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Research Article| June 01 2016
Identifying the potential sources of trace metals in water from subsidence area based on positive matrix factorization
Linhua Sun;
Linhua Sun *
1School of Resources and Civil Engineering, Suzhou University, Anhui 234000, China
*Corresponding author. E-mail: sunlinh@126.com
Xianghong Liu;
Xianghong Liu
Ning Min
Water Practice and Technology (2016) 11 (2): 279–287.
https://doi.org/10.2166/wpt.2016.030
Linhua Sun, Xianghong Liu, Ning Min; Identifying the potential sources of trace metals in water from subsidence area based on positive matrix factorization. Water Practice and Technology 1 June 2016; 11 (2): 279–287. doi: https://doi.org/10.2166/wpt.2016.030
Water in the subsidence area is a good choice for solving the water shortage in the coal mining area of China. In this study, positive matrix factorization model has been applied for the concentrations of seven kinds of trace metals (Pb, V, Cr, Mn, Co, Ni and Cu) in water from the subsidence area in the Luling coal mine, northern Anhui Province, China for identifying and quantifying their potential sources. Statistical analyses (including coefficients of variation and P-value of Anderson–Darling test) of metal concentrations indicate that multi factors (geological weathering/dissolution, filling of coal gauge and anthropogenic discharge) are responsible for the metal concentrations in the water. Based on the variations of Q values, three sources have been determined by US EPA (US Environmental Protection Agency) positive matrix factorization model: coal gauge filling, geological weathering or dissolution and waste discharge. The contribution degrees of these sources for all of the pools are different, and therefore, different strategies (e.g. clean the waste and the coal gauge around and in the pools) should be applied with different pools.
coal mining, EPA PMF, subsidence area, trace metals, water
Ground subsidence is a common phenomenon in the surface of the earth, which can be induced by either natural or anthropogenic activities, such as dissolution of limestone in the karst terrains, sub-surface mining, natural gas extraction and earthquake, etc. However, it is considered to be the most serious one among the environmental problems induced by underground coal mining in China during the last decades (Li et al. 2007; Yao et al. 2010; Yang & Liu 2012): the newly formed subsidence area is up to 130 km2 every year and the subsidence area has raised up to 700,000 hm2 by the end of 2006 (Meng et al. 2009).
Shortage of water in the current world and China is serious because of the variations of natural conditions and the anthropogenic contamination, and this phenomenon is more serious in coal mining areas: more than 71% of the coal mining areas in China were lacking of water and 40% of them were serious (Gui et al. 2011). Because of this situation, most of the studies focused on the underground water in the coal mining area (Chen et al. 2013; Sun and Gui 2013; Sun et al. 2014). However, the water in the subsidence pools of the coal mining area, have not yet been considered before the year of 2000.
Trace elements, especially the toxic ones (e.g. Hg, Cd, Pb, Zn et al.), have long been concerned by scientists because of their special characteristics, including multi kinds of sources, toxicities for human health and difficulties of remediation (Begum et al. 2009; Peng et al. 2009; Alinnor & Obiji 2010). However, although some studies related to the water quality from the subsidence area have been processed (e.g. Liu & Lu 2009; Sun et al. 2015), the work related to the trace metals have not been undertaken.
Therefore, in this study, a total of forty-nine water samples have been collected from the subsidence water area in the Luling coal mine, an old coal mine with large area of subsidence area in northern Anhui Province, China, and the concentrations of seven kinds of trace metals (Pb, V, Cr, Mn, Co, Ni and Cu) have been analyzed. Then, their sources have been calculated by EPA positive matrix factorization (PMF) model.
There are five coal mines located near the city of Suzhou: the Zhu Xianzhuang and Luling coal mines in the southeast, and Taoyuan-Qinan-Qidong coal mines in the south. The Luling coal mine is located 20 km southeast to the Suzhou City (GPS: E117 °06′30″, N33°35′59″) (Figure 1). The annual production of coal is 1.5 million tons and the designed service life is 66 years.
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Location of the study area (I, II, III and IV are sample locations in subsidence water areas around the Luling coal mine).
The main coal seams in the coal mine are 8th and 10th. After coal mining, eight subsidence areas have been formed before 2002, including 81, 82, 83, 84, 86, 88, 101 and 102. And the area has been increased up to 1,000 acres today. Most of the subsidence depth is higher than 7 m, and the water depth is near 3 m (Figure 1). Comparatively, four pools related to this study have different natural conditions: pool I and II have relative high content of water, whereas pool III is a closed system without hydraulic connection with other pools and, surrounded by human residence. Moreover, coal gauge filling is common in all of the pools.
A total of forty-nine water samples have been collected from the subsidence water areas in the Luling coal mining area (13, 14, 12 and 10 samples from pools I, II, III and IV in the Figure 1, respectively). Water samples were filtered through 0.45 μm pore-size membrane and collected into a 2.0 L polyethylene bottles that had been cleaned in the laboratory, and immediately acidified to pH < 2 by HNO3 for prevention of element precipitation and/or adsorption by the bottle. Then the samples were sent to the laboratory for analysis in 24 hours. Analytical processes were taken place in the Engineering and Technology Research Center of Coal Exploration in Anhui Province, China. Concentrations of seven kinds of trace metals (Pb, V, Cr, Mn, Co, Ni and Cu) have been analyzed by Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) (Element II). The international standard solutions after dilution have been applied for calibration, and most of the samples have relative standard deviations less than 10%.
PMF is a Principal Component Analysis (PCA)-based receptor model with non-negative constraints that involve solution of quantitative source apportionment equations by oblique solutions in a reduced dimensional space (Paatero & Tapper 1994; Paterson et al. 1999). The PMF model defines the concentration matrix of chemical species measured at receptor sites as the product of source composition and contribution factor matrices matrix with a residue matrix. It has long been used for quantifying the source contributions in environmental studies. In this study, the model created by US EPA (PMF 5.0) has been applied, and the detailed information about the software can be found in Norris & Duvall (2014).
Analytical results of this study are synthesized in Tables 1 and 2. As can be seen from the Table 1, the mean concentrations of the water samples are Mn > V > Cu > Ni > Cr > Co > Pb. Their mean concentrations are 4.777 μg/l, 3.731 μg/l, 0.885 μg/l, 0.648 μg/l, 0.127 μg/l, 0.092 μg/l and 0.046 μg/l, respectively. However, water samples from the different pools have different concentrations of metals: water samples from the pool IV have the highest mean concentrations of most of the trace metals except for Mn, whereas the water samples from the pool III have the highest mean concentrations of Mn. Moreover, most of the lowest mean concentrations of the trace metals are observed in the pool II. This phenomenon might be, induced by the different natural and anthropogenic conditions.
Descriptive statistics of metal concentrations (μg/l)
Pb .
Cr .
Mn .
Co .
Ni .
Cu .
N 49 49 49 49 49 49 49
Minimum 0.03 1.256 0.043 0.061 0.059 0.271 0.067
Maximum 0.089 8.737 0.239 95.108 0.192 1.242 1.638
Median 0.044 2.585 0.108 0.241 0.076 0.602 0.91
Mean 0.046 3.731 0.127 4.777 0.092 0.648 0.885
Coefficient of Variation 0.278 0.591 0.469 3.93 0.41 0.263 0.371
P-value <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 0.052
Metal concentrations of water from the subsidence areas (μg/l)
I (n = 13) 0.045 2.48 0.114 0.202 0.077 0.662 0.991
II (n = 14) 0.042 2.54 0.061 0.200 0.070 0.570 0.898
III (n = 12) 0.045 3.01 0.162 17.7 0.075 0.511 0.430
IV (n = 10) 0.052 7.88 0.192 1.61 0.163 0.906 1.274
Previous environmental studies revealed that coefficient of variation is a good indicator for revealing the contribution of chemical constitutes in natural environment from anthropogenic activities: a low coefficient of variation (<0.1) indicates the low degree of anthropogenic contribution, whereas a high coefficient of variation (>0.9) indicates high degrees of anthropogenic contribution. In this study, metal concentrations of the water samples have coefficients of variations range from 0.278 to 3.93, which indicates that all of them are statistically inhomogeneous and cannot be contributed by a single natural source, especially the metal Mn with coefficient of variation (>0.9). This consideration can also be supported by their P-values of Anderson–Darling test, as only Cu have P-values higher than 0.05 (Table 1), which means that all of the metal concentrations (except for Cu) cannot pass the normality test, and implying that they have multi sources.
Such a phenomenon is consistent with the truth that there are multi factors can affect the environment of the subsidence pools in this study, e.g. geological weathering/dissolution of natural rocks and/or sediments, anthropogenic waste discharge around the pool and the application of coal gauge for filling of subsidence areas.
The number of sources
Before the modeling of EPA PMF model, all of the data were firstly checked by concentration/ Uncertainty model. The results suggest that all of the seven kinds of trace metals have been classified to be strong category, which suggest that all of them can be used for PMF analysis.
Determination of the factor numbers in factor analysis is an important work, and several principles have been used in previous studies, such as the Kaiser criterion (Kaiser 1960), the screen test (Cattell 1966) and the Exner function (Exner 1966), and now, Eigen-value higher than one is the most popular applied criterion. In PMF, the determination of the number of factors is also complicated, because too few factors can combine different sources together, whereas too many factors will make a real factor further dissociate into two or more non-existing sources (Lee et al. 1999).
In this study, the variations of Q values (including Qtrue and Qrobust) in response to factor numbers have been applied for solving this issue (Figure 2). As can be seen from the figure, when set the number of factors to be two, the Qtrue and Qrobust have similar values (7.9). However, the Q values are dropping drastically when the number is set to be three (Q value = 0.2), and then stable when the numbers are set to be four (Q value = 0). Moreover, when the number of factors set to be three, the coefficients between observed and predicted data of all the trace metals range from 0.190 (for Pb) to 1.00 (for V and Mn), and except for Pb, other six kinds of trace metals have coefficients higher than the critical coefficient (rα = 0.365, α = 0.01, n = 49, Table 3). When considering of four factors, the coefficient of Pb is also lower than the critical coefficient. Therefore, three sources (factors) are considered to be reasonable, and the following discussion is based on the three factor results.
Q value versus factor numbers.
Coefficients between observed and predicted data
r 0.190 1.000 0.597 1.000 0.964 0.911 0.977
Note: rα = 0.351 (α = 0.01), rα = 0.271 (α = 0.05).
Source profiles
The analytical results of PMF base model run are shown in Figure 3, and the statistical results are synthesized in Table 4. As can be seen from the figure and table, the Factor 1 is dominated by V and followed by Cr, Co, Pb, Ni, Mn and Cu, the contributions of this factor for them are 46.2%, 28.2%, 20.4%, 8.6%, 5.8%, 4.7% and 1.9%, respectively. The factor 2 is dominated by Cu, Ni, Pb and followed by Co, Cr, V and Mn, the contributions for them are 97.5%, 91.2%, 82.4%, 75.0%, 67.0%, 51.4% and 4.0%, respectively. As to the Factor 3, it is dominated by Mn and followed by other trace metals, the contribution for Mn is 91.3%, and others are below 10%.
Factor fingerprints (upper and lower are based on base model and Fpeak rotation, respectively).
Factor contributions (%) for trace metals
Factor 1# 8.6 46.2 28.2 4.7 20.4 5.8 1.9
Factor 2# 82.4 51.4 67.0 4.0 75.0 91.2 97.5
Factor 3# 9.0 2.4 4.8 91.3 4.6 3.0 0.6
Factor 1* 32.3 43.6 38.1 5.6 33.4 30.1 29.7
Factor 2* 60.1 54.2 57.5 13.4 62.7 67.3 70.3
Factor 3* 7.5 2.2 4.4 81.0 3.9 2.6 ‒
Note: # and * mean base model run and after Fpeak (−0.5) rotation run.
For better understanding about each factor, the Fpeak rotation has been processed for the analysis with Fpeak strength between −1.0 and 1.0 (step = 0.5). The results suggest that with Fpeak strength equal to −0.5, the Qrobust and Qtrue is the smallest, 49.5 and 2.6, respectively, with coveraged to be 'yes'. The analytical results with Fpeak strength equal to −0.5 are also shown in Figure 3 and synthesized in Table 4 for comparison. As can be seen from the figure and table, the contributions of each factor for each metal have been changed relative to the base model run. Factor 1 is dominated by V and followed by Cr, Co, Pb, Ni, Cu and Mn, Factor 2 is dominated by Cu, Ni, Co, Pb and followed by Cr, V and Mn, whereas Factor 3 is dominated by Mn and followed by Pb, Cr, Co, Ni and V.
The first factor should be considered to be the source related to coal gauge in the study area, because samples with high contributions from this source is located in the pool III and IV (Figure 4), especially after Fpeak rotation. These two pools are all filled by coal gauge with low content of water storage. Moreover, more than 91.8% of the samples have contributions from this source, although with varying contributions as revealed by Figure 4, that's because all of the pools are filled by coal gauge.
Factor contributions (upper and lower are based on base model and Fpeak rotation, respectively. Sample 1–13, 14–27, 28–39 and 40–49 are collected from pools I, II, III and IV, respectively).
The second factor can be explained to be the source related to geological weathering or dissolution. That's because it has the highest mean contributions for all of the samples (0–100%, mean = 56.4%), and its contribution is relative stable and high (65.9–100%) in the pool I and II (Figure 4), where have not been dramatically affected by human activities because of their high contents of water storage. Moreover, Cu is one of the dominant metal of this factor, and it is the only one can pass the normality test with P-value higher than 0.5 (Table 1).
The third factor, as revealed by Figures 3 and Table 4, is considered to be the source related to waste discharge, because it is dominated by Mn, which is considered to be main pollution related to waste discharge except for N, P and Fe (Yan 2008). It can also be demonstrated by the coefficient of variation, as Mn has coefficient of variation up to 3.93, which indicates that it has high degree of spatial inhomogeneous, which is considered to be an indicator of anthropogenic contribution. It can also be observed in Figure 4 that about 28.6% of the samples are contributed by this factor, but most of them are collected from the pool III and IV, where are rounded by human residence (Figure 1).
Source contributions
The source contributions calculated by EPA PMF are shown in Figure 5. As can be seen from the figure, water samples from different pools have different contributions from the three sources: the contributions from the source 1 (coal gauge), 2 (geological weathering or dissolution) and 3 (waste discharge) for water samples from the pool I are 0–18.9% (mean = 13.3%), 75.5–100% (mean = 85.6%) and 0–10.5% (mean = 1.08%), respectively, whereas their mean contributions for the water samples from the pool II are 26.6%, 72.8% and 0.67%, respectively. The water samples from the pool III are mainly contributed by source 1 (45.8%), and followed by source 2 (27.1%) and 3 (27.1%). As to the water samples from the pool IV, source 1 is the main contributor (65.5%) and followed by source 2 (30.4%).
Source contributions.
Such a phenomenon reflects the different natural and anthropogenic conditions of these four pools. The waste discharge has highest degree of impact on the pool III, that's because it is surrounded by human residence. The coal gauge source has contributions for all of the samples, but the contributions for the pool IV and III are relative obvious, because these two pools are filled by coal gauge, and the water storage in them are relative low. The geological weathering or dissolution source has highest contributions for the water in the pool I and II, high content of water is the main factor, because high content of water can accelerate the weathering and dissolution process, and dilute the pollution from anthropogenic activities. Therefore, before application of the water in these subsidence pools, different strategies (e.g. clean the waste and the coal gauge around and in the pools) should be applied.
Based on the application of EPA PMF model for the concentrations of seven kinds of trace metals (Pb, V, Cr, Mn, Co, Ni and Cu) in water from the subsidence area in the Luling coal mine, northern Anhui Province, China, the following conclusions have been obtained:
The water samples have mean concentrations of Mn > V > Cu > Ni > Cr > Co > Pb, and the metal concentrations among different pools are different with each other, which suggest that they have different natural and anthropogenic conditions.
Statistical analysis, including coefficients of variation and Anderson–Darling test of metal concentrations indicate that they are affected by multi factors (geological weathering/dissolution, coal gauge filling and anthropogenic discharge).
Based on the variations of Q values, three sources have been determined by EPA PMF model: coal gauge filling, geological weathering or dissolution and waste discharge, and their contributions are different for the water chemistry in different pools.
According to the analytical results, different strategies (e.g. clean the waste and the coal gauge around and in the pools) should be applied.
This work was financially supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (41302274), the Foundation of Scholarship Leaders in Suzhou University (2014XJXS05).
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Closed Impetus
Official Name: Closed Impetus
Aliases: Impetus
Prerequisites: Natural Turn
The word impetus is defined as the force or energy that propels something. The Closed Impetus may have derived ts name from the impression one gets from watching a couple as they swing around each other, much as they do when dancing this figure. More specifically, during the Closed Impetus, the lady swings naturally around the man as he dances a heel turn.
The Impetus in Quickstep begins in closed position with the man backing and lady facing line of dance. The man begins by stepping back on his left foot, closing his right foot to his left to dance a heel turn. The lady follows by stepping forward on her right foot, then sideways around the man. At this point they rise to toes, and the man then steps side & slightly back, lady diagonally forward. The slight difference in their direction of travel on this last step owes to the fact that the man is stepping slightly around the lady, as the rotation continues until the last step has begun to receive weight. In total, they will have turned 5/8 to right.
For the lady, this figure will seem quite similar to steps 4-6 of the Natural Spin Turn. But there is less body flight, and the turn is tighter, since the man is in this case turning over a fixed point. Another distinguishing characteristic of the Closed Impoetus is the fact that, unlike the Natural Spin Turn, it can begin with the lady taking her first step outside partner on the man's right side. This would take place following a figure such as Progressive Chassé to Right or Back Lock.
Unlike the Spin Turn, the Closed Impetus has the option of beginning from an outside partner position, with lady's first step being taken forward on her right foot in CBMP, outside partner on man's right. So while the most basic in-line version of the figure is preceded by 1-3 Natural Turn, almost all other preceding figures, such as Progressive Chassé to Right and Back Lock, result in the outside partner variation of the Closed Impetus.
The Impetus can be followed by any figure that begins with the man stepping back on his right foot. At the bronze level, the options are limited to the Progressive Chassé, the Reverse Pivot, and a Heel Pivot (Quarter Turn to Left).
It should be noted that in bronze level syllabus exams and competitions, the Progressive Chassé is only allowed to follow the Closed Impetus at a corner, as there is no figure that can follow the Progressive Chassé at the side of the room in bronze. In social dancing, where syllabus restrictions are not an issue, a popular follow for the Impetus to Progressive Chassé at the side of the room is a step forward for the man in CBMP, outisde partner, followed by either a Chassé Reverse Turn or Progressive Chasseé to Right. This combination is a precursor to the popular silver combination, Progressive Chassé to Quick Open Reverse.


