Developing courses for online or hybrid delivery can be a challenge for faculty. Just simply uploading all your regular, on-ground class materials and tests isn't good enough; in fact, experience and research has shown that this approach actually has worse outcomes for everyone involved. So what do we do? Are there best practices that we can learn from to be better online teachers? What do our students need from an online course? If questions like these have ever crossed your mind, don't despair. Distributed Education is here to help!
We've compiled a checklist of best practices associated with teaching online courses. The checklist is broken down into four easy parts: before the course begins, the first week, throughout the course, and the last week. Look back at this list often to see which "to-do" items you can start to use to improve your course. If it helps, create reminders on your calendar to accomplish routine tasks for your online courses.
The best online classes don't just happen. They are developed over time and are designed with student learning in mind. Distributed Education understands this, and we have worked with faculty to create the course development process and timeline. The time frames listed are suggested; some will take longer, some less time to complete. The key here is in the process; each step is important to the overall goal of creating an engaging, successful course.
In order to provide the best learning experience possible for our students, Vol State has adopted the Quality Matters Higher Education Rubric, Fifth Edition, 2014 (QM) as a baseline for our online and hybrid course development standards. The QM standards assure that the online components of these courses promote learner engagement and provide students with all the tools and information they need to be successful learners. For more information regarding QM, please visit their website: Quality Matters (link opens in new window).
We are systematically building and evaluating our online and hybrid courses based on the QM standards. All newly developed or redeveloped courses will undergo an internal QM review with three evaluators: 2 faculty and 1 distributed education personnel. Courses must "meet" all 3-point essential standards and earn an overall score of 85% or higher. Existing online and hybrid courses will undergo review once every 3-years, with the initial round of reviews beginning spring 2016.
In addition to the Vol State standards for development and instruction, online course materials must be designed to comply with accessibility guidelines so that higher education is accessible to individuals of all abilities. This is true for all courses – online, hybrid, on-ground, and any combination thereof. Documents such as course syllabi, lecture notes, study guides, handouts, PowerPoint slides, videos, podcasts, etc. can be made accessible to students who use assistive technologies. The resources below will help you learn more about these guidelines, and various training workshops are available throughout the year to give you hands-on practice and experience making documents accessible.


Yesterday, I shot my first commercial of 2012! Wahoo. What a great start. Of course, I cannot tell you what it was for butttt they needed a pale person and I was their gal! I am sniffing a lovely flower in the shot and that is basically all I can say. Ohhh, I also was barefoot for the shoot and before stepping on the sound stage I had to step on this sticky white paper to make sure my feet were clean. Whooww Nelly were they anything buttttt clean. I had to keep on moving my feet around until all the dirt was gone, probably 12 footprints. Whoops. You can take the farm girl out of the farm but you can't take the farm out of the girl.
The commercial is going to be beautiful and cant wait for everyone to see it!
The Bottom Rung Web Series- Picked Up for Full Season!
Yup, mama said it! The web series that I produced and stared in that airs on Bitter Lawyer got picked up for a full season! Wahoo! The site had four episodes made and then had the option to pick up more based on how popular the episodes were and if they liked the content. Luckily, the series did very well and they want more more more. And also more of meeeee! I appear in one out of the four episodes and Bitter Lawyer wants to make sure I have more screen time in the series. How flattering!
The work begins again, on the production side of the series, in mid January. So sooon. Must get all my ducks in a row before we shoot at the end of January. This means, meeting with the director, finalizing scripts, location scouting, scheduling the actors and getting everything from make-up to food for the shoot. Its a big job but someones gotta be the type A, crazy scheduler, detail obsessor. Not me of course! It is also a lot of fun making this web series and being in it! Cannot wait to see the scripts and know what I am going to be working with!
Make sure to check out the web series on Bitter Lawyer!
This week I met with a casting director for a general sit down! He was so nice and helpful and at the end of our time I asked him: What are three things you look for when an actor walks in the room and what are three things that bother you about the auditioning process.
1) Be Nice— thats it! I can't imagine that people would walk into a room and not be nice but it happens.
3) Don't embarrass me—CD's put their word on the line for actors when it comes to producer sessions so Rock It!
1) Perfume—toooo much, tooo much, too much. Do not over due it!


text:
Q: NSFileManager :moveItemAtPath NSString* path = [[NSBundle mainBundle] pathForResource:@"js" ofType:nil];
NSArray *paths = NSSearchPathForDirectoriesInDomains(NSDocumentDirectory, NSUserDomainMask, YES);
if (path != nil) {
    NSFileManager *fm = [NSFileManager defaultManager];
    NSString* move_path = [NSString stringWithFormat:@"%@",  [paths objectAtIndex:0]];
    NSError *error;
    if ([fm moveItemAtPath:path toPath:move_path error:&error]) {
        NSLog(@"***************** success!");
    } else {
        NSLog(@"***************** fail!");
    }    }

It fails without fail.
js & move_js is not null;
path = /var/mobile/Applications/06C82222-0ABF-4009-BD58-31B799DC7C33/adhoc.app/js
move_path = /var/mobile/Applications/06C82222-0ABF-4009-BD58-31B799DC7C33/Documents

A: You're trying to move file from application bundle but you can't do so - you can't change anything in it. Instead of moving the file just copy it:
if ([fm copyItemAtPath:path toPath:move_path error:&error]) {

