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The Neanderthal Influence
Posted on July 9, 2017 by Kathleen Rollins
After visiting eleven decorated caves in northern Spain, including two replicas, I came away with a tremendous sense of admiration and respect for the artists who worked on them. My favorite, by far, was El Castillo, the largest of four caves on the beautiful mountain of the same name (pictured below). For starters, it has yielded evidence of an incredibly long span of occupation – over 150,000 years.
That means it was home to Neanderthals, who, most texts explain, first appeared in Europe about 300,000 years ago. Homo sapiens (modern humans) started living in the El Castillo cave about 40,000 years ago. Both groups apparently shared the area for about 5,000 years. All those dates are subject to challenge.
El Castillo (modern entrance shown in photo) is no dank, narrow cave. Back in the Paleolithic era, it had a natural arch opening and a wide area lit by sunlight, making it a bright, airy spot for a campsite, a meeting area, or even a village shelter in bad weather. It also has a fine view of the valley below. ( See photo.)
In the front section now under excavation, different levels seem clearly separated. The ones with human occupation look much darker because they include carbon from fires. The periods in which the cave was occupied only by animals are marked by pale yellow bands. But how do researchers know that a certain level was Neanderthal rather than modern human? It turns out it's based on agreed-upon dates and tool styles. Neanderthals succeeded Homo Heidelbergensis in Europe about 300,000 years ago and died out between 35,000 and 40,000 years ago for reasons unknown. If the carbon dates for a layer come back between 40 and 300 thousand years old, it's identified as Neanderthal. Maybe. Certain stone tools and objects made from antler and bone are also typical of this period. The truth is the dates keep changing, and the whole field of study is in a state of flux.
So, did Neanderthals paint at least some of these dots on the walls of El Castillo, a couple of which, including one of the dots in the photo, have been dated to over 41,000 years old? Another part of the same panel was found to be 25,000 years old, and yet another to be 37,000 years old. (See labelled photo. The number of years is listed first, then the margin of error.) That covers 16,000 years on a single panel of the cave! If Neanderthals did paint some of that panel, it would be toward the end of their reign in Europe and the beginning of the ascendancy of modern humans. According to a study published in Nature, pockets of Neanderthals survived in Europe until 39,260 years ago. Even given that, it's not clear which group painted the dots on the wall of El Castillo.
One problem we face in answering that question is the paucity of dated samples. It's very expensive to complete carbon dating or uranium-thorium dating on a piece of cave art, and the process right now requires taking a tiny sample of the paint off the wall. Once dating techniques improve and the cost comes down, we'll know a lot more about the dates and sequence in which different paintings were made.
Right now, archaeologists are reluctant to say more than it's possible that some of the art in El Castillo might have been made by Neanderthals. They admit that Neanderthals may have painted a couple of seals on a stalactite in a cave near Malaga, Spain (photo), and they may have carved bird bones and deer teeth, and left crosshatch marks on a cave wall in Gibraltar. But their underlying belief is that only modern humans had the sophistication to create art or think symbolically. That assumption, though, is being challenged.
Three Interesting Sites
The Lozoya Child in Central Spain
In a cave north of Madrid, in what's come to be called The Valley of the Neanderthals, researchers identified the ritual burial of a Neanderthal toddler they called the Lozoya Child. Placed on fire sites nearby were horns and antlers from bison, aurochs (cattle), and red deer. These are also animals commonly painted on Paleolithic cave walls in northern Spain. The fires were dated between 38,000 and 42,000 years old. Enrique Baquedano, director of the Regional Archaeological Museum of Madrid, thinks the cave might have been used by Neanderthals as a place to mourn and remember the dead
The Stalagmite Circle in France
It's also interesting to consider a 1990 find in Bruniquel Cave in southwestern France. Alerted by 15-year-old Bruno Kowalsczewsi and his father, local cavers squeezed through a narrow opening into an open chamber containing animal bones. Some 1100′ (336 meters) farther back in the cave, they found several stalagmites that had been purposely broken, then many more. About 400 pieces had been laid in two rings. Others had been propped up against them or stacked in piles, some marked with red or black lines (Photo from the National Geographic article listed with sources). There was also a mass of burned bones. These were not natural formations. Scientist and caver Sophie Verheyden took over the exploration of the cave after the original archaeologist died, and called on archaeologist Jacques Jaubert and stalagmite expert Dominique Genty for their help. They tested the stalagmites in 2013 by drilling into them and pulling out test cores. In studying the cores, they realized part was old minerals and part was new minerals that had been laid down after the fragments were broken off. The date of the divide was clear but shocking: 176,500 years ago. There were no known modern humans in the area at the time. It had to be the work of Neanderthals. Verheyden's team's study appeared in the journal Nature in 2016.
