text:
American Docs Need to Learn From Royal College of Physicians
Morning Consult
http://www.jeffstier.org/18892/american-docs-need-to-learn-from-royal-college
Author's Note: On June 2nd, the New England Journal of Medicine published a case vignette, "A man considering the use of E-cigarettes." the following piece, which was written earlier, provides valuable guidance to physicians seeking to answer the NEJM's question.
England's Royal College of Physicians (RCP) recommended on April 28th that doctors "promote the use of e-cigarettes, NRT and other non-tobacco nicotine products as widely as possible as a substitute for smoking in the UK."
This comes less than a year after a review of the scientific literature by Public Health England found that e-cigarettes are 95 percent less harmful than smoking.
Yet in the U.S., new FDA regulations will obliterate chances of smokers using e-cigarettes to quit. At the same time, leading public health groups including the American Heart Association, the American Lung Association and the American Cancer Society are actively lobbying against e-cigarettes and distorting the science about both the safety of e-cigarettes and how they can help cigarette smokers dramatically reduce their risk, as the RCP put it by providing, "nicotine without the smoke."
It's no wonder that American doctors are doing a poor job helping their addicted patients make better decisions about how to get nicotine if they can't or aren't ready to get off of it completely. The thorough RCP report provides a stark contrast to the (at best) directionless guidance Americans receive from their doctors. This is a devastating dereliction of the medical profession's core responsibility of providing scientifically valid life-saving information to their patients who could use such advice to make informed choices about how to reduce their risk.
A conversation I recently had with a successful ophthalmologist illustrates the problem, but also suggest an opportunity to lay out a vision for how to provide better care for patients .
In a social setting, I asked the ophthalmologist how he counsels his patients about smoking, which, among other things, increases risk for cataracts and age-related macular degeneration. He told me he simply advises them to quit, because "the tar and the nicotine" are harmful. He's correct about the tar, a product of combustion, but the nicotine is not the culprit for smoking related eye-disease. I gently suggested that his patients have a right to more accurate information so they could make more fully informed decisions about their behavior.
This scenario suggests an urgent need for the American Board of Ophthalmology, the organization responsible for keeping their members current on science, to follow the RCP's lead. First, it needs to better educate ophthalmologists about how smoking does in fact damage eye-health, then it should provide standardized advice to provide patients based on the latest science, including the fact that e-cigarettes are 95 percent less harmful than smoking and can help smokers quit, thus reducing their risk.
Similarly, other physician speciality groups must immediately do a better job of educating their members and standardizing harm reduction advice. There's barely a body part or function which isn't compromised by smoking. In each practice area, doctors need to do a better job of educating their patients about the role e-cigarettes can play in helping them quit smoking. Physicians groups in each specialty area are uniquely positioned to serve their members when it comes to providing harm reduction advice.
Consider the field of mental health, where patients smoke at a much higher rate than the general population. Mental health providers must come clean with their patients and end the taboo on acknowledging the fact that nicotine does in fact provide benefits. There's no debate that nicotine is a stimulant, and that those who use it enjoy a range of feelings, from relaxation, sharpness, alertness, and a sense of calm.
For many, especially those with mental health challenges, those benefits help them get through the day. And the nicotine isn't making them sick, it's the delivery system that's the problem. The compassionate and science-based approach is to help patients understand why they smoke, and to discuss options, including risks and benefits of alternatives to smoking. Advising patients to use the nicotine gum or patch together with counseling is appropriate, even though for many, the delivery mechanism is ineffective because it doesn't even closely mimic smoking's nicotine delivery. E-cigarettes do.
From medical schools, to credentialing organizations, the entire American medical establishment needs to kick the habit of providing politically correct quit-smoking advice, and replace it with up-to-date medically validated harm reduction advice which includes e-cigarettes. They should do so as if their patients' lives depend on it, as the Royal College of Physicians has now made clear it does.
Jeff Stier is a Senior Fellow at the National Center for Public Policy Research in Washington, D.C., and heads its Risk Analysis Division.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


