text:
NPR Host Demands That Assange Do Something Its Own Reporters Are Told Never to Do
http://readersupportednews.org/news-section2/318-66/38651-npr-host-demands-that-assange-do-something-its-own-reporters-are-told-never-to-do
Julian Assange. (photo: Peter Macdiarmid/Getty)
By Naomi LaChance, The Intercept
In a ten-minute interview aired Wednesday morning, NPR's David Greene asked Wikileaks founder Julian Assange five times to reveal the sources of the leaked information he has published on the internet.
A major tenet of American journalism is that reporters protect their sources. Wikileaks is certainly not a traditional news organization, but Greene's persistent attempts to get Assange to violate confidentiality was alarming, especially considering that there has been no challenge to the authenticity of the material in question.
In the interview, conducted over Skype, Greene pressed Assange to verify the theory that the 20,000 leaked emails from the Democratic National Committee that Wikileaks published came from Russia.
"Did those hacks that Wikileaks released, did those emails come from Russia?" Greene asked.
"Well we don't comment as to our sources," Assange replied. He remains confined in the Ecuadorian embassy in London where he has lived since 2012, despite a U.N. panel's ruling that he has been "arbitrarily detained."
Greene brought it up again: "Every cyber expert who's looked at this has said it's Russia. Are you telling me that that information did not come to you from Russia?"
Greene was exaggerating: Cybersecurity consultant Matt Tait recently told Politifact that "the consensus that Russia hacked the DNC is at this point very strong, albeit not unanimous."
Assange replied to Greene: "No cyber expert has said that our emails that we have published have come from Russia, what they have said is that they have looked at some of the hacking of the DNC over the last two years and said that the malware in that hacking appeared to be Russian."
Greene asked again: "Do you know where these emails came from?"
Assange replied: "Yes, I know where they came from. They came from the DNC."
NPR's own ethics handbook urges journalists to respect and protect sources: "As an ethical matter, we would not want to reveal the identity of an anonymous source unless that person has consented to the disclosure. That's why we take the granting of anonymity seriously."
NPR's coverage of James Risen, the New York Times reporter who was pressured by the government to reveal his sources, was more respectful of the obligation to keep promises. Even Terry Gross, the notoriously tough interviewer who hosts NPR member station WHYY's Fresh Air, did not ask Risen to reveal his sources.
Mark Memmott, NPR supervising editor for standards and practices, told The Intercept in an email: "It's our job to ask people — experts, politicians, CEOs and even other journalists — where they're getting their information. We should always be checking the credibility of our sources, no matter who they are. Mr. Assange was free to answer or not."
Later in the Assange interview, Greene asked again: "Do you know the source that provided them to you?"
Assange replied: "We don't comment on sourcing, because it makes it easier for any investigation."
Greene began to ask again: "You brought up this question of whether there's an argument that you're a threat to national security. There are cyber security experts who say that someone in Russia, perhaps the Russian government, was responsible for getting this information to you. If you indeed –"
But Assange interrupted: "No there aren't," he said. "They're speaking about the hacks of the DNC, not our publications. There's a difference."
Greene again: "If the United States government thought that you might have knowledge that a foreign government hacked into a political institution in the United States" — here Assange sighed — "during a presidential election …" Assange cut in: "They haven't asked."
Greene also referred to Wikileaks' "alleged sources in Russia" and "actual sources in Russia."
Finally, Greene asked why Wikileaks is offering a $20,000 reward for information about the death of Seth Rich, a Democratic National Committee staffer who was shot and killed on July 10 in Washington, D.C.
"Any allegation that someone has been murdered because they are a Wikileaks source, even if it only has a small probability of it being true, is very concerning to us," Assange said. "We have a perfect record in protecting the identity of our sources and we want to establish quickly exactly what the circumstances were in Seth Rich's killing."
"Was he a source of yours?" Greene asked.
Assange replied: "We don't disclose sources, even dead sources."
C 2015 Reader Supported News
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text:
Megastar's Next Launch Details | Uyyalavada Narasimha Reddy News Megastar's Next Launch Details: Uyyalavada Narasimha Reddy motion poster will be launched tomorrow in Hyderabad by SS Rajamouli.
http://www.miwishesh.com/ 21 Aug, 2017 21 Aug, 2017
Megastar's Next Launch Details
Megastar's Next Launch DetailsTollywood News
Megastar Chiranjeevi made a comeback to mainstream cinema early this year with Khaidi No 150. The movie directed by VV Vinayak ended up as a massive hit after which the actor turned quite cautious about his next projects. Kajal played the female lead and Ramcharan turned producer with Khaidi No 150. Chiranjeevi was not in a mood to hurry and he has been working on his next project, which has been titled Uyyalavada Narasimha Reddy. The movie has been under pre-production from the past few months.
Super talented director Surendar Reddy has been asked to direct the movie which has been launched officially with a pooja ceremony. A grand motion poster launch has been planned on August 22nd in Hyderabad on the eve of Megastar's birthday. The event will take place tomorrow at 11.30 AM and Maverick director SS Rajamouli will release the motion poster of the movie in the grand event. Top Tollywood celebrities have been invited for the motion poster launch and Ramcharan is personally busy with the formalities. Megastar Chiranjeevi will stay away from the event and will be spending time with his family on his birthday away from the city.
The regular shoot of Uyyalavada Narasimha Reddy will start from September and the movie will be shot in multiple languages. Nayanthara is expected to play the female lead and Big B Amitabh Bachchan will be seen essaying a crucial role. The list of the cast, crew is expected to be out tomorrow and AR Rahman is composing the music. Ramcharan will produce Uyyalavada Narasimha Reddy on Konidela Production Company banner. Uyyalavada Narasimha Reddy will release in all the Indian languages which will release during the second half of next year. Megastar Chiranjeevi will be seen in a completely new look and he is currently preparing for the movie. Uyyalavada Narasimha Reddy is the life story of a Telugu freedom fighter who played a crucial role in bringing Independence to the country.
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


CANBERRA (Reuters Life!) - Writer Charles Dickens is lauded for chronicling the way of life in Victorian England in his novels but his treatment of his own wife was also indicative of society in those days, according to a new novel.
British social worker and writer Gaynor Arnold said she is one of many people worldwide with a keen interest in the life and works of the renowned author who lived from 1812 to 1870, but she was also always intrigued by the psychology of Dickens and his relationship with his wife.
A penniless Dickens married Catherine Hogarth in 1836 and she bore him 10 children before he threw her out in 1858, banishing her from her children, as he took up with another woman.
A celebrity of that era, he even put an announcement in the newspaper to address rumors, asking people to respect "the sacredly private nature" of his arrangement.
"There was a huge amount written about Dickens, and he wrote about his own situation, too, but in a partisan fashion and what seemed to me to be missing was what his wife thought about the situation," Arnold told Reuters in a telephone interview.
Arnold's novel, released in the Britain last year but now getting a wider international run due to its success, starts on the day of writer Alfred Gibson's funeral.
His estranged widow, Dorothea Gibson, has not been invited and his will favors his mistress and children.
Dorothea begins to reflect on her years with her husband, revisiting their courtship and early, happy days before the birth of too many children, his fame, and the tragic events that slowly separated them.
After spending four years writing about Dickens and his wife, Arnold said she emerged with respect for both of them, realizing the expectations that were placed on them in that era.
"I do admire Dickens hugely and like him despite of it. I wanted to get across the contradictions and complexities of the man. He had this tremendous kindness and humor and he was a great father and attentive husband at first," she said.
Arnold acknowledges the wife in her novel is pure fiction.
"She is very made up because she is such a sketch in all that we know about her. She seemed to be very nice and very ordinary and just had the misfortune to be married to an extraordinary man," she said.


text:
Q: Have to manually start gmd3 after installing and uninstalling KDE Plasma Some months ago I installed KDE Plasma, didn't like it much and uninstalled it again. Now every time I start my laptop, a black screen comes up and asks for login name and password. After that I have to use systemctl start gdm3 to start the GUI.
How can I make it start automatically as it used to?

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Best Actor - The actor that has impressed you the most in the past year.
Best Actress - The actress that has impressed you the most in the past year.
Best Villain - The evil bad guy or gal that you loved to hate.
Theme Tune - Any film or television theme/title music that you have enjoyed.
Cancelled Before its Time - A show that you feel was cut short in its prime in the past year.


text:
Griefwords
Norman Sosebee
Preplan Preplan
Who We Are Who We Are
George "Norman" Sosebee was born in Cornelia, Georgia. He moved to Canton in May of 1940, at the age of 14, when his parents opened Sosebee Funeral Home (originally located at 221 Elizabeth Street). Norman graduated from Canton High School in 1944 and entered into military service, serving as an Army Infantryman in Europe during World War II. Upon his return from Occupied Europe, Norman attended classes at North Georgia College. In 1948 he married Miss Frances Davis. Norman went on to attend and then graduate from Eckels College of Mortuary Science, thus enabling him to return to Sosebee Funeral Home to serve the community as a Licensed Funeral Director and Embalmer. In the subsequent years, Norman would operate the Emergency Ambulance Service for Cherokee County and also be elected as Cherokee County Coroner (he would serve in this position for 28 years). Norman is an avid aviation enthusiast, having served as the former secretary of the Cherokee County Airport Authority for over 30 years. In 1972, Norman purchased the funeral home from his father and then, in 1977, he purchased the former Baker and Son Funeral Home at 191 Jarvis Street. He relocated Sosebee Funeral Home to this location - making many building additions and improvements throughout the years. Norman is a collector of World War II memorabilia and historical artifacts of Cherokee County, much of which is proudly displayed throughout the lounge area at Sosebee Funeral Home.
Norman Sosebee has dedicated his entire life to serving others, oftentimes sacrificing his personal time with family and friends in order to console and assist bereaving families. His life is an outstanding example for all of those who have had the honor of working with him throughout the years. In the spring of 2009 Norman sold Sosebee Funeral Home to Casey Guyton, a longtime employee and friend. His generosity and ability to help people smile and feel welcomed will forever be appreciated by the countless lives he has touched.
We dedicate this page in honor of Mr. Norman Sosebee; in gratitude for the many years of service he has provided to our community. THANK YOU CHIEF!
Sosebee Funeral Home
191 Jarvis Street
Sosebee Funeral Home | (770) 479-2131
191 Jarvis Street, Canton, GA 30114
Mailing Address: PO Box 4728, Canton, GA 30114
© Sosebee Funeral Home
Crafted with care by Frazer Consultants & TA


text:
from class_activation_map import *
from lenet_slim import le_net
from utils import *

batch_size = 256
dataset_percentage = 1.0 # 1.0 takes 100k rows. 0.1 takes 10k rows.