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Blundellsands campaigner vows to fight parking charges for Crosby Beach
'Ridiculous' says campaigner as fees levied to visit Iron Men
A BLUNDELLSANDS campaigner has labelled plans to charge people to park at Crosby Beach as 'simply ridiculous', as he vowed to oppose them.
Ben Winstanley, selected to stand for Labour in Blundellsands at May's local elections, said making people pay to enjoy one of Merseyside's most popular beauty spots would be a huge blow to local traders.
He believes the cost will deter tourists from coming to the area to enjoy the beach and visiting Anthony Gormley's Iron Men statues.
Sefton Council decided in November to impose charges at six previously free sites across Crosby, with Burbo Bank being joined by Crosby Civic Hall, Hougoumont Avenue (behind Waterloo Station), Crosby Coastal Park, Crosby Leisure Centre and Blucher St in being lined up to be pock-marked with pay and display meters.
The charges, ranging from 20p to £3, are due to start in February, with £140,000 a year raised from local motorists.
They were voted through by members of all three parties on Sefton Council.
Ben Winstanley said: "The proposals to introduce a parking charge on the beach front is simply ridiculous.
"How many of us have driven there at the end of a busy day at work to relax? How often do we take the family to the beach, let the dogs have a run and get ourselves an ice cream?
"Just imagine traffic wardens joining you and looking over your shoulder as you watch the sun set. Š"This facility pays dividends to the whole of Crosby; not justŠfinancialŠbenefitsŠbut also social and personal well-being."
He added that Sefton should be taking full economic advantage from the Iron Men and said: "Unison research shows that the Iron Men have brought an additional £6m into the Crosby economy since their installation.
"The boost they give our economy here is through tourism which in turn supports local traders."
Conservative Manor Ward Cllr Martyn Barber said he is against imposing charges on beach-goers.
He said: "I am personally opposed to implementing parking charges at Crosby Promenade, this is a great local asset used by both residents and visitors for leisure purposes. This amenity should remain free at all costs."
Blundellsands-based local photographer Raymond Farley is among local people opposed to the hike.
He said: "The council needs the money but we are also paying for a lot of community charges – rates in other words.
"The beach is a facility that we should enjoy so I think it's not a good idea to charge people to pay to park.
"All the time we are being asked to pay for this and that. Considering the way they handled the snow problem they really need to get their act together."
The charges are the first of several predicted to be either introduced or raised across the borough this year, as Sefton Council struggles to overcome a £66m budget deficit.
Speaking after November's decision to impose the charges, LibDem spokesman for Sefton Technical Services Cllr Andrew Tonkiss said: "We all recognised that huge savings need to made in light of budget cuts and parking charges will go someway towards this."
Church Ward Labour councillor Paul Cummins was involved in the public consultation regarding the scheme last year, and led to the proposals being postponed while free parking options were investigated.
He said: "We secured as many concessions as we possibly could but it was inevitable parking charges were going to come into place.
"We requested that parking charges at Crosby Coastal Park would only begin at 10am and end at 5pm as to allow dog walkers to enjoy the park without having to pay. Hopefully the system will work out and help ensure public car parks are used for visitors and shoppers, rather than a park and ride for commuters travelling into Liverpool.
"Nobody is pleased about the scheme but we have to accept that it is the best possible result."
Parking charges will be 20p (up to 30 minutes), 80p (up to two hours, £1.50 (up to four hours) and £3 (over four hours).
They will apply 10am–5pm, Monday to Sunday at Crosby Coastal Park / Blucher Street / Crosby Leisure Centre / Burbo Bank and 8am-6pm, Monday to Saturday at Hougoumont Avenue and Crosby Civic Hall.
The proposals are due to net Sefton Council a surplus income of £39,000 this year (until April), and £77,000 per full financial year afterwards.