There's an interesting video made by Extra Credits which casts some light on the issue of great importance to all game developers, also in Minetest. This also by the way explains why upgrading the graphics of Minecraft is a real cul de sac for this game. Making very good graphics always comes at a cost and if the graphics is decided to be of highest achievable quality it usually implies abandoning the ambition of creating rich in-game world. Sometimes it ends up with spectacular fireworks hiding shallow (some may say also primitive) content.
Another video made by the same team discusses the problem of so-called "Uncanny valley" or, in other words, why humans in photorealistic AAA productions always look artificial. This is also relevant to the former video in terms of optimisation of the costs of development; but what really matters is that in spite of putting great effort, time and money into developing high-quality game such attitude often proves to be counter-productive and makes in-game characters less and not more believable.
And the last one I'd like to put under consideration is the sample of the gameplay from one of the latest AAA titles -- "Jurassic World Evolution". This in my opinion clearly shows that the "Uncanny valley" paradox is not constrained only to human characters. Unfortunately the similar deterioration in the impression made by animation of animals occur when the otherwise great static graphics is combined with (and spoiled by) unnatural movements and the repetitive (and sometimes clearly symmetrical) patterns of behaviour. My impression after watching this video is that dinosaurs are endangered by extinction again, this time in gaming.
What is the conclusion? It has in my opinion a great relevance to the Minetest project. Of course having good graphics with shaders, smooth animation of NPCs and particle effects would be nice and add a lot to the overall experience. But once this side of development outweighs more structural approach and taking care of keeping the in-game worlds deep and rich in content, it usually marks entering a downward slope and the beginning of a 'beautiful death' of the idea of game as such. Why? Because any game and any play can't do without the participation of the most important component - the player's imagination. Making games impressive shows with all the content constrained to what can be shown explicitly and in the most realistic way possible is in fact not about gaming: it is a "moviefication" (a new word probably :)) and makes AAA games more and more resembling theatrical sceneries with nothing behind them.
Nice point. The super-realistic games use a lot of graphics but the old glitches still survive. These glitches don't mind me in such unrealistic games like Minetest but they are much more apparent in super-realistic games.
Whole the world is made of flat textures.
All models are hollow. There is nothing inside.
A dinosaur doesn't have to touch his food to eat it.
All dinosaurs are killed the same way.
A dead dinosaur doesn't change its model even when it's half-eaten.
I could continue with this list. It's not easy to eliminate these glitches because it would mean far bigger hardware requirements.
I think that games shouldn't copy the reality. Each game should have its simplified world. The world doesn't have to be realistic. If the game world has nothing to do with reality, it's not a mistake.
If you lack the reality, go on a trip or find a job.
Hume2 wrote: Nice point. The super-realistic games use a lot of graphics but the old glitches still survive. These glitches don't mind me in such unrealistic games like Minetest but they are much more apparent in super-realistic games.
Yes, that's exactly what I meant.
I would add animal bodies penetrating through each other. This makes all the magic vanish in an eye's blink.
It's not easy to eliminate these glitches because it would mean far bigger hardware requirements.
voxelproof wrote: I would add animal bodies penetrating through each other. This makes all the magic vanish in an eye's blink.
Yeah, collisions. I haven't seen a 3D game with proper collision handling for a long time.
I think that SuperTux is a game that aims for high quality of audiovisual stuff and therefore is dying. I like SuperTux but I don't like the way it's developed. I'll begin with a brief history. SuperTux began well. It was nearly done in 2007 but then it was nearly abandoned. After that, the developers were totally irresponsible. It was so close to finish SuperTux as game but they added lots of useless stuff instead. There were already several unused features and they just made it worse. In the year 2014, a new team formed. This team is good in that they made some steps forwards. However, they have only vague thoughts of what SuperTux already contains. Plus they imagine that SuperTux will contain many fancy elements those were never planned before. You can read more in my post on GitHub.
I think Voxelproof has raised a very valid issue here that deserves consideration.
Sometimes it ends up with spectacular fireworks hiding shallow (some may say also primitive) content.
I was a huge fan of the initial Total War series of games, my favourites were Shogun and Medieval, both of which started performing strangely on newer versions of Windows and hardware.
Then they released Shogun II, I was wrapped, I bought it. But it was a Steam game and I couldn't play it without a 64 Gigabyte download. At the time my internet access allowed me 1 gigabyte a month of downloads. I complained quite loudly to Sega and they very kindly sent me a set of new discs that only required a 16 megabyte download.
I went through all of that only to discover that the game was crap. The graphics was fantastic but the battle maps were too small to allow any real strategy and there was only 2 different battle maps. It gets pretty boring playing the same maps over and over, especially when they're too tiny for flanking manoeuvres.
The Age of Empires series did exactly the same thing, I still play the original with it's poor graphics and enjoy it. In AoE III the maps were so tiny that gameplay was akin to 2 people sitting face to face and taking it in turns to hit each other with a stick. I didn't even try to give the disks away, I just binned them.
Another game at the other end of that scale – I still play the tty version of NetHack, been playing for nearly 30 years and I'm still not sick of it.
And I play tiled version of Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup.
Yeah. You're obviously more to gaming than I but I dived more deeply into the subject when waiting for the No Man's Sky (yes, I was utterly hyped by the trailers). Shortly after the release it became obvious to me that high definition photorealistic graphics as it is now is most often a real disease of the development of core game engines.
The bigger problem I've found, is that the bigger the art and asset teams grow, the less quality the gameplay becomes, and this does apply the other way around.
Dark Souls for all the in-world detail that it does, is a great balance of art and gameplay. The mechanics are somewhere between Castlevania and the exploratory nature of the Metroid games.
Another game that ensures story and gameplay are not outshone by the art teams, is Final Fantasy XV. On PC, the graphics are absolutely insane, pushing well over 5 million triangles a frame, and 150 million per second. The combat is partially turn based and real-time (if enabled), or plays like Dark Souls in real time.
It feels like the games produced before it, but do not follow the same old JRPG formula that got stale with FFVII. Combat is rewarding to hunt bosses at night or by crawling dungeons, because it always makes it worth it in the end. The huge amount of skill required to parry, dodge, counterattack, use teammates for combination attacks are absolutely astounding.
Finding new equipment and gear for you and your group is a perfect example, because unlike Borderlands or traditional RPG games, they aren't useless within the next couple of levels of content. They stay relevant for about 10-20 levels.
Like Dark Souls, skill is required to be efficient, not with stale boring tactics.
For some, raking-yourself-in-the-face difficulty might be too much for some, and would rather have a bit more freeform fun in the middle.
The Fallout (and Elder Scrolls) series is another example of blending all styles of gameplay, slow and calculated, or fast and brutal. All sorts of players are catered for with the massive variety of equipment and weapons. The world itself is also a massive canvas for the player to change the world as they see fit, who rises and falls. New Vegas is the best example of this in recent times.
I've spent the last two to three months entirely balancing the entire mass of combat mechanics I've been working on for Solar Plains. Specifically for balance, as finding a broken or overpowered ability makes the entire thing boring, and we all know how boring games can get if we have access to the developers console.
Power, Melee: Brutish, armoured, loves being in the face of their opponent withstanding heavy blows and assaults.
Power, Ranged: Heavy weapons/spells, area denial, loves being the person that's blocking an opponent with area of effects or doing massive damage.
Finesse, Melee: Fast, light, dances around targets dodging attacks as if they were a leaf on the wind, one mis-step and they're out.
Finesse, Ranged: Accurate, stealthy, takes a single shot with massive results, but risks missing.
Obviously there's hybrid types and jack-of-all-trades types that doesn't fit the quadchotomy, but are rough estimation which Solar Plains uses as it's core.
For a game to be good, it needs to balance mechanics and gameplay, against the story and graphics. But spend at least half of your time working on the gameplay before polishing up any sort of graphics - because otherwise, in 5-10 years, people will not play a game that relies on bad mechanics.
Games like Super Mario World and 64, Doom (and Goldeneye 64, Duke Nukem Forever), Quake 3 (and UT), Street Fighter II (and Smash Bros), The Legend of Zelda series (with Metroid) and the GTA series pre GTA IV.
With some of these games now nearly approaching their 30s, yet are played because of their well-crafted gameplay.
Futur ? No Content, No Graphic ... Game with no beautiful Graphic and no very content.
Look Android Store Game and Facebook Game or Fornite, this is not content. Not Graphic for majority ... The Futur is Free to Play or Pay to Win. This is not good or bad ... Majority like Play no real Free Games, use cash for best in Game or for speed.
The industry make actually Game for Win à maximum cash, not for build à community or regular gamers.
This is not Content vs Graphic in reality, This is Good Game vs Cash Game.
Thanks a lot for such exhaustive and interesting survey of the history of video gaming. Except for arcade games I never was a hard player I must admit. Things changed when some interesting concepts of procedurally generated content and open worlds took enticing shapes in a few more or less popular games (including Minecraft, this game is indeed worth thorough research of the essentials of good and bad game design). In my opinion video games industry seems to be not aware that essentially fundamental structure of all games, in that number video games, is some abstract idealization of chosen reality, a simplified model rather than one-to-one projection. I think that most importantly graphics-heavy games are usually not expandable (so adding new content and mods by fanbase is most often impossible unless some advanced user interface for this kind of creativity is provided) and, secondly, they flood a player with a stream of information that sort of blocks the part of thinking required for more abstract activities - imagination, abstraction, synthetic reasoning and so on. In other words -- except for a commercial allure of great graphics -- if a designer wants to make a real game, graphics should be just an addition and developed as the last element of the system and certainly not its pivotal axis. Now it looks as though the predominant approach is just the opposite. Well, if people like this it's OK for me but then the whole story is less about gaming and more about a show business.
Last edited by voxelproof on Sat Jul 14, 2018 07:37, edited 1 time in total.
My first computer was a TRS 80 that had been extended to it's maximum 48 kilobytes of memory, but I was 19 years old. I got a new girlfriend and started working a second job and computers didn't seem that important any more.
When I was in my mid 20's I saw someone playing NetHack on a 286 and that's what got me hooked on computers again.
I've recently been going through all my old games and getting them to run under Wine because most of the newer games have very little to offer other than Eye Candy. And those old games can't run under newer versions of Windows either. In just a few more weeks my Windows drive will become clean empty storage space.
It's a collection of the old IBM DOS fonts converted to ttf format and released under a CC by AS 4 license.
I remembered another game that did well in providing both eye candy and fantastic game play. I still say that it's one of the prettiest games I have ever played.
Released by Microsoft in 2003, it wasn't a huge seller at the time and official support for the game was dropped in almost record time. Today you can find it on Abandonware sites.
They didn't just keep the game alive, they extended it to far beyond anything Microsoft could have imagined, what was about 40 or so galaxies is now hundreds and the extent of mods available is huge.
It is pretty, but this was achieved by good graphic design, (art) not by adding more and more triangles.
Very interesting. I heard the name but haven't seen it in action yet, going to check it out.
You've pointed out another extremely important side of graphics design, and it's indeed what can make a game more playable or playable at all. (I wouldn't be so fond of Dungeon Crawl if I played it in ASCII mode I suppose.) And of course I wouldn't ever say that graphics doesn't matter. But it should be (usually) just a spice or dressing and not the main dish :) There're obviously some exceptions from this general rule -- e.g. when I 'play' (it's not a game actually) SpaceEngine I look for amazing spacescapes and realistically looking surfaces of planets, and the 'winner's prize' is when I find some really awesome views. And -- going back to Minetest -- when I mess around with the textures and map generators it's also about nice visual experiences -- but I don't play a game then, the truth is that I use Minetest just as a truly wonderful walking simulator. When the gameplay is concerned this sort of textures I am creating now would be an obstacle for the game's immersiveness (maybe except creative mode) and certainly wouldn't match the themes of most games.
On the other hand there're already texture packs which seem to be waiting for a good game -- probably the best of them is the Horror Texture Pack. I have never seen a tp providing so perfectly the feeling of fear and supernatural menace.
Last edited by voxelproof on Sat Jul 14, 2018 18:52, edited 2 times in total.
I almost always played only free games (or cracked :D). And it looks like I haven't missed anything.
I think that graphics should be in the games only to represent what actually is in the game, not all the details those don't do anything. There might be some decorative-only elements but I think that the most of game elements should have another function.
Hume2 wrote: I almost always played only free games (or cracked :D). And it looks like I haven't missed anything.
That's a minimalistic attitude. I generally agree with it however some extra aesthetic value added just for pleasure isn't bad. Old traditional games -- like different types of card games -- certainly provide better experience when played with artistically designed decks.
I like it. It looks as though NMS was inspired by it.
I had never heard of NMS, I've spent the last decade living in a remote tropical rainforest. No TV, no radio.
If you're completely new to this game I recommend that you play the original version before playing the extended one. The original version teaches you how to play.
If a game is worth it you should pay for it. Some of my games I have paid for several times over as CD's have a short lifespan in the tropics. That said, I nearly always download the pirate copy first and use it as a Demo, especially after the Shogun II disaster.
It's important to remember that if people aren't getting paid properly they are unlikely to keep working. Never paying for games can potentially destroy people's will to keep developing new games. Or they head down a disastrous DRM path like Steam.
It looks as though NMS was inspired by it.
You mean No man's sky ?
Well, No Man's Sky is undoubtedly the most hyped heap of s**t in the gaming history. I had been waiting for it since the first announcement in 2013. And the release was something like a shock to me.
Two years later the game still hasn't in the least improved its exploratory merits. The planets lack dense diverse forests, there're no rivers (to say nothing of waterfalls), there're no alpine-type high mountains and so on and so forth. Hello Games (the developer of the game) fully deserves to go bust for what it did. Fortunately I waited for the first gameplay videos and never bought this trash.
Last edited by voxelproof on Sun Jul 15, 2018 13:10, edited 1 time in total.
hajo wrote: You mean No man's sky ?
However I prefer exploration in Minetest - even though the voxellized landscape is but a symbolic representation of real terrain features it still gives much more fun. And last but not least: SE is in a way too realistic. Sometimes it allows to enjoy wonderful serenity but also sometimes causes extreme feeling of uncanny solicitude of being lost alone in the huge and uncomprehensible Universe. Because you're aware that what you see is a mirror reflection of reality.
By infinite I mean that your life is too short to reach the end without cheating. For example, you never reach the end of the world or you never get all items.
By unexplorable I mean that your live is too short to explore everything that the game might come with. The game is explored when you can be no longer surprised by anything new that you see.
There's a huge difference. The game can be infinite but still explorable. You can recognise the same patterns repeating over and over. After you figure out the pattern, you don't have to explore it any more. You have already seen whole infinity in a few examples. I have never played NMS but I heard that when you see a few planets, you have actually seen all the planets.
I'm not sure whether a game can be unexplorable. It seems like human-designed content is usually harder to explore than generic content. I think that each game is polynomial but the player's exploration is exponential. (If you got confused with maths, skip to the next paragraph.) A game can be polynomial with a high rank but it doesn't make it exponential. The rank can be pushed up by adding new human-designed content. There should be only a few elements on the beginning so the player doesn't get confused at start. After some progress, the number of elements might raise. However, once the player explores the last human-designed element, he explores whole game. At this point, the exponential exploration is faster than the polynomial game. There's nothing new to offer the player.
It looks like a game needs to be programmed infinitely long to be unexplorable, even when there are infinite items. Maybe there's another way. Maybe the unexplorability can be based on a mathematic problem that is hard to solve / can't be solved exactly and has many solutions. It also implies that even the developers wouldn't know what it contains. I imagine it like the Mandelbrot set (if you know that). The formula of Mandelbrot set is such short but the result is so complicated. To be honest, this is what inspired me to create my own mapgen, Terrainbrot. I'd like to see some games based on mathematic problems.
I agree. I was thinking about 'practical infinity' in open world games and your conclusions are in accord with what I figured out so far. I would add to this 2 kinds of in-game infinity you've listed here the third one -- the infinite content. I suppose it's not necessarily tantamount to the 'infinite explorability' (or just 'unexplorability' as you put it) -- and by 'content' I mean a set of different discernible elements constituting the in-game universe. This is important in that sense that imo makes your hypothesis of impossibility of creating 'infinitely explorable' games highly questionable.
There's a huge difference. The game can be infinite but still explorable. You can recognise the same patterns repeating over and over. After you figure out the pattern, you don't have to explore it any more. You have already seen whole infinity in a few examples.
Here I disagree. The most obvious example is the game which is the subject of discussions on this Forum - Minetest (and many other procedurally generated open world sandboxes). You see what the pattern is in seconds, the same is about the building blocks of the world and game mechanics -- it takes no longer than a few hours to learn all the constitutive elements and yet it remains highly explorable if you want to find e.g. interesting mountains, caves, rich ore deposits or other procedurally generated content. This goes much further in another great game - Dwarf Fortress were procedural generation of the worlds creates content which is surprising even for its developers.
I'm not sure whether a game can be unexplorable. It seems like human-designed content is usually harder to explore than generic content. I think that each game is polynomial but the player's exploration is exponential.
A game can be polynomial with a high rank but it doesn't make it exponential. The rank can be pushed up by adding new human-designed content. There should be only a few elements on the beginning so the player doesn't get confused at start. After some progress, the number of elements might raise. However, once the player explores the last human-designed element, he explores whole game. At this point, the exponential exploration is faster than the polynomial game. There's nothing new to offer the player.
Yes, most games probably follow this scheme. But what is of great interest to me is the hidden potential of procedural generation. I realized it not earlier than when I started to play with MT map generators. I am pretty sure that it's possible to find settings for different mods (rewriting them before to make them flexible for that purpose) which would generate practical infinity of diverse plantlife, mobs and settlements.
Strongly disagree :-) Look at old board and card games -- chess openings is a great example of old-style exploration of the "chess universe". There're thousands of them and even the greatest world chess masters can't say they truly explored each innermost recess of this game.
Maybe there's another way. Maybe the unexplorability can be based on a mathematic problem that is hard to solve / can't be solved exactly and has many solutions. It also implies that even the developers wouldn't know what it contains. I imagine it like the Mandelbrot set (if you know that). The formula of Mandelbrot set is such short but the result is so complicated. To be honest, this is what inspired me to create my own mapgen, Terrainbrot. I'd like to see some games based on mathematic problems.
Yes, now I agree and e.g. card games (even very simple solitaires) provide a great number of truly unsolvable mathematical conundrums which can be a great inspiration for developers to create games with amazing, ever-changing and, what's the most important -- surprizing content. Another way to achieve this goal is to make games which feature elements of evolution and generate emergent content, but this is a subject for a wholly new thread.
It looks like I completely forgot about classic games. Yes, many of them aren't and can't be completely explored. I was talking about games in which you can feel as an inhabitant of an artificial world. I enjoy playing chess but really, I don't feel as being a part of that world. Maybe the "being a part of a world" is that problem.
In exploration, there are two types of surprises. The first one is that you can predict something to generate and you find it. It's mainly when you find a large ore deposit or you find a strangely shaped hill. The second type is that you find something that you couldn't expect before. It happens each time you discover a new human-designed element. It's the same surprise as when you manage to discover a completely new and effective strategy in chess. Maybe there's not a sharp edge between these two types.
Procedurally generated content is good but there is usually a pattern that you can notice in each generated thing. In Minetest, each thing consisting of blocks is not the pattern I mean. A nice example of bad procedural generation is when each generated thing is a random combination of given elements. Imagine a human-ish face generator based on this. You have some eyes, some noses, some mouths etc. so there are a lot of combinations. However, you'll get bored quickly. After seeing a few of these faces, you'll notice that all follow the same pattern. The algorithm should be done so you can get surprised even in the second way I said. If it's capable of doing so infinitely times, it's really good.
Minetest has the capability of generating such diverse structures, plants, mobs etc.. However, it seems like the current generators are too limited. I'd like to see that sometimes implemented properly.
Hume2 wrote: In exploration, there are two types of surprises. The first one is that you can predict something to generate and you find it. It's mainly when you find a large ore deposit or you find a strangely shaped hill. The second type is that you find something that you couldn't expect before. It happens each time you discover a new human-designed element. It's the same surprise as when you manage to discover a completely new and effective strategy in chess. Maybe there's not a sharp edge between these two types.
Another of those old classic games. This one wasn't fantastic for it's graphics but for it's ability to keep surprising you.
Also now available for free on abandonware sites. Freelancer might have been the prettiest (in my opinion) but Black & White is one of the most surprising and and definitely the most entertaining.
Black & White II was another of those games that I considered to be a complete waste of money and time, I wrote a horrible online rant about it and binned the disks.
slopsbucket wrote: Another of those old classic games. This one wasn't fantastic for it's graphics but for it's ability to keep surprising you.
How much of the content is human-designed and how much is pure generic? It looks like it's 90% human-designed but it would be cool if it was pure generic.
EDIT: I know that nothing is pure generic because someone has to invent the mechanics. You know what I mean.
Hume2 wrote: It looks like I completely forgot about classic games. Yes, many of them aren't and can't be completely explored. I was talking about games in which you can feel as an inhabitant of an artificial world. I enjoy playing chess but really, I don't feel as being a part of that world. Maybe the "being a part of a world" is that problem.
I suppose that when you were writing about "expotential exploration" you meant the above pattern of cognition and our ability to categorize the scope of our knowledge. Thus we assemble species into genera, genera into families and so on. But it still doesn't mean that making new discoveries of so far unknown species doesn't bring great joy and excitement to lucky scientists or explorers. There're many examples of discoveries of this kind in recent years. I was very impressed by the discovery of a 'living fossil' plant from the dinosaur era Wollemia nobilis in Australia. It's one of the most beautiful trees nature gave birth to. I think that while systematization of our knowledge and wisdom do tend to be expotential, the core exploration and wonder accompanying subsequent discoveries are actually linear in their inherent nature.
Procedurally generated content is good but there is usually a pattern that you can notice in each generated thing. In Minetest, each thing consisting of blocks is not the pattern I mean. A nice example of bad procedural generation is when each generated thing is a random combination of given elements.
Yeah. Watch the creatures in No Man's Sky :\ Dr Frankenstein would cry looking at them.
Imagine a human-ish face generator based on this. You have some eyes, some noses, some mouths etc. so there are a lot of combinations. However, you'll get bored quickly.
Not if I was a police investigator trying to reconstruct suspect's face.
Construction of the composite was originally performed by a trained artist, through drawing, sketching, or painting, in consultation with a witness or crime victim. Subsequently, techniques were devised for use by those less artistically skilled, employing interchangeable templates of separate facial features. The first such mechanical system, called "Identikit", was introduced in the U.S. in 1959; it used drawings of facial features on transparent acetate sheets that could be superimposed on one another to produce the composite image.
The algorithm should be done so you can get surprised even in the second way I said. If it's capable of doing so infinitely times, it's really good.
Well, in fact in real nature we can see many very repetitive patterns (this is what makes science possible) and the above example of human faces is not an exception. This is the tiny random flaws that make each of us unique (in terms of appearance at least). And what's more the psychological properties of human psyche seem to allow even stronger categorization of certain traits constituting each (not so unique after all) personality.
And this one about exploration in games is really worth citing -- it's very relevant to the discussion in this thread, and very well done indeed.


