text:
The Kalin Twins — британский дуэт братьев-близнецов Харольда «Хала» Калина (1934—2005) и Херберта «Херби» Калина (1934—2006). Поклонники также называли их «Хал и Херби» (англ. Hal and Herbie).

The Kalin Twins считаются классическим примером появившегося уже позже выражения «синдром одного хита». В 1958 году их песня «When» пользовалась бешеной популярностью, пять недель возглавляя британский национальный чарт, но так и осталась самым большим успехом дуэта за всю карьеру.

Биография
Харольд и Херберт Калин родились 16 февраля 1934 года в городе Порт-Джервис, Нью-Йорк, США. Позже их семья переехала в Вашингтон.

В 1958 году братья начали сотрудничество с Клинтом Баллардом-младшим, известным в то время поэтом-песенником, записав несколько демо-композиций.
Тем не менее, авторами «When» — самой известной песни дуэта — стали Пол Эванс и Джек Риардон. Сингл имел грандиозный успех. В течение пяти недель он возглавлял британский национальный чарт, а затем остался в хит-параде ещё на 13 недель. Братья Калин стали первым дуэтом близнецов, которому удалось достичь первой позиции в британском чарте (через двадцать лет их успех повторила группа The Proclaimers).

Свой единственный концертный тур по Великобритании The Kalin Twins провели в том же году при поддержке Клиффа Ричарда. Второй сингл «Forget Me Not», вышедший вскоре после «When», остался практически незамеченным, однако в американском хит-параде он смог достичь 12-го места.

В 1959 году несколько синглов братьев вновь попали в чарты, однако не смогли достичь высоких позиций. Все последующие песни и альбомы The Kalin Twins не получили широкого распространения и практически не имели успеха у публики.

В конце концов, в 1966 году Харольд и Херберт оставили сцену. Они получили высшее образование и устроились на повседневную работу, не связанную с искусством.

The Kalin Twins исчезли с экранов почти на 11 лет — до тех пор, пока в 1977 году один из их общих знакомых не попросил братьев выступить на открытии своего ночного клуба. Харольд и Херберт решили возобновить певческую карьеру и даже записали две новые песни (теперь они выступали вместе с младшим братом Джеком, сохранив при этом оригинальное название дуэта). Однако в 1979 году группа вновь приостановила свою музыкальную деятельность.

Второе кратковременное воссоединение дуэта произошло в 1989 году. Тогда Клифф Ричард пригласил их принять участие в своём концерте, который проходил на стадионе «Уэмбли» и был посвящён культуре 1950-х годов.

Харольд Калин скончался 24 августа 2005 года вследствие травм, полученных при автокатастрофе. У него осталась жена и четверо детей: дочери Сьюзан и Келли и сыновья Бадди и Джонатан.

Херберт Калин пережил брата всего на год. Он умер 21 июля 2006 года от инфаркта миокарда.

25 июля 2019 года журнал «The New York Times» включил The Kalin Twins в список артистов, некоторые записи которых были уничтожены во время пожара на студии «Universal» в 2008 году.

Дискография
 «Jumpin' Jack» («Walkin' To School») — (1958) — Decca Records
 «Three O'Clock Thrill» («When») — (1958) — Billboard Hot 100 #5 Decca Records — UK Singles Chart #1 Brunswick Records
 «Forget Me Not» («Dream Of Me») — (1958) — Billboard Hot 100 #12 Decca Records
 «It's Only The Beginning» («Oh! My Goodness») — (1959)
 «When I Look In The Mirror» («Cool») — (1959)
 «Sugar Lips» («Moody») — (1959)
 «Why Don't You Believe Me» («The Meaning Of The Blues») — (1959)
 «Chicken Thief» («Loneliness») — (1960)
 «Blue, Blue Town» («True To You») — (1960)
 «Zing! Went The Strings Of My Heart» («No Money Can Buy») — (1960)
 «Momma-Poppa» («You Mean The World To Me») — (1961)
 «Bubbles (I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles)» («One More Time») — (1961)
 «A Picture Of You» («Trouble») — (1962)
 «Sometimes It Comes, Sometimes It Goes» («Thinkin' About You Baby») — (1966) — Amy Records
 «Silver Seagull» — (1978)
 «American Eagle» («When (Disco Version)») — (1979) — Octember Records

Примечания

Музыкальные коллективы Великобритании
Родившиеся в 1934 году
Исполнители Decca Records


text:
layout: post
date: 2015-02-14 00:44:00
title: dotfiles
tags: [customisation]
---

It's always fun to discover and play around with other people's config files; I just spazzed a little over the beautifully designed desktop [Twily](http://twily.info/) has (he/she even has a whole nicely decorated website displaying all of his/her config files) and took the liberty of sampling a few.

For those who don't know what dotfiles are about, they're simply a repository (version-controlled and in the cloud) to organise all your personal config files for the apps you use the most. That way, you can switch machines and still be able to keep your environment just the way you like it.

My dotfiles are on my [Github](https://github.com/ksami/dotfiles) and I use it to organise config files for vim, firefox, git, zsh among others along with some useful scripts. For firefox it's not the config files but [Stylish](https://userstyles.org/) css files for styling webpages and firefox itself. For zsh and git it's mostly aliases. For vim it's plugins and colour schemes.

*I really need to stop doing this, customising/ricing takes too much time... but the results are just too nice! ><*

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Hilary won the popular vote by 3 million, so it seems whatever Russia did helped Hillary more than Trump.
We are told that Russia interfered in the election and caused Trump to win. I don't understand. Hilary won the popular vote by 3 million, so it seems whatever Russia did helped Hillary more than Trump.
Was it Russia who caused Hillary to have all of those coughing spells and trip and fall many times? Did Russia do that so Hillary could not campaign in the many states that ultimately gave Trump the Electoral College votes? Hillary was involved in the uranium deal with Russia. What did Trump give Russia?
Wasn't it Obama who was caught on a hot mic saying he would be more flexible toward Putin after he won the election over Romney? Did that help Obama to win over Romney? Wasn't it Obama who mocked Romney when Romney said Russia was our biggest threat? Wasn't it Obama who told Romney the Cold War with Russia was over? Wasn't it Obama, Brennan, Clapper and Comey who were in charge of the many intelligence agencies that sat on their hands and did nothing to stop the so-called interference?
Comey was the FBI director who gave Hillary a pass on the email scandal. The FBI is supposed to investigate cases. It is not supposed to ultimately decide whether a case should be prosecuted. That is up to the attorney general and other federal prosecutors. Comey overstepped his authority and that is the real scandal.
Obama and all the aforementioned thought Hillary was a sure winner, and when that did not happen, they had to blame others. It surely could not be that Hillary ran a lousy campaign.


text:
package org.apache.beam.sdk.io.aws2.options;

import com.fasterxml.jackson.annotation.JsonTypeInfo;
import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.JsonGenerator;
import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.JsonParser;
import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.JsonToken;
import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.type.TypeReference;
import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.type.WritableTypeId;
import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.DeserializationContext;
import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.JsonDeserializer;
import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.JsonSerializer;
import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.Module;
import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.SerializerProvider;
import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.annotation.JsonDeserialize;
import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.annotation.JsonSerialize;
import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.jsontype.TypeDeserializer;
import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.jsontype.TypeSerializer;
import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.module.SimpleModule;
import com.google.auto.service.AutoService;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.net.URI;
import java.time.Duration;
import java.util.Map;
import org.apache.beam.sdk.annotations.Experimental;
import org.apache.beam.sdk.annotations.Experimental.Kind;
import org.apache.beam.vendor.guava.v26_0_jre.com.google.common.collect.ImmutableSet;
import software.amazon.awssdk.auth.credentials.AwsBasicCredentials;
import software.amazon.awssdk.auth.credentials.AwsCredentialsProvider;
import software.amazon.awssdk.auth.credentials.ContainerCredentialsProvider;
import software.amazon.awssdk.auth.credentials.DefaultCredentialsProvider;
import software.amazon.awssdk.auth.credentials.EnvironmentVariableCredentialsProvider;
import software.amazon.awssdk.auth.credentials.ProfileCredentialsProvider;
import software.amazon.awssdk.auth.credentials.StaticCredentialsProvider;
import software.amazon.awssdk.auth.credentials.SystemPropertyCredentialsProvider;
import software.amazon.awssdk.http.SdkHttpConfigurationOption;
import software.amazon.awssdk.http.apache.ProxyConfiguration;
import software.amazon.awssdk.utils.AttributeMap;

/**
 * A Jackson {@link Module} that registers a {@link JsonSerializer} and {@link JsonDeserializer} for
 * {@link AwsCredentialsProvider} and some subclasses. The serialized form is a JSON map.
 */
@Experimental(Kind.SOURCE_SINK)
@AutoService(Module.class)
public class AwsModule extends SimpleModule {
  private static final String ACCESS_KEY_ID = "accessKeyId";
  private static final String SECRET_ACCESS_KEY = "secretAccessKey";
  public static final String CONNECTION_ACQUIRE_TIMEOUT = "connectionAcquisitionTimeout";
  public static final String CONNECTION_MAX_IDLE_TIMEOUT = "connectionMaxIdleTime";
  public static final String CONNECTION_TIMEOUT = "connectionTimeout";
  public static final String CONNECTION_TIME_TO_LIVE = "connectionTimeToLive";
  public static final String MAX_CONNECTIONS = "maxConnections";
  public static final String READ_TIMEOUT = "socketTimeout";

  public AwsModule() {
    super("AwsModule");
    setMixInAnnotation(AwsCredentialsProvider.class, AwsCredentialsProviderMixin.class);
    setMixInAnnotation(ProxyConfiguration.class, ProxyConfigurationMixin.class);
    setMixInAnnotation(AttributeMap.class, AttributeMapMixin.class);
  }

