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Prioritizing sustainability in the consumer sector
By Sebastian Gatzer and Clarisse Magnin
Consumers and companies alike are becoming more interested in making sustainability-focused choices, but how to do so isn't always clear. Two McKinsey partners provide some research-based insights.
Are consumers truly paying more attention to sustainability—or just saying that they are? What are companies doing to ensure that their businesses are both sustainable and profitable? In this episode of the McKinsey on Consumer and Retail podcast, partner Sebastian Gatzer and senior partner Clarisse Magnin discuss highlights from their latest research on sustainability in the consumer sector. An edited transcript of their conversation with executive editor Monica Toriello follows.
Monica Toriello: In the retail and consumer-goods industry, there are a couple of refrains that you often hear about sustainability, and there's some tension between them. One thing you hear is that sustainability is becoming much more important to all stakeholders, including consumers, regulators, and companies. But another refrain is that people are not that willing to pay for sustainable products and services. There's an attitude–behavior gap: what people say they're willing to do differs from what they're actually willing to do.
To give us a fact-based picture of the state of sustainability in the retail and consumer sector, we have with us today two people who spend a lot of their time on these issues. Let me briefly introduce each of them. Clarisse Magnin is a senior partner in McKinsey's Paris office. She leads our work in the consumer sector in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, and she started McKinsey's Agriculture Practice in France, which she now leads. She also manages the work that McKinsey does globally on the circular economy and has coauthored a number of publications on that topic. Thank you for talking to us today, Clarisse.
Clarisse Magnin: Very happy to be with you.
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Monica Toriello: Sebastian Gatzer is a McKinsey partner based in Cologne, Germany. Sebastian works with leading consumer-goods manufacturers and retailers, advising them on strategic and operational issues and helping them reach their sustainability goals. He has been involved with several recent reports on sustainability, including one titled "The path forward for sustainability in European grocery retail." Glad to have you with us, Sebastian.
Sebastian Gatzer: Thank you, Monica.
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic
Monica Toriello: I'd like to start by having you situate us as to how important sustainability is in the consumer sector these days. I've heard both viewpoints. Some are saying sustainability is becoming more important and that the pandemic has made people even more concerned about sustainability. But I've also heard the opposite: that despite lots of talk, concern about sustainability has died down, and it's now taking a back seat to other issues. What's your perspective?
Clarisse Magnin: Our perspective is that the topic has never been as acute as it is right now. And it's a bit counterintuitive; we did not expect the COVID-19 pandemic to strengthen these trends among consumers. What we see in our consumer research that we conducted across more than 27 countries is that the importance of sustainability, the environment, ESG [environmental, social, and governance], safety, natural products, local sourcing, ethical sourcing, et cetera, is really reinforced.
This is true not only in Europe but across the world. We see that the willingness to pay more for sustainable products is rising across geographies. Structurally, we see also greater environmental regulation. For example, more than 70 countries have put legislation in motion for plastics.
Sebastian Gatzer: During the pandemic, many executives and chief sustainability officers have been asking us, "Is this the end of the sustainability trend? Are hygiene, product safety, and product availability now the top priorities for retail and for grocery in particular? Does this wipe away the topic of sustainability?"
The clear answer is no. It's the opposite: the pandemic is actually creating momentum. For example, we asked grocery shoppers all over Europe about their willingness to pay more for sustainable products. During the pandemic, the number of people saying, "I am willing to pay more" was at an all-time high across countries. We also asked shoppers about the outlook, and one out of four consumers say they are planning to focus more on environmental issues and will pay more attention to social aspects in their shopping behavior.
One out of four consumers say they are planning to focus more on environmental issues and will pay more attention to social aspects in their shopping behavior.
Sebastian Gatzer
The consumer willingness to move toward sustainable products is definitely the strongest force at work, and that will be the main driver of change, but of course we also see that there are regulatory aspects now in place and accelerating a lot. For example, 65 percent of global GDP is now under a 2050 net-zero commitment—that means 65 percent of the world economy is committed to becoming carbon neutral. That is changing the business landscape completely. So we feel quite confident that the trend is not only here to stay, but it will fundamentally change the way we think about consumption.
Clarisse Magnin: And to add to what Sebastian is saying, we see consumers caring about sustainability across product categories. We see it in food, of course. The number-one category is vegetables, as well as different types of fresh products—fruits, meat, fish, dairy products, and so on. Interestingly, we see that sustainability advocates skew toward women, Gen Z, and people with higher incomes. But, despite being slightly skewed toward higher-income people, it is a trend that we've confirmed across sociodemographic backgrounds.
Commitment and confusion
Monica Toriello: You mentioned the generational component; much has been written and said about the younger demographic groups, in particular Gen Z, being conscious about sustainability when it comes to their buying decisions, and it sounds like your research supports that. Are there specific product categories, attributes, or aspects of sustainability that seem to matter most to Gen Z or to consumers regardless of demographic?
Sebastian Gatzer: Yes, definitely. The importance of sustainability is rising across demographics and across shopper groups. We have raised the question: Is it more important for grocery shoppers than it is for discount shoppers? The truth is that it's becoming a more important issue across the board. Clarisse mentioned that fresh categories are the number-one priority for a lot of consumers. We've seen that meat and fish are some of the top categories where higher-income shopper groups want to make sustainable choices. There are other factors where you can see differences. For example, the younger generation focuses a little bit more on sustainability when they buy snacks.
In nonfood categories, we see that women, for example, focus a lot on sustainability when it comes to cosmetics and skin care. We are talking about different attributes of sustainability here, be it microplastics, be it vegan products. It's a wide topic. It's not simply climate change; it's also social aspects, as well as the way companies do business, that matter to consumers.
Let me give you an example from the grocery industry. I recently talked to the CEO of Kesko, a Nordic retail chain. Kesko is the number-one solar-energy producer in Finland, and the company has worked hard to make sustainability not only a commitment but also part of the company DNA. What I found very interesting was a particular example he gave about a map that consumers and shoppers can now download. The map allows you to track your carbon footprint. Whenever you shop at Kesko, you will see exactly what your impact was on the environment based on what you put in your shopping basket. Similar to how we have been counting calories in the past, people are now counting their carbon emissions.
This kind of customer awareness and transparency is, first of all, a very good development for us as a society. Second, it is increasing loyalty and customer satisfaction for businesses.
Clarisse Magnin: Nevertheless, there is a complication, which is the lack of a definition of "sustainable products." This makes it difficult to engage consumers. Do you know how many eco- and sustainable labels exist today? More than 463, across 199 countries and 25 sectors. So it's a very complex landscape, and if it takes a PhD to understand how the product has been produced, it's obviously not very practical.
We have many challenges with regard to labeling. For principles of local, organic, waste reduction, seasonal, and so on, there is no global standardized labeling, and that's why we see these wide differences. This can lead to skepticism. We've also asked consumers about what they think is a fair representation of how products—food and nonfood—have been produced, and we see some skepticism, with consumers asking questions like: Is the product truly locally grown? Is it sustainably sourced? Is it non-GMO? Is it organic? Is it recycled or recyclable? Does it really use minimal packaging?
We have exactly what Sebastian was describing: a large demand for such products. Yet at the same time, from an offering standpoint, there's quite a lot of confusion.
The business case for sustainability
Monica Toriello: Earlier, I mentioned the attitude–behavior gap, which I imagine makes CEOs think, "OK, yes, sustainability to some extent is going to become table stakes. But our profits, at least in the short term, are really going to take a hit." What do you say to the CEO who believes that sustainability and profitability are somewhat incompatible?
Sebastian Gatzer: That's actually a discussion we are having quite often. It's fair to ask about the return on investment and the business cases behind different levers and different activities. But the overall theme is that sustainability and improving company performance actually go hand in hand. Of course, sustainability doesn't come for free, but overall we see that it pays off economically.
I'll give you three facts to make this a little more tangible. Sustainable products have been a growth driver in the past; across consumer categories, those marketed as sustainable have been growing five to six times faster than the average market. Also, sustainable products come at a high price premium. Consumers say they're willing to pay a little or even a lot more if they know that those products have been sustainably sourced and produced. Third—and this is one of the most interesting aspects for me that we are heavily discussing with many companies—is the opportunity that comes with sustainability in new business building, green business building.
It's amazing how many start-ups we are seeing every month that are focusing on the topic of sustainability in the consumer sector. But it's not only new kids on the block—not just millennials. Established companies can also drive their business and innovate based on the topic of sustainability.
Clarisse Magnin: If you look at the plant-based market, for example, some companies have been very aggressive in marketing the carbon neutrality of their products—and it has really resonated with consumers. Companies are anchoring their marketing and their message around this value proposition. But we've also seen companies in the meat industry, for example, embracing the alternative-protein trend and diversifying their portfolio by offering ready-to-cook solutions made of alternative protein. This is interesting; you're seeing both start-ups and large incumbents embracing those trends.
We've done some analysis about the "winners" in sustainability—meaning, the companies that manage to extract value out of sustainability—because, to be fair, it's a journey. And it's not an easy one. Part of it is license to operate; part of it is creating a competitive advantage. But the challenge is really monetizing the efforts that are being made across the different steps of the value chain, be it upstream or downstream. This monetization issue is a challenge that we see across companies and across sectors.
Typically, the winners have very big ambitions, starting at the very top—the CEOs. What is interesting is they are spending less time on KPIs [key performance indicators], reporting, and so on. They're spending a little bit more time training their people to understand what sustainability means. And they're focusing a little bit more on the what and the how versus the why.
Winners are engaging in bold transformations that are focused on maybe two or three areas, as opposed to "boiling the ocean" on dozens of topics where it's difficult to differentiate and emerge. Those are some of our key learnings for extracting maximum value out of a sustainability journey.
CEOs are spending less time on KPIs, reporting, and so on, and a little bit more time training their people to understand what sustainability means. And they're focusing a little bit more on the what and the how versus the why.
Clarisse Magnin
Next steps for CEOs
Monica Toriello: One challenge for incumbents is that some of them have historically treated sustainability initiatives as risk management or risk avoidance, whereas attacker brands have sustainability at their core; it's part of their value proposition, as you say. One of your messages to incumbent companies is that they need to become sustainability driven. How exactly should they do that? What's your advice to the CEO of a grocery chain or the CEO of a CPG [consumer-packaged-goods] manufacturer who wants to prioritize sustainability?
Clarisse Magnin: First, take stock of where you are. Start with a materiality assessment. Second, pick and choose the few focus areas where you are going to make a big difference. And then engage your customer base. Work with your suppliers. Essentially, rethink your business model, starting with sourcing and logistics.
Consumer-goods companies and retailers have the ability to meet the rising expectations of their consumers while partnering with other players in the value chain. Some players are extremely integrated. For instance, a grocer that has private-label products has the ability to impact the value chain from the field. If you are not integrated with your upstream value chain, you can work with your suppliers to define the specs that you want, to put them on the journey that allows you to reduce your "scope 3" emissions while also creating differentiation. A lot of the impact is going to come from collaborating with both customers and suppliers to find solutions that are systemic and scalable.
Sebastian Gatzer is a partner in McKinsey's Cologne office, and Clarisse Magnin is a senior partner in the Paris office. Monica Toriello is an executive editor in the New York office.
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The path forward for sustainability in European grocery retail
Sustainability and growth go hand in hand: An interview with Mikko Helander


