After School Kids Ltd (herein referred to as ASK) reserves the right to alter these Terms and Conditions and attached Schedules at any time without notice.
By booking care for your child/ren with ASK either online at www.afterschoolkids.co.nz or by phone, you are indicating your acceptance of the ASK Terms and Conditions, and all attached schedules, contained herein.
ASK reserves the right to refuse care to any person/s for any reason, at any time.
Payment for out of school care is required by the Thursday of the week following care, unless a payment plan has been established with ASK by phoning us on 06 355 9082 or 021357864 or emailing us at info@afterschoolkids.co.nz. Failure to make payment by the due date, could mean your enrolment is jeopardised.
Once your booking is received a place is confirmed for your child and appropriate charges are payable. In all cases, ASK reserves the right to refuse care in the event of non-payment or violation of ASK Behaviour Management conditions. Should you no longer require the booked care please refer to the schedule below.
Please notify us as soon as you are aware of changes to your booking either by phone 06 355 9082 or 021 357864 or email to info@afterschoolkids.co.nz. Should your circumstances change or care is no longer required, ASK requires notification of the change 2 weeks prior to the care commencing. Any changes or cancellations not within this time frame will be charged as normal.
While ASK will make every effort to accommodate your request, spaces are limited so late bookings cannot be guaranteed.
Families that qualify for a WINZ subsidy are required to pay the balance of their account by the Thursday of the week following care. Please note: it is your responsibility to notify WINZ immediately should your circumstances change.
Please Note: When required, extended sessions may be available for early school closures at additional cost.
In all cases payment of fees must be paid on or before the due date on the invoice.
Statements are sent out from time to time. Please request a statement if required.
ASK prefers Automatic payments by bank transfer to our account 15–3950-0545497-10. Cash is accepted for trips in the holidays only.
There are no refunds for prepaid fees, credits on your account or overpayments. Credit balances can be applied to future Before or After School Care or School Holiday Programmes. Please manage your payments so that you are not too far in credit as there are no refunds.
A Late Payment Fee (see Fee Schedule for details) may be charged each week an account retains an outstanding balance unless a payment plan has been agreed upon with ASK. Should you be experiencing difficulty with paying your account please call us immediately to avoid further fees. Failure to settle an overdue account or adhere to payment plan terms may result in cancellation of care.
ASK may refer any account remaining unpaid after 6 weeks to a Debt Collection agency using the information provided on your enrolment form. Late Payment Fees may still apply and all charges relating to the debt, and/or collection of it, is fully payable by the person/s named on the enrolment form. Should the account be referred to District Court then all court costs will be borne by the person/s named on the enrolment form.
Should an incident/accident occur while your child/ren is in the care of ASK, an incident/accident report will be completed by attending staff. The report will be made available to the parent/caregiver collecting the child/ren for signing to indicate their acknowledgement.
ASK has a Zero Tolerance Policy to bullying, hitting, use of inappropriate language or disruption of our programme. If a child presents a possible danger to any person, or repeatedly shows a lack of respect to staff by consistently failing to follow reasonable directions, the child may be suspended or permanently removed from the programme. If a child is removed from our programmes for this reason, their behaviour may be reported to ORANGA TAMARIKI (OT). ASK is legally required to follow the MSD guidelines in reporting suspicions of child abuse.
While the utmost care is taken with children in our care, accidents may occur from time to time. There is always an ASK staff member on duty that holds a current First Aid Certificate and will use their discretion when administering first aid to your child/ren. Should an accident be deemed serious, ASK staff will contact emergency services immediately and an ASK staff member will contact you on the numbers provided. Please ensure all the details we hold for you are current at all times.
ASK staff transport all the children to school using an ASK van. All children will be safely in the school grounds before the staff member leaves the school. If required a young child ( eg 5 year old) will be taken right to the classroom and settled in, before we leave in the morning. Please discuss this with us.
ASK staff either transport (in ASK designated vehicles) or walk the children back to ASK in the afternoon. By booking your child/ren into an ASK programme requiring transport, you give permission for ASK to transport the named child/ren.
All children attending an ASK programme must be signed in by the parent/caregiver on drop off to ASK and signed out prior to departure from our care. ASK is not permitted to release a child from the programme unless signed out by their parent or authorised caregiver over 14 years of age. ASK must be informed by phone or email if a person other than those specified on enrolment will be collecting your child/ren.
Failure to advise ASK of an absence prior to the booked session commencing may incur additional charges (see Fee Schedule for details).
Collection of a child/ren after the conclusion of their booked session time may incur additional charges which will be added to your account (see Fee Schedule for details).
ASK closes at 6pm each evening. Collection of a child/ren after this time will incur additional charges which will be added to your account (see Fee Schedule for details). ASK reserves the right to discontinue care for repeat occurrences.
ASK accepts no responsibility for the security of any personal items a child may bring to the programme e.g. money, toys, electronics. Should you need to contact your child during the programme, call us on 06 3559082 or 021 357864 please.
ASK management, employees or services are not liable for any personal injury or damage to property while in the care of ASK howsoever occurring.
Any costs associated with damage to property or persons caused by a child whilst in an ASK programme will be passed on to the parent/caregiver responsible for that child.
As an organisation we are dedicated to continuous improvement, and as such ASK welcomes your feedback. Should you have any queries or concerns, please let us know.
b. If you need more time to discuss the issue, a time can be arranged to do so.
c. All efforts will be made by the manager in investigating and considering any complaint.
d. Where possible a mutually agreeable outcome will be sought.
e. If unresolved, the Manager will bring in a third party mediator, to help resolve the issue.
The collection and use of any information about yourself or children attending ASK programmes is governed by the Privacy Act 1993. All information you provide to ASK is stored in a safe, secure place. You may access and correct any information held. Any personal information may be used in the development and the running of After School Kids Limited. Unless required by law, the lists held will not be disposed of or sold to any other person or company and remain for the exclusive use of ASK.
Our current holiday programme including prices, can be found on www.afterschoolkids.co.nz from near the end of term and throughout the holiday period. The ASK Holiday programme rate includes school hours care from about 8.30am – 3pm, full hours for longer hours, or half day sessions.
ASK Unadvised Absences Procedure: ASK staff contact the school office then our office will telephone the Primary account holder and Secondary contact, both on the cellphone and work numbers provided. Please advise us if these details change. In the event that both contacts are unavailable, emergency services will be contacted. Any costs incurred are the responsibility of the account holder.
Accounts are reviewed weekly. Any overdue amounts may incur a late payment fee of $10.00 per week the account remains in arrears, until settlement in full or an instalment plan is agreed upon with ASK.


text:
Q: How would I implement an onboard ISP for multiple ARM Cortex M0+ MCUs? I've written a lot of firmwares for embedded dev boards like Arduinos and Teensys, but am still  new to PCB design. Right now I'm attempting to bring a multi-MCU design into limited production, and I'm looking for a way to flash the processors on the board through a single interface, and hopefully with a single file. I'm hoping to make this as easy as possible for the user to update in the future.
Last time I did this for a large-scale factory environment, it made sense to just drop a whole Teensy onto my board. But this time I need to miniaturize down to a square board less than an inch and a half on a side. I still like the idea of dropping an open-source board design onto my PCB, and would like to clone three board schematics onto my single board, along with various items for power, an IMU, LED drivers, etc. I can understand if that sounds like a noob thing to do, but from my perspective, it gets the thing up and running faster with very little downside, and my code already relies on open-source, so it makes sense to me.
So I would like to drop in three instances of a dev board design, most likely the Seeeduino Xiao, or possibly the Adafruit Feather. Both use the same Cortex M0 processor, but the feather breaks out more pins. Both of the boards are programmable through USB, as well as something called UF2. But they also both break out SWD pads, which are for serial flashing and debugging. I'm wondering if I can use these to program remotely from an ISP on the board.
I've learned several ways these boards can be programmed, but so far I've been unable to decipher the best way to do it in my end product. Here's some reading I've done so far:
https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-feather-m0-basic-proto/adapting-sketches-to-m0
https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/arm-programming/all
https://www.sigmdel.ca/michel/ha/xiao/seeeduino_xiao_01_en.html
https://www.sigmdel.ca/michel/ha/xiao/seeeduino_xiao_sercom_en.html#warning
https://wiki.seeedstudio.com/Arduino-DAPLink/
https://learn.adafruit.com/programming-an-m0-using-an-arduino
https://www.pemicro.com/downloads/flash_algorithm/ARM_SPI_external_flash_alg_download.cfm
Any advice you might offer would go a long way. At this point I'm assuming by cloning in these board layouts, I'll be able to compile for that board as I normally do (VisualMicro for Visual Studio), and somehow produce a binary file that would flash all three processors. But I'm totally green when it comes to this kind of thing. So things that are obvious to you guys, I likely am totally unaware of.
Thanks for your time!

