text:
How India ushered in 2022 amid Omicron surge
Updated: January 1, 2022 9:32:47 pm
Updated : January 1, 2022 9:32:47 pm
With India witnessing a surge in Covid cases, states across the country are likely to observe more muted new years celebrations. In this image from Pune, a group of youngsters are seen purchasing New Years cards and chocolates.
While the Maharashtra government has not completely banned New Year celebrations, it has imposed several restrictions. Only 50 per cent attendance is allowed at events in confined spaces, while the limit is capped at 25 per cent for open areas.
The Maharashtra government has issued detailed guidelines to ensure low-key celebrations. The circular reiterates the state government's previous order that bans the assembly of five or more persons from 9 pm to 5 am. The rules also prohibit organising any kind of religious/cultural program on the occasion of New Year and also disallows fireworks.
A deserted 'Bandra Wonderland' in Mumbai's Bandra reclamation after new restrictions were imposed by the administration due to a rise in Covid cases. Section 144 has been imposed in the city till January 7. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has banned any kind of New Year celebrations – inside or in open spaces — in Mumbai.
In this image, students of Mumbai's Gurukul Art school pose with their art creation which highlights the major events that took place in 2021.
In Kolkata, a crowd was seen at Newmarket and Park Street.
Youngsters pose for photographs on New Year's eve in Agra. (PTI)
In Mumbai, police officials were seen vacating the area around Gateway of India amid restrictions imposed due to rising numbers of Covid-19 cases.
Medical staff of M S Ramaiah hospital wearing PPE and gloves hold placards with a message on New Year's eve amid concern over rising Omicron cases, in Bengaluru. (PTI)
Night curfew at Church Street ahead of new year celebration in the wake of Omicron threat, in Bengaluru. (Express photo by Jithendra)
Night curfew at Brigade Road ahead of new year celebration in the wake of Omicron threat, in Bengaluru. (Express photo by Jithendra)
Night curfew at Residency Road ahead of new year celebration in the wake of Omicron threat, in Bengaluru. (Express photo by Jithendra)
Tourists pose for photographs as they stand near a message 'Happy New Year 2022' painted on snow near a ski resort in Gulmarg. (PTI)
Tourists form a human chain to welcome New Year 2022 in Shimla.
A kitemaker flies a kite on the eve of the New Year celebrations on the outskirts of Amritsar. (PTI)
Youngsters pose for photographs on New Year's eve in Thane.
People celebrate New Year's Eve on the streets of Pune.
EC to discuss postponing Punjab polls today; expelled from BJP, Harak Singh Rawat to join Congress


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Либърти Екс () е английско-ирландска поп група състояща се от Мишел Хийтън, Тони Лъндон, Кевин Сим, Джесика Тейлър и Кели Йънг.

Групата е сформирана от шоуто за таланти Popstars, а членевоете им са финалисти които не успяха да намерят място в групата Хиър'Сей. През първите години групата носи името само Либърти (, в превод Свобода). Имат издадени три албума и 12 сингъла, като песента "Just a Little" се превръща в най-големия им хит и също така им носи международен успех. В началото на 2007 г. групата се раделя, но година по-късно отново се събира съвсем за кратко. През 2012 г. се събират отново заедно с още други пет поп групи - Би*Уичед, Хъниз, 911, Блу, Файв и Атомик Китън следвайки турнето The Big Reunion.

Дискография

Студийни албуми
 Thinking It Over (2002)
 Being Somebody (2003)
 X (2005)

Сингли
 "Thinking It Over" (2001)
 "Doin' It" (2001)
 "Just a Little" (2002)
 "Got to Have Your Love" (2002)
 "Holding On for You" (2002)
 "Being Nobody" (2003)
 "Jumpin" (2003)
 "Everybody Cries" (2004)
 "Song 4 Lovers" (2005)
 "A Night to Remember" (2005)
 "X" (2006)

Турнета
 Just a Little Tour (2002–2003)
 Being Somebody Tour (2003–2004)
 The Big Reunion (2013)
 Liberty X Tour (2014)

Филмография
 Popstars (2001)

Английски поп групи
Британски ритъм енд блус групи

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Q: How to count record with two different tables in sql? I have two tables called clientorder and orderitemstatus.
orderitem
+-----+------------+-------------+
| clid| orderitem  | orderstatus |
+-----+------------+-------------+
| 1   | books      |   6         |
| 2   | books1     |   7         |
| 1   | books2     |   8         |
| 4   | books3     |   6         |
| 1   | books4     |   8         |
| 6   | books5     |   7         |
| 2   | books6     |   6         |
+-----+------------+-------------+

orderitemstatus
+----+---------------+
| id | iddescription |
+----+---------------+
| 6  | job held      |
| 7  | pre-press     |
| 8  | onqueue       |
| 9  | sent          |
+----+---------------+

now I want to count clients orderstatus with respective client id the result should be
Expected Output
+------+---------+-----------+---------+------+
| clid | jobheld | pre-press | onqueue | sent |
+------+---------+-----------+---------+------+
| 1    | 2       | 1         | 0       | 2    |
| 2    | 2       | 1         | 0       | 2    |
| 3    | 4       | 1         | 0       | 2    |
| 6    | 1       | 1         | 0       | 2    |
+------+---------+-----------+---------+------+

and I tried this one but i am getting only one job status
Query
select count(cloi_current_status) as jobheld
from dbo.CLOI_ClientOrderItems
where cloi_current_status=9 and cl_id='1'

A: You'll need to use the PIVOT operator:
SELECT clid, [6] AS jobheld, [7] AS [pre-press], [8] AS onqueue, [9] AS [sent]
FROM clientorder
PIVOT
(
    COUNT(orderitem)
    FOR orderstatus IN ([6], [7], [8], [9])
) AS pvt

Here's the result I get with your data:
+------+---------+-----------+---------+------+
| clid | jobheld | pre-press | onqueue | sent |
+------+---------+-----------+---------+------+
| 1    | 1       | 0         | 2       | 0    |
| 2    | 1       | 1         | 0       | 0    |
| 4    | 1       | 0         | 0       | 0    |
| 6    | 0       | 1         | 0       | 0    |
+------+---------+-----------+---------+------+

A: Maybe this helps:
SELECT i.clid,
       SUM(CASE WHEN s.iddescription = 'jobheld' THEN 1 ELSE 0 END) as jobheld,
       SUM(CASE WHEN s.iddescription = 'prep-press' THEN 1 ELSE 0 END) as pre_press,
       SUM(CASE WHEN s.iddescription = 'onqueue' THEN 1 ELSE 0 END) as onqueue,
       SUM(CASE WHEN s.iddescription = 'sent' THEN 1 ELSE 0 END) as sent,
       COUNT(*) AS total,
       SUM(CASE WHEN s.iddescription IN ('jobheld', 'pre-press', 'onqueue') THEN 1 ELSE 0 END) as whatever
  FROM orderitem i
  JOIN orderstatus s
    ON i.orderstatus = s.id
 GROUP
   BY i.clid

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


I am a stay at home mum with 2 beautiful children. I started my blog http://www.thenewageparents.com more than half a year ago. I was inspired to start the blog as way to pen down my parenting journey so that my children can walk down the memory lane of their childhood with me when they grow up.
Along the way, I realize that my blog serve more than it is meant to be. It grew to be a platform whereby I share my experience with fellow mummies. Through the New Age Parents Blog, I got to know many friends who are mummies who love to blog just like I do.
As a stay at home mum, I faced the dilemma of wanting to stay at home for my children and at the same time, I was sometimes depress over the fact that I was not able to contribute to the workforce like most of my friends are doing. However, through the New Age Parents, I got to know that there are indeed some mothers who share my thoughts and feel that way too. It let me know that I am not the only one who felt this way.
It is a great transition to parenthood and some times some struggles there as we have to give up our freedom, sometimes some luxuries we used to enjoy for our children. Life changes after children. Suddenly I felt that I am left out during some outings with my pals as I have to stay at home for my kids. Especially since my friends are mostly singles, it doesn't feels good at times and I believes only when you are a mum, you will understand the life of being a mother.
My blog has always been an inspiration to me. It has inspired me to focus on positive parenting towards my children. It has inspired me and spurred me to read more so that I have more to share with fellow readers. Best of all, it has inspired a business idea, a online parenting magazine that me and my husband are working on right now – Today's Motherhood (formerly known as Motherhood Monthly).
At Today's Motherhood, I aimed to form a community of parent network sharing useful parenting information among the parents and also provide more information with new parents.
Our main site is under revamped and it will be ready during the end of May 09. If you are a parent, do visit our site and subscribe to our online parenting magazine for free.


