text:
Bill H.1411
SECTION 1. Chapter 40A of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2018 Official Edition, is hereby amended by adding the following section:–
Section 7A
(a) As used in this section, "site plan review" shall mean review and approval under a municipality's zoning ordinance or by-law, by an authority other than the zoning administrator, of a proposed use of land or structures to determine whether a proposed use of land or structures is in compliance with sound site utilization principles relative to traffic circulation and safety, pedestrian safety and access, off-street parking and loading, emergency vehicle access, storm water drainage, screening, signage and exterior lighting, visual impact of parking, storage or other outdoor service areas, and consistency with character and scale of surrounding buildings.
(b) In addition to the home rule authority of cities and towns to require site plan review, a municipality may adopt a local ordinance or by-law under this section requiring site plan review and approval by a designated authority before a building permit is granted for the use of land or structures governed by a zoning ordinance or by-law. The approving authority may adopt, and from time to time amend, rules and regulations to implement the local site plan review ordinance or by-law, including provisions for the imposition of reasonable fees for the employment of outside consultants in the same manner as set forth in section 53G of chapter 44.
(c) An ordinance or by-law requiring site plan review, whether adopted under this section or under the municipality's home rule authority, shall comply with the provisions of this and all following subsections of section 7A. The ordinance or by-law shall establish the submission, review, and approval process for applications. Approval of a site plan for a use allowed by right shall require a simple majority vote of the designated authority and shall be made within the time limits prescribed by ordinance or by-law, not to exceed 90 days from the date of filing of the application. If no decision is issued within the time limit prescribed, the site plan shall be deemed constructively approved as provided in section 9, paragraph 11 of this chapter. The submission and review process for a site plan required in connection with the issuance of a special permit or variance shall be conducted with the review of the application for the special permit or variance in a coordinated process and shall require the same quantum of vote required for approval of a special permit or a variance.
(d) Site plan review for a use allowed by right may impose only those conditions that are necessary to ensure substantial compliance of the proposed use of land or structures with the other requirements of the zoning ordinance or by-law provided, however, that any off-site conditions shall address solely any extraordinary direct adverse impacts of the project on adjacent properties or adjacent roadways. A site plan application for a use allowed by right may be denied only on the grounds that: (i) the proposed use of land or structures project does not meet the requirements set forth in the zoning ordinance or by-law; (ii) the applicant failed to submit the information and fees required by the zoning ordinance or by-law necessary for an adequate and timely review of the design of the proposed land or structures; or (iii) it is not feasible to adequately mitigate any extraordinary direct adverse project impacts on adjacent properties or adjacent roadways by means of suitable site design conditions.
(e) Zoning ordinances or by-laws shall provide that a site plan approval granted under this section shall lapse within a specified period of time, not less than three years from the date of the filing of such approval with the city or town clerk, if substantial use or construction has not yet begun, except as extended for good cause by the approving authority. Such specified period shall not include time required to pursue or await the determination of an appeal under subsection (f) or section 17 or to pursue or await the appeal of any other permit, license, determination or approval. The aforesaid minimum period of three years may, by ordinance or by-law, be increased to a longer period.
(f) Except where site plan review is required in connection with the issuance of a special permit or variance, decisions made under site plan review, whether made pursuant to statutory or home rule authority, may be appealed by a civil action in the nature of certiorari pursuant to section 4 of chapter 249, and not otherwise. Such civil action may be brought by a person aggrieved by the decision in the superior court for the county where the land is located or in the land court within twenty days after the filing of the decision of the site plan review approving authority with the city or town clerk. The issuance or denial of a building permit shall not be a prerequisite to the filing of such civil action under this section. All issues in any proceeding under this section shall have precedence over all other civil actions and proceedings. A complaint by a plaintiff challenging a site plan approval under this section shall allege the specific reasons why the project fails to satisfy the requirements of this section, the zoning ordinance or by-law, or other applicable law and shall allege specific facts establishing how the plaintiff is aggrieved by such decision. The approving authority's decision in such a case shall be affirmed unless the court concludes that the approving authority abused its discretion under subsection (d) in approving the project. Appeals commenced hereunder by any party other than the applicant and/or property owner seeking site plan approval shall require the posting of a bond in an amount to be set by the court that is sufficient to cover twice the estimated: (i) annual carrying costs of the property owner, or a person or entity carrying such costs on behalf of the owner for the property, as may be established by affidavit; plus (ii) an amount sufficient to cover the defendant's attorney's fees, all of which shall be computed over the estimated period of time during which the appeal is expected to delay the start of construction. The bond shall be forfeited to the property owner in an amount sufficient to cover the property owner's carrying costs and legal fees less any net income received by the plaintiff from the property during the pendency of the court case in the event a plaintiff does not substantially prevail on its appeal.
(g) In municipalities that adopted a zoning ordinance or by-law requiring some form of site plan review prior to the effective date of this act, the provisions of this section shall not be effective with respect to such zoning ordinance or by-law until the date one year after the effective date of this act.


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Cisco Blogs / Security / Why We Must Get Data Privacy Right
Why We Must Get Data Privacy Right
Robert Waitman
As consumers the world over gear up for the holiday shopping season, and with Black Friday and Cyber Monday soon upon us here in the US, global consumers will be purchasing online more than ever before. In fact, global e-commerce sales are projected to be more than $140 billion over the holidays, up 15 percent from last year's record. With all this online commerce, consumers will be knowingly – or unknowingly – sharing their personal information with companies and websites when they make purchases. A common belief is that consumers have lost the ability and will to control how their personal information is used online. But that appears to be changing.
According to the Cisco 2019 Consumer Privacy Survey released today, a significant group of consumers cares so deeply about data privacy that they are already acting to protect their data – even by changing providers when necessary. Our study draws on survey responses from more than 2600 adult respondents in 12 countries worldwide. It explores consumer attitudes and actions regarding their personal data, the products and services they use, their comfort level with potential new business models, and the impact of data privacy regulations. By surveying consumers, our study also adds an end-user perspective to Cisco research on the corporate impact of changes in the data privacy industry.
What consumers tell us about privacy
Overall, our findings reveal a new landscape in which privacy has become a critical business imperative and an important driver of consumer behavior. Specifically, we cover four areas of insights in the study:
People care about privacy and many have already taken actions to protect it. We've identified a group of consumers (32%), which we call "Privacy Actives", who say they care about privacy, are willing to act to protect it, and have already acted by switching companies or providers based on their data-sharing practices. The Privacy Active group is sizable and is an attractive demographic for companies because its members skew younger and do more shopping online. Perhaps most importantly, this group sees respect for privacy as core to the customer experience.
Privacy regulations and policies provide "guardrails" for innovation and help build trust. Our research looked at several potential new business models where personal data might be used in unexpected ways but could enhance personal safety and security. One example would be sharing personal information from home or a car in exchange for health or safety warnings. Overall, consumers were generally uncomfortable with these models, but those respondents who were aware of privacy regulations (for example, the EU General Data Protection Regulation – or GDPR) were much more comfortable than respondents who were unaware.
Consumers value government's role in regulating the use of data, and they view the GDPR very favorably. Survey respondents want the government to play a role in providing oversight and to make sure companies are complying with the law and their stated policies. Perhaps for this reason, GDPR is perceived very positively around the world (55% favorable vs. 5% unfavorable). In addition, consumers felt that GDPR has given them more control over their data and has enhanced their trust in companies using their data.
Many consumers (43%) say they still cannot effectively protect their data today. While there are many reasons for this, by far the biggest reason stated is that it's too hard to figure out what companies are actually doing with their data.
A new way to understand the value of privacy to companies
Our research also suggests a new framework for measuring the benefits and return on privacy investment beyond regulatory and compliance requirements. Specifically, the areas of benefit include:
Attracting and retaining customers who care about privacy and are willing to act
Improving business agility and innovation
Reducing sales friction
Enhancing the overall attractiveness of the company.
As more consumers place a premium on proper protection of their data, companies have a significant opportunity to meet regulatory requirements while they realize business benefits and build trust with their customers.
For most organizations, privacy has become a critical business imperative. Cisco recognizes this imperative, and we prioritize being clear and transparent with our customers. Some of the tangible ways we do this include providing information on our Trust Portal and with our privacy data sheets and data maps that clearly describe how our products and services use data.
Cisco 2019 Consumer Privacy Survey
Cisco 2019 Data Privacy Benchmark Study
Consumer Privacy Infographic
Cisco Data Privacy
Cisco Trust Portal
Tags: Cisco Consumer Privacy Survey Data Privacy privacy Robert Waitman
We'd love to hear from you! Your comment(s) will appear instantly on the live site. Spam, promotional and derogatory comments will be removed and HTML formatting will not appear.
John Cha says:
Privacy Matters, but Cisco does not care about secure coding practices, isnt it a little bit confusing to write a blog like that and the company could not care less about fixing bugs!
malika says:
Great explaination..Fully agreed.
Thank you for the feedback. Below are specific secure coding principles that Cisco follows along with resources should you ever need to report bug related issues
https://www.cisco.com/c/dam/en_us/about/doing_business/trust-center/docs/cisco-secure-development-lifecycle.pdf
https://tools.cisco.com/security/center/resources/security_vulnerability_policy.html#roosfassv
Andreas Goldschmidt says:
Cisco should contribute to data privacy by implementing ways to anonymize user data. Many of our security solutions provide user IDs and offer no option to cipher those user IDs. This is an issue in many places were user privacy is taken serious like in large parts of Europe.
Paco Lion says:
Wings2i says:
Interesting and useful article on the importance of data privacy…
andrew schaper says:
yes Privacy matters, and this will help

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Many math symbols are really pictures, such as 0 for emptiness or ∞ for endlessness. In the title Purple Comet! Math Meet the exclamation mark in the middle is the picture of a comet, of course. But what is a math meet?