if __name__ == '__main__':
    [images_train, labels_train], [images_test, labels_test] = read_dataset(dataset_percentage)
    print('Finished reading the dataset...')

    im_width = images_train.shape[1]
    im_height = images_train.shape[1]
    assert im_height == im_width

    x = tf.placeholder(tf.float32, (None, im_width, im_width, 3))
    y, top_conv = le_net(images=x, num_classes=10)
    class_activation_map = get_class_map(0, top_conv, im_width)

    y_ = tf.placeholder(tf.int64, [None])
    cross_entropy = tf.reduce_mean(tf.nn.sparse_softmax_cross_entropy_with_logits(y, y_))

    train_step = tf.train.GradientDescentOptimizer(0.5).minimize(cross_entropy)

    init = tf.initialize_all_variables()

    correct_prediction = tf.equal(tf.argmax(y, 1), y_)
    accuracy = tf.reduce_mean(tf.cast(correct_prediction, tf.float32))

    saver = tf.train.Saver(tf.all_variables(), max_to_keep=10)

    sess = tf.Session()
    sess.run(init)
    step_start = restore(sess, saver)
    print('Finished initializing the model...')

    for i in range(step_start, 100000):
        print(i)
        batch_xs, batch_ys, _ = next_batch(images_train, labels_train, i, batch_size)
        sess.run(train_step, feed_dict={x: batch_xs, y_: batch_ys})
        if i % 100 == 0:
            save(sess, saver, i)
            accuracy_list = []
            j = 0
            while True:
                batch_xt, batch_yt, reset = next_batch(images_test, labels_test, j, batch_size, debug=False)
                if reset:
                    break
                accuracy_list.append(sess.run(accuracy, feed_dict={x: batch_xt, y_: batch_yt}))
                j += 1
            print('steps =', i * batch_size, 'mean accuracy =', np.mean(accuracy_list))

            inspect_class_activation_map(sess, class_activation_map, top_conv, images_test,
                                         labels_test, i, 50, x, y_, y)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


The National WWI Museum and Memorial has rooms perfect for retreats and off-site workshops that allow groups of up to 30 participants the opportunity for team building in a one-of-a-kind setting.
Catering is available through the Over There Café and can be provided with a one business week advance notice.
Participants receive the group discount for tours, and tour guides are complimentary, based on availability, for 15 or more guests.
The classroom, with a dry erase board and projector/screen, is perfect for group retreats, small meetings or a break out room. The room can be set up in meeting or classroom style. Food for your meeting in the classroom or conference room must be ordered from the Museum's Over There Café.
The conference room features a handsome table that will accommodate your meeting needs. This room is ideal for board meetings, planning sessions or a break out room, and it includes a moveable presentation screen and dimmer light switches. Food for your meeting in the classroom or conference room must be ordered from the Museum's Over There Café.
Experience the pageantry of World War I – with music of the era, flags overhead and a poppy mural – in the Over There Café. It is the perfect space for morning meetings and intimate dinners. The Café is equipped with a microphone and lectern for your event needs.


The airline industry has really been under fire. My 7-year old commented that the recent misstep has been the "fifth bad story" that he's seen recently. This latest airline nightmare had Delta kick a family off their flight because they wouldn't give up the seat their infant was using.
Here's the thing: They were actually right. But then they turned into being completely wrong.
Delta had overbooked a flight, which seems to be the source of so many problems. In looking things over, they found that one ticketed passenger wasn't on the plane. As it turns out, they had booked another ticket on another flight and already left.
(with their carrier). Now, children that young are allowed to sit on parents laps, which I'm guessing is what they did on the way down.
This was a flight back from Hawaii. I was on one of those once, and they're long. I know that I couldn't take a child on my lap for that long. I'm sure that the parents learned that a wiggly kid on a long flight is no fun for anyone.
So, they figured that they'd use the seat that they'd originally purchased for their oldest child. Delta told them they'd have to give the seat up, and the argument started. And of course it's all caught on camera. Everything is these days on a plane, I guess.
While the family had a point in that they paid for the seat, the airline was technically correct in trying to reclaim the seat. The ticket was purchased under the older child's name. That's who was supposed to sit in the seat. If the family planned on changing that, they needed to change the reservation. They didn't do that.
So the airline was technically in their rights to claim that seat back. The entire reason they do overboarding is understanding that some people will not get on the plane. The person whose name was on the ticket did not get on the plane.
However, Delta took the situation and made it completely wrong, as anyone who has seen the video already knows.
They got angry with the family while on camera. These days with the animosity against the airlines, that's just crazy to do. It's like pouring gas on a fire.
They doubled down by telling the family that the parents could go to jail. And if that isn't bad enough, Delta told the parents that their kids could be placed into foster care.
Yeah, I don't care how right they were about the ticket reservations, but they blew it. In the court of public opinion, an airline telling parents that they could go to jail and lose their kids over a plane seat is an automatic fail.
Here's the part that killed me. They completely blew the goodwill that they'd earned just a few weeks back. See, after the incident a few weeks back where a doctor was dragged kicking and screaming off a United flight, Delta came out huge winners. They announced that they'd pay up to $10,000 to those bumped, way above the regulated maxiumum. This was a huge PR win.
And they blew it, in spectacular fashion.
The airline industry is in a bad place right now. It amazes me that they continue to shoot themselves in the foot over and over again. Every time one of these incidents happen, you have people say "I'll never fly <airline name> again." Assuming that people stick to their guns, there's going to be a point where people are going to run out of airlines to boycott.
The airlines better change or the road trip will be back in vogue!
Readers, what do you think about the airline PR nightmare? Will it blow over or will they make actual changes to curb the tide of negative publicity? Let me know what you think in the comments below. Thanks for reading.
"Spectacular" is right. It's not enough to be right in the first place, you have to stay right in how you handle an uncomfortable situation. There are no winners when both sides become antagonistic – and telling parents their kids will go to foster care? Over a seat on the plane they had paid for, though they should have changed the seat to their infant's name? The airline took a case of poor judgment and blew it out of the water.
I don't believe the customer is always right but I also think there are so many ways the airline could have handled this better.
I don't know if you saw this but Southwest recently announced that they would be doing away with overbooking flights, maybe they'll set an example for these other airlines. Southwest and Alaska have been my reliable airlines so far, my fingers are crossed that they stay as good as they have been for years.
I did see that. We just flew Southwest for the very first time last month and loved it. They're our new 'go to' airline.
I wonder if these issues will impact people's decisions on whether to fly Delta or not. If it doesn't impact their bottom line, chances are it will continue to be an issue. Being vocal on social media is fine (within reason I guess) but people need to "vote with their dollars" too.
I totally agree. The only problem, as I mentioned, is that every airline seems to be doing something to get them on the naughty list, so eventually people might run out of options and have to give up on their boycotts.
Yea, that's a pretty poor excuse for customer service. Even if they are technically in the right, they need a serious lesson in tact and common decency. Imagine the poor kids thinking their parents could actually go to jail. Ridiculous and unacceptable.
Oh wow I hadn't heard this story. Sheesh! Makes me glad I don't have any plans in the near term to fly anywhere. Traveling can be stressful enough by itself. Having to deal with airlines is becoming a constant problem on top of that. It's crazy too that pretty much anything gets caught on camera these days.
You really have to wonder how much of this stuff is 'normal' but now it's getting attention because more people have cameras and are starting to use them at the first sign of a situation.


So think this through with me. If Jesus is who he said he is, then who on earth is more important? He is the Creator of the universe. He's the Creator of the 100 trillion cells that make up my body. He's smarter than I am. He's smarter than anyone–ever. He's God. Why wouldn't I want to hang on his every word? I mean really, whose words are more important?


People International was established in 1979 and since then has been researching the state of the church in Central Asia and making the needs of the Central Asian people known to Christians in other parts of the world.
Since 1980, People International has been sending in short-term teams and placing workers long-term on the field to live and work amongst the local people.
People International has a two-fold approach.
We research Central Asia and make the needs of the Central Asian people known to Christians in other parts of the world.
We send short-term teams and place workers long-term on the field in teams to live and work among the local people.
Our workers in Central Asia are involved in the work of church planting, friendship evangelism, business as ministry and scripture translation, as well as showing the love of Christ in practical ways through project work.
Our strategy is to place teams in Central Asia who initially focus on learning the language and the culture. These teams then model to new believers a strategy for the establishment of new churches. We read in the New Testament that churches were formed wherever people became Christians.
While our aim is to proclaim the gospel where it has not previously been preached, our task is not complete until we see believers established in local churches where they can be built up in the faith and made effective in the service of the Lord.
People International works among the Muslim people groups living in the area stretching across Central Asia from Turkey to the Xinjiang Province of North-West China. This area includes more than fourteen different countries and regions and more than twenty people groups with a population of just under half a billion people.
People International is in this region because of the great need. One of the spiritually darkest areas of the world today is Central Asia where there are over 450 million unreached Muslim peoples.


