text:
Exclusive Interview with Roberto Gomez: The Secret Identity of �Superman�
MANILA, Philippines � �Superman� is a more than appropriate nickname for Roberto Gomez of the Philippines, because although the barrel-chested 29-year-old is creating a sensation with his heroics at this year�s World Pool Championship � leading to a berth in the finals today � hardly anyone knows anything about this former TV newsman�s mild-mannered life off the table.
Gomez isn�t a known quantity even inside his own country, and wasn�t among the dozen or so Filipino players who earned invitations to the 128-man WPC field. He had to play in seven different qualifying tournaments to earn one of 10 open spots in the field.
Billiards Digest�s Mason King sat down to a late dinner with Gomez on Saturday night, the eve of his championship match. They were joined by a group including Gomez�s live-in girlfriend, Pearl, and Gomez�s managers, Perry and Verna Mariano of Bugsy Promotions, which has drastically reshaped Filipino pool over the last two years by taking young talents like Gomez under their wing and providing them with training, direction and the means to travel to international events.
Gomez represents a shift in the Filipino model for creating a world-class pool player. Instead of living a hard-scrabble life in this Third World country and turning to high-stakes pool �action� matches as a sole means of survival, Gomez was university-educated, had a good job in a respected field, and decided to pursue tournament pool as a career.
That decision seems to be paying off, although not in terms of sleep. Although exhausted from his quarterfinal and semifinal victories on Saturday, the perpetually grinning and joking Gomez was nervous and wired on Saturday night. He had slept maybe three hours the night before, and couldn�t sleep at all the previous night.
During a traditional dinner of shared beef and fish dishes, Gomez said, �My pulse is moving fast, my brain is moving fast. � I�m thinking about tomorrow � thinking about being the world champion, thinking about how if I lose I will regret it forever. I want to think of something new, like I�m flying, like I�m Superman, so I can sleep. Or thinking I�m with a beautiful girl in a waterfall. I think of things that are really nice so I can go to sleep. But still, the billiard balls, the pool, are still in my head.�
Gomez grew up in Mindanao, the second largest and easternmost island in the Philippines, and started playing pool at 9 years old.
�I idolized Efren �Bata� Reyes,� Gomez said of the Filipino pool legend. �I love Efren Reyes. Every game that he has ever played that there is a [video] record of, I have it on video tape. � And I enjoyed playing pool.�
Although he dreamed of being a professional pool player some day, he followed a traditional path through the local school system. And he had other passions in his teen years.
�My dream was to be an architect,� he said. When it came time to consider advanced study, Gomez tried to sign up for a course in architecture, but �the only open courses were broadcasting or political science. So I just chose broadcasting.�
He attended Western Mindanao State University and eventually took a job as a field reporter for the ABS-CBN network in the Philippines, �looking for crimes and accidents and other fresh news,� he said. However, he stayed less than two years. Among the job�s drawbacks: He was not enamored with speaking English on-air.
He ended up pursuing pool more aggressively, and took on a sponsor. He came to the attention of Perry Mariano when one of Mariano�s friends suggested that they bet on Gomez in an upcoming challenge match with Leonardo Andam.
�I saw him and he beat Andam. He was good,� Perry said. �The next time around, we bet on Gomez, and we lost. When Gomez would see me, he would play bad. He was trying to impress me. He really wanted to be in my stable of players.�
The Marianos eventually signed him about two years ago. �Great players hit the ball a certain way � very slowly and subtly, and the effect is tremendous,� Perry said. Gomez had the gift, like other Bugsy stablemates such as Dennis Orcollo and 2006 world champion Ronnie Alcano.
Gomez started an aggressive practice regimen that the Bugsy group has developed. �First, we play 70 racks a day, without taking a rest,� he said. �It�s about four hours standing alone at the table, playing yourself, racking the balls on your own and scoring, every day. I enjoy that. But it�s really tiring. It�s really tough. And when we come late, even one minute, they make us run as a penalty.� Bugsy players also practice hours of cut shots, kick shots, rail shots, safeties, and whatever else a particular player requires to round out his game.
Another essential element of the Marianos� plan is to send their players abroad so they get international playing experience and begin building a resume. However, it can be tough to acquire visas for unknown players. The Marianos twice applied for visas so Gomez could compete in tournaments in the U.S., and twice they were denied.
Still, there were signs that Gomez would be a force to reckon with. As a qualifier in the 2006 World Pool Championship, Gomez went undefeated in the group stages, only to be defeated in the first knockout round by cohort Alcano, who eventually won the tournament.
In February, the Marianos were able to send Gomez to a small but highly regarded tournament in Norway called the 8-Ball Battle of Scandinavia. The field included heavyweights such as Marcus Chamat, Niels Feijen and Raj Hundal. In his first trip ever outside the Philippines, Gomez finished fifth in the 8-ball division, and first in an accompanying 9-ball contest.
In June, the Marianos were finally able to secure him a spot on the elite, all-Asian Guinness 9-Ball Tour, which only fields 24 players per event. He finished tied-for-fifth in each of the three stops he competed in this year.
Gomez still didn�t have the resume to qualify for an automatic spot among the Philippine contingent at the World Pool Championship, so he went the route of 10 qualifying tournaments held in late October and early November. He won the seventh event.
In the WPC field, he advanced easily through the group stages, beating Niels Feijen, 9-6, and D. Singh Lilly, 9-4. Then he went on an absolute tear through the knockout rounds, beating Alex Lely, 10-1; former world champ Chao Fong-Pang, 10-2; Feijen, 11-0; 2005 runner-up Kuo Po-Cheng, 11-3; and Karl Boyes, 11-4. He will face England�s Daryl Peach in the final.
Gomez has amazed spectators and fellow players alike with his shotmaking prowess and imaginative play that can only be described as Efren-esque � no doubt honed by his many hours studying the master. Just one example from the Boyes match: Escaping from a safety, he executed a two-rail kick along the short rail that hit the object ball at midtable and comboed in the 3. Nearly all his safeties have both scoring and defensive components.
Unlike Reyes, he has developed a menacing visage at the table and in his chair, which is entirely intentional. �One of my strategies is that I put a little angriness in my performance, which I got from Perry,� he said. �I put in my mind that my opponent is my enemy.�
Otherwise, he is as ebullient and bubbly as they come. He may be nicknamed �Superman� (a sobriquet coined by Reyes himself when Gomez wore a Superman T-shirt at a tournament), but at five-feet-seven inches and with heavily moussed hair, he�s really more like 2004 champion Alex Pagulayan on steroids and an all-hamburger diet. Friends call him �crazy� sometimes, �because he can be so childlike and fun-loving,� Verna Mariano said.
Like Pagulayan, Gomez has learned how to focus his energy. He no longer loses interest in matches when he develops a big lead � a fault in the past which he has not committed at the WPC. �At the World Championship, when they give you a chance, you have to grab it,� he said.
He also has mastered the soft break that has proved so effective on the main TV table at the WPC, and he has no apologies for those who think it has made play at the championship too predictable this year. �With the soft break, I�m in control of the cue ball, and the wing ball always goes in. I don�t care [if people don�t like it]. If I win the tournament, I don�t care if anybody watches.�
Of course, winning the WPC will bring fantastic rewards, not the least of which is the $100,000 top prize (of which the Marianos will keep 40 percent, per their player contract). Like Alcano in 2006, he is likely to get bonuses from the Filipino government. And, being a known quantity and national hero, he will much more likely receive visas for international travel and events.
His plans for the money include establishing an education fund for his and Pearl�s daughter, Samantha, born this summer. But at the moment, he�s really looking forward to some quality time with a pillow.
�I�m pretty sure I�m finally going to be able sleep when I am the champion,� he said.
Even Superman needs his rest.


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text:
using Poco::NumberFormatter;
using Poco::NumberParser;
using Poco::icompare;

namespace Poco {
namespace Net {

const std::string HTTPMessage::HTTP_1_0                   = "HTTP/1.0";
const std::string HTTPMessage::HTTP_1_1                   = "HTTP/1.1";
const std::string HTTPMessage::IDENTITY_TRANSFER_ENCODING = "identity";
const std::string HTTPMessage::CHUNKED_TRANSFER_ENCODING  = "chunked";
const int         HTTPMessage::UNKNOWN_CONTENT_LENGTH     = -1;
const std::string HTTPMessage::UNKNOWN_CONTENT_TYPE;
const std::string HTTPMessage::CONTENT_LENGTH             = "Content-Length";
const std::string HTTPMessage::CONTENT_TYPE               = "Content-Type";
const std::string HTTPMessage::TRANSFER_ENCODING          = "Transfer-Encoding";
const std::string HTTPMessage::CONNECTION                 = "Connection";
const std::string HTTPMessage::CONNECTION_KEEP_ALIVE      = "Keep-Alive";
const std::string HTTPMessage::CONNECTION_CLOSE           = "Close";
const std::string HTTPMessage::EMPTY;

HTTPMessage::HTTPMessage():
	_version(HTTP_1_0)
{
}

HTTPMessage::HTTPMessage(const std::string& version):
	_version(version)
{
}

HTTPMessage::~HTTPMessage()
{
}

void HTTPMessage::setVersion(const std::string& version)
{
	_version = version;
}

void HTTPMessage::setContentLength(std::streamsize length)
{
	if (length != UNKNOWN_CONTENT_LENGTH)
		set(CONTENT_LENGTH, NumberFormatter::format(length));
	else
		erase(CONTENT_LENGTH);
}

std::streamsize HTTPMessage::getContentLength() const
{
	const std::string& contentLength = get(CONTENT_LENGTH, EMPTY);
	if (!contentLength.empty())
	{
		if (sizeof(std::streamsize) == sizeof(Poco::Int64))
			return static_cast<std::streamsize>(NumberParser::parse64(contentLength));
		else
			return static_cast<std::streamsize>(NumberParser::parse(contentLength));
	}
	else return UNKNOWN_CONTENT_LENGTH;
}

