text:
Q: The degree of the cube root of the $j$-invariant I have a question which is fairly elementary, but first I must provide relevant context. Without it, my question would seem rather arbitrary and scarcely interesting. Note also that my question can be answered without reading what follows.
Let $j(\omega)$ be the modular invariant, $\Gamma$ be the modular group and $H$ the upper half-plane. Define $\gamma_2(\omega)=\sqrt[3]{j(\omega)}$ using the cube root which is real on the imaginary axis.
Let  $\tau\in H$ satisfy
\begin{equation}
 A\tau^2+B\tau+C=0,\ (A,B,C)=1.
\end{equation}
By Class field theory the value $j(\tau)$ is an algebraic integer of degree exactly $h(D)$, where $D=B^2-4AC$. Since $\gamma_2(\tau)^3-j(\tau)=0$ one would expect the degree of $\gamma_2(\tau)$ to be $3h(D)$. But it turns out that, if $(A,3)=1$ and $3\mid B$, the degree of $\gamma_2(\tau)$ is also $h(D)$.
Now I indicate how this result can be proved.
Set $\varepsilon=e^{-\frac{2\pi i}{3}}$. It can be shown that for  $\bigl( \begin{smallmatrix} a & b \\ c & d \end{smallmatrix} \bigr)\in\Gamma$ we have
\begin{equation}
\gamma_2{\left(\frac{a\omega+b}{c\omega+d}\right)}=\varepsilon^{ab-ac+cd-a^2cd}\gamma_2(\omega).
\end{equation}
This implies that $\gamma_2(\omega)=\gamma_2(\tau)$ if and only if $A\omega=\tau$, with $A=\bigl( \begin{smallmatrix} a & b \\ c & d \end{smallmatrix} \bigr)\in\Gamma$ satisfying $ab-ac+cd-a^2cd \equiv 0 \ (\textrm{mod}\ 3)$, except when $\omega \equiv e^{-\frac{2\pi i}{3}} \ (\textrm{mod}\ \Gamma)$, in which case $\gamma_2(\omega)=0$.
Next define
\begin{equation}
S(n,3)=\bigg\lbrace\begin{pmatrix}
  r &  s\\
  0 & t
\end{pmatrix}:rt=n,r>0,(r,s,t)=1,3\mid s,0\leq s <3t \bigg\rbrace.
\end{equation}
Let $\omega$ be in the upper half-plane $H$. Consider the polynomial
\begin{equation}
\phi_{n,\omega}(x)=\prod_{M\in S(n,3)}\left(x-\gamma_2(M\omega)\gamma_2(\omega)^{-n} \right).
\end{equation}
It takes some work to show that the coefficients of this polynomial are invariant under $\Gamma$, and therefore rational functions in $j(\omega)$. After additional work we conclude that they are in fact polynomials with integral coefficients. In this way we get a polynomial $\Phi_n(x,y)\in \mathbb Z[x,y]$ such that $\Phi_n(x,j(\omega))=\phi_{n,\omega}(x)$. Applying a suitable substitution we obtain another polynomial $\Psi_n(x,y)\in \mathbb Z[x,y]$ satisfying for all $0\neq z \in \mathbb C$

*

*$\Psi_n(z,z)=0$  is equivalent to $z=\gamma_2(\omega)=\gamma_2(M\omega)$ for some $M\in S(n,3)$ and $\omega\in H$.

Thus if $0\neq z \in \mathbb C$ is a root of $\Psi_n(x,x)=0$ then we must have for some $\omega$ and $M=\bigl(\begin{smallmatrix} r & s \\ 0 & t \end{smallmatrix} \bigr)\in S(n,3)$
\begin{equation}
z=\gamma_2(\omega)=\gamma_2(M\omega)
\end{equation}
and consequently by the fourth paragraph
\begin{equation}
\frac{a\omega+b}{c\omega+d}=\frac{r\omega+s}{t}
\end{equation}
where $a,b,c,d$ are integers such that $ad-bc=1$ and $ab-ac+cd-a^2cd \equiv 0 \ (\textrm{mod}\ 3)$. Hence $\omega$ is a root of a quadratic equation with integral coefficients, and if $n$ is suitably chosen, then the middle coefficient will be divisible by $3$. Conversely if we can find $\bigl( \begin{smallmatrix} a & b \\ c & d \end{smallmatrix} \bigr)$ and
$\bigl(\begin{smallmatrix} r & s \\ 0 & t \end{smallmatrix} \bigr) $ with these properties, $\gamma_2(\omega)$ will be a root of $\Psi_n(x,x)=0$
On the other hand the roots of the equation
\begin{equation}
 x^3-j(\omega)=0
\end{equation}
are
\begin{equation}
 \gamma_2(\omega),\ e^{-2\pi i/3}\gamma_2(\omega)=\gamma_2(\omega+1),\ e^{2\pi i/3}\gamma_2(\omega)=\gamma_2(\omega-1)
\end{equation}
If we could guarantee that the only common root of $\Psi_n(x,x)$ and $x^3-j(\omega)$ is $\gamma_2(\omega)$, then we would know that $\gamma_2(\omega)$ and $j(\omega)$ had the same degree. But if $A$ is not divisible by $3$, $B$ is divisible by $3$ and
\begin{equation}
 A\omega^2+B\omega+C=0,\ (A,B,C)=1.
\end{equation}
then it is easy to see that the numbers $\omega + 1$ and $\omega -1$ satisfy quadratic equations whose middle coefficients are not divisible by $3$. Therefore $\gamma_2(\omega)$ is the only common root and we are done.
Finally, my question is this: given $\omega\in H$ such that $\omega^2+3\omega+\frac{9-D}{4}=0$ where $D\equiv 5 \ (\textrm{mod} \ 8)$ and $D<0$ is not divisible by 3, how can I find $n\equiv -1 \ (\textrm{mod}\ 3)$ and $M\in S(n,3)$ such that
$$A\omega=M\omega$$ holds for some $A=\bigl( \begin{smallmatrix} a & b \\ c & d \end{smallmatrix} \bigr)\in\Gamma$ satisfying $ab-ac+cd-a^2cd \equiv 0 \ (\textrm{mod}\ 3)$?

A: Let $N=\frac {9-D}{4}$ and let $\bar\omega$ be the complex conjugate of $\omega$. In particular $\omega+\bar\omega = -3$ and $\omega\bar\omega=N$.
For every $A=\bigl(\begin{smallmatrix}a & b\\c&d\end{smallmatrix}\bigr)\in\Gamma$ we have that $ad=bc+1$, so $$A\omega = \frac{(a\omega +b)(c\bar\omega+d)}{(c\omega+d)(c\bar\omega+d)}=\frac{ac(\omega\bar\omega) +\omega + bc(\omega+\bar\omega)+bd}{c^2(\omega\bar\omega) +cd(\omega+\bar\omega)+d^2}=M\omega$$
with $M=\bigl(\begin{smallmatrix}r & s\\0&t\end{smallmatrix}\bigr)$ and $$\begin{aligned}r&=1 ,\\s&=bd-3bc+Nac , \\ t&=d^2-3cd+Nc^2.\end{aligned}$$
Of course we have $r>0$, $gcd(r,s,t)=1$ and $n=t$. We now show how to choose appropriate $a,b,c,d$ to fulfil all the other requirements. We will choose $a,b,c,d> 0$ to be positive integers.
Since the discriminant $\Delta=(-3)^2 - 4 N$ is negative, we have that $t>0$. Since $s=\frac b d t + \frac c d N$, we also have $s>0$.
If $N\equiv 1\pmod 3$ we choose $a\equiv -d\not\equiv 0\pmod 3$ and $b\equiv c\not\equiv 0\pmod 3$.
If $N\equiv -1\pmod 3$, we choose $a\equiv -d\equiv 0\pmod 3$ and $b\equiv c\not\equiv 0\pmod 3$.
In this way, $n=t\equiv -1\pmod 3$, $s\equiv 0\pmod 3$ and $ab-ac+cd+a^2cd\equiv 0\pmod 3$.
Finally, the requirement $s=\frac b d t +\frac c d N< 3t$ is satisfied whenever $d$ is chosen sufficiently large, compared to $b,c,N$, subject to $ad=bc+1$ and all the conditions above.
Here is a choice of parameters that works, because $N$ is an integer and $N\geq 2$:

*

*if $N\equiv 1\pmod 3$, choose $A= \bigl(\begin{smallmatrix}1 & 1\\1&2\end{smallmatrix}\bigr)$ and $M= \bigl(\begin{smallmatrix}1 & N-1\\0&N-2\end{smallmatrix}\bigr)$;

*if $N\equiv -1\pmod 3$, choose $A= \bigl(\begin{smallmatrix}3 & 2\\4&3\end{smallmatrix}\bigr)$ and $M= \bigl(\begin{smallmatrix}1 & 12N-18\\0&16N-27\end{smallmatrix}\bigr)$.
A cool thing is that we can choose $A$ almost independently of $\omega$!


text:
Exotic types of execution
As we have already said, punishment of criminals must be severe. Enough so that the sight of the execution or even a passing mention of it would discourage anyone from repeating the offence. Compare two moral messages: "for this, you will be hanged" and "for this, you will be be flayed alive, then disembowelled, deprived of your left arm an right leg, and only then beheaded".
In the simple and austere times of the Late Middle Ages and the Early Modern Period, people did not share modern notions of the value of human life nor other humanistic ideas. Life itself was hard. To make execution memorable as a horrible death, one had to excercise ingenuity.
And one did. People of the past were not particularly notable for their love towards their neighbours, and executions were generally viewed as an entertaining show. In a similar way modern viewers treat Hollywood actions movies with fisticuffs and explosions: some like them, others do not, but such movies are a norm and are never perceived as something inconguous.
Here we will make no attempt to classify methods of execution by age, cruelty, or culture. Northern and southern nations, Byzantine Emperors and Mongol Khans, Russian Tzars and European monarchs, – by all of them new pages have been added to the executioner's handbook. Presented below are seven most exotic capital punishments of the past (our pick):
Brazen bull was a torture and execution device purportedly constructed in Akragas, Sicily, under the tyrant Phalaris. The invention is credited to Perillos of Athens, who designed it in the shape of a bull for extra intimidation. The condemned were locked inside the device, and a fire was then set under it. The contraption possessed a special aesthetics: the bull emitted clouds of smoke from its nostrils (when water in the human body was vaporized) and bellowed furiously (these were the sounds the victim's screams were converted to by a delicate system of pipes within the bull's head). The legend has it the inventor himself was killed by tyrant in the brazen bull. But Phalaris was doomed with the same fate.
Going around the pole (standing stone, tree) – this method of execution was known in Rome, in Rus, among Vikings. The condemned had their stomach cut up and a length of their gut pulled out and nailed to a pole or tree. They were then forced to walk around that pole, until fully eviscerated. As is well known, human intestines reach up to twelve feet in length and can be extended up to about fifty. An unfortunate victim would die either of pain or of rapidly developing infection… Or flesh-eating ants would provide their assistance. Everything depended on the prisoner's stamina. Saint Peter is rumored to have been eviscerated in this manner first, and only later, found to be still alive, crucified with his head downwards.
Poena cullei was practiced in the Roman Empire and later in its successor, Byzance. It was considered an ignoble death. A person would be sewn up in a large leather sack together with a whole menagerie: a serpent, a cock, a monkey, and a dog (it's not quite clear while exactly this quartet of animals were used, perhaps they were relatively cheap and easy to obtain). The sack would be thrown into water and the entire company would drown in much pain. The envoy was simple: a person was symbolically made equal in status to these not especially noble animals.
Quicklime barrel was one among incredibly cruel Chinese execution method. A victim was tied up and placed into a barrel with a hole for head in the top. Throughout the first day they would suffer from enforced immobility. Then clay tiles would be removed from the bottom one by one. Deprived of support, the condemned would stand on their toes, then hang suspended by their chin. Quicklime at the bottom of the barrel would then be mixed with water. Several days later clay tiles would run out and the victim's feet would touch caustic liquid that burned more painful than fire. A person died either of burns or of slow, torturing strangulation, as their neck was stretched under the body's weight.
Lingchi, or "death by a thousand cuts", was also known as wangua in China, though it was also practiced by oprichniki in Russia under Ivan the Terrible. The method was simple – a person was tied to a post or frame, the flesh was cut from the body one little slice at a time… until the victim died of pain shock or blood loss. However, the process could be prolonged by searing each wound with hot iron. In China, this method of execution was only banned in 1905, until which time it was effectively applied to criminals condemned for treason or parricide.
Blood eagle had the prone victim's ribs carefully severed from the vertebral column, then manually turned inside out. Lungs were then pulled through the opening in the back to create a pair of "eagle's wings". Description of this procedure in Christian chronicles portrays ancient Vikings as terrible savages and sadists. In fact, it is not known for sure whether this kind of execution was considered disgraceful or honorable (physical prowess and indifference to pain was a prime virtue among Nordic seafarers). Medical professional doubt it existed at all, but so far there were no volunteers for empirical tests.
Death by salt – popular among Mongols were a simple and efficient method: a person was fed so much salt that their stomach would be destroyed from the inside. There was even a way to save the victim in case they offered something valuable to their tormentors, or the Khan had changed his mind. The condemned was simply given liquid animal fat which covered stomach walls and absorbed salt.
An executioner from which country would you like to see in the game, visiting Theodor Grimm for exchange of skills? Chinese, Persian, Russian, Byzantine?
Sanity system
The many faces of cruelty: kinds of torture and execution

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Canada Revenue Agency (1)
Department of Justice Canada (1)
Library and Archives Canada (1)
Society and Culture (17)
2016 IATI Census Metropolitan Area Economic policy Permanent Residents workers Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada Department of Finance Canada
Asylum Claimants – Monthly IRCC Updates
Temporary residents in the humanitarian population who request refugee protection upon or after arrival in Canada. Please note that in these datasets, the figures have been suppressed or rounded to prevent the identification of individuals when the datasets are compiled and compared with other...
Operational Processing – Monthly IRCC Updates
Operational datasets on acquisition of Canadian citizenship, permanent and temporary residency status and visitor visas of foreign nationals.
Transition from Temporary Resident to Permanent Resident Status – Monthly IRC...
People who have been granted permanent resident status in Canada with prior temporary resident status. Please note that in these datasets, the figures have been suppressed or rounded to prevent the identification of individuals when the datasets are compiled and compared with other publicly...
Syrian Refugees Family Composition – Ad Hoc IRCC (Specialized Datasets)
Family composition of Syrian refugees who arrived in Canada as part of the Government of Canada's commitment to resettle Syrian refugees. Please note that in these datasets, the figures have been suppressed or rounded to prevent the identification of individuals when the datasets are compiled and...


