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About EIPG
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Home / General Assemblies
General Assemblies of EIPG
Statutory Considerations
All members of the European Industrial Pharmacists Group are called to a General Assembly at least once per year, in one of the member countries chosen by the Bureau. Each Full Member sends a delegation consisting of up to three people. The General Assembly decides on the Annual Report and the accounts for the financial year, future EIPG strategy or policy, the amount of annual fees, terms and conditions for reimbursing expenses incurred by members, new membership applications, and the appointment or reappointment of members of the Bureau.
The 2018 General Assembly of the European Industrial Pharmacists Group was held in Casablanca on the 5th and 6th May. The General Assembly was preceded on the 4th May by a scientific symposium, entitled "Morocco's Pharmaceutical Industry: An Abila Mons for African healthcare". The symposium was chaired by Rachid Lamrini, Vice-President of the Conseil de l'Ordre des Pharmaciens Fabricants et Répartiteurs (COPFR), and featured talks by Réda Amar, Directeur des professions réglementées et des ordres professionnels, Secrétariat Général du Gouvernement, Ayman Cheikh Lahlou, Président de l'Association Marocaine de l'Industrie Pharmaceutique (AMIP), Dr Abdelmoumen Mahly, pharmacien expert dans le domaine de l'administration et de la réglementation du médicament et de la pharmacie, Ministère de la Santé, and Professor Luigi Martini, Past President of EIPG.
On the morning of the first day of the Assembly, the EIPG Vice-Presidents presented an overview of the activities of EIPG throughout the past year. The collaboration between EIPG and EPSA was highlighted in the report on the various educational projects, in particular Luigi Martini's participation at the EPSA Annual Reception and the organisation of workshops and other activities by Amon Wafelman at the EPSA Annual Congress. Piero Iamartino summarised EIPG's role in technical matters, in particular the Interested Parties Meeting at the European Medicines Agency. Updates were also presented on EIPG's activities in connection with industrial partnerships by Maurizio Battistini, as well as developments Qualified Person Code of Conduct, Brexit, the Delegated Reguation on Safety Features, and drug shortages. This overview was followed by the presentation of the EIPG Communications Annual Report by Giorgos Panoutsopoulos, and the Financial Report by the Treasurer, Brigitte Saunier. These presentations were then followed by a SWOT Analysis of EIPG activities with feedback being presented by the delegates on EIPG's roles and activities.
The afternoon commenced with presentations and messages from their organisations by Aida Batista on behalf of EAHP, Patrick Jongeleen and Črtomir Fleisinger on behalf of EPSA, Michal Byliniak on behalf of the Polish Pharmaceutical Chamber, and Brigitte Saunier on behalf of the French Ordre des Pharmaciens concerning the role of the Chief Pharmaceutical Officer in France. The presentations were followed by the two working groups. The first working group was led by Piero Iamartino and Martin Doell, Aesica Pharmaceutical Limited, and focused on the role of the Qualified Person in serialisation activities, and a possible . The second working group was led by Maurizio Battistini, and examined the impact of Brexit on the activities of European industrial pharmacists. Both working groups reported back to the assembly with a number of recommendations. The highlight of the evening's social event was the presentation of EIPG Awards. Piero Iamartino was inducted as an EIPG Fellow, while Amon Wafelman was awarded the EIPG President's Award for 2018, awarded for the key role he played in coordinating the EIPG and NIA collaboration with EPSA during the EPSA Annual Congress.
The second day of the General Assembly commenced with the presentation of the Strategic and Financial Plans for 2018-2019 by the President, Claude Farrugia. These were followed by the elections: Piero Iamartino (Italy) was re-elected to the post of Vice-President Technical and Professional Development while Maurizio Battistini (Switzerland) was re-elected as Vice-President European Affairs. Presentations were made from various countries about hot topics in the pharmaceutical sector at the national level, and ways in which EIPG could be of assistance to the membership, as well as ways in which the various countries could contribute to EIPG. The Assembly re-confirmed Hungary as the venue for the General Assembly of 2019, confirmed the Netherlands as the venue for the General Assembly of 2019, and concluded by thanking the Conseil de l'Ordre des Pharmaciens Fabricants et Répartiteurs for their efforts in hosting a successful meeting.
At the 2017 General Assembly in Malta, the Bureau of the European Industrial Pharmacists Group confirmed Hungary as the venue for the General Assembly of 2019.
At the 2018 General Assembly in Casablanca, the Bureau of the European Industrial Pharmacists Group confirmed the Netherlands as the venue for the General Assembly of 2020.
At the 2019 General Assembly in Budapest, the Bureau of the European Industrial Pharmacists Group confirmed Greece as the venue for the General Assembly of 2021.
EU Transparency Register
EIPG is registered in the EU Transparency Register with public ID number 979567925318-36.
Vice-President Communications


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Seasonal: Frosty The Snow Man
December 3, 2019 Seletyn Christmas, Seasonal, TV Movies and Shows 4 comments
Walter E. "Jack" Rollins was an American musician from Keyser, West Virginia.
Along with Steve Nelson, he co-wrote "Frosty the Snowman" in 1950.
Jack Rollins also wrote "Smokey the Bear" for the public-service mascot Smokey Bear, and co-wrote many country songs for artists such as Gene Autry, Hank Snow, George Jones and Eddy Arnold.
Frosty The Snowman Soundtrack Credits:
Written by Steve Nelson and Jack Rollins
Performed by Jimmy Durante and the Children
© 1951 Hill & Range Songs
From WV Public Radio:
Songwriter Jack Rollins died on New Year's Day 1973 at age 66. The prolific composer wrote more than 500 songs but will always be remembered for two holiday favorites.
Rollins was born in Keyser in Mineral County in 1906. As a youth, he wrote poetry with his mother, who encouraged him to become a songwriter. He left home at 18 and worked in a glass factory, as a railroad baggage handler, and in a carnival. On the side, he started writing lyrics as a freelancer before joining a New York publishing company in 1948. The next year, he co-wrote "Here Comes Peter Cottontail" with Steve Nelson. The song sold more than a million copies.
Then, in 1950, he and Nelson penned "Frosty the Snow Man," which was a big hit for Gene Autry. He and Nelson also wrote "Smokey the Bear" for the U.S. Forest Service. The character was originally known as Smokey Bear, but the composers added "the" to his name because it fit better musically.
Jack Rollins is buried in Keyser. He was inducted into the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame in 2011.
For more information on WV Native Jack Rollins, a WV Public Radio post can be found: HERE
The song recounts the fictional tale of Frosty, a snowman who is brought to life by a magical silk hat that a group of children find and place on his head. Frosty enjoys roaming throughout town with the children who constructed him, only stopping once at a crosswalk when the policeman directing traffic orders pedestrians to stop. Frosty finally says goodbye to the children and comforts them, promising he will be back again someday. Although Autry's original recording does not explain the reason for Frosty's departure later versions have lyrics that attribute it to the hot sun.
Although it is generally regarded as a Christmas song, the original lyrics make no mention of the holiday . The song supposedly takes place in White Plains, New York, or Armonk, New York; Armonk has a parade dedicated to Frosty annually.
Frosty the Snowman was first recorded by Gene Autry and the Cass County Boys in 1950.
The Autry recording topped out at #7 on the Pop Charts that year and #4 on the Country Charts.
In 1950, Little Golden Books published Frosty the Snow Man as a children's book, adapted by Annie North Bedford and illustrated by Corinne Malvern.
In 1950, the UPA studio brought "Frosty" to life in a three minute animated short which appears regularly on WGN-TV. This production included a bouncy, jazzy a cappella version of the song and a limited animation style reminiscent of UPA's Gerald McBoing-Boing.
The short, filmed entirely in black-and-white, has been a perennial WGN-TV Christmas classic, broadcasted on December 24 and 25, 1955 (and every year since) as part of a WGN-TV children's programming retrospective.
In 1979, Parker Brothers came out with a Frosty the Snowman board game.
I had this version of Frosty the Snowman! A read along record. Great memories!
RCA introduced the 45 rpm single record in 1949 as a smaller, more durable, and higher fidelity replacement for earlier 78 rpm disks. Music singles on 45s served for decades as a low-cost entry point for young fans and turned single record sales into a prominent gauge of the popularity of songs and musicians.
The durability of the single record, which was later pressed at the standard LP rpm of 33-1/3, made it suited for use as a product for children, notably in sets with a matching illustrated book.
There were a number of artists who recorded the song:
Jimmy Durante (1950)
Nat King Cole (1950)
Guy Lombardo (1950)
Perry Como (1957)
Jan and Dean (1963)
Johnny Mathis (2003)
TV Adaptation Frosty The Snow Man (1969):
In 1969, Rankin/Bass Productions produced a 25-minute television special, Frosty the Snowman, featuring the animation of Japanese studio Mushi Production, and the voices of comedians Jimmy Durante as the narrator, Billy De Wolfe as Professor Hinkle and Jackie Vernon as Frosty. Paul Frees and June Foray both also voice characters including Karen and Santa Claus in this animated special produced and directed by Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass.
Jimmy Durante (Narrator)
Billy DeWolfe (Prof Hinkle)
Jackie Vernon (Frosty)
Paul Frees (Cop / Santa)
June Foray (Original Karen)
Suzanne Davidson (Later Airings-Karen)
Jimmy Durante Himself – Narrator (voice)
Billy De Wolfe Professor Hinkle / The Magician (voice)
Jackie Vernon Frosty (voice)
Paul Frees Santa Claus / Traffic Cop / Additional Voices (voice)
June Foray Teacher / Karen / Additional Voices (voice)
Suzanne Davidson Karen (later airings) (uncredited)
June Foray provided the voices of Karen, the Teacher, and the other children. However, starting with the third airing of the special, most of her recordings as Karen and the other children were replaced with the voices of actual young children. Her voice however can still be heard in subsequent airings of the special in some of the other children's dialogue. No changes were made to the credits, so for many years the actual child actors remained unknown. However, in late 2017, sources started listing Suzanne Davidson, (best known as "Susie" in Miracle on 34th Street (1973) (the 1973 TV remake of Miracle On 34th Street) and as the first "Betsy" on As the World Turns (1956)) as the later Karen voice.
IMDb synopsis: A living snowman and a little girl struggle to elude a greedy magician who is after the snowman's magic hat.
Frosty the snowman was a jolly happy soul with a corn cob pipe and a button nose and two eyes made out of coal
Frosty the snowman' is a fairy tale they say. He was made of snow
But the children know how he came to life one day.
There must have been some magic in that ol' silk hat they found for when they placed it on his head he began to dance around, oh! Frosty the snowman was alive as he could be and the children say, he could laugh and play just the same as you and me…
Frosty the snowman knew the sun was hot that day. So he said, Let's run and we'll have some fun now before I melt away.
Down to the village with a broom stick in his hand. Runnin' here and there all around the square sayin': "Catch me if you can!"
He led them down the streets of town right to the traffic cop and he only paused a moment when he heard him holler stop!
Frosty the snowman had to hurry on his way. But he waved goodbye sayin', "Don't you cry, I'll be back again some day." Thumpety thump thump, thumpety thump thump! Look at Frosty go! Thumpety thump thump, thumpety thump thump! Over the hills of snow!
As for the lyrics, that is where the cartoon WOULD have ended. But the cartoon creators drew it out a little more to offer a heartwarming tale of a girl trying to make sure her friend finds a safe home.
Along the way they go for a train ride, have some sledding adventures…
And Karen almost freezes to death!
Frosty puts the needs of his friend before his own.
Of course there has to be a villain!
Dastardly!
And the heart-wrenching moment when a friend is lost.
But wait! There is hope! Santa arrives to save the day!
AND to give Professor Hinkle a what-for!
Until next year, BYE FROSTY!
Billy De WolfeCarolChristmasFrostyGene AutryGolden RecordGuy LombardoJack RollinsJackie VernonJan and DeanJimmy DuranteJohnny MathisJune ForayLittle Golden BookMusicNat King ColeParker BrothersPaul FreesPerry ComoProfessor HinkleSanta ClausSnowmanSongwriterSteve NelsonSuzanne DavidsonUPAwest virginiaWGN-TVwv
Previous Post: Seasonal: Sir Henry Cole and his Christmas Card
Next Post: Movie: White Christmas (1954)
Sandy Young says:
Very informative! Enjoyed the history of Frosty. This song has put smiles on many a face! Writer from WV.!! That makes the song even more special!😊
Seletyn says:
Agreed!! When I saw that he was from WV, it drew me to look up facts and trivia on the song and later cartoon!
Mary Maher says:
Enjoyed tremendously