A: You can use the JTAG ports in a daisy chain.  BUT make sure you can get a programmer solution as well (I think ST devices are JTAG position aware).  You can then select the code for each processor in the chain and download all of them at once.

A: Which is the size of the batch? The Xiao turned SWD programmer is more a proof of concept than a real programmer. Go for a Segger programmer-debugger: it comes with excellent software and support.

A: Well, after asking the difficult questions, it appears there is no simple user-friendly answer for programming multiple boards such as these. The boards have program/debug pins, and so I thought this would be an easy question to ask. I thought that dedicated ISP chips for multiple SWD connections would surely be common, but that does not appear to be the case whatsoever. So I've now scrapped the whole idea and gone with something else. I was able to consolidate it down to two MCUs using a Teensy and a Xiao for all pre-production hardware, and will later investigate using an STM32F411 and an Atmega later on down the road. Thank you all for the input! It's definitely helped move me in the right direction.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
UN: Inspectors Say Weapons Report Lacks Evidence To Exonerate Iraq
By Robert McMahon
United Nations, 20 December 2002 (RFE/RL) -- UN experts say Iraq's weapons declaration offers little evidence to free it from suspicion that it is developing weapons of mass destruction. Hans Blix and Mohammad el-Baradei have told the UN Security Council they will seek more information from Iraq on specific chemical-, biological-, and nuclear-weapons issues. U.S. officials accuse Iraq of continuing a pattern of deceit and say that time is running out for it to comply with Security Council resolutions.
United Nations, 20 December 2002 (RFE/RL) -- The two top UN weapons inspectors say Iraq has so far failed to answer outstanding questions on key elements of its chemical, biological, nuclear, and ballistic-missile programs.
Hans Blix and Mohammad el-Baradei said yesterday that much of Iraq's weapons declaration handed in earlier this month was recycled from previous reports. Blix heads UNMOVIC, the UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission, while el-Baradei is director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). They gave the UN Security Council a preliminary analysis of Iraq's declaration and were asked to return early next month for a more detailed assessment.
El-Baradei told reporters outside the Security Council that UN inspectors will go back to Iraq with questions about all aspects of Baghdad's weapons-of-mass-destruction programs. "We still need much more cooperation from Iraq in terms of substance, in terms of providing evidence to exonerate themselves that they are clean from weapons of mass destruction, and I think that's a challenge both for them and for us. If they come with additional information, then our task will be much shorter, much easier. Our conclusion will be much more credible."
As an example, Blix cited Iraq's incomplete declaration of its programs to develop anthrax. He said Iraq has not verifiably accounted for the growth media it used to produce thousands of liters of anthrax.
Blix said Iraq has declared that it has destroyed it all, and he said there is evidence that it has destroyed some of it. But there is not, he said, sufficient evidence to show it has destroyed all of the material used to make anthrax.
Iraq could hand over records, Blix said, or provide personnel who took part in the destruction of the anthrax. He said inspectors have similar questions about many items. "An opportunity was missed in the declaration to give a lot of evidence. Well, they can still provide it, and I hope they'll provide it to us orally, but it would have been better if it had been in the declaration."
Blix told the Security Council that inspectors are also seeking more information on the whereabouts of 550 mustard-gas shells declared lost after the Gulf War. They also have questions about declarations concerning the weaponization of the nerve agent VX, and the destruction of missile engines, Blix said.
But a top scientific adviser to Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, General Amir al-Saadi, reiterated to reporters in Baghdad yesterday that the Iraqi declaration is legitimate and discounted U.S. charges that its weapons report is incomplete. "All these are just allegations. They haven't submitted one signal concrete evidence to support them. They continue to say that in an obvious attempt to preempt the assessment of the specialists. And I might add that we have only heard politicians talk like that -- we haven't heard any reputable weapons expert come out and pick out the holes in our declaration."
The UN inspectors' initial assessment of the Iraqi report followed several days of critical remarks by the United States and Britain, which were among the first countries to study the Iraqi declaration.
U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell told a news conference in Washington yesterday that Iraq clearly remains in what he called "material breach" of its disarmament obligations. That term is seen as part of the legal justification for mounting a military attack against Iraq. Powell said Iraq's new breach would not unleash military action, but he added that patience is running out. "There is no question that Iraq continues its pattern of non-cooperation, its pattern of deception, its pattern of dissembling, its pattern of lying. And if that is going to be the way they [the Iraqi government] continue through the weeks ahead, then we're not going to find a peaceful solution to this problem."
The French and Russian ambassadors to the UN stressed that Iraq's disarmament of its weapons of mass destruction must be verified through UN inspectors. But France's ambassador, Jean-Marc de La Sabliere, joined the criticism of the Iraqi declaration. "It doesn't lift the doubts about the possible continuation by Iraq of prohibited activities since December 1998 when the inspectors left the country. There are still question marks."
Russian Ambassador Sergei Lavrov told reporters Russia is still skeptical about the charges that Iraq is developing weapons of mass destruction. "We have been hearing allegations that Iraq does continue its [weapons-of-mass-destruction] programs. We have heard it many times, but we never saw any evidence that this is the case. We don't know whether this is true or not, and we want this to be verified by professionals -- by UNMOVIC and IAEA."
A key task now for the inspectors is conducting interviews with current or former Iraqi weapons experts. Iraq says it will provide the names of such experts -- as required by the Security Council's latest resolution -- by the end of this month.
Blix has been under pressure from U.S. officials to begin the process of interviewing these experts, outside the country, if necessary. Blix has been uncomfortable with the prospect of taking Iraqi scientists outside of the country, saying previously he does not run a "defection agency." He told the Security Council yesterday that practical arrangements for taking the experts outside the country would have to be carefully examined.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


