text:
package com.minus.util;

import java.io.File;
import java.io.FileInputStream;
import java.io.FileNotFoundException;
import java.io.IOException;

public class FileUtils {

	private FileUtils() {
		//Prevents of instantiation
	}
	/**
	 * Gets the extension of a filename.
     * This method returns the textual part of the filename after the last dot.
     * There must be no directory separator after the dot.
     *
	 * @param file - the file to retrieve the extension
	 * @return the extension of the file or an empty string if none exists or null if the filename is null.
	 */
	public static String getExtensionFile(File file)
	{
		if(file == null) {
			throw new NullPointerException("File is null");
		}
		String url = file.getName();
		String[] urlSplit = url.split("/");
		String filename = urlSplit[urlSplit.length - 1];
		String[] nameSplit = filename.split("[.]");
		StringBuffer fileExtension = new StringBuffer();
		// to prevent appending . after extension type
		if (nameSplit.length > 1) {
			for (int index = 1; index < nameSplit.length; index++) {
				if (index != nameSplit.length - 1)
					fileExtension.append(nameSplit[index] + ".");
				else
					fileExtension.append(nameSplit[index]);
			}
		} else {
			fileExtension.append(nameSplit[0]);
		}
		return fileExtension.toString();
	}

	public static FileInputStream openInputStream(File file) throws IOException
	{
        if (file.exists()) {
            if (file.isDirectory()) {
                throw new IOException("File '" + file + "' exists but is a directory");
            }
            if (file.canRead() == false) {
                throw new IOException("File '" + file + "' cannot be read");
            }
        } else {
            throw new FileNotFoundException("File '" + file + "' does not exist");
        }
        return new FileInputStream(file);
    }

}


text:
ReemaFaris.com
the comfort of why
Posts Tagged 'tutorials'
Connections? Priceless
In today's opening essay for Q, the CBC radio show, host Jian Ghomeshi remembered Roger Ebert and the interview he conducted with the famed film critic a year ago.
Jian described how concerned he'd felt about his ability to connect with Mr. Ebert in the studio given the latter's health challenges. "I needn't have," he said.
His words this morning paid tribute to the man, but they also served as a testament to the power of connection.
Listening to Jian made me reflect on my own feelings now that the spring term at SFU is drawing to a close. I'm not completely disentangled from my teaching obligations yet: I'm expecting final essays from my students next week.
But there are no further lectures for the course and no remaining tutorials. And that makes me wistful.
Because the end of the term represents a loss. The connections I've forged with my students after thirteen weeks of working together are now tenuous if not severed. I may have gained back time for my own work and my other commitments, but I am no longer a part of these particular journeys, the unfolding lives of these particular individuals.
Since my first stint as a TA, I've connected with approximately 120 students. 120 students from a variety of faculties and departments, given the way course requirements are structured at SFU, and 120 students who represent the gamut of undergraduate experience.
Aside from the occasional encounter on campus, I don't know where they are now or what they are doing or how they are faring.
When I walk around the Burnaby campus now, a movie reel of sorts plays out in my mind: momentary flashes of memories, frames filled with faces, snippets of conversations, disappointments, and noted accomplishments.
The characters of my movies are students: those with strong opinions, those with a sense of humour, those who struggled, those who exceeded their own expectations, and those who were observers yet offered so much when they found the courage to voice their opinions.
The plot revolves around classic texts of Western civilization and delving for insights into the human condition, then and now. Work on writing, developing critical thinking skills, and trying my best to impart the importance of questioning.
A few students have reconnected via LinkedIn and others lurk on Twitter, but these electronic tentacles, in my mind, pale in comparison to the strength of the collective experience of an in-person weekly seminar or a personal visit during office hours.
My experience at SFU has strengthened my belief that the most critical factor in teaching and learning is the personal aspect. Technology may carry us forward into a brave new world where the nature of human interaction is fundamentally altered forever, and learning is transformed into something which I am not yet able to imagine, but for now it remains as it always has been.
The value of educational experiences rests predominantly, as it does for radio interviews, on human connections.
My tweets:
Tweets by @rmfaris
© 2021 ReemaFaris.com | Powered by Beaver Builder

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


What Are The Uses Of Evening primrose oil?
Treats rheumatoid arthritis, premenstrual syndrome (PMS), atopic dermatitis, asthma, breast pain during menstruation, psoriasis, osteoporosis, multiple sclerosis, heart disease, heart disease, Raynaud's, Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, ulcerative colitis, irritable bowel syndrome, peptic ulcer disease, gastrointestinal disorders.
Relieves itching disorder, whooping cough, hot flashes.
Reduces obesity, hyperactivity in children and symptoms of attention deficit – hyperactivity syndrome.
What Are The Contraindications Of Evening primrose oil?
Hypersensitivity towards evening primrose oil or any other allergies.


text:
Ouled Mimoun (în ) este o comună din provincia Tlemcen, Algeria.
Populația comunei este de 26.389 de locuitori (2008).

Note

Comune din provincia Tlemcen

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Huge Crowds Line Mar-a-Lago Streets to 'Welcome Home' Donald Trump
Ivy League Jihad: Nearly 70% Of Brown University Undergrads Vote For Boycott of Jews
By Pamela Geller - on March 25, 2019
This reminds me of the officers of the Einsatzgruppen, Hitler's SS. The brownshirts were special elite SS mobile formations tasked with carrying out the mass murder of Jews, communist functionaries, and others deemed unfit to live by the Nazis. The Einsatzgruppen officers were carefully selected by SS-Obergruppenführer und General der Polizei as well as chief of the Reich Main Security Office Reinhard Heydrich from the best educated. They were "men of letters." Three of the four commanders held a doctorate, whilst one was a double PhD.
Think of it – think of what Iran does to its gays, its women. Think of the islamic Republic of Sudan's unspeakable savagery. Think of Mauritania, where 80% of its black population is enslaved by Muslim overlords. Think of the human rights abuses in North Korea, China, Saudi Arabia et al, and America's Ivy Leaguers single out …. the Jew.
Undergraduates at Ive League Brown University voted overwhelmingly (69%) to divest from the only Jewish state on the planet, Israel.
No word on when they plan to vote to divest from Saudi Arabia, which owns GIANT chunks of twitter, Facebook, and Google.
The students at Brown University are only singling out Jews.
Dear Brown University Community,
It is with immense honor and excitement that we announce the successful passing of the Brown Divest referendum today on March 21st, 2019. The referendum passed with 69% of the vote, and the voter turnout today was one of the highest in the history of elections held by the Undergraduate Council of Students: 3,076 students voted. Today is a historic day for Brown as we take an emboldened and clear stand against the university's complicity in human rights abuses in Palestine and in similar systems of oppression across the world.
Today, we join other universities such as Swarthmore, NYU, UCLA, George Washington University, and others who have had similar successful campaigns. We also become the first Ivy League university to pass a divestment referendum on Palestine and look forward to seeing others follow our lead.
This referendum not only represents a decisive stance on this issue, but a years-long mobilization and unification of a diverse coalition of student groups around this campus. This campaign would not have been possible if we had not united as a community.
The members of Brown Divest view this referendum neither as a beginning nor an end of our struggle for justice. We will continue this momentum and come together as a community to hold the administration accountable to the outcome of this referendum.
Until then and with love,
Brown Divest
The left is the home for attacks on Jews.
Of course, progressives and islamists [sic] rejoiced!
Brown passes a divestment referendum with a stunning 69% in favor!
Much appreciation to the wonderful crew of organizers within Brown Divest, SJP, and all the allied groups who made this a reality pic.twitter.com/KKHWczVZWi
— Remi Kanazi (@Remroum) March 22, 2019
Brown became the first Ivy League to pass a pro-#BDS referendum, with an incredible 69% of the voters for it, with one of the highest election turnouts in student history. I am proud of the #BrownDivest campaign ! https://t.co/pAWDIIpLhM
— Alienated Asya (@AsyaIgmen) March 23, 2019
Yesterday, Brown became the first Ivy League to pass a pro-#BDS referendum, with an incredible 69% of the voters for it, with one of the highest election turnouts in student history. The campaign, #BrownDivest, was incredible – they held multiple public discussion forums,
— SC Author (@badgaltranny) March 23, 2019
Congratulations to my friends in Brown Divest! I'm glad I criticized a few of these companies when I spoke at a @BrownSJP event last November. 🎆 https://t.co/bP7efguRDH
— Joe Catron 🇻🇪🌹🇵🇸 (@jncatron) March 23, 2019
The administration will reject the measure, but that's hardly the point. What happens when this administration ages out, and the radical progressive bigots they're empowering become the administration? Then the Jews are toast.
A shout-out to Brown Univ President for rejecting anti-Israel student vote that would have called for the school to divest from companies that do business w/Israel. We support admin position that education/intellectual exchange should not be politicized by BDS movement.
— B'nai B'rith Int'l (@BnaiBrith) March 22, 2019
Liberal Jews bear tremendous responsibility for this unchecked intolerance. They kept their mouths shut in the name of intersectionality, and remained silent while all the pain was being directed toward Republicans and conservatives. Now the alligator has come for them. Will any of these liberal J-Street Jews turn to their conservative counterparts for solidarity now? Can they after all the pain and suffering they've helped enable against the rest of the community?


In good condition. All pages are intact and very clean. Has no missing pages, marks, highlighting, or notes. Issue: the plastic cover was not properly put (seen in 3rd photo), cover had folds, and the cover is minimally dirtied.


In one simple step, this purifying cleanser creates the sensation of water-fresh cleansing without the water. Moringa Seed extract gently rinses-away impurities and light make-up with a fresh, non-foaming action. Precious Mint Essential Water purifies and tones leaving oily or combination skin looking radiant and feeling revived.


Thanks to the overwhelming generosity of our supporters, we were able to contribute £1.1 million towards the costs of a much-needed new facility.
We have worked with our friends at CLIC Sargent to establish a new home from home for the families of children being treated at University College London Hospital.
Paul's House, named after Paul O'Gorman, opened in September 2010. More than 200 children and teenagers with cancer are treated at UCLH every year. Only one third are from the London area, with the remainder travelling from all over the south east of England.