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Just want to give a head's up... I am flying to TN today for my baby shower this weekend so there MAY or MAY NOT be a Feature Friday post. As I sit in the airports, as long as I have wifi, I will go through all the links and try to get the post up but NO promises!
Thanks for hosting every week...have a grand weekend!
Good Thursday morning to you! Today, I'm sharing several recipes-all at once-for Household Green Cleaners. Hope you enjoy! Thanks for hosting the party once again. Have a great week!
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p.s. I finally got the Silouhette Cameo. YAY!
Linking up to your party. Following Too! Hope you can stop by Simple & Sweet Fridays.
thank you for hosting...have a great trip!


text:
<?php

namespace RedKiteLabs\RedKiteCms\RedKiteCmsBundle\Tests\Unit\Core\Listener\Page;

use RedKiteLabs\RedKiteCms\RedKiteCmsBundle\Core\Listener\Page\DeleteSeoListener;
use RedKiteLabs\RedKiteCms\RedKiteCmsBundle\Tests\Unit\Core\Listener\Base\BaseListenerTest;

/**
 * DeleteSeoListenerTest
 *
 * @author RedKite Labs <webmaster@redkite-labs.com>
 */
class DeleteSeoListenerTest extends BaseListenerTest
{
    protected $event;
    protected $testListener;
    protected $pageManager;
    protected $seoManager;
    protected $pageRepository;
    protected $languageRepository;

    protected function setUp()
    {
        parent::setUp();

        $this->seoManager = $this->getMockBuilder('RedKiteLabs\RedKiteCms\RedKiteCmsBundle\Core\Content\Seo\SeoManager')
                                    ->disableOriginalConstructor()
                                    ->getMock();

        $this->pageRepository = $this->getMockBuilder('RedKiteLabs\RedKiteCms\RedKiteCmsBundle\Core\Repository\Propel\PageRepositoryPropel')
                                    ->disableOriginalConstructor()
                                    ->getMock();

        $this->event = $this->getMockBuilder('RedKiteLabs\RedKiteCms\RedKiteCmsBundle\Core\Event\Content\Page\BeforeDeletePageCommitEvent')
                                    ->disableOriginalConstructor()
                                    ->getMock();

        $this->pageManager = $this->getMockBuilder('RedKiteLabs\RedKiteCms\RedKiteCmsBundle\Core\Content\Page\PageManager')
                                    ->disableOriginalConstructor()
                                    ->getMock();

        $this->languageRepository = $this->getMockBuilder('RedKiteLabs\RedKiteCms\RedKiteCmsBundle\Core\Repository\Propel\LanguageRepositoryPropel')
                                    ->disableOriginalConstructor()
                                    ->getMock();

        $this->factoryRepository = $this->getMock('RedKiteLabs\RedKiteCms\RedKiteCmsBundle\Core\Repository\Factory\FactoryRepositoryInterface');
        $this->factoryRepository->expects($this->any())
            ->method('createRepository')
            ->will($this->returnValue($this->languageRepository));

        $this->testListener = new DeleteSeoListener($this->seoManager, $this->factoryRepository);
    }

    public function testAnythingIsExecutedWhenTheEventHadBeenAborted()
    {
        $this->event->expects($this->once())
            ->method('isAborted')
            ->will($this->returnValue(true));