The SLR 8000 has been engineered for high performance, reliability and flexibility. It offers 100 watts of transmit power with a high sensitivity receiver. This next generation of repeater can support the full spectrum of MOTOTRBO systems from a single site conventional up to Connect Plus and including Motorola's new Capacity Max. It can also operate as an analogue repeater (conventional or MPT 1327), or as a mixed mode analogue/digital repeater while companies transition from legacy analogue systems to digital. The SLR 8000 is flexible and can be customised. There are options for an internal preselector, antenna relay module, an internal wireline card, 4-wire audio and additional external inputs.
2U Rack Mountable with no ventilation requirements.
Tested through Motorola's Accelerated Life Testing System.
The SLR5500 Repeater delivers high performance, high reliability two-way radio service with all the latest digital technology. It integrates voice and data seamlessly, offering advanced but easy to use features, engineered with low power consumption for a low cost of ownership. This next generation of repeater can support the full spectrum of MOTOTRBO systems from a single site conventional up to Connect Plus and including Motorola's new Capacity Max. It can also operate as an analogue repeater (conventional or MPT 1327), or as a mixed mode analogue/digital repeater while companies transition from legacy analogue systems to digital.
The SLR 1000 is small and compact in size and is designed for indoor or outdoor use with an IP65 rating. The repeater is easy to install and can expand with your customers' system, with operation in Analogue modes through to digital and all the way up to Capacity Max. The product is particularly versatile for expanding into or covering remote locations or for use at temporary events or geographically moving projects.
Weatherised Ethernet, DC power, and RJ45 AUX connectors.
IP65 – can be deployed inside & outside.
Operating Temp: -30 to +60 °C (-22 to +140 °F).
Optional Accessories: Duplexer, Antenna Switch, Small Mountable Antenna.
These applications are professional grade Dispatcher Solutions. Specifically designed for dispatch centres, that monitor large quantities of data and traffic. Capable of integrating to analog or digital systems, it can be used during migration periods. These applications make response during emergency situations quick and effective, with the ability to link multiple agencies together at the touch of a button.
Standard features include GPS tracking, offering a real time location status of users.
Effective Emergency Situation overview. It's important for dispatchers to maintain an overview of any situation, to be able to control it effectively and allocate resources to where they are needed most. These applications allow that overview, saving valuable moments responding to any situation.
Easy voice recording, allowing simple retrieval of data, should records be required for investigations or archiving.
The implementation of data services for MOTOTRBO, has pushed forward developments of it capabilities. With exciting new time saving systems, leading to cost savings, and easier system management.
This option enables a system to remotely program any radios, with the touch of a button, sending software programming changes to all radios, making lengthy reprogramming sessions a thing of the past. With the ability to remotely send updates to hundreds of radios within minutes is a must have for larger systems.
Batteries are a vital, often overlooked, component of any radio system. If your battery does not have the required power to drive the radio's transmitter, the system simply fails, and there may be no indication to the user that this is the case. With IMPRES battery management, you have the ability to assess detailed information regarding battery life span expectations, and even set up alerts to pre-empt battery failures, giving you the time to replace batteries, before vital communications are lost or break down.
Aside from the Dispatcher Software Applications mentioned earlier, there are alternatives, 2CL are pleased to offer a bespoke voice recording system service, which can be tailor made for your requirements.
Light, compact indoor repeater, the RD625can be programmed to operate on in analogue mode or digital mode. With telephone interconnect, built in IP port and is suitable for multi-site coverage indoors and outdoors.
The RD985 supports both digital and analogue mode with its smart digital-analogue switch. The repeater can smartly select the right mode depending on the type of receive signal.
The clever little alarm handler, capable of sending alerts to your two-way radio, smartphone and email.
XPT (Extended Pseudo Trunk) is a scalable, single-site digital trunking solution. Connecting to a larger number of users with voice and data has never been easier. XPT complements the best two-way radio using the latest digital technology designed with you in mind to meet your growing communications needs.
SmartDispatch has been designed to deliver a enhanced dispatch and deployment platform with a tailored communications network and control center.
Developed on Hytera's digital platform and complicate to ETSI DMR open standard. SmartDispatch is designed to offer efficient communication, management and dispatching for the radio users.


text:
Going underground
Vanke hops on the Shenzhen metro in a bid to derail hostile takeover
Mar 18, 2016 (WiC 317)
Found new investor: Wang Shi
In the 1970s the Japanese were keen to export their railway expertise. A consortium led by Mitsubishi signed an agreement to build a metro system in Hong Kong for HK$5 billion (an amount then equivalent to $975 million in US dollar terms). The deal eventually collapsed as the colonial government refused to guarantee the financing in the event the project ran into deficit. Instead the British went for a Plan B: devising a railway-plus-property model. The Mass Transit Railway Corp (MTRC) was set up in 1975 and it sold land adjacent to or above railway stations to real estate developers. Property income was used to subsidise its capital-intensive – and lossmaking – railway operations.
Hong Kong has since built arguably the world's best subway system. The MTRC's market value stands at $28 billion, a level similar to the market capitalisations of some of the city's leading property developers.
More recently the MTRC has tried to duplicate its business formula in Shenzhen. Progress has been slower partly because it doesn't enjoy the same level of policy support in mainland China it does at home (the Hong Kong government owns 77% of MTRC). But that hasn't stopped Vanke, China's most respected homebuilder, from trying to copy the railway-plus-property model. Indeed, the Shenzhen-based developer has just announced a groundbreaking deal with state-owned Shenzhen Metro Group (SZMC).
As WiC reported in its first issue of 2016, Vanke and its founding chairman Wang Shi have been fighting off a hostile takeover from Baoneng, a privately-held financial conglomerate that has amassed a 24% stake (see WiC308). Vanke's shares have been suspended from trading since last December pending an announcement on a business restructuring. The media had speculated that Wang might bring in a new shareholder to boost his position and dilute Baoneng's influence. According to CBN, there has been no shortage of suitors: the chance to buy into China's biggest developer (in terms of residential sales) doesn't come often, and Vanke has just reported a 15% climb in 2015 net profit to Rmb18 billion ($11.6 billion), with revenues up by a third to nearly Rmb200 billion.
Wang finally revealed his hand on Sunday and said he has picked SZMC, the operator of Shenzhen's inner city metro, as his new partner.
In a preliminary accord signed by the two parties, Vanke says it will acquire SZMC's property projects, mostly atop subway stations in Shenzhen. Vanke will fund the asset injection by issuing new shares to SZMC worth up to Rmb60 billion. That equates to 24% of Vanke's pre-deal market value. When completed, the deal will give SZMC about 13% of Vanke's enlarged capital. Baoneng's stake will be diluted as a result.
In welcoming state-owned SZMC as a new investor Wang is taking Vanke back to its roots, as it started out with shareholders including Shenzhen's municipal government.
The dealmaking also reinforces Wang's vision for how Vanke should be run. He and his management team don't have a controlling share in the company, but they have maintained effective control over its day-to-day decisionmaking. The outcome is a 'mixed ownership' structure – a buzz word in Chinese politics that seeks to blend state shareholdings with more efficient private sector involvement.
"Our positioning is very clear. And it is a mixed ownership. We don't want a single controlling shareholder," Wang told the company's house magazine.
Wang will still have to negotiate hard with SZMC. For instance, there is no final conclusion on the value of the property projects it is bringing to the deal. Shenzhen's home prices have climbed more than 50% in the past year, which may make it harder to agreed on a figure.
It was initially thought by media that adding up the shareholdings of parties friendly to Wang would lead to a block of over 40% of Vanke's shares (Wang's own stake and that of Vanke's management, plus SZMC and China Resources – a property conglomerate and long-term shareholder).
But the takeover battle may not be over yet. In an unexpected twist on Thursday, China Resources has voiced its dissatisfaction over Vanke's proposed share sale to SZMC. According to CBN, China Resources is irked the the deal was announced before Vanke's board of directors including representatives from China Resources had the chance to discuss it. Vanke's management, however, told Beijing Youth Daily that it had already informed China Resources of the dealmaking.
Trading in Vanke's shares in Shenzhen will remain suspended until June – with Vanke telling public shareholders yesterday it needs more time to finalise its business restructuring.
Industry observers view a railway-plus-property model as positive for both Vanke and SZMC. The latter's current land bank in Shenzhen is mostly in prime locations. But Shenzhen's metro is expected to triple its number of stations to 371 by 2030. With more than 30 years of experience in the city, Vanke has the expertise to unlock the full value of this property portfolio. It is also betting that the rail network may extend to new financial districts such as Qianhai.
Sun Jia, Vanke vice-president, expressed his confidence in the new venture this week, highlighting the "enormous opportunities" for rail transit in Chinese cities. Company sources said that Shenzhen's rail network, which bears 28% of public transport in the city, could be expanded to shoulder 91% of the load, matching Tokyo.
Back in Hong Kong the MTRC has found it harder going in another of its flagship projects – an express rail link that will carry passengers between Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Hong Kong in less than an hour. Engineering challenges have led to lengthy delays and huge cost overruns for the new bullet line. Requests for further funding from the Hong Kong government have encountered stiff political resistance and filibustering (see WiC307).
But the proposal for further finance was controversially approved by lawmakers last week. The new railway isn't set to open till late 2018 at the earliest.
EntertainmentCrouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon sequel deemed too "Westernised"
SocietyThe last hope for humanity is...
CartoonsMore hotels for Anbang
Planet ChinaThe 300
Sino-File"Recently the trend has been a return to normality, a return to rationality, a return to fundamentals. Unless there's some unusual circumstance, I believe the trend will continue"
More on Vanke
The house always wins
Why property management is now in vogue for stock market investors
Why real estate giant Vanke is having a go at pig farming
Vanke very much
Wang Shi announces major donation to infectious disease research centre


