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I Saw It, It's Alive, It's Huge!
Posted by BlackWidower on Tue, Jan 11, 2011
The giant monster movie genre is one that hasn't gotten a lot of attention in western culture. In '98 we had the bastard love child of Roland Emmerich and Godzilla, and in 2005 Peter Jackson decided to copy a 72-year-old film rather than come up with an original idea. But beyond those two there weren't any western monsters that one could call our own, and there are none at all that we could be proud of, particularly in recent history. I mean both Kong and Zilla were taken down by guns and missiles respectively. Fucking pussies. Compare that to the real Godzilla who can survive a fucking nuke to the face.
At least, that was true until 2008, when Cloverfield was released. Possibly one of the greatest monster movies ever made.
Cloverfield was surrounded by much mystery up until its January 2008 release because it was produced by J.J. Abrams. But I'll get into that later. All that mystery contributed to the much deserved hype. It's unique and engaging and I for one, loved it.
I think what struck me the most about Cloverfield was the perspective. Most every giant monster movie is told from the perspective of the people fighting it and in some cases the monster itself, because it's fighting another monster. In Cloverfield the story is told from the point of view of five 20-somethings caught in the crossfire. Average citizens, who are typically known in other monster movies as fodder or extras.
Here the fodder takes centre stage, and this works better because let's face it, you or me, or the average person, if we are in New York when the shit hits the fan, we are not the civilian leaders, or the military, or the scientist the military hired to not listen to, we are the fodder, so it's kind of refreshing to see a disaster film that focuses on the fodder…helpless fodder just trying to survive.
Or in this case, rescue a damsel in distress. The movie would have ended very quickly if they simply wanted to get out of town…unless they are very, very unlucky. The military is continually escorting people out of the city, so the only way to drive the story is to place the monster as an obstacle between them and their goal, which can't be leaving the city because that is too easy. So instead, their goal is Beth. The love interest of the main character, Rob. She is trapped in her apartment in Midtown where a giant monster is tearing shit up. This gives them a reason to be in the middle of the shit while making them seem at least a little bit sane.
Each of the characters have their own personality and purpose. Hud acts as the films comic relief and cameraman. Which also means we are meant to project ourselves onto him, to a certain degree.
Marlena is the sanest person in the group, trying to talk the others into, at first not going, then taking the safest route. She also acts as a foil to Hud at certain points. She has to be my favourite character.
Rob is the one leading the group to save Beth, and Beth is a character we don't see throughout most of the film, with the exception of the quick breaks which happen when the camera glitches out and the film skips, revealing what was originally on the tape before it was taped over. These segments are essential, because without them we would have never been able to understand why Rob would go straight into hell for this girl, considering the only other time we see her is at Rob's party where her personality is at it's worst.
Then there's Lily who sort of acts as a maternal figure to all the other characters, and seemingly the most responsible of the group, and the most emotionally solid throughout the entire film, even considering all that she goes through. Which I won't give away, watch the movie.
The whole film is visceral and shocking. It feels like you are actually there in the middle of things, and during the encounters with Clover or the Bugs, it feels like you have your life threatened, and the fear of death is a fear both the characters and audience share.
The writers do a great job at making everything feel natural, while including some very creepy moments, such as the part after Marlena sees Clover up close (but long before anyone else does), and her first line after that encounter, nearly three minutes later, is…well I don't want to spoil it, but let's just say that, if it doesn't send a chill up your spine, that's only because you don't have one.
One of the best moments in the film is the scene in the electronics store. Hud gets a chance to watch the news coverage of Clover's attacks, showing the scope of the event, and introducing us to the Bugs and the military. This quickly shifts to Rob, listening to Beth's phone message, and this is one of my favourite moments, he turns off his phone, and you can see his brother's words echoing in his head. "You got to learn to say, 'forget the world,' and hang on to the people that you care about the most." This is the last line in the film before Clover begins his attack, and it kind of ends up being the film's theme.
As I said earlier, Cloverfield focuses on the fodder. Which kinda makes the plot sort of the reverse of every other monster film ever made. In Cloverfield, the monster attack is actually the B-plot, and the team's journey to rescue Beth is the A-plot. In any other monster film, it would be the other way around.
The design of Clover himself is interesting, and it had better be because of his importance in the overall plot. He appears to be a fish creature. There appear to be gills or something on the back of his head, and he appears to have come out of the water if the ARG means anything…which I will get to later. Therefore, I'd like to propose an alternate name for Clover. Basszilla! Actually he's more of an amphibian…Frogra?
Anyway, next is Frogra's roar. Which doesn't evoke a feeling of fear as much as it does a feeling of sadness. He's not trying to scare the shit out of us, he's crying in distress. I mean he's being fired at with machine gun fire, and missiles. If that doesn't make you cry you have no skin.
Next is Clover's size, he's around 100 metres tall, which makes him taller than Godzilla. Or around the same hight, because apparently Godzilla keeps changing in size…the fuck?
Plus, there's more…apparently he's supposed to be an infant…let that roll around in your head for a few seconds…he's around 100 metres tall, and a baby. I'm just glad we never saw his mother. Assuming the scale is similar to any other animal, she could probably cross Manhattan is one stride, and a creature that size would be impossible to hide on Earth. Okay, they say the ocean is big and we still haven't explored most of it. But it's not that big, and Earth is actually smaller than you might think. In fact, I recently found out that if Earth was even a little bit smaller, it would not be able to support life. Also, our atmosphere is only 20km high. Clover's mom would be the size of a small island, very easy to spot, especially if she ever moved…and how did Clover get separated from her? There are a lot of questions.
Of course there is one explanation for all that. He's actually not a baby in the literal sense. He's suffering separation anxiety from the water. Spent all his life down there, now he's on dry land for the first time. It's a traumatic experience, like just being born, not actually being born.
But there are more questions involving the Bugs.
What is their purpose? Are they why Clover got separated from his mother (assuming he has one)? Are they why he got on land? Where are they from? What's their connection to Clover's species, are they symbiotic? Since he was just born, are they a part of the gestation process? Are they more like E-coli? Perhaps there is a genetic relationship and they are not a different species, but are more like an organ, rather than an independent and unique organism.
See, these are questions that keep rolling in my head, and it would be nice if we had an answer to at least one of them. But of course this is J.J. Abrams we're talking about, an expert in not answering questions.
Ah yes, J.J.'s trademark. Keeping shit from us. This was forgivable in the promotional period, after the trailer was released, when it was known as 1-18-08. But when they released the film, one would expect all secrets to end and all questions to be answered. Not so apparently.
It seems most of the questions are supposed to be answered by the ARG. A series of websites scattered around the Internet containing information about the movie. Fuck you! I have to go on a fucking scavenger hunt!? What is this!? Preschool!?
It's actually kinda fun though. Looking for this information. You feel like you're sneaking around, fitting together a conspiracy. The problem is, it's difficult to tell if you've found everything. You might have all the information, or there might be a site you haven't visited, with a piece to the puzzle that brings everything together. Or maybe there's one site you didn't visit at a particular time, when a clue was given under the guise of the site being "hacked." However this is all mitigated by websites featuring the ARG being pieced together by a community. That's what's great about the Internet. If you don't know the answer, ask someone and they'll tell you. But it can kinda take away from the fun of the ARG.
Here's what I can get from the ARG. There's a company, Tagruato, who do many things. They manage oil-drilling platforms across the planet. They sell a frozen energy drink called Slusho, and they do other things that I don't know about and are likely irrelevant. A while back they built the Chuai drilling station, with the full knowledge that there was no oil there. They were attempting to harvest an abundant body of Seabed's Nectar, the active ingredient in Slusho. They found the Nectar…and Clover and the Bugs. At first they began researching him for a while, before doing something to piss him off, I don't know what, and he responded by attacking Chuai station.
Then he attacked New York because the Mets keep losing-I don't know. I would have figured he'd go back to his lair after taking out Chuai. But noooo.
Clover's origin story actually reminds me of Godzilla's origin from the 1954 movie. He was hanging out in an ocean trench for a couple thousand years before getting evicting by nuclear bombs being tested in the Pacific, and decides to take it out on Tokyo. I know a lot of people will say I'm wrong, and Godzilla was a creature was mutated by the radiation from a nuclear bomb. But that was a retcon implemented in later films. The original classic doesn't go that far. They say he absorbed a lot of radiation, but not that he was created by it.
Clover seems to owe a lot to Godzilla, they're both the same height, they're both indestructible (as far as one can tell) and they both came from the ocean. Plus, according to Abrams, he got the idea for Clover after noticing Godzilla memorabilia was still in high demand in Japan.
There's more to the ARG then the sites. There's also a four-part manga, Cloverfield/Kishin, released online in Japanese. Which I can't read because I haven't learned Japanese yet. There is no official English translation, which blows my mind. The film was released in the US in English, yet the tie-in manga is only available in Japanese. Why would you do that? However there is a fan translation available online. But I can't vouch for its accuracy.
Of course even with all that is laid out by the ARG, there are still quite a few questions. Which pisses me off. However, it's possible they are saving these questions for the sequel, which will probably never come.
The fact that we haven't heard a single word about a Cloverfield sequel is bothersome. Though I assume it will happen. Clover is interesting enough as a monster to pull off a full 28 film franchise. Or possibly a 15 film franchise, then a 7 film franchise, then three standalone films, followed by a two film serial where he fights Mechaclover, then a final film with Clover fighting over a dozen different monsters, and aliens…of course by then we'll all just stop caring…
Anyway, I can't help but speculate what a Cloverfield sequel would be like. There are a few possibilities. The creators hinted that there was another film being made at the same time. Basically saying the sequel will take place during the same attack, but from a different point of view. How many people would seriously have been in that situation? Going back into the middle of the city, where a giant monster can eat you. I find it a stretch that one group of four was, but I can buy it. The best way a sequel like that would work is if it follows four people, who keep on trying to leave the city, but always get turned back, or stopped or something, because if they end up just reusing the same premise, the public will get pissed.
There are a few other ways they could pull off a sequel that takes place during the same event. One idea involves focusing on a news reporter, embedded with the troops. As they are fighting Clover, he's trying to get some good shots for the story. Or, they could do it documentary style. With interviews about the monster's biology, activity, origins, and the nature of the parasites. Or they could do something different, like actually making a fucking sequel.
Come up with a follow-up to Cloverfield that takes place after Cloverfield. Perhaps they could pit him against Godzilla. Besides, we know the story isn't over. Spoiler Alert! At the end of the credits, a strange and subdued sound plays. It's a clip of director Matt Reeves saying "it's still alive," reversed. I know it's Matt Reeves because he said as much in the DVD commentary. Though Abrams did say in an interview, that Clover did die at the end, I'm willing to bet he's lying because he's that much of a jackass, and he's not the only creator.
So a new film where he fights Godzilla or something would be nice. Though I would like to point out that the Godzilla films that make the most sense were the ones where he fought an enemy that was a byproduct of himself. Makes sense because Godzilla is the real freak here, it strains credulity to have so many different origins, and some fire gods. So pit Clover against an enemy which is his brother or something, or a creature that was mutated by the Seabed's Nectar. Something like that would work. You can continue to focus on the people if you really must, but unless we get a good view of the monster battle, you're doing it wrong. Here's another idea: Clover attacks a different city, and the people there freak out and the military tries new things. But he still succeeds.
Then there's another idea. Make the Cloverfield sequel a video game. Not an action game, god no, but a survival-horror game where you try to avoid and outrun the monsters. Hell, the original film had a bit of a video game vibe, there's even a sewer level…er…subway level.
I don't know, maybe I'm talking out of my ass, but I do get the feeling with Cloverfield, that the story's incomplete. It needs to be finished, as soon as possible. Because I'm annoyed that we only got half the story. I'm reminded of so many games I've played that were planned to have a sequel that never came, and it always pissed me off. Like Advent Rising and Tron 2.0. Of course those games didn't sell well. Cloverfield on the other hand did. So I want to see a sequel.
But in the meantime, I highly recommend the original. Watch it in a dark room. You'll have the time of your life.
This entry was posted in Film and tagged Cloverfield, Godzilla, Movies, Reviews. Bookmark the permalink.
Mankind's Future Didn't Sell Well
The Man Without a Faith


