text:
Mindsilt
Unique. Just like everyone else.
The Bachelor Episode #5 - A Review
This week, Brad and his crazies head off to Las Vegas. Remember when people still used the "Las"? Those were the days.
When Chris makes his once-per-episode appearance, he drops the bomb that this week there will be the "dreaded" two-on-one date. Two girls go on a date but there is only one rose. With that, Vegas has gone from being a super awesome party fest to super annoying pity party.
Brad welcomes the girls to their swanky suite, delivers the date card and vanishes in a puff of smoke.
First Date — Shawntel
Every girl on this show
The card says, "Let's end tonight with a bang." We all know what that means. Fireworks. It's way too early for rough sexual intercourse.
Brad takes her into an enormous mall with a bunch of high-end stores. If I had ever been to Vegas, I'm sure I'd know exactly what this is called. He is treating her to a shopping spree with ABC's money. They buy everything. If Shawntel doesn't win, this will be the first time that someone goes home with consolation prizes. If she does win, well, that's just greedy.
Shawntel goes back to the suite with all of her bags and tells the other girls her story of the spree. She then shows off her clothes. There couldn't be any more fallout if someone dropped a 50 megaton jealousy bomb in the room. Plus, I think one of the girls must have farted. That's the only way to explain some of the faces.
In the evening, Brad takes Shawntel onto the roof of the mall they shopped at earlier. Over dinner, she informs him that she is a funeral director and embalmer. I'm sure most of you think that dinner is the worst possible time to talk about embalming, but I don't. Hell, I watch Bones while I'm eating dinner. Despite the fact that she mentions "leakage" they still manage to laugh and finish their meal.
She gets the rose and the Brad leads her over to the edge of the roof to see a fireworks display. See? What did I tell you?
Meanwhile Back At the House…
Marissa is finally getting some serious screen time. That can only mean that she's going home.
Group Date — Everyone but the two Ashleys
Everyone does the math and figures out that the two Ashleys are going on the elimination date. Crying ensues.
Because the producers of The Bachelor have no shame, Brad takes all of the women to a NASCAR racetrack. In case you don't remember (or care) Emily's fiancé was a NASCAR driver. It's all she can do to keep from breaking down. Brad notices that something isn't right with Emily. He pulls her aside to talk with her and she admits to him that he crashed on the Vegas and it ended his NASCAR career. To Emily's credit, she got in the car and she drove the damn thing as the producers fed us some bullshit about how it's finally healed her. We should all be ashamed for taking part in this.
Again, to the rooftop for the after party. Brad immediately grabs Emily again and the girls freak out. He talks to her about her fiancé and tells her that it's a "hard, hard, hard space for any man to fill." Pretty sure he means her vagina.
Alli takes her opportunity with Brad to break down and cry. Ladies, you know this doesn't work. Stop doing it.
Chantal accidentally drops the "L" word. Then she starts crying.
Brad walks over to the group of girls and it immediately becomes awkward. Everyone is pouting. C'mon. Since when has pouting ever won anyone over?
Eventually Michelle pulls him away and tries to talk trash about the other girls. He changes the subject so she makes out with him. You know, because she's the smart girl. She the only one who doesn't cry, though.
In case you didn't see it coming, he gives the rose to Emily. Because he can't resist a woman in distress.
Two-On-One Date — Ashley S and Ashley H
He chose these two because he likes both of them but he also has doubts about them. He takes them to go see an Elvis themed Cirque du Soleil show. I can't imagine anything worse than that. The next time I'm stuck on a mountain and I have to cut my own arm off to free myself, I'll keep my spirits up by telling myself, "At least I'm not at an Elvis themed Cirque du Soleil show." The big surprise is that they will be in the show, but only one girl will get to perform with Brad. He has to choose. In the meantime, they beat us over the head with how tortured these two girls are about this date.
This is the most miserable group of people I've ever seen. Can't they at least enjoy that they are doing a bunch of cool shit that no one ever gets to do? Everything is awesome and no one is happy.
After rehearsal, they sit down to an awkward dinner. Brad doesn't even try to make the dinner enjoyable. He immediately launches into his rose decision. He feeds Ashley S the old, "I think you'll make a wonderful wife, just not a wonderful wife for me." I have a feeling she's heard that before.
Back at the house, the hefty goatee guy barges in and takes out Ashley S's bag. The girls are shocked.
Ashley S is devastated. She breaks down and the cameras refuse to turn away. She admits that she has heard the "not for me" line before. Is she the new frontrunner for the next Bachelorette?