Made by Philips in Austria, the VHS 63 is externally identical in all but colour finish to the machines they made for Decca, GEC and others. All are based on the Philips VR6462. As a concession to B&O style, the buttons are covered by hinged plastic doors, and a sombre matt black fascia and dark grey top cover are fitted. Text copyright © Beocentral. Unauthorised reproduction prohibited.
Inside, differences are confined to the addition of an extra panel so that the machine can be controlled remotely using a Beovision Video Terminal, instead of the Philips RC5 system. Although fairly basic, the specification never the less includes automatic tracking (the first use of such a system on a B&O recorder since the demise of the V2000 range) and DNR audio noise reduction. No specific Beovision was recommended for use with the VHS 63, but the finish and specification partner it well with the grey version of the 5102/7102. Beocord VHS was replaced by Beocord VHS 82. Text copyright © Beocentral. Unauthorised reproduction prohibited.


I took lots of effort recently to shoehorn this site into WordPress, which replaces my old clumsy custom-built content management system. The contents of the site have been overhauled as well, most importantly the dictionary.
Another new thing I've included is a blog category on "Grammar musings". There I will put entries that are about my latest thoughts on Ayeri grammar. So far I've only posted them on the ZBB, but posting them here will hopefully give you some insight into the process that is behind conlanging. This category will probably not be updated too often, though, as the language is now in a rather stable state.


Is the Quran beyond Comprehension?
Do they not then meditate on the Quran? And if it were from any other than Allah, they would have found in it many a discrepancy [4:82]. And in many other similar verses 23:68, 38:29, and 47:24).
Why would God repeatedly ask the general masses to ponder or meditate on the Quran if it was beyond their comprehension?
Thus, God made His message in the Quran easy to understand potentially by all people. It is so that Man cannot put forward the excuse of not having the intellect (or capability) for understanding.
Then the way, He made easy for him, (80:20).
If the Quran was not easy for understanding/remembrance (Arabic: lilthithikkri) then the phrase: then is there any that will receive admonition? (Arabic: fahal min muddakirin) would be made redundant.
What does making the Quran easy to understand mean? It means that one can understand its meanings without lots of difficulties. So clarity is one component of the Quran - is easy to comprehend. Another is that, if one reads it with an open mind, one will understand not only the underlying meaning of what one is reading but also one will, with each cycle of contemplation, be open to new meanings that branch off from the original. And that is the beauty of contemplating the Quran: the more one contemplates its verses, the more one learns and appreciates finer nuances of meaning.
Allah has made the Quran easy to memorise. It should be duly noted that all of Books that Allah has revealed to the Prophets (peace be upon them) it is only the Quran that is memorised and stored, in its entirety, in the hearts of men.
God made it easy not only to understand the Quran but also to learn lessons from its teachings, which is not surprising because it contains in it all wisdom.
Alas, although there are still many memorisers of the Quran, where are those who contemplate, study and receive admonition from it?
The worst creatures in God's eyes are those who are [wilfully] deaf and dumb, who do not reason (Arabic: la yaAAqiloona) [8:22].


text:
Like All Of Nature, Climate Change Will Affect Louisville's Fall Foliage, Too
Before Louisville's sugar maples shed their leaves, the foliage does its best interpretation of a sunset, turning shades of tangerine and crimson.
These maples are among the city's most brilliant fall colors and also among the most common, but that will change as the planet continues to warm, said Margaret Carreiro, an associate professor at the University of Louisville who studies urban and suburban ecology.
The sugar maple is an example of a tree that will struggle to adapt to Kentucky's warming climate. Fully grown and landscaped trees will continue to survive, but seedlings and saplings will have a difficult time reaching maturity on their own.
Carreiro said by the end of the century, the sugar maple's brilliant fall colors will fade from the Commonwealth's forests. The trees will retreat north where the climate is more suitable.
That's because climate change will make Kentucky's weather more unpredictable, with more droughts and more severe storms.
"[Sugar maples] will be leaving the landscape by the end of the century, here in Kentucky for sure, no matter whether it is drought and warmth or warmth and the same rain," Carreiro said.
Other trees, like the American beech will see similar challenges. At the same time, plants that do well in warmer climates like the southern magnolia will become more common.
Not everything related to a changing climate is bad for trees though. Warming temperatures will extend growing seasons, giving trees more time to soak in the sunshine before dropping their leaves.
Arborist Chris O'Bryan says he likes to think of trees as having a rhythm. Each tree and species may choose to shed its leaves at its own moment. But it's all of these decisions together that make the symphony of fall foliage.
"So it's a part of this other rhythm that's happening now," O'Bryan said. "So we came out of the living rhythm and now we're moving into the decay rhythm."
For trees, the rhythm of autumn is driven by the seasons that come before it. During dry years, the leaves fall sooner, but this year's wet spring and late summer helped trees stay greener, longer.
As fall comes, trees begin to pull the remaining energy from their leaves to store in their roots until spring arrives. As the chlorophyll breaks down, the greens disappear — leaving behind the yellows and oranges.
But other pigments can appear too. Chemical changes in the leaves can induce vivid-lipstick reds and wine-soaked purples.
Look up close and you'll see the leaves are a little beat up. They've survived storms — as well as bugs and fungal infections that leave behind pockmarks and spots.
"I always like looking at the end of the year, because they always remind me of life in general, it can be harsh at times," O'Bryan said.
That's also one of the problems of an extended growing season, it's more time for pests to breed and attack trees. Bugs like spider mites are pervasive on spruce and hemlocks in urban forests, in part because of the warmer, drier conditions.
O'Bryan said that homeowners that want to help their own trees can start by keeping around some of those fallen leaves.
"Life always has death, they go hand in hand," he said. "I mean life is beautiful and wonderful and people don't talk about when it's the thing on the ground, decay, but that's super important too."
All those falling leaves break down and provide fertilizer for the soil. They also help insulate the soil, keeping in moisture. Homeowners that want to help their own trees should preserve a ring of fallen leaves around the base of the tree, about the size of the canopy.
News climate change
A new kind of climate refugee is emerging
Federal funding for natural disasters fails Ky. counties that need it most
Why Kentucky could feel more like Death Valley over the next 30 years
Ky. lawmakers vote to 'protect fossil fuel industry'


The Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act of 1996 ("HIPAA") is a federal program that requires that all medical records and other individually identifiable health information used or disclosed by us in any form, whether electronically, on paper or orally, are kept properly confidential. This Act gives you, the patient, significant new rights to understand and control how your health information is used. "HIPAA" provides penalties for covered entities that misuse personal health information.
Treatment. Your health information may be used by staff members or disclosed to other health care professionals for the purpose of evaluating your health, diagnosing medical conditions, and providing treatment. For example, results of tests and procedures will be available in your medical record to all health professionals who may provide treatment or who may be consulted by staff members.
Health care operations. Your health information may be used, as necessary, to support the day-to-day activities and management of StimSource, Inc. & Affiliates. For example, information on the services you received that may be used to support budgeting and financial reporting, and activities to evaluate and promote quality.
Business Associates. Your health information may be disclosed to our business associates, such as subcontractors, so they can perform the jobs we have asked them to do. To protect your health information, we require the business associate to appropriately safeguard your health information.
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Other uses and disclosures require your authorization. Disclosure of your health information or its use for any purpose other than those listed above requires your specific written authorization. If you change your mind after authorizing a use or disclosure of your information, you may submit a written revocation of the authorization. However, your decision to revoke the authorization will not affect or undo any use or disclosure of information that occurred before you notified us of your decision to revoke your authorization.
You may generally inspect or copy the protected health information that we maintain. As permitted by federal regulation, we require that requests to inspect or copy protected health information be submitted in writing. You may obtain a form to request access to your records by contacting Customer Service or the Privacy Officer. Your request will be reviewed and will generally be approved unless there are legal or medical reasons to deny the request.
You may also use the above name and address to contact us for further information concerning our privacy practices.


text:
Luleå ( , , locally ; ; ) is a city on the coast of northern Sweden, and the capital of Norrbotten County, the northernmost county in Sweden. Luleå has 48,728 inhabitants in its urban core (2018) and is the seat of Luleå Municipality (with a total population of 77,832). Luleå is Sweden's 25th largest city and Norrbotten County's largest city.

Luleå has the seventh biggest harbour in Sweden for shipping goods. It has a large steel industry and is a centre for extensive research. It is also home to the Swedish Air Force Wing Norrbotten Wing (F 21) based in Luleå Airport. Luleå University of Technology is one of Sweden's three technology universities (the other two are KTH and Chalmers) and the northernmost university in Sweden. The university has approximately 15,000 students.

History

The town's Royal charter was granted in 1621 by King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden. The original town was situated where Gammelstad (Old Town) is situated today. The town had to be moved in 1649 to the current site, due to the post-glacial rebound that had made the bay too shallow for ships to enter.

The Gammelstad Church Town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

In 1805, Luleå only had 947 inhabitants, but in 1865 Luleå succeeded Piteå as the county town in Norrbotten county and now had around 1400 residents. In the 1860s the industries also started taking root in the city.

The town has been plagued by fires in 1653, 1657 and in 1887, and
the fire in 1887 was a devastating fire that destroyed most of the town, sparing only a few buildings. The Neo-Gothic Cathedral (originally the Oscar Fredrik church), dedicated in 1893, standing at 67 meters (220 ft), is the tallest building in town.

Geography

Residential areas

 Bergviken
 Björkskatan
 Centrum
 Hertsön
 Kronan
 Lerbäcken
 Lulsundet
 Lövskatan
 Malmudden
 Mjölkudden
 Notviken
 Porsön
 Skurholmen
 Örnäset
 Östermalm

Localities

 Bergnäset
 Gammelstaden
 Karlsvik

Economy

Luleå's commerce and industry are a mix of industry, research, education, trade, and services.

Major employers in the city are the SSAB steelworks and Luleå University of Technology.  A Swedish Air Force wing, F 21 (or Norrbotten Air Force Wing), is stationed near Luleå at the neighbouring Luleå Airport.  Other major employers include Ferruform (a subsidiary of Scania AB) and Gestamp HardTech (acquired from SSAB 2005-01-01).

