U.S. Navy SEAL Team Six pulled out during a raid to capture suspected Al-Shabaab leader Ikrima when it became clear that he couldn't be taken alive, a senior U.S. official told CNN.
"Their mission was to capture him. Once it became clear we were not going to able to take him, the Navy commander made the decision to withdraw," said the official, who has direct knowledge of the entire Somalia operation but declined to be identified publicly.
The official said the SEALs came under heavy opposition and an intense firefight broke out, leading to the withdrawal.
The mission's aim - to capture Ikrima - is the reason the team was used rather than a lethal drone attack, the official said.
The raid was one of two U.S. special operations forces missions in Africa over the weekend targeting high-profile terrorism suspects.
In the other raid, members of the elite U.S. Army Delta Force captured Abu Anas al Libi, an al Qaeda operative wanted for his alleged role in the deadly 1998 bombings of two U.S. embassies in Africa.
Please inform our brave Special Forces, that when it comes to this list of bad guys; bringing them in dead is ok.
I am still proud as hel of these guys. You guys know priority one. Who cares if this guy got a temporary reprieve I bet he is sleeping with a 45 under his pillow now. He also knows the ONLY reason he is alive right now is because we want him alive. The whole world knows we could have just dropped a bucket of death on him.
Hattip, and a round of beers for you guys. (hope your commander gets ya a case for us) .
Yeah, yeah, in the meantime we are broke and Apartheid Israel is still getting its welfare.
Exactly what were these clowns planning to do to this Ikrima once they did capture him? It's not hard to guess. They'll probably send him to Gitmo where he'll be tortured as the right-wing thugs in Washington celebrate yet another one of their field days while a bunch of ignoramuses here comment on just how "proud" they are of the clowns who tried to capture him!!!
Check your brain if you have one.
Best the job done in private, we don't need to know, just do it.
He is doing just fine embarrassing himself. Great sideshow.
Totally agree with DRhoads. The media in the U.S. is too free, and I am not saying that sarcastically. Reporting on our intelligence operations is utterly ridiculous and tantamount to treason.
Did you say that you're against the freedom of the press, VonPapen? Evidently, you don't believe in either a democracy or a well informed public. Unfortunately, you already have your way as far as the public is concerned since the vast majority still believe in all these useless wars that we're in!!!
Cmon guys seriously? Why would you report on any mission that STS/Delta is involved in? You might as well call up the bad guys and say "Hey we're on to you Hadji ...better go get your gun and your guys togethe cuz here we come" Its about time the media gets muzzled on military matters. Freedom of speech only goes so far when you put our men's lives on the line by reporting any movements before or after the fact of our military. Sometimes I wonder which side CNN and the rest are on. To our Special Forces community keep your heads up and come home safe. Much respect for a job well done I am proud of you.
I think it goes with out saying that for the most part, ANY black op that is made public is one of our key starter teams. We have more than people realize . The seals got way to much press already so it is more secure to just say 'they did it. Don't think we are not appreciative even though we might not know exactly who did what. All of our A teams are the best in the world and we are proud, and thankful for all of them.
Tell me DRhoades, are you also proud of those U.S. Marines in Afghanistan who urinated on those Taliban corpses? Only a right-wing fool would be. In fact, these guys earned a new acronym, UCFA(Urinating Clowns From America)!


Dembrowski, Gerry. Official Campaign Web Site - Gerry Dembrowski . 2010. Archived Web Site. https://www.loc.gov/item/lcwaN0005552/.
Dembrowski, G. (2010) Official Campaign Web Site - Gerry Dembrowski . [Archived Web Site] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/lcwaN0005552/.
Dembrowski, Gerry. Official Campaign Web Site - Gerry Dembrowski . 2010. Archived Web Site. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/lcwaN0005552/>.
Official Campaign Web Site - William Leslie Gunn Jr. Web Site. electronic | Electronic (Form).
Contributor: Gunn, William Leslie, Jr.


text:
Answer What Are The Four Levels Of Protein Structure? Explain
What Are The Four Levels Of Protein Structure? Explain
What are the four levels of protein structure? Explain.
The protein structure can be defined as the three dimensional arrangement for atom within any particular amino acid chain molecule. This type of protein is referred to as a polymer or polypeptide that is being formed from the numerous sequences of amino acid as well as monomer of polymers involved. Any specified monomer of the amino acid might even be termed as the residue, which indicates about the repeating units within the polymers. Each and every protein forms through amino acid after under going the reactions of condensation, where the amino acid might lose any 1 molecule of water in 1 reaction for the purpose of attaching to each other with the help of one peptide bond.
After consideration of convention, the molecule chain that remains under less than thirty amino acids could be recognized as one peptide and not only a protein. For effectively performing the biological functionality, these proteins could easily fold into 1 and more than 1 specified spatial conformation that is being driven by the total number of a non covalent interaction like hydro phobic packing, ionic interaction, hydrogen bonding, force of Van der waals forcing. Moreover, for understanding each and every function of the protein within the respective molecular level, this is eventually required to understand the 3 dimensional structure. It is the specific topic for structural biology that can employ certain techniques like NMR spectroscopy, dual polarisation interferometry and even X Ray crystallography for successful determination of the protein structure.
These distinctive structures of protein subsequently range in size from around 10 to 1000 amino acid. According to the physical sizes, these proteins could be classified as the nano particles within the range of 1 to 100 nm. The numerous larger aggregates could be effectively formed from proper protein sub unit. As for an example, numerous molecules of actin efficiently assemble within the micro filament. Any protein usually undergoes the reversible structure based changes while performing the biological function. There are few alternative structures within the similar protein, which are termed as various conformational isomers. These kinds of transitions as well as conformations within the isomers are termed as conformational alterations.
There are four distinctive and important levels of protein structure, which include primary structure, secondary structure, tertiary structure and quaternary structure. The first and the foremost level of protein structure is primary structure. This particular structure of the protein eventually refers to a significant sequence of several amino acid within the entire chain of polypeptide. The primary level is being held altogether by certain bonds of peptide, which are being created during the entire procedure of biosynthesis in protein. There are two ends of this chain of poly peptide, which are being termed as C terminus or carboxyl terminus as well as the N terminus or amino terminus on the basis of the nature or structure of a free group over every extremity. This specific primary level can be determined with the help of gene that corresponds to a protein and a proper sequence of the nucleotides within the DNA could be transcribed into m RNA. It is being read by a ribosome with the procedure, known as translation.
A proper sequence of the proteins is extremely unique to a protein for defining the entire functionality and structure of protein. The protein sequence could even be determined by certain methodologies like tandem mass spectro metry or Edman degradation. However, it is often read directly from gene sequence with the help of genetic code. This is strongly advised to utilize certain words of residues of amino acid while making discussions about protein as when one peptide bond gets formed and the water molecule is being lost. Hence, the proteins are eventually formed of the residues of amino acids. The modification for post translation like glycosylations and phosphorylation is generally being considered as the core part of this primary structure, hence could not be read from genes.
The second level of the protein structure is secondary structure. This particular structure eventually refers to the highly regular local sub structure over the actual chain of poly peptide back bone. The two major kinds of this secondary structure include alpha helix and beta sheets. These two types were being recommended during the year of 1951 and these distinctive secondary structures could be eventually defined by proper patterns of the hydrogen bonds within main chain groups of peptide. These comprise of a regular geometry that are effectively constrained to the respective values for dihedral angle over the plot of Ramachandran. Both of these alpha helix and beta sheets effectively represent a proper methodology to saturate each and every hydrogen bond donor as well as acceptor within the backbone of peptide. Few distinctive portions of this protein structure are being ordered, however they do not comprise of any regular structure and these must not be mixed with the random coil, which is an unfolded chain of poly peptide.
The third distinctive level of protein structure is tertiary structure. This specific structure refers to a 3 dimensional structure of the multi meric or monomeric protein molecule. The alpha helix and beta sheets could be folded into one compact globular structure and the folding is being driven by a non specified hydro phobic interaction or the burial of hydro phobic residue from molecules of water, however the structure can be stated as stable as soon as the protein parts are being locked into a place by the interactions of tertiary like hydrogen bonds or salt bridges. The disulphide bonds could become quite rare within the cytosolic protein. The final protein structure level is quaternary structure, which is also a 3 dimensional structure comprising of a separation of 2 and more chain of poly peptide, which could operate as 1 functional unit. The multimer could be effectively stabilized by similar interactions of non co valence as well as bonds of disulphide within the tertiary structure. There are several possible organizations of quaternary structure and the alpha helix and beta sheets are being involved.
What Are The Four Levels Of Pr... has been added in your library.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
package com.github.mdr.mash.ns.os

import com.github.mdr.mash.functions.{ BoundParams, MashFunction, ParameterModel }
import com.github.mdr.mash.inference.Type
import com.github.mdr.mash.os.UserInteractions
import com.github.mdr.mash.runtime.MashList

object UsersFunction extends MashFunction("os.users") {

  val userInteractions = UserInteractions.default

  val params = ParameterModel.Empty

  def call(boundParams: BoundParams): MashList =
    MashList(userInteractions.passwdEntries.map(UserSummaryClass.fromPasswdEntry))

  override def typeInferenceStrategy = Type.Seq(Type.Instance(UserSummaryClass))

  override def summaryOpt = Some("The users on the system")

}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


1.59± Vacant Multi-Family land parcel. Zoned RM-10 and approved for 16 townhome units. Excellent development opportunity. Unincorporated Pinellas County north of City of Tarpon Springs at the corner of Wood Dove Ave and Alt 19 (N Pinellas Ave). North on US 19 from SR60 (approximately 15 Miles) to W. on Lois Ave to South on Alt 19 (N. Pinellas Ave) to property on right 1.3 miles.