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Post-license Education for Novice Drivers: Evaluation of a Training Programme implemented in Spain.
Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2178089 1 Post-license Education for Novice Drivers: Evaluation of a Training Programme implemented in Spain. J. Gabriel Molina INTRAS, Universitat de Valencia E-mail: Gabriel.Molina@uv.es Jaime Sanmartín INTRAS, Universitat de Valencia. E-mail: Jaime.Sanmartin@uv.es Esko Keskinen Department of Psychology, University of Turku. E-mail: esko.keskinen@utu.fi Nick Sanders CIECA E-mail: nick.sanders@cieca.be The final version of this manuscript was published in: Molina, J. G., Sanmartín, J., Sanders, N., & Keskinen, E. (2007). Post-license education for novice drivers: Evaluation of a training programme implemented in Spain. Journal of Safety Research, 38, 357-366 ABSTRACT Introduction: This study evaluated the implementation of a 2nd phase training programme for novice drivers in Spain, which puts the primary focus of the training on the higher hierarchical levels of driver behaviour. Method: Two hundred and sixty-three participants took part throughout the study, which was implemented as an experimental design with the test and control groups assessed before and after the one day safety training. Measurement of the impact of the training program focused on the participants' self-evaluation and self- reporting of some driving behaviour indicators related to accident risk. Results: Data analysis showed a change in the expected direction in the scale related to the skills for careful driving, but not for the other four scales considered. A feedback survey about the training course offered some important input for evaluating the organization, contents, tuition, and results of the three parts of the training programme (discussion group, on-road and track training) as reported by the participants in the test group. Conclusions and suggestions: The results of the experiment show that using a one day driver safety course, it is possible to change some of the drivers' evaluations connected to safe driving style into safe direction. The follow-up period was exceptionally long (9 months) and the design (randomly divided experimental and control groups with before and after measurements) was reliable. More effort should be devoted to improving the on-road part of the training, which was often perceived as a typical driving lesson rather than a feedback drive. KEYWORDS Post-license Driver Training; Traffic Safety Program; Program Evaluation; Traffic Training; Driver Behaviour.
Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2178089 2 1. INTRODUCTION As increased attention is given to road safety issues throughout Europe, policymakers are looking for new ways to address road fatalities, in particular amongst novice drivers. Of the many options available, a 2- phased driver training programme, including a pre-license and post-license phase, is under consideration. Four EU Member States (Finland, Luxembourg, Austria and Estonia) already have obligatory post-license 2nd phase training for all novice drivers. Although the 2nd phase modules differ somewhat from one country to another, the principle is the same: to provide an extended form of driver training which stretches into the initial, high-risk period of independent driving in the months following the driving license. The EU ADVANCED project (Sanders, 2003) on post-license driver and rider training was commissioned in the year 2000 by the European Union to analyze the current state of voluntary post-license driver and rider training. The logic of this project was that experts and policymakers in countries looking to introduce obligatory 2nd phase training for novice drivers will undoubtedly look to existing infrastructure and resources to facilitate the implementation of such training. However, there are considerable differences in the approach taken in voluntary post-license training and the approach recommended for a 2nd phase for novice drivers.
There are also important differences between the approach taken in pre-license training and that advocated for the post-license phase. ADVANCED therefore set guidelines for 2nd phase training and, equally as importantly, also highlighted what to avoid. The NovEV project (Sanders & Keskinen, 2004) aimed to implement 2nd phase pilot projects across the EU, according to the guidelines laid down in the ADVANCED project. The objectives of the NovEV project were to give the participating countries experience in designing, preparing and implementing such training, and to evaluate the effects of the training on the participants. The aim of this paper is to describe the evaluation results of the implementation of the NovEV project in Spain by Real Automobil Club de Cataluña (RACC), an Automobile Club with close to nine hundred thousand members all around Spain. 1.1. The Training Programme The 2nd phase training programme implemented in Spain by RACC was based on ADVANCED project guidelines and other scientific studies which put the primary focus of the training on the higher levels of driver behaviour. Research in this area has led to a number of conclusions, including: - Timing: the training should be spread out over time during the initial period of independent driving, but should allow the novice drivers to have accumulated some driving experience beforehand. (Hatakka et al., 2003).
- Methods: the training should be participant-centred and based on discussion, self-evaluation and self- analysis (requiring considerable coaching and group dynamic skills on the part of the trainers). (Bartl et al., 2002; Hatakka, Keskinen, Gregersen, Glad, & Hernetkoski, 2002). - Content: the training should above all focus on high level driver behaviour, such as goals for life and skills for living, and the context and motives behind individual car journeys. A theoretical model known as the GDE matrix (Goals for Driver Education) (Hatakka et al., 2002) has been instrumental in developing curricula for driver training at both pre- and post-license stages. The matrix stresses the overriding significance of the higher levels of driver behaviour with regard to accidents and the need for drivers to possess not only knowledge and skills, but also risk awareness and self-evaluation skills at all levels (Hatakka, Keskinen, Katila, & Laapotti, 1997).
3 discussion session, the most important sociological and psychological aspects that affect young drivers were introduced and discussed (peer pressure, alcohol and drugs, speeding, risk taking, showing off...). For largely financial and organizational reasons, the three planned training sessions took place on a single day for each group of trainees. According to the sampling design, seven training days were scheduled: three in Barcelona, three in Valencia, and one in Madrid. A group of 36 people per training day was decided as the optimal number to achieve the three training sessions in the most efficient way. In a regular training day, as people arrived at the training site, they were first received in a welcome introduction, during which the participants were informed about the organization of the training. Then, they were split up into 3 groups of 12 so that each group would be participating in one of the three programmed trainings sessions (on-road, track, and group discussion) at any given time. The three activities took place on a rotational basis, so that all training sessions took place simultaneously but in a different order. In this way, all the three groups had taken two of the three trainings sessions before lunch whereas the remaining one was programmed to be done after lunch.
The aim of the study was to evaluate the impact of this safety training program on young drivers' self- evaluations concerning their risks, skills and habits in traffic. To accomplish this goal, an evaluation strategy was developed, based on an experimental research design with experimental and control groups assessed at two points, before and after the training: firstly, the pre-test should allow to check that the experimental and control groups are equivalent at the outset of the research; secondly, the differences in the post-test for both groups would provide the empirical support to evaluate the impact of the post-license training on the novice drivers.
2. METHOD 2.1. Participants Subjects included drivers associated to RACC Automobile Club. Three conditions were set to be able to participate in this study: age between 18 and 24 years; no more than 3 years driving experience; and residence in Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, or towns surrounding these 3 large cities. The last condition was set for logistical reasons associated with the organization of the training. Almost 5800 subjects satisfied the above 3 requirements, which served as the initial database from which were randomly selected 1300 candidates, who were sent a letter offering the opportunity to participate in this research. Finally, 621 subjects agreed to participate: 321 men and 300 women.
4 following five scales were used after being translated into Spanish (note that the short name headings will be used in the rest of the section when referring to them): - Scale A1: Self-evaluation of risks connected with personal careless driving habits (7 items). - Scale A2: Self-evaluation of risks connected with showing off and situational reactions (7 items). - Scale B: Self-evaluation of skills for careful driving (7 items). - Scale C1: Self-reported habits related to driving while being in an improper state (7 items). - Scale C2: Self-reported habits related to driving at high speed (8 items). (b) Control measures. A set of variables usually considered as relevant predictors in traffic research were also collected. These variables enabled us to control the internal validity of the experimental design. They are listed below grouped by affinity: - About the subject: age; educational level; parents' educational level; years actually driving; possession of own car.
- About the car: car power; estimated car value; car age. - About driving experience: Km-driven per year; number of fines; number of accidents; type of roads most often used (motorway, national roads, urban); main reasons for driving (going out, to work, on errands, etc.). - About training interests/motivations: Three scales included in the pre-test indicated the subjects' motivation and reasons for participating in a post-license driving course, according to 3 main areas: increasing driving knowledge and skills; better able to recognize and avoid risks; and improvement of abilities to recognize one's strengths and weaknesses.
(c) Course evaluation measures. Finally, participants in the test group completed a questionnaire, which was included in the post-test, designed to get their opinion on some aspects of the training they took: course organization, trainers' performance, interest in the contents, didactic resources, usefulness, potential improvements, etc. The same questions were raised separately for the 3 modules of the training course: the on-road training, the track training, and the discussion group. 2.3. Procedure An introduction letter was sent in January 2003 to a near 1300-people random sample of RACC members satisfying the conditions stated in the Participants' Section. The letter described who we were, our aims and work plan, and included an invitation to participate in the study. Recipients were also informed what would be expected of them if they finally decided to participate, as well as what they would obtain by getting involved: besides the intrinsic motivation of improving ones' traffic safety, a raffle with a brand new car as the main prize would be held for all participants in the study, to take place after the post-test collection (March 2004).
The introductory letter also announced that a follow-up telephone call would be made by RACC. This call was made in order to check the letter had been received, to remind recipients of its contents, address any questions and to confirm the participation or non-participation of the subject. If the answer was positive, a set of questions were asked to subjects during their telephone call, in order to collect some initial data on socio- demographic and driving experience variables. The second mailing (March 2003), to the 621 participants left at this stage consisted of the pre-test, which was completed and returned by 350 subjects. According to the number and residence of the subjects in the test group, 7 one-day training sessions were organized, as follows: 3 in Valencia (July 4th , 5th and 6th ), 3 in Barcelona (July 11th , 12th and 13th ), and 1 in Madrid (July, 19th ). A total of 137 subjects from the test group attended these training sessions that were planned by RACC according to the NovEV project (Sanders & Keskinen, 2004) guidelines. The control and test group participants that satisfied the previous steps received the third mailing with the post-test by December 2003 (9 months after the pre-test), which 263 subjects completed and returned.
5 consider in the evaluation was thus 238: 114 subjects from the control group and 124 from the test group. Table 1 shows a cross-tabulation by gender and age of the final sample of participants. Table 1: Cross-tabulation by the research condition, gender and age variables of the final sample of participants. Age (reached along 2003) 19 20 21 22 23 24 Research Condition Gender Control Group Men 7 9 8 8 7 7 46 Women 7 10 10 14 11 16 68 Test Group Men 10 11 9 11 14 5 60 Women 11 9 7 12 13 12 64 Total 35 39 34 45 45 40 238 2.4. Preliminary Data Analysis Some preliminary data analyses were achieved in order to check three basic aspects related to the validity of procedure: the characteristics of the sample of participants in relation to the reference population; the quality of the data collected; and the metric properties of the measurement instruments. 2.4.1. Sampling- and self-selection- derived comparisons Initial data analysis focused on checking how the sampling and self-selection processes had affected the characteristics of the sample of participants involved in the study. For this purpose, we compared the sample of subjects who agreed initially to participate in the experiment (621 of the 1300 who were invited to participate) versus our reference population as described above in the Sample section (N=5728). This comparative analysis (initial sample of participants v. experiment reference population) was possible because some variables were available from RACC database for most of the subjects on the initial list of candidates. Thus, the variables compared for these 2 groups were: age; number of years as driving license holder; number of accidents, car age; and car power. The gender variable was not considered in this comparison as it was blocked when randomly selecting the subjects who were mailed and phoned with the invitation to participate. T-tests for independent samples were computed for each one of these numeric variables. Results showed statistically significant differences only for the number of years having the driving license variable: the sample has had their license shorter than the population (t = 2.86, df = 5591, p = .005). It should be noted, on the one hand, that the difference of the means in both groups (0.11) is equivalent to approximately one month and ten days only, and, on the other hand, that this statistically significant difference should be considered taking into account the large size of the samples compared.
