text:
Whoops, Numbers do lie?
Or maybe it is the people inputting the data that do that. This is a story about one of those amazing accomplishments where a Teacher or a School overcome the odds and turn everything around in a way that is both miracle and bullshit.
I finally had another realization after a sleepless night angry about another day at another school in Nashville. That I am now just a compensated volunteer in these schools. That way here in the Volunteer state I could pretend I was there with no skills, no experience but just there to "help out." This way I could walk out at the end of the day and wipe this shit off me and have a better night where I was less angry, less afraid and just giving one shit less about what I am experiencing and witnessing.
Yesterday I was scheduled to be a SPED push in Teacher. I managed to do so for an hour until I was put into another Teachers class as a sub failed to show. I walked in after pushing in and watching a Math Teacher quasi berate and angrily and badly teach math. He ignored me and in turn I expected that as that is the conventional resemblance of what defines hospitality here. I looked around the room to see that his credentials were a year old and he had been teaching only for what it appears two years and is a Graduate of Lipscomb the Christian College that has given Tennessee its current Head of Education, a position that is clearly over her scope and scale with one testing scandal over another with regards to Title IX issues in 7 schools (5 in Nashville, one at an elite private academy and the other I truly have no clue) and massive problems with charters across the state.
So I went back to the other class to look over the lesson plans, see what I could do to make them interesting for her scheduled class when the phone rang. The Secretary asked where I was as they had been looking for me. (I came home to find messages on my home phone as I don't use a cell phone in schools anymore as well it was stolen and again even if I did I am at work and should that not be turned off?) Okay, so at one point did they not pull the Teacher's schedule to know whom she pushed in or well they could have used this thing called an Intercom to announce and ask where I was and to come to the office? Was it not working, nope they used it several times that afternoon? But again this is Nashville and stupid is a stupid does. So as I came into the class that I had not signed up for I saw that it was some type of classroom. I had some sloppy desks, couches, bean bags, art supplies and nothing that screamed "MATH" class. At least the new Teacher ironically across the hall, had organization. I spent the better part of the day attempting to ignore the kids as I sat there and read my paper. And the standard took place, wilding is the best description. But the nice thing is that as this is an incredibly diverse school the behavior by the kids crossed gender and race lines and made me feel a little better about my current perceptions with regards to those issues. But again, I truly see little comprehensive skills or actual understanding of many concepts, from reading to math, and it shows at every grade level. Some of this is explainable with children from immigrant families but many are born and raised here. There is so much confusion about the subject matters and how to teach them it shows and it may explain the focus on tests as I suspect that is not only how they evaluate Teachers but devise curriculum. Teach to the test. Funny Betsy DeVos was here this week saying our schools are at risk. Tennessee is ground zero for Charters, Testing and Teacher Evaluations, Anti Union and other bullshit to hide systemic institutional racism, income inequality and the concept of choice as a way of defunding public education. It is working out great here Betsy!
Now all of this while the Governor is on a major push to Drive to 55 and raise college graduates in the State with everything from free two years of community college and adult re-entry programs. These are in it's early days with only two years of mixed results and all of this in a waning Administration that after 2018 the new one may not have said program as a priority. And given the history of this state I don't see change in that anytime soon regardless of said priority. That is one subject here that we all can rely - HISTORY.
And then I read this story about the miracle school, or not. Not surprising. And another reason I am done with Teaching as a profession. Paid volunteer however.
What Really Happened At The School Where Every Graduate Got Into College
By Kate McGee • Nov 28, 2017
Ballou High School, in Washington, D.C.'s Southeast quadrant, is located in one of the city's poorest neighborhoods and has struggled academically for years. An investigation by WAMU and NPR has found that the school's administration graduated dozens of students despite high rates of unexcused absences.
Brian Butcher, a history teacher at Ballou High School, sat in the bleachers of the school's brand-new football field last June watching 164 seniors receive diplomas. It was a clear, warm night and he was surrounded by screaming family and friends snapping photos and cheering.
It was a triumphant moment for the students: For the first time, every graduate had applied and been accepted to college. The school is located in one of Washington, D.C.'s poorest neighborhoods and has struggled academically for years with a low graduation rate. For months, the school received national media attention, including from NPR, celebrating the achievement.
But all the excitement and accomplishment couldn't shake one question from Butcher's mind:
How did all these students graduate from high school?
"You saw kids walking across the stage, who, they're nice young people, but they don't deserve to be walking across the stage," Butcher says.
An investigation by WAMU and NPR has found that Ballou High School's administration graduated dozens of students despite high rates of unexcused absences. We reviewed hundreds of pages of Ballou's attendance records, class rosters and emails after a district employee shared the private documents. Half of the graduates missed more than three months of school last year, unexcused. One in five students was absent more than present — missing more than 90 days of school.
According to district policy, if a student misses a class 30 times, he should fail that course. Research shows that missing 10 percent of school, about two days per month, can negatively affect test scores, reduce academic growth and increase the chances a student will drop out.
Teachers say when many of these students did attend school, they struggled academically, often needing intense remediation.
"I've never seen kids in the 12th grade that couldn't read and write," says Butcher about his two decades teaching in low-performing schools from New York City to Florida. But he saw this at Ballou, and it wasn't just one or two students.
An internal email obtained by WAMU and NPR from April shows two months before graduation, only 57 students were on track to graduate, with dozens of students missing graduation or community service requirements or failing classes needed to graduate. In June, 164 students received diplomas.
"It was smoke and mirrors. That is what it was," says Butcher.
Pressure to pass students
WAMU and NPR talked to nearly a dozen current and recent Ballou teachers — as well as four recent graduates — who tell the same story: Teachers felt pressure from administration to pass chronically absent students, and students knew the school administration would do as much as possible to get them to graduation.
"It's oppressive to the kids because you're giving them a false sense of success," says one current Ballou teacher, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to protect her job.
"To not prepare them is not ethical," says another current Ballou teacher who also spoke on the condition of anonymity.
"They're not prepared to succeed," says Morgan Williams, who taught health and physical education at Ballou last year. Williams says the lack of expectations set up students for future failure: "If I knew I could skip the whole semester and still pass, why would I try?"
Williams taught physical education and health at Ballou for two years. She says her students were often chronically absent, but the gym was always full. Students skipping other classes would congregate there, she says, and her requests for help from administrators and behavioral staff to manage these students were often ignored.
Williams, and other teachers we spoke to for this story, say they often had students on their rosters whom they barely knew because they almost never attended class.
Near the end of a term, Williams says, students would appear, asking for makeup work like worksheets or a project. She would refuse: There are policies, and if students did not meet the attendance policy, there was nothing she could do to help them. Then, she says, an administrator would also ask how she could help students pass.
At one point, while she was out on maternity leave, she says, she received a call from a school official asking her to change a grade for a student she had previously failed. "[They said] 'Just give him a D,' because they were trying to get him out of there and they knew he wouldn't do the makeup packet."
Williams says she tried to push back, but she often had 20 to 30 kids in one class. Repeatedly having the same conversation about dozens of students was exhausting. And the school required extensive improvement plans if teachers did fail students, which was an additional burden for a lot of already strained teachers.
Many teachers we spoke to say they were encouraged to also follow another policy: give absent or struggling students a 50 percent on assignments they missed or didn't complete, instead of a zero. The argument was, if the student tried to make up the missed work or failed, it would most likely be impossible to pass with a zero on the books. Teachers say that even if students earn less than a 50 percent on an assignment, 50 percent is still the lowest grade a student can receive.
During the last term of senior year, some seniors who weren't on track to graduate were placed in an accelerated version of the classes they were failing. Those classes, known as credit recovery, were held after school for a few weeks. School district policy says students should only take credit recovery once they receive a final failing grade for a course. At Ballou, though, students who were on track to fail were placed in these classes before they should have been allowed. On paper, these students were taking the same class twice. Sometimes, with two different teachers. Teachers say this was done to graduate kids.
Credit recovery is increasingly used to prevent students from dropping out, but critics argue credit recovery courses rarely have the same educational value as the original course and are often less rigorous. According to class rosters, 13 percent of Ballou graduates were enrolled in the same class twice during the last term before graduation. Often, teachers were not alerted their students were taking credit recovery. Many we spoke with say they didn't realize what was happening until they saw students whom they had flunked graduate. They say the credit recovery content was not intensive and that students rarely showed up for credit recovery.
If teachers pushed back against these practices, they say, administration retaliated against them by giving them poor teacher evaluations. Last year, the district put school administrators entirely in control of teacher evaluations, including classroom observations, instead of including a third party. Many teachers we spoke to say they believe this gives too much power to administrators. A low evaluation rating two years in a row is grounds for dismissal. Just one bad rating can make it tough to find another job. Teachers we spoke with say if they questioned administration, they were painted as "haters" who don't care about students.
