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Why Games Still Have Bad Loading Times
Filed to:load times
Art by Jim Cooke.
Video games look better and better with every passing year. Just in the last few months alone we've seen gorgeous technical marvels like Horizon: Zero Dawn, Breath of the Wild, and Injustice 2 (yes, seriously). But while game graphics just keep getting better, loading times—the bane of all impatient players—don't seem to be improving at all. In some cases, they're so heinous that they've got to be beaten into submission with barrages of post-release patches. Will our more powerful, more expensive gaming rigs ever get strong enough to eliminate the wait?
The programmers I've spoken to say that while games can put exponentially more Stuff on screen than ever before, the hardware that stores and loads that Stuff hasn't improved at the same pace."GPU and CPU performance increases have far outstripped hard drive read speed increases," William Armstrong, a programmer who's worked on games like BioShock 2 and Firewatch, said in an email. Hard drives are constrained by the laws of physics, he said, because the process of reading/writing data always involves converting between pure electrons and some kind of physical apparatus. "That will be slower than pure circuitry," he said. "Everything is slower than light."
"That will be slower than pure circuitry. Everything is slower than light."
Yes, hard drives can load things faster than they did decades ago, and modern gaming machines have significantly more memory than previous generations, but the boost isn't proportionate. Robert Dieterich, a programmer who's worked on games like Elite Beat Agents and Lips, offered texture sizes—which make in-game objects and environments look more detailed—as an example. If a developer brings average texture size up from 1024x1024 to 2048x2048, he said, the data's four times larger. Going up to 4096x4096 means it's 16 times larger.
But, he noted, when you upgrade from the 5400 RPM (rotations per minute) hard drives that were standard a few years ago for today's higher-performance 7200 RPM drives, that's only a 33 percent boost in read performance. "Switching to solid-state drives offers significantly better read performance—at higher dollar cost per GB—but you're still fighting against dramatic increases in the size of game data," Dieterich said.
And it's not all about texture size, Armstrong notes. "As game scope increases, the amount of setup... that goes into making a set of data on disk be the video game increases," he said, "things like initializing AI behavior, settling dynamic physics, registering every bit of loot with save/load managers, etc. As game scope keeps increasing, the amount of setup just keeps getting larger."
If anything, given this discrepancy in advancement between data size and hard drive speeds, it's actually a wonder that load times haven't dramatically increased over the years. This is because developers have created all sorts of techniques to hide or otherwise minimize load times. Loading screens, Dieterich said, usually aren't where the loading starts—if anything, they are often the tail end of a series of background processes that begin running long before the player careens smack into that progress-stopping, immersion-breaking wall, one that developers look to avoid wherever feasible.
For example, some games begin loading world data during the unskippable company logos at the start of games. Many load the bulk of their worlds before you ever enter them, which is why those initial load screens can be so lengthy. Others stream data in while you're playing, or use a mixture of both those techniques. Many modern games also procedurally generate some of what you encounter in the game world by taking a small amount of data and using it to build larger things, like high-fidelity textures, during runtime. That wall of bricks might not have come from a .BMP file, but from a mathematical equation.
"The more unpredictable the player's destination, the less likely you are to be able to predict exactly what data the player will need."
All of these things, however, come with their own complications. For example, one of the most reliable ways to bring loading times down is by "baking" everything a particular part of a game requires—and only what it requires—into efficient bundles of data, which can then be loaded as needed. Developers can do this when they know where players are going to be and roughly what they'll do from there. Most straightforwardly, you'll often see it happen at the beginning of a game or level.
But it's not always easy to predict what players will do, especially with more and more games embracing open-world design. "The more unpredictable the player's destination, the less likely you are to be able to predict exactly what data the player will need," said Dieterich. "This is why you'll likely encounter a loading screen in an open-world game if you quick-travel to a distant area, whereas you wouldn't have seen a loading screen if you went there manually."
Oftentimes, developers don't even know their own game well enough to effectively finesse the load times until near the end of a development cycle. Game development is made up of countless moving pieces, each of which is on the verge of catching on fire at any given moment. It's a series of trade-offs. Implementing one thing over here might cause longer loading times or crashing bugs over there. It depends on the game engine, too. Some engines handle the particularities of certain loading techniques better than others, and most general-purpose game engines are built before developers really know how their particular game will turn out. There's guesswork involved, and those guesses don't always pan out.
To avoid breaking stuff, developers typically like to have the content of their games locked in before they start surgically slicing away at things like load times. Problem is, that doesn't usually happen until near the end of development, when there's just a pinch of sand left in the hourglass. Developers can only address so many problems before it's time to send a game off to certification and then release. And load times aren't the highest thing on the priority list.
"When you enter the home stretch to ship a game, you take stock of all the problems it has and prioritize each based on the costs and benefits of fixing [or] improving it," JP LeBreton, a designer who has worked on games like BioShock and Spacebase DF-9, said in an email. "For launch, devs often prioritize stability—making sure the game never crashes, and is fully playable/completable—over performance."
"You're kind of betting on what the biggest deal-breakers are for players," LeBreton said. "A game that performs poorly can still be played, but a game that crashes reliably is a lemon."
These days, we're seeing more and more developers patch especially pernicious load times after release, since only after shipping do developers have ample time to take stock of them holistically.
"Sending a game into the wild opens the floodgates, and that's where we started seeing reports of long load times."
"Sending a game into the wild opens the floodgates, and that's where we started seeing reports of long load times," said game director Rand Miller of his 2016 game Obduction. Some of those reports, Miller explained in an email, stemmed from particular hardware issues, while others were born of specifics the development team just wasn't aware of before the game came out. "We were loading a larger section of the game than we needed at startup," he added. "So we rezoned a piece at the beginning of the game and pushed a hotfix. Rinse. Repeat."
While continuing to update Obduction's engine and optimize the game for various platforms, Miller and company uncovered other small things that they had done either incorrectly or inefficiently.
"We discovered that we were loading all the live action movies when we load a world," said Miller. "That slows down loading, but requires a rewrite of one of the character interaction systems to fix." The art department found some game textures that could be reduced in size, but these too had to be dealt with on individual case-by-case bases. Chisels, not jackhammers.
I spoke with developers behind two other games that received load-time-related updates post-launch, open-world stealth game Ghost of a Tale and fantasy RPG The Dwarves, and they offered similar sentiments. To improve load times, developers have to know their games inside and out. Even then, though, it takes time and precision to target specific issues. For The Dwarves team in particular, they've recently started trying to keep load times in check all throughout development.
The creative director of a fantasy RPG called The Dwarves, which also received significant post-launch loading improvements, now says his studio is trying to keep load times in check throughout their games' development cycles. "Making clever packages, optimizing the memory handling, and reducing the amount of data in the memory is pretty complicated if you do it late during development," said Jan Theysen. "So for our upcoming games we introduced new systems in our workflow that force everybody to think about loading times from the beginning."
But there's only so much developers can do before games are close to completion. With loading times likely to be around at least as long as we're storing data on magnetic, spinning hard drive platters, the fixes will probably keep coming (if they come at all) after release. Load times, says William Armstrong, are "similar to games shipping with a bug in their online features, or quest bugs when you play the game in an unexpected order or very quickly. These bugs all only show up when the game is completely finished. And games are rarely finished before the last possible minute."
Kotaku senior reporter. Beats: Twitch, PC gaming.