        $this->testListener->onBeforeDeletePageCommit($this->event);
    }

    public function testNothingIsDeletedWhenAnyLanguageExists()
    {
        $this->pageRepository->expects($this->never())
            ->method('startTransaction');

        $this->pageRepository->expects($this->never())
            ->method('commit');

        $this->pageRepository->expects($this->never())
            ->method('rollBack');

        $this->event->expects($this->once())
            ->method('getContentManager')
            ->will($this->returnValue($this->pageManager));

        $this->event->expects($this->never())
            ->method('abort');

        $this->languageRepository->expects($this->once())
            ->method('activeLanguages')
            ->will($this->returnValue(array()));

        $this->pageManager->expects($this->once())
            ->method('getPageRepository')
            ->will($this->returnValue($this->pageRepository));

        $this->testListener->onBeforeDeletePageCommit($this->event);
    }

    public function testDeleteWithOneLanguageFails()
    {
        $page = $this->setUpPage(2);
        $language = $this->setUpLanguage(2);

        $this->pageRepository->expects($this->once())
            ->method('startTransaction');

        $this->pageRepository->expects($this->once())
            ->method('rollBack');

        $this->event->expects($this->once())
            ->method('getContentManager')
            ->will($this->returnValue($this->pageManager));

        $this->event->expects($this->once())
            ->method('abort');

        $this->languageRepository->expects($this->once())
            ->method('activeLanguages')
            ->will($this->returnValue(array($language)));

        $this->seoManager->expects($this->once())
            ->method('deleteSeoAttributesFromLanguage')
            ->will($this->returnValue(false));

        $this->pageManager->expects($this->once())
            ->method('get')
            ->will($this->returnValue($page));

        $this->pageManager->expects($this->once())
            ->method('getPageRepository')
            ->will($this->returnValue($this->pageRepository));

        $this->testListener->onBeforeDeletePageCommit($this->event);
    }

    /**
     * @expectedException \RuntimeException
     */
    public function testDeleteFailsBecauseAndUnespectedExceptionIsThrown()
    {
        $page = $this->setUpPage(2);
        $language = $this->setUpLanguage(2);

        $this->pageRepository->expects($this->once())
            ->method('startTransaction');

        $this->pageRepository->expects($this->once())
            ->method('rollback');

        $this->event->expects($this->once())
            ->method('getContentManager')
            ->will($this->returnValue($this->pageManager));

        $this->event->expects($this->once())
            ->method('abort');

        $this->languageRepository->expects($this->once())
            ->method('activeLanguages')
            ->will($this->returnValue(array($language)));

        $this->seoManager->expects($this->once())
            ->method('deleteSeoAttributesFromLanguage')
            ->will($this->throwException(new \RuntimeException()));

        $this->pageManager->expects($this->once())
            ->method('get')
            ->will($this->returnValue($page));

        $this->pageManager->expects($this->once())
            ->method('getPageRepository')
            ->will($this->returnValue($this->pageRepository));

        $this->testListener->onBeforeDeletePageCommit($this->event);
    }

    public function testDeleteWithOneLanguage()
    {
        $page = $this->setUpPage(2);
        $language = $this->setUpLanguage(2);

        $this->pageRepository->expects($this->once())
            ->method('startTransaction');

        $this->pageRepository->expects($this->once())
            ->method('commit');

        $this->pageRepository->expects($this->never())
            ->method('rollback');

        $this->event->expects($this->once())
            ->method('getContentManager')
            ->will($this->returnValue($this->pageManager));

        $this->event->expects($this->never())
            ->method('abort');

        $this->languageRepository->expects($this->once())
            ->method('activeLanguages')
            ->will($this->returnValue(array($language)));

        $this->seoManager->expects($this->once())
            ->method('deleteSeoAttributesFromLanguage')
            ->will($this->returnValue(true));

        $this->pageManager->expects($this->once())
            ->method('get')
            ->will($this->returnValue($page));

        $this->pageManager->expects($this->once())
            ->method('getPageRepository')
            ->will($this->returnValue($this->pageRepository));

        $this->testListener->onBeforeDeletePageCommit($this->event);
    }

    public function testDeleteWithMoreLanguagesFailsWhenOneDeleteOperationFails()
    {
        $page = $this->setUpPage(2);
        $language1 = $this->setUpLanguage(2);
        $language2 = $this->setUpLanguage(3);

        $this->pageRepository->expects($this->once())
            ->method('startTransaction');

        $this->pageRepository->expects($this->once())
            ->method('rollBack');

        $this->event->expects($this->once())
            ->method('getContentManager')
            ->will($this->returnValue($this->pageManager));

        $this->event->expects($this->once())
            ->method('abort');

        $this->languageRepository->expects($this->once())
            ->method('activeLanguages')
            ->will($this->returnValue(array($language1, $language2)));

        $this->seoManager->expects($this->exactly(2))
            ->method('deleteSeoAttributesFromLanguage')
            ->will($this->onConsecutiveCalls(true, false));

        $this->pageManager->expects($this->once())
            ->method('get')
            ->will($this->returnValue($page));

        $this->pageManager->expects($this->once())
            ->method('getPageRepository')
            ->will($this->returnValue($this->pageRepository));

        $this->testListener->onBeforeDeletePageCommit($this->event);
    }

    public function testDeleteWithMoreLanguages()
    {
        $page = $this->setUpPage(2);
        $language1 = $this->setUpLanguage(2);
        $language2 = $this->setUpLanguage(3);

        $this->pageRepository->expects($this->once())
            ->method('startTransaction');

        $this->pageRepository->expects($this->once())
            ->method('commit');

        $this->pageRepository->expects($this->never())
            ->method('rollback');

        $this->event->expects($this->once())
            ->method('getContentManager')
            ->will($this->returnValue($this->pageManager));

        $this->event->expects($this->never())
            ->method('abort');

        $this->languageRepository->expects($this->once())
            ->method('activeLanguages')
            ->will($this->returnValue(array($language1, $language2)));

        $this->seoManager->expects($this->exactly(2))
            ->method('deleteSeoAttributesFromLanguage')
            ->will($this->returnValue(true));

        $this->pageManager->expects($this->once())
            ->method('get')
            ->will($this->returnValue($page));

        $this->pageManager->expects($this->once())
            ->method('getPageRepository')
            ->will($this->returnValue($this->pageRepository));

        $this->testListener->onBeforeDeletePageCommit($this->event);
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Q: Getting random time interval in postgreSQL I need random interval time between 0 and (10 days and 5 hours).
My code:
select random() * (interval '10 days 5 hours')
from generate_series(1, 50)

It works like should, except a few strange results, like:
0 years 0 mons 7 days 26 hours 10 mins 1.353353 secs

The problem is 26 hours, it shouldn't be more than 23. And I never get 10 days, what I'd like to.

A: Intervals in Postgres are quite flexible, so hour values of greater than 23 do not necessarily roll over to days.  Use jusify_interval() to return them to the normal "days" and "hours"."
So:
select justify_interval(random() * interval '10 day 5 hour')
from generate_series(1, 200)
order by 1 desc;

will return values with appropriate values for days, hours, minutes, and seconds.
Now, why aren't you getting intervals with more than 10 days?  This is simple randomness.  If you increase the number of rows to 200 (as above), you'll see them (in all likelihood).  If you run the code multiple times, sometimes you'll see none in that range; sometimes you'll see two.
Why?  You are asking how often you get a value of 240+ in a range of 245.  Those top 5 hours account for 0.02% of the range (about 1/50).  In other words a sample of 50 is not big enough -- any given sample of 50 random values is likely to be missing 1 or more 5 hour ranges.
Plus, without justify_interval(), you are likely to miss those anyway because they may show up as 9 days with an hours component larger than 23.

A: Try this:
select justify_hours(random() * (interval '245 hours'))
FROM generate_series(1, 50)

See Postgres Documentation for an explanation of the justify_* functions.

A: One option would be to use an interval of one hour, and then multiply by the random number between 0 and 1 coming from the series:
select random() * 245 * interval '1 hour'
from generate_series(1, 50);

I can see that the other answers suggest using justify_interval.  If you just want a series of intervals between 0 and 245 hours (245 hours corresponding to 10 days and 5 hours), then my answer should suffice.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


What a team. Can you even imagine something like a video by Dom West, featuring CJ Wellsmore, not being magnificent? Each and every of CJ's jumps in the park is like six feet high or more, and Dom's filming gives you the feeling like you're watching CJ in person.