#if defined(POCO_HAVE_INT64)
void HTTPMessage::setContentLength64(Poco::Int64 length)
{
	if (length != UNKNOWN_CONTENT_LENGTH)
		set(CONTENT_LENGTH, NumberFormatter::format(length));
	else
		erase(CONTENT_LENGTH);
}

Poco::Int64 HTTPMessage::getContentLength64() const
{
	const std::string& contentLength = get(CONTENT_LENGTH, EMPTY);
	if (!contentLength.empty())
	{
		return NumberParser::parse64(contentLength);
	}
	else return UNKNOWN_CONTENT_LENGTH;
}
#endif // defined(POCO_HAVE_INT64)

void HTTPMessage::setTransferEncoding(const std::string& transferEncoding)
{
	if (icompare(transferEncoding, IDENTITY_TRANSFER_ENCODING) == 0)
		erase(TRANSFER_ENCODING);
	else
		set(TRANSFER_ENCODING, transferEncoding);
}

const std::string& HTTPMessage::getTransferEncoding() const
{
	return get(TRANSFER_ENCODING, IDENTITY_TRANSFER_ENCODING);
}

void HTTPMessage::setChunkedTransferEncoding(bool flag)
{
	if (flag)
		setTransferEncoding(CHUNKED_TRANSFER_ENCODING);
	else
		setTransferEncoding(IDENTITY_TRANSFER_ENCODING);
}

bool HTTPMessage::getChunkedTransferEncoding() const
{
	return icompare(getTransferEncoding(), CHUNKED_TRANSFER_ENCODING) == 0;
}

void HTTPMessage::setContentType(const std::string& mediaType)
{
	if (mediaType.empty())
		erase(CONTENT_TYPE);
	else
		set(CONTENT_TYPE, mediaType);
}

void HTTPMessage::setContentType(const MediaType& mediaType)
{
	setContentType(mediaType.toString());
}

const std::string& HTTPMessage::getContentType() const
{
	return get(CONTENT_TYPE, UNKNOWN_CONTENT_TYPE);
}

void HTTPMessage::setKeepAlive(bool keepAlive)
{
	if (keepAlive)
		set(CONNECTION, CONNECTION_KEEP_ALIVE);
	else
		set(CONNECTION, CONNECTION_CLOSE);
}

bool HTTPMessage::getKeepAlive() const
{
	const std::string& connection = get(CONNECTION, EMPTY);
	if (!connection.empty())
		return icompare(connection, CONNECTION_CLOSE) != 0;
	else
		return getVersion() == HTTP_1_1;
}

} } // namespace Poco::Net

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


I began running at age 49. Well, that isn't true. I began running at age 18 and started again about 5 times up until age 49. I never ran more than a month or two and either got hurt or just stopped. The most miles I ran in a single run back then was 3.1 in a 5K I ran with my dad around 1990. Fast forward to July 2011. I weighed 278 lbs, I was pre-diabetic and my family physician of 20 years said I was heading for trouble if I did change my lifestyle.
I am a Christian and believe God has a purpose in all he does.
I say that to say this… Sometime late summer 2011 my wife of 25 years hurt her back. Evidently she had two ruptured disks and was in a lot of pain. Our family physician sent her to a chiropractor. After about a month, the chiropractor sent her to a specialist who tired various spinal blocks. He sent her to a surgeon who said she didn't require surgery. He sent her to a pain management doctor. At this point, I was broke and tired of going to doctors. I called the pain management doctor to cancel, but as I talking was on the phone, I decided not to cancel and we went to our appointment. That appointment changed my life and my wife's life forever.
As our doctor (I'll call him Dr. Sun) examined my wife, he looked at me and said, "I can help you". I was a bit shocked, but I listened. He then gave me a questionnaire to answer and he filled out a blood test he wanted me to take at a local lab (mind you I wasn't even his patient yet).
So, to make this story a bit shorter, my lovely wife weighed 215 lbs and I weighed 251 lbs at this point (I had TMJ surgery and that helped limit my eating and thus I lost 27 lbs). Dr. Sun put me on Testosterone replacement therapy and put us both on the HCG diet. Say what you want, but this diet saved our lives. He got his HCG from a reputable pharmaceutical company and also gave us $250 of vitamins to take. In one month I lost 35 lbs and was able to begin running in March 2011 (my wife lost a total of 95 lbs between the diet and lifestyle change. She can't exercise because of her back, but she is determined to keep the weight off – I'm impressed and amazed). I did the diet one more time and then continued running.
Here I am, 50 now and 95 lbs lighter. Dr. Sun did help me and I am eternally grateful. All this from my wife's hurt back. I now run 30-40 miles a week and have participated in many 5K races and soon will be upgrading to half marathons and marathons.
As I said earlier, I am a Christian. I know all this came about because of the grace of God. Few people get the chance to do what I have done and believe me when I say, I am no one special. I only wish I could pass what I have learned along to help others. Well I decided not to wish, but to write a blog. This blog will cover past, present and future. If no one reads it but me, that is fine. I never want to forget where I came from and how far I have come, by the grace of God.
I too am eternally grateful to God. He used a bad thing in my life (my ruptured discs) and turned my life around. I had been thin all of my life until my first baby. After my third baby was three, I managed to lose weight; but after my fourth and fifth children, I regained my weight plus some. I tried and tried to exercise, but kept getting hurt. There was no way for me to lose weight, or so I thought. Through the year of going from doctor to doctor for my back; I came to Dr. Sun. He saw me as a whole person, not just as back pain. I went on the HCG Diet three times, each one lasting a month plus one month of maintainance. With all of that; I lost 85 LBS in only 10 months. I'm at 14 months now and have still maintained my weight loss. God took a bad thing and used it for good. My whole life style has been changed. I make wiser choices and eat a lot better now. I drink 96 oz of water a day; when before I couldn't drink water at all and didn't even drink enough juice or Gatorade in a day. My sinuses function better now and so does my body. I feel so much better. And Dr. Sun is helping me to do back exercises and other things to keep my back pain bearable. I am so fortunate!! I am so thankful for God's hand on my life( and his leading me on this path!!!
It's so inspiring to hear how you turned a bad situation into such a good one!
Thanks! Attitude is a huge help!!! I appreciate the encouragement.
What an inspirational story! I didn't start running until age 34 (I'm about to turn 36) – and I mean NEVER, as in I was not athletic in high school or college either. Probably the last time I had run prior to my first 5k was on the elementary school playground! Thank you for sharing your story.
Thank you and congratulations on your running!!!
Good for you and the running! I run out of breath so easily. I haven't figured out how to run without being winded so quickly. It's hard to breath sometimes. So, naturally, I don't run. But what if I'm being chased by a lion one day—THAT'S my concern.
Start slow. Walk a lot and run a little. Slowly you can change them up. Just be consistent and get out 6 days a week. It will come. Be patient.
That's what it is! Patience! No wonder. I have none. I thought there was something else wrong. I didn't think it'd take so long to build endurance. Plus, I don't think I was ever very consistent. Thanks for the advice!
Endurance comes through patience. Doing the same thing the same way. Consultancy. Keep it up.
Great story! Good luck with Boston ad I look forward to reading more. I ran four marathons at about your weight. Went through graduate school and after the first semester put on about 15lbs…study, study, study and commuting three hours a day. After having some holistic problems and diagnosed as pre-diabetic, I got back into marathon shape. Figured if it's not good for my health it is probably not good for me. 🙂 Keep up the awesome work!
Thanks Joshua! It is a constant journey to keep in shape and at a healthy weight. I've really struggled since my marathon. Hopefully I'll be more consistent soon. Good luck with your journey!!!
What an amazing journey! I'm really glad that I've stumbled across your blog and look forward to following your adventures on the way to Boston. You're such an inspiration, thank you for sharing your story!
I love following your incredible story and think you are such an inspiration to so many people! I have nominated you for a Liebster Award!
Thank you so much. That means more to me then you know. Thank you!!!
Keep fighting to get to Boston!! It is an absolutely incredible place to be and it will absolutely change your life. I promise it will be worth the years of effort and dedication!
I`m so excited that I found your blog. I love this story, and I can`t wait to hear about your progress (AND the challenges you face as well.) I`m training for my first half, and I know there will be ups and downs… but you`ve got to be in it to win it!
Thanks. I try not to hide the challenges or the progress. Good luck with the half!!! That is my favorite distance to race. You'll do great!!!


Two Florida boys who disappeared on a fishing trip two years ago near Florida left behind a map and sent messages right before they set off, according to a new report from the Palm Beach Post.
Austin Stephanos and Perry Cohen, who were both 14 when they disappeared, messaged at least one friend if he wanted to join the day before.
"Me and Austin r (siq) crossing to the Bahamas tomorrow come with us," Cohen wrote in an Instagram message to a friend, according to recently unsealed court documents, as reported by the Post.
Another friend of Austin Stephanos told officials that the boys were thinking about going to the Bahamas but said it was "too rough" to sail.
On Thursday, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission released a report saying a "weather-related incident" was the cause of the pair's disappearance, while noting that the boat's engine was working when it took on water. "The evidence (is) not conclusive enough to confirm any particular scenario on what happened that tragic day, other than the fact that the vessel took on water and capsized," stated the report, Weather.com reported.
The new details were unveiled as part of a civil court filing in December over Austin's cellphone, which was found when the boat was recovered last year.
On Monday, Cohen's family said it's considering a civil lawsuit after the Florida Department of Law Enforcement released a report saying Stephanos's mother, Carly Black, was negligent. It, however, didn't recommend charges against her.
Black filed a likely pre-emptie lawsuit against the Cohens to prevent a wrongful death lawsuit, NBC2 reported.