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
In der Mathematik und Informatik ist einfache Genauigkeit ( oder auch nur ) eine Bezeichnung für ein Gleitkommaformat, das eine Speichereinheit im Rechner belegt. Damit sind die genauen Details abhängig vom Rechnerhersteller und dessen Speicherarchitektur. Speziell für Mikroprozessoren mit byteweisem Speicher wurde der IEEE 754 Standard entworfen, der 4 Byte (32 Bit) für dieses Zahlenformat vorschreibt. Die Bezeichnung ist nicht Gleitkommazahlen vorbehalten; sie ist auch für ganze Zahlenformate anwendbar.

Eine IEEE-754-Zahl hat im Dezimalsystem eine Auflösung zwischen 7 und 8 Ziffern im Dezimalsystem.

Oft besteht die Notwendigkeit, Ergebnisse mit höherer Genauigkeit zu berechnen, dafür gibt es das Zahlenformat doppelte Genauigkeit. Für noch höhere Genauigkeit wurden in der Revision IEEE 754-2008 vierfach genaue Zahlenformate eingeführt.

Für spezielle numerische Aufgaben, z. B. in der Computergrafik und für didaktische Zwecke, existieren auch kürzere Zahlenformate als einfache Genauigkeit.

Weitere Genauigkeitsklassen
 Halbe Genauigkeit oder Minifloats
 Doppelte Genauigkeit
 Vierfache Genauigkeit
 Gleitkommazahl

Numerische Mathematik
Computerarithmetik

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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The 9th edition of Bairro das Artes
Bairro das Artes is an initiative that promotes the newest cultural programs of Lisbon. After a long Summer, the rentrée offers 39 venues with exhibitions and cultural events, between galleries, independent spaces and museums.Happening on 20 September, this establishes an excellent opportunity to watch the...
Bairro das Artes is an initiat...
Vitrine, by Jorge Santos
Jorge Santos opens his exhibition Vitrine today at A Montanha, on 7pm, a project which renews the gaze regarding the themes that he's been working on throughout his career: the dichotomies of the public and the private and the inside and outside; the bidimensionality of...
Jorge Santos opens his exhibit...
Festival Exquisito, from 13 to 15 September
The festival Exquisito was organised by the Gerador platform and is opening tomorrow. It will be three days of activities devoted to music, performance and visual arts, with several exhibitions happening throughout Telheiras district.We highlight the four proposals merged with general theme of the festival,...
The festival Exquisito was org...
Terror speaks Portuguese at the 12th edition of MOTELX
The 12th edition of MOTELX starts today and until Sunday (9th September) it will occupy Cinema S. Jorge, Cinemateca Júnior and Cinemateca's terrace with a marathon of horror and genre movies. Welcome to MOTELX. The last one to get in turns off the light. Terrorês -...
The 12th edition of MOTELX sta...
"Listening to the waters" in the works of the Schneider Collection and of Portuguese artists
You still have time to pay a visit to the exhibitions at the Money Museum (Museu do Dinheiro) and the East Turret (Torreão Nascente), which establish a dialogue through a suggestive title. Organized in different thematic nuclei, with Paulo Pires do Vale as curator, we...
You still have time to pay a v...
Jorge Queiroz at ZdB
ZDB's gallery is showing, until September 8, A Invenção do Sim e do Não [The Invention of Yes and No], an exhibition of Jorge Queiroz.Using an approach slightly site-specific, several rooms are filled by some of the artist's large paintings and drawings.In Jorge Queiroz's paintings, the tiny landscapes appear on the surface...
ZDB's gallery is showing, un...
Pan African Unity Mural: Ângela Ferreira on the intersectional experience of the African community
Pan African Unity Mural is also a return story - an eternal return to the starting point. Ângela Ferreira (1958-) returns to the Community House in Cape Town, South Africa, to conduct a collaborative mural painted by an artistic collective which was she was part of in the 80s. By...
Pan African Unity Mural is ...
Two exhibitions at Gallery Belo-Galsterer
Bauhaus has greatly contributed for the regeneration of modern visual expressions, in what it has translated – even though its pronounced tendency towards graphics and design –, in contamination, into the plastic arts. The study of forms, the perception of them, the drawing and graphic...
Bauhaus has greatly contribute...
2018 Millenium BCP Young Art Award
The Millenium BCP Foundation and Carpe Diem Arte e Pesquisa continue the effort of supporting young artist recently graduated – with a trip to a European city, an inclusion into an artistic event, and the continuation of their professional graduation – and the organization of...
The Millenium BCP Foundation a...
History according to ecology
"My conscience is perfectly aligned with the horizon and is borne from oil." Nikolai NekhMy conscience is oil – perhaps the most concise statement of Nikolai Nekh's work – is the acknowledgement of a turning point of an ontological perspective on the man. Before this...
"My conscience is perfectly ...


