aliya Jones, who's mother Brenda Bentley was engaged to Kanye father Ray, told Heat magazine that when you are Kanye West "there's going to be some temptation to stray".
His step-sis isn't gloating though as she continued with compassion: "I pray for them both – it's going to be a lot of work and it's never going to end. The temptation is always going to be there, as long as he is Kanye West."
Brenda, who has been close to Kanye since he was just nine, went on to say that it's not just Kim's incredible booty that keeps him interested – he also likes the fact she's not an "airhead" *
And how does he know she's not? "He has Connect 4 backstage and if a woman could play Connect 4 with him, and give him a run for his money, he'd be interested.
"So you have to have a brain to be with him , he wouldn't tolerate anything less."
Posted in International, Lifestyle, RelationshipsTagged connect 4, Games, Kanye west, Kim Kardashian, marriage
Kanye West's fan replaces every mention of God in 'Book of Yeezus' Bible
Posted on April 7, 2015 by Michelle Wangari
He may be known for his admittedly massive ego, but surely even Kanye West would not have seen himself replacing God in the Bible.
The holy book's Genesis has been reworked for a "modern day Bible" dubbed The Book of Yeezus and believe it or not, every mention of God has been changed to the rapper's name.
"In a sense, Kanye's awesome and orchestrated spectacle is truly a religious experience," a description of the book reads. "For this generation, Generation Y, Kanye West is not only its greatest spectacle but in some senses, a spiritual figure.
"In a foreword, we explore our consumerist, quick-fix and information culture and celebrate Kanye and the outsized significance he plays in our lives." Kanye is yet to comment on his newfound Godlike status but has compared himself to the Supreme Being before.
"God chose me, He made a path for me. I am God's vessel," he said back in 2009. "But my greatest pain in life is that I will never be able to see myself perform live."
http://www.independent.co.uk
Posted in International, Latest, LifestyleTagged Bible, Kanye west, yeezus
Kanye West maybe the next 'Joel Osteen'
Posted on March 24, 2015 March 24, 2015 by Michelle Wangari
Kanye West is reportedly completing an online theology and religion course in his journey towards joining the clergy.
The source speaking to the Daily Star Sunday newspaper is quoted saying, "in the past year or two Kanye has become something of a born-again Christian. He used to go to church all the time as a kid but he lapsed badly as he got older."
"Now he's a father he's become more spiritual and a better person. He is even smiling a lot and thinks becoming a reverend will bring him closer to God."
This revelation is not something surprising from Kanye whose yet to be released 7th album is titled 'So Help Me God'.
Posted in International, Latest, Lifestyle, TrendingTagged album, Kanye west, music, So Help Me God, songs, Studio
Kanye West says how lucky he is as he tweets photos of his naked wife
Posted on March 17, 2015 March 17, 2015 by Lourraine Chituyi
Kanye west posted a series of tweets showing various screen shots of his naked wife Kim from the tenth and latest series of her reality TV show Keeping Up With The Kardashians.
He continued to tweet saying how lucky he was and congratulated his wife on her 30 million twitter followers and on the premiere of KUWTK show on Sunday night.
Image courtesy of Metro
Posted in Featured on Homepage Slider, International, LifestyleTagged Kanye west, Kim Kardashian, Nude, photos
Kim Kardashian goes blonde at Paris Fashion Week
Posted on March 6, 2015 March 6, 2015 by AFP
Kim Kardashian flashed a new, platinum blonde hair-do at the Paris Fashion Week on Thursday as she watched the shows with rapper hubby Kanye West.
The attention-grabbing make-over by the normally brunette American reality TV star overshadowed the 2015 autumn collections unveiled by fashion houses Balmain and Lanvin, with photographers pushing to get snaps of the dyed diva.
Kardashian and West, both wearing all-black outfits, were joined by Kardashian's mother Kris Jenner at the Balmain show.
The transformation into a blonde electrified celebrity-watchers on Twitter, where some fans gushed over how stunning she looked, others suggested she looked better before — and detractors snarked that she and American actor Jared Leto, who also turned up to the Balmain event with new platinum locks, were exchanging beauty tips.
Regardless, news of Kardashian as a bleached beauty easily became the most talked-about fashion statement at the Paris shows. Which is no mean feat at an event where the designers often try to outdo each other to get a slice of the limelight.
Rick Owens, an American stylist who created the biggest buzz at the last Paris fashion week in January by sending male models down the catwalk with their penises hanging out, trod more quietly on Thursday by presenting a relatively mild women's ready-to-wear collection.
Amid the ankle-length, structured outfits coloured in brown and black, the most remarkable feature was sprayed-on gold masks worn by some of the models.
Owens told Women's Wear Daily, a website reference for the fashion world, that the Big Thing in the show was using sequins for the first time.
"Especially after the men's show, it was nice to do something sentimental and a bit naive," he said.
– 'Winter is coming' –
For theatrical flourish, fashionistas had to go to the spectacle put on by Indian designer Manish Arora. Flashy red and fuchsia get-ups that looked to be fantasy battledress dreamed up by manga artists lit up the catwalk.
Arora emphasised that the collection was a Bollywood take inspired by the hit US TV series "Game of Thrones" by having that fantasy world's "Winter is Coming" motto sewn into some pieces and its theme music remixed as part of the soundtrack.
At Carven, those in the know were keen to see what direction new designers Adrien Caillaudaud and Alexis Martial, both aged 30, would take. The answer was: pants.
It was the first time the house has introduced pants into the collection, though the novel duo were careful to keep the A-line skirts and miniskirts that has made the brand a signature style for Parisian women.
The idea for Carven's "new woman" was taken from the energy of Paris in the late 1960s, the designers said.
"We wanted to imagine what foreigners might feel about the Parisian woman: her elegance, an urban attitude, a sort of carefree approach," said Caillaudaud.
Photo Credits : AFP
Posted in Fashion, Featured on Homepage Slider, LifestyleTagged Blonde, Kanye west, Kim Kardashian, Paris fashion week
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Q: Check if a local lateinit variable is initialized Member lateinit variables initialization can be checked with:
class MyClass {
    lateinit var foo: Any
    ...
    fun doSomething() {
        if (::foo.isInitialized) {
           // Use foo
        }
    }
}