Recently, we reported that the PyMusique problem had been fixed by Apple, and that PyMusique was no longer able to be used by people to buy music from the ITunes Music Store without using ITunes itself. Now, in a bizarre twist, the creators of PyMusique have hacked Apple's fix and once again users are able to download songs without DRM.
PyMusique is a software program for Windows and Linux operating systems that enabled users to buy music through the ITunes Music Store without using Apple's ITunes software. It has two features which made it remarkable: It allowed you to re-download songs without having to pay for them again, and it downloaded songs without encrypting them using FairPlay, Apple's Digital Rights Management (DRM) technology--songs bought using PyMusique could be played back by any computer or portable device capable of recognize AAC-formatted files.
Meanwhile, Neowin has caught up with Cody Brocious, one of the coders behind the PyMusique software.
Right. So asides from the obvious, how do you stand on the DRM issue? Why do you think that Apple should sell the songs without DRM?
I believe that content owners/distributors have the right to apply DRM, just like people have the right to remove it. Personally, I don't mind the DRM being there as I'm an iPod user. If Apple put the DRM on server-side, we'd leave it there. We simply want to buy files. It wasn't a DRM issue until people started making it one. It's not about DRM in the least, really.


text:
in: Trope, Pages with broken file links, Hollywood History,
File:SuperStock 1661-256 5754.jpg
Home of temples with even bigger columns, and brutal spearsword-wielding Roman legionaries, all of whom had extremely clean, well-kept, elaborate armour and helmets (even down to the lowliest grunt soldier). Also home to gladiators, mad emperors and elaborately coiffed women with slinky, see-thru stolas. Expect to see a lion eating a Christian or two.
A time when Classical Mythology was Serious Business for the pious. For more on the actual facts of the place, see The Roman Empire. The Roman Republic is less often depicted in fiction, except for the bit right at the end when it became The Roman Empire (though occasionally you will see fiction set against the earlier struggle with Carthage or the revolt of Spartacus).
Roman architecture featured much more bricks than marble, but in the intervening centuries most of the bricks either crumbled, collapsed or were just stolen to make other buildings while those useless marble blocks and columns were left pretty much alone, so in Hollywood movies you're now treated to the sight of Imperial Rome made of shiny, gleaming travertino marble, with little or no brick houses to be seen.
Sword and Sandal works may feature a Fantasy Counterpart Culture. May overlap with Bible Times. See Ancient Grome for unwitting crossovers with Ancient Greece.
1 Popular tropes of this time period are
2 Works set in this time period are
8 Theater
Popular tropes of this time period are
Androcles' Lion
The Caligula
Canis Latinicus
Colour Coded Patrician: Only the patrician class could wear Tyrian Purple.
Condemned Contestant
Finish Him!
Gladiator Revolt
Made a Slave
The Queen's Latin
Works set in this time period are
Thermae Romae, set in the reign of the emperor Hadrian (and in 21st century Japan).
Nero Fox (the "Jive-Jumping Emperor of Ancient Rome"), a Golden Age DC Comics Funny Animal character who was emperor of ancient Rome. The "jive-jumping" part referred to his anachronistic playing of 40s-era jazz/swing music on his "gobble pipe" (saxophone). His era's later revisited in The Eighties by a time-traveling Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew.
Monty Pythons Life of Brian
The second segment of History of the World Part One
Spartacus (based on a novel by Howard Fast)
Ben-Hur (based on a novel by Lew Wallace)
The Robe (based on a novel by Lloyd C. Douglas)
Demetrius and The Gladiators, sequel to The Robe
The Sign of the Cross, based on a play by Wilson Barrett
Fellini's Satyricon, loosely based on a work by the Ancient Roman author Petronius
Quo Vadis? (See Literature, below.)
Centurion, set among the Ninth Legion in Scotland, right when Hadrian pulled back.
Pharsalia (61-65) by Lucan. It is an epic poem which covers the Roman Civil Wars.
The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (1776-1789) by Edward Gibbon's is considered the definitive, most exhaustively researched book ever written on the topic of history. It is a massive tome which took the better part of Gibbon's life to complete, as virtually every sentence is cited. Famously ignores all emperors from Augustus to Nerva (27 BC-98 AD). Starts with the rise of Trajan in 98 AD and continues through the entire history of The Roman Empire, and the Byzantine Empire. A lengthy legacy section follows events into The Renaissance.
The Last Days of Pompeii (1834) by Edward Bulwer-Lytton. Adapted to film many times.
Römische Geschichte (Roman History, 1854-1856) by Theodor Mommsen is a detailed work on the history of The Roman Republic. Followed by the sequel The Provinces of the Roman Empire (1885-1886) which is also very detailed. The primary work earned the author the 1902 Nobel Prize in literature. Mommsen had also prepared another sequel, covering The Roman Empire, but never finished it. His notes and plans for the incomplete work were first published in 1992.
Quo Vadis? (1896) by Henryk Sienkiewicz.
The Silver Chalice (1952) by Thomas B. Costain. Made into an infamously bad movie in 1954.
Detectives in Togas (1953) by Henry Winterfeld.
The Eagle of the Ninth (1954) by Rosemary Sutcliff. Set in the Empire times in Britain.
Ecce Romani, the Latin textbook. First published in 1971.
Cambridge Latin Course, the UK's counterpart to Ecce Romani.
The Marcus Didius Falco series of detective novels. Started in 1989.
Masters of Rome series by Colleen McCullough's . Started in 1990.
The Roma Sub Rosa series by Steven Saylor. Started in 1991.
Time Scout spends a lot of time in Ancient Rome. The series started in 1995.
The Roman Mysteries by Caroline Lawrence. Started in 2001.
Spartacus: Blood and Sand
I, Claudius (based on a novel by Robert Graves)
The Roman Mysteries - The TV adaptation
The Doctor Who episodes The Romans obviously, The Fires of Pompeii and The Pandorica Opens
William Shakespeare's
Age of Empires: Rise of Rome
Shadow of Rome
Spartan Total Warrior
Centurion Defender of Rome
The Eternal City
The Roman Holidays by Hanna-Barbera
The Histeria! episodes "A Blast From the Past" and "Return to Rome"
Hollywood History

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Marvin Bagley Says He's NBA's Best Rapper, Damian Lillard Responds
When it comes to NBA stars who can throw down in the studio, Portland Trail Blazers All Star Damian Lillard is widely regarded as the cream the crop. Lillard, aka Dame D.O.L.L.A, already has two albums under his belt, including 2016's "The Letter O" and "Confirmed" which followed in 2017.
Still, there are other ballers in the league who are confident in their lyrical prowess, including Lonzo Ball, Lance Stephenson and Marvin Bagley III. The Sacramento Kings forward made an appearance on ESPN's First Take on Thursday, where he was asked about his rapping ability and how it stacks up to Dame.
In regards to the best NBA MC, Bagley didn't hesitate telling the hosts, "Man, me. Me, man. I love music, I love music, so I'm gonna go with myself." Asked if he'd be willing to battle Lillard on a future episode First Take, Bagley added, "Yeah, for sure. Whenever, wherever. I'm with whatever. I make music, it's something I love. So we can see."
Almost immediately after that video clip was posted online, Lillard responded by saying he won't be making any appearances on First Take, but he's definitely down to battle if that's what Bagley wants. Check out the video footage, as well as Lillard's timely response below.
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Als zweite industrielle Revolution wird in der wirtschaftsgeschichtlichen Forschung eine zweite Phase der Industrialisierung nach der ersten industriellen Revolution bezeichnet. Dabei sind die zeitliche Einordnung und die Begriffsdefinition selbst nicht einheitlich. Im Wesentlichen lässt sich eine deutsche und eine angloamerikanische Variante unterscheiden. Mit dem Aufstieg neuer Führungssektoren insbesondere der chemischen Industrie und der Elektrotechnik setzt die französische und deutschsprachige Forschung die zweite industrielle Revolution etwa in den 1870er und 1880er Jahren an, womit sie in die Phase der Hochindustrialisierung in Deutschland fällt. Die angloamerikanische Variante betont dagegen den Übergang zur Massenproduktion sowie zu neuen industriellen Organisationsformen (Fordismus, Taylorismus) insbesondere seit den 1920er Jahren.

Begriffsgeschichte
Erstmals formuliert wurde der Begriff der zweiten industriellen Revolution von Georges Friedmann im Jahr 1936. Für ihn waren die verbreitete Nutzung der Elektrizität, die intensivierte Mechanisierung und die Massenproduktion die entscheidenden Neuerungen. Später wurde diese Sicht weiter differenziert. Angesichts der ökonomischen und wissenschaftlichen Entwicklung sprach Friedmann in den 1960er Jahren von einer dritten industriellen Revolution, gekennzeichnet von der Automatisierung und der Nutzung der Atomenergie.

Begriff in der deutschen Wirtschaftsgeschichte
Die neuen Industrien basierten auf der Verbindung von Forschung und industrieller Produktion. Es wurden insbesondere chemische und physikalische Erkenntnisse in großem Stil ökonomisch genutzt. Neben den Universitäten unterhielten die Firmen eigene Forschungs- und Entwicklungseinrichtungen. Damit verlor das Erfahrungswissen der Beschäftigten in der Produktion an Bedeutung.

Mit dem raschen Wachstum lösten sie Textilindustrie und Montanindustrie als Leitbranchen ab. Im Gegensatz zur ersten industriellen Revolution war die deutsche Wirtschaft führend. Hatte sie früher Techniken und Kenntnisse insbesondere aus England importieren müssen, wurde sie nun zum Technologieexporteur. Zu den neuen forschungs- und wissenorientierten Branchen zählten neben der Chemischen Industrie und der Elektrotechnik auch der Maschinenbau und die optische Industrie. Gerade in der pharmazeutischen Industrie entstanden große unternehmenseigene Forschungslabors. Ähnlich war die Entwicklung in der Elektroindustrie. Werner von Siemens, selbst Techniker und Physiker, baute für sein Unternehmen seit den 1860er Jahren ein Labor auf, das sich zu einer großen firmeninternen Forschungseinrichtung entwickelte. Wichtig war daneben auch der Kontakt der Wirtschaft zu den Universitäten und den außeruniversitären Forschungseinrichtungen wie der 1887 gegründeten Physikalisch-Technischen Reichsanstalt.

