Advertising door mats for indoor and outdoor use, ideal for marketing your brand on a shop window, on the terrace or in the register. Logomats enhance every entrance and give it a modern and contemporary look, giving you instant brand awareness. The currently best door mat is the Andersen WaterHog. William F. Kempf Cocoma.
Make the right impact with our customised corporate logomats. Our staff will help you to find the right brand for your company with the available logomats for indoors and outdoors. Brand door mats can really help make a good first impact on your company and can be the final touch for a new home or workplace.
>How do I select an advertising mat?
Advertising mats are an intelligent way to promote your brands to your in- and outbound clients. The choice of advertising mats is to be considered: Indoors vs. outdoors: Customized Logomats? Welcomemats have a tendency to get soaked. A lot of promotion mats are made of a kind of rug. Find something that is easily swept and does not require much trouble to thoroughly wash when needed.
If you are looking for matting for outdoors, look for mats that are easily knocked off and resistant to chemical detergents so that disinfection does not cause the carpet to break down too quickly. It is a particularly important element for open-air mats. Be sure to use mats with ultraviolet light to keep your logos greasy and light for longer.
Several mats also have a specific gasket to prevent soiling.
Logomats upgrade every doorway and give it a stylish and up-to-date look, giving you immediate recognition of your name. Insert your company emblem or trade name into the blanket so that it covers the entire life of the blanket. All our mats are made of either coconut fibre or brush. Coconut mats have been used in many entrances for years.
Coconut mats with a printed emblem are extremely beloved because they not only have the tried and tested abrasion resistance, but also take up humidity in a natural way. For the best optical effect on the mats, the mat is equipped with a bristle mat. Corrugated construction allows for the scratching effect when walking on the mats. While the main advantage of these commercially available entry logomats is their color fastness compared to coconut fiber, they are also more durable and therefore more suitable for high frequency entrances such as hotel, school and office environments.
Logomats are made of pre-dyed fibers, which are chopped and inserted into the pad. Each of the logomat product has a 12 months guarantee against production faults. Keep in mind that fibers may fade when exposed to the sun. One of the major advantages of the scrub mats is that the styling lasts the life of the mats instead of wiping them off with pressure in a shorter amount of space.
Caring - Periodic caring is essential to make sure your logotype pad stays on. What should I do to maintain my logomat made of paintbrush and Kokosfaser? Throughout this time you can just scrub or shuffle the pads. Do not use aggressive chemical products to remove this cleaning agent as it may discolour man-made fibers and naturally occurring coco fibers.


Here we are again, the festive season. Firstly a Merry Christmas to all our loyal customers and to those we have yet to meet. Each year we publish our opening times over the Christmas period as Christmas day, Boxing day and New Years day are the only days in the year when we are closed.
So here are our opening times for this year. Any orders for free local or mainland UK delivery made whilst we are closed will be delivered in the next available delivery slot (also listed).
Can I take this opportunity to ask that if you have any orders to make please do it as early as possible. Although we are open, most of our suppliers are not and although we do order extra stock to see us through we only have so much storage space and can run out before we have had the chance to restock during this busy period.
Saturday 2nd Jan – OPEN as usual – business opening times and deliveries all back to normal.
So if we don see you before, have a Merry Christmas and a happy and prosperous New Year.
The Angell Pets Team (Richard, Billie, Henry and Albert and also Kim and the absentee temporary? Kiwi, George).
Christmas Stockings for dogs and cats usually come pre filled with treats and toys that someone at a head office, somewhere, has decided should be in them.
This year we are offering plush Christmas stockings for £3 that you can then fill with any treat, toy or accessory or any combination and we will give you 10% off the total cost of the whole package. We will even throw in a FREE sample of APL dog food. Use it as food or use it as treats for dogs or cats.
If you can't get in to the store then have a look on the web site and decide what you want then give us a ring and we will fill the stocking for you and arrange delivery. As usual, local delivery is FREE, UK wide delivery will be £5.
So why not visit us over the coming Victorian Market weekend at Gloucester Quays and pick up a bargain DOG OR CAT Christmas Stocking.
Ideal mothers day gifts are hard to find but we have two in stock. Not only do they make great mothers day gifts but they are in easy to post packaging (large letter size).
We had these in last year and they proved very popular. Bird mats and Bee Mats are an excellent mess free way to promote birds and bees in your garden. CLICK HERE for a fuller account of this superb product.
So when you remember that you have forgotten to get a mothers day present you know where to come for something a bit different.
You can order on line, over the telephone (01452 501882) or pop in and see us in store.
It doesn't seem like a year ago I was publishing the opening times for the holidays but there you go. So, our first Christmas in our new store. We have got in extra stock to help get our customers over the Christmas period without any shortages.
Up to and including Tuesday 23rd – normal hours and free local delivery service.
Wednsday 24th – Christmas Eve 9am – 6pm. No free local deliveries.
Monday 29th – 9am – 5pm. Normal free local deliveries.
Tuesday 30th – 9am – 6pm. Normal free local deliveries.
Wednesday 31st – 9am – 6pm. No free local deliveries.
Friday 2nd – 10am – 6pm. Normal free local deliveries.
Sat 3rd onward – back to normal opening hours and free local delivery service on weekdays.
Please note that UK deliveries will be dispatched as normal throughout the holidays but will be subject to usual postal service Christmas closures so arrival may be delayed.
Have a merry Christmas, a happy new year and if we don't see you in the shop, hope to see you on your doorstep as we drop off your orders.
New shop – new stock!
We are two weeks into our new location in Southgate Street and are still getting used to the new layout (slowly). We had a delivery of some fantastic new products during the move and I have only just finished getting these products on our system and website. Sorry it's taken so long but I have been just a tad busy the last few weeks.
These products are all from a new supplier MIro & Makauri. I have listed them all below, with links to our webstore. They have only been on sale for a day and are already proving popular. Excellent quality at a reasonable price always sells.
Have a look and see what you think. The rubber handled leads are very comfortable and the padded leather collars are top quality. The slip leads also double up as an anti pull walking aid.
We even have some new "bling" diamante dog and cat collars for those of you who like the flashier side of life!
The Makauri dog beds are very high quality. The waterproof range are tough and very durable and the cosy range won't look out of place in the best of living rooms.
Oh and of course, don't forget we do FREE delivery to Gloucester, Cheltenham and Painswick with no minimum order.
Pet shop closed for the holiday period?
Pet shop closed ? Does your local pet shop close over the holiday period? Many small independent pet shop businesses close over Christmas and new year, just at the time when their customers need them most.
We are closed for Christmas day and most of Boxing day and most of New Years day (see my blog for exceptions). I work seven days a week and these are my only three days off a year. However I make sure that we are available through our online pet shop during these periods and that we are open on every other day of the holidays.
A lot of small pet shop owners complain about the challenges facing their business in the modern world then refuse to take the steps necessary to protect their pet shop from those challenges. They complain about big chains being open longer but won't open seven days a week or on bank holidays or over the Christmas period. They complain about online pet supermarkets; faceless, uncaring giants that do not know anything about their products (all valid commentary) but then fail to invest in an online pet shop presence to compete with them(and in fact compete very well as they would be able to offer the help, advice, additional services and customer service the big pet shop companies and warehouses cannot).
Well we are a different sort of independant pet shop. We open when we are needed, we have an excellent online pet shop, we have an active Facebook page to interact with customers that can't make it into the shop and we deliver free to our local community, offer nail clipping for small animals for only £1 with a free health check, free water testing (by someone who lectured on water quality on a diploma course not some little Saturday person who doesn't know one piece of very soft anatomy from a bonier bit), offer micro chipping and lots of free advice. We support our local community with school talks and community events, charity prizes and free advertising of charity events.
Over the past few years (we have been open over 4 years now and we opened in the very depths of the recession too) we have seen independent pet shops close all over the country in the face of growing competition from pet superstores etc. (you know the ones) that should not be able to hold a candle to the small independent pet shop (and in reality everyone knows they can't), and online warehouses. In all case, including that of friends of ours, none of them have taken up the challenge and put things in place to protect their business.
How many had an active Facebook page (so often, when I've talked to business owners they said things like "I don't see the point" or have bothered to find out how to use it properly)? How many had an online pet shop or anything more than just a one page site with the business name and address on it. I was going to say better than nothing but not really. If it is not an actively updated page it may as well not exist, it won't come up in any searches (unless someone was searching for that specific business name). How many still didn't open on Sundays and bank holidays? How many closed at 5pm so anyone on their way home from work couldn't just pop in and get their supplies? How many didn't do free deliveries from their pet shop to their local community and so missed out on all those customers that just couldn't make it in when the shop was open or found the shop just that little too far to travel?
Again our pet shop is different. That is why, to use terms you hear on the business slot on breakfast TV every day, our total sales and market share have continued to grow ever since we opened and with the launch of our online store, backed up with the knowledge of our staff on the products we sell, continues to grow almost daily.
So thank you to our regular pet shop customers who remain incredibly loyal, welcome to our new customers, online, on Facebook, on the telephone or on foot and we look forward to seeing you all in the new year if we don't see you in our open pet shop between now and then. We have ordered in extra stock of all the best selling products to cope with the normal rush from customers who usually go elsewhere but can't because they are closed or have run out.
Have a great Christmas and a prosperous New Year everyone.
We only have a few Christmas gift items left in stock. Seasonal gift items continue to sell well so if you have any last minute items to get, hurry up because they won't be around for much longer. Here's a list of what we have left.
All our Christmas gift items can be purchased in store on online.
Angell Pets is OPEN over the Christmas and New Year holiday period. We close for only three days a year. Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Years Day. We are OPEN every other day of the year.
Thursday 2nd January – back to normal hours (9am to 6pm Mon – Sat, 10am to 4pm Sunday).
Any online orders will be picked and packed as normal but will be subject to Parcel Force's own Christmas shutdown. Any Angell Pets online orders for FREE local delivery will be picked and delivered on days (evenings) when we are OPEN.
We will be delivering FREE to GL1, GL2, GL3 and GL4 post codes right up to Christmas Eve. So if you forget some one or need a last minute present or bag of dog food, order online or give Angell Pets a call to place your order and get it delivered FREE.
Juwel aquarium web offer until 31/01/14. We are very pleased to offer Juwel tanks and cabinets at superb prices until the end of January next year.
Our Juwel tanks are usually set at prices over 20% below RRP. For the next three months we have and extra 10% off these already low prices.
We will be adding more of the Juwel aquarium range to our website over the next week or so, including the economy Rekord and the luxury Vision. Thease are avaiable to order at the offer prices from now but will take a little time to upload to the site. If you want a price for one of these Juwel aquarium ranges, just give uas a call or drop us a line and we will get back to you with price and availability.
Normal lead times for delivery are up to two weeks from order confrimation. For local delivery (sorry we cannot offer our normal FREE local delivery for these items due to their large size) lead times are one week for instock items.
So if you have been wanting a fish tank for a while but were put off by the price, want to get one for yourself or a loved one for Christmas, or have read this blog and thought "I fancy that", then take advantage of these fantastic prices whilst you can. Of course the after sales advice on setting up your prized possesion is FREE. We are not your normal webstore that is willing and able to sell you a tank but is not able to help you after that.
One of the added benefits of the Juwel aquarium range is that they are very easy to set up and to maintain. I should know, I've had a Juwel Trigon 190 at home for quite a few years now and have a Juwel Rio 125 set up in the shop. Being a very busy man I have to have something easy to maintain and the Juwel range fits the bill very well as well as remaining one of the most attractive out there and having a good range of decor and accessories designed to fit your tank.