I have a hybrid role: Application Support for our clients as well as performing System Admin and support tasks for our Internal Sulzer US users.
8:00am – We have a rotating shift so depending on the week I can start my day at 8am or at 10 am. First thing I check is e-mails and ticket queue.
9:00am – Check the database for one of our projects with BMW. We check to see if any of the data needs to be manually updated. If the data needs to be updated, I proceed with adding the values to the database.
10:00am-11:00am – Around this time most of the users are in the office and issues arise. It can be Networking issues for example, reaching a host though our VPN to a client's network. Some other issue can be that something isn't working with their laptop or account password.
1:00pm – After lunch I check the ticket Queue and E-mails for any notifications for arising issues. Proceed with troubleshooting.
2:00pm – Besides working on troubleshooting tickets, we perform reporting for some of our applications.This consists of a monthly meeting that we analyze our tickets and create a presentation. If there aren't any tickets/internal issues and/or client reporting, I work on professional development to help increase my knowledge. Currently I am expanding my knowledge of Python.
3:00pm – Review database data check for one of the applications that we support. We get the result in a form of an e-mail that is delivered internally to the team members that support the application.
5:00pm – Work is completed for the day. If I am on the later shift which starts at 10:00am I would stay until 7:00pm.
Favorite part about role: My favorite part of the role is the diversity of tasks, from troubleshooting client issues to internal support tasks. Prior to Sulzer US, I didn't have much experience with Linux operating system and now I enjoy Linux a lot. I also enjoy the time we get for professional development, learning anything new is exciting.
Words of advice for someone starting their career: Always think about the knowledge you're gaining. If your first role isn't exactly what you were looking for – it is experience. Also finding the perfect work environment helps keep you excited about your tasks at work and not stressed.


Make salad dressing by placing vinegar, oil and mustard in a jar and shake vigorously. Season to taste.
Generously season beets and drizzle with oil. Put in a roasting pan, cover with foil and bake in a 180° oven until soft enough for a knife or skewer to cut through. This will take around 30 minutes dependent on size. When cool enough to handle but still warm, cut in quarters from top to bottom and douse generously with the salad dressing.
Mary Clarke from Mason & Clarke Preserving Co. in Dimboola (just up the road from us) produced this lovely salad at our Regional World's Longest Lunch. It's simple, fresh and zesty. Serves 6 as a side.


Through his chaplaincy with the police, he was so highly regarded that he was appointed a Freeman of the City of London. This meant that he could drive sheep across London Bridge without paying. There is no record of him ever taking advantage of the privilege. Instead Lionel was to undertake a different sort of shepherding!
The key place he worked was at the Covent Garden Mission but Lionel was also involved in mission activity in the London theatres. Blessed with a fine voice, and himself a gifted pianist, he related well to performers and won their confidence and love. There are many who can trace their early Christian influence back to Lionel Ball.


text:
package com.github.trang.typehandlers.test.converalls;

import com.github.trang.typehandlers.crypt.Crypt;

/**
 * @author trang
 */
public class TestCrypt implements Crypt {

    @Override
    public String encrypt(String content) {
        return "1";
    }

    @Override
    public String decrypt(String content) {
        return "3";
    }

}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


HONG KONG (Reuters Breakingviews) - Chinese markets have much to fear from fear itself. Global angst mostly accounts for a recent 6 percent fall in the yuan against the U.S. dollar. There's little to dread about tumbling Chinese stocks or an uptick in bond defaults. Patience is not one of President Xi Jinping's virtues, though, and panicked intervention by frightened officials is a risk.
In the back of their collective psyches will be the summer of three years ago. In June 2015, the benchmark CSI300 index began a nearly 50 percent plunge as investors unwound highly leveraged positions, erasing some $5 trillion of market value.
Two months later, the central bank shocked currency markets with a 4.5 percent weakening of the yuan's official guidance rate over a few days. A surge in capital outflows sharply accelerated the draining of $1 trillion from China's foreign exchange reserves, complicating attempts to prop up growth.
This latest share swoon of about 15 percent will be painful for equity owners, and disappointing for companies hoping to tap markets if securities regulators slow approvals for new listings and placements. There is little economic risk, though. Chinese stock prices rarely affect consumption or investment. Borrowing also has been restrained. The net balance of stock margin loans stands around $136 billion, less than half the amount outstanding at the 2015 peak, according to Eikon data.
As for the yuan, there is some concern it is being pushed down for trade war purposes. The idea doesn't stack up. Nearly every emerging-market currency is declining. And Bank for International Settlements data suggests the yuan had overheated against its peers, so this cooling realigns it with neighbours. The People's Bank of China has rebuilt hard currency reserves to $3.1 trillion: plenty of firepower to hold off a sharper crash.
These resets do, however, coincide with rising tensions between Beijing and Washington, and slowing growth thanks to the crackdown on financial risk. In 2015, officials threw government money at shares, closed down derivatives and arrested "malicious shorters." A return to such ham-fisted measures could derail deleveraging efforts. And for good reason, it also would scare off foreign investors.


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Happy Hour $1.00 OFF ALL DRINKS!
This is for all you pencil pushing, ditch digging, hammer swinging, hair styling, cash register punching, pipe wrenching, lawn mowing, road paving, concrete pouring, back breaking, nose to the grind stone, hard working, motivated individuals.
We are looking for some thirsty type, elbow leaning, bull shooting, world problem solvers, to fill some of her empty bar stools at Happy Hour. For those more sophisticated collar snugglers, attitude adjustment hour.
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SASHAY, SHANTE
Miss America is the original contest of performative femininity. So why isn't it more fun?
How fun is this?
Image: REUTERS/Mark Makela
Annaliese Griffin
PublishedJune 6, 2018
Miss America is no longer a beauty pageant. The organization said June 5 that it would scrap the swimsuit competition, as well as the evening gown portion of the program.
"We've heard from a lot of young women who say, 'We'd love to be a part of your program but we don't want to be out there in high heels and a swimsuit,' so guess what, you don't have to do that anymore," Gretchen Carlson, a former Miss America herself and member of the organization's board of trustees, told Good Morning America.
That's a major leap forward for a contest rooted in retrograde ideas about how women should look (slim, with long hair, and a penchant for sparkles), and how they should act (ever-smiling, impossibly upbeat). "We will no longer judge our candidates on their outward physical appearance," Carlson pronounced, explaining that the contestants will now be expected to show passion, leadership, and empowerment, as well as smarts.
But it's worth noting that Miss America is still open only to young American women, and there's little reason to think that it will abandon the fundamental quality that those women are there to display: performative femininity.
A fiercer lineup at Rupaul's Drag Race.
Image: Reuters/Eduardo Munoz
There's nothing wrong with that, in itself. Performative femininity is key to why we love watching movie stars in fabulous dresses float down the red carpet at the Oscars. It's why we can't stop hate-watching The Bachelor. It's gloriously present in burlesque and roller derby, and is on display in perhaps its most intense form in drag, as popularized on the pageant-style TV show RuPaul's Drag Race and the new FX show about New York City's 1980s ballroom culture, Pose. It's a fertile ground where individual humans and ideas about gender and identity meet in an entertaining chaos of costume, makeup, and performance.
1953's contestants take a casual stroll in Atlantic City.
Image: AP/Sam Myers
The real question is, will the new Miss America manage to channel some of this performance into something a bit more fun?
The show's prospects look rather dismal. In 1954, the first year that Miss America was broadcast on television, 27 million Americans tuned in to the pageant, one in six people in a country of 163 million. In 2007, the last year the show was on a major network before moving to cable, that number had fallen to just 2.4 million viewers.
Here's the thing: The version of femininity that has young women from around the country don satin heels, play the flute, and answer condescending questions about social issues for a chance at a scholarship isn't just insulting—it's also really, really boring.
Miss America 2016.
Even with greater diversity in recent years, all of these perfectly lovely women come across as incredibly similar because they're all striving for the same dull ideal of pretty, pleasant competence.
Miss America is comes steeped in this anodyne niceness. Everyone is attractive in the same way. Everyone is well spoken and comfortable walking in heels. Everyone is well-intentioned and there to make friends.
What's missing is some element of the transgressive: The subversive sexiness of Marilyn Monroe singing "Happy Birthday Mr. President," or Marlene Dietrich in tails and a top hat. Bjork in a swan dress, or Lady Gaga in a meat dress, calling out the theater of the red carpet walk; the hot-tub schemers on The Bachelor (who aren't there to make friends); and every contestant on Drag Race, strutting and twerking for the crown. At its best, performative femininity is a challenge to how society prescribes a woman should look and act, and it shows exactly how arbitrary those ideals are.
To truly remake this contest, something has to be at stake, some fundamental notion of what it is to be a modern woman. As is, Miss America seems tragically stranded in the spray-tanned plain between blandly retrograde and radically boundary-pushing. It will take contestants with serious imagination, and a flair for reinvention, to make it worth watching again.
Work it.
Image: AP/Noah K. Murray