A new gene therapy could have the potential to treat prostate cancer that causes 300,000 deaths worldwide each year, a new study said after it halted the majority of tumours in laboratory models. The 'seek-and-destroy' gene therapeutic system was used against two types of prostate tumour and more than half of them vanished over a period of one month.
However, the therapy is currently in limited use due to lack of delivery systems that can selectively deliver the genes to the tumours without adverse side effects to healthy tissues. The 'seek-and-destroy' nanomedicine linked to an iron-carrying protein called lactoferrin was developed and the study focussed on two prostate cancer cell lines -- PC-3 and DU145.
The intravenous administration of the nanomedicine treatment resulted in the complete disappearance of 70 per cent of the PC-3 tumours and half of the DU145 prostate tumours over one month, revealed the findings published in the journal Drug Delivery. "Although some treatments, including chemotherapy and radiotherapy, can be effective against localised tumours, there is still no effective treatment for patients whose cancer recurs or spreads.
"This means that new therapeutic approaches are urgently needed for these patients," said Christine Dufes, senior Lecturer at the University of Strathclyde in Scotland. Prostate cancer is the fourth most widespread cancer in the world.


We moved into a new home almost 5 years ago. The past 2 winters I have noticed a white, milky liquid leaking down the outside of the metal chimneystack in the basement whenever the temperature is very cold outside. (Previous winters were not as cold.) This liquid would drip onto the basement floor and was sticky. There are also white "drip marks" down the sides of the chimneystack. I checked with the company that installed the furnace and their serviceman said that the liquid was the by-product of natural gas condensation. He suggested that I put a "drip tray" below the elbow on the furnace stack to catch the liquid. I did this for the first year. The liquid eventually dried to a powder form. However, this past winter there was an increase in the amount of liquid coming down the stack - also longer spells of cold weather. I called ATCO Gas and explained the problem, hoping they could give me an explanation and/or solution. They suggested I contact a company that installs furnaces. This time I called another furnace company, one that I have used for several years. The serviceman that came out agreed that the liquid was the result of natural gas condensation, and if I understood him correctly, the exhaust gases were not clearing the chimneystack before condensing. He took the stats for the furnace, hot water tank and the boiler we have for radiant floor heating in the basement. He told me that he would calculate the height the chimney should be for the existing appliances and asked if I knew how tall the chimneystack was from the roof up. I did not know the height. When he called back he said that he thought the height was close to being correct but he would have to go onto the roof and actually measure the chimney. He said that we may need a "kit" to correct the problem or worse, have to go through the drywall to correct the problem. This occurred in the early spring and so far I have not had him back to do the measuring. Before I proceed any further, I would like your opinion. When I listened to your Saturday show a few months ago, a gentleman called in asking about ice build up around his chimney at roof level. You advised him to call Bob Tessier. I wrote down Mr. Tessier's cell number but do not want to call him unless I could use you as a reference. Any help or advice that you can give me would be greatly appreciated. I would like this problem fixed before this winter begins.
Your problem is caused by condensation as your second service man explained. It is not however, caused by �natural gas condensation� but is the result of the combustion byproducts not venting properly. The venting gases are being allowed to cool too much before they make their way out of your chimney. Water is one of the byproducts of combustion and if the gases are allowed to cool, the water vapors turn to liquid. Improper venting will result in condensation regardless of the fuel used.
To correct the problem, they may have to properly size the venting/chimney by installing a chimney liner to reduce the chimney vent size. Please feel free to go ahead and call Bob Tessier for assistance. He is very knowledgeable and will be able to help you.


CILIP have just published the interim report of the Independent Review. This gives brief background on the Awards (and on how CILIP works); and an update on what has happened so far, including two scoping workshops (one of which was facilitated by John Vincent).
There is also a press release: "'Get all young Britons reading to unlock potential, productivity and economic growth'".


Even most locals don't know about this place! If you flew into the Philadelphia Airport then you most likely flew right over the fort. I only went to it because I flew over it so many times I told myself I needed to check it out!
Fort Mifflin is an unusual place. It is beautiful and well kept and you are transported to the 1770s. Until, that is, a gigantic airplane flies nearly over the top of you. So you have this mix of Revolutionary war and modern day technology.
For me, bringing a lunch to Fort Mifflin and laying down and watching the airplanes overhead knowing that you are in one of the few star forts in the Mid Atlantic is a great way to spend an afternoon. You can also walk into the small woods behind the Fort and walk the Delaware River on nice days.
I rarely see anyone else there so most of the time I have the place to myself or the friends that I have brought with me.
I urge you, if you have time and a means of transportation, to get out of the city, by just 5-10 minutes, and take in this near forgotten piece of history and beauty.


If you were disappointed about the dismiss of the Bugatti Veyron in April of this year, then I've got quite the thing to cheer you up. This video has everything you need to know about the Veyron's successor: The Chiron, and, a full biography on the man it's named after. I will also see if it's worthy of answering an important question: Is the Bugatti Chiron the next page in Bugatti's treasured history? Enjoy the video!