CAT, the Content Annotation Tool (formerly known as CELCT Annotation Tool), is a general-purpose web-based text annotation tool.
The aim of the tool is to make the annotation activity as intuitive as possible, supplying, at the same time, a rich set of features. The main strengths of CAT are flexibility, usability and customizability. It also supports multi-layer annotation in order to combine the annotation of several linguistic/semantic levels. It provides a standardized XML stand-off output format to help convertibility, and it contains useful features for searching in files and for measuring inter-annotator agreement between two or more annotators.
CAT is freely available for research purposes.
EVENTI task at EVALITA 2014 evaluation campaign.


There's something awfully satisfying about kicking off a new season of theatregoing at the Shakespeare Theatre. After a long and stultifyingly dull summer, at last!- back to what I love. And what better way to start their 25th Anniversary Season of comedies than with a new David Ives transladaptation (his term, not mine) of a classic French comedy?
"The Heir Apparent" is an evening of great fun. I've spoken here on several occasions about the perils of modern verse adaptations- it's a delicate and tricky balance between making clever rhymes and falling into the overly self-consciousness. By and large, Ives succeeds in finding the balance between having fun and keeping the sense of things. He's also been very wise in how he's adapted events in the plot, particularly as he finds wonderful new moments for the talented cast assembled by director Michael Kahn.
Let's do speak of that cast. Floyd King's marvelously contorted face on the cover of the playbill is a glorious preview of what's to come. As ever, King has superb comic timing and displays masterly ability to raise a laugh with one long look or twitch of his face. He's well matched with Nancy Robinette; the only flaw in her performance is that there isn't more of it to enjoy.
There are also a trio of newcomers that deserve special attention in their STC debuts. Carson Elrod is, as they say, a hoot and a half (or do only I say that anymore?) as the witty and wily servant Crispin. Elrod is able to boom across the stage in larger than life disguises just as easily as he can dial his performance back down to normality and still hold the audience's attention. Andrew Veenstra as Crispin's employer, Eraste, more than holds his own in a role that might otherwise be overwhelmed by the size of the other comic performances on stage, and Kelly Hutchinson provides the necessary grounding in reality as the servant Lisette. If I had my druthers, I'd love to see these actors return to the STC stages in future productions.
For those familiar with their work, it should come as no surprise that the design of the show is fantastic, from Alexander Dodge's sets to Murell Horton's costumes. Michael Kahn's direction shows why he's earned his reputation in American theatre, and why his classical theatre company has thrived for twenty-five seasons. Well done, Mr. Kahn, and I can't wait to see what comes next. For all of our readers searching for a fun night out that combines high art and scatalogical jokes (and who ISN'T in the mood for that?), "The Heir Apparent" is just what you've been looking for.


text:
Q: Is there a way to pass the cypress.io baseUrl env var into my package.json run scripts? I want to be able to pass the baseUrl from the cypress.json file into the scripts of the package.json file for my cypress test project.  Is this possible?
I have been looking at the cypress documentation and stack overflow but I cannot find a solution that does not require adding another script to do something like "get-base-url": "type cypress.json | jq -r .baseUrl" and pass this script as an argument into the relevant "test" script (see below)
cypress.json file
{
  "baseUrl": "http://localhost:3000/",
  //other key-value pairs
  }
}

package.json scripts section
{
//other settings
  "scripts": {
//other scripts
    "test": "start-server-and-test website:dev http://localhost:3000 cy:run",
  },
//other settings
}

I anticipated there would be an equivalent to Cypress.config().baseUrl, to get the value of the baseUrl in the json file.
Resulting in something similar to the following (sudo-code, doesnt work)
{
//other settings
  "scripts": {
  //other scripts
    "test": "start-server-and-test website:dev ${baseUrl} cy:run",
  },
//other settings
}

NB: I have not posted on Stack Overflow before, so I apologise if I have not given enough info and/or missed something in the rules.

A: scripts capability is limited. You need a small script to receive baseUrl from cypress.json and pass it into the start-server-and-test package
Let's say we create a script called start-server-and-test.js with the following code and put it under the scripts directory
const cypressConfig = require('../cypress.json') // line 1
const startServerAndTest = require('start-server-and-test') // line 2
const [startScript, testScript] = process.argv.slice(2) // line 3
startServerAndTest({  // line 4
  start: `npm ${startScript}`,
  url: cypressConfig.baseUrl,
  test: `npm ${testScript}`,
})

Here is how we use it in package.json
{
  "scripts": {
    "test": "node scripts/start-server-and-test.js website:dev cy:run",
  },
}

Short explanation:

*

*Line 1: read cypress.json and assign to cypressConfig which you can access baseUrl later by cypressConfig.baseUrl

*Line 3: retrieve arguments in the command-line which are ['website:dev', 'cy:run']

*Line 4: Run the package with corresponding parameters

A: Just wanted to elaborate on Hung Tran's solution above for 2021:
/* eslint-disable @typescript-eslint/no-var-requires */
require("dotenv").config();

const startServerAndTest = require("start-server-and-test");
const [startScript, testScript] = process.argv.slice(2);

startServerAndTest.startAndTest({
  services: [{ start: `npm run ${startScript}`, url: process.env.CYPRESS_BASE_URL }],
  test: `npm run ${testScript}`,
});

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Ah, even for me Christmas break is over now…. time to look back and forward at the same time. Normally I love this time of the year. I'm someone who always have a lot of resolutions for the new year… even after nearly 50 years I can't stop this thing. I'm a planer in my heart, nothing to do. As I was ill during the holidays I'm a bit late this year… but better later than never!
I meditated a bit about this fact… that I spend most of my time knitting garments, but the projects I'm the happiest with are none knitting-none garment projects…I looked at my Ravelry account and the index showed that I made over the last 8 years 132 garments in total, among them 50 cardigans and 28 pullovers, 3 dresses etc. I think I can say that knitting a garment is now longer a real challenge for me, I don't need more garments anyway and worse, as I'm a fast knitter and I can knit a cardigan in 2 or 3 weeks if necessary… but what for? Sometimes I feel like a kind of "knitting machine" and that I loose a bit the sense of all this….and that's not only valuable for knitting.
I feel like I've fallen into a grown-up mindset and that I'm always try to achieve things. To get things done. To move things forward. I feel like I don't have the space to experiment, or the time. I write lists that say things like "do this, do that". I wake up and I start to cross things off. Using time to play is something that has disappeared off my list of things to do – no time!
I think in 2019 I need to slow down and make a drastic change.
I want have time for what's really important — relationships, meaningful work, solitude and silence, taking care of myself. Is this really too much to ask?
Yes, perhaps the words PLAY and EXPLORE and SLOW DOWN could be my guidelines of the year 2019.
Focus 2019: Weaving. I want this to be my weaving year. I want to continue weaving with my Riggid Heddle Loom, learn tapestry weaving and buy a 4-Shaft-Loom. Take some lessons, make a formation if possible and explore! I want especially to work with my handspun yarns, weave them and sew the fabric afterwards.
New technique to explore: Embroidery. I think every month a new stitch should be possible without too much stress.
Spinning: I bought the book "51 yarns" from Jacey Boggs Faulkner, that contains ideas for 51 different yarns to spin. And I found a group on Ravelry/Youtube "Wool n'Spinning" ,which makes a KAL over two years to work through this book. This seams a lot of experimentation and fun, I'll try to follow without too much stress. There is another KAL around spinning/knitting in the "Elfenwollegroupe". Here the idea is to spin sock-yarn and knit up hand spun socks. Some would make every month a pair of socks out of hand spun yarn, too much for me this year I think… but perhaps 6 pairs of hand spun socks with different techniques?
Sewing: I've some garments in mind, but I don't want to spend too much time with garment sewing in fact. From time to time, things I'll really use… perhaps. I think I'll sew more decoration objects and bags than garments….
So, if someone is still here… I hope you're not too disappointed about this incoherent thoughts without real conclusion… without a final collage of projects I want to make.
J'aime bien ta philosophie pour cette année 2019 ! De belles réalisations en perspectives… S'amuser, ne pas se mettre la pression et repenser le fondamental.
Et voilà! Tu le formule beaucoup mieux que moi et surtout plus court!! Oui, c'est exactement cela!
Happy New Year! I should adopt a similar goal–slow down! I want to do all the things, all at once, and I think I just end up stressing myself out rather than slowing down and enjoying them.


The 32 oz. Double Wall Stainless Oasis Growler, introduced this year, is now available in unlimited colors. Powder coated colors are available in gloss, matte and transparent finishes.
Custom colors are available, along with a long list of stock colors, on both the 32 oz. Oasis Growler and the 18 oz. Traveler bottle/coffee thermos. Both vessels are double wall vacuum insulated, and will keep beverages cold for 24 hours, and hot for 12 hours. Beer + Football + Team Colors - It doesn't get any better than this. Made by CanteenZ, exclusively for ClearWater Gear.
Case pack: 12 | Case weight: 16 lbs. | Capacity: 32 oz.


text:
Tellurium Q Iridium SOCA
By realspin / October 26, 2014 / amplification / One comment
Another of British hi-fi's great 'what ifs', this Tellurium Q power amplifier arrived on the scene in 2012, and promised so much. This newish British company isn't prone to bouts of hyperbole, rather the excitement came from it being a Colin Wonfor design – originally of Inca Tech fame and one of the industry's many eccentric geniuses. This is the reason that the SOCA sounds so good; sadly though it is no longer on sale.
Here we have a very heavy, rather ugly and bulbous stereo power amplifier. It's a DC-coupled design using Colin's preferred MOSFETs, paralleled up and producing a modest 18W RMS per channel, thanks to its full Class A single-ended operation. It gets very hot in use, not quite as sizzling as a Musical Fidelity A1 thankfully, but that's the exception to the rule. Damping factor is said to be 93, which is unusually high and it sounds quite unusual for a Class A amplifier as a result, as we shall see…
You do need sensitive loudspeakers; there's no way you can skirt the issue. I tried a range but found it worked exceptionally well with Cambridge Audio AeroMax 6s; a little cheaper than you might expect, but they proved a famous combination. I used the MF Audio Passive Preamplifier for volume control duties, and again it was a heroically fine sounding result. The SOCA isn't the world's swishest finished product; were it Japanese then key staff would doubtless be expected to resign over the casework. But this is to miss the point, its sound is exceptional.
This amplifier is wonderfully fluid and mellifluous in a way that almost no other solid-state amplifiers are, it has an incredibly beguiling sound that sidles its way into your soul and keeps you absolutely enraptured. Tonally it's clean and smooth and sweet; it's neither syrupy nor stark. Bass is unexpectedly tight, providing the amplifier isn't asked to drive a stiff load. Midband is as clear as optical glass and yet never sounds shiny, plated or artificial; female vocals are a revelation; you get the sense that this is how great valve amplifiers should sound. Some do, but most don't. Treble is spacious, airy and sweet. For the price, it sounds remarkable.
Brilliant sound isn't enough, though. The amplifier was withdrawn from sale soon after it went to market. The reasons are complex, but essentially the company decided it wanted a quiet life and should be concentrating on its core competence, which is of course fine sounding interconnects. The SOCA always had a feel of a special project, and Tellurium Q's MD Geoff Merrigan once confessed to me that he never really expected it to make money, even at its £4,800 retail price. Sure enough it didn't and took the company away from where it needed to be. That means they're currently a great second-hand buy, but I suspect they will fast disappear from the used market as the owners realise just what a rare beast they actually have.
Tags: 2012, Colin Wonfor, Tellurium Q Class A, Tellurium Q SOCA
Colin Wonfor
The new DIY PCB,s are now ready to build your own SECA, later this year there will be available a new affordable range of SECA power amps and Pre-Amps.