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NAB Asset Servicing has been appointed to provide tax parcel optimisation services for two Australian super funds.
The custodian arm of NAB, NAB Asset Servicing, will provide tax parcel optimisation (TPO), a service that can improve tax efficiency, to two Australian super funds, a NAB-issued statement said.
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are critical in their own way and "Best-in-Class" IT shops can ensure that their IT hardware brings benefits across the company.
4- Make IT a full business partner with an IT service-centric approach.
IT infrastructures that meet end-user needs and boost productivity.
5 – Update your IT infrastructure.
Today more than in the past no one IT infrastructure can succeed by relying on old and out-of-date hardware.
By taking advantage of the best of modern hardware and management platforms you must optimize your entire business for success.


text:
Samsung Galaxy J3 (2016) (также известный как "Galaxy J3 V", "Galaxy J3 Pro" и "Galaxy Amp Prime") - Android - смартфон производства Samsung Electronics, был выпущен 6 мая 2016 года..

Технические характеристики

Аппаратное обеспечение
Galaxy J3 (2016) работает на базе Spreadtrum SC9830 SoC, включающий четырехъядерный 1,5 ГГц ARM Cortex-A7 CPU, ARM Mali-400 GPU с 1,5 ГБ RAM и 32 ГБ внутренней памяти. Модель J3 Pro имеет 2 ГБ оперативной памяти и 16 ГБ внутренней памяти. Обе модели могут быть увеличить объем памяти до 256 ГБ с помощью microSD..

Он оснащен 5,0-дюймовым Super AMOLED дисплеем с разрешением HD Ready. Задняя камера на 8 MP имеет апертуру f/2.2. Фронтальная камера имеет 5 МП, также с апертурой f/2.2..

Программное обеспечение
Первоначально J3 (2016) поставляется с Android 5.1.1 "Lollipop" или 6.0.1 "Marshmallow" и пользовательским интерфейсом Samsung TouchWiz. Он обновляется до Android 7.0 "Nougat" на североамериканской модели..

Фирменные версии
Некоторые операторы мобильной связи выпустили фирменные версии Galaxy J3 (2016) с немного отличающимися спецификациями.

Verizon выпустил фирменную версию под названием J3 V (SM-J320V), которая работает на базе Exynos 3475 SoC с четырехъядерным процессором 1,2 ГГц ARM Cortex-A7, ARM Mali-T720, 1,5 ГБ оперативной памяти и 8 ГБ внутреннего хранилища. Кроме того, он оснащен 5 МП основной камерой с диафрагмой f/2.2 и 2 МП фронтальной камерой. Он поставляется с Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow. Модель AT&T (SM-J320A) имеет те же технические характеристики, за исключением четырехъядерного процессора 1. 3 ГГц Cortex-A7 и 16 ГБ внутренней памяти..

Sprint, Virgin Mobile и Boost Mobile предлагали Galaxy J3 (SM-J320P) с тем же Exynos. 3475 SoC, что и J3 V, но с 16 ГБ памяти и Android 5.1.1 "Lollipop"..