text:
Vissi d'arte ~ Living retired ~ nourished by the arts
Vissi d'arte
~ Living retired, and nourished by the arts
Tag Archives: baroque music
Posted by Roger H. Boulet in classical music
baroque music, choral music, classical music, Holy Week, Jeremiah, Lamentations
One of my childhood memories towards the end of Lent (which seemed to last forever) was of the services on the holy days before Easter. The ceremonies called Tenebrae (darkness) featured the extraordinary poetry of the Prophet Jeremiah in the form of his Lamentations. These would be performed on those days by a fairly well-rehearsed choir singing the Gregorian chants. I can't claim to have been aware of the beauty of the texts back then. Eight years of study of Latin still lay before me. The Lamentations are one of the most poetic books of the Old Testament, apart from the Song of Songs, the Psalms and Ecclesiastes. Essentially, the prophet Jeremiah sees the destruction and desolation of Jerusalem (before it happens) and laments the inevitable catastrophe. Naturally, this great elegiac poetry was used by the Catholic Church in its Holy Week liturgy, not only because of the sorrow expressed therein but as an allegory. The destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem is seen as the death of Christ, but is also a call to the faithful to repent. The verse "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, convertare ad Dominum Deum tuum." (Jerusalem, Jerusalem, turn back to the Lord your God," is often used as a refrain of sorts. I have provided here three related engravings from the Gustave Doré Bible. The original paintings or drawings were by Doré, but the fine engravings were done by various journeymen engravers, as was the practice of the day. It was natural that great musicians, especially Catholic ones, would set these texts to the music of their time, and today, irrespective of our beliefs, the music continues to inspire us, especially as Easter and spring are upon us. It is the (necessary) darkness before dawn. If you Google "Lamentations," or search for Lamentations or Tenebrae on YouTube and you will be able to access some of the extraordinary results. Below, is a partial list of the various settings to the Lamentations that I have collected, most of them from the Renaissance and Baroque periods. Many of these recordings are still available. For a good discography summary, click here (texts in French).
I will single out some of the better known settings. There are a number of recordings of the settings by Thomas Tallis (ca. 1505-1585) and the settings are brief enough to provide a good introduction to the genre. There are two sets, and both are presented here. There are also a couple of very beautiful settings by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (c. 1525-1594) and another by Tomas Luis de Victoria (1548-1611). French Renaissance and Baroque composers seem to have had a particular predilection for the Lamentations texts, and several of them set the words to music. The instrumentation is usually sparse, as befits the Lenten period.
There is one double CD set of Michel Lambert (1610-1696) on Virgin Classics featuring the three days (Wednesday-Thursday-Friday) and their Leçons de ténèbres, for soprano, alto, countertenor and tenor, accompanied by a viola da gamba, a theorbo, and keyboards instruments (harpsichord and positive organ). Well over two hours of sublime music, which you should spread over three days, preferably on quiet reflective evenings, if you still set aside the time to enjoy those. Other settings in that time period are also hauntingly beautiful in their own way. The beauty of the vocal writing, however, overrides the expression of any strong emotion. This was the Age of Reason, after all. And one contemporary cleric bemoaned the fact that the liturgical texts were now being offered as mundane and frivolous entertainment.
There are curiously no Romantic settings of the Lamentations. I am not sure why. In the 20th century, there were three notable composers inspired by the texts. Ernst Krenek (1900-1991) composed his Lamentations in 1941. I have only heard parts of it. It is a difficult piece, eerily beautiful, returning to the Gregorian now and then but superimposing twelve-tone writing. Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990) subtitled his First Symphony "Jeremiah" (1939-42). Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971) contributed his Threni (1958) — another bit of difficult twelve-tone writing. Last, but certainly not least is the Canadian composer Peter Anthony Togni's composition Lamentations (2007). It is essentially a lengthy concerto for Bass Clarinet and Chorus. The bits of it that I have heard are remarkable and the composition has received excellent reviews. There is a recording of it, and this will certainly be my next acquisition, and a wonderful addition to my growing collection of Lamentations.
© Roger H. Boulet, 2015
Some of the composers and their settings of the Lamentations:
Thomas Tallis (ca. 1505-1585) Lamentations of Jeremiah, First Set; Lamentations of Jeremiah (second set) probably late works)
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (c. 1525-1594): Lamentations, Book Four (ca. 1588 or earlier).
Carlo Gesualdo (1566-1613) Lamentations.
Tomas Luis de Victoria (ca.1548-1611) Officium Hebdomadae Sanctae (1685)
Michel Lambert (1610-1696) Leçons des Ténèbres (1689)
Marc-Antoine Charpentier (1645-1704) Leçons de Ténèbres du Mercredi Saint (date?) (one version for Good Friday also exists)
Michel-Richard de Lalande (1657-1726) (first set 1663; second set 1689)
François Couperin (1668-1733) Leçons de Ténèbres pour le Mercredi Saint (1714).
Jan Dismas Zelenka (1679-1745) Lamentations (for all three days) (1722).
Living with Vivaldi
Posted by Roger H. Boulet in classical music, Uncategorized
baroque music, bassoon concerto, Vivaldi
The first time I heard some music by Vivaldi was when I was about 15 years old. It was his Concerto for Two Trumpets, Strings and Continuo in C major, RV 537. I remember it was on a 10-inch 33 1/3 rpm record with a blue label. That was 56 years ago! Since then, if there has been one composer who has accompanied me all these years, it was Vivaldi (with Tchaikovsky a close second). All the others came later along the way.
When I first started buying records in my teens, I was a member of the Columbia Record Club, and I recall purchasing Vivaldi's Four Seasons played by Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra. These were a revelation to me, and way back then, Vivaldi was certainly not heard that often. Apparently the recording has been re-issued, but I have moved on since those days, and prefer my baroque music played on instruments true to the period.
I think the second Vivaldi recording I bought was one with Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic. It had a concerto for diverse instruments with two mandolins, one concerto for oboe, one for flute and one for piccolo. The concerto for diverse instruments was particularly appealing, although by hindsight one shudders at Bernstein's use of a trumpet in the place of the tromba marina (a stringed instrument).
My third Vivaldi purchase was an RCA recording of Vivaldi Bassoon Concerti, which I enjoyed tremendously, especially a concerto in F (RV 485) with its little ritornello in the third movement. This was the beginning of a lifelong love for Vivaldi's Bassoon Concerti. I own a couple of complete sets on CD, and am avidly collecting a third, performed my Sergio Azzolini and the players of L'Aura Soave on the Naïve label.
Over the past 50 years, Vivaldi has become a household name for classical music lovers, and a great deal of his music has been recorded, including operas, sacred music and many, many, many concerti. It seems that throughout these 50 years, I have bought Vivaldi recordings, especially on CD and especially on instruments authentic to the period. I don't think a week goes by without some Vivaldi.
As far as the Four Seasons are concerned, I think that the BIS recording with Nils-Erik Sparf and the Drottningholm Baroque Ensemble (BIS CD-275) is one of the best. The playing is delightful, sharp and crisp and the music sounds completely new. Other recordings have since been issued and been critically acclaimed, particularly the recordings by Europa Galante directed by Fabio Biondi, and by Il Giardino Armonico cnducted by Giovanni Antonini.
The Four Seasons are concerti for violin and string orchestra, although you will find them transcribed for almost any instrument now. They were part of the twelve concerti published as Vivaldi's Il cimento dell'armonia e dell'invenzione, Op. 8. Other published collections were L'estro Armonico (op. 3) La cetra (Op. 9) and La stravaganza (Op. 4). All reward the listener.
But there are other concerti, usually grouped on recordings by the instruments they feature. There are six flute concerti grouped in Op. 10. There are about 25 cello concerti, and 37 bassoon concerti as well. Especially fascinating are the concerti for viola d'amore, for mandolins, and various groupings of instruments. These are best heard played by period instruments.
The best recording of the concerti for viola d'amore is by Fabio Biondi and Europa Galante. It contains seven concerti as well as the Concerto for viola d'amore and lute in D minor, RV 540. The viola d'amore is very attractive. It has six or seven strings and the sound is slightly nasal, as there are sympathetic strings that add a particular resonance. Also included here is a concerto in F major (RV 97) for viola d'amore which strangely includes oboes, bassoons and hunting horns in its third movement. The effect is quite astonishing and evocative of a hunt.
The same forces gives us the concerti for mandolins and concerti 'con molti stromenti.' There are two volumes. The first has three concerti for mandolins, and four for various combinations of instruments. The second also has seven concerti, one of them for the strange combination of solo violin, two hunting horns, 2 oboes, 2 violins, alto viola and bass as well as tympani, the latter a most unusual inclusion for Vivaldi. Both these albums are terrific.
Another favourite album is a Warner Bros. Elatus disc which features two trios and five concerti with various instrumental combinations. The players are Il Giardino Armonico, and their interpretations are nuanced and sensitive.
Finally, a word about the bassoon concerti. At least three complete sets are available, but the best by far are those played by Sergio Azzolini and the ensemble L'aura soave of Cremona. I have always been very fond of the bassoon concerti, and certainly look forward to the remaining two albums to complete the collection. You can hear the complete album of the first set on YouTube.
The series (on Naïve label) also has some striking cover art. I can only suppose that the woodsy quality of the images somehow relates to the woodsy timbre of the baroque bassoon.
Vivaldi's spirited music is perfect in the morning, it is cheerful and sunny. There is a life-affirming quality about it which is sure to lift one's spirits. As a listener of Stingray Music, part of our cable service, I get to hear quite a bit of Vivaldi on their Baroque channel and I continue to discover the music of his contemporaries too. There was something incredibly positive about the Baroque period, and certainly Vivaldi's music epitomizes the period. I always bring a CD or two of Vivaldi's music to play in the car when I am travelling. And they are also on my MP3 player. Perfect for the gym, for walking, or doing just about anything.
© Roger H. Boulet, 2015.
Note: The listener will find a lot of Vivaldi's music on YouTube, and the CD's are worth purchasing too. The sound is so much better!
Canadian art
visual art gothic art


March 31st - April 1st Business Opportunity Presentation PDF. This is a great overview of the project and its potential impact on the local economy. This presentation was made to all registered attendees. NOTE: This is a large file and may take some time to load or transfer.
Created by Site Administrator on April 4, 2014 at 19:42:33 . Last modified on April 4, 2014 at 19:48:31 .


