text:
Climate Helped Bring Angkor to Its Knees
March 31, 2010 / Matt Artz
Tree ring record reveals abrupt end to empire
Throughout written history there have been many abrupt ends to empires and civilizations that have little explanation. Political climates deteriorate, passions rise, revolts happen and the next thing you know–the culture is a thing of the past relegated to a short chapter in a textbook.
The natural world leaves a record in the form of tree rings, which can be read like a very detailed book, covering a long period of human history. Now a team of researchers has correlated the demise of Angkor, the capitol of the Khmer Empire in Cambodia, with a decades-long drought interspersed with intense monsoons in the 14th and 15th centuries.
Brendan Buckley of Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University and his colleagues have put together a high-resolution record of periods of drought and moisture in Southeast Asia that is over three quarters of a millennium long from 1250 to 2008 AD. Their research was funded by the National Science Foundation's Paleoclimate Program, which is part of the directorate for geosciences.
Just as satellite photos do–large sets of information like this tree ring data bring into focus patterns and phenomena that are larger than one lifetime. In fact they are on the scale of civilizations.
A look at tree ring data, and an analysis of rain, drought and temperature can show a remarkable link from climate in the environment to climate in the king's court. And this has been shown to be true for the enigmatic demise of Angkor, an empire that stood strong from the 9th to 13th centuries.
Angkor was a city that relied heavily on water. The National Science Foundation-funded work of Buckley and his colleagues reveals that the mid- to late 1300's experienced persistently dry conditions that spanned decades, followed by several years of severe wetness that may have caused damage to the city's infrastructure. Afterwards, a shorter but more severe drought in the early 1400's may have been more than this urban complex could handle.
Bringing insights such as these into focus in the 21st century, there is a sense of urgency in interpreting what the natural world is telling us. The very cypress trees (Fokienia hodginsii) that allow the long-range glimpse backwards are becoming more and more rare as their wood is harvested for the illicit timber trade. The highlands of Vietnam and Laos are home to some of the region's most diverse biota, and are under threat of over-exploitation.
[Source: NSF press release]
Environmental Science, Science
← Economist Hernando de Soto to Speak in Redlands
Using GIS-based Multicriteria Evaluation and Path Optimization for Effective Forest Field Inventory →
One thought on "Climate Helped Bring Angkor to Its Knees"
Pingback: Tweets that mention Climate Helped Bring Angkor to Its Knees « GIS and Science -- Topsy.com


text:
Relatives demand answers in Christmas Eve murder
Tori Simkovic
BEAUFORT, S.C. (WJCL)- A Beaufort family is demanding answers after their loved one was gunned down on Christmas Eve. Relatives said Henry Frazier was visiting from Charleston for the holidays when he was shot and killed on Beaufort's Greene street. "Henry Frazier was a loving brother, a great son and a great dad," said Tammy Williams, Frazier's sister. Police have not yet made an arrest. "I would hope the Beaufort Police Department will get out there and investigate, do some leg work and solve the case, because someone out there knows something," Williams said. Beaufort Police said they are following up on leads, but it's the silence from the community that Mayor Billy Keyserling is speaking out against. "Most people in the neighborhood know, I hate to say this, the bad eggs, and if they see something suspicious they need to be in touch with the police," Mayor Keyserling said. Three of the city's five homicides this year have happened on Greene Street, but police will not say if they plan to increase patrols in the area. "What can we do? Can we take the limited number of police officers we have on patrol to babysit," Mayor Keyersling said. He said the Police Department works hard to keep the city safe, but tackling crime in Beaufort needs to be a team effort. "This is not a problem that's going to be solved by city council. It's not a problem that's going to be solved by the police department alone," Mayor Keyserling said. He's asking anyone who may have information about this murder to talk to police. The Frazier family has the same request, in hopes that Henry's killer will be brought to justice. "Please if you know anything, please come forward. We're begging you all," Williams said.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


——If the law won't get them... we will!
Lean, mean and nasty revenge thriller.
If the law wont stop them....we will!
The law plays second fiddle.
A Vile Piece Of Trash That Glorifies Vigilantism - I Loved It!
Robert Forser and Fred Williamson brings justice to the streets!!!
A Slam Bang Keyboard Scored Revenge Tale!


text:
The Buzz: 'The good against the bad': Redding economy sees strong growth since 2010
After a setback due to all the rain and snow, work kicked into high gear on the new KFC in Redding.
The Buzz: 'The good against the bad': Redding economy sees strong growth since 2010 After a setback due to all the rain and snow, work kicked into high gear on the new KFC in Redding. Check out this story on redding.com: https://www.redding.com/story/news/2019/05/06/buzz-redding-economy-sees-its-strongest-growth-since-2010/1115790001/
David Benda, Redding Record Searchlight Published 8:01 a.m. PT May 6, 2019 | Updated 9:58 a.m. PT May 6, 2019
Rebuilding from last summer's catastrophic Carr Fire in large part is driving the local economy.
That is one takeaway from the first Redding Economic Snapshot, a collaboration of the Redding Chamber of Commerce and Golden Valley Bank.
Released last week by the chamber, the report reveals Redding business owners feel good about the local economy and believe it will get better over the next year.
The snapshot used sales tax revenue, building permits, home values, hotel taxes and employment to take the pulse of the local economy. All five indicators in the fourth quarter of 2018 were up compared to the same quarter a year ago and well above 2010 levels, the base year used for the snapshot — a period when the area was mired in the Great Recession.
Milynn Pirro, left, and her son, Chris Rathja, wait in the parking lot of the La Quinta Inn & Suites in Redding on Nov. 12, 2018. The family was displaced by the Camp Fire in Butte County and had to come to Shasta County to find lodging. (Photo: David Benda/Record Searchlight)
What's striking are the gains in sales tax revenue, building permits and hotel tax revenue in the fourth quarter of last year. Hotel tax revenue and building permit valuation jumped 36 percent and 60 percent, respectively, compared with the same quarter in 2017.
All those out-of-town contractors need a place to stay and eat.
RELATED: The business of wildfires in the West: 'It's like we're profiting off a disaster, which is very upsetting'
RELATED: Camp Fire evacuees spilling into Redding where hotels are full because of Carr Fire
"You can certainly see some fire-related boosts in there, so it showcases the good against the bad," said economist Robert Eyler, director for Regional Economic Analysis at Sonoma State University.
According to the report, "building continues to be strong with over $28 million in permits issued." Hotel room taxes was over $1.7 million in the fourth quarter.
Michelle Bergeron, marketing and event manager at Cattlemens Steakhouse in Redding, said the Hilltop Drive restaurant is off to a strong start in 2019.
"I would say a lot of it is probably people that are here repairing everything," she said. "People that have been transplanted are still living in hotels from both our fire and the Camp Fire are definitely giving us business as well. People still have to eat."
Of the approximately 300 businesses that took the economic snapshot's business confidence survey, most said they feel positive about the next 12 months, and workforce quality and public safety were most important for retaining and growing business.
Boardmart co-owners Kellie Ercolano, left, and Denise Craig talk June 28 at the store in downtown Redding. The two have owned the store since 2000. (Photo: Greg Barnette/Record Searchlight)
Kelli Ercolano, co-owner of the outdoor recreation store Boardmart in downtown Redding, said all the snow that fell this winter was a boon for her business and she is upbeat about the year ahead.
Ercolano is anxious to see the impact the Americana Modern Hotel, which is next door to Boardmart on Market Street, has on her business. The redeveloped hotel celebrated its grand opening this week.
"I think it can only help. You know, it's going to be a legitimate tourist hotel, so we will have more people walking through downtown and hopefully shopping and visiting the restaurants," Ercolano said.
Business also is up for Rick Russell.
"I've been in business 40 years cleaning carpets in Redding and last year was the best year we ever had. Part of that is because of the fires," said Russell, who opened Russell Cleaning Service in 1979.
The economic flipside of the Carr Fire can be found at Essence Photography, a business that offers a service that isn't essential.
Co-owner Betsy Erickson said after the Carr Fire her business took a significant hit. For example, couples who were planning weddings pulled back on expenses after the fire; Erickson's holiday business also fell off dramatically — a good portion of Essence Photography's year is made during Christmas.
"We didn't come close last year," Erickson said of holiday business.
How firefighters will put out flames from the air
Inside an air tanker where fire retardant is discharged. Mike Chapman/Record Searchlight
The U.S. Forest Service and Cal Fire conducted aerial firefighting training in the skies above Whitmore on May 2, 2019. Mike Chapman/Record Searchlight
A smokejumper descends to earth during aerial firefighting training. Mike Chapman/Record Searchlight
Instrument control panel in the cockpit of a retardant-dropping air tanker. Mike Chapman/Record Searchlight
Fire retardant holding tank at the Redding Air Attack Base. Mike Chapman/Record Searchlight
Tanks where fire retardant is mixed. Mike Chapman/Record Searchlight
Planting a flag to gauge wind speed for a smokejumper landing. Mike Chapman/Record Searchlight
A smokejumper descends to earth during aerial firefighting training with Lassen Peak in the background. Mike Chapman/Record Searchlight
The U.S. Forest Service and Cal Fire conducted aerial firefighting training in the skies above Whitmore on May 2, 2019. Smoke bombs were lit to guide air tankers and water-dropping helicopters. Mike Chapman/Record Searchlight
Children play with a water pack as the U.S. Forest Service and Cal Fire conducted aerial firefighting training in the skies above Whitmore on May 2, 2019. Mike Chapman/Record Searchlight
Still, she remains optimistic.
"As far as the economy, I think we have the potential for growth," Erickson said. "I don't think the foundation is fully laid for us to have the economy we could have, and business owners right now are working on that."
Erickson also points out that the city of Redding will have to be a part of growing the economy.
"I personally hope they will be," she said. "We have some really great people on the (City) Council right now who are also business owners."
KFC eyes summer opening in Redding
Look for the summer return of KFC in Redding.
Work started in January.
The new location on Lake Boulevard, between Walgreens and Starbucks, will feature the restaurant's "American Showman" design, including the classic red and white stripes. (Photo: Photo courtesy of KFC)
Then the rains came. Then the snow. Then more rain. Puddles getting bigger and deeper were about the only thing happening at the construction site.
But work has kicked into high gear.
KFC will be on Lake Boulevard between Walgreens and Starbucks.
I ran into the crew from Mike Boban Construction on Friday morning, and they told me that indeed the wet weather was a setback.
KFC spokeswoman Kasey Ryan said Stewart Restaurant Group, the franchisee for the new Redding location, is targeting a late summer opening.
If Facebook and the phone messages I've received are an indication, people are excited for KFC's return. Fans for the past six years have had to drive to Mount Shasta and Yreka for their Colonel Sanders fix.
The new location will feature what the company calls its signature American Showman design with photos of the Colonel and a bucket chandelier as the restaurant centerpiece inside.
The foundation for Chick-fil-A?
Prep work has started for the foundation at the corner of Hilltop and Dana drives in front of the Mt. Shasta Mall.
(Photo: Chick-fil-A)
Of course, the buzz for months now has been that Chick-fil-A will occupy that spot. The company hasn't confirmed that, though it hasn't exactly denied it either, only saying it does not currently have any locations in Redding confirmed.
We do know the developer of the Churn Creek MarketPlace off Bonnyview Road has said he sought Chick-fil-A, but the chicken franchise has been in talks with another shopping center that he did not name.
Last fall, I pointed out that Ken Miller of Northstate Commercial Partners was marketing online a neighboring shopping center and noted that retail neighbors include Chick-fil-A.
The new building at Hilltop and Dana is part of the Mt. Shasta Mall's redevelopment, which started last year when crews demolished a portion of the former Sears store. In place of Sears will be a 72,400-square-foot building that will feature Sprouts Farmers Market and HomeGoods.
The produce section of Sprouts Farmers Market in North Naples on Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2019. The store will open Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2019. (Photo: Morgan Hornsby/Naples Daily News USA TODAY NETWORK - FLORIDA)
No word on when Sprouts or HomeGoods will open.
READ MORE FROM THE BUZZ:
Will Redding shoppers vote in favor of a sales tax?
Two women are bringing back this beloved old restaurant in south Redding
These investors want to 'add to the vibe' of downtown Redding
READ MORE FROM AROUND REDDING:
Shasta College will offer 'safe spot' for military veterans
State senate race: Will Brian Dahle and Kevin Kiley ever debate one-on-one?
Redding mayor's emails shed light on mystery group's effort to get tax hike on ballot
10 Catholic priests accused of sexual abuse worked in the North State
David Benda covers business, development and anything else that comes up for the USA TODAY Network in Redding. He also writes the weekly "Buzz on the Street" column. He's part of a team of dedicated reporters that investigate wrongdoing, cover breaking news and tell other stories about your community. Reach him on Twitter @DavidBenda_RS or by phone at 1-530-225-8219. To support and sustain this work, please subscribe today.
Read or Share this story: https://www.redding.com/story/news/2019/05/06/buzz-redding-economy-sees-its-strongest-growth-since-2010/1115790001/


