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Reviews of books, magazines and related media.
When Dimple Met Rishi – Sandhya Menon
9th July 2017 9th July 2017 by Polenth
First Published: 1st June, 2017
Genre: Young Adult Contemporary Romance / Novel
Dimple is heading to Insomnia Con, a summer course with a contest to design an app. What she doesn't know is Rishi, the boy her parents have arranged for her to marry, will also be there.
I liked Dimple's relationship with her family. There's tension between her dream of a career in computing and their dream of her marrying a nice Indian man. Dimple faces not being seen as Indian enough by Indians due to growing up in the USA, or American enough by white Americans because she's Indian. This is also contrasted by Rishi, who has a different approach to the conflicting cultural expectations.
Unfortunately, the edition I read had all Hindi words in italics. This included direct speech and words like salwar kameez. I'm not fond of this formatting choice at the best of times, because it serves to emphasise and other anything that isn't in English. But in this case, it made the first section a nightmare to read, due to the volume of italics sprinkled throughout. This is a publisher choice rather than an author choice, but I'd hope they'd consider revoking italicising privileges for the book formatter when it comes to the next edition.
There are things I liked about the romance. Dimple and Rishi genuinely like each other and get along, rather than hating each other and only dating because they think the other is hot. The issues they're navigating are mainly about figuring how things will fit with their lives.
However, there were some things I didn't like. Dimple hits Rishi frequently. Not realising that playful punches are too hard is something I had issues with as a teen, so I could relate to that (though it wasn't cute or funny, which is how the book portrays it). But when Dimple wanted to punch him because she was angry, that was something else. I don't find it cute when someone wants to hit their partner to hurt them, whether they manage to pull back from striking them or not. There are also other instances of ignoring boundaries, such as pressuring Rishi into eating something he doesn't want to eat. There's some pushback when she invades Rishi's privacy, but overall, it's shown as a good thing to ignore people's boundaries because it's for their own good.
The romance also means everything else stops. The plot is gone, the family relationships move to the background, and Dimple's friendship with Celia isn't particularly explored. I'd hoped for more of a balance between the elements.
This wasn't the book I expected when it came to the overall theme. Coding is Dimple's passion, yet it's minimised throughout the book. There's a discussion about Dimple's app idea, and after that, a few token references here and then. In contrast, Rishi's passion for art does have development. He's shown drawing and going to art events. The art aspects of the course are the ones that get the most time, such as the photography icebreaker and the talent show. It's much more of a book about art than one about computer science, which wasn't what I was hoping to read.
The lack of time spent on the app development had another issue due to Dimple's idea. She wants to make a reminder app for people who have medication to take, which will work as a game with rewards. This is based on her dad finding it difficult to remember to take his medicine as a diabetic. She doesn't discuss this with her dad, and no disabled people are involved at any point in the process, which means it's based on what she's assuming people need. Non-disabled people having control of resources for disabled people is an issue, so it doesn't sit well here.
Being marginalised can mean facing microaggressions and bullying constantly, particularly in spaces dominated by more privileged people. The book tries to tackle this, but I have mixed feelings about how this turned out. Dimple is on high alert for signs of such behaviour, often assuming the worst before it happens. This is a realistic reaction to being in an unsafe space. But the narrative is arranged so that Dimple is never wrong. She never lashes out at someone based on an assumption that doesn't turn out to be true. When she assumes a group of people are obnoxious based on their appearance, it turns out they're really terrible. When she assumes someone is going to cause issues about her name, that person does indeed end up causing issues. I'd have liked to see some nuance here, in that assuming the worst and reacting aggressively will mean sometimes getting it wrong and having to smooth it over. I don't count her initial reaction to Rishi here, as that was a case of reacting to behaviour that appeared threatening, rather than assuming he would do something like that in the future based on his clothing.
The strength in representation is that Dimple and Rishi are Indian and Hindu. The other areas are mainly on the side, as they're supporting characters rather than the main characters. Dimple's dad is diabetic and her auntie uses a wheelchair. Dimple's friend Celia is bisexual and half Dominican. Celia does stray into some bisexual tropes, such as being the one with the active sex life and her relationships with boys being shown as much more serious (in other words, it's just a phase for a girl to be interested in girls). I would also have liked to see other girls (including other Indian girls) who were at the convention to code. As it stands, it had a not-like-other-girls vibe, as the two other girls shown don't appear to be heading into computing professions.
There was also the issue of small jarring references which could easily have been cut and kept the story exactly the same. For example, the evil rivals are compared to intersex people at one point as an insult, by stating they have micro penises. Also, Dimple criticises the use of "Aight" by saying no one she knows uses it unironically. There are things to be said about a rich white boy using AAVE to sound cool, but criticising him for not sufficiently making fun of AAVE is not one of those. And for my last example, the line where Dimple notes Rishi is "dressed pretty sanely for a psychotic attacker", because obviously creepy people are all psychotic and insane. There were enough small things like this to bother me. I'd have liked it better if no marginalised group appeared only as a punchline or an insult.
This was a light read with a few funny moments. Though there were some things I didn't like, I thought it was okay in general. I'm not really the audience for romances that only focus on the romance, so the lack of development of the contest plot and the non-romantic relationships were big downsides for me. This will appeal to fans of contemporary romance, but will likely be a disappointment for those interested in the STEM angle.
Categories Book Reviews, Reviews Tags asian characters, asian main characters, bi and pan characters, bi and pan supporting characters, contemporary fiction, disabled characters, disabled supporting characters, hindu characters, hindu main characters, multilingual fiction, non-white characters, non-white main characters, novels, quiltbag characters, quiltbag supporting characters, romance, sandhya menon, usa, young adult
Chameleon Moon – RoAnna Sylver
3rd April 2018 20th June 2017 by Polenth
Series: Chameleon Moon, #1
First Published: 1st October, 2014
Genre: Superhero / Novel
Available: Amazon.com | Amazon UK | Smashwords
People with superpowers are kept in quarantine in the city of Parole. When an assassination goes wrong, Regan is left with amnesia, and it might have something to do with the larger issues of the city.
It's debatable in an ensemble cast whether anyone is a main character. I'm loosely saying they're Regan and Evelyn, as a lot of the plot and scenes revolve around their stories, even if they're from someone else's perspective. But other characters also have large roles, so it's open to interpretation. This is the second edition of the book.
Regan ends up with amnesia early in the story. It's a good handling of amnesia in general, such as Regan processing how he feels about not remembering anything, and the way the memories trickle back. If he did have his memories, the plot wouldn't be solved in five seconds, so it's not used in that way. The personal impact of not remembering things like his family is the primary focus.
What I wasn't fond of was the reason for the amnesia, because it's caused by Hans. I disliked the scenes he was in and hoped they'd be over quickly, which unfortunately, they never were. One issue is that Hans has mind powers which mean he can give people amnesia, control their minds, and is generally unstoppable. Which makes it hard for other characters to stand up to him. Hence when he's in a scene, it's all about him, and it's not going to end quickly.
Part of Regan's struggle to remember his past reveals he may be asexual, as he realises he doesn't find others sexually attractive. He's also a lizard person with PTSD and anxiety.
Evelyn is a superhero with singing powers. She's a trans woman and is in a poly relationship with two other women. I'm assuming she's non-white as her skin is described as brown. One of the things she has to face is her past. She left her birth family behind, but ends up having to return. Evelyn is misgendered by one of her family, though these scenes are brief.
There's a lot of diversity in the cast, including a non-binary person with they pronouns, someone with a double leg amputation, and multiple non-white people (though I was uncertain of exact races). PTSD is common, along with anxiety and depression. There are some references to suicide as part of this. It's not clear whether the characters in relationships view themselves as gay, lesbian, bi, pan and so forth. Regan's sexuality is the only one explicitly discussed. However, the relationships tend towards same gender or binary gender with non-binary.
Some of the books I've had recommended to me as lighter queer reads have turned out to have a constant threat of sexual violence. This one was noted to be somewhat darker, but it managed to avoid that particular issue. It has general violence, but that violence doesn't focus around sexual violence.
On the issue of darkness, the characters may be living in a disaster zone, but the end tends towards the hopeful rather than the tragic. Named characters have a very good chance of survival. Unnamed characters may not be so lucky.
I enjoyed a lot of things about the book. Parole is an interesting setting and it was good to find out more about the mysteries surrounding it. There's a lot of character time, as the characters talk and figure things out. I did feel it got confusing towards the end, in terms of exactly what was happening, and everyone's locations. I also really didn't like Hans, particularly because his powers made it hard for anyone to resist him. But my criticisms are minor, and for the most part, I'd be interested in seeing where it goes next.
Categories Book Reviews, Reviews Tags adult, amnesiac characters, amnesiac main characters, amputee characters, amputee supporting characters, anxiety disorder characters, anxiety disorder main characters, asexual characters, asexual main characters, chameleon moon, depressed characters, depressed supporting characters, disabled characters, disabled main characters, dystopian, non-binary characters, non-binary supporting characters, non-white characters, non-white main characters, novels, post-apocalyptic, ptsd characters, ptsd main characters, quiltbag characters, quiltbag main characters, roanna sylver, superheroes, trans characters, trans main characters


We started each morning with a meeting to outline the days events as a in the dining room.
Wow. Do you have some moments in your life that are emblazoned on your memory? Perhaps your first kiss, or the birth of a child, or the first time you rode your horse? Well, our ACTHA audition is one of those experiences, where those moments in a pressure situation, with cameras rolling, Junior and I created a memory that I will always treasure.


