The companies moved into the newly remodeled accelerator space on Qualcomm's main campus in San Diego, Calif. on May 26. The 7,000 square foot collaborative space is outfitted with a lab and work stations for the teams so they can focus on building next generation robotics technologies. Qualcomm is committing over $1 million in aggregate funding to the program with each of the 10 participating companies receiving an equal share. Additionally, the participants will be offered business and technical insight on robotics during the program to support them in taking their businesses to the next level.
The program will conclude on September 10, 2015 with a Demo Day where teams will have the opportunity to pitch and demo their robotic innovations to an audience of external mentors, investors and media as well as executives from Qualcomm and Qualcomm Ventures, the investment arm of Qualcomm Incorporated.
"The diversity and breadth of focus of the robotics accelerator selectees demonstrates the remarkable innovation underway around the world in this space," said Matt Grob, chief technology officer, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. "Robots use many of the same technologies that are currently present in smartphones and we at Qualcomm are gratified to have the opportunity to provide entrepreneurs and innovators worldwide with the technologies and support that will help them transform our daily lives. We look forward to participating with the selectees in this revolution."
Qualcomm has been actively doing research in robotics with the aim to drive innovation in robotics through a state-of-the-art computing platform, including hardware and software, built around a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor. Qualcomm Snapdragon is a product of Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. It is the Company's belief that flying and rolling robots need an integrated, high performance computing and communications solution with integrated real-time flight control, machine learning and computer vision capabilities. Because of its work and leadership in these mobile technologies, Qualcomm Technologies is well-positioned to bring them to robotics and other adjacent industries. Qualcomm Technologies has unveiled several of its robots, such as the Snapdragon Rover and rolling and flying Snapdragon Cargo, to showcase how mobile technologies can power robots and UAVs.
For more information about Qualcomm's robotics initiatives, please visit www.qualcomm.com/robotics. For more information on the Qualcomm Robotics Accelerator, powered by Techstars program and additional details about the program's inaugural class, visit qualcommaccelerator.com.
Techstars is a global ecosystem that empowers entrepreneurs to bring new technologies to market wherever they choose to build their business. With 18 mentorship-driven accelerator programs worldwide, Techstars exists to support the world's most promising entrepreneurs throughout their lifelong journey. Techstars provides access to over 5,000 founders, mentors investors, and corporate partners, allowing entrepreneurs to accelerate the pace of innovation and do more, faster. Techstars makes entrepreneurship more accessible by providing access to capital, guidance, marketing, business development, customer acquisition, and recruitment. For more information, visit www.techstars.com.


Kurt Lentjies has revealed that Maritzburg United dedicated their 2015/16 PSL campaign survival to the club's fallen soldier, Mondli Cele.
The industrious midfielder tragically passed away in a car accident in the early hours of 17 January. In a match against Orlando Pirates the night before, he was on target as the Team of Choice held the Buccaneers to a pulsating 3-3 draw.
In his extended Revovling Column in Soccer Laduma's issue 974, the Mitchell's Plain-born attacker opened up about what the win meant for the entire Maritzburg family, and more especially for Cele who they lost when things were falling in place in his football career.
"The loss of Mondli Cele was part of a very emotional season overall for Maritzburg United. He lost his life just when he was picking up form and scoring goals for us. Losing him saw us losing our momentum as a team too. This great relegation escape is a dedication to Mondli Cele.
"At the end of the game against Jomo Cosmos I felt him looking down on us with a smile from the heavens saying he is proud of us. May his soul rest in peace," the midfielder explained.
Cele had made eight appearances for Maritzburg before his untimely death.


Each time I click on it, it opens and closes directly.
I am working on windows xp pro.
Always search (http://vbulletin.newtek.com/search.php?s=Array%5Bsessionhash%5D) the forum before u make a new thread, this question has been answer a bunch of times!


The world of online mapping frameworks moves apace! Now, even the monolithic mapping organisation, the Ordnance Survey, is involved. In July, they launched OS Open Zoomstack, providing vector tiles of their open data themes. The OS is acknowledged as having the most complete and detailed national mapping of any country world-wide, and we are gaining ever more access to this enormously rich data set.
This isn't a review but simply a little pointer for those that are fully engaged in online mapping frameworks looking for an alternative to OpenStreetMap. The OS has already made sure that the vector tiles work with ArcGIS, QGIS, Mapbox, kepler.gl and Illustreets. Different colour schemes are available, as we see in other frameworks. Above is the Outdoor colourway; below, the Night scheme. There is a pseudo-3D look that can be invoked by tilting the map, but all buildings are the same height and the terrain is flat. The ability to reflect reality here could be a game-changer, though we've already had a taste of that in the OS Maps app.
It's not perfect, but at present the OS is only running this as a trial. Even so, this is a welcome and very significant addition to a fast growing and evolving environment of online mapping tools. Even more significantly, the OS is using this as testbed for the delivery of Open MasterMap—it's flagship product.


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Home / Business/ Munchee recognised as Fastest Growing Brand in Bangladesh 2018
Munchee recognised as Fastest Growing Brand in Bangladesh 2018
Comments / {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}} Views / Thursday, 14 February 2019 02:40
From left: Munchee Bangladesh CEO Shri Somanathaan Sridharan with the company's Brand Manager Ashraful Islam Durjoy and Finance Manager KNP Shalinda
Continues vigorous SAARC expansion
Munchee, the flagship brand of Ceylon Biscuits Limited (CBL), has once again distinguished itself internationally, receiving the Fastest Growing Brand in Bangladesh 2018 award from United Research Services and Asia One magazine at a recent ceremony held at Marina Bay Sands Hotel in Singapore. In addition, Munchee was honoured as the "Fastest Growing Brand Leader in Bangladesh 2018" at the same event. Accepting the awards, Ceylon Biscuits Bangladesh CEO Shri Somanathaan Sridharan commented, "These awards and recognitions reflect our dedication and commitment towards excellence, and in parallel it gives us a greater responsibility as well to keep up the pace of our growth. We also believe it is only the beginning, just the first milestone in our continuing journey to achieve our vision to be the best."
With over 50 years of experience and a footprint in 64 countries around the world, CBL continues to grow from strength to strength due to its innovative business processes and unique product offerings, which has driven its entire business towards excellence, continuously raising the bar for itself and its industry. This in turn has helped Munchee to achieve a stellar growth trajectory buoyed by CBL's constant focus on innovation and superior quality.
Elaborating further, Group Director and Head of CBL's Food Cluster Rasith Wickramasingha said: "We are proud of our team in Bangladesh for this exceptional accomplishment. We would like to thank them for working tirelessly on behalf of Munchee over the years, allowing us to continuously extend our footprint while maintaining a strong brand throughout."
Wickramasingha continued: "I would like to also thank our fantastic distributors and of course loyal customers, without who none of this would be possible. Today, Munchee is available in 64 countries worldwide, which is solely due to customers who are not only delighted by this fantastic brand but also, often, go out of their way to repeatedly ask for it."

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Carol Couture
Carol Couture has been an archivist at the Archives nationales du Canada (1970–1972), an assistant to the archivist at the archives of the Université de Montréal (1972–1976) and director of the archives of the Université de Montréal (1976–1988). In 1988, he joined the École de bibliothéconomie et des sciences de l'information (EBSI) of the Université de Montréal, where he became full professor. He has taught principally in the archival stream within the Master's program in library and information science. A former president of the Association des archivistes du Québec (1979–1980 and 1988–1989), he was a member of the Bureau of Canadian Archivists (BCA) (1988–1991), of the Canadian Council of Archives (CCA), and of its executive (1988–1991). He is co-editor of the collection Gestion de l'information at the Presses de l'Université du Québec. He has been awarded numerous prizes and awards, including the Prix Gérard-Morisset 2001, one of the Prix du Québec. He headed the École de bibliothéconomie et des sciences de l'information from 2001 to 2005.
Daniel Doucharme
A graduate in 1986 of the École de bibliothéconomie et des sciences de l'information (EBSI) at the Université de Montréal, Daniel Ducharme started his career as archivist at the École des hautes études commerciales de Montréal (HEC) between 1986 and 1988. Subsequently, he was at the Centre canadien d'études et de coopération internationale (CECI), a non-governmental organization where he worked respectively as librarian, as archivist, and as manager in various institutions in the Indian Ocean and in West Africa. Returning to Québec in 1994, he became records manager at the Agence universitaire de la Francophonie (AUF) until he took a position at the Archives nationales du Québec (ANQ) in 1999. He has taught courses in the Master's program at EBSI and in the Documentation Techniques program at the Collège Maisonneuve. He has also been employed as a consultant in Cape Verde, France, Senegal, Brazil, Portugal, Haiti, and Switzerland.
Home > Archivaria 59: Québec's Perspective on Archival Science (Spring 2005) >	Couture


