We are still technically a couple weeks away from the summer solstice, but let's be honest, around these parts, summer starts Memorial Day weekend. Temperatures spike into the nineties consistently, school lets out and movies start to hit the big screen that everyone wants to see. Of course, these days, big hits are much more spread out than they used to be, but there are still big time flicks that debut between Memorial Day and Labor Day.
Since such a big part of the summer blockbuster is remembering the exciting the theater into the warm evening while excitedly discussing what you just saw, all movies were selected during a drafters life span, but each selector was able to take one from before their time (because some summer classics cannot be ignored).
This is one of the first movies I remember seeing in theaters when I was a 6-year-old child. Still a great flick.
The movie that launched the era of the summer blockbuster and cemented 28-year-old director Steven Spielberg as an incendiary talent. It's a perfect movie that fires on all cylinders. Spielberg's excellent pacing and John Williams' haunting score create palpable tension and non-stop excitement throughout the film's two hour running time. Filled with spectacular scenes, but the shark attack at the crowded beach is probably my favorite. The audience and Roy Scheider's Chief Brody know something horrible is coming and Spielberg exploits that fear with one of the most suspenseful scenes of all-time. As the shark devours a young boy underwater, the score builds toward its crescendo and the camera swiftly zooms to a close-up of Brody's terrified face. He proceeds to sprint toward the shore screaming, "Get out of the water!" Good thing sharks aren't real. Phew!
Widely considered the best part of one of the best trilogies ever made, I'm not sure much explanation is needed here. Give me all of the set pieces.
Iron Man, The Hulk, Thor, Captain America. What else do you need in a movie? Having these superheroes along with Black Widow and Hawkeye trying to stop human enslavement by Loki is a great action packed movie. There are even some great jokes thrown in this movie. This is one of my all-time favorite movies.
One of the most iconic films of the 21st century and probably THE iconic comedy of our time. Littered with irreverent one-liners and a hilariously star-studded cast, this Will Ferrell flick is good enough to top the list.
As a fan of Christopher Nolan films in general, I remember being confused, yet excited for the release of this Nolan pet project, and it lived up to the billing. An in-depth sci-fi thriller with a strong cast, backed by a tremendous Hans Zimmer score, the re-watchability is strong. I feel like I notice something new every time.
I definitely took Apollo 13 this high for the potential. Tom Hanks and crew were tremendous and the movie is definitely a must see if you like sci-fi/space.
I went funny with my first pick for summer blockbusters. "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" gave us the directorial debut of Judd Apatow and introduced us to the movie version of Seth Rogen as part of a stellar cast. The references to video games, Survivor and mint-condition action figures had me dying laughing in the theater. It has stellar rewatch value much like Knocked Up, Anchorman and The Hangover.
Can't believe this was here for my second pick. Although the movie doesn't hold up well today, at the time, it was one of the most exciting movies I had ever seen.
As a kid, I rented "Back to the Future" more than any movie outside of "Follow That Bird". My family had a tradition of renting this movie, buying a bucket of fried chicken and having an indoor picnic on the carpet while we watched. Similarly to "Jaws", "Back to the Future" is a flawless blockbuster that possesses a winning blend of action, comedy, and heart. So much of this movie is iconic: the Delorean time machine, Doc Brown's unkempt white hair and incredulous reactions, Marty's performance of Johnny B. Goode at The Enchantment Under the Sea dance, and George McFly's cathartic KO of Biff Tannen, to name just a few. It's undoubtedly reassuring that gentlemen like Biff are never put in positions of power.
One of the most iconic movie vehicles of all time: the DeLorean.
From Christoph Waltz' masterclass performance in the opening scene, Inglorious Basterds grabs you and doesn't let go until its over. Equal parts tension and absurdity, it's everything that a Tarantino movie is supposed to be. Eli Roth is my spirit animal.
I was hoping I would be able to take "The Dark Knight" with my first round pick, but settling for "The Dark Knight Rises" for a second round choice is fine with me. Christian Bale playing Batman and trying to stop Tom Hardy, playing Bale, from eliminating the city of Gotham is an excellent movie. Every time it comes on TV, I still watch.
The film that changed it all. The beginning of a craze that has lasted four decades. With (then) breathtaking visuals and a fantastically woven story, this is one of the most important movies and sci-fi films of all time. The film series is now owned by Disney and is not going anywhere anytime soon.
The excitement for the "Sorcerer's Stone" was palpable back in 2001, nothing matched the fervent energy surrounding the series finale ten years later. Unique in that there was actually a year between part one and part two of the "same" movie, this satisfying conclusion was only marred due to the fact that I watched the series finale of "Friday Night Lights" after seeing this in theaters and was an emotional wreck that night.
I'm a kid at heart. I remember watching "Finding Nemo" in theaters with my grandma. It's a timeless movie that can be watched at any age.
Chris Pratt leads a group of rag-tag guardians in this 2014 hit that is one of my all-time favorite summer releases. From late 2012 until its July debut, I was locked into every news announcement regarding Guardians of the Galaxy. The chemistry and comedic timing of Gamora, Rocket, Drax and Groot makes Guardians one of the best non-Batman superhero movies I enjoy. I may have shed a tear or two when Groot sacrificed himself: SPOILER.
"Up" smashed the box office that year and the first five minutes of the movie will break your heart. It gets better though.
This 1994 Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock "vehicle" is one heck of an adrenaline-fueled thrill ride. Reeves stars as Jack, a LAPD cop attempting to thwart Dennis Hopper's plans (I'm not sure he knows he was in a movie) to blow up a bus filled with passengers on California's Interstate 105 if its' speed drops under 55 mph. After the bus driver is eliminated, Jack enlists Annie (Sandra Bullock) to take the wheel. Annie is a sassy young woman who rides the bus because wait for it: her license was suspended for speeding. Isn't ironic don't you think? Like speeeeeding on a bus armed with C-4 when your license is revoked for the very same thing. Who would have thought, it figures. Anyway, Reeves and Bullock's chemistry is sizzling, the stunts are exciting, and it's all served up just as I like it, with extra cheese.
Movies are better with friends, right? Which is clearly why Captain America and Iron Man brought allllll of their best buddies to their epic showdown. Easily the most recent of the movies I've selected, but I feel like it's a worthy pick.
This movie is the definition of "goals" when it comes to having a bachelor party. I would love for someone I know to even have half of the events that transpired in this bachelor party, cause I would love to hear the real story behind one of these epic parties. I think I got a steal in round 3.
One of the first movies I remember from my childhood. A well-balanced blend of superb voice acting, character development, comedy and storytelling, this iconic Disney cartoon meant so much to so many children.
From before my time, but typically a summer watching staple with my family. Just so absurd, yet so quotable, this comedic classic has held up.
Any movie that rips on Walmart for being a corporate conglomerate is okay by me. Plus, EVE's voice is really cool. Like, the way she says WALL-E's name. I dunno, don't listen to me.
I strongly considered a Pixar flick for my third selection, but I remembered too much of the excitement and lead-up to Tommy Lee Jones working with Will Smith. I was (and am still) a huge fan of "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" in the mid-90s and Smith continued his big-screen success after Independence Day and just prior to the "Wild Wild West" disappointment. Much like the "Guardians", "Men in Black" has a wonderful soundtrack (thank you Danny Elfman). "MIB" provides plenty with storyline, humor, Vincent D'Onofrio and neuralyzers.
The anticipated sequel to Mad Max was one of the most awesome cinematic works I had seen in a long time. From the pyrotechnics to the story, A+ summer blockbuster.
This one holds up as one of the best pure comic book movies ever made. I'm a fan of the first film, mainly Tobey Maguire's performance and the charming origin story, but Sam Raimi's sequel is superior to its solid predecessor for several reasons. The special effects are eye-popping; Alfred Molina's Doc Ock is a menacing, full-dimensional character; and the story has higher stakes. While Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight trilogy redefined the possibilities of comic book movies, Spider-Man 2 remains one of my favorite superhero adaptations and is by far the strongest Spidey movie to date. I'm interested to see how the upcoming "Spider-Man: Homecoming" compares.
In the years since both movies came out, "Talladega Nights" hasn't been quoted to death *nearly* as much a certain Will Ferrell flick about a TV newscaster, and I'm glad for it. If you don't chew Big Red… well… you know the rest.
Shia LeBeouf was a better lead actor in this than Mark Wahlberg. And Megan Fox was a better co-star than the other co-stars the series had in future movies.
This follow up to perhaps Marvel's most original and daring production was another home run. With amazing special effects, a hilarious cast and a superb soundtrack for viewers of all ages, this is set up to be one of the most impressive "comic book" movie series of all time.
"Sailor, good man!" I could spend the rest of this just rattling off Christopher Walken quotes as Sen. Cleary, but I keep it short and sweet. The best of the Owen Wilson-Vince Vaughn joints, my favorite celebrity crush Rachel McAdams, an underrated d-bag performance from a young Bradley Cooper, and endless quotes that made everyone rethink how they should behave at their next wedding.
What should be the last Toy Story movie, the third installment of this series is a tear-jerker. Admit it, you were near tears when they were about to be incinerated.
Had to close with a strong Pixar movie and "Inside Out" fits the bill. Amy Poehler helped a strong cast of voice actors as a young girl gets older and we experience the emotions along the ride. I think it can easily be placed in the top-5 of Pixar flicks with the likes of "Toy Story" and "Wall-E". Between you and me, I have only seen "Inside Out" once because the emotional roller coaster hit me hard in theaters. Bing Bong will go down in history as one of the best supporting characters ever. And is there anything Bill Hader cannot do? I wish my version of fear sounded like he does.


The Southern Peninsula Community Support and Information Centre (SPCSIC) is inviting applications for the paid position of Administration & Finance Worker.
SPCSIC is a community based support, referral and information service aimed at supporting and encouraging individuals and families to be independent and aware of their rights. SPCSIC is staffed by a team of committed and skilled volunteers, and small team of paid workers.
This position is allocated 30 hours per week, delivered over 4 days. There is flexibility around days and hours make up. Given the diversity of the role SPCSIC is willing to consider job sharing, role splitting or other solutions to deliver these key areas. If you believe you can undertake some, but not all of these tasks, over less hours, SPCSIC will still consider your application. If this is the case, please identify which areas you are applying for and the hours you would like to work. An agreement will be made prior to appointment with the successful candidate/s as to the final delivery of hours.
Salary is commensurate with the Salary based on Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Industry (SCHCDSI) Award 2010 Social and community services employee Level 4 or 5. Levels and pay points will be dependent on experience. Access to salary packaging arrangements can add further value to the remuneration.
Applications close 27/4/2018 5pm. To have the best chance at securing this position please get your applications in early. SPCSIC will be interviewing suitable candidates as applications arrive. If a suitable candidate is identified before the closing date no further applications will be considered.


