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New York Mets 1B Pete Alonso feels like he won the All-Star break
Ryan Honey
AP Photo/John Minchillo
New York Mets rookie first baseman Pete Alonso feels like he represented the organization in a great way at the All-Star break.
What an amazing year thus far for New York Mets rookie first baseman Pete Alonso. More specifically, what an amazing past couple of days in Cleveland, Ohio.
On Monday, Alonso took home the Home Run Derby crown, ousting Toronto Blue Jays rookie Vladamir Guerrero Jr. in the final round. Then, on Tuesday, Alonso went 1-for-2 in the All-Star Game. This included a two-RBI single in the top of the eighth inning to cut the American League lead to 4-3.
Despite the American League eventually winning 4-3 for their seventh-straight All-Star Game victory, Alonso still views the whole experience as unforgettable.
"That was awesome," Alonso said after the game, per Alex Smith of SNY. "I came up in a big spot and I just wanted to do well, not just for the National League or for myself, but for the Mets as well. I thought this All-Star weekend was really awesome. I felt like I did a really good job of representing the New York Mets.
"If you would have told me that I would have went 1-for-2 with two [RBIs] and take home a Home Run Derby Championship, that's a hell of a weekend. It's just been a dream come true."
Alonso was the first Mets player to win the Home Run Derby since the legendary Darryl Strawberry won it in 1986. He was also the first Met to have a multi-RBI performance in the All-Star Game since Lee Mazzilli. The retired outfielder/infielder did it in his lone All-Star Game appearance in 1979.
With that all said, Alonso knows who won the All-Star Break. He has no shame in giving the credit to himself for it either
"I feel like I won this weekend."
Pete Alonso tells @martinonyc that he doesn't take any of this for granted: pic.twitter.com/DotvnayuCw
— SNY (@SNYtv) July 10, 2019
"I feel like I won this weekend, just by enjoying everything to the fullest," Alonso said. "I'm just so thankful for the opportunity to be here. To be in this locker room is an incredible honor. I don't know if this is going to be my only one. I just want to keep continuing to work hard and keep progressing because you never know when the game is going to be taken away from you.
"I'm just thankful for every opportunity and this has been an absolute fantasy come true. I can't be thankful enough. I look forward to keep working hard and keep playing well."
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NEXT: Yankees, Red Sox Competing For Mets' Zack Wheeler (Report)


The IT GETS BETTER collection is intended to help those who are currently dealing with the iatrogenic (medically caused) injury from psych meds…so that they might know that we can heal. It is also intended to help educate the masses to the realities that we face. Protracted psychiatric drug withdrawal syndrome is real. It's also sometimes gravely disabling. The fact is it's largely denied in the medical community. We are routinely blamed and told that the experience is psychiatric…this leads to more drugging and sometimes forced drugging with the very drugs that have harmed us. This must end.
But yes, to those who are still suffering, it gets better. Indeed, I do not consider myself ill anymore. I consider myself HEALING which is a vibrant state of movement and change. My limitations do not mean that I am sick. Learning to make boundaries for my well-being has been one of the healthiest things I've learned to do. Deeply respecting the needs of this body/temple is one of the most wonderful achievements of WELLNESS.
I am a completely different person from when I wrote the below piece. Shaped by what I was then, but completely different in a positive sense. Today as I write this I'm having a bit of a flare which is part of the healing process, so it remains not an all or nothing thing, yet the way I experience everything now is different. Life is always good even when it's painful and difficult. Having that capacity is a gift as far as I'm concerned and also a sign of inherent wellness.
Hi folks. I can't for the most part do this blog anymore but it's clear I have not stopped my activism either…I'm simply moving into different circles and needing a break from the daily onslaught. I've written to my doctor again. I'm not particularly better in many ways. While I continue to rehab physically in some ways, in others I seem to worsen. It's hell.
There is no other way to describe it as much as many would like me and others to sugar coat the illness that can happen. I'm not depressed. I am, however, devastated. And I'm grossly physically ill. "Courage" does not always look the way people wish it to in serious chronic illness. Most people are truly simply not interested in what happens to us. It's just too damn frightening to truly face the fragility of what is at the foundation of all our human lives and that is the fact that we do not control much of anything and we all die.
I remind you that I was drugged in this fashion well before information was accessible by internet. I always had questions and looked for answers. They were not available at the time.
I'm awake at 4:27 am in excruciating physical pain right now thinking of you and your inability to take some responsibility for what has happened to me.
Do you not remember how many times I asked you…how many times I expressed my concern about the addictive nature of benzodiazepines alone? I'm not including the numerous times I inquired about long-term use of the rest of the cocktail.
I'm sorry you can't own your part in this because on a very selfish level it would help me heal…I have cared about you throughout this never believing you would intentionally harm and defending you to others from that place…but I'm sorrier that you are, now apparently deluded and most likely hurting others…that is what really pains me. All I do now is to help others and I cannot pretend our relationship did not harm me. Forgiveness does not require forgetting. Abuses need to be addressed. The fact that it was unintentional actually makes it all the more important to address.
and now it enters a realm of if you continue to prescribe like you did with me you are knowingly destroying people's futures…for what appears to you as peace in the moment.
I have cut and pasted the last article coming out of the UK media, who are light years ahead of the US in reporting on this tragedy in benzos in particular…the fact that all the psychotropics have potentially godawful consequences isn't so widely known even there just yet, though there is better scholarship on that in general too in the UK. Since you didn't mention benzos in your last very brief email I thought perhaps I should enlighten you.
I also suggest you look at my benzo page if you are actually giving a damn but too frightened to let me know. I realize you may never give me the peace of mind to know I've helped you realize what happens to a good number of people on these drugs that I have perhaps contributed to changing the way you prescribe.
My benzo page for extensive info on benzodiazepine damage and methods for safer withdrawal.
In Letters to my shrink I continue documenting my correspondence with this psychiatrist.
There are a growing number of claims against individual doctors for negligent prescribing benzodiazepines.
The Medical Research Council (MRC) agreed in 1982 that there should be large-scale studies to examine the long-term impact of benzodiazepines after research by a leading psychiatrist showed brain shrinkage in some patients similar to the effects of long-term alcohol abuse.
MPs and lawyers described the documents as a scandal, and predicted they could lead the way to a class action costing millions. There are an estimated 1.5 million "involuntary addicts" in the UK, and scores display symptoms consistent with brain damage.
The MRC hosted a meeting of eminent experts and government representatives in 1981 after research by Malcolm Lader, now emeritus professor of the Institute of Psychiatry, showed brain shrinkage occurred in some benzodiazepine patients.
Recommendations to carry out studies to examine long-term problems associated with these drugs, which GPs prescribed more than 20 million times last year, were accepted by the MRC Neurosciences Board in January 1982.
But then the trail goes dead. The documents, which have been seen by The Independent on Sunday and were marked "closed until 2014", do not make it clear why no work to test Professor Lader's findings properly was ever funded. The Department of Health has no record of the meeting.
Initially advertised as completely harmless, benzodiazepines ("benzos") were touted as the world's first wonder drug in the 1960s. Within a decade they became the UK's most commonly used medication.
Current guidelines for doctors say they should be prescribed for a maximum of four weeks. But some people become "involuntarily addicted" within days, unable to stop without withdrawal symptoms such as burning sensations, distorted vision, headaches and even fatal seizures.
Some patients who have taken the pills for months or years have enduring neurological pain, headaches, cognitive impairment and memory loss. But 30 years after the MRC first considered the idea, there is no medical research to confirm whether this is down to drug-induced brain damage or not.
Professor Lader said yesterday: "The results didn't surprise us because we already knew long-term alcohol use could cause permanent brain changes. There should have been a really good, large-scale study but I was never given the facilities or resources to do it.
The MRC has funded around 20 benzodiazepine studies since 1982, mainly in laboratory animals, but the critical questions posed by Professor Lader in 1981 remain unanswered.
Heather Ashton, emeritus professor of clinical psychopharmacology at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, set up the first NHS withdrawal clinic in 1984. In 1995 she submitted a research proposal to the MRC to investigate the link between long-term benzodiazepine use and permanent brain damage, using sophisticated EEG and MRI scans, and cognitive testing in a randomised control trial. Her proposal was rejected.
There are a growing number of claims against individual doctors for negligent prescribing benzodiazepines. Ray Nimmo, prescribed Valium as a muscle relaxant for stomach pain in 1984, received £40,000 in an out-of-court settlement in 2002 after 12 years of addiction.
In the 1980s 17,000 claimants began a class action against the pharmaceutical manufacturers Roche Products and John Wyeth. Procedural delays, technical motions and escalating costs prevented the cases coming to trial.
A small group attempted to continue unrepresented as litigants in person but failed. The manufacturer's total costs, £35m, were awarded, but not enforced against one of those final litigants, Michael Behan, who now works for Jim Dobbin MP.
Valerie Bell, 67 from Surrey, was prescribed lorazepam in 1984 after a panic attack. She weaned herself off in 2007 but still suffers from neurological pains in her head, neck and feet. No brain scan has even been done.
"I was running two florist shops in Essex with my husband; we had a great social life, and life was generally fantastic. On yet another diet, I had a panic attack at a party one night. My doctor said there was a wonderful new drug from the US, so I took it without asking questions. I didn't feel right straight away. The doctor said it was my illness, increased the dose and added an anti-depressant. This went on for years, new pill after new pill. Some days I couldn't even get out of bed.
For the entire withdrawal documented see here: Monica/Gianna's withdrawal documented. To see how radically improved I am please visit the personal posts from this year (2014). Or you can also visit Mad in America, where there is a collection of posts I've written.


If you have watched The Office or any other TV show you must agree that Jim and Pam are definitely #RelationshipGoals. And despite the fact that their romance is fiction, the chemistry between them was not only acting. The Actor's Life: A Survival Guide, is the name of Jenna's new book, where she also describes her unquestionable chemistry with Krasinski translated to the show's relationship.
OMG, FANS of The Office! There were literal sparks flying. Pam's, actress revealed that John felt it, too.
According to Fisher, the showrunners of the show, created the most iconic first kiss in the history of TV shows.
According to Jim Parsons: How Sheldon Cooper Has Changed Since Getting Engaged?