text:
News + Intel
Exclusive: Navy SEAL turned cop saves teammate who was shot during Antifa riots
by Stavros Atlamazoglou Jun 6, 2020
On the night of Monday, June 1, St. Louis was a battlefield. Parts of the city were at the mercy of Antifa-backed looters and rioters, who were burning down businesses and stealing their contents. The violent protestors were hurling gasoline at police officers and then throwing fireworks, aiming to burn them alive. Gunfire could be heard throughout the city as officers repeatedly came under fire from the mob.
That night, retired St. Louis Police Captain David Dorn was shot and killed while trying to protect a business; four other police officers were also evacuated to the hospital with gunshot wounds in separate incidents.
Ryan Murphy, one of the officers, would have probably died on the spot if it weren't for a fellow officer and former Navy SEAL.
Displaying extraordinary calm under fire, Joe Busso, a member of the St. Louis Police Department SWAT Team, provided critical first aid to Murphy before evacuating him to the hospital.
A United States Marine, who is now a member of Missouri law enforcement, described to SOFREP how Busso, a member of the St. Louis Police Department SWAT Team, applied life-saving treatment to save fellow officer Ryan Murphy.
"Things were terrible that night. The streets were crazy with gunfire and the radio traffic was nonstop with report after report of guys under fire," said the former Marine. "The average person has no idea how violent and lawless the streets of St. Louis have become. Criminals are operating with impunity, using long guns to fire hundreds of rounds at police officers. Looters are running rampant. The police are brave, but they have no leadership and no support from the Mayor, the Governor, or anyone."
The riots began after the death of George Floyd, an African American man, during his arrest in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Read Next: Exclusive: Navy SEAL and Missouri Governor who faced down ANTIFA cleared
"But in the middle of it all, the guys on the street are doing some really heroic stuff," added the former Marine. "Murphy was shot, and was down on his back, and Busso comes in, takes off and applies his tourniquet, stops the bleeding, uses his trauma shears, checks the wound, throws Murphy in a car, and gets him to the hospital. It was f*cking awesome – a Marine would have been even more f*cking awesome, but seriously, credit to Busso."
Busso graduated from the grueling Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) selection course in 2001. A trained sniper, Busso completed several deployments in support of the Global War on Terror (GWOT) with SEAL Teams 4 and 8. He joined the St. Louis Police Department in 2008.
Joe Busso declined to comment for this story but said through a supervisor that he was only doing his job and that all of the credit should go to other officers, including his fellow members of the SWAT team, and his partner, Joe Bell.
SOFREP has learned that Busso continues the family legacy as his father was also a St. Louis City police officer. Moreover, Busso and his partner, Detective Sergeant Joe Bell, have a reputation for intelligent, street-savvy police work among the force.
A former SWAT team member said about the incident that, "Murphy was shot really close to the femoral artery. Everybody knows how fast you can bleed out from that kind of gunshot. It was just really good that he got there to act that fast."
Murphy and Busso were classmates in the police academy.
Despite the police's actions, the situation in St. Louis resembles more of a third-world battlefield than an American city. Another member of the SWAT team, who spoke to SOFREP on the condition of anonymity for fear of repercussions, said that the police in St. Louis right now have no leadership. "The guys are basically self-deploying, and just trying to figure things out. There is no plan." This information corroborates SOFREP's understanding that the situation in both the city and state is off the rails because of a lack of political leadership.
Officers in St. Louis getting ready for another long night.
Referencing the riots that ANTIFA attempted, but which were put down in 2017, another SWAT officer said, "During Stockley [the 2017 riots] we had things wired tight. There was a real sense of mission and clarity and morale was high. This couldn't be more different. This is the worst it's ever been. Guys are getting shot at. The criminals are running the city now. It's like goddamn Somalia, without the RPGs. And it's not just shooting. There are carjackings, looting, theft, and the criminals know that no matter what they do, they aren't going to face any consequences."
Read Next: Two ex-Navy SEALs among those arrested in failed security contractor gig in Haiti
Kimberly Gardner, the St. Louis Circuit Attorney, recently released every looter in the city of St. Louis back onto the streets and declined to charge any of them. Gardner has a long history of anti-police rhetoric. She is also the one who falsely charged former Navy SEAL officer and Missouri Governor Eric Greitens, a pro-law enforcement politician, despite having no evidence. Gardner's lead investigator has now been charged with 7 felonies for what he did against Greitens, and Gardner remains under active criminal investigation.
During his tenure, Greitens had successfully dealt with the Antifa groups that had threatened to destroy St. Louis in 2017.
Greitens participating in a SWAT challenge during his tenure as the Governor of Missouri. Greitens is known for his pro-law enforcement stance.
Referring to the former St. Louis Police Chief who was killed, a SWAT team member said, "There's no doubt in my mind that Dorn is dead because Kim Gardner is in office, and Greitens is gone. We won this in 2017. It's not that f*cking complicated. But when all the politicians abandon us, or turn on us, then you get police officers shot and good men dead."
Reached for comment, former Governor Greitens said, "I'm proud of Joe. Yeah, it's cool that he was a SEAL, but man I'm proud of every single one of our officers and firefighters on the street."
Asked why things were different in 2017, Greitens said, "The frontline police officers and firefighters deserve all the credit. They did all the work. All I did, was made sure that we had a strategic plan, operational clarity, and that – most importantly – the guys on the frontline had everything they needed, including the knowledge that I had their back."
During those riots, Greitens had been clear that the police was there to ensure the people's right to assembly and peaceful protest. But that they were also there to deal with any destabilizing groups who sought to derail the peaceful protests with violence.
Asked about the current leadership during the riots in St. Louis, Greitens said, "Look, man, when we went through this we had a great chief in Larry O'Toole. I was behind him. He was behind his guys. I had guys like Mike Deeba pulling together great operational and tactical plans; how we were going to use undercover officers, how we were going to deploy the National Guard; how we were going to use prison buses when necessary. I could name a dozen guys on the force in St. Louis or Kansas City – all of them smart and tough – they deserve the credit and the coverage. But instead the media is focused on promoting Kim Gardner's latest garbage. Compare how much coverage they give her, to how much they give to a guy like Joe Busso. They glorify the woman who lets looters loose. It's a tragedy. Our officers and our state deserve better. If there's any silver lining, it's that guys like Busso are still serving like the heroes they are."
About Stavros Atlamazoglou View All Posts
Managing Editor. Greek Army veteran (National service with 575th Marines Battalion and Army HQ). Johns Hopkins University. You will usually find him on the top of a mountain admiring the view and wondering how he got there. You can reach him at [email protected]
Exclusive: Navy SEAL and Missouri Governor who faced down ANTIFA cleared
Two ex-Navy SEALs among those arrested in failed security contractor gig in Haiti
News Roundup: USAF unwanted masturbation videos, Spain unrest, fake SEAL honored by city
Police officer shot in neck during traffic stop in St. Louis; suspect apprehended
A police officer tries to choke a Navy SEAL, doesn't go so well…
Bluto25 · 7 months ago
Thank you Stavros for your detailed reporting. As a former police officer with a son that is an active duty police officer, the Code we live by "To Protect and Serve" ... It's more than a sworn duty, it's our passion. The current anti Law Enforcement politics of New York State and City elected officials do nothing to "Protect and Serve" our citizens. The No Bail reforms have increased criminality, violence, along with the destruction of private property. It doesn't look that good anytime soon for New York. It's turned into Asscrackcuomostan on the Hudson. https://uploads.disquscdn.c...
Janelle · 7 months ago
This is infuriating. Paraphrasing from the witnesses - Criminals are running the city now, shooting at Police with long guns, throwing gasoline and then fireworks...Dorn shot while " protecting a business. " This sickens me. " No fear of consequences. "
Looters released with no charge. Is this lady for real ?
I'd say St. Louis could do with troops. Maybe not every city can be solely controlled by NG.
CHP3G · 7 months ago
The SWAT member who states that the senseless and tragic death of Mr. Dorn is because the DA Kim Gardner is in office (& that Greitens is no longer Gov) seems to fail to realize that SLPD officers would not have been placed to guard every pawn shop in town regardless of who is or isn't in elective office. The plain truth is the responsibility for the death of Mr. Dorn rests solely on the murderous criminal $hitbag(s) who chose to take the life of one of their fellow black citizens, who simply wanted to protect a friends business, so they could steal some $hit! When found, the scumbag deserves LWOP or capital punishment!
John R · 7 months ago
I think the best way to re-stabilize things is address these brutality issues and reform things before it's too late. If grievances aren't addressed immediately we will simply fall apart. The fact that the economy is out of wack just turns up the heat to a million.
And every-time a police officer shoots some guy in a wheelchair in the face from 10 meters away or assaults a 75 year old man it just serves to reinforce perceptions that there really are some serious issues here. And more are radicalized as result. And more violence occurs. And more disproportionate responses are employed, creating more violence.
More and more people are being pushed to the edges, and if things aren't addressed quickly, in a measured and proportionate manner, we're all going to fall off. The looters are just a symptom. Even the extremists are just a symptom. Tribalism is a sign of regression away from shared national identity and a sign of potential civil conflict. The problem is far deeper, and we need to start having some difficult conversations, or everything's just going to fall apart.
BR · 7 months ago
Agreed and for what it's worth John, I do take value in our dialogue and your point of view, albeit I don't subscribe to certain pieces of it.
Here are a few points I think we share similar views on:
1. Quite a few nefarious actors and subversive organizations are coming out of the woodwork to capitalize on this turmoil to further their cause, whatever that may look like. End result is the citizens and infrastructure paying the price.
2. White supremacists are a threat and are quite capable of disruption and violence. When found, they should be disrupted, shut down and prosecuted as they are terrorists with ideologies I find 110% disgusting and counter to American values.
3. Clusters. You are spot on with the assessment of "clusters" aiding in identifying patterns.
My repeated statements regarding Antifa are the hallmark patterns they've shown time and time again. These clusters have helped in finding the patterns of their functional existence and MO. I do think their overall level of funding and organizational abilities are severely underestimated though. There are key figures and fundamentalists that let the heavy work be done by the useful idiots we see on the streets. As for intrinsic ideological differences within each sect or branch so to speak....this is negligible in regard to the funneling of funds and resources by the "unknown players." For example, Black Hebrew Israelites have a subscribed and formal doctrine that doesn't necessarily tow the line of your common BLM, yet they are working in unison in areas where they're prevalent. Throwing money at each of these antifa sets is easy to do and the more loose the organizational structure and network capabilities, the better it is for the money hands in terms of traceability. I'm confident they will come to light soon enough although there are some pretty confident guesses out there.
Coming out of this rabbit hole we seemed to have worked ourselves into, my original comment was in regards to the average person in each of these city's and neighborhoods partaking in the looting, rioting and attacking people. They aren't tied to any of these outside influences whatsoever. My point being they are responsible for the majority of this destruction and violence we are seeing.
My frustration is that it seems the blame is easily shifted to known radical groups on both left and right fields....when these assholes organic to the areas they are destroying miss out on the blame and accountability. Literally destroying their own communities. Media has latched onto buzzwords of antifa, fringe groups, extremist organizations.....all the while neglecting to focus on the everyday assholes that live a 1-2 miles away from the storefront they just torched. When this is all said and done, I feel this country needs to hold them just as responsible. That won't happen when all fault is shifted onto elusive, shadowy groups.
The level of abuse and barbarism inflicted on innocent people by these crowds is sickening. This isn't even directed only to police officers. These are every day people getting caught in the melee. We've heard of and watched a few stories over the last couple of days, but far too many are not acknowledged or reported. Truck drivers getting dragged out and beat. Business owners coming back to clean looted stores and attacked by the next set of rampaging idiots. Reporters being assaulted. Nobody is spared right now it appears. If it seems like I'm frustrated and over all of this, it's because I am.