The woman who came forward about Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) emotionally and physically abusing her has said the Democratic Party "smeared, threatened [and] isolated" her after she went public with the allegations.
Karen Monahan's has received no support from the Democrats who have shunned her while expressing support for the woman accusing Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault, saying they find her allegations credible but not Monahan's.
Monahan on Monday tweeted that Democrats have not stood by her.
She wrote that coming forward was a "huge piece of my healing." Monahan in the tweets tagged the Democratic National Committee and the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party.
Monahan, who is an environmental activist and Rep. Keith Ellison's (D-Minn.) ex-girlfriend, has said Ellison emotionally abused her and, at least once, physically abused her.
Texts reviewed by multiple news outlets show that Karen Monahan mentioned the instance of alleged physical abuse to Ellison, though he did not respond to the text.


2011: Teorije zavjera i hrvatska politička zbilja 1980 – 2007. Zagreb: Plejada / Conspiracy Theories and Croatian political reality 1980 – 2007.
2016: co-editorship of the book with Zlatan Krajina: EU, Europe Unfinished Europe and the Balkans in a Time of Crisis. London & New York: Rowman & Littlefield International.
2016: Can Western Europe Be at Home in the Balkans? Coautorship with Slavenka Drakulić, David Morley and Zlatan Krajina. In Zlatan Krajina & Nebojša Blanuša (eds.) EU, Europe Unfinished Europe and the Balkans in a Time of Crisis. London & New York: Rowman & Littlefield International: 217 – 237.
2015: Croatia between the "return" to Europe and the "remaining" in the Balkans. In Pero Maldini and Davor Pauković (eds.) Croatia and the European Union. Farnham: Ashgate: 62-92.
2015: Crypts and Phantoms of Croatian War Film. In Zoran Kurelić (ed.) Violence, Art and Politics. Zagreb: Faculty of Political Science.
2017: Trauma and Taboo: Forbidden political Questions in Croatia. Croatian Political Science Review. 54:1-2: 170-196.
2015: Political Cynicism and Kynicism of Croatian Citizens. Profiles of Political Thinking and Behavior. European Quarterly of Political Attitudes and Mentalities. 4:3, 1-29.
2014: Political Unconscious of Croatia and the EU: tracing the Yugoslav syndrome through Fredric Jameson's lenses. Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies. 16:2, 196 – 222.
2013: Internal memory divided: Conspiratorial thinking, ideological and historical cleavages in Croatia – lessons for Europe. European Quarterly of Political Attitudes and Mentalities. 2:4.
2011: Depathologized Conspiracy Theories and Cynical Reason: Discursive Positions and Phantasmatic Structures. Politička misao, (48) 1: 94-107.


text:
Shiva Ravi
Shiva, a graduate in Electrical and Electronics Engineering, had an exciting Oil Industry career for over a decade exploring ocean bed through marine seismology. Being an Instrumentation specialist in International waters, he found his passion for data visualization while working with binary seismic data. Recently, in a short stint as a Technical Asset Manager, he discovered Tableau to manage the ridiculously diverse scientific equipment in the Global marine warehouse. He refers to inventory planning as finding a needle in the haystack, and Data analytics is like having a wand in hand. In a quest for learning, Shiva found Data school, which paved the way for the most-awaited career switch as Data Analyst. He is currently pursuing Masters in AI (Part-time) from Western Sydney University, and in his spare time, you can spot him cycling, running or designing logos. Recently, he tried his hand in cooking and took an interest in exploring cuisines. If there is something he cannot live without, that would be coffee!
Dashboard Week | Day 4 : Solar Data (Sydney)
by Shiva Ravi | Jul 9, 2021 | Shiva Ravi, The Data School
Note: I'm a big supporter of Sustainability and Green Energy, However, this dashboard is to highlight the importance of the solar panel recycling capacity Australia require in the immediate future and the investment to develop better technology. After the refreshing...
Dashboard Week | Day 1: NSW Roadworks -Who gets the Lion's share?
Today is day one of Dashboard week. We were given a set of NSW Transport API and asked to create an Insight Dashboard from it. Since I have used a car park API from TfNSW API for my earlier session, I wanted to explore further and combine it with other API data set to...
Tableau Tip : 3 Simple ways to shade between lines
by Shiva Ravi | May 9, 2021 | Shiva Ravi, The Data School
Shading between Lines in Tableau makes your simple visualization looks cool. While there is a detailed post on Shading between lines using LOD's from DataSchool UK - Click Here, I tried to give a shot on this in three ways - Table Calculation , Simple Calculated...
Connecting to API using OAuth 2.0 from ALTERYX
by Shiva Ravi | May 2, 2021 | Alteryx, Shiva Ravi, The Data School
After a week of intensive training on API, web scrapping and Spatial in Alteryx, on Friday morning, we were tasked to present a dashboard demonstrating all the above by 3PM. There were plethora of ideas floating in my mind and converging to one was indeed a challenge....
Looking to become a Data Analyst mid-career?
by Shiva Ravi | Apr 13, 2021 | Shiva Ravi
"Hi! I am Shiva. We tested our new Rehoboam, the world's most powerful AI droid, to predict stock market indices 15 minutes in future and have successfully reaped millions of profit." This has been a dream for both day and night for the past few years ever since I...


text:
Portfolio: Maya Chowdhry
an activist and an artist," explains Maya Chowdhry. "Both are equally important
to me: art is one way I'm an activist." Integral to all her work – be it
written or visual, installation or digital – is that the audience becomes
involved in some way. "Through this interaction people become activated to do
something, an action that contributes to changing the world for the better."
recent work, Ripple, produced for
GFEST in collaboration with Sarah Hymas, comprises three sculptures, made from
paper collage, that link with an app, allowing the audience to hear poems in
English, Urdu and Bengali. The piece explores the impact of climate change,
provoking questions, while simultaneously giving the audience an aesthetically
pleasing lyrical experience. It was recently short-listed for a 2015 Dot Award, given to a writer of fiction, creative non-fiction or poetry to develop a new work using the web and digital technology in imaginative and collaborative ways.
While much of
Chowdhry's work centres on her identity as an Asian lesbian, it reaches much
further, speaking of themes that touch us all. "My sexuality can't be
extricated from who I am. My sister always says: 'Oh, here's another piece
about identity,' even when the work appears, to me, to not be about my
identity! I once got feedback on a short film I wrote about reincarnation
saying it had too many issues in it, ie. the central character was an Asian
lesbian. I argued that it was a film about love transcending life and death,
but to no avail. Now I make the work I want to make, it's a platform to
communicate to the world what I need to say. It's still a problem if producers
and funders pigeonhole me and my work, but I carry on regardless."
http://interactiveartist.org
http://mayachowdhry.me.uk/ripple/
See the full portfolio in the March 2016 print issue of DIVA magazine


We offer a host of training to enable you to convert your LAPL(A) or (S) licence, with or without a TMG extension to a PPL (A) licence, please contact us for further information as most of the training depends on your previous experience.
The PPL holder can undertake additional training to convert onto different types of aeroplane, or those with more advanced equipment or systems. Although no ratings are awarded, specific training is required to qualify to fly aircraft with a tail-wheel, a constant-speed propeller or retractable undercarriage. Eden Flight Training can provide the training to suit.


Northern Wheatears are a common long-distance migrant breeding in northern Europe and wintering in sub-Saharan Africa. We have studied a population living on Fair Isle, Shetland, since 2008 and have demonstrated links between food availability on Fair Isle and both productivity and over-winter survival. The timing of change of food availability appears to be critical: only early spring food availability impacts productivity (though increased nesting attempts) and only post-fledging food availability impacts over-winter survival of juveniles. With global climate change influencing the timing of biological events we now need a more detailed understanding of how climate change alters wheatear food supply, requiring analysis of individual diet and seasonal warming impacts on food availability. The project therefore has two parts: to identify the diets of individual wheatears, focusing on differences between years, seasons (breeding, fueling and overwintering), territory habitat characteristics and individuals; and to identify the effects of warming at different seasons on the abundance and timing of invertebrate populations. The project will involve intensive fieldwork monitoring the wheatear population on Fair Isle, molecular analysis of diet samples, laboratory, mesocosm and field-scale warming experiments.


i am 6', 174lb, 33w, br, gr, top guy looking to meet a young slim white guy for a live in maybe lover. Not looking to just keep someone up. Not a rich guy but very loving and caring type guy will do what i can for a young live in or lover but i also would like to find one that will also help himself.
you should be young, white slim, like older guys and looking to be loved if this is you get up with me i really like guys 18-25 slim to med.