There are 3 Contractors in Clyde, NY. Below is a list of the 10 most popular Contractors on All contractors & builders. Are you looking for a Contractor specialized in a specific contractor job? Refine your search by selecting a contractor job.
All contractors & builders is one of the worlds largest Contractor directories listing a total of 3 Contractors in Clyde, New York.
Our goal is to make your search for the right contractors and builders in Clyde, New York quick and easy.


text:
Life, Unbounded
The Dirtiest Lunar Mystery Of All
There may be something funny going on with the stuff covering the Moon, and a new NASA mission launching next month is aiming to solve the mystery.
By Caleb A. Scharf on August 19, 2013
It's filthy work, but somebody has to do it...(NASA/Apollo)
Gaze up at a brilliant Moon in the night sky and it's hard to imagine that our companion world, Earth's last high wilderness, is actually a rather dark and grimy place. The lunar albedo (fractional reflectivity) is only about 0.12 - in other words, over the visible spectrum, it reflects a mere 12% of the light hitting it, absorbing the rest.
By comparison the Earth has an average albedo of about 0.33, Venus - with its high and reflective clouds - is 0.76, and icy smooth Enceladus reflects almost all visible light with an astonishing near 1.0 albedo. In fact, out of all the major bodies in our solar system, only Mercury beats the Moon in terms of darkness, with a 0.11 reflectivity.
Despite its light absorbancy the Moon looks so bright to Earthlings because of its proximity to us, and because of our overall proximity to the Sun. But why is it so non-reflective? As with many phenomena, the answer is not entirely straightforward. The low average lunar albedo seems to be due to a variety of things, from the specifics of rock and 'soil' chemistry in a fairly intense radiation environment, to the physical texture of the surface.
Apollo 17 astronaut Gene Cernan looking a little smudgy (NASA/Apollo)
One of the key characteristics of the Moon is that it's covered in dust. This isn't household fluff either, it's extremely abrasive, smells of gunpowder (probably from being implanted with solar wind ions), and sticks like crazy - as the Apollo astronauts discovered.
Without a thick protective atmosphere, the lunar surface has been pummeled by meteorites and micrometeorites for over 4 billion years, breaking rocks into finer and finer particles. These are raggedy things, with no wet weathering to smooth them, and their abrasive forms stick like crazy to spacesuits, humans, human nasal passages, and can even dig through Kevlar.
What exactly is this mysterious glow? Image taken by Clementine mission (BMDO/NASA)
But on a global scale lunar dust may exhibit some even more peculiar characteristics.
The Apollo astronauts were the first to witness a strange twilight phenomenon, a mysterious spread of light above and across the horizon. These remarkable displays were in stark contrast to the otherwise black skies, and a subject of considerable speculation.
The twilight horizon seen by Apollo 17 astronauts, from T-6 minutes to T-5 seconds before sunrise (NASA/Apollo)
They weren't simple in structure, as seen in this page of sketches from Apollo 17 made during sunrise. In the span of a few minutes the glow above the horizon went from a centrally peaked luminosity to a set of 'linear structures' radiating outwards.
But what could be reflecting and scattering sunlight in the lunar vacuum? It could be something like the tenuous glow of irradiated sodium ions, but it could also be the glinting of lunar dust - levitated from the surface by powerful electrostatic charges generated by interplanetary radiation swirling across the landscape.
In fact, electrical charges might even produce dust 'fountains'. As the rising Sun's light and radiation sweeps across the lunar surface it could generate large positive charges, enough to kick dust particles a mile high, until they drop back, only to get kicked up again like a pulsing fountain.
Except we still don't know whether this is really what's happening, and the whole subject of the so-called lunar 'exosphere' (an incredibly tenuous atmosphere, a mere 1/100,000th the density of the Earth's at sea level) is still relatively little understood.
This may all change after September 6th 2013, when NASA launches the Lunar Atmospheric and Dust Environment Explorer, or LADEE (Scotty would be proud, no doubt).
After a 30 day approach, and 30 days of checkout, LADEE will spend about 100 days orbiting the Moon and examining any dust that makes it to high altitude (it will carry a dust collector and analyzer) and the chemical contents of the atmosphere. It's a modest enough set of goals, but they could help solve this long-standing mystery and help us better understand our rather filthy, but seemingly brilliant, nearest cosmic neighbor - an object that is very much a part of our own planetary history.
LADEE (NASA/Ames/GSFC) - also noteworthy for its Wallops Island, Virginia launch, which should be visible as far away as New York.
Caleb A. Scharf
Caleb A. Scharf is director of astrobiology at Columbia University. He is author and co-author of more than 100 scientific research articles in astronomy and astrophysics. His work has been featured in publications such as New Scientist, Scientific American, Science News, Cosmos Magazine, Physics Today and National Geographic. For many years he wrote the Life, Unbounded blog for Scientific American.
Unbinding Life, Unbounded
The Angle of Doom
Europa: Three More Clues
Andromeda Beckons Across The Void
Earth Waves To Saturn: The Pictures


text:
louisa-bojesen
Louisa Bojesen
Journalist (1974)
By Manish Khanal
Birth Date May 13,1974
Full Name Louisa Bojesen
Birth Name Louisa Bojesen
Profession Journalist
Nationality Danish
Birth City Copenhagen
Birth Country Denmark
Horoscope Taurus
Education University in Chicago
Louisa Bojesen is a Danish-American financial journalist who has worked for CNBC, MSNBC, and NBC. Previously, she worked for CNBC Europe television in London for 17 years.
Louisa Bojesen was born on May 13, 1974, in Copenhagen, Denmark. Like other media personal, Bojesen has become successful in keeping her own life away from the media. After graduation from Loyola University in Chicago with Political Science.
Louisa Bojesen's Mysterious Relationship Status
In the age of Technology, we can get to know about persons with just connecting ourselves on the Internet. Following the information available in the media, we can be pretty much sure that she is single as of now.
Image: CNBC reporter Louisa in her Show
Source: Century TV
Louisa likes to remain away from personal life questions. She has not mentioned her family with the children. There is no record of the past relationship of her to date.
Net Worth and Salary of Louisa Bojesen
Louisa Bojesen has a net worth of $2 Million. She has been with the Industry for more than two-decade. Louisa started her economic career as a Nordic markets reporter in Copenhagen before moving to the channel's London headquarters. David Faber is another CNBC Presenter with a net worth of $40 Million.
Image: Louisa Bojesen along with her show host, Mike
Source: Twitter @louisa Bojesen
The forty-five years Journalist worked along with Geoff Cutmore, as co-host in the show, Squawk Box Europe. She even worked as a Financial reporter for NBC. The average salary of a CNBC Presenter is more than $80,000. As Bojesen possesses a huge experience, she accumulates much more than the average sum.
Louisa Bojesen as Actress
As per some social media, Louisa is also an actress; She has starred with few films like The Girl in the Cafe, The Burma Conspiracy. In addition, Bojesen has hosted a few big events to date.
Louisa Bojesen Accepts the Ice Bucket Challenge
Bojesen hosted GSM Awards Ceremony in Cannes. She also hosted the Pan European IR Awards in Zurich in October 2006. The same year, she was a speaker at The Danish Media Festival.
Check Out More Diversifying Things About Celebrities' Personal Life & Career Highlights At Married Celeb!!!
CNBC Journalist


Find jobs at the best companies hiring near you and get free career advice. The Muse Aug , Directed by Albert Brooks With Albert Brooks, Sharon Stone, Andie MacDowell, Jeff Bridges With his career on the skids, a Hollywood screenwriter enlists the aid of a modern day muse, who proves to test his patience. The Muse TheMuse Twitter The Muse by Jessie Burton Michelle I am % with you on The Miniaturist, which I read after The Muse The Muse is a really special book, and even though I read it months ago it s still I am % with you on The Miniaturist, which I read after The Muse The Muse is a really special book, and even though I The Muse Home Facebook The Muse , likes talking about this The Muse helps people navigate their entire career journey We offer expert advice alongside a job The Muse Rotten Tomatoes Actor writer director Albert Brooks turns his satiric gaze on the film industry in this comedy about a screenwriter who has hit a rough patch Steven Philips played by Brooks has enjoyed a The Muse Shop The Official SHHHOWERCAP The Shower Cap The Whim The Whim is an enchanted forest, a sudden desire, the first frost, and the gift of time one. The Muse Apartments Dallas, TX Apartments About The Muse Welcome to The Muse Apartments UPGRADE YOUR LIFESTYLE Positioned close to nature centric parks and outdoor recreation, The Muse offers a unique blend of natural beauty and contemporary living.