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11 years of use - wouldn't change!
As my title indicates, we have use Nutrimix for 11 years now. Our journey began, when one of our North American Curly horses developed Stringhalt. In looking for a vitamin/mineral mix that contained what our Vet recommended, I discovered this company. It was exactly what *Red needed, and I have used it with all of our horses. I love that there are no fillers and everything my horses need! Thanks for a WONDERFUL product. Oh, and yes, we cured *Red of his Stringhalt, which no one thought we could do.
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UK Visa exempts Nigerian Graduates
Posted on May 7, 2022 May 7, 2022 by Sanya Agunbiade
The United Kingdom is set to begin issuance of a new visa that allows holders of first degrees, masters, and doctorates to travel to the country and work in fields such as science, technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship by May 30.
The visa – high potential individual visa, allows applicants to relocate to the UK without a prior job offer or sponsorship. Meanwhile, some of the requirements exempted those who graduated from Nigerian universities.
The UK government had said that in order to qualify for the HPI visa, applicants needed to have been awarded a degree from an overseas university. The university has to be one of the top global universities as published in the global universities list by the Home Office.
The government noted that the list would be compiled annually and would comprise institutions included in the list of the top 50 universities in at least two of the following ranking systems: Times Higher Education World University rankings, Quacquarelli Symonds World University rankings, and the Academic Ranking of the World Universities.
Also, the applicants must have been awarded a degree, equivalent to or not less than a UK bachelor's degree.
Meanwhile, checks showed that Nigerian universities do not appear in any of these global rankings.
The UK had been one of the choice destinations for many Nigerians seeking to relocate abroad for academic and work purposes.
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


In our Melbourne base all our vehicles are fitted with a device where our office team are constantly tracking the vehicles in real time. This system enables us to monitor the vehicles in position and locate / track them to convenience our transfers and requirements.
This system not only enables us to monitor the vehicle position, but in the occasion that customers are required to be greeted when they arrive to their final destination, our staff do not need to make several phone calls to the driver while he is with guest onboard, instead we just monitor from the screen and can inform the greeting party the ETA.


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Italian meat industry furious over Berlusconi's lamb 'adoptions'
April 10, 2017 | 7:42pm
Silvio Berlusconi (right) holds and hugs a lamb as he poses with Michela Vittoria Brambilla, an animal rights activist. Reuters
Former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi has infuriated Italy's meat industry by joining a vegetarian campaign and "adopting" five lambs that would have been butchered for Easter.
Silvio Berlusconi feeds a lamb with a baby bottleReuters
A video by the Italian League in Defense of Animals and the Environment, showing Berlusconi cuddling, kissing and feeding the lambs with a baby's bottle, was circulated widely on social media over the weekend.
The 80-year-old four-times prime minister was filmed in his parkland estate in front of a sign saying "Defend life, choose a vegetarian Easter", while a scrolling message urged viewers to "Be like him. He saved five lambs from the Easter slaughter."
Berlusconi was expelled from the Senate in 2013 following a conviction for tax fraud, but his Forza Italia party is still the third or fourth most popular in Italy with around 12 percent of the vote, according to opinion polls.
Amusement park forces pig to bungee jump, then sends it to slaughterhouse
Dozens of elephants forced to perform for tourists are freed from chains
This Papa John's vegan pizza had anything but 'better ingredients'
Prominent lawyer under fire for saying he killed fox with baseball bat
Italians traditionally eat lamb or goat on Easter Sunday but consumption has declined sharply over the last five years due to an economic slump and growing success of vegetarian campaigns.
Italy's butchers' lobby Assocarni attacked the billionaire media tycoon and called on advertisers to boycott his television channels and publications.
"It's incredible that even though he is a business person he is contributing to damaging the meat industry to try to get the votes of animal lovers," it said in a statement.
Several newspapers reported last year that Berlusconi had become a vegetarian. He responded in a statement that he had "never made any declaration on this, either in public or in private", neither confirming nor denying the reports.
Berlusconi has worn a pacemaker for a decade and underwent open heart surgery in June last year to replace a defective aortic valve.
Filed under animal rights , animals , italy , silvio berlusconi , vegetarian
Florida county considers special tax for Trump's Mar-a-Lag...