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Ellen Ndeshi Namhila: A viewpoint from Namibia
Profile by Margaret Adolphus
A career born out of exile
As a child, Ellen Ndeshi Namhila, university librarian of the University of Namibia (UNAM) and chronicler of Namibian history, didn't know what a book was, let alone a library – the only books she encountered were bibles and hymn books. A turning point came when she discovered a public library near her high school in The Gambia, started borrowing books, and conceived an admiration for the person standing at the other side of the counter.
At that time, Ms Namhila had already been a refugee for some years. Whilst a boarder at Eenhana Secondary School, constant harassment by the South African army, which involved arrests, beatings and humiliation of staff and pupils, prompted the 12-year-old to flee. After staying in a South West African People's Organization (SWAPO) camp in Angola, she obtained a scholarship to study at St Joseph's High School in The Gambia, moving there in 1979.
On graduation, Ms Namhila returned to the camp at Kwanza Sul in Angola. She became a teacher, but she had not lost her love of libraries: she decided to set up a library in the camp. This brought her to the attention of Nahas Angula, currently Prime Minister and then SWAPO Secretary for Education, who sent the talented girl off to the University of Tampere in Finland on a scholarship to study librarianship.
Returning to Namibia some 19 years after she left it, Ms Namhila started on a distinguished career in librarianship, working first for the Parliament library and rising to become director of library and archives in the Ministry of Education, and eventually seeking new challenges in the world of academia. She has held her current role since 2007.
Not surprisingly, Ms Namhila speaks – without bitterness, although her voice shivers when she talks about apartheid – of being born at the wrong time:
"… because my country was starting to wage the war between the colonized and the colonizers. This world of unfairness and unjustness and oppression – that is my background."
Like many people who have experienced injustice and a difficult start in life, she has a sense of urgency and clear priorities – she wants to get in there and change things, and wants like-minded people around her. No time-servers please.
And in her current position, servicing the information needs of her country's researchers and future skills base, she's a critical player in the rebuilding of the nation. (UNAM sees its mission as to become "a treasure house of knowledge at the service of national development".)
There are plenty of challenges: Namibia, having emerged from a long struggle against rule by South Africa, has been independent since 1990. Although the Government is tackling structural issues of basic education and gender equity, Namibia remains a country of marked contrast between rich and poor with much poverty, especially in the rural areas in the north (International Federation for Agricultural Development, 2009).
A treasure house of knowledge at the service of national development
Because of UNAM's position as the major University of Namibia (it is in fact one of the best universities in Africa) it acts as a national information and learning resource, so it's a bit like a combination of the University of London library and the British Library. As such, it serves not only the academic community, but also civil servants and people from the private sector studying after hours or on short courses.
The library itself is located in a four-storey building of approximately 5,620 m2. The ground floor houses the catalogue, special collections, the archive or institutional repository and technical services, including the library's servers. The first floor – where you enter the building – contains the circulation and reference desk, and 150 personal computers (PCs) available for student use. There are also interactive multimedia facilities for video-conferencing lectures from the main to the other campuses in the north of the country, at Neudamm, Ogongo, and Ongwediva, and an e-learning centre (with its own project manager) where lecturers can upload their teaching materials.
The second floor houses offices, including that of Ms Namhila, several collections, research and study cubicles, and a large number of reading spaces on each side. Finally, on the fourth floor there are more offices and a room with 50 PCs for computer-related training and information literacy.
Providing e-resources for those who don't have access to the Internet
In the West, one of the key library debates is about the physical versus the virtual library. It's become much more popular to use the latter for study, which you can do at any time and without leaving your room. The library itself is increasingly used as a meeting place rather than for private study.
But in Namibia, with an Internet population of 5.4 per cent (as compared with that of the USA's 74.1 per cent and China's 25.3 per cent), this debate is not relevant. Ms Namhila says:
"Many people can't afford food or school fees for their kids. A lot of our kids have to walk 5 or even 10 km from home up to the university on foot every day because they have no money to pay for transport. The Internet becomes a luxury afforded after I pay the home loan and the car loan. Everyone wants to have access to the Internet but many people are poor, already struggling to pay fees for their children at university."
(In Namibia as elsewhere in Africa, mobile phones are developing faster than the Internet due to cost factors.) Lack of access to the Internet, and even in some cases of possession of a computer, means that the library fulfils a vital support role in this respect.
It is, however, an important centre of activity in its own right, providing somewhere to meet, discuss, network and attend lectures and exhibitions.
Ms Namhila firmly believes that electronic resources are "the way to go" – but the access debate is not so much about where and when, but how many. An electronic resource can be used simultaneously by many, a print resource by only one person at a time.
UNAM library's content spending budget is around €60,000, or Namibian$6 m, which is a relatively small budget considering the university's 10,000 students (8,000 full-time and 2000 part-time), and compared with the content budgets of European and North American libraries. (Content spending for African academic libraries, at US$50 m, is about 127th of that spent by libraries in North America – US$2.54 b – and one 50th of that spent by European libraries – US$1.01 billion, Outsell, Inc., 2009).
Keeping researchers happy, and supplied with the e-resources they need, is obviously very important, and it can be difficult to do so within budget constraints. UNAM subscribes to a number of publishers and aggregators, such as Ebscohost, Oxford University Press, SpringerLink, and Sabinet, and a collection of Southern African journals. There is pressure to subscribe to more, but the concern is always whether they will be able to pay the subscription in future years.
Through its membership of the South African Consortium, the library has access to the Millennium integrated library system software, automates the administrative tasks of circulation and acquisition, detects changes in titles and publication patterns of serials, recognizes some pre-catalogued items (e.g. by the Library of Congress), and enables cross-database search and direct links to a resource if allowed by the vendor.
As befits a national university library, UNAM has its own institutional repository: UNAMSpace – one of only 26 in the whole of Africa (as of October 6 2009). UNAMSpace carries university records, theses, dissertations, conference papers and articles, as well as original research data (interviews, desk research, etc.) which can prove invaluable to have in a public domain in order to avoid duplication. Lecturers are also being encouraged to put their teaching material up there, in order to create a more open teaching environment.
One of the main concerns of academic librarians the world over is how to teach students to navigate the complex informational landscape, and to avoid taking the short-cut route through commercial search engines. At UNAM, there is a team of subject librarians to provide the link between the faculties and the library, ensuring that their resource needs are met; they also, together with technical services teams, carry out information literacy training.
Students are trained by their subject group in how to search and use particular databases, as well as how to evaluate all sorts of resources and reference them correctly. The same training is also done with staff, but separately, as staff members may not want to show their ignorance to students.
Building a profession in a young country
Difficult though it may be to acquire adequate resources on a small budget (so what's new, many librarians elsewhere may say) perhaps an even greater challenge lies in finding the skilled staff.
A nation's history is reflected in its libraries. In China, many collections were destroyed in the Cultural Revolution. In Namibia, it was not so much the collections that were destroyed, but the workforce disempowered.
When librarianship was introduced into the country, it was done so by the South African apartheid government, which "saw it as a service of whites for whites". If Africans worked in libraries it was as cleaners, and then, when the policy of apartheid softened in the 1980s, as library assistants. And when independence came in 1990, many of the skilled people running the service went back to South Africa – "We don't have many grandmothers whom we can go to for wisdom" – and with those who left, librarianship was seen as unfashionable, a "housewife's hobby".
And yet, the newly independent Namibia hit the ground running as far as libraries were concerned – the national library, the polytechnic and UNAM were all established. Contrary to popular belief, libraries cannot just be run by a few people handing out books as a hobby – they need people with first class management and information and communications technologies (ICT) skills, as well as knowledge of how to make a complex service run seamlessly and smoothly. In a country crying out for librarians, there were few skilled people.
Lack of a skilled workforce means that key posts remain unfilled, crucially that of ICT librarian, because of the lack of ICT professionals working in librarianship. The need for such a post is critical when so much of a modern library service depends on having the right technology, not only for now, but also the future. In addition, people lack generic skills, such as writing project proposals, which makes delegation difficult.
Ms Namhila developed a strategy for capacity building which was inclusive rather than selective: she could have picked out promising individuals, but decided that the criteria of what was meant by "promising" was too subjective. Instead, she relied on training and mentoring, as well as allowing people to take on new projects and learn from the experience.
Plans for next year include spending an hour a week on staff training, in subjects of direct relevance, for example those involved in digitization will attend training in metadata. Workshops are held internally and external training is cascaded back to the rest of the staff.
There are staff development fellowships for people to go away to study (Australia and Cape Town have proved popular destinations), but only one person can go at a time, and those who don't want to wait can study by distance learning, their books and fees also paid from the library's budget.
Librarians are also being trained closer to home: UNAM's Department for Information and Communication Studies offers a Bachelor of Arts in Library Science, as well as a two year diploma, from which 60 per cent of the library's professional staff are drawn. Ms Namhila works closely with the department to provide advice and practical experience for students.
Nevertheless, the need remains to go abroad for advanced studies, not least because of the need for students to be exposed to a highly developed library service to expand their horizon.
An inclusive management style
It's become fashionable to ask those in senior positions what their management style is. Ms Namhila denies that she has any particular management style, although it is clear that her experiences of the exclusive nature of apartheid have shaped her values:
"I always think that why would you make, why would you exclude somebody, what is it that you gain by leaving me out or leaving somebody out?"
Ms Namhila most definitely doesn't want to leave anyone out – everyone is important in her library, and everyone has a chance to prove themselves, from the librarian who advises on legal resources and helps with the budget, to the person who locks up or keeps the exhibition area presentable. Hers is very much a team effort:
"As for management style, I like to run a place where everyone feels they have a place to contribute, and also feel that they have a special programme they are running, that they are responsible for. Even our junior staff, you make them think they are responsible for security of the building. Or you may be responsible for the exhibition area, keeping it neat and clean and up to date – at the staff meeting they can report on what can now be removed."
A great way of valuing people is to give them praise when they do something well – even better, give them some tangible form of recognition. Ms Namhila has hit on a unique way of giving people a reward – if they do something particularly good, they get a certificate:
"And when people do well, praise them, recognize them – you can just issue them with a certificate, like one time I travelled and when I came back I found the staff had done an exhibition. I was so impressed. So what do I do? I can't afford to take them for lunch, but I can issue them with a certificate of recognition and ask the vice chancellor to sign it. And they feel good, they feel recognized, they feel appreciated".
Recording her culture's stories
In addition to being a distinguished librarian, Ms Namhila is also a published writer, documenting key periods and aspects of her culture.
Her book, The Price of Freedom (Namhila, 1997), is a dignified and moving account of her life in exile. It's a story of an escape from a violence which ruptured a child's sense that adults provide security, of an education obtained in The Gambia and Finland, of how friends and leaders in the camps replaced her extended family. Of the difficulties of acclimatizing oneself to radically different cultures, one largely Muslim, the other characterized by Western values of self-reliance diametrically opposed to the African values of reciprocity and interdependence, and where her difficulties were compounded by also raising a child as a single mother from a minority culture. Of her eventual return in 1993, to a different, but now independent Namibia.
She has also published a biography of Namibian political activist and founding member of SWAPO, Kaxumba KaNdola (Namhila, 2005). A legend to his people, Ms Namhila did not know as a child whether or not Kaxumba actually existed:
"The way people talk about him, it's like he's not a person. When I was a child looking into that I thought maybe some myth of a person because they say, when the police come for him he's sitting there, and he will tell them, 'Oh Kaxumba he just left, if you go that way you'll find him'. But he's the one talking, you know. And people tell all kinds of stories that some days the police are chasing him and he changed into a bird or he changed into a tree or he changed into rock. So I thought that Kaxumba was just a myth. And on our independence day when the President was sworn in and he was giving his speech he mentioned this person Kaxumba kaNdola and I was like '... so he's actually a person!'. I thought it was just a myth created to give strength to the people you know."
Her book is a unique piece of oral as well as archival history: the story not only of a great man, but also of the brutal system of contract labour that existed under colonialism, where those seeking work were banded with rings representing the perceived strength of the owner and their proposed destination, "A" being destined for the copper or diamond mines, "B" for jobs on railways, construction, or private firms, and "C" for the least demanding, and worst paid work, on farms.
Once they had gained work, they were paid little money, not allowed to complain, forced to live in zinc barracks for 18 months at a time, subject to ferocious beatings at the whim of their white employers, and fined for the death of a cow in their care, even if the latter had been attacked by a lion (who, incidentally, mercilessly marauded the workers on their brief visits to their homes). In an understatement worthy of the English, but replete with African dignity, one witness comments:
"... it did not take the human factor of the African people into account."
What drives Ms Namhila, who has just launched another book, Tears of Courage (2009), about five women – mothers, wives, providers – in the era of the independence struggle, is the desire to give her people a voice:
"When you are in a culture, your own culture, where your stories are not written down, and you get consuming knowledge from other places, somehow you just tend to say, well, maybe I can do it."
Do it she certainly can.
International Federation for Agricultural Development (2009), "Rural poverty in Namibia", available at http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/web/guest/country/home/tags/namibia [accessed October 26 2009].
Namhila, E.N. (1997), The Price of Freedom, New Namibia Books, Windhoek.
Namhila, E.N. (2005), "Kaxumba kaNdola: man and myth. The biography of a barefoot soldier", Lives, Legacies, Legends Series 02, Basel Afrika Bibliographien.
Namhila, E.N. (2009), "Tears of courage, five mothers, five stories, one victory", Footprint Series no.3: AACRLS, Windhoek.
Outsell, Inc. (2009), Library Market Size, Share & Forecast Report, Vol. 3, September 28.