Supporters of Omar Deghayes, a detainee at Guantanamo Bay since 2002 and a British resident, met on Monday this week to discuss what further action to take to safeguard his return here.
Omar was born in Libya, but fled to Britain in 1987 after his father, a political opponent of Libyan dictator Muammar Gadafy, was arrested by secret police and executed.
If he is ever released from Guantanamo, Omar will be sent back to Libya to the prospect of torture and even death.


text:
NASA Lab Gets Space Radiation Upgrade for Mars Mission Research
By Elizabeth Howell 05 October 2017
New upgrades to a NASA radiation laboratory will let researchers explore the deadly environment astronauts encounter beyond Earth's magnetic field.
Radiation is the silent killer of space exploration. Astronauts can't sense their exposure to it, and over time it can lead to problems such as cancer or heart disease. Before humans can venture to Mars — a mission that NASA hopes to start in the 2030s — scientists will need to figure out how to protect the travelers on their long journey.
Martian astronauts will be unprotected by Earth's magnetic field, and therefore exposed to galactic cosmic radiation from charged particles (ions) emanating out of supernova explosions. They also will receive radiation doses from the sun — especially during coronal mass ejections that often happen with solar storms — and as they travel through the Van Allen radiation belts encircling Earth. [How Radiation in Space Poses a Threat to Human Exploration Explained (Infographic)]
NASA's Space Radiation Laboratory has already collected plenty of data on sources of Earth radiation, which ranges from X-rays to CAT scans to radon emissions in the house. (Radiation from space is deflected by our atmosphere and magnetic field.) But space radiation is different from Earth's electromagnetic radiation: It consists of a rain of particles that are traveling at close to the speed of light. Space radiation has enough energy to hit the nuclei in shielding material and human tissue, NASA officials have said, breaking these apart into new particles called secondary radiation.
"Where we lack data, and we have a large amount of uncertainty, is the biological consequences of space radiation. So really, the next steps and the ongoing steps are to try to understand those exposures better, and the biological consequences that follow them," said Tony Slaba, a research physicist at NASA's Langley Research Center in Virginia, in a video by NASA EDGE on YouTube.
Radiation upgrades
Recently, NASA's Space Radiation Laboratory received upgrades that will help researchers better understand space radiation and its effect on biology. The NASA lab, which is located at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory on Long Island, can now better simulate galactic cosmic radiation. These upgrades were detailed in the journal ScienceDirect last year.
Researchers can now switch ion types and energy intensities within minutes to better simulate the conditions of outer space. This used to be hard to do in the lab, but a software control was added to make it easier to switch targets, NASA officials said in a statement. During the upgrade, engineers upgraded the cooling system in an electron beam ion source magnet for higher energy currents, and they added new probes to two of the beamline's magnets to make it faster to set changes.
The upgrades produce several benefits, according to the statement. The lab now covers more of the galactic cosmic-ray spectrum. The beam is larger, meaning it is easier to radiate several samples at the same time. Dose delivery is more accurate because of precision control, and experiments can provide a more uniform radiation field intensity.
"Imagine ion trajectories to be similar to rain; sometimes there is a downpour (solar particle event) and sometimes there is a light drizzle or heavy, sparse droplets (similar to galactic cosmic radiation)," Lisa Carnell, the lead of NASA's space radiation medical countermeasure team, said in the statement. "With the upgrades we can simulate different types of ion rain with multiple types of ions sequentially, versus only one type of ion at a time."
NASA's Galactic Cosmic Ray simulator, at the agency's Space Radiation Laboratory, was upgraded to more easily switch radiation beams, ion species and energies so researchers can simulate the space environment. (Image credit: NASA)
Preparing for Mars
NASA's Space Radiation Laboratory is just one of a few United States labs that can create heavier ions (charged particles). This is useful not only for cancer research, where heavy ion therapies can help eliminate tumors, but also for generating realistic exposures for an astronaut on a two- to three-year mission to Mars.
NASA can use this research to help establish lifelong radiation limits for astronauts, according to the statement. The current limit for low-Earth-orbit missions is a 3 percent increase in lifelong excess cancer risk. By comparison, measurements from the Curiosity rover suggest that a Mars landing and return mission of 860 days (2.3 years) would deliver a dose to astronauts of 1.01 sieverts, which is about a 5 percent increase in lifelong excess cancer risk. (The European Space Agency has a lifelong limit of 1 sievert.)
"[Our research] helps the astronauts not only from the short-term effects of radiation, but also the long-term health effects," Lisa Simonsen, a space radiation element scientist at the NASA Langley Research Center, said in another NASA EDGE video on YouTube. NASA studies lifelong cancer risk caused by radiation, as well as damage to the brain, central nervous system and heart, which can develop vascular disease with exposure to radiation.
NASA is also preparing several parallel technologies for better astronaut protection, the researchers said. This includes meters to measure radiation levels on the International Space Station, a hybrid electronic radiation assessor for the next-generation Orion spacecraft and the radiation assessment detector on the Curiosity rover.
Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.
Watch live Wednesday: SpaceX to launch 1st Starlink mission of 2021
NASA's OSIRIS-REx probe could make a 2nd stop at infamous asteroid Apophis
Pluto's atmosphere gets its blue haze from icy organic compounds, study suggests
Get 3 issues of your favorite space & science magazines for $3

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Faith & Family Media Blog
Family Theater Productions
7201 Sunset Blvd. Hollywood CA 90046 U.S.A.
BASED ON: Life on the Cross in 'If Beale Street Could Talk'
by Father Vince Kuna
Our producer-at-large Father Vince Kuna, C.S.C., a USC film-school grad, does a regular feature here called BASED ON, looking at literary works adapted into TV or movies.
If Beale Street Could Talk, written and directed by Barry Jenkins (Moonlight), based on a James Baldwin novel of the same title. (Warning: rated R. Even more graphic content in the novel.)
The works of James Baldwin have seen a resurgence in recent years. I Am Not Your Negro is a documentary told solely through the words of Baldwin: his essays, interviews, lectures and other non-fiction works. Both the film and the primary sources pack a great deal of political power.
I was unaware of his fictional writings until the release of the critically claimed and awards nominated film, If Beale Street Could Talk. Upon reading the book, I realized the story was unique in that it was essentially a story devoid of a structure. By non-structure, I mean that it did not follow typical Western literature rules such as act structure and character arcs.
In the briefest of summaries, the first half of the book deals with a young African-American couple falling in love … much to the chagrin of the young man's devout mother. What follows is a graphic description of the consummation of that lust. The second half of the novel commences after a corrupt policeman frames the young man for a sexual assault. The families attempt to exact some justice, hiring a well-intentioned lawyer, and going so far as taking an out-of-country trip to find the alleged female victim, but they're ultimately trapped in limbo. The young woman and her son long for a husband and father unjustly separated from them. A third act never materializes.
A novelist, essayist, activist and playwright, Baldwin's words posses more of a stark and objective reality. Barry Jenkins' big screen adaptation provides more artful fine strokes. His cinematography captures some of the more beautiful compositions in a film from last year. The principal characters, after all are themselves beautiful. Even in the prison scenes that conclude the film, the young man is shown weary, but his good looks are retained, only assuming a more rugged quality.
The editing as well, reinforces the non-story structure. The incident of police corruption and brutality fractures the two families' worlds. The resulting non-linear flashback style, then serves its dramatic purpose. Jenkins improves upon the Baldwin work, a novel written almost exclusively in temporal order.
Thematically, the book and film achieve their greatest feat. Beale Street avoids the path (pun intended) that another period film, The Favourite, unfortunately takes. Even if ahistorical, the three female characters in The Favourite behave badly in their ruling of Great Britain, given license, I suppose because men did the same in the dynasties prior. Women acting like men, I would venture, hardly constitutes a feminist story ,as nothing really pertaining to womanhood is depicted.
Jenkins' story and its underlying lack of traditional structure however, capture the minority experience of America. In many cases, the director posits, African-Americans are deprived the opportunity to pursue life, liberty and happiness. The key lies in the title, Beale Street, a familiar cultural marker in the black community. Jenkins phrases the title as a question: "If" blacks didn't have the system rigged against them, maybe the "talking" of the stories could display complete, three-act, happily-ever-afters.
Alas, for now, it seems such stories will remain akin to something a wise priest once told me in seminary. Especially, in the developing world, some people don't experience a resurrection in this lifetime. They're born suffering and die in suffering. Perhaps, too with Jenkins' sobering film, we see a birth of the two-act structure: stories that begin and end on the cross.
Image: Annapurna Pictures
Click here to visit Father Vince Kuna's IMDB page.
Keep up with Family Theater Productions on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
Father Vince Kuna
Adrienne Thorne
Fr. David Guffey, CSC
Kate O'Hare
Laura Zambrana (Billeci)
Don Burt
Tony Sands
Korbi Ghosh Biggins
Family Rosary Blog
Sister Rose at the Movies
Catholic Mom
Amalia Zea Meadows
Angela Calabro
Christians working in Arts and Media
Faith and Family on the Internet
Family Movies & Television
Fr. David Guffey, C.S.C.
Fr. Willy Raymond, C.S.C.
Hollywood Outreach
Kate O'Hare
Laura Billeci
Bishop Barron's Top 5 Books and Movies—In His Own Words – EpicPew on 5 Movies Beloved by Bishop Barron
Hill Number One - 1952 ⋆ Ms. Ericka on James Dean Proclaims the Resurrection in 'Hill Number One'
Holy Cross Family Ministries
© 2001-2013 Holy Cross Family Ministries. All rights reserved.