См. также
 Samsung Galaxy

Ссылки

Samsung Galaxy
Galaxy J3 (2016)
Устройства на базе Android

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


The poem you will find below is from the collection Change in the Wind. It would not have been written except for the idiocy (or heroism) of the perfectly ordinary human being Bradley (Chelsea) Manning, who decided to do something not so ordinary. He /she decided to assert his /her right to be independent of his / her job and country. I believe this is the unalienable right and duty of every individual. His / her country 'thank you' was 35 years in prison. I thank her by publishing this poem.
from a U.S. Operational Video Recording.
two children, two journalists: all insurgent.
fathers and sons, lovers and husbands.
a journalist and a cameraman.
. . . for their own protection.
and the rules of engagement.
one of them has a weapon?
with knuckles of bone as white as bleached skull.
a cameraman being searched for the best shot.
But, uh you now, we definitely got something.
The already deceased individuals get on with their dying.
Rising spirits of dust erase the scene.
now have black stains that frame.
Those dead bastards . . . .nice!
looking for upright lines to lock onto.
Brick and body parts are jumbled.
Saeed lifts one knee, one head.
pushes towards an open gate . . . sanctuary . . .
legs, and left side do not respond . . .
still . . . in . . .gutter.
will it drop food, or messages, or death?
Dada says stay in the van.
Come on let us shoot! Come on!
the shells rip from ceiling to road.
frustrated and forever seeking, seeking.
its brain is made in neutral Ireland.
the Cross is used to focus.
No more shooting . . . Oh yeah look at that!
HA! HA! . . . twelve to fifteen. Over . . .
I wish you hadn't had occasion to write this - but it's brilliant.


text:
By Ramin Jahanbegloo
Elections in an illiberal country like Iran are not merely a political show, since the outcome serves as a test for the balance among the country's power centres.
On Friday, February 26, Iranians went to the polls to elect members of the Islamic Consultative Assembly (ICA). These elections are part of a general process that also elects the 88 members of the Assembly of Experts (Assembly). This was the first time since 1979 that the two political bodies were elected simultaneously.
The Assembly is in charge of selecting the next Supreme Leader. Given the poor health of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the new Assembly, elected for an eight-year term, is likely to pick his successor. These were the first polls for Iranians since President Hassan Rouhani's tenure began in 2013 and the landmark nuclear agreement in July 2015. Although Rouhani and his cabinet showed their political power by securing the deal and getting the sanctions reduced, these elections were a confrontation between Rouhani's achievements and the strategies and agenda of Iran's ultra-conservatives and hardliners.
Rouhani's "constructive and dignified engagement with the world" has been developed as a permanent effort in striking a balance between continuity and change. Aware of the hawkish resistance before him, Rouhani chose a viable path of principled compromise by boosting the pragmatic centrist position in his electoral strategy. However, the real balance was in Rouhani and his allies' political strategy to slow down the growth of the power-base of hardliners in the parliament and in the Assembly.
Therefore, what emerged in the run-up to the elections was an alignment among three key figures of the Iranian Revolution — Hassan Rouhani, Hashemi Rafsanjani and Hassan Khomeini (late Ayatollah Khomeini's grandson) — who, by targeting the Assembly, tried to push back ultra-conservative figures like Ahmad Jannati and Mohammad Taghi Mesbah-Yazdi and win against all those empowered since the election of former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2005. Unfortunately, the Guardians' Council (Council), the influential oversight body examining all laws passed by parliament, disqualified a large number of contestants.
While a total of 12,123 aspiring candidates registered to run, only 4,720 were qualified. Not surprisingly, out of the total 3,000 reformist candidates, only 30, or 1 per cent, were allowed by the Council.
The extent of disqualifications represents a tour de force by the hardliners who continue to be worried by Rouhani's management of domestic politics and his close diplomatic relations with the West. As a result, every effort was made to block the entry of reformers to parliament and the Assembly, in order to consolidate the hard-liners' hold and prevent Rouhani's government from advancing its economic and political priorities.
It's very unlikely, though, that the pragmatic centrists could bring about sweeping changes in the near future. But the elimination of reformists will not end Rouhani's efforts to push his agenda among the more pragmatic and business-oriented members of the Revolutionary Guards and the more flexible sections of the conservative faction in parliament. After all, as secretary of the Supreme National Security Council in 1989-2005, Rouhani has learned his lessons well in Iranian Machiavellianism. He knows when and how to compromise with his allies, whether reformists or moderates inside the conservative camp.
Without reformists in the future parliament, Rouhani's best chance would be a legislative body with a majority of moderates and semi-conservatives. The reality is that, with Hassan Khomeini's disqualification, Rouhani's hopes of forming a powerful faction within the Assembly ended. Surely then, the conservatives should have all the cards to dominate, although former president Rafsanjani's qualification might steer the Assembly towards his own strategies in choosing the next Supreme Leader.
The outcome of the Assembly election (essentially a contest between those like Rafsanjani who advocate a permanent Leadership Council to take on the tasks of the Supreme Leader and hardliners who favour selection of a new Supreme Leader), will have a big impact on domestic and foreign policies. In view of the Supreme Leader's important role, the new Assembly's decision could be a turning point for the Revolution and its consequences.
One doesn't have to be clairvoyant to discern the future of Iranian politics. The elections will change nothing immediately. But then, these polls are the closest politics can come to shaping Iran's future. The real impact will be felt over the next few years when the battle for the next Supreme Leader begins. But the electoral outcome of February 2016 will be more significant than Rouhani's 2013 presidential victory.
Source: indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/a-test-for-irans-future/99/print/
URL: http://www.newageislam.com/current-affairs/ramin-jahanbegloo/a-test-for-iran's-future/d/106497


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Francis Bagnal Kidger Tucker (30 April 1923 – 4 April 2008) was a South African rally driver, who was the 1966 South African Rally Drivers Champion.

Tucker was heavily involved with the development of the Kyalami racetrack and served as Steward for all the Grand Prix events at Kyalami until SAMRAC sold the circuit. He was also involved with the organization of the Castrol International Rally and a recipient of the Motorsport South African (MSA) Lifetime Achievement award.

References

South African rally drivers
1923 births
2008 deaths
Sportspeople from Johannesburg


To maximize their potential and create jobs.
Participate in Arizona Collaboratory symposiums, panel discussions and other events to showcase your unique set of skills and add value directly to your target audience. Promote your specific skills and project accomplishments in our directory with testimonials that convey results delivered. Companies complete assessments and are provided with a list of experts to consider for next steps.
Growing a business exponentially requires special skills and more capital. How and when to successfully access growth capital necessitates professional preparedness. As an AzC member advisor you will receive the added exposure to promote your unique skillsets.
You Might Already be a Member! We are supported by many small business and economic development organizations. If you are already a member of one of them, then you are already a member of the Arizona Collaboratory. Even if you are not a member today, our list of participating organizations continues to grow. Either way, you can "Become a Member Expert" by clicking the link above.


text:
Cannes Lions cancels 2020 awards and festival
The festival's organiser says that, with the industry "in turmoil" due to the coronavirus pandemic, it has made the decision to cancel this year's event altogether.
By Sarah Vizard	 3 Apr 2020 9:37 am
Cannes Lions has cancelled both its awards and festival for 2020, saying it would not be right to run the event with the industry "in turmoil".
Cannes Lions was originally due to go ahead in mid-June but its organiser, Ascential, postponed it until late October amid the Covid-19 outbreak. It has now taken the decision to cancel, with Cannes Lions set to return from 21 to 25 June 2021.
The move comes after a number of agency holding groups expressed doubt over their attendance and ability to enter the awards this year. Their businesses are taking a hit as brands pull or postpone campaigns amid the pandemic. Earlier this week, WPP said it planned to cut costs this year by halting award entries, as well as stopping international travel, and others have said similar.
Cannes Lions chairman Philip Thomas says: "Cannes Lions at its core has always been about creativity and the Lions. We realise that the creative community has other challenges to face and simply isn't in a position to put forward the work that will set the benchmark.
"The marketing and creative industries, in common with so many others, are currently in turmoil, and it's clear that we can play our small part by removing all speculation about the festival this year."
A number of ad industry events have been impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, with SXSW cancelled, Advertising Week Europe pushed back to September and events including the Adobe Summit and Facebook F8 moving online.
Cannes Lions is, however, the first major event postponed to later in the year to be cancelled. It reflects the huge pressure businesses are under, as well as the uncertainty over when things might get back to a semblance of normality.
Marketing Week's parent company Xeim runs the Festival of Marketing, which is still set to take place on 7 to 8 October at Tobacco Dock in London.
Cannes Lions managing director Simon Cook says: "We all look ahead to a more positive time – right now, Cannes Lions will continue to bring the global creative community together and provide inspiration where we can find it.
"We believe firmly that the Lions continue to offer valuable recognition to that community and we look forward to celebrating and honouring the work in 2021, when the world will hopefully feel more stable, and our community can give their work the focus it deserves."
News Coronavirus Crisis Sponsorship & Experiential


text:
Q: How to add annotations to PDF using DITA-OT I need to create a PDF from DITA with annotations embedded.  Are there hooks in PDF2 to enable this?

