MONIQUE BETTY: Hello and welcome to Looking Glass Academy. This is Executive Coach Monique Betty welcoming you to this month's special edition titled, The Pursuit of Success by a Single Working Mom.
Today, my guest is Shelmina Babai Abji who had a thriving career at IBM, all while raising two children.
SHELMINA: Thank you, Monique. I'm excited to be here.
MONIQUE: So to just start us off, Shelmina, if you could please just shed light on what do you attribute your success in advancing your career while raising two young children as a single parent?
SHELMINA: First and foremost, it started with my desire to succeed. And when we have the deep desire to succeed and when we have clarity around what that means to me, to you, very personal, internalize that, that's when we start focusing our energy and our attention to that word "success".
After 12 years of marriage in which my ex-husband was my 50 percent partner not just in upkeeping my household but also raising my two children who at the time were two and four, we separated. My world, as I knew it, came to an end. I had to do a lot of soul-searching on what was important to me.
For me, it was about education. It was really important that I be able to provide my children with the best education that was available to them.
SHELMINA: I decided that if my kids went to college, what would it cost me. And also, I wanted to retire without being a burden on anyone. I was very motivated to make sure that I had enough money to ensure that my kids went to college without taking out a loan and that I retired without being a burden.
MONIQUE: Was that a journey for you to get to that mindset of ownership, of saying, "Now I got to step to the plate and provide for my children educationally to ensure that I carry that burden." Did you need help in that or did you get there pretty quickly? What was that part like for you?
SHELMINA: It wasn't pretty quickly, Monique. And first of all, I completely agree with you about setting your mindset, what I believe, what I tell people is energy goes where attention goes.
MONIQUE: There you go. I love that.
SHELMINA: It didn't happen right away. I was devastated, as I told you. I went through some serious soul-searching. I had to first find myself and my own truth and my own sense of confidence to get to that point. I had to do a lot of inner work.
SHELMINA: I think it's really important for women to realize that if you want to be able to take care of the wellbeing of your children, it has to start with your own wellbeing because you cannot give anyone what you yourself don't own.
There's a lot of internal work that has to occur within yourself to get to that point of being able to clearly define what success means to you. If your brain is not clear, you will not be able to define success and what that means to you.
MONIQUE: Please address some of your attributes for success. What were some of your other lessons in addition to taking care of, you know, your mental health, your wellbeing?
SHELMINA: I learned to simplify my life. I learned to say no to many things that didn't really matter in the grand scheme of things. I really learned how not to waste time. And then I also learned how to do more.
One of my biggest challenge, Monique, was when I first became single, I found myself thinking about my children at work.
SHELMINA: And I also found myself thinking about work when I was playing with my children. And then when they went to bed, I would feel badly about the fact that I was physically present but I wasn't mentally and emotionally present with my children.
SHELMINA: [My progress] didn't happen overnight, Monique. Initially, when I was disturbed mentally, I was angry. I was paralyzed by fear.
SHELMINA: You would hear about, you know, drug addicts and teenage pregnancy and school dropouts. And that can paralyze. You know, that fear is paralyzing. And for me, it was a very abnormal state of mind because I was a confident, happy go lucky individual who now is fearful, which means that my mental wellbeing was not right. And because I was fearful, I was angry and my daughter reminds me that, you know, a busy mom was better than an angry mom.
MONIQUE: Was there a particular tool you used to help you on that focusing at home, you're at home, at work, you're at work?
SHELMINA: I had to do a lot of work on it. You know, I read a book. It was by Stephen Covey called, Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.
SHELMINA: And I would highly, it's an old book. But I would highly recommend people to go back and think about, you know, Stephen Covey talks about this jar and he talks about big rocks. And big rocks are things like your mental wellbeing. And he says, if you don't take care of your big rocks, you will fill your days with sand. It never gets to your big rocks. So let me share, so that was one thing. And the other thing, Monique, I really believe that, you know, when you need help and when you're open to messages, angels come your way, messages come your way, books come your way when you are seeking, it comes to you.
MONIQUE: Well, you said the key word, which is being open to it, Shelmina.
MONIQUE: That's the key word. You are open to some support.
SHELMINA: Yes. And I was a very deliberate about what's important and what's urgent, what's not important. You know, you could spend 24 hours in an urgency mode that doesn't add any value to anything that you define as success.
MONIQUE: Having it all together?
SHELMINA: …I took care of allowing myself to become energetic, to become calm, to become peaceful before I even started my day.
SHELMINA: I remember a time when I was at an IBM recognition event, listening to the legendary football coach. Now remember, I am not into sports at all. But this guy, Lou Holtz, you may have heard of him.
SHELMINA: Brilliant man. He started talking about how he defines win. He talked about winning and how he defines win. His definition of win was, what's important now? W-I-N. What's important now? In that really resonated with me. So when I was focused on a task, I would turn off the phone because this task was important to me. I would shut my office door. I did not allow interruptions.
And when I was interrupted by something that was truly needed, I was very quickly able to decide what's important now.
MONIQUE: So having that acronym, what's important now? Although, it's simplistic in initial concept, it's so powerful. And that tool in and of itself is a powerful resource for individuals to identify a mantra, something they can say to themselves to get unhinged when they're about ready to derail and fall back into bad patterns that aren't serving them well. If you have a mantra that resonates with your newly established belief system on where you are and how you're progressing through life, that is a powerful tool.
SHELMINA: You're very welcome. I'll tell you, it's a process. It is a process. That's why this self-reflection every week and to course correct where you made an error, don't punish yourself, don't be hard on yourself. Just accept the fact that you made an error and that you are going to change. But without reflecting, without understanding and without knowing yourself, your strength, your weaknesses, everything, it's very difficult do this. They sound simple, but they are very, very difficult to implement if you do not reflect and learn.
MONIQUE: So Shelmina, in terms of what I heard you say in reference to your success principle, number one was really having that mindset, that deep desire to succeed, you know what you want for your children, you know what you wanted for your career. And working hard in a very disciplined manner to strike a balance that would allow you to then accomplish these goals.
Number two, focus your decision. Number three, make decision on what was most important and prioritize those. And then lastly, the power of the word WIN.
MONIQUE: And so and then also I applaud you for tapping into resources. And there are resources. No one is out here on an island. But to your point, you have to be open to receive. So you picking up a copy of Stephen Covey's book, you being open in conversation with your friends and the one who pointed out to you that you need to take care of you before you could be any good anyone else.
MONIQUE: And you are resonating with yoga and meditation, and then recognizing the power of you taking control of one hour of your day would make you better for the other 23. And I truly applaud you for the efforts that you did during that time and I'm excited for the audience to hear kind of your continued story about the workplace because often times, workplaces don't take kindly to the role of single parents. And we'll have an opportunity to explore more of that in part 2 of our interview series.
MONIQUE: How did you manage the expectations of your boss and colleagues when you were faced with competing forces between work and home?
SHELMINA: That is a great question, Monique.
First it has to start with managing my own expectations. I had to be realistic about what's possible, what's not possible, what do I bring to the table.
And, you know, once you find your own strength, once you have confidence in the value that you're bringing to all your stakeholders, then you are able to clearly articulate, have open and honest communications with everyone on what your priorities are.
I was a single working mother and everybody knew that. But I also made sure that I was aligned with the right organization. It was a good cultural fit. IBM was a very friendly organization for people with children. But I was also cognizant of the fact that I needed to work harder to make sure that nobody ever questioned where my priorities lied. And nobody ever questioned the value that I was able to bring to the organization.
You see, Monique, when you clearly know what your value is, it gives you the confidence to have a conversation with your boss, with your colleagues. If you have to take the afternoon off, no one questions because they know that if she's gone in the afternoon, she's going to take care of what's needed at night after the kids go to sleep.
To me, when you have that flexibility, it actually puts more responsibility on your shoulder. It puts accountability. You must ensure that you are not taking advantage of the flexibility but you're using the flexibility and ensuring that while you have the flexibility to take care of your children, you are also giving what the organization, what all your stakeholders need from you.
MONIQUE: You held a quantitative job.
SHELMINA: Yeah, I didn't have the job where I wouldn't, in fact, I wouldn't take a job where I had to be at a desk for 10 hours a day because I had to be realistic with myself that my kids were my priority. I had to go pick them up when the daycare ended. I had to attend a PTA meeting. If there was a doctor appointment, I needed to take them to the doctor. So I needed to be realistic about the jobs I can and cannot do.
And while I was raising my kids as a single parent, I wouldn't have taken a job that required me to be in the office 12 hours a day because it would have defeated the purpose. My purpose, my definition of success was the wellbeing of my children.
And so I had to find that right balance, that right fit, that ability to soar with my strength to provide maximum value within the flexibility I needed to raise my children.
MONIQUE: What did you learn about yourself in this delicate act of balancing between a mom and a high performing professional?
SHELMINA: What I learned was that I was capable of accomplishing a lot more than I had ever imagined when I was present in the moment, when I was intentional about where I focused my attention.
I also learned that time was my most valuable asset and that I had to be very smart about how I allocated that asset. And when I decided to focus my attention, to give time to a certain task, I poured my heart and soul into the task. That task got done to the best of my ability.
MONIQUE: And how receptive were those in the workplace of your new balance?
SHELMINA: It is about the value that you bring to the organization. Let's not forget. It's not about the time you put into work, it's about the outcome you deliver at work.
I always met or exceeded my expectation at work and so no one ever questioned how many hours I work, or whether I was a single mom, not focused. I learned not to waste time.
MONIQUE: What role did relationships play? To be successful it is important that you still make the time to build relationships.
SHELMINA: My biggest strength, Monique, is to build trust and confidence. It's to build relationships.
I work on getting to know people. I work on getting people to get to know me. And this is where when you have to take an afternoon off, nobody questions because they trust you. They have confidence in you. And I trust the people I work with. I have confidence in the people that I work for, I work with, who work for me. So relationships in my opinion is the underlying principle for success.
MONIQUE: Did you share with your coworkers what your boundaries were?
SHELMINA: Yeah. You know, I don't really discuss relationships. I live relationships.
Relationships are the big rocks. Remember, you must make time, you must make time for what's most important to you. You are laying the foundation. If you don't cultivate the relationship, you don't have a solid foundation. When you start building on that foundation, it will crack. So you must take the time to build relationships with all your stakeholders. No relationship is small enough.
MONIQUE: That's a terrific point because inside of organizations, so these relationships get so key in particular of navigating. You need others to be speaking up for you and on your behalf when you're not there about what a terrific job you would do in this role or that role. And, you know, seeing you as a leader, you know, those are those internal advocates that only get there when you establish that quality relationship. And you cannot just make it all about just the work or getting that next sale with a client without navigating those internal relationships.
MONIQUE : I have one last question for you. If you were granted a do-over, particularly during the trying times of trying to navigate your career and your role as mom, what would you have done differently?
SHELMINA: I will tell you that if I had a do-over, I would have learned to more gratefully accept the situation that I found myself in. I would have learned to do that faster. I would have found more help. I could have gone to a counselor, I never went to a counselor.
I would have shortened the timeframe of being paralyzed by fear.
MONIQUE: Right, well, and that is terrific, you know, to draw our interview time to a close because you're not trying to deny your emotions. It was your truth. And I would imagine it's the truth of anyone going through a divorce and finding yourself with two young children and being a working parent that it's uncharted territory and you're, been feeling the [responsibility] of keeping a roof on their heads, food on the table, education to be planned for, for your children, the way that, so it's not a matter of denying your emotions you're going to go through something. But to your point, it's to seek support sooner so the duration isn't that long. And that you're in control and you're the master of your journey. Is that a good way to bring us to a wrap up, Shelmina?
SHELMINA: It's a great way. And let's end this with the beginning– I am doing what I'm doing right now and speaking to more women is because I want to accelerate their journey. I want them to know that they don't have to suffer for as long as did. And that it is possible to get over it and to gratefully accept it and to not become a victim of your circumstance because I will tell you Monique, when you change yourself, your external environment changes with you. When you become positive, you draw positivity into your life. And so the change has to start within. And the sooner you change, the faster you will be on the road to success.
MONIQUE: Bravo. Thank you so much Shelmina for your time today. And to our listeners at Looking Glass Academy, thank you for being with us. Make it a great day everyone.