I know! It was supposed to be Friday, then Saturday. Instead, it's today.
I brought my sales spreadsheet up to date, balanced some accounts, and planned my spending for the next few months.
I'm a huge fan of YNAB, a handy little piece of budgeting software that I've been using for years (still on version 3 because it does what I need). It works really well with the writing lifestyle and lets me plan my spending months in advance to match incoming royalties. If you depend on your publishing income the way I do, you need to be able to plan months in advance for cash flow if you don't want finances to stress you out. YNAB is particularly suited to the task and I love it. I don't go overboard, and I use only 3 master categories: Payments and Bills (Mortgage, Insurance, Electricity, Internet & Phone, etc.), Savings Categories (Maintenance, Doctor, Gifts, Long-term Savings, a.k.a. stuff that's needed to address the "not if, when" vagaries of life), and Flexible Spending (Food, Clothes, Entertainment, blah blah).
Time to try to break my one day word count record again!
And format a paperback or two, finish some paperback covers, redo some images, make a few typo fixes in a couple of my previously published stories I recently read as research for my next book, and copy edit a story I finished back in October, make a cover for it, and publish the danged thing!
Whew. I have a lot to do.
Next Next post: Or maybe not . . .


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NCRA is pleased to announce that Erik Robert Olson, a principal with Venn Strategies, Washington, D.C., has joined the Association as legislative consultant. Olson's experience includes 14 years of service as chief of staff and in a variety of policy and campaign roles for U.S. Rep. Ron Kind (Wis.), a senior member of the House Ways and Means Committee and former chair of the moderate pro-business House New Democrat Coalition.
Olson will work directly with NCRA CEO and Executive Director Marcia Ferranto on developing a strong legislative strategy for future advancement of advocacy efforts in the federal arena. Olson holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Wisconsin–La Crosse. He brings years of expertise in the areas of tax, trade, and health care to the clients of Venn Strategies.
"We are fortunate to have Erik joining our government relations team and representing our interests at the federal level. For the last several weeks, the Board has worked diligently to maintain the Association's commitment to advocating and protecting our profession. With Erik's support, that commitment has become even stronger," Ferranto said.
"Erik understands the importance of a new vision for NCRA, and his knowledge of the legislative system without a doubt serves to complete our government relations efforts and to complement the hard work advocating for the profession at the state level already being spearheaded by our Government Relations Manager Matthew Barusch," she added.
"After meeting Marcia and getting to know Matt, I am excited to help implement the direction the organization is going in. It seems like a new day and new opportunities are presenting themselves for NCRA, and I am excited to help carry out Marcia's long-term vision," Olson said.
Olson brings to NCRA a unique knowledge about the court reporting and captioning professions due to his work with Rep. Kind, a longtime supporter of the Association and a sponsor of multiple official proclamations recognizing the Association's annual Court Reporting & Captioning Week. As Rep. Kind's chief of staff, Olson was privy to the issues that matter most at the federal level to court reporting and captioning from the lawmaker's wife, Tawni Kind, RMR, CRR, CRC, an official court reporter and a member of NCRA.
Olson, who is from Rep. Kind's hometown of La Crosse, Wis., said that while working on the representative's campaign for more than three years, he had the opportunity to work closely with Tawni Kind and was able to learn more about what she did as an official court reporter.
"My dad was an attorney and has known the Kinds for years. So I also had experience watching court reporters in the courtroom. I also learned more about the profession when Rep. Kind was working on the realtime writers grants as well as when he created the Veterans History Project and involved court reporters and captioners in it," he added.
In 2016, Olson's firm was instrumental in helping to schedule meetings with Rep. Kind and other lawmakers on behalf of NCRA members who were attending that year's NCRA Legislative Boot Camp. The firm is assisting NCRA again this year with creating the event's app and scheduling meetings for the 2018 event set for March 11-13.
Olson said that one thing he finds so interesting about the court reporting and captioning professions is the lack of knowledge most people have about reporters' roles in the community.
"I think from a government relations perspective, it is interesting that the people on the Hill don't understand everything court reporters do or the importance of having credentials or the education required to develop the level of skill needed to do the job," Olson said. "I don't think people understand the quality of work court reporters bring to the job, whether it is helping with disabilities, captioning live broadcasts, or working in the courtroom. It is an untapped thing. We have a blank slate to go up and educate members and staff on the Hill, and there are opportunities that come with that. There is a clear path to do some interesting things," he added.
In addition to his work in the legislative arena, Olson also serves as chairman ex officio and a member of the board of directors of Horton's Kids, a non-profit organization that offers social and educational services for children in Washington, D.C.
"I am super excited to be working with everyone and to be involved in NCRA. I think there is a lot of opportunity with new leadership and on the Hill to find new champions, to educate them about NCRA, and to look for new legislative avenues. I have a lot of ideas. Rep. Kind should be part of a chorus of champions for the Association, so we need to develop a slate of members to help carry the water into the future and make sure NCRA continues to be a successful organization," Olson said.
Venn Strategies is a nationally recognized, full-service government relations and public affairs firm. The firm has been named as one of the fastest-growing private companies in America by Inc. magazine.
Knowledge is power is what every attendee at the 2018 NCRA Legislative Boot Camp can expect to take away from this year's event, being held March 11-13. Registration is now open.
The new Boot Camp experience is packed full of hands-on and immersive sessions designed to bring attendees up to speed on the latest status in legislative issues affecting the court reporting and captioning professions, develop leadership and advocacy skills, and prepare for real Capitol Hill action. This year's program includes visionary guest speakers who will share their insights into what makes successful leaders and how to advocate for the profession at the state and federal levels.
Attendees will get a Politics 101 overview and hear firsthand from NCRA Senior Director of Education and Certification Cynthia Bruce Andrews why certification at the state level is so important. NCRA President Christine J. Willette, RDR, CRC, CRR, Wausau, Wis., will also deliver an update on the state of the court reporting and captioning professions.
Jacqueline Sly, former state representative in the South Dakota House of Representatives, will present on successful grassroots lobbying, including strategies for leading a full-scale grassroots campaign to ensure maximum impact.
Special guest Shelley Row, leadership consultant and author, will lead a session on effective decision-making. Attendees will learn how to limit overthinking by resolving the forces that freeze decision-making, discover proven techniques to slow a quick reaction before responding and regretting it, and enable "aha" moments when they are needed most.
Other sessions will cover how to implement effective legislative programs at the state level. Attendees will also participate in mock meetings and hearings to learn how to make effective arguments and pitches to lawmakers.
On the last day, attendees will travel by Metro to Capitol Hill to meet in person with their representatives and senators. In addition to lunch in the Dirksen Senate Dining Room, Boot Camp Hill Day may also include a special Veterans History Project event and closing reception at the Library of Congress.
For more information about NCRA's exciting new Legislative Boot Camp experience, contact NCRA Manager of State Government Relations Matthew R. Barusch. The room block is at the Hyatt Regency Reston in Reston, Va. Registration closes Feb. 19!
Do you know what PAC is doing for you?
Behind the scenes, the NCRA Political Action Committee (PAC) is working hard on behalf of its members to ensure the future of court reporting and captioning. This means that PAC has a duty to establish relationships with legislators on Capitol Hill. PAC supports candidates who will work in the interest of NCRA's legislative agenda to benefit the court reporting and captioning fields.
Where would we be without PAC?
Without PAC, our Association would not be able to monitor legislation from state to state that would affect the court reporting and captioning profession. For example, earlier this year, NCRA took a stand with California to oppose bill AB 1631. California AB 1631 would prohibit shorthand reporting services from gift giving for marketing purposes. This bill would also prohibit shorthand reporting services from entering into long-term contracts with attorneys, law firms, or third parties.
NCRA wrote an opinion letter addressing AB 1631 as well as consulted with state leaders and advised them on an advocacy strategy.
Our profession is currently facing key issues that will affect every member's livelihood and could possibly shape the future of this profession. There is a student shortage, electronic/digital and video recording to eliminate reporters, and not to mention third-party contracting issues. These are just a few issues, but if we stand together, we can make a big difference in our favor.
Every one of us should feel compelled to take action and support PAC. We all have a responsibility to protect the profession. Let's start now by advocating together. NCRA PAC only survives by the generosity of its members and contributors. Contributions of any size are appreciated. For the complete set of giving guidelines and a contribution form, visit NCRA's Government Relations page.
Shaunise Day is a student at West Valley College in Saratoga, Calif. She can be reached at shauniseday@gmail.com.


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Q: Delivering power by USB C - Magnetic Framework Laptop Extension I'm trying to build my own magnetic extension card for the Framework Laptop, and am trying to figure out the least number of pins I need. I have this YouTube video that says the USB C PD spec needs the voltage and ground pins, along with the communication pins.
Would including just these pins from an already existing USB C charger be enough to charge at maximum power?
Edit - It seems that a teardown of a similar charger found on YouTube shown here shows that the output USB C cable has only 3 cores, but I'm not sure which pins these connect to on the USB C connector itself.


