Until he opened up his satchel and took out his engraved journal, the figure sitting two seats away from me on this flight was just any other man, the name in silver on the cover of his diary, however, revealed who he really was; a famous South African cricket star whose rise to stardom on the cricket field as a left-handed batsman and part-time right-arm off spin bowler was at the expense of Australia losing a Test series at home after a long-held 16 years.
This 33-year-old from Strandfontein, Western Cape, is something of an enigma in cricket circles (and I am an avid fan of the sport), not only because of his style of play, but mainly because the record books attest to his constancy when it came to maintaining the breaking of records in his field of play.
I am not one to be wowed by the extravagance of a loudmouthed celebrity, I am 'bowled over' by the simplicity of men who have achieved much but still keep their sense of humility; as Jean-Paul (JP) Duminy did on this flight from here to there.
History has proven that we are a country of loudmouths with little in actual and real achievements to show, the loquacity somehow always supersedes reality, engulfs it in rigmarole and rhetorical tautologies, and at the end of the day leaves a nation confused as to who they really are in terms of achievements over the course of history.
Lies, lies, lies, and more lies we listen to on a daily basis, lies of different and varying sorts, lies that have pushed a kingdom that once was the beacon of African hope in education into the shameful rubble rouser that has achieved less than a short chisel would trying to carve a mountain's side.
The rhetorical speeches of the politicians tell a different story, that we have walked thus far because we are a "peaceful" nation (peaceful as a well-fed crocodile that does not have to lurk for prey in the waters of the river because it lives in a pond in a zoo and thus receives its ration in chunks of meat from the zoo keepers).
A tortoise could have covered a million miles by now if it were this nation, the sloth could have climbed all the way to the moon in the past 50 years: we have walked backwards all the way to the period before the Lifaqane (circa 1810) in terms of understanding what our peace means.
Moshoeshoe oa Pele founded this nation on the basis of assimilation, inclusiveness, detribalisation, humility, diplomacy, mutual trust and acknowledgement of obvious and hidden differences, the pursuit of peace, and a spirit of unity.
His model went well until the usurper to the throne (the politician) actually thought he could rule, ignorant of the fact that he was just a mere commoner.
The commoner posed as a saviour of the people that had already been saved from perdition by the wisdom of the one true king with whose presence the Basotho were graced with.
Moshoeshoe I understood the true value of peace because he had spent many years fighting real battles with real armies . . . we do not value the full essence of peace because we do not understand the amount of sacrifice that has gone into ensuring that we are a nation with its own state, in brief; we do not respect the wishes of the forefathers and foremothers of this here country.
Respect does not mean we bow as concubines would in a harem, respect means that our sense of reverence for the sacrifices those that came before us is the source to the wells of our patriotism.
One cannot claim to love their land enough to desecrate monuments and markers that were left behind by the forebears for the current generation to follow as guides when the days are hard and the road is unclear.
The lighthouse is there to guide the ship in a storm, and the captain knows they should not forget the importance of the bright light of the tower that guides the ship in the stormy seas.
We have the fortune of being a nation that was formed by a king who lay the foundations of the peace model, a figure who understood the true essence of recovering peace, restoring a nation, and reconciling a people divided by strife and war.
What vexes my understanding is the now fashionable tendency to seek external intervention when there are problems that threaten peace and stability domestically.
I do not understand how a nation formed of the originators of the concept of peace copied by Nelson Mandela and others across the globe could at this moment in time be pining for external intervention, or, to be precise, be threatening each other with it.
I think the world that is watching thinks that we are a bunch of ungrateful dimwits. And I agree that we are nincompoops because we forgot who we were before the politician came along with his temporary solutions to long term problems.
The country is generally stifled by what one can term as "Big Brother Syndrome," itself the legacy of the colonial era. Lesotho most often than less behaves like the beggar it is because the colonial lord taught the native that help would fall as the manna from distant England.
Well, England packed her bags and moved on to Pretoria, she had lived for the larger part of the first half century in a house on the same street as the old parliament was on.
It seems that the Basotho did not see the silent exit of the English overlords as a sign that the Basotho must get up and confront the world as it is, for the older brother was now gone. Instead of picking up their mattocks and dealing with the infringing forest of political problems, the Mosotho thought asking for external intervention was the solution.
Well, external intervention may have been relevant in the days when the pink boys in veldskoene and Martini Henry rifles wanted to annex this piece of land on this side of the Mohokare.
The wise king back then realised we were not strong enough to weather the incessant onslaughts of the laager boys and so sought the help of England through their emissaries such as Wodehouse, Warden and others.
He was forced to look out due to real circumstances and challenges; why should we at this point in history always be looking outwards to solve internal problems?
Lack of common sense rules the day, and it tells me that one cannot always call the neighbours to have a rat in the house removed.
There are only two solutions available, the first of which is to have rat poison, and the second which is to be willing to remove the rat after it is dead.
This issue that external intervention is seen as a more viable solution to current political problems prevalent in the country is a sure sign that we have become haughty and pompous to the point where we cannot speak to each other as neighbours and this attitude has spread out to the rest of the nation.
If a family cannot converse to flesh out issues that affect them as a family unit, then the neighbours in their genuine concern will attempt to unite the family members that seem to have issues with uniting as a family.
Though it may seem the most sensible solution, the more sensible solution to the division problem in the family is that the individual family members first question their role in the family, to question whether they are the source to the problem and whether they can provide the remedy to the problem.
Adopting a self-righteous stance can never solve the division problem, for then everyone thinks their position is right and therefore cannot be criticised.
This country and state needs to engage in a national dialogue at whose core should be the peace concerns, for pretending that we do not have a peace problem will only lead to more strife and political self-righteousness.
National dialogue for the sake of peace may seem a difficult task to execute at this moment, but it can be done if one has had the time to listen to the various polarised radio stations where each commentator often comes to present their own views of what can be done based on political affiliation and not on the basis of the credo that formed the Basotho ba Moshoeshoe, that is; the credo we shall unite despite the obvious and subtle differences to sort out various problems that present themselves to us.
There are good comments one hears on the various media platforms on how we can garner in a kind of peace the nation can benefit from.
Using those good comments and ignoring political affiliation can in the long term serve to salvage this country out of the miry depths of poverty and political division. Claiming that one is right and the other wrong on the basis of political opinion can never provide lasting solutions.
It is true that one side will see solutions, but those solutions will be of a virtual kind; for where the political leader is loved, the followers often see him or her as the messiah that saves them.
The reality however, is that such a political leader is only serving the interests of one side (the supporters), and the other sides are short-changed in terms of what they rightly deserve as citizens of the state.
And there are sections of society that comprise of apolitical citizens (of which I am a part of), and these sections are forced to watch as the dogs of political wars tear each other to pieces over nonsensities at the expense of the peace that could benefit everyone in terms of rendering an environment calm enough for the full potentialities of the state to be explored.
The past 50 years of Lesotho's independence have largely been governed by political intolerance, and this misunderstanding on the basis of difference in political opinion has been the arrest that has prevented the state's progress despite the immense socio-economic potential the human and mineral resource base the state possesses.
Rather than focus on establishing appropriate ways in which the resources can be explored, the heckling on who was right and who is wrong goes on and on and on to disgusting infinity. I am sure the alumni of the first university in the land are wondering how their state universities progressed whilst the old man that gave most of Africa education in the dark pre and post-independence remains stuck in a moment he cannot get out of.
The university is as it is because of the political nature it somehow imbibed somewhere along the way. Depoliticising the core institutions of the land such as education, policing, defence, civil service, and the related could well send us on the way to being the kingdom the world once admired.
Claims that are empty are as loud as empty vessels, and the kind of loud talk on achievements one hears these days is just a sure sign that what once was is still going on as it did. The donkey on the winepress may have been changed, but the tedious grind to crush the grapes of wrath is still going on.
If I had seen Lesotho on the flight to somewhere and Lesotho had opened his diary, the engraving on the cover would be nice to look at, but the pages would be tattered, yellowed out, and full of irrelevances that were contrary to what had been presented about the individual I was observing.
I have so far observed that when prosperity is made, it is made in silence; the loudmouth expends their energy serving the need to satisfy their loquacity. In the process of their blabbering instead of performing the necessary task at hand, the loudmouth loses valuable time needed to finish the task on or in time.
Political talk without real achievements has gone on for too long in this land; the blabbering on nonentities should from here on be left and a new page turned. The full cost of our 'peace' is clear enough for the blind man to see: we are lagging far behind the rest of the world in terms of socio-economic achievements. What use is it being peaceful and poor? I would rather be known as violent but work at the mint, printing notes of lucre the world needs.


text:
DTN News - QATARI DEFENSE NEWS: Gulf Falcon 2013 Qatar-France Military Exercise
Source: DTN News
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - March 18, 2013: Gulf Falcon Exercise 2013, conducted by the Qatari Armed Forces and the French Armed Forces from February 16 to March 7, concluded in Al Galayel Square.
HE the Chief of Staff Major-General Hamad bin Ali al-Attiyah and his French counterpart Admiral Edouard Guillaud attended the final day of the exercises in which 3,000 troops participated.
The Gulf Falcon Exercise is held every four years by the Qatari Armed Forces and its French counterpart. Some 1,700 Qatari troops participated in the exercise, along with 1,300 French soldiers. The exercise aims to highlight the joint defence strategy of Qatar and France.
In a statement to the press, HE the Chief of Staff Hamad bin Ali al-Attiyah thanked the French Armed Forces for participating in the exercise. He added that the Gulf Falcon 2013 was part of the bilateral co-operation between two countries.
Al-Attiyah said that the exercise has been planned for a long time, expressing his satisfaction of how the exercise was executed. The Chief of Staff said that the participation of all the branches of the Armed Forces distinguished Gulf Falcon 2013 from other exercises.
*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith DTN News
Labels: DTN, DTN Defense-Technology News, DTN Logos, DTN News, France, French Soldiers, Gulf Falcon 2013, Joint Military Exercise, Qatar, Qatar-France Military Exercise, Qatari Amred Forces
DTN News - QATARI DEFENSE NEWS: Gulf Falcon 2013 Q...

