Cheers for you and your company. You've done the accessibility audit.
Either you just heard about or know about the need to make all websites compliant for people with disabilities OR you got an unwelcome letter from the Department of Justice (DOJ) or the Office of Civil Rights (OCR). You went ahead and hired a company to do an accessibility audit.
If the audit company was good they went through your website or other software and measured it against Section 508 (US Federal government standards) or WCAG 2.0 (International guidelines which are now partially included in Section 508).
In either case you got a report and are working with your development team to fix any flaws. That was a worthy use of $5k – $20k of your company money.
Done, right? Not so fast.
The chances are really, really good that your company is still using inaccessible software and hardware that is also covered under Section 508 standards.
One way to minimize your risk is to stop purchasing Information and Communication Technology (ITC) which fails accessibility tests. That's correct. Only you and your procurement department stand between inaccessible software and hardware and your employees, students, customers and whomever else you represent.
Get training for those procurement professionals NOW. Make sure the training includes how to ask for and analyze the latest VPAT (Voluntary Product Accessibility Template), which is a vendor-created document that tracks a specific product that you might buy to the Section 508 and/ or WCAG 2.0 standards and guidelines.
You should be asking for a VPAT in every RFP and every time you look to purchase any sort of ICT (phone systems, printers, software packages, computers, laptops or tablets, etc. etc).
An "average" company spends between 4 and 6% of their annual budget on ICT purchases. For a company with a $15 million budget that means annual expenditures of $600k to $900k. With that much money on the table the cost for high quality training and guidance at $6k to $10k is just a drop in the budget.
Seek out an accessibility specialist who can train your staff either onsite or remotely, help staff to learn how to analyze VPATs. This specialist should also be able and available to coach your staff on what questions to ask vendors AND what answers to accept.
First: a short background and list of some terms the recruiter needs to get up to speed on the topic. What, homework!? Yes, homework, so you'll do your job right.
Even though the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) is 25 years old its application to software is still being defined. In short, this means that you are not going to find an exact definition anywhere of what the exact expectation of success is in this area.
With that said, gain some passing understanding of what these two terms mean: "Section 508" and "WCAG 2.0".
Section 508 is a set of standards the US Federal Government has established to measure the Electronic and IT hardware and software it uses against. Please note that these standards were last updated in 2000 (which is a lifetime ago in internet terms.) A "refresh" of the standards is due soon.
This is where WCAG comes in. While the Section 508 has worked its way through the government process at a snail's pace there are others in the world working on similar guidelines. Not a law, nevertheless most software companies look to align with these guidelines because they are more comprehensive and up to date. NOTE: Do not try to read most of WCAG. There are thousands of pages and as many ways to implement the guidelines as there are developers and planners.
Screen Reader (JAWS, NVDA) equals a "test tool".
Many employers will ask that the QA skill set includes "testing" with JAWS or NVDA. Do not fall into the trap of thinking that these are test tools.
These software programs are Assistive Technology. They help people who have trouble accessing the internet or such programs as Microsoft Word convert the information encoded on the screen into audio or refreshable Braille outputs.
When testing for accessibility, qualified and aware QA professionals typically use screen readers to validate the end user experience of websites or software programs. This is hugely helpful, but is not the main method of testing.
Recruiter Question to Employer: Are there specific screen readers your users use? In the case of employee used software they probably have a preference. In cases where the software to be tested is for customers you will have to use best practices, which general means JAWS for US based companies. NVDA is also widely used.
What test tools do you use to validate the code against accessibility standards?
[Give points for answers such as WAT (IE toolbar from The Paciello Group http://www.paciellogroup.com or WAVE toolbar (Firefox and Chrome plugins from Webaim http://webaim.org).
If the QA person says they use JAWS, for instance, to test with, ask them how they do that.
User Experience is the same for all users.
Real example: the code was properly designed to be read by a screen reader, but because the fields in the design of the screen were set up in a certain order the screen failed the usability test.
A resume upload page on a very common HR recruitment site had an input box below the Submit button. The sighted user could easily see the Comments box and choose to type something like "Portfolio" or "Cover letter". The blind, screen reader user would not encounter that box until AFTER they had submitted their resume. At this point there was no chance to add the comment or go back.
The page passed the Section 508 and WCAG criteria but failed the simple usability test.
Recruiter Question to Employer: Will there be an opportunity in this role for the QA person to discuss the site with designers and/ or product managers?
Recruiter Question to prospective QA Employee: What experience do you have with creating/ testing against User personas? How much experience do you have working with people who need assistive technology (AT)?
[Give points for any recognition of what UX is, what personas are and, most of all, if the QA resource has worked with PWD.
You have to test all pages on a site to do an accurate accessibility test.
Given that so many sites have hundreds, or even thousands of pages, it is impractical to comprehensively test them.
The usual method is to concentrate on the primary pages which handle the most user traffic. (Home, Search results, Contact us, main shopping and check out pages, etc.) If those pages reveal serious problems they must be fixed first. Only later should the testing go deeper. Additionally, newly coded and added pages should include accessibility testing as they are prepared for production.
Recruiter Question to Employer: Will the QA resource be presented with the core workflows so they can include them in the testing? Who has developed the initial test plans?
Recruiter Question to prospective QA Employee: How many scenarios do you usually test? What are the main paths? Do you find that pages deeper in a site present different challenges than the Home page?
Anyone who has a degree in Computer Science would know how to test for Accessibility.
Fact is that most of the computer science programs, boot camps, and assorted free and for-pay courses do not even touch on accessibility related coding. Most of the programmers who know how to prepare their code for consumption by assistive technology and people who use alternative methods of understanding the UI have learned it "on the job" or by doing research on their own.
Recruiter Question to Employer: What specific skills are you looking for in a QA resource to test your site/ software for accessibility?
Recruiter Question to prospective QA Employee: Where did you learn about accessibility and accessibility testing?
While there is much merit to automating as many checks against clean and correct code bases, even the most progressive automated testing tools can only check code violations (HTML mis-matches, for instance).
None of them can accurately replicate either the user experience for a person using keyboard only approach or various assistive technologies: See Myths #1 and 2.
Recruiter Question to Employer: Are you expecting to have the QA resource convert some of their tests to an automated system? If so, which one are you using and are you aware of any necessary accessibility plug-ins that will be required?
Recruiter Question to prospective QA Employee: Have you ever committed your accessibility tests to an automated process? If so, which one? How effective has this been? What do you know about accessibility plug-ins for the major automated test systems?
QA can and should do testing re accessibility diligently, deliberately and determinately whenever a software project is undertaken in 2016. However, that QA is by default dramatically different from other areas of QA.
Get familiar with the ins and outs and prepare to make significant money for your recruiting firm and your QA resources. This is a niche that is not going away. Think about placing QA security testers and prepare to reap the benefits in the same kinds of ways.
I wish I could say that, when given the assignment of auditing an HR recruiting system delivered as a SaaS (Software as a Service) product I could have predicted exactly what path we'd have to go down to get fixes made. I could not have been more wrong.
For many years I worked on the vendor side. We owned the code and we fixed it. This process is well known in software circles.
In SaaS you subscribe to software and you are the customer. The vendor still owns the code, but they are on the opposite side of the development fence.
When working for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to assess the Oracle product Taleo, which we were going to use to update and modernize the hiring process, I invented the following process to get accessibility bugs fixed using trial and error as my guides.
First, I used a keyboard-only approach to audit the two initial sections of the HR recruiting system. Then I used the WAVE toolbar and the WAT toolbar to look into code violations. Then used both JAWS screenreader and ZoomText to replicate the user experience with assistive technology.
The candidate portal, where John and Jane Doe apply for a job, was written in HTML. There were bugs and issues, but they could be fixed. The hiring manager portal was another story. Written in a version of Flash called Flex it had no redeemable value for use with keyboard or JAWS screen reader.
Another day I'll write about how we dealt with the hiring manager portal. This is to explain how we managed to get 20 accessibility fixes into the last two releases of the Taleo product.
As customers we had access to an externally facing web application where we could log bugs. In a four month period I logged 30 tickets, which represented 42 separate bugs (some were consolidated because they were similar) and worked with 17 different customer service agents (CSA) in the US, Romania and China.
The process of getting bugs accepted by the CSAs and moved to the next step, which is to place them in the internal development bug tracking system was painful and slow. Each CSA had to understand enough of both AT and the accessibility guidelines to believe that the issue was really an issue.
If they didn't accept it as a bug then their default is to politely reject the bug and call it an "enhancement". During the time I worked on this project Oracle opened a second website for enhancements where customers were encouraged to log their wish lists and try to socially promote them. I really hated this "popularity contest" approach but we had to use it.
Of the original bugs filed, 21 were included in the past two releases with 8 more pending for the future. Although it seemed at times like I was doing the QA for Oracle on this product I really didn't mind because I wanted to get the Commonwealth and other Taleo users the most accessible product possible.
Examples of requirements written for Taleo to fix accessibility issues.
As a JAWS screen reader user I want to know about all mandatory fields when filling out a form. In the personal information page of the Taleo job application there is a two field mandatory entry to indicate where I learned about the job position.
When tabbing through the form user arrives at the first drop down box labeled "Source Type". This permits the user to select, using up/ down arrows a general category, such as 'Career Fair' or 'Magazine'. When pressing Enter the system opens a second, mandatory drop down box, where choices are available to further refine the source of learning about the job. This drop down box appears visually on the screen but is not announced. When user Tabs again they are taken to the Submit button, skipping over the second drop down box.
This causes an error on the page, which user has to discover and fix before moving on through the application.
Expectation: all mandatory fields on a page will be accessible to user when using keyboard only approach. All page elements will be announced via JAWS when they are available on screen.
Actual: the second drop down box is skipped when user first moves through the screen using Tabbing.
Fix: the second drop down box can be accessed using the Tab and JAWS reads the second label and user is able to complete the action without incurring a page error.
As a JAWS screen reader user I want to hear all error messages announced when they occur so I can take corrective action.
Expected: When an error is reached, focus will be placed on the error message and JAWS will read the error text.
Actual: The error is rendered silently, leaving the JAWS user unaware that it occurred.
Fix: When an error occurs on the search page JAWS now reads the text so user is informed and can re-enter a different query.
As a JAWS screen reader user I expect to move through a page in a logical fashion through all screen elements.
On the login page for Taleo cursor is placed automatically in the username form field upon page arrival. When they fill out that information and Tab, they are moved to the password form field. One more tab brings them back up to the top of the page, not to the next page element, which is the 'Forgot password?' link.
Expected: On a login page, the user is most likely to want to enter username, then password and then Submit to move into the site.
Actual: The focus, when Tabbing, moves from the password field to the top of the page. Due to page design there are 8 Tabs that need to be moved through to get to the Submit button.
Fix: When user Tabs from password, they move to the two "help" questions, "Forgot password" and "Forgot username?", then to Submit button. They are no longer taken to the top of the page and forced to make their way back through the whole page to finally Submit their credentials.
No, it's not a menu item, digital or restaurant! A VPAT stands for Voluntary Product Accessibility Template. This is a form based on Section 508 accessibility compliance (or lack thereof) for a software or hardware product. Originally the form and the legislation was designed for federal contractors. Over the past 20 years or more Section 508 has been informally recognized as a standard for accessibility all should follow.
The VPAT is a registered trademark of the Information Technology Industry Council) ITI. Most importantly, the form is available free for your use. Download it.
San Diego State University publically shares its approach to EIT procurement. There are a series of links to vendor VPATs at the bottom of this page.
The short, non-technical version is this. The VPAT is a way for procurement officials to compare your software offering with other, similar offerings as it pertains to accessibility. More and more savvy CIOs and their teams are requesting VPATs every time they purchase Electronic Information Technology (EIT). Even more significant is that those IT professionals are doing their own tests against the products and VPATs to independently confirm the (delicately said) accuracy of the VPAT.
1 – If you create software hire someone who knows how to test it and certify it via VPAT. This doesn't mean you'll pass every section. This does mean that the VPAT will be credible.
2 – If you purchase EIT always, always ask for a VPAT. Always take some time to test against it. Trust but verify!
We provide these services – both creating VPATs and testing against them. Contact us for more details.
As soon as your content includes videos you should be thinking about captioning. In the simplest form, captioning is those words on the screen that are readable as the audio portion of the program is spoken. The idea is that captioning is only useful for deaf or people who are hard of hearing. Not true. An oft quoted survey from the UK done in 2006 revealed that 80% of TV viewers who used closed captioning did not have hearing difficulties. Times have changed, technology has advanced, yet many people without any hearing loss use captioning as a way to enhance/ enjoy videos. They listen in a public area and don't want to disturb others, on a noisy subway and they situationally can't hear the sound or they get more out of the content if they can watch and read the words at the same time (dual sensory input).
The law: The US Congress passed a Twenty-First Century Communications and Accessibility Act in 2010, with a string of updates and clarifications through 2015. Two broad areas are covered. One is products and services that use Broadband. The other is video programming on television and the internet.
In February, 2015, National Association for the Deaf (NAD) and some individuals sued Harvard and MIT over lack of captioning or very poor captioning of the video content they provide, covering online lectures, podcasts, courses and more. In June, 2015, the Department of Justice (DOJ) joined the lawsuit advocating a speedy resolution and captioning be provided.
Netflix has lead the way to providing full captioning, even though it was, regretfully, a result of a successful lawsuit. YouTube provides an automated captioning option. The results, while technically over 90% accurate lead to, often hilarious (if you are able to hear the discrepancies) wildly incongruous word juxtapositions. If you doubt me, just switch on captioning when you are on YouTube next and find your own examples. Any time a person mumbles or has the slightest speech anomaly or accent there is no telling how the automated captioning will record it.
So, to caption or not to caption? When in doubt, decent captioning should be built into your process, including everyone and building your brand as inclusive.
Your customers and employees with visual impairments have a way to "view" your website. The assistive technology is called a screen reader. Once loaded onto a user's computer the screen reader converts the website code into speech (or a refreshable Braille display).
The most common screen reader in use in the US is called JAWS. It was created by Freedom Scientific and has updated versions approximately once a year, plus bug fixes throughout the year. According to the 2014 Webaim screen reader survey 30% of their respondents use JAWS. This seems low until you consider that it has long been the screen reader of choice for AT programs teaching young blind/ visually impaired people how to use a screen reader. It is in widespread use in industry, library systems and government at various levels.
JAWS is also expensive – about $1000 a license. People without the financial resources to update their licenses often fall behind in updating.
NVDA (Non-visual Desktop Access) is a free screenreader created and updated by an Australian team. It is used worldwide and available in 43 languages. NVDA has been downloaded over 70,000 times. The fascinating story of how two young men, both blind, came to creating this product can be read here.
Window Eyes is free and available for those who have an Office 2010, 2013 or 2016 license.