The longest course is 600 meters! With a layout focusing on wide and gentle courses, if you are a beginner or want to experience the slopes for the first time, this is the perfect destination. You can overlook all of the slopes at once, so families can bring their children without worrying about their getting lost. The ski and snowboard school, which includes a Kids' School with small-group lessons, gets lots of repeat customers happy with their rapid progress. All sorts of rental equipment is available, so it's no problem showing up luggage-free! We recommend packages like the package including lodging at the adjacent hotel or the day trip and onsen package.
Kids' park Fujiwara Kids' Land: A snow-covered kids' park always full of children's laughter. There are all sorts of ways for kids to play in this soft and fluffy powder snow, from sledding to playing with balls or building snowmen. A great first place for children to experience the slopes for the first time! Your children can play to their heart's content without worry in the Kids' Land surrounded by safety nets.
Ski lodge At Hotel Sunbird, which adjoins Fujiwara Snow & Spa Resort, there are shops and baths available.


We talk to Canadian small businesses every week who are feeling confused about hosted PBX pricing.
They've usually spoken with at least one of our competitors, heard their pitch, and are more confused than before they started learning about this new technology.
After reading this post you'll have a clear understanding of how Hosted PBX phone systems are priced, what features you really need, and how to decide what provider is the best fit for your business.
The Quick Answer to What Does it Cost?
The quick answer to the question of 'how much does a hosted PBX phone system cost' is somewhere between $16 and $40 per user needed in your office.
That price spread varies, and is based on the number of extensions you need, the service provider you choose, and the features available with the service.
You can check out our pricing page here.
Let's take a look at the different approaches business phone service providers take to pricing their service.
Some cloud-based phone system providers take the "bells and whistles" approach. Their system has more features than you could possibly list on a single sheet of paper, and the sales representatives are so excited about it you almost feel embarrassed to admit you're not sure what the heck they're talking about.
Pricing is justified based on all of the features rather than the actual service being provided and cost savings your business will enjoy.
We're the first to admit that some features that can be programmed into a virtual business phone system are great! They improve efficiency and productivity.
Then there is a slew of other features that sound fancy, but honestly will never be used.
The solution? Figure out what features are important to you and your business and then ignore the rest.
Aside from basic voicemail and call routing, we've found our customers enjoy the find-me follow-me feature, which allows more than one phone to ring at one time until you answer it. An example would be ringing your desk extension and cell phone at the same time to ensure you don't miss a call.
Custom auto attendants that allow callers to select an extension are also popular as they ensure callers can self-serve and not have to wait on hold for someone to answer their call.
This is the pricing approach taken by most of the large telcos. They offer free hardware upfront and a low per line or extension price but require you to commit for 3-5 years or longer.
While it may be attractive today, will you still feel that same way in a year or two? Technology changes fast, and while the software and hardware in place today for hosted PBX phone systems will likely stay put for the next couple of years, it's never a great idea to be stuck into a long-term contract.
Just look at the smartphone industry as an example. Recent regulations have reduced the length of contracts allowed from wireless carriers in Canada, but prior to this, it was often the case that your contract outlasted your smartphone technology and speed by a year or more.
Pricing for a Hosted PBX in Canada is most often quoted by the number of phones or extensions needed. If you check out our pricing page you'll see that all of our ClearNote service packages are based on the number of extensions (phones) you need in your office.
If you needed 6 different phones in your office then you would look at our medium business package at $107.95 per month. That's no long-term contract or commitment. We have to earn your business every month.
New features such as softphones and desktop calling may sound neat, but in all honesty, you and your staff will function just fine by swapping out your legacy PBX phone system for a shiny new hosted PBX phone service.
You'll cut monthly costs, reduce the amount of hardware you need onsite and enjoy a couple of extra features that were unavailable with a traditional PBX phone system.
Monthly service fees are no doubt important when making a decision on a service provider, however keep in mind that what happens after the sale is arguably just as important.
One of the benefits ClearlyCore offers its customers is unparalleled customer service. As a boutique provider of hosted and on-premise PBX phone systems, our team is better equipped to not only help you before you make your purchase decision, but more critically, we will be there for you after the install is complete, when you're settling into the new system and need hands-on, expert support during the first few days and weeks..
To determine what hosted PBX plan is right for your office call today, or submit the form on this page to request a phone conversion consult.


Expert Available: Will Province's changes to regulation of sales of cannabis impact public health?
TORONTO, August 14, 2018 – Yesterday the Ontario government announced a new online retail model that will allow cannabis to be sold online and through private retailers. Under the new planned regulation, the Ontario Cannabis Store will provide an online platform for the sale which will be followed by a private retail model by April 1, 2019. Consumers 19 and older will be able to purchase cannabis via an online retail platform provided by the Ontario Cannabis Store. The OCS online channel will include a verification system that will ensure safe at-home delivery for cannabis products.
But what will the new provincial change for the sale of cannabis mean for public health?
Government vs. private sale of cannabis: will the Ontario government's new plan leave the public vulnerable to public health risk via gaps in standards of regulation?
Can provincial changes which allow private companies to operate marijuana stores, with the provincial government still managing distribution and online sales, still meet federal cannabis sale regulations?
Commercialization vs. legalization: can the two co-exist?


Informed as they are by the writings of Aesop and Ovid, there's a strong element of faerie about the human-animal hybrid creations of Nicola Hicks. But there's nothing fey about these savage, club-wielding bankers and clapped-out old circus horses. Robert Shore enters the artist's fierce, mythical world.
For the past four decades Hicks's practice has revolved around her extraordinarily lifelike portraits of humanized animals and mythic, beastlike humans. It's been said that she works in the tradition of unrepentant twentieth-century British representation that runs from Stanley Spencer to David Hockney, but her figures are infused with powerfully personal emotion and inhabit a highly distinctive animistic world of perpetual woodland twilight. She's the Ted Hughes or Kate Bush of British sculpture.
As you walk through her densely packed studio, a former coffee-packing facility in Peckham, you have the sense that you may just have interrupted these creatures midway through an emotionally fierce restaging of A Midsummer Night's Dream or an adaptation of George Orwell's classic fable, Human–Animal Farm. Hicks has something of the knack of Pygmalion; her works are so vivid, there's a suspicion that if you watch them for long enough they'll be forced to betray the fact that they're actually alive – they can only hold their breath and hide their fleshly reality for so long.
Though she was born and grew up in London, only absenting herself for a ten-year sojourn in the Cumbrian hills, animals of a kind often associated with the farmyard are and have always been an important part of her life. Horses, chickens, ducks, sheep, dogs and even a donkey have been companions. A smelly pig's skull, found by chance while out walking in the woods with her sculptor mother when she was a little girl, remains among the studio's collection of animal fetish objects: "Looking at that skull, the beauty of a tusk in the socket and the emptiness of a socket, taught me how to look for beauty in menace," Hicks has said. She was recently to be found on the streets of South London knocking on doors and anxiously showing neighbours pictures of her missing pet ferret, which said neighbours, staring at the photographs, steadfastly insisted was actually a cat (to add to the confusion, the ferret – now happily restored to its home – is called Bear). Today, above our heads in the rafters of the studio, nesting pigeons provide the mood music for our conversation.
For the most part, she settles for plaster. Working with a really lovely piece of wood can be stressful since if you make a wrong move you can ruin it; plaster by contrast –"an inert nothing" – is restful. "It has absolutely no quality of its own. It's nothing. It doesn't smell, it has no colour, it's nothing," she explains, appreciatively. "It's only what you add into it; it never interrupts." The things she adds in, to give it texture and keep it crispy, include bits of newspaper, studio floor sweepings and, perhaps most characteristically, straw.
She used to dislike the next bit of the process – sending the plaster maquette away to a foundry to be turned it into a "finished" bronze – because it involved saying "this is done". "There's at least a six-week period where you don't see the thing that you've finished. And all artists go on making the thing in their head. So you go on improving it in your mind." And then one day there it would be – the fixed, ultimate form of the original, inchoate concept – and it might be a disappointment to her. Thankfully she's now overcome her fear of the foundry and spends many happy days working there, with the result that there's less of a gap between first thought and final expression.
Not that the uncast works are particularly fragile, she says. So why turn some of them into bronzes? "Practically speaking, if you buy a plaster it's a massive responsibility. Whereas if you buy a bronze, not only is it pretty endlessly durable but, should the worst happen, there will be a mould and another one can be taken out of it.
"And you do have to pay the studio rent," she adds. "You've got practical considerations. If I feel something's worked, I can make an edition of six. I'm pretty pragmatic about the need to fund my studio practice. There is a mortgage, there's a family." And there are those pigeons, their fluttering and cooing suddenly reminds me – their home needs to be paid for and furnished too.
By the time she started her foundation course at Chelsea, Hicks knew exactly what she wanted to do. While her peers were experimenting with a variety of different media she was already entirely absorbed in sculpture. "I was totally focused," she says. As a result both her style and her reputation were established by the time she was twenty-five.
She thinks this focus stemmed in part from her experience of dyslexia. "From the age when school started to become important my life was a process of working out how to cut out the things I didn't do. Couldn't do. And my solution was to do a thing I could do. OK: not getting the hang of this reading thing as fast as everyone else, so I'll just draw. OK: not going to find maths possible, so I'll make sculpture." Growing up in a family of artists made it easier to chart that route, she adds.
But she seems entirely sincere when she expresses her admiration and gratitude for the YBAs' wider impact. "I think the way they changed people's attitude to art, the art world, the place of artists, the necessaries of artists, the financial respect that's come for art, is profound and wonderful.
"I'm thrilled the YBAs happened," she concludes, "but it feels about as close to me as the film world. I'm passionately uninterested in celebrity, I'm interested in matter." Besides which, she's not very clubbable. Being part of the YBA gang would never have suited her personality. "I do work quite hard to remain apart," she says.
She gave birth to her children, Bill and Edie, in her studio. "It just happened to be where I felt comfortable. There was no hippie philosophy behind it. I wish I could say there was but there wasn't. I'm just a big fat coward and there was no way on earth I was going anywhere near a hospital." That's where she and her husband, Dan, lived anyway.
Giving birth to her children in the studio helped give birth to a lot of work. "I don't think there's anything useful to be done as an artist except talk honestly about where you are. The fact that I'd had children was the same as having a dog or a donkey or this or that childhood experience. I am where I am and what I do is talk about where I am. So of course it became a huge part of my work – it's like being in an ocean of stuff, having a child.
Of late she's done a series of bears which she cheerfully confesses are self-portraits. "Now they're older and they're not children anymore but I still have this overwhelming urge to help and protect. And it's not wanted, it's not asked for, but it goes with being a mother, so I thought: What could I make them now? So I made myself as a bear, which is not much use to them but I'm still there." Have Port Need Storm (2015) shows a great furry mammal with paws outstretched and beckoning to unseen figures; Dressed for the Woods II (2013) has a bear seated at the feet of the fur-draped male and female figures.
Robert Shore is editor of Elephant magazine. This article first appeared in Elephant issue 32.