text:
Water Reservoir
Reservoirs store water in reserve for our consumption.
Natural or anthropogenic lakes, storage ponds, or impoundments from damming are used as water reserves.
"We never know the worth of water till the well is dry."
― Thomas Fuller (1608-1661)
The word reservoir is from the French réservoir meaning storehouse.
Essential for Life
Water is essential for life on Earth. Water is a constituent of the fluids in all living organisms.
"Life in us is like the water in a river."
― Henry David Thoreau
Water is abundant in parts of the world, yet more than 1.1 billion humans have no potable water. Fresh water reserves are unevenly distributed around the world.
"We are living on the planet as if we have another one to go to."
― Terri Swearingen
Reservoirs in the Universe
Golden rings of star formation
Water is produced as a byproduct of star formation.
The components of water molecules, hydrogen and oxygen, are among the most abundant elements found in the universe.
Astronomers have detected evidence of water on the Moon, Mars, Jupiter's moons, and in comets.
Water has also been detected in interstellar clouds in the Milky Way. It is hypothesized that water exists in abundance in galaxies beyond the Milky Way. A massive cloud of water vapor has been observed feeding a black hole in a galaxy 12 billion light-years away.
Exoplanets have been confirmed to hold water. Despite these findings, detecting the presence of water on planets outside our solar system might be rarer than previously assumed (cf., Hunt for Water on Earth-like Exoplanets More Challenging Than Previously Thought).
Opposing phenomena like abundance and scarcity seem strangely interconnected in nature. Although counter-intuitive the abundance and scarcity of water seems more inter-related than contrarian.
"Water is the driving force in nature."
― Leonardo da Vinci
Like yin and yang in Chinese philosophy, the abundance and scarcity of water seems to be complementary facets of an integrated phenomena we have yet to comprehend.
Black Hole Hosts Universe's Most Massive Water Cloud, by Andrew Fazekas, National Geographic News 27 JULY 2011.
Exoplanet Confirmed to Hold Water, Low Amounts of It, by Osvaldo Nunez Design & Trend 25 July 2014.
Hunt for Water on Earth-like Exoplanets More Challenging Than Previously Thought, by James Maynard, Tech Times 26 July 2014.
Planet in Peril: Water Becoming a Rarity, GRID-Arendal.
Reservoir, Wikipedia.
Water, Wikipedia.
Labels: Anthropogenic, Exoplanets, Henry David Thoreau, Leonardo da Vinci, Réservoir, Star Formation, Terri Swearingen, The Milky Way, Thomas Fuller, Yin and Yang
A flowing river is a literary metaphor for existence and time.
"The river is everywhere."
― Hermann Hesse, Siddhartha
Flowing water often symbolizes the unity and eternity of the universe. Ocean currents are the ocean's great rivers.
Ocean currents are continuous conveyances of water that flow in predictable paths for thousands of miles.
Massive volumes of water, deep and shallow, are driven by physical forces like:
The Earth's rotation;
Prevailing Winds;
Water temperature gradients;
Salinity gradients (i.e., water density differences); and
The gravitational pull of the moon.
Major Ocean Currents
Ocean currents determine the climate in many parts of the world.
The swift Gulf Stream transports warm water from the tip of Florida northeast across the Atlantic ocean toward northwest Europe making this part of Europe more temperate than any other region at that latitude.
The Gulf Stream carries almost four billion cubic feet of water per second which is a flow rate that exceeds all of the world's rivers combined.
"A river seems a magic thing. A magic, moving, living part of the very earth itself."
― Laura Gilpin
Gulf Stream, Wikipedia.
Gulf Stream Speed, NOAA.
Ocean Current, Science Daily.
Ocean Current, Wikipedia.
Labels: Climate, Earth's Rotation, Gravitational Pull, Gulf Stream, Hermann Hesse, Laura Gilpin, Prevailing Winds, Salinity, Siddhartha, Temperature
Supermoons occur tonight July 12th, and again on August 10th and September 10th of 2014.
Show Don't Tell
Oft quoted writing advice from Anton Chekhov to his brother has been paraphrased as:
"Don't tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass."
Chekhov advised his brother, an aspiring writer, to "show, don't tell" which has become a guiding principle of writing. Show don't tell might be extended to scientific phenomena like the supermoon.
Elliptical Orbit
The moon orbits the earth in an elliptical path. Unlike a hypothetical circular path where the moon would always be equidistant from the earth, the moon's elliptical path means the distance between the earth and the moon varies over an orbital cycle.
The supermoon, or a full moon at perigee, is a phenomenon that occurs when the moon's orbital path transports it to its closest point to the Earth. The terms perigee and apogee describe the shortest and longest distance between the earth and the moon.
Full Moon at Perigee
A full moon at perigee would, by comparison, appear about 12-14% larger than the full moon at apogee because it is closer. If you held a ball at arm's length then brought it to your nose, the same ball would appear larger. Similarly, the full moon at perigee might appear larger, but only if we have a reference to compare it to ― like side-by-side images of full moons at perigee and apogee.
It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see.
Apparent Size Difference by Observers of the Full Moon at Perigee and Apogee
Super Moons and Natural Disasters
The moon has less gravitational pull when it is at apogee (farthest from earth) than when it is at perigee (closest to earth). The gravitational pull of the moon influences tides. The stronger gravitational pull of a moon at perigee leads to higher variation in the high and low tide levels.
Despite these gravitational variations, science hasn't established a definitive correlation between a full moon at perigee and its attendant gravitational pull, and the occurrence of natural disasters like earthquakes, floods, and volcanic eruptions.
"I think you'd be hard pressed to see a difference in tectonic activity during different lunar phases."
― William Burton, USGS Research Geologist
Lunar phases seem to have no discernible influence on seismic activity, weather patterns, or volcanic activity.
"This idea of blaming natural disasters on the phases of the moon goes way back to the Greeks. It has been around for hundreds and hundreds of years."
― Malcom Johnston, USGS Scientist Emeritus
Nearly Full Moon at Perigee
image by Cindy Gipple
Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth.
― Guatama Buddha
A trio of Super Moons is gracing our summer skies, by Scott Sutherland, The Weather Channel, 11 July, 2014.
Apogee and Perigee of the Moon, MoonConnection.com.
Don't Tell Me the Moon Is Shining; Show Me the Glint of Light on Broken Glass, Quote Investigator.
No Link Between 'Super Moon' and Earthquakes, by Rachel Rice, Discovery, 27 November 2012.
ScienceCasts: A Summer of Super Moons, Science at NASA, 8 July 2014.
Supermoon, Wikipedia.
Supermoon rising over Earth this weekend, RT.com, 11 July, 2014.
Labels: Anton Chekhov, Apogee, Gautama Buddha, Henry David Thoreau, Natural Disaster, Perigee, Supermoon
State & Story
"Whereof what's past is prologue" is a line from Shakespeare's play The Tempest. What's past is prologue has become a conversational phrase meaning
History sets the context for the present.
If history sets the context for the present, then the present is a key to unlocking the unobservable past.
Key to the Past
In forming a narrative of the Earth that reconciles with what is observable today, it's common for scientists to assume the principle of uniformitarianism, that is, to assume that the same natural laws that operate in the universe now have operated in the universe in the past.
In using the present in order to reveal the past, we assume that the forces in the world are essentially the same through all time; for these forces are based on the very nature of matter, and could not have changed. The ocean has always had its waves, and those waves have always acted in the same manner. Running water on the land has ever had the same power of wear and transportation and mathematical value to its force. The laws of chemistry, heat, electricity, and mechanics have been the same through time. The plan of living structures has been fundamentally one, for the whole series belongs to one system, as much almost as the parts of an animal to the one body; and the relations of life to light and heat, and to the atmosphere, have ever been the same as now.
― James Dwight Dana, Manual of Geology, 1863
The state of the Earth is always a snapshot. Strung together these snapshots reveal a story. The story of the Earth is built from events and processes that are both sudden and gradual.
In the course of the history of the earth innumerable events have occurred one after another, causing changes of states, all with certain lasting consequences. This is the basis of our developmental law, which, in a nutshell, claims that the diversity of phenomena is a necessary consequence of the accumulation of the results of all individual occurrences happening one after another... The current state of the earth, thus, constitutes the as yet most diverse final result, which of course represents not a real but only a momentary end-point.
— Carl Bernhard von Cotta, 1808-1879
Science uses present-day evidence and the immutable laws of physics, chemistry, and biology to form a narrative. All aspects of the narrative must fit within the constructs of natural laws. The narrative is revised as new data emerge or as the formative processes are better understood.
Manual of Geology, James Dwight Dana, Bliss 1863.
Uniformitarianism, Wikipedia.
What's Past is Prologue, Wikipedia.
Labels: Carl Bernhard von Cotta, Immutable Laws, James Dwight Dana, Shakespeare, The Tempest, Uniformitarianism, What's Past is Prologue

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Home » Decrease the waistline, expand the mind
Decrease the waistline, expand the mind
In its former heyday, Buttermilk Falls in Meade County served as a "refrigerator" for local families wanting to keep their dairy products cold. Today, the falls, spring fed and bubbling down a wooded hillside toward the Ohio River below, is one of the attractions on the newly-developed Buttermilk Falls Heritage Trail in Brandenburg.
Jennifer Bridge and Andy Mills, University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension agents in Meade County, have been working closely with others in Meade County to create a scenic exercise trail for their community. The 2.5 mile path, a mile of which was paved last summer with the help of a Governor's Office for Local Development grant, gives local residents the opportunity not only to improve their health but to expand their minds.
"We wanted the physical activity component. We wanted it to be a place where families could come and spend time exercising together, but we also wanted an educational piece, and that's where the trees come in, because there's so many trees on the trail," said Bridge, the county's family and consumer sciences agent.
UK Assistant Forestry Professor Songlin Fei and some of his students are mapping and identifying trees along the path. The results of their work will be posted in an education center along the trail, as well as on the Web site.
"I'm teaching a GIS (geographic information systems) class. We wanted the students to not only get the knowledge from the books, but learn how to use it to communicate with the general public," Fei said. "This project worked out perfectly."
Using GIS and GPS, Fei and his students are creating a map of the different tree species along the path. Michael Shouse is Fei's graduate research assistant and is in charge of the data collection.
"It's pretty interesting because we actually take what we learned in class, and we get to apply it in a real world project," he said. "We've found over 20 different tree species so far, which makes for a good forest composition."
The Buttermilk Falls Heritage Trail project is a good example of how a community can benefit from putting some thought and effort into the built environment. The area was once a dumping site, but once the community cleaned it up and created the trail, many local residents are finding that it's a safe place to walk or ride their bikes. The Meade County High School track team practices on it.
Paving the first mile is only the first phase of a long project. In the next two to three years, there are plans to extend the path along the streambed and then up the hill, making it a challenging course. In the third phase of the project, Route 933 will be closed except for local access, and the trail will be extended along the highway back into Meade-Olin Park.
"We've actually taken this beautiful asset in Meade County and we're going to have a long term plan for it and a useful purpose that's going to benefit this community," Bridge said. "That's where extension comes in. We're always doing community development. So we're proud to be a part of it and have enjoyed working with the city and county government and the chamber of commerce."
When mapping and identification are completed, information about the trees along the trail will be posted on Meade County extension's Web site http://www.ca.uky.edu/meade.
Community Development,