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Q: Android Visualizer loses headphones My Android apps are audio players with built in music visualizations. They can use Android Visualizer class to get sound data. But unfortunately it does not contain any music if headhones are connected. It takes sound only from microhone but not audio mixer out. Of course in Visualizer constructor I use session ID == 0.
    private static int initVisualizer() {
    viz = new Visualizer( 0 );
    if( viz == null )
        return 0;
    .......

Docs tell that means Visualizer will take output mix. But this is wrong - it takes microphone signal. And of course it uses headset microphone, not device's. Therefore my visualizations stop working if user connects headset or external speaker. How to solve this?

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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Q: RegEx to extract all HTML tag attributes including inline JavaScript I found this useful regex code here while looking to parse HTML tag attributes:
(\S+)=["']?((?:.(?!["']?\s+(?:\S+)=|[>"']))+.)["']?

It works great, but it's missing one key element that I need. Some attributes are event triggers that have inline Javascript code in them like this:
onclick="doSomething(this, 'foo', 'bar');return false;"

Or:
onclick='doSomething(this, "foo", "bar");return false;'

I can't figure out how to get the original expression to not count the quotes from the JS (single or double) while it's nested inside the set of quotes that contain the attribute's value.
I SHOULD add that this is not being used to parse an entire HTML document. It's used as an argument in an older "array to select menu" function that I've updated. One of the arguments is a tag that can append extra HTML attributes to the form element.
I've made an improved function and am deprecating the old... but in case somewhere in the code is a call to the old function, I need it to parse these into the new array format. Example:
// Old Function
function create_form_element($array, $type, $selected="", $append_att="") { ... }
// Old Call
create_form_element($array, SELECT, $selected_value, "onchange=\"something(this, '444');\"");

The new version takes an array of attr => value pairs to create extra tags.
create_select($array, $selected_value, array('style' => 'width:250px;', 'onchange' => "doSomething('foo', 'bar')"));

This is merely a backwards compatibility issue where all calls to the OLD function are routed to the new one, but the $append_att argument in the old function needs to be made into an array for the new one, hence my need to use regex to parse small HTML snippets. If there is a better, light-weight way to accomplish this, I'm open to suggestions.

A: The problem with your regular expression is that it tries to handle both single and double quotes at the same time.  It doesn't support attribute values that contain the other quote.  This regex will work better:
(\w+)=("[^<>"]*"|'[^<>']*'|\w+)

A: following regex will work as per HTML syntax specs available here
http://www.w3.org/TR/html-markup/syntax.html
regex patterns
// valid tag names
$tagname = '[0-9a-zA-Z]+';
// valid attribute names
$attr = "[^\s\\x00\"'>/=\pC]+";
// valid unquoted attribute values
$uqval = "[^\s\"'=><`]*";
// valid single-quoted attribute values
$sqval = "[^'\\x00\pC]*";
// valid double-quoted attribute values
$dqval = "[^\"\\x00\pC]*";
// valid attribute-value pairs
$attrval = "(?:\s+$attr\s*=\s*\"$dqval\")|(?:\s+$attr\s*=\s*'$sqval')|(?:\s+$attr\s*=\s*$uqval)|(?:\s+$attr)";

and the final regex query will be
    // start tags + all attr formats
    $patt[] = "<(?'starttags'$tagname)(?'tagattrs'($attrval)*)\s*(?'voidtags'[/]?)>";

    // end tags
    $patt[] = "</(?'endtags'$tagname)\s*>"; // end tag

    // full regex pcre pattern
    $patt = implode("|", $patt);
    // search and match
    preg_match_all("#$patt#imuUs",$data,$matches);

hope this helps.

A: Even better would be to use backreferences, in PHP the regular expression would be:
([a-zA-Z_:][-a-zA-Z0-9_:.]+)=(["'])(.*?)\\2

Where \\2 is a reference to (["'])
Also this regular expression will match attributes containing _, - and :, which are allowed according to W3C, however, this expression wont match attributes which values are not contained in quotes.


