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Tracing Rodoreda's Motifs in "Carnival" [Two Month Review]
Coming up on this Thursday's Two Month Review podcast Brian and I talk about the next seven stories in Selected Stories by Mercè Rodoreda (with special guest Mark Haber!): "Afternoon at the Cinema," "Ice Cream," "Carnival," "Engaged," "In a Whisper," "Departure," and "Friday, June 8." On Thursday's podcast, we'll get into more specifics about some of these stories, but in advance, you can get some initial insights below, especially about "Carnival."
If you prefer, you can also download this post as a PDF document.
As always, you can get Selected Stories and Death in Spring for 20% from our website by using the code 2MONTH. It's also available at better bookstores everywhere.
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Last week, I spent a lot of time on "The Mirror," which was my favorite story of the six we read for that podcast. This week, I want to focus exclusively on what makes "Carnival"—now one of my favorite stories ever—work so well.
Before getting into the more structural mapping of motifs in this story, and how it links back to everything discussed before, I want to take a second to just talk about the emotional power of this piece.
In brief, "Carnival" is the story of a young boy and a young woman who meet coincidentally outside of a Carnival party. The boy is awkward, poor, has bad skin, is very alone, and is wearing a tailor's costume that initially baffles the young woman. By contrast, she is lovely, more cosmopolitan (she tells him she's leaving Barcelona for Paris in a couple of days, and then from there to Nice), more worldly (she initially claims to be having an affair with the host of the party), more vibrant. A sort of proto-manic pixie dream girl.
Stuck in the light rain, unable to get a taxi, they decide to walk home together. A number of things happen along the way: she convinces him to scale a fence and steal her some flowers, he falls for her quirky charm and beauty, they're accosted by two thieves, they share secrets, they hold hands. We'll discuss the sort of twist to all of this in more detail below, but on the surface, knowing these details, most readers would assume that this is a stereotypical story of young, burgeoning love. A love that's initiated by a coincidence; a love that grows quickly over the course of a near magical night together.
That's not what this story is, and that's not what happens.
Although all of those cues are there, the story undercuts itself at the end, reversing in the most powerful of fashions, including these absolutely heartbreaking lines:
Carnival had ended. The wind and rain had helped it die. We too have died a bit, he thought, or the ghosts we have left along the way. No one would be able to see them at the top of Avinguda del Tibidabo, with the pastries and champagne, by the gate with the perfume of the false gardenias, at the door where they had sheltered during the rain. It was all far away, indistinct, a bit absurd, as if it had never happened.
"Will you give me your address in France?"
"I don't even know it yet."
She, however, would never again remember that night. The sound of the train taking her away would erase the last vestiges of it. But he . . . he would never find another girl like her, with that smile, that hair. From time to time he would see her blurred outline standing in front of him, her image evoked by a certain perfume, a sigh of leaves, a swarm of ghostly stars at the back of the sky, a silence that suddenly manifests itself.
I don't know why, exactly, but this story was like a punch to my soul. It's heartbreaking how the hope of that night, a night that is filled with such charm and promise, is just another moment that will be washed away by time and disinterest.
There's more to what makes this story so emotionally charged, but we'll get to that at the very end . . . For now, I just want to say that I read this just before falling asleep and having an absolutely terrible dream that was clearly related to "Carnival." This story lodged in my subconscious, and thinking about it days later, I'm still overwhelmed by a feeling of sadness and nostalgia. To me, this is a viscerally emotional story, one which serves as a blueprint for how Rodoreda's different motifs and techniques can come together to create something incredibly powerful.
Last year, I read (and then wrote about) Franco Moretti's Distant Reading. This book is a collection of the inconoclastic literary critic's essays, ranging from his core concept of "distant reading" (looking at larger literary trends instead of closely reading a single text) to ways in which you can incorporate quantitative analysis into literary criticism. One essay from here, "The End of the Beginning," keeps coming to mind as I try and think about how to summarize and analyze Rodoreda's stories as a whole.
Feel free to read that earlier article for a longer description of and response to Moretti's ideas, but in short, in this piece he describes a graduate seminar he taught in which he and his students analyze a huge range of detective stories written around the same time as some of the most popular Sherlock Holmes stories. Their analysis started from selecting a "unit of analysis"—in this case the presence or absence of "clues"—and then seeing how that unit was treated in the various stories under consideration. Out of this they created a sort of tree-like diagram built from subdivision after subdivision. In other words, they separated all the stories into those with clues and those without. Then separated out the ones with clues that were "necessary," then those that were both necessary and "visible," and so on and forth. What they found in the end was that all of the stories that fit these categories were written by Arthur Conan Doyle, and that these were some of his most popular and well-liked pieces. One hypothesis as to why Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories are still read today, whereas his contemporaries really aren't, is that he stumbled onto this way of presenting "clues" that greatly appealed to readers. Then ideas of market acceleration and all of that set in, but that's a subject for an entirely different article. (Actually, it's the subject of the article referenced above.)
Anyway, I'm not about to choose a single "unit of analysis" and create a map of Rodoreda's stories and those of her contemporaries, but I do think there is something to the way in which certain "units" in her writing are found over and again in her most lasting, important stories.
In last week's Two Month Review post, I identified a few of these motifs. Namely, the presence of "tropisms," of garden imagery representing the state of a romantic relationship, shifts in the time of the narration, and fragments reflecting the character's inner state. All of these elements were found in "The Mirror," and all are found within "Carnival" . . . along with one more that I think will add something crucial to our evaluation of the rest of the stories in this collection.
Garden Imagery
In the stories we discussed last week, flowers, or garden imagery in general, tended to draw characters to a more primeval time, often pointing toward the healthiness of a relationship, or the desire for some sort of human connection. These images function differently in different stories, but some sort of wildlife is present in all of Rodoreda's best stories.
One of the key scenes in "Carnival" is when the girl asks the boy to get her some gardenias. He hops a fence, steals some flowers, gets barked at by a dog, and ends up ripping his costume. In a bit of foreshadowing, they then have this conversation:
"I still haven't looked at the gardenias, or thanked you."
She gently removed a flower from the handkerchief, but as she was about to smell it, she said with a surprise, "What kind of flowers did you pick?"
"The ones by the tree."
"These aren't gardenias. They have no scent at all."
She glanced at the unfamiliar flower with an obvious expression of disappointment.
"Don't give it another thought. If you don't like them, toss them away."
Without realizing, he'd used the familiar "tu." He liked her, standing there absorbed in thought.
And then they try and figure out what the non-gardenias are:
"[. . .] What if they were begonias?"
"They're smaller. I mean larger. I mean gardenias are smaller."
"Maybe they're stunted begonias."
"They're probably camellias." Both had started playing the game.
"Camellias? No, I'd recognize a camellia anywhere. These, I can assure you, are mysterious flowers. Flowers that bloom on the night of Carnival."
No need to point out that there are other things that can bloom on the night of Carnival, but I still will.
And what happens to those flowers? This is the bit that ties this story most directly back into last week's accounting of various Rodoreda motifs.
She bit her lips. She felt bad that she'd lost the flowers. She would have kept one in a book till it was dry as paper, had lost its perfume—it wasn't even a gardenia—and when she stumbled across it in the future, it would have always evoked the color of night, the sound of the wind, her eighteen years, the years she felt she had lost as soon as she had gained them.
There's this great thing in Rodoreda where future memories, soon-to-be nostalgia, is created in the present moment on the page. I love that. As an old, this hits home a lot more now than it did when I first read these pieces.
Tropisms
These moments are sprinkled throughout the story, so I'll just choose a couple examples here to show that these same inner emotional states are present in "Carnival."
"[. . .] You know, perhaps it's only when you're young that you wish so desperately that now would last, that nothing we have would ever end. We wish it even more when what we have now seems the best thing possible."