A Bartens & Rice New York with Arabic hours and minutes, dash seconds, sub seconds dial, Bartens & Rice New York movement #72505, stem-wound stem-set, in a four-bodied 14k hunter case, 52 mm, case and cuvette #55844, on a 10k chain; An A. W. Co. Waltham with Roman hours, dash minutes, sub seconds dial, A. Watch Co. Waltham Mass. adjusted movement #4046437, stem-wound stem-set, in a four-bodied 18k case, case and cuvette #255399, 41 mm; A Laforge & Valentine with Arabic hours and minutes, dash seconds, sub seconds dial, stem-wound stem-set, open face 14k case #1092735, 50 mm. 181.9 dwt. GW.
Watch cuvette engraved Ancre 15, Rubis Levees Visibles. No warranty is made that any watch is in working condition or without defects, restorations, or working parts. Buyers are advised to check watch works prior to auction. Condition reports (given as opinion and not as guaranteed statements of fact) are added online throughout the auction process. The absence of a condition report does not imply that there are no condition issues with the lot. Please call (609) 397-9374 or e-mail info@ragoarts.com with any questions about this lot at least 24 hours prior to auction.


text:
Entertainment TOP STORIES
This EVENT is the biggest unifying factors in Nigeria (see who is organising it in Delta)
July 13, 2019 July 13, 2019 admin 0 Comments
IJAW/ITSEKIRI PEACE AND UNITY CUP 2019
It was a press gathering in Warri, where the date for the Ijaw/Itsekeri Peace and unity cup competition, 2019, was officially announced by Ambassador Comrade Mulade Sheriff, national coordinator of Center For Peace and Environmental Justice, CEPEJ
The competition which is also known as the *Comrade Mulade Sheriff Peace and Unity Cup," started in 2017, it was profoundly set up as a critical forum to demonstrate and promote the oneness of these two ethnic groups with a long history of conflicts and rivalry.
He noted that his reasons to use the round leather game, which is recognized world wide to forester Peace in his Ijaw/Itsekiri regions, came from his knowledge of football as an instrument that builds tranquility, cohesion, love and unity.
According to Mulade: "It is the exemplifying nature of football as a strong tool of oneness, and an abridger of ethnic conflicts, that brought about the birth of the Ijaw/Itsekiri Peace and unity cup competition."
The football competition is also part of the efforts he puts in place to harness football talents in Delta state.
Mulade, who is a member of the Delta State Football Association Board, (DFAB),says the second edition of the annual Comrade Mulade Sheriff Peace and Unity Cup has been scheduled for the 16th to 30th of November 2019, also aimed at discovering young talents in the riverine communities of the state.
Comrade Mulade, in a statement in Warri, said the competition will focus on building peaceful co-existence and promoting unity among Ijaw, Itsekiri and Ilaje people in Warri and its environs. He said attention will also be on young players with exceptional talents.
According to him: "The communities will have to pick younger players to represent them because African Grassroots Football Development team will be on ground to select the best players."
He said they should therefore not go out of their communities to hire players, so that gifted youths in the riverine areas could be discovered.
He warned against winning at all costs which has badly destroyed football at the local and national levels in Nigeria.
He said this year's competition would hold in two venues to give a sense of belonging to the three tribes, with one venue each in Itsekiri and Ijaw towns to further cement the relationship among them.
He noted that this year's event would be played on a knockout basis featuring teams from Ijaw, Itsekiri and Ileja communities within Warri and its environs.
Meanwhile, Comrade Mulade has appealed to well-meaning individuals and corporate organizations to partner with the Center for Peace and Environmental Justice, CEPEJ, in the sponsorship of the IJAW/ ITSEKIRI PEACE & UNITY CUP, to help promote peaceful co-existence, build bridges of unity, attract development and create enabling environment for Deltans, particularly multi-national oil and gas companies operating within the area.
He noted that companies and individuals partnering in this great drive to uplift the youths through football will be welcomed.
In Mulade's statement: "Partnership will make the competition bigger and more laudable," noting that it would be glorious on their parts to discover and build talents which will be epochal in communities where they do business.
← After one year in detention, court acquits two brothers of murder charges
The RUGA controversy and the delay in constituting cabinet( what does it portend for a fragile Nigeria?) →
Ten persons escape death, N100million property destroyed as rainstorm hits Delta community
Flood ravages Jonathan's village, Otuoke
WAEC set to bar students involved in examination malpractice from writing its examinations
March 30, 2018 admin 13


text:
Mobility Justice
Streetsblog USA Logo
Designing City Streets to Suit 47 MPH Drivers Is a Recipe for Failure
By Angie Schmitt
On a street like St. Louis' Gravois Avenue, applying the "85th percentile rule" will kill street life. Photo: NextSTL
Gravois Avenue is an important commercial street in St. Louis that also happens to be designated a state highway. It's currently slated for a redesign, providing a huge opportunity to make the street work better for walking and biking.
But unfortunately the highway-like mentality of state transportation planners persists. Alex Ihnen at NextSTL reports that Missouri DOT is using highway design strategies, and the city of St. Louis is letting them get away with it. Instead of redesigning the street to work for city residents, Ihnen writes, MoDOT is looking at how fast people already drive, and making decisions to accommodate drivers who travel faster than 85 percent of other drivers:
If the city street in front of your home were posted with a 35MPH speed limit would you feel safe? If one of every seven vehicles on the street travelled faster than 47MPH would you be OK letting your children play on the sidewalk or cross the street?
St. Louis is creating dead zones in the city, places with no economic role, streets that decrease adjacent property value and hurt the city's economy. City leaders are either unable or unwilling to serve the interests of the city and its residents…
Now, with MoDOT's Gravois speed study, it's more obvious that it's time for the City of St. Louis to re-take ownership of its streets.
Gravois Avenue, among other city streets, is maintained and administered by the Missouri Department of Transportation. This means that the streets inherently serve a statewide purpose. This means that the role of the street is to move as many vehicles as quickly as possible through the City of St. Louis.
The city has been happy with this arrangement as it means that MoDOT money pays for paving, lights, and other infrastructure. However, this "savings" continues to cost the city.
How and why? MoDOT and the City of St. Louis have been planning the repaving and reconfiguration of the almost six-mile long Gravois Avenue from the city limits to I-44 just south of downtown. MoDOT has approached this project as MoDOT approaches projects, applying its standard traffic engineering process.
What this means in a practical sense is that MoDOT conducted a speed study to assess whether there is a need to change any of the existing speed limits along eight segments of Gravois. Five of these segments are currently signed at 30MPH, three at 35MPH.
How does MoDOT determine the correct speed limit? It uses a standard traffic engineering standard known as the 85th percentile. This measurement relies on drivers to set the speed limit. The speed of traffic is measured and it is assumed that the speed 85% of all drivers do not exceed is the correct speed limit. This is often referred to as the "rational" speed limit, meaning rational for drivers who are passing through.
There is a practical reason for such as standard. On an open highway it can be assumed that a large majority of drivers will travel at a speed at which they feel is safe, for themselves. Setting the speed limit at that speed is practical. It is assumed that there will always be some drivers (15% or so) who will drive above any posted limit.
But what works on an Interstate, or rural highway does not work on an urban street. There are, or should be, considerations in addition to traffic speed and capacity. Does the street design support adjacent property values? Does it support adjacent businesses? Does it support a safe, walkable neighborhood? Does it encourage greater pedestrian activity? Has it increased or decreased tax revenue?
The 85th percentile rule is a terrible way to determine the speed limit of a urban street.
Ihnen reports that the speed study found that many drivers were speeding, traveling 45 miles per hour or higher. But this is no reason to design the street to accommodate their behavior:
What this means to MoDOT, using the 85th percentile rule, is that speed limits should not be decreased. What this should mean for the City of St. Louis, aldermen, business owners and residents, is that the street should be designed to slow traffic…
A vehicle traveling at 47MPH, which more than 1-in-7 are doing along Gravois from Jefferson to Russell, is simply not going to come to a stop for a pedestrian in a crosswalk. If 15% of vehicles are moving at 47MPH or faster, no pedestrian, bicyclist, or person in a wheelchair will feel safe.
MoDOT's conclusion from the speed study is that the posted speed limits should remain the same along the entire stretch of Gravois. Again, the department's process allows no input of the impact of that speed on the homes, businesses, community, and residents. That's not going to change. What can change is for the city to take ownership, in reality or in action, of its streets.
To highlight another shortcoming of the current planning process, current configurations along Gravois call for unprotected bike lanes next to traffic that routine exceeds 40MPH. This is absolute lunacy. This is something any traffic engineer, let alone a bicycle-pedestrian coordinator (which the City of St. Louis recently hired), should reject.
Elsewhere on the Network today: Bike Portland surveys who is supporting a local gas tax hike and why. Twin Cities Sidewalks rails against "death roads," four-lane divided highways in urban areas. And FABB Blog rounds up new research showing an overwhelming majority of American mayors are supportive of bike infrastructure.
Filed Under: Streetsblog.net
Monday's Headlines on MLK Day
Friday's Headlines Are All About Infrastructure
Notes from Medellín: Can Infrastructure Investments Reduce Interpersonal Violence?
New Mass. Rule Would Force Suburbs to Legalize Thousands of New Apartments Near Transit Stops
The Danger of Letting Your State DOT Plan Your City
By Angie Schmitt	| May 19, 2014
If there's one place that should have internalized the lesson that more highways harm cities, it's St. Louis. Despite having the second-most highway lane miles per person of any city in America, St. Louis has been declining for decades. Alex Ihnen at NextSTL points out that both population and driving are declining in the region. […]
Get Real — Colorful Crosswalks Aren't Endangering Pedestrians
By Angie Schmitt	| Feb 10, 2016
In the summer of 2014, residents of Tower Grove in St. Louis painted crosswalks with patterns like a fleur-de-lis to add some neighborhood character. Now city officials say the crosswalks should fade away, citing safety concerns. The order comes from new bike and pedestrian coordinator Jamie Wilson, who cites a 2011 recommendation from the Federal Highway Administration. Wilson told The Post Dispatch he […]
St. Louis "Beat Congestion" and Now Commute Times Are Longer
By Angie Schmitt	| Feb 2, 2016
St. Louis is every highway planner's dream. Consistently ranked among the least-congested cities in America, the region's car commuters spend a smaller share of their trips to work sitting in traffic than all but two other cities. That means St. Louis car commuters aren't encumbered much by other car commuters, just like in those car commercials. But […]
St. Louis to Pedestrians: Drop Dead
By Angie Schmitt	| Jul 17, 2014
Here's a great example of the wrong way to handle a tricky pedestrian crossing in your town. At the request of a local hospital, the city of St. Louis recently removed a frequently-used crosswalk for at least the next two years, apparently in conjunction with nearby construction. The city didn't just scrub away the markings — […]
When Opaque Bikeway Planning Leads to Missed Opportunities
By Angie Schmitt	| Oct 22, 2015
Chouteau Avenue in St. Louis is finally getting a bike lane that's been promised since 2009. But the finished product falls far short of what it could be, writes Alex Ihnen at NextSTL. The flaws in the Chouteau redesign say a lot about the city's haphazard approach to bike planning, Ihnen says: It appears to be city […]
Why Cities Should "Steal" the Indianapolis Cultural Trail
By Angie Schmitt	| Sep 11, 2015
Indianapolis has set a great example for other cities with its "Cultural Trail," eight miles of biking and walking routes through the heart of the city. According to a recent study, the $63 million project has been well worth it, drawing people downtown and leading to a surge in local business creation and hiring along the trail route. Alex Ihnen […]
Contact Streetsblog USA