Over the years I've read many books and watched many talks but a few stand out (at least for me) that influenced me in my development career.
This book opened my eyes that I approached software development completely from the wrong standpoint: the software should serve the user not vice versa.
This book taught me that you can change the structure and the design of the software without changing its function. Cool.
Seeing a new way of interacting with your software in development blew my mind. Think WYSIWYG on steroids.
Getting to the core of what is essential and what really needs to be done in software/product development is laid out here so clear and stripped down that it struck me.
Another book which reduces its topic (this time: presenting information) to the core and by this identifying so much unnecessary practice that it hurts.
Purpose. Why do you develop software? Why do I arrange an UI or the architecture of an application? This is what design is about.
Concentrate on the main part, the bigger part, the 95%. If you get them right the rest isn't so important after all.
Do what you can do with what you have.
I'm reading a lot of books and based on my profession and interests, my list includes many software development and IT books. I want to share how I manage my reading and give some recommendations for a special type of book that I call "toilet book".
The human mind is a peculiar thing. You've probably experienced the effect of getting up to perform some minor task in an other room only to arrive there with no recollection about what you wanted to do. Between the thoughts of "ok, let's do this now!" and "why did I go here?", just a few seconds have passed, but another aspect has changed dramatically: your geographic position. As a side note: If you don't know what I'm talking about, consider yourself lucky. Our memory is often bound to the geographic position and changes when we move. If you want to remember what your forgotten task was, try returning to your original location. You'll often see me walking around the same way twice within seconds. That's when I have to rewind my location-based memory.
The first book is the "leisure book": I will only read it at comfortable locations like the couch, in the sun on the balcony or in the bathtub. This book is often fiction or has at least nothing to do with IT.
The second book is the "travel book": You'll seldom see me travelling without a book and just a few minutes of tram are sufficient to read some pages. This book is often IT-based, because I read it on my commute to and from work and sometimes in my lunch break.
The third book is the "toilet book": You'll never see me reading this book, because it is stored besides my toilet and is exclusively read there. Books that are suitable for this task often have a special structure that aligns with the circumstances. More on this in a moment.
By having a clear separation by location for the three books, I'm able to keep their content separated and switch from one reading context to the next without effort. It happens naturally if I refrain from reading my travel book at home or taking my leisure book on the train.
A good toilet book has a special structure that accommodates for the special timing of a toilet visit. If you spend two minutes on the toilet, the book should have chapters or at least paragraphs that can be read in two minute intervals. Ideally, the book is specifically designed to contain short chapters on different topics that have no strong over-arching story. A typical example of a good non-IT toilet book are comic books like Calvin & Hobbes, The Peanuts or any other comic series that has small self-contained comic strips. You read one or two strips, are amused and interrupt again without having to memorize a complex context. Good toilet books allow for short, context-free reading sessions.
In short, for me, calling a book a "toilet book" is not a derogatory taunt, but a neutral description that this book is structured in a way to support repeated short-time reading sessions. For me, these books are a good choice for a tertiary reading track.
Right now, my reading list of good IT toilet books is rather short. If you happen to know a book that fits my description, I would be thankful for a hint in the comments. Thank you!
Last week, I've done a question and answers event with students when the question came up what the most influential books were that I have read as a software developer. I couldn't answer the question right away but promised to compile the list with short descriptions of the book's influence. And here it is – my list of books that left a big mark in my day-to-day work. Others have done the list of books thing before me, and most lists contain the same books over and over again. I take it as an indicator that my list isn't too far off.
Before I start the list, I want to say a few things. The list isn't ordered or ranked. I describe the effects of each book from my current standpoint, sometimes 20 years after the fact. I read a lot more good, interesting and inspiring books in the last 20 years and they all added to my work personality. But with all the books on my list, I felt enlightened and vibrant with new ideas. They didn't just inspire me, they elevated my thinking. And because of this criteria of immediate improvement, one book is missing from the list. It's the first "serious" software development book I've ever read in 1998: "Design Patterns". The book was just too much for me (and my study group peers) to handle such early in our careers. We were in our first year of study and had a lot of other battles to fight. I crossed it from my reading list and moved on. Years later, I re-read it and saw so much insight I plainly missed the first time, but gathered elsewhere since. If you want to read this classic, don't hesitate! If you "only" want to know about design patterns, there's a better book for that: "Head First Design Patterns".
More by chance, my co-founder stumbled upon "The Pragmatic Programmer" in 1999 and devoured it. Then he gave the book to me and it shattered me to my core. I thought I was a decent software developer and here are Dave Thomas and Andy Hunt and talk about things I didn't even knew existed. A healthy dose of Dunning-Kruger effect is crucial in everybody's upbringing, but this book ended my overestimation once and for all and gave my studies a focus and direction I wouldn't have thought to be possible before. I own my whole career to this book, at least in terms of work ethics. I cannot fathom how my professional life would have played out otherwise.
In 2004, Michael Feathers wrote a book that contains his 20+ years of experience with software development and named it "Working Effectively With Legacy Code". Well, joke's on you – I don't write legacy code, my code is perfect. That wasn't my attitude since 1999 (see list entry #1) and I took this book everywhere. It's a heavy one, but I read it in the tram, right before the movie starts in cinema, during breakfast, lunch and dinner and virtually any other circumstance. I realized that reading this book will gain me experience a lot faster than actually writing code, so I just stopped for a few weeks. This book answered a lot of mysteries in the form of "is there really no better way to do this?" for me. And it introduced the concept of code seams for me that permeates my work ever since. I can clearly remember the day when I looked at my existing code again and saw the seams for the first time. It was truly eye-opening for me.
Martin Fowler was a very productive author in the late nineties. I've read most of his books from this period, if maybe with a few years delay. "Analysis Patterns" from 1996 arrived in my bookshelf in the early 2000's and was my wake-up call to seeing models instead of actualities. I've given this book to many peers, but haven't received the reactions that I had with this book: Being taught a language (with a graphical notation) that can express actual problems in terms of an overarching solution. Since then, I've seen the same solutions applied in many different forms, with many different names and a lot of different special requirements. But they all derive from the same model. This effect was promised by the "Design Patterns" book, but for me, delivered by "Analysis Patterns". Even Martin Fowler admits that the book is showing its age, but for me, its timeless.
Since the late 80's, Tom DeMarco and Timothy Lister wrote one book after the other. Each book describes a common business-oriented problem and at least one working solution for it. And yet, the very same problems still persist in the business world. It's as if nobody reads books. "Peopleware" was written in 1987, 30 years ago, and discovered by me and my peers in the late 1990's. We talked about this book a lot, as it described a (business) world where we didn't want to work in. We wanted to do better. In a way, this book was a spark to found our own company and don't repeat the mistakes that seemed to be prevalent in our industry. If you've ever shaken your head about "the management", do yourself a favor and read this book. It will pinpoint the precise problem you've felt and give you the words to describe it. And if you've read "Peopleware", liked it and want more, there is good news: There is a whole series waiting for you (not just Vienna).
These are the first five books from my list, with the last entry being more of a catch-all for a whole series. Remember that this isn't a generic "go and read these books if you want to call yourself a professional software developer" list. I'm not gatekeeping and it would be useless to even try to do so. These books helped me further my career in the last 20 years, they won't necessarily help you for the next 20 years. Good books are published every year, you just have to read them.
I'm looking forward to share the second part of my list in the next blog post of this series. Stay tuned!
In 2008, a book changed the way software developers around the globe talked (and hopefully) acted about their code. Robert C. Martin's "Clean Code" was and still is a cornerstone of modern software development. The book itself is remarkably weak in its code examples, but has strong and effective messages on the level of practices and principles. Even today, ten years later, this is the one book that most of my students read and are passionate about. It's a book that speaks reason to them, albeit with some contortion because of high volume. Robert C. Martin has the tendency to preach 200 percent in order to still get the half-convinced to an acceptable level.
So when a new book from him, called "Clean Architecture", appeared on the horizon, I was thrilled. Would it be groundbreaking like "Clean Code" or a dud like "The Clean Coder" (sorry, my opinion – this is a personal review, not an academic evaluation)? I've read some very good books about software development (like "The Pragmatic Programmer"), fantastic books about programming ("Refactoring" and "Working Effectively With Legacy Code" come to mind) and even some mind-blowing pieces about design and emerging architecture (my first read of "Growing Object-Oriented Software, Guided by Tests" felt like a personal audience with Steve Freeman and Nat Pryce). But all these books dealt with tactics, with the immediacies of software development. Don't get me wrong! This is the most important part and it helped me tremendously. But there are parts "above" the footwork that needs to be addressed in bigger systems, too.
And there, the literature got thin or stale. Books about software architecture talked about large-scale architectures (so-called "enterprise scale" systems that span from horizon to horizon, like in "Patterns of Enterprise Application Architecture") or had the taste of dry plywood because it was clear that the findings were from another era and would translate badly into modern software development.
"Clean Architecture" begins with a quick and focused overview over the current programming paradigms and a conclusion that there are no different "eras". We didn't get better in designing systems, we just changed the aroma and color of our failures. Future generations will look at our code and architectures as scornful as we looked at the ruins of the systems of our ancestors. And make no mistake – the ruins are still in production today! We cannot place our hope on another new and liberating programming paradigm because there probably won't be one. We have to make do with what we have.
This is the first six chapters of "Clean Archicture". The chapters are short and on point and I loved every line of it. It probably isn't the most comprehensive and balanced description of structured, object-oriented and functional programming, but it provides a narrative that is intuitive and convincing – your mileage may vary, I was hooked.
In the next five chapters, Robert C. Martin reiterates the known SOLID design principles. I rolled my eyes when I glanced the content because I've read it like a hundred times in maybe as many books. But I decided to read it once more and I'm glad I did. The principles are known, but the underlying revelation is woven into the text like a good thriller. I hesitate to give away too much, because I really think this book can be spoiled – just like a good thriller. I was sold. Robert C. Martin can explain the same old SOLID to me and I still learn something and have fun.
Then, the part about components. It feels like an intermezzo to an even better thriller, because suddenly there is math and formulas. Its interesting and noteworthy, but if you followed the metrics discussion in the last fifteen years, the excitement of this part will be dampened.
But wait, there is more! Starting with page 133 of 321 (yeah, the Appendix is interesting, but more in the "The Clean Coder" way of things), there is the central question: "What is Architecture?". There it was again, the thrill that in every line, there could be insights that are worth weeks of thoughts. I read this part in the train from south to north germany and I stared out of the window often, following my own train of thoughts.
Again, no spoilers, but the way the answers are given is so refreshing and the answer itself is so simple that I'm surprised that it took me this long to not come to the same conclusion. Software architecture lost some of its mysticism, but gained a lot of applicability for me. I was spent (in a good way).
And then, on page 200, finally, "The Clean Archicture". Well, I watched all the trailers on this topic, so my surprise wasn't really there, but with all the knowledge and insights from the first 200 pages, I could have "invented" the Clean Architecture by myself then and there. It's more or less the logical next step from the prerequisites. I applaud this masterwork of storytelling, because it doesn't overwhelm the reader with the genius of the narrator, it drives him to connect the dots himself.
The rest of the book, like the title of part VI, are just "Details". The central message – The Dependency Rule, this little spoiler should be allowed – is simple, convincing and deduced from the beginning. I've seen the heart of software architecture and it is beautiful.
I even forgive the many typos and grammatical errors (far more than usual) and the bulky appendix for this ride. This book is definitely up there with "Clean Code". It is accessible, has a clear message and profound effects. And it refrains from preaching most of the time. No need to turn it up to 200 percent when your message is so convincing in itself.
Conclusion: If you are interested in software development with a structure, go grab this book as soon as possible. We've waited long enough!
Being clean coders we build our software based on quality and reflect on how we do it. We set internal standards in code and UIs, we write tests, we polish.
But there are times when all this focus on quality is obstructive. Times when we need to learn something. For example: at a start of a project when fundamental questions like is it feasible, how should this interaction work, what's the right order of steps are unanswered, learning needs to be as cheap as possible.
Here quick and dirty is important. The problem is our ego. We want to polish it, we want to build real software with a sound structure. But quality takes time. The problem is quality is not important when answering the fundamental project questions, learning is. May be a mockup in Powerpoint is enough? (not even writing code? ugh). A simple sketch on a piece of paper. Or maybe just a quick demo hacked together in an afternoon.
I know these suggestions may insult our pride. But we need to focus on what's important: sometimes that's quality, sometimes that's speed.
Decades ago when I started coding, quick and dirty wasn't a problem. Everything I wrote was quick and dirty. I was learning all the time. Over time I got better at developing software, structuring applications and building robust systems. But quick and dirty was lost along the way.
When you write something for the purpose of learning it can happen that you are wrong and all the code has to be thrown away. If it was just 2 hours patching something together that's okay, but what if you spent a whole week? Just like writing quality software, quick and dirty is a skill in itself and as with other skills we need to practice it.
But beware this is not only a problem at the start of a project: often as developers we tend to overthink something, we plan for every possible outcome, imagine scenarios with weirdly acting users or systems. This is the time to stop and implement something to learn. To get feedback. Not to overanalyse or overdesign. Just release something and test it with real users, it doesn't need to be part of the software in production, just use a demo or a staging environment. But if you need to learn something, focus on that, not on quality.