  /** A mixin to add Jackson annotations to {@link AwsCredentialsProvider}. */
  @JsonDeserialize(using = AwsCredentialsProviderDeserializer.class)
  @JsonSerialize(using = AWSCredentialsProviderSerializer.class)
  @JsonTypeInfo(use = JsonTypeInfo.Id.NAME)
  private static class AwsCredentialsProviderMixin {}

  private static class AwsCredentialsProviderDeserializer
      extends JsonDeserializer<AwsCredentialsProvider> {

    @Override
    public AwsCredentialsProvider deserialize(JsonParser jsonParser, DeserializationContext context)
        throws IOException {
      return context.readValue(jsonParser, AwsCredentialsProvider.class);
    }

    @Override
    public AwsCredentialsProvider deserializeWithType(
        JsonParser jsonParser, DeserializationContext context, TypeDeserializer typeDeserializer)
        throws IOException {
      Map<String, String> asMap =
          jsonParser.readValueAs(new TypeReference<Map<String, String>>() {});

      String typeNameKey = typeDeserializer.getPropertyName();
      String typeName = asMap.get(typeNameKey);
      if (typeName == null) {
        throw new IOException(
            String.format("AWS credentials provider type name key '%s' not found", typeNameKey));
      }

      if (typeName.equals(StaticCredentialsProvider.class.getSimpleName())) {
        return StaticCredentialsProvider.create(
            AwsBasicCredentials.create(asMap.get(ACCESS_KEY_ID), asMap.get(SECRET_ACCESS_KEY)));
      } else if (typeName.equals(DefaultCredentialsProvider.class.getSimpleName())) {
        return DefaultCredentialsProvider.create();
      } else if (typeName.equals(EnvironmentVariableCredentialsProvider.class.getSimpleName())) {
        return EnvironmentVariableCredentialsProvider.create();
      } else if (typeName.equals(SystemPropertyCredentialsProvider.class.getSimpleName())) {
        return SystemPropertyCredentialsProvider.create();
      } else if (typeName.equals(ProfileCredentialsProvider.class.getSimpleName())) {
        return ProfileCredentialsProvider.create();
      } else if (typeName.equals(ContainerCredentialsProvider.class.getSimpleName())) {
        return ContainerCredentialsProvider.builder().build();
      } else {
        throw new IOException(
            String.format("AWS credential provider type '%s' is not supported", typeName));
      }
    }
  }

  private static class AWSCredentialsProviderSerializer
      extends JsonSerializer<AwsCredentialsProvider> {
    // These providers are singletons, so don't require any serialization, other than type.
    private static final ImmutableSet<Object> SINGLETON_CREDENTIAL_PROVIDERS =
        ImmutableSet.of(
            DefaultCredentialsProvider.class,
            EnvironmentVariableCredentialsProvider.class,
            SystemPropertyCredentialsProvider.class,
            ProfileCredentialsProvider.class,
            ContainerCredentialsProvider.class);

    @Override
    public void serialize(
        AwsCredentialsProvider credentialsProvider,
        JsonGenerator jsonGenerator,
        SerializerProvider serializer)
        throws IOException {
      serializer.defaultSerializeValue(credentialsProvider, jsonGenerator);
    }

    @Override
    public void serializeWithType(
        AwsCredentialsProvider credentialsProvider,
        JsonGenerator jsonGenerator,
        SerializerProvider serializer,
        TypeSerializer typeSerializer)
        throws IOException {
      WritableTypeId typeId =
          typeSerializer.writeTypePrefix(
              jsonGenerator, typeSerializer.typeId(credentialsProvider, JsonToken.START_OBJECT));
      if (credentialsProvider.getClass().equals(StaticCredentialsProvider.class)) {
        jsonGenerator.writeStringField(
            ACCESS_KEY_ID, credentialsProvider.resolveCredentials().accessKeyId());
        jsonGenerator.writeStringField(
            SECRET_ACCESS_KEY, credentialsProvider.resolveCredentials().secretAccessKey());
      } else if (!SINGLETON_CREDENTIAL_PROVIDERS.contains(credentialsProvider.getClass())) {
        throw new IllegalArgumentException(
            "Unsupported AWS credentials provider type " + credentialsProvider.getClass());
      }
      typeSerializer.writeTypeSuffix(jsonGenerator, typeId);
    }
  }

  /** A mixin to add Jackson annotations to {@link ProxyConfiguration}. */
  @JsonDeserialize(using = ProxyConfigurationDeserializer.class)
  @JsonSerialize(using = ProxyConfigurationSerializer.class)
  private static class ProxyConfigurationMixin {}

  private static class ProxyConfigurationDeserializer extends JsonDeserializer<ProxyConfiguration> {
    @Override
    public ProxyConfiguration deserialize(JsonParser jsonParser, DeserializationContext context)
        throws IOException {
      Map<String, String> asMap =
          jsonParser.readValueAs(new TypeReference<Map<String, String>>() {});
      return ProxyConfiguration.builder()
          .endpoint(URI.create(asMap.get("endpoint")))
          .username(asMap.get("username"))
          .password(asMap.get("password"))
          .useSystemPropertyValues(Boolean.valueOf(asMap.get("useSystemPropertyValues")))
          .build();
    }
  }

  private static class ProxyConfigurationSerializer extends JsonSerializer<ProxyConfiguration> {
    @Override
    public void serialize(
        ProxyConfiguration proxyConfiguration,
        JsonGenerator jsonGenerator,
        SerializerProvider serializer)
        throws IOException {
      // proxyConfiguration.endpoint() is private so we have to build it manually.
      final String endpoint =
          proxyConfiguration.scheme()
              + "://"
              + proxyConfiguration.host()
              + ":"
              + proxyConfiguration.port();
      jsonGenerator.writeStartObject();
      jsonGenerator.writeStringField("endpoint", endpoint);
      jsonGenerator.writeStringField("username", proxyConfiguration.username());
      jsonGenerator.writeStringField("password", proxyConfiguration.password());
      jsonGenerator.writeEndObject();
    }
  }

  /** A mixin to add Jackson annotations to {@link AttributeMap}. */
  @JsonSerialize(using = AttributeMapSerializer.class)
  @JsonDeserialize(using = AttributeMapDeserializer.class)
  private static class AttributeMapMixin {}

  private static class AttributeMapDeserializer extends JsonDeserializer<AttributeMap> {
    @Override
    public AttributeMap deserialize(JsonParser jsonParser, DeserializationContext context)
        throws IOException {
      Map<String, String> map = jsonParser.readValueAs(new TypeReference<Map<String, String>>() {});

      // Add new attributes below.
      final AttributeMap.Builder attributeMapBuilder = AttributeMap.builder();
      if (map.containsKey(CONNECTION_ACQUIRE_TIMEOUT)) {
        attributeMapBuilder.put(
            SdkHttpConfigurationOption.CONNECTION_ACQUIRE_TIMEOUT,
            Duration.parse(map.get(CONNECTION_ACQUIRE_TIMEOUT)));
      }
      if (map.containsKey(CONNECTION_MAX_IDLE_TIMEOUT)) {
        attributeMapBuilder.put(
            SdkHttpConfigurationOption.CONNECTION_MAX_IDLE_TIMEOUT,
            Duration.parse(map.get(CONNECTION_MAX_IDLE_TIMEOUT)));
      }
      if (map.containsKey(CONNECTION_TIMEOUT)) {
        attributeMapBuilder.put(
            SdkHttpConfigurationOption.CONNECTION_TIMEOUT,
            Duration.parse(map.get(CONNECTION_TIMEOUT)));
      }
      if (map.containsKey(CONNECTION_TIME_TO_LIVE)) {
        attributeMapBuilder.put(
            SdkHttpConfigurationOption.CONNECTION_TIME_TO_LIVE,
            Duration.parse(map.get(CONNECTION_TIME_TO_LIVE)));
      }
      if (map.containsKey(MAX_CONNECTIONS)) {
        attributeMapBuilder.put(
            SdkHttpConfigurationOption.MAX_CONNECTIONS, Integer.parseInt(map.get(MAX_CONNECTIONS)));
      }
      if (map.containsKey(READ_TIMEOUT)) {
        attributeMapBuilder.put(
            SdkHttpConfigurationOption.READ_TIMEOUT, Duration.parse(map.get(READ_TIMEOUT)));
      }
      return attributeMapBuilder.build();
    }
  }

  private static class AttributeMapSerializer extends JsonSerializer<AttributeMap> {