2.4.2. Data quality control This analysis is directed to detect errors and outliers that can appear in the dataset obtained after data collection and processing. This initial dataset contained 263 data records, each one corresponding to one of the participants who completed all the phases planned in the research design: selection questionnaire, pre- test, training session (only for the test group), and post-test. Four main strategies were applied to clean up the data collected: (1) anomalous values in frequency distributions, cross-tabulations, summary statistics, and uni- and bi- variate graphical representations; (2) subject's very low response rates; (3) extreme standardized means and standard deviations of the subject's response patterns (Dolinger & Dilalla, 1996), and (4) inconsistencies in the subject's expected responses to specific pairs of items. While the first method is variable-oriented and provided information that served either to correct some specific values or to re-code them as missing, the other 3 methods are case-oriented, providing support to locate strange response patterns, whether in the pre-test or in the post-test questionnaires. According to these criteria, data records from 25 subjects were removed from the database so the final sample size in the following analysis was 238.
6 2.4.3. Psychometric analysis of the measures This analysis is oriented to check the psychometric properties of the 5 scales used to collect the data that enabled us to test the impact of the training course (see Measures subsection). The five scales were analyzed by obtaining the dimensional structure of the responses given to each scale, in order to test if the original factor structure was reproduced by our data. Dimensional analysis was carried out using the Principal Components Analysis (PCA) model to each one of the response data sets collected for the 5 scales in the pre- test questionnaire (where the number of subjects taking the scales was larger than in the post-test). The results of the factor extraction through PCA showed that the scales A1, A2 and C2 had a mainly unidimensional factor structure, in line with the results of Hatakka (1998) and Keskinen, Hatakka, Katila & Laapotti (1992) with Finnish samples of novice drivers. The Kaiser-Guttman criteria (eigenvalue > 1) was used to set the number of factors to be extracted, which resulted in 2 factors in the case of scales B and C1. However, this second factor in scale B explained a reduced % of variance in relation to the first factor (15.4 v. 35.7), apart from having no sensible interpretation according to the item loadings in the second factor. With regard to scale C1, the mediocre KMO index for this scale (0.67) denotes that PCA is not very well suited to the response data collected for this scale; additionally, the second factor in the scale C1 appears as somewhat relevant if we look at its % of explained variance in relation to that of the first factor (17.8 v. 31.0). However, the low variance accounted for by this second factor (1.25) and the high saturation of all the items in the first factor suggest that it could be assumed that a main factor underlies the response data for this scale, so we cautiously considered it as unidimensional as well. As a consequence of these results, we worked henceforth with the subjects' scores corresponding to the factor scores associated with the first component extracted for each scale.
After analysis of dimensionality, we proceeded with the application of two classical psychometric procedures oriented to evaluate reliability of measures: Cronbach's alpha and the test-retest indexes. The former was obtained for the data collected in the pre-test questionnaire because a larger sample was available than in post-test application and the results were: 0.73 for scale A1; 0.83 for scale A2; 0.68 for scale B; 0.62 for scale C1; and 0.81 for scale C2. With regard to the test-retest reliability index, this was estimated for each scale through the product-moment correlation between the scores obtained from the pre-test and post-test applications of the 5 scales. The calculation of the correlation coefficients was limited to the control group participants as, by not attending the training course, they received less external influences to change than the test group during the period between the pre-test and the post-test. The coefficients obtained were: 0.49 for scale A1; 0.41 for scale A2; 0.40 for scale B; 0.68 for scale C1; and 0.76 for scale C2, clearly higher for the driving habits self-report scales.
3. RESULTS The statistical analysis proceeded first testing the equivalence between the control and test groups at the outset of the research. Next, the attention was focused on the main goal of this study, namely to evaluate the effectiveness of the training course implemented by RACC according to the NovEV project guidelines (Sanders & Keskinen, 2004). For the latter, a double perspective was adopted according to the two sources of information collected from the participants in this research: driving behaviour indicators related to accident risk (criteria measures); and feedback on the training course they took (course evaluation measures). Note that in the results presented in the following subsections an alpha level of .05 was used for all statistical analyses.
3.1. Equivalence of the test and control groups A number of analyses were achieved to ensure that the experimental and control groups were equivalent at the outset of the research. With regard to the gender variable, as it was stated above, we blocked this variable in the random assignment of subjects to the research groups. Thus, the distribution of men and women in the initial sample of 621 participants (men: 51.7%; women: 48.3%) is quite similar to this of the final sample in the test group (men: 48.6%; women: 51.6%), however, it is far from this of the control group (men: 40.4%; women: 59.6%), suggesting that the gender variable should be statistically controlled in successive data analysis process.
7 As was the case for the gender variable, the distribution of the test and control groups could no longer be as balanced as initially expected after the random assignment of the participants to the two research groups. Obviously, the loss of participants during the early phases of the project could have not followed a random pattern. Thus, some checks were carried out to see to what extent the control and the test groups were balanced for some of the variables collected in the selection and pre-test questionnaires. More specifically, the checks covered the criteria (pre-test) and the control variables listed in the Measures subsection. In order to test if these variables were equally distributed in the control and test groups, we proceeded according to the type of variable: (a) For the category variables, we obtained contingency tables for each one of these crossed by the group variable (control v. test). Pearson's chi-square test was used to contrast the independence of the distribution of the test and control groups with regard to the levels of each one of these variables. The results showed that the control and the test groups were fairly balanced for all the variables considered: all the chi-square values had statistically non-significant results (p > .05). Only the education level variable was on the limit of statistical significance (χ2 = 5.98, df = 2, p = .050), a possible explanation for it being that working people (where supposedly more primary and secondary education levels are found) is less favorably disposed to attend a Saturday training programme.
(b) For the numeric variables, t-tests for independent samples were computed for each one of these variables with the research condition as the grouping variable. The null hypothesis of independence resulted in rejection of 6 of the 23 variables. Table 2 summarizes this information for the 6 variables with significant differences. Table 2: T-tests results for the variables with statistically significant mean differences in the control and test groups in the pre-test phase. N Mean t-test Cohen d Variable Research condition Car power Control Group 90 81.01 t (158) = 2.22 p = .028 0.360 Test Group 70 73.99 Mean scores for the 1st scale of training contents interests: Driving knowledge and skills Control Group 113 3.42 t (230) = -3.07 p = .002 0.41 Test Group 119 3.69 Mean scores for the 2nd scale of training contents interests: Recognizing and avoiding risks Control Group 113 3.56 t (229) = -2.07 p = .039 0.27 Test Group 118 3.76 Mean scores for the 3rd scale of training contents interests: Recognizing one's strengths and weaknesses Control Group 113 3.98 t (230) = -2.99 p = .003 0.42 Test Group 119 4.21 Factor scores for the scale A2: Self-evaluation of risks connected with showing-off and situational reactions. Control Group 114 -0.29 t (216) = -2.90 p = .004 0.39 Test Group 119 0.09 Factor scores for the scale B: Self-evaluation of skills for careful driving.
Control Group 114 0.18 t (231) = 2.05 p = .042 0.27 Test Group 119 -0.09 If we look at the column with Cohen's d as estimation of the effect size, we can see that all the values are in the range of what is considered as small values of effect size (< 0.5), denoting that the statistically significant differences found in the analysis could be more related to a sample size factor than to the magnitude of the differences between the 2 research groups. Anyway, given that the effect sizes values for two of the training interest scales are over 0.4, it was advisable to consider these variables in successive analyses. For the sake of simplicity, taking into account that the 3 variables with the scores in the training interests scales work in the same way (having larger values for the test than for the control group), we assumed that a common factor of Interest in Improving Driving underlies all three, and we built a summary variable as a mean of them. This new variable would simplify later ANOVA modeling and, as it was expected, the test group (M = 3.89) reported larger interest in improving driving than the control group (M = 3.65) according to the t-test computed for this new summary variable (t = -3.175, df = 230, p = .002, d = 0.419).
8 3.2. Main results Results in this section focus on the specific statistical analysis achieved in order to assess the impact of the 2nd phase training for novice drivers carried out by RACC. This analysis has been achieved on a double basis: (1) the participants' scores in the five scales that were considered as the criteria or dependent variables in this study; (2) the course evaluation, that is, the feedback obtained from participants after the training (see Measures subsection above). 3.2.1. Results related to the criteria measures An univariate ANOVA model was used to analyze the data of our mixed between-within design for each one of the five scales considered. In all cases, the Group condition (control v. test) was manipulated as a between-subjects factor, while the Time condition was manipulated as a within factor with also 2 levels: the repeated measures obtained for the scale in the pre-test and post-test moments. The hypothesis about the impact of the training course would be supported if, first, the interaction Group by Time (or Group by Time by Gender) was statistically significant, and second, if the analysis of simple effects went in the expected direction: (1) differences between control and test groups in post-test scores; and (2) no differences between control and test groups in pre-test scores.
Prior analysis was carried out to check if the two main assumptions of the ANOVA method that must be upheld in the data were satisfied, namely the gaussian-shaped distribution of the criteria variables, and the homogeneity of the variances of the distributions defined by the levels of the independent variables. Different tests designed to check these two assumptions, like Shapiro-Wilk's and Levene's tests, showed that the normality and homogeneity of variance assumptions were, in general, not satisfied. Exploration of score distributions for the five scales appeared to be quite asymmetrically distributed, which makes sense if we take into account most of the item statements, that is, rather aberrant driving behaviours. In order to solve this problem, without losing the power of the ANOVA application in the analysis of our data, we opted for the strategy recommended in literature consisting of applying data transformations designed to obtain more symmetric, normal distributions which satisfy the normality assumption and, simultaneously, improve the homogeneity of variances (Berry, 1987; Emerson, 1991). Thus, according to the type and degree of asymmetry in the score distributions for the five scales considered in our study, we applied the most suitable transformation for each case: SQR or LN for the variables distributed with positive asymmetry; EXP(2) for those with negative asymmetry. After applying these transformations on the criteria measures, the acceptance of the hypothesis of normality and homogeneity of variances was corroborated according to Shapiro-Wilk's and Levene's tests, respectively. Figure 1 contains five graphs that display the mean scores for the results in each one of the scales considered in this study. These shown the scale mean scores for the control and test groups in the pre-test and post-test moments as well as these mean scores differentiated by the gender variable. Just two reminders: (1) the rating scales ranged from 1 to 5 for the five measurement scales applied in this study; (2) positive changes (i.e., positive impact of the training course) were associated to the increase in the subject scores for the 'Skills for Careful Driving' scale, whereas to the decrease of them in the other four scales. The changes that appeared in our study are described below; next, we present the results of testing if these differences were statistically significant.
9 Figure 1: Graphs of mean scores for the five criteria measures considered in this study. Looking at the total scores in the five scales for the test group in the pre-test and post-test moments, only a negative change appeared in the 'High Speed Driving Habits' scale. It must be noted that this change is rather small (+0.06 scale units) if we take into account the scale reference; moreover, it appeared also in the control group (+0.07 s.u.). Positive changes in the subject scores for the test group were shown in the other four scales: (a) For the 'Personal Careless Internal Risks' scale is observed a positive change (-0.17 s.u.), however, this is also given in the control group (-0.13 s.u.). A more important effect is shown when considered the men sample (-0.24 s.u.).
(b) For the 'Showing off and Situational Reactions Internal Risks' scale the results are similar to the previous scale. It is shown a positive change in the test group (-0.20 s.u.) and a smaller one in the control group (- 0.11), which is more pronounced when considering the young men drivers (-0.29 and -0.13 s.u., respectively). It must be noted the differences between the control and test group in the pretest, which could denote some sample bias derived of the subjects giving away the experiment in any of its phases. (c) For the 'Skills for Careful Driving' scale, where a score increase is expected, it is found a positive change in the test group (+0.08 s.u.), which is more relevant if we take into account the decrease in the mean scores for the control group (-0.13 s.u.). This difference is much more marked if we look at the men driver sample (+0.16 s.u. and -0.14 s.u., respectively). Again, shocking differences resulted between the control and test group at the pretest moment.
(d) Finally, in the 'Improper State Driving Habits' scale is possible to observe a positive small change for the test group (-0.06 s.u.), yet it is almost null for the control group (-0.01 s.u.). In this case, it is for the women young drivers where this positive change is more important (-0.08 and +0.01 s.u., respectively).