text:
Q: How to post the information of web form's submit button to the server in cocoa? Basically, I know how to post web form data using NSURLConnection. But the problem is there are 3 submit buttons in the web form, and when you click any one of them, the server will check the one which has been clicked. In iOS or cocoa, how am I gonna tell the server about this?
Here is the code of the form in the html:
<form name="myform" action="checkLogin.jsp" method="post" onSubmit="return checkSubmit();">

        account:
        <input type="text" class="editbox4" name="username" id="username" value="" size="20" maxlength="24">

        password:
        <input type="password" class="editbox4" name="password" id="password" size="20" maxlength="24"  style="height: 25px;vertical-align: middle;">

        ip:
        118.228.173.165<input type="hidden" name="ip" value="118.228.173.165">

        <input type="submit" value="connect" class="login_button" name="action"> <input type="submit" value="disconnect" class="login_button" name="action"> <input type="submit" value="manage" class="login_button" name="action">

</form>

A: Submit inputs are a little bit special in a form.
As you may know, a browser always sends values for every input/textbox/anything in the form. Except for the submit buttons. It will only send the submit button that has been clicked.
For example, if you click on the connect button, the data sent will look like this:
username: hello
password: world
action: connect

Or, should you click on the disconnect button:
username: hello
password: world
action: disconnect

Thus, you can send the right action in your NSURLConnection to select the action that must be done by the server.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


All CHaOS experiments are individually risk assessed, and all demonstrators are required to read, understand and sign the risk assessment before demonstrating. The committee Safety Officer will ensure that each such risk assessment is checked annually by a suitable member of the committee (e.g. the appropriate subject representative).
Safety during events is the responsibility of everyone, but a venue safety officer will be appointed for each event to manage event safety issues before, during and after the event.
a) Have read this document.
c) Consider what first aid provision will be available, and what to do in the event of a first aid emergency.
d) Check first aid equipment is present, including eye washes, and the incident record book.
e) Write a Venue Risk Assessment for the event, and communicate this information to volunteers.
f) Consult with others on the CHaOS committee if in doubt about anything.
g) Ensure that demonstrators are aware of their responsibilities for safety, eliminating any developing hazards and/or reporting them to a suitable person as appropriate.
h) Ensure that there is time for volunteers to familiarise themselves with their experiments and their associated risks, and have understood and signed the risk assessment.
i) Be familiar with the risk assessments for experiments in use at an event.
j) Ensure an appropriate level of supervision of volunteers and the event.
k) Have the authority to stop or delay the event, experiments or demonstrators from demonstrating if safety would be compromised (e.g. if demonstrators are tired or incompetent).
l) Ensure that a competent person records in the Incident Report Book any incidents where a person was injured or any first aid was administered. Note the injured person's name and address and some details of the accident.
m) If desired, relinquish this role to another person after the initial safety assessment and briefing is over provided that the other person is competent and similarly approved (e.g. if they want to leave the event).
n) After the event, return the signed risk assessments to the committee for storage.
a) Ensure that all drivers are legally allowed to drive in the UK.
b) In general, only allow those who are 21 or above to drive vehicles carrying passengers on behalf of CHaOS. The committee may make specific exceptions for drivers under 21, who will usually be experienced drivers.
c) Committee members present may decide that a particular individual should not drive a CHaOS vehicle, either on a specific occasion (e.g. due to tiredness), or more generally.
d) Ensure that there are sufficient drivers on the roadshow that drivers can be swapped around if required (e.g. in case of illness, or on long journeys).
e) Plan long journeys to allow drivers to have sufficient breaks.
a) Volunteers are advised to follow safe lifting technique.
b) Heavy boxes are marked as such.
c) Volunteers are encouraged to seek assistance rather than lifting any item that is too heavy.
Volunteers must take responsibility for deciding what they are able to lift safely.
Many CHaOS experiments are built by members of the committee. Though CHaOS strongly recommends that safety should be taken into account while doing this, all such building work is undertaken entirely at members' own risk, and is not covered by CHaOS insurance. Members who are not happy with this should not take part in building work.


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The usual suspects, part 4
The last post showed how private sector labor unions achieved success, not through direct confrontation with management, but through politics. The ability to influence politicians was critical for labor to get necessary legislation and government support to fight management on more equitable terms. There is nothing wrong with this, as this is how all special interest groups, attempt to create favorable conditions for themselves.
Once the fights over issues like work hours, overtime, workplace safety, and collective bargaining were won after many years of struggle and sacrifice, unions had already internalized the idea that they had won their battles against management through force of will and combativeness. These values became part of the self-image of private sector unions, and as a result, an adversarial attitude toward management became normal, even with employers who had already accepted unionization and viewed employees as valuable resources.
This adversarial attitude toward management caused private sector unions to portray any conflict with management as a grand struggle for workers' rights, even if it is over less lofty issues like pay, benefits, or job security. For hardcore unionists, this attitude is perfectly logical. If one views labor as the source of all value in the private sector, then any negotiation is over how much labor allows management, as representatives of owners or shareholders, to share in the fruits of the workers' labor. This means that any benefit extracted from management is an earned benefit, and any attempt to take away an existing benefit is a form of theft.
The Jobs Bank that GM created to pay laid-off workers would only be proposed by a union that believed that, once given, a job at GM was a permanent earned benefit. This benefit could never be taken away, regardless of how many vehicles GM sold or how much money it earned. While the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) believed it had the right as employers to dictate how teachers were evaluated, rehired after layoffs, or awarded for merit, the teachers' union had a different philosophy. CPS's demands encroached on earned benefits and were worth striking over. This was all in a city where 80% of its eighth-grade student are not proficient in math and reading and one of the most union-friendly in America.
So etched in the DNA of public sector unions are both a dependence on politics (and politicians) for power and a militancy about benefits. Public sector employee unions arrived late on the scene but inherited these tendencies. The next post will discuss how these tendencies affect the public pension crisis.
PSPRS members: A dozen more reasons to be concerne...
The folly of the DROP, part three
The folly of the DROP, part two
PSPRS pension debate primer
A 9/11 reminder of the WTC heroism of police, fire...
The folly of the DROP, part one
If PSPRS is broke, don't fix it