text:
Q: Strings maintaining leading and trailing quotes from JSON when using Jerkson JSON in question:
{
"search_id": "",
"type": "Search.filter",
"query": "bar,club",
"params": {
    "search_id": "",
    "user_id": "",
    "client": "ios",
    "lat": 40.73199375351,
    "lon": -74.00080404533901,
    "radius": 20
}

}
Code to Retrieve the Data:
val json = Json.parse(new String(body))
println((json \ "search_id") + " | " + (json \ "query"))
println(json)

printing just the json JsValue prints out the entire JSON as expected. printing out the first item produces: "" | "bar,club"
Why is it maintaining the quotes from JSON formatting? That's not part of the string, it's basically saying that the content inside the quotes is a string. How do I fix this?

A: According to the doc, you should call .as[sometype] (unsafe conversion) or asOpt[sometype] (safe).
println((json \ "search_id").as[String] + " | " + (json \ "query").as[String])

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Suzanne Preston Blier
Allen Whitehill Clowes Chair of Fine Arts and of African and African American Studies
Department of History of Art & Architecture and Department of African and African American Studies. Office: Sackler Museum, Harvard University, 485 Broadway Cambridge, MA 02138, email: blier at fas dot harvard dot edu
Arican Vodun: Art, Psychology, and Power
Blier., Suzanne Preston. Arican Vodun: Art, Psychology, and Power. University of Chicago Press, 1995. Web.
Beads, bones, rags, straw, leather, pottery, fur, feathers and blood—these are the raw materials of vodun artworks. The power of these images lies not only in their aesthetic, and counter-aesthetic, appeal but also in their psychological and emotional effect. As objects of fury and force, these works are intended to protect and empower people and cultures that have long been oppressed. In this first major study of its kind, Suzanne Preston Blier examines the artworks of the contemporary vodun cultures of southern Benin and Togo in West Africa as well as the related voudou traditions of Haiti, New Orleans, and historic Salem, Massachusetts. Blier employs a variety of theoretically sophisticated psychological, anthropological, and art historical approaches to explore the contrasts inherent in the vodun arts—commoners versus royalty, popular versus elite, "low" art versus "high." She examines the relation between art and the slave trade, the psychological dynamics of artistic expression, the significance of the body in sculptural expression, and indigenous perceptions of the psyche. Throughout, Blier pushes African art history to a new height of cultural awareness that recognizes the complexity of traditional African societies as it acknowledges the role of social power in shaping aesthetics and meaning generally. This book will be of critical importance not only to those concerned with African, African American, and Caribbean art, but also to anthropologists, African diaspora scholars, students of comparative religion and comparative psychology, and anyone fascinated by the traditions of voudou and vodun.
African Arts Resources
The Image of the Black in African and Asian Art
"L'Afrique et l'Occident : une introduction."
Abomey: Plan for Obsolescence, not just Expansion
Art and Risk in Ancient Yoruba: Ife History, Power, and Identity c. 1300
Web Article (1)
Web project page (3)


NEW YORK – After a regular season that saw record-breaking business success, propelled in large part by the NHL's strategy of engaging fans through big events and robust digital offerings, the League built on that momentum with unprecedented success during a Stanley Cup Playoffs that attracted the largest audience across all platforms in the history of the sport.
The landmark playoff run was highlighted by the most-watched NHL game in the U.S. in 36 years; the highest audience for an all-U.S. Final in Canadian television history; the most-watched first two rounds on U.S. cable in history; the most-watched NHL game in TSN's history; record TV ratings in local markets such as Chicago, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Boston; television and digital growth in non-traditional markets like Memphis, Kansas City, New Orleans and San Diego; another record year for NHL.com unique visitors; the hottest of all hot markets in Chicago fueling a Shop.NHL.com one-day sales record; in-arena sales for the Final growing by 129 percent; and measurable buzz on platforms like Google and Twitter.
"By whatever method of measurement you want to use -- be it ratings, revenues, page views, video starts, sponsor activations or simply the quality of play – the game, the players, the fans, our clubs and our partners teamed up to make 2009-10 a season to remember," said NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman.
NHL COO John Collins said, "Our fans once again demonstrated their insatiable appetite for NHL hockey, which they consumed in unprecedented numbers across all of our platforms. These milestones spotlight the power of the Stanley Cup Playoffs and its importance to hockey fans around the world. It's a fitting cap to a season that saw record-breaking business success for the League."
• On Wednesday, June 9, (Game 6) and the day preceding, five of the top 20 searches on Google were Stanley Cup related.
• For week one of the Stanley Cup Final search interest for the Stanley Cup Final was up 23 percent over last year.
• The Stanley Cup ranked as the number one trending topic worldwide on Twitter through the end of Game 6 (June 9).
• According to the Chicago Sun-Times, The City of Chicago estimated that two million people attended the Chicago Blackhawks Stanley Cup parade on Friday more than the estimated half-million that watched the White Sox World Series parade in 2005 as well as any victory parade for the Bulls in the 1980's and 90's.
• According to Forbes.com, tickets for the Stanley Cup Final were driving a higher price on the secondary market than for the NBA Finals.
• Total in-venue sales for Stanley Cup Final were up 92 percent over last year's Final and gained 129 percent over the first six games of the 2009 Final.
• Total sales for the entire 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs were up 22 percent.
• Shop.NHL.com recorded its best single day sales total on June 10, surpassing the previous single day record (Holiday 2009 Cyber Monday) by 25 percent and also eclipsed Penguins (Stanley Cup 2009) by over 50 percent.
"Sales in Chicago have been off the charts," said Bryan Nosal of JC Penney. "We sold out in many locations within hours. The fan support has been tremendous."
Jim Pasani of VF Licensed Sports Group, Majestic Athletic said, "Chicago's commitment to the Cup is like nothing we've ever seen and demand for Blackhawks apparel has exceeded our own high expectations. The Blackhawks victory caps off what has been a winning NHL campaign with fans and retailers appetites for NHL merchandise clearly on a strong upswing heading into 2011."
• Game 6 of the Final on NBC was the most-watched (8.28 million) and highest-rated NHL game (4.7) on U.S. television in 36 years.
• NBC Sports broadcast four of the series' six games (1-2, 5-6). Those four games averaged 6.1 million viewers, the best on network TV in 13 years.
• NBC Sports' coverage of Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final earned the best overnight rating (4.1 rating and 7 share) for a Game 2 on record (NHL overnight data prior to 1975 is unavailable).
• Game 6 between Chicago and Philadelphia averaged 4.077 million viewers, the highest audience ever for an all-U.S. Stanley Cup Final on CBC.
• Overall, the Stanley Cup Final on CBC averaged 3.107 million viewers, the best in six years and a 44 percent increase over last year.
• For the entire playoffs, CBC averaged 2.102 million viewers, up 62 percent from 2009.
• The 2010 Playoffs on VERSUS were the most-watched in network history and the best on cable since 2002.
• The Conference Quarterfinal and Semifinal rounds were the most-watched first two rounds on cable since NHL Playoff viewership became available by Nielsen in the 1993/94 season (54 games, 775,000 viewers).
• Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final on June 2 was VERSUS' highest-rated and most-watched telecast ever in network history (3.1 HH rating and 3.6 million viewers) and made VERSUS the most-watched cable network in the country that night.
• Games 3 & 4 of the Stanley Cup Final averaged 3.369 million viewers, up five percent over the 2009 average (3.212 million viewers), making it the most-watched Final round on cable since 2002.
• TSN averaged more than 1.11 million viewers for its playoff coverage – 70 percent higher than its average playoff audience last season.
• TSN's audience of 2.8 million for the Washington-Montreal Game 7 was the highest audience ever recorded for an NHL game on TSN.
• Overall, the Montreal-Washington series ranks as the most-watched playoff series ever on TSN (any round) with an average audience of 1.8 million viewers over seven games.
• The NHL Playoffs on RDS averaged 759,000 viewers for 65 telecasts, up 84 percent from last season.
• The Canadiens-Penguins Game 7 was the most-viewed NHL telecast in the network's history with 2.69 million viewers.
• Video starts on NHL.com finished up 161 percent over last year for the entire playoffs.
• Unique visitors to NHL.com were up 17 percent over last year's record number.
• Page views were up 56 percent.
• Mobile page views were up 181 percent.
• For the Stanley Cup Final page views were up 88 percent and video starts 225 percent.
• April was the most trafficked month in the history of NHL.com in terms of unique visitors surpassing 17 million.
• NHL.com ranked as the number two site in terms of percentage change in unique visitors from March to April according to comScore.
• The League's "History Will Be Made" campaign generated 3.2 million video starts on NHL.com and Club sites, 1.4 million views on YouTube and 5 million views on YouTube for fan-created versions.
• Game 1 of the Blackhawks-Sharks series on NBC earned an 11.2 rating in Chicago, beating the Cubs, White Sox and Boston-Orlando broadcasts combined.
• The Flyers Game 7 victory over the Bruins was the most watched Flyers game in Comcast SportsNet history with an 11.7 rating and 345,000 households, topping the previous record set two days earlier.
• The Canadiens-Penguins Game 7 on FSN Pittsburgh averaged a 26.4 HH rating, the highest-rated game ever on the network. At one point 43 percent of all households in the Pittsburgh DMA were tuned into FSN.
• There were three major Boston-area sports events televised on May 7 and Game 4 of the Bruins-Flyers series scored the best numbers, earning an 8.3 local Nielsen rating (328,000 viewers) on Versus in the Boston metered market besting the Yankees-Red Sox matchup on NESN, which earned a 6.3 local rating (223,000 viewers) to finish in second, while Game Three of the Cavaliers-Celtics NBA Eastern Conference Semifinals earned a 4.1 local rating (142,000 viewers) on ESPN.


text:
The sequential organ failure assessment score (SOFA score), previously known as the sepsis-related organ failure assessment score, is used to track a person's status during the stay in an intensive care unit (ICU) to determine the extent of a person's organ function or rate of failure. The score is based on six different scores, one each for the respiratory, cardiovascular, hepatic, coagulation, renal and neurological systems.