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Back to The Risk Prize
Getting started on your risk essay
Congratulations to the 2014 finalists
First place finalist
Campbell Hennessy, Cambridge Judge Business School, MPhil Candidate
This paper describes how approaches to fatigue management in maritime search and rescue may be applied to knowledge based business. It uses the construct of the 'knowledge worker' to identify the risks that fatigue poses within business and the constraints upon any proposed fatigue controls. Fatigue risks in business are associated with reduced situational awareness and a decreased capacity for employees to assess risk and make ethical decisions. Ultimately, I explore potential modifications to the United States Coast Guard's Crew Endurance Management programme that could make it an effective control for business.
An Enduring Workforce: Fatigue Risk Management in Marine Search and Rescue and Its Potential Applications to Knowledge-Based Work (pdf, 249KB)
Trevor Bruce, Cambridge Judge Business School MBA Candidate
A description of how the primary risk in the mining industry has fundamentally shifted from relatively manageable "technical risks" to ESG risks, which are substantially more difficult to predict and control. ESG risks have emerged due to the combination of heightened public social/ environmental awareness and increased mining activity in more remote, and politically unstable, regions of the world. Unfortunately, the mining industry has been slow to respond to this shift and continues to encounter serious problems.
Managing Environmental, Social, and Government (ESG) Risk in the Mining Industry: The Emerging Relevance of ESG Risk and the Dangers of Getting It Wrong (pdf, 249KB)
Joe Crawford, Cambridge Judge Business School, MBA Candidate
Large infrastructure projects have a reputation for being costly and risky. I wanted to examine the processes that the UK Government has in place for managing these risks and understand to what extent they are contributing to infrastructure cost overruns. As a structural engineer, I have been involved in project-level risk management on large construction projects. This project was a great opportunity to understand how this fits into the broader business-case risk management process.
Infrastructure and Risk: Identification, Management & Transfer of Risk by HM Treasury (pdf, 249KB)
The winner of the Prize was announced on Tuesday 24 June 2014 during the Cambridge Centre for Risk Studies 5th Risk Summit, by Dr Sven Heilitag, Principal, McKinsey & Company.


text:
Controls on Carbon Uptake and Storage in Southeastern Forests
Oishi, Andrew Christopher
Oren, Ram
Uptake and storage of carbon by forest ecosystems continues to be a major research topic needed for the quantification of global budgets in an increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide environment. However, there are considerable challenges in quantifying carbon budgets of forest across a wide range of spatial and temporal scales. Although general trends in the components of carbon budgets emerge when analyzed over large spatial or temporal scales, these relationships tend to weaken, or even reverse, at smaller spatial (e.g. stand level) and temporal scales. On the other hand, continuous measuring and monitoring is not a feasible or sensible approach for the range of global forests. There is growing need to identify the key variables that drive variability in these localized budgets at multiple time scales. These results will assist in upscaling stand-level observations into large-scale modeling approaches.
Forest carbon dynamics are closely-coupled with the hydrologic cycle, so an approach that attempts to bridge these dynamics must incorporate water availability and use. Water is necessary for trees to transport nutrients, maintain cellular function, and regulate stomatal conductance; however, water is also related to other biological processes, including microbial decomposition of soil carbon, and physiologically-important abiotic factors, such as atmospheric vapor pressure deficit. Thus, much of the key to understanding the variability in forest carbon cycles is identifying the sensitivity of the processes of the carbon cycle to water availability.
Therefore, my research takes the following approach: I begin by using sap flux sensors to measure tree-level transpiration over a four-year period and combine these values with other estimates of stand-level evaporation to generate an accurate estimate of total evapotranspiration, partitioned by component and tree species (Chapter 2). To assess the sensitivity of the water fluxes in the forest, I next establish a complete hydrologic budget for the forest stand over four years, including one severe and one mild drought (Chapter 3). I then focus on the flux of carbon from the soil and its variability over space and time. Using automated, high-frequency measurements of soil CO2 flux over a 10-year period and including 3 forest stands, I assess inter- and intra-stand variability as well as inter- and intra-annual variability in soil flux in relation to climatic factors and stand characteristics representing productivity (Chapter 4). In order to assess how soil CO2 flux may change over longer periods of time within the context of global change, I analyze how enrichment of [CO2] independent of and combined with soil nitrogen availability alter the balance of carbon in a stand (Chapter 5). Finally, building off these previous chapters, I examine the relationship between carbon uptake, allocation, and turnover in a mixed-species forest experiencing interannual variability in water availability (Chapter 6).
I conclude that (Chapter 2) sap flux sensors can successfully be used to estimate tree- to stand-level transpiration if one accounts for both nocturnal water movement through the tree stem and spatial variability of species composition and demography within a stand. (Chapter 3) Despite reductions in transpiration by some species during water-limited (i.e. drought) periods, the magnitude and duration of these reductions results in annual water use that is similar to a non-drought year. The consequence of this invariability in transpiration and evapotranspiration for the hydrologic cycle is that changes in annual precipitation translate directly to changes in water supplied to rivers and streams. (Chapter 4) Diurnal to seasonal variability in soil CO2 flux is driven by temperature, whereas interannual variability is most-strongly influenced by soil moisture. Furthermore, spatial variability of soil CO2 flux is directly related to forest productivity, and by proxy, leaf production, across biomes and, to a lesser extent, across stands within a region. However, within-stand variability may be inversely related to leaf production as a result of differential allocation of carbon between aboveground and belowground uses based on local resource availability. (Chapter 5) Although elevated atmospheric [CO2] enhances productivity, it may only result in a small increase in the flux of CO2 from soils. Instead, nitrogen availability explains much of the variability within a forest stand, regardless of [CO2], with increasing nitrogen availability resulting in lower allocation of carbon belowground and greater aboveground productivity. (Chapter 6) Interannual variability in water availability can affect gross primary productivity in mature forests but these effects may primarily affect the following growing season. The proportionate changes in gross primary productivity appears to show greater reductions with previous year's soil moisture than net primary productivity, leading to increased carbon use efficiency following drought. Variability in leaf biomass in this relatively stable, mature stand appears to drive the interannual variability in photosynthesis as well as the demand for carbon used for biomass production and metabolic activity.
Oishi, Andrew Christopher (2012). Controls on Carbon Uptake and Storage in Southeastern Forests. Dissertation, Duke University. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/5600.


Integrity Electrical are accredited by the Clean Energy Council for design & installation of solar power systems & solar panels. Don't have solar? Call and chat to us about our CEC certified solar installations and design.


text:
class Miro < Cask
  version :latest
  sha256 :no_check

  url 'http://ftp.osuosl.org/pub/pculture.org/miro/osx/Miro.dmg'
  homepage 'http://www.getmiro.com/'

  app 'Miro.app'
end

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


A new display in Fogler Library introduces the Emerald Ash Borer, an invasive beetle that targets ash trees. The EAB has recently entered Maine and poses a threat to our ash populations, affecting Maine's forests, ecology, lumber industry, landscape, and Maine's Indian Basketmakers, who rely on the Brown Ash (Fraxinus nigra) trees for their baskets.
Visit our online guide about the Emerald Ash Borer to learn more. The display is located in the lobby outside the Oakes Room.
A new display in Fogler Library covers the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report 15: Global Warming to 1.5°C. This report, written by almost 100 scientists covering over 6,000 peer-reviewed research articles, illustrates the effects of a global temperature increase of 1.5°C and 2°C (temperature increase limits set by the Paris Agreement of 2015). The display also includes an interactive element, asking the UMaine community to share their thoughts on the IPCC report and climate change in Maine.
Visit our online guide about IPCC SR15: Global Warming to 1.5°C to learn more. The display is located in the hallway on the first floor of Fogler Library.


