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About The Geek's Reading List
The Geek's Reading List – Week of January 16th 2015 →
The Geek's Reading List – Week of January 9th 2015
I have been part of the technology industry for a third of a century now. For 13 years I was an electronics designer and software developer: I designed early generation PCs, mobile phones (including cell phones) and a number of embedded systems which are still in use today. I then became a sell-side research analyst for the next 20 years, where I was ranked the #1 tech analyst in Canada for six consecutive years, named one of the best in the world, and won a number of awards for stock-picking and estimating.
I started writing the Geek's Reading List about 10 years ago. In addition to the company specific research notes I was publishing almost every day, it was a weekly list of articles I found interesting – usually provocative, new, and counter-consensus. The sorts of things I wasn't seeing being written anywhere else.
They were not intended, at the time, to be taken as investment advice, nor should they today. That being said, investors need to understand crucial trends and developments in the industries in which they invest. Therefore, I believe these comments may actually help investors with a longer time horizon. Not to mention they might come in handy for consumers, CEOs, IT managers … or just about anybody, come to think of it. Technology isn't just a niche area of interest to geeks these days: it impacts almost every part of our economy. I guess, in a way, we are all geeks now. Or at least need to act like it some of the time!
Please feel free to pass this newsletter on. Of course, if you find any articles you think should be included please send them on to me. Or feel free to email me to discuss any of these topics in more depth: the sentence or two I write before each topic is usually only a fraction of my highly opinionated views on the subject!
Perhaps I am getting jaded but, despite the big Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, there wasn't much interesting tech news. I believe things are afoot in the mobile space (notably Xiaomi's rise as a device vendor in China) which are far more significant than any announcement out of Las Vegas. There was a bit of show and tell in the self-driving car space, but, like most other "concept cars" the market opportunity is years in the future. This edition of the Geeks List, and all back issues, can be found at www.thegeeksreadinglist.com.
Brian Piccioni
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1) Estonia's Taxify, An Anti-Uber Taxi App, Raises €1.4M For Further European Expansion
This is the proper response to Uber. Instead of the widely reported histrionics designed to maintain the archaic taxi system, offer consumers a reliable and predictable alternative. Ultimately, whether governments preserve the rights of the wealthy to control taxi licenses, the great advantage of Uber has been superior customer service and offering that instead of the traditional taxi model will re-level the playing field. This is also why Uber is just a car service, and not the stupidly overvalued "tech" company people seem to think it is.
"Estonian startup Taxify is one of a number of taxi apps aiming to help traditional taxi firms and drivers fight back against behemoth Uber and its ilk. It does this by providing an iOS, Android and mobile web app that lets you order a cab online. This helps to bring the same convenience of Uber et al. to the licensed 'taxi' industry, helping it compete via technology instead of merely lobbying regulators or protesting loudly, Ubergeddon-style. Today the company has picked up an additional €1.4 million in funding, adding to the previous €100,000 raised — money it will use to consolidate what it claims is a leading position in Eastern Europe, and for further European expansion."
http://techcrunch.com/2014/12/18/anti-uber/
2) Xiaomi Confirms It Sold 61M Phones In 2014, Has Plans To Expand To More Countries
Smartphone prices will likely plummet within the next your or so. Xiaomi will probably not enter developed country markets any time soon, but it doesn't have to. Xiaomi enjoys the same sort of cult following in the developing world – in particular China – which has been enjoyed by Apple (and previously Blackberry, Nokia, etc.). By offering an acceptable, and affordable, alternative this will blunt growth in the developing world for major vendors such as Apple and Samsung. Recall that growth is at the margins and loss or even shrinking of large potential markets has a significant impact on growth even if it does not materially impact market size. When this is combined with collapsing prices, the premium priced smartphone industry seems headed for a train wreck.
"Xiaomi, the Chinese smartphone maker that raised $1.1 billion last month, has confirmed that it sold 61.12 million phones last year, bringing in an apparent revenues of 74.3 billion CNY ($12 billion) in the process. The new figures were released by CEO Lei Jun on Weibo and are right in line with the company's expectation for the year. Xiaomi sold 18.7 million devices in 2013, and 7.2 million in 2012, so the four-year-old company is continuing to grow its business at a rapid rate — its recent funding round valued it at $45 billion and it is now the world's third largest smartphone maker."
http://techcrunch.com/2015/01/03/xiaomi-2014/
3) BlackBerry's IoT plans start close to home: cars, asset tracking
I don't really know how seriously to take this, but, in general, companies rarely find success in which they have no expertise. Nonetheless, IoT is a big deal for the shills on Wall and Bay Streets, you you can see the appeal. Here are two major problems: IoT will only take off as an open standards platform (not open source, open standards) and this pretty much eliminates the opportunity for proprietary standards type margins. Furthermore, while by all accounts QNX is a good operating system, only a complete idiot would adopt a proprietary OS for IoT when there are emerging open source alternatives. As a general rule, betting on the stupidity of the market is not a sound strategy.
"BlackBerry is taking the same approach with its Internet of Things platform, launched Wednesday at International CES, as it is with its handset business: Aim at its core markets. In IoT, the struggling mobile vendor has found an emerging area of technology where it may have the right combination of strengths. The company signaled as much last May when it announced Project Ion, a future cloud-based service it said would make it easier for enterprises to develop IoT software."
http://www.itworld.com/article/2866655/blackberrys-iot-plans-start-close-to-home-cars-asset-tracking.html
4) Autonomous Audi A7 concept steers itself from San Francisco to Las Vegas for CES
The advent of autonomous vehicles will be transformational in the developed world. It will have a profound positive impact across the economy. However, that day is long off – likely 20 years in the future. Plus, it will not be a stepwise change: cars will become increasingly autonomous with various capabilities and safety systems gradually taking over from the driver. These sorts of demonstrations are quite interesting but do not detract from the reality that the systems have limited capabilities and tend to function well under controlled conditions. Nevertheless, the technology is extremely important and merits close attention.
"Audi is making two world premieres at this week's 2015 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, one of which is an autonomous A7 concept that drove to the event itself, after starting off Saturday in San Francisco. The total distance traveled was more than 550 miles, with a number of engineers and journalists given time behind the wheel. Not only is the stunt being used to gather data for an eventual production autonomous car from Audi, it's also a means of demonstrating the viability of a self-driving car in existing traffic and road conditions. The trek took the A7 concept across roads in California and Nevada, both of which have given a number of automakers permission to test autonomous cars on public roads."
http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2015/01/05/autonomous-audi-a7-concept-steers-itself-from-san-francisco-to-las-vegas-for/
5) The cars of the future?
One doesn't tend to encounter many Canadian autonomous car stories so I had to include this one. I suspect 2023 is rather optimistic given the state of the art. In particular, Canada's weather challenges are bound to be a major hurdle as is our 3rd world telecommuncations infrastructure.
"It seems fantastical, but automated vehicles are coming and will nearly certainly be on the roads in the coming decades. Many car manufactures are working on self-driving cars, and Google has been testing self-driving vehicles on open roads. A handful of states already have put legislation governing autonomous vehicles on the books. California is supposed to develop rules so the public can use them by Jan. 1. While Google is estimating its technology could be in public hands before 2020, Godsmark said that technology will not work everywhere all of the time yet. "So in terms of Canada, the figure I've been telling everyone is expect autonomous vehicles capable of all-year-round operation by 2023," he said. There are also different technologies out there – Godsmark is an enthusiast for the fully autonomous vehicle, but there's also what Godsmark calls a "parallel technology," connected vehicles. Connected vehicles communicate with each other, but also the infrastructure and a central "brain" that will optimize everything."
http://www.stalbertgazette.com/article/20141227/SAG0801/312279991/-1/sag
6) Sony is trying to make the Walkman cool again
Once upon a time I worked for Philips, which was well regarded for selling high quality state of the art consumer electronics at a premium. Over time, they lost their reputation for quality and being state of the art but they tried to retain premium pricing. That's the problem with having idiots running a business: running it badly only shows up after a number of years. Sony seems destined to follow Philips' lead in this regard. For about 15 years you could get good enough products at a lower price from, for example, Samsung, and now you can get better products at a better price from lots of companies not named Sony. I suspect a $1,200 Walkman targets mostly Sony executives because that's roughly who they'll sell it to.
"Sony's latest take on its classic music player, the ZX2, supports high resolution audio playback and is Wi-Fi-, Bluetooth- and NFC-enabled. At first glance, the Walkman ZX2 looks more like an oddly shaped smartphone than a music player. The Android-powered device (it runs Android 4.2, Jelly Bean) features a touchscreen, and supports Android apps via the Play Store. ut its real power— and the reason for its $1,200 price tag — lies in its S-Master HX processor, which enables the high-resolution audio, though you'll need headphones or a speaker that supports high-res audio to enjoy it."
http://mashable.com/2015/01/05/sonys-high-res-walkman/
7) BitTorrent Adds First Feature Film And Pay-What-You-Want Option To Its Bundle Model
Torrents have a bad reputation because they have been used for piracy. They are also used for the distribution of open source and public domain material, facts which do little to counter that bad rep. BitTorrent has a number of interesting products, including Sync, and are trying to monetize their torrent technology for legitimate use. I am not sure that "Pay-as-you-want" is a viable large scale business model, though it might work for certain types of product. Nonetheless, a paid torrent system (no doubt with discounts for seeding) is probably a viable means to distribute paid content.
"Another step ahead in BitTorrent's bid to expand its Bundle business model to all kinds of content, and all kinds of payment options. The company today said it would soon post a full-length feature film directed by David Cross, HITS, and people can get it by paying whatever they want. The film is set to go up on BitTorrent on February 13. HITS first debuted at Sundance in 2014 and this will be its first wide release, alongside another not-too-conventional push in physical theaters. Cross is also currently running a Kickstarter to get the movie to a select number of cinemas, also in a pay-what-you-want model for moviegoers."
http://techcrunch.com/2015/01/07/bittorrent-adds-first-feature-film-and-pay-what-you-want-option-to-its-bundle-model/
8) Has Curiosity Found Fossilized Life on Mars?
A bit of a stretch but worthy of a read. Relatively low resolution photography shows what might be fossilized bacterial or algal mats similar to what we see on Earth. Even though this is in the "too good to be true" file, these sorts of theories lead to the formulations of experiments by Curiosity or subsequent spacecraft to test the hypothesis. It would be very cool indeed if it were true.
"Time and time again, as we carefully scrutinize the amazing high-resolution imagery flowing to Earth from NASA's Mars rover Curiosity, we see weird things etched in Martian rocks. Most of the time our brains are playing tricks on us. At other times, however, those familiar rocky features can be interpreted as processes that also occur on Earth. Now, in a paper published in the journal Astrobiology, a geobiologist has related structures photographed by Curiosity of Martian sedimentary rock with structures on Earth that are known to be created by microbial lifeforms. But just because the structures look like they've been formed by microbes on Mars, does it mean that they were?"
http://news.discovery.com/space/alien-life-exoplanets/has-curiosity-found-fossilized-life-on-mars-150106.htm
9) Body of Knowledge: New Machine Can See Bones, Organs in Stunning Detail
You really have to look at the article because the images are absolutely amazing. They look like something out of a science fiction movie they are that good. As I understand it, this novel CT scanner can take images in a fraction of a second, leading to much faster imaging in general but also the ability to track movement of things like heart valves and so on. It also means the patients do not have to be immobilized. Unfortunately, they do not mention the cost of the unit but you can imagine it is very, very expensive.
"In 2013, GE introduced a new, superfast scanner called Revolution CT that allowed doctors to routinely obtain clear images of the beating heart, lungs, liver and other organs. Starting in September 2014, the West Kendall Baptist Hospital in Florida became the first medical facility in the U.S. to use the machine. Its combination of low-dose exposure, organ-wide coverage and motion correction technology allows doctors to reduce radiation and still obtain high-resolution images of blood vessels, soft tissue, organs and bones."
http://www.gereports.com/post/107344100845/body-of-knowledge-new-machine-can-see-bones
10) Samsung's latest SSD is remarkably fast and consumes roughly zero standby power
Most of the "new product" announcements arising from the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas this past week were disturbingly banal. This was pretty esoteric but it shows where Solid State Drives (SSDs) are headed and reinforces my view the Hard Disk Drive is destined to go the way of the floppy. No doubt, as a market leading product these are very expensive in absolute and "bang for the buck" terms, but you can safely expect prices to drop rapidly. In any event, the ultra low standby power means, for example, a laptop vendor can reduce the size and weight of their product and still offer either longer battery life or a smaller battery.
"Samsung Electronics has announced that it is mass producing a high-performance, low-powered PCIe SSD designed for use in both ultra-slim notebook PCs and workstations, the SM951. The SM951 is extremely small for space constrained applications. It comes in M.2 form factor, which is 80mm x 22mm or about one-seventh the size of a standard 2.5″ SSD. It also only weighs six grams but can run up to 512GB of capacity."
http://www.digitalwack.com/2015/01/samsungs-latest-ssd-is-remarkably-fast.html
11) Netflix: VPN crackdown claims 'false', says executive
This rumor caused a lot of excitement since the content available on Netflix is usually licensed on a regional basis. For example, a particular movie or documentary might be available in the US but not the UK, or vice versa, due to licensing. Tech savy users can bypass licensing restrictions through the us of VPNs (similar methods can be used to pirate with relative impunity). Frankly, I'm surprised the CEO would deny the claim of a "crackdown" since the licensees would at least want him to engage in theater to the effect they take the license terms seriously.
"The company denied reports it had stepped up its attempts to block access via virtual private networks (VPNs). Netflix said its existing policy against the use of VPNs to circumvent geographical content barriers remained unchanged. But it said its service would still work via some VPNs. "The claims that we have changed our policy on VPN are false," said Netflix's chief product officer Neil Hunt. Speaking at this year's Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, he said: "People who are using a VPN to access our service from outside of the area will find that it still works exactly as it has always done." He was speaking in response to widespread claims that the popular media streaming firm had begun a crackdown on customers who used VPNs at the behest of studios unhappy at their licensing arrangements being ignored."
12) Netskope Report Reveals High Frequency of Compromised Credentials in Enterprise Cloud Apps
Frankly I am not sure the numbers add up, but the general risk is very real. The great thing about cloud services is that they represent a single point of failure and therefore the greater the number of people using them in a company, the greater the odds of a breach since only one person needs ot download one malware app (or even lose their phone). Nevertheless, cloud computing is seen as the way to go by most CIOs so growth will probably continue. Thanks to my friend Humphrey Brown for directing me to this item.
"Recent research has identified that only one in ten cloud apps are secure enough for enterprise use. According to a report from cloud experts Netskope, organisations are employing an average of over 600 business cloud apps, despite the majority of software posing a high risk of data leak. The company showed that 15 per cent of logins for business apps used by organisations had been breached by hackers. Over 20 per cent of businesses in the Netskope cloud actively used more than 1,000 cloud apps, and over eight per cent of files in corporate-sanctioned cloud storage apps were in violation of DLP policies, source code, and other policies surrounding confidential and sensitive data."
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/netskope-report-reveals-high-frequency-of-compromised-credentials-in-enterprise-cloud-apps-300017649.html
13) FCC chairman hints the Internet will soon be regulated as a public utility
North American broadband and mobile services are a morass of bad policy decisions which conveniently happen to have been made in favor of the service providers. While the US is not as bad as Canada, these bad decisions have lead to a steady erosion in position in the past 15 to 20 years, shifting us from world leading to third world status. Neither broadband providers nor mobile service providers generate value add: they simply exploit "rights" which they have purchased or, in many cases, been given, by governments. Both should be regulated as public utilities, but in a manner which would foster competition, instead of suppress it, as is the case today. Unfortunately, while the FCC chairman may have the best interests of the consumer in mid (though I doubt that) the consumer doesn't stand a chance against the powerful and well financed lobbyists in Washington and Ottawa.
"In a speech given this week at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Wheeler spoke favorably of reclassifying broadband providers as common carriers under Title II of the Communications Act, saying that this would allow for "just and reasonable" regulation with "the best protections" for consumers. The FCC will vote on final regulations next month, and reporters say Wheeler's CES speech is a strong indication that the Commission is leaning in favor of supporting the President's stance on net neutrality."
http://www.csmonitor.com/Innovation/2015/0108/FCC-chairman-hints-the-Internet-will-soon-be-regulated-as-a-public-utility
14) Revolutionary implant enables broken spinal cord to function again
A number of years ago we covered experiments which showed rats walking subsequent to spinal cord injury using electrical stimulation and drug treatment. Apparently, the major problem with the approach was that the implants were not well tolerated by the immune system. This new implant promises to last longer, though I should add that it would have to last many years ot be truly useful. Nevertheless it seems significant progress is being made in this area, which is a good thing.
"A team from EPFL and NCCR Robotics lead by Profs Stéphanie Lacour, Grégoire Courtine and Silvestro Micera published an article in Science today describing their e-dura implant that could revolutionise how we think about and treat paralysis. Until now, implants placed beneath the dura mater of the spinal cord have caused significant tissue damage when used over long periods. Research shows that the new e-dura implant is viable for months at a time in animal subjects. The team is now moving on to clinical trials in human subjects and is developing their prototype to take to market."
http://robohub.org/revolutionary-implant-enables-broken-spinal-cord-to-function-again/
15) Computer Masters Texas Hold'em, Poker Face and All
I don't play poker because I'm not good at it, which means I always lose and I can't see the point in financing my education any further. This development made the evening news, which is a bit surprising. Apparently, the researchers have developed a mathematical strategy which pretty much guarantees a win, provided enough hand are played. Of course, this only works for a very simple form of poker so you don't have to worry about it being a major issue for online gambling sites which will simply continue to cheat in order to clean up. After all, who needs math when you have a crooked dealer and a rigged deck?
"If you lose at Texas Hold'em, don't blame your cards. A breakthrough in artificial intelligence has allowed a computer to master the simplest two-person version of the poker game, working through every possible variation of play to make the perfect move every time. When performed without mistakes, just like the childhood game tic-tac-toe, there's no way to lose. In this case the player is Cepheus, an algorithm designed by Canadian researchers."
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2015-01-08/texas-hold-em-mastered-in-months-by-computer-with-no-wrong-moves.html
16) Quantum hard drive breakthrough
More of a quantum memory breakthrough in terms of the duration the quantum states can be stored. The article is a fair bit above my pay grade, but it sounds important.
"Physicists developing a prototype quantum hard drive have improved storage time by a factor of more than 100. The team's record storage time of six hours is a major step towards a secure worldwide data encryption network based on quantum information, which could be used for banking transactions and personal emails. "We believe it will soon be possible to distribute quantum information between any two points on the globe," said lead author Manjin Zhong, from the Research School of Physics and Engineering (RSPE)."
http://phys.org/news/2015-01-quantum-hard-breakthrough.html
17) The Voltera V-One Makes Circuit Boards In Minutes
This sounds promising but I suspect the market is not likely to be as large as imagined. First, the price is way too high for home hobbyists, though some maker clubs might be enticed. Second, any buyer would be dependent on Voltera to continue to supply consumables, which is a dubious proposition for any start up. Third, the system uses no vias (holes from one side to the other), which limits the types of components you can use (or, limits the boards you can use the unit for. Finally, it seems it doesn't really do two sided boards, meaning components are going to have to be all on one side. All this being said, if a company such as HP were to produce the product, thus delivering a low cost platform with high cost consumables, though from a reliable supplier, it would probably be quite successful.
""The Voltera V-One goes beyond printing single layer circuits on paper. We're the first to be able to print two layer circuits onto FR4 (the industry standard substrate) with a product of this size and cost. But it doesn't stop there… the printer is also cable of dispensing solder paste and baking the board to attach all the small components," said Almeida."
http://techcrunch.com/2015/01/06/the-voltera-v-one-makes-circuit-boards-in-minutes/
18) New lie detector relies on full-body suit for better accuracy
Even though lie detectors have been shown to be pseudoscience, and there are simple techniques which can be used to spoof even the pseudoscience, some employers and law enforcement authorities use them. This test is an example of the problem: they claim "much better accuracy", and I won't dispute that claim. The problem is, the folks likely to lie – criminals – tend to be skilled liars so the only meaningful test would be to see if the system detects lies told by skilled liars, not regular folk. Besides, even at 75% accuracy, most people are honest, not guilty, and telling the truth so the number of false positives is very high.
"When you are hooked up to a polygraph lie detector there is only a 60 percent chance a skilled examiner will spot a lie, giving you pretty good odds to get away with one or two untruths. However, Dutch and British scientists have found a way to amp up the accuracy of lie detection to 75 percent by monitoring a suspect's movements with a full-body suit. Current lie detection methods aided by polygraphs are only slightly better than what people can achieve on their own. Without a machine, most people can only tell truth from lies about 55 percent of the time."
http://www.itworld.com/article/2864675/new-lie-detector-relies-on-fullbody-suit-for-better-accuracy.html
19) Microsoft unveils Nokia 215, a $29 phone with Internet access
This probably belongs with item 2 about Xiamoi, but this product is actually directed towards the extreme poor in areas like sub-Saharan Africa. I was initially very skeptical as to whether a market for mobile services would emerge in such areas but I have been pleasantly surprised. Banking and all manner of services are being rolled out, resulting in a significant positive impact to standard of living. Many such services used cheap 'candy bar' phones and texting so even basic 2G Internet would be a major improvement. Not that this somehow makes Microsoft's purchase of Nokia seem rational, but it is an interesting piece of kit.
"Smartphones may be more affordable than ever, but, for quite a few people, they are still too expensive. And they offer short battery life, pretty much across the board. It is not a winning combination, especially for those living in developing markets, looking to be connected to the Internet while on the go. Enter Nokia 215, a dirt-cheap Internet-ready phone, which Microsoft announced earlier today. It packs some of the most-important features people want in a smartphone, but without any of the major drawbacks. The software giant calls it its "most affordable Internet-ready entry-level phone yet", costing just $29."
http://betanews.com/2015/01/05/microsoft-unveils-nokia-215-a-29-phone-with-internet-access/
20) Tech manufacturers join forces to bring cinema picture quality into our homes
This is a good first step along the way to UHD products which actually work together (how novel!), however, do not expect the technology to move the needle in the consumer electronics market. Marketing hype aside, the human eye is only so good at detecting detail and even then that depends on the size of the screen and the distance you are from it. UHD might be useful for games, especially when you are close to your screen, but even then not much. I figure that eventually all the TVs will be UHD for the same reason most are 3D: because there is little or no price gap. However, very few consumers will replace their existing TVs with UHD, or even pay more than 10% for a UHD set because there simply is no significant benefit.
"Major brands at global consumer electronics and consumer technology trade show CES have promised to do more to get high resolution in our homes, and have formed an alliance to prove it. Announced earlier this week by Samsung alongside their new SUHD TV line-up, the UHD Alliance is a partnership between the big name manufacturers, including themselves but also LG, Panasonic, Sharp and Sony as well as movie studios and streaming services."
http://home.bt.com/tech-gadgets/tech-news/alliance-to-work-on-high-resolution-11363953706612?con_social_rd_st
By documenteddesigns • Posted in Uncategorized
The Geeks Reading List: Suspending Publication Due to Illness
The Geek's Reading List – Week of May 12 2017
The Geek's Reading List – Week of May 5 2017
The Geek's Reading List – Week of April 28 2017
The Geek Speaks