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


**A gritty and emotional family drama, from the Sunday Times bestseller. Perfect for fans of Nadine Dorries and Katie Flynn.**BEATENGlenda Jenkins has been beaten by her husband Harry one too many times – and this time he's put her in a hospital bed. Battered and bruised, Glenda slowly makes her recovery. But she fears what awaits her back at home…BROKENWhen Glenda meets kind hospital porter Frank, he offers her a lifeline she can't refuse. The pair decide to run away together, escaping the terror of Harry. But, fearing for her life, Glenda has to make the biggest sacrifice of all and leave her baby, Johnnie, behind.BEREFTSafe on the Kent coast, Glenda finally has the life she dreamed of. But without Johnnie, she's a broken woman. Will she ever see her baby again? And will she ever be able to escape the fearsome shadow of Harry after all?


Outsourcing your payroll can 'free up' valuable time for yourself or an employee designated with the task of payroll. Becoming more complex each year, we can take this worry off your shoulders, but still supply all the relevant figures for you to keep track of payroll costs and HMRC liabilities.
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Preparation time is key so don't delay finding out more about your responsibilities as an employer.
Catherine is our Payroll Manager & deals with all aspects of RTI and Auto Enrolment.
Please call 01428 727313 for advice and information.


text:
China's Confucian Revival
Confucius has recently made a comeback in China. If you scan this month's headlines alone you'll see that a 72 meter tall statue has recently been completed in Shandong province, 168 pupils in Nanjing dressed up as the sage to celebrate the start of the new school year, and that a new Confucius institute has opened in Angola (there are now over 480 Confucius institutes in dozens of countries worldwide).
But who was Confucius, and what was his philosophy?
Who was Confucius?
Confucius was born approximately 2,500 years ago in what is now Shandong Province, China. During his lifetime, he was a teacher, politician and philosopher. His thoughts had an enormous influence on Chinese and Asian culture, many of which still identify as Confucian today.
His philosophy emphasises justice, integrity and social harmony. It often focuses on the achievement of the latter through good ethical conduct, which is cultivated through continuous self-development.
'He who exercises government by means of his virtue may be compared to the north polar star, which keeps its place when all the stars are rotating about it,' Confucius said. And according to him, ethical and fair governance are essential to creating an environment where society can flourish.
Another theme which Confucius came back to again and again was the importance of 'benevolence'. This is the highest state of moral character one can strive for, a state which he claimed he himself had not achieved. At its core, Confucius said it can be understood with one sentence: 'Do not impose on others what you yourself do not desire.'
Confucius and Confucians
Confucius was unknown in the West until the late sixteenth century, when Jesuit missionaries began sharing knowledge of his works outside Asia. But even today, though many in the West have heard his name, what his work is about is often not clearly understood.
This isn't a new problem. One of the difficulties those early Jesuits faced was how to distinguish between Confucianism and Confucius' thought itself. A good example of this is the negative attitude some Ming dynasty Confucians had towards trade and making money, which didn't reflect the thoughts of Confucius himself.
In fact, "Confucius was not against the making of money," China historian Jonathan Spence said during his 2008 Reith lecture on the sage, "he was interested in the rules that should go with making money…"
Spence also highlighted how Confucius saw making money and working in the commercial world as a "good way of sharpening the wits and getting you to understand others' points of view." However, The Analects state that he was against 'wealth and rank gained through immoral means', and said more than once that 'a man [must remember] what is right at the sight of profit.'
The point about the disparity between Confucianism and Confucius' teaching is an important one. As with many ideologies, Confucianism can mean different things to different people. It also exists in Asian cultures as varied as Vietnam, Japan and South Korea, and at any given time in history can be interpreted in very different ways. At its worst it is seen by its critics as a justification for slavish obedience to authority. However, it is more generally associated with a respect and obedience towards elders and tradition, and the upholding of good ethics.
Since the Chinese Economic Reform, Confucius has gone from being reviled to revered again in China. It appears that his resurgent popularity is closely linked to his being a symbol of Chinese history's heritage and his influence over Asian culture (hence China's choice to name its cultural institutes after him). Whatever form or forms 21st century Confucianism in China eventually takes, it is not unreasonable to hope that, with modern literacy and publishing, it will be one close to what the sage intended.
Further reading/listening
The Analects by Confucius
The Search for Modern China by Jonathan D. Spence
'Confucian Ways' by Jonathan D. Spence (BBC Reith Lecture, 2008)


text:
package eng.ecarrara.sunshine;

import android.content.Intent;
import android.database.Cursor;
import android.net.Uri;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.support.v4.app.Fragment;
import android.support.v4.app.LoaderManager;
import android.support.v4.content.CursorLoader;
import android.support.v4.content.Loader;
import android.support.v4.view.MenuItemCompat;
import android.support.v7.widget.ShareActionProvider;
import android.util.Log;
import android.view.LayoutInflater;
import android.view.Menu;
import android.view.MenuInflater;
import android.view.MenuItem;
import android.view.View;
import android.view.ViewGroup;
import android.widget.ImageView;
import android.widget.TextView;

import eng.ecarrara.sunshine.data.WeatherContract;
import eng.ecarrara.sunshine.data.WeatherContract.WeatherEntry;
import eng.ecarrara.sunshine.view.CompassView;

/**
 * Created by ecarrara on 26/11/2014.
 */
public class ForecastDetailFragment extends Fragment
        implements LoaderManager.LoaderCallbacks<Cursor> {

    private static final String LOG_TAG = ForecastDetailFragment.class.getSimpleName();
    private static final String FORECAST_SHARE_HASHTAG = "#SunshineApp";
    private static final int DETAIL_LOADER = 0;
    private static final String LOCATION_KEY = "location";

    public static final String DATE_KEY = "forecast_date";

    private CursorLoader mForecastLoader;
    private ShareActionProvider mShareActionProvider;
    private String mForecastStr;
    private String mForecast;
    private String mLocation;

    private static final String[] FORECAST_COLUMNS = {
            WeatherEntry.TABLE_NAME + "." + WeatherEntry._ID,
            WeatherEntry.COLUMN_DATETEXT,
            WeatherEntry.COLUMN_SHORT_DESC,
            WeatherEntry.COLUMN_MAX_TEMP,
            WeatherEntry.COLUMN_MIN_TEMP,
            WeatherEntry.COLUMN_LONG_DESC,
            WeatherEntry.COLUMN_HUMIDITY,
            WeatherEntry.COLUMN_WIND_SPEED,
            WeatherEntry.COLUMN_PRESSURE,
            WeatherEntry.COLUMN_DEGREES,
            WeatherEntry.COLUMN_WEATHER_ID
    };

    // These indices are tied to FORECAST_COLUMNS.  If FORECAST_COLUMNS changes, these
    // must change.
    public static final int COL_WEATHER_ID = 0;
    public static final int COL_WEATHER_DATE = 1;
    public static final int COL_WEATHER_DESC = 2;
    public static final int COL_WEATHER_MAX_TEMP = 3;
    public static final int COL_WEATHER_MIN_TEMP = 4;
    public static final int COL_WEATHER_LONG_DESC = 5;
    public static final int COL_WEATHER_HUMIDITY = 6;
    public static final int COL_WEATHER_WIND_SPEED = 7;
    public static final int COL_WEATHER_PRESSURE = 8;
    public static final int COL_WEATHER_DEGREES = 9;
    public static final int COL_WEATHER_WEATHER_ID = 10;

    private ImageView mIconView;
    private TextView mDayOfWeekView;
    private TextView mDateView;
    private TextView mHighView;
    private TextView mLowView;
    private TextView mWeatherDescriptionView;
    private TextView mHumidityView;
    private TextView mWindSpeedView;
    private TextView mPressureView;
    private CompassView mCompassView;

    public ForecastDetailFragment() { }

    @Override
    public void onSaveInstanceState(Bundle outState) {
        outState.putString(LOCATION_KEY, mLocation);
        super.onSaveInstanceState(outState);
    }

    @Override
    public void onResume() {
        super.onResume();
        Bundle arguments = getArguments();
        if( arguments != null && getArguments().containsKey(DATE_KEY)
                && mLocation != null
                && !mLocation.equals(Utility.getPreferredLocation(getActivity()))) {
            getLoaderManager().restartLoader(DETAIL_LOADER, null, this);
        }
    }

    @Override
    public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
        setHasOptionsMenu(true);
    }