text:
Veteran playwrights will judge "60 is the new 40" script entries
John N. Frank2nd Act Players, 60 is the new 402nd Act Players, 60 is the new 40Leave a comment
Several past winners of 2nd Act Players' new script competitions will be among the first-round judges of scripts entered in this year's new script competition with the theme "60 is the new 40."
Among the judges will be:
Jerome Jagielski, whose play Intentions was performed in 2019 as part of the 2nd Act Players Women's Empowerment Play festival.
Jerome Jagielski
Elizabeth DeSchryver, whose play Fair was selected to be performed in the 2nd Act Players' 2018 #MeToo Play Festival.
Elizabeth DeSchryver
Jean Waller whose Cattywampus also was performed as part of the 2018 #MeToo Play Festival. Waller also has acted with the 2nd Act Players as a member of the cast of its initial production of The Institute in 2016.
Also joining the judging panel are:
Sam Radom, whose play Carole White & the Seven Deadly Sins received a staged reading in 2019 on the City Lit Theater stage in Chicago. The reading came about thanks to the Chicago Writers' Bloc in collaboration with Stockyards Theatre Project.
Wilson Cain III, Ed.D., a member of the literary managers and Dramaturge association (LMDA). Wislon received the Ed.D and MS in written communications from National Louis University, a MFA in acting from The Alabama Shakespeare Festival at The University of Alabama and a BFA in acting from the Goodman School of drama. He has worked as adjunct faculty at Columbia College Chicago, Auburn University, and Auburn University at Montgomery. As a professional actor, Wilson has performed extensively in the Chicago, regional, and off Broadway Theatre. Wilson Is a recipient of the Joseph Jefferson award for "Outstanding ensemble work," for the production, "The good times are killing me." "An Awakening," is his first published work.
Dan Zellner who has worked as a playwright, actor, director and producer. Dan was the Artistic Director of Studio Z (a theater company that worked with theatre and digital media), served on the board of the Chicago Alliance for Playwrights and was an adjudicator for the Women's Theater Alliance New Plays Festival. Dan's plays have been produced and presented in theaters and venues in Chicago and other cities in the United States. He received an honorable mention for the Cunningham Prize for Playwriting. Dan is a member of the Dramatists Guild.
"We're honored to have these talented playwrights on our judging panel and look forward to reading their selections," says 2nd Act Players Cofounder John N. Frank.
The competition already has attracted more than 100 entries. First-round judging, done by the guest playwrights and the members of the 2nd Act Players' Board of Directors, will narrow the field to less than 20 finalists from which winners will be selected by board members, Frank explains.
The deadline for entries is Jan. 8. To enter, simply click here and fill out an entry form.
2nd Act Players website sees record visitor count in 2019
Auditions set Feb. 22 for 60 is the new 40 Short-play Festival


text:
OUT Politics and Policy
Oregon Governor Signs Transgender Equity Bill Into Law
Gov. Kate Brown talks with members of the media to preview legislation for the upcoming session at the Capitol Building, in Salem, Ore. on Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2016.Timothy J. Gonzalez / AP, file
June 1, 2017, 5:07 PM UTC / Updated June 1, 2017, 5:07 PM UTC / Source: Associated Press
Gov. Kate Brown has signed a bill that will make it easier for transgender people in Oregon to shield any updates they make to their birth certificates, a process typically conducted through the court system without privacy from public view.
The measure, which takes effect next year, makes Oregon the second state after California to adopt laws specifically designed to help mitigate potential discrimination against transgender individuals from employers, landlords or anyone else who is otherwise able to dig up birth-record changes through public record.
The new law eliminates the requirement that changes to someone's name or gender identity must be posted publicly by the courts. It also allows court cases involving gender identity changes on birth records to be sealed.
It's a minor tweak to state law that could have a big impact on the local transgender community, says 59-year-old Stacey Rice, executive co-director of Q Center, a Portland community support center for LGBTQ individuals.
Rice is a transgender woman but still hasn't been able to change her North Carolina birth records after 17 years because she hasn't undergone a sex-change operation, which the state says must also be confirmed through a notarized letter from their doctor. The same requirements apply for driver's licenses, although Rice got it done anyway thanks to the kindness of a North Carolina DMV employee years ago.
"I was going to have a driver's license that has my female face on it, my female name, but it's still going to say 'M' and let's say I get pulled over for some reason and maybe a police officer looks at it and says 'what's going on here?' that was terrifying," Rice said.
Related: Judge Grants Oregon Resident the Right to Be Genderless
HB 2673 passed the Democratic-controlled Oregon Legislature earlier this month with some Republican support at a time when, two years after the U.S. Supreme Court's legalization of same-sex marriage, the nation remains largely divided as to how to balance LGBTQ rights and religious freedoms.
This year about 30 states introduced roughly 130 anti-LGBTQ bills, about half last year's figure, according to the D.C.-based Human Rights Campaign. Most of the measures have died, but legislatures in South Dakota, Alabama and Texas passed bills providing protections for faith-based adoption agencies that do not want to place children with gay or lesbian adoptive parents.
Opposite scenarios are playing out in other states like Nevada, where GOP Gov. Brian Sandoval signed a law earlier this month banning "conversion therapy" for LGBTQ youth. And this week, Republican Congressman Scott Taylor of Virginia agreed to co-sponsor the federal Equality Act, which would give that community civil rights protections.
Related: Nation's First Known Intersex Birth Certificate Issued in NYC
Oregon wasn't always a welcoming place for gay rights. Voters approved a measure banning same-sex measure in 2004. It was overturned a decade later.
For Oregon, Brown said in emotional remarks that the transgender equity bill carries broader significance in the aftermath of last week's deadly stabbings of two men trying to defend two teenage girls from racial and religious slurs on a Portland light-rail train.
"Hate and discrimination have no place in our Oregon," Brown said.
Brown, herself a bisexual, became the nation's first openly-LGBTQ elected governor last November and Democrat Tina Kotek is the first openly lesbian House Speaker.
Follow NBC Out on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram


text:
Q: Where do put classes in Laravel? I'm doing my first project trying to learn Laravel and I've come to the point where I want to create an object.
I've created it and tried it out and it works as I want it to, but where do I put it? As of now it lies directly in my controller, but it doesn't feel right and besides that I think it messes up the code. Where are you actually supposed to put it? Is there such a place?
This is how my code looks and as you can see it is called "Hosts" and it's placed at the top of the page:
<?php

namespace App\Http\Controllers;

use Illuminate\Http\Request;

class Host {
    public $ipv4, $mac;

    public function __construct($ipv4, $mac){
        $this->ipv4 = $ipv4;
        $this->mac = $mac;
    }
}

class PagesController extends Controller
{
    public function index(){

        libxml_use_internal_errors(true); //ignore invalid HTML tag warnings
        $dom = new \DOMDocument();
        // Check that there's actually a file to load
        if(!$dom->loadHTMLFile('\\\192.168.1.201\root\test.xml')){
            die('error loading xml');
        }

        // Loop through all <host> tags
        foreach ($dom->getElementsByTagName('host') as $hostKey => $host) {
            $hostAttributes = array();
            // Check for <address> tags and loop through them as well
            foreach ($host->getElementsByTagName('address') as $addressKey => $addressValue) {
                // Check that there is an <addrtype> and <addr> tag
                if($addressValue->getAttribute('addrtype') && $addressValue->getAttribute('addr')){
                    // Put that into the array $hostAttributes
                    $hostAttributes[$addressValue->getAttribute('addrtype')] = $addressValue->getAttribute('addr');
                }
            }
            // Check for the keys 'ipv4' and 'mac' in $hostAttributes
            if(array_key_exists('ipv4', $hostAttributes) && array_key_exists('mac', $hostAttributes)) {
                $hosts[$hostKey] = new Host($hostAttributes['ipv4'], $hostAttributes['mac']);
            }
        }

        // set data
        $data = [
            'hosts' => $hosts
        ];

        // return view
        return view('pages.index')->with('data', $data);
    }
}

The file is located in "/app/Http/Controllers/PagesController.php" and I'm running Laravel 5.7.21

A: If it's helpful, I usually structure my Laravel apps like this:

*

*app

*

*Core (Shared App Wide Stuff)

*

*Console

*

*Kernel.php

*Commands

*

*SomeCommand.php

*Http

*

*Kernel.php

*routes.php (Pulls In All Route Files)

*Middleware

*

*... (The Laravel Middleware)

*Requests

*

*... (All Core Request Base Classes)

*Controllers

*

*Controller.php

*Services

*

*APIService.php

*Providers

*

*AppServiceProvider.php

*... (The Rest Of the Laravel Providers)

*Exceptions

*

*Handler.php

*Repositories

*

*EloquentRepository.php

*helpers.php (Usually I Have A Helpers File Here)

*Domain (Business Logic Stuff)

*

*User

*

*User.php (User Model)

*Http

*

*routes.php

*Controllers

*

*UserController.php

*Requests

*

*NewUserRequest.php

*Divisions

*

*Division.php (Another Model)

*Http

*

*routes.php

*Controllers

*

*DomainController.php

Obviously I'm leaving some stuff out for brevity, but you get the idea.
My PSR-4 definition ends up looking like:
"autoload": {
  ...
  "files": [
    "app/Core/helpers.php"
  ],
  "psr-4": {
    "App\\": "app/Domain/",
    "Core\\": "app/Core/"
  }
  ...
}

Modifying Laravel's structure like this also requires you update your bootstrap/app.php file with the new namespaces, along with any files you move from the default Laravel install.
Using the above structure and depending on what this new object will do it should be pretty clear to you where you'd put it.  You could even just make a Models folder for the class under, say, User.  Or, just put the new class directly next to the User.php model, assuming it's related to users.
It might look something like this:
<?php namespace App\User;

class SomeClassName {
  ...
}

Then, referencing from, say, the UserController.php might look like:
<?php namespace App\User;

use Core\Http\Controllers\Controller;
use App\User\SomeClass;

class UserController extends Controller {

    public function __constructor(SomeClass $someClass)
    {
        $this->someClass = $someClass;
    }
}

All hypothetical, but hopefully gets you pointed in correct direction.