This fall, Pen + Brush is collaborating with curator Mashonda Tifrere, who founded ArtLeadHER, on a group exhibition titled King Woman. This exhibit will uniquely pair underexposed female artists with their established contemporaries in an effort to support the less recognized artists within a community of like-minded women who share the ultimate goal of effecting real change in the marketplace for all women artists.
"It is through this critical pairing of recognized and less well-known women artists that I, and Pen + Brush, hope to showcase the talent, power and breadth of the work that women can create," says Tifrere.
Prior to graduating from Christie's Education and launching ArtLeadHER, Tifrere became a champion for women artists as a collector when she began to experience the same lack of equity within the art market as she faced in the recording industry.
Tifrere's work, and the founding of ArtLeadHER as a platform that offers exposure and strategic access to the primary market for talented female artists, is directly in line with the mission of Pen and Brush and the re-launch of our 123 year-old organization in 2015.
"This show is not only a celebration of outstanding work by women, but also of our shared mission to provide professional female artists with a channel for acknowledgment and recognition," explains Pen + Brush Executive Director Janice Sands.
This group exhibition will feature the work of 25 visual artists, including performance and video installations. King Woman will encompass a mix of styles from renowned street artist Swoon whose work depicts everyday men, women, and life often as religious icons, to Lola Flash whose regal portrait series SALT, captures woman who are 70 in an unexpected light, to the extreme hyper-realism of Carole A. Feuerman, Kit King, and Ingrid Baars, whose work is juxtaposed with a group of explosive and gestural abstract painters including Taira, Rebecca Allan, Renee Phillips, and Trixie Pitts. The exhibit will also feature the award-winning screenwriter and director, A.V. Rockwell, creator of The Gospel, a music-driven short film that serves as a visual prelude to Alicia Keys' sixth studio album, Here. King Woman will be the first exhibit installation of the film.


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Bad Manners + Max Splodge
Location: Hitchin
Venue: Club 85
7.30pm, Sunday 26th November – Club 85, Hitchin
Bad Manners are playing a very intimate show here at Club 85 for a pre Xmas treat! Still selling out venues up and down the land, we expect the tickets for this one to go quick, so grab one in advance!
The band quickly became the novelty favourites of the Ska movement through their bald, enormous-bodied frontman's on-stage antics, earning early exposure through their Top of The Pops TV exploits and an appearance in the live film documentary, Dance Craze.
Bad Manners were at their peak most popular during the late 1970s and early 1980s, during a period when other ska revival bands, such as Madness and The Specials, The Beat and The Selecter, filled the charts. Bad Manners spent 111 weeks in the UK Singles Chart between 1980 and 1983 and have continued as a worldwide popular touring live act to this day.Some of Bad Manners' more notable hits include "My Girl Lollipop", "Lip Up Fatty", "Ne Ne Na Na Na Na Nu Nu", "Lorraine", "Just A Feeling", "Walking In The Sunshine", "Can Can" and "Special Brew".
One of the main reasons for their notoriety was their outlandish huge-tongued and shaven-headed frontman, Buster Bloodvessel. His manic exploits got them banned from the British BBC TV chart show Top of the Pops and they were also banned from Italian TV after Bloodvessel mooned a concert audience, after being told that the Pope was watching on TV!
Special guest support from the one and only Max Splodge.
Tickets £20 advance from Seetickets online or from the local ticket outlets of Farleys Hair, Gatefold Records, Davids Music, Jolly Brown, Unikorn Stevenage and Bar 85.Doors open 7.30pm


GDPR – Can you show your 'workings out'?
GDPR's accountability principle is a lot like a maths exam - you need to show your 'workings out'.
GDPR - a chore or an opportunity?
For many, simply hearing the four letters 'GDPR' will cause their heads to slump, their arms to fold, and their general mood to sink to a level that even a good cup of coffee can't lift.
Is your business 'ready for sale'?
Whether you are currently marketing your business, in active discussions about a sale, considering handing the business on to the next generation, or you are a business owner approaching the end of your career, this blog will help you begin to lay the foundation stones for your eventual exit or hand over.
Many businesses struggle to innovate, grow and change. If you are considering ways in which you can overcome barriers and focus on the enablers of innovation, your customers are a great place to start.


text:
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


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Meet the cyclists of Velokhaya
Velokhaya Cycle Academy: Yoco Merchant #6 887
In cycling the peloton, or the main group of riders, is safety. Riding with the main group and competing together as a pack is the peloton's purpose. The peloton for the youth of Khayelitsha is Velokhaya Life Cycling Academy, which takes cohorts of promising young people away from the pitfalls of township life and steers them towards education and achievement through sport. This is the story of the cyclists of Velokhaya.
Donate to Velokhaya
From a distance you might not think this nondescript patch of land is a production ground for South Africa's best on two wheels. The loose sands that typify Khayelitsha are not where you would normally expect to find the next professional Giro cyclist: names like Luthando Kaka, Nicholas Dlamini and Songezo Jim.
But Sipho Mona, the general manager of the Academy, is careful to point out that cycling is just the carrot: education is the purpose. Mona, himself a graduate of the Academy, is as passionate about producing lawyers, doctors and psychologists as he is about producing professional cyclists. The centre is a busy place on most afternoons: with children doing homework in the learning lab, younger recruits doing fitness exercises to earn a bike seat and the road cyclists (roadies) setting off on their three-hour training ride.
The roadies look not far removed from the professionals you see on television. A steely determination is apparent in the way they prepare and practice – it's easy to forget that most of them are just teenagers. From this pack, the most promising cyclist is Loyiso Fulu. When Sipho discusses the next generation of stars his name is prominent, but he cautions that above talent, mentality will determine how far he goes. Loyiso came fifth overall riding in Europe against 23-year olds at the age of 19 and has already been attracting attention from professional teams. But its not only road cyclists making tracks in the professional world.
In Khayelitsha we don't have sports psychologists. One day I want to open a practice here in the township... to assist the young athletes - the pressure and stress at the starting gate can be a lot to handle.
Anita Zenani
On the dirt track you'll find Anita – who is one of Velokhaya's most accomplished BMX riders and a sports psychology student at the University of the Western Cape. She credits her time at the Academy with giving her the discipline and focus that she applies in her studies and in training. Her weekly grind: Five days a week at the gym and on the track and lectures at university every day. Next year she hopes to graduate, take her education further and participate in the Olympics. In summing up her experience at the Academy she says: "Through Velokhaya I have achieved so much… I competed overseas and came sixth in the World Championships. Things I never thought would happen to me."
Velokhaya shaped me, gave me a lot of opportunities to explore. It opened my mind, not just to cycling but to other areas of my life. I am thankful and proud to call this my home.
Xolisa Makubalo
You'll hear a similar sentiment from her coach, Xolisa Makubalo – who graduated from the Academy as a BMX rider, went to university, but ultimately came back to his home to teach the next generation. A decision that was not without sacrifice. Xolisa is a gifted soccer player and recently featured in the Varsity Cup, but his heart told him to come back to where it all started in 2009 and give up his soccer career. He says: "I had dreams as a rider that I could not achieve… but now I am pushing the guys that I train to do better than me – especially Wanga, who I have high hopes for. I want him to achieve his goals. He wants to go to the Olympics, so I am working hard with him. I want him to also win SA champs."
As the BMX coach he is part of a passionate, dedicated team – including Sipho, Ncumisa Makasi, Shaun Doch, Anele Madlolo, Neo Mbongo and Litha Bandlisa – that keeps the Academy running. It's not an easy job. Especially when it comes to raising funds and finding support for the entire operation. Despite the generous sponsorship from the likes of Pick n Pay (who have been a sponsor for 15 years) Velokhaya needs support and funding for everything from its core educational program, which every child is a part of, to the professional road cycling program. At the moment Sipho is working hard to secure funding for a professional team. There is always something more that needs to be done, but in his hands the Academy's future looks bright.
When I see the likes of Nicholas and Songezo on television riding in Italy or Spain and you hear the commentators in those countries talk about where these guys come from and they talk about Velokhaya in a township on the other side of the world - it fills me with pride. But just as important is a Luthando graduating with a Law degree and all the other children who are now in university. Cycling is the carrot, but education is our purpose.
Sipho Mona, General Manager, Velokhaya Cycling Academy
I am a curious observer of places and people. Being creative is my life and I love being able to share my insights and viewing points with my clients. With over 17 years of experience in photography, I have come to realise that photography must evoke a response, a desire in the viewer.
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I don't always go to D.C., but when I do, the government is shut down, there's a historic snow storm, which shuts the government down even more, a terror plot targeting the White House is foiled by the FBI and one of my classmates is robbed at gunpoint.
In other words, the week was relatively uneventful.
My two week expedition to D.C. for a Quinnipiac political science class called Inside Washington was my first experience in the nation's capital. My expectations of the city were startlingly deviant from reality.
For someone who has lived my entire life in the serene countryside of a small town in Connecticut, Washington has always been Hallie Jackson's face on NBC framed by the White House lawn from the press tent. When she talks about Trump's tweets with a stern, but slightly judgemental tone, all I can think about is how I'd give anything to be just like her.
What I didn't realize is that Hallie Jackson isn't the only one sitting in front of the White House in a tent. There's also a couple of men with shaggy beards singing Christmas carols and selling jewelry outside the fence. Furthermore, there are dogs stationed on the front lawn that will charge and flatten anyone who tries to trespass.
My ignorance about the city also extended to the climate. To me, any state south of New Jersey is tropical. That's why I packed black leather boots with a heel, flats and running sneakers, but left the waterproof hiking boots in Connecticut.
In a storm that racked up the highest snowfall totals in the area since the blizzard of 2016, I decided I couldn't sit around and watch history through my second-story window. I had to experience it first-hand, despite my footwear dilemma.
In the midst of the windswept snow, I ventured out to the capitol building wearing mesh running sneakers with Walmart bags tied to my feet. As I'm sure you can imagine, I was already feeling like the young professional I aspired to be.
My naivety worsened. The government shutdown foiled my fantasies of touring museums like the Smithsonian. Luckily, I was able to keep myself entertained by stalking Bernie Sanders at the dry-cleaners' and taking selfies outside of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's closed office door.
My visions of traipsing around the city-sidewalks, buying Supreme Court snowglobes and nerdy t-shirts were clouded by a notification that two students, one of which was from Quinnipiac, were robbed at gunpoint just a block away from my residence hall.
I planned to stay inside from then on, and claim it was because the Walmart bags didn't keep the snow out. While this was partly true, in reality, I was scared, and my innocence and wonder began to evaporate even faster than the snow.
But the next day, I had recovered. I put my soggy, snow-soaked sneakers in the dryer, zipped my wallet inside my inner coat pocket and walked D.C.'s sidewalks with a purpose.
I had envisioned D.C. as a place where I, Emily DiSalvo, could rub elbows with my heroes, get discovered as a journalist and immediately hired by Politico. I eventually came to the conclusion that D.C. isn't a dream. When it comes down to it, Washington D.C. is just another city.
The only difference is that one pigheaded man can shut the whole joint down if he wants.
Despite these realizations, my love for the city didn't waver. In fact, it grew stronger with the knowledge that D.C., like me, isn't perfect. It's both white marble buildings and ramshackle tents under metro passes. It's both snappy three-piece suits, and the rumpled collared shirt you're wearing for the third day because you haven't had time to do laundry. It has the potential to be both bustling with productivity and closed down due to internal turmoil.
It's for both people like Hallie Jackson, and people like me.
And if I'm lucky, and don't give up on D.C–accept it for its flaws and love it anyway–one day, I could be just like her.