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The Kid Report: Musical Nature
Eivind Sehl Mørch
The 18th Ice Music Festival Norway is scheduled to take place in Europe next month. You can read about this cool event in "Musical Nature," in this week's TIME for Kids. Twelve-year-old Eivind Sehl Mørch has attended the festival before, and he and his family will return this year. Here, Eivind writes about his experience.
Winter is fun! My name is Eivind, and I live in Norway. I love skiing, and I like to build snow caves. Last winter, I went with my family to the Ice Music Festival in Bergsjø, a half-hour drive from where we live. There was a tent built from ice. There were musical instruments, including drums, horns with different sounds, and a big xylophone—all made out of ice. People played real music on these instruments. It must be pretty cold, making and shaping the instruments, since they need to stay frozen. If they get warm, they'll melt and disappear. At the festival, the musicians talked a lot about the environment and how Earth is getting warmer. It was rather cold to sit still and listen to the music. I wonder what kind of instruments they will make this year.
COURTESY MARIT SEHL
Do you play an instrument? Have you ever made one? Terje Isungset can answer yes to both questions. He's a drummer, and he also makes instruments out of something pretty cool: ice! He doesn't use just any frozen stuff. "You…
Music for the People
Gustavo Dudamel returns to the stage for a second encore. It's opening night for the Los Angeles Philharmonic, in California. As the crowd spots the conductor, the volume inside the Walt Disney Concert Hall surges. Dudamel steps to the podium,…
Two in 1
A visitor at Frieze London, an art fair in England, poses with Giant Pumpkin No. 1 on October 13. The work is by British artist Anthea Hamilton.
The Art of Work
There's a mural in Winsted, Connecticut, that's five stories tall and 120 feet long. Artist Ellen Griesedieck came up with the idea in 1999. She created the mural with help from thousands of students all over the country. More than…

