text:
beamjockey —
beamjockey ( beamjockey) wrote,
beamjockey
Cold War Swipesmanship
Recently I contributed to a discussion on the Restricted Data blog, and decided I should expand upon it here.
Wikipedia tells us, "Swipe is a comics term that refers to the intentional copying of a cover, panel, or page from an earlier comic book or graphic novel without crediting the original artist."
Photographs can be "swiped," too. And we may expect that, in the heyday of Henry Luce's illustrated magazine Life, its superb photos and graphics might commonly have been found in any comics artist's reference files. Let me show you an interesting example.
In Issue 1 of the 1958 revival of the war comic book Atom Age Combat, we find a feature entitled "I, SAGE…" The Semi-Automatic Ground Environment, robot sentry of the Cold War skies, narrates. It's pretty effective non-fiction.
(SAGE is interesting to students of computer science as an early example of a complex system using computers to process real-time information. Some SAGE consoles are preserved at such places as the Computer History Museum.)
Question: How many of Andreas Feininger's photos in Life's six-page spread in the February 11, 1957 issue, namely "Pushbutton Defense for Air War," have been swiped by the artist drawing "I, SAGE…?"
Answer: All of them, save one.
The uncredited artist even lifts some elements, like a radar dome, from the Life diagram of SAGE prepared by Matt Greene and Jerry Cooke.
One wonders how many of the other panels in the story were also swipes from sources we have not detected.
It seem strange that the artist did not swipe J.R. Eyerman's spectacular photo of an F-102 Delta Dagger unleashing fiery missiles-- one can imagine a young George W. Bush at the controls-- given that the SAGE story includes several panels of F-102s in combat. In addition, there is a single-page profile of the F-102 later in the book.
Tags: comics, computers, history, life
Out Shopping, Part 11: Inarticulate Battery Display
Display of batteries seen at Wal-Mart. What the batteries are saying. Drawing by an artist who "swiped" from Mike Sekowsky.
8 July at Ela Area Library: Secret Cities, Secret Jobs: Creating the Atomic Bomb in World War II
About a year ago, I borrowed from my local library Denise Kiernan's book The Girls of Atomic City: The Untold Story of the Women Who Helped Win…
V-E Day Dissolves into History
Today is the 70th anniversary of V-E Day, when the Allies and Germany ended (part of) World War II. Around lunchtime, I learned that the…
stickmaker
April 23 2013, 23:35:30 UTC 7 years ago Edited: April 24 2013, 00:56:41 UTC
How closely does a drawing have to follow a reference photo to become a swipe? These definitely appears to cross the line.
April 24 2013, 23:43:27 UTC 7 years ago
I don't know. I'm sure comics fans and pros discuss such questions constantly. I'm only a dabbler.
Google up "comics swipe" or a similar string and find sites which collect swipes in the wild.
mmcirvin
SAGE eventually became a Hollywood star:
http://sturgeon.css.psu.edu/~mloewen/Q7/
As a Sixties TV watcher, I loved nothing (except for miniature effects involving spaceships or submarines) better than blinking lights. So I have noticed some of those components recurring across various series.
Still I had no idea those were parts of SAGE!
I'm going to have fun exploring that site.
The AN/FSQ-7 appears to be the Model T or DC-3 of TV computer props! I wonder how some components wound up on TV as early as 1966, while their sisters were presumably still protecting the nation from Soviet bombers.
derekl1963
By 1963, SAGE installations were starting to be decommissioned, and it was pretty much gone entirely by the end of the decade. (Part of the USAF's gradual, and largely unremarked, drawdown of it's continental air defense system.) So presumably those bits were surplused as in light of diminishing requirements.
The oddest thing I ever saw as set dressing was a submarine TDC in a 2008 episode of Dr Who... One of these days I've got to dig around and see when the Brits abandoned the TDC.
Actually, the last of the SAGE installations weren't deactivated until near the end of 1983. I worked on the McChord AFB SAGE from January to August 1983, when it was finally turned off.
The thing that tickles me is that these ancient computer parts have continued to represent high technology and futurism up to the present.
I have noticed of late that we are passing OUT of the age of using tape drives as set dressing to say "Computer!". Some productions are just using terminals, others are stuck in the minicomputer era of 10 linear feet or so of head high cabinets, mostly without lights.
al_zorra
This was an illuminating post, though I seldom read graphic novels / comix these days. Too difficult to see.
Love, C.
neowolf2
I remember one illustration in "Galaxy" (not long before it folded) was swiped from a drawing in "The Joy of Sex".
Clothing had been added, however.
acmespaceship
I don't know if I'd apply the "swipe" concept to non-fiction. Of course the artist worked from source photos -- the only alternative would be if the artist made first-hand observations. How many comic artists could have arranged a tour of the SAGE facilities in person? It would have been nice if the photographers received credit, but then the artist didn't get credited either. Is there a writer credit?
How did this feature wind up in a comic in the first place? Was this a whim of the editor, or the result of a government PR campaign?
How many comic artists could have arranged a tour of the SAGE facilities in person?
In my opinion, there's a difference between "using magazine photos as a reference" and "slavishly duplicating the exact composition of six photos" with a side order of "copying another artist's graphic of a radome, complete with shading." Do you agree?
Is there a writer credit?
Not that I have found.
How did this feature wind up in a comic in the first place?
Atom Age Combat was a war comic devoted to World War III. The first feature in the book (pages 1 to 3, or 4 to 6 of the scanned pages, right after the ad for Uncle Milton's Ant Farm) is essentially an editorial prospectus:
In keeping with this realistic approach, we, the editors, feel we are performing a significant service by presenting dramatic stories of limited thermonuclear battle!
These stories will be reassuing insofar as they will demonstrate how amazing powerful and fantastically ingenious our country's atomic defenses are!
And by giving an insight into these weapons' terrifying potential, the stories will reinforce your fervent desire to help prevent an all-out war in the atom age!
KA-VOOOOM!
In practice, this meant World-War-II-type stories, with more helicopters, more missiles, and more mushroom clouds.
It's interesting to see the editors' strict stipulation of limited thermonuclear battle, as though they were running a think tank.
Also note: Whoever lettered page 3 could spell "ingenious;" whoever lettered page 24 could not.
I don't know why so many of the comic's pages are didactic. There is a one-page feature about the DEW Line on page 31, as well as the aforementioned SAGE and F-102 pieces.
I have one more thing to say about atomic-combat comics, but I'll communicate it to you by e-mail.
OK, so it's a swipe (or a bunch of swipes). I do think the editor might have required the artist to stick close to the original photos for "authenticity" although it is equally likely that deadlines and low pay did not allow the artist time or inclination to do anything original.
I hope someday I can write an introduction that includes the phrase "KA-VOOOOM!" Maybe I can work it into the SCADA cyber security brochure open in my neglected word processor window as I type this. Hey, it's only Draft #1, why not?
I remember Uncle Milton's Ant Farm. Did they ever offer a model with mushroom clouds on the horizon? That'd be keen.
e_m_b is commenting over my shoulder. He'll probably weigh in tonight, after we go out and buy cat litter. Atomic wars may come and go, but cat litter remains.
This sure sounds like something that had some kind of government encouragement going on behind the scenes.
May 1 2013, 20:47:57 UTC 7 years ago
To his fabulous SAGE site, Mike Loewen has added a link to this blog entry.