While Fringe tries its best to make comic book science mainstream, comic books are busy reclaiming mainstream science fiction - or, at least, that's the message that we get from the cover of Warren Ellis' upcoming "graphic novella," Frankenstein's Womb. Details about the book are still being kept under wraps, but what we do know is this: it's another of Ellis' "Apparat" imprint books for indie publisher Avatar and illustrated by Marek Oleksicki. We'll see what yesterday's tomorrow has in store for us when the book appears this winter.


text:
German software maker Spryker raises over $130 million
STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Germany-based business software maker Spryker has raised more than $130 million in a financing round led by U.S. investment firm TCV, as it seeks to expand in international markets.
The company, which counts Toyota, supermarket group Aldi, Liechtenstein-based manufacturer Hilti and German wholesaler Lekkerland, among its customers, plans to expand in the United States early next year.
"With acceleration of digital adoption curve in the global pandemic, there has never been a better time for customers to rethink their digital commerce strategy," said Gopi Vaddi, General Partner at TCV.
Existing investors One Peak and Project A Ventures also participated in the round, which has pushed Spryker's valuation above $500 million.
(Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee in Stockholm; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)
After four turbulent years, world leaders welcome Joe Biden presidency
World leaders said they were looking forward to working with Joe Biden, the Democrat sworn in as US president on Wednesday after four turbulent years under Donald Trump. European UnionCharles Michel, president of the European Council, tweeted congratulations to both Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, adding: "It's time to bring back conviction & common sense and rejuvenate our EU-US relationship."European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said: "Europe is ready for a fresh start."IranPresident Hassan Rouhani hailed the departure of "tyrant" Trump, Tehran having repeatedly called on Washington to lift sanctions imposed over its nuclear drive."We expect (the Biden administration) to return to law and to commitments, and try in the next four years, if they can, to remove the stains of the past four years," said Rouhani.Biden's administration wants the United States back in the landmark Iran nuclear accord, from which Trump withdrew, provided Tehran returns to strict compliance.IsraelPrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged Biden to "strengthen" the long-standing alliance between the two countries."I look forward to working with you to further strengthen the US-Israel alliance, to continue expanding peace between Israel and the Arab world and to confront common challenges, chief among them the threat posed by Iran," Netanyahu said in a video.NATO"The bond between North America and Europe is the bedrock of our security, and a strong NATO is good for both North America and Europe," said NATO General Secretary Jens Stoltenberg."NATO Allies need to stand together to address the security consequences of the rise of China, the threat of terrorism, including in Afghanistan and Iraq, and a more assertive Russia."The VaticanPope Francis urged Biden to promote "reconciliation and peace" around the world."At a time when the grave crises facing our human family call for far-sighted and united responses, I pray that your decisions will be guided by a concern for building a society marked by authentic justice and freedom," the pope said.RussiaKremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia would seek "good relations with the United States", while a foreign ministry statement said they expected a "more constructive" approach to upcoming arms control talks.The US and Russia are to discuss extending the landmark 2010 New START nuclear weapons accord shortly after Biden's swearing in. The last remaining nuclear pact between the countries, it limits each side to 1,500 nuclear warheads and is set to expire February 5.GermanyPresident Frank-Walter Steinmeier of Germany, Europe's biggest economy, said he was "greatly relieved" Biden was replacing Trump as US president, calling it a "good day for democracy".Germany looks forward "to knowing we again have the US at our side as an indispensable partner" in addressing "the coronavirus pandemic, climate change, security issues, arms control and disarmament, and many urgent conflicts around the world".FranceFrench President Emmanuel Macron tweeted: "Best wishes on this most significant day for the American people!"We are together. We will be stronger to face the challenges of our time. Stronger to build our future. Stronger to protect our planet. Welcome back to the Paris Agreement!," Macron wrote in English, referring to the 2015 international accord committing all nations to cut carbon emissions to limit global warming, but which the United States under Trump formally quit in November last year.BritainPrime Minister Boris Johnson, who has faced criticism over his close relationship with Trump, said he was looking forward to "working closely" with Biden."In our fight against Covid and across climate change, defence, security and in promoting and defending democracy, our goals are the same and our nations will work hand in hand to achieve them," he said.Queen Elizabeth II sent a private message to Biden before he was sworn in, Buckingham Palace said, without revealing the contents of the message.Ireland"Today a true friend of Ireland @JoeBiden became the 46th President of the USA," Prime Minister Micheal Martin wrote on Twitter."It is a day of history and hope and I look forward to forging ever closer ties between our two great nations."Canada"Our two countries are more than neighbours – we are close friends, partners, and allies," Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said, pledging Canada's cooperation in fighting the coronavirus pandemic, for climate action and for a sustainable economic recovery.IndiaIndian Prime Minister Narenda Modi tweeted: "My warmest congratulations to @JoeBiden on his assumption of office as President of the United States of America. I look forward to working with him to strengthen India-US strategic partnership."Gulf statesThe leaders of Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates all sent messages of congratulations.Palestinian presidentPalestinian President Mahmud Abbas said he was "impatient" to work together with Biden "for peace and stability in the region and in the world".(AFP)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


For some people, love will come easy. For such people, the probability of marrying the same is always high. There are those people who will find relationships and love to be a struggle. With such people, they may date a lot but still end up alone with no one to act as their partner.
The hope of most people for their relationships is that it is healthy and lasts long. Despite such a situation, you may find that such people will never give up with their search. You will find that some people always result to the online dating apps to get their better halves.
In the past, the use of online dating apps was considered to be an embarrassment for most people since it was a form of desperation. However, nowadays the reverse is true as more and more people are opting for the dating apps to get their partners and some are working out. However, the number of dating apps have increased over the years and now differentiating between an effective dating app and one that is a scam is not easy. However, you will be able to learn more about some of the best dating sites you are likely to get actual dates when you read more on this website.
You need to consider choosing Bumble and Female-First Dating App as one of the first dating apps to consider trying out. It is now a clich that men are the ones who are supposed to be making the first move when it comes to dating. You will be able to make the first move as a woman when you consider trying out such an app. Therefore, the woman feels like they are in control over who they get as their partner in this app. The app is considered to be one of the best since it spices things up and it is not monotonous. Besides, once you have made your first move to a particular man's page and the person fails to have a response within 24 hours, your connection will break off. The response is, therefore, hastened when there is a time limit in the time one can connect with you.
High There! Dating app is also considered to be one of the top-notch dating apps that can be recommended. With this dating app, you will find that it is judgment free. You will, therefore, find that those with the same tastes as you are some of the people you will be able to link up with using such a dating app. The person you will get to be matched with using such an app will be the person you will find having the same qualities as you.