A: You should be using namespaces and create a namespace and directory structure that makes sense to you and your requirements.
For example, you can make a directory named Helpers or BusinessLogic or anything else in the app directory. Then put your classes there with proper namespace e.g. for directory Helpers, the namespace is App\Helpers.
This is set up in composer PSR 4 autoloading. Checkout Autoloading in PHP and PSR 4 in these articles

*

*PHP Composer … The Autoloader

*Making Sense of PHP Autoloading

Example using PSR-4 Autoloading
Place class in the following structure

*

*app

*

*Helpers

*

*Host.php
Then import it in your controller class as
<?php

namespace App\Http\Controllers;

use App\Helpers\Host;
use Illuminate\Http\Request;

class PagesController extends Controller
{
...
...
            if(array_key_exists('ipv4', $hostAttributes) && array_key_exists('mac', $hostAttributes)) {
                $hosts[$hostKey] = new Host($hostAttributes['ipv4'], $hostAttributes['mac']);
            }
...
...

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Q: How to submit one html form to difference actions I have small form and links created like this
Contact | Message

<form  name="selectform"  action="save.php" method="post" target="_blank">
 Name: <input type="text" name="test"/>
       <input type="submit" value="Submit" name="sub"/>
</form>

When I click "Contact" link, form submit correctly, And If I click "Message" link how to set this form submit to another url
for an example: if i click "Message" link, I want to submit form to edit.php and without using traget="_blank"

A: You can change the form action using attr() method of jquery,
For example
$('#link1').click(function(){
   $('#formId').attr('action', 'page1').submit();
});

$('#link2').click(function(){
   $('#formId').attr('action', 'page2').submit();
});

A: Here you go...
Contact | Message

<form  name="selectform"  action="save.php" methode="post" target="_blank">
 Name: <input type="text" name="test"/>
       <input type="submit" value="Submit" name="sub"/>
</form>

A: Try it like,
Change in HTML
Message

SCRIPT
$('#msgSubmit').on('click',function(e){
   e.preventDefault();
   $('form[name="selectform"]').attr('action','edit.php')
                               .removeAttr('target')
                               .submit();
});

A: You can use onclick event

...

   Contact
   Message

A: I have done some modification in your code.
please check and let me know.
Contact | Message

<form id="selectform_id" name="selectform" action="" method="post" target="_blank">
 Name: <input type="text" name="test"/>
       <input type="submit" value="Submit" name="sub"/>
</form>


text:
Q: Java Double Buffering - Only Every Other Frame Drawn I'm trying to develop a full-screen application, but I'm having issues with double buffers.
public void create ()
{
    window = new JWindow ();
    window.setIgnoreRepaint (true);
    GraphicsEnvironment.getLocalGraphicsEnvironment ().getDefaultScreenDevice ().setFullScreenWindow (window);
    window.setVisible (true);
    window.createBufferStrategy (2);
}

public void renderCycle ()
{
    BufferStrategy strategy = window.getBufferStrategy ();
    while (true)
    {
        render ((Graphics2D) strategy.getDrawGraphics ());
        strategy.show ();
    }
}

public void render (Graphics2D g)
{
    g.setColor (Color.WHITE);
    g.drawString ("Veikia", 100, 100);
}

I see a heavy flickering - it seems as if the text is drawn only on every other buffer and remaining buffers contain white background. What could be the problem?

A: I just tried this MultiBufferTest. I didn't see any rendering artifact until the lag period fell below the monitor's corresponding refresh rate. Your example appears to have no delay between frames.
I added a few lines to show the frame period:
...
g.fillRect(0, 0, bounds.width, bounds.height);
g.setColor(Color.black); // added
g.drawString(String.valueOf(lag), 100, 100); // added
bufferStrategy.show();
...


text:
More on Dmitry Itskov and the 2045 Initiative
The forthcoming Global Futures 2045 conference is attracting media attention to Dmitry Itskov's 2045 Initiative. The technological aim of the program is to move out of our biology and into durable, ageless machine bodies and minds as quickly as possible - though of course an upload of you is not you, but rather a distinct copy. That will not prevent people from choosing to create uploaded copies of themselves when the option becomes available, and will not diminish the enthusiasm of those who belief that a copy of you is you. Moving from a biological mind to a machine mind without copying or destroying yourself would have to be a much more gradual process, perhaps by a slow replacement of individual neurons and synapses with more resilient nanomachines that serve the same purpose.
The technologies needed to enable these goals are distant but not implausible - there is a lot of work between here and there. To my eyes this all seems like a harder and slower track to agelessness than the biological path of rejuvenation biotechnology as championed by the SENS Research Foundation. We don't have all the time in the world to wait for the future until researchers can repair the various known underlying causes of aging, and sorting that out in the biology we have today seems more viable than building a new home for the mind.
It is hard to imagine a day when the ideas championed by Mr. Itskov, 32, a Russian multimillionaire and former online media magnate, will not seem strange, or at least far-fetched and unfeasible. His project, called the 2045 Initiative, for the year he hopes it is completed, envisions the mass production of lifelike, low-cost avatars that can be uploaded with the contents of a human brain, complete with all the particulars of consciousness and personality. [He] has the attention, and in some cases the avid support, of august figures at Harvard, M.I.T. and Berkeley and leaders in fields like molecular genetics, neuroprosthetics and other realms that you've probably never heard of.
Mr. Itskov's role in the 2045 Initiative is bit like that of a producer in the Hollywood sense of the word: the guy who helps underwrite the production, shapes the script and oversees publicity. He says he will have spent roughly $3 million of his own money by the time the [forthcoming Global Futures 2045 conference] is over, and though he is reluctant to disclose his net worth - aside from scoffing at the often-published notion that he's a billionaire - he is ready to spend much more.
For now, he is buying a lot of plane tickets. He flies around the globe introducing himself to scientists, introducing scientists to one another and prepping the public for what he regards as the inevitable age of avatars. In the span of two weeks, his schedule took him from New York (for an interview), to India (to enlist the support of a renowned yogi), home to Moscow, then to Berkeley, Calif. (to meet with scientists), back to Moscow and then to Shanghai (to meet with a potential investor).
Mr. Itskov says he will invest at least part of his fortune in such ventures, but his primary goal with 2045 is not to become richer. In fact, the more you know about Mr. Itskov, the less he seems like a businessman and the more he seems like the world's most ambitious utopian. "We need to show that we're actually here to save lives. To help the disabled, to cure diseases, to create technology that will allow us in the future to answer some existential questions. Like what is the brain, what is life, what is consciousness and, finally, what is the universe?"
I might not believe that Itskov's vision is the best way forward towards greater longevity, but I do think that we would all benefit from the existence of a good many more ambitious utopians of this sort.
Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/02/business/dmitry-itskov-and-the-avatar-quest.html?pagewanted=all
> into durable, ageless machine bodies and minds as quickly as possible
If Dmitry Itskov only could see, that the best machine bodies are made of self organizing and self repairing carbon based nanobots.
Version 1.0 of them we do already have in our bodies and call them biological cells. To develop version 2.0 of them will take a while. To get some experience for that we should try to develop some repair mechanisms for our cells first - as quickly as possible.
Posted by: Curtis Newton at June 3rd, 2013 6:14 PM
"though of course an upload of you is not you, but rather a distinct copy. [...] Moving from a biological mind to a machine mind without copying or destroying yourself would have to be a much more gradual process, perhaps by a slow replacement of individual neurons and synapses with more resilient nanomachines that serve the same purpose."
- Vanilla Sky for the gradual process (although conservation of identity is not the point of the movie, it shows a way to gradually integrate a radical change)
- http://enwp.org/Ship_of_Theseus for the questionning of identity
- fact that we renew our cells on a very regular basis and we don't feel like losing our identity in the process
Central point: identity is not a tangible thing. It is a state of mind.
Posted by: David Latapie at June 9th, 2013 12:03 PM


text:
PSG have never considered sacking Tuchel – Leonardo
Robin Bairner
Paris Saint-Germain sporting director Leonardo has sought to quell speculation that head coach Thomas Tuchel finds himself under threat of losing his job.
The Parisians may top Ligue 1 but have made a slow start to their Champions League challenge, with disappointing defeats at home to Manchester United and away to RB Leipzig.
With the relationship between the two men strained, it seemed that the prospects of Tuchel, who has admitted he has not been offered a new deal, lasting to the end of the season were limited.
Tuchel hints at PSG exit: I was naive to think four titles was enough
Conte crisis: Pressure piles on Inter coach as dreadful run continues
Man Utd or PSG? Where will Pochettino go?
Paulo Dybala: Could he leave Juventus?
Blades out: Sheffield United was the wrong move for Brewster
Not so, according to Leonardo, who shunned suggestions that the likes of Mauricio Pochettino and Massimiliano Allegri might have been contacted over the role.
'The club must support Thomas Tuchel'
"Internally, we've never thought of changing Tuchel," he said. "We've not called anyone, the club has never put a coach on the table to replace Tuchel. It's the precisely the opposite. Now is the time to be focussed on our goals, to be united.
"The club must support Tuchel. We've talked with him about his media handling. We didn't like [his criticism of the transfer window] being public.
"We spoke among ourselves and these are things that happen. The situation is clear for everyone.
"It would be stranger not to have these discussions."
The international recess has put the brakes on PSG's domestic momentum, which has seen them win eight successive league matches, but they have suffered two defeats in the Champions League group stages for the first time since they were taken over by QSI in 2011.
Their next match is a trip to Monaco on November 20 and that is followed up by a critical home match against Leipzig in Europe. Should Tuchel's men suffer another loss, the pressure will further ratchet up on the former Borussia Dortmund boss, who has been in charge of the side since replacing Unai Emery in the summer of 2018.
Which football managers have been sacked this season?