A: You should read the docs of the args.draft parameter (DITA-OT - Common Parameters) and the Generating PDF comments using args.draft=yes  XML forum post.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Forbes & Company Ltd. +91-22-61358900 sales@forbes.co.in
Select Category CO2 High Speed Laser (2)Fiber High Speed Laser (1)High Speed Lasers (3)Industrial Lasers (21)Conventional Marking Solution (13)Interchangeable Steel Types (3)Hand Punches (2)Numerator (2)Stamp Marks (1)Metal Label Marker (1)Roll Marking Solutions (3)Impact Press (1)Industry Automation (7)Bradma Laser Marking Machine (36)Bradma Laser (11)CO2 (5)Fibre (6)Speciality Laser (4)Telesis Laser Marking Machine (10)C Laser (1)E Laser (5)F Laser (3)U Laser (1)Accessories (7)Telesis Pin Marking Machines (30)Electrical Pin Marking Machines (8)Handheld Pin Marking Machine (3)Benchtop Pin Marking Machine (5)Scribe Pin Marking Machine (5)Specialty Pin Marking Machine (5)Accessories (2)Controllers (2)
Conventional Marking Solution
Bradma Laser Marking Machine
Telesis Pin Marking Machines
Industry Automation
PIN MARKING MACHINES
FMCG LASERS
EV15DS Diode-Pumped Solid State Laser
Home / Bradma Laser Marking Machine / Industrial Lasers / Telesis Laser Marking Machine / EV15DS Diode-Pumped Solid State Laser
The TELESIS EV15DS marker is based on advanced Q-Switched, fi ber-coupled diode end-pumped Nd:YVO4 laser technology. The outstanding beam quality of this laser makes them superior to all other markers of equivalent power for high resolution and high speed marking. Additionally, the shorter pulse widths and high peak powers of this marker makes it the preferred choice for challenging marking applications on silicon or heat sensitive materials such as plastics or thin foils. The smaller spot size and extended depth of focus allows these lasers to mark much more highly irregular or curved surfaces than fi ber lasers. They are air-cooled and an excellent choice for high speed Marking-On-the-Fly applications as well. With an expected pump diode MTTF of over 250,000 hours for the EV15DS and 500,000 hours for the EV10SDS, system down time is dramatically reduced. Diode replacement can be completed quickly and the fi ber coupled diode design eliminates the need to re-align the laser marker. The marker's modular design, housing the diode in the laser controller, eliminates a large heat source from the laser insuring maximum stability as well as the need for water cooling.
Categories: Bradma Laser Marking Machine, E Laser, Industrial Lasers, Telesis Laser Marking Machine
LASER MARKER SPECIFICATIONS
Compliance…………………………………………………….CDRH, CE
Wavelength………………………………………………………..1,064nm
Laser Type……………………..Fiber-coupled diode end-pumped, Q-switched Nd:YVO4 laser Laser beam mode…………………………………………………..TEMoo
Average Power (EV15DS)……………………………………….Up to 15W
Average Power (EV10DS)………………………………………..Up to 10W
Positioning……………………………………Visible Red Diode Light
Optical Fiber Length…………..1.75 meters (5.74 feet) standard 4.75 meters (15.58 feet) optional
Mounting Weight……………………………………Approx. 20kg (45lbs.)
EV10SDS Marketing Head Dimensions ……………………………. 79.5(L) x 16.6(W) x 17.2cm(H) (31.3˝ x 6.6˝ x 6.8˝)
EV15DS Marketing Head Dimensions ……………………………… 71.9(L) x 16.2 (W) x 19.1cm(H)(28.3˝ x 6.4˝ x 7.5˝)
Controller Dimensions…………………………………………………….. 42.7(W) x 14.0(H) x 48.8cm(L) (16.8˝ x 5.5˝ x 19.2˝)
Input Power ……………………………………….115/230VAC 50/60Hz
Max. Power Consumption……………………………Less than 500W
Cooling……………………………Air-cooled, active thermo-electric (no water cooling required)
Operating Temperature Range……………….18° to 35°C (65° to 95°F)
Humidity………………………………..10% to 85% Non-condensing
STANDARD LENS CONFIGURATIONS
FOCAL LENGTH MARKING FIELD
100mm………………………………..65mm X 65mm (2.56˝ X 2.56˝)
254mm………………………………..175mm X 175mm (6.88˝ X 6.88˝)
420mm………………………………..290mm X 290mm (11.42˝ X 11.42˝)
Software……………………………… MERLIN® II LS (see page 26)
Operating System…………………Windows® 2000, Windows XP, Windows VistaTM, Windows® 7, or Windows® 8
with Optional Embedded, Desktop or Rackmount PC
Communication Interface……………………….Serial, TCP/IP, I/O
EVCDS Diode-Pumped Solid State Lasers
UVC Diode – Pumped Solid State Laser
CONTACT BRADMA
Sales: +91.7738805729
Email: sales@forbes.co.in
Get A Quote / More Information
Forbes & Company Limited is one of the oldest companies of world that is still in business. The company traces its origin to the year 1767 when John Forbes of Scotland started his business in India.
Forbes & Company Limited, Forbes Building, Charanjit Rai Marg, Fort, Mumbai - 400 001
sales@forbes.co.in
http://bradma-forbes.com
Solutions Offered by Bradma
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2aTHWiMWCQw
Copyright © Bradma, All rights reserved.
Mark your samples here


text:
Coronavirus (COVID-19) Information & Resources for Parents & Community Members
PURPOSE AND BACKGROUND
To slow the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in Washington state, Governor Inslee announced on March 13 that all public and private K–12 schools in the state will be closed through Friday, April 24. As our district, students, families, and community plan for closures, we are committed to providing ongoing guidance and resources as we sort through this unprecedented situation together.
ALLOWABLE BUILDING ACTIVITIES
During the mandatory closure, the Othello School District (OSD) will be prohibited from providing in-person educational, recreational, and other K–12 school programs using our school buildings and facilities. The OSD may use our facilities to provide childcare, professional development, staff meetings, Individualized Education Program (IEP) meetings, direct services to individual students, or other activities deemed appropriate by the district administration. Any gatherings within school facilities will comply with applicable social distancing directives and health and safety recommendations. Facility usage (i.e. gyms) for community and staff members will NOT be allowed during the closure. We will share future guidance from health officials.
Will the district provide meals during the closure?
Many students rely on school meals to meet their nutritional needs. Additionally, as this outbreak begins to impact the economic environment, we know more families may find themselves needing assistance. During this school closure, the Othello School District will provide breakfast and lunch to any child, 18 years and younger, regardless of their family income. Students will receive lunch for that day and breakfast for the following morning.
When and where will the meals be served?
Starting on Monday, March 23, meals will be available for pick-up, between 11:15-12:00, at three different locations:
Wahitis Elementary School Bus Loop
Hiawatha Elementary School Bus Loop - 11:40 AM to 12:00 PM
Othello High School Bus Loop
Lutacaga Elementary School Bus Loop - 11:15 AM to 11:35 AM
What if I can't make it to one of the pick-up locations? Can I still get a meal?
Meals will also be available at the bus stop following locations outside of city limits:
Golden Plains
(11:00-11:15)
Radar Trailer Court (11:30-11:45)
Othello Manor -
by mailboxes
Sportsmans Trailer Court
Andes/June Rd
Taggares Park
Eagle Apartments
Juniper St - 70 E Juniper
Soda St - 71 E Soda
Yellow Camp
Radar Base Housing - 9090 Sagehill
Weaver's Trailer Court
Summerset West -
Drury Lane/Shelly Rd.
Barbara Road/Thacker Road
In-Person Delivery
information, please call the
Department at
between 7AM and 3:30PM
How do I pick up the meals? Do I need to bring anything?
State and Federal guidelines for food service require that children must be present in order to receive a free meal; parents may not pick up meals for their children.
FREE CHILDCARE FOR MEDICAL FIELD/FIRST RESPONDERS
Who qualifies for the childcare service being offered by the OSD?
The purpose of offering childcare is to support families who are in the medical field or are first responders who are directly assisting with the containment and treatment of COVID-19. OSD Childcare is offered as a last resort for families in these fields.
OSD childcare is provided for current students, PK-12.
Childcare hours are from 7:45-3:30 and will be located at Wahitis Elementary School.
If I work in a medical field or am a first responder, how do I sign-up for childcare?
OSD is collaborating with major local health care providers, fire, police, and sheriff departments to identify who will be needing OSD childcare services. Community members who are first responders or in medical fields outside of the community should contact the district office.
Will transportation be available for OSD childcare?
No, the district will not be picking up or dropping off children.


Egypt's Zamalek suffered a shock exit from the CAF Confederation Cup round of 32 after losing 4-3 on penalties to Ethiopia's Wolaitta Dicha following a 2-2 aggregate draw in Cairo on Sunday.
After losing 2-1 in Hawassa earlier this month, Zamalek triumphed with the same scoreline in regular time to force a penalty shootout that condemned them to a bitter exit at the first hurdle.
Playmaker Ahmed Madbouli gave the hosts the lead from the spot following a disputed penalty on the stroke of half-time before adding another goal just three minutes after the break.
An ill-fated mistake from international keeper Ahmed El-Shennawi, however, allowed the visitors to stun the home crowd through Abdul-Samad Ali in the 52nd minute to level the aggregate score.
The match went straight into penalties, where Zamalek playmaker Ayman Hefni struck the bar and midfielder Mahmoud Abdel-Aziz had a tame effort saved to allow Dicha to cause a huge upset.


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Zygoclistron modestum is een rechtvleugelig insect uit de familie veldsprinkhanen (Acrididae). De wetenschappelijke naam van deze soort is voor het eerst geldig gepubliceerd in 1911 door Bruner.

Veldsprinkhanen


Letter from Our CEO - Alliance Maintenance, Inc.
I want to free you up so that you can focus on growing your business. Buying cleaning equipment. Recruiting and hiring cleaners. Handling turnover. Managing vacation schedules and sick leave. Let Alliance Maintenance handle these things for you.
My 35 plus year career in the cleaning industry began in 1983 when I started cleaning the walls of my dad's racing engine service center in Norman, Oklahoma.
My goals then and now are the same…to excite my customers by creating clean and orderly workplaces. I want to clean your building so that you can feel better and be more productive.


