NAGS HEAD, N.C. (AP) � Weaker but still menacing, Hurricane Irene knocked out power and piers in North Carolina, clobbered Virginia with wind and churned up the coast yesterday to confront cities more accustomed to snowstorms than tropical storms. New York City emptied its streets and subways and waited with an eerie quiet.
With most of its transportation machinery shut down, the Eastern Seaboard spent the day nervously watching the storm�s march across a swath of the nation inhabited by 65 million people. The hurricane had an enormous wingspan � 500 miles � with its outer reaches stretching from the Carolinas to Cape Cod � and packed wind gusts of 115 mph.
Almost a million homes and businesses were without power. Although it was too early to assess the full threat, Irene was blamed for five deaths.
The hurricane stirred up 7-foot waves, and forecasters warned of storm surge danger on the coasts of Virginia and Delaware, along the Jersey Shore and in New York Harbor and Long Island Sound.
Irene made its official landfall just after first light near Cape Lookout, N.C., at the southern end of the Outer Banks. Shorefront hotels and houses were lashed with waves. Two piers were destroyed, and at least one hospital was forced to run on generator power.
By evening, the storm had weakened to sustained winds of 80 mph. That made it a Category 1, the least threatening on a 1-to-5 scale, and barely stronger than a tropical storm. Its center was positioned almost exactly where North Carolina meets Virginia at the Atlantic, and it was picking up speed, moving at 16 mph as it re-emerged over the Atlantic Ocean. A hurricane warning had been lifted south of Surf City, N.C.
After the Outer Banks, the storm strafed Virginia with rain and winds. It covered the Hampton Roads region and chugged north toward Chesapeake Bay. The storm had a thick flank that covered all of Delaware, most of Maryland and the eastern half of Virginia.


text:
ResTech: Innovative Technologies for Resolution
Giuseppe Loiacono
Bank resolution expert at the Single Resolution Board and Adjunct Professor in financial markets and regulation at SciencesPo Paris.
Alessandro Mazzullo
Senior data scientist at Eni Group
Edoardo Rulli
Bank resolution expert at the Single Resolution Board
The increasing use of financial technologies (FinTech) by market participants has fostered a discussion among public authorities on the use of similar technologies for regulatory (RegTech) and supervisory (SupTech) purposes. Innovative technologies could also be applied to crisis resolution, i.e. the use of one or more resolution tools by a public authority to manage the failure of banks and financial firms in an orderly way. However, the features and market dynamics of resolution differ from those of RegTech and SupTech: there is little market incentive for the private sector to foster innovation in the area of crisis resolution. That is mainly due to two reasons: first, crisis management is the duty of public authorities; second, financial firms have little incentive to plan for crises.
Our paper 'ResTech: innovative technologies for crisis resolution' defines the concept and the scope of ResTech ('resolution technology'). ResTech is the application of innovative technologies (i) to support the work of resolution authorities in developing resolution plans and in resolving banks and financial firms and (ii) to allow financial firms to achieve regulatory compliance and better risk management in an effective and automated manner.
There is a case for ResTech. Supervisors generally lag behind innovations developed by market participants. Internal ratings-based models are one tangible example of this phenomenon applied to credit risk management. Counterparties' creditworthiness assessment is an evergreen challenge in banking. Thus, market participants developed sophisticated internal credit-scoring models, which have subsequently been endorsed by regulators.
We argue that the drivers for developing innovations for supervisory purposes are distinct from those of crisis resolution. Given the lack of private sector incentives to invest in R&D on how to resolve a firm's crisis, resolution authorities are called on to do it. One example from the early 2010s was the introduction of bail-in, which, as opposed to public bailouts, limited banks' moral hazard by ensuring that losses are first borne by their shareholders and creditors.
We identify four main areas of ResTech:
Technology supporting resolution planning activities;
Technology supporting the execution of resolution actions;
Technology supporting the cross-border exchange of information to coordinate global resolution actions;
Technology supporting financial firms' cooperation with resolution authorities enhancing compliance with resolution regulation, policies and decisions.
The ResTech Framework
The ResTech toolbox relies on state-of-the-art big data architecture and technologies. Resolution authorities may develop from data warehouses to data lakes, which enable the collection of structured reporting and unstructured web-based information. Collected data are processed in cloud computing environments and robotic process automation systems. Machine learning algorithms support the analytical work underpinning the definition of early warning indicators and the calibration of the resolution strategy that best minimises the negative externalities of a crisis at any given point in time.
ResTech uses a virtual resolution space (ReSpace) and a resolution simulator (ReSimulator). In ReSpace, the resolution plan becomes a cloud-based work environment. Data regularly flow from authorities and from firms to the resolution authority's data lakes and are consolidated in ReSpace, with automated quality checks. For each planning activity, users can view the underlying input data and any applicable law provisions and policies. In ReSimulator, machine-learning algorithms define the optimal uses of resolution tools at any given point in time, for example by tailoring bail-in execution to the firm's balance sheet features.
Financial firms may ultimately benefit from the use of ResTech applications for compliance purposes. Machine-readable solutions, such as regulatory radars, automatically scan legislation, official communications and authorities' websites to capture publicly available regulatory developments.
ResTech achieves better results in a technologically neutral environment. Technology may enhance domestic and cross-border cooperation between authorities. For instance, the drawing up of resolution plans for cross-border financial groups and the execution of coordinated resolution actions across jurisdictions could use algorithms that process information on the financial firms concerned and on the legal frameworks in which the global resolution strategy would be executed.
Notwithstanding the promising aspects of ResTech, its adoption by resolution authorities might not be a sufficient answer to all existing challenges. In a digitalised environment, resolution authorities would need to set up IT infrastructures and e-governance processes that prevent increased operational, cyber, reputational and legal risks. Further multidisciplinary research is necessary to assess the benefits of ResTech against its risks. One avenue to start addressing these challenges could be to gather the relevant actors and stakeholders together to work on a common taxonomy for ResTech. The next step could be to work on international standards on RegTech and SupTech, while at the same time shaping ResTech tools to reflect the specificities of financial firms' crises resolution. In this regard, policy makers and resolution authorities are the best placed to foster innovation.
Giuseppe Loiacono is a bank resolution expert at the Single Resolution Board and Adjunct Professor in financial markets and regulation at SciencesPo Paris.
Alessandro Mazzullo is a senior data scientist at Eni Group.
Edoardo Rulli is a bank resolution expert at the Single Resolution Board.
The post is written in the authors' personal capacity and does not purport to represent the views of their respective employers.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


[quote][/quote]Hiya I hope you can help.
I have no knowledge of plumbing and radiators but can understand basic instructions so please keep it simple!
In my living room which is downstairs, I have a radiator which I understand is called something like a twin value radiator and it's an old style radiator and difficult to replace etc.
I am renting this house and will not be replacing it or hiring anyone to do any work on it so please don't advise anything that will cost me money!
The radiator is very very hot and I have no choice but to put my leather sofa in front of it because of the layout of the room and where the radiator is. So I have to leave a foot gap or I will burn the leather on the sofa.
Please can someone explain to me what both of the valves/pipes do, what will happen if I turn either of the valves and advise me on if I can turn this radiator off without affecting the heating in the rest of the house. For info my boiler is in the airing cupboard upstairs, and all other radiators are the newer versions with valves at both ends and I can control the heat levels of those by turning the knob.
In the mean time have you tried adjusting either valve?


Throwback to that time our in house artist (Hannah) and our Marketing and Client Care manager (Natasha) were on the float to support the Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue and their Ducktona 5000 fundraiser! Such fun and such a good cause.
Click HERE for more information and to buy your duck for the big race happening Sunday September 9th at 2pm at Crescent Beach. You may even win $1000!
The Search and Rescue are all volunteers so please help them and Donate today!


text:
Q: Nuclear Mass and stability I was plotting the Ag$-109$ Mass parabola putting the Atomic number on the $x-$axis and the Mass of the nuclei on the $y-$axis (calculated as $M=Zm_p+(A-Z) m_n-B$).
I noticed that even if the Ag$-109$ ($Z=47$) is the stable element the minimum of the parabola is on $Z=48$. Is that possible?

A: Yes, It is possible because the Q value of the electron capture process from 48 $\rightarrow$ 47 is (M initial - M final + electron mass) and not (M initial - M final)

A: The definitive place to look for nuclear stability would be the journal Nuclear Data Sheets. The article for A=109, Jean Blachot, Nuclear Data Sheets 107 355-506 (2006) is quite clear that the lowest energy nucleus is indeed $^{109}$Ag, which is 214.2keV more stable then $^{109}$Cd.