"I don't see a thing."
"That means you'll have a long life," she said with a touch of disdain. "People who see seven colors die the following day. Today I've seen five. Wait, let me try again, see if it changes."
The boy felt depressed, as if having a long life was a true sign of mediocrity. The girl held her breath, still submerged in her experiment.
There are others, but to get on with it, here's a segue to the next point:
"Why are you so worried?"
He couldn't stand the silence any longer and began speaking with a serious voice.
"It's not that I'm worried. It's something much worse. I wanted to make this evening . . . I don't know how to explain . . . a night like this! I wanted a memory, something I could cling to, keep for the future. Because I will never take any trips, or write poetry."
Dissonance Between Reality and Desire
This is the "unit of analysis" or "motif" or whatever you'd like to call it that I'd like to add to the list above. It's present in "The Mirror" in the way that the narrator thinks back on her night with Roger and contrasts that with her actual marriage. This disconnect is doubled up on by the conversation with the doctor about sweets, and the denial of that conversation later on in the story. But it's here in "Carnival" that she really plays this to great emotional heights.
If you haven't read this story yet and don't want to lose any of its punch, close this tab, grab your copy of Selected Stories, and come back in a half-hour.
Let's start with the young girl. Here's her initial explanation for why she's leaving the party.
"The owner of the house," the girl began explaining, "is . . . I guess I should confess—after all, we're friends. He's my lover. He's the one I'm going to Paris with. He has to go on business, so we have an opportunity. His wife was at the dance. She's rarely at home, travels all the time. Since she was there, I decided to leave. The situation was really tense, especially for me of course. I left without saying good-bye to anyone, and now I'm guessing he's searching for me all through the house and garden. But if he wanted me to stay, why didn't he lock his wife up in the dark room. For one night . . . I don't want to give the impression she's nasty. She's very nice, dresses really well, knows how to be welcoming. I'd say she's una gran senyora, a real lady. But I have the feeling that when she climbs in bed, covers her face with cream . . . He doesn't love her any more; he likes me. As we danced he told me, 'You're the most charming girl at the party; you're like a flower.' And a little while later he said, 'I'll love you eternally' or something like that."
She also pauses for a moment along their walk because of a health issue:
"Nothing, my heart. I was just dizzy all of a sudden."
He looked at her in alarm, not knowing what to say, whether he should hold her, let her go. She sighed deeply and ran her hand across her forehead.
"I'm all right now, it's starting to pass. I have a weak heart. It must be the kind of life I lead."
"What does your family say about it?"
"It doesn't seem to worry them."
"You should lead a healthier life. Fresh air, exercise, get to bed early."
"I know the story: lots of fish and vegetables."
"No," he responded, a bit disconcerted. "That's not what I mean. I mean to love more honestly."
"And die of boredom. No thanks. I decided long ago the kind of life I wanted. I plan only to pick the flowers, as my concierge would put it," she said, lowering her voice and shooting him a quick, amused look.
Let's turn to the boy's backstory for a second. After telling her that he's dressed as Louis XV's tailor, and immediately before she has her heart spell, he gives her a bit of info about his life and dreams.
"When I finish my studies, I'll travel. I want to know the world. I'll leave without a penny in my pocket. Maybe I'll get myself hired as a stoker. Poets here all tend to die in bed surrounded by family, and the newspaper prints their dying words, describing the force of their last breath, the whole bit. I want to die alone, with my boots on, face down, an arrow in my back."
Given how long this already is, I'm going to skip over the scene where they're mugged, where the boy tries to stand up for himself and is immediately brushed aside, where the young girl momentarily goes off with the two muggers in a semi-flirtatious manner, but this is where the dream of the night—of having a lover who is taking you to Paris, of being a young poet who will live a life of adventure, of a night that will mysteriously bloom into something life-changing—all of it, comes crashing down.
Back to an earlier quote, but this time using the whole thing.
"It's not that I'm worried. It's something much worse. I wanted to make this evening . . . I don't know how to explain . . . a night like this! I wanted a memory, something I could cling to, keep for the future. Because I will never take any trips, or write poetry. And it's not true that I study. I used to, now I work. I have a younger brother and I'm head of the household. So, now you know it all. You also know what a bad impression I've made. I've made a fool of myself."
She was filled with a deep sadness. It was as if a secret reserve of anguish had melted in the bottom of his chest, risen to his throat, and turned yet again into pain. [. . .]
He must think I'll always laugh at him when I remember this night, those men, laughing at him always, till the end of time.
And, while we're at it, let's pour on the sadness and suffering:
"Me too. I'd been saving my money for three months so I could rent this costume, not even catching the tram, and I live in Gràcia but work on Carrer de la Princesa. When my father was alive we had everything we needed. One day he went to bed feeling very ill and never got up. What little we had disappeared with his illness and the funeral. It was really hard for me. I had to give up everything I enjoyed, all my plans. Everything. We were really alone, and I was the oldest child. I had to make a real show of pretense, so as not to add to my mother's grief. It's kind of ridiculous that I'm explaining all this, complaining. It shows a poor spirit. My life would make a great dime novel. Here I'd been saving for three months, thinking I'd have fun with my friends, but as soon as I saw myself in this costume, I was embarrassed. I did go out with my friends, but they were all with their girlfriends; and after we'd been in the park up on Tibidabo for a while, they disappeared without my realizing. I walked for a long time, I sat for a while on a bench by the funicular . . . but that's not true. It's painful to tell the truth. I went up Tibidabo because a friend of mine works in a restaurant there, and he told me to stop by and see him. He gave me the pastries we ate. I sat on the park bench, thinking how terribly boring life was, and gazed at the night, the lights of the city below me, till I was tired."
Even within this confession there's that little moment where he explains why he was up at Tibidabo and then immediately admits that that reason is a lie! This is that dissonance between inner desires and outer reality that really ramps up the emotion in Rodoreda's early stories. And in case you thought the boy was the only one spinning tales . . .
"You know what? It's not true that I have a lover. I've never loved anyone. All my brother's friends that liked me a little, I found them . . . I don't know how to explain it. It's difficult to say the things the way we think them or feel them. I mean, all the boys who have liked me up till now left me indifferent. It's probably that I don't like young men and older men scare me a bit. Sometimes I'm convinced that I'm suffering from some strange illness, because I feel good all alone in my room, with my books, my thoughts. I know my thoughts aren't particularly lofty; I'm not trying to sound grand. I don't really know why I ran way from the party. I went with my brother and his fiancée. I shouldn't say it, but I don't like that my brother's engaged. We were best friends. No brother and sister ever got along better. Nor is it true that I have a heart condition. Sometimes I can feel it beating fast and it's because . . . I'll never find a substitute for my brother, someone who can be what my brother was to me."
He felt a sadness rising from deep within him. He'd have given his life to be able to replace her brother. [. . .]
She sighed deeply, affected by the insidious magic of the hour and the night. "I won't marry for love or merely to serve my own interest. Or maybe I'll marry for both these reasons. I'll have an orderly house filled with jars and jars of marmalade and summer preserves made for winter and large wardrobes with neatly folded clothes. If I have children, they'll have what I've had: heat in winter and the broad sea in summer."
How it All Ends
You can find those other elements mentioned above in this story. Slight shifts in perspective and time that add complexity to the story, moments in which fragmentary prose reflects the inner thoughts of the characters, etc. They're all there. In fact, I'd argue that these motifs are there in all of her great stories, and this is a great story.
Having come all that way though, through Moretti and various "units" that combine to make a larger, more powerful whole, let's end where we began, at the end of this journey, where things just . . . end.
That's not exactly the end, there are a couple more beats, but I'll leave those for you to enjoy for yourself.
Tags: merce rodoreda, review, selected stories, two month review
Two Month Review #3.2: Selected Stories (pgs. 1-50)
2018 International Dublin Literary Award Longlist
What Did We Have to Talk About, Now That He Was Dead? [CONTEXT]
Three Percent #175: Biggest News Stories of 2019