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Sylvia Center makes its mark
WHAT: The Gun Show
WHEN: 7:30pm May 17-19 and 24-26
WHAT: Catalina Sunshine
WHEN: 7:30pm May 17-19
COST: $8-$20
WHERE: 205 Prospect St.
INFO: http://www.sylviacenterforthearts.org
By Amy Kepferle
During the late-night showing of iDiOM Theater's 48th iteration of its popular 48-Hour Theater Festival last Friday, there was a moment I was convinced I had gone back in time.
In addition to featuring familiar faces from the theater's 16-year history, the evening's performances were also the first in the Sylvia Center for the Arts' recently completed Lucas Hicks Theater. And, like me, those who frequented iDiOM's former digs on Cornwall Avenue probably couldn't help but notice the similarities between the two spaces—from the tiered seating to the placement of the stage and the sound booth.
After the lights went up, exhausted cast member and iDiOM founder Glenn Hergenhahn-Zhao confirmed that although the 160-seat space was brand spanking new—as in volunteers-had-been-up-until-4am-the-previous-night-screwing-down-seats new—much of the design harkened back to the original theater.
But much is different. In addition to being much larger than its predecessor, the Lucas Hicks Theater also shares close proximity with a smaller studio theater, swanky restrooms, a green room that actually has enough elbow space for all cast members—plus its own bathroom—and a spiffy lobby that doubles as an art gallery.
The changes will come in handy now that the Sylvia Center is making good on its promise to integrate a variety of arts organizations and contributors into the creative hub.
For example, Bellingham TheatreWorks has been selected to be one of more than a dozen resident theater companies who will eventually make the space their home base, and will kick off its latest season with veteran actor Ian Bivins reprising his role in The Gun Show Thurs., May 17 at the Studio Theater.
"We have presented plays in shoe stores, high schools and nightclubs," Bellingham TheatreWorks' cofounder Steve Lyons says. "The last time we presented The Gun Show we performed in a brewery. Did we want to perform in a brewery? No. But Bellingham just has not had a real theater that is affordable to community performing arts groups.
"Now, due to the enthusiastic support of the community and the dedication of a core group of theater artists, we have the Sylvia Center. It is long overdue, and we are honored to be a part of its inaugural season."
Opening on the same day as Catalina Sunshine—a family-friendly musical with an element of magic that will debut in the Lucas Hicks Theatre—Lyons describes The Gun Show as a heartfelt play about one person's conflicted relationship with guns.
"Since we first presented this play in 2016, gun violence continues to escalate," Lyons says. "The recent Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School massacre is a reminder that the issue of guns in America continues to be relevant to our nation's conversation."
Raising the alarm at the Firehouse
If the Firehouse Performing Arts and Events Center were still a functioning fire station, the alarm bells signaling an inferno had arrived on its own doorstep would be ringing around the clock.
To those passing by the Fairhaven-based venue at 1315 Harris Ave., it's not immediately clear…
Estella Scrooge
A twisted Christmas Carol
Is greed genetic? That's one of many questions to ponder when you settle in for a virtual viewing of Estella Scrooge: A Christmas Carol With a Twist.
The seasonal take on Charles Dickens' 1843 novella has been updated not only to bring the old-timey tale into the present day, but also to…
Visions of Sugarplums
A new kind of Nutcracker
In order for the Northwest Ballet Theater to be able to present a virtual version of its annual production of The Nutcracker, the stars needed to align just so.
Typically, NBT artistic director, dancer and choreographer John Bishop would've spent much of the fall working with as many as…


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UCA names Amy Whitehead chief of staff
Water utility receives 5-year directors award
Management shakeup at Embassy Suites in Rogers
BusinessNorthwest ArkansasTourism / Heritage
by Paul Gatling (pgatling@nwabj.com) May 25, 2018 8:36 am 2,807 views
Northwest Arkansas' largest hotel has a new owner, a new management company and a new general manager.
A New York investment firm has officially taken over operation of Missouri-based John Q. Hammons Hotels & Resorts (JQH), the result of a bankruptcy settlement agreement reached earlier this year between the John Q. Hammons estate and JD Holdings, a New York investment firm owned by Jonathan Eilian. A judge approved the settlement agreement in April, stipulating JQH would sell its remaining 35 hotels and other assets.
The JQH hotel company filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy in June 2016. The hotel company was founded by the late John Q. Hammons, who died in May 2013 at the age of 94.
The portfolio acquired by JD Holdings includes the Embassy Suites Northwest Arkansas and adjoining John Q. Hammons Convention Center in Rogers. A warranty deed finalizing the transfer of ownership of the 19.5-acre development was filed Monday (May 21) at the Benton County Courthouse.
Two sources confirmed to the Northwest Arkansas Business Journal that, as of last week, David Lang, the longtime general manager of the Embassy Suites, no longer works for the hotel. Lang, who had worked for John Q. Hammons Hotels & Resorts for 24 years, could not immediately be reached for comment.
Lang joined the property as general manager in February 2004, following the departure of Robert Kisabeth. The hotel opened in May 2003, then expanded to 400 rooms in July 2007 with the addition of a 152-room spa tower, built to accommodate the adjacent convention center.
It is unknown if other members of the hotel's management team have been let go. Larry Cooper is the property's new general manager, according to both sources. Cooper has not returned a voice message left at the hotel.
Atrium Hospitality, a hotel management company based in Georgia, has assumed management of the former JQH hotels for JD Holdings. Sheri Davidson Smith, a public relations executive in Dallas representing Atrium, responded to telephone message from the Northwest Arkansas Business Journal with this e-mailed statement:
"Specific details relating to the bankruptcy settlement agreement are being finalized. I would be happy to facilitate responses to your questions in the coming weeks."
It is unclear what changes, if any, are in store for the Hammons-branded convention center in Rogers.
CIP committee member, Fort Smith planning commissioner share concerns on Kelley Highway project
Splash Car Wash opens near Pinnacle Hills Promenade
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In March and April 2009, an outbreak of a new strain of flu (also known as influenza), popularly known as swine flu was discovered to have infected several people in Mexico and the states of California and Texas in the United States. On April 28 Costa Rica became the first Central American country to report the outbreak of the virus, with a confirmed infection. As of November 4 the Costa Rican Ministry of Health had 1,596 confirmed cases, 1,275 pending cases, 8,000 already discarded, and 38 deaths.

On July 31 local authorities announced that the country was selected among the sample countries that will be part of the test of the vaccine developed by Swiss pharmaceutical Novartis. The local sample will include 784 Costa Ricans ages 3 to 64. Besides Costa Rica, this vaccine prototype will be tested also in Mexico and the United States.

On August 11, it was confirmed that Costa Rica's president, Óscar Arias Sánchez, was infected with the A(H1N1) virus, becoming the first head of state sick with the A(H1N1) virus President Arias returned to his normal activities after one week of isolation at his home.

Initial outbreak
The first confirmed case of influenza A (H1N1) in Costa Rica was announced on April 28, and was that of a young woman hospitalized in San Jose. On April 28, Minister of Health of Costa Rica, Maria Luisa Avila confirmed the second case, a 29-year-old man hospitalized at the Hospital San Vicente de Paul in Heredia. A National Health Emergency was announced.

The Ministry of Health reported the existence of two new probable cases of swine flu in the country on the morning of May 2. These were a 53-year-old man who had not traveled to Mexico, in a hospital in San Jose, and a 24-year-old woman who is recovering at home. These new patients brought the total number of Costa Ricans affected by the virus to four. Three are listed as probable cases, while one was duly confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States. Four more cases were confirmed on May 4 by the Costa Rican "Centro Nacional de Referencia en Virología." All of these patients have recently traveled to Mexico. Since April 29 the Ministry of Health recommended to avoid travel to Mexico, Canada, and the U.S. as the number of confirmed cases by local authorities reached eight.

On May 12 the Minister of Health announced that an alert was received from U.S. authorities informing that three members from a Boston chorus, Canta Mundi, that traveled to several tourism places in Costa Rica during April, showed symptoms of AH1N1 flu after returning to the U.S. On May 13 Costa Rican health authorities announced four new probable cases, three of which had contact with the Boston chorus, and a follow-up is being done with those who had contact with the chorus. A couple of English language newspapers questioned whether the chorus members had infected locals, or rather the Boston youngsters picked up the disease in Costa Rica, as the chorus flew directly from the United States to Costa Rica.

Beginning May 20 probable cases are now confirmed locally by the aboratorio de Virología del Instituto Costarricense de Investigación y Enseñanza en Nutrición y Salud (Inciensa), which now is in capacity to confirm the presence of the A (H1N1) virus in 24 hours. Previously, all samples had to be sent to the U.S Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for confirmation. Among the 26 confirmed cases until May 21, six patients had contact with the Boston chorus and the Ministry of Health reported that all patients have a stable condition.