    @Override
    public View onCreateView(LayoutInflater inflater, ViewGroup container, Bundle savedInstanceState) {
        View rootView = inflater.inflate(R.layout.fragment_detail, container, false);

        mIconView = (ImageView) rootView.findViewById(R.id.detail_weather_icon);
        mDayOfWeekView = (TextView) rootView.findViewById(R.id.detail_day_of_weeek_textview);
        mDateView = (TextView) rootView.findViewById(R.id.detail_date_textview);
        mHighView = (TextView) rootView.findViewById(R.id.detail_high_textview);
        mLowView = (TextView) rootView.findViewById(R.id.detail_low_textview);
        mWeatherDescriptionView = (TextView) rootView.findViewById(R.id.detail_forecast_textview);
        mHumidityView = (TextView) rootView.findViewById(R.id.detail_humidity_textview);
        mWindSpeedView = (TextView) rootView.findViewById(R.id.detail_wind_textview);
        mPressureView = (TextView) rootView.findViewById(R.id.detail_pressure_textview);
        mCompassView = (CompassView) rootView.findViewById(R.id.wind_compass);

        return rootView;
    }

    @Override
    public void onActivityCreated(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
        super.onActivityCreated(savedInstanceState);
        if(savedInstanceState != null) {
            mLocation = savedInstanceState.getString(LOCATION_KEY);
        }

        Bundle arguments = getArguments();
        if(arguments != null && arguments.containsKey(DATE_KEY)) {
            getLoaderManager().initLoader(DETAIL_LOADER, null, this);
        }

    }

    @Override
    public void onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu, MenuInflater menuInflater) {
        // Inflate the menu; this adds items to the action bar if it is present.
        menuInflater.inflate(R.menu.menu_detail, menu);

        MenuItem menuItem = menu.findItem(R.id.action_share);

        mShareActionProvider = (ShareActionProvider) MenuItemCompat.getActionProvider(menuItem);

        if(mForecast != null) {
            mShareActionProvider.setShareIntent(createShareForecastIntent());
        }
    }

    private Intent createShareForecastIntent() {
        Intent shareIntent = new Intent(Intent.ACTION_SEND);
        shareIntent.putExtra(Intent.EXTRA_TEXT, mForecastStr + FORECAST_SHARE_HASHTAG);
        shareIntent.addFlags(Intent.FLAG_ACTIVITY_NEW_DOCUMENT);
        shareIntent.setType("text/plain");
        return shareIntent;
    }

    @Override
    public Loader<Cursor> onCreateLoader(int i, Bundle bundle) {
        Log.v(LOG_TAG, "In onCreateLoader");
        String forecastDate = getArguments().getString(DATE_KEY);
        mLocation = Utility.getPreferredLocation(getActivity());

        // Sort order:  Ascending, by date.
        String sortOrder = WeatherContract.WeatherEntry.COLUMN_DATETEXT + " ASC";

        Uri weatherForLocationUri = WeatherEntry.buildWeatherLocationWithDate(
                mLocation, forecastDate);

        // Now create and return a CursorLoader that will take care of
        // creating a Cursor for the data being displayed.
        return new CursorLoader(
                getActivity(),
                weatherForLocationUri,
                FORECAST_COLUMNS,
                null,
                null,
                sortOrder
        );
    }

    @Override
    public void onLoadFinished(Loader<Cursor> cursorLoader, Cursor cursor) {
        Log.v(LOG_TAG, "In onLoadFinished");
        if(!cursor.moveToFirst()) { return; }

        String dayOfWeekString = Utility.getDayName(getActivity(),
                cursor.getString(COL_WEATHER_DATE));
        String dateString = Utility.getFormattedMonthDay(getActivity(),
                cursor.getString(COL_WEATHER_DATE));

        boolean isMetric = Utility.isMetric(getActivity());
        String high = Utility.formatTemperature(getActivity(),
                cursor.getDouble(COL_WEATHER_MAX_TEMP), isMetric);
        String min = Utility.formatTemperature(getActivity(),
                cursor.getDouble(COL_WEATHER_MIN_TEMP), isMetric);

        int weatherId =
                Utility.getArtResourceForWeatherCondition(
                        cursor.getInt(COL_WEATHER_WEATHER_ID));
        String weatherDescription = cursor.getString(COL_WEATHER_DESC);

        String humidityString = String.format(getActivity().getString(R.string.format_humidity),
                cursor.getFloat(COL_WEATHER_HUMIDITY));
        String pressureString = String.format(getActivity().getString(R.string.format_pressure),
                cursor.getFloat(COL_WEATHER_PRESSURE));

        final float windDirection = cursor.getFloat(COL_WEATHER_DEGREES);
        String windString = Utility.getFormattedWind(getActivity(),
                cursor.getFloat(COL_WEATHER_WIND_SPEED), windDirection);

        mDayOfWeekView.setText(dayOfWeekString);
        mDateView.setText(dateString);
        mHighView.setText(high);
        mLowView.setText(min);
        mIconView.setImageResource(weatherId);
        mWeatherDescriptionView.setText(weatherDescription);
        mHumidityView.setText(humidityString);
        mWindSpeedView.setText(windString);
        mPressureView.setText(pressureString);
        mCompassView.setDegrees(windDirection);

        // We still need this for the share intent
        mForecast = String.format("%s - %s - %s/%s", dateString, weatherDescription, high, min);

        Log.v(LOG_TAG, "Forecast String: " + mForecast);

        // If onCreateOptionsMenu has already happened, we need to update the share intent now.
        if (mShareActionProvider != null) {
            mShareActionProvider.setShareIntent(createShareForecastIntent());
        }

    }

    @Override
    public void onLoaderReset(Loader<Cursor> cursorLoader) { }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Lachenalia lutea is a heavily sweet-scented indigenous hyacinth with pale to bright yellow flowers.
It consists of a single white fleshy bulb about 15-20 mm in diameter, with fine white adventitious roots, and two strap-like lanceolate leaves 90-140 mm long. Unlike certain Lachenalia species, L. lutea does not possess any bumps or pustules on the upper surface of the leaf. The leaf is leathery and usually bright green, occasionally covered with dark green spots on its upper surface, and occasionally with dark brownish purple spots underneath. The leaves will start to emerge a few weeks after the first rains in autumn, and wither naturally in late spring/early summer.
The inflorescence, in the form of a spike, can grow up to about 110 mm tall and, depending on the form, appears from early to late spring. The flower colour is typically bright to pale yellow, sometimes with a greenish tinge, and is fairly consistent throughout its distribution range. The flowers are sessile (without a stalk). The fruit are small capsules that ripen a month or two after flowering to release small shiny black seeds.
L. lutea is generally smaller in stature than some of the other more robust yellow-flowering species like L. orchioides, L. marginata and L. arbuthnotiae.
This species is not currently recognized as being threatened; however, it has lost more than 60% of its habitat in the last 70 years. Certain local forms of this species may be extinct, and many only remain in very small and fragmented populations on roadsides and unploughed corners of farmland.
The genus Lachenalia is generally restricted to the winter-rainfall parts of South Africa and Namibia. L. lutea is found only in the Fynbos Biome of the south Western Cape, in roughly a north-south band ranging from the Bot River and Strand in the south to Tulbagh to the north and west. It prefers heavy clay soils in the renosterveld, ranging in habitat from seasonally moist flats to hill slopes.
Its specific name lutea = yellow refers to the consistently bright yellow colour of its flowers. Despite the fact that this is one of the commonest of the Western Cape lachenalias, surprisingly it was overlooked for a long time by botanists and was only formally described as a species by Graham D. Duncan, a botanical horticulturist at Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden, in 2006.
Like all other Lachenalia species, L. lutea is a typical winter-growing bulb that is summer-deciduous, i.e. it becomes completely dormant during the hot dry summer months in the Mediterranean-type climate of the Western Cape.
L. lutea is sweetly scented and is probably pollinated by bees, amongst other agents. It responds particularly well to fires and can be seen flowering en masse after a summer bush fire.
Lachenalias are often regarded as one of the most rewarding groups of Cape winter-growing bulbs to cultivate. One of their virtues is their vast array of flower colours appearing in practically every colour of the rainbow.
L. lutea is very easy to grow and a rewarding species to grow as a pot subject. The soil medium should be fairly well-drained and consist of about half coarse washed sand and half finely sieved compost. This should be used to fill the lower two-thirds of the pot. The upper third should be pure sand with no loam or compost into which the bulbs are planted. This layer stays relatively dry, preventing the bulbs from rotting if they should get too wet, while the roots can safely penetrate the richer moister organic medium below. They should be kept in full sun and will grow very happily outside during the winter months, providing the temperature does not drop below freezing. In summer the bulbs should be kept dry, preferably in a cool position. One can either lift the bulbs and store them in paper bags or store them in their pots. They enjoy being repotted every 2-3 years with fresh soil medium.
They are easily propagated by leaf cuttings, which can be removed from the plant by slicing them at the base of the leaf blade. These leaves are then half buried in a very sandy medium and left in a cool place out of direct sunlight. The soil should be kept on the dry side to avoid the leaves rotting, while the humidity can be quite high - humid air and dry soil is the trick. Within a few months, small bulbils will appear along the cut edge at the base of the leaf. Eventually the leaf will wither but the bulbils can be planted like normal bulbs the following season. Flowering will take 1-2 years.
They don't have many pests apart from snails and caterpillars (which can be removed by hand) and mealy bug which should be treated with a systemic pesticide. A rust fungus can be problematic and appears as orange blotches on the leaves, often developing where a leaf has been damaged by hail, for example. This is easily preventable (which is preferable) and treatable with common fungicides.
Not much fertilising is required for these bulbs, as they are not generally very demanding, but they would respond well to small doses of a dilute, low-nitrogen, liquid fertiliser.
Duncan, G.D. & Edwards, T.J. 2006. Three new species of Lachenalia from Western and Northern Cape, South Africa. Bothalia 36,2: 147-155.
Raimondo, D., Von Staden, L., Foden, W., Victor, J.E., Helme, N.A., Turner, R.C., Kamundi, D.A. & Manyama, P.A. 2009. Red List of South African plants. Strelitzia 25. South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria.


