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A CAPITAL IDEA: SACRAMENTO'S TESLA TAKES TUNES, TECH, TENACITY ON TOUR
By : Jim Villanueva
Tag: Bob Coburn, Brain Wheat, Cake, Dave Rude, Def Leppard, Deftones, Frank Hannon, Jeff Keith, Papa Roach, Phil Collen, Rockline, Sacramento, Styx, Tesla, Troy Luccketta
BY: JIM VILLANUEVA
"Not to be cliché, but I think when it comes to the United States we've been through pretty much every city. Like, (singing) 'I've been everywhere, man.' You know that Johnny Cash song."
Hailing from California's capital city of Sacramento, Tesla has been on the road for over three decades. Touring is central to what the five man – sometimes acoustic, always electric – band is all about. Hard work and hard rock is at the core of what frontman Jeff Keith, guitarist Frank Hannon, drummer Troy Luccketta, bassist Brian Wheat and guitarist Dave Rude build the foundation for their longevity on.
Unwilling to rest on their hard-earned laurels and unquestioned rock and roll credentials, Tesla is – to reference the title of their 2003 album – stepping Into The Now with yet another 16-city North American tour, which kicked off September 1st in Loveland, Colorado. I had the pleasure of speaking with Frank Hannon on the eve of the tour launch date. We talked tours, towns, tunes, technology, travel and Nikola Tesla (the band's namesake), among other subjects. Here is our conversation.
Frank, how are you?
I'm pretty good, Jim. Good morning.
So, let's kick this off, but before we dive into talking about your current tour, I wanted to ask you about your last tour with Styx and Joan Jett and The Blackhearts, which of course I saw just down the road here in Wheatland (just outside Sacramento). What's the guest list like when you play a hometown show?
Well, you know, whenever Tesla comes to the Sacramento area, or even San Francisco, the guest list gets crazy. People calling you that you haven't heard from in years. We try to take care of everybody, and we don't want to make anybody unhappy, but it gets a little ridiculous when 150 different people show up. I have cousins and nephews and uncles that I never knew I had all of a sudden (laughs). But we had a great tour with those guys and coming through our home turf here was really cool. We didn't really know what to expect. Styx and Joan Jett are so different. But it was a night of great songs and great music. It really tuned out well.
It was. It was a fun night. All hits-filled, as they say. So, let's talk about this current tour.
Well, like we were just talking about, the Styx, Joan Jett and Tesla tour all summer was really big venues and a lot of tickets sold. But a lot of our fans will always tell us, we wanna hear Tesla play a longer show. So, we're gonna finish out the year playing our full set of songs. And we're gonna do a little stripped-down acoustic – five man acoustic jam set – in the middle, and relive some of that album (1990's Five Man Acoustical Jam). We try to touch on a song or two from each album. So, that's what we're doing on this tour.
What about the stage, production-wise? What can people expect to see in that regard?
You know, it's funny. Tesla is still using the same stage that we used in 1987 when we built our stage for going on tour. A lot of the diehard fans will recognize the drum riser that we use. It has a very unique set of stairs that go up the front. So, at some levels, our production is the same Tesla show that we've been doing forever, but we have now since added some really cool LED visual screens that play videos behind the band. We've got three of them. For instance, on "Modern Day Cowboy" we have a lot of great footage from the original video, with cowboys shooting it out, and bang, bang, shoot 'em up stuff. And on "Edison's Medicine" we've got some great footage of Nikola Tesla in his laboratory. And so, we've added some visual enhancements to the shows that make it really exciting and interesting for us. And it's been quite a progression for Tesla.
I'm looking forward to that. I know you guys are playing practically right across the street from me at Thunder Valley Casino (in Lincoln, California). I hope to be at that show and get a chance to say hi to you. So, as I mentioned to you before pressing "record," I produced (former nationally syndicated radio program) Rockline from 1992 to 1997. I was fortunate enough to have you guys on several times. Of course, whenever we could – and you guys were willing – we asked you guys to perform live. Usually unplugged. As a guitarist, what's more challenging, playing unplugged for about a dozen folks in a little studio or plugging in the Marshall amps and performing to thousands?
Well, you're absolutely right as far as the idea that playing acoustic guitar in that setting is more challenging. But you know, we had a great time with (late, longtime Rockline host) Bob Coburn and Rockline. One particular memory is that we did an acoustic version of "War Pigs," and the recording came out really good. We were covering the Black Sabbath song "War Pigs." Playing acoustic guitar in general is more challenging because you don't have all the sustain and the ease of effort. It's a lot more physical. And you have to strip down the songs, and when it comes to playing chords you have to learn to play more open and let the sound ring out to compensate. Especially when you're redoing a rock song that people are used to hearing with electric. So, playing acoustic is definitely more challenging when you're taking a rock song like "War Pigs" or a rock song like Tesla's "Modern Day Cowboy." You're stripping it down to a very intimate, vulnerable setting of just an acoustic guitar. That's definitely more challenging.
Yeah, thanks for the answer in that, no pun intended here, you stripped it down to the essence of the challenge of it being intimate and changing things up. Especially a song like "War Pigs" that you mentioned Talk about Marshall stacks (laughs).
(Laughs) Yeah, taking one of the most heavy metal songs there is and turning it into an acoustic version. And if I remember right, when we did Rockline with you and we did that, that was probably the first time that we'd ever done that, playing "War Pigs" acoustic. I remember there was a recording of that circulating around for a while. Tesla has always mixed acoustic guitars into our music. Even within a rock song we would slide in an acoustic in the verses there. That was of course influenced by The Rolling Stone and The Who. "Pinball Wizard" and stuff like that by The Who. Led Zeppelin. Mixing acoustic guitar into an electric song always gives it kind of an organic, natural feel., and that's what Tesla's always been about.
Absolutely! As I mentioned to you earlier, I moved up from Los Angeles eight years ago and live in Rocklin, or as I always say, Rockline without the "E" as it happens (laughs).
(Laughs) That's funny!
Total happenstance, but I guess meant to be, right. It's a great town outside of Sacramento, and of course the band's home base is here. So, Frank, pretend to be a member of the chamber of commerce for me here, for a minute, and tell me why people should visit California's capital city.
Well, Sacramento is known for many things. It's the river city, the city of trees, it's the capital city, it's where gold was discovered in California. For me, it's always been a natural place, being born and raised here. When we were young we would go to L.A. or we would drive up to Boise, Idaho – just drive everywhere to play our music and get the word out because Sacramento has never been to be a music capital like L.A. or Nashville or New York. But there's a lot of talent here. A lot of great musicians. A lot of bands have come out of here. The Deftones, Tesla, Cake, just to name a few. Papa Roach. There's a lot of history here, and it's centrally located between San Francisco and Lake Tahoe, so it's a great location.
Speaking of cities, you guys are hitting about 20 of them on this tour. Are there some on the itinerary that you haven't played before?
Not to be cliché, but I think when it comes to the United States we've been through pretty much every city. Like, (singing) 'I've been everywhere, man.' You know that Johnny Cash song. I see a lot of Southern California dates that are spread out, so we're gonna be doing about four different Southern California dates here, coming up at the end of the month.
I guess on the flipside of that question is there a city or venue that you recall that you haven't played yet that may still be on the bucket list?
There's a lot of countries that Tesla hasn't been to yet. We haven't been to the Soviet Union (now Russia), we haven't been to China or Thailand or places like that. We've only been to Australia once and I'd sure like to go back there again and play places like that. New Zealand. Mexico City. We went to Monterrey, Mexico last year and that was a great time. The Mexican audience is really fantastic. We finally went to South America. That was killer.
Hmm! I say hmm, Frank because I was born in Peru. Did you happen to hit there, or what countries did you hit?
No, we went to Brazil, we went to Chile. We flew across from the east coast to the west coast and it was amazing. The people were amazing. The stadiums. We were there with Deep Purple and Cheap Trick, and it was a fantastic little run we did down there.