The score tables below only describe points-giving conditions. In cases where the physiological parameters do not match any row, zero points are given. In cases where the physiological parameters match more than one row, the row with most points is picked.

The quick SOFA score (qSOFA) assists health care providers in estimating the risk of morbidity and mortality due to sepsis.

Medical use
The SOFA scoring system is useful in predicting the clinical outcomes of critically ill patients. According to an observational study at an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) in Belgium, the mortality rate is at least 50% when the score is increased, regardless of initial score, in the first 96 hours of admission, 27% to 35% if the score remains unchanged, and less than 27% if the score is reduced. Score ranges from 0 (best) to 24 (worst) points.

Quick SOFA score
The Quick SOFA Score (quickSOFA or qSOFA) was introduced by the Sepsis-3 group in February 2016 as a simplified version of the SOFA Score as an initial way to identify patients at high risk for poor outcome with an infection. The SIRS Criteria definitions of sepsis are being replaced as they were found to possess too many limitations; the "current use of 2 or more SIRS criteria to identify sepsis was unanimously considered by the task force to be unhelpful." The qSOFA simplifies the SOFA score drastically by only including its 3 clinical criteria and by including "any altered mentation" instead of requiring a GCS <15. qSOFA can easily and quickly be repeated serially on patients.

The score ranges from 0 to 3 points. The presence of 2 or more qSOFA points near the onset of infection was associated with a greater risk  of death or prolonged intensive care unit stay. These are outcomes that are more common in infected patients who may be septic than those with  uncomplicated infection. Based upon these findings, the Third International Consensus Definitions for Sepsis recommends qSOFA as a simple prompt to identify infected patients outside the ICU who are likely to be septic.

qSOFA has also been found to be poorly sensitive though decently specific for the risk of death with SIRS possibly better for screening.

qSOFA utility
The qSOFA was designed to be used in non-ICU settings, where the healthcare provider might not have access to all the information used in the SOFA score. Settings include the emergency department or other healthcare settings where patients are initially assessed. The three criteria used (systolic blood pressure, respiratory rate, and GCS) can be quickly gathered in the emergency department, to risk stratify patients and provide potentially ill patients with quick interventions. This scoring system is used to identify potential patients with sepsis.

In 2019, the surviving sepsis campaign detailed a bundle of medical interventions to be done within the first hour of presentation on septic patients to reduce mortality, so quick identification of these patients with the qSOFA score is important to treat quickly. This group of interventions is the one hour bundle and includes:
Measure lactate level
Draw blood culture before starting antibiotics
Start broad spectrum antibiotics
Rapidly give crystalloid if hypotensive or lactate greater than or equal to 4 mmol/L
Give vasopressors if still hypotensive after crystalloid administration

One study found the one hour bundle to have no significant improvement in in-hospital mortality over patients given the 3 or 6 hour bundles that have been previously recommended by the surviving sepsis campaign.

See also
 APACHE II

References

External links

Diagnostic intensive care medicine
Rating systems
Emergency medicine
Medical scales
Medical assessment and evaluation instruments


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text:
'See-through soil' could help farmers deal with future drought
By Adam Hadhazy
Princeton researchers demonstrated an experimental platform that allows scientists to study the hydrogels' hidden workings in soils, along with other compressed, confined environments.
Datta et al
In research that may eventually help crops survive drought, scientists at Princeton University have uncovered a key reason that mixing material called hydrogels with soil has sometimes proven disappointing for farmers.
Hydrogel beads, tiny plastic blobs that can absorb a thousand times their weight in water, seem ideally suited to serve as tiny underground reservoirs of water. In theory, as the soil dries, hydrogels release water to hydrate plants' roots, thus alleviating droughts, conserving water, and boosting crop yields.
Yet mixing hydrogels into farmers' fields has had spotty results. Scientists have struggled to explain these uneven performances in large part because soil—being opaque —has thwarted attempts at observing, analyzing, and ultimately improving hydrogel behaviors.
In a new study in the journal Science Advances, the Princeton researchers demonstrated an experimental platform that allows scientists to study the hydrogels' hidden workings in soils, along with other compressed, confined environments. The platform relies on two ingredients: a transparent granular medium—namely a packing of glass beads—as a soil stand-in, and water doped with a chemical called ammonium thiocyanate. The chemical cleverly changes the way the water bends light, offsetting the distorting effects the round glass beads would ordinarily have. The upshot is that researchers can see straight through to a colored hydrogel glob amidst the faux soil.
Princeton researchers used borosilicate glass beads as a substitute for soil to study the behavior of hydrogels acting as water reservoirs in farm fields. The researchers used an additive to correct for distortion from the beads allowing them to clearly observe the hydrogel.
"A specialty of my lab is finding the right chemical in the right concentrations to change the optical properties of fluids," said Sujit Datta, an assistant professor of chemical and biological engineering at Princeton and senior author of the study appearing in the journal Science Advances on Feb. 12. "This capability enables 3D visualization of fluid flows and other processes that occur within normally inaccessible, opaque media, such as soil and rocks."
The scientists used the setup to demonstrate that the amount of water stored by hydrogels is controlled by a balance between the force applied as the hydrogel swells with water and the confining force of the surrounding soil. As a result, softer hydrogels absorb large quantities of water when mixed into surface layers of soil, but don't work as well in deeper layers of soil, where they experience a larger pressure. Instead, hydrogels that have been synthesized to have more internal crosslinks, and as a result are stiffer and can exert a larger force on the soil as they absorb water, would be more effective in deeper layers. Datta said that, guided by these results, engineers will now be able to conduct further experiments to tailor the chemistry of hydrogels for specific crops and soil conditions.
"Our results provide guidelines for designing hydrogels that can optimally absorb water depending on the soil they are meant to be used in, potentially helping to address growing demands for food and water," said Datta.
The inspiration for the study came from Datta learning about the immense promise of hydrogels in agriculture but also their failure to meet it in some cases. Seeking to develop a platform to investigate hydrogel behavior in soils, Datta and colleagues started with a faux soil of borosilicate glass beads, commonly used for various bioscience investigations and, in everyday life, costume jewelry. The bead sizes ranged from one to three millimeters in diameter, consistent with the grain sizes of loose, unpacked soil.
In summer 2018, Datta assigned Margaret O'Connell, then a Princeton undergraduate student working in his lab through the ReMatch+ program, to identify additives that would change water's refractive index to offset the beads' light distortion, yet still allow a hydrogel to effectively absorb water. O'Connell alit upon an aqueous solution with a bit over half of its weight contributed by ammonium thiocyanate.
Nancy Lu, a graduate student at Princeton, and Jeremy Cho, then a postdoc in Datta's lab and now an assistant professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas built a preliminary version of the experimental platform. They placed a colored hydrogel sphere, made from a conventional hydrogel material called polyacrylamide, amidst the beads and gathered some initial observations.
Jean-François Louf, a postdoctoral researcher in Datta's lab, then constructed a second, honed version of the platform and performed the experiments whose results were reported in the study. This final platform included a weighted piston to generate pressure on top of the beads, simulating a range of pressures a hydrogel would encounter in soil, depending upon how deep the hydrogel is implanted.
Overall, the results showed the interplay between hydrogels and soils, based on their respective properties. A theoretical framework the team developed to capture this behavior will help in explaining the confounding field results gathered by other researchers, where sometimes crop yields improved, but other times hydrogels showed minimal benefits or even degraded the soil's natural compaction, increasing the risk of erosion.
Ruben Juanes, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who was not involved in the study, offered comments on its significance. "This work opens up tantalizing opportunities for the use of hydrogels as soil capacitors that modulate water availability and control water release to crop roots, in a way that could provide a true technological advance in sustainable agriculture," said Juanes.
Other applications of hydrogels stand to gain from Datta and his colleagues' work. Example areas include oil recovery, filtration, and the development new kinds of building materials, such as concrete infused with hydrogels to prevent excessive drying out and cracking. One particularly promising area is biomedicine, with applications ranging from drug delivery to wound healing and artificial tissue engineering.
"Hydrogels are a really cool, versatile material that also happen to be fun to work with," said Datta. "But while most lab studies focus on them in unconfined settings, many applications involve their use in tight and confined spaces. We're very excited about this simple experimental platform because it is allowing us to see what other people couldn't see before."
The work was supported in part by the National Science Foundation and the High Meadows Environmental Institute at Princeton.
New course builds students' intuition for quantum experiments
Wide range of leaders convene at DeCenter to identify questions facing blockchain technologies
Faculty research tackles challenges in quantum computing
Words prove their worth as teaching tools for robots
Sujit Datta


1) Our computer vision based In-Process Monitoring Module. It monitors whether what is meant to be printed is ACTUALLY being printed and send various alerts (email, text) if that's not the case as well as pausing the print. It is currently available for *some* FDM machines. More info on vision.authentise.com or on the relevant help page.
2) Of course, our MES system is also beginning to allow manual error reporting, Testing result uploads etc. We've built some simple machine learning into this, which should be able to allow us to predict failure in the near future. It is also geared to predicting maintenance needs, though that is not a feature at present.