text:
Three Words, Four Letters Every answer in this puzzle is a familiar three-word phrase -- or name -- in which each word has exactly four letters. For example, the clue "Late Vatican Leader" would prompt this answer: Pope John Paul.
Sunday Puzzle
The Weekly Quiz From NPR Puzzlemaster Will Shortz
Three Words, Four Letters
< Three Words, Four Letters
January 7, 200712:27 AM ET
JOHN YDSTIE, host:
From NPR News, this is WEEKEND EDITION. I'm John Ydstie. And joining us is puzzle master Will Shortz. Hi, Will.
Mr. WILL SHORTZ (Puzzle Master): Hi, John. Welcome back to the show.
YDSTIE: Thank you very much, nice to be here. And Happy New Year to you. This is the first puzzle of 2007, I guess, huh?
Mr. SHORTZ: That's right. Happy New Year to you, too.
YDSTIE: Well, remind us of the puzzle you left with us last week.
Mr. SHORTZ: Yes, I said think of a familiar two-word phrase in the form blank oil and another familiar two-word phrase in the form oil blank, in which the two words in the blanks are anagrams of each other. And as a hint I said each of the anagrams is regular four-letter word. What phrases are these?
YDSTIE: And the answer is?
Mr. SHORTZ: The answer is palm oil and oil lamp.
YDSTIE: And we had over 1,900 entries from people who tried to solve that puzzle. Our randomly selected winner is Michael DeMarco from Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania. Welcome, Michael.
Mr. MICHAEL DeMARCO (Puzzle Winner): Hello, John.
YDSTIE: And what do you do up in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, Mike?
Mr. DeMARCO: I work for a small waste water system. It's actually a cooperative.
YDSTIE: And how long have you been playing the puzzle?
Mr. DeMARCO: I would say probably about three to four years.
YDSTIE: Are you ready to play?
Mr. DeMARCO: I hope so.
YDSTIE: Well, Will, Mike, let's give it a try.
Mr. SHORTZ: All right, Mike and John, every answer today is a familiar three-work phrase or name in which each word has exactly four letters. For example, if I gave you the clue late Vatican leader, you would say Pope John Paul. All right, number one is the capital of Utah.
Mr. DeMARCO: Salt Lake City.
Mr. SHORTZ: That's right. Number two, chain of casual restaurants decorated with music artifacts.
Mr. DeMARCO: Hard Rock Cafe.
Mr. SHORTZ: Excellent. Number three, executive power that many state governors have but not the U.S. president.
Mr. DeMARCO: Line item veto.
Mr. SHORTZ: Excellent. Old TV game show involving identifying songs from just a few notes.
Mr. DeMARCO: "Name That Tune."
Mr. SHORTZ: That's right. Song at a New Year's Eve party.
Mr. DeMARCO: "Auld Lang Syne."
Mr. SHORTZ: Uh-huh. 1967 title role for Paul Newman.
Mr. DeMARCO: "Cool Hand Luke."
Mr. SHORTZ: Nice. In poker, a holding of two aces and two eights.
Mr. DeMARCO: Dead man's hand.
Mr. SHORTZ: Nice job. Old Soviet economic program.
Mr. DeMARCO: Five year plan.
Mr. SHORTZ: That's right. A warm way to welcome someone.
Mr. DeMARCO: With open arms.
Mr. SHORTZ: With open arms is right.
YDSTIE: Excellent.
Mr. SHORTZ: Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
Mr. DeMARCO: I'm going to need a little help on that one.
YDSTIE: High holy days.
Mr. SHORTZ: High holy days is it. Good one. Good advice to someone before crossing the street.
Mr. DeMARCO: Look both ways.
Mr. SHORTZ: That's right. Annual football match between two military schools.
Mr. DeMARCO: Army/Navy game.
Mr. SHORTZ: Uh-huh. Try this one. Buffalo Bill's traveling exhibition.
Mr. DeMARCO: Wild West show.
Mr. SHORTZ: Right. Now in your next two, there are four words, each with four letters, and your first of these is famous challenge by Ronald Reagan, words following Mr. Gorbachev.
Mr. DeMARCO: Tear down that wall.
Mr. SHORTZ: Tear down this wall is right. Good job. 1970s two-person comedy drama on Broadway, made into a movie starring Alan Alda and Ellen Burstyn.
Mr. DeMARCO: Uh oh.
Mr. SHORTZ: They had a meeting in the 1950s, I think, and then every twelve months they got together again. That might be a hint to the answer.
Mr. DeMARCO: "Same Time Next Year"?
Mr. SHORTZ: "Same Time Next Year," right.
Mr. SHORTZ: And you're last one, it's five words, each with four letters. And your clue is Shakespearean comedy.
Mr. DeMARCO: Five words.
Mr. SHORTZ: Yeah, and it's an appropriate name to finish this puzzle with. I'll give you a hint. The first word starts with an A.
Mr. DeMARCO: Oh, I'm going to definitely need a little bit more help.
YDSTIE: The first word is all.
Mr. SHORTZ: All's.
YDSTIE: You're right.
Mr. DeMARCO: I'm having a little trouble.
YDSTIE: "All's Well That Ends Well."
Mr. SHORTZ: "All's Well That Ends Well." That's it. Nice job.
YDSTIE: Michael, nice job. You showed a very broad range there, I thought.
Mr. DeMARCO: Well, thank you. I have to work on my shows, though.
YDSTIE: But in any case, for playing our puzzle today you get a WEEKEND EDITION lapel pin; the 11th Edition of Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary and Thesaurus; the Scrabble Deluxe Edition from Parker Brothers; "The Puzzle Master Presents" from Random House, Volume 2. I hope you already have Volume 1. A set of Sudoku puzzle books presented by Will Shortz from St. Martin's Press; and one of Will Shortz's Puzzle Master Decks of Riddles and Challenges from Chronicle Books. And what member station do you listen to up there?
Mr. DeMARCO: We listen to WVIA out of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
YDSTIE: Ah, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. I've spend some time up there, been to the station, in fact. Lots of nice people up there. Well, Michael DeMarco from Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, thanks very much for playing the puzzle with us.
Mr. DeMARCO: Well, thank you.
YDSTIE: So Will, what's the challenge for next week?
Mr. SHORTZ: Well, it's a two-week challenge because it's extra tough. The object is to arrange 16 different letters of the alphabet into a four-by-four square, so four common uncapitalized words read across and four common uncapitalized words read down. I'll give you a start. The second word across is ruly, R-U-L-Y. This is the only slightly unusual word in the square. Every other word in it is one that any school child would know.
So again, arrange 16 different letters of the alphabet into a four-by-four square, so four common uncapitalized word read across and four common uncapitalized words read down. Can you do it?
YDSTIE: And when you have the answer, go to our Web site, npr.org, and click on the Submit Your Answer link on the Sunday Puzzle page. Only one entry per person, please. Our deadline is Thursday, January 18th at 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Please include a phone number where we can reach you at about that time. We'll call if you're the winner and you'll get to play Puzzle on the Air with the puzzle editor of the New York Times and WEEKEND EDITION's puzzle master, Will Shorts. Thanks a lot, Will.
Mr. SHORTZ: Thanks, John.


SHANGHAI (AFP) - More than 250 runners cheated at last weekend's half-marathon in Shenzhen including many who took shortcuts, Chinese state media said on Thursday (Nov 29), calling it "deeply shameful".
Marathon and leisure running is growing fast in China despite the pollution which often blankets major cities, with participants donning the latest fashionable gear and wearable technology.
However, the sport has made unwelcome headlines in recent weeks.
During Sunday's run in Shenzhen, across the border from Hong Kong, 258 runners were penalised for cheating, Xinhua news agency said.
More than a dozen had fake bib numbers and three ran in someone else's place, but most were guilty of cutting corners, the report said, citing organisers.
In the most blatant case, a traffic camera caught runners turning round at least one kilometre (0.6 miles) before they were supposed to make a U-turn, potentially shaving two or three kilometres off the 21-kilometre distance.
The most serious offenders face lifetime bans from the race.
"We deeply regret the violations that occurred during the event," Shenzhen organisers said in a statement, according to Xinhua.
"Marathon running is not simply exercise, it is a metaphor for life, and every runner is responsible for him or herself."
Xinhua, hardly masking its disgust at the widespread cheating, branded it "deeply shameful" and added: "No matter the participants or the organisers, they should reflect: What is the significance of participating in and holding marathons?
"Don't run and forget why you run. Don't let the marathon turn sour."
Separately, runner He Yinli unwittingly sparked a national debate about patriotism after an overly enthusiastic volunteer darted onto the course to hand her a Chinese flag as she vied for victory at the Suzhou Marathon earlier this month.
She briefly held onto it before letting it fall to the floor, explaining later that it had slipped from her grasp.
Some Chinese internet users questioned He's patriotism for dropping the flag, but many others faulted the volunteer for interfering. She was beaten to the line after the fiasco.
In 2011 there were just 22 marathons, half-marathons or other running events in China, according to the Chinese Athletics Association (CAA).
However, that figure has skyrocketed to nearly 1,100 this year.


text:
1. Where can I recycle my TV/computer/household appliance...
Willistown Township holds a recycling event every April for residents. Keep an eye on the WillisTowne Crier for the date and list of accepted items. Another option for Chester County residents is the Lanchester Landfill located in Narvon, PA run by the Chester County Solid Waste Authority. For a list of no fee recyclables and fee based recyclables please visit: Recycling at the Lanchester Landfill
2. Can I burn brush/wood in Willistown?
Please refer to the Willistown Township Burning Ordinance for information about burning in Willistown.
3. What time can I start mowing my lawn in the morning?
Please refer to the Willistown Township Nuisance Ordinance for information about noise disturbance in Willistown.
4. There is a dead deer on the road, who do I call?
Only deer on the side of the road will be picked up (i.e. not a deceased deer on private property). For state roads (please see list below), please call PennDOT at 484-340-3200. For local roads, call the PA Game Commission at 610-926-3136.
For animals IN the road and obstructing traffic, please call the non emergency Willistown police line at 610-647-1440.
State Road List
N Cedar Hollow Road
Delchester Road
Devon Road
Goshen Road
King Road
Lancaster Avenue
Paoli Pike
Providence Road
South Valley Road (between Devon Road to Whitehorse Road)
Street Road
Sugartown Road
Warren Avenue
West Chester Pike
*Whitehorse Road (*bridges only)
Roads not listed are local roads.
5. Is a Certificate of Occupancy (U&O) required for the sale or resale of a RESIDENTIAL property?
No, Certificate of Occupancy (U&O) is not required for a residential property sale.
2. I have the property-owner signed contract, is that enough for a permit?
No. Willistown Township has a permit application for each specific job type. The property owner must also sign the Township issued application, and both the application and the signed contract must be submitted for review before a permit can be approved.
1. If the driver (belted) is under 18, and a passenger (unbelted) is under 18, who should be charged?
Under Section 4581(a)(2), it is the driver's obligation to make sure that all passengers are properly secured. The driver should be cited with a violating Section 4581(a)(2)(ii). According to Section 4581(b), the fine is $10.
2. If the driver (belted) is under 18, and a passenger (unbelted) is over 18, is there a violation of 4581(a)(2)(ii)?
This is not a violation.
3. How many passengers may a junior driver carry?
According to Section 1503(c)(2.1), a junior driver in his/her first six months may only carry one additional passenger, unless the additional passengers are immediate family members. This provision does not apply if the junior driver is accompanied by a parent or legal guardian.
4. What is an immediate family member?
Section 1503(c)(2.1) defines immediate family as brothers, sisters, stepbrothers, or stepsisters of the driver, including adopted or foster children residing in the same household as the junior driver. Cousins, in-laws, and more distant relations are not covered by this exception.
5. What is the proper charge and penalty for violating the restriction on number of passengers?
The driver should be charged with violating Section 1503(c)(2.1). It is a summary offense that carries the catch-all fine of $25 found at Section 6502(a).
6. When does a junior driver earn the ability to carry more than one non-family passenger?
The junior driver can only carry one non-family passenger for six months from the issuance of his junior license. After that, he/she can only carry three non-family passengers until his/her 18th birthday.
7. Can a junior driver lose the ability to carry more than one non-family passenger?
Yes, if he/she is responsible for a reportable accident under Section 3746(a) or if he/she is convicted of any Vehicle Code violation.
8. If the driver is under 18 and there are more passengers than belts in the vehicle, is it a violation?
Yes. The driver should be charged with violating Section 4581(a)(3). The fine is $10. Note that for this charge, it doesn't matter whether passengers are over 18 and/or family members of the driver.
1. How do I order a sewer certification?
Certifications are available for a fee of $30 per parcel ($40 for expedited same day certification). Checks can be made payable to "Willistown Township" and mailed to our offices at 688 Sugartown Road, Malvern, PA 19355. Certifications will only be issued after payment is received.
2. Who do I call when my sewer is backed up?
If you are on our low pressure system please call the Township's designated service company, PreDoc, at 610-935-8590 available 24 hours a day. For all other sewer issues, please notify the Township at 610-647-5300.
3. How are the sewer bills calculated?
Resolution 18 of 2018 - Sewer Rental Fees
1. How do I order a tax certification?
The Chester County Treasurer's Office certifies taxes in Willistown Township. Certifications are available for a fee. Only current year Real Estate Taxes will be considered for certification. Checks or money order can be made payable to "Treasurer of Chester County" and mailed to Chester County Treasurer, 313 W Market Street, Ste. 3202, West Chester, PA 19382. All requests must include a stamped return envelope. Fax-back service is not offered. Certifications will only be issued after payment is received. Certification requests that are sent via overnight (UPS/FEDEX) are processed the day they are received and mailed that same day.
2. What is the PSD code for Willistown Township?
150404 (See the complete list)
1. How can I find the Zoning of a Township property?
See the Zoning Map. If you have further questions, contact the Zoning Officer at 610.647.5300 ext 252.
2. What is a Zoning Permit?
Willistown Township is divided into eleven (11) different zoning districts with nine (9) different overlays within several of the eleven (11) zoning districts. The Zoning Ordinance describes the uses permitted in each district and establishes the standards that uses must meet to be allowed in the districts. The Zoning Permit procedure is established to ensure that uses specifically proposed to be located in a particular district meet the standards for that district.
3. Do I need a Zoning Permit?
The Zoning Officer will help you determine if you need a Zoning Permit. A Zoning Permit endorsement is required before the issuance of all building permits. A separate Zoning Permit application is needed only when an existing commercial use of a structure is proposed to be changed and no building permit is involved. Examples include the change of general office to the use of a doctor's office or the change of general office to the use of a restaurant.
4. How do I apply and how much does it cost?
Submit Zoning Permit Application forms and information to the Willistown Township Administrative Offices, 688 Sugartown Rd, Malvern, PA 19355. An application requires a filing fee of $100.00 to be paid before the issuance of the permit.
5. How are Zoning Permit applications reviewed and decided?
The Zoning Officer checks the application and all data to see that all provisions of the Zoning Ordinance are complied with. If architectural and site plan approval is also required for the proposed use, the Zoning Permit request is referred to the Building Department for review and comment.
If the Zoning Officer finds that the proposed use complies with all applicable provisions of the Zoning Ordinance, the Zoning Permit will be issued and a written record maintained of the findings. If all of the provisions of the ordinance are not complied with, it will be denied and all reasons set forth in writing.
6. What happens if my request is denied?
If the Zoning Officer denies a zoning permit request, the decision may be appealed to the Zoning Hearing Board as described in the Township Code.