There are currently six generations coexisting in Western society. Each of them is influenced by its circumstances — social, political, economic, environmental, and technological — which have a direct impact on how people express themselves. One historical milestone, however, has changed how everyone behaves and even how our cognitive system is developed: the internet.
High levels of extractivism are leading to a future where materials of mineral, vegetable, and animal origin are scarce. But what if we immediately stopped extracting and producing raw materials? How long could we use our waste to produce everything we consume? Learn about the initiatives showing us what the products of the future may look like: designed to take full advantage of their raw material, able to return to the top of the production chain.
Companies that function without traditional leadership are on a continuous journey of individual and collective learning. The magic of self-managed environments is that they allow every employee to be the best version of themself through open interaction and collaboration. Self-management means everyone is free to reach their full potential — nobody empowers anybody else, because power already exists within each person.
In a world dominated by fake news, there is greater value in the things we know for sure. Today, desire is generated by honesty and transparency. Nobody is asking companies to be perfect; just trustworthy.


Focused on applications for microcontrollers and USB keys, Chingis Technology Corporation has unveiled a 0.18um embedded flash memory process technology and IP portfolio with China's Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation.
"This new advanced technology is intended to enable customers to develop high performance products with very competitive cost," said Alex Wang, president and CEO of Chingis Technology Corporation. "We are very pleased to cooperate with SMIC to successfully build up the third generation pFLASH platform in such a short time."
SMIC's 0.18um embedded flash process, the product of a close collaboration between a pioneering foundry and an expert in embedded non-volatile memory, is based on the third generation of Chingis's patented architecture.
With its low power consumption, small area, and configuration flexibility, the 0.18um embedded flash process is an option for customers involved in a wide range of applications, such as microcontrollers, USB keys, smartcards, and devices for the fast-growing automotive market.


As part of the QuEnG Seminar - Computer Science, we are pleased to welcome Alessandro Luongo who is doing a thesis at Paris Diderot on quantum machine learning.
I'll present the main tools used in quantum machine learning: procedures to perform quantum linear algebraic operations, the QRAM circuit as an access model on the data, and routines to calculate distances - which we refined. Among the results of our group, I'll present three new algorithms. The first, QSFA is a dimensionality reduction algorithm that maps the dataset in a lower dimensional space, where classification can be performed with higher accuracy. Dimensionality reduction is often a necessary while performing classification in high dimensional spaces due to the curse of dimensionality. The second is QFD, a supervised classifier which assign a new point to the cluster with minimum average square distance between the vector and the points of the cluster. The third is q-means: the quantum version of k-means. Being an iterative algorithm for clustering, q-means has convergence and precision guarantees similar to the classical variants of $k$-means. All the algorithms presented here are poly-logarithmic in the number of vectors in the dataset, thus with an exponential separation with respect to classical algorithms.
If you want to attend the seminar and don't usually have access to the LIG building send an email to Richard EAST indicating your name and laboratory or organization so that your details may be forwarded to the reception in advance. They will then be able to let you in on the day.


A member of the audience asked that question, after I delivered a talk at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. on the day after Election Day. I had described some of the results from national research conducted by Wilder Research and the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis that examined collaboration between the health and community development sectors in the United States. My talk and a related panel discussion were hosted by Health Affairs, who brought together several authors from their November 2014 issue, Collaborating for Community Health, to shed light on new strategies, partnerships, and measurement tools that show great promise for addressing the health needs of our communities.
Why is this important? Because your health and my health depend on much more than medical care. The condition of our bodies, the illnesses we get, and even how long we live depend largely on the social determinants of health. These social determinants include our housing, our income, the availability of nutritious food, air quality, the level of crime in our neighborhood, facilities to promote physical activity, and other aspects of our environment. In short, health care leaders have come to recognize that many of the factors that lead to illness, or promote good health, lie outside of the health care system.
Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, who heads the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, recognized that both the health and community development sectors devote significant attention to achieving better health for all by addressing these social determinants. However, they have traditionally worked in their own spheres, with little to no collaboration. She promoted a national movement (including The Commission to Build a Healthier America) to align their efforts.
A few years ago, Wilder Research teamed up with the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, to support this movement. We carried out national research to explore current collaboration between the health and community development sectors, to identify factors that underlie successful cross-sector initiatives, to identify obstacles that prevent successful efforts, and to determine how to best support additional collaboration.
So, back to the question, "What's the most effective way to get action started?" I pointed to "leadership." When members of a community recognize the importance of addressing social determinants of health and when they understand the increased effectiveness of working together rather than separately – that provides the fuel for cross-sector collaboration. The fire ignites from the spark of a person or some organization who reaches out to unfamiliar partners who share similar goals and invites them to sit at the same table and work jointly.
In most parts of the U.S., health and community development organizations have begun to work with one another to collaborate to improve health.
To date, this work is limited; much opportunity exists for expanding these efforts.
Organizations within the health and community development sectors continue to lack a full understanding of one another's activities; they also lack understanding of the roles one another can play in community health initiatives. For example, public health agencies rarely think of community development finance institutions as potential sources of health information for people who need care, but they could make such information available to people who use their services.
Another audience member asked a question you might expect on the day after Election Day: "What implications do election results around the country have for cross-sector collaboration to improve health?" I suggested that cross-sector collaboration is non-political and can appeal to individuals across the political spectrum. Public officials who want to promote effectiveness and greater access to health care can see collaboration as a means for influencing social determinants of health and improving services for those in need. Public officials who want to reduce cost and promote efficiency can see collaboration as a means for leveraging limited dollars for greater impact.
We look forward to continued participation in this movement to improve the health of all residents of our communities.