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By i25kia	Awards, Forte, Models
Shortly after its launch this past summer, Kia Motors' all-new 2019 Forte is being lauded for its exceptional value when named a winner at the first Southwest Lifestyle Vehicle of the Year awards held recently at the Bondurant Racing School outside of Phoenix, Arizona. Local media in attendance rated the Forte "Best Value" in the car category after real-world evaluations, while the all-new compact sedan wowed them with its Stinger-inspired design and improved driving dynamics.
"We're honored that the Forte took the win for best value at the very first Southwest Lifestyle Vehicle Awards," said Orth Hedrick, executive director of Car Planning and Telematics, KMA. "The previous Forte was already one of our top-sellers, and the new 2019 Forte is poised to continue being a crowd favorite thanks to its sporty design, upscale interior, available premium features, fun-to-drive attitude, and most importantly, incredible value. The Forte proves that affordable compact cars don't have to be boring commuter cars."
For the 2019 model year, the Forte evolves into a more refined compact sedan with head-turning style, improved efficiency in a variety of conditions, and an impressive roster of available technology. Offered in four trims – FE, LXS, S, and EX – the Forte starts at $17,690.
"The Kia Forte was really a standout in the Car of the Year field. It's stylish, efficient, fun to drive, and comes with premium tech and safety features that you'd expect in a car costing thousands more," said Becky Antioco, event director and founder of Southwest Lifestyle Media. "It really is a 'Best Value' in every sense and it exceeded our journalists' expectations in almost every category."
The Forte is powered by a 147-HP 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine mated to either a six-speed automatic transmission or Kia's first in-house designed and built Intelligent Variable Transmission (IVT). A number of Kia Drive Wise technology features are standard on all Forte trims including the newly added Driver Attention Warning system (DAW), and all Fortes get an 8-inch color touchscreen with support for Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. Premium amenities such as a Harman/Kardon audio system complete with Clari-Fi are available.
Tagged 2019 kia forte, forte award, Kia Forte, new kia forte