text:
package com.thinkaurelius.titan.blueprints;

import org.apache.commons.configuration.Configuration;
import org.junit.experimental.categories.Category;

import com.thinkaurelius.titan.CassandraStorageSetup;
import com.thinkaurelius.titan.core.TitanFactory;
import com.thinkaurelius.titan.diskstorage.StorageException;
import com.thinkaurelius.titan.diskstorage.cassandra.CassandraProcessStarter;
import com.thinkaurelius.titan.diskstorage.cassandra.thrift.CassandraThriftStoreManager;
import com.thinkaurelius.titan.graphdb.configuration.GraphDatabaseConfiguration;
import com.tinkerpop.blueprints.Graph;

/**
 * @author Matthias Broecheler (me@matthiasb.com)
 */

public class InternalCassandraBlueprintsTest extends TitanBlueprintsTest {

    private static boolean isStartedUp = false;

    @Override
    public synchronized void startUp() {
        if (!isStartedUp) {
            CassandraProcessStarter.startCleanEmbedded(CassandraStorageSetup.YAML_PATH);
            isStartedUp = true;
        }
    }

    @Override
    public void shutDown() {
        //Do nothing
    }

    @Override
    public Graph generateGraph() {
        Graph graph = TitanFactory.open(getGraphConfig());
        return graph;
    }

    @Override
    public void cleanUp() throws StorageException {
        CassandraThriftStoreManager s = new CassandraThriftStoreManager(
                getGraphConfig().subset(GraphDatabaseConfiguration.STORAGE_NAMESPACE));
        s.clearStorage();
    }

    @Override
    public boolean supportsMultipleGraphs() {
        return false;
    }

    @Override
    public Graph generateGraph(String s) {
        throw new UnsupportedOperationException();
    }

    private Configuration getGraphConfig() {
        return CassandraStorageSetup.getCassandraGraphConfiguration(getClass().getSimpleName());
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Masting among such trees happens every few years. The effect of it is to ensure that not all the seeds will be consumed by squirrels and other seed/nut eaters and allow the tree to reproduce.
In the lean years, nut predators thin out, and while they're gone, the trees take notice and drop a ton of seeds to ensure germination. So suggest the botanists.
Click on over to the Ambling Page and amble along with me as I ramble on about this fascinating aspect of our Creator's design for trees and their capacity to do the work He's given them to do.


• Complete a 24 hr. urine collection Your samples will undergo genetic testing. We will share the results with your local doctor. All family members, of a patient whose genetic testing showed no known mutations, will not be tested. These samples will be stored for future research.
To identify and define the etiology of monogenic diseases causing nephrolithiasis and nephrocalcinosis by the 90 gene mutation possibly for identification.
Provide definitive genetic information for research diagnostics by the 90 gene mutation possibly for identification.
DNA samples retained for potential future use, with consent of subjects only.
Patients with clinical characteristics suggestive of monogenic stone disease.
Family members of patients with clinical characteristics suggestive of monogenic stone disease.
Plan Description: Using a limited data set, plans to share data in accordance with NIH funding expectations.


Which Carriers Are Available Within SureLC?
Which carriers are supported in SureLC?
As of August 3rd, 2018, the carriers listed on the attached document(s) are included within SureLC. Please note that the files below are identical, they're just in different formats (.xls and .pdf).
What is a "Limited Access" carrier?
[B] A carrier, or specific carrier channel, that requires approval to access their forms.
If a carrier accepts PDF generated files - we support it. However, If a carrier REQUIRES your producers to complete online contracting separately from SureLC, we may still include the carrier in SureLC as a "Limited access" carrier to maintain a consistent workflow for your Producers. This will allow your producers to place the request, and in turn notify your internal staff to proceed with any additional measures.
We encourage you to contact your carrier partners asking them to accept SureLC.
CLICK HERE to view our policy on adding new carriers and/or new forms to SureLC.
How do I manage carriers in my carrier assortment?
To manage Carrier availability within SureLC, please CLICK HERE to see how to add and/or remove carriers from your list of carriers within SureLC.