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The Steam Review
Comment and discussion on Valve Software's digital communications platform.
THE STEAM REVIEW: Log in - Fixed/Fluid layout - - Browse...
Steam Community (6)
Steam updates (33)
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BY MONTH:
Dark Messiah officially confirmed
Record high for Steam prices :: August 31st, 2006 :: New products :: 8 Responses
Dark Messiah of Might and Magic might run on the Source engine, and its multiplayer beta might have been managed through Steam, but it is only today that its Steam release has been confirmed. Unlike everything else currently held on the content servers however, Dark Messiah is neither a back-catalogue nor a primarily or purely digitally-distributed title; as such, it is to raise the upper limit of Steam's single-item packages with the asking price of $50 (£26; the previous holders of the top spot being Dangerous Waters and, ahem, Birth of America ).
Despite this record fee the Steam price remains not only lower than the game's RRP, but also neck and neck with bulk retailers' offerings both in America and here in England. It's a reasonable enough decision in my mind: there is little point now in trying to support the struggling independent and specialist retailers, and as a prominent console developer and publisher Ubisoft can afford neither to cut out bulk retailers nor to follow Valve and base their price structure around digital distribution.
There is currently no word on whether the additional weapons available in the Collector's Edition and Limited Edition retail releases will be making an appearance on Steam, nor how interoperability between the standalone and Steam will be handled—something that may well lead to in-game Steam account creation and management for functions such as VAC.
Dark Messiah of Might and Magic official site
Dark Messiah semi-public multiplayer Steam beta (GameSpot)
8 Responses to this post:
August 31st, 2006 at 10:53 pm ::
DiSTuRbEd Says:
Awesome, I will be getting this when it comes out via retail. 🙂
September 1st, 2006 at 12:24 am ::
hahnchen Says:
I'm not sure about the state of independent retailers in the US, but in the UK with a decent second hand sales market, they're managing alright.
Is Dark Messiah going to be Steam only? Even as in the retail version? Because if it is, then it's sure to give Steam numbers a healthy boost. (Whereas past 3rd party releases may not have done)
September 1st, 2006 at 9:46 am ::
Tom Edwards Says:
Yeah, and second-hand is "the only thing keeping the ship afloat" according to one US chain exec.
I doubt that you'll need Steam for the retail copies. If Ubi aren't putting Steam first in pricing, they won't be putting it first at installation either. Like I hinted in the post though, this could be when Andy S' idea of inline Steam code appears.
September 1st, 2006 at 3:43 pm ::
so this means if i buy the retail version it will not be registerable on steam?
only the copys bought off of steam
Who knows? We're all but certainly looking at a hybrid.
Andy Simpson Says:
I would say there are two ways that this could go.
First, the conventional solution, i.e. a RO/Sin Eps type solution, where you have to install and register your game with the Steam client. Factors this has going for it are that it's pretty much the status quo, and that I think using Steam means the publisher gets a discount on their Source license, so I can see them weighing up the risk of annoying their customers by bundling the rather intrusive Steam client against the decreased costs for the engine.
Second, the hybrid solution. I was having a poke around in the Source SDK GCF to see if I could find anything interesting, and one of the items in there is the Steam v3 API. I think it includes all the header files necessary to link against the steamclient.dll and possibly steam_api.dll, but I'm not a C++ expert by a long stretch, so I'm not sure. Anyways, it looks like the API exposes functions that are usually only supposed to be used by the SteamUI itself; the implications are that any external app (including games) could act like a Steam client itself, and connect directly to the Steam service. I'm not sure if it's possible as it stands, but I'd say it was a possiblity in an update. Also note how servers possess a steamclient.dll for getting at the auth functionality without the Steam client being running.
As a sidebar, oddly enough the Steam v3 API doesn't seem to include any of the filesystem stuff.
Personally, I hope it's the hybrid solution. I can see advantages to Steam being resident and living in the taskbar, but I do think there would be advantages in it being more of a transparent service.
It's kinda like how I see offline mode; at the moment it's incredibly tacked on, an afterthought. Offline mode is a special case of online mode, just with all the online functionality switched off. I think this is the wrong way to think about it, online mode should be the special case of offline mode.
When you start up Steam, it should start immediately, and then begin trying to connect to the Steam service in the background, then once it connects, it enables all internet-based functionality. It's a more reliable approach. Especially in the early days of Steam there were a lot of problems with the UI not responding because it was waiting for the Steam service to respond. The service was bogged down, and that had a knock-on effect on the UI because they were too closely coupled. If you engineer with the assumption that the internet is not availiable or when it is, is incredibly unreliable, you're going to get a better experience because you'll build something more fault-tolerant.
If there's a Steam update, it should download it in the background, then prompt for a restart. There should be different authentication classes. At the moment, if Steam can't find any logon information when you start in offline mode, it simply refuses to start offline, rather than allowing me to play free games like demos or Codename Gordon. You should be able to simply register your CD-Key with Steam offline and be allowed to play offline, at least for some games, depending on how secure you want to be against zero-day piracy.
The point is, Steam-based authentication for if I'm allowed to play or not play a game is great because it's easily portable and whatever, but at the same time it's more heavy-handed than it should be, and too based upon the mindset of Steam being the gatekeeper to which you must prove youself before you can get in, and not as flexible as it could or should be.
September 6th, 2006 at 11:58 pm ::
mAster Says:
looks like Blood Rayne, Blood Rayne 2, and advent rising will be on steam soon ^_^
[blat], we have standards here.
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Deals with the devil: publishers on Steam - The Steam Review


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If you are aware of the theoretical work of John Hattie, you may have heard about Effect Size. Effect Size if a simple measure for quantifying the difference between two sets of data on a common scale. As part of our partnership focus on Visible Learning I have examined this year's student NAPLAN data with John Hattie's effect size tool. Results show that 20% of Riverton PS students have achieved more than two years' growth in at least one area of NAPLAN in 2017.


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Tebow coming to Mets camp
Matt Ehalt
Staff Writer, @MattEhalt
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — It's Tebow time at Mets camp.
Former Jets quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow has arrived in Port St. Lucie, and the Mets prospect host a press conference this morning at the team's complex.
Tebow, who worked out Sunday and will do so again today, will participate in minors camp, but the Mets are planning to use him in Grapefruit League games over the next month.
A vendor outside of First Data Field on Sunday was selling shirts with Tebow's name and number, and his shirt was the only one being sold among all of the team's prospects.
"I know he's a winner. That's going to mean a lot in that big clubhouse with young kids over there. I wish him the best in spring training," Mets manager Terry Collins said Sunday. "When they tell me he's had enough at-bats that he's ready, I'll bring him over. I think our fans should get a chance to see him."
METS: Conforto aces first day
SPRING TRAINING: Mets' new throwing program a hit
The Mets made the bold — and criticized — move to sign Tebow to a minor league contract last year, and the former Jets quarterback will now begin his preparation for a season in the team's minor league system.
There are plenty of critics who do not believe Tebow will make it, considering his long layoff from baseball, but Mets General Manager Sandy Alderson said the team believes he can be a baseball player. Tebow, 29, had last played organized baseball with Nease High School in Florida in 2005.
The Mets inserted Tebow into their Instructional League after signing him, and, in another criticized move, sent him to the Arizona Fall League (AFL) to compete against some of the game's prospects, such as the Yankees' top prospect Gleyber Torres. Unsurprisingly, Tebow did not fare well against established minor-leaguers, hitting .194 with a .296 on-base percentage and a .242 slugging percentage.
Tebow fanned 20 times in 62 at-bats, and he profiles as a corner outfielder.
Participating in spring training will help Tebow be better prepared for the regular season than he was for the AFL, and should afford him the chance to be more successful. It will also create a buzz at Mets camp due to his star power, and fans are going to want to see him in Grapefruit League games.
Collins seemed onboard with the idea, provided that team executives believes Tebow is ready for the opportunity, and he believes in giving the fans a product they will want to watch.
"This game is about our fans. It will always be about the fans, and this guy is a special person," Collins said after Sunday's game against Detroit at First Data Field. "He's a tremendous athlete, has a huge name in the sports world. He's in our organization trying to be a baseball player, and I'm not trying to take anything away from that. I salute him for what he's trying to do.
"It's not going to be easy. It's going to be very difficult."
Tebow's years with the Jets proved to be filled with turmoil, and an argument could be made that his presence was a distraction, but Collins does not envision that will be a problem with his team.
The manager indicated he will not keep a close eye on Tebow, since he has to worry about his own team, which is trying to recapture the NL East title after finishing second in 2016.
"We got enough veteran guys in there," Collins said. "Tim Tebow is a star in his own right. Those guys, when he walks in our clubhouse, they will let him have it. Of course, he's a little bigger than they are. It's a tremendous clubhouse, and they will reach out and try to make him feel at home."


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Rob is a lead on the Data Science Team at Outbrain, where he is responsible for data science and engineering projects for a real-time decision support platform for online news media editors. Rob studied engineering and applied linguisitics at Boston University and has built web-scale recommendation and analytics applications at a number of data-driven startups. In his spare time he enjoys craft beer, playing go and upright bass.


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Scrambled Eggs James Bond
James Bond's Food: dinner with Vesper
James Bond's food: "American cooking at its rare best"
James Bond recipes: Western Sandwich
Tiptree "Little Scarlet" – James Bond's strawberry jam
James Bond recipes: Spaghetti Bolognese
James Bond and Coffee
Chemex coffee maker
Vodka martini
List of the guns of James Bond
Walther PPK
James Bond gun errors
Home > Guns > Walther PPK
James Bond's Walther PPK
A look at the gun James Bond is most associated with – the Walther PPK.
In Dr No James Bond is met with orders from the armourer to hand over his Beretta .25 semi-automatic. In its place he recommends switching to the Walther PPK, a 7.65 mm semi-automatic pistol "with a delivery like a brick through a plate glass window."
While Bond would employ other firearms as circumstances dictated, the Walther PPK became his principal side arm, and joined the "shaken, not stirred" martini as one of the quintessential props of the character.
Although today's Bond has moved on to the heavier Walther P99 9mm, as the change was not clearly commented upon in the films it has gone largely unnoticed among the general public, which still identifies the PPK as the pistol of choice for Commander Bond.
History of the PPK
The PPK first entered service in 1931, as an evolution of Walter's popular Polizeipistole, or PP. The PPK stood for Polizeipistol Kurz, or "short police pistol," and was expressly meant for use by plainclothes policemen and detectives.
Such work demanded a smaller firearm that could be easily concealed and would not attract attention, sacrificing high-powered ammunition (such as the .45 and 9mm cartridges) and greater ammunition capacity for stealth.
It was a reliable and compact automatic pistol at a time when there were few designs that were either, and became an instant success. The handgun saw widespread use with German police and the Luftwaffe (German Air Force), and indeed it was with a PPK that Adolf Hitler shot himself in 1945.
Bond adopts the PPK
The PPK found its way into Bond's hands based on a bit of fan correspondence. Geoffrey Boothroyd first wrote to Ian Fleming in 1956, shortly before the publication of From Russia With Love.
He told Fleming that he loved the novels, but hated Bond's choice of weapons and the Beretta .25 in particular, an easily concealed pocket pistol with the drawback of shooting a very light round – a "lady's gun", Boothroyd informed Fleming.
Fleming had initially assigned Bond the .25 pistol on the basis of his own espionage work during the Second World War, but Boothroyd suggested that the PPK would be a better choice. It was only slightly larger, packed more of a wallop, and the ammunition for it was in widespread use.
This was one of several firearms criticisms that resulted in Boothroyd becoming the basis for the armourer, the character who developed into the much loved Q of the movies.
Guns have changed a lot since Ian Fleming wrote Dr No. The Walther P99 is only 10 mm longer than the original PP, 25 mm longer than the PPK, and yet uses a more powerful round and carries more ammunition than either of them. However, it is still a Walther semi-automatic that sits in Bond's shoulder holster, and the legacy of that fine German pistol-maker continues.
Written by: Q-branch staff
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Comment Please keep your comment on topic.