This modern design sends a beautiful message with your stunning images.
Modern Spring Photo Sessions Marketing Template for Photographers. This digital marketing board will be perfect to use as flyer, photo newsletter, mini session announcement, promo or blog board.
Please note: The calligraphy font is rasterized for 'Spring' in this template. If you need me to change colors, text, etc I can customize this template for you. You'll receive JPG files along with native Photoshop file.


text:
Penman No. 317: Bringing the Minor Masters Home
I'VE WRITTEN a few pieces recently about my self-assigned mission of finding and bringing home, from various sources overseas, masterpieces of Philippine publishing and literature, from early texts in Spanish to travel books about the Philippines and first editions or first publications of notable literary works.
This week I'm going to extend that to another burgeoning interest of mine—the recovery and repatriation of Filipino art pieces abroad, particularly those of painters who may never have quite achieved the status of a Juan Luna or Fernando Amorsolo, but whose works have their own charms to recommend them.
I may be luckier than most art fanciers in that I happen to know someone who restores the masters, so I get to see more than my fair share of Manansalas, Ocampos, Botongs, Magsaysay-Hos, and Luzes, up close, warts and all. But unless I win the Nobel Prize, I'm never going to own one of these masterworks, so I've learned to moderate my ambitions and aim for something both significant and reasonably attainable within a professor's means.
Those goals crystallized for me when I attended, some months ago, an exhibit titled "Fascination with Filipiniana: The Vargas Collection," curated by my friend and fellow UP prof Dr. Patrick Flores, who walked me through the show and pointed out how interesting (and not quite so seamless) the transition was between tradition and modernism, sometime in the past midcentury. I could see the tensions between the two, occasionally manifesting in the same artist's earlier and later work (I don't recall that he was in this Met exhibit, but Constancio Bernardo, who left the Philippines as an ardent follower of his teacher Amorsolo and came home a committed modernist, much to Amorsolo's dismay, provides a good example.)
Many of the paintings on exhibit belonged to the school of "Mabini art," a term often and unfairly used in the pejorative sense, suggesting cheap art done in haste for the tourist market. Indeed there's a lot of that (and the purposes may not have changed; they've just become more pretentious, pitched toward buyers with deeper pockets), but these pioneering Mabini artists were talented in their own right, persistently romantic in a time of gloomy realism.
I was particularly drawn to the work of Gabriel Custodio (1912-1993), another student of Amorsolo and Fabian de la Rosa. I had earlier acquired two small paintings of his from the late 1950s, restful vignettes depicting rice fields and bamboo groves. The Tanza, Cavite native had produced larger seascapes that I admired, but the art market had caught on to him and I couldn't possibly afford him at auction—at least not here.
I've long been convinced that in the United States—languishing in bedrooms, barns, garages, and resale shops—must be scores of Filipino art works brought over by American servicemen and diplomats after World War II and the Vietnam War, surfacing only recently with the passing of these veterans and being disposed of at auction by their heirs.
A few months ago, a large painting by Custodio, about 2' x 3', turned up in, of all places, a Goodwill Store in Spokane, Washington—and I happily snagged that, and rolled it up in a tube for bringing home to Manila when I visited the US last month. Characteristically, Custodio signed it front and back, dated 1966; I'm calling it "Tanza Shore" in honor of his hometown and of its economic and cultural affinity to the water.
It was also on that trip when I secured and repatriated two other smaller but no less interesting pieces. One, shipped out of the East Coast, was an oil painting of a tree at sunset, more than anything an evocation of mood, an impressionist play of mauves, pinks, and oranges. It had been done by Jorge Pineda in 1937 and was still in its presumably original frame; the browned and crusty paper backing was beginning to crumble, but I plan to preserve it that way, as it bears the sticker of its framer: the Henry Schultheis Company, well known framers and gallery owners in New York City (Schultheis died in 1948). Pineda (1879-1946) himself was no mean painter, having won a prize for his work at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair and later becoming a teacher to Amorsolo.
The third piece I brought home—sold by an antiques dealer in Connecticut—caught my eye not just because of its subject but also because of its symbolic use of color. It's an oil-on-paperboard depiction of Filipino farmers harvesting rice—pretty typical enough, and unremarkable of itself. But this work had been done by one P. T. Paguia in 1945, at the end of the war and in a season of new hope—a patriotic optimism exuded by the red, blue, and white in the dress of the woman bearing a bilao of fruits in the foreground, echoed by the other farmer and the brilliant sky. (Patrick Flores reminded me that Amorsolo had done a similar work in these colors, Palay Maiden, in 1920.) Sadly I could find nothing on P. T. Paguia, except a reference to Pedro T. Paguia being the illustrator of a 1952 book by Ramon Tapales, Singing and Growing for the Primary Grades.
Whether by established or obscure artists, these paintings from decades ago bring me joy and relief from the vexations of our time. Of course I could resell them, but frankly they probably won't make too much, and just looking at them makes me happier than wondering what they may be worth, which I suppose is what amateur collecting should be about. Call them escapist, but they fortify my spirit by reminding me of the need to fight for beauty and plenitude for all.
Posted in America, Art & Culture, history, Pinoys, Travel	| Tagged America, Custodio, Filipino, masters, Paguia, painting, Pineda, US	| 2 Replies
Penman No. 316: Big Stories in Little Books
AMONG THE 50 pounds-plus of books that I carted home from my last visit to our daughter Demi's place in San Diego, California, was a mini-stash of small leather-bound books that most people would probably ignore had they turned up in a yard sale. In a time wedded to the notion that bigger is better, small books attract scant attention, the impression being that they can't have much to say.
To be honest, I didn't know the size of the books at the time I ordered them; either I wasn't looking too closely at the description, or was distracted by other features. My first reaction upon seeing them might have been disappointment, expecting to receive heftier volumes, especially given their topics, history and geography. But as soon as I opened them and began reading, my complaints melted away.
First, a short note about book sizes: publishers and librarians generally go by descriptions that range from the folio, the largest standard-sized book at about 12" x 19″, to the sexagesimo-quarto (or "64mo") at 2" x 3″. Most books we buy today fall into the octavo (6" x 9") or duodecimo (5" x 7-3/4") category. My small books are octodecimo (4" x 6-1/2") and smaller. (Miniature books—indeed, whole miniature libraries, one of which Napoleon was said to have carried to battle—have a fascinating history.)
The first little book I'd like to share with readers is Vol. II of Mavor's Voyages and Travels, published in London in 1796. (For its age, its looks almost new, the leather supple and unmolested, except for wear at the corners, and the paper is bright and crisp.) The book offers contemporaneous accounts of the voyages of the great navigators and explorers of the 17th and 18th centuries—Drake, Cavendish, Raleigh, Van Noort, etc.—and they brought me back to my boyhood readings of these travels and their marvelous discoveries.
I haven't finished the book, but so far I've found one reference to the Philippines, from Joris van Spilbergen's voyage of 1614-1617:
"On the 6th of January 1616, they landed on one of the Ladrones, and reached the Manillas the 9th of February. On the 5th of March they received intelligence of a fleet, consisting of twelve ships and four gallies, manned with two thousand Spaniards, besides Indians, Chinese, and Japanese; which powerful armament was intended to drive the Dutch out of the Moluccas."
More gripping is this episode from the round-the-world voyage of Willem Schouten and Jacob La Maire of 1615-1617, described elsewhere as "the greatest Dutch expedition into the Pacific Ocean," a voyage mean to find a new route to the Spice Islands and Terra Australis, today's Australia:
"They left the coast of Sierra Leona on the 4th of October; and next day, about noon, were surprised by a violent shock given to the lower part of one of the ships. No adversary appeared, no rick had been encountered; but while they were amused with this phenomenon, the sea began to change color, and a fountain of blood seemed to surround them. This sudden alteration of the water was no less astonishing than the shock they had sustained; but of the cause of the both they were equally ignorant, till they reached Port Desire. There, in careening the ship from the strand, they found a large horn, both in form and magnitude resembling an elephant's tooth, sticking fast in the bottom of the ship. It was a firm and solid body, without any cavity or spongy matter in the middle; and had pierced through three very stout planks of the ship, and raised one of the ribs; penetrating at least a foot deep in the timbers, and about as much more appeared outside. The incident on the coast of Sierra Leona was now explained. It was clear that some monstrous tenant of the deep, of unknown species, having made a rude assault on the ship, was unable to withdraw its weapon; which, breaking in the attack, occasioned such an effusion of blood as to discolour the surrounding ocean."
And Port Desire? Could a port be better named, from the viewpoint of a sailor months at sea, suffering from scurvy and all manner of loneliness and discomfort? (The port, now named Puerto Deseado, still exists in Patagonia in southern Argentina, and was visited by Charles Darwin on the Beaglein December 1833.)
Another small book comes from 1822, and it's in French: Le Tour du Monde, ou Tableau Geographique et Historique de Tous le Peuples de la Terre. These "tour du monde" or around-the-world books were popular in the 19thcentury; I've chased after them out because they promise exquisite engravings, and this one didn't disappoint, with hand-colored illustrations of life in Tahiti, Java, the Sandwich Islands, Peru, and Patagonia. No Philippines here, but since it's the sixth volume in a series, I'm pretty sure the Philippine version will turn up soon.