    @Override
    public void serialize(
        AttributeMap attributeMap, JsonGenerator jsonGenerator, SerializerProvider serializer)
        throws IOException {

      jsonGenerator.writeStartObject();
      if (attributeMap.containsKey(SdkHttpConfigurationOption.CONNECTION_ACQUIRE_TIMEOUT)) {
        jsonGenerator.writeStringField(
            CONNECTION_ACQUIRE_TIMEOUT,
            String.valueOf(
                attributeMap.get(SdkHttpConfigurationOption.CONNECTION_ACQUIRE_TIMEOUT)));
      }
      if (attributeMap.containsKey(SdkHttpConfigurationOption.CONNECTION_MAX_IDLE_TIMEOUT)) {
        jsonGenerator.writeStringField(
            CONNECTION_MAX_IDLE_TIMEOUT,
            String.valueOf(
                attributeMap.get(SdkHttpConfigurationOption.CONNECTION_MAX_IDLE_TIMEOUT)));
      }
      if (attributeMap.containsKey(SdkHttpConfigurationOption.CONNECTION_TIMEOUT)) {
        jsonGenerator.writeStringField(
            CONNECTION_TIMEOUT,
            String.valueOf(attributeMap.get(SdkHttpConfigurationOption.CONNECTION_TIMEOUT)));
      }
      if (attributeMap.containsKey(SdkHttpConfigurationOption.CONNECTION_TIME_TO_LIVE)) {
        jsonGenerator.writeStringField(
            CONNECTION_TIME_TO_LIVE,
            String.valueOf(attributeMap.get(SdkHttpConfigurationOption.CONNECTION_TIME_TO_LIVE)));
      }
      if (attributeMap.containsKey(SdkHttpConfigurationOption.MAX_CONNECTIONS)) {
        jsonGenerator.writeStringField(
            MAX_CONNECTIONS,
            String.valueOf(attributeMap.get(SdkHttpConfigurationOption.MAX_CONNECTIONS)));
      }
      if (attributeMap.containsKey(SdkHttpConfigurationOption.READ_TIMEOUT)) {
        jsonGenerator.writeStringField(
            READ_TIMEOUT,
            String.valueOf(attributeMap.get(SdkHttpConfigurationOption.READ_TIMEOUT)));
      }
      jsonGenerator.writeEndObject();
    }
  }
}


This fragrance was created by Donald Trump and perfumer Yann Vasnier. Released in 2012 this is a spicy woodsy scent that is very pleasing and always classy. It has top notes of coriander iced red currant and juniper. The middle notes are bamboo leaf geranium and frozen ginger. And the bottom notes are birch wood musk tonka bean and vetiver.


text:
module.exports = {
  'recent activity test' : function (browser) {
    browser
      .url('http://localhost:8080/feed')
      .waitForElementPresent('body', 1000)
      .verify.visible('.recent-activity-header')
      .end();
  }
};


text:
I Will Bring You Home
Songs of Prayer, Stories of Faith: Reflections on 40 Years of Liturgical Composition
by David Haas
Edited By: Jennifer Kerr Breedlove-Budziak
© 2018 GIA. Individual copyrights may apply.
I Will Bring You Home brings together in one place a tremendous collection of story, humor, and history. Within these pages we hear testimony from one of the most prolific and best-known composers in Roman Catholic worship today. David Haas has been putting music on the lips of the people of God for over four decades, and this book tells the story of how much of that music came to be. Here, in David's own words, we hear the stories behind over 130 of his best-loved songs—how he came to write them, what they have meant to him and to others, and what was in his heart at the time of their creation.
'We are called,' as David wrote, 'to love tenderly.' But sometimes, we need to sing it to feel it and feel it to live it. No one helps us along that path of love better than David Haas. His work invites us to sing, feel and live a life of love. No follower of the gospel could hope for more, and these stories help begin to tell us why.
Tim Shriver
Chairman of Special Olympics International, Washington DC
All in all, this book is many things: biographical, narrative of a musican's journey, a summary viewpoint of a generation in liturgical music creation, a glimpse inside creative processes, and a place to rest and reflect awhile as the voyage continutes (the song 'A Future with Hope' is the first entry). If it were only any one of these things, this would be a worthwhile book; that it is so much more makes it truly valuable.
Alan J. Hommerding, Pastoral Music Magazine, November 2018
David Haas talks about his latest project, I Will Bring You Home
Categories: Motivational

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


How much are the delivery/shipping charges?
Sanandgroup.com provides FREE SHIPPING THROUGH OUT INDIA on all items for order above Rs.250 ! On orders below Rs. 250, shipping will be charged at Rs. 50 per consignment. To know more about our shipping policy please email us at info@sanandgroup.com.
What is delivery timeline? When will my products be delivered after i have placed my order?
We only sell the stuff which is available with us in warehouse. We maintain 100% inventory. What you see on the site catalog is stocked with us. Usually your order will be delivered within 3-7 days of being dispatched from our warehouse depending on the location. We ship the order from our warehouse within 24-48 hours of placing the order and confirmation of payment mode selected.
What is minimum order value?
For minimum order value please check quantity which is mentioned on product pages.
We process all deliveries preferably through reputed courier agents. If there is no courier service available in your area, we will ship via Government Registered Bookpost or Speedpost. If you need your parcel to be shipped by any other logistic company of your choice please reach out to us at info@sanandgroup.com.


Evan Daigle is an actor and filmmaker living and working in New Orleans, Louisiana. He has been performing and creating for most of his life. He has been formally trained in stage acting at Loyola University New Orleans where he continues to study. In addition to acting for the stage, Evan has also appeared in several local productions for the screen.


text:
Q: Retrieve word from chapter I have a list of about 200,000 words each with about 10 numerical features. The 200,000 words are split into size 500 chunks by some header (eg, "Chapter x"). I want to write a script that does nothing except prompts the user to input a string and then finds that string among the 200,000 words (the word may be in multiple chunks, but in each chunk it will only be found once) and returns the names of the chapter under which the string falls sorted by the value of that word's numerical feature within each chapters. Eg, suppose that the word "twelve" appears in 3 chapters and I want to sort it by feature 1, which has the value 50, 30, 2 in chapters 10, 14, and 9 respectively. I want the o/p:
Chapter 10, 50
Chapter 14, 30
Chapter 9, 2

Before I even start writing a script, I want to make sure that this is a reasonable task for Python. In other words, will the execution time be in seconds, in minutes? If I instead had 500,000 words, would it still be feasible? I don't want to keep the user waiting.

A: Ballpark time:
Let's say all your words are 10 8-bit string characters (so, 80 bits each), and you need to compare your input string to all 200,000 of them.  That's about 16 million bit-comparison operations.  If your processor is running the code at 1 GHz, you will finish in 0.016 seconds.
Even if I've underestimated the number of operations this task will take by a factor of 100, it will only take about 1 second to execute.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Q: Using other packages inside my laravel package I created a package with the artisan workbench command.
Everything works fine, but I want to use another composer package inside my package.
What's the best/cleanest way to do that?

A: Basically you just have to require the package in your package composer.json and instantiate it in your service provider, injecting that package into your class:
class MyPackageServiceProvider extends ServiceProvider {

    public function register()
    {
        $this->app['mypackage'] = $this->app->share(function($app)
        {
            return new MyPackage(
                new ThirdPartyPackage()
            );
        });
    }

}

And use it in your class:
class MyPackage {

    public function __construct(ThirPartyPackage $package)
    {
        $this->package = $package
    }

    public function doWhatever()
    {
        $this->package->do();
    }
}

If the package has only static functions, there is not much that can be done, you'll probably have to use it directly in your classes:
Unirest::get("http://httpbin.org/get", null, null, "username", "password");

Something you can do is to create a class to dinamically use that package:
class MyRest implements MyClassInterface {

    public function get($url, $headers = array(), $parameters = NULL, $username = NULL, $password = NULL)
    {
        return Unirest::get($url, $parameters, $headers, $username, $password);
    }

}

And use your own class in your package. By not exposing that package directly you can use it dinamically and still be able to change the implementation later. You should also create an interface to for your public methods:
interface MyClassInterface {

   public function get($url, $headers = array(), $parameters = NULL, $username = NULL, $password = NULL);

}


text:
<manifest
    package="me.panavtec.drawableview"
    >

  <application/>
</manifest>


text:
News Local Greece, Israel, U.S., Cyprus to boost energy cooperation
Greece, Israel, U.S., Cyprus to boost energy cooperation
Greece, Israel, Cyprus and the United States agreed to enhance cooperation in energy, cyber and infrastructure security, Greek Energy Minister Kostis Hatzidakis said on Wednesday after ministers of the four countries met in Athens.
Natural gas discoveries in the Eastern Mediterranean in the past decade have rendered the region a viable alternative energy source for Europe, but also exposed long-simmering disputes between neighbours jostling for rights over resources.
Regional tripartite meetings between Israel and Cyprus, which have made discoveries, and Greece, keen to be a hub, have recently been extended to include the United States.
"Energy can be a bridge for broader political stability," U.S. Assistant Energy Secretary Frank Fannon told reporters.
Cypriot Energy Minister Yiorgos Lakkotrypis said he had received assurances from his Israeli, Greek and U.S. counterparts of full support over his country's right to search for natural resources.
Turkey, which has no diplomatic relations with Cyprus, disputes the EU-member state's right to explore for natural gas, staking a claim over offshore areas Cyprus claims as its own.
Ankara has dispatched two drill ships east and west of the island., a move Cyprus says is a violation of international law.
Previous articleCyprus Trail Runners to join search for Natalie
Next articleSale of Cyprus Popular Bank subsidiaries completed


