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sadmin - January 3, 2023 0
Beautiful sunset with the sea or mountain. Sounds like a great plan doesn't it? Isn't traveling seem like the only medicine to cure the monotony of mundane life? But how do you escape this...
Pick Your Helmet - January 2, 2023 0
When you came into the world of motorcycles which was the first thing that came to your mind? To me, it was a helmet. Because everyone knows safety issues are sensitive when you are...
Pick Your Helmet - October 1, 2022 0
Did you know that helmets save at least 1500 lives every year? And some even get saved from severe injuries as well. You will understand the value of a safe motorcycle helmet when you...
Pick Your Helmet - June 9, 2022 0
Are you a woman who rides a motorcycle? You know riding a motorcycle but hairstyles confuse you a little bit. No worries, we got your back. Hairstyles should be two things. Comfortable and time-saving...
A 3/4 helmet is also generally known as an open-face helmet. Most people confuse it with full-face helmets. It's obviously different from a regular full-face helmet. The main difference between the two types is that...
How to Find the Best motorcycle helmet for big heads- A complete guide
Pick Your Helmet - April 30, 2022 0
Looking for a good motorcycle helmet for your big head? You are at the right place to know about all the things you need to get it. Look, there are hundreds of companies that...
Who is not aware of the craze of marvel and its superheroes. The fans of marvel are all over the world, which is why they keep bringing new trends related to it. You must...
The 10 Best Modular Motorcycle Helmets 2022 With Buyer's Guide
Pick Your Helmet - April 7, 2022 1
Are you looking to buy the best modular motorcycle helmet? If so, this post is for you. This article will give you the top 10 best modular helmets in the market and guide you...
13 Best Cruiser Motorcycle Helmets Ideas, Reviews & Buying Guide
Pick Your Helmet - March 17, 2022 2
Riding lovers can understand that motorcycles are the best thing that happened to the world. It allowed us to taste the freedom on long roads and long journeys. The magic of bikes is unexplainable....
The Best Motorcycle Helmets 2022
You must be aware of the importance of motorcycle helmets if you are a rider. It is important to protect us with helmets, and it is something we should not be compromised. However, we...
John Keyaan
Find for your safe and sustainable helmet is my true passion. Keyaan is always on the lookout for exciting tips & trick.
Bell Hemet Best HJC Helmets Carbon Fiber Clean Fogging Full-face half-face helmet Helmet Safety LS2 Helmets Modular Modular Helmet Motorcycle Helmet Open Face Safety Safety Facts Shoei stop helmet visor fogging


Earth & Co. has come on board as a race pack sponsor for #AfricanCenturion2018. The Earth & Co range of products is part of Tacoma Brands which is produced in Europe in an ultra-high technology facility.
Our Earth & Co. products are 100% plant based, dairy free, suitable for vegans, a source of calcium, added vitamins, free from colourants, sweeteners, GMO free, naturally low in saturated fat, with no lactose or cow's milk proteins, therefore a delicious alternative to cow's milk and soya drinks. Earth & Co. Rice Drink is also allergen free and Kosher certified.
Made from brown Jasmine rice, these oven baked Earth & Co Rice Crisps are a delicious snack that appeals to the whole family. They are high in fibre and free from Gluten,preservatives, colourants, flavourings & MSG.
Earth & Co's new improved rice milk recipe has less Kilojules, Carbohydrates, Fats & Sodium and more Protein than before.This product is not Kosher certified.Earth & Co Rice Milk has a delicious, light and refreshing flavour that appeals to the whole family. Ideal for people that are lactose intolerant and allergic to dairy or Soya. A Naturally sweet and easily digestible drink, low in saturated fat with no added sugars. Free from preservatives & colourants and cholesterol Free.
Earth & Co. Almond Drink has a light and refreshing, mild almond flavour that appeals to the whole family. Naturally low in saturated fat and with no lactose or cow's milk protein, it is a delicious alternative to cow's milk and soya drinks.
For an utterly indulgent, high fibre snack, try Earth & Co Toasted Coconut Chips. Made from the dry-roasted shavings of Nam Hom coconuts, these chips have an intensely coconutty taste. Ideal for vegans – and a delicious treat for everyone to enjoy. Use Earth & Co Toasted Coconut Chips to add extra flavour and texture to your baking. Alternatively, enjoy as is as a delicious way to satisfy a sweet tooth.
In the production of this product, none of the coconut goes to waste. The shells of young, green Nam Hom coconuts are recycled and used to produce paper, while older shells make excellent fertiliser due to their high potassium content.
Earth & Co will be including their delicious coconut chips into all the race packs.


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Welcome to our April edition of GTP. I conclude my visit with baseball great, Barry Lyons in Part II of his remarkable story. It's a very exciting time for the Coast as construction is in "full swing" on the first ever Minor League Baseball stadium! For Barry Lyons it is a dream come true.
Come shopping with me at the extraordinary women's boutique, Hissy Fit in D'Iberville! Owners Bea and Breanna Tumminello show us around their beautiful new store which opened just weeks ago.
It's time again for the Coast's most favorite water events, Smokin the Sound and Smokin the Lake! We have the exciting scoop about a new collaboration and plans to create a multi-site invitational power boat racing series starting with this year's competitions! Read all about it here!
The Biloxi Chamber will host "Uncorked" A red carpet extravaganza reminiscent of a real Hollywood premiere. The event takes place at the IP Casino Resort Spa and it's going to be one for the record books!
Don't forget to check us out on Facebook. See you in May!
Posted in Letter from the Editor on April 2, 2014 by Admin.


Founded in 1945, The Medical University of Gdansk is the largest medical academic institutions in northern Poland. It educates more than 5000 undergraduate and postgraduate students in four [of whom nearly 650 are in English-taught programmes] are studying in four faculties: Faculty of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Faculty of Pharmacy, and the Intercollegiate Faculty of Biotechnology of the University of Gdansk and the Medical University of Gdansk.
Aside from fulfilling its teaching and research roles, the Medical University is the founding body of four health care institutes, including two clinical hospitals: the Academic Clinical Center ヨ the MUG Hospital and the Academic Maritime and Tropical Medicine Center. Their key significance for the health care system is reflected by the number of hospitalized patients (almost 60,000), outpatient visits (over 250,000), surgery procedures (over 21,000, including about 1,500 open-heart surgeries) and laboratory tests (over 2 million a year).


Fat Cat Comics is at 278 Main Street in Johnson City, NY—practically across the street from the original Main Street store. Here's a map to the store.
Here is a list of items expected to be in the store after 3:30PM on Wednesday 08/29/2018. Most are new releases, but we also list additional copies of already released titles.


There are event spaces that are available for people to hire and they can pay in advance so that the space can start being prepared and modified to suit the needs of the specific event. The people responsible for planning an event to be successful need to do some market research on the best event venue that they can hire to accommodate the expected audience. Most of the event venues managed by this organization can suite the event that you are planning to host at a very affordable cost. The event venues that are provided here can accommodate many people at a go and leave space for movement. People need event space for use to host different functions and kinds of events. People who are planning for a music concert can try out the services being provided here, and they are going to love it. This is because the space is big and there are adequate facilities for hosting the event.
Event space available here can be modified to host things like music events, weddings and even corporate events. The size of the stage makes it suitable for hosting corporate events, and it is where the seniors stay as well as performing bands and artists. Any information about the event venues available in San Francisco can be read from this site. The information posted here is genuine such that it can be used to guide any individual who is looking for an event space to rent. Make sure that you click here for more information about the event space available here on a lease, and see how wonderful it is going to be to you.
There is plenty of room in these event venues. Some event venues can comfortably accommodate several thousands of people. This makes them a perfect place to hold things like music events and corporate events where large audiences are expected. The lighting systems on the platform are lively, and the stage is big such that it can accommodate many performers. There are some venues present here, and people can call their favorite performers and have them host their shows in these venues. There is plenty of room for everyone including on the open-air rooftop space. View all the images of these event venues posted here and judge if they are good.
Make arrangements on when you need to use an event space and contact the owners of the event venue to see if it is possible to make bookings for the venue on a particular day. It is very important to consider trying out these event venues, and they are going to give you the perfect accommodation that you need for your event. Depending on the facilities that the event requires, there are lighting and sound systems provided under the management of these venues.


The next instalment of the award winning Deus Ex series will be a mobile game. Deus Ex: The Fall will take place in 2027, a golden era for science and technology. It will be priced at $6.99/£4.99/€5.99 and expected to release this summer. Expect to see more about it next week from E3.
Blackout, the latest update to District 187 is live! With it comes two badass blondes, pink weapons, a new Death Match map, and functional costumes. And last but not least the new "In-game Gold" pistol. A Colt Anaconda, double-action revolver that when fired everyone knows it. You can check out the full list on the District 187 website.
Gala-Net and Gala Networks have become Webzen West and Webzen Dublin after they were acquired by Webzen in February. Both companies will be part of a new business strategy focusing on the global publishing business in North America, South America, and Europe.