Also interesting was the depth of the placement in the cave, which would have had no natural light, so the makers had to work by torches or fires. The structure leads to the idea of ritual behavior in the cave. "A plausible explanation is that this was a meeting place for some type of ritual social behavior," noted Paola Villa from the University of Colorado Museum. More than 120 fragments have red and black streaks not found anywhere else in the cave. (Curiously, many of the decorated caves I saw included black marks on stalactites.) "Some type of ritual behavior" is a pretty wide umbrella term, but the idea of honoring the dead, especially a child, has real resonance in the caves I visited in northern Spain, as do the red circles and black marks.
Verheyden is continuing her exploration of the cave, hoping to answer some of the many questions about the people who used it with such a clear purpose.
The Shanidar Skeletons of Iraq
Skeletons of eight Neanderthal adults and two infants, dated from 65,000 years ago to 35,000 years ago were found in Shanidar cave in northern Iraq. One of the adult males was given a pile of stones including worked points made of chert. And there was evidence of a large fire by the burial site. (The possible scene pictured comes from the Smithsonian article listed with sources.) Pollen grains found on the adult male skeleton known as Shanidar 4 led some to say he had been buried with flowers known for their medicinal properties: yarrow, cornflower, bachelor's button, ragwort, grape hyacinth, horsetail, and hollyhock. Later, skeptics claimed the pollen might have been brought in by gerbils or bees. I'm not sure why bees would bring pollen to a body in a cave, but that's the complaint. Some of the skeletons showed evidence of wounds that had been tended and healed.
The Red Lady
A modern human woman, dubbed "The Red Lady," was buried about 19,000 years ago in a cave called El Miron, across the valley from El Castillo, and covered with red ochre and flowers. No one has suggested these pollen grains were the work of gerbils or bees.
All this is to say that the Neanderthal influence in El Castillo and other caves should not be dismissed or minimalized. It's seems clear that Neanderthals used caves for more than shelter from the storm long before modern humans arrived on the scene.
The Creative Juncture
Even if modern humans living in El Castillo didn't meet their Neanderthal predecessors, they would have noticed their work on the cave walls. Perhaps the combination of cultures was enough to spur an artistic explosion. Imagine the conversation: "Look, they put dots along this wall, and hand prints. This place has important energy relating to death and life. Let's add something of our own to claim this space." Originally, I thought of it as a competition, just as a gang tags a wall in a disputed territory and another gang comes along and covers the marks with theirs. A talented artist puts up a beautiful tag. The opposite one is even better. Competition spurs growth and invention. But, in the case of the El Castillo artists, they seem to have incorporated many of the same symbols as their predecessors, which suggests a continuity of thought rather than a total replacement of one ideology with another.
An Even Greater Shock
Everything we think about the Neanderthals and modern humans is based on the timeline. But what if that timeline is not quite the whole story? A new possibility was suggested in a study described in Nature Communications. After analyzing the DNA from a 100,000 year old Neanderthal skeleton discovered in Bruniquel Cave in southwestern Germany, researchers found the mitochondrial DNA resembled that of early modern humans. In an attempt to explain how this could be, scientists suggested that about 220,000 years ago, a female member of the line that gave rise to Homo sapiens mated with a male Neanderthal. Imagine the scene at the family dinner.
If this theory is proven to be true, it would make our family tree a good deal more complicated!
So it's not hard to see the progression that played out in El Castillo and the explosion of creative energy that accompanied the co-existence of these two groups.
It will be interesting to see what we learn about our cousins in the next ten years or so.
Sources and interesting reading:
"Bruniquel Cave," Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruniquel_Cave
Calaway, Ewen. "Europe's first humans: what scientists do and don't know," Nature, 22 June 2015, http://www.nature.com/news/europe-s-first-humans-what-scientists-do-and-don-t-know-1.17815/
Clottes, Jean. Cave Art. London: Phaidon Publishing, 2010.
"Divje Babe Flute" Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Divje_Babe_Flute/
"Early Human Migrations," Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_human-migrations
Edwards, Owen. "The Skeletons of Shanidar Cave," Smithsonian magazine, March 2010. http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/the-skeletons-of-shanidar-cave-7028477/
Garrido Pimentel, Daniel, and Marcos Garcia Diez. Discover Prehistoric Cave Art in Cantabria: The Caves of Chufin, El Castillo, Las Mondedas, Hornos de la Pena, El Pendo, Covalanas, and Cullalvera, published by Sociedad Regional de Educacion, Cultura y Deporte, Gobierno de Cantabria, no date given.
Ghose, Tia. "Ancient Mourners May Have Left Flowers on 'Red Lady Grave'" Live Science, 20 May 2015, https://www.livescience.com/50897-red-lady-grave-flowers.html