Nowadays, we people are so used to scrolling through our feeds right after we wake up. We utilize social media on a daily basis in so many ways that we don't even realize. We not only use it to stay connected with others but also stay up to date with the world by reading current news and affairs. Let's not take Internet resources for granted. Can you imagine popular websites being blocked by the government in your region? Your online presence being carefully monitored? Unfortunately it's a reality for most of the people who live in China.
Great Firewall of China (GFW), called The Golden Shield Project in China, is a censorship and surveillance project which intends to block information and data which is considered unfavourable by the government.
Fang Binxing is a Chinese Communist Party member and he's called the "Father of China's Great Firewall". Can you believe, in April 2016, he was forced to use a Virtual private network (VPN) to bypass his own creation (Campbell, 2016), the same tool which is secretly installed by millions of Chinese to escape the censorship. Binxing then had an equal experience as of others, dealing with slow and unstable connection to the outside world.
Despites the politics behind it, Western Brands are having hard time accessing into China because of the GFW, many of the sites which are used in the West are unavailable in the country. These include most popular services such as Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Google and YouTube as well as many Western Publishers.
However, Michael Anti said in the Ted Talk, that the Chinese are having their own league as their internet is "flourishing". Following are China's social media platforms which has replaced the popular western platforms.
This article "China Profile, timeline" shows that Cyber Attacks on social media plays large role in contributing censorship of the Chinese Internet. (BBC News, 2017) Behaviour are monitored by the Chinese government on social media to stop people from using the internet to fight against others. Let's take any incident as an example, such as the Arab Spring/Revolution, which occurred in December 2010 a protest against the government in the Middle East. It was spread through social media; it means that internet had the power to this uprising. It wouldn't have been possible if internet was completely censored.
There are number of things which contributes the creation of the Great Firewall of China such as these riots. Social media is helpful but it's a dangerous place as well. The Chinese Government tries to prevent such incidents from happening and the uprisings caused from participating on sites. The government sees social media as a threat to their role in the society, so by censoring and controlling people's internet usage, China maintains its separation from the world.
Do you think the Chinese government is taking the right action? While they are playing the safe game, is China going to have a big loss in the long run?
Anti, M. (2012). Behind the Great Firewall of China. [online] Ted.com. Available at: https://www.ted.com/talks/michael_anti_behind_the_great_firewall_of_china/transcript?language=en [Accessed 28 Oct. 2017].
Baker, G. (2017). China is clamping down on foreign firms' internet use and there's a worry it might jeopardize trade secrets. [online] CNBC. Available at: https://www.cnbc.com/2017/07/20/china-clamping-down-on-use-of-vpns-to-evade-great-firewall.html [Accessed 28 Oct. 2017].
Campbell, C. (2016). Architect of China's Great Firewall Blocked by Firewall. [online] Time. Available at: http://time.com/4283248/china-great-firewall-fang-binxing-censorship/ [Accessed 28 Oct. 2017].
Genter, J. (2017). China's Great Firewall to Block All VPNs By February 1, 2018. [online] The Points Guy. Available at: https://thepointsguy.com/2017/07/china-vpn-crackdown-feb-2018/ [Accessed 28 Oct. 2017].
Mao, I. (2008). 'China's first blogger' Isaac Mao on the impact blogging has had on his country. [online] the Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2008/aug/05/blogging.digitalmedia [Accessed 28 Oct. 2017].
News, B. (2017). China Tells Carriers to Block Access to Personal VPNs by February. [online] Bloomberg.com. Available at: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-07-10/china-is-said-to-order-carriers-to-bar-personal-vpns-by-february [Accessed 28 Oct. 2017].
Oh wow, I don't know how I would adjust to just wechat and weibo.. but it's interesting that China can at least maintain some kind of connection to outside world, unlike North Korea.
Even though Chinese people are quite restricted from connecting with the western apps or sites like facebook , twitter, and snapchat. They are still able to connect with each other or outside world by using the apps created by China.
But to protect the privacy and to be able to use facebook and twitter i have written a blog on network society paradigm – related to how VPN server scrambles the search , and it can't keep up the search record. So you can even download movies illegally with that, because they can't track where you are.
yes, looking forward to how China will be in a few years. probably way ahead than us because when someone is restricted to do something they create a history by overcoming it, and even using knowledge and ability to create much better things.
thank you, i will keep it up.


I believe that I am kind, understanding, compassionate, honest, loyal and trustworthy. I feel lucky to be healthy and loved. I value feeling helpful and useful and am fortunate to obtain this from my profession and parenting every day. I resolve to reduce the temptation to be quite so helpful and involved in my partners addiction and to put more emphasis on helping myself in useful and empowering ways - and to acknowledge my gains in this area as they occur.
These days I tend to enjoy predictability and structure/routine - mostly. This seems to combine well with my acquired high desire for control, which I pledge to work at reducing in all areas of my life. Allowing and accepting more spontaneity and surprise will add an element back in to my life that I have longed for, but didn't feel I had the space to accommodate. There were already too many relationship surprises to 'manage or control'. Reducing my focus on controlling my partners addiction/recovery will hopefully lead to increased time and opportunity for more personal pursuits, interests and hobbies.
I realise now that I have become more socially isolated over the years, declining events in favour of being home with my husband or by not being completely honest with my closest friends about what was going on in my life because I felt embarrassed and ashamed. My staying home linked with the delusion that I was maintaining about having some degree of control over his acting out. Of course, I thought that if I was home, nothing deceitful could be going on. So my courage to be independently social is high in my vision for the future, and at this point seems a little idealistic because I fear letting go. My brain says I must and my heart gasps in terror.
Possibly the best quote I could think of to illustrate myself at this time is by Rumi. "Maybe you are searching among the branches for what only appears in the roots." For many years now I feel like I have been living incongruently and not truly connecting with my authentic self as I was just reacting to or recovering from one discovery after another..... falling further and further out of touch with my roots as I tended to all of the decaying and failing branches.
So my greatest vision for the future is to give myself an opportunity each day to reflect on the day from a values perspective. To rebuild a connection with my identity and what truly resonates with the woman deep within, and not the one who has been cleaning up all the debris.


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NBA: 76ers sign Ben Simmons to max five-year extension, agent says
The deal is worth a reported $170 million, according to Simmons' agent. He was heading into the final year of his rookie contract.
Gabrielle McMillen
16 July, 2019 10:51 IST
Sixers star Ben Simmons was drafted No. 1 overall by Philadelphia in 2016. - Getty Images
Ben Simmons has agreed to a max deal with the 76ers that will pay him $170 million over five years, his agent Rich Paul told The Athletic Monday.
Simmons, 23, was in the last year of his rookie contract and was slated to make $8.1 million in the 2019-20 season. It will mark his third season in the league after he missed his entire rookie year due to a foot injury.
Simmons was drafted No. 1 overall by Philadelphia in 2016 and has already become a star, despite his delayed start of his professional career. He won Rookie of the Year in 2017-18 and earned All-Star honors this past season.
Simmons finished last year averaging 16.9 points, 8.8 rebounds and 7.7 assists per game and helped lead Philadelphia to the second round of the Playoffs. But it was eliminated by the Raptors in seven games.
WATCH | NBA deals that made you go WHOA!
The Sixers' deal with Simmons is one of several big stories surrounding the 76ers this offseason. The team recently locked Tobias Harris up and signed Al Horford to a four-year deal. Joel Embiid also remains with the team, rounding out a talented core.
3BL to introduce women's league from this year
Anthony Davis sidesteps question on long-term future with Lakers
NBA: Houston Rockets the winners in Russell Westbrook trade
Pelinka: 'Anything short of a championship is not success for Lakers'
NBA: Thunder hopes to move Chris Paul quickly; Heat remains favorite

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Fifty years after laying their bodies on the line to integrate the South, three '60s-era civil rights activists known as Freedom Riders told hundreds gathered Saturday at a Northeast church that the battle against racism is far from over.
Rev. Reginald Green, a Freedom Rider who is now interim pastor of Israel Baptist Church, said that in the 1960s, it took college students and others being beaten, jailed and lynched to make progress.
Green, who was arrested as a Freedom Rider in Jackson, Miss., wrote a letter from jail to his father and gave it to a reporter traveling with a group of Freedom Riders from D.C.
He asked the reporter to deliver it to his father, who thought he was still at Virginia Union University in Richmond.
"Thank God he got that letter from me," Green said.
In the 1960s, Joan Mulholland was supposed to be at Duke University and Dion Diamond at Howard, but these students and others instead paused their college careers to become Freedom Riders.
The trio was joined by civil rights veteran and former D.C. Council member Frank Smith to be part of the Black History Month program called "The Price of Freedom." The program was held at Israel Baptist Church, which was led for many years by the late Rev. Morris Sheron, a longtime civil rights leader in the city.
The forum came on the same day that Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam apologized but said he wasn't stepping down for racist photo from his medical school yearbook page showing one person in blackface and another wearing a Ku Klux Klan hood and robe.
The Saturday's event was moderated by Washington Post columnist Colbert King, who during the forum answered a question posed to all of the panelists about why they are still fighting for social justice decades later.
Diamond was one of the activists who tried to integrate a segregated amusement park in Montgomery County, where today a merry-go-round stands as a crumbling remnant of the segregated past.
But there were young people who came to Israel looking to be part of a new movement, including 16-year-old Meira'cholle Fashion.