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Fish, mist and jade
Nothing seems to be seriously ẃrong with me, because I did indeed sleep a lot Tuesday night (see this entry to read why I only slept three hours for the first two days of this week). Twelve hours, in fact, which is roughly twice as much as I usually sleep, but it was badly needed. During the day, we visited two places, first some sort of aboriginal fishing area, which was interesting, but not terribly so. I'm sure that the landscape would have been breathtaking if there would have been more water in the river, but as it was now, it wasn't that spectacular. Nice bridges and fresh mountain air still made the two hours worthwhile, though.
After lunch, the host dropped us off for a two hour hike to the top of a small mountain. The mist was pretty heavy, so there was no view to talk about, but walking through bamboo forests on a steep slop in fog still is something worth mentioning. The evening proceeded slowly from then on, with a new family arriving to our hotel, which meant some more Chinese for me and yet another (unsuccessful) tour to see the flying squirrel for my parents.
It felt a little sad to leave our host on Alishan; he was really nice and I got to talk to him pretty much during our drives to different places. The lodging was perhaps not the best I've encountered, but everything else was perfect. It was a nice mixture of guided tours and free time. Anyway, he dropped us off at a tourist centre in Yushan National Park (Yushan means Jade Mountain and is Taiwan's highest mountain, standing almost 4000 metres above sea level), where another driver would pick us up five hours later to take us to Sun Moon Lake.
Yushan was the best thing so far on our vacation. We hiked for a couple of hours and the landscape was absolutely stunning. We followed trails running along high mountain ridges with steep drops on both sides, walked over high passes, all under a clear blue sky and beaming sun. At almost three thousand metres, the air was cool and fresh, which clearly reminded us of the Alps and skiing. It is a particular feeling, this mixture of temperatures. I managed to burn myself pretty badly in the neck, but it's worth it anyway. Just take a look at these pictures, which are a fairly bad attempt at capturing the magnificance of Jade Mountain.
This English on this sign might be true, but it's pretty certain that that isn't what the writer intended it to mean. After some dictionary browsing, I think I've found the reason for this translation mistake. 階梯 means ladder or staircase in Chinese, but the first character might also mean "rank", which loosely translated perhaps could be "social class". Signs of this kind are abundant here, but that doesn't stop them from being entertaining.
In the afternoon, we were picked up to go to Sun Moon Lake. The trip was pretty strange, because the driver had a peculiar driving style. The first few kilometres down the mountain, he drove extremely slowly, almost like he was paid per minute and really wanted to exaggerate (we had agreed on a price beforehand, so this wasn't the case). Then, later, he suddenly decided to accelerate randomly only to slow down again. This change of speed had no apparent bearing on the actual outline of the road, sometimes making him crawl along a perfect straight section of the road, only to accelerate wildly in the next curve.. The trip was also somewhat complicated by the fact that I learnt that my future landlord hadn't received my money. This was resolved fairly smoothly and it seems like I'll still have somewhere to live when this vacation has come to an end. My stuff has also arrived in my new apartment, so it seems like I can relax for real now.
I'm writing this in the evening, after having had dinner in a nice restaurant overlooking the lake. We have only vague plans for tomorrow as yet; probably we will try to rent bikes and go around the lake, but since we have no real idea of where we are and what we want to do (the information centre was closed when we arrived), only time will tell. We're only going to stay here for two nights and will leave very early on Saturday in order to go to Taroko National Park on the east coast. I've managed to adjust my sleeping rhythm now, at least, so it means it's soon time to go to bed, even though it's only slightly after ten. See you tomorrow!
in Blog, In English, Taiwan | 1 comment
Tags: Alishan, Hiking, Jade Mountain, Photo, Vacation
Pingback from Snigel.nu - Olle Linge » Sun Moon Lake on 2009-01-23 at 23:48
The greatest of faults, I should say, is to be conscious of none.
- Thomas Carlyle

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Yahoo chairman defends CEO to shareholder's dismay
Business_Finance
Carol Bartz
Yahoo Inc.
Roy Bostock
By MICHAEL LIEDTKE - Associated Press - Thursday, June 23, 2011
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Yahoo Inc. Chairman Roy Bostock sought to defuse speculation about CEO Carol Bartz's job security at the Internet company's annual shareholders meeting Thursday, only to have it ignited again at the end of the session by an exasperated investor.
After Bostock opened the meeting with an endorsement of Bartz's performance, the unhappy investor ended it with a five-minute condemnation of Yahoo's CEO and the entire board of directors.
The investor identified himself as someone who personally owns some Yahoo stock and advises funds that own several million of the company's shares. The Associated Press couldn't verify his identify because Yahoo banned reporters from the meeting held at a Santa Clara hotel, telling the media to listen to a webcast of the event instead.
During his unflattering critique, the investor described Bartz as a "lame duck" who should be immediately bought out of a four-year contract that expires in January 2013. He also called upon Yahoo's board to consider a variety of dramatic steps, including breaking up or selling the company to lift the stock. Yahoo's shares have been lagging the rest of the market for so long that Bartz still hasn't hit any of the price targets set for her when she was hired nearly 2 1/2 years ago.
"It's time for a sense of urgency," the investor said.
Bartz thanked him for his opinion and then added, "That was certainly a downer." No other shareholder lambasted Bartz during the 75-minute meeting.
Shareholder backlashes contributed to the resignations of Yahoo's two previous CEOs, Terry Semel and company co-founder Jerry Yang. Semel stepped down in June 2007 a week after he came under attack at Yahoo's annual meeting. Yang stepped aside to make way for Bartz after months of ridicule for the way he handled a takeover bid from Microsoft Corp.
Before Thursday's question-and-answer period, Bartz defended the steps she has taken to streamline Yahoo's operations and focus the company on delivering more services that will keep its audience of more than 600 million people on its website for longer periods. Sounding a familiar theme of her tenure, Bartz also asked for patience.
"Companies don't' turn around just because someone wants them to turn around," she said. "They turn around through hard work."
In his opening remarks, Bostock made it clear he intends to give Bartz more time to finish what she started.
"This board is very supportive of Carol and this management team," Bostock said in his opening remarks. "We are confident that Yahoo is headed in the right direction."
Bartz, 62, has boosted Yahoo's earnings by cutting costs during her first 2 1/2 years as CEO, but so far hasn't been able to revive the company's revenue growth, even amid an upturn in Internet advertising that has enriched rivals Google Inc. and Facebook.
The financial lethargy has dragged down Yahoo's stock, which has been trading in a narrow range since Bartz's arrival, while the market values of many other Internet companies have been soaring.
Yahoo shares fell 14 cents to close Thursday at $15.08.
When she was hired in 2009, Bartz received 5 million stock options that won't start vesting until Yahoo's stock closes at $17.60 or higher for at least 20 consecutive trading days.
It looked like the shares might remain above that threshold until last month when Yahoo disclosed a surprising move that threatens to diminish the value of its 43 percent stake in the Alibaba Group, one of China's most promising Internet companies. The investment suddenly looked less golden after Yahoo announced Alibaba had spun off its payment service, Alipay, into a company controlled by its CEO, Jack Ma, without compensating Yahoo.
Yahoo's stock price has plunged nearly 20 percent since the May 10 disclosure of the Alipay spinoff.
Echoing remarks she made at a meeting with analysts a month ago, Bartz told shareholders Thursday that Yahoo is encouraged by the negotiations seeking compensation Yahoo for the loss of Alipay in its Alibaba investment.
Bartz didn't address unconfirmed media reports that Yahoo is interested in buying Hulu, a service that streams television shows on the Internet. Hulu, whose current owners include Walt Disney Co., News Corp. and Comcast Corp., has said it got an unsolicited buyout offer without identifying the bidder.
The investor who spoke out against Yahoo urged the company not to buy Hulu unless the deal meant that Hulu's CEO, Jason Kilar, would replace Bartz.
Bostock faced stinging criticism three years ago when he was just starting out as Yahoo's chairman and the company balked at a chance to sell itself to Microsoft for $47.5 billion, or $33 per share.
Most shareholders are still backing Bartz and Bostock. Based on a preliminary count announced Thursday, Yahoo said about 80 percent of shareholders favored their re-election to the board. About 90 percent favor the re-election of the remaining eight members of the board.
After the squandered Microsoft opportunity, only about 60 percent of shareholders backed Bostock's election to the board in 2008.