This book interested me because the main character who tells the story is a librarian. The storytelling style made it easy to get into the book. Although it was a little slow through the middle; overall, the book was a good read.


text:
Home / Locations & AR Scanning
What is Niantic Wayfarer?
Niantic Wayfarer is a one-of-a-kind community mapping program that allows you to directly shape your real-world adventures across all Niantic games. By participating in Niantic Wayfarer, Explorers become part of an interactive community and contribute to the development of the Niantic real-world map, which is the foundation for all Niantic games.
As a Wayfarer Explorer, you can nominate new Wayspots in your community, review others' nominations, and contribute information or edits to existing Wayspots to help the Niantic map evolve in tandem with the real-world.
Earn Wayfarer rewards and get involved with a lively global mapping community that loves discovering new Wayspots around the world that inspire exercise, exploration, and social interaction.
Pokémon GO players Level 37+ and Ingress players Level 10+ are eligible to participate in the program. More Niantic games may be eligible to contribute to the Wayfarer program in the future.
Watch this video to learn more:


text:
O'DonnellBrown
Seven Mills Primary School
Providing additional classroom accommodation as well as parent/community spaces plus a reimagining and configuring of the school playground areas.
The project provides an annexe accommodation building for teaching and community uses. The designs respond directly to these briefing elements, focussing on the home aspect of the project to make pupils, staff and parents all feel as comfortable as possible within the newly created building.
The scheme also rationalises external play areas with new storage and landscaping. A new canopy structure provides much needed shade and shelter to the playground with its form responding directly to the new red brick building. It also looks to connect as lightly as possible to the ground surface through the use of slender, white steel columns.
Client Seven Mills Primary School
Value £400,000
The Foundry - housing
206 new build apartments in the south side of Glasgow
On behalf our client New City Vision, we are developing proposals for 206 new build affordable homes on the site of the former Etna Foundry. The development will provide a mix of 2 bed and 3 bed flats, maisonettes, and townhouses centred around a 'green link' which will connect Maxwell Road on the southern edge of the site to a new cycle route at the north west corner of the site. Ground floor flats located on the green link have been given main door entrances to enliven the street and improve passive surveillance, with the benefit of the opportunity for personalisation and ownership of the private front gardens. Brick will be the defining characteristic of the scheme, used liberally throughout, referencing the existing Foundry architecture but also with a nod to the establishment of the material as part of Glasgow's new vernacular.
Client New City Vision
Value £20m
Status Completion 2021
37 James Watt Place
Refurbishment and internal extension into an existing industrial unit to provide new office accommodation.
Our brief was to refurbish an existing industrial unit in East Kilbride to provide additional office space for our client.
The existing unit, number 37, sits within a terrace of 2 storey cellular accommodation with large, top lit warehouses to the rear. The units are generally draughty and poorly insulated, with small windows at ground floor level which limit natural light and fresh air.
We extended into the warehouse space, increasing floor area for office use, within a well-insulated timber box. Large shop front windows look out over the warehouse itself, grabbing more of the north light from the warehouse's tall clerestory windows. Plywood lining and shelving adds both warmth to the office and a utilitarian aesthetic to the warehouse fronting façade.
Three funnels add character and a vertical element to the new office, whilst dealing with key technical issues such as providing additional daylight and adequate fresh air as part of a carefully worked through natural ventilation strategy, facilitated by the client's own actuators.
The existing 2 storey accommodation was fully refurbished to provide a new, light filled staff breakout area, WC accommodation and a new staff room upstairs.
Client WmBrown
O'Donnell Brown Studio
Our studio, housed in a mock Victorian conservatory, offered the practice an opportunity to make a truly unique working environment, whilst also dealing with practical considerations such as glare, lighting and storage.
The resulting structure, carefully positioned within the existing conservatory, provides enclosure and with it, just the right amount of daylight for a comfortable working environment all year round. Views out into the garden and adjacent Maxwell Park are maximised.
This project was a real hands on collaboration within the practice, with everyone contributing in terms of both the design and finishing of the structure itself - team O'DB couldn't be more delighted with the result.
Client Self cliented
Value £10,000
Swanlea Sixth Form
Refurbishment and extension of existing Sixth Form building to create a new facility with a unique character and identity.
The existing sixth form was located in a poorly insulated, metal clad building with small windows and limited natural light and ventilation. The building was also hidden behind a tall wall on its Durward Street elevation which blocked views and connection to the street.
A two storey extension was added providing four additional classrooms, offices and a double height circulation space linking new and existing.
The existing building was transformed with a new reception, rationalised circulation, improved services, much larger windows and an additional, thick layer of insulation, which was hidden behind dark stained timber cladding, which wraps around and unifies both the existing building and extension.
The existing site boundary wall was removed helping to repair the fragmented elevation along Durward Street.
The timber cladding has helped create a new and unique identity for the school's Sixth Form and gives the building both a robust street elevation, through its strong verticals and dark colour, and a softer garden elevation, through the materials inherent natural qualities.
Large windows, highlighted with white timber surrounds, puncture the facades, creating light filled teaching spaces within.
Client Swanlea School
Value £1.1m
Collaboration Completed for and on behalf of London Borough of Tower Hamlets' Architectural Team.
Awards / Publications
Architects' Journal Retrofit Awards 2016 - Education Project Winner
Architects' Journal - Featured project - Nov 2015
London Open House 2015 inclusion
Terregles Avenue
Extension and refurbishment to Pollokshields semi-detached house
The project looks to provide the client with a naturally lit and calm series of spaces to suit their living needs. This is achieved through rear and roof extensions in combination with internal alterations. The contemporary design of the ground floor extension deliberately contrasts with the existing sandstone house, creating a simple and modern addition to the property. Carefully detailed and proportioned timber sections, both internally and externally look to contrast as well as harmonise with the existing stone building.
Client Private
Value Undisclosed
Status Construction
Westraw Edge
Extension and refurbishment of 18th Century house in rural South Lanarkshire
The project strategically infills a gap between refurbished outbuildings to create a new home. With sustainability high on the agenda, the project looks to utilise renewable energies through solar, biomass and GHP technologies.
Status Building Warrant
Nivens cafe
Refurbishment and partial fit out of existing retail unit to create a new restaurant/bar in south Glasgow.
This project offered a great opportunity to work with the materials and fabric of the existing listed structure alongside more contemporary textures and lighting.
There was also a wonderful discovery, through the refurb process, of two original signs from previous occupiers, which helped form a rich combination of references from the past, alongside the new operating identity of the café/restaurant.
Client Café Source
West Tofts, Norfolk
A development of six Passivhaus dwellings in rural Norfolk
We have been invited to develop proposals for a decayed and run down rural site in West Tofts, Norfolk.
Lawdale Community House
Refurbishment and extension of an existing building to create a new, welcoming and shared community facility.
The existing building had been added to over time in a piecemeal way, retaining the domestic characteristics of its former use as the school premises manager's house. A ' wrap-around' extension was added, creating a new, light filled reception and entrance area and ancillary spaces whilst rationalising problematic circulation.
Red facing brick references the adjacent Victorian School building and bespoke manifestation and perforated metal screens reference the intricate stone work on the church opposite.
We are delighted with how well received this project has been from both Lawdale School and the local community.
Client Lawdale Junior School
Status Complete
Collaboration Completed for and on behalf of London Borough of Tower Hamlets' Architectural Team
London 2015 Open House Festival Inclusion
Overland Children's Centre
Building an extension to the nursery area of the children's centre.
The brief asked for additional internal space for the nursery areas of the Children's Centre. The design removed a set of existing sliding doors, utilising the opening to allow free flow into the new areas. The use of timber internally, through birch faced plywood window surrounds and exposed roof joists, provides a warm and neutral background for this new play area. The stainless steel sink and splash back provides a robust and hard wearing wet play area.
The red brick responds to the local vernacular with interest added through an articulated parapet.
Client London Borough of Tower Hamlets
Collaboration Completed for and on behalf of London Borough of Tower Hamlets' Architectural Team. Project Architect Jennifer Mckerr
Cubitt Town Junior School
Providing a new, multi purpose space for the Junior school whilst also linking to the existing building and playground via a colonnade and stairway.
Timber is used to create a built addition to the school that juxtaposes against the existing school creating an individual, soft and warm identity. Through use of a pitched, articulated roof and multiple sets of double doors on the West Elevation, the space is light and airy whilst also being able to operate as an extension to the playground.
Client Cubitt Town Junior School & London Borough of Tower Hamlets
Collaboration Completed for and on behalf of London Borough of Tower Hamlets' Architectural Team. Project Architect, Chris Upson
Oaklands School
Building additional Dining area and multi use space on an existing school rooftop.
Client Oaklands School
Marner Primary School
Primary School expansion scheme through five phases.
A complex, five phase expansion scheme which ultimately enabled the school to increase from 2 – 3 form entry whilst also refurbishing and rationilising the existing school accommodation. Crucially, the school was required to remain in full operation at all times which provided considerable challenge in unifying the ultimate design intent whilst also inconveniencing the school operations as little as possible.
The principle extension included new classroom, hall, kitchen and office accommodation and was separated from the existing school building using an atrium to enable improved circulation as well as natural light and air to access existing areas.
School Building Magazine Publication - 2009
Millport Town Hall
Designs to refurbish and extend Millport Town Hall
We have been invited to draw up designs to refurbish and extend the currently redundant Millport Town Hall on the Isle of Cumbrae. Through close and extensive working with client and community, the project aims to bring the building back to life through a strategic redevelopment of the structure, providing a revitalised community hub for Millport. To do so, the emerging design returns the main hall to its former glory, delivering a much needed performance and events space. Over and above the restoration of this principle space, the building will also offer community, museum and residential spaces to best sustain the building through its new life. Our designs look to provide this regenerated facility through careful and strategic spatial sequencing, rationalising circulation and providing dramatic and intuitive routes through the building.
Client Friends of Millport Town Hall
Value TBC
Status Feasibility / Planning
Whitehorse Road Playgroup
Extending an existing nursery to provide increased play space as well as office accommodation and general facility improvements.
Collaboration Completed for and on behalf of London Borough of Tower Hamlets' Architectural Team. Project Architect Chris Upson
Springwell Brae, Broughton
Designs for a collection of fourteen dwellings in the Scottish Borders
Mid Market Rent Housing
Providing Architectural input to a governmental initiative to provide 1000 additional mid market rent homes over a number of sites in Scotland.
Client Ediston Homes
Status In Progress
Collaboration Feasibility Exercises completed with Cooper Cromer and Ediston Homes
Mayflower Primary School
Adding a new hall, group room spaces and rooftop garden as part of a general school improvement project.
This scheme was borne out of the 'primary capital programme' initiative instigated by the government at the time to improve existing school accommodation.
The project centered around the removal of ad-hoc existing canopies and extensions to provide a much needed new hall as well as additional group room spaces. An initial concern was that valuable external space would be reduced as part of the adding of new accommodation. In fact the project not only provided the required internal accommodation but in fact increased external areas by folding the playground under the new hall to a generous and top lit atrium. The hall then also had a new garden / external area built on the roof. The orientation of the hall windows responded to its challenging context to minimize overlooking and to maximise sunlight.
Bethnal Green Idea Store
Exploring the possibility of establishing a new public library / community hub in Bethnal Green, London.
Value £7m
Status Feasibility Designs
Nivens - Cafe / Bar
West Tofts - housing
Springwell Brae - housing