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Brannan Fix, Cooper Willsey, Curtis White, cyclocross, Eric Brunner, Gage Hecht, Grant Ellwood, Lance Haidet, Maxx Chance, Peter Goguen, Spencer Petrov, U23, USA Cycling cyclo-cross national championships
Younger U23 riders need perfect rides to derail Curtis White's 'cross nationals ambitions
Curtis White at Austin's 2015 cyclocross national championships
[updated 1/7/2016 with comments from Gage Hecht and Grant Ellwood]
In three years as an under 23 rider Curtis White has charted a symmetrical climb to the top step of the cyclocross national championships podium. In 2014 as a newbie U23 he finished fourth, then third in 2015 followed by second in 2016. If he carries that trend to its logical conclusion on Sunday in Hartford, the Cannondale p/b Cyclocrossworld.com rider will at last go home with a cyclocross national champion's jersey.
"The cyclocross national title is something that has always eluded me," White wrote by email. "I've come close several times at 'cross nationals, but I've never been able to seal the deal."
The steady progress he's realized since 2014 accelerated this past season. That giant step up consisted of eight domestic elite UCI C2 wins, his best collection of results in Europe and the U23 Pan American Continental Cyclocross Championship.
Those performances leave him poised to take yet another leap, and it's one he's very hungry for. "I feel like I'm coming into this year's national championships better than I ever have.
"I've been working with my coach David Wenger for the past six years, and have relied on Frank McCormack the past couple years for 'cross specific advice. Together, we've made a very formidable team," White wrote. "I missed a few markers in the first month of the season, but we nailed the majority of the season both domestically and abroad. Those guys have helped me get to where I am.
"I'm going into Sunday knowing what I'm capable of, and I plan on leaving it all out on the course."
Maxx Chance on a rise, off the front with Gage Hecht at state championships
A posse-sized set of competitors with national titles or UCI wins in their pockets plans on doing the same. America's recent crop of talented juniors has been aging into the U23 category as White has approached graduation from its ranks. Among them are Maxx Chance (EVOL DevoElite Racing), Grant Ellwood (Boulder Cycle Sport / YogaGlow), Brannan Fix (Alpha Bicycle Company – Vista Subaru), Lance Haidet (Raleigh Clement) and White's devo teammate Cooper Willsey. Spencer Petrov (Cyclocross Alliance), Gage Hecht (Alpha Bicycle Company – Vista Subaru) and Eric Brunner (EVOL DevoElite Racing) just turned U23.
"A lot of the young guys have certainly proved themselves this season. Spencer Petrov and Gage Hecht have been strong every time I've raced them. I also think Peter Goguen and Cooper Willsey can be factors in the race," White noted. "The course is difficult and the conditions will add to it."
A frozen course under super cold temperatures, for example, should bring out the best in Hecht who's been nailing hole shots in Europe.
Brannan Fix races for Colorado Mesa University
White's younger rivals agree with his assessment of the circuit. ProVeloPassion asked them for their thoughts regarding how the race might play out and what it would take to get the better of the formidable White.
"The frozen conditions should make for an interesting race," Chance commented. "I think it will be a small group or a solo win on Sunday with such a hard track.
"Everyone is riding super well right now and I think you have almost 10 guys who all have a very realistic possibility of winning this race. I think that I'll have to be aggressive on laps one and two to make all the splits and be up near the front, but I feel like I have the added confidence of having won a race already on the course and hopefully added insight into what I need to do to have the best race I can." Chance won the collegiate club men's title earlier this week.
Fix came away with a men's collegiate win as well, in the varsity programs category. He too believes 10 strong riders could make a go of it. "I think that is the biggest thing that I will have to look out for on Sunday, the fact that any one of us could be right up in the mix and that could change the race entirely."
These young men know they'll have to pull off a flawless race to unseat White.
"During the Christmas trip this year, Curtis stood out as the strongest American," Hecht wrote. "I think everyone is going to try to keep on his wheel…I think that due to the conditions, there will be a lot of separations between racers. Despite this, it will be dynamic while people make mistakes."
The newer U23s are up for the challenge of facing off against White. Hecht indicated he feels strong, saying, "The style of racing in Europe gives you power you can't get here."
Chance should perform especially well in gnarly conditions that demand excellent bike handling skills. "I'm super happy with how I've been riding this season and plan on going out swinging!" he commented.
"Curtis is on an entirely different level this season," Fix wrote. "For anyone to even get close to Curtis, they'll have to have a perfect race. You never know though, and that's what every rider in the U23 field will be looking to do on Sunday."
White similarly sized up the field. "Everyone is bringing their best; I think we're guaranteed an epic race."
The field will tackle Bonk Breaker Hill among other challenges in Hartford
Post Script: check these comments from Ellwood which arrived late today and so are noted below as a Q&A. They reflect course conditions which changed today as about six inches of snow fell in Hartford.
Q: How do you think the race is going to go down on Sunday?
Ellwood: Sunday's race will be wild and with all of the snow a very hard race to predict. Curtis is definitely one of the strongest riders, but like we saw last year mistakes can be made causing others to win.
Q: Given the strength of the USA men's U23 field, what will you have to watch out for in the competition (strengths, weaknesses, etc.)?
Ellwood: The U23 men's field is super stacked this year and it's hard to say who will finish where with how much change there always is and how competitive the entire field is, especially the top guys.
Q: What will you have to do to get the better of Curtis, who's been going really well?
Ellwood: To get the better of Curtis I would have to have some of the best legs I have ever had and no mistakes along with Curtis making some mistakes. Curtis is not impossible to beat but it would take something special from anyone who does. I can see Gage Hecht, Spencer Petrov, Cooper Willsey or any of the other top guys possibly rivaling Curtis. Looking forward to the race in these awesome conditions!
From → Cyclocross
« Katie Clouse wins cyclocross title and teaches us a lesson for the ages
Barker and Weber spar for second in the wake of a gutsy Texan at cyclocross national championships »


If your playing matches at least twice a week remember stretching afterwards is very, very important. Stretch for a good 10-15 minutes even if its in the shower. The same applies if you need work on your game, book in a lesson once every three weeks.


Taurus: Within reason, do what you have to do to get the recognition and rewards you deserve regarding a work situation. A family issue is finally smoothed over, thanks to a younger family member. A household addition is very welcome and something you will appreciate for a long time to come.
Gemini: Knowing what you want and going after it is the opportunity of the day, and what you fall into now may be just the chance you've been waiting for. Sharing goals and deciding to mutually go for it will be the best of all possible worlds for everybody, with a minimum of conflict resulting later.
Cancer: Take it one step at a time. Make time for spiritual moments. Give yourself an edge by clearly defining what you want and then going for it. Your courage is strong but impulsive today. Communications with neighbors may be necessary but not welcome at the moment. Get clear about your intentions before entering long winded conversations.
Leo: Flexibility, thinking on your feet, and the ability to accommodate the unexpected will be called for now. The pace is very quick. You will be pulled in many directions at once, and tend to scatter your forces, jumping from one thing to the next. Positively, you may come up with some fresh, original plan or insight that may seem crazy at first, but which is likely to be quite useful.
Virgo: Work and important projects undergo difficult changes now. You are likely to feel very frustrated and disheartened at times, but don't completely lose faith and throw everything out the window! This is certainly a time of questioning your values, goals, and directions in life, but try to come to rational decisions rather than act simply out of frustration.
Sagittarius: Some adjustments in the way you express yourself and treat others are required now. Others may complain that you are not sincere with them, you are too domineering or passive, or unfair in some respect. You may also find yourself feeling the need to approach others about the way they express themselves and treat others.
Capricorn: This is a time period of gradual maturing of your attitudes and overall approach to life. You become more in tune with your inner needs and tendencies, and you can make changes that allow you to spend more time doing the things that you really enjoy rather than what serves your more worldly ambitions, needs for security, and what appeals to you as the logically correct thing to do.
Aquarius: A change or development in your career occurs at this time. You are likely to take a step that will allow you to do things that are more meaningful to you and appropriate.
Pisces: Taking care of business is a major theme where your emotional orientation is concerned now. You crave organization and practicality, and you want to get things accomplished. You aim to have a place for everything and everything in its place - and anything that gets in the way gets on your nerves.


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Thomas von Savoyen ist der Name folgender Personen:

 Thomas I. von Savoyen (1177–1233), Graf von Savoyen, siehe Thomas I. (Savoyen)
 Thomas II. von Savoyen († 1259), Adliger aus dem Königreich Arelat, Kleriker, Militär, Staatsmann, Graf von Piemont und Savoyen und Diplomat, siehe Thomas II. (Savoyen)
 Thomas III. von Savoyen (um 1252–1282), Adliger aus dem Königreich Arelat, siehe Thomas III. (Savoyen)
 Thomas Franz von Savoyen (1596–1656), Fürst von Carignano, Graf von Soissons und Dreux und Stammvater der Linie Savoyen-Carignan, siehe Thomas Franz (Savoyen-Carignan)
 Thomas Emanuel von Savoyen (1687–1729), Ritter des Ordens vom Goldenen Vlies
 Thomas von Savoyen (1854–1931), 2. Herzog von Genua, Ritter des Ordens vom Goldenen Vlies

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


House Season 8 Episode 21 Promo/Preview "Holding On".
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Jammu: A Hizbul Mujahideen militant was killed in an inter-group clash with Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) cadre at village Kulthu Chilly under the jurisdiction of Gandoh police station in Doda district this morning. Slain militant has been identified as Abdul Qayoom alias Hakani son of Mohd Abdullah Malik R-o Soti, Gandoh. He was active in Gandoh and Bhalesa and was involved in recent killings of two civilians Mohd Ayub and Manwar Din from Kandli Chilly, Gandoh, an official handout said. Mohd Ayub was gunned down by the ultras as he tried to escape. A militant was also killed in the resultant encounter. The handout said Hakani's body with gun shots in chest and hands tied at the back was recovered from Manoo forest area at 9 am today. Body was later handed over to his family after post-mortem. Security forces and police have launched a search operation in the area. Meanwhile, 19 Bangladeshi nationals have been caught from near international border here while trying to cross over to Pakistan, sources said. A group of 11 Bangladeshis had tried to cross over to Pakistan via Akhnoor sector on the night of April 18. However, after being spotted by the security personnel, the Bangladeshis ran towards river Chenab, from where they were caught. Preliminary questioning revealed that they were trying to cross over to Pakistan after being brought here by a contractor with false promise of providing employment as labourers. In another incident, eight other Bangladeshis were caught from Paharpur area of Kathua district last evening while trying to cross over to Pakistan.


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text:
The Book of Life is backordered and will ship as soon as it is back in stock.
The Book of Life soundtrack features score music by Oscar®-winning composer Gustavo Santaolalla as well as an eclectic mix of pop andLatin songs. This animated comedy is the journey of Manolo, a young man who is torn between fulfilling the expectations of his family and follo wing his heart. Before choosing which path to follow, he embarks on an incredible adventure that spans three fantastical worlds where he must face his greatest fears. "The Book of Life" encourages us to celebrate the past while looking forward to the future. Our folio features six songs from the soundtrack, including: The Apology Song • The Ecstasy of Gold • I Love You Too Much • I Will Wait • Live Life • No Matter Where You Are. Also includes eight pages of beautiful full-color art from the movie.