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Video Game Review: Tokyo Xanadu Ex+ — Like Persona, But…
Posted by Mr. Flawfinder on January 17, 2018
Short Summary: High-school kids use psychic weapons born from their souls to fight other-worldly creatures that prey on humanity's dark side.
Developer: Nihon Falcom
Publisher: Aksys Games
Platform Reviewed: PS4
The game is available for purchase on Steam and at this Amazon link.
Tokyo Xanadu is a Japanese RPG originally released for the PS Vita and later ported to Steam and the PS4 in an Ex+ version that added side stories as well as a playable "After Story" mode in order to flesh out what is essentially a pretty basic anime game narrative. It's centered on a young boy named Kou Tokisaka who becomes involved in a battle against otherworldly creatures from another dimension after trying to save his classmate, Asuka Hiiragi, from some gangsters. From there on, the two protagonists end up recruiting several more high school students while simultaneously fending off attacks in the city and becoming involved in a conspiracy far larger than they could have ever expected. And just so you know, pretty much every character acts how they look, so if you see someone who looks like a douchebag, he's going to act like one too.
This is a game I knew very little about going into it. I've only ever seen Tokyo Xanadu on my Amazon recommendations occasionally and it was promoted somewhat at Anime Expo when I went to it last year, but I didn't look at any trailers or read any reviews, although I did see that this game wasn't something that got people excited compared to Gravity Rush or Odin Sphere when those got released on the PS4. However, my brother got me the game for Christmas, which gave me the perfect opportunity to discover whether this was a throwaway title or a hidden classic. I've since played it and unfortunately, it's moreso the former.
The best way I can sum up Tokyo Xanadu is Persona with all the religious metaphors, social critiques, and subversive characterization removed, leaving you with a very vanilla tale of highschool students saving the world from an arbitrary threat preying on humanity's darkness. What you see with the characters is what you get, and while the side stories flesh them out a little, they all conform to stereotype with very little surprise to them and most of their issues being arbitrary. The lead suffers the most in my opinion, because he has no motivation for wanting to help people other than it's his nature, which is a very lazy answer to something that's so essential to the plot. He does have a past that you could imply drives him, but it's not executed very well due to involving a twist regarding a certain character that I won't spoil, but let's just say I rolled my eyes at it.
And in addition to the plot being throwaway, it's also overlong. Japanese games in general tend to go on for a while, but Tokyo Xanadu overextending itself by ten hours might have been more tolerable if it also didn't have three separate endings you have to get in order. You get one by beating the main story. You get the second one by continuing from completed save data and making alternative choices. Then the third one is achieved through the "After Story" portion, which to my dismay was a five-hour long campaign that was actually a more fitting finale than the original version, so skipping it wasn't exactly an option for me. What, was Yoko Taro involved with the production?
Also like Persona, the gameplay is divided between dungeon crawling and social life simulator. However, the social life portion is really arbitrary, mostly boiling down to a bunch of basic sidequests that will have you going through already completed dungeons to retrieve a certain item or raising your bond with your friends in order to power them and you up – and time only moves forward when you decide to move on with the story so you can do as many of these as there are available. There's also a mechanic where your journal gets updated if you talk to most of the NPCs at certain points, and you get a reward if you fill it up enough, but good luck accomplishing that without a guide.
Dungeon-crawling is okay, but it's mostly going through a bunch of dully-designed corridors with really basic puzzles and killing every bad guy that comes your way. It's a little strategic in regards to enemies because you can only select three members to play with at a time (with Kou being necessary for most of the story dungeons) and they all have different elemental strengths and weaknesses you need to take advantage of in order to get through them.
The real-time combat is fun for the most part in regards to special attacks and how the individual characters fight, but I'm confused as to why only one party member can be out at a time. And consequently, why do the bosses have so much HP? Most of the dungeons ended with me tanking attacks and using one of the many healing items I bought to keep myself rejuvenated before occasionally doing a special attack that'll make the fight ten seconds shorter. Plus, when you gain a party member whose special ability is to product a damage-inducing shield, Tokyo Xanadu might as well have just rolled the credits, because that move really drains any bad guy who can't fly as well as makes all dungeon traps obsolete.
Finally, even for a game originally on the PS Vita, Tokyo Xanadu looks really bad graphic-wise. The textures are low-quality, the city of Tokyo doesn't spring to life, and the character designs have little identity. It's the epitome of average, which also sums up this game in a nutshell.
While it does have some fun moments, there's just too many uninspired elements for me to really recommend Tokyo Xanadu to anyone who isn't a die-hard anime gamer or a Nihon Falcom apologist. Now I've heard this game was the product of the company attempting something new, so hopefully they improve on this formula in the future. I'd like to thank my brother for getting me it, and hopefully you guys enjoyed reading my thoughts as well as this simplified review style that I'm planning to use for all video games from now on.
P.S. Playing the opening animation at the beginning of EVERY chapter was also incredibly unnecessary.
This entry was posted in Video Game, Video Game Review and tagged nihon falcom, ps4, tokyo xanadu, Video Game. Bookmark the permalink.
Anime First Impressions: Winter 2018 Edition
Anime Review: Mary And The Witch's Flower — Little Witch Academy
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Jozef Zlatňanský (13 March 1927 – 11 February 2017) was a Catholic bishop.

Born in Czechoslovakia, Zlatňanský was ordained to the priesthood in 1951. In 1997, he was named bishop and the secretary of the Interdicasterial Commission for the Church in Eastern Europe serving from 1997 until 2004.

Notes

1927 births
2017 deaths
20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Slovakia
21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in Slovakia
People from Zlaté Moravce District

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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Children of failed asylum seekers being locked up illegally: report
File photo of a detention centre near Zurich airport. Photo: Sebastien Bozon/AFP
Minors aged under 15 have been illegally held in prison prior to deportation from Switzerland, a new report has found.
A parliamentary committee says that one in five asylum seekers whose request is denied ends up in custody pending extradition, and sometimes children are detained alongside their parents.
Read also: Homeless man given asylum in Switzerland told to 'buy a tent'
The Control Committee of the National Council said some Swiss cantons had gone against the law by allowing the practice.
"The cantons must notice themselves that this is not permissible and it is of course regrettable that this has to be pointed out to them by the law-making bodies," the committee's Alfred Heer told the Tagesschau news programme on SRF television.
A representative of the cantons, Roger Schneeberger, confirmed to the programme that under 15s had been kept in pre-extradition detention but "only in exceptional cases when it was in the child's interests".
This included cases where mothers had to be taken into custody at short notice because of fears they would go underground.
The report said it was not clear how many children had been affected because no reliable figures were available.
Swiss-based international children's rights organization Terre des hommes welcomed the report, which it said was based on its own research carried out in 2016 and submitted to the federal authorities.
Coup de frein à la détention administrative des enfants en Suisse, nouvelle étudehttps://t.co/m4nHyuHe1y pic.twitter.com/r6p32WnqM5
— Terre des hommes (@tdh_ch) June 29, 2018
Terre des hommes said it had pointed out "alarming disparities between the cantons" when it came to collecting data, managing information and putting measures in place.
"All forms of detention are a traumatic experience for a child, but it is even worse in the case of very vulnerable young migrants," the organization said.
"Like the committee, we are calling for the imprisonment of families to end, pure and simple."
It urged Switzerland to comply with its international commitments under the 1997 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
The government has until the end of September to respond to the report.