July and August contagion surge

As a result of a wave of new cases that occurred by early July, the Ministry of Health announced a new strategy to deal with this peak that resulted in increased deaths. Beginning July 11, 2009, testing for the virus will be conducted only on patients with risk factors and critical cases, including those with fever above 39 °C and patients with respiratory difficulties, as the main objective now is to reduce mortality rather than avoid contagion. This policy means that statistics regarding the number of cases will no longer reflect the total number of actual cases. Also, mid-year school vacations were extended one week in order to curb contagion.

On July 21 the Ministry of Health, in agreement with the Catholic Church, and in order to prevent a massive contagion, prohibited the traditional pilgrimage to the Basílica de Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles (Our Lady of the Angels Basilica), patroness of catholic Costa Ricans. This pilgrimage takes places every year on August 1 since 227 years ago, and this is the first time ever that is suspended. Health authorities estimate the risk of contagion in 20,000 people, as around two million pilgrims would have participated in this traditional religious event.

On July 31 local authorities announced that the country was selected among the sample countries that will be part of the test of the vaccine developed by Swiss pharmaceutical Novartis. The local sample will include 784 Costa Ricans ages 3 to 64. Besides Costa Rica, this vaccine prototype will be tested also in Mexico and the United States.

As of November 4 the Costa Rican Ministry of Health had 1,596 confirmed cases, 1,275 pending cases, 8,000 already discarded, and 38 deaths, with an infection rate of 35,32 per 100,000 people.

First deaths
The Ministry of Health received confirmation on May 8 from the Centers for Disease Control of seven cases of infection with influenza A/H1N1 virus. Health Minister Maria Luisa Avila announced that these were three men, aged 24, 30 and 53, two women, aged 20 and 25, two girls, aged 4 and 11, and a boy aged 3. "They are people who were in Mexico or had contact with travelers to that country", said the Ministry. The 53-year-old man became the first fatality in Costa Rica, confirmed on May 9 by the Minister of Health.

Out of the seven remaining cases confirmed by the US Center for Disease Control, three were children infected by the patient who died, and their condition never was critical. Costa Rica became the fourth country in the world, after Mexico, the United States and Canada to confirm fatalities related to the influenza virus A (H1N1).

The deceased man had other chronic diseases. The Minister of Health informed he had diabetes and also had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). She also informed the man was infected inside Costa Rica because he had not traveled to Mexico, and that a total 51 persons were identified who had contact with the sick man, but only three turned out positive.

The second fatality was a 35-year-old woman, and she died on June 23, less than 24 hours after arriving to the emergency room at a local hospital. The woman had hypertension and was morbidly obese. A third patient died on June 29, a 55-year-old man who presented chronic obstructive pulmonary disease due to smoking. A 45-year-old woman was the fourth fatality. She died on July 4.

The fifth death occurred on July 11. The patient was a 25-year-old woman pregnant with twins. Both five-month-old fetuses died hours before their mother did. The sixth fatality occurred on July 13, a 45-year-old man. This was the first patient to die who did not have any of the risk factors previously identified in other deceased patients. The seventh confirmed fatality was a 24-year-old man, who smoked and was obese.

Later fatalities
As of October 15, 2009 health authorities had confirmed 38 fatalities, the last one having taken place in late September, and also the death of a Costa Rican woman in Nicaragua was also confirmed. The mortality rate is 0.85 deaths by 100,000 people, and the fatality rate is 2.48%. From all deceased patients, 47.3% occurred among San José residents, and only the Guanacaste Province has not had any deaths related to the virus. The age of the deceased varies between 20 and 79 years, with an average age of 41 years.

Until early September, the most frequent risk factors presented by the deceased patients are obesity (36.4%), diabetes (18.2%), asthma (18.2%), pregnancy (9.1%) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (6.1%).

References

External links
 Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS): Gripe porcina  The World Health Organization (Spanish site).

Costa Rica
Disease outbreaks in Costa Rica
2009 in Costa Rica

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


الوفاق الثلاثي كان اتحادًا عسكريًّا بين بريطانيا وفرنسا وروسيا. تأسس عام 1907 من خلال معاهدة سانت بطرسبرغ.
^ Gareth Russell (2014). The Emperors: How Europe's Rulers Were Destroyed by the First World War. Amberley. صفحات 164–65.
^ Reinsurance Treaty نسخة محفوظة 17 يونيو 2018 على موقع واي باك مشين.
^ Hamilton، K.A. (1977). "Great Britain and France, 1911–1914". In Hinsley، F.H. British Foreign Policy Under Sir Edward Grey. Cambridge University Press. صفحة 324. ISBN 978-0-521-21347-9.


Thousands of high-school students may have been working 11-hour days to assemble Apple's new smartphone ahead of Christmas demand.
Chinese high-school students worked illegal overtime at a factory belonging to Apple's main supplier to assemble iPhones, news reports and the company said.
"During the course of a recent audit, we discovered instances of student interns working overtime at a supplier facility in China," the company said.
Foxconn also stressed the work was voluntary and compensated, but added that "the interns did work overtime in violation of our policy".
He added that the suicides were caused by workers' personal relationships and family disputes and not by working conditions.


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text:
Q: In vscode how do I pass in arguments from launch.json or have a template in tasks.json? I have a build script that supports ~40 different commands. I rather not write out 40 task even if its a copy/paste with an argument or two changed. Is there some way I have can one or two task and pass the arguments in from launch.json? or have a template that all my task use and I can change the args there?

A: You can use the extension Command Variable
It has a few commands that can remember what you have picked from a list and use that information in launch.json and tasks.json.
You can choose to store the argument variations of the build script in launch.json and use extension.commandvariable.pickStringRemember to convert the choice to a number of stored variables that can be used in launch.json and tasks.json with the command extension.commandvariable.remember.
You can also store all the configuration options in a json file:
{
  "build": {
    "foo": {
      "arg1": 10,
      "arg2": "-v"
    },
    "bar": {
      "arg1": 50,
      "arg2": "-b"
    }
  }
}

In launch.json use extension.commandvariable.pickStringRemember to pick a build variant (foo or bar) and use this picked string in the json property of command extension.commandvariable.file.content in launch.json and tasks.json.
I will add the possibility that key and json property can contain variables so you can use the remember variable (${remember:arg1}) in v1.26 of the extension.
launch.json
{
  "version": "0.2.0",
  "configurations": [
    {
      "type": "node",
      "request": "launch",
      "name": "Launch Program",
      "program": "${workspaceFolder}/app.js${input:pickBuild}",
      "preLaunchTask": "Build"
    }
  ],
  "inputs": [
    {
      "id": "pickBuild",
      "type": "command",
      "command": "extension.commandvariable.pickStringRemember",
      "args": {
        "key": "empty",
        "options": [
          ["foo", {"buildvariant":"foo"}],
          ["bar", {"buildvariant":"bar"}],
        "description": "Pick a build variant"
      }
    }
  ]
}

This trick returns an empty string but stores the buildvariant to be used in tasks.json. If you have to configure the launch based on the build you can return a string with content. I will add the key empty to the default remember store in v1.26.
tasks.json
{
  "version": "2.0.0",
  "tasks": [
    {
      "label": "Build",
      "type": "shell",
      "command": "python",
      "args": [ "build.py", "${input:buildArg1}", "${input:buildArg2}" ],
    },
  ],
  "inputs": [
    {
      "id": "buildArg1",
      "type": "command",
      "command": "extension.commandvariable.file.content",
      "args": {
        "fileName": "${workspaceFolder}/build-options.json",
        "json": "content.${remember:buildvariant}.arg1",
        "default": "--dummy",
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "buildArg2",
      "type": "command",
      "command": "extension.commandvariable.file.content",
      "args": {
        "fileName": "${workspaceFolder}/build-options.json",
        "json": "content.${remember:buildvariant}.arg2",
        "default": "--dummy",
      }
    }
  ]
}

If you use the extension.commandvariable.file.pickFile in launch.json you can use this file path in the command extension.commandvariable.file.content
Edit
In v1.26 I have added the possibility to add key-value pairs to the remember storage and return an empty string. This makes it possible for a launch configuration to set key-values to be used in a task. Just use ${input:name} anywhere in a launch property string that supports variables.