The flying buttress was among the most visible advancements in masonry construction made during the Middle Ages. This combination of external buttressing arch and supporting masonry tower transformed the exterior and underlying structure of church architecture in much of western Europe. However, while flying buttresses and their massive supporting piers were almost innate parts of thirteenth- and fourteenth-century churches and cathedrals, they appear only very infrequently on other building types, such as episcopal palaces, cloisters, or castles. Differences in function explain the lack of flying buttresses on residential and military architecture, but at the same time remove them from the more universal and flexible vocabulary of architectural forms and construction patterns shared between secular and religious projects. This paper addresses the apparent distinction between secular and church architecture around the turn of the thirteenth century as marked by flying buttress use. I argue that while flying buttress systems remained largely restricted to the domain of ecclesiastical architecture they were nevertheless part of a larger architectural trend in which walls were increasingly conceptualized as structural curtains punctuated by regularly placed reinforcements. Thus, while church and castle walls took very different forms, they shared a similar organizational pattern based on the idea of point support. These parallels suggest a further, and perhaps conceptually deeper, interconnectivity between secular and religious building practices that reinforces previously identified borrowings of visually similar features.
This paper considers Bishop William of St. Calais' chapel at Durham Castle in relation to his patronage at Durham Cathedral. The chapel, although contemporary with the cathedral, is of completely Norman design that most closely resembles the eleventh-century crypts of Normandy, with their thin columns and historiated capitals. This is in stark contrast to the cathedral, which embodies a fusion or hybrid style employing a Norman elevation with robust Anglo-Saxon proportions and decoration. A synthetic analysis of these two structures has not previously been proposed, despite the dynamic environment in which they were built. Given the extremely close proximity between castle and cathedral (just 500 feet), we must imagine Durham's natural peninsula as a large and lively building site during the last decades of the eleventh century; the masons were undoubtedly aware of the design of both sites, and likely would have worked at both. The builders were clearly capable of executing diverse architectural styles based on the demands of the patron, although they were probably of predominantly Anglo-Saxon extract.
Although the bishop's public project makes prominent use of Anglo-Saxon motifs in a Norman architectural framework, in his private chapel he maintained his native architectural proclivities. In this paper I draw attention to Bishop William's intentionality in the conception of his architectural projects. Drawn together, his castle chapel and cathedral clearly communicate that the bishop was acutely aware of the political value of appealing to the indigenous population and their saint in public, even though his Norman identity permeates the style of his private chapel.
The castle of Toruń, along the bank of the Vistula River in northern Poland, is the earliest castle built by the Teutonic Order in the region of Prussia. Constructed in 1231, the castle is one of the finer examples of the red-brick gothic style architecture that the Order introduced to the region. The castle possesses elements of both a military fortress and also those of a monastic cloister, particularly in the cells of the brothers which line the inner courtyard of the castle. This feature, borrowed from examples in the Holy Land, offers the possibility for investigating the new forms of architectural innovation brought to the eastern Baltic by the Teutonic Order and their crusading expeditions of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.This paper explores innovations brought to the region by the Teutonic Order, one example being the Dansker tower that is a prominent feature of the Teutonic Order's castles in the region. The Dansker is the main latrine of the castles, and the example at Toruń is one of the better ones in the historical region of Prussia. In terms of the stone and brick building technology used in constructing it, the Dansker is a demonstrative example of the ways that the castles of the Teutonic Knights in Prussia were important centres of technical innovation. Toruń and its Dansker tower provide the framework for the arrival of brick castles in Prussia, and are the driving themes of this paper.
The rebuilding of the monastic complex at Glastonbury, England after the fire 1184 presented the authorities of that community with the opportunity to engage both the local people and traveling pilgrims with new visual experiences. After the fire, the re-erected buildings showed peculiar features found in form and content specifically that of the Lady Chapel, the first structure to be rebuilt. Approximately fifty years earlier William of Malmesbury authored Glastonbury's chronicle, the De Antiquate Glastonie Ecclesie, which served as the primary historical authority on the abbey. Malmesbury's text coincided with the end the great period of land reclamation and technological development of the larger marshland area controlled by the abbey. Interestingly, it is through the re-erected Lady Chapel that analysis of how the medieval topography relates to not only the composition of the abbey's rhetorical history, as conveyed in the De Antiquitate, but also how the intersection of the abbey's program of environmental construction shaped the formation, use, and thus understanding of its most important building, it new stone Marion Chapel.
Central to the rebuilding of the sacred structures was the employment of a specific aesthetic and cultural rhetoric of saintly and mythical lordly foundations. The subsequent proliferation of several of the community's holdings provides insight into the reasoning behind the specific choices made regarding construction and sculptural ornamentation. Significantly, these buildings also exemplify the importance of the propagation of ideas surrounding Malmesbury's created history as integral to understanding the developed cultivation of the landscape- not only of the power of the sculpted landscape mimicked in the monastic structures, but also the power of the monastic custodians. Analysis of the cultural story transmitted through the building and elaboration of the Lady Chapel demonstrates that its specific form functioned to recreate Glastonbury as a center of immense power and influence throughout the monastic network of England. The combination of the geophysical topography of the area's marshy lowland setting and the multiple locations of fresh water springs and wells, as well as the particular color of the environmental rhetoric conveyed in Malmesbury's record of the abbey's pre- 1184 history, dictated not only the location of the Lady Chapel, but that its ornamental detail be configured in such a way as to construct a particular experience that would have been understood by the viewer as reflective of his or her relative place within that geo-rhetorical setting.


text:
Q: Properly handle null value from SQL query? I use this code to get Merchant name by ID.
@GetMapping("pages")
public Page<WpfPaymentsDTO> pages(@RequestParam(value = "page") int page, @RequestParam(value = "size") int size) {
    return wpfPaymentsService.findAll(page, size)
                             .map(g -> WpfPaymentsDTO.builder()
                             .id(g.getId())
                             .status(g.getStatus())
                             .merchant_id(getMerchantName(g.getMerchant_id()))
                             .build());
}

private String getMerchantName(int id) {
    Optional<Merchants> obj = merchantService.findById(id);
    return obj.get().getName();
}

But when name is not found I get java.lang.NullPointerException: null at this line: .merchant_id(getMerchantName(g.getMerchant_id()))
Is there some way to set empty string and not to break the code when Object is not found?

A: Instead of calling obj.get().getName() use more optional-way solution like:
obj.map(Merchants::getName).orElse("");

which will return empty string when Merchants is not found. You can change "" in code above to any other default value which is more appropriate to your case.
If g.getMerchant_id() can be null code below will also handle this situation:
private String getMerchantName(Integer id) {
    return Optional.ofNullable(id)
        .flatMap(i -> merchantService.findById(i))
        .map(Merchants::getName)
        .orElse(<default value>);
}

It will turn id into optional so when it will be null this code will just return <default value> otherwise it will use id to find Merchants and then get its name. flatMap is here to remove nested optionals.

A: private String getMerchantName(int id) {
    Optional<Merchants> obj = merchantService.findById(id);

    return obj.isPresent() ?  obj.get().getName() : "";
}

A: You can return an empty string to avoid the NPE if the name is null :
private String getMerchantName(int id) {
    Optional<Merchants> obj = merchantService.findById(id);
    return obj.isPresent() ?  obj.get().getName() : "";
}

Then the method merchant_id should handle an empty string and perhaps throws an exception (IllegalArgumentException for example).