Well, now it's my turn to play the role of member of chamber of commerce for Lima, Peru, and say, Tesla, come on down! I think you guys would really enjoy it. And of course, Machu Picchu. And Lima's a great town. It sits right on the Pacific Coast, so I always say that the weather is almost exactly the same as Los Angeles. Generally, not too hot, not too cold, and they have some great venues there, so hopefully you guys can get down there at some point. But let's bring it back stateside. You guys are also playing a handful of casinos, including as I mentioned Thunder Valley near Sacramento. My question is, does the staff at casinos treat you guys any better or different than staffs at regular concert venues?
Casino gigs for a band of our generation and our genre have really become a great thing. The food is great, the parking. The staff treats our fans really good, because they're real accommodating. Casinos treat older people really good. So, we enjoy playing them because usually the theatres are really nice, the venues are nice, and the staff is usually really great at a casino because they're there to entertain the people. If we're playing at a nightclub or something, sometimes the security can get kind of tough. But if we're playing a really nice venue like the Golden 1 Center (in Sacramento) or an outdoor amphitheater, usually those are pretty nice, too. But it seems like casinos are a great place for people to come see us because the staff is usually really friendly, and the food and the hotels are all right there onsite.
Yeah, that makes sense. They want people to be happy and stick around and come back. Cha-ching, cha-ching, right.
You know, the majority of our crowd is our age. I'm 52. People that are our age, from 50 to 60, they wanna be able to park their vehicle and go into a hotel, go into a restaurant and relax, and casinos are all set up for that.
I see we have a few minutes left here, so let me take you off the stage for a second, Frank, and put you in the studio for a couple of questions. What can you tell us about the upcoming album, produced by your pal Phil Collen of Def Leppard?
Well, I have to tell you, there's probably a good chance that Tesla would have resigned from making albums. The last album we did, (2014's) Simplicity, we worked really hard on it, and in this day and age, making an album is sometimes not even worth it. You know, we've got such a catalog of old songs that people want to hear. But the flipside to that is that Phil Collen from Def Leppard is so full of energy and positive motivation. He started coming into our dressing rooms on tour a couple of years ago, and he was giving us a lot of positive energy and positive ideas, and said he wanted to co-write with us. And so, we started doing that and next thing you know, we're in the dressing rooms recording an album. And the whole album was recorded pretty much on the road, in the dressing room, hotel rooms, bathrooms, showers, locker rooms. And you know, we captured a lot of ideas on the road with him being a coach. I tell people all the time that an older band is like an older football team that's been playing together forever, but without a coach giving you some ideas, you can get kind of stagnant. So, coach Phil Collen came in and he kicked us in the ass, and we got a great new, energetic album that's gonna be coming out in January called Shock. You know what, and it might be a shock to some people because we definitely tried some new stuff that we learned from Phil, as he was coaching us alone, and it's exciting.
So, I gotta ask you, is that great song "Save That Goodness" gonna be on it?
No, "Save That Goodness" is on Mechanical Resonance Live as a bonus track.
Gotcha. That's a great song. And I know where you shot the video. Right down the street from me.
Yeah, that old church is an old historical church in the City of Rocklin. I'd gone to a wedding there a couple of years ago, and I thought, man, this would be a great place to make a video. So, that's where we did that video, there.
Last question for you, Frank, and again thanks for the time today. It's always great to talk to you. It certainly had been a while. I wanna end with a fun question to end the conversation. Radio. The great radio controversy. So, you mentioned him earlier in this conversation. Give me your best argument as to why your band namesake, Nikola Tesla, actually invented the radio, and not Marconi.
Well, you know, I wasn't there, but I read a lot of different accounts, and we did a lot of research on Nikola Tesla in the very beginning when we were considering using the name Tesla for our band. We were blown away by the fact that we had never heard of Nikola Tesla, and that he's not ever taught about in history classes of high schools. Most people don't know about him, except for a select few. The information that we got from the select few that we met along the way; at the University of Michigan, and different people that are actually scholars about Nikola Tesla had told us that Nikola Tesla was a young man with these ideas at a very early age. The idea of transmitting electricity in the atmosphere. He had figured out that the earth and the atmosphere are conductors, and that invisible energy can be transferred through the air. He had figured that out and he was working as an electrical engineer and as a laborer for Thomas Edison. And he was working as an employee of Westinghouse and developing all these ideas. But those companies were more interested in making money and controlling electricity, so they kind of stifled his ideas. So, when he went on his own, from what I understand, Marconi was a laborer and an assistant to Nikola Tesla. People started following Tesla, and Marconi was one of them, and started working for Tesla in his own laboratory, and started borrowing some of his ideas. And developing his own ideas on transmission of radio. But it was Nikola Tesla that had the idea originally, and discovered that electricity can be transferred through the air without the use of wires.
And in fact, Nikola Tesla had made a statement early on, back in the horse and buggy days, that someday there will be a handheld device, where you can take a picture and instantly send it in a message across the country. And, that is what we're doing today with this iPhone that I'm holding in my hand. So, he was a visionary, and we're just glad that we stumbled across it for the name of our band, because Nikola Tesla was awesome.
That's great. Alright, Frank, thanks for the time again, and hopefully we'll get a chance to say hello face-to-face and see you at Thunder Valley.
Sounds great, Jim. Yeah, come see us at Thunder Valley, and alright, man.
Cool! Have a great day. We'll see you soon.
Okay, buddy. Bye.
Jim Villanueva began his radio/syndication career on the switchboard at 95.5 KLOS/Los Angeles before managing the station's music research department and assisting in the programming department. In 1992, Jim jumped to Global Satellite Network where for 5 years he wrote, produced and booked Rockline, helped write and produce Powercuts, Headsets and Modern Rock Live and countless one-off specials and interviewed the biggest names in rock. In 1997, Jim joined the Album Network broadcast department where he helped write and produce numerous syndicated radio programs, conducted over 250 artist interviews for the new Know-It-All show prep service, wrote feature articles for the Album Network magazine and covered music events including the Grammys and AMAs, etc. In 1999, Jim rejoined 95.5 KLOS for a 3-year run as Music Director. In 2002, Jim formed his own syndication company (LHM Productions) with legendary FM DJ Jim Ladd and partners Maria Laing and John Valenzuela. The group produced nationally syndicated radio specials and a monthly series called The Profiles featuring music by and in-depth interviews with legendary artists. Changing the company name to Current Classics Productions, Jim wrote, produced and distributed Current Classics, a weekly 60-minute syndicated program featuring "Current" releases from the biggest names in "Classic" rock and wrote and produced scores more radio specials. From 2004-2014, Jim served as West Coast Music Writer/Reporter for Dial Global (now WestwoodOne), writing daily music news and artist profiles, providing audio from music, movie and TV stars for the company's daily show prep service and covering music, movie and TV events, including the Emmys, Grammys, Oscars, etc. Jim has covered major music festivals, including Coachella, Stagecoach and Outside Lands, interviewing current and classic acts. Currently, Jim hosts his weekly Current Classics podcast, featuring new music from Current AND Classic artists. https://www.facebook.com/currentclassics https://twitter.com/CurrentClassics https://instagram.com/currentclassics22/ Email:CurrentClassics22@gmail.com
An Interview With The Indie Scottish Rock Trio, FATHERSON!
Singer-Songwriter and Producer GENEVE Discusses Her Latest Music, Plans For Future Releases and Much More!
HARD ACT TO FOLLOW: DAMON JOHNSON TOPS HIMSELF WITH MEMOIRS OF AN UPRISING
, By Jim Villanueva
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED: STYX LAUNCH NEW ALBUM THE MISSION, TAKE OFF ON U.S. TOUR
The New STYX Album Is Out Of This World!
, By Mark Strickland