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Christmas returns to Central Park this weekend
Craft show expected to draw thousands
Forsyth County News
If you're going
• What: Christmas in Central Park
• When: 2 to 9 p.m. Friday; 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday
• Where: Central Park, 2300 Keith Bridge Road
• Online: www.christmasatcentralpark.com
The Christmas in Central Park festival will bring arts and crafts vendors, food, entertainment and Santa and Mrs. Claus to the park for the sixth year.
And this year's event, organized by the Sawnee Artists' Association, has expanded to two days, Friday and Saturday.
Paula Chambers, event chair for the association, said everything will be held inside the Central Park Recreation Center, including its new addition.
The event, always held the weekend before Thanksgiving, has become a tradition for many Christmas shoppers, Chambers said.
"We have people that come with their shopping bags and look for particular vendors," she said. "About 50 percent of our vendors have been with us from the beginning."
Some new vendors include a barbed wire artist and a Southeastern river cane flute artist, who will be performing throughout the weekend.
Quilts, woodwork, jewelry, holiday decorations and many other "nice fine crafts to fine arts" will be featured during the festival, Chambers said.
"You name it, it's going to be there," she said.
The association will also be selling "Art in a Bag" for the second year as a fundraiser for its scholarship program.
For $15 for one bag or $25 for two, patrons get a handmade bag with small paintings, pottery pieces and other items valued anywhere from $15 to $70, Chambers said.
The contents of the bag, however, are a surprise until purchased, she said, adding that the fundraiser was a big success last year.
Several entertainers will also perform at the event, which has free admission. Dance troupes, bands, singing groups and a magician, among others, will provide entertainment throughout the two-day festival.
As usual, guests can get photos with Santa and Mrs. Claus all day on both days.
The event has grown over the years, Chambers said, drawing more than 10,000 visitors last year.
"We anticipate 12,000 to 15,000 this year," she said. "Everybody can bring their shopping bags and scratch off everything on their Christmas lists."


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Italians Made the Best Patriotic Jewels
Bulgari celebrated Lady Liberty, Lafayette and Ben Franklin in the 1970s
The look of most patriotic fine jewels is straightforward—American flag brooches set with rubies, diamonds and sapphires. Bulgari took a far more imaginative approach to its love of the United States.
In 1972, a year after opening a New York boutique, the legendary Italian firm launched its first jewelry tribute to the USA. Stars and stripes from Old Glory were transformed on to hoop earrings, chain necklaces and pendants for neck wires. Diamonds lit up red and blue enamel or coral and lapis on the jewels. The Star Spangled Banner Collection caused a sensation when Richard Avedon photographed Cher for Vogue wearing several pieces with Eres bathing suits. The images showed how Bulgari was in sync with the laid back luxurious state of the nation.
Bulgari's other designs made in homage to America grew out of Nicola Bulgari's interest in numismatics. One of founder Sotirio Bulgari's grandsons, Nicola had been a enthusiastic collector of ancient Roman and Greek coins from childhood. In 1966, when he was just twenty-five years old, he came up with the idea for the wildly popular Monete gold and coin jewelry. Five years later, Nicola moved to New York to run the new boutique and American coins became his passion. The same way he appreciated the chronicle of events that ancient coins revealed, he enjoyed the narrative of the New World in American coins and medals. Nicola told The New York Times reporter Bernadine Morris in 1976, "I'm a coin collector myself but I never knew there were such interesting American ones before we started this project. You can learn a lot of history this way." Nicola personally selected each of the American coins used in the special Monete jewels made during the 1970s.
A Bulgari necklace set with a 1776 Continental Dollar Photo Studio Orizzonte, Antonio Barrella Roma
One fascinating coin set in a Bulgari necklace made to celebrate the 1976 American Bicentennial was a 1776 pewter Continental Dollar. Designed by Founding Father Benjamin Franklin, it was the first coin minted when the thirteen colonies incorporated. The imagery on the front of the Continental Dollar includes a sun, sundial and the Latin motto "Fugio." Together the elements are believed to mean: mind your business, because time flees.
A Bulgari necklace set with a medal of Lafayette Photo Studio Orizzonte, Antonio Barrella Roma
One Bulgari necklace created in the 1970s features a gold medal Hamilton fans are sure to love. It depicts General Lafayette in profile on the front. "The defender of American and French Liberty" is on the back. The medal was issued to commemorate Lafayette's return to America in 1824. Bulgari mounted the medal on a chain necklace within a setting of rubies, diamonds and sapphires. The Latin word for liberty is emblazoned along the bottom of the pendant. An eagle and fleur-de-lis accent the sides.
A Bulgari necklace set with a 1795 Liberty silver dollar Photo Studio Orizzonte, Antonio Barrella Roma
The Roman goddess, Liberty, appeared on several eighteenth century American coins and quite a few Bulgari 1970s jewels. One example Bulgari mounted was the first silver dollar coin featuring a heroic bust of Liberty with flowing hair in a chunky gold curb link choker.
A 1973 Bulgari brooch with a 1926 Silver Peace Dollar Photo Studio Orizzonte, Antonio Barrella Roma
A silver Peace Dollar from 1926 made to honor the end of World War I was the most contemporary coin with an image of Liberty used in a Bulgari jewel. The coin carving was done by Italian-American sculptor Anthony de Francisci who based the beautiful image of Liberty on his wife Teresa, an immigrant from Naples. He placed a stylized ray diadem in her hair reminiscent of the one worn by the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor. The round gold brooch Bulgari made for the Peace Dollar in 1973 had diamond-set triangular motifs around the coin echoing the points of the diadem. All in all, the jewel is a sparkling salute to America by Italians.
A Bulgari Flag Ring Was Part of Former First Lady Nancy Reagan's Collection
Kim Kardashian Buys Jackie Kennedy's Cartier Tank Watch
At Auction: Dora Maar's Picasso Ring


When you journey through Coca-Cola's rich history, you'll notice that art has always played a tremendous role in who we are. From Warhol to Rockwell, our brand was born to influence and in turn be influenced by art, design and of course, hard work. It's in that tradition that Coca-Cola Northern New England (CCNNE) commissioned Markus Sebastiano, a renowned artist from Lawrence, Mass. whose work has graced the lobbies of W Hotels and also appeared in some of the finest restaurants and establishments in the Northeast.
Energized by our 40th anniversary along with our most recent expansion into the most exciting territories in the Northeast, we were delighted to collaborate with Sebastiano to develop a work of art that captures our long and proud history of community involvement while at the same time declaring our bright future as the leading bottler and distributor in the region.
Moving into these new markets provides an awesome opportunity to develop careers, represent the Coca-Cola brand and bring positive influences and resources to all the communities in the new CCNNE region. With these new territories, the company more than tripled in size, growing from 1,100 to almost 4,000 dedicated employees who understand what it means to represent Coca-Cola.
The collaboration began with Sebastiano taking a tour of the Londonderry, N.H. bottling facility, meeting employees and "collecting history" like photographs, blueprints, Coca-Cola product bottles, labels and cans. With his unique perspective, he placed at the center of the piece a photograph of the Londonderry Production Center's grand opening in 1989, capturing one of the rare occasions when every employee in the company was brought together. Spread out across the canvas are various images throughout the years from all areas of the company.
At the reveal in December 2017, employees couldn't help but interact with the piece and find either themselves or co-workers with whom they shared many memories. Proudly on display at CCNNE's corporate headquarters in Bedford, Markus' work of art will always mark this very significant time in CCNNE's rich history.
With prints and canvases available for purchase directly from the artist, every employee has a chance to own a great representation of this unique, thoughtful piece.