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Home Features The new MacBook Pro: What it means to you. And to Apple
The new MacBook Pro: What it means to you. And to Apple
By Deepak Karambelkar -
The new MacBook Pros. So good, we could not come up with a snarky caption.
Apple is now a phone company that also makes computers. The iPhone's share of the company's total revenue has climbed from 25 percent in the beginning of 2009, to 68 per cent in the first quarter of 2016. This 'Phones R Us' perception was further cemented by the fact that Apple's crown jewel, the MacBook Pro, had not been refreshed since May 2015, while its design language had remained unchanged for years.
But at the Apple Event held yesterday, all doubts about the MacBook's importance to Apple were pushed away, as we saw a swanky new lineup that goes way beyond a processor upgrade. Besides, Apple CEO Time Cook went to great lengths to emphasise that the MacBook Pro remains integral to Apple's future.
But we saw it coming!
Apple is infamous for being a secretive company that manages to keep details of upcoming products tightly under wraps, setting the stage for a 'big reveal' during a media event. But the company is slipping, and its secrets have been leaking — rumours about the new MBP swirled for months, and so it was a bit anti-climatic when they turned out to be mostly true!
Yes, the MBP's standout feature is the Touch Bar — an OLED touch strip that replaces the row traditionally occupied by the function keys. It is contextual and the content changes depending on which app you are running. An Adobe spokesperson stepped on stage to demo how the Touch Bar can be smartly used in PhotoShop, while the CEO of Algoriddim, which makes the popular Djay Pro app, regaled the audience with a spontaneous mix done using the Touch Bar. And as more developers get into the game, expect that touch strip to be put to good use in a growing list of apps.
But is it a must-have feature? Well, if your job relies on lot of shortcuts and repetitive tasks, you could speed things up with the Touch Bar. Even for casual browsing or media playback, you could use it to line up your favourite links or buttons. But we would rather call it a good to have feature, rather than a must have.
Apple perhaps recognises this, and it has also launched a 13" model without the Touch Bar, which is Dh2,000 cheaper.
Thin and mean
Incidentally, the thin-is-in brigade will be happy to hear that the new MBPs are significantly slimmer. Apple exec Phil Schiller did a side-by-side comparison and noted 13" MBP is 14.9mm thick, which makes it 17 per cent thinner and 23 per cent smaller in volume than the previous version.
Similarly, the 15" model sheds 20 per cent volume and 14 per cent thickness when compared to its predecessor. And yes, they are lighter, too.
Other significant changes include a fingerprint scanner embedded in the power button. This also allows for Apple Pay and fast switching of users — if your MBP is used by family members or coworkers, all they have to do is touch the power button and the MBP will automagically switch to their logged in session. The demo did look cool!
The trackpad too has been overhauled, and it is now bigger and better with Force Touch functionality included.
Meanwhile, the keyboard uses a second generation "butterfly" design — a common complaint about the 12" MacBook is that the keyboard is too shallow and it, well, sucks. Hopefully, the v2 on the MBP will result in a more enjoyable typing experience.
Elsewhere, the internals have upgraded the Intel's 6th gen processors, a sharper display, better speakers, a more robust thermal management system and battery that will last around 10 hours. You get four USB-C type Thunderbolt 3 ports, and interestingly, any of these can be used to power the MBP. The 15" version boasts of a quad-core Core i7, AMD Radeon Pro graphics and 16 GB of RAM, while the 13" one comes with either Core i5 or i7 processors, 8GB RAM, and an integrated Intel Iris GPU.
You get two colour options — silver and space grey. The 13" model sans the Touch Bar will set you back by Dh5,999, while the one with the Touch Bar will cost Dh7,199. Meanwhile, the 15" models start at Dh9,499.
Interestingly, while the local UAE pricing for the 13″ models is more or less on par with the US prices, there is a significant difference for the 15″ version – in the US, it starts at $1999 (Dh7342).
The supporting cast
While the MacBook was the hero of the event, Apple wheeled onstage a supporting cast that included a new TV app for Apple TV, iPhone and iPad. This makes watching TV simpler, by pulling content from multiple sources and syncing across devices.
Besides, Apple touched upon a LG 5K display designed specifically for the new MacBooks — it charges the computer when connected, and acts as the "ultimate docking station". Apple also talked about a new website, dedicated to teaching disabled users accessibility features in Apple products.
Previous articleGoogle's Alphabet Dh18bn richer with 20pc profit increase
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Deepak Karambelkar
Tech Specialist | "In technology, the learning never stops. And neither does the fun"
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Q: How can I fetch the number of pageviews per page on my site in the last 30 minutes with google analytics? I would like to add a "what other people are doing" section to my react website, which shows the currently most interesting sections of my website using  google analytics. This means I would need fetch the most popular pages every 30 minutes from google analytics from within my pages backend, presumably using the realtime api, because I know that the reporting of the reporting API can be up to 24 hours out of date.
But unfortunately, the realtime API seams to only be able to track users that are using the page currently, and there doesn't seam to be a way to distinguish which actual page there on.
Basically what I need is a way to figure out how many individual people (not just people refreshing over and over again) have visited a certain section of my page in the last 30 minutes. Google analytics seams to be the way to go but I'm open to any other solution, as long as it can be used from within the aws cloud.

A: What you need to remember is that the Google Analytics website also uses the Google Analytics API.  If something you want to see can be done on the website for the most part you can also do it with the api, with the exception of a few of the calculated metrics which can be a bit tricky to duplicate with the API.
The reporting of the Google analytics Reporting API takes between 24 - 48 hours to process your data until that time your data will not be completed processing so the numbers will not be correct.
The google analytics real-time api would be an option but the data is limited into how long it stays around as well is what dimensions and metrics you can actually view as they are only giving you access to what they are sure has completed processing.
An issue with both of these solutions would be the quota, every view on google analytics is only allowed to make 10k requests per day.  You will need to ensure that you stay within this so if you are only requesting data every thirty minutes around the clock you should be able to keep this to around 48 calls but its wroth noteing.
IMO Google analytics is not suited for this task you should keep a running count on your own website store it in the database and use that.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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La Mesita del Cuajari es una congregación del municipio de Sahuaripa ubicada en el este del estado mexicano de Sonora, en la zona baja de la Sierra Madre Occidental. Según los datos del Censo de Población y Vivienda realizado en 2010 por el Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía (INEGI), La Mesita del Cuajari tiene un total de 126 habitantes.

Véase también

 Municipio de Sahuaripa
 Anexo:Localidades de Sonora

Referencias

Localidades del estado de Sonora

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


The purpose of this study was to monitor the presence of Cryptosporidium spp. and Giardia duodenalis in a water treatment plant (WTP) using settling sludge and backwash water (BW) samples in previous and post the deflocculation of polyaluminium chloride (PAC) flacks. Eleven collections were performed. BW and settling sludge (SSF) were concentrated by calcium carbonate flocculation, and another aliquot of settling sludge (SSC) by centrifugation. The samples were divided as follows: Group A, containing 33 samples without degradation of PAC flakes, and Group B, with degradation by alkalinization with 10 M NaOH. Sample DNA was extracted with a commercial kit, and nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to detect Cryptosporidium and G. duodenalis. All samples from Group A were negative for Cryptosporidium spp., and 6.1% (2/33) were positive for G. duodenalis in SSC samples. While the absence of Cryptosporidium may be due to a low contamination level of the water resource, the presence of G. duodenalis indicates contamination of the raw water. The detection of G. duodenalis in SSC samples indicates that this detection method was the most effective. The 33 samples from Group B were negative for both protozoa, probably due to the presence of aluminium and humic substances.


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Icelandic producer Olafur Breidfjord has enjoyed a stop-start career as Ilo, delivering a well-regarded debut album in 2001 before disappearing from view for 15 years. Happily, he's been on fire since returning to action in 2016 and here follows up fine outings on Rebirth and Foto with a fresh EP for Lagaffe Tales. A-side "Take You To Love" is something of an epic, with Breidfjord working a deliciously deep and woozy, sub-bass heavy groove for six minutes before beefing up the beats, throwing his hands in the air and dancing maniacally towards a breathless climax. Astonishingly, flipside "Miracles" is even longer, with the talented Icelander stretching out a fluttering, dreamy, string-drenched deep house workout over 14 mesmerizing minutes.


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Guest Author: Carla Capshaw
We love debut authors on Unusual Historicals, so we're especially pleased to welcome Carla Capshaw as she celebrates the release of THE GLADIATOR!
A bloody past...and a dangerous future...
He won his fame--and his freedom--in the gory pits of the arena. Yet the greatest challenge for legendary gladiator Caros Viriathos come to him through a slave. His slave, the beautiful and mysterious Pelonia Valeria. Her secret brings danger to his houseshold but offers Caros a love like he's never known...
Should anyone learn she's a Christian, Pleonia will be executed. Her faith threatens not only herself, but her master. Can she convince a man who found fame through unforgiving brutality to show mercy? And when she's ultimately given the choice, will Pelonia choose freedom or the love of a gladiator?
THE GLADIATOR is your debut novel. How long have you been writing and why did you choose the Roman time period?
I've been writing historical romances for about seven years. I sold THE GLADIATOR to Steeple Hill's Love Inspired Historical line two years ago. I chose ancient Rome because the people and place fascinate me. As much research as I do, I always find out more about the Romans that amazes me.
What other unusual settings have you written about?
My next novel, THE DUKE'S REDEMPTION, is out next month. It's set during the last days of the American Revolution in Charleston, South Carolina. My heroine is a Patriot spy and the hero is a dark and mysterious English duke.
What do you enjoy most about being a writer?
I love learning about unusual settings and history. I strive to create characters who seem like real people. That's my main goal anyway since they seem so real to me while I'm writing them. I also really enjoy traveling to the places I write about. I went to Italy for three weeks while researching THE GLADIATOR and I've visited Charleston several times to make THE DUKE'S REDEMPTION as authentic as possible.
Do you find certain themes making recurring appearances in your stories?
Yes, my stories always have the theme of forgiveness in them. Mostly because forgiveness is what makes the world go round, in my opinion. Without it, we'd all be lost and no one could love each other fully. At the same time, forgiving someone is often the hardest thing to do.
Please tell us about your current project.
It's a sequel to THE GLADIATOR called THE PROTECTOR, scheduled for release in July 2010. It's about a rich young widow named Adiona whose life of privilege hides a secret and pain-filled past, and Quintus, a Christian who's lost everything of value and been sentenced to die for his faith. When a threat is made on Adiona's life, Quintus becomes Adiona's protector in order to earn his freedom. Hoping to have a Christian wife someday, Quintus thinks Adiona is the exact opposite of the kind of woman God would want him to have, but he soon learns she's the greatest gift God will ever give him.
Thank you, Carla, for visiting with us! Remember to leave a comment to be put in the draw for a signed copy of THE GLADIATOR. Carla would like to know: What is your favorite historical time period for a romance? When was the last time you read a new book set in this era? We'll be curious to hear your feedback!
I'll draw a winner at random next Sunday. Void where prohibited. Good luck!
Labels: ancient Rome, Carla Capshaw, Christian, Guest Blog, The Duke's Redemption, The Gladiator