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read the configuration file by using this library.
> read the configuration file by using this library.
Thanks for these patches, and also for rebasing to the latest!
import, and make a record of what we changed).
truncation to CFLAGS, but I'm open to considering other alternatives.
> +/* Copyright (c) 2000-2007 by Nicolas Devillard.
> + * DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.
> + *  @brief Parser for ini files.
> + * This enum stores the status for each parsed line (internal use only).
> + * @brief Convert a string to lowercase.
> + * @param s String to convert.
> + * @return ptr to statically allocated string.
> + * allocated, it will be modified at each function call (not re-entrant).
> + * @brief Remove blanks at the beginning and the end of a string.
> + * @param s String to parse.
> + * characters at the end and the beg. of the string have been removed.
> + * (not re-entrant).
> + * @brief   Parser for ini files.
> + * This function returns the number of sections found in a dictionary.
> + * contain a colon.
> + * this should simply be avoided.
> + * @brief    Get name for section n in a dictionary.
> + * @param    n   Section number (from 0 to nsec-1).
> + * dictionary. Do not free or modify the returned string!
> + * This function dumps a given dictionary into a loadable ini file.
> + * It is Ok to specify @c stderr or @c stdout as output files.
> + * @brief    Dump a dictionary to an opened file pointer.
> + * @param    d   Dictionary to dump.
> + * @param    f   Opened file pointer to dump to.
> + * purposes mostly.
> + * @param    def     Default value to return if key not found.
> + * the pointer passed as 'def' is returned.
> + * the dictionary, do not free or modify it.
> + * the notfound value is returned.
> + * necessarily have to be 0 or 1.
> + * @brief    Set an entry in a dictionary.
> + * @param    ini     Dictionary to modify.
> + * @param    val     New value to associate to the entry.
> + * @return   int 0 if Ok, -1 otherwise.
> + * contain the provided value. If it cannot be found, -1 is returned.
> + * It is Ok to set val to NULL.
> + * If the given entry can be found, it is deleted from the dictionary.
> + * of querying for the presence of sections in a dictionary.
> + * @param    ininame Name of the ini file to read.
> + * The returned dictionary must be freed using ciniparser_freedict().
> + * Free all memory associated to an ini dictionary.
> + * gets out of the current context.
> + * ciniparser_getdouble(), etc. It is also OK to set an entry to NULL.
> + * @brief Implements a dictionary for string variables.
> + * of string/string associations. This object is useful to store e.g.
> + * information retrieved from a configuration file (ini files).
> + * @brief   Implements a dictionary for string variables.
> + * hash function.
> + * @brief Compute the hash key for a string.
> + * @param key Character string to use for key.
> + * @return 1 unsigned int on at least 32 bits.
> + * This hash function has been taken from an Article in Dr Dobbs Journal.
> + * This is normally a collision-free function, distributing keys evenly.
> + * by comparing the key itself in last resort.
> + * @brief Create a new dictionary object.
> + * @param size Optional initial size of the dictionary.
> + * dictionary, give size=0.
> + * @param d dictionary object to deallocate.
> + * Deallocate a dictionary object and all memory associated to it.
> + * @brief Get a value from a dictionary.
> + * @param d dictionary object to search.
> + * @param key Key to look for in the dictionary.
> + * @param def Default value to return if key not found.
> + * @return 1 pointer to internally allocated character string.
> + * dictionary object, you should not try to free it or modify it.
> + * @brief Set a value in a dictionary.
> + * @param d dictionary object to modify.
> + * @param key Key to modify or add.
> + * @param val Value to add.
> + * dictionary, it is added to it.
> + * in such a case.
> + * the dictionary without value.
> + * This function returns non-zero in case of failure.
> + * @param key Key to remove.
> + * key cannot be found.
> + * @brief Dump a dictionary to an opened file pointer.
> + * output file pointers.
> > read the configuration file by using this library.
> Thanks for these patches, and also for rebasing to the latest!
> import, and make a record of what we changed).
> truncation to CFLAGS, but I'm open to considering other alternatives.
That warning looks pretty handy.
> > > read the configuration file by using this library.
> > Thanks for these patches, and also for rebasing to the latest!
> > import, and make a record of what we changed).
> That warning looks pretty handy.
have to make up an artificial split?
> > > > read the configuration file by using this library.
> > > Thanks for these patches, and also for rebasing to the latest!
> > > import, and make a record of what we changed).
> > That warning looks pretty handy.
> have to make up an artificial split?
> > > > > read the configuration file by using this library.
> > > > Thanks for these patches, and also for rebasing to the latest!
> > > > import, and make a record of what we changed).
> > > > alternatives.
> > > That warning looks pretty handy.
> > > the output?
> > have to make up an artificial split?
Yep that seems reasonable to me.
> > > > > Thanks for these patches, and also for rebasing to the latest!
> > > > > the as-is import, and make a record of what we changed).
> > > > > considering other alternatives.
> > > > That warning looks pretty handy.
> > > > specified to limit the output?
> > > how would we specify precision for both the %s specifiers? i.e.
> > > would we have to make up an artificial split?
> Yep that seems reasonable to me.
I updated the gcc version in my local environment and got the warning messages.
I will make a new version to fix them.
+/* Copyright (c) 2000-2007 by Nicolas Devillard.
+ *  @brief Parser for ini files.
+ * This enum stores the status for each parsed line (internal use only).
+ * @brief Convert a string to lowercase.
+ * @param s String to convert.
+ * @return ptr to statically allocated string.
+ * allocated, it will be modified at each function call (not re-entrant).
+ * @brief Remove blanks at the beginning and the end of a string.
+ * @param s String to parse.
+ * characters at the end and the beg. of the string have been removed.
+ * @brief   Parser for ini files.
+ * This function returns the number of sections found in a dictionary.
+ * contain a colon.
+ * this should simply be avoided.
+ * @brief    Get name for section n in a dictionary.
+ * @param    n   Section number (from 0 to nsec-1).
+ * dictionary. Do not free or modify the returned string!
+ * This function dumps a given dictionary into a loadable ini file.
+ * It is Ok to specify @c stderr or @c stdout as output files.
+ * @brief    Dump a dictionary to an opened file pointer.
+ * @param    d   Dictionary to dump.
+ * @param    f   Opened file pointer to dump to.
+ * @param    def     Default value to return if key not found.
+ * the pointer passed as 'def' is returned.
+ * the dictionary, do not free or modify it.
+ * the notfound value is returned.
+ * necessarily have to be 0 or 1.
+ * @brief    Set an entry in a dictionary.
+ * @param    ini     Dictionary to modify.
+ * @param    val     New value to associate to the entry.
+ * @return   int 0 if Ok, -1 otherwise.
+ * contain the provided value. If it cannot be found, -1 is returned.
+ * It is Ok to set val to NULL.
+ * If the given entry can be found, it is deleted from the dictionary.
+ * of querying for the presence of sections in a dictionary.
+ * @param    ininame Name of the ini file to read.
+ * The returned dictionary must be freed using ciniparser_freedict().
+ * Free all memory associated to an ini dictionary.
+ * gets out of the current context.
+ * ciniparser_getdouble(), etc. It is also OK to set an entry to NULL.
+ * @brief Implements a dictionary for string variables.
+ * of string/string associations. This object is useful to store e.g.
+ * information retrieved from a configuration file (ini files).
+ * @brief   Implements a dictionary for string variables.
+ * @brief Compute the hash key for a string.
+ * @param key Character string to use for key.
+ * @return 1 unsigned int on at least 32 bits.
+ * This hash function has been taken from an Article in Dr Dobbs Journal.
+ * This is normally a collision-free function, distributing keys evenly.
+ * by comparing the key itself in last resort.
+ * @brief Create a new dictionary object.
+ * @param size Optional initial size of the dictionary.
+ * dictionary, give size=0.
+ * @param d dictionary object to deallocate.
+ * Deallocate a dictionary object and all memory associated to it.
+ * @brief Get a value from a dictionary.
+ * @param d dictionary object to search.
+ * @param key Key to look for in the dictionary.
+ * @param def Default value to return if key not found.
+ * @return 1 pointer to internally allocated character string.
+ * dictionary object, you should not try to free it or modify it.
+ * @brief Set a value in a dictionary.
+ * @param d dictionary object to modify.
+ * @param key Key to modify or add.
+ * @param val Value to add.
+ * dictionary, it is added to it.
+ * in such a case.
+ * the dictionary without value.
+ * This function returns non-zero in case of failure.
+ * @param key Key to remove.
+ * key cannot be found.
+ * @brief Dump a dictionary to an opened file pointer.
+ * output file pointers.