text:
[Film Review] Doctor Strange; Totally Weird, in the Good Means
Marvel under the supervision of the noble Kevin Feige, managed to build their universe well and diversely and bring characters that are not too well known and are considered quite difficult to bring to the big screen. Who would have thought that a group of 'garbage' creatures who were originally not famous except for hardcore comic readers , actually succeeded in Guardians of the Galaxy , and a heist story done by a person who can shrink can be an interesting and entertaining spectacle? This time they are trying to bring the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) to the wizarding world.
Doctor Strange contains top actors and actresses such as Benedict Cumberbatch, Rachel McAdams, Tilda Swinton, Mads Mikkelsen, Benedict Wong, and Chiwetel Ejiofor. Benedict Cumberbatch with his American accent is suitable to be the Sorcerer Supreme , even though it's not too difficult because it's similar to Sherlock –even when my first scene was like seeing the first scene of Sherlock season 1 episode 1—.
The story and plot of Doctor Strange is nothing special and is similar to most superhero origin films . This film is also as predictable as Marvel films –or superhero films – in general: the story and the small battles at the beginning will eventually lead to the bigger final battles. But the director, Scott Derickson, has another way that is new (not really new) and fun in the final battle, though not as weird-but-cool.their mothers are both named Martha Star Lord dance off .
The main attraction of this film is the visual effects that are displayed which are new and provide something interesting, especially in the fight scene . This film indulges the visual aspect that is rarely given to superhero films , watching it at IMAX seems to be a pleasant experience (which unfortunately I didn't feel that way). 2 out of 3 epic fight scenes are worth the IMAX ticket price.
The unusual theme of Doctor Strange 's story can make the audience feel strange and not feel that this is a superhero film . A theme that needs to be thought about a little – maybe more confusing than Thor Dark World – makes viewers who don't pay attention to wondering 'how can that be?' or 'what does that mean'. There are even some jokes that are quite thoughtful among the many lighthearted jokes (with proper execution), so that (it seems) I'm the only one laughing in one cinema room (or my poor sense of humor). "My name… It's Strange" then his opponent answered " Maybe. Who am I to judge?" funny? right? Yes, right?
Unfortunately, like other Marvel films, the villain of this film is not memorable and eliminated. Even though Mads Mikkelsen's appearance is so convincing, it's a shame it can't be used. In addition, the character played by Rachel McAdams is also not used properly as the doctor's love interest . Wasting the talents of amazing actors and actresses.
In addition, as a film that combines west and east (mostly settings in Nepal and Hong Kong) this film lacks eastern nuances. Even the only character with Asian blood is Benedict Wong, who although every appearance is fun, it's still just a distraction. I don't think there is any justification for the choice to 'whiten' The Ancient One, even though Tilda Swinton is quite good at playing it. The timeline of this film is also confusing, if you look at a charter in this film, the setting is in 2016, but in Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2013) Strange's name is already mentioned. I'm confused.
Although the story is a template , but with a new theme and stunning visual effects make Doctor Strange an interesting addition to the MCU. With the witch's fury, it seems that it won't be difficult to get along with other Avengers members. And I hope that 'Cloak of Levitation' can win the Oscar for Best Supporting Role!
7 Artists Become Marvel Superheroes at the Age of 50, Still Stronger
[Movie Review] Inferno; Disappointing Adaptation

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Enjoy our 12th annual 5K/5M race, then pre-game for the Super Bowl with Karate Show, DJ Phoenix, cold beer, and hot food from Miller's Ale House at our giant race party!
Awesome swag, free food & beer! $2,500 CASH PURSE for Top 10 M & F Overall + Sweet Age Group awards!
Awesome swag, free food & beer! $2,500 CASH PURSE for Top 10 M & F Overall + Sweet AG awards!
Select to make a fundraising page or purchase merchandise.
All volunteers get a free ticket to the after-party, two free drinks, and free chicken zingers.


text:
culture interview
A Music Festival Built on the Blockchain [Part 1 Interview with DJ 3LAU]
Blockchain, 3LAUd and Clear
The music industry became an almost immediate target in the diversifying crypto space, with more entities looking to disrupt the experience around musical work. Dedicated currencies like Musicoin and platforms such as UJO and dsound look towards reinventing the models of distribution, rewarding artists, protecting creators, and even going so far as to value the listeners. But what about the concert-goer? What about the audiences who cheer for music-makers IRL and support a multi-billion dollar festival industry?
This is where "OMF" comes in – both a new cryptocurrency and acronym for its dedicated event Our Music Festival. DJ 3LAU (pronounced "Blau"), affectionately known as the "DJ that turned down Wall Street," created the paired concept to establish a new way for engaging with and educating on the new technology. We had a chance to interview DJ 3LAU and get an inside look to the goals and function of the crypto-powered event & event-powered crypto.
The Creative Crypto (CC): Welcome to the magazine 3LAU! Tell us bit about yourself and how you got into blockchain.
I first got interested in this space in 2014. The Winklevoss Twins are buddies of mine and they were building Gemini and I bought a bunch of BTC in the middle of last year when there was a lot of hype. I started to dive way deeper and explore the potential of blockchain applications and music. I realized quickly that the technology itself and the general attitude towards this idea of decentralization had so many applications in music.
I do believe that in the future, the entire entertainment industry will be tokenized in some way, shape, or form. It is really important to connect fans with the artists, and I thought a festival was the most impactful way to start, so that's where the idea of OMF became reality. With OMF, we were asking ourselves "how can we give fans real ownership in the event that they hold so highly and events that they spend so much time going to in their free time? How do we reward those fans for loyalty? How do we gradually enable them to have more governance over those experiences?" That was the overall concept we wanted to start with.
CC: Can you give us a step-by-step process to how exactly you achieve this, since most people attending your festival will likely not know about blockchain? What does that mean for an average ticket buyer? How do they have more ownership than they have now, and what will your festival stand to disrupt?
In this first year, a lot of things aren't going to be ready and we knew that going into it, but we still wanted to show the world an existing cause and start building our brand. Since starting, we successfully processed hundreds of crypto payments for tickets and they sold out within 30 minutes, which is insane, and there weren't any fees on any of those purchases. That was an amazing first step where there is an interested base and people actually know how to send BTH/ETH/LTH to the wallet and pay for a ticket. We thought it would take at least 24 hours for people to get it. But in year 1, a lot of the tech we were building wasn't ready and we knew that, and we also wanted to take our time because the fan experience is the most important aspect of any kind of festival. If the technology is buggy or doesn't work properly, then we're going to have a lot of problems. So in year 1, we were able to do crypto payments for tickets, and whoever attends the festival will get an Ether paper wallet that will interface with our MVP app.
Instead of creating a technology and hoping someone will adopt it, we created a user experience and built a technology around that experience. That's our vision and one of the biggest things that has been missing in crypto.
For the time being, it's all ETH-based, and we're going to be able to process certain crypto-transactions for merch and food at the festival, little basic things that show our mission and our overall vision to start bringing people into our community. In year 2, we're building this complex ecosystem that enables fans to actually earn tokens by either buying tokens early, telling their friends, and opting in to provide their data, things that they already do now but are not rewarded.
When you buy normal tickets today or use any app, these companies are collecting data on your purchases or activities. Users have no say as to where that data goes or who it is sold to, such as marketing companies and conglomerates. If anything, customers are paying to give their data. Also, a lot of the expenses for concerts and these types of events are simply cash held by intermediaries that can cause prices to rise 20-30%. That's not something we can easily get away from now since there are a lot of existing agreements between venues and ticketing companies, but we want to start with a real event.
The difference between OMF and any other music-related crypto project is that our platform is poised to do something right away. Instead of creating a technology and hoping someone will adopt it, we created a user experience and built a technology around that experience. That's our vision and one of the biggest things that has been missing in crypto. You have these amazing projects that are built on this technology, but will never be used and people are just speculating on.
In the long-term, fans will be able to vote on the lineup of festivals. This cures so many inefficiencies concerning festivals. Right now, someone sits behind a desk and decides what artists are going to play and where. They're curating demand artificially. And fans can't just vote without any consequences since there is no way to keep them accountable. This is where OMF comes in, where fans can use the currency to do all these things in the ecosystem (buying, selling, promoting) and later on, stake that crypto to vote and make decisions. We're looking to create more reasons for them to vote and be part of that process. Ideally, we would implement a future structure for payback on the event. For example, if the event creates a large amount of profit and fans helped establish that success, maybe we distribute 15% of the profits back.
That's where the regulatory concerns came in, and I spent the first 6 months with OMF dealing with regulatory issues. If we want to do this, this isn't a typical short-term ICO process of creating a coin, getting it listed, pumping it, and eventually losing value and retail investors. OMF is the exact opposite, with a long-term plan. We're taking our time figuring out what fans really want, how we can iterate this tech along those needs, and how do we protect fans from pump-n-dump schemes. For example, we distribute a paper wallet for OMF that anyone can use whether they know what crypto is or not, connect it to our app, and we can airdrop tokens down the line. So we're starting with real users with real use cases as we develop further.
CC: We see with a lot of ICO projects and teams that are building out the tokens first, the product becomes almost secondary to the use value. It's really shooting themselves in the foot as they have to deal with investors and stakeholders, rather than their core audience group
Yea, it's all catching up to them in this market.
Stay tuned for the release of Part 2 of this exclusive interview with DJ 3LAU, coming out next week!
Website: https://omf.io
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ourmusicfestival/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/OURMusicFest
Telegram: https://t.me/ourmusicfest
Illustration by @zsolt.vidak
magazine / twitter / facebook
Tags: 3lau, blockchain, creativity, feature, music, steempress
More creative goodies...
Discovering the Next Picasso Onchain [Interview with John Egan of Editional]
Tearing Down the 4th Wall in Blockchain Media [Interview with G Esmay of Screenbreaker]
Apply for Project and Event Grants with LBRY.Fund
Explore Decentraland's 'Medieval Plaza' Interactive Preview
What's on tap?