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Acoustic Soul-Pop Singer/songwriter 4+ years experience singing popular cover songs (Beatles, Michael Jackson, Fleetwood Mac, the current Top 40 Radio Hits) for restaurants/weddings/private events And you best believe I have original music, too! (Debut album, Answers, available on iTunes!) Whether you are looking for a concert performance, or background ambiance to an event, I am your girl.
SaxMajor/Ruben Cantu is a singing saxophone player/one-man-band who uses audio backing tracks with his own BOSE PA system. SaxMajor is available for private parties, wedding cocktails, corporate/civic events, restaurants, country clubs and senior communities. His playlist includes American standards, older and newer Top 40, smooth jazz, Latin, rhythm & blues, country, Bollywood, Disney, and holiday. With many years of experience in Las Vegas and Southern California, SaxMajor performs well over 100 performances each year. He is available for performance areas ranging from Los Angeles to San Francisco, San Diego, Phoenix/Tucson and Las Vegas. The complete SaxMajor song list contains well over 700 songs!
Sam Hosking has been known for his versatile vocal talent from a very early age. Originally from Australia, Sam's love for singing soulful and acoustic based music has given him the opportunity to travel. His experiences in over 30 countries led him to learn the art of the creative process. Sam's focus on singing, has allowed him to become a master in his field learning from an eclectic range of teachers throughout the world. Since moving to San Diego in September 2012 Sam has been keeping busy playing solo and duo cover shows in a range of bars/restaurants all over Southern California as well as many corporate and private functions from Downtown San Diego and Mission Valley to La Jolla, Del Mar and Encinitas and all the way to Los Angeles. He's played regularly at most live music venues downtown and throughout San Diego.
Thank you for your interest in 22 Kings! We all loved making music together but have since gone our separate ways musically. 22 Kings was Sam Bybee, Sandi King, and davyrockett. All 3 can be found on GigTown with their new projects, they all support local music and GigTown in their newest endeavors! If you like what you hear please check out Sam Bybee's solo profile, Sandi King's band profile King Taylor Project, and davyrockett's individual profile ON GIGTOWN!
Born and raised in San Diego, Lisa Campbell has been part of the San Diego music scene for over 14 years. Her folk-rock guitar playing and wide-ranging vocals cover genres from the 70's to current. "I am everyone's playlist, so I am told." Lisa can play hundreds of popular cover tunes by memory, without the use of an iPad or music stand. She also doesn't use a set list. "I like to look at my audience and determine what they might like." Think James Taylor to Foo Fighters and everything in-between. She only requires one electrical outlet and set-up and break-down take 5 minutes. "Bars, restaurants, weddings, private events/parties…I enjoy them all."
A San Diego native, Brian has been performing in the piano bar scene on the west coast for over ten years. With a masters degree in classical voice from the Manhattan School of Music, and a deep passion for classic rock, Brian has an eclectic repertoire that can fit any occasion. During his time as a student in New York, he appeared in several Off-Broadway shows and has performed as a soloist at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center and the Kennedy Center. Here in San Diego, Brian is a resident performer at Tuscany Restaurant in La Costa, Cicciotti's in Cardiff, The Bridges Golf Club, The Rancho Bernardo Inn and Seasons 52 La Jolla/Seaport. Brian's repertoire list includes a variety of musical styles from all eras including Billy Joel, Elton John, Andrea Boccelli, Frank Sinatra, Jim Croce, The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Coldplay, Broadway and more. Brian is a great addition to private events and special occasions, and depending on what the event calls for, Brian can either play on his own or bring more musicians including guest vocalists, guitarists, cellist and/or drummer.
Christian's voice is fueled with passion and soul. With just an acoustic guitar and his voice, Christian Taylor is great for any private party, business event, wedding, restaurant or bar. Catch him as part of his duo, trio, or full band, and guests are sure to be drawn in immediately, and be thoroughly entertained with every song. Christian currently performs at some of San Diego's best live music spots, including Whiskey Girl, Old City Hall (used to be Florent), Herringbone, Searsucker, Loews Coronado Bay Resort, and many others. Playing some of his favorite covers from past decades to present, every song sounds as if though it were his own, putting as much passion and heart into singing them as if he had written them himself. Christian has performed at major charity fundraisers, local festivals, as well as SXSW in Austin, TX. Bio below. San Diego, CA native musician, and singer songwriter, Christian Taylor grew up surrounded by, and listening to all styles of music. Grandson of "Wipeout" drum legend, Mel Taylor, of surf rock band The Ventures, as well as grandson to the First Lady of Rock N Roll, Mary Kaye, who was the pioneer of the Las Vegas lounge act, you could say music is in his blood. Christian's father Jay Kaye was an accomplished musician, singer, songwriter, and blues guitarist in his own right, finding his audience accross Europe, where Christian found himself as a young child watching a listening to him play.  Christian didn't find his voice or musical style until later in life, after playing in all different styles of bands and projects as a young man. Christian experimented with folk, americana, and blues rock for a while, before he found a way to blend it all together with his love for classic soul music. His lyrics are stories filled with love, heartache, and hope. With simple guitar playing, he relies more on his soulful raspy voice, that he pushes as far as he can. The music is a throw back to 50's 60's soul and rock n roll, as well as blues and folk, packed with organs, saxophones, and a female back up singer that compliments Christian's vocals. Their live shows are full of energy, good vibes, and charisma, that continually keep the audiences dancing and entertained.
With her powerful voice and beautiful heart, Kinnie has a way of personally connecting with her audiences. From living rooms to concert venues, she will always make you feel special. Kinnie performs as a solo artist and also with various players around San Diego. She has a go-to duo, trio, and 6 six piece band. Whatever you're looking for, Kinnie can deliver.