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6 Santiago FE round set for early June date
9 Gresini "hit hard" by COVID, remains in intensive care
10 Ganassi set for "steep learning curve" on IMSA return
Has Haas opened the customer car door?
Haas showed the potential of the 'listed parts' regulations with sixth on its debut in the Australian Grand Prix. Was that a good or bad thing for Formula 1, and is there another way, asks EDD STRAW
Published on Thursday March 31st 2016
In quieter political waters, the significance of Haas's remarkable sixth place on its Formula 1 debut in the Australian Grand Prix - and the questions it posed - might have emerged as a bigger talking point in recent days.
Even amid the furore over qualifying and governance, some concerns were raised. Williams technical director Pat Symonds suggested the American team's success risks further eroding the value of constructors. And he has a good point.
The lines separating customer cars, B-teams, technical partnerships and simple supply deals in F1 are indistinct. It's perhaps best to think of it as a spectrum, ranging from a car entirely developed and built by another team to one entirely produced in house, which encompasses just about every point in between.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


This is a hard course. The 2018 winning time of Ted King was 2:23:45 — an incredible performance. For most, this ride should take between 3 and 4 hours, so plan on it. There are two places to fill up on water and only at one of them you can buy food. At mile 22, before you turn left of Rt 106 onto Knapp Brook Rd, continue straight (about 1 mile from the turn) into downtown Reading where you'll find Watroba's General Store. This place is as "Vermont" as it gets. Fill up on water, grab a doughnut and get back on your way. The other water stop is at the Reading/West Windsor Food Shelf which lies around mile 32. This place has an ever-flowing spring out front with ice-cold water. It looks sketchy, but it's not! Enjoy the pavé, the views and the local Vermont culture you'll find along this route.
Parking: Peter Vollers (owner of Vermont Overland) encourages riders to park in his field to start and finish their rides. Hospitality at it's finest.


Kajabity Tools (for C#) is an Open Source collection of component libraries for use in Microsoft .NET applications.
The Kajabity.Tools.Csv library provides classes to read and write CSV files following the RFC 4180 standard, as well as options to change standard behavior (separator, quotes, encoding).
The library is available to clone or fork on GitHub (https://github.com/Kajabity/Kajabity.Tools.Csv) or as a NuGet (Kajabity.Tools.Csv ).
The Kajabity.Tools.Java library provides classes to provide functionality similar to the Java Properties class – it maintains a collection of string key-value pairs and can load them from or store them to a Java style ".properties" file.
The library is available to clone or fork on GitHub (https://github.com/Kajabity/Kajabity.Tools.Java) or as a NuGet (Kajabity.Tools.Java).
The Kajabity.DocForms library provides a base class for Windows Forms applications providing support for all the standard Document operations – File New, Open, Save, Save As, Close, Open Recent Document. Extend the Document and DocumentManager classes to support your required document types.
The library is available to clone or fork on GitHub (https://github.com/Kajabity/Kajabity.DocForms) or as a NuGet (Kajabity.DocForms).
Kajabity.Tools.Csv (NuGet) version 0.1 – the CSV classes from Kajabity Tools.
Kajabity.Tools.Java (NuGet) version 0.1 – the Java Properties classes from Kajabity Tools.
Kajabity.DocForms (NuGet) version 0.1 – the Document and SDIForm classes from Kajabity Tools, now moved into distinct namespaces.
Kajabity.Tools (NuGet) version 0.4 – the original Kajabity Tools project incorporating the Document, SDIForm, CSV and Java Properties classes.
Note: The original Kajabity.Tools project will no longer be maintained and future development will be in the separate Csv, Java and DocForms projects.
JavaProperties – classes to read and write Java style ".properties" files in .NET applications.
CSVReader, CSVWriter – classes to read and write ".csv" files including reading or appending a single field or row at a time.
SDIForm, Document, DocumentManager – a simple framework for quickly building Single Document Interface (SDI) desktop applications which create and maintain files.
A small number of NUnit tests are included to ensure the code continues to work properly as bugs are fixed and new features are added.
These tests also serve as examples of how to use the classes – and some of this code appears on the relevant Usage pages for the classes.
The developer notes page introduces the tests and how they may be run as well as some notes on the development environment I've been using.
Kajabity Tools is available as NuGet packages or from GitHub (see the links at the top of the page). Copies of the code, compiled DLL, and help file can be found on the download page and there are Release Notes for each release.
The project is released under Apache License 2.0 .


There is something about that moment. Talk to any adoptive parent and they will become briefly lost in the memory, recalling that moment. Their moment. That breath in time when a handful of heartbeats separates them from gazing into the eyes of their child for the very first time.
Jason, a Saint Mary International Adoptions parent recalls his moment, when he journeyed with his wife to Poland to adopt their daughter. "Tears welled up in my and my wife's eyes as we took in the wonderful reality that she would be our new daughter. We all played together in the playroom for about 30 minutes and then she had to get ready for bed. It was such a wonderful blessing to have finally met the precious little girl that we had waited so long to meet."
A member of the European Union, Poland is a proud country with beautiful landscapes and a rich culture. As a country it has contributed to celebrated chapters of the worlds history but has also been the unfortunate setting to some of our darkest moments in recent history. Out of a population of nearly forty million, 29% between the ages of 15-24 are unemployed. Nick Ratchev, Operations Manager for Saint Mary International Adoptions credits the high level of unemployment as one of the main reasons children are in orphanages. "Poverty is one of the primary reasons why people are placing their children for adoption (in Poland)."
It is estimated that Poland has as many as 80,000 orphans. 90% are social orphans, meaning they have been removed from their parental home because of poverty, unemployment, neglect, abuse, or loss of parental rights. Children receive above average care in relation to other orphanages across Central and Eastern Europe. One estimate gives the relatively low ratio of caregiver to children as 1:12.
"The care provided for the children in the orphanages is excellent," Ratchev points out as one reason why adoptions from Poland stand out. There are children in the foster care system as well. This system is under the supervision of the Central Authority, a government-run agency that provides for the protection of Poland's vulnerable children.
In general, younger children with mild to moderate special needs as well as sibling groups and healthy children above the age of 8 years old are available for adoption.
"Different people tend to have different definitions and understanding of what is to be included and/or excluded from the special needs definition." Ratchev explains. "In addition, even if it is clearly defined in one culture, it doesn't mean that it is defined the same way in another culture."
Nina Thompson, Case Manager for Eastern Europe and India at Children's House International adoption agency shared, "Poland has a domestic adoption program with long waits for healthy babies and toddlers." Thompson added that when she speaks to prospective parents looking into adopting from Poland, "We are always searching for families open to a large sibling group (3 or more children) or a child with special needs."
Poland is a Hague Country and upon Hague Laws for protection of the children the Central Authority reviews the parent's dossier and matches a family with a child/children. Within this agency there are three adoption centers or adoptive authorities. A Qualification Board attached to each center looks over the adoptive parents' documents and makes the qualification of these parents and matches a child from among the children qualified for adoption.
Both adoptive parents are required to be present for two hearings in Poland. The first hearing follows the ?First Contact' meeting with the child where the parents will meet the child in his or her care environment. The hearing takes place within days of the initial meeting and a judge will set a trial/waiting period (usually 2 weeks). During this period the parents stay at a hotel or apartment and, if they choose, may have the child stay with them.
A second hearing comes at the end of this period. The parents are asked about their final decision regarding the adoption. If the parents indicate that they wish to move forward with the adoption of the child, the adoption becames legal during this court hearing. A legal Appeal Period (14-21days depending on the judges decision) commences after the decree. At this time the family may move to Warsaw for the rest of the process and one parent may return to the United States.
After the Appeal Period the adoptive parents spend the next several days picking up their child's passport, taking their child to the medical exam appointment near the embassy, and then attending an appointment with the embassy where their child's US visa will be issued.
Cathy, adoptive parent from Children's House International describes her stay in Poland during the process, "Before the adoption, I had looked at seven weeks away from home in another country as a negative. I didn't want to leave my other children that long, and wished it was much shorter. Now, looking back, I am glad I had seven weeks alone with our son. Although my husband only stayed in country 2 ½ weeks, he also is glad he had that time in country. That extended period created a bubble of sorts during which we could get to know, bond and enjoy getting to know each other. That bubble allowed us to forget outside problems in life, and focus on each other. For seven weeks we were able to experience the beauty of Poland, get to know the ways of the Polish people, eat some amazing food, and allow our son to get to know us before traveling to a new, completely different land. We left Poland with much respect for the country, the people and their traditions. Best of all, by the time we left Poland; Kuba was completely and totally ready for his new life in the US."
One of the best way to understand the Poland adoption process and determine if this country is the direction you want to take on your adoption journey is to read the Family Stories linked to this article.
Adoptive parents must be at least 25 years of age.
Parents can be 40 years older than the child and in special cases, one parent can be older than 40 years older.
Married couples are required to have been married for at least 3 years at the time of the submission of the dossier to Poland.
There is no limit to the number of children currently in the home, however some custody centers in Poland give preference to families with no other children in the home.
If you take prescription medicine or have a medical condition contact the agency you are considering in order to determine eligibility.
Must have sufficient income to meet the expenses of adding a new member to the family.
There are several agencies in the United States that advocate for orphans in Poland. As with all major decisions in life it is highly recommended to do a thorough research on each agency to see which one is the right fit for you. Contact All Agencies with Adoption Programs in Poland now. Read our Country Guide - Poland area for more information on adopting a child from Poland.


On another note, I have been able to wear heels again thanks to Sole Serum, a cream you apply before you slip on heels to alleviate foot pain throughout the day. It really helps, especially for those girls like me who have really bad feet for wearing heels- I used to play soccer and haven't been able to wear heels to work or out at all. Try it out!
*I only endorse products and take sponsorships from brands that I truly believe in and for products that are making a difference in the community.


REFUGE D'ART | Refuges | Bagni termali .
"In some way, the cairns situated inside the house become the milestones of the hike and become monuments to the memory of those who once lived here. A sense of the energy and the life that was once present in these villages, now in ruin, is felt when walking along these ancient trails that were once used as main routes between them. Nettled at the top of the mountains, they evoke, perhaps, the precarious and fragile nature of our lives."


* Lightweight waterproof one-piece polycarbonate driver cone with super-rigid metal basket design.
* Custom speaker grills with high-output tweeter & midrange for crystal clear sound at highway speeds.
* Top-quality adapter rings/bracket hardware for secure and clean mounting into the fairing.
* Mounting hole pattern and spade electrical connections are exactly the same as the factory specification, this is a total plug-and-play no-modification solution complete with easy to follow installation instructions.


Church Services Ministry prepares the Church for Divine Services including buying of candles. Oversees the Candle Desk. Ushers parishioners and guests into the church. Lights the candles, prepares the Gospel stand for the reading. Cleans the candle stands. Conducts the Collection of the Offerings and keeps personal records on that.


text:
Q: What does struct node *head=NULL initialisation mean? I am new to linked list .
while creating the linked list initially we write struct node *head=NULL;
WHAT DOES IT MEAN ?

A: Initially it contains some garbage value
. SO,  in order to Create a linked List (Single) you need to initialize it to  NULL. And thus it becomes easier to create the First node ( by checking the condition head==NULL) which is true so the first node is created. Now you we can  add newnodes to the existing Linked List just by traversing till end and adding a newnode.
So, if you have not Initialized the head pointer to NULL, You cannot create a Linked List.
if(head==NULL)
    {
    newnode->next=NULL;
    head=newnode;
    }
    else
    {
        ptr=head;
        while(ptr->next!=NULL)
        {
            ptr=ptr->next;
        }
        ptr->next=newnode;
        newnode->next=NULL;
    }

A: For beginners, initialisers are hard to read. Best is IMHO to read them as the combination of a declaration and an assignment:
struct node *p = NULL;

is equivalent to:
struct node *p;
p = NULL;

Note that the initialiser is applied to the pointer (p is a pointer) not to where it points at. (it points nowhere, since it is NULL)

A: Whenever you are creating a linked list, we have to initialize it and since it doesn't have any nodes in the start (empty linked list in the beginning), the start/head points to null. That's what is meant by *head=NULL.

A: Zero is an invalid address. A pointer variable equal to null with address null means that the pointer variable variable does not point to a valid memory location.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Helium Health Care cofounder, Dimeji Sofowora will speak as Skype Mentor at this month's Startup Sunday Meetup scheduled for this Sunday, October 15th, 2017, at the conference room of The Elkan Terrace in Port Harcourt.
Helium Health is a Y Combinator backed healthcare startup that seeks to minimize the challenges paper-based health care currently faces.
Previous mentors include two YCombinator backed founders; Shola Akinlade CEO of PayStack and Kendall Anayi CEO of Tezeti, as well as Hotels.ng CEO, Mark Essien and Ventures Platform's Fola Olatunji David who spoke at the September meetup.
The mentoring session will be preceded by a pitching session where Paul Omu would pitch EduXtra – an online educational platform that enables teachers earn an extra income.
Other events include video viewing and discussions, an elevator pitch challenge and networking.
Startup Sunday is a monthly meet up where modern day founders, talent and investors, connect to build the unicorns of the future.
It is organised by Netopps, an organisation focused on building people and systems in Africa to leverage internet opportunities to optimize potentials in digital jobs, tech entrepreneurship and social entrepreneurship. Admission is N3,000, paid at the venue.
Startup Sunday debuted on July 12, 2015 with a 20 week viewing of 'How to Start a Startup', a series of 20 lectures originally given at the Stanford University by Y Combinator in the fall of 2014. Startup Sunday currently holds on the 3rd Sunday of every month. This month's meetup would be its 40th edition.


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Late post! This was supposed to go up on Tuesday as a scheduled post and I didn't notice it didn't go right until I got back from vacation tonight. Anyway, post will be up on my blog soon!
Top Left – Sydd! Hello again Sydd! I took care of Sydd in February, and my friend Joanna went on a short vacation so I got to see Sydd again for a couple days!
Top Right – BBQ Prep! We had a BBQ for Harry and I'm usually in charge of the vegetables, so I got bored and wanted to take pictures of these gorgeous bell peppers I bought! I love it when they're cut and cleaned like this!
Bottom Left – Jello Shot Syringes! It was my co-worker Melanie's birthday and she went to Dave and Busters to celebrate! A lot of her family and friends were there, and she was nice enough to invite some co-workers as well! It was the first time I got the jello shot syringes from there; they were really good!
Bottom Right – Kalea! This is Kalea! This is one of Taylor's two dogs, and this one is the weirder one; she's such a tiny dog! We had to walk them one day because his family was out of town, so we took them out and Kalea was super hyper the entire time.
I'm way late for February, so here's February and March at the same time!
Top Left – Deadpool Pulp! As mentioned in this My Recencies post, I bought this book to cheer me up! It's pretty good!
Top Right – Sydd! I took care of this little lady for about half of February! She was my gal pal!
Middle – Deadpool! Yay, Deadpool came out and I was SUPER excited!
Bottom Left – Cyn's Birthday Cake! My coworker's daughter had her birthday in a trampoline house (I didn't get to bounce) and this was her cake!
Top Left – Delicious Brunch! I mentioned this briefly on a My Recencies post, I went to brunch with a couple of my friends and I had this delicious brunch and I was so full, I ate it all!
Top Right – Editing Myself! I recorded and edited a video (it's up on YouTube now!) and it was awful… I kept messing up and probably spent an hour recording a 12 minute video. Fun talking about my purchases though!
Bottom Left – Gorgeous Orchids! I went to a local orchid show, and all the orchids were gorgeous! I liked all the award winners, but I also enjoyed all the orchids that were available for sale!
Middle Right – Dying Eggs! My friend Julie and I try to dye eggs for Easter every year, and this is the result from this year! We experimented a lot so it was extra fun this year!
Bottom Right – Birthday Dinner! My birthday is at the end of March, and Taylor and I went to sushi! It was delicious!
Another thing I wanted to start was a monthly scrapbook of my activities! I'm trying to take more pictures, especially with friends so I'll try and post what I can — mostly food, selfies, and landscapes though.
So let me attempt to explain what is going on in these pictures!
Top Left – New Sink! We got a new shiny sink and dishwasher! This was after much drama with our plumbing that I won't bother explaining about.
Top Right – Dwen-jang Jee-gae at Omogari! I talked about this briefly on a My Recencies post; I went with my good friend Julie to try some new Korean food and restaurant!
Middle Left – Last Walkthrough!
This is the fountain and main courtyard at the Hacienda de las Flores where my friend's wedding was at! I took this picture on the last walkthrough we went on.
Middle Center – A Little Bit Geeky! My friend who got married and I went to stay at a hotel because her then-fiance was using their place for his bachelor party. We stayed at this place and it was so spot on for the both of us!
Middle Right – Fortino Champagne! This was the wine my friend has at her wedding! It is almond-flavoured and delicious!
Bottom Left – Bows and Tutus! Spent a good day and a half to make all these for the bachelorette party! This was the secret DIY I was talking about in the My Recencies post I linked to earlier.
Bottom Center – Post Bachelorette Party Pic! I got some stunnah shades for the four of us and we took a selfie!
Bottom Right – Me at the wedding! This was me during the wedding! I loved the dress (infinity) and the style (used safety pins to stay in place) and the bird cage (made by my lovely friend).


text:
[UPSC] Mission Karmayogi|what is mission karmayogi
what is mission karmayogi|mission karmayogi pib|igot karmayogi|mission karmayogi civil services|pradhan mantri karmayogi scheme|mission karmyogi
Dubbed as the biggest bureaucratic reform initiative, the Union Cabinet Wednesday approved 'Mission Karmayogi', a new capacity-building scheme for civil servants aimed at upgrading the post-recruitment training mechanism of the officers and employees at all levels.Prime Minister Narendra Modi said this exercise will "radically" improve the government's human resource management practices and asserted it will use state-of-the-art infrastructure to augment the capacity of civil servants.
Announcing the scheme, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said officers and employees in the government will get an opportunity to improve their performance under the Mission Karmayogi.Mission Karmayogi is a national programme for civil services capacity building to lay the foundation for the capacity building for civil servants so that they remain entrenched in Indian culture while learning from best practices across the world
What is Mission Karmayogi
1 What is Mission Karmayogi
1.1 pradhan mantri karmayogi scheme Objective
1.2 mission karmayogi Features of the scheme
Mission Karmayogi aims to focus on capacity building of individual civil servants as well as institutional capacity building. The mission is being set up to build future ready civil servants, who will have the right attitude, skills and knowledge that will be in line with the vision of New India.
The mission will be steered by the Prime Minister's HR council that will consist of several national and international experts, who will convene under the chairmanship of the Prime Minister himself. This was shared by C Chandramouli, Secretary, Department of Personnel & Training.
pradhan mantri karmayogi scheme Objective
It is aimed at building a future-ready civil service with the right attitude, skills and knowledge, aligned to the vision of New India.
It aims to prepare Indian civil servants for the future by making them more creative, constructive, imaginative, proactive, innovative, progressive, professional, energetic, transparent, and technology-enabled.
Comprehensive reform of the capacity building apparatus at the individual, institutional and process levels for efficient public service delivery.
Reason for Mission:
At present bureaucracy is facing challenges like- Rule orientation, political interference, inefficiency with promotions, and generalist and specialist conflict.
To change the status quo of civil services and bring about the long pending civil services reforms.
The capacity of Civil Services plays a vital role in rendering a wide variety of services, implementing welfare programs and performing core governance functions
प्रधानमंत्री कर्म योगी योजना
mission karmayogi Features of the scheme
Tech-Aided: The capacity building will be delivered through iGOT Karmayogi digital platform, with content drawn from global best practices.
The platform will act as a launchpad for the National Programme for Civil Services Capacity Building (NPCSCB).
Coverage: The scheme will cover 46 lakh central government employees, at all levels, and involve an outlay of Rs. 510 crores over a five-year period.
Shift from Rules to Roles: The programme will support a transition from "rules-based to roles-based" Human Resource Management (HRM) so that work allocations can be done by matching an official's competencies to the requirements of the post.
Apart from domain knowledge training, the scheme will focus on "functional and behavioural competencies" as well, and also includes a monitoring framework for performance evaluations.
Integrated Initiative: Eventually, service matters such as confirmation after probation period, deployment, work assignments and notification of vacancies will all be integrated into the proposed framework.
Governance Structure:
Human Resource Council: NPCSCB will be governed by the Prime Minister's Human Resource Council, which will also include state Chief Ministers, Union Cabinet ministers, and experts.
This council will approve and review civil service capacity building programmes.
Cabinet Secretary Coordination Unit: There will be a Cabinet Secretary Coordination Unit comprising select secretaries and cadre controlling authorities.
Capacity Building Commission: Also, there will be a Capacity Building Commission, which will include experts in related fields and global professionals. This commission will prepare and monitor annual capacity building plans and audit human resources available in the government.
Special Purpose Vehicle: Finally, there will be a wholly-owned Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), which will govern the iGOT-Karmayogi platform.
It will be set up under Section 8 of the Companies Act, 2013.
The SPV will be a "not-for-profit" company and will own and manage the iGOT-Karmayogi platform.
The SPV will create and operationalize the content, market place and manage key business services of the iGOT-Karmayogi platform, relating to content validation, independent proctored assessments and telemetry data availability.
The SPV will own all Intellectual Property Rights on behalf of the Government of India.
Union Public Service Commission Exam date - 2020 postponed…
Harit Bharat Sankalp|harit bharat sankalp upsc
[Registration] Vande Bharat Mission|air india vande bharat…
आयुष्मान भारत डिजिटल मिशन 2022"Ayushman Bharat Digital…
Parvaaz Scheme|Mission Youth j&k Registration


Still finding it difficult to make presence felt in the social media? Do you daily come across few conversations on your web pages? These concerns are totally justified keeping in my mind the increasing change in social media marketing trends.
Recently, there has been a new development in the field of digital marketing making waves all around, called 'GIF'. In case you haven't been very active on Internet for the past few years, the Graphics Interchange Format or GIF – is a file format comprised of a series of photos combined together to create the appearance of animation. Not only they are humorous, but also gives advertising brands ample freedom to put across their idea or creativity with animated images. As per survey, on Twitter alone, users shared more than 100 million GIFs, becoming a new and quicker way of expressing views, designs, opinions, etc.
Digital Marketers are constantly looking out for new ways and means to reach their target audience and increase engagement. Even after trying and testing every channel available, few still falter in reaching the maximum audience possible. So, GIF here can play an important role for marketers as a storytelling tool in social media. They come with a compelling message to stay relevant, engage users, and increase click through rates.
If we look back at its history for origination, GIFs were created in 1987 but since then they have transformed and became an attractive tool. Everyday progress made in technology enabled GIFs to become the most popular one.
Increase engagement rate: It has the ability to engage users for longer period of time and get their attention on the desired image.
Human element: It not only serves one purpose but also brings along with it humor, inspiration, knowledge and information helping the users make emotional connect and relate to it instantly.
Easy to convey messages: We shouldn't forget that in today's world users have low attention span and with time it's becoming more difficult to view something for long but audience on social media can now easily understand messages you are trying to convey with the help of GIF.
Product or service promotion: The frame-by frame feature of GIF helps the viewer to focus on the product better. It is a great way to highlight features and benefits of a product or service.
Email marketing: Making use of GIFs in emails have proven to raise click through rate and even revenue in agencies who use them.
Effective story telling: A visual story certainly has more power to attract users than a plain, written story. Placing the product or service at the right time with effective message has more potential to keep the audience involved.
Regardless of its several benefits and applications, digital marketing and advertising agencies should be careful about the ways to use and promote the brand. If this is clear then online marketing will become easier to understand. On the other hand, designers can make it more appealing by adding life into pictures thus helping in improving the overall user experience in the virtual world.


How to manually input exercise data?
How to log my health data (weight, blood pressure) in Pacer?
How to change the mode of GPS activity?
How to delete a GPS session?
How to post in the community?
How to see my step history over 1 year?


SSA #10 is overseen by a group of seven volunteer SSA Commissioners. These Commissioners are appointed by the Mayor of the City of Chicago and approved by the City Council. Once appointed, the Commissioners can recommend and approve the annual services, budget and Service Provider Agency for the SSA. Every Commissioner serves for a 2-year term and must renew at least 3 months prior to their commission expiring if they wish to remain as Commissioners.


It's always encouraging when a worthy singer-songwriter who's been laboring in the relative wilderness for years suddenly gets attention by a much wider audience.
In this case, it's a housewife and mother of five who lives in a small town near Boston. She's married to a plumber and has been touring and gigging on weekends in the family van.
Lori McKenna has Faith Hill to thank for getting her a breakthrough to a new audience. The trail to Hill, though, wound through singer-songwriter Mary Gauthier, who passed along McKenna's songs to the late Harlan Howard's widow — song publisher Melanie Howard — who got the songs to Hill. The latter decided at the last minute to include three McKenna songs on her new CD, Fireflies. "If You Ask," "Stealing Kisses" and the title song were frequently singled out for praise in reviews of the album.
And now Hill's record label, Warner Bros. Nashville, has decided to release McKenna's new CD Bittertown. And it's very worthwhile.
McKenna had been writing songs since her early teens and singing around the house but did not begin performing in public until age 27, when her family's encouragement spurred her to try singing at open mike nights around Boston. The response heartened her, and she self-released her debut CD, Paper Wings & Halo, in March 1998. It became a Boston-area favorite, and she appeared at Lilith Fair and the Newport Folk Festival in 1999.
Then a small label released her Pieces of Me (which included "Fireflies") in 2001, and she followed with The Kitchen Tapes in 2003. She literally recorded the latter by herself in her kitchen, accompanied only by her guitar, complete with ringing phones and the drone of a TV.
Her new Bittertown is her first with full band backing (with Buddy Miller on backing vocals on "Bible Song"), and it's an impressive major label debut. Her songs encompass a painterly world of small-town dimensions that's populated by people with bigger aspirations but with a realistic sense of the limitations they face. The mythical Bittertown is every American town that's facing a dead end because of failing economics, because of job losses, because of local businesses closing down, jobs being outsourced outside the U.S. The people's lives are limited and determined by forces outside their control. It's about how those forces shape their own personal families and relationships and jobs. In other words, it's about working class people who are living the end of the American Dream.
Her musical world is not entirely stark. "One Kiss Goodnight" is relatively happy. In "Mr. Sunshine," McKenna finds solace even in the midst of "hard times" and "gray skies." "Stealing Kisses" captures the lost years of lost love that turn to ash. "Monday Afternoon" begins with a first line that presages a damn good country song: "It's Monday afternoon and I am drinking again." The song "The Ledge" assumes that ledges are for jumping off: "Once you're up on the ledge/There's only one way down/So I'll keep you up there/Where you're safe and sound." It's tempting to quote all her lyrics, as evocative as they are. This album amounts to a master class in songwriting.
With an urgent vocal delivery full of rich vibrato and a full load of messages, McKenna is a striking new country music voice. Her clear, frank alto voice is not perfect — thankfully — but is riveting, and she is clearly worth serious attention.
Of her Kitchen Tapes album, McKenna wrote, "The recordings are far from perfect, but they were never meant to be. I'd like to think that their imperfections add to their beauty, and I hope you will, too." Amen to that.


IECRE is a Conformity Assessment System based on International Standards prepared by the IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) for equipment and services used in renewable energy (RE) applications. The system aims to facilitate the international trade of equipment and services in the marine, solar photovoltaic (PV) and wind energy sectors, while maintaining the required level of safety. Each of these sectors will be able to operate IECRE Schemes that cover products, services and personnel, to provide testing, inspection and certification.


Welcome to Buezo''s Motor Company. Be sure to visit our virtual showroom of inventory available for purchase. There you will see detailed information about each vehicle, a picture gallery, as well as convenient ways to contact us for more information about that vehicle. We are located at 203 E. Pacific Ave. and are available by phone at 308-746-7600 . You can also get driving directions and hours of service from our user friendly website.


The clip above is from the TV show called 아빠! 어디가?
In this game, players must speak vocabulary words where the first syllable of the word matches the last syllable of the previous word.
For example: 모자 -> 자두 -> 두더지 -> 지퍼 etc.
If your vocabulary is pretty good, try to do this without a dictionary. But, feel free to use a paper dictionary (more effective for flipping to a large list of words beginning with a certain syllable than smartphone dictionaries) to help you learn new words and increase your vocabulary.
The concept is the same. Have students tell you English vocab words with the first letter of the next word using the last letter of the previous word. Write these on the board. Younger hagwon kids really like this game.
For example: Apple -> Elephant -> Truck -> Kangaroo etc.
The chip above is from the TV show 런닝맨.
The first half of this game (with the introduction and the 2 first teams) can be seen at this link (starting about 2:02).
In this game, players must say the word or phrase over and over again with a different emphasis on each individual syllable in the word or phrase – starting with the first syllable.
This is a good game for getting you to practice your pronunciation, and is good for helping you to remember the spelling of the different syllables in a word.
For a bigger challenge, don't write down the words or phrases, just challenge your partner orally. For an additional challenge, require it to be completed within a certain time limit – like 30 seconds or 1 minute.
Write a short sentence on the board. Then, have students read the sentence over and over again changing the emphasized word with each reading. It can really help them learn voice inflection and word emphasis.
For example: I want to eat ice cream. -> I want to eat ice cream. -> I want to eat ice cream. -> I want to eat ice cream. -> I want to eat ice cream. -> I want to eat ice cream.
I've used this game with great success in high school classes. I usually divide them up into groups of 4-5 students, then time them to see who can do it the best and fastest. Lots of laughter with this one.
The clip above is from the TV show 무한도전.
The game itself starts from about 1:30 in the clip above (immediately after the children's song).
In this game, players must speak first one word, then the next player says that word backward – syllable by syllable. Usually the game is limited to a certain category (in this clip, Family 가족) and a certain number of syllables (in this clip 3).
The first player says a single word which the second player reverses. The second player then chooses a new word which the third player reverses. The third creates a new words, and so on. They also say, "Ah-ha!" between each word.
For example: 부성애 – 애성부 -> 모성애 – 애성모 -> 울어마 – 마어울 -> 작은딸 – 딸은작 -> 큰이모 – 모이큰 -> 작은이모…. Oops he failed because it was 4 syllables!
To simplify the game, eliminate the time limit and also allow players to write down the words before speaking.
With this game, you can use vocabulary words OR sentences, but it's a good idea to just do it VERY slowly at first. Don't forget to say "Ah ha" between words or phrases.
It's probably even a good idea to have students WRITE DOWN what they are planning to say before they say it as this game can be quite challenging on the spot – especially for second-language learners (and even for native speakers).
I've used this game in high school and middle school. But, like I said, it's much better to have every student write down a word or phrase that they intend to use on their turn FIRST. Then, all they have to focus on is reversing whatever is spoken to them before their turn. It's also helpful to let them write down everything as it's spoken so that they can more easily comprehend HOW to reverse things.
Remember, take this game VERY SLOWLY.
#21: Choose one of the word games listed above and play it with some friends. Record a video of your game.
The whole point today is to have a little fun and stretch your brains a bit. Feel free to write down the words or expressions you use (to help you learn them), and feel free to use a dictionary if you need to (a paper dictionary is recommended for easier flipping between words with certain syllables).
Have you ever played any of these games? Which one is the most difficult? Which one is the most fun?


text:
/ People / Konrad Zuse – Complete Biography, History and Inventions
Konrad Zuse – Complete Biography, History and Inventions
Updated: December 6, 2022 by Abby
Konrad Zuse is known for designing the S2 computing machine, one of the first electronic calculating machines that had over 2000 vacuum tubes.
In 1938, Zuze built the Z1, a reliable computing machine which was able to compute the determinant of a three-by-three matrix and had an incredibly solid design layout.
The measurement apparatus in the S2 model is probably the first known analog-to-digital converter ever built, but it was never deployed in production.
Konrad Zuse was a German civil engineer, computer scientist, inventor, and businessman.
Who Was Konrad Zuse?
Konrad Zuse was a German civil engineer, computer scientist, inventor, and businessman. He was born in 1910 in Berlin, Germany. Zuse received a PhD in civil engineering from the Technical University of Berlin in 1934.
Zuse gained prominence for the S2 computing machine , invented in 1936. The S2 was one of the first electronic calculating machines and had over 2000 vacuum tubes. It reached a top speed of only 10 operations per second, but was considered to be an improvement on previous mechanical devices such as Enigma.
Konrad Zuse
Werner Von Siemens Ring
Horst Suze
Berlin, German Empire
["Mathematics","Computer Science","Mechanical Engineering"]
Z3 machine
Because of the second world war, Zuse's work did not gain much ground in the United States and the United Kingdom.
Konrad Zuse was born in Berlin on June 22 1910. In 1912, his family moved to Braniewo, Poland where his father worked as a postal clerk.
In 1912, the Zuse family left for Braunsberg, a sleepy small town in east Prussia, where Emil Zuse was appointed a postal clerk. From his early childhood Konrad started to demonstrate a huge talent, but not in mathematics, or engineering, but in painting (look at the fabulous chalk drawing nearby, made by Zuse in his school-time).
Konrad went too young to the school and enrolled in the humanistic Gymnasium Hosianum in Braunsberg. After his family moved to Hoyerswerda (Hoyerswerda is a town in the German Bundesland of Saxony), he passed his Abitur (abitur is the word commonly used in Germany for the final exams young adults take at the end of their secondary education) at Reform-Real-Gymnasium in Hoyerswerda.
After graduation the young Konrad fell into a state of uncertainty, what to study later—engineering or painting. The film Metropolis of Fritz Lang from 1927 impressed Konrad. He dreamed of designing and building a giant and impressive futuristic city as Metropolis and even started to draw some projects. So he finally faced facts and he decided to study civil engineering at the Technical College (Technischen Hochschule) in Berlin-Charlottenburg.
During his study he also worked as a bricklayer and bridge builder. During this time the traffic lights were introduced into Berlin, causing a total chaos in the traffic. Zuse was one of the first people, who tried to design something like a "green wave", but was unsuccessful.
He was also very interested in the field of photography, and designed an automated system for development of band negatives, using punch cards as accompanying maps for control purposes. Later on he devised a special system for film projections, so called Elliptisches Kino
Zuse's interest in engineering started at around age 15 when he took apart a clock and reassembled it after painting the pieces black so that they could not be discerned from one another. He also built his own radio receiver with a small group of friends. In 1928, Zuse served briefly in the army before returning to Berlin and completing his civil service training as an engineer officer in 1929.
Konrad Zuse, the creator of the first relay computer
After his studies, he became interested in automating repetitive tasks and created one of Germany's first computers later called 'Z1'.
Konrad Zuse is an inventor with some claim to fame for creating mechanical constructions as well as designing bridges, cranes etc., eventually finding that his interest lay more within engineering rather than architecture or graphic design.
After his graduation in 1935, Zuse started working as a stress analyst for the plane manufacturer Henschel Flugzeugwerke. However, he resigned from this position with the intent of starting his own company. His goal was to create automatic calculating machines and had already made contact with Kurt Pannke, a builder of desk-style calculators.
Although Konrad Zuse's service at Henschel proved crucial to his career, he was ultimately conscripted into the German army.
Konrad Zuse constructed the first working computer. To fund its construction he received financial support from his parents and various friends, students at university assisted him by working on the machine for free in their spare time, while others contributed to the cause with small donations so that he would be able to complete what became known as "V1″- or "experimental model one".
One of the most important facts between Zuse and other computer inventors working in the late 1930s was that he had to design his machine all by himself, whereas scientists such as John Atanasoff and Howard Aiken had university or company resources available at their disposal. The mechanical conception of the V1 (later renamed to Z1) came entirely from his brainchild.
The Z1, a reliable computing machine created in 1938 by Konrad Zuse, was able to compute the determinant of a three-by-three matrix and had an incredibly solid design layout. Even though it was not flawless in its mechanics, the mechanical capabilities included proved sound when compared to other machines at the time.
Konrad Zuse (on the right) and Helmut Schreyer working of the Z1 in the apartment of Zuse's parents
Construction of the Z1 in the apartment of Zuse's parents
Following this, consideration could be given to an electrical realization, using telephone relays. It was suggested that vacuum tubes may have difficulty with the complexity of calculations.
Helmut Schreyer, a college friend of Zuse and electronics engineer said he would pursue these developments for his PhD project.
Though vacuum tubes promised extremely fast calculations, Konrad Zuse was not convinced of their reliability. Instead he doubted the long-term viability of these devices and thought about possible uses for his machine.
There were many aspects of the new world that fascinated Konrad Zuse. The questions surrounding technology and its impact on society intrigued him, but he also found things like jazz music to be fascinating in a time when all other composers seemed to have fallen into an artistic coma.
Zuse wondered what could be causing this stagnation in arts and is appalled at how disengaged from reality artists had become. He soon realized that following one's own interests was the key to success.
The young engineers Konrad Zuse (left) and Helmut Schreyer (right)
Originally, Konrad Zuse planned to create a mechanical desktop calculator that could be replaced with a new computing machine. However, he found himself drawn more towards electronic innovations.
In 1938, Schreyer and Zuse explained some of the electronic circuits to a small group at the Technische Hochschule. When asked how many vacuum tubes would be needed for a computing machine, they replied that two thousand tubes and several thousand other components would be enough.
Academic scholars were skeptical of vacuum-tube circuitry at the time, which was limited to less than hundred tubes in the most advanced designs. However, only six years later a machine operator Philadelphia would show that this type of circuitry was feasible and not nearly as expensive as they had believed so far.
World War II interfered with Konrad Zuse's engineering duties. During his service, he learned that Kurt Pannke had convinced superiors to transfer Zuse to Berlin where the next computing machine could be built.
To speed up Zuse's discharge, Konrad went to the military with an offer of building them a machine that could be operational in two years. His offer was met with sarcasm as officials reminded him that the war would have ended by then.
Finally, his former superiors at Henschel were able to obtain Zuse's transfer to the airplane factory in Berlin-Adlershof where he was hired to make calculations necessary for correcting wings in flying bombs.
The World's First Programmable Computer
In 1940, Konrad Zuse started working for a special section of Henschel's factory. For the next five years he developed S1 and S2 machines. The latter, which could automatically measure some parameters of missile wings, transform analog measurements into digital numbers, and compute corrections based on these values.
The S1 version of his control box used a manual decimal keyboard, while the later versions used an automatic selector movement and coded instructions. The measurement apparatus in the S2 model is probably the first known analog-to-digital converter ever built, but it was never deployed in production.
The Z2, an experimental model that used a mechanical memory cannibalized from the Z1 and had the same logical design of the Z1 was operational in 1940.
The punch tape and punch tape reader are used for programming of Z1.
A block of Z1 (© Horst Zuse)
Helix Tower
In 1992 Zuse started his last project—the Helix-Tower (see the lower image), a variable height tower, for catching wind in order to produce energy in an easier way, build from uniformly shaped and repeatable elements. The propeller and wind generator had to be mounted on the top of the tower. Zuse used a very elegant mechanical construction and immediately received a patent for this in 1993. The height of the tower could be modified by adding or subtracting building blocks.
Konrad Zuse with the project of his Helix-Tower (Source: epemag.com/zuse)
What Was Konrad Zuse Known For?
His greatest achievement was the world's first functional program-controlled Turing complete computer, the Z3. The program was stored on a punched tape. He received the Werner von Siemens Ring in 1964 for this design.
Zuse also designed the first high-level programming language, Plankalkül, and it went largely ignored when he published it in 1948. One inventor of ALGOL (Rutishauser) wrote that "the very first attempt to devise an algorithmic language was undertaken in 1948 by K. Zuse."
The reconstructed Z3 computer of Zuse in Deutschen Museum, München
Zuse was more than just an engineer. He started his own computer company to build the Z4, which became the second commercial computer rented out by ETH Zürich in 1950.
Despite the focus of World War II on Zuse's device in Europe, it was largely ignored by American and British industries. The only visible progress America had made with this technology was during a 1946 offer from IBM to license some patents. However, Zuse contributed two other inventions that are still respected today: in 1968 he presented the concept of Calculating Space (a computation-based universe) and donated one replica model of his calculating machine as well as another replicating his successor, the Z4. These models are now on display at Deutsches Museum in Munich, Germany, which immortalized Zuse even after death.
The Z4 computer of Zuse in ETH-Zürich
Konrad Zuse: Marriage, Children and Personal Life
In January 1945, Konrad Zuse married his wife Gisela Brandes. He hired a carriage to deliver him in a tailcoat and top hat. His fiancée Gisela wore a wedding veil for the ceremony, which was attended by many relatives and friends.
The couple had their first son Horst in November 1945.
Although Zuse never became a party member, he is not known to have expressed any qualms about working for the Nazi war effort. In retrospect, considering his feelings about modern times and scientists being forced to work for questionable business and military interests in the Faustian bargain, it is understandable how larger implications may not have occurred to him.
Zuse is infamous for inventing the Z4, the predecessor to what would become known as a computer. After he retired, he focused on his interest in painting. His death was on 18 December 1995 of heart failure, near Fulda (Hesse). His achievements have been highly regarded even after his death.
Konrad Zuse: Awards and Achievements
Zuse received many honors for his contributions to the field, including:
The Werner von Siemens Ring in 1964 (shared with Fritz Leonhardt and Walter Schottky)
Harry H. Goode Memorial Award in 1965 (shared with George Stibitz)
The Wilhelm Exner Medal in 1969
The Bundesverdienstkreuz award (Grand Cross of Merit) in 1972
Two medals, one from the Gesellschaft für Informatik and the other from the Zentralverband des Deutschen Baugewerbes (Central Association of German Construction), are both named after Konrad Zuse.
There is a replica of the Z3 as well as an original Z4 in the Deutsches Museum in Munich. Additionally, there is an exhibition devoted to Zuse at the Der Deutsche Technikmuseum Berlin, displaying twelve machines he made including replicas of the Z1 and several paintings by him.
To honor the 100 year anniversary of his birth, over the course of a series of lectures, exhibitions and workshops.
Konrad Zuse: Published Works
In 1969 Zuse published Rechnender Raum, the first book on digital physics. He proposed that the universe is being computed by some sort of cellular automaton or other discrete computing machinery, challenging the long-held view that some physical laws are continuous by nature. He focused on cellular automata as a possible substrate of the computation, and pointed out that the classical notions of entropy and its growth do not make sense in deterministically computed universes.
In 1970, Zuse published his autobiography, The Computer-My Life.
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Konrad Zuse – Complete Biography, History and Inventions FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)
What did Konrad Zuse invent?
Zuse was known for his contributions in the field of computing, particularly the first programmable computer known as the Z1.
What was Konrad Zuse's first invention?
Zuse invented the Z1 machine, often regarded as the world's first programmable computer.
When did Konrad Zuse invent?
Zuse invented the Z1 machine in 1939.
Who was Konrad Zuse and what did he build?
Konrad Zuse was a German engineer known for building early versions of what are now modern computers.
When was Konrad Zuse born?
Konrad Zuse was born in 1910.
Abby has a B.A. in English, and has written short and long fiction, with a published novel, lyrics and poetry. She's also done interviews and pieces on the folk music industry. Besides writing and editing for A-Z-Animals and History-Computer, she writes for an entertainment e-zine, and educational materials. She's built multiple websites from scratch and provided content to them. In her spare time, she enjoys sci-fi and social gaming.
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« Was HB60 an inside play by the Utah Taxpayers Association? All signs point to yes
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Comcast has been holding out on us, but it's out of tricks up its sleeve
By Jesse | March 4, 2014 - 10:00 am | February 26, 2014 Essays
When Google Fiber announced in Provo, it didn't take long for Comcast to immediately whip out a new 250Mbps/50Mbps tier and match the announced price. The reaction isn't all that surprising. They needed to look like they're doing something to try and retain customers, and current modems meeting the DOCSIS 3.0 standard can max out at 343Mbps/122Mbps. Unfortunately, Comcast, in one move, almost entirely exhausted the available juice in its system without a massive overhaul of their operations. Could it be that they're not going to be able to upgrade any further without a huge cash infusion?
Looking at the DOCSIS 3.0 standard, it allows for bonding up to 24 downstream and 8 upstream channels. This provides a peak theoretical bandwidth of 1029Mbps/245Mbps. Unfortunately, cable providers like Comcast have had trouble enough meeting the demand for 8 downstream and 4 upstream channels. With hundreds of channels (many now in HD), reclaiming spectrum has been very tricky. Despite tricks such as headend upgrades to H.264 (and, soon, H.265), using digital-to-analog adapters for customers who won't upgrade to a digital package, and exploring IPTV, the system remains tapped out. The systems usually only support 6MHz channels across about 1GHz of total space or about 165 total channels. With nodes containing as many as 200 users, even a high 14:1 oversubscription ratio would mean dedicating at least 60% of the available channels just to broadband users, something that would crowd out their core TV product.
This is why Comcast has had to resort to very expensive FTTP upgrades to push their 505Mbps/65Mbps service in markets where Verizon's FiOS has been chipping away at their market share. Even then, they want $500 to get service and charge a $1,000 ETF if you don't stick with them for long enough. The hardware has also lagged behind with a limited number of modems that can push that kind of speed. Comcast also charges over $400/mo for the product, well out of reach of your typical user.
So where would Comcast do these kinds of upgrades? So far, it's primarily in areas with only one wireline competitor that offers somewhat comparable speeds. To date, that means areas with Verizon FiOS. Tiers beyond 105Mbps haven't shown up anywhere in Utah outside of Provo. Even there, Comcast won't go beyond what their current 8-channel DOCSIS 3.0 deployment is capable of. Areas with CenturyLink DSL? No need to surpass 50Mbps at most. ADSL2+? 105Mbps is faster enough to keep their heads above water. Areas with gigabit fiber? Invest the bare minimum needed to get low-end users on the cheap because they know they can't match the speeds.
What we're seeing in Provo is all Comcast has got: pushing the system to and sometimes past its reasonable limits, and yet still falling woefully short. With a poor reputation for customer service and CenturyLink ceding markets, it seems obvious that Comcast is about to enter a slow bleed phase with very limited upgrades targeted at areas without gigabit fiber. Funny, that sounds a lot like what CenturyLink is now.
Tagged CenturyLink, Comcast, DOCSIS 3.0. Bookmark the permalink.
2 Responses to Comcast has been holding out on us, but it's out of tricks up its sleeve
Chris C. says:
When Cable Labs finalized the Docs is 3.1 specs last October, how do you foresee that changing the landscape when those modems are commercially available in 2015?
Too little, too late. It's only a 50% bump over the current speeds using the same spectrum. Instead of 60% of the network for gigabit, it'd have to be 40%. That's still a huge amount, and the networks are going to have a lot of trouble doing it.
There's also the question on if they'll invest. I don't think they will. Comcast has been very busy bringing content producers under its roof to create a vertical monopoly. With all of the money they just spent on DOCSIS 3.0 upgrades, I doubt they'll be eager to turn around the rip it all out except in the markets mentioned above.