A: I think we can determine if this object is empty before we return it

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
« Still Arguing | Main | A Skeptical Look at HHO Generators »
Done Arguing
The comment thread I was arguing in over at The Chronicle of Higher Education is now officially done. Commenting has been closed, so there's no chance of adding anything new. Since I've copied all my other comments from that thread into previous entries on this blog, I figured that for the sake of completeness, I'd include the last of them here. Again, since this is reposting information instead of posting something original, I'm putting it all below the fold.
For reference, the previous entries where I posted comments from this thread are available here:
Arguing About Religion On Another Site
Still Arguing
Zagros,
Your explanation was good overall, but I do have a few nits to pick.
"Intelligent design provides no non-supernatural mechanism to support how life was created and evolved on this Earth. Again, it must be dismissed for that reason alone as being not science and anyone who desires to teach it in the classroom as science must be stopped (though dismissing them from their jobs, is, admittedly, going too far)."
People get hung up here on the natural vs. supernatural distinction. Science just requires evidence. If there were evidence to support the creation story in the Bible, then science would lead us to accepting that story. In fact, prior to Darwin and Wallace, special creation was the dominant scientific theory for the origin of life. It was the stronger evidence for evolution over creationism that lead scientists to accept it as the better answer.
"anyone who desires to teach it [ID] in the classroom as science must be stopped (though dismissing them from their jobs, is, admittedly, going too far)."
For a first offence, maybe, but why is it going too far to fire teachers who teach students false information? What if an elementary teacher taught students that 2+2=5? Or if a history teach taught that the moon landing was a hoax? Teachers have a responsibility to teach students true information, and they have no business being teachers if they intentionally teach students falsehoods.
Professors have the freedom to research ID all they want, just not to teach it to their students.
Also, sammy_ayers was referencing Expelled, which to be frank, lied about actual events to portray people as being harassed for discussing ID. I included a link to my own blog about Expelled above, but two better places to read full rebuttals to the claims of harassment are given below.
http://www.expelledexposed.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expelled
Re: Religion
Zagros, your arguments for 'mere belief' so far haven't convinced me. There may not be an infinite number of gods that people have believed in, but there are enough, with mutually contradictory attributes, that it makes Pascal's Wager break down. If the commonly accepted view of Christianity is correct, it does you no good to believe in a deistic god but to not accept Jesus. You'd still go to hell (similar arguments apply to Islam, or Zoroastrianism). You can argue that you don't believe Yahweh is like that, but your personal opinion makes no difference to objective reality. So, it does you no good to just believe what you want to be true. You have to do your best to determine what is actually true. (I've heard the elephant story before. My same objections still apply. It's fine if a god is nice and forgiving and gives you an A for effort. It's worthless if the god is vindictive and punishes you for not following a specific scripture. Besides, if the elephant story is true, I'm in no danger as an atheist as long as I live a good life and try my best to do good in the world.)
The other problem with Pascal's Wager, which you alluded to yourself, is the argument that belief in the absence of a deity costs you nothing. That's clearly not the case. If you actually attempt to determine a deity's wishes, there are some clear instructions on how to live your life. In the case of the Abrahamic religions, some of these seem to make no sense (no mixed fibers, not eating shellfish, not being able to work on a specific day of the week, no homosexual relations). These do have actual, real consequences on our lives, so why should we even attempt to follow these rules if they're based on an imaginary being, or on a being with a very low probability of existence?
Your definition of a strong atheist is different from what most of us who call ourselves strong atheists actually use. As you pointed out, Richard Dawkins, who I'm sure most would refer to as a strong atheist, conceded a tiny possibility that a god exists. (When pressed, we'd also admit a small probability that Last Thursdayism is true, or that The Matrix was a documentary. We can't rule out those possibilities entirely, but we can say that the odds are so small that we're pretty sure they're false.)
You wrote, "There clearly is a larger 'weight of evidence' in support of a supernatural creator of the universe (God) but that is not science and can never be science for the reasons thus explained." What weight of evidence are you referring to? We don't know what caused the big bang, so what good reason is there to assume that it was supernatural? More importantly, what reason is there to assume that it was intelligent (and if your definition of a deity says that it need not be intelligent, then why even call this concept a 'god')?
Re: Evolution
Zagros, you're trying to neuter science. In your definition of science, if special creation did actually happen, we couldn't use science to study it. To disqualify potential real world events from scientific study is absurd. As I said before, we can use science to study anything that leaves evidence. If there were evidence for special creation, we could study it with science. If miracles happened, they could be observed and documented. Even things traditionally classified as supernatural, such as fairies, could be studied by science if they actually existed (look at the fraudulent photos that fooled Arthur Conan Doyle). Way back up in this thread, new_theologian listed some supposedly miraculous occurrences he thought were evidence for the divine, and I responded with ways that the miracles could be studied scientifically. The only things we can't study with science are those things that leave no evidence, or in other words, those things that don't interact with our universe. A deistic god who set everything in motion at the start of the universe but then remained hands off for the rest of eternity fits this description, but not the interventionist type god required by Intelligent Design.
Let me touch briefly on what Intelligent Design actually is, since I think that would clear up some of the confusion here. ID advocates are usually pretty vague on what ID actually entails, but here are a couple quotes from Of Pandas and People, the ID textbook that was going to be used in Dover.
First, in discussing tetrapod evolution on page 22, the book said, "Instead, fossil types are fully formed and functional when they first appear in the fossil record. For example, we don't find creatures that are partly fish and partly something else, leading gradually, in the dozens of characteristics which they exhibit, to today's fish. Instead, fish have all the characteristics of today's fish from the earliest known fish fossils, reptiles in the record have all the characteristics of present-day reptiles, and so on."
In discussing the incompleteness of the fossil record on page 25, the book said, "There is, however, another possibility science leaves open to us, one based on sound inferences from the experience of our senses. It is the possibility that an intelligent cause made fully-formed and functional creatures, which later left their traces in the rocks."
The main difference between Intelligent Design and creationism seems to be that ID doesn't specify who the creator actually is, and leaves open the possibility that Earth is one giant lab experiment for advanced aliens (without specifying how the aliens themselves came into existence). If you accept evolution but believe that a god was involved in the process, there are other terms that better match your position. 'Theistic evolution' accepts that evolution has happened largely as the scientific theories predict, but that a god has been imperceptibly tweaking the process to ensure its desired outcomes. 'Front loading' accepts that a god created the universe with the right conditions from the outset to result in its desired outcomes, but that the god hasn't directly intervened since. This may all be semantics, but I think it's relevant to this conversation.
Re: Origins of Life
sammy_ayers wrote, "If cell bootstrapping has happened in the past, why isn't it still happening now? Why can't we find a single example, anywhere? Why would it have happened in the past yet is no longer happening?"
For the same reason it's hard for a start up business in an established market - competition. The first life had no competition. It could afford to be inefficient and have a lousy metabolism. But life has had 4 billion years of competition to hone us into pretty efficient organisms. First of all, any free floating proteins and amino acids that could be used as building blocks for new life are likely going to be consumed up almost immediately by bacteria or protozoa. Even if given a chance to come together, any incipient life forms on Earth now would themselves probably be gobbled up almost immediately by bacteria or protozoa, or at the very least be out-competed.
Re: missing links
There's an old joke about missing links. When a scientist finds a fossil that fits into a previous gap, a creationist says, 'Well now you've just made the problem worse. Instead of only one gap, now you have two.'
Fossilization is rare. We don't have fossils of all living animals, so why should we expect to have fossils for all extinct animals? Look at it this way, if you could trace your ancestry back several generations, but couldn't find any record of your great great great grandmother, would you assume that she didn't exist, or that you simply couldn't find the records?
That being said, there are some remarkable transitional fossils. I've already recommended Donald Prothero's Evolution: What the Fossils Say and Why It Matters, which is full of fossils. To list just a few here, Archeopteryx is probably the most famous, clearly having traits of both living birds and its non-avian theropod ancestors. There's the recently discovered Tiktaalik Roseae, which has been dubbed a fishibian. There are Pakicetus and Ambulocetus showing whale transitionals.
But this whole focus on 'missing links' misses the point. It's the overall story that paints the picture, not isolated fossils. For example, Tiktaalik on its own would be interesting. But it's when you compare it to other organisms like Eusthenopteron, Panderichthys, Ichthyostega, and Acanthostega, that you begin to better understand the evolution of tetrapods.
Re: human evolution
sammy_ayers wrote, "Why are there no apes today that exist in various stages of mutation into man?"
Why should there be? There is no ladder of progress. Humans are no better or worse than the other apes. We're adapted to our environment. The other apes live in different environments, so there's no pressure to make them adapt to be like us.
sammy_ayers also wrote, "Despite the huge amount of money the finding would be worth :-) there is no scientific evidence that man decended from apes."
I would disagree strongly. There's both strong fossil evidence and genetic evidence. In fact, there's too much to list here, so I'll recommend two good places as starting points:
http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/homs/
http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2006/11/handing_out_a_little_rope.php#c273929
zagros wrote, "It has been proven that man was not descended from apes."
I understand what you're getting at, but this is one of my pet peeves. It would be like saying blue jays aren't descended from birds. Of course we're descended from apes because we are apes ourselves. You can't possibly classify chimps and gorillas as apes without including humans, since chimps are more closely related to us than to gorillas. I imagine that you meant that humans are not descended from any living apes, but I'm pretty sure that if we got in a time machine and traveled back 6 million years to find our ancestors, we wouldn't hesitate to call those creatures apes.
Re: sammy_ayers Questions:
"Do you believe educators should be punished for mentioning intelligent design within hypotheses and theories published to the scientific community?"
It depends. If it's taught in the same way as the aether theory of light, or the law of recapitulation, then there's nothing wrong with mentioning ID. If it's presented as credible science, then the teachers should be punished.
"Do you believe that intelligent design should be ommitted from textbooks and classrooms while other, less likely hypotheses and theories are included within text books and classrooms?"
Unless presented as above, ID should be omitted, and less likely explanations should definitely be omitted. However, evolution and current thoughts on abiogenesis are much more likely than Intelligent Design.
"Do you believe that hypotheses and theories regarding intelligent design should receive less public resources and funding than equally unproven and potentially less likely hypothesis and theories?"
As soon as someone can present a testable theory for ID, I wouldn't mind a little taxpayer money going to test it. But what are these "equally unproven and potentially less likely hypothesis and theories" that you're referring to? Because as I already said, evolution itself is pretty much a fact, and current thoughts on abiogenesis are much more likely than Intelligent Design.
This isn't one of your three questions, but it's close. You wrote, "...you believe we taxpayers who are paying for public schools and universities, should simply overlook the fact that our children are exposed to every hypothesis and theory regarding the origins of life, except that the possibility that life originated by intelligent design will be expressly not permitted."
First of all, children aren't exposed to "every hypothesis and theory regarding the origins of life". They're only taught the most credible ones. Regarding Intelligent Design, I disagree with zagros here. If there were any evidence for intelligent design, I think it would be a fruitful area for research. I wouldn't exclude it a priori just because it may have to do with a deity or may have religious implications. The problem is that the evidence just doesn't exist. That's why it's not suitable to teach to children.
Re: Talk Origins
sammy_ayers, I've already mentioned this to you twice, but I'll mention it a third time. I'd highly recommend that you peruse the Talk Origins website. I'd especially recommend that you browse their Index to Creationist Claims before posting anything further about evolution on this thread. Many of the erroneous arguments that you've picked up from dishonest sources are refuted on that page.
http://www.talkorigins.org/indexcc/list.html
Sammy_ayers and zagros both left responses. If you're interested in reading them, head on over to the original thread.
Posted by Jeff on Thursday, June 10, 2010 | Permalink