text:
Greece to close most bars, restaurants, cultural venues
The new measures will apply from Tuesday.
People wear face masks to help curb the coronavirus in down town Athens | Milos Bicanski/Getty Images
By Nektaria Stamouli
October 31, 2020 1:22 pm CET
ATHENS — Greece will close bars, restaurants and other venues in the country's most populous areas from Tuesday, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced on Saturday.
The measures will apply in around half the country, including in northern Greece and the Attica region, where Athens is located, for a period of one month.
Schools and nurseries will remain open, but restaurants, cafés and bars must close or offer takeaway food only. Businesses such as gyms, cosmetic studios and brothels as well as cultural venues such as theaters and cinemas will also shut. Hairdressers may stay open.
A nighttime curfew — previously in place only in the hardest-hit areas — will be extended to apply nationwide from midnight to 5 a.m. Mask-wearing will be mandatory across the country in both indoor and outdoor public spaces. Teleworking is strongly recommended.
Cases in Greece, which weathered the first wave better than many European countries, began to rise gradually over the summer. Daily infections plateaued at around 400 from late September to mid-October, but more than doubled last week and almost quadrupled this week to hit a record 1,690 cases on Friday.
"It seems that we failed to tame the complacency from the collective success of the first phase," Mitsotakis said. "If the measures work, we will be able, in early December, to live in a smoother environment."
Experts warn that Greek hospitals could become overwhelmed in the next two weeks.
"The health system will come under pressure, with mathematical certainty," Sotiris Tsiodras, an infectious diseases expert and the health ministry's coronavirus spokesman, said Friday. He added that the real number of active cases in Greece is likely around three times higher than the official figures.
This article is part of POLITICO's premium policy service: Pro HealthCare. From drug pricing, EMA, vaccines, pharma and more, our specialized journalists keep you on top of the topics driving the health care policy agenda. Email [email protected] for a complimentary trial.
More from ... Nektaria Stamouli
5 This city shouldn't be here
Le Maire's presidential ambitions rankle Macron as succession battle heats up
New Zealand gets new leader as Chris Hipkins confirmed to succeed Jacinda Ardern
New Zealand's Chris Hipkins set to succeed Jacinda Ardern as prime minister
To go or not to go? Von der Leyen's COVID committee dilemma
Everything you wanted to know about the EU's pharma reform (but were too afraid to ask)
By Helen Collis
SPONSORED CONTENT FROM IFPMA
Playing poker with pathogens
By Thomas Cueni, director general, IFPMA
The EU booze industry is up in arms over Irish health warnings. Why?
By Shawn Pogatchnik, Hannah Roberts and Daniela De Lorenzo
Coronavirus Greek politics Infectious diseases Public health
Kyriakos Mitsotakis


text:
Q: i don't know what i did wrong, it doesn't work, i'm trying to make a task list <!DOCTYPE html>

        <title>Task List</title>
        <link rel="stylesheet" href="mydesign.css">

        [][1]
        <input type="text" placeholder="Add Tasks Here..." id="taskValue">
        <button id="addBtn" onclick="addTask()">add</button>

A: Look, only javascript and html
HTML

     <input type="text" id="newTaskInput">
     <button onclick="add()">Add</button>

JavaScript
var tasks = []

function init() {
  tasks = load()
  renderTasks()
}

init()

function renderTasks() {
   var container = document.getElementById('tasks')
   var frag = document.createDocumentFragment()

   tasks.forEach(function(item, i) {
   var div = document.createElement('div')
   var text = document.createTextNode(item.name)
   div.appendChild(text)

   var closeBtn = document.createElement('button')
   var btnText = document.createTextNode('x')
   closeBtn.appendChild(btnText)
   closeBtn.onclick = function() {
     remove(i)
   }
   div.appendChild(closeBtn)

   frag.appendChild(div)
 })

 container.innerHTML = ""
 container.appendChild(frag)
}

function add() {
  var input = document.getElementById('newTaskInput')
  tasks.push({ name: input.value })
  renderTasks()
  save(tasks)
}

function remove(index) {
  tasks.splice(index, 1)
  renderTasks()
  save(tasks)
}

function save(data) {
  localStorage.setItem('tasks', JSON.stringify(data))
}

function load() {
  var raw = localStorage.getItem('tasks')
  if ( raw ) {
    return JSON.parse(raw)
  }
  return []
}

DEMO

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Q: "Cursor type changed" error on Perl OLE32 MSSQL dateadd function results The following sql "select  DATEADD(day, DATEDIFF(day, 2, GETDATE()), '20:00:00') as A" runs perfectly fine in Microsoft sql query.
However in perl,  it complains with the following error "Description: [Microsoft][ODBC SQL Server Driver]Cursor type changed".
I double checked and my code can run select and update statements with no issues so I am a bit stumbled about the cursor error.
Note that I have not included my connection string but have illustrated that I am using win32::OLE.
use Win32::OLE;

$conn->{ConnectionString} = "...";
$conn->open; # open connection to the DB
$state = $conn ->state; #1 means connected
if($state  ne "1"){...

$mssql_select = "select  DATEADD(day, DATEDIFF(day, 2, GETDATE()), '20:00:00')
as A";
$rs->Open( $mssql_select, $conn);
my $error_collection = $conn->Errors();
my $ecount = $error_collection->Count;
my ($is_message, $real_error_found);
foreach my $error (in $error_collection)
{
    #output error statements
    $is_message = ($error->{SQLState} eq "01000" && $error->{NativeError}==0);
    $real_error_found=1 unless $is_message;
    $status =  "ERROR # " . $error->{Number}
    . "\n Description: " . $error->{Description}
    . "\nSource: " . $error->{Source} . "\n";
}

Results in "Description: [Microsoft][ODBC SQL Server Driver]Cursor type changed".
Any brainstormnig ideas the group can provide would be appreciated.
I figured it out, see below

A: Solved it, turns out this is just a warning,  sql server does not know what type of cursor will be returned, the results actually get returned. See http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/sqlserver/en-US/e15141e7-3084-487d-a60f-47afac046a55/odbcsql-cursor-error


It was heartening to see Gerry Warnock, the Chairperson of Longford's Joint Policing Committee, being featured on the front page of the Longford Leader last week.
A man I've never really met, as such, but someone for whom I've felt some empathy with, for awhile.
Amongst all the politicians we have in this county, finally we see one standing up and telling it like it is.
I've been trying to ascertain why certain members of the Travelling Community seem immune to being criticised or blamed for obvious wrongdoing. Even this paper is very careful of the way they report the actions of certain criminals, and no wonder.
When criminality becomes for some the norm, then we must ask ourselves what are we doing about it.
I agree that it's partly some strange form of political correctness, that is undeserving. All communities have wild cards within them.
People should be given equal rights; equal rights that actually equate to balance without fear or favour, not having any one group being specially treated just because they might rise up and seek retribution.
It's a sad time of day, when those whose time is spent terrorising decent people around the county, have extended their fear quotient to others.
Gerry Warnock is perfectly correct in what he says, and should be applauded for standing up, and speaking out.
A politician who actually represents the people?
My goodness, where will it end?
The next thing will be someone else getting in on the act.
Except in Gerry's case, it's not an act.
As Chair of the JPC, he knows better than most of us, what's fair and balanced comment, and has the courage to express it.
Ten marks out of ten, for Gerry Warnock.
A politician who deserves everything he earns.
As anyone is, who earns a salary.
Too many don't earn anything, simply collect the fruits.


text:
Q: Register users in php? I'm doing a script of registration. Here's what I did
Connect.php
<?php

$Connessione = mysql_connect('localhost','root','');
$Database = mysql_select_db('my_database');

if(!$Connessione) {
    echo "Errore di connessione: ".mysql_error;
}
else {
echo "";
}

?>

Register.php

    <title>Registrati o loggati</title>
    <meta charset="utf-8">

Sei nuovo? Registrati! Sei già registrato? Loggati!

    <form action="full.php" name="registrazione" method="post">
        NickName (Massimo 10 caratteri): <input type="text" name="nickname" maxlenght="10" required/>

        Password: <input type="password" name="psw" required/>

        <input type="submit" value="Registrati" name="registrati"/>
    </form>

full.php
<?php
   include('connect.php');

    if(isset($_POST['registrati'])) {
        $Username = $_POST['nickname'];
        $Password = md5($_POST['password']);
        $Escape = mysql_real_escape_string($Username);
        $Query = "INSERT INTO sito (user, password) VALUES($Escape, $Password)";
        $Esecuzione = mysql_query($Query);

        if(!$Esecuzione) {
            echo "Errore: ".mysql_error();
        } else {
            echo "";
        }
    }
?>

When I run it and I click on the button tells me ( and for example in nikcname i put "John" )  Errore: Unknown column 'John' in 'field list'. Why? This code is open to SQL Injection? Thanks

A: I believe you need to quote your values like so:
$Query = "INSERT INTO `sito` (`user`, `password`) VALUES('$Escape', '$Password')";

Also you might want to check out mysqli or PDO instead of using mysql_* functions.

A: Hope you would check up on this. Lets convert your MySQL code to MySQLi. MySQL is already deprecated.
Connect.php
<?php

$con=mysqli_connect("localhost","root","","my_database");

if(mysqli_connect_errno()){

echo "Error".mysqli_connect_error();
}

?>

full.php
<?php
   include('connect.php');

   if(isset($_POST['registrati'])) {
        $Username = $_POST['nickname'];
        $Password = md5($_POST['password']);
        $Escape = mysql_real_escape_string($Username);

        /* START OF CHECK IF INPUT IS ALREADY IN DATABASE */

        $result=mysqli_query($con,"SELECT * FROM sito WHERE user='$Escape'");

        if(mysqli_num_rows($result)==0){ /* IF USERNAME HASN'T TAKEN YET */

        mysqli_query($con,"INSERT INTO sito (user, password) VALUES ('$Escape','$Password')");

        }

        else {
        echo $Escape." is already taken.";
        }

   } /* END OF ISSET REGISTRATI */
 ?>


Which skin types/ages can use Willing Beauty products?
Our products are developed for universal skin types, including sensitive skin. Our products containing the HY+5 COMPLEX™ are developed for use on adult skin, as they contain age-defying ingredients. willa products are suitable for all ages, and the willa product line offers a few products that are geared towards acne-prone skin.


text:
Q: Percentage of TOTAL measure with slicer for unpivot column I am trying to calculate the percentage of the total for an unpivot column that will be coming along with a slicer. I am pretty new to power bi so this may possibly be a pretty easy one. However, I am having trouble trying to make it work. Any help would be appreciated.
I have a  sample table,
EID Gender  Company Bilingual
456 Male    A   Can Speak two languages
123 Female  A   Can speak one language
097 Male    B   Can Speak two languages
678 Female  B   Can Speak two languages
345 Male    B   Can speak one language
234 Male    A   Can speak one language
098 Female  A   Can Speak two languages
786 Female  A   Can speak one language
546 Female  B   Can Speak two languages
874 Female  B   Can Speak two languages
012 Male    A   Can Speak two languages
023 Male    A   Can speak one language
056 Male    B   Can speak one language
604 Female  B   Can Speak two languages

I did an unpivot on the columns gender and bilingual,
EID Company Unpivot
456 A   Male
456 A   Can Speak two languages
123 A   Female
123 A   Can speak one language
097 B   Male
097 B   Can Speak two languages
678 B   Female
678 B   Can Speak two languages
345 B   Male
345 B   Can speak one language
234 A   Male
234 A   Can speak one language
098 A   Female
098 A   Can Speak two languages
786 A   Female
786 A   Can speak one language
546 B   Female
546 B   Can Speak two languages
874 B   Female
874 B   Can Speak two languages
012 A   Male
012 A   Can Speak two languages
023 A   Male
023 A   Can speak one language
056 B   Male
056 B   Can speak one language
604 B   Female
604 B   Can Speak two languages

Afterward, I created a table that looks like this,

As you can see, my "%" measure is incorrect when I select it for just one company. However, when I select both the company, it shows correctly.