There's so much to like about this display card. First, that it is a display card — in other words, that pencil leads were deemed important enough to be given this treatment. (My guess is that the cards stood upright in a holder on a store shelf.) I like the contrast between the sharp serifs and the italic script. I like the repetition: 5H, 5H, and the five appearances of leads. (The fifth leads, hidden from view, is on the cardboard tube.) I like 5H, which suggests that any store that sold these leads sold a great range of replacement leads. ("I'm sorry, sir, but we're all out of 6H right now. I can offer you something in a 5H, if that would be satisfactory.") And I like the lines above and below Harvest, four above, four below.
I'd never heard of Harvest Refill Leads, a product of the venerable Musgrave Pencil Company. (The manufacturer's name appears on the tube.) The Internets return nothing for harvest leads, with or without the word refill. But Musgrave still manufactures a Harvest pencil (wood-cased, not mechanical). From the company's website: "It's rumored that our great-grandmother named this premium line 'Harvest' after the yellow harvest moon." Shine on, Harvest pencil!
January 29: Henry Hulan, whose grandfather started the Musgrave Pencil Company in 1916, tells me that the Musgrave sold refill leads in the 1930s and '40s. But the company has never made mechanical pencils, only wood-cased ones. I am following Henry's lead (no pun intended) in using the word wood-cased instead of wood.
This post is the twentieth in a very occasional series, "From the Museum of Supplies." Supplies is my word, and has become my family's word, for all manner of stationery items. The museum is imaginary. The supplies are real.
Well, I just spent a good ten minutes getting lost in the glories of Musgrave Pencil Company! Time very well spent.
Special order, or standard stock? Round, hex or carpenter? I like carpenter pencils. Used to watch my father sharpen his with his pen knife when I was a kid. I liked drawing with one; nice wide line of graphite.
The company is so accommodating to its customers, offering Pantone colors for the shaft, lettering and ferrule choices. You could even design your own pencil box! I vote for a silvery sardine as your logo.
@The Crow: I think the Harvest is beautiful just as is. But if it's sardine-themed, it has to be skinless and boneless.
@Sean: I hope to hear back from Musgrave with some idea of the date. My guess is no later than the 1940s.
I have some Musgrave naturals, but don't see them on their site.
No, the standard branded pencils are limited. I have a natural, a yellow pencil (just says Musgrave), a scoring pencil, and a Unigraph.
But...but I thought it was only sardine if it had skin and bones. Otherwise, it is just fish product, along the lines of Cheez-Whiz, isn't it? Well, not exactly Cheez-Whiz, but it is reprocessed.
Maybe more like smooth and chunky peanut butters?
I don't know exactly how they get the bones out, but I think they're still legit fish. The King Oscar site says "The fish are skinned and boned, then hand-packed," and so on. They sure look like real fish — I hope they are!


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With iCloud Drive, can I share a link to the folder so others can dl it?
Discussion in 'Apple Music, Apple Pay, iCloud, Apple Services' started by felixen, Oct 28, 2014.
Can I use iCloud Drive to share files with people? I have a sound library I need to share, and it can't fit in my Dropbox. I could upgrade but have also considered iCloud Drive. So I was curious if I can use iCloud for sharing stuff with others? With Dropbox I can just invite them to the folder or I can send them the URL to the folder so they can download it directly. Is that possible with iCloud?
No this is not possible at least not to my knowledge.
I'm really having a hard time figuring out why anyone would use iCloud Drive over Box/Dropbox or OneDrive.. iCloud Drive is more expensive, way less flexible and really offers zero benefit..
I am preferring OneDrive, but I can see why others want to stick with iCloud Drive.
1) Parts of iCloud Drive are still Beta. People are waiting for iCloud Drive and some tight integrated functionality in OS X and iOS which no other company will provide ( the magic "killer-app" ).
2) People avoid using MS products. Parts of the Apple community behave like 10 years ago, everything MS provides is bad and full of viruses, everything Apple makes is better. This is simply not true but some people like to believe.
Yeah, I agree. I have been using Dropbox for awhile now. Initially when I heard apple was coming out with iCloud Drive, I liked the idea of using the Apple made product as I thought it would be easier, more integrated, and one less account to have. Unfortunately, iCould Drive has bare minimal features and the IOS experience is quite bad compared to Dropbox and others. With dropbox I get more indicators as to sync status, a better online interface, no collection of random 'hidden' folders that I can't get rid of seeing in IOS, ability to share via link, ability to selectively sync, an IOS app, history of stability and speed, file history/restore, and some more I am forgetting.
I switched to iCloud drive for a few days but saw no benefit over DropBox and went back to DB yesterday.
The sharing issue was one of the problems. Hopefully they will improve iCD and have a good solid app soon. I tried the App that was shown in the original Apple info on Yosemite. It worked ok with displaying my files but there were a number of folders I couldn't get rid of and even they way you opened files seemed strange.


Amy spent 18 years at the right hand of Penny Marshall, a pioneer female director. It was her first job in the business, and became a career. She learned a thing or two there, and became a producer - League of Her Own, Riding in Cars with Boys, Awakenings…. Once she started having children, she exchanged her jeans and sneakers for grey suits and sensible heels and went to work for the state of California at the Film Commission. We talked about how when a woman is at the very top, it does change the culture and changes the experience for other women in the room. And, how do you time a family and manage a career in production…when it seems pretty much impossible.


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Explore HTML5 games tagged Ludum Dare 31 on itch.io · Upload your HTML5 games to itch.io to have them show up here.
It's a small world after all?
Try to play pong with four blocks!
A guy has been ate by his TV and he try to escape. Help him!
You're stuck in a screen – you'll have to fight fish in a quest for dry land.
It's time to do your laundry!
A fast paced abstract multitasking avoiding game.
A cute top-down shooter made for the Ludum Dare 31 Jam.


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Malinda Maynor Lowery
Connect: Twitter
is a historian and documentary film producer who is a member of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina. An Associate Professor of History at UNC-Chapel Hill and Director of the Center for the Study of the American South, Lowery writes on topics including American Indian history, Southern history, religion, music, and foodways. Lowery's second book, The Lumbee Indians: An American Struggle, was published by UNC Press in September 2018.
The Native History of Indigenous Peoples Day
As more cities and states consider marking Indigenous Peoples Day instead of Columbus Day, one Native American scholar aims to set the record straight on where the movement began.
Malinda Maynor Lowery | Oct 9, 2020