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Saravanan Subramanian
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Our Trip to Greece
Athens and Corinth
Mycenae, Epidaurus and Nauplia
Olympia, Delphi and Kalambaka
Thermopylae and Back to Athens
Crete and Santorini
The story of King Porus, and the valour he exhibits during his many battles with Alexander the Great and his Macedonian army is a popular story narrated to all kids who grow up in India. Although there is disagreement among world historians to this day regarding the historical accuracy of these battles, including the result, what is at least well known is that, after the battles, the two developed a lasting friendship that lasted their life times. Although Alexander's began his campaigns in Asia mostly motivated by revenge, and for accumulation of wealth, he inadvertently also created a "cultural highway" between the west and east, and this helped spread many ideas on art, literature, science, mathematics and religion in both directions.
After Alexander's death, and during the hellenistic period that followed, many Greek (and Indo-Greek) kings still continued to rule near the border of modern day India as well as from Bactria (present day Pakistan). Young aspiring artists, gymnasts and scholars left Macedon and Greece to live in Asia as far as India. Some Greek historians such as Megasthenes and others lived in the courts of Indian rulers including those of Chandragupta Maurya (known to ancient Greeks as "Sandrocottus") as well as his grandson, Emperor Ashoka.
Like the generations of leaves, the lives of mortal men. Now the wind scatters the old leaves across the earth, now the living timber bursts with the new buds and spring comes round again. And so with men: as one generation comes to life, another dies away. ~ Homer, The Iliad
Fascinated by these interconnections between Indian and Greek history, as well as by many other aspects of the Greek culture including their influences in the areas of philosophy, mathematics and science, my wife and I took a history trip to Greece recently. And much like our previous history tour of the Mediterranean (which included a tour of Turkey), we took a packaged tour again and travelled with many other ardent history lovers from the Canada, United States, Argentina and Australia. The 9-day historical tour of the Greek mainland called "Best of Greece 2006" was worth every penny. After the tour, we also spent an extra week in the islands, including Crete and Santorini. We then flew back to Athens where after a few days, we left for Canada.
The tour started in Athens where after a briefing by the tour director on some basic information about the tour as well as some rules to follow during the tour, we left to visit many famous sights in the city of Athens including the Parthenon, the Temple of Zeus and Hadrian's Arch.
The city of Athens has existed in one form or the other for the past 7000 years, and is named after the Greek goddess, Athena, who is the matron/protector of the city according to ancient legends. The Parthenon is a temple dedicated to this goddess and is located on the southern part of the Acropolis summit. It was built after the Battle of Marathon when the Greeks successfully defeated the army of the great Persian king, Darius I. The complex itself was the significantly expanded during the time of Pericles who was a patron of arts and literature, and who reigned during the time of Greek history which is often referred to as the "classical period".
The temple was in a state of renovation, and we were told that the renovations were originally targeted for completion by the 2004 Summer Olympics but had still not been completed. After the tour of the temple complex which included other smaller temples dedicated to other gods and goddesses, we made our way to a small museum which had many artifacts recovered from the temple complex. From there, we made out way to the Royal Palace. There, we witnessed a change of the guard ceremony performed by "Evzones". One of the customs in Greece is that every male devotes at least two years to military service. From this pool of people, a special group are selected known as "Evzones". According to our tour director, the rules of selection included being at least six feet tall as well as the ability to remain motionless for very long periods of time.
After watching the change of guard, we made our way to the Temple of Zeus. This colossal temple was built during the 6th century BC and was renovated until the 2nd century AD during the Roman occupation of Greece. It is in utter ruins now as it was repeatedly pillaged from the 3rd century on until recent times for building materials. There was once a massive statue of Zeus at the western end of this temple which stood nearly 40 feet tall. Unfortunately, nothing remains of this statue anymore.
From here, we made our way to the Arch of Hadrian. The Roman emperor Hadrian was a patron of Greece and funded many monumental projects in Greece during his reign including the renovation of the Temple of Zeus. According to our tour guide, this structure was built to honour him during his visit to Athens. Later, we also drove to the stadium which hosted the first modern Olympic games in 1896 and spent a short time taking pictures there.
From Athens, we left for Nauplia which used to be the capital of Greece near the end of the 19th century. On the way, we stopped to do some sight seeing at the ancient city of Corinth. We saw the Corinthian canal which was constructed near the last part of the 19th century as we pulled into the city. Corinth is located on a narrow stretch of land that joins the Peloponnese to the mainland of Greece. Our tour guide narrated its rich history including its religious significance. The Corinthians were once a mighty naval power and were able to establish colonies as far as Syracuse and flourished until they were conquered by Alexander the Great's father, Philip II of Macedon.
The city was very similar in layout of another ancient city, Ephesus, which we had visited in the west coast of Turkey in 2005, and had fountains, paved streets, many baths and a market place. The tour guide explained that most of the ruins that were visible were Roman in origin as this city was destroyed and later renovated by many Roman emperors including Julius Caesar. One of most notable ruins here is the temple dedicated to the god Apollo of which only very few Doric columns remain. There was also a small museum which had very interesting artifacts collected from this site.
We then drove to Mycenae, a place I had wanted to visit since my childhood. This site was first excavated by Heinrich Schliemann, the famous German archaeologist, in 1874 who also excavated the site of Troy. We visited the famous palace of Agamemnon which is surrounded by some great walls. At the entrance to this palace is the famous Lions Gate which features engravings of two ferocious lionesses. What was so remarkable was that the walls of the fortress were constructed by mostly unworked boulders which were up to 30 feet thick in some places. Inside, these walls nothing much remains except a dug out probably for storing water during times of sieges. The residences were arranged so that the lower classes lived on the lower levels, and the upper classes lived in residences that were situated in much higher and more well-developed grounds.
Very close to this site, on a hill nearby was a beehive tomb called the "Treasury of Atreus" that we also managed to visit. This one of several other tombs here, and many members of the Mycenaean royal family were buried here. Schliemann uncovered many impressive treasures from these tombs. One of the most famous artifacts discovered within one of these tombs is the "Mask of Agamemnon". It was discovered by Heinrich Schliemann who gave it its mythical name. These tombs are called "Tholoi" in Greek, and according to our tour guide are also found among several other cultures in the Mediterranean and West Asia.
From Mycenae, we drove to the Sanctuary of Asclepius at Epidaurus. Asclepius was the God of Medicine to the ancient Greeks. He was one of the sons of the God Apollo, and according to legends, he was given the healing gift after his mother died at his birth. This place came to be famous starting the 4th century BC and was famous for both its temples and hospitals. Once every four years, a famous festival took place here, and many dramas were staged here during this festival. There is a very well-preserved amphitheatre here, and it seats nearly 14.000 people. This whole place is located within a dark green pine forest, and the whole experience was very mystical due to its calm and cool environment even in August when it is very hot elsewhere.
There was also a small museum at Epidaurus, but we did not have time to visit it and we headed towards Nauplia (or "Nafplion" as it is sometimes also called). Nafplion is a small sea port town in the Peloponnese region of Greece and has sometimes been called the "Naples of Greece". This beautiful town has been coveted and conquered by many civilizations including the Ottomans and the Venetians. There are many forts here, and the two main forts here that are worth seeing are the Palamidi and the Bourtzi. The Palamidi was built by the Venetians, and towers over the entire town high up on a hill. You can either take the steps there (nearly a thousand), or you can drive up all the way up. The Bourtzi is a small fortification built on a small rock island and is only 5 minutes from the port. After taking some of these sights, we retired early that night to rest up for another full day ahead.
From Nauplia we made our way to Olympia where the ancient Olympics were held every four years starting from about 776 BC until 426 AD when it is banned by the Roman emperor Theodosius II. This must be one of the most serene places that we have visited anywhere. There were tall trees offering a great shade from the Sun, the chirpy crickets, and the beautiful floral landscape making it one of the best archaeological places I have ever visited. Due to several earthquakes over the many millennia, nothing much remains except foundations and columns of what must have been very impressive temples once upon a time. The highlights for me here were the ruins of the Temple of Zeus, the Temple of Hera, the Philippeion, the Olympic Stadium where many athletic events were held, and the great museum nearby housing many artifacts collected from this site. According to our tour guide, the temple of Zeus had once housed a 12-metre high statue made of ivory and gold. If this is true, this must have been quite a sight for the athletes and other visitors who came to this venue.
From Olympia, we made our way to the great site of Delphi. I hadn't read anything in detail about this place, and so, I had no idea what to expect. This place sits on what I consider the most spectacular location in all of mainland Greece. The drive by the sea is visually breath taking, and if I were to go again to Greece, I would probably spend a lot more time here. This entire temple complex sits on mighty Mount Parnassos which is known to emit hallucinogenic gases from its many caves and crevices and is considered by many scientists to be reason for the mystical experiences for the oracles, the priests as well as for the many visitors from all over the Greek world.
The highlights of this place besides the visually stunning landscapes were the Temple of Apollo (or the Temple of Delphi), the many "treasuries" or offering sites which were erected to commemorate many significant events including the victory at Marathon by the Athenians, the theatre which was used to stage plays of religious significance, and the stadium located on top of the mountain which seats nearly 7000 spectators. There is also a fabulous museum here and houses many artifacts including jewellery and statues (including the famous "Charioteer") excavated from this site over the last few hundred years. If you find yourself in Greece, Delphi and Olympia are two places you must visit as they simply take your breath away.
From Delphi, we made our way to Kalambaka to see the Meteora monasteries that are perched high upon the summits of rocks. Monastic tradition has existed here at least since the 11th century AD. However, the many monasteries here were built in the 14th century A.D of after. We visited a couple of monasteries here including the Holy Monastery of Great Meteoron and got a glimpse of the Greek Orthodox tradition. Our tour guide did an excellent job of narrating the origins of the Greek Orthodox religion and how it has influenced Greek life and culture over the centuries. The town of Kalambaka itself is a nice little place with numerous shops selling souvenirs. We had an amazing lunch here at a restaurant run by an old Greek lady.
Next, we left for Athens again. However, we stopped at Thermopylae. This site is where the Battle of Thermopylae was fought according to many historians. There is very little for a tourist to see here except the monument to King Leonidas I. This monument sits on the highway leading to Athens which connects upper and lower Greece. We spent about an hour here and left for Athens. We had a plane to catch to fly to Crete the next day and were anxious to catch up on some rest and relaxation. We had a great farewell supper with our tour group at Plaka. Plaka is a wonderful place to visit and is located right close to the Acropolis, and at nights, you can sit outside and have a great meal under the shadows of the Parthenon that towers above you.
Next day, we flew to the island of Crete which is one of the most famous destinations in Greece. We stayed a few miles outside the city of Heraklion in a resort. After a day of rest here, we took a day long tour which included the tour of the Palace of Knossos which provides many insights into the Minoan civilization and how the Minoans lived. This first large-scale excavation of this site was done by Sir Arthur Evans. This palace and many others on the island were destroyed roughly around 1700 BC and were renovated only to be destroyed again a few hundred years later. The ruins gave a glimpse into what I think must have been a really peaceful civilization. We then continued towards the Dikti Mountain and the plateau of Lassithi. On the way, we stopped at a small village called "Tzermiado" for lunch. Here, we had the most delicious meal we probably had in all of Greece. There were nice little souvenir shops here selling Minoan imitations of vases and statues.
We made a visit to a traditional pot making factory here, and later drove to the site of the Diktaion cave which is rumoured to be the birth place of the Greek god, Zeus in mythology. The walk up to the hill was not easy in the heat (we were there in early August, and temperatures soared up to 40 degrees some days). We descended into the cave and saw some incredible icy stalagmite and stalactite formations. We returned to our resort late in the evening.
Near the later part of the week, we left for Santorini on a day trip. Our cruise ship offered many viewing decks to sit and relax as we travelled the Aegean, and we arrived in the port of Athinios a few hours later. From here, we took a bus and made our way to Oia (pronounced "E-ah") which faces south towards Egypt. This is a must-see place and features the famous white and blue churches that contrast amazingly well against the blue Aegean Sea. It was packed with hundreds of tourists making their way through the narrow white washed streets. There were numerous shops including some very expensive jewellery boutiques here.
The central square offers tourists plenty of opportunities to take post card-type pictures and after some shopping and a great lunch, we made our way back to boat. We saw the famous Santorini sunset as we left, and it was truly amazing sight. I would really like to go back here and spend many days here the next time. The evening trip on the cruise ship featured dance and entertainment. This was a great way to end an action-packed day. We left for Athens again after a week, and after spending two days sight seeing including a trip to the National Archaeological Museum, we left for Canada.
Although we did not visit Northern Greece and visit some other historically significant sites such as Pella for instance, this tour provided a deep insight into Greek history and tradition and I would highly recommend it to anyone looking to do their first tour of Greece. We do intend to go back in a few years if we can save up some money and visit many historical places including the many islands in the Ionian and the Aegean seas.
Copyright © 2004-2020 Saravanan Subramanian