"If they don't like you, they'll just let you go," says Monica Brokenborough, who taught music at Ballou last year. She also served as the teachers union building representative, responsible for handling teacher grievances and ensuring the school follows the district's teacher contract, among other duties. Last year, 26 grievances were filed by teachers at Ballou.
"Either you want your professional career on paper to look like you don't know what you're doing," says one teacher who asked for anonymity to protect her job. "Or you just skate by, play by the game."
Playing by the game can have financial benefits. If an evaluation score is high enough to reach the "highly effective" status, teachers and administrators can receive $15,000 to $30,000 in bonuses. D.C. Public Schools wouldn't tell us who gets a bonus, but teachers we spoke with did say the possibility of such a large bonus increases the pressure on teachers to improve student numbers.
Butcher, Brokenborough and Williams no longer work at Ballou. They received low teacher evaluations after the 2016-17 school year ended and were let go for various reasons. They believe they were unfairly targeted and have filed complaints through the local teachers union. Butcher and Williams found new teaching jobs outside D.C.; Brokenborough is waiting to resolve her grievance.
Ballou Principal Yetunde Reeves refused to speak to us for this story. But members of the school district office did.
"It is expected that our students will be here every day," said Jane Spence, chief of secondary schools at D.C. Public Schools. "But we also know that students learn material in lots of different ways. So we've started to recognize that students can have mastered material even if they're not sitting in a physical space."
This comes at the same time the district is publicly pushing the importance of daily attendance with a citywide initiative called "Every Day Counts!" City leaders have also made improving attendance a priority, strengthening reporting policies to improve accuracy. To be considered in school, students have to be there 80 percent of the day. If they are absent, parents have five days to submit proof they have an excused absence. Proof like a doctor's note.
Chancellor Antwan Wilson, the head of public schools in the District, says schools also can't ignore what's going on in the lives of students. Many students are managing effects of trauma, family responsibilities, a job — and, sometimes, all of the above. That can make it extra hard to show up to school every day. Federal data released in October found that 47 percent of D.C. students have experienced some kind of traumatic event.
And yet, how did all these kids miss all these days of school, apply to college and still graduate? As we repeatedly asked this, Wilson and Spence abruptly ended our interview.
After we reached out to the D.C. mayor's office for comment, the chancellor and Spence made themselves available for another interview. Ultimately, they stand behind the school's decision to graduate these students despite missing so much school.
When it comes to the district's grading policy, district leaders are quick to differentiate between a student who is absent from a particular class and a student who misses the full day.
"It is possible for a student to have 30 days when they are absent from school, but that doesn't constitute 30 days of absences from the course," Spence says. Still, she says high absenteeism is unacceptable and there's room for growth.
"Our students need to get here every day and we continue to ask our community and our families to partner with us to get students to school every day," Spence says.
She reinforces that many students are managing real issues that prevent them from getting to class and that schools need to find other ways to help absent kids succeed. She and Wilson say these policies, such as the makeup work and after-school credit recovery classes, can be part of the solution, if they're implemented with rigor. Wilson admits that is not happening at all schools.
"I think the issue we have is to fix at several of our schools, just to make sure that kids don't feel they can miss ... however many weeks and come in at the end and say, 'I'd love to get my makeup work,' " Wilson says.
Teacher responses
When we asked Ballou teachers about the issues students are dealing with that make it difficult to attend school, they acknowledged the reality. But some say the school district uses these students' situations as a crutch to ignore larger unaddressed issues in the building, like in-seat attendance and student behavior. In-seat attendance is the percentage of time a student is actually in class. When it comes to attendance, teachers say many students are in the building, but they just don't go to class.
"Kids roam the halls with impunity," says another current Ballou teacher.
"The tardy bell is just a sound effect in that building," says Brokenborough, the former music teacher. "It means nothing."
Teachers say they are willing to help students who struggle to balance school and outside responsibilities like a job or child care, but Brokenborough says some students just simply do not want to attend class and come to expect makeup work. This puts teachers in a tough situation, she says, "because if you don't [give makeup work] and another teacher does, it makes you look like the bad guy."
Many students have figured out they don't have to show up every day.
"These students are smart enough to see enough of what goes on," Brokenborough says. "They go, 'Oh, I ain't gotta do no work in your class; I can just go over here, do a little PowerPoint, pass and graduate.' Again, this isn't about the teachers. What is that doing to that child? That's setting that kid up for failure just so you can showboat you got this graduation rate."
School district leaders, including Wilson, defend the use of makeup work, arguing they want to give students "multiple opportunities" to show they understand material. The teachers we spoke with say they feel the system ultimately reduces academic rigor, serving no one in the end. When these students leave Ballou and go off to college or the workplace, teachers feel they are not prepared to work hard.
One current teacher says, from the perspective of a black teacher teaching predominantly black students, graduating these students is an injustice. "This is [the] biggest way to keep a community down. To graduate students who aren't qualified, send them off to college unprepared, so they return to the community to continue the cycle."
"I came to school when I wanted to"
We interviewed four recent Ballou graduates. We aren't using their names to protect their privacy. Three are in college now, including one student who was absent about half the school year.
"I came to school when I wanted to," she says. "I didn't have to be there; I didn't want to be there."
Senior year wasn't easy for her. She says she wasn't living at home anymore and was working at a fast-food restaurant to pay rent. That need for an income made school even less appealing, "I felt at a point around getting toward winter, I ain't have to be there no more," she remembers. "I felt like I graduated at that point."
While she says she got calls and letters from the school about her absences, she wouldn't show up until they threatened to send her to court for truancy. "That's when I was like, 'Oh, let me go to school.' "
In D.C., students who miss 15 or more days of school without an excuse are supposed to be referred to court services. Last year, Ballou sent just 25 seniors to court services for truancy, but according to documents we obtained, all but 11 graduates should have had court services alerted about their absenteeism.
"Even then, you learn to work the system," the student says. When the school would threaten truancy court, she says, she would show up for a few hours, do her classwork and leave early. She believes it shouldn't matter if she showed up to class as long as she completed her work. Plus, she says, she knew no matter how much school she missed, she wouldn't fail.
"The thing was, they couldn't do that to me and they knew that I knew that."
According to a Washington Post article in May of this year, 21 teachers — more than a quarter of Ballou's teaching staff — left during the 2016-2017 school year, the most teacher resignations of any high school in the District last year. When those teachers left midyear, a substitute often took over, giving students even less motivation to show up to class. "What am I going to keep showing up to this for a substitute for? He ain't gonna teach nothing," the student says.
Another Ballou graduate also says teacher turnover was the biggest problem at the school. Often, teachers would leave without a backup teacher or substitute in place. He says many substitutes didn't know how to teach the content and students lost interest in learning.
"I'm not going to say I always went to class or I always was a good student because I wasn't," he says over the phone from his dorm room. He currently attends a four-year university outside D.C. But this student took honors courses and says he wanted to be at school. He knew college would be hard — he even enrolled in a summer program at his college designed to help low-income, underrepresented students prepare for their first semester. But he says when the fall semester started, "I had reality slapped in the face."
Both students say they are struggling in their college math classes.
With so many teacher vacancies last year, teachers we spoke with say they don't understand how some students passed classes they needed to graduate. Plus, many of the students who were in those classrooms were struggling academically. Last year, 9 percent of students there passed the English standardized test. No one passed the math test. The average SAT score last year among Ballou test takers was 782 out of 1600.
"The elephant in the room is how these kids are getting through middle school and getting through high school," says a current Ballou teacher, speaking anonymously. "That's passing the buck and totally unacceptable, especially from a leadership standpoint."
The school district won't know how many Ballou graduates enrolled in college overall until May, a spokesperson says. We know of 183 students accepted to the University of the District of Columbia, the local community college. But only 16 enrolled this fall.
As the first semester of freshman year winds down, both graduates quoted in this story, who attend four-year universities, say they're trying to stick with it.
"Everybody say you're supposed to go to college for yourself, but I went to college for my family," says the Ballou graduate who stayed in the District for college. "I didn't go 'cause I wanted to. I don't want to. I could care less. But I am going to go ahead and do what I have to do because nothing feels better than going home to your family who look up to you. I got parents who look up to me."
She says she doesn't feel she was prepared for college, though she places some of that blame on herself.
Teachers at Ballou say pushing kids to see a future for themselves and to work toward that future is valuable. But encouraging them to pursue a future they're not prepared for and sending them off without skills is irresponsible. Instead, they say the school and school system need to better prepare students for the hurdles they'll face when they get to college, and they need to hold students accountable when they don't meet the requirements.
Seven months from now, Ballou High School will celebrate another graduating class. The current senior class is also working toward a 100 percent college acceptance rate this year.
Copyright 2017 WAMU 88.5. To see more, visit WAMU 88.5.
KELLY MCEVERS, HOST:
This is a story about an achievement that isn't all it seemed.
(SOUNDBITE OF PERFORMANCE OF EDWARD ELGAR'S "POMP AND CIRCUMSTANCE, OP. 39: MARCH NO. 1 IN D MAJOR")
MCEVERS: We reported in June about the graduating class at Washington, D.C.'s, Ballou High School. One hundred percent of the graduates had gotten into college, a big deal for the school's low-income neighborhood. Now an investigation by member station WAMU and NPR finds that many of those students shouldn't have graduated in the first place. WAMU's Kate McGee takes it from here.