The Herdsman has long been a star among Perth's upmarket fresh food providores in the affluent Western suburbs. Operating since 1979 from premises in the suburb of Churchlands with an uncompromising motto of the best quality and service, always, the company expanded operations by opening a second store in the Perth CBD.
The newly opened store provides city workers and residents with fresh, high quality produce in a stunning contemporary retail environment.
The challenge was to combine four shops within the heritage facade on William St, with another in the adjacent shopping mall, into a single space on one level. The brief was to provide The Herdsman's customers and staff with a cohesive retail environment that reflects their uncompromising commitment to quality built over 30 years in the fresh food business. The result is a stylish and efficient retail space where stunning combinations of polished terrazzo, stainless steel, and rich wood provide an organic overtone that blends the timeless and the new.
Diverse Shopfitters began with a comprehensive site survey to identify potential challenges with the construction phase of the fitout. Diverse's Replik8 rapid installation system was used to create templates of all built forms and their interaction within the space. With more than 30 penetrations and core holes required in the project, the Replik8 process highlighted several areas of concern to category one trades. These potential issues were able to be identified and addressed at this early stage, avoiding unnecessary drilling and saving time and money.
Site access also represented a significant challenge. Entry to the site traversed several public areas and the project was subject to the complete shutdown of William Street on a number of occasions. Much of the construction material was manually carried on to site. Finishes were all top quality stonework, terrazzo and stainless steel. All workmanship was of the highest standard and rigorously checked through Diverse's exacting quality control processes. Throughout the project, Diverse Shopfitters conducted weekly on site meetings to identify and resolve issues as they arose.
Efficient project management meant that Diverse Shopfitters were able to complete the job in 16 weeks from start to finish, coordinating all trades and overseeing quality control to ensure the final result was in perfect alignment with both the designer's intent and the customer's high quality standards.
On site, Diverse were very efficient and I found their personnel to be very helpful. They were all very good in terms of their attention to our needs. In terms of the job, their professionalism, and their trades works, was all of the highest calibre. This was the first project in our expansion and we're very pleased. In terms of the intent of the overall architectural design, it's bang on the money. In terms of finish, excellent.


This freehold retail warehouse is located in the affluent town of Sudbury. The tenant, Homebase, is the second largest DIY brand in the UK. It has more than 300 large, out-of-town stores throughout the UK and Republic of Ireland. Homebase sells over 30,000 products across DIY and decorating, home and garden ranges.
Lettable area: The retail warehouse extends to approximately 2,375 m² (25,567 sq ft), with a 929m² (10,000 sq ft) garden centre. The property has 107 car parking spaces.
At the entrance to Sudbury's large commercial park, adjacent to McDonald's.
Following a year-long negotiation involving independent arbitration, a rent rise of 37.5% (from STG£250,000 to STG£343,750) was achieved in late 2009. This increase is three times that which the directors originally forecast.
This car park is located near the centre of Birmingham, the UK's second largest city. The property comprises a tarmacadam car park of 120 marked spaces on a site of 0.29 hectares (0.71 acres). It is leased for 25 years with regular contractual rent rises. The tenant is Signet plc, a FTSE 250 company whose headquarters building is adjacent to the site.
Situated in Hockley, in close proximity to the junction of A41 Birmingham Road, approximately 2 km north west of the city centre.


Slowly ascending the trail toward the upper reaches at Lost Dutchman State Park in Arizona.
In June 1988 I hiked to the top of the Flatiron at Lost Dutchman State Park with my friends Mike Burger and Les Blanford. This State Park is also part of the Tonto National Forest and provides entrance into the Superstition Wilderness area. It is quite a rugged climb and a challenging bit of exercise negotiating the steep incline toward the upper slopes, but well worth the effort for the picturesque quality of the breathtaking views from above. We enjoyed one of those spectacularly lovely days in the clear atmosphere of Arizona. Following is a gallery of photographs from that memorable hike. In previous blog-posts I have indicated how these outdoor expeditions have sparked my imagination and moved me to record some musical improvisations on my vintage accordions. In "From Lofty Heights to Shadow-Filled Canyons," I added the You Tube video entitled "Lyric Poem for Accordion," and in "Heralds of Majesty - Hiking in the Arizona Wilderness" I added the video "Fanfares & Reveries for Vintage Hohner Accordion." Here follows part of the visual journey with a selection of images from our Arizona trek.


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The White Review announces Short Story Prize shortlist
by Zeljka Marosevic
The winner of the inaugural White Review Short Story Prize will be announced on April 25th.
The shortlist for the inaugural White Review Short Story Prize was announced earlier this week. The competition, which opened for submissions in December, will award the prize to a writer without a publishing deal who best displays "ambitious, imaginative and innovative approaches to creative writing." The work of the eight finalists can be read on the site, featuring intriguing titles ranging from "The Lady of the House" to "How to be an Astronaut." Some of the stories even take up the familiar problems of being a short story writer: "I am standing in a room full of people reading out a story…My hands are shaking."
Judging the prize are Booker shortlisted author Deborah Levy, Jonathan Cape's editorial director Alex Bowler, and senior agent at Curtis Brown Karolina Sutton. As well as walking away with £2,500 and being printed in the magazine, the winner will have the chance to meet and discuss their work with Sutton.
It's nice to see a prize that aims to reward the art form of shorter fiction, which often goes uncelebrated while prizes for the novel abound. It's nicer still that the prize is interested in helping emerging writers gain access to publishers and agents. Compared to the price of a six-month writing course at Curtis Brown's Creative Writing School (£2,800), a chance to meet an agent is worth more than the prize money itself.
For a prize dedicated to helping unpublished writers, it's a shame that entrants were charged a submission fee of £15. However, the editors have argued that the fee will ensure the competition is not just a one-off event but has the funds to continue next year. This year's prize money has been donated by the Jerwood Charitable Foundation which is dedicated to supporting and funding emerging talent.
Although the prize's aim is to celebrate the art of the short story, and the judges sought entries that would "explore and expand the possibilities of the form," it remains to be seen whether its winner will go on to publish a story collection. One rather suspects agents and publishers would prefer a novel, knowing as they do that short stories are notoriously difficult to sell.
The winner will be announced on April 25th at a ceremony which is open to the public.
Zeljka Marosevic is the former managing director of Melville House UK.
Awards and ceremonies
Pulitzer winners and finalists offer new perspectives
First Irish woman to win International Dublin Literary Award
Nobel Nabobs Named; Swedes Suffer Rep Wreckage
Booker Prize moves online; digital tomes abound
1911 NYT nugget suggests fiction-divorce connection; "rose-color books" cited
Bad Sex in Fiction Award is canceled
AwardsFictionPrizesshort storieswhite review
The Enchanted Wanderer Nikolai Leskov