Thanks to Roger Pickard, I have fixed a mistake in the estimate of the Spink image magnitude. It is now considerably fainter than my initial value. MWR 2006 Dec 9, 10:25 PM EST.
Below is a light curve of the event, showing these measurements together with V-band values reported to the AAVSO (but not yet processed and verified).
If this event were due to gravitational microlensing, then one would expect the light curve to be symmetric around the time of maximum. If one were to guess very very very roughly that the time of maximum might be JD 2,454,040, then one could reflect the post-maximum measurements around this time to get a rough idea of what the microlensing model might predict for pre-maximum values. If you wish, you may look at such a hypothetical sketch.
However, before you draw any conclusions about the reality of the microlensing model, please read these comments on the event from Doug Welch.
Keith Geary forwarded to me an image taken by astrophotographer Jeff Bullard.
All I know is that it was taken on film, then scanned. Here it is. The orientation is North up, East to the left. Alpha Cas is at the left edge, Beta Cas at the top, and NGC 7789 at the right edge.
The variable lies near the center of the golden box. Here's a closeup. Note the bright "triangle" of stars to the upper left, and the "circlet" of stars just to the right (west) of the variable. The location of Var Cas 2006 is marked with a pair of bars.
There is a faint, blueish object at that position, representing the merged light of Var Cas 2006 and a neighboring star. At quiescence -- as in this image -- the target (aka GSC 3656.1328 = TYC 3656-1328-1) has a magnitude of about V=11.5.
I could make no measurement from this image.
I have 24 (that's right, twenty four) 15-minute exposures from the evening of September 25/26 that show the star. Here's a small jpeg of the whole field. I've already identified the star, but it's blended with GSC 3656-1318. The images are with a large-format CCD with 12-micron pixels done with a 40mm f/4 Hasselblad lens and a 15nm wide H-alpha filter. This jpeg is a combination of all 24 frames -- obviously done so show nebulosity along the Milky Way.
A portion of the image is shown below, in the standard orientation of North up, East to the left. As in the Bullard image, Alpha Cas is at the left, Beta Cas at top, NGC 7789 on the right.
Here's a closeup of the region around the target, which lies between the green bars.
The marked position shows the merged light from the quiescent Var Cas 2006 and a neighboring star of similar brightness. Note that the total light is somewhat fainter than that of most of the members of "the circlet." Remember that this is an H-alpha picture, so it records red light; and recall that the target star is blueish (spectral type A2 or so).
I made no measurements from this image.
NGC 7789 is the cluster near the top right. The image is tilted by about 30 degrees relative to the standard orientation. The region around Var Cas 2006 is at the bottom right edge of the image.
I have labelled the stars used to calibration the photometry in this image below. Note that the light from Z1 is partially merged with that from Var Cas 2006, which appears between the vertical bars.
Photographic film does not record light in a linear fashion. The digitized version of this image has a PSF which looks very different from ordinary CCD images. Below are radial profiles of three stars, a relatively bright star on the left, an intermediate one (labelled "I" in the chart) in the middle, and a faint star on the right. Note how the PSF grows narrower for faint stars. On a CCD image, although the core of the PSF might saturate, the wings would be more similar for bright and faint stars.
I tried two different techniques to extract instrumental magnitudes from this digitized image.
The target, Var Cas 2006, is only partially resolved from the nearby star "Z1". One would expect that the PSF-fitting should do a better job of measuring each star's light, in theory; but if the PSF isn't the same for all stars, then it might not.
The instrumental measurements for each method are shown in the table above. We can then compare each set of instrumental magnitudes to Henden's photometry to calibrate the instrumental values (I'll leave star "Z1" out of the calibration step for now, since it is merged with the target star). I'll show the results for each method in turn.
with a scatter of 0.16 mag, uncert in slope of +/- 0.99, correlation coefficient r = 0.97. I checked for the residuals as a function of V mag, and as a function of (B-V) color, and found no significant trends in either case.
with a scatter of 0.17 mag, uncert in slope of +/- 0.47, correlation coefficient r = 0.97. I again checked for the residuals as a function of V mag, and as a function of (B-V) color, and again found no significant trends in either case.
Keith Geary forwarded to me an image taken by astrophotographer Gary Hatfield, on Oct 22, 2006. Here's the original color JPEG image.
Below is a closeup of the region around the target. The signal from the target is low, but it appears roughly as it did in earlier images: somewhat fainter than most of the stars in the "circlet."
Hi Roger, I saw the request to send you pictures of Cassiopeia in October. I have some taken in very clear skies in North Yorkshire on 24th October with my Canon 300D and a 50mm F1.4 lens. Exposures were around 10 secs and between ISO 800 and 3200.
Of the two images, the one taken at a setting of ISO 800 was better than the one at ISO 3200, so I concentrated on it. I converted the original JPEG image -- alas, full of compression artifacts and only 8 bits per pixel in each of the RGB planes -- into FITS format. Because the original was a JPEG image, it had already lost much of its information; we should expect mediocre results from it. A portion of the image near the region of interest is shown below.
I have a picture (a single exposure only) of the western part of Cassiopeia, RAW format (unprocessed), centred on alpha Cassiopeiae (Schedar)taken at 2006.10.25 at 21:42 UT. Camera: Canon EOS 350D digital(8M pixels) Lens: Canon 28-135mm zoom at 135 mm Shutter sp: 30 sec Aperture: f5.6 ISO speed: 800 Piggyback on Meade CST The target star is visible, just within the frame at upper right corner.
I first used Photoshop to turn the original RAW image into a TIFF image with 48 bits per pixel, 16 bits each in Red, Green, Blue channels. This TIFF image was very large: about 47 MBytes. Next, using the libtiff library, I converted the TIFF image into 16-bit integer FITS files: one each for the Red, Green, and Blue channels of the camera. The CCD chip in this Canon camera has a green channel with spectral response sort of similar to the Johnson-Cousins V-band. I decided to restrict my analysis to the "G" channel of the image and try to convert the results to V-band.
Below is a small subsection of "G" channel of the Spink image, in the general region of the target. The original image has North to the upper-left, East to the lower-left; the "triangle" of stars appears in the upper-left portion of this subsection.
In this image, about 4-5 days before maximum light, Var Cas 2006 is pretty faint. It is clearly fainter than most of the stars in the "circlet" asterism; for example, the circled star "C". It is also clearly fainter than the nearby star "N", to its south.
I found that the relative instrumental magnitudes of Var Cas 2006 and the nearby stars "C" and "N" could vary significantly, by up to +/- 0.2 mag, based on the size of the circular aperture used to extract light. I believe that this is the major source of uncertainty in the measurements.
I calibrated the instrumental magnitudes in two ways.
Using only stars "C" and "N", which have good BVRI photometry from Arne Henden. The conversion factor from instrumental mag to V-band mag is about -3.55, with a scatter of +/- 0.06 mag. The star "N" is very red, (B-V) = 1.51, whereas star "C" is blue, (B-V) = 0.45. There's too little information to look for a real color term, but the suggestion is that reddish stars are a bit fainter in the instrumental system than blueish ones; this is consistent with more definite measurements of another Canon CCD picture (see Geary image, below).
with a scatter of only 0.11 mag.
in which the formal uncertainty in the slope is +/- 0.13.
The first method yields a value for the source of light at the position of Var Cas of about V = 11.07; the second method yields a value of Vt = 10.89. I will adopt the second value. That source is mostly due to the light of Var Cas 2006, but there is a small contribution from the nearby star at (RA = 2.3528, Dec = +54.6691), with V = 12.335 in Henden's photometry. I estimate that the contribution of that contaminating star's light to the 2-pixel aperture around Var Cas 2006 is about 0.04 mag, so I conclude that the Vt mag of the star was 10.93.
which yields V = 10.91. I assign a large uncertainty to this measurement, however, due to the pixel-to-pixel artifacts in the image, and due to the inconsistency of about 0.20 mag from the two different methods of calibration.
I was browsing the UKAI bulletin board when I saw your request, forwarded by Duncan Miller (aka Dogman on the site). I'm attaching a jpg showing an image I took on the 26th of October. It is a crop of a widefield using a canon 10D DLSR with a 28mm lens. I've noted Cassiopeia Alpha and Beta for reference and I believe you can see stars down to the magnitude you require. I think that the star you are looking for is directly across from Cass Beta just to the right of centre.
The image represents approximately 6 minutes of exposure at iso1600. It was taken in the village of Ulleskelf in North Yorkshire.
I decided to use a small aperture to extract instrumental "G-channel" magnitudes, in order to avoid as much contamination from neighboring stars as possible. I chose an aperture radius of 2.0 pixels = 105 arcsec.
I followed a procedure very much like that described above for the Spink image to turn the instrumental magnitudes into Johnson-Cousins V. First, I compared the extracted magnitudes of a number of stars in the image to their Tycho Vt magnitudes. I made several passes through this procedure with different subsets of stars, discarding the brightest stars in turn, because they tended to have the largest residuals and peak pixel values near the saturation limit. In the graphs below, I show one typical run through the procedure.
and as a function of (Bt - Vt) stellar color.
The uncertainty in the slope was +/- 0.099. I decided to make the correction implied by this color term, using an assumed color (Bt - Vt) = 0.30 for the variable.
I derived a Vt magnitude for the light at the star's position of Vt = 10.71, with a formal scatter of about +/- 0.10 mag, based on two calibrations with different subsets of stars.
Now, in this image, the pixels were so big that the light I measured was a mixture of light from four stars. The chart below is a very nice color composite from POSS images which was made by Bela Hassforther.
I estimated the fraction of their light that each of these three neighbors would contribute into the 2-arcsec aperture of the variable, then solved for the apparent magnitude of Var Cas 2006 which would yield the measured Vt = 10.71. The result was that the variable should have had approximately Vt = 11.26 (0.55 mag fainter than the combined total light).
Finally, assuming a color (Bt - Vt) = 0.30 for the variable again, I converted the Tycho Vt magnitude to the standard Johnson-Cousins scale. The final result is V = 11.2, with a pretty large uncertainty.
I'm not sure exactly when this image was taken. Davison writes that the approximate time of the exposure was 10 PM (Greenwich) on Oct 26, 2006, from his site in Yorkshire, England. We may be able to improve this time later.
An AAVSO alert came to my mobile phone at 1919UT, I was able to image this field with a 135mm lens at f2.8, 60 seconds exposure at ISO 800 with a Canon 300D at 2012UT, 31/10/2006.
Keith sent me a copy of the original RAW image, which I was able to convert into 48-bit TIFF, and thence to 16-bit integer FITS, one image each for the Red, Green, Blue channels. Again, I chose to concentrate on the Green channel only, and try to extract a V-band measurement.
Below is a portion of Geary's full image; North up, East left. NGC 6689 is visible near the top right. A box surrounds the field of the variable.
Below is the G-band channel alone, displayed in reverse video, zoomed in just a bit.
We can zoom in even farther; this time, the target star is circled.
Var Cas 2006 is clearly much brighter than any of the stars in the circlet (and specifically "C"), or the nearby star "N".
The estimated uncertainty is a combination of the scatter from the color calibration, and the variations in relative instrumental magnitudes with choice of aperture size.