text:
MXGP 2015 Thursday, January 29th 2015
Team HRC pre-season video available following Sardinia test
After the reveal of the 2015 Team HRC MXGP livery earlier this week, the pre-season video is now available too.
To watch the video, click here or follow the links below.
The video comes as Team HRC finish their official pre-season test in Sardinia. Both Evgeny Bobryshev and new signing Gautier Paulin will be in action this weekend in Riola Sardo, Sardinia, for the first round of the Italian International Championship, the typical MXGP season warm-up contested by many of the Grand Prix riders.
For more information, go to www.hondaracingcorporation.com or www.hondaproracing.com
"The test here in Sardinia has gone very well and we successfully tested many new parts and with both riders validated the work that's been done in the off-season between the team in Italy and HRC in Japan. Bobby is feeling very strong on the bike after a good winter of training, and will compete in every round of the Italian International Championship to make up for some of the race time he missed through injury last year. Gautier is settling in with the team and the bike very well, and to be honest it's like he's never been away from Honda. We've taken some very positive steps forward since the end of last season, and we need to wait until the GP of Qatar to really see where everyone stands, but we're feeling confident and certainly ready for 2015."
"I'm really looking forward to racing because I feel stronger and I would say I'm ready. Since the injuries last year I changed my programme. Since October I started really working again on my physical condition, so much earlier compared to other years. Normally in October you stop at the end of the season and have a little break, but now I was mad because of what happened last year so I focused this into training. Now, I feel much better and stronger at this point in the season than compared to other years.
"We've developed a really good bike at the moment. It's improved again since last year, especially with the engine and suspension, so I'm happy with the way it is now. It's also good that we have one month of racing with the Italian championship coming so we can make some more steps with bike setting and to get the race condition better before Qatar.
"The bike looks great too. For me always when I was a kid I was thinking the more stickers I have on the bike, the faster I would be! For sure it's a lovely colour – it's similar to my flag and I think that the blue, white and red just really fits with our gear so we'll look really good this year.
"The team has been doing the hardest job over the winter with the preparation and development and everyone now is really pushing their best so we're now just waiting for the first race and waiting for the results. The way everybody works and the way I work, we're only really thinking about one thing this season."
Gautier Paulin 21
"I really like to ride this red bike. It's a big change but as soon as I rode it at the end of last season I already had a good feeling which is important because at our level to change team and bike like this is a big step. Now I feel really good. The handling and stability of this 450 is really awesome. HRC have been working on the engine to give me what I want because last year it was ridden with a little bit different style. Everything is pretty much done already on the position and chassis, so now it's just some small points to arrange, but we've passed a big step in a really short period so I'm pretty happy.
"It feels really natural to be back in red again. I'm trying to give my new image to my fans as much as possible so they recognise me at the first GP! It's fun too. Everyone who sees me on the track tells me that they're surprised. For them they thought it was a big change but now finally they prefer me in red so it's really cool to hear that the people really love it.
"We know the start of the season is coming really quick, and it feels like today we are testing and tomorrow we will be behind the gate in Qatar. Everything is going really well though. I'm happy with the people around me and they are really fun and they work in the good direction and we all want the same thing. It's a great atmosphere in the team.
"Like every year at this period it's a case of finding out where I am at with my speed, with my condition, with the bike, and asking myself those questions to put all the parts of the puzzle together to be ready. I enjoy racing so I really want to be behind the gate now. It's all going in the right direction so I'm feeling pretty confident."


TDSi is pleased to announce a 23% increase in visitors to its stand at IFSEC Southeast Asia 2016, compared to last year. The TDSi team at the show in Kuala Lumpur enjoyed meeting a range of installers, system integrators and end users earlier this month, with a sneak preview of its new web-based GARDiS solution being a key draw.
Software and systems integration was the key theme on this year's stand. Along with GARDiS, TDSi also showcased many of its other key products including the latest version of its EXgarde security management software. The new version provides full integration with ASSA ABLOY's KS100 server cabinet wireless electronic lock, which provides the ability to include the physical security of servers within the wider security network. EXgarde can also be used to oversee and control a number of complementary security systems such as Texecom's intruder panels and SimonsVoss' SmartIntego wireless door locks.
Also on show were TDSi's SOLOgarde, MICROgarde and EXcel controllers, the company's enterprise solutions, and the powerful integration possibilities between its own software products, including EXgarde and the VUgarde CCTV VMS.
IFSEC Southeast Asia follows another highly successful appearance at IFSEC International in London in June (which itself saw a 21% increase in new visitors and 38% increase in export markets visitors). TDSi believes this is clear reflection that the UK security industry has an impressive and well-deserved reputation for quality and innovation, which draws interest from markets across the world.


It's long been said that all roads lead to Rome. This was the case for many hopeful people living in the backwaters of the ancient world, and it is a story that hardly seems to change. Today, New York City is known as the central destination for those with an aching need for a better life. You can walk the streets and the food alone is a story in itself. But Rome, it would seem, was not so different. John Lennon once described the likeness of the modern city to that of its ancient twin.
But where did these ancient Roman immigrants come from, and what drove them to the capital city of a people that they undoubtedly regarded as conquerors? The answer to these questions may be in two Roman graveyards, where the occupants are as diverse as any melting pot city in our world today.
Kristina Killgrove from University of West Florida, U.S.A., and Janet Montgomery from Durham University, U.K. are two university researchers looking at the granular level of immigration patterns to discover the origins of over 105 individuals. In a recent press release, the significance of Killgrove and Montomery's work is explained.
A sudden change in diet is the main indication that these people had come from far off places, for reasons unknown. Either way, they died poor and at the very bottom of the totem pole. It's easy to assume they may have been slaves. A necropolis was where ancients commonly buried people who would not have had the means for a decent burial, or perhaps had no one to care. It was a particularly common place to bury slaves.
One aspect to consider when drawing any comparison between the United States and Rome is that, at the beginning of the Roman Empire, about 5 percent of the immigrant populations were free and traveled there by choice, while the percentage of the immigrant population that were brought as slaves was about 40 percent.
The press release claims that further DNA analysis is needed to expose further genetic origins of the individuals, but the analysis of their teeth is enough to tell Killgrove and Montgomery the general and initial origin of the people buried there. Genetic data could confirm what the teeth analysis says, and it could tell us the ethnicity of the immigrants.
According to a paper in PLOS ONE, the journal in which their findings are published, bioarchaeology is a new and underfunded field of study, but the clarity of its results are like none other. The exciting about archaeology to those on the outside looking in, is the fact that their research often takes archaeologists to remote parts of the world where they interact with cultures past and present. But these researchers likely spend a great majority of their time in a lab. Not the kind of place you'd expect to find the Indian Jones type, but the real answers about the past are coming from in the modern methods.
With DNA studies and other bioarchaeological analysis, the ancient world is opening up in ways never thought possible.