" Enabling children with disabilities to access family-based care ensures they have the same development opportunities as other children. They have a much greater chance of reaching their developmental potential in a family than in a residential care setting."
Andy Bilson and David Tobis are working with Better Care Network to promote parent advocacy and activism in child welfare as a way to improve the care of children in low and middle income countries. The aim is to identify organizations or individuals in low or middle income countries that are working to increase the influence and power of parents in child welfare and child protection decision making at the case, program and/or policy levels.
Although the main focus is child welfare or child protection, we are interested in parent advocacy at the interface with other systems such as early childhood development, developmental disabilities, mental health, sexual violence or health where child welfare or child protection issues (primarily child removal) are involved.
We are asking you to help identify people and organizations that currently are promoting parent advocacy and activism in low and middle income countries . If you know any such groups, please send their names and contact information to DMTobis@gmail.com .
The Focus Section brings together research and other documentation published over the past year or two on a particular theme or region. Its aim is to draw attention to the growing body of knowledge developing on the issue and help busy practitioners keep abreast of learning and changes.
Presented at the UN Human Rights Council side event on Promoting Quality Alternative Care for Children with Disabilities on 5 March 2019, this video highlights the work of ABLE, a project of the Cambodian NGO Children in Families that provides inclusive family-based care for children with disabilities. Also read the full transcript of the presentation by Sreyny Sorn, ABLE's program manager, here .
This presentation of Family Care for Children with Disabilities: Practical Guidance for Frontline Workers in Low- and Middle-Income Countries was given by Gwen Burchell, co-author of the Guidance, at the UN Human Rights Council Side Event on Promoting Quality Alternative Care for Children with Disabilities on 5 March 2019. The Guidance was developed by World Learning and Partnerships for Every Child, and commissioned by USAID, to help front-line personnel (social service workers and others) in low- and middle-income countries to work effectively with children with disabilities and their families.
In the present report, submitted pursuant to UN Human Rights Council resolution 37/20, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights provides an overview of the legal framework and practical measures to empower children with disabilities. The report concludes with recommendations to assist States in empowering children with disabilities for the enjoyment of their human rights. The report makes reference to the higher likelihood that children with disabilities experience rights violations, including their right to a family, and the lack of inclusive education for children with disabilities as a driver for institutionalization.
In her report, the Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities provides an overview of the activities undertaken in 2018 and a thematic study on disability-specific forms of deprivation of liberty, in the light of the standards set forth in the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The report references the institutionalization of children with disabilities as well as its underlying causes and adverse consequences.
Child Rights Connect delivered a written and oral statement to the UN Human Rights Council on 4 March 2019 at an event to promote the empowerment of children with disabilities to enjoy their full human rights, including through inclusive education. In the statement, Child Rights Connect says that children with disabilities "are much more likely to grow up in alternative care and face heightened risk of violence."
The purpose of this Situation Analysis of Children with Disabilities in Albania is to generate comprehensive knowledge about children with disabilities to inform concrete actions by the Albanian government and UNICEF Albania to address the most critical rights violations of children with disabilities. The study found that most children with disabilities in Albania live with their families. However, such children are also overrepresented in the public system of residential care.
In this study from the journal of Child: care, health and development , the authors explored the needs of families of children with cerebral palsy in Bangladesh in order to improve services for children with disabilities and their families. Five different themes were found on needs of families with children with disabilities: (a) financial needs, (b) needs for disability‐related services, (c) needs for family and community cohesion, (d) informational needs, and (e) emotional needs.
This study from the Child: care, health and development journal explores the impact of a participatory training programme in Ghana for caregivers delivered through a local support group, with a focus on understanding caregiver wellbeing.
Guided by social-ecological theory, this study from the journal of Child Abuse & Neglect explores responses to violence against children with disabilities, including preventative measures and treatment of victims in the West African countries of Guinea , Niger , Sierra Leone , and Togo . Among the findings, the study revealed that children with disabilities are often "hidden at home or in institutions for both their own and their family's safety."
This study from the Children and Youth Services Review tests the associations of risk and protective factors on mental health outcome variables of youth in foster care with disabilities in the United States .
The goal of this research is to gain insight into the challenges of foster care for children with behavioral problems in Croatia , from the perspective of experts. The article highlights experts' suggestions for improving foster care aimed at identifying guidelines for the development of specialized foster care and protecting the welfare of children with behavioral problems.
The main goal of this article from the International Journal of Social Welfare was to explore the correlates of mental health diseases in a sample of 169 children with intellectual disability (6–18 years old) in residential care in Spain compared with a group of 625 children, also in residential care but without disability. The study found that children with disabilities experience clinical problems more frequently than their peers without disabilities and that they are referred more frequently to psychiatric intervention, receiving more pharmacological treatments.
In this exploratory study from the journal of Social Work , through use of an online anonymous survey, local county child welfare caseworkers in the US were asked to self-rate their knowledge of, exposure to, and comfort levels with children with developmental disabilities.
This study from the British Educational Research Journal sought to find out the current numbers of autistic Looked-After children formally recorded across local authorities in England , and whether their needs are given special attention via strategic planning and oversight.
This report from Children's Rights and Education Law Center is divided into two parts. Part A focuses on the dangers that occur at the US state of Pennsylvania's residential foster care facilities when the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (PA-DHS) fails to provide meaningful oversight. Part B provides background on child residents' educational rights, detailing the inferior education that children at these residential facilities receive, especially children with disabilities.
Mexico 's Supreme Court First Chamber has issued a ruling declaring that the practice of placing one 50-year old man with an intellectual disability under "guardianship," and thus stripping him of his autonomy and many basic rights, is discriminatory, according to this news release from Human Rights Watch. While the ruling only applies to this individual, it sets a precedent that may be followed by Congress and potentially enacted into law, promoting the inclusion of people with disabilities, including children, in the community.
This report - prepared for the European Commission by Applica and the Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research (LISER), in close collaboration with Eurochild and Save the Children - provides a first mapping of the situation across the 28 Member States of the EU outlining the situation in relation to children, particularly the four target groups (TGs) of disadvantaged children (children in institutions, children with disabilities, children of recent migrants and refugees, and children living in precarious family situations) as well as an indication of the key issues in relation to children's access to the five policy areas (PAs): housing, healthcare, nutrition, early childhood education and care, and education.
This chapter by Kristen Cheney and Stephen Ucembe explicates the concept of the orphan industrial complex to argue that persistent narratives of "orphan rescue" not only commodify orphans and orphanhood itself but—counter to their stated goal—can actually spur the "production" of "orphans," resulting in child exploitation and trafficking.
To ensure protection of children from institutional abuse, there is an urgent need to review the existing laws in terms of their efficacy to protect children and their feasibility in implementation in South Asia . The present study suggests possible solutions, by trying to understand standardized and effective models of care systems and mechanisms.
The objective of this study from CMAJ was to examine prenatal care among women in Manitoba, Canada with a history of having a child placed in out-of-home care, and whether their care differed from care among women who did not.
This study from Global Social Welfare explored the perceptions and experiences of children orphaned by AIDS in South Africa surrounding HIV-related stigma and how it has affected their psychosocial well-being.
Using a two-study design, this study from the journal of Child Abuse & Neglect tests whether sexual minority youth are overrepresented in child welfare, foster care, and out-of-home placement using nationally representative data from the United States .
This paper from Child Care in Practice discusses findings from a small-scale qualitative study conducted in Harare, Zimbabwe . Findings show that young people aging out from Harare's care institutions face challenges making their transition from care into adulthood.
This study from the journal of Child Abuse & Neglect determines where disparities in child protection involvement exist among Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal children and characteristics associated with infant removals in Australia .
This study from the What Works Centre for Children's Social Care is a scoping review to explore what research evidence exists about what works in safely reducing the number of children and young people in care in the UK .
This article from the International Journal of Social Welfare , presents the results of a systematic mapping of social work training programs in countries throughout West Africa , a region historically under‐represented in global discussions of the social welfare workforce.
This article from the Oklahoma Law Review explores the US child welfare system and the practice of family separation of poor families. The article reviews child protection legal standards, including those that "conflate poverty and neglect."
These updated UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Guidelines provide guidance on determining the best interests of the child in decisions affecting children at risk, in particular children who are separated from their parents and families.
The Opening Doors for Europe's Children – a pan- European campaign that advocates for strengthening families and ending institutional care – released 16 country fact sheets about the progress with the transition from institutional to family- and community-based care (also known as deinstitutionalisation) in 2018.
The 2019 Prevention Resource Guide - created by the US Department of Health and Human Services' Children's Bureau, Office on Child Abuse and Neglect, its Child Welfare Information Gateway, and the FRIENDS National Center for Community-Based Child Abuse Prevention - is designed to help individuals and organizations in every community strengthen families and prevent child abuse and neglect.
Written for USAID and PEPFAR implementing partners, with a focus on OVC practitioners, this is a user-friendly compendium of current resources, information and job aids for early childhood care, stimulation and education.
Using synthesis and an integrative approach, this article from Child & Youth Services analyzes laws, policies, and institutions that protect the rights and promote the welfare of orphaned children in the Philippines .
This publication from the Annie E. Casey Foundation outlines five clear steps that child welfare agency leaders in the United States can take to build and maintain a strong, stable frontline workforce.
This paper from the Children and Youth Services Review sets out to give a rounded view of the Irish foster care system as currently constituted. It covers areas such as the law and policy framework, key data, key institutional actors, views of the system from the perspective of key stakeholders (care experienced adults and young people, foster carers and their children and the biological parents of children in foster care), and distinctive features of the Irish system.
This final report presents key learning, findings, and results of the "Children in Moldova are Cared for in Safe and Secure Families" (Children in Moldova) project. The project's goal was to improve the safety, wellbeing, and development of highly vulnerable children, particularly those who were living without adequate family care.
This open access paper documents the Deinstitutionalization of Orphans and Vulnerable Children in Uganda (DOVCU) project, articulating the logical steps that were undertaken to identify districts, Child Care Institutions (CCIs), Remand Homes (RH), sub-counties, and parishes to work with. It also seeks to categorically outline the inclusive process that was used to examine push and pull factors of family-child separation, identify households at risk of family-child separation ("prevention households"), identify reunifying children and trace their households ("reintegrating households"), and assess and classify in quantified terms the level of vulnerability in both at risk and separated households.
This report from the Centre for Social Development in Africa (CSDA) at the University of Johannesburg, presents the findings of an intervention study evaluating the short-term outcomes of Sihleng'imizi Family Programme, an evidence-based preventative social-educational intervention in South Africa .
This chapter from Social Work Practice in Africa: Indigenous and Innovative Approaches presents a traditional fostering model adopted by a group of women in Northern Uganda , analysing its potential for building resilience and for contributing to social capital and social development within the broad context of post-conflict situations.
This article from Emerging Adulthood explores the agency enablers and the factors which hinder adolescents and emerging adults transitioning from care to adulthood, with an emphasis on the transition into work taking a case study of the Uganda Youth Development Link.
This study from the Harvard FXB Center for Health and Human Rights documents and evaluates the harm prevention work carried out by the children's rights nonprofit Aangan Trust since late 2015 in Konia, a peri-urban slum area in Varanasi, a large city in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, to develop a deeper understanding of community strategies for preventing violence against children.
In this issue, we highlight the care-related Concluding Observations adopted by the Committee on the Rights of t he Child at its 80th session held 14 January - 1 February 2019, with a particular focus on sections addressing children's care.
Family for Every Child has shared three pre-recorded presentations to watch in advance of their Online Event on Kinship Care in Brazil on Wednesday 3 April at 13:00 UK time.
This series of videos highlights Save the Children's work in Honduras , El Salvador and Mexico to protect migrant and returnee children. The videos depict some of the work that Save the Children is doing to promote and protect the rights of families in Central America before, during, and after migration - including through family strengthening efforts that allow families to stay together, psychosocial support in detention centers, family reunification services, and more.
IRELAND: Why do so many children brought up in care end up in jail?
Newsletter participants, currently 4,230 in total, work on issues related to the care and support of vulnerable children across Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia and the Americas. The purpose of the newsletter is to enable members to exchange information on matters of mutual concern. If you would like to share a document, raise a specific issue, request a newsletter subscription, or reach out in any other way to the Network, please send the information to us at contact@bettercarenetwork.org or visit our website at www.bettercarenetwork.org.