My code for the measure is the following:
% =
CALCULATE(
    DIVIDE(
        DISTINCTCOUNT('Table'[Employee ID]),
        CALCULATE(
            DISTINCTCOUNT('Table'[Employee ID]),
            ALLSELECTED()
        )
    )
)

Is there a way to create a measure that would dynamically work based on the filter? Please let me know.

A: Try the following measure:
% = DIVIDE(COUNTA('Table'[Value]),COUNTROWS(Table))
Note that 'Table'[Value] refers to the column, where you store gender and language.

A: Not sure why your are mixing Gender and Bilingual values in one single column of a table visual. But if it is a requirement, you are missing a required column (for standard calculation) where the value Gender and Bilingual will be exist. The result of your unpivot should looks like below where the "Attribute" column is missing your case-

Now create these following 3 measure-
1.
value_count = COUNT(your_table_name[Value])

2.
value_count_total =

CALCULATE(
    COUNT(your_table_name[Attribute]),
    FILTER(
        ALLSELECTED(your_table_name),
        your_table_name[Attribute] = MIN(your_table_name[Attribute])
    )
)

3.
value_percentage = [value_count]/[value_count_total]

Convert the 3rd measure type as Percentage and the final output of your table visual should be as below-


According to Manuel López-Zambrana, Puerto Rico has turned into a restaurant that should have a menu to please investors coming from the United States. He is a lawyer with the DLA Piper law firm and as a government adviser, he worked on the local legislation for the Opportunity Zones, a federal program that reduced to 20 percent the federal tax rate for funds used to invest in low income communities in Puerto Rico. The previous tax rate was 37.5 percent. "The most important thing to have in mind is that Puerto Rico, as an Opportunity Zone area, is competing with other states… We have to be well aware that if we want to bring that capital here, they will be looking at a menu of other options…, they can choose from a well-done filet mignon, a lobster, and we have to come up with something that is better," said López-Zambrana during a forum at the University of Puerto Rico Law School.
La actividad, que servirá de encuentro en el Gobierno y las comunidades, se ha cambiado de fecha tres veces y todavía no tiene una agenda de trabajo detallada.
Modesta Irizarry did not know that her town, Loíza, a municipality on the north coast of Puerto Rico, was designated as an "opportunity zone." In the neighborhood of Salud, Mayagüez, on the island's west side, Orlando Serrano had not heard that his community is also under the same category. So is almost 98% of Puerto Rico. Opportunity zones form part of President Donald Trump's tax reform, which reduces from 37.5% to 20% the tax rate paid by funds that invest in these "low-income communities." Proposed legislation at the local level that enables the federal program on the island also exempts investors from Puerto Rico and abroad from paying construction excise taxes, while reducing 50% of municipal license fees during a 15 year period. "We are trying right now to understand the opportunity zones," said Roberto Thomas, a community organizer from Bahía de Jobos, in southern Puerto Rico, between the towns of Salinas and Guayama. Community leaders Modesta Irizarry, Orlando Serrano and Roberto Thomas told the Center for Investigative Journalism (CPI) that their communities have not had access to information about opportunity zones.
El proyecto de ley designa el 98 por ciento del territorio puertorriqueño como lugares de desarrollos con beneficios de exenciones contributivas para los inversionistas.


Jeffrey Pomerantz. Associate Editor. Senior Research Analyst, EDUCAUSE Center for Analysis and Research.
Emily Kilcer. Assistant Editor. Project Coordinator, Harvard Library Office for Scholarly Communication, Harvard University.
Peter Suber. Member and co-founder. Director of the Harvard Office for Scholarly Communication, Director of the Harvard Open Access Project, Senior Researcher at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society.
Robin Peek, Associate Professor, School of Library and Information Science, Simmons College.
Linnea Johnson, Manager of Technology. School of Library and Information Science, Simmons College.
Responsibility for the OAD content and editorial policy lies with the OAD editorial board, not with the School of Library and Information Science, Simmons College.
This page was last modified on 9 October 2018, at 13:15.


text:
The Basic Body Shape of Fish and How They Move
Fish Body Shape and Movement
Like all animals, the fish's body is a result of specialization in its environment. Water is about 800 times thicker than air and an aquatic life has its own difficulties, such as buoyancy, drag and the amount of effort needed to move through such a dense medium.
While most fishes share common features of streamlining for easy movement through the water, their exact forms vary greatly depending on whether they are predators or prey, how they feed and what measures they take for attack or defense. Every fish is optimized for survival.
The bony fish are the most evolved and show the greatest body specialization. Every feature is developed to exploit their underwater environment. Some have flat bodies and sucker-style mouths ideal for resisting strong currents and moving along rocks, feeding on algae -- such as the common plec -- while others have streamlined forms adapted to quick, constant movement and upturned mouths to suck insects from the water's surface, like the zebra danio.
The problem of buoyancy has also led to some interesting forms, like the colorful, lively mbuna. Popular among fishkeepers, these fishes are maneuverable and can 'hover' in place thanks to their adjustable air sac (swim-bladder) and highly-developed pectoral and pelvic paired fins. They have traded streamlining and speed for this ability, so generally move slower. Fishes like this have two types of muscles: brown and white. The brown muscle is continually supplied with oxygen and has good blood circulation, so is used for continuous activity. The white muscle (called 'anaerobic' muscle because it quickly builds up oxygen-debt) is powerful and gives a short-term boost of emergency speed.
In contrast, fishes that swim constantly in midwater, like tuna and mackerel, are much more streamlined and frequently lack the swim-bladder. They counteract the possibility of sinking with muscular effort reduced by decreasing drag and having a thinner cross-section -- both offered by the absence of the buoyancy device. Their muscle is mostly brown to facilitate constant swimming and their fins are usually retracted as they are only used for turning.
Bottom-feeders are generally much more sedentary. They have limited locomotory requirements, as can be seen in examples such as the suckermouth and whiptail catfish. They tend to be compressed dorso-ventrally and, since they live on the bottom of their environment, have no need for a swim-bladder. Their specialization comes in the forms of camouflage, feeding and defense rather than quick movement.
How Fish Control Their Bodies
How Fish Breathe
How Fish Sense and 'Feel'
How to Take Care of Fish
How a Fish's Immune System Works


text:
Gulf Centre for Human Rights
Director of the GCHR
gc4hr.org
Khalid Ibrahim is the Executive Director of the Gulf Center for human rights in charge of management, programme development, fundraising and training. He is an Iraqi human right defender with decades of experience in the human rights field, including more than ten years in Dublin a staff of Frontline Defenders. There, he had the chance to work on human rights issues in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. In 2011, he decided to focus on human rights in the Gulf region and neighbouring countries. He co-founded the Gulf Center for Human Rights (GCHR).
He has a BSc in Physics from Iraq, MSc in Health Informatics from Trinity College in Dublin, and is a PhD researcher at Trinity College Dublin in digital protection for human rights defenders. He is a certified specialist in the field of human rights with an interest in the use of new technologies to enhance the protection of human rights in the MENA region.
The GCHR is an independent, non-profit, and non-governmental NGO that works to strengthen support and protection for human rights defenders (including independent journalists, bloggers, lawyers, etc.) in order to enable them to promote human rights, including but not limited to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly. GCHR is based in Lebanon and documents the environment for HRDs in the Gulf region and neighbouring countries, specifically Bahrain, Kuwait, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen.
Protecting the Integrity of the Global Information Space Celtic (Palais)
20 Years Since the Human Rights Defenders Declaration was Adopted at the UN, Over 150 HRDs Got Together in Paris to Celebrate Achievements, Discuss Current Challenges and Devise an Action Plan Cyrene (Laico)
Old Crisis, Novel Means: Applying new tools to encourage company action in support of civic freedoms and human rights defenders Limes (Laico)
Surveillance Tech and Oppressive Governments: Exploring cases of abuse and avenues for global cooperation going forward Carthage 1 (Laico)
Dr Ludmila Georgieva


Kelly H. Milligan Kelly's Adventures Buoy, Oh Buoy!
The next experiment was about how eggs only float in salt water and not in fresh water.
Mama had me get a raw egg from the fridge. She poured water into a cup and put the egg in the cup. The egg sunk!
Next, she took the egg out of the cup. She poured water into another cup with and stirred salt into it and put the egg into that cup. And you know what? The egg didn't sink.
Mama explained to us that salt water is heavier than fresh water. It was fun learning about buoyancy.