Just yesterday, an anonymous source sent in leaked screenshots of this fall's new Assassin's Creed game to a man named Jason Schreier who writes for kotaku.com. I have included the screenshots below the read in a spoiler. Judging by the screenshots, the game is named, or referred to as Unity and is set at least partly in 18th-century Paris, France. Within the images, various landmarks such as Notre Dame and the Seine River can be seen, but it should be noted that the screenshots do not look altogether completed so to speak. It is more likely than not that these screenshots are coming from an unfinished version of the game, and thus when the game comes out, the world will look differently. Nevertheless, even in this stage, the scenery looks quite nice.
According to Schreier and "developer sources" he speaks of, this title is one of two Assassin's Creed games that will be released this year. Apparently, Unity will be released for the Xbox One and the PS4 and another game, possibly referred to as Comet, will be released for the Xbox 360 or PS3. He continues to explain that he has not heard any news on whether or not the AC titles will be made for the Wii U and he presumes that both games will be made for PC. Additionally, he claims that within the new title, there will be buttons assigned to parkour up and down walls as a part of a new navigation/movement mechanic. Of course, Schreier's evidence is not totally concrete, but it is nothing too farfetched. Afterall, a new Assassin's Creed has been released every fall since 2009 and as far as the leaked images being legitimate, many feel like the task of faking them would pretty difficult and futile. Actually, some believe that the images may have been an intentional leak to spark up talk.
Going further, other rumors had surfaced about Unity prior to these screenshots being leaked. Some were corroborated by Examiner's Nicholas Gigante, who has been pretty spot-on the past when it came to rumors about Ubisoft's activities. In addition to the previous information about the time period and location, Gigante claims that the main character of the game will be named "Arno." Some other rumors were stirred up because of an in-game e-mail in Assassin's Creed IV which hinted at various possible time periods for future titles of the series, one of which being The French Revolution.
When asked about the images by Kotaku, Ubisoft declined to comment on the leaked images. Because of this, it sort of strengthens the viewpoint that Ubisoft may have purposely leaked the images to get people talking and grab their attention. What do you think about the images and about the AC series in general? In my humble opinion, I cannot help but feel that their games are rushed and overused. Grant it, I do love the series and how you get to see the world in different time periods. The whole combination of the religious, political, societal, and artistic dependencies is something to appreciate. Nevertheless, I wish they would take their time more. I am still on Assassin's Creed 3 and I did not nor do I plan on getting Black Flag. Nevertheless, this game excites me; I would not mind hanging out around the guillotine with Robespierre.


text:
The Château de Thorens is a castle in the commune of Thorens-Glières in the Haute-Savoie département of France. It is accessible from the north-east of Annecy by a road of about 20 km, going up to the plateau of Glières. It is often confused with the Château de Sales that was formerly its neighbour of a few hundred metres; Sales was destroyed on the order of king Louis XIII in 1630. Since the liberation of France at the end of World War II, the castle has sometimes incorrectly been called Château de Thorens-Glières, based on the current name of the commune, but it has always rightly been just de Thorens.

History
At the exit of the village of Thorens-Glières, on the road of the famous plateau of Glières, the castle appears in proud silhouette in a beautiful mountainous setting. It is built on an ancient fort dating to 1060, built by the order of count Gérold de Genève, who bestowed it upon his faithful comrade in arms, Lord Odon de Compey.

The castle was confiscated by the duke of Savoie in 1479. Many crimes, abuses and executions were reported to have been committed by the lords of Compey, so the castle was offered of Hélène de Luxembourg, spouse of prince Janus de Savoie, duke of Genève. Hélène was, however, not interested in Thorens; her daughter Louise de Savoie, who married her cousin François de Luxembourg, inherited the Château de Thorens.

Later, in 1559, Thorens was sold to Sébastien II de Luxembourg and Lord François de Sales de Boisy, father of Saint François de Sales. The Lord de Sales already owned the Château de Sales, located a few hundred metres from the Château de Thorens. Pledged also to the lords of Compey, initially, the Château de Sales thus came to the keeping of the princes of Luxembourg. The Lord de Sales occupied the prestigious charge of maître d'hôtel of the residence of prince Sébastien II. In the 17th century, the family of Sales, originating from La Roche-sur-Foron and extremely old, saw a fast rise, occupying the highest charges at the House of Savoy in Turin, going from the titles of baron to those of count and, finally, marquis.

Abused during the French invasion of Savoy in 1792, the Château de Thorens was restored in the 19th century by the marquise Alexandrine de Sales, helped by her grandson, count Eugène de Roussy de Sales. Today, the family of Roussy de Sales, headed by Félix-Léonard de Roussy de Sales, inhabits the castle year-round and undertakes its preservation.

The castle relates the life of Saint François de Sales and the family de Sales. Saint François de Sales (1567–1622), prince-bishop of Geneva, was a multi-faceted character eminently famous for his humility. His life is illustrated by liturgical goldwork, seals, episcopal clothes, paintings, documents and rare books.

The count Camille Benso de Cavour (1810–1861) is another character inextricably linked with Thorens; he stayed regularly in the castle with his cousins. When he was a prime minister for the Kingdom of Piémont-Sardaigne, Camille de Cavour concluded the risorgimento to the profit of the Savoy House, with the aid of his old friend, the emperor Napoleon III. Consequently, the county of Nice and the duchy of Savoy were annexed by France in the spring of 1860 by the Treaty of Annexation of March 24 (). The Château de Thorens contains the personal effects of this statesman, his furniture, and his works of art; in particular, the sumptuous desk in the style of "Boulle Napoléon III" on which was signed the Treaty of Annexation.

Passing through the works of art, Flandres tapestries, masterpieces of paintings, and the furniture of the Renaissance, the Baroque period, and the Second French Empire, the visitor finally enters the heart of the castle. This residence of the nobility, illuminated with the golden light of a salon, shows the finesse of 17th century tastes. The arched kitchen (1632) gives a hint of the feasts that filled this period. The austere arched rooms of the inner fortifications evoke the life of men-at-arms, and the keep recalls the seigniorial justice system.

Tourism

The Château de Thorens can be visited
 From April 1 to June 30: Saturdays, Sundays, and public holidays from 14:00 to 18:00 hours, for individual visitors;
 From September 1 to October 31: Saturdays and Sundays from 14:00 to 18:00 hours, for individual visitors;
 From July 1 to August 31: every day from 14:00 to 19:00 hours, for individual visitors;
 All the year for groups, excepted December 25 and January 1 (reservations needed).

The visit includes the keep, the staff waiting rooms of the 12th and 13th centuries, the kitchen with its imposing chimneys, the living rooms, the salons, and the offices richly furnished and decorated with works gathered from the time of the Italian Renaissance to Napoleon III. The garden also forms a part of the protected monuments.

See also
 List of castles in France
 History of Savoy
 Château de Sales

External links

  Official web site of château de Thorens
  Guides of the Patrimony of the Countries  of Savoy