text:
Seduce Her Parents
14 ways to make sure they don't try to take her back
by Hugh O'Neill Published: Oct 25, 2005
In a few weeks, airports and highways will be jammed with people heading home for the holidays. For many, the trip will be full of the high spirits of familial reunion. But for plenty of their partners, the gaiety of going over the river and through the woods won't mask the dread of -- cue melodramatic da-da-dum -- spending time with the in-laws.
I'm not sure exactly where we went wrong with our wives' folks. I understand that the relationship is very deep psychological water. Maybe it's the word "in-law" itself, which doesn't exactly convey a sense of opportunity.
But I am sure of this: We have set the bar way too low for our link with her folks. I just hate leaving any chips on the table. And in this season of peace on Earth, of goodwill toward everybody, it seems worth acting like wise men and resolving to understand our in-laws (and in-laws–to–be) better.
Resist the cliche. By now, it ought to go without saying that Milton Berle isn't a proper template for how a man should conduct himself. Yet the "annoying in-laws" cliche enshrined by Berle and his stand-up ilk in the '50s is somehow still flourishing in our gender's psyche.
Tell a male acquaintance you're spending the holidays with your in-laws and you'll get a sympathetic eye roll in reply. The word "in-laws" connotes conflict -- more specifically, conflict with idiots who think you're an idiot. The eye roller assumes that just because he's learned nothing from, and given even less to, his in-laws, you're as benighted as he is. Wrong. Your relationship doesn't have to be a punch line.
1. Be an anthropologist.
Think of her team as a tribe and of yourself as a student of a foreign culture. You aren't put off by the oddness of their practices; on the contrary, you're intrigued. Every family, including the crew you come from, is inspired or enslaved by a unique set of customs, myths, memories (some false, some true), jokes, superstitions, nicknames, hatreds, and affections.
To figure out how bizarre your in-laws are is good sport -- if you like shooting fish in a barrel. If you prefer to test yourself, try figuring out the source of their power, how they were steward to the woman who lured you into their web.
2. Never use the term "estate planning."
Make sure they don't suspect you've been asking what happens to the beach house, you know, after. Other utterances to avoid: "no-fault state," "Monogamy is unnatural," "living will," "My cousin says I'll make 40 grand in a week," and "We can always take out a second mortgage on the house."
3. Decide to be devoted.
Why use your wit to distance yourself from their dysfunction, when, on your wedding day, it became your dysfunction? Embrace it. No, you don't have to agree that Italian-Americans are, for some reason, the best people on the planet or that all conservatives should be kidnapped and reprogrammed to admire Ted Kennedy. Teammates can agree to disagree. And make no mistake: You're teammates now.
4. Laugh at their jokes.
No male belief is more inhibiting to relationships than our cowboy notion that real men always say what they mean and mean what they say, and aren't we just the most straight-up, deal-with-it gender you've ever seen. Yikes!
Building relationships requires insincerity. Particularly in the early in-law days, you have to do some sycophantic spadework, say things you don't mean as a way of signaling respect, genuflecting to the more mature culture.
Don't worry, you won't break into a million pieces if you laugh at their dumb family jokes. Moreover, if you start acting as though you enjoy their humor and cherish their tales, you may actually start enjoying their humor and cherishing their tales. Often, acts of affiliation lead to feelings of affiliation.
5. Subdue the yelping.
Once you leave college, only the people in the hotel room next to you should ever hear your signature sex howl. Sure, you can have sex in your in-laws' house. In fact, you have to. But ix-nay on the ookie-nay oises-nay. As far as they know, you and their daughter are just good buddies.
Take it from me: No lovely, supportive, 75-year-old couple from suburban Philly should ever, ever, ever have to hear their little girl cry out, "Jesus Christ, my bones are melting!"
6. Inquire about their people.
No, not "Did you ever consider the possibility that Uncle Stash might have been guilty?" but more along the lines of "How did the ukulele become the family instrument?" Key thought: You're not sucking up because you're weak and needy. You're sucking up because you're humble and strong, comfortable enough in your skin to exalt the stories of others.
7. Take their names.
If the kids have your last name, give them first names from your wife's side of the family. It's only fair that bits of their culture should be carried down the line as well. Already blown that? Pretend to think your son looks like his maternal grandma, and pretend to be delighted by the resonance, even if your mother-in-law looks like Dame Edna. If people feel highly regarded, they're more generous with their regard.
8. Go to med school.
As time goes by, your in-laws will spend more and more time waiting for the doctor to call them back. Eventually, usually a day later, they'll get a message from his secretary saying the doctor won't be back until Thursday. Consider giving up bond trading, hightailing it to Duke, and becoming an M.D., complete with prescription-writing privileges and enough juice to have a loved one admitted to a first-rate hospital.
This may not make you a great son-in-law, but it'll make you a handy one. Short of that, be willing to drive to Canada on short notice.
9. Remember your gender.
Don't fall for the myth that marriage is gender free. A good son-in-law doesn't let his in-laws believe that their daughter ever does any of the following: shovel snow, pick up the kids at the airport, mow the lawn, make the 10 p.m. run for emergency pizza, or make any run ever for emergency contraception. Of course, she's perfectly capable of all of the above. Doesn't matter.
Allow your in-laws the fantasy that your physical strength is actually an asset to their daughter, that your presence in her life offers her protection from some of the world's dangers, including mower blades, traffic at O'Hare, and being in parking lots after dark. You're her husband. Handle that stuff. Or at least pretend to.
10. Be their defense attorney. When she's critical of her parents, don't hop on her indictment bandwagon. She'll shut down out of loyalty. Gently take up for them instead -- even if you agree with her critique. The fact that somebody in the room is watching out for their interests will set her free to let fly at dear old Mom and Dad.
Now, be careful. Don't mount a vigorous defense, one that disrespects her feelings; just a soft one in the time-honored oh-they-mean-well tradition. She'll realize that she's lucky to have escaped those lunatics and hooked up with an understanding sweetheart like you.
11. Remember your spine.
Amid all this deference and consideration, don't neglect to have a backbone -- especially if your father-in-law is one of those bullies who always know what's best for everybody, or if your mother-in-law is a master manipulator.
It's important, now and then, to stand up for the hegemony of you and the wife. Nobody respects a pushover. Down not so deep, they'll be reassured that the man with whom Princess is allied actually has some gumption.
Feel free to explain a demurral if they're respectful, but don't feel compelled to if they're not. If pressed for an explanation, the polite answer is the vague but final you're "just not comfortable doing [fill in the blank]."
12. Tell your story.
Make sure they know something about your family, too. After all, you have your own legends and myths and superstitions. The long-term goal is to cull the most enriching parts of each legend and move ahead with a hybrid tale. As the theologian Martin Buber once said, "You shall not withhold yourself." This applies, by the way, to all of your relationships.
13. Never let your father-in-law see you lying down.
My father was not a big one for advice, but he did offer this nugget shortly before I got married. All right-minded men are workers, you see. It doesn't matter what they're doing -- cleaning the gutters, shining the wife's shoes -- as long as something productive is being done.
For the first decade of my marriage, I don't think my in-laws ever saw me horizontal. This wasn't because I was always cleaning their chimney, but because whenever I'd hear them coming, I'd quickly jump up and act busy, often sweeping past them, car keys a-jangle, as though headed to the hardware store for caulking compound.
Granted, I eventually grew tired of the charade, and for the past couple of years, I'm not sure my in-laws have ever seen me standing up. But, as usual, my father knew what he was talking about. The best a man can do as a son-in-law is give good value, have enthusiasm for the thousand tasks that the yard and the car and the kids require.
But there is another, deeper kind of diligence to which the ambitious son-in-law might aspire: the determination to stay tuned to the woman he loves. Sure, the punch-list stuff is easier. Even if we can't rewire the upstairs, we can find a guy who can.
Our challenge is to keep working when there are no directions, when the way forward is unclear. Sometimes, when emotions fray or dread looms or a man and woman lose track of each other for a time, we retreat into silence or anger. But that's when it's most important to summon our attention, our patience, our energy, to dig in.
14. The greats don't lose focus.
They're tough but tender, soft enough to fully love a woman and trust her with their uncertainty. That's what I want for my daughter and, if it's not too late, for my wife: a man with courage when confused, who stays in the game even when the play breaks down and he has to scramble outside the pocket.
Never let your father-in-law see you lying down. Really, that's all you need to remember.
Hugh O'Neill is a freelance writer with an interest in health and wellness.
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Smoking is injurious to health and can cause all sorts of complications. It can cause irreversible damage to your lungs and affect other parts of your body as well. It is also common to have a sore throat with smoking, which is the result of continuous inhalation of tobacco smoke. You may not know yet but inhaling that tobacco smoke exposes your throat to more than 7,000 chemicals, and about 70 of those chemicals can cause cancer.
Any type of smoke may cause irritation in your throat, but tobacco smoke is a common culprit, which is mainly because it contains chemicals like acrolein and formaldehyde. These chemicals are actually the byproducts of burning tobacco, and since tobacco smoke contains a high concentration of these irritants, you will eventually have a sore throat from smoking. Here is more about how smoking can affect your throat.
You are likely to experience hoarseness when you smoke regularly. There may also be a raspy quality to your voice, which shows that smoking is causing vocal changes. You may also experience other symptoms such as frequent throat clearing and a sore throat. People who smoke are at an increased risk of developing chronic laryngitis, which can weaken and deepen your voice.
You are at an increased risk of developing cancer of the tongue, lips, throat, mouth, and larynx when you continue to smoke over several years. All forms of tobacco are equally harmful. If you develop cancer of the larynx or throat, you may experience symptoms like vocal changes, bleeding from the throat, lumps or growths in the neck or throat, and difficulty swallowing. Be sure to talk to your doctor immediately if you smoke and experience any of these throat-related symptoms.
When you develop a sore throat due to smoking, you can certainly try a number of natural remedies to feel better. However, you need to understand that most of those remedies offer temporary relief and your problem may return if you continue to smoke. It means that you should quit smoking to treat your sore throat permanently. Here are some ways to relieve your sore throat.
Your throat becomes dry because of smoking. Therefore, you need to take steps to hydrate your throat for which you can take plenty of clear fluids. Be sure to rest your throat as well and eat soft foods for a few days. Using a humidifier in your home may also help add moisture to the air and ease the dryness in your throat.
You can try a home facial sauna treatment to help make breathing easier and treat your sore throat.
Simply take a bowl and fill it with boiling water. Add a few drops of decongestant to the water and inhale that steam. Be sure to use a towel to cover your head so you could inhale the vapors easily. This relaxes the blood vessels in your throat and eases your pain too.
You can gargle with salt water to reduce inflammation and improve blood circulation in the throat, thus relieving sore throat from smoking.
Fill a tumbler with warm water and add half teaspoon of salt to it. Dissolve the salt completely and then use this solution to gargle. Ensure that you do not swallow the solution. Repeat 3-4 times a day for relief.
Using fresh lemons may help offer some relief from your sore throat. It really helps remove mucus and makes breathing easier.
Mix a teaspoon of honey and juice from half a lemon in a cup of warm water and sip it slowly for pain relief. You can also squeeze a lemon in warm water and use the solution to gargle. This also helps reduce throat inflammation.
Apple cider vinegar has antibacterial properties that prove beneficial in the treatment of your sore throat.
Take a cup of warm water and add a teaspoon of honey, a teaspoon of lemon, and a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar to it. Mix well and drink it slowly. Do it thrice a day to relieve pain and inflammation in your throat.
You can use cinnamon to relive your sore throat from smoking. The remedy proves more effective when your sore throat is the result of the common cold.
Take a glass of warm water and add a teaspoon of black pepper powder and a teaspoon of cinnamon powder to it. You may also add cardamom to make it more effective. Strain the solution first and then gargle with it thrice a day.
Thanks to its antiseptic and antibacterial properties, garlic can really help treat your sore throat in a short time.
You can simply eat a raw garlic clove a day for pain relief. Garlic has a chemical called allicin, which eliminates bacterial infection and treats your sore throat. You can also eat garlic in cooked form. Garlic pills are equally effective and you can try them if you do not like the taste of raw garlic.