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text:
.. _tutorial-iter:

Iteration
---------

pysat supports iterative loading of data at daily, orbital, and custom
cadances. The examples below show you how this works and how to specify the
loading limits.

Daily Iteration
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

By default, pysat will iteratively load data at a daily cadance.

.. code:: python

   import datetime as dt
   import pysat
   import pysatNASA

   # Instantiate Instrument object
   vefi = pysat.Instrument(inst_module=pysatNASA.instruments.cnofs_vefi,
                           tag='dc_b')

   # Set range of dates and create corresponding array.
   start = dt.datetime(2010, 1, 1)
   stop = dt.datetime(2010, 1, 5)
   date_array = pysat.utils.time.create_date_range(start, stop)

   # Download data, if needed.  Download is inclusive of stop time.
   if len(vefi.files[start:stop + dt.timedelta(days=1)]) < 5:
       vefi.download(start=start, stop=stop)

   # Iterate over dates, load data for each date, and determine maximum
   # magnetic perturbation for the day.
   out_str = ''.join(('Maximum meridional magnetic perturbation: ',
                      '{max:3.2f} {units} on {day}'))

   for load_date in date_array:
       vefi.load(date=load_date)
       print(out_str.format(max=vefi['dB_mer'].max(),
                            units=vefi.meta['dB_mer', vefi.meta.labels.units]),
			      day=vefi.index[0].strftime('%d %b %Y'))

Iteration support is built into the :py:class:`Instrument` object to support
this and similar cases. The whole of a data set may be iterated over on a daily
basis using:

.. code:: python

   # Load the first date and set the bounds for consideration
   vefi.load(date=start)
   vefi.bounds = (start, stop)  # `bounds` defaults to all available files

   # Perform the same iteration as the previous block
   for vefi in vefi:
       print(out_str.format(max=vefi['dB_mer'].max(),
                            units=vefi.meta['dB_mer', vefi.meta.labels.units]),
			      day=vefi.index[0].strftime('%d %b %Y'))