10 An ANOVA mixed model was applied to the analysis of the data coming from each one of the 5 scales considered in order to check if the previous effects were statistically significant. The gender variable and the scores in the summary variable related to interest in improving driving, which were non-equally distributed in the control and test groups, were also modeled in order to control their potential effect on the dependent variables. Statistically significant effects appeared only for the scale related to the self-evaluation of skills for careful driving (see Table 3). No other higher level interaction effects were found as statistically significant in any case.
Table 3: F-test for the interaction effect (Group by Time) for the five scales considered as criteria measures. F p Scale Internal risks connected with personal careless driving habits F(1,227) = 0.27 0.60 Internal risks connected with showing off and situational reactions F(1,229) = 0.64 0.42 Skills for careful driving F(1,227) = 7.75 0.01 Driving habits related to being in an improper state F(1,227) = 2.27 0.13 Driving habits related to high speed F(1,227) = 0.13 0.71 According to these results, we proceeded with an analysis of simple effects for the variable with the scores in the 'Skills for Careful Driving' scale. The results of this analysis showed that the source of the significant interaction effect was the difference between the control and test groups in the pre-test moment. In order to control this difference between the two groups at the outset of the research, we reanalyzed the data taking the pre-test scores in this scale as covariate in the ANOVA model. The results of this ANCOVA analysis showed statistically significant differences between the control and test groups in post-test: F (1.228) = 5.07; p = .025 (see Table 4).
Table 4: ANCOVA results for the 'Skills for Careful Driving' scale. Sum of squares Df Mean square F Sig. Source Corrected Model 53,66 4 13,42 16,97 ,000 Intercept ,14 1 ,14 ,17 ,678 Group 4,01 1 4,01 5,07 ,025 Gender ,23 1 ,23 ,29 ,592 FactorScor Pretest 48,02 1 48,02 60,73 ,000 Group*Gender 2,19 1 2,20 2,78 ,097 Error 180,29 228 ,79 Total 233,98 233 3.2.2. Results related to the participants' feedback One hundred and twenty participants from the test group answered the course feedback survey included in the post-test questionnaire. Figure 2 shows the means, and their respective confidence intervals, for the scores in each one of the 10 survey items, which had to be answered for each of the three modules in the course (discussion-group, on-road, and track training). Agreements ratings ranged from 1 ("Not at all") to 5 ("Very much") for all the items. The items appear in Figure 2 ordered from higher to lower mean scores. Finally, note that item #4 ("It was rather boring") was reversed in order this item measures in the same way as the rest of the items. Thus, the descriptive statistics stand for interesting rather than boring for this item.
11 Figure 2: Means and confidence intervals for the items included in the participants' feedback survey. Item scores for the 10 items in the 3 courses were modeled with an ANOVA mixed model with 2 within- variables (Item with 10 levels and Course with 3 levels) and the gender variable as between-variable. Given that the latter had no major effect, nor participated with the other variables in significant interaction effects, it was removed from the definite model applied to analyze the data. The ANOVA results showed statistically significant main effects for the Item and the Course factors as well as for the Item by Course interaction, so an analysis of simple effects was computed. The results of this analysis showed that the source of the significant interaction effect is associated to different significant mean differences between the three parts of the course. Many of them are explained by significant lower scores in the items for the on-road part than for the track and group discussion parts (see Figure 2).
4. DISCUSSION 4.1. The impact of training Main result of the study was that we could find evidence of the impact of safety training after a 9 month follow-up period in a well controlled study. Data analysis results for the five criteria measures considered in this study showed a statistically significant positive change for the 'Skills for Careful Driving' scale. Subject in the experimental group assessed that after 9 month their "Skills for Careful Driving" were still better than before the safety training course. Thus, empirical support was obtained for the impact of the course on the novice drivers' self-evaluation of their skills for careful driving, what goes in the expected direction if we take into account that this self-evaluation facet appears as inversely related to accidents (Hatakka, 1998). It was found a slight trend (not statistically significant) towards expected direction in three of the five scales ("Personal Careless Internal Risks", Showing of and Situational Reactions Internal Risks", and "Improper State Driving Habits"). It is naturally not possible to argue that these criteria measures were improved as a result of the training program. No statistically significant differences were found for the gender variable in any case.
12 the post-test times. Another possibility is that these changes have their origin in the measurements made twice as part of the evaluation process. The possible mechanism causing this effect could be that the participants of the study were attending more closely such things in their driving which were asked in the questionnaire. Thus, a positive trend appeared in the control group in two scales ('Personal Careless Internal Risks' and 'Showing off and Situational Reactions Internal Risks'), however, it was not found evidence supporting that the training course caused an improvement added to that natural improvement. Contrary to this trend, a negative one was observed for the 'Skills for Careful Driving' and the 'High Speed Driving Habits' scales in the control group, however, the training course provided a significant change in this trend for the former, yet a null effect for the latter. Finally, a practically null change is observed in the control group for the 'Improper State Driving Habits' self-report scale. Thus, yet the observed trends in the control group were not statistically significant for any scale, the observed trends may suggest which subjects could evolve in a positive way without more intervention that the existing ones, and which could need to be considered as priority intervention targets of training programmes and other traffic policies. 4.2. Participants' feedback The second line of data analysis in this study, the one based on the participants' feedback survey about the training course, offered some interesting input for evaluating the course as reported by the participants. Mean scores appeared significantly higher for the survey items related to improvements in self-awareness about risks (item #5: "It helped me to become more aware of risks when driving") and bad driving habits (item #7: "It made me think about some of my bad driving habits") than for these related to improvements of driving techniques and skills (items #6 "I learnt some driving techniques to better master the car" and #8 "It helped me become a more skilful driver"), what conforms to the aims of the NovEV project (Sanders & Keskinen, 2004) for such post-license training. It must be noted, however, that survey items #6 and #8 scored significantly higher for the track training, what could indicate an overestimation of the driving skills as a consequence of this training module, something that should be avoided in the potential implementation of the course in future.
With regard to the implementation of the training course, a priority from RACC was to implement a short and feasible training, rather than a long and therefore more comprehensive - but also less realistic from a practical point of view - training. However, the experience in the implementation of the training sessions suggested that each one of the training modules (track, on-road and discussion group) should be extended from 90 minutes to 120 minutes in order to generate better feedback discussions between participants and trainers in each session.
Participants' feedback about the course organization, contents, and tuition revealed a rather positive evaluation of this aspects: items #3 ("The trainers did a good job"), #4 ("It was rather boring [reversed # 2 ("It was well organized"), and #9 ("It was interactive: we had the opportunity to raise questions and discuss things.") obtained mean scores over 4 (item rating scales ranging from 1 to 5). It is also outstanding that the general evaluation of the course underlying the statement of item #10 ("I would recommend this course to other young drivers"), which encompasses a comprehensive impression about the training course in the form of an applied consequence obtained the highest item total mean score (4.77) of all the survey items. It should be noted, though, that items #5 ("It [training] helped me become more aware of risks when driving") and #6 ("I learnt some driving techniques to better master the car") showed significant lower scores for the on-road training, so it is advisable to revise the contents and subsequent discussion of this module exercises in order to reduce the possible increase in confidence without increase in skills.
13 the statistical analysis to detect the potential impact of the training course, for example: (1) a larger sample size; (2) a more balanced sample selection -in our study the control group appeared in the pre-test as systematically safer than the test group; and (3) scales with items which were better tailored to the changes expected as a result of the training sessions. As some items were perhaps not very directly related to the course subjects, this may have hampered our attempts to detect specific changes. ACKNOWLEDGMENT The authors express their sincere gratitude to Real Automobil Club de Barcelona (RACC), which provided the financial and logistic support to the development of this research. Mr. Pere Sauret, Mr. Albert Alumà and Mr. Lluis Puerto, from RACC, were especially involved in the organization and implementation of the training programme.
REFERENCES Bartl, G., Assailly, J. P., Chatenet, F., Hatakka, M., Keskinen, E., & Willmes-Lenz, G. (2002). [Research Report] EU- project "Andrea": Analysis of Driver Rehabilitation Programmes. Vienna: Kuratorium Fur Verkehrssicherheit. Berry, D. A. (1987). Logarithmic transformations in ANOVA. Biometrics, 42, 439-456. Dolinger, S. J., & Dilalla, D. L. (1996). Cleaning up data and running preliminary analyses. In Frederick T. L. Leong & James T. Austin (Eds.): The Psychology Research Handbook. A Guide for Graduate Students and Research Assistants. Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Emerson, J. D. (1991). Introduction to transformations. In Fundamentals of Exploratory Analysis of Variance. D. C. Hoalglin, F. Mosteller, & J. W. Tukey (Eds.). NY: Wiley & Sons. Gregersen, N. P. (1996). Young drivers' overestimation of their own skill – an experiment on the relation between training strategy and skill. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 28, 243-250. Hatakka, M. (1998). Novice Driver's Risk- and Self-Evaluations (Doctoral Thesis). Annales Universitatis Turkuensis, ser.B- TOM.228. Turku, Finland: University of Turku.
Hatakka, M., Keskinen, E., Baughan, C., Goldenbelt, C., Gregersen, N. P., Groot, H., Siegrist, S., Willmes-Lenz, G., & Winkelbauer, M. (2003). [Research Report] Basic driver training: New models. Turku, Finland: University of Turku, Department of Psychology. Hatakka, M., Keskinen, E., Gregersen, N.P., Glad, A., & Hernetkoski, K. (2002). From control of the vehicle to personal self-control; broadening the perspectives to driver education. Transportation Research Part F. Traffic psychology. 5, 201-215.
Hatakka, M., Keskinen, E., Katila, A., & Laapotti, S. (1997). Self-reported driving habits are valid predictors of violations and accidents. In T. Rothengatter & E. C. Vaya (Eds.): Traffic and Transport Psychology, Theory and Application (pp. 295-303). Amsterdam: Pergamon. Keskinen, E., Hatakka, M., Katila, A., & Laapotti, S. (1992). [Research Report] Onnistuiko kuljettajaopetuksen uudistus? Seurantaprojektin loppuraportti. (Was the renewal of the driver training successful? -english abstract). Psychological Reports n. 94. Turku, Finland: University of Turku. Sanders, N. (2003). [Research Report] The EU ADVANCED project: Description and analysis of post-licence driver and rider training (231 pp.). Amsterdam: CIECA.
Sanders, N., & Keskinen, E. (2004) [Research Report] The EU NovEV project: Evaluation of post-licence training schemes for novice drivers (267 pp.). Amsterdam: CIECA.
14 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES J. Gabriel Molina, PhD. Dr. Molina is associated professor at the Department of Research Methods in Psychology, University of Valencia, Spain. Most of his research activity has been developed as member of INTRAS (Research Institute on Traffic and Road Safety of the University of Valencia). Main research interests are related to psychological testing, survey methods, and traffic data analysis. He is member of the European Association of Methodology. Dr. Molina received his doctorate in Psychology from the University of Valencia and he has co-authored some papers published in the journals Applied Psychological Measurement, Educational and Psychological Measurement, Behaviour Research Methods, and Psychological Reports.
Jaime Sanmartín, PhD. Dr. Sanmartín is director of METRAS (Research Group on Measurement, Evaluation, Analysis and Data Processing in Traffic Accidents and Road Safety) at the Research Institute on Traffic and Road Safety of the University of Valencia (INTRAS). He is a member of the foundation team of INTRAS and an active researcher since 1995. He has directed and authored numerous research studies in the development and application of quantitative methods, psychological tests and questionnaires for studying and evaluating human factors in traffic accidents and road safety.
Dr. Sanmartín received his doctorate in Psychology from the University of Valencia, where is associated professor at the Department of Research Methods in Psychology. He is a member of the European Association of Methodology. Esko Keskinen, PhD. Dr. Keskinen has been working in the field of traffic psychology over 20 years and his special areas are driver education and driver testing as well as accident investigation. He has been an active researcher in several European Union projects concerning driver training and testing and also accident investigation. He has been leading his research group in the area of traffic psychology since 1986.
Prof. Keskinen received his doctorate in Psychology from the University of Turku, Finland. He is professor of Psychology at the Department of Psychology of this University. Nick Sanders, MA. Nick Sanders is a project manager at the international commission of driver testing authorities (CIECA). He has managed a total of 3 European Union projects in the driver training and testing fields and was recently project coordinator for a 4th. These projects dealt with issues such as novice driver training, driving instructor standards, and medical testing of drivers. Prior to working at CIECA, Mr Sanders was a senior consultant at Deloitte & Touche Europe Services in Brussels, Belgium.
Mr Sanders has a master in European Political Administration from the College of Europe, Bruges (Belgium) and an undergraduate degree in European Studies from the University of Bath, England.