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RECUSIVE
Writing new values on new tablets
Universal Wisdom
Many have embarked upon the journey of self-exploration and individual potential. Their discoveries have been passed down to us throughout recorded history. A few have left a written record of their observations. More frequently, their teachings have been communicated to us by their students and followers. Most of this wisdom has developed into canons of philosophy and spirituality, and much has been converted into elaborate systems of worship. Thus, original personal discoveries have become standardized codes of thought and behavior.
Curious explorers throughout history did not have codified systems of beliefs to guide them. Lao Tzu did not have the benefit of the institutional religion that was created centuries after the appearance of the Tao Te Ching. Siddhartha Guatama left behind a life of hedonism and indulgence, and eschewed the rituals of the traditions he experienced, to become the Buddha. Jesus separated from his religious heritage, telling us that his purpose was to fulfill the teachings, not to observe them. These pathfinders and their teachings were original. They didn't teach codified systems of behavior. They didn't tell others how to think. Their teachings were not written down and disseminated until much later — by others — long after their deaths.
Transmitted decades or centuries later, the secondhand teachings — already susceptible to interpretation and distortion — gradually developed into codified systems of beliefs reinforced by elaborate rituals. These codified systems then passed down to succeeding generations, to the point where the original teachings of individuals have become obscured by the dogma of institutions, and are even considered subordinate to the mission statements and bylaws of the religious corporations that purport to now have a monopoly on "truth."
Spiritual institutions now assert their supremacy as qualified intermediaries and seek to increase the dependence of their supporters by maximizing the contributions of the customer and minimizing the importance of the individual. They invent the ignorance of their followers by advertising that only their executive officers are qualified to interpret the personal teachings of individuals. Organized religion is a double-edged sword: necessary for spreading important messages to masses of people yet prone, by its very nature, to develop corporate ambitions of its own. Over time, the survival of the institution becomes paramount to the message.
The paths that the spiritual trailblazers walked were individual ones whereas the elaborate systems that successive generations of collective adherents have devised are designed to discourage individuality. The Buddha advised us to diligently seek our own salvation and to distrust anyone as a spiritual authority. Lao Tzu warned us not to seek intermediaries as sources of truth, for then we would become beggars seeking outside for a treasure that is already within. When the Pharisees asked him when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus responded, "The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, nor will people say 'Here it is,' or 'There it is,' because the kingdom of God is within you." Time after time, those who have embarked on the spiritual journey before us have urged us to seek our own answers to our own questions, and not rely on the beliefs of others.
If we examine the teachings, as they were originally presented, we will find that they are not so very difficult to comprehend. We may also find that the unique messages of each trailblazer are remarkably similar to the others; the teachings contain similar themes. We will not find specific instructions or detailed road maps because life is not that simplistic, but we will find general directions and a few signposts.
In their original form, the teachings of the great sages contain common basic themes; the advice that has been left for us from diverse sources is remarkably similar. It is only the layers of superficial differences developed by institutions that have separated this knowledge into opposing viewpoints. But common timeless principles do not oppose each other, and a conscientious review of accumulated wisdom will reveal insightful guidelines for effectively managing practical affairs while melding the spiritual and the mundane. The messages are open to discovery by anyone with a genuine curiosity.
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Recusive 8 months ago
Financial Rules of Thumb to Consider Breaking kiplinger.com/article/saving…
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Financial independence isn't really about money; it's about time. recusive.com/money-is-time
Money is Time recusive.com/money-is-time
Zen + Tao 9 months ago
Do not try to become anything. Do not make yourself into anything . . . — Ajahn Chah Retweeted by Recusive
Money is a Tool recusive.com/money-is-a-too… Money is a tool. It only have value if we use it. If we use it well, we will accomplish our goals. If we misuse it, we can cause a lot damage that will require a lot of time and effort to fix.
Recusive 10 months ago
Uncommon Sense recusive.com/uncommon-sense/ Sound money management is really just common sense. Unfortunately, there is so much noise distracting us that the basic knowledge and skills have become uncommon sense.
Jason Garner 10 months ago
We get moving so fast when we're lost in our heads. A simple step towards mindfulness is to just slow down, even a little. Pause. Feel your feet. Open your eyes. Become aware that there is life all around you, outside of your head, and that you're a part of it. Breathe ... Retweeted by Recusive
Recusive 1 year ago
City of Stars (Lyrical Video) twoontrail.com/music/city-of-…
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We stand on many shoulders: wp.me/p2PxnR-OQ
Tricycle Magazine 3 years ago
"One breath—the freedom to choose my response in that moment." tricy.cl/2tAlHwQ Retweeted by Recusive
Morning fog is lifting A symphony of birdsong The new day greets me
Control desires and emotions to open the gate of ultimate knowledge
Avoiding Ourselves: wp.me/p2PxnR-My
Cease striving today ... and accomplish more.
Speak less today ... and see what happens.
Whoever or whatever controls what we want has power over us. Desire less and be free.
What is the origin of creation? Look inside yourself and see ...
Appreciate things before you become separated from them.
Regards words as being so valuable that you would barely use them.
Spiral Droplet
Meditation Travelogue
Coach Deb Bennett
© 2014-2019 W.S. Nadolny Suffusion theme by Sayontan Sinha


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Energy Locals
Shoalhaven Solar Garden
REPOWER Shoalhaven is seeking to build a solar farm that builds on the national momentum for community-based solar power. This is a community initiative planned to supply 3 Megawatts of affordable, solar generated electricity to the Shoalhaven community on a not for profit basis. Up to 2,000 households and/or businesses could be provided with lower cost, renewable energy from the project. The site selected is, subject to the resolution of access issues, a former waste management site in North Nowra. The project aims to take a degraded, contaminated site of little intrinsic value, and turn it into a hub for renewable energy. Stay up to date with the project by signing up to the email list here.
November 2018
Media Inquiry?
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Helmut K. Wimmer has not yet painted pies in his skies, but he has cooked up other stellar fancies: magnets that keep the planets in place, great spinning arrows of gravitational force, a sun god in a chariot, stars suspended on celestial wires.
As art supervisor of the American Museum‐Hayden Planetarium (actually, he only supervises himself), Mr. Wimmer spends his working hours bent over a drawing board, composing new im ages. to illustrate the oldest stories of astronomy and the newest achievements of space exploration.
For thousands of New York schoolchildren, the world of Mr. Wimmer is in the heavens of the plane tarium. His paintings flash across that inner sky, il lustrating the paths of planets, the lines of radia tion, the look of a colonized moon.
After 16 years of watching his imagination flourish and his heavens delight, the mu seum finally honored him with a show of his space art that opened yesterday in the second‐floor corridor of the planetarium, at 81st Street and Central Park West.


I personalized these craft storage containers for the girls to keep up with their growing earring collections. I added a fun name decal to personalize their boxes. (Available here) In one of the compartments, we keep extra earring backs which comes in very handy!


First new years resolution:Update my blog more regularly haha. So far this year has been quite busy with sessions. Im in the process of updating this website as its about 10 years old! Time for some new professional photos (booked in February) and an overhaul of the entire website content really. Looking forward to finally getting some fetish clips made this year too. My next break will be in May and Ill be taking sessions till then.


Below is the list of CSS classes used by jqxPasswordInput.
jqx-widget - applied to the input.
jqx-widget-content - applied to the input. Adds the background.
jqx-rc-all - applied to the input. Adds rounded corners to the widget.
jqx-passwordinput-password-strength-inicator - applied to the strength indicator.
jqx-passwordinput-password-icon - applied to the password input's icon.
jqx-passwordinput-password-icon-rtl - applied to the password input's icon in right-to-left mode.
To apply your custom style to jqxPasswordInput, you need to set its 'theme' property(option) to point to your theme name string.
The sample below demonstrates how to set the 'Summer' theme to jqxPasswordInput.


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Bon Natural Life Limited Announces Corporate Reorganization and Removal of VIE Structure
November 9, 2021, 9:00 AM ·3 min read
XI'AN, China, Nov. 9, 2021 /PRNewswire/-- Bon Natural Life Limited (Nasdaq: BON) ("BON" or the "Company"), one of the leading bio-ingredient solutions providers in the natural, health and personal care industries, today announced it has removed its variable interest entity ("VIE") structure and has become the sole shareholder of its operating entities in China.
Effective November 1, 2021, the Company reorganized its corporate subsidiary structure in China. As a result of the restructuring, the Company no longer operates through a VIE structure and is now the indirect sole shareholder of Xi'an App-Chem. Xi'an App-Chem is now wholly-owned by the Company's two Wholly Foreign-Owned Enterprises ("WOFE") – Xi'an Cell and Molecule Information and Technology Co., Ltd. ("Xi'an CMIT") and Xi'an Youpincui Biotechnology Co., Ltd. ("Xi'an Youpincui"). Each of the WOFEs are in turn wholly-owned by Tea Essence, the Company's direct wholly-owned subsidiary in Hong Kong.
"We don't expect that the removal of the VIE structure will have any material impact on our operational results or financial performance." commented Richard (Yongwei) Hu, Chairman and CEO of Bon Natural Life Limited, "In the meantime, this reorganization demonstrates our dedication and commitment to corporate governance and will help strengthen the organization in advance of key upcoming milestones. We will continue to identify and implement best practices at both business and compliance levels to better position ourselves to benefit our shareholders."
About Bon Natural Life Limited
The Company focuses on the manufacturing of personal care ingredients, such as plant extracted fragrance compounds for perfume and fragrance manufacturers, natural health supplements such as powder drinks and bioactive food ingredient products mostly used as food additives and nutritional supplements by their customers. For additional information, please visit the Company's website at www.bnlus.com.
This press release contains forward-looking statements as defined by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include statements concerning plans, objectives, goals, strategies, future events or performance, and underlying assumptions and other statements that are other than statements of historical facts. When the Company uses words such as "may, "will, "intend," "should," "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "project," "estimate" or similar expressions that do not relate solely to historical matters, it is making forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties that may cause the actual results to differ materially from the Company's expectations discussed in the forward-looking statements. These statements are subject to uncertainties and risks including, but not limited to, the following: the Company's goals and strategies; the Company's future business development; product and service demand and acceptance; changes in technology; economic conditions; the growth of the natural, health and personal care market in China and the other international markets the Company plans to serve; reputation and brand; the impact of competition and pricing; government regulations; fluctuations in general economic and business conditions in China and the international markets the Company plans to serve and assumptions underlying or related to any of the foregoing and other risks contained in reports filed by the Company with the SEC. For these reasons, among others, investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance upon any forward-looking statements in this press release. Additional factors are discussed in the Company's filings with the SEC, which are available for review at www.sec.gov. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly revise these forward–looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that arise after the date hereof.
In China:
Maggie Zhang Impact IR
Sophie Zhang Impact IR
Email: sophie.zhang@irimpact.com
Email: maggie.zhang@irimpact.com
View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/bon-natural-life-limited-announces-corporate-reorganization-and-removal-of-vie-structure-301419163.html
SOURCE Bon Natural Life Limited
3 Energy Stocks You Can Buy and Hold for the Next Decade
Investors who buy and hold stocks for several years instead of trading in and out of positions on a regular basis tend to do much better. Three energy companies that look like good companies to buy and hold for several years right now are Cheniere Energy (NYSEMKT: LNG), NextEra Energy Partners (NYSE: NEP) and Enterprise Products Partners (NYSE: EPD). Here's why these three energy stocks are ideal candidates for a buy-and-hold portfolio.