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Spotify Said Developing Pandora-Like Online Radio Service — Spotify Ltd., the London-based online music provider, is developing a U.S. Internet radio service that would directly challenge Pandora Media Inc. (P), said two people with knowledge of the situation.
Ben Popper / VentureBeat: Why is Spotify developing Pandora-like-radio when it already has Pandora-like-radio?
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Verizon's Summer / Fall 2012 smartphone roadmap — While Samsung's Galaxy S3 has been the star of the rumor show for the past few months — with BGR leading the pack — we now have a clear picture of the smartphone landscape for late summer and early fall this year.
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This entry was posted in Oaxaca Mexico art and culture and tagged Mexico drug violence, Mexico safety 2009, NPR Mexico Diane Rehm, Oaxaca safety, travel safety. Bookmark the permalink.
After living in Morocco for the past 9 years , and now having found and fallen completely in love with Oaxaca and decided to stay here, I can attest to the most positive things every one has said about this gorgeous , fascinating and friendly city. I know Sheri Brautigam, she is also very involved with the textile weaving community and does know Oaxaca and Mexico very well. This is a completely safe city , as is all of Mexico except the border cities , with both the U.S. and Guatemala. And the drug and violence is a direct result of the U.S. drug and firearm business . However it does not involve the law abiding American tourist or expat at all.
Also as to the NAFTA, I have to strongly disagree with Joe Lindsay. The entire Swine Flu epidemic scare is a direct result of the absolutely illegal in the U.S. conditions that were a matter of record here in Mexico. The filthy conditions of a Smithfield Farms pig farm in Northern Mexico is where it all began. And was ignored for years. NAFTA has not been good for anyone anywhere except for U.S, company profits due to near slave labor savings and ignoring any U.S. guidelines for safety or cleanliness. I know this from Morocco as well.
Do come to Oaxaca. Do not be put off by alarmist or paranoid (Fox type) reports of violence. Oaxaca is charming and clean and full of delightful educated and artistic people. They like us and make us feel welcome in a thousand ways here.
I have been living here full time for two years and intend to stay.
This is good information but there are a few problems.
First, be very, very careful about taking cabs in Mexico, most especially Mexico City. People are robbed every day, occasionally murdered. Telephone for a cab, or take one from a hotel taxi stand whose driver is known. Don't take my word for it, ask any Mexican.
The statistics are correct, Mexico, away from the border, Mexico City, Michoacán, Sinaloa and a few other drug areas, is fairly safe. However, almost every one I know in Mexico City (Mexicans) seems to have been mugged at an ATM. Be careful. Go to the ATMs inside the banks or other safe places. Be careful about using the ATMs on the street.
The nephew of a business associate of mine in Guadalajara was gunned down and killed on the Mexico City-Oaxaca highway a couple of years ago.
It is not only rich people who are being kidnapped now, but any one perceived to be worth a little money. Many affluent Mexicans are relocating to the States.
I am 59, lived in Mexico as a teenager and have done business all over the country as well as vacationed. I speak Spanish well enough not to be identified as a foreigner.
I have often seen foreigners misbehaving in Mexico and doing very imprudent things. They do not understand the danger they are in. Most especially, never, never, never NEVER have any thing to do with drugs or people using or selling them in Mexico. Law enforcement is severe, corrupt and US consular officials will have little sympathy for you if you're caught or even set up.
If possible, don't go places alone. I read a British Embassy report that said in recent years UK victims reporting crimes in Mexico were invariably alone at the time. No exceptions.
If you're going to get drunk, do it in your high class hotel bar and not in dives (cantinas/pulquerías, etc.) or on the streets.
The opinion stated that NAFTA has done much to erode the economy in Mexico is completely false. This has been analysed exhaustively by economists and they all concur that NAFTA has overall been significantly beneficial to Mexico. Any one who doubts this can google NAFTA Mexico.
It is good not to make pronouncements about political issues like this in foreign countries, especially if you don't know what you are talking about.
I think most visitors will find most Mexicans to be disarmingly warm and kind. But there has always been quite a bit more violence there than even in the most violent parts of the US. Almost no murder cases are ever solved.
I think that, in general, as a foreign tourist, you might actually be safer than a lot of Mexicans in Mexico.
What do you think? What have your personal safety experiences been while traveling in Mexico. All opinions are welcome. Joe Lindsay offers a perspective that I don't totally share, however, it is useful to have a dialog about Mexico travel safety so we can each make a knowledgeable decision about travel based on our own comfort level. I do happen to agree with Joe about his comments regarding drug purchase and use — VERY risky business!
Living here in New Mexico just across the border I can say that I'm not seeing WAVES of crime pouring over into our fair city. There are a few bad apples, some local gangs, but the folks of Mexican descent are lovely. I'm from the East Coast and have NEVER felt any "culture shock"–in fact, I have come to love the heritage I found here! Open minds finds open hearts!!!
I have never really traveled to Mexico so I appreciate your information!
We are thinking about going to Oaxaca for Day of the Dead in 2009, does anyone have any tips on decent apartment or condo rentals?
Thank you for this article. I have been considering spending the summer in Oaxaca for almost a year now, but everyone keeps warning me against it. It's nice to hear someone who lives there say it's safe.
We have traveled in various parts of Mexico with our son (now four) and had have had fantastic experiences there. We're leaving for Oaxaca in a few weeks.
Well, I haven't really been read all these scary articles of the danger in Mexico, because for the last year and 6 months I have been living HERE as an English teacher trainer! It seems to be the first thing that American people ask me….."Is Mexico safe?" Well, I would say I feel safer here than I do traveling alone in the states. Now I have my car here and I drove alone from Santa Fe, NM last Sept. and the only time I felt unsafe was when I got pulled over by a rude sheriff in Texas.
Mexicans are very kind and caring people and will go out of their way to help you with whatever dilemma you are in. Missed you bus? Can't find the ATM? Sometimes they will even walk you to your destination.
So last year I traveled all over Mexico on public buses and the experience was very very comfortable, kinda like traveling with a large family. I have always been treated very very courteously and kindly here, more so now that I have gray hair.
Of course there is serious violence going on in some sectors, but as I ask my friends…..
Do you walk the streets late at night?
Are you selling drugs or know people who are? Are you a police man fighting the gangs?
If you are not doing any of these things ….then your chance of having a problem in Mexico is about nil. Come and enjoy this wonderful vibrant culture, relax, and take a break from the media!
my wife amy and i traveled from mexico city to oaxaca to san cristobal de las casas to isla mujeres in december of 2008 without incident (actually people were exceedingly nice and helpful).
in mexico city we took the subway (that was one of my favorite parts of the trip!). we traveled by bus between each city without any trouble. i'm sure mexico is dangerous in certain places at certain times but we never saw it. maybe we were just lucky?
but when i watch the news in america everyday (for example: the growing numbers of racist hate groups) i realize that there is just as much danger here as while in another country.
my experience has been that there are always things to watch out for with international travel but that most of the news about the danger of travel in mexico may just be fear of the unknown and hype.


text:
Rap Vs Afrobeats – Top Nigerian Rap Artists Reacts
Articles, Gists
In an Afrobeat dominated society, Hip hop/Rap strives to be reckoned with.
Even though we've had artists that made it to the limelight through rap music; the likes of M.I Abaga, Olamide, ill Bliss, Phyno, Vector, etc. There are unfortunately, still some limitations to the full acceptance of rap music in our society.
People notice that a rapper is getting popular already, they begin to advise the artist to switch genre and adapt to the AfroBeat world.
It's quite impressive that the few popular rappers that have been successful in this career talk a lot about the significant role of rap music in the industry and why people should regard the creatives in this sector. Not much has improved over time but it's for sure that the artists are more encouraged and people are paying more attention to rap music than before.
New Rap artists such as Blaqbonez, Laycon, Ladipoe, etc. are testimonial to that effect.
Blaqbonez has always been known for his hard work and creative publicity stunt. He released a "Go Home" single recently and that was all over the internet. He has also mastered the art of syncing his rap songs with Afrobeat sounds, knowing fully well of the societal requirements. It's a good thing that rap artists are beginning to receive the recognition they deserve.
Another fast rising Rap artist is Ladipoe. After his feature on Mavin's OVERDOSE, Ladipoe has subsequently released a freestyle titled BIG ENERGY that has its lyrics focused on speaking against the decadence of rap music and its acceptability in the society. In his words, he says "acting like rap doesn't go well with Afrobeat but my verse on Overdose is now making it hard to breathe.."
– this is a hard fact about the Nigerian Rap Music genre. However, it is amazing that these artists are ready to change the misconceptions with their lyrics and bars, regardless of the constraints that might be before them.
Afrobeats Global Market Penetration
Leave a Comment / Articles / By Porch Music Box