KATE MCGEE, BYLINE: Ballou High School's 2017 graduation happened on a warm June evening on the school's brand new football field. This was a chance to celebrate that 100 percent college acceptance rate at a school with a historically low graduation rate. Friends and family were there by the hundreds. TV news crews came. I was there for NPR. The district's chancellor was there, even the mayor, Muriel Bowser.
MURIEL BOWSER: Be brave. Be bold, and be honest about your talents, your passions, your strengths and even your weakness.
MCGEE: The ceremony was bittersweet for Brian Butcher, a history teacher last year. As he watched students walk across the stage, he thought...
BRIAN BUTCHER: They're nice young people, but they don't deserve to be walking across the stage because you know that some of these kids who are graduating should not be here in the first place.
MCGEE: We began to reach out to teachers when a district employee shared private documents with us including attendance records, class rosters and emails. Hundreds of pages of Ballou's attendance records show half of the graduates missed more than three months senior year unexcused. Monica Brokenborough taught music at Ballou last year.
MONICA BROKENBOROUGH: And I've literally had students on my roster that I have never, ever seen because they've never come to class.
MCGEE: The documents we reviewed showed that 1 in 5 students were absent more than they showed up, missing more than 90 days of school. Here's the thing. District policy says if students miss a class 30 times in a year, they should fail that course. We talked to nearly a dozen current and recent Ballou teachers who say they felt pressured by administration to pass absent, unprepared students. And students knew school administration would do as much as possible to get them to graduation. One 2017 graduate we spoke to missed a total of about four months last year.
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: (Laughter) My senior year, coming to school - I came when I wanted to. Honestly, I didn't have to be there, and I didn't want to be there, so...
MCGEE: Plus, she says, she was working full-time to pay rent. We aren't using her name to protect her privacy. She's in college now and says she's struggling in some of her classes. According to an internal school email, one-third of graduates weren't on track academically to graduate in April, but by June, they did receive their diplomas. Brian Butcher and other teachers say the message to them was, find a way for students to pass.
BUTCHER: It was a smoke and mirrors. This is what it was.
MCGEE: One way to pass kids - give students make-up work like worksheets or projects for lessons students missed. Morgan Williams taught health and physical education last year. She says this was an easy out.
MORGAN WILLIAMS: And that's the mentality that they're setting for them. I could just skip the whole semester, get a packet, do the packet and go on about my business. And the packets that they were asking for were nowhere near standards.
MCGEE: She was on maternity leave the last term of the year. As graduation loomed, she says she got calls from school leaders asking her to pass a kid she previously failed.
WILLIAMS: Just give him the D because they were trying to get him out of there.
MCGEE: Another method to graduate kids - accelerated after-school courses known as credit recovery. These classes condense a year-long course into a matter of weeks. D.C. school policy says students should be placed in a credit recovery course after failing. At Ballou, students were put in these courses before they officially failed. Monica Brokenborough says she figured this out looking at the graduation program.
BROKENBOROUGH: I'm seeing names on here, and I'm like, oh, no, no, no, I know this person failed my class. This student maybe only came to my class three times. And no exaggerations - like, some absenteeism was that extreme at Ballou.
MCGEE: The teachers we spoke with say they know these kids are dealing with a lot outside of school. If a student is trying hard but family, life responsibilities or a job is getting in the way, they don't have a problem working with them to make up assignments. But teachers say sometimes students were in the building. They just wouldn't come to class.
BROKENBOROUGH: For you to say that I have to give them make-up work, those students would come to expect it because, like, if one teacher does it and then you don't do it, it makes you look like the bad guy.
MCGEE: Teachers say looking like the bad guy can cost you your job. Continuing employment depends on teacher evaluations, which are given by principals. A really good evaluation comes with a $15,000 to $30,000 bonus. It's unclear who, if anyone, received these bonuses at Ballou. The district wouldn't share that information. Brian Butcher, Morgan Williams and Monica Brokenborough no longer work at Ballou. They received poor teacher evaluations and were terminated after this school year for various reasons.
But they believe they were unfairly targeted for not passing absent kids and for their active involvement with the teachers' union. They're formally contesting their dismissals with the district. We did talk with six teachers still at Ballou. None wanted to speak on the record for fear of retaliation, but they told a similar story. Pass kids, or look like a bad teacher on paper. The school's principal, Yetunde Reeves, wouldn't talk to us, so I went to school district leaders and I asked this question.
I'm wondering how, with so many kids missing 30-plus days, how they passed their courses to be able to graduate.
JANE SPENCE: We've started to recognize that students can have mastered material even if they're not sitting in a physical space.
MCGEE: That's Jane Spence, deputy of high schools. She admits the best way to learn is to be in the classroom. Her boss, District Chancellor Antwan Wilson, chimed in.
ANTWAN WILSON: I think the real question to ask here is, what is going on in the lives of young people that leads them to find getting to school challenging?
MCGEE: But I wanted to know, based on what I heard from teachers about how these students advanced, is this the right way to graduate students? Before I could ask, Chancellor Wilson and Deputy Spence got up.
WILSON: I have to slide away.
MCGEE: So are you sticking around for more questions or...
SPENCE: No.
MCGEE: ...Michelle, I thought we said we had an hour.
MICHELLE LERNER: Yeah, I think we just had some scheduling problems, but...
MCGEE: That's communications head Michelle Lerner you hear at the end. Next we looked to D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, but her office pointed us back to the school district. In our second interview weeks later, Jane Spence joined us by phone and acknowledged all these absences are a problem.
SPENCE: Our students need to get here every day. And we continue to ask our community and our families to partner with us to get students to school every day.
MCGEE: But she reinforced that many students have real issues that prevent them from getting to class, and schools need to find other ways to help absent kids succeed. She and Chancellor Wilson say these policies - the make-up work and after-school classes - can be part of the solution if they're implemented with rigor. Chancellor Wilson admits that's not happening at all schools.
WILSON: I think the issue that we have to fix at several of our schools - just to make sure that kids don't feel they can miss however many weeks and then just come in at the end and say, I'd love to get my make-up work.
MCGEE: Ultimately these district leaders stand by Ballou High School's decision to graduate these students. The current senior class, the class of 2018, is also working toward a 100 percent college acceptance rate. For NPR News, I'm Kate McGee in Washington.
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CAPTAIN SIM FORUM - wx icon?
CAPTAIN SIM FORUM › CS Weather Radar › CS Weather Radar › wx icon?
How can one add the wx icon to the tool.cab so it shows together with the other icons?
You want a weather radar icon (something like on the 727 SimIcons Panel) to show up on a panel/SimIcons panel �so that when you click on the icon the CS Weather Radar panel pops up? Is that what you mean? I'm not 100% sure I can create one to add to the SimIcons Panel, but I'll look into it.
Personally, I would like for the WxR Panel to popup/disappear by just clicking in the radar display (where you see the mouse pointer change to a hand).
Hello Mark: Exactly! That's what I want. To be able to add an icon to the icons window with the wx.Aws I mentioned above I dicovered the .cab file where these ae conyained or refered to. But the editing language is beyond me...And I have NO idea why some lines are in "red"...And if this has an influence on how the whole thing gets interpreted?
...Now your idea is much better to add it like the GPS window just ny clicking the GPS above the WX.
Firstly. I wouldn't edit/modify Captain Sims gauge files. I would look at using a way to add it via the panel.cfg in reference to the SimIcons Panel. That would be easier (I think).
Secondly. I shall see if I can find some info in the FSX SDK. If I can find enough help in there, I might even ask my knowledgeable friends at the Freeflight Design Shop Design Forums for some help as well.
Yes! I'll keep my fingers well away from thte gauge files.
I've also been in PM contact with Matt and he suggests the same.
I have searched for a reference via the panel.cfg.Matt has posted the way to do it...Though when I fallow his intructions the gauges' icon though tiny...Only shows "while" I hold (Shift+7) Which is where it's assigned. I can't get it to stay open?
I decided in the meantime to leave it and use the gauge as is...Until a solution is found Till then I'll just open the wx by it's assigned keyboard command.
Thanks for investigating this and helping me Mark.
Can you please forward that to me via email? I'll take a look and see exactly whats doing (it sounds to me like you just need to get the Icon size right) then I'll pass it back to you. I will give Matt the credit for seeing as he is telling you what to do. He is better at gauges than I am anyway.
Hey Mark: I've PM'ed you already with this. Matt hashad a crash with his sys. and doesn't seem to have the time to help me with this.
Secondly...here comes an apology...I seem to have confused how to add the icon...because I was installing Rob Berengredts Taxi& Pushback gauge to727 to aid it with the turns issue. Rob also made an icon for his gauge. It's not up to size and it doesn't work ( It doesn't call the pushback gauge window,despite how many times I try to install it and check to see what might (?) be wrong in the entries. He has also provided together with the gauge pack a .CAB file that includes I suppose the proper entries to call the gauge. I have done this several times...It doesn't. And the icon apparently is the same icon Matt uses for his gauge...A Little box with an arrow pointing downwards...For the past week Matt has dissapeared; So I don't know what to do?
I got your PM and I'm still looking into it regarding a solution. Matts solution would have been good, but a system crash takes quite some time to get sorted out, so we have to wait.
Great Mark! A face to your name!
I got a new mobile (cell) phone and was trying out the camera. It looked good enough to place in here (a tad blurry). If my photographer can get a sharper picture, I will update it.
Thats perfect Mark. Mobile phone cameras can take excellent pictures depending on the amount invested. I am a photographer myself on a hobby basis. Digital photography has really taken on...But Nothing like good old negatives and fluids like developers and fixers; Just updated my pushback and taxi gauge thanks to Rob.
HI Mark, I haven't done any of these changes above to the 727. Been busy with everything else,I'm afraid to say.
As of last night my my Weather radar no longer displays clouds ( Green) NO matter what Range I choose,nothing shows up? I've even flown throught he cloud to try to get them to show...Nada!?
All other buttoms work Test,range,tilt,etc...No matter how long I wait for th clouds to show...They don't show up?