text:
by Robert Epp.
by Dr. Jeanne Randolph.
Click here to see a
list of works in the exhibition.
of Gordon Lebredt's work.
commentary by Robert Epp
on Gordon Lebredt's
"white walls:black holes"
Click here for an addendum
by Gordon Lebredt on his
Click here for images
by Gordon Lebredt from
Gordon Lebredt, L+R [To RS] 1974, sheet metal frame with double-sided mirror,
39.4 x 59.7 x 30.4 cm. Collection of the artist. Photo: Ernest Mayer.
GORDON LEBREDT: BY THE NUMBERS
painting)programme(photography
Gallery One One One
November 10, 2005 - January 27, 2006
ANNOTATED LIST OF WORKS
Dot drawing
112.5 x 77.0 cm
Collection of the Canada Council Art Bank, Ottawa
(76/7-0466)
Lebredt: "Based on an analogue photograph, this rather crude 'digitized' drawing was produced by pushing differing amounts of powdered graphite through a circular hole in a clear acetate template. The template could be moved horizontally following a narrow slot cut in a second plate which, in turn, could be adjusted vertically in relation to the inscription surface positioned directly beneath it. Thus, the more or less blind results were obtained by means of a raster-like movement analogous to that which generates an on-screen video image."
In the November 1973 issue of Scientific American magazine, Bell Labs researcher Leon D. Harmon published an article titled "The Recognition of Faces."1 According to Lebredt it was Harmon's article concerning facial recognition and using extremely low resolution, computer generated images that influenced his work in the years just before graduation from art school. Harmon's article details his experiments with the "threshold" of face recognition. One approach he takes is to see "how little information ... in the form of 'bits,' or binary digits, is required to pictorially represent a face...."2 In the experiment Harmon scans a 35 mm transparency of a conventional portrait photograph of President Abraham Lincoln using a beam of light moving in a raster pattern. The result is a "reduced-information-content portrait" or "block portrait"3 arranged in a ratio of 16 x 16 squares.4 Lebredt's Dot drawing mimics Harmon's raster pattern or horizontal scanning to create the composition. Like Harmon's block portrait of Lincoln, Lebredt's drawing plays with the threshold of facial recognition, by requiring the viewer to find the correct viewing distance from the drawing to "read" the graphite dots as a figure.
1. Leon D. Harmon, "The Recognition of Faces," Scientific American, November 1973, vol. 229, no. 5, pp 71-82.
2. Harmon, p. 72.
3. See http://www.barcodeart.com/art/other/president/history/.
The Dot drawing template was an early attempt by Lebredt to "depersonalize" the artmaking process and to turn the creative impulse over to a mechanical device. Beginning with Dot drawing, Lebredt sought to remove himself and any signs of personal, authorial creativity from his paintings and drawings.
Epokhé
1974-75 / 2005
Collection of Gallery One One One,
School of Art, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg
Originally painted by Lebredt between 1974 and 1975, Epokhé was only completed in 2005 when Lebredt mounted the painting in a specially constructed, four-part frame and added the acrylic sheeting with the Greek word épokhé (meaning "to suspend or interrupt"). Based on a photograph taken by Lebredt, Epokhé is in part a portrait of Brynne Wild and Paul Thomas who donated the painting to Gallery One One One in 1986. But Lebredt's deliberate application of various painting techniques, which emphasize the constitution of the painting, interferes with a conventional reading of the painting as a portrait. For example, in the foliage at the upper right he experimented with a paint-by-number motif. For the street and curb he used an air brush and stencil technique, and he applied conventional brushwork for the car and house. Consequently, the painting itself is more a technical investigation into the nature of visual perception than an attempt at a faithful reproduction of reality, or an expression of Lebredt's feelings toward his subject.
Lebredt points out that "one important feature of the frame should be mentioned: two of its diagonally opposed corners were 'fractured,' that is to say, the upper right and lower left-hand corners have been severed and then reassembled so that on closer inspection, they may be read as a pair of right-angled brackets. The purpose of ... such framing devices was to assert the necessity of the supplement, of certain parergonal devices." Lebredt resolved the framing for Epokhé (and Title: not specified) after reading Craig Owens's translation of Jacques Derrida's essay "The Parergon" published in 1979 in October magazine. Lebredt says it was Owens's translation that lead him to "breaking" the corners of the frames for Epokhé and Title: not specified, and to introducing the concept of the parergon or supplement to the two paintings. He wanted to emphasize that "...the border or frame from this point on was to be considered permeable, or more importantly, divisible," a notion Lebredt has extended to the overall installation of By the Numbers. The large yellow text that partially obscures the scene in Epokhé is another attempt by Lebredt to displace the conventional meaning of the painting. It is Lebredt's way of putting the image under "erasure," to use Derrida's term, thus forcing the viewer not to take the painting at face value, but to consider other possible meanings or interpretations of the image.
Title: not specified
Collection of the Winnipeg Art Gallery;
Acquired with funds from The Winnipeg Foundation
(G-82-66)
Like Epokhé, Title: not specified was only finished in 2005 with the addition of the acrylic sheeting with the vinyl title block, and the mounting of the painting in a four-part frame, similar to Epokhé. Upon completion, Lebredt attached the following text to the back of the painting:
Adding, here, nothing that the frame won't hold-upon its falling away.
At first glance, a picture all too squarely painted: a painting, which, as a calculated opening or surface, divides itself, at once, between the "authenticity" of the phenomenal "here and now" and the suppleness of the detour, of the putting aside.
Adding, here, not an excess or simple surplus to the so-called primary work (the painting), but rather, an extra or supernumerary whose dis-played effects must, henceforth, be taken into account.
The painting is based on a photograph taken by Lebredt of Doug Sigurdson and Suzanne Gillies, co-founders of Plug In Gallery, Winnipeg in 1972. Lebredt made the painting by first covering the blank canvas with a piece of craft paper gridded off into sections. He then cut out one square of the paper and painted in the area that corresponded to the gridded source photograph. After the painted area had dried, he replaced the paper square and moved on to the next square, applying the same process for the painting of the entire work. This restriction demanded that Lebredt complete the entire painting without seeing the work as it progressed. The finished painting was only revealed after all the squares were done. Again, Lebredt wanted to emphasize programme, or technicity, with respect to what otherwise would appear as a more or less seamless painterly event.
Ripple Rock Blowup
acrylic and enamel on canvas
Collection of the Artist
Painted in 1975, this monochromatic work in white, grey, and black tones closely resembles its source image, a black and white photograph taken by Winnipeg photographer, Cal Bailey. Pictured in the painting (from left to right) are the members of the Ripple Rock motorcycle racing team: Gordon Lebredt, John Glassco, and Kemp Archibald. A fourth figure kneels behind the riders. Lebredt exhibited this painting at a juried art exhibition at the Winnipeg Art Gallery in 1976. In 1978 he added the black diagonal strikethrough, effectively taking the painting "off-line" in his words, and signalling the end of his interest in painting as a picture, as something one simply hung on a wall. The canvas remained folded up and stored for 27 years and is exhibited here for the first time with the strikethrough.
The title of the painting is a reference to the explosion of the twin peaks of Ripple Rock that lay in the channel between Vancouver Island and Quadra Island, close to the town of Campbell, B.C. The rocks were a constant menace to ships passing through the water. The National Research Council of Canada blew up the rocks on April 5, 1958, in what is considered to be the world's largest non-nuclear peacetime explosion. It was one of the first live nationwide telecast events by CBC television, and Lebredt recalled seeing it as a child. A video clip of the original telecast is available at the CBC Archives: http://archives.cbc.ca
Tracks (Defacements)
Gift of Bill Lobchuck
Lebredt: "Printed shortly after the completion of Ripple Rock Blowup, Tracks can be considered a schema for a planned defacement of the larger work. The plan was to have a horizontal strip of pigment -- as indicated in the print -- removed from the surface of Ripple Rock Blowup using a commercially available paint remover. This defacement was never executed; however, the painting was shortly thereafter 'cancelled' with the application of a diagonal strikethrough (see entry above: Ripple Rock Blowup). Tracks in its turn was defaced by a strikethrough that mimicked a printmaking convention whereby the rejects of a newly struck or pulled edition are crossed-out thus rendering them unfit for anything other than perhaps serving as test sheets for some future effort or enterprise."
Natural Facts: Red X Yellow X Blue
serigraph, colour photograph on paper, a/p
160.0 x 208.3 cm (assembled)
(G-77-47 a-d)
Bill Lobchuk and the Grand Western Canadian Screen Shop in Winnipeg were instrumental in helping Lebredt realize Natural Facts and many of his other prints produced in the 1970s. Pictured in the print are the members of the former Screen Shop, from left to right: Len Anthony, Gordon Bonnell, and Screen Shop founder, Bill Lobchuk. This is a complex print reflecting Lebredt's interest at the time in showing that the analogue image is, structurally speaking, already digital, that is to say, already a constituent of one or more discrete "grammars." He demonstrated this notion by transposing the photographic image from one medium to another, and breaking down the image as much as possible along the way. The final image consists of over fifty impressions. Lebredt included -- en abyme -- a source photograph and smaller print to emphasize the transpositions.
serigraph on paper, 1/20
(a) 160.0 x 152.4 cm; (b) 28.0 x 208.3 cm
(G-77-48 ab)
Scan depicts the algorithmic programme Lebredt established to execute a detail (a horizontal strip) from Natural Facts.
L+R [To RS]
sheet-metal frame with double-sided mirror
Inspired by American artist Robert Smithson's mirrored sculpture Enantiomorphic Chambers (1964), L + R [To RS] was one of Lebredt's first so-called "reflexive machines." It predates Lebredt's interest in the figure of the mise-en-abyme (the repetition of a scene within a scene). Instead of the viewer's image being reflected in each of the two mirrors, what is seen in each case is an extension of the backing plate, one half being actual and the other virtual (a mirror image). Lebredt suggests: "In effect, the usual position of the viewer (one more or less centered before some delimited surface or aperture) is split so that the (now doubly-divided) picture plane be regarded from two different, but already divided, divided or derived, points of view."
Labour of Vision
1974-1977 / 2005
sheet-metal box, mirror, halogen driving lamps, ballast
17.8 x 106.7 x 12.4 cm
Gift of Gordon Lebredt
Originally constructed for the exhibition Twenty-seven Artists and the Manitoba Arts Council held in Winnipeg in 1977, it was destroyed and a new version based on the original work was made in 2005. Like
L + R [To RS], Labour of Vision is a self-differing machine. The viewer looks through an eyehole in the metal box into the abyss, an infinite regression/progression of mirrors reflecting themselves.
Not To Be Reproduced
commercial offset on newsprint
Not To Be Reproduced appeared in the Leisure Section of the Winnipeg Free Press, Saturday edition, October 15, 1977, in conjunction with the exhibition Artist's Prints and Multiples, held at The Winnipeg Art Gallery, September 17 - December 4, 1977. Photographed by Winnipeg photographer, Ernest Mayer, it is a classic example of a mise-en-abyme, demonstrating the impossibility of any (self)reflexive gesture ever completing itself.
Velox proof
Made at the same time as Not To Be Reproduced, it was an alternate possibility for the Winnipeg Free Press, should the editors have declined to print the full colour submission.
Drama: if, by being isolated, an effect of lighting dominates us
3 elements: Duratrans on acrylic mounted in metal light boxes
each: 91.4 x 93.9 x 17.8 cm
Lebredt comments: "Drama recalls a scene, one pertinent to the story of cinema. Here, in three takes, a patron of the cinema, perhaps, has turned to face the apparatus, the very source of the projected image. Blinded by the beam, he has raised his hand as a screen, not so much as to protect his eyes but to make the light retreat and allow its source to reveal itself. Here, according to Lacan, '...in its relation to desire, reality appears only as marginal.'"
The auxiliary title is a quote from Jacques Lacan's The Four Fundamental Concepts of Psycho-Analysis, 1978, p. 107. The images are based on photographs of the artist by Ernest Mayer.
The Museum Speaks
photostat mounted on card, museum board, dry transfer, picture glass
3 panels: 101.0 x 97.4 cm each
Created in 1978, the piece consists of three panels, two of which contain graphic symbols from Alan Sondheim's publication The Structure of Reality, N.S.C.A.D., 1977. The symbols signify the inward and outward movement of representation, which expands/contracts infinitely, and whose boundaries are permeable. An opening in the centre panel frames an absence. It creates an aperture effect that allows the supporting wall of the museum to be "reflected back" as a condition of the work's appearing. The text is from A.V. Miller's English translation of Hegel's Science of Logic. The original text from the English translation of Hegel's Science of Logic (George Allen & Unwin Ltd., 1969) was damaged and replaced in 1989.
untitled (flamingos)
Collection of Michael Lebredt
Lebredt printed this work along with untitled (park bench) and untitled (gargoyle) within weeks of one another at the Grand Western Canadian Screen Shop. All three prints are glazed here for the first time as Lebredt originally intended. The dark acrylic sheeting was an early attempt by Lebredt to remind the viewer that "darkness or opacity is the condition for the experience of light; for example when, in its welling up, it happens to meet and envelop the eye from the inky depths of a mere image."
untitled (park bench)
Gift of Bill Lobchuk
untitled (gargoyle)
Collection of Gallery One One One
serigraph, a/p
4 separate prints: 38.0 x 38.0 cm each
Wallpaper was Lebredt's first print produced while in art school. It is based on the image captured by a Polaroid camera "negative," i.e., the normally discarded paper backing that is peeled off the face of a developed print. According to Lebredt, "Each individual print of the original edition consisted of four almost identical components. For the exhibition By the Numbers, the only surviving example from that edition was cut apart, and the four component prints were reframed and then deposed across several blank supplementary wall panels (existing panels that can be secured over the gallery's two large window openings, thus extending the amount of wall surface available for display) which had been displaced from what would be their normal positions and function on the south wall of the space to take up positions, and a new function, directly opposite on the north wall. These two white sentinels are to be considered proxies not only for painting or, more importantly, any inscribable surface or subjectile including the display surfaces of the gallery itself but for an a priori general blankness or atopia."
Hidebound: on the turn (before the mirror) of one such visage, one such model....
Inkjet on paper mounted on masonite
77.5 x 121.9 cm
This work is a reconstruction based on the original piece (now destroyed) that was submitted to A Space gallery in Toronto for the exhibition Station to Station, an exhibition of photographs placed in a select number of Toronto subway stations in 1979. The proposal was not accepted. Hidebound is based on a cosmetic advertisement, appropriated from the pages of Cosmopolitan magazine.
Lebredt asks, "Should we speak here of the necessity of a certain propriety or decorum whereby the image, at once, divides itself into, on the one hand, a moment or movement of revelation (literally, showing that it has nothing to hide) and, on the other, one of concealment or deception?"
02/06 is the co-ordinate for the square within the gridded photograph that Lebredt expanded into an abstract lithograph drawing. It was printed in Winnipeg by Moosehead Press, founded by David Umholz.
Source/Source
offset lithograph
School of Art, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg;
(05.004).
Lebredt comments that it could be said that "Title: not specified was initiated in order that Source/Source could be completed; thus, any photo documentation of the painting would be indistinguishable from the photo-source." In this work Lebredt has reproduced an image of the source photograph (on the right) for Title: not specified, and an image of a photograph of the painting. Here he has conflated the distinction between painting and photography, making it difficult to tell if the photograph was the source for the painting or vice versa. As Lebredt points out, "once you take a photograph of the painting you're back to the photograph."
Among other photorealist painters of the time, such as British artist Malcolm Morley and American painter Chuck Close, Lebredt acknowledges in particular the influence of Canadian painter Jack Chambers and his theory of "perceptual realism." Chambers' use of the gridded photograph as a source for making paintings is reflected in Source/Source, and it became Lebredt's standard practice to grid the canvas when it came to making paintings such as Epokhé, Title: not specified, and Ripple Rock Blowup.(See Lebredt's unfinished canvas for Natural Facts: Red X Yellow X Blue.)
Robert Epp, Guest Curator
November, 2005, Winnipeg
(Revised, February 2007)
Special thanks to Gordon Lebredt for the use of written and oral statements regarding his work.
The Gordon Lebredt: By the Numbers CD-ROM includes links to other Gallery One One One projects: Gallery One One One, School of Art, Main Floor, FitzGerald Building, University of Manitoba Fort Garry campus, Winnipeg, MB, CANADA R3T 2N2. Gallery Hours: Noon to 4 PM (weekdays only).TEL:204 474-9322 FAX:474-7605