Brad is truly broken up about sending Ashley S home, but not so much that he can't fly through the sky in front of 1800 people with Ashley H.
Therapist Time
Brad calls his therapist after the two-on-one. He tells him how hard this whole thing is and that he's a little freaked out that every single woman cries every time he talks to them. Jamie tells him that he needs to be vulnerable. The problem with these segments is that good advice is boring and obvious.
The Cocktail Party
Prior to Brad's arrival, the girls talk about their various crying strategies.
Chantal has realized that crying isn't the best strategy and she apologizes to Brad for being such a wimp.
On the other hand, Brad brings champagne and a special dessert to Alli so that she can feel special. During her earlier crying spree she told him that it was hard for her to feel special.
Marissa gives him an envelope of little notes for him to read. Too little too late, sister. You should have been in the first four episodes.
Michelle takes Brad into the bedroom and closes the door. She sits him down and tells him not to talk. She then proceeds to awkwardly paw his face and tell him that none of the other girls are right for him. When he tries to speak she covers his mouth and says, "Next time you can talk." He now knows she's full-on crazy, right?
Shawntel, Emily and Ashley H already have their roses. This week, two girls will go home. We already know that Marissa is going home since she has suddenly been featured in this episode. Who will the other girl be?
Lisa. That's right, there's a Lisa on this show. Apparently, she's been hiding inside one of the sofas the entire time.
Both Lisa and Marissa cry because that's what every single girl on this show does every waking minute.
My roses go to…
Me — for making it through this unwatchable cryfest.
Marissa — for one final Hail Mary with the envelope of notes.
Me — for not thinking of writing AShley and AsHley instead of Ashley S and Ashley H, respectively, until one of them was already gone.
Alli — for hanging around despite being pissed at Emily for having a dead fiancé
Michelle — for pretty much staying out of this episode.
Labels: Brad Womack, The Bachelor.
What is Mindsilt?
Follow @jdford
micah's travel fun times
Weak End
A Dip in the Shallow End
Sweatin' to the Oldies
Self-Imposed Sabbatical
Frakking Shiny
I Choose Love: A Valentine Letter for Not-my-Wife
AWG:Chicago
I Know, I Know...
X'ing
Yesterday Was My Wedding Anniversary
My Review of the Grammys
The Friday Roundup
The Chicago Blizzard
250 words (4)
Al Davis (1)
ali fedotowsky (4)
Amar'e Stoudemire (1)
Andrew Hendrix (1)
Andrew Luck (1)
Audrina Patridge (6)
BCS (1)
Ben Flajnik (7)
Bengals (1)
Big 12 (1)
Big Ten (1)
bitches (2)
Blackhawks (1)
Brad Womack (7)
breakup (1)
Brett Michaels (1)
Brian Kelly (1)
Bristol Palin (9)
brokeback mountain (1)
burbs (3)
butts (1)
cancer walk (1)
Carlos Boozer (1)
Carson Kressley (5)
Cedar Point (1)
Celebrity Apprentice (2)
chad ochocinco (4)
Charles Barkley (1)
Chaz Bono (6)
chelsea kane (10)
Chick-fil-A (1)
Chris Bosh (1)
Chris Harrison (41)
chris jericho (6)
Christine O'Donnell (1)
Chynna Phillips (4)
comedy festivals (1)
Cyrus (1)
Dad's Art Reviews (7)
dancin (1)
dancing with the stars (45)
David Arquette (7)
Dayne Crist (2)
Dennis Leary (1)
Derrick Rose (1)
Devin Hester (1)
dog fighting (1)
Dwayne Wade (1)
edie falco (1)
Elisabetta Canales (2)
Emily Maynard (11)
erin andrews (5)
evan lysacek (4)
father hesburgh (1)
Five Guys (2)
Florence Henderson (5)
Friday Roundup (9)
gay pride (1)
Grammys (2)
Guitar Hero (1)
Gus Johnson (1)
here's the thing (12)
hines ward (10)
Hope Solo (9)
Ides (1)
improv (14)
Is It Just Me (7)
J.R. Martinez (10)
jake pavelka (5)
Jay Cutler (1)
Jennifer Grey (9)
Jerkology (22)
Jimmy Kimmel Live (1)
Juan Pablo (10)
Kevin Garnett (1)
killing spoons (1)
kirstie alley (10)
Kobe Bryant (1)
Kristin Cavallari (3)
Kurt Warner (8)
Kyle Massey (10)
Louis C.K. (1)
Marc Maron (1)
Margaret Cho (3)
Matt Forte (1)
mcsweeney's (1)
Michael Bolton (2)
Michael Floyd (1)
Michael Ian Black (1)
mike catherwood (2)
milias (1)
mindsilt (3)
Missy Franklin (1)
Monday Night Football (1)
Mystery Machine (1)
Nancy Grace (8)
Ndamukong Suh (1)
NFL Network (1)
nicole scherzinger (4)
niecy nash (2)
notre dame (54)
off the grid (1)
pantoum (1)
Patton Oswalt (1)
Paul Pierce (1)
petra nemcova (5)
Peyton Manning (9)
Phil Jackson (1)
phil mcconkey (1)
Phish (1)
playoffs (2)
pooping (1)
pros and cons (24)
Purdue (1)
ralph macchio (9)
Rams (1)
random things (47)
Ray Allen (1)
Requiem for a Dream (1)
reruns (1)
Rick Fox (7)
Ricki Lake (10)
Rob Delaney (1)
Rob Kardashian (10)
Ron Artest (1)
roundup (33)
ruthie (7)
scene with my family (2)
Sean Lowe (8)
sneeze (1)
Space Robbers (2)
sports illustrated (1)
stupid people (1)
sugar ray leonard (4)
sun chips (1)
Sunday Night Football (1)
T.J. Jones (1)
tech tricks (2)
The Bachel (1)
The Bachelor (27)
The Bachelor Pad (31)
The Bachelor. (20)
The Bachelorette (28)
The Situation (4)
Theo Riddick (1)
tiredness (1)
Tommy Rees (1)
unresolutions (1)
vick (1)
Vienna Girardi (5)
Vince Young (1)
votes (7)
water slides (1)
wendy williams (3)
what to do (15)
workouts (1)
WTF Podcast (1)
you say i hear (1)
Picture Window theme. Theme images by hdoddema. Powered by Blogger.