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HomeAction & Adventure DVD United 93 DVD (Fullscreen) (Free Shipping)
United 93 DVD (Fullscreen) (Free Shipping)
Product Type: DVD Movie
Tell me more about United 93 DVD (Fullscreen) (Free Shipping).
"On September 11th, One Of The Darkest Days In Our History, 40 Ordinary People Sat Down As Strangers And Stood Up As One."
Feature Commentary with Director Paul Greengrass
The Families and the Film Documentary
"United 93" is the extraordinary story of one of the defining moments in our country.
This powerful film about September 11th, one of the darkest days in our history, paints an unforgettable and inspiring portrait of the 40 passengers and crew who sat down as strangers and in the face of a horrific situation found the courage to stand up as one.
Honest, unflinching and profoundly moving, "United 93" honors the memories of those who lost their lives with dignity and respect.
David Alan Basche, Richard Bekins, Susan Blommaert, Christian Clemenson, Ray Charleson
English - Dolby Digital (5.1)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Ninth Circuit Judges Express Displeasure with Serial Plaintiffs and Their Attorneys
by November 9, 2022 050
By Minh N. Vu
Seyfarth synopsis: Ninth Circuit judges are getting tougher on lawyers who represent serial plaintiffs by reducing their fees and threatening sanctions for citing outdated law.
In 2021, plaintiffs filed 11,452 federal lawsuits alleging violations of Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). More than half (5,930) of those were filed in California. While most judges in California have not seemed particularly concerned that the vast majority of these cases are filed by repeat plaintiffs, the patience of some judges is wearing thin.
In a recent decision concerning fees awarded to a prevailing serial plaintiff, the Ninth Circuit made rather pointed comments about serial plaintiffs and their attorneys. Quoting from a law review article advocating for lawsuit reform, the Court said: "The ADA satisfied the need for meaningful legislation for the protection of individuals with disabilities; however, one of the unforeseen consequences of this statute was the widespread abuse taking form due to the actions of serial ADA plaintiffs." The Ninth Circuit then devoted several pages of its opinion to how these "get-money quick" lawsuits work and lamented that "the number of ADA cases in the Central District of California has ballooned from 3 percent of its civil docket to roughly 20 percent in recent years." The Court noted that " [a] hallmark of abusive ADA litigation is the use of form complaints containing a multitude of boilerplate allegations of varying merit."
The Ninth Circuit Court concluded that in the federal trial court, District Judge Wu's application of a blended $300 rate for all attorneys working on a case and a 65% reduction of all fees was warranted due to the routine nature of the work and the defendant's lack of opposition on the merits. With these reductions, the plaintiff's firm received $10,000 in fees instead of the $34,000 it demanded for work through summary judgment.
The Court rejected plaintiff's argument that the district court had failed to adequately explain the basis for the blended rate and downward multiplier. It held that the district court "was not required to write the equivalent of a law review article justifying its fee award; it only had to provide a "concise but clear explanation" of the grounds for its decision." It found the district court did that, finding that the ADA serial litigation is not complex and did not require partner level work, let alone two partners billing at $500 per hour.
This decision should be useful for businesses fighting fee petitions filed by serial plaintiffs in routine cases.
In another recent decision, District Judge Otis Wright of the Central District of California made clear his intolerance for sloppy work by plaintiff's attorneys in ADA Title III cases. Judge Wright denied the plaintiff's motion for a default judgment against a liquor store because, among other things, the plaintiff had failed to establish that the alleged barriers had denied her access to the public accommodation, or that the removal of the barriers was readily achievable. On the latter issue, the court observed that plaintiff had not met her initial burden "to plausibly show how the cost of removing the architectural barrier at issue does not exceed the benefits under the circumstances," as required by controlling Ninth Circuit precedent. Indeed, the court concluded that the plaintiff had ignored this precedent altogether. The court ordered plaintiff to show cause as to "why a sanction in the amount of up to $8,001 should not be imposed on counsel for repeatedly citing to law that was abrogated by the Ninth's Circuit's decision in Lopez v. Catalina Channel Express."
These decisions show that courts share businesses' frustration with ADA complaints that do not contain specific factual allegations, seek unreasonable fees, or fail to heed controlling law.
Edited by Kristina Launey
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You are here: Home > All > Rust Belt Biennial
Deadline: Jun 15, 2019
Entry Fee: 35
Rust Belt Biennial
We are thrilled to introduce the first RUST BELT BIENNIAL, a celebration of photography with work realized throughout the Rust Belt Region in all its manifestations.
This land, its people, the pride and the struggles, the patina of the past and above all, the histories and memories ingrained in the soil across the region. It is time to make new memories and new histories, while revisiting and reevaluating old ones; It is time to start a new dialogue about the state of photography and it's social, cultural and political effects in our society; it is time to give back to the photographic community but also the region; it is time for you to join us!
For our an inaugural Biennial we are grateful to have Andrew L. Moore as competition juror.
We are honored to collaborate with the Sordoni Gallery at Wilkes University, in Wilkes-Barre, Penn., where the Biennial will be held from August 27th to October 5th of 2019. Additional information regarding dates of the main exhibition with lectures and presentations will be published in the Spring.
Our juried competition is hosted in an agreement between LensCulture and Rust Belt Biennial. Once you click the "submit here" button, you will be redirected to the LensCulture website so that you can sign up for an account and submit your entry through the online entry portal.
PRIZE DETAILS: 1ST PLACE
The artist whose work wins first place will receive a cash prize of 2500 USD and the work will be exhibited in the Sordoni Gallery at Wilkes University, with an extensive feature in the catalog and an interview with the Real Photo Show.
The artist whose work wins second place will receive a cash prize of 1000 USD and the work will be exhibited in the Sordoni Gallery at Wilkes University, with an extensive feature in the catalog.
The artist whose work wins third place will receive a cash prize of 500 USD and the work will be exhibited in the Sordoni Gallery at Wilkes University, with an extensive feature in the catalog. Not eligible to enter? - Find contest where you are.
COPYRIGHT: The photos will be part of an installed exhibition at the Sordoni Gallery at Wilkes-University and will be also used in a catalog. In addition, the images will be used on social media to promote both the artist and the biennial. **The artists maintain full copyright of the work** USAGE RIGHTS: The photos will be part of an installed exhibition at the Sordoni Gallery at Wilkes-University and will be also used in a catalog. In addition, the images will be used on social media to promote both the artist and the biennial. **The artists maintain full copyright of the work**
CONTEST THEMES » All, Cash / Vouchers, Closed Contest, Deadline, Miscellaneous, Other Prizes, Paid Entry, Publish/Exhibit, USA