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


There is one thing in this image of an U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Park Ranger I made recently that is very uncommon today. Do you see it? Yes, the pipe. I remember when I entered the Army in 1963 (yes, Army Corps of Engineers) and I'd say just about 100% of us smoked, not chewed, tobacco of some sort. Most used cigarettes, but there were many who chose a cigar or pipe. I smoked cigarettes but experimented from time to time with a pipe. I recall one such time when I overdid it with the pipe, by smoking bowl after bowl of tobacco because I never could keep the darn thing to stay lit. As a result, I burned the tip of my tongue…so much so that I never put a pipe near my mouth again. I did the same thing with cigarettes in the mid-1970s. Regardless of the clearly obvious health hazards of tobacco use, there is something nostalgic about seeing someone smoking a pipe. It looks so relaxing, and like this park ranger taking a break from his work activities, seems to convey being a peace with himself and the world.
As an aside, I made this image at Martinsville Speedway during race weekend April 5th. The park ranger was there along with others who had set up a display promoting usage of the local Corps of Engineers recreational facility at Philpott Lake Dam and Reservoir near Bassett, Virginia. Wonderful place to visit.
I did the chewing tobacco, then got married and start a pipe. Many years, never did the cigarettes. On occasion I still enjoy good cigar especially when flyfishing.


The people of Rojava are engaged in one of the most liberatory social projects of our time.
What began as an experiment in the wake of the collapse of Assad's forces in northern Syria has become a stateless federation of autonomous councils and collectives. What began as a struggle for national liberation has resulted in strong militias and defense forces, the members of which participate fully in the unique social and political life of their region. What started as a fight for the Kurdish people has resulted in a regional home for Kurds, Arabs, Syrians, Arameans, Turks, Armenians, Yezidis, Chechens, and other groups. What began as the hierarchical Marxist-Leninist political party, the PKK, has evolved into what its leader Abdullah Öcalan calls "Democratic Confederalism," which is a "system of a people without a State," inspired by the work of Murray Bookchin.
What we see in Rojava today is anarchism in practice.
Map of N. Syria as of September 5, 2016. The yellow shaded regions represent area controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces, a coalition of militias that includes the YPG and YPJ. The three cantons of Rojava include Efrîn in the top left, Kobanî just east of the Euphrates River, and Cizîrê in the top right.
Each Canton subscribes to a constitution that affirms a society free from authoritarianism and centralism, while allowing for pragmatic autonomy and pluralism.
Councils are formed at the street, city, and regional levels. While each council functions differently depending on local particularities, a few key similarities can be found throughout. Committees are self-organized, the councils mediate conflict on an individualized level, cooperatives strive for economic independence through local production.
The explicit intention of the Cantons is to remain decentralized and stateless — and to extend this practice beyond state borders where nascent councils have already usurped the state in dealing with day-to-day affairs.
We, in Rojava Solidarity NYC, express unwavering solidarity with the people of Rojava, the anarchist nature of this project, and with the revolutionary intentions behind it.
Now the people of Rojava and the extraordinary social project they have established find themselves under the threat of violent extermination and repression. The reactionary forces of the Islamic State of the Levant (ISIL) are attacking on multiple fronts, engaging the People's Protection Units, regional militias, local people, and anarchist support units in the fight for their lives and the free territory they have built. Turkey's president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, afraid of the Kurdish independence project, is squeezing the region from the north, blocking support and supplies and now helping ISIL attack Rojava.
Rojava Solidarity NYC has been formed to support the Cantons of Rojava in this dire time of need, to publicize this inspiring social project and the struggle it is engaged in, and to provide a forum where we can learn from the pragmatic anarchism in this region. We call on those in the revolutionary left of New York City and beyond to do the same and to support the autonomous territory of Rojava.
An essay-length introduction to the autonomous cantons of Rojava.
A collection of essays, interviews, and reports covering the Rojava Revolution, from Strangers In A Tangled Wilderness.


The PROFI Interface Center (PIC) in Johnson City, TN, North America's only organization dedicated to Certifying "Network Engineers" for PROFIBUS and PROFINET, has made a significant investment in new equipment and systems to enhance its ability to train industrial networking engineers in coming years.
The PIC is part of the global network of Competence Centers (CC), Training Centers (TC) and Test Labs (TL) established by PI, the umbrella organization responsible for PROFIBUS and PROFINET worldwide. The PIC's Training Center in Johnson City was the first in the world to deliver Certified Network Engineer training classes for PROFINET and PROFIBUS. The PIC began operations in 1996.
Certified Network Engineer status for PROFINET and PROFIBUS is awarded to candidates who successfully complete written and practical tests held at the end of a 5-day training course. They also earn 24 Professional Development Hours (PDH). Successful candidates are entitled to call themselves Certified PROFINET and/or Certified PROFIBUS Network Engineers and their names and their email addresses are posted on the www.profibus.com web site.
PROFIBUS classes focus mainly on PROFIBUS DP technology for discrete automation but the PIC also offers a PROFIBUS PA "add-on" class for process automation. The PIC has just introduced for 2013 a combined class for PROFIBUS DP/PA, which in addition to covering PROFIBUS DP in the discrete manufacturing sector devotes time for "hands-on" setup of PROFIBUS PA instruments and networks and the use of PROFIBUS PA engineering tools in the process automation sector. This combined class enables two Network Engineer certificates to be gained in one week.
The PROFI Interface Center (PIC) was established in 1996 in Johnson City, TN to allow easy and direct access to PROFIBUS and PROFINET technology. The PIC team provides a variety of useful services including seminars, integration support and device conformance testing for PROFINET and PROFIBUS. In addition, it supplies development products and assists in developing devices – from initial design to certification testing. The PIC is accredited through PROFIBUS and PROFINET International (PI) as an official Test Lab (PITL) for PROFINET and PROFIBUS DP certification. The PROFI Interface Center also serves as a certified Competence Center (PICC) as well as a certified Training Center (PITC) for PROFINET and PROFIBUS. Our Quality Management System is ISO 9001 certified.
PI Competence Centers support vendors and users with advice, guidance and consultancy in the development and use of PROFIBUS and PROFINET technologies. PI Test Labs handle the testing and certifying of PROFIBUS and PROFINET products. Other training opportunities offered by PITCs around the world include Certified Installer and Certified Maintainer classes. Globally there are about 100 accredited organizations in the PICC, PITC and PITL network.


Secure casino sites usually have accreditations from certain associations.
The most Secure Online Casinos will protect the players' personal and financial information with encryption technologies.
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Playing at a trusted and secure Online Casino is very important, both for your financial security and to make sure that your experience is as enjoyable as possible. Online Casino security is of great importance to a reputable, trustworthy Casino. You can expect to see an eCOGRA certification, an accreditation from the GWPA (Gambling Portal Webmasters Association), and visible customer support options to clear up any issues quickly and efficiently. You will also notice reputable and well-known payment method logos apparent on a safe Online Casino website, showing they work with your chosen Casino.
These are all signs of a well chosen Online Casino that puts their players first.
Any reputable online casino operator is expected to secure all data via a P128-bit SSL (Secure Socket Layer) Digital Encryption. This will ensure the safety and the confidentiality of all private information as well as gaming and banking transactions.
The technology developed and used by banks keeps all the information you hand over 100% safe and secure. In addition, it is reasonable to expect the Online Casino you choose to have the option to provide your card details via a Freephone number, after you have already registered and indicated you wish to deposit.