text:
#include "Manager.h"
#include "../stock/File.h"
#include "../core/Log.h"

namespace corde
{
	using namespace core;
	using namespace system;
	using namespace stock;

	namespace content
	{
		Handle<Manager> g_content = 0;

		const char *getExtension(const char *path)
		{
			static char none[ ] = "";
			const char *ext = none;

			for (const char *p = path; *p; p++)
			{
				if (*p == '.')
					ext = p + 1;
				else if (*p == '\\' || *p == '/')
					ext = none;
			}

			return ext;
		}

		void lower(std::string &s)
		{
			for (dword n = 0; n < s.length(); n++)
			{
				if (s[n] >= 'A' && s[n] <= 'Z')
					s[n] += 'a' - 'A';
			}
		}

		Manager::Manager()
		{
			m_isEnabledLog = false;
		}

		Manager::~Manager() { }

		void Manager::addExplorer(Handle<Explorer> explorer, const char *path)
		{
			if (!explorer)
				return;

			lower(explorer->name = path ? path : "");
			m_explorers.add(explorer);
		}

		void Manager::addDecoder(Handle<Decoder> decoder, const char *extension)
		{
			if (!decoder)
				return;

			lower(decoder->extension = extension ? extension : "");
			m_decoders.add(decoder);
		}

		void Manager::addEncoder(Handle<Encoder> encoder, const char *extension)
		{
			if (!encoder)
				return;

			lower(encoder->extension = extension ? extension : "");
			m_encoders.add(encoder);
		}

		void Manager::eraseExplorer(Handle<Explorer> explorer)
		{
			if (!explorer)
				return;

			m_explorers.erase(explorer);
		}

		void Manager::eraseDecoder(Handle<Decoder> decoder)
		{
			if (!decoder)
				return;

			m_decoders.erase(decoder);
		}

		void Manager::eraseEncoder(Handle<Encoder> encoder)
		{
			if (!encoder)
				return;

			m_encoders.erase(encoder);
		}

		bool Manager::explore(const char *path)
		{
			if (!path)
				return false;

			if (select(path))
				return true;

			Handle<Explorer> explorer = 0;

			if (*path == '\0')
				explorer = new Explorer;
			else
				explorer = load<Explorer>(path);

			if (!explorer)
				return false;

			addExplorer(explorer, path);

			return true;
		}

		bool Manager::select(const char *path)
		{
			if (!path)
				return false;

			if (m_explorers.isEmpty() && *path == '\0')
				return true;

			for (core::Handle<Explorer> p = m_explorers.getFirst(); p; p = p->next)
				if (p->name.compare(path) == 0)
				{
					if (m_explorers.getFirst() == p.pointer())
						return true;

					m_explorers.erase(p);
					m_explorers.add(p);

					return true;
				}

			return false;
		}

		bool Manager::close(const char *path)
		{
			if (!path)
				return false;

			for (core::Handle<Explorer> p = m_explorers.getFirst(); p; p = p->next)
				if (p->name.compare(path) == 0)
				{
					eraseExplorer(p);
					return true;
				}

			return false;
		}

		bool Manager::isFile(const char *path) const
		{
			if (!path)
				return false;

			if (m_explorers.isEmpty())
			{
				return Files::isFile(path);
			}

			std::string s0 = path;
			size_t n = s0.find("//");

			if (n != std::string::npos)
			{
				std::string s1 = s0.substr(0, n);
				std::string s2 = s0.substr(n + 2);

				for (const Explorer *p = m_explorers.getFirst(); p; p = p->next.pointer())
				{
					if (p->name == s1)
						return p->isFile(path);
				}

				return false;
			}

			return m_explorers.getFirst()->isFile(path);
		}

		bool Manager::isFolder(const char *path) const
		{
			if (!path)
				return false;

			if (m_explorers.isEmpty())
			{
				return Files::isFolder(path);
			}

			std::string s0 = path;
			size_t n = s0.find("//");

			if (n != std::string::npos)
			{
				std::string s1 = s0.substr(0, n);
				std::string s2 = s0.substr(n + 2);

				for (const Explorer *p = m_explorers.getFirst(); p; p = p->next.pointer())
				{
					if (p->name == s1)
						return p->isFolder(path);
				}

				return false;
			}

			return m_explorers.getFirst()->isFolder(path);
		}

		bool Manager::isExists(const char *path) const
		{
			if (!path)
				return false;

			if (m_explorers.isEmpty())
			{
				return Files::isExists(path);
			}

			std::string s0 = path;
			size_t n = s0.find("//");

			if (n != std::string::npos)
			{
				std::string s1 = s0.substr(0, n);
				std::string s2 = s0.substr(n + 2);

				for (const Explorer *p = m_explorers.getFirst(); p; p = p->next.pointer())
				{
					if (p->name == s1)
						return p->isExists(path);
				}

				return false;
			}

			return m_explorers.getFirst()->isExists(path);
		}

		Handle<InputStream> Manager::read(const char *path) const
		{
			if (!path)
				return 0;

			std::string lowerPath = path;
			lower(lowerPath);
			path = lowerPath.c_str();

			if (m_explorers.isEmpty())
			{
				Handle<FileInputStream> stream = new FileInputStream(path);

				if (stream->isOk())
					return stream.pointer();

				return 0;
			}

			size_t n = lowerPath.find("//");

			if (n != std::string::npos)
			{
				std::string s1 = lowerPath.substr(0, n);
				std::string s2 = lowerPath.substr(n + 2);

				for (const Explorer *p = m_explorers.getFirst(); p; p = p->next.pointer())
				{
					if (p->name == s1)
						return p->read(s2.c_str());
				}

				return 0;
			}

			for (const Explorer *p = m_explorers.getFirst(); p; p = p->next.pointer())
			{
				Handle<InputStream> stream = p->read(path);

				if (stream)
					return stream;
			}

			return 0;
		}

		Handle<OutputStream> Manager::write(const char *path)
		{
			if (!path)
				return 0;

			if (m_explorers.isEmpty())
			{
				Handle<FileOutputStream> stream = new FileOutputStream(path);

				if (stream->isOk())
					return stream.pointer();

				return 0;
			}

			std::string s0 = path;
			size_t n = s0.find("//");

			if (n != std::string::npos)
			{
				std::string s1 = s0.substr(0, n);
				std::string s2 = s0.substr(n + 2);

				for (Explorer *p = m_explorers.getFirst(); p; p = p->next.pointer())
				{
					if (p->name == s1)
						return p->write(path);
				}

				return 0;
			}

			for (Explorer *p = m_explorers.getFirst(); p; p = p->next.pointer())
			{
				Handle<OutputStream> stream = p->write(path);

				if (stream)
					return stream;
			}

			return 0;
		}

		bool Manager::remove(const char *path)
		{
			if (!path)
				return false;

			if (m_explorers.isEmpty())
			{
				return Files::remove(path);
			}

			return m_explorers.getFirst()->remove(path);
		}

		bool Manager::move(const char *oldPath, const char *newPath)
		{
			if (!oldPath || !newPath)
				return false;

			if (m_explorers.isEmpty())
			{
				return Files::move(oldPath, newPath);
			}

			return m_explorers.getFirst()->move(oldPath, newPath);
		}

		Handle<StringsList> Manager::getFolderContent(const char *path) const
		{
			if (!path)
				return 0;

			if (m_explorers.isEmpty())
			{
				return Files::getFolderContent(path);
			}

			return m_explorers.getFirst()->getFolderContent(path);
		}

		void Manager::preloadObject(const char *path)
		{
			if (!path)
				return;

			std::string lowerPath = path;
			lower(lowerPath);
			path = lowerPath.c_str();

			if (findNode(path))
				return;

			Handle<Object> object = forceLoad(path, getExtension(path));

			if (object)
				addNode(path, object);
		}

		void Manager::freeObject(const char *path)
		{
			if (!path)
				return;

			std::string lowerPath = path;
			lower(lowerPath);
			path = lowerPath.c_str();

			Node *node = findNode(path);

			if (node)
				eraseNode(node);
		}

		Handle<Object> Manager::loadObject(const char *path)
		{
			if (!path)
				return 0;

			std::string lowerPath = path;
			lower(lowerPath);
			path = lowerPath.c_str();

			Node *node = findNode(path);

			if (node)
				return node->value.object;

			Handle<Object> object = forceLoad(path, getExtension(path));

			if (object)
				addNode(path, object);

			return object;
		}

		Handle<Object> Manager::reloadObject(const char *path)
		{
			if (!path)
				return 0;

			std::string lowerPath = path;
			lower(lowerPath);
			path = lowerPath.c_str();

			Node *node = findNode(path);

			if (node)
				eraseNode(node);

			Handle<Object> object = forceLoad(path, getExtension(path));

			if (object)
				addNode(path, object);

			return object;
		}

		bool Manager::saveObject(const_Handle<Object> object, const char *path)
		{
			if (!path)
				return false;

			if (m_isEnabledLog)
				log << format("# Save: %s.", path);

			const char *ext = getExtension(path);

			std::string lowerExt = ext;
			lower(lowerExt);
			ext = lowerExt.c_str();

			if (*ext != '\0')
			{
				for (Encoder *p = m_encoders.getFirst(); p; p = p->next.pointer())
				{
					if (p->extension.compare(ext) == 0)
					{
						if (p->encode(object, path, ext))
							return true;
					}
				}
			}

			for (Encoder *p = m_encoders.getFirst(); p; p = p->next.pointer())
			{
				if (p->extension.empty())
				{
					if (p->encode(object, path, ext))
						return true;
				}
			}

			if (m_isEnabledLog)
				log.warning("# Unable to save.");

			return false;
		}

		void Manager::clearExplorers()
		{
			m_explorers.clear();
		}

		void Manager::clearDecoders()
		{
			m_decoders.clear();
		}

		void Manager::clearEncoders()
		{
			m_encoders.clear();
		}

		void Manager::clear()
		{
			m_objects.clear();
		}

		Handle<Object> Manager::forceLoad(const char *path, const char *ext)
		{
			if (m_isEnabledLog)
				log << format("# Load: %s.", path);

			if (*ext != '\0')
			{
				for (Decoder *p = m_decoders.getFirst(); p; p = p->next.pointer())
					if (p->extension.compare(ext) == 0)
					{
						Handle<Object> object = p->decode(path, ext);