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I Was the One Who Made It
My mom lost two babies before I was born. Sometimes it felt like I was living for all three of us.
By Abigail Rasminsky
I read this article and found it very interesting, thought it might be something for you. The article is called I Was the One Who Made It and is located at http://modernloss.com/i-was-the-one-who-made-it/.
Hayley Constantine, via Flickr
It's summer, August maybe, and our family's boxy purple Peugeot is parked at a rest stop gas station. My father pumps gas in his leather sandals. My 13-year-old sister, Rachel, slumps in the backseat, listening to her Walkman with her hood up over her ears. My mother, in a billowy fuchsia sundress, stands next to the passenger's side of the car with the door open, one sandaled foot propped up on the runner, one palm resting on the top of the car, waiting. Her gray hair is cut very short. Her oval glasses take over much of her face.
I'm five, and have gotten out of the car to dance around on the cement for a few minutes, my white Tretorns, striped T-shirt, and shorts glistening in the sun. I skip over little puddles of oil between the cars, making a game out of not getting my feet wet.
There are several adults clustered around the pumps, filling their cars. I hop over to one of them, look up and say, "My Mommy had babies that died." Then over to another: "My Mommy had babies that died."
My mother did, indeed, have babies that died; so did my father, of course. I guess my sister did, too — baby-siblings. But these babies — a boy, a stillbirth at 23 weeks, and a girl a year later, at 24 weeks, both big enough to swell my mother's belly but small enough to fit in the palm of my father's hand — died seven and eight years earlier, respectively. I came next; I was the one who made it.
'They were so much a part of our existence — so much a part of my birth story — that I found it hard to believe that they didn't exist somewhere. It felt like they were always on the verge of appearing at the door.'
The babies, as we called them, were always there, a fact of our lives, but they weren't ever going to grow up to be anything other than "the babies."
Still, throughout my childhood, I'd pretend that the babies — now kids, now pre-teens, now teens — had grown up and were simply away, off at camp, over at a friend's house; not dead, not never coming back, not people who had never really lived. They were so much a part of our existence — so much a part of my birth story — that I found it hard to believe that they didn't exist somewhere. It felt like they were always on the verge of appearing at the door, like Elijah wafting in for his glass of Seder wine at Passover. If only we'd leave the door open long enough.
I mapped out where they'd sleep if they came back: Rachel, the oldest, would still have the sunny room facing the street, which she'd share it with my other sister, five years her junior. My older brother, nestled between those two in age, would have his own room (mine, perhaps, which faced the driveway and seemed to be in perpetual shadow). Would I sleep in the back or in the basement? My mother's study would probably be converted into a bedroom, but the décor would need to change: she was a writer and had a framed "Letter to the Editor" hanging on the wall behind her desk. In a photo that accompanied the note, a woman was smiling and hugging her baby son, and the caption read, "After my miscarriage, one of your articles helped me appreciate what I had rather than what I lost. Now I have even more: another child." I knew that I, too, was that other child; I was the reason she could write the story at all.
In hopes of finding an appropriate spot for everyone in the house, I rearranged our bedrooms, tried out different configurations, but I also understood that had those babies survived, I wouldn't have slept anywhere, I wouldn't, in all likelihood, have been conceived.
Three months into her pregnancy with me, her fourth, just as the bulge at the center of her frame started giving her away, my mother's contractions began again, quiet at first, an unwelcome rumble. She was 36. It had been 18 months since the girl baby had died. She put on her nightgown, crawled into bed, and stayed there for the next five months, drinking red wine every night to relax her uterus.
My father set up a makeshift table and chairs in the bedroom so my seven-year-old sister could do her homework, eat breakfast and dinner near her mother — an immobile, anxious lump whose body didn't seem able to hold onto her babies. The story goes he came home from the hospital where he worked as a neurologist, took off his tie and bathed my mother with a sponge in their bed, delicately turning her from side to side, pouring water over her head, her swelling belly, getting the spots between her toes, her soft, useless feet, all of them, waiting.
'Rationally, I knew that the babies were never going to appear at the door. That's because of another secret, a covenant we agreed upon collectively, silently: they lived inside me, and surely, inside my sister.'
No one ever spoke of faith in our house. My father had a very distant belief in God and even that was almost laughable, an atrophied remnant from his childhood. We talked of medicine, science, psychology, of cause and effect, of reality. We relied on hard evidence, not the unseen. I was the baby who made it not because I was "meant to" — there was no greater architecture at work — but because of a simple anatomical fix.
After the second stillbirth, my mother returned to her obstetrician. Placenta abruptio he had written on her chart after the first baby was lost — a very rare condition in which the placenta separates from the uterine wall. The doctor deemed it a fluke. This time he took a closer look. My sister's complicated birth six years earlier had ripped the inside of my mother's cervix, he discovered, rendering it too weak to hold onto any baby once it reached a certain weight. When I was a 13-week embryo, he stitched up the gash in a quick, fortifying knot and sent my mother to bed. That tiny barrier kept me snug inside until I arrived five weeks early, five pounds, and unable to swallow. For three weeks, I lived in an incubator in the hospital but I was alive. I was the closest thing to a miracle we had, and I always knew it.
When my sister Rachel was in kindergarten, and again when she was in first grade, there were long weeks when she would come home from school with her best friend, Samantha, and find my mother lying in bed pregnant with one baby or another. Other mothers were at work, or out in the world doing things, or busy around the house; Rachel's was in bed, staving off early contractions and early labor. This was 1974 or 1975, several years before I was born. My mother remembers Marlo Thomas's "Free to be You and Me" playing on repeat from a record player in the corner of my parents' bedroom as the girls played. There's a land that I see where the children are free, my five-year-old sister and Samantha would sing along as the record swung around its axis. Come with me, take my hand, and we'll live.
The second time my parents came home from the hospital empty-handed, Samantha, herself adopted, asked her own parents, Isn't Rachel good enough for them?
By the time I was born, that record — along with photos of my mother innocently pregnant with the babies at the beach, under a willow tree, posing between my father and sister — had been banished to the basement. There are no pictures of my mother pregnant with me.
Abigail Rasminsky (Courtesy of the author)
Rationally, I knew that the babies were never going to appear at the door. That's because of another secret, a covenant we agreed upon collectively, silently: they lived inside me, and surely, inside my sister. You've had to make up for three children, my mother would say at odd moments, her fingers running through my hair with a little too much force. Long before I understood what she meant, she would repeat this phrase to me, her voice and eyes betraying a shimmer of regret or guilt, as though she knew it was wrong to feel that way and wrong to tell me so. What a burden! We never wanted to do that to you.
At some point, it made sense: their hopes for those two were being passed along, a piled-on list of expectations in my lap. Despite this odd refrain, I always knew that I was enough for them (simply by being alive, by being here at all, I was more than enough). But still, it was as though the two babies had been absorbed into my body. They hadn't disappeared like conjoined twins in the ether; they weren't going to magically appear like Elijah. I was living for all three of us, a little Russian doll with another and another inside.
Abigail Rasminsky has written for the New York Times, the Cut, Longreads, Lenny, The Washington Post, Marie Claire, and O: The Oprah Magazine, among other publications. She lives in Los Angeles.
A version of this article was published in The Morning News. Republished here with permission.
Tags: Childhood Grief, Miscarriage and Stillbirth, Pregnancy after Child Loss
More in My Loss
My Therapist Is No Longer a Phone Call Away
By Wendy Cowen-Smith in My Loss, Personal Essays
She counseled me through my young husband's death, through raising children, blending families, and so much more. Now she's gone.
Losing My 'Naming Rights'
By Katherine Austin-Evelyn in My Loss, Personal Essays
A cousin named her daughter after my mom before I could.
My Father's Death Changed the Way I Think About Time
By Michelle Chikaonda in My Loss, Personal Essays
I was always running minutes, even hours, behind. Not anymore.
'At Least You're Not Having Twins'
By Nicole Minutti in My Loss, Personal Essays
As a mother of twins, responses to my latest pregnancy announcement are all over the map. But amid a private loss, one remark cuts to the bone.
By Cate Honzl in My Loss, Personal Essays
We made it past Thanksgiving and Christmas. Now comes everything after.