Opening Monologues. The Mueller Report Goose Egg. No Collusion, No Obstruction, No Treason, No Nothing. Ding Dong the Witch Hunt Is Dead. A total vindication for President Trump, and if we may say, for Backbone Radio. An historic collapse of two full years of phony fraudulent MSM narrative. The Drudge Report banner headline says "Trump Wins." Joe diGenova describes a "grand slam home run for the President." Time now for The Reckoning. Looking forward to the grand "Declassification" and to real accountability for the stricken, afflicted Deep State. Can MSNBC's Rachel Maddow survive the loss of her Russian Collusion obsession? We marvel at the funereal phsyiognamy of our favorite MSM personalities. Depressed FBI Comey tweets cliffside De Profundis. Commie CIA Brennan fails to apologize. The levee has broken, and President Trump will only grow stronger from here. MAGA 2020. A great day for America. With Listener Calls & Music via Led Zeppelin, the Rolling Stones, Guns N' Roses, Katy Perry and the Wizard of Oz Munchkins.


text:
5 Takeaways
Bolts Buzz
From the Podium
New Practice Facility
Gameday Magazine
Chargers host FanFest and Pokémon Go meet up Saturday
Chargers FanFest 2016, presented by Bud Light, as well as the Pokémon GO Meet-Up will take place at Qualcomm Stadium on Saturday morning, August 6, and admission and parking are FREE. The parking lot will open for fans at 9 a.m. and the stadium gates will open at 9:30.
Fans will enjoy the team's first appearance in Qualcomm Stadium in 2016 along with an opportunity to get autographs from many of the franchise's great former players. As soon as the gates open, a number of Chargers alumni will be stationed on the plaza concourse (Gates A, D and G) signing autographs for fans. A few of the former Chargers greats scheduled to attend include Luis Castillo, Stephen Cooper, Raylee Johnson, Darren Carrington, Billy Ray Smith and Ed White.
Pokémon GO players will be able to chase the virtual Pokémon on the lower concourse and outside of the stadium's gate areas. The field and the upper levels of the stadium are closed to Pokémon GO players. Fans who participate in the Pokémon GO Meet-Up will have a chance to win great prizes, including preseason game tickets and autographed Chargers merchandise. To be eligible to win a prize, Pokémon players must screen-capture themselves capturing Pokémon in the stadium with the tag @Chargers and then upload the image to either Twitter or Instagram, using the hashtag #ChargersPokémon. Screen-shots must be taken in the Augmented Reality (AR) mode and include a recognizable element of Chargers FanFest. The contest will run all day Saturday (Aug. 6, 2016). Winners will be selected at random from those that qualify and announced on Monday on Chargers.com. For more information about Saturday's Pokémon GO meetup, fans can visit www.Chargers.com/Pokemon.
FanFest will also mark the debut of the 2016 Charger Girls. They will perform on the field at approximately 10:15 am. In keeping with the Pokémon GO theme, the Charger Girls will perform while wearing Pikachu hats. Pikachu is the official mascot of the Pokémon GO game.
The Chargers will take the field for a full-pad practice where fans will see their favorite players, including Philip Rivers, Antonio Gates, Keenan Allen and Jason Verrett.
Fans attending FanFest also will see the best season seats available for the 2016 season tagged for the annual Select-A-Seat Day. Fans interested in looking at season-ticket options can access the stadium through the Chargers Ticket Office at Gate C at the stadium starting at 9 a.m. Every fan who becomes a new Season Ticket Member at FanFest will receive a free Chargers replica micro-helmet and 2016 Chargers Yearbook (one per account). Single-game tickets to all 10 home games also will be on sale.
Fans should bring an appetite to FanFest as hot dogs and soft drinks will be available for just $2 apiece. Also, some of the newest Chargers merchandise and apparel, including jerseys, hats and t-shirts, will be available at the Chargers Team Store at Gate G. Every fan who spends at least $50 anywhere inside the stadium during FanFest will receive a 2016 Chargers Yearbook as a gift.
Many of the entertainers who are at the stadium on game days will also be in attendance at FanFest and fans will have an opportunity to get their faces painted and receive temporary tattoos among other fan-friendly opportunities on the Plaza level concourse between Gates A and C.
Fans can find more information on FanFest by visiting www.Chargers.com or calling 858-874-4500.
The Contest is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered, or associated with, Pokémon Company International, Inc. Nintendo Co., Ltd. or Niantic, Inc. Pokémon and Pokémon character names are trademarks of Nintendo.
2022 Chargers Position Recap: Running Backs
Austin Ekeler turned into another successful season while Joshua Kelley showed promise in the backfield in his third season
5 Things to Know About New Chargers OC Kellen Moore
The Chargers agreed to terms with Moore on Monday. Here are some quick facts about the 34-year-old offensive play caller.
5 Takeaways: What New OC Kellen Moore Brings to the Bolts
The Chargers on Monday agreed to terms with Moore, who is 34 years old but has plenty of recent success in the NFL
Top Reactions: Mina Kimes, Shawne Merriman React to Kellen Moore as New OC
Check out the best Internet reactions to the Bolts new offensive coordinator

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
In Egypt, the regime exchanges citizenship for freedom
January 13, 2022 at 3:00 pm | Published in: Africa, Article, Egypt, Opinion
Egyptian passport [Investor Visa/Facebook]
Osama Gaweesh
osgaweesh
After being forced to give up his Egyptian citizenship, Ramy Shaath has been released by the regime of President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi. The activist in the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement spent two and a half years in pre-trial detention and has now been deported to Jordan.
By forcing Shaath to give up his citizenship as a condition for his release, the regime wanted to depict him as a non-national who thus had no right to speak about Egypt. The regime clearly doesn't understand that national affiliation does not need a paper issued by Sisi's officers to make it valid; nor can it be taken away by tearing up such a document.
Rami Shaath is the son of Nabil Shaath, the former Palestinian foreign minister and current advisor to President Mahmoud Abbas. He was born in 1971 to an Egyptian mother. His father has dual Palestinian-Egyptian citizenship having worked as an advisor to President Gamal Abdel Nasser.
Before he abandoned his political career due to his work, Rami Shaath was very active. He worked as an advisor to the then Palestinian President Yasser Arafat in the late nineties.
READ: Egypt releases 3 prominent political prisoners. What about the 65,000 others?
He and his late brother Ali founded TIM, a company specialising in service delivery, management consultancy and management training. It was well-known in the early nineties for organising computer camps for children from various Arab countries.
Shaath returned to politics in the wake of the 25 January, 2011 revolution in Egypt. He helped to found a number of political movements and coalitions, and served as Secretary-General of the Constitution Party before its official establishment. In 2015, he co-founded the Egyptian Popular Campaign to Boycott Israel in Egypt (BDS Egypt), a national coalition launched by a dozen or so political parties, unions, NGOs and public figures to defend Palestinian rights and target the occupation state through the means of peaceful boycotts.
When Donald Trump's "deal of the century" was mooted for the Palestinians — which aimed to liquidate their cause without giving them their legitimate rights — Shaath announced his total rejection of it. He criticised Egypt's participation in the Bahrain workshop in June 2019, which focused on the economic aspect of the proposed deal.
Egypt Sisi's Prisons – Cartoon [Sabaaneh/MiddleEastMonitor]
A couple of weeks later, police officers stormed into Ramy Shaath's home in Cairo and arrested him. His French wife, Celine Lebrun, was deported arbitrarily to her country; she was not allowed to contact the French Consulate before leaving.
The arrest was justified under Case No. 930 of 2019 Supreme State Security, known in the media as the "Cell of Hope" case. This saw many civil society activists arrested in Egypt against the backdrop of meetings held to coordinate their participation in the 2020 parliamentary election.
Shaath was alleged to have committed the "crimes" of joining unlawful groups, preventing state institutions and public authorities from carrying out their work, and deliberately disseminating false news, information and statements about the political and economic conditions in Egypt. The authorities put his name on the "terrorist" list, seized his assets and banned him from travelling.
Since his arrest in July 2019, he has been held in detention without trial. Many have tried to mediate for his release, including Palestinian President Abbas and French President Emmanuel Macron, who called on Sisi to release him during the Egyptian leader's visit to Paris in December 2020.
Six months ago, as part of the campaign to polish the regime's image abroad by promising to resolve human rights issues and grant civil and political freedoms, the National Security Agency — the regime's political security apparatus — took over Shaath's file. His case was mediated by the International Dialogue Group, which presents itself as a negotiator with many of the state agencies that have recently released detainees in pre-trial detention to mitigate international criticism directed at the Sisi regime.
The NSA stipulated that Shaath must relinquish his Egyptian citizenship if he wanted to be released. He refused. Negotiations continued for six months until he accepted that this would be the only way that he would get out of prison.
Forcing prisoners with dual nationality to renounce their Egyptian citizenship as a precondition for their release is a common practice of the regime. It is supposed to stigmatise them for lacking patriotism. Instead, it stigmatises the regime for its lack of honour.
READ: Escaping the clutches of the homeland
The Sisi regime believes that patriotism is a card that it can remove from anyone it wants and give to anyone it wants. For example, Egyptian-American Mohamed Soltan, the son of Salah Soltan, a senior official in the Muslim Brotherhood, was arrested in the wake of the 2013 coup and sentenced to life imprisonment. He was only released under American pressure after he renounced his Egyptian citizenship. Did he stop caring about Egypt after his citizenship was taken from him?
Far from it; the opposite happened. Since his release, Soltan has defended human rights in Egypt from his home in the US, where he founded the "Freedom Initiative" to protect human rights in the Arab world. He meets periodically with members of the US Congress to clarify the nature of the rights violations in Egypt.
"After two and a half years, I still have the determination and the intention to continue, whatever happens," insisted Rami Shaath after his release from prison. "I have thousands of friends who I remember, thousands of people I befriended over the two and a half years; I remember them all. So many of them became close friends, many of them hope to be in my place one day and see you all. Each one of them is a human being and not just one of many thousands of Egyptian prisoners."
Shaath and Soltan will remain symbols for those who defend civil and human rights and freedoms in Egypt without the nationality card being used against them. The Sisi regime remains dishonourable when the Egyptian people choose between their nationality and freedom.
AfricaArticleEgyptOpinion