Of course, much of this information could be available elsewhere at little or no cost; you don't have to buy an 18th-century book to see what it says, with websites like Project Gutenberg providing the full texts free of charge. But I choose to read not just for information, but for the romance of it—and there's nothing like holding the very same book that a solicitor or a milliner would have sought for news and entertainment two hundred years ago.
There's actually a few more small books in the pile, but we've run out of space, so I hope I've said enough to pique your interest in these tiny packets of wonder.
Posted in Art & Culture, books, Education, Travel	| Tagged books, exploration, folio, little, miniature, publishing, small, voyages	| Leave a reply
Penman No. 315: A Qwerty Quartet
I'M NOT really a typewriter collector (not like my friend George Mamonluk, whose noodles I patronize to help build up his stable of vintage typewriters and fountain pens), but I realized this past week that I can't resist a classic when I see one, even when I can barely squeeze it into the budget or, just as critically, into my man-cave.
Surely space and money aren't foremost on the minds of such fanatics as the 4,677 members of the Antique Typewriter Collectors FB Group—not to mention Tom Hanks, who is to typewriters what Jay Leno is to cars. In fact, Tom—who has hundreds of the machines, including his dad's Underwood—recently wrote a collection of short stories, published under the title Uncommon Type (Alfred Knopf, 2017, 405 pp.) in which a typewriter appears in every story, and he provided the foreword to the collector's must-have, Typewriters: Iconic Machines from the Golden Age of Mechanical Writing (Chronicle Books, 2017, 208 pp.)
I'm not quite there yet; I just have four typewriters hanging around—but what a Qwerty quartet they make. I haven't really used one for everyday writing since the late 1980s, when I began the draft of my first novel, Killing Time in a Warm Place, on an Olympia Traveller that I'd carried with me to grad school in the US. I began using computers around 1992 and never looked back. But I've never lost my fascination for these mechanical wonders, and even observed their sad demise in my July 11, 2011 column, "Requiem for the Typewriter," in which I noted the shutdown of the last typewriter producer in the world, Godrej and Boyce, in India.
My oldest one is a black Corona 3 from 1922, and in many ways it's also the most amazing, as it's a portable whose carriage folds over its keyboard, and opens up like a clamshell. I remember spotting that Corona on the counter of an antiques mall in San Francisco; it had just arrived and hadn't even been put on the shelves. When the manager flipped out the folding carriage, I was bewitched (here insert the Ping! of the carriage), paid the asking price, and hand-carried it home.
I also have another shiny black Royal "O" portable, which a check of the Royal typewriter database online shows was produced in 1937. I can't recall where or from whom I bought this very handsome model, but it was one of two fine old machines that I brought back from the US, one of which I gave to my friend, the poet Isabel Banzon Mooney. When the UP Faculty Center burned down in April 2016, I thought mine had gone up in smoke in my office across Isabel's as well—until, just a couple of weeks ago, I looked under my bed, and there it was!
The third of the lot is a pristine white Olympia Traveller de Luxe, a classic of the '80s and a clone of the one I'd brought with me to the US (a gift from my mentor Gerry Sicat), which had rusted away. I loved that portable so much that I always hankered for its replacement. I found this one on eBay, and had it shipped all the way from London; surprisingly, it arrived at my doorstep without a scratch, at minimal cost.
As you might have guessed, I'm leading up to a thesis here, which is that these machines were meant to roost with me—particularly my most recent find, an Olivetti Valentine, a favorite of collectors and an icon of 20thcentury pop art. Designed by Ettore Sottsass and Perry King, this orange-red typewriter (released on Feb. 14, 1969, thus the name) looks like a narrow plastic wastebasket with a handle—until you flick two rubber clasps and pull out the portable within.
It's well worth Googling to see the whole machine and case and to get the full story. Cynthia Trope of the Cooper Hewitt Museum explains its appeal thus: "Sottsass chose to use a bold Pop red plastic housing to show that the Valentine was intended more to appeal to writing for recreation rather than work. He said his design was 'for use in any place except in an office, so as not to remind anyone of the monotonous working hours, but rather to keep amateur poets company on quiet Sundays in the country or to provide a highly colored object on a table in a studio apartment. An anti-machine machine, built around the commonest mass-produced mechanism, the works inside any typewriter, it may also seem to be an unpretentious toy.'"
My friend and fellow Apple fanboy Leo Venezuela had told me about this unpretentious toy a few months ago, and it was burning a hole in my head (as it would in my pocket). I was this close to ordering one from Sweden, when one magically popped up late one night in a local online sales forum. So this late-sleeping bird caught the worm. "You're lucky," said the lady who handed it to me the next day. "I had twenty callers after you." (Note to self: now sell a few old books and pens.)
If there are twenty people in this country who know what an Olivetti Valentine is, then I'm in trouble. That sounds like serious competition—but didn't I say I wasn't a serious collector, yet?
Posted in Art & Culture, Fun, Science & Technology, Writing	| Tagged Corona, Olivetti, Olympia, Tom Hanks, typewriter, Valentine	| 4 Replies
Penman No. 314: Sourcing the Pinoy Crowd
ART CRITICS often like to write about the Pinoy penchant to fill up vacant spaces—our horror vacui, evident in everything from our front yards to our jeepneys and desktops. And when there's nothing to fill up a nice big void like an empty hall or open street with, heck, we fill them up with our own bodies, to form a healthy crowd.
We Pinoys usually don't think too much about being caught in a crush at the LRT, the ballgame, or the rally. Indeed, students of crowd psychology will point out that while they may be uncomfortable, crowds can also generate positive synergies, and that even in the most seemingly unruly mob, an inner logic eventually emerges and prevails.
But we also know that crowds can turn ugly and deadly pretty quickly, as the stampedes that every and then convulse English football show. Even much less than that, there's nothing funny about people fainting in a queue or in a surging mass of bodies desperate for one thing, whether it's a glance from a rock star or a little slip of paper that could be a ticket to a first-rate college education.
All this was on my mind last Monday as I dealt with one of my busiest days as a school administrator at the University of the Philippines, where an estimated 40,000 people converged at the Office of Admissions in Diliman in one day to submit their applications to take the UPCAT, UP's entrance exam, in mid-September. To wrap your head around that figure, Diliman has 25,000 students on a normal day. But my guess is that at least half of those 40,000 were anxious parents taking a day off from work to accompany their kids.
It was actually the extended deadline for students of private high schools in Metro Manila (not public as erroneously reported—a lot of fake or unverified news went out that day and after, and a woman presenting herself as a network news reporter even urged the crowd to chant for an extension as her camera rolled). As a torrent of tweets soon reported, the lines kept growing longer, tempers flared, and panic seized more than a few people in the area. The media calls came soon after, and—as UP's equivalent of, uhm, Harry Roque—I spent the rest of the day and part of the evening fielding questions.
Did we expect the size of the crowd? Well, yes and no. The surge in applications was unprecedented—in years past, we'd get something like 80,000 applications; last year it was 103,000, and this year, our estimate runs to about 167,000. What accounted for the sudden bulge? Free tuition, for one, and K-12, for another. (The actual number of qualified exam takers could be about 20 percent less, and the admission rate—those who "pass," although there's no fixed passing grade—about 17 percent of all takers, which is a function of UP's carrying capacity.)
We did see that coming, but I guess what we didn't anticipate was how many students (and/or parents) would choose to appear and line up in person, rather than avail themselves of other less stressful options clearly stated on the application webpage—to submit applications online, or by mail or courier, or in bulk with the help of their school. (UP provided the extra option of a drop box when it saw how large the crowd was.) That was probably because queuing up guaranteed—if all your papers were in order—a test permit at the end of the line. But that also meant that the line could take all day.
So we Pinoys are seguristas, willing to sacrifice comfort for the certitude of paper in hand. We still mistrust electronic processing, and can't wait a couple of weeks to know our fate. I went onsite to see for myself what was going on, and was told by one exasperated guard that "They won't listen! There's a drop box right there, and we've told them they can courier the forms, but they'd rather line up for hours!"
You'd also have to wonder why Pinoys like to wait for deadlines to do the inevitable; July 30 was already an extension from July 27, and applications had been open for three weeks. But to be fair to the students and their parents, it wasn't entirely their fault to have waited so late in the day to submit their papers. Some told me that their high schools had held their papers up; some were charging rather stiff fees for handling UPCAT forms.
And was there a class factor at play? When the turn of the public high school applicants came, the huge crowds dwindled, and the lines got shorter—and far fewer parents appeared, because they probably couldn't afford a day off, or trusted their children to fend for themselves. Things moved more smoothly.
There are lessons for everyone to be learned here—by the students, by the parents, and by us, most of all—and we'll continue seeking ways to ease procedures for everyone in the years ahead. Eventually, I foresee a time when all submissions will be made online, like visa applications—something we can't enforce until every Filipino has access to the Internet, and overcomes his or her mistrust of information technology. Until then, we'll all have to learn better crowd management, provide lots of water and Portalets, exercise patience, take the media brickbats, and soldier on.
Maybe this was a crowd that didn't really need to be there, but on the other hand, and to put it positively, it was a stark visual reminder of the intensity of our people's aspirations for a good college education. The best way to disperse it long-term would be to meet those needs, in UP and beyond.
Posted in Art & Culture, Education, Pinoys, Society, UP	| Tagged diliman, students, UP, UPCAT	| 1 Reply