Im Bereich der chemischen Industrie gewannen Soda und Schwefelsäure als Grundlage neuer Produkte wie etwa für den synthetischen Farbstoff Anilin an Bedeutung.

Neben dem bislang dominierenden Energieträger Kohle spielte Erdöl eine wachsende Rolle. Es diente zum Antrieb von Verbrennungsmotoren (Otto-Motor, Diesel-Motor).

Weiters wurde die Elektrizität im größeren Maßstab genutzt: Generator (ab 1866), Glühlampe, Elektromotor etc. Durch die Nutzung des elektrischen Stroms verbesserte sich auch die Kommunikation erheblich. Zu der älteren Telegraphie (ab ca. 1840) trat ab ca. 1880 das Telefon.

Angloamerikanische Tradition
In Teilen der deutschen Forschung werden die Innovationsschübe der 1920/1930er Jahren als Beginn einer dritten industriellen Revolution aufgefasst. Diese war durch die Rationalisierung der Fertigung durch die Einführung des Fließbands (1913, Ford-Werke) gekennzeichnet.

Vor allem in der angloamerikanischen Forschung wird der Durchbruch zur Massenproduktion und die wissenschaftliche Betriebsführung des Taylorismus/Fordismus dagegen erst als zweite industrielle Revolution bezeichnet. Hintergrund für die Unterschiede ist unter anderem, dass für die USA der Erste Weltkrieg kein so entscheidender ökonomischer Einschnitt war wie in Europa. In den USA setzten im Übrigen die Massenproduktion von Stahl und der Eisenbahnbau im größeren Stil später ein als in Europa, während der Massenkonsum deutlich eher einsetzte.

Andere Nutzung des Begriffs
In verschiedenen älteren Quellen wurde die Phase der zweiten Industriellen Revolution seit etwa 1950 angesetzt. Ihre Grundlage ist die Rationalisierung der industriellen Fertigung durch Automatisierung. Eine fortgeschrittene Form von Automatisierung ist die Einführung von Industrierobotern (ab 1970).

Kritik
Der Begriff der zweiten industriellen Revolution ist umstritten. So betonen Kritiker dieses Konzepts, dass die Bedeutung von Erfindungen und der ökonomischen Nutzung von wissenschaftlichen Erkenntnissen verkennt, dass dieser Aspekt auch schon zuvor nicht unbekannt war. Auch die Ableitung des Begriffs von der Verwendung neuer Materialien wie Leichtmetall, Plastik, Erdöl oder anderes blieb nicht ohne Kritik. Auch in der ersten industriellen Revolution gab es im Grunde synthetische Produkte. Kohle wurde in Koks verwandelt und aus Roheisen Stahl erzeugt. Richtig ist auch für die Kritiker, dass die Schwerindustrie seit den 1870er Jahren ihre Leitfunktion an die Elektroindustrie, die chemische Industrie, die optische Industrie und den Fahrzeugbau als "Neue Industrien" abgab.

Siehe auch
 Geschichte der Produktionstechnik
 Industrielle Revolution
 Dritte industrielle Revolution (Digitale Revolution)
 Soziale Frage
 Schwarzbuch Kapitalismus (Kapitel 6: Die Geschichte der Zweiten industriellen Revolution)
 Industrie 4.0