Jong, Tang, Al, and Teen debate Frank Chin and Jeffrey Paul Chan's seminal essay, "Racist Love," and its relevance in Trump's America. The essay can be found here: http://www.dartmouth.edu/~hist32/Hist33/chin%20Racist%20Love.pdf.
We also plug Frank Chin's "lost novel," edited for publication by Calvin McMillin and available here: http://www.uhpress.hawaii.edu/p-9342-9780824838928.aspx.
This was one of our favorite episodes!


A water vulnerability analysis is made of how sensitivity characteristics of the Ganges?Brahmaputra?Meghna (GBM) River basin may affect adaptive capacity. A co-riparian ?country perspective? highlights the importance of local level management actions. Results reveal that vulnerabilities in India and Bangladesh stem from hydrological and ecological factors, but are more linked to poverty and underdevelopment in Nepal. Poor political governance and underinvestment in the water sector add to vulnerability in Bangladesh and Nepal. Overall, Bangladesh is the most sensitive country while Nepal has the least capacity to adapt.
In: Water International, 36 (3): 340-356 p.


text:
Q: Watching satellite tv from laptop's monitor I have a satellite TV decoder with the following plugs:

which are HDMI, RS232, TV/VCR, TV SCART plugs respectively. I'd like to watch TV on my laptop (an ASUS S550C).
I was told that it's not possible to connect this directly to my laptop via an HDMI cable (laptops have output-only HDMI plugs) so I was thinking of buying this:
http://www.hauppauge.com/site/products/data_hvr950q.html
My question is: I don't see any HDMI support in the webpage above, so can I plug my satellite decoder somehow and watch it on my PC with this TV stick? Perhaps using TV/VCR cable?

A: Your satellite has a decryption chip on it to unscramble the signal, which no tv tuner card could do, unless from your satellite provider. Once the signal goes through your receiver though, it can be passed through via any connection on the box. So if you're receiver outputs coaxial, then you can use the product you link to. But you can't plug directly in to the computer from the dish and have it work.

A: You could also look for a "USB Video Capture" device, it is used by many to set up a gaming console (eg PlayStation 3, Xbox 360) on a laptop.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


I mentioned in January that I'd joined the YMCA and started exercising more, and the results are finally starting to show.
I've lost nearly 20 pounds since November when I decided it was time to lose weight, and most of that loss has come since January. I never really thought I would lose weight between Thanksgiving and Christmas. I just tried not to gain my usual ten pounds while still enjoying a season that for me has increasingly meant good food and cookies, not presents. I was happy not gaining any significant weight.
Once I started exercising four times more a week, though, I was losing nearly two pounds a week. Of course, I was also "dieting," if that means not eating every time you're hungry and trying to make better choices when I did eat. I've managed to cut my cola thirst in half, and often find myself thinking even that 8 oz bottle is really too sweet to taste good.
I've cut out most of the hot dogs and bacon, and found myself returning almost exclusively to eating Cheerios with fruit for breakfast. We've gone to one vegetarian meal per week, and one fish meal per week, but I haven't given up my one steak a week rule.
Unfortunately, most of the body fat I've lost, and I know I've lost some because my scale measures the percentage of body fat, has not been the fat on my stomach. It's amazing how hard it is for me to lose fat there. Even if a I had abs of steel, which I don't, no one could see them due to the layer of fat on my stomach.
Still, I feel considerably better. My resting pulse is down considerably. My blood pressure seems somewhat better, though it's hard to tell since I hit panic mode every time I hook myself up to one of those machines at the gym.
I know I'm in better shape, though, every time I take Skye for his daily walk. Most of the time now I can actually make it all the way up the steep hill at his pace without having to stop and gasp for breath half way up the hill. I even find myself walking further faster than I used to.
I feel less tired throughout the day, though I still haven't managed to get motivated enough to make good use of that extra time.
My biggest complaint is that I resent the fact that I'm now burning less calories on my daily walk because I've lost weight. That just doesn't seem fair considering all the effort I've make to get back in shape.
To make matters worse, I've hit another of those plateaus the last two weeks. Though I dropped to 179.5 several days, I'm just as apt to bounce back to 180.5, especially if I splurge on an extra Pepsi and burrito, or two, after a five mile walk. Losing the next ten pounds looks like it's going to be a lot harder than losing the first twenty.
WOW! Good for you! You make me ashamed that I haven't done anything about the last 10 lbs. I put on. Maybe I'll start at my health club again – or start walking – now that spring is coming.
Congratulations, Loren. Sounds like we're both working at about the same pace. I've lost 22 pounds since the first of the year, and yes, it comes off the stomach last! ("First on, last off.") But I am wearing 36in slacks for the first time in a long, long time, and they're starting to feel loose.
Of course, I'm still heavier than you at 199, but I'm hoping to be down to about 180 by my 50th birthday on June 2nd.
I'm not stuck at a set weight, but I'm going to try to hold to this routine and diet until I get rid of more of the stomach.
Now that I've added weight lifting to my routine I'm wondering if I'll continue to get rid of fat without losing so much weight.
Congrats, Loren, and all this before the weather really kicks in.
Take consolation in the fact that belly fat is the absolute (pun intended) hardest to divest, be ye man or woman (and it's harder for women, believe me).
You're on the right path. Just keep on enjoying the scenery and sending us pictures.
Having walked with you a few times, and having trouble thinking of you as "fat" I am impressed with your determination and surprised to hear you were out of breath. I could barely keep up with you on the wetlands walk. I'm wondering now if you were just disguising your fatigue by pretending to stop and watch birds. I may be able to help you with that belly fat problem. Even without losing much weight, I cut an inch or two there just by using a Pilates ball faithfully. And you've got to stop reading that high calorie poetry by Jeffers.
No, Mike it's only when I walk Skye and try to keep up with him on the steepest hills that I've gotten winded.
I can walk fairly fast for extended periods on flat ground, and the wetlands, like Nisqually are remarkably flat. I find treadmills deadly dull unless they can be elevated enough to make them challenging.
I've never really considered myself fat, either, but I'm probably not in good enough shape even now to go backpacking up in Goat Rocks Wilderness without suffering a considerable amount of pain, and that's the goal I've set for myself this year, five days in the mountain wilderness carrying everything I need on my back.
Good for you – I'm working on it too, but so far have just gone up and down the same 5 lbs about 3 times since Christmas. And I don't even drink cokes!
fine, and I wish you the best.
That's great about your weight loss. Sounds like you did it the right way.


I will definitely be back in touch for more work on our basement, once we get this bill paid off on our line of credit!
Since we have not a hard rain since the work performed by your company, we have not yet been able to determine how effective your work has been in preventing further leakage at the crack in our foundation.
The estimate guy and the installer were so nice and answered all my questions, no matter how silly they were. They were very nice and professional. The office staff was knowledgeable and never made you feel like you were wasting their time. The install was quicker than I thought it would be and the guy showed me everything he did and explained how everything worked. Overall, If everything works as great at as it looks, I don't think I will be cleaning up water in our basement ever again!!!
Badger basement is a professional team. They know all about basements.
Still very satisfied with the work!
Comment: "they took there time and made sure everything was done correctly to perfection."
Comment: "on time as to when they said they would arrive. Called about 20 minutes ahead of when they were going to arrive."
Comment: "Would use them again in a heart beat!"
Comment: "Prompt response when calling about getting an estimate"
Thank you for taking care of our foundation problem so quickly!
I just had service done by Bill Hammer. He couldn't have been more professional and knowledgeable while servicing my Triple Safe System. Thank you.
We not only adhere to the highest industry standards, we strive to be the industry leader in the basement finishing services we provide. We also use state-of-the-art products and technology which are designed to upgrade your home with more living space in the basement. We are the authorized Basement Systems dealer in Poynette, WI.
Now that the windows are repaired, the concrete is in and the homeowner is going to refinish the walls, they can live worry free with these windows!
Repairing the wall will cover up the repairs to the foundation.
Now that the new concrete has been poured, the walls are ready to be refinished.