Gibbons, Ann. "Neanderthals and modern humans started mating early," Science magazine, 4 July 2017, http:/www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/07/Neanderthals-and-modern-humans-started-mating-early?utm_campaign=news_daily_2017-07-04/
Gray, Richard. "Cave fires and rhino skull used in Neanderthal burial rituals," This Week, New Scientist, 28 September 2016, https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg23230934-800-cave-fires-and-rhino-skull-used-in-neanderthal-burial-rituals/
Jaubert, Jacques, Sophie Verheyden, Dominique Genty, and others. "Early Neanderthal constructions deep in Bruniquel Cave in southwestern France," Nature (534) 02 June 2016, https://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v534/n7605/full/nature18291.html/
"Neanderthals, humans may have coexisted for thousands of years," Associated Press, 22 August 2014, CBC, http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/neanderthals-humans-may-have-coexisted-for-thousands-of-years-1.2742067/
Rincon, Paul. "Neanderthal 'artwork' found in Gibraltar cave," BBC News, 1 September 2014, http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-28967746/
"Shanidar Cave," Wikipedia, https?en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanidar_Cave
Than, Ker. "Neanderthal Burials Confirmed as Ancient Ritual," National Geographic, 16 Deccember 2013, http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/12/131216-la-chapelle-neaderthal-burials-graves/
Than, Ker. "World's Oldest Cave Art Found – Made by Neanderthals?" National Geographic News, 14 June 2012, http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/06/120614-neanderthal-cave-paintings-spain-science-pike/
UNESCO World Heritage Center. "Cave of Altamira and Paleolithic Cave Art of Northern Spain," UNESCO, http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/310
Von Petzinger, Genevieve. The First Signs. New York: Atria Books, 2016.
Wong, Sam. "Neanderthal artist revealed in a finely carved raven bone," New Scientist Daily News, 29 March 2017, https://www.newscientist.com/article/2126292-neanderthal-artist-revealed-in-a-finely-carved-raven-bone/
Yong, Ed. "A Shocking Find in a Neanderthal Cave in France," The Atlantic, May 2016. https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2016/05/the-astonishing-age-of-a-neanderthal-cave-construction-site/484070/
Posted in archaeology, cave art, Human ancestors, human history, Neanderthals	| Tagged Bruniquel Cave, El Castillo Cave, Lozoya Child, Neanderthal cave art, Neanderthal painting, Neanderthals in Spain, Shanidar skeletons, Stalagmite Circle in France, The Red Lady of El Miron | Leave a comment |
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The Church celebrates the memory of a pair of unmercenary physicians, Saints Cosmas and Damian of Asia Minor.
There are two other pairs of unmercenary saints named Cosmas and Damian, one from Rome and the other from Arabia. The title of "unmercenary" means the same thing for all of them: that they refused payment for their healing work.
The two brothers from Asia Minor were raised by their mother Theodota, a Christian whose pagan husband died while her boys were still young. She taught them to be reverent toward God, and encouraged them to study hard to become skilled physicians. She, too, is a saint of the Church and is remembered with them.
As Cosmas and Damian grew into manhood, they became well-known for their care not only of people but of animals. In their view, all living creatures, being part of God's creation, were worthy of loving care and medical help when it was needed. The brothers knew that their abilities were God's gift, so they determined never to request any payment for what they did.
They applied this principle not only to friends and people they knew well but to any stranger who needed their assistance. The courteous attention they showed to every person reflected their mother's Christian teaching, and brings to mind the words of Saint Paul: "Conduct yourselves wisely toward outsiders, making the most of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer every one" (Colossians 4: 5-6). Paul was encouraging his readers to be effective in spreading the Gospel by being gracious in speech and behavior; Cosmas and Damian did so by representing Christ in their medical treatment, always accompanying it with prayer.
Having agreed to be "unmercenary" in their work, the two men were more strongly bonded even than many brothers are. But the bond was broken, in a sad and curious way, for a period of several years. A very sick woman, deeply grateful to the brothers for having cured her, offered Damian the small gift she could afford: three eggs. She insisted that he accept them "in the name of the Life-Creating Trinity." Damian felt that he could not refuse.
you grant healing to those in need.
and bring healing to the world through your miracles.
Cosmas was shocked by what seemed to be a breach of their agreement not to accept payment, and he declared, on his deathbed, that his brother must not be buried beside him as they had planned. When Damian died shortly after he did, a big problem arose. Where should Damian be buried?
God intervened by giving the power of speech to an animal the two physicians had once treated. The animal assured everyone that Damian had accepted the gift only out of respect for the name of God, and therefore they should not hesitate to bury him next to Cosmas. Happy and relieved, the people did so, and the two brothers were united once again.