Einzelnachweise

Industrielle Revolution 2
Industrielle Revolution 2
Industrielle Revolution 2
Industrielle Revolution 2
Technikgeschichte (19. Jahrhundert)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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Episode 171 – The One Where We Sell Shea's Organs For Raw-Beer Money!
In This Week's Show, episode 171, We get ready for Valentine's Day by milking the Trump administration's prison tampons.
The One Where We Sell Shea's Organs For Raw-Beer Money!
Now, grab a beer and help us test the god hypothesis — because, while Eros (the Greek god of love) hasn't struck us down yet, we are trying his patience!
We all know the old adage "Happy Wife, happy life," but this week I learned that there is a definite case to be made for "Slightly irritated wife, Amusing life," theory as well.
Did you know that Eros was the son of Aphrodite?
He's sort of the prototype of Cupid (who is actually his Roman counterpart) but was a hot dude with wings instead of a creepy baby.
Fresh Squeezed IPA | Fresh Squeezed IPA
From: Heeby Jeebus
BA Link: http://bit.ly/2DTSq6d
ABV: 6.4
Jenn: 10
Begins with a correction: in last week's show we made a really dumb mistake and assumed the Pepsi Co CEO was a sexist dude-bro, when in fact she's a sexist dude-chick! But you now what they say about making assumptions: it makes an ad out of her. She's still an ass…
Thanks to everyone who let us know!
We need to wish a special happy birthday to Sherry of the Pussy Hats!
VM from Eli.
Jenn podcast recommendation about Dyatlov Pass.
Astonishing Legends – http://bit.ly/2o4qiny
Shelley Segal
Hi everyone!! I need your help. Youtube is changing its rules and I'm going to lose my ability to earn money from my videos unless I have 1000 hours watched in the next 12 days!!! http://bit.ly/2EyMLDq
Flat-Earther rocket fails to blast off again… http://bit.ly/2od16uD
HL1 – "Man"Stration Madness – http://bit.ly/2EvS3Qh
All-Male Committee Hears Arizona Bill On Feminine Hygiene Products In Prison
A sensitive women's health issue came before the Committee on Military, Veterans and Regulatory Affairs on Monday: the price of pads and tampons in Arizona prisons. Not all the committee members were comfortable with the idea.
"In our prison system," Rep. Athena Salman said, addressing nine of her male colleagues, "a 16-count of Always ultra-thin, long pads cost $3.20."
"Rep. Salman, Can you keep your conversation to the bill itself? Please?" Rep. Jay Lawrence interrupted.
"Yes, Mr. Chairman," Salman replied, and she went right on talking about tampons and pads. That was, after all, what House Bill 2222 — the bill she sponsored — is about.
Under current policy, women in Arizona prisons get 12 pads a month for their menstrual cycle. Additional pads cost more money. So do tampons. Salman's bill would allocate $80,000 annually to the Arizona Department of Corrections (ADC) from the state general fund so that all women in state prisons have access to free, unlimited, feminine hygiene products.
"I am just a female that menstruates," said Jennifer Jermaine of Chandler, who came to speak in favor of the bill. She thought the current allotment of pads for prisoners was equivalent to a human-rights violation. "I know what my personal usage is, and I know that 12 items would get me through about two days."
It was unclear why Salman's bill was assigned to Lawrence's committee, but he wasn't happy about it.
"I'm almost sorry I heard the bill," Lawrence said. "I didn't expect to hear pads and tampons and the problems of periods."
The men on the committee heard other words too. Words like "menstruate" and "heavy flow."
HL2 – Gay Lepers invade – http://bit.ly/2Ex8Qmc
Available now at http://patreon.com/w4w
You just know a tweet that asks, "Struggling with same-sex attraction?" with a link to a blog post is going to be chock-full of useful, encouraging, psychologically and scientifically accurate information.
Unless the blog post it titled "Modern Day 'Lepers' and the Christians Who Touch Them,"
Writing for the Christian Post, Ginny Mink says:
Lepers of the diseased and deformed variety still exist. We don't see them in our churches, or on the edges of the city gates anymore. We don't hear anyone shouting, "Unclean, unclean, unclean." But, there are people in the midst of our congregations that feel like lepers.
I'm talking about people who struggle with same-sex attraction. There is such a stigma surrounding this particular struggle that it seems impossible to share it with anyone. There's fear that the reaction will result in the necessity to shout "unclean, unclean, unclean." Or, at the very least, people will avoid them with great intentionality.
In an effort to be more open and affirming, some denominations have sought to blur the lines of Scripture to accept an active same-sex lifestyle. This only makes leprosy worse, it furthers the "deformity" by allowing it to appear healthy.
Mink concludes her piece by revealing that she is an "ex-lesbian."
But Christians like Mink, gay or not, still need to be held accountable for the language they use when talking about groups they claim to "love." They push back with horror against the idea that they are bigots, but referring to gay people as "lepers" is hardly a convincing way to prove to their critics that their hearts are in the right place. Instead, they just reaffirmed how toxic their theology is, to the surprise of no one.
HL3 – Kidneys For Cash! – http://bit.ly/2C28hPC
Woman alleges husband stole her kidney to cover 'unpaid' dowry
An Indian woman's husband and brother-in-law have been arrested after she told police they stole one of her kidneys in lieu of a dowry.
Local media report that the West Bengal woman's husband arranged an appendicitis surgery when she was suffering stomach pain two years ago.
Late in 2017, two separate medical examinations revealed she was, in fact, missing one of her kidneys.
Rita Sarkar, said she had been the victim of domestic abuse over the dowry issue for many years.
The payment of dowries – traditionally paid from a bride's family to a husband's – has been banned in India since 1961.
"My husband took me to a private nursing home in Kolkata, where he and the medical staff told me that I would be fine after removing my inflamed appendix through surgery. My husband warned me not to disclose the surgery in Kolkata to anyone."
Months later, she was feeling unwell and taken to a doctor by members of her family. Scans then revealed her right kidney was missing, she said. A second medical exam confirmed the diagnosis.
"He sold my kidney because my family couldn't meet his demand for dowry."
Poisoning One's-Self Is Trending Among The Stupid
http://bit.ly/2o3ZWSD
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More and more people are getting on the raw milk bandwagon and as more states have made it legal to get raw milk, disease outbreaks related to said raw milk are up 4 times nationwide.
What is raw milk, you ask? Well, it's milk that hasn't been pasteurized, so basically it's an excellent vector for bacterial infections, such as Campylobacter jejuni, Salmonella, E. coli, and Listeria. Since it's the pasteurization that kills the bacteria without harming the milk itself, drinking raw milk is a great way to make yourself really sick. Pasteurization is a simple process of heating the milk to 161°F for 15 seconds (called high-temperature, short-time) which kills most bacteria and makes the milk safe (with refrigeration) for up to about 3 weeks. This is the process through which all grocery store milk from the dairy section is treated. There is also ultra-pasteurization which is heating the milk to 284°F for four seconds, which actually sterilizes the milk, making it shelf-stable for several months. I say all this to explain just how simple it is to make our milk supply safe without hugely changing its positive properties.
While it illegal to distribute unpasteurized milk across state lines, individual states are free to regulate the milk within their borders. Most states don't allow direct selling of raw milk but do allow so-called "herd-shares", where a farm sells a share of a herd to people which are then part owners of the herd's milk and can get it unprocessed. Recently, a dairy in Colorado was found to be the source for 12 confirmed cases and 5 more suspected cases of Campylobacter jejuni infections from raw milk. Campylobacter jejuni infections cause fever, stomach cramps, vomiting, and diarrhea, but the worst part of this is that the particular strain involved proved to be antibiotic resistant, and therefore harder to contain making the disease more severe. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment had no authority to close the dangerous dairy which continued to distribute milk throughout the outbreak time.
All of this leads to why the fuck would one want to drink potentially dangerous milk? Well, it's the rise of pseudoscience and the culture of credulity which surrounds things like raw diets, vegan diets, paleo diets, or any other number of fad eating trends, many of which are rooted in the idea that the more natural and unprocessed a food is, the better. The fact is that according to the CDC, raw milk is 150 times more likely to cause food-borne illness than pasteurized, and FDA research shows "no meaningful difference in the nutritional values of pasteurized and unpasteurized milk."
Now, I want to wrap this up by saying, take care of yourself and don't listen to quacks who recommend stupid diet advice. Do your own research and pay attention to those whose credentials show they actually know what the fuck they're talking about.
Jenn's Title Nein!
I'll say one thing for the Trump administration, it's consistent.
Out magazine, Trump reversal
Out Magazine Dept of Ed
You may recall in the days when Nazis weren't running our country that the Obama administration invoked Title IX to prevent sexual discrimination for transgender students. (As a refresher for Title IX: It was a 1972 federal civil rights law which reads: "No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.") so the guidelines set up by the Obama Administration argued that "a school must not treat a transgender student differently from the way it treats other students of the same gender identity." Almost exactly a year ago (February 23, 2017), the new regime announced it would be rescinding these guidelines, citing "significant litigation regarding school restrooms and locker rooms" and the "ambiguous" use and application of the term "sex." Months later, in June of 2017, the Education Department issued a memo saying it was "permissible" for its civil rights division to dismiss a trans student's restroom case.
You may also remember when the previous administration announced the new guidelines it was met with much pearl-clutching and Bible Belt hysteria. Twenty-one states in total, led of course by Texas, sued in opposition. So I suppose none of us should have been or be surprised that the Orange Fuhrer revoked them almost immediately. Pandering to his base, y'know.
Well, not much has made the news lately regarding trans students in public schools, what with our attention being preoccupied with race riots, nuclear war-taunting insults with despots and other shenanigans. This has changed this week with an Education Department spokesperson, Liz Hill, telling Buzzfeed News in no uncertain terms it has better things to do while destroying the already limping educational system of our country than worry about a bunch of already at-risk young people. Pssh.
According to Buzzfeed News, they have been attempting for the past three weeks to get a direct response from the ED to clarify exactly what their position would be regarding trans students and any complaints or reports of restroom discrimination. Finally, on Thursday (Feb. 8th), Hill responded "yes, that's what the law says" when asked again if the Education Department holds a current position that restroom complaints from transgender students are not covered by a 1972 federal civil rights law called Title IX.
Asked for a further explanation on the department's position, Hill said Friday, "Title IX prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, not gender identity."
Directly from Buzzfeed: She added that certain types of transgender complaints may be investigated — but not bathroom complaints.
"Where students, including transgender students, are penalized or harassed for failing to conform to sex-based stereotypes, that is sex discrimination prohibited by Title IX," Hill said. "In the case of bathrooms, however, long-standing regulations provide that separating facilities on the basis of sex is not a form of discrimination prohibited by Title IX."
Of course, any of you who have been following the wild and wacky ride since last January already know that erosions of already tenuous rights and protections for transgender Americans have been flying fast. Attorney General Jeff Sessions withdrew a policy protecting transgender workers, while he took the extra-shitty step of jumping into a private lawsuit arguing that anti-gay discrimination was permissible in employment under federal law. Sessions has also argued religious business owners can refuse service to gay customers, even when anti-gay discrimination is banned by state law, and of course Trump has attempted to ban transgender people from all military service.
So here we are, what exactly does this announcement from the ED mean? Hopefully, if our courts do what's correct it won't mean a lot.
From Buzzfeed News:
Catherine Lhamon, who led the Education Department's Office for Civil Rights during the Obama administration, said the new school-restroom policy is legally dubious.
"Until now, the official position of the Department has been that Title IX protects all students and that they were evaluating how that protection applies to the issue of bathroom access," she said in an email to BuzzFeed News. "This new categorical bar of civil rights protection for transgender children required to attend schools every day ignores the text of the law, courts' interpretation of the law, the stated position of the Department to date, and human decency."
The Education Department's stance conflicts with two federal appeals courts, which held that Title IX guarantees transgender students' access to restrooms matching their gender identity. Lower courts have been divided on the matter.
Although Hill said "the law says" transgender student restroom complaints aren't covered by Title IX, the law does not say that.
Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 says it bans discrimination "on the basis of sex" in publicly funded education settings. Does that exclude transgender restroom disputes? The plain text of the law, as some federal judges have noted, does not answer the question. It's ambiguous, they say. The term "sex" — including in the laws concerning separate restrooms — is not defined as referring to gender identity or a person's sex as identified at birth.
But insofar as Title IX needs clarity, the highest courts in the United States to contemplate the law's scope found it does, in fact, confer transgender students the right to use public school restrooms matching their gender identity. (emphasis mine – Jenn)
So…unless or until the Supreme Court decides to more narrowly define exactly what Title IX means by 'sex', courts throughout the country will be able to rule in favor of transgender students filing to use the restroom of their chosen gender. Unfortunately, as we all know, the SP is on shaky ground when it comes to civil rights and liberties for anyone, not a wealthy white Christian man. So let us all continue with thoughts and prayers, incense burning, animal sacrifices or whatever appeal you wish to the continued health and prosperity of RBG and the other voices of sanity on our highest court.
Patreon Story – Use HL4 pussy shiny
Grapefruit IPA – Unite
From Mr. Jenn
BA Link: http://bit.ly/2DWmRIR
$900,000 care package from Portland to Ukraine – http://bit.ly/2Ex8R9K
Volunteers and staff packed a container full of medical supplies destined for Ukraine in Tigard, OR Friday morning.
Medical Teams donated just over $900,000 worth of crutches, gauze, diapers, towels, diabetic needles, syringes, wheelchairs and more that will go to hospitals and clinics across Ukraine. The organization got the supplies from manufacturers, hospitals and individual donors.
Troutdale-based Ukrainian immigrant Valery Shkurinsky has for the third year organized the delivery in a partnership between Emmanuel Mercy Mission and Medical Teams International.
Ukraine is nearly the fourth year of an armed conflict with separatists in Eastern Ukraine who've proclaimed independent republics. That conflict has drained the country's resources, Shkurinsky said, and already-impoverished areas are in serious need of basic medical supplies. That's what prompted him, as president of Emmanuel Mercy Mission, to organize the first shipment three years ago.
The container's next stop is Seattle's port. From there it will head by sea to Shanghai, where it will switch ships and continue to Ukraine's port city in the Black Sea, Odessa. It's expected to arrive April 11. From there, Shkurinsky's local contact will take over distributing supplies to Ukrainian hospitals.
Patrick Stewart talks about meeting Sting on the set of DUNE (Funny to the EXTREME) – YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3v_Oytj-yg
PACIFIC RIM UPRISING – Exclusive IMAX Trailer – YouTube
Incredibles 2 – Olympics Sneak Peek – YouTube
READY PLAYER ONE – Come With Me – YouTube
"Batman Ninja" trailer (English language) – YouTube
RAMPAGE – OFFICIAL TRAILER 2 [HD] – YouTube
Hey Buddy, Can You Give Me a Hand? – YouTube
Tagged Aaron, IPA, Jenn, Jim, Shea, Steve
Episode 172 – The One We Give Hairy The Bald Mouse Three Thumbs Up!