text:
Q: UIImageView in UICollectionVIew does not display image until "cell" is clicked on In my collectionView, each cell has an image. The image is pulled from the web with a URL obtained from mySQL database. The entire code of my UICollectionView is here, and the cells are custom made:
#import "DealsCollectionView.h"
#import "DealsCell.h"
#import "DealsModel.h"
#import "Deal.h"

@interface DealsCollectionView ()
{
DealsModel *_homeModel;
}

@property UIActivityIndicatorView *spinner;
@property NSMutableArray *deals;
@property NSCache *imageCache;

@end

@implementation DealsCollectionView

-(void)itemsDownloaded:(NSArray *)items
{
// This delegate method will get called when the items are finished downloading

// Set the downloaded items to the array
_deals = [items copy];

[_spinner stopAnimating];

// Reload the table view
[self.collectionView reloadData];
}

- (instancetype) initWithCollectionViewLayout:(UICollectionViewLayout *)layout
{
self = [super initWithCollectionViewLayout:layout];

if (self) {
    // alloc and init the various (Mutable)Array properties
    self.deals = [[NSMutableArray alloc] init];
    self.imageCache = [[NSCache alloc] init];

    // Set Title
    self.navigationItem.title = @"Deals from Our Sponsors";

    // Create new HomeModel object and assign it to _homeModel variable
    _homeModel = [[DealsModel alloc] init];

    // Set this view controller object as the delegate for the home model object
    _homeModel.delegate = self;

    // Call the download items method of the home model object
    [_homeModel downloadItems];

}

return self;
}

- (void)viewDidLoad {
[super viewDidLoad];

// Uncomment the following line to preserve selection between presentations
// self.clearsSelectionOnViewWillAppear = NO;

// Create a spinner
UIActivityIndicatorView *spinner = [[UIActivityIndicatorView alloc]
                                    initWithActivityIndicatorStyle:UIActivityIndicatorViewStyleGray];

CGRect screenRect = [[UIScreen mainScreen] bounds];
CGFloat screenWidth = screenRect.size.width;
CGFloat screenHeight = screenRect.size.height;

spinner.center = CGPointMake(screenWidth/2.0, screenHeight/5.0);
spinner.hidesWhenStopped = YES;
[self.view addSubview:spinner];
[spinner startAnimating];
_spinner = spinner;

// Do any additional setup after loading the view.

UINib *cellNib = [UINib nibWithNibName:@"DealsCell" bundle:nil];
[self.collectionView registerNib:cellNib forCellWithReuseIdentifier:@"dealCell"];
}

#pragma mark <UICollectionViewDataSource>

- (NSInteger)numberOfSectionsInCollectionView:(UICollectionView *)collectionView {
return 1;
}

- (NSInteger)collectionView:(UICollectionView *)collectionView numberOfItemsInSection:(NSInteger)section {
return _deals.count;
}

- (UICollectionViewCell *)collectionView:(UICollectionView *)collectionView cellForItemAtIndexPath:(NSIndexPath *)indexPath {
DealsCell *cell = [collectionView dequeueReusableCellWithReuseIdentifier:@"dealCell" forIndexPath:indexPath];

// Configure the cell
Deal *thisDeal = [_deals objectAtIndex:indexPath.row];

UILabel *nameLabel = (UILabel *) [cell viewWithTag:1];
nameLabel.text = thisDeal.name;

UILabel *offerLabel = (UILabel *) [cell viewWithTag:2];
offerLabel.text = thisDeal.offer;

UILabel *descriptionLabel = (UILabel *) [cell viewWithTag:3];
descriptionLabel.text = thisDeal.businessDescription;

UILabel *addressLabel = (UILabel *) [cell viewWithTag:4];
addressLabel.text = thisDeal.address;

// Configure the image
UIImageView *imageView = (UIImageView *) [cell viewWithTag:6];
imageView.contentMode = UIViewContentModeScaleAspectFit;
imageView.clipsToBounds = YES;

UIImage *dealLargeImage = [self.imageCache objectForKey:thisDeal.largeImage];
imageView.image = dealLargeImage;
if (dealLargeImage == nil) {

    NSURLSessionConfiguration *sessionConfig =
    [NSURLSessionConfiguration defaultSessionConfiguration];

    NSURLSession *session = [NSURLSession sessionWithConfiguration:sessionConfig delegate: self delegateQueue:nil];
    NSURLSessionDataTask *imageData = [session dataTaskWithURL:[NSURL URLWithString: thisDeal.largeImage]
                                             completionHandler:^(NSData *data,
                                                                 NSURLResponse *response,
                                                                 NSError *error) {
                                                 // handle NSData
                                                 UIImage *image = [UIImage imageWithData:data];
                                                 //thisDeal.image = image;
                                                 [self.imageCache setObject:image forKey:thisDeal.largeImage];
                                                 imageView.image = image;

                                                 dispatch_async(dispatch_get_main_queue(), ^{
                                                     [self.collectionView reloadData];
                                                 });
                                             }];
    [imageData resume];
}

return cell;
}

- (UIEdgeInsets)collectionView:(UICollectionView*)collectionView layout:(UICollectionViewLayout *)collectionViewLayout insetForSectionAtIndex:(NSInteger)section {
return UIEdgeInsetsMake(20, 10, 20, 10); // top, left, bottom, right
}

The code for my custom UICollectionView cells are pretty much entirely blank, except for the XIB. The cell will appear, with all the labels set appropriately, etc. However, the image of the imageView is shown as black (the background color), until I click on it, in which case that cell's imageView (and only that cell's imageView) has its image appear. I'm wondering how I can get these images to appear as the view loads, rather than having to click on them.


text:
module QA
  module Page
    module Project
      module Settings
        class DeployKeys < Page::Base
          view 'app/views/projects/deploy_keys/_form.html.haml' do
            element :deploy_key_title, 'text_field :title'
            element :deploy_key_key, 'text_area :key'
          end

          view 'app/assets/javascripts/deploy_keys/components/app.vue' do
            element :deploy_keys_section, /class=".*deploy\-keys.*"/
            element :project_deploy_keys, 'class="qa-project-deploy-keys"'
          end

          view 'app/assets/javascripts/deploy_keys/components/key.vue' do
            element :key_title, /class=".*qa-key-title.*"/
            element :key_fingerprint, /class=".*qa-key-fingerprint.*"/
          end

          def fill_key_title(title)
            fill_in 'deploy_key_title', with: title
          end

          def fill_key_value(key)
            fill_in 'deploy_key_key', with: key
          end

          def add_key
            click_on 'Add key'
          end

          def key_title
            within_project_deploy_keys do
              find_element(:key_title).text
            end
          end

          def key_fingerprint
            within_project_deploy_keys do
              find_element(:key_fingerprint).text
            end
          end

          def key_titles
            within_project_deploy_keys do
              all_elements(:key_title)
            end
          end

          def key_fingerprints
            within_project_deploy_keys do
              all_elements(:key_fingerprint)
            end
          end

          private

          def within_project_deploy_keys
            wait(reload: false) do
              has_css?(element_selector_css(:project_deploy_keys))
            end

            within_element(:project_deploy_keys) do
              yield
            end
          end
        end
      end
    end
  end
end

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Caitlin Brody
The Worst Things to Say to a Pregnant Woman
Yep, these are all real.
Sometimes, the people who make those insensitive pregnancy comments really do mean well. And other times, they're just plain rude. We've polled The Bump users to find some of the worse remarks they've received. Do any of these sound familiar?
"You know how that happens, right?"
"Looks like you've been busy!"
"Honey, as big as you are, you won't make it to your due date."
"I hate to say it, but you're gaining a little weight there."
"You look too skinny to be pregnant."
"By your third they just kind of slide out, right?"
"Are you guys done now?"
"How much bigger have your boobs gotten?"
"I had an epidural. It didn't work."
"How's that diet working out for you?"
"It just looks like you swallowed a watermelon."
"What position did you use?"
"Once you have the baby, you're not going to want to work."
"Was it planned?"
"You chose a terrible time to get pregnant."
"Good thing you're big boned. It hardly looks like you're pregnant."
"You're definitely having a girl since your butt is getting so big!"
"I hope it comes out normal."
"Aren't you too old to have another baby?"
"I bet you're glad you had her prematurely so that you wouldn't get so big."
"Is it the same dad as your first?"
"Are you sure this is what you want?"
"You'll never sleep again."
"You should have a c-section. They're so easy."
"You definitely look more pregnant—your face is fat. It's bigger."
"Oh, so that's why you're getting married."
"Oh look, she can't hide the waddle now."