... there are two types of analysts (and analysis): those who dismiss the move as merely symptomatic of the deluge in T-Bill issuance and nothing else, a view adopted seemingly by much of Wall Street and most market commentators at a certain terminal sales-funded financial outlet... and those who warn that not only could the move indicate something far more sinister, but what is more troubling, is that no matter what is behind it, financial conditions are becoming increasingly tighter with every passing day, and could potentially result in a funding crisis not only among banks, but also impact the broader.
Those who say "don't panic" have been focusing squarely on the first three, while we, and other traders, are increasingly concerned that the answer may be found in the latter, and far more concerning, three explanations.
Now, in a report by one of Wall Street's most respected analysts and credit strategists, Citi's Matt King echoes our repeated warnings, and writes that "the dramatic rise in $ LIBOR-OIS spread is contributing to a general increase in nervousness around risk assets", a process he thinks "has further to go."
Whatever the cause of the ongoing blow out in Libor-OIS, this move is having defined, and adverse, consequences on both dollar funding and hedging costs... It's not just rates: the consequences of rising dollar funding costs will eventually impact every aspect of the fixed income market, even if simply taken in isolation due to the ongoing spike in 3M Libor which still is the benchmark reference rate for hundreds of trillions in floating-rate debt.
The reality, however, is that without a specific diagnosis what is causing the sharp surge wider, and thus without a predictive context of high much higher it could rise, and how it will impact the various unsecured funding linkages of the financial system, it remains anyone's guess how much wider the Libor-OIS spread can move before it leads to dire consequences for the financial system.
But the biggest risk, and one which those who complacently ignore the move in this critical spread ignore, is the implications it could have on the Fed's overall normalization plans, because as King warns, the sudden tightening in financial conditions "contributes to our bearishness on credit markets as a whole, and conviction that central banks' carefully stage-managed exit from extreme stimulus is liable to lead to a sharper tightening of financial conditions than they have been anticipating."
In other words, after just 1-2 more rate hikes, not only will it result in a whimpering of the Fed's tightening cycle end, but it could also lead to a bang in the stock market which has similarly been complete ignoring the sharp move in the L-OIS, oblivious to the sharp funding squeeze behind the scenes.
Before we continue, here is King's own take on what is causing the move: spoiler alert - it's not just the surge in T-Bill issuance.
What King, correctly, thinks has happened is that corporations with offshore cash piles have gone from seeing those funds as being trapped almost indefinitely to recognizing that they could be called upon to spend that cash at short notice, "most likely on M&A or share buybacks. As such, they have been anxious to reduce the duration of their holdings."
To be sure, the details of this conventional pathway are well understood (we explained them in detail recently), and on the surface, King admits it would all sounds just like a "strong in a teacup."
But, as King warns, "this is about to change."
This is something we touched upon two weeks ago when we said that "the rise in dollar funding costs will damage the profitability of hedged investing and lending by foreign financial institutions."
Citi's third and final point why analysts ignore the blowout in L-OIS at their expense, is that in addition to all these if not anticipated, then at least foreseeable, consequences of tighter $ liquidity, there are quite likely to be additional unanticipated consequences as well.
In conclusion, King notes that while as a bank Citi is still forecasting a weaker dollar on "fundamental grounds – together with almost everyone else", if the upcoming funding shortage and dollar liquidity tightening does lead to a stronger dollar, "all of these processes have the ability in principle to run in reverse."
Translation: the blow out in Libor-OIS not only matters, but could have very direct - and dire - consequence on equities in the coming weeks.


Colin W. Barry has been an avid writer since attending college. Previously wanting to pursue a career in radio, Colin found his niche with writing after being placed in an introduction to journalism course. A flexible writer, he's able to tackle different subjects in many different styles. His favorite topics include, video games, films and of course technology.
Colin is also a huge movie, video game and comic book nerd. As a hobby, he writes creatively on the side. Some works include movie scripts, short stories and, naturally, comic book/video game ideas.


At Calcagno Dentistry, we welcome your calls, emails, and comments on our social networks. If you have questions or would like to schedule an appointment, contact us today! We offer expert services including teeth whitening, Invisalign, root canal treatments, and pediatric dentistry. To schedule a consultation, please call (507) 281-3659. Our doctors and staff welcome and serve patients from Rochester, MN, as well as Red Wing, St. Charles, Winona, Farmington, Austin, and all surrounding communities.


Dubai has been named the 10th best place to visit worldwide and the best destination in the Middle East and North Africa, in a new report published in the United States.
The global study, compiled by the US News and World Report, collated feedback from the public and travel experts to rank destinations based on factors including the quality of tourism attractions and activities, culture, adventure, food and nightlife.
The survey included feedback on more than 300 popular destinations worldwide.
Dubai ranked ahead of iconic tourism hotspots including Phuket, Thailand, Australia's Great Barrier Reef, Machu Picchu in Peru and America's Grand Canyon.
Rome was named the world's top tourism destination, followed by Sydney, Porto, London, Paris, New York, Florence, Prague and Barcelona, with Dubai rounding out the top 10.
In praising Dubai, the report cited the city's mega attractions, pristine beaches, and adrenalin-fuelled activities.
"This Middle Eastern city is filled with one-of-a-kind attractions, including the Dubai Mall – one of the world's largest shopping centres – and the indoor Ski Dubai," the report stated.
The report also highlighted the quality of Dubai's tourism infrastructure, including its luxury five-star resort accommodation, brand new world-class theme parks including Dubai Parks and Resorts, and shopping and recreational activities.
Dubai welcomed more than 6 million visitors in the first four months of 2017, up from 5.35 million a year earlier. This increase in visitors saw the average hotel occupancy rate for the period rise to 87%, up from 84% in 2016, with 10.63 million occupied room nights reported, up from 9.87 million.
The emirate is well on track to reach its target of 20 million visitors by 2020; the year it hosts the World Expo for the first time.