text:
James Waldegrave, 1. hrabě Waldegrave (James Waldegrave, 1st Earl of Waldegrave, 1st Viscount Chewton, 2nd Baron Waldegrave of Chewton, 5th Baronet Waldegrave of Hever Castle) (1684 – 11. dubna 1741) byl britský dvořan a diplomat ze starobylého šlechtického rodu Waldegrave. Po dětství stráveném ve Francii se jako dědic baronského titulu stal členem Sněmovny lordů, později se uplatnil jako diplomat ve Francii a Rakousku, v roce 1729 byl povýšen na hraběte a získal Podvazkový řád. Po matce byl přímým potomkem Jakuba II. z jeho nemanželského poměru s Arabellou Churchillovou, sestrou vojevůdce vévody Marlborougha.

Kariéra
Pocházel ze starobylého šlechtického rodu, první známý předek John Walgrave se v roce 1205 připomíná jako šerif v Londýně. Jamesův otec Henry Waldegrave (1661–1690) byl ženatý s Henriettou Fitzjames (1667–1730), nemanželskou dcerou Jakuba II. a Arabelly Churchillové. Titul barona zdědil po otci, který zemřel v roce 1690 ve francouzském exilu, po dosažení zletilosti vstoupil do Sněmovny lordů, mezitím studoval ve Francii. Přestože byl vnukem Jakuba II. a měl blízké příbuzenské vazby na osobnosti jakobitismu, podpořil v roce 1715 nástup hannoverské dynastie a po smrti manželky v roce 1719 přestoupil na anglikánskou víru. V letech 1723–1727 byl lordem komořím Jiřího I., v roce 1725 byl pověřen mimořádnou diplomatickou misí do Paříže, kde gratuloval Ludvíkovi XV. k uzavření sňatku s Marií Leszczyńskou. Po krátkém přerušení diplomatických styků s habsburskou monarchií byl v letech 1727–1730 velvyslancem ve Vídni a v roce 1729 byl povýšen na hraběte. V letech 1730–1740 byl velvyslancem v Paříži a v roce 1738 obdržel Podvazkový řád. Přestože byl dlouhodobou diplomatickou službou vázán v zahraničí, často pobýval v Londýně a mimo jiné se věnoval charitě.

Rodinné a majetkové poměry

Jeho manželkou byla Mary Webb (1686-1719), s níž měl čtyři děti, hraběcí titul zdědili postupně synové James (1715–1763) a John (1718–1784), dcera Henrietta (1716–1753) se provdala za lorda Edwarda Herberta z rodu markýzů z Powisu.

Majetkem rodu byl v roce 1557–1715 hrad Hever Castle, dříve majetek rodu Boleynů (dětství zde trávila Anna Boleynová, druhá manželka Jindřicha VIII.). Od tohoto sídla byl odvozen titul baroneta udělený rodu v roce 1643. První hrabě Waldegrave hrad prodal v roce 1715 a poté nechal postavit dva nové zámky Navestock New Hall (Essex) a Chewton House (Somerset), které oproti středověkému hradu Hever Castle odpovídaly nárokům na reprezentační sídla ambicióznímu rodu v 18. století.

Odkazy

Externí odkazy

 Rodokmen rodu Waldegrave
 1. hrabě Waldegrave na webu thepeerage

Reference

Waldegrave
Angličtí šlechtici
Rytíři Podvazkového řádu
Britští politici
Diplomaté Spojeného království
Georgiánské období
Narození v roce 1684
Úmrtí v roce 1741
Úmrtí 11. dubna
Muži

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Run Club 630PM with Coach Brandon at Jefferson Playground. Sign up on Mind body!
If you are interested in being a more efficient runner, this class is for you! If you have pain or knee or joint issues when you run, maybe you are not running correctly! Help improve your wod times as well!
Choose a number for each set and try to hold!
I left my pink watch today. I'll come by Weds am to retrieve it. Thanks for a great wod today!