text:
#TGW: Triple-Threat
By Matt Winkeljohn | The Good Word
– Matt Harpring never saw his Bobblehead coming because one of Georgia Tech's greatest basketball players sometimes still can't believe he was a Yellow Jacket.
The first 1,000 fans at McCamish Pavilion before Tech's 5:30 p.m. Saturday game against Boston College will receive Harpring Bobbleheads commemorating a player who, from 1994-98, became the second-leading scorer and rebounder in program history. He'll sign autographs beforehand.
These are busy times. On Feb. 25, he and former Tech linebacker Keith Brooking will be inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame, and next month he'll be honored as an ACC Legend and the conference tournament.
"It kind of comes in threes," he said. "I got a call about the bobblehead, and then a week later then Georgia Hall of Fame, and then a week after that get a call from the ACC tournament wondering if I could be an ACC Legend. Amazing."
Not bad for a guy who grew up believing, "Baseball was the sport I thought I'd make it in; I loved baseball," and played on a state championship team at Marist. The former War Eagle then was heavily recruited to play Division I football only to decide late in his senior year that he preferred basketball.
And he chose the University of Georgia.
Former Tech head coach Bobby Cremins didn't recruit Harpring so much as he accepted him. In fact, Harpring recruited Cremins.
Few knew much about the basketball player. With so much recruiting/scouting done during summers on the AAU circuit, his hoops skills were something of a mystery because he spent his summers playing travel baseball.
"He was a three-sport athlete, and we were not able to see him play in the summer," Cremins recalled.
The Tech coach was aware of Harpring as a junior; his son, Bobby Cremins Jr., was a teammate at Marist. That, though, was a much different player than the 6-foot-7 forward Tech fans remember.
"I grew," Matt said. "I was a point guard my junior year, probably 6-1, 6-2."
Mostly, he was noted as an option quarterback for one of the state's top high school football programs.
Visiting Wisconsin and Northwestern on official recruiting trips, a funny thing happened. "It was January, I think, and they took me to a Big Ten [basketball] game," he said. "I said, `I know I can play this game.' "
Upon returning to Marist, Harpring said to head coach Ron Bell, "We've got to get some coaches in here, because I think I'm going to change my mind and play basketball.
"I still have my rejection letters from Coach K [at Duke] and coach [Dean] Smith [at North Carolina]," he said. "Cremins said. `I don't think you're an ACC player, and I'll reach out and try to help you.' I remember I was devastated."
As the War Eagles were on their way to winning a state title in a 32-0 season with Harpring marching toward Georgia's Mr. Basketball award, Georgia head coach Hugh Durham visited, and offered a scholarship.
"I was elated," Matt said. "Quite honestly, I thought I was going to play at Georgia."
His coach was persistent.
"Ron Bell called and said, `You better get your [rear end] over here,'" Cremins remembered.
Finally, former Tech assistant Kevin Cantwell saw Harpring, and, "He said, `Bobby, you're not going to believe it,'" Cremins said. "I asked my son, and he said he was pretty good."
When Matt visited Tech, the Jackets' coach was softening toward him, a little, as Cantwell pushed and pushed.
"I went downtown, and he hears that I had committed to Georgia," Harpring said. "I said, `Listen, coach; I think I can start.' He wasn't so sure, and he'd recruited [forward] Mike Maddox; he was a McDonald's All-American, and he could've gone anywhere. I said, `I just want a fair shot.'
"He shook my hand, and I promised that I wouldn't be a problem if I didn't start."
That was never a problem.
"Coach Cantwell was a big part of this, and I don't think Bobby bought in," Harpring said. "He didn't say much, but after two days [of practice], he said [to the team], `This guy is killing all of you.'"
With a solid jumper, a bevy of post moves and indomitable work rate, Harpring started 24 games as a freshman, averaging 12.1 points and 6.2 rebounds.
His numbers grew over the next three seasons, when he joined former Jacket Mark Price as the only Tech players ever named first-team All-ACC three times. In his senior season, he averaged 21.6 points and 9.4 rebounds.
"Along with Tommy Hammonds, he was the toughest player I ever coached," Cremins said. "He was just so tough, big and strong and mean, could shoot from the outside. He was a winner. Thank God, we didn't miss on him."
Harpring remains the second-leading scorer in program history with 2,225 points (trailing Rich Yunkus' 2,232), and third-leading rebounder with 997 (behind Malcolm Mackey's 1,205 and Alvin Jones' 1,075).
He's No. 1 in free throws made (508), No. 7 in steals (176), No. 7 in 3-pointers (211) and tied for 15th in assists (289).
His No. 15 jersey was retired by Tech before his final home game, and when he checked out of his final ACC Tournament game late in a loss to Maryland, the entire Greensboro Coliseum stood and cheered. He entered the Georgia Tech Athletic Hall of Fame in 2008.
"I remember after my junior year I was having the debate whether to come out, and sticking around," Harpring said. "I'm so glad I stuck around. The standing ovation at the ACC tournament still gives me chills. I was very blessed."
Following an 11-year NBA career averaging 11.5 points and 5.1 rebounds with Orlando, Cleveland, Philadelphia and Utah, Harpring took over as color commentator on the Jazz' television network. Remarkably, he lives in Atlanta with wife Amanda, a dermatologist, and five children ages 11, 9, 7, 5 and 18 months.
"We have a good understanding that I would miss 21 games a year; I would pick and choose," he explained. "They understand, but they don't want me to miss the Cavs and Warriors. I fly a lot of Delta, take a lot of flights …
"I might have to fly out and take the red-eye back on Saturday to make sure I coach their Saturday morning basketball games … I made my money. This is not about money. It's about home. I don't want to give up my family."
Cremins is glad he didn't give up on Harpring.
"Very bright kid. The kid's the total package," the coach said. "I'm glad to see him get this recognition. Great story, great story … He was a leader by example. If you don't put up, he'd get upset. He was a great student, and a workaholic."
Harpring's thankful Cremins gave him a shot, if barely.
"I'm a big believer in working your butt off," he said. "I had luck. I had Bobby Cremins, a guy who didn't believe in me at the beginning. He didn't recruit a lot of players … The one thing is I compete to a fault.
"He made me so motivated, not that I needed more gasoline on the fire, but it almost made me go harder. I just wanted to start at Georgia Tech. His skepticism made me want to improve. He keeps up. I've met so many people who've never had a bad word to say about Bobby Cremins. Bobby never faked it."
Neither did Harpring.


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text:
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Tyler Perry covered couple's 14k hospital bill in Mexico so they could finally leave
By Quimby
Good deeds, Tyler Perry
In October, Tyler Perry had a grand opening party for his studio in Atlanta. He's also planning to use some of the 330-acre space to build a shelter for trafficked girls and boys and battered women. That's not the only amazing plan that Tyler's working on. He also recently paid a $14,000 hospital bill for a man in Mexico so that he and his wife could leave the country. TMZ has more:
Tyler Perry just rescued a couple who were essentially trapped in a Mexican hospital, which wouldn't let them leave until their bill was paid — and the story is WILD!!!
Here's the deal … Atlanta couple Tori Austin and her fiance, Stephen Johnson, were recently enjoying themselves on a cruise … but had to get to a hospital onshore ASAP after Stephen suddenly fell ill and was diagnosed with pancreatitis, diabetes and a kidney infection.
They ended up in a Mexican hospital called Centro Medico Americano in Progreso, where he was treated with dialysis and other procedures to alleviate his near-fatal ailments.
Fast-forward to this past week, when Tori and Stephen were told they couldn't leave the hospital until their bill was paid in full — which, at that point, had totaled up to a whopping $14,000. Their families started a GoFundMe page, but it had hardly racked up enough donations to cover them. Enter Tyler … who heard about this and offered to pay it himself.
We've learned that Tyler tried calling up the hospital and giving them his credit card info to cover the tab entirely — but he was rebuffed, and instead … we're told he ended up having to wire the money, which should hopefully arrive by Monday.
[From TMZ]
That's such a lovely, lovely gesture by Tyler. I don't even know where to start with this: I know people who have pancreatitis and diabetes, and know that that combination can be excruciating and make daily life difficult. I can't imagine adding a kidney infection on top of that, being hospitalized in another country, and then being told that you can't leave until you pay a $14,000 bill. The hospital obviously wants its money, but most people don't have that just lying around, ready to hand over. I'm glad that GoFundMe exists, but am disgusted that so many people have needed to turn to it to ask for help paying medical bills. Tyler was also going to cover a medical flight, but Stephen should be well enough to fly on a commercial flight this week. I'm glad that he's OK and will be home with Tori and loved ones for the holidays.
A Mexican vacation has turned into a nightmare for this metro Atlanta couple. They say a hospital won't let them leave. NEXT AT 5:45: @JustinGrayWSB speaks with the couple about the problems they are having to come home: https://t.co/npsvpw9Bw5 pic.twitter.com/4YnjlX2TaW
— WSB-TV (@wsbtv) November 20, 2019
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16 Responses to "Tyler Perry covered couple's 14k hospital bill in Mexico so they could finally leave"
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Kittycat says:
I will check the article because you would think travel insurance would cover some of the costs
Guest2.0 says:
Unfortunately not everyone takes out travel insurance due to the cost. I always get travel insurance but I've known people who don't.
I'm in Canada and I have no medical issues.
For my vacation to Colombia I am paying $100 for insurance.
I feel like people don't take out insurance mainly because they think nothing will happen.
BlueSky says:
I've never been on a cruise before so I am not sure when you book it if that is an option or not. I would assume so. Most people don't opt to take it. I'm traveling to England next year so I opted for travel insurance.
@Kittycat
Travel insurance is NOT expensive. If you can afford to go on vacation, you can afford travel insurance. It should be mandatory so things like this don't happen. It cost 50 to 100 bucks. Either way Tyler Perry is a very generous man. Good for him for helping.
NotSoSocialButterfly says:
Agreed. Our family of five went a a very costly vacation, and third party insurance for full villa rental reimbursement, flight reimbursement cancellation for any reason, evacuation due to weather and medical evacuation, plus delays, loss of baggage and more was less than $800 for all of us. That's about $150 pp for EVERYTHING.
If you are spending a chunk on vacation, it's crazy not to spend a small amount on insurance, and there are many tiers of coverage to be economical for everyone.
Here's just one option for comparison of many companies' offerings:https://www.squaremouth.com/travel-insurance-quotes
Cdawg76 says:
Do not assume the didn't take out travel insurance because it isn't always the case.
We purchased insurance before out last trip and ended up with an almost $20,000 bill that the insurance company rejected stating it was due to a pre-existing illness. None of our family members have anything pre-existing. If they find anything within 90 days that has any symptom that is remotely similar or can be a symptom of what you are treated for they will reject you i.e. headaches, runny nose, a head cold you had 3 months ago, etc.
runcmc says:
The craziest thing is that by US standards, that bill is almost affordable. The same treatment in the us + hospital stay would probably end up being at least double that.
Last year I was in the hospital for two days to get treatment for rhabdo (it's an exercise induced illness). It was just fluids + monitoring (after the testing that led to diagnosis) … and my bill was around 12k. Insurance covered about 9k of that but still, it was a lot of money for not a lot of medical intervention.
Lol of course. I'm pretty sure a ridiculously high percentage of the people who end up with rhabdo got there through crossfit. I haven't done it since.
Bettyrose says:
Sadly that was my first thought too. $14k isn't a huge bill by U.S. standards. (Not the point of the story. I get that but if they weren't being held hostage, the payment plan on $14k wouldn't seem outrageous compared to U.S. medical bills).
Forwhatitsworth says:
What an awesome guy!
Agree, Tyler Perry is amazing for doing this. He made a real difference in someone's life- talk about life goals!😊
Other Renee says:
Good for him. That was a very nice thing to do. I've been on two cruises and don't remember being offered travel insurance on either one. I could be wrong. It was a long time ago. I would so love to go on another one but it's not in the cards anytime soon.
JanetFerber says:
I couldn't love Tyler Perry more. He is such a good man. God, I wish he were President. I'm so tired of the crooked, nasty assholes. Decent men, step up!
Lillian says:
Bless this man's lovely soul.
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First, I have two tupperware containers that have a musty smell. I've cleaned them numerous times to no avail. I can easily throw them away (and will if I fail at this again), but they're great sizes, so if anyone has ideas, I'm up for one more try. Similarly, I have one of those reusable water bottles that's made from some type of lined metal. It also contains an unpleasant scent that refuses to go away despite multiple cleanings and soakings.
Finally, a cuisinart pot that has tarnished terribly. I tried using easy off, but had no success. It's possible I did not leave it on long enough.
Also you can leave tupperware out in the sun to get stains out.
Try Bar keeper's Friend for the pot.
Bleach worked wonders, though I think it made one of the lids oddly sticky. I threw that one out. Vinegar worked well too, now I just need a bottle brush. Still working on the pot. Thanks so much all!
place a charcoal briquette in the container. Seal the container. After three days, check the container. If the smell still lingers, fill the container with baking soda. Seal the container. Check the container after a week has passed.
For the water bottle, white vinegar and warm water. soak, then gently scrub and rinse.
For the tarnished pot, I use bar keepers friend then a glass cleaner or metal polish cleaner.
No 1, tupperware, I would use vinegar and let it soak, same thing for your water bottle. Vinegar removes odor.
No. 2. Have you tried Bon Ami, that is my go to for all my pots and pans. Doesn't scratch. Used on the stainless steel on my husband and our salt water fishing boat. Works wonders.
Dehydrating. Borrowed a dehydrator from a friend. Totally addicted. I think I need one.