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Home/News/Stericycle Was Invited to Storey County By Carmona and McBride. Good, Bad, or Ugly? Part One.
Keith Johnson | Salt Lake Tribune File Photo Stericycle, located in North Salt Lake, is a hazardous medical waste disposal company. Photographed January 21, 2014.
Sam Toll September 22, 2020	News 4 Comments 2,085 Views
This is the first in three-part series on Storey County's Decision to bring Stericycle into our County.
Stericycle Special Use Permit Approval Creates Controversy In Storey County.
On August 6th, 2020, the Storey County Planning Commission met to discuss a Special Use Permit (SUP) for Stericycle, a medical hazardous waste disposal company.
The Planning Commission voted to approve Stericycle's SUP 5-1 and the matter was forwarded to the Storey County Board of Commissioners for approval. On August 20th, 2020 Commissioners Jay Carmona and Marshall McBride voted 2-0 to approve the SUP application.
Commissioner Lance Gilman had to recuse himself from the vote because he was in the process of selling the land to Stericycle to house to the proposed facility.
The SUP was originally slated for approval at the Planning Commission's in July but at that meeting, it was determined the SUP agenda item had not been improperly noticed after Blockchains, Inc. lodged an objection.
Planning Commission Discussion
During the Planning Commission's discussion on the SUP, Stericycle presented to the board a history of the company and explained how the proposed incinerator had wended its way from Utah to Arizona to Las Vegas and finally up here at The Richest Place On Earth.
Stericycle was represented by Executive Vice President Dominic Culotta. He assured the Planning Commission the company plan to reinvent itself over the past 18 months was proceeding according to plan. Former UPS executive Cindy Miller took the reins of Stericycle and she brought Culotta with her from UPS during the transition. Culotta suggested that he and Miller along with together with other new appointments represent a complete reboot of the company's culture.
Culotta explained that Stericycle was born from the fact that used needles were washing up on the beaches across our nation. From their humble beginnings, Stericycle has grown to a company whose hundreds of locations across the country process and dispose of biohazardous medical waste, drugs seized by the DEA and Law Enforcement, human body parts, and shredded documents, among other many other things.
According to Culotta, the state of the art Storey County facility will employ 30 people processing 15-20 tractor-trailers of waste daily.
Opposition to Stericycle
The only comments from the public opposed awarding the Stericycle SUP. They came from Blockchains, Sierra Springs Opportunity Fund (in the form of a letter), and article author Sam Toll.
Blockchains legal council Matthew Digesti delivered opposition to the proposed facility. He referred to his in-depth document in which Blockchains covered some of the things that Stericycle has been involved in that raise questions about the company.
The thrust of Digesti's comments surrounded Stericycle's track record and corporate culture. Stericycle has been in business for two decades and has racked up a concerning number of violations and fines. Digesti focused on details surrounding Stericycle's operations in Salt Lake City, North Las Vegas, on a reservation in Arizona, and the plant in Rancho Cordova, California whose permit was not renewed. Digesti suggested Stericycle's actions reflect a culture that is unconcerned with the safety of the public and its employees.
Sierra Springs Opportunity Fund
Corrado de Gasparis of Sierra Springs Opportunity Fund and CEO of Comstock Mining wrote to the planning commission opposing the Stericycle SUP.
"Incinerators pollute. California did not want the Stericycle incinerator. North Las Vegas did not want the Stericycle incinerator. Salt Lake City did not want the Stericycle incinerator. Tooele did not want the Stericycle incinerator. Arizona did not want the Stericycle incinerator. Yet we are supposed to believe that it is acceptable for our county. Are our citizens expendable?"
My opposition centered on inviting Stericycle to the Comstock would invite other hazardous/polluting companies to set up shop in Storey County. If I had done the research for this article before my comments, I would have hammered on Stericycle's astonishingly awful record of violations of the law and fines.
Responding to my comments, Storey County Manager Austin Osborne confirmed that Storey County is a place that currently houses over a dozen hazardous companies including refineries, hazardous chemical processing companies, and multiple incinerators.
Osborne explained, "We do have a quite number of companies at Tahoe Reno Industrial Center that are classified one way or another. In fact, this board has considered another medical waste processing facility, we have a company of out there that deals with high volumes of ammunitions and manufacturing military arms, we have a company that deals with hydrogen and gas to diesel processing".
Osborne continued, "We have another company out there that deals with the transfer of medical waste and other municipal waste into diesel–a very volatile program–that requires a special use (permit) We have another company out there that manufactures gasoline and diesel, in fact, if you go to any Golden Gate Gas Station, all the fuel they sell is manufactured here at TRIC".
Osborne concluded, "I'll note too that there are other companies that don't require SUP that have high volumes of ammonia and other hazardous chemicals that are located out at TRIC".
Coming soon to an industrial park near Lockwood.
Planning Commission Board Member Perspectives
I wanted to understand the research behind and how the conclusions were made by the board. I reached out to two of the members of the Planning Commission Board, Chairman Jim Hindle, and Larry Prater, and asked them to clarify their positions on the matter.
"I Googled Them and Didn't Find Much"
I reached out to Jim Hindle, chairman of the Storey County Planning Commission. We talked for about a half an hour discussing the decision to approve the Stericycle SUP.
In the course of that conversation, Hindle remarked, "The Blockchains document was actually pretty fictional. In one paragraph, in particular, Blockchains had a quote from our master plan and the first sentence was pulled directly out of the master plan which was about (zoning designation) Industrial 2 (I2). However, the balance of the paragraph was written to lead the reader to believe it was also part of the masterplan because it didn't have any differentiation or quotations anything else. The rest of the paragraph was their fabrication of what they wanted it to say, and it wasn't the masterplan. Blockchains has an agenda to drive the industrial park to become a technology park."
When asked, Hindle said that he googled Stericycle and wasn't concerned with what he found, "What I found was that Stericycle and the different state environmental agencies had pretty good relationships. Any time there was a hiccup, they worked it out to the state's satisfaction".
Hindle explained, "I looked at a case in California and wasn't really concerned. Stericycle had a hiccup that they self-reported, they got together with the state and worked out an action plan, and the problem was resolved. Yet when you read what California non-profit environmental groups said about the same event, you would think you were dealing with a whole different episode. They claimed that it was catastrophic, it was dangerous, it was detrimental to public safety. I immediately discounted anything that was written by a non-profit group because they were all incendiary".
Hindle continued, "I didn't look at Stericycle as being a bad character, bad operator, can't be trusted, looks to cut corners. I just didn't see the one to one between what was being built up by Blockchains and some of the other people that commented".
Hindle concluded, "They still have to jump hurdles with the Nevada Department of Environmental Protection (NDEP). They still have to submit a site plan that complies with the SUP, State, and Federal regulations.
I'm looking at it in the context of the Industrial Park. Is there a risk? Is there a probability there could be a release? Absolutely. But we're not dealing with Ebola and Tuberculosis or anything else that they are burning. It's low-level doctor's office waste. I don't see the risk is what everyone else is blowing this up to be".
I2 Heavy Industrial is Designed For This Type Of Use.
In her Board comment, Summer Pellet looked at the intent of the Planning designation and asserted the proposed Stericycle facility is the type of installation envisioned by the I2 designation.
Pellet said, "From a planning perspective, this lot has been designated I2 since 1999. What I see is that some of the issues that this type of facility can generate have been mitigated. I looked at some of the (staff recommended) conditions of approval and as (County Manager) Austin just said, they're going to be subject to Federal regulations, they are going to be regulated by the EPA, they are going to be regulated by the NDEP. From a planning perspective, I rely on those agencies to do their job to make sure that all the standards that are in place at the State and Federal level.
It's heavy industrial zoning and heavy industrial land use. This is the type of use that I believe fits into the Tahoe Reno Industrial Center".
We're not A Bunch of Rubes
"The reason I voted against this is because I wanted to show these guys we're not a bunch of Rubes. You aren't going to come here and roll us".
As the lone dissenter, Larry Prater had a different perspective. Prater explained, "As an international outfit as big as they (Stericycle) seem to be, you are always going to have glitches at various locations and things. It seems like Utah was a glitch, to me Vegas wasn't a glitch. They claimed there wasn't the right infrastructure and that the Las Vegas facility wasn't a good fit.
As an engineer for 45 years, when I went to set up a new facility, there was a pretty simple checklist I went through. The first thing you look at is is there access? The next thing is utilities. It's a pretty simple checklist.
Prater continued, "In light of this, i asked "So it's just a coincidence that you (Stericycle) pulled your permit request because of 'inadequate infrastructure' at the same time Vegas planning staff recommended against granting your permit? They didn't have a good answer."
Prater summed up by saying, "The reason I voted against this is because I wanted to show these guys we're not a bunch of Rubes. You aren't going to come here and roll us".
Stericycle's Record Over The Past Two Decades
Stericycle began operations in 2002. Any company in business that long will encounter turbulence. During my 25 years with The Electric Page, I found myself in Small Claims Court about once a year. While I tried to resolve every situation, sometimes it is impossible to meet the satisfaction of every client or vendor. Happily, I won all but one case and recovered much of the money due to me.
Stericycle doesn't seem to have the same experience. In looking at the information available on the internet, these issues roughly group up into three categories; tangles with customers, tangles with neighbors, and tangles with the government.
Tangles With Customers
In 2017, the US District Court in Illinois awarded Stericycle customers $295 million in damages for overbilling practices.
The class-action suit detailed Stericycle's electronic billing and accounting software system, called Tower, which was allegedly set to default to an 18 percent "automated price increase" ("API") for "small-quantity" customers. According to the suit, those accounts made up 97 percent of Stericycle's customers worldwide.
Following the imposition of the API, the suit claims, Stericycle's customer service department received a large volume of complaint calls and customer service representatives were told to give false reasons for the price increases in order to get customers to pay. If customers continued to refuse to pay, representatives and customer retention personnel were instructed to give "price reductions" with the goal of getting customers to pay as much of the API as possible.
The court concluded that Stericycle also improperly increased prices by charging a number of fees and surcharges, labeled as fuel costs or environmental fees. However, the suit claims these charges were not connected to actual costs, which is why Stericycle often hid them from customers on invoices by bundling them with its flat fees.
Complaints from the Better Business Bureau were considered in the class action suit.
One of the great things about the inter-web is that you can praise or roast a company and let the entire world know how you feel. Forever. Yelp, Angie's List and the Better Business Bureau (BBB) are all places you can go to learn more about a company before you decide to do business with them.
In looking at the recent dates of the complaints on the BBB site, one might conclude that the $295 million fine and the company reboot have had little effect on the way the company conducts business today.
Better Business Bureau Reviews.
There are 24 reviews on the BBB site and all are negative. This one is typical of the reviews listed:
"Worst company I've ever dealt with. They are doing business like it's 1990 and as if nobody has any other options or expects businesses to be honest. Beware of long contracts that auto-renew, prices that auto-escalate with no notice and no recourse, where cancellation must occur within a 30-day time frame before the auto-renew. This is a classic monopoly business if I ever saw one. I literally waited 9 months for today to cancel. But after 12 years, I am finally liberated from the greedy shackles of Stericycle."
There are 112 complaints on the BBB site. This one is typical of the complaints listed:
"I canceled our service with this company because the cost was too high (way above the industry standard) I have a small office with very little medical waste and am not able to afford the constant increase in pricing and hidden fees. Our last pick up was in January of 2020. All services rendered were paid in full. We have recently been being harassed with phone calls claiming we owe money for services or that we need to pay a termination fee for not renewing our contract. A one year contract was discussed with Dustin in February of 2019. We have paid for the one year of service upfront and owe nothing more. We would just like for our account to be officially closed and the balance adjusted to zero as we have paid for the service that was provided to us. Stericycle is a very unethical and fraudulent company."
How you treat your customer is a clear indication of how you do business. To their credit, Stericycle has engaged with all of the complaints, and many have been resolved to the satisfaction of the complainants. However, the BBB complaints were a key component of a class-action lawsuit which I will flesh out in part three.
As we all know, some folks have different levels of tolerance and persistence. For every person who got mad enough to air their complaint with the BBB, how many didn't? From the tone of many of the complaints, it was only after weeks or months of trying to resolve the problems with Stericycle directly did they finally get some relief by taking the matter to the BBB's public square and calling them out for the world to see.
Dozens and dozens and dozens of these complaints have been registered with the BBB since the company's reboot. While it takes time for culture changes to trickle down to the front line, from the looks of the complaints made in 2020, it doesn't appear as if the effort is as effective as the company is suggesting.
In part two of this three-part series, we will review Stericycle's tangles with the public. Part Three will look at their tangles with the Government.
Blockchains Document to Storey County Planning Commission
Updated Blockchain Opposition to Application
Tags Comstock Mining jay carmona Jim Hindle Larry Prater Marshall McBride Matthew Digesti Stericycle Summer Pellet
Previous District Three Candidate Forum Set for September 23rd
Next Residents First. Special Interests Not First.
Mental Distancing Reveals The Challenge of an Early Open To C Street
Carmona and McBride Call For End To The Lockdown
Sam Toll,
The only Warrior in Storey County with guts to
speak out. Vehemently. He makes up for all the other
would-be Warriors. If there are any.
PS – VOTE FOR SAM TOLL
Sam Toll
Thank you for the kind words, DNA. Warriors keep the battle hot.
I read the story on how the county commissioners "invited" Stericycle and was instantly struck by similarities in other communities where the elected officials sold out the people they represented. To make matters even worse one of them actually is profiting off selling the land to Stericycle. Gee, recusing himself from the vote really didn't matter anyway when the others "members" of the commission were already presold on the approval anyway. I hope he shares some of the blood money he is making from the sale with the cronies on the commission. Drinks for all.
I wonder if when Jim Hindle "Googled" Stericycle if he spoke to any of the people who had been poisoned by the incinerator over the years? If Jim really looked at all the information available online he must have seen the verified stories of the violations for emissions far over what the permit allowed.
Really Jim? Low level medical waste is highly hazardous material. It is not "shredded paper". It is highly contagious and infectious bacteria, viruses and pathogens. You may call this low level and shrug it off and misrepresent this to the people like Stericycle is doing but I bet you do not live nearby the facility and if you your house would have been sold long ago. The incinerator does not completely destroy all of the waste put into it. Actually if the commissioners did a little of their own research they would see that medical waste consists of at least 15% of PVC plastic which when burned creates highly toxic Dioxins from the combustion of the plastic and are emitted from the smokestack. NO, they are not completely filtered out. That is a fallacy just like Stericycle calling the incinerator they will build "state of the art". It is the minimum needed to get the permits to operate and nothing more. State of the art usually means at best "industries latest experiment".
The county commissioners envisioned this was the type of facility the industrial park was built for years ago and believe this will bring in other business. There will be other business but not the type that the people would like to have. There will be hazardous waste incinerators knocking at the door soon and perhaps low level radioactive waste disposal as well.
This is a very sad situation the people are being placed in. There is according to the EPA more than enough capacity to handle the medical waste generated. This is no real need for the incinerator. There is a need to remove the commissioners from office on the grounds they are incompetent and placing the people they represent at risk for decades to come.
To the citizens of the county I implore you to rise up and STOP THE STERICYCLE INCINERATOR while you still can.
WHAT? Are they out of their minds?