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& STUDENTS
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Concert I: Park ICM Artist in Residence and Alum, Behzod Abduraimov, to Perform with the Park ICM Orchestra
Distinguished Alumni, ICM Orchestra
Behzod Abduraimov, Piano With the Park ICM Orchestra Friday, September 28, 2018, 7:30 p.m. Graham Tyler Memorial Chapel, Park University Campus PURCHASE TICKETS HERE: General Admission | Student Tickets (with student ID) Park ICM Artist in Residence and Alum, Behzod Abduraimov, will perform at the Graham Tyler Memorial Chapel on the campus of Park University with the Park ICM Orchestra in [...]
devicm	2018-08-17T18:48:19+00:00	August 8th, 2018|Distinguished Alumni, ICM Orchestra|
Entire Class of Park International Center for Music 2018 Graduates Garner Full Scholarships at Exclusive Music Conservatories to Further Music Education
KANSAS CITY, MO (June 22, 2018) — Dr. Roger Kugler, Director of the Park University International Center for Music, announced recently that all three Park ICM 2018 graduates have achieved the highest honor possible at the University. They have all been accepted into internationally recognized, world-class music conservatories on full scholarship to further their music training, education and development. High res photos [...]
devicm	2018-06-25T17:38:07+00:00	June 25th, 2018|Press|
Park ICM 1900 Series Featuring Irina Muresanu, Violin
@ 1900 Series
Irina Muresanu, Violin, and Lolita Lisovskaya-Sayevich, Piano Thursday, March 28, 2019 7:30 p.m. 1900 Building, 1900 Shawnee Mission Parkway, Mission Woods, Kansas 66205 Romanian violinist Irina Muresanu has won the hearts of audiences and critics alike with her "irresistible," (Boston Globe) exciting, elegant and heartfelt performances of classic, romantic and modern repertoire. The Los Angeles Times has written that [...]
devicm	2019-03-22T15:26:16+00:00	June 1st, 2018|@ 1900 Series|
Park ICM Students to Compete in International Competitions This Summer
Press, Students in Concert
Congratulations to Mansur Kadirov and Dilshod Narzilleav who will both be competing in International competitions this summer!
devicm	2018-06-01T15:10:35+00:00	June 1st, 2018|Press, Students in Concert|
Park International Center for Music Announces 2018-2019 Season and Performance Home of the 1900 Building
@ 1900 Series, Distinguished Alumni, Park ICM Masters, Press
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Ellen McDonald 816.444.0052 Ellen@mershonandmcdonald.com Park International Center for Music Announces 2018-2019 Season and Performance Home of the 1900 Building KANSAS CITY, MO (May 20, 2018) — Stanislav Ioudenitch, Artistic Director of Park International Center for Music (Park ICM), announced today that their 2018-2019 season would kick off in September with a new performance home, the 1900 Building in [...]
devicm	2018-05-18T20:23:29+00:00	May 20th, 2018|@ 1900 Series, Distinguished Alumni, Park ICM Masters, Press|
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Aluminium Blocks Suppliers in Tumkur. Aluminium Blocks Manufacturers, Aluminium Blocks Dealers in Tumkur
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About Todd Rundgren
Todd Rundgren is a musical genius and polymath. He can do it all. He can sing, play the guitar, write songs, produce albums, and engineer. Rundgren isn't one of those talents that has just done all of those things in passing; he's done them all with much aplomb and tremendous success. If Rundgren had wanted to he could have picked one and made a career at it.
Rundgren wrote and recorded the classic rock staples "Hello It's Me" and "I Saw the Light." If you've ever been to a sports event then you've heard Rundgren's "Bang the Drum All Day." Due to its lively tempo and celebratory nature, the song has become something of an anthem for free spirits and party lovers.
Rundgren has produced the albums Straight Up by Badfinger, We're an American Band by Grand Funk Railroad, and Skylarking by XTC. Rundgren also produced Bat Out of Hell by Meat Loaf, a highly acclaim record and one of the bestselling albums of all-time.
Rundgren has fronted several bands during his career including Nazz, Utopia, and The New Cars. While Nazz was more of a Rundgren solo project, Utopia (which has been known as "Todd Rundgren's Utopia") is a collaborative effort.
Frustrated by the way his early recordings sounded, Rundgren taught himself the technical side of the studio. He went on to mix and engineer the Band's third studio album, Stage Fright; a live album for Paul Butterfield Blues Band; and Jesse Winchester's debut record. Of course, Rundgren engineered many of the albums he produced.
Rundgren is also known for being difficult. He can be very sarcastic and aloof. It also doesn't help that he works hard, hustles, and creatively solves problem. Those aren't exactly the traits you associate with mercurial music types.
For example, the members of XTC did not enjoy working with Rundgren but they praised his musical genius and really appreciated the final product. Record companies love Rundgren because he makes albums on time and under budget.
Rundgren has performed all over the world. That includes collecting Todd Rundgren tickets at the Hammersmith Apollo in England, the 2010 Sydney Festival in Australia, and the 2010 "Beatles Celebration" at the Hollywood Bowl. In 1992, Rundgren joined Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band. He toured with Ringo again in 1999 and 2012 through 2015.
Like most legendary rock stars, Rundgren is also known for being involved in a sordid love triangle. During the 1970s, Rundgren had an ongoing relationship with model Bebe Buell. In 1977, Buell gave birth to a daughter (future actress Liv Tyler). The biological father was Steven Tyler of Aerosmith. Buell wanted to keep her daughter away from Tyler, who was addicted to drugs at the time, and claimed Rundgren was the father.
Even though Rundgren knew the child might not be his, and he ended his relationship with Buell shortly after she gave birth, he stepped up and fulfilled the role of father—for example, he put her through private school. The child was informed of her real father when she was nine, but continued her close relationship with Rundgren.
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Sr Agnes Connolly
The Connolly family, one of the well known pioneer families of the Lochinvar area, will always be remembered by the Sisters of St Joseph for the great support given to them in the early, difficult days of the Lochinvar Foundation in 1883. Besides supplies of fruit and vegetables to supplement the Sisters' meagre diet, Mrs Connolly and her children were available to transport the Sisters by buggy when needed.
It was into this family that Agnes Josephine was born in Greta while World War 1 was still in progress on 22 November 1917, the fifth child of Patrick William Connolly and Ella Regan. Her brothers and sisters were Eva, Catherine, Veronica, Patrick, Peter, Michael, Anthony, Florence and Clare. The years after the War were the hard times of the Great Depression when many mines closed and work was difficult to find.
Agnes was educated at St Mary's School in Greta by the Sisters of Mercy and completed her schooling in 1932. It was about this time that the family moved to East Maitland and Agnes helped with the domestic work in the Connolly household before answering the call to the Religious Life. She entered the Novitiate at Lochinvar on 8 December, 1933 and was given the name of Sister Mary Aiden. She was professed as a Sister of St Joseph on 5 January, 1937 and took her Final Vows on 1 January, 1943.
Reclaiming her baptismal name after the reforms of Vatican 11, Sr Agnes is remembered as a woman of great faith: faithful to daily prayer, she remembered her family, friends and her Congregation. She loved to pray daily in the Chapel until it was no longer possible for her to do so. She found God in the beauty of creation, having a great love of nature especially flowers and the garden. She loved things that were beautiful and showed interest in painting, embroidery, sewing, crochet and photography. Some of these hobbies continued to give her joy in her retirement years.
Agnes was sent to many of the Josephite Convents, especially to those where there were boarders at Lochinvar, Port Macquarie, Aberdeen, Wauchope, Cundletown, Taree and Denman; and also at Kurri Kurri, Krambach and Muswellbrook. The great generosity of the Connolly family was reflected in her life in many ways. While much of her time was spent in the kitchen preparing meals for the Community and the boarders and being engaged in domestic duties, she took time to gain her driver's licence and was ever ready to oblige non-drivers in her Community, visiting sick friends and doing the shopping.
Agnes had an exceptional love of her family. She kept in touch with family members and her many friends. She was interested in them all. Agnes has been described and remembered by one of her companions "as an accomplished cook, a good needlework woman, ready to assist others whenever the opportunity arose".
During her sixty-seven years as a Sister of St Joseph, Agnes gave her all to her family, to her Congregation and to her God. When the final call came on 11 March 2003 Agnes was indeed ready to say her final "Yes". After the celebration of her Funeral Mass she was buried in the Sisters' section of the Lochinvar cemetery.
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With years of experience in the disaster restoration industry, Rainbow International is the preferred choice for disaster restoration in Orange County. Our IICRC-certified technicians are experts in water damage restoration, mold removal and fire remediation.
Water damage is progressive, which is why our experts are available 24/7 to begin the rapid structural drying process. We use state-of-the-art equipment and techniques for all our restoration services. Mold removal is a complex process, which is why our professional adhere to rigid guidelines to ensure safe and thorough removal. We will remove all fire structure damage and residue from soot and smoke, and complete necessary tear-out and reconstruction to get you back to pre-loss condition as quickly as possible.
Orange County homeowners and businesses also rely on our professional deep-cleaning services. Air duct cleaning, carpet cleaning, upholstery cleaning and odor removal make interiors look and feel like new, and improve indoor air quality.


Bob Givens, the original creator of one animation's most iconic cartoon characters, Bugs Bunny, has passed away at the age of 99.
Givens passed away last week on December 14. His daughter Mariana Givens announced on Facebook that her father was 'resting peacefully on Pallative[sic] care at St. Joseph's Hospital in Burbank', California.
As well as being one-half of the world's most recognised bunny (along with original voice actor Mel Blanc) he worked on some of your favourite childhood TV shows such as He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe, Ghostbusters and Tom & Jerry.
His career as an animator took off at Disney as an animation checker on 1937's Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs. In 1940 Givens was given the momentous task of redesigning Bug Bunny for his Oscar-nominated short A Wild Hare.
From there he enjoyed a career which spanned seven decades in the animation industry, in that time he worked at Warner Bros. doing countless animations for Bugs and Daffy Duck as well as providing iconic work for Hanna-Barbera (home to Top Cat and The Flintstones).
During the peak of his career, he worked the likes of Tex Avery and Chuck Jones, it was Jones who asked him to review a design for a grey rabbit, who Warner Bros. felt was 'too cute'. Thanks to his redesign the world was given the iconic Bugs Bunny.
After 30 years of working with Hannah-Barbera, Givens lent his animation know-how to the original Popeye cartoon, as well as Alvin & The Chipmunks and Garfield. His final contribution to animation was 2001's The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries and Timber Wolf.
Professor of animation at the University of California, Tom Sito, wrote on Facebook that Givens was a 'funny' man with a 'sharp memory'.
I recall Leon Schlesinger's most oft quoted phrase- I'm going to Palm Springs for the rest of the week, and F*ck you all!" He gave me so much information for Drawing the Line among other projects.
Beethoven once said just like a good days work earns a good nights sleep, so a good life well lived earns a good death.
Happy Landings Bob, say hi to all the gang in Animation Valhalla. You were one of the greats.
We here at UNILAD would like to take this time to offer our condolences to Bob's family and friends. I'd also like to send a personal thank you to him for being a such an important figure in my childhood.
No matter what age you are everyone is familiar with his work.
Yesterday in the hospital my father's conditioned changed.