You can also set the :py:attr:`bounds` to be a range of files:

.. code:: python

   # Load the first date and set the file bounds for consideration
   vefi.load(date=start)
   vefi.bounds = (vefi.files[start], vefi.files[stop])

   for vefi in vefi:
       print(out_str.format(max=vefi['dB_mer'].max(),
                            units=vefi.meta['dB_mer', vefi.meta.labels.units]),
			      day=vefi.index[0].strftime('%d %b %Y'))

The output in all the above cases is:

.. code:: ipython

   Maximum meridional magnetic perturbation: 30.79 nT on 01 Jan 2010
   Maximum meridional magnetic perturbation: 33.98 nT on 02 Jan 2010
   Maximum meridional magnetic perturbation: 29.94 nT on 03 Jan 2010
   Maximum meridional magnetic perturbation: 29.63 nT on 04 Jan 2010
   Maximum meridional magnetic perturbation: 21.67 nT on 05 Jan 2010

By default, :py:attr:`bounds` is set to the first and last date of the locally
available instrument files, all of which are listed (for this example) in
``vefi.files.files``.

Orbit Iteration
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

You can iterate by orbit as well as day.  To do this, be sure to specify what
type of orbit pysat should use.

.. code:: python

   # Instantiate Instrument object with orbit information
   # C/NOFS has a Low Earth Orbit near the equator
   orbit_info = {'kind': 'longitude', 'index': 'longitude'}
   vefi = pysat.Instrument(inst_module=pysatNASA.instruments.cnofs_vefi,
                           tag='dc_b', orbit_info=orbit_info)

   # Load the first date and set the file bounds for consideration
   vefi.load(date=start)
   vefi.bounds = (start, stop)

   # Iterate over each orbit and save the output
   orbit_strs = list()
   for vefi in vefi.orbits:
       orbit_strs.append(
           out_str.format(max=vefi['dB_mer'].max(),
                          units=vefi.meta['dB_mer', vefi.meta.labels.units]),
			  day=vefi.index[0].strftime('%d %b %Y %H:%M')))

A selection of the output looks like:

.. code::

   # Print a selection of the output
   for ostr in orbit_strs[:5]:
       print(ostr)

   Maximum meridional magnetic perturbation: 24.19 nT on 01 Jan 2010 00:00
   Maximum meridional magnetic perturbation: 15.90 nT on 01 Jan 2010 00:47
   Maximum meridional magnetic perturbation: 14.22 nT on 01 Jan 2010 02:31
   Maximum meridional magnetic perturbation: 12.62 nT on 01 Jan 2010 04:16
   Maximum meridional magnetic perturbation: 10.78 nT on 01 Jan 2010 06:01

Non-standard Iteration
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Non-continuous data iteration is also supported.  This can be useful, for
example, when you want to load data from both the March and September equinoxes
or for several case studies.

.. code:: python

   # Two case studies
   start1 = start
   stop1 = dt.datetime(2010, 1, 2)

   start2 = dt.datetime(2010, 1, 4)
   stop2 = stop
   vefi.bounds = ([start1, start2], [stop1, stop2])

   # Iterate over custom season
   vefi.load(date=start1)
   out_str = ''.join(('Maximum meridional magnetic perturbation: ',
                      '{max:3.2f} {units} on {day}'))
   for vefi in vefi:
       print(out_str.format(max=vefi['dB_mer'].max(),
                            units=vefi.meta['dB_mer', vefi.meta.labels.units],
			    day=vefi.index[0].strftime('%d %b %Y')))

Now, the output is:

.. code:: ipython

   Maximum meridional magnetic perturbation: 30.79 nT on 01 Jan 2010
   Maximum meridional magnetic perturbation: 33.98 nT on 02 Jan 2010
   Maximum meridional magnetic perturbation: 29.63 nT on 04 Jan 2010
   Maximum meridional magnetic perturbation: 21.67 nT on 05 Jan 2010

pysat iteration also supports loading more than a single day/file of data
at a time as well as stepping through the data in daily increments larger
than a single day. Assignment of the data step size and width is also
set via the bounds attribute.

.. code:: python

   # Set a season with an expanded load range and increased step size. This
   # sets a data width of 2 days
   vefi.bounds = (starts, stops, '2D', dt.timedelta(days=2))

   # Similar behaviour is supported with file bounds. This sets the
   # file width to 2 files and the file step size is 2 files
   vefi.bounds = (start_files, stop_files, 2, 2)

Note that when iterating over date limits the limits are applied to the dates
associated with the files themselves and do not necessarily apply to the
datetimes associated with the data within the files.