Life-long pursuit to bless through the creative arts.
We are a small-scale landscape design firm serving the great state of Arizona. Though smart, thoughtful landscape design is our primary focus and life-long passion, we pride ourselves on delivering highly-affordable ideas and working hand-in-hand with our Arizona neighbors. Whether your project is simple in scale, or complex and challenging, we will bring a creative eye that will match your family's needs and dreams.
Sonoran Shadows Design was found on the simple principle that each individual (all of us) is meant to bless the community with the gifts he/she has been given. Helping you and your family to dream-up a space that is right for you, and well-within your budget ... is the way that we accomplish living to that principle.
Brian is a landscape architectural designer with over 8-years experience in the worlds of design & construction. He has worked on a variety of projects, from urban streetscapes & city parks ... to commercial developments and a multitude of residential landscapes ... and is member of both the American Society of Landscape Architects (since 2006) and the Association of Professional Landscape Designers (since 2010). As an active Soldier of the Arizona Army National Guard, he has been involved as technical engineer & project manager for a number of range-development & training-facility construction projects throughout Arizona. With a deep passion for plants & people, he is a also a Maricopa-County Master Gardner, and enjoys rooting himself as a volunteer-advocate for smart, desert-friendly outdoor living as often as possible! Brian has a Bachelors of Science Degree (BSLA) in Landscape Architecture and a Bachelors of Arts (BA) in Design Studies of the Built Environment.


An almost non-existent and under-rated breakfast option, the 'Sabudhana Khichdi' (also known as 'Sago') may not mean much in terms of nutrition but a very delectable indian snack, easy to prepare. My earliest memories of it is having it on occasional Saturdays of the month when mom used to do a 'religious fast' and I got to enjoy this delicious snack! Unlike other Indian breakfast options, it is not too easy to find across indian eateries but a very popular dish in the western state of Maharashtra.
Many many years later, I decided that it was time to make it myselt. And it turned out better than I thought it would!
Simply delicious. One of my favourite comfort foods from India. And look at that, we use the same theme for our blogs!


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FDA Approves Pacritinib for Myelofibrosis and Thrombocytopenia
Pacritinib becomes the first treatment approved to specifically address the needs of patients with cytopenic myelofibrosis.
The FDA has granted accelerated approval to pacritinib (Vonjo) for adult patients with intermediate or high-risk primary or secondary (post-polycythemia vera or post-essential thrombocythemia) myelofibrosis with a platelet count below 50 × 109/L.1
Pacritinib becomes the first treatment approved to specifically address the needs of patients with cytopenic myelofibrosis, according to CTI BioPharma Corp, the developer of pacritinib.
"Today's approval of Vonjo establishes a new standard of care for myelofibrosis patients suffering from cytopenic myelofibrosis," John Mascarenhas, MD, associate professor of medicine, hematology, and medical oncology, at Tisch Cancer Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, stated in a press release. "Myelofibrosis with severe thrombocytopenia, defined as blood platelet counts below 50 × 109/L, has been shown to result in poor survival outcomes coupled with debilitating symptoms. Limited treatment options have rendered this disease as an area of urgent unmet medical need. I am pleased to see that a new, efficacious and safe treatment option is now available for these patients."
The approval was based on data from the phase 3 PERSIST-1 (NCT01773187) and PERSIST-2 (NCT02055781) trials, and the phase 2 PAC203 trial.2 In the PERSIST-2 trial, patients were administered pacritinib at a twice-daily dose of 200 mg. Twenty-nine percent of these patients showed a decrease in spleen volume of at least 30% vs 3% of those who received best available therapy (BAT), which included ruxolitinib (Jakafi). Further, 23% of patients had a reduction in total symptom scores of at least 50% compared 13% among patients administered BAT.
As part of the accelerated approval, CTI BioPharma will now be expected to demonstrate confirmatory findings of pacritinib in the phase 3 PACIFICA trial (NCT03165734), which is expected to have results in the middle of 2025.
The application for pacritinib was previously granted priority review designation, with an action date of November 30, 2021. However, the Prescription Drug User Fee Act action date was extended by 3 months to February 28, 2022.
"In the US, there are approximately 21,000 patients with myelofibrosis, two-thirds of which have cytopenias (thrombocytopenia or anemia), commonly resulting from the toxicity of other approved therapies," said Adam R. Craig, MD, PhD, president and chief executive officer of CTI Biopharma. "Severe thrombocytopenia, defined as a blood platelet count below 50 × 109/L, occurs in one-third of the overall myelofibrosis population, and has a particularly poor prognosis. With the approval of Vonjo, we are excited to now be able to offer a new therapy that is specifically approved for patients with cytopenic myelofibrosis."
CTI BioPharma announces FDA accelerated approval of VONJO™ (pacritinib) for the treatment of adult patients with myelofibrosis and thrombocytopenia. CTI BioPharma Corp. News release. February 28, 2022. https://prn.to/33ZY8lU
CTI BioPharma announces completion of rolling submission of new drug application (NDA) for pacritinib in myelofibrosis patients with severe thrombocytopenia. News release. CTI BioPharma Corp. March 31, 2021. Accessed February 28, 2022. https://prn.to/3dlvNY2


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Right after THE BIG HEAT, I ran as fast as my fat ass could move to get to Indiefest and RUMINATIONS. Fuck the Super Bowl, I'd rather watch a documentary about a wild and influential drag artist. Rumi Missabu was one of the founders of the famed Cockettes drag musical group in San Francisco. The film is a collage of his life. Art, drag performance, being roommates with Cindy Williams (from Laverne and Shirley, for you millennials out there,) to touching Andy Warhol and even stranger celebrity encounters. The inspiration of the Sunni poet Rumi. The drugs. The founding of the Cockettes. The Cockettes getting too big for their original vision. Fresh bread laced with cum. And then his later years, where he's got health problems but is also the top archivist of Cockettes material, which he is donating to the New York Museum of Modern Art (IIRC) and not to any local queer organizations (for reasons he won't discuss, beyond the fact that 10 years ago he definitely would have, but not now.) It's probably appropriate, given a life that seems to have gone everywhere possible, that it's impossible for me to appropriately summarize it. But I will say, nearly everyone who was interviewed on camera was laughing through every story they told. If you can live a life that leaves everyone laughing about your stories, I think you've done it right.
Then I caught another Indiefest retrospective, PASSING STONES was from Indiefest 2001, back in the pre-Jason days. And I've heard so much about this movie that it was built up to legendary proportions in my mind. And it fucking delivered. It's one of those underground, unpolished, indie films that just don't seem to exist anymore. Leon (writer/director/star Roger Majkowski) is a 30 year old "circulation manager" (i.e., paperboy.) One of his regulars, an old man, gives him his normal Christmas bonus envelope, then goes back inside and blows his brains out. Turns out, he got the wrong envelope. His family (who thought he died years ago) got a few buck. Leon got a ton of cash and a cryptic letter (in Polish) about how the rest of the money in underneath stone. So his fucked up family (him and his abusive brother) meet the dead guy's even more fucked up family--featuring a catatonic mother and a barking crack whore. All leading to buried treasure! Beautiful and insane. I'm so glad I finally saw this. Oh yeah, and the religious content in this movie was just insane.
But not as insane as the religious content in VIDAR THE VAMPIRE, a Norwegian horror-comedy about a devout Christian farmer and his strict mother. Vidar was mocked as a kid, told he will never get a girlfriend. Now as an adult...it's true. So he prays to Jesus to let him feel the pleasures of the flesh, rather than just the pages of a Playboy. And Jesus obliges, turning him into a vampire through an act of irrumatio (Google it, but maybe not at work.) Turns out, Vidar can't quite find a comfortable place as a whoremongering prince of darkness either, and so he seeks the help of a psychiatrist (the framing device of the movie.) It's all a wild, blasphemous ride about finding your own way in the world and how horribly you can twist the words of the Bible. My favorite of the festival so far.