text:
History of Burials Database
A Geography student at Laurentian University, Ms. Lewella Parker, was interested in doing a project on a local cemetery using the latest computer technology for plotting and identifying the interred. She was referred to our Chair at the time, Arnold Niemiaho, who brought the matter and Ms. Parker to our meeting to talk about her proposal. Our Society financed Ms. Parker for her expenses and Arnold Niemiaho and other members assisted with the research involved in identifying all Finnish persons buried in the selected cemetery which was the Waters Cemetery located near Lively, now part of the Greater City of Sudbury. Her work can be seen at https://www.genealogia.fi/emi/emi41re.htm.
Ms. Parker used a plotting computer program, GIS, to locate each burial plot and as much about the person interred as was possible to find. Records from churches, the town office, cemetery, newspapers for obituaries, and any other source available was used to gather information and added to the computer database.
When the computerized program was completed, a click of the mouse on a plot located on the map of the whole cemetery, produced all the known information about the person buried in that particular plot. This included a photo of the headstone, name of the person with dates of birth and death, along with a copy of the obituary and other information as researched.
Due to the time frames involved when people had been buried and their family status at the time, information available was at times limited. This database proved to be an invaluable source for Genealogical research. Ms. Parker gave talks on her project at various locations upon its completion.
Subsequently, our Society put the information from the Waters Cemetery Project into a book by the same name. In time this led to similar books for three more area cemeteries; namely, Beaver Lake Cemetery, Long Lake Finnish Cemetery, and Nairn Centre Cemetery.
Since 2001, following the work done by Ms. Lewella Parker, the FCHS has been collecting the names of Finnish people buried in the local cemeteries using the previously mentioned resources into a database that now has over 9,500 entries, some of which date back to the beginning of the 20th century. The database lists the surnames, maiden names, given names, place of burial, date of death, death location, source of information and date of birth or age at death and place of birth. Some of the fields in the database are blank due to a lack of information.
Where a a source of information is shown, additional information, such as obituaries, are available from the FCHS on those listed in the database.
Copies of the obituaries may be obtained from Marty Neva at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Access the Database
Click on the Gallery link below to access the Albums. There are two albums in the gallery for the Finnish Burials Database, an Excel spreadsheet and four (due to upload size restrictions) PDF files of less than 2 megabytes.
They are labelled Download Finnish Burials Database, which is an Excel file and View Finnish Burials Database, which are PDF files. The Excel file can be sorted and searched, while the PDF file can only be searched.
The data in the downloaded Excel file can be sorted on each of the headings by clicking on the little down arrow beside the title of the column. Alternatively, click on Data and then on Sort and follow the instructions in the Sort menu. It is also searchable by pressing the Control key and the F (for Find) key together for Windows and (Command key + F (for Find) key for Mac computers) that opens a window to type in your search word.
The PDF File can be searched by pressing the Control key and F (for Find) key together for Windows and (Command key + F (for Find) key for Mac computers) and enter the name or a partial name in the search box. Capitalize the first letter of the surname and click the box "Match Case" to avoid getting hits on portions of the name that are in lower case (for example, Niemi, and ignore place names such as Suodenniemi)
Then click on the icon "Finnish Burials Database" that you want.
"Download Finnish Burials Database" - Excel File
"View Finnish Burials Database" - PDF File
A window with a filmstrip will open with the icon of the file in the filmstrip.
Click on the icon in the filmstrip and a copy will appear above the filmstrip.
Click on the icon above the filmstrip and the file will download to your computer where you can either open it with Excel, or view it as a PDF file depending on which file you downloaded.


text:
CITY OF RAINBOW CITY-COUNCIL MEETING---APRIL 14, 2014
The City Council of the City of Rainbow City, Alabama, met in regular session at City Hall at 6:00 p.m., and upon roll call by the City Clerk, Barbara T. Wester, the following members answered present: Mayor; Terry John Calhoun, Councilmembers; Anita Bedwell, Bobby McCartney, Tim Ramsey, Larry Keenum, and Rick Hill. The same constituting a quorum of the City Council, the following business was transacted. The meeting was called to order by Mayor Calhoun. Invocation was given by Larry Keenum. Mayor Calhoun led the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag.
Mayor Calhoun presented the minutes of March 31, 2014 for review, and asked if there were any corrections, additions, or deletions. There being none, Larry Keenum made a motion to approve the minutes as presented. Rick Hill seconded the motion. Mayor Calhoun stated all in favor say aye. All ayes. Mayor Calhoun declared the motion carried.
Mayor Calhoun presented Ordinance No. 503. The property was changed from the rezoning of 12.5 acres more or less, to 8.19 acres more or less. This is a conditional use permit for the new acreage. Mr. Summerlin hopes to build 30 to 35 garden homes. Each home will be a minimum of 1500 square feet, and every home will be brick construction. There will be optional home plans to increase the square footage up to 1800 square feet or more. Preliminary plans also include a park and sidewalks. The starting prices for the homes will be in the $l85, 000.00 to $200,000.00 range. The entrance to the development will be from Steele Station Road. Anita Bedwell made a motion to introduce the ordinance. Tim Ramsey made a motion to suspend the rules for immediate consideration. Anita Bedwell seconded the motion. Mayor Calhoun asked for a roll call vote as follows: Anita Bedwell, yes; Bobby McCartney, yes; Tim Ramsey, yes; Larry Keenum, yes; Rick Hill, no; and Mayor Calhoun, yes. The ordinance
will be on the next agenda for approval, because the motion was not unamious.
Mayor Calhoun stated the Clerk opened the bids for the caulking of windows and doors in pre-council. Two bids were received. They are as follows: Doyle Restoration, Inc. has a bid of $18, 850.00, and Landcrafters, Inc. has a bid of $18, 687.00. Bobby McCartney made a motion to award the bid to the low bidder. Rick Hill seconded the motion. Mayor Calhoun asked for a roll call vote as follows: Anita Bedwell, yes; Bobby McCartney, yes; Tim Ramsey, abstain; Larry Keenum, yes; and Rick Hill, yes. Mayor Calhoun declared the motion carried.
Mayor Calhoun stated the Clerk opened the bids for the purchase of a tractor for the Street Department. A bid was received from Snead Ag Supply for $40,949.37, without a cab, and a bid of $55,852.11 for a tractor with a cab. No other bids were received. Anita Bedwell made a motion to purchase the tractor with the cab. Rick Hill seconded the motion. Mayor Calhoun asked for a roll call vote as follows: Anita Bedwell, yes; Bobby McCartney, yes; Tim Ramsey, yes; Larry Keenum, yes; and Rick Hill, yes. Mayor Calhoun declared the motion carried. He also said funds from the sale of the garbage truck in the amount of around $30,000.00, helped pay for the tractor.
Mayor Calhoun presented Ordinance No. 505, regarding receipt of payment by debit card and credit card for the Revenue Department, Court, and Building Department. Rick Hill made a motion to introduce the ordinance. Anita Bedwell made a motion to suspend the rules for immediate consideration. Mayor Calhoun asked for a roll call vote as follows: Anita Bedwell, yes; Bobby McCartney, yes; Tim Ramsey, yes; Larry Keenum, yes; Rick Hill, yes; and Mayor Calhoun, yes. Mayor Calhoun declared the
motion carried. Larry Keenum made a motion to adopt the ordinance. Tim Ramsey seconded the motion. Mayor Calhoun asked for a roll call vote as follows: Anita Bedwell, yes; Bobby McCartney, yes; Tim Ramsey, yes; Larry Keenum, yes; and Rick Hill, yes. Mayor Calhoun declared the motion carried.
Mayor Calhoun presented the following monthly departmental reports: Library, Community Center, Building, Fire, Police and Court. He asked if anyone has comments. There were none. He asked that the minutes show the reports were presented.
Mayor Calhoun said he met with Jason Hill, the prospective Environmental Officer for Rainbow City. He will earn $10.00 per hour, and work ten (10) hours per week, and start to work May 2, 2014. Larry Keenum made a motion to hire Jason. Rick Hill seconded the motion. Mayor Calhoun stated all in favor say aye. All ayes. Mayor Calhoun declared the motion carried.
Mayor Calhoun said Anita and Tim have been checking the property that is for sale behind the City Shop. There is approximately 79 acres more or less. He said they spoke with the representative and they want $2,250.00 per acres. Discussion followed. Anita Bedwell made a motion to purchase the property continent to a title check. Tim Ramsey seconded the motion. Mayor Calhoun stated all in favor say aye. All ayes. Mayor Calhoun declared the motion carried.
Tim Ramsey made a motion for Girl Scout Troop 3691 to plant a tree at the park off Williams Avenue. Larry Keenum seconded the motion. Mayor Calhoun stated all in favor say aye. All ayes. Mayor Calhoun declared the motion carried. Also, Tim said
he would like to make a motion to purchase a $100.00 tea box sign, for the annual Muscular Dystrophy Association sponsored by the Gadsden Fire Department. Anita Bedwell seconded the motion. Mayor Calhoun stated all in favor say aye. All ayes. Mayor Calhoun declared the motion carried.
Rick Hill stated he was excited about Jason Hill working with us. He will be getting rid of signs and litter in the City. He then said he was making a motion for Chief Carroll to get another Tahoe to use in his department as needed, because the 2015 Tahoe would cost $2,000.00 more. Larry Keenum seconded the motion. Mayor Calhoun stated all in favor say aye. All ayes. Mayor Calhoun declared the motion carried.
Mayor Calhoun presented a request from Community Action of Etowah County to sponsor a table at their 10th Annual Community Action banquet on May 8, 2014, in the amount of $350.00 for a table of eight (8). Bobby McCartney made a motion to sponsor the table. Discussion followed. Larry Keenum seconded the motion. Mayor Calhoun stated all in favor say aye. All ayes. Mayor Calhoun declared the motion carried.
Anita Bedwell said the Annual Easter Egg Hunt at the VLM Sports Complex turned out great, and thanked everyone who helped. She then stated that Carmen Hopper's dad passed away, and would be at the Trussville Funeral Home.
Harvey Fail asked the Council to sponsor the Freddie Kitchens Football Camp that would be coming up soon. It will be the 8th Discussion followed. Tim Ramsey made a motion to give $250.00. Anita Bedwell seconded the motion. Mayor Calhoun stated all in favor say aye. All ayes. Mayor Calhoun declared the motion carried.
Anita Bedwell made a motion to have J & D Paving repair the sidewalks from Kinzie Lane to the Middle School, in the amount of $9,065.00. Bobby McCartney seconded the motion. Mayor Calhoun stated all in favor say aye. All Ayes. Mayor Calhoun declared the motion carried.
Time Adjourned: 6:35 p.m.
______ ____________________________________
Barbara T. Wester, City Clerk/Treasurer
Terry John Calhoun, Mayor