Castles in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Châteaux in Haute-Savoie
History of Savoy
Museums in Haute-Savoie
Historic house museums in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Desert Places by Robert Frost | Summary, Analysis, Theme, Line By Line Analysis
August 4, 2022 July 12, 2021 by Somnath Sarkar
Desert Places Robert Frost
Desert Places Theme
Desert Places Line by Line Analysis
Desert Places Summary
Desert Places Analysis
Desert Places was published in the American Mercury (April 1934) and in A Further Range (1936). The poem expresses the sense of loneliness enveloping the poet's heart and mind.
"The loneliness includes me unawares" forms the subject matter of the poem. Desert places visible in between stars can't "scare" the poet or the speaker (in the poem) more than his own inner emptiness-"my own desert place." The poet-speaker is overtaken by a sense of fear when he sees the vast gulf between the eternity and the small space that also deserted one) that he fills in. In the beginning of the poem, the observer's sense impression about the external such as "snow falling" and "night falling" are recorded with great precision, but toward the middle the tone changes and dwells largely on "loneliness", "desert places", "empty spaces", "blanker whiteness", and "benighted snow"
Fast on fast-The repetition of "fast" indicates that it was a terrible snow-fall.
weeds- undesirable growth of plants,
stubble- stumps of cut grain after reaping
snowinglast – The last part of a few weeds" and "stubble" was visible, not all.
The woods theirs – The forest around covered up entirely with snow. Moreover, the woods have an identity with snow.
All animals are…… lairs- The animals were lying in their lairs because of terrible snow-fall.
I am too…..to count-The poet-speaker is so much depressed in spirit that he pays no heed to counting the number of animals lving in their lairs.
The loneliness…… unawares- He is taken over by his personal fear and sense of loneliness. How and for what?–he doesn't know it.
And lonely as it is…… be less – The speaker's loneliness will only be more intensified, as it is, rather than be decreased.
Ere- before.
benighted-overtaken by night, here, it means mental or spiritual darkness.
A blanker whiteness… to express- The poet speaker's spirit is sealed with a blanket fear and darkness rather than that created by snow fall in the night. His fear or loneliness does not find an outlet and it is almost inexpressible.
They cannot…desert place- The snow-covered field or the desert place between stars, the stars where no human being lives, can't scare the poet so much as his own inner desertion lying "much nearer home.
[In the first person] When I was passing an open field, I saw terrible snow-fall at the time of nightfall. And the earth was completely covered with smooth snow, but the last part of a few weeds and stubble was visible. The woods around are also snow-covered, as they should be. All the animals are crouched in their lairs due to severe cold. I am very much dispirited to be able to count the number of these animals. I have been suddenly overwhelmed by a sense of loneliness. And this is such a sort of loneliness which will go on making me more lonely rather than less. I am in the grip of a blank fear and spiritual exhaustion which is neither explicable nor has an outlet. The deserted places in the external world or in the sky between the stars, where no human creature lives, cannot scare or frighten me any more than the desert places within my own soul which lives so close to me.
The key words in the poem are: "The loneliness includes me unawares." Snow-fall creates chill in external atmosphere and the sense of loss creates chill internally. And this is the subject matter, which moves from 'observation to philosophization', as in Stopping by Woods in a Snowy Evening.
In the words of Cleanth Brooks, "Let us assume that the poem had been written without the last stanza. It would still be a poem, and a good one, but a very different one from the poem we know, such a poem would differ from The Main-Deep for instance, in several particulars. In the first place, the reader knows who the observer is. A man, at dusk, is passing through an open field where snow is falling. The poem is quickly defined as his observation. In the second place, the man, in the second stanza, indicates a relation between himself and the empty field on which the snow falls, although he does not definitely state it. The snow-covered field, in its desolation, stands as a kind of symbol for the man's own loneliness. And since this relation is established for us in the second stanza, what follows in the third, though it is stated only in application to the field, comes to us as having application to the loneliness of the man who is observing. Then follow the lines:
"A blanker whiteness of benighted snow
With no expression, nothing to express…"
As implied here, it does not matter what happens to the man or what he does, for nothing can have any further meaning."
"If the poem be taken as ending there, the process used by the poet to give his effect is very easily defined: the observer describes a natural scene which becomes for the reader a symbol of the observer's own despairing state of mind. The scene in nature has been presented so that it serves to communicate a human meaning. But the poem in reality does not end with the third stanza, and the last stanza introduces a new element into the poem-that is, the poet's own analysis and statement, an element that is almost wholly lacking from previous poems in this section."
The fact is that the last stanza does not seem transition from the earlier part. The observer does not say that after looking at the empty field he lifted his eyes to the sky and remembered what he had been told about the great emptiness of the stars and the intersteller spaces. But the reader understands that, and by the very abruptness of the shift gets a more dramatic effect, as if the man had jerked himself from his musing on the field to look at the sky and then make his comment. This comment, in brief, says this: a man who has known the desolation possible to human experience can' frightened or depressed by mean desolation in nature. And though this comment stresses the loneliness of man, it gives us a different impression of the poem. It is not an impression of mere despair, for the man, we feel, has not been overcome by his own "desert places," but has mastered them.
Robert Frost Mending Wall Analysis
This attitude is implied in the poem, though not stated in so many words. The single word "scare confirms the attitude. The man says:
"They cannot scare me with their empty spaces."
He does not use 'terrify', or 'horrify', or 'astound' or any word that would indicate the full significance of human loneliness and despair, Instead, he uses the word "scare", which is an understatement, a common, colloquial word. One "scares" children by telling them ghost stories, or by jumping at them from behind curtains. But by the use of the word in the poem the man is made to imply that he is not a child to be easily affected. Knowledge to the infinite emptiness of space, which astronomers may give him, can't affect him, for he knows, being a grown up man, that the loneliness of spirit can be greater than the loneliness of external nature. But in the last line the word "scare" is repeated, and its connotations are brought into play in the new perspective:
"To scare myself with my own desert places."
That is, the man has had so much experience of life, is so truly mature, that even the greater loneliness of the spirit can't make him behave like a child who is afraid of the dark or of ghost stories. Even in his loneliness of spirit he can still find strength enough in himself.
One should also mark the change in rhyme-scheme and also in rhythm in the last stanza. In other stanzas, the rhyming scheme is a a b a, whereas in the last one it is a b c a, Any way, the changed tone of the last stanza is undeniable.
Birches Poem by Robert Frost | Summary, Analysis, Theme, Line by Line Analysis
Mowing by Robert Frost | Summary, Analysis, Theme
Design by Robert Frost | Summary, Analysis, Theme, Line by Line Analysis
Directive by Robert Frost | Summary, Analysis, Theme, Line by Line Analysis
Categories American Literature, Poetry, Robert Frost Tags American Literature, American Poetry, Desert Places, Poetry, Robert Frost
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1 thought on "Desert Places by Robert Frost | Summary, Analysis, Theme, Line By Line Analysis"
Herb Helbig
I thought this remarkable:
P.G. Wodehouse (15 October 1881 – 14 February 1975) wrote (published) the following line in Collier's Weekly, June 5, 1920 (when he was ~39 and Robert Frost was ~46) as part of his serialized story "The Little Warrrior".
"IN the lives of each one of us, as we look back and review them in retrospect, there are certain desert wastes from which memory winces like some tired traveler faced with a dreary stretch of road."
Frost's poem was published in 1934 when he was ~60.


text:
#ifndef __CC_STD_C_H__
#define __CC_STD_C_H__

#include "base/CCPlatformConfig.h"
#if CC_TARGET_PLATFORM == CC_PLATFORM_WIN32

#include <BaseTsd.h>
#ifndef __SSIZE_T
#define __SSIZE_T
typedef SSIZE_T ssize_t;
#endif // __SSIZE_T

#include "base/CCPlatformMacros.h"
#include <float.h>

// for math.h on win32 platform
#ifndef __MINGW32__

#if !defined(_USE_MATH_DEFINES)
    #define _USE_MATH_DEFINES       // make M_PI can be use
#endif

#if !defined(isnan)
    #define isnan   _isnan
#endif

#ifndef snprintf
#define snprintf _snprintf
#endif

#endif // __MINGW32__

#include <math.h>
#include <string.h>
#include <stdarg.h>
#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <time.h>

#ifndef M_PI
  #define M_PI      3.14159265358
#endif
#ifndef M_PI_2
  #define M_PI_2    1.57079632679
#endif
// for MIN MAX and sys/time.h on win32 platform
#ifdef __MINGW32__
#include <sys/time.h>
#endif // __MINGW32__

#ifndef MIN
#define MIN(x,y) (((x) > (y)) ? (y) : (x))
#endif  // MIN

#ifndef MAX
#define MAX(x,y) (((x) < (y)) ? (y) : (x))
#endif  // MAX

#if _MSC_VER >= 1600 || defined(__MINGW32__)
    #include <stdint.h>
#else
    #include "./compat/stdint.h"
#endif

#define _WINSOCKAPI_
#ifndef NOMINMAX
  #define NOMINMAX
#endif
// Structure timeval has define in winsock.h, include windows.h for it.
#include <Windows.h>

#ifndef __MINGW32__

#include <WinSock2.h>

NS_CC_BEGIN

struct timezone
{
    int tz_minuteswest;
    int tz_dsttime;
};

int CC_DLL gettimeofday(struct timeval *, struct timezone *);

NS_CC_END

#else

#undef _WINSOCKAPI_
#include <winsock2.h>

// Conflicted with math.h isnan
#include <cmath>
using std::isnan;

inline int vsnprintf_s(char *buffer, size_t sizeOfBuffer, size_t count,
                 const char *format, va_list argptr) {
  return vsnprintf(buffer, sizeOfBuffer, format, argptr);
}

#ifndef __clang__
inline errno_t strcpy_s(char *strDestination, size_t numberOfElements,
        const char *strSource) {
    strcpy(strDestination, strSource);
    return 0;
}
#endif
#endif // __MINGW32__

// Conflicted with cocos2d::MessageBox, so we need to undef it.
#ifdef MessageBox
#undef MessageBox
#endif

// Conflicted with ParticleSystem::PositionType::RELATIVE, so we need to undef it.
#ifdef RELATIVE
#undef RELATIVE
#endif

// Conflicted with CCBReader::SizeType::RELATIVE and CCBReader::ScaleType::RELATIVE, so we need to undef it.
#ifdef ABSOLUTE
#undef ABSOLUTE
#endif

// Conflicted with HttpRequest::Type::DELETE, so we need to undef it.
#ifdef DELETE
#undef DELETE
#endif