HOFFMAN ESTATES, IL, Jun 19, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE via COMTEX) -- Wellness Center USA, Inc. (otcqb:WCUI), today announced that its wholly�?�owned subsidiary, Psoria-Shield, Inc. (PSI), has sold and delivered another Psoria-Light(R) unit (PL 1000) to a prominent healthcare organization located in Chicago, IL.
Per the arrangement, units will be supplied to individual clinics on a scheduled basis predicated upon in-service and educational program coordination. The objective is to have all selected hospital system clinics equipped with the PL 1000 as medical staff become properly trained to treat �??�??previously identified skin conditions.
Certain statements and projections contained in this presentation that are not statements or financial results of historical fact constitute forward�?�looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements and projections include statements regarding any proposed exchange transactions, the anticipated closing date of such transactions and future results following a closing of the transactions. Forward�?�looking statements can be identified by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. They often include words like "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "pending", "estimate," and "intend" or future or conditional vrbs such as "will," "would," "should," "could," or "may." While it is not possible to identify all factors, risks and uncertainties that might relate to, affect or arise from the proposed transactions and plans which might cause actual results to differ materially from expected results, such factors, risks and uncertainties include delays in completing the transactions, difficulties in integrating operations following the transactions, difficulties in manufacturing and delivering products, potential market rejection of products or services, increased competitive pressures, changes in general economic conditions, legislative and regulatory changes that adversely affect the business in which the parties are engaged, changes in the securities markets and other factors, risks and uncertainties disclosed from time to time in documents that the Company files with the SEC.