text:
Mission Accomplished? Not Yet
Even if today's renters and homebuyers are more likely to want urban life and walkable neighborhoods than their parents, plenty of political obstacles stand in their way.
Michael Lewyn | @mlewyn | August 5, 2014, 6am PDT
Josef Hanus
Over the past few years, I've read a lot of articles and blog posts proclaiming that cities are back: that millenials want to drive less and live in cities, and that suburbs as we know them may even be dying.
I agree that many consumers demand more walkable development, both in cities and in suburbs. But even in relatively prosperous, safe cities, the political obstacles to meeting this demand are enormous. To name a few:
*Zoning. The increased desirability of urban life means that in many central cities and walkable inner suburbs, there is simply not enough housing to go around. But zoning law is generally designed to limit density (i.e. neighborhood population), which means that if a landowner wants to build new housing, it will usually have to apply to the city for a rezoning. However, rezonings tend to be politically difficult, because people who live in a neighborhood tend to like it the way it is- otherwise they would be living somewhere else. So as long as zoning is designed to limit density and accommodate present residents at the expense of future residents, urban cores will never be able to accommodate consumer demand. (I note that this is equally true for already built-out suburbs- so in many regions, the only easy place to build new housing is at the fringe of suburbia).
*Transit. Many Americans may wish they could drive less- but if their residences and jobs aren't in places with good public transit, they may never get the chance. The highway lobby of road-builders and suburban developers has plenty of money to give to politicians, while there isn't really much of a transit lobby (beyond bureaucrats who can't give campaign contributions, and environmentalists who are more interested in other issues). So whenever economic growth flattens, public transit is one of the first things to be cut back; after the 2008-10 financial crisis, nearly every American city areduced transit service. (To see a few examples, just google 'transit cutbacks.') And even in relatively good times, transit is politically vulnerable because, unlike highways, transit often lacks a reliable source of funding. For example,Seattle plans to eliminate 28 bus routes this fall to make up for weak sales tax revenues, and to eliminate even more routes in 2015.
*Street design. Many commercial streets are designed for high-speed traffic- for example, the eight-lane street near my former apartment in Jacksonville, Florida. Because a pedestrian is more likely to be killed by a car going 40 mph than by one going 20 mph, such streets are not particularly safe for pedestrians. In theory, these streets could be retrofitted. For example, a city could effectively slow traffic by widening sidewalks and medians, thus reducing the number of traffic lanes. However, these changes would cost money and be politically controversial.
*Law enforcement and the criminalization of walking. Environmentalists and public health advocates may want people to walk- but some police and prosecutors in automobile-dependent places disagree. If you walk when a signal doesn't tell you to walk, you can be fined for the automobile-lobby-created offense of "jaywalking" or even arrested. In fact, if you walk with a child, you can even be arrested and prosecuted if the child gets hit by a car. If you let your child walk anywhere, you can be arrested and prosecuted, and Child Protective Services will try to take the child away from you on the grounds that you are endangering his or her welfare. (Because nothing says "keeping your child safe" like giving him or her a chance to become one of the 30,000-odd Americans killed in car crashes every year).
All of these problems are soluble in theory. Americans could pay for better public transit, design streets to be safer for pedestrians, deregulate density so that more people could have the chance to live in urban cores, and hire police and prosecutors who don't view walking as a crime waiting to happen. But all of these changes may be politically difficult.
Michael Lewyn is an associate professor at Touro College, Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center, in Long Island. His scholarship can be found at http://works.bepress.com/lewyn
Mix and Match Sale! Buy any two City Fabric tees or totes for $30.
Enter coupon code CITY2FOR30 at checkout.


A suburb rich in historical architecture and contemporary developments, with a thriving entertainment sector. See below for our currently available apartments.
Once the seedy underbelly of Brisbane, Fortitude Valley is now a chic urban hub, at the forefront of Brisbane's cultural renaissance.
With a walk score of 94, Fortitude Valley is the most walkable suburb outside of the CBD. The centre of Brisbane's night life and bar scene, the Valley has a huge range of clubs and pubs to choose from. Within walking distance of the Emporium, James St, and New Farm, the Valley also has plenty of retail and food options.
With a median age of 31, Fortitude Valley is a young and vibrant cultural precinct, with many young buyers flocking to the area as a lifestyle choice.
With a median unit price of $452,000, the Valley still represents affordable inner-city living with access to all the same amenities as the more expensive Newstead and Teneriffe options. With expected rental returns of 5.5%, the Valley also represents a cheaper but still consistent investment.


Treasure Me, Cowboy (Turner Creek Ranch Book 1) by Debra Clopton: Rancher Seth Turner isn't happy about his brother meddling in his life by hiring the pretty history teacher to dig into their past. But when Melody Chandler discovers a treasure map and a Texas legend, they join together to find the secret treasure. Soon they are drawn together but Melody has secrets of her own that may threaten to tear them apart.
Provoke (Protect Book 1) by Olivia Ryann: From a Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and Amazon Bestselling author comes a dark romance that one reviewer called "twisted and haunting." "Knocked my socks off, then left me hanging and begging for more." – Moohnshine's Corner Blog reviewer.
Switch of Fate Prequel by Lisa Ladew: Love follows no rules… Growler and Anna begin their lives at the cosh, a place with only one rule: A switch may not favor only one shifter, because it makes her weak. This is a rule Anna has no choice but to break, as Growler steals her heart again and again.
Her Billionaire Rancher Boss (A Cowboy of Her Own Book 1) by Genevieve Turner: She's handed in her resignation but this wealthy rancher is ready to offer her another position. Benedict Merrill is handsome, wealthy, and the perfect cowboy. Unfortunately for Pilar Lopez, he's also her boss, which means he's completely off limits. But when she starts to fall for Benedict, will she be able to handle loving him for always?
Not Mine to Love by Skylar Moore: Friendship. Sexual desire. Surrender. When Matt and Jane are cast to play a loving couple on-screen, passion sizzles between the two actors, and the professional and personal lines start to blur.
Entangled with You (Dark Billionaires Club Book 1) by Alexia Praks: Dark. Powerful. Dangerous.
You're definitely worth two million, Mia. Your brother will go free. It's a contract.
Those are the words of the gorgeous billionaire James Maxwell, the man who makes my heart race and my body tremble with longing.
Hush (Part 1) by Amanda Maxlyn: It was one night masked in desire and pleasure that changed everything. He's all I think about – all I want. And he's everything I can't possibly have. My sister's ex. My swim coach.
Unless… We keep it completely hushed.


China held a state memorial ceremony on Thursday to mark the 81st anniversary of the Nanjing Massacre.
The event took place outside the city's Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders in Jiangsu Province.
The ceremony commenced at 10 am with attendees from all walks of life paying silent tribute during a minute-long air raid siren. Trains, ships and cars in the city also whistled and sounded their horns. Eight wreaths were then laid in front of a wall containing the names of the massacre victims.
Wang Chen, a member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, gave a brief speech to commemorate the victims. He then called on all Chinese to remember the past and cherish peace.
Noting the ten Nanjing Massacre survivors who were in attendance, Wang described the Nanjing Massacre as a dark page in the history of human civilisation.
Foreign friends who offered humanitarian assistance during the Nanjing Massacre, and the war in general, would be forever remembered by the Chinese people, he added.
As this year marks the 40th anniversary of the China-Japan Treaty for Peace and Friendship, Wang pointed out that the two sides should take into consideration the fundamental interests of their people and make new contributions to world peace.
Following his speech, young people recited Ode to Peace before the Bell of Peace on the site was rung in remembrance of the tragedy.
The Nanjing Massacre took place when Japanese troops captured the city on December 13, 1937. Over six weeks, the army killed 300,000 Chinese civilians and unarmed soldiers.
In February 2014, China's top legislature, the National People's Congress, designated December 13 as the National Memorial Day for victims of the Nanjing Massacre.


text:
UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova honoured by Education International
Union renewal and development
published 13 November 2017 updated 15 November 2017
On a night when she was celebrated for her eight-year tenure as Director-General, Irina Bokova was made a Distinguished Associate of Education International, only the second person outside of the organisation to receive the honour.
As diplomats, dignitaries and staff gathered in anticipation of Bokova's official send-off, Tribute to Irina Bokova, on Friday, 10 November, the two-term Director-General sat down with EI General Secretary Fred van Leeuwen for the final time at UNESCO headquarters in Paris.
Her dedication to quality education and close working relationship with EI were behind the reason to make Bokova a Distinguished Associate of the organisation. The only other person bestowed with the honour is former Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke.
Van Leeuwen credited Bokova with making UNESCO a leading voice in education, something that wasn't necessarily the case with her predecessors.
"You are the first Director-General of UNESCO who has made it clear that education is the responsibility of the state and that education is not a commodity, and we are grateful for that," said van Leeuwen. "We think that the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 4 and its targets have been, to an important extent, [UNESCO's] achievements… There's no doubt in our mind that you have been in the forefront of that battle."
He thanked her for her commitment to the teaching profession as well as her decision to return focus to the role education plays in tightening cultural and social binds.
During their discussion on the future of education, Bokova dismissed much of the focus on technology as the solution to classroom woes.
"I have always said that nothing can substitute a good teacher, because children need guidance, people need guidance," she said.
Bokova will step down on 15 November, giving way to Audrey Azoulay, who was elected UNESCO Director-General on 10 November for a five-year term.
UNESCO About EI quality education Bokova News Union renewal and development
Leading the profession 23 January 2023
Education unionists take stock of development cooperation in Asia-Pacific
Trade union rights are human rights 26 March 2021
COVID-19 impact continues to affect terms and conditions in education
EIARC Adopts Resolutions to Protect Quality Education and Teachers
Union renewal and development 1 December 2020
Educators seek to influence UNESCO's 2021/22 Global Education Monitoring Report


TIME FOR LYME IS NOW LYME RESEARCH ALLIANCE.
We are the same organization with a new name – Lyme Research Alliance - to better reflect our mission focus of supporting critical research into reliable diagnosis and more effective treatments in a concerted effort to end Lyme disease.
The people behind the organization and the programs we support, remain unchanged.