A survey and whitepaper sponsored by HSS, the national supplier of tool and equipment hire, in association with the Facilities Management Association (FMA), has discovered that almost one third of Facilities Managers are spending almost a day a week on the management of their equipment. Launched today, the whitepaper based on the survey results, written by leading FM consultant and journalist, Martin Pickard, known to many as "The FM Guru" can be viewed online at www.hss.com/outsource.
• almost 30% of managers spent between 10% – 20% of their time on equipment matters.
• the economic environment is impacting on capital decisions with more than half of the survey respondents admitting to keeping kit beyond its useful life, with a quarter admitting losing productivity as a result of the age of their kit.
Other issues raised from this "groundbreaking" survey include 31.6% of respondents being worried about prosecution for non-compliance with health and safety legislation and a quarter reported that they could not prove their compliance with regulations. In terms of training, 90% reported their operatives had been trained to use the equipment but only 70% thought they could prove it through paperwork.
It is apparent from the whitepaper that for equipment outsourcers to be successful they have to demonstrate the ability to add value through specialist knowledge and technical innovation. Martin Pickard adds that solution driven commercial products are increasingly required by equipment users and that the most prudent facilities managers are those engaging successfully with leading equipment providers to develop new strategies in support of corporate objectives.
HSS works with many facilities management companies to deliver bespoke managed equipment plans through its "Outsource" service. HSS Outsource allows FMs to benefit from a move from fixed to variable costs, the minimisation of capital investment, equipment innovation and guaranteed compliance.
The FM Whitepaper contains a wealth of information gained from the survey divided into five sections: Industry Outlook, Management of Equipment, Equipment Innovation and Replacement, Compliance and Training. You can view the complete white paper, Facilities management and facilities equipment, written by Martin Pickard (FBIFM) on the HSS website at www.hss.com/outsource or click here.


SKU: ER7804W44JJ. Categories: Gabriel & Co., Engagement Rings.
A diamond encrusted criss-cross band leads into a bedazzling diamond halo center stone, in this 14K white gold engagement ring. Setting only, center stone not included. Customize your center stone how ever you'd like.


text:
Autonomy, Rights and Children with Special Educational Needs: Understanding Capacity across Contexts
Sheila Riddell
Moray House School of Education and Sport
Institute for Education, Community & Society
Centre for Research in Education Inclusion and Diversity (CREID)
This books examines the increased prominence of children's rights in education to ask whether we are witnessing a paradigm shift within the education system. The author uses a wide range of case studies from Scotland and England to examine the extent to which children and young people with Special Educational Needs/ Additional Support Needs are in practice able to realise their new rights of participation and redress. In addition, the book examines the ways in which the child's capacity to make independent decisions is understood and acted upon in different contexts, and the factors which ultimately promote or inhibit the rights of young people and children with SEN/ ASN. The author asks whether, in a context of tight budgets and often limited support, this new emphasis on children's rights can be seen as 'window-dressing' and a distraction from reductions in support for social welfare.
educational rights
education and autonomy
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special educational needs Social Sciences 100%
autonomy Social Sciences 62%
Childrens rights Social Sciences 57%
children's rights Social Sciences 34%
social welfare Social Sciences 28%
education system Social Sciences 24%
budget Social Sciences 23%
paradigm Social Sciences 19%
Riddell, S. (2020). Autonomy, Rights and Children with Special Educational Needs: Understanding Capacity across Contexts. Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-55825-3
Riddell, Sheila. / Autonomy, Rights and Children with Special Educational Needs : Understanding Capacity across Contexts. Palgrave Macmillan, 2020. 252 p.
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On the 31st October we will be celebrating 'Orange and Black' day at Trinity Church Hall.
All our staff will be dressing up and we invite those children who normally attend on a Monday to join in too.
They will be doing activities and party games throughout the day, followed by a special 'Orange and Black' feast.
Make sure you look at the blog to catch up on the activities from the day.


Brevan Howard's billionaire co-founder Alan Howard has returned to London after seven years in Geneva, resurfacing in the City just as it fights to retain its crown as Europe's financial centre post-Brexit.
One of Britain's wealthiest fund managers, Mr Howard moved to Switzerland in 2010 - a time when many in the City were lured over by the low tax environment - and stayed there until this past weekend.
Although his decision to gravitate back to the UK is timely, a source said his move away from Switzerland was for personal reasons and does not indicate further changes or any particular refocus on London.


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MetaphysicalAwakening.com is proud to present a small gallery of paintings by Prague-based artist Matěj Prášek.
"I was born in the north of Czech Republic, in a city called Teplice. I moved around Czech a lot, but now I've been living in Prague for six years. I studied at an art school in Prague, but I quit and said to myself I'm gonna be an artist on my own.
I was into metaphysical things from a young age. When I was seven or eight years old I started thinking about what is gonna happen to me when I and everybody else die. I felt that I was forced to be in body. When I found Jay on YouTube, his information really resonated with me. That was how I found about my solar plexus power. He had answers and I just felt like YES. I remember how I felt when I was young and I don't feel the same way now. I feel happy now.
I love to mix my art with metaphysical abilities and Ets were always on my mind. I started doing portraits just going by how I felt 4 years ago and from that point on I've never stopped. Now, I can see them more and feel their presence in my room too. So the only thing I need is music and get in tune with myself, then I just paint.


"Although his son, the President of the company, had initiated the corporate identity program, the Chairman and retired founder, Kazuo Tashima, remained skeptical of such fancy new ways.
Excerpted from page 348 of the superb book Saul Bass: A Life in Film & Design, published by Laurence King.
The trademark dot on Dunhill pipes, photo credit PipesMagazine.
The Minolta corporate identity applied.
Minolta merged with Konica in 2003 to form Konica Minolta.
Saul shared a little advice for design students in this video (embedded below).
From the archives: Saul Bass logos: then and now.
What a fantastic anecdote about the Minolta logo!
It is easy to forget that we need to "sell" designs not just "present" them — this is a great example of that.
I suppose the "Saul Bass" brand name helped him persuade this particular client.
Great anecdote and a nice reminder of why I need to order that book!
Sheaffer (writing instruments) has a magic dot as well. Usually on or above the clip. They've used it since their inception in 1913.
Thanks for using my picture in this article, I am a Minolta collector.
Ever since I started watching Mad Men, I've been very interested in the unorthodox ways of how designers can pitch to their clients and this is a great example.
VDM, or you could replace the pipe with the Sheaffer pen Dina mentioned, or Kai's shout for a Leica camera.
Mad Men's definitely a favourite series, Jamie. Looking forward to season five.
Great post. As I've gained more confidence and experience in my work, it's becoming easier to "sell" my ideas. Sometimes you just have to move on and do what the client asks, but I've been surprised over the last couple of years how many clients will listen to you and allow you to make the best decision for them when they see your passion. Saul was a master at finding that right angle to sell at.
Converting the unbelievers. That's salesmanship 101. I like that.
This is the sort of advice I wish more designers would bring to their day to day dealing with clients in a more agressive manner. If every single one of us did that, clients wouldn't behave so badly towards the design profession.
Too bad Minolta wasn't able to make the switch to digital. It was bought out by Sony and the line discontinued. At least the brand will live on as a fundamental design/sales lesson and part of Saul Bass' legendary portfolio of work.
Inspirational story. I think the fact that the "magic dot" was well thought through and justified by the symmetrical layout, makes it so impressive. It shows that if there's a reason behind your design elements, no matter how simple, your client will (eventually) understand your proposal.
It goes back to the fact stories sell.
Someone could have created a similar logo by accident, but it all comes down to the principle that people like knowing more about what they're buying into. Especially if it's something new and original. They like the security of knowing something hasn't just been thrown together and it has purpose or stands for something.