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Gridiron Giggles
My latest NY Daily News article is a rundown of that much-beloved movie genre, football comedies. Hey, when is someone going to ask me to turn this regular feature (picking five or six flicks from the past that tie into a current feature) into a book already?
Posted by Michael in New York at 7:53 PM No comments: Links to this post
The IRA's 2008: An Historic Sweep
The 2008 IRA Awards have just been announced and it's an historic, perhaps record-setting sweep for one of the year's most acclaimed but overlooked movies.
The IRAs is an annual get-together of movie buffs that was launched by college friends 32 years ago as a counter to the more mundane Oscars. These are film fanatics who go to Film Forum and Anthology Archives and film festivals throughout America and around the world. Members have won major Oscars and worked on Oscar-winning Best Picture winners, they've written acclaimed and best-selling Hollywood biographies like Ed Sikov's Dark Victory: The Life Of Bette Davis, the definitive Oscar book (indeed the definitive awards book) Inside Oscar, worked at major magazines and newspapers covering the industry, worked at major studios and in the independent film industry or in my case just schlepped around as a freelancer and watched a lot of movies year in and year out. In other words, IRA members range from major players to avid fans.
So here are this year's winners followed by the balloting as it happened with all the top vote-getters listed and the Bronx cheers at the end of Sominex and Dramamine movies (those that put us to sleep or made us sick) and Mechanical Actor and Actress.
BEST PICTURE: The Assassination of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford
BEST DIRECTOR: Andrew Dominik - The Assassination of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford
BEST ACTOR: Casey Affleck - The Assassination of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford
BEST ACTRESS: Marina Hands - Lady Chatterley
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Paul Schneider - The Assassination of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford, Lars and the Real Girl.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Amy Ryan - Gone Baby Gone
BEST SCREENPLAY: Corneliu Porumboiu - 12:08 East Of Bucharest
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: Roger Deakins - The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford, No Country For Old Men, In The Valley Of Elah
BEST SCORE: Nick Cave and Warren Ellis - The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN: Patricia Norris - The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford
BEST COSTUMES: Patricia Norris - The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford
AND HERE'S THE FULL VOTING RECORD:
BEST COSTUMES:
1. Patricia Norris - The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford 38 points
2. Marit Allen - La Vie En Rose 23 points
3. (tie) Chaiwichit Somoboon - Tears Of The Black Tiger 11 points
3. (tie) Eimer Ni Mhaoldomhnaigh - The Wind That Shakes The Barley 11 points
5. (tie) Jacqueline Durran - Atonement 8 points
5. (tie) Lai Pan - Lust, Caution 8 points
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN:
2. Ek lemchuen - Tears Of The Black Tiger 20 points
3. Donald Graham Burt - Zodiac 15 points
4. Laura Couderc - L'Iceberg 14 points
5. Sarah Greenwood - Atonement 12 points
BEST SCORE:
1. Nick Cave and Warren Ellis - The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford 24 points
2. (tie) Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova - Once 19 points
2. (tie) Jonny Greenwood - There Will Be Blood 19 points
4. Carter Burwell - No Country For Old Men 14 points
5. Michael Giacchino -- Ratatouille 9 points
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY:
1. Roger Deakins - The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford, No Country For Old Men, In The Valley Of Elah 42 points
2. Harris Savides - Zodiac, Margot At The Wedding, American Gangster 20 points
3. Robert Elswit - There Will Be Blood, Michael Clayton 15 points
4. Janusz Kaminski - The Diving Bell and the Butterfly 10 points
5. (tie) Peter Suschitzky - Eastern Promises 9 points
5. (tie) Sayombhu Mukdeeprom - Syndromes and a Century 9 points
BEST SCREENPLAY:
1. Corneliu Porumboiu - 12:08 East Of Bucharest 24 points
2. James Vanderbilt - Zodiac 22 points
3. Count Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck - The Lives Of Others 19 points
4. Brad Bird & Jan Pinkova & Jim Capobianco - Ratatouille 17 points
5. (tie) Todd Haynes & Oren Moverman - I'm Not There 9 points
5. (tie) Nancy Oliver - Lars and the Real Girl 9 points
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS:
1. Amy Ryan - Gone Baby Gone 28 points
2. Cate Blanchett - I'm Not There 18 points
3. Emily Mortimer - Lars and the Real Girl 14 points
4. Emmanuelle Seigner - The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, La Vie En Rose 9 points
5. (tie) Leslie Mann - Knocked Up 8 points
5. (tie) Chloe Sevigny - Zodiac 8 points
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR:
1. Paul Schneider - The Assassination of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford, Lars and the Real Girl. 20 points
2. Robert Downey Jr. - Zodiac 14 points
3. (tie) Sam Rockwell - The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford 9 points
3. (tie) Paul Rudd - Knocked Up 9 points
3. (tie) Paul Dano - There Will Be Blood 9 points
BEST ACTRESS:
1. Marina Hands - Lady Chatterley 23 points
2. Julie Christie - Away From Her 21 points
3. Fiona Gordon - L'Iceberg 19 points
4. Julie Delpy - 2 Days In Paris 15 points
5. Kate Dickie - Red Road 14 points
BEST ACTOR:
1. Casey Affleck - The Assassination of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford 41 points
2. Ulrich Muhe - The Lives Of Others 27 points
3. (tie) Viggo Mortensen - Eastern Promises 12 points
3. (tie) Joseph Gordon-Levitt - The Lookout 12 points
5. Woody Harrelson - The Walker, Nanking 10 points
BEST DIRECTOR:
1. Andrew Dominik - The Assassination of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford 33 points
2. David Fincher - Zodiac 27 points
3. Brad Bird - Ratatouille 13 points
4. Todd Haynes - I'm Not There 12 points
5. (tie) Alain Resnais - Private Fears In Public Places 10 points
5. (tie) Wisit Sasanatieng - Tears Of The Black Tiger 10 points
BEST PICTURE:
1. The Assassination of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford 35 points
2. Zodiac 27 points
3. (tie) L'Iceberg 10 points
3. (tie) Private Fears In Public Places 10 points
3. (tie) Tears Of The Black Tiger 10 points
SOMINEX AWARD (MOVIES THAT PUT US TO SLEEP:
1. Youth Without Youth 23 points
2. Breaking and Entering 9 points
3. Sleuth 7 points
4. (tie) Perfect Stranger 5 points
4. (tie) Starting Out In The Evening 5 points
4. (tie) Sunshine 5 points
DRAMAMINE AWARD (MOVIES THAT MADE US SICK):
1. Before The Devil Knows You're Dead 20 points
2. Into The Wild 15 points
3. There Will Be Blood 13 points
4. 300 12 points
5. Across The Universe 10 points
MECHANICAL ACTRESS AWARD:
1. Meryl Streep - Lions For Lambs, Rendition 16 points
2. Nikki Blonsky - Hairspray 15 points
3. Jennifer Garner - The Kingdom, Catch and Release 11 points
4. (tie) Diane Keaton - Because I Said So 10 points
4. (tie) Nicole Kidman - Margot At The Wedding 10 points
MECHANICAL ACTOR:
1. John Travolta - Hairspray 14 points
2. Philip Seymour Hoffman - Before The Devil Knows You're Dead 13 points
3. Hayden Christensen - Factory Girl 10 points
4. Jude Law - Sleuth, Breaking and Entering 9 points
5. (tie) Richard Gere - I'm Not There, The Hoax 7 points
5. (tie) Daniel Day-Lewis - There Will Be Blood 7 points
5. (tie) Gerard Butler - 300 7 points
5. (tie) Shia La Beouf - Transformers 7 points
Posted by Michael in New York at 2:27 AM 1 comment: Links to this post
American Idol -- The Top 10
My Huffington Post rundown of the performances from the Top 10; the theme is "songs from the year you were born."
Posted by Michael in New York at 2:34 AM No comments: Links to this post
Synonyms, Spoofs and a Stripper
My latest bach of articles for the NY Daily News: a q and a with the author of a book about Roget's Thesaurus; a chat with actress Laura Benanti, who stars in Broadway's revival of Gypsy, and a rundown of movie spoofs like Airplane! pegged to the new comedy Superhero Movie. Oh, and here's my rundown of Tyler Perry comedies. Enjoy!
My latest Huffignton Post covers another Beatles night. And this post on the results show.
Adding Ghosts In The Machine
Two new pieces for the NY Daily News: a feature on the acclaimed Off Broadway musical Adding Machine and a silly roundup of movies that feature the supernatural combined with modern technology. Hey, it's a living.
And on Huffington Post, my latest DVD column, this one describing a "perfect" movie-going experience when I stumbled into a showing of The Ice Storm late one rainy fall evening.
Posted by Michael in New York at 12:12 PM No comments: Links to this post
My Huffington Post on Beatles night. And my take on the results show.
In Patagonia -- Where Lying Isn't So Bad
I'll happily get on my high horse about memoirists who distort the truth or out and out lie -- the news has been filled with them lately, from a half-Indian gang banger in LA who turned out to be a upper class white chick who wanted to give voice to the voiceless (and get a lovely near $100,000 advance in the process) to a Holocaust survivor who was not a Jew, not a Holocaust survivor and apparently was NOT sheltered by wolves who defended her from the Nazis. (I wonder what tipped people off?)
So here I am just finishing Bruce Chatwin's delightfully untrustworthy book "In Patagonia," which I suspected was half fabulist, half true and I couldn't care less. The tale of his travels in Patagonia (which encompasses Argentina and Chile and isn't a well-defined region -- see, even the geography is suspect), it is bursting with stories about dinosaurs, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (who cavorted in Patagonia while making half-hearted efforts to settle down), Welsh farmers who clung to their Welshness, history lessons, Germans who recreated the Rhineland, a Scotsman who had never seen Scotland but wore a kilt to dinner, seafarers, priests, mad poetry-quoting lingerie salesmen and really quite a bit more to do with dinosaurs than I expected.
I finished in a glow and read the introduction (which should always be read last, if at all, in any book) and it reassured me that in fact the book was indeed "colorful" with the truth -- Nicholas Shakespeare helpfully says, "He told not half a truth but a truth and a half." Chatwin himself did not want this posted in the travel section and freely admitted it was not a documentary of his journey, changing names of people, throwing in a fanciful detail when it felt right and so on. And that self-awareness of what he had created forgives a lot of sins. The label that Penguin uses on the back of my edition is even more succinct: "In Patagonia" is listed as "literature/travel." Indeed. And in the right order.
Here's my Huffington Post coverage of the show. My thoughts on the men tackling Eighties night. My rundown of how the ladies did. And my recap of the results show.
And We Danced! (With the Hooters)
My latest NY Daily News feature is on 80s band the Hooters on the comeback trail. (But they've always been big in Europe!)


New Technical Centre for rapidly growing Integral Powertrain.
Market leading powertrain and e-Drive solutions provider Integral Powertrain Ltd is investing in a 3 acre site which will see the company build a new state of the art Technical Centre at Shenley Wood, Milton Keynes, UK, to support its e-Drive growth.
The company's recent success has seen it outgrow its existing locations and expansion has become necessary to ensure the levels of service and quality their customers have come to expect is maintained. Planned to be operational by Q3 2019, the new facility represents an initial investment of £6M, excluding facilitisation, and more than a doubling of the floor area to 47,000 sq. ft. compared to the existing Technical Centre and its annex. There is potential to further increase this by internal expansion to 59,000 sq. ft.
Once fully operational, the facility can cater for over 250 staff. A twin link connects the offices to a large workshop, which houses 8 new purpose build test cells with support areas, material handling, inspection, machining facility, electrical and mechanical prototype build and a low volume production manufacturing area as well as zones reserved for 4 additional cells.
The new site allows for further growth and expansion to mirror future business expectations.
Integral Powertrain's upgraded vehicle emissions and climate test facility will remain at its existing location in Kiln Farm, Milton Keynes.
Integral Powertrain Ltd is at the leading edge of their industry and continues to invest in R&D to maintain technical leadership and extend the boundaries of what is possible with electric machines. At its heart are its employees.
"We are proud to announce our investment in the new Milton Keynes Technical Centre, marking the beginning of an exciting new chapter in the growth of Integral Powertrain. It will serve to support our future expansion plans for the business and on a personal level it also rewards the employees that have given so much to the business, providing them with a great working environment, a state of the art facility and a basis on which the team can build a legacy for the future" said Integral Powertrain Director John McLean of the new facility.


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Press Releases Gov. Evers, WEDC: Announce $4 million available in loans to aid Kenosha...
Gov. Evers, WEDC: Announce $4 million available in loans to aid Kenosha businesses
Businesses may receive up to $50,000 for clean-up, restoration, and repair costs
MADISON — Gov. Tony Evers today, together with the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC), announced a total of $4 million in no-interest microloans to small businesses damaged during the recent civil unrest in Kenosha. Today's announcement comes after Gov. Evers and WEDC Secretary and CEO Missy Hughes visited Kenosha September 10th and met with business owners who said they are facing unprecedented costs to rebuild.
"We know Kenoshans are working to reconstruct and repair in the wake of devastation, and we want to do everything we can to support the Kenosha Comeback," said Gov. Evers. "I have seen firsthand the resilience of this community, and we are going to do everything we can to be there as they work to rebuild and move forward together. I am grateful for the good work of the WEDC and Kenosha-area legislators, especially Rep. Tod Ohnstad, for helping to make this happen."
Earlier this month, Gov. Evers and the WEDC announced Kenosha small business owners who suffered losses would be eligible for $1 million in Disaster Relief Microloan (DRM) program funds from WEDC. Today's announcement raises that figure by an additional $3 million for a total of $4 million and increases the maximum loan available to each business from $20,000 to $50,000.
"The DRM program is designed to help businesses impacted by unforeseen disasters. After visiting Kenosha, it was clear to us that additional steps are needed to help the community recover," said Hughes. "WEDC is committed to making sure that businesses and communities in every part of this state have the resources they need to grow and thrive. We will continue to leverage our resources and partnerships in our efforts to assure economic well-being for all the citizens of Kenosha and Wisconsin."
The WEDC is partnering with the Kenosha Area Business Alliance (KABA) to administer the loans. Affected businesses should contact KABA directly to access the loans and contact WEDC for information regarding other assistance.
Under the DRM program, WEDC awards grants to a regional group, such as KABA, which in turn provide loan applications and issue loans to damaged businesses seeking short-term assistance. Businesses that suffered measurable physical damage because of the unrest and intend to resume operations in the community as quickly as possible are eligible and encouraged to apply for the assistance.
Businesses in the affected areas will be eligible for microloans of up to $50,000 at 0% interest, which will provide them with a short-term source of funds for repair work and operating expenses. The loans can be used for procurement of cleanup and restoration services, operating expenses, temporary space, payroll, and repair and reconstruction work.
WEDC's Disaster Recovery Microloan Program was introduced in 2018 and is available to businesses in all 72 counties impacted by man-made or natural disasters declared by state or federal authorities. For detailed information on the program, visit wedc.org/disasterrecovery.