Yes, it's that time again. We're just about to have the Fall show so its time to start planning for the Spring 2012 show. Once again Kimberly and I will be Co-Chairs of the Conference and we'd like to invite you to submit abstracts for the Spring 2012 SQL Connections conference, to be held in Las Vegas, March 26th – 29th, 2012. Pre-cons will be March 25th, post-cons on March 30th.
The conference will focus heavily on SQL Server 2012. Abstracts are still welcome on best practices for SQL Server 2005 – 2008 R2 and how to upgrade and migrate applications from SQL Server 200x to SQL Server 2008/2008R2. However, we will consider all topics – from design to performance to troubleshooting to architectures to programming. You should aim for the intermediate to advanced audience for any SQL Server 2005-2008 R2 materials and for SQL Server 2012 we'll consider any level – especially depending on the newness of the release.
100 – Beginner (e.g. what does 'corruption' mean?
The tool will be open from now until to November 1st, after which we won't accept any abstracts – no exceptions. If you have used this site before and have forgotten your password, you can have your password emailed to you. It's better to do this then to create a new account.
Please keep the abstracts under 200 words each and in one paragraph. Please do not use bulleted items or line breaks, and please use a spell-checker. If you have an issue with the site, please follow up with an email to paul@sqlskills.com.
Please create a new speaker record (if you haven't submitted before) and submit at least 3 abstracts; however, it will help your chances of being selected if you submit 5 or 6 abstracts. Please do not submit abstracts for sessions that you have previously presented at the Spring 2011 show. We must accept a minimum of three of your abstracts for you to be considered as one of the speakers – there are 7 open speaker slots, not including Kimberly and myself.


Proposed health reforms are moving South Africa toward universal health coverage, but these plans are largely steered toward clinical services. Still, the Public Health Medicine (PHM) specialty remains popular among South African physicians, who tend to pursue the 4-year training out of a commitment to population health and a determination to mend a struggling system, found research into specialists' motivations.
Physicians who worked in poorly resourced settings gravitate to PHM out of a determination to improve, rather than exit, a struggling health system—all the more reason to refine this largely invisible role as the South African health system shifts, the study found.


AnshuBlog: The Stack Fallacy : How do I find a co-Founder?
How do I find a co-Founder?
Unless you have been organically working with and talking to potential cofounders who want to work with you because you like each other etc, the main reason someone will work with you is because of shared interests.
Problem statement: e.g, you think the cab market is broken. You think mobile apps can help solve this. You will now attract people who like the space and have some ideas - you will have something to talk about. You get to know each other by solving the problem together.
Target Market: You think Obamacare is going to change healthcare. Now you have something to filter each other by. Ideas will come up.
Technical Architecture: You believe that Hadoop is just plain dumb for real time analytics and the right way to do big data analytics is by using X. Now you can sit down and discuss Hadoop and X. You can then find some problems to solve with X.
In short, act like a sole founder that has a mission - solving a problem, attacking a market, disrupting a company, leveraging a new technology - and you will find like minded cofounders, investors and others who are ready to sign up for the cause.
Before your startup is a company, its a cause. Identify the cause. Build a movement.
Hi, I like your insightful posts.
Ref: How do I find a co-founder ?
1) I have identified a cause but afraid to talk about it because of fear of somebody stealing my idea. But on other had finding a co-founder is also crucial. Have you yourself faced this in your mind at some time. If yes then how did you approach it ?
2) Just b'se there's a need does not mean there's a market. The cause I have found is based on a need. That means it calls for measured risk. If you have any experience like this please share the approach ?
That makes a lot of sense. but why find a co-founder at all. I'm just hiring part-time contractors until I can get enough done to start making revenue. Co-founders are only important if you want to get into an incubator.


text:
Q: C# GetFiles from local variable I am trying to get a path from SQL, create a variable to store the path, and then use GetFiles to get all of the files in that directory.
I have verified that the path exists and, when I write the result, it shows up correctly.  However, I am getting an unknown exception every time it tries to access the directory.  Hopefully someone can point out what I am doing wrong.
SqlConnection myConnection = new SqlConnection(ConfigurationManager.ConnectionStrings["DBConnection"].ConnectionString);

myConnection.Open();

SqlCommand cmd = new SqlCommand("SELECT FolderSource FROM MonitoredFolders WHERE FolderSource IS NOT NULL", myConnection);

try
{
     string returnvalue = (string)cmd.ExecuteScalar();
     Console.WriteLine(returnvalue);
     Console.ReadLine();

     string[] filepath = Directory.GetFiles("@" + "\"" + returnvalue + "\"", "*.*", SearchOption.AllDirectories);
}

catch (Exception e)
{
     Console.WriteLine("{0} Exception caught.", e);
}

myConnection.Close();

A: You cant dynamically construct a string with using @ token as part of the dynamic string and expect it to work with a literal. @ in literal is interpreted by compiler/runtime
string a = @"abc"; is different from string b = "@abc";
In your example, you should not do "@" + "\"" + ...
As the returnvalue is already a string type, you don't need to surround them in quote again and definitely not the "@" too. If in doubt, debug and drag that expression to the watch window. You will see that you ended up with string that looks like "@\"xxxxx\""
Make sure the returnvalue has the correct path value. If in doubt, System.IO.Path class gives you a range of static methods that can help you test or manipulate path string.

A: Try the application without accessing the database just by executing it with a path that you know works.
string directory = @"C:\temp"
 string[] filepath = Directory.GetFiles(  directory , "*.*", SearchOption.AllDirectories);

It looks to me as if the first argument of GetFiles is not constructed correctly.

A: First, try not to do two things in one line of code.  It makes debugging very difficult as you have found.
I think you are looking for something like this:
    String Dir = "Temp";

    String SearchDir = @"\" + Dir + @"\";

A: Assuming you are trying with a UNC path, please add two back slashes ("\\") before your 'returnValue' variable.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


If you enjoy getting active on your Beach Retreats self-catering holiday, this could be the destination for you. The Camel Estuary which flows between Rock and the picturesque Padstow harbour, boasts fantastic water conditions attracting avid watersport enthusiasts throughout the year. From kayaking, SUP safaris and water skiing to wakeboarding, sailing and more, there is somethnig for all ages and abilities.
The beach provides a long expanse of golden sand at low tide, leading round to Brea Hill and the popular Daymer Bay. Walk the South West Coast Path and take in the awe-inspiring views over the bays and out towards Padstow.
If you prefer to sit back and relax while enjoying the finer things in life, Rock has a great choice of sophisticated eateries including No1 Rock Road, Nathan Outlaw's Mariner's Rock and The Dining Club. Further a field, you can hop on a water taxi and enjoy an evening in Padstow dining at Rick Stein's Seafood Restaurant. Paul Ainsworth's No.6 or Rojanos.
Seas the day in Rock.
With day boats and trawlers landing their catch right outside you'd be right to expect plenty of fish and seafood on the menu here. Locally made sandwiches, pasties or ice cream, cream teas in the garden or laid-back fine dining overlooking the sea, you can take your pick in Rock.
Dogs are welcome along Rock Beach all year round. With glorious sea views, the coast path from Rock beach to Daymer Bay is another great place for running or walking your dog. Alternatively, head out to Padstow on the ferry for a walk along the harbour.
Rock's main village amenities line the flat and level stretch from the car park to the Camel Ski School, making wheelchair access easy. Please bare in mind the road is narrow and shared with cars passing by. There are public toilets situated next to the main car park at the foot of the coastal path leading you towards Daymer Bay.


Notes on Penn State Learning Design Podcast #4: Throw out the LMS?
They title it "Baby and the Bathwater," Jeff Swain and Brian Young.
These snippets of their conversation stuck out to me.
– the workflow required of an Instructor to accomplish a pedagogical goal?
– the fact that it's a closed system which doesn't allow for students to interact with other students studying the same same?
They love blogs (sounds like for teaching, research, and reflection method).
How does an LMS related to the ground swell of Program Assessment? LMS repositories aren't built for providing artifacts and data for assessing the program… But why not?
What about from the student point of view? Why don't we map out their entire program so that over time they can see how each course supports the program's goals, how far they've come? How far yet to go?
Previous Previous post: No Wonder Video is Not For the Faint of Heart!


text:
Q: How would you auto format hyperlinks using meteor I am working on a chat room application and would like to auto format hyperlinks so they can be visited without copy/paste.
I found autolink.js and was able to get it to work using a static HTML template but have not been able to get it working with meteor.
Any suggestions?
Edit -
Meteor Version 0.6.1
Chatroom Application - https://github.com/SmashBrando/chatroom
Autolink.js - https://github.com/bryanwoods/autolink-js
(this is not setup as it did not work)

A: Put this in the helper you want to display the hyperlink. Assuming you've got the autolink.js all set up in your /client/lib folder just use it with your helper
e.g
client js
Template.hello.greeting = function() {
    return "This is a link to Google http://google.com".autoLink()
}

and you need to make sure your HTML uses handlebars that can give html output (thats with 3 curly braces either side instead of 2):
html in your template
{{{greeting}}}

This should output
This is a link to Google http://google.com

Using transform to autolink on cursors
When using a handlebars helper that returns a cursor such as Messages.find() in your code you need to transform your collection. So with your code you need to alter the return value:
Template.messages.messages = function () {
    return Messages.find({}, { sort: {time: -1}, transform: function(doc) {
        if(doc.message) doc.message = doc.message.autoLink()
            return doc;
        }
    });
};

A transform changes the documents in your collection, so in the above each one's message is autoLinked.
You also need to let let handlebars display this as clickable links by altering your handlebars for the HTML to use 3 curly braces to make sure your 's aren't escaped.:
<template name="message">

{{name}}: {{{message}}}

</template>


To make the SAFEST cleaning products for our customers and the environment.
To provide the BEST customer assurance possible.
Kleen Enterprises LLC brings you SAFE and BIODEGRADABLE cleaning products since 2012.
With 20+ years of research & development and formulating numerous safe, water based cleaning products.
What are you trying to clean?


text:
Sell Responsibly… or Else? It's Time to Face (Over)-Consumption and Come Up with Creative Solutions
Thomas Kolster
Published 11 months ago. About a 5 minute read.
Image: Carlings created its "adDRESS_THE_FUTURE" virtual clothing line in response to overconsumption. | Carlings/YouTube
We shouldn't lure people into buying more than they need; but rather, help people make it all add up to a more meaningful life. Brands might be able to keep afloat on a short-term strategy and hide behind a cloak of innocence, but every dinosaur step is one closer to extinction.
Unhinged consumption, excessive packaging and doing anything-and-everything to push sales, sales, sales is slowly becoming what cigarette advertising was in the last decade: Shameful. When I started in advertising, it was common practice to add the agency's name in fine print on the ads; often in the top-right corner. For me it carried a sense of pride, but also a sense of responsibility.
However, what's viewed as responsible is fast-changing. When Hollywood blockbuster producer Harvey Weinstein was confronted with a tirade of sexual harassment allegations, his lawyer termed it, "An old dinosaur learning new ways." Perhaps Weinstein should have spent more time in history class — we all know the fate of the dinosaurs. For my parents' generation, the post-war generation, a good life was defined by material security and a steady job. For new generations, that is giving way to a definition where self-development and self-actualisation matter more; where meaning trumps pay; where story beats stuff; and where ownership of things is just one of many options. We don't buy stuff; we rent, share or loan. It's time we as an industry learn new ways.
Let's use creativity to charter a new course
Sustainability is mainstream and brands are investing in changing products, services and activities in a more sustainable direction — such as adidas' recycled ocean plastic shoes, Carlsberg's Snap Pack (eliminating the six-pack ring); or the circular product platform Loop, where packaging is collected, cleaned, refilled and reused.
These are great strides; and ultimately, what is needed — but has advertising really changed its selling tune? As advertising watchdogs are doing their part on equality and health, consumption is still under the radar — but for how long? I don't think we as an industry should wait for regulators; we should dare to use creativity to charter new territories. Some campaigns are stepping up to the challenge, such as REI's #OptOutside, asking people to enjoy the outdoors rather than go shopping. Or Patagonia's "Don't buy this jacket," suggesting that people either "Reduce, repair, reuse, recycle or reimagine" before they buy a new one. The clever startup, Doconomy — with its "Do Black" credit card — shows the carbon footprint of your shopping, but it also puts a carbon (consumption) limit on the card. And do we really need all that stuff? In the Western world the answer is simple: We don't! Fashion retailer Carlings has launched an all-digital clothing line, "adDRESS_THE_FUTURE" — no new clothes, but young people can still look fashionably cool on Insta!
More wholesome communication calories
How brands are influencing consumer behavior change at scale ...
Hear the latest from Brands for Good, Impossible Foods, Shft, S'well and the other brands nudging consumers toward more sustainable lifestyles at our next virtual event, SB'21 Trend Watching — February 23, 2021.
If you're busy selling, that's what'll you'll become: A salesperson. Someone easily ignored, skipped or having the door slammed in their face. We need to get back to building brands that serve as lighthouses, rather than the cheapest possible, towering, concrete slabs; somewhere for people's brains to seek shelter. I don't expect us to succeed tomorrow, but I want us to have this dialogue — as uncomfortable as it might seem.
I believe, naively maybe, that if we feed people's brains with wholesome, nutrient-rich communication calories; we will see healthier people, healthier communities and healthier, longer-living brands.
What you need versus what you want
It's a fine line to walk between what people want and what they need — what's good for you versus what you like or are tricked into thinking you want. It's like math. Take the alarming health crisis, with people getting fatter. There's nothing wrong with drinking a Coke; it's when you add those calories up — you either choose to stay within what's needed, calorie-wise, or get tempted to go beyond. Everyone has the right to draw their own lines as individuals, but as an industry we have a significant role to play. The indecipherable nutritional value charts on food and beverages don't exactly help people make the choice they need. So, what is the balance between what people need versus what we are selling? Coca-Cola in 3-litre bottles? Buy 3 Snickers for the price of 2? Get three jerseys and save the price of the least expensive? We shouldn't lure people into buying more than they need — that's neither good for brand, people or planet in the long term — but rather help people make it all add up to a more meaningful life. If it's not an informed choice, it's called deceit. Brands might be able to keep afloat on a short-term strategy and hide behind a cloak of innocence, but every dinosaur step is one closer to extinction.
Would you put your name on a cigarette ad? What about a 3-for-1 promo?
The founder of Adbusters magazine, Kalle Lasn, has called advertising, "The single largest psychological experiment ever carried out on the human race." When you do that next ad, think about if your children or your loved ones would be proud to read your name on it! David Ogilvy famously said, "We sell or else," to emphasise his namesake agency's effectiveness; but do we really want to put the health of our planet, communities and those we love at stake for another cheeky birthday sale? I don't have the solution, but I want us to have the conversation — let's reimagine a new, responsible way forward. To do so, I've attempted what I'm calling an 'Unconsumption List' — a new way of thinking about how we consume and how we encourage others to do the same. Please do include your ideas and input; this is only something we'll be able to solve together!
The Unconsumption List:
Don't promote consumption as a route to happiness, success or love.
Excess promotions like combos, two-for-ones and three-for-twos are predatory and unnecessary.
Promote needs, not wants.
Create meaning, not materialism.
Don't use sales to promote mindless shopping.
Don't turn every day of the year into a shopping holiday. Christmas is enough!
Fight the superfluous, from packaging to advertising.
Less is more, and is in fact what you need. No more three litre sodas!
When in doubt, refer to the 5 Rs: Reduce, repair, reuse, recycle or reimagine.
Doconomy
Balanced Simplicity
Brands for Good
Living Within Our Means
Published Jan 31, 2020 7am EST / 4am PST / 12pm GMT / 1pm CET
Goodvertising Agency
Thomas Kolster is a man on a mission — one of the early pioneers in the do-good space, coining the term "Goodvertising" to describe the changing impact-advertising landscape that's become a movement in itself.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Cleaning Solvents can Poison You
Chlorinated Spray Solvents Used to Remove Cosmoline or Prepare Metal for Welding can Decompose to Poison Gas
Brake cleaner and carburator cleaner are very similar products. The staff at the car parts store will very likely tell you that they are completely interchangeable and brand doesn't matter. And for some applications, that's exactly right. However, there can be a deadly difference in their chemistry.
Brake cleaner or carburator cleaner removes brake fluid, grease, and oil, and it is very effective for removing the cosmoline used to protect guns and other tools for long-term storage or shipping.
Well, it certainly should! The label on the back of the can will warn that it contains acetone, heptane, methanol, and toluene, propelled out of the can by compressed carbon dioxide. See a closeup of typical label at the top of this page.
But as nasty as that mixture is, it could be far more dangerous.
Be very careful to avoid cleaning solvents that include tetrachloroethylene, also called perchloroethylene or PERC and other names.
If you use chlorinated solvents to clean metal immediately before welding or otherwise heating it, you could easily be poisoned with lasting or even fatal effects.
Models of tetrachloroethylene, C2Cl4.
Tetrachloroethylene is a colorless liquid about 160% the density of water, commonly used for dry cleaning fabric. It's an excellent solvent for organic materials, those based primarily on carbon chains or rings with side branches of hydrogen and other elements. Unlike many other organic solvents such as acetone, toluene, and others, tetrachloroethylene is not flammable. This nonflammability makes it attractive for dry cleaning and industrial applications.
It is much less volatile than other components of these spray solvent cleaners, so it will remain in pits and crevices after more volatile components like acetone and methanol have evaporated.
The danger is that tetrachloroethylene oxidizes into highly poisonous phosgene at temperatures above 315 °C (or 599 °F).
The can you see here of Brākleen brake cleaner is clearly labeled as NON-CHLORINATED.
Always use non-chlorinated solvent sprays like this Brākleen product.
Tetrachloroethylene might be easily confused with carbon tetrachloride, which has a very similar odor and has had similar uses. Carbon tetrachloride was used as a dry cleaning solvent and as a fire extinguisher from 1910 into the early 1940s. It also produces phosgene at high temperatures, making its use in a fire extinguisher rather hazardous.
Models of carbon tetrachloride, CCl4.
Models of phosgene, CCl2O.
This is the deadly stuff.
Phosgene is where things get dangerously interesting. The British chemist John Davy first synthesized it in 1812 by exposing a mixture of carbon monoxide and chlorine to sunlight, which contains ultraviolet radiation and drives the reaction. This is why chloroform is typically stored in dark brown tinted bottles. Phosgene was widely used throughout the 19th century in the chemical industry, especially in the manufacture of dyes.
The U.S. CDC fact sheet on phosgene reports that immediate symptoms of exposure can include coughing, burning in the throat, burning and watery eyes, blurred vision, difficulty breathing or shortness of breath, and nausea and vomiting.
Over the following period of up to 48 hours, delayed symptoms may appear including difficulty breathing, coughing up white to pink-tinged fluid due to pulmonary edema, low blood pressure, and heart failure.
Most people who make it through the immediate effects of a phosgene exposure go on to make a complete recovery. But chronic bronchitis and emphysema can be long-term effects.
Phosgene was used in combat during World War I, often in combination with chlorine gas. Mustard gas came to be far more notorious, and it may have been the most militarily effective due to the horror it caused, but phosgene killed far more people. Out of the 100,000 deaths caused by chemical weapons during the war, about 85,000 were caused by phosgene.
U.S. Army poster from World War II. Both Japan and Italy used phosgene and other chemical weapons in their wars leading up to the World War.
As the U.S. Army poster from World War II warns, phosgene has an odor that can remind the victim of musty hay or green corn. The problem is that the odor can only be detected at about 0.4 parts per million, while the threshold for toxic effects is only one-fourth that level. Phosgene works by disrupting the blood-air barrier in the alveoli of the lungs, leading to suffocation. The reaction is not immediate even at very harmful levels — many troops effected during World War I were not incapacitated for 24 hours or more.
As for the warnings not to mix bleach and ammonia, that's because it produces entirely different dangerous substances: chlorine gas plus chloramine or NH2Cl.
Mustard gas kills in a more painful way and is more of a horror weapon. It condenses onto the ground as an oily liquid and remains active in the soil for months under certain weather conditions. Mustard gas causes blistering, vomiting, and internal and external bleeding. Fatal exposures can take four to five weeks of pain to kill the victim.
Gas was primarily used on the Western Front, but Germany deployed it against Russia on the Eastern Front and the British used it during the Second Battle of Gaza in Palestine.
About 20% of the chemical shells fired on the Western Front were duds, leaving about 13 million unexploded shells buried in French and Belgian farm fields.
A number of countries maintained secret stockpiles of phosgene gas in the 1920s and 1930s, but it was only used in large quantities by the Imperial Japanese Army against China in the Second Sino-Japanese War, which began 7 July 1937 and continued into the broader World War II. Japanese gas and biological weapons were produced by the notorious Unit 731 and authorized by specific orders from Emperor Hirohito or Shōwa-tennō himself. During the Battle of Wuhan from mid June through October of 1938, Hirohito authorized 375 separates uses of poison gas just in the period from August through October.
Italian forces also used some phosgene during the Second Italo-Ethiopian War. During the Battle of Genale Doria on 12-20 January 1936 the Italians deployed some phosgene along with two tons of mustard gas against the Ethiopians.
Don't use chlorinated solvents to clean metal before welding!


A leaking toilet can waste untold amounts of water. To check for leaks, put some food colouring in your toilet tank. If, without flushing, the colour begins to appear in the bowl the cistern should be repaired.
Most toilet use 12 litres of water per flush. Install a dual flush toilet and use the full flush button only when needed, save over 60 litres a day.
A slow drip from a worn tap washer can waste 200 litres or more of water per day.
Turning off the tap while you clean your teeth can save 40 litres a year in a four-person household.
Ensure each wash counts by making sure they are full loads. Every time you run your washing machine you use about 120 litres of water. Every time you use your dishwasher you can use 20 to 60 litres per wash. When buying a new machine or dishwasher, check its water usage details and look for the AAA rating.
Many shower heads put out 20 litres of water per minute and 120 litres is considered enough for a cleansing shower. Inexpensive, water-saving shower heads that you can install yourself can be purchased from your local hardware or plumbing supply store. They are also available from time to time through energy saving programs.
Watering the leaves of trees and shrubs increases water loss to evaporation. Giving the garden a quick spray does little for your plants, it makes them shallow rooted and dependant on the small amount of water you provide each day. If you water your plants every fourth day in summer, it encourages the roots to go deeper into the soil to seek out moisture.
wipe the car dry with a clean cloth or chamois.
Greywater is the waste water from our kitchen sinks, washing machines, laundry tubs, hand basins, spas, the shower and bath. It is a great option for your garden watering because most people have a plentiful supply, it doesn't rely on rainfall or vary much with seasons, and it reduces your reliance on potable (drinking quality) water.
For practical advice for gardening with greywater and other helpful information, see SaveWater.
For more information regarding greywater, see NSW Office of Water.
To help you understand how much water you use in your household and ways that you can use less water, download the Household Water Use Calculator.


text:
Sony reportedly reducing PS5 production by four million units due to SoC issues
Why it matters: Are you one of the many people hoping to grab a PlayStation 5 in the months following release? Finding one in stock might not be that easy. According to a new report, Sony has cut estimated production for the next-gen console by four million units to around 11 million by the end of March, the result of issues with its SoC.
With Covid-19 concerns resulting in more people staying at home and gaming than ever before, combined with the general excitement around the PS5, Sony expects demand for its machine to be high. As such, it had reportedly aimed to produce 10 million consoles before the end of 2020. But Bloomberg writes that those plans have been thwarted due to manufacturing problems.
One of the issues Sony is facing relates to the consoles' SoC, which was designed alongside AMD. Production yields for the chip were said to be as low as 50 percent at one point, thereby cutting the number of usable parts by half. Those yields have been improving, but Bloomberg writes that they are "yet to reach a stable level."
Even 11 million PS5 units by the end of March is more than previous predictions. Back in April, an expected high price meant Sony was only planning to ship 5 to 6 million consoles this fiscal year, fewer than the PS4 saw at launch—7.5 million in its first two quarters. But the pandemic and resulting boost to the gaming industry saw Sony increase its forecast.
Earlier this week, we heard rumors that Sony would be dropping the price of the PS5 and its discless sibling following the reveal of the Xbox Series X/S. The main console is expected to arrive at between $449 and $499, while the all-digital edition is thought to be $399, which is still more than the $299 Xbox Series S.
Eleven million units is still a lot, of course, but we've rarely seen so many people clamoring for the release of a new console— 84% of gamers are more excited about the PS5 than the Xbox Series X, according to a recent survey. If you want a PS5 for the holidays, best hit the pre-orders as soon as they open. We'll find out more during Sony's PlayStation 5 showcase, which takes place tomorrow (September 16) at 1 pm PT / 4 pm ET.
Dillian Whyte's rematch with Alexander Povetkin officially announced and will take place just three months after brutal KO
Gas possibly linked to life detected on Venus
$50 billion are needed to bring chip manufacturing to the US
Arsenal chief executive 'visits Arsene Wenger' to…
Katie Price promises son Junior, 15, he'll be mega-rich when…


text:
Glenconway School Bovevagh (1859)
BY THE REV. ADAM MAGILL. IN the summer of 1856, four young men in my congregation resolved to establish a social meeting for prayer, to be called the Sabbath-school Teachers' Prayer-meeting. Little interest was felt in this meeting for several months; yet these young men, having felt the power of religion on their own hearts and lives, and knowing how little success they could expect as teachers in winning souls for Christ without His Spirit, continued to meet from time to time to implore a blessing on their labours and on the gospel preached.
In the month of July 1857, I delivered a course of lectures on the work and necessity of the Holy Spirit, which were blessed in the conversion of some souls, but more especially in awakening a greater interest in attending public worship and listening to the word preached. But no marked, prominent feature of a revival of religion appeared. Early in the spring of 1858, tidings of a great revival in America reached us. As the great awakening in New York and elsewhere was evidently in answer to prayer, and as the Spirit of God is distinctly promised to those who ask, we felt strongly induced to urge from the pulpit the necessity of additional meetings for prayer, besides the one already in existence, conducted by the Sabbath-school teachers. As a mark of God's blessing on this proposal, eight prayer-meetings sprang up within the bounds of the congregation and were zealously conducted by young men. At these meetings the Scriptures were read, and fervent prayers offered up for the minister, and for the Holy Spirit to be poured upon the people. At first these meetings were thinly attended, but gradually the interest increased, and the attendance became more numerous, and it became manifest that the Lord was blessing them, as several persons were led to the Saviour through their instrumentality. All the important information that could be collected in the meantime on the American revival was communicated from the pulpit, which appeared to impress the minds of the people with some such feeling as this—" I wish the Lord would visit us in a similar way." Prayer-meetings grew larger, the attendance on public worship increased, more earnestness and a deeper solemnity marked the worshippers. The Spirit of the Lord was evidently at work, striving with men's consciences, evinced in the silent tear that was occasionally wiped from the eye, as if the person were ashamed it should be seen; and from the fact that persons were found stealing at night, for fear of discovery, into a barn, or behind a hedge, to pray. I saw evidently the mountain of sin yielding a little to the hammer of the gospel; still, no great awakening appeared; we had nothing that could be termed a revival. On the 11th of June 1859, at a prayer-meeting in Glen-con way schoolhouse, the Lord made bare His holy arm in sight of all the people. A young convert from County Antrim addressed the meeting earnestly and solemnly on what the Lord had done for his soul. The people listened with deep attention, tears stole down many a cheek, hearts pent up with silent grief were ready to burst, and at the close six persons were plunged into the most heart-rending anguish I ever witnessed. The cry of all was to the same effect—" Oh, my sins! my sins !—I am going to hell !—Jesus, have mercy on me !" One cried, "Lord Jesus, have mercy on my wicked father and mother!" Two young men shed tears bitterly, and, with the arrow of the Lord in their souls, they went from the meeting to a graveyard, and there spent all night in wrestling with the Lord for pardon. They are now candidates for the ministry. It was thus evident the Lord was in the midst of us answering the earnest and fervent prayers for His Holy Spirit, offered in the name of Christ in that very place on many a previous occasion. The following day, June 12, was the Sabbath—a day which will never be forgotten by many in this parish. Oh, with what power and majesty Jehovah walked amongst us! Zechariah xii. 10, was wonderfully fulfilled to us. When the usual time for public worship came, the church was so crowded that we were obliged to retire to the churchyard and conduct the services in the open air. The crowd became immense, the minister and congregation of Scriggan having joined us, and a more solemn assembly never met on earth. During the services, the tears and suppressed sobs of many spewed that it was no ordinary occasion—that it was the day of God's power—that the Spirit of power was dealing personally with men's souls. When the benediction was pro¬nounced, a few retired, but the great majority lingered— stood, in fact, as if held in a vice, or bound with a chain— and in a moment, as if struck with a thunderbolt, about a hundred persons were prostrated on their knees, sending forth a wail from hearts bruised, broken, and overwhelmed with horror, such as will never be forgotten, and which, perhaps, for solemnity and awe, will never be surpassed until the judgment-day. Oh, what must the wailings of the lost in hell be, when the discovery is made that their lamps are gone out, that the day of mercy is past, and the door of hope shut forever! For hours these stricken, smitten, bleeding souls remained on their bended knees, unconscious of everything but their own guilt and danger, and need of a Saviour, pleading and praying with an intensity and fervour which surpasses all description. The evening of Wednesday, June 15, was appointed for prayer, and long before the hour for commencing the service, the church was crowded. The awful sadness in every countenance bespoke the deep earnestness within; even the most ungodly were overawed and wore a solemn sadness on their faces. Had a pestilence swept over the neighbourhood, leaving one dead in every house, greater awe would not have been produced. At the close of the services, several efforts were made to dismiss the congregation, but without avail; and it was not until four o'clock in the morning that the people could be persuaded to go home. Multitudes were again, on that night, steeped in awful sorrow, and stung with the most poignant remorse for sin. Such unutterable horror overwhelmed one young man, that the blood streamed from mouth and nose. Another man, who all his life was a profligate, had such a vivid view of the horrors of hell, and the pains of hell took such hold of him, that he cried like a demoniac, that a hundred devils were dragging him to the bottomless pit. On the morning of Sabbath, June 19, nearly all the children in the Sabbath school, to the number of a hundred, were plunged into the same deep, sinking, sorrowing sense of great guilt and unworthiness. For several Sabbaths the services of the sanctuary had to give way to the sobs and cries of pierced souls, and though every lawful effort was made to suppress all excitement, yet the agony and sorrow within were too great to be repressed, and frequently the audible cry broke forth for mercy. Numbers of cases of conviction of a very interesting nature took place in private, in the family, or elsewhere. Some were struck with a sense of sin in the field when working —some on the highway —some when conducting family worship, and others in their beds. One person told me, when he awoke in the morning he found his pillow wet with tears, and his whole frame feeble and exhausted. One strong young man, when working alone in a turf bog, was prostrated with a spade in his hand, and for hours he there wrestled in prayer to God, and all the succeeding night, in his house, the cry for mercy went up from a broken heart. It was not till the morning he found peace, when his powerful muscular frame was shaken and exhausted, as if he had been rising out of a protracted and severe fever. So powers fully and generally did the Spirit of God work both in the public sanctuary and in private, that few in this neighbourhood were unawakened. Would to God I could say they were all converted! The space allotted will not permit me to enter further into detail; I shall therefore close this paper with a few practical remarks. What has been the primary cause of this great religious awakening, sweeping from family to family, and producing an anxiety about the salvation of the soul, such as has never been experienced by any preceding generation in this neighbourhood? The answer is, God's Spirit has been signally dealing personally with the consciences and hearts of the people. The mass of our church-going people were cold, dead, formal, and prayerless—living and dying in sin, and going to the judgment-seat and to eternity unblessed, unconcerned, and unsaved. The ministration of the word had become feeble and powerless; the lamentation was going forth from many a godly minister, "Who hath be¬lieved our report?" "The bellows are burned, the lead is consumed of the fire, the founder melteth in vain; for the wicked are not plucked away." Suddenly, as on the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit shook the "dry bones," awak¬ened the slumbering conscience, and impelled men to flee from the wrath to come. What stronger evidence of the presence and power of the Holy Spirit than the dread of sin overwhelming the soul; "When He is come, he will reprove the world of sin." This was one most prominent feature in the awakening here. The aspect of anguish, the deep groan, the piercing cry of horror, and the intense earnest appeal, "Lord Jesus, have mercy upon my soul!" is the most distinct and demonstra¬tive evidence that God was waking up the soul to feel how intolerable the burden of sin was; and oh, if intolerable upon earth, where there is hope, how will the sinner endure it in its full, crushing, and overwhelming power in hell, where there is none! A large number of my congregation were stricken to the earth, as if suddenly pierced with a spear, whilst others were distressed and perplexed with an awful sense of unworthiness. The effects in both cases were similar, being manifested in the earnest, prayerful devotedness of their lives, teaching us to submit to whatever way the Spirit of the Lord may please to work. If I dare venture an opinion on the bodily distress many endured, arising, no doubt, from a sense of guilt pressing on the mind producing great anguish of soul, it would be this, Professors of religion had become so hardened in sin—so " gospel-hardened "—so utterly impenitent, and the habit of resisting the most powerful appeals from the pulpit had become so confirmed, that God saw that an extraordinary remedy was necessary for an extraordinary emergency ; and I believe the loud wail coming from the lips of the sinking, perishing sinner, preached with greater power to a careless people than the most eloquent sermon that could be delivered. And, therefore, regarding the physical features of the revival here, I feel constrained to bow, and say, "It is the Lord, let him do as it seemeth him good." A striking feature in the people here is their insatiable thirst for prayer. Prayer, the most earnest and persevering, preceded the revival here, and now it is sustained in its vigour by prayer ; and, at the present moment, the district prayer-meetings, which are numerous, are crowded every night—God fulfilling His promise, that when He would pour out the Spirit of grace, lie would accompany it with the spirit of supplications also. The congregation is composed of about two hundred families, one hundred and eighty of whom worship God daily, not with the cold, formal prayers of other days, but with burning hearts and burning words. A young man or a young female, in many cases, leads the family devotions, they being the converted persons in such families. A desire for the conversion of souls still perishing, is very strongly manifested. I have seen a young female, full of love for the Saviour, kneel on the highway-side, and there pray with a fervour I shall never forget for the conversion of her father. Young men, after a hard day's work, often walk six or eight miles to hold a prayer-meeting in some backward district, or to pray with and warn some ungodly family. But I must hasten to a close, with the following important fact: 1.The greater number of converts are among those who regularly attended the means of grace. How necessary, like blind Bartimaeus, to be in the way when the Saviour passes by! 2.God's people here were praying for, and expecting, a day of quickening long before it came. How important, like the apostles, to wait for the promise of the Father, and to continue waiting on the spirit of prayer and supplication! 3.A larger proportion of the young than those in middle or old age have been converted. What a lesson to the young to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and become converted before sin hardens and blunts the soul! 4.There are more females than males, seemingly, converted, teaching us that as men are more involved in the world, they are in more danger of its blighting and withering influence on the heart. I have thus given a few of' the facts and features of the revival of religion in this congregation, and I have confined my observations strictly to what came under my own observation. May this imperfect narrative of God's great work here be acknowledged by the Holy Spirit, and may we all, as minister, Sabbath-school teachers, and elders, pray more, labour more, and expect more, as I believe we have only had a sheaf of the great harvest, a shower of the Spirit, leading us to look out for and continually to expect the flood—the flood upon the dry ground. Holy Spirit ! descend upon a dry, unfruitful Church, and on a cold, dead world, and may righteousness go forth as a light, and the salvation of our God as a lamp that burneth
I am not sure where the house is on the map. It is the second house on the right after the junction with Pollys Brae Road. What was the school is now a private house.
View Well Joymount Presbyterian Church (1859)


Montreal, Canada, 25 November 2017 — Early this morning at the conclusion of the 30th anniversary Meeting of the Parties (MOP) of the Montreal Protocol the Parties agreed to a robust three-year replenishment of $540 million to fund the continuing phase out of HCFCs, and to a separate decision to have the Technology & Economic Assessment Panel study how best to integrate energy efficiency with the HFC phasedown under the Kigali Amendment.
The energy efficiency decision was submitted by India, Bahrain, Kuwait, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and the African Group. It recognizes the importance of maintaining and enhancing energy efficiency during the switch from high-global warming potential HFCs to low-GWP alternatives in the refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pump sectors. This has the potential to avoid significant CO2 emissions from the power plants that provide the electricity to run these products and equipment, estimated by Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory to equal the production from of up to nearly 1,600 medium-sized (500 MW) peak-load power plants by 2030, and up to 2,500 power plants by 2050.
In addition, UN Environment Executive Director Erik Solheim launched a Global Clean Cooling Campaign to support Montreal Protocol Parties to include energy efficiency while phasing down HFCs. This important effort is funded by the Kigali Cooling Efficiency Program (K-CEP), a philanthropic fund of $52 million dedicated to catalyze energy efficiency in the cooling sector. K-CEP announced the Campaign via twitter: "Erik Solheim launches package in support of Montreal Protocol work on #Cooling #efficiency to avoid up to 1°C. http://bit.ly/2hV4Xxa @UNEP #MOP29 #KigaliAmendment".
"That 1°C of avoided warming may be the most significant contribution the world could make to the goal of the 2015 Paris Agreement, to keep the increase in average world temperatures to well below 2°C, aiming for 1.5°C above their pre-industrial level," said Durwood Zaelke, President of the Institute for Governance & Sustainable Development.
The United States believes the Kigali Amendment represents a pragmatic and balanced approach to phasing down the production and consumption of HFCs, and therefore we support the goals and approach of the Amendment.
There are a number of steps in our domestic process that we would need to complete before reaching a final decision on transmittal of the Kigali Amendment to the U.S. Senate for its advice and consent.
There is no timeline currently determined for these steps, but we have initiated the process to consider U.S. ratification of the Amendment.
In the run up to this year's meeting on 17th November 2017, Sweden became the 20th Party to deposit its instrument of ratification to the Kigali Amendment, which ensures that the amendment will enter into force 1 January 2019. The amendment will eliminate warming from HFCs —one of the six main greenhouse gases. Many other Parties are poised to complete their own ratification shortly.
While exhausted after a long week and a longer night, Parties were proud to conclude the 30th Anniversary of what is widely considered the world's most successful treaty, which is continuing to deliver for the Earth. This time, agreements on financing, energy efficiency, and having 20 Parties announce ratification of the Kigali Amendment, send the strongest signals possible to the markets, and the best climate news for the world.
An Op-Ed by Nobel Laureate Mario Molina & Durwood Zaelke, The Montreal Protocol: Triumph by Treaty, is here.
Former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney's opening speech is here.


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text:
Q: What is the dot product of column matrices with specified basis A matrix can be regarded as a representation of a linear function from one vector space to another, with the condition that the basis vectors (and their order) are specified for both spaces.
Therefore a column matrix must necessarily be a representation of a vector of a space in relation to that space basis.
For example, let $\vec{u}=4\vec{e_1} + 1\vec{e_2}$. In matrix notation we have
$\left[
\begin {matrix}
 4 \\
 1 \\
\end {matrix}
\right]
=
4 \left[
\begin {matrix}
 1 \\
 0 \\
\end {matrix}
\right]
+
1 \left[
\begin {matrix}
 0 \\
 1 \\
\end {matrix}
\right]
$.
Let's assume the basis ($\vec{e_1}, \vec{e_2}$) looks like the vectors shown in the figure (The basis vectors and their linear combination).
My question is: what is the dot product of the basis vectors?
According to the matrix notation it should be zero:
$
\left[
\begin {matrix}
 1 \\
 0 \\
\end {matrix}
\right]
\cdot
 \left[
\begin {matrix}
 0 \\
 1 \\
\end {matrix}
\right]
=0
$.
But, according to the figure the dot product should not be zero as both vectors are clearly not orthogonal.
Obviously I am missing something. Any help would be appreciated.

A: While the dot product in $\Bbb R^n$ is defined by the coordinates of the vectors with respect to the canonical basis, it is to be considered a function of the vectors, not of their coordinates. Thus when you change to a different basis, you do not change the value of their dot product. Instead, the dot product is expressed by a different formula. A concrete example may help.
In $\Bbb R^2$, let $\vec d_1 = (1,0), \vec d_2 = (0,1)$ be the canonical basis elements. And define $\vec e_1 = (1,1), \vec e_2 = (0,1)$, then $\vec e_1, \vec e_2$ are a non-orthogonal basis. Indeed $\vec e_1$ is not even normal: its length is $\sqrt 2$. Now let $\vec u = (u_1, u_2), \vec v = (v_1, v_2)$. We can express $\vec u, \vec v$ in terms of the $\vec e_1, \vec e_2$ basis: $$\vec u = u_1'\vec e_1 + u_2'\vec e_2\\\vec v = v_1'\vec e_1 + v_2'\vec e_2$$
If we solve the equations, it turns out that $u_1' = u_1$ and $u_2' = u_2 - u_1$, and similarly for $\vec v$. Now,
$$\begin{align}\vec u \cdot \vec v &= (u_1'\vec e_1 + u_2'\vec e_2) \cdot (v_1'\vec e_1 + v_2'\vec e_2)\\&=u_1'v_1'(\vec e_1 \cdot \vec e_1) + u_2'v_1'(\vec e_2 \cdot \vec e_1) + u_1'v_2'(\vec e_1 \cdot \vec e_2) + u_2'v_2'(\vec e_2 \cdot \vec e_2)\\&=u_1'v_1'(2) + u_2'v_1'(1) + u_1'v_2'(1) + u_2'v_2'(1)\end{align}$$
So in $\{\vec e_1, \vec e_2\}$ coordinates $$\begin{bmatrix}u_1' \\ u_2'\end{bmatrix}\cdot \begin{bmatrix}v_1' \\ v_2'\end{bmatrix} = \begin{bmatrix}u_1' & u_2'\end{bmatrix}\begin{bmatrix}2&1\\1&1\end{bmatrix}\begin{bmatrix}v_1' \\ v_2'\end{bmatrix}$$
while in the canonical $\{\vec d_1, \vec d_2\}$ coordinates $$\begin{bmatrix}u_1 \\ u_2\end{bmatrix}\cdot \begin{bmatrix}v_1 \\ v_2\end{bmatrix} = \begin{bmatrix}u_1 & u_2\end{bmatrix}\begin{bmatrix}1&0\\0&1\end{bmatrix}\begin{bmatrix}v_1 \\ v_2\end{bmatrix}$$


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New York's port has revealed a bold plan to overtake its West Coast rivals to become the number one US container terminal.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has issued a request for proposals for a 30-year master plan to redevelop more than 3,000 acres of its cargo-related property.
It is hoped the plan will allow the port to overtake rivals Los Angeles and Long Beach, currently the busiest ports in the US.
Molly Campbell, head of the Port Authority of NY and NJ, said in a statement: "Our port has been a national trendsetter in the maritime industry and continues to be the leading East Coast gateway for international shippers.
The comprehensive overhaul will encompass the port's six container terminals, various real estate holdings as well as well as operations and support services.
The plan's objective will be to provide the framework to maximize land use, increase operational efficiency and improve revenue opportunities.
As well as drawing on data from previous studies into land use, the port authority says it will consult federal, state and local government agencies, local communities and industry representatives in the process of drawing up the proposals.


text:
The Irish Education Experiment
DOI link for The Irish Education Experiment
The Irish Education Experiment book
The National System of Education in the Nineteenth Century
ByDonald Akenson
Edition 1st Edition
eBook Published 8 December 2011
Pub. Location London
Imprint Routledge
DOI https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203181379
Subjects Education
Akenson, D. (1970). The Irish Education Experiment: The National System of Education in the Nineteenth Century (1st ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203181379
This volume focuses on the creation, structure and evolution of the Irish national system of education. It illustrates how the system was shaped by the religious, social and political realities of nineteenth century Ireland and discusses the effects that the system had upon the Irish nation: namely that it was the chief means by which the country was transformed from one in which illiteracy predominated to one in which most people, even the poorest, could read and write.
chapter |16 pages
The Irish National System As An Educational Surprise
The Eighteenth-Century Background
An Administrative Genealogy
Some Bureaucratic Archaeology, 1831–49
Spinning The Educational Top 1831–49
The Politics of the Curriculum 1831–54
Over The Hill And Into The Woods, 1850–70
Twenty Hearts Beating As None, 1871–1900


text:
package com.intellij.openapi.roots.ui.configuration;

import com.intellij.openapi.options.ConfigurationException;
import com.intellij.openapi.options.UnnamedConfigurable;
import com.intellij.openapi.project.ProjectBundle;
import com.intellij.openapi.roots.LanguageLevelModuleExtension;
import com.intellij.pom.java.LanguageLevel;

import javax.swing.*;
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.ActionEvent;
import java.awt.event.ActionListener;

/**
 * User: anna
 * Date: 06-Jun-2006
 */
public abstract class LanguageLevelConfigurable implements UnnamedConfigurable {
  private LanguageLevelCombo myLanguageLevelCombo;
  private JPanel myPanel = new JPanel(new GridBagLayout());

  public LanguageLevelConfigurable() {
    myLanguageLevelCombo = new LanguageLevelCombo();
    myLanguageLevelCombo.addActionListener(new ActionListener() {
      @Override
      public void actionPerformed(final ActionEvent e) {
        final Object languageLevel = myLanguageLevelCombo.getSelectedItem();
        getLanguageLevelExtension().setLanguageLevel(languageLevel instanceof LanguageLevel ? (LanguageLevel)languageLevel : null);
      }
    });
    myLanguageLevelCombo.insertItemAt(LanguageLevelCombo.USE_PROJECT_LANGUAGE_LEVEL, 0);

    myPanel.add(new JLabel(ProjectBundle.message("module.module.language.level")),
                new GridBagConstraints(0, 0, 1, 1, 0, 0, GridBagConstraints.NORTHWEST, GridBagConstraints.NONE, new Insets(12, 6, 12, 0), 0, 0));
    myPanel.add(myLanguageLevelCombo,
                new GridBagConstraints(1, 0, 1, 1, 0, 0, GridBagConstraints.NORTHWEST, GridBagConstraints.NONE, new Insets(6, 6, 12, 0), 0, 0));
    myPanel.add(new JLabel(ProjectBundle.message("module.module.language.level.comment")),
                new GridBagConstraints(2, 0, 1, 1, 1, 0, GridBagConstraints.NORTHWEST, GridBagConstraints.NONE, new Insets(12, 6, 12, 0), 0, 0));
  }

  @Override
  public JComponent createComponent() {
    return myPanel;
  }

  @Override
  public boolean isModified() {
    return getLanguageLevelExtension().isChanged();
  }

  @Override
  public void apply() throws ConfigurationException {
    getLanguageLevelExtension().commit();
  }

  @Override
  public void reset() {
    myLanguageLevelCombo.setSelectedItem(getLanguageLevelExtension().getLanguageLevel());
  }

  @Override
  public void disposeUIResources() {
    myPanel = null;
    myLanguageLevelCombo = null;
  }

  public abstract LanguageLevelModuleExtension getLanguageLevelExtension();
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Calculating the value of a community's library use – Swiss Army Librarian. Type in usage statistics in left-hand box, provides the value to comunity in right-hand box. Needs to be converted from dollars to pounds and some of the formulae may be different in the UK but a very useful.
Library closures: Councils "shirked duties" – BBC.
Print article This entry was posted by Ian Anstice on November 10, 2011 at 9:18 pm, and is filed under Uncategorized. Follow any responses to this post through RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.


text: var underscore = _.noConflict();


text:
Home News Angus & The Mearns
Emergency services called to A92 crash near Arbroath between car and motorcycle
By Matteo Bell
July 6 2021, 2.13pm Updated: July 6 2021, 7.19pm
Police are in attendance
Police were called to the A92 just outside of Arbroath after a car collided with a motorcycle on the road.
One of the motorists was taken to Ninewells Hospital following the crash.
The road was closed northbound near Silverwells Garden Centre, however traffic towards Arbroath was flowing normally.
The crashed bike.
A spokesman for Police Scotland said: "We received reports at 12.20pm of a collision between a car and a motorcycle."
A spokeswoman for the Scottish Ambulance Service said: "We received a call at 12.27 to attend a road traffic collision (RTC) on the A92.
"We dispatched an ambulance to the scene and transported a patient to Ninewells Hospital, Dundee."
Montrose Road


text:
U.S. UK Government Say Russia Increasing Infrastructure Attacks
Edited by: Wayne Rash | April 18, 2018
NEWS ANALYSIS: A massive Russian-sponsored cyber-attack campaign is targeting routers, switches and other infrastructure devices to enable man-in-the-middle, espionage, hijacking and other attacks, according to U.S. and UK cyber-security authorities.
In the first joint statement of its kind, U.S. and UK cyber-security authorities have issued a Technical Alert to warn users of an ongoing campaign by Russian state-sponsored hackers to target network infrastructure.
The U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) is an agency within the Department of Homeland Security, and National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) is part of the UK's General Communications Headquarters. The targets of the alleged Russian attacks are infrastructure devices at all levels, including routers, switches, firewalls, network intrusion detection systems and other devices supporting network operations.
Also unusual is that the devices and networks being attacked range from devices in large enterprises used by government and private industry, critical infrastructure networks and even networks and devices used by small- and medium-sized businesses and on home networks. According to the Alert, the Russian attackers are depending on weak security, legacy protocols and service ports intended for administration purposes.
When these devices are attacked, the hackers have several goals in mind. They include identifying vulnerable devices and then extracting device configurations, network architectures and harvesting login credentials.
Product Overview and Insight: Armis Security
Six Remote Work Security Challenges Your Organization...
With the access they've gained, the hackers are able to masquerade as privileged users, which then allows them to modify the operations of the devices so they can copy or redirect traffic to Russian infrastructure. This access could also allow the hackers to hijack the devices for other purposes or to shut down network communications entirely.
A primary target of the attacks are Cisco devices that use Smart Install. However, other devices that allow access using Telnet, HTTP and SNMP (simple network management protocol) without proper authentication and strong encryption, including GRE (generic routing encapsulation) devices are also vulnerable.
An exploit for Cisco's Smart Install first appeared on the internet as the Smart Install Exploitation Tool (SIET). The Alert explains how to tell if the SIET is being used, and how to prevent its use. In some cases, the only real mitigation is to disable Smart Install on a Cisco device that is running it.
Cisco has released a critical security advisory regarding the Smart Install vulnerability with detailed instructions relating to its operation with Cisco's IOS and IOS XE infrastructure software.
"Cisco is aware of the recent joint technical alert that details known issues, which require customers take steps to protect their networks against cyber-attacks. Providing transparency and guidance to help customers best protect their network is a top priority," a Cisco spokesperson said in a prepared statement emailed to eWEEK.
"Cisco security teams have been actively informing customers about the necessary steps to secure Smart Install and the other industry-wide protocols addressed in the joint alert through security advisories, blogs, and direct communications," the statement said.
While the attacks on Cisco infrastructure are important because of that company's dominance in infrastructure market globally, they are not the only company whose products are being targeted. In fact, virtually all such products are being targeted in one way or another. For this reason, the US CERT included a list of steps for potential attack targets, which means nearly anyone with a network.
Don't allow unencrypted management protocols such as Telnet to enter your organization from the internet. If encryption using SSH, HTTPS or TLS are not possible, then use a VPN.
Do not allow internet access to the management interface of any network device. You should allow access from inside the network only from a white listed device.
Disable unencrypted protocols such as Telnet or SNMP v1 or v2. Retire legacy devices that cannot be configured with SNMP v3.
Immediately change default passwords and enforce a strong password policy.
US-CERT also includes some steps for device manufacturers and Internet Service Providers as well as some mitigations for owners and operators beyond the general steps above.
Specify in contracts with ISPs that only currently supported network equipment will be used and that it will be replaced if it becomes unsupported.
Require that the ISP apply updates and security patches to networking equipment, or provide the patches and allow customers to field them.
Block TFTP (trivial file transfer protocol, commonly used for management communications with devices) from leaving the organization to any external network, including the internet.
Verify that OS updates actually come from the manufacturer and not from an untrusted third party.
Check proprietary devices to confirm what OS is actually running. For example Cisco IOS also runs on Linksys and some Comcast devices.
It should go without saying that software updates and patches should be applied as soon as they're available. Infrastructure equipment that can't be updated, especially infrastructure used for home and small office applications should be replaced with equipment for which updates are available and which will be supported for a reasonable lifetime.
While definite numbers aren't available, it appears that the Russian intrusions into networks in the U.S. and the UK have been relatively easy to accomplish, and fairly hard to detect. Partly this is because infrastructure equipment is frequently not updated, and in many cases cannot be updated.
For its part, Cisco is making security updates available to equipment without service contracts and has published the procedures for getting such updates in its security advisory.
As US-CERT notes in its Alert, whoever owns the router also owns the traffic. Taking over a router (or a switch or other device) effectively is the same as owning it. Unless infrastructure equipment is secured, the Bad Guys can do whatever they want to your network, including preventing you from using it.
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After almost 25 years since their suggestion as a good solution to the strong CP-problem, axions remain one of the viable candidates for the Dark Matter, although still eluding detection. Most of the methods for their detection are based on their coupling to photons, one of the most promising ones being the helioscope technique. We will report on the current status of the CERN Axion Solar Telescope and the future International Axion Observatory (IAXO). Recent results from the second part of CAST phase II, where the magnet bores were filled with 3He gas at variable pressure achieving sensitivities on the axion mass up to 1.2 eV/c^2, will be presented. Currently CAST is expecting to improve sensitivity to solar axions with rest mass below 0.02 eV/c^2 after the upgrade of the X-ray detectors and with the implementation of a second X-ray optic. On the other hand IAXO, a fourth generation axion helioscope, aims at improving CAST's performance in terms of axion-photon coupling by 1-1.5 orders of magnitude. The details of its projected toroidal magnet, x-ray optics and x-ray detectors will be given.


Country Cottages is located in the town of Nieu Bethesda in the Karoo and offers peaceful accommodation. The units are within easy reach of the famous Owl House, shops and restaurants.
There is also 2 semi-standalone unit which accommodates 2 guests each. Each unit has a double bed and 1 bunk bed, as well as a private bathroom fitted with a shower, toilet and basin. The kitchen area has a bar fridge, microwave, coffee- and tea-making facilities, crockery and cutlery.
There is secure, off-street parking for guests' use.


Recently I challenged my co-worker to write an algorithm to solve this problem: Find the least number of coins required that can make any change from 1 to 99 cents.The number of chat in Whatapps icon is missing. any idea how to enable it.
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How can I get rid of the small number near the YouTube desktop icon.The minimum number of coins for a value V can be computed using below recursive formula.No. 26 - Minimal Number of Coins for Change Problem: Please implement a function which gets the minimal number of coins, whose value is v 1, v 2,.
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text:
Advocates attend Global Peace Festival 2022
Dec 9, 2022 9:45 PM PHT
Peace advocates attend three-day music festival in Clark, Pampanga
Global Peace Philippines
PRESS RELEASE: Delegates from the Philippines and the international community grace the three-day music festival in Pampanga
This is a press release from Global Peace Foundation Philippines.
More than 15,000 Global Peace Advocates participated in the three-day Global Peace Festival 2022 held from December 1 to 3 in Clark, Pampanga.
The event was organized by the Global Peace Foundation (GPF), an international non-sectarian, non-partisan, non-profit organization established in 2009, that promotes an innovative, values-based approach to promote peace.
Carrying the theme "One family under God: A vision for a world of freedom and peace," various experts in government, corporate, non-government organizations (NGO), and civil society partners address critical issues aiming to develop innovative solutions in key strategic areas, including peace-building, youth leadership development, education, volunteerism, and community-driven development.
"To witness the passion of the youth towards peacebuilding is already a huge feat for the festival," says Executive Director Aldrin Nituma. "May the delegates find a role model not just in the person of our distinguished speakers but also learn from one another."
The festival also held its service learning programs and the Global Peace Leadership Conference which had seven different tracks, namely: transforming education, youth assembly, women empowerment, corporate social responsibility, interfaith, and peace building, peace and security, and role of media.
A student delegate, 20-year-old Genie, was quoted saying: "This is what our world needs today. The event helped us gain a holistic understanding of the issues we are facing today and a proactive mindset of how we can help flourish change in our own actions. After all, it is us, the youth, who will inherit the world."
Participants enjoyed a weekend of informative sessions, insightful discussions, and engaging activities which Genie found both useful and inspiring. "Events like this…where thousands of peace advocates gather are so rare…that when you experience it for yourself…the learnings you acquired will keep you pushing for change wherever field you opt to go in the future," she added.
Delegates like Genie also enjoyed performances by local acts Bini and Autotelic. K-pop group Kard also graced the event for a performance of their hit songs during the final day.
The participants include Philippine delegates and international multi-sector participants who are peace practitioners and experts, educators, student and youth leaders, religious leaders, civil society leaders, government stakeholders, NGOs, school administrators, and media representatives.
Global Peace Foundation creates a global network of public and private sector partners to develop community, national, and regional peace-building models that serve as the cornerstone for moral and cohesive societies,
In over 20 countries across Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas, GPF collaborates with a network of public and private sector partners all over the world to transform education, support youth leadership, strengthen community-based development initiatives, and promote a culture of service and volunteerism. – Rappler.com


Workers' Compensation is a system of laws created by our legislature which govern the rights and duties of an employee who suffers a work injury. With few exceptions, an employer who hires one or more employees must have workers' compensation insurance. That insurance provides benefits for all injuries arising out of employment. Injuries for which an employee is entitled to compensation can include injuries such as burns, lacerations, sprains or fractures, as well as injuries from repetitive motion, chemical or noise exposure, stress. Workers' compensation does not cover disabilities which are the natural result of the aging process or which are due to non-work related causes. Benefits may be due, however, if work aggravates a pre-existing or underlying medical condition.
To qualify for workers' compensation benefits, you do not have not to prove that your employer was at fault. You only have to show that your injury was the result of work activity. In return, however, this law prohibits an employee from suing the employer in the normal sense, even if the employer is at fault.
WHAT SHOULD I DO IF I HAVE A WORK-RELATED INJURY?
Most importantly, get the medical care you need to have your injury properly diagnosed and treated. Secondly, be sure to report the injury promptly to your employer. Your employer will have forms for this purpose. If you wait too long to report the injury, you can lose the right to recover benefits. Once a report of injury has been completed, your employer will communicate the fact of your injury to its workers' compensation insurance company. That insurance company, which has been paid to cover any workers' compensation claims, will be responsible on your employer's behalf for your claim.
I. The first benefit is weekly disability payments. If you are disabled from performing any work as a result of your injury, you are to receive 60% of the gross average weekly wage you were earning at the time of the injury. This is called total disability. If you were working two jobs, both incomes are added in calculating your average weekly wage. Whether you are totally disabled is determined primarily by your medical records. The right to receive weekly benefits for total disability continues so long as you are totally disabled. After three continuous years of total disability, you may qualify for a yearly increase in your weekly payment (if you are not receiving Social Security).
Weekly payments can also be for partial disability. If you resume work after your injury, and as a result of your injury, you earn less than your pre-accident average weekly wage, you are entitled to receive weekly disability payments of 60% of the difference between your pre-accident average weekly wage and your wages after your return to work. Partial disability benefits are not ordinarily paid for more than five years after the injury.
II. The second benefit is the payment of your medical bills. Your employer's workers' compensation insurance company is obligated to pay all reasonable medical bills for services required as a result of the work injury. This obligation includes medicine and necessary equipment. Some insurance companies have a "managed care program," which requires you to receive care from a certain group of physicians. Otherwise, you are free to chose who treats you. You are entitled to reimbursement for mileage to and from medical care.
III. The third benefit is a right to vocational rehabilitation. This benefit is provided if your injury permanent makes you unable to do the work you used to do. In such a case, the workers' compensation insurance company is obligated to help you acquire a new job or, sometimes, new job skills. The goal is to help you return to employment, in a position which is within your physical limitation and as close as reasonably possibly to the wages you were earning when you were injured. A vocational rehabilitation specialist is hired by the insurance company to work with you. This person will evaluate your current physical capacity, your interest, aptitudes and past work skills, to determine the best way to return you to the workforce. An injured employee who has a work capacity is obligated to cooperate with vocational rehabilitation efforts. The failure to do so could result in the suspension of benefits. Generally speaking, the most valuable benefit an injured employee can receive from the workers' compensation system is a successful vocational rehabilitation program.
IV. The fourth workers' compensation benefit under our law is payment for permanent impairment suffered by the employee. This is a separate benefit to which the injured employee is entitled if the work injury has caused permanent loss of the normal function of a part of the body. The calculation of the percentage of permanent impairment is made by your doctor, through the use of standardized medical procedures for measuring loss of use. The dollar amount of this benefit depends on the part of the body involved, the degree of loss of use, and the injured employee's average weekly wage.
Other benefits include the right to be placed by the employer in a temporary alternative work position, while unable to do the usual work. Also, if an injured employee is within 18 months, with or without "reasonable accommodation" to return to the former job, the employee is entitled to reinstatement to his or her former position.
If someone or something other than your employer or coemployee contributed to your work injury, you may be entitled to bring a claim against such a third party in addition to collecting workers' compensation benefits,. For example, if you were in a car accident in the course of your employment duties, you would be entitled to workers' compensation benefits. You might also be entitled to make a separate claim against the responsible driver. In such a "third party action," you would not be limited to workers' compensation benefits. You would be entitled to compensation for 100% of past lost wages, future lost wages, emotional distress, physical pain, scarring, incidental financial loss. If you were to recover compensation in such an action, the law requires that the workers' compensation insurance company be reimbursed from that compensation for the benefits it provided.
The New Hampshire Department of Labor acts as the "court system" for workers' compensation claims. If a disagreement develops on any workers' compensation issue, the issue is resolved at a hearing at the Labor Department in Concord. Testimony, evidence, and legal argument are presented to a hearings officer. A hearings officer settles the dispute with his or her decision. Each party must abide by that decision, unless the decision is overturned on appeal. An appeal consists of a new hearing before a three-member appeals board.
If any injury is going to make you unable to work for year or more, you should apply for Social Security disability benefits. An application for those benefits will not hurt a workers' compensation claim, even if you are denied Social Security. If you are approved, what you are receiving from workers' compensation would be subtracted from the Social Security disability payments you are awarded.
The guidance and counsel of an experienced attorney will help an injured employee throughout the workers' compensation process. Many legal and factual issues can develop in such cases. The representative of the workers' compensation insurance company will be trained in the related issues and procedures. Legal counsel will guide the employee in the course of a claim, so as to prevent and solve problems which might develop. Should decisions need to be made, or disputes arise, your attorney can serve as an experienced information source, problem solver, or advocate on your behalf. If a hearing at the New Hampshire Department of Labor proves to be necessary, with a lawyer your case will be presented by someone familiar with the laws and procedures, and with how to best present the employee's case.


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text:
Headline Photography
by Clive Jackson
EXPO '67, Montreal: The beginning of a lifelong journey around the world.
"Jackson, get yourself to Rotterdam in 48 hours and there is a cargo ship that will take you to Canada," said the heavily accented voice on the end of the phone.
It was the summer of 1967 and I was bored out of my mind, half way through the summer semester at my boarding school in the English countryside.
I had seen a program that spring on the flagship BBC news show Panorama about the opening of the World's Fair in Montreal, Canada. It became my obsession – I wanted to see it. Actually I HAD to see it. But I had no money!
I was 16 and it was a quiet year academically between two major sets of exams so I was determined to make my dream become a reality. That May I researched shipping companies based all around Britain and wrote letters to two dozen or more of them asking if I could work my passage to Canada on one of their cargo ships later that summer.
The idea was I would travel for nothing in return for doing manual work around the ship.
For weeks I rushed to my mail slot. But there wasn't a single reply. So, disappointed but undaunted, I expanded my search to shipping companies around continental Europe.
And that led to the phone call a week or so later that changed my life forever. It was from an executive with a company based in Belgium describing my idea as "romantic" and said he would like to help me. But I had just 48 hours to make my way from Bristol, England, to Rotterdam in the Netherlands, to reach the ship before it crossed the Atlantic to Canada.
I had never flown before, never even been out of the United Kingdom, and I was a rather naive, unworldly, 16-year-old. Fortunately I had obtained a passport in anticipation of going to Canada.
So first I had to convince my concerned mother to let me go on this adventure and then persuade my school principal that I should forget the last six weeks of the summer term!
They both agreed. I bought a backpack and crucial supplies and booked a plane ticket to Rotterdam. My mother drove me to catch the flight. In the days before credit cards, I had exactly fifty Canadian dollars in traveller's cheques and a few pounds sterling.
The flight was uneventful but my arrival in Rotterdam was anything but! I was given a rough location for the ship in the massive port, but the cabbie couldn't speak a word of English. I ended up drawing a picture of a cargo ship on a piece of paper and wrote the name of it – the Eeklo – underneath my drawing. He didn't have a clue where to find it, and stopped other cab drivers to help translate. And all the time the meter was running so fast, I was worried my few pounds, converted into Dutch guilders, would run out.
We eventually made it with less than a single guilder to spare….and I took a small row boat to take me to the 35,000 ton Eeklo anchored in the middle of Rotterdam harbour.
They gave me a huge welcome – in Flemish. So throughout the voyage we communicated in sign language and the little bit of English spoken by the captain. The one concession they made, with 20 sailors on board, was to give me a cabin on an upper deck near the captain – and I always ate – and drank – with the ship's officers.
But the rest of the seven day voyage it was work, work, work. Scraping rust and peeling paint off the decks for hour after hour. What made it tough was the endless movement of the ship which made me constantly sea sick. It seemed to bounce wildly on the waves, but I was assured that the conditions in the 25 foot high waves were actually pretty calm. It is all relative!
We arrived in Quebec City and I caught a bus to Montreal where I found hostel-style accommodation in the Hotel Bonaventure, which was a new hotel not yet completed. The unfinished floors were filled with bunk beds rented out for a couple of dollars a night to students like myself.
Finally I arrived at Expo '67. It was an amazing experience – visiting the 90 pavilions on the site from dawn to dusk. I really felt I was seeing the world, with the state of the art films and interactive displays in the pavilions. The British pavilion, which was shaped like a pyramid with the unfinished top featuring a Union Jack, made me proud.
But the biggest hit was the Soviet Union pavilion, which showcased Soviet space technology and visitors could experience the sensation of space travel. The host pavilions representing Canada, and the fair's theme – Man and His World – were stunning, as was the US pavilion with a geodesic design by Buckminster Fuller.
Then something unreal happened. I had been told to report back to the ship eight days after we docked in Quebec for the return journey to Europe. As I was walking through the crowds, often over 100,000 people a day, I bumped into one of the ship's crew. He said he was glad to see me as he had an important message to deliver – we were sailing with our cargo of grain a day earlier the planned!
If I hadn't bumped into him, I would have missed the return voyage. As it was, I made it back on time and returned home with enough money from my deck work on the ship to pay for my flight home from Rotterdam.
Once I got back, several newspapers and even BBC television were interested in my experience and interviewed me extensively about my adventure. That proved a life-defining experience and it led to a 50 year career in journalism. I retired in 2015.
The experience changed me forever and launched my lifetime journey. It gave me confidence and proved I could survive anywhere in the world. It was to be the first of more than 50 or more trips to every continent and both the Arctic and Antarctic.
It also gave me a deep love of Canada, where I eventually immigrated ten years later. And I'm still here, living in Vancouver.
The Orient Express: November 1974
Too Good to be True: The Caribbean – 2007
The United States of Muhammad Ali


With clean typography, an inky color palette, and lots of subtle textures, Typo has all the charm and style of an old-fashioned typewriter.
The responsive, one-column design makes it perfect for writing, while support for several post formats makes it easy to share your life with vintage flair.
Read more about Typo on the Theme Showcase, see it in action on the demo site, or activate it on your own blog by going to Appearance ? Themes.


Newly built walk-able town home in the center of downtown New Braunfels! Great outdoor patio, perfect for entertaining! Watch the the 4th of July fireworks from the comforts of home! This townhome has all the upgrades you are looking for. Low maintenance beauty with high ceilings! Low utilities!
Listing provided courtesy of Timothy Gigliotti of Bhhs Don Johnson, Realtors.


August is usually referred to as the "silly season" in terms of news items. Because so many people go away on vacation, newspapers have very little to work on so that any stories that emerge during August are over-hyped and get more attention than they normally deserve.
Therefore, it is generally in August that politicians seek to get some easy publicity by giving interviews and speeches, which they hope will get excessive publicity without rigorous examination by the few people left holding the fort at the news desks while everyone else cavorts on the French or Italian Riviera.
Labour Shadow Pension Minister Gregg McClymont's attack on the fees charged by pension providers obviously falls into this category. Mr. McClymont is righteous in his indignation about the poor outcome for pensioners from their savings and he is very sure where the blame should lie i.e. with those dastardly pension companies who have the cheek to charge for the services they provide instead of running their businesses on the not-for-profit basis so beloved of the Labour quango mentality.
Unfortunately, the Financial Times, in which his interview appears, gives Mr. McClymont a free ride in the piece, reprinting his words verbatim without any challenge. "Rip-off" pension fees and provider's "refusal' to tell savers the extent of their charges" are thrown out without any reference to the fact that charge disclosure approach has been dictated by the FCA (formerly FSA) for years. Providers can't deviate from this set approach without risk of being accused of trying to mislead clients.
The fact that the general public obviously don't understand these disclosure documents points to a failure by regulator rather than by the providers, a fact conveniently ignored by the politicians who would much rather get the audience hissing at the wicked private companies rather than let them realise the failure of the public sector regulators, the very regulators whose salaries are actually being paid for by the taxpayer.
Labour leader Ed Milliband tops this up by saying that the high fees charged by pension companies is the 'next big scandal' to hit Westminster. This is rich, considering the fact that the loss to individual pensioners from charges by the pension providers is minimal compared to the scandal of the excessive pensions to the public sector being maintained behind a screen of silence – levels of pension which are inappropriate to today's economy and will lead to a new North/South divide in the country, only this time between public and private sector retirees.
The silly season may mean that news is thin on the ground but that really is no excuse for the FT allowing the opposition to get away with putting the frighteners on private sector workers and directing their anger the wrong way while allowing them to hide the fact that the private sector is paying far more to support public sector pensions than they are contributing to the pension providers' profits.
@Exaxe Agree with much you say ... but regulations set the floor, not ceiling, for disclosure.


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text:
Coming in to lead a project already underway, to centralize internal cross border transactions for a world leader in household products.
The client, a leader in household, health and hygiene products, was undertaking a major reorganization of its global management and reporting. Henceforth there would be only 2 global regions, one for developed markets and one for developing markets. The objective was to group like markets together to help streamline decision making and speed up implementation.
In parallel they were looking to build a more unified and consolidated ERP system. Hitherto they had a number of instances of J.D. Edwards and other legacy systems as well as SAP.
The in-house SAP team designed a template for handling all internal cross border transactions via a central hub for each of the two global regions. All transfers between countries were to be purchased and then invoiced out by the relevant hub and relevant documentation (e.g. cross border paperwork) raised automatically where and when it was required. The actual movement of physical products was to be unaffected although improved by timely, accurate transacting and the availability of required documentation.
This new solution was to be fully interfaced with the sending and receiving site system (be it J.D. Edwards or SAP) and operate in the background with minimum intervention.
The plan was to use in-house resources for the build and implementation too and this was already underway. However the pressure was also on to design, build and implement a commercial solution for each of the country businesses too. There were insufficient resources in-house to do both within already highly ambitious timeframes.
The client turned to Pivot to take the lead in rolling out the cross border system across the 'developed markets region' centred on the Netherlands. The client had engaged Pivot on many projects previously and knew they could be trusted to pick up the project mid-stream and form the working relationships required to get the job done.
The first task for the Pivot team lead was to address a small number of issues with the initial implementation in Australia and New Zealand. This involved some reconfiguring followed by user testing and go-live. The next task was to start the build for Poland and the Baltic countries, based on a gap workshop already completed. Whilst this was underway, the Pivot consultant also worked with the business team in the gap ratification workshops for Russia and the Ukraine. For much of the time the building and testing was being done simultaneously in both country groupings which required many early starts and late finishes.
It was at this point that the client called a 'time out' to review the work to date and identify any enhancements appropriate. The Pivot consultant joined the team to help identify, develop and test these enhancements and then to provide the training.
"The Pivot consultant's objectives were fairly simple, manage our ***** projects and support the live markets. However this was a huge task and he tackled it head on, working with the business team and other technical teams. He gained an understanding of our solution very quickly and could then be left to manage all areas with very little intervention. He went above and beyond the expectations ensuring there were no production issues as a result of any of the implementations or change requests."
Client SAP Business Partner
Centralising global 'procure to pay' processes to minimise risk and complexity for a leading beverage producer
Coming into a financial reporting project late in the day to help the in-house team deliver within a tight timeframe
Integrating duty calculations and reporting into SAP for a fast growing independent drinks company