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Sherdog's 2020 Breakthrough Fighter of the Year
By: Ben Duffy
Editor's note: The views and opinions expressed below are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Sherdog.com, its affiliates and sponsors or its parent company, Evolve Media.
Every year, the wonderfully unpredictable sport of mixed martial arts gives us a handful of fighters breaking through to new levels of achievement and popularity. That breakthrough can take different forms. Last year, Jorge Masvidal authored one of MMA's most incredible mid-career reinventions, as he went from solid veteran and hardcore fan favorite to one of the biggest stars in the sport, and the proud owner of a belt he had willed into existence. Before that, Israel Adesanya began 2018 as an undefeated prospect and virtual unknown; four wins later, "The Last Stylebender" ended the year as a middleweight title contender and a budding superstar around whom the Ultimate Fighting Championship could build Australian cards.
This year, of course, has been dominated by COVID-19 and its impact on the sport at every level, but while the coronavirus has made just about everything more difficult and dangerous, breaking through might be the lone exception. The enormous turnover in high-level MMA, the sheer number of bout cancellations and last-minute matchup changes led to an unprecedented number of previously obscure fighters getting opportunities to shine. Think of Joaquin Buckley, who bounced back from a loss in his UFC debut to rack up "Knockout of the Year" candidates—one of them a short-lister for the best knockout of any year—in his next two fights. Kalinn Williams debuted on ultra-short notice with next to no fanfare, knocked out his first two UFC opponents in a combined 57 seconds of cage time, and might have won this category had he been able to keep that incredible streak alive against Michel Pereira in December. And any discussion of 2020's "Breakthrough Fighter of the Year" would of course be incomplete without Khamzat Chimaev, who took the sport by storm, winning three fights in dominant fashion and earning a Top-5 matchup—all in the second half of the year.
However, for a combination of straightforward accomplishment and rising star power in this most turbulent year, nothing tops the 12-month body of work put in by Kevin Holland. The gregarious Californian by way of Texas became just the third fighter in UFC history to go 5-0 in a calendar year, picked up three "Performance of the Night" bonuses, moved from prospect to contender and crashed the middleweight Top 15. Beyond simply winning fights, Holland made the most of the moment, displaying his unique charisma in and out of the cage in a way that had only been made possible by the production changes foisted onto the promotion by the pandemic. "Trailblazer," indeed.
When 2020 dawned, before the coronavirus was much more than a back-page story making its way to the front, Holland was a promising up-and-comer who was 3-2 in the UFC and had lost his last fight of 2019 to an apparently more promising up-and-comer in Brendan Allen. By the time of his first fight of the year, against Anthony Hernandez at UFC on ESPN 8 on May 19, the pandemic was very much a thing, the UFC was still scrambling to figure out how it would put on fights. Holland blew his fellow Dana White's Contender Series alum away in just 39 seconds with a pair of hellacious knees to the body that might have been enough to finish the fight all by themselves, followed up by a stream of punches on the ground.
With that opening statement made, Holland then became an early beneficiary of one of the most notable dynamics of the COVID-era UFC, namely that fighters who were willing and able to fight often would be afforded the chance to do so. Holland was scheduled to turn right around and face Daniel Rodriguez a week later, but was forced to withdraw due to a training injury. He returned instead on Aug. 8 against fellow breakthrough fighter Buckley, getting the better of a fantastic slugfest before blasting "New Mansa" with a right-handed killshot that ensured that all three of Buckley's fights in 2020 ended in "Knockout of the Year" contenders. Getting into his groove, Holland returned just six weeks later to face Darren Stewart, who had won on the same August card. Holland prevailed over the Brit by split decision in an odd fight that was characterized by lots of jawing, but not as close as the outcome makes it sound.
After two wins in six weeks, Holland accepted another short-notice booking, this one on just five weeks' notice, agreeing to face the red-hot Makhmud Muradov at the UFC's first-ever event on Halloween when Krzystof Jotko withdrew. That would have been arguably Holland's toughest test to date, but when Muradov tested positive for COVID-19 and was forced off the card as well, in stepped Charlie Ontiveros—normally a welterweight—on two days' notice. Facing the latest of late replacements in a nearly no-win scenario, Holland did what a contender would be expected to do, finishing Ontiveros quickly and emphatically with a slam TKO that left Ontiveros writhing in agony on the canvas.
Already making waves as the first UFC fighter to win four fights in 2020, Holland continued to ride the wave of opportunities presented by the coronavirus and general MMA pandemonium. The week after the Halloween horror show, when an injured Darren Till was forced out of his main event tilt with Jack Hermansson on Dec. 5, Holland agreed to step in, but was then diagnosed with COVID. Holland switched places with Marvin Vettori, who had been scheduled to fight on Dec. 12. The Italian would replace Holland in the Dec. 5 headliner, while Holland would take Vettori's place, fighting Ronaldo Souza on the 12th.
So it was that on Dec. 12, Holland stepped into the Octagon for the fifth time, with all five matchups having been booked, changed or postponed due to the coronavirus. Four straight wins had brought him to a matchup with "Jacare," a perennial contender for a decade and easily the most prestigious name Holland had faced thus far. Facing the biggest test of his career, Holland passed with flying colors, knocking out the grappling legend in under two minutes with a salvo of punches from bottom position, starting with a looping hook thrown from the seat of his pants that delivered ridiculous force and precipitated the finish. The year's journey was complete, as the 28-year-old Holland finished 2020 in Sherdog's middleweight Top 10 as well as the UFC's official rankings.
Holland's ascendancy in 2020 was about more than just the wins, however. For as much as his remarkable schedule was shaped by COVID, the pandemic also afforded him a chance to shine in other ways. One of the most noticeable changes for fans has been the empty venues, where nearly every word uttered by fighters, referees and cornermen is clearly audible. In this environment, Holland's constant chatter made a splash; his back-and-forth verbal exchanges with Buckley and Stewart were memorable, but he saved the best for last. Against Souza, perhaps the most credentialed jiu-jitsu practitioner ever to cross over to MMA, Holland found himself on his back, with "Jacare" kneeling over him. Caught in one of the most daunting positions imaginable in MMA, Holland could be heard saying, "I had a dream about this last night!" with a laugh.
Seconds later, Souza was out cold, and the last thing he heard was that joyous off-the-cuff exclamation from perhaps the most in-the-zone fighter in the sport. Only time will tell whether Holland can continue to build on his streak in the year to come, but for now he is Sherdog's "Breakthrough Fighter of the Year" for 2020 by a landslide.
Jan, 01, 2021 Sherdog's 2020 Year-End Awards: The Complete List By: Sherdog.com Staff As the worst global pandemic in more than a century hamstrung many sports leagues and brought others around the world to their knees in 2020,...
Dec, 31, 2020 2020 Sherdog Year-End Awards Despite a global pandemic hampering many sports and industries around the world, mixed martial arts had a year to remember. MMA was one of the...
Dec, 31, 2020 Sherdog's 2020 Robbery of the Year By: Brian Knapp A number of factors—most notably an officiating error by referee Chris Tognoni—conspired against Mike Rodriguez at UFC Fight Night 177 on...
Dec, 30, 2020 Sherdog's 2020 Event of the Year By: Jay Pettry UFC 249 on May 9 delivered in spades for the Ultimate Fighting Championship, which had the eyes of the sports world all to itself.
Dec, 30, 2020 Sherdog's 2020 Upset of the Year By: Brian Knapp Roxanne Modafferi stunned the previously unbeaten Maycee Barber as a +700 underdog at UFC 246 on Jan. 20.
Kevin "Trailblazer" Holland 21 - 5 - 0