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Comet, female character in manga/anime "Princess Comet"


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Q: Fixed numbers in a switch statement (Random) I'm new to Xcode and i'm really stuck.
I have a         UIProgressView which fills up with a UISwipeGestureRecognizer. I also have a switch statement. Now I want that only 7 ways to run (from the 242) while     progressTrue is false. If     progressTrue is true, so the UIProgressView is on 1.0, it should select new 7 cases randomly. Is something like that possible?
Thanks for any help!
-(void)vorgangDev {

int number = arc4random() % 242;

switch (number)  {

    case 0:
        question.text = @"Anlieferung/anliefern";
        answer.text = @"delivery, supply/deliver, supply";
        answer.hidden = YES;
        break;
    case 1:
        question.text = @"Artikel";
        answer.text = @"article, item";
        answer.hidden = YES;
        break;
    case 2:
        question.text = @"Artikelanzahl";
        answer.text = @"number of articles/ ~items";
        answer.hidden = YES;
        break;

//And so on...

}
Here I call vorgangDev.
if (progressTrue.progress == 1.0) {
    // The UIProgressView is full
    // if this is true do the question.

    CABasicAnimation* fade = [CABasicAnimation animationWithKeyPath:@"backgroundColor"];
    fade.fromValue = (id)[UIColor blackColor].CGColor;
    fade.toValue = (id)[UIColor colorWithRed:50/255.0f green:109/255.0f blue:43/255.0f     alpha:1.0f].CGColor;
    [fade setDuration:1];
    [self.view.layer addAnimation:fade forKey:@"fadeAnimation"];

    progressTrue.progress = 0.0;
    [self vorgangDev];


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BAA BAA BLACK SHEEP HAVE YOU ANY BEER? NEW EXCLUSIVE CASK PALE ALE LAUNCHING IN THE NORTH!
We're dead excited to welcome a brand new addition to our permanent selection of cask ales here at the Black Sheep!
So please welcome 'BAA BAA', our very first, permanent pale ale! The latest member of the flock is available exclusively on cask to pubs and bars throughout Yorkshire and the North East. So keep a look out on bars throughout the region in the near future to catch glimpse of the new arrival!
With an ABV of 4.0%, BAA BAA is an easy drinking and refreshing session pale ale brewed with heaps of Cascade hops. It's been launched in anticipation of our huge 25thanniversary, next year, and will be available to our lovely customers throughout the North from October 3rd.
Jo Theakston, Sales and Marketing Director here at the Black Sheep said: "Turning 25 next year will be a landmark anniversary for us at the Black Sheep and we're launching BAA BAA with pubs in our heartland area as a way to thank them for their continued support and offer them something new and special."
"Our award-winning brewing team have been coming up with a string of creative brews like BAA BAA that are proving to be a hit with pubs. BAA BAA is an easy drinking pale ale with a fresh, zesty twang, which we think will appeal to both ale and lager drinkers across the region."
He added: "We have already received a superb response to BAA BAA from pubs, and we're hoping drinkers give BAA BAA the thumbs up too!"
We're super thrilled to be welcoming BAA BAA as a high quality, session pale ale. It ticks all the boxes with a beautiful aroma, moreish palate and easy drinking character. So as of next week, BAA BAA will be available to pubs throughout the region. It really is one to keep an eye out for and we can't wait to hear your thoughts! For those of you visiting the brewery, BAA BAA will be on't baaa…r in the Visitor Centre from Monday 3rd!


A pretty lace fashionable bra. Cup has a stretch lace top and an embossed Simplex bottom with CoolMax fabric pockets. For maximum support and comfort, sizes 38C and larger have a rigid 3/4' straps. Smaller sizes have a 1/2" elastic stretch strap.


A society which meets weekly in order to help students with an interested in learning German to promote and improve their proficiency.
We meet every Wednesday 7:00-9pm in the Lyndsay bar on campus to develop German language skills, German culture and meet new people with fortnightly debating meets, and fun monthly socials.
Feel free to ask any questions you may have and share anything interesting you come across.
Join our group to keep updated with all things Keele German Society!


The opening of the NZ government-backed Kiwibank last week, and the Labour Government's decision to start backing new industries for the country, marks the end of economic rationalism as the country's ruling economic ideology.
These new policies represent the beginning of an attempt to rescue the nation's ailing economy, before New Zealand slips into Second or Third World status.
The new bank is setting up a small number of branches initially, to test its systems and procedures, before expanding its network in two or three months' time.
The new bank, underwritten by a $NZ78 million ($A65 million) government investment last year, is owned and operated by NZ Post. It effectively reverses a decision taken in the late 1980s when the Labour Government's Roger Douglas privatised the government-run Bank of New Zealand, which subsequently became a subsidiary of the National Australia Bank (NAB).
Already, two of Kiwibank's competitors, WestpacTrust and ANZ, have dropped their fees to compete, adding weight to widely-held views that the banks have been making excessive profits.
Other independent commentators have been positive about the new bank. Massey University lecturer, David Tripe, told the Dominion newspaper that the foundations of the new bank's operations came from the fact that they were operating out of NZ Post premises, and had been able to use more modern technology, which enabled it to process transactions more efficiently than its competitors. "People who anticipate that the whole thing is going to turn to custard by election time [late this year] are unduly hopeful of disaster," he commented.
The New Zealand Government's initiative reverses the trend towards privatisation, which has been pursued relentlessly by governments in both Australia and New Zealand for almost 20 years.
So as not to compete with the existing banks' corporate base, Kiwibank is targeted at personal, rather than corporate, banking.
The NZ Government seems to have decided that if the Government doesn't adopt an industry policy and start "backing winners", it will end up backing losers, like Air New Zealand, into which it was forced to invest $NZ885 million last year, to prevent it going bankrupt.