Once upon a time, there was this puppeteer who had a show with two puppets – Lenny and Teri. The story he told was something like this… Lenny and Teri, as the story goes, have always been close to one another. Lenny had always seen in Teri someone who would always be there for him, giving him proper feedback, support, guidance and pushing Lenny to his full potential. Teri cared about Lenny, and wanted him to thrive. However, it seems that, after a long standing relationship, these two old friends started to fall apart. In the beginning, Teri saw herself as being more important than Lenny – she believed to be a lot more mature than Lenny. Teri was responsible for telling Lenny what to do and where to go. Lenny, however, grew up and decided it was hight time he started walking on his own feet. To make matters worse, Teri got sick and tired of her position as the sole provider of knowledge and experiences for Lenny, as if it were pouring liquid in an empty vessel, and of getting very little recognition for doing so. Needless to say, the relationship went sour and a gulf of differences quickly presented itself between these two ol' pals. Could there ever be a happy ending to these two in the future?
Thus was so for a while. On ever fewer occasions, Teri still managed to have her moments with Lenny in ways that Beth could only dream of – it was bonding at its best. Teri was learning to listen to Lenny, and Lenny once again felt as if he mattered to Teri, and that he could contribute more than simply memorizing whatever it was that Teri forced down his throat. Ah, but Beth was not going to give up, and decided that the best way to help Lenny was by spending some time with Teri outside the classroom. Little by little, they became friends and Teri started wondering whether her decision of not allowing Beth in the classroom was right. Up until then, Teri saw Beth as a threat, a menace to be avoided at all costs – it was something that would interfere in the long-standing relationship between Teri and Lenny.
Beth, however, played her hand beautifully. She finally managed to show Teri that she was not trying to take her place; Beth was simply trying to help Teri win Lenny's heart back. Teri, however, took so long to finally see it, that now that they've all come to terms with each other Teri is having a hard time trying to let go of old habits. From time to time, Teri still has her moments of rampant rage and kicks Beth out of the classroom when Lenny starts paying more attention to Beth than to her. Beth has also come a long way and has now understood what was happening when she came on stage. It's now time for our three friends, Beth, Teri, and Lenny, or should I say, Tech, Teaching, and Learning, to learn that they can be together if they learn how to work together towards the same aim. And so let's hope for the best, Let's hope that Technology (Beth) is able to help in the relationship between Teaching (Teri) and Learning (Lenny). The good part of the story is that it's all up to us, the puppeteers, to learn when we should bring those three onstage at the same time, and when one of them ought to leave the scene and let the others shine. Are we capable of making this choice?
In a world in which we are spoilt for choice, we've got to learn how to think on our feet if we want to become successful puppeteers. The difference, however, is that our puppets have a life of their own – we can merely choose what we're going to give them to play with and hope for the best. If we want them to have a happy ending, we can only choose the props, and never forget they write the plot on their own.
Loved the analogy. I kept wanting to skip forward to see who was who 😉 Analogies are very powerful. One, they open up a mystery for readers— where is he/she going? They also allow us to demonstrate contention/problems/emotions without naming the "true actors"… if you had said from the start "teaching" "learning" "tech"… i don't think I would've been as interested in reading, nor would I have seen the contentious nature of 3 actors that can actually get along together just fine.
In any case, if there was any doubt about the value of your "tale for a change" (nice pun btw), i'll vote for letting that doubt go. Great read, and thanks again for the mention.
I was actually worried the analogy wouldn't be clear enough, so your feedback is more than welcome. As an RPG fan and a storyteller myself (NERD!), I've always enjoyed writing stories and similar things, but had never done so on this blog.
"got to take better care of myself before I can actually resume doing all the things I like doing in my free time…" Man… I've gained like 20 lbs in the last six months. I used to be a yoga and martial arts teacher, and now I'm a computer potato !
That analogy does work and is also thought provoking – we must be careful not feel as if we were puppeteers to our students.
You do have a talent for writing!
Professor, I've just read your analogy and I have to say I need a time to think about that before telling what I really think. Tomorrow I teach a very independent group, the day after tomorrow a very challenging one so and I'll observe what you wrote this week, but I may need some more explanation on how to make students think on their feet using technology.
Assigning extra homework and checking whether students have done it is quite a task, isn't it? On the one hand, technology has made it easier than ever for students to practice and learn beyond the constrains of the classroom. On the other hand, it's also made it incredibly easier for people to digress. At the end of the day, what really matters is that we make sure they are given the tools, that we show them there's a way to improve. Whether they'll take advantage of that or not is, in my opinion, not really up to us. We may encourage, check, talk about the benefits and all the other things teachers should do. We can't, though, actually force them to do anything.
Nice story, Rick 🙂 I thought Beth was going to steal Lenny's heart.


text:
Energy & Climate,
Natural Resources,
Wildfires,
Governor Inslee expands drought emergency to include more of Washington
With worsening drought and snowpack conditions, Gov. Inslee expanded the drought emergency to include nearly half the state.
"This is an ongoing emergency and we're going to have some long, hard months ahead of us. We're moving quickly so that we're prepared to provide relief to farms and fish this summer."
- Governor Jay Inslee
OLYMPIA – Worsening drought and snowpack conditions in Washington prompted Gov. Inslee to expand the state's drought emergency today. Nearly half the state is now expected to experience hardships from this year's drought.
With more snow lost than added over the past month, runoff from snowmelt this summer is projected to be the lowest on record in 64 years. Snowmelt feeds rivers and streams, and in turn provides critical water supply for farms and fish.
"This is an ongoing emergency and we're going to have some long, hard months ahead of us," said Gov. Inslee. "We're moving quickly so that we're prepared to provide relief to farms and fish this summer."
Despite recent snow in the mountains, snowpack statewide remains only 24 percent of normal. That's lower than when the last statewide drought was declared in 2005.
Right now, 24 river basins among 62 in Washington are expected to experience hardships from drought. This includes 16 watersheds in Western Washington and eight in Eastern Washington where water supplies will be short. This equates to roughly 44 percent of the state.
Eleven watersheds were identified in a drought declaration on March 13; six west of the Cascades and five east of the Cascades.
"We've never experienced a drought like this before – normal rainfall but with very little snow in the mountains," said Department of Ecology Director Maia Bellon. "We're engaging now with farmers, irrigation districts and partners in state, tribal and local governments to prepare for the hardships ahead."
Ecology is working with available funds to lease water rights and develop grant programs that will boost stream flows, provide water for farming and create alternative water supplies.
Ecology has requested $9 million in drought funding from the Legislature. The money would be used in drought declared areas for agricultural and fisheries projects, emergency water-right permits, changes to existing water rights and to approve water right transfers.
Statewide, public water systems have not reported any problems with water supplies. Large municipal water providers in Seattle, Tacoma and Everett have adequate reservoir storage and do not expect problems this year.
Homeowners and businesses with questions about water use should contact their utility district.
Ecology's Washington Drought 2015 Web page provides daily updates on water supplies and drought relief available in hardship areas. Follow Washington state's drought response on Twitter – search @ecologywa or #wadrought.
Washington Drought - Dept. of Ecology
Dan Partridge
Ecology Communications


Ryan Oskin is a New York based artist who synthesizes sculpture and photography to illustrate the relationship between man and nature. We met up with him at his residency at the Artha Project to learn more about his creative practice and fascination with construction materials. He is currently in the exhibition, "Piece by Piece," at Pratt Institute. The opening reception is (tonight) September 29th.
Are you coming to the end of your residency at ARTHA Project?
Yeah, the residency is a year long and it is ending at the end of this month. I have to find a new studio.
And you are just coming off of a group show at the Rubber Factory and a solo show, right?
I just had a solo show called "Five Facets" in August at The Java Project, which is located in a studio building in Greenpoint. They also have a backyard/loading dock space. I utilized the outside as a continuation of the inside works. This show was based on a project called "Under Construction," which stems from documenting temporary work sites throughout New York. I use images of temporary structures and gestures made by laborers as a catalyst to make my own sculptures that involve these similar processes - like building a half brick wall. For "Five Facets," the inside five pieces each reacted to the surfaces of the space. For example, "Stacked Glass" was leaning on the glass facade of the gallery. The pieces on the inside were reflecting on surfaces and the pieces on the outside were building new spaces from the open space. Thematically it all tied together.
Do you always consider the environments that you are working in when designing exhibitions?
This is the first time I had the opportunity to consider the architecture and make a proposal that was site specific to some extent, and I feel like my work is moving more in that direction. I am starting to consider the architecture of the space. I want to make more work that is an installation or site specific, because I feel like these work are so much about the transitions of these temporary sites and the sites of labor, these temporary spaces as they change from an empty lot to a building (or to something else.) I'm interested in exploring that gray area and building outwards. I am also interested in architecture but not in a permanent way, more so as a defining a gesture in the space. At the same time, each piece has to be successful on their own as well. My process is to flatten space and then bring it back out. There are a lot of options in that certain system.
What materials do you use? Where do you source them? How do you choose your materials?
It's a variety. A lot of the materials are referenced in the photographs. For example, this is a found wooden pallet, and it has a photograph mounted to the front of the pallet. It is spray painted green to mimic the green in the photograph. Through the fusing of the image and material, they become one rather than two separate entities. I am looking forward to expanding on that. I also want to explore materials that are not referenced in my photographs further.
You started out doing photography?
Yeah, I studied photography at Pratt Institute which has a traditional photo program. I took other classes, but at Pratt the division between disciplines was strict at the time. It wasn't as fluid of a program as Cooper Union where everything melds together. So once I graduated, I started going in a new direction.
When was your first jump into sculpture?
It was at my thesis show, and I didn't show it to anyone beforehand. It was a photograph that was printed on a rug. The photograph was of a porch, and there were letters across it that read "Welcome." I was moving towards considering the photograph as an object to be experienced in the space rather than something that belongs on the wall. We are all used to seeing that sort of thing. It has a built in way we should respond to it. I am interested in breaking those roles in relationship to photography while also getting away from it all together by moving to sculpture.
This piece is a continuum of materials. It is a white display box filled with various materials that represent stratas of earth. This line connects them, but it doesn't flow one way or another. They lay on top of each other, breaking down into the other materials. I wanted to let the material speak for itself, but it's also important to emphasize that they having a container to live in. I was attracted to a source image online while googling what utility marks mean.
Temporary survey. So it is used when they are marking certain spaces, but it is not a solid one thing or another. For example, marking out a rectangular on the sidewalk that will be torn up. Pink is associated with femininity (for some reason,) and I think it is a nice offset because these things tend to be masculine, and I am not interested in that conversation of this or that. It is more interesting to have them co-exist.
What is the piece "Survey Stakes" about?
In the same way laborers use the pink to demarcate certain areas, they use the stakes to communicate about space. They mark if there is an area that needs to be built up. Green means water supply. Blue is potable water. Orange is communication lines. Yellow is electricity lines. So basically, I was appropriating that language and color usage as markers that could be spread out in a space or that reference something outside of the space they are shown in.
Now that you are working with these objects do you see them around the city more?
I've noticed the stakes by the Manhattan Bridge. They are reconstructing the right side of the bridge on the Canal side. I normally see them outside of New York. These things you can just pass by. They mean nothing to most people. If you walk around the city, you can see these subjects repeat, and it is interesting to see that in the work and then re-experience it in the world. It re-animates the concepts I am working with. It's a utilitarian language. We are surrounded by all these gestures that mean other things, or point to other systems at work.
Are there specific places in the city you go to find inspiration?
I lived in Bed-Stuy near Bushwick. There is a lot of construction there. There are a lot of condos being built right now, so I started there. There are so many industrial hubs in NY - Sunset Park, industrial Greenpoint, Gowanus. A lot of these zones are now being transformed into livable space. I'm curious about neighborhoods that are in between being residential and manufacturing industries.
Born in California, but I don't remember anything. I grew up on Long Island and New Jersey. The suburbia surrounding New York.
I have done a bunch of shows with Lauren Zaser, Cait Oppermann, Bobby Walsh, and Yael Malka that I studied with at Pratt under the platform, TGIF. We started at the 17-17 Troutman building in Bushwick. We used it as a studio 90% of a time, and then once a month we had a pop-up show. And then we got kicked out of that space. It was mostly a studio but there were openings, and the landlord did not want strangers in the building. We did more pop-up shows at various spaces like one at South Street Seaport two years ago in the shipping containers. The last one was at a space that was demolished recently. It was called Kilroy Metal Ceiling. It was a group show ("Treading Water") of photography and sculpture. I've always been interested in putting shows together.
That is a funny project. I started that after I graduated. The source imagery is from a Hasidic Jewish auction catalog. It was just laying in my old apartment, and I was like, "What is that?" I started flipping through it, and it had all these children used as props to sell things. For example, a baby was riding a plane in one of the images. I started cataloging these images and using the found text in the catalogs to create an alternative auction catalog. I printed these images on other objects and re-commodified the children in a way. It was a fun project to do, but it seems out of place now in my practice. I finished it in 2013, and I still show bits of it in certain spaces.
What's the story with "ELOH"?
This one sticks out from the other ones because it was shot at night. It is remnants of a construction site in Seattle. You know how on highways you sometimes see the huge lights on the side of the road? This one was just pointing at some left over materials. It was so incredibly lit. I was interested in the sign because it said "Hole" backwards, and then behind it there was just a black hole of the sky. I think this was the beginning of the construction series. This photo was taken in 2012.
How do you print on these materials?
I use a commercial printing company in Bed-Stuy that can print on different substrates. That is an inspiration in itself. I'm always asking myself, "what can this image be printed on?" By printing on more commercial materials, they usually have more longevity. Images are so fragile. They get ruined easily, so this way you can manipulate them a little bit more, getting away from the perfect, framed image.
I just had two shows that opened. One is at the Rubber Factory called "n e w f l e s h" and the other is an exhibition at Pratt Institute as part of their alumni month called Piece by Piece that is open until October with an opening reception on September 29th. Mostly I'm making new things right now.
Artists you are excited by?
I like the work of Ethan Greenbaum. He had a show at Kansas Gallery that resonated with me about six months ago. Also the work of Letha Wilson, Katie Steciw, and Gordon Matta-Clark.