With recovery of two more bodies, the death toll rose to 5 in the flash flood and landslide incident of Itanagar.
Techi Kasom MLA Itanagar and Prince Dhawan , DC, Capital complex to day distributed the relief materials to the victim of Landslide and flash flood victims.
6 feared dead after flash flood, landslides, road and bridge collapses in tein capital city Itanagar and Naharlagun.
Arunachal Chief Minister Pema Khandu expressed deep shock and sorrow over the loss of several lives due to landslide this morning.


Different performances every night in the Barn Theater!!
Vince Santo's Retirement Roast & Entertainment!
Fundraiser in the Auditorium to celebrate our Director's retirement!!
Our next show in the Barn Theater!
Join us for this classic story in the auditorium!
Join us for our Theatre Classes' performances of Thorton Wilder's Our Town in the Barn Theater!
Come see our fun, funny show for all ages on the Mainstage!!
Our 1st show in the BARN! A ridiculous ride through the Bible stories! From the beginning of time to the end of time.
Purchase tickets for our opening Mainstage show!
Please help support our program simply by shopping online! You can also donate directly!


text:
Rodolfo Zagert is an Argentinian painter and architect. He first studied art and architecture in Buenos Aires and later continued his studies in (Germany), where he got a scholarship. In 1991 he moved to Palma de Mallorca, his architectural work focusing on historic building restoration. For one project, the restoration of a sixteenth century palace, he was awarded the Premio Ciudad de Palma in 1999. In his art work he uses mixed techniques, on paper or canvas.

His first exhibition as a painter was in 1969 at the age of 19. His work has been featured in exhibitions from then until the present (2016).

References

External links

1950 births
Living people
Argentine artists
Argentine architects

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


DIY sliders! A dash of food coloring turns your meatball sliders into courtside basketball bites.
Prepare Farm Rich Meatballs according to package instructions.
Using a paintbrush, apply orange food coloring evenly to each slider bun.
Paint black food coloring to create basketball lines on each bun top.
Add Farm Rich Meatballs and top with pickles, slaw, cheese, and any other favorite slider fixings!


text:
Q: Testing loging in with Behat So I have given such scenario and feature:
Feature: User registration

  As an Unregistered User I want to be able to register to the system so that I can use it.

  Scenario: User successfully registers
    Given I am unregistered user
    When I register successfully into the system
    Then I should become a registered user
    And I should be logged on to the system

I was thinking how to write the test. What do I assert. Lets talk about I should be logged in to the system. I had done testing with phpunit and mocker before a bit.
There is not exactly told how do I validate that user is logged in. Do I have freedom to validate?
Like to test if user see some div with message - "You are logged in" ?
And then after writing the test - implement the feature? Also another case might be that user will be redirected to some another feature page. I do not know which one. If I would, I could write test checking is user redirected to that page.
Also the part "Given I am unregistered user" - how does it look in tests? I guess there will be some session and if tests before this test were running with logged in user, then when at this test - it also will be logged in. One thought came - to call logout link and check is response 200 every time. This will make sure that user is unregistered.
Or I guess I should discuss with business owner and ask what should happen after login.
Maybe the scenario even should be modified so that it would be visible how it will look when user is logged in?
It might be that people who are writing those scenarios did not think about it and I understand its hard to think about such details. Only when you start implementing the code, the questions about details come up.
If we compare to examples from this site:
http://www.netgenlabs.com/Blog/How-to-test-with-Behat
then I clearly see from the scenarios what user does and what needs to be checked in the tests. E.g.
 Scenario: Open customer registration page
      Given I am on homepage
      When I follow "Customer registration"
      Then I should be at "/customer-registration"
      And I should see "Welcome to customer registration page!"

A: The first scenario is exactly how it should look like and the second how shouldn't.
Gherkin language is not a programming language and its purpose is to cover a business example.
How you proceed an implementation of each step is only up to you and your application. The implementation also depends on the level you use for testing. If your application would change but the feature would be still the same then you should not change anything in the feature file.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Historically financial services institutions owned, managed, and built their data rooms within their own facilities. But with the increasing demands on technology, these organizations are requiring larger data storage capacity, more resources and power, increased cooling capacity, and higher levels of accessibility and uptime. These requirements make maintaining their own data rooms a daunting challenge in terms of physical space, service optimization and cost. With the increase of security risks and soaring IT costs, it has become essential to control these factors. Shifting these data rooms to a remote data center means sharing cost, security, cost saving, flexibility and a larger list of resources and services. Too, financial services are now focusing on web based services and are required to make sure customer data and transactions are secure and safe. In addition, they must ensure they meet all regulatory requirements as compliance remains a key factor for their customers.
Today, the financial services sector recognizes the crucial benefits of partnering with a data center. The CTEX data center is designed to provide high power densities, reduced power costs, increased cooling efficiencies, flexible deployment requirements and the strongest security possible. Further, cloud services such as virtualization and server consolidation provides increased flexibility and operational efficiency, leading to lower costs and improved performance. CTEX makes it all possible.


Sweden finds itself in the midst of the most heated debates about defence policy and the direction of military reforms since the end of the Cold War, as Stockholm faces the challenge of finding a new military security formula.
From the Swedish point of view, the post-Cold War strategic timeout in Europe is coming to an end. The international environment is reverting to a situation in which the use of force among states is no longer an improbable scenario. Stockholm cannot rule out the emergence of crises or conflicts in Northern Europe in the future, which could directly or indirectly affect Sweden.
In this context, the transformations of Sweden's defence policy over the past twenty years have become a problem. Sweden has moved from neutrality, i.e. non-involvement on any side of an armed interstate conflict, to non-alignment, whereby it stays outside military alliances and freely shapes its policies during wartime. It has joined the European Union and co-operates closely with NATO on foreign missions. Its ability to defend its own territory, however, has diminished.
Justyna Gotkowska - An analyst in the Department for Germany and Northern Europe at OSW since 2008, she specialises in the security and defence policies of Germany, the Nordic states and the Baltic states.


Rebecca is a coach and psychotherapist with 7 years experience specialising in working with adults and couples living with ADHD. Offering both face-to-face and online services, her work takes an Integrative approach; combining person-centred therapy principles with techniques in goal setting, organisation, and time management. Having ADHD herself, Rebecca offers a unique perspective: one that places personal growth, self worth and individual potential of clients at its heart.
Rebecca has worked very closely with the Cambridgeshire Adult ADHD Clinic, raising awareness for a need for local services. She spearheaded the Adult ADHD Action Campaign for Cambridgeshire in 2010 and lobbied the Mental Health service to demonstrate the existence of a community with specialist needs. This joint effort resulted in the establishment of a pathway within the NHS for adults with ADHD, and the official opening of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Adult ADHD Clinic in November 2013.
She supports students with learning disabilities at the University of Cambridge, and has done work in the community with the homeless. She is a member of the Expert Advisory Board for the UK Adult ADHD Network (UKAAN), and is an active speaker on the Lived Experience of ADHD.


I finally got my mirrors working. It's been an extremely long project that I've worked on sporadically since December. I actually bought the mirrors before I'd even bought the Accord I have now.
Basically, three things went into the decision I made to get the ALPS Korea switch instead of the the ALPS Japan switch that the JDM CB comes with. One, the switch that I received with the mirrors had the logo rubbed off, so I wanted a replacement anyway. Second, they did not come with a relay so there was another $25 that needed to be spent. And finally, all of my switches in my car have been converted to LED switches and I wanted to find a mirror switch that illuminated.
I believe the 1st generation Honda Jazz(Fit) also has the same style switch and comes with a power-folding option. Basically any JDM car from 2001 and on that uses a switch that has a similar form factor to this will be the one you want. They moved to ALPS Korea in 2001.
The neat thing about this switch is that you do not need to have an exterior relay in order to control the mirrors. Lucifer1 was a big help for me in sorting this out. Essentially I followed his guide for adapting the regular mirror switch over to the illuminated one found in 2001-2005 Civics and second generation CR-Vs. Then once the mirrors were working perfectly that way I added the wires for the power-folding functionality. It seemed difficult at first with almost no documentation online about the process but I finally just made a test harness and tried it on the car. I got it with the first orientation of wire placement! Without further adieu, this is the harness diagram that resulted. With this diagram you can control your power-folding mirrors with an illuminated switch and no relay at all.
All images of the connectors show them as if looking from the back of the connector itself, as it should be. The male and female connectors of each side are mirrored so that the coordinate with each other when plugged in. You'll also see that the connector has two additional wires in it as well. I also added heated lenses to these mirrors while I had them opened up. If you don't care about heated lenses, ignore the blue/red and black/white wires. They don't go to the switch anyway as they run to the under-dash fuse box.
I'll get more pictures of my process if needed but for the most part the pictures already provided within the other DIY guides do most of the explaining. I did take tons along the way so if there is a particular picture you need, ask and I'll get it for you. If I don't have it already, I'll go take it.
You, my friend, are awesome! Without you responding selflessly to my nagging e-mails this wouldn't have happened.
Also, I seem to have forgot that I owe you some pictures. I'll send them later tonight.