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Review from The North American Welsh Newspaper
Review of Nannau: A Rich Tapestry of Welsh History by Elizabeth Spencer Spragins in Ninnau – The North American Welsh Newspaper, May-June 2017.
In this beautifully illustrated volume, Philip Nanney Williams documents the history of the Nannau family, and in so doing, captures the drama of life in Wales over a thousand-year period. The family estate, which lies in Snowdonia, has expanded and contracted over 25 generations in tandem with the family's fortunes. Drawing upon genealogical records, historical accounts, personal letters, family photographs, and countless artifacts, the author explores these changes in the context of Welsh history. In sharing the lives of his ancestors Williams offers a colourful and candid assessment of their character, as well as their historical importance.
His account begins with the life of Bleddyn ap Cynfyn, King of Gwynedd and Powys, in the 11th century. The descendants of this founder of the house of Nannau include the famous as well as the infamous, and Williams's pithy and insightful narration brings these individuals to life on the page.
Perhaps the most brazen law-breaker was Huw Nanney, a sheriff who served jail time for cutting down 30,000 oaks on Crown land in 1588. In contrast, the antiquarian and genealogist Robert Vaughan preserved invaluable cultural artifacts for future generations. "His efforts resulted in the finest set of early Welsh manuscripts ever to have been collected by an individual"(p.93).
As Williams recounts his family history, he highlights such diversity, thereby enhancing the book's appeal to the general public.
As the family home passes from generation to generation, personal, political, and financial turmoil takes a toll on the structure as well as its inhabitants.
The original building, which was most likely erected in the 11th century was destroyed and rebuilt numerous times. The Georgian mansion that currently graces the site is most likely the fifth structure, and major repairs are urgently needed to preserve this architectural treasure.
One would hope that Williams's meticulous research will galvanize restoration efforts. Perhaps this landmark will ultimately prove as resilient as the men and women who populate his remarkable chronicle of the House of Nannau.
Philip Nanney Williams is an educator and direct descendent of the Nannau lineage. His family history is a product of eight years of research.
Published in 2016 by Llwyn Estates Publications. Hardcover (English).
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Nannau – Interactive Book
Book Review The Free Library.com (Welsh Language)
Book Review (Welsh History Review)
Book Review (Welsh Historic Garden Trust)
The Spirit's Blasted Tree Poem
Depictions of Derwen Ceubren yr Ellyll
Catherine and Janet Nanney c.1710
A Bridge on the Nannau Estate (2 of 2) by Eleanor...
Sir Robert Williames Vaughan, 2nd Baronet


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Mediating the Nation: News, audiences and the politics of identity
Madianou, Mirca. 2005. Mediating the Nation: News, audiences and the politics of identity. London: UCL Press / Routledge. ISBN 978-1844720286 [Book]
desktop.jpg - Cover Image
What does it mean to watch two-hour long news programmes every evening? Why are some people 'addicted' to the news while others prefer to switch off? Television is an indispensable part of the fabric of modern life and this book investigates a facet of this process: its impact on the ways that we experience the political entity of the nation and our national and transnational identities.
Drawing on anthropological, social and media theory and grounded on a two-year original ethnography of television news viewing in Athens, the book offers a fresh, interdisciplinary perspective in understanding the media/identity relationship. Starting from a perspective that examines identities as lived and as performed, the book follows the circulation of discourses about the nation and belonging and contrasts the articulation of identities at a local level with the discourses about the nation in the national television channels. The book asks: whether, and in what ways does television influence identity discourses and practices? When do people contest the official discourses about the nation and when do they rely on them? Do the media play a role in relation to inclusion and exclusion from public life, particularly in the case of minorities?
The book presents a compelling account of the contradictory and ambivalent nature of national and transnational identities while developing a nuanced approach to media power. It is argued that although the media do not shape identities in a causal way, they do contribute in creating common communicative spaces which often catalyse feelings of belonging or exclusion. The book claims a place in the emerging sub-field of media anthropology and represents the new generation of audience research that places media consumption in the wider social, economic and political context.


Tags: idle, champions, early, access, event, festival of fools, strix, holly conrad.
After a such long and cold winter, the citizens Daggerford are eager to celebrate the Festival of Fools: a day of feasting, drinking, and general foolishness. People don brightly-colored and garish clothing, dancing in the street like court jesters and competing with one another to see who can pull off the most foolish (yet harmless) pranks.
Festival of Fools is our ninth limited-time event for Idle Champions, which starts today, lasts until Tuesday, April 10th at noon PDT, and introduces Strix, the Tiefling Sorcerer!
Strix is careful, suspicious, and paranoid. She assumes the worst in everyone and is always ready to run away or hide. She lacks basic manners and maintains poor personal hygiene, exemplified by the collection of filthy oddities she hoards within her robes, including snacks which she refers to as "snicketty snooks."
As a child, Strix witnessed a shadowy creature slaughter her friends at the bakery where she worked, but was spared for unknown reasons. Her survivor's guilt drives her to try and help those in need, no matter the personal cost.
When you want to add Strix to your party, you can swap her with Jamilah.
Added the Festival of Fools event, our ninth limited-time campaign event! The event will run until Tuesday, April 10th at noon PDT.
Added a new Champion: Strix.
Added a new event Divine Favor: Lliira's Favor.


Optical Semiconductors from Edison Opto from Taiwan. High power LED manufacturer. Product range from 1 Watt to 100 Watt, single-chip to multi-chip, high flux/high CRI types.
Products Include LED Lighting, Optical SPDIF and Opto Sensor.
Edixeon series and PLCC LED series are the high power LEDs packaged by Edison Opto delivering high luminous flux.
Edixeon S series can be driven at a current rating from 350mA to 700mA. Exceptional luminous flux output.


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Q: Debian 7 on Macbook I have just installed Debian 7.1 on my Macbook Pro 9,2.  I'm trying to get the keyboard backlight to work properly.  I can press the F5/F6 keys to get an OSD to show up on the screen, but the backlight doesn't change.  The other buttons seem to work properly though, such as sound and backlight.  It looks like this is a GNOME setting, as I was messing around with the shortcuts and set a new shortcut to be the KbdBrightnessUp key, and of course that means that I don't get an OSD anymore.  I installed pommed, but that didn't do anything.
Questions:

*

*Where is the shortcut for the keyboard backlight brightness?

*Is there some setting that I need to change in order to get the keyboard backlight to work?