text:
New Python app profiler uses Rust for speed and safety
The Py-Spy profiler can profile Python applications without modifying source code, and it installs using Python's native package management
Credit: Mohammad Metri
Serdar Yegulalp (InfoWorld) 11 September, 2018 07:20
A new sampling profiler tool for Python developers, Py-Spy, gathers statistics about running Python programs without needing to instrument the code or even restart a running application.
Written by developer Ben Frederickson, Py-Spy can be installed via Python's pip installer, and it runs on both Linux and Windows. This makes it uncomplicated to set up and useful in most any environment where Python is running.
Most profiling systems for Python, says Frederickson in his project's notes, require changes to the source code to instrument the application. Aside from the possible hassles of modifying source, this also means the profiling code has to run in the same process as the app itself. "This means it's not generally safe to use these profilers for debugging issues in production services since they will usually have a noticeable impact on performance," he writes.
A live profile of a running Python script. Stats are sampled from the Python executable and can be sorted according to overall time or percentage of time used.
Py-Spy takes a different approach. It runs as a separate process, takes in the process ID of the Python app to analyze, and and uses the kernel-level APIs on the platform where it's running to read the app's memory. This way, claims Frederickson, Py-Spy is safe to use in production.
The resulting traces can be dumped to the console, where the most-called functions show up in a list or can be visualized as a flame graph. Py-Spy also provides statistics for how much time a process spends waiting on the Python interpreter's Global Interpreter Lock (GIL). The GIL enforces thread-safe memory management, but at the cost of multithreaded performance, so Py-Spy can provide some perspective on how much of an impact the GIL has on any application.
Py-Spy uses binaries written in Rust to accomplish much of its magic. Most of the binaries bundled into Python apps are written in C or C++, or in the Cython variant of Python that compiles to native C. But several projects have sprung up to make it easier to write Rust applications that interface with Python and vice versa, to leverage Rust's memory safety and machine-native speeds.
Right now there's one drawback to using Rust in this way: Python's setuptools system doesn't yet have integrated support for building and bundling a Rust binary. Normally, you'd need a Rust compiler on the system where Py-Spy was being installed. Fredericksen worked out what he calls "a pretty terrible hack that might be useful to other people" to bundle the Py-Spy binaries in the pip install package.
Another limitation of Py-Spy itself is that it can't gather information about C extensions for Python running in the same process, just the Python interpreter itself. However, Frederickson notes that it may be possible to do this with additional work, such as by using the libunwind library.
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Good afternoon, everyone — Cass Morris here with one of today's four colloquy sessions: Rhetoric. The participants in this session are: James Beaver, Scott Crider, Fiona Harris-Ramsby, Jane Jongeward, and Kyle Vitale, moderated by Chelsea Phillips. I will be liveblogging this session from 3:30-4:45pm.
Phillips begins by suggesting that the participants introduce each others' papers, move onto the papers themselves and discussion of the role of rhetoric in each participant's larger work, then move on to the responses to each paper. Phillips also encourages the auditors to participate throughout.
We begin with Beaver and Jongeward introducing themselves and each other. Jongeward's paper concerns statistical analysis of unfinished lines in King Lear – using mathematics to judge verse irregularities, specifically unfinished lines. Lear has the highest ratio of unfinished lines (11%). Jongeward finds this high proportion significant, as it is "a play full of people who will not listen to each other." Beaver's paper argues that the rhetoric used for describing the wood in Titus Andronicus shapes the social relationships on-stage. He notes both the discrepancy between the court and the woods, with the latter perfect for enacting violence, as well as Tamora's use of rhetoric to effectively build a set. Beaver relates to Latour's concepts of objects (in this case, the woods) as both social and physical.
Second, Vitale and Harris-Ramsby introduce each other. Vitale's paper argues that scholarship neglects to account for Elizabethan notions of reverence. He examines how Shakespeare's attitude towards reverence is complex and uses to satirize and appropriate religious conformity fostered by the Tudor state and reinforced throughout time. Concerned with relationship dynamics of reference, Vitale questions how Shakespeare enacts the bodied act of reverence in royal figures. Vitale argues that Shakespeare collapses the concepts of "crown" and "crowd" through an examination of Richard II. Vitale notes that he is also working with Beaver on "books as gatherings." Harris-Ramsby's paper looks at Troilus and Cressida, challenging the notion of Cressida as subjugated female body by arguing that Cressida's rhetoric fights against that idea and against the external construction of Cressida's self by others. She looks particularly at Cressida's use of aposiopesis, arguing that she literally "becomes" that figure of speech. Harris-Ramsby's larger work looks backwards towards the origins of rhetoric in the construction of character in Greek drama, and how that informs modern theories of performativity.
The third pair is Phillips and Crider. Crider argues that the Macbeths use periphrasis, among other rhetorical devices, for unethical purposes, and that their use of it initially brings them together but ultimately erodes their relationship. He believes that the rhetorical constructions in Macbeth help to illustrate the slippery slope between words and action. Crider comments that he is looking more closely at Ciceronian concepts of rhetoric. He is interested in working with others who are interested in figuration as integrated with the larger world of rhetoric. Phillips is examining instances of repetition in Othello (see the Wordle she created to illustrate). Her focus is centered on the psychological effect of repetition — that the truth of a statement is assumed with its repetition. Phillips looks particularly at Iago's use of repetition to manipulate Othello, and that his ability to do so decreases after Emilia takes it over. She focuses on three forms: general repetition (from audience or reader perception), intentional repetition (character perspective), and compulsive repetition (spontaneous from character perspective). Phillips argues that Emilia's imitation of her husband's rhetorical forms reveals his villainy.
Phillips then opens up to questions. Vitale asks Crider if he's thought at all about how the play Macbeth itself acts as figuration, presenting an idea for the audience/reader. Crider responds, "My answer at first is, 'I don't know.' But that doesn't mean I won't respond." Crider says he finds that acts of persuasion within a play often act upon the audience in a similar manner. He questions the idea of if a rhetorical figure can, in itself, have an ethical configuration — and concludes that, no, probably not, they have to be examined in context — particularly since the figures generally appear tangled with each other in use. He says he does believe that the figures in the play and the play on the whole do have the potential to move the audience ethically. Vitale further questions if Crider thinks it relates to the early modern/Puritan idea of theatre's ability to affect the audience. Crider responds that he thinks the play itself negates the probability that the audience would rest at complicity with the Macbeths, since we see the outcome.
Phillips tells the auditors that the group has had a lot of comments on how "rhetoric creates reality" or space, and directs the conversation to that theme. She draws attention particularly to Beaver, to the issue of language "literally creating space" on the early modern stage. Beaver says he wants to "get away from thinking of language as referential," noting that no stage tree is going to be able to do all the things that Tamora says or implies. And, he doesn't think the audience expects that. "They want the image of the words conjuring something." He also notes how Aaron sort of forces her to shift her approach, since she starts out "in the wrong genre." Beaver notes that Tamora's speech draws us off into different temporalities, particularly with her use of seasonal vocabulary and her ventriloquizing of other voices.
Vitale has an interesting reading of the first scene of Richard II, noting it as one of the only representations of a "divine king already troubled". He relates the conversation in this scene to passages from the Book of Common Prayer. He considers that the language, in a way, transposes the audience to the space of a church, importing the desires and meanings of prayer, and the "potential failures of all that that prayer is wrapped up in", essentially "placing the audience before the Eucharist". Vitale notes that "reverence is an incredibly invisible term" — oft relied upon, rarely enumerated. Reverence, he claims, was used as both strategy and tactic in the early modern church. Relating to the idea of the forceful use of reverence, Harris-Ramsby says that she thinks that, when we discuss rhetoric constructing reality, we tend to think too restrictively. Troilus and Cressida, she notes, is very much about reconfiguring — and notes that the typical construction of Cressida as a whore is problematic in lights of that subversion. Crider discusses how it relates to the idea of praise and dispraise, and to rhetorical underpinnings of "the sublime".
Phillips then turns the group's attention to the performance possibilities of these rhetorical understandings — how does the actor embody them, and what affect does that have on the audience? "Can it be genuine flustration," Phillips asks (wondering if she can use that as a word) "in one instance" and somewhat intentional and crafty in another? Harris-Ramsby notes that, even if it is intentional, it's not necessarily a bad thing, particularly seen as a strategy of self-preservation.
Crider states that he started look at the Macbeths because he wanted to look at a marriage, not a courtship. He's interested in how the use of rhetoric to deliberate does eventually force an action on the stage. "If we think of human deliberation as a category, we can then see why speech yields to action." Vitale relates that to the early modern period's ideas on theology — and thus, its logic — in a way that the 21st century doesn't necessarily track. Crider thinks that relates to the romances, with their strong themes of redemption and transformation. Phillips asks Crider if Macbeth's deliberation seems to grow less frequent; he confirms and says that he thinks it moves from periphrastic to hyperbole to a plain style by the end of the play.
Noting that we are nearly out of time, Phillips poses a last question, inspired by a point in Beaver's paper: Looking at rhetoric and performance as a cycle of reproduction, what is then produced? Beaver says his best answer is, in his text, what Aaron says, "an excellent piece of villany". Jongeward notes that, at least in the tragic worlds of these plays, what they produce is only destruction, and therefore nothing. Vitale thinks that mere catharsis is too passive; he sees "a call that requires a response of some kind". Crider wants to know what it is that actors get out of rhetorical consideration of the text. Harris-Ramsby agrees, stating that "rhetoric and performance always intersect at the body". And Phillips says that that was her answer: what we get is performance possibility.
Thanks to everyone who attended this session! (We had a very full room). This was a great discussion and I think will generate a lot of further thought and study.