HUNTINGTON, WV (HNN) – Marshall University's Libertarians have a goal --- they want to bring Congressman Ron Paul to campus for a speaking engagement.
The group hopes to collect 2,000 signatures of students and faculty members.
Tim Sanders, president of the group, said, "We have over 400 signatures already." In addition, they gave a 30 minute interview to WEMM Radio.
Why choose the Congressman and former Presidential candidate as a potential Marshall speaker?
"He is by far the leader of the liberty movement and the philosophy of peace, prosperity, and liberty is something that all Americans need to learn about," Sander explained, adding, "We know that Marshall isn't the biggest campus, but we're dedicated and believe that we can welcome Congressman Paul just as well as any other university."


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Pricing & FAQ
CrewTracks Customers Inform New Features
by Brett Fairbourn
I've worked in B2B software for a while, and if there's one thing I've learned, it's this: there is no such thing as perfect software. CrewTracks is no exception. But here's the good news: from the beginning, CrewTracks has been developed to solve actual pain points for actual people in actual companies who want exactly what we're making.
Exhibit A: CrewTracks approaching perfection.
So while we're not perfect, we are closing the gap between CrewTracks and perfect every day. Today, I want to share just one example.
B&D Associates Loved CrewTracks Except…
When B&D Associates in St. Paul, Minnesota said they loved our software except for one thing, we were all ears. After all, we had started as mainly a time clock software, and we had grown into so much more by listening to contractors like B&D. What idea would we hear next? Much to our surprise, B&D loved our features except the time clock. They wanted to be able to allocate time to jobs without clocking in and out.
No problem. You can now allocate time without ever clocking in. It's a great feature, and we wouldn't have thought of it without feedback from B&D.
Canadian Company Met in the Middle
Next, we worked with a Canadian company (which I will name if/when they give me permission) who wanted to clock in and out, but without taking photos. Sort of a halfway point betweent the typical functionality and the no-time-clock approach of B&D Associates.
No problem. You can now clock in and out just by tapping each person's name. Again, a great feature born of feedback from real people.
Pacific Masonry's Fresh Perspective
Recently, we met Pacific Masonry from Las Vegas, Nevada. They wanted the same solution as the Canadian company, and we had the privilege of providing the "perfect" solution, because someone else had already requested it.
There was just one difference: Pacific Masonry was the first new CrewTracks customer to use this feature, and like I've seen so many times before, a fresh set of eyes found something that habitual CrewTracks users had missed. When clocking out, a "cancel" button appears just in case it's not actually time to clock out yet, but that cancel button appears when the camera is activated. This means when the photo in/photo out feature isn't being used, and the camera screen never appears, there is no way to cancel a clock out.
No problem. We added a "cancel" option to the injury tracking question, so you can cancel an accidental clock out.
Bring Us Your Problems
At CrewTracks, we love solving problems. CrewTracks may be a perfect fit for your company, but that doesn't mean that CrewTracks is perfect. Let us know what you think CrewTracks is missing, because we'd love your help closing the gap between CrewTracks and perfection.
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Famous Places for Memorial Day Weekend 2018 The Memorial Saturday starts the winter holidays with masses of people who want to take part in the three-day-weekend. "Travellers often get a discount on sightseeing tours," says Brigit Zimmerman, Priceline's Sr. VP of Aviation, I&P. The Memorial Day weekend offers a great chance to discover and offers plenty. "These are the most beloved hotspots of this year's commemoration day," says Priceline.
First on Priceline's shortlist is Windy Town.
With a vibrant urban landscape, award-winning restaurants, numerous museum and arcade shops along the Magnificent Mile, Chicago boasts an entertaining view of the lakefront Navy Pier. The Chicago Architecture River Cruise is one of the city's most visited sights. There will be a variety of events for people visiting the town, which will take place on Memorial Day weekends, as well as appearances by artists such as Jennifer Lopez and Celine Dion.
It was also named eighteenth in Priceline's Top-Growning Destinations for Memorial Day Weekend 2018 rankings, on the basis of comparative figures between 2017 and 2018 Priceline reservations. L.A. is a good choice for jet-setters who want to enjoy a little bit of sun over the weekend. There is a burgeoning artscene, fashionable dining and a number of beloved touristic sites such as Rodeo Drive, Santa Monica Pier and Strand, the Hollywood Walk of Fame and Sunset Boulevard.
The town also boasts a number of tourist sites outside its renowned amusement park and is a favourite place for golf players and the outdoors. Situated on the East Coast, this historic and cultural crossroads recently took first place in the U.S. News & World Report rankings for the best summer vacation destinations, making it a must this year.
Also New Orleans came first in Priceline's Top Growing Destinations for Memorial Day Weekend and eleventh in the most accessible destinations for the Memorial Day Weekend. Go on a tour of the French quarter of the town, enjoy the renowned Cajun food, hear real life tunes and enjoy all the cultural attractions this beloved place has to boast of.
On this Memorial Day weekend, visitors will make good use of Miami's kilometres of sands. There are other funny things to do on the shore in this town, such as the lively Wynwood arts, shops and grocery scenes and the close proximity of Mount Wynwood's Air Boat trips. Situated on the cove, this town has a number of attractions, such as the famed Golden Gate Bridge, and take a cruise on the city's renowned funiculars, eat crisp shellfish at Fisherman's Wharf and make an excursion to the Mission District.
Dallas, Texas, rounds off the list of the most popular destinations for Memorial Day Weekend 2018. It was also placed eighth in Priceline's Most Affordable Destinations for Memorial Day Weekend. There is art and cultural life, vibrant night life and exquisite Tex Mex food.