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Massive holiday-themed model railroad in Spring Valley, Minnesota
Watch a video of this holiday-themed model train layout in action
A Spring Valley man with a passion for model trains is opening up his home for others train enthusiasts to admire.
Boyd Grabau's railroad room is 30 years in the making and once you step into it, you can't help but become mesmerized by the sights and sounds.
Grabau started getting into model trains in August of 1987.
"It's enjoyable and it's really relaxing," said Grabau.
It wasn't until he had a quadruple bypass in 1991 that model trains really became a hobby for him.
"The doctor said 'well you got to get yourself a hobby'. And I've always liked trains, so okay, that's the route we'll go," said Grabau.
Today, Grabau has a separate room in his basement, layered to the ceiling, with model trains decorated for the holiday season.
People travel from as far as St. Cloud and Des Moines to check out his model train room.
"You can turn somebody in their 50s into a little kid and you can turn a little kid into their 50s," said Grabau " 'How do you do this? How do you do that?' A 50 year old will say 'I don't know if I could get into that or not'. But they do eventually."
The past few years, Grabau has featured a donation bucket in his train room. This allows him to share his passion with others, along with giving back to the community.
"I don't charge anything for people to come and see this," said Grabau. "But then I raise [money] for the food shelf, Blessing of the Backpack, the ambulance service, and the fire department. I don't keep any of it for myself. Just the joy of showing the trains off."
Grabau says he likes to hand decorate each train car and says "it's a labor of love."
If you are interested in checking out Grabau's model railroad room you can make an appointment by calling 507-346-2885 or you can attend an open house on December 8-10, 15-17, and 21-22 from 1-4 P.M. at 304 West Courtland Street, in Spring Valley..
The Grabaus ask that you let them know in advance how many people are in your party even if you're showing up during the open house hours.