text:
package edu.harvard.iq.dataverse.authorization.groups.impl.ipaddress.ip;

import edu.harvard.iq.dataverse.authorization.groups.impl.ipaddress.IpGroup;
import java.util.Objects;
import javax.persistence.ManyToOne;
import javax.persistence.MappedSuperclass;

/**
 * A range of {@link IpAddress}es. Abstract class - to instantiate, you need to
 * use one of the concrete subclasses of either IPv4 or IPv6, or the static
 * {@code make} methods.
 * @author michael
 */
@MappedSuperclass
public abstract class IpAddressRange {

    public static IpAddressRange make( IpAddress bottom, IpAddress top ) {
        if ( bottom instanceof IPv4Address && top instanceof IPv4Address ) {
            return new IPv4Range((IPv4Address)bottom, (IPv4Address)top);
        } else if ( bottom instanceof IPv6Address && top instanceof IPv6Address ) {
            return new IPv6Range((IPv6Address)bottom, (IPv6Address)top);
        } else {
            throw new IllegalArgumentException("Both addresses have to be of the same type (either IPv4 or IPv6)");
        }
    }

    public static IpAddressRange makeSingle( IpAddress ipa ) {
        return make(ipa, ipa);
    }

    /**
     * Tests whether an IP address is within {@code this} range. Note that this
     * method returns a tri-state answer:
     *

     *
Boolean.TRUE - the address is in the range

     *
Boolean.FALSE - the address in NOT in the range

     *
NULL - The address is of the wrong type, (e.g. IPv4 for an IPv6 range).

     *

     * @param anAddress The address whose inclusion we test
     * @return {@code Boolean.TRUE},{@code Boolean.FALSE}, or {@code null}.
     */
    public abstract Boolean contains( IpAddress anAddress );

    public abstract IpAddress getTop();
    public abstract IpAddress getBottom();

    @ManyToOne
    private IpGroup owner;

    @Override
    public int hashCode() {
        int hash = 7;
        hash = 17 * hash + Objects.hashCode(getTop());
        hash = 17 * hash + Objects.hashCode(getBottom());
        return hash;
    }

    @Override
    public boolean equals(Object obj) {
        if (obj == null) {
            return false;
        }
        if (getClass() != obj.getClass()) {
            return false;
        }
        final IpAddressRange other = (IpAddressRange) obj;
        return Objects.equals(getBottom(), other.getBottom())
                && Objects.equals(this.getTop(), other.getTop());
    }

    public boolean isSingleAddress() {
        return getTop().equals(getBottom());
    }

    @Override
    public String toString() {
        return "[IpAddressRange " + getTop() + "-" + getBottom() + ']';
    }

    public IpGroup getOwner() {
        return owner;
    }

    public void setOwner(IpGroup owner) {
        this.owner = owner;
    }

}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Truly Unique Location The truly unique location on top of a hillside gives you complete privacy and great views.
Nice Lounging Under the porch in the shade you can relax in the warmest moments of the day in the generous lounge area.
Swimming pool with sea view From the lovely terrace you step into the invigorating swimming pool. Whether you enjoy the spacious sunbed.
Fully Enjoy Through the many sliding doors there is a light and open house that offers all the comfort. Both in and outside.
The World At Your Feet You feel like you're in heaven at this unique place. El Cielo en La Tierra, Heaven on Earth!
Lovely sun terrace On one of the six sunbeds at the pool it is always good to live.
Enchanting Sunset Every sunset brings back an enchanting picture from the terrace.
Atmospheric Swimming Also swimming in the evening is a great experience in the atmospherically lit swimming pool situated in the large terrace.
Relaxed Lounging From the generous lounge area on the covered terrace you have a truly amazing view over the Mediterranean Sea.
Plenty of peace and space Due to its very unique location on top of a hill hill, you enjoy plenty of peace and quiet.
Full Privacy The villa with its terraces and the spacious garden are fully fenced, ensuring peace and privacy.