Picked a poor week to be away as regards energy news, and top of the list must be the decision of RWE and our old friend E.on not to proceed with the two nukes they were slated for in Huhne's masterplan of ten.
Budge will no doubt be sad and angry in equal measure but, well what did anyone expect of this pair of cash-strapped players from the land that has just turned its back on nukes altogether ? The surprise was that they carried on with the pretence for so long.
Likewise, it's mildly odd that the other equally cash-strapped nuclear pairing of Gaz de France / Suez and Iberdrola (Spain) are still ploughing on as if there is anything likely to come of it. If the French government is, for whatever reason (perhaps having its palm crossed with UK electricity customer's gold), inclined to underwrite a UK project, the vehicle will be EDF - with or without Centrica.
We are not too far from the point where the government will need to signal a headlong dash for gas. The power industry is poised to respond, with already-permitted sites ready to go: it always knew this was a highly plausible scenario, if not outright inevitable. The UK system of granting consents for new power plants involves a 5-year 'free option' to build (well, not quite free, but almost), so they get their planning permission in early, and see what happens.
It's not just the government that seems surprised and hurt. Gorgeous pouting Caroline Flint is 'disappointed'; and the would-be re-born UK nuclear industry (mostly the civil engineering bit of the supply chain, we can't do much else these days) is appalled - "it's a total train wreck". They have been led a merry dance by government and 'nuclear developers' alike, and can see it all coming to naught. But - he who would live by the subsidy must reckon to perish too, when the situation's inherent flaws become too much for the dreamers to bear. Put not thy faith in subsidies.
Is this to do with the loss of Huhne?
We're the builders convinced that their man was going to come up with pots of gold?
I note that Japan is gearing up to restart their reactors as fuel costs are killing the economy.
"I've spoken to sources at [Centrica and EDF], and they say there is a make-or-break decision to be made towards the end of the year by ministers - which is whether they are prepared to abandon their previous position that there won't be any substantial subsidies for nuclear, either from taxpayers or customers."
So Hendry & Co get one final roll of the subsidy dice according to the spinners leaking to Peston. Sounds plausible. But it will be after the French election by then, and EDF may no longer be under the cosh to make work for Areva, so it may be too late even for Hendry to save new UK nuclear.
NB Horizon (RWE & E.ON) were planning 4 EPRs or 6 AP1000s, making about 6,600 MWe. Half at Wylfa, then the other half at Oldbury, in the grand plan. Two sites, but more reactors.
quite a game of chicken, eh ?
Regarding the high costs of building a nuclear plant, what percentage of the costs is due to over regulation by government? From what I can see, if some of the regulations were relaxed it would not make the plants less safe but would reduce the cost by a reasonable amount.
Yes, ND, I will bite.
There are risks to Nuclear, and monitoring and alleviating those risks are what vastly increases the costs. But there are also risks to using Gas supplied by corrupt, unreliable foreign despots who at best could not care less about the UK and at worst consider us an ancient enemy.
Again you are trapped by the cultural English view that Johnny Foreigner has a duty to look after us. But why should EDF or GDF subsidise UK Nuclear? Of course they want the exceptional risk costs underwritten by us - they are not charities for the benefit of the UK. And foreign despots certainly don't see it as their duty to keep our lights on.
According to DECC (uses Mott McDonald) (http://www.decc.gov.uk/assets/decc/statistics/projections/71-uk-electricity-generation-costs-update-.pdf) Nuclear is more expensive than Gas (CCGT) but cheaper than anything else (Wind needs Gas back up doubling its cost).
Therefore we need Nuclear in the mix.
We subsidise roads. We subsidise hospitals.
Why not power stations? Infrastructure will never be profitable.
Long term, the countries with the most nuclear power stations will be the most prosperous.
We have vast stores of nuclear fuel crying out to be used.
ivan, Budgie, regulation and operational safety are quite a small expense for nuclear. The biggie is the cost of finance: loan/bond interest and equity dividends including the risk premium - i.e around 12%. In the western privatised environment cost of finance is about 70% to 75% of the per unit price of nuclear electricity.
You could argue (but after Fukushima that would be a bit daft) that the improvements in physical and engineering safety of the Generation III are unnecessary and we should essentially go back to the Generation II type safety of the 1970s, which would save a bit of capital, perhaps 20%. But that would in practice be abandoning all the current western designs and nuclear companies, and saying only the Chinese (CPR1000), South Koreans (APR1400) or Russians (VVER-1000 or 1200) would build new nuclear in Europe and USA.
ND, Yes, thank you, though I have mentioned Coal before. Coal and Gas suffer similar strategic problems: large volume transport and storage, wide fluctuations in fuel costs, long supply lines not controllable from the UK. Of course indigenous Shale and Coal take away some of those risks.
Subsidies ... hmmm. Generally I dislike subsidies. Would I pay the slightly higher cost of some Nuclear compared to all Gas? Yes, because I regard it as insurance, not subsidy.
Rwendland, I beg to differ: the entire design of Nuclear, the process, construction, operation, waste disposal and decommissioning are heavily governed by safety which adds considerable cost at every stage.
You seem to be saying a level of nuclear safety/regulation roughly equiv to the 1970's, or less, is acceptable. I don't think that is a runner at all now.
Other than in the design/construction of plants, any reduction in safety/regulation would only really reduce the 11% O&M costs a little - i.e. not a substantial change. Skimping on design/construction safety might save somewhere between 20% and 40% on capital I suppose, but I don't think we want to go there.
Rwendland, sorry missed your reply.
The high capital costs are a consequence of high build costs. High build costs are a result of the high levels of safety engineered into Nuclear plants.
Don't get hung up on the accountants' views, they just run along behind the builders adding up the costs.
So you want slightly modernised 1970s era reactors? The Chinese do a nice line in those (15+ building/built) - the CPR1000, a somewhat modernised French 1970s reactor. Better get your order in quick, as they will soon be moving onto western type Gen III designs.
Where on earth do you get "you want slightly modernised 1970s era reactors?" from?
I specified no such thing. In fact I did not specify any particular safety "level" at all.
I pointed out what I previously thought was uncontroversial: that the design and build (capital) cost of Nuclear is very high because of the safety that must be incorporated from the ground up (and below it).
Safety is not a matter of politicians' superficial regulations and it certainly cannot be separated out into a few cents in the dollar as though it was a bolt-on afterthought.
The design and construction of a gas train is not the same as that of a sodium moderator. And it won't cost the same either, even though both need their appropriate safety requirements built in.
Budgie, sorry, I thought you were talking about nuclear plant that could be deployed now by privately funded companies.
I take it from your "a gas train is not the same as that of a sodium moderator" you are talking about High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactors. But someone needs to build and run for a while a demonstrable near-commercial one of those, before it could realistically be viewed as buildable by a commercial company. About 20 years into the future, maybe.


Giving feedback is rarely something that we look forward to, but rather something we often avoid or mildly dread. Unfortunately, the word itself has become loaded with baggage. When we hear the word feedback, most of us think of it as a lightly-veiled, corporate euphemism for criticism. Despite the negative connotations, it's undeniable that feedback is a valuable tool for improving employee and management team performance. And part of the reason that we dread it so much is that we're doing it wrong. Here are some helpful tips that will assure that you provide feedback effectively.
Glassdoor just released their Top 50 Winners for Best Places to Work 2015, and they did so right on the heels of the US economy's best hiring month in three years. We're finally out of the hiring slump and the wheels of commerce are turning again. Along with this hiring increase has come a bolstered sense of confidence among the labor force, and those people who have been hunkered down at a job they don't particularly like are now starting to explore their options elsewhere. Is your company a place where your employees want to stay?