Fresh strawberries have grown into a multi-billion dollar industry over the last few decades in California. Botrytis cinerea or grey mold, is the worst pathological disorder affecting strawberry fruit causing cull rates of up to 30% in the worst seasons. Strawberry fruits are fragile and have a short shelf-life making timely harvest, cooling, and marketing an absolute necessity. The current industry standard is to ship strawberries in an overwrapped CO₂-enriched headspace pallet in refrigerated trucks at 33 °F. However, B. cinerea has the ability to grow at very low temperatures and continues to plague the strawberry industry during postharvest storage and retail sale.
Postharvest treatments available for strawberry preservation and disease management have been severely limited due to the reluctance to spray or wash the fruit. Consumers are also demanding produce that is free from synthetic chemical residues. Recent research with plant essential-oil volatile compounds has indicated that they have significant anti-fungal activity. Very little information is available regarding the use of essential-oil compounds for postharvest treatments on California strawberries to reduce the incidence of B. cinerea. The primary objective of this study was to investigate the potential for synergy to control B. cinerea through the combined application of volatile treatment constituents with uniquely different modes of action.
Strawberries were acquired from commercial growers in the Santa Maria area of California on the day of harvest. Volatile essential-oil compounds were diluted in ethanol and applied to sachets which were then affixed to the inner lids of randomly selected clamshells. Clamshells were individually overwrapped with a micro-perforated 1-mil polyethylene film. The marketable shelf-life, percent rotted fruit, headspace atmosphere, postharvest quality, and sensory analysis were determined during 14-21 days storage at 40°F.
The combination of ethanol (495.5 ppm), methyl jasmonate (4.5 ppm), citral (30 ppm), linalool (30 ppm), and vanillin (30 ppm) was the most effective formula to reduce rot and increase shelf-life overall and strawberries treated with 600 ppm of this blend maintained acceptable organoleptic quality. Applying high levels (750 ppm or more) of this formulation resulted in phytotoxic calyx desiccation after only 3 days at 40°F. However, moderate amounts (300-600 ppm per package) did not desiccate the calyx until 7-11 days of storage allowing sufficient time to market and consume the berries before the effect would be noticeable. A blend of essential-oil volatile compounds has the ability to significantly reduce postharvest losses from B. cinerea, can be applied without spraying on or washing fruit, and can be derived from natural sources.
Additional Index Words: Methyl jasmonate, carvacrol, thymol, citral, linalool, vanillin, Induced Acquired Resistance.


text:
Q: I have a problem in my rock-paper-scissors game in Python ( in the return part) well, I was writing my rock paper scissor code in python and everything was good until when I was trying so much to make it more sophisticated.
Till line 28 everything is good and like a usual rock paper scissor game but after that, I wanted to say that we have only 2 right answers for the question "do you want to continue or not" and whenever the answer is yes return the whole game and repeat it (btw because of the return code I add a def and called it RPS) and if the answer of the user is no break it and say goodbye but when I run the code the only thing I receive in the terminal is a "click anything to continue".
Please if you know the answer help me. :)
HERE IS MY CODE :
import random
def RPS():
 while True:
  user_action = input("Please enter rock, paper or scissor : ")
  possible_actions = ["rock" , "paper" , "scissor"]
  computer_action = random.choice(possible_actions)

  if user_action == computer_action:
     print(f"Your choice is same as your computer . . . It's a tie!!!")

  elif user_action == "rock":
     if computer_action == "scissor":
        print(f"You Won!!! your choice was rock and the computer choice was scissor")
     else:
        print("Paper covers rock! You lose.")

  elif user_action == "paper":
     if computer_action == "rock":
        print(f"You won!!! your choice was rock and the computer choice was rock")
     else:
        print("Scissors cuts paper! You lose.")

  elif user_action == "scissor":
     if computer_action == "paper":
        print(f"You won!!! your choice was scissor and the computer choice was paper")
     else:
        print("Rock smashes scissor. You lose!!!")
  play_again = input("Play again? (y/n): ")

  possible_responses = {'y' , 'n'}
  while possible_responses == play_again.lower():
   if play_again.lower()=='y':
      return(RPS)
   else:
    break
  print(f"Alright. good bye")

A: I fixed the indentation of your code and ended the loop in the correct way.
I think the problem was that the break command was used on the second loop without ending the first loop which was stuck on "True". I fixed it by rewriting the second loop so that the continuation input is looped infinitely until it recognizes the answer inside the possible_responses set. Once it does, it breaks the second loop.
Next, it checks if play_again is not 'y'. If so, it ends the entire function.
Else, it's gonna loop again. Hope this helps! :D
import random

def RPS():
    while True:
        user_action = input("Please enter rock, paper or scissor : ")
        possible_actions = ["rock" , "paper" , "scissor"]
        computer_action = random.choice(possible_actions)

        if user_action == computer_action:
            print(f"Your choice is same as your computer . . . It's a tie!!!")

        elif user_action == "rock":
            if computer_action == "scissor":
                print(f"You Won!!! your choice was rock and the computer choice was scissors")
            else:
                print("Paper covers rock! You lose.")

        elif user_action == "paper":
            if computer_action == "rock":
                print(f"You won!!! your choice was rock and the computer choice was rock")
            else:
                print("Scissors cuts paper! You lose.")

        elif user_action == "scissor":
            if computer_action == "paper":
                print(f"You won!!! your choice was scissor and the computer choice was paper")
            else:
                print("Rock smashes scissor. You lose!!!")

        possible_responses = {'y', 'n'}
        while True:
            play_again = input("Play again? (y/n): ")
            if play_again.lower() in possible_responses:
                break
            else:
                print('Unrecognized response. Please try again.')
        if play_again.lower()!='y':
            print(f"Alright. good bye")
            return False

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


The Men in Green remain second, nine points ahead of Stevenage Town, but crucially having won three more games.
And a simple bonus point in either their next match, at home to already doomed Verulamians on Saturday, or away to champions-elect London Welsh on April 6, would be enough.
The victory over OMT saw James Young, Stu Young, Sam Brunton, James Watt and Liam Walker all bag one try each.
However, it was Nick Moore who stole the show with his double, as well as a superb display around the rest of the park, rightly earning him the man of the match award.
Sam Brunton chipped in with four conversions in the five-point win.


text:
Goggia hexapora — вид геконоподібних ящірок родини геконових (Gekkonidae). Ендемік Південно-Африканської Республіки.