In Tim Clarke's Naperville childhood home, "self-help and sales-management books were always around," he said. "My dad, Stone Container's sales vice president, thought they contained many valuable ideas."
By late 1995, Clarke, a marketing manager at a different packaging company, had become a devotee of this type of book.
"At home, I was reading 'Do What You Love, The Money Will Follow,'" he said. "I had an epiphany. I realized I didn't have the passion and enthusiasm for the paper industry my dad had. So I made a list of what I was passionate about, things I liked and didn't like about my job. Golf topped the list.
So Clarke compiled a list of metro Chicago's biggest golf-equipment manufacturers, with Wilson Golf at the top. Coincidentally, "in that Sunday's paper, Wilson had a classified ad for a regional sales manager," Clarke said.
Clarke's job application was rejected, but he followed up with a call to Kirk Peglow, Wilson's U.S. sales director, who had signed his rejection letter.
"Kirk said he liked my background, didn't have anything that fit and to check back with him regularly, which I did," Clarke said.
Two years later, Peglow offered Clarke a job as a Wilson national accounts manager.
Now 45, Clarke is Wilson's global general manager, responsible for golf-related business operations in Asia, Europe, Australia and the U.S.
Q: How did you decide to major in marketing?
A: I was a college hockey player and planned to play professionally. My dad suggested I major in business, so if hockey didn't work out, I'd have something to fall back on.
Marketing was the only major I could pursue with my hockey schedule. I ruled out finance and management because I would have missed too many exams because of our travel schedule.
Q: After you left professional hockey in Sweden, following an injury, you joined Stone Container, your dad's employer. What was that like?
A: My dad asked one of his friends in industrial relations if they had anything for me. There was a corrugated-paper-sales training position open.
I went to Stone's training center, one of my dad's brainchildren. I felt a bit special, but I also felt the pressure. The expectation bar was predetermined by my dad's success. There was real pressure to excel.
I met any insinuations of preferential treatment by working harder than everyone else and with a sense of humor.
Q: You got your MBA at night school. Was it worth it?
A: In my career, I've always tried to differentiate myself. The MBA was another way to do that.
It opened up opportunities. I believe it put me over the top to get the job at Wilson.
Q: How important was playing golf in your paper-industry jobs?
A: It was huge. In fact, I was asked if I played golf in job interviews.
In summer, I would play 2-3 times weekly with customers. I was encouraged to get them out of their offices on to the course, where I'd have a chance to sell to them.
I played more golf in those jobs than I'm playing now.
Q: What's the toughest assignment you've had?
A: Redeveloping Wilson's Japanese golf strategy. It was tough, as a Westerner, coming into a closed society, telling them how they had to change.
First, I had to learn their process, their market and gain credibility. Then, we talked about how their specific strategy wasn't working and how that impacted our overall business.
Q: What's the best advice you've been given?
A: You have to make sure no matter what you do with your life, you don't quit on yourself. Anything's possible.


text:
Q: Need to pass Arraylist from java program to R script as a parameter I have simple java program which reads data from csv file and validate the data then call the R script to calculate the average of list of values, i'm using Renjin to call R program.
I am able to call R script without passing parameter but here i need to pass list of values to my R script.
Here is my java code:
// listofval --list of float values example listofval= [3.3,5.2,6,9]

RenjinScriptEngineFactory factory = new RenjinScriptEngineFactory();
ScriptEngine engine = factory.getScriptEngine();
engine.put("input",listofval);
engine.eval(new java.io.FileReader("avg.R"));

Here is my Rscript:
args=(commandArgs(TRUE))
args <- eval(parse(text=args[1]))
input <- args
customMean <- function(vector) {
mean(vector)
}
result.mean<- customMean(input)
print(result.mean)

I'm looking for work around, Can someone please help me on this?
Thanks in advance.

A: You can try passing arguments to your engine using sessions in java.
Please customize and/or try the following logic.
Session session = new SessionBuilder()
.withDefaultPackages()
.build();

session.setCommandLineArguments("/usr/bin/renjin", "X", "Y", "--args", "Z");

RenjinScriptEngineFactory factory = new RenjinScriptEngineFactory();
RenjinScriptEngine engine = factory.getScriptEngine(session);

engine.eval("print(commandArgs(trailingOnly = FALSE))");
engine.eval("print(commandArgs(trailingOnly = TRUE))");

A: I was able to resolve my issue, hope it could help someone!
In R script we need to remove below line so that program is not expecting command line argument.
args=(commandArgs(TRUE))
args <- eval(parse(text=args[1]))
input <- args

In java program i have saved my argument as input, in R environment it will be accessed as input
engine.put("input",listofval);

Final Rscript:
customMean <- function(vector) {
 return mean(vector)
}
result.mean<- customMean(input)


text:
April 27, 2020 by Abdullah Sam
Cameo. A type of sculpted or carved gemstone in which the background is removed to highlight the subject. Cameos are often obtained from stones on which the coloration is banded, resulting in a figure of one color and a background of another. The term cameo, when used without qualification, is generally reserved for cuts of a gem mineral, although they are also known as stone cameos. The cameo that is commonly cut into a shell is appropriately called a shell cameo.
Most of the cameos are obtained from onyx or agate , but many other varieties of chalcedony are also used , such as tiger's eye, sanguinite, sardine and carniola, as well as amethyst ; Other materials include beryl , malachite , hematite , labradorite, and adulary.
1 Meaning
The art of producing cameos and other similar objects such as notches is called glyptics (from the Greek glypho, engraving) and is a special form of sculpture art . Glyptic productions have been used since the earliest times in history to make seals, ornaments and pious objects or objects of superstition.
Formerly they were highly appreciated by the public, proof of this are the many specimens carved in precious and hard stones that are preserved from the Greco-Roman and Persian culture. The most recent carvings are made from seashells. During the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries mother of pearl was worked in France , Germany, and Flanders, a period when objects made from such material had great prestige in the French courts. The trips of discoveries made during this time, led to the entry of exotic raw materials into Europe such as; narwhal fangs, amber, jade, giant turtle shells and strange seashells. These articles sparked interest in natural history and stimulated the imagination of jewelers, artisans, and engravers. In the 16th century it was discovered that the shells of cyprids and casids were particularly suitable for carving cameos. In the eighteenth centuryDuring the neoclassical period, interest in the ancient arts was revived, which led to the flourishing of shell carving, despite the contempt they had for being considered imitation as they were made from an inferior material. From then on, the artisan centers disappeared until they remained only in two cities: Idar-Oberstein (specialized in the mechanical carving of agates) in Germany and Torre del Greco in Italy where they are handcrafted.
Originally, the word cameo only referred to a figure carved out of relief in a precious stone. He then went on to include an important figure who appears in a movie. This word comes to us from the French cameieu. The origin of this French term is uncertain. Some claim that it comes from a Latin ethym * chamaephaeus that supposedly comes from the Greek χαμαί (chamae = "on the ground, on the ground", see: chameleon) and φαιός (phaeus = "gray, dark"). Joan Corominas' Brief Dictionary says that it could come from the Germanic kimma helzas (precious piece of the sword hilt). No one has yet suggested that this word comes from bed and ugly, because these famous movie extras look ugly in bed.
Chalcedony Box
Camula


Picture this, you and him, sitting under a mango tree in a beautiful tropical scenery… Wouldn't that feel like being on your own little part of paradise?
In the meanwhile, we've got this delicious white tea blended with beautiful mango cubes and pear pieces to keep the thirst away. Ice it in the summer with a bit a lime to cool off or just sip it hot when your cuddle buddy can't keep you warm during those cold winter nights.
80°C 2-3 min. 1 tsp.
Our products are blended and packaged in facilities and on equipments that might have been in contact with products that contain milk, eggs, mangoes, nuts, peanuts, coconuts and wheat.


The long awaited DBG Stripes Tumbler is here! The DBG Stripes 30oz tumbler is perfect for your morning brew or your ice cold refreshment. Our double walled stainless steal vacuum insulated technology is as good as it gets when it comes to keeping your drinks cold or hot. This tumbler is powder coated matte black with the iconic Dangerous But Good stripes logo laser engraved.
Handkerchiefs were made to put in your pocket and used. Let's get back to putting our hanks to use!