text:
Mustard Seed Ministries' new executive director busy getting to know St. Lucie County
Wendy Dwyer
Special to TCPalm
Serving the community is nothing new for Greg Smith.
The new executive director of Mustard Seed Ministries has a long history of community service, nonprofit management and finding a way to connect individuals in need to the appropriate resources to help them move forward.
A native of Louisiana and member of the Cherokee Nation, Smith came to St. Lucie County by way of Brevard County, where he lived and worked for more than 30 years in health care and health services management.
His commitment to addressing the psychosocial aspects of health and well-being and his love for learning ignited his interest in the position in St. Lucie County working with Mustard Seed's grassroots, community-based model of connecting resources and providing more than a bandage during an individual or family's time of crisis.
An Army veteran with two master's degrees and a member and Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives, Smith's background in business development and health services led him to create a nonprofit organization called Health, Education and Lifestyle Partnership, also known as HELP, based in Cape Canaveral.
RELATED STORY: Tea & Fashion Show raises money for Mustard Seed Ministries
HELP's mission to identify and address health, psychosocial, educational and economic needs of the community revolve around collaboration with social service, religious, government, business and educational organizations in the community dovetails perfectly with the mission of Mustard Seed Ministries, which is "to coordinate the energies of the Christian churches of St. Lucie County to meet the spiritual and material needs of the whole person and to make referrals to all available relief agencies in our community to take care of those in need."
With his background predominantly in healthcare and business development, Smith saw the opening at Mustard Seed as an opportunity to learn about another piece of the community health and well-being puzzle and how a grassroots community organization addresses the needs of its members holistically.
"Nobody ever wants to be in a position of accepting assistance," said Smith. "Yet each of us needs one another to thrive in this world. Some of the hardest individuals to help are the ones who have been doing well on their own until something comes along that simply overwhelms them. They are looking for a resource that can help them recover and move on, not take over or make them feel incapable or less than. I was intrigued when I learned of this mighty local organization in St. Lucie County, which has learned to collaborate efficiently and with care for more than 30 years."
RELATED STORY: Mustard Seed Ministries recognizes volunteers
For Smith, as well as for the hundreds of volunteers, supporters and community members who have helped keep Mustard Seed going for more than three decades, seeing the actual good being accomplished is motivation to continue every single day.
"Often, I see someone coming into the building looking like he doesn't have a friend in the world and has a heavy burden on his heart," said Smith. "When I see that person walk out of the building with a smile on his face, a little hope in his eyes, and that walk that tells me he feels good about himself – well, then I know what we're doing here is living the Gospel and allowing our actions to speak louder than our words. That's when I know that we're all where we're meant to be at that moment, doing what we're meant to be doing. And that's the best feeling in the world."
In the coming months, Smith expects to learn more about the 17 programs and services available to individuals and families in St. Lucie County through Mustard Seed, and he's looking forward to meeting and collaborating with other agencies, organizations, and individuals in St. Lucie County.
He says he's already had the opportunity to learn so much about the strength and personality of the community through events like the recent National Association of Letter Carriers' Food Drive, which Mustard Seed helped coordinate and which brought in approximately 160,000 pounds of food to be distributed for free to a number of small local emergency food pantries in St. Lucie County.
And he's looking forward to participating in the annual Community Thanksgiving Feast and getting to know the faces behind the many nonprofit and service organizations in the community.
The Fort Pierce building that houses Mustard Seed's largest thrift shop, food pantry, social services and administrative offices was recently closed for a couple of weeks to accommodate repairs and remodeling from last year's tropical storm season. However, in its tradition of faithful community service, its Port St. Lucie location continued to provide these services.
Smith and the Mustard Seed family are excited at the prospect of serving the community from a newly remodeled building. If you'd like a chance to meet Smith and see the updated community service center, contact him at Mustard Seed's main office at 772-465-6021 to arrange a meeting.