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One of the best-known and coolestheaded of the metropolitan regiments, whose adjutant moreover has lately published an admirable collection of lectures addressed by him to the men of his corps.
Thomasina, by the author of 'Dorothy'. - Сторінка 10
автори: Margaret Agnes Paul - 1872
Повний перегляд - Докладніше про цю книгу
Half a dozen daughters. By J. Masterman, Том 1
Victoria Rybot - 1871
...Edinburgh Rifle Brigade. Fcap. 8vo, cloth gilt, 2s. 6d. '' One of the best-known and coolejt-headed of the Metropolitan regiments, whose adjutant, moreover,...collection of lectures addressed by him to the men of his corps."—Times. "A very useful little book on a very important subject, and one which deserves the...
Western India Before and During the Mutinies: Pictures Drawn from Life
Sir George Le Grand Jacob - 1871 - 262 стор.
...8vo, cloth gilt, zs. 6d. ' ' One of the best-known and coolest-headed of the Metropolitan regi ments, whose adjutant, moreover, has lately published an...lectures addressed by him to the men of his corps." — T1mes. " Capt. Page has something to say .... and in every case it is said moderately, tersely,...
Republican Superstitions as Illustrated in the Political History of America
Moncure Daniel Conway - 1872 - 130 стор.
...more extended scale. " — Berlin, June, 1872. 65, Cornhill, and 12, Paternoster Row, London. XII. DISCIPLINE AND DRILL. Four Lectures delivered to the...addressed by him to the men of his corps." — Times. " The very useful and interesting work. . . . Every Volunteer, officer or private, will be the better...
...the London Scottish Rifle Volunteers. By Captain S. FLOOD PAGE, Adjutant of the Regiment, late I05th Light Infantry, and Adjutant of the Edinburgh Rifle...addressed by him to the men of his corps." — Times. " The very useful and interesting work. . . . Every Volunteer, officer or private, will be the better...
Hasty Intrenchments
Alexis Henri Brialmont - 1872 - 94 стор.
...Edinburgh Rifle Brigade. Just published, a Cheaper Ka1tion, price 1s. ' One of the best-known and the coolest-headed of the metropolitan regiments, whose...in every case it is said moderately, tersely, and welI.* — Daily Telegraph. ' The very useful and interest1ng work Every Volunteer, officer or private,...
One of two
James Hain Friswell - 1872 - 438 стор.
...Infantry, and Adjutant of the Edinburgh Rifle Brigade. Just published. A Cheaper Edition, price is. " One of the best-known and coolest-headed of the metropolitan...addressed by him to the men of his corps." — Times. " The very useful and interesting work. . . . Every Volunteer, officer or private, will be the better...
Memoir of Nathaniel Hawthorne, with stories [by N. Hawthorne] now first publ ...
Alexander Hay Japp - 1872
...Infantry, and Adjutant of the Edinburgh Rifle Brigade. Just published. A Cheaper Edition, price Is. " One of the best-known and coolestheaded of the metropolitan...addressed by him to the men of his corps." — Times. THE BENGAL QUARTERLY THE BOMBAY DO. THE MADRAS DO. " The very useful and interesting work. . . . Every...
Briefs and Papers: Sketches of the Bar and the Press
Briefs, Thomas Wemyss Reid - 1872 - 272 стор.
...Infantry, and Adjutant of the Edinburgh Rifle Brigade. Just published. A Cheaper Edition, price is. " One of the best-known and coolestheaded of the metropolitan...addressed by him to the men of his corps." — Times. THE BENGAL QUARTERLY ARMY LIST. Sewed, iSs. THE BOMBAY DO. DO. Sewed, 9*. THE MADRAS DO. DO. Sewed,...
Hermann Agha: An Eastern Narrative, Том 2
William Gifford Palgrave - 1872 - 226 стор.
...Infantry, and Adjutant of the Edinburgh Rifle Brigade. Just published. A Cheaper Edition, price is. ' ' One of the best-known and coolest-headed of the metropolitan...lectures addressed by him to the men of his corps." — 7*imes. "Capt. Page has something to say .... and in every case it is said moderately, tersely,...
In Quest of Coolies
James L. A. Hope - 1872 - 137 стор.
...late io5th Light Infantry, and Adjutant of the Edinburgh Rifle Brigade. A Cheaper Edition, price is. "One of the best-known and coolest-headed of the metropolitan...collection of lectures addressed by him to the men of his corps."—Times. " Capt. Page has something to say .... and in every case it is said moderately, tersely,...
Уперед


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Tag: Based on a Fairy Tale
Donkey Skin (1970)
"Following the death of his beautiful wife the Queen, a King searches for a young princess to marry, promising his wife before he died that he would only marry someone more beautiful than her. After an exhaustive search, the King is convinced by his aides that the only princess that fits the bill is his own daughter, a younger spitting image of her mother… Advised by her Fairy Godmother the Princess is able to escape by hiding under a donkey's skin, disguised as a scullery maid. In the town where the Princess is hiding out, a Prince will soon be traveling through, he searching for his true love. Some magical forces tell him to follow his heart, which if he does not listen may make him miss finding his true love, namely the Princess, known in those parts only as Donkey Skin"
– Huggo, IMDB.
Continue reading "Donkey Skin (1970)" →
Rumpelstiltskin (Cannon Movie Tales, 1987)
"A musical version of the classic story about a miller's daughter who recieves help from a mischievous dwarf, then ends up over her head. Now, she and a mute servant girl may be the only hope for her baby son, John"
– Max Vaughn, IMDB.
Continue reading "Rumpelstiltskin (Cannon Movie Tales, 1987)" →
The Butterfly Lovers (2004)
The classic Chinese folklore of the Butterfly Lovers – Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai – gets an an updated rendition in this delightful full length animated feature similar to Disney's Mulan! Back in the Jin Dynasty, when only males were allowed to attend school, Zhu, a feisty young woman disguises herself as a boy to be educated. She meets Liang and falls in love, but before she can tell him her true identity, Zhu's parents arranged to have her marry the son of a local merchant. Undaunted, Zhu vows to defy tradition in order to follow her heart, and risk it all to be with her true love"
– The Butterfly Lovers DVD Description
Continue reading "The Butterfly Lovers (2004)" →
"Maria has a new stepmother and stepsister, Mary Lou. One day Maria falls in love with a hunter she meets in the woods, who gifts her a garnet stone. Mary Lou steals the garnet stone from Maria, and tosses it down a nearby well. It's then revealed that the hunter is actually the Prince, who announces he wishes to marry the girl who holds the garnet stone. While trying to retrieve the stone, both girls fall into the well, and they embark on a journey to find Mrs. Holle – the one whom holds the garnet stone and the way home."
Continue reading "Once Upon a Time (1973)" →


Caroline Kuzemko, from the University of Exeter, discusses her article 'Politicising UK energy: what speaking energy security can do' published in the latest edition of Policy & Politics. The whole issue is available for free download until the end of May.
Since the start of the latest Ukraine-Russia crisis the rhetoric of energy security has re-emerged as strongly as ever. What seems most evident this time around is the degree to which energy companies are deploying the energy supply security card in order to appeal for more state and political support for new capacity. The nuclear industry, never shy about letting a good energy crisis go to waste, has been active across Europe in using fear of Russia and the energy weapon to make the case for more European nuclear energy. In the UK Cuadrilla, ably assisted by William Hague and Michael Fallon, have argued that the UK should reduce reliance on gas imports by fracking for shale gas. It is worth noting the kind of language that is used in such appeals. Cuadrilla's statement suggests that Britain may declare a 'state of emergency' if the Ukraine crisis worsens and in this instance Cuadrilla will ride to our rescue by producing shale within 4 years. This is strongly worded stuff – bordering on war-like discourse – and assumes home-grown energy supply solves the crisis for the UK.
The appeal to energy supply (in)security to support investment in capacity is not restricted to nuclear and fossil fuel industries however. The notion that populations and governments harbour genuine concerns about 'the lights going out' has actively underpinned renewable energy and broader climate change campaigns.
Of course this Ukraine-Russia crisis is about far more than just energy access and supplies – there are deep political divides both within the Ukraine but also between US and EU attempts to have 'a say' in Ukrainian politics and those of Russia. Building more UK energy capacity is not going to make these desperate problems, felt of course most by the people of the Ukraine, go away. It is furthermore worth noting that, in the short to medium term, Russia needs export markets just as much as Europe needs gas. There are also various ongoing contractual obligations between large Ukrainian, Russian and European energy companies that have a bearing on Russian gas exports via the Ukraine.
The IGov working paper 'Politicising UK Energy', and my article in Policy & Politics, offer some explanations as to why companies, and governments, utilise the energy supply security narrative so readily. As the paper explains, part of understanding these arguably somewhat narrow arguments and their success lies in their popular appeal and in the, related, tangibility of the notion. Articles about energy, power and threat are popular in media circles – they readily get public exposure and this exposure is to an extent self-reinforcing. A tendency to believe that energy supplies can be threatened is underpinned by a realisation of energy's role in powering 'modern' society and of fossil fuels as geographically fixed and finite. Popular film and fiction is littered with stories about dystopian futures where there are few resources left and those that remain are controlled by unsavoury countries or characters – thereby posing a real threat to survival of the rest of humankind.
Belief that access to energy supplies is important is further underpinned by widespread belief in the notion that Russia is the adversary of the West and that it is willing and able to deploy an energy weapon. One example, amongst many referenced in the paper, is the UK television programme 'Have I Got News For You' that features in the opening credits a picture of a Russian soldier turning the gas pipe to Europe off with a sly grin on his face. Regular exposure to these arguments and imagery may have a bearing on our willingness to believe. By combining two credible notions – that energy supply can be controlled and restricted and that Russia can be a threat – results in fears are often genuinely felt. But the emphasis in all this remains on supply – with an assumption that demand is ongoing.
Within an era of energy transition, when much is at stake for many incumbent energy institutions, we are all increasingly caught up in the politics of energy and such tactics may well be regularly deployed. Energy companies seeking a political response – like easier licences for shale drilling or state financial support for new nuclear – are aware of the tangibility of the supply argument. As such we need to be more aware of the degree to which companies are framing energy security as a supply problem and understand it better – including how and why it works.
But we also need to think of how to offer different solutions for the UK at times of genuinely perceived crisis. One answer is to reframe the debate to emphasise energy efficiency and demand side response as a direct alternative to the same old calls for more commitment to supply capacity. Greater efficiency and reduced and/or more flexible demand are surely more sustainable responses to fears about imports from Russia, unstable transport and associated price impacts than greater investment in supplies that prolong everyone's dependency on non-renewable resources.
Caroline Kuzemko, based in the Department of Geography at the University of Exeter, is a part of a team called Innovation and Governance (IGov) investigating complex inter-relationships between modes of energy governance and innovative, sustainable change.