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Judge delays execution of only woman on US death row
WASHINGTON – A federal judge said the Justice Department unlawfully rescheduled the execution of the only woman on federal death row, potentially setting up the Trump administration to schedule the execution after president-elect Joe Biden takes office.
U.S. District Court Judge Randolph Moss also vacated an order from the director of the Bureau of Prisons that had set Lisa Montgomery's execution date for Jan. 12. Montgomery had previously been scheduled to be put to death at the Federal Correctional Complex in Terre Haute, Indiana, this month, but Moss delayed the execution after her attorneys contracted coronavirus visiting their client and asked him to extend the amount of time to file a clemency petition.
Moss prohibited the Bureau of Prisons from carrying out Lisa Montgomery's execution before the end of the year and officials rescheduled her execution date for Jan. 12. But Moss ruled on Wednesday that the agency was also prohibited from rescheduling the date while a stay was in place.
"The Court, accordingly, concludes that the Director's order setting a new execution date while the Court's stay was in effect was 'not in accordance with law,'" Moss wrote.
A spokesperson for the Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Under the order, the Bureau of Prisons cannot reschedule Montgomery's execution until at least Jan. 1. Generally, under Justice Department guidelines, a death-row inmate must be notified at least 20 days before the execution. Because of the judge's order, if the Justice Department chooses to reschedule the date in January, it could mean that the execution would be scheduled after Biden's inauguration on Jan. 20.
A spokesperson for Biden has told The Associated Press the president-elect "opposes the death penalty now and in the future" and would work as president to end its use in office. But Biden's representatives have not said whether executions would be paused immediately once Biden takes office.
Montgomery was convicted of killing 23-year-old Bobbie Jo Stinnett in the northwest Missouri town of Skidmore in December 2004. She used a rope to strangle Stinnett, who was eight months pregnant, and then a kitchen knife to cut the baby girl from the womb, authorities said.
Prosecutors said Montgomery removed the baby from Stinnett's body, took the child with her, and attempted to pass the girl off as her own. Montgomery's legal team has argued that their client suffers from serious mental illnesses.
"Given the severity of Mrs. Montgomery's mental illness, the sexual and physical torture she endured throughout her life, and the connection between her trauma and the facts of her crime, we appeal to President Trump to grant her mercy, and commute her sentence to life imprisonment," one of Montgomery's lawyers, Sandra Babcock, said in a statement.
Two other federal inmates are scheduled to be executed in January but have tested positive for coronavirus and their attorneys are also seeking delays to their executions.
Follow Balsamo on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MikeBalsamo1.
Tags Death delays execution judge row woman
Texas coronavirus hospitalizations approach summer peak
After early success, S. Korea sleepwalks into virus crisis


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package org.apache.slide.projector.processor.query;

import java.util.HashMap;
import java.util.Map;

import org.apache.slide.projector.Context;
import org.apache.slide.projector.Processor;
import org.apache.slide.projector.Projector;
import org.apache.slide.projector.Result;
import org.apache.slide.projector.descriptor.ParameterDescriptor;
import org.apache.slide.projector.descriptor.ResultDescriptor;
import org.apache.slide.projector.descriptor.ResultEntryDescriptor;
import org.apache.slide.projector.descriptor.StateDescriptor;
import org.apache.slide.projector.descriptor.URIValueDescriptor;
import org.apache.slide.projector.i18n.DefaultMessage;
import org.apache.slide.projector.i18n.ParameterMessage;
import org.apache.slide.projector.value.ArrayValue;
import org.apache.slide.projector.value.MapValue;
import org.apache.slide.projector.value.URIValue;

/**
 * The Query class
 *
 */
public class PropertyQuery implements Processor {
    private final static String EMPTY = "empty";
    private final static String URI = "uri";
    private final static String ARRAY = "array";
    private final static String MAP = "map";

    private static ResultDescriptor resultDescriptor = new ResultDescriptor(
            new StateDescriptor[] {
                StateDescriptor.OK_DESCRIPTOR,
                new StateDescriptor(EMPTY, new DefaultMessage("propertyQuery/state/empty"))},
            new ResultEntryDescriptor[] {
                new ResultEntryDescriptor(ARRAY, new ParameterMessage("propertyQuery/array"), ArrayValue.CONTENT_TYPE, false),
                new ResultEntryDescriptor(MAP, new ParameterMessage("propertyQuery/map"), MapValue.CONTENT_TYPE, false)
            });

    private static ParameterDescriptor []parameterDescriptors = new ParameterDescriptor[] {
        new ParameterDescriptor(URI, new DefaultMessage("propertyQuery/uri"), new URIValueDescriptor())
    };

    public Result process(Map parameter, Context context) throws Exception {
    	ArrayValue properties = Projector.getRepository().getProperties((URIValue)parameter.get(URI), context.getCredentials());
        if ( properties.getArray().length == 0 ) return new Result(EMPTY);
        Result result= new Result(StateDescriptor.OK, ARRAY, properties);
        Map properyMap = new HashMap();
        for ( int i = 0; i < properties.getArray().length; i++ ) {
            properyMap.put(((MapValue)properties.getArray()[i]).getMap().get("name").toString(), ((MapValue)properties.getArray()[i]).getMap().get("value"));
        }
        result.addResultEntry(MAP, new MapValue(properyMap));
        return result;
    }

    public ParameterDescriptor[] getParameterDescriptors() {
        return parameterDescriptors;
    }

    public ResultDescriptor getResultDescriptor() {
        return resultDescriptor;
    }
}


text:
The US has picked the DNA centers that will sequence 1 million genomes
Antonio Regaladoarchive page
A US precision medicine initiative is giving out $28.6 million to three gene sequencing centers to begin decoding the genomes of 1 million American volunteers.
So, what's it for? The AllofUs study is "one of the country's most ambitious biomedical research efforts ever undertaken," according to the National Institutes of Health, which is running the project. It will track the health, diet, and environment of a million people of all races who have handed over their genetic data to the project. So far, more than 110,000 have signed up.
Who: Decoding the DNA of the American volunteers was a coveted job. The winners, announced today, are the Baylor College of Medicine in Texas, the Broad Institute in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and the University of Washington in Seattle.
Only one company, Color Genomics of Burlingame, California, was selected. It will join the Cambridge team and will help provide DNA interpretation and reports—something it does as part of its day-to-day gene testing business.
The sequencing centers picked weren't exactly outside-the box choices. Some of the same centers led the American part of the Human Genome Project 20 years ago.
Playing catch up: The US gene database will be big … but late to the party. A similar resource in the United Kingdom, the UK Biobank, got under way a decade ago and has been wowing researchers with data on 500,000 mostly middle-aged Britons.
by Antonio Regalado
These scientists used CRISPR to put an alligator gene into catfish
The resulting fish appear to be more resistant to disease and could improve commercial production—should they ever be approved.
Next up for CRISPR: Gene editing for the masses?
Last year, Verve Therapeutics started the first human trial of a CRISPR treatment that could benefit most people—a signal that gene editing may be ready to go mainstream.
CRISPR for high cholesterol: 10 Breakthrough Technologies 2023
New forms of the gene-editing tool could enable treatments for common diseases.
An ALS patient set a record for communicating via a brain implant: 62 words per minute
Brain interfaces could let paralyzed people speak at almost normal speeds.