A recent NY Times article, Digital Culture, Meet Analog Fever discusses the recent fascination with more retro analog devices and media, in particular vinyl records. There is an ongoing dialog on the gear forums about the superior of one format or the other, which is really not the point. Vinyl, as an example, is a trend that is the result of a new generation discovering the sound and superior physicality of a record album. For us boomers that is not news, but one may ask what is behind this resurgence? Vinyl manufacturing plants, like United Record Pressing in Nashville, which I have visited twice, are running 24 x 7 these days.
So is analog vinyl really superior to digital music files? In the case of mp3's the compressed audio format degrades audio fidelity to a degree, although not many users can tell the difference between a compressed and lossless file format. Vinyl requires some roll-off of the low end frequencies to avoid the needle jumping out of the groove on loud passages. What remains is somewhat band limited but faithful to the frequencies in a way that digital can come very close to and in many ways exceeds. So why do some people prefer vinyl?
To many it sounds better. If you grew up with it you know THAT sound, and prefer it over the exacting and sometimes overly clinical digital recordings.
If you did not grow up with it, its a new thing that offers a tangible product, something you can show off if you are in a band. And it sounds better than MP3's played through ear-buds.
There is more room for liner notes and info about the band or recording that you can typically get onto a CD jacket.
LP's in particular store fewer tracks than CD's, typically no more than about 40 minutes total. CD's can get up to 70+ minutes.
Requires an old school stereo system and turntable with a RIAA balanced input, or a turntable with RIAA built in.
Disc Cutter at Welcome to 1979 studio in Nashville.
"RIAA equalization is a form of pre-emphasis on recording and de-emphasis on playback. A recording is made with the low frequencies reduced and the high frequencies boosted, and on playback the opposite occurs. The net result is a flat frequency response, but with attenuation of high frequency noise such as hiss and clicks that arise from the recording medium. Reducing the low frequencies also limits the excursions the cutter needs to make when cutting a groove. Groove width is thus reduced, allowing more grooves to fit into a given surface area, permitting longer recording times. This also reduces physical stresses on the stylus which might otherwise cause distortion or groove damage during playback.
There is an even more "trendy" approach of doing studio recording direct to vinyl, without any digital intervention. That requires taking the stereo mix from the mixer or console, directly to a vinyl cutting machine, in real time. Each master disc costs around $150.00, versus $< $1.00 for a CD. The band has to play perfectly, and there are no re-takes or editing. I would call this "extreme recording", not for the faint of heart or the lesser of chops.
So really the issue comes down not vinyl versus CD, as each has their pros and cons. Unless you really want to spend the extra money, you will stop at the CD level, maybe with some MP3's thrown in for your web site.
Really high quality microphones recording into high quality preamps and other outboard gear such as compressors and EQ's. Tube preamps are often preferred here, depending on the sound source, voice timbre, etc. The idea here is to capture it in the best analog sound up front.
High quality analog to digital conversion going into the DAW (Digital Audio Workstation, AKA the computer), so that the sound is not degraded. This is not hard to do these days as the cost of A-D conversion has come down significantly. Some would argue that typical computer sound cards such as the Sound Blaster are sufficient, but I disagree mostly because they are very limited in what they offer for inputs, in addition to having inferior clocking which can influence the sound to a degree.
Mixing tracks via an outboard analog "mix bus" or chain of, again, high quality tube or solid state EQ's and compressors before doing one more D-A back into the master stereo track. This involves both analog "summing" of the individual digital tracks using a console or some other outboard device that takes however many tracks are in the recording and sums them down electrically to a stereo master track. Some engineers would say that staying ITB (In the Box, i.e. no round trip to the analog domain during mixing) is better. It really depends on how you work, but I prefer the outboard mixing approach before applying any plugins ITB, if at all. I just prefer what my analog outboard gear brings to the mixing process, and it's often easier and more consistent than using plugins (albeit more expensive initially).
If the final product will be produced on CD we will master using 24 bit files for headroom. For CD we will need the master to be at the Red Book standard 44.1 KHz sample rate, dithered down to 16 bits as the last step. Often engineers will mix and make the analog round trip at high sample rates such as 96.1 KHz and then down-sample for CD. This requires a very fast computer and lots of disk space, but fortunately that is much easier to obtain these days.
If the final product will be on vinyl, an extra mastering step is required to attenuate the extreme highs and lows, as needed, before sending the master disk to the cutting engineer. This takes much skill, and there is a small but growing cadre of young, professional vinyl mastering engineers that are servicing the trendy LP market.
So the take away is, not all digital is created equal! Adding a bit of analog spice makes the final dish taste better, to mix my metaphors (pun intended).
I took a long morning walk with Willie (Little Red Dog, avid watcher of TV commercials with animals) listening again to my latest creation, Rivers of the Sky, through my BOSE noise cancelling headphones. I know you have to be careful when walking near streets with these kinds of headphones, so I headed for the High Line Canal that borders our subdivision. While technically off limits, everyone walks and rides their bikes along this stretch of water, one that strives to make Grand Junction the Venice of Colorado. So other than the occasional "other dog on leash" to deal with, I could focus on the details of these recordings.
And of course I notice the little flaws, the low frequency imbalance here, the slight off beat keyboard hit there. When I mix I try to catch every little thing, and I think I get most of it the way I want, but there is always more to do. When is enough enough? I guess that depends on what you think too. If you have a copy of the CD Rivers of the Sky, drop me a line via my contact form and let me know what you think.
I am already at work on my next collection, Hi Fiddility, so enough about the past, let's get on with making more music!
I get asked a lot about the term "barn jazz". Just ran across these notes from 7/16/2003, about the time of my first concert at Oracle State Park in Oracle, AZ for the Barn Jazz Vol. I CD release.
What is it about Oracle and the High Desert that leads us there?
Barn Jazz – The theme song arising out of the idea music in the transition zone, blending elements of blue grass, folk, fiddle jazz, and classical-new age styles, a messy kind of melding, but then cats are not that picky about these things.
Fire on the Ridge – (Oracle Hill Fire) – the cat dreams of a vast holocaust of fire causing animals and insects to evacuate their habitat, much coming and going, disturbance, but ultimately a once familiar part of nature and so not a nightmare.
So the animals are seeking safe havens.
Don't Tread on Me – imagine a caterpillar undulating along in the garden, underfoot, trying his best to get to the Barnagle, along with other bugs and critters, a great movement is afoot, also snakes undulating, but the other implication is the flag of Vermont during the American Rev, and the motto.
March of the Yuccas – actually has some words, unspoken: "I'm a Yucca, I'm a Yucca, I'm a Yucca, not a tree. I stand upon the mighty desert, king of all that I foresee." (but cannot foresee man – the bulldozer). Also marching to get to the Barnagle.
The Barnagle – this is focal point, insect hoe down. I had the image of a spider with 8 batons conducting a rag-tag group of insects and arachnids playing on their web-strings, grass-hoppers blowing on blades of grass making horn sounds, small mammals blowing thru flower-bell trumpets, etc. The deal is that these musicians are somewhat unruly and competing at first, but eventually falls together at the end. This all takes place after midnight of the summer solstice full moon shining in the broken window glass of the barn/shed. Here is the image as captured beautifully and faithfully by Oracle artist, Kate Horton.
Contours – this is a long, new agey piece that represents the time just before dawn as the outlines of the mountains and hills become apparent, the barnagle is over and everyone is dispersing, the cat is stirring, but not yet awake.
Sweet Annie – The cat dreams of romping after the field mice, pocket gophers, lizards etc who are leaving the Barnagle, basically just running and leaping and having fun but still asleep.
Sweet Annie's Dream – the awakening and realization that all of this was just her dream, or was it?
NB: "Sweet Annie" was Linda Leigh's cat. Linda was one of the original Biospherians. Annie was indeed a sweet, gentle, if not somewhat finicky creature.
Also the original Barn Jazz Vol. 1 is out-of-print. I have a few copies remaining in my archive available for an exorbitant price. Contact me if interested.
Yes you can teach an old dog new "tracks". These days many if not most independent engineers and producers are self taught. We learn to mix by accident, mostly. We buy exotic gear, trendy plugins for our DAW's ("Digital Audio Workstations"), haunt the music and gear forums looking for tips and tricks.
20 or 30 years ago an aspiring audio engineer interned for a local music studio, making coffee, cleaning toilets, and maybe after a few months got to mount tape, set up mics, or push a few faders on the console. Eventually that (young) person was asked to record an entire session, often with a critical senior engineer watching and listening. If you did a good job you got to work with major talent, maybe even get some credits on an album.
Well those days are mostly gone. Yes it still happens but you need to be willing to put in the time for free or low pay and earn your bones. Woof! Not my style.
So how does an old dog continue to hone his chops? One way is through on-line audio education. Another is through workshops and recording "boot camps". I have done both. So far the most rigorous and rewarding school has been the Audio Master Class courses offered by David Mellor (Oxford School of Audio) out of Thame, England. I have completed the professional courses in Mixing and Equalization, and am currently working through the course on Compression.
These are certificate-track courses that take a minimum of 6 months to complete. You download professionally recorded tracks with the assignment to make them sound a certain way. One recent assignment in the EQ class was to remove hum, buzz, and broadband noise using just EQ filters (no fancy noise removal plugins allowed). This is the hard way, but it is a great learning experience.
So far I am doing quite well, and will continue taking these "adult education" courses because I am serious about improving my skills. Next up will be courses in reverb and mastering. Of course, I already "knew" how to apply EQ, compression, and reverb, but there is always more to learn, often those unexpected things you did not know you did not know.
The feedback I get from Mr. Mellor is the next best thing to "being there" in the role of intern. Highly recommended, if you are interested check out www.audiomasterclass.com.
There was an interesting post on Gearslutz.com, my favorite hangout for pro audio information (and misinformation, you have to be very selective). Lately there has been much analysis (and complaining) about the state of the music industry. Lack of recording opportunities, the shift from physical media to streaming music aggregators like Pandora, Spotify, Google Play, etc.
If you look at the trends in music sales for the past 40 years, there is an interesting pattern.
8-Tracks cassettes, vinyl, 2-track cassette tapes, CD's, all seem to follow a pattern similar to ocean waves. Initial acceptance, peak, and slow decline. Unfortunately this graph, by Michael DeGusta with data from the RIAA, does not show the data up to present. However we can speculate with some confidence. Digital media started out with a rapid acceptance during the Napster and file "sharing" (re: stealing) years, then declined somewhat as the majors cracked down. However the shift from downloads to streaming services has started in earnest.
I expect that wave to continue peaking for the foreseeable future, especially as bandwidth increases and higher quality audio is made available (e.g. tidalhifi.com). The question is how high and how long will the wave be?
What does this mean for the independent musician? Are physical media dead entirely? I don't think so. Vinyl is making a come back in a small way (more like a secondary wave) as people are demanding more physical contact and ownership of their music. Streaming services are convenient and will be around for a long time, but there will always be a demand for something you can put in your hand. The real question is this: who is in control of your music selection, and can you count on having your favorites around in 20 years? I personally do not trust iTunes to be my only music source for retaining control of my digital tracks.
We no longer consume music just for listening sessions like my generation did back in the 60's and 70's. It is more likely background for work, parties, or used for TV and film cues and sound tracks. Touring bands still sell CD's but just as likely will have download cards for mp3's.
Will we see a big resurgence of the music album as art for its own sake? Not until we can package digital media and associate images and liner notes with it. In the meantime independent small-time producers like Barn Jazz will continue to labor in the eddies of the ocean doing work the way we want to do it.
So what is the next wave? Maybe 3-D holographic surround sound with direct implants to our neurons? While we are waiting for the musical industrial complex to shake out, I think I will just go put an album onto my high quality turntable, flip on my 1973 Marantz receiver, and chill.
MELODIOUS SOUND FROM FUNGUS? The sound of a Stradivarius violin is the time-tested standard of excellence. The warm, mellow tones of the violins made during the late 17th and early 18th centuries by Antonio Stradivari were a combination of extraordinary craftsmanship and created in his workshop in Cremona from different types of wood and, possibly, different chemical treatments. Today, Dr. Francis Schwarze of the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology is seeking to equal the sound of the Stradivarius by using a fungal treatment in order to make what he calls "mycowood." Knowing that sound travels faster through healthy wood, which is stiff and dense, than it does through soft wood that results from a fungal attack, Dr. Schwarze began applying two types of fungus to Norway spruce, used for the instrument's body, and to sycamore, for the back, ribs and neck, to make his violins. The unusual thing about the fungi that Dr. Schwarze used is they thin the cell walls of wood without destroying them. After the fungi has done their job, he treats the planks with a gas that kills the infection. The result is a mycowood instrument that a panel of experts thought was a Stradivarius.
Does that mean if I take my old fiddle and give it a fungal treatment, will it sound like a Strad? Somehow I doubt it. Besides, its a FIDDLE!
I had nothing else better to do the other day so I decided that we need a version of the MD's Hippocratic Oath for recording engineers. Why not? So I borrowed the language from a modern version of the MD's oath from here.
I swear to fulfill, to the best of my ability and judgment, this covenant: I will respect the hard-won scientific gains of those audio engineers in whose steps I walk, and gladly share such knowledge as is mine with those newbies who are to follow.I will apply, for the benefit of the often crappy mixes I receive, all measures [that] are required, avoiding those twin traps of over-compression and therapeutic auto-tunism.I will remember that there is art to recording as well as science, and that warmth, tape saturation, and understanding of the groove may outweigh Protool's knife or the latest plugin.
I will not be ashamed to say "I know not," nor will I fail to call in my colleagues when the skills of another are needed in fixing it in mix.
I will respect the privacy of my clients, for their often crappy mixes are not disclosed to me that the world may know. Most especially must I tread with care in matters of editing and overdubs. If it is given me to re-record a part, all thanks. But it may also be within my power to delete a track; this awesome responsibility must be faced with great humbleness and awareness of my own musical biases. Above all, I must not play at God [substitute one of the following: Bruce Swedien, Bob Katz, George Massenburg, Bob Ludwig, (fill in blank)].
I will remember that I do not mix wave forms, but a song in need of my help, whose suckiness may affect the musician's family and economic stability. My responsibility includes these related problems, if I am to care adequately for the music industry.
I will prevent over-compression whenever I can, for dynamic range is preferable to loudness.
I will remember that I remain a member of the Audio Engineering Society [or substitute your own favorite here], with special obligations to all my fellow engineers, those of sound of mind and body as well as the hearing impaired.
If I do not violate this oath, may I enjoy life and art, respected while I live and remembered with affection thereafter. May I always act so as to preserve the finest traditions of my calling and may I long experience the joy of listening to the records of those who seek my help.
So what's this new age studio business anyway?
Without trying to sound too pompous or airy-fairy about it, we have entered a new age in many different ways, but not the least in how music is produced and consumed. Since the advent of and widespread use of microcomputer technology, the first decade of the 21st century has seen a phenomenal growth in amateur and professional music-making. It seems like everyone who is a musician of any stripe has a "studio", or knows someone who does. I am no exception here.
I got started recording in 2002 with a (not too inexpensive) M-Audio Delta 66 audio interface and a small Behringer (no comments please!) mixer, and SONAR 2.0, a full featured DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) software product. This was soon followed by a few cheap Chinese-made mics, and a keyboard for generating synthesized sounds (Alesis QA 6.2, still a favorite), and additional software for "mastering" my own mixes.
Let me add that my only recording experience prior to that was in several Tucson studios as a performer on local band CD projects, in the 1990's. That, and a compilation tape made for an art project at Stanford in 1968, using an old Ampex reel-to-reel with sound-on-sound capabilities (how i wish I had kept it!). And I remember a tiny, old reel voice recorder that my folks got me when I was a child, and wondering why my voice sounded so strange (we all feel that way the first time).
So recording my own musical ideas was like stepping off a chasm, not knowing where I would end up. The result was my first solo CD, Barn Jazz, Vol. I, released in August 2003. I sold several hundred copies and that was it. I was hooked.
I actually started a blog at the insistence of my good wife and partner in music, Lynn. I plan to use this to write about my experiences in performing and recording music, and to hopefully provide some interesting insights into the making of recorded music in this new age of the recording industry. This new age has been made possible by access to recording technology by the masses, for better or for worse.


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Richard Writhen's "The Angel of the Grave"
My friend Richard is releasing his newest work today, titled "The Angel of the Grave."
Here's a brief description excerpt for your perusal. Give Richard some business, and don't forget to give him a review!
The Angel of the Grave (The Celestial Ways Saga Book 0)
BECOME THE FIRE.
An intelligent little girl encounters a talented witch at the local fair and finds out that it's all in the family.
Interconnected by dreams, two young orphans embark on the long path to find a bloody revenge.
A wealthy lady travels hundreds of miles to become a baroness, but when she consults a diviner, she finds out that she may be in way over her head.
An excerpt from The Lady Waits (Chapter Three)
Shortly after dawn, the expensive clipper effortlessly cleaved its way through the frothing green waters that lay off of the coast of Corsc. It approached one of the many gray wooden quays there, and its crew began to take down the sails. The ship had been painstakingly crafted by the greatest artisans that the continent of Mestes could offer. Its thick hull was fashioned from a black pine-wood, which had been sanded and then sealed with a mixture of resins. Its hull was painted; some of the segments were a midnight blue in color, and others an olive green. It was almost fifty feet in total length, featuring a towering center mast and three billowing white sails, each painstakingly embroidered with long red lines.
Once it had been secured at the dock, it was almost immediately boarded and searched by several representatives of the Hruutian Guard. That force had been stationed there on the coast in virtual perpetuity, in order to prevent a profusion of illegal substances that had been smuggled into Galgran from neighboring countries. It only took a few minutes for the black-booted soldiers to find that all of the vessel's papers were in order; then, its passengers were allowed to disembark, filing down the gangway in a steady stream.
One of the very last people to step off the ship, Marissa Seftrey was a fresh-faced young woman of about twenty-one years of age. She had a folded parasol under one of her arms. She was dressed in a light pink dress, with a bonnet to match, her chestnut brown hair falling in cascades from under it. A wide pink bow tried vainly to hold everything in place. Marissa was originally from Caledavor, one of the countries on Mestes, the continent that lay to the south of the Watley Peninsula. She had brought some of her homeland's artwork with her on the voyage. She was followed closely by a middle-aged woman with somewhat darker brown hair, who was pulling a wheeled chest. This was her maidservant, Neticia de Mont Noir. The two were followed in turn by three male servants of varying ages, who had been hired on the ship, to carry the rest of their luggage.
The procession proceeded to the end of the quay, then stepped onto the continent of Holrud for the first time. Marissa stopped them all for just a moment, and surveyed the panoramic view of the southern coast that greeted them there. Off in the distance, she could see hills and small villages. Even further, beyond them, there was a great walled city; it was imposing in its size, with a river running through its north-west corner. The minutes went by, as they stood there. Quickly becoming bored, Marissa began to tap one of her leather-shod feet on the cobbled dirt of the road.
She was waiting for someone, her eyes scanning to and fro, up and down the street. She had been corresponding through the mail with a baron of great nobility; her voyage across the sea had been planned for many months. She had come almost due northward from her home city of Bethel in Caledavor, Mestes, and was headed for the estate of Westmere. It was located in the borough of Wallins, in southern Malentan, on Watley Peninsula. She had come all this way to be the baron's blushing bride. The marriage that had been completely arranged for her by her mother, as her father had passed away when Marissa was still a teenager. She had been informed in the baron's final letter that he and his men would be waiting to pick her up, at around the time of her arrival on the peninsula. The rest of the journey to the barony of Wallins would be undertaken by coach.
After waiting a few more minutes, the three hired man-servants put down the rest of her bags. She handed them their gratuities, and they said goodbye to her and then began to walk back to the ship, being part of its crew. The two women were left at the end of the dock. After she and Neticia had waited for the better part of fifteen minutes, they were finally approached by a man. Marissa smiled warmly at him and asked, "Baron Wallins?" A wide smile immediately painted itself across his thick, coarse features. "Why, the very same. And you must be my lady?"
"Yes, it's me. Marissa Seftrey. Pleased to meet you."
Marissa looked the man over quickly; right off the bat, she was a bit taken aback at his lack of height. He had bushy sideburns, a moustache, and scruffy hair. His clothes were quite unkempt, most notably a thread-bare black cloak which had apparently been mended many times. He also looked to be far older than his mid-twenties, which she knew for a fact to be the baron's age. She noted that there was an odd glint to his bloodshot eyes, as if with some unknowable intent to it. So, she posed him a careful question. "You look … different from how I had pictured you. Where's your coach …? And all of your men … ?!"
The man licked his lips quickly before replying, "Oh, the coach? It's parked just down the street a bit. And I sent the boys off on another errand … for now." Grinning at the two women, he then offered Marissa his arm, while she had to exchange a quick look with Neticia to bolster her courage, she hesitantly took it. He led her in a stroll down the wide fairway between the buildings of what appeared to be a small town. They were as far south in Corsc as it was possible to go.
In an even tone of voice, Marissa managed to say, "If I may be so bold, sir … you look to be a bit shorter than six-foot-six. I may not have the most trained eye, but I have certainly seen my share of men in my day." The short man smiled at her again, even wider than before. "Oh, is that what I said in my letters …?!" His rheumy eyes left hers and gravitated downward, to stare pointlessly at the street for a few moments. It began to dawn on her that while they were heading north, he was also leading her, gradually and inexorably, towards an alleyway on their right hand side.
The sloping roof of one of the buildings had covered the aperture between it and the next one over, forming a dimness there that approached the darkness of night. She looked from one side to the other for a few frantic moments, only then noticing an odd odor coming from the man's proximity. He stopped them, and caught her by the chin. Her chestnut brown eyes focused on his strange black ones.
"No, don't look about. This is a very dangerous area. Even the slightest appearance of impropriety will arouse suspicion, and you can't trust anyone. Just follow me, and I will lead you through safely."
Marissa wrenched her face from his grip roughly, and then began to straighten out her dress, though it needed no real attention. They had gone no more than four paces further when she suddenly felt the front of the man's body pressed hard against hers. His gloved hand found her mouth and slipped over it. As she dashed to her lady's aid, Neticia began to scream, vainly swatting at the man's head as hard as she could with her own closed parasol. He staved off her attacks easily with his other hand, and withdrew moments later, but retained Marissa's arm. She was so surprised by the sudden reversal that her exclamations trailed off into mere whimpers as the offending hand fell away from her face. She turned about, only to find that her captor was now standing motionless; he was staring down the street at another man, who was striding towards them.
The new man appeared enraged; he was panting and red-faced. He also had a handlebar mustache, and was dressed in a dress jacket, over a buttoned leather vest and a white dress shirt. A red cravat was twirled about his neck and he wore well-shined, black boots. He was closely followed by three burly young men. They were dressed with much less style and opulence than their master, in faded blacks and browns, and torn denim pants. Marissa could sense that her captor was considering a sudden bolt into flight. But before he could do so, the new man pointed directly at him and then yelled, "HEY, YOU, STOP !!!" at the top of his lungs, shattering what little stillness the afternoon seemed to possess. Her captor froze up completely at this, and Marissa found herself completely released. As she was a little off-balance at the time, she fell on her bottom in a most unladylike fashion, but was far too terrified at that point to even care.
Neticia rushed over and helped her back to her feet. When Marissa turned about to look down the alley, she found that any shadowy accomplices that the short man might have had were now long gone. She could see no trace of life. By then, the new man's three young thugs had set upon her captor. The first two of them grasped him by the arms and hauled him away from her bodily; then they drew him up, and the third one punched him hard in the gut. Her captor doubled over, his eyes tearing up and strands of saliva drooling from between his liver-colored lips. When his body had gone fully slack, they threw him down into the dust. One of the ones that had previously held his arms ran over to the alleyway, a black sap appearing in one of his hands. The remaining two began to kick him in the sides of his torso, as he rolled pathetically in the dirt into a broken wooden crate that still bore trace of the juices of rotten vegetables.
By the time the other thug had returned, Marissa's captor had fallen still, his face slack and mouth agape. The man with the sap shook his head once from side-to-side to confirm the lack of any co-conspirators still in the alleyway. The man in the dress jacket had caught up with the others during the short beating. Assessing the situation, the well-dressed man walked over to Marissa, made initial eye contact with her and extended a gloved hand. Still slightly shocked, she reciprocated, and they gently shook. But, she was nearly inarticulate, and was only able to pant out a phrase at a time. "He was ... the alley … people were in there … waiting for-" she managed.
The well-dressed man smiled grimly. "Yes, yes, I know. But tell me … are you quite alright?" At this, Marissa looked down at her pale beige travel dress. It had been torn slightly at one shoulder, and her hair was somewhat mussed, but other than that, she was fully intact. She looked down the alley once more, then back at the new man. "And you …"
"Yes, Marissa. I am the real Baron Wallins. This 'man' was an impostor, I'm afraid. It's become a growing problem along the coast-line nowadays, something of a new form of piracy, I hear. No one ever thinks that it will happen to them, and then … well, anyways, please forgive me. I am terribly sorry to have been late … the whole affair is my fault, really."
"No, you mustn't blame yourself. It's so good to finally meet you, in person …" she assured him.
So, Marissa allowed the new man, who was ostensibly the real baron, to lead her by the elbow to a coach that had been waiting just a bit further down the street from where the short man had been trying to lead them. She stepped up and got into it gracefully, but wrinkled her nose at the coach's musty odor, of old leather and horse sweat. Then, the horses were set off, and the baron rested his elbow on the inside of the door, holding his chin in one hand. After a few minutes, he glanced Marissa's way again and added, "By the way, welcome to the Watley Peninsula."
Kindle Edition –
Paperback –
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text:
Daft Punk Share TRON: Legacy Bonus Tracks on Streaming Services: Listen
Noah Yoo
Daft Punk have shared a new deluxe edition of their TRON: Legacy soundtrack, featuring songs that have never been released on streaming services before, as Polygon points out. Released on December 18—almost exactly ten years following the film's release on December 17, 2010—TRON: Legacy - The Complete Edition closes out with nine tracks that were previously released only across vinyl and iTunes/Amazon–exclusive versions of the soundtrack. Stream the deluxe edition below.
Daft Punk's most recent studio album Random Access Memories was released in 2013. Revisit the Sunday Review of their landmark debut LP Homework and read Pitchfork's "10 Pitchfork Staffers On the Music That Helps Them Get Shit Done."
Watch Now: Pitchfork Video.
Originally Appeared on Pitchfork