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Should African borders be rebooted?
Thread starter VHS
History Chamber
Controversial History
Hipparchist
Many modern African 'states' are a collection of mutally antagonistic tribes with a tiny foreign-sanctioned kleptocracy which has no power outside of its compounds and army barracks. They exist to legitimize the extortion (by natives and foreigners) of the population and its resources under a pretense of legality. They're basically puppet UN/UK/US governments, and do not represent the interests or will of most people living in them. Not that Europe is much better, their tyrants just have more control and can rely on the pious delusions of the people who still believe in good government.
Slovenia, EU
Ighayere said:
I don't know what the situation is with the Catalans, but there are some stark differences between some regions in certain African countries such as Cote d'Ivoire or Nigeria in terms of things like school enrollment, economic activity, etc. This is a result of certain historical factors (for example, the educational disparity that exists between regions in Nigeria today took root at least a century ago, if not earlier; this source provides an overview of how and why it came about).
It is certainly not just a matter of perception. Also, while there do exist some people ignorantly shouting (or even writing books explicitly claiming) "we are better" for this or that reason (without even knowing the historical context behind some of the disparities that they are highlighting) in certain African countries, including Nigeria, that does not really change the point that such groups are still being held back in some ways from realizing their potential and deciding their own affairs without interference.
The Northwest and North-central could form one country. If the Northeast wants it could join that country, or form its own country, and this newly formed country, probably called Borno or Bornu, could also be given some land in Chad and Niger as well - the parts where the Kanuri speakers are.
The Central parts of Nigeria could form their own federation from the Tiv, Jukun, Igala, and other groups. If a few groups want their own republic (for example a Tiv Republic) those could be formed as well.
The Southeastern part of the country would be formed into an Igbo Republic.
The Coastal Eastern groups could get their own country - or two different ones if needed.
The Western part of the country in the south would be formed into a Yoruba Republic.
The Midwestern part of the country, in the south, could be formed into two states.
Overall, probably seven or nine states.
I don't know much about your situation but Nigeria seems a functioning country to me. I think that Hausa run Nigeria. Yes, I know about Boko Haram and about Biafra war in a past.
Kongo or ex Zaire is a non state in my opinion. Much more than Nigeria.
Florania
Different ethnic groups mostly lived in their own communities or states except in cases where some sort of political integration was occurring either through warfare and the subsequent deliberate assimilation of other groups into the ruling group's culture by members of that ruling group, or as a result of some earlier cultural fusion of compatible groups (usually through the adoption of a shared language).
Much of Africa, like much of Europe was not some cosmopolitan jumble everywhere. Yes there were some places or sub-regions that were much more mixed up, but that wasn't really the rule and ethnic groups mostly had definite areas that they were located in.
The exact same process took place in parts of Africa though. Cases like the Gonja in northern Ghana, the Itsekiri in southern Nigeria, the Mende in Sierra Leone, etc are cases of fusion of ethnic groups. But in those cases an actual cultural synthesis occurred over time. They weren't all just crammed into one community or state overnight before a shared culture developed.
As for Switzerland, sure, but wars against outsiders may have played a role in unifying them as one people. Also if one can talk of Swizterland's unity then one can also look at the issues that Belgium has had with division or tribalism along linguistic lines.
The "stability of European countries" also occurred after wars that cost many, many lives, and one of the biggest issues involved in these wars was ethnic nationalism.
A few things are problematic for the Africans:
Currently, most African languages are relatively local and monolingual Africans aren't likely to communicate with outsiders; should there be a common language?
I mentioned that some of these groups formed kingdoms or empires; do they have experiences with contemporary governance?
What is the future of their livelihoods?
Successful state building is a complicated job.
VHS said:
Colonial languages seem quite widespread though. I don't have any statistics but the few people I've met who are originally from African countries have spoken either French or English; usually both.
Ighayere
Benin City, Nigeria
In eastern Africa, Swahili is used a common language in multiple countries. In other parts of the continent south of the Sahara besides east Africa, I don't think some sort of common language situation will arise. Probably the closest parallel to the popularity of Swahili would be the use of Hausa in northern Nigeria and part of Niger, and the use of Wolof as a common language in Senegal, but this isn't on the same scale as Swahili is used.
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Posted in Prizes	Posted on October 15, 2016 Author JohnMcPhee	No Comments on Become an Author Today!
Maybe you've always thought about writing a book, or maybe you've even started a few chapters but you're wondering what the next steps are. How exactly do you become an author? Well, the good news is that the second you start writing a book, you're an author, you're a writer. So congratulations! But how do you become a real author that people recognize? That takes some doing.
It might sound obvious, but you do need to actually finish a book in order to be a real author. Plenty of writers only have a partially finished manuscript, but very few of them ever actually finish it. So if you want to be an author, you have to have a book to show people. Then, you're an author.
If you're going to go the traditional publication route, want your hardback book on the counter at your local book shop, and want to be able to send physical copies to your family, you'll want to get an agent. Most publication houses will not allow you to represent your house, so you need to send your books or manuscripts to agents to see which one of them will represent you. Once you get an agent, you can start pitching your book to publishers and see which ones will publish or pay you – or both!
If you don't want to go that route, or if you don't get accepted by an agent or publisher (it happens), then you can try to learn how to self publish. With platforms like Amazon Kindle, this is easier than ever before, but it still takes a little bit of work. You need to figure out how to create PDF files, a cover image, the correct copyright images, and then you need to figure out the Kindle fee structure. Many self published authors struggle to get the proper royalties from their books from these platforms, so beware.
The important part of becoming an author, aside from obviously making and publishing a book, is to hone the craft. To learn how to write better, to create even better stories, you need to learn from others. This comes in the form of taking classes, going to writing workshops, and having other people critique your work who get the writing process and who have technical experience writing and even publishing books. Don't just ask your mom to read your book and see what she thinks; of course your mom is going to be excited about it.
Ask for advice, ask for other people to critique your work, and be willing to grow and change to better reflect what you've learned. Remember that you're always an author, but you're not going to be the best author you can be if you never learn more about what you can do. You will be able to publish better stories and become a well known author if you work hard enough.