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Q&A: Former Obama staffers launch Crooked Media
During the 2016 campaign, a trio of former Obama staffers, Jon Favreau, Jon Lovett, and Tommy Vietor, mixed insider knowledge, humor, and open partisanship on the Keepin' it 1600 podcast, which drew as many as 400,000 listeners per episode under the umbrella of Bill Simmons' website, The Ringer. In the weeks and months leading up to the election, they provided reassurance to worried Democratic "bedwetters," promising that November 8 would deliver a resounding victory for Hillary Clinton.
Over the course of election night and the morning after, Favreau, Lovett, and Vietor went from comfortably smug to emotionally shellshocked. After a brief hiatus, the three announced this week they are launching Crooked Media, "a place to talk about politics that informs, entertains, and inspires action."
Vietor, who began working for Obama in 2004 and eventually served as National Security Spokesman and Assistant White House Press Secretary, tells CJR they began laying the groundwork for the new media company as they sat watching election results roll in.
"We're not journalists, we're not unbiased, we're not always serious and we're certainly not always right," Favreau, Lovett, and Vietor write in their mission statement. "But we promise a no-bullshit conversation about politics where you can laugh, cry, scream, ridicule us daily, share your ideas, and hopefully decide that you want to help fix this mess too."
The first offering, a twice-weekly podcast called Pod Save America (former Obama communications director and '1600 veteran Dan Pfeiffer will also co-host), debuted Monday at No. 1 on the iTunes charts. On Tuesday, CJR spoke with Vietor about his critiques of the media, journalism's role under a Trump administration, and his goals for the new venture.
When did you decide that you wanted to start a media outlet?
Election night. We lost our fucking minds, and then all of us had this feeling of dread and the need to get back in the game somehow. There's got to be a part of this effort that isn't DC-based, and this is what we came up with. We refined it and made a decision several weeks ago, and we've been pulling together an insane amount of stuff very quickly. It's as overwhelmed and excited as I've been in a long time.
On your previous podcast, you were not always the biggest fans of the press. So, in general, what's your critique of the media?
I wouldn't say that. I think we have to be more specific with those critiques for them to be helpful. We are highly critical of decisions made by television executives to show Trump's podium for 45 minutes and to give him unfettered airtime. We are highly critical of TV executives' decisions to hire people whose sole credential is "Trump supporter," and allow them to make their viewers dumber through hours on TV.
What's unfortunate is that kind of content can sometimes swamp the incredible investigative journalism that goes on every day. You had real heroes in this election: Andrew Kaczynski at BuzzFeed, the stuff he was doing was dogged, shoe leather, exceptional reporting. David Fahrenthold from The Washington Post. A lot of the beat reporters who were with Trump every day should get combat pay for the way they were treated.
I do think there were problems of emphasis. Donald Trump allegedly assaulting 12 women probably got less coverage than Hillary Clinton's decision to use a private server, and there is just no way those sins are equal. So those are the sorts of things we complain about. There are individual bad actors, like Sean Hannity pretending to be a journalist when he's a spokesman for Trump. That's sort of our take.
You spent nearly a decade working for Obama, first when he was a senator, and then as president, so you're coming at this industry from the other side. Broadly speaking, do you have critiques about the way journalists cover the White House or the administration, and what they focus on?
One thing I found frustrating as a guy who focused exclusively on foreign policy and national security for the last two years [in the White House], is journalism in DC tends to view every problem through the prism of Washington. That's especially dangerous when you're talking about foreign policy. Countless stories were written about the Arab Spring and what it meant vis à vis the United States and our role. In reality, the people on the streets protesting, by and large, were upset about their rights as citizens of their own countries and not about what the United States was doing. But, dictators and others like to use the United States as a foil and blame all those problems on us, so those problems are kind of rolled together.
I also think there are times when silly stuff gets way too much attention. Like, everyone who wrote a story about Obama's tan suit should be embarrassed about that byline in perpetuity. It's a waste of time; it's a distraction, and you get away from stuff that matters.
Back in December, on one of your last podcasts at The Ringer, you said, "I don't think the press corps is fighting hard enough for things that are really important" How do you define what is important?
It's access. They've gotten completely rolled during this transition. Trump still hasn't done a press conference [until January 11, in what was a media-bashing clinic]. That is insane. It was not that long ago that people were posting countdown clocks about Hillary Clinton not doing a press conference.
The last time Donald Trump held a press conference was when he begged the Russians to hack into Hillary Clinton's email. There's zero accountability or cost to him for that. The White House Correspondents Association needs to figure out a way to put forward their expectations, and then some consequences if those aren't met. I don't know that they have the capability to do that, but there are going to be a bunch of news outlets that figure out that access to Trump is not helping their bottom line, and they're going to take a very old adversarial, old-school approach to covering him. I think that will be a very good thing for those papers.
But on that issue, you also said, "The broader problem is that it used to be that there could be some utility in reporters … refusing to go to a briefing as a group. In that it would have an actual cost for the president in terms of getting his message out." So how do we create a cost?
I think there's a need to educate the American people a little better about why access is important. It's too easily derided as self-interested and self-important, or carping from the press.
We need to constantly be talking to people about why, when [the press] isn't allowed to ask Donald Trump tough questions, it impacts them and allows their government to be compromised by his financial conflicts of interest, by having his unqualified son-in-law in a very powerful position.
Sketching out the real stakes here a little better than has been done is important. I realize how hard this is, and I don't exactly have an answer for what [the press] should do to create some sort of consequence, but I do think they have to figure out a way to try. Because, yes, he can go to Breitbart, he can go to Fox, but this is a guy whose approval rating is at 48 percent, which is historically low for an incoming president who should be going through his honeymoon period. That can't sink much further if he's going to get reelected or get anything done. So in some ways they have to care.
In terms of financing, is this all you guys? Or do you have outside financing set up?
This is all us. This is as bootstrapped as it gets, in part because we think that gives us the freedom to be really creative, to do weird shit, and throw it at the wall and see what works. We're going to talk to media companies and VC firms about potential backing because there's a lot we don't know, and there's a lot they can help us with on the technical side. Ultimately, we want this thing to have an impact. We want to reach a lot of people and help them understand how to get involved. If taking on money allows us to do that faster and better, we'll do it. But right now, we're just excited to get the content creation side going.
You've got the podcast, and said you're going to be expanding. What's this going to look like in six months?
We feel pretty good about the content creation part of this so far. We feel good about how Pod Save America went that first episode and that we can make a pretty good show. We're not perfect, and we're going to need advice, but we feel good about it. In the next few months we'd like to create new podcasts ourselves. Those could be under the banner of Pod Save America, but with different subject matter. We have different areas of interest that we want to dig into. In 2017, the cool thing is you don't need a cable channel to stream video. You need Facebook Live and you need Periscope. We trying to figure out the best way to pull together that infrastructure and the best way to disseminate that video to create some sort of streaming show. I don't know how long that process will take, but those are the sort of things we want to work on in the near-term in addition to recruiting new voices that are more diverse than us, that have different perspectives, that come from different places–mostly outside Washington–to not just talk about politics, but also a broader set of cultural issues as well.
I imagine that it wasn't a coincidence that your first two guests–Women's March organizers, Tamika Mallory and Linda Sarsour–were women of color.
We wanted to talk to them because they're planning this huge march. I don't think people quite realize how big a deal that's going to be, an we wanted to get a chance to talk to them about it before it happens. We're acutely aware that we're three white guys of similar political persuasion. Diversity is important to us, mostly because it would make our shows [and] our conversations better to have more inclusive views. That's something we care a lot about an are going to work on. We weren't a show that was cast; we were three buddies who happened to work together who decided to do this together.
The podcast debuted at No. 1 on iTunes. I know those analytics can be confusing, but do you have any idea about the size of your audience?
We feel really good about listens so far. We're building back up from zero, and the number one ranking reflects that. We don't have more listens than This American Life, but the velocity of the show rocketed us up. We will not stay there, but it still felt pretty damn good.
If Democrats win back the House in 2018, and Elizabeth Warren is our next president, are you guys still doing this in four years?
Who knows what this thing will look like in a year or two years or four years? That said, this is the most excited I've been since leaving the White House. I think there is a void that we're trying to fill. I think that, in many ways, the Trump era is the perfect time to do this. This is what we're excited about and want to be doing.
TOP IMAGE: Photo courtesy of Crooked Media

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Сагмосава́н () — село в Арагацотнской области Армении.

История
По данным «Сборника сведений о Кавказе» за 1880 год в селе Сагмоса-ванк Эчмиадзинского уезда по сведениям 1873 года было 22 армянских двора
 | заглавие      = Сборник сведений о Кавказе
 | место         = Тф.
 | год           = 1880
 | том           = V
 | страниц       = 343
 | страницы      = 37
}}</ref>.

По данным Кавказского календаря на 1912 год, в селе Сагмосаванк Эчмиадзинского уезда проживало 364 человек, в основном армян .

Достопримечательности
Рядом с селом находится Сагмосаванский монастырь, построенный в 1215 году.

См. также
 Монастырь Сагмосаванк

Примечания

Ссылки
 Kiesling, Rediscoving Armenia, p. 21, available online at the US embassy to Armenia's website

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Record app downloads, usage and data consumption
July 10, 2020 by Andrew Coleman
COVID-19 has led millions of people to confine. Unlike other times, technology has helped to pass the bad times and this is reflected in the statistics. According to a recent study, records were reached in the number of app downloads, usage and data consumption.
To give you an idea, the use of apps grew 40% in the second quarter of 2020 compared to the same period of 2019.
The data are from App Annie company that publishes information about the use of apps, usage and respective data consumption with some frequency. According to the recent report, app updates grew 40% compared to 2019 (that's right, 40% !!!).
Accounts made mean that users spent more than 200 billion hours on apps during the month of April. In addition, user spending on apps reached a record $ 27 billion in the second quarter. App downloads reach 35 billion.
What kind of apps are most used on Android?
But the study reveals other interesting numbers. Non-game apps accounted for more than half (55%) of new downloads on Android and 70% of iOS downloads. More specifically, the main categories outside of games include "Tools" and "Entertainment" on Google Play and "Photo and Video" and "Entertainment" on iOS. But there are other categories that have seen strong growth, including "Business", "Health and fitness" and "Education", which had quarterly growth in downloads of 115%, 75% and 50%, respectively, on Google Play.
On iOS, the "Health and Fitness", "Shopping" and "Medical" apps recorded a strong growth of 30%, 25% and 20% between quarters.
Games represented revenue of $ 19 billion, an increase of 15% over the previous quarter. Google Play had a considerable growth of 25% over the previous quarter, which corresponds to twice the growth rate on iOS.
READ MORE record and transmit sound with the best possible quality
Non-game apps accounted for 35% of iOS spending. The U.S. and China were the largest contributors to non-iOS games and apps in the quarter. However, the US has notably taken the top position as the largest consumer gaming market – a place previously occupied by China – with a 30% growth in the quarter compared to the previous quarter.
Non-games accounted for 15% of spending on Google Play. The USA, Japan and South Korea were the largest non-games and games markets on Google Play.
The main Google Play categories, in addition to "Games", included "Social" and "Entertainment". The growth in the "Entertainment" category was driven mainly by Disney + and Twitch, reveals App Annie.
On iOS, "Entertainment" and "Photo and video" were the largest categories of consumer spending, in addition to "Games". Here, TikTok fueled the growth of the "Photo and Video" category, becoming the highest-grossing iOS app on the world's App Store globally in the second quarter of 2020, thanks to sales of virtual gifts.
Although much of the activity that occurs on mobile devices during the pandemic is related to fun – such as watching videos or playing games, for example – the highlight this quarter is for work / telework related apps.
Zoom, for example, became the number 2 most downloaded apps globally in the second quarter of 2020. Google Meet ranks 7.
TikTok was the main app for downloads and revenue, and the number 7 of most monthly active users. This is likely to change in the coming months, due to its ban in India.
Categories Smartphones-tablets
You will be able to control more than 1 Android smartphone on Windows 10
OnePlus previews its first fully wireless headsets