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Rep. Joseph Kennedy III delivering the Democratic response to President Trump's State of the Union address on January 31, 2018.
For Joe Kennedy, the urgency of now
He's yet to articulate rationale for a Senate challenge, but that may not matter
By Michael Jonas Ayanna Pressley, Ed Markey, Joe Kenedy 0 Comments Aug 29, 2019
LET THE WORD go forth that Joe Kennedy is likely to cap several weeks of fevered speculation with an announcement that he's ready for the torch to be passed to a new generation.
But are Massachusetts voters ready? And what, exactly, will be the argument for doing so?
The 38-year-old congressman has turned the slow-news days of late summer into a frenzy of political chatter by confirming this week that he is weighing a run for the US Senate seat held by Ed Markey. With an earnest reputation, affable bearing — and gold-plated name — the Newton lawmaker would undoubtedly pose a formidable challenge to Markey. But Kennedy has yet to articulate a clear rationale for a run.
"I hear the folks who say I should wait my turn, but with due respect — I'm not sure this is a moment for waiting," Kennedy wrote in a Facebook post on Monday confirming he is considering a run.
George Bachrach, a former Democratic state senator, said Kennedy will have to do more to fill out that thought. "If you say that this is no time to wait, it begs the question, wait for what?" said Bachrach. "What new vision, what new issues, what new policies are you eager to raise?"
Kennedy hasn't said yet. "Our system has been letting down a lot of people for a long time, and we can't fix it if we don't challenge it. I've got some ideas on how to do that," he said in his Facebook post. He stuck to the same theme at an appearance on Tuesday in Newton, remaining vague on what his ideas are.
Kennedy may simply think the moment is right to dislodge a fellow Democrat and move up the ladder. Many have speculated that he likes his chances better in a race against Markey than in a scramble for an open seat should Markey retire after another term or should Sen. Elizabeth Warren win the White House next fall. That contest could draw plenty of compelling competitors, such as Rep. Ayanna Pressley or Attorney General Maura Healey.
While a liberal incumbent US senator in a decidedly blue state would not typically seem vulnerable to a Democratic primary challenge, Markey is hardly a commanding figure on the statewide stage.
After decades in the House, he only landed a Senate seat six years ago. A June poll by Suffolk University showed just 39 percent of voters statewide viewed him favorably versus 25 percent who view him unfavorably. A sizable 36 percent said they were unsure or hadn't heard of him.
A Kennedy-Markey matchup doesn't seem likely to turn on sharp differences in ideology. If anything, Kennedy strikes a more moderate profile than the 73-year-old Markey, a cosponsor with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of the Green New Deal and early supporter of Bernie Sanders's Medicare-for-all legislation.
Kennedy has waved off talk about a race that would hinge on his age difference with Markey, who was elected to the House in 1976, four years before Kennedy was born. It will be enough to let the contrast, which would be in plain view, speak for itself.
While a Kennedy run might seem geared to appeal to those with an appetite for generational change in leadership, Markey's strong leadership on climate change and other issues has galvanized support for him among some younger activists. He recently picked up the endorsement of the Sunrise Movement, a national initiative of young people fighting to stop climate change.
A Kennedy campaign would follow several high-profile primary challenges by younger Democrats, but it's not clear that he could count on younger voters in the way Pressley did in knocking off 10-term incumbent congressman Michael Capuano last year.
"Almost every single person I knew under 35 was supporting Ayanna," said Jonathan Cohn, the 30-year-old chairman of the issues committee of the liberal advocacy group Progressive Massachusetts. "I don't know a single person under 35 who's backing Joe Kennedy," he said of Kennedy's not-yet-announced candidacy.
Cohn says framing a possible Markey-Kennedy primary as a generational showdown may be the wrong way to think of it. "It doesn't seem as much a generational shift as a return," he said, "a kind of continuation of Kennedy dominance in Massachusetts politics or Massachusetts Senate seats."
Kennedy's great-uncles, John F. Kennedy and Edward Kennedy, represented Massachusetts in the Senate for a total of 55 years. Older voters for whom the family name still carries considerable meaning might be particularly open to a Kennedy candidacy, a campaign that could be fueled by a potent combination of nostalgia and youth.
"This has been the easiest call I've ever made in politics," said Jamie Hoag, a former deputy counsel to Gov. Deval Patrick and part of a small band of LGBT activists who recently formed a group urging Kennedy to run. Hoag said he's excited by the passion Kennedy brings to issues. "I know it may sound 'Mr. Smith Goes to Washington'-like," he said, referring to the 1939 movie about an idealistic young senator vowing to change the ways of Congress.
As he's moved ahead full-steam toward a reelection race, Markey claims he's never felt more energized to tackle forward-looking issues like climate change, and says he's eager to do battle against Trump administration policies.
Markey seems eager to push aside any consideration of his age and to channel instead the sentiments shared by Kennedy's grandfather, Robert F. Kennedy, in a well-known speech delivered at the University of Cape Town in South Africa in 1966.
"This world demands the qualities of youth: not a time of life but a state of mind, a temper of the will, a quality of imagination, a predominance of courage over timidity, of the appetite for adventure over the life of ease," Kennedy said.
Bachrach, who served as campaign manager for Markey's initial congressional victory 43 years ago, has been outspoken on the need for baby boomers to make way for younger leaders. In a commentary piece last year for CommonWealth, he said that was why he was giving up the reins, at age 65, as head of the Environmental League of Massachusetts. "America yearns for fresh faces and a fresh start," he wrote, saying the problem was particularly acute with elected officeholders and even touting the idea of term limits.
Bachrach said he still believes that, but it comes with some qualification. "I'm a big believer in next generation leadership," he said. "But I also believe it has to be more than next generation. It has to be based either on ideology or new ideas or vision."
Scott Ferson, who served as a spokesman for Ted Kennedy in the early 1990s, said Joe Kennedy has not yet "formulated the public rationale" for a run. But he said the young congressman has little reason to hold back simply because Markey has been a solid senator.
"There's no reward for doing the right thing in politics. If you say, well, but Ed's doing a good job — that's just not how people vote," said Ferson. "The question will be whether there's a constituency for 'the urgency of now,'" he said about a Kennedy candidacy.
Amidst the current wave of upheaval in which old rules are being cast aside about candidates waiting their turn or not waging primary challenges, the prospect of a Markey-Kennedy duel is creating mixed feelings among some who have been part of the disruption.
"Robust primaries are, if anything, good for the party," said Alex Goldstein, who served as communications strategist for Pressley's insurgent Democratic primary upset last year. He is nonetheless supporting Markey.
That said, he's not sure questions about specific policy positions that a Kennedy challenge would be based on are that important right now.
Michael Jonas
Executive Editor, CommonWealth
E-mail @bostonjonas
About Michael Jonas
Michael Jonas has worked in journalism in Massachusetts since the early 1980s. Before joining the CommonWealth staff in early 2001, he was a contributing writer for the magazine for two years. His cover story in CommonWealth's Fall 1999 issue on Boston youth outreach workers was selected for a PASS (Prevention for a Safer Society) Award from the National Council on Crime and Delinquency.
Michael got his start in journalism at the Dorchester Community News, a community newspaper serving Boston's largest neighborhood, where he covered a range of urban issues. Since the late 1980s, he has been a regular contributor to the Boston Globe. For 15 years he wrote a weekly column on local politics for the Boston Sunday Globe's City Weekly section.
Michael has also worked in broadcast journalism. In 1989, he was a co-producer for "The AIDS Quarterly," a national PBS series produced by WGBH-TV in Boston, and in the early 1990s, he worked as a producer for "Our Times," a weekly magazine program on WHDH-TV (Ch. 7) in Boston.
Michael lives in Dorchester with his wife and their two daughters.
Among Democratic activists in the Trump era, there's "a sense the world is on fire," Goldstein said. "All of the typical rules about who is called to serve and when — a lot of that has been obliterated. I don't know that that is going to be huge hurdle" for Kennedy.
Tagged in: Ayanna Pressley/ Ed Markey/ Joe Kenedy
‹ Pelton calls Straight Pride Parade 'a perversion' Kennedy holds 17-point lead over Markey in poll ›