text:
Curious patterns
Venkitesh Ramakrishnan
Smriti Irani with BJP president Amit Shah during a road show in Amethi on May 4. Photo: Nand Kumar/PTI
At a Mahagathbandhan rally in Deoband on April 7. Photo: Altaf Qadri/AP
Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav, Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati and Rashtirya Lok Dal chief Ajit Singh at a joint election rally in Firozabad on April 20. Photo: PTI
Sonia Gandhi with Congress president Rahul Gandhi before filing her nomination papers for the general election at Rae Bareli, on April 11. Photo: SANJAY KANOJIA/AFP
The biggest story in the 2019 Lok Sabha election is the boost in the BJP's vote share in the State, taking it close to 50 per cent of the votes polled.
Smriti Irani's exultation after her giant-slaying electoral victory over Rahul Gandhi in Amethi, the constituency held by the Congress president since 2004, summed up in many ways the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) temperament in fighting the 2019 Lok Sabha election in Uttar Pradesh, the country's most populous State. "Kaun kehta hai aasmaan mein surakh nahi ho sakta," she tweeted after the win, citing the renowned Hindi poet Dushyant Kumar (1933-75). A literal translation of the saying would be "who says that the skies cannot be pierced", but idiomatic interpretations of the saying have it as "who says that the impossible is not possible". Indeed, Smriti Irani's proclamation was about her own win in a constituency that has been a Congress citadel since it came into being in 1967. The Congress has lost here in only two of the 13 Lok Sabha elections held earlier, first in 1977, during the anti-Emergency wave, and later in 1998, when the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led BJP made major gains in north India.
But seen in the larger context of the State, where the Congress has for the last three decades occupied the role of a minuscule electoral player, the statement has a wider import. This fits in with the BJP's electoral fight across the State, especially against its main opposition, the Mahagathbandhan consisting of the Samajwadi Party (S.P.), the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD). Across the political spectrum of Uttar Pradesh, Smriti Irani's statement is seen as an illustration of the manner in which the BJP and its associates in the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh-led Sangh Parivar rallied to take on the powerful Other Backward Classes (OBC) Yadav-Dalit Jatav-Muslim social combination built up by the Mahagathbandhan and come up with a result that exceeded most assessments.
Vote share calculations
Set to defend the commanding mandate it won five years ago in 2014 with as many as 73 of the 80 seats in the State (the BJP won 71 and its ally the Apna Dal two), the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) partners lost nine seats in the overall tally this time, with the BJP winning 62 and the Apna Dal two, but made massive gains in terms of vote share. This unanticipated rise in the vote share, from 42.63 per cent in 2014 to 49.56 per cent this time, impeded the anti-NDA forces, including the Mahagathbandhan and the Congress, from making the achievements that were widely expected of them on the basis of calculations of past vote shares.
Between the Mahagathbandhan and the Congress, the opposition won 16 seats this time. Of the 15 Mahagathbandhan seats, the BSP won 10, making it the biggest gainer in the State since it did not win a single seat in 2014. It maintained just about the same vote share it had in 2014—19.26 per cent compared with 19.6 per cent last time—but the number of seats rose from zero to 10. The S.P. maintained the number of seats (five) it had in 2014 but lost in terms of vote share, from 22.3 per cent to 17.96 per cent.
In 2014, both the S.P. and the BSP contested all the 80 seats, but this time they contested just 37 and 38 seats respectively as part of the alliance. Thus, this vote share reduction cannot be taken as absolute but needs to be rationalised on the basis of the reduced number of seats contested by each party. The third partner of the Mahagathbandhan, the RLD, did not win any seat this time either. However, its vote share increased from 0.85 per cent to 1.67 per cent.
The Congress, which won two seats in 2014, got its tally reduced to one seat, in Rae Bareli, which was won by former party president Sonia Gandhi. Rahul Gandhi lost to Smriti Irani by about 55,000 votes. Its vote share also came down from 7.53 per cent to 6.3 per cent.
Surprise results
The results, as they turned out, surprised large sections of the political class, including BJP leaders at various levels, and political observers. This was because both in terms of the calculations on the basis of the results of past elections and the campaign trends across the seven phases of the election in Uttar Pradesh, the BJP and the Mahagathbandhan were perceived to be fighting an even contest. The combined vote share of the Mahagathbandhan partners in the 2014 Lok Sabha election was 42.65 per cent as against the BJP's 42.63 per cent. On the basis of the votes won in individual constituencies, the Mahagathbandhan would have won 41 seats in that election.
Reckoning the results of the Assembly elections held in 2017, the combined vote share of the Mahagathbandhan partners would be in the range of 44 to 48 per cent. (This range is arrived at since the S.P. was in alliance with the Congress in that election and a clear quantification of Congress' own votes in the 100-odd seats it contested is difficult.) In the 2017 election, the BJP's vote share was 41.35 per cent. On the basis of all this, the consensus among political observers on the BJP's vote share in the current election was in the range of 42 to 44 per cent and that of the Mahagathbandhan between 44 per cent and 48 per cent.
The big question against the background of these calculations was whether the social bases of the parties in the Mahagathbandhan would come together electorally. The overwhelming impression in the political firmament of the State, especially after the first four phases of polling, was that the Yadav-Jatav consolidation was complete even as a sizeable section of the Jats remained with the BJP, despite the RLD, with its strong Jat base, joining the Mahagathbandhan. It was also surmised that about 85 per cent of Muslims would root for the Mahagathbandhan. All this added to the perception of an equal contest. A senior BJP leader even went to the extent of stating that the BJP's social base consisting of upper-caste and non-Yadav OBC-Most Backward Caste (MBC) communities and non-Jatav Dalit communities was intact even as the Mahagathbandhan's social base too was fighting fit.
Periodic evaluations by all observers as the voting progressed over the seven phases also gave the Mahagathbandhan the upper hand. This was the case in at least four of the seven phases, although ground-level reports pointed towards a late surge by the BJP in the last two phases of polling in the constituencies in eastern Uttar Pradesh. Even so, a number of senior leaders of the BJP and the Sangh Parivar were of the view that the party's strike rate would be around 50 per cent of the seats. However, as it turned out, the Mahagathbandhan managed to get only 38.89 per cent of the votes as against the 46 to 48 per cent expected of it. On the other hand, the BJP added approximately seven percentage points to its vote share, not only stemming the perceived dramatic drop in its seat share but emerging as a supremely dominant force, albeit with a limited loss of nine seats.
Silent split?
The Deoband-based political observer Badar Kazmi told Frontline that the mismatch between the voter mood as witnessed during campaigning and polling and the one that got reflected in the results is bewildering. "Either there has been a silent split in the core vote base of the S.P. and the BSP or the vote assimilation techniques of the BJP from its core constituencies, including the upper castes, the non-Yadav OBC-MBC communities and non-Jatav Dalits, have undergone a metamorphosis, boosting them to unprecedented proportions. I would request all political parties, independent poll-watch organisations and the media to study this election and related phenomena closely. If nothing else, it may provide some valuable points on election management," Azmi said.
Talking to Frontline after the announcement of the results, Shyam Bihari Mishra, a Kanpur-based senior BJP leader, identified four major factors for this dramatic turnaround in the elections. First, the steady presence of Modi as an individual leader with no match or alternative across the State. Second, the massive and almost 100 per cent consolidation of non-Yadav OBC-MBCs and non-Jatav Dalits in favour of the BJP. Third, the superlative organisational machinery of the BJP, commandeered by party president Amit Shah and his team with efficient networking down the line, leaving no stone unturned to ensure 100 per cent polling by the NDA's voters and supporters. Fourth, the micro-level management strategy employed across the State, weaning away almost 100 regional influencers from different parties, including the S.P., the BSP, the RLD and the Congress, with offers of various positions and material benefits. These regional influencers buttressed the ground-level planning and manoeuvres of the BJP and upstaged the opposition's plans and moves at every stage. Mishra was of the view that the combination of the first and fourth factors (Modi and regional influencers) had a decisive impact in as many as 25 constituencies.
"The defeat of powerful Mahagathbandhan candidates in vital constituencies like Kannauj [Dimple Yadav], Badayun [Dharmendra Yadav], Firozabad [Akshay Yadav], Gorakhpur [Rambhual Nishad] and Khushi Nagar [Nathuni Prasad Khushwaha] was primarily on account of the regional influencers who were weaned away, especially from the S.P.," he said. Mishra was also of the view that the reduced victory margins in an S.P. stronghold such as Mainpuri, contested by S.P. founder Mulayam Singh Yadav, is on account of such "weaned away" regional influencers. Mulayam Singh Yadav won by just over 94,000 votes, bringing down the Mahagathbandhan's majority in the seat by about four lakh votes. In Azamgarh too, which Mulayam Singh Yadav vacated this year for his son and S.P. president, former Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, the Mahagathbandhan's victory margin dropped by over 90,000 compared with that in 2014.
Mahagathbandhan experiment
The Mahagathbandhan experiment began last year through three Lok Sabha byelections, in Gorakhpur, Phulpur and Kairana, which it won convincingly. However, all the three constituencies saw the Mahagathbandhan getting defeated this time. The BJP victory margins here underscored the rise in the vote share of that party. It won Gorakhpur by over three lakh votes, Phulpur by over 1.6 lakh votes and Kairana by over 90,000 votes.
There were many seats where the Mahagathbandhan garnered a massive vote share and yet lost. Cases in point are Baghpat, Meerut and Mohanlalganj. In all three seats, the Mahagathbandhan got more than five lakh votes but still lost. The Mahagathbandhan scored over four lakh votes in as many as 24 seats and got three lakh plus votes in 25 seats. In Machhlishahr, the BSP's Tribhuvan Ram lost to Bholanath of the BJP by just 181 votes. In Meerut, the BJP's victory margin was 4,729 votes.
Although the index of opposition unity was not considered to be a factor uniformly affecting all constituencies in the State, basic calculations indicate that the Congress ended up snuffing out the chances of the Mahagathbandhan in 10 seats, including in vital seats like Sultanpur, which was won by the BJP's Maneka Gandhi. The Union Minister won by about 14,000 votes over the BSP's Chandrabhadra Singh. Here the Congress candidate, Dr Sanjay Singh, got approximately 41,000 votes.
Beyond the story of seats won or lost by small margins, the biggest story in the 2019 Lok Sabha election is the boost in the BJP vote share, taking it close to 50 per cent of the votes polled. Does it signify a new kind of social engineering, building a new coalition of Hindu castes across the hierarchy and creating a unique pan-Hindu structure, or does it denote the presence of an awesome organisational system that is able to take most of its voters to the booth? Whatever it is, as Badar Kazmi points out, it is a point worthy of close inspection and study.


Since its beginnings, the TRTA has been awarded four grants from the Federal Highways Administration (FHWA) that will result in this corridor being a part of the National Scenic Byway program. The Corridor Management Plan is available on the TRTA website. The work of the Interpretive Information Byway Grant, awarded in 2011 includes an audio driving tour and directory of local businesses. The Gateway development Grant and Kiosk Grant have been awarded and a Request for Proposals will be released in April 2013.