text:
College: Strong debut with Catamounts for Taylor
Jay Pinsonnault
Niki Taylor is used to starting basketball games.
She just didn't expect that trend to continue so soon as a member of the University of Vermont women's basketball team.
The Catamounts began their regular season last Saturday and pulled out a 63-52 win over Columbia.
Taylor was in the starting lineup and fared well in her collegiate debut, scoring eight points, including a 3-pointer, to go along with nine rebounds, two steals and one assist in 28 minutes of action.
"I think I played OK for my first game," Taylor said. "I know I made some mistakes and I still have a lot to work on, but for my first game, it wasn't that bad. The highlight for me in the first game was just being able to be out on the court and contribute to the win."
Taylor, a 2011 York High School graduate, was surprised to hear she was going to start.
"It wasn't expected at all," she said. "I was actually shocked when I found out that I would be starting. My only goal was to try to get on the court and play in every game. But I also realize that just because I started in the first game, doesn't mean I will start in the next game. It's a long season and there will probably be a lot of adjustments as the season goes on."
Vermont head coach Lori Gear McBride was pleased with Taylor's effort.
"I thought she played well," said Gear McBride said. "There are certain constants, such as effort, rebounding and really being physical defensively, you know you will get from Niki. She is so important to our style of play and gives us a nice offensive spark for us. We know she can give us defense and rebounds and that's what makes her valuable; whatever we get offensively is just a bonus. She is certainly a threat for us."
Taylor was a four-year starter at York High School and is the school's all-time leading scorer with 1,442 points.
"The college game is much different than I was expecting, but in a good way," Taylor said. "I love the intensity and the pace of the game. It is very different than high school but I have never enjoyed the game as much as I do now."
The Catamounts have five freshman on this year's team, including Deering graduate Kayla Burchill. The lone opening spot in the starting lineup was at the No. 4 position.
"We really weren't sure who was going to fill that spot, but from the first day of practice, she (Niki) had this determination that convinced us she was the one," Gear McBride said. "She certainly helped her cause."
Gear McBride said Taylor came into the preseason a much different player than she saw last fall when she committed to Vermont.
"The first thing she asked when she signed with us was 'what do I have to work on for next year,'" Gear McBride said. "I mentioned to her she needed to work on her release on her shot. When she first stepped on campus, she had her release completely corrected. Her release is very quick now. You tell her to work on something and she fixes it. I am really pleased and surprised how well she had taken that advice."
Taylor said her transition to the college game is still a work in progress.
"Adjusting my game to fit a faster pace and trying to adapt to a new program and a new team have been the biggest challenges," Taylor said. "I think my offense is coming easier than I expected it to. I just go out and do it rather than thinking about it."
Gear McBride has seen a smooth transition to the college game.
"Usually, it takes freshmen awhile to adjust to the college game, but Niki's adjustment has been great," Gear McBride said. "She played 28 minutes in the opener and that's probably the right amount of minutes for her right now. I don't see her playing the whole game right now, but we are pleased with her progress and think she will only get better and better for us."
The Catamounts will play their home opener tonight against Fairfield and the first America East game is slated for Jan. 2 at home against Stony Brook.
Vermont will host New Hampshire on Jan. 14 and will travel to Durham, N.H. on Feb. 11. Those games will have an extra flair to the normal rivalry as former Waterville star Morgan Frame will be eligible to play for the Wildcats. Frame had to sit out the beginning of the season, having transferred from St. Anselm.
Frame scored a game-high 24 points and led Waterville to a 54-42 win over Taylor and York in the 2009 Class B state championship game at the Cumberland County Civic Center.
Frame, who was helping former NBA player Dwight Davis at a youth basketball clinic last Saturday, said she is looking forward to the two Vermont games.
"It will be nice to see Niki and play against her again," Frame said. "I haven't really seen her since that championship game."


I have a few valentines crafts for you, one is more traditional and the other is a little more contemporary!
First up is the more traditional red heart garland.
I used 13 strips of paper, you can use as many as you want depending on the length you will need. I cut each strip in half to give me a total of 26 smaller strips.
Using your stapler, staple two strips together. Take the free ends bend them down and hold in place with two new strips on either side of your ends. Staple those four strips together, repeat for a total of 6 hearts.
Repeat these steps so you will have another row of 6 hearts. With the two rows take your last set of strips attach one strip to the outside of your bottom heart, staple the two bottom hearts with the two remaining strips together, bend the two remaining strips over and staple the bottom of this last heart. This project was so simple, it took me about 15 minutes to complete!
My second project is traditional in color but contemporary in nature, you could make this less traditional by using a different color paper! I used the silhouette to make this (see below for the jpg of this heart if you want to use it with your silhouette machine as well). It's a Geometric Heart!
I used my graphic software to make this geometric heart shape then printed it out in silhouette. I used a piece of gray scrapbook paper behind the red geometric heart and attached both to a white canvas.
Click on the photo below for a larger version you can save to use with your silhouette machine.
Check back tomorrow to see how I made those wire hearts in the photo above!
I hope you try your hand at one or both of these projects. Be sure to follow along the tour below for more Valentines inspiration! Happy Valentines Everyone!
I'm lovin' your mantel Dria! And, all your heart crafts are Love-ly! Modern, traditional, I love 'em both!
Great ideas. I especially love the heart garland. You make it look so simple!
Thanks so much Angie! I love easy projects it was so simple to do!
Aww thank you so much Nancy!
Dria, I love all the projects but the garland is my favorite!! Love the red. Glad to be part of the tour with you. Have a great week!
I love your valentine crafts Dria! I can't wait to see the wire hearts too- so unique!
Thank you so much Jen, I am really loving the wire hearts too!!
Your Valentine Heart Garland is so cute! This tour has been great and all your Valentine decor is fab!
Aww thanks Leslie 🙂 So happy to be on this tour!
I love both of your heart ideas! I love Valentine's decor and will be sad when the big day finally arrives.
Aww 😉 but then you will have Spring and Easter to look forward to decorating for and St. Pattys day!


text:
Lincoln Tunnel Challenge 5K to be Held This Sunday
Proceeds Benefit Special Olympics New Jersey
Weehawken, NJ – The 33rd annual Lincoln Tunnel Challenge 5K will be held this Sunday, April 28, 2019 in the south tube of the Lincoln Tunnel, starting and ending in Weehawken, NJ. The event is presented by AmeriHealth New Jersey and sponsored by the Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics New Jersey. Academy Bus will also be supporting the event with shuttles back and forth from Manhattan.
"The Lincoln Tunnel Challenge has become an annual tradition that AmeriHealth New Jersey looks forward to each Spring," said Mike Munoz, president of AmeriHealth New Jersey. "We are proud to serve as the presenting sponsor of this outstanding community event once again and applaud Special Olympics New Jersey for their tireless dedication to promoting the importance of leading a healthy and active lifestyle."
Nearly 2,000 runners are expected to participate in this unique run, which starts at 8:00 a.m. for competitive runners and 8:45 a.m. for non-competitive runners and walkers.
As of Wednesday, April 24, 2019, more than $127,000 has been raised by those registered to run, and while the online pre-registration has closed, many are expected to register the morning of the race.
"Over the last 30 years we have received tremendous support from all of our sponsors, hosts and volunteers making this one of our most successful, long-standing events," says Robert Belfiore, Director of the New Jersey Torch Run and Retired Chief of Port Authority Police of New York & New Jersey. "Because of events like this, the athletes of Special Olympics New Jersey are afforded opportunities to train and compete, develop physical fitness, and experience the joy of sport, completely free of charge."
-more-
In addition to AmeriHealth New Jersey and the Law Enforcement Torch Run, this event is hosted by the Port Authority of New York/New Jersey and is made possible by the generous support of Academy Bus, UPS, NJ TRANSIT, WCBS News Radio 880, Taylor Management Company, M & M Sanitation, La Yogurt, Mendon Truck Leasing & Rental, Genpro, Modell's, and Inserra Supermarkets/Shoprite Hoboken.
ABOUT SPECIAL OLYMPICS NEW JERSEY:
For the past 50 years, Special Olympics New Jersey has provided year-round sports training and athletic competition in 24 Olympic-type sports for more than 26,000 children and adults with intellectual disabilities, completely free of charge. Through the joy and power of sports, athletes are provided opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy and participate in a sharing of gifts, skills and friendship with their families, other Special Olympics athletes and the community. Visit www.sonj.org for more information.
ABOUT THE LAW ENFORCEMENT TORCH RUN:
The Law Enforcement Torch Run (LETR) is part of an international campaign for Special Olympics coordinated and managed by all divisions of Law Enforcement officers and officials from throughout the world whose mission is to raise dollars and awareness of the Special Olympics movement worldwide. The Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics New Jersey has been recognized for many years as one of the top grassroots fundraising organizations for Special Olympics worldwide. In 2018, the LETR for Special Olympics New Jersey raised more than $4.1 million.
ABOUT AMERIHEALTH NEW JERSEY
For 25 years AmeriHealth New Jersey* has been dedicated to enhancing the health and well-being of the people and communities we serve. Our members are at the center of everything we do. Since the onset of the Affordable Care Act, we have been committed to offering health plans on the Individual Marketplace, which has expanded access to coverage for New Jersey residents. We are exclusively focused on New Jersey with plans designed to meet the unique needs of individuals, small- and mid-sized businesses, municipalities and boards of education across the state. We also provide administrative services to self-funded groups. Named one of the Best Places to Work for the past eight years, AmeriHealth New Jersey is located in Cranbury, NJ. For more information visit amerihealthnj.com.
*AmeriHealth Insurance Company of New Jersey | AmeriHealth HMO, Inc.
Lincoln Tunnel 5 K challengeLINCOLN TUNNEL CHALLENGE 5K TO BE HELD THIS SUNDAYSpecial Olympics New Jersey
Previous PosttHE bRIDGE aRT gALLERYNext PostJersey City's Stadium Plaza UPS Store SERVING GREENVILLE JERSEY CITY


On Feb. 12, 2014, the U.S. Treasury Department published final regulations implementing the employer shared responsibility provisions of the ACA. The regulations took effect on Feb. 12, 2014.
Under the final regulations, applicable large employers that have fewer than 100 full-time employees generally will have an additional year, until 2016, to comply with the pay or play rules. Large employers with 100 or more full-time employees must comply with the pay or play rules starting in 2015.
According to the Treasury, approximately 96 percent of employers are small businesses that have fewer than 50 workers and are exempt from the employer responsibility provisions. The employer shared responsibility provisions apply only to applicable large employers that have 50 or more full-time employees.
The final rules will delay implementation for medium-sized employers that are covered by the employer mandate. Applicable large employers that have fewer than 100 full-time employees will have an additional year, until 2016, to comply with the pay or play rules.
Employers with 50-99 full-time employees starting in 2016.
During the coverage maintenance period (that is, the period ending Dec. 31, 2015, or the last day of the plan year that begins in 2015), the employer may not eliminate or materially reduce the health coverage, if any, it offered as of Feb. 9, 2014.
In addition, the employer must provide an appropriate certification stating that it meets all of the eligibility requirements. The forthcoming section 6056 employer reporting final regulations are expected to provide that an applicable large employer that otherwise qualifies for this delay will provide this certification as part of the transmittal form it is required to file with the IRS under the section 6056 employer reporting regulations.
However, under the final regulations, employers that change their plan years after Feb. 9, 2014, to begin on a later calendar date are not eligible for the delay.
Employers first subject to shared responsibility provisions: Employers can determine whether they had at least 100 full-time or full-time equivalent employees in the previous year by reference to a period of at least six consecutive months, instead of a full year.
Non-calendar year plans: Employers with plan years that do not start on Jan. 1 will be able to begin compliance with the employer mandate at the start of their plan years in 2015 rather than on Jan. 1, 2015, and the conditions for this relief are expanded to include more plan sponsors.
Measurement and stability periods: On a one-time basis, in 2014 preparing for 2015, employers using the look-back measurement method to determine full-time status may use a measurement period of six months, even with respect to a stability period—the time during which an employee with variable hours must be offered coverage—of up to 12 months.
Additionally, the final regulations include a number of new transition rules in 2015.
The first new transition provision applies for employers that offer coverage to most, but not all, full-time employees in 2015. To avoid a payment for failing to offer health coverage in 2015, applicable large employers (ALEs) will need to offer coverage to 70 percent of their full-time employees.
Under the second new transition provision, employers that are new ALEs will not be subject to penalties for January through March of their first year of applicability, as long as they offer employee coverage that provides minimum value on or before April 1.
Finally, the final regulations provide that if an applicable large employer offers coverage to a full-time employee no later than the first day of the first payroll period that begins in January 2015, the employee will be treated as having been offered coverage for January 2015.