IT industry
The information technology industry in Luleå has about 2000 employees (2008).

Luleå is the home of several major innovations and technological milestones.

 Broadcast radio: RDS, DAB, DARC (1992–1997)
 The Luleå algorithm for routing (1997)
 Living Labs: leading European service testbed with 6000 users (2001–)
 Marratech: pioneers in Internet-based E-meetings (1998–) – acquired by Google, releasing in November 2008 video-chat support in Gmail
 Arena project, IT in Sports: sensors, handheld wireless video (1999–2002)
 Estreet project: First large-scale mobile marketing experiment (2000)
 On 27 October 2011, Facebook announced it would locate its first data center outside of the United States in Luleå. The whole facility is made up by a set of three  buildings. The first building was to be operational in 2012. The establishment will help turn the Luleå region into a major node for European data traffic. The town's northern location and that it will become a hub for data traffic in Europe has generated a new epithet for the Luleå region – The Node Pole. The Node Pole region provides stable, low-cost electricity that is 100-percent derived from renewable sources. In addition, they cite the benefits of low cooling expenses, given that the region is one of the coolest in Sweden. Sweden's long political stability is cited as another long-term benefit of the Node Pole's location.

Facebook expands into Luleå

The new European computer centre in Luleå is Facebook's first investment outside of the US. Some of the reasons that Facebook choose Luleå were because of natural cooling due to the climate, cheap electricity, reliable electrical networks, and clean energy. The data centre is the largest in Europe, with  which is comparable to 11 football fields.

The computer center will process large amounts of data through thousands of computers working as one. The establishment of Facebook in Luleå has also led to other companies realizing the potential of establishing in Luleå. The positive effect has also been noticeable at the university where the applications rate has risen by 18 percent — Luleå Science Park has also had an increase of 25 percent of new established companies.

Climate
Luleå has a subarctic climate (Dfc), which borders on a humid continental climate (Dfb) with short, mild to warm summers and long, cold, snowy winters.

Due to the Gulf Stream, Luleå has a warmer climate than other cities on the same latitude and even some that are further south in Canada, Alaska, Northeast China and Siberia. During the summer in June and July the temperature in Luleå can some days rise to around . Summers are very bright, with marginal twilight being the only exception during the summer solstice.

Media
Newspapers include:
 Norrbottens-Kuriren
 Norrländska Socialdemokraten

Transportation

Public transport
Public transport in Luleå is operated by Luleå Lokaltrafik and consists of five main bus lines, an additional five bus lines, and direct connection bus traffic and night bus service. From Luleå Bus station, Länstrafiken i Norrbotten operates several regional bus lines within Norrbotten County.

Air

Luleå Airport (IATA: LLA, ICAO: ESPA), located 7 km (5 mi) south of the city centre, is the fifth largest airport in Sweden, with about 1.2 million yearly passengers. It is the largest airport in Norrland. The domestic route to Stockholm Arlanda Airport is the third busiest domestic route in Sweden with over 1 million passengers per year. Luleå Lokaltrafik operates connections to and from Luleå Airport via Line 4 and 104.

In total, there are seven scheduled destinations and about 15 additional charter destinations. The Stockholm Arlanda Airport route is operated by Scandinavian Airlines and Norwegian Air Shuttle and serves the vast majority of passengers at the airport with about 16 daily connections each way. Scandinavian Airlines also operates a direct connection to Göteborg Landvetter Airport.

Nextjet operates connections to and from Göteborg Landvetter Airport via Höga Kusten Airport, and their Tromsø Airport – Oulu Airport route lands at Luleå airport on some departures. Jonair offers connections to Pajala Airport.

Rail
Vy Tåg operates a night train services northbound for Kiruna and Narvik, and southbound for Stockholm. Norrtåg operates train services from Luleå to Umeå, Kiruna and Haparanda.

Shopping
The world's first indoor mall was opened in Luleå in 1955 (architect: Ralph Erskine) and was named Shopping. There are two other malls in Luleå: Strand and Smedjan. The main shopping streets in Luleå are Storgatan and Kungsgatan. A few kilometres outside Luleå there is a shopping centre called Storheden.

Culture
Luleå has a variety of cultural institutions, among them Norrbottensteatern; Norrbottens Museum; and , led by Tim Hagans. In January 2007 the Cultural House (Kulturens Hus) was opened. A library, concerts, and art exhibitions are all hosted here.

Luleå is also home to hardcore punk band Raised Fist, melodic death metal band The Duskfall, power metal band Machinae Supremacy and death 'n' roll band Helltrain.

One of the largest winter festivals in Luleå is the indoor Minus 30-festivalen, held at Kulturens hus (the House of Culture) annually on a Saturday in mid-March.

Luleå Hamnfestival (Luleå harbor festival) is a big summer event in the center of Luleå, mostly centered around the north harbor. The festival has been a recurring event each summer since 2013. Held in July, it is a free event not targeting a specific group. The festival is the new version of Luleåkalaset which was held each summer from 2002 to 2012, which itself replaced sjöslaget, the summer festival from 1988 to 2002.

Musikens makt (The power of music) is a smaller, free music festival that is held each summer in August at Gültzauudden since 2010.

Ice music is a new art form where professional musicians play on instruments made out of ice. The concerts are performed in a huge igloo and the instruments pulsate in all the colors of the rainbow.

Luleå is the base for the Norrbotten Band of the Home Guard Music which concists of voluntary musicians from Norrbotten County's Home Guard.

Sports
Luleå has many teams competing in a variety of sports.

Four teams in Luleå compete in the highest Swedish leagues: Luleå Basket (female basketball team, previously called Northland Basket); BC Luleå (male basketball team, previously named Plannja Basket and LF Basket Norrland); and Luleå Hockey/MSSK (Munksund-Skuthamns Sportklubb) (female ice hockey team) and Luleå Hockey (male ice hockey team).

Luleå Basket has won two Swedish championships (2014 and 2015), while BC Luleå has won eight Swedish championships (1997, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2007 and 2017). Luleå Hockey/MSSK female team won their first Swedish Championship in 2016 while the male Luleå Hockey team has won one Swedish Championship in 1996, the European Trophy in 2012 and the Champions Hockey League in 2015.

Football
 Bergnäsets AIK
 Ersnäs IF
 IFK Luleå
 Lira BK
 Luleå SK
 Notvikens IK

Ice hockey
 Luleå HF play in the Swedish Hockey League
 Luleå HF/MSSK play in the SDHL

Basketball
 BC Luleå, formerly LF Basket Norrbotten and Plannja, for men and Luleå Basket for women; Plannja has won Basketligan seven times, which is a record

Yukigassen
The Swedish Championship in Yukigassen is held in Luleå annually.

UNESCO World Heritage
 Gammelstad Church Town

Notable people

 Acting & Art
 Martin Ljung (1917–2010) a Swedish comedian, actor and singer
 Gösta Wallmark (1928–2017) a Swedish artist
 Lena Granhagen (born 1938) a Swedish actress and singer
 Bernt Ström (1940–2009) a Swedish actor
 Hans Ernback (1942–2013) a Swedish actor between 1966 and 1984
 Maud Adams (born 1945) Swedish actress, appeared in two James Bond films
 Fanny Gjörup (1961–2001) a Swedish child actress
 Mamma Andersson (born 1962) aka Karin Andersson, a Swedish artist of domestic interiors, lush landscapes and genre scenes
 Gry Forssell (born 1973) a Swedish TV host and radio talk-show host; brought up in Luleå

 Writing
 Nels F. S. Ferré (1908–1971) a theologian and writer on Christian theology
 Erik Lindegren (1910–1968) a Swedish author, poet, critical writer and member of the Swedish Academy
 Staffan Göthe (born 1944) a Swedish playwright, actor and director
 Katarina Kieri (born 1965) a Swedish writer

 Classical Music
 Ingvar Wixell (1931–2011) a Swedish baritone, active from 1955 to 2003
 Gunnar Wiklund (1935–1989) a Swedish singer
 Malin Gjörup (1964–2020) a Swedish actress, mezzo-soprano and producer at Gävle Symphony Orchestra
 Peter Mattei (born 1965) a Swedish operatic baritone

 Modern Music
 Gunnar Wiklund (1935–1989) a Swedish singer of Schlager music
 Emilia de Poret (born 1976) a Swedish singer, fashion designer and editor
 Zacke (born 1983) aka Zakarias Lekberg, rapper
 The Bear Quartet (formed 1989) a Swedish indie rock band
 Elizabeth and Victoria Lejonhjärta (born 1990) raised in Luleå, Swedish twin models, and writers; work with rapper Drake
 Him Kerosene (formed 1991) a Swedish alternative rock band
 Breach (active 1993–2002) a defunct Swedish post-hardcore band
 Raised Fist (formed in 1993) a Swedish hardcore punk band
 The Duskfall (formed in 1999) a Swedish melodic death metal band
 Machinae Supremacy (formed 2000) a Swedish modern heavy metal, power metal and alternative rock band
 Movits! (formed 2007) a Swedish swing and hip hop band

 Public Service
 Erik Benzelius the Elder (1632–1709) a Swedish theologian and Archbishop of Uppsala
 Anders Hackzell (1705–1757) the chief enforcement officer and cartographer for the Swedish crown.
 Paul Petter Waldenström (1838–1917) a Swedish theologian, leader of the free church
 Fritiof Enbom (1918–1974) a Swedish railway worker and convicted spy for the Soviet Union
 Marita Ulvskog (born 1951) a Swedish politician and Member of the European Parliament
 Jan Lexell (born 1958) a Swedish physician and academic, specialises in rehabilitation medicine and neurology
 Åsa Nyström (born 1960) a Swedish prelate and current bishop of the Diocese of Luleå
 Amanda Lind (born 1980) a Swedish politician, since 2019 the Culture minister and Democracy minister

 Business
 John W. Nordstrom (1871–1963) a Swedish American businessman, co-founded the chain store Nordstrom
 Stephan Gip (born 1936) a Swedish designer and interior designer
 Leif Östling (born 1945) CEO of Scania AB
 Adam Dunkels (born 1978) a Swedish computer scientist, programmer and entrepreneur

 Sport
 August Wikström (1874–1954) a Swedish sports shooter, competed in the 1912 Summer Olympics
 Robert Zander (1895–1966) a Swedish footballer, competed in the 1920 Summer Olympics
 Sigge Bergman (1905–2001) a Swedish sports executive, secretary general of the International Ski Federation 1961–1979
 Stig Lundholm (1917–2009) a Swedish chess master, won 1944 Swedish Chess Championship
 Sonja Edstrom (born 1930) a retired Swedish cross-country skier, competed at the 1952, 1956 and 1960 Olympics
 Runald Beckman (born 1951) a Swedish athlete, competed in the 1976 Summer Olympics and the 1980 Winter Olympics
 Lars Petrus (born 1960) an accomplished speedcuber
 Göran Titus (born 1967) a former Swedish freestyle swimmer, competed in the 1988 and 1992 Summer Olympics
 Magnus Ingesson (born 1971) a Swedish cross country skier, competed in the 2002 Winter Olympics
 Jonas Eriksson (born 1974) a former Swedish football referee, a full FIFA referee 2002–2018
 Sara Eriksson (born 1974) a retired amateur Swedish freestyle wrestler
 Peter Larsson (born 1978) a Swedish cross-country skier, competed at the 2006 Winter Olympics
 Per Ledin (born 1978) a Swedish professional ice hockey forward
 Niklas Bäckström (born 1989) semi-retired Swedish mixed martial arts fighter, competed in the UFC
 Anders Nilsson (born 1990) a Swedish professional ice hockey goaltender
 Alexander Majorov (born 1991) a Swedish figure skater, lives in Luleå
 Linus Werneman (born 1992), Swedish professional ice hockey player

Other
Märta Bucht (1882–1962), suffragist and peace activist

Panorama

See also
 Diocese of Luleå
 Luleå Cathedral
 North Sweden European Office

References

External links

 The official guide for the location Luleå

County seats in Sweden
Populated places in Luleå Municipality
Norrbotten
Coastal cities and towns in Sweden
Municipal seats of Norrbotten County
Swedish municipal seats
Cities in Norrbotten County

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Private powers increasingly legislate for themselves, and one could fear that the autonomy that they gain as a consequence might be misused. While the breadth of the production of private norms cannot be disputed, the goal pursued by private powers issuing and relying on those norms has not been clearly ascertained. This chapter argues that it should be. Private lawmaking is cause for concern essentially because most scholars have assumed that private powers do not only produce norms and rules of conduct, but also claim autonomy from nation states. Yet, the fact that private powers lay down rules does not mean that they claim, and even less have, complete autonomy from nation states. It could perfectly well be that the major part of private norm production takes place in a framework designed by nation states, which would thus grant limited, and certainly always controlled, autonomy to these powers.


THE COVERUP OF THE U.S.S. IOWA.
Although the Carrier Battle Group has drastically altered the doctrine of fleet operations in the modern age, four WW2 battleships which had been mothballed were given extensive modernization upgrades and returned to active duty during the Reagan years.
One of these ships was the U.S.S. Iowa.
The chief armament of the Battleships are her sixteen inch guns. Little changed from WW2 days, they are loaded by first ramming, with a pneumatic ram, a mission specific projectile into the bore followed by the propellent. The propellent is bundled in silk bags, with the number of bags determining the total charge in the gun (normally 6). The propellent is rammed in behind the projectile and the breach is closed.
Upon command to fire, the center gun on the number one turret fires, and radar tracks the projectile. A correction is computed and the remaining guns adjust themselves and fire.
On April 19th 1989 was 330 miles northeast of Puerto Rico on a training cruise. At 9:55 A.M. during the loading cycle, the center gun in the number 2 turret exploded with an open breach, sending a blast wave into the turret that killed 47 sailors.
The combination of a close friendship with one of the dead sailors, Clay Hartwig, plus some lead foil and a "Gung Ho" magazine led the Navy to accuse 21 year old Seaman Kendall Truitt (who was married) of having been one half of a failed homosexual love affair with Clay Hartwig, with his jilted lover then committing suicide in the number 2 turret.
The ferocity with which the Navy pursued this line of investigation made it apparent that there was another line of inquiry being hidden. Deliberate press leaks by the Iowa's Executive Officer to the Washington Post painted a picture of an unhappy gay sailor blowing himself and 46 of his fellow seamen into eternity. The story was then picked up by The New York Times and the Los Angeles Times. The Newport News Daily Press and Times Herald interviewed Truitt, promising him anonymity, then ran his name as page one news anyway.
Meanwhile, the Navy had discovered that the bags of propellent, dating from the Korean war, had been improperly stored for 5 months in temperatures exceeding 90 degrees, the point at which the propellent becomes unstable.
The Navy's investigation also showed that the freshman sailor operating the rammer had over-rammed the propellent, 5 bags instead of the expected 6, slamming it into the warhead.
In response to accusations that the propellent was unstable, the Navy decided on a demonstration, and built a "drop test" rig. This was a simulated 16 inch gun barrel, with a ram at the base, that was dropped onto a concrete block to simulate over-ramming. The intention was to drop test the configuration again and again until it was evident that the propellent inside was safe from accidental detonation from over-ramming. Exactly the opposite was proven. On being dropped, the device detonated. The Navy then destroyed the remainder of the Iowa's propellent store and established new rules for the storing of propellent.
Despite this and other facts, the Navy's official report, issued on Thursday, September 7, 1989, concluded that the disaster was caused by a "wrongful intentional act ... most probably committed" by Clay Hartwig.
This is the key point. Even with the correct cause of the explosion in hand, the Navy willfully and falsely accused Clay Hartwig of a deliberate crime, and destroyed Kendall Truitt's life and career as well.
Truitt's statement to Navy investigators have never been made public.
seeing inside the damaged gun turret.
of water, hydraulic fluid, blood, and body parts.
trips into the turret to find the bodies of his friends.
single-handedly responsible for averting a much greater catastrophe.
accident, the Navy acknowledged his heroic performance.
rumors regarding homosexuality and possible complicity in mass murder.
sealed off from the rest of the turret by explosive-proof walls.
saved their lives that morning.
only light. The room was filled with smoke and the strong odor of gas.
bodies of three men could be seen frozen upright holding a fire hose.
and returned to the magazines near the burning powder charges.
he was determined to stay at the scene and "help as much as possible."
are branded in his mind.
modest Truitt was a hero.
say a few words to the media. His wife Carole recalls the day vividly.
parents could collect on the premium.
the newly opened criminal investigation.
scene, they were convinced that they had seen two men embracing.
set the "homosexual lovers" theory in motion.
plunged ahead in its rush to find a culprit.
been found in his possession.
December 1988, Hartwig had a falling-out with his friend. The N.IS.
the case was starting to take shape.
turned around to establish him as a cold-hearted conniver.
pulled out bodies, I ID'd bodies, I made seven trips into the turret.
investigators then asked to search Truitt's house. Again he agreed.
they had done," Carole recalls. "1 cried for an hour after they left.
It was like I had been raped."
be homosexuals. That is just a big lie."
befriend Hartwig, and he told the other sailors to "knock it off."
even remember the last time they were in France, they were so trashed.
a bar and get drunk."
to be spending all of my free time now with Clay since I had Carole.
Within days of its commencement, the N.I.S. investigation was stymied.
tried the case in the national media. "Raw intelligence data,"
otherwise known as unsupported gossip, was leaked to the press.
the investigation as a suspect.
to extend their stay until everything "cooled down."
cleansing foil common to gunner's mates.
and Ted Bundy. I felt very helpless."
it was too late to help him. The damage was done.
they were going to put me in jail for something I didn't do."
good-bye to friends. "It was an emotional visit for me," Truitt says.
aluminum-covered barges was often 25 degrees hotter than outdoors.
bypassed the overcooked powder that found its way onto the Iowa.
center gun had been rammed in more than 22 inches farther than normal.
explosion, was the likely answer.
... most probably committed" by Clay Hartwig. Separate from the N.I.S.
been widely disseminated in the press sullying Truitt's reputation.
sealed barge vary, rendering only some of the charges dangerous.
for the primer and for hoisting powder.
court. Microscopic particles found in the gun were subjected to F.B.I.
particles belonged to a detonating device.
"little problem," or would he have sounded an emergency alert?
counter to suicide. The Navy ignored these findings.
of doubts about me, and none of it is true or fair."
the lives of other innocent young sailors."
Truitt was hailed as a hero.
The Gays and Lesbians Comment.
47 sailors in April 1989.
probably" intentionally caused by Hartwig.
absolutely no basis in fact."
coverage of issues that concern gays and lesbians.


text:
Q: Can jqBootstrapValidation.js validate selects (dropdown list)? I'm using the plugin jqBootstrapValidation.js to validate my contact form. I need to have a dropdown list where the visitor needs to select an option from the dropdown list. So if the visitor left the dropdown list in its default state, there needs to be a warning message asking the visitor to select an option.

My question is, can I use the jqBootstrapValidation.js to validate selects? Because I don't see selects under the validators in the documentation: https://reactiveraven.github.io/jqBootstrapValidation/
Or do I need to use the plugin jquery.validate.js? As in this asked question here (the last example with the JSFIDDLE): Bootstrap validator- dropdown list
If I do need to use jquery.validate.js, can I still keep all the codes relating to jqBootstrapValidation.js?
I'm a newbie at contact forms, js, php so I would like to keep everything as simple as possible. Thank you!

A: Yes, You can use the jqBootstrapValidation.js to validate selects, this is a way:
You need put value="" required  and $("input,select,textarea").jqBootstrapValidation({...
$("input,select,textarea").jqBootstrapValidation({...

<select id="mydropdown" name="mydropdown"
data-validation-required-message="This Is Required" required >
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text:
Q: How to make tkinter frame scrollable. I want to make a scrollable frame with various frame containing text I put the text inside a frame and make those frames scrollable inside the parent frame. I have done a lot of afforts but cannot achieve this the error says.
"AttributeError: 'Frame' object has no attribute 'yview'" Is there any way to resolve this?
from tkinter import *
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This is a great opportunity to grow corporate fundraising for a charity with an emotive cause and innovative plans for the future. They are looking for an experience corporate fundraising professional who has an excellent understanding of audiences, techniques and best practice. They are looking to see the drive and enthusiasm neccessary to maximise full potential from existing partners, and mostly supporting in securing new corporate partnerships for the charity.
Here's a chance to for you to join a fantastic corporate partnerships team, and also work alongside a very experienced and inspiring manager. You'll be supporting the Corporate Parntnerships Manager with ad hoc business development activity with current clients or accounts as appropriate, as well as line managing the New Business Manager - supporting their development and progress against their KPI's and targets.
The organisation have a flexible working policy, dogs in the office and a drinks trolley one Friday each month! If this role and organisation are ticking off all the boxes for oyu and you have the experience to do the role - apply now!


text:
William Schmidt Drops Out Of WGA West President Race, Throws His Support To Phyllis Nagy
By David Robb
David Robb
Labor Editor
'SNL' Pre-Filmed Segment Editors Authorize Strike; NBCU Reaches Out To Editors Guild For More Contract Talks
Michelle Buteau To Host 75th Annual Writers Guild Awards In New York
August 28, 2019 11:04pm
Courtesy photo/WGA
William Schmidt has dropped out of the race for president of the WGA West and is throwing his support to opposition candidate Phyllis Nagy. He made his announcement tonight at the guild's Candidates Night forum.
With Schmidt out of the running, the presidential race comes down to Nagy vs. incumbent David A. Goodman. Schmidt's name still will appear on the ballots, which go out to members Thursday, but he's urging his supporters to vote for Nagy. Ballots will be counted on September 16.
Schmidt, a longshot candidate who had virtually no chance of winning, has been on a crusade to persuade the guild to abandon its plans to hold disciplinary hearings for writers who refused – like he did – to fire their agents. Ordering members to do so, he maintains, violates the guild's own constitution.
Schmidt remains the only writer who has publicly refused to fire his agent. He's said he's told his agent not to procure work or negotiate contracts for him until the ongoing battle with the Association of Talent Agents is over and says that's enough to comply with the guild's constitution and working rules. At last count, more than 7,000 writers have fired their agents who refused to sign the guild's Code of Conduct.
He made that same argument again tonight in his remarks at the candidates' forum, an advance copy of which he provided to Deadline. This is what he had to say:
"When Guild leaders dismiss, demean, call "scabs" or worse, threaten tribunals for anyone who dare disagree with them, they are not leaders, but dividers.
"When they call "take it or leave it" offers "negotiating" and blame others for destroying "momentum" when they've only signed three out of the 18 boutique agencies, and in five months, they are dissembling.
"When they say things like, "Agents aren't our allies" and "we're THE most powerful union!" they aren't speaking intellectually, but irrationality.
"When they make long faces, sad eyes when they talk about "casualties", and pretend these people's pain wasn't caused by friendly fire, by them, it's hypocrisy. And when they make the rank and file pay for an agency campaign that can only benefit them, well, when Jimmy Hoffa did it, it was deemed corruption.When all this happens, and it has, this administration is not a success, it is a failure.
"Fortunately, in this election, we have another, better, way to go. We have a candidate who is brilliant, bold, rational. A good and decent person who can lead us out of this quagmire, and back to unity and full strength. Who started a Go Fund Me page and raised $50,000 to get some of those casualties, six young families, their health care back, for no other reason than it was the right thing to do.
"I"m talking about a born leader. Phyllis Nagy.
"As I did with David (Goodman), I broke bread with Phyllis and got to know her through emails. She is conversant with every issue facing film and TV writers. And there is no daylight between what she believes and what I believe. I deeply admire her quiet strength. She has the goods to knock out great deals with the ATA and the AMPTP.
"As of this moment, I am leaving the race and endorsing Phyllis. I have asked my friends and supporters to vote for her. That's what I'm going to do. And I'm proud to do it."
This article was printed from https://deadline.com/2019/08/william-schmidt-quits-wga-west-president-race-supports-phyllis-nagy-1202706899/


Let's sing some country karaoke, ya'll!
Question: 1/10Pick The Correct Lyric!
"Baby you a _________, you make me wanna role my windows down, and cruise."
Question: 2/10Pick The Correct Lyric!
"I wanna make you feel ________ and I wanna call you mine."
Question: 3/10Pick The Correct Lyric!
"I don't have to make you _____ me, I just want to take your time."
Question: 4/10Pick The Correct Lyric!
"Daddy sang bass, mama sang _____."
Question: 5/10Pick The Correct Lyric!
"And I let go of all my lonely _____________."
Question: 6/10Pick The Correct Lyric!
"It's worth all that's _______ just to see you smile."
Question: 7/10Pick The Correct Lyric!
"And I _____ you now."
Question: 8/10Pick The Correct Lyric!
"Your beauty is beyond compare, ________ locks of auburn hair."
Question: 9/10Pick The Correct Lyric!
Make it a ___________ before I go insane."
Question: 10/10Pick The Correct Lyric!
Don't blink, just like that you're ____ years old."