text:
Patent is the Starting, Not the End!
October 23, 2017 Scipreneur Private Limited 0
Patent is the Starting, Not the End! By: Vijay Soni, Ph.D. | Founder Scipreneur Many patent attorneys, especially pay-for-services outside counsel, are giving terrible advice that is purely self-serving. Their advice is only designed to put money in their pocket at the expense of their clients, but masquerades by "helping" [..]
12th World Congress on Pharmaceutical Sciences and Innovations in Pharma Industry
12th World Congress on Pharmaceutical Sciences and Innovations in Pharma Industry February 26- 27, 2018 London, UK Theme: Latest Trends in Pharmacy : Spanning the Gap in Research and Product Commercialization Meet Inspiring Speakers and Experts at our 3000+ Global Eventswith over 600+ Conferences, 1200+ Symposiums and 1200+ [..]
TransEnterix's New Robotically-Assisted Surgical Device Is Approved by U.S. FDA
TransEnterix's New Robotically-Assisted Surgical Device Is Approved by U.S. FDA TransEnterix, Inc. (NYSE American: TRXC), a medical device company that is pioneering the use of robotics to improve minimally invasive surgery, announced the Company has received FDA 510(k) clearance for the Senhance™ Surgical Robotic System. "The clearance of the Senhance System in the US [..]
Another Revolutionary Gene Therapy Treatment Approved by U.S. FDA
Another Revolutionary Gene Therapy Treatment Approved by U.S. FDA Kite, a Gilead Company, (Nasdaq: GILD) announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted regular approval to Yescarta™ (axicabtagene ciloleucel), the first chimeric antigen receptor T cell (CAR T) therapy for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory large B-cell [..]
Traffic & Conversions Summit: 2018
October 9, 2017 Scipreneur Private Limited 0
Traffic & Conversions Summit: 2018 March 10th to 12th, 2018 San Diego, CA Every year, thousands of the worlds smartest marketers descend on San Diego, California to learn what's new, what's hot, and what's actually working RIGHT NOW in digital marketing. Here's what you can [..]
Future of Energy: Cleaner Fossil Fuels
Future of Energy: Cleaner Fossil Fuels By: MARK SHWARTZ | Stanford News This story is part of a series on Stanford collaborations helping to create the Future of Energy. In the United States, most electricity from the grid comes from power plants that run on coal or natural gas. These plants [..]
Future of Energy: Efficiency
Future of Energy: Efficiency By: AMY ADAMS | Stanford News In the past few decades, improvements in energy efficiency in our homes, buildings and cars have significantly reduced carbon emissions by cutting demand. In addition to the environmental impacts, this enhanced efficiency has improved national security, reducing energy imports four [..]
New Sodium Based Battery Are More Cost-Effective Storage Than Lithium
New Sodium Based Battery Are More Cost-Effective Storage Than Lithium By: TOM ABATE | Stanford News As a warming world moves from fossil fuels toward renewable solar and wind energy, industrial forecasts predict an insatiable need for battery farms to store power and provide electricity when the sky is dark [..]
This is Why Researchers Should Step Out of The Lab
This is Why Researchers Should Step Out of The Lab By: David L. Chandler | MIT News Office When Shreya Dave was an MIT doctoral student working on a new kind of filter for desalination plants, she paid a visit to a working reverse-osmosis desalination plant in Spain. She quickly learned [..]
New Form of Data Storage: MIT Research
New Form of Data Storage: MIT Research By: David Chandler | MIT News Office New research has shown that an exotic kind of magnetic behavior discovered just a few years ago holds great promise as a way of storing data — one that could overcome fundamental limits that might otherwise be [..]
FDA Approved Roche's cobas Zika: First Donor Screening Test for Zika Virus
FDA Approved Roche's cobas Zika: First Donor Screening Test for Zika Virus By: Roche Molecular Systems, Inc. News Roche (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY) announced that it has received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the cobas® Zika test for use on the cobas 6800/8800 Systems. The cobas [..]
FDA Approved Respicardia's Implantable Device to Treat Central Sleep Apnea
FDA Approved Respicardia's Implantable Device to Treat Central Sleep Apnea By: FDA News The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a new treatment option for patients who have been diagnosed with moderate to severe central sleep apnea. The Remedē System is an implantable device that stimulates a nerve located in [..]
FDA Awards 15 Grants for Clinical Trials for The Product Development Against Rare Diseases
FDA Awards 15 Grants for Clinical Trials for The Product Development Against Rare Diseases By: FDA News The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced that it has awarded 15 new clinical trial research grants totaling more than $22 million over the next four years to boost the development of products [..]
No More Finger Sticks: FDA Approved Abbott's FreeStyle Libre Flash Glucose Monitoring System
No More Finger Sticks: FDA Approved Abbott's FreeStyle Libre Flash Glucose Monitoring System By: ASweetLife News The U.S. FDA has approved Abbott's FreeStyle Libre Flash Glucose Monitoring System as a replacement for blood glucose monitoring (BGM) for adults with diabetes. This revolutionary new glucose sensing technology eliminates the need for routine finger sticks and is the only [..]
FDA Approved Verzenio of Eli Lilly for Certain Advanced or Metastatic Breast Cancers
FDA Approved Verzenio of Eli Lilly for Certain Advanced or Metastatic Breast Cancers By: FDA News The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Verzenio (abemaciclib) to treat adult patients who have hormone receptor (HR)-positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-negative advanced or metastatic breast cancer that has progressed after taking [..]


text:
Seychellois Conservationist wins international award
Terence Vel, a conservationist working with Nature Seychelles has won a BP Conservation Program (BPCP) Award for 2006. The award comes with a cash prize of US Dollars 25,000.00, which is to be used for a conservation project. Terence says he is thrilled with this prize which is further international recognition of the excellent work being done at Nature Seychelles.
Seychelles Paradise bird still in danger-Let us save it!
There have been great fanfares for conservation success in Seychelles recently. Unless you've been on another planet for the past year you'll known about the recoveries or the new knowledge we have about species like Magpie robin or pi Santez, the Scops owl or syer, and the White eye or Zwazo linet. Conservation programs by Nature Seychelles, the Seychelles government and private island owners and managers have enabled these unique Seychelles birds to be taken off the Critical list of the most endangered species of the world. Seychelles has received international accolades for these flagship examples of conservation action, which also offer hope and inspiration to others. We have shown we have the knowledge and expertise to plan and manage globally recognized recovery programmes. But, this work isn't finished.
Citizen science-Getting People Involved
Scientists tend to be clever people. That's why they are scientists after all. But they can't know everything. And they can't be everywhere. Non-scientists can have different types of information that can be useful too. And there are a lot of them. The balancing of scientific and public knowledge is a topic of great current interest. We have seen this in studies being done in Seychelles that are seeking to recognize that the fishing communities here know a thing or two about the marine environment: where the fish stocks are and how many there are, for example. We ignore this kind of knowledge, experience and expertise at our peril.
Poaching – why does it still happen?
Nature Seychelles has worked with researcher Louisa Wood of the University of British Columbia, Canada and other organisations to find out what motivates illegal fishing in Marine Protected Areas, (MPAs) and to try to identify ways to reduce poaching.
Special Programme for Learning and Awareness on Species and Habitats
SPLASH - Special Programme for Learning and Awareness on Species and Habitats.
Citizen science in Seychelles
Nature Seychelles has called on the public to help with improving knowledge of a unique Seychelles animal - the weird and wonderful Seychelles Chameleon.
Wildlife action, Zwazo 2005
Action for frogs in Seychelles
Seabird study to reveal health of oceans
Conservation News in brief July - December 2005
Start«72737475767778798081»End


text:
{| style="padding:0.3em; float:right; margin-left:15px; border:1px solid #B8C7D9; background:#f5faff; font-size:90%; line-height:1.5em"
|- style="text-align:center; background:#e1a1cb"
!colspan="12"|Hobart International 2023
|-
!style="text-align:right; width:7em;"|Campioană:
|
|colspan="9" | Lauren Davis
|-
!style="text-align:right; width:7em;"|Finalistă:
|
|colspan="9" | Elisabetta Cocciaretto
|-
!style="text-align:right; width:7em;"|Scor:
|
|colspan="9" |7–6(7–0), 6–2
|
|- style="background:#eeeeee; text-align:center;"
!colspan="11" | Probe
|-
|style="text-align: right;"|'Simplu
|
|Feminin
|-
|style="text-align: right;"|Dublu
|
|''Feminin
|- style="background:#eeeeee; text-align:center;"
!colspan="11" |
|-
|}Hobart International 2023 – Simplu''' are loc în prima jumătate a lunii ianuarie 2023. Treizeci și două de jucătoare s-au înscris în competiția de simplu a turneului de tenis de la Hobart disputat pe o suprafață dură. Șase dintre ele își asigură participarea prin calificare. Elena Rîbakina a fost campioana en-titre de la ultima ediție din 2020, dar a ales să participe la turneul de la Adelaide de categorie WTA 500.

Lauren Davis a câștigat titlul după ce a învins-o în finală pe italianca Elisabetta Cocciaretto cu scorul de 7–6(7–0), 6–2. Aceste a fost primul ei titlu WTA (al doilea în total) în șase ani, de la Auckland Open 2017.

Capi de serie

Tabloul principal

Finală

Jumătatea superioară

Jumătatea inferioară

Calificări

Capi de serie

Jucătoare calificate

Lucky loser

Rezultate calificări

Prima calificare

A doua calificare

A treia calificare

A patra calificare

A cincea calificare

A șasea calificare

Note

Legături externe
 Main Draw
 Qualifying Draw

Hobart International
WTA Tour 2023


text:
Q: redux-toolkit giving me that circular dependency issue I have never run into this issue before... but its giving it to me now...
   // TS7022: 'rootReducer' implicitly has type 'any' because it does not
   // have a type annotation and is referenced directly or indirectly in its own initializer
const rootReducer =  combineReducers({
  employee: employee.reducer,
  company: company.reducer,
  alerts: alerts.reducer,
});

  // gives error: TS2456: Type alias 'RootState' circularly references itself.
export type RootState = ReturnType<typeof rootReducer>;

function makeStore() {
  return configureStore(
  {
    reducer: rootReducer,
    devTools: true,
  })
}

A: TLDR: remove type infertion from state in reducer action.
In your slice:
...reducers: {
     setSomeData: (state /* don't infer RootState here */, action: PayloadAction<boolean>) => {...

What I found so far (not sure why) is that it's due to the reducer action you define.
Normally you would define a reducer with toolkit like so:
const someSlice = createSlice({
name: 'sliceNameHere',
initialState,
reducers: {
    setSomeData: (state: RootState, action: PayloadAction<boolean>) => {
        state.someSlice.loading = action.payload
    },
}, ...

For whatever reason if we set the type of the state in the reducer action to RootState, redux goes crazy and starts throwing these circular dependency errors.
One temporary fix is to remove RootState from the state so that your slice looks like so:
const someSlice = createSlice({
name: 'sliceNameHere',
initialState,
reducers: {
    setSomeData: (state, action: PayloadAction<boolean>) => {
        state.someSlice.loading = action.payload
    },
}, ...