I feel fortunate to be in the engineering field. Having been raised around the evening dinner table and hearing stories from my father about the good, bad and occasional pitfalls of the engineering design business has proven invaluable. The everyday experiences with co-workers and clients make for a rich life. This is my thirty-third year working at Kurzynske & Associates which is in its sixtieth year since the founding. I have benefitted or been associated with this business in some form or fashion for all but one of those years. As stated earlier, I've been very fortunate.
I graduated from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville with a degree in Business Marketing. I then worked five years in hospital management at a 302-bed hospital as marketing assistant to the President, and later as Director of Material Management/Purchasing. It slowly occurred to me that I had the entrepreneurial spirit and an engineering opportunity was available. I spent the next two and one-half years at Vanderbilt University earning a degree in Mechanical Engineering while working part-time at Kurzynske & Associates. After graduation, I joined the firm full-time.
My time now is spent overseeing design production with the occasional project design of my own. Office development is more important than ever in the dynamic design environment and I look for opportunities where I think we as a whole can benefit. I take great satisfaction in working with some truly innovative, if not brilliant, minds on a daily basis. More than that, I am proud to be associated with these great people who give generously of their time in leadership roles at their churches, in their communities, coaching in Little League, mentoring Eagle Scouts and hearing results of their charity work. The quality of the lives they are leading can't help but influence and better the time they spend in their careers. Proud indeed!


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Q: Hiding settargetObjectId while sending email..? Hi I have used contact as settargetObjectId and whenever an email is sent this contact emailid  also get copied in the email list..
Is there any way to put this contact emailid(settargetObjectId ) in bcc list so it is always hidden from the recepient.
Also please note i am using template to send out email notifications..
Please help...!!!

A: You cannot do this.
setTargetObjectId(id) is used to send email to Lead, Contact or User. It is defined for main email recipient (same as toAddress(String[]) when using template. It will always in "To:"

A: A workaround, which consists of creating a temporary dummy contact on the fly, is described here:
https://techman97.wordpress.com/tag/settargetobjectid/
This way you can at least prevent from sending to an additional email address. It will however show an extra recipient in the to:  line.
In order to send a bcc, use the setBccAddresses method:
http://www.salesforce.com/us/developer/docs/apexcode/Content/apex_classes_email_outbound_single.htm#apex_Messaging_SingleEmailMessage_setBccAddresses

A: To be able to use the email template you have to use setTargetObjectId(id). However if at the same time you set the setToAddresses('someemail@example.com) it will override the setTargetObjectId(id) value. Thus no email will be sent to the setTargetObjectId(id). I just did this several hours ago.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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A$AP Rocky Interview with The Cut
admin / 15 Jan, 2016
Inside a corner storefront on the Bowery, a couple of dudes are trying to hang a neon version of the GUESS triangle logo. The windows are made of one-way glass and look blacked out from the outside, so every couple of minutes, some passerby stops to peer curiously into the space. Little do they know that in here, we've rewound a couple of decades. The whole place is styled like a '90s rec room — complete with NBA-themed video games (one frozen on a menu displaying a pixelated Charles Barkley), Alf and Green Hornet comic books, a VHS library that ranges from Tae Bo tapes to Pretty Woman, even a slightly lumpy corduroy couch. Depending on your perspective, it's a fun #tbt, or, for those of us who recently entered our 30s, a harsh reminder that time's wingèd chariot is hurtling ever nearer.
It's all in service of A$AP Rocky's line for GUESS Originals, which is, to say the least, heavily inspired by the decade — the rapper ventured into the archives to find pieces from the era to re-create. (Pieces from the line will be available for preorder on January 30, at retailers including Opening Ceremony; the full collection will launch February 15 at GUESS stores and online.) At a launch party later that night, promises a press release, guests can look forward to "munching on iconic nineties after school snacks and spiked punch."
Rocky, who was sitting in the back of the venue at a picnic table covered with packages of Pop Rocks (presumably, the "iconic snacks" in question), spoke to the Cut about his '90s memories, why you'll see him walking around with a Super 8 camera, and the reason he wants to have a daughter.
Continue reading on The Cut.
asap rockyguessny magthe cut


The René music synthesizer module is a a powerful three-dimensional prism of composition. It is the world's only 3D Cartesian Music Sequencer. Named for the French philosopher & mathematician René Descartes, it uses the Cartesian coordinate system to unlock the analog step sequencer from the shackles of linearity. The original René was a one-channel, two-dimensional Cartesian sequencer with limited memory, this new René is a three-channel, three-dimensional Cartesian sequencer with memory for up to 64 complete STATEs. Considering the multiple channels and FUN programming options per multiple axis, René has become an n-dimensional matrix or tesseract of synthesizer sequencing.


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Finding peace after the pain
By Janelle Ringer - June 20, 2019
Zakari Davis had one goal when she felt there was no point in continuing her life: to find peace.
Zakari Davis had one goal: to find peace. The 16-year-old adopted daughter of Janine Davis came to the Behavioral Medicine Center's youth partial hospitalization program at a time when she felt there was no point in continuing her life.
"I don't think I'd be here without the Behavioral Medicine Center," Zakari said. "I tried every therapist — I tried going everywhere to talk, and nobody could help me the way the behavioral health institute helped me."
Zakari's birth mother was in prison, leaving her and her six siblings up for adoption. This became an answered prayer for Janine Davis, who had prayed for a child. "She was my miracle," Janine said.
At the time of Zakari's adoption, Janine began seeing a man whom she decided to marry. Janine's new husband adopted Zakari during the marriage, but Janine quickly realized she did not know everything about Zakari's new father.
"I wish I could have known that deciding to include another person in our lives was going to send us into a whirlwind that ended up being a very abusive relationship," Janine said.
This abuse was not only directed at Janine. "There was constant screaming, yelling and fighting around the house," Zakari said. "He began to become very abusive towards my siblings and me." When the abuse affected the children, Janine separated and filed for divorce, agreeing to 50-50 custody. This was when Zakari's anxiety began.
"I felt the anger from my adoptive father," she said. Zakari's adoptive father didn't like that she preferred her adoptive mom more than him, Zakari said. "One day during a visitation I told him I didn't want to be with him anymore; I wanted to be home. He took me to the house after that and beat me for what felt like hours."
The trauma of this abuse had to be relived each time Zakari had to retell the story in court. "Not only was I terrified of him, but reliving the experience over and over forced me to feel that pain again each time," she said.
After this, Janine sent Zakari to California to live with her aunt while Janine stayed in Florida. "With Zakari in a different state, I wouldn't have to worry about him finding her at daycare while I'm at work and things like that," Janine said. But the move was not easy on Zakari.
"I felt like she didn't want me," Zakari said. "I remember crying myself to sleep and hearing her on the phone saying that she was going to see me soon and just not believing her. I thought she was never going to come back."
When Janine did come to California, she realized Zakari had lost faith in her family and had not healed as well as Janine hoped. "One day at school, I saw my friend had been hit by her father. It triggered me, I called my mom and I said 'I need to go home now.'"
Zakari began to spiral, feeling herself pulling away from everything around her, she said. "After weeks of just lying in bed, I finally told my mom I needed help, or I couldn't survive much longer."
Janine began searching for someone to help Zakari. "I kept telling her you're not going to die — you've got this," Janine said. "I said 'Remember, you're my miracle,' and she would scream 'I'm not a miracle, I'm nothing! You see the miracle because it was your dream, but I see nothing!'"
Janine looked across the country for something, thinking if she couldn't find help, her daughter was going to die. One day, Janine called Loma Linda University Health, and the operator told her about the Behavioral Medicine Center's youth programs.
"Next thing I knew, we had an appointment, and for the first time in a long time, I felt hope for Zakari," Janine said.
Zakari recalls being afraid for her first appointment. "I didn't want to open up or befriend people," she said. "I didn't trust that they could bring me peace."
Zakari was diagnosed with anxiety, depression and post traumatic stress disorder triggered by her experiences. As she began to open up to the people at the center, she started to engage in coping mechanisms taught to reduce the side effects of her diagnoses. "I was taught things like cognitive mindfulness," she said.
There were classes for Janine as well, which taught her to let go of control. "It's scary, but I had to let her live her story," she said. "The Behavioral Medicine Center helped me realize that that's okay."
"When people are lost, or when they feel hopeless, we at the Behavioral Medicine Center want to be there," said Glenn Scott, LCSW, director of the youth partial hospital program at the Loma Linda University Behavioral Medicine Center. "When Zakari and Janine found us, they did not know that there was hope and that there were people who could help," he said.
"It's great not to feel alone anymore, and to be around people who understood that need for peace," Zakari said. "The behavioral health institute saved my life by helping me see my purpose and realize that I want to help others like me find the peace they deserve."