A: I would suggest you look at the "Chart of the Nuclides". Here is a link of an interactive version in the region of A=107. You can veiw the color scale for BE/A and see if the numbers agree with yours. The chart is the official version from the National Nuclear Data Center (NNDC) at Brookhaven National Lab. The full chart is shown here for half-lives.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
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Latest COVID-19 Relief Bill
Home/Latest COVID-19 Relief Bill
Latest COVID-19 Relief Bill	admin	2020-12-29T13:51:05-06:00
Late last night, the US Senate and House of Representatives passed a $900 billion COVID-19 relief bill. President Trump is expected to sign it into law before the end of the year.
The bill is over 5,500 pages and contains many provisions. Here is a summary of the key provisions that are most likely to impact you and your business.
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Loans
Business expenses paid with forgiven PPP loan proceeds are deductible for tax purposes. With the original PPP bill, it was clear that the forgiven loan proceeds would not be taxable. However, the IRS later announced that while the proceeds would be tax-free, businesses would not be able to deduct related PPP expenses. This would essentially result in the forgiveness becoming a taxable event. The new law removes this nondeductibility, allowing for the PPP loan forgiveness to be tax free and all related expenses to be deductible.
A simplified forgiveness application will now be available for PPP loans of $150,000 or less.
Borrowers are no longer required to deduct the amount of any Economic Impact Disaster Loan (EIDL) advance from their PPP forgiveness amount.
Second Round of PPP (PPP2) Loans
Some business that previously received a PPP loan may be eligible for a PPP2 loan. Previous PPP recipients may apply for another loan of up to $2 million if they have 300 or fewer employees, have used or will use the full amount of their first PPP loan and have experienced a 25% gross revenue decline in any 2020 quarter compared to the same quarter in 2019.
In addition, first-time borrowers may apply for a PPP2 loan. The following groups may be eligible: businesses with 500 or fewer employees, sole proprietors, independent contractors or self-employed individuals, non-profit organizations (including churches), and food service operations with fewer than 300 employees per physical location.
The eligibility, loan amount calculations, terms and forgiveness factors for the PPP2 loans are generally similar to those of the original PPP loans. However, restaurants are now eligible for a loan equal to 3.5 times monthly salary rather than the 2.5 factor that applies to other businesses. Also, costs eligible for loan forgiveness have been expanded to include personal protective equipment and facility changes to comply with health and safety guidelines, payments to suppliers that are essential to the recipient's current operations and covered operating costs such as software, cloud computing services and accounting needs.
Second Round of Economic Impact Payments
Individuals making up to $75,000 per year may be eligible for a $600 payment and married couples making up to $150,000 per year may be eligible for $1,200. Those with dependents will be eligible for an additional $600 for each dependent child. In general, the rules, limitations and phase outs are similar to the first round of economic impact payments issued over the spring and summer. If you received an impact payment earlier in the year, you should receive a second round payment equal to approximately 50% of the original payment.
Just like with the first round, the second round of payments will generally be calculated based upon your 2019 income. However, there will be a recalculation of the benefit on your 2020 return. If this recalculation shows that you were entitled to more based upon your 2020 tax information, you will receive the additional amount through your 2020 income tax filing. If the recalculation shows that you received too much based upon your 2020 tax information, you will not be required to pay the excess back.
Payments are expected to begin next week.
The federal unemployment benefits provided by the CARES Act that expired in July will be renewed to provide a $300 per week unemployment benefits supplement for those receiving state unemployment benefits. This supplement will last from December 26 through March 14. The bill also extends the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) for self-employed workers, independent contractors and others not traditionally eligible for unemployment benefits.
Employer Retention Credit (ERC)
The bill extends the ERC until June 30, 2021 and expands the credit by providing a 70% credit for up to $10,000 in creditable wages per quarter and reducing the gross receipts decline to 20% from 50%. So instead of a $5,000 credit per employee per year, it will be a credit of up to $7,000 per employee per quarter. The employee retention credit gives businesses of all sizes, including nonprofits, a payroll tax credit for wages paid during a suspension of their business operations or periods where they have experienced significant revenue losses.
In addition, employers who receive PPP loans may still qualify for the ERC with respect to wages that were not paid using forgiven PPP proceeds. This change is retroactive to March.
Paid Leave Credits
The paid sick leave and expanded FMLA payroll tax credits under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) are extended through March 31, 2021, but the FFCRA paid leave mandates were not extended and will expire on December 31, 2020. In other words, FFCRA leave is no longer required in 2021, but if employers want to voluntarily provide these leave benefits through March 31, 2021, they are eligible to take the tax credit for the leave. For employers who want to continue to provide this leave in 2021 and take advantage of these credits, the same daily limits and employee eligibility requirements would continue to apply as if the entire FFCRA was extended through March 31, 2021. These provisions apply only to employers with fewer than 500 employees.
Various Other Provisions
For 2021 and 2022, businesses can deduct the full cost of business meals. Currently, taxpayers generally may deduct only 50% of client-related business meals if certain requirements are met. Note, this provision is not retroactive to the 2020 tax year and only applies to food or beverages provided by a restaurant.
The ability of individual taxpayers who do not itemize to take a charitable deduction of up to $300 is extended to the 2021 tax year. Also, in 2021, joint filers may deduct up to $600.
The gross income limitation on qualifying charitable contributions has been suspended through 2021.
Various energy-related tax credits have been extended through December 31, 2021.
The income threshold for medical expense deductions has been reduced from 10% to 7.5%.
Employees with unused amounts in their health and dependent care flexible spending accounts may be eligible for more expansive carryover and grace period policies.
The income threshold at which the Lifetime Learning Credit phases out has been increased.
Employees and employers will have more time to pay back deferred employee payroll tax amounts. The repayment deadline has changed from April 30, 2021 to December 31, 2021.
The Work Opportunity Tax Credit has been extended for five years, helping employers to continue to hire disadvantaged individuals.
2020 has certainly been an unusual and challenging year. SFW Partners, LLC remains dedicated to serving and supporting you. We value your business and appreciate your continued trust in our firm. Please let us know if we can assist you in any way. You can contact your regular SFW representatives via email or phone. You can also call our receptionist at 314-569-3333 or email her at SFW@sfwpartnersllc.com and she will put you in contact with the right person.
© Copyright | SFW Partners, LLC All Rights Reserved


text:
Film offers sneak peek inside New Mexico Governor's Mansion
by: Francesca Washington
Posted: Oct 22, 2020 / 04:28 PM MDT / Updated: Nov 18, 2020 / 01:26 PM MST
SANTA FE, N.M. (KRQE) – A look inside the peoples' house, in a couple of weeks you'll be able to get a virtual tour of the New Mexico Governor's Mansion from the comfort of your own home. "It's certainly our state's premier residence," says Sherry Parsons, President of the New Mexico Governor's Foundation.
Normally the Governor's Mansion is open to the public twice a month, "We refer to the mansion as the people's house because it belongs to the entire state," Parsons says.
But since COVId-19 canceled those bi-monthly tours and special events, the New Mexico Governor's Mansion Foundation created a short film to mimic the experience. "It's very open and very inviting concepts beautiful grounds it sits on 30 acres," Parsons says.
Governor's Mansion Film
The film explains the history of the governor's mansion, dating all the way back to 1610 when Santa Fe was founded. The film also showcases, paintings, pottery, and tin work and hand carved furniture by well known New Mexico artists. "It is the people's house and we tried to choose a selection of art and pottery and sculptures that would appeal to everyone and really represent the rich art history that we have here in New Mexico," Parsons says.
Parsons says some of the pieces are on loan from local museums or artists and are picked out by the governor. Parsons hopes the film will give viewers a taste of the culture and the hospitality of New Mexico and encourage them to plan an in-person tour once it's allowed. "It seems to strike a cord, it's something positive, something beautiful in otherwise challenging times and lots of not so good news," Parsons says.
Only the public areas of the mansion are shown in the film. The entire film will be available online on November 6.
Anonymous package brings historic photos, documents back to Belen
More New Mexico News Stories
NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – The governor has ordered flags at half staff in honor of the late New Mexico Sen. Jim White. The Republican and Air Force veteran died last week at the age of 77-years-old.
White served in the New Mexico Legislature for more than a decade, representing the East Mountains and Moriarty. The governor remembered him as a lawmaker who put his constituents before party interests. The flag order runs Tuesday, Jan. 19, through sundown Thursday, Jan. 21.
SANTA FE, N.M. (KRQE) – The 2021 Legislative Session is going to look different this year due to the pandemic. The session will start Tuesday, Jan. 19 at noon and adjourn on March 20.
The governor's usual state of the state address is being pushed back this session. Typically the governor gives a speech to lawmakers on the first day and talks about her goals for the session. Since lawmakers need to nail down some pandemic procedures this year, like which discussions will be conducted remotely, the governor is holding off until those details are set. The speech will likely be done remotely as well.
FARMINGTON, N.M. (AP) — Officials have closed a section of road on the Navajo Nation through the end of February because of concerns about persistent drag racing.
The Farmington Daily Times reported Monday that the Bureau of Indian Affairs Division of Transportation closed 2.5 miles (4.02 kilometers) of Navajo Route 4178 with concrete barriers and signs near the Navajo Agricultural Products Industry farm and food product company.


Our Zareba® White Pin-Lock Wood and T-Post Insulator tightly fastens electrified wire to wood, metal and T-posts (1.25 or 1.33 T-posts) without losing energy through the post. The molded pin holds wire tight. When you are ready to release the wire, simply pull the pin.


Mini Baja® consists of three regional competitions that simulate real-world engineering design projects and their related challenges. Engineering students are tasked to design and build an off-road vehicle that will survive the severe punishment of rough terrain and in the East competition—water.
Engine price: The suggested list price for the Briggs & Stratton 10 Hp OHV Intek Model 205432 engine is $628.00.
Important: Must read prior to all Baja events. Competition Requirements from Briggs & Stratton for all Events!
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Ashburn allowed GigeNET to add thousands of servers and an additional location for their cloud services. It is also completely compliant with key federal regulations and industry standards – ISO Certification, LEED Certification, and Uptime Institute.
O'Connell, Johnathan. "Why Ashburn, Va. Is the Center of the Internet." Washington Post. The Washington Post, 15 Mar. 2014. Web. 23 Jan.2015.