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Yeovil Town's trip to Accrington Stanley has been postponed
The game was due to be played next Saturday
Stephen D'AlbiacContent Editor
Yeovil Town beat Accrington Stanley 3-2 at Huish Park when the two sides last played in August (Image: Tom Sandberg/Pinnacle)
Yeovil Town's trip to Accrington Stanley on Saturday, March 24 has been postponed.
The fixture has been called off due to the Glovers' having five players called up for international duty.
Not all of the players called up have been named, but Bevis Mugabi is in the Uganda squad for two friendlies next week, while Somerset Live understands that Corey Whelan, Shaun Donnellan (both Republic of Ireland under-21s), Tom James (Wales under-21s) and Rhys Browne (Antigua & Barbuda) are expected to be selected.
The match will now be played on Tuesday, April 17 at the Crown Ground, with a 7.45pm kick-off.
The dirtiest teams in League Two revealed - from Luton Town to Lincoln City to Coventry City to Yeovil Town
A spokesman for Yeovil Town Football Club said: "In compliance with EFL regulations, the two clubs agreed to rearrange the fixture due to the number of forced absentees.
"Tickets bought in advance for the original fixture will remain valid."


To receive and review all NRM (National Referral Mechanism) forms. Each of these forms represent a person who is claiming to be a victim of trafficking or modern day slavery offences. NRM forms are completed by various referring agencies but are all filtered through the NCA. This role will involve the reviewing of all NRM forms and completing a Crime report for the offence. Those suitable for the role should have a knowledge and be able to use CRIS and other police intelligence systems.
The day to day responsibilities will involve all aspects of criminal investigation, including CCTV recovery and viewing, crime scene assessment and submission of forensic exhibits for analysis, telephone enquiries and analysis, and witness statement taking. A full driving licence would also be essential. Staff will report directly to a Detective Sergeant who will assign tasks.


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Social Media is the Must-Use Marketing Channel for Reaching Chinese Gamers
In fact, in social media-obsessed China, Key Opinion Leaders, or KOLs, are on a whole different level when it comes to reaching consumers and setting new trends.
Yijun Chen Overseas Marketing Manager 2018-05-04
In the UK and the US we may have got used to talking about PewDiePie as the world's most important social media influencer with more than 60 million followers. But in China, he'd have to settle for second prize at best. In fact, in social media-obsessed China, Key Opinion Leaders, or KOLs, are on a whole different level when it comes to reaching consumers and setting new trends.
With the majority of people in China using a mobile phone in place of a conventional computer, social media sites and apps have spread right across demographics and age groups. Along with super-powerful apps like WeChat that are almost like a mini internet in itself, there are apps that make shopping and ordering services a breeze. This means that bloggers and influencers can easily build a fanbase that goes far beyond the simple idea of followers and likes. Many have been able to build an entire mini-economy based around product endorsements, live-streaming and even their own products and services. Last year, Chinese consultancy Analysys International has estimated that the Chinese influencer economy was worth over $15.5 billion.
With 1.4 billion people in China, the size of audience that even a 'niche' influencer can reach is sizeable. The most popular influencers can have tens of millions of followers. For example, PapyJiang makes satirical and funny videos that get more than 290 million views EACH. The second most influential KOL, Ma Jianguo, shares daily updates of his pets Niu Niu the dog and DuanWu the cat to over 24 million fans every day.
Niu Niu and DuanWu are followed by more than 24 million fans
In China, the most popular social media influencers are pretty much household names. By sharing their daily lives with their followers through apps like Weibo, WeChat and different streaming platforms, KOLs create many different touchpoints that make them into marketing powerhouses.
When it comes to games, streaming platforms similar to Twitch are hugely influential. The three largest are Huya, Chushou and Douyu. Companies like Tencent and Netease will often partner with streaming platforms to launch competitions and tournaments – especially effective for games that have aspirations to become eSports destinations in their own right. Live streaming is a great way to reach a gaming demographic, as the majority of users of live streaming apps in China are younger than 30, with a 70/30 ratio of men to women.
Honor of Kings has more than 50 million players and is one of the biggest games across China's live streaming platforms
So for any company looking to do serious brand-building and create word of mouth marketing, it's essential to find the right KOL to work with. There are a number of local agencies that specialise in working with influencers, and partnering with them – or with a publisher who can do that for you – is certainly the best way to build out your social media campaigns.
To learn more about marketing your mobile games in China, how to effectively localize your games and plenty of other tips and insights, you can download our free report "Looking East: How to launch mobile games in China".
Stay tuned for our next blog post on the dark art of Shuabang!


Trains and Planes – A Child-led Obsession!
Our 4 year old has been absolutely obsessed with trains and planes for the last couple of years; that's more than half his life! There are lots of things to love about children being passionate about particular hobbies, however all consuming they may become! This post looks at our son's child-led, developmental journey exploring and enjoying 'things that … Continue reading Trains and Planes – A Child-led Obsession!


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← Previous24.2-603 Hours polls to be open; closing the polls
Next →24.2-604 Prohibited activities at polls; notice of prohibited area; electioneering; presence of representatives of parties or candidates; simulated elections; observers; news media; penalties
6 The Election
1 General Provisions; Polling Places
§ 24.2-603.1 Postponement of certain elections; state of . . .
§ 24.2-603.1
Postponement of certain elections; state of emergency
For purposes of this section, "election" means (i) any local or state referendum, (ii) any primary, special, or general election for local or state office except a general election for Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General and the General Assembly, (iii) any primary for federal office including any primary for the nomination of candidates for the office of President of the United States, or (iv) any federal special election to fill a vacancy in the United States Senate or the United States House of Representatives. In the event of a state of emergency declared by the Governor pursuant to Chapter 3.2 (§ 44-146.13 et seq.) of Title 44 or declared by the President of the United States or the governor of another state pursuant to law and confirmed by the Governor by an executive order, the Governor may postpone an election by executive order in areas affected by the emergency to a date, notwithstanding the provisions of § 24.2-682, not to exceed 14 days from the original date of the election.If a local governing body determines that a longer postponement is required, it may petition a three-judge panel of the Virginia Supreme Court, to include the Chief Justice as the presiding Justice, for an extension. The Chief Justice shall choose the other two Justices by lot. The Court may postpone the election to a date it deems appropriate, notwithstanding the provisions of § 24.2-682, not to exceed 30 days from the original date of the election.Only those persons duly registered to vote as of the original date of the election shall be entitled to vote in the rescheduled election.If, as a direct result of the emergency, any ballots already cast at the polling places or equipment on which ballots have been cast, or any voted absentee ballots already received by the appropriate election officials or any equipment on which absentee ballots have already been cast have been destroyed or otherwise damaged so that such ballots cannot be counted manually or by a voting system, the Governor (i) shall specify that such ballots or votes previously cast by machinery or paper need to be recast on or by the rescheduled election date so that they may be counted and (ii) shall direct the appropriate election officials to immediately send replacement absentee ballots to all absentee voters whose voted ballots are known to have been so destroyed or damaged. Such instructions may be issued by executive order separately from the executive order postponing the election. Any absentee ballots duly cast and received by the rescheduled election date and able to be counted shall be valid and counted when determining the results of the rescheduled election; however, if more than one absentee ballot is received from any voter, only the first absentee ballot received and able to be counted shall be counted. Any person who was duly registered to vote as of the original date of the election, and who has not voted, or who is permitted to recast their ballot due to the emergency, may vote by absentee ballot in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 7 (§ 24.2-700 et seq.) in the rescheduled election. Official ballots shall not be invalidated on the basis that they contain the original election date.If the postponement of the election is ordered after voting at the polls on the original election date has already commenced, all qualified voters in a precinct in which any voted ballots, voting equipment containing voted ballots or pollbooks recording who has already voted in that precinct have been destroyed or damaged as a direct result of the emergency, so that the votes cannot be counted or it cannot be determined who has already voted, shall be allowed to vote in the rescheduled election, and no votes cast at the polls on the original election date shall be counted. If the postponement of the election is ordered after voting at the polls on the original election date has already commenced and no ballots cast at the polls, voting equipment containing voted ballots, or pollbooks recording who has already voted in that election in that precinct have been destroyed or damaged as a direct result of the emergency, only qualified voters who had not yet voted shall be eligible to vote on the rescheduled election day and all votes cast on the original and postponed election dates shall be counted at the close of the polls on the rescheduled election day.The provisions of § 24.2-663 requiring the voiding of all ballots received from any voter who votes more than once in the same election shall not apply to ballots otherwise lawfully cast or recast pursuant to this section; however, no more than one ballot may be counted from any voter in the same election. If one ballot has already been counted, any additional ballots from the same voter shall be void and shall not be counted. The provisions of § 24.2-1004 or any other law prohibiting any voter from voting more than once in the same election, or any oath attesting to the same, shall not apply to ballots otherwise lawfully cast or recast pursuant to this section.No results shall be tallied or votes counted in any postponed election before the closing of the polls on the rescheduled election date. Officers of election in unaffected areas shall count and report the results for the postponed election after the close of the polls on the rescheduled election date. The counting may take place at the precinct or another location determined by the local electoral board.The State Board shall prescribe appropriate procedures to implement this section.
2002, cc. 785, 819; 2004, c. 205; 2014, cc. 540, 576.
If you're reading this for anything important, you should double-check its accuracy—read § 24.2-603.1 on the official Code of Virginia website.
SB796: Polling places; provides for extension of polling hours in emergency situations. (failed)
HB1577: Polling places; provides for extension of polling hours in emergency situations. (failed)
SB1230: Elections; extension of polling hours in emergency declared by Governor. (failed)
SB226: Polling hours; provides for a court-ordered extension thereof in emergency situations. (failed)
SB1051: Elections; extension of polling hours. (failed)
SB207: Elections; extension of polling hours. (failed)
HB679: Voting equipment; technical amendments to reflect updates in equipment technology. (passed)
SB456: Voting equipment; technical amendments to reflect updates in equipment technology. (passed)
HB1040: Voter-nominated primary elections; established for offices of Governor, etc. (failed)
HB1129: Elections; establishes voter-nominated open primary elections. (failed)
HB360: Elections; voter-nominated open primary elections, ranked choice voting for certain elections. (failed)
HB360: Elections; voter-nominated open primary elections, ranked choice voting for certain elections.