text:
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Issue 04:09:01
It's Not Time to Panic
VeriFone Web Site Causes Wave of Protest
iPayment, Inc. Sued By Bankruptcy Trustee
McDonald's Expands No-Cash Options to Contactless
Visa Temporarily Waives Registration Fees
Leasing Outlook for ATMs
By Ann All, Senior Editor, ATMmarketplace.com
Book Review: "The Contrarian's Guide to Leadership" Contrary to Ordinary: Another Way to Lead
AgenTalkSM:
Focus on the Path to Your Future
By Matthew Swinnerton
Unbanked Services Present Huge Opportunity for Merchants
By Patty Colby
Street SmartsSM: The Art of the Portfolio Sale
By Ed Freedman
The B2B Opportunity
By Peter Scharnell
Customer Retention: the True Measure of Success
By Nancy Drexler
Merchant Educational Tools
By David H. Press
Software Takes Charge of Merchant Payment Needs
Sending Money and Paying Bills Pronto
Helping Merchants Follow MasterCard's Rules: Priceless
Paymentech, LP
Don't Be So Quick to Judge
Finding Your Niche and Selling to It
s a merchant level salesperson (MLS) providing customers with products and services for payment processing, often you must serve as a jack-of-all-trades. So many different types of businesses exist, and you want them all to be your next big account. But how do you differentiate yourself from your competitors? The answer: focus on one or two market segments.
"The day of the generalist is over; ISOs/MLSs can no longer be all things to all people. ... As a modern ISO/MLS, you need to carve out your market and your methods and then make a plan. You have to pick a niche and become an expert in it by focusing on it and living it," said Garry O'Neil, President and CEO of Electronic Exchange Systems, a provider of merchant processing solutions.
Essentially, a niche market is a category of merchants other than traditional retail that is classified by type of business. For example, hotel and lodging facilities, medical offices, municipalities, educational institutions, mobile merchants, business-to-business providers, Internet merchants, banks and government entities, among many others, are niche markets.
In addition, merchants who speak a foreign language and whose customers speak a foreign language are also included in this list.
Basically, if you can think of it, chances are you've got a niche market opportunity.
O'Neil, who has been in the industry for 13 years, said, "The biggest secret of niche marketing is targeting a market, and once you target it, figure out how to sell to it."
Specializing in a merchant type "requires footwork on the agent's part," he said. "First, decide what you really like to do and what you are interested in. Then move into that marketplace and make a few calls; just ask for some help. Keep moving on from there until you figure it out. And you'll have to stick with it."
O'Neil said there are many advantages in pursuing specific merchant types. Although often there is an initial cost, whether through education or the expense of starting out, you can get margins and the sale becomes a little easier once you've done your homework.
A disadvantage? "Sales might lag significantly for a while, but then the curve switches dramatically," he said.
Breaking the Language Barrier
Many companies have already found opportunity in providing services and products for merchants that speak a language other than English.
For instance, Moses Heredia, President of ISO/MSP Global Electronic Technology of Los Angeles, said his company processes credit and debit, check, gift card, loyalty and EBT and sells POS terminals to small- and mid-sized merchants and municipalities. He said 65 - 75% of his customer base is from Latin communities.
Englewood Cliffs, N.J.-based ISO United Merchant Services, Inc. (UMS) pursues and services merchants in large ethnic markets across the country.
UMS' founders Jay and Shirley Yoon are Korean, so they initially focused on winning Korean business owners as their customers. But their business now includes Hispanic merchants, too. In 2000, they added a Spanish-speaking sales department. UMS is also looking to expand into other Asian markets, including Chinese.
Because of its multi-lingual specialty, UMS supports its merchant customers by helping them resolve risk, terminal and chargeback issues that they would have a hard time communicating otherwise. UMS provides both front- and back-end support and it also added an in-house leasing division because many of its merchants struggled in communicating with the leasing companies.
And Alpharetta, Ga.-based Cornerstone Payment Systems, Inc., a provider of merchant processing services, created a Hispanic division to service its Spanish-speaking customers.
Ron Tunick, President of Newbury Park, Ca.-based Cornerstone Pacific, Inc., the West Coast representative for Cornerstone, said the company does a lot of business in the "border states," so targeting and supporting this market segment makes sense.
"When a rep walks in and speaks Spanish to a merchant who only speaks Spanish, it's a much more relaxed atmosphere right away," Tunick said. "It's an icebreaker. I think all cultures like working with their own culture because there is a greater sense of trust."
Cornerstone's Hispanic division supports every facet of service from risk to customer service and support. The managers and reps all speak Spanish, too. "This really gives us a value-add in the marketplace," Tunick said.
"The response from the merchants has been terrific, but these are mostly smaller 'mom-and pop' types of merchants. A challenge for us has been that a lot of merchants in this segment are in the cash-only business, and a lot of their customers are 'unbanked.'"
In February 2004, Cornerstone, in partnership with Ingenico, began offering a point-of-sale solution to merchants who have Spanish-speaking customers ("Spanish Language POS Terminal Now Available," The Green Sheet, Feb. 9, 2004, issue 04:02:01). Cornerstone is reselling Ingenico's Elite 712 countertop terminal, which employs Vital Processing Services' authorization and settlement services.
Ingenico developed the payment application that the terminal uses, and Vital Processing Services Class-A certified it in April 2003.
"It's the same application that's available in English," said Michael W. English, Director of Marketing and Communications for Ingenico.
"We developed it based on research we did with different Vital customers with which we work, like Cornerstone, in terms of the viability of the Spanish-speaking market in the United States."
English said the offering is a complete Spanish-language solution for payment acceptance. "The Elite 712 is a multi-application terminal that provides not only payment but value-added services such as gift card, time and attendance, loyalty and prepaid cards, which is a huge market with many Spanish speaking merchants and their customers," he said.
"Cornerstone is very forward thinking and has the ability through support services to provide Spanish assistance," English said. "There aren't too many solutions out there that are customized to the Spanish language market, which is the fastest growing demographic in the United States."
The terminal, along with the application, supports credit, signature and PIN-based debit, Visa POS Check and EBT transactions, and it displays prompts and prints in Spanish. The terminal also comes with documentation in Spanish. Ingenico and Cornerstone prepared data sheets for sales lead generation, operational guides and quick reference guides (QRGs) in Spanish, too.
Last May, Heath, Ohio-based CardWare International, a supplier of POS equipment and merchant support to financial institutions and ISOs, began offering QRGs written in multiple languages ("When English Is a Merchant's Second Language," The Green Sheet, May 26, 2003, issue 03:05:02).
The company had received numerous calls from merchants looking for help with the transaction process and for whom English is a second language.
"The types of merchants both our bank and ISO customers are selling to are merchants such as restaurants specializing in Asian cuisine, and convenience stores-both Spanish and Asian-owned; these are the types of places the QRGs primarily go to," said Biff Matthews, President of CardWare.
CardWare developed QRGs in the Spanish, Thai and Cantonese languages.
"We're sending out many of these foreign language QRGs with English guides and English overlays, too," Matthews said. "We've laid out the foreign QRG identical to the English guide, that way, an English help desk can almost follow along button for button, instruction for instruction."
Matthews said the product came out of its own internal need to cut down on the number of help desk calls it received because the company does not have any staff that speaks either Spanish or any Asian dialect.
CardWare supplies the full-color guides on demand via U.S. mail, fax and even e-mail.
ISOs Finding Their Niche
Many ISOs and agents have already built a successful business model around targeting a few or more merchant types.
Business Payment Systems (BPS), an ISO/MSP based in Tarrytown N.Y. with sales offices throughout New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and California, has been successful selling to a number of niche markets such as Spanish-speaking and Jewish merchants.
"There are definitely a lot of opportunities on the customer service end," said BPS CEO Sam Chanin.
However, Chanin said that foreign language-speaking merchants have not been BPS' most successful niche. Targeting mobile merchants, such as tow truck companies and bus companies, with wireless solutions has been their biggest success to date.
He also stressed the opportunity in targeting banks, which he said a lot of salespeople don't even think about. "This is one of the best kept secrets of the big processors," he said. "And it's very simple; there's no negotiation. A merchant comes in, opens up a bank account, and the guy behind the desk asks if they are interested in credit cards.
"If so, they'll call [their agent partner and ask,] 'Will you go and sign this guy up?' Merchants trust you because you are a reference from the bank. I think that every single agent, rather than going after 'merchant, merchant, merchant,' should be going after 'bank, bank, bank' because that relationship will bring them 10 - 15 merchants a month.
"Banks are not in the business of going out, finding the merchant and installing the terminal," Chanin said. "They are in the business of holding money and making money off of other people's money. Our business is to go out there in the hot and the cold and make the merchants happy. No matter what, the banks are going to need people like us."
He also described a rather unique merchant niche that has been very successful for one of its sales offices, especially because there is little competition in this area: RV park rentals. "Millions of Americans rent RVs. But they still need to park the truck at a specific location. These places that we target rent space for people to park their RVs," Chanin said.
Although niche markets have been successful for BPS, Chanin often discourages his reps from becoming too specialized in one area. "They should always have a few niches up their sleeves, but they should stick to the core by still going to every single block and every single business office because they are all potential clients," he said.
Cornerstone, in addition to targeting Spanish-speaking merchants, actually focuses on several niche markets such as school districts, Internet merchants and the hotel and lodging segment, which Tunick said has been a very profitable niche for the company.
"We go after independent hotels and motels and chains, bed and breakfasts; anything dealing with lodging," Tunick said. "It's a challenging market to break into because typically hotel owners are not standing behind the counter. Often the owner works with a property management company."
Cornerstone offers a proprietary solution that has allowed it to be very competitive in the marketplace. The company also trains its reps to serve as advisors to a hotel management team. Reps are trained in areas such as financing, merchant accounts, operating systems and reporting systems.
"Our business strategy is not 'If I can lower your price, will you do business with me?'" Tunick said. "Rather it's, 'We will reduce your operating costs and show you how to increase your average ticket.'"
In order to successfully sell to niche markets, Tunick said, ISOs or agents must be smarter than the competition, which he calls having "intellectual assets"; must understand the unique issues of that niche; and must be able to support and solve any problems for that niche.
He recommends going to tradeshows and becoming involved with associations for that market. Having all this, "not only do you become a trusted advisor, but you get referred from one merchant to the next," he said.
"I think being a specialist today is what the marketplace demands," Tunick said. "Merchants are more comfortable when you understand their issues. Can you make a great living as a generalist? Absolutely, but I think you're challenged more. It's easier to focus when you concentrate on a niche."
Other Reading on Niche Markets
Unfortunately, our space for this story is limited, and there are a lot more areas to explore for information. In order to further expand your knowledge, check out the articles referenced below that were contributed to The Green Sheet by industry experts:
O'Neil discusses the importance of concentrating on one merchant type in a recent article in The Green Sheet, "If You Want to Grow Big, Think Small" (April 12, 2004, issue 04:04:01).
Ed Freedman describes opportunities for providing level-3 processing services to entities that accept government or corporate purchase cards, such as business-to-business types of merchants ("Taking It to the Next Level," The Green Sheet, April 26, 2004, issue 04:04:02).
And in "The B2B Opportunity," Peter Scharnell also discusses this topic in this very issue (see page 72).
In her article, "Medical Transactions: Your Prescription for a Bigger Payday" (The Green Sheet, May 24, 2004, issue 04:05:02), Lisa Shipley, Senior Vice President of Hypercom Corp., discusses a great opportunity in selling to medical locations such as doctor's offices, clinics, dentists and physical therapists.
Resulting from the Health Insurance and Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) is the HIPPA transactions niche.
Healthcare providers must handle enrollment, eligibility verification and billing electronically. Shipley calls this the "great tsunami of business opportunity."
Notice to readers: These are archived articles. Contact names or information may be out of date. We regret any inconvenience.
© 2004, The Green Sheet, Inc.


text:
Q: Shipping Cost Extra Am having problem with shipping extra cost in vb 2010 , The question is to calculate the extra handling charge of $5.00 per part for an oversize container (the Oversize Container CheckBox is checked). Below is the code i have worked on for the shipping rate . I have define oversize as constant but i cant get it to work
What we are told to do is to make sure when the oversizedcheckbox is checked it should calculate the oversize amount which is $5 per unit and it should be added to any shipping charges that has been selected . In my case i have 4 shipping which is
ups $7 per unit , us postal air $8.5 per unit , fedex ground $9.2 per unit  and fedex air  $12 per unit
Public Class Lab5

'ship mode constants
Const U_P_S_DECIMAL As Decimal = 7D
Const FED_EX_AIR_DECIMAL As Decimal = 12D
Const FED_EX_GROUND_DECIMAL As Decimal = 9.25D
Const US_POSTRAL_AIR_DECIMAL As Decimal = 8.5D

Const SALES_TAX_RATE_SINGLE As Single = 0.1 '10 Percent Rate

'declear module-level variables
Private TotalQuantityInteger As Integer
Private TotalSalesDecimal As Decimal

Private Sub ComputeButton_Click(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles ComputeButton.Click, ComputeToolStripMenuItem.Click
    Try

        Dim TotalCostDecimal, ShippingCostDecimal, SalesTaxDecimal, OversizeDecimal, TotalDueDecimal As Decimal

        'Declare variables and convert value from textbox controls to memory
        Dim PriceDecimal As Decimal = Decimal.Parse(PriceTextBox.Text, Globalization.NumberStyles.Currency)
        Dim QuantityInteger As Integer = Integer.Parse(QuantityTextBox.Text, Globalization.NumberStyles.Number)

        'Process - Compute values
        'Subtotal = price times the quantity of books
        TotalCostDecimal = PriceDecimal * QuantityInteger

        'Sales tex = sales tax rate times the subtotal minus discount amount
        If RetailCheckBox.Checked Then
            SalesTaxDecimal = Decimal.Round(Convert.ToDecimal(TotalCostDecimal * SALES_TAX_RATE_SINGLE), 2)
        End If