Google Street View Brightlingsea.Google Maps.Photos.Hotels.
Google Maps Street View of Brightlingsea, County of Essex, England.
Find where is Brightlingsea located. Search for addresses and locations. Latitude,Longitude and Elevation for each position of Google Street View Brightlingsea.


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Q: setDescription in firebase app invite on iOS doesn't seem to have any effect Folks,
I am trying to use firebase app invite in my iOS app (swift). I am trying to customize the email body that gets sent out to include details about my app.
I have invite.setDescription("My app description") and invite.setCallToActionText("Download my app") in the invite but that doesn't seem to have any effect. The sent email has correct subject but the body of the email is some default "Install my application" where Install is clickable and the link works correctly. Am I missing something here?
I also use firebase app invite in my android app and I do customize the email message there using android apis setEmailHtmlContent and it works perfectly fine.
Help appreciated,
Abhijit


text:
Canadian Government To Match Donations For Sahel Relief
Penelope Chester August 9, 2012
It's been a recurrent news item over the last few months, one which doesn't quite garner attention like a devastating earthquake or a brutal civil war, but we've all been reading about it: there is a food crisis in the Sahel region which is threatening nearly 19 million people. This isn't the first time that a food crisis hits the region – there have been severe droughts in parts of the Sahel in 2005 and 2010. However, this particular crisis is touching the entire region, from Chad extending west to the Atlantic Ocean, affecting millions. Additionally, the crisis in Mali, which has displaced hundreds of thousands, has compounded the situation. Not only are refugees and displaced people more vulnerable, but host communities also feel the effects, through higher food prices and fewer available resources. Other contributing factors include droughts and bad harvests, a locust invasion and protracted systemic weaknesses which make the Sahel region particularly vulnerable to food shocks.
This most recent crisis, however, has barely registered internationally, and, across the board, fundraising goals set by relief organizations have fallen far short. Overall, a little over 50% of the $1.6 billion consolidated appeal has been funded. IRIN reports that the "UNHCR has received only 20 percent of the US$153.7 million it asked for to help more than 380,000 Malians who have fled to the neighbouring countries of Algeria, Burkina Faso, Mauritania, Niger, Guinea and Togo." Oxfam, for its part, revealed a $20 million shortfall with regards to their funding target. In a press release, Plan International noted that the organization appealed for US$14.7 million of which $7.2 million have been committed by donors.
It's in this context that the government of Canada announced the creation of the Sahel Crisis Matching Fund, which will match "every eligible dollar donated by individual Canadians to registered Canadian charities." The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) will "allocate these funds to established Canadian and international humanitarian organizations for humanitarian assistance efforts that benefit the people most affected by the crisis." Canada has agreed to make an initial $10 million contribution to help alleviate the pressure felt by aid organizations, and will match donations dollar-for-dollar between August 7 and September 30 2012.
For more information about the Sahel Food Crisis, the World Food Program's website has a special dedicated section. Another fantastic resource for data visualization nerds is sahelresponse.org. Below is an Oxfam infographic showing the dynamics of the Sahel food crisis at a glance:
Photo credit: Oxfam
canadaCrisisFoodSahel
Previous A Big Victory Against Tuberculosis
Next SG on Syria; World Bank; Post-2015; Humanitarian funds; food price index; International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples; Libya
Penelope Chester
Penelope is a strategy and communications professional, passionate about international affairs, human rights and democracy. With a wide range of experience in the non-profit, non-governmental and private sectors, Penelope has worked with organizations and supported projects in the United States, Canada, Latin America and Africa. She was previously Vice-President at Teneo, a consulting firm, after spending 4 years with an elections technology company. Penelope was also the Director of Communications and Fundraising for the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, and worked with the Clinton Foundation in Vancouver and New York. Born and raised in France, she earned a BA in international relations and political science from Tufts University in 2005, and a MA in international affairs with a focus on conflict and security from Sciences Po Paris in 2007.
The International Implications of Canada's Cannabis Legalization
A Major UN Report Shows That Progress on Reducing Global Hunger Has Been Reversed
PODCAST: World Food Program Chief David Beasley Discusses Food Crises in the Sahel and North Korea


Eldersong has released its Christmas activity kit called "Christmas with Eldersong – CD and Lyrics Book".
Gather your group and sing along with 26 songs of the season. These songs of Christmas are sung in low, singable keys by a bass and an alto, with simple piano accompaniment. The Christmas with ElderSong set includes a large print 20cm x 27.5cm book that gives the lyrics to 23 songs on the recording.
43 minutes of songs with 17-page lyrics book.
Buy the "Christmas with Eldersong" kit now from ZEST's Online Store (limited numbers).


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Q: How to fix " Class" is not a valid entity or mapped super class. ? Symfony 2.8 Actually I've generated my entity Ticket from console with the next command:
php app/console doctrine:generate:entity
And it has generated the entity correctly with the respective getters and setters.

namespace RelacionesBundle\Entity;

use Doctrine\ORM\Mapping as ORM;

/**
 * Ticket
 *
 * @ORM\Table(name="ticket")
 * @ORM\Entity(repositoryClass="RelacionesBundle\Repository\TicketRepository")
 */
class Ticket
{
    /**
     * @var int
     *
     * @ORM\Column(name="id", type="integer")
     * @ORM\Id
     * @ORM\GeneratedValue(strategy="AUTO")
     */
    private $id;

    /**
     * @var string
     *
     * @ORM\Column(name="name", type="string", length=255)
     */
    private $name;

    /**
     * @var string
     *
     * @ORM\Column(name="description", type="string", length=255)
     */
    private $description;

    /**
     * Get id
     *
     * @return int
     */
    public function getId()
    {
        return $this->id;
    }

    /**
     * Set name
     *
     * @param string $name
     *
     * @return Ticket
     */
    public function setName($name)
    {
        $this->name = $name;

        return $this;
    }

    /**
     * Get name
     *
     * @return string
     */
    public function getName()
    {
        return $this->name;
    }

    /**
     * Set description
     *
     * @param string $description
     *
     * @return Ticket
     */
    public function setDescription($description)
    {
        $this->description = $description;

        return $this;
    }

    /**
     * Get description
     *
     * @return string
     */
    public function getDescription()
    {
        return $this->description;
    }
}

The problem is when I edit the entity adding another property:
    /**
     * @var string
     *
     * @ORM\Column(name="explanation", type="string", length=150)
     */
    private $explanation;

When I enter the following command:
php app/console doctrine:generate:entities RelacionesBundle/Entity/Ticket
I get this error:
 Class "RelacionesBundle\Entity\Ticket" is not a valid entity or mapped super class.
Any Advice? or what is wrong?

A: I resolved the same exception by deleting a conflicting autogenerated orm.php file in the bundle's Resources/config/doctrine folder; according to the documentation: "A bundle can accept only one metadata definition format. For example, it's not possible to mix YAML metadata definitions with annotated PHP entity class definitions."


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Q: Converting oracle dump (.dmp) files to sql file (PostgreSQL files) I would like to know the option of converting oracle dump to sql file (for PostgreSQL database). Is it possible to get the DDL, DML, and the data as well in the SQL file?
Thanks in advance.

A: Years ago I wrote a little program explode  to convert the classical dmp file to csv files for easy loading. However, this is not the way to go since those file formats are undocumented.
A much smarter route to get the table definitions and data from oracle to Postgres is to use the oracle foreign data wrapper in postgres.
This allows for native -Postgres- access on the oracle tables but in a smarter way than the oracle database links. Check the docs and see if it fits your use case. If so, it will take out a lot of the conversion work for you.