Disciple Electric was tremendous. I had a kitchen light go out. I called Jonathan, and he was there the next day to repair it. I would highly recommend Disciple Electric for any electrical repairs. I will be calling them again if I have any repairs needed in the future.
Today I had the pleasure of the owner and his father come to my home within 2 hours of my call and did the work that we needed done. They were so genuine and so honest that I enjoyed having a conversation with them. I will without any doubt recommend this company to come into your home or wherever work needs to be done and so down right reasonable so yes they are the ones to call. Thank you Jonathon and also your Dad for your outstanding service.
We called Disciples Electric LLC because we had some really big concerns regarding electrical issues in and the safety of the children in the house and Johnathan and his father came right away. They were very nice and very understanding as well as knowledgeable about the problem we had. That were able to assess as well as fix the problem in under an hour. Really just nice guys and will definitely be calling them in the future.
Called in the evening and Jonathan tried trouble shooting our issue to see if we could resolve it before having to do a house call. He was very prompt in arriving and very respectable. Highly recommend Disciple Electric and will use again without hesitation! Thank you Jonathan!
Let me start off by saying excellent work! 20 years experience, arrived same day on the weekend within two hours at no additional charge. The technician took time to listen and helped me decide exactly what was needed and he finished the work quickly. I have an electronics degree but am not up to date with local codes, so i thought i would bring in a professional. I inspected his work and was pleasently surprised with the quality and the rate they charge. VERY reasonably priced and I will definitely be bringing him back for more restoration work that we are doing. A+++ highly recomended!
We had some unexpected electrical issues arise within our residential property. It was pretty alarming for two single moms to find we didnt have any power in 3 rooms, we called Disciple, Jonathan and his father arrived within 20 minutes of receiving our call. They are prompt, sincere, professional, expedient, and knowledgeable with great charisma and kindness. They arrived, diagnosed, and repaired the problem in less than an hour. If you need any work done or have been thinking about doing any type of electrical work these guys are fast, reasonable, and I will definitely be calling them the next time we need anything done. Fantastic guys! Thank you so much for helping us out!
Very prompt , professional and super friendly. Jonathan took the time to clearly describe everything and their prices were better than multiple other bids. I will continue to do my business with Disciple for years!
Very friendly and prompt. We had this company do our electric for our pool install. Pricing is more than acceptable and the company is very honest. We will definitely be using them for all future projects.
I manage a business in Lebanon where we do many electrical repairs and new installations, both residential and commercial work. Disciple Electric has become our new go-to company for all electrical work. These guys do great work at a great price. They're honest, knowledgable, have great attitudes, and are very easy to work with. 10/10 Highly recommend.
They did an awesome job and got it done on the spot same day.
If you are looking for an electric service company to help you then stop looking because you have found the right one. The gentlemen of Disciple Electric we helpful beyond measure! I called very late in the day after other companies had failed to even call me back. They dropped everything and rushed over. They were knowledgeable, courteous, produced their credentials on request, and stayed late to help get my service back up to make sure my family and I didn't have to stay the night in a hotel because we didn't have power. They even called me back later to make sure everything was still okay and make sure I was satisfied! What more could you ask?
Great service! Great response in short notice. Very friendly-honest guys.will use and highly recommend.
Highly recommend Disciple Electric. They showed up early, went above and beyond what I requested, took care of my electrical issues plus a little handyman extra to make the job work best. The price was incredible. Honest, hard-working, nice guys, took great care of me. Will definitely call them for any electrical needs in the future and send my friends too.
Extraordinary work by an extraordinary man. Highly recommend him.


text:
Q: What is the pattern called where you override the values of an existing record but keep the values you didn't override? I've seen this about six places:

*

*Maven 2 Configuration of pom.xml vs. your projects pom.xml the local project pom overrides the value of the global configuration one.

*vim Configuration Files: in the vim install directory, and in your user profile.

*Ruby on Rails (Sensible Defaults)

*Simphony 2 (a.k.a. the great grandson of MICROS 9700) all the records that come down from the enterprise (cloud) get overridden.

*To some extent in NTFS ACLs between parent and child directories when the child directory instead of inheriting it's permissions, has it's down set locally.

*Extending a class in any OOP language in regards to functions.

A: Software abstractions (especially frameworks) that provide sensible defaults are often referred to as opinionated. This is in contrast to abstractions that require a client implementation for every variable. The latter was originally thought to offer more freedom; but it turns out that freedom is a lot of work and most clients make the same choices in the end. Opinionated abstractions offer the freedom not to choose.
You might also simply call it inheritance.

A: I suppose that you can view this in more than one way. As jaco0646 suggests, inheritance, or, perhaps, more generally, subtyping could be one way of looking at it.
You can also think of it as a mask, as in a bitmask:
    10010101   10100101
 OR 11110000   11110000
  = 11110101   11110101

You can think of this as a binary operation on binary arrays, as in x || y, where the left-most value x is the default value, and y contains your overrides.
If you generalise this idea, you can think of it as a binary operation on a type of data (e.g. configuration data) that can be partwise overridden on multiple levels. Something like x <> y <> z, where x is the most general set of data (the defaults) and the further to the right you get, the more specific the overrides get.
If you institute the (sensible) rule that this operation is associative, you have a semigroup. One semigroup is called last, which always picks the last (i.e. rightmost) value. That gets you halfway there, but you only want to pick the last value if it's there. You can combine it, then, with 'optionality', in the following called Just and Nothing (AKA Maybe). Here are some simple examples in Haskell:
Prelude Data.Semigroup> Just (Last 42) <> Just (Last 1337)
Just (Last {getLast = 1337})
Prelude Data.Semigroup> Just (Last 42) <> Nothing
Just (Last {getLast = 42})
Prelude Data.Semigroup> Just (Last 42) <> Nothing <> Just (Last 2112)
Just (Last {getLast = 2112})

If the default value is a 'neutral' value, you instead have a monoid. Both semigroups and monoids compose.
If you consider something like overridable configuration values, a configuration set is typically a set of different values. As an example, let's consider a timeout value in milliseconds (an integer) and a default name (a string).
Thus, you can consider this configuration as a tuple. (You can create an explicit type with field names for each value, but that would be isomorphic to a tuple.)
Here's an example of a default value:
Prelude Data.Semigroup> (Just (Last 1000), Just (Last "Foo"))
(Just (Last {getLast = 1000}),Just (Last {getLast = "Foo"}))

If you want to override only the name, you can do that:
Prelude Data.Semigroup> (Just (Last 1000), Just (Last "Foo")) <> (Nothing, Just (Last "Bar"))
(Just (Last {getLast = 1000}),Just (Last {getLast = "Bar"}))

A later step can also override the timeout:
Prelude Data.Semigroup> (Just (Last 1000), Just (Last "Foo")) <> (Nothing, Just (Last "Bar"))
                            <> (Just (Last 2000), Nothing)
(Just (Last {getLast = 2000}),Just (Last {getLast = "Bar"}))

So, in essence, this 'pattern' is just a composition of semigroups, with the last semigroup as the inner semigroup, maybe/option in the middle, and composed with an appropriate tuple as the outermost semigroup.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Australians know that teamwork often means the difference between success and failure. Australian termites aka white ants, are possibly the ultimate of all teams. Individually, they are harmless and vulnerable, but as an army they are tough and relentless, causing thousands of dollars worth of damage to our homes. Scott Grambau from My Pest Doctor, knows how to quickly assess and understand the strengths and weaknesses of teams, and is targeting termites as his prime enemy. Having recently merged with Exterra Termite Management, My Pest Doctor is now East Gippsland's only licensed termite specialist. For all your pest eradication needs, not only termites, but including spiders, mosquitoes, flys, cockroaches, mice and rats, call Scott at My Pest Doctor. They pride themselves in helping their clients win the war.


text:
Period, Fertility Tracker Apps Built on Limited Data
— Apps gain in popularity, but lack efficacy evidence, regulation, researchers say
by Amanda D'Ambrosio, Staff Writer, MedPage Today April 6, 2020
As more women use fertility and menstruation tracking apps, there may not be enough evidence to prove that they are effective for planning and preventing pregnancies, a scoping review found.
Most women used "period tracker" apps for fertility and reproductive health monitoring, pregnancy planning, and pregnancy prevention, yet there was limited evidence-based research and regulation around app use, reported Sarah Earle, PhD, of the School of Health, Wellbeing and Social Care at the Open University in Milton Keynes, England.
Many apps may not accurately predict a woman's fertile window, and women that use menstruation trackers for contraception may be at risk for unintended pregnancy, they wrote in BMJ Sexual & Reproductive Health.
"Women are interested in tracking their fertility for multiple reasons, but are sometimes using apps for purposes that they are not designed for," Earle said in an email to MedPage Today.
Regarding the use of fertility trackers as a contraceptive method, Earle emphasized the importance of accuracy. "The issue of efficacy is most important when stakes are the highest," she said.
Wendy Vitek, MD, a fertility specialist from the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York, said that many reviews of menstruation tracker apps show that fertile window predictions could be off by 2 to 3 days.
"They are not as effective for contraception as more proven methods," Vitek, who was not involved in the study, told MedPage Today. "It's basically digitizing the rhythm method, which we all know has a high rate of failure."
Earle noted that a majority of fertility applications are not designed to help women prevent or plan pregnancy. Natural Cycles, however, is an app designed to prevent pregnancy, and the first to be approved by the FDA as a contraceptive method.
More women are turning to fertility awareness-based methods for pregnancy prevention as a natural alternative to hormonal contraceptive methods, the authors wrote, adding that use of digital fertility trackers has increased in recent years, with apps attracting at least 200 million downloads by 2016.
"Many women are interested in more natural forms of contraception, such as fertility awareness-based methods, and so there is likely to be increased use of these apps going forward," Earle said.
Concerns have emerged about the way that these apps are marketed and their effectiveness, particularly surrounding unintended pregnancy. Earle and colleagues conducted a scoping review of the available literature on fertility and menstruation tracking apps.
They explained that a scoping review strategy differs from a systematic review in its inclusion of all research despite methodological quality or risk of bias. Earle and colleagues searched for all research regarding fertility tracker apps published from January 2010 to April 2019. They included all English-language papers and excluded studies on animals, identifying a total of 654 records
Of all records, 18 met the inclusion criteria. Fifteen studies were peer-reviewed, and the majority were published in the U.S. Three studies reported data on the Natural Cycles app.
Earle and colleagues found that the three reasons women used fertility apps were for fertility and reproductive health tracking, pregnancy planning, and contraception. While the researchers identified these main functions, they also noted that women's motivations for self-tracking are diverse and may overlap or change over time.
Study limitations were the exclusion of studies that were not in English, and the heterogeneous nature of the studies, which made it challenging to provide a uniform, quality assessment.
Earle said she hopes that, in the future, app developers will consider perspectives from healthcare providers and users to better understand how women can manage their reproductive health needs.
"Women's fertility needs change over time," Earle said. "App designers must recognize the way in which women navigate these apps, and their own fertility."
The study was funded by the Synergy Programme in the School of Life, Health and Chemical Sciences at the Open University.
Earle and co-authors disclosed no relevant relationships with industry.
BMJ Sexual & Reproductive Health
Source Reference: Earle S, et al "Use of menstruation and fertility app trackers: a scoping review of the evidence" BMJ Sex Reprod Health 2020; DOI: 10.1136/bmjsrh-2019-200488.