Поширення і екологія
Goggia hexapora мешкають на північному заході Капських гір, на території Західнокапської провінції. Вони живуть в тріщинах серед скель, порослих чагарниками фінбош і реностервельд.

Примітки

Геконові
Тварини, описані 1995
Плазуни Південно-Африканської Республіки
Ендемічна фауна Південно-Африканської Республіки

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Q: cannot set 4k resolution on external monitor with lower refresh rate I have a new 4k monitor that's capable for 3840x2160 at 60hz. Unfortunately I only have HDMI, which means that the best I can hope for is running at 30hz (my understanding). If I try to switch the resolution using Display Manager to 3840x2160, the external display just goes blank.
I've tried several things with xrandr. The first was just
% xrandr --output DP-1 --mode 3840x2160 -r 30.00

(I've also tried every other display rate the xrandr shows as available---see below.)
This causes the screen to blink, but then return to 1920x1080 (the default that works fine at 60hz).
I've also tried creating new modes:
% gtf 3840 2160 30
  # 3840x2160 @ 30.00 Hz (GTF) hsync: 65.91 kHz; pclk: 339.57 MHz
  Modeline "3840x2160_30.00"  339.57  3840 4080 4496 5152  2160 2161 2164 2197  -HSync +Vsync
% xrandr --newmode testmode 339.57  3840 4080 4496 5152  2160 2161 2164 2197  -HSync +Vsync
% xrandr --addmode DP-1 testmode
% xrandr --output DP-1 --mode testmode

This actually causes something to happen. Both the laptop screen and the external monitor turn blocky and orange and striated for about five seconds, and then it returns to the previous settings.
If I look at the end of /var/log/syslog right after that, it shows:
Apr  1 18:50:40 hal-blade kernel: [ 2682.254996] [drm:intel_dp_link_training_clock_recovery [i915_bpo]] *ERROR* failed to enable link training
Apr  1 18:50:40 hal-blade kernel: [ 2682.263677] [drm:intel_dp_start_link_train [i915_bpo]] *ERROR* failed to start channel equalization
Apr  1 18:50:40 hal-blade kernel: [ 2682.355692] [drm:intel_cpu_fifo_underrun_irq_handler [i915_bpo]] *ERROR* CPU pipe B FIFO underrun
Apr  1 18:50:40 hal-blade kernel: [ 2682.360121] [drm:intel_dp_link_training_clock_recovery [i915_bpo]] *ERROR* too many voltage retries, give up
Apr  1 18:50:40 hal-blade kernel: [ 2682.367507] [drm:intel_dp_link_training_clock_recovery [i915_bpo]] *ERROR* too many voltage retries, give up
Apr  1 18:50:40 hal-blade kernel: [ 2682.374924] [drm:intel_dp_link_training_clock_recovery [i915_bpo]] *ERROR* too many voltage retries, give up
Apr  1 18:50:40 hal-blade kernel: [ 2682.382413] [drm:intel_dp_link_training_clock_recovery [i915_bpo]] *ERROR* too many voltage retries, give up

Lastly, here are some outputs in case they're helpful:
% xrandr --verbose
... (skipping part about built in display) ...
DP-1 connected primary 1920x1080+0+0 (0x79) normal (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 600mm x 340mm
    Identifier: 0x43
    Timestamp:  22921
    Subpixel:   unknown
    Gamma:      1.0:1.0:1.0
    Brightness: 1.0
    Clones:     HDMI-1
    CRTC:       0
    CRTCs:      0 1 2
    Transform:  1.000000 0.000000 0.000000
                0.000000 1.000000 0.000000
                0.000000 0.000000 1.000000
               filter:
    EDID:
        00ffffffffffff001e6d085b766d0000
        021b0103803c2278ea3035a7554ea326
        0f50542108007140818081c0a9c0d1c0
        81000101010104740030f2705a80b058
        8a0058542100001e565e00a0a0a02950
        3020350058542100001a000000fd0038
        3d1e871e000a202020202020000000fc
        004c4720556c7472612048440a2001a7
        02031d7146902205040301230907076d
        030c001000b83c200060010203023a80
        1871382d40582c450058542100001e00
        0000ff003730324e54524c3055303232
        0a000000000000000000000000000000
        00000000000000000000000000000000
        00000000000000000000000000000000
        0000000000000000000000000000008f
    Broadcast RGB: Automatic
        supported: Automatic, Full, Limited 16:235
    audio: auto
        supported: force-dvi, off, auto, on
  3840x2160 (0x73) 297.000MHz +HSync +VSync +preferred
        h: width  3840 start 4016 end 4104 total 4400 skew    0 clock  67.50KHz
        v: height 2160 start 2168 end 2178 total 2250           clock  30.00Hz
  3840x2160 (0x74) 297.000MHz +HSync +VSync
        h: width  3840 start 4896 end 4984 total 5280 skew    0 clock  56.25KHz
        v: height 2160 start 2168 end 2178 total 2250           clock  25.00Hz
  3840x2160 (0x75) 297.000MHz +HSync +VSync
        h: width  3840 start 5116 end 5204 total 5500 skew    0 clock  54.00KHz
        v: height 2160 start 2168 end 2178 total 2250           clock  24.00Hz
  3840x2160 (0x76) 296.703MHz +HSync +VSync
        h: width  3840 start 4016 end 4104 total 4400 skew    0 clock  67.43KHz
        v: height 2160 start 2168 end 2178 total 2250           clock  29.97Hz
  3840x2160 (0x77) 296.703MHz +HSync +VSync
        h: width  3840 start 5116 end 5204 total 5500 skew    0 clock  53.95KHz
        v: height 2160 start 2168 end 2178 total 2250           clock  23.98Hz
... (skipping lower resolution items) ...
HDMI-1 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
    Identifier: 0x44
    Timestamp:  22921
    Subpixel:   unknown
    Clones:     DP-1
    CRTCs:      0 1 2
    Transform:  1.000000 0.000000 0.000000
                0.000000 1.000000 0.000000
                0.000000 0.000000 1.000000
               filter:
    aspect ratio: Automatic
        supported: Automatic, 4:3, 16:9
    Broadcast RGB: Automatic
        supported: Automatic, Full, Limited 16:235
    audio: auto
        supported: force-dvi, off, auto, on

(Note: I'm not entirely sure what the deal is with DP-1/HDMI-1. There is only an HDMI port on the machine. There is also DP-2 and HDMI-2.)
% lspci | grep VGA
00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation Device 5916 (rev 02)

I'm not sure what else is helpful... This is on Ubuntu 16.04.2 LTS xenial, on kernel 4.4.0-71-generic.
Thanks!