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17 Jul 2017 prospects365
Monday Mailbag: July 17th
Written by: Ray Butler (@CoachRayButler)
Follow Prospects 365 on Twitter: @Prospects365
What's some of the best questions I've been asked throughout the past week? Here we go.
Answer: For now, I think it's almost a foregone conclusion that Buehler reaches the big leagues at some point this season. He'll almost certainly be placed in the Dodgers bullpen, where he could be effective as a long-man (two or three innings an appearance, if needed) or as a high-leverage guy (in my opinion, his stuff is that good. And his fastball certainly plays as a high-leverage pitch). Of course, the Dodgers bullpen isn't terrible as it currently stands, and reports certainly suggest they're in the market to add a bullpen arm or two before the deadline. Regardless of additional acquisitions, I think Buehler gets the call sometime this season. Don't fret when he's a bullpen guy after being promoted: The Dodgers fully view him as a starting pitcher going forward. He'll be used as a weapon in the bullpen this season because A) It's a great way to limit his innings in his first full-season since Tommy John surgery, and B) The Dodgers are certainly in-it-to-win-it this season, and they"ll use every weapon at their disposal. Buehler has a strong chance to be successful in the big leagues later this season, and he should retain prospect eligibility and be one of the top overall prospects heading into next season with the aspiration of making the Dodgers opening day starting rotation.
Answer: Before I go into any detail, the answer here is yes, you should make this deal. But I've never been a big Trevor Story guy. His minor league numbers suggested that his numbers in 2016 weren't sustainable, and his stats this year basically validate that notion. I don't think he's as good as he was last season, and I don't think he's as bad as he's been this season. He'll be a 20-30 HR guy with a K% of 30-35% and an OBP that will hover anywhere between .300-.320. I don't actively look to acquire guys with those numbers for my fantasy teams, even if they play a premium position.
Now, I say all of that to say this: Trevor Story is still preferable to Paul DeJong. DeJong currently sports a ..302 AVG and .319 OBP despite a sky-high .371 BABIP. He doesn't walk enough, and his AVG and OBP will regress once his batted ball luck changes for the worst. Furthermore, he sports a 29.2 K% since being promoted to the majors. His past numbers suggest that number may improve to somewhere near the 26-27% range, but none of his peripherals indicate that he'll be more valuable than Story moving forward. I'm selling both players, but if forced to choose, give me Story and the plethora of potential team names.
Answer: In case you've been living under a rock, the "trade" that @DannymJohnson is referring to is the trade last week that featured Jose Quintana being traded to the Cubs for Eloy Jimenez, Dylan Cease, Matt Rose and Bryant Flete.
I don't think the trade impacts Lopez's timetable, and I don't think it should. The White Sox have no hope of making the playoffs this year, and they've got guys like Mike Pelfrey and David Holmberg who can eat innings until the farm arms are truly ready. Miguel Gonzalez was also recently reinstated from the DL after recovering from a shoulder injury. The White Sox aren't desperate for arms that will bridge them from the homestretch of this season to next season. However, I *do* think that Lopez will be called up in either August or September of this season, but that's been my projection since Opening Day. I also think that Lopez *should* break camp with the big club in 2018. I had some serious worries that Lopez would eventually be mitigated to the bullpen, but he's made some strong strides this season. Just yesterday, Lopez tossed seven strong innings and allowed only two hits, one run, and two walks while striking out 12 (!!!) against a solid Gwinnett lineup. That "strong #3" ceiling I've labeled him with for two seasons seems more attainable than ever, and I'm excited to see if he can put it all together once he gets the call. The White Sox should (easily) be one of the most exciting teams in the entire league to watch over the next decade or so.
Question (sent via email): Tells us more about yourself. What's your history in baseball? When you're not watching or tweeting about baseball, what do you like to do?
Answer: My baseball playing days ended like most of yours: After my senior year of high school. I played travel ball growing up and was probably a slightly above average high school player. I bat left handed and throw right handed. Defensively, I pitched and played second and third base (with spot starts in the outfield and at first base). I was nothing to write home about, though I do hold my high school team's record for most HBPs over a career. It's my crowning achievement.
Now, I'm an assistant baseball (and football) coach at my alma mater. If I don't tweet for a few hours from the @Prospects365 account (especially on Friday nights during the fall), you can safely bet that I'm on the football field or baseball diamond coaching. I'm a huge analytics guy in both sports, and I use advanced stats to attempt to put our team in the most advantageous situations possible.
Outside of my love of prospects and baseball, I'm a 24 year old newlywed from Tennessee. I teach middle school mathematics for a living and my hobbies include grilling and smoking meats and golfing. When I get the chance, I also enjoy traveling back to Mississippi State (where I got my degree) for football and baseball games. I'm really excited to see if guys like Brandon Woodruff and Brent Rooker (former Mississippi State athletes) can reach their potential. If you ever want to know more about me, feel free to ask. I'm always doing to talk grilling and golfing. Hail State!
Thanks for following along!
Featured image courtesy of the Charlotte Observer
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Home » Library » Simplifying the Holidays
Simplifying the Holidays
By Marie Hartwell-Walker, Ed.D.
Do you want to manage the holidays with less stress? Simplify!
Magazine covers trumpet feature titles like: "More love, less stress." "Ten Ways to Make Decorating Easy." "Keep it Beautiful. Make it Simple." "Holiday Shortcuts." Talk shows are full of helpful hints for cutting down, cutting out, and making the season more relaxing and reasonable. Rachael Ray is now hawking coffee, telling us that a shared pumpkin donut simplifies the holidays. It all sounds good. It all makes sense. In fact, it all makes so much sense you probably could have written the articles, gone on the talk shows and shared that donut. So why can't you do it?
Stop feeling guilty. There are reasons; some good, some not so good, but reasons all the same. You won't be able to follow through with whatever good intentions you have for simplifying and de-stressing unless you get to the bottom of why you sabotage yourself time and again. Try these on for size:
Simplifying risks disapproval. "Sure, I'd like to use paper plates for Christmas dinner. But I can hear my sister-in-law now." Melissa has been hosting Christmas dinner for the extended clan for years, setting a holiday table for 16 people with antique linen and Grandma's fine china. It's traditional. It's beautiful. It's stressful.
She worries about somebody breaking a dish. She worries about someone spilling wine on the damask. She's so concerned about the dishes, she insists on hand washing everything herself after everyone goes home. As exhausting as it is, she can't let it go. "Paper tablecloths and paper plates, even pretty ones, just won't cut it with my family," she says. Melissa is convinced the women in the family would gossip about her inadequacy as a hostess behind her back and give her a hard time about it for years. It just isn't worth it.
If Melissa talked to some of her relatives ahead of time, she might be surprised to find that at least some family members would love a switch to paper plates. The parents are so worried that their kids will spill or break something that they can't enjoy the meal. Adults who tend to be klutzy have the same fears. Paper plates? What a relief!
Then again, Melissa may be right that she's in a family that measures one's worth by how fancy the table looks and how well the hostess hides her sense of panic. In which case, she needs to work on declining judgments on her character based on table service or at least suggest that other family members rotate the event — and the anxiety.
Simplifying will let someone down. Every year Marney starts making Christmas cookies in October. By Christmas, she has at least 30 kinds in the freezer: bars, rolled, pressed, dropped, you name it. When family and friends visit during Christmas week, she sets out beautiful trays of cookies she has made with love — and stress. With four children under 12 and a full-time job with increasing responsibilities, pulling off the cookie extravaganza each year gets harder and harder. Buying cookies at the Church Christmas Fair would save her time and energy but she can't bring herself to do it. "The kids expect it by now. It's part of what makes our family's Christmas special. On Christmas Eve, we all eat cookies and make a plate of the ones we like best for Santa. If I didn't make the cookies, I'd be letting my kids down."
Marney is a victim of her own all-or-none thinking. I doubt the kids would notice if she cut down on the number of kinds of cookies she makes herself. A half-dozen varieties is still "lots" and would reduce her late-night baking by 80 percent. If she insists on having more kinds, she could mix in some cookies from the fair. By reducing the number she makes herself, she could get off the cookie conveyor belt and instead recapture the joy in baking that got her into this in the first place.
Simplifying could make me look cheap. Bob really wants to take the commercialism out of the holiday. He doesn't see the need to put himself in hock for months to get gifts for everyone in the family, at the office, and in his circle of friends.
"People are losing the meaning of Christmas and I don't like it," says Bob. "I'd rather be focusing on being with people but there's so much pressure to spend, spend, spend. At the office, there's a Secret Santa thing that requires a $20 gift. Even though the adults in my family draw names for gift-giving, there's a kind of competition for who can find the most impressive present. Friends keep giving me presents and I feel like I have to give them one in return. I'd like to stop, or at least give people small rather than big deal gifts, but I don't want to look cheap. It's not about cheap. It's about wanting to keep things in bounds. That's hard to do if no one else is playing by the same rules."
This kind of problem takes time to solve. Bob could start looking for allies shortly after New Year's when the credit card bills are coming in and people are in delayed sticker-shock. That's the time to start talking about how to reduce the annual round of gift exchanges. Maybe he could suggest that the family or his circle of friends all contribute to a cause together next year. Perhaps the office could agree to drop the Secret Santa thing for a toy drive for needy kids. Commenting on other's extravagance or giving lectures about the meaning of Christmas would only make people feel defensive or judged. Offering alternatives when there is plenty of time to talk about it and make a group decision accomplishes Bob's goal without alienating others.
Simplifying can make me the spoiler. Tammy is one of those 20-somethings Susie Orman talks about: Young, fabulous, and broke. She's the youngest person by a lot in a 12 person office of long-timers. The office culture includes kicking in 40 bucks for a holiday dinner at a fancy restaurant. "I'd be a whole lot happier with a potluck," says Tammy. "But the whole office seems really excited about going out together. I think if I pushed it, they'd have to give in but they'd secretly resent it. It's something they all seem to look forward to."
This is a hard one. Tammy has joined an office with an established culture. She could talk to her supervisor about whether she has read it right. It might be that there are others who would just as soon forgo the expensive dinner. In that case the supervisor should be the one to bring it up at a staff meeting. If, on the other hand, the staff really value this annual event, Tammy may need to figure out a way to save up for it during the year so she can take her place as a full member of the group.
Simplifying can be expensive. Lots of the ideas in those December issues of magazines actually make Christmas cost more, not less. "Hire help for the party so you can relax," declares one. "Buy platters at the deli instead of making a turkey," says another. "Send flowers to the special people on your list so you won't have to spend time wrapping or standing in line at the post office." "Buy cookies at the bakery instead of making them." "Take advantage of the gift wrapping service at the mall." Yeah. Sure. Do these people think we're all made of money? Simplifying by buying our way out of it may work for the wealthy but it's beyond the reach of most of us.
It can feel like a tradeoff: Do it labor-intensive but affordable or simple and expensive. The third alternative is to decide what is worth your time and to cut out, or at least cut down, what isn't.
Simplifying means letting go of my culture. Every year Shelly and her mother and her aunts make homemade tamales for Christmas Eve dinner. It's a labor of love that brings all the women together to celebrate their Mexican roots. All afternoon, the women tell stories and joke and laugh as they turn out dozens of tamales made from a recipe that's been handed down for generations. Christmas Eve without tamales would feel to all of them like a betrayal of the past.
This yearly ritual is an affirmation of culture and family and love. If Shelly is stressed, it would be more beneficial to her mental health to think about a number of smaller things she can eliminate so that she can fully participate in this big one.
Simplifying would make Christmas feel like just any other day. My friend David sometimes finds it hard to fit in. "So many people complain about the season that it's almost bad manners to be having a good time. I know it's not PC, but I love the whole over-the-top-ness of the holidays. Christmas is a month long Event with a capital E. I love the crowds. I love the lights. I love decorating the house. I love going to the huge Messiah Sing in our town and watching the Sunday School pageant. I wouldn't miss the midnight candlelight service at our church for anything. I love buying and making presents and seeing people's surprise and excitement when they open them. I can't imagine cooking a less than 24 pound turkey or having fewer than 15 at Christmas dinner. The only thing missing is fireworks! Christmas is a celebration!"
David isn't interested in simplifying. He just doesn't want to make others to feel bad when he's having so much fun. He's learned to listen politely to the bah-humbug folks and to save his enthusiasm for people he knows are as crazy about December as he is. Ask him what time I should be there for dinner.
Marie Hartwell-Walker, Ed.D.
Dr. Marie Hartwell-Walker is licensed as both a psychologist and marriage and family counselor. She specializes in couples and family therapy and parent education. She writes regularly for Psych Central as well as Psych Central's Ask the Therapist feature. She is author of the insightful parenting e-book, Tending the Family Heart.
Check out her book, Unlocking the Secrets of Self-Esteem.
Hartwell-Walker, M. (2018). Simplifying the Holidays. Psych Central. Retrieved on January 18, 2020, from https://psychcentral.com/lib/simplifying-the-holidays/
Holiday Coping
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text:
Meet The Deans
by Greg Prince on 10 December 2022 1:57 pm
I got a huge kick out of leafing through the 1967 Mets Yearbook years after it was published and finding that even then Ed Kranepool, a mere 24 yet the only Met left from the Mets' first year of 1962, was referred to as "The Dean" of the Mets in terms of continuous service with […]
14 comments - (Comments closed) | | Print This Post | Al Jackson, Bob Moorhead, Brandon Nimmo, Brooks Raley, Chris Cannizzaro, Continuity, Darryl Strawberry, David Robertson, David Wright, Dwight Gooden, Ed Kranepool, Frank Thomas, Hubie Brooks, Jacob deGrom, Jesse Orosco, Jeurys Familia, Jim Hickman, John Franco, Jose Quintana, Jose Reyes, Juan Lagares, Justin Verlander, Longevity, Mad Men, Mets Once Removed, Mike Piazza, Mookie Wilson, Pedro Feliciano, Recidivist Mets, Ron Darling, Ron Hodges, Rusty Staub, Seniority, Steve Cohen, Steve Trachsel, Team History, The Dean, Wally Backman
Adam & Yadi Will Always Know How to Survive
by Greg Prince on 9 July 2017 5:03 am
It hit me one March day, when they were apart, how long they'd been together. Yadier Molina was captaining Puerto Rico to the finals of the WBC. Adam Wainwright was working out his kinks against the Mets on the East Coast of Florida. Soon enough, they'd reunite, accomplished battery, same team, another year. Two baseball […]
7 comments - (Comments closed) | | Print This Post | 2006 Mets, 2006 NLCS, Adam Wainwright, An Appreciation, Billy Joel, Cardinals, Longevity, Yadier Molina, Zack Wheeler
by Greg Prince on 8 May 2016 11:20 am
"It has happened! In their fifty-first season, Johan Santana has thrown the first no-hitter in New York Mets history!"
—Gary Cohen, SNY, June 1, 2012
"And what's left of a never-got-one nature to ache for anyway? Put aside a World Series championship even if you've never seen one before, because the Mets have two of those. They […]
18 comments - (Comments closed) | | Print This Post | Al Leiter, Bartolo Colon, Bill Veeck, Bobby Thomson, Breaking Bad, Car Wash, Darryl Strawberry, Designated Hitter, Gary Cohen, Home Runs, Howie Rose, Impossible, Jack Lang, James Shields, Joe Garagiola, Johan Santana, Julio Franco, Ken Davidoff, Kentucky Derby, Longevity, Lucas Duda, Memory, Nyquist, Pitchers Hitting, Ramon Castro, Red Smith, Team History, The Power to Evoke, The Shawshank Redemption, The Total Uselessness of the Designated Hitter, Vin Scully, Willie Mays, Yogi Berra
They Finally Had It Made
by Greg Prince on 16 April 2016 10:26 am
The night started with 42s everywhere and ended with a 7 in your scorebook. I couldn't miss the former on Jackie Robinson Day, but had to look up the latter, as sensory overload must have gotten to me, sending this correspondent nodding off to dreamland as the bottom of the eighth commenced. The last thing […]
11 comments - (Comments closed) | | Print This Post | Addison Reed, Alejandro De Aza, Bartolo Colon, Brandon Phillips, Cliff Lee, Collin Cowgill, Commercials, Curtis Granderson, David Wright, Expos, Grady Sizemore, Indians, Jackie Robinson, Jesse Orosco, Jeurys Familia, Juan Uribe, Keith Hernandez, Longevity, Marlon Byrd, Michael Conforto, Neil Walker, Nolan Ryan, Ron Hodges, Socks, Yoenis Cespedes
Terry Doesn't Go Anywhere
by Greg Prince on 6 January 2016 3:18 am
"He called me when we won the division, congratulating me. I tried to return the call, but it's like getting through to the President when you call the Giants. So I didn't get through."
—Terry Collins on playing phone tag with Tom Coughlin, October 21, 2015
The crotchety and the crusty have lost one of their champions. […]
8 comments - (Comments closed) | | Print This Post | Football, Longevity, Mets Managers, Team History, Terry Collins, Tom Coughlin
Jerry's Kids Grow Up
by Greg Prince on 22 March 2015 2:00 am
Welcome to FAFIF Turns Ten, a milestone-anniversary series in which we consider anew some of the topics that have defined Mets baseball during our first decade of blogging. In this installment, we notice how Met turnover subtly became Met stability.
There was an article in the Washington Post the other day that fascinated me. It informed […]
14 comments - (Comments closed) | | Print This Post | Bobby Parnell, Daniel Murphy, Dillon Gee, FAFIF Turns Ten, Jenrry Mejia, Jerry Manuel, Jon Niese, Longevity, Lucas Duda, Ruben Tejada, Team History
Casey & Dazzy to Davey & Rusty
On Saturday, the Mets will distribute 25,000 bobbleheaded likenesses of Daniel Joseph Staub, which is not the same thing as actual likenesses — the resemblance is primarily hair-deep — and may not be enough for the club to satisfy the honoree's stated wish that "everyone comes out and gets one." Nobody likes to imagine Customers […]
4 comments - (Comments closed) | | Print This Post | 1972 Mets, 1985 Mets, Bobbleheads, Bobby Valentine, Bones Ely, Casey Stengel, Charlie Hough, Connie Mack, Davey Johnson, Dazzy Vance, Dick Tidrow, George Foster, Jim Leyland, Larry Bowa, Longevity, Mike Torrez, Nellie Fox, Nolan Ryan, Rusty Staub, Team History, Tom Paciorek, Tug McGraw