text:
16 February 2015 / SF News / Eve Batey
Why You Should Know How To Drive A Stick: Carjacker Thwarted In Manual Meltdown
It's getting harder and harder to find vehicles with manual transmissions in auto showrooms, anyone who's recently shopped for a new car knows. But with the preponderance of automatic cars comes an advantage for the stick-shift driver, as a car thief is less likely to have the skills to pilot your vehicle.
Anyone who's watched The Amazing Race knows how this goes: person who's only driven automatics gets into a car and has to make a fast getaway, only to have their plans shattered because the car they're in has a standard transmission. That's exactly what happened in Concord yesterday morning, when an armed carjacker had to give up his heist when he couldn't figure out how to drive a stick.
According to the Contra Costa Times, it was 12:15 a.m. when a man got in his car, only to find a stranger with a gun sitting in the passenger seat, apparently trying to either steal or burglarize the car.
After forcing the driver from the car at gunpoint, the carjacker tried to take off in the vehicle, but had to flee on foot because, says Concord police Lt. Tim Runyon, "he couldn't operate a standard transmission."
In a Fox news report from September, they say that "only around 10 percent of vehicles made in North America now have manual transmissions, down from 35 percent in 1980."
Does that mean fewer people know how to drive stick? Research on that is unclear, but it seems possible. Are some of this stick-ignorant folks car thieves? It sure looks like it!
Anecdotally, I'll tell you that one of my driver's ed (summer of 1988!) instructors told us that we didn't need to learn to drive a stick, because "by the time you can afford to buy a car, they'll only be making automatics." When I repeated this assertion to my mother, she laughed, said "at the rate you're going, you'll never be able to afford a car," yet taught me to drive a stick that very day.
(Turns out, neither the driver's ed teacher nor my mom had a complete grasp on the future: manufacturers were still making manuals when I bought my first new car, a 1991 Geo Metro. But, yes, I opted for the stick shift.)
Anyway, back to the present: Runyon says that the carjacking suspect was a 25 (or so) year old Hispanic man standing about 5'8" and weighing 160 pounds. He has a thin mustache, and wore a black hat, a baggy white T-shirt, a black sweater and jeans.
He hasn't been nabbed at publication time, but was last seen — on foot — on the 1500 block of Monument Boulevard in Concord.
Day Around the Bay: Oakland Zoo to Reopen Friday After Sinkhole Situation
Weekend Homicide In SF's Potrero Hill Happens Amid a Barrage of Gunfire
Renowned South Lake Tahoe Pro Skier Kyle Smaine Killed In Avalanche In Japan
SF Restaurants, Food & Drink
President Obama Dined At Spruce With Elon Musk, A Dozen Other Tech Big Shots
As I'm sure you heard, even if you weren't stuck in any traffic as a result, President Obama was just in town for his 20th visit to the Bay Area. He stayed at
Airbnb CEO Apologizes For Gandhi Comparison Tweet
Critics of Silicon Valley take particular pleasure in delusional analogies from tech companies and their backers, and last week provided plenty of fodder. First, Twitter was ablaze with a Uber-as-Rosa Parks comparison, for
Eve Batey


Bangladesh Krishi Bank is a government owned bank in Bangladesh. It is a specialized bank for the development of the agricultural sector. The nickname of the bank is BKB.
Since the inception of the bank, it has been contributing significantly to the development of the agricultural sector of Bangladesh. The bank is engaged in financing the agricultural industry. It also performs retail banking. Every year, the bank collects the vast amount of remittance sent from abroad by the Bangladeshi labors. But, the primary focus of the bank is the agricultural sector. The bank will play a major role in the development of Bangladesh as about 85% of the people are engaged in agriculture.
The bank believes in togetherness with its customers, in its journey on the road of growth and progress with services. The mission of the Bank is to become the most caring, customer friendly, and loving government bank.
The bank supports various credit programs to the farmers in Bangladesh. It provides credits in different terms and amounts for the advancement of the agricultural activities.
The Bank provides various deposit schemes to the customers including current, saving and fixed deposit schemes.
The bank has various poverty alleviation and micro-credit programs including beef fattening joint program, swanivar credit program, small farmers and landless laborers development program, and BKB-NGO microcredit program, etc.
The international business facilitation services of the bank include the letter of credit, bill purchase, remittance, foreign currency account, and forward contracts, etc.
The bank conducts a lot of social welfare services. The Bank contributes to the development of economy, environment protection, health care, and poverty reduction services.
The SWIFT code of the bank's Karwan Bazar corporate branch is BKBABDDHKBB. However, the code differs based on the branch.
For more information, please visit the website of the bank or contact with the office with the given contact details.


text:
Tennessee Hailed As Pro-Family State With 70 Bills In Legislature To Protect Fam...
Tennessee Hailed As Pro-Family State With 70 Bills In Legislature To Protect Family
Eugene Delgaudio, president of Public Advocate hails Tennessee as America's top pro-family state. Delgaudio said "Thank you to the brave legislators who stand against the cancel culture that would wipe away our God, our families and our two gender science based nation."
Homosexual activists are in an uproard against the "crushing" tidle wave of pro-family actions.
Fox TV News of Nashville Reports:
(WARNING LIBERAL ANTI-CHRISTIAN TERMS FOLLOW)
Transgender Tennesseans and LGBTQ advocates spoke out against legislation they call discriminatory in the latest "slate of hate" that includes dozens of anti-LGBTQ efforts in the past several years.
A series of anti-transgender bills are advancing in Tennessee's General Assembly, including a push to ban transgender student athletes and another "bathroom bill."
The Tennessee House was slated to vote on the student athlete bill, SB22 / HB3 which requires a student participating in middle school or high school sports to play based on their biological sex as indicated on their birth certificate, on Thursday, but that vote was rolled to Monday. It already passed the Senate and if it clears the House, it will head to Gov. Bill Lee's desk.
Last month, Gov. Lee told reporters he believed allowing transgender girls to play on female sports teams would "destroy women's sports." The governor added he believed it would also "ruin the opportunity for girls to earn scholarships."
Transgender Tennesseans and advocates spoke out about the legislation Thursday.
"The harm that folks go through watching their legislators debate the existence of trans youth. It is crushing," Cathryn Oakley, HRC, State Legislative Director & Senior Counsel, said about the series of bills.
She pointed to an investigation by the Associated Press in which legislators in 20 states pushing bills to ban transgender girls from competing on girls' sports teams were asked what prompted the bills. The AP found in nearly every case, an example of what prompted the bill couldn't be cited, including Tennessee.
In Tennessee, House Speaker Cameron Sexton conceded there may not actually be transgender students now participating in middle and high school sports; he said a bill was necessary so the state could be "proactive." - AP
"The people who are pushing this legislation are anti-LGBTQ activists who are desperate to try and claw back the equality gains that have been made in our movement," Oakley said. "They are not people who have a reputation for caring about women's sports. They are the same people trying to push bathroom bills and who are trying to push wedding refusals. These are people who do not believe in LGBTQ equality and do not believe that trans people have valid identities."
Oakley says in the past six years, Tennessee has filed more than 70 anti-LGBTQ pieces of legislation.


text:
New BTS album 'Map of the Soul: 7' set to rock global music scene
By Yonhap
Published : Feb 21, 2020 - 09:54 Updated : Feb 21, 2020 - 09:55
(Big Hit Entertainment)
K-pop phenomenon BTS will drop a new album, "Map of the Soul: 7," Friday evening, rocking the world music scene once again.
The upcoming 20-track album is the second part of its "Map of the Soul" album series, following "Map of the Soul: Persona," released in April last year.
Like its predecessor, "7" is a soul-searching musical journey, inspired by concepts developed by Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung like the persona.
The new album is led by main track "ON," a captivating, powerful hip hop number whose 30-second preview audio was released early Friday morning via video-sharing platform TikTok.
Videos of fans' wild reactions to the sample flooded TikTok using the hash tag "onchallenge" within an hour of the preview's release.
"ON" explores BTS' devotion and sense of being artists, developed and refined through the band's eventful seven-year career.
BTS prereleased three songs from the album: "Interlude: Shadow," "Outro: Ego" and "Black Swan." The band premiered the latter on American TV show "The Late Late Show with James Corden" last month.
Including the prereleased tracks and the main song, the new album has 15 brand new numbers, like "Filter," "UGH!," "00:00 (Zero O'Clock)," "Inner Child," "Moon," "Louder than Bombs" and "We Are Bulletproof: The Eternal."
"Filter" is a solo effort by member Jimin that delves into Jimin's growth from K-pop trainee to adult. On his own solo track, "Inner Child," V talks about an ordeal he faced, while Jin expresses his love for BTS fans -- the "Army" -- in "Moon."
Pop star Troye Sivan helped produce "Louder than Bombs."
BTS will separately release a special digital version of "ON" featuring Australian singer-songwriter Sia on Friday evening.
The album also contains five hit songs from "Map of the Soul: Persona," including "Boy With Luv," "Make It Right" and "Dionysus."
Along with the album, the septet will release a "kinetic manifesto film" for "ON" before appearing on American TV program "The Today Show" on Friday (US time).
The band will then fly back to Seoul to host a global press conference in the South Korean capital on Monday.
Preorders for "Map of the Soul: 7" had reached 4.02 million copies as of Monday, a record in South Korea. (Yonhap)


Those of you who get industry updates may have seen that the High Court of Australia recently found that the builder of an apartment building was not liable in negligence to the Owners Corporation (the New South Wales version of a body corporate) for latent construction defects in the building.
Even though it was based on a building in a New South Wales, the general principles that were decided in the case are relevant to all states in Australia.
The decision is significant as it removes one potential string from the bow of a body corporate to bring building defect claims against a developer. However, it is not as catastrophic to a legal action for building defects as some would have you believe.
Breach of contract – the body corporate gets the benefit of developer's rights under any contracts for building or development work carried out on the scheme land, so can sue for breach of contract (i.e. you did not build the product to the standard required under the contract).
Negligence – the builder owed a duty of care to exercise due care and skill in their work and that duty was breached when the building started leaking (this is the action affected by this High Court decision).
Misleading and deceptive conduct – the developer / builder / supplier / manufacturer made misleading and deceptive representations about the quality of the building works or material.
The High Court decision will not adversely affect the main cause of action (breach of contract), but it will increase the amount of care and attention it gets in the future.
So why did the High Court come to this conclusion? Well, there are 67 pages of reasons explaining that but in essence our take away is that the case turned on the need for a claimant (i.e. the owners corporation) to demonstrate that it was vulnerable to a builder's negligence. That is, the owners corporation had to demonstrate that it could not protect itself from the consequences of defective building work.
One of the reasons that went against the Owners Corporation was that its members (i.e. the lot owners) had the opportunity to protect themselves when entering into off-the-plan contracts to purchase. No-one forced them to enter into the purchase contracts and if they were concerned about the possibility of building defects, they could have carried out a thorough inspection of the building or even negotiated greater warranties against defects before they settled.
That type of reasoning may be over-estimating the bargaining power and sophistication of your average purchaser of an off-the-plan unit as against a large and well-established developer. The position is coloured a fraction by the fact that the purchasers of lots were buying lots in a serviced apartment hotel venture as an investment, and as such weren't going to actually reside in them. This may be something that may be looked at differently if a residential only building brought a similar claim – but any claim would now be swimming against the tide based on this decision.
Interestingly, however, the other Owners Corporation in the same building (the residential body corporate) settled their claim against the builder based on New South Wales-specific statutory warranties for residential building work. This position changes state by state based on what the statutory insurance framework is.
Start looking at your body corporate records to see whether the developer (original owner) handed over all contracts for building and development work carried out on the land.
The Body Corporate and Community Management Act 1997 obliges the developer to hand over these documents to the body corporate at the first Annual General Meeting (AGM). Check the minutes of the first AGM to start the trail. You will likely see a bare acknowledgement that some records were handed over or even the developer's representative tabling an undertaking to give these documents at some later point.
Engage qualified experts to not only inspect the scheme for defects, but also to estimate the rectification costs (so you know what you may be fighting for).
We can help any committees on a no obligation and very cost effective basis if needed to help determine these threshold issues.
The information in this article is of a general nature and is not intended to address the circumstances of any particular individual or entity. Although we strive to provide accurate and timely information, we do not guarantee that the information contained within this article is accurate at the date it is published/received or that it will continue to be accurate in the future. Hynes Legal are not responsible for the information of any source to which a link is provided or to which reference is made and exclude all liability connected with use of these sources.