text:
Jojo Mason
The Hug Life Tour
With Eric Ethridge,
& Sons Of Daughters
Date | Wednesday, September 18
Time | 8:00pm Doors
Venue | Distrikt
919 Douglas St – map
Tickets | $25.00
Available at Lyles Place, Strathcona Hotel Front Desk or online at Eventbrite.ca
Facebook | Stay Updated
For 604 Record's JoJo Mason, the past three years have been an incredible journey.
Now, with four Top 10 tracks under his belt, the west coast artist is ready to hit the ground running once again, and he's more than excited to see what's on the horizon.
Mason's aptly titled new single, "Future", hit radio on October 3rd and was released digitally on October 5th.
It's a song that peaked Mason's interest immediately, and one that blended his two favourite musical styles country, and a little bit of soul.
Written by Nashville singer/songwriter Mitchell Tenpenny, "Future" paints a vivid picture of what can happen when one certain moment changes your life in ways no one could ever imagine. For JoJo, the track is nothing short of a game changer.
Eric Ethridge
Eric Ethridge's brand started to gain serious momentum in 2015 after the release of a series of orchestra country-pop covers, one of which garnered him a mention in Rolling Stone Magazine. Subsequently his social media presence enjoyed a drastic increase with over 275,000 YouTube hits and an increase to over 1500 YouTube subscribers. In August of 2015 Eric was the runner-up in the Boots and Hearts emerging artist showcase, and has since had continued interest from both American and Canadian record labels. In early 2016 Eric was selected by a panel of industry professionals from across Canada to be one of the top 6 finalist for the CCMA Discovery Program. After a final showcase of the top 6 emerging artists, Eric then went on to win the 2016 CCMA Discovery Award. He has shared the stage with major acts such as Jess Moskaluke, Brett Kissel, Emerson Drive, Chad Brownlee, The Bros. Osborne, Chase Bryant, Randy Houser, Chris Young, Billy Currington, Thomas Rhett, Kip Moore, Eric Church and Florida Georgia Line. As the newest addition to The Feldman Agency and Watchdog Management, Eric has teamed up with Juno award-winning producer/songwriter Brian Howes (Nickelback, Keith Urban, Chris Daughtry, and Hinder) to develop his sound for his debut single, "Liquor's Callin' the Shots". It was released toCanadian Country Radio in March of 2017 and peaked at #30 on the Canadian Country Charts, a rare achievement for an independent artist's debut single.
Sons of Daughters
"Your voices sound like you came from the same womb," said Brian Johnson (ACDC) after hearing Sons of Daughters for the first time at a private dinner party.
Sons of Daughters are a modern, gritty, country duo comprised of Chrystal Leigh and Jimmy Thow, hailing from Vancouver, BC, now based in Nashville, Tennessee. The duo can be seen performing on CTV's The Launch, a fresh new spin on the music show format, with celebrity mentors such as Shania Twain, Nikki Sixx, Scott Borchetta, and more.
The move to the home of country music proved to be game-changing for the duo as the exposure landed a management deal with RGK Entertainment Group (which oversees Dean Brody, Tim Hicks and more). Since their move to Nashville, they have collaborated with numerous Grammy nominated, #1 song writers while continuing to expand their catalogue, and have showcased at the iconic "Bluebird Cafe", "The Listening Room" and Nashville's favorite Monday night party, "Whiskey Jam".
They have recorded a six track debut EP entitled, "Pick your Poison", which was created with legendary Grammy-nominated Producer Mike Fraser (ACDC, Metallica, Aerosmith) and Juno nominated, CCMA winner Writer and Producer of the Year Jeff Johnson (Wes Mack, Dallas Smith).
The duo is committed to carving their own unique sound in the modern country scene through captivating vocal harmonies, swampy guitar riffs and catchy lyrics, and the industry is already rooting for their continued success.
January 25, 2020 | Upstairs Cabaret
Girlfriend Material
January 28, 2020 | Lucky Bar
Stickybuds & Krafty Kuts
February 16, 2020 | Distrikt
Schwey
February 18, 2020 | Lucky Bar
March 30, 2020 | Distrikt
April 8, 2020 | Distrikt
April 25, 2020 | Alix Goolden Hall
Ron Sexsmith
May 3, 2020 | Alix Goolden Hall
Copyright © 2020 Beach Fire Entertainment


This International Music Day, MTV is standing up for something they too have forgotten for years now, for music, for good music actually! Taking an aim at cringe pop sensation on social media, Dhinchak Pooja, MTV urges their viewers to turn up the volume on good music.
Parallely, the channel is also running the #ThankYouForTheMusic campaign.
Expressing their gratitude towards a number of leading Bollywood musicians, singers and lyricists, MTV's #ThankYouForTheMusic is out recognizing the work of musical geniuses such as A. R Rahman, Shankar Ehsaan Loy, Javed Akhtar, Amit Trivedi, Sukhwinder Singh, Alka Yagnik, Sunidhi Chauhan and many more who have produced melodious and groovy music for all the Bollywood buffs out there.
Go thank your favourite Bollywood music artists with MTV this #WorldMusicDay!
Do you wish to see a detailed review of the campaign in our reviews section? If yes, let us know in the comments below or write to us on team@socialsamosa.com.


MAH-CET (Maharashtra Common Entrance Test) is a computer-based management entrance test. Officially recognized as MAH-MBA/MMS-CET, the exam is conducted by the (DTE) Directorate of Technical Education, Maharashtra, for admission to different management courses such as MMS, PGDBM and PGDM in numerous institutes in the state of Maharashtra.
It is a common entrance test organized for offering admissions also in, engineering & technology, health science degree and pharmacy courses recommended by various government and private colleges of Maharashtra state.
Registration process for MAH-CET 2019 exam has begun and the exam is scheduled to happen on March 4 and 5.
Last year MAH-CET 2018 was held on March 12 and 13, 2016.
The admission to the management courses such as MBA/MMS/PGDBM/PGDM is a centralized process and covered under Centralized Admission Process (CAP) approved by the Competent Authority of the State of Maharashtra.
The exam will be held in various sessions. "Skilled Authority, using identical equi-percentile method, will be associating scores across sessions," informs the official website.
The test includes multiple choice objective type questions. Applicants need to attempt 200 questions in 150 minutes.
There are various top B-schools in Maharashtra state that accept MAH-CET scores are Bharati Vidyapeeth's Institute of Management Studies & Research, K J Somaiya Institute of Management Studies & Research, Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies and more.
In this article, we are providing all useful information regarding MH CET 2019 with eligibility, important dates, application form, exam pattern, etc.
The exam dates for MHT CET 2019 examination has been declared by the management. MH-CET 2019 Exam will be held on 11th May 2019. Other Dates will be announced soon.
MAH-CET is one to the top management entrance exams in India. Thousands of students take the test every year for admission to the best MBA colleges in the state.
Interested aspirants can start preparing for the test from now on as it is scheduled to be held on March 4 and 5, 2019. Check the entire schedule below.
First week to last week of March, 2019.
The MH-CET 2019 Application Form will be released by the authority in the first week of March, 2019 and available till the fourth week of March, 2019. Students can fill and submit the application form through the official site of the authority. Before filling the application form, candidates are advised to be ready with the scanned images of photograph & signature in the prescribed specifications. The application fee will be 1000 Rs. for open category students and 800 Rs. for reserved category students. Some bank charges may also apply. The fee payment will be made through the challan of SBI Bank. Candidates are suggested to keep the printouts of the application form for further use. Online fee payment will be done from January 21 to February 13, 2019. For offline process, the student is required to purchase the prospectus and form from the closest DTE office.
· Candidates must be Indian Nationals.
· Applicants appearing in exam must have passed in their bachelor's degree or its equivalent from a recognized university to be eligible for MAH CET Exam 2019.
· Applicants who scored minimum of 50% aggregate marks in their graduation for general category and 45% in case of reserved category students can only apply.
· Applicants those who are in the final year can also apply for the examination only if they provided their passing certificate at the time of admission.
· Applicant ought to be of at least 21 year of age before applying for the examination.
The MAH CET 2019 exam pattern will be same this year, there will be fixed number of questions in each section.
Last year, a few changes were made in exam pattern of MAH MBA/MMS CET. After the changes, the maximum weight-age was given to the logical reasoning section. Out of the 200 questions, 75 were from logical reasoning. There will be a minimum of 25 questions in the abstract reasoning section. The same pattern will be followed in the MAH CET 2019 exam pattern.
The candidates will have the advantage of switching from one section to the other. There will be five options to each question, and the candidates have to select the correct from the options provided.
In the stipulated time of 150 minutes, the candidates are expected to answer 200 questions. There is no change in the marking scheme for MAH CET 2019 and the candidates will score one mark for every correct answer. There is no negative marking.
MAH CET 2019 exam will consist of two sections: Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension and Quantitative Aptitude and Logical / Abstract Reasoning.
A total of 200 questions have to be attempted in 150 minutes. There are no negative marks for incorrect answers.
The MH CET 2019 Admit Card will be available to download from the last week of April, 2019. Students can download the admit card through the official website of the authority. Students note down it is mandatory to bring the admit card along with any photo ID proof at the time of examination day. The admit card will carry the information like candidates name, photograph, roll number, exam center, exam date, timing, venue.
The students are recommend to arrive at their respective test centers at least an hour before the beginning of exam. The students have to remember not to carry any electronic gadget or mobile phone to the center.
Students can check their results through the official website of the authority. The MH CET 2019 Result will be declared in the first week of June, 2019. For admissions a merit list will be prepared individually for all the courses on the basis of marks secured by the students in the entrance test. Students are requested to take printout of the result and keep it safe till the admission process. The authority shall invite the application for admissions after the verification of documents & eligibility.
How much I have to score to get 99.99 percentile..?


For the first time in 6 months I'm bored. I've been so busy I haven't had the time to blog!
My newly married friend, Jayvee, pinged me earlier and he said they've just moved to their new home. I asked if they burned anything yet. He said so far none. I remember my first few months with Sweetie. It was one disaster after another. I had zero domestic skills when we got married so I learned on the job. Thank God though there's YouTube where you can learn almost anything. I can attribute my cooking, laundry and ironing skills to YouTube. You can learn a gazillion things on that thing, haha.
It's been 2 years and a quarter since Jay and I married and just as we were settling on a routine I moved to Singapore 6 months ago. I'm lucky I get to come home every month, but it doesn't make parting any less harder every time. I've been hopping from one place to another but we stay in touch by having a Google Hangout almost every day. One thing I learned though is I start to go crazy after two weeks of being away.
Early this year we sat down and re-thought our living arrangements since our place in Manila is now too big for two boys. And it's just hard for them to manage the house (90% of my plants are dead!) on their own. So after doing some math we decided to invest in a smaller, more manageable place. Now we're trying to figure out what we need to get rid of so we can fit in our stuff. A garage sale is imminent in the coming months. One thing I learned about living in another country is you don't really need a lot of stuff. I just brought one suitcase when I moved and I survived. Just keep the essentials.
So this is my year 2 check-in, which reminds me I should find time to put together our year 2 photo book.