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Home NBA NBA 8/31 betting preview. Round 2 and more
NBA 8/31 betting preview. Round 2 and more
Matt LaMarca
Monday's NBA slate only features two games, but they should be good ones.
It starts with the Bucks vs. the Heat, who will kick off their second-round series in the Eastern Conference. The Heat are coming off a sweep vs. the Pacers in the first round, while the Bucks won four straight games by double-digits after dropping their first game vs. the Magic.
The nightcap is Game 6 between the Rockets and Thunder. The Rockets will be looking to punch their ticket to the second round after a dominant performance in Game 5, while the Thunder will be looking to fight back and force a decisive Game 7.
Let's break down both contests to try and identify some betting value.
Milwaukee Bucks (-5.5) vs. Miami Heat — 223.5 total
Series Price: Bucks -500/Heat +360
Both of these teams were impressive in the first round, but neither was really presented with much of a challenge. The Bucks dismantled the Magic after a brief hiccup in Game 1, while the Heat steamrolled the shorthanded Pacers. This will obviously be a much tougher test for both teams.
The Bucks enter the series as moderate favorites, and deservedly so. They were the best team in basketball during the regular season, ranking first in Net Rating and winning percentage. They have the likely MVP and Defensive Player of the Year in Giannis Antetokounmpo, and they outscored opponents by +18.8 points per 100 possessions with their starting lineup on the court this season.
They are built on the back of a dominant yet unconventional defense. They protect the rim at all costs, ranking first in the league in terms of frequency of shots allowed at the rim per Cleaning the Glass. They are also excellent at defending those shots, ranking first in opponent accuracy as well. That allowed them to finish the year first in effective FG% (eFG) on defense.
That said, protecting the rim that aggressively does have a price. The Bucks allowed the third-highest frequency of 3-pointers this season, including the highest frequency of non-corner 3's. That trade off obviously worked during the regular season, but it does leave them vulnerable against teams that can shoot the ball well.
With that in mind, the Heat are a disastrous matchup for them. Their offense is based around the 3-ball, and they are excellent at making them. They ranked second in the league in 3-point shooting percentage this season, including first in non-corner 3's. Basically, their biggest strength plays right into the Bucks biggest weakness.
We saw that play out in their three regular season matchups. The Heat won two of three games, and they averaged 18.3 made 3-pointers in those contests. Miami was the only Eastern Conference team to actually post a winning record against Milwaukee this season.
The Heat should also be a more prolific 3-point shooting team in the playoffs given their decision to bench Kendrick Nunn. Nunn had an excellent rookie season — he was a finalist for the Rookie of the Year award — but he is simply an average 3-point shooter. Goran Dragic has replaced him in the starting lineup in each of their first four playoff games, and he shot 41.4% from downtown in those contests.
This is definitely not going to be a cakewalk for the Bucks, but can the Heat actually pull off the upset? A lot of "experts" think so, but I'm not convinced. The 3-ball definitely gives the Heat a puncher's chance, but it's not like their defense matches up great with the Bucks' offense either. They allowed the fifth-highest frequency of shots at the rim during the first round of the playoffs, and that could spell disaster against Giannis. He lives at the rim, which is a big reason why the Bucks were first in the league in shooting percentage from that location. I'm ultimately going to pass on any series bets for this matchup, but I definitely expect the Bucks to advance.
Milwaukee isn't getting a ton of love in Game 1 of this matchup either. They're current garnering just 39% of the spread bets, which is pretty uncommon for a favorite. The public usually loves targeting the "better" team, so they are definitely buying the Heat as legitimate threats.
That qualifies the Bucks for a nice postseason trend. Historically, favorites who have received less than 50% of the spread wagers have posted a record of 246-210-14, which is good for a return on investment of +4.9%. If we look at favorites who have received less than 40% of the spread wagers, the ROI increases to +18.3%.
With that in mind, I have no problem fading the public and targeting the Bucks in Game 1.
The #NBAPlayoffs continue today with a TNT doubleheader starting at 6:30 PM ET!
Conf. Semis, Game 1: MIA/MIL
Round 1, Game 6: HOU/OKC pic.twitter.com/XOmvRLONOs
— NBA (@NBA) August 31, 2020
The Pick: Bucks -5.5
Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Houston Rockets (-5.5) — 225.5 total
The big news in this series was Russell Westbrook returning to the Rockets' lineup in Game 5. He missed each of the first four games of this series with a quad injury, but he started and played 24 minutes in his last game. He wasn't particularly effective, shooting just 3-13 from the field, but he was always expected to be a bit rusty.
His performance didn't stop the Rockets from blowing the doors of the Thunder either. They cruised to a 24-point victory, thanks in part to a +19 scoring advantage during the third quarter. Dennis Schroder getting tossed certainly didn't help the Thunder — he was their best player during the first half — but the game was well in hand before that happened.
The Thunder are stuck between a rock and a hard place in this matchup. They need Lu Dort on the court to try and slow down James Harden, but Dort was an absolute dumpster-fire offensively in Game 5. The Rockets sagged way off him and basically dared him to shoot every time he touched it, and Dort finished just 3-16 from the field. That basically erases any contributions he makes on the defensive end.
That is the problem with playing the Rockets. They make you do weird things that other teams don't. The Thunder have been absolutely dominant with their best five-man combination on the court this season — Chris Paul, Schroder, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Danilo Gallinari, Steven Adams — but they have not been able to rely on that lineup much in this series. Adams has played less than 26.3 minutes in the past two games because the Thunder don't think they can play a lineup with a traditional big man in this matchup.
Unless things change from a lineup perspective, it looks like the Thunder's hopes in this series are going to come down to whether or not Dort can make some wide-open shots in Game 6. Consider me skeptical. He shot just 29.7% from 3-point range during the regular season, including just 35.4% on "wide open" 3-pointers per NBA.com.
There has been some reverse line movement and steam movements tracked on the Thunder in this contest, but I just can't see them winning. I'm ultimately going to stay away, but it wouldn't shock me if Houston won this game in convincing fashion once again.
The Pick: Pass
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Matt LaMarca has covered sports betting and daily fantasy sports full time for the past five years, and his work has been featured at sites like FantasyLabs, The Action Network, DraftKings, and Rotoviz.