text:
Theater Reviews|Alvin Epstein Gets Up Close and Cranky as a Low-Key King Lear
Alvin Epstein Gets Up Close and Cranky as a Low-Key King Lear
Off Off Broadway, Drama, Shakespeare
Closing Date: July 2, 2006
La MaMa Experimental Theater - Ellen Stewart Theater, 66 E 4th St.
By Charles Isherwood
Modesty is not a virtue often associated with King Lear, one of Shakespeare's most grand and grandiloquent characters, or, for that matter, with actors who undertake the role and its vaunted challenges. Lear is considered a great mountain to be scaled, the ultimate actorly feat, a career peak calling for the customary accolades. Come, mortals, and worship at the shrine of the actor's art!
Alvin Epstein, the esteemed actor and founding member of the Yale Repertory Theater and the American Repertory Theater, is having none of that big-shot business. In interviews discussing his undertaking of the role, he has expressed a wary attitude toward this much-revered play by the most revered of playwrights, comparing it, with a friendly irreverence, to a fairy tale in its extreme depictions of good and evil.
Some of his circumspection may derive from an ill-starred earlier encounter. Mr. Epstein played the Fool in an infamous 1956 production directed by and starring Orson Welles at City Center in Manhattan. An injury forced Welles to perform in a wheelchair. Perhaps Mr. Epstein's ungrandiose and unmajestic Lear derives from a desire to get as far away as possible from Wellesian bloat. Whatever the cause, it has resulted in an interpretation striking in its determination not to be striking.
In Mr. Epstein's hands, in a suitably modest production of "King Lear" at the La MaMa Annex, first seen in Boston and directed by Patrick Swanson, Lear is not an embodiment of majesty brought low, a figure of tragic glory or glorious tragedy. He is a selfish and rather foolish old man who has been insulated for too long from the small storms of the world that shake the less fortunate on a daily basis: the minor betrayals and indignities, the illnesses and inconveniences.
Sarah Newhouse as Cordelia, left, Alvin Epstein in the title role and Jennie Israel as Goneril in "King Lear," presented by La MaMa E.T.C. and the Actors' Shakespeare Project.Credit...Carol Rosegg
So when the gilded charm of power has been unwisely abandoned, Lear is undone by life's first petty affront, and the real nature of the man is revealed: he's a spoiled child, in essence, unequipped to deal with even the most sensible of requests. After all, if we do not consider the source, is it so unreasonable to expect the old man to give up some of those carousing knights at his beck and call, after he has announced his intention to crawl toward death unburdened?
Willful folly is the hallmark of Mr. Epstein's interestingly unshowy performance in this most showy of roles. His Lear is on a determinedly small scale: confused and cranky, an aged fellow with the impulse control of an ill-bred child. Only gradually, as he endures the most colossal of bad-hair days, when trials beset this previously cosseted man with a terrible force, does Lear acquire the compassion that is the essentially ennobling trait of all mankind, kings, fools and beggars too.
But even the acquisition of empathetic wisdom does not turn Lear into a figure of immense stature. His death moves us not as the awe-inspiring spectacle of greatness achieved and destroyed, but simply as another sad ending to an individual struggle against the reversals of life and man's inhumanity.
Pursuing his ends through honesty of feeling, Mr. Epstein does not turn up the emotional volume for the big set pieces, and seems almost to want to avoid a sonorous lyricism at all costs. His voice often thins to a high-pitched bray, the wheedling whine of abject need. The verse does not pitch and soar on steady rhythms, but tumbles forth impulsively. Tellingly, Mr. Epstein's most affecting speech is not one of Lear's famous flashes of eloquent insight into the workings of the world but the tender and brokenhearted repetition of a single word five times: "Never, never, never, never, never," whispered like a last, lingering kiss over the dead Cordelia.
Mr. Epstein's unusual approach to Lear isn't the only departure from tradition in Mr. Swanson's production. Gloucester, whose fate mirrors Lear's in his persecution by an ungrateful child, is played by an actor considerably younger than Mr. Epstein, Colin Lane. Mr. Lane's relative youth isn't the only arresting aspect of his Gloucester: in his black leather trench coat, the character is a more forceful and commanding presence than is often the case, making his violent undoing more shocking, if less pathetic.
Alvin Epstein, left, in the title role in "King Lear."Credit...Carol Rosegg
Goneril (Jennie Israel) and Regan (Paula Langton) are not presented, as least at first, as ravening monsters; their initial speeches have an unusually sensible sound. As played by Sarah Newhouse, Cordelia, meanwhile, does not appear to be suffused with unarticulated feeling, and seems most alive when discussing strategy for battle.
Throughout the play the extremes of cruelty and goodness embodied in the characters have been smoothed and softened, which would be more interesting if the actors could supply, in the place of the purity or the perfidy, more nuanced but equally vital interpretations. But most never rise above a flavorless competence, meaning that Mr. Swanson's corrective approach to the play tends to come across as somewhat flatter than those that mine the play for its harrowing depths of feeling and its sublime lyrical beauty.
What the production does possess, however, is an intimacy that tosses the tragedy practically into our laps. The audience surrounds the stage, a rectangle covered in mulch overhung by a few battered chandeliers and light bulbs suspended in tin buckets. Many in the audience can practically reach out and touch the actors at times, so that Lear's messy downfall is not a remote spectacle to be sorrowed over from a distance, but something to be experienced moment by wretched moment. This may not be an unforgettable "King Lear," but in the three and a half hours it takes to unfold, it is always inescapable and uncomfortably present.
By William Shakespeare; directed by Patrick Swanson; production design, David R. Gammons; lighting by Mark O'Maley; props, Elizabeth Locke; sound and music, Bill Barclay; stage manager, Adele Nadine Traub; assistant stage manager, Elizabeth Ross. Presented by La MaMa E.T.C. and Actors' Shakespeare Project, Benjamin Evett, artistic director; Sara Stackhouse, executive producer. At the La MaMa Annex, 66 East Fourth Street, East Village; (212) 475-7710. Through July 2. Running time: three and a half hours.
WITH: Alvin Epstein (King Lear), Allyn Burrows (Kent), Colin Lane (Gloucester), Jennie Israel (Goneril), Paula Langton (Regan), Sarah Newhouse (Cordelia) and Ken Cheeseman (Fool).