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text:
" I am curious about a lot of things. I'm perplexed and engaged. "
Theresa Rebeck
Perplexed
" Theater can be elusive and poetic, but it doesn't thrive when it doesn't reach an audience. "
" Is the American theatre allowing itself to become irrelevant? The problem isn't that playwrights aren't being paid enough. It's that theatres all over America are looking towards New York to tell them what new plays to do. "
" I make my life with New York stage actors, and I love them. They're the best actors on planet earth. "
" Show business is a struggle. I certainly wish that I had just blasted on the scene and not had quite such a hard time. But there's a great sense of the relief in that you don't have to prove yourself anymore. "
" I have two sensational kids who I have raised with my husband, hoping and working every day to help them become healthy, happy, and decent human beings. "
" Our distorted media culture sees men as subjects and women as objects; in films, Woody Allen gets older and older and still dates 20-year-old babes; movies about women are called 'chick flicks,' and men make fun of them. "
" Some of my family goes back a long way in Denver. "
" Honestly, the thing that I have found to be most useful over a long career, or maintaining a long career, is taking back the power at some point and self-producing. "
" I'm actually interested in poor behavior. I'm interested in what drives people to poor behavior. "
" Some people think big audiences are crass and that, say, a comedy that appeals to a wide audience is pandering. Other people would argue that you could say that about Moliere. "
" We have this powerful ideological basis to the country that I don't think any other country in the world quite can brag about. It's a very complicated nation, and it's very fertile. "
" It's one of the central problems of American culture: telling you if you're younger, more beautiful, more famous, whatever, that then you'll be happy. "
" The myth that theater isn't for everybody is total nonsense. In the 18th and 19th centuries, everybody in America used to go to the theater all the time. The shows they went to see were big, crazy melodramas that had careening storylines and houses burning down and pretty girls in danger and comedy and death and destruction. "
" It's sort of a mystery where ideas come from. "
" So in case there was any doubt, I am here to report that having a play on Broadway does not suck. "
" I was born and raised in the Midwest, where people were taught that decency and integrity and community were all important values. We were democrats with a little 'd.' "
" Moliere and Arthur Miller affected me at a very young age. In adulthood, I became overwhelmed by Chekhov. Those are my big theatrical influences. "
" I like to write. Prolific is part of who I am. "
" Why is being a female having an agenda any more than being a misogynist - which David Mamet most certainly is? "
" People kept saying, 'You've made it!' and I was like, 'What have I been doing all this time?' I've always felt successful. "
" That stupid postmodern emphasis on image over content has slammed us right into a dramaturgy that willfully leaves the audience behind and then resents the fact that they don't 'get it.' "
" Because I'm an American woman, and I write straight plays, it's always been sort of assumed I would never be done on Broadway. But that was never the goal. "
" Heath Ledger's recent death, like that of River Phoenix, was handled with great care by the press. Anna Nicole Smith's not so much. "
" There are times when I wonder how I ever thought that I could dramatize the death of a national discussion as a family comedy. "
" Everyone pays lip service to this whole idea of doing more new plays, and nobody ever does it. "
" I had such a good experience doing 'The Understudy' with the Roundabout, and people were really enthusiastic about the work. "
" The stage gives you more control over your own work; in television, there's a distressing amount of communal writing. Unless it's your show, you have no control over that. You're at the mercy of whoever's running the show. "
" Why on earth is the 'New Yorker' publishing puff pieces about pretty girls who go to parties? Does the 'New Yorker' ever run photos of cute boys just because they're cute and they come from money and they go to lots of parties? "
" I actually think we should be trying to be rigorous in our thinking about television and the way it enters our lives and shapes the way so many people think. "
" I have spent my whole life working in the theater, and most of the people I know have done the same. And we are pretty interesting people. "


text:
Home › Bloodsuckers from Outer Space (Blu-ray/DVD)
Bloodsuckers from Outer Space (Blu-ray/DVD)
A mysterious and invisible alien presence has landed in rural Texas and has started turning the nearby townspeople into white-faced, bloodthirsty killers. As the local authorities begin to investigate the strange and violent goings on, a photographer and his girlfriend find themselves trapped in the midst of an unexpected rural bloodbath, which seeks to turn them into another pair of bloodsuckers from outer space...
A low budget, low rent horror comedy from writer/director Glen Coburn, BLOOD SUCKERS FROM OUTER SPACE is a gory and silly slice of home made regional genre filmmaking. Vinegar Syndrome presents the Blu-ray debut of this straight-to-video classic, freshly restored from its 16mm negative and filled with a whole host of newly created special features.
Directed by: Glen Coburn
Starring: Thom Meyers, Laura Ellis, Robert Bradeen, Big John Brigham, Glen Coburn, Franny Coppenbarger
1984 / 81 minutes / Color / 1.85:1 OAR
Region free Blu-ray/DVD combo
Newly scanned and restored in 2k from 16mm negative elements
Commentary Track with writer/director Glen Coburn, actor Thom Meyers and cinematographer Chad D. Smith
"34 Years Later" - 50 minute 'making-of' documentary
"Back To Bloodsucker Town" - 15 minute locations featurette
"Bloody Arm Rip 101" - special effects featurette
Stills Gallery: featuring over 100 images from the director's personal collection!
Reversible cover artwork
English SDH subtitles


text:
Stefano Silvestri
Scientific advisor, AffarInternazionali Editorial director
Italy's military policy
CSDP
Stefano Silvestri has been President of the International Affairs Institute from 2001 to 2013. He has been a lead writer for Il Sole 24 Ore since 1985. Between January 1995 and May 1996 he served as Under Secretary of State for Defence, having been an advisor to the Under Secretary of Foreign Affairs, for European matters, in 1975, and a consultant to the Prime Minister's Office under various Governments. He continues to act as a consultant to both for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministries of Defence and Industry. As a professional journalist, he has been a special correspondent and columnist for Globo (1982), member of the Policy Committee of Europeo (1979), and has contributed articles on foreign and defence policy to numerous national daily papers. He was Professor for Mediterranean Security Issues at the Bologna Centre of Johns Hopkins University (1972-1976), and has worked at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London (1971-1972). He is currently a member of administrative council of the Italian Industries Federation for Aerospace, Defence and Security (AIAD), and of the Trilateral Commission.
-Year201220132014201520162017201820192020
Trenta anni dopo: riflessioni sul regime MTCR
Stefano Silvestri, Michele Nones
in Affari esteri, a. 50, n. 184 (primavera 2018), p. 399-405
In: Other papers/articles
Quale futuro per l'Mtcr?
Michele Nones, Stefano Silvestri
in Airpress, n. 82 (ottobre 2017), p. 4-5
Confusion in the Gulf
in About Energy, 14 June 2017
Se il Califfato soffre, le azioni "fai da te" crescono?
in Formiche, n. 125 (maggio 2017), p. 6-7
Il dilemma Russia
in Energia, a. 38., n. 1 (marzo 2017), p. 10-13
La simpatia non è una strategia: note sul rapporto Italia-Russia
in Limes, n. 9/2016 (ottobre 2016), p. 187-189
La politica estera dell'Italia. Cinquant'anni dell'Istituto Affari Internazionali
Cesare Merlini,
Bologna, il Mulino, 30 June 2016, 292 p.
In: Books
Still in Need of a Strategy
In: The International Spectator
in Sicher. Und morgen? Sicherheitspolitische Jahresvorschau 2015, Wien, Bundesministerium für Landesverteidigung, Dezember 2015, p. 285-287
Building on the Past, Facing the Future
Gianni Bonvicini, Stefano Silvestri,
Roma, IAI, November 2015, 36 p.
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From Africa To The World – This Entrepreneur Has Built A Successful Global Business Out Of Pushing People & Getting Away With It
By Nzekwe Henry May 23, 2019
Vusi Thembekwayo is a successful entrepreneur, businessman, venture capitalist, and motivational speaker who suffered tragedies and numerous setbacks to become one of the youngest most influential persons in Africa. He hauled himself from lack to lustre when it seemed he was headed for a life of privations.
Vusi Thembekwayo is a recurring name in business circles throughout South Africa and beyond. The successful businessman cum motivational speaker has built a solid reputation as an entrepreneur, a venture capitalist, and a renowned motivational speaker who has amassed clout that is probably as big as it gets for such persons.