text:
Q: Characterizing isotropic measures A Borel measure $\mu$ on $S^{n-1}$ is called isotropic if $$\int_{S^{n-1}}
\langle \theta, x \rangle^2 d\mu(x)=\frac{\mu\left({S^{n-1}}\right)}{n}$$ for all $\theta\in S^{n-1}$.
This means that in some sense the measure is "evenly distributed" on the sphere, but I'm wondering if one can give more explicit characterizations of such measures, or some geometric intuition, possibly in terms of the support. For instance, an isotropic measure cannot be supported on a subset of a proper subspace, because then there is some $\theta$ for which the integral vanishes. Are there other such simple necessary conditions?
Some examples are also useful: for instance, the Lebesgue measure is isotropic. On $S^1$ it can be shown with some trigonometry that a discrete uniform measure on the points $\textrm{exp}\left(\frac{\pi i j}{k}\right)$ is isotropic. These examples give an idea of the "even distribution" of these measures (and their support), but I'm really hoping more can be said.  For instance, is there a similar set of discrete isotropic measures in higher dimensions? How can we show this? How about other (discrete) uniform measures? etc.

A: One way to obtain such isotropic measures, at least on $S^2$ and probably on higher-dimensional spheres up to some topological identifications, is the following, where I always take $n=3$.
On the $2$-torus there are plenty measures with the "uniform" distribution that you describe: for example take any translation with irrational slope. Then you can project this to the sphere by taking a branched cover (with four branch points). As far as I understand the induced measure will have the property that you want.

A: If you take an orthonormal basis $E=\{e_1,\ldots,e_n\}$ on the sphere $\mathbb{S}^{n-1}$, the measure
$$\mu=\sum_{i=1}^n \delta_{e_i}$$
is isotropic, because the integral gives $|\theta|^2$, and so is any finite linear combination of such measures obtained by different o.n. bases.
You can also consider an integral average of $\mu$. If $\Theta$ is a probability on the space of rotations $O(n)$, you can define
$$\mu_\Theta =\int\limits_{O(n)}(T_\sharp \mu)d\Theta(T)$$
where $T_\sharp \mu$ is the pushforward measure given by $T_\sharp \mu(A)=\mu(T^{-1}(A))$. Then
\begin{align}
\int\limits_{\mathcal{S}^{n-1}}\langle \theta,x\rangle^2d\mu_\Theta(x)&= \int_{O(n)}d\Theta(T)\int\limits_{\mathcal{S}^{n-1}}\langle \theta,x\rangle^2dT_\sharp\mu(x)= \\
&=\int_{O(n)}d\Theta(T)\int\limits_{\mathcal{S}^{n-1}}\langle \theta,T^{-1}x\rangle^2d\mu(x)\\
&=\int_{O(n)}d\Theta(T)\int\limits_{\mathcal{S}^{n-1}}\langle T\theta,x\rangle^2d\mu(x)\\
&=\frac{\mu(\mathcal{S}^{n-1})}{n}=\frac{\mu_\Theta(\mathcal{S}^{n-1})}{n}
\end{align}
so $\mu_\Theta$ is isotropic, and this works starting from any isotropic $\mu$.


text:
WSJ: 'Pentagon Goes to Climate War: The principal threats being multiplied here are hype and hysteria'
The Pentagon Goes to Climate War
Hagel wants to retool the military to stop glaciers from melting
Oct. 14, 2014 7:36 p.m. ET 14 COMMENTS THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
Army Chief of Staff Ray Odierno delivered a stark message on Monday, warning that the U.S. Army is shrinking to a dangerously small size even as the threats it faces are multiplying.
"We've seen Russian aggression in Eastern Europe, we've seen ISIS, we've seen some increased instability in other places," the general told a military conference. "So I now have a concern whether even going below 490,000 [troops] is the right thing to do." Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel announced in February that the Army would shrink to about 450,000 soldiers by 2017. General Odierno's modest suggestion to the political class: Maybe now is a good time to rethink the cuts.
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel
How quaint. As General Odierno was fielding questions about whether ISIS—currently 15 miles from Baghdad airport—could take the Iraqi capital, the Pentagon released its 2014 "Climate Change Adaptation Forecast," a roadmap for how the Pentagon intends to deal with what Secretary of State John Kerry recently called "the biggest challenge of all that we face right now."
The report contains the usual global-warming platitudes that have become standard government and industry fare. The goal is to "integrate climate change considerations across the Department and manage associated risks," and "collaborate with internal and external stakeholders on climate change challenges." In a foreword, Mr. Hagel explains that climate change is a "threat multiplier" that "has the potential to exacerbate many of the challenges we are dealing with today—from infectious disease to terrorism."
The principal threats being multiplied here are hype and hysteria. Current fears about the Ebola virus notwithstanding, the last century of increasing carbon-dioxide emissions has also been the era of the conquest of infectious disease, from polio to HIV. No one has made a credible link between Ebola and climate change, though no doubt somebody will soon try.
As for terrorism, the Pentagon's job is to defeat jihadist forces that are advancing under the flag of Islamist ideology. Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan did not murder his fellow soldiers at Fort Hood because the heat got to him, and Americans who might die at the hands of the Islamic State won't care that Mr. Hagel is mobilizing against melting glaciers.
The report doesn't spell out particular steps beyond the usual surveys and studies, though these inevitably take their toll in expensive paperwork and bureaucratic attention. But it's of a piece with efforts by the military to go green that are a costly drain on scarce Pentagon resources. The Navy has a plan to generate 50% of its energy from alternative sources by 2020, including buying $3.5 billion in biofuels, and it has also awarded contracts to build so-called biorefineries. It's partly through ideologically motivated boondoggles like these that the Navy finds itself with a mere 283 ships, down from 337 in 1999.
The military has often been used as a vehicle for social change, and sometimes—as in Harry Truman 's 1948 desegregation order—that can be a force for good. For now, what the U.S. and the world most need is credible and sufficient American military power to deter and defeat our enemies. Issuing politically correct bows against a speculative threat from climate change when ISIS is at the gates of Baghdad will only convince those enemies that we lack the will to do so.
Posted by MS at 6:17 PM
As explained by Josef Loschmidt in the 19th century, the temperature gradient -g/Cp evolves by diffusion. When a long sealed insulated cylinder with 80% pure nitrogen and 20% pure oxygen is rotated about its centre the top gets cooler and the bottom gets hotter as energy is redistributed (not lost or gained) and entropy increases to the maximum accessible level. That state is thermodynamic equilibrium.
This is all well confirmed empirically. Until people understand this, they will never understand how the required energy gets down into planetary surfaces, crusts, mantles and cores. Solar energy supports all such temperatures by downward convection, which includes diffusion and advection. That is what people don't yet understand, but it's fact and they won't learn it in climatology classes.
Footnote: Robert Brown on WUWT did not successfully refute the gravito-thermal effect because he clearly does not understand that a new state of thermodynamic equilibrium evolves when an external connection is made between the top and bottom of the cylinder. There is no perpetual cyclic motion of energy.
Doug Cotton October 21, 2014 at 3:35 PM
Jeff Conlon on The Air Vent asked: "So you are stating that your idea is not new and are of the belief that Loshmidt had the right answer correct?"
To this I replied:
The fact that the temperature gradient forms autonomously at the molecular level (without any specific need for upward convection) was first explained in the 19th century, and has never been correctly rebuked. But this "gravito-thermal effect" has been overlooked by James Hansen et al. Hence 255K is not the right "starting point" and there is not "33 degrees of warming" but more like 10 to 12 degrees of cooling by radiating molecules, mostly water vapour of course, because the radiating properties of these molecules have a temperature levelling effect working against the gravitationally-induced temperature gradient that is not due to any lapsing process..
But what has not been explained prior to the 21st century is how the necessary energy transfers over the sloping thermal profile just like new rain water falling on a small section of a lake spreads out evenly over the whole lake. This is what happens (and must happen) in planetary tropospheres, and it happens because the Second Law of Thermodynamics is all about thermodynamic equilibrium evolving. Thermodynamic equilibrium has a density gradient (because there must be more kinetic energy per molecule at lower altitudes) and that density gradient thus has a temperature gradient.
Thermodynamic equilibrium is what it says - an equilibrium state just as much as is mechanical equilibrium which keeps the surface of a lake more-or-less following the curvature of the Earth. Gravity spreads new rain water over the lake, raising the level all around the lake. Likewise, new thermal energy absorbed in a planet's upper troposphere or elsewhere (such as in and above clouds) spreads out in all accessible directions by convection, where I use the term to mean both diffusion and advection in accord with normal usage in physics. And that's how the required energy gets down to the base of the Uranus troposphere to maintain temperatures hotter than Earth's surface. Likewise on Venus and likewise on Earth because solar radiation directly to the surface is nowhere near sufficient and we would freeze on cloudy days if this downward convection were not a reality.
This comment is being posted on about six other blogs as I don't like wasting my time on just one blog, unless a blog owner runs an article on the content of my book and agrees not to delete any of my comments replying to comments on that thread. I may do likewise with any future such questions and answers in the interests of disseminating correct physics and gradually wearing down the greatest error ever made since the flat Earth garbage.
New paper finds climate sensitivity to CO2 signifi...
New excuse #57 for the "pause" of global warming: ...
New excuse #56 for the "pause" in global warming: ...
WSJ: "The gloves are off." Pathetic Steyer ad trie...
New paper claims 'evidence of human influence firs...
New paper finds sunshine has controlled maximum te...
White House sued about claims that man-made global...
Observational data shows 86% of the "missing heat"...
New paper finds El Ninos were more common during L...
New paper finds very low climate sensitivity to do...
Analysis shows the "missing heat" has gone to spac...
UCLA: Michael Mann Wins Nobel Prize- Again!
Michael Mann's UCLA Schtick
New paper explains how Polar Vortex is controlled ...
New paper finds why Earth is 2-3C cooler now than ...
New paper finds excuse #55 for the 'pause' in glob...
Ocean data shows IPCC exaggerates anthropogenic gl...
UCS climate scientist tells litany of lies denying...
New paper demonstrates natural variability control...
New paper finds cooling, not warming, of mid- to u...
New paper demonstrates droughts are controlled by ...
Claim: All global warming since 1940 is due to art...
New paper debunks "acidification" scare, finds war...
WSJ: Cheap Oil Pops the Green Policy Bubble. Weste...
WSJ: 'Pentagon Goes to Climate War: The principal ...
New paper claims after 6,000 year 'pause', sea lev...
New paper finds a 'significant' 'missing driver in...
New paper finds the lunar tide cycle influences lo...
New paper finds significant solar dimming 1950-198...
New paper finds West Antarctic glacier likely melt...
New paper finds climate sensitivity to CO2 is only...
New paper finds clouds have a large net cooling ef...
The "pause" of global sea ice. Up by ~76% in 2013 ...
Greenhouse Gases DO Have A Profound Effect On The ...
New paper finds temperature reconstructions from t...
New paper is a brazen & unjustified attempt to cla...
New paper shows global sea level rise has greatly ...
New paper finds solar activity linked to climate o...
New paper is a huge blow to CAGW: 'Missing heat' N...
Latest claim 'the world is warming faster than we ...
WSJ Op-Ed: Can psychologists make global warmists ...
Observations contradict claim 2007 Arctic sea ice ...
New paper blames typhoon Haiyan on the global warm...