Now, this will throw TS errors (depending on your eslint settings) that state is of type any but that can be silenced.
That's the best I came up with and will keep an eye out for an actual fix.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Q: Spoken TO vs Spoken WITH Is there any difference between these two sentences?
I have spoken with many natives before.
I have spoken to many natives before.

A: That's a good question.  They can ultimately mean the same thing but can imply certain characteristics (hierarchy, closeness, etc.) about the relationship among the people in the group.
I started to write a response but realized this has been explained pretty well by this post: https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/866/speak-to-vs-speak-with


In this Korean name, the family name is Choi.
Choi Sung-Kuk (born 8 February 1983) is a South Korean football player. He plays for Suwon Samsung Bluewings.
↑ Strack-Zimmermann, Benjamin. "Sung-Kuk Choi". www.national-football-teams.com.


text:
Covid-19 and The Sovereign Debt Story
Munalula Lisimba
One area that has caught my interest throughout the current crisis has been the Economic response of countries across the world and the potential strains on debt sustainability as a result. Looking at Europe, The US and Emerging Markets (EM), we've seen government budgets completely overhauled and replaced by massive, blank cheque spending that only 2 months ago would have been very hard to imagine.
The Current Narrative
Emerging Markets and many other developing countries have seen a surge in stimulus packages from the IMF, with the multilateral institution dispersing out over $500 Million in Grants to IDA countries (the lowest developed nations). These have been provided in order to assist such countries in covering their debt obligations over the next six months and will also enable them to channel their scarce financial resources to emergency health services that desperately need them. Additionally, The G20 group have been discussing plans to push-back on debt payments as they attempt to provide some form of relief for EM nations.
In the US we've seen congress pass the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act. This has granted the US government $2 trillion(about 10% of their annual GDP!) worth of funding to combat the virus, with the package aimed at sustaining jobs, boosting consumer spending and keeping companies afloat, ensuring the virus doesn't completely decimate their economy. More recently, the decision to roll out a further $25 billion to help bailout the Airline Industry with the likes of Delta, Southwest Airlines and United all signing up, is likely to become the norm in this environment with further bailouts expected globally. The narrative has been the need to protect vital industries, fundamental to the US economy and the same can be said for most nations.
Europe has seen major selloffs in their sovereign debt market as yields on the Italian 10-year rose to a four-week high of 1.8% in March, rising further to 2.1% in April. Greece, Spain and Portugal saw major selloffs with yields between the German 10 Year and the PIIGS(Portugal, Italy, Ireland Greece and Spain) widening further. It's projected that Debt-to-GDP in these jurisdictions will rise to an average of 130% of GDP while Germany will hold up at 63%, indicating the contrast in the amount of debt being taken on within Europe and showing those in the most weakened positions. The fears round debt sustainability in Southern Europe was further raised due to the failure of the European region to conclude on a joint issue 'Corona Bond' as part of a joint crisis package last week.
In the UK, the government has pumped over £350 billion worth of stimulus into the UK economy, dwarfing some of the levels seen during the 2008 Financial Crisis and war periods gone by. All with the purpose of ensuring economic activity, through loan facilities and furlough schemes being made available to people and businesses likely to be hit the hardest from the pandemic. A recent decision to provide 1.25 Billion worth of financing for UK tech startups being one of the latest proposed bailouts from the Chancellor. We are likely to see even further packages going forward as the rhetoric from global leaders has been 'To do whatever it takes'.
Implications and My Point of View
Looking at the amount of money being thrown around, I can't help but wonder what the future holds for Debt Sustainability as a lot of this spending has been facilitated through Borrowing, NOT Tax Revenues or Reserves. The IMF has claimed that the Net Debt-to-GDP ratios of all countries globally will rise significantly as a result, leaving a number of sovereign states highly leveraged and running the risk of future financial distress, evidenced through talks of potential defaults on bonds within EM and Credit Rating downgrades for all. Globally, there have already been cases where a number of nations such as Argentina, Ecuador and Zambia looking to restructure their debt during this crisis by calling in external advisers to aid in discussions.
Figure 1: Net-Debt to GDP ratios expected to grow further
So far, a lot of the pressure, although global, is likely to be felt most in Emerging Markets with talk of restructurings likely to trigger a Domino Effect. With about $11 Trillion in external debt and $3 Trillion in servicing all due in 2020, Developing markets are the regions most exposed to any short to medium term debt obligations. There have been calls for debt moratoriums (debt payment holidays) to be put in place which could go some way in easing the burden. However, these will be dependent on whether private bondholders will accept countries temporarily suspending debt payments and this discussion remains an area of debate as G20 nations push private investors to cooperate.
My view is that EMs are likely to feel this for the foreseeable future, long after the virus due to the relatively high levels of debt, prior to this pandemic and interest rates that are significantly higher than those in Europe. This has mainly been due to continued Quantitative Easing across Europe which has seen interest rates fall closer to/below the zero bound. Whereas, most EM markets have attempted to curb inflation by Monetary tightening which has propped up the cost of borrowing domestically, with the increased risk of default being priced into markets as EM bond yields rise and prices fall significantly.
Internationally, the strengthening Dollar due to the flight to safer assets or Hard currency has seen a number of EM currencies fall sharply and makes the cost of servicing any debt obligations very high as paying back Dollar denominated debt is even more costly. This suggests a long road ahead for a level of sustainable debt to be reached in these jurisdictions and thus the long-term effects of the pandemic are likely to leave deep scars in these markets.
Ultimately, It is important to note that every government is vulnerable during this crisis. Although some have more exposure than others, each nation will ultimately face debt pressure in some form due to the significant amount of fiscal action we continue to see globally. This paints a very grim outlook and looking forward, assessing how countries restructure and manage their debt in the coming months will be crucial in avoiding a repeat of the debt crisis in Greece and other parts of Europe in 2008-2009, with a lot of these nations just only beginning to recover 12 years on.
Figure 2: Growing Debt Crisis in EM likely to be long term
Figure 3: Growing Spending financed by debt, not Tax Revenues likely to see significant rise in government deficits globally
Disclaimer: Do not take any of the personal views shared here as Investment advice. Whenever you want to start investing make sure you do your own research and seek professional advice for any investment decisions you make in the future.
© Lancaster University Investment and Finance Society 2021
Submit your feedback and suggestions here.


Definition at line 17 of file create.c.
Definition at line 29 of file create.c.
Definition at line 60 of file create.c.
323 * last error is ERROR_FILE_EXISTS and not ERROR_ALREADY_EXISTS.
324 * Note: RtlNtStatusToDosError is not the subject to blame here.
Definition at line 554 of file create.c.
Definition at line 368 of file create.c.
Referenced by GetExpandedNameA(), GRPFILE_ReadGroupFile(), GRPFILE_WriteGroupFile(), HLPFILE_DoReadHlpFile(), LZOpenFileA(), mciLoadCommandResource(), mmioDosIOProc(), test_mmioSeek(), test_OpenFile(), testFileExistenceA(), testFileExistenceW(), TestPrivMoveFileIdentityW(), and VerInstallFileA().
Definition at line 565 of file create.c.


(The Mother of all Disruptions) a.k.a. where is IT going now?
As long as I can remember, I have witnessed many incredible changes in our technologies our society was able to come up with.
Being an eighties kid made me positive for the tech stuff.
Born in the Seventies, I will pass quickly this decade, being too much of a young boy to really care or remember. Well that was the kindergarten for the technologies to come: first PC (Apple garage), floppies (data transport), Birth of Video Games.
That decade prepared for the big one: the 80's and the dawn of mass market for IT. Big a** screens and huge desktops: Computers were raiding homes and offices. Terminator in the movies: Machines will replace us!
Safely, we arrived to the Nineties and the birth of the Internet. Remember the "World Wide Web"?
That's the decade I decided to be an IT guy, owning in 94 a 56Kbps (yes bps) modem and AOL account.
So until the late nineties, Computing Technologies were present but were just birthing. Computers were not cheap, they were still slow for some stuff, email was not the best way to communicate with each other professionally. Not really a disruption so far, just breakthroughs.
The first disruption for me was the two thousands (00s), the internet just starting to rule the world: shaping our daily work and life, changing the economy and communications forever. Information could be transmitted faster than ever. Our lives would never be the same again. Google, Amazon, Facebook, you name them!
The second disruption came fast and accelerated the first one : with the birth of Mass cell phones networks, we are touching the world using our smartphones, daily, hourly, minutely… you know: the distance are not there anymore. Webcams, google earth, instant access to your friends or favorite shop. You can hail a car as soon as you arrive at the airport. The Cloud !
After fifty years of relentless technological progress, what will IT, bring us to the next decade?
The twenties, A.i. The mother of it all: Alexa and Siri communicate with us using close to natural language, guess our needs and provide without asking. Programs can already create perfect photo realistic pictures or music on command.
Machines will create. A picture? Why not an entire movie… Jobs will be automated to an incredible extent (City Journal Kay S. Hymowitz – title borrowing), robots, shopping without cashiers (Amazon check!).
A globalized mind made of personal memories, good and bad mixed, analysed and used. Do Android Phones Dream of Electric Sheep?
If A.I. fullfills its promises, it will surpass our capacity to evolve maybe even help us to do so. It will not be a matter of "if or how" we can control it: but who will. It could be the Mother of all Destructions in the wrong hands.
So close, this will be upon us so fast, we have tremendous challenges on our path (not to mention a global warming issue).
This is not a technology our evolution matter, "can machines replace us on this planet (aaah)?". This is not sci-fi we are talking about: IT is a political matter now, internationally.
Don't you know our personal information are for sale, hence our lives too?
People Security and Awareness has to be the new Disruption.
And yes, IT can help for this too: Let us be smart, safe and disruptable.