text:
Please Stop Sponsoring Iditarod – Sample Email
Come this March 2nd, approximately 1,000 dogs will be forced to endure the hellish 1,049 mile journey from Anchorage to Nome for the annual Iditarod where dogs are violently exploited for sport and entertainment. The race can take up to two weeks in temperatures varying from 50 degrees above zero to 60 degrees below zero.
Tethered dogs hauling mushers on sleds up to 100 miles per day in glacial winds, across perilous terrain, in blinding whiteout snowstorms, ice and numbing temperatures. Dogs are forced to pull through unforgiving land, two mountain ranges, the Yukon river and spanning untamed wilderness. The Iditarod promotes violence towards dogs.
Alaskan animal cruelty laws specifically exempts sled dogs from protection and has no laws prohibiting overworking an animal. In fact, the race couldn't even be held in other states as by its very nature it violates animal cruelty laws.
Mushers and supporters claim the dogs enjoy the race because dogs love to run. Loving to run and being forced to run are entirely different things. These mushers breed specific types of dogs into existence for the mere purpose of exploiting them.
While there is no official count, the 152 recorded sled dog deaths were for the following reasons: drowning, over exertion, dehydration, blunt force trauma, ulcers, hypothermia, hyperthermia, vomiting while running and drowning in their own puke, heart attack, pulmonary edema, tangled in tether and strangled, hit by a car, hit by a snowmobile, shot by musher for injury, acute aspiration pneumonia, impaled by sled, asphyxiation by snow, injuries sustained from fighting with other dogs or wild animals and ruptured liver.
Many witnesses have reported dogs in war-like vehicles screaming and crying to get out, chained to the sides of trucks for hours in the cold with empty water bowls and their tails tucked between their legs, shaking. Confused and scared surrounded by people controlling their every move with no ounce of freedom. These dogs are seen as machines not individuals. This was not the "happy" picture that those who support this exploitation proudly paint. Those who support this event are contributing to the inherent violence involved and it needs to stop.
I am asking that you withdraw your support from the Iditarod and stand in solidarity with people around the world who truly care about the dogs, including Coca Cola, once a major sponsor, who just pulled their support because they were outraged to learn about the horrifying reality of this event and this industry (https://www.thedodo.com/close-to-home/coca-cola-drops-sponsorship-iditarod-race).
You can learn more by watching the eye opening documentary Sled Dogs which actually features the Iditarod in addition to facilities here in Canada where dogs are chained to a plastic barrel and live their lives outside all year round in all weather extremes. Covered in their own filth, they also live among dead bodies who have died or been killed and buried beneath them.
Follow this link for the documentary: sleddogsfilm.com. Additionally you can stay informed at the End Sled Dog Cruelty Facebook page and find more information here:
I would expect that your company would want to sponsor an event that is ethical and that aligns with your values of respect. Once we know better we have an obligation to do better. Exploiting dogs for human pleasure and entertainment is unjust and unethical.
[Full name]
[City, Country]
Recent Posts: Peace Fur Paws
Peace Fur Paws Charity Dog Wash – April
End Whale and Dolphin Captivity
Ask Sponsors to Withdraw from the Iditarod Dog Race!
Ban the Poisoning of Canadian Animals!
Stop Ford From Weakening Ontario's Endangered Species Act


text:
Curfew issued in New Orleans as widespread power outages remain in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida
By September 1, 2021 National NewsLeave a Comment on Curfew issued in New Orleans as widespread power outages remain in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida
The City of New Orleans issued a curfew beginning Tuesday due to mass power outages and significant amounts of debris in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida. The curfew went into effect Tuesday night from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m.
According to New Orleans Police Department Superintendent Shaun Ferguson, 'there is absolutely no reason anyone should be on the streets.' Ferguson followed up the announcement of a curfew saying there have been some issues of looting, with several arrests made, and general safety as New Orleans remains in the dark since Ida's Sunday landfall. The New Orleans police department (NOPD) will also have the Louisiana National Guard and Louisiana State Police to assist with patrolling the city.
New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell said power could show up as soon as Wednesday, but she urged residents not to get their hopes up. "Based on what I know at this time, there is an expectation by tomorrow late afternoon, into the evening, that we should have some level of transmission to the city of New Orleans," Cantrell said. "That does not mean we will immediately see all the lights on in the city." Additionally, while the possibility of power on Wednesday will not mean complete restoration, Cantrell said it will mean Entergy can start focusing on distribution lines, many of which are wrapped up in trees. For most residents, however, power restoration could still take weeks.
https://abcnews.go.com/US/hurricane-ida-left-million-power-thousands-water-dead/story?id=79743060
'The Problem with Jon Stewart' to debut on Apple TV+ this September
Social Security won't be able to pay full benefits in 2034 due to COVID recession


Discussion in 'Networking' started by s0ldi3r, Aug 7, 2006.
The modem is plugged in using Usb and i share my internet connection with my sister, well she uses it off me and were networked but i dont think that has anything to do with it would there be any reasons for my modem to do this?
or is my modem broken?
I'm assuming when you experience internet outages she does too. How exactly are your two computers networked? How often does this happen?
It is very possible it is your modem, but it could be something else as well.


I can't believe that it's been well over a year since we've had dinner at Home Dining Room so we're more than overdue for a re-visit.
We begin with Knead bakery bread served with olive oil and dukkah and a generous bowl of warm olives flavoured with orange and fennel.
It's all very tasty and well made - the squid is tender, the japanese chicken is positively addictive, the arancini are nice and creamy, the pumpkin seed is an unusual touch and works quite well.
A sight that warms the heart of the resident Englishman - eye fillet is cooked correctly and served with a mustard sauce, a good selection of roasted veg and yorkshire pudding.
Really lovely pork - it's not overly fatty and the fat that is there is well cooked to almost dissolve in your mouth. The crackling is quite nice - theres a crispness to the edges but it's more like chewy caramel, it's soft but not flaccid.
Sticky date pudding with vanilla ice cream and butterscotch sauce - on a cold night, it doesn't get much better than this. Sweet, sticky and delicious!
I really don't have to say that this was very lovely and should come with a health warning. That is a bit unfair, it is rich but not too rich, the meringes and the coulis do lighten up the dish.


We want to build on the success of the conference "The future of money" in Frankfurt last November and once again gathered international experts, central banks, researchers and banks to discuss proposals for how a sustainable money system could be designed in today's digitized and globalized world.
The conference will be in three parts: (1) the problems of the current development, (2) Central Bank issued Digital Cash (CBDC), and (3) alternative solutions beyond a CBDC. All parts will end with a panel discussion. Read more below.
The first part of the conference will examine current monetary system in the digital age. Which challenges does digitalization pose to money, banking and monetary policy?
Will physical cash disappear, central banks stop issuing money, and a few big private banks take over? Or will the old banks be outperformed by new innovative companies and cryptocurrencies?
Are there any serious problems with the current development and the current money system which need innovative ideas and actions? Should central banks start developing new tools such as Central Bank issued Digital Cash (CDBD)?
Second part of the conference will discuss how central banks should respond to the digital development.
The Swedish central bank and the Bank of England do research on whether they should start issuing Central Bank Digital Cash (CBDC) and compete with bank credit as a means of payment.
Which consequences would a CBDC have for monetary policy, housing markets, inequality and central bank's possibilities to handle financial crises? Which are the drawbacks and benefits of a CBDC such as Riksbankens proposal for an e-krona?
Would a CBDC such as the e-krona be enough to handle the problems of the current money system? Would a CBDC cause new problems? Is it possible to introduce a CBDC without further reforms? What are the drawbacks and benefits of further reforms beyond a CBDC?
What would happen in the long run if the Riksbank chose to introduce a CBDC? Will the e-krona become a marginalized unnecessary means of payment, or would it take over the payment market, put an end to private money creation and fractional reserve banking?
This is a list of our confirmed speakers. More speakers will come.
Steve Keen was one of the handful of economists to realize that a serious economic crisis was imminent, and to publicly warn of it from as early as December 2005. His pioneering work on modeling debt-deflation, resulted in him winning the Revere Award from the Real World Economics Review for being the economist whose work is most likely to prevent a future financial crisis. His book Debunking Economics is a classic exposition of why Neoclassical economic theory is not only wrong, but more of a threat to the survival of capitalism than any number of left-wing revolutionaries.
Steve is Professor of Economics at the Kingston University London. He has over 70 academic publications on topics as diverse as financial instability, the money creation process, mathematical flaws in the conventional model of supply and demand, flaws in Marxian economics, the application of physics to economics, Islamic finance, and the role of chaos and complexity theory in economics. His work has been translated into Chinese, German and Russian.
His blog Steve Keen's Debtwatch (http://www.debtdeflation.com/blogs) makes his non-orthodox approach to economics available to the public. The site has 11,000 subscribers and about 50,000 unique readers each month.
Michael KumhofSenior research advisor, Bank of England. Former economist at IMF.
Miguel Fernández Ordóñez was the governor of the Spanish Central Bank and member of the Governing Council of the ECB from 2006 to 2012. Before this position, he was among others, Secretary of State for the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Secretary of State for the Ministry of Finance. He also held positions as Chairman of a Securities firm and board member of a big commercial bank. He was also member of the IMF Board, President of the Competition Court, President of the National Electricity Commission and lecturer at the Universidad Complutense in Madrid.
Cecilia has worked with sustainable finance since the early 2000s, ranging from project finance, asset management to scientific research and innovation. She is the Executive Director of Stockholm Green Digital Finance, a not-for-profit tasked to demonstrate creative solutions to scale green finance and investment through the application of fintech solutions -such as the Green Assets Wallet. Prior to Stockholm Green Digital Finance, Cecilia headed the Sustainable Finance platform at Stockholm School of Economics where she managed the operations of 6 million EUR worth of research activities and initiated the School's first Executive Education in Green Finance. Cecilia is part of the Executive Team of Stockholm Sustainable Finance Centre, to which Stockholm Green Digital Finance is a collaborating partner, represents Sweden in the UN-led Financial Centers 4 Sustainability Network, to which Stockholm Green Digital Finance is a signatory and founding member, and she sits on the Board of SweSIF, the Swedish Sustainable Investment Forum.
He has made influential contributions to recent monetary system analysis and reform, for instance the book "Sovereign Money. Beyond Reserve Banking"
Huber is known widely also as one of the founders of ecological modernization theory.
Check out his blog https://sovereignmoney.eu/.
Dirk Niepelt is Director of the Study Center Gerzensee and Professor at the University of Bern. A research fellow at the Center for Economic Policy Research (CEPR, London), CESifo (Munich) research network member and member of the macroeconomic committee of the Verein für Socialpolitik, he served on the board of the Swiss Society of Economics and Statistics and was a visiting professor at the Institute for International Economic Studies (IIES) at Stockholm University. Dirk Niepelt received his Ph.D. in economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and holds a licentiate and doctorate from the University of St. Gallen. Previous to joining the Study Center, he was assistant professor at IIES. Before completing his Ph.D., he worked at applied research institutes in St. Gallen and Zurich (FEW, KOF). His research interests include macroeconomics, international finance, political economy, and public finance.
Ulf Dahlsten is a Visiting Professor at the London School of Economics and a Senior Advisor at the Global Climate Forum in Berlin. Ulf Dahlsten was the Secretary of State during the Olof Palme Government.
Martijn van der Linden is Professor New Finance at The Hague University of Applied Science, Chairman of Foundation Ons Geld (Our Money) and PhD researcher at Delft University of Technology (department Economics of Innovation and Technology). In 2015 Ons Geld launched a successful citizens' initiative about monetary reform in the Netherlands. This resulted in the report 'Money and Debt' published by the Netherlands Scientific Council for Government Policy in January 2019. As a next step Ons Geld published last month a position paper titled ' Public depository: safe-haven and level playing field for book money'. In his PhD thesis van der Linden uses design science to explore the design of the monetary-financial system in the digital age. This PhD project will be completed coming year.
I agree that Positiva Pengar saves my name and e-mail adress to send me information about this and future conferences arranged by Positiva Pengar.


text:
Q: How can I connect to webmin as a sudo user How can I connect to webmin when I do not know the root password.
I have a sudo account that can become root

A: If Webmin is actually using the root password as stored in /etc/shadow, then you can sudo to root and change root's password.  But if Webmin has it's own password store, and it's password just happens to be identical to the root's password, then changing root's password won't help, and you'll need to get the Webmin password from someone who knows it.

A: Webmin can also be configured to allow users who have sudo privileges for all actions to login as a root-level user.

*

*Browse to Webmin->Webmin Users

*Enable the option "Allow users who can run all commands via sudo to login as root"

*Save it

Now you should be able to login as any user that has ALL sudo privileges. This feature was added to accommodate systems like Ubuntu that do away with having a "root" account, by default (Ubuntu has a root account, but it has no password and the first user created gets added to the sudoers file automatically).
This option is enabled, by default, on systems that we know meet this description (like recent Ubuntu releases), I think.

A: Assuming you have access to a terminal on the machine as a sudo user (on the console, via SSH etc),
sudo /usr/libexec/webmin/changepass.pl /etc/webmin root correcthorsebatterystaple

will change roots password to correcthorsebatterystaple.
You can use locate changepass.pl to find where webmin is installed on your machine (the line above comes from the Webmin FAQ, but your installation could be under a different path, e.g. the debian path is /usr/share/webmin )
If you don't know who the webmin users are, you can see the users who exist in etc/webmin/miniconf.users, there should be at least a 'root' user there.


Packed with features and truly a pleasure to drive! A turbocharger further enhances performance, while also preserving fuel economy. Top features include front fog lights, a tachometer, a roof rack, and power windows. It features an automatic transmission, 4-wheel drive, and an efficient 4 cylinder engine.


text:
namespace fastbird
{
	class LuaObject;
	//-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
	class LuaTableIterator
	{
		lua_State* mL;
	public:

		LuaTableIterator(const LuaObject& table);
		~LuaTableIterator();
		typedef std::pair<LuaObject, LuaObject> KeyValue;
		bool GetNext(KeyValue& outKeyValue);
	};

	//-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
	class LuaSequenceIterator
	{
		lua_State* mL;
		size_t mLen;
		size_t mCurIdx;

	public :
		LuaSequenceIterator(const LuaObject& sequence);
		~LuaSequenceIterator();
		bool GetNext(LuaObject& out);

	};

	//-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
	class LuaObject
	{
		int mRef;
		lua_State* mL;
		int mType;
		std::string mName;
		LuaObject* mSelf;
		static fastbird::VectorMap<int, unsigned> sUsedCount;
		static fastbird::SpinLock<true, false> sUsedCountGuard;

		static void AddUsedCount(int ref);
		static bool ReleaseUsedCount(int ref);

	public:
		LuaObject();
		LuaObject(lua_State* L);
		// index will not be popped.
		LuaObject(lua_State* L, int index, bool pop = false);
		LuaObject(lua_State* L, const char* globalName);
		LuaObject(const LuaObject& other);
		LuaObject& operator=(const LuaObject& other);
		~LuaObject();

		void SetSelf(const LuaObject& other);
		void FindFunction(lua_State* L, const char* functName);

		lua_State* GetLuaState() const { return mL; }

		void NewTable(lua_State* L);

		void SetGlobalName(lua_State* L, const char* globalName);
		const char* GetGlobalName() const { return mName.c_str(); }
		bool IsFunction() const;
		bool IsMethod() const; // A method is also a function.
		bool IsTable() const;
		bool IsString() const;
		bool IsNumber() const;
		bool IsBool() const;
		bool IsNil() const;
		bool IsValid(bool nilIsValid = false) const;
		unsigned GetType() const { return mType; }
		LuaObject GetField(const char* fieldName) const;
		LuaTableIterator GetTableIterator() const;
		LuaSequenceIterator GetSequenceIterator() const;

		LuaObject SetFieldTable(const char* fieldName);
		void SetField(const char* fieldName, double num);
		void SetField(const char* fieldName, int num);
		void SetField(const char* fieldName, unsigned num);
		void SetField(const char* fieldName, bool b);
		void SetField(const char* fieldName, const char* str);
		void SetField(const char* fieldName, const Vec3& v);
		void SetField(const char* fieldName, const Vec3I& v);
		void SetField(const char* fieldName, const Vec2& v);
		void SetField(const char* fieldName, const Vec2I& v);
		void SetField(const char* fieldName, const Transformation& t);

		LuaObject SetSeqTable(int n) const;
		LuaObject GetSeqTable(int n);
		void SetSeq(int n, const char* str);
		void SetSeq(int n, char* str);
		void SetSeq(int n, unsigned num);
		void SetSeq(int n, float num);
		void SetSeq(int n, const Vec4& val);
		template<class T>
		void SetSeq(int n, T* val)
		{
			LUA_STACK_WATCHER w(mL, "void SetSeq(int n, T* val)");
			PushToStack();
			luaW_push(mL, val);
			lua_rawseti(mL, -2, n);
			lua_pop(mL, 1);
		}
		template <class T>
		void SetSeqTemplate(int n, T v)
		{
			LUA_STACK_WATCHER w(mL, "void SetSeqTemplate(int n, T v)");
			PushToStack();
			luaW_push(mL, v);
			lua_rawseti(mL, -2, n);
			lua_pop(mL, 1);
		}

		double GetNumberAt(int index) const;
		unsigned GetUnsignedAt(int index) const;
		LuaObject GetTableAt(int index) const;
		std::string GetString(std::string& def = std::string()) const;
		float GetFloat(float def = 0.f) const;
		int GetInt(int def = 0) const;
		unsigned GetUnsigned(unsigned def = 0) const;
		unsigned GetUnsignedFromString(unsigned def = 0) const;
		bool GetBoolWithDef(bool def = false) const;
		Vec3 GetVec3(const Vec3& def = Vec3::ZERO) const;
		Vec4 GetVec4(const Vec4& def = Vec4::ZERO) const;
		Vec3I GetVec3I(const Vec3I& def = Vec3I(0, 0, 0)) const;
		Vec2 GetVec2(const Vec2& def = Vec2(0, 0)) const;
		Vec2I GetVec2I(const Vec2I& def = Vec2I(0, 0)) const;
		Quat GetQuat(const Quat& def = Quat())const;

		std::string GetString(bool& success) const;
		float GetFloat(bool& success) const;
		int GetInt(bool& success) const;
		unsigned GetUnsigned(bool& success) const;
		unsigned GetUnsignedFromString(bool& success) const;
		bool GetBool(bool& success) const;
		Vec3 GetVec3(bool& success) const;
		Vec4 GetVec4(bool& success) const;
		Vec3I GetVec3I(bool& success) const;
		Vec2 GetVec2(bool& success) const;
		Vec2I GetVec2I(bool& success) const;
		Quat GetQuat(bool& success)const;
		Transformation GetTransformation(bool& success) const;

		void PushToStack() const;
		bool Call();
		bool CallWithManualArgs(unsigned numArgs, unsigned numRets);

		void Clear();

		unsigned GetLen() const;

		bool operator==(const LuaObject& other) const;

		bool HasFunction() const;

	private:
		void CheckType();
	};

	fastbird::LuaObject GetLuaVar(lua_State* L, const char* var, const char* file = 0);

}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


few of us (not me), even social lives!
to say that we're actually getting stuff done.
"So, here it is. Our ETA. January 8, 2007.
"Seems like forever, but it's only a few months. It's the day after we return from Magfest.
donations are needed right now.
describe how stuff breaks, and who know the site backwards and forwards.
sabotage things just because they can, and then laugh about it.
honestly, if people want to break our stuff, they'll probably break it.


Heavy Iron Studios Believes the Vita "is a Car Wreck"
UFC Trainer developer Heavy Iron Studios recently spoke out on the cloudy future of the PS Vita, claiming that the portable device will be doomed from the start. According to developers Lyle Hall and Matthew Seymour, the Vita's high price point and limited functionality will be a huge problem for Sony.
In an interview with GameIndustry.biz, Hall brought up the issues the 3DS currently faces and explained how he feels the Vita will fall into the same trap.
If people aren't willing to pay $249 for a Nintendo 3DS why would they pay $299 for Vita? People don't want to carry more than one thing in their pocket, that's why Android and iPhone have done so well, they are the devices of choice, they offers multiple functions outside of gaming.
The technology is sweet, I'm a huge fan of mobile technology, but I just don't know there's a market out there any more for the hardware. I can't see why you would want to put a device out that only does games. The consumer has spoken. We wanted to see that world exist – more players, more opportunities for us, but at the same time people don't want that. Unless there's a super technology paradigm shift it's not going to shift back.
With all due respects to Sony and Vita, it's a car wreck. And how about Xperia Play? I'd love to pull up the numbers on that.
It looks like we'll just have to wait and see how the handheld fairs in the portable market when it launches in the west next year. In the meantime, read up on our latest feature where we discuss the viability of the PlayStation Vita.


text:
Q: Finding value in Jackson JsonNode without serialization I have multiple complex (Jackson) JsonNode structures which I need to find a value in.
The problem is very similar to:
how to parse json array value using json node and Jackson JsonNode Serialization.
So I would like to find a value inside a JsonNode with the following limitation:
The context is provided by (Cucumber) tests. e.g. 'Inside "title/configurations/relation" I see the value "a" ' see example below.
The code I've tried to use:
public JsonNode findNodeInPath (String path, JsonNode parent) {
        int firstSlash = path.indexOf("/");
        if (parent == null) {
            return null;
        }
        else {
            String nextNodeName = firstSlash == -1 ? path : path.substring(0, firstSlash);
            if (parent.isObject()) {
                return findNodeInPath(firstSlash == -1 ? path : path.substring(firstSlash + 1), parent.findValue(nextNodeName));
            }
            else { // parent is array
                if (parent.has(path)) {
                    return parent;
                }
                for (JsonNode node : parent) {
                    JsonNode nextNode = node.findValue(nextNodeName);
                    if (nextNode != null) {
                        return findNodeInPath(firstSlash == -1 ? path : path.substring(firstSlash + 1), nextNode);
                    }
                }
            }

            return null; // not found
        }
}

But that doesn't work because when I get to a JsonArray with strings only (like "relation" below) Jackson doesn't let me access the text inside it.
I don't want to create a POJO for each JsonNode because:

*

*The variance between nodes is very big. I can't see any object that will fit even most of the configurations I have.

*This is used for testing only. The structures as they are, just sit on the database. I wouldn't like to create objects solely for testing purposes.
An example of a JsonNode I have:
{
  "title": [
    {
      "configuration": [
        {
          "product1": {
            "id": "id1",
            "name": [
              {
                "locale": "en_US",
                "value": "value1"
              }
            ]
          },
          "configured": true,
          "relation": ["a","b","c"],
          "relation2": []
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

I apologize for the long question, any help (from any direction) would be greatly appreciated.

A: Extract Array node:
JsonNode node = jsonNode.findPath("relation");

Convert the array node to List of strings:
List<String> relationList = new ObjectMapper().readValue(node.toString(), new TypeReference<List<String>>() {});


text:
Australian Winter Olympics star Alex "Chumpy" Pullin is dead after a freak drowning incident while spearfishing on the Gold Coast.
The high-profile champion snowboarder is believed to have suffered a shallow water blackout at Palm Beach at 10.30am this morning.
Pullin was found unresponsive on the ocean floor at an artificial reef by a snorkeller, who called for help from a group of nearby surfers, Queensland Police said.
The alarm was raised and a lifeguard raced to assist, pulling him from the surf on a jet ski.
Paramedics performed CPR for 45 minutes but the 32-year-old couldn't be revived.
Personal income tax cuts for middle income earners worth up to $2565-a-year are likely to be brought forward to help boost spending, the Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has revealed.
The tax cuts, worth $20 billion, were scheduled to come into force in 2022.
A third stage of the tax cuts, with a tax rate of 32.5 per cent to apply to the vast majority of workers, is currently scheduled from 2024.
However, Mr Frydenberg has confirmed this morning that the fast-tracking of the tax cuts was now a live option in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"There are three stages to those legislated income tax cuts and, you know, the benefit was very clear.
We're creating one big tax bracket between $45,000 and $200,000 where people pay a marginal rate of no more than 30 cents in the dollar,'' Mr Frydenberg said
"So we are looking at that issue and the timing of those tax cuts because we want to boost aggregate demand, boost consumption, put more money into people's pockets and that is one way to do it."
The second stage of the tax cuts lift the income threshold when the 19 per cent tax rate kicks in from $41,000 to $45,000 and the rate at which the 32.5 per cent tax rate applies from $90,000 to $120,000.
The 2022 tax cuts are aimed at middle income earners and will deliver annual tax cuts of $580 to a worker earning $40,000.
However, the value of the tax cuts rises to $1080 a year for workers earning $50,000-a-year in income.
Victoria has recorded another 134 new cases of coronavirus, as authorities warn police will dramatically increase their presence in areas that are going back into lockdown.
The state will reimpose stage three restrictions on metropolitan Melbourne and the Mitchell Shire from midnight tonight to try and bring a surge in COVID-19 transmission under control.
Today is the third day in a row Victoria has recorded more than 100 cases, and 134 is the state's second-highest single-day total after yesterday's record of 191.
Premier Daniel Andrews said 11 of the new infections were connected to contained outbreaks and 123 were still under investigation.
There are now a total of 75 infections linked to the nine public housing towers under "hard lockdown" in Melbourne, after some cases were diagnosed and others previously under investigation reclassified.
Forty-one Victorians with coronavirus are in hospital and seven of those are receiving intensive care, Mr Andrews said.
More than 1 million coronavirus tests have been conducted in Victoria since the start of the year, with a new record of 29,424 conducted yesterday.
Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Shane Patton said from tonight "several hundred more police" would be involved in Operation Sentinel, which launched in March to enforce COVID-19 restrictions.
The operation previously involved 500 police.
"It won't be an absolute ring of steel but there's going to be a significant police presence on a whole amount of those main arterial roads," he said.
Stage three restrictions only allow residents to leave their homes for four essential reasons
Close to 265 Australian Defence Force workers will also be deployed to help monitor the boundary around metropolitan Melbourne and Mitchell Shire.
"You may see a bit more visibility of them now involved with us at checkpoints," Chief Commissioner Patton said.
"They're going to be invaluable assistance for us but they cannot replace police."


Whether you are moving to Europe or returning to the UK we are very well placed to help with your onward move.
Our Storage Centre at Dover provides a natural base to safely store your possessions before you embark on the final phase of your move.
Accessible household storage in Continental Europe hardly exists outside the major cities and is very expensive.
Our facilities allow plenty of space for the consolidation of your goods and our friendly and knowledgeable staff will be very pleased to give advice.
Our Centre is just off the A2, 3 miles from the Port of Dover and 14 miles from the Folkestone Channel Tunnel terminal. We provide drive-up secure storage with 24/7 access and/or purpose-built private rooms within buildings which allow access during our office hours.
Families relocating to or from the EU, especially France and Spain.
DIY renovation enthusiasts and property developers.
Cross Channel couriers and movers. A pick-up and drop-off point.
Shopping A Tesco Extra (open 24 hrs), Homebase, B&Q and a Post Office are nearby.
Removals Several reliable removals firms work with us. They are experienced and frequent cross Channel movers.
Arrangements for storage can be made by you or your removals agent by contacting us by e-mail, telephone or fax.
Naturally, we would prefer to meet you prior to the arrival of your goods so that we can verify your identity (passport, driving licence, etc.) although we recognise that this is not always possible.


A little more than a year after Woot founder Matt Rutledge left the revolutionary daily deals company he sold to Amazon, he's bringing the team back together to hack e-commerce once again. The new company, called "a mediocre corporation," is being designed to build up and test out new ways of selling products to customers online.
Mediocre brings together a number of folks from the founding team behind Woot, the long-running e-commerce site that created the daily deals category of online commerce. That includes Matt's brother Dave Rutledge, who served as the company's creative lead, as well as lead developer Shawn Miller, both of whom left Amazon in May. Also joining them are former Woot CFO Derek Chapin and IT director Luke Duff.
"We really tried to lower expectations with the brand," Rutledge told me. The team drew inspiration from Ev Williams and Biz Stone's Obvious Corporation, but since "obvious" was taken, they decided to set the bar low with "mediocre" instead.
Launched in 2004, Woot made one item available for sale every day. The site started with consumer electronics — putting a limited number of TVs, PCs, and other items on sale for well below their usual price. It also garnered a following for selling a monthly "Bag of Crap" made up of leftover inventory and (sometimes) office supplies.
Over time, the offers improved and inventory began selling out in minutes. And before long, Woot began introducing new vertical categories with which it could make new items available. Then Woot hit the big time in 2010, as it was acquired by Amazon.com for $110 million.
The Amazon deal helped Woot to reach massive scale, but it also meant that some of the things that made it great (like focusing on one deal a day) began to fade away. As Amazon added more categories and items, the original reason to visit Woot — i.e. to find out what's on sale and grab it quick — disappeared.
With that all behind them, the guys are ready to test out new models of selling goods online, through a series of "experiments" that the company will incubate through its "Mediocre Laboratories" division. Each of those experiments will have its own consumer-facing site, which will test out some hypothesis or online business model.
Structuring the operation that way will give Mediocre the ability to be nimble and try different things out — something that it wasn't really able to do at Woot. Given the constraints of "one deal per day," as well as the subdomain structure that it set up when it launched new categories, Woot didn't give itself too much wiggle room to experiment.
This time things will be different. The company currently has about a dozen employees, with its headquarters in Dallas, and the team already has some ideas for what it wants to build. Rutledge wouldn't give me a timeline for the first launch of an experiment or an estimate of how much time will be spent on each.
That said, what they do know is that they will be very transparent and seek input from the community — you know, the way Woot used to. The first thing that the company will build is a forum, where its customers and users will be able to make suggestions for things that it can build and provide feedback on experiments that are currently in progress. Back in the day, it was the sense of community that really set Woot apart. Well, that and the hilarious descriptions of the items it put up for sale. That creative touch will be back as well.
Regardless of what they might come up with, at least we know it's not going to be boring.


Staples is offering a Thule backpack for only $32.99 (the same backpack sells on Amazon for $79.95. Info on how to save an additional $5 can be found in this SlickDeals thread.
How can Staples sell this backpack so cheaply? Apparently they make up for their losses by selling this one too . Think of how many miles you would earn though!


From our mainstream program of adventure and 'eco' tours, Green Discovery has developed a group of purpose-built tours designed for the distinguished traveler, addressing professionals as well as those who share a desire to get in-depth information and experience in the Lao context. These highly interesting and thoughtfully prepared excursions are arranged in close collaboration with evidentially competent and renowned experts who also will serve as exclusive tour leaders.
The tours listed below can be adjusted to your taste and requirements.
The unique and often stunning scenery of limestone mountains is characteristic for much of central and northern Laos. A distinctive geological feature of such a landscape is the multitude of complex cave systems and grottos formed over millions of years as consequence of underground drainage and dissolution of soluble rocks. These caves have their own flora and fauna too, adapted to the lack of light and a climate of constant coolness and damp air. A heaven for amateur and professional speleologists!
If amazing and rare wildlife is your passion, follow our experienced guiding adventurers through the remote forests, karst caves, rivers, and wetlands of Laos. Green Discovery team has become expert in the best places to find wildlife. We are often contracted by professional scientists and nature photographers, and would love to offer you the same experience that we offer to them!
Laos offers nearly everything a cyclist could want, from rolling hills to elevated plateaus. Visit one of the least explored countries in the world, and explore it by bicycle, giving you the time and the pacing to get a closer look at the people and the natural beauty that makes Laos a special destination.
The cycling team of Green Discovery is often chosen by reknown international travel agencies to operate their cycling tours in Laos.
"For me, rivers are magnetic. I can sit and watch the water move past for hours. They are places of contemplation – contemplation about the river itself to be sure, but also a place to reflect on the passage of time, of life, of experience..."
–The River's Tale – A Year on the Mekong – Edward A. Gargan.
Whether you are a seasoned professional photographer, or a budding enthusiast, Laos offers a wealth of unique photo opportunities ranging from the serenity of temple complexes and saffron-clad monks all the way to wildlife deep in the remote jungle. Although many great photographic opportunities do exist in urban Laos, the very special photos that can only be taken here are waiting for you far away from the beaten path.
Each member is a proven specialist in his/her respective field of expertise. All have lived and worked in Laos for a long time and show a special affection for the country, a prerequisite for collaborating with Green Discovery Laos. The programs they are running have been meticulously prepared with our operations team. Profound knowledge transfer is well balanced with insights in Lao culture and leisurely get-togethers. Our experts not only are renowned professionals but also great communicators who have a lot to tell about their travels around the globe.
Truly an experience in itself!


Larry Greene is a Contemporary Singer / Songwriter who recently released his Solo Debut CD "LIGHT OF THE WAY". Larry presently lives in Sierra Vista, Arizona helping to care for his elderly father. Larry lived on the island of Maui for 14 years and was a founding member of the Christian Rock Band "Prism Ablaze".
"LIGHT OF THE WAY" placed 2nd in the "2006 Hawaii Music Awards" (Inspirational Category of People's Choice Awards). 1st place went to Grammy Award winners George Kahumoku Jr. and Daniel Ho.
Prism Ablaze's "Light the World" was nominated in "2005 for the Hawaii Music Awards" (Inspirtational Category).


From the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain comes a powerful novel about the way the Vietnam War divided families, and a layered portrayal of marriage, brotherhood, and the sum of a life.
From one of America's most important writers, Perfume River is an exquisite novel that examines family ties and the legacy of the Vietnam War through the portrait of a single North Florida family.
Robert Quinlan is a seventy-year-old historian, teaching at Florida State University, where his wife, Darla, is also tenured. Their marriage, forged in the fervor of anti–Vietnam War protests, now bears the fractures of time, both personal and historical, with the couple trapped in an existence of morning coffee and solitary jogging and separate offices. For Robert and Darla, the cracks remain under the surface, whereas the divisions in Robert's own family are more apparent: he has almost no relationship with his brother, Jimmy, who became estranged from the family as the Vietnam War intensified. William Quinlan, Robert and Jimmy's father and a veteran of World War II, is coming to the end of his life, and aftershocks of war ripple across all their lives once again, when Jimmy refuses to appear at his father's bedside. And an unstable homeless man whom Robert meets at a restaurant and at first takes to be a fellow Vietnam veteran turns out to have a deep impact not just on Robert but on his entire family.
Perfume River is a lyrical and emotional exploration of one family's drama that echoes the lives of so many who are affected by the aftermath of war. It is a profound and poignant book written by an author at the height of his powers, a portrait of family, personal choice, and how war resonates through the American experience.
They will not speak again about the war. Not on this day. Not, as it turns out, ever again.
In his mind now, in his bed, Robert has had enough.
He wants his first cup of coffee.
He draws back the covers.
He sits, puts his feet on the floor.
But he has come this far on Labor Day, 1967, and the rest of it must play through him so he can drink his coffee with the past relegated once more to the past.
Much of that final scene is a blur. It wasn't about him, after all. He was simply a witness, standing apart. He's not even sure where they all are in the house. He can only see Jimmy and Pops. They're shouting at each other. Likely they're in the kitchen, because Mom walks out, brushing past Robert. He should follow her. But he doesn't.
He stays, though for a long while only in body.
He tunes out the words, as Jimmy is drawn by his father into the politspeak he said he despises. High-decibel politspeak that goes on and on.
Until abruptly the voices cease.
For a moment the room rings with silence.
Jimmy and Pops are standing close, facing each other.
And then Jimmy begins to speak, but softly.
And William raises his right hand and slaps his son across the face. Jimmy's face jerks away from Robert's view.