text:
Tag Archives: Peter Morey
Comedy's future in London and what is happening in Canada, Japan and Kenya
PTOO last night – Zuma Puma as 'The Colonel'
Last night, I got three interesting e-mails and saw the best potential TV series not yet on TV – Vivienne & Martin Soan's monthly live comedy show Pull The Other One in South East London.
The PTOO format is bizarre acts plus one token stand-up comedian, which I think might be the next step in the future of comedy in the UK.
Call me obsessed but, with the apparent decline of straight comedy clubs and the rise of the Cabaret Section at the Edinburgh Fringe, something feels likely to change.
Lindsay Sharman did it by the book last night
Last night at PTOO, the ever-TV-friendly-faced Lindsay Sharman hosted Cheekykita, who harassed the audience in a crash-helmet, then turned into a black hole… wonderfully acerbic (OK – viciously bitter) musical comedian Kate Lucas (who, last month, was crowned Mercury Comedian of the Year at the Leicester Comedy Festival)… the always wonderfully intense Zuma Puma aka Nelly Scott as a wildly OTT Russian colonel… the Greatest Show on Legs with Martin Soan as a psychotic gay sergeant major… Simon Munnery being superbly funny as the token stand-up (You know, when Simon Munnery is the token normal comedian, everything else has to be SERIOUSLY weird!)… and Darren Walsh being extraordinarily punny (last month he won the first UK Pun Championhips) with lots of surreal visual and audio gags meaning he kept well to the bizarre variety act side of normal stand-up.
Peter Morey drew; Simon Munnery performed
While all this went on, artist Peter Morey was drawing his live visual interpretation of the show on the door of the venue as he listened to the acts perform.
The audience included Comedy Store improviser Stephen Frost and new comedy entrepreneur and showman Adam Taffler.
For once in my life, I felt trendy.
Then I went home.
This man is in Vancouver. I do not know him.
There was an unexplained e-mail from this blog's occasional Canadian correspondent Anna Smith. She is currently working in a bookshop in Vancouver. There was no text in the e-mail, just an attached picture. The e-mail was titled Finns and Doukabors have visited the shop. I have no idea what this means.
According to Wikipedia, the Doukabors were a Russian religious sect who emigrated to Canada in the 19th century to escape persecution by the Tsarist authorities. And, according to the 2001 census, over 131,040 Canadians claim Finnish ancestry.
I have no idea what relevance either of these facts may or may not actually have to anything else.
Then I opened an e-mail from British comedian Bob Slayer who, among many other things, used to be a horse jockey (unlikely but true) and managed Japanese rock band Electric Eel Shock (who are descending on Britain next month).
They provided some of the music for the movie Killer Bitch, in which one of them got killed by having a fish rammed down his throat. One of the movie's online samplers uses their music. (Do not view this adult material if you can ever be offended by anything and – really – NB do not buy from the website named at the end, only from reputable retailers.)
http://www.s166416115.websitehome.co.uk/KillerMovies/KillerBitchSampler2.mp4
A week ago, Bob Slayer flew to Japan. I had no idea why. Last night's e-mail explained:
The reason why we are here is our friends Kaori and Jamie are getting married. Kaori was in a London-based Japanese two-piece band called Yumi Yumi. They both helped me out lots in the early days of managing Electric Eel Shock. After that band, Kaori joined Mercury Award nominated The Go Team as guitarist, keyboardist and occasional vocalist. Jamie was the bass player.
DAY 1 – We arrive in Kumamoto after 24 hours travelling. We took a flight from London to Tokyo then several bullet trains. Some of them were even the right ones. The highlight of the wedding food is a plate of raw horse meat, a local delicacy. I will never watch the Grand National in the same way again.
Day 3 – Where did day 2 disappear? A booze and a jetlag fug?
Day 5 – Today we are in Settsu-shi, near Osaka, at the house of Aki Morimoto otherwise known as front man of Electric Eel Shock. He has produced a little boy since I saw him last and Taira (3 years old) and I bond over sword fighting and cartoons of Anpanman, Japan's most popular anime for kids, where all the characters have heads made out of different flavoured breads. I also build a 7 foot Lego tower.
Day 6 – Osaka's speciality food is takoyaki and okonimaki – octopus batter balls and a savoury pancake made with chopped cabbage. Both are covered in mayonnaise and Worcestershire sauce. It seems that, although Japan spent a lot of its history closed off from the outside world, some imports had a big influence 150 years ago. Barbershop poles are red and white and the Japanese word for suit is 'Savillrow'.
After this, I opened an e-mail from comedy critic Kate Copstick, currently in Kenya. She told me:
Hoping to be boarding a plane to Britain this time next week, barring any intervening ghastliness.
I am on one crutch and reasonably mobile.
All in all it could be worse.
I think – unusually – she may be under-stating the case.
But that is another story.
Filed under Comedy, Movies
Tagged as Adam Taffler, Bob Slayer, comedy, Darren Walsh, Doukabors, edinburgh fringe, Electric Eel Shock, Greatest Show on Legs, Japan, Kate Copstick, Kate Lucas, Killer Bitch, Lindsay Sharman, Martin Soan, Nelly Scott, Peter Morey, Pull The Other One, Simon Munnery, Stephen Frost, Vancouver, Zuma Puma
Oct 25, 2013 · 11:41 am
The artist who draws on comedians' ideas + a mouthful of British swearing
Stand-up comedy + an occasional bit of art
"What shall I call you in my blog?" I asked.
"People know me as Richie Smallsmore," said the person who is not actually Richie Smallsmore. The real person is in the fourth year of his PhD on the War in Croatia 1991-1995.
But, since June 2012, the person who is not Richie Smallsmore has also been organising almost-but-not-necessarily-exactly monthly comedy nights at Goldsmiths College in South East London.
"Do you want to become a full-time comedy promoter when you finish your PhD?" I asked.
Richie Smallsmore is a character act – "an arrogant deluded business guru".
"The ideal character," I suggested, "to be a comedy promoter."
I went to Goldsmiths College last night to see the monthly comedy night he co-organises with Gwyn Davies and which, this month, had additional 'live scribing' – a concept I am ashamed to say I had never heard of.
"Live scribing," explained the man who is not Richie Smallsmore, "is when an artist quickly draws representations/interpretations of what's going on – in this case the ideas in the stand-up comedy. These huge images are then displayed as our night progresses. We put together a video about it on YouTube."
Richie Smallsmore and Gwyn Davies last night at Goldsmiths
Goldsmiths Comedy promoters (not) Richie Smallwood and Gwyn Davies (he's not Irish) tested the idea of 'Live Scribing' for a comedy show in May this year and last night was their second trial run.
Artist Peter Morey was a school friend of Richie's, so was an obvious choice. He has just finished an MA in Illustration at Falmouth. His BA was in Philosophy.
"The philosophy kind of feeds into some of this stuff," he told me last night. "Maybe not so much into the comedy, but some of the other stuff I do."
"Which is?"
Artist Peter Morey shared some comics' thoughts last night
"I create comics and I screen print things but I also do this live scribing. It's visual thinking. I've done it for meetings and conferences and for Lady Gabby, a punk poet, in Berlin. For her, I was doing this kind of stuff onto a wall in Berlin."
"And you've done it for conferences?" I asked.
"I'm aiming to do more of that," Peter told me. "I'm in the room with them while they're having their meeting or conference."
"What do they get out of it?" I asked.
"It's visual thinking, right?… You're giving a visual take on whatever is said… They're seeing what they're saying being visualised. I guess they get to see their ideas in a different light. Some of it might not be things people have noticed they're saying – metaphors, figures of speech."
Drawing on performers' lateral thought processes last night
I asked: "An example of the sort of conference you've done it for?"
"One was on sustainable energy," explained Peter. "It's a bit like being a jester in a court. You're giving a perspective on proceedings that wouldn't be said by anyone else in the room.
"It's a new field of illustration. It's been done before – not necessarily live. There's a thing called RSA Animate. But I don't think it has been done at comedy shows."
"You are hidden from view behind a screen," I said, "so you hear but don't see the acts. Why?"
One of three large canvasses created last night
"I draw a lot from my own imagination," said Peter. "If I see the acts, I'm going to be influenced by the way they look and what I see in the room. But, if I just rely on what they say, I can let my visual imagination go wild and latch onto metaphors, figures of speech, knob gags and just go with it."
"So," I said, "it's not you observing their acts but you observing their thoughts."
"Yes. It's making cartoons out of what they say, but often in a lateral way."
"And it's called live scribing?"
"Here, yes," said Peter. "In the US, it's called graphic facilitation."
"It would be," I said. "They just love adding syllables and sounding serious. The British language tends to use simpler words."
After I left Goldsmiths and got home in the early hours of this morning, there was a Comment waiting for approval on the 'About Me' page of this blog. I was going to approve the Comment, but then decided not to. I may have been wrong.
"What an absolute fuckin no mark you are, cuntface. Ignorance. What a fuckin poor show. Blair went to the editors about this? Seriously? We live in the UK. We fuckin built this country. Working class, peasant class, middle class and elite. You could never understand because of where you were brought up. Utterly without comprehension. Embarrassing."
I was not quite sure if this message – allegedly from someone called Fredja with a hotmail.com address – was a very clever or a very dumb idea.
On the face of it, the comment is quite dumb. Why think that someone called 'John Fleming' was not brought up in Britain – unless the person thinks I am actually from Flanders' fair fields?
On the other hand, it could be one of those spam messages just trying to elicit the response of a click or a reply.
Or maybe he or she could have a valid opinion.
Filed under Art, cartoons, Comedy, London
Tagged as art, comedy, Goldsmiths, graphic facilitation, illustration, Lady Gabby, live scribing, london, Peter Morey, Richie Smallsmore, RSA Animate


The solar cell light IV curve can be traced by altering a variable resistor across the cell and recording the voltage and current at the cell terminals. While this is quite simple, it is time consuming so in practice more sophisticated electronics is used. The most common method is to use a variable voltage source that is also capable of sinking current. To improve accuracy Isc and Voc are usually measured separately (by respectively setting the voltage to zero and the current to zero) from the rest of the curve. The IV curve has a strongly varying slope that causes additional problems. There are various schemes for improving the accuracy but one of the simplest is to use equally spaced measurement in voltage in two steps. The first section is widely spaced and covers from 0 to 70 % of Voc. The second section has points more closely spaced and covers from 70% to Voc. The second region contains the maximum power point, the open circuit voltage and has a much higher slope.
IV measurement. The second sweep has a higher resolution and covers the more interesting parts of the curve.
For cell testing the difficulty is the high current of large area cells. The trend in silicon substrates is to move to larger substrates of 15 x 15 cm² and an Isc approaching 10 amps. For Dark IV measurements the tester also needs to source current and to be varied over several orders of magnitude, from nanoamps to several amps. There now exist several systems that fulfill these requirements and are integrated into one package with computer control but the user has to specify the size they want.