Canaletto Ristorante Veneto, Newport Beach will celebrate its grand opening Monday, November 17, at Fashion Island.
Located near Neiman Marcus, Canaletto Ristorante Veneto will offer the most complete Venetian dining experience in the country.
Drawing its flavors from the Veneto region of northeastern Italy, Canaletto's sophisticated Italian ambiance will be highlighted by gracious and abundant hospitality, five-star service at every table and a diverse menu featuring choices for every taste.
Canaletto is owned and operated by Il Fornaio, renowned for its award-winning Italian restaurants, bakeries and full-service catering.
Overseeing Canaletto's grand opening and menu creation is Executive Chef Maurizio Mazzon, who led the culinary grand opening of the original Canaletto restaurant in 1999 at The Venetian Hotel, Resort and Casino's Grand Canal Shoppes in Las Vegas.
Chef Mazzon, Venetian born and trained, will recreate the authentic flavors of his homeland in an extensive menu alongside an outstanding wine list showcasing the unique and organic wines of Veneto, including an expansive Prosecco list. Canaletto has received Wine Spectator's Award of Excellence for its commitment to wine as an integral component of Italian dining.
Chef Mazzon will offer extensive risotto choices highlighting the flavors of Veneto, along with house made and imported pastas, pizzas from a traditional Italian-designed oven, fresh salads and soups, seasonal antipasti, and a wide selection of desserts suitable for any dining occasion. Reflecting its authenticity of Veneto-based food and wine, Canaletto's name is based on the famous 17th century Venetian artist Giovanni Antonio Canal, son of painter Bernardo Canal, who became famous for his pastoral landscapes of Venice.
Designed by BCV Architects of San Francisco, Calif., and inspired by the great restaurants of Venice, Canaletto's architecture and contemporary Italian design will be as noteworthy as its menu, featuring 20-foot-tall vaulted ceilings, breathtaking Venetian glass fixtures, artisan millwork, as well as terrazzo and mosaic floors. Upon entering Canaletto, guests are welcomed by a dramatic 32-seat bar and an Italian "Mercato Del Pesce" and raw bar offering seating for six. An adjacent bar loggia with fireplace seats 32 guests and offers a wide range of cocktails and antipasti, or dining from Canaletto's full menu. "Al fresco" dining with fireside seating is also available on two piazzas, which accommodate up to 50 guests. Canaletto's elegant, main dining room seats 140 and is highlighted by a lively exhibition kitchen. Two beautifully appointed private dining rooms can accommodate groups from 20 to 60 guests.
Canaletto offers walk-in seating, however, reservations are recommended by contacting Canaletto at (949) 640-0900, or online at www.ilfornaio.com. Ample, free covered parking is available in the adjacent structure or lots, with valet parking on-site.


The Las Cruces-El Paso SQL Users Group (LCEP SSUG) is an official chapter of the national Microsoft Professional Association of SQL Server users. (PASS). We typically meet every 2nd Thursday of the month. Join us for free learning , exchange of ideas, questions, networking and general fun.
Tired of the repetitive work of setting up SSIS packages to load data? Come and watch as we touch on some of the ways BIML allows you to automate your package creation.
Colleen Barnitz leads a development group at Mesilla Valley Transportation. She is heavily involved in data warehousing design and implementation and has been developing with SQL Server technologies since 1998.


Published: 09 Feb 2009: Online travel booking is on a roll with an estimated 11 percent CAGR in online bookings in Asia Pacific over the next four years, according to Abacus.
Abacus expects this to continue for the foreseeable future as more Asian travellers gain access to the tools to look and book online. In fact, the volume of bookings made by Online Travel Agent´s (OTAs) connected to the Abacus GDS increased by over 20 percent year-on-year.
"We are approaching the turning point where the Internet can no longer be regarded as an emerging channel, but has now earned its place as a key channel in the sales and marketing strategy of all significant players in the industry," Abacus International CEO and president, Robert Bailey said.
While online bookings estimatedly account for around 11 percent of total airline bookings in Asia Pacific (Eye for Travel Asia Pacific Online Travel Report 2007), traditional ´brick and mortar´ travel agents continue to be a major force in travel distribution.
"In all our conversations across our network of over 15,000 travel agency locations we are picking up a strong emphasis on travel agency productivity and a push to reduce costs through greater automation, use of productivity tools etc. 2009 will be the year of the leaner and meaner travel agency," said Bailey.
"Asia will see continuing pressure by the airlines to roll back travel agency commissions; but the progress will be muted, at least for some time, by certain unique characteristics of the Asian market; diverse currencies, visas and the complexity of travel. This was exemplified by the recent experience of India where collective action by travel agents reversed an attempt by several major airlines to cut the commissions."
"Another recent trend in the United States has been the rapid rise of home-based travel agency consultants as mainstream agencies have re-trenched over the past year. We are yet to see this trend in any significant way in Asia; but it is possible that the model gains some traction here over the years ahead as the tools of travel booking become more portable and less tied to the office."
Abacus believes that many players in Asia´s travel industry will be stress-tested by the conditions the industry will encounter in 2009.
And the winners will be those with underlying capital strength, the smartest and most nimble strategies, and the strongest customer relationships, said Bailey.
"The economic and market issues are more systemic and are impacting on a broader range of players within the travel sector and wider economic environment. On top of this, events such as the airport blockade in Thailand and violence in Mumbai have further disrupted travel patterns at a time when the industry can little afford it," he said.
Tourism arrivals are slipping in many countries in the region. For example, Singapore recorded a 1.6 percent drop year-on-year against 2007 and hotel occupancy rates down by 6 percent for the year in a recent release by Singapore Tourism Board. Malaysia is projecting a 9 percent drop in tourist numbers to 20 million foreign visitors in 2009. Indonesia stands out as something of a beacon for the industry in South East Asia. A resurgent Bali continues to shine amid a 16 percent year-on-year surge for all visitors to the country in what was billed as Visit Indonesia Year.
"2009 will also be a year of concerted action by the National Tourism Offices to get people moving. We expect an intensification of branded national campaigns, combined with tempting discount offers as countries such as Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand battle it out for the tourist dollar," Bailey said.


"Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" (Release date: July 7, 2006) The sequel to the 2003 Disney action adventure was even more commercially successful than its predecessor. Though it didn't receive the same amount of positive reviews, "Dead Man's Chest" grossed about $423.3 million domestically and $1.06 billion worldwide, which helped spawn three more sequels for the franchise.
"Spider-Man 3" (Release date: May 4, 2007) "Spider-Man 3" may not have lived up to the hype of Sam Raimi's first two movies in the superhero franchise, but it certainly made an impression financially. The third and final outing with Tobey Maguire as the webslinger earned $336.5 million domestically and $890 million worldwide.
"The Dark Knight" (Release date: July 18, 2008) The middle film in Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy featured a memorable, Oscar-winning turn by Heath Ledger as the Joker. That boosted box office to an impressive $534.8 million in North America and just over $1 billion worldwide.
"Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" (Release date: June 24, 2009) Poor reviews didn't stop "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" from becoming the highest grossing film of the summer of 2009 (and the second highest that year). The movie grossed $402.1 million domestically and $836 million worldwide.
"Toy Story 3" (Release date: June 18, 2010) Fifteen years after Pixar's beloved classic "Toy Story," the film's threequel exceeded expectations, both critically and commercially. Receiving overwhelming critical praise and two Academy Awards, "Toy Story 3" skyrocketed at the box office. It grossed $415 million domestically and became the first animated film to top $1 billion worldwide.
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2" (Release date: July 15, 2011) The eighth and final chapter in the epic "Harry Potter" film series was a no-brainer success. After a record-breaking opening weekend, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2" made $381 million in domestic revenue and $960 million overseas, totaling $1.3 billion.
"Marvel's The Avengers" (Release date: May 4, 2012) Marvel's superhero mash-up became the studio's first to claim the summer box office title. Drawing $623.4 million in domestic grosses and $1.5 billion in total, "The Avengers" established Marvel's place in creating blockbusters.
"Iron Man 3" (Release date: May 3, 2013) Marvel continued its streak with "Iron Man 3," which earned $409 million in the U.S. and $1.2 billion worldwide.
"Guardians of the Galaxy" (Release date: August 1, 2014) Once "The Avengers" and "Iron Man 3" set the bar high for commercial success, Marvel proved to be an unstoppable force when it released "Guardians of the Galaxy." A peculiar revival of an old Marvel comic, "Guardians of the Galaxy" became a critical and commercial hit, making $333.1 million at the domestic box office and $773 million worldwide.
"Jurassic World" (Release date: June 12, 2015) After making waves in "Guardians of the Galaxy," Chris Pratt cemented his leading man status with "Jurassic World," the fourth installment of the "Jurassic Park" franchise. In addition to making $524.4 million worldwide in its opening weekend, "Jurassic World" shattered box office records. It wound up chomping $652.2 million in domestic revenue and $1.6 billion overall.