						if (object)
							return object;
					}
			}

			for (Decoder *p = m_decoders.getFirst(); p; p = p->next.pointer())
				if (p->extension.empty())
				{
					Handle<Object> object = p->decode(path, ext);

					if (object)
						return object;
				}

			if (m_isEnabledLog)
				log.warning("# Unable to load.");

			return 0;
		}

		Manager::Node *Manager::findNode(const char *path)
		{
			for (Node *p = m_objects.getFirst(); p; p = p->next)
			{
				if (p->value.path.compare(path) == 0)
					return p;
			}

			return 0;
		}

		const Manager::Node *Manager::findNode(const char *path) const
		{
			for (const Node *p = m_objects.getFirst(); p; p = p->next)
			{
				if (p->value.path.compare(path) == 0)
					return p;
			}

			return 0;
		}

		void Manager::addNode(const char *path, Handle<Object> object)
		{
			Element elem;
			elem.path = path;
			elem.object = object;
			m_objects.add(elem);
		}

		void Manager::eraseNode(Manager::Node *node)
		{
			m_objects.erase(node);
		}
	}
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


employee and former employee of financial institutions, as well as individual who intend to pursue a career in banking.
is a current Ordinary Member or International Member in good standing of FMAM [Persatuan Pasaran Kewangan Malaysia (ACI – Financial Markets Association of Malaysia)], has passed the Pasaran Kewangan Malaysia Certificate (PKMC) examination.
the Hong Kong Institute of Chartered Bankers (HKICB).
Any person admitted as a Chartered Banker is required to maintain his membership of both AICB and CIOBS.
providing evidence as to Continuing Professional Development (CPD) which he has undertaken.
All applicants for admission to membership as an Associate or a Chartered Banker must demonstrate that they have completed the prescribed period of practical experience in banking and financial services as set out in these regulations, in addition to having passed the relevant professional qualification examinations.
7.2 An Individual Member is entitled to use the professional designation only if he remains a current Member of the Institute and complies with the Continuing Professional Development requirements as set out in the Regulations.
12.1 Any person who has resigned or ceased to be a Member may apply for re-admission provided that he has paid any outstanding amount due to the Institute, including any fine and/or costs imposed as a result of disciplinary action, and has satisfied any other requirements as the Council may prescribe.
12.2. A person seeking re-admission as a Member following suspension or exclusion from membership by virtue of an order made by a Disciplinary Committee or an Appeal Committee must satisfy the Council that all the conditions as laid down by the Disciplinary Committee or Appeal Committee (as applicable) have been satisfied. In particular, where an order for exclusion from membership prohibits the person from applying for re-admission for a specified period, he may only apply for re-admission after the expiry of such period.
12.3. In the case of an applicant whose membership ceased by virtue of bankruptcy, he must satisfy the Council that he has been discharged or his bankruptcy has been recalled.
For the avoidance of doubt, this regulation applies to resignation or cessation of membership that occurs after 1 September 2015. Where the resignation or cessation of membership occurred prior to 1 September 2015, the applicant is only required to pay the subscription for the year in which the application for re-admission is made.
of this, at least 20 hours must be structured CPD programmes conducted or recognized by SIDC (Securities Industry Development Corporation) and 5 hours must be structured CPD in ethics.
Members who do not hold any professional designation are required to undertake at least 5 hours of structured CPD on ethics every two years.
Members subject to mandatory CPD are required to record their CPD activities online in the membership portal on the AICB website. Members may record their CPD activities as and when they are undertaken and CPD hours earned can be recorded to the nearest half hour.
3.3 Generally, there will be no refund of the annual subscription paid.
The revision of the regulations was largely influenced by the need to enhance and sustain a strong culture of ethical and professional standards for those engaged in the banking and financial industry, as well as individuals who intend to pursue a career in banking. The primary audience for the regulation are the existing Individual members of AICB and prospective members.
For any enquiries on the above, please email membership@aicb.org.my or call 03-2095 6833 ext 180/182/123/157.


Zinc Carbon are the original version of household batteries, used in most of the popular portable appliances and toys around the house. These have generally been replaced with Alkaline technology due to Zinc Carbon leaking over a period of time. This is the cheapest technology and still widely used where reliability and performance is not as important as cost.
Zinc Carbon is produced in the most common sizes as listed.


The Beretta modello 1918 is a submachine gun which entered service with the Italian military in 1918. The Beretta M1918, like the OVP, is little more than the Villar-Perosa (VP) mechanism presented in a more convenient form. The Regio Esercito approached Beretta at the same time as OVP with the request to convert the cumbersome VP into a more practical weapon. Tuillio Marengoni ultimately designed the Beretta modello 1918.
Modifications consisted of fitting a new trigger mechanism based on the standard Italian service rifle of the day, a long wooden stock with an ejection slot underneath and a folding bayonet similar to that used on Italian carbines. The result was a practical and handy weapon. The mechanism remained unchanged, still using the rotating bolt system and the slotted curved magazine fitted into the top of the action.
The Ardite regiments of the Italian Army obtained the Beretta modello 1918 in early 1918 and thus became the first submachine gun to become standard issue, predating the German Bergmann by a few weeks. The Model 1918 remained in service until World War II.
Beretta M1918 saw action in the Spanish Civil War and the Abyssinian war and frequently encountered in the early phases of the Libyan campaign in 1941.
JDG is an early contributor for Comando Supremo.


Plexus Holdings has been awarded a contract with Centrica to supply its POS-GRIP "HG" 10,000 psi adjustable production wellhead for a gas production well in the UK Southern North Sea.
The contract represents the first order awarded by Centrica for a production well, Plexus noted.
Under the terms of the contract, Plexus will supply Centrica with its 18-3/4″ 10,000 psi wellhead and manage the interface with an existing production Xmas tree.
In addition, the company's Tersus CS casing support system and associated running tools and services will also be supplied to Centrica, and well integrity will be enhanced as the adjustable nature of POS-GRIP allows downhole casing support to be used without casing adjustment subs to space out to the wellhead.
The well will enhance production from the Chiswick platform in the UK Southern North Sea, and is due to spud around April 2018.
Posted on September 25, 2017 with tags Centrica, Order, Plexus.


Temperatures in Lucknow plunges to a new low!
Temperature in Lucknow plunges to a new low!
With the onset of winters, the city has been bracing itself for ever intensifying cold. The icy winds have further exacerbated conditions with Friday being the coldest December day in 3 years.
Mercury dipped to 4.8 degrees on Friday plunging the city in throes of winters.
According to officials, Lucknow will see such kind of winter at least till Christmas and the temperatures could drop even more. They have also stated that the days will be clear and sunny but the mercury will remain a few degrees below normal. On the day that the temperature dipped to 4.8 degrees, the maximum temperature of around 22.3 degrees was also a couple of degrees below normal.
Meteorological department authorities have mentioned that the primary reasons for these dips in temperature are heavy snowfall in the mountainous regions and the ensuing cold winds that are lashing the city.
Lucknow is plagued by dense fog every season. However, the met predicted that this year the state capital will experience only mild fog which will not disrupt normal life.
We at KnockSense have a fair idea of how we're gonna spend our winters- with some heart warming makhan malai, a cup of hot chocolate and tucked in our blankets, we're set to brace the winters!
Also read: This winter, feast on some heavenly authentic makhan malai in Lucknow!


When managing a new website, your webserver may save old stats that you don't want to show in your AWStats statistics. These stats can be cleared out by removing them from your tmp/awstats folder.
Important! This is going to remove your stats for all your domains. You can delete specific stats for specific domains and dates as well, depending on what stats you want to remove.
This txt file shows the date 01-20-2012 for the subdomain subdomain.example.com. Deleting this file will delet the stats for that specific date and that specific subdomain. Below are the steps on how to do this.


$.75/1 STAINMASTER Granite, Cooktop or Stainless Steel Cleaner Coupon Clipper: AGENTSMIFFPGHPA Ships From: PITTSBURGH, PA ------------------------ Scroll Down To See Complete Details ------------------->>>>> Manufacturer's Coupon Store Name: N/A Publication: RP1 on 11/4/2018 Save $.75 on any ONE Stainmaster Granite, Cooktop or Stainless Steel Cleaner Redeemable only by purchasing the specific brand and size. Void if reproduced, purchased, transferred or where prohibited, taxed or restricted by law. Any other use constitutes fraud. Consumer pays sales tax. Limit one coupon per item purchased. Sunday: No mailings Monday: 12 pm EST - ***Mondays have been increasingly busy for me - thank YOU! - this does mean however that I *may* not be able to get you order out the same day - I will ALWAYS try my hardest though. Tuesday: 12 pm EST Wednesday: 12 pm EST Thursday: 12 pm EST Friday: 12 pm EST Saturday: ***I will no longer be mailing on Saturdays until further notice - effective 8/5/2017 Coupon ID: 1684779 Lot Size: 20 Available Lots At Time Of Purchase: 25 Available Lots After Purchase: %%% || ***** Current Date: 4/19/2019 Current Time EST: 10:25 PM COUPON CLIPPER IS SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ACCURACY OF THIS DESCRIPTION. ALL TRANSACTIONS CONDUCTED ON THIS SITE REFLECT PAYMENT FOR THE SUPPLIES NECESSARY AND THE TIME INCURRED IN LOCATING, LISTING, SORTING, CUTTING, AND MAILING YOUR COUPONS AND NOT FOR THE ACTUAL COUPONS.