This is a pretty cool article and Infographic from Dorner. I used to use them a lot in the old Automation Consulting Services, Inc. and working with NAS.
As they mention in the infographic and in their blog, a lot of factors went into the decision on whether to make or buy a conveyor. NAS built most of their own conveyors, mostly because they had the expertise and equipment to do it well. Dorner makes a lot of tabletop chain conveyors, and NAS usually bought their finished systems from them if they needed a stand-alone system, but if something needed to be built into a machine they usually just bought components and built conveyors as a "kit".
Some of the factors in the infographic matter less if you are a custom machine builder. Time is less of a factor because the product is the conveyor, and the assemblers are used to building conveyors. Space is also not an issue because they reserve the space for the ordered machine anyway.
On the other hand when I worked for Wright Industries they never built their own conveyors. For one thing it really wasn't a part of their core business, and for another their internal design and manufacturing costs were much higher than NAS's.
Here is a picture of the only tabletop chain conveyor I ever built. My company was small enough that this kind of project could stand by itself, we simply ordered all of the parts and subbed out the machining that we couldn't do. Since we were mostly a controls company, the only way this was justified is that we got to integrate the conveyor into their manufacturing system.
Here is a conveyor that is not something you will find in catalogs, it is pretty much always going to be more economical to build it yourself. There isn't much cost in the components, so the markup for engineering and labor would be too high to justify.
Whatever your decision on making vs. buying conveyors, it is definitely something you should become more educated on. there are lots of good resources out there, many of them included in manufacturer's catalogs and certainly on websites like Dorner's. If you need further help in decision making or design, there are always companies like mine out there that can help, check out my Resources page for more.


text:
Ministry of Energy Government Jobs 2022 -Department of Explosives
Matric, Primary
Advertisement for Ministry of Energy Jobs 2022
Today, the Ministry of Energy is advertising Government Jobs 2022, Petroleum Division. The Government of Pakistan's Ministry of Energy (Petroleum Division) is looking for applicants to fill positions in its Explosives Department.
The Explosives Department accepts applications from qualified candidates for positions at its Regional Office in Lahore.
Education: Primary, Matric
Company: Ministry of Energy
Address: Administrative Officer, Basement, Local Government Complex, Sector G-5/2, Islamabad
Ministry of Energy is seeking recruitment for Driver, Lab Attendant, and Farrash positions are frequently available. Residents of Punjab are eligible. Male and female applicants with a primary or matric pass are eligible to apply for these positions.
Applications should be sent to the Administrative Officer, Local Government Complex Basement, Sector G-5/2, Islamabad. The Application Form is attached to the image of the vacancy. It is also available for download from the Department of Explosives' website, www.doe.gov.pk.
Online applications can also be submitted through the National Job Portal, which can be found at www.njp.gov.pk. Applications received from any source must be received within 15 days.
Farrash
Lab Attendant
Job Category Federal Government


text:
Speakersmk20182018-02-06T08:46:48-08:00
Opening General Session Keynote Speaker
Aron Ralston is an avid adventurer, experienced climber, and motivational speaker. He is the author of the acclaimed memoir Between a Rock and a Hard Place and the subject of the film 127 Hours, both based on his experience hiking alone in southeastern Utah in 2003 and having to amputate his own arm when he was trapped under a dislodged boulder. His harrowing tale captivated global news outlets and remains one of the most incredible and extreme survival stories of recent history.
Aron was born in Ohio and moved to Colorado when he was twelve. He studied mechanical engineering, French, and piano at Carnegie Mellon University. In 2002, he gave up a career as a mechanical engineer in New Mexico to move to Aspen, Colorado, where, among other things, he continued his attempt to solo climb the fifty-nine Colorado peaks of more than 14,000 feet in winter, a goal he completed in 2005 with the aid of his prosthetic.
Aron has also completed several long-distance endurance races since his accident and in light of his experiences he continues to tour as a public speaker addressing topics such as sacrifice, priorities, and achieving goals.
Aron Ralston's story is about an ordinary man pushed to extraordinary limits, an inspirational topic that will get the NIRSA family—especially students and professionals involved in outdoor rec—ready to Elevate Your Path at NIRSA 2018. Aron proves that courage, perseverance, and the human spirit can triumph over seemingly insurmountable challenges and give a person a new outlook on life.
Event title: Opening Session; Aron Ralston (Opening Speaker)
Presentation Title: 127 Hours: Between a Rock and A Hard Place
Date: Sunday, March 4
Time: Opening General Session, 7:00pm-9:00pm
Ross Shafer
Closing General Session Keynote Speaker
Ross Shafer is a six-time Emmy Award-winning comedian and writer, former television host, and—with more than 30 years of experience in show business and media—an expert on the importance of creating emotional connections with customers. He has established himself as a modern-day renaissance man and sought-after keynote speaker, offering valuable insights from his breadth of experiences on topics including personal motivation, reinvention, customer urgency, and market relevance.
Regardless of the business or industry, global organizations and Fortune 500 companies including MetLife, Xerox, Marriott, FedEx, and Toyota have sought out Ross's insight on the effects of customer emotion on organizational growth and the connections between emerging trends, human behavioral shifts, and cultural influences.
Ross grew up in the Pacific Northwest and graduated from the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington, where he studied business management and played varsity football. After college, he used his savings from a job as a training manager at a department store and launched his life as an entrepreneur by opening America's only Stereo and Pet Shop in Puyallup, Washington. After he tired of cleaning cages, he took a job as an advertising manager for as retail clothing chain in Seattle and began moonlighting as a comedian. In 1983, he won the Seattle International Comedy Competition and became an opening act for performers like Crystal Gayle, Eddie Rabbitt, Nel Carter, and others.
In l985, Ross pitched a TV show idea to the NBC affiliate in Seattle and ended up hosting the comedy talk show Almost Live for five years. He also hosted the televisions shows The Match Game and Day's End on ABC and The Late Show on FOX.
What Ross gleaned most from show business was how TV and movies reacted to emerging trends and shifts in human behavior. In l994, he began studying how customer emotional connections affected organizational growth.
Since then, he has gone on to become the best-selling author of nine books, including the acclaimed, Nobody Moved Your Cheese! a humorous professional self-help book, and has created 14 human resource training films that are used by a wide range of organizations.
His presentation It's on You will address taking initiative—a relevant leadership quality for NIRSA members in every capacity. His talk will aim to inspire personal responsibility in attendees and guide them on how to take charge and become accountable for themselves.
Event title: Closing General Session; Ross Shafer (Closing Speaker)
Presentation Title: Success, It's on You
Date: Wednesday, March 7
Time: Closing General Session, 1:00pm-2:30pm
You Can't Opt Out of Leadership: Becoming an Exceptional Supervisor
Capacity-Building: The New Superpower in Higher Education
9:45am-10:45am
Dr. Ann Marie Klotz
Invited Speaker
Consultant, Coach, Speaker
Dr. Ann Marie Klotz is the Vice President of Student Affairs at Radford University in Virginia. Most recently, she served as the Dean of Students at the New York Institute of Technology. Previously, she spent 14 years working in Housing and Residence Life at Oregon State University, DePaul University, Ball State University and Albion College. She earned her B.A. from Grand Valley State University (Political Science) and M.A.'s from Michigan State University (Student Affairs) and DePaul University (Women and Gender Studies) respectively. She earned her doctorate from DePaul University where she studied the career trajectory and leadership styles of ten female university presidents.
As a first-generation college student from Detroit, MI she is passionate about helping under-served students find personal and professional success through education. She is a frequent speaker, keynote, consultant, and trainer for universities and corporations on areas of leadership and development.
She has served in multiple regional and national roles for the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA), most notably with the Women in Student Affairs Knowledge Community. She is the recent recipient of the NASPA Region II Scott Goodnight Award for Outstanding Performance as a Dean. Personal and research interests include women's career development, professional staff recruitment, developing on-line communities, personal branding, and first generation college students. She is a speaker, consultant, trainer, and distance runner. Learn more at www.annmarieklotz.com
The Risks of Noncompliance with Mandated Statutes
Risk Management Strategies for Students and New Professionals
Jason Zeck
Chief Risk and Compliance Officer, Campus Life & Asst. Dean of Students (Respondent Support Coordinator), UCLA
Jason Zeck is the CRO of UCLA Campus Life, a subset of Student Affairs. Campus Life encompasses Recreation, the Community Programs Office, and the Office of Student Organizations, Leadership & Engagement. In addition to his role as CRO, Jason serves as the campus' Respondent Support Coordinator for students, faculty and staff in Title IX matters (specifically those involving allegations of sexual harassment). His varied job responsibilities provide for a daily work experience where two days are never the same!
While an undergraduate at Purdue University, Jason started working as an intramural sports official. During his time with Purdue's Recreation & Wellness Department, he worked the range of student jobs from facility supervisor to summer camp counselor and everything in between. He also discovered NIRSA and the world of campus recreation, which lead to a meaningful graduate assistantship at Ball State University. After gaining two valuable years' work experience and a Master's degree, Jason landed his first professional job at the State University of New York at Brockport, where he spent six years developing the intramural and club sports programs, as well as youth programs. He eventually had enough of the cold and snow of Western New York, which prompted a job search to a warm and sunny climate. He found better weather in Los Angeles and is now in his twelfth year at UCLA, where he has taken his experiences and varied skill sets learned within Campus Recreation and applied them in a broader position within Student Affairs.
As CRO of Campus Life, Jason interfaces daily with students and staff regarding an assortment of issues including insurance, contracts, human resources, policy development, staff training and compliance, event planning, and the many unique situations that occur within three distinct departments. He serves as a conduit to many key resources on campus including Insurance & Risk Management, Environmental Health & Safety, Campus Counsel, and University Police. In his role as the campus' Respondent Services Coordinator he interacts with students, faculty, and staff as the support person for those engaged in title IX matters. As the primary resource for respondents, he serves to connect those in need to valuable resources on campus such as psychological services and legal services.
Jason is a graduate of NIRSA's School of Collegiate Recreation (formerly the School of Rec Sports Management), a member of NIRSA, NASPA and the University Risk Management and Insurance Association (URMIA), and served as faculty for the 2016 Student Organizations Institute.