I am offering a new free plugin to your usage at your q2a website.
Admin can set how many items to show in each widgets. By default it is 10.
is there ability to search for tags in the widget and add them to the favorite tags?
No you cannot search tags within the plugin. Only remove favorited tags.
I know about that plugin. I mean something like stackexchange sites. please look at the images I uploaded now.
dear fara. I myself do not prefer any other functionalities in that plugin. Because it will add more load on website performance. Extra DOMs, plus extra jqueries and js files, etc. It is also time-consuming stuff.
But I made the plugin open-source so if you want further functionalities then you may give a try to do it by yourself. Or alternatively, you may ask for paid developers.
I was just explaining the new idea for q2a plugin development as you asked before. Thank you for your great work.
no problem fara. thanks for ideas.
How can a user be notified of a new tag?


As veterans in the business, we've catered more weddings than we can remember! Well, that's not entirely true. We do remember each and every wedding we cater. We remember because, throughout the process, we get to know the bride and groom and their families, and for that spot of time, we feel like a part of your family. And just like your loved ones, it's our ardent desire that the most important day in your life be perfect!
And as we get closer to the end of the year, we can't help but to look back fondly at the weddings we've had the honour of being a part of. What we realized is that each wedding is as different and unique as each couple, which is why we love what we do! No two weddings are ever the same, and, for us, the experience is always new and exciting. Perhaps that's why Donna still gets emotional at each one! She really does.
The Permanent Building is one of our favourite venues. It's 1930's era vibe is ideal for a romantic wedding! We absolutely had a blast catering Coco and Dylan's wedding there! Their choice of a 1970's theme was so playful and we had just as much fun as the guests!
We adore catering weddings at the UBC Boathouse, and we'll never forget how gorgeously elegant Monica and Raymond's wedding was! From the decor to the natural beauty of the setting, to the food, the night was truly magical! While we love what we do, getting comments like, "I've photographed 1000's of weddings and that by far was the most delicious meal I've been served at a wedding," makes us so proud and grateful. It's truly why we do what we do!
There are few places more naturally beautiful for a wedding than the UBC Botanical Gardens. With its lush romantic landscapes, it truly makes for a fairytale setting! We loved being a part of Grace and Kenny's wedding, and adored the joyous atmosphere of their special day!
What a dream location! We had a blast catering this over-the-top wedding! Christene and Philip knew what they wanted. Indeed, this truly remarkable couple had an amazing vision, and had every meticulous detail thought out well in advance. They wanted a very intimate experience for their guests, and they wanted to keep all the surprises that were in store a secret. All the guests knew was the wedding date and the requested attire…the rest was to unfold over the afternoon and evening!
As we look forward to 2018, we are filled with gratitude and excitement at the prospect of getting to bring a little more joy into the lives of the new couples we'll get to meet! What an honour!


text:
package jiracmd

import (
	"github.com/coryb/figtree"
	"github.com/coryb/oreo"
	"github.com/go-jira/jira"
	"github.com/go-jira/jira/jiracli"
	kingpin "gopkg.in/alecthomas/kingpin.v2"
)

func CmdIssueLinkTypesRegistry() *jiracli.CommandRegistryEntry {
	opts := jiracli.CommonOptions{
		Template: figtree.NewStringOption("issuelinktypes"),
	}

	return &jiracli.CommandRegistryEntry{
		"Show the issue link types",
		func(fig *figtree.FigTree, cmd *kingpin.CmdClause) error {
			jiracli.LoadConfigs(cmd, fig, &opts)
			return CmdIssueLinkTypesUsage(cmd, &opts)
		},
		func(o *oreo.Client, globals *jiracli.GlobalOptions) error {
			return CmdIssueLinkTypes(o, globals, &opts)
		},
	}
}

func CmdIssueLinkTypesUsage(cmd *kingpin.CmdClause, opts *jiracli.CommonOptions) error {
	jiracli.TemplateUsage(cmd, opts)
	jiracli.GJsonQueryUsage(cmd, opts)
	return nil
}

// CmdIssueLinkTypes will get issue link type data and send to "issuelinktypes" template
func CmdIssueLinkTypes(o *oreo.Client, globals *jiracli.GlobalOptions, opts *jiracli.CommonOptions) error {
	data, err := jira.GetIssueLinkTypes(o, globals.Endpoint.Value)
	if err != nil {
		return err
	}
	return opts.PrintTemplate(data)
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Inquire about: Whirlpool 30-inch Wide French Door Refrigerator with Exterior Water Dispenser - 19.7 cu. ft.
Take home a model that's paving the way in refrigeration innovation. Now you can easily access cold, filtered water without opening the door thanks to the french door refrigerator's exterior dispenser, electronic controls and pre-installed filtered ice and water. Even though the exterior is built to complement small spaces, pre-existing kitchen fixtures and downtown apartments, that doesn't mean we've skimped on capacity. There's more room for fresh and frozen food with the most usable capacity available in its class.
ENJOYING THE FREEZER BELOW AND MORE REFRIGERATOR SPACE.
I ENJOY THE SPACE AND HAVING A NEW REFREGITOR/FREEZER BUT MISS THE ICE CRUSHING FEATURE OF OTHER MODEL WE OWNED.
perfect fix for my smaller space to replace a very old refrigerator.
Love everything about our new refrigerator. The French doors give us more space along with the freezer below. My only problem is the ice maker. Slow at making ice and it took several days for it to start producing any ice. Our other ice makers are on the outside in the door and this is not this type of design.
I bought this fridge a month and a half ago and am so happy with our purchase!!! Keeps items cold and it's beautiful to look at. I've never had a new fridge before!! We are so excited!!!