Description:Open source grid visualization e-service VizLitG is designed for convenient access and interactive visualization of remote data files located in grid.
Abstract:Open source grid visualization e-Service VizLitG is designed for convenient access and interactive visualization of remote data files located in grid. VizLitG is employed for visualization of scientific results computed on Lithuanian grid (LitGrid). VizLitG is build by Java and GlassFish. The message authentication over SSL mechanism is employed for security reasons. VizLitG includes automatic HDF5 data management and VTK visualization engine. Moreover, transfer of interactively selected parts of datasets located in experimental Storage Element has been implemented. Main features of VizLitG * Remote instrumentation provided by Java EE and GlassFish. * HDF5 data management and interactive data selection based on GUI. * Interactive construction of visualization network (described by XML). * Visualization engine is based on VTK toolkit. * Visualizations can be grouped in several viewports. * Full interactivity including VTK widgets is provided by GVid. * Full file transfer from SE by means of LFC (LCG) and GridFTP. * Visualization of interactively selected parts of datasets transferred from experimental SE by using JAX-WS.


This app looks at the carbon intensity of the energy produced by different generation sources. The lifetime emissions associated with the extraction of fuel and the building and decommissioning of the power plants is not considered in this app for any generation type (fossil fuel, renewable or nuclear).
Nuclear energy does not produce CO2 when plants are generating electricity. The "banding" of the forecasting screen, and recommendations for when to use electricity or not, are based solely on carbon intensity. Therefore this app will promote the use of electricity during times with a relatively high amount of nuclear energy.


text:
Government's plan for universities and schools – the story so far
Bongekile Macupe
Higher education, science and innovation minister Blade Nzimande has appointed a chief executive and a 13-member board for the National Student Financial Aid Scheme . (Delwyn Verasamy/M&G)
READ ALL OUR CORONAVIRUS COVERAGE
Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande has called on all tertiary institutions to immediately suspend all contact lecturers as the country deals with the Covid-19 pandemic.
Nzimande made the announcement at the ministerial briefing in Pretoria where an inter-ministerial task team held an information briefing on Sunday after President Cyril Ramaphosa's announcement of a national disaster and plans to deal with the coronavirus.
A number of universities had already suspended classes and tests.
Vice-chancellor Nana Poku announced on Sunday evening that the University of KwaZulu-Natal had suspended the academic programme with immediate effect until further notice. The April graduation ceremonies were also cancelled.
The University of Cape Town, which also has a positive case of Covid-19, announced on Sunday evening that it had suspended lectures and ended the first term immediately rather than waiting until Saturday. The university is yet to confirm when the second term, which was to have started on March 30, will commence.
All students were instructed to vacate the residences within 72 hours. But this move was rejected by the student representative council (SRC). The student body encouraged students to occupy their residences and not leave.
"It cannot be that at this time of the month students are expected to book buses and flights home. It is an elitist, anti-black move that affects more than it assists," the SRC said in a statement.
Also on Sunday, Rhodes University announced it had suspended all its academic activities until further notice.
North West University said classes will continue pending the outcome of the discussions with Nzimande and vice-chancellors.
On Monday, the University of Pretoria said it has postponed all tests and assessments and was in the process of finalising plans on contact activities.
The University of Limpopo also announced on Monday that it had suspended its academic activities until further notice, and that students were expected to vacate residences by Tuesday afternoon.
The University of Zululand said all academic activities have been suspended until further notice and that the Easter break, which was to have started on March 23, will now begin on Tuesday and that a re-opening date will be announced in due course.
The university said students at the Richards Bay campus should vacate their rooms or self-isolate in their rooms to curb the spread of the virus.
Nelson Mandela University also announced that it will be suspending its academic activities and has postponed graduation until further notice. The university also said that it will use online or virtual learning, and other alternative platforms until after the Easter weekend.
Stellenbosch university has also suspended its academic activities until further notice. Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga said she will formally give notice of the change of the school calendar. This is after Ramaphosa announced that schools will close on March 18, instead of March 20. The opening date was to have been March 31, but this has changed to April 14.
Nzimande said he was aware that events on the ground were moving fast and that various institutions had taken matters into their own hands. He will meet universities' leaders on Tuesday to look at a comprehensive plan.
"But let me highlight what we've agreed upon in the light of what the president had said … we are encouraging that all institutions should immediately suspend all contact lectures, as well as minimise contact among students," said Nzimande.
"But we are not as yet planning a shutdown, because there are pros and cons to actually shutting down the institution completely. Where do you take the students moving them out of the residence and how do we deal with that? That's a matter that we'll discuss tomorrow [Tuesday] as to whether the situation does warrant the shutting down."
Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga said she will formally give notice of the change of the school calendar. This is after Ramaphosa announced that schools will on March 18, instead of March 20. The opening date was to have been March 31, but this has changed to April 14.
She said it was agreed at a meeting on Monday morning with education MECs that the June and September holidays will be shortened to make up for the lost 10 days.
Motshekga said heads of departments are yet to meet to discuss other ways of dealing with the closure of schools and by Wednesday a more comprehensive plan will be announced.
"We've also sent notice to schools that they should, as I say, take take advantage of the long break than anticipated that schools must give children more worksheets to work with families, to give them their books … So those are the arrangements which are done school by school to make sure that children go home with lots of work at home and we appeal to communities and homes to assist them."
She added that if this school holiday goes beyond 10 days the year might be extended by a week to make sure that the curriculum is covered.
The Mail & Guardian reported on Sunday evening that teacher unions have welcomed the closure of schools for the safety of children and teachers.
Motshekga said this was a national disaster and "we are expecting everybody to step up. The disaster is for all of us and parents have to participate."
"There is no way we can take care of 12 million kids outside the education system infrastructure and therefore we rely on communities and parents in particular to step in and make sure that they work with social development and everybody else … But we are not going to do anything different outside of what we normally do; we are not going to have special programmes; we are not going to run feeding schemes. We have accessed our capacity and we will not be able to do it."
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Bongekile Macupe is an education reporter at the Mail & Guardian.
Angie Motshekga
Blade Nzimande
coronavirus South Africa
Cyril Ramaphosa
Department Of Basic Education
Nana Poku
Nelson Mandela University
Schools South Africa
South African Universities
University Of Kwazulu Natal
University Of Limpopo
University Of Zululand
Editorial: Education failures are a failure for us all
Time for Africa to take control of its own health
Schools show shortfalls amid Covid-19 pandemic
Zoonotic viruses: Protect bats to protect people
Vaccine conundrums to keep one up at night
Public shaming of alleged Covid rule breakers sparks backlash in China
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New era of health science for Africa as NantSA launches...
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The first locally manufactured Covid-19 vaccine from the new facility, which is based in Cape Town, is expected within the next year
Eunice Stoltz
SAA to revive Durban route
The beleaguered national carrier resumed flights between Johannesburg and Cape Town last September after exiting business rescue
Sarah Smit
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'Partygate': A timeline of Boris Johnson's latest scandal
The UK Prime Minister defended some of the events — quickly dubbed "partygate" since they were reported in newspapers from late last year — as work gatherings.
Freedom of speech wins over right to privacy in court...
The supreme court of appeal says an animal rights activist had the right to 'out' a farmer on Facebook.
sheree bega
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