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Daily Alert app on Android
DAILY ALERT Monday,
Four Killed in Shooting at Jewish School in France - Raphael Ahren (Times of Israel)
Rabbi Jonathan Sandler, 30, and his two sons, Gavriel, 6, and Aryeh, 3, as well as 8-year-old Miriam Monstango, the daughter of the head of the Otzer Hatorah Jewish school, were shot and killed in the French city of Toulouse Monday morning. Several more people were injured.
The shooter is believed to have ridden on a black motorbike and is reported to have used two weapons.
The shooting happened in the same area where a gunman on a motorbike opened fire on three uniformed paratroopers Thursday, killing two and critically wounding the other.
Four days earlier, a gunman on a motorbike shot and killed another paratrooper in Toulouse.
The Bin Laden Plot to Kill President Obama - David Ignatius (Washington Post)
Before his death, Osama bin Laden commanded his network to organize special cells in Afghanistan and Pakistan to attack the aircraft of President Obama and Gen. David H. Petraeus.
The scheme is described in one of the documents taken from bin Laden's compound by U.S. forces on May 2, the night he was killed. I was given an exclusive look at some of these remarkable documents by a senior administration official.
The man bin Laden hoped would carry out the attacks was the Pakistani terrorist Ilyas Kashmiri. A month after bin Laden's death, Kashmiri was killed in a U.S. drone attack.
The plot to target Obama was probably bluster, but it's a chilling reminder that even when he was in hiding, bin Laden still dreamed of pulling off another spectacular terror attack against the U.S.
IDF Says Gaza's Islamic Jihad Severely Damaged - Yaakov Katz (Jerusalem Post)
IDF sources said that Islamic Jihad was severely beaten in the recent round of violence and that it would need time to rebuild its capabilities.
The air force bombed more than 40 targets throughout Gaza over the past week, including nearly 20 rocket squads, and several weapons storage centers and underground long-range rocket launchers.
The IDF source said that by last Tuesday, Islamic Jihad was "begging" Egypt to convince Israel to accept a ceasefire.
Syria, Iran Training Hizbullah to Use Antiaircraft Missiles - Gili Cohen (Ha'aretz)
A senior IDF officer in the Northern Command says hundreds of Hizbullah fighters were taught to use surface-to-air missiles in Syria and Iran in recent months.
The IDF says that since the rebellion against President Bashar Assad's government, transfers of weapons from Syria to Hizbullah have increased, and include drones and shore-to-ship missiles.
Report: Saudi Arabia Sends Military Gear to Syria Rebels (AFP)
"Saudi military equipment is on its way to Jordan to arm the Free Syrian Army," a top Arab diplomat told AFP on Saturday.
Jordan categorically denied the report.
Daily Alert Blog
Heavy Fighting in Syrian Capital, Residents Say - Khaled Yacoub Oweis
A heavy firefight broke out on Monday between Free Syrian Army rebels and forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad in the al-Mezze district of Damascus that is home to several security installations, witnesses said. They reported heavy machinegun and rocket-propelled grenade fire. As hundreds gathered on Sunday in Damascus to mourn victims of car bombings the previous day, activists said security forces beat and arrested people when protesters began shouting "the people want to topple the regime." On Saturday twin blasts killed 27 people in Damascus and wounded nearly 100 others. (Reuters)
Convicted Nazi Death Camp Guard John Demjanjuk Dies at 91 - Henry Chu
John Demjanjuk, convicted in Germany in 2011 of serving as a guard at a Nazi extermination camp and being complicit in the deaths of more than 28,000 people, died Saturday. In 1977, information passed to U.S. officials suggested that he was "Ivan the Terrible," a sadistic sentry at the Treblinka extermination camp in German-occupied Poland, where an estimated 800,000 prisoners were put to death. The U.S. stripped Demjanjuk of his citizenship and ordered him extradited to Israel to stand trial for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Forensic experts confirmed as genuine the ID card, unearthed in Soviet archives, attesting to his service as a Nazi guard.
Demjanjuk was found guilty and sentenced to death in April 1988. But five years later, the Israeli Supreme Court overturned the verdict on appeal. (Los Angeles Times)
See also Israeli Judge: Demjanjuk Was "Ivan the Terrible" - Boaz Fyler
Judge Dalia Dorner, who sat on the panel that convicted John Demjanjuk of war crimes and crimes against humanity, is still convinced the verdict was just. "I believe without a shadow of a doubt that he was 'Ivan the Terrible'," she said Saturday. (Ynet News)
See also Looking Back on the Demjanjuk Trial in Munich - Johannes Houwink ten Cate
In Munich, the 17-month trial of Ivan (John) Demjanjuk, which may have been one of the last trials dealing with Adolf Hitler's Third Reich, ended with Demjanjuk's conviction in May 2011. This trial was a novelty, marking one of the first times in German legal history that a non-German national had to stand trial for the murder, during the Third Reich, of non-German nationals that took place outside of Germany proper. (Institute for Global Jewish Affairs)
Bedouin in Egypt's Sinai End Siege of Monitor Camp
Armed Bedouin in Egypt's Sinai peninsula have lifted their 8-day siege of a base used by foreign peacekeepers in the Multinational Force and Observers (MFO) which monitors the 1979 Israel-Egypt peace accord. Officials have been given a month to release several jailed tribesmen, some of them convicted of terrorism. The Bedouin had no complaints against the MFO but believed that by targeting their base they would bring a more rapid response from Cairo authorities to their demands. (BBC News)
Israel: Iran Experts Operating in Gaza - Avi Issacharoff
Iranian military experts are active in Gaza and in Sinai, according to a high-ranking Israeli official who added that some of the rocket-launching systems in Gaza were manufactured under Iranian supervision. The senior source said that Islamic Jihad continued to fire rockets at Israel even after the recent cease-fire was announced because the Iranians pressured it to continue acting against Israel.
He said "many Palestinian organizations use the Sinai peninsula as a convenient area for activity," and added that Libya has become a huge arms depot, from which weapons are transferred to Egypt and then to Gaza. He said Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh's visit to Tehran did not help resolve the differences between Hamas and Iran, which cut off funding to the Islamic movement. Hamas is now trying to raise money from the Arab Gulf states and Turkey. He further noted that senior PA officials have blamed Iran for sabotaging reconciliation talks between Hamas and Fatah. (Ha'aretz)
Iron Dome Technician Saved by Fellow Soldier - Yoav Zitun
During the Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel last week, an IDF technician successfully fixed a malfunction which enabled the Iron Dome missile defense system to intercept a rocket fired at Ashdod. Moments after he began work, an alert sounded warning of a Grad missile, but instead of running for shelter he remained in place to fix the problem.
When the Iron Dome fires, troops are not supposed to remain within dozens of meters of the battery due to the incredible heat levels and fire that it emits during a missile launch. Just before the battery fired to intercept the incoming missile, another soldier, who realized that the technician didn't have enough time to escape, got into a jeep and raced towards the battery where he picked up the technician at the last minute. When the technician returned to the battery he noticed that there was nothing left of the equipment he had brought, which had all melted from the heat. (Ynet News)
Israeli-PA Cooperation Continues Despite Tensions - Herb Keinon
Nearly 200,000 West Bank Palestinian patients and those accompanying them were granted entry permits in 2011 for medical treatment in Israel, a 13% increase from 2010, according to a Foreign Ministry report to be submitted Wednesday at a Palestinian donors' conference meeting in Brussels. Some 21,500 Palestinian children from the West Bank were also treated in Israeli hospitals last year, a 171% increase. In 2011 some 31,414 Palestinians worked in Israel. (Jerusalem Post)
See also Report: Measures Taken by Israel in Support of Developing the Palestinian Economy and Socio-Economic Structure (Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
Challenging Myths about Syria - Roger Owen
International efforts to stop the violence in Syria have focused on forcing Assad to step down. But even if he did, there would be no change in the government's policy of crushing the Free Syrian Army's activities and demonstrations with force. Surrounding the president is a tightly knit group of military and security officials, mostly from the Alawite minority, who have grown enormously wealthy over the past two to three decades. Bashar al-Assad is seen as a figurehead who is easily replaceable by someone much tougher.
Syria is already in a civil war, with an intensity that often surpasses that in conventional wars between nations. The Syrian regime is much more cohesive than that of Moammar Gaddafi and has much more popular support. With its loyal brigades of largely Alawite troops and its pervasive network of informers, thugs and intelligence operatives, it has been preparing to confront an internal threat for decades. Syria also has the advantage of diplomatic and other support from Russia. The writer is a professor of Middle East history at Harvard University. (Washington Post)
Investment in Iron Dome Is Investment in Peace - Michael Oren
Last week, Palestinian terrorists fired more than 250 rockets, missiles and mortar shells at civilian neighborhoods in Israel. Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile system succeeded in preventing almost all the terrorist rockets from hitting populated areas. It has become the first anti-ballistic system in history to succeed in real combat conditions. Iron Dome relieved Israel of the need to send troops into Gaza. It not only saved lives, it prevented wars.
Israel is deeply grateful for the more than two decades of U.S.-Israel cooperation on missile defense. The pioneering and proven systems resulting from this cooperation - Iron Dome, David's Sling and the Arrow - can also help defend U.S. facilities and interests around the world. The writer is Israel's ambassador to the U.S. (Politico)
See also Iron Dome Proves Its Worth - Yuval Azulai (Globes)
A Bad Decision on Renewing Military Aid to Egypt - Editorial
The administration is considering going forward with military aid to Egypt - even though the criminal case in Cairo proceeds against more than two dozen Egyptians and civil society remains under assault. It's hard to imagine another move that could do more damage to U.S. interests and the cause of democracy. It would tell the military that, provided Americans are not harmed, it is free to persecute peaceful citizen activists and subvert the democratic transition.
The real threat to U.S. security is that the transition in Egypt will end in a disaster: The military will refuse to yield power, or a democratic government will be forced by a popular backlash to rupture relations with the U.S. By handing the generals money when they have failed to meet basic democratic tests, the administration would make each of those outcomes more likely. (Washington Post)
Washington and Israel on Iran: Unresolved Differences - Michael Herzog (Washington Institute for Near East Policy)
The March 5 summit between President Obama and Prime Minister Netanyahu helped clarify positions and narrow gaps, yet significant differences remain.
Israelis are pleased that the Iranian nuclear file has moved to the top of the U.S. and global agenda, with the international community adopting sharp sanctions for the first time. They also appreciate Obama's strong public statements rejecting containment, depicting a nuclear-armed Iran as a threat to U.S. national security, pledging to keep all options on the table - including the military one - and, above all, respecting Israel's sovereign right to protect its vital national security interests.
Yet the White House apparently reiterated its negative attitude toward a premature strike during the summit, urging Israel to allow sufficient time for sanctions and diplomacy to work first.
Looming over the meeting was a growing sense of urgency in Israel, driven by the fact that Iran has begun to immunize critical components of its advancing nuclear capabilities against military strikes. Israel and Washington part ways when defining triggers for military action and, therefore, when determining the critical timeframe for stopping Iran's drive toward dangerous nuclear capabilities.
From Israel's perspective, Iran's nuclear program undoubtedly carries a military dimension, even if Tehran has not yet made a concrete decision to produce a bomb. This fact, along with the regime's nature and ideology, validates a military option once Iran acquires the essential capabilities to overtly or covertly weaponize. Waiting until Iran actually makes that dash is too risky.
Notwithstanding their differing perspectives, the less daylight seen between Washington and Israel, the better.
Brig. Gen. Michael Herzog (ret.) is The Washington Institute's Milton Fine international fellow, based in Israel. Previously, he served as head of the IDF Strategic Planning Division and chief of staff to the minister of defense.