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Here's the new edition of my "Fav 4", edition 27. My favorite and most noteworthy tech & innovation news bites of the last week. 4 updates in an easy to consume video format. Enjoy!
Here's the new edition of my "Fav 4", edition 26. My favorite and most noteworthy tech & innovation news bites of the last week. 4 updates in an easy to consume video format. Enjoy!
Here's the new edition of my "Fav 4", edition 25. My favorite and most noteworthy tech & innovation news bites of the last week. 4 updates in an easy to consume video format. Enjoy!
Here's the new edition of my "Fav 4", edition 24. My favorite and most noteworthy tech & innovation news bites of the last week. 4 updates in an easy to consume video format. Enjoy!


text:
What To Expect When You Graduate From Hackbright
October 28, 2015 - In Thought Piece, Hackbright Academy by Wendy Saccuzzo
Wendy Saccuzzo, Director of Career Services at Hackbright Academy, helps place Hackbright students into software engineering roles at some of the world's fastest growing tech companies and startups.
Hackbright graduates with majors such as Linguistics, Art History, and Spanish land engineering roles in Silicon Valley companies. A Computer Science degree doesn't determine your success. Other things do.
It's a good time to be a software engineer. Salaries are high, demand is high, and the outlook for growth in this career long-term is strong. This is arguably the most in-demand profession in our increasingly tech heavy world.
The problem? People can't get past the antiquated notion that a CS degree determines whether you'll get a job. It doesn't.
Stop thinking a Computer Science degree is a necessity.
Mark Zuckerberg was majoring in Psychology before he dropped out of school to start Facebook. Hackbright has gotten over 200 brilliant women into engineering roles. Guess what? Only a handful had CS degrees. Hackbright alumnae are working at partner companies like Eventbrite, Facebook and New Relic and loving their jobs in engineering.
Did you break stuff and try to put it back together when you were a kid?
Did you spend your recess in the lab working on the computer, tinkering with things around the house, or assembling a zine?
Have you taught yourself some code?
Do you love learning new languages, or delving into linguistics?
Do you build and/or play games, and feel driven to know more about how it all worked? Are you good at debate and explaining how things work?
If you said yes, then you have what our graduates have - curiosity, one of the most important ingredients to being a successful software engineer.
Your major doesn't determine what you're capable of doing.
Anthropology. Political Science. Biology. Public Policy. These are just some of the majors that our graduates who are now software engineers had. Thank goodness that they didn't let their majors overshadow their interest in becoming software engineers. Does that mean anyone could be a software engineer? No, but it's not as hard as our culture makes you believe.
If you're enjoying the more technical parts of your job or perhaps you do a little coding on the side, then maybe you should look a little further into the field. Try out some meetups, or go to a hackathon. Build something with a group of people who are also curious and see what it's like. Not only will it give you an idea of what a day in the life is like, but these passion projects and contributions and commits you make on GitHub will make you a marketable candidate.
You can then further your coding skills on your own or join an immersive program like ours. Either way, if you see your capabilities are there then there's no need to stop yourself from making the career change.
Companies want to see your capabilities now and see a hunger for learning.
As an engineer, you need to be able to fix broken software, leave the code in better condition than you found it, fix bugs, and think about scalability. You must always be thinking, "What if?" New programming languages and frameworks come out on the regular. To stay relevant as a software engineer, you need to keep up with the latest trends by going to meetups, conferences, and reading up on the latest technologies.
At Hackbright, we know what the market trend is and that's what we teach you. Supplement that with going to coding meetups, being informed of the latest technologies and going to conferences, and guess what?
You're the type of coder that a company would want on their team. Because even the CS degree majors on their team may not be as up to date on the latest as you are. That's what makes you extremely valuable.
It's not just about a CS degree for companies.
Meet Sarah. Jasmine. Alaina. Jessica. Siena. Micki - all graduates of our 12-week immersive program, all engineers, no CS degrees. Many supplemented that experience with the plethora of tech opportunities provided to them in the area.
Engineering leadership and the technical recruiters who are hiring for these coveted positions want to know why you decided to learn how to program. They want to know that you contribute to open source, that you have regular commits on GitHub, and that you spend time outside of your day job on this hobby that you're turning into a career.
Be able to talk about how you're always learning, what you're curious about, and that you'll contribute to the culture of curiosity on their team. Let them know that you might not know all the answers, but that if you're stumped, you'll ask a couple of other people, search for some answers on the internet, and try to figure it out first before you throw in the towel and ask someone else what to do. Now that's a promising engineer.
Not only can you be an engineer, but you can be an engineering manager!
Hackbright began in 2012 and in three short years, we're already seeing multiple graduates get promoted to engineering managers.
Why? Curiosity. Passion. Drive to learn... You get the idea!
Check out the new 2015 Course Report on Coding Bootcamp Outcomes and Demographics to see the average result of coding school graduates.
Bottom line: We need more engineers - we need more FEMALE engineers, and a CS degree doesn't determine if you can do it. Only the time and energy you put into coding now will.
Join Hackbright's upcoming 12-week software engineering fellowship and become a software engineer with us. Apply to the fellowship before November 6, 2015.
Prospective hiring partners of Hackbright Academy - companies that are hiring for diverse engineering teams - can sign up to recruit from Hackbright Academy on December 1, 2015.
Coding Courses For Women: Why Do We Do It?
How to Prepare for Hackbright's Technical Interview
What Is Imposter Syndrome?