The abstraction provided by the iteration support is also used for the next
section on orbit data.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Alright, so after a long four month wait, the wait is finally over and I finally got the chance to watch Digimon Adventure tri. 2: Ketsui. I finished all four episodes in one sitting and to be quite honest I have mixed feelings about the four episodes. Not to say it was bad, but I expected a lot more after waiting for four months to see this - plus a few other things.
One of the things I disliked was the first episode of Ketsui, Toei Animation could have just kept the first one to themselves. Everyone gathering together and going to a hot spring was something I did not wait four months to watch. Maybe if Digimon Adventure Tri was released weekly I would have enjoyed the first episode more. However since I waited four months, they could have substituted the first episode and gone straight to the second one.
On the topic of the four month wait, the other thing that drives me insane is the pacing of how these movies are being released. They're released in episode format as a bundle of four on a specific date everyone few months. Like brah, I cannot wait months at a time for a measly four episodes. Just no. And Digimon Adventure tri. 3: Kokuhaku is released on Sep 24, 2016 - which drives me insane. Why do I have to wait 6 to 7 months, I'm not getting any younger!
But besides the pacing of the release dates and the first episode of Ketsui, I really enjoyed watching it. Obviously these four episodes focused more on Mimi and Jou (low-key I've always shipped these two). Mimi's storyline wasn't all that interesting to watch in comparison to Jou's. I guess they've labelled Mimi as "annoying" in Ketsui, though I've never gotten that vibe from her from either Digimon Adventurer or Digimon Adventure02.
One of my favourite portions of Ketsui was I watching Jou face his inner demons. I thought it was very cathartic to watch; we finally understand why Jou was distancing himself from everyone during Saikai. And seeing that reconnection and strengthening of the bond Jou has Gomamon made me a bit emotional. Don't laugh, I'm a big Digimon fan!
If you've already seen Ketsui, then you already know that the best part of the anime was the last 10 minutes of the last episode. Finally we get to see Gomamon digivolve into Ikkakumon, not even afraid to admit that got me a bit emotional again... LOL. But lord have mercy I almost fainted when watching Togomon digivolve into Lillymon. When Lillymon came out of that flower bud, I was shrieking with excited; it felt like I was a kid again. And all bets were off when Zudomon went to Vikemon and Lillymon went to Rosemon. I was mentally prepared for it but I pretty much passed out watching Rosemon and Vikemon go against Imperialdramon.
Anyways that was it for this review, yea I know I did not touch upon Ken Ichijouji and Maki Himekawa who were also in Ketsui. I'd rather give my take on them after Kokuhaku is released since I feel like the story would unravel more by then. And sigh... we have to wait 6-7 more months for Kokuhaku. Why Toei Animation is doing this to me I really don't know, it's like mental torture. But thanks for reading, please wait for next week!


"Vrihadaswa said, 'When the blazing guardians of the worlds were returning after the daughter of Bhima had chosen Naishadha, on their way they met Dwapara with Kali approaching towards them. And seeing Kali, Sakra the slayer of Vala and Vritra, said, 'O Kali, say whither thou art going with Dwapara.' And thereupon Kali replied unto Sakra, 'Going to Damayanti's Swayamvara, will I obtain her (for my wife), as my heart is fixed upon that damsel.' Hearing this, Indra said with a smile, 'That Swayamvara is already ended. In our sight she hath chosen Nala for her husband.' Thus answered by Sakra, Kali, that vilest of the celestials, filled with wrath, addressing all those gods spake, 'Since in the presence of the celestials she hath chosen a mortal for her lord, it is meet that she should undergo a heavy doom.' Upon hearing these words of Kali, the celestials answered, 'It is with our sanction that Damayanti hath chosen Nala. What damsel is there that would not choose king Nala endued with every virtue? Well-versed in all duties, always conducting himself with rectitude, he hath studied the four Vedas together with the Puranas that are regarded as the fifth. Leading a life of harmlessness unto all creatures, he is truth-telling and firm in his vows, and in his house the gods are ever gratified by sacrifices held according to the ordinance. In that tiger among men--that king resembling a Lokapala, is truth, and forbearance, and knowledge, and asceticism, and purity and self-control, and perfect tranquillity of soul. O Kali, the fool that wisheth to curse Nala bearing such a character, curseth himself, and destroyeth himself by his own act. And, O Kali, he that seeketh to curse Nala crowned with such virtues, sinketh into the wide bottomless pit of hell rife with torments.' Having said this to Kali and Dwapara, the gods went to heaven. And when the gods had gone away, Kali said unto Dwapara, 'I am ill able, O Dwapara, to suppress my anger. I shall possess Nala, deprive him of his kingdom, and he shall no more sport with Bhima's daughter. Entering the dice, it behoveth thee to help me.'"


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Caught these