text:
CSC buys Infochimps and its big data platform
Derrick Harris Aug 7, 2013 - 6:30 AM CDT
Big data startup Infochimps has been acquired by professional services giant CSC. Infochimps began life as a data marketplace in 2009, but when that plan didn't work out the Austin, Texas-based company pivoted — wisely — into selling as a cloud service the big-data infrastructure tools it had built to run the marketplace. The acquisition (especially the buyer) was surprising, but not too shocking.
I like the team at Infochimps and have always wished them the best of luck. That being said, although I don't know how much CSC paid for the company, I assume it was a modest sum. (Infochimps CEO Jim Kaskade told me that shareholders were quite happy with the price). Infochimps had raised about $2.6 million in venture capital and was actively seeking another round. Its most-recent funding came via two rounds of debt financing (the second in June) totaling approximately $2.5 million.
The Infochimps platform
Whatever the purchase price, it's probably a good deal for both companies. CSC gets some next-generation big data technology and knowledge that its customer base likely desires. As CSC aims to ramp up its cloud business, the fact that Infochimps is designed to run on public clouds and has been deployed on some private clouds at big companies should also come in handy.
Infochimps, which was already operating under a professional services business model, gets access to CSC's customers and the wherewithal to actually service their demanding needs and develop the product with their requirements in mind. Further, according to Kaskade's blog post announcing the deal on Tuesday, it sounds like the Infochimps team will remain in tact and operate as a subsidiary of CSC. Kind of like the deal Heroku got when Salesforce.com bought the Platform-as-a-Service startup in 2010.
But most startups are built with the goal of making it on their own, or at least getting bought for some ridiculous amount of money. Unfortunately for enterprise IT startups, they've picked a difficult space in which to pull this off. Even being in big data specifically, which is white hot right now in terms of hype, and selling something potentially valuable to businesses is no guarantee of anything other than a lot eyeballs that might or might not be in the mood to buy.
infochimps
3 Responses to "CSC buys Infochimps and its big data platform"
Ahsan August 14, 2013
It seems quite a glaring oversight to not mention that CSC is also one of the largest defense contractors in the world, certainly one of the largest contractors serving the NSA. It would certainly help contextualize CSC's interest in Big Data.
Ron Bodkin August 8, 2013
As a partner of Infochimps, we're excited to see CSC's endorsement of the innovative Big Data platform and management services that Infochimps has created, and their commitment to build on this foundation. We're excited to continue the partnership with Infochimps and CSC, with us continuing to leverage our exclusive focus on delivering innovative Big Data solutions that quickly deliver business outcomes on top of the platform.
Congratulations to CSC and Infochimps.
Ron Bodkin
Think Big Analytics
Jim Kaskade August 7, 2013
Thanks Derrick! We, of course, like you too!!!
Infochimps' operating model is like any utility-based model (aka cloud). Under the new strategy, we never let deals consist of more than 20% "professional services". In fact, we partner for the much needed professional services (see our ThinkBig Analytics announcement).
The reason we are so attractive to CSC is because we already showed the power of the recurring revenue model, coupled with huge upside in professional services revenue.
CSC is a services-based company with lots of consulting talent. Coupling their global footprint of delivery professionals with our Big Data utility-based business….and BOOM!
The company showed its ability to close $1M+ deals with F100 companies. That was all the proof we needed to validate the CSC and Infochimps combination.
Best, Jim
NVMe/TCP: Bridging Traditional and Next-Generation Data Center Architectures
Enrico Signoretti Jan 7, 2021 - 1:59 PM CST
NVMe-oF for The Rest of Us
Why NVMe/TCP is the new iSCSI
Enrico Signoretti Dec 18, 2020 - 8:03 AM CST


text:
#ifndef     SURFACES_HH_
# define    SURFACES_HH_

#include <SDL2/SDL.h>
#include <SDL2/SDL_image.h>
#include <iostream>
#include "KeyPressSurfaces.hh"

class   Surfaces {
    public:
        Surfaces(void);
        ~Surfaces(void);
    private:
        Surfaces(const Surfaces& other);
        Surfaces& operator=(const Surfaces& other);
    public:
        bool            loadMedia(SDL_Surface* const screenSurface);
        SDL_Surface*    getSurface(const int index) const;
    private:
        SDL_Surface*    loadSurface(const char* pathToFile, SDL_Surface* const screenSurface);
        SDL_Surface*    _keyPressSurfaces[KEY_PRESS_SURFACE_TOTAL];
};

#endif      /* SURFACES_HH_*/

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Q: How can I merge numbered pdf files with pdftk? I have to merge a lot of pdf files and I numbered them from 1 to 100 or more. I want to merge specific files.
Can I merge them doing something similar to this?
pdftk [1-20].pdf cat output out.pdf

A: If I understand correctly, in your example you want to merge the first 20 pdf files, i.e. the files with names from 1.pdf to 20.pdf. You can do that using brace expansion, so the command you need to run is:
pdftk {1..20}.pdf cat output out.pdf

In essence, {1..20}.pdf is expanded by the shell to 1.pdf, 2.pdf, 3.pdf, ...,  20.pdf, so it's the same as running (the ellipses signify the intermediate files):
pdftk 1.pdf 2.pdf 3.pdf ... 20.pdf cat output out.pdf


text:
Published on August 29th, 2018 | by Zachary Shahan
Tesla — Dead For 10 Years
August 29th, 2018 by Zachary Shahan
10 years ago, now-rabid CNBC didn't know Tesla from your mother. Fox News was busy complaining that Obama encouraged people to keep their tires well inflated. Seeking Alpha? Well, I couldn't find a single Tesla story on Seeking Alpha published in the month of August 2008. But some geniuses on a website called "The Truth About Cars" were onto something. They published episode #17 of their "Tesla Death Watch."
Here's the core of that insightful post:
"They're heading for their promised 100 cars per month. You know; once they get their transmission shit together. in October. Or thereabouts. Or later. Meanwhile, according to a Tesla newsletter released Wednesday night, the Lotus assembly plant in Hethel, England has fifteen cars 'ready to be shipped' to CA sans battery and powertrain. I'll admit it: fifteen cars is fourteen more than I've built (don't ask). But have you seen Tesla's showroom? These Silicon Valley boys are not exactly Scrooge McDuck when it comes to overheads. Even if you figure each customer car at the new price of $120k, that's only $1.8m gross income. What's the bet that each of those cars will end up costing Tesla money (a la David Brown's Aston Martin era)? Never mind. Saving the planet is a tough job, but someone's got to do it."
Talk about some smart cookies, eh? They really saw what was up. Tesla was doomed. It certainly couldn't build cars. And it didn't know how to manage money. And if Tesla build cars, those cars would surely cost more to build and market than customers would pay for them. Well, too bad — Tesla might have built some fun cars if it had survived.
Episode #16 was published a week before. Here's a snippet from that:
"Now, if Tesla can just amp-up production, not 'fad out,' keep costs under control (have you seen that showroom?), raise more money, build a more profitable product and fend off competitors, we can take them off the Death Watch."
Ha. Clever. Funny. Insightful. Spot on the money. Of course Tesla couldn't do any of those things. Good thing the brave souls at "The Truth About Cars" were calling a spade a spade.
Oh, wait — Tesla didn't die in 2008?
Oddly, not only did it not die, but some of the same contributors to the Death Watch blog continue to claim that Tesla will collapse any day. (Note: They no longer writer on "The Truth About Cars." In fact, their credibility has graduated some of them to even bigger websites.)
Here's a piece of a 2008 post from one of the thoughtful critics who continues to proudly proclaim imminent doom for Tesla:
"Tesla Motors says it's secured 90 acres between San Jose and Santa Clara, CA to build its world headquarters. Oh, and production facilities for its (supposedly) upcoming Model S (nee White Star) sedan. The announcement is creating all kinds of excitement among the kind of people who use terms like 'green collar jobs' and 'cleantech.'"
Silly hippies.
The blogging crew also did some community service admonishing Megan Fox for talking about the Tesla she'd buy someday. "Anyway, your money's no good at Tesla, Megan. And therein lies the tale." That's right, it's just a dream, because Tesla can't build cars, ya know?
Oh, I forgot a great episode. Back in July 2008, the car boys piggybacked on the always brilliant and helpful New York Times (yes, that New York Times). Here's a quote from the piece in the Times:
"Just because Tesla has succeeded in making an expensive electric sports car does not mean that it will be able to make a moderately priced five-seat sedan. The latter is a quantum leap more difficult… David Cole, the chairman of the Center for Automotive Research, is another Tesla skeptic. For one thing, he says, the battery solution in the Roadster probably won't work in a heavier car. 'Lithium batteries are going to change the world,' he said, 'but they are not ready for prime time.' Tesla's solution in the Roadster — tying together thousands of small batteries into one giant one — is 'suboptimal.' He added, 'On a degree of difficulty scale, building a sports car is a 2. Building a high-volume affordable car is a 10.' … The more I prodded, though, the more skeptical I became."
The truthy car boys didn't want to be left out of the intelligent prognosticating, adding, "Join the club Joe. And thanks for reading." See, it's not only New York Timers that are smart. Even car boys can identify a joke when they see one. They can even write a good joke from time to time. Exhibit A:
Think "fraud" is a new favorite word of Tesla haters? Come on, this one is timeless! Well, it goes back at least as far as 2009.
"Gawker reports that Tesla spinmeister Daryl Siry left the Silicon Valley startup because CEO Elon Musk (above) was pushing to accept deposits on the Model S sedan. The Model S (a.k.a. WhiteStar) exists only as a prototype. Tesla has no factory or financing with which to build it. When Musk announced that the DOE would approve Tesla's loan application (they haven't and likely won't) and decided to accept $40K Model S deposits (next month), Siry smelled fraud and bailed."
Good thing Siry left back in 2009, before shit hit the fan and he lost a ton of money. (Full disclosure: I don't recall ever seeing Siry's name before, and I definitely can't verify if the claims above are valid. Either way, it appears he got off the ship just before it burned and sank. Lucky him.)
The writer's historic ending to that article: "Meanwhile, anecdotal evidence from Tesla forums indicates that the real winner here: the Fisker Karma."
Ah, indeed, the Fisker Karma.
To be fair, Fisker might be back, and the writer of that article above is still warning people that Tesla might collapse at any moment.
A few months later, here's the title of another post on the Truth About Cars blog: "Tesla's Model S Ponzi Scheme Rakes in $2.6M. At Least." Ponzi scheme — clever. Who could have imagined such wit? I'm just honored to be alive at this time, to cherish the literature as it freshly rolls off the keyboards of today's Mark Twains and George Bernard Shaws.
Okay, that's 9 years ago, so maybe it's not super fresh any longer. But isn't it relevant into infinity? We can roll "Ponzi" into Tesla coverage every day forever.
The Death Watch crew also found a letter from Tesla CEO & Chairman Elon Musk to staff back in 2009 that can be carried forward to today: "This is why I'm so concerned about the continuing leaks to media. It really hurts free communication when even minor issues are leaked and blown way out of proportion. It is nutty that a company like Tesla, which is doing really well right now (how many companies can say that they're sold out through October?) should suffer from misleading articles on blog sites that would have no credibility, but for a purported inside leak. The leaks often aren't even accurate!"
Good thing the media got much better about not blowing minor issues out of proportion.
Next up is a good one to end with today. The title is too perfect. Again, this story is from 2009. Here it is: "Tesla Claims Profitability: Do We Believe Them?"
That's right — don't believe Elon Musk or anyone else from Tesla when they tell you they're going to turn a profit or actually just started turning a profit. Yep, fraudsters can be liars, and even if liars can be profitable, a liar is a fraud, and you simply can't believe liars and fraudsters when they tell you they're profitable.
By the way, if you dare venture into the comments of any of those stories linked above, you'll find the early gems of discussions still taking place today on Twitter, Seeking Alpha, CNBC, and even under some CleanTechnica articles. It's as if nothing has changed.
Never mind that Tesla went from building a handful of Tesla Roadsters to producing approximately 20,000 cars a month, or a rate of 240,000 cars a year.
Oh, wow, you're still here? As a reward for your perseverance, I spent some time trying to find my first article about Tesla. We started covering Tesla here on CleanTechnica back in March 2009 with the article "The new Tesla Model S is… very sexy," but my first article on the company wasn't written until May 2012 when I published "Tesla Motors to Start Delivering Model S on June 22." That was just a little more than 6 years ago — but it sure feels like decades.
This was a quote from Elon Musk back in that May 2012 article: "In 2006 our plan was to build an electric sports car followed by an affordable electric sedan, and reduce our dependence on oil. Delivering Model S is a key part of that plan and represents Tesla's transition to a mass-production automaker and the most compelling car company of the 21st century." Grand plans. Many were laughing. Who's laughing now?
Here are some laughs:
7 Charts — Tesla Model 3 vs The Competition (US Sales)
Tesla Model 3 Might = 5th Best Selling Car In USA In August
Tesla Model 3 Sales vs Small & Midsize Luxury Car Sales (USA), Tesla Now Crushing The Competition? — #CleanTechnica Report
Remember The Tesla Death Watch? (Hahaha)
40 Tesla Headlines On CNBC In 2 Days — 31 Negative, 2 Positive
Secret Tesla Master Plan Coming To Life
Tags: Edward Niedermeyer, Elon Musk, Morning Monkey Business, Tesla, Tesla Death Watch, Tesla Flashbacks, Tesla Model 3, Tesla Model S, Tesla Roadster, Tesla stock, The Truth About Cars
Zachary Shahan is tryin' to help society help itself one word at a time. He spends most of his time here on CleanTechnica as its director, chief editor, and CEO. Zach is recognized globally as an electric vehicle, solar energy, and energy storage expert. He has presented about cleantech at conferences in India, the UAE, Ukraine, Poland, Germany, the Netherlands, the USA, Canada, and Curaçao. Zach has long-term investments in Tesla [TSLA] — after years of covering solar and EVs, he simply has a lot of faith in this company and feels like it is a good cleantech company to invest in. But he does not offer (explicitly or implicitly) investment advice of any sort on Tesla or any other company.
Big Tech Has Entered The Oil Business →


text:
Fan-Made Jojo Stands
Over the years, even before I ever actually watched Jojo, I've made my own OC stands. There's exactly five of them that I have. This page probably won't have all of them, but I wanna share them with folks.
Birdhouse In Your Soul
We're going to start with one of my rejected self-insert stands. It's a little fucked up.
Named for the song by They Might Be Giants, Birdhouse In Your Soul takres the form of a bird with a blue color scheme. It's a long-range remote stand, eaning that it autonomously carries out given instructions once activated by the user instead of being actively controlled. This comes at the cost of the user not actively knowing everything it does, only when it has reached its target. Being a bird, it does not perform well in close-quarters combat. However, using its abilities, it can ideally avoid combat altogether.
Emotional Manipulation
When Birdhouse In Your Soul is locked onto a target, it grants the user influence over the victim's emotional and psychological state. This influence grows the longer the victim is affected, until the user effectively has total control over the victim's mental state. Birdhouse In Your Soul typically needs to stay near its target to maintain this effect.
Potential yet-to-be-achieved abilities:
Reaching further strength as it approaches its full potential, it could perhaps eventually gain the ability to make changes that persist permanently, even after Birdhouse In Your Soul leaves.
Yes, I know in the song it's supposed to be a bluebird. That would be too on the nose for even my tastes, and a bird of prey works better for jojo anyways.
Sketch of Sleepyhead provided by Usagi
Since one person usually gets just one stand these are gonna go to people with names from NES-era baseball games originally made in Japan.
Named for the song by Passion Pit, Sleepyhead isn't particularly strong or fast, putting it at a severe disadvantage in close combat. As such, its user Dan Boyo primarily uses it to prevent his foes from retaliating, or even attacking in the first place.
Sleepyhead can affect people in a fairly large radius (which can be focused down to a smaller area of effect if need be) by playing a lullaby from... itself, pretty much. Those who hear it find themselves getting increasingly more sleepy until they, well, sleep. Usually doesn't take long without very active resistance.
Much like how it can bring people to sleep with its lullaby, Sleepyhead can wake anyone sleeping in a radius around itself by setting off a loud alarm coming from the same place the lullaby does. You can't sleep through this alarm, you always immediately awaken. There doesn't need to be anyone nearby sleeping to set off the alarm, but you'd have to be pretty creative to find a use for it in that case.
Man I dunno, maybe it'll learn to look at your dreams. Not to do anything, since that niche was already filled in Stardust Crusaders, but it could look.
I actually drew this one. You can tell because it was visibly half-assed.
Named for the song by Weird Al, Hardware Store is a swarm of little green balls that are, by their very nature, extremely versatile as a stand. Though both it and its user Mike Truk lack experience in direct combat, its capabilities can be terrifying if the opponent doesn't know their full capabilities.
Object Creation
Being small, the green balls that make up Hardware Store are not very powerful individually. Together, however, they can fuse their forms to create nearly any object with an equivalent mass to all the balls involved in the fusion. This limits what it can create to having the equivalent mass of the entirety of the swarm. This fusion cannot be undone, making the items created by Hardware Store permanent.
As it cannot revert to its prior form when creating objects, Hardware Stand is constantly slowly regenerating its numbers when the swarm is below a certain size. With focus, the user of this stand can speed up the process. But it cannot reach beyond its maximum swarm size.
Maybe... it could just regen really quickly sometimes? Or have a large swarm size, possibly? Man, I dunno. I really oughta stop adding this section.
That's all I have right now. Bye.


text:
Shell fined £40,000 for breaching climate pollution rules at Fife plant – Auto Republish
Posted on July 16, 2018 | No Comments |
The oil multinational, Shell, has apologised after being fined £40,000 for breaching the rules on reporting climate pollution at its Mossmorran petrochemical plant in Fife.
The fine was imposed by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) after Shell admitted to a "metering error" which underestimated the amount of propane gas emitted to the environment in 2013, 2014 and 2015.
Critics have accused Shell of "stumbling" over environmental compliance and claimed community trust is "zero". The company expressed "regret" and stressed that it had detected and reported the error.
The Ferret reported on 9 July that documents released by the UK government's Health and Safety Executive (HSE) showed that Shell had repeatedly failed to reduce the risks of major accidents at Mossmorran.
The company is also under investigation by Sepa and HSE – along with ExxonMobil which operates an adjacent plant at Mossmorran – after four unplanned flaring incidents in 2017 and 2018.
Shell and ExxonMobil accused of 'putting profit before safety' in Fife
Shell operates a plant at Mossmorran that processes and distributes up to 12,500 tonnes of gas a day from the North Sea. It is obliged under the European Union emissions trading scheme to accurately report its climate pollution, as part of a scheme aimed at driving down emissions.
But according to Shell a "technical error" led to emissions from a propane unit being "under reported" for three years up to 2015. The error was detected in March 2017, reported to Sepa and investigated, the company said.
Sepa pointed out that the EU emissions trading scheme was key to cutting greenhouse gas emissions and meeting climate change targets. "The scheme requires operators to accurately monitor annual emissions, submit an annual verified report of reportable emissions and subsequently surrender allowances equal to those annual reported emissions," said a Sepa spokesperson.
"Following a metering error related to the under-reporting of propane volumes, Shell self-reported the issue to Sepa and has worked to investigate and prevent a re-occurrence. Whilst clear that compliance is non-negotiable, Sepa is satisfied that Shell moved quickly to report and resolve the issue, paying a £40,056 penalty using a prescribed formula."
According to its website, since March 2016 Sepa has imposed nine other fines varying from £728 to £56,884 on eight companies that breached emissions trading rules. In 2012 it was reported that ExxonMobil was fined £2.7 million for failing to report 30,000 tonnes of climate pollution from Mossmorran.
Companies fined for breaking climate pollution rules
July 2018 Shell £40,056
June 2018 ENGIE FM £35,224
December 2017 Hillhouse Quarry Group £31,533
May 2017 Marathon Oil Corporation £56,884
May 2017 Simec Lochaber Hydropower 2 £728
February 2017 Aggregate Industries £6,854
February 2017 Repsol Sinopec Resources £40,501
July 2016 DSM Nutritional Products £4,690
March 2016 Aggregate Industries £2,812
March 2016 Talisman Sinopec Energy £40,804
2010 ExxonMobil £2.7 million
source: Scottish Environment Protection Agency
The Green MSP for mid Scotland and Fife, Mark Ruskell, warned that errors were likely to re-occur at Mossmorran. "This is a significant breach of regulations by Shell and yet another example of the company stumbling over environmental and safety compliance," he said.
"Reducing our greenhouse gas emissions is a collective responsibility for all of society, and it's not enough to just say sorry and move on. The issues that need to be addressed in Sepa and the HSE's current investigation are now stacking up, and it seriously needs to consider whether this plant can continue to operate as it is."
The local Mossmorran Action Group argued that the only way to restore trust in the plant was an independent investigation into all its impacts. The group also called for tougher regulation and independent real time monitoring.
"Shell is trying to take credit for reporting the omission but given the heightened public scrutiny Mossmorran operators have been subject to in the last year, perhaps they had little choice," said action group spokesperson, James Glen.
He questioned why local communities weren't told of the error when Shell discovered it in March 2017. "As ever, Shell's PR machine is seeking to control the narrative, since the £40,000 fine means the story can no longer be kept from public view," he added.
"How many other things have the operators failed to report? After all, the plant is ageing and becoming ever more prone to breakdown, so that emergency flaring is now a regular occurrence. Community trust in what Shell say is zero."
Shell emailed local community representatives on 12 July "apologising for the technical error" as notification of the fine was posted on Sepa's website. "We had under reported propane unit volumes by approximately 0.5 per cent of total plant volumes," said Shell plant manager, Teresa Waddington.
"We regret that this happened. Shell UK has since submitted revised data and surrendered allowances to correct the situation. The inadvertent reporting error had no impact on actual levels of carbon dioxide emitted by the plant."
A company spokesperson added: "Shell identified an issue with a historical emissions reporting calculation, corrected the calculation and immediately disclosed updated data to Sepa to rectify the error.
"We very much regret this situation. Shell prioritises the safety of our staff, community and care for the environment."
Photo thanks to Peter Moore, licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.


The International Facility Management Association (IFMA) is the premier professional association for facility management. Supporting the largest community of FM professionals in the industry, IFMA membership comprises more than 17,300 facility professionals throughout 55 countries.
IFMA was established in 1980 as a not-for-profit, incorporated association dedicated to promoting excellence in the management of facilities.
IFMA membership gives you the industry information, professional interaction and essential resources necessary to remain competitive. IFMA represents the most connected community of facility managers in the industry, and our community grows stronger each year.
IFMA members have access to resources that help them solve job-related problems.


text:
PIPELINE SPAT
Alberta moves to block B.C.'s wine imports in dispute over Trans Mountain pipeline expansion
Alberta Premier Rachel Notley gives opening remarks at an emergency cabinet meeting in Edmonton, Alta, on Jan. 31, 2018.
JASON FRANSON/THE CANADIAN PRESS
Carrie Tait and Justine Hunter
CALGARY and VICTORIA
Published February 6, 2018 Updated February 6, 2018
This article was published more than 1 year ago. Some information in it may no longer be current.
Premier Rachel Notley has instructed Alberta's alcohol regulator to block about $70-million worth of wine imports from British Columbia in retaliation for proposed rules that would effectively prevent Kinder Morgan's Trans Mountain pipeline expansion.
The attack on B.C.'s cherished wine industry is Ms. Notley's second attempt in less than a week to hurt the economy of Alberta's neighbour as the fate of a $7.4-billion pipeline expansion threatens to create an escalating trade war between the two NDP governments. B.C. Premier John Horgan promised a response.
"I know a lot of Albertans who love B.C. wine," Ms. Notley said. "I'm one of them.
"Just like I know a lot of British Columbians who love to drive their cars, fly in planes and heat their homes using Alberta energy products."
Ms. Notley also noted that residents of Kelowna West, which is in the hub of B.C.'s wine country, will vote in a by-election next Wednesday. However, that riding is a Liberal stronghold. Ms. Notley did not warn Mr. Horgan before announcing the policy at an afternoon news conference on Tuesday.
Alberta's steps, however, are small.
B.C.'s wine exports to Alberta made up less than half of 1 per cent of its total exports to its closest neighbour, according to the most recent statistics. Last week, Alberta formally ended negotiations to buy additional power from existing B.C. infrastructure, although the talks had already chilled.
B.C. has announced regulations that would block an increase in diluted bitumen shipments to the coast while a panel considers whether the oil sands product can be properly cleaned up if it spills in water. This could slow or even kill Kinder Morgan Canada Ltd.'s Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project.
Mr. Horgan said in a statement issued in response to Alberta's move that his government has "every right to consult" with its residents about the best way "to protect our lands and waters from the potential impacts" of a heavy oil spill.
"Our consultation on proposed new regulations hasn't even begun, but Alberta has seen fit to take measures to impact BC businesses," the statement said. "We stand with BC wine producers and will respond to the unfair trade actions announced today."
Albertans bought about 17.2 million bottles of B.C. wine last year, Ms. Notley said. B.C. exported $61-million worth of wine and brandy to Alberta, accounting for 0.34 per cent of B.C. exports to the province in 2014, according to the most recent Statistics Canada data. B.C. beer exports to Alberta came in slightly lower at $58-million. Ms. Notley, in her news conference, mulled taking action against B.C. beer, too.
A lobby group for Canada's restaurants, bars, and caterers called Alberta's announcement a "reckless decision."
Restaurants Canada said Alberta is using Alberta consumers and B.C. businesses as pawns. "As a country, we are trying to strike down domestic and international trade barriers, and this decision moves us in the completely wrong direction," said Mark von Schellwitz, the vice-president for Western Canada.
University of Calgary economist Trevor Tombe said of all the retaliatory measures available to Alberta, this was a good one. While the wine ban will affect only a small portion of total trade, it will receive a disproportionate amount of attention, particularly in light of the by-election.
"It's going to punch above its weight."
B.C. wine is easily substituted for varietals from other parts of the world – so while the trade war will not benefit anyone, Ms. Notley's move will hurt B.C. wine producers more than Alberta wine drinkers, he said.
Ian Tostenson, president and CEO of the B.C. Restaurant and Food Services Association, said his organization's executive will ask members on Wednesday to buy more B.C. wine to offset the Alberta boycott. "It's a countermeasure," Mr. Tostenson said. "People in the [B.C.] wine industry are going to lose sales. We're going to replace those sales."
Ms. Notley again demanded Prime Minister Justin Trudeau deploy tactics to prevent B.C. from writing what she considers unconstitutional legislation.
The Prime Minister's office on Tuesday said it had no new comments on the matter. Natural Resources Minister Jim Carr's spokesperson said Ottawa stands behind its decision to approve the Trans Mountain expansion.
With reports from Kelly Cryderman in Calgary and Ian Bailey and James Keller in Vancouver
Got a news tip that you'd like us to look into? E-mail us at tips@globeandmail.com. Need to share documents securely? Reach out via SecureDrop.
The federal government says the Kinder Morgan pipeline expansion will go ahead, despite a restriction promised by the B.C. government. Natural Resources Minister Jim Carr replied to Opposition grilling on the topic on Thursday. The Canadian Press
First Nations launching call for mass demonstration to protest Trans Mountain
Electricity talks between B.C. and Alberta broke down before pipeline spat Subscriber content
New BC Liberal leader pledges to fight NDP over Trans Mountain pipeline
Follow Carrie Tait and Justine Hunter on Twitter @CarrieTait @justine_hunter
We have closed comments on this story for legal reasons or for abuse. For more information on our commenting policies and how our community-based moderation works, please read our Community Guidelines and our Terms and Conditions.


When performing biodynamic spiritual exercises it is possible to rise to the higher layers with a simple utterance of the word, Lord have mercy or AUM. The meaning of the word "OM" for different people is different. Everyone at his stage of spiritual development should give him such a value that he is better suited. Some people train prayerfully, others associate exercises with the sun of the suns or the stars that shine in their hearts, while the third meditate when they sing OM, about ajna chakra (between the eyebrows). But it is much more convenient and easier, with the help of bioenergetics in kiev, to meditate on each of these places in time and space (location in the heart and between the eyebrows).
Repeating OM, one must meditate on its meaning as follows: I am the light of the light, I am the sun, I am the real sun, the visible sun is just one of the significant symbols. (When we sleep, we see phenomena not from a lamp: not from the light of the moon, the sun or other lights, and yet we see them.) If we can not observe without light, then with what light do we see the light?). This is the light of my real "I", this is the light of my atman, this is my light, which makes everything visible in my dreams.
It is possible to represent and so: that It I appear, as beautiful flowers in different gardens. In me, the whole world lives, moves and has its meaning. Everywhere my will is fulfilled. I manifest everywhere, I feed every creature - from the very microbes to man. I existed before the beginning of the world.
Bad thoughts and secular desire are things that concern the false body and the false mind and are things of darkness. At me they should not rotate and influence thoughts. I am not bound by any bonds, I am king over the elements. I'm all-pervasive, as the higher ether. I, like light and transparent rays, spread through every atom and every object. I'm small, I'm tall, I'm an observer, I'm a performer. I am a glorious people and at the same time shameful and dishonorable. I'm low fell. Oh, how splendid I am! I'm a candle in lightning, I'm thundering in the thunder, I exist in every letter, I'm a whistle of wings, I'm swaying on the stormy waves of the sea. Friend - I, the enemy - I. For me there are no friends and enemies. Whatever the condition of this body, it does not concern me. All my bodies. I am a whole universe. Everything is in me. I am unlimited, eternal, all-pervading. I am in everyone and in everything. I'm in you, you're in me. There can be neither you nor me, and there is no difference in this. Treatment and prevention should always include a set of various procedures, including a visit to the doctor masseur in clinic Kiev.


Mandy Burns, Director-Stakeholder Development at Be Collective, trained as a psychologist, initially worked in private practice before befittingly starting at a children's charity as a volunteer and ending up the CEO. Mandy works at Be Collective because she wants to activate a social revolution of sorts making volunteering and contributing to our community part of our DNA. Mandy lives, works, plays and volunteers locally. She loves spending time with family and friends and running 4-5 times a week- including a 60km jaunt for Fred Hollows Foundation last year. Her mantra is never doubt that a small group of people can change the world, it is the only thing that ever has" which led her start the local Boomerang Bags chapter to support the South Melbourne Market to become plastic bag free, pick up litter with Beach Patrol and Love Our Streets and join the Board of national educational charity EdConnect.


text:
Opinion: Millennials may lead the way to high-speed rail
Media Hit
3.31.14 | John M. Crisp, NorthJersey.com
- For Immediate Release -
TWO QUESTIONS: Why doesn't our nation have more passenger trains? And does the younger generation's declining interest in driving imply an opening for the expansion of public high-speed rail?
Last May The New York Times reported that all of us, and especially the so-called millennials, are driving less. The Times cites a report from U.S. PIRG, a nonprofit advocacy organization, that documents a six-decade increase in miles driven per capita, and then a surprising eight-year decline in total miles driven and a corresponding per-capita decline since 1996.
The report suggests several reasons for this decline, including higher gas prices, the recession and retiring baby boomers who are no longer driving to work. U.S. PIRG reports also that the use of public transportation grew by 10 percent between 2005 and 2011 and commutes by bike and on foot increased, as well.
Millennials seem to be key to the "post-Driving Boom era." They drove 23 percent fewer miles in 2009 than they did in 2001, and they're getting driver's licenses in lower numbers than previous generations. Many young Americans don't appear to embrace the baby boomers' infatuation with cars as sexy, cool symbols of adulthood, freedom and power.
Sign of improvement
This could be a good thing. It's hard to think of anything that
has had a bigger influence on the shape and condition of the modern world than the adoption of the privately owned, hydrocarbon-fueled, internal combustion engine as our preferred way to get around. Or of anything that has caused more harm.
But maybe forward-thinking millennials will provide an opportunity for reconsideration of our commitment to the automobile and for more openness to forms of public transportation like high-speed rail. Consider these self-evident ways that American life would improve:
Efficiency: Our car-driven culture wastes a lot of time and energy. A 2012 mobility study from Texas A&M reports that drivers spend an average of 38 hours per year — a work week — stuck in traffic. In larger cities drivers were pushing 70 hours per year, contributing to an extra 5.5 billion hours on the road and an extra 2.9 billion gallons of fuel burned. Yes, stuck in traffic, with an idling engine. High-speed rail doesn't have this problem.
Furthermore, while the energy to run HSR is hardly emissions free, the relationship between energy consumption and passenger-moving capacity can be much more closely calibrated. We expend a lot of energy moving empty passenger seats around the nation in SUVs conveying only one person.
Eliminating a hazard
Safety: No form of transportation is entirely risk free. Still, about 100 Americans per day are killed on our highways. That seems like a lot. When you're driving, if you're not sleepy, speeding, drunk, high, incompetent or texting, remember that some percentage of the drivers coming from the other direction are. High-speed rail eliminates this hazard entirely.
Productivity: Almost from the beginning of the automobile age, we've dreamed of the car that can drive itself, perhaps because we realize that driving isn't time well spent. For many of us it's tedious, uncompensated labor, and a lot of it. How much? Estimates vary, but many indicate that the average American will spend four to five years of her life driving. I wonder what else we could do with that time.
Some things we could do with that extra four to five years of life are read, surf the web, watch a movie, work, doze, dine, walk down to the bar car and have a drink, play Candy Crush or just watch the countryside roll smoothly past a train window at speeds up to 200 mph.
Of course, this is the sort of thinking that usually garners me several invitations to move to France. We Americans love the footloose freedom of the automobile; our affection and commitment to cars run deep. But automobiles are not inevitable. Our culture has the capacity to make other choices, and perhaps millennials will have the wisdom to do so.
Push on to expand state's bottle bill
McCutcheon Money


text:
Q: Does there exist a differentiable function from $\mathbb R^3$ to $\mathbb R$ whose zeros are a line? Suppose we are given a line in $\mathbb R^3$.  Is there a differentiable function, $f$, from $\mathbb R^3$ to $\mathbb R$ such that the solutions to $f(\vec{x})=0$ are precisely the points on the line?
I would like to be able to describe a line using the zeros of a single function rather than using a parametrization.
EDIT: I deleted a false claim about not being able to use a polynomial.

A: If we assume your line is given by
$$\vec L(t) = \vec p + t\vec v$$
where $||\vec v || = 1$, then for any point $\vec x $, the point on $\vec L$ that is closest to $\vec x$  (let's call it $proj(\vec x) $) is given by
$$proj( \vec x ) = \vec p + ((\vec x - \vec p)\cdot\vec v) v.$$
Then you can let
$$f(\vec x) = ||\vec x - proj(\vec x)||^2.$$
Incidentally, you can write this out explicitly and see that it is differentiable. In fact, it should be a quadratic in the components of $\vec x$. Which means either I made a mistake, or your statement that "I know there are no polynomials with this property" has a problem. I'm not yet 100% sure which -- can you say why you believe that to be so?

A: Consider $f(x,y,z) = x^2 + y^2$. The solutions of $f(x,y,z)=0$ are the $z$ axis. Then just compose with an affine transformation that sends your line to the $z$ axis and you're done.


Today The Little Mister was invested at Beavers and made his promises.
It was lovely to see him with all his friends and he seems to really enjoy the activities they do. I am so grateful for all the volunteers who make his time special.
This photo made me smile. He looks so like his Daddy, concentrating at the computer. He is completely obsessed with technology.
The Little Mister and his best buddy play football together on a Saturday. This is how they were standing when they were choosing teams – I think they wanted to be on the same side!
This was actually taken on Saturday but today has been a manic day of running about at work, sorting out the kids and the choir.
The Little Mister started at Beavers tonight and he absolutely loved it. I was worried that he might be a bit nervous but he was happy enough once he saw a couple of people he knew.
He is a busy boy and can be horribly annoying and disruptive when he is under-stimulated. He is also getting really good at football and loves his new kit which Grandpa bought for his birthday.


text:
Brookville Pounds Karns City in Battle of Unbeatens
Written by: Phil Myers on Saturday, September 26th, 2020
Last night in Brookville, the Blue Raiders gave the Gremlins what Patty gave the drum, a good beating. Hitting on all cylinders offensively and deploying a punishing defense, Brookville scored a 44-0 victory over the previously unbeaten visitors. "This is probably the best all-around game we've played in the last couple years," stated an elated Raider head coach, Scott Park.
Offensively, the Blue Raiders were led by their phenomenal quarterback, Jack Krug who completed 26 of 36 passes for 272 yards and four touchdowns. He also rushed for a score. "He's good. He reads well. He has a lot of confidence in himself. He runs well. And he's a leader. The receivers believe in him," commented Park when asked about Krug's performance. His receivers obviously love him because he spreads the ball around so well. On the other hand, because he can spread the ball around so adeptly, defenses hate him.
https://pafootballnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/20200925_201621.mp4
Five Brookville receivers had at least three catches. Leading the way was Brayden Kunselman with 8 snares for 97 yards and 2 touchdowns. One of those snares was from a pass pitched by Krug's younger brother, Charlie. Robert Keth hauled in seven passes for 85 yards and a TD, while Kyle MacBeth snagged 5 passes for 47 yards and a touchdown. MacBeth added a 45-yard rushing touchdown too. Also, Ryan Daisley and Braiden Davis caught four and three balls respectively.
The Blue Raiders intercepted six Gremlin passes on the evening, with Robert Keth returning one 42 yards for a touchdown. MacBeth had two picks, as did lineman Nathan Taylor. John Colgan had the sixth interception. The penurious Brookville 'D' yielded a paltry 73 yards for the entire game. "We knew going in, their strength is running and our strength on defense is the middle. So, it was their best against our best," said Coach Park. In addition to the six interceptions, Park's team registered 5 sacks, and limited Karns City quarterbacks to 3 completions in 19 attempts.
Brookville led 6-0 after the first quarter, 25-0 at halftime, and 44-0 following the third quarter. Park had this to say about the outcome, "I am surprised. I thought we'd come out and beat them. I didn't think it would be like this. We matched Karns City's toughness which is what we were worried about. I was a little concerned, but they stepped up."
Brookville outgained Karns City for the game 388 to 73 and had a yardage advantage at the intermission of 262 to 29. At one point from the second quarter through most of the third, the Raiders scored on five straight possessions. Krug is now third on the career TD pass list in District 9 with 89. He is also sixth on the career yardage list in D-9 with a little over 6,900 yards.
88-Kyle MacBeth, 6-Jack Krug, 52-Warren Corbett
Next week the Blue Raiders, who are now 3-0, travel to Moniteau. Karns City, with their 2-1 record, is on the road again, this time heading to Punxsutawney to tackle the Chucks.
Karns City 0 0 0 0 – 0
Brookville 6 19 19 0 – 44
First Quarter:
9:29 – Kyle MacBeth (B) 15 yard pass from Jack Krug (2-pt conv. no good) 6-0
Second Quarter:
9:04 – Robert Keth (B) 15 yard pass from Krug (2-pt conv. no good) 12-0
4:47 – Brayden Kunselman (B) 25 yard pass from Krug (2-pt conv. no good) 18-0
0:34 – Krug (B) 8 yard run (Taylor PAT) 25-0
Third Quarter:
8:30 – Kunselman (B) 18 yard pass from Krug (Taylor PAT) 32-0
4:34 – MacBeth (B) 45 yard run (PAT no good) 38-0
3:14 – Keth (B) 42 yard interception return (PAT no good) 44-0
Fourth Quarter:
No scoring
« Hoenstine leads Dragons to 40-14 romp over Mounties
APOLLO RIDGE SENIORS ASSERT THEIR DOMINANCE IN BLOWOUT OVER BURRELL »