PHOENIX -- Charges have been dropped against former Phoenix Mercury assistant coach Todd Troxel, who was fired by the WNBA team last month following an independent investigation into alleged domestic violence.
Troxel was charged with misdemeanor assault and disorderly conduct following a physical altercation last Nov. 30 at the Phoenix-area home he shares with his fiancée.
The Arizona Republic reported Tuesday that both Troxel and his fiancée said in statements to the newspaper that they are remorseful the argument happened but deny an assault ever occurred.


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Data Science pp 97-110 | Cite as
A Median-Based Consensus Rule for Distance Exponent Selection in the Framework of Intelligent and Weighted Minkowski Clustering
Renato Cordeiro de Amorim
Nadia Tahiri
Boris Mirkin
Vladimir Makarenkov
Part of the Studies in Classification, Data Analysis, and Knowledge Organization book series (STUDIES CLASS)
The intelligent Minkowski and weighted Minkowski K-means are recently developed effective clustering algorithms capable of computing feature weights. Their cluster-specific weights follow the intuitive idea that a feature with a low dispersion in a specific cluster should have a greater weight in this cluster than a feature with a high dispersion. The final clustering provided by these techniques obviously depends on the selection of the Minkowski exponent. The median-based central consensus rule we introduce in this paper allows one to select an optimal value of the Minkowski exponent. Our rule takes into account the values of the Adjusted Rand Index (ARI) between clustering solutions obtained for different Minkowski exponents and selects the clustering that provides the highest average value of ARI. Our simulations, carried out with real and synthetic data, show that the proposed median-based consensus procedure usually outperforms clustering strategies based on the selection of the highest value of the Silhouette or Calinski–Harabasz cluster validity indices.
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© Springer International Publishing AG 2017
1.School of Computer ScienceUniversity of HertfordshireHatfieldUK
2.Département d'informatiqueUniversité du Québec à MontréalMontrealCanada
3.Department of Data Analysis and Machine IntelligenceNational Research University, Higher School of EconomicsMoscowRussia
4.Department of Computer Science and Information SystemsBirkbeck University of LondonLondonUK
de Amorim R.C., Tahiri N., Mirkin B., Makarenkov V. (2017) A Median-Based Consensus Rule for Distance Exponent Selection in the Framework of Intelligent and Weighted Minkowski Clustering. In: Palumbo F., Montanari A., Vichi M. (eds) Data Science. Studies in Classification, Data Analysis, and Knowledge Organization. Springer, Cham
DOI https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-55723-6_8
eBook Packages Mathematics and Statistics
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The safety of food is of critical importance. Consumers must have confidence and assurance that the food they buy will do them no harm or have an adverse effect.
The General Food Law Regulation establishes that only safe food and feed can be placed on the Union market or fed to food-producing animals. It also establishes basic criteria for establishing whether a food or feed is safe.
Tracing food and feed throughout the food chain is very important for the protection of consumers, particularly when food and feed are found to be faulty. The General Food Law Regulation defines traceability as the ability to trace and follow food, feed, and ingredients through all stages of production, processing and distribution.
obliges businesses to be able to identify at least the immediate supplier of the product in question and the immediate subsequent recipient, with the exemption of retailers to final consumers - one step back-one step forward (unless specific provisions for further traceability exist).
Primary responsibility for ensuring compliance with food law - and in particular the safety of the food - rests with the food (or feed) business operators. To complement and support this principle, the competent authorities of the EU countries must assure adequate and effective controls.
When food or feed is unsafe, business operators are obliged to withdraw or recall it. They are also obliged to notify the competent national authorities so as to be able to monitor whether the appropriate measures have been taken or require that additional measures be taken for reducing or eliminating a food safety risk.
As a rule, the guidelines do not address specific issues faced by particular types of businesses. However, following a request form the European Parliament, the Commission presented its position on the way the traceability requirements apply to charities.
For more information check the Question (only available in French and German) and the Reply (only available in French and German) regarding the traceability requirements.


Neil Alexander, in his 29th season as head coach at Lincoln High School and his 43rd year overall as a head coach, is one of eight finalists for the National High School Athletic Coaches Association Boys Basketball Coach of the Year Award.
A graduate of Nokomis High School and Monmouth College, Alexander has amassed more than 820 wins during his coaching career. It currently ranks him fourth among boys coaches in Illinois.
The NHSACA award recognizes coaches based solely on their high school records. The winner will be announced at the association's national convention in June in Bismarck, North Dakota.
Riverton junior Spencer Yoggerst passed the 1,000-point mark for his career during the Hawks' 46-20 non-conference win over Rochester on Saturday night in Riverton.
Entering the game, Yoggerst needed just one point to reach the milestone. He got that point with a free throw early in the second quarter, and he finished with six points for the night.
Travis Hogan led Riverton with 15 points while Colton Heckman added 14.
Carlinville High School senior Jarrett Easterday, who rewrote the passing record book for the Cavaliers' football team, has announced his plans to enroll at Illinois Wesleyan University and play football for the NCAA Division III Titans.
Easterday, a two-year starter who also played quarterback part of his freshman year, led Carlinville to a 12-1 finish and a Class 3A semifinal playoff berth this past season. He completed 203 of 280 passes for 3,206 yards and 44 touchdowns while being intercepted four times.
He was a State Journal-Register Small-School All Area selection; an Illinois High School Football Coaches Association All-State slection and an All-South Central Conference pick.
Easterday said he narrowed his college choices to IWU, Augustana and Monmouth before picking the school located in Bloomington. The Titans are members of the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW).
"After the season, some college coaches contacted me," Easterday said. "I made visits, but there was something about the Illinois Wesleyan campus. I got a vibe that I couldn't pass up.