These are great bracelets. They will be a great way to keep Japan on our minds when all of the chaos settles. It is going to take a very long time for the country to recover. We need to pray for them without ceasing.
So take an easy step in helping them on their road to healing. Go here and buy a bracelet…. or a bunch. They are only $5.00 and 100% of your purchase goes to Japan.


It is a well-known fact that cigarette smoking is hazardous to your health. Nearly every cancer is associated with an increased risk among smokers. It's an irony of sorts, then, why more than 20% of U.S. residents are current smokers. The hazards of smoking are numerous, affecting even the unborn child as it sits innocently in its mother's womb.
According to the American Lung Association, cigarette smoking is the most important source of disease and illness and/or premature death worldwide.
Each year, 443,000 Americans lose their lives to smoking-related illnesses. This represents 1 in 5 deaths, making it the leading preventable cause of death in the U.S..
On average smokers die earlier than non-smokers (13 years for men and 14 years for women).
Approximately 8.6 million Americans have at least one smoking-related illness.
For every death in the U.S., there are 20 other people with at least one serious health condition linked to smoking.
Smoking leads to 20-30% of low birth weight children, nearly 15% of preterm deliveries, and 10% of infant deaths.
The U.S. spends more than 190 billion dollars per year in smoking-related healthcare costs and averages $4,260 in direct costs per adult smoker.
Cigarettes contain more than 7,000 chemicals - 69 of these are known to cause cancer.
Smoking is responsible 90% of cancer deaths and more than 80% of COPD deaths.
Nicotine is a highly addictive drug, which, when inhaled, reaches the brain faster than any injectable drug, including heroin. This is part of the reason why quitting is so difficult.
Smoking is associated with infertility in men.
Parents who smoke can create health problems for their children, including exacerbation of asthma, increased frequency of colds and/or ear infections, and sudden infant death syndrome.
Cigarette smoking is responsible for a number of serious illnesses including COPD, heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, abdominal aortic aneurysm, pneumonia, gum disease, osteoporosis cataracts and many forms of cancer. It can also lead to infertility, slower healing wounds, and peptic ulcer disease.
Among those who still smoke, chronic lung disease accounts for 73% of all smoking-related illnesses. In former smokers, chronic lung disease accounts for 50% of all smoking-related conditions.
Every year, secondhand smoke is responsible for 3,400 lung cancer deaths and 46,000 heart disease deaths in the United States alone.
Parental smoking leads to more than 200,000 asthma episodes and 709,000 visits for ear infections.
Tobacco advertising plays a significant role in the addiction process as it encourages young people to begin a lifelong relationship with cigarettes before they are even old enough to understand the impact that smoking has on their health.
In 2009, more than 5% of middle school students were current smokers while nearly 20% of all high school students reported being current smokers.
Currently, there are 7 medications approved by the FDA to help people quit. Because quitting smoking often requires multiple attempts, stop smoking aids coupled with either individual, group or telephone counseling are highly recommended to increase the chances of a successful quit attempt.
American Lung Association. General Smoking Facts. Accessed June 14, 2015.
Centers For Disease Control. Health Effects of Cigarette Smoking. Accessed June 14, 2015.
Are E-Cigarettes the Safer Choice for People With COPD?
Can Wood-Burning Stoves Be Unhealthy for You and Your Home?


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Chris Isaak – A sure thing at Humphrey's
You know we're heading towards a more normal concert scenario when we're back at Humphrey's and Chris Isaak is holding court. This time, he only waited two songs instead of the usual three songs to start discussing the boat people, anchored just outside the room. As always, he warned the ladies that they were having a cheap date, but eventually admitted that he would like to be there too.
Isaak kicked off the evening with his ostensible theme song, "American Boy," which also opened up the mysterious disappeared Chris Isaak Show. The TV series is expected for a return, possibly even with new episodes.
The night at Humphrey's was remarkable, Isaak made several of his energetic acts sweat and muffled the beat beautifully when he brought the group forward for a series of acoustic acts.
But before he sat down, guitarist Hershel Yatovitz unleashed plenty of steamy leads. His versatility was evident when he turned to more fluid styles on the cool, watery "Wicked Game". Isaak in one of his many pounds between songs indicated that he had done nothing during the pandemic other than puzzles. He gave a hilarious life update during Covid, saying he and the group were 'the last responders, so going out tonight you know it's safe'.
But Isaak was busy last year and presented a sufficiently effective new song called "Pandemic Blues".
Drummer Kenney Dale Johnson has never been so good, the Texan's drum work is crisp and his snare crackle is higher than ever. Maintaining the other half of the engine room was bassist Rowland Salley, whose fretwork was excellent as always. Isaac's vocals always display an impressive range, whether it's channeling his inner Johnny Cash on "Ring of Fire" or hitting the high notes of "Two Hearts".
Two-thirds of the group proved their acting skills on the aforementioned brilliant, underrated and sadly unavailable. Chris Isaak Show. But they certainly all exude the feeling of really having fun on stage.
There are only a few things for sure when it comes to live music, but a great show from Chris Isaak is one of them.
Salley, Isaak and Johnson – the oldest members of the group
Previous: Caamp shines at Wiltern
Next: Closing Days – San Diego Film Festival


text:
1812, () is a 1912 Russian film directed by Vasili Goncharov, Kai Hansen and Aleksandr Uralsky, described as a "blockbuster" in the Historical Dictionary of Russian and Soviet Cinema.

Plot
The film in four parts illustrates the events Patriotic War of 1812.

Starring
 Vasili Goncharov
 Aleksandra Goncharova
 Andrey Gromov
 Pavel Knorr as Napoleon
 V. Serjozhinikov
 A. Veskov

References

External links

1912 films
1910s Russian-language films
Russian black-and-white films
Russian silent films
Films directed by Vasily Goncharov
Films directed by Kai Hansen
Fiction set in 1812
Films of the Russian Empire

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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text:
BrahMos Program in Progress, Funds Yet to Be Available: DND
(Source: Philippine News Agency; issued November 25, 2020)
MANILA --– Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said the program to acquire medium-range ramjet supersonic BrahMos cruise missiles is moving forward but getting enough funds for this remains a challenge.
He made this comment when asked by the Philippine News Agency (PNA) on updates regarding the plans to acquire the cruise missile which was jointly developed by Russia and India.
"The Brahmos (program) is moving forward but the challenge now is (the) funding," Lorenzana said in a message to PNA late Monday.
When asked for an estimate on how fast the Philippines can get the missile into service, the DND chief said this is dependent on how fast the funds would be made available.
Earlier, Lorenzana said they are planning to acquire at least "two batteries" of the BrahMos cruise missiles with each battery having three mobile autonomous launchers with two or three missile tubes each.
The procurement would be via "government-to-government mode".
If acquired, the missiles will be utilized to fulfill the Philippine Army's (PA) coastal defense missions. Aside from the PA, the DND chief said the weapons can also be used by the Philippine Air Force.
Once the missiles are delivered, Lorenzana said the BrahMos will be the first Philippine weaponry with deterrent capability.
Acquisition of a land-based missile system is under Horizon Two of the Revised Armed Forces of the Philippines Modernization Program which is slated for 2018 to 2022 and geared for the acquisition of equipment geared for external defense and has a budget of PHP300 billion. (PNA)