Validation of a rapid, automated method for the measurement of ethylene glycol in human plasma.
Robson, Anna F and Lawson, Alexander J and Lewis, Laura and Jones, Alan and George, Stephen (2016) Validation of a rapid, automated method for the measurement of ethylene glycol in human plasma. Annals of clinical biochemistry. ISSN 1758-1001.
Ethylene glycol is a highly toxic compound found in various household products. Cases of poisoning are rare but may be fatal unless diagnosed and treated promptly. Early recognition of poisoning is critical for the management and recovery of patients. Indirect testing is not specific for the presence of ethylene glycol. Therefore, urgent and accurate measurement should be sought if ingestion is suspected in order to determine the need for treatment with an antidote. Here, we present the validation of an automated assay for measurement of ethylene glycol on an Abbott Architect using a commercially available kit (Catachem).
Analytical parameters of imprecision, linearity, stability and bias were determined using spiked human plasma samples processed on both the Catachem assay and on an in-house gas chromatography-mass spectrometry method. Interference was assessed using samples collected into a variety of sample collection tubes and spiked with a number of alcohols.
Excellent agreement was observed between the two methodologies with the enzymatic assay demonstrating linearity and precision across the relevant clinical range (50-3000 mg/L). In addition, the Catachem assay displayed no interference from a number of different sample tubes and alcohols. However, propylene glycol interference was observed at concentrations associated with excessive use (>1 g/L) and 2,3-butanediol interference observed at concentrations associated with butanone ingestion. Inspection of the enzymatic reaction profile was found to differentiate between alcohols.
This automated assay is suitable for the diagnosis of ethylene glycol poisoning and is now in routine use, enabling the laboratory to provide a rapid 24 h service with support by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry as necessary.


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Wyoming Governor Issues New Order Protecting Sage Grouse
Tom Morton
Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon issued an executive order Wednesday that improves the state's Greater Sage-Grouse Core Area Protection Strategy, according to a news release.
The new order streamlines greater sage-grouse conservation, improves its clarity, recognizes valid and existing rights, and continues to provide regulatory certainty while allowing for adaptation as new information emerges.
It reflects many of the public comments collected earlier this year, and incorporates substantial recommendations prepared for the governor by the Sage-Grouse Implementation Team.
"This Executive Order shows how this administration has embraced a proven strategy that is the framework for how Wyoming approaches conservation," Gordon said in the news release.
"It is impressive that such a wide array of interests understand the importance of this issue to Wyoming's economy and our ecology and were willing to work together to build the strong foundation of this strategy," he said. "I want to thank the SGIT for their time, passion and commitment in developing recommended changes, the vast majority of which I have accepted and integrated into EO 2019-3."
The new executive order replaces two orders issued by former Gov. Matt Mead.
It is comprised of nine appendices and is formatted to allow for amendments to any appendix without requiring amending the full document. New guidance in the appendices provides directives for coordination and agency cooperation, data collection and reporting, and adaptive management.
Technical directives remain unchanged, including habitat maps and definitions, stipulations for development, and compensatory mitigation requirements. It also retains recognition of valid existing rights and minimum activities.
The full text of Executive Order 2019-3 and its appendices are posted to the Wyoming Game and Fish Department's Greater sage-grouse Executive Order information page.
Filed Under: Casper, Conservation, Environment, Gov. Mark Gordon, habitat, protection, public comment, Sage Grouse
Categories: Wyoming


The gorgeous parks of Rotterdam are a chapter aside from the visit to the city. Moving landscapes and quiet and spaces transform natural them into a new dimension within the anxious urban movement.
In order to begin our route we go to the botanical gardens - Arboretum Trompenburg- dates from century XIX and was designed according to the English landscaping style. The impressive collection of more than 4000 trees includes shrubs, perennial species of diverse places of the world, aquatic plants and flowers. Here visits guided under request are realized.
How to arrive: in street car, line 1 towards Of Esch, Woudestein shutdown.
On the other hand we found the Museumpark, that it was constructed on fields that originally were used to seed I graze, property of the family Go Hoboken. In 1920 they were acquired by the city council of Rotterdam and the architects Rem Koolhas and Yves Brunier were in charge of their design. The Museum Boijmans van Beuningen was first in being built, being followed of the NAI, the Kunsthal, the Chabot and the Natuur. It today works an interesting center of art for smallest, call Villa Zebra.
How to arrive: in street car, lines 4 and 5.
Soon You are the Kralingse, in the district of Kralingen, that is a recreational park of 175 hectares very visited during the summer by the great amount of attractions that offers. One is an ample green zone that count on a lake, an artificial beach, a swimming pool, zones of picnic, footpaths to take a walk, tracks for bicycles and numerous restaurants.
Also it is possible to rent candle boats and to practice windsurf in his waters. An animal farm for children and an educative center on nature and environment work there. It is accessible for people in wheelchair.
How to arrive: in street cars number 7 and 9, Oudedijk shutdown. The nearer tube station is Voorschoterlaan.
Another option to visit is the Zuiderpark is a located municipal park around the Ahoi complex, famous by the great amount of fairs that are realized there. The pools, the swimming pools and the footpaths in great extensions of field abound. Several sport clubs work here. It is accessible for people in wheelchair.
In meter, the nearest station is Zuidplein.
In bus, lines 133, 136, 140, 142, 143, 154, 156 and 160 W.N.


Have you ever had a felt like you wanted to say more, but words cannot express your feelings? Well, that's exactly how I feel everyday. I just wish that I can somehow speak without words.
In reality, I'm just extremely grateful that I have given the miracle of life.
Other people are less unfortunate than I am. I consistently complain about my rotten life, how things never go the way I plan. Like how friends come and go, happiness rises and ends, and how trust is earned and lost.
Now to come and think of it, life is black and white. Without them to balance each other out, the daily life would be complete chaos. The Yin-Yang shows the eternal spiral of good and bad. It illustrates how it is an essential element in daily life.
For us of the fortunate, let's be grateful and count our blessings for not having to worry about these problems. People who are deaf and mute cannot even communicate normally. That leads to the topic of the limitation of words. There are a lot more we want to say, but we just physically or mentally cannot. There's an external factor that is preventing us to fulfill our needs. For example, we teenagers feel this: During an argument with out parents, they wont let us speak. This happens every time. I get so frustrated because I know what I did and I feel like I can explain to them, but they wont let me. "Why wont you understand me; please just let me talk" runs through my head in a continuous cycle. Why do I have a limitation of words? Am I not good enough?
Some people want to use words, but they simply can't. In response, they find ways to cope with their problems. That's the creation of sign language started. Instead of using words, they use an image.
"Matthew honey! You're going to be late!" My mother exuberantly hollered from the echoing kitchen downstairs, making vibrating pitches ring through my ears. The first day of high school is always a petrifying event to overcome.
"Wait! I'm coming!" I was on my way to dig every fraction of my confidence out of a grave. I rapidly threw on my jacket and raced down the stairs to go to a place I call, a dungeon. Monophonically, I took deep breaths to prepare myself for stress that would change the tips of my jet black hair to a silvery white color.
Overall, this activity opened my horizons and made me realize that 100 words might seem a lot, but in reality, it's actually extremely little and limited. It taught me that limitations are always like a missing plank of wood on a bridge that potentially stops me from crossing it. I just have to believe that I can take a big step and successfully reach the end of the bridge.
I can not count the number of times where I have wanted to say more but was not able too. Whether it be in a classroom setting or at home, I feel myself struggling with this limitation of words that you have written about. There are so many thoughts in my head yet so few words are able to come out and I am unable to fully express myself. However, I have come to learn that this limitation of words that works against me came from me, myself. I am the one who restricts my own words when I become shy or become afraid. I really loved and enjoyed reading your blog post. You have so many great observations and things to say.


"I was originally diagnosed with a form of muscular dystrophy: they weren't exactly sure what it was and told me that little was known about my prognosis. I tried to convince myself that it wouldn't get any worse, but soon after that I started falling more frequently. I needed leg braces to walk, a cane and then crutches. I still had no idea what was going on as I made periodic trips back to the neurologists for more tests, more consultations and more shrugged shoulders.
I took the first disability studies course ever offered at my college, taught by a professor who had polio as a child. The course helped me become more familiar with the experience of disability and introduced me to the world of American "disability culture" with its politics, its complaints, its sense of justice and even its sense of humor. When I graduated, I went to work for the National Organization on Disability in Washington, D.C., where I gained a strong sense of the dignity and the possibilities that all people with disabilities possess.
Still, I didn't know what exactly was going on with my own body until one day I came across the ARM website while surfing the web. Through the site I got in touch with Dr. Daniel Darvish who was able to confirm that I had HIBM.
It was a relief to finally know what was happening to my body. Through ARM I learned not only about the scientific research they were encouraging and organizing around the world, but also about how Drs. Babak and Daniel Darvish lived their lives with HIBM.
Now, at 31 years old, I am a graduate student at UC Santa Barbara, studying the history and sociology of American religion. I have a wonderful wife, Martha and we have a beautiful 7 1/2 month old son named Alexander who crawls and climbs all around my wheelchair and is learning to walk just as I am learning how not to. My greatest joy is my son's smile… nothing else really compares.


[JENKINS] Lucene-Solr-trunk-MacOSX (64bit/jdk1.7.0) - Build # 701 - Still Failing!
Subject [JENKINS] Lucene-Solr-trunk-MacOSX (64bit/jdk1.7.0) - Build # 701 - Still Failing!
[junit4]   2> 719903 T1207 oass.OpenExchangeRatesOrgProvider.init Initialized with rates=open-exchange-rates.json, refreshInterval=1440.
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[junit4]   2> 719988 T1183 oass.OpenExchangeRatesOrgProvider.init Initialized with rates=open-exchange-rates.json, refreshInterval=1440.
[junit4]   2> 720178 T1193 oass.OpenExchangeRatesOrgProvider.init Initialized with rates=open-exchange-rates.json, refreshInterval=1440.
[junit4]   2> 720306 T1207 oasup.UpdateRequestProcessorChain.init inserting DistributedUpdateProcessorFactory into updateRequestProcessorChain "dedupe"
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[junit4]   2> 720323 T1183 oasup.UpdateRequestProcessorChain.init inserting DistributedUpdateProcessorFactory into updateRequestProcessorChain "dedupe"
[junit4]   2> 720325 T1183 oasup.UpdateRequestProcessorChain.init inserting DistributedUpdateProcessorFactory into updateRequestProcessorChain "stored_sig"
[junit4]   2> 720326 T1183 oasup.UpdateRequestProcessorChain.init inserting DistributedUpdateProcessorFactory into updateRequestProcessorChain "distrib-dup-test-chain-implicit"
[junit4]   2> 720411 T1222 oasup.UpdateRequestProcessorChain.init inserting DistributedUpdateProcessorFactory into updateRequestProcessorChain "dedupe"
[junit4]   2> 720411 T1222 oasup.UpdateRequestProcessorChain.init inserting DistributedUpdateProcessorFactory into updateRequestProcessorChain "stored_sig"
[junit4]   2> 720424 T1222 oasup.UpdateRequestProcessorChain.init inserting DistributedUpdateProcessorFactory into updateRequestProcessorChain "distrib-dup-test-chain-implicit"
[junit4]   2> 720511 T1193 oasup.UpdateRequestProcessorChain.init inserting DistributedUpdateProcessorFactory into updateRequestProcessorChain "dedupe"
[junit4]   2> 720511 T1193 oasup.UpdateRequestProcessorChain.init inserting DistributedUpdateProcessorFactory into updateRequestProcessorChain "stored_sig"
[junit4]   2> 720512 T1193 oasup.UpdateRequestProcessorChain.init inserting DistributedUpdateProcessorFactory into updateRequestProcessorChain "distrib-dup-test-chain-implicit"
[junit4]   2> 720642 T1207 oasc.ShardLeaderElectionContext.waitForReplicasToComeUp Enough replicas found to continue.
[junit4]   2> 720645 T1207 oasu.PeerSync.sync PeerSync: core=nodes_used_collection_shard1_replica2 url=http://127.0.0.1:49362 DONE.  We have no versions.  sync failed.
[junit4]   2> 216386 T1146 ccr.ThreadLeakControl.checkThreadLeaks WARNING Will linger awaiting termination of 2 leaked thread(s).
[junit4] Completed in 217.73s, 1 test, 1 error <<< FAILURES!


I've always been curious about my ancestors' stories. I have always sought to know more about those who have built our country and who have left their memories among books. Today, only remembered by the youngest during History classes.
During a debate, a theme about ancient villages aroused my curiosity. Apparently, these villages were lost in time, their streets were narrow and bumpy and their people were old and lived, with curiosity in their looks and tenderness in their hands. Although the description seemed too perfect, there was something in these villages that made me curious and took me to pack and go to their discovery. I always followed my instincts and there was something mysterious in these villages I could not let go.
When I arrived, I could observe the incredible synergy between rurality and tourism. All villages had in common the tranquility and the representation of comfort from a point of shelter, for those who face the slopes of the mountain range.
If I tried to sum up the essence of these villages in one phrase, it would be something like this: "If anything is needed, we are here". These villages represent some of the most remote and hidden places in Portugal. Many of them, with half a dozen habitants, are beginning to see their prestige recognized over the centuries. Schist culture has now become a trend, I almost wanted to have a traditional little shale house for me. It is rustic with a cozy appearance, some of them with strong colors on the doors and windows. With balconies covered with colorful flowers. I've entered a different era. Pollution had been lagged behind, the noise of the cars had been almost entirely reduced, to give way to the background sound of nature.
In some of these villages, a new collective sense has been created, made up of people who have rehabilitated their homes with their own hands. Coming from the city, these people bring to these old places a new life.
It's true that Portugal is the owner of an incredible number of secret villages, ancient traditions, and a noble past, that many believe to be lost. But even between the green of the mountain and the transparency of the waters, you can still hear the accent of the people who live there.
Relics that have been hidden for years reveal an incredible destination, hidden in one of the territories that were for years one of the biggest disadvantaged in the country. Schist Villages are distributed through the center of the country, making a total of 27 villages. Now rehabilitated and one of the most important cultural patrimony of Portugal.
Visiting the schist villages is an exchange of experiences. It is an exchange of words for life stories. One of the habitants said that these villages had souls.
I think the best way to describe it is, undoubted, as a "destination with a soul".
Uma passagem de ano inesquecível!
The OCD rider's guide: Our tips for your motorcycle tour!


text:
Mr. Mujtaba Shuja Ur Rehman
PP-147 ( Lahore-IV )
Member: Public Accounts Committee-II
Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz)
Mian Shuja-ur-Rahman
Personal Career & Interests
Mr Mujtaba Shuja-ur-Rahman son of Mian Shuja-ur-Rahman was born in September, 1967 in Lahore. He obtained the degree of MPA in 1993 from University of the Punjab, Lahore. A businessman, who served as Councillor, MCL during 1998-99; as Chairman, Taxation Committee, MCL during 1999; and as Town Naib Nazim, Ravi Town City District Government, Lahore during 2001-02. He served as Member, Provincial Assembly of the Punjab during 2002-07. He returned to the Punjab Assembly in 2008 after being elected unopposed and served as Minister during 2008-13 holding the portfolio of Excise & Taxation with additional charge of Higher Education, School Education, Finance, Literacy & Non-Formal Basic Education and Transport Departments. He was elected as Member, Punjab Assembly for the third consecutive term in general elections 2013 and functioned as Minister for Excise and Taxation. He has been elected as Member, Punjab Assembly for the fourth consecutive term in general elections 2018. He also held the portfolio of Finance during 11-06- 2013 to 29-05-2015 and Law & Parliamentary Affairs during 13-10-2014 to 29-05-2015. His father, served as Lord Mayor of Lahore during 1979-87 and as Councillor, MCL for more than 26 years.
Permanent Contact
Kashana-A-Qadir, 50-G.T. Road, Lahore.
042-36845500 (Resident), 0300-8443104 (Mobile)
Previous Official Positions
Official Body
Provincial Assembly of the Punjab MPA 2002-2007
Provincial Assembly of the Punjab Minister for Excise & Taxation, Higher Education, School Education, Literacy & Non-formal Basic Education, Transport, Finance 2008-2013
Provincial Assembly of the Punjab MPA / Provincial Minister 2013-2018
Relatives in present or past assemblies
Father Mian Shuja-ur-Rehman, Lord Mayor of Lahore Local Government 1979-87


Fast forward to this past weekend when I met an Aussie couple of Malaysian origins who downright raved about Cafe Malacca. Raved, I tell you. They proudly claim that they've been there more than a dozen times, have pretty much tried everything on the menu and were not shy (as they are not wont to be) about airing their opinions back to the chefs and servers regarding the quality of the dishes. Both were tripping over each other's words to tell me how surprisingly authentic the food is (believe me, we former Malaysians have been known to be the Charlie Browns, with restaurants claiming to serve real Straits cuisine to be the football that the Lucys of the world always yank away at the last moment.) But I suppose that securing actual Penang-based chefs, some from the sister hotels, as consultants, and more importantly, to take time to painstakingly train the locals to produce the distinct dishes that would meet the approval of highly-critical Malaysian and Singaporean foodies, gives Cafe Malacca a big step up from its very limited competition in this field.
And so that is how I ended up at the nethermost regions of Sheung Wan a few days ago, armed with an appetite and a half, and a friend who brought along her blessed employee discount card which gave us a whopping 50 per cent discount off of everything we ordered. We put that baby to good use 'cos while those dishes may be Penang hawker-approved, their steep hotel prices weren't.


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Iapetus Spins and Tilts
Full-Res TIFF (618 x 605) (1.1 MB)
Click on image for Iapetus Spins and Tilts Movie
Saturn's two-faced moon tilts and rotates for Cassini in this mesmerizing movie sequence of images acquired during the spacecraft's close encounter with Iapetus on Nov. 12, 2005.
The encounter begins with Cassini about 850,000 kilometers (530,000 miles) from Iapetus. Cassini approached over the moon's northern hemisphere, allowing for excellent full views of a 575-kilometer-wide (360-mile) impact basin in northeastern Cassini Regio. Astronomer Giovanni Cassini discovered the light and dark faces of Iapetus' two hemispheres (among his other Saturn discoveries), and the dark region. The spacecraft also bears his name.
Also prominent in these images is a 380-kilometer-wide (235-mile) basin to the northwest of the larger basin, in the transition zone between Cassini Regio and a brighter region called Roncevaux Terra, with its 150-kilometer-wide (95-mile) crater Roland (at the top, with a prominent central peak).
The movie takes Cassini to its closest approach, at about 415,000 kilometers (260,000 miles) from Iapetus, and then looks back at the moon's receding crescent. The sequence ends with Cassini at a distance of about 460,000 kilometers (285,000 miles) from the moon.
Iapetus is 1,468 kilometers (912 miles) across.
Images taken using ultraviolet, green and infrared spectral filters with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera were combined to create false-color frames for this movie. The color seen here is similar to that produced in (red, green and blue) natural color views. Resolution in the original images taken at closest approach to Iapetus was about 3 kilometers (2 miles) per pixel. The color frames were resized to create the movie.
Target Iapetus Saturn
Target Type Satellite Planet
Extra Keywords Color, Crater, Infrared, Movie, Ultraviolet


According to a recent NICE customer survey, customer experience has overtaken price and product as the key brand differentiator for consumers.
However, gaining the skills and insights needed to achieve best in class customer experiences requires that you build analytics into your very nature.
Take a look at this solution brief to learn how analyzing and correlating all levels of customer engagement can add value and context to each interaction, allowing for a granular understanding of every element of the journey.


text:
FOX 5 Weather App
Pocono Web Cameras
Cooking With Como
Lights! Camera! McCarthy!
Zip Trip
Podcasts & Shows
FOX 5's Like It Or Not
Good Day DC
The Final 5
The Paolini Perspective
Escaped psychiatric hospital patient who fled Hawaii captured in California
SAN JOSE, Calif. (KTVU) - Three days after an "extremely dangerous man" escaped from a Hawaii state hospital, Honolulu police were told Wednesday that 59-year-old psychiatric patient was captured in California.
Randall Saito was taken into custody in San Joaquin County, after a taxi driver noticed him.
He flew from Oahu to Maui and then to California on Tuesday.
Honolulu police say Saito escaped from the hospital around 9 a.m. Sunday and was somehow able to fly from Oahu to Maui to San Jose. They released photos of him, including one taken from inside the cab that picked him up from the hospital as he made his escape.
Authorities describe Saito as extremely dangerous, yet he was missing for nearly 10 hours before hospital officials notified authorities.
"They're not just locked up. subjected to treatment and given medication. They're given opportunities to explore individual interests and activities," says Dr. Mark Fridovich with the Adult Mental Health Division, Department of Health. It's the agency that oversees the hospital.
Saitorwas committed into the hospital in 1981 after he was acquitted of murdering a woman by reason of insanity. The victim was stabbed and shot.
"Once he committed a crime, we feel that he always has it in him to commit the crime or another crime similar to that. It never leaves a person as far as we're concerned," says Wayne Tashima, Deputy Prosecutor.
Law enforcement describes Saito a sexual sadist and a necrophiliac. "The type of crime he committed was really heinous, the circumstances surrounding the murder, so that's our main concern," says Tashima.
There are questions about how Saito managed to escape the hospital, get into a cab, and pass TSA before boarding two flights. Hospital officials were asked if someone on the inside helped him.
"We cannot speculate. That's one of the reasons why it's very important that we focus on apprehension and criminal investigation. That's one of the possible reason," says Dr. Fridovich.
Police say anyone who sees Saito should not approach him and contact law enforcement.
KTVU has unconfirmed information that Saito has family in Stockton and that may be why he headed to California.
Arlington neighborhood on edge after 2020's first homicide
DC police say suspect inappropriately touched a child in Northwest
Fairfax County police looking for man who tried to abduct an elementary school student
Fairfax County private music teacher accused of sex crimes involving a student
Former NBA player caught on camera being beaten in DC-area street, TMZ reports
Dispatch audio: Home where Arlington man murdered smelled of bleach
Republican state delegate Dave LaRock wants to split up Virginia
Prince George's County police locate 7-year-old boy who was reported missing


text:
JavaScript vs. Python- Here's All That You Need to Know
By Akansha Pandey 253 views September 23, 2020 4 Mins Read
Before you write your first line of code, it is imperative to choose the right programming language. With unnumbered programming languages already competing in the market, it becomes resilient to go for the apt one.
Two such languages that have their significance are Python and JavaScript. All programming languages usually work on the same principle, however, the major differences encounter in syntax and use of cases.
For complex programming, Python is equipped with a lot many tools in its arsenal, whereas, JavaScript is the key to success for a mobile app development company or company. Let us discuss the two separately and then compare them.
What is JavaScript?
After originally emerging as a front-end language, JavaScript is a client-side scripting language that helps in making static websites interactive. Since JavaScript is a scripting language, there is no need for an individual compilation step.
It is one of the go-to scripting languages in browsers as they have built-in engines that can understand and accordingly execute JavaScript commands. This gives the leverage to include JavaScript codes directly into your HTML documents, and there is no need for any additional compilers.
One of the prime examples of JavaScript is the Phonegap app development company. This open-source framework from Adobe helps you build amazing mobile apps using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Phonegap has removed the complexity of writing an app in multiple languages like Java and Objective C and focused on scripting style from JavaScript.
Python is basically a high-level, object-oriented, functional, imperative, and procedural programming language. It comprises huge built-in modules and packages, which allow programmers to use different programming styles to solve complex problems.
It works on building objects, unlike JavaScript which provides instructions that the browser executes. Creating objects, assigning attributes to them, and set them to perform actions is what they bound a Python developer to do. With its countless features, Python is considered as one of the most used programming languages globally.
Python and JavaScript, who stands where in 2020?
In a developer survey of 2020, Python has seen a significant rise in their rankings, but JavaScript still leads the way for the most popular programming languages followed by the likes of HTML/CSS, SQL, Python, and Java making it to the top 5.
Python vs Java, which language offers what?
Below is a comparison that will give an unobstructed view of which language offers what.
JavaScript uses a prototype-based inheritance model Python uses a class-based inheritance model
Mobile development compatibility
Apart from front-end and back-end, JS is also a good option for mobile app development Python can't be used for mobile app development.
The average salary of JS developers is $114,856 per annum in the US. The average salary of a python developer in the US is $120,255 per annum.
Apart from the ones mentioned above, there are a lot many differences the two languages possess.
JavaScript vs Python, which language is easy to learn?
For programmers, this question doesn't reap any challenge whatsoever. However, if you are new to programming languages and do not carry any coding experience, it would be a relatively easy task to go for a language that has a user-friendly interface and the learning span is not too big.
Therefore, when it comes to ease of learning, Python could be a better option as it's user-friendly and uses simpler variables and functions. So, for those who want to learn Python from scratch, hire a mobile developer to aid you.
One cannot distinguish between these two languages as both carry their significance. Python edges over their counterparts when it comes to ease of learning and extensive use in complex programming like Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning.
On the other hand, if one talks about mobile app development and web app development, JavaScript holds the foundation. All in all, it is completely your call to learn whichever language you want to learn, but opting for one and dropping another won't harm you. So make a decision on your own and get to know which one suits your style of mind better.
android app developmentmobile app developmentPhoneGap App Development
Author Akansha Pandey
Akanksha- Revenue Generation and Sales /App promotion Being in the position of VP in Sales at Fluper, Ms. Akansha Pandey has already worked with several clients internationally. She has her core expertise in Revenue Generation, Sales, and App Promotion. Having previous years of experience, Ms. Akansha has accomplished itself as an effective communicator and resilient motivator with a dedication for persistent innovation and improvement.
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STOCK UP ON FALL CLOTHES AND UNIFORMS! Primary is doubling the amount it gives back to our school for ONE WEEK! All purchases made from October 1-8 will result in a 20% earn back for our PTO. Shop at www.primary.com/school/ludlow to earn money for our school. Plus new customers get 20% off first order with code: LUDLOW.
ORDER DINNER FROM GALLEY! The Galley Gives Back Promotion Week is back! Order dinner between October 7-12. Check out the menus at www.Galleyfoods.com. Remember to enter #Ludlow at checkout and 20% of all sales will be donated to our PTO. Learn more about Galley Gives Back.
We raised over $2,500 from shopping promotions last school year. Learn more about all the shopping rewards programs that earn money for our PTO.


Call us to set your obligation free consultation with no less than Dr. Eric Yapjuangco himself.
Watch these amazing transformations – before and after shots of people who went through a nose lift (rhinoplasty + alarplasty). Dr. Eric Yapjuangco, one of the best plastic and cosmetic surgeon of the Philippines will personally attend to you and will personally do the operations. The more popular cosmetic and plastic surgery clinics use the name of famous surgeons but a different surgeon performs the surgery. At The Icon Clinic, you can be sure that Dr. Eric Yapjuangco will perform the procedure to you.
Feel free to browse our website for more videos of before and after shots of our satisfied previous clients. If there's one thing great about the work of Dr. Yapjuangco, it's his skill to harmonize your new no to the other features of your face. Just take a look at the video and see for yourself.


Companies are made to not only outsource the talented work of the employees, but also for providing the desired knowledge for the students who opt for it.
Br Brains is the best training center in Jaipur for providing training for all programming languages.
Best training center in Jaipur for all programming languages, call here to apply - +91-7821055532.


Cobb-based Delta Community Credit Union announced that the chairman of its Board of Directors, Jim Diffley, will be honored by The Georgia Credit Union League with the Moses C. Davis Lifetime Achievement Award.
Diffley has been actively involved with the credit union movement throughout his life. As an employee of Delta Air Lines, he joined Delta Community's Credit Committee in 1964, was elected to its Board of Directors in 1983 and became chairman in 1986. Nationally, he has participated regularly in the Credit Union National Association Governmental Affairs Conference and other top industry events. In 2007 he was honored by the Georgia League as a Moses C. Davis Volunteer of the Year.


Uploaded By: Pros4- 1Source	. Added on:	09 November 2018.
Learn how to tie up your own Herbie Rig! Professional Muskie angler Steve Herbeck talks with Pros4-1Source's Steve Worrall about the Herbie Rig. Steve Herbeck has perfected this sucker rig over the years and was willing to show us exactly how he makes them. This is one of a series of videos about sucker fishing for muskies that Steve Will be doing over the next year.


The surfaces for exciting games.
When selecting the floor surfaces for leisure and professional sports facilities, and for the care sector, WALO prioritises safety, comfort and low maintenance costs.
WALO will help you choose the best possible surface for your outdoor sports and leisure facilities. Our fields of expertise range from consultancy through to the installation and maintenance of flooring solutions. The absence of seams in soft surfaces reduces the risk of injury on playgrounds and in a healthcare environment.
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Description: This apartment features a electric kettle, kitchenware and washing machine.
Apartment at Sayat-Nova street is a self-catering accommodation located in Yerevan. Free WiFi access is available.
Accommodation will provide you with a TV, air conditioning and a balcony. There is a full kitchen with an oven and a refrigerator. Featuring a shower, private bathrooms also come with a bath or shower and a hairdryer. You can enjoy city view.
Vagharshapat city centre is 26 km away, while Zvartnots International Airport is 12 km from this property. The property offers free parking.
Please note that the hotel will contact you directly regarding the prepayment of your reservation. Prepayment should be made within 5 days after booking. The hotel reserves the right to cancel your reservation in case the deposit has not been transferred. Please inform Apartment at Sayat-Nova Street in advance of your expected arrival time. You can use the Special Requests box when booking, or contact the property directly with the contact details provided in your confirmation.
This page presents full information about the hotel Apartment at Sayat-Nova Street located in Yerevan: pictures of rooms, rates, amenities, etc. On the website you can choose and book any room of Apartment at Sayat-Nova Street without a fee.


text:
Q: Error: Failed to connect to remote target after update to 4.0.0.2 I updated my gear sport several days ago. After updating to 4.0.0.2, I cannot connect to my watch anymore. Here is my command:
./sdb connect [IP]

It aways said:
error: failed to connect to remote target [IP]

How can I solve this issue?

A: On the device, go to Settings -> About watch -> Software, from there, tap repeatedly on Software version until Developer Mode is enabled. Then restart your device, and try to connect.

A: I can confirm the successful steps, it has to be ALL of those steps, and then restart the watch.
Bluetooth: Off, Wifi: On, Debugging: On, Developer Mode: On. Then restart watch.
It will connect after ALL of those settings are in those EXACT states.
No other combination worked, not even after a watch restart, additionally my pc is connect to the router via cat5 cable, but the watch is connected over wifi.
Windows 10, Tizen Studio 3.6 (2019-11-22), Galaxy Watch Active 2 (Tizen 4.0.0.7, One UI 1.5)

A: Here is the solution:
turn off BT
Restart Watch (OFF and ON)
Connect via Wifi with device manager.

A: I was having the same issue. I finally got my galaxy watch connected. Here are the config/status my watch had:
Developer mode:on,
Bluetooth:off,
Debugging:on,
Wifi:connected to my phone's AP,
laptop:connected to my phone's AP
After connecting both devices to the same AP, i was able to find and connect to my galaxy watch on tizen studio. So, connecting with a phone's AP worked for me.

A: You need to accept debugging rha fingerprint from your watch. That is, you need to check and press the tick on the watch.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Another half-baked product. But that applies to every Linux desktop environment out there… I kinda lost hope a few years back. Linux Desktop and its army of amateur devs/designers is what forced me to switch to f*ing WIndows, after 15 years of let downs.
The problem is the mentality of many people in the Linux world. Too much EGO and IDEOLOGY. Obviously too many people try to do "their own thing". If then someone comes like Canonical trying to improve the desktop in a manner where many developers could live with – if they would settle with it – that is also not OK. With this "against anything what is not mine" mentality the Linux desktop has no chance.
Currently on disrowatch there are 300 Linux distros mainly based on Debian, most of them they have a little bit it of this and a little bit of that. One desktop based on Gnome has this and the other desktop based also on Gnome has that. Off course at the end with this mentality only the very brave, romantic, and the ones they have courage and time will stay with Linux, the rest they will continue with the commercial version of Linux the Android!
Hm, nice and detailed review. Seems Lxqt has some more work to be done but i think it's going to end up fine. But for review you should use the manjaro community edition which is ready to deploy.
I use Lxqt on Manjaro, I can not see this errors, maybe because, in Manjaro, you can install only Lxqt and no Lxde.
Ubuntu has a release whitout any desktop. You try this version and install Lxqt?


Folding suitcase rack in gold finish with straps in black nylon. The structure in round tubing and the elegant design make this model the most classical hotel suitcase rack.
Folding suitcase rack in chromed metal with straps in black nylon. The structure in round tubing and the elegant design make this model the most classical hotel suitcase rack. The raised back allows more support for the suitcase.