text:
Characterization of metal(loids) in mineral dusts from gold mine tailings
Corriveau, M C; Jamieson, H E; Parsons, M B ; Campbell, J L
GAC-MAC-CSPG-CSSS Halifax 2005, building bridges - across science, through time, around the world: abstracts/AGC-AMC-SCGP-SCSS Halifax 2005, Jeter des ponts entre les disciplines scientifiques, les époques, et unifier le monde : recueil des résumés; GAC-MAC-CSPG-CSSS Joint Meeting, Abstracts vol. 30, 2005 p. 36
Alt Series
Earth Sciences Sector, Contribution Series 2004428
Halifax 2005: GAC-MAC-CSPG-CSSS - AGC-AMC-SCGP-SCSS; Halifax, NS; CA; May 15-18, 2005
paper; on-line; digital
environmental geology; geochemistry; mines; mine waste products; tailings; tailings disposal; mercury; arsenic; gold; mine dust surveys; x-ray diffraction; x-ray diffraction analyses; x-ray emission spectroscopy; mineralization, secondary
Metals in the Environment (MITE)
Mine tailings can represent a significant source of potentially hazardous dust. Metal(oid)s such as arsenic and mercury, can exist at relatively high concentrations in the windblown and vehicle-raised dust from these tailings. This dust poses a potential health risk to recreational users of these areas and nearby residents who are chronically exposed to tailings-derived dust. The exposure may involve inhalation of dust, as well as oral ingestion of particles into the gut, especially by children. Preliminary studies from 15 abandoned gold mine sites in Nova Scotia have indicated a significant enrichment of Hg and As in tailings-rich soils: Hg <5 ng/g to 350 µg/g; and As 9 µg/g to 31 wt.%. Mercury was used for amalgamation and may be in the form of elemental Hg, various secondary Hg phases, or may be adsorbed to mineral surfaces. Arsenic occurs naturally in these gold deposits primarily as arsenopyrite, but X-ray diffraction results show that secondary minerals such as scorodite (FeAsO4.2H2O) are abundant in the tailings. Given the variable solubility of As-bearing secondary minerals, it is critical to understand the speciation of As in the tailings in order to assess the bioavailability of ingested or inhaled particles. Particle size is also important in determining bioavailability. Particles with diameters less than about 10 µm are of particular importance because they can be inhaled into the lungs. Those less than 2.5 µm in diameter are thought to be the best indicator of inhalation health risks. Air-borne dust from several tailings fields have been collected via a Proton Induced X-ray Emission Spectroscopy (PIXE) Cascade Impactor (PCI) sampler, which collects aerodynamically fractionated particulate samples in ten
diameter ranges (>16 to 0.06 µm). Each fraction was then analyzed by PIXE in order to determine micrograms of trace element per square
centimeter (µg/cm2). Bulk tailings samples from each site were also dry sieved to examine the relationship between particle size and total
metal(loid) concentrations. Preliminary analytical results obtained by Inductively Coupled Plasma - Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) after
aqua regia digestion demonstrate that metal(oid) concentrations are always higher in the <38 µm fraction than the bulk tailings samples.
However, PIXE results indicate that the relationship between As content and particle size is more complicated in the <10 µm fractions.


ECE-2 – Triple Point Biologics, Inc.
RP1-ECE-2 is a rabbit polyclonal antibody made to the type-II membrane metalloproteinase ECE-2. The antibody is made to a synthetic peptide based on the cytoplasmic domain of human ECE-2. The antibody has been peptide-affinity purified, concentrated to 1.0 mg/ml, with the addition of 0.05% sodium azide as preservative and 50% glycerol as cryoprotectant.
ECE-2 was discovered as one of several enzymes that make the final processing cleavage of the endothelins (ET-1, ET-2, ET-3), and releases the active forms of these potent vasoconstrictors. The initial processing of the precursor is via the proprotein convertases, and ECE-2 cleaves the endothelins at Trp21-Val/Ile22. ECE-2 has a more acidic pH optimum (around 5.5 on ET-1) than ECE-1, and is considered a poor enzyme at neutral pH. The overall homology between ECE-1 and ECE-2 is approximately 59% at the amino acid level, and both enzymes share the same domain structure. ECE-2 is also more restricted in expression than the more ubiquitous ECE-1, with the highest concentrations found in neuronal tissues and the adrenal medulla, although the overall expression levels of ECE-2 are lower than ECE-1. Microarray analysis of Alzheimer's patients' tissues showed a marked decrease in ECE-2 message levels, and intracranial injections of ECE-1 have been shown to clear some of the amyloid beta protein in mouse models of Alzheimer's disease. ECE-2 is also thought to play a role in generating neuropeptides. ECE-2 is a type-II transmembrane metalloproteinase, with an aminoterminal cytoplasmic domain, a transmembrane domain, and a metalloproteinase domain of the M13 class. The cytoplasmic domain is longer in ECE-2 than in ECE-1, and is reported to have similarity to methyytransferases, although little is known about the function in ECE-2. A number of different splice variants of ECE-2 have been reported thus far, mostly containing modifications to the cytoplasmic domain, and the rest of the molecules are identical. Two splice variants of 255 amino acids length are reported that diverge and terminate after the transmembrane domain. Full-length variants of ECE-2 are reported of 883, 811, 787, 765, 737 and 736, amino acids in length, with predicted mass of 99.8, 91.2, 89.2, 86.5, 83.4 and 83.3 kDa, and pI of 4.77, 5.1, 4.9, 4.8, 4.9 and 4.9 respectively. Glycosylation and other posttranslational modifications make human ECE-2 run around 120-130 kDa on reduced Western blots. The RP1-ECE-2 antibody recognizes the 883, 787, and 255 amino acid forms of ECE-2. A recommended starting concentration for Western blots is 1:1,000 when using colorimetric substrates such as BCIP/NBT, and 1:5,000 for chemiluminescent substrates. Higher concentrations of antibody may be needed for samples from more distantly related species. FOR RESEARCH USE ONLY; NOT FOR USE IN HUMANS.
RP2-ECE-2 is a rabbit polyclonal antibody made to the type-II membrane metalloproteinase ECE-2. The antibody is made to a synthetic peptide based on the stalk region between the TM domain and the catalytic domain of human ECE-2. The antibody has been peptide-affinity purified, concentrated to 1.0 mg/ml, with the addition of 0.05% sodium azide as preservative and 50% glycerol as cryoprotectant.
ECE-2 was discovered as one of several enzymes that make the final processing cleavage of the endothelins (ET-1, ET-2, ET-3), and releases the active forms of these potent vasoconstrictors. The initial processing of the precursor is via the proprotein convertases, and ECE-2 cleaves the endothelins at Trp21-Val/Ile22. ECE-2 has a more acidic pH optimum (around 5.5 on ET-1) than ECE-1, and is considered a poor enzyme at neutral pH. The overall homology between ECE-1 and ECE-2 is approximately 59% at the amino acid level, and both enzymes share the same domain structure. ECE-2 is also more restricted in expression than the more ubiquitous ECE-1, with the highest concentrations found in neuronal tissues and the adrenal medulla, although the overall expression levels of ECE-2 are lower than ECE-1. Microarray analysis of Alzheimer's patients' tissues showed a marked decrease in ECE-2 message levels, and intracranial injections of ECE-1 have been shown to clear some of the amyloid beta protein in mouse models of Alzheimer's disease. ECE-2 is also thought to play a role in generating neuropeptides. ECE-2 is a type-II transmembrane metalloproteinase, with an aminoterminal cytoplasmic domain, a transmembrane domain, and a metalloproteinase domain of the M13 class. The cytoplasmic domain is longer in ECE-2 than in ECE-1, and is reported to have similarity to methyytransferases, although little is known about the function in ECE-2. A number of different splice variants of ECE-2 have been reported thus far, mostly containing modifications to the cytoplasmic domain, and the rest of the molecules are identical. Two splice variants of 255 amino acids length are reported that diverge and terminate after the transmembrane domain. Full-length variants of ECE-2 are reported of 883, 811, 787, 765, 737 and 736, amino acids in length, with predicted mass of 99.8, 91.2, 89.2, 86.5, 83.4 and 83.3 kDa, and pI of 4.77, 5.1, 4.9, 4.8, 4.9 and 4.9 respectively. Glycosylation and other posttranslational modifications make human ECE-2 run around 120-130 kDa on reduced Western blots. The RP2-ECE-2 antibody recognizes all but the 255 amino acid form of ECE-2. A recommended starting concentration for Western blots is 1:1,000 when using colorimetric substrates such as BCIP/NBT, and 1:5,000 for chemiluminescent substrates. Higher concentrations of antibody may be needed for samples from more distantly related species. FOR RESEARCH USE ONLY; NOT FOR USE IN HUMANS.
RP3-ECE-2 is a rabbit polyclonal antibody made to the type-II membrane metalloproteinase ECE-2. The antibody is made to a synthetic peptide based on the catalytic domain of human ECE-2. The antibody has been peptide-affinity purified, concentrated to 1.0 mg/ml, with the addition of 0.05% sodium azide as preservative and 50% glycerol as cryoprotectant.
ECE-2 was discovered as one of several enzymes that make the final processing cleavage of the endothelins (ET-1, ET-2, ET-3), and releases the active forms of these potent vasoconstrictors. The initial processing of the precursor is via the proprotein convertases, and ECE-2 cleaves the endothelins at Trp21-Val/Ile22. ECE-2 has a more acidic pH optimum (around 5.5 on ET-1) than ECE-1, and is considered a poor enzyme at neutral pH. The overall homology between ECE-1 and ECE-2 is approximately 59% at the amino acid level, and both enzymes share the same domain structure. ECE-2 is also more restricted in expression than the more ubiquitous ECE-1, with the highest concentrations found in neuronal tissues and the adrenal medulla, although the overall expression levels of ECE-2 are lower than ECE-1. Microarray analysis of Alzheimer's patients' tissues showed a marked decrease in ECE-2 message levels, and intracranial injections of ECE-1 have been shown to clear some of the amyloid beta protein in mouse models of Alzheimer's disease. ECE-2 is also thought to play a role in generating neuropeptides. ECE-2 is a type-II transmembrane metalloproteinase, with an aminoterminal cytoplasmic domain, a transmembrane domain, and a metalloproteinase domain of the M13 class. The cytoplasmic domain is longer in ECE-2 than in ECE-1, and is reported to have similarity to methyytransferases, although little is known about the function in ECE-2. A number of different splice variants of ECE-2 have been reported thus far, mostly containing modifications to the cytoplasmic domain, and the rest of the molecules are identical. Two splice variants of 255 amino acids length are reported that diverge and terminate after the transmembrane domain. Full-length variants of ECE-2 are reported of 883, 811, 787, 765, 737 and 736, amino acids in length, with predicted mass of 99.8, 91.2, 89.2, 86.5, 83.4 and 83.3 kDa, and pI of 4.77, 5.1, 4.9, 4.8, 4.9 and 4.9 respectively. Glycosylation and other posttranslational modifications make human ECE-2 run around 120-130 kDa on reduced Western blots. The RP3-ECE-2 antibody recognizes all but the 255 amino acid form of ECE-2. A recommended starting concentration for Western blots is 1:1,000 when using colorimetric substrates such as BCIP/NBT, and 1:5,000 for chemiluminescent substrates. Higher concentrations of antibody may be needed for samples from more distantly related species. FOR RESEARCH USE ONLY; NOT FOR USE IN HUMANS.
RP4-ECE-2 is a rabbit polyclonal antibody made to the type-II membrane metalloproteinase ECE-2. The antibody is made to a synthetic peptide based on the carboxyterminal end of human ECE-2. The antibody has been peptide-affinity purified, concentrated to 1.0 mg/ml, with the addition of 0.05% sodium azide as preservative and 50% glycerol as cryoprotectant.
ECE-2 was discovered as one of several enzymes that make the final processing cleavage of the endothelins (ET-1, ET-2, ET-3), and releases the active forms of these potent vasoconstrictors. The initial processing of the precursor is via the proprotein convertases, and ECE-2 cleaves the endothelins at Trp21-Val/Ile22. ECE-2 has a more acidic pH optimum (around 5.5 on ET-1) than ECE-1, and is considered a poor enzyme at neutral pH. The overall homology between ECE-1 and ECE-2 is approximately 59% at the amino acid level, and both enzymes share the same domain structure. ECE-2 is also more restricted in expression than the more ubiquitous ECE-1, with the highest concentrations found in neuronal tissues and the adrenal medulla, although the overall expression levels of ECE-2 are lower than ECE-1. Microarray analysis of Alzheimer's patients' tissues showed a marked decrease in ECE-2 message levels, and intracranial injections of ECE-1 have been shown to clear some of the amyloid beta protein in mouse models of Alzheimer's disease. ECE-2 is also thought to play a role in generating neuropeptides. ECE-2 is a type-II transmembrane metalloproteinase, with an aminoterminal cytoplasmic domain, a transmembrane domain, and a metalloproteinase domain of the M13 class. The cytoplasmic domain is longer in ECE-2 than in ECE-1, and is reported to have similarity to methyytransferases, although little is known about the function in ECE-2. A number of different splice variants of ECE-2 have been reported thus far, mostly containing modifications to the cytoplasmic domain, and the rest of the molecules are identical. Two splice variants of 255 amino acids length are reported that diverge and terminate after the transmembrane domain. Full-length variants of ECE-2 are reported of 883, 811, 787, 765, 737 and 736, amino acids in length, with predicted mass of 99.8, 91.2, 89.2, 86.5, 83.4 and 83.3 kDa, and pI of 4.77, 5.1, 4.9, 4.8, 4.9 and 4.9 respectively. Glycosylation and other posttranslational modifications make human ECE-2 run around 120-130 kDa on reduced Western blots. The RP4-ECE-2 antibody recognizes all but the 255 amino acid form of ECE-2. A recommended starting concentration for Western blots is 1:1,000 when using colorimetric substrates such as BCIP/NBT, and 1:5,000 for chemiluminescent substrates. Higher concentrations of antibody may be needed for samples from more distantly related species. FOR RESEARCH USE ONLY; NOT FOR USE IN HUMANS.