Tips to make the most out of the New Jersey summer flounder bite..
"Doormat" summer flounder topping 10 pounds invade New Jersey's back bays and nearshore waters ever year and are a blast to catch on light tackle.
Strip baits cut from a flounder, salmon or albacore belly, bluefish or sea robin entice big fluke when deployed on a tandem, sliding snell rig.
Use a dropper loop when rigging bucktails to add a secondary teaser for some extra flash. You might even score the elusive double hook-up!
Doctor up the bucktails with fresh strip baits and soft plastic or Gulp! grubtails to lure big flounder from their hiding spots.
When the bite turns on and the action gets hot and heavy, you can fill a fish box with tasty fillets in no time.
Every summer and into fall, New Jersey's summer flounder lay out the welcome mat or 'doormat' as anglers here call the big fluke that surpass the 10-pound mark. Any flatfish over five pounds is a solid catch in anyone's book, but there are a few tricks you can employ to help you key in on these large-model flatties.
Hands down, live baits score some of the largest fluke around, and five top live baits really stand out among fluke fanatics: snapper bluefish, peanut bunker, spot, mullet and killies. For larger baits like spot or snapper blues, a go-to live-lining rig consists of a 1/2- to 3-ounce sliding egg sinker or fish-finder slide clip with an appropriately sized bank sinker on the running line, 75-pound barrel swivel, 36-inch section of 25-pound fluorocarbon leader and size 4/0 Gamakatsu Octopus hook or live bait hook. Scale down the hook size to a 2/0 or 3/0 for smaller baits like killies and peanut bunker.
If you're fishing a swift drift, hook the baitfish through the lips or nostrils to present a bait that looks natural as it swims with the tide. If you're fishing a slack tide, hook larger baits through the back dorsal fin for a more natural presentation. You can also hook baits underneath the belly to encourage them to swim frantically upward off of the bottom, which will entice a fluke to strike when water movement is nil.
After the initial bump when a fluke pounces on a bait, count to five, lock the reel and begin reeling to set the hook. Conventional reels are preferred when live-baiting as line can be fed back to the fish smoothly and with minimal resistance, then engaged quickly for the hook-set. Live-baiting is applicable across most saltwater arenas including shallow areas of back bays in depths of 5 to 20 feet, deep bay channels of 70 feet or more, and oceanside drifting over humps and ledges.
When fishing with strip baits, the same type of sliding-sinker, live-bait rig can be used. Long, undulating 8- to 12-inch long strip baits cut from a flounder, salmon or albacore belly, bluefish, or sea robin work best. Cut the fillets into one-half to 1-inch wide strips and taper them off at both ends so the strip runs through the water straight and doesn't spin.
Many strip-baiters opt to utilize a tandem sliding snell rig, consisting of a 3/0 Octopus hook with a sliding snell that connects to a 2/0 Octopus hook to help ensure a solid hook-set. Pierce the top hook through the tip of the strip then stick the other hook into the middle of the strip bait about three inches down.
Bucktail jigs will definitely fool doormat flounder but the key to success is choosing the right jig for the right environment and working the lure correctly. The optimal bucktail for shallow back bays is the 3/8- to 1/2-ounce standard roundhead style, with most productive colors being white, chartreuse, and white/yellow. Fishing in waters 25 feet deep and greater requires you amp up to 2- to 6-ounce Spro models that can hold ground on swifter drifts.
Bucktail rigs are simple to tie and the same rig can be used when bay or ocean fluking, regardless of jig size. From the running line, tie on a low profile 75-pound Spro barrel swivel followed by a 30-inch section of 20- to 25-pound fluorocarbon leader. Tie a dropper loop 16 inches up from your bucktail for a teaser, and then attach your bucktail with a loop knot. The loop knot will allow for an enticing, bouncy action every time you lift and drop the bucktail.
White 2/0 to 3/0 bucktail streamers flutter in the current and act as a teaser to pull big doormats out of their hiding spots. Doctor up the bucktails themselves with fresh strip baits cut a half-inch wide and 5- to 10-inches long. Bait choice can be opportunistic, but mackerel, bluefish, hickory shad, or other store-bought offerings like squid always work well. Another good lure is a 3- to 6-inch Berkeley Gulp! Swimmin' Mullet grubtail threaded on a 3/0 Octopus hook.
When fishing bucktails, timing the tide can make the difference between a bang up day or mediocre outing, so be sure to check the latest tide tables before you go. The number one factor to ensure success in is to have an angle of approach between vertical and 45-degrees. Slow drifts allow for the best up-and-down presentation, so premiere tides revolve around the last hour of the incoming tide, the slack and the first hour of the outgoing tide. Avoid mid-tide conditions when the current really begins to rip. When the current starts really pouring in or out it will negatively alter the action of the bucktail, impeding its magic motion.
Back-bay bucktailing setups include a 6 1/2- to 7-foot medium- to fast-action spinning rod matched with a 3000 to 4000 class Shimano Sustain reel spooled with 20-pound braided line. On the outside in nearshore waters, amp up to a stout 7-foot medium-action rod rated for 15- to 30-pound test. Always use braided line which provides ultimate sensitivity when detecting strikes on the bottom. I prefer spinning outfits because you can really launch light bucktails and cover more ground during times of little or no water movement.
Ocean fluking outfits for drifting live baits or strip baits include 7-foot medium-action conventional rods such as a Lamiglas 7020BL, matched with a Shimano 16 Torium type reel spooled with 50-pound braided line.