A: Try echoing a value between 0 (off) and 255 (full brightness) to /sys/class/leds/smc::kbd_backlight/brightness
Example: echo 110 > /sys/class/leds/smc::kbd_backlight/brightness.
When I was putting various Linux's on my Macbook pro 3+ years ago, I think this was the only way I could get it to work. I wrote a script and bound the backlight keys to the script.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Are we wasting money teaching math to our students? Not as in: we shouldn't be doing it in the first place. Rather, as in: we are spending the money but not teaching them anything.
For Spokane Public Schools, at least, the answer is yes. The proof is in the test scores. In the 2010 state-wide proficiency test given to 10th graders, less than 40% of Spokane Public Schools' students passed. The State apparently didn't expect much of them; they put the passing grade at only about 57% - itself a level generally considered failing on most tests. So, over 60% of Spokane's 10th graders failed to even get a failing grade.
As Spokane's students leave high school, this deficiency in mathematics hampers their college careers. Nearly all of Spokane's students enrolling at our two local community colleges must take remedial math there, math they should have mastered in high school.
I find these numbers, quite simply, appalling.
I am surprised there isn't a massive hue and cry being raised over this. If I were a parent, I would be outraged at how our school system was failing my children. I speak simply as a resident of the community who is concerned about how we are educating our young people. And I am irritated at how poorly our tax money is being used in this regard.
So, what's the cause? One sometimes hears complaints about the teachers themselves; but while there indeed may well be occasional teachers weak in the subject, placing blame on the teaching staff overall implies that across all of the district's schools, throughout all of the grade range, there is hardly a decent one out there. This is patently ridiculous. Rather, the most likely cause, in the eyes of those observing it most closely, is the curriculum the District has chosen for teaching math.
The style of curriculum adopted by the district is of the type often described as "reform" or "discovery." The philosophy underlying this style is that students will discover much of what they need to know themselves, without the need for actually learning anything about handling numbers (i.e., like long division). It is big on students working nicely together in groups, and big on the use of calculators (since they can't handle numbers in the first place). This style of curriculum has been roundly criticized by mathematicians and university math educators alike as ineffective and even harmful to students' ability to master math. But it has been the darling of the primary/secondary education establishment, and our local education administration seems enamored with it.
This problem is recognized by some in our community, who are calling attention to it loudly and clearly. They are, however, a smallish number, small enough that they seem to be easily ignored by the local education establishment.
So, what to do? Two things, for starters.
One is to change the curriculum, to the type sometimes referred to as "instructional." As in, the teacher actually teaches (instructs), and the students learn. They learn the principles and the skills. There are a number of such curricula, with the Saxon and Singapore systems being representative. The principle feature that distinguishes this type of curriculum from the discovery variety is that with it, students actually learn their math. And test scores show it. Around the country, students in districts that use instructional curricula typically score much higher than those suffering under the discovery variety.
Number two might be a little surprising: music. While it has long been felt that active involvement in music helps students achieve academically, recent large scale studies have been showing just that, with actual test grades. Music seems to help train the mind and thinking processes to facilitate better performance in mathematics. The longer students stay involved in music, the more pronounced the effect. And it appears highly effective not only for the stronger students, but even more so for the weaker ones as well.
Music may help to compensate for an otherwise poor curriculum, such as that used in the Spokane schools. Think of it as something like a booster for a radio receiver, to enable it to better receive a weak signal.
However, that signal shouldn't be allowed to remain weak; it should be strengthened, with a decent curriculum. And it should be bolstered with a strong music involvement (for those so inclined), either in school or privately, to further support the mathematics proficiency of our students.
Then perhaps we won't be wasting our money teaching our kids math.


What should employers do about employee burnout?
It's essential that employees are mindful of their own stress levels to avoid burnout, but what about an employer's duty of care?
As long as employees continue to overwork, become stressed and suffer from burnout, I will continue to write about the importance to be mindful of the signs and look after yourself at work.
However, the onus shouldn't only be on an employee to make sure they don't get stressed. Burnout can often be caused by too much work and stress that's put on them by their own employer.
Furthermore, even when it is not the fault of the employer, don't they have a duty of care to ensure that this doesn't happen again to that employee or any other?
Burnout, stress leave and mental exhaustion are all health issues that should be taken as seriously as other ailments. However, they shouldn't be brushed off by managers as something that 'just happens' like a common cold.
There is always a reason for burnout and there is more than likely a stage where it could have been prevented. After all, prevention is far better than cure.
Burnout could of course be from overwork, but it could also be from other factors such as bullying at work and insufficient training. "If there is a trend with employees complaining, then there should be a review of work in that area to evaluate if there is too much work or a lack of tools/systems," she said.
A workplace evaluation is important to understand the issues.
Managers should always have their employees' best interests at heart, but they might also be thinking of the business itself, which can make them lose sight of the individual employee's needs.
However, Rigby-Jones said employee burnout, even for one person, has a domino effect. "Employees who are burnt out may well go on extended sick leave. At the very least, they will be much less productive in their positions," she said.
She went on to say that when employee burnout isn't fixed, those employees leave, and suddenly you have a company with high employee turnover. This can potentially affect relationships with customers and clients.
Obviously, an employee's personal life is none of their manager's business, and personal matters can 'just happen' and be outside of the control of the employer or the employee. However, Rigby-Jones said employers are not off the hook just because employee burnout didn't come directly from the workplace.
Rigby-Jones said the employer should also be active in meeting the employee regularly to ensure that, whatever the issue is, they are being supportive and helping the employee as much as possible – and none of this support requires the employer to know what exactly the issue is.
Another option is to offer an Employee Assistance Programme. "This is a completely confidential helpline and support programme that an employee can go to and discuss personal issues, including financial and emotional issues. These programmes can be brought in for all employees or can be offered to individuals when needed," said Rigby-Jones.
An employee's manager has the most responsibility when it comes to employee burnout and should be the most involved and aware of the situation.
HR should be made aware of the concerns and support the manager through whatever support plan is decided on. HR may also want to undertake further conversations and support the employee.
It's important to address employee burnout properly when faced with it. However, as I said at the beginning, if employers can prevent it from happening to the best of their abilities, all the better.
"Many companies are focused on wellness at work, and have many initiatives for employees. Communication and education of all employees is key to maximising the benefits of these types of intervention," said Rigby-Jones.
As well as these initiatives, managers who are trained to properly watch out for signs of burnout can help them get to the root of the issues before they snowball. For example, high turnover rates or absenteeism can be major indicators of systemic burnout.
"Companies with a supportive and positive working culture have a much better chance of minimising burnout due to employee satisfaction and high emotional attachment to their company," said Rigby-Jones.


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Different Takes: Alabama's Not Alone When It Comes To Punishing Pregnant Women
One Patient Dies Of Mold Infection That Forces Closure Of Seattle Children's Hospital Operating Rooms
Latest News Opinion Politics TOP STORIES
Anthony Scaramucci out as White House communications director
July 31, 2017 Littlebytesnews	0 Comments Anthony scaramucci, BREAKING NEWS, Donald Trump, General, Latest, Politics, Reince priebus, TOP STORIES, trump, White House Chief of Staff, White House Communications Director, White House Press Secretary
As expected, retired #General John Kelly, the newly appointed #White House Chief of Staff had #Anthony Scaramucci removed from his newly appointed position as Communications Director. Last week, Scaramucci removed Sean Spicer from his position as Press Secretary and had #Reince Priebus resign as Chief of Staff after he was made the new Communications Director. Five days later Scaramucci is out at the request of the new Chief of Staff. Makes you wonder if Scaramucci regrets having Spicer and Priebus replaced now that Priebus replacement, John Kelly, caused him to be removed from his new job as Communications Director.
#White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci was removed from his position on Monday, just five days after he started the job, according to reports.
Here's the White House spin from press secretary Sarah Sanders Huckabee as to why Scaramucci is out:
"Anthony Scaramucci will be leaving his role as White House Communications Director. Mr. Scaramucci felt it was best to give Chief of Staff John Kelly a clean slate and the ability to build his own team.(my emphasis) We wish him all the best," #White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement.
Scaramucci's departure comes just 10 days after President #Trump announced he was hiring him as communications director, and it was Trump's new chief of staff, John Kelly, who requested he be removed, according to the New York Times.
Scaramucci will also depart before White House press secretary Sean Spicer will leave his job in mid-August. Spicer resigned earlier this month in protest of Scaramucci's hiring.
Scaramucci vowed to tamp down on the leaks coming out of the White House and threatened to fire the entire White House staff to eliminate the unauthorized spread of information coming out of the West Wing.
"I'm going to fire everybody. That's how I'm going to do it," Scaramucci told reporters last week. "You're either going to stop leaking, or you're going to be fired."
Scaramucci also went on a profanity-laced tirade with a reporter for the New Yorker, insulting former White House chief of staff Reince Priebus and White House chief strategist Steve Bannon.
After Scaramucci was hired, more departures from the White House's press team were expected, and there were any questions about how Kelly — sworn in Monday morning — would work with the new communications director, a hard-charging, unapologetic Wall Street financier who is a fierce defender of Trump.
In the meantime, Sean Spicer will continue working in the White House until mid-August when his resignation is fulfilled. There are also talks that Kellyanne Conway, will become the new Communications Director. But who is being considered for DHS secretary is still anyone's guess, but many think Trump will shift AG Sessions to the DHS position to keep the GOP happy and keep Sessions involved in immigration reform and border security and that Rudy Giuliani could be nominated to replace Jeff Sessions as Attorney General. Who do you think will be replaced next?
Source Anthony Scaramucci out as White House communications director
SCARAMUCCI: 'I sometimes use colorful language. I will refrain in this arena'
Scaramucci Out As White House Communications Director
Scaramucci tweets then deletes cryptic message about 'leak' of his financial disclosure form
Jake Tapper Compares White House's Drama to 'Melrose Place'
Spicer resigns, Scaramucci to be White House communications director
RNC officials who followed Spicer, Priebus to White House worried about jobs, sources say – Anthony Scaramucci: A look at the new White House communications director
Omg, wtf, wait until you see what Anthony Scaramucci just said about Steve Bannon
President Trump replaces White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus with General John Kelly
Editorial: As the West Wing turns
Anthony Scaramucci 'removed by Donald Trump as communications director after request from John Kelly'
Different Takes: Alabama's Not Alone When It Comes To Punishing Pregnant Women - July 6, 2019
← Long Island Police Department Rebukes Trump's Call To Rough Up Criminals
Trump FCC advisors proposal to bring free Internet to poor people requires lifting net neutrality →
NEW RELEASE: "Even More Signs of Our Times" Audiobook is Available Now!
April 29, 2019 Littlebytesnews 0
Scientists identify remains of 9/11 victim as securities analyst
Why I didn't buy a Samsung or iPhone
October 14, 2017 Littlebytesnews 0
A happy ending for 'Game of Thrones'? No thanks
What Do The Antifa Symbols Mean? The Flags Often Feature Three Arrows
Why North Korea Launches Its Missiles In Lofted Trajectories?
Mother Says People Laugh at Her Disabled Daughter and Say She Should Have Aborted Her
Mysterious Global Phenomena In The Heavens: Loud Booms And Trumpet Sounds Baffle Scientific Community
Hero mom saves the day, killing gunman outside school
MSNBC's Nicolle Wallace blisters Jim Jordan for Rosenstein attack: He's a 'joke' and his staffers need to control their 'moron' boss
766 Babies in Canada Born Alive After Failed Abortions and Left to Die


Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | August 8, 2017 | AIM, the trusted worldwide industry association for the automatic identification industry, providing unbiased information, educational resources and standards for nearly half a century, announced the new Uniform Symbol Description Standard - KIX (PostNL Klant IndeX code), developed by the AIM Technical Symbology Committee (TSC), is now available for a 30-day public review.
This standard was produced as part of the TSC's postal code project, initiated to promote standardization within the postal code-using industry.
H. Sprague Ackley, Technical Fellow at Honeywell Scanning and Mobility, is leading this effort. "Over the past several years, the decodes for these symbols have been added to hand-held imager bar code scanners. Consequently the need exists to be sure that every vendor's printer and scanner can be interoperable across the large variety of postal symbologies," Ackley stated. "The success of this project relies on further industry participation."
The AIM USD symbol, otherwise referred to as KIX, is a height-modulated bar code that encodes the 10 digits and 26 letters of the English alphabet. The name, KIX, is derived from the Dutch "Klant IndeX" (Client Index). A KIX symbol encodes the postcode and house number information for mail addresses in the Netherlands. It is a compact representation of the destination address used for automatic sorting of mail.
The public review process officially ends September 7, 2017.


Surat Municipal Corporation invited applications for the post of 'Chief Executive Officer'. The candidates eligible for the post may apply on or before 19 July 2015.
Surat Municipal Corporation, Surat invited applications for filling up the post of 'Chief Executive Officer' for Surat Climate Change Trust (SCCT). The candidates eligible for the post may apply on or before 19 July 2015.
Educational Qualification: Bachelor's Degree in appropriate discipline and Master's Degree in Management from recognized Board or University or Institute with the relevant post- qualification experience in the concerned field.
Eligible candidates may to the post apply through the prescribed format along with other necessary documents on or before 19 July 2015.


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A new training and collaboration path for remote Virtual Training of Search & Rescue professionals.
ISAR combines Space Data from satellites with Virtual Reality powered by Pacelab WEAVR for the creation of extremely realistic temporary scenarios, giving SAR operators the possibility to collaborate plan the mission and train operators in safe virtual environments.
Make first responders training SAFE and CUSTOMIZABLE.
Save TIME and COST for training first responders.
Enhance operations in REPRESENTATIVE virtual environments.
Give SAR operators a COLLABORATIVE tool for PLANNING their mission
Technologies and Trends
ISAR exploit last trends' technologies at disposal of search and rescue professionals.
Virtual Reality has confirmed several advantages and potentialities for next generation training in different fields. On the other hand, the growth of the New Space industry and the increasing demand for satellite data open new opportunities towards Earth Observation.
VR leads to a new training generation, building your own immersive learning environment in-house and making training.
- more effective
- faster
- at lower cost
Space data are a powerful source of information being precise, delivering metre-level accuracy, available in several forms, up-to-date and representative of the whole Earth, including the most remote areas.
ISAR is a Kick-Start project selected by the European Space Agency's Space Solutions initiative
The activity spans between 2021 and 2022, co-funded by ESA and TXT
News and Press Release .
About TXT e-Solutions
TXT is an international specialized provider of advanced digital solutions operating across different markets and a growing footprint in the Aerospace & Defence. With solid expertise and know-how in embedded-systems and Training and Simulation solutions, TXT provides customers across the value chain of the aerospace and aviation industry with customized software solutions, off-the-shelf products and services.
ISAR Solution
The combination of Virtual Reality and Satellite Data enhances the creation of temporary virtual scenarios that replicates updated real environments. Once a request for a specific scenario emerge, ISAR will quickly build it acquiring the needed satellite images available from market providers.
These scenarios can be used by SAR pilots and responders for different purposes, mainly mission planning and operators training. In particular, responders can use ISAR scenario once an event occurs to plan the mission operations like being into a tactical table. The use of smart headsets will allow them to be aware and updated on the current situation, plan the needed activities by interacting with different people and properly allocating the available resources. Moreover, the scenario can be integrated into a flight simulator, in order to allow the pilot to simulate mission flight operations.
The tool can be used for training purposes too, addressing new responders that can work into a virtual environment while waiting for a new mission. ISAR can be also used for training operators that have to prepare for dangerous missions, where on-site training would be too risky.
Project Workplan
User Engagement (WP1)
User scenarios and associated needs analysis through their involvement in interviews and workshop.
Technical Feasibility (WP2)
Service system architecture definition and development of the ISAR prototype
Economic Viability (WP3)
Business and sustainability model and definition of a roadmap for ISAR implementation and exploitation.
Get in touch to find out more
TXT e-solutions S.p.A.
Via Milano 150 - 20093 Cologno Monzese (MI), Italy
+ 39 02 257711
+ 39 02 25 78-994
TXT is an international IT Group, end-to-end provider of consultancy, software services and solutions, supporting the digital transformation of customers' products and core processes. With a proprietary software portfolio and deep expertise in vertical domains, TXT operates across different markets, with a growing footprint in Aerospace, Aviation, Defense, Industrial, Government and Fintech.
TXT is headquartered in Milan and has subsidiaries in Italy, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Switzerland and the United States of America. The holding company TXT e-Solutions S.p.A, has been listed on the Italian Stock Exchange, STAR segment (TXT.MI), since July 2000.
@ TXT e solutions 2022


CHAPIN – Two Lexington-Richland School District Five principals have been named top principals in the state by the South Carolina Association of School Administrators (SCASA). Anna Miller, principal at Chapin Middle School, has been named the 2019 South Carolina Middle Level Principal of the Year. Dr. Michael Lofton, principal at Spring Hill High School, has been named the 2019 South Carolina Secondary Level Principal of the Year. The awards were presented on Monday, December 3, in two surprise announcements.
The honorees were selected from an outstanding field of administrator candidates by a veteran panel of judges.
"We are pleased to announce that Anna Miller has been named the SCASA Middle Level Principal of the Year," said Beth Phibbs, Executive Director of the South Carolina Association of School Administrators. "She is a visionary leader who is respected and appreciated by her students, teachers, staff, and parents."
Miller has served as principal of Chapin Middle School since 2012, prior to that she served as assistant principal for four years. She served as a Language Arts teacher for 13 years before becoming an administrator. Miller holds a Bachelor of Arts in English education from Columbia College and a Master of Education in education administration from the University of South Carolina.
"This award has my name on it but it's really a testament to all of you," Miller said before an assembly of students, staff, family and community members. "I am so grateful to have a staff and to have students who make me look great. Chapin Middle School is a great school, and I'm so proud to represent this school and principals across the state of South Carolina."
"We are happy to announce that Dr. Michael Lofton has been named the SCASA Secondary Principal of the Year," said Beth Phibbs, Executive Director of the South Carolina Association of School Administrators. "He is an exceptional leader who leads by example and encourages the students at Spring Hill High School to achieve at high levels."
Lofton is the founding principal of Spring Hill High School and is entering his sixth year as leader of the all-choice, all-magnet public high school. He moved to South Carolina in 2002 and joined the administration team at Dutch Fork Middle School as an assistant principal where he remained for eight years. In 2010, Dr. Lofton was named principal of Chapin Middle School, where he served for two years before taking on his role at Spring Hill.
During the event, Spring Hill High School student Michelle Strom read her letter of recommendation to the SCASA selection committee, stating that she's happy to ride the rollercoaster of high school at Spring Hill alongside her principal. In addition to being named the state principal of the year for SCASA, Lofton has been named the 2018 Magnet Schools of America (MSA) National Principal of the Year.
School District Five Superintendent Dr. Christina Melton attended both surprise announcements. "Congratulations to School District Five. I think having two winners in one year is evidence of the high caliber of leadership we have here in this district. Both are unique leaders who are worthy of this honor. They will both represent School District Five well but more importantly public education in the highest regard," Melton said.
SCASA, the professional organization for school leaders in South Carolina, has more than 4,200 members. From professional development opportunities and research, to publications and legislative advocacy, SCASA's focus is to support school leaders in providing the best possible education for South Carolina's young people. As a state affiliate of three national associations for school leaders, SCASA also works on the national level.


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Home » Leigh Calvez: Breath of a Whale
Leigh Calvez: Breath of a Whale
By Donation.
Leigh Calvez, naturalist and author of the New York Times bestselling The Hidden Lives of Owls, goes deep to discover the elusive lives of whales in the Pacific Ocean. In The Breath of a Whale, Leigh Calvez draws from a dozen years researching, observing, and probing the lives of the giants of the deep to relate the stories of nature's most remarkable creatures—from ancient blue whales and migratory humpbacks to the familial orcas who struggle against catastrophic ecological change to survive.
"This splendid book offers us the whale watch most of us can only dream of: We get close-up and personal with wild giants, in the company of an expert who feels like a good friend. Because these whales' individual dramas are so entwined with those of their observer, the insights in these pages are riveting and deeply inspiring. Leigh Calvez offers not only hope for saving these endangered leviathans, but also for saving ourselves." — Sy Montgomery, author of The Soul of An Octopus.
Combining a breadth of scientific knowledge with her narrative gifts as a nature writer, Calvez reminds us that to understand the lives of whales deepens our connection with the natural world.
Leigh Calvez is a naturalist, a nature writer, and the author of two books. She studied humpback whales and spinner dolphins in Massachusetts and on Hawaii. As a naturalist, she has led whale watching tours around the world to places like the Azores, New Zealand and British Columbia. Her work has been published in American Nature Writing 2003; in a Sierra Club anthology Between Species: Celebrating the Dolphin-Human Bond; and in Smithsonian Magazine, High Country News, The Ecologist, Ocean Realm, The Seattle Times and elsewhere. The Breath of a Whale: The Science and Spirit of Pacific Ocean Giants is her second book.
Wenatchee River Institute
347 Division St
The Breath of a Whale: The Science and Spirit of Pacific Ocean Giants (Paperback)
By Leigh Calvez
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Sasquatch Books - February 26th, 2019
The Hidden Lives of Owls: The Science and Spirit of Nature's Most Elusive Birds (Paperback)
Published: Sasquatch Books - August 16th, 2016


OnePlus fairly recently made waves on the web following accusations that its devices were manipulating benchmark tests to churn out more favorable results, but it seems the Chinese company hasn't had its fill of notoriety yet.
A new discovery by developer Chris Moore revealed that the company's devices are collecting data in droves, and in ways that may allow OnePlus to link said data to individual users. While the smartphone manufacturer was quick to confirm that it does indeed collect usage and device data, as do many others, also explaining how to opt out of said monitoring, it didn't explain why the company would need to upload phone numbers, device serial numbers, IMEI, MAC addresses, and other unique identifiers to its servers.
OnePlus phones aren't just collecting summaries of system-wide activities – each activity is marked with a timestamp and identifiers unique to the device, which is more than most users would be comfortable sharing.
Until the company provides a satisfactory explanation, we'd suggest opting out of the built-in analytics. If you'd rather not trust the device to protect your privacy, you could do away with the app responsible for transmitting the aforementioned, namely, OnePlus Device Manager, without having to gain root access. We walk you through both solutions below.
As mentioned earlier, OnePlus has confirmed that its custom flavor of Android, OxygenOS, does collect data, and that users can opt out of said data collection at any time from Settings > Advanced > Join user experience program.
For this, you're going to require the adb (Android Debug Bridge) utility. If you haven't already set up adb on your computer, instructions for the same can be found all around the web. Once that is taken care of, the following is what you will need to do.
1. On your OnePlus device, open Settings > Developer options and ensure USB debugging is enabled. If you don't see Developer Options, navigate to Settings > About phone and tap Build number repeatedly until you see the "You are now a developer!" toast notification.
2. Connect the device to your computer.
3. On your computer, open a Command Prompt / Terminal window and enter the following.
Did this work for you? Have alternative methods to suggest? Sound off in the comments section below!
Don't forget to Like our Facebook page, Follow us on Twitter and/or add us to your Google+ Circles for instant social media updates from our website!


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Katherine Marshall
Professor of the Practice and Senior Fellow
Katherine Marshall has worked for almost four decades on international development, with a focus on issues facing the world's poorest countries. She is a senior fellow at Georgetown's Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs and Professor of the Practice of Development, Conflict, and Religion in the School of Foreign Service. Her long career with the World Bank (1971-2006) involved a wide range of leadership assignments, many focused on Africa. From 2000-2006 her mandate covered ethics, values, and faith in development work,as counselor to the World Bank's President. She was Country Director in the World Bank's Africa region, first for the Sahel region, then Southern Africa. She then led the Bank's work on social policy and governance during the East Asia crisis years. She worked extensively on Eastern Africa and Latin America. As a long time manager she was involved in many task forces and issues, among them exercises addressing leadership issues, conflict resolution, the role of women, and issues for values and ethics. Ms. Marshall has been closely engaged in the creation and development of the World Faiths Development Dialogue (WFDD) and is its Executive Director. She serves or has served on the Boards of several NGOs and advisory groups, including AVINA Americas, The International Shinto Foundation, the Niwano Peace Prize International Selection Committee, and the Opus Prize Foundation. She was part of the founding members of IDEA (International Development Ethics Association) and is part of the International Anti-Corruption Advisory Conference (IACC) advisory council. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. She served as a core group member of the Council of 100, an initiative of the World Economic Forum to advance understanding between the Islamic World and the West. She was a Trustee of Princeton University (2003-9). She co-moderated the Fes Forum which is part of the Fes Festival of World Sacred Music from its inception. She speaks and publishes widely on issues for international development. Ms. Marshall's daughter is a physician in Seattle in family practice, following service in the Peace Corps. Her son recently completed an assignment with Americorps, writes about and performs electronic music, and is taking courses in computer science at Georgetown University.


Opening hours: 1030-1830 Monday to Friday and 1030-1700 on Saturdays.
You do not need an appointment to visit our workshop, however we advise getting in touch first to check that we won't be away on lunch/holiday/business when you intend to arrive and to check what demo guitars we have in stock, particularly if you are travelling far.
Pay & Display car parking is available on Welsh Back and Queen Square, and we are a 3 minute walk from the Queen Charlotte Street NCP car park. Please be advised that traffic wardens regularly patrol the area so please park legally.
Design and content © Copyright Waghorn Guitars. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners.


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Q: Error related to Flutter provider package I am building a setting widget in my flutter app and I am getting this error :
Error: Could not find the correct Provider above this SettingsForm Widget
Update Adding whole debug snippet:
Launching lib\main.dart on AOSP on IA Emulator in debug mode...

════════ Exception caught by widgets library ═══════════════════════════════════
The following ProviderNotFoundException was thrown building SettingsForm(dirty, state: _SettingsFormState#c73b8):
Error: Could not find the correct Provider<MyUser> above this SettingsForm Widget

This happens because you used a `BuildContext` that does not include the provider
of your choice. There are a few common scenarios:

- You added a new provider in your `main.dart` and performed a hot-reload.
  To fix, perform a hot-restart.

- The provider you are trying to read is in a different route.

  Providers are "scoped". So if you insert of provider inside a route, then
  other routes will not be able to access that provider.

- You used a `BuildContext` that is an ancestor of the provider you are trying to read.

  Make sure that SettingsForm is under your MultiProvider/Provider<MyUser>.
  This usually happens when you are creating a provider and trying to read it immediately.

  For example, instead of:

  ```
  Widget build(BuildContext context) {
    return Provider<Example>(
      create: (_) => Example(),
      // Will throw a ProviderNotFoundError, because `context` is associated
      // to the widget that is the parent of `Provider<Example>`
      child: Text(context.watch<Example>()),
    ),
  }
  ```

  consider using `builder` like so:

  ```
  Widget build(BuildContext context) {
    return Provider<Example>(
      create: (_) => Example(),
      // we use `builder` to obtain a new `BuildContext` that has access to the provider
      builder: (context) {
        // No longer throws
        return Text(context.watch<Example>()),
      }
    ),
  }
  ```

If none of these solutions work, consider asking for help on StackOverflow:
https://stackoverflow.com/questions/tagged/flutter

The relevant error-causing widget was
SettingsForm
When the exception was thrown, this was the stack
#0      Provider._inheritedElementOf
#1      Provider.of
#2      _SettingsFormState.build
#3      StatefulElement.build
#4      ComponentElement.performRebuild
...
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

i UPDATED IT AND ADDED SOME EXTRA CODE SO YOU CAN SEE BETTER
setting.dart:
class SettingsForm extends StatefulWidget {
  @override
  _SettingsFormState createState() => _SettingsFormState();
}

class _SettingsFormState extends State<SettingsForm> {
  final _formKey = GlobalKey<FormState>();
  final List<String> sugars = ['0', '1', '2', '3', '4'];
  final List<int> strengths = [100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, 700, 800, 900];

  // form values
  String? _currentName;
  String? _currentSugars;
  int? _currentStrength;

  @override
  Widget build(BuildContext context) {
    MyUser user = Provider.of<MyUser>(context);

    return StreamBuilder<UserData>(
        stream: DatabaseService(uid: user.uid).userData,
        builder: (context, snapshot) {
          if (snapshot.hasData) {
            UserData? userData = snapshot.data;
            return Form(
              key: _formKey,
              child: Column(
                children: <Widget>[
                  Text(
                    'Update your brew settings.',
                    style: TextStyle(fontSize: 18.0),
                  ),
                  SizedBox(height: 20.0),
                  TextFormField(
                    initialValue: userData!.name,
                    decoration: textInputDecoration,
                    validator: (val) =>
                        val!.isEmpty ? 'Please enter a name' : null,
                    onChanged: (val) => setState(() => _currentName = val),
                  ),
                  SizedBox(height: 10.0),
                  DropdownButtonFormField<String>(
                    value: _currentSugars ?? userData.sugars,
                    decoration: textInputDecoration,
                    items: sugars.map((sugar) {
                      return DropdownMenuItem(
                        value: sugar,
                        child: Text('$sugar sugars'),
                      );
                    }).toList(),
                    onChanged: (val) => setState(() => _currentSugars = val),
                  ),
                  SizedBox(height: 10.0),
                  Slider(
                    value: (_currentStrength ?? userData.strength).toDouble(),
                    activeColor:
                        Colors.brown[_currentStrength ?? userData.strength],
                    inactiveColor:
                        Colors.brown[_currentStrength ?? userData.strength],
                    min: 100.0,
                    max: 900.0,
                    divisions: 8,
                    onChanged: (val) =>
                        setState(() => _currentStrength = val.round()),
                  ),
                  ElevatedButton(
                      style:
                          ElevatedButton.styleFrom(primary: Colors.pink[400]),
                      child: Text(
                        'Update',
                        style: TextStyle(color: Colors.white),
                      ),
                      onPressed: () async {
                        if (_formKey.currentState!.validate()) {
                          await DatabaseService(uid: user.uid).updateUserData(
                              _currentSugars ?? snapshot.data!.sugars,
                              _currentName ?? snapshot.data!.name,
                              _currentStrength ?? snapshot.data!.strength);
                          Navigator.pop(context);
                        }
                      }),
                ],
              ),
            );
          } else {
            return Loading();
          }
        });
  }
}

UPDATE: I AM INCLUDING THE HOME.DART FILE THAT INCLUDES THE 'SETTINGFORM' WIDGET
home.dart :
class Home extends StatelessWidget {

  final AuthService _auth = AuthService();

  @override
  Widget build(BuildContext context) {

    void _showSettingsPanel() {
      showModalBottomSheet(context: context, builder: (context) {
        return Container(
          padding: EdgeInsets.symmetric(vertical: 20.0, horizontal: 60.0),
          child: SettingsForm(), <-- Here
        );
      });
    }

    return StreamProvider<List<Brew>?>.value(
      value: DatabaseService(uid: '').brews,
      initialData: null,
      child: Scaffold(
        backgroundColor: Colors.brown[50],
        appBar: AppBar(
          title: Text('Brew Crew'),
          backgroundColor: Colors.brown[400],
          elevation: 0.0,
          actions: <Widget>[
            TextButton.icon(
              icon: Icon(Icons.person),
              label: Text('logout'),
              onPressed: () async {
                await _auth.signOut();
              },
            ),
            TextButton.icon(
              icon: Icon(Icons.settings),
              label: Text('settings'),
              onPressed: () => _showSettingsPanel(),
            )
          ],
        ),
        body: Container(
          decoration: BoxDecoration(
            image: DecorationImage(
              image: AssetImage('assets/coffee_bg.png'),
              fit: BoxFit.cover,
            ),
          ),
          child: BrewList()
        ),
      ),
    );
  }
}

user.dart:
class MyUser {

  final String uid;

  MyUser({ required this.uid });

}

class UserData {

  final String uid;
  final String name;
  final String sugars;
  final int strength;

  UserData({ required this.uid, required this.sugars, required this.strength, required this.name });

}

Update Update 2 Error

A: Because you have to declare the provider class above the class were your using it , if u find this ans crt mark it as crt
 @override
Widget build(BuildContext context) {
return MultiProvider(
  providers: [
    ChangeNotifierProvider(create: (ctx) => MyUser(),),

  ],
  child: MaterialApp());

A: You have to warp the parent class with the provider class you are using inside. For doing so the easiest way is to add a static method in widget havingMaterialPageRoute which helps to navigate to SettingsForm screen.
class SettingsForm extends StatefulWidget {

  static Widget getWidget() {
    return new Provider(
        create: (_) => MyUser(),
        child: ChangeNotifierProvider(
          create: (BuildContext context) => MyUser(),
          builder: (_,_) => SettingsForm()
        ),
     );
  }

  @override
  _SettingsFormState createState() => _SettingsFormState();
}

To open SettingsForm screen just call getRoute function on button pressed. Check the below code.
Open SettingsForm screen from Home screen
 void _showSettingsPanel() {
      showModalBottomSheet(context: context, builder: (context) {
        return Container(
          padding: EdgeInsets.symmetric(vertical: 20.0, horizontal: 60.0),
          child: SettingsForm.getWidget(), <-- Here
        );
      });
    }


text:
<?php

namespace Dodici\Fansworld\AdminBundle\Controller;

use Sonata\AdminBundle\Controller\CRUDController as Controller;

class TeamshipAdminController extends Controller
{
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Uncharted 3 Ships 3.8M Units On Launch Day
November 10, 2011 | By Mike Rose
More: Console/PC, Business/Marketing
Sony Computer Entertainment Europe has revealed that Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception, released last week, shipped 3.8 million units worldwide on launch day.
The company noted that the game is now on course to be the biggest selling title of the trilogy, and one of the biggest releases of 2011. [UPDATE:] Sony confirmed to Gamasutra that the figure given is shipped, rather than sold.
Nick Caplin, head of communications at SCEE, said, "Uncharted 3 is a blockbuster and these incredible sales figures reflect that."
"Consumers are clearly as eager to play the game as critics were to heap praise upon it, and the team at Naughty Dog deserve this fantastic reception at retail."
The game was lauded by critics and gamers alike at release, although it didn't manage to steal the top spot away from Battlefield 3 in the UK software charts.
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