I've read the name Mavis Applewater on a few message boards but had never read any of her stuff. Until a friend recommended My Sister's Keeper. She just told me that there was some angst, a bit of religion, and good writing. Well, that was enough for me.
I don't want to give away too much but the story involves Jenny and Lizzie, aka Sister Rachel. They grew up together and shared most of their "firsts" with each other. When Lizzie is shipped off to a convent school by her fanatical mother, the women are separated for more than a decade. Lizzie's return to Boston opens old wounds for both women. But I shouldn't really say more.
I truly enjoyed the storyline and the characters were complex and believable. There were story arcs that never really went anywhere and I would have like to have had a bit more depth to the religion aspect but, overall, this was a well written, touching story.
Oh, and I wanted to mention that the cover art used on the pdafiction version was very nice. One of the best things about getting fiction at pdafiction.com is that many of the compiled stories have cover art. And some of it is REALLY good. So here's a shout out to Calli of Calli's Creations. She seems to do most of them and I sometimes find myself going back to the cover art while I'm in the middle of a story so I can see her interpretation of the characters and emotion.


We just thought you might like to know that there have been some administrative changes here at Text Marketer, but don't worry, we are still here offering an amazing SMS service at a low cost.
Text Marketer is part of a group of business messaging service providers called Commify. To simplify our legal structure, we renamed TextMarketer Limited to Commify UK Limited on 31st January 2019 with Companies House. At that point, Text Marketer Limited became a trading name of Commify UK Limited.
This has had no impact on the services our customers receive or the team who deliver those services; it simply means that invoices are now from Commify UK Limited trading as Text Marketer. All existing contracts remain valid – it is very much business as usual.
Public notices have been issued which list the various non-trading companies being wound up – and some customers have seen these notices and sought clarification that Text Marketer itself is not being wound up. It is not.
Again we just thought you would like to know, we are still here, still low cost, and most importantly, still bright orange.


text:
Неферит I /Nepherites, Nefaarud или Nef'aurud/ от Мендес е основател и пръв фараон от Двадесет и девета династия на Древен Египет. Управлявал през 398 – 393 пр.н.е.

Неферит става фараон на Долен Египет след като побеждава в битка и екзекутира предишния владетел Амиртей. Разпростира властта си над Среден и Горен Египет, където персийските гарнизони са окончателно прогонени.

Неферит I сключва съюз със Спарта срещу Персийската империя през 395 пр.н.е. В замяна на тяхната военна подкрепа, фараонът изпраща на спартанците в Родос зърно и купува материал за построяването на 100 триреми. Планът за съвместни действия на Спарта и Египет срещу ахеменидска Персия пропада след като корабите с пратката са пленени от атиняните.

Външни препратки
 Livius.org: Nepherites I

29


A participle is yet another verbal, a word derived from a verb. Participles are verbals that act as adjectives.
That dripping faucet kept me awake all night.
Dried meat and preserved fruit were staples for our ancestors.
A broken clock stood on the mantelpiece.
Participles can look like present participles (base form of verb + -ing) or like past participles (base form + -ed for regular verbs, or the various irregular past participles). Participles in present form usually describe what a thing does. Participles in past form usually describe what was done to a thing.
Do not confuse adjective participles with participles that are part of verbs.
She is buying a talking bird for her daughter.
Is buying is the verb buy in present progressive tense. Talking is a participle modifying the noun bird.
Participles frequently occur in participial phrases.
The woman sitting in front of me was so tall I could not see the stage.
Knowing you would disapprove, I could not lie to him.
Calling the horse's name, she ran through the snowstorm.
Dangling participle, incorrect: Walking through the forest, the trees were beautiful.
It sounds like the beautiful trees were walking!
Correct: Walking through the forest, we saw many beautiful trees.
We saw the trees while we were walking.


text:
Israel, Hamas agree to cease-fire after hundreds killed in Gaza
Deirdre Shesgreen Kim Hjelmgaard
A cease-fire between Israel and Hamas took effect Thursday evening after both parties agreed to halt an 11-day military confrontation that left hundreds dead and sparked international alarm.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the truce, brokered by Egyptian officials. after a unanimous vote by his cabinet to end the assault against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip.
Taher Nounou, a Hamas official, confirmed the deal: "The Palestinian resistance will commit itself to this deal as long as the occupation is committed," he said.
The development followed growing U.S. and international pressure on Israel to call off a military operation that pounded the Gaza Strip with airstrikes. Hamas fired rockets indiscriminately into civilian areas in Israel. At least 230 Palestinians, including 65 children were killed, and 12 Israelis, including two children.
"These hostilities have resulted in the tragic deaths of so many civilians," President Joe Biden said at the White House after the cease-fire was announced. He hailed the truce and credited the Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi for his role in brokering the deal.
"We remain committed to working with the United Nations and other international stakeholders to provide rapid humanitarian assistance ... for the people of Gaza," he said, adding that the U.S. would also help with reconstruction efforts in coordination with other countries.
Israel described the truce as "mutual and unconditional." The ceasefire took effect at 2 a.m. Friday morning local time, 7 p.m. ET.
But hostilities between the two sides remained high. Even as the cease-fire was confirmed, Israel's Defense Forces said sirens alerting Israeli residents of Hamas rocket fire were sounding in the south of the country.
The UN's Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the next step would be to "stabilize the cease-fire" and launch a "swift, sustainable reconstruction and recovery" effort in Gaza.
"I stress that Israeli and Palestinian leaders have a responsibility beyond the restoration of calm to start a serious dialogue to address the root causes of the conflict," Guterres said.
The agreement for a truce came a day after Biden pressed Netanyahu to de-escalate the conflict and move toward a cease-fire. Biden's appeal to Netanyahu reportedly strengthened Egypt's efforts to negotiate a ceasefire.
Biden quietly ramped up pressure on Israel in recent days as he faced mounting international alarm over the rising death toll and growing demands from some Democrats in Congress for a cease-fire or a reduction in aid to Israel.
In his remarks Thursday, Biden said the cease-fire deal opened an opportunity to seek a broader peace agreement amid the parties.
"My administration will continue our quiet, relentless diplomacy toward that end," he said. I believe we have a genuine opportunity to make progress and I'm committed to working for it."
But the president reiterated his staunch support for Israel's campaign against Hamas, which the U.S. considers a terrorist group.
Biden said he spoke with Netanyahu after the cease-fire was reached, and in the conversation, the Israeli leader expressed "his appreciation for the Iron Dome system, which our nations developed together and which has saved the lives of countless Israeli citizens, both Arab and Jew."
Biden said he assured Netanyahu of his "full support" to replenish the Iron Dome system and ensure Israel's ability to defend itself against future attacks.
The State Department said Biden's top diplomat, Antony Blinken, would travel to the region "in the coming days" to discuss recovery efforts.
The violence wreaked far more devastation in Gaza than in Israel, with an estimated 58,000 Palestinians displaced from their homes and untold damage to the territory's infrastructure, which was already dilapidated by a 14-year blockade.
Israeli attacks damaged at least 18 hospitals and clinics and destroyed one health facility, according to the World Health Organization. WHO officials also said the central COVID-19 testing lab in Gaza City was almost totally destroyed, and the violence caused "severe restrictions" on the delivery of medical supplies.
In Gaza City, which has borne the brunt of Israel's military assault, Ali Al-Gharably said that conditions are extremely difficult for families such as his.
The 36-year-old said he fled his home a week ago with his children because of Israeli artillery fire and they have since been living temporarily in a school.
"The UN brought us some food and water but we left our home with nothing. We hope the war ends soon so we can go back home," he said. "My children don't even have enough clothes to wear. We didn't even have time to put on our shoes."
The fighting between Israel and Hamas began after the militant group fired rockets toward Jerusalem after days of clashes between Palestinian protesters and Israeli police.
Among the triggers for the violence: an effort by Jewish settlers to evict Palestinian families from their homes in East Jerusalem, followed by confrontations between Israeli police and Palestinian protesters near at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, a site sacred to Jews and Muslims.
Hamas, which controls Gaza, fired thousands of rockets at civilian targets in Israel. The stream of rocket shower sent many Israelis scrambling to safety in bomb shelters, although the vast majority of the weapons were intercepted by Israel's sophisticated Iron Dome missile defense system.
Israel responded with its own fusillade of missiles aimed at degrading Hamas' military capability and killing its leaders. Gaza is home to approximately two million Palestinians.
Dennis Ross, a former Middle East envoy under President Bill Clinton, told The Jerusalem Post, that he didn't expect a cease-fire to last for long and that any agreement would effectively be "short-term calm" while Hamas still controls Gaza. Ross urged the international community to link humanitarian aid to Hamas demilitarization.
Biden tells Netanyahu he expects 'a significant de-escalation today' with path toward cease-fire
'Every incendiary ingredient imaginable': Here's what sparked worst Mideast violence since 2014
Key players in the Israel-Palestinian conflict and why peace remains elusive in Gaza
Biden has yet to reverse many of Trump's pro-Israel policies he labeled 'destructive'
Contributing: Akram Elloh for USA TODAY; Associated Press


Torta al testo is a very traditional flatbread that is found within the central region of Italy, called Umbria. It is such a staple in the Umbrian diet that there is even a specific pan that was created for baking this bread, though a cookie sheet works just as well. The delicate torta can be sliced in half and filled with various grilled vegetables, sauteed greens, tangy cheeses, and an assortment of meats or used as a base for numerous toppings and homemade spreads. This recipe uses the torta in just that manner, as a base for a delicious combination of thinly sliced meat and a traditional Umbrian cheese.
THE RECIPE. The Torta al Testo was simple to make, with only five minutes of kneading–so simple that we were a bit worried. Other than stirring up a white sauce, our only other "task" for this recipe was to shop at our favorite local Italian deli. And that was hard–too many choices! We made things easier on ourselves by stocking up on everything: salami, prosciutto, pancetta, parmesan, asiago, fresh mozzarella, dried pasta, fresh pasta, homemade meatballs, canned sauces & olive oils & balsamic vinegars & more delicacies than we can list.
THE RESULT. The Torta al Testo baked up beautifully. It was slightly thicker than we had expected, but probably just as it should be, since our immediate first thought was that we did indeed want to split it in half to stuff with meat and cheese (next time!). Instead, we used it as a base, as noted, for the Crostino Umbro recipe. And we'll certainly use it for that purpose again, even though we'll probably skip the white sauce. We had some white bean & sage dip that worked wonderfully for the same purpose, adding some additional density and flavor.
*A delicately sweet baked ham that can be found at Skappo Merkato or any high-end specialty meat store.
1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the flour, stirring vigorously to combine the ingredients and avoid clumping. When the butter and flour mixture is smooth, stir in the warm milk. Stir constantly until the mixture thickens to a creamy texture, 5 to 8 minutes.
2. Remove from heat and add the grated Parmesan cheese; add salt and pepper to taste.
3. Place the torta slices on a baking sheet and spread a thin layer of white sauce on each slice; place 2 slices prosciutto cotto and then 2 thin shavings Pecorino di Fossa on top.
4. Bake the crostini in the oven until the cheese is light golden brown and slightly melted, about 15 minutes.


text:
Муса́ Магоме́дович Магоме́дов (, 1 мая 1926 — 28 февраля 1997) — аварский писатель и поэт. Народный писатель Дагестана (1991).