text:
Mistrzostwa Europy Strongman 1988 – doroczne, indywidualne
zawody europejskich siłaczy.

Data: 1988 r.
Miejsce:

WYNIKI ZAWODÓW:

Zobacz też
 Mistrzostwa Świata Strongman 1988

Przypisy

1988
1988 w sporcie

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Q: Spark-submit fails with yarn master, error- requirement failed at scala.Predef My Spark job is failing with below exception and I am not able to figureout what requirement is missing which causing job failure:
Exception in thread "main" java.lang.IllegalArgumentException: requirement failed
        at scala.Predef$.require(Predef.scala:221)
        at org.apache.spark.deploy.yarn.Client$$anonfun$prepareLocalResources$6$$anonfun$apply$3.apply(Client.scala:472)
        at org.apache.spark.deploy.yarn.Client$$anonfun$prepareLocalResources$6$$anonfun$apply$3.apply(Client.scala:470)
        at scala.collection.IndexedSeqOptimized$class.foreach(IndexedSeqOptimized.scala:33)
        at scala.collection.mutable.ArrayOps$ofRef.foreach(ArrayOps.scala:108)
        at org.apache.spark.deploy.yarn.Client$$anonfun$prepareLocalResources$6.apply(Client.scala:470)
        at org.apache.spark.deploy.yarn.Client$$anonfun$prepareLocalResources$6.apply(Client.scala:468)
        at scala.collection.immutable.List.foreach(List.scala:318)
        at org.apache.spark.deploy.yarn.Client.prepareLocalResources(Client.scala:468)
        at org.apache.spark.deploy.yarn.Client.createContainerLaunchContext(Client.scala:727)
        at org.apache.spark.deploy.yarn.Client.submitApplication(Client.scala:142)
        at org.apache.spark.deploy.yarn.Client.run(Client.scala:1021)
        at org.apache.spark.deploy.yarn.Client$.main(Client.scala:1081)
        at org.apache.spark.deploy.yarn.Client.main(Client.scala)
        at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke0(Native Method)
        at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(NativeMethodAccessorImpl.java:62)
        at sun.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:43)
        at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:497)
        at org.apache.spark.deploy.SparkSubmit$.org$apache$spark$deploy$SparkSubmit$$runMain(SparkSubmit.scala:742)

Spark-submit command:
spark-submit --conf spark.driver.extraJavaOptions=-Dlog4j.configuration=file:/xyz/conf/log4j.xml \
-DHOME=/xyz/transformation -DENV=e1 \
-DJOB=xformation --conf spark.local.dir=/warehouse/tmp/spark1489619325 \
--queue dev --master yarn --deploy-mode cluster \
--properties-file /xyz/conf/job.conf \
--files /xyz/conf/e1.properties --class TransformationJob /xyz/job.jar

The same program works fine with master as local.
Any suggestions would be great help. Thanks in advance.

A: I had a huge list of jars in classpath using '--jars' element and one of the jar was culprit, when I remove it from '--jars' the issue got resolved, I am still not sure why spark-submit was failing because of that jar.

A: I had the error caused by the data file.
I pointed to the wrong train data direction.
Train data and test data did not match well.
Train data: 0,1 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1
Test data: 1, 2, 0, 0, 10
I fixed the train data source direction and the problem has been solved.

A: I received a similar error:
Exception in thread "main" java.lang.IllegalArgumentException: requirement failed
        at scala.Predef$.require(Predef.scala:221)
        at org.apache.spark.deploy.yarn.Client$$anonfun$prepareLocalResources$8$$anonfun$apply$5.apply(Client.scala:501)
        at org.apache.spark.deploy.yarn.Client$$anonfun$prepareLocalResources$8$$anonfun$apply$5.apply(Client.scala:499)
        at scala.collection.IndexedSeqOptimized$class.foreach(IndexedSeqOptimized.scala:33)
        at scala.collection.mutable.ArrayOps$ofRef.foreach(ArrayOps.scala:108)
        at org.apache.spark.deploy.yarn.Client$$anonfun$prepareLocalResources$8.apply(Client.scala:499)
        at org.apache.spark.deploy.yarn.Client$$anonfun$prepareLocalResources$8.apply(Client.scala:497)
        at scala.collection.immutable.List.foreach(List.scala:318)
        at org.apache.spark.deploy.yarn.Client.prepareLocalResources(Client.scala:497)
        at org.apache.spark.deploy.yarn.Client.createContainerLaunchContext(Client.scala:763)
        at org.apache.spark.deploy.yarn.Client.submitApplication(Client.scala:143)
        at org.apache.spark.deploy.yarn.Client.run(Client.scala:1109)
        at org.apache.spark.deploy.yarn.Client$.main(Client.scala:1169)
        at org.apache.spark.deploy.yarn.Client.main(Client.scala)
        at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke0(Native Method)
        at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(NativeMethodAccessorImpl.java:62)
        at sun.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:43)
        at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:498)
        at org.apache.spark.deploy.SparkSubmit$.org$apache$spark$deploy$SparkSubmit$$runMain(SparkSubmit.scala:738)
        at org.apache.spark.deploy.SparkSubmit$.doRunMain$1(SparkSubmit.scala:181)
        at org.apache.spark.deploy.SparkSubmit$.submit(SparkSubmit.scala:206)
        at org.apache.spark.deploy.SparkSubmit$.main(SparkSubmit.scala:121)
        at org.apache.spark.deploy.SparkSubmit.main(SparkSubmit.scala)

Solution to this is :
On the terminal or log you will have one WARN line as below :
WARN Client: Resource file: added multiple times to distributed cache.
Just delete this extra jar from spark submit script . Hope this will help all .

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Sarah Lucas: Au Naturel
Over the past thirty years, Lucas has created a distinctive and provocative body of work that subverts traditional notions of gender, sexuality, and identity. Since the late 1980s, Lucas has transformed found objects and everyday materials such as cigarettes, vegetables, and stockings into absurd and confrontational tableaux that boldly challenge social norms. The human body and anthropomorphic forms recur throughout Lucas's works, often appearing erotic, humorous, fragmented, or reconfigured into fantastical anatomies of desire.
Initially associated with a group known as the Young British Artists (YBAs), who began exhibiting together in London in the late 1980s, Lucas is now one of the UK's most influential artists. This presentation, which will take place across the three main floors of the New Museum, will bring together more than 150 works in photography, sculpture, and installation to reveal the breadth and ingenuity of her practice. The exhibition will address the ways in which Lucas's works engage with crucial debates about gender and power, along with the legacy of surrealism—from her clever transformations of everyday objects to her exploration of sexual ambiguity and the tension between the familiar and the disorienting or absurd.
Sarah Lucas: Au Naturel will feature some of Lucas's most important projects, including early sculptures from the 1990s that substitute domestic furniture for human body parts, and enlarged spreads from tabloid newspapers from the same period that reflect objectified representations of the female body. Alongside the photographic self-portraits that Lucas has produced throughout her career, the exhibition features biomorphic sculptures including her stuffed-stocking Bunnies(1997–ongoing) and NUDS (2009–ongoing), the Penetralia series (2008–ongoing), and selections from her installations at the Freud Museum in London (2000) and the British Pavilion at the Venice Biennale (2015). These works, which complicate inscribed codes of sexual and social normativity, have never been shown together in the United States. Lucas is also creating new sculptural works for the exhibition, which will be exhibited in an installation on the New Museum's Fourth Floor.
Sarah Lucas
YBAs


Note: As stated under the Source (above), I received this book for free from Blogging for Books in exchange for my honest review (and trust me, honest is always what you'll get).
Summary: In this hyper-connected digital age, our lives revolve around technology, the majority of which depends on electricity. The systems that deliver that electricity are also computerized and networked, and therefore vulnerable to cyberattack. So what would happen if such a cyberattack were to take place? Is it possible to take down a major electrical grid with a virus or some other form of cyberattack? What are we doing to prevent such an attack? What would be the aftermath of such an attack? What is the government prepared to do in the wake of such a disaster? These are just a few of the questions examined by Ted Koppel in his book Lights Out.
Review: Like most Americans, I haven't given a lot of thought to how it is that my lights turn on every time I flick a switch, or how dependent I am on the internet to manage my everyday life. When I do lose access to electricity – usually from a storm (I live in the northeast) or some sort of accident that took out a pole – I feel immediately frustrated and cut off from the world, but also feel certain that it will only be a few hours of inconvenience. When it takes longer than expected, I start to worry about food going bad in the fridge/freezer. What will I do when my cell phone runs out of power (we have VOIP at home – no landline)? But the power usually magically turns back on before any of that is much of an issue, and once it's over, I forget about it and move on. But what if it didn't magically turn back on after a few hours? What if the power was out for a week? Or a month? Or a couple of months? What if instead of the power being out on my street or my block, it was out in the entire city for an extended period of time? What if it was the whole state? What if it was several states? Or the entire eastern seaboard? What if it was New York City or DC?
Ted Koppel does a really wonderful job of explaining how such a catastrophe could happen, and what very little is being done to counteract or prepare for such a horrific event. And it would be horrific. Especially in urban areas. It wouldn't be long before we would run out of food and gas (need electricity to get it out of the underground storage tanks). If it was winter, shelter would quickly become an issue. We saw what happened during Hurricane's Katrina and Sandy. Generators only last so long and not everyone has one. Very few people know how to survive without the conveniences of modern life. If we had to live without them indefinitely, which is what would happen if there were a cyberattack that took down a major grid, it wouldn't be like before chaos set in.
Are there things that could be done to prevent such an attack? What is being done to prepare for the long-term impacts of a cyberattack? The answers are much more complicated than you might think. But Koppel does a fabulous job of explaining it all, in a very approachable and interesting way. Non-fiction is not my bag, but this is a topic that should be seriously discussed, one that we should all be thinking about, and this book brings the topic to the surface in a concrete way. It's really a problem that we have ignored entirely too long, and who know what continuing to put our heads in the sand is going to cost us.
This entry was posted in Review and tagged 2016, book review, books, cyberattack, Lights Out, non-fiction, nonfiction, reading, review, Ted Koppel by madbooklove. Bookmark the permalink.


text:
Q: two cubes dont see in window how to fix I try to draw 2 cubes which are auto rotating but I don't see this cubes. Does anybody now how to fix this?
In addition, I want to add a camera to this program. Could you help me with doing this?