text:
Plantworx and Primary Engineer team up to inspire Engineers of the Future
The biennial Plantworx Construction Equipment Exhibition and the CEA have once again teamed up with the educational organisation, Primary Engineer, to work with primary schools in the Peterborough area of East England on a new and exciting STEM construction project.
Plantworx and Primary Engineer are working with primary schools in the Peterborough area of East England on a new and exciting STEM construction project
Plantworx and the CEA first began working with Primary Engineer in 2015 and have since funded hundreds of potential young engineers from local schools – inspiring our future engineers. However, this will be the first year that a 'Construction Project' has been introduced where the children will be tasked, using STEM skills, to create a dumper truck or a tower crane, which is very exciting – particularly in a Plantworx year! The presentation and judging of the school projects will be held at Plantworx on Thursday, 15th June 2023, as part of the 'Student Day'.
Andrew Norris, Head of Partnerships, Central and East England, Primary Engineer, said, "It is wonderful to once again be working with Plantworx and the CEA to provide opportunities to demonstrate the power of engineering to children in the Peterborough area. Primary Engineer will train the teachers and bring engineering professionals into the classrooms to demonstrate that engineering is a career for everyone. It is also fantastic that the pupils participating will be able to visit Plantworx, be wowed by the equipment on show, and hopefully go back to their studies with a clear goal of making a difference in the world through engineering."
There is a well-documented drive to increase the number of young people engaging with STEM as a precursor to careers in the sector. Within this ambition is the awareness that the number of females attracted to engineering and science is not increasing sufficiently to make an impact on the gender balance in the sector.
The Primary Engineer Construction project provides both KS1/P2-3 and KS2/P4-7 teachers and pupils with creative, practical projects using construction engineering as the vehicle.
The training comprises two teachers per school and an invited engineer. Teachers make models on the course to use in the classroom. They are given an understanding of the curriculum links and access to the Primary Engineer Virtual Learning Environment, where teaching resources can be found.
Working in teams, the students will build their projects, which will form part of the school curriculum. The best teams will then present their designs at Plantworx on Thursday, 15th June, as part of 'Student Day', where they will be judged by a team of engineers.
The demand for engineers way surpasses the numbers coming through the current routes to apprenticeships and university programmes. Perceptions of engineering stereotypes are ripe for change, which will initiate in primary school classrooms.
Primary Engineer has been working with teachers to address the fundamental issue of a lack of engineers and the wider perception of engineering since 2005. Its programmes and activities have a national footprint engaging over 65,000 pupils in the academic year 2021-22.
The Primary Engineer Construction project provides both KS1/P2-3 and KS2/P4-7 teachers and pupils with creative, practical projects based on construction engineering
The research demonstrates that primary teachers find STEM subjects more difficult to teach, and this lack of skills increases the disengagement of pupils with these subjects from a very early age. Primary Engineer has addressed this issue by providing teachers with practical skills and academic knowledge to subtly apply and embed the theoretical into the practical, effectively 'STEM by Stealth'.
The impact on the teaching professionals and their pupils has been reported anecdotally in numerous schools, Ofsted reports and evaluations from Engineering UK's Tomorrow's Engineers programme, which funded some of Primary Engineers' engagement with schools, have also demonstrated a significant impact on learning outcomes and experiences.
Since 2005 Primary Engineer has responded to the demand led by teachers and local companies expanding the programme from the first Primary Engineer training days delivered to primary teachers to a comprehensive suite of training and whole class activities.
Plantworx and CEA are looking for sponsorship support from Plantworx Exhibitors and CEA member companies – £800 is the cost to become a sponsor of the 2023 Primary Engineer event – this fee covers funding for teacher training, providing the materials and the project delivery.
All companies involved will receive widespread publicity, which will surround this event and be invited to the 'Celebration Event', which will be held on Thursday, 15th June 2023, at the Plantworx Exhibition, East of England Arena and Events Centre, Peterborough.
Plantworx


text:
Senate passes bill to vacate misdemeanor marijuana convictions
Washington state senators approved a bill on March 11 with a 29-19 vote that could vacate tens of thousands misdemeanor marijuana convictions.
The bill, which is sponsored by Sen. Joe Nguyen (D-White Center), would require that sentencing courts approve requests for conviction vacations by people who were at least 21 at the time of the offense.
"This is something that has been legalized by the vote of the people and would not be criminalized right now," Sen. Nguyen said prior to the bill's passage. "As we know convictions create an extreme hardship for folks, whether it's housing or educational opportunities."
In 2012, voters approved Initiative 502, which legalized recreational marijuana statewide for those over the age of 21.
Both the Washington State Patrol and the Administrative Office of the Courts estimate that over 40,000 people across the state could be eligible for conviction vacation under the bill, the Tacoma News Tribune reports.
Earlier this year, Gov. Jay Inslee announced that he would pardon people with misdemeanor marijuana possession charges. However, his initiative limited the number of people that would be eligible — his office estimated the number is around 3,500 — by adding requirements like the misdemeanor be the only conviction on their record.
In contrast, the Senate bill would approve vacations of marijuana-related misdemeanors regardless of the person's record.
But the far-reaching nature of the legislation raised eyebrows among some senators, including local Republican Sen. Mike Padden, who argued that the bill went too far.
"Is that what we really want?" he said on March 11. "Certainly the people spoke and voted but when they voted that was prospectively, not retroactively."
Padden and Republican Sen. Jeff Holy pushed several amendments that would've prevented further conviction vacations for those who have already gotten two misdemeanor marijuana convictions wiped from their record and required that people apply for convictions within one year of the bill's enactment. Both amendments were voted down. The bill now moves over to the House before it can head to Inslee's desk for his signature.
Local News,
marijuana,
Gov. Jay Inlsee,
Washington state Legislature,
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Jeff Holy,
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Mike Padden,
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Joe Nguyen,
Spokane sheriff says organizers demanding mental health chat instead of 'Killology' event should 'Fix their own damn house'
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By Crosscut
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Josh Kelety
As a staff writer, Josh covers criminal justice issues and Spokane County government. Previously, he worked as a reporter for Seattle Weekly. Josh grew up in Port Townsend and graduated from the University of Washington. Message him through Signal @ (360) 301-3490.


text:
In Memory: Jenni Moore ~ January 25, 2016
MaryO	Diabetes, In Memory, Other Diagnosis, Pituitary, Pituitary Surgery, Treatments	abusive, cushing's, diabetes type 2, In Memory, insulin, personality disorder, pituitary, pituitary tumor	Leave a comment
A young woman struggling with ill health after developing a tumour died from an overdose after "illicit insulin" was brought into the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital last year, an inquest heard.
Jenni Moore passed away at the intensive therapy unit on January 25, more than two weeks after sustaining brain damage while an inpatient at the hospital.
The 26-year-old from Halesworth had been admitted in December with complications from two unsuccessful operations to remove a tumour of the pituitary gland.
A Type 2 diabetic since 2002, Miss Moore suffered from emotionally unstable personality disorder and an abusive relationship, before a diagnosis of Cushing's disease as a result of the tumour.
Consultant physician at NNUH Dr Franscesca Swords said Miss Moore had been exhibiting "alarming symptoms".
"Cushing's can cause Type 2 diabetes and needs much higher levels of insulin for it to work," she told Norfolk Coroner's Court.
"She was having incredibly low sugars, which is consistent with too much insulin. We had been reducing her dose steadily.
"We were giving her a fraction of the insulin she had been taking but her blood sugar was still low. Eventually the realisation came to ward staff there was something else at play here."
Staff then began to discover insulin pens hidden in her room. During an investigation Norfolk Police interviewed Miss Moore's partner Derek Soanes, who admitted he had brought her insulin pens at her request. No further action was taken.
Sarah Kennard, a lead health officer with Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust, said in a statement that during a risk assessment in March 2014 Miss Moore said she "thought she was insulin resistant" as a result of her Cushing's.
Assistant coroner for Norfolk Nicholas Holroyd recorded a narrative verdict.
"Jenni suffered significant and unhappy health conditions for a number of years," he said. "Cushing's exacerbates the diabetic condition to make the patient yet more vulnerable to sugar or hypoglycemia so higher doses of insulin are needed to correct the situation, which made her resistant in a sense.
"There has been evidence insulin was being brought to her in the hospital she should not have had. I do not believe she intended to take her own life. Nothing had occurred to drive her to an extreme act."
After the inquest Miss Moore's brother Joe said: "I loved my sister and so did the rest of my family, and we miss her every day."
From http://www.edp24.co.uk/news/diabetic_died_after_overdose_from_illicit_insulin_brought_into_norfolk_and_norwich_university_hospital_1_4614300
Alicia (Alicia), PCOS Bio
MaryO	Pituitary	Accutane, acne, adrenal hormones, aldosterone, androstenedione, DHEA, hair loss, Moon face, muscles, PCOS, periods, red face, strep, sweating, testosterone, UTI, Weight loss, yeast infections	1 Comment
I'm Alicia and I'm 18. I've been diagnosed with PCOS but it does not explain all of my symptoms. I used to be super athletic and played 3 sports. I got my period at 13 and it was regular. However, I started losing my periods.
At first they would come every few months but have since stopped completely. I have lost a lot of weight, especially muscle. I had to stop playing soccer because my leg muscles were giving out. At the same time I got very bad acne and started sweating through all my clothes. My hair started falling out of my head. I ordered rogaine at age 15 because the bald spots on my head were so embarrassing.
I've been on 3 different acne medications and accutane. I have been working since I was 14 but I can no longer stand through my shifts even though I am only working 5 hours at a time. I feel like absolute crap and the worst part is I'm so weak. And my appearance has changed a lot. My face is round, red, and my eyelids are swollen. I don't recognize myself and can't stand to look in the mirror. My arms and legs are sticks and I can't gain muscle no matter what I try. I get sick all the time, I've had strep twice, oral yeast infections, UTIS in the past couple months.
I went to an endocrinologist about a year ago who tested for a bunch of common hormone problems. All of my adrenal hormones were high. Testosterone, DHEA, androstenedione, and aldosterone. However, my cortisol levels were never tested. I was told I have PCOS but there were no cysts on my ovaries.
I found a new endocrinologist who mentioned testing my cortisol levels, but later decided not to because I am underweight and cushing's usually causes weight gain. To me, it seems like I could have the atypical kind, which causes asthenia instead of weight gain.
Let me know if anyone has suggestions on what to do now, I would really appreciate it. I am still in high school and I'm genuinely worried for my future if I can't figure this out.
Peace and Love,