Regular readers will know that I'm an avid blogger; I produce an entry every week come rain, shine or public holiday.
Always open to an alternative point of view, however, I clicked on a sponsored post a couple of weeks ago about the topic of how blogging doesn't lead to book sales. Sponsored posts are usually an indicator of quality, often containing persuasive text and statistics to support the blogger's point of view.
In this case, an author was selling a book via Kindle about how to increase Kindle sales, but using what amounted to a 3,700-word rant. I then headed to the author's Amazon page to read what others had to say about this guy; the consensus was that the information was useful, but they objected to some unnecessary and offensive material within the text. In short, the writer had adopted the wrong tone.
Judging the tone of a piece can be a tricky business. Something meant in a satirical or sarcastic manner can be interpreted as serious or libellous, and that's partly why I believe it's important to take a break from a piece and to look at it later with fresh eyes.
But this sponsored post wasn't a one-off piece written on a bad day. Everywhere this author had been published, there appeared the same attitude and the same comments. The reason I'm not linking to his site isn't to do with the tone of that page; he's also a pickup artist, so I'd rather not drive any more traffic there.
In both cases, we have an accusation. Firstly, the reader is told they know nothing about US Independence Day. Secondly, it's the sub-headline that causes a problem; it assumes that the reader has no mental impairment. This is a deliberate move from the publication to anger the reader and therefore generate a click.
And it works. An excellent article from Wired lays out the psychology behind emotional responses, and it's noted that other emotions also attract readers. Some websites follow a two-sentence structure designed to entice curiosity without revealing too many details; a journalist from Poynter explains how Upworthy headlines operate.
What I haven't been able to find is why we as a culture haven't collectively learnt to ignore these sensationalist tactics, just as many users have become selectively blind to banner and sidebar advertising.
In my years of running this blog, I probably haven't judged my tone correctly in every single entry. However, I always aim to bring people on board by moderating my words in such a way that people are engaged, not outraged.
Looking back over the last three months, each week has attracted between two and eight presses of the Like button, plus the occasional new follower. I'd much rather have two engaged readers than have a hundred people visit, be offended, and leave permanently.


text:
Q: oracle results from tables using function I'm doing some testing to see if I can speed up a particular result set, but can't seem to get this particular solution working. I have data coming a few different tables and want to combine the data. I want to try this without using a union select to see if I get a performance improvement.
When I have a custom table/object type in a function, it seems to delete the existing data from the table when doing the subsequent select. Is there a way to do subsequent selects into the table without having the previous data deleted?
SQL Fiddle

A: I don't think that approach will be faster, in fact I expect it to be much slower.
But if you do want to do it, you need to put the rows from the second select into an intermediate collection and then join both using multiset union.
Something like this:
create or replace function
  academic_history(p_student_id number)
  return ah_tab_type
  is
  result ah_tab_type;
  t ah_tab_type;
begin

  select ah_obj_type(student_id,course_code,grade)
     bulk collect into result
  from completed_courses
  where student_id = p_student_id;

  select ah_obj_type(student_id,course_code,'P')
    bulk collect into T
  from trans_courses
  where student_id = p_student_id;

  result := result multiset union t;

  return result;
end;
/

A: As well as the multiset approach, if you really wanted to do this you could also make it a pipelined function:
create or replace function
academic_history(p_student_id number)
return ah_tab_type pipelined
is
    T ah_tab_type;
begin
    select ah_obj_type(student_id,course_code,grade)
    bulk collect
    into T
    from completed_courses
    where student_id = p_student_id;

    for i in 1..T.count loop
        pipe row (T(i));
    end loop;

    select ah_obj_type(student_id,course_code,'P')
    bulk collect
    into T
    from trans_courses
    where student_id = p_student_id;

    for i in 1..T.count loop
        pipe row (T(i));
    end loop;

    return;
end;

SQL Fiddle.

A: Thanks a_horse_with_no_name for pointing out that doing the multiple selects one at a time will probably be slower. I was able to reduce the execution time by filtering each select by student_id and then union-ing (rather than union-ing everything then filtering). On the data set I'm working with this solution was the fastest taking less than 1/10 of a second...
create or replace function
  academic_history(p_student_id number)
  return ah_tab_type
  is
  T ah_tab_type;
begin

  select ah_obj_type(student_id,course_code,grade)
  bulk collect
  into T
  from (
    select student_id,course_code,grade
    from completed_courses
    where student_id = p_student_id
    union
    select student_id,course_code,'P'
    from trans_courses
    where student_id = p_student_id);

  return T;
end;
/
select *
from table(academic_history(1));

and this took 2-3 seconds to execute...
create view vw_academic_history
select student_id,course_code,grade
from completed_courses
union
select student_id,course_code,'P'
from trans_courses;

select *
from vw_academic_history
where student_id = 1;

SQLFiddle.


The Future of Organized Markets: Can They Survive in Their Current Form?
The Future of the Electric Utility: What Will It Look Like in 10 Years?
New York government enforcement and white collar crime head David Meister participated as a panelist. Counsel Donna Byrne also spoke on "Developments in FERC Enforcement Proceedings."


text:
Robert Neubecker
Why I don't use Instagram for science outreach
By Meghan Wright Mar. 15, 2018 , 2:00 PM
Editor's note, 17 March, 12:45 p.m.: In setting the context in this opinion piece, an individual (Science Sam) was identified and many have read the article as a personal attack. This was not the intent of the author or the editors, and we apologize. We are examining our editorial process for these pieces moving forward.
Science Sam is a big name on campus. She's a Ph.D. candidate in the sciences who wants to pursue a career outside of academia, like me. But unlike me, she is our school's science communication, or #scicomm, superstar. Her Instagram page, which aims to show the "fun and trendy" side of science, was recently celebrated in the school's newsletter for increasing the public's trust in scientists. At a career workshop, graduate students were urged to follow Science Sam's example and use #scicomm to build our personal brands as we enter the job market. I already have an Instagram account, but it reflects my interests in photography and baking more than my love of science. The workshop got me thinking: Should my posts focus less on pastries and more on pipettes?
Last week's Working Life
Working Life is a personal essay series about career issues, challenges, and successes.
Academia was right for my father, but not for me
Read more Working Life
I followed Sam on Instagram, and I soon found many other female graduate students and postdocs whose Instagram pages are filled with pretty selfies, fun videos, and microscope images captioned with accessible language and cute emojis. These researchers assert themselves as scientists who don't fit the stereotypes that are typically applied to women in the field. They are not boring or unfashionable. Instead, their posts demonstrate that they're interested in clothes and makeup, that they're physically active, and that they are attractive romantic partners. By visibly contradicting stereotypes about female scientists, it is clear that they hope to inspire girls to pursue science and to encourage female scientists to showcase their femininity in our male-dominated work spaces.
If I had seen these posts when I was 17, maybe I would have been more confident that I would excel in engineering even though I spent my time in the darkroom developing photos, not in the computer lab learning to code like the male engineers I saw in popular culture. But instead of cheering on Instagram's dynamic and vibrant #scicomm women, I felt an increasing bitterness with each post I came across, though I struggled to understand why.
Publicly documenting the cute outfit I wear and the sweet smile I brandish in the lab isn't going to help me.
After long conversations with other women in my lab, I realized that I am not bitter toward the authors of these posts. Although I am annoyed that the majority of the posts seem to celebrate a very narrow representation of femininity, my real bitterness comes from the systemic challenges that these posts are working to address, and from seeing so many young female scientists compelled to turn to their personal social media pages to try to correct the system's failures.
I have come to understand #scicomm on Instagram as a digital demonstration of the efforts that many female scientists exert daily to correct for gender disparities. Female scientists spend demonstrably more time teaching, mentoring, and participating in community outreach than their male colleagues, just as there are far more female #scicommers on Instagram than male. I liken the many hours that Science Sam spends on her Instagram content to the volunteer work a female professor in my department put into organizing a summer program to introduce teens from underrepresented communities to biomedical engineering.
A lot of good comes from the work of female scientists on Instagram. But it disturbs me that these efforts are celebrated as ways to correct for the long held and deeply structured forms of discrimination and exclusion that female scientists face. I wonder whether our efforts should instead be directed toward advocating for policy changes at institutional and governmental levels.
When I next interview for a job, I won't have an Instagram page to show that my love of science doesn't make me boring and unfriendly. Publicly documenting the cute outfit I wear and the sweet smile I brandish in the lab isn't going to help me build a fulfilling career in a field where women hold less senior positions, are paid less, and are continuously underrated. Time spent on Instagram is time away from research, and this affects women in science more than men. That's unfair. Let's not celebrate that.
Science has published responses from the scientific community to this Working Life; read more in our 13 April issue.
Non-disciplinary
doi:10.1126/science.caredit.aat5907
Meghan Wright
Meghan Wright is a doctoral candidate in the Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Toronto in Canada.
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text:
package org.apache.jena.sparql.util;

import org.apache.jena.graph.Node;
import org.apache.jena.sparql.ARQConstants;
import org.apache.jena.sparql.engine.ExecutionContext;
import org.apache.jena.sparql.engine.QueryIterator;
import org.apache.jena.sparql.engine.binding.Binding;
import org.apache.jena.sparql.expr.NodeValue;
import org.apache.jena.sparql.function.Function;
import org.apache.jena.sparql.function.FunctionBase1;
import org.apache.jena.sparql.function.FunctionFactory;
import org.apache.jena.sparql.function.FunctionRegistry;
import org.apache.jena.sparql.pfunction.PFuncSimple;
import org.apache.jena.sparql.pfunction.PropertyFunction;
import org.apache.jena.sparql.pfunction.PropertyFunctionFactory;
import org.apache.jena.sparql.pfunction.PropertyFunctionRegistry;
import org.apache.jena.sparql.service.ServiceExecutorRegistry;
import org.apache.jena.sparql.service.bulk.ChainingServiceExecutorBulk;
import org.apache.jena.sparql.service.single.ChainingServiceExecutor;
import org.apache.jena.sys.JenaSystem;
import org.junit.Assert;
import org.junit.BeforeClass;
import org.junit.Test;

import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.List;