See Delivering Service Credentials to an Application and VCAP_SERVICES Environment Variable.
Format of credentials in VCAP_SERVICES environment variable.
Jest is a Java HTTP Rest client for ElasticSearch.It is actively developed and tested by Searchly.
Index article to "articles" index with "article" type.
Search queries can be either JSON String or ElasticSearch SearchSourceBuilder object (You need to add ElasticSearch dependency for SearchSourceBuilder).
// multiple index or types can be added.
Jest has very detailed documentation at it's github page.
Ruby on Rails applications will need to add the following entry into their Gemfile.
:text => "Cost is claimed to be reduced and in a public cloud delivery model capital expenditure is converted."
Tire has very detailed documentation at it's github page.
elasticsearchclient is a lightweight ElasticSearch client for Node.js. It is actively developed and covers core modules of ElasticSearch.
Though our dashboard, you can get your connection information and api-key, create access keys for scoping indices or public only accesses, check your limitation, create crawlers, and get graphical information of your search analytics.


text:
Kirill Sergejewitsch Sokolov ( en russe), né à Saint-Petersbourg, en Union soviétique en 1989, est un réalisateur et scénariste russe.

Biographie
Kirill Sokolov est né en 1989 à Leningrad (ou Saint-Pétersbourg). En 2006, il obtient son diplôme de fin d'études secondaires au lycée de Saint-Pétersbourg, après une performance exceptionnelle lors d'une olympiade de physique régionale qui lui vaut une place à l'université polytechnique de sa ville natale. Après avoir obtenu sa maîtrise en nanosciences structurelles en 2012, il participe à plusieurs ateliers de scénarisation et de réalisation et réalise ses premiers films, dont la plupart avec un humour très noir. Pour son court métrage d'une demi-heure, The Flame, Sokolov réalise et écrit le scénario et travaille avec des scènes d'action extrêmement longues. Il est considéré comme l'inventeur du . Il poursuit ce nouveau genre de film avec son premier long métrage Why don't you just die (traduit en français par Papa, crève) un thriller horrifique utilisant beaucoup d'humour noir pour dénoncer les problèmes sociaux en Russie.

Filmographie
 2012 : Byvaet i khuzhe (court-métrage)
 2012 : Sizif schastliv (court-métrage)
 2014 : The Outcome (Исход, court-métrage)
 2015 : The Flame (Огонь, court-métrage)
 2018 : Why don't you just die (Папа, сдохни / Papa, sdochni)
 2021 : Arrache et jette ()

Prix (catégories)
 Festival du film fantastique 2019 Nomination pour le Fresh Blood Award (Why don't you just die)
 Festival international de films de Montréal Fantasia 2019 : Prix du meilleur long métrage (Why don't you just die)
 Festival international du film fantastique de Neuchâtel 2019 : Nomination pour le Meilleur Film Fantastique Européen pour les Méliès d'argent (Why don't you just die).
 Festival international du film de Catalogne 2019 : Nomination pour le meilleur film dans la section Midnight X-Treme (Why don't you just die)

Notes et références

Liens externes

Réalisateur russe
Naissance en juin 1989
Naissance à Saint-Pétersbourg
Cinéma soviétique

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


I trust all is well with you today and that you are walking in the peace and provision of Christ.
Several years ago I was acquainted with a man who was a marathon runner. I would often see him jogging and, for all appearances, he looked very fit. I was surprised, though, when I heard that he had suffered a heart attack; which he thankfully recovered from. I remember being so shocked when I heard about his experience and thinking, "How could this happen to someone who exercised regularly and appeard to be so fit?" Appearances can be deceiving. Someone can look very fit, but in reality they're actually not.
I was thinking this morning about this month's Heart of a Giant Killer and realized that August is upon us. It's not that I had no idea what time of year it is, but when I stop and think about how quickly time seems to pass by it can be kind of shocking.
Did you know that you are called to the ministry? Please don't panic. I am not talking about going to a foreign country as a missionary or pastoring a church, but you are in the ministry. In fact, every Christian is in the ministry.


text:
Arizona Strip
Building Permit Reports
Politics / Government
Blondie's Babbles
From the Mayor
Making Sentences
Tom Mitchell
Clubs / Groups
Church News / Directory
House & Home Special
Senior Center News
Legal dithering allows continuing violations of state Constitution
Posted by Thomas Mitchell | Aug 3, 2017 | Tom Mitchell, Top Stories | 2
Frankly, it sounds like a self-contradictory argument. Or circuitous at best.
Until the 1960s, it was largely agreed that public employees could not also serve in the Nevada Legislature.
This was because the Separation of Powers Clause in the state Constitution stated that no one who exercised power in one branch of state government — legislative, executive or judicial — could "exercise any functions" in another branch, no matter how menial.
But along the way a couple of non-binding legal opinions found that it was OK for someone to exercise legislative powers so long as that person did not exercise "powers" — rather than the all-inclusive "any functions" — in another branch.
With the flood gates open, there have been years in which nearly half the lawmakers in Carson City were either government employees or the spouses of government employees. In some years every Senate and Assembly leadership post was held by a public employee. Currently nearly a dozen lawmakers hold down state or local government jobs.
Recognizing the growing problem, in 2004 then-Secretary of State Dean Heller asked the Supreme Court to remedy this skirting of the Constitution. Heller asked the court to find that service in the Legislature by unidentified executive branch employees violates the concept of separation of powers and to direct the Legislature to enforce the Separation of Powers Clause.
But the court ruled that doing so would violate — wait for it — the Separation of Powers Clause, because the Constitution also states that the Senate and Assembly are to determine the qualifications of their members, thus the judicial branch telling the legislative branch who its members may be violates the Separation of Powers Clause. Got it?
Never mind that the reason for separation of powers is not to allow each branch to stand totally autonomous and unanswerable to anyone, but to provide checks and balances when one branch runs amok.
But the court did allow that "declaratory relief could be sought by someone with a 'legally protectible interest,' such as a person seeking the executive branch position held by the legislator."
A couple of years ago the libertarian-leaning think tank, Nevada Policy Research institute, did just that. It sued state Sen. Mo Denis on behalf of a person who wanted Denis' $56,000-a-year job at the Public Utilities Commission. A judge declared the case moot when Denis resigned his PUC job.
NPRI has come back with a similar suit against state Sen. Heidi Gansert on behalf of a person who wants her public relations job at the University of Nevada, Reno — a job that yields $210,000 a year in pay and benefits.
This past week Carson City Judge James Russell ruled from the bench against the NPRI suit.
NPRI's attorney, Joseph Becker said in a press release, "Essentially, we were told that in order to sue Senator Gansert for a constitutional violation, the Plaintiff must file similar suits against every other potential violator," which is precisely what the Supreme Court said Heller could not do.
The judge has two weeks to put his ruling in writing, after which Becker said NPRI and its client will decide what to do next.
From what the judge said it court, Becker said it appeared Russell ignored the legal arguments but chose to embrace a non-binding opinion from the Legislative Counsel Bureau, which is the Legislature's lawyers, who have a history of telling lawmakers what they want to hear.
"Apparently the non-binding LCB opinion held more weight with Judge Russell than the actual text of the Nevada constitution or the Nevada Supreme Court opinions, which interpreted that constitutional provision in Plaintiff's favor," Becker said.
That LCB opinion said "the separation-of-powers provision in the state constitution does not prohibit a member of the Legislature, during his term, from occupying a position of public employment in another department of state government, because a person in a position of public employment does not exercise any sovereign functions appertaining to another department of the state government."
The word "sovereign" is not in the Constitution. It just magically appeared.
It is hard to win when the rules keep changing in the middle of the game.
In a 1967 case, the Nevada Supreme Court flatly stated, "The division of powers is probably the most important single principle of government declaring and guaranteeing the liberties of the people."
That was 50 years ago. Yet, while lawyers and judges dither, the flouting of the concise words of the state Constitution continues, resulting in a farce and a canard.
Thomas Mitchell is a longtime Nevada newspaper columnist. You may email him at thomasmnv@yahoo.com. He also blogs at http://4thst8.wordpress.com/.
PreviousWestern congressmen seek monument size reductions
NextTis the Season
Boy Scouts and The Virgin Valley Heritage Museum Display
Community Calendar Oct. 23 – 29, 2014
Kokopelli's Athlete of the Week
Michael Stilley on August 3, 2017 at 2:07 pm
Only in Nevada can someone flaunt the State Constitution and get a favorable ruling from the Court. Just who is in charge of our laws?
Mr. Mitchell is correct. If the Constitution, be it the State or the United States, does not apply to everyone, than it applies to no one. .
City of Mesquite
Desert Dames
GMAF Arts Foundation
Mesquite Senior Games
Mesquite Shooters
Mesquite-Toes
Reliance Connects
VVAA Artists
VV Theatre Group
VV Water District
VVHS
We Care for Animals