DE10059906A1 (en) 2000-12-01 2002-06-06 Bs Biometric Systems Gmbh Pressure-sensitive surface for use with a screen or a display linked to a computer displays fields sensitive to touch pressure for triggering a computer program function related to the appropriate field.
FR2888319B1 (en) 2005-07-07 2008-02-15 Nanotec Solution Soc Civ Ile non-contact method of measuring a relative displacement or a relative positioning of a first object relative to a second object, inductively.
FR2949008B1 (en) 2009-08-07 2011-09-16 Nanotec Solution Capacitive detection device has integration functions.
FR2948997B1 (en) 2009-08-07 2012-04-20 Nanotec Solution capacitive pressure sensor integrating a temperature measurement supports hot environments.
FR2971066B1 (en) 2011-01-31 2013-08-23 Nanotec Solution Dimensional man-machine interface.
FR2990020B1 (en) 2012-04-25 2014-05-16 Fogale Nanotech A capacitive detection arrangement with connecting tracks, and method employing such a device.


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Wales weather
The wettest place in Wales in 2016 has been named
We all know Wales is no stranger to a bit of rain
Katie Sands
A village in the heart of a Welsh mountain region has been named as the wettest place in Wales in 2016.
The Met Office has released figures of the 10 places in Wales which saw the highest and lowest amounts of rainfall in 2016.
Topping that list is Capel Curig, a village in Conwy in the heart of Snowdonia . It has a population of around 200 people.
This is why South Wales is currently suffering from high levels of pollution
Across the entire year, a total of 2,799.2mm fell there – equivalent to more than 7.5mm per day.
The results were measured in regards to how many millimetres of rain fell in each area.
A woman carries an umbrella during wet weather in Cardiff (Image: Matthew Horwood)
Here is the full list of the top 10 wettest places in Wales in 2016:
1. Capel Curig, Conwy - 2,799.2mm
2. Lake Vyrnwy, Powys - 1,619mm
3. Bryn Bach Park, Tredegar, Blaenau Gwent - 1,585.4mm
4. Sennybridge, Powys - 1,556.8mm
5. Porthmadog, Gwynedd - 1,462.2mm
6. Whitechurch, Pembrokeshire - 1,390.4mm
7. Betws-y-Coed, Conwy - 1,389.3mm
8. Bala, Gwynedd - 1,306mm
9. Swyddffynnon, Ceredigion - 1,303.6mm
10. Scolton Country Park, Pembrokeshire - 1,284.8mm
This American woman saw snow for the first time as she joined people sledging at the Storey Arms
There was, however, no mention of Eglwyswrw in the list – the Pembrokeshire village which endured near record-breaking rainfall last year.
The Pembrokeshire community missed out on the unenviable UK record after it stopped raining after 84 days of rainfall from October 2015 to January 2016.
The soaked West Wales village was plagued by rain for 84 days welcomed sunshine with open arms – just six days short of an unenviable British wet weather record.
Two women struggle with their umbrella in the wind on Swansea's Oxford Street
Drenched residents in Eglwyswrw, near Cardigan , had endured downpours on every day since October 26, 2015.
At the time, workers in the Pembrokeshire farming village said they were becoming "miserable" and claimed the rain had even made their livestock "depressed".
While some were eyeing their own place in the history books and were willing to keep their brollies up for just five more days and equal the record set in 1923, other waterlogged villagers were relieved that the downpours had finished.
Meanwhile the Met Office have also released a list of the driest places in Wales last year and it seems that Prestatyn on the north coast is your best bet for a summer holiday.
The top 10 driest places in Wales in 2016, according to Met Office statistics:
1. Prestatyn, Flintshire - 618.2mm
2. Hawarden Airport, Flintshire - 665.4mm
3. Colwyn Bay, Conwy - 768.4mm
4. Aberporth, Ceredigion - 842mm
5. Felindre, Swansea - 847.8mm
6. Rhyl, Denbighshire - 850mm
7. Valley, Anglesey - 863.2mm
8. Margam, Neath Port Talbot - 894.4mm
9. Mona, Anglesey - 938.4mm
10. Orielton, Pembrokeshire - 953.9mm
Here's what torrential rain did to Festival No 6 last year:
Blaenau GwentThe couple desperately trying to start a family after unsuccessful IVF attemptsBoth say due to the intense nature and physical stress the procedure causes, this will be their last attempt
Spotify row over Joe Rogan sees Barry Manilow stay as Joni Mitchell goes 'in solidarity' with Neil Young
World NewsYoung reportedly requested his content be removed from Spotify due to its hosting of the Joe Rogan podcast
Rugby evening headlines as Warren Gatand back to work in new job and million pound All Black switches countries
Today's UpdatesThe latest rugby headlines from Wales and beyond as we head into the last weekend before the Six Nations starts