text:
Politics|Would Donald Trump Quit if He Wins the Election? He Doesn't Rule It Out
Would Donald Trump Quit if He Wins the Election? He Doesn't Rule It Out
Donald J. Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, at a campaign rally in Cincinnati on Wednesday.CreditCreditTy Wright for The New York Times
By Jason Horowitz
The traditional goal of a presidential nominee is to win the presidency and then serve as president.
Donald J. Trump is not a traditional candidate for president.
Presented in a recent interview with a scenario, floating around the political ether, in which the presumptive Republican nominee proves all the naysayers wrong, beats Hillary Clinton and wins the presidency, only to forgo the office as the ultimate walk-off winner, Mr. Trump flashed a mischievous smile.
"I'll let you know how I feel about it after it happens," he said minutes before leaving his Trump Tower office to fly to a campaign rally in New Hampshire.
It is, of course, entirely possible that Mr. Trump is playing coy to earn more news coverage. But the notion of the intensely competitive Mr. Trump's being more interested in winning the presidency than serving as president is not exactly a foreign concept to close observers of this presidential race.
Early in the contest, his rivals, Republican operatives and many reporters questioned the seriousness of his candidacy. His knack for creating controversy out of thin air (this week's edition: the Star of David Twitter post) and his inclination toward self-destructive comments did not instill confidence in a political culture that values on-message discipline in its candidates.
Those doubts dissipated after Mr. Trump vanquished his Republican opponents and locked up the nomination.
"I've actually done very well," Mr. Trump said. "We beat 18 people, right?"
But as the race has turned toward the general election and a majority of polls have shown Mr. Trump trailing Mrs. Clinton, speculation has again crept into political conversations in Washington, New York and elsewhere that Mr. Trump will seek an exit strategy before the election to avoid a humiliating loss.
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Get the latest national and state polls on the presidential election between Hillary Clinton and Donald J. Trump.
Now he is refusing to rule out an even more dramatic departure, one that would let him avoid the grueling job of governing, return to his business and enjoy his now-permanent status as a news media celebrity.
Told of Mr. Trump's noncommittal comment, Stuart Stevens, a senior adviser to Mitt Romney in 2012 who has become one of Mr. Trump's most vocal critics, said that Mr. Trump was "a con man who is shocked his con hasn't been called" and that he was looking for an emergency exit.
"He has no sense of how to govern," Mr. Stevens said. "He can't even put together a campaign."
Even Mr. Trump's supporters acknowledge that his past campaigns had the air of a vanity tour. That impression lingers. A recent Trump news release promising "a speech regarding the election" prompted many reporters and political fortunetellers to predict a declaration of his departure. But just the fact that a routine news release prompted paroxysms of conjecture throughout the political universe suggested that, as Mr. Trump might say, "there's something going on."
Mr. Trump's campaign and his supporters dismiss the talk as the fantasizing of frightened liberals or frustrated establishment figures.
"He's not going to pull out," said Thomas Barrack Jr., a financier and real estate investor who is a close friend of Mr. Trump's. He compared Mr. Trump's candidacy to an innovative start-up company: "You never see disruption when it's happening."
In Mr. Trump's case, the disruption is everywhere. Last fall, he said in television interviews that if his standing collapsed in the Republican primary polls, he could very well return to his business. In mid-June, amid an onslaught of negative news coverage, he joked to a crowd that he would consider leaving the race for $5 billion.
On the off chance he actually is planning to back out, what would happen?
Alexander Keyssar, a historian at Harvard who is working on a book about the Electoral College, said the process of succession would depend on "the precise moment at which he said, 'Nah, never mind.'"
The party representatives who make up the Electoral College would suddenly have real power rather than a rubber stamp. If Mr. Trump bowed out after winning on Nov. 8 but before the electors met in each state to cast their ballots on Dec. 19, then the electors could have the opportunity to vote for another candidate, Professor Keyssar said.
A majority of the 538 electors would be Republicans, but they might not agree on the best alternative candidate. If no one won a majority of the electors, the contest between the top three vote-getters — one of whom would presumably be Mrs. Clinton — would go to the House of Representatives, where each state would be given one vote, while the Senate would select the vice president. House Republicans hold 33 states to the Democrats' 14, with three evenly split. It is unclear whether the vote would take place before or after newly elected representatives were seated.
It is also unclear what would happen, Professor Keyssar said, if Mr. Trump bid adieu after the electoral votes were cast but before they were officially counted, per the 12th Amendment, by the president of the Senate before a joint session of Congress in January. And if Mr. Trump left after the votes were counted in Congress but before he was sworn in on Jan. 20, Professor Keyssar said the closest guidance would probably come from Section Three of the 20th Amendment: "If, at the time fixed for the beginning of the term of the president, the president-elect shall have died, the vice president-elect shall become president."
"Nothing like this has ever happened," Professor Keyssar said.
And nothing like it will this year, Mr. Trump's supporters say.
"It's going to be too late by then," Roger Stone, Mr. Trump's longtime political adviser, said of the go-out-on-top theory. "If he got elected president, he'd certainly serve. I'm fairly certain about that. You think he'd resign? I don't see that happening. There is only one star in the Donald Trump show, and that's Donald Trump."
Russell Verney, a former top strategist for Ross Perot, the Texas billionaire who abruptly pulled out of the 1992 election, only to re-enter and win 19 percent of the vote, said that outsider candidates were more vulnerable to questions about their resolve.
"It never would be a subject raised with Romney and others, because the presidency is the ultimate goal of their entire professional career," said Mr. Verney, who conferred with Mr. Trump during his exploration of a presidential run in 2000, during which, he said, Mr. Trump expressed reservations about selling his casinos to fund his campaign. "Donald Trump has not worked toward being president every day of his professional career."
Mr. Trump's supporters point out that he has begun adopting the more traditional trappings of a presidential campaign: a fund-raising operation, policy ideas, prepared speeches.
"This is silly," said Sean Spicer, a spokesman for the Republican National Committee, which has tried hard to make the Trump campaign more professional. "He's in it to win it."
But the only person who could truly put any doubts to rest seemed instead to relish the idea of keeping everyone guessing, concluding the recent conversation with a you're-on-to-something grin and handshake across his cluttered desk.
"We'll do plenty of stories," Mr. Trump promised enigmatically. "O.K.?"
Alexander Burns and Maggie Haberman contributed reporting.
Find out what you need to know about the 2016 presidential race today, and get politics news updates via Facebook, Twitter and the First Draft newsletter.
A version of this article appears in print on , Section A, Page 15 of the New York edition with the headline: Would Trump Quit After Winning the Election? He Doesn't Rule It Out. Order Reprints | Today's Paper | Subscribe
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Posted by aconsciousappetite in Food, Pastas and Such, What's Cooking?
You know those nights when you peer into your refrigerator and find…nothing. It's too late to go to the store, or you just returned home from work and going to back out to the store seems unbearable. But you are HUNGRY. It's cold outside and you've already changed into your comfy clothing, slipped into your slippers and all you want to do is eat a comforting meal!
My bet is that you most likely have some pasta in the pantry, a few garlic cloves laying around and, of course, extra virgin olive oil. These are staples and even when I was a single girl, I had these available.
Roll up your sleeves and get ready for the quickest, easiest, most satisfying meal you can imagine created simply from these 3 ingredients! Well, as long as you like love garlic and you are not a vampire.
I'd love to say that I invented this effortless "Garlic & Oil" dish, but it's origins are traced from the Italian region of Abruzzo, about 50 miles east of Rome.
You can find many renditions of this recipe, but this is how I like making my Aglio E Olio.
First, cut your garlic in fine slices. Your choice as to how many you'd like to use. For me, the more the better, so I used around 1/2 cup of sliced garlic. Use more, use less, there is no correct amount.
Put some water to boil for the pasta of your choosing, don't forget to salt your water. For bf and I, I grab a nice palm full of dried spaghetti (probably around 3/4 lb). When the water comes to a steady boil, add the pasta which usually takes around 6 minutes until it is al dente.
While your water is coming to a boil, heat up your pan (one large enough to finish the pasta in, I use my wok!) with a good amount of quality extra virgin olive oil. Hm, around 1/2 cup? Don't be shy with it, olive oil is good for you! Heh. Heat to low-medium heat and add the garlic. Add a good amount of salt to your taste and a dash of black pepper (sometimes I omit the pepper altogether). If you care to spice up this pasta, throw in some red pepper flakes. You know me, the answer is always, YES PLEASE! So, I add a lot. Cook the garlic slowly on this low-to-medium heat until it is tender and be sure not to burn it, don't let it get brown! It should take as long as it takes the pasta to cook.
Next, I add the al dente pasta straight from the pasta pot to my pan of cooking garlic with a pasta fork.
Honestly, I never knew that what these were called though I must have around a dozen of them in my drawers! The residual cooking water that comes along is the perfect added liquid. Don't drain the pasta water yet, keep it handy if you need to add a little more.
Toss everything well to combine! Does it look a little dry? Add more olive oil! Add a little more pasta water! It's all up to you. Lucky me, I had a bit of left-over parsley, so I chopped that up and tossed it in as well.
To finish, I grated some pecorino-romano cheese that I found hiding behind the jam. You can run, but you can't hide! Ok, now it is more than 3 ingredients, but I've had it with just the 3 before and it is still wonderful.
This is so, so simple and delicious and it also makes a great side dish. We had ours in front of the fireplace and watched the end of Season 3 of "Downton Abbey" (anyone else enthralled?).
I don't know about you, but going from "There's nothing to eat!!!" to a beautiful bowl of pasta, a cozy fire and "Downton Abbey" with my dear bf is a pretty darn good evening in my book.
This is absolutely my son's favorite dinner since he was about 4 or 5 years old! He could eat this every night. He loves it with chopped basil.
Mmm, basil is another perfect addition. It's such a comforting pasta and one does not get tired of it! Thanks for stopping by and sharing!
So funny. Your first paragraph describes how I feel, for EVERY meal EVERY day. 😉 Love the simple but delicious recipes!
That's because you never have left-overs in your fridge! 😉 I hope you'll try some of these recipes and LMK how they turn out for you!
Looks sooo delicious! I always over estimate when cooking noodles and end up with dinner for 10. Any tips to better guesstimate?