A Technical Illustrator prepares supporting graphics for authored technical material. Their work may consist of developing artwork electronically and includes creating detailed layouts, wiring and block diagrams, phantom views, complex cutaway views, exploded assemblies or renderings of a wide variety of objects. They also study blueprints, models, engineers' drawings and equipment to make illustrations in CAD. These 2D and 3D drawings help to simplify and interpret scientific and technical information.
Careers in this field are typically with the construction industry, manufacturing, civil engineering firms, architectural firms and surveyors. Examples of entry level Technical Illustration Drafting titles Include: Drafting Technician, Drafting Assistant, Graphics Drafter, Technical Illustrator, CAD Technician, CAD Drafter, Illustrator and more.
The Drafting and Design Technology program prepares graduates for employment in the field of engineering with engineering firms, manufacturing companies, electro-mechanical companies, and contract firms. Students are employed as CAD drafters, CAD technicians, 3D modelers, engineering technicians and various other positions. In this program, you will gain technical and creative knowledge and experience with 3D modeling and 3D Printing. Student will use various software, including AutoCAD, Inventor and Solid Works. Students interested in this program should enjoy the challenges of working with various CAD packages in the construction complex 3D models and assemblies, 2D geometry, as well as the documentation of technical work.
More than 98% of NWF State College's Drafting and Design Technology graduates are working in their chosen field. Demand for particular drafting specializations varies geographically, depending on the needs of local industry.


text:
Hrodna, Belarus
Januš Parulis Museum of Life and History of Hrodna
Northumberland, England
Temple of Mithras, Carrawburgh
The Microphotographic Wonders of Vermont's 'Snowflake Man'
To Work Out Like a Victorian Woman, Grab a Corset—and Don't Break a Sweat
In the march toward equality, these were among the first (dainty) steps.
by Isaac Schultz May 22, 2020
To Work Out Like a Victorian Woman, Grab a Corset—and Don't Break a Sweat
It was all about subtle movements—and prim, proper dress. Tobes Studio for Atlas Obscura
Wonder From Home
With gyms, pools, and spin studios around the world temporarily shuttered, it can be hard to find ways to exercise the way we used to. Atlas Obscura is taking this time to look back at different groups from history, to see what lessons they might have for working out in ways that help us maintain social distance.
Women who wanted to be fit in 19th-century Britain had their work cut out for them. Not only did they do cardio routines in the confines of their homes; they had to deal with an entrenched patriarchal society that sought to control their bodies.
Literature on women's exercise at the time was written almost entirely by men, and women were expected to work out in the outfits du jour—literally, dresses. Many of the exercises were therefore constrained, suited for those with carefully crafted tresses on their heads and corsets around their waists.
"The[se exercises] are strongly recommended … for obviating such defects of figure as are occasioned by confinement within doors," wrote Signor G.P. Voarino in his 1827 Treatise on Calisthenic Exercises, noting that by virtue of their roles in society, young women are "unrelieved by proportionate and judicious relaxation."
Signor G.P. Voarino's treatise on exercise included calisthenic props like canes. G.P. Voarino / Public Domain
In the Victorian era, calisthenics didn't mean sit-ups. It meant a lot of careful limb movement, focusing less on building muscle or breaking a sweat and more on just making sure individuals were moving around (slightly).
Exercises detailed in Voarino's book included skipping, walking in patterns, and focusing on balance, and often involved a cane as a prop in calisthenic work.
The women's rights movement was in its infancy when Queen Victoria ascended the throne in 1837. Just five years earlier, the first petition for suffrage was presented to Parliament. Alongside these initial moves toward greater self-sovereignty were steps to improve women's health, a major barrier to which was the concern that exercise was simply dangerous for females.
It wasn't uncommon for exercises to involve quadrilles—aka square dances. Public Domain
Some women did reform the systems outlined by men like Voarino (who, to his credit, was one of the more forward-thinking men of the day when it came to women's bodies). Catherine Beecher (the sister of Harriet Beecher Stowe) campaigned schools to add calisthenic programs, and vehemently opposed the corset writ large, believing that it deformed women's internal organs.
Indeed, Beecher wrote her own calisthenic manual, marketed to educators and families. She didn't mince words either, noting in her preface that "[m]ost school-books on this subject are so encumbered with terms needed only by professional men, as to render them repulsive, and double the labor both of reading and study."
Written about 30 years after Voarino's, Beecher's work is a bit more engaging, involving pliés, shoulder-whirling, and tossing weights to partners some 20 feet apart. Marching to music was common, and stretching was a regular feature.
Needless to say, it's very possible to exercise at home today as a Victorian woman did. But on second thought, maybe skip the corset.
Next in series
Share the World's Wonders With Atlas Obscura Zoom Backgrounds
Calling into work from the Gates of Hell has never been easier.
dancingvictorianhistory
The Mischievous 'Ghost Hoaxers' of 19th-Century Australia
To stave off boredom, some people donned sheets and menaced the public.
Joseph Hayes October 29, 2019
When Hard Rock Music Meant Banging on Actual Hard Rocks
The "shipwrecked Mozart" who wowed Victorian audiences, including the Queen herself.
Betsy Golden Kellem May 8, 2018
objects of intrigue
The Victorian Cards That Explained How to Use a Book to Flirt
"Resting on right cheek: You are too willing."
Natasha Frost March 23, 2018
Bwaaat! How the Air Horn Made Noise in Pop Music
Christina Ayele Djossa February 8, 2018
Video • AO Docs
The Inspiring Story of Cambodia's First LGBTQ Dance Company
The Art of the Lion Dance
How Chinese Folk Dancers Continue to Practice During Quarantine
Hawaiʻi's Native-Language Newspaper Archive
Sponsored by Olukai
'Discovering' Mexico's Monarch Butterfly Migration
Video • Object of Intrigue
The Real Story Behind George Washington's Dentures
Behold, the Vampire-Killing Kit
See the Mysterious Horned Helmet of Henry VIII
Hobbies to Hone While Hunkering Down, With Help From Public TV
Learn to draw, craft up a storm, or boogie like it's 1979.


text:
Q: I have the code below which I want to translate into pytorch. I'm looking for a way to translate np.vectorize to any pytorch way in this case I need to translate this code to pytorch. The code given below use np.vectorize. I am looking for a pytorch equivalent for this.
class SimplexPotentialProjection(object):
    def __init__(self, potential, inversePotential, strong_convexity_const, precision = 1e-10):
        self.inversePotential = inversePotential
        self.gradPsi = np.vectorize(potential)
        self.gradPsiInverse = np.vectorize(inversePotential)
        self.precision = precision
        self.strong_convexity_const = strong_convexity_const

A: The doc for numpy.vectorize clearly states that:

The vectorize function is provided primarily for convenience, not for performance. The implementation is essentially a for loop.

Therefore, in order to convert your numpy code to pytorch you'll simply need apply potential and inversePotential in a loop over their tensor arguments.
However, that might be very inefficient. You would better re-implement your functions to act "natively" in a vectorized manner on tensors.