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Q: Tor functor for the quotient of a Gorenstein local ring Let $(R,m)$ be a Gorenstein local ring, $I\subset R$ a perfect ideal of grade $g$ and $S = R/I$. Prove that $S$ is Gorenstein iff $\operatorname{Tor}_g^R(S,S)=S$.
This question is Exercise 3.3.25(c) in the book of Winfried Bruns and Jürgen Herzog, Cohen-Macaulay Rings, Cambridge University Press, 1998.

A: Suppose $S$ is Gorenstein. Then $\operatorname{Tor}^g _R(S,S)=\operatorname{Hom}_S(\omega_S, S)=\operatorname{Hom}_S(\omega_S, \omega_S)= S$.
Conversely, suppose $\operatorname{Tor}^g_R(S, S) = S$. Then $\omega^*_S=\operatorname{Hom}_S(\omega_S, S)=\operatorname{Tor}^g_R(S,S)=S$. Now in order to  prove $S$ is Gorenstein you need to prove $r(S)=1$. This we do: by usual reductions in the section of canonical modules you can assume $\dim S=0$ and so $\omega_S=E(k)$. Let $r=r(S)=μ(E)=μ$. Then $$r=\dim_k \hom(k,\hom(E,S))=\dim_k \hom(k^μ,S)=\dim_kk^{r^2}=r^2,$$ so $r=1$.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


ICE is not only interrogating victims that seek refuge, they are setting up checkpoints to hunt individuals who are traveling back to their burned out homes. ICE is setting up checkpoints throughout the fire burned communities in southern California to check fire victims' immigration status.
These are individuals whose lives have been in danger and whose homes have been destroyed. Rather than help them heal, rather than help families and children gain some sense of safety- ICE is attacking victims of the fires in San Diego.
Glare of Fires Pulls Migrants From Shadows By RANDAL C. ARCHIBOLD and WILL CARLESS SAN DIEGO, Oct. 26 — Out of the burning brush, from behind canyon rocks, several immigrants bolted toward a group of firefighters, chased not by the border police but by the onrush of flames from one of the biggest wildfires this week.
Their appearance startled the firefighters, who let them into their vehicles. But with the discovery of four charred bodies in an area of heavy illegal immigration, concern is growing that others may not have survived.
The wildfires, one of the biggest disasters to strike the county, exposed their often-invisible existence in ways that were sometimes deadly.
The four bodies were found in a burned area in southeastern San Diego County, a region known for intense illegal immigration. It is near Tecate, where a chain securing an evacuated border crossing was cut and people were seen flowing into the United States until the Border Patrol arrived, said Michael J. Fisher, the chief patrol agent in San Diego.
As firefighting continued on Friday, makeshift camps for immigrants in the northern part of the county stood largely abandoned. Some immigrants were said to be hiding in even more remote terrain. Others sought help from churches.
"I was pretty scared. We had to leave in the middle of the night, and we went to the church," said Juan Santiago, a immigrant worker in the Rancho Peñasquitos neighborhood, just south of the hard-hit Rancho Bernardo area.
The authorities have not given any causes linked to immigration.
Two men, one in San Diego County and the other in Los Angeles, who were arrested on arson charges, accused of setting small fires this week, are believed to be deportable, a federal immigration official said.
The San Diego police detained people suspected of stealing at Qualcomm Stadium. Six were handed over to the immigration authorities when it became apparent that they might be in the United States illegally.
The Border Patrol said the six, and at the group's request, an American juvenile with them, were returned to Mexico.
The American Civil Liberties Union said it had received reports that people had been denied help at shelters because they lacked proper identification. Officials have been checking identification to prevent people not affected by the fires from taking advantage of the free food, clothes and other services.
The concerns of the rights group drew a rebuke from Representative Brian P. Bilbray, a Republican who represents areas along the border.
Wayne A. Cornelius, a political scientist at the University of California, San Diego, who studies border questions, said that if the past was a guide there would be more friction over the fires and their effects on illegal immigrants.
In one sign of cooperation, a Mexican firefighting team from Baja California helped American firefighters with a major blaze along the border early in the week.
Dan Frosch contributed reporting from Denver, and Carolyn Marshall from San Francisco.
Call to Action: Fight back in NY!


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Environment /
Environment General election 2019: Could climate change become a top priority?
The nation's political parties have been fighting to prove their green credentials to voters ahead of the general election
Could this be the UK's first general election where climate change plays a defining role?
Usually it's issues such as the economy or crime or health that dominate the campaigns. And this time Brexit is bound to be the most acute question facing politicians and voters.
But some recent polling has revealed a potentially significant shift elevating the environment to one of the top priorities.
Environment What do the opinion polls show?
The polling company YouGov has tracked views on the environment for nearly a decade and for most of that time the subject ranked pretty low.
There was a spike in interest following the violent storms of the winter of 2013-14 in which many areas were hit by devastating floods, but that was an exception and things slipped back to "normal" soon afterwards.
But this year something has shifted dramatically, according to YouGov.
Chris Curtis, one of its researchers, says that in the most recent poll 27% of voters cited the environment as one of three top issues – behind Brexit and health. That puts it on a par with crime and the economy.
And he says this is particularly striking among younger voters – 45% of 18- to 24-year-olds put it as their second-biggest concern after Brexit.
His conclusion? "I think over this election campaign politicians are going to have to start discussing the issue of the environment if they want to win over the support of those younger voters."
Environment What's behind this shift?
The YouGov polling points very clearly to the protests by Extinction Rebellion last April as one key factor.
Resented by some, inspiring to many, the movement has at the very least got people talking.
Around the same time, the school strikes led by the Swedish 16-year-old Greta Thunberg were catching the imagination of thousands of British children – and maybe some of their parents too.
The past summer saw record-breaking heatwaves and scientists making it clear that rising temperatures are not a problem for the distant future, but something that's threatening now.
And on top of it all, the revered tones of Sir David Attenborough have been heard by millions, including right now with his new series Seven Worlds, One Planet, warning that the threat of climate change is real and dangerous.
Environment So are the parties listening?
The two biggest parties are trading blows over which of them offers the most credible green policies.
Last Saturday the Conservatives announced a halt to fracking, the controversial process of extracting gas from shale rock. Labour derided the timing as opportunistic and more of a pause than a total ban.
The very next day, Labour came out with a Warm Homes plan to insulate the country's households – nearly 27m of them – and help with solar panels and heat pumps. The Tories dismissed the scheme's £250bn bill as unaffordable and unrealistic.
And now, along with the Liberal Democrats, SNP and Green Party, Labour are calling for a live TV debate on climate change, clearly hoping to highlight what they see as government failings.
For their part, ministers point to the fact that the UK, on their watch, is the first major industrialised economy to commit to decarbonisation.
Environment So what actually needs to be done?
As things stand, there's a national goal of making sure the UK no longer adds to the problem of global climate change after 2050.
In practice that means reducing carbon emissions to what is called "net zero" by that time – which basically means any greenhouse gases still being released are absorbed or compensated for in some way.
That was the target proposed by the Committee on Climate Change, the government's climate advisers, but opposition parties want to move much faster.
Trebling the UK's solar power is a possible way the UK could met its net zero carbon emissions target
There are plenty of different scenarios for achieving net zero but they all involve radical changes and huge investments in the next decade or so.
Among the options is a trebling of the UK's current solar power and of the output of its offshore wind, switching away from using gas to heat our homes, together with massive improvements in the energy efficiency of all our buildings and greening all our transport.
Environment What's at stake?
For Chris Stark, chief executive of the Committee on Climate Change, "this election really is the climate election".
He told BBC News: "There probably isn't a bigger challenge – when we think about the things that need to be done to get to that goal of net zero emissions, it's absolutely enormous.
"It involves things in every sector of the economy and of course we need government policies in every sector of the economy to deliver that.
"And we need to see the manifestos that come forth in the next election that those policy commitments are there – it's essential that they are."
And for whoever ends up in charge next month, there's another incentive to think about: the UK is due to host a crucial climate summit, known as COP26, in Glasgow in a year's time.
The country's green credentials will be under global scrutiny like never before.
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