Stampin' Up! has updated the Annual Catalog retiring list that notes stamps that will be carried over to the 2019-20 Catalog as a "cling" stamp.
Stampin' Up! has added an additional flyer that has ONLY the stamps that are carrying over in the new "cling" style. These stamps in "clear mount" and/or "wood mount" are listed on the retiring lists. This list should help you in your decision as to the stamps you can wait to purchase from the upcoming catalog.
CLICK HERE to view or print the flyer for stamps carrying over to the 2019-2020 Annual Catalog in "clear mount"
The stamps that are from the Occasions Catalog that are carrying over that are already in the updated "cling" style so no edits were needed for the the retiring list for the Occasions Catalog.


Here is a link to learn how to do the gradient look of a "cane"
I am thinking of doing a video shortly when time allows if anyone is interested in learning some techniques.
I AM!!!!! I'd love to see how to make canes!
Tanya Naser wrote: I AM!!!!! I'd love to see how to make canes!
Sounds good Tanya. I may do one on needle tatting also. If interested. That's fun.


Some of us do take our cycling a whole lot more seriously than the other people, and for good reason, too. After all, we took up cycling not only to help reduce our overall carbon footprint, but we would also like to get in shape – at the same time take in all the breathtaking beauty that nature has can offer. Having said that, just timing one's bicycle ride is not good enough anymore these days in a performance oriented society, which is why Pyle Audio has come up with what they call the PSBCG90 Smart Bicycling Computer.
For starters, the PSBCG90 Smart Bicycling Computer is a versatile device which will be able to offer cyclists the ability to track their performance, map locations as well as plan new, unchartered routes. It will arrive with a slew of features so that you can hook it up to your PC, save your training data and check out in-depth performance records as you wait to let all of your sweat cool down. In other words, the PSBCG90 Smart Bicycling Computer functions like a personal fitness trainer and data tracker, where it will rack up accurate and reliable statistics. Those who would want to enhance their cycling experience will be able to pick up this smart bike computer for $129.99 a pop.
In fact, the Coberturas PSBCG90 Smart Bicycling Computer will sport integrated Google Maps that lets you check out the bike route traveled, zoom in and out, and gain access to a world view, all in a format that you have come to know and love. Come on now, who hates Google Maps?
There is also ANT+ compatibility that lets you connect additional accessory meters which carry the same ability to send data wirelessly to the Smart Computer. It will play nice with 2.4GHz ANT+ accessories such as heart rate, cadence, speed, RPM, distance, power meters and sensors, and will also be compatible with sensors that are manufactured by Garmin and Motorola.


4/8/13 - Daniel Woods and French climber Charlotte Durif took top honors at the 2013 Sport Climbing Series National Championships April 5 and 6. About 1,000 spectators crowded into Movement Climbing + Fitness in Boulder, Colorado, to watch the 80 of America's best climbers battle it out on steep terrain.
Durif gave a solid performance throughout the competition; she led the pack going into finals, and was the only woman to finish the finals route. Impressively, she was also the only woman to find a knee-bar rest before firing to the top. Delaney Miller, who won the National Champion title, fell only one move from the top and came in second. Chelsea Rude finished third.
Woods' performance in qualifiers was less than grandiose, landing him in seventh place going into finals. But he revved it up in the last round, reaching the high point only a few moves from the top. Notably, he won the 2013 ABS Nationals too, marking the first time one person has taken both titles in the same year. Carlo Traversi, who qualified in first, fell just below Woods and came in second. Noah Ridge emerged from qualifiers in third place and maintained a solid showing, finishing third in finals.
Last year's champions, Sasha DiGiulian and Vasya Vorotnikov, finished in ninth and fifth place, respectively. Typically, eight competitors advance into finals, but there are a few caveats: 1) Extra spots are allotted for foreign climbers (i.e., Durif and Canadian Elan Jonas McRae). 2) Winners of the Continental Championships are also granted extra spots into finals; Miller and DiGiulian were the Continental Champions.
See the full results list at scsnationals.org.


text:
Gerardo Mendez
Gerardo Mendez / Tutor
Born in Morelia, Mexico Gerardo studied viola at the Conservatorio de las Rosas with Maestra Gellya Dubrova before gaining a scholarship to study at the Royal College of Music under Jonathan Barritt. He has taken part in masterclasses with Maxim Rysanov, Pablo de Pedro Cano, Brodsky Quartet and the Henschel Quartet. As an orchestral musician Gerardo has played under conductors such as Vladimir Jurowski, John Wilson and Ed Gardiner, and he previously held the position of co-principal viola of the Michoacan State Symphony Orchestra.
Gerardo was a member of the Cuyos Quartet from 2008 to 2014 with whom he won first prize at San Miguel de Allende Festival and toured to Argentina, USA, Mexico and Europe. Other chamber music highlights have included Weber Quintet with Professor Colin Lawson and Pommersfelden Summer Academy in Germany.
Gerardo is much in demand as a multi-instrumentalist and teacher: he currently teaches viola in the Extension programme at the Royal College of Music Junior Department and teaches piano, violin, guitar, ukulele, harp and cello privately. Outreach work has included Chambertots at Wigmore Hall, Triborough Music Hub, ABRSM, RCM Sparks, BBC Proms, Red Cross Refugee projects with Music Action International as well as a wide variety of projects in Mexico, particularly Niños Músicos por la Paz.
Gerardo is grateful to have been supported in his studies by the H.M.D. Meyer Violin Prize and plays a viola made by mexican luthier Jonathan Flores.


For a sneak peak of the commercial and a shot of a beautiful Cape Coral home, click the link below.
Please stop by our new offices in the out lot of the Coralwood Mall in Cape Coral, next to JP Sports.
Visit MY WEBSITE MARYNEILSON.COM for more information and to search Cape Coral homes.


"Milan Essentials" is my collection of essential links for digital nomads visiting Milan.
I advice to dedicate a screen of your smartphone to bookmarks related to Milan, so you can feel the pulse of the city with a look at your smartphone.
ATM App - Real time information about public transports.
Fabriq - Social innovation incubator.
Base - Creative business incubator.
Cohub - Sharing economy incubator.
Fintech District - Fintech incubator.
Talent Garden - Tech cowork open 24 hours.
Impact Hub - Social innovation cowork.
Economia Urbana e Lavoro - Social innovation events calendar.
Yes Milano - International events calendar.
Turismo Milano - Cultural events calendar.
Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II - The world oldest shopping mall.
Museo del novecento - 20th century Italian art museum.
Castello Sforzesco - Milan Castel.
Tre Torri - City Life - Business district and mall.
Bosco Vericale - Residential towers.
Hangar Bicocca - Contemporary art museum.
Armani Silos - Armani museum.
Rinomata Gelateria Artigiana - Creps and Gelati.
A' Vucciria - Sicilian street food.
Antica Focacceria S. Francesco - Traditional Sicilian food.