text:
Home News Releases Marcus & Millichap Sells 16-Unit Pacific Heights Classic for $10.5 Million
Marcus & Millichap Sells 16-Unit Pacific Heights Classic for $10.5 Million
The trophy 1920s apartment building traded at $650,250 per unit.
SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 16, 2012 – Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services, the nation's largest real estate investment services firm, has arranged the all-cash sale of 2299 Pacific Ave., a trophy 1920s apartment building located in San Francisco's Pacific Heights neighborhood. The 16-unit asset commanded $10.5 million, or $650,250 per unit—one of the highest prices per unit achieved in the city so far this year.
James Devincenti, a senior vice president investments, and Brad Lagomarsino, a vice president investments in Marcus & Millichap's San Francisco office, represented the seller, the Henry I. Prien Family Trust. The buyer was a high net-worth individual representing two family trusts, which acquired the asset as-is, closing escrow in two weeks.
"A rarely marketed asset, this trophy apartment building had been owned by the same family for more than 46 years," says Devincenti. "With our unique marketing plan capitalizing on the asset's trophy appeal, we were able to attract more than 10 qualified offers from a wide array of investors," he notes. "Because of the high demand for quality infill assets in prime neighborhoods, we were able to close this transaction at a cap rate of 3.25 percent and a GRM of 17.55."
"The property's immaculate condition, large units with fireplaces and views of the Golden Gate Bridge and its design by renowned architect, Conrad Alfred Meussdorfer, further enhance its appeal and the long-term intrinsic value of this property," Devincenti adds.
Built in 1928, 2299 Pacific Ave. is a nine-story, concrete and steel apartment building. It has a gold copper leaf composite ceiling and an attractive tile entryway with a fountain that grace its lobby, and the beautifully maintained building boasts many newer systems and many recent capital improvements.
The building is comprised of one studio/one bath unit (425 square feet), 12 one-bedroom/one-bath units (1,135 square feet), one two-level, two-bedroom, two-bath units (1,560 square feet), one two-level, three-bedroom, two-bath unit (approximately 1,830 square feet) and one office (600 square feet).
2299 Pacific Ave. is situated on the corner of Pacific and Webster streets in the heart of San Francisco's prestigious Pacific Height's neighborhood, convenient to many shops, restaurants and parks.
With more than 1,000 investment professionals in offices nationwide, Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services is the largest firm specializing in commercial real estate investment services in the nation. Marcus & Millichap closed 5,085 transactions in 2011, the highest of any commercial real estate brokerage firm. Founded in 1971, the firm has perfected a powerful system for marketing properties that combines product specialization, local market expertise, the industry's most comprehensive research, state-of-the-art technology and relationships with the largest pool of qualified investors nationally.
West Coast Commercial Real Estate News
Carmel Partners' 227-Unit Apartment Building Would Add to Admirals Cove Development in Alameda
Nearly Full Mixed-Use Property at 1005 Market Street in San Francisco is for Sale with $10MM Asking Price
Fujitsu North America Sells 123,600 SQFT Office Building in Sunnyvale for $31MM
Spieker Companies Purchase 224-Unit Cherryhill Apartments in Sunnyvale for $106MM


text: Q: Migration of existing data to PostgreSQL on ROR. Foreign Key needs rewriting? I have an MS Access database with many tables, which are interlinked with Foreign keys. I am planning to put in on the web in an RoR application ( with Postgres). My question is, how does active_record handle foreign keys when data is being restored from pg_dump? The dump is created by converting the MS Access database. It has Integer fields which were originally AutoNumber of MS Access. I've made the schema with has_many, belongs_to and HABTM  models and migrated. But will I have to rewrite the Foreign keys as the existing local keys will be replaced with new SEQUENCE numbers?


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Thursday, August 9, 2012. 5:30 pm.
Downtown Port Townsend rocks on with all-ages free concerts on Thursdays, July 19 through September 6 at the newly renovated Pope Marine Park/City Dock Civic Plaza. This music on the waterfront is sponsored by generous local businesses and coordinated by the Port Townsend Main Street Program. Local food vendors and a Beer/Wine & Cider Garden will contribute to the festive atmosphere.
This concert series is made possible by the Port Townsend Main Street Program, Puget Sound Energy, the City of Port Townsend and participating business sponsors.


I recently helped a client with serious PostgreSQL problems. Their database is part of an application that configures and monitors large networks; each individual network node reports its status to the database every five minutes. The client was having problems with one table in particular, containing about 25,000 rows — quite small, by modern database standards, and thus unlikely to cause problems.
However, things weren't so simple: This table was growing to more than 20 GB every week, even though autovacuum was running. In response, the company established a weekly ritual: Shut down the application, run a VACUUM FULL, and then restart things. This solved the problem in the short term — but by the end of the week, the database had returned to be about 20 GB in size. Clearly, something needed to be done about it.
I'm happy to say that I was able to fix this problem, and that the fix wasn't so difficult. Indeed, the source of the problem might well be obvious to someone with a great deal of PostgreSQL experience. That's because the problem mostly stemmed from a failure to understand how PostgreSQL's transactions work, and how they can influence the functioning of VACUUM, the size of your database, and the reliability of your system. I've found that this topic is confusing to many people who are new to PostgreSQL, and I thus thought that it would be a useful to walk others through the problem, and then describe how we solved it.
What happens to the size of our table if we UPDATE each row, incrementing x by 1?
If you're new to MVCC, then the above is probably quite surprising. After all, you might expect an UPDATE query to change each of the existing 1 million rows, keeping the database size roughly identical.
However, this is not at all the case: Rather than replace or update existing rows, UPDATE in an MVCC system adds new rows. Indeed, in an MVCC-based system, our queries never directly change or remove any rows. INSERT adds new rows, DELETE marks rows as no longer needed, and UPDATE performs both an INSERT and a DELETE.
That's right: In an MVCC system, UPDATE doesn't change existing rows, although we might have the illusion of this occurring. Every time you UPDATE a table, you're doubling its size.
At this point, many newcomers to PostgreSQL are even more confused: How can it be that deleted rows don't go away? And why would UPDATE work in such a crazy way? And how can all of this possibly help me?
The key to understanding what's happening is to realize that once a row has been added to the system, it cannot be changed. However, its space can be reused by new rows, if the old row is no longer accessible by any transaction.
The rows with ID 1 and 3 were added in transaction 187668, whereas the rows with ID 2 and 4 were added in an earlier transaction, number 187665.
Since I've already told you that rows cannot be changed by a query, this raises an interesting question: What happened to the rows with IDs 1 and 3 that were added in the first transaction, number 187665?
The answer is: Those rows still exist in the system! They have not been modified or removed. But the system did mark them as having an xmax of 187668, the transaction ID in which the new, replacement rows are now available.
The thing is, we don't need a hypothetical, time-traveler's database in order to see such behavior. All we need is to open two separate sessions to our PostgreSQL database at the same time, and have each session open a transaction.
You see, when you BEGIN a new transaction, your actions are hidden from the rest of the world — and similarly, modifications made elsewhere in the database are hidden from you. You can thus have a situation in two different sessions see completely different versions of the same row, thanks to their different transaction IDs. This might sound crazy, but it actually helps the database to run smoothly, with a minimum of conflicts and locks.
What do we see now in session A?
Just as we would expect, we have two new rows (IDs 1 and 3), and two old rows (IDs 2 and 4), which we can distinguish via the xmin value. In all cases, the rows have an xmax value of 0.
That's right — the rows that session B sees are no longer the rows that session A sees. Session B continues to see the same rows as were visible when it started the transaction. We can see that the xmax of session B's old rows is the same as the xmin of session A's new rows. That's because any transaction after 187670 will see the new row (i.e., with an xmin of 187670), but any transaction started before 187670 will see the old row (i.e., with an xmax of 187670).
This allows different transactions to work independently, without having to wait for locks. Imagine if session B wants to look at row with ID 3; because of MVCC, it doesn't need to wait to read it. Heck, session B can even change the row with ID 3, although it'll hang until session A commits or rolls back.
And indeed, another benefit of MVCC is that rollbacks are trivially easy to implement: If we COMMIT session A and roll back session B, then session A's view of the world will be the current one, for all following transactions. But if we ROLLBACK session A, then everything is fine; PostgreSQL keeps track of the fact that session A was rolled back, and that we should actually be using (until further notice) the rows with an xmax of 187670.
As you can imagine, this can lead to some trouble. If every UPDATE increases the number of rows, and every DELETE fails to free up any space, every PostgreSQL database will eventually run out of room, no? Well, yes — except for VACUUM, which is the garbage-collecting mechanism for PostgreSQL's rows. VACUUM can be run manually, but it's normally run via "autovacuum," a program that runs in the background, and invokes VACUUM on a regular basis.
VACUUM doesn't free space from your PostgreSQL database. Rather, it identifies rows whose xmin is greater than the current transaction ID, and thus marks those rows as available for re-use. PostgreSQL thus keeps track of not only the current transaction ID, but also the ID of the earliest still-open transaction. So long as that transaction is open, it needs to be able to see the rows from that point in time.
Don't confuse VACUUM with VACUUM FULL; the later does indeed clear out space from a PostgreSQL database, but locks the database while it's doing so. If you have a serious 24/7 application, then VACUUM FULL is a very bad idea. The regular autovacuum daemon, albeit perhaps with a bit of configuration, should take care of identifying which rows can and should be marked for deletion.
In the case of my client's problem, my initial thought was that autovacuum wasn't running. However, a quick look at the pg_stat_user_tables view showed that autovacuum was running on a regular basis.
However, VACUUM will mark a row as eligible for reuse if no other transactions can see it. (After all, if a session remains open, then it still needs to see those old row versions.) Meaning that if a transaction remains open from the time the system starts up, VACUUM will never identify any rows as eligible for reuse, because there is still an open transaction whose ID is lower than the xmax of the deleted rows.
And this is precisely what happened to my client: It turns out that their application, at startup, was opening several transactions with BEGIN statements… and then never committing those transactions or rolling them back. None of those transactions led to a lock in PostgreSQL, because they weren't executing any query that would lead to a conflict. And autovacuum was both running and reporting that it ran on each table — because it had indeed done so.
But when it came time to mark the old rows as eligible for reuse, VACUUM ignored all of the rows in the entire database, including our 23,000-row table — because of the transaction that the application had opened at startup. It didn't matter how many times we can VACUUM, whether it was done manually or automatically, or what else was running at the time: All of the old versions of every row in our table were kept around by PostgreSQL, leading to a massive disk usage and database slowness. Stopping the application had the effect of closing those transactions, and thus allowing VACUUM FULL to do its magic, albeit at the cost of system downtime. And because the application opened the transactions at startup, any fix was bound to be a temporary one.
My client was a bit surprised to discover that the entire database could encounter such problems from an open transaction that was neither committed nor rolled back. However, I hope that you now see why the space wasn't reclaimed, and why the database acted as it did.
The solution, of course, was to get rid of those three open, empty transactions at startup; once we did that, everything ran smoothly.
Transactions are a brilliant and useful invention, but in PostgreSQL (and other MVCC systems), you shouldn't be holding onto open transactions for too long. Doing so might have surprisingly unpleasant consequences. Commit or rollback as soon as you can — or you might find yourself with a database accumulating gigabytes full of old, unnecessary rows.
Big "aha" and "wow" moments while reading this. Thank you!
Thank you for the explanation, I understand this now.
I have the greatest admiration for the people who design these techniques.
For locking I still follow the old fashioned "select for update" method, mainly because I didn't understand how version locking works.
Thanks for the article. I kinda of knew it conceptually but never really explored the detailed mechanism.
Thanks, this is a great article!
However, last paragraph is not quite accurate. Oracle's implementation of the MVCC is absolutely different. There you can keep your transactions open as long as you need. Updates don't create new tuples, deletes delete tuples from datablocks.
Ah, good to know! Thanks for the correction.
That was an excellent learning article. Thank you!