text:
'WTF'
Meet Marc Maron: the Comedic Podcast Giant on His New IFC Show & More
Marc Maron dishes to Jean Trinh about angry comics, his new TV show, and more.
Jean Trinh
Dan Hallman/Invision/AP
"I've been on Conan O'Brien like 47 times, and you don't know who I am, right?"
Marc Maron says this to his veterinarian the opening moments of the first episode of Maron—premiering on IFC tonight at 10 p.m.—in an attempt to impress her as she takes a look at his cat. However, this statement isn't a fictionalized or even exaggerated part of his new scripted show; Maron has been on O'Brien's shows more than any other comedian. A veteran in the comedy game, he's performed stand-up around the country and has recorded specials for HBO and Comedy Central Presents. With a strong cult following backing his popular podcast, a new TV show based on his life, and a memoir, Attempting Normal, released earlier this week, it's safe to say Maron isn't an unknown.
The comedian, 49, has turned his once-tumultuous life around since he launched his homegrown twice-a-week podcast, WTF With Marc Maron, in September 2009. Maron currently holds the impressive second place title in iTunes's top comedy podcasts—in the same list as comedic heavyweights like Joe Rogan and Adam Carolla. The show, recorded in his Los Angeles home garage, follows a regular format where Maron speaks candidly on his life—anything from daily gripes to his cherished cats, ex-wives, or reflections on his past alcohol and drug addiction—and then jumps into longform and in-depth interviews with celebrities, musicians, and comedians. He's created nearly 400 episodes, with a notable roster of guests including Ben Stiller (The Incredible Burt Wonderstone), Jon Hamm (Mad Men), and Amy Poehler (Parks and Recreation).
The podcast interviews are raw, revealing, honest, and thought-provoking and occasionally get heated. Over his career, Maron has been vocal about his opinions on comedians, and naturally, it doesn't always bode well with his peers. He duked it out with Louis C.K. (Louie) on a two-part WTF episode discussing their once close friendship and how it fell apart, even later approaching the topic again in an episode of the third season of FX's Louie. In another podcast that ran in January 2011, Maron told watermelon-smashing comedian Gallagher about how he found his jokes homophobic and offensive, and the talk angered Gallagher so much that he stormed out in the middle of the interview—out of Maron's garage.
"I was going a little hard on him," Maron told The Daily Beast in an interview last month. "I wanted to be fair with him, but I think I started picking at him about some of his jokes—sort of weirdly offensive to gay people and to immigrants and whatnot. I think he thought I was just trying to sandbag him, but he's kind of nutty in that he sort of thinks he invented comedy. I just wasn't really buying his bullshit."
Maron first and foremost sees himself as a comedian and naturally has strong opinions about his industry. He knew he wanted to be a comic at the young age of 11 and described his younger self as the "sensitive" and "overly insecure, cocky kid." During his college days at Boston University, he decided to dedicate his life to comedy. "It's what I am," Maron said. "It's what I set out to do. It's what I've always done in my adult life, so if I don't do it, I definitely get squirrely. [If] I don't do a stand-up set for a couple of weeks—even though I have all this other stuff going on—I start to lose the sense of who I am ... It's a love, and it's something that defines me in a great, deep way."
He later landed a couple of gigs at Air America, a progressive talk-radio station. In between his shows, his life "fell apart"—his wife had left him, he was going bankrupt, was about to lose his house, and his comedy work had "dried up." Since Maron was still under contract at Air America and had a security card to the building, he would sneak guests up the freight elevator after hours and recorded the first dozen episodes of WTF there before transitioning over to his home garage.
Die-hard fans will be happy to see that the episodes are filmed in a similar home garage in Maron. The humor in the show is refreshingly dry-witted, speaks to an indie culture, and bears a close resemblance to Maron's real life—from run-ins with his ex-wives to the recording of his podcast. In the first couple of episodes, he interviews Dave Foley (Kids in the Hall) and Denis Leary (Rescue Me)—who is an executive producer on the show—and then gets into some hijinks with them. However, Maron doesn't actually hang out with Foley or Leary in real life.
"I don't hang out with a lot of people," Maron said. "Obviously, a lot of people come out on my show, and a lot of times I know them, but when you really think about your life, who do you really hang out with, especially if you have a girlfriend or a wife or a husband? I don't think we realize how small our lives really are."
An interesting aspect of Maron is that some of the stories are based on real events, but amplified for drama. In the first episode of his IFC show, Maron encounters an Internet troll who is critical of his podcast. He becomes so obsessed with this anonymous troll that he digs around to uncover his true identity, and then confronts the teenage boy in person. The interaction was based on a real situation; however, the troll was not a teen, but someone Maron describes as an "aggravated grown man." Although they never really met in person, Maron did do some detective work to find him and tried to "straighten him out" on Facebook. Over a yearlong period, they worked out some sense of understanding each other.
When Maron isn't spending his time engaging with fans and trolls online—he has over 224,000 Twitter followers—he focuses on shredding a mean guitar, a hobby he's held since he was 11 or 12. His taste in music varies from rock to jazz and blues, and he occasionally jams with fellow comedians Bill Burr and Greg Behrendt. His latest music obsessions include LCD Soundsystem, Peter Green (from Fleetwood Mac), and Iggy Pop. "Guitar for me is sort of like a meditative thing," he said. "It's one of the few things I can do to sort of get me out of my head and kind of get grounded and lose myself a little bit."
Fans of Maron can get more inside of his head with Attempting Normal, a book revealing humorous and touching stories on his colorful life. In an interview on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon recently, he promised that the book would contain details on his comedy career, marriage, divorce, porn, Viagra, guitars, and even a chapter on buying pants.
"I'm very excited about both the book and the show—these are things I never thought would have happened for me," said Maron. "And it's because of a little podcast I did in my garage with absolutely no expectations. It seems to be going OK right now, and I couldn't be more grateful."


For many of us the 4th of July means fun, friends, food and fireworks. But it may not be so much fun for our dogs. Fireworks can be terrifying to some dogs!
Shelters report that the 5th of July is the one of busiest days of the year. More dogs are found wandering loose than any other day of the year, thanks, in part, to fireworks.
A dog's hearing is far more sensitive than a human's. Dogs can hear frequencies we can't and can hear things from much farther away than we can. So we can only imagine how loud fireworks can sound to a dog.
Make sure your dog has a collar with an I.D. tag, a microchip, or both, just in case they get loose.
Make sure to exercise your dog during the day of the 4th. so he has less energy.
Keep your dog inside, close the doors and windows, run your AC, TV or radio.
Give your dog a safety spot to hide in. Many dog prefer small, closed-in spaces.
Prepare a frozen stuffed Kong so your dog has something to work on during the fireworks.
Talk to your vet about possible medications that can help.
Consider desensitizing your dog to the sound of fireworks using one of the canine noise phobia CDs that are on the market.


text:
The Marange Debacle: Eddie Cross
By Nehanda Radio On Apr 21, 2014 258
Marange diamond panners
By Eddie Cross
In 1896, De Beers was given a monopoly over any discoveries of diamond deposits in Rhodesia. Over the following 100 years they did little to justify this right and all that the country had to show for this concession to the largest diamond mining company in the World, was a small, rather marginal diamond pipe discovery on the banks of the Limpopo River near Beitbridge.
Even that deposit was not exploited by De Beers who were forced to forfeit their rights and allow another company to take over this discovery and start mining.
In 2002, De Beers, who maintained a small exploration operation in Zimbabwe, deployed a geologist to the Marange Communal Area in the Eastern Districts. The geologist established a camp on the Save River and spent 6 years exploring the area for diamonds, trenching in promising areas and sending truck loads of sample material to South Africa for analysis. The results led the De Beers management to allow their rights to lapse in 2006 and the geologist was withdrawn.
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In London, the Management of a small quoted mining company called African Consolidated Resources (ACR), watched these developments with interest and when De Beers abandoned the field, they moved to take over the exploration rights. They transported a small team onto the field and in weeks had found gem quality diamonds. They registered claims over several thousand hectares and placed an advert in the London press to the effect that the discovery could affect the price of their shares.
The Ministry of Mines in Harare was also watching developments and no sooner had the discovery become public knowledge than they took steps to take over the claims of the ACR which was achieved by the end of the year. The measures adopted to achieve this were illegal and everything that followed this decision will eventually be affected by the latent rights of ACR for compensation for the unlawful revocation of their mining rights.
The Ministry then allowed the field to be occupied by small scale informal sector miners and within months, over 40 000 miners had established themselves on the site, exploiting the alluvial deposits scattered over some 60 000 hectares of land. By 2008, the site could be seen from satellites with thousands of shallow pits dug and many thousands of tonnes soil removed and processed by hand. Diamonds were carried over the border and sold to traders and merchants who quickly established themselves in Mozambique.
In 2008 the State suddenly decided that these rich deposits could not be left to the informal sector and announced that they were going to take over the diamond fields. They lost no time in doing so and without consultation and in complete violation of either the rights of ACR or the small scale miners, the army was instructed to clear the fields of all small miners. Over 200 were killed and the rest displaced including villagers that had lived in the area for a long period.
Over the next 4 years six companies, all 50/50 joint ventures with the ZMDC, were established. Three were the most important and occupied the prime deposits – Marange Resources, Mbada Diamonds and Anjin – the latter being a JV with a Chinese company.
In six years these companies processed millions of tonnes of soil and sand, exploiting the alluvial deposits that were spread over the entire field of 80 000 hectares. These activities were conducted under conditions of complete secrecy, despite this, information gradually emerged showing that the fields were yielding many millions of carats of diamonds. Up to 85 per cent were industrial grades at low unit values but the balance were gem quality stones and at least one stone has been cut and polished in Vietnam and sold for nearly $11 million.
Detailed records from both Marange Resources and Mbada Diamonds revealed that they were producing up to 20 carats per tonne and also disclosed the grades and prices that were being achieved for raw stones. From these records and the throughput of the equipment installed at the site, it became clear that Zimbabwe was supplying anything up to 25 per cent of global demand for raw diamonds.
This peaked in 2012 at an estimated 30 million carats worth about $4 billion. Overall, over the total period of exploitation after ACR rights were violated I estimate that well over 100 million carats were extracted with a face value of $12 billion. Estimated costs of extraction were about 38 per cent and so at least $7 billion in surplus revenue has been siphoned off from the operation in 8 years.
The problem now confronting the people responsible for this operation is a technical one, the alluvial deposits have been exhausted and what is left is a belt of diamond bearing hard agglomerate which is very difficult to process. Experts suggest that only three companies in the world have the capacity to mine and process this deposit which is estimated to contain up to 9 billion carats worth more than $1 trillion.
For this reason the Ministry of Mines is now faced with the problem of removing the existing operators from the diamond field and replacing them with a single operator who can exploit the field in a transparent and accountable way.
They are now looking at the example of Botswana where the industry is controlled by a 50/50 Joint Venture with De Beers that has been in existence for many years and controls the supply of a third of all raw diamonds in the world.
In Botswana the successful implementation of the JV has resulted in raising the GDP per capita to over $9000 and free access by children and young adults to the education system. The country has also accumulated surplus revenues amounting to two years of GDP and has been very careful to manage and secure the financial status of these funds. Most recently they moved to establish auction facilities in Botswana to handle their production.
The contrast with the actions of the Zimbabwe government could not be more in contrast – we behaved illegally when we took the claims from ACR even though the company offered 50 per cent of the equity in the field to the State. Then we compounded the violation by forcing the small scale miners off the same property and in the process violated their human rights. We then recklessly mined the easy and most productive areas of the field, releasing tens of millions of new diamonds into an already oversupplied market, driving down market prices for all producers.
We simply squandered and stole the funds realized from the mines. A vast global network of shady characters became involved with aircraft flying in and out of the country with no supervision or control. When the whole thing was over, I hear the Chinese are even taking down and removing the fences they erected to protect their activities and interests. Others are leaving behind debts with local companies and suppliers.
If we had set out to create an example of how not to undertake an investment in the extractive industries, we could hardly have done a better job. Here we have a President who is constantly appearing on global television saying we will never again allow foreigners to control our natural resources – and this is what we do with that power and privilege. It's a complete debacle and would be laughable if it was not so serious and the consequences for our people so severe.
Eddie Cross, Vumba Mountains, 16th April 2014
Eddie CrossEddie Cross ZimbabweMarangeMarange Diamondsmarange diamonds latest news
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Mr. Mugabe gave us a military force to protect our staff – Eddie Cross