MORE GOOD NEWS FROM ROBOT TOWERS!
Smoke Eaters by Sean Grigsby has been setting the book world alight (heh), described as "an exciting story that breathes new life into the urban fantasy genre" in a Publishers Weekly starred review and "a treat" by Jason M. Hough, as well as gaining a whole batch of other lovely words from various lovely people.
Deep space penal colony Oubliette, population: scum. Lena "Horror" Horowitz leads the Daughters of Forgotten Light, one of three vicious gangs fighting for survival on Oubliette. The gangs' fragile truce is shaken when a new shipment arrives from Earth carrying a fresh batch of prisoners and supplies to squabble over. But the delivery includes two new surprises: a drone, and a baby. Earth Senator Linda Dolfuse wants evidence of the bloodthirsty gangs to justify the government finally eradicating the wasters dumped on the colony. There's only one problem: the baby in the drone's video may be hers.
We're super excited to be bringing such an interesting concept to fans and can't wait to get this baby out into the world! As is Sean it seems, as he's already created some swag to promote #DOFL. Shiny!
The second novel from Sean is the SEQUEL to Smoke Eaters, named… wait for it… ASH KICKERS. A title that good hasn't been seen since Adam Rakunas' joyously named Like A Boss and we are delighted by it.
Elite dragon-fighting taskforce, the Smoke Eaters, have been relegated to a paint-by-numbers job tranquilizing the savage reptiles and locking them away in containment zones. It's not the exciting life that Smoke Eater recruit, Tamerica Williams, was hoping for.
But everything changes when a legendary bird of fire – the Phoenix – rises from the earth and starts incinerating everything, driving the remaining dragons into a frenzy, and inspiring a cult of arsonists. Even worse, if you kill the Phoenix, the damned thing just comes back stronger. It's up to Tamerica and her fellow Smoke Eaters to kick some serious ash.
They both sound great, don't they? Well, there's not too long to wait for either of them! More details, cover reveals and sneak chapter previews soon!


Saturday 14th January saw the 4th race in the 2016/17 North Wales Cross Country series. It was another long drive, this time to Walford College in Baschurch, Shropshire for 5.5m run around the grounds. The race was hosted by Shrewsbury Athletic and was very well marshalled and marked. Overall a slightly smaller attendance this time of 244 runners across all categories.
The weather hadn't been great, with rain, snow and wind over preceding days, so the expectation of the course conditions after last years mudfest, was not high. Fortunately the forecasted wind and rain on the day never really materialised and the course was surprisingly firm.
There was a new course route in place, with some surprises too. The course consists of laps of the college grounds, downhill through fields, around a lake and some boggy ground, into some woods with a proper river crossing. After this some uphill again through fields and woods, taking you back to the start. Each Lap was just under 3km. The Ladies, U17's & O70's had to do two laps, while the men had to do three.
As always, first up at 2pm were the Over 70's and ladies. Representing Buckley, there were 5 ladies of a total 92 and 2 over 70's of a total 7.
Next up at 2:45pm were the men. Representing Buckley, there were 18 men of a total 141.
Some great results from team Buckley on the day and well done to everyone, especially our XC 1st timers, it was a tough course.
The next race #5 is the last of this seasons series and is at the Marches School, Oswestry on Saturday 4th February. Lets have a good turnout, see you there.


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Good Morning Everyone and Happy October!
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Do you get all jealous of your friends that come back from vacation who have tans and say they just came back from an amazing cruise? Laying out in the sun all day, dancing the night away, unlimited food and getting to visit all those different ports. Well, you could be one of them and experience all that and more and make others jealous.
Many people don't look into cruising, because it seems too expensive and luxurious, but there are many ways to save on a cruise. Sometimes, a travel agent that specializes in cruising can save you big bucks and also get you a better cabin and a refund if the price goes down. If you don't want to go through an agent, then there are plenty of things you can do to get a decent deal.
First, why don't you take a moment to join Shereen Travels Cheap on Facebook? We're very close to giving away some lovely Travelon Bags to two lucky fans. Aside from that, you can get more travel deals, budget tips and website/product suggestions. And if you have a comment or a question, you can get a quick answer from me by posting on the group wall.
Perhaps Twitter is more your speed, because you like your information short and sweet? You can follow @shereentrvlschp and get the same tips, deals and suggestions as on Facebook. We don't currently have a giveaway going on Twitter right now.
When you find a great deal on a cruise, don't forget that the price you see is not the price you pay. You still need to pay taxes and port fees. Depending on where you are going, how long your cruise is and how many ports you dock at, your final price could be up to double the cost you see. Each port has it's own fee and the government of the country sets the fee, so they aren't the same each time you dock. These fees are charged per traveler, not per cabin, so this is something to look into before you see a good price and purchase it.
Like what you see here? Please subscribe to Shereen Travels Cheap on the right sidebar. If you have a Kindle, you can subscribe to this blog via Amazon . If you DON'T have a Kindle, you can still subscribe via Amazon, by downloading the free Kindle Reading App for your preferred web-enabled device, like your iPad, Blackberry or Android. Then you can take Shereen Travels Cheap everywhere you go and get instant updates when new posts are published!
Feel like if you sign up for my Facebook or Twitter feeds you'll probably miss a lot of posts? I understand. I have a lot going on on my own Facebook news feed and Twitter roll. Well, now you can catch up on hours of posts right from your email. Sign up for Nutshell Mail and you can choose your favorite posters (I hope I'm included!) and customize a newsletter for your Facebook and Twitter accounts. You can choose who you see posts from, how many of each and how often you receive your newsletter. You can get it once a day, three times a day, once a month or anything in between. You choose. It's totally personalized by you!
Don't know how to pick a cabin or a ship or want to know more about the activities or read reviews? Check out Cruise Critic. I found that they have more information and are easier to navigate than the cruise websites.
I hope you found these tips useful. Of course there are many more things you can do to save money on a cruise, which I hope you will be able to read soon in my book. Once I find an agent or a publisher (or decide to self-publish), you will all be the first to know! In the meantime, why not check out some of these other budget travel articles I've written for the following websites. And please also take a look around once you get there and finish reading, because they are truly helpful and pretty awesome. I hope there will be more added to the list soon, too.


text:
Анатоли́йская ко́шка — порода кошек, признанная Всемирной федерацией кошек (WCF).

Происхождение
Как и ванские кошки, анатолийская кошка считается аборигенной, естественной породой, сформировавшейся на Армянском нагорье в условиях территории вокруг озера Ван, (территория была в составе Ванского царства/Урарту, Великой Армении, потом в составе Восточной Римской Империи, а после XV века в составе Османской империи и Турции). Принимая во внимание недавние исследования, осуществлённые группами генетиков из США, вторично одичавшие кошки из популяции, живущей в Восточной Анатолии современной Турции, являются потомками древнейших одомашненных кошек, то есть одомашнивание кошки произошло в этом регионе, а не в Египте, как считалось ранее.

Вольно живущие популяции этих кошек распространены также и в низинных, более теплых районах всего региона, на территории от Ирана до Кавказа и Ирака, включая Армению, Азербайджан и юг России. Даже являясь вторично одичавшими и подвергнувшимися дедоместикации, кошки в этих популяциях представляют собой большую ценность именно своей близостью к генотипу так называемого «дикого типа» домашней кошки. Чем более культурной и одомашненной является порода, тем больше вероятность появления генетических расстройств и наследуемых заболеваний. Не случайно анатолийские кошки отличаются живостью темперамента, достаточно высоким для животных интеллектом и хорошим здоровьем.

Стандарт WCF

Согласно стандарту, принятому WCF, это короткошёрстная вариэтта турецкого вана.
 Тело: размер кошки от среднего до крупного, со значительно развитой мускулатурой и костной структурой средней крепости. Шея и грудь массивные и сильные. Конечности средней длины, лапы круглые. Хвост средней длины, хорошо опушён.
 Голова: голова средней длины в форме усечённого треугольника. Профиль почти прямой. Подбородок сильный.
 Уши: уши большие, широкие у основания, со слегка округлыми кончиками. На голове поставлены прямо, довольно высоко и вертикально.
 Глаза: глаза большие, овальные, поставлены немного косо. Цвет глаз однотонный и гармонирующий с окрасом шерсти.
 Шерсть: короткая, без заметного подшёрстка, тонкой текстуры, но «похрустывающая» на ощупь.
 Варианты окрасов: шоколадный, коричный и соответствующие осветлённые («разбавленные») окрасы (лиловый и фавн) не признаются ни в каких сочетаниях (биколор, триколор, тэбби). Не допускаются и колорпойнтовые (сиамские) окрасы, обусловленные наличием гена cs или «сиамского фактора». Любые другие окрасы признаются, и их описания приводятся в «Списке основных окрасов».

Признанные окрасы

Сходство с другими породами

Несмотря на кажущееся большое сходство с ванскими кошками, эти кошки отличаются от них, что особенно проявляется в их поведении, характере и повадках, хотя эти признаки не учитываются в стандартах. Полностью белые и разноглазые анатолийские кошки в Турции считаются ван кедиси (полностью белая разновидность ванской кошки). Анатолийских кошек ни в коей мере нельзя путать с кельтской кошкой. А сходство с турецкими ангорскими и турецкими ванскими кошками прежде всего объясняется большим приливом крови анатолиек в эти породы, а также принадлежностью их всех к одной генетической группе кошек — средиземноморской генетической группе кошек. Хотя потомки от таких смешанных вязок редко сохраняют те особенности, которые в анатолийских кошках ценят те, кто хотя бы раз с ними пообщался: поражающая интеллигентность, изысканность манер, тактичность, ум, музыкальность и общительность.