#include <GL/glew.h>
#include <GLFW/glfw3.h>
#include <iostream>
#include <cstdlib>
#define SCREEN_WIDTH 1920
#define SCREEN_HEIGHT 1080

void keyCallback(GLFWwindow *window, int key, int scancode, int action, int mods);
void DrawCube(GLfloat centerPosX, GLfloat centerPosY, GLfloat centerPosZ, GLfloat edgeLength);

GLfloat rotationX = 0.0f;
GLfloat rotationY = 0.0f;
GLfloat rtri;               // Angle For The Triangle ( NEW )
GLfloat rquad;

int main(void)
{
    GLFWwindow *window;

    // Initialize the library
    if (!glfwInit())
    {
        return -1;
    }

    // Create a windowed mode window and its OpenGL context
    window = glfwCreateWindow(SCREEN_WIDTH, SCREEN_HEIGHT, "Hello World", NULL, NULL);

    glfwSetKeyCallback(window, keyCallback);
    glfwSetInputMode(window, GLFW_STICKY_KEYS, 1);

    int screenWidth, screenHeight;
    glfwGetFramebufferSize(window, &screenWidth, &screenHeight);

    if (!window)
    {
        glfwTerminate();
        return -1;
    }

    // Make the window's context current
    glfwMakeContextCurrent(window);

    glViewport(0.0f, 0.0f, screenWidth, screenHeight); // specifies the part of the window to which OpenGL will draw (in pixels), convert from normalised to pixels
    glMatrixMode(GL_PROJECTION); // projection matrix defines the properties of the camera that views the objects in the world coordinate frame. Here you typically set the zoom factor, aspect ratio and the near and far clipping planes
    glLoadIdentity(); // replace the current matrix with the identity matrix and starts us a fresh because matrix transforms such as glOrpho and glRotate cumulate, basically puts us at (0, 0, 0)
    glOrtho(0, SCREEN_WIDTH, 0, SCREEN_HEIGHT, 0, 1000); // essentially set coordinate system
    glMatrixMode(GL_MODELVIEW); // (default matrix mode) modelview matrix defines how your objects are transformed (meaning translation, rotation and scaling) in your world
    glLoadIdentity(); // same as above comment

    GLfloat halfScreenWidth = SCREEN_WIDTH / 2;
    GLfloat halfScreenHeight = SCREEN_HEIGHT / 2;

    // Loop until the user closes the window
    while (!glfwWindowShouldClose(window))
    {
        glShadeModel(GL_SMOOTH);
        glClearColor(0.6f, 1.0f, 1.0f, 0.1f);
        glClearDepth(1.0f);
        glEnable(GL_DEPTH_TEST);                            // Enables Depth Testing
        glDepthFunc(GL_LEQUAL);                             // The Type Of Depth Testing To Do
        glHint(GL_PERSPECTIVE_CORRECTION_HINT, GL_NICEST);

        // Render OpenGL here
        glClear(GL_COLOR_BUFFER_BIT | GL_DEPTH_BUFFER_BIT);
        glPushMatrix();
        glLoadIdentity();
        glTranslatef(-1.5f, 0.0f, -6.0f);
        glRotatef(rtri, 0.0f, 1.0f, 0.0f);// Move Left 1.5 Units And Into The Screen 6.0
        DrawCube(halfScreenWidth, halfScreenHeight, -500, 200);
        glLoadIdentity();                                   // Reset The Current Modelview Matrix
        glTranslatef(1.5f, 0.0f, -7.0f);
        glRotatef(rquad, 1.0f, 1.0f, 1.0f);
        DrawCube(halfScreenWidth, halfScreenHeight, -500, 200);
        glPopMatrix();
        rtri += 0.2f;                                           // Increase The Rotation Variable For The Triangle ( NEW )
        rquad -= 0.15f;

        // Swap front and back buffers
        glfwSwapBuffers(window);

        // Poll for and process events
        glfwPollEvents();
    }

    glfwTerminate();

    return 0;
}

void keyCallback(GLFWwindow *window, int key, int scancode, int action, int mods)
{
    //std::cout << key << std::endl;

    const GLfloat rotationSpeed = 10;

    // actions are GLFW_PRESS, GLFW_RELEASE or GLFW_REPEAT
    if (action == GLFW_PRESS || action == GLFW_REPEAT)
    {
        switch (key)
        {
        case GLFW_KEY_UP:
            rotationX -= rotationSpeed;
            break;
        case GLFW_KEY_DOWN:
            rotationX += rotationSpeed;
            break;
        case GLFW_KEY_RIGHT:
            rotationY += rotationSpeed;
            break;
        case GLFW_KEY_LEFT:
            rotationY -= rotationSpeed;
            break;
        }

    }
}

void DrawCube(GLfloat centerPosX, GLfloat centerPosY, GLfloat centerPosZ, GLfloat edgeLength)
{
    GLfloat halfSideLength = edgeLength * 0.5f;

    static const GLfloat g_vertex_buffer_data[] = {
        -1.0f,-1.0f,-1.0f, // triangle 1 : begin
        -1.0f,-1.0f, 1.0f,
        -1.0f, 1.0f, 1.0f, // triangle 1 : end
        1.0f, 1.0f,-1.0f, // triangle 2 : begin
        -1.0f,-1.0f,-1.0f,
        -1.0f, 1.0f,-1.0f, // triangle 2 : end
        1.0f,-1.0f, 1.0f,
        -1.0f,-1.0f,-1.0f,
        1.0f,-1.0f,-1.0f,
        1.0f, 1.0f,-1.0f,
        1.0f,-1.0f,-1.0f,
        -1.0f,-1.0f,-1.0f,
        -1.0f,-1.0f,-1.0f,
        -1.0f, 1.0f, 1.0f,
        -1.0f, 1.0f,-1.0f,
        1.0f,-1.0f, 1.0f,
        -1.0f,-1.0f, 1.0f,
        -1.0f,-1.0f,-1.0f,
        -1.0f, 1.0f, 1.0f,
        -1.0f,-1.0f, 1.0f,
        1.0f,-1.0f, 1.0f,
        1.0f, 1.0f, 1.0f,
        1.0f,-1.0f,-1.0f,
        1.0f, 1.0f,-1.0f,
        1.0f,-1.0f,-1.0f,
        1.0f, 1.0f, 1.0f,
        1.0f,-1.0f, 1.0f,
        1.0f, 1.0f, 1.0f,
        1.0f, 1.0f,-1.0f,
        -1.0f, 1.0f,-1.0f,
        1.0f, 1.0f, 1.0f,
        -1.0f, 1.0f,-1.0f,
        -1.0f, 1.0f, 1.0f,
        1.0f, 1.0f, 1.0f,
        -1.0f, 1.0f, 1.0f,
        1.0f,-1.0f, 1.0f
    };
    static const GLfloat g_color_buffer_data[] = {
        0.583f,  0.771f,  0.014f,
        0.609f,  0.115f,  0.436f,
        0.327f,  0.483f,  0.844f,
        0.822f,  0.569f,  0.201f,
        0.435f,  0.602f,  0.223f,
        0.310f,  0.747f,  0.185f,
        0.597f,  0.770f,  0.761f,
        0.559f,  0.436f,  0.730f,
        0.359f,  0.583f,  0.152f,
        0.483f,  0.596f,  0.789f,
        0.559f,  0.861f,  0.639f,
        0.195f,  0.548f,  0.859f,
        0.014f,  0.184f,  0.576f,
        0.771f,  0.328f,  0.970f,
        0.406f,  0.615f,  0.116f,
        0.676f,  0.977f,  0.133f,
        0.971f,  0.572f,  0.833f,
        0.140f,  0.616f,  0.489f,
        0.997f,  0.513f,  0.064f,
        0.945f,  0.719f,  0.592f,
        0.543f,  0.021f,  0.978f,
        0.279f,  0.317f,  0.505f,
        0.167f,  0.620f,  0.077f,
        0.347f,  0.857f,  0.137f,
        0.055f,  0.953f,  0.042f,
        0.714f,  0.505f,  0.345f,
        0.783f,  0.290f,  0.734f,
        0.722f,  0.645f,  0.174f,
        0.302f,  0.455f,  0.848f,
        0.225f,  0.587f,  0.040f,
        0.517f,  0.713f,  0.338f,
        0.053f,  0.959f,  0.120f,
        0.393f,  0.621f,  0.362f,
        0.673f,  0.211f,  0.457f,
        0.820f,  0.883f,  0.371f,
        0.982f,  0.099f,  0.879f
    };

    //glColor3f( colour[0], colour[1], colour[2] );
    glEnableClientState(GL_VERTEX_ARRAY);
    glEnableClientState(GL_COLOR_ARRAY);
    glVertexPointer(3, GL_FLOAT, 0, g_vertex_buffer_data);
    glColorPointer(3, GL_FLOAT, 0, g_color_buffer_data);

    glDrawArrays(GL_TRIANGLES, 0, 36);

    glDisableClientState(GL_VERTEX_ARRAY);
    glDisableClientState(GL_COLOR_ARRAY);
}</i>

A: First of all I recommend to put the origin of your Orthographic Projection Matrix in the center of the viewport:
glOrtho(-SCREEN_WIDTH*0.5,  SCREEN_WIDTH*0.5,
        -SCREEN_HEIGHT*0.5, SCREEN_HEIGHT*0.5,
        0.0, 1000.0);

The Model-View matrix constis of the view matrix and the model matrix.
While the view matrix describes how you look at the scene, the model matrix describes the location of your geometry in the scene.
For the View-Matrix you choosed the identity matrix.
For the model matrix you did set up the rotations correctly. You also calculated the translational and the scale of the model, but you never used it.
You missed to translate and scale your Model-View matrix before drawing.
GLfloat halfScreenWidth = SCREEN_WIDTH * 0.5;
GLfloat halfScreenHeight = SCREEN_HEIGHT * 0.5;

GLfloat sideLenght = 200.0f;
GLfloat halfSideLenght = sideLenght * 0.5;

while ( ... )
{
    ...