5) Which menu is MSWorld can be used to change page size and typeface ?
10) Which one of the following is not a vaccine ?
11) What per penny of the arabe land in Chhattisgarh is fundamental development?
12) Where is the matchbox manufacturing plant in Chhattisgarh?
13) निपात कितने प्रकार के होते हैं ?
15) The HCF of two numbers is 8. Which one of the following can never be their LCM?
17) There are 600 boys in a hostel. Each plays either hockey or football or both. If 75% plays hockey and 45% play football, How many boys plays both ?
19) Oh! Such a pretty girl. Whom has she ……?


text:
/*----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 * Notice of Export Control Law
 * ===============================================
 * Huawei LiteOS may be subject to applicable export control laws and regulations, which might
 * include those applicable to Huawei LiteOS of U.S. and the country in which you are located.
 * Import, export and usage of Huawei LiteOS in any manner by you shall be in compliance with such
 * applicable export control laws and regulations.
 *---------------------------------------------------------------------------*/
#ifdef __cplusplus
#if __cplusplus
extern "C" {
#endif /* __cpluscplus */
#endif /* __cpluscplus */

#include "los_demo_entry.h"
#include "los_task.h"
#include <string.h>

static UINT32 g_uwDemoTaskID;
int dprintf_1(const char *format,...)
{
    return 0;
}
#ifdef LOS_KERNEL_TEST_KEIL_SWSIMU

#define ITM_Port8(n)    (*((volatile unsigned char *)(0xE0000000+4*n)))
#define ITM_Port16(n)   (*((volatile unsigned short*)(0xE0000000+4*n)))
#define ITM_Port32(n)   (*((volatile unsigned long *)(0xE0000000+4*n)))
#define DEMCR           (*((volatile unsigned long *)(0xE000EDFC)))
#define TRCENA          0x01000000

struct __FILE
{
    int handle; /* Add whatever needed */
};

FILE __stdout;
FILE __stdin;

int fputc(int ch, FILE *f)
{
    if (DEMCR & TRCENA)
    {
        while (ITM_Port32(0) == 0);
        ITM_Port8(0) = ch;
    }
    return(ch);
}

#endif

LITE_OS_SEC_TEXT VOID LOS_Demo_Tskfunc(VOID)
{
#ifdef LOS_KERNEL_TEST_ALL
#else /* LOS_KERNEL_TEST_ALL */

/* only test some function */
#ifdef LOS_KERNEL_TEST_TASK
    Example_TskCaseEntry();
#endif
#ifdef LOS_KERNEL_TEST_MEM_DYNAMIC
     Example_Dyn_Mem();
#endif
#ifdef LOS_KERNEL_TEST_MEM_STATIC
    Example_StaticMem();
#endif
#ifdef LOS_KERNEL_TEST_INTRRUPT
    Example_Interrupt();
#endif
#ifdef LOS_KERNEL_TEST_QUEUE
    Example_MsgQueue();
#endif
#ifdef LOS_KERNEL_TEST_EVENT
    Example_SndRcvEvent();
#endif
#ifdef LOS_KERNEL_TEST_MUTEX
    Example_MutexLock();
#endif
#ifdef LOS_KERNEL_TEST_SEMPHORE
    Example_Semphore();
#endif
#ifdef LOS_KERNEL_TEST_SYSTICK
    Example_GetTick();
#endif
#ifdef LOS_KERNEL_TEST_SWTIMER
    Example_swTimer();
#endif
#ifdef LOS_KERNEL_TEST_LIST
    Example_list();
#endif
#endif/* LOS_KERNEL_TEST_ALL */

    while (1)
    {
        LOS_TaskDelay(100);
    }
}

void LOS_Demo_Entry(void)
{
    UINT32 uwRet;
    TSK_INIT_PARAM_S stTaskInitParam;

    (VOID)memset((void *)(&stTaskInitParam), 0, sizeof(TSK_INIT_PARAM_S));
    stTaskInitParam.pfnTaskEntry = (TSK_ENTRY_FUNC)LOS_Demo_Tskfunc;
    stTaskInitParam.uwStackSize = LOSCFG_BASE_CORE_TSK_IDLE_STACK_SIZE;
    stTaskInitParam.pcName = "ApiDemo";
    stTaskInitParam.usTaskPrio = 30;
    uwRet = LOS_TaskCreate(&g_uwDemoTaskID, &stTaskInitParam);

    if (uwRet != LOS_OK)
    {
        dprintf("Api demo test task create failed\n");
        return;
    }
    return;
}

#ifdef __cplusplus
#if __cplusplus
}
#endif /* __cpluscplus */
#endif /* __cpluscplus */

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
HE-Approved "Mank" Under Fire
HE-posted a few weeks ago: "First and foremost Mank has been made by and for film monks — smartypants types, devotional cineastes, those with a general sense of X-factor sophistication, guys like Bob Strauss, etc. That probably leaves out a certain portion of the community who will bestow earnest praise for its technical accomplishments. We all know what that means."
While Mank currently has a respectable 88% Rotten Tomatoes rating, it has a slightly more concerning 79% rating on Metacritic. A reasonably decent aggregate between them, agreed, but then I read Ann Hornaday's 11.18 Washington Post review, a half-and-halfer, and I realized that my respectful and admiring assessment of David Fincher's film wasn't as widely shared as I thought.
And then Mank began streaming on 12.4, and views of certain industry folk began to surface on Twitter and Facebook. This morning two Facebook threads this morning — one launched by Paul Schrader, another by Dale Launer — gave me pause.
Schrader complained that Mank "fails the first obligation of telling the story of a flawed protagonist — to convince the viewer that this character merits two hours of their time." I replied that I initially felt this way, largely because Gary Oldman's Herman Mankiewicz (20 years too old to be playing a 40something) to be mostly about being soused.
"But then, curiously, I began to like him more and more. Sappy as it may sound, he quipped and charmed his way into my heart." And then Tesla executive Landon Johnson asked "how many times did you watch it before it charmed you?" And I replied "once" but at that very moment I knew Mank was in trouble with working industry types and related know-it-alls.
Mank will still be Best Picture-nominated, I suspect; ditto Fincher for directing and Eric Messerschmidt's black-and-white cinematography. But to go by almost everyone Amanda Seyfried's performance as Marion Davies is easily the most admired element — she's the only real slam-dunk.
Consider Launer's Facebook critique, which frankly made me go "hmmm." A longtime seasoned screenwriter and a man of candid description and admission, he riffed on Mank in real time, and didn't cut it much slack.
"I was going to have a nice evening by ordering in and watching Mank, which from the trailer looked stunning," Launer begins. "But from the trailer, I wasn't sure if it was a good movie or not. It is not.
"Annoying, pretentious dialogue dominates the movie. The writing has the feel of someone who went to an Ivy league school and want to show it off in their writing. Hence dialogue that sounds very 'drawing room' (or so it attempts) and is reaching for a sophisticated feel. This gives it a slightly 'old timey' feel — but not in a good way. A lot of 'clever' talk, but in statements rather than actual dialogue…witticisms but nothing that approaches reality. Superficially classy, but without elegance. Amateurish, like when a studio hires someone with a refined background and assumes they can write a compelling story. First with 'exposition' like someone saying 'You remember when…' instead of just showing us. I'd rather SEE the flashback.
"Then there's a scene where there's a writers room filled with east coast playwrights and journalists and they're introduced as though the audience will be impressed. Best to impress us with their actions rather than their introduction. This is going to be a slog but to be fair, I'm only 28 minutes in and had to take a short break so my annoyance doesn't turn out out and out anxiety. The first act is about to end (I think) and there should be a direction that takes off in an interesting way.
"The look, however is sensational. Shot on a digital black-and-white camera — production design, cinematography and the direction — all top notch.
"I've never had the experience of reading a script that started out badly written, and then got good. I've read scripts that started out slow and picked up, but that's to be expected. And I've never seen a movie that was badly-written, suddenly become well-written. Never. It is not uncommon for a reader to give a screenplay 15 pages, but you can usually tell it's bad on the 1st page or two. And this movie had all the earmarks of bad writing.
"And I do remember it being bad form to exit a screening before a movie was finished. But I'm going to take a different stand on this issue. Giving respect to a writer is one thing, but giving respect to writing is another. A bad movie is ALWAYS a function of bad writing. I've certainly seen good scripts get hurt in the development process, and I've seen directors hurt movies too. But a great script is literally fool-proof.
"No, you won't get a perfect cast (Danny DeVito being cast as low-level gigolo), or they'll cut out something important for the story or the character (why did Vinny take six attempts to pass the bar? A little dyslexic, a character trait which reverberates thru the story). Bad, amateurish writing almost always has the same odor – 1. Underwritten characters. 2. Dialogue that doesn't really function as dialogue, but instead [is] just two people making statements back and forth — just works like pretentious faux dialogue, it doesn't flow, doesn't feel real, and as a result, doesn't work. 3. Ridiculous behavior of characters. 4. Lack of authenticity — the story feels made up — usually the work of a 'hack' writer — who instead of utilizing elements from real life – from newspaper articles, magazine articles, true stories they've heard, true stories, dialogue and people they've met — they use 'tried and true' story elements, twists, characters, and gags from other movies. The colors in their paint box are not original, but from other films. (this is especially annoying when you see a fascinating true story rich with authentic bits – and those bits are replaced with cliches.)
"So a bad movie is the fault of people in the business who fail to understand what is or isn't good writing, who don't know any better but should (usually studio execs, producers, director) who fail to understand what is good writing. I feel walking out on a movie that is crap — is a statement to that effect. And I've done it many times. When a movie is bad, it actually makes me angry. 'How did this piece of shit get made?! How did someone read that script and say – 'Great!' …? It's insulting."
December 6, 2020by Jeffrey Wells105 Comments
What Trump Insider Hasn't Been Infected?
Spittle Sputter


These are whimsical colorful frames that can be made to fit any home decor! Each frame is a piece of art, handmade and beautifully crafted. We'd love to create a custom order for you - the dimensions start for 4x4 pics and can go BIG, really BIG and there are LIMITLESS color variations available too. If you are interested in these one-of-a-kind frames, please contact katie@2katiedesigns.com.
These little 4x4 cuties are great in trios or quad groupings in any room of your home. The same solid 1" thick hand crafted, painted & stained for a distressed frames with a one of a kind appearance. They also come standard with glass & hanging hardware. Due to this process orders are filled about 2-3 weeks out. 4x4 frames are ONLY available in the 2 styles shown above.
When order also specify reference a frame style/shape as well. Please note in this size currently the two styles above are available - wavy edge "San Fransisco" or the pointed tipped "Baltimore.
We are very proud of our unique frames! They are solid 1" thick artisan made, hand crafted, painted & stained for a distressed one of a kind appearance. They also come standard with glass & hanging hardware. Due to this process orders are filled about 2-3 weeks out.
When ordering please specify color & style.
When order also specify reference a frame style/shape as well.
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