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Media And Marketing
Village family feud ends with BGH bid
Max MasonSenior reporter
Updated Dec 7, 2020 – 6.19pm, first published at 2.56pm
The feud that tore apart the family owners of Australia's most iconic theme parks and cinemas business has been brought to an end after shareholders voted for a sale of the 66-year old business to private equity firm BGH Capital on Monday.
BGH will pay $3 per share for the storied Village Roadshow, which owns and operates Warner Bros Movie World, Wet 'n' Wild, Sea World and a chain of Victoria cinemas, valuing the business' equity at nearly $586 million.
BGH Capital has committed to Clark Kirby remaining CEO of Village Roadshow. Paul Harris
It will close the chapter on a fraternal war between the Kirby brothers John and Robert, whose father Roc founded the business in 1954. It burst into the open when John hired veteran investment banker David Kingston in July 2018 to oust his brother and chief executive of more than 30 years Graham Burke, and rally on behalf of long-suffering, largely powerless minority shareholders.
The Kirby brothers and Burke controlled about 42 per cent of Village Roadshow via direct shareholdings and their joint ownership of Village Roadshow Corp, a private company which spoke for 34 per cent of ASX-listed Village Roadshow. Each owned a third of Village Roadshow Corp (VRC).
In happier times, this was fine, but as things soured John couldn't use the bulk of his shareholding to vote for change because it sat in the private corporation where he was outvoted by his brother and Mr Burke.
The new Village Roadshow will be around 78 per cent owned by BGH, while the remaining 22 per cent will be owned by John, Robert and Burke. The deal effectively dissolves the VRC vehicle over which John was unable to exercise any control as his dissatisfaction with his brother and Burke grew.
Of the 22 per cent, Robert and Burke will each have roughly double the number of shares owned by John, who is accepting BGH's offer for a larger part of his stake. Robert will remaining executive chairman and Burke will be co-chair. Robert's son Clark will remain as CEO.
John, left, and brother Robert Kirby are part of a dynasty that has run the Village business for three generations. Dave Hunt
John left the company in Robert's hands in 2013, stepping down from an executive role but remaining on the board. With Robert was long-time friend of the brothers - and their father Roc Kirby's surrogate son - Graham Burke, who became chief executive in 1988.
Following his departure from the C-suite, John watched Village's share price crash from a high of $8.29 in May 2014 down to $1.77 by the time he hired Kingston. He was upset at being asked in mid-2018 to put in for a $50 million capital raising, and by the the suspension of dividends in 2016 and the sale of Wet 'n' Wild Sydney at a loss.
John and Kingston's campaign rallied smaller shareholders and focused on Village's long-term underperformance and large corporate overheads. Village even failed to recover from an industry wide slump triggered by a fatal accident at rival Ardent Leisure's Dreamworld, when four people died after a raft flipped on the Thunder River Rapids ride in 2016.
The agitation ultimately rolled Burke after more than three decades as CEO in January 2019, and saw Robert commit to standing aside as chairman in June 2019 so an independent board leader could be found. Much to John's dismay, Robert's son Clark was appointed as the new CEO from January 1, 2020.
Less than a month after Robert reliquished the chairmanship, UBS was called in to sound out interested private equity firms. While the initial auction didn't drum up enough interest by December 2019, Pacific Equity Partners made an indicate offer of $3.90, and BGH a month later made its own $4 bid.
Just when the wild ride look about the finish, the coronavirus pandemic spread throughout Australia. The crisis forced Village's cinemas and theme parks to close – its Victorian movie theatres stayed closed longer than other chains because of the state's lengthy lockdown – and debt continued to build at operating costs of between $10 million and $15 million per month, with next to no revenue.
BGH submitted two offers in the midst of the pandemic in May - a scheme A offer of $2.32 per share and the scheme B offer of $2.22 per share, each with a set of conditons. The Kirbys and Burke could not vote in scheme A.
New York-based fund Mittleman Brothers has long argued against the offer, even at $4 per share, and continued to build its stake up to more than 15 per cent right through the near 12-month takeover process.
Graham Burke served as Village CEO for 30 years. Eddie Jim
It wasn't until Spheria Asset Management, which owns 7.8 per cent of Village, declared it would vote against the proposed schemes that BGH Capital was forced to raise its bid. In late November, BGH substantially increased its bid for scheme A to $3 per share, and $2.95 for scheme B. The bump got Spheria over the line, and many other smaller shareholders.
"It's worked out well for everyone. For all those retail shareholders as well that don't have the leverage in these types of situations," Spheria portfolio manager Matt Booker said.
Despite Mittleman's protestations, the fund appeared to vote at least part of its shareholding for scheme A to avert the risk of losing $1.5 million in the event that scheme A didn't get up and scheme B - on which the Kirbys and Burke could vote - did. Mittleman did not respond to a request for comment. Mittleman may choose to contest the takeover at Village's second court date next week.
Nearly 76 per cent of the remaining 58 per cent of Village shares on issue - those not owned by the Kirbys and Burke - were voted at Monday's scheme meeting. Of those, 83.7 per cent voted in favour of scheme A.
"From our perspective, the independent board committee has been working on this for a very long time, seeking to maximise the value for all shareholders," Village director and independent board lead Peter Tonagh said.
"Not only achieving the higher price, but the higher of the two prices, obviously we've got the best value we could see and it benefits all shareholders."
Max Mason is a senior reporter at The Australian Financial Review. He is a former media editor and telecommunications reporter at the masthead and has previously worked at The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, Fox Sports Australia and News Corp. Connect with Max on Twitter. Email Max at max.mason@afr.com
Village Roadshow
John Kirby
Robert Kirby
Graham Burke
Latest In Media & marketing


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Movie Decoder #1
Answer each cinematic question and combine the first letter of each answer to make a well-known movie quote.
Get a bonus point for identifying the movie that the featured quote is taken from
Quiz by JinxedJimi
First submitted May 27, 2021
Actor famous for his roles in "Grease" and "Pulp Fiction"
Travolta, John
Region of California synonymous with the U.S. film industry
"The Great ______", 1963 film starring Steve McQueen
Canadian-born actor who featured in the "Deadpool" movies
Reynolds, Ryan
Actor best known for playing Captain America
Evans, Chris
"______ Hollow", Tim Burton's gothic supernatural horror
Peter Pan's home in the Disney classic
Jordan Peele's 2017 psychological horror, "Get ___"
Actor who played Tony Montana in "Scarface"
Pacino, Al
Orangutan who sang 'I Wanna Be Like You'
The profession of Ron Burgundy
Time of year that Kevin was left "Home Alone"
"The _______'_ New Groove", Disney movie from 2000
Emperor's
"An American Werewolf in ______", 1981 horror comedy
British actor and former member of the comedy group Monty Python
Idle, Eric
Michael B. Jordan's character in "Black Panther"
Killmonger
Actor who voiced Chief Bogo in "Zootopia" and Shere Khan in the 2016 remake of "Jungle Book"
Character who was the founder of InGen and the creator of Jurassic Park
Hammond, John
"____ Upon a Time in Mexico", action film directed by Robert Rodriguez
Actress who starred in "The Seven Year Itch"
Monroe, Marilyn
"______ the Dragon", 1973 martial arts film starring Bruce Lee
"There's no place like home."
Flags of Europe Quiz
U.S. States by First Two Letters in 30 Seconds
Major League Baseball Teams
Countries that Start with U
Decoder Series