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Instructions: This question presents a sentence, part of which or all of which is underlined. Beneath the sentence you will find five ways of phrasing the underlined part. The first of these repeats the original; the other four are different. If you think the original is best, choose the first answer; otherwise choose one of the others.
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Sea-floor spreading, whereby new oceanic crust is formed when two tectonic plates spread apart, are believed to be the cause of the movement of the continents but are still somewhat of a mystery to oceanographers.
whereby new oceanic crust is formed by two tectonic plates spreading apart, is the believed cause of the movement of the continents but is still somewhat of a mystery to oceanographers.
whereby new oceanic crust forms when two tectonic plates spread apart, is believed to be the cause of the movement of the continents although are still somewhat of a mystery to oceanographers.
whereby new oceanic crust is formed as two tectonic plates spread apart, is believed to be the cause of the movement of the continents but is still somewhat of a mystery to oceanographers.
whereby new oceanic crust forms as two tectonic plates spread apart, is believed to cause the movement of the continents, which are still somewhat of a mystery to oceanographers.
whereby new oceanic crust is formed when two tectonic plates spread apart, are believed to be the cause of the movement of the continents but are still somewhat of a mystery to oceanographers.
Despite the fact that the human body depends on oxygen for survival and hemoglobin functionality while a lack of oxygen can lead to hypoxia or even death, the average person believes the respiratory system is of secondary importance to the circulatory system.
A) hemoglobin functionality while a lack of oxygen can lead to hypoxia or even death, the average person believes
B) on hemoglobin functionality since a lack of oxygen can lead to hypoxia or even death, the average person holds the belief that
C) hemoglobin functionality, as a lack of oxygen can lead to hypoxia or even death, the average person believes
D) for hemoglobin functionality to prevent a lack of oxygen, which can lead to hypoxia or even death, the average person believes
E) for hemoglobin functionality because a lack of oxygen can lead to hypoxia or even death, the average person believes
The application of the new expressionistic painting that is expected to take the modern art world to its exciting new level of commotion will be able to incorporate a wider range of modern brush strokes than the current fashionable trend and with more inclusive styles.
(A) The application of the new expressionistic painting that is expected to take the modern art world to its exciting new level of commotion will be able to incorporate a wider range of modern brush strokes than the current fashionable trend and with more inclusive styles.
(B) The application of the new expressionistic painting is expected to take the modern art world to an exciting new level of commotion and be able to incorporate a wider range of modern brush strokes with more current fashionable trend than the inclusive styles.
(C) The new application of an expressionistic painting, which is expected to take the modern art world to the exciting new level of commotion, will be able to incorporate a wider range of modern brush strokes with more inclusive styles than the current fashionable trend.
(D) The newly applied expressionistic painting, which is expected to take the modern art world to an exciting new level of commotion, will be able to incorporate a wider range of modern brush stokes than the current fashionable trend can, and with more inclusive styles.
(E) The newly applied expressionistic painting, which is expected to take the modern art world to an exciting new level of commotion, will be able to incorporate a wider range of modern brush stokes than the current fashionable trend and to incorporate inclusive styles more.
Big Bear is imposing a new tax on its local businesses, which will likely result in the Big Bear ski lifts having to raise their prices; the main concern of these ski lifts is whether vacationing families will continue to spend their money and buy lift tickets during the winter holiday after their prices are raised.
(A) whether vacationing families will continue to spend their money and buy lift tickets during the winter holiday after their rental prices are
(B) if vacationing families will continue to spend their money and buy lift tickets during the winter holiday once the cabin rental prices are
(C) whether vacationing families will continue to spend their money to buy lift tickets during the winter holiday once the cabin rental prices are
(D) whether vacationing families will continue to spend their money to buy lift tickets during the winter holiday once their rental prices have been
(E) if vacationing families will continue to spend their money to buy lift tickets during the winter holiday after the cabin rental prices have been
The syndication of popular radio programs such as "American Top 40" allows local affiliates to raise their ratings with recognizable programming without having to pay the exorbitant expenses of producing content and employment of hosts by standard radio program production.
(A) expenses of producing content and employment of hosts by standard radio program production
(B) expenses by standard radio program production of employment of hosts and producing content
(C) expenses for employment of hosts and producing content standard of radio program production
(D) employment of hosts and producing content that is an expense of standard radio program production
(E) expenses of producing content and employing hosts that are standard of radio program production
By failing to compare the number of Bay Area customers with the availability of service lines at any given time, the telecommunications company failed in its effort to provide effective, efficient, and above-standard customer service.
(A) By failing to compare the number of Bay Area customers with the availability of service lines at any given time, the telecommunications company failed in its effort to provide
(B) Failing to compare the number of Bay Area customers and the number of availability of service lines at any given time meant that the telecommunications company failed to provide
(C) A comparison between the number of Bay Area customers and the amount of available service lines at any given time was not made; thus the telecommunications company failed in its effort to provide
(D) In not comparing the number of Bay Area customers to the number of available service lines at any given time, the telecommunications company failed in its effort to provide
(E) By failing to compare the number of Bay Area customers with the number of available service lines at any given time, the telecommunications company did fail in its effort to provide
The Great Mosque of Djenné, spread 250 feet across Mali's countryside, had been constructed using a combination of mud, brick, and stone that it suffers from disrepair today due to erosion and rain damage.
(A) spread 250 feet across Mali's countryside had been constructed using a combination of mud, brick, and stone that it suffers from disrepair today due to erosion and rain damage.
(B) spreading 250 feet across Mali's countryside, has been constructed using a combination of mud, brick, and stone so that it suffers from disrepair today due to erosion and rain damage.
(C) spreading 250 feet across Mali's countryside, was constructed using such a combination of mud, brick, and stone that it suffers erosion and rain damage today from the disrepair.
(D) spread 250 feet across Mali's countryside, was constructed with a combination of mud, brick, and stone such that it suffers from disrepair today due to erosion and rain damage.
(E) spread 250 feet across Mali's countryside, was constructed using a combination of mud, brick, and stone so today it suffers from erosion and rain damage.
By honing in on the lack of education opportunities, the other causes of socio-economic disparity—such as a childhood spent in impoverished surrounding, low annual income of birth parents, race and gender inequalities, etc.—have been largely ignored by the graduate students.
(A) the other causes of socio-economic disparity—such as a childhood spent in impoverished surrounding, low annual income of birth parents, race and gender inequalities, etc.—have been largely ignored by the graduate students.
(B) the other causes of socio-economic disparity have been largely ignored by the graduate students – such as a childhood spent in impoverished surrounding, low annual income of birth parents, race and gender inequalities, etc.
(C) there are other causes of socio-economic disparity that have been largely ignored by the graduate students such as a childhood spent in impoverished surrounding, low annual income of birth parents, race and gender inequalities, etc.
(D) socio-economic disparities — such as a childhood spent in impoverished surrounding, low annual income of birth parents, race and gender inequalities, etc.—have been largely ignored by the graduate students.
(E) graduate students have largely ignored the other causes of socio-economic disparity, such as a childhood spent in impoverished surrounding, low annual income of birth parents, race and gender inequalities, etc.
Had the party's majority whip not lost the vote on the proposed heath care initiative, its initial weeks in office would have been proclaimed an unmitigated success.
(A) Had the party's majority whip not lost the vote on the proposed health care initiative, its initial weeks in office would have been proclaimed an unmitigated success.
(B) If the majority whip's party had not lost the vote on the proposed health care initiative, her initial weeks in office would have been proclaimed an unmitigated success.
(C) Had the party's majority whip not lost the vote on the proposed health care initiative, it would have been proclaimed an unmitigated success.
(D) Had the party's majority whip not lost the vote on its proposed health care initiative, her initial weeks in office would have been proclaimed an unmitigated success.
(E) If the party had not lost the vote on the proposed health care initiative, the majority whip's initial weeks in office would have been proclaimed an unmitigated success.
In an effort to reduce the global carbon footprint, leading researchers suggested enacting tougher legislation on industrial emissions nation-wide to serve as a keystone in a new national campaign against global warning, so that it initiates a wider public acknowledgment of environmental issues and leading to more lobbying for related issues.
(A) to serve as a keystone in a new national campaign against global warning, so that it initiates
(B) to serve like a keystone in a new national campaign against global warning so as to initiate
(C) to serve as a keystone in a new national campaign against global warning, initiating
(D) serving as a keystone in a new national campaign against global warning, initiating
(E) serving like a keystone in a new national campaign against global warning, initiate
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