Etihad and Qantas both fly their stunning A380s with ultra-luxurious First Classes out of London. You can get on both for only 40,000 American Airlines miles one way, and you can do it while avoiding the big London departure tax.
Etihad First Class on its newest A380 has a couch that seats several people and a separate bed and costs only 40,000 American Airlines miles between London and Abu Dhabi.
Etihad's fully enclosed suites are the most spacious in the sky.
Award space is widely available on the A380 between London and Abu Dhabi and from there to the rest of the Middle East, Indian Subcontinent, and Maldives for zero extra miles.
If you have the Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® MasterCard®, which comes with 50,000 bonus American Airlines miles after spending $3,000 in the first 3 months, you will even get an automatic 10% rebate on your award, so the final cost is 36,000 miles.
Qantas First Class costs only 40,000 (36,000) American Airlines miles between London and Dubai.
Qantas First Class is widely available between London and Dubai, Dubai and Sydney, and London and Sydney for low mileage prices.
The problem is that if you fly either of these beauties on an award beginning in London, you'll pay $273+ in taxes.
The UK charges an arm and a leg to departing passengers (but not to arriving or connecting passengers), and extra if you fly in a premium cabin.
You can fly these products from Abu Dhabi or Dubai to London and avoid the departure tax in London.
But what if you're going east?
I'm looking at flying something like London to Abu Dhabi in Etiahd First Class on the A380 and Abu Dhabi to Mumbai in Etihad First Class on the 787.
But I don't want to pay almost $300 in taxes.
If I just start the award anywhere else in Europe and connect in London, I can save a bundle. For instance, starting in Dublin and flying to London drops the taxes $273 to $62. Flying the first leg on British Airways does add in a $40 fuel surcharge, but I'd still come out $170+ ahead.
And I could start in other countries and look to fly other partners than British Airways like airberlin or Finnair to lower taxes further and eliminate fuel surcharges.
We also know that The US Airways® Premier World MasterCard® will no longer be offered to new applicants as soon as the US Airways and American Airlines frequent flyer programs integrate, some time before 2015.
All US Airways miles not redeemed on the US Airways chart by the time of integration will become American Airlines miles, and American Airlines has committed to not devaluing its award chart at the time of combination. The two types of miles are roughly equal in value. Getting all three cards now and meeting their spending requirements means you will have at least 156,000 American Airlines miles by June.
How are you finding those flights? I haven't been able to see them on the American Airlines website. The only partners I'm finding are: British Airways, Airberlin and Royal Jordanian.
Use the British Airways website. They show all OneWorld availability.
What is etiquette of having guests in coach join you? I'd like to book 2 seats and save miles by just having my companion sit in the suite w/me (except during takeoff/landing). Would the FAs frown/forbid them from staying in the suite w/me for the flight?
I do not know. I would guess it is not allowed. Maybe contact Etihad and ask the etiquette.
The son would not sit on his own in any case in his seat more than 5% of the flight time.. And logically does not looks like it makes sense to get an extra business class ticket just for the sake of a ticket being required for a 2 yr old and above.
Thank you for informative post above.
I do not know. I would contact the airline and ask if I were in their situation.


This piano literally looks like it is BRAND NEW, that's how good the refinishing job was. The action indeed feels like a Bosendorfer (ie perfectly smooth and light) and has that velvety European scale design sound. To have such an instrument in ones home would indicate the HEIGHT of sophistication and refinement. This piano is truly a work of Art.


We've been selected as the winner for the 2018 DCS Awards PDU Product of the Year.
High Density Outlet Technology (HDOT) has the most outlets in a 42U intelligent Rack PDU with industry standard C13 and C19 outlets. Comes with high native cord retention and color-coded alternating-phase outlets for easy cabling. Learn how our HDOT PDUs with Alternating Phase Technology improved a Networking Company's power density.
Alternating phase outlets alternate the phased power on a per-outlet basis instead of a per-branch basis. This allows for shorter cords, quicker installation and easier load balancing for 3-phase rackmount PDUs. Shorter cords mean less mass, making them less likely to come unplugged during transport of the assembled rack. Read the Alt Phase Executive Summary.
Need a rack PDU tailored to your data center?
Both HDOT and Alternating Phase are available through Server Technology's "Build Your Own PDU" configurator. Build Your Own PDU takes a Switched, Smart or Metered 42-outlet High Density Outlet Technology (HDOT) PDU and allows you to build an HDOT PDU your way in Four Simple Steps. Choose a configuration. Download a spec sheet and request a quote in four simple steps. Click here to get started.
HDOT is the recipient of multiple industry awards including Datacenter Solutions and Datacenter Dynamics.
AN HDOT-001: How do I maximize the number of devices in my small 24"x 42U cabinets?
AN HDOT-002: How do I power 6 UCS chassis while still providing flexibility for 1U & 2U devices?
AN HDOT-003: How do I specify a single cabinet PDU for use with a variety of equipment deployments?
Server Technology's power strategy experts are trusted to provide Rack PDU solutions for demanding data centers worldwide ranging from small technology startups to Fortune 100 powerhouses. Because power is all we do, you will find us in the best cloud and co-location providers, forward thinking labs and telecommunications operations. Server Technology customers consistently rank us as providing the highest quality PDU's, the best customer support and most valuable innovation. Let us show you; we have over 12,000 PDU configurations to fit every data center need. Only with Server Technology will customers Stay Powered, Be Supported and Get Ahead.


Does anyone know when the TV Guardian app will be added to the older Hoppers? We have the stand-alone TVG and love it but would also love having it incorporated in Dish Hopper. Well worth $3.95/mo I say.
TV Guardian is only compatible with the Wally or Hopper 3 receiver. It is compatible with Joeys when they are connected to a Hopper 3 receiver as well. You could submit that idea to add TV Guardian to other Hopper models online at https://www.mydish.com/spokeslistener, but it may not be compatible with previous models of Hoppers at all.


text:
Q: Kivy - Two sliders in a layout I am trying to use two sliders in layout. The code is given below. The problem is only the second slider responds to the mouse actions. The first slider (and also the button) does not respond at all to the mouse actions. How to make both sliders responsive?
Thanks in advance
from kivy.app import App
from kivy.uix.floatlayout import FloatLayout
from kivy.uix.slider import Slider
from kivy.uix.button import Button

def Exit(instance):
    print('Exit the screen')
    App.get_running_app().stop()

def MainScreen():
    flt = FloatLayout()

    button = Button(text='Hello Kivy World')
    button.size = (200, 100)
    button.size_hint = (None, None)
    button.pos_hint = {'center_x': .5, 'center_y': .2}
    button.bind(on_press=Exit)
    flt.add_widget(button)

    slid1 = Slider()
    slid1.id = 'Slider 01'
    slid1.size_hint_x = .75
    slid1.pos_hint = {'x': .125, 'center_y': .5}
    slid1.value_track = True
    slid1.value_track_color = [0, 1, 0, 1]
    slid1.sensitivity = 'handle'
    flt.add_widget(slid1)

    slid2 = Slider()
    slid2.id = 'Slider 02'
    slid2.size_hint_x = .75
    slid2.pos_hint = {'x': .125, 'center_y': .75}
    slid2.value_track = True
    slid2.value_track_color = [1, 0, 0, 1]
    slid2.sensitivity = 'handle'
    flt.add_widget(slid2)

    return flt

class MainApp(App):

    def build(self):
        return MainScreen()

if __name__ == "__main__":
    app = MainApp()
    app.run()

A: If you change your floatlayout to a boxlayout it works.
flt = BoxLayout(orientation='vertical')

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Q: How RoundingMode.DOWN is different from RoundingMode.HALF_DOWN? How RoundingMode.DOWN is different from RoundingMode.HALF_DOWN ?  In what cases their behavior is different?
Same question for RoundingMode.UP vs RoundingMode.HALF_UP.

A: This is explained in the javadoc, but in summary, if you round to 0 decimal:

*

*DOWN always rounds towards 0, for example 5.9 -> 5

*UP always rounds away from 0: 5.1 -> 6

*HALF_DOWN rounds to nearest, and if midway, rounds like DOWN: 5.2 -> 5, 5.8 -> 6, 5.5 -> 5

*HALF_UP rounds to nearest, and if midway, rounds like UP: 5.2 -> 5, 5.8 -> 6, 5.5 -> 6

*HALF_EVEN rounds to nearest, and if midway, rounds to even number: 5.2 -> 5, 5.8 -> 6, 5.5 -> 6, 4.5 -> 4


In 1995 the Cushwa Center sponsored a conference called "Engendering American Catholic Studies." Three of our new collections for the Spring of 2014 show our continued interest in documenting the contribution of women to the Church.
In February of 2014 we received the first box of papers from Dolores R. Leckey, who has served as a producer for WNVT in Northern Virginia, as a faculty member of the DeSales School of Theology, as executive director of the Secretariat for Family, Laity, Women and Youth at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, as an advisor to the bishops at the Synod on the Family (1980), and at the Synod on the Laity (1987), as a trustee of St. Mary's Seminary and University in Baltimore, the University of Dayton in Ohio, and the Northern Virginia Community College, and as a Senior Research Fellow at the Woodstock Theological Center, Georgetown University. Leckey has written The Ordinary Way: A Family Spirituality; Winter Music: A Life of Jessica Powers—Poet, Nun, Woman of the 20th Century; The Laity and Christian Education; Seven Essentials for the Spiritual Journey; Practical Spirituality for Lay People; Laity Stirring the Church: Prophetic Questions; Women and Creativity; and Blessings All Around Us: Savoring God's Gifts.
The Leckey Papers (roughly two linear feet) document the work of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, especially on the draft of the never-finished women's pastoral. They contain correspondence and other documents reflecting the ecclesiastical climate of the last quarter of the 20th century, and include speeches, diaries, printed material, photographs, and news articles. This collection is rich in documentation of women's concerns, the role of the laity, and peace issues.
In March we received the papers of theologian Elizabeth A. Johnson, a member of the Congregation of Saint Joseph who served as professor of theology at the Catholic University of America, 1981-91, and since then at Fordham University. She is author of many articles and books, including Consider Jesus: Waves of Renewal in Christology; She Who Is: the Mystery of God in a Feminist Theological Discourse; Women, Earth, and Creator Spirit; Friends of God and Prophets: a Feminist Theological Reading of the Communion of Saints; Jesus-Sophia: Ramifications for Contemporary Theology; and Quest for the Living God: Mapping Frontiers in the Theology of God.
The Johnson Papers (15 linear feet) consist of reports, correspondence, memoranda, minutes, subject files, photographs, audio-visual material, books, journal articles, book chapters, other scholarly writings, lectures, emails, and printed ephemera; with documents from her youth, her days as a student at the Catholic University of America, her career as a theologian at Catholic University and Fordham, her presidency of the Catholic Theological Society of America, and her life as a Sister of Saint Joseph. They include media clippings, honorary degrees and other honors, reviews of her books, scholarly and popular writings, appreciations and attacks; they also document her tenure battle at Catholic University, Rev. Charles Curran's struggles there, and the reaction of the U.S. bishops against Quest for the Living God.
In April we received from Kathleen Biddick a small collection (one linear foot) of graduate and undergraduate syllabi and course packets for courses that she taught at the University of Notre Dame, 1984-2002. Biddick was a history professor associated with Notre Dame's Gender Studies Program and author of The Typological Imaginary: Circumcision, Technology, History; The Other Economy: Pastoral Husbandry on a Medieval Estate; and The Shock of Medievalism. She served on the Task Force on the Status of Women at Notre Dame.
But not all of our new collections have to do with women in the Church. In April we received papers collected by Eric J. Jumper concerning scientific study of the Shroud of Turin and the use of technology to produce a three-dimensional model based on data latent in the shroud. In addition to files supporting and documenting the Shroud of Turin Research Project, this collection (16 linear feet) contains books, periodicals, and clippings having to do with the Shroud of Turin, publicity for the research project, background publications, multi-media programs, video and audio tapes, slides, x-rays, prints, negatives, and other images of the Shroud of Turin. With the papers came two large three-dimensional models produced by the research project.