#undef min
#undef max

#endif // CC_TARGET_PLATFORM == CC_PLATFORM_WIN32

#endif  // __CC_STD_C_H__


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Meaningful Work
Meaningful Life
Economics & Society
Todd Mei
Can Money Fail?
A version of this blog was originally posted on Quora, March 5, 2022.
With economic systems, there are at least two kinds of failure. Both are a variation of utility.
(1) Utility as Functional When features within an economic system prevent or inhibit the ability of institutions and transactors from exchanging goods, borrowing money, lending money, or providing services, then one can say there is a functional failure.
Functional failure can often include other factors that are not specifically economic. For example, F. A. Hayek alleges that in so-called socialist societies that try to engineer society in a specific way, such engineering prevents the exercise of rational capacities in individuals (i.e. trial and error) that can lead to innovation and the creation of value. (I say so-called because Hayek's definition of socialism is narrow and does not represent socialism as such.)
(2) Utility as Satisfaction The more common notion of utility in economics has to do with the satisfaction of a transactor's preferences, which can include both needs and desires.
If an economic system is inefficient in being able to provide utility satisfaction, we can say it fails in being able to circulate wealth; and in doing this, we can say that without proper circulation of wealth, the vital processes of creativity and production (which rely on the use of wealth from other sectors of an economy) have failed.
An important note: if we expand the idea of utility to involve some notion of well-being (or welfare), we can also say that failure to satisfy preferences is really a failure at creating a better society in which the lives of its citizens reach an acceptable level of quality. An economic system, in that sense, would be inefficient. And this then overlaps with the first definition of utility as functional. (And then we can talk about morality and economics in terms of utilitarianism.)
Does Barter Fail? I always like to point out that barter was not the first and most prominent form of trade for ancient and archaic societies:
"The way trust informs relations of exchange has been well argued by the likes of such political economists as Henry George and, more recently, by the anthropologist David Graeber. Both George and Graeber convincingly dispel the idea that barter was the most basic and original form of exchange between societies. George argues barter is really a form of trust that is extended over time within a society. That is, barter is really a form of credit." (For more on this, click here.)
Apart from that, we can say that barter might fail according to definition (2), since it can be cumbersome to find people with the goods you want and who want what you have.
Having said that, such a failure does not mean it ceases to exist or ceases to be used.
Economic behavior tends to follow the path of least resistance (in view of the goals one has). So barter would simply recede from the scene as a form of trade, but it might very well come back in certain instances—e.g. people want to avoid tax consequences and simply swap goods on the spot.
Money Money can fail in sense (2) when a currency is devalued (and does not allow one to acquire what one might have had the currency not been devalued), prohibited (sanctioned), or not wanted (someone simply does not trust the currency as a store of value).
Photo by Tierra Mallorca on Unsplash
More interestingly (at least for me), money can fail in sense (1) when the flow and circulation of money is controlled in such a way that it favors a small percentage of the population.
In other words, central banks, governments, and financial-related institutions create structures and procedures that prevent freer access to money. This occurs most explicitly in how banks lend money. The rich are greatly advantaged by the current system since they have financial standing and can get large loans at very low interest rates. This sum can then be invested with a return above the interest rate of the loan. It's basically free money to use to make more money.
Less explicitly, the entire system can be geared for sustaining an economy that simply creates a situation that is depressive for most people, yet seen to be the normal state of affairs. Here's an interesting take by Robert Reich on how decades of financial policies led to some significant past and recent problems:
"[T]he dominance of finance over much of the American economy since 1980 didn't happen by accident. It needed the help of politicians — including presidents (both Republican and Democrat) — who changed laws and regulations to encourage it. . . .
When the financial bubble inevitably burst, Barack Obama endorsed the Bush administration's Wall Street bailout and appointed many of the same team of Clinton-era economic advisors who, while working under Rubin in the 1990s, had laid the groundwork for the financial crisis by encouraging speculation. Obama did what they then recommended: restore the profitability of Wall Street banks rather than reduce the power of finance and help millions of Americans who lost their homes."
There are other ways in which money can fail in sense (1), but as a way of closing, I'd just like to mention that the promise of blockchain technology and decentralized finance is to provide everyone with easier access to money. There are significant challenges, such as rectifying the need for over-collateralization. My colleague Sebastian Purcell points out more of the challenges in a blog from March 2022.
So the DeFi promise is still far off, and cryptocurrency is still very much a speculative venture in both financial and practical senses. It needs to be more user-friendly and more widely accepted; but also, as my venture capitalist colleague Arvind Gupta put it, it needs to get out of the mindset of making money without creating value. It needs to do both.
Todd Mei is former Associate Professor of Philosophy (University of Kent) who specializes in the philosophy of work, ethics, and classical economic theory. He is now a consultant for businesses and is a podcaster for Living Philosophy, a public series exploring ideas about life and the inspiring second-lives of people. You can follow him on Quora,Twitter and YouTube.
This blog and its content are protected under the Creative Commons license and may be used, adapted, or copied without permission of its creator so long as appropriate credit to the creator is given and an indication of any changes made is stated. The blog and its content cannot be used for commercial purposes.
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Matt Damon And 'Spotlight' Director Tom McCarthy Teaming Up For 'Stillwater'
We haven't heard much from Tom McCarthy since his Best Picture-winning drama Spotlight, but he hasn't been resting on his laurels. The filmmaker has wrapped up his next film, Timmy Failure, and is already taking steps on what comes after. Variety reports Matt Damon is set to star in Stillwater, which McCarthy co-wrote and will direct.
Stillwater is a fish-out-of-water tale in which Damon plays an Oklahoma roughneck who ventures to Marseilles to help his daughter, who has been accused of a crime she says she didn't commit. The clash of cultures will be at the forefront here, as he develops a friendship with a local woman and her young daughter. McCarthy co-wrote the script with Thomas Bidegain and Noé Debré.
This will give Damon and McCarthy their chance to finally work together, as the actor was initially due to be part of the Spotlight cast before scheduling issues got in the way.


What's the point of flash wear leveling, again?
Look at ubifs for example. When a block starts getting "old" and growing a lot of ECC-correctable errors, it marks the block bad pre-emptively and moves your stuff to a better block. If it tries to write to a block and it doesn't work, it marks the block bad and moves your stuff to a better block. So it's quite good at dealing with blocks that go bad.
Is there really anything statistically better about moving your stuff around pre-emptively, before the block goes bad, rather than just moving it around after the block goes bad?
As far as I can tell, once something is written successfully, you're unlikely to lose more than a few bits at a time, which ECC (and then UBI's auto-migration-with-too-many-ECC-fixes feature) can safely recover as long as you read your data every now and then to check on it. But maybe there's some block failure mode I'm not understanding.


Visit the Cathedral atop the sacred rocky mountain and a local winery on this day-trip to Catalonia. Unravel the charms and fascinating legends hidden in this famous pilgrimage location!
Enjoy a wonderful view while ascending a mountain road looking out towards the Holy Land and the Cathedral. Once you arrive at the summit, you will be captivated like many other pilgrims before you by the spectacular view. Your guide will proceed to tell you about the legend of the Black Maria.
The schedule indicated below is not fixed and may be subject to change according to your preferences.
Take a sightseeing tour around the Cathedral complex, a must-see attraction in Montserrat! See what is arguably Montserrat's most important feature - the statue of the Black Madonna - and watch a performance by Europe's oldest children's choir, the "La Escalonia" (if available).
Learn more about the impressive site and choose to take the funicular railway, explore and walk around at your own leisure, shop for local cheese and jam or simply drink in the stunning views.
After lunch (own expense), drive through small beautiful country roads to the largest Cava wine region in Spain, Catalonia.
Visit the winery, learn about techniques employed in the Cava making process and sample some of the region's best.
Customers staying in downtown hotels within Barcelona should head for the Hard Rock Cafe where the pick-up service will run to.
You will have a driver-guide to accompany during the tour. Please be aware that, should you enter any premises, your guide will not accompany you.


Whatever your level – off-piste novice or seasoned power fan – Courchevel Guides can help with standard, competent and expert levels catered for. More adventurous skiers can go touring for the day, or longer with excursions of up to five days available; overnight stays involve shacking up in cosy mountain refuges en-route. Courchevel Guides also offers ice-climbing on a frozen waterfall, snowshoeing and heli-skiing as well more technical courses.


The Polikarpov NB (Nochnoi Bombardirovshchik-Night Bomber) was a Soviet twin-engined bomber designed during World War II. Only a single prototype had been built before the program was terminated upon the death of Nikolai Nikolaevich Polikarpov, the head of the aircraft's design bureau, in 1944.
The origins of the NB program are obscure, but design work began during the winter of 1941-42 with the OKB designation of aircraft T. The NB was a high-winged, twin-engined, twin tail monoplane of mixed construction. The fuselage was built of 'shpon', molded birch plywood, 4-5 mm (0.16-0.20 in) thick and was reinforced with a welded steel tube framework and a network of bracing wires in the mid-section around the aperture for the wing and the capacious bomb bay. The single-spar wing was built from a mix of steel and duralumin. The center section had a duralumin skin, but the outer panels were skinned in 'shpon'. The duralumin slotted flaps were electrically powered and ran the length of the wing center section, divided by the engine nacelles. Automatic leading edge slats were mounted on the outer panels. All control surfaces were built from wood and covered in fabric. The tailplane had 7� dihedral with twin fins. It was had a duralumin structure and was covered in 'shpon'. The main gears of the conventional undercarriage retracted aft into the rear of the engine nacelles and the tail wheel retracted into the rear fuselage. Six protected fuel tanks were in the wing center section, plus four more in the outer wings. They had a total capacity of 2,760 kg (6,085 lb) (including oil). Two 1,379 kW (1,849 hp) air-cooled Shvetsov ASh-82 radial engines were slung underneath the wings. Alternative engines considered were the Mikulin AM-39 V-12 and the Shvetsov M-71 radial, but development problems with both engines dropped them from consideration.
The bombardier was given an extensively glazed position in the nose which also had a fixed 12.7 mm (0.50 in) Berezin UB machine gun for which the pilot had a reflector sight. The dorsal gunner had a UBT machine gun in a turret while the ventral gunner fired another UB through a hatch. The bomb bay could carry up to 2,000 kg (4,400 lb) internally and an additional 3,000 kg (6,600 lb) of bombs could be carried underneath the wings.
The NB made its first flight on 23 May 1944 and completed its manufacturer's flight tests in August. Its performance promised to be outstanding, but Polikarpov's death a month earlier caused his design bureau to be shut down and all his projects were terminated.


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Crysis Remastered PC: DLSS is added – but are the major issues resolved?
Arcade News March 12, 2021 2 min read
It's been over six months since Crysis Remastered launched on PC and it's fair to say that as a gigantic fan of the original game, I was left disappointed by its re-emergence – while there was much to praise, legacy baggage from the Xbox 360 and PS3 ports effectively saw aspects of the game lacking compared to the 2007 original, while CPU performance was not where it should have been. Today's 2.1 patch is a good jumping on point though: there are genuine improvements, missing content has been restored, and for owners of GeForce RTX cards, the inclusion of DLSS AI upscaling dramatically boosts performance in graphics-limited scenarios.
There's not much to say about the DLSS implementation, except to say that it's just as impressive as other recent outings and a great addition to the game. Once again, elements of the visual presentation are actually improved over native rendering and while there is some TAA-style ghosting, it's hardly noticeable in the thick of the action. What I particularly enjoyed about this particular use of DLSS is that post-process sharpening can be manually tweaked within the command console – access to which I'd dearly like to see as a standard in all DLSS-supported titles. Ultimately, the lower down the RTX power ladder you go, the more impressive the boost given by DLSS, to the point where even in a GPU-heavy scene, the relatively lowly RTX 2060 should be comfortably capable of exceeding 60 frames per second at 1440p resolution. It even makes a reasonably good stab of 4K output too – meaning that higher-end RTX cards should deliver this with minimal issues.
Beyond DLSS, I'm happy to report that there have been many improvements to Crysis Remastered since we first looked at it: the issues with suit controls are resolved and switching modes in motion is fixed, allowing for chained speed mode jumps like you might have seen in your favourite nanosuit ninja videos. The notorious Ascension level – missing from the PS360 ports and indeed Crysis Remastered – is now back and it plays very smoothly, unlike the 2007 original which can still befuddle even the most powerful CPUs of the modern era. Ascension even features the proper volumetric fog effect from the original Cry Engine 2 rendition of the game, the omission of which elsewhere in the remaster was another problem… and one that bafflingly, still has not been fixed.
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