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Malcolm Jenkins Calls President a Liar After Trump Doubles Down on White House Snub
By Alicia Victoria Lozano	• Published at 1:07 pm on June 5, 2018
Using President Donald Trump's preferred communication method, Eagles star safety and political activist Malcolm Jenkins vowed via Twitter to continue fighting for "the truth" despite White House snub.
On Tuesday, less than 24 hours after Trump disinvited the Super Bowl champions to D.C., Jenkins accused the White House of lying to "paint the picture that these players are anti-American, anti-flag and anti-military."
"It's hard to step out in the public and fight to make it better," Jenkins tweeted. "It takes courage to stand up for the truth even if it's not a popular one."
#TheFightContinues pic.twitter.com/QWDdvZgQNL
— Malcolm Jenkins (@MalcolmJenkins) June 5, 2018
Jenkins' tweeted minutes after the White House issued its own statement doubling down on Trump's decision and accusing the Super Bowl champions of abandoning their fans by offering to send only a small delegation to D.C.
The White House said it was the team's "lack of good faith" that prompted Trump to cancel the celebration.
"Unfortunately, the Eagles offered to send only a tiny handful of representatives, while making clear that the great majority of players would not attend the event, despite planning to be in D.C. today," White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in the statement.
"In other words, the vast majority of the Eagles team decided to abandon their fans."
Trump initially claimed his decision was rooted in the ongoing debate over whether NFL players must stand for the national anthem. That question became increasingly controversial after San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick began silently kneeling on the sidelines at the beginning of games.
Kaepernick's protest was intended to raise awareness around racism and, specifically, the killing of black men by police. But his on-field activism sparked criticism from both the NFL and football fans who claimed that politics and sports shouldn't mix.
Things started to fall apart for the Eagles Friday when the Eagles reneged on their initial promise to send a group of 81 people to the White House, Sanders said.
However, the Eagles asked to reschedule their visit because only a small handful of players could attend. The president, instead, canceled the celebration on Monday less than 24 hours before festivities were set to take place.
Trump's surprising decision was announced late Monday evening in a short statement painting the team — whose mascot is also the United States' national symbol — as unpatriotic.
"[The Eagles] disagree with their President because he insists that they proudly stand for the National Anthem, hand on heart, in honor of the great men and women of our military and the people of our country," Trump said in a statement released Monday evening. "The Eagles wanted to send a smaller delegation, but the 1,000 fans planning to attend the event deserve better."
In lieu of a visit with the team, the White House staged a "Celebration of America" featuring music provided by U.S. military bands and choruses. Hundreds of Eagles fans were expected to attend, but NBC10 reporter Tim Furlong counted only one Philadelphia jersey in the crowd.
This isn't the first time Trump has disinvited a professional sports team after its players hedged on visiting the White House. Last year, when the Golden State Warriors won the NBA finals, Trump singled out Stephen Curry in a tweet:
"Going to the White House is considered a great honor for a championship team. Stephen Curry is hesitating, therefore invitation is withdrawn!"
Perhaps anticipating yet another showdown as the 2018 NBA finals near, Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James said Trump's Eagles backlash is "typical" of this president.
"I know no matter who wins this series ... it won't be Golden State or Cleveland going" to the White House, he said. "Let's not let someone uninviting you to their house take away from that [championship] moment."
Meanwhile, a spokesman for the Villanova men's basketball team, which won the 2018 NCAA championship, told NBC10 they have not received an invitation from Trump to visit the White House.
"Beyond that, we aren't going to speculate on what the decision would be if one is forthcoming," Mike Sheridan said.
Reactions to the president's decision were mixed in Philadelphia, which continues to revel in the city's historic Super Bowl victory. Mayor Jim Kenney told NBC10 that the Eagles remain world champions "regardless of where they're going today."
"I'm very proud of our team. I'm very proud of the Eagles organization for their involvement in the community," he said.
"I'm really glad that the president disinvited them as opposed to some people going and some people not going because, this way, that doesn't leak into the locker room next season and there's not any disunity. They're a team together. They're the underdogs forever. And I'm proud of all of them."
Kenney then doubled down on his feelings about Trump by urging Philadelphia to sign a petition for "Kenney's fight against Trump." The mayor even included a video of an eagle scaring Trump at his desk.
Philadelphia isn't afraid of bullies, and won't be intimidated. Sign on if you're willing to stand with me against @realDonaldTrump so we can continue the fight for a fairer, more just, and welcoming City of Brotherly Love & Sisterly Affection: https://t.co/lEAPAP6CKU pic.twitter.com/rX27Ruf3XY
— Jim Kenney (@JimFKenney) June 6, 2018
Several local leaders, including Sen. Pat Toomey and Sen. Bob Casey, also canceled their visits to the White House Tuesday. Only U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta, a Republican who is hoping to unseat Casey in November, planned to attend the "Celebration of America."


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Photo Credit: DOUBLE PLAY
Poster & trailer released for Ernest Dickerson's Curacao-set 'Double Play'
Tambay Obenson
Director Ernest Dickerson's much anticipated next feature film, Double Play, made its world premiere at the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) in February of this year.
Based on the the internationally lauded novel of the same name by Curaçaoan author Frank Martinus Arion, the film stars Colin Salmon, Lennie James, Alexander Karim, Isaach De Bankolé, and Mustafa Shakir.
Saycon Sengbloh, Louis Gossett Jr., Melanie Liburd, Bronson Pinchot and newcomer Dani Dare round out the starring cast.
Considered to be author Arion's magnum opus, the story is set in 1973 and 2010, and follows Ostrik (Salmon)'s return to his childhood home, and the memory of a fateful day more than 40 years prior. Over the course of that day, and a long-standing game of dominoes, the fates of four men (James, Karim, De Bankolé, and Shakir) are revealed through a journey of love, loss and deadly betrayal.
Shot on location in Curacao, the film utilized its surroundings by emphasizing the beauty of the landscape, the music and the people.
ALSO READ: We Visited the Curaçao Set of Ernest Dickerson's Upcoming New Film 'Double Play' – A Journey Rife With History and Understanding
Dickerson directs from a screenplay written by Evan Jones and Alaric Alexander Smeets. Lisa Cortés and Gregory Elias produced. Jay Wadley composed the Double Play score. The film also includes a stellar performance of classic songs performed by Aymee Nuviola.
It's Dickerson's first theater-bound feature film directing effort since Never Die Alone in 2004, so it's been quite a while, and we're all glad to see him back at that level. Since then, he's been directing mostly TV shows (and at least one TV movie).
Set to screen at the upcoming Urbanworld Film Festival, a new trailer and first poster for Double Play have surfaced and is embedded below; no word on a USA pick-up of the film at this time. But it's great to get a first-look at it; first the trailer and then the poster underneath:


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Caroling event hopes to bring community together
On Thursday night, Star City residents came together to build bridges and strengthen connections.
By Jessica Mardian
Published: Dec. 8, 2022 at 11:45 PM EST
ROANOKE, Va. (WDBJ) - On Thursday night, Star City residents came together to build bridges and strengthen connections.
Around 30 people walked from the Martin Luther King Jr. Bridge to the Christmas tree on Market Street to sing holiday carols and enjoy a cup of hot chocolate.
Canned goods were also collected.
Neighbors and leaders reflected on gun violence and shared a message on the need for peace.
"Bridging the community gap brings people from across the city of Roanoke together. To remember people who are suffering, people who have lost family members to gun violence here during Christmas and this holiday season" says Tim Harvey, a member of the Gun Violence Prevention Commission and Pastor at Oak Grove Church of the Brethren.
TAP has organized "Bridging the Community Gap" for 11 years now.
"To memorialize those people but also, to bring the community together to realize that together, we can stay positive. We can bring joy to the community and one day we're gonna solve this problem" says Jo Nelson, Director of TAP.
According to VDH, there have been 85 visits to the emergency room from gun related injuries in Roanoke this year.