Edinburgh Designs specialise in the design and installation of wave and tidal research facilities.
Since 1987, we have worked on many different projects across the world and have installed over 1300 wave paddles.
Our customers have different research goals so our products are continuously being adapted and improved to provide solutions that fit each user's needs.
We have developed a wide range of wavemakers that combine robust mechanical systems with a sophisticated digital controller specifically designed for wave tanks. We offer a unique combination of proven technology alongside leading edge innovation.
For videos of Edinburgh Designs machines in action please review our YouTube channel.


text:
Graeme Dalgleish in Major Equal Pay Victory for Glasgow Claimants
Major Equal Pay victory for Glasgow Claimants - After over 5 years of litigation, thousands of claimants represented by Graeme Dalgleish, Advocate, have been completely vindicated in their successful challenge to Glasgow City Council's job evaluation scheme.
In the successful appeal to the Inner House, the court found that the council's job evaluation scheme was not valid, the council having failed to prove that it was a valid and compliant scheme meeting the requirements of equal pay law and thus blocking thousands of individual equal value challenges by employees. This follows two earlier hearings where the council had asserted the validity of its novel, untested and bespoke job evaluation scheme, a scheme used by no other council in the UK. The Inner House found that there was a fatal lack of evidence provided by the council to support its assertions on validity and that it had failed to discharge the burden of proof upon it.
https://www.scotcourts.gov.uk/docs/default-source/cos-general-docs/pdf-docs-for-opinions/2017csih56.pdf?sfvrsn=0


text:
Indian birds › Malabar woodshrike › Ashy woodswallow - Artamus fuscus
The ashy woodswallow (Artamus fuscus) belongs to the family of currawongs, butcherbirds and woodswallows, Artamidae.
The ashy woodswallow species are distributed in Indian subcontinent, southeast Asia and south and southeast China. These woodswallow species have an exclusively Asian distribution. These woodswallows are monotypic species.
Pictures of Ashy Woodswallow Distribution & Range
Ashy woodswallow - Overview
Scientific name: Artamus fuscus
Species author: Vieillot, 1817
Synonyms/Protonym: Artamus fuscus Vieillot, 1817
Family: Artamidae › Passeriformes › Aves › Chordata › Animalia
Vernacular names: English: Ashy woodswallow, Chinese: 灰燕鵙, French: Langrayen brun, German: Grauschwalbenstar, Spanish: Artamo ceniciento, Russian: Пепельный ласточковый сорокопут, Japanese: ハイイロモリツバメ
Other names: Ashy Woodswallow, Ashy Swallow-shrike
Distribution: Indian subcontinent, southeast Asia, south and southeast China
Diet and feeding habits: insects, flying insects
The ashy woodswallow (Artamus fuscus) is a medium-sized woodswallow, measuring 20 cm in length and weighing 35 to 40 grams.
The ashy woodswallow has dark slaty gray head with dark mask. The upperparts are ashy gray. The mantle has a maroon tinge. There is a narrow pale band on the rump. The underparts are pale pinkish gray.
The wings of the woodswallow are long and in flight appear very broad at the base. The first primary feather is very short. In a resting bird, the folded wings extend beyond the tail.
The tail of the woodswallow is short and square. The tail feathers are slaty black and are tipped white. The undertail and underwings are pale gray.
The bill is short, stout and finch-like. The bill is slightly curved and silvery blue in color. The irises are blackish brown. The gray legs are very short. The call of these woodswallow species is a repeated "chee-chee-chee" or harsh, shrill nasal "chewk..chewk" sound.
1.Birds of India - Image of Ashy woodswallow - Artamus fuscus by Francesco Veronesi
2.Indian birds - Picture of Ashy woodswallow - Artamus fuscus by 孫鋒 林
3.Birds of India - Photo of Ashy woodswallow - Artamus fuscus by J.M.Garg
The ashy woodswallow species are distributed in India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and south and southeastern China.
In India, except for the state of Jammu and Kashmir, these woodswallow species occur in all the states. In China, they are distributed in the provinces of Yunnan, Guizhou, Guangxi, Hainan, Guangdong and Fujian.
The Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBA) of the ashy woodswallow species in Laos are Attapu Plain, Xe Sap, Eastern Bolikhamxay Mountains, Upper Xe Kaman, Nam Et, Upper Xe Bangfai and Phou Loeuy. The IBA in Cambodia is Boeung Veal Samnap.
The IBA of these ashy woodswallows in Nepal are, Barandabhar forests and wetlands, Sukla Phanta Wildlife Reserve, Bardia National Park, Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve and Koshi Barrage, Chitwan National Park, Dang Deukhuri foothill forests and west Rapti wetlands.
These ashy woodswallow species have low forest dependence. These species normally occur in altitudes from 0 to 2000 meters.
The artificial ecosystems and habitats of these species include cultivated fields, pasturelands, palm groves and heavily degraded forests.
The natural ecosystems of these ashy woodswallow species include tropical and subtropical moist lowland forests, evergreen forests, tropical and subtropical dry forests, open wooded country, moist montane forests and dry savanna.
The diet of the ashy woodswallow consists mainly of insects. Crickets, locust, grasshoppers, dragonflies, moths, mantids, stick insects, worms, grubs, airborne termites and ants and beetles are their primary food.
These ashy woodswallow may sit huddled side-by-side in groups on high vantage points and hawk flying insects in the air. They can glean insects from foliage and from trunk and branches. They also fly in circles in search prey.
In flight, these woodswallows catch the prey with bill, transferring it to the feet, tear it up before swallowing. They may also return to the perch with prey to feed.
The breeding season of the ashy woodswallow species is from March to July in India and Nepal. The laying season in Sri Lanka is from February to June.
These ashy woodswallows are monogamous and are strongly territorial. The breeding pair build a loose, shallow cup-shaped nest on a fork of a tree or at the base of the frond of a tall palm.
The nest is a shallow saucer of interwoven moss, cobwebs, fibres, rootlets and pieces of bark. The typical clutch contains three pale green eggs with brown spotting. Both the parents take turns to incubate the eggs.
The ashy woodswallow parents feed the young with worms and insects. The nestlings are entirely altricial, being naked and blind, requiring continuous parental care.
These ashy woodswallow species are generally resident birds. Nomadic movements have been observed due to weather conditions and abundance of food.
Post breeding, the juvenile woodswallows may disperse and establish in new locations within the range. They may make local movements for feeding and breeding within their range.
The global population size of the ashy woodswallow (Artamus fuscus) has not been quantified. The overall population trend of these species is reported to be stable.
Throughout its range this woodswallow species is reported to be common to uncommon. The generation length is 5 years. Its distribution size is about 9,310,000 sq.km.
Habitat degradation and fragmentation, decline in insect populations due to indiscriminate use of pesticides are the main threats that may endanger the survival of these woodswallow species.
The ashy woodswallow (Artamus fuscus) does not approach the thresholds for being Vulnerable, either under the range size criterion, or under the population trend criterion or under the population size criterion.
The IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) has categorized and evaluated the woodswallow species and has listed it as of "Least Concern". The CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) status is 'Not Evaluated' for ashy woodswallow (Artamus fuscus).
Taxonomy and scientific classification of Artamus fuscus
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Artamidae
Genus: Artamus
Species: A. fuscus
Binomial name: Artamus fuscus
There are no geographic variations in the plumage of the ashy woodswallow (Artamus fuscus) and no subspecies have been designated.
Eurasian collared dove Violet cuckoo
Buffy fish owl Dark-rumped swift
Crested kingfisher Wreathed hornbill
Pheasant-tailed jacana Solitary snipe
River lapwing Swinhoe's snipe
Eurasian woodcock Indian courser
Pallas's gull Oriental turtle dove
Painted sandgrouse Pale-capped pigeon
Nicobar parakeet Banded bay cuckoo
Spot-bellied eagle-owl Savanna nightjar
Asian palm-swift Ruddy kingfisher
Alpine swift White-breasted kingfisher
Chestnut-headed bee-eater Rufous-necked hornbill
Great hornbill Asian emerald cuckoo
Cream-coloured courser Collared kingfisher
Sooty gull Tawny fish owl
Lesser crested tern Pacific swift
Yellow-rumped honeyguide Eurasian wryneck
Asian green bee-eater Malabar grey hornbill
Arctic jaeger Spotted sandgrouse
Indian grey hornbill Red-breasted parakeet
Himalayan cuckoo Eurasian eagle-owl
1.Image source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/francesco_veronesi/19543245223/ (cropped)
Image author: Francesco Veronesi | License: CC BY-SA 2.0 as on 8/26/17
2.Image source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/outdoor_birding/24623003682/in/photostream/ (cropped)
Image author: 孫鋒 林 | License: CC BY-SA 2.0 as on 8/26/17
3.Image source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ashy_Woodswallow_(Artamus_fuscus)_in_Hyderabad,_AP_W_IMG_7506.jpg (cropped)
Image author: J.M.Garg | License: CC BY-SA 3.0
Current topic in Birds of India: Ashy woodswallow - Artamus fuscus.
Labels: Artamidae, Artamus fuscus, Ashy woodswallow, Bird watching, India, Indian birds, Passeriformes, tours, wildlife, woodswallow