Actually, it is his pedigree in public speaking that has seen him attain some kind of celebrity status, and he certainly earned it. Just about anyone can talk, but when it comes to the business of motivating people with spoken words and helping them push through self-imposed limits and barriers, there aren't very many persons on the continent who are on par with the South African.
Vusi Thembekwayo
Source: iol.co.za
Some call Vusi "The Rockstar of Public Speaking" and he is certainly on top of his game, having edified audiences in up to four different continents in various tours that see him speak to more than 350,000 people every year.
With a World Bank invite under his belt making him the only African speaker that has spoken by invitation at the World Bank, and having been described by the late Nelson Mandela as "a true reflection of the freedom for which we fought," Vusi is certainly getting a lot of things right.
Also Read:You Can Own Real Estate In The United States From As Low As USD 100 – How? Ask These Founders
Yes. I know what you're thinking by now. You feel like he's kind of a big deal now but it couldn't have been easy. And you're probably right. At 34 years old, the South African has certainly become one of the continent's youngest stars and one of its brightest sparks. But he had to put in the work; sometimes, it took more work than he would have thought was possible for any one person to put in. More often than not, that's just the price to pay for success.
Vusi's work ethic and determination to be twice as good has been evident since his childhood days, his prodigious talents and academic prowess saw him blitz through middle school having bagged several double promotions.
But things unravelled rather quickly as soon as high school came around. First, Vusi was pushed two grades down because he couldn't communicate in Afrikaans – it was something he tried to kick against but this was one battle he was never going to win anyway. So, he took the advice of his folks which sounded something like; "What's the rush? What's a couple of years"
And then it got worse. Tragedy struck when Vusi watched his father die after some rampaging gunmen ambushed them on their way to somewhere. Vusi was only 13 at the time, and besides the trauma of the painful experience, the family soon found itself struggling to survive.
Source: whacked.co.za
Vusi's mother essentially became the backbone of the family; it was a responsibility that was shoved right into her hands without a moment's notice. Before the tragic ordeal, she used to do a few odd jobs part-time but now that the baton had landed in her hands, she had to work multiple jobs round the clock to provide for Vusi and his sister.
The South African was very fond of his father before his demise but as things stand, it would appear that it is the efforts of his mother after the tragedy that has left indelible marks in his heart. She toiled to have the children provided for and she didn't flinch on her resolve to see them through school regardless of the rather steep costs.
At some point, the family had to vacate the house they had occupied for several years. This had something to do with a bank loan that Vusi's father had taken to run a business that failed to ultimately deliver the goods. The house had been put up as collateral in the application for the loan and due to failure to pay up, the bank had come to collect.
The family had to move in with Vusi's grandfather who lived miles away from basically everywhere. The old man lived in a part of town that didn't have electricity and other amenities, and this was to be their new home. The new arrangement meant that getting to school on time involved waking up in the wee hours of the morning, catching multiple buses and taxis, and still running late by some minutes on a good day.
Somehow, Vusi managed to take the whole ordeal in his stride and keep his head up. He continued to ace it in exams and many other students often came to him for academic advice. Hence, it was in high school that he had his first brush with some sort of coaching and motivational speaking, though he wasn't even sure it was a 'thing' at the time.
Source: wearecomingforeverything.co.za
The South African managed to complete his high school studies but following that up with college studies ultimately proved a stretch. He did get into college but freshman year was just about as far as he could go before financial troubles caught up with him. His mother had been hauling the family through the hard times that trailed his father's death but she was now running out of steam.
So, Vusi was forced to drop out and find a job through which he could also contribute to the family's finances. But even that proved a reached. After six weeks of walking the length of malls in the East Rand and handing out his CV door-to-door and store-to-store with any breakthrough, Vusi was at his wit's end. He was on the verge of throwing in the towel and maybe getting caught up in 'street life,' but there was just this one last card to play.
While in high school, Vusi was a known public speaker amongst his peers and while he was at it, he had managed to build some international networks – those sort of leads you just stumble upon and reserve for a "rainy day." It didn't seem like much at the time but he decided to spray and pray anyway.
Using his cellphone, he began to enlist learners in South Africa who were looking to take up jobs in places like the UK and Australia. To his surprise, there were quite a number of people who were on the lookout for such a platform. The first few clients came and then the number grew.
It was this initiative that birthed his first company – GPSA (Global Professionals South Africa) – a global recruitment agency that he ran from his township bedroom. By the time he turned 20, he ranked first in Africa for public speaking and third in the world.
Vusi then sold a portion of his business to a Johannesburg-based digital agency in an effort to digitise his company. But the move ultimately backfired. It proved a premature move and having made a poor choice of partners, Vusi was soon out of business and money; another setback. But Vusi didn't let it drown him. And when he got another shot, he made good aim.
At the age of 22, Vusi received a life-changing opportunity – he was offered a position at a corporate finance company. Here, he refined his skills in corporate finance and became one of the go-to leverage finance guys in the team.
He utilised his skills in finance and public speaking to telling effect and after one particularly captivating speaking engagement, he walked away from the event with a lucrative job offer. Vusi went on to become an executive at Metro Cash and Carry – one of the largest consumer goods businesses in Africa – where he started, grew and managed a multimillion-dollar portfolio worth USD 40 Mn.
At 25, he ran a USD 30 Mn division in a USD 1.1 Bn multi-national. Today, he is one of the youngest directors of a listed company and the CEO of a boutique investment and advisory firm that helps medium, large and listed businesses through necessary, often initially painful, and always lucrative new directions. He also serves on the board of several companies, seemingly thriving in a world that is built on the edge of chaos.
Source: entrepreneurmag.co.za
On the international scene, the 32-year-old has built an attractive and lucrative brand over a 16-year speaking career that has seen him switch things up from public speaking to delivering keynote business addresses on a global level. He has built an impressive following and a huge profile globally, speaking to no less 350,000 people every year.
It's a career that has seen him tour cities like New York, London, Paris, Lagos, Jersey, Guernsey, Rio de Janeiro, Dar es Salaam, São Paulo, Buenos Aires, Colombo, Nairobi, Kampala, San Francisco and some 21 other destinations.
And when he's not jet-setting or globetrotting, he's probably burning some rubber on the asphalt of race tracks being as much a lover of racing and fast cars as a groomer of fast-rising ventures and successful businesses. For Vusi, it's all about pushing beyond boundaries, challenging the status quo, and inspiring a generation of Africans to ditch the old ways and set new standards.
Featured Image Courtesy: saentrepreneurs.co.za
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The courts are served with information and services to provide for the early release of offenders prior to sentencing either with or without supervision. Pre-trial Release provides an alternative to the traditional bail bond system. Arrestees are assessed for their public safety and flight risk pending disposition of their criminal case. Recommendations are made to the court regarding appropriateness for release from jail that may include release on own recognizance (ROR), release with supervision (RWS), release with bail (RWB), etc., or no release. If release is ordered with supervision, the defendant's whereabouts and activities are monitored to ensure that all court appearances and obligations are met.