Особенности поведения

Многих бридеров анатолийских кошек прежде всего поражает то, что анатоли почти не мяукают, как другие кошки. Скорее они издают отдельные гласные звуки, больше похожие на чирикание птиц. Поэтому их иногда называют «чирикающими кошками». Подобная особенность была замечена и у курильских куцехвостых кошек, и видимо, она характерна для популяций вторично-одичавших кошек, оказавшихся в длительной изоляции от человека. Было также замечено, что анатолийские кошки любят играть со слабыми струйками текущей воды даже больше, чем ванские кошки. Любимая забава анатолиек — игры с шуршащими бумажными «мячиками», а также во время игры они любят носить в зубах мелкие предметы, особенно, если это игра с хозяином, когда хозяин бросает игрушку на некоторое расстояние или подбрасывает вверх, а кошка приносит игрушку к ногам хозяина.

Примечания

Ссылки


Times have been tough on the Lightning of late and there's no time like tonight against the Devils (7 p.m. on Versus) to get things turned around. Tampa Bay has lost six of their last seven games and they're not looking all that pretty in losing.
The Lightning have given up 27 goals over that seven game stretch and their one victory came in a shootout over the Rangers. Mathieu Garon and Dwayne Roloson haven't been getting the job done.
Making matters worse for Tampa Bay, their offense hasn't been able make up for the mistakes their defense and goaltending have made. There's only so much Steve Stamkos and Vincent Lecavalier can do. Going up against the Devils isn't going to help them get their offense figured out.
Things for New Jersey haven't been any better of late. The Devils have lost five of their last seven and we've seen Martin Brodeur look every bit of 39 years-old in the process. While Ilya Kovalchuk has picked up his scoring of late (points in six of his last seven), the Devils would like to see Zach Parise pick things up. The Lightning defense should be the medicine to cure his ills.
Rookies to watch: While Brett Connolly won't be there for Tampa Bay as he joins Team Canada's World Junior camp, the Devils have a pair of young guys to look out for in Adam Larsson and Adam Henrique. While Larsson has the notability from being a top five pick in last year's draft, Henrique is proving to be a possible Calder Trophy candidate scoring six goals and 14 assists.


text:
Recovery chief: Yeah, I can't back up those numbers
Ed MorrisseyPosted at 10:12 am on November 18, 2009
Over the last couple of weeks, the media and the blogosphere has dissected the numbers coming from Recovery.gov and found them laughably phony. The pièce de resistance came when Watchdog.org noticed that the government-run accountability website appeared not to know that the US has only 435 Congressional districts, instead of the 875 listed on the website — but listed almost $6.4 billion in spending in the phantom districts. However, as we have seen here, phony "saved or created" numbers are the norm, not the exception, and most of the jobs data are insupportable.
And even Earl Devaney, the man in charge at Recovery.org, can't deny it. In a response to Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), Devaney says that he cannot certify any of the jobs data published by the government:
The chairman of the Obama administration's Recovery Board is telling lawmakers that he can't certify jobs data posted at the Recovery.gov Web site — and doesn't have access to a "master list" of stimulus recipients that have neglected to report data.
Earl Devaney, the chairman of the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board, responded to questions posed by Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., late yesterday to say the board can't vouch for the numbers submitted by recipients of stimulus funding.
"Your letter specifically asks if I am able to certify that the number of jobs reported as created/saved on Recovery.gov is accurate and auditable. No, I am not able to make this certification," Devaney wrote, in a letter provided to ABC News.
Devaney rejected Issa's suggestion that the site include a more prominent disclaimer, such as an asterisk or a footnote. He said the site already does mention in a note to users that "errors and omissions" are likely.
Issa responded:
"This just confirms what we already know, that [the] Administration cannot certify info on recovery.gov as accurate and auditable. The man charged with providing accountability for stimulus spending cannot verify the accuracy of the job reports that the Administration – filtered through [the Office of Management and Budget] – have provided him."
"It's a startling admission that he hasn't even been provided with a list of who should have reported, which means he can't know who didn't report, which just adds fuel to the argument that the whole effort at transparency has failed. The Administration has provided inaccurate data, missing data, data that might be missing but they don't even know for sure.
Issa should give Devaney a break. The problem isn't Devaney, or at least not entirely his. Devaney should get the heave-ho after the database errors that Watchdog.org discovered, for example. The failure to set up an $18 million database to restrict for proper Congressional district data is inexplicable. It's the kind of error that people using a $200 copy of Microsoft Access would have easily avoided.
However, Devaney can't certify the jobs data for a more fundamental reason: it's all fake. The "saved or created" formulas from the White House do not relate to reality, even when properly reported back to Recovery.gov. As we have seen in state after state, the jobs listed as "saved" were mostly never at risk in the first place. In most cases, they were public-safety and education jobs that would have been spared in favor of other, less critical bureaucrat positions that states didn't want to highlight as existing, let alone being "saved."
Devaney's incompetence on database maintenance only makes the problem more obvious. In fact, it may overshadow the real shell games being conducted with Porkulus funds as this administration desperately tries to claim job creation as unemployment spirals to new highs.
Tags: Barack Obama Michigan unemployment White House
Bearingarms


text:
Q: Can temporals be used as columns in KDB? I've created a pivot table based on:
https://code.kx.com/q/kb/pivoting-tables/
I've just replaced the symbols with minutes:
t:([]k:1 2 3 2 3;p:09:00 09:30 10:00 09:00 09:30; v:10 20 30 40 50)
P:asc exec distinct p from t;
exec P#(p!v) by k:k from t

Suffice to say, this doesn't work:
k|
-| -----------------------------
1| `s#09:00 09:30 10:00!10 0N 0N
2| `s#09:00 09:30 10:00!40 20 0N
3| `s#09:00 09:30 10:00!0N 50 30

which I expected, as the docs says P must be a list of symbols.
My question is; can temporal datatypes be used as columns at all in KDB?

A: Column names must be symbols. You can use .Q.id to give columns valid names, for example:
q)t:([]k:1 2 3 2 3;p:09:00 09:30 10:00 09:00 09:30; v:10 20 30 40 50)
q)P:.Q.id each asc exec distinct p from t;
q)exec P#.Q.id'[p]!v by k:k from t
k| a0900 a0930 a1000
-| -----------------
1| 10
2| 40    20
3|       50    30

You could convert minutes to their symbolic representation like this of course:
q)P:`$string asc exec distinct p from t;
q)exec P#(`$string p)!v by k:k from t
k| 09:00 09:30 10:00
-| -----------------
1| 10
2| 40    20
3|       50    30

but the result would be confusing at best, I strongly advise against such column names.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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Space tends to make everything better, so why not get ninjas in space and give them power armour? That is the very basics of "Warframe": a Free To play Third Person shooter Style MMO. The point of the game Is to travel through various levels to gather resources, obtain currency to get blueprints and to level up your gear or even get yourself ready to play against others players. This is a game I highly recommend for people who are social or want a challenge as this game grows a bit easier if you decide to play with up to FOUR total people, or it can be a nightmare if you decide to play all by yourself and rely on your own luck and skills. The game runs along a small amount of story lest the player wants to find tid-bits all over the place.
What this means is that the player is not forced upon a straight linear path of story, as they are allowed to play the game as they really feel like it: like a story or just action. If the player wants to find story, then they can go forth and find what they want: from either quests or hunts on enemies to obtain special bits of lore. The story that is given to the players from the start is that they are an alien race called "Tenno", Masters of Gun and Blade and wielders of power armor called "Warframes". They have been attacked after years of sleep by someone named "Captain Vor", who has placed a device on the Warframe to try and possess the Tenno. The players task is to get that device off, defeat Vor, and remind the solar system who the Tenno were, and that they are not legend. The Gameplay itself is an outstanding experience and it is still being added onto.
The point of this game is to complete mission "nodes" on planets to unlock others, gather resources or even gain experience to level up in order to head to even more nodes and gather even better things from there. The terrains for most missions if you take the time to experience them is so elegant it could honestly just show pictures from the game and call them real works of digital art. There are countless hours put into every planet, mission and characters. The game designers have spent most of their time trying to make Warframe as enjoyable as possible, even though it's supposed to just be a free to play game. To me, "Warframe" has more thought behind it than any other modern shooter as they focus on what the players want, not just their profits. Combat with enemies scales up rather easily, enemies have specific type advantages and disadvantages for elements and weapons. Armored enemies are weak to toxin, corrosive and explosive damage while Shielded enemies should be hit with electricity and physical damage like melee. Though with the scaling of type advantages, there's the fact that players themselves are sadly weak to most things like fire, radiation, electricity, toxin and especially explosive damages.
There are some advantages like cold damage though that's about it to help balance out players and enemies. The only downside to this game is that there are micro transactions. This means players can use real money to get a special in-game currency, so they can get gear or warframes instantly, along with special equipment like customization. The point of the micro-transaction is to give money for a shortcut to get around parts of the game like getting gear and items, rushing the creation of items and cutesy little cosmetic items for things. Though despite that being a thing, almost every item in-game is obtainable through different and possibly longer means. All warframes can be obtained through boss fights, all weapons can be built, and the game offers special missions called "Alerts" to get customization items. Yes, it will take a bit longer than if you just bought it, but that makes the item or Warframe so much better to have and use as you get the feeling of accomplishment when you finish getting them. To me this game is focused towards adventurous gamers or those who want to work for the stuff they can have.
Maybe not people who want an easy game because Warframe just destroys the people who think of it that way. It's fun, beautifully designed and highly addictive once you get into it, with the very miniscule issue of the purchasing of micro-transactions to let lazy players speed up the process of getting their gear and levels, but if you try hard enough everything in the game can be obtained through hard work. It really pays off when you do it yourself and it's a great feeling when you manage to get something either rare or extremely powerful.
Warframe: Free to Play on Steam.
A seventeen year old High School student who wants to get facts out there about games and products without any bias.