My Dell Inspiron 6400 laptop has been getting slower and slower since I first purchased it new around three years ago. I had assumed that this was due to the inevitable degradation of Windows Vista, but a fresh reinstall of Windows 7 didn't help. When I burned myself on the bottom panel of the laptop, that was a pretty good indication that I should check for an overheating problem.
I installed I8kfanGUI, a handy little program for monitoring Dell Inspiron, Latitude, and Precision laptop temperatures, fan speeds, and CPU speeds and loads. It allows you to manually control the speed of the laptop fan; I used this to max the fan speed, hoping to bring the processor core temperatures down to something reasonable. Under high load, temperatures were still staying as high as 85C, and the laptop's performance was suffering as Windows automatically 'throttled' the processor speed to keep the temperatures from continuing to increase.
Time for more drastic measures. Using this helpful guide to disassembling a Dell Inspiron laptop, I completely took the machine apart. Inside: giant dust bunnies, completely clogging up the heatsinks at the end of the heatpipes that cool the CPU and GPU. These could not have been removed simply by blowing some canned air through the external vents on the laptop; I had to use tweezers to dig out them out. The fan was still spinning, but the air wasn't getting where it needed to go to keep things cool.
Success! I reassembled everything, fired it up, and the load temperatures were down into the 60's. Still pretty warm, but no CPU throttling and no performance loss.
Loss of computer performance over time is NOT normal. If a fresh install of a stable operating system doesn't solve the problem, heat management may be the issue. A computer is just like any other piece of machinery, and a little routine maintenance can make all the difference. It can be a real pain to take a laptop apart and put it back together again, but an hour of effort can make it usable again.
The average internet user is most concerned about finding a mate, a complicated process which often involves ties, jello shots, and kissing. To impress potential mates, the average internet user is: looking for a good job; traveling to other countries; losing weight; writing books; and solving Rubix cubes. To avoid scaring off potential mates (and perhaps potential employers), the average internet user is considering closing their accounts on various social networking sites. Perhaps the only thing the average internet user is as interested in finding as true love is their IP address.
Once they have found a mate, the average internet user is desperately unhappy. Regardless, the average internet user proceeds to make babies (a poorly-understood process).
Both fermenters are bubbling like crazy today; I don't have a rotameter hooked up, but I would guess that carbon dioxide production is peaking in excess of 100mL per minute. Everything in the must is now suspended, buoyed by the bubbles rising from the yeast, which are now floating in a cloudy layer near the surface.
Glucose on the left has a 1:1 C:O ratio, whereas ethanol has a 2:1 C:O ratio. Carbon dioxide has a 1:2 C:O ratio, so this is a likely solution for closing the mass balance! Of course, this is all nasty global inference, which should be left to systems biology (fake science).
What really happens? Pyruvate decarboxylase (using thiamine pyrophosphate [pictured] in an acid-catalyzed reaction) hacks pyruvate into acetaldehyde and carbon dioxide. The acetaldehyde is converted into ethoxide by reaction with NADH, and is then protonated to yield ethanol. This is 'Ethanolic Fermentation'.
Oh school - the more classes you've taken, the more doing well just comes down to going through the motions and taking the time. Unfortunately, all of this fake learning has been keeping me from doing the stuff I really want to do.
I'm headed to Germany in two weeks, but I wanted to get one solid project going before I head out. Fairly quick to set up with long wait times to product? Brewing fits the bill perfectly.
I kind of feel like 'brewing' with store-bought malts is sort of a cop-out. I'd rather go with something simple and straightforward, do it right (meaning without too much cheating), and expand upward as I get better at it. There are many indications that mead was one of the first fermented beverages, even predating agriculture itself, so it seemed like the perfect place to start.
Setting everything up was very straightforward.
Follow this project's progress in my Brewing Notebook.
Getting pasta 'just right' takes patience and practice.
It helps to start with the best possible ingredients. White, tasteless, bleached-to-death pasta, a horrible holdover from the days of Wonder Bread and the 'faux-wood-and-gold' style, is no longer the only option: many companies are now offering whole-wheat and multigrain pastas that offer superior taste and nutrition.
While all products made from wheat flour will have the same glycemic index, whole grains include the bran component, which contains additional dietary fiber and B-vitamins.
Strangely, whole grain products tend to be more expensive than their bran-removed, bleached counterparts... I would think that whole grain products would involve fewer processing steps and therefore end up cheaper. It may be related to economies of scale - the typical American still prefers the bleached, tasteless stuff for a few cents cheaper per pound.
Went for a jog in my new shoes again today to loosen up some stiff muscles. The weather has been absolutely beautiful this week, which reminds me... "can I go back to California yet?"
Some sources suggest that unnatural form, and not solely heel-striking, is to blame for many running maladies. This seems likely, though I would still argue that overzealous, running-shoe-enabled heel-striking is one of the most common sins.
The root of the problem seems to be 'unnatural running' and the modern equipment that enables it - the overpadded shoes, the asphalt and concrete, treadmills, perfectly flat and uniform tracks.
Asphalt and concrete have extraordinarily high elastic moduli, though it could be argued that we've been running on a variety of similarly-rigid surfaces for a very long time.
Treadmill junkies and track runners are blowing knees and ankles every quarter-mile on REAL surfaces, and how is it at all surprising? All of that oversupported, flat, uniform, rigid, endless straight-line running does nothing to condition the stabilizing muscles that are absolutely necessary for robust real-world running. Treadmill running makes you really good at treadmill running, and that's about it.
A good analogy would be the typical gym rat - comically oversized muscles, obscene single-rep maximum loads... but when placed in an environment with REAL resistance (jiu jitsu, for instance), they just don't measure up. Time after time, I was surprised by how easy it was to overpower (not just outmaneuver) these types. The reason is the same: picking up and setting down a heavy object, over and over again, makes you you really good at picking up and setting down that heavy object. If that's your goal, that's fine, but useful power comes from realistic training.
"Heel-toe, heel-toe," like they say it in phys-ed, is fine for walking... but humans were never designed to run this way. The unnatural heel-striking gait favored by many joggers and runners transfers far too much energy to the knee, resulting in a host of joint maladies.
To confirm this statement, try running "heel-toe" barefoot on a hard surface - the result is quite painful. The only reason people tend to run this way is because it is encouraged by the running shoes that we wear, the vast majority of which feature extreme amounts of heel cushioning.
'Running shoes' were invented in the 1970's by corporations eager to cash in on the jogging craze. Most are designed to protect the wearer from damage caused by bad running form, which in turn encourages bad form and leads to long-term injury. Running shoes also restrict the natural movement of the ankle, foot, and toes.
Humans had been running a long time when the 70's came around. Since the dawn of the species, we have been running barefoot or wearing moccasins or sandals which protect the feet from cuts and abrasions but do not offer any padding. Running this way encourages proper form that reduces the impact of the motion, strengthening stabilizing muscles in the toes, foot, ankle, and calves, and lessening eccentric loading of the knee.
I've hated shoes, running shoes especially, since I first wore them for baseball, basketball, and soccer in elementary school. Summers spent barefoot are a fond memory. I regularly mountain bike in flip-flops or light sandals, but there is a price to be paid - rocks and branches can be very sharp and unforgiving.
The best description would probably be 'foot glove'. This shoe is little more than a sole coupled with a snug-fitting leather or synthetic foot covering. The toes each have their own 'compartment', like with a toe-sock, and are free to move independently. They are typically worn without socks.
Walking in them feels just like going barefoot, minus the hazards of sharp rocks and broken glass (and apparently bizarre parasites, if you live in the right places). Biking in them is a similarly pleasant experience.
I have never been much for running because of the stress it puts on the knee, which has given me problems since 6th grade. I went on my first run in these shoes last night, covering about 3.5 miles of grass, dirt, gravel, and asphalt. The sensation of running is fantastic - I can actually feel the surfaces underneath me as I traverse them. While it's much too early to tell how I will fair in the long-term, the shoes are definitely doing their job: my toes, feet, ankles, and calves are quite sore in unexpected places.
I will keep track of my progress with the aim of giving a final recommendation in a few months. Thanks to Kyle for telling me about these shoes back in August, and finally convincing me to try them out!
The return of the earthy scents is one of my favorite parts of the transition from winter back into spring. Of all of the flavors, the scent of rain is the most unmistakable.
One of the primary contributors to this distincitive smell is the bicyclic organic compound shown here, geosmin. According to Wikipedia, it is produced by a number of soil bacteria such as the Actinomycetes (which also have a variety of biotechnological uses), and is also responsible for the earthy taste of beets and bottom-dwelling freshwater fish. The human nose can detect geosmin at vanishingly low parts-per-trillion concentrations.
Ahhh... the sweet smell of microbial metabolic biochemistry.


Green: Offer up your seat or send a positive text.
Amber: Use your phone to be generous. Give online to a cause. Encourage some friends on a messaging app. Get on your Stewardship account, and put aside generosity money.
Red: Pray. All day. Whenever you can. Even when you're hurting, or needing a break, focus on others. It sounds easy, but it's not.
In November 2017 I had just come back from a national church weekend away convinced that God was about to call me to face something big and exciting. He was. A week later, I was diagnosed with breast cancer.
I have followed 40acts for about three years now and blogged about my failures and my little successes. By the time Lent rolled around in 2018 I had already had my lumpectomy and chemotherapy was about to begin. 'Why should I get involved this year?' I thought.
The opening sentences of the first act reminded me why: In the most extraordinary act of generosity the world will ever know, God offered His son, Jesus, as a gift to all. We need only say thank you.
God is good. God is loving. I believed that before my cancer diagnosis. I believed it no less after it. But how could I repay that generosity to others in my situation – going back and forth to hospital, spending a week in bed and two weeks feeling fairly lousy again before the next chemo appointment rolled round?
In a beautiful coincidence, God had given me the verse from Isaiah that you see above. This verse was – and still is – my touchstone. He used this verse throughout my treatment to remind me that he is always there, to hold my hand when I reach for him. And to help me to be generous.
Through 40acts 2018 I learned that being generous is possible even when debilitated. I realised that generosity is a conscious act of focusing on others, rather than myself. I couldn't always follow the acts themselves, but I could still be generous. I recognised that even the smallest things could make a difference – not complaining to the district nurses who found it unbelievably difficult to get any blood out of my veins each week was an act of generosity in my book!
Holding others up to God, even just repeating their names while dropping off to sleep, was sometimes all I could manage, but I knew that he would honour my intentions.
Just as he will yours, this year. Do not fear: he will help you.
Alison has lived in a small village in central France since 2005. An independent English teacher, she is also a Licenced Lay Minister, worshipping with the Episcopal Church in Clermont Ferrand.
She has followed 40acts for four years and tries to follow the idea that '40acts is not just for Lent'. Married, with four cats, she enjoys reading, zentangling and blogging.