text:
Full Steam Ahead – BattleBlock Theater
Published by Alastair on May 14, 2018
Time logged before Full Steam Ahead: 4 hours
What makes something funny? Most people can agree on a definition of comedy just vague enough to be nearly pointless. Some definitions acknowledge subjectivity, and define comedy by its intentions as opposed to specific content. In short, comedy is intended to be funny. However, most definitions, while striving for accuracy as to what is funny, fail utterly in describing how something is funny. Furthermore, what one, or even most people may find funny can be unamusing, or offensive or hurtful to some. Comedy in a social context requires a careful balancing and understanding of others opinions and feelings.
In a way, comedy as entertainment should be easier. After all, it stands to reason that the audience of a comedy movie or show comes with a expectation and the desire to be entertained. Yet even this can come up short. At a live show, one can't possibly gauge the individual preferences of an entire theatre of people. At a movie, jokes that aren't working can't be rewritten or altered to suit the audience's tastes.
This being the case, I do not envy The Behemoth, the studio behind BattleBlock Theater. Good comedy is hard to pull off in any medium, especially an interactive one like video games.
Welp. Looks like I forgot to get a screenshot of the title screen. Oddly enough, this is pretty representative of BattleBlock Theater.
BattleBlock Theater was released in 2013. I had a couple friends who bought it at that time, but I didn't pick it up until 20XX. My brother-in-law had it one his steam wishlist, and I got it during the 2015 Steam Winter Sale. I thought it might be a way for me to spend more time getting to know him, but as it turns out, neither one of us spent very much time playing it. I can't speak to his experience, but I know a big part of the reason I stopped playing: BattleBlock Theater is cussin' hard.
BattleBlock Theater is a platformer game, and obstacle course with cartoonish animations and characters. While BattleBlock Theater may not be the most difficult platformer I've ever played, it is by no means easy. The levels of BattleBlock Theater are filled with fiendish traps and dangerous obstacles, many of which require split-second timing and force me to divide my attention across several different areas at once. This is nothing revolutionary to the genre. After all, I'd argue that platformer games make their mark by taking a simple concept (in this case, run and jump through a level to collect gems, unlocking the level's exit), and making them as complicated as possible.
True, there are enemies in this game, but they are rarely more than an annoyance, easily defeated or overcome. The true moments of rage-inducing, knuckle-whitening, controller-threatening annoyance more often than not come from a pit of spikes, or pools of water; stationary objects are startlingly hard to avoid when moving through a level at ludicrous speed. If only spikes and water were the worst of it. There are plasma vents, sticky walls, icy surfaces, high-powered fans, red hot coals, and many more. What's incredible about the design of this game how frequently its obstacles are not specifically lethal; rather, their design will put you in lethal places. Like spike pits. And water pools.
This showcases a couple of the obstacles of the game. It's hard to get good screenshots when you're scared of letting go of the controls for more than .325 seconds.
Now hold on. I spent a lot of time earlier in this article rambling about comedy, but now I'm talking about mechanical difficulty? What the cuss buddies?! Where's the funny? I'm failing at making this article funny!
This is ironic, because most of the humour comes from the game's narration of my actions. Since most of my actions are failures, the humour is at my expense. I say humour in a loose, ill-defined kind of way. The quips and shocked remarks at my failure were, admittedly, pretty funny at first. However, I fail with remarkably high frequency. By the game's third act, I've pretty much heard all the things the game has to say about that. Who knows, maybe if I was a better player, jokes at the expense of my failure would come less often, making them more refreshing. I'm not though, so I'm pretty tired of it by the end of the game.
Also, BattleBlock Theater is not a terribly long game. I don't generally mind a short game as long as it has something interesting to say, or a mechanical component that it new or exciting in some way. Granted, there is a plethora of user generated content that I barely scratched the surface of. There is also a lot of multiplayer content, for both co-op and competitive play.
However, my experience with BattleBlock Theater was primarily a singleplayer game, playing through the story. The story mode has me taking an adorable, customizable character (although in a game that allows me to be sloth, I'm going to be a sloth, just saying) intent on rescuing their friends from a series of fiendish obstacle courses, set up on an abandoned island. Every time I complete a chapter of the game, the excitable narrator offers a fraction of the story, telling me how I got here, how do I work this. (and where is my large automobile? And, my God, what have I done?! [sorry, I've been listening to a lot of Talking Heads lately]). This is where most of the game's madcap comedy comes into play. I can't speak for anyone else's comedic preferences, but I think it's funny. The end of chapter cutscenes are easily worth the frustration of my many, many deaths.
There are other things I could be besides a little green sloth, but why would I ever?
All in all, the game reminds me of classic Terry Gilliam animations. The surreal sense of humour and frequently violent ends wouldn't feel out of place in a Monty Python show. I personally find that style of humour pretty funny, even if the gameplay itself is hard to deal with sometimes. I'm plenty happy to give it a revisit, but I'm just as glad it doesn't take up too much time. Especially considering the time I'm going to need for the next game.
Next Episode: Mass Effect 2
Published inVideo Games
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Jay Turser's JJ45FCET cutaway dreadnought style acoustic/electric with cutaway basswood body, flame top finish, adjustable truss rod & die-cast machine heads with tuner. Jay Turser JJ45FCET Features: Basswood body Flame top finish Cutaway for upper fret access ..
Jay Turser's JTA-424Q/CET acoustic/electric guitar features a beautiful quilted maple top for brilliant tone while single cutaway offers comfort and increased playability. Auditorium size guitar with built-in tuner and on-board electronics. Top, back and sides are crafted from aged catalpa w..
Auditorium size guitarwith thin body and cutaway. Electronics include 3-band equalizer, tuner and peizo pickup. The top, back and sides are crafted from catalpa wood with a high gloss finish, Rosewood fingerboard with hand selected dot inlays make for easy note identification while the die-c..
Jay Turser's JTA-454-QCET cutaway dreadnought style acoustic electric guitar features electronics with tuner and equalizer. Beautiful quilted catalpa top, back and sides in a high gloss finish, rosewood fingerboard and die-cast tuning machine heads. Jay Turser JTA-454-QCET Features: ..
Jay Turser's JTA-560EQ-VS acoustic/electric dreadnought with select spruce top, mahogany back and sides, binding on body and neck. The Tortoise pick guard protects finish while the die cast tuning machines insure fewer tuning sesion and more performances. Electronics include an und..
Morgan Monroe MM-QA Quilted Ash Acoustic/Electric Guitar The Quilted Ash Series features a natural open grained finish that creates an almost three dimensional level of depth. Morgan Monroe MM-QA Features: Series: Quilted Ash Style: Folk cutaway Top: Quilted Ashwo..
Morgan Monroe MM-QABK Quilted Ash Acoustic/Electric Guitar The Quilted Ash Series features a natural open grained finish that creates an almost three dimensional level of depth. Morgan Monroe MM-QABK Features: Series: Quilted Ash Style: Folk cutaway Top: Quilted A..
Morgan Monroe MM-QABL Quilted Ash Acoustic/Electric Guitar The Quilted Ash Series features a natural open grained finish that creates an almost three dimensional level of depth. Morgan Monroe MM-QABL Features: Series: Quilted Ash Style: Folk cutaway Top: Quilted A..
Morgan Monroe MM-QANL Quilted Ash Acoustic/Electric Guitar The Quilted Ash Series features a natural open grained finish that creates an almost three dimensional level of depth. Morgan Monroe MM-QANL Features: Series: Quilted Ash Style: Folk cutaway Top: Quilted A..
Morgan Monroe MM-QARD Quilted Ash Acoustic/Electric Guitar The Quilted Ash Series features a natural open grained finish that creates an almost three dimensional level of depth. Morgan Monroe MM-QARD Features: Series: Quilted Ash Style: Folk cutaway Top: Quilted A..
The Pyle PGA52RBR Acoustic Guitar is designed for guitarists of all ages and skill-sets! The classic body style and hand-crafted wooden construction is perfect for beginners, as well as seasoned guitarists, looking to create warm & vibrant acoustics -- and it looks just as good as it sou..
The Pyle PGA36 Acoustic Guitar is designed for guitarists of all ages and skill-sets! The classic body style and hand-crafted wooden construction is perfect for beginners, as well as seasoned guitarists, looking to create warm & vibrant acoustics -- and it looks just as good as it sounds..
Mahogany Dreadnought Acoustic/Electric Guitar Hohner HW300CESB Features: Sunburst finish Handcrafted Mahogany top, back and sides Equipped with a Fishman Ion preamp 3 band equalization Built-in chromatic tuner ..


July 6 – 8: Famed for its amazing fish and chips and spectacular abbey (see cover photo) , the Yorkshire coastal town of Whitby, birthplace of Captain James Cook, will hold Cook250 Festival a three day celebration of the anniversary of explorer's maiden voyage to the South Seas, some 250 years ago.
Born and brought up in and around Whitby, Cook started his maritime career there before becoming the first European to make contact with Australia and Hawaii and circumnavigate New Zealand. In April 1770, Cook reached Australian and went ashore at Botany Bay. In three voyages the Yorkshire explorer travelled across unchartered seas mapping lands from New Zealand to Hawaii across the Pacific Ocean before being killed in 1779.
Packed with events for music aficionados, history buffs and foodies, the festival's highlights will include two tall ships dropping anchor in Whitby's harbour, while the Cook's Kitchen will prepare a culinary tribute to Captain James Cook with fare that would have been eaten at sea during his era. There will also be a treasure hunt through the Whitby's streets for those who like their entertainment to be more participatory.
With Maori music and dance from Ngāti Rānana, in commemoration of Cook's circumnavigation of New Zealand, traditional sea shanties, and a maritime play completing the festivities, you can be assured of a great occasion whether young or old, especially if the current fine weather holds.
The festival will include the launch of the Endeavour Experience, a replica boat of the HMS Endeavour, the ship that Captain Cook used on his voyagers from 1768-71, which has regular sailings around Whitby Harbour and along the coast to Sandsend, where people can disembark and then follow in the Captains steps. The Endeavour Experience will open part-way through its transformation for this weekend's Cook250 Festival in Whitby, but will close again while the rest of the work to turn it into a visitor attraction is completed. The attraction is then scheduled to open at the beginning of August.
Most of the events are free or with the standard venue admission applying. For more information on Cook250 Festival, visit: www.discoveryorkshirecoast.com. Cover photo by Michael D Beckwith.


Since I spent yesterday on the subject of Syria, I thought I'd follow up with today's movement and signals from the White House. Don't have any real analysis today, just passing along the recent developments, that's all.
We seem to be at one of those "decider" moments on the world stage. President Obama stated that use of chemical or biological weapons by the Assad regime in Syria would be a "red line" or a "game changer" and that America would respond to such use in unspecified ways, with serious consequences. The evidence is now in, and several intelligence agencies (in several countries) now say it is likely that Syria has indeed used such weapons, most likely the poison Sarin. This is the decision point Obama now faces.
A Response To Gil Kerlikowske: Obama Drug Policy "Incomplete"
In a word, your assignment is woefully incomplete on a single subject: marijuana. This word appears not once in either document, which is kind of astounding since this is truly the only part of the White House drug policy which currently (and desperately) needs addressing, given the changing political situation. To put this another way, your paper might have garnered a higher grade last year, but we now live in 2013, and you have failed to address -- at a minimum -- the fact that the states of Colorado and Washington have now legalized recreational marijuana, and the number of states which have approved medicinal marijuana is approaching 40 percent. By failing to use the word "marijuana" once, you are ignoring the entire point of the assignment, which is why your grade range is currently just above abject failure.
OK, I know I said "by this weekend" last Thursday, but like everything else in this entire furshlugginer process, putting the finishing touches on the final text draft of my writing project has taken longer than I expected.
Translation: I was too busy to write a column today.
What are the chances comprehensive immigration reform is actually going to happen this year? Your guess is really as good as mine, since we're only at the beginning of a very long path -- one that leads to Obama's desk, but one that also has a lot of dead-ends and side branchings off to legislative doom. Whether a bill can make it through the Senate and (especially) the Republican-controlled House is a very open question, even without the complications of the Boston Marathon bombers.
Some weeks, I sit down to write this weekly wrapup, and find that there isn't that much to talk about, because nothing much happened that particular week.
I'd like to start off today's article with an excerpt from a New York Times story, to make a point. Here is what ran in the Times, with a few sentences left out.


This new book is subtitled "A Comprehensive Guide to Raising Healthy Animals, Preventing Common Ailments, and Troubleshooting Problems. The book covers everything from browse to barns, breeding to birthing, vitamins to vaccinations, and parasites to pizzle rot in an easy-to-read format.
This new book is subtitled "A Comprehensive Guide to Raising Healthy Animals, Preventing Common Ailments, and Troubleshooting Problems." The book covers everything from browse to barns, breeding to birthing, vitamins to vaccinations, and parasites to pizzle rot in an easy-to-read format. Major sections include "Starting Out Right," "On the Farm," :Managing Herd Health," "The Productive Herd - Making Babies and Milk," "Solving Goat Health Problems, plus Resources, Glossary, and Index. Hardbound, Chelsea Green Publishing, 356 pages.


Spend five days getting to know Cunnamulla and surrounding districts with fellow travellers. Prepared to be amazed at the untouched nature and wildlife as you experience true outback Australia.
This Outback Exploration tour has been designed for adventure travellers and backpackers wanting to get in touch with the real soul of the Australian outback.


text:
require 'contextio/api/resource'

class ContextIO
  class Thread
    include ContextIO::API::Resource

    self.primary_key = :gmail_thread_id
    self.association_name = :thread

    belongs_to :account
    has_many :messages

    lazy_attributes :gmail_thread_id, :email_message_ids, :person_info
  end
end


text:
Q: Grails 3 war always in dev environment on Tomcat I am using Grails 3.0.1 and have the standard environments defined.
When I deploy my app on my Tomcat 7 via Jenkins, It always deploys in development mode and never in production since I use Grails 3.
The only thing I have changed in my build.gradle is the following line:
provided "org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-starter-tomcat"

This is my build config in Jenkins.

Building and deployment works well but environment.
I know this because it does not touches mysql at all and I have this in my index.gsp which shows me the
    ${grails.util.Environment.current.name}

Do you have any advice for me?
Edit:
What I've tried until now:

*

*Using "prod war" instead of "war" only as target