text:
package org.texastorque.texastorque2015.auto;

import edu.wpi.first.wpilibj.smartdashboard.SmartDashboard;

public class AutoPicker {

    public final static byte DEFAULT_AUTO = 0;
    public final static byte DRIVE_AUTO = 1;
    public final static byte CAN_AUTO = 4;
    public final static byte ONE_TOTE_AUTO = 88;
    public final static byte THREE_TOTE_AUTO = 99;

    public static void init() {
        SmartDashboard.putNumber("AutoMode", DEFAULT_AUTO);
    }

    public static AutoMode getAutonomous() {
        byte mode = (byte) SmartDashboard.getNumber("AutoMode", 0);

        if (mode == DEFAULT_AUTO) {
            return new DoNothingAuto();
        } else if (mode == DRIVE_AUTO) {
            return new DriveAuto();
        } else if (mode == CAN_AUTO) {
            return new TwoCanGrabber();
        } else if (mode == ONE_TOTE_AUTO) {
            return new OneToteAuto();
        } else if (mode == THREE_TOTE_AUTO) {
            return new ThreeToteAuto();
        }
        return new DoNothingAuto();
    }
}


Starting the business from scratch was nearly impossible for Darryl Goodner, co-owner of Louisville Cream, a small batch ice cream company that uses local grass-fed milk to make a unique flavors that rotate from month to month. He is one of many hard-working entrepreneurs struggling to identify adequate sources of capital to grow their business. Roughly 8,000 small businesses are denied traditional bank financing each day, and many are forced to borrow capital from online lenders with exorbitant APRs. Even though these entrepreneurs are proving that they're able to grow successful businesses, the massive leap from startup to mainstream loan approval is a constant threat to their existence.
Every day, these hard working entrepreneurs struggle to identify adequate sources of capital. Small business owners are the unsung heroes of all of our communities and deserve a better solution that enables their business to flourish. While historical methods of evaluation should not be done away with, history has proven that evaluating small and large businesses in the same manner limits the flow of capital to these valuable components of our communities.
Small business lending has been stuck in a slow, grinding recovery behind most other types of business and consumer loans. It's important to realize that while there are loan options that are marketed to small businesses, their underwriting standards often favor well established (often larger) businesses. This makes sense if you're tasked with lending as much as possible while maximizing financial return, but leaves little room for less profitable small business loans. Strict regulations are limiting to an extent, but smaller loans will always be less profitable when reviewed in the same manner as larger loans. High costs associated with underwriting small business loans are a challenge for both mission-driven and for-profit banks alike.
Most commercial underwriting will consider several time tested and logical factors when seeking to eliminate as much risk as possible. For example, if a small business owner wishes to buy equipment they may be required to pay for at least 30% of the purchase before the remainder can be financed. When seeking a loan for something like working capital the same collateral requirement applies, however there's no asset tied to the loan to offer as collateral. This is where equity in other equipment, such as vehicles or real estate, is often the solution. To borrow $30,000 in working capital you must have $30,000 in acceptable collateral. This need for 30-100% collateral is only one of many challenges that small businesses are less able to overcome than their larger counterparts.
Unfortunately, the challenges these entrepreneurs face when accessing capital are misunderstood by many. When most Americans think about lending, they think in terms of mortgages, credit cards, and auto loans. There are so many mortgage options in the United States that not being able to qualify usually indicates a true lack of readiness for a mortgage. The same is not the case, however, for small business financing.
There's also confusion when it comes to the need for microloan solutions in the US and what it takes to start a business. Most people who are familiar with microlending think of $500 loans to someone in a developing nation before they think of $30,000 loans to U.S. small business owners. The upper limit of what is considered to be a microloan in the United States is actually $50,000, and research by the Kauffman Foundation indicates that the cost to start a new business is estimated to be $30,000 or less. Thus, access to microlending is critical for small business growth.
If the future of lending is to be better, we must discover new underwriting methods that are rooted in a borrower up approach. Models that rely heavily on credit scores and financial collateral are proven, but they exclude too many successful business owners. The 2016 Small Business Credit Survey found that nearly half of (46%) businesses with less than $1 million in annual revenues are denied credit because of insufficient collateral or low credit score. Establishing a strong credit history for your business is challenging when a lack of history is limiting access. Small business growth is extremely critical to creating jobs and desirable communities. Greater opportunity for small business growth will only come out of a desire to continually discover new ways to lend, in addition to proven and established methods that are still very relevant for larger loan amounts.
When mainstream financing is not an option, personal savings or friend networks are often the next place an entrepreneur looks for the capital they need to launch. The stark reality, however, is that the wealth of those networks varies drastically. Countless studies confirm an unnerving gap in wealth between white and non-white, as well as men and women. While studies abound on the reasons for such gaps, we believe sustainable access to capital solutions can be achieved by utilizing common alternative assets that can be owned by anyone – a unique competitive advantage, practical strategies backed by reasonable evidence, character, planning, related experience, hustle, etc.
Unfortunately, the first wave of innovative and scalable microlending solutions have come with shackles attached. Online lenders are filling the void, but at what cost? These sites offer speed, convenience and relatively loose qualifications for a business loan, but in return you will likely pay a high annual percentage rate on the debt. As small-business owners consider options for working capital, they must carefully weigh the potential costs before taking on debt with APR's that sometimes exceed 60%.
In response to the complex access to capital issues faced by so many small businesses, we created the Growth Loan. A non-collateralized, non-credit score based loan of up to $35,000 that leverages common alternative assets to offset risk. It was designed using the aforementioned "borrower up" method, as opposed to a "lender down" design. The opposite, lender down approach, starts with the need to deploy large amounts of capital as efficiently as possible due to the shareholders' desire to maximize revenue. A borrower up approach focuses on cost management, access, recycling capital, and achieving positive returns.
Relying on common alternative assets makes the Growth Loan necessarily relational. Not relational in a token sort of way, but in the locking of arms that comes from mutual success. It looks beyond credit score and financial collateral by providing space and time for a thoughtful review of character and strategy. We guard against prioritizing our own profit by putting effort into terms that increase a borrower's ability to repay and humanize the review process by requiring decision makers to meet with applicants rather than basing decisions solely on the numbers.
When loan amounts of less than $35,000 are appealing, a borrower typically has very little collateral to offer. The borrower up approach therefore excludes the use of traditional collateral, as does the Growth Loan. The creative use of common alternative assets has proven to be just as valuable as traditional collateral in many cases. What is more, over 60% of our loans have gone to either women or minority-owned businesses. An important stat considering some studies show lending to women and minorities totaling just over 25% of all conventional loans.
Greater opportunity will only come out of a desire to continually discover new ways to lend.
In addition to an alternative underwriting process, the Growth Loan leverages pre-existing community assets such as a volunteer loan committee with full authority to approve or deny borrowers, and technical assistance providers like the SBDC who are already working with hundreds of small businesses per year to improve their business model and support them in finding additional capital. Growth Loans are funded 100% by a revolving loan fund that began with $350,000. Since it's inception, we've made more than $500,000 worth of loans through recycled funds.
The average APR on a Growth Loan is below market at 5%-7%. Non-collateralized online loan options are the closest comparison to the Growth loan, with rates well into the double digits. Local Community Development Finance Institutions (CDFIs) are able to offer larger amounts of capital at similar rates, but typically prefer more established businesses. While more flexible than mainstream lenders, there are only 2,000 CDFIs across the country and their funding varies from city to city.
Eighteen small businesses later, the potential economic activity created by the Growth Loan exceeds $1M. Without this unique borrower up approach, that same $1M would have been left on the table. There would be fewer jobs, less opportunity and less value creation for so many to enjoy.
We are excited to continue exploring, testing and deploying solutions that contribute to a more robust and inclusive capital system for entrepreneurs. If you have additional interest in the Growth Loan, we'd love to hear from you!