/**
 * To test utility {@link ContextUtils} methods.
 */
public class TestContextUtils {
    @BeforeClass
    public static void beforeClass() {
        JenaSystem.init();
    }

    private static Function mockFunction() {
        return new FunctionBase1() {
            @Override
            public NodeValue exec(NodeValue v) {
                return null;
            }
        };
    }

    private static PropertyFunction mockPropertyFunction() {
        return new PFuncSimple() {
            @Override
            public QueryIterator execEvaluated(Binding b, Node s, Node p, Node o, ExecutionContext ec) {
                return null;
            }
        };
    }

    private static ChainingServiceExecutorBulk mockChainingServiceExecutorBulk() {
        return (opService, input, execCxt, chain) -> null;
    }

    private static ChainingServiceExecutor mockChainingServiceExecutor() {
        return (opExecute, opOriginal, binding, execCxt, chain) -> null;
    }

    @Test
    public void testCopyWithRegistries() {
        Context givenContext = new Context();
        FunctionFactory givenFunctionFactory = uri -> mockFunction();
        PropertyFunctionFactory givenPFunctionFactory = uri -> mockPropertyFunction();
        ChainingServiceExecutorBulk givenServiceExecutionFactory = mockChainingServiceExecutorBulk();
        ChainingServiceExecutor givenChainingServiceExecutor = mockChainingServiceExecutor();

        PropertyFunctionRegistry givenPFunctionRegistry = new PropertyFunctionRegistry();
        FunctionRegistry givenFunctionRegistry = new FunctionRegistry();
        ServiceExecutorRegistry givenServiceExecutorRegistry = new ServiceExecutorRegistry();
        givenFunctionRegistry.put("x", givenFunctionFactory);
        givenPFunctionRegistry.put("y", givenPFunctionFactory);
        givenServiceExecutorRegistry.addBulkLink(givenServiceExecutionFactory);
        givenServiceExecutorRegistry.addSingleLink(givenChainingServiceExecutor);

        givenContext.put(ARQConstants.registryFunctions, givenFunctionRegistry);
        givenContext.put(ARQConstants.registryPropertyFunctions, givenPFunctionRegistry);
        givenContext.put(ARQConstants.registryServiceExecutors, givenServiceExecutorRegistry);

        Context actualContext = ContextUtils.copyWithRegistries(givenContext);
        Assert.assertNotNull(actualContext);
        Assert.assertNotSame(givenContext, actualContext);

        PropertyFunctionRegistry actualPFunctionRegistry = PropertyFunctionRegistry.get(actualContext);
        FunctionRegistry actualFunctionRegistry = FunctionRegistry.get(actualContext);
        ServiceExecutorRegistry actualServiceExecutorRegistry = ServiceExecutorRegistry.get(actualContext);

        Assert.assertNotNull(actualPFunctionRegistry);
        Assert.assertNotNull(actualFunctionRegistry);
        Assert.assertNotNull(actualServiceExecutorRegistry);

        Assert.assertNotSame(givenFunctionRegistry, actualFunctionRegistry);
        Assert.assertNotSame(givenPFunctionRegistry, actualPFunctionRegistry);
        Assert.assertNotSame(givenServiceExecutorRegistry, actualServiceExecutorRegistry);

        List<FunctionFactory> actualFunctionFactories = new ArrayList<>();
        actualFunctionRegistry.keys().forEachRemaining(k -> actualFunctionFactories.add(actualFunctionRegistry.get(k)));
        List<PropertyFunctionFactory> actualPFunctionFactories = new ArrayList<>();
        actualPFunctionRegistry.keys().forEachRemaining(k -> actualPFunctionFactories.add(actualPFunctionRegistry.get(k)));

        Assert.assertSame(givenPFunctionFactory, actualPFunctionRegistry.get("y"));
        Assert.assertSame(givenFunctionFactory, actualFunctionRegistry.get("x"));
        Assert.assertEquals(List.of(givenPFunctionFactory), actualPFunctionFactories);
        Assert.assertEquals(List.of(givenFunctionFactory), actualFunctionFactories);
        Assert.assertEquals(List.of(givenServiceExecutionFactory), actualServiceExecutorRegistry.getBulkChain());
        Assert.assertEquals(List.of(givenChainingServiceExecutor), actualServiceExecutorRegistry.getSingleChain());
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


It´s heavy! The fabric is made of American fleece in 80% cotton 20%polyester and has a weight of 520 gr (1,2 lbs)/sqm!!! The hood is lined with thermal waffle fabric in contrast colour and is loaded with lots of"goodies" such as felt application on chest and arm, GASP symbol on back of hood, 2x2 ribbed details, etc, etc.
Arguably the best Bodybuilder Hoodie money can buy!


March 29 2017, Warta Permadi uploads Pinterest Outdoor Christmas Decorations. The Pinterest Outdoor Christmas Decorations has been created with briliant ideas, beautiful combined colors and follow trend of Christmas, so the Pinterest Outdoor Christmas Decorations will give you the real of Christmas inspiration you need . more over The Pinterest Outdoor Christmas Decorations.
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7 After this Jesus went about in Galilee. He did not wish to go about in Judea because the Jews were looking for an opportunity to kill him. 2 Now the Jewish festival of Booths was near. 3 So his brothers said to him, "Leave here and go to Judea so that your disciples also may see the works you are doing; 4 for no one who wants to be widely known acts in secret. If you do these things, show yourself to the world." 5 (For not even his brothers believed in him.) 6 Jesus said to them, "My time has not yet come, but your time is always here. 7 The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify against it that its works are evil. 8 Go to the festival yourselves. I am not going to this festival, for my time has not yet fully come." 9 After saying this, he remained in Galilee. 10 But after his brothers had gone to the festival, then he also went, not publicly but as it were in secret. 11 The Jews were looking for him at the festival and saying, "Where is he?" 12 And there was considerable complaining about him among the crowds. While some were saying, "He is a good man," others were saying, "No, he is deceiving the crowd." 13 Yet no one would speak openly about him for fear of the Jews.
One of the greatest leaps in maturing is figuring out to whom do we listen. If we listen to everybody, and give each voice equal weight, then we will never get anywhere nor will we do anything. That's the rub. Growing up is much about whose voices we hear.
Part of this is innate. Studies have shown that parents can pick their own child's voice out of the background cacophony. Even more amazing, nursing mothers actually can start lactating at the recording of their own child's cry. We are fearfully and wonderfully made.
Three times in the last week over conversations, I have heard people say something and I invited them to see it differently. One even said, "That's a positive way to reframe that." Often our voices can be negative and self-defeating. Half Full or Half Empty? Which voice do we hear? Or maybe it should be, Who drank my drink?
Jesus here had to make some decisions. At his brothers encouragement, he was urged to go and make himself known. "Head on down to Jerusalem, Sukkot is happening. Show up, gather a crowd, and if you really are all that, then Jerusalem is where you need to be. If you can make it there, you can make it anywhere." Sukkot was the Scripture-mandated festival of the fall harvest. You may have passed a synagogue when those there had built booths, and probably stayed in them.
Jesus did not go at his brothers urging, or even with them. Now he was not lying, or being deceptive to what he was supposed to be about. His call was to worship at the Festival, not to draw attention to himself. Had he gone with his brothers, it would have been to his honor and glory.
When we go to worship, it is not about us. It should be about God, and giving God the Glory. (Soli Deo Gloria.) Jesus was practicing what he preached if you remember his admonition in the Sermon on the Mount about praying in our closets.
Jesus knew himself. He knew his time had not yet come. He knew that he needed to bide his days, and when the fullness of time had come he would be high and lifted up. He had to trust that inner voice, the prompting of the Holy Spirit and the timing of God.
The world tells you many lies about who you are, and you simply have to be realistic enough to remind yourself of this. Every time you feel hurt, offended, or rejected, you have to dare to say to yourself, "These feelings, strong as they may be, are not telling me the truth about myself. The truth, even though I cannot feel it right now, is that I am the chosen child of God, precious in God's eyes, called the Beloved from all eternity, and held safe in an everlasting embrace.
Collect: Grant, O merciful God, that your Church, being gathered together in unity by your Holy Spirit, may show forth your power among all peoples, to the glory of your Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
In college, I took a film studies class, and we watched the beautiful German film "Wings of Desire" by Wim Wenders. There was a bad American remake called "CIty of Angels." Watch the German. Much better. Set at the height of the Cold War just before the fall of the Berlin Wall, "Wings of Desire" was all about division and barriers. It was a beautiful and fantastical story of an angel who falls in love with a woman in Berlin, and must choose what he wants most. Eternity or mortality. When he chooses to love that one he has become smitten with, he stops being an angel.
When he fell, I was fascinated when Wim Wenders also had him lose his helmet and his breastplate instead of just his wings when he abandoned immortality. The wings we had seen up until this point, but the helmet and breastplate were hidden. I am sure that the director was showing by having a physical helmet and a physical breastplate land on the fallen angel that he had lost his salvation (helmet of salvation) and his righteousness (breastplate of righteousness). My professor, unfamiliar with the passage from St. Paul which we read, said he was losing his protection. I, in my very sophomoric way of arguing with a professor, pointed out this much more clear metaphor. If you know the Scripture it is obvious. My professor did not appreciate my comment. And admittedly I probably could have done it better. The "full armor of God" was something that was ingrained in my head from Sunday School and Vacation Bible School in my earliest days.
It will always stay with me. Which proves the proverb, "Train up a child in the way that they should go, and when they are older they will not depart from it." Proverbs 22:6 I don't think I could lose it if I tried.
Those who were hearing Jesus in today's Gospel reading were of two minds. Some who only heard the costs, and others who had been steeped and were committed could not consider any other way. After so many weeks following this passage of Jesus as the Bread of Life, we come to its conclusion and the confrontational climax. Four weeks is a long time to spin any metaphor, so forgive me if we divert from it for the most part today, but I will say a few words. For those that were following Jesus, this became a decision point. Cut bait or swim. This was a moment of life-changing importance. We see people at those various levels of commitment to Jesus, just like in his parable of the Sower, where the seed fell on various soils, or souls one might say, and received differing responses. Those that were following their bellies, wanting to just be fed rose up. "This teaching is difficult. Who can accept it?" they asked. When Jesus turned to his most committed followers, his disciples, the Twelve, he gets a much different response. "Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God." Where others ran away, those that understood the implications of what he said ran to him.
What was so controversial and hard to take? It is easy to throw the baby out with the bathwater, to shoot the message because of the messenger. What Jesus is saying here is to our ears commonplace, and accepted (or at least tolerated) as we come to the altar table weekly. But to Jews in the first century it could not have been more abhorrent. To the Greeks and Romans, the disgust factor over this would have been backwards and savage. Rumors of cannibalism amongst fringe groups were not uncommon. But to a Jew, the thought of blood and its consumption was beyond the pale. Deuteronomy 12:23, "Only be sure that you do not eat the blood; for the blood is the life, and you shall not eat the life with the meat." As we mentioned last week, try getting a medium-rare burger in the Middle East, even today. Kosher or Halal dietary restrictions prevent that.
Looking closely at St. Paul's metaphor, this armor we are to put on is for one reason: to make sure that we are to be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. The word for wiles here is not an emotional term. In fact, the translation I prefer for methodeias is not wiles, but rather schemes. It is not evil henchman laughing like in a super-hero movie [insert cackle here]; it is the calculating and methodical planning of a general moving his troops around the battle board. These schemes are out to undermine at best and destroy at worst our mission and ministry to this hurting world.
Jesus knew and Paul reminds us, we are behind enemy lines and attacking a power desperately clinging to their territory. Now think about it. We are not enemies of the people; we love the people. We are enemies of the Power that holds down the people. We are not like Peacekeepers sent in by the United Nations. (And they seem so often to be ill-equipped or restricted from doing what is necessary, anyway.) We are not here to keep the peace. We are sent to make peace; we are to be Peacemakers. We are to be on the offense, but not offensive. We are to bring good news, but our weapons and equipment are there for defense only. So what did Paul say? We need everything God has to offer for our protection while we are at God's work in this world.
Breastplate of Righteousness: A breastplate covers our vitals, heart and lungs, stomach and guts. In the ancient world everyone looked like Batman. Or rather, Batman chose the intimidation factor of being covered with a breastplate which showed his 6-pack abs and chiseled chest. But Paul's breastplate, what covers our vitals is Righteousness. We don't use that word often, any more, and when we do it is often in the negative, Self-righteous. Righteousness: the quality of being morally right or justifiable. What protects our very life is being right from how we live, and with whom are we right? God. The devil clan sling and scheme away, but our breastplate is "God's okaying of us," as one of my seminary professors translated this word.
But while we are moving behind these lines and bringing the good news of peace, arrows are heading our way, flaming arrows from the evil one himself. In response to that, we are given the Shield of Faith. This shield, our faith, in Paul's understanding is not just for us. Our shields, in the battle formations of the Roman world, would have had a powerful strategy of using my shield to work with your shield to protect and cover us both. In fact, on the command "As One," Roman soldiers would gather in a line, with shields fully covering the front, sides and above the whole group of soldiers so that nothing was showing. This Testudo, or Tortoise, was a way to be enshrouded by the shields. Think on this, as we venture into this hostile landscape, that when we bring our shields together we are all protected. When we bring our faiths together, we are much stronger, healthier, and more protected. One thing that is powerful for me here is when we are "As One," we hold tight to each other's faith as it strengthens our own. The Creed we are about to say. Some of us will really be feeling it today. There are those of us who will not. But when we come together "As One" we say it together. It is not "I Believe." It is "We Believe." When we are in formation, you protecting me and I protecting you, we feel it and we need it. Our strength combined is what we need, especially when we are about the work we have been given to do. Ashland and Hanover County needs us to be the Church. As we link in with our Methodist, Presbyterian, Catholic, Baptist, and Church of Christ brothers and sisters we can bring Christ's hope and light to this town. We need to be "As One."
The last two items we are instructed to take, not necessarily use, but to take: the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit. A helmet to protect our head, our intellect and our sensory center. Our sword to defend ourselves. I think that too often Christians have taken the sword to use offensively. This armor is for use with the devil, remember, and our interactions with those we find trapped behind the enemy lines are not our enemies, but those who need the Gospel of peace. We have our shoes to rush to them, and we take our sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God for use with the devil, like Jesus quoted Scripture at Satan in the Wilderness. The sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, is not to be used on the civilian population.
We are still behind enemy lines, and we are bedeviled all too often. There are those for whom this idea is too hard, and just like with Jesus himself, they will walk away for this teaching is difficult. But there are those for whom, this calling and this challenge are not only what they do, it is who they choose to become. Like Peter, we must say, "Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God."
Today we are given two readings on the workings of God. In both, the Spirit of God is alive and well and shows up to do what the Spirit does. Mutate. Shift. Transform.
In the Gospel, look only at the position of the disciples. They were hopeless. "Six months wages could not pay for the food, Jesus!" But they were able to witness the power of God at work in and through Jesus. There was no lack. He acted on and lived in the Abundance of God.
In the Acts account, Peter and John are sent to Samaria to lay hands on those who had only been baptized and had not as of yet received the Holy Spirit. And Simon wants in on this! He offers cash for this ability, like it was some off-the-shelf magic trick that he could purchase. Peter's well-known temper comes out with his rebuke.
In both stories, the Power of God is either unexpected, or treated as a Commodity. There is a problem with both approaches. We cannot think that God is not with us. Nor can we assume "magical thinking" that puts God at our beck and call.
God is not a commodity. We cannot package and sell God in convenient packaging. God does not work that way. Not in my experience. Not in the Bible accounts.
When I hear of religious fads and so many religious charlatans, I am reminded of this. "The Prayer of Jabez" is one from a few years ago. And you can fill a big church with easy answers and bumper sticker theology.
Too often we want it like fast food.


We are all fine here in Esfahan, the green veil of the desert resting casually at the base of majestic rocky hills. The city does not seem to have decided whether to go with an "I" (Isfahan) or "E" (Esfahan)--which is the most serious consternation I have encountered!
Esfahan, a former capital of Iran (many times over) is proud of its rich history and heritage. It appears to be in love with a cooling river swirling through it, graced by a series of bridges, among them the 33-arch bridge (circa 17th C / by our hotel), popular parks on both banks that separate the old town from its modern sister. The temperature has been turquoise-hot, but bearable ("Al hamdoo lil-'Allah" for giving humans the ability to understand thermodynamics and the requisite engineering knowledge and creativity to design air conditioners!).
The events are well organized; the meals a bit too abundant (rice with saffron and kabob twice a day--and ample vegetarian choices; and multiple snacks daily, marsaban galore); but this group of students, leaders and observes is clearly a hungry--famished--bunch!). The rides on the large Mercedes buses have been scenic and dizzying (over 20 buses at the disposal of the 76 teams of attendees, often moving in escorted convoys, broken up only by the flying motorbikes zooming the city). Planned excursions will take us to an Armenian cathedral and an old mosque (thousands of Christians, Jews and Zorastrians live in the city), the shaking minarets and the bazaar...and brief stories of soufis like Hafiz ad Amu Abdullah, and the Persian scientists like Ebn Zina.
As for the essential stuff: Contestants will be done with their theoretical exam in about 30 minutes (the leaders approved the exam after 7 hours of discussion yesterday and finished translating way past the 3:30am morning "azan" prayers. The cycle begins tomorrow for the experimental exam with the test on Tuesday. The assessment of the teachers is that the exam is moderately difficult; we'll meet the students for dinner tonight (hosted by the Governor of the Province of Esfahan and the Mayor of the city) to find out their take...Hoping for a number of medals.


Chris joined the Crosslink staff in July 2018. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Radford University, a Master of Education from Virginia Tech, and is currently pursuing a Master of Arts from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. Chris, his wife Mandi, and their two children have been at Crosslink since 2012 and have served in various ministry areas. Most recently, Chris served as the Chairman of the Deacon Ministry. Chris enjoys sports, hiking/biking trails and rivers in the region with his family, and coaching baseball. After serving as a children's camp director for nearly 20 years, Chris submitted to God's call to full-time ministry several years ago and is now excited to serve the Lord through his position at Crosslink and implement his passion for introducing children to the true and living God, ministering to families, and sharing Jesus through local and international missions. You can reach Chris at csmith@crosslinkva.com.
Ben joined the Crosslink office staff in March of 2019 after he, and his wife, moved to the area in July. He holds a Bachelor of Science from Liberty University. Ben and his wife Bridget enjoy spending time with family and friends as well as watching movies, reading, and spending time outdoors. You can reach Ben at bfulton@crosslinkva.com.
Avery joined the Crosslink staff in August 2018 after serving for two years in Great Britain doing children and youth ministry work. She now studies at Blue Ridge Community College with plans to transfer to Liberty University and finish a degree in education. Avery enjoys spending time with her family and friends, reading with a good cup of tea, and enjoying nature while hiking. You can reach Avery at adetamore@crosslinkva.com.
Jake joined the Crosslink staff in October 2018 as Crosslink's first student intern. He's been involved in the Crosslink Student Ministry since 2012, first as a student and then a youth leader. Jake has a heart for the students at Crosslink and desires for them to grow in God. He now studies at JMU and is pursuing a degree in Computer Science. In his free time, Jake enjoys programming, camping, and playing video games with friends. Contact Jake at students@crosslinkva.com.


Another batch of pictures have been added. Since there aren't as many from the earlier years than from the more recent, three years have been combined – 2000 to 2002. Updates include Meryl's appearances at the Golden Globes, SAG Awards and Academy Awards for "Music of the Heart", screencaptures of her hosting job (alongside Liam Neeson) at the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize Concert and the 2002 promotion for "Adaptation" and "The Hours". Two more updates, covering the 1990s and 1980s, will follow this week. To view all last added pictures, simply click one of the previews below.


While driving on a county road in northern Otero County, Colo today I spotted a pair of Long-billed Curlews flying nearby. After slamming on my brakes and parking quickly I was able to refind these two and watch them fly back and forth across the county road I was on. They began vocalizing in the very distinctive way of their species. They landed and flew about, then walked about for a bit. Then I saw what looked like a young curlew--maybe 2/3 the size of the parents. The young bird walked with the two adults as they vocalized a lot now. Then they flew off into the grasslands away from the road and I lost track of them and the young bird.
Yesterday I found a large flock of 75-100 Pinyon Jays in a sprawling subdivision to the little town of Salida, CO. Included in the flock were birds in juvenal plumage. I watched several of them foraging for pinyon pine seeds on the ground. Every bird I watched took the pine nut to a flattish rock then they jabbed the nuts with their bills to crack them open by using their toes to hold them in position. Apparently they have learned that it is difficult to crack open the nuts on the softer surface of the ground so they use the nearby rocks. As the ground under the pinyon trees was quite rocky, they didn't have to go far to find a rock and this saved the time it would take to go to one of the trees to wedge the nuts in the bark for stability when opening them. Very bright birds.


Organised by the Local Government Association (LGA), Association of Directors of Social Services (ADASS) and Association of Directors of Children's Services (ADCS), this conference is regularly attended by more than 1,000 delegates.
It is widely recognised as the most important annual event of its kind for councillors, directors, senior officers, policymakers and service managers with responsibilities for children's services, adult care and health in the statutory, voluntary and private sectors.
Presentations from the 2013 conference can be found on the 2013 conference website.


Recommended Reading: Your Child's Pain Should Not Control Your Actions by Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend.
The Boundaries series is excellent and I keep coming back to the advice of Dr.'s Cloud and Townsend. This excerpt from their book Boundaries with Kids gives you a very practical example of why setting clear expectations, following through and being consistent is important. It's right on the money.
Terri was having problems with her thirteen-year-old son Josh not doing his homework. I helped her come up with a plan that would require Josh to set aside a certain time each night to do homework. During this hour Josh had to be in his study place with nothing else but his work, and he was not to do anything else but study. Terri had no control over whether or not Josh actually chose to study during that time. What she could control was that he do nothing else during that time but sit with his homework.
When I saw her the next time, Terri looked sheepish. She had not lived up to her end of the plan. "What happened?" I asked. "Well, we were all set, and then he got invited to go to a baseball game with his friend. I said no, that his hour was not up yet. But he got so upset, I could not talk him out of it. He seemed so mad and sad…" Read the rest of the article.


text:
Joseph Norbert Denis Rosa (24 May 192620 November 2020) was a Belgian rower. He competed at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London with the men's coxless pair where they were eliminated in the round one repêchage, and also in the coxless four at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki.

References

1926 births
2020 deaths
Belgian male rowers
Olympic rowers of Belgium
Rowers at the 1948 Summer Olympics
Rowers at the 1952 Summer Olympics
People from Menen
European Rowing Championships medalists
Sportspeople from West Flanders
20th-century Belgian people

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Toy Story is the film that started Pixar Animated Studios into its long string of never ending success. What Pixar does is not just absorb the younger demographic and keep the older ones mildly entertained..Visit the official Toy Story website to play games, find activities, browse movies, watch video, browse photo galleries, buy merchandise and more!.Toy Story is a American computer animated adventure comedy film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures.The feature film directorial debut of John Lasseter, it was the first feature length film to be entirely computer animated, as well as the first feature film from Pixar.The screenplay was written by Joss Whedon, Andrew Stanton, Joel Cohen, and Alec .If you liked, or even loved the "Toy Story" movies the two disc set is probably the thing for you. However, if you're the kind of person who likes to know how the whole thing is put together, a film student say, or just an overly curious viewer, this is the one to have..Toy Story Critics Consensus. Entertaining as it is innovative, Toy Story reinvigorated animation while heralding the arrival of Pixar as a family friendly force to be reckoned with..FREE Day Shipping Electronics Office Movies, Music Books Home, Furniture Appliances Home Improvement Patio Clothing, Shoes Accessories Baby Toys Video Games Food, Household Pets Pharmacy, Health Beauty Sports, Fitness Outdoors Auto, Tires Industrial Photo Personalized Shop Art, Craft, Sewing Party Supplies See All Departments.Directed by Josh Cooley. With Jordan Peele, Patricia Arquette, Christina Hendricks, Keanu Reeves. When a new toy called "Forky" joins Woody and the gang, a road trip alongside old and new friends reveals how big the world can be for a toy.. Woody does not realize that Andy's mother gave him an action figure known as Buzz Lightyear, who does not believe that he is a toy, and quickly becomes Andy's new favorite toy..You've got a friend in PIXAR's Toy Story merchandise, including toys and collectibles now at shopDisney..You are eligible for a full refund if no ShippingPass eligible orders have been placed.You cannot receive a refund if you have placed a ShippingPass eligible order.In this case, the Customer Care team will remove your account from auto renewal to ensure you are not charged for an additional year and you can continue to use the subscription until the end of your subscription term..
You are eligible for a full refund if no ShippingPass eligible orders have been placed.You cannot receive a refund if you have placed a ShippingPass eligible order.In this case, the Customer Care team will remove your account from auto renewal to ensure you are not charged for an additional year and you can continue to use the subscription until the end of your subscription term..Toy Story Critics Consensus. Entertaining as it is innovative, Toy Story reinvigorated animation while heralding the arrival of Pixar as a family friendly force to be reckoned with..You've got a friend in PIXAR's Toy Story merchandise, including toys and collectibles now at shopDisney..FREE Day Shipping Electronics Office Movies, Music Books Home, Furniture Appliances Home Improvement Patio Clothing, Shoes Accessories Baby Toys Video Games Food, Household Pets Pharmacy, Health Beauty Sports, Fitness Outdoors Auto, Tires Industrial Photo Personalized Shop Art, Craft, Sewing Party Supplies See All Departments.Directed by Josh Cooley. With Jordan Peele, Patricia Arquette, Christina Hendricks, Keanu Reeves. When a new toy called "Forky" joins Woody and the gang, a road trip alongside old and new friends reveals how big the world can be for a toy..If you liked, or even loved the "Toy Story" movies the two disc set is probably the thing for you. However, if you're the kind of person who likes to know how the whole thing is put together, a film student say, or just an overly curious viewer, this is the one to have..Toy Story is the film that started Pixar Animated Studios into its long string of never ending success. What Pixar does is not just absorb the younger demographic and keep the older ones mildly entertained..Woody does not realize that Andy's mother gave him an action figure known as Buzz Lightyear, who does not believe that he is a toy, and quickly becomes Andy's new favorite toy..Visit the official Toy Story website to play games, find activities, browse movies, watch video, browse photo galleries, buy merchandise and more!.Toy Story is a American computer animated adventure comedy film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures.The feature film directorial debut of John Lasseter, it was the first feature length film to be entirely computer animated, as well as the first feature film from Pixar.The screenplay was written by Joss Whedon, Andrew Stanton, Joel Cohen, and Alec .
Visit the official Toy Story website to play games, find activities, browse movies, watch video, browse photo galleries, buy merchandise and more!.
Toy Story is the film that started Pixar Animated Studios into its long string of never ending success. What Pixar does is not just absorb the younger demographic and keep the older ones mildly entertained..


text:
Q: How to get count of active users grouped by version? (from Firebase using BigQuery) Problem description
I'm trying to get the information of how many active users I have in my app separated by the 2 or 3 latest versions of the app.
I've read some documentations and other stack questions but none of them was solving my problem (and some others had outdated solutions).
Examples of solutions I tried:

*

*https://support.google.com/firebase/answer/9037342?hl=en#zippy=%2Cin-this-article (N-day active users - This solution is probably the best, but even changing the dataset name correctly and removing the _TABLE_SUFFIX conditions it kept returning me a single column n_day_active_users_count = 0 )

*https://gist.github.com/sbrissenden/cab9bd3a043f1879ded605cba5005457
(this is not returning any values for me, didn't understand why)

*How can I get count of active Users from google analytics (this is not a good fit because the other part of my job is already done and generating charts on Data Studio, so using REST API would be harder to join my two solutions - one from BigQuery and other from REST API)

*Discrepancies on "active users metric" between Firebase Analytics dashboard and BigQuery export (this one uses outdated variables)

So, I started to write the solution out of my head, and this is what I get so far:
SELECT
  user_pseudo_id,
  app_info.version,
  ROUND(COUNT(DISTINCT user_pseudo_id) OVER (PARTITION BY app_info.version) / SUM(COUNT(DISTINCT user_pseudo_id)) OVER (), 3) AS adoption
FROM `projet-table.events_*`
WHERE platform = 'ANDROID'
GROUP BY app_info.version, user_pseudo_id
ORDER BY app_info.version

Conclusions

*

*I'm not sure if my logic is correct, but I think I can use user_pseudo_id to calculate it, right? The general idea is: user_of_X_version/users_of_all_versions.
(And the results are kinda close to the ones showing at Google Analytics web platform - I believe the difference is due to the date that I turned on the BigQuery  integration. But.... I'd like some confirmation on that: if my logic is correct).

*The biggest problem in my code now is that I cannot write it without grouping by user_pseudo_id (Because when I don't BigQuery says: "SELECT list expression references column
user_pseudo_id which is neither grouped nor aggregated at [2:3]") and that's why I have duplicated rows in the query result

*Also, about the first link of examples... Is there any possibility of a record with engagement_time_msec param with value < 0? If not, why is that condition in the where clause?


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Sister who addressed RNC is a doctor who provides abortion pill reversal
By Lisa Bourne | August 28, 2020 , 02:34pm
(Pregnancy Help News) The religious sister capturing headlines for her powerful pro-life witness at the Republican National Convention (RNC) Wednesday night is also a medical provider with the Abortion Pill Rescue Network (APRN).
Sister Deirdre "Dede" Byrne, POSC, an MD, made remarkable statements in support of life during her address, about when life begins, how the unborn are marginalized, and the need to stand up for life despite the political correctness of today. She also made the crucial point that life is not just about living on this earth.
"As a physician, I can say without hesitation: Life begins at conception," she said. "While what I have to say may be difficult for some to hear, I am saying it because I'm not just pro-life, I'm pro-eternal life. I want all of us to end up in heaven together someday."
Catholics and pro-life advocates were heartened by the address for its expression of the sanctity of life, with Byrne's appearance shared across social media.
Byrne, a general surgeon, retired U.S. Army colonel and missionary, also puts her pro-life convictions into action in her local community by ministering to women facing unplanned pregnancies and offering a second chance at life through abortion pill reversal.
Byrne's religious community, the Little Workers of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, offers pro-bono services to patients in need through Sibley Hospital, a nonprofit hospital in Washington D.C. managed by Johns Hopkins.
The Abortion Pill Rescue Network is made up of roughly 900 rescue providers and centers that facilitate and/or assist with the abortion pill reversal (APR) protocol.
APR is a new application of an FDA-approved progesterone treatment used beginning in the 1950s to stop miscarriages. If it is implemented soon enough after the mom takes the first drug of the two-drug chemical abortion regimen, it may be possible to save her unborn baby.
A 2018 peer-reviewed study showed that 64%-68% of the pregnancies where APR was implemented were saved. To date more than 1,000 lives have been saved through the APRN.
With the rising prevalence of chemical abortion, the need is great, and more providers are needed for the APRN.
Discussing her team's work in saving moms and babies, Byrne told the National Catholic Register in an interview "One baby at a time."
She comforts the pregnant moms who come to her clinic seeking reversal of their chemical abortions, telling them that no matter the outcome, God is please with their attempt to save their child.
Byrne has served in active duty in Afghanistan and as a reservist in the U.S. Army Medical Corps. She spent 13 months in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, and as a missionary surgeon she served the sick in Kenya, Haiti, Sudan and Iraq.
She was a young doctor in New York on Sept. 11, 2001, when the planes flew into the World Trade Center. She and her friend went to Ground Zero and spent two days bringing supplies and support to firefighters.
READ: Abortion pill reversal saved Rebekah's baby boy: 'He is a joy to have in my life'
Delivering her RNC remarks with a calm, peaceful demeanor, Byrne was forthright in her address.
Drawing upon her experience serving those fleeing war-torn and impoverished areas, Byrne said that the common experience with these individuals was being marginalized, thought of as insignificant, powerless and voiceless.
"And while we tend to think of the marginalized as living beyond our borders, the truth is the largest marginalized group in the world can be found here in the United States," she said. "They are the unborn."
Christians first met Jesus as a stirring embryo in the womb, she said, and it was [not] coincidental that Christ stood up for what was just, and that he was crucified because what he said was not politically correct or fashionable.
"As followers of Christ, we are called to stand up for life against the politically correct or fashionable of today," said Byrne. "We must fight against a legislative agenda that supports and even celebrates destroying life in the womb."
The laws we create define how we see our humanity, she told the RNC audience.
Byrne added, "We must ask ourselves: What we are saying when we go into a womb and snuff out an innocent, powerless, voiceless life?"
She concluded praising Donald Trump's record on life, and pledged prayer for him.
Editor's note: Byrne's full remarks are reprinted below. For more information on abortion pill reversal, click HERE, and for more information on the Abortion Pill Rescue Network, click HERE. Heartbeat International manages the APRN and Pregnancy Help News.
Good evening. I am Sister Dede Byrne, and I belong to the Community of the Little Workers of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. Last Fourth of July, I was honored to be one of the president's guests at his Salute to America celebration. I must confess that I recently prayed while in chapel, begging God to allow me to be a voice, an instrument for human life. And now here I am, speaking at the Republican National Convention. I guess you'd better be careful what you pray for.
My journey to religious life was not a traditional route, if there is such a thing. In 1978, as a medical school student at Georgetown University, I joined the Army to help pay for my tuition, and ended up devoting 29 years to the military, serving as a doctor and a surgeon in places like Afghanistan and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula. After much prayer and contemplation, I entered my religious order in 2002, working to serve the poor and the sick in Haiti, Sudan, Kenya, Iraq and in Washington, D.C.
Humility is at the foundation of our order, which makes it very difficult to talk about myself. But I can speak about my experience working for those fleeing war-torn and impoverished countries all around the world. Those refugees all share a common experience. They have been all marginalized, viewed as insignificant, powerless and voiceless. And while we tend to think of the marginalized as living beyond our borders, the truth is the largest marginalized group in the world can be found here in the United States. They are the unborn.
As Christians, we first met Jesus as a stirring embryo in the womb of an unwed mother and saw him born nine months later in the poverty of the cave. It's no coincidence that Jesus stood up for what was just and was ultimately crucified because what he said was not politically correct or fashionable. As followers of Christ, we are called to stand up for life against the politically correct or fashionable of today….
Continue reading full article at Pregnancy Help News.
LAN Editor's Note: This article was published at Pregnancy Help News and is reprinted here with permission.


Here are this week's links, check them out!
Google Forms offers a great way to collection information from parents when you're seeking parents to volunteer to chaperone a field trip, help out in your classroom, or bring in supplies for a classroom party.
All y'all that know me have probably figured out that I find it hard to hide my disdain for North Carolina's hard-right legislature.
Need to Stop Overspending on Groceries???
If you have any other questions or still aren't sure this is for you, please hit reply and ask! P.S. You can join the Fall 2016 Grocery Budget Makeover Class here.
This year, as part of my professional growth plan, I'm delighted to facilitate a virtual professional learning community via Twitter chat to delve more deeply into growth mindset.
HSTRY is a neat timeline creation tool that I've been a fan of since it launched a couple of years ago. One of the features that makes it different from other timeline tools is that you can build quiz questions into your timeline.
The education world is full of incremental change — the slow process of individuals learning about new strategies and approaches, trying them out, improving on their skills, and hopefully sharing their learning with colleagues to continue growth.
Have you decided to start a coding class this year? I'm really excited about Pythonroom. This online platform is perfect for teachers looking to teach a computer science to their students but not sure where to get started.
August is the time of year when finalized standardized test scores are released to school districts and shortly thereafter shared publicly.
Google Calendar can be of tremendous help in enhancing your teaching productivity and facilitating your overall instructional workflow. As a teacher, you can use Calendar for different purposes.
Have you ever seen a school data wall? In a struggling Newark, N.J., public school, I've seen bulletin boards showing the test scores of each grade compared with state averages.
A couple of times this week I have had people contact me about web tools not working the same way on their computers as they did in one of my tutorial videos. I also had folks in a workshop this week run into the same problem.
Stenhouse just released Christopher Danielson's book, Which One Doesn't Belong? It's a must-have if you're a parent or a teacher with any interest in helping your children or students learn to speak mathematically.
Do you pledge to empower students to use technology safely, responsibly, and effectively? Make it official at http://ift.tt/2bIS1n3.
At the end of every month I like to take a look at the search terms visitors frequently use on Free Technology for Teachers. It gives me a sense of what people are interested in learning about.
Of course, stronger business ideas naturally lend themselves to more convincing pitches than their weaker counterparts, but there's only so much you can do to perfect your business plan.
Blogging About The Web 2.0 Connected Classroom: Let's Make Professional Learning Meaningful Again!
"I'd love to do [fill in the blank with some creative idea or activity], but I just don't have time. My classes are only 50 minutes." I hear this lament frequently when I lead professional development.
The University of Florida's Digital Collections offers a huge library of digitized children's books. Thanks to Open Culture I discovered this collection this afternoon and immediately started to browse through it.
Speaking about the opportunities there are for learning in our world today through technology, I asked educators in the room to do a "Twitter Video Reflection" and share their learning back to the hashtag.
NameCoach is a wonderful web service that educators are using to learn student's names and pronounce them correctly. This is especially useful w/ commencement/graduation ceremonies on the horizon.
Okay, so I might be late to the game, but I just discovered that you can force people to make a copy of your Google Form, just like you can with Google documents, spreadsheets, etc.
Google Forms is a powerful tool with huge educational potential for teachers and educators. Besides being free and easy to use, Forms works across different devices and is seamlessly integrated with other Drive services such as Docs and Spreadsheets.
The world is our classroom's playground. We can see and talk to practically anyone around the world (with an Internet connection) for free. Video calls and collaborative digital tools let us connect in powerful ways.
The 2016 ISTE Standards for Students were launched around 2 months ago. At the start of the year I took some time with our tech coaches to explore these new standards and to compare them with the previous ones.
What Are The Education Soft Skills That Can Change Everything?
Last week the folks at Padlet introduced their fourth update of the summer. In June they overhauled the user interface and published a best of education gallery. Earlier this month they added a new post attribution feature.


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Desperate Housewives Listing
DVD Review: Body of Proof (The Complete Second Season)
Joe Corey | October 1, 2012
This season does a fine job mixing freaky murders with Dana Delany's unbalanced homelife.
DVD Review: Revenge (The Complete First Season)
Joe Corey | August 28, 2012
Revenge shouldn't be served cold. It's a DVD set that can easily be devoured in a short time as mysteries are exposed and lives are destroyed.
Best TV Show March Madness Bracket Tournament 2012 – Championship Round Voting Begins with Modern Family and The Walking Dead Facing Off
Josh Clinton | April 23, 2012
After a record number of votes, the Final Four has ended. There was plenty of back and forth leads in both matchups. But in the end, we are
Best TV Show March Madness Bracket Tournament 2012 – Final 4 Round Voting Begins with Burn Notice, Modern Family, Big Bang Theory, and The Walking Dead Facing Off
Josh Clinton | April 9, 2012
The Elite 8 round voting has ended and there is still one Cinderella show that has made it to the Final Four. But it was fight to get
Best TV Show March Madness Bracket Tournament 2012 – Elite 8 Round Voting Begins with Burn Notice, Modern Family, Breaking Bad, New Girl, Big Bang Theory, True Blood, Justified, and The Walking Dead All Facing Off
Josh Clinton | March 26, 2012
The fourth round voting has ended and one Cinderella show keeps on piling up the wins against top-ranked competition. The rest of the bracket looks about what was
Best TV Show March Madness Bracket Tournament 2012 – Sweet 16 Round Voting Begins with Burn Notice, Modern Family, Breaking Bad, New Girl, Dexter, Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother, True Blood, Weeds, Justified, Parks and Recreation, Once Upon A Time, The Office, Chuck, The Walking Dead, and Criminal MInds All Facing Off
The third round voting has ended and there was only real one MAJOR upset. But it was a big one as one of the #1 seeds went down
Best TV Show March Madness Bracket Tournament 2012 – Third Round Voting Begins with Top Seeds Burn Notice, Modern Family, Breaking Bad, Community, New Girl, Dexter, Big Bang Theory Facing Off
The second round voting has ended and a handful of the top seeds were upset by non-seeded shows including one #2 seed! The ABC Region only had 1
2012 Best TV Show Madness Bracket Tournament – Second Round Voting Continues with Top Seeds Burn Notice, Modern Family, Breaking Bad, Community, New Girl, Survivor, Dexter, Big Bang Theory and More!
Josh Clinton | March 5, 2012
The first round voting has ended and there were no real upsets. A couple of close calls for some of the top 32 seeds, but in the end,
2012 Best TV Show Madness Bracket Tournament – First Round Voting Begins with Top Seeds Burn Notice, Modern Family, Breaking Bad, Community, New Girl, Survivor, Dexter, Big Bang Theory and More!
Josh Clinton | February 29, 2012
It's that time again! It's the month of March and that could only mean one thing…time for another Inside Pulse TV Tournament, while you drink green beer! The
Dallas Spoilers: First Look At Dallas Remake
Murtz | October 27, 2011
One of the most anticipated shows of the new season is Dallas and the first day of shooting recently took place, with the show expected to debut in
Desperate Housewives 2011 Spoilers: Gaby, Bree & Lynette Have To Move Body, Renee Spices Up Romance With Ben
Here's what's coming up on this Sunday's episode of Desperate Housewives, thanks to ABC: "Witch's Lament" – As Halloween approaches, Gaby, Bree and Lynette must attempt to exhume
DVD Review: Desperate Housewives (The Complete Seventh Season)
Josh Clinton | September 19, 2011
Season seven returns the show to nearly great status. It's a perfect setup for the final season.
Disc News: Release Dates for DVDs from ABC Studios
Joe Corey | June 16, 2011
ABC TV show release date schedule
ABC Announces New 2011 TV Season Schedule; Night-by-Night Breakdown
Josh Clinton | May 17, 2011
ABC has given the green light to the most new shows of any network this season. They have 13 new shows (5 comedies and 8 dramas) this season.
Desperate Housewives Episodes 7-22 and 7-23 Season Finale Review: And Lots of Security…/ Come on Over for Dinner
tvgeorge | May 16, 2011
Hello again for one last time everyone! With two action-packed hours the only thing I have to say is: bring on season 8! Spoiler-free zone: The best possible
Desperate Housewives Episode 7-21 Review: Then I Really Got Scared
tvgeorge | May 9, 2011
Hello fans! I hope you were entertained by this week's jam-packed 21st episode of the seventh season of Desperate Housewives. Spoiler-free zone: With just one filler segment
Desperate Housewives Episode 7-20 Review: I'll Swallow Poison on Sunday
Hey fellow viewers! Just a couple of episodes away from the end of season seven of Desperate Housewives. In the 20th episode of the year, couples clash,
Desperate Housewives – Episode 7-18 Review
tvgeorge | April 18, 2011
Hello people! After yet another break, "Desperate Housewives" was back with their 18th episode of their seventh season. Spoiler-free zone: For some reason this episode had a striking
tvgeorge | April 5, 2011
Hey everyone, hope you're all doing great. After a month long break, the 7th season of housewives returns with its 17th episode and many things go down! Spoiler-free
tvgeorge | March 7, 2011
A slow-paced episode that is, nonetheless, entertaining. Things really heat up in the end, however, and the mystery gets a massive kick for next week.
tvgeorge | February 21, 2011
In this episode, most storylines got more comedic. Short term story arches can be tiring but if done well, they can result into a totally refreshing hour. This
Hey everyone! It's been quite some time hasn't it? This, I guess, goes to everyone who decided not to watch the Grammys but indulge in some Desperate Housewives
tvgeorge | January 18, 2011
Even though we are in mid-season, the pacing of the episodes doesn't get slower. Some storylines peaked while others just got a little boost. Even the storylines that
ABC Renews The Middle, Cougar Town, Modern Family, Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice, and Castle
The TV Obsessed | January 11, 2011
ABC renewed its Wednesday comedy lineup--minus Better With You--the Thursday medical lineup, and Castle. If there's something to be mildly surprised about, it would be...
The episode, while ordinary in terms of pacing, packed a few good twists which were more than enough to make a great and entertaining hour. Some storylines still
ABC Renews Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice, Castle & More
Murtz | January 10, 2011
ABC has announced that they will be giving early season pick-ups to Grey's Anatomy, Modern Family, Private Practice, Castle, The Middle, and Cougar Town. No plans were announced
tvgeorge | January 4, 2011
This episode, as expected, doesn't match the intensity of the previous riot episode but works pretty well as a follow-up to what we should expect next. All stories
tvgeorge | December 14, 2010
Last episode of the year people! Lots of stuff going down and lots of stuff left open for January. Episode 10 proved how season 7 has gone from
Desperate Housewives – Episode 7-8 Review
tvgeorge | November 15, 2010
Hola my friends! Being two episodes away from the mid-season finale, things are starting to get intense. The eighth episode of the seventh season decides to adapt the
tvgeorge | November 9, 2010
Hello everyone. As the show reaches its seventh episode of its seventh season, the build up for the mid-season finale is becoming more and more apparent as things


For once, I don't have to lie: only one virtual animal was mistreated (intentionally) in the making of this guide. Oh sure, most people would need to starve half a dozen creatures before they get a handle on a game engine, but we're pros here at IGN! We've screwed up so many beasts and people over the years that nearly killing a dog in the name of the betterment of this guide is simple stuff.
So this IGN guide for The Sims 2 Pets is dedicated to Jax National, who is currently residing in the Pyroville Pet Adoption Center, probably thankful that he's no longer involved in the guide-making process. It's tough on all of us, buddy.
In addition to Sims 2 Pets information, we're going to show off a few of the additions to the two "Stuff Packs" that have been released so far. Check out the Stuff Packs section to see some of the clothing styles and such that were in Family Fun and Glamour Life.
GAME CHANGES // A list of all the changes to the game engine this expansion pack introduced.
PET BASICS // How do you get pets? What's the point of them? And what does "HMP" and "LMP" stand for? Get those answers and more here.
AQUIRING HMPs // Learn the different ways to get a new cat or dog here.
DESIGNING A PET // Creating breeds is extremely fun. We'll take you step-by-step how to make your very own breed, and even provide a couple you can download from us!
PET CARE // Caring for a bird is easy: feed it and clean the cage. Caring for cats and dogs is far more complicated, and you can read just how to do that in this section.
WEREWOLVES // A short section, this is where you can see the basics of how to infect your Sims with lycanthropy.
STUFF PACKS // A look at the clothing and styling options of The Sims 2 Family Fun Stuff and The Sims 2 Glamour Life Stuff.
Have your pets spayed or neutered. — Ed.


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