Customers now use multiple devices during the customer journey & it can be difficult to accurately track them between devices, but we're here to help.
Firstly: There is no ignoring the significance of the e-commerce industry. Its growth over the years has been phenomenal, constant, and ubiquitous.
Even if the trend begins to slow down — we're still talking trillions in global online sales each year.
Fantastic news for online retailers, right?
However — this growth is largely due to the introduction of new technology and consumer behavior, in alignment.
An array of challenges presents itself with this revolution.
A colossal 80 percent of shoppers use a mobile phone inside of a physical store to search product reviews, compare prices, or locate alternative stores.
An estimated 10 billion mobile-connected devices are currently in use — a total expected to hit nearly 12 billion by 2020.
How do you successfully connect the shoppers' research phase with conversions and revenue — across channels and devices?
Traditional approaches include somewhat isolated device-by-device analytics, which could be considered to be a limited inspection of the customer journey.
Shifting to a customer-centric perspective examines (and seamlessly caters for) the entire, integrated journey from discovery to purchase.
This is known as the omnichannel approach.
Below, you will discover five steps to decode the often complex multi-device, multi-channel conversion paths of your customers!
I've already touched on some key stats, but let's dive a little deeper into the distinctive habits of new-age consumers.
To break down and measure the dynamic voyage from discovery to purchase, a solid understanding and appreciation of such is necessary.
It's very difficult to determine (and optimize for) real omnichannel success without meaningful consideration for the customer.
So, the research concludes it is not only essential to harmonize your service online across all devices and channels — but you must also connect it with the offline journey (if relevant), too.
Smartphone optimization should be your first point of call, in most cases today.
Losing potential customers through poor experiences during early-stage touchpoints may lead to them not engaging with your brand again (and they will tend to share these negative experiences)!
Past research collated by Help Scout found U.S. consumers tell only nine friends about positive brand experiences — while they share bad encounters with an astonishing total of 16 people!
That's a figure not to be taken lightly.
And how do you unify, measure and optimize this activity across channels and devices?
The experience of your customers (and the effective allocation of your budget) relies heavily on the caliber of your tools, accuracy of your analytics, and skill in evaluating (before acting on) results.
As a thriving e-commerce brand — you should be able to track your individual leads, prospects, and customers through their entire journey — to the degree where this journey becomes clear enough to visualize (without any blind spots).
As one of the quickest, most simple methods to begin tracking marketing effectiveness across channels and mediums; URL tagging can be implemented (at scale) with the use of Google Tag Manager.
There are also other sophisticated tagging options, which I will cover shortly.
You can build a quick UTM URL here.
When this nature of UTM tagging is used, you are able to attribute all tagged link clicks from individual social posts, emails, or even PDFs to conversions within Google Analytics.
This gives you the power of knowing which parameters and links are generating the most sales.
Pair the above with the ability to monitor micro and macro on-site conversions (with the use of event tracking) and you're already closer to building better customer profiles by dissecting their journeys.
For pretty URLs and memorable offline links (i.e., printed links) you can purchase domains or add a new, aptly named subfolder on your existing domain before redirecting to landing pages with specific, tagged URLs.
Now we're into the juicy stuff!
However: If visitors regularly clear their cookies, choose not to accept them, or happen to visit on different devices — this leaves massive holes in your data set and customer journey paths.
Unreliable, to say the least.
Enter: The almighty User ID.
This type of ID is not automatically set up in GUA, but it is the missing piece in your conversion jigsaw — and entirely worth the effort it requires.
If you're currently using cookies alone or probabilistic (imprecise) matching to track user behavior…this is a big step up to the highly-accurate deterministic matching.
How Do You Set Up User IDs?
Next, it's over to you to create a sign-in and ID system on your website and/or app…then zealously encourage your visitors to use it (through loyalty rewards and other offers).
This is the same for visitors and customers alike. They should all be encouraged to create a user profile and stay signed in across all devices.
Note: Social sign-in functionality is a fantastic way to reduce friction and the burden of time.
Once successfully set up, unique User IDs will be assigned to visitors and GUA will be able to measure their activity across each device, whenever they are signed in.
User IDs are commonly implemented with the use of CRM, other similar database and/or custom-developed scripts to push them through to GUA.
Sending personally identifiable information to Google Analytics is strictly prohibited — but sending unique User IDs is absolutely fine.
Note: You may also find that using certain vendors actually negates the need for further tracking implementation. For example, Adobe's solution boasts an all-in-one service with proprietary analytics.
Turning users into members is exactly how to gather more data and attribute specific actions to them across devices.
Think: Instead of merely cookies, devices, and browsers… You're now looking at connected human behavior. Much closer to where you want to be, right?
If you are keen to stick with Google Universal Analytics — here is an awesome guide on Tag Manager User ID implementation for you to check out.
If you're assigning "conversion credit" to channels in a way that isn't logical, it's impossible to accurately reward the best channels with more investment — and tweak underperforming channels to foster better results.
For instance, if social media is driving tons of first-time visitors who leave but then later return via email and convert…are you appropriately crediting social media (in part) with the sale and consequent value to your business?
If not, it doesn't matter how brilliantly you've implemented any tracking; your data will be misrepresenting customer behavior.
There is no right or wrong attribution model — you must align your choice with your brand's unique digital strategy and data.
Whatever you decide, ensure it's for the mid-to-long run. You don't want to keep switching models or else everything is going to become skewed.
Learn more about the pros and cons of each main attribution model here.
Once you are using optimal attribution modeling, the multi-channel funnels report and also User IDs — the multi-device, multi-channel jigsaw puzzle gradually begins to piece together.
This is huge — and a component of the e-commerce metric mix that is sometimes forgotten.
Phone conversations are no different to touchpoints across digital channels, and should be measured in the same manner.
Who would have thought we would actually use smartphones to call in this day and age?!
I've worked with companies that would have missed thousands of touchpoints and otherwise unmapped conversions in their analytics if it wasn't for call attribution dashboards!
Just like URL tagging tracks campaign effectiveness; calls (and the revenue they produce) are able to be tracked in exactly the same way.
This allows ultimate personalization of your website, including the chance to offer specific products, services, and/or free goodies to cater for their needs — rapidly.
Remember this stat from earlier?
Call attribution is the final connector of touchpoints that make it happen at scale…the magical bridge between otherwise untracked communications and conversions.
And you just knew this piece wouldn't be complete without further coverage of AI!
choice.ai. Transforms your e-commerce website UI elements to reflect shopper interests.
Datacratic. Builds retargeting audiences with award-winning AI.
LiftIgniter. Personalizes the products each user sees at any point in time.
Sentient. Probably the most impactful AI-based e-commerce platform of today.
SiteZeus. AI-powered location intelligence and optimization platform.
morph.ai. AI chatbot that segments and targets customers.
Boomtrain. Robust on-site and off-site personalization tool with many impressive features.
None of the recommended actions are quick fixes or able to be deployed without intense planning and resource.
Implementing multiple tools and/or platforms at once will likely cause major headaches — build up your arsenal over time, starting with the most valuable.
Without seamless connectivity between platforms, you may become faced with future challenges and painful time sinks — get it right from the start by carrying out thorough research.
Migration from any current vendors may present even greater hurdles — prepare to take this into consideration when estimating time and resource.
Cut through the multi-device mayhem while streamlining and personalizing your service at the same time!