text:
Home » Feasts & Holy Days » Meskel (Ethiopia)
Meskel: Hugely popular Ethiopian feast of finding of the True Cross
At Meskel Square, in Addis Ababa, tapers are lit by all in preparation of the burning of the demera by the bishops.
Building a Meskel demera in the hills near Addis Ababa.
A neighborhood demera is prepared for Meskel in Addis Ababa.
Men pose in front of their just-finished demera near Addis Ababa.
Women sell meskel flowers and grass for the Meskel feast, to decorate floors of homes, including for the coffee ceremony.
Visitors at the Orthodox church near Meskel Square, before the vigil celebration.
Fresh-picked meskel flowers being brought in from the countryside.
Church groups, mostly Orthodox and costumed, are gathered in Meskel Square for the national celebration where they dance and serve as part of the celebration.
Orthodox priest at the national celebration at Meskel square.
One of several floats paraded around Meskel Square.
A pyre is lit in front of St. Anthony's Cathedral in Emdibir. Photo courtesy of Alemu Tereda Nisrane.
About 1 km from Meskel Square, Catholic celebrants pray at the beginning of their parish's celebration.
In the Gurage region, bulls are slaughterd for the Meskel feast. Photo courtesy of Alemu Tereda Nisrane.
The Gurage people in Emdibir slaughter bulls for the Meskel feast. Photo courtesy of Alemu Tereda Nisrane.
Watch Video:
National Meskel Celebration, Ethiopia
Meskel celebration at Nativity Cathedral, Ethiopia
Ethiopian Catholic Celebration of Meskel
Listen to Audio:
cc_ethiopia_meskelsong.mp3
Songs around a crackling Meskel fire as people prepare to eat together, at St. Saviour Catholic parish in Addis Ababa.
Thomas M. Landy
As in other parts of the Catholic world, Christmas and Easter are major feasts in the Church calendar. But in Ethiopia, a different feast, Meskel, competes for top billing in the lives as believers. In interviews for this project, almost all of the interviewees, lay and religious, suggested that this was their favorite religious feast of the year, a long-anticipated and special day. Officially, Meskel is a minor Christian feast. Practically, it is a major national event.
The feast celebrates the finding of the True Cross in the early fourth century by St. Helena, the mother of the Emperor Constantine, and corresponds to the Feast of the Holy Cross in the West. It has been celebrated in its present incarnation for more than 600 years, and in other forms at least since the 13th century, perhaps since the fourth.1
Perhaps just as importantly, it coincides with the predictable end of a long and difficult season of heavy rains, a kind of wintertime when food supplies fall short. The feast is celebrated (on September 27, according to the Western calendar) at a time when the rains end, and a yellow daisy-like flower, also called meskel, blooms all over the hills surrounding Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia.
The main national feast is held in Meskel Square, a huge square in Addis Ababa named and dedicated particularly for the celebration of the feast, with a semi-circular stadium viewing area for tens of thousands of people. The celebration is presided over by bishops and civic leaders. In the 2013 celebration pictured here, the Catholic metropolitan archbishop participated in the celebration. While the celebrations in the capital are large, Meskel is a time when many urbanites return home to villages. Neighborhoods and villages celebrate the Meskel in thousands of local celebrations.
The celebration begins in earnest on September 26, the eve of the feast. That morning, in public squares or at intersections, people prepare the demera, a tall pyramid of branches that looks from a distance like a like a fir tree, topped with a cross of meskel flowers. In the late afternoon, people dance and celebrate in the area around the demera. At Meskel Square, dozens of large dance groups move through the square below the viewing stand. Clergy and public leaders give speeches, and floats with biblical themes parade around the grounds. As darkness begins to set in, the demera is set ablaze. The smoke is said to recall the smoke that supposedly led St. Helena to the site of the True Cross. Celebrants then feast together, whether at the demera site or with their families. The following day, the official day of the Feast of the Finding of the True Cross, Ethiopians attend liturgy and a feast and celebrate with family and friends. Many use the ashes from the demera to mark themselves with a cross.
Ethiopian rite Catholics participate fully in the national and local celebrations, and celebrate it similarly as their own feast. Many Catholic churches have smaller Meskel burnings and feasts later on the eve of Meskel, after the national and local celebrations. At Holy Saviour, a Catholic parish in Addis Ababa, clergy and parishioners burn their own demera following the burning in the square, and then celebrate around the fire with a special meal. At the Catholic cathedral, the archbishop celebrates with a burning Meskel pyre, the demera, on the following day, the day of the feast itself, after the Mass.
Bread & Bulls: Foods of the Feast
One interviewee, who described Meskel as her favorite feast of the year, told how, after Mass and the breaking of the feast, she would return home for feasting and visits with neighbors and friends. The eating of injera, a flatbread considered a national dish in Ethiopia, took on special Eucharistic significance for the family that day, she said. The man of the house would be in charge of breaking the injera, and the day included plenty of eating and sharing. The ways of celebrating Meskel were no different for Catholics compared to Orthodox neighbors, all reported, except that they went to Mass at different churches.
Meskel is said to be particularly valued and well celebrated among Gurage2 people. Adult children, especially those who have moved away from the village in search of their fortunes, are expected to provide a bull or goat for their parents to slaughter for Meskel. Those children who do not honor this responsibility may be cursed for failing their families. The slaughter itself is part of the feast. An elder male blesses the animal with the sign of the cross, a request that God save the people in the coming year and provide prosperity for the children who provided the animal. The men take a shot of local alcohol, and the bull is slaughtered. The bull has to fall to the right side, or at least be turned afterward on that side. The meat is prepared in a variety of ways and shared with celebrants, and can last a week. Celebrations there generally mix Catholic and Orthodox except at liturgies, though in some places Orthodox will only eat the meat if it has been blessed and slaughtered by an Orthodox man, since he will usually hold to a more rigorous fast throughout the year than would be required of a Catholic.
1. Steven Kaplan, "Finding the True Cross: The Social-Political Dimensions of the Ethiopian Mäsqäl Festival," Journal Of Religion In Africa 38.4 (November 2008): 449. The date was originally during Lent, but changed to the current date, probably turning pre-Christian traditions into a Christian feast.
2. For a brief introduction to Gurage customs and social structures, see Nahu Senay, "Gurage," in Peripheral People: the excluded minorities of Ethiopia, ed. Deena Freeman and Alula Pankhurst (Lawrenceville, NJ: Red Sea Press, 2003), 33-45.
Brazil: A colorful tapete for the Easter procession


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