text:
package org.jivesoftware.smackx.omemo.provider;

import static org.jivesoftware.smackx.omemo.element.OmemoElement.ENCRYPTED;
import static org.jivesoftware.smackx.omemo.element.OmemoElement.HEADER;
import static org.jivesoftware.smackx.omemo.element.OmemoElement.IV;
import static org.jivesoftware.smackx.omemo.element.OmemoElement.KEY;
import static org.jivesoftware.smackx.omemo.element.OmemoElement.PAYLOAD;
import static org.jivesoftware.smackx.omemo.element.OmemoElement.PREKEY;
import static org.jivesoftware.smackx.omemo.element.OmemoElement.RID;
import static org.jivesoftware.smackx.omemo.element.OmemoElement.SID;
import static org.xmlpull.v1.XmlPullParser.END_TAG;
import static org.xmlpull.v1.XmlPullParser.START_TAG;

import java.util.ArrayList;

import org.jivesoftware.smack.provider.ExtensionElementProvider;
import org.jivesoftware.smack.util.stringencoder.Base64;

import org.jivesoftware.smackx.omemo.element.OmemoVAxolotlElement;

import org.xmlpull.v1.XmlPullParser;

/**
 * Smack ExtensionProvider that parses incoming OMEMO Message element into OmemoMessageElement objects.
 *
 * @author Paul Schaub
 */
public class OmemoVAxolotlProvider extends ExtensionElementProvider<OmemoVAxolotlElement> {

    @Override
    public OmemoVAxolotlElement parse(XmlPullParser parser, int initialDepth) throws Exception {
        boolean inEncrypted = true;
        int sid = -1;
        ArrayList<OmemoVAxolotlElement.OmemoHeader.Key> keys = new ArrayList<>();
        byte[] iv = null;
        byte[] payload = null;

        while (inEncrypted) {
            int tag = parser.next();
            String name = parser.getName();
            switch (tag) {
                case START_TAG:
                    switch (name) {
                        case HEADER:
                            for (int i = 0; i < parser.getAttributeCount(); i++) {
                                if (parser.getAttributeName(i).equals(SID)) {
                                    sid = Integer.parseInt(parser.getAttributeValue(i));
                                }
                            }
                            break;
                        case KEY:
                            boolean prekey = false;
                            int rid = -1;
                            for (int i = 0; i < parser.getAttributeCount(); i++) {
                                if (parser.getAttributeName(i).equals(PREKEY)) {
                                    prekey = Boolean.parseBoolean(parser.getAttributeValue(i));
                                } else if (parser.getAttributeName(i).equals(RID)) {
                                    rid = Integer.parseInt(parser.getAttributeValue(i));
                                }
                            }
                            keys.add(new OmemoVAxolotlElement.OmemoHeader.Key(Base64.decode(parser.nextText()), rid, prekey));
                            break;
                        case IV:
                            iv = Base64.decode(parser.nextText());
                            break;
                        case PAYLOAD:
                            payload = Base64.decode(parser.nextText());
                            break;
                    }
                    break;
                case END_TAG:
                    if (name.equals(ENCRYPTED)) {
                        inEncrypted = false;
                    }
                    break;
            }
        }
        OmemoVAxolotlElement.OmemoHeader header = new OmemoVAxolotlElement.OmemoHeader(sid, keys, iv);
        return new OmemoVAxolotlElement(header, payload);
    }
}


Today EMC (the squared version) announced the acquisition of Virtustream, and the positioning of it as a new full EMC federation member alongside EMC II (storage, etc.), VMware, and Pivotal. Virtustream is all about managing mission-critical production workload-hosting clouds, and has both a software business selling management layer solutions and an IaaS business as a service provider.
This entry was posted in IT News Blog and tagged Cloud, EMC, IaaS, Taneja Group, Virtustream by Mike. Bookmark the permalink.


text:
Kinetic study of the stabilization of an agro-industrial digestate by adding wood bottom ash
Moure Abelenda, Alejandro and Semple, Kirk and Lag Brotons, Alfonso and Herbert, Ben and Aggidis, George and Aiouache, Farid (2021) Kinetic study of the stabilization of an agro-industrial digestate by adding wood bottom ash. Chemical Engineering Journal Advances, 7. ISSN 2666-8211
Official URL: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ceja.2021.100127
The addition of wood bottom ash to an agrowaste anaerobic digestate has been proposed for improving the carbon to nutrient ratio of the soil organic amendment (C/N/P < 100/10/1). The ash-based treatment also aimed to improve properties of the anaerobic digestate as controlled-release fertilizer by decreasing the availability of nitrogen, carbon, and phosphorus. Treated (39.86 ± 0.94 g) and untreated (33.51 ± 0.84 g) digestates were incubated for 7 h at 20 °C and 100 rpm, in a 250-mL chamber with a 0.11 M sulfuric acid trap of 4.38 ± 0.02 mL. By the end of the incubation, the blend of 13.12 ± 2.87% ash and 86.88 ± 2.87% digestate released 8.95 ± 2.19 times more ammonia than the digestate alone. This was in agreement with the lower content of water-soluble ammoniacal nitrogen in the treated digestate (93.35 ± 21.00 mg/kg) than in the digestate incubated without the addition of the ash (357.64 ± 54.10 mg/kg). As per the very low levels of water-soluble nitric nitrogen found in the treated (0.16 ± 0.05 mg/kg) and the untreated (0.06 ± 0.02 mg/kg) digestate, the emissions of nitrous oxide were discarded. The availability of carbon increased 1.43 ± 0.82 times and the availability of phosphorus decreased approximately 100 times due to the addition of the ash to the digestate. The ash-based treatment was successful in improving the C/N/P of the digestate from 121.51 ± 57.18/9.94 ± 4.21/1 to 42.05 ± 9.88/2.48 ± 0.58/1.
Chemical Engineering Journal Advances
Faculty of Science and Technology > Lancaster Environment Centre


While the journey to recovery can begin in an instance, we know that it lasts for a lifetime. When taking such a journey through the 12 step recovery program and then moving forward with life, carrying a recovery coin or recovery medallion can often give one great strength. That is what the AA medallions (coin) was originally given for.
Sister Ignatia gave out the first "AA medallions" when men were leaving their five day dry out and instructed them that the acceptance of such a medallion signified commitment to God, AA, and to recovery. Since then the traditions of AA chips, AA coins, AA medallions, and recovery medallions has varied from that of the onset of the journey, to celebrating ones recovery birthday, as well as remembering that you have Angels helping and watching you.
Today, the significance of the AA medallions and recovery coins still stands strong and we encourage you to use that significance to strengthen your commitment and connection to the 12 step recovery process.