    // backup the view matrix
    glPushMatrix();

    // set up the model matrix
    glTranslatef(-0.5f * halfScreenWidth, 0.0f, -6.0f);         // translate the model
    glRotatef(rtri, 0.0f, 1.0f, 0.0f);                          // rotate the model
    glScalef( halfSideLenght, halfSideLenght, halfSideLenght ); // scale the model

    // draw the 1. cube
    DrawCube(/* I removed the parameter here, because they are not used */);

    // restor the view matrix
    glPopMatrix();

    // backup the view matrix
    glPushMatrix();

    // set up the model matrix
    glTranslatef(0.5f * halfScreenWidth, 0.0f, -7.0f);          // translate the model
    glRotatef(rquad, 1.0f, 1.0f, 1.0f);                         // rotate the model
    glScalef( halfSideLenght, halfSideLenght, halfSideLenght ); // scale the model

    // draw the 2. cube
    DrawCube(/* I removed the parameter here, because they are not used */);

    // restor the view matrix
    glPopMatrix();

  ...
}


If you want to leave kobynator a tip for writing this Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood guide you can do so here.
After the cutscene you will immediately be attacked. Since you can't take any damage if you want 100 % synchronization, i recommend equiping your sword, waiting for them to attack and then counter attack them.
After you have killed the attackers, walk down the stairs and go trough the little door.
When the cutscene is over, run on the broken pillar and move to the left. When you're inthe possition as shown in the picture, eject back on the other pillar.
From the pillar jump to the wall in front of you, then move to the right and climb on the platform.
From the platform you can jump to the first handle.
When you've activated the first handle, jump back to the platform you came from and sprint towards the other side of the room.
From the second handle, jump to the broken pillar in the middle of the room.
Once you're ontop of it, jump to the one on the right.
Climb ontop of it and jump to the pillar at your left, you normally should grab the ledge.
Slide left on the ledge 'till you can go no further (as shown in the picture), then climb up.
Slide left once again and when you can go no further, eject back.
You will land on a broken wall, from there jump to the platform on the left.
Activate the handle and go back.
Jump on the broken wall and walk to the pointy end closest to the half pillar.
Jump to the pillar, then jum the wall.
Move to the right on the wall until you reach the final handle.


Q. You have been out of work for a long time and believe that potential employers are holding that against you. Even though many people lost jobs during the recession for reasons unrelated to performance, you fear that your long-term unemployment is sometimes equated with desperation and a lack of competency. What can you do about this?


text:
Vermont Supreme Court to hear public records case related to EB-5 program this week
Tue, 01/24/2023 - 10:23am -- tim
State's refusal to disclose which records it withheld violates Vermont Public Records Act
Vermont Business Magazine On Wednesday, January 25, the Vermont Supreme Court will hear a case challenging the State's withholding of information about public records pertaining to oversight of the EB-5 Foreign Investor Program, which led to the largest financial fraud in Vermont history.
The Vermont Journalism Trust (VJT), which operates VTDigger, filed a lawsuit in 2020 against the Agency of Commerce and Community Development seeking records that would show why the State allowed Jay Peak developers to continue signing up investors for EB-5 projects after potential fraud was flagged nearly a decade earlier. Though a trial court ordered the State to turn over certain records to VJT in 2021, the State refused to say which records it is not providing, in clear violation of the public records statute.
VJT is now asking the Supreme Court to enforce the Public Records Act's requirement that, if a public body is going to withhold public records, it must at a minimum disclose what it is withholding, and why.
When: Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2023, at 9:00 a.m. Hearing is scheduled for 60 minutes.
Where: Vermont Supreme Court, 111 State Street, Montpelier. All hearings are also live streamed on the Vermont Judiciary's YouTube channel.
What: Hearing on Vermont Journalism Trust v. Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development & Lindsay Kurrle, Secretary. Find the Supreme Court brief here.
Why: This case is the latest in the ACLU of Vermont's ongoing effort to ensure that public records are truly available to the public and that all of our government officials are accountable to the people they serve.
Who: The ACLU of Vermont, the Cornell Law School First Amendment Clinic, and Tim Cornell of Cornell Dolan P.C. are representing VJT.
1.24.2023. ACLU of Vermont. Montpelier acluvt.org


This is a 3D printed BMO. I created this as an exclusive model for Pinshape as I was nominated as their Designer of the Month for April. Unfortunately the site announced they were shutting down (update: maybe not?). So I'll be posting the files on other sites. I also wrote a blog post for them.
As for the actual model. I modeled it in Tinkercad. I designed it to be easily printed in one piece with no supports needed. I printed it on my Robo 3D R1 with Hatchbox White PLA.


Here's a challenge: look at the list of speakers featured at this weekend's Coffee Party's convention (September 24-26 in Louisville) and figure out who any of them are. There's not a single Glenn Beck-level celebrity there. Instead, we have people of substance that no one has ever heard of. That's not the way to win hearts and minds in an age of 24/7 media.
The Coffee Party claims the Radical Center, where nobody in particular gets excited about anything. It is not opposed to government, nor is it in favor of excess governmental control. It's right in the middle. And just to prove the point, the Coffee Party offers a compilation of soft-rock music you've never heard of for a $5 contribution.
Some of the big-name enticements to come to Louisville are Mike McKinnon and Larry Lessig. Those are the only two on the list that I even vaguely recognize. They are bit players on the media stage, although they were tangentially involved in one of the most important and disturbing cases in recent Supreme Court history: Citizens United. This was the case in which the court declared that corporations have the same right to spend on political candidates and issues as individual citizens.
It reminds me of the ideal slogan for a mediocre company: We're no worse than anyone else.
To counteract the treachly sweetness of Stewart's "sanity" mantra, Comedy Central has organized a second event on the Mall – Stephen Colbert's "March to Keep Fear Alive". It's unfortunate for the Coffee Party that it doesn't have a foil like Colbert to put into sharp relief the humor that is inherent in the Tea Party's overwrought rhetoric that features colorful historic figures such as Stalin, Hitler, and Karl Marx.
But, for those eager to beat Stewart at his own game, this weekend's Coffee Party Convention is just the ticket. It is likely to be a stress-free event without the annoyance of heavy press coverage or long lines of autograph seekers. The music will be nice, the speeches will be gutless, and the world will pay no attention whatsoever.


UNITED NATIONS, May 12, updated -- That this UN can't solve problems from Syria to Guinea Bissau is reflected closer to home in the bungled move-back of the UN press corps to the Secretariat building.
It was delayed for months, then set to occur on May 10. But when the day arrived, there were still no keys for the offices being moved back to.
Journalists were told that a new television system called EZTV would replace the old cable system. But as of May 10, when Inner City Press tried the referenced eztv.un.org, it did not work. Nor did the wi-fi in the third floor press area.
Now on the Sunday before the Monday "move in," the UN has offered apologies not to the entire press corps, but only to UNCA Executive Committee insiders, trying to use them who have been so well served by this secretive planning to molify others.
By no means all UN correspondents are represented by UNCA, despite recent false statements by UNCA president Pamela Falk of CBS, broadcast propaganda-like on UNTV in the UN's lobby, to the contrary.
Falk's Rasputin-like First Vice President, Louis Charbonneau of Reuters last seen palling around with UN official Stephane Dujarric in the UN lobby, has been move involved in trying to get the Press thrown out of the UN, as recently as March 8 of this year, than with any protection of press rights at the UN.
The Free UN Coalition for Access notes that Reuters grabbed for itself a private office with five spots (for two people) while another wire service got pushed with two other media. Maybe that explains Reuters' increasingly bogus UN coverage.
So where is the on the record mea culpa to all UN correspondents? Journalists were told to turn in their keys to their former cubicles and move on May 13. But it is not ready, and there are no keys to the new spaces. Investigative journalists have commitments to their sources, and will not leave any records unlocked.
This is UN incompetence, and perhaps more. FUNCA has written to the chief of the UN Department of Public Information requesting his explanation. Watch this site.
Footnote: amid all this, UNCA's Executive Committee has continued and increased its campaign of anonymous social media posts, of which UN's DPI is intimately aware. It has gotten worse and worse in 2013 and we will have more on, and in response, to this.


Apple has unveiled its latest iMac, which packs a 27-inch 5K display.
The company said the new iMac can be fitted with an 8-core Intel 9th-generation CPU and Radeon Vega graphics – giving it a "2x performance boost".
"Customers are going to love the huge boost in iMac performance. With up to 8-core processors and powerful Vega graphics, the iMac line-up is stronger than ever," said Apple.
The 27-inch display on the unit is a Retina 5K screen with a 5,120 x 2,880 resolution, added the company.
Pricing for the 27-inch iMac starts at $1,799.
For this users receive an Intel Core i5 CPU, 8GB RAM, 1TB Fusion Drive, Radeon Pro 570X, and a 5K display.
Apple also unveiled new 21.5-inch iMacs, available with a 1080p or 4K display.
The devices can be fitted with Intel Core i3, i5, or i7 CPUs, up to 32GB of RAM, and up to 1TB of SSD storage.
Graphics options for the smaller PC include Intel Iris Plus Graphics 640, Radeon Pro 555X with 2GB VRAM, Radon Pro 560X with 4GB VRAM, or Radeon Pro Vega 20 with 4GB VRAM.