text:
Predicting the Trends of 'American Idol'
Last month, TiVo said it would predict the loser on "American Idol" by using its own product, StopWatch, which monitors the fast-forwarding and rewinding patterns of 20,000 anonymous subscribers to gauge viewers' preferences.
The announcement signified yet another attempt to flout efforts by "American Idol" to keep its voting results secret. Predictive Web sites already exist, like DialIdol, which calculates the frequency of busy signals on the show's phone lines, and ZabaSearch, which tracks how often contestants' names are entered into search engines.
"American Idol" executives say they are not perturbed by these projection tools, which they view as positive reflections of the show's popularity, even though ratings are down 8 percent compared with the same time last year, according to Fox.
"There are very strict rules we need to abide by to make sure it is a competition, and the fairness of the competition is respected at all times," said Cécile Frot-Coutaz, an executive producer for the show. Even when outside predictions are accurate, she said, the show "is as much about the journey as it is about the endpoint."
Fortunately for "American Idol," the forecasts are often wrong. TiVo predicted on April 10, for example, that Syesha Mercado would be the next contestant eliminated; but Michael Johns was voted off, and Ms. Mercado is still going strong.
"I got to tell you, Murphy's Law strikes again," said Todd Juenger, a vice president at TiVo, adding that StopWatch had made four accurate predictions before making the incorrect one – the only one made public – and has continued to make accurate predictions, including forecasting the demise of Brooke White last Wednesday.
The idea for StopWatch, Mr. Juenger said, came from TiVo engineers who were fans and noticed that some singers made viewers hit the fast-forward button much more often than others.
But TiVo is late to the prediction party. DialIdol said that it had accurately predicted the winner of every "American Idol" season it had covered, but it gave only a range of possible losers.
Last week, for instance, Ms. White was one of three contestants whom DialIdol said were in a statistical dead heat for being voted off. (Jason Castro and David Archuleta were the others.)
"I think we've had one incorrect prediction this year," said James Hellriegel Jr., the creator of DialIdol, who said he built his automatic-dialing software program so he could vote while doing his laundry. "I'm not trying to undermine the 'Idol' system," he said. "I like to think I complement it."
Mr. Juenger said that TiVo had loftier ambitions for StopWatch. "We are already in conversation with political organizations to think about how they might use this type of data to monitor debates or even things like the evening news," he said.
Dave Della Terza, who runs the Web site Vote for the Worst, which aims to steer votes to certain singers, suggested why a TiVo prognosis failed.
"Just because they're watching them doesn't mean they're voting for them," he said. "There are people who would never vote for the bad performances, but will watch them over and over and laugh at them."
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/05/business/media/05idol.html?ref=media
Posted on 2008-05-05 Author adminCategories General
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All positional, rutile coated stainless steel electrode depositing Niobium stabilised 347 weld metal. Excellent deslag and outstanding welding properties. Suitable for the repair and welding of 304, 321 and 327 Niobium stabilised stainless steels to give freedom from intergranular attack.


I'm releasing "Just Another Day" on Monday - but you can win it by posting over at DST!
So if you want to win it - head here to post a comment!
And don't forget about my month long contest to win my whole store!
Fantastic color combination! Looks like a wonderful kit -- thanks for the chance to win it.
Hi Sweetie- not posting to win, just want to encourage you- you are doing super work!!!


Join us for the inaugural Cancer Crush, a progressive run/walk/bike challenge to raise money to benefit Medical College of Wisconsin cancer research, in partnership with the Froedtert & MCW health network. The challenge begins the week of June 3 and culminates with a one- or five-mile group run/walk on September 22 at F&MCW. Register, track your progress all summer, raise funds and get ready to crush cancer!
To become a sponsor or get more information, contact Anne Bolles at abolles@mcw.edu or (414) 955-4520.
CRUSH CANCER® is a registered trademark licensed from One Safe Place Media Corp.


text:
HomeRailroad Insurance Act Preempts Massachusetts Paid Sick Leave Law
Railroad Insurance Act Preempts Massachusetts Paid Sick Leave Law
August 21, 2018 Mike Soltis Paid Sick Leave, Preemption Law, PSL Litigation
The Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act (RUIA) preempts the Massachusetts Earned Sick Time Law (MESTL) in its entirety as it applies to interstate rail carriers, according to a recent decision by a Massachusetts federal district court.
In 2015, a railroad sued the Massachusetts Attorney General, arguing that the MESTL was preempted by three laws as it applied to interstate rail carriers: the RUIA, the Railway Labor Act and ERISA. The parties agreed that the court would address the RUIA argument initially. In 2016, the federal district court agreed that "RUIA preempt[s] all state laws, including the [Earned Sick Time Law] that relate to sickness benefits for railroad workers." CSX Transportation, Inc. v. Healey (D. MA, July 13, 2016).
On appeal, the First Circuit held that the MESTL provision dealing with benefits for an employee's own medical condition was preempted by the RUIA but remanded the case to have the district court decide whether any other sections of MESTL were preempted by the RUIA or the Railway Labor Act or ERISA and whether any sections of the MESTL can survive as applied to interstate rail carriers. CSX Transp. v. Healey, 861 F.3d 276, 284 (1st Cir. 2017).
On remand, the district court concluded once again that "Congress intended RUIA to serve as the 'exclusive' source of all sickness benefits for railroad employees and to preclude the employees from claiming rights to sickness benefits under any state sickness law." The fact that MESTL allows time off for reasons other than the employee's own sickness does not change the result, the court said. "In short, the breadth of the state law does not save it from RUIA preemption. Such a reading would allow a state to legislate creatively around the RUIA and thereby thwart the objective of Congress to create a uniform federal scheme of sickness benefits for railroad workers."
Similar preemption challenges brought by an airline industry group to the Washington and Massachusetts PSL laws are pending.
← More Paid Sick Leave Turbulence in Texas
Will Michigan Enact Paid Sick Leave This Week? →


text:
Q: Anomalous Bus Error for accessing protected memory on macOS? Context
I've written a small program with the intention of using it to generate a SIGSEGV signal, which I'll catch with a handler and then print out.
Problem
The program I wrote works fine (or so it seems) on Linux. However, when compiled and executed on macOS 10.11.6, it fails to generate a SIGSEGV, but instead generates a Bus error: 10.
Solutions Attempted
When researching whether or not others had encountered this error, I came across the following SO Post:
https://stackoverflow.com/a/18829327/1883304
Sadly, while I did switch from using posix_memalign to mmap, I am still getting a bus error. I'm unable to find related questions that can help besides this one.
Program
#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <string.h>
#include <signal.h>
#include <unistd.h>
#include <sys/mman.h>

/*
 *******************************************************************************
 *                              Global Variables                               *
 *******************************************************************************
*/

// Page size.
int pagesize;

// Pointer to allocated memory page.
void *page;

/*
 *******************************************************************************
 *                               Signal Handlers                               *
 *******************************************************************************
*/

// Handler: Invalid memory reference.
void handler_sigseg (int sig, siginfo_t *si, void *ignore) {

    // Mask SIGSEGV.
    if (sig != SIGSEGV) {
        return;
    }

    // Output siginfo fields.
    printf("si_signo = %d\n", si->si_signo);
    printf("si_code = %d\n", si->si_code);
    printf("si_value.sival_int = %d\n", si->si_value.sival_int);
    printf("si_errno = %d\n", si->si_errno);
    printf("si_pid = %d\n", si->si_pid);
    printf("si_uid = %d\n", si->si_uid);
    printf("si_statis = %d\n", si->si_status);

    // Grant writing protection.
    if (mprotect(page, pagesize, PROT_WRITE) == -1) {
        fprintf(stderr, "Error: Attempt to set memory access perms failed!\n");
        exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
    }

    return;
}

/*
 *******************************************************************************
 *                                Main Routine                                 *
 *******************************************************************************
*/

int main (void) {

    /*
     ***************************************************************************
     *                              Memory Setup                               *
     ***************************************************************************
    */

    // Set page size.
    pagesize = sysconf(_SC_PAGE_SIZE);

    printf("pagesize = %d\n", pagesize);

    // Allocate memory page, created at nearby page boundary.
    if ((page = mmap(NULL, pagesize, PROT_READ | PROT_WRITE, MAP_ANONYMOUS | MAP_PRIVATE, -1, 0)) == MAP_FAILED) {
        fprintf(stderr, "Error: mmap allocation failed!\n");
        exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
    }

    // Zero out memory block.
    memset(page, 0, pagesize);

    // Set protections.
    if (mprotect(page, pagesize, PROT_READ) == -1) {
        fprintf(stderr, "Error: Attempt to set memory access perms failed!\n");
        exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
    }

    /*
     ***************************************************************************
     *                              Signal Setup                               *
     ***************************************************************************
    */

    // Setup signal handler.
    struct sigaction segHandler;

    // Configure args.
    segHandler.sa_flags = SA_SIGINFO;

    // Reset signal-mask.
    sigemptyset(&segHandler.sa_mask);

    // Setup handler routine.
    segHandler.sa_sigaction = handler_sigseg;

    // Setup signals to be intercepted.
    sigaction(SIGSEGV, &segHandler, NULL);

    // Test the signal handler.
    printf("Poking protected memory...\n");
    char *p = (char *)page;
    *p = 0;

    return 0;
}

So in conclusion, could someone please inform me on the latest proper way to reserve memory such that I may raise a SIGSEGV on macOS?

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange