text:
Expression and localization of cytochrome P450 17α-hydroxylase/c17,20-lyase in the avian brain
Masahiro Matsunaga, Kazuyoshi Ukena, Kazuyoshi Tsutsui*
Steroids synthesized de novo from cholesterol in the brain are generally called neurosteroids. We have recently demonstrated, using biochemical and molecular biological methods, that certain structures in the quail brain possess cytochrome P450 side-chain cleavage enzyme (P450scc) and 3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenaseΔ5-Δ4-isomerase (3β-HSD) and produce pregnenolone, pregnenolone sulfate and progesterone. To clarify the biosynthetic pathway of neurosteroids in the avian brain, therefore, we examined the expression of messenger RNA (mRNA) encoding for the enzyme cytochrome P450 17α-hydroxylase/c17,20-lyase (P45017α,lyase), which converts pregnenolone to dehydroepiandrosterone via 17α-hydroxypregnenolone or progesterone to androstenedione via 17α-hydroxyprogesterone. RT-PCR analysis followed by Southern hybridization indicated the expression of P45017α,lyase mRNA in the brain of sexually mature birds without a clear-cut sex difference. Employing biochemical techniques combined with HPLC analysis, the conversion of progesterone to 17α-hydroxyprogesterone was also found in brain slices of the mature male. P45017α,lyase mRNA was detected in various brain regions, but there was a clear regional difference in the expression. The expressions of P45017α,lyase mRNA in the diencephalon and mesencephalon were significantly higher than those in the cerebrum and cerebellum, unlike 3β-HSD mRNA, which showed no regional difference in the expression. In situ hybridization revealed the cellular localization of P45017α,lyase mRNA. The cells expressing P45017α,lyase mRNA were detected several diencephalic and mesencephalic regions, such as the preoptic area, the anterior hypothalamus, the dorsolateral thalamus, the optic tectum and the ventral midbrain. The expression was also localized in the septum, the hyperstriatum accessorium, and the ventral portions of the archistriatum in the telencephalon. Cerebellar Purkinje cells also expressed P45017α,lyase mRNA. These results suggest that the avian brain possesses P45017α,lyase as well as P450scc and 3β-HSD in both sexes. The expression of P45017α,lyase in the avian brain may be region-dependent.
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0006-8993(01)02217-X
Published - 2001 Apr 27
17α-Hydroxylase/c17,20-lyase
Enzymatic activity
In situ hybridization
Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction
10.1016/S0006-8993(01)02217-X
Dive into the research topics of 'Expression and localization of cytochrome P450 17α-hydroxylase/c17,20-lyase in the avian brain'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.
Lyases Medicine & Life Sciences 100%
Mixed Function Oxygenases Medicine & Life Sciences 78%
Cytochrome P-450 Enzyme System Medicine & Life Sciences 67%
Hydroxysteroids Medicine & Life Sciences 36%
Isomerases Medicine & Life Sciences 33%
17-alpha-Hydroxyprogesterone Medicine & Life Sciences 21%
Matsunaga, M., Ukena, K., & Tsutsui, K. (2001). Expression and localization of cytochrome P450 17α-hydroxylase/c17,20-lyase in the avian brain. Brain Research, 899(1-2), 112-122. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0006-8993(01)02217-X
Expression and localization of cytochrome P450 17α-hydroxylase/c17,20-lyase in the avian brain. / Matsunaga, Masahiro; Ukena, Kazuyoshi; Tsutsui, Kazuyoshi.
In: Brain Research, Vol. 899, No. 1-2, 27.04.2001, p. 112-122.
Matsunaga, M, Ukena, K & Tsutsui, K 2001, 'Expression and localization of cytochrome P450 17α-hydroxylase/c17,20-lyase in the avian brain', Brain Research, vol. 899, no. 1-2, pp. 112-122. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0006-8993(01)02217-X
Matsunaga M, Ukena K, Tsutsui K. Expression and localization of cytochrome P450 17α-hydroxylase/c17,20-lyase in the avian brain. Brain Research. 2001 Apr 27;899(1-2):112-122. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0006-8993(01)02217-X
Matsunaga, Masahiro ; Ukena, Kazuyoshi ; Tsutsui, Kazuyoshi. / Expression and localization of cytochrome P450 17α-hydroxylase/c17,20-lyase in the avian brain. In: Brain Research. 2001 ; Vol. 899, No. 1-2. pp. 112-122.
@article{a86ef3dff6804561ac09c7f21837b32b,
title = "Expression and localization of cytochrome P450 17α-hydroxylase/c17,20-lyase in the avian brain",
abstract = "Steroids synthesized de novo from cholesterol in the brain are generally called neurosteroids. We have recently demonstrated, using biochemical and molecular biological methods, that certain structures in the quail brain possess cytochrome P450 side-chain cleavage enzyme (P450scc) and 3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenaseΔ5-Δ4-isomerase (3β-HSD) and produce pregnenolone, pregnenolone sulfate and progesterone. To clarify the biosynthetic pathway of neurosteroids in the avian brain, therefore, we examined the expression of messenger RNA (mRNA) encoding for the enzyme cytochrome P450 17α-hydroxylase/c17,20-lyase (P45017α,lyase), which converts pregnenolone to dehydroepiandrosterone via 17α-hydroxypregnenolone or progesterone to androstenedione via 17α-hydroxyprogesterone. RT-PCR analysis followed by Southern hybridization indicated the expression of P45017α,lyase mRNA in the brain of sexually mature birds without a clear-cut sex difference. Employing biochemical techniques combined with HPLC analysis, the conversion of progesterone to 17α-hydroxyprogesterone was also found in brain slices of the mature male. P45017α,lyase mRNA was detected in various brain regions, but there was a clear regional difference in the expression. The expressions of P45017α,lyase mRNA in the diencephalon and mesencephalon were significantly higher than those in the cerebrum and cerebellum, unlike 3β-HSD mRNA, which showed no regional difference in the expression. In situ hybridization revealed the cellular localization of P45017α,lyase mRNA. The cells expressing P45017α,lyase mRNA were detected several diencephalic and mesencephalic regions, such as the preoptic area, the anterior hypothalamus, the dorsolateral thalamus, the optic tectum and the ventral midbrain. The expression was also localized in the septum, the hyperstriatum accessorium, and the ventral portions of the archistriatum in the telencephalon. Cerebellar Purkinje cells also expressed P45017α,lyase mRNA. These results suggest that the avian brain possesses P45017α,lyase as well as P450scc and 3β-HSD in both sexes. The expression of P45017α,lyase in the avian brain may be region-dependent.",
keywords = "17α-Hydroxylase/c17,20-lyase, Enzymatic activity, Gene expression, In situ hybridization, Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction",
author = "Masahiro Matsunaga and Kazuyoshi Ukena and Kazuyoshi Tsutsui",
doi = "10.1016/S0006-8993(01)02217-X",
journal = "Brain Research Protocols",
T1 - Expression and localization of cytochrome P450 17α-hydroxylase/c17,20-lyase in the avian brain
AU - Matsunaga, Masahiro
AU - Ukena, Kazuyoshi
AU - Tsutsui, Kazuyoshi
N2 - Steroids synthesized de novo from cholesterol in the brain are generally called neurosteroids. We have recently demonstrated, using biochemical and molecular biological methods, that certain structures in the quail brain possess cytochrome P450 side-chain cleavage enzyme (P450scc) and 3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenaseΔ5-Δ4-isomerase (3β-HSD) and produce pregnenolone, pregnenolone sulfate and progesterone. To clarify the biosynthetic pathway of neurosteroids in the avian brain, therefore, we examined the expression of messenger RNA (mRNA) encoding for the enzyme cytochrome P450 17α-hydroxylase/c17,20-lyase (P45017α,lyase), which converts pregnenolone to dehydroepiandrosterone via 17α-hydroxypregnenolone or progesterone to androstenedione via 17α-hydroxyprogesterone. RT-PCR analysis followed by Southern hybridization indicated the expression of P45017α,lyase mRNA in the brain of sexually mature birds without a clear-cut sex difference. Employing biochemical techniques combined with HPLC analysis, the conversion of progesterone to 17α-hydroxyprogesterone was also found in brain slices of the mature male. P45017α,lyase mRNA was detected in various brain regions, but there was a clear regional difference in the expression. The expressions of P45017α,lyase mRNA in the diencephalon and mesencephalon were significantly higher than those in the cerebrum and cerebellum, unlike 3β-HSD mRNA, which showed no regional difference in the expression. In situ hybridization revealed the cellular localization of P45017α,lyase mRNA. The cells expressing P45017α,lyase mRNA were detected several diencephalic and mesencephalic regions, such as the preoptic area, the anterior hypothalamus, the dorsolateral thalamus, the optic tectum and the ventral midbrain. The expression was also localized in the septum, the hyperstriatum accessorium, and the ventral portions of the archistriatum in the telencephalon. Cerebellar Purkinje cells also expressed P45017α,lyase mRNA. These results suggest that the avian brain possesses P45017α,lyase as well as P450scc and 3β-HSD in both sexes. The expression of P45017α,lyase in the avian brain may be region-dependent.
AB - Steroids synthesized de novo from cholesterol in the brain are generally called neurosteroids. We have recently demonstrated, using biochemical and molecular biological methods, that certain structures in the quail brain possess cytochrome P450 side-chain cleavage enzyme (P450scc) and 3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenaseΔ5-Δ4-isomerase (3β-HSD) and produce pregnenolone, pregnenolone sulfate and progesterone. To clarify the biosynthetic pathway of neurosteroids in the avian brain, therefore, we examined the expression of messenger RNA (mRNA) encoding for the enzyme cytochrome P450 17α-hydroxylase/c17,20-lyase (P45017α,lyase), which converts pregnenolone to dehydroepiandrosterone via 17α-hydroxypregnenolone or progesterone to androstenedione via 17α-hydroxyprogesterone. RT-PCR analysis followed by Southern hybridization indicated the expression of P45017α,lyase mRNA in the brain of sexually mature birds without a clear-cut sex difference. Employing biochemical techniques combined with HPLC analysis, the conversion of progesterone to 17α-hydroxyprogesterone was also found in brain slices of the mature male. P45017α,lyase mRNA was detected in various brain regions, but there was a clear regional difference in the expression. The expressions of P45017α,lyase mRNA in the diencephalon and mesencephalon were significantly higher than those in the cerebrum and cerebellum, unlike 3β-HSD mRNA, which showed no regional difference in the expression. In situ hybridization revealed the cellular localization of P45017α,lyase mRNA. The cells expressing P45017α,lyase mRNA were detected several diencephalic and mesencephalic regions, such as the preoptic area, the anterior hypothalamus, the dorsolateral thalamus, the optic tectum and the ventral midbrain. The expression was also localized in the septum, the hyperstriatum accessorium, and the ventral portions of the archistriatum in the telencephalon. Cerebellar Purkinje cells also expressed P45017α,lyase mRNA. These results suggest that the avian brain possesses P45017α,lyase as well as P450scc and 3β-HSD in both sexes. The expression of P45017α,lyase in the avian brain may be region-dependent.
KW - 17α-Hydroxylase/c17,20-lyase
KW - Enzymatic activity
KW - In situ hybridization
KW - Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction
U2 - 10.1016/S0006-8993(01)02217-X
DO - 10.1016/S0006-8993(01)02217-X
JO - Brain Research Protocols
JF - Brain Research Protocols


text:
SkillsUSA Competes in WorldSkills
LEESBURG, Va. - SkillsUSA, the organization that represents the United States in the WorldSkills Competition, hosted 16 student members of the SkillsUSA WorldTeam in Washington, D.C. The students met with government officials from the U.S. Departments of Education and Labor and the Canadian Embassy. The group also toured the nation's capital as they prepared to depart for the 40th international event held Sept. 1-7 in Calgary, Canada.
"These extraordinary students have worked and trained vigorously to represent the United States at the WorldSkills Competition, and we want them to know how proud we are to have them as members of the WorldTeam," said Tim Lawrence, executive director of SkillsUSA.
Every two years, hundreds of young people from 51 member countries compete in the WorldSkills Competition. Member countries include Japan, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Australia, Brazil, and many other global economic competitors to the United States. Considered "the best of the best" of the world's future skilled work force, these contestants compete for four days in 45 occupational skill areas from economic sectors including manufacturing, information technology, transportation, construction, and services. Accompanied by their teachers, trainers, and industry technical experts, these young people compete before the public in contests that are run by and judged by industry using demanding international standards.
For more information, visit www.skillsusa.org.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
@import UserNotifications;

NSString * const BCLApplicationDidRegisterForRemoteNotificationsNotification = @"BCLApplicationDidRegisterForRemoteNotificationsNotification";
NSString * const BCLApplicationDidFailToRegisterForRemoteNotificationsNotification = @"BCLApplicationDidFailToRegisterForRemoteNotificationsNotification";

@interface AppDelegate () <CLLocationManagerDelegate, UNUserNotificationCenterDelegate>
@property (nonatomic, strong) CLLocationManager *locationManager;
@end

@implementation AppDelegate

- (BOOL)application:(UIApplication *)application didFinishLaunchingWithOptions:(NSDictionary *)launchOptions {
    // Override point for customization after application launch.
    [[RMConfiguration sharedInstance] setAccessToken:@"pk.eyJ1IjoiYWNob2puYWNraSIsImEiOiJBNjFIdV8wIn0.Jm8FTlRfSHys8Og29_9WLg"];

    UNUserNotificationCenter *center = UNUserNotificationCenter.currentNotificationCenter;
    center.delegate = self;
    UIUserNotificationSettings *settings = [UIUserNotificationSettings settingsForTypes:(UIRemoteNotificationTypeBadge
                                                                                |UIRemoteNotificationTypeSound
                                                                                |UIRemoteNotificationTypeAlert) categories:nil];
    [application registerUserNotificationSettings:settings];

    self.locationManager = [CLLocationManager new];
    self.locationManager.delegate = self;

    return YES;
}

- (void)applicationWillResignActive:(UIApplication *)application {
    // Sent when the application is about to move from active to inactive state. This can occur for certain types of temporary interruptions (such as an incoming phone call or SMS message) or when the user quits the application and it begins the transition to the background state.
    // Use this method to pause ongoing tasks, disable timers, and throttle down OpenGL ES frame rates. Games should use this method to pause the game.
}

- (void)applicationDidEnterBackground:(UIApplication *)application {
    // Use this method to release shared resources, save user data, invalidate timers, and store enough application state information to restore your application to its current state in case it is terminated later.
    // If your application supports background execution, this method is called instead of applicationWillTerminate: when the user quits.
}

- (void)applicationWillEnterForeground:(UIApplication *)application {
    // Called as part of the transition from the background to the inactive state; here you can undo many of the changes made on entering the background.
    if (self.shouldVerifySystemSettings) {
        [self verifySystemSettings];
    }
}

- (void)applicationDidBecomeActive:(UIApplication *)application {
    // Restart any tasks that were paused (or not yet started) while the application was inactive. If the application was previously in the background, optionally refresh the user interface.
    if (self.shouldVerifySystemSettings) {
        [self performSelector:@selector(verifySystemSettings) withObject:nil afterDelay:0.5];
    }
}

- (void)applicationWillTerminate:(UIApplication *)application {
    // Called when the application is about to terminate. Save data if appropriate. See also applicationDidEnterBackground:.
}

#pragma mark - Phone Settings Verification

- (void)setShouldVerifySystemSettings:(BOOL)shouldVerifySystemSettings
{
    _shouldVerifySystemSettings = shouldVerifySystemSettings;
    if (shouldVerifySystemSettings) {
        if ([CLLocationManager authorizationStatus] == kCLAuthorizationStatusNotDetermined) {
            [self.locationManager requestAlwaysAuthorization];
        } else {
            [self verifySystemSettings];
        }
    }
}

- (void)verifySystemSettings
{
#if (!TARGET_IPHONE_SIMULATOR)
    NSError *error;
    if (![[BeaconCtrlManager sharedManager].beaconCtrl isBeaconCtrlReadyToProcessBeaconActions:&error]) {
        if ([self.window.rootViewController.presentedViewController isKindOfClass:[BCLSystemSettingsViewController class]]) {
            BCLSystemSettingsViewController *viewController = (BCLSystemSettingsViewController *) self.window.rootViewController.presentedViewController;
            viewController.error = error;
        } else {
            BCLSystemSettingsViewController *viewController = [BCLSystemSettingsViewController viewControllerWithError:error];
            [self.window.rootViewController presentViewController:viewController animated:YES completion:nil];
        }
    } else {
        if ([self.window.rootViewController.presentedViewController isKindOfClass:[BCLSystemSettingsViewController class]]) {
            [self.window.rootViewController dismissViewControllerAnimated:YES completion:nil];
        }
    }
#endif
}

#pragma mark - CLLocationManagerDelegate

- (void)locationManager:(CLLocationManager *)manager didChangeAuthorizationStatus:(CLAuthorizationStatus)status
{
    if (self.shouldVerifySystemSettings) {
        [self verifySystemSettings];
    }
}

#pragma mark - Push Notifications

- (void)application:(UIApplication *)application didRegisterUserNotificationSettings:(UIUserNotificationSettings *)notificationSettings
{
    NSLog(@"Did register user notification settings");

    [application registerForRemoteNotifications];
}

- (void)application:(UIApplication *)application didRegisterForRemoteNotificationsWithDeviceToken:(NSData *)deviceToken
{
    NSLog(@"Did register for remote notifications");

    NSString *deviceTokenString = [[[[deviceToken description] stringByReplacingOccurrencesOfString: @"<" withString: @""] stringByReplacingOccurrencesOfString: @">" withString: @""] stringByReplacingOccurrencesOfString: @" " withString: @""];

    self.isRemoteNotificationSetupReady = YES;

    [[NSNotificationCenter defaultCenter] postNotificationName:BCLApplicationDidRegisterForRemoteNotificationsNotification object:application userInfo:@{@"deviceToken": deviceTokenString}];
}

- (void)application:(UIApplication *)application didFailToRegisterForRemoteNotificationsWithError:(NSError *)error
{
    NSLog(@"Did fail to register for remote notifications");

    self.isRemoteNotificationSetupReady = YES;

    [[NSNotificationCenter defaultCenter] postNotificationName:BCLApplicationDidFailToRegisterForRemoteNotificationsNotification object:application];
}

- (void)application:(UIApplication *)application didReceiveLocalNotification:(UILocalNotification *)notification
{
    [[BeaconCtrlManager sharedManager].beaconCtrl handleNotification:notification.userInfo error:nil];
}

- (void)application:(UIApplication *)application didReceiveRemoteNotification:(NSDictionary *)userInfo
{
    [[BeaconCtrlManager sharedManager].beaconCtrl handleNotification:userInfo error:nil];
}

- (void)userNotificationCenter:(UNUserNotificationCenter *)center didReceiveNotificationResponse:(UNNotificationResponse *)response withCompletionHandler:(void (^)())completionHandler
{
    [[BeaconCtrlManager sharedManager].beaconCtrl handleNotification:response.notification.request.content.userInfo error:nil];
}

@end

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Posted on July 13, 2010 by Loquitur Veritatem
I must begin at the beginning, with my definition of liberty:
A state of liberty exists where people cohabit an extensive geographic area in peaceful, willing coexistence and its concomitant: beneficially cooperative behavior. The condition of peace requires mechanisms for thwarting fraud, coercion, and aggression inside the group, and from without. The condition of willing coexistence requires a combination of mutual restraint and mutual forbearance, that is, a general willingness to accept certain of others' foibles and, in return, to honor certain constraints on one's own behavior — even beyond fraud, coercion, and aggression.
Inherent in that definition, and essential to its fulfillment, are four things:
the general observance of evolved and evolving social norms and, accordingly, their enforcement through social censure
an accountable, minimal state, dedicated to the protection of its citizens and the enforcement of those social norms — and only those norms — that rise to the level of statutory law (e.g., acts that are generally recognized as fraudulent, coercive, and aggressive)
voice, the opportunity for dissent from social norms and laws (though not the right to have one's dissent honored)
exit, the right to leave without penalty.
That we do not have liberty in the United States should be evident in the number of statutes and regulations that a far-from-minimal state imposes on us. With a few exceptions — most notably and laudably in the area of civil rights for blacks — liberty has been in retreat since the onset of the Progressive Era in the early 1890s. For, contrary to Fourth of July oratory, America has descended into statism. And, pace the The Star Spangled Banner, America is the land of the regulator and the home of the regulated.
Those of us lucky enough to have experienced life in small cities, towns, and villages in the 1940s know that something like liberty is possible. Ironically, and tragically, the small-town ethos that undergirds liberty has been the object of pseudo-intellectual scorn since the days of Main Street and Babbit.
Apropos the small-town ethos, I once said:
Think of life in a small town where "eveyone knows everyone else's business." The sense of being "watched" actually tends to foster liberty, in that it discourages crime. As a result, one's life and property generally are safer in small towns than in large cities. By the same token, the sense of being "watched" can seem oppressive; one feels less free to do things that might draw social opprobrium, even if those things do no more than offend others' sensibilities.
Why should everyone in a small town have to put up with small-town mores for the sake of a safer, saner life, you may ask? Well, if you don't like small-town mores, fine, pack up and go to the big city, but don't forget to take your handgun (if you're allowed to have one in the big city), and keep your life and homeowner's insurance paid up. (Alternatively, you can stay in the small town and try, through example and persuasion, to change its mores so that there is greater tolerance of social diversity.)
It seems to me that America began to lose its way as urban political machines came to dominate national politics in the early 1900s. It is true that populism, from which arose Progressivism, had its roots in small-town and rural America. But Progressivism and its later incarnations ("liberalism" a.k.a. "progressivism") have hijacked the anti-elite rhetoric of populism in the service of a different kind of elitism: the "technocratic" regulation of personal and business conduct by puritanical, falsely omniscient bureaucrats.
Even in the unlikely event of a string of electoral victories by a Republican Party restored to its small-government roots, it seems unlikely that America can "go home" again. Urbanization — which leads citizens (wrongly) to believe that government must regulate our daily lives — is irreversible, barring an environmental or industrial catastrophe that throws us back onto the land.
Then there is the deep inculcation of statist habits of thought by schools, universities, the media, and various organizations with "progressive" agendas (e.g., teachers' unions, labor unions, and issue-oriented organizations like AARP). As a result, a truly minimal state is beyond the imagination of most Americans.
Finally, there is the law itself, through which the "progressive" agenda has infiltrated almost every kind of decision made by Americans in their personal and business lives, from cradle to grave and from planting crops to disposing of waste. An electoral and intellectual revolution would have to be accompanied by a legal one, but the wheels of the law grind slowly and often in perverse ways.
Is liberty possible? Liberty, as I define it, seems impossible. All we can hope and fight for are second- or third-best outcomes. I would settle for an America like that of the 1940s and 1950s, with an overlay of equal treatment under the law (but not in private matters) for all citizens — even the putative white-male majority.
This entry was posted in Political Movements & Theories and tagged liberty, populism, progressivism, rebirth of liberty, small-town ethos. Bookmark the permalink.
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Serve up some court-bound motivation in the Club C tennis shoe from Reebok. Rubber sole remains flexible and lightweight to keep you on your toes. EVA midsole cushion provides resilient cushioning to take your match into extra sets.


For a limited time, Snapshot Energy was directed at audiences that did or was interested in paintball. Proudly, I considered this one of my quick design processes as that I was only allotted to work on it for less than 8 hours between the bottle and box and I was able to get it done in that timeframe. The direction they were looking for was something that dictated fast lightning energy. So I came up with a lightning pattern for the background and a badge that included the name of the bottle, their "P" logomark that I put into a wing design and short easy words that were the main focus of the energy drink. The only flavor I got to do at the time was the Pineapple Rush. So I thought it would be a fun process to imagine that they had two other flavors, Strawberry Delight and Refreshing Orange (names I came up with). Excitedly, I was able to see the design printed on one bottle that was brought into the office. Sadly, since it was for a limited time, I never got to see the counter display box with multiple copies of the bottle. So I took up the challenge to mockup the items myself using my Canon Rebel T5, a Counter Display Box and the one bottle I actually have.


text:
Vello wins Startup Weekend Toronto – Internet of Things Edition
11/24/2014 | By Alison Gibbins
This post originally appeared on blog.up.co
(Reposted from the media release crafted by the talented Holly Knowlman)
A new wave of IoT companies got their start in Toronto this weekend at Startup Weekend Toronto: Internet of Things Edition.
The 54-hour event brought together makers, designers, developers and entrepreneurs to share ideas and launch new businesses. Teams spent the weekend talking to potential customers and building product prototypes before presenting to a panel of judges on Sunday afternoon.
Judge Natasha Baker, Founder of SnapEDA, spoke about the importance of events like Startup Weekend for fuelling innovation in the IoT space.
"By 2020 there will be over 50 billion connected devices as part of the Internet of Things, and a lot of innovation in the space is coming from smaller companies and startups. Broader connectivity is the next wave of innovation in computing, following on from mobile. That makes events like Startup Weekend, which give entrepreneurs a platform to vet their ideas, so valuable."
She was joined on the judging panel by Karl Martin, CEO & Co-Founder of Bionym, Matthew Leibowitz of Plaza Ventures and Ian Collins, Founder and CEO of Crowdcare Corporation.
They selected Vello, creators of a smart vent to control temperature in the home, as the first place team. They impressed judges with their prototype for a simple, beautiful honeycomb vent that could be opened or closed via an iPhone app.
Joey Piro, who originally pitched the idea for Vello, stressed the importance of teamwork when launching new companies.
"This weekend I learned the importance of having faith in those around you to help you execute on your vision. Vello was only possible because of how well our team meshed and worked together as a unit."
Second place was StoveAlert, a lightweight smart device that detects stovetop temperatures and alerts you of changes before an accident occurs. myMouse, a custom-built ergonomic computer mouse designed to fit the hand of an individual user, took third place.
Event sponsor VitaminWater awarded ExploreTO their special "doer" award, given to the team they thought worked the hardest over the weekend. ExploreTO is a curated, pre-paid subscription services for experiences that helps people try something new each month.
Startup Weekend Toronto is just one of 250 Startup Weekend events taking place during Global Entrepreneurship Week. Teams in Toronto will now go on to compete against entrepreneurs from other regions in the Global Startup Battle, the world's biggest startup competition. Prizes for the champions include tickets and travel to GEC in Milan, LAUNCH in San Francisco and a media tour in New York City.
Toronto startups have an impressive track record in the Global Startup Battle, winning the competition in both 2013 and 2012. Last years winners, Pawly, created a robotic chew toy that gives dog owners a new way to interact with their pet. Pawly is currently preparing for the public launch of their product.
Startup Weekend Toronto Internet of Things Edition was presented by Ontario Centres of Excellence and took place at MakeWorks and The Shop this weekend. There, teams had access to 3D printers, laser cutters and other equipment for building hardware prototypes.
"I'm consistently impressed with the level of talent in the city. Startup Weekend has a great track record of launching amazing companies in Toronto and this event was no exception. Our participants, mentors and sponsors have all demonstrated that Toronto is a hotbed of talented when it comes to Internet of Things innovation." - Lead organizer, Heather Simmonds
About Startup Weekend Toronto: Startup Weekend Toronto is an intense 54-hour event where local entrepreneurs, developers, designers, marketers, product managers, startup enthusiasts and anyone interested in building a business will come together to share ideas, form teams, and launch a startup. Startup Weekend Toronto Internet of Things Edition is presented by Ontario Centres for Excellence and sponsored by BDC Capital, Autodesk and Shopify. For more information about Startup Weekend Toronto please visit swto.ca, email toronto@startupweekend.org or search Twitter hashtag #SWTO.
About Startup Weekend: Startup Weekend™ supports the development and expansion of entrepreneurship through events worldwide that educate aspiring entrepreneurs by immersing them in the process of moving an idea to market. Startup Weekend has built a network of more than 55,000 alumni, thousands of volunteer organizers and 100 trained facilitators spread across more than 300 cities in 100 countries. Google, Coca-Cola, AWS and .Co are sponsors. For more information, visit www.startupweekend.org or follow us on Twitter @startupweekend.
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The Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade, or the Parade of Lights as it's also known, is one of the major Xmas events in the whole of Southern California, and within easy reach of Los Angeles. As you can see from the photos, it's one of the most colorful parades you could find, and it's been going now for over 100 years. In fact The New York Times described it as "one of the top 10 holiday happenings in the nation."
Each holiday season Newport Harbor comes alive with Christmas lights and decorations, and these and the Boat Parade bring over a million people to this beach town less than an hour from downtown Los Angeles. Some of the boats in the parade spend over $50,000 decorating themselves, in the hope of winning a prize for the best boat in the parade.
The best way to see the boat parade is definitely up-close and personal. From December 1st five boats in Newport Harbor offer cruises around the harbor to see the lights, with three departures every night. The cruises offer visitors the best opportunity to see the boats in the Boat Parade. See below a link to the online booking form.
The Christmas lights start going up after Thanksgiving, and by December 1st Newport Harbor is lit up like… well, lit up like a Christmas tree!
From December 1st to December 17th you can join one of the harbor cruises to see the best of the Christmas lights. The Boat Parade itself takes place on the evenings of December 18-22, though the harbor cruises continue. From December 23rd to the end of the month, you can still join a harbor cruise to enjoy the holiday lights.


Sedentary reminder, drink plenty of water to remind, sleep monitoring and alarm reminder. A number of life smart reminders to make your life more quality.
You can easily use our fitness tracker to control your smart phone's camera,in order to take a beautiful photo for you. And you can use USB charging method, no charging cable is required, charging convenient secure.
The wristband is made of TPU skin-friendly material that is breathable and sweat-resistant and sleek body design with integrated strap. Bring a better wearing experience.
With IPS 0.96 HD display, it is clearly visible in the sun. No matter when and where you want to see content, you will not be missed.


This started on Wednesday, gradually adding more ingredients to the starter, until it rose into this monster.
which rose again overnight in the fridge.
The lump gave it a "very nice".
The recipe is from Bread Ahead, and here's their result!


text:
Wallwork Opticians in Swinton > About us > Our history
Established in the 1880's and still providing excellent eye care and service to all our patients
Our business was started in the 1880s by Abel Wallwork on Regent Road in Salford. He was a jeweller who started to specialise in "pince-nez" spectacles. His son Douglas was one of the first trained opticians and was President of the British Optical Association, which was very involved with the start of the NHS and moving the profession forward.
In those days we traded under the name A Wallwork and Son and did so (even when it was Douglas and his son Dennis) until we changed to Wallwork Opticians in the early 1980s. We moved from Regent Road in 1972 to the new Salford Shopping Centre. We started working from Worsley Rd in the late 1970s with both sites running for a few years, before relocating fully to Worsley Rd in 1983.
Ian Wallwork and Nick Wallwork are the 4th and 5th generation of the Wallwork family to serve our local eye care needs. From February 2017 we began trading as a limited company when we joined up with two generations of the McGrail family. We are proud to continue with the essential values and ethos of placing excellence and fairness at the core of our business for all our clients.
When sorting through some old Wallwork family papers we came across this flyer that we assume would be from about 1920 (due to the "boast" of being able to test at night as we had ELECTRIC LIGHT). If that date is correct then the gentlemen on the front would be Abel and Douglas.
Douglas was always one for a quote and we still have one of his best hanging above reception and on our lens cloths:
"YOU CAN'T BE OPTIMISTIC IF YOU'VE GOT MISTY OPTICS"
That seems to be first used around 1930.
As well as testing eyes, the family have also had a share of educating. Both Dennis and Ian having had posts with UMIST (now University of Manchester). Nick is a part time lecturer at Liverpool University.
As a company we have always led from the front in embracing technology, investing heavily in money and time to do the best job we can. The flyer above shows what then were very radical new ways of testing eyes.
At the end of the 1960s Dennis was covered in the media showing a closed circuit television system to help people choose specs by seeing themselves with their new frames on. We now use an iPad system that lets us email images to you so you can ask friends' opinions as well. That's a whole lot simpler and more effective than the old reel-to-reel system of the 1970s.
In 1975 we were one of the very first opticians in the country to have a Non Contact Tonometer (a machine that puffs a short air pulse at the eye to measure the pressure). At the time there was widespread discussion in optics circles that this couldn't become a routine part of an eye examination due to the cost etc. Now it is in almost every opticians in the country.
The late 1990's saw us again at the forefront of things with a retinal camera, again being one of the first in the country.
In 2004 we invested in our first tomograph, the Heidelberg Retinal Tomographer, that looked as if it was going to be the new glaucoma tool, to find early change but which has now been largely superseded by OCT (Ocular Coherence Tomography).
2009 brought the OCT which we think is the most exciting tool to find its way from hospitals out to community eyecare. A complete game changer in assessment of macula conditions and very valuable in monitoring nerves in possible glaucomas.
A new instrument, called the Optomap, is now available at our practice that helps us do a better eye examination. It is a camera that dramatically increases how much we can see of the back of your eye.
Because we are so sure it is the best way to examine, and keep records to compare against in the future, we have invested a significant amount of money on the machine and now privately offer examinations that include this technology. Once again, we are showing our commitment to your care, as at March 2018 it is estimated less than 5% of opticians in the country have one of these instruments.
These were all expensive items, purchased as we show our intention to always try to offer the best, leading the way not just following. Abel and Douglas would be proud that what they set in motion is still aiming high.
To book an appointment, call us on
0161 794 2454 or click the button below Book Now


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See you at Booth #F32.


my work is a little far from my home, and it's really relaxing to walk on the seaside in the early morning and the view is always beautiful as i live in Alexandria, but what really makes me walk to work most of the days, is that i always find someone who needs help, most of the times it's a simple thing like crossing the street with an old lady, or helping a mother and her children to carry some stuff. it really makes me happy to start my day like that, even if i have so many things in my mind or problems i need to solve, starting my day like that always makes me feel better.
the best way to help yourself is to start helping others, that's what i've learnt.


WTN- Princess Eugenie, who had surgery to treat Scoliosis as a child, deliberately chose a wedding dress that would show the scar to spread awareness of the condition and encourage the acceptance of scars. She had major surgery on her back to treat a curvature of the spine at the age of 12.
Scoliosis is a medical condition in which a person's spine has a sideways curve.The curve is usually "S"- or "C"-shaped. In some, the degree of curve is stable, while in others, it increases over time. Mild scoliosis does not typically cause problems, while severe cases can interfere with breathing.
Her dress had been designed to show the scar from her scoliosis treatment as a child. Princess Eugenie's Wedding dress has been designed by Peter Pilotto and Christopher De Vos.
"I think you can change the way beauty is, and you can show people your scars and I think it's really special to stand up for that." she said.
Princess Eugenie chose a wedding dress that showed her scar and it's so inspiring to me. I went under the same surgery and even though no one has ever seen my scar, it makes me really insecure and I feel judged when I know I shouldn't feel that way. Ever.
Princess Eugenie's wedding dress IS important.
It's brought a little bit of a tear to my eye & given me goosebumps.
Having scoliosis myself EVERY DAY I think about what I wear & how to hide my condition. In my eyes, her showing her scar on her wedding day is so commendable.


text:
Q: Why are FSDataOutputStream's hsync and getPos functions out of sync? I have an application that uses FSDataOutputStream to write data to HDFS.
In order to write that data I use FSDataOutputStream's hflush function. In order to obtain the number of bytes that have been written I use FSDataOutputStream's getPos function.
For some reason after hflush has been called, getPos returns the wrong file size most of the time (sometimes it is correct).
My understanding is that when I call hflush, and after that when I call getPos, the file size in HDFS has to be equal (in bytes) to what getPos returns, but getPos always returns something greater! As though half of the file is still stuck in some buffer and hasn't reached a physical disk...
I read about the hsync function of FSDataOutputStream. I started using hsync instead of hflush, because it guarantees that the data will not be buffered and will be written to disk.
But the problem still persists, it is very rare now, but I still have the same issue. 10% of the time, when I call hsync, and then getPos, the file size in HDFS is less than what getPos returns.
Why is this happening and how can I synchronize getPos with hsync?

A: You have to call hsync with the SyncFlag.UPDATE_LENGTH argument. Why is hsync() not flushing my hdfs file?

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
WADs & Mods
Classic Doom
Akeldama - Episode 1 Released! Wrapping up E2 + E3 Submissions
By valkiriforce, January 9 in WADs & Mods
DerFurer'sFace
36 minutes ago, valkiriforce said:
^ Is it the same as the download link from the front page? I'd like to post the compiled E1 wad but I'd like to include your update before doing so.
Yeah, it should be, I uploaded a new version to my google drive link, and thats the one on the front page I believe
valkiriforce
@AD_79 All right, here's the compiled Episode 1 wad: https://www.dropbox.com/s/eklhx7defm33646/AK_E1.zip?dl=0
Hopefully it contains all the latest versions of the maps; I can always update it again if I need to, but for now I'll leave it as-is for those that want to play the maps in order.
[EDIT] Sorry, should have included the patch for MAP11. Updated.
Edited May 2 by valkiriforce
AD_79
Cool, thanks. So do all of these maps need new tracks?
pcorf
4 hours ago, AD_79 said:
Most of them do, especially MAP05. But the songs in MAP02 and MAP07 are fairly good. I think MAP01 and MAP06 are original songs.
Maybe I can compose some midi files for the project.
5 hours ago, valkiriforce said:
Have you compiled a .mapinfo so all the names match?
18 minutes ago, pcorf said:
MAP01's is from the Plutonia MIDI Pack. I don't know the original source, but according to the metadata 06's track is not original either. So yeah, to me it seems like an entirely new set of tracks should be created.
36 minutes ago, AD_79 said:
Mark Klem's Slipper in MAP07 has always been a favorite of mine. But yeah we need to find some musicians. As I said, I could compose some midis over the next few months but my style may not be with everyone's taste.
Generally I have always been a fan of your music, so i'd Love a track for MAP05 @pcorf
13 hours ago, AD_79 said:
Pretty much yes, with exception for MAP29 since pcorf provided a MIDI for his map. The ones currently included are all pretty much placeholder tracks to give an idea of what atmosphere the mapper was going for. MAP09 however didn't come with a track so I guess that's open for interpretation. I've updated to include the track list in the first post so everyone can see what's been claimed.
8 hours ago, Bob9001 said:
Not yet; I was going to wait until we have a clear idea of what maps will be included specifically in later episodes which are not yet completed.
22 hours ago, Bob9001 said:
Ok following your advice using comp-level 2 (Doom 1.9 Compatability) I managed to get the map to work without bugs. By the way.. it's still a good map with this oversight, I loved playing it.
Thanks, glad to hear it! :)
17 hours ago, DerFurer'sFace said:
I'll try and compose something fast and dramatic later on and private message you the midi when complete.
A new version of my MAP29. Hopefully this is the final version.
* Linedefs 2450 and 1838 made impassable in front of the red switches in the red area just before the final room.
* Music fixed. From the 81st to 96th bar the hihat was missing as I forgot to paste it in because I composed this section of the song last.
DOWNLOAD: http://www.paulcorfiatis.com/ak29_v2.zip
Viscra Maelstrom has offered some tracks for use in the project. Here's a couple of songs that could be used:
Parting Souls (5:54)
For The New Lunar Republic (Remix) (5:43)
There's also Doom Jockey which hasn't seen much use from what I've been told. From what I've heard it sounds like a number of songs could be put to good use, but I also want to wait and see if anyone either wants to compose for a specific map or if anyone else hears anything they'd like to use. Parting Souls sounds like it could be a good candidate for MAP06, as it would be a nice way to close the first half of Episode 1. I'm thinking For The New Lunar Republic could work nicely on MAP09 since that one doesn't even have a placeholder track.
complexDoomer
OK I made small changes on my map :)
new comp12.zip
Eris Falling
re music: I'm going to be writing something for antares' map (17) first, hopefully starting by early next week. Probably won't be able to do many tracks, but if anyone wants me to write for a specific map in this let me know!
Looking forward to playtesting E2, hopefully Valkiri will compile it into one wad for me this time round so I don't have to go through 11 maps :P
riscoloco
Just finished E1 nice set of levels that last level though just branched off in too many different diretions and rooms for me but thats just my opinion looking forward to E2.
wolfmcbeard
Yeah, I knew I couldn't with everything going on, I've been planning on moving soon and haven't had more than an hour to work on my submission since my last post and I still won't for the most part.
There isn't a chance I can make the deadline at this point even if I told real life to shove it...sigh.
Strife!
13 minutes ago, wolfmcbeard said:
Sorry to hear life is getting in the way for you. Have you got much of the map down?
I'd be up for helping out finishing your map if that's what it takes, but I also have a mapslot already. If there was someone eager and suitable that didn't perhaps have a slot I'd be happy for them to take it :)
18 minutes ago, Khorus said:
I'd say it's probably 30-45% done, when I recovered my backup of it when my last pc had to have windows reinstalled, I lost a small chunk but figured I'd be able to remake what I lost and the finish, but that isn't gonna happen at this rate so any help in finishing it is welcomed with open arms.
In a way, it's something I could've finished but I took a hiatus from mapping so I wouldn't feel burned out, if I didn't, I would have probably finished it a while back. hindsight is 20/20 though.
@wolfmcbeard If you'd rather send it to someone else for completion that's fine. @Khorus I don't mind people having more than one slot if you were willing to take a look at it, if you're not too busy with your current submission.
I know the deadline is in a couple days from now but I just want to clarify something about it; the whole reason I set the deadlines in place was to ensure that this project would keep moving forward in map submissions and finishing up each of the three episodes. If work is actually being done to finish a map I don't see a reason to reject something that could almost be completed. I had this experience with another little project of mine called TNT: Resistance which could have been released by December 2016 but was delayed an entire year over one map slot and one missing person. I didn't want that to happen with this project so if people disappear or there's nothing to show for it we can move on to finishing what we have of it. I'd just like to know that people are still there and working on their entries, otherwise I don't have a reason to push this out if people are disappearing. I will likely start working on getting Episode 2 finished up when the deadline hits so we can eventually have a compiled wad of E2 maps as well, which is why it's important to have maps ready by that time.
I'm good with that if wolfmcbeard is. Feel free to PM me the map and any info if you decide to go that way, Wolf :)
@valkiriforce understand, I should've kept working, but I can't make excuses for choosing to stop for a bit, all I can do is apologize and thank @Khorus for being willing to pick up my slack.
I wish I had the time/didn't squander the ample amount I had.
On 5/4/2019 at 3:43 PM, riscoloco said:
Yeah I guess I'm a big fan of sprawling and very non-linear design. Could try something more linear some day for a change, might be fun. :) Was there something you liked with it?
Since the E2 deadline is coming I made another small update with the exit room setup changed from the feedback and few visual changes, the download link remains the same.
this is it I finished modifying my maps I hope that will work (
I test it on boom and it works)
Edited May 8 by complexDoomer
Viscra Maelstrom
Formerly Doomhuntress
i spruced up an old track that was lying around. feel free to use it.
Death (3:41)
antares031
Formerly antares031
A little bit more work to do:
I've pretty much heard back from everyone except @Chaingunner, just wanna know if you've got progress on your map since we've reached the deadline for outside submissions for Episode 2. And with that we're entering the last available deadline with Episode 3 submissions by July the 8th. After this we're going to fine-tune and playtest all of the maps and hopefully get a complete soundtrack somewhere down the road, and fill any empty slots that remain if any. Still a little ways to go but not too far off now.
I'm gonna work on getting the episode 2 maps up and finished in the meantime. @complexDoomer I looked over your recent updated MAP12 and noticed it was simplified quite a bit for vanilla Doom 2, however I do have the original map with the additional details and I was working on getting that working with vanilla since I do think it looks nice; maybe have some additional details in the works as well including some extra monster placement. I also have a map sent to me from Juza which is not 100% finished, but I hope to get it completed as well after I finish up with Map 12. That's pretty much where I am at this point, and I hope to get Episode 2 up and available when the remaining maps are submitted.
Been spending the past week or so simplifying how the secrets work as they were overly elaborate/bordering on clunky. Still have the SE corner to finish but that isn't driving me nuts like the red key bfg secret was. I've been looking at parts of this map since '01 when it was going to be map27 of Plutonia2; so I think it's just a case of map fatigue that I'm pushing through as it's turned out better than I planned.
Current section I'm reworking/finalizing and an overall view.
Go To Topic Listing WADs & Mods


"The three QEP masters, Pascal Baetens, Jørgen Brandt and Martin Vrabko, photographers with the highest recognition from the Federation of European Photographers, in three places – Belgium, Denmark and Slovakia – attempt to capture the stories that women share. Naked, all the more vulnerable, with no make-up, more real. No fake smiles, no pretence. They spontaneously tell stories that bring dusk to one's soul."


I would like to thank you for your great efforts in supporting the persecuted writers worldwide, and I would like to express my great gratitude for being here with you.
Allow me to dedicate my thanking speech to tell of some of the oppressed voices behind Egyptian bars. For almost two years, I went through this cruel ordeal and experienced firsthand what it means to be deprived of one's freedom, like thousands of political & criminal prisoners, without having a voice that can speak your words of suffering. For them and about them, let me speak for a few minutes.
Let me tell you of the Egyptian poetess Shimaa El Sabbagh, a young woman killed in a peaceful march and wreath-laying ceremony commemorating the martyrs of 25 of January Revolution.
Let me tell you of the Egyptian poet Ahmed Doma, who was detained 18 times during Mubarak and SCAF's regimes, and is currently sentenced for 31 years of imprisonment! Doma was part of the most influential political youth movements that fueled the 25th of January Revolution. He is also known as the Butterflies Hunter as he, during demonstrations, caught with his hands a large number of tear gas bombs and through them away from demonstrators.
Let me tell you of the blogger Alaa Abdel Fattah co-recipient, with his wife Manal, of the "Reporters without Borders" Award. Alaa decided to return with his wife to Egypt, leaving behind his prospering future abroad, to participate in January Revolution. Today he stand as one of its icons as he has suffered torture, persecution and imprisonment under successive regimes.
Let me tell you of the photojournalist Mahmoud Abou Zaid was assaulted in the line of duty; arrested while covering the Dismissal of Rabaa in August 2013. Till the present day, he is held without trial despite the appeals made by many international journalism institutions.
Let me tell you of the poet Ahmed Said, the vascular surgeon in Germany who was arrested for participating in a silent rally during his holiday, and about the poet Mohamed Fawzy, a university student who received a life santence, both in prison at present writing poetry on the love of Egypt.
Let me tell you of the lawyer Mahinour El Masry, the Alexandrian young woman who led along with other activists the protests against the brutal murder of the Alexandrian Khaled Saeed; the Icon of the Egyptian revolution. Later on she was at the heart of the demonstrations of January revolution in Alexandria where she has become one of its icons. In 2014, she was awarded the Ludovic-Trarieux Award, given before to Mandela, in recognition of her efforts and for being detained repeatedly by the Egyptian regimes.
Let me tell you of another detained writer; Ismaiel El-Eskandrani the researcher, columnist and reporter. He is a winner of the fellowships of Woodrow Wilson Center's Visiting Arab Journalist Program and Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellows Program. He has also won the Open Eye-Hany Darweesh Award for exceptional essay (Germany, 2014) and the Global Youth Essay on Democracy Contest (2009).
Let me tell of the journalist Youssef Shabaan who is infected by Hepatitis C and who is deprived of medications in prison despite of the deterioration of his health condition. Youssef has shared the revolutionary dream with Mahinour and the rest of the Alexandrian activists and participated with them in the protests against the regime. He was previously framed by Moubarak's regime in a falsified drug case during his coverage of labor protests.
It was behind the former three; Mahinour, Shabaan and El Eskandranin, that I stood cheering during Khaled Saeed's protests in 2010 in Alexandria. And if I feel obliged to anyone beside my family for helping me enduring my imprisonment ordeal then I will always be in debt to those three who taught me along with others my first lessons of freedom and dreaming of a better Egypt. Those three in particular, although they are younger than me, they have always inspired and taught me how to conquer fears and defend our dreams until the last minute in our lives.
Dear friends, I am really sorry for being out free while you held there, but we will always remain Comrades of Dream and Freedom.
My heart aches for these people.
I admire the courage of writers like this and hope that those of us with freedom to speak can find ways to support and free imprisoned writers.


text:
UNESCO World Heritage Days — Swiss Alps Jungfrau Aletsch
© raphael schmid
Every year, on the second weekend of June, the UNESCO World Heritage Sites will open their doors and invite you to discover their secrets, their uniqueness, and their extraordinary value. With the exception of 2020, when this event had to be cancelled, more than 30,000 visitors each year are enchanted by the UNESCO World Heritage Sites. In addition to the main event, which will take place in Bellinzona this year, local events will be held simultaneously at other UNESCO World Heritage Sites around Switzerland. Find out more about the program of the Swiss World Heritage Days at the individual World Heritage sites in Switzerland at their central website.
One of the participating regions is the "Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch" World Heritage Area, which protects one of the world's most spectacular mountain landscapes and is home to towering massifs, unspoiled valleys, and the largest glaciated area in the Alps. It covers a wide range of habitats, from Mediterranean-style steppe to bare rocky mountaintops, and also reveals a long and fascinating human history.
On Saturday, there will be a free, guided hike with glacier experience on Riederalp and on Sunday, there will be a free guided tour of the most modern museum of the Alps, the World Nature Forum in Naters. The number of participants is limited and registration is required. Entry to the World Nature Forum will be free on both days; advance registration is necessary at https://jungfraualetsch.ch/welterbetage-2022-exkursion/ (Saturday) or https://jungfraualetsch.ch/welterbetage-2022-fuehrung-durch-das-wnf/ (Sunday).
whes.ch/en/world-heritage-days/?oid=2079&lang=en


Pedro Calderón de la Barca's 'philosophical play' La vida es sueño with a libretto by Alasdair Middleton has echoes of 19th-century grand opera. The polarised struggles between father and son, freewill and predestination, dream and reality are passionately carried along with powerful choruses and strongly etched characters including a tour de force for bass-baritone in the role of the Prince.
The original orchestration, designed for the Birmingham production, is for 28 players, but in opera-house productions the opera may be performed with a conventional string section.
A father fleeing destiny, a woman bent on vengeance, a man discovering himself.
Act 2, Scene 2: What if he's right?
Act 3, Scene 3: Let's dream a while of happiness.
EP 72221 Life is a Dream (Vocal Score) is available for sale through the Edition Peters website.
View the online score for Life is a Dream here.


In one of the best moments from the first season of HBO's Deadwood, Jewel, the crippled woman who works for Al Swearengen, falls to the ground during a difficult trek to Doc Cochran's hut. From the body language of an Asian woman who sweeps a nearby floor, it's understood that the unspoken social customs of the time do not allow her to help Jewel up off the ground. Even if the grungy citizens of Deadwood's Asian community have never been the focus of any one episode, their presence is always felt, and it is via tiny, often stunning observations like these that the show's creators illuminate the marginalized role of minorities in America's Old West. Though set in Canton, China in the 1940s, the world Stephen Chow envisions in Kung Fu Hustle may as well be a revisionist look at the life of Asian refugees in early America, because Chow uses the cinematic language of the present to playfully observe the social realities of the past. This is where Chow has an advantage over Quentin Tarantino, a poseur whose Kill Bill films seemingly footnote the same postmodern sources but fail to do so critically or with much fun. When Lucy Liu says in the first Kill Bill film, "Silly rabbit, Trix are for kids," the gesture means nothing. When the less serious Chow references the iconic language of America's westerns, Road Runner cartoons, Abbott and Costello sketches, and sometimes Tarantino's own movies, you don't get the feeling that the director is just in it to flatter his audience's pop-cultural acumen. Instead, these references playfully shed light on the social roles and expectations of men and women in China's past while celebrating the camaraderie of a group collective. In the film, a community of people in and around an apartment complex defend their turf against members of the Axe Gang, a group a wannabe gangster played by Chow wishes to join. Like Shaolin Soccer, the film is positively insane, a genre-defying spectacle of postmodern signs colliding at rates seemingly faster than the speed of light; indeed, watching Chow's characters negotiate the colorful obstacles in their immediate environment is not unlike watching a ball speeding its way through a pinball machine. At some point after the film's halfway mark, any semblance of a plot completely disintegrates, but the gut-busting gags and elaborate non sequiturs never cease and still work to remind us that the strength of the film's social perspective is matched only by the goofy elegance of its humor.


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text:
Apple announces 'Apple Arcade' game subscription service
Apple is finally getting into games.
By Adam Rosenberg March 26, 2019
At long last, Apple's getting into the games.
This is more Xbox Game Pass than Stadia, an important distinction. Subscribers get access to a library of "more than 100" games, a curated list that's meant to be highlighted by an abundance of exclusive titles.
SEE ALSO: Finally, a real fashion moment at an Apple event
This isn't a streaming service, it's important to note. Where Google's newly announced Stadia aims to offload the need for expensive hardware into remote data centers, Apple's approach is still bound to certain, unspecified devices in the mobile and desktop spaces. Games are downloaded rather than streamed.
While many of the details remain unclear — we don't know price or launch date, beyond a vague "fall 2019" promise — the big surprise of Apple's reveal was a focus on the games themselves. For one, the company is teaming up with a whole mess of major publishing interests.
Image: screenshot by mashable
But there's more to the excitement around Arcade than that. Historically, Apple has maintained a relatively hands-off approach to investments in gaming. The first iPhone essentially kicked mobile gaming up to a new level of popularity, but Apple has largely been content to allow the App Store to serve third-party creators.
The App Store has come a long way since those early days, and Apple's addition of an editorial team has increased the value of browsing through the store and using the recommendations there to discover new titles. But now, with Apple Arcade, the company appears to be actually investing in the development of games directly.
One video highlighted "console quality" games like Beyond a Steel Sky, which looks like some kind of open world-ish sci-fi adventure featuring art from Watchmen co-creator Dave Gibbons. Another, Fantasian, comes from Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi, presumably through his studio, Mistwalker.
As with most things in video games, images tell the tale better than words. Check out this handful of first looks at some of Apple Arcade's exclusives.
A second trailer takes a look at an even wider range of games, though this one is shorter and the looks are far less detailed:
It's exciting stuff, but unfortunately all we know for now. Stay tuned for pricing and catalog details as that fall 2019 launch gets closer. We'll be watching this one closely.
WATCH: Apple's second-gen AirPods are here
Topics: Entertainment, Entertainment, Gaming, Apple Event 2019, Apple Arcade
Time to process our 'Yellowjackets' finale emotions
Holy antler queen.
Jan. 17, 2022, noon
Will Forte, MacGruber himself, will return to 'Saturday Night Live' as a first-time host
For those who don't know, the character MacGruber is an 'SNL' original.
10 TV casts we'd like to see survive the wilderness, 'Yellowjackets'-style
Rachel Berry = Misty Quigley
The highest-paid female YouTuber is a 7-year-old who earned US$28 million in 2021
Brb, putting Nastya on my 2022 vision board.
TikTok enrolls in 'Euphoria' High
Put on your uniform and GRWM for school.


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Stories, Poems, and Essays by Teens
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Politic Football
Daniel Klotz, Pennsylvania, United States
First published July 1, 2002
I've never decided if I actually miss playing football. I played tight end and outside linebacker for one season, during my freshman year of high school. The previous winter I'd lifted weights often enough for a junior high kid, then I did the long jump in track during the spring and kept in good condition all summer. I was no all-out beast, but for me it was decent dedication.
Our coach, Mr. Noble, was horrible. I respected the hell out of him at the time, and so did everyone else—he was six five with huge arms. He'd contrive a good practice with the assistant coaches for ten minutes every day while we ran the perimeter of the practice field, a workout monotonous as recopying history notes. We were in better shape than any other team in the county, but we couldn't play football worth a lick.
I started in one or two games toward the end of the season after the first string tight end, Mitch, fractured his wrist, and before the second-string fullback, Eric, learned the position. Like all of the only-half-decent guys, I played special teams every game. Problem was, I sucked at blocking because I had no girth, and I couldn't catch very well because all we ever practiced was blocking. In games, we almost always ran the ball. Our tailback, Conor, kicked butt. He'd have been even better if our coach didn't make him run stupid plays all the time. We'd be fourth and eight at our own 35, and Coach Noble—he made us address him as "sir" all the time ("Yes, sir," "I don't understand, sir," "Sir, I have to leave practice early tomorrow, sir")—would tell Hildebrand, the QB, to call a blast, an off-guard run right up the middle.
Conor would've been better, too, if the linemen, such as myself, had skill as well as endurance. There's a picture in the yearbook from that season that makes me feel like a loser every time I see it—Conor's charging through the line, and I'm on my feet with my knees bent and no one to block, my guy diving for the tackle. Man, I really handled him.
Maybe things will change after I graduate, but sometimes I feel like I never deserved to keep playing, that I never would have been good enough to have any real confidence in my ability. But then I go to a Friday night varsity game and the stands are on their feet as the team charges onto the field under lights blazing against a solid black sky and I think, that could be me out there jumping around, pulse racing, hollering.
There are many reasons I signed up to play football, some are stupid and some are good, and one of the good ones was to experience the whole team thing—we're gonna take on our opponents and smash 'em into the ground. There are also many reasons I decided not to play the next year, and one of them was that I never got the feeling of being a team. For me, two and a half hours of practice every day meant struggling to tell my body I could do it, trying to stop being so mechanical about blocking, and busting my butt to catch up with people who'd been playing since fifth grade. It also meant never being as good as the real starters, most of whom had no work ethic but ground us second- and third-stringers into the practice field dust when they got the chance. These players were already getting drunk and laid on the weekends.
I tried really hard to make that sense of team happen, mostly by getting more charged up than just about everyone (except maybe Ardon, the team's token black guy, who would go bananas) and helping the whole team to get psyched for a game. "Who we gonna beat this week?" became our mantra. One of us would yell it, and the rest of the team would bellow back the name of our upcoming opponent, if we could remember it. Then whoever hollered the question would repeat it, and we'd get louder. Noble would get really pissed when someone popped the question at a Monday practice and (with our games on Thursdays) we answered too tentatively, or with the names of a couple teams. I took an inane pride in adding ""I said…" and "I can't hear you" to the mix, which caught on fast. Of course, the toughness was drained whenever the voice of whomever was leading the yell cracked in mid-sentence, which happened frequently with all of us age 14 or 15.
The feeling that both me and Coach Noble stunk could be a great reason to quit, or it could be a weak one. In his autobiography, In the Trenches, Reggie White, my favorite football player of all time, writes fondly of his high school football coach, who for over a year bullied and beat up on him, on occasion bringing him to tears. Only after his senior season did he realize "what Coach Pulliam was doing in my life: He was building toughness and confidence inside me. He knew my goal in life was to play pro football, and he knew that if I was to achieve that goal I would need to have the physical, emotional, and spiritual hide of a rhinoceros. He was pounding on me to toughen my hide—and it worked… The toughness and confidence Coach Pulliam built into me went far beyond the realm of sports." Maybe Coach Noble had something like that in mind when he angrily shattered a wooden cane on a desk while reviewing the past week's game film. Maybe I just couldn't handle it. That's a hard thing to say, though, that I couldn't handle playing football. I mean, maybe it just wasn't for me. Golf just isn't for me; maybe football's the same way.
My friend Walt loves to golf. I'm not sure how much of it he does anymore, with going to school and working plenty on the side. He claims he had an injury last fall that kept him from some tournaments that he could have cleaned up, but I still don't know what the injury was. He's one of my closest friends. That's the way things seem to go. Clearly I'm the one who should've been concerned enough to find out what was wrong, and clearly I dropped the ball. That's why I still don't know if the football thing was just me or something else.
I tell people all the time that I miss playing. It kind of makes up for the fact that I stopped. You're supposed to like being an athlete in high school. Adults appreciate sports, especially in central Pennsylvania. Student council, current issues club, and a student newspaper are unsure ground. So I would say, "No, I used to play, but not this year." I avoid saying I only played one season three years ago whenever possible.
I try to make up for this apparent fault as well as I can. I get serious about working out at least once a year, hitting the weight room three days a week, running distance, erasing any sign of a gut or a filling out face. I keep the routine long enough to regain what I've lost—until I plateau on increments of what I can lift, can run five miles or so without stopping, and build enough of a camaraderie with the rest of the guys in the weight room that I don't feel awkward asking someone for a spot. Then I just sort of stop. Not all of a sudden, but slowly, like losing interest in a girl.
It makes me feel better to know simply that I can do it, that I can control my body if I wish to. When I'm not pursuing any particular girl, it makes me feel better to get a good glimpse of a girl and know that I'm still in shape as far as being attracted to women and liking the idea of female in general. I don't have to continually prove to myself that I can date a girl and enjoy it and build a meaningful relationship—it's enough just to know that I could if I wanted to. The same is true as far as being an athlete.
Excusing my decision not to play was easy the year after I quit. I stayed in the weight room all fall, and ran track that spring. All I had to say was, "I'm thinking about playing again next year," and nod to a remark about yeah, you should. Piece of cake. Now I have to work harder—promise long articles and big pictures in the school newspaper to my friends on the team (I have a terrible record of delivering on those promises), agree to try to allot student activities funds for team equipment, or make a comment proving how closely I've followed their season.
In general, I'm pretty content with that relationship. Sure, it's awkward. It's certainly not genuine, and I usually toss relationships that aren't genuine out the window. But it's true high school politics, and it charges me up. There's a grave misconception that the politics of high school involve going out with the right person and making it to the good parties and dressing well. It's actually being able to take a question like "Why aren't you playing football?" (or, for that matter, "How come you weren't at the party Friday?" or "Who do you have your eye on?") and give a horribly inadequate two-sentence answer that still satisfies the other person. That's where it's at, in my book.
Sometimes I get an unfair advantage. Most of my former teammates are convinced they remember me starting most of the second half of the season. I might have started one or two games, as I've said, when it was a pretty sure win and the first string guy was injured. It would be a lot tougher to smooth it over in thirty words or less if they remembered me as a guy who couldn't throw blocks, make tackles, or catch passes, which is mostly how I remember myself as a football player. How accurate those memories are I don't know.
I screw up on my own often enough, however, to even things out. High school politics are a delicate balance between being visible, outgoing, unique—even obnoxious—enough to stay well-known and widely liked, and being mature, relaxed, and conventional enough to keep people from being annoyed. I set myself back in the same arena my teammates help me out—that fundamental skill of believably offering inapt answers. The natural tendency is to gravitate toward one side of the balance—either being too off-the-wall or too stiff—and avoid the precarious fulcrum. My responses become unexciting and placid for a while and I lose sway; people can roll their eyes at my excuses with an air of "whatever" and think nothing of it. The idea is to inject adequate authority into just enough nonsense to keep myself from becoming either undesirable or difficult to approach. From either position, my peers will probably stop asking why I don't play anymore altogether.
Which bothers me in a weird way, perhaps hinting at one of the reasons I played for that one year: to gain political sway I sought. It is, after all, useful for far more than excusing myself for not playing football. It's good for getting people to latch onto my dreams and visions, to feel honored by my praise, to seek my advice and feedback. In short, in high school it's good for validating me as a genuine leader. Certainly that motive is partly selfish, but inherent in a genuine leader is an authentic desire and commitment to serve others. A real leader is one who works for the good of people beside himself. That's the paradox of it.
That's the paradox of football, too. When Conor made great runs, the respect and recognition he received grew. But at the same time, the whole team advanced five, ten, twenty yards towards the end zone and a win. On the field, I was no star. I tried to push back defenders and contain the outside run, but my success was limited. In the hallways of the high school, though, I was able to make those important political plays with power and agility, which I realized to a new extent as my seemingly inadequate excuses effortlessly shrugged aside skepticism. And I've been charged by the wins ever since. Yet that confidence and fulfillment didn't come until after I'd decided to stop playing football, and effects can't be their own causes. Unless, of course, that paradox is true, too.
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Health Care Deal News, July 8th, 2013 – Sabra Health Care REIT, Inc. Purchased Greenfield of Woodstock, With the Evolution of the Accountable Care Organization Ongoing, we Decided to Look at Who is Buying What
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Platine Pharma Services
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Services Deal of the Week
Sabra Health Care REIT, Inc., (NASDAQ: SBRA) purchased Greenfield of Woodstock, a 32-unit assisted living facility in Woodstock, Virginia, for $6.2 million in cash. Concurrent with the purchase, Sabra entered into a triple-net lease agreement with affiliates of Greenfield Senior Living, Inc. The lease has an initial term of 15 years with two 10-year renewal options and provides for annual rent escalators or 3.0%, resulting in annual lease revenues of $0.6 million and an initial yield on cash rent of 7.75%. …Want to read more news? Click here for a free trial to The Health Care M&A Information Source and download the current issue today.
Charted Territory
With the evolution of the Accountable Care Organization ongoing, we decided to look at who is buying what. This week, we researched deals made in the Managed Care sector to see if there were any discernable trends. Only six deals have been made public so far this year, three in Q1:13 and three in Q2:13, there's not a lot to tell. Three transactions involved managed care companies as targets, two were for physician medical groups and one fell into our "other" category, because it was for a specialty pharmacy company, AcariaHealth. That deal was one of only two that came with disclosed prices, as AcariaHealth was acquired by Centene Corporation (NYSE: CNC) for $152 million. Centene, a multi-line health insurer, already owns pharmacy benefit manager US Script, and this deal expands its specialized pharmacy benefit services for complex diseases such as hepatitis C, hemophilia, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis and oncology. And please don't write in to say we missed the Highmark/West Penn Allegheny Health System deal. We peg deals to the date of announcement, so even though that $1.5 billion deal finally closed this year, it was announced in June 2011. Have a great week.
Health Care Acquisitions by Managed Care Companies, through June 2013
Target's sector
Highmark, Inc.
Triangle Urological Group
Physician Medical Group
Citrus Universal Healthcare
Universal Health Care Group
WellCare Health Plans, Inc.
Missouri Care, Inc.
Centene Corporation
AcariaHealth
Providence Health Care
Northeast Washington Medical Group
Source: Irving Levin Associates, Inc., June 2013
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Technology Deal of the Week
On July 1, Covidien (NYSE: COV) announced it had completed the separation of its pharmaceuticals business, which is now held by Mallinckrodt plc, a new independent company. The distribution of Mallinckrodt shares began on June 28, 2013, and regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange, under the ticker symbol MNK, began on July 1. Covidien announced in December 2011 that it planned to spin-off the pharma business. In fiscal 2012, excluding the pharma business, Covidien had annual sales of $9.9 billion. It is now exclusively a medical devices company, which represented about 80% of the company's sales, and medical supplies comprising the remainder…..Want to read more news? Click here for a free trial to The Health Care M&A Information Source and download the current issue today.
Complix, a Belgian biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of Alphabodies™, a unique class of protein therapeutics active against intracellular disease targets, closed a $15.5 million Series B equity financing round from a syndicate of life sciences investors. The round was co-led by Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners, Gimv, and Biotech Fund Flanders. Existing shareholders LRM, OMNES Capital, Vesalius Biocapital, Gemma Frisius Fund, TrustCapital, Vinnof, Baekeland Fund, CRP-Santé and management also participated in this round. Alphabodies is a transformative bio-therapeutic platform that can address a vast number of disease targets currently considered "undruggable" by the two main classes of therapeutics: small chemical drugs and therapeutic antibodies. Its ability to modulate the intracellular protein-to-protein interactions which play a key role in the initiation and progress of many important diseases, represents a major opportunity for Complix and its partners…..Want to read more news? Click here for a free trial to The Health Care M&A Information Source and download the current issue today.
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Paul walked to the NYC library to meet my bus with me. We walked out the hotel around 5:20 am. It was only a few blocks away. I layered my racing gear with a sweatshirt and pants to discard before the race (they take all discarded clothing to charities).
On the bus ride I sat next to a very nice Brazilian who was running her first marathon. She had a terrible cold, poor thing, so I hope she did okay.
The bus ride took forever and there was a big bus traffic jam once we got to Staten Island. However, I did not mind one bit - because I knew once I got off the bus it would be hanging out in the cold (37* and windy) for hours.
Once we got off, I headed to my designated hang-out section. There are a lot of logistics that go into running the NYC marathon, but I have to say it is so organized and informative that you're going to have a good experience. At my hang out section they had Duncan Doughnuts coffee, hot tea, water, Gatorade, Powerbars, and bagels. I grabbed a bagel and a free fleece hat from Duncan Doughnuts (I don't drink coffee). Then I asked this girl for the time (I don't race with a watch). Turns out she was a kindred soul from Michigan. She was the same age as me, with 2 children at home, running NYC for the first time as well. So we found a spot in the sun and sat and gabbed to pass the time. Thanks, Sara(h), for making the morning so much more enjoyable!
I confess I was freezing. I shivered the whole time. At one point a random guy gave me an extra pair of pants because I was shivering so badly. Many people brought sleeping bags or snuggies and I was way jealous of their genius planning.
My wave started last, at 10:40 am. I ate a Powerbar just before starting. The energy at the start was awesome. I was more nervous about this race than I have been of any of my previous marathons (this was #8 for me). The National Anthem was sung by an opera singer. Then a gun went off and they started playing New York, New York. Everyone started singing the song as we started running.
The bridge was cold and windy, but everyone was so excited. I took the first few miles a little fast. I was mostly just trying to get warm, having shed my layers.
After the bridge I ran into Brooklyn. The crowd support was amazing. I gave so many high 5s to kids spectating along the side of the course. Along the way, I counted bands I saw in my head. Lots of music, and I just can't say enough about the energetic vibes coming from the crowds.
I felt good and my foot was hanging in there. Because the start time was later in the day, I got hungry earlier in the race than expected, around mile 6 (I typically don't start taking fuel until after mile 10). I had planned for this, though, and brought some Gatorade chewies to tide me over until I started taking Gus. Brooklyn felt like the longest stretch of the course (although I don't know if that is true). The miles were flying by though. The crowds just made them pass so quickly. And I was finally warm and settling into a good pace.
After Brooklyn the race goes into Queens.
I continued to count off bands in my head. Queens was fairly short, and involved a long bridge. On the bridge, I started feeling my foot, but I had planned for that too. I took a couple of ibuprofin at that point to do damage control.
Paul was waiting for me around mile 17.
I was surprised to see him, as we hadn't planned for it. Apparently I was easy to spot in my Virginia shirt and hot pink Duncan Doughnuts hat. The Virginia shirt was fun, because people yelled it out to cheer me on the whole race.
A couple miles later the race got into Harlem. Which was one of my favorite parts of the race. The crowds there had soul. Tons of music, the crowds dancing and jumping and getting down. It was one huge party there. Then into the Bronx for a short mile or so before heading back into Manhatten, for the last 5 miles.
I still felt fairly strong, but things got a little crowded on the course here. Mostly, because people were tired, so many were trudging or you'd be running behind someone and they'd stop suddenly to walk. I made a quick pit stop at mile 21 and then tried to settle back on pace, but I just couldn't because of the crowds. I was having to bob and weave around walkers everywhere. But it was all good - I knew that I was on the home stretch, and was going to finish strong. Just before mile 23 I entered the rolling hills of Central Park.
Finish time was right at 4:20. Not a PR, but I'm thrilled with my time and ran stronger than I expected.
Once I finished and got my medal, there was a long, slow shuffle through Central Park to the exit. This process actually takes about an hour. And brrrr, was it cold!
Nah...I don't look cold at all, do I?
Hmmm. I can't decide which is worse. Post-birth pictures or post-marathon pictures?
So thankful I finished and had such a great time. What an awesome city. Thanks to all of you for the support!
Hooray! We heard a report on the race on the radio last night. I told JDaniel that mommy had a friend running in the race. I was praying during the morning that things would go well.
You're awesome! I can barely run a 10K...congrats!
Congratulations from a fellow MomLooper! It looks frigid out.
Woo hoo! Great race report! Congrats on your race!
Congrats to you. Man I am so proud of you and I don't really know you - I do know some of what you went through - great job.
Thanks for sharing and giving me a totally new perspective of NYC through a marathon runner's eyes. I've only ever been in the crowds, and wow, to think of the effect they have, it just gave me chills. Oh, woman, you've never had Dunkin Donuts before? You're totally missing out. Too bad they didn't have tea there for you. ALthough you mightn't have wanted the caffeine anyway.
As I've said already, I'm SO proud of you! You kicked MEGA-@$$!!! :) [Sorry to anyone who is offended, but this native NYer is loud and proud of my bloggy friend!] Congrats, again!!!
Oh Wow! I'm proud of you too! I did watch most of the marathon on tv. I looked for you but knew I wouldn't know for sure if I'd seen you or not but it was fun watching the marathon just because I knew one of my blogging buddies was running in it. Otherwise I probably wouldn't had watched it. I could tell that it was cold! I didn't realize that it was such a long wait and things of that nature for the runners. Thanks for taking us on your adventure with you! I'm not a runner and never have been but I was cheering you on girl!
Great Job! Glad you got to go and do it and had a great time!
Thanks for sharing your run with us! Glad you had such a good running time too! Hope you got warmed up quickly after getting everything done too.
I have goosebumps. I was feeling like I was there while you were describing it all. What an awesome experience, I am so glad you had a wonderful time & that your foot didn't give you too much trouble. Oh & for the record you looked pretty darn great post-marathon!
Congrats!!! So awesome for you! So cool to read about people's race experiences.


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It's not easy to determine which trends and movements are worth paying attention to. We live in an age where technology seems to move at pace that's impossible to keep up with. I spend a lot of my time dealing with global brands who are looking to scale and integrate social as part of their core marketing—and in some cases business strategies, and I can tell you first hand that these organizations have their work cut out for them as we are now in the trenches of operationalizing the disruptions caused by digital's latest iteration.
When my friend Jeremiah Owyang first briefed me on what he was doing around what he likes to call "The Collaborative Economy" (some call it the share economy), I was pressed to see the immediate impact on my day to day responsibilities as I work with these organizations. Gradually, I began to see the importance of the movement. I'm sure many of you reading this now use Uber to get around your area or when you travel—it's a new-ish model which relies partially on individuals and their personal vehicles which become part of the Uber system (and it's a fantastic customer experience) and of course there's the Air BnB's of the world and anything with the word "crowd" in it.
But the lights really went on for me when I watched this video of a boy born without a hand and his father who was determined to help him. The video which I highly recommend watching calls out a few specific factors which are signature attributes of the collaborative economy. Individuals who have never met in real life (makers), collaborating over the Web to create a simple but effective prosthetic which can grasp items—a father who finds them and then obtains the directions (for free) and buys a 3D printer to "print" the pieces which he then assembles.
This example hits me on two levels. As a father, I can relate to searching for and finding an unconventional solution to help his kid out. And from a business perspective, I can't help but marvel at how disruptive this is. The solution detailed above cost but a fraction of what a traditional prosthetic would have and it allows the family to "print" upgraded designs as they are made available. This is good news for dads and sons (and anyone in a similar situation) and perhaps less good news for companies who make very expensive prosthetics. This is one of the many stories that signal the emergence of the collaborative economy.
Jeremiah Owyang is announcing the official launch of his new venture "Crowd Companies" at LeWeb in Paris. I'd encourage keeping a close eye on what he's covering and following related developments like the one in this story. When you work for a large organization that's been very successful for a long time, it's natural to feel like you only have to worry about your direct competitors. But the Collaborative Economy competes in a different way, inventing entirely new models and disrupting rather than competing directly. It's worth paying attention to both as a consumer and business leader.