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SYNONYM

#### According to
Index Fungorum

#### Published in
null

#### Original name
Mycosphaerella epithylli D. Gupta, Padhi & Chowdhry

### Remarks
null


Robert Thomas walks through the shiny glass doors of DiBartolo's Costumes Inc, the fifteenth company he will have worked for in the last two years. All of these companies have become more symbols than places now to him, representations of one all-encompassing corporation that seems to run the whole kit and caboodle. This particular place is just a shadow on a wall. Like Plato, he thinks. Or maybe it is more like Heraclites, a river in constant change. Either way, it's bigger than he is. No matter where he has gone in his ingenious guise as a temp, it has been the same, drudging away days in the bowels of office buildings. He has braved many environments in his time. Once, he was even placed in a dark, damp basement swarming with mice and roaches. He arrived each day at 9:00 on the dot, taking his customary seat at a foldout table. As the hours passed, he shooed mice and squashed bugs. Weeks passed, then two months. Toward the end, he stopped shooing and squashing. Instead, he left little pieces of crumbs for both. He came to understand the true meaning of community. Then his term was up, as it always happens, just as he was becoming comfortable with village life.
The receptionist who greets him is pretty and perky. Maybe that's her superpower, to exhibit perk at 8:30 in the morning, leap boredom in a single bound. Beside her desk is a tall, leafy plant, the kind that you can't ever figure out whether it's real or not. Other workers come in. They already work here, so they move right past her without a word to wide-open-spaces offices or boxy compact cubicles. Not even the men look at her. As far as they are concerned, she may as well be the plant. After telling her who he is, she picks up a brightly colored phone to tell the other end that he's arrived—yes, him, the unquestioned hero of the story. She then tells him to take a seat. As Robert waits, a security guard comes in, a big hulking man with linebacker shoulders and arms like clubs.
The conversation goes on like this: the receptionist describing her weekend with her fiancé; the security guard telling her about his desire to buy a house; the whole while people in business formal streaming in, saying nothing to either. Finally, the boss calls for him. He's sent up a glistening chrome stairway to the left of the receptionist. As he walks up, he notices soft musical stylings of an unknown origin trickling down from above. He tries to separate the different sounds he hears. There's a horn-like instrument. Also something that resembles wind chimes. He wasn't even aware that wind chimes could be used as a musical instrument. When he gets to the top of the stairs, a squat little woman with stringy brown hair is waiting for him. Her dress is some strange color that mixes aqua and teal. Unlike the younger girls, he has seen at the offices, her shoes are sensible and flat. That's probably why she is the boss—a tough go-getter hell-bent on being taken seriously.
"This way," she says, without a bit of banter.
Robert follows her through gray halls, passing cubicles and closed doors. The further she takes him into this place's belly, the colder it gets. Air conditioning pumps constant cycles of processed air even though summer is still two months away. Such arctic paradises placate computers and copiers, all the bold machinery of business. Robert is prepared, though. He's brought a thick woolly sweater with him. The closer to 5:00 it gets, however, the more the sweater's resistance to cold weakens, until it disappears altogether like Cinderella's glass slippers.
He has come to the room where he'll spend the day. It's large and orange, resembling a public school lunchroom. He wonders what this room's purpose was before he arrived. Boxes upon boxes are stacked around a tiny desk. Beneath the desk is a plastic, uncomfortable-looking chair much too small for most fully-grown humans. There's a computer snuggled in the crevice between the boxes. At least there's a window across from the desk where he'll be working.
Numerical order, Robert thinks. My specialty. He wants desperately to tell her how he's broken records, how no one else can come close to his prowess at numerical order. She is already walking away before he gets the chance. He sits in the hard chair, cracks his knuckles, then goes to work. First, he creates an Excel file. The blue screen of the computer is like a sky, he thinks. Not such a wild thought. After all, they create skies all the time in movies by the clever manipulations of machines like this. Yes, the rectangular boxes in the Excel file are clouds. The numbers he will type into them will be rain. He starts with the box closest to him.
The first two boxes go quickly, leaving only 98 more. Before moving onto the next box, Robert remembers the window across from him. It looks out onto Chestnut Street and one of the tallest buildings in the city, Liberty Place. For a moment, he lets himself imagine climbing its glistening blue glass with sucker fingers then buzzing around its steeple like a giant fly. Down below, an ambulance maneuvers through traffic. If only he was designed for flight and speed, then he could propel rocket-like through the clouds to help the person in the ambulance before they needed an ambulance. What a pity. Too much time given to daydreaming, he thinks. Back to work.
After a few hours, he has done 20 boxes, and it's time for lunch. In the office universe, lunch is always open for debate. Some take it at 1:00, others at 2:00. Some even take it at 10:00 and don't come back until 2:00. It depends on where you fall in the pecking order, whether you're a raptor tearing the throat from some unfortunate rodent or a little gray pigeon pecking breadcrumbs from some geezer's hand. Robert is a traditionalist, an old-fashioned sort. Lunch was at 12:00 for Grandpappy Thomas, and he'll be damned if it's not going to be at 12:00 for him, too. And when he comes back, it will be 1:00—right on the dot. No questions asked. He takes one last look at the 80 boxes he has remaining. He's definitely behind, but it's lunchtime—out of his hands now.
A bag lunch hangs from his fist as he dips and dodges fellow pedestrians. There are days he thinks he might take lunch at a restaurant. Then he remembers that each of his paychecks is a holy relic kept in the tabernacle of his bank account, only to be released for specific occasions during any given month: grocery shopping and rent on the 1st, electric, gas, and telephone on the 5th, credit card on the 10th, and insurance on the 15th. No matter. The day is mild, spring having breathed a breath of cherry blossoms into the exhaust-clogged air. People are out walking sun-slick sidewalks, talking and laughing as though the day has been made pleasant for their benefit. He decides to eat at Rittenhouse Park. He's ecstatic at this prospect and is proud of himself for thinking of it. When he gets there, he finds that his idea isn't so original after all because every bench is taken. Robert can't help but brood over this. This is how it is for him, it seems, a great idea always to be squashed by fellow workers with similar ideas. He makes a place in the damp grass beneath the bloated white blossoms of a stubby dogwood.
He opens the brown bag and takes from it: one ham and cheese sandwich (no mayonnaise), one apple (starting to brown, but still good), one diet Coke (have to watch that waistline), and one sandwich bag filled with Oreos (after all, he's got to live a little). He's tempted to start with the Oreos, but that wouldn't be prudent. After all, would Grandpappy Thomas have started with Oreos? No way, Jose. He spent 40 years on the banks of the Delaware loading and unloading freight from ships. He would've eaten the sandwich then the apple. Hell, good 'ole pappy probably wouldn't even have a sandwich bag filled with cookies. Instead, he would've had a thermos of coffee for dessert, a squirt of whiskey to sweeten it. When finished with the sandwich, Robert moves on to the apple. Apples have always been a crapshoot for him. If they're good, they're really good. Usually, they're long past their prime, making it so he has to bite them in spots, just to avoid the sour brown parts. He's been sipping the Coke occasionally through the entire lunch, and now the can is close to empty. This depresses him. It's not hot out, but it is warm, and he's enjoyed sipping from that frosty can immensely. If only one of those smarty scientists who can send a man to the moon or clone a sheep would invent a can of Coke that would last as long as you need it to last. If he were a scientist, that's exactly what he'd be working on. Screw fiber optics. It's the bottomless cans of Coke that is the wave of the future.
He finally gets to his reward: that bag of chocolaty Oreos. The intake of sugar gives him a shot in the arm. His good mood returns. Now everyone is beautiful to him. Well, except for the homeless guy sitting on the edge of the fountain, soaking his feet in its gritty water. Other than him, it seems his eyes can't get enough beauty. A gurgling pigeon horde surrounds one woman as she tosses them pieces of a sandwich. Her sheer legs are crossed as she dangles one pump from the toes of a stockinged foot. Beside her is a man. He is tall and boyish—painfully handsome—probably only a few years out of college. Both are lean and glowing. Robert envies the man's height. If only he had such height, the world would have been his oyster long ago. He, too, would be sitting in a park with a woman with such legs. Robert checks his watch. It's 12:45, which really means 12:55. The watch has been ten minutes off for two years, and he has no conceivable idea how to fix it, so he simply calculates his life ten minutes slow.
Back at the office, five minutes later than he had intended, he returns to the boxes. Most have great difficulty gearing up for work after lunch. The body gets used to rest and abandoning mindless tasks. Robert, however, doesn't suffer from the same frailties other humans do. Well, he suffers from most of them, just not this particular one. Put him in the ring with Dr. Octopus and he'll be torn into lean strips. Put him into a room with files in a state of total chaos and he turns into The Flash.
"How demanding the world is of us chosen few," he sighs as he lifts box 21 onto the table. Beside him are several stacks containing files from boxes 1 through 20. Now it dawns on him that he has completely forgotten to enter them into Excel. Drats! Foiled again by his feeble memory, the kryptonite of his existence. Bills have gone unpaid, birthdays uncelebrated, phone calls uncalled. Now he must go back and enter the completed files. This will undoubtedly test his resolve and quite possibly bring his reputation to the brink of extinction. It's his spotless record in temping achievement that keeps employment rolling in. Once he fails to meet a deadline or screws up, the work will slow. Some new go-getter will receive top billing. The computer's dull glow beckons, and he wonders if it's hooked to the Internet. He clicks the mouse's pointer on Explorer, but it doesn't connect. No, this computer is all business. Its sole purpose is to receive, not to give. This is a blessing of the disguised variety. He must get back to work.
File after file enters then leaves his hand into order with such speed and precision that he hardly realizes his body is in motion. There are times he lets himself admire his hands. He can't do this too long because he must pay close attention to each file's specific number. If he were to miss even one number, the whole day's work would be destroyed because he'd have to go back to every stack to see where his ordering broke down. Still, if only his power transferred over to a different body part, like his legs. What if he could run as fast as he filed? Not a single bullet could catch him. Days would belong to the job, but his nights would be spent chasing down potential rapists, murderers, and terrorists.
Boxes 21 through 39 are now under his belt, and it's only 3:00. This time, he remembers to enter them into Excel as he goes. His pace has definitely sped up. Seeing how well he is doing, he gives himself a little break. He stands to stretch out his tight back and leg muscles. Before sitting back down, he notices a closet on the other side of the room. He eyes it. The unknown of it, its what-can-be-in-there-ness quality tugs at him. Curiosity is his other kryptonite. From Kindergarten through college, it kept him from getting the best grades because while he should have been listening to what was to be on tests, he was staring out windows, looking through open doors, or strolling through his mind. Not this time. He will get this job done by 5:00. Nothing is going to stop him. Sure, they will probably let him come in and finish tomorrow if need be. That's not what he's known for, though. His reputation is at stake. Some can invent light bulbs. Others can run miles in under four minutes. But only he, Robert Thomas, can finish filing projects in record time. He again sits, but the closet's presence taps incessantly at his skull. The effects of that unknown place are already apparent. Sloth has sapped his speed. He is powerless against its ravages. He must know. He promises himself that he won't spend a single moment more than he needs to. He'll find out what's in there then get right back to work.
The door creaks when he opens it. He looks around to see if anyone heard. No one has, so he goes in. The closet is enormous, and it's filled with rows and rows of clothes on hangers inside dry cleaning bags. Now he knows. Good. That's the end of it. That tap continues, though. He can only make out hints of the clothing, so he walks down the rows, lifting the plastic: chambermaid outfit, alien mask and gown, and even a gorilla suit. His curiosity quenched, he can finally put the closet behind him. On his way out, he sees hints of red fabric glinting in the fluorescent light. He lifts the plastic to see the blue spandex shirt and pants. More importantly, he sees the cape. A cape! There's the feeling of falling in his stomach. The little voice of his conscience whispers that he could be caught, but he ignores it. He takes the cape from its hanger and holds it before him. It flutters slightly from an air conditioning vent beneath his feet. He throws it over his back then ties it around his neck. When fastened securely, he lets it hang, feeling its slight weight pull at his shoulders. When he walks, it rubs at the back of his legs, making a faint whooshing sound. In fact, it's pretty awkward to walk with. This doesn't surprise him. After all, capes aren't worn for taking long walks in the park. No, capes are worn for action, for speed, for the sheer velocity of saving lives. He peeks from the closet to see if anyone has come into the room. All clear.
From the doorway, he places one foot behind the other as he reaches his arms out in front of him. With a deep concentrated breath, he leaps. Then he's running and shushing around the room. The cape flaps at his back as he maneuvers through thunderheads. Lightning bursts from all sides. No concern. Only those without superpowers have to worry about such things. With his precise telescopic vision, he sees a car chase spiraling through the streets. He plummets down. The chased car trips the curb, heading straight for a pack of orphans and nuns, here, no doubt, to see the Liberty Bell or Independence Hall. The car gets closer and closer, but just as its headlights are to plow said unfortunate orphans and nuns, he lands in front of them, taking the hammering blow. Car is totaled. Villain is bruised but alive. And the cops nab him with a smile and salute to Robert. All cheer as he shoots up over the buildings to disappear into the clouds. An angry voice calls from the crowd. Must be the voice of the villain, of course, telling him that revenge is imminent. It's to be expected. Yet, this voice mentions nothing of revenge.
"It's a quarter to five," it says.
This is when Robert stops and sees all the faces staring at him. Many are suppressing laughter. Others gape in awe. The angry face comes into focus. It's Boss Lady.
He doesn't know what to say. Sweat drools down his stomach and back, seeping through his white dress shirt. He's out of breath. A throbbing sun of fear pulsates in his chest. Boss Lady is over by the table now, examining his effort.
"That's what you get when you hire a temp," a man says with a grin.
Boss Lady glares and his smile goes away.
Of course, he will not officially be fired by the agency. They simply will be unable to find him work. If he calls, they'll swear to be doing all they can to drum something up for him, that he just needs to be patient. He will apply to other agencies and jobs. But this will follow him. Everything ultimately does.
Boss Lady's eyes are filled with remorseless contempt. Robert stands frozen in the high beams of her gaze. Then his body makes a decision. It runs. From the large orange room, through the halls, down the chrome stairs, through the lobby where the pretty receptionist says "hi" even as he blows by her at what seems to him is warp speed. His momentous velocity stops when he has to wait for an elevator going down. He doesn't even consider the stairs. Traversing 15 flights just doesn't seem plausible. As he waits, he keeps turning his head to see the round-up posse headed by Boss Lady. Yet no one is coming. The elevator finally arrives, and he gets on quickly, as though still being chased. He clutches the cape's smooth fabric to his chest.
Making his way through the main lobby, he imagines burly security guards lined up, arms folded, stony eyes chiseled into their no-nonsense faces. He swarms them with blurry kicks and punches, dropping them all in one mad, single attack. He gets to the building's exit without a problem, then steps through the swivel doors onto the busy street. A few people look up briefly. Most don't look at all. He looks behind him to see if anyone is chasing him, then into the clotted, honking traffic for police. All clear on each front. Triumphant, he aims his arms at the blue sky and runs up Chestnut, the cape flapping mightily at his back.