        If CustomerIDMaskedTextBox.MaskCompleted = False Then
            'incomplete telephone number
            MessageBox.Show("Incomplete or missing CustomerID", "CustomerID Error", MessageBoxButtons.OK, MessageBoxIcon.Error)
            CustomerIDMaskedTextBox.Focus()
            CustomerIDMaskedTextBox.SelectAll()
        ElseIf NameTextBox.Text.Trim = String.Empty Then
            'Customer name is required
            MessageBox.Show("Customer Name is required", "Customer Name Missing Error", MessageBoxButtons.OK, MessageBoxIcon.Error)
            NameTextBox.Focus()
            NameTextBox.SelectAll()
        ElseIf StateTextBox.Text.Trim = String.Empty Then
            'Shipping address required
            MessageBox.Show("State is required", "State Missing Error", MessageBoxButtons.OK, MessageBoxIcon.Error)
            StateTextBox.Focus()
            StateTextBox.SelectAll()
        ElseIf PartTextBox.Text.Trim = String.Empty Then
            'Missing Part Number Required
            MessageBox.Show("Part Number is missing", "Part Number Missing Error", MessageBoxButtons.OK, MessageBoxIcon.Error)
            PartTextBox.Focus()
            PartTextBox.SelectAll()
        ElseIf DescriptionTextBox.Text.Trim = String.Empty Then
            'Description is Required
            MessageBox.Show("Product Description is missing", "Product Description Missing Error", MessageBoxButtons.OK, MessageBoxIcon.Error)
            DescriptionTextBox.Focus()
            DescriptionTextBox.SelectAll()
        ElseIf IsNumeric(PriceTextBox.Text) = False Then
            'the purchase price textbox must contain a numeric value
            MessageBox.Show("Price must contain a numeric value", "Price Not Numeric Error", MessageBoxButtons.OK, MessageBoxIcon.Error)
            PriceTextBox.Focus()
            PriceTextBox.SelectAll()
        ElseIf IsNumeric(QuantityTextBox.Text) = False Then
            'the Quantity purchased Testbox must contain a numeric value
            MessageBox.Show("Quantity must be input", "Quantity Error", MessageBoxButtons.OK, MessageBoxIcon.Error)
            QuantityTextBox.Focus()
            QuantityTextBox.SelectAll()
        ElseIf Decimal.Parse(QuantityTextBox.Text, Globalization.NumberStyles.Number) < 0 Then
            'the quantity purchased must be greater than zero
            MessageBox.Show("The quantity must be greater than zero", "Quantity Purchased not greater than zero Error", MessageBoxButtons.OK, MessageBoxIcon.Error)
        Else
        End If

        'Shipping cost

        If UPSRadioButton.Checked Then 'compute the shipping cost
            ShippingCostDecimal = U_P_S_DECIMAL * QuantityInteger

        ElseIf FedExAirRadioButton.Checked Then
            ShippingCostDecimal = FED_EX_AIR_DECIMAL * QuantityInteger

        ElseIf FedExGroundRadioButton.Checked Then
            ShippingCostDecimal = FED_EX_GROUND_DECIMAL * QuantityInteger

        ElseIf USPostalAirRadioButton.Checked Then
            ShippingCostDecimal = US_POSTRAL_AIR_DECIMAL * QuantityInteger

        End If

        'Compute TotalDue
        TotalDueDecimal = SalesTaxDecimal + ShippingCostDecimal + TotalCostDecimal

        'Data computed output
        SubtotalTextBox.Text = TotalCostDecimal.ToString("C")
        TotalDueTextBox.Text = TotalDueDecimal.ToString("C2")
        SalesTaxTextBox.Text = SalesTaxDecimal.ToString("N")
        ShippingCostTextBox.Text = ShippingCostDecimal.ToString("N")

        'Accumulate total sales and total books sold
        TotalQuantityInteger += QuantityInteger
        TotalSalesDecimal += TotalDueDecimal
    Catch ex As Exception
        MessageBox.Show("unexpected error", "Compute Button Error", MessageBoxButtons.OK, MessageBoxIcon.Error)
    End Try
End Sub

A: As mentioned in my comment....
You say you need to add an oversize rate of $5 but this line
OversizeDecimal = ShippingCostDecimal * OVERSIZE_RATE_DECIMAL

seem to be multiplying by 5
Try
 OversizeDecimal = ShippingCostDecimal + (OVERSIZE_RATE_DECIMAL * QuantityInteger)

A: I finally figure it out myself
Public Class Lab5
'ship mode constants
Const U_P_S_DECIMAL As Decimal = 7D
Const FED_EX_AIR_DECIMAL As Decimal = 12D
Const FED_EX_GROUND_DECIMAL As Decimal = 9.25D
Const US_POSTRAL_AIR_DECIMAL As Decimal = 8.5D
Const OVERSIZE_RATE_DECIMAL As Decimal = 5D

Const SALES_TAX_RATE_SINGLE As Single = 0.1 '10 Percent Rate

        'Oversized Handling Charges
        If OversizedCheckBox.Checked Then
            ShippingCostDecimal = QuantityInteger * (OVERSIZE_RATE_DECIMAL + U_P_S_DECIMAL)

        ElseIf OversizedCheckBox.Checked Then
            ShippingCostDecimal = QuantityInteger * (OVERSIZE_RATE_DECIMAL + FED_EX_AIR_DECIMAL)

        ElseIf OversizedCheckBox.Checked Then
            ShippingCostDecimal = QuantityInteger * (OVERSIZE_RATE_DECIMAL + FED_EX_GROUND_DECIMAL)

        ElseIf OversizedCheckBox.Checked Then
            ShippingCostDecimal = QuantityInteger * (OVERSIZE_RATE_DECIMAL + US_POSTRAL_AIR_DECIMAL)
        End If


"When people stop telling you what you're doing wrong, it means they've given up on you."
I was totally going to post this comic! :P An important message, that I think people fail to truly appreciate. Love Zen Pencils.
Your taste grows and matures too though. I don't think it's so much having the taste as the goal and trying to turn your work into it, so much as both of them evolving. I don't think you actually ever "get there", which is rather nice for me, because I'd get so bored if I somehow woke up and realised I'd learnt everything I needed to and had somehow closed the gap completely.
BTW: Randy Pausch is someone who I followed quite a bit when I first started messing with VR, before my first job.
Well, I don't really like the term "Good Taste", it works for the comic fine though, because it's meant to be simple and encouraging. But "Good Taste" implies a lot of fuzzy and useless concepts (like different tastes are comparable in value).
Really what I want is to be aware of what other people like. Taste is all about associations with experiences anyway. If I can figure out what certain other people associate with goodness, and can figure out how to act on that then I'm happy.
I think the idea around taste vs standards/likes for me is that it's important that the thing be individually contained. You don't sink hours and hours of your time into something that keeps (eventually) disappointing you for anything other than intense personal fascination. The "good" part of that idea (as in "good" taste) means that your fascination is shared by others in some intangible way. Once other people's tastes start identifying something to be fascinated by in your work, you're getting somewhere.
I'd argue that standards and what other people like in general aren't very important to the process of discovering and developing creative expression in an individual. They're often applied far too discouragingly to any efforts, meaning that improvement is never even admitted to, because universal scales of judgement don't take into account where someone started from.
I do agree that developing your sense of taste is incredibly important, so that you're aware of what other people like and why, but in a way that's a fascination with the fascinations of others, so that's meta-taste. Which I think is what the original comic was getting at... Because no matter what we might say about studying what people like or don't like, we still personally judge and dismiss a lot of the things that evidence says hordes of people like: Justin Bieber, Kurt Darren, Crocs?
Taste implies that personal, unjustifiable connection to something that we feel so strongly.
If we're all doing things for our own sakes entirely, then taste is all we need. Then it's a matter of building up skills to produce to equal your taste.
But clearly we're all not in a vacuum, and building games/art/things for ourselves can only have that much appeal (and I'm not even talking about just money matters). We are social beings after all. So standards mean something to us - standards as in quality, shared taste (if tastes are shared, that's a standard), expectations, all play a role.
@Tuism: Yes. That's why I said that when starting out, that personal fascination with something is the important part. Yes, later on you feel super validated when other people become fascinated with what you're doing, but I don't think that starting from the "standards" extreme ever helped anyone make something truly awesome. This is exactly the same thing @BlackShipsFilltheSky means when he says you have to love the thing you're working on, otherwise you're wasting your time.
I don't really care to argue semantics that much. The entire concept of "taste" is meaningless unless other people are involved. You can't have "good taste" if nobody else judges your tastes, right?
The goal was to say to people: Don't give up, keep trying!
The point is to start with yourself, keep trying and never take criticism negatively - every crit is a step towards betterment!
But to continue the derailment.
Personally I don't talk about standards. I'm not fond of the implication of standardization. It also sort of suggests there are notches on a scale you can hit above and below, and the only scale of value is up or down.
Whereas it doesn't take into account the huge array of other options that don't fit into one dimension, all the sideways and diagonal and twisty paths.
In my work, I find it more practical to think of everything as being associative. People like things they associate with pleasure and happiness and good experiences etc. And it is possible to evoke those things in your work. But above all, people like new experiences (or at least, the kind of people I care about in my work place a high value in newness).
As a tangent to this: I find unfamiliarity really interesting. It doesn't really conform to the concepts of "taste" or "standards" at all. But yet, if executed well, it can be a great draw for players (I think). "Unfamiliarity" could be said to entail a combination of dissonant tastes or something dramatically unique, a result then which defies following one's own taste or standards.
Hotline Miami, for instance, certainly plays with unfamiliarity by juxtaposing symbols to produce and experience strangely alien and wondrous (I'd suggest). Proteus does this as well, almost purely through aesthetics (as well as it's suspension of traditional game structures).
...I guess, to sum up, I'm really espousing Post-Modernism as a framework for designing for resonant and appealing games.
And I always say: do what makes you happy and fulfilled. If the thing you're doing excites you it probably means that it is also a subject you're intimately familiar with (again, lots of associations in your brain causing pleasant feelings) and by working in that subject you may learn even more and appreciate it even better and in turn improve the thing you're doing and so on. It's the most likely path to a phoenix-like ascent, and so it's always good advice to give, assuming the person you're talking to is curious and ambitious.
Still watching more Randy Pausch.