However this syntax doesn't work for local lateinit variables. Lint reports the error: "References to variables aren't supported yet". There should logically be a way to do that since lateinit variables are null internally when uninitialized.
Is there a way to check if local variables are initialized?

A: The code you show in your question is actually fine in Kotlin 1.2 and beyond, since foo is an instance variable, not a local variable.
The error message you report and mentioned in Alexey's comment (Unsupported [References to variables aren't supported yet]) can be triggered by a true local variable, for example in the doSomethingElse method below.
class MyClass {
    lateinit var foo: Any

    fun doSomething() {
        if (::foo.isInitialized) {  // this is fine to use in Kotlin 1.2+
           // Use foo
        }
    }
    fun doSomethingElse() {
        lateinit var bar: Any

        if (::bar.isInitialized) {  // this is currently unsupported (see link in Alexey's comment.
            // Use bar
        }

    }

}

So it seems like this is currently unsupported.  The only place that comes to mind where a lateinit local would be used would be if the local is variable captured in a lambda?


The decision by Dublin Corporation to act as co-promoter of U2' s gig in Phoenix Park this summer was certainly a welcome one.
But today's news that any other concerts to be staged in the famous park must go through the long-winded planning process is most unfair. While U2 are great ambassadors for thecountry it is outrageous that there can be one law for them and one for everybody else.
Local promoter Denis Desmond had hoped to stage a similar event with British supergroup Oasis next year, also with the help of the corporation.
But he was told yesterday in no uncertain terms that he would have to go through the usual lengthy channels to try to stage it.
He was also told the U2 concert this August was a "special event".
A level playing pitch must be established before all prospective rock and roll events heresuffer because of the blatant discrimination displayed by this controversial ruling.
Football matches, race meetings and other large sporting events need not apply for planning permission.
But rock and pop events are being targeted by faceless bureaucrats who want to act as some sort of moral guardians for the young.
Just ask the long- suffering residents near many of our top sporting grounds how many football fans misbehave.
It soon becomes clear that a small minority of pop fans are not the only ones who sometimescause trouble at large gatherings.