text:
Forums - Sales Discussion - VGChartz Gap Charts November 2020 Discussion Thread
< Prev1 34567 8Next >
Elputoxd
28 posts since 29/11/20
Elputoxd on 29 December 2020
Nah, no way they beat PS3+360. Also, I think the Series S and the Switch are going to cannibalize the casual market that wants a cheap console that isn't the most powerful device in the market and that doesn't care about how old a machine is.
In 2013-2014, those people had to buy a PS3 or a 360 because there were no alternatives for them, now they have the Series S and the Switch.
Professor 50 VGChartz sales articles published.
Spanish Silver Coin Subscribed at least one month as a Silver Tier Supporter.
trunkswd on 29 December 2020
Switch vs DS Sales Comparison - Switch Closes Gap by Over 1.6 Million in November 2020
his monthly series compares the aligned worldwide sales of the Nintendo Switch and the Nintendo DS.
Switch Vs. DS Global:
Gap change in latest month: 1,673,519 - Switch
Gap change over last 12 months: 1,443,235 - DS
Total Lead: 5,601,393 - DS
Switch Total Sales: 70,913,631
DS Total Sales: 76,515,024
November 2020 is the 45th month that the Nintendo Switch has been available for. During the latest month, the gap grew in favor of the Switch by 1.67 million units when compared to the Switch during the same timeframe. In the last 12 months, the DS has outsold the Switch by 1.44 million units. The DS is ahead of the Switch by 5.60 million units.
The DS launched in November 2004 in North America, December 2004 in Japan, and March 2005 in Europe, while the Nintendo Switch launched worldwide in March 2017. Therefore, the holiday periods for the two consoles do not lineup, which is why there are big increases and decreases.
The 45th month on sale for the Nintendo Switch is November 2020, while for the DS it is July 2008. The Switch has sold 70.91 million units, while the DS sold 76.52 million units during the same timeframe. The DS reached current Switch sales in month 42.
The Nintendo DS sold 154.02 million units lifetime. The Nintendo Switch is currently 83.11 million units behind the lifetime sales of the DS.
Last edited by trunkswd - on 29 December 2020
S.Peelman
Super Mario Odyssey (NS)
Anno 1800 (PC)
MediEvil (2019) (PS4)
S.Peelman on 29 December 2020
Before Covid I didn't think 8th Gen would make it. Then the bump made me think it would, bit I'm now I'm sceptical again after this low holiday. It'll be close. In fact I'd say PS4 beating GameBoy is also in jeopardy.
curl-6 on 29 December 2020
trunkswd said:
That Switch is managing to stay somewhat close to the freaking DS never stops amazing me. Especially when it still hasn't had a price cut and is selling for what, twice, three times what DS cost by this point?
PDiddy
PDiddy on 29 December 2020
The Switch just needs to keep with the DS for one more year, and then it will be much easier to get ahead of the DS. 2021 will be crucial.
Quite a Comeback Enter your first Prediction League event.
Switch vs PS4 in the US Sales Comparison - Switch Lead Continues to Grow in November 2020
This monthly series compares the aligned US sales of the Nintendo Switch and the PlayStation 4.
Switch Vs. PS4 US:
Gap change over last 12 months: 3,908,200 - Switch
Total Lead: 4,563,824 - Switch
PS4 Total Sales: 19,670,960
November 2020 is the 45th month that the Nintendo Switch has been available for. During the latest month, the gap in the US between the Switch and PlayStation 4 grew in favor of the Switch when you align launches. The Switch sold 1.14 million more units than the PS4 in the last month. In the last 12 months, the Switch has grown its lead by 3.91 million units. The Switch currently leads by 4.56 million units.
The PS4 launched in the US on November 15, 2013, while the Switch launched on March 3, 2017. Therefore, the holiday periods for the two consoles do not lineup, which is why there are big increases and decreases.
The 45th month on sale for the Switch is November 2020, while for the PS4 it is July 2017. The Switch has sold 24.23 million units, while the PS4 sold 19.67 million units during the same timeframe. The PS4 did not reach the current Switch sales until month 55 where it sold a total of 24.47 million units.
The PS4 has been available for 85 months in the US and has sold 34.32 million units. The Switch is currently 10.09 million units behind the lifetime sales of the PS4.
So Switch has sold about 25% more launch aligned, and gained by over a third of PS4's current lead in the last 12 months. Switch should win this fairly decisively in the end.
DaAndy
DaAndy on 31 December 2020
Seems Switch should surpass PS4 lifetime sales in the US during Q1-Q2 2022. But of course it also depends on Sonys actions with PS4 like pricedrops.
yo33331
TV, Sports, TV, Call of Duty, TV Purchase for VG$499
yo33331 on 01 January 2021
where did the PS4 vs 360 in US went ?
Oh, Snap! 500 screenshots added to the VGChartz database.
You're Golden Subscribed at least one month as a Gold Tier Supporter.
A Cool New Armour Added 50 Extras.
Switch vs Wii Sales Comparison in the US – Switch Closes the Gap in November 2020
This monthly series compares the aligned US sales of the Nintendo Switch and the Nintendo Wii.
Switch Vs. Wii US:
Gap change over last 12 months: 714,581 - Switch
Total Lead: 5,087,427 - Wii
Wii Total Sales: 29,322,211
November 2020 is the 45th month that the Nintendo Switch has been available for in the US. During the latest month, the Switch caught up to the Wii when you align the launches by 1.12 million units. In the last 12 months, the Switch has outsold the Wii by 714,581 units. The Wii is currently ahead of the Switch by 5.09 million units.
The Wii launched in November 2006, while the Nintendo Switch launched in March 2017. Therefore, the holiday periods for the two consoles do not lineup, which is why there are big increases and decreases.
The 45th month for the Nintendo Switch is November 2020 and for the Wii it is August 2010. The Switch has sold 24.23 million units, while the Wii sold 29.32 million units during the same timeframe.
The Wii sold 41.70 million units in the US during its lifetime. The Switch needs to sell another 17.47 million units to outsell the Wii.


Tebliğ cihad mıdır? Cihad ise kıtal gibi şerefli midir?
Merhum Esad Coşan Hocaefendi CİHAD VE ZEKAT Müslüman! Mutlaka dinle!
NJ Music - The list above is top results of Cihad Savasa Giden Yollari Kapatmaktir Muhammed Emin Yildirim, very best that we say to along with display for you. We all find plenty of tracks Cihad Savasa Giden Yollari Kapatmaktir Muhammed Emin Yildirim music mp3 although many of us simply display the tracks we consider will be the finest tracks.


text:
Home / Get involved!
Join an Accreditation Visiting Team -
a unique, immersive professional development experience!
Accreditation is peer review
Thank you for your interest in volunteering! Accreditation relies on a voluntary, peer review process, engaging thousands of educators in school visits each year. Those interested in serving as a member of a NEASC Visiting Team ("Team Visitors") are required to attend a one-day visiting team training workshop and subsequently submit additional materials as evidence of their readiness to conduct visits on behalf of NEASC.
Nominations for Visiting Team Members
Once a school becomes a candidate or accredited, it is part of NEASC-CIE policy and a very important aspect of the process, that the School Head encourage academic staff and leadership to qualify to serve as an Team Visitor, and to allow them to serve on teams when invited.
The first step in qualifying to serve is to attend a visitor training workshop. To see a list of upcoming sessions, visit: https://cie.neasc.org/events
The experience garnered from these visits will be extremely helpful not only to the participants, but to their school as well, as it enhances a school's preparation for their own pathway to NEASC Accreditation or ACE Learning.
Materials for Visitors
Browse upcoming training workshops
View the NEASC volunteer policy
Many have said that NEASC ACE Learning visits are the best professional development experiences and this is not an exaggeration. The opportunity to reflect and the ideas team members enjoy sharing, as well as the invaluable discussions on education, are incredible. You truly feel like you have become part of a global community dedicated to learning.
— Lynne Bibi, PYP Elementary Teacher / Grade Level Leader, Wellspring Learning Community, Beirut, Lebanon


James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy of Rice University. "The Political, Economic, Social, Cultural, and Religious Trends in the Middle East and the Gulf and their Impact on the Energy Supply, Security, and Pricing." Baker Institute Policy Report, no. 3 (1997) http://www.bakerinstitute.org/research/baker-institute-policy-report-3-the-political-economic-social-cultural-and-religious-trends-in-the-m/.


That said, there were also lots and lots of variations on "Lois McMaster Bujold Ivan book" and "Europa Universalis 3 Byzantium" – if I added them up, they'd crack the top five!
8. A sneak peek at Lois McMaster Bujold's upcoming "Ivan book" – The only top-ten post that related to books rather than games.
4. Shogun 2: Fall of the Samurai first impressions – I'm surprised this outranked the actual review!
3. Four things Tactics Ogre does better than FFT (and one it doesn't) – I compared the two grande dames of tactical RPGs all the way back in 2011. Nice to see people still care about those games!
2. Puzzle or strategy? Byzantium in Europa Universalis III – Another old piece – I wrote it over two years ago, all the way back in January 2011. Never expected it would be this popular!
1. How to lose Crusader Kings II: a very short guide – Not actually by me, but a guest piece by Rachel "frogbeastegg" McFadden – part of her series on CK2. Give her a big hand!


text:
Betting Tips Premier League preview: Tottenham v Southampton
Created on Sunday, 23 March 2014 00:15
First round: Southampton v Tottenham 2-3
Tottenham: On Thursday the Spurs were very close to a historic turnover in da Luz, but with a penalty in injury time stopped their efforts to lead the second game against Benfica in extra time. They traveled in Lisboa with several absences and were behind since 34th min. After the interval they were more threatening and scored two goals with Chadli (78', 79'), they searched a third until the end, but in the 95th the hosts won a penalty and made the final 2-2. They were coming from a defeat from Arsenal at White Hart Lane by 0-1 in the Premier League. They were once again back in the score just 2 minutes in/ Later on both teams created several occasions to score, with Spurs being slightly better, but still they did not avoided the defeat.
This was the third defeat in their last 4 games in the championship, thus losing the advantage against Everton and Manchester United for the fifth place, with Toffees reducing to 2 points and having two games less. Only one side scored in their last six games in the league, in 3 defeats they did not score, while in three wins they did not conceded. They count consecutive victories against Southampton. Unavailable: central defenders Chiriches (13 app./1 g.) and Dawson (28 app.), right-back Walker (26 app./2 g./1 assist), defensive midfielder Kapoue (12 app./1 g.) and winger Lamela (9 app./1 assist). Doubtful: central defender Kaboul (6 app.), defensive midfielder Paulinho (24 app./4 g./2 assists), attacking midfielder Dembelé (25 app./1 g./1 assist) and striker Adebayor (15 app./8 g./3 assists).
Home: 7-3-5
Last 5: 2-0-3
Southampton: The Saint looked in a very good shape in the home game against Norwich, opening the scoring in the 5th min. with Schneiderlin, who completed perfectly a nice team effort. In 59th min. Lambert made 2-0, a minute after he entered the game and gave for Rodriguez the assist in 72th min. to score a third. Rodriguez had also a shoot in the post in 81th, but Southampton with two consecutive similar defensive errors in 85' and 86' allowed Norwich to get back in the game. Eventually, in 97' young Gallagher finished the game. This was the second consecutive win, reaching 45 points. If they were more careful in several past games, now they could claim even the 5th position, which lies 8 points ahead. Unavailable: goalkeeper Kelvin Davis (2 app.), central defender Lovren (23 app./2 g./1 assist), defensive midfielders Schneiderlin (27 app./2 g./1 assist) and Wanyama (18 app.), central midfielder Cork (20 app.) and attacking midfielder Guly do Prado (7 app.).
Betting Tips Prediction: Tottenham that will have some significant absences does not want to lose another once again and lose the advantage for the 5th place. Southampton plays without stress and has proven that is a team that can cause problems to any opponent. It is a difficult match to predict but there is a good possibility for both sides to score 1,70.