The Bowen Technique is a unique soft tissue bodywork which was developed by Mr. Tom Bowen in Geelong, Australia during the 1950s.
It consists of a series of light, safe, gentle and extremely precise hand "moves" on muscles, ligaments or nerve bundles in specific areas of the body depending on which part of the body is being addressed.
If Bowen "moves" are correctly applied a client cannot be hurt. Bowen is safe for all bodies from the tiniest premature infant to the frail elderly.
Between sets of "moves" there are pauses lasting 2 or more minutes to allow the body time to process. The "moves" stimulate energy and empower the body to heal itself to the best of its ability.
Bowen work is truly complementary in that it enhances treatment by medical doctors and helps speed up recovery from injury and surgical procedures. However, other hands-on body work between Bowen sessions can undermine the effectiveness of Bowen.
Bowen Practitioners recommend waiting a week before the next session. If a new injury or a re-injury occurs a treatment on the day, or as soon as possible, will speed up the healing process and prevent compensation patterns from developing.
Results are often extremely rapid, often occurring within hours of a single treatment, but chronic conditions will require more than the usual 2 to 4 treatments, spaced a week apart, before improvements are noted. Also regular "maintenance" sessions every 4 to 6 weeks may be needed.
Bowen sessions can last from a � hour to 1 � hours depending on the clients age and conditions needing to be addressed. Bowen is cost effective as generally 2 to 4 sessions can resolve a problem.
Bowen Practitioners always take a detailed history of injuries and assess the alignment of the body to be addressed. Generally the whole body is treated unless the injury is very new. Often the cause of pain is a result of compensation patterns from an injury in another part of the body. Therefore to address pain in isolation will not be effective.
The treatment itself is profoundly relaxing.
Non specific lower back pain.
Sciatica. Sacro-illiac pain. (Even throughout Pregnancy).
Neck stiffness and discomfort. Whiplash.
Pelvic imbalance/ leg length difference.
Irritable bowel symptoms/ digestive disorders.
Bowen is a great way to support your body throughout all of the stages of pregnancy from preparing to conceive, throughout the three trimesters and indeed post natally too.
Bowen is a great way to treat children and babies .It's a gentle and effective way to support your child's development . It's not only benificial but very calming and relaxing too.
Treatments take about 30 mins and can be given through clothes with the parent present.
Aiding Posture, Balance and Co-ordination.
Benefits include; healthier children with better concentration, improved sleeping patterns, enhanced motor control and behavior, leading to happier children.