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Evan je mužské křestní jméno pravděpodobně pochází z keltského jména Eógan znamenající "narozený v tisu" či "mladý bojovník".

Jméno Evan nosí více různých osob:

 jméno
 Evan Bourne (* 1983) – americký wrestler
 Donnacha O'Dea – irský pokerový hráč
 Evan Handler (* 1961) – americký herec
 Eoghan Harris – irský novinář
 Evan Hunter (1926–2005) – americký spisovatel a scenárista
 Evan Lysacek (* 1985) – americký krasobruslař
 Eoghan O'Donell – scenárista a producent
 Eoghan O'Reilly – irský muzikant
 Eoghan Ó Tuairisc – irský básník a spisovatel
 Evan Roberts (1878–1951) – velšský kazatel
 Evan Rachel Woodová (* 1987) – americká herečka

 příjmení
 John Evan (* 1948) – anglický hudebník
 Vladimír Evan (* 1963) – český hokejový trenér

Mužská jména
Mužská jména keltského původu

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Welcome to the website of the Massachusetts Committee for Public Counsel Services. The Committee, a 15-member body appointed by the Governor, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the President of the Senate, and the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, oversees the provision of legal representation to indigent persons in criminal and civil cases and administrative proceedings in which there is a right to counsel.
Most representation is provided by approximately 3,000 private attorneys trained and certified to accept appointments. Support for and supervision of these attorneys is provided by the Private Counsel Division (for criminal cases and related matters), the Children and Family Law Division (for child welfare cases), the Youth Advocacy Division (for delinquency, youthful offender, and GCL revocation cases), and the Mental Health Division (for guardianships and mental health/substance abuse commitments). Approximately 500 staff attorneys, working in offices located across Massachusetts, provide representation to clients in Superior, District, Juvenile, and Probate and Family Court cases and in appeals of those cases.
The Chief Counsel, appointed by the Committee and assisted by the Senior Management Team, is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the agency.
The Children and Family Law Division (CAFL) provides legal representation to children and indigent parents in child welfare matters, including care and protection proceedings, children requiring assistance cases, actions to terminate parental rights, guardianship-of-a-minor cases, and any other child custody proceeding where the Department of Children and Families (DCF) is a party or where the court is considering granting custody to DCF. In Massachusetts, both children and indigent parents have a right to representation by counsel in child welfare cases. See G. L. c. 119, § 29 and Dep't of Public Welfare v. J.K.B., 379 Mass. 1 (1979). Representation is provided by a panel of private attorneys and by staff attorneys in offices throughout the state.
The General Counsel's Office is responsible for providing legal counsel and support for the Committee for Public Counsel Services, all its divisions, offices, and activities including a leadership role in the carrying out of the agency's fiscal, human resources, and operational responsibilities, internally and externally. The General Counsel also oversees the Community Liaison and the Audit & Oversight Department.
The Information Technology Division enables and enhances the Agency's abilities to deliver our mission and serve our clients. The Information Technology Division performs this function by delivering technology capabilities for Agency staff and private counsel partners.
The Administration and Finance units provide support for the agency in the areas of budgeting, accounting, facilities and equipment, records retention and reporting. This encompasses financial planning/budgeting, purchasing and procurement, equipment, inventories and accounts payables and receivables.
Administration and Finance's staff are orgainzed into three groups: Accounts Payable, Budget, and Facilities and Procurement.


text:
Most Canadian crypto exchanges likely fall under securities laws, according to new guidance
Coinbase Commerce eclipses $50 million in transactions
Coinbase Commerce, the exchange's online retail service, announced today it has facilitated $50 million in transactions since launching last year. With 10,000 monthly users, the platform is on a growth trajectory, homing in on early adopters with plans to innovate, according to Justin O'Brien, the product lead for the platform.
"It has been quite steady growth," O'Brien said. "This quarter has been quite great."
The app launched in February 2018, allowing merchants to accept multiple cryptocurrencies as payment.
Coinbase Commerce utilizes a different strategy and framework from other crypto payment services like BitPay or Flexa, O'Brien said. Specifically, it boasts an open system in which any firm with a cryptocurrency wallet can pay participating merchants whereas other providers accept crypto on behalf of customers and then pay merchants in fiat.
"We have less transaction cost because it is truly peer-to-peer," said O'Brien.
The firm has also recently begun supporting USDC payments. Support of USDC, Coinbase and Circle's stablecoin, could open the door to any other ERC-20 token going forward, although for now, it is limited to USDC.
"It is an exciting development," said O'Brien. "It could help with the adoption of USDC and ER20 tokens."
#CRYPTOCURRENCY NEWS


HL Series, Intermodal Power Connectors - Eastern Connector Specialty Corp.
Eastern Connector carries the Pyle-National HL Series connectors from Kitazawa Electric Works (KEW). These intermodal power connectors are applicable throught the world in refer applications and comply with International Standards Organization (ISO) and CEE Standards.
The HL Series consists of Interlocked Receptacles in single, two & four gang units. Also included are panel mount receptacles, plugs & inline cord connectors. These products operate reliably in climate extremes and are made of non-corrosive materials.
Interlocked receptacle is dead front for safe electrical connection.
To ensure fluids are kept out of interior, plug and cord connectors are provided with o-ring seals on the contacts and insulator. Also, their is a tapered ruber gland at the cable entrance.
Pre-wired interior permits fast & cost-saving installation.
Constructed of corrosion resistant materials for durability and longevity.
Captive screw-on dust cap protects receptacle from weather when plug is not engaged.
Contacts terminate with pressure screw wire connections for fast installation and easy maintenance.
"Self-Wiping" contacts made of high strength copper providing supieror conductivity and corrosion resistance especially in marine environments.
Grounded contacts are longer than phase contacts for first make/last break safety.
Interlocked receptacle enclosures and panel mount receptacles are both equipped with gasket for weather tightness.
Panel mount receptacles, plugs and cord connectors are constructed of non-metallic material for long life and safety.
Plugs and cord connectors are equipped with mechanical clamp to provide cable strain relief.
All enclosures are MET listed.


text:
Jerimiah Miller
Notable Burials > Jerimiah Miller
Title: Navy Petty Officer, War of 1812
Birthdate: March 27, 1764
Death Date: April 4, 1868
Plot Location: Naval 2, Row 12, Grave 21 (GPS: 39.93652, -75.2401)
Jerimiah Miller was born in Kennebunk, York County, Maine on March 27, 1764. At the age of 11, Miller went to sea as Cabin Boy aboard the merchant brig Enterprize sailing to the West Indies.
In 1798, after many voyages as a merchant seaman, Miller joined the United States Navy, shipping aboard the 38 gun frigate USS Constellation. In February 1799, on its first cruise, the Constellation, commanded by Captain Thomas Truxtun, sailed into the Caribbean Sea with orders to attack French privateers then harassing American merchant shipping in the undeclared Quasi War.
Years later, while a resident of the Naval Asylum, Jeremiah Miller described to a biographer the Constellation's baptism of fire, the first US Navy victory against a foreign naval vessel in ship-to-ship combat. The battle took place off Nevis Island in the Caribbean Sea on February 9, 1799. Miller's vantage point was the Constellation's Main Top, above the deck, where he helped rig the sails.
"After cruising sometime we made a large sail, and as we neared, she had hoisted her flag. We then threw out the private signal, and she not answering it, cleared ship for action. She then hauled down our flag, and run up the French, and as soon as we saw the first flutter of her flag we all felt like new men, as we knew we should have a fight sure. We stood along within good hailing distance, and hailed her several times. We received a few shot in answer, we speaking that language replied at once, and then went fairly into it, broadside for broadside."
The Constellation chased the 40 gun French frigate L'Insurgente through a storm. After receiving several raking broadsides from the Constellation, the French captain finally struck his colors and surrendered his ship. The battle lasted an hour and fourteen minutes.
Later during the Quasi War, Miller served as Boatswain aboard the USS Enterprise under Captain John Shaw. The Enterprise captured eight French privateers, including the L'Seine and the L'Flambeaux, and freed eleven US merchant ships in the West Indies.
During the War of 1812, Miller was imprisoned at England's notorious Dartmoor Prison for refusing to fight against his own country after being forcibly impressed into the British Navy.
After the war, Miller served on the USS Guerriere under Captain McDonough and was Boatswain's Mate and Captain of the Forecastle under Commodore Stewart aboard the USS Franklin. He also served on the USS North Carolina, USS Fairfield, and USS Natchez.
Petty Officer Jeremiah Miller entered the Naval Asylum at Philadelphia, PA on May 8, 1840. He died at the Naval Asylum on April 4, 1868 at the age of 104.
According to his obituary, as a beneficiary at the Naval Asylum, "Jeremiah was known to all visitors, and was noted for several eccentricities, one was his fondness for decorating his person with various colored ribbons; but his most singular idea was that he would never die, asserting that he had been dead for forty days, was raised from the dead, and would never die again. But the sentence passed upon Adam has been executed, and the old tree has fallen."
Photo by Bruce Hoffsommer
Support the Friends of Mount Moriah
Help us in our mission to restore and maintain the beautiful Mount Moriah Cemetery by donating to our cause or volunteering at one of our clean-up events.


text:
Home > Archive 〉 2016 〉 July 〉 LLL Ladybird
July 2016 Legacy
Lady Bird in Big Bend
Fifty years ago, the first lady headed west to promote conservation.
By Russell Roe
Lady Bird Johnson wanted every American to experience the magic of our national parks, which are celebrating their 100th anniversary this year. Fifty years ago, the first lady marked the 50th anniversary of the National Park Service by embarking on a grand adventure to Big Bend National Park. She raved about that "fabulous corner of the world."
The purpose of her trip: The first lady wanted to bring attention to the wonders of America's national parks. What made the trip special: She hiked the Lost Mine Trail, listened to stories around the campfire and shot the rapids of Mariscal Canyon on a raft trip. It became one of Mrs. Johnson's most celebrated excursions during her White House years.
As first lady, Mrs. Johnson established herself as one of the nation's chief proponents of environmental conservation. Using her influence as a resident of the White House, she gave speeches on environmental issues, led the fight against the proliferation of billboards along highways, spurred the beautification of our nation's capital and pushed her husband to enact environmentally friendly legislation.
"It's a well-established fact by historians and surviving members of the Johnson administration that the reason Lyndon Johnson signed more national park legislation than any other president in history is because his wife had such an influence on him," says Russ Whitlock, superintendent of the Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park. "She was out traveling and seeing these places. He signed 47 different national park bills that either created or enlarged national parks. That's pretty amazing."
Some of Mrs. Johnson's most effective tools in promoting her cause of conservation and beautification were her tours of natural areas.
The press corps couldn't resist tagging along as she visited places such as California's redwood forests, Wyoming's Teton Mountains and New York's Hudson River. Her Big Bend trip took that experience to a whole new level.
She visited Big Bend National Park — the closest national park to her home and the first national park in Texas — in April 1966 as the National Park Service celebrated its 50th anniversary and marked the culmination of its Mission 66 improvement program. Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall, press secretary Liz Carpenter, Secret Service staff and several dozen members of the media accompanied her.
Lady Bird Johnson takes in the scenery as she, Stewart Udall, park staff and others float down the Rio Grande. In her diary, she noted the "great soaring cliffs" and the "sweet call of the canyon wren."
The first lady and her entourage flew into Presidio, "known to me only as a place on the map that the weatherman usually reported as the hottest place in the United States," she wrote in her White House diaries.
She eloquently described her new surroundings: "The scenery was an ever-changing panorama of mountains and what looked like volcanic flows, swirls of tumbleweed, a few struggling bluebonnets, cactus and yucca, and finally great expanses of nothing at all except creosote bushes with little tiny yellow blossoms on them."
Lunchtime at the national park headquarters featured barbecue and iced tea, accompanied by a mariachi band. Her duties left her little time to eat, and every time she got up to meet someone or attend a presentation, she said, "the unceasing West Texas wind would blow away my napkin or deposit a little more sand in my plate."
The afternoon found them in the Chisos Basin, where she noticed two kinds of junipers she had not seen before — weeping juniper and alligator juniper — and she checked in to her cabin.
The Lost Mine Trail was next on the agenda, and Mrs. Johnson changed into jeans, a red-checkered shirt and cowboy hat for the hike. She noted the absurdity of taking many dozens of people on a walk in the wilderness. "We had two diametrically opposed, incompatible elements," she wrote. "Into the wilderness of these majestic towering crags — this eons-old graphic story of the geological history of the earth, this solitude — thundered the motley crew of one hundred."
One member of the media in particular stood out — "a newspaperwoman in bright red britches carrying a bright red umbrella as she climbed the mountain."
Mrs. Johnson noted the abundant bird life and the marvelous views into Mexico. Everyone took a break at the top of the trail, where she made a few remarks and the photographers snapped some pictures.
Liz Carpenter recalled talking with President Johnson the next day to ask what was appearing in the newspapers. She said the president replied: "Well, it's good. You have a five-column picture on page one of the New York Times. Lady Bird looks like the Lone Ranger, and Stewart Udall looks like Tonto."
At the end of the day, everyone gathered on a mesa top for dinner and a roaring campfire. Entertainer Cactus Pryor emceed an evening of folk songs and stories about Comanches, cattlemen and conquistadors. Those in attendance were spellbound by the "magnificent drama proceeding in the sky," Mrs. Johnson wrote in her diary, as the sunset painted the twilight and a full moon dramatically rose over the mountains.
"What a night to remember!" she recalled, noting the special elixir of outdoor experiences. "Sheer magic, and a day worth five ordinary days of living."
A mariachi band entertains at lunch.
The next day, after the first lady planted a pinyon tree, the people on the trip got into cars for the journey down to the Rio Grande, where they would raft through Mariscal Canyon.
The 11-mile trip down the river took five hours. Twenty-four rafts with five to six people in each made their way down the wild river. Some rafts flipped in the rapids. Mrs. Johnson (who took a turn paddling) recalled seeing one man clinging to a rock in the rushing water (he apparently found his way to safety). With more than 100 people floating, laughing, yelling and occasionally falling out of rafts, it was a spectacle the Big Bend had rarely seen.
The raft trip also had moments that showcased nature's majesty and intimacy.
"The country was marked with great soaring cliffs that rose up on each side like giant pipe organs or cathedral spires, battlements of some long-ago civilization, or the vast escarpments of another world in which the dinosaurs might still be living," the first lady wrote in her diary. "Sometimes you would even see a cave. Occasionally, in just a cupful of soil on the cliffside, a cactus would be growing.
Sometimes even a blooming strawberry cactus or yucca, or ocotillo, or even a stunted pinyon. And along the banks, there was river cane, which the Mexicans use to thatch their huts. But mostly there were just the awesome spires of the canyon walls pierced by centuries of wind, eroded by centuries of water, with all sorts of tales to tell to a geologist. And above the canyon walls the bluest sky."
The trip was a great success. It garnered positive press coverage across the country, and Mrs. Johnson accomplished her goal of showcasing the majestic beauty of a wild and remote national park.
For the press, being able to show the first lady rafting down the rapids on a wilderness river sure beat covering the latest bill signing.
"The reporters had a grand time," says Lewis Gould, former professor of history at the University of Texas and an expert on Lady Bird Johnson. "It was a junket that was much more than a junket, with a little excitement, the flowing river, the natural beauty. Of course, Mrs. Johnson was a gracious hostess even in rafts going down the river. They were uniformly very enthusiastic about it."
For Mrs. Johnson, it was one more step in her effort to promote America's parks and beautification.
"She was truly committed to the cause," Gould says. "She had been interested in the natural world since she was a child. She saw this as good press coverage but really that it would push the cause along at a time when the Johnson administration needed good publicity."
The environment may not be the first thing people associate with Lyndon Johnson, but he proved to be one of America's top conservation presidents, along with Theodore Roosevelt and Franklin Roosevelt.
Interior Secretary Stewart Udall and Lady Bird Johnson lead members of the press on the Lost Mine hike.
More than 300 laws related to the environment were passed during the Johnson administration, forming the legal basis of the modern environmental movement. Many of those achievements are credited to Mrs. Johnson's efforts. In addition to the expansion of the national park system, major legislative initiatives during the Johnson administration include the Wilderness Act, the Land and Water Conservation Fund, the Endangered Species Act, the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, the National Historic Preservation Act, the Highway Beautification Act and the Clean Air Act.
In July 1968, President Johnson thanked his wife for her guidance, inspiration and hard work by presenting her with 50 pens used to sign these laws. She received a plaque that read: "To Lady Bird, who has inspired me and millions of Americans to try to preserve our land and beautify our nation. With love from Lyndon."
Even after leaving office, the Johnsons weren't finished helping national parks. They donated their famous Hill Country ranch to the National Park Service as a national historical park.
"What more can you say than to give your beloved ranch to the National Park Service as kind of a final contribution to the parks?" Whitlock asks.
Consider making a side trip to the ranch, near Johnson City, on your next trip out to Big Bend as you celebrate the 100th anniversary of national parks.
Lady Bird Turns 100
Remembering Lady Bird


text:
Hannah Frankman
Coach – Educator – Writer – Storyteller
Notes on the Style of "The Song of Achilles" by Madeline Miller
Disclaimer: do not read if you don't like spoilers. This blog post is built of them.
I've been meaning to read The Song of Achilles for some time. I'd heard good things about the author and the writing, and I'm partial to the stories of the Greek and Roman heroes, even in retold form (The Love Artist, a story about Ovid, is a phenomenal novel and comes highly recommended). The novel did not disappoint.
In a sentence: the book is not just describing the era — it's of the era it's capturing.
In a paragraph: it perfectly captures the world of ships and heroes and Gods and blood and war and oceans and simplicity. It isn't stuffy (as the distant formality of old works often feels). Rather, it's simple and pure; fully reminiscent of the time, but told in a voice we can understand. The metaphors weave an understanding of the world the story is set in that gives it bones and breath.
Madeline Miller is not master, but she's talented. Her work is good.
There are four components of her writing that I find most compelling:
Metaphor/imagery
Physical anchors
I'll dig into each separately, and explain how each helps to build the authentic framework of the book. But first, a few notes on the story itself:
The Song of Achilles is a retelling of the life (and death) of Achilles, hero of the Trojan War, the greatest warrior of his time. It's told from the perspective of his lover, the exiled prince Patroclus. The story marks each season of his life — their boyhood spent together, their youth spent in training with the centaur Chiron, the early evasions of the Trojan War (where Achilles was prophesied to die), the war itself, and finally, the death — first of Patroclus, then of a heartbroken Achilles, while Patroclus is caught in a limbo in the afterlife, trapped in the physical world but separated from all things physically anchored. It's a story of the fulfillment of a prophecy — for no matter how hard you try to evade it (and Patroclus and Achilles did), a prophecy must come to pass.
The story is good — well-spun and well-crafted — but the framework within which the story is told is the part of the book that is most impressive.
Dichotomy is one of my favorite modes of description. It's the art of pitting the stark realities of two different things against each other, and making them feel more stark and more real by nature of the contrast.
There's a concept in storytelling called tensive pulls — the concept of different desires pulling a character in different directions. For example — if your character is in love with another character (and wants to be as close to him as possible), but also knows that this character will break her heart if she gets too close, these two conflicting desires pull her in two separate directions, and leave her suspended between them — held upright, but not at rest in either direction.
Dichotomy works the same way. The stark contrast between two very differing images accentuates the reality of each.
Examples of Dichotomy:
"Through the haze of terror I see a man leveling a spear at my face. Somehow I am quick enough, and it passes over me, ruffling my hair like a lover's breath." — this is Patroclus, in the pages before he dies. We're slightly shocked by the starkness in difference between these two images — an instrument of death equated to the softness of life and the tender breath of a lover. See how both become more real? They become stark by contrast; and also stark because we realize that the qualities of each are akin, and that it isn't a stretch to say so.
"For me these four years had been an abundance, time that had been wrested from the hands of miserly fates. But for them it was a life stolen: from children and wives, from family and home." — Patroclus, reflecting on the difference in his experience of the war as opposed to the experience of the average soldier. For him, each year the war dragged on was another year cheated from the prophecy, that he got to keep Achilles before he was killed (for they came to Troy knowing Achilles would die). For those around him, though, it was life lost, while they waited restlessly for it to end.
"She stepped forward, and the grass seemed to wilt beneath her feet. She was a sea-nymph, and the things of earth did not love her." — of Achilles' mother Thetis. This is less stark than the others, but still powerful. The juxtaposition of land and sea, of goddess and the quelling of life.
Metaphors and Imagery
In this, Madeline Miller approaches mastery. Whenever one is establishing a setting, the vocabulary of metaphors is critical. They must be carefully selected and defined (the way one chooses a tone palette of colors, for everything in a painting, a wardrobe, or a space to feel cohesive).
The metaphors Miller chooses are direct reflections of the predominant forces and anchor points of the characters' worlds. They're metaphors of the sea, of love, of war, of the Gods, of the physical anchors of the Greek world. They're relevant, and they reinforce the sense of place and grounding in a powerful way.
Examples of Metaphors and Imagery:
"She seemed to pause, and I thought she might speak again. She did not. Only opened her hand and released me, boneless, to the ground." — Boneless. Such a good description. The metaphors of ancient times are simple. There's a ruggedness to them. A rawness. They feel very visceral and very human on a base level — like all the extraneous metaphors have been stripped away. Almost like the Descartes approach to metaphors — strip everything down to the basics and then build it back up in a very intentional way.
"We were like gods at the dawning of the world, and our joy was so bright we could see nothing else but the other." — if one were to create a matrix of metaphors for this Greek/Trojan world, describing yourself as a god would be the ultimate indicator of good — and so it's appropriately used in this context.
"The slightest tremor, over the still water of her face." — water is a very commonly used metaphor in this novel. It's a key piece in the world and the time, and it's a key anchor in the story — Achilles's mother is a sea nymph, and they have to cross the sea to reach Troy — and then they're locked at Troy by the sea, and must defend their boats (for if they burn, they'll be stranded in Troy, and will be refugees instead of raiders).
"He was the only thing on the battlefield that didn't pitch feverishly, like the salt-slicked deck of a ship, until I was sick with it." — another ocean metaphor.
"Her words were like new leather, still stiff and precise, not yet run together with use." — of a slave learning to speak Greek. Such a contextual metaphor, abiding by the rules of the world to find a perfect comparison.
""I feel like Daphne," I told him, barked up in her new laurel skin." — comparing dressing in armor to the experience of Daphne turning into a tree. This one is magic.
"A single thrust crushes her to the ground, leaves her chest torn up like a field beneath the plow." — description of a woman cut down by a spear in battle.
Madeline Miller repeatedly grounds her story and her characters in physical space, with the use of sensory anchors — touches, scents, sensations. You don't just conceptually understand the story — you touch it and taste it and feel it, and that makes it far more real.
Examples of Physical Anchors:
""Show me your hand." I did, palm out. He rested his own palm against it. I tried not to startle. His skin was soft and slightly sticky from dinner. The plump finger pads brushing mine were very warm." — one of the first instances of physical contact between Patroclus and Achilles.
"Even from where I sat I could smell the sea on him." — admit it. This is incredibly evocative.
"I feel like I could eat the world raw." — very physically anchored.
"I woke to the red of my eyelids straining out the sun." — anchored and true.
As Hemingway said: "All you have to do is write the truest sentence you know." This, ultimately, is the point of fiction — to masquerade it as truth. Or perhaps, to have it serve as a vehicle for revealing truth.
One of the risks run in both historical fiction and fantasy — and any genre even slightly removed from reality — is that it can feel false. Made-up. Contrived. There are no sea nymphs rising from the ocean in our world and birthing heroes. Such things give a sense of removal to the story, and make it harder to get lost within it.
It's the pure, indivisible truths that bring it back to center and make it most poignant for the reader. The things that are timeless, circumstanceless, undeniably relatable. The things that are absolute, whether you were born of sea-nymph or born of mortal, whether you're on the shores at Troy or living a modern life in a modern world.
Good fiction must have truth. Otherwise we can't forget it's fiction; and if we can't forget it's fiction, then we can never truly experience it as it was intended to be experienced.
Examples of Truth:
"I could recognize him by touch alone, by smell; I would know him blind, by the way his breaths came and his feet struck the earth. I would know him in death, at the end of the world."
"When he dies, people will say, who?" — evocative of a primal human fear.
"I lay back and tried not to think of the minutes passing. Just yesterday we had had a wealth of them. Now each was a drop of heartsblood lost." — again, everyone can relate to this — the sensation of time slipping by far faster than we'd like, but entirely outside of our control to stop it, and each passing second feeling like it's draining something irreplaceable from you.
"I had embraced him too, those thin, wiry limbs. I thought, This is what Achilles will feel like when he is old." — the surprise of imagining someone you love as old; and the accompanying sense of inevitability.
"In less than an hour the raid would begin. I had fallen asleep thinking of it; I had woken with it." — such a true depiction of the dread of anticipation.
Other Favorite Lines:
"He looked different in sleep, beautiful but cold as moonlight. I found myself wishing he would wake so that I might watch the life return." — such intimacy, and yet such a sense of being unsettled. Such contentedness juxtaposed against such yearning.
"His eyes opened. "Name one hero who was happy."" — if good artists steal (and they do), then I should like to steal this.
"Dusk came at last and released us, limping and exhausted, back to our tents, dragging the wounded and dead." — such beautiful wordplay. It almost sounds like the dusk is dragging the dead.
"It was spring, and we were surrounded by the profusion of Anatolian fertility. For three weeks the earth would paint herself in every color, burst every bud, unfurl each rioting petal. Then, the wild flush of her excitement spent, she would settle down to the steady work of summer. It was my favorite time of year."
The Silence of Christmas Eve
Exercise Day 8
Always Seek to Become More Interesting
Copyright Hannah Frankman 2019


text:
Archive for March 20th, 2012
Doomtree Build Collective Hip-Hop Force
Doomtree MC Mike Mictlan stood on a beaten wooden stage at Austin's Beauty Bar on Sunday the club's closing night; he delivered the impassioned lines of "Team The Best Team" while the other four mic wielders in the group formed a semi-circle behind him stomping out the song's deliberate beat...
Tour Alert: Jack White Extends His Solo Dates
Jack WhiteIn anticipation of his first solo album Blunderbuss – out April 24th – former White Stripes frontman Jack White has announced a handful of American headlining dates for the month of May These shows come as an addition to his list of appearances at several major festivals including the...
Winter Music Conference: 10 Acts to Watch
The elite of electronic dance music have been congregating at the Winter Music Conference in Miami for the past 26 years but this year's festival promises to be the biggest one yet thanks to the genre's rise in mainstream popularity The event's climax is the massive three-day Ultra Music Festival...
Machine Gun Kelly Tempers His Rage on 'Half Naked' EP
Machine Gun Kelly is more vulnerable than his "wild boy" persona lets on The Cleveland Ohio rapper whose clamorous live sets and fanbase of "ragers" have branded him a contender for hip-hop's resident rocker reveals a softer side on his Half Naked & Almost Famous EP his first...
Marilyn Manson, Johnny Depp to Cover Simon's 'You're So Vain'
Marilyn Manson's upcoming Born Villain LP will feature a guest appearance by his friend Johnny Depp who collaborates with the macabre rocker on a cover of Carly Simon's "You're So Vain" The album due May 1st will be released on Manson's own Hell Etc label in conjunction with Cooking Vinyl/Downtown...
Exclusive Album Premiere: Zeus, 'Busting Visions'
Click to listen to Zeus's album 'Busting Visions' Toronto's Zeus play a rootsy melodic brand of rock that earned the band consideration for Canada's Polaris Music Prize upon the release of their 2010 debut Say Us They've been issuing a steady stream of singles leading up to the release of their...
Flaming Lips Collaborate With Famous 'Fwends' on Record Store Day Exclusive
The Flaming Lips have teamed up with a variety of artists including Ke$ha Bon Iver Yoko Ono My Morning Jacket Nick Cave Erykah Badu and Chris Martin of Coldplay for The Flaming Lips and Heady Fwends a limited edition double album that will be released exclusively through retailers participating in...
Playlist: The Ting Tings' 'Sounds From Nowheresville' Inspirations
The Ting Tings' second album "dips into ska Eighties electro and power ballads" Frontwoman Katie White offered up a playlist of songs that influenced her and bandmate Jules de Martino while they recorded the new set "Hey Ladies" Beastie Boys Paul's Boutique is the best album of the Beastie Boys for...
Michael Jackson Secret Video Lawsuit Settled
A pair of attorneys have settled a lawsuit against the owner of a private jet company who secretly recorded their conversations with Michael Jackson as they flew from Las Vegas to Santa Barbara California Jeffrey Borer owner of the now-defunct XtraJet had attempted to sell the video – which contains...
'Mad Men' Pulls Dusty Springfield Song from Season Premiere
Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner has pulled Dusty Springfield's 1967 hit "The Look of Love" from the show's fifth season premiere after television critics complained that the tune was not released until six months after the events of the episode took place "We have replaced this song with one more...


BragaHost.com discounts for web hosting account registrations or renewals. Check below the prices and hosting features offered by BragaHost.com.
BragaHost.com is a web hosting company offering various hosting packages with prices between $ 0.30 for a shared hosting package. The company is based in 132 A Jl. Dipatiukur, Bandung, Jawa Barat, Indonesia, and the servers are located in datacenters in UnitedStates.
BragaHost.com offers various features in terms of web hosting. Every hosting package comes with different options, and the starting package (Professional Hosting) offers 5 GB hosting space, 300 TB bandwidth, with a price of $ 0.3 / month.
Given the various hosting options offered by BragaHost.com, we recommend checking the discount coupons and promo codes available for web hosting before registering your account – simply click on the above button to reveal the latest hosting deals.


Most of these book reviews have appeared in newspapers and journals over the last four years. These are the books I found especially commendable, either because the writing is gorgeous, the story unusually gripping, or the subject itself remarkable. Or else, I really didn't like them. . . . Please let me know your feelings.