Биография
Муса Магомедов родился в селе Андых Советского (ныне Шамильского) района Дагестана в 1926 году.

Окончил Махачкалинскую годичную партшколу и отделение журналистики Саратовской партшколы. Работал учителем, редактором районной газеты «Новый свет», редактором аварского выпуска альманаха «Дружба», руководителем аварской секции Союза писателей Дагестана.

С 1955 года — член Союза писателей СССР.

Окончил Литературный институт имени А. М. Горького в Москве в 1957 году.

Умер 28 февраля 1997 года.

Творчество
Первые произведения Магомедова были напечатаны в 1944 году. Его перу принадлежит трилогия «Месть» («Къисас»), «Корни держат дерево» («Кьалбаз ккола гъвет»), «Раненые скалы» («Лъукъарал кьураби»), написанная в 1961—1966 годах и отражающая жизнь Дагестана в период между Октябрьской революцией и окончанием Великой Отечественной войны. Также Магомедов является автором сборников стихов «Горный источник» («МугӀрул ицц») и «В долине гор» («МугӀрул расалъуда»), повести для детей «Хорошо быть удачником!» и ряда других произведений.

Награды и премии
 Орден «Знак Почёта» (04.05.1960)
 Народный писатель Дагестана (1991)
 Лауреат республиканской премии им. С. Стальского в области детской и юношеской литературы (1973, за книги «Знаменитая трость» и «Хорошо быть удачником»)
 Лауреат премии Госкомиздата РСФСР и Детиздата за книгу «Будь мужчиной»
 Почётная грамота Президиума Верховного Совета Дагестанской АССР

Семья
Жена Мусы Магомедова — народная поэтесса Дагестана Фазу Алиева, сын Джамбулат Мусаевич — директор ансамбля «Лезгинка».

Примечания

Ссылки
 Краткая литературная энциклопедия
 Национальная библиотека Республики Дагестан имени Расула Гамзатова: Магомедов Муса Абдуллаевич

Аварские поэты
Аварские писатели
Лауреаты республиканской премии имени Сулеймана Стальского
Члены Союза писателей Дагестана


text:
package com.amazonaws.services.acmpca.model;

import javax.annotation.Generated;

/**
 *
 */
@Generated("com.amazonaws:aws-java-sdk-code-generator")
public enum RevocationReason {

    UNSPECIFIED("UNSPECIFIED"),
    KEY_COMPROMISE("KEY_COMPROMISE"),
    CERTIFICATE_AUTHORITY_COMPROMISE("CERTIFICATE_AUTHORITY_COMPROMISE"),
    AFFILIATION_CHANGED("AFFILIATION_CHANGED"),
    SUPERSEDED("SUPERSEDED"),
    CESSATION_OF_OPERATION("CESSATION_OF_OPERATION"),
    PRIVILEGE_WITHDRAWN("PRIVILEGE_WITHDRAWN"),
    A_A_COMPROMISE("A_A_COMPROMISE");

    private String value;

    private RevocationReason(String value) {
        this.value = value;
    }

    @Override
    public String toString() {
        return this.value;
    }

    /**
     * Use this in place of valueOf.
     *
     * @param value
     *        real value
     * @return RevocationReason corresponding to the value
     *
     * @throws IllegalArgumentException
     *         If the specified value does not map to one of the known values in this enum.
     */
    public static RevocationReason fromValue(String value) {
        if (value == null || "".equals(value)) {
            throw new IllegalArgumentException("Value cannot be null or empty!");
        }

        for (RevocationReason enumEntry : RevocationReason.values()) {
            if (enumEntry.toString().equals(value)) {
                return enumEntry;
            }
        }

        throw new IllegalArgumentException("Cannot create enum from " + value + " value!");
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
GROWING CALM
Words by Ashley Hamilton-MacQuarrie
Photos by Jenn Dykstra
Local businesses team up to provide a resort sanctuary that naturally soothes and inspires.
Fresh water flows through the Kingfisher Oceanside Resort and Spa's new Serenity Garden. The soothing sound of water travelling over stone provides the foundation for this striking landscape.
From the vantage of one of seven patio nooks nestled amongst the foliage, visitors can rest in Adirondack chairs that face panoramic views of the ocean and snow-capped Coast Mountains. Each patio features a gas fire bowl where nighttime visitors can sit by the warmth of a fire, listen to the rush of water, and enjoy the glow of ambient lights placed throughout the garden.
When Kingfisher owner Bill Brandes first laid eyes on the water feature designs of Island Waterscape & Design, David Bossom's Comox Valley-based company, he was inspired to transform the lawn at the centre of the resort into a dynamic focal point. According to General Manager Aaron Greasly, they elevated an already beautiful outdoor space to the next level, "where people will come to the Kingfisher not only for its spa, restaurants, or suites—but for its gardens as well."
The stream meanders through the terrain and passes a variety of grasses and willow shrubs that line its banks in an effort to reflect a natural stream environment. Arianne Hueny, owner of A Rose in Thyme Landscape Design, worked with Island Waterscape to envision the garden layout and bring it to fruition. Hueny explains that she curated a mix of native and ornamental plants that will provide colour and interest throughout the year. "I want people to walk out of their rooms in February and experience wafts of fragrance coming from the garden," she says.
In addition, many plants were chosen to attract pollinators—which are an integral part of a thriving ecosystem. Although in its infancy, the garden is already thriving; vibrant fuchsia flowers tempt the hummingbirds, osmanthus emit a rich fragrance, and Japanese maples add classic beauty to this diverse space. One can imagine how the garden will evolve into a lush landscape with crawling groundcover, large blossoms, and mature trees.
Greasly says that the resort was ready for upgrades, and the addition of the Serenity Garden is just one of many changes. Recently, their restaurant saw major renovations, and the modern building now includes a garden-side patio. The resort is also renovating their spa and suites. The time is right for the Kingfisher to pursue new features, and these changes are indicative of the Comox Valley's growth. As spring flowers bloom, so do the prospects of the resort—with the lovingly crafted beauty of the Serenity Garden at its centre.
Category: Volume 15


Alaves are still trying to reach an agreement to sign Pape Sarr on a permanent basis.
The Senegal international spent the second half of last season on loan at Alaves from Lens and impressed as the club secured a return to La Liga.
Sarr is keen to stay with the Spanish side but is waiting for the two clubs to thrash out an accord.
Alaves want to take the midfielder on loan for the season with a view to a permanent move but Lens are seeking an immediate sale.
The impasse has left Sarr in limbo as Alaves coach Rafa Monfort looks to finalise his squad.
Monfort is aiming to create a squad containing 25 players but is currently top-heavy by four players and that could rise to five if Sarr does join permanently.
The quintet most likely to be shipped out by Monfort are Abel, Juvenal, Gnakpa, Lacen and Pape Thiaw.


On Friday morning I set out on a knitter's journey.
I took the train to York, leaving my dear FL alone for only the second night in 8 years, to join Natalie and her Shed-ite Apostles at a convent in York.
To explain: I am a member of The Yarn Yard group on Ravelry (the Shed): one of the most supportive and friendly knitting groups you could imagine. This was their 4th annual gathering in York, but it was the first time I had felt able to go, domestic circumstances being what they are. This year, FL agreed that I MUST go, while he is still well enough to be left on his own. And so… I did!
There was just one room left in the convent, for one night only, and it coincided with "cheap" train deals on Friday and Saturday, as opposed to mortgage-worthy fares on Sunday and Monday. It was clearly meant to be! Some of the knitters are there until Monday morning, but I am not sure I have the stamina for so much social interaction. As it is, I am shattered. Happy but exhausted!
I wrote a short story in the train heading south.
I cast on and knitted half a sock.
I cast on and knitted a third of a hat.
14 of us went to an Indian restaurant and knitted while we waited for our food… I'm not sure what the waiters thought!
I saw more i-pads in one room than ever in my life before… and every one was set to the Ravelry website!
I went to Duttons for Buttons.
I went to the Quilt Museum.
I went to a market stall and bought the freshest brightest Yorkshire forced rhubarb and cavalo nero direct from the man who grew it.
I joined in with a P-hop fundraiser (for Medecins Sans Frontieres): everyone brought their unloved yarn / fabric / knitting books / fibre and piled it high. When given the go ahead, all the brave souls dived in to select their most-wanted thing. I was a chicken and aimed for the fabric! After three rounds of "ready steady go", anyone could take anything they fancied. In return, we make a donation to P-hop ("pennies per hour of pleasure").
And if you're thinking that's an awful lot to pack into 24 hours… you're right!
My head is still spinning, even if my hands are not.
Being kept awake through the night by the sound of traffic.
Passing a bookshop with a window-display of Pugin's Ecclesiastical Ornament: "Special offer! Only £4.99" with the confidence that this will attract local shoppers.
Ah York, I love you so.
Home with a new hat – thank you Lucy!
But it's good to be back home all the same.