Early teal duck season is a time for wiping sweat, slapping mosquitoes and popping shells at some of the testiest targets in the marsh. It's also when special know-how must be applied to hunt these fleet birds. They aren't difficult, but neither are they gimmes. Following is a collage of duck hunting tips on where, when and how to pursue these first ducks of autumn, which few hunters unexplainably do.
Blue-winged teal frequent both large waters and small: lakes, sloughs, swamps, beaver ponds, farm ponds, strip mine pits, etc. They feed on aquatic vegetation and invertebrates in shallow areas, and they commonly rest and preen on mud flats bordering these shallows.
The best way to find these birds is simply to go looking for them. A day or two before the season opens, head to likely spots at dawn to see what's there. If teal are present, they'll be visible, sometimes in large flights working over feeding areas.
Also, understand that teal hunting can be a boom or bust proposition, and the outlook can change quickly. Blue-wings are cold front-driven. Even the slightest north wind can bring in a new wave of birds. A swamp like the one Don Wright and I were hunting can be void of birds one day, then covered up the next.
This is why we were in Don's blind the morning described above. On the day before opening morning of Kentucky's 2006 season, a stiff (for September) cold front had blown through. We'd hunted these birds enough to anticipate what the next morning would bring. And obviously, we weren't disappointed!
Quiet, shallow waters are where to look for teal in September, and small duck decoy spreads are the rule for hunting them.
ver, in September blue-wings are still in eclipse plumage, meaning their heads and bodies are all-brown. Also, most teal decoys are sized to match live birds — small. This means their profile is slighter, and they're harder to see at long distance.
I prefer to use standard mallard decoys with a preponderance of hens in the spread. The brown color is a better match for the season, and the larger-profile decoys are more visible.
The number of decoys I use depends on my hunting location. On big water where trading ducks can see a long way, I may set out 5 dozen. But on smaller, more confined water (ponds, sloughs, etc.), a dozen decoys may be plenty. Don Wright's blind rules over a one-acre pothole in a thick swamp, and on the morning of our hunt I put out only 12 decoys in a random pattern.
Or make that 13. The extra decoy was a MOJO wing-spinner, set on a pole in the middle of my spread. Teal are drawn to wing-spinners like magnets. Typically, they're fresh off the prairies, and they haven't been educated by hunter pressure. Hunters may or may not elect to use a wing-spinner decoy, depending on their personal preference. But where early-migrating teal are concerned, a wing-spinner is a definite plus for drawing birds into close shotgun range.
In September, vegetation is still lush in most flyways. And since teal aren't too hunter-wise, most hunters can get by hiding in whatever natural cover is available: willows, buck bushes, cattails, sawgrass, etc. It's not that fixed blinds aren't great! My hunting buddy, Don Wright, and I enjoyed standing on a firm platform instead of in soft mud. But a copse of thick vegetation, supplemented by all-over camo clothing (including a face mask) and holding absolutely still when teal are coming, is usually sufficient to keep these birds from seeing you.
Take along a hand axe or a machete for cutting brush on site. Also, it's better than nice to have a seat handy for periods of inaction. A 5-gallon bucket turned upside down is perfect. (If a bucket is white or bright-colored, spray paint it in olive drab before the hunt.) Also, a dove stool will work if the mud is firm enough to keep its legs from miring up.
Blue-wing hens make a call similar to a 5-note hail call of a mallard hen, except it's higher-pitched, faster and softer. Call companies sell teal duck calls that realistically mimic this sound.
However, my experience is that standard, louder mallard calls are more effective at attracting these birds. It's the same philosophy as using the mallard decoys. Mallard calls are louder and can be heard farther. Also, teal and mallards frequently share the same waters, so there's nothing unnatural in teal hearing — and responding to — mallard calls.
Also, one twist to calling teal is "laughing them in," which I've seen guides do at teal-rich Reelfoot Lake in west Tennessee. When a flight of teal is spotted, a guide will laugh aloud — ha, ha, ha, ha, ha — in a high-pitched voice and tempo similar to a real teal's call. It sounds crazy, but the birds respond to it. Who cares what it sounds like if it works?
Teal are the buzz bombs of the duck family. They fly fast and dart unpredictably, thus earning their reputations as being among the trickiest targets in wingshooting. However, they aren't difficult to bring down. A couple of pellets on target will usually cause teal to splash.
This is why teal hunters need shotguns that swing easily and throw dense patterns of fairly small shot. Lighter, shorter guns are better for this purpose, and chokes should be improved cylinder or modified. Shot sizes should be #3-#7, of course in a non-toxic payload.
One great choice for teal hunting would be a 20-gauge over/under, especially over smaller waters. Normal shooting distances will average 20-30 yards, and the 20-gauge will handle this chore neatly, if the shooter can handle his!


Grab A Pumpkin and Enjoy This Pumpkin Fun For Everyone!
Fall has arrived and this is the season for pumpkins! This classic gourd is a favorite for many but has gained in popularity over the past few years with the introduction of pumpkins flavoring in an array of things. But what can you do with the actual pumpkin itself (aside from making a pie or setting them out on your front porch)? Here are two ideas for you and your family to fully enjoy this amazing fall treat!
This is a great use for a carved or uncarved pumpkin, and anything that adds a little natural beauty to the yard is a win to us. Head down to your local nursery, pick up some annuals, and use your pumpkin as the planter!
If your pumpkin is uncarved, cut off the top and remove the seeds, guts and flesh from inside. Set them aside and save for later (if you have a carved pumpkin, skip this step). Simply pack some potting soil into your pumpkin until it is about one-third full. If your pumpkin is carved, you may need to do some extra packing to keep the soil from falling out.
Place your plant into the pumpkin, and fill it out with more potting soil.
Depending on where you live, a pumpkin you'd otherwise throw away could be a tasty snack for a furry or feathery neighbor. Old pumpkins are the perfect food for deer, and any pumpkin seeds you don't want to toast up for yourself will make a yummy treat for birds.


text:
Level of litter on rural Co Armagh roads 'unacceptable'
Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful's community-based campaign, Live Here Love Here, and the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) are calling on people across County Armagh to consider the impact of, and refrain from littering in rural areas.
Results from Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful's Cleaner Neighbourhoods Report 2020/21 have shown that 48 per cent of rural roads surveyed across the country carry more litter than what is considered the accepted standard.
The report also noted that the highest occurrence of littered takeaway packaging was noted in rural areas, with 41 per cent of the transects studied having some form of takeaway litter present. The results of the charity's Local Environment Quality team's 2021 summer survey showed that of 100 rural roads surveyed across Northern Ireland, 36 per cent of litter found was takeaway packaging.
Live Here Love Here has been engaging with policymakers in the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, local councils and other civic groups over the issue of rural litter and its impact across Northern Ireland.
Environment Minister, Edwin Poots, commented: "Rural littering is a burgeoning problem in Northern Ireland, and one that must be taken seriously. With almost half of our rural roads failing to meet acceptable standards of cleanliness, we all need to take responsibility by taking our own rubbish home and even reducing our use of packaging, particularly single use plastics.
"People across County Armagh can make a positive impact by getting involved in some of Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful's litter picking initiatives."
Pictured l-r Live Here Love Here's litter-loathing puppet Al with Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful Chief Executive Officer Dr Ian Humphreys
Along with being unsightly and inconvenient, litter can have a potentially deadly impact on domestic animals, farm animals and wildlife. Discarded single use plastics can take up to 1,000 years to degrade, slowly releasing microplastics which can travel through to and damage ecosystems which serve as homes to marine and wildlife.
Along with littering from cars, David Brown, Deputy President of Ulster Farmers' Union explains that illegal dumping is an increasing issue in rural areas. He said: "Fly-tipping is a scourge on the countryside and one that too many of our farmers have experienced first-hand. Dumping unwanted waste in rural areas is dangerous to human health and harmful to livestock and wildlife. In the past, there have been issues where fly-tipping waste polluted watercourses and contaminated land.
"It is inconsiderate and unacceptable. When unwanted content is dumped on a farmer's land, it becomes the responsibility of the landowner to dispose of, while local councils are left to take ownership of waste on public land and highways. This is both costly and time consuming for farmers and ratepayers.
"Since the pandemic began, the amount of litter being dumped on farmers' land has increased, with many rediscovering the outdoors for recreation. I urge all countryside visitors to be more considerate of those living locally, and of animals and to commit to taking their waste home with them."
Live Here Love Here inspires and supports people across Northern Ireland to create cleaner, greener and more sustainable communities. It observes that rural littering typically occurs when thrown from a car window or left behind after a picnic and can be even more frequent and hazardous than urban litter.
Dr Ian Humphreys, Chief Executive of Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful added: "Our most recent Cleaner Neighbourhoods Report has shown that rural areas are disproportionately affected by litter when compared to residential, recreational and primary retail areas.
"Rural litter is particularly hazardous, seriously impacting upon our environment and economy. Tourism currently represents a considerable percentage of Northern Ireland's GDP, but unsightly rural roads and hedgerows are unlikely to inspire a return trip and can damage the perception of our region.
"We're calling on people across County Armagh to protect rural areas and commit to not littering themselves. In addition, people can take a proactive approach to alleviating the problem by getting involved with some of our litter picking initiatives through Live Here Love Here. Our Adopt a Spot scheme allows groups of volunteers to formally adopt a spot in their community and look after it with regular clean ups."
To find out more about the Adopt a Spot scheme, visit: http://www.liveherelovehere.org.
Son running marathon for Portadown dad who died while undergoing heart surgery


text:
<?php

/**
 * Soluzione all'esercizio sui csv con composer
 *
 */

require __DIR__ . '/vendor/autoload.php';

use Monolog\Logger;
use Monolog\Handler\StreamHandler;

$log = new Logger('name'); // in alternativa senza la dicitura 'use' avremmo dovuto scrivere new Monolog\Logger('name');

$log->pushHandler(new StreamHandler('app.log', Logger::DEBUG)); //a differenza di ieri creo un Log su cui vengono scritti i messaggi di debug

/*
 * a questo punto secondo la documentazione possiamo inserire nel log quello che vogliamo
 */
$log->debug('Stiamo avviando il file '. __DIR__ . __FILE__);

/*
 * Setto questi parametri perchè potrebbero esserci dei problemi usando file da MAC
 */
if (!ini_get("auto_detect_line_endings")) {
    ini_set("auto_detect_line_endings", '1');
}
/*
 * Seleziono la Classe Reader a cui sono interessato
 */
use League\Csv\Reader;

/*
 * Seguendo la documentazione creo un Reader partendo da un file che ho creato
 *
 * dopodichè usando fetchAssoc faccio in modo di associare i nomi della colonna con i valori.
 *
 * il parametro 0 serve per passare il punto della tabella in cui ci sono i valori delle chiavi.
 *
 */
$reader = Reader::createFromFileObject(new SplFileObject('file.csv'));

/*
 * trasforma l'iteratore ritornato da reader->fetchAssoc(0) in un array
 */
$results = iterator_to_array($reader->fetchAssoc(0),false);

use Symfony\Component\HttpFoundation\JsonResponse as Response;
/*
 * composer install illuminate/support
 */
use Illuminate\Support\Collection;

/*
 * crea una collezione ovvero un Array potenziato su cui possiamo eseguire dei metodi più fighi
 */
$collezione = new Collection($results);

/*
 * gli elementi senza chiave ora prendono una chiave basandosi su un valore dell'array associativo. Scelgo giorno.
 * Il keyBy si occupa di scegliere se ci sono più elementi con lo stesso valore di giorno di sceglierne uno
 */
$collezione = $collezione->keyBy('giorno');

/*
 * Ordino gli elementi per chiave
 */
$collezione->sortBy(function ($item,$key) {
    /*
     * essendo una data l'ordinamento per stringa non funziona bene. Uso una libreria esterna per gestire le date.
     */
    $data = \Carbon\Carbon::createFromFormat('d/m/y',$key);

    /*
     * ritorno il timestamp che così ci permette di ordinare in modo corretto
     */
    return $data->timestamp;
});

/*
 * ritorno la risposta
 */
$response = new Response($collezione);
$response->send();

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Oak Hill Hospital has been serving the Nature Coast since 1984, is the area's largest private employer with 280 beds, and is the largest medical facility in Hernando and Citrus Counties. The facility offers Hernando County's only comprehensive cardiovascular program, including an arrhythmia center and open-heart surgery. Oak Hill Hospital's healthcare delivery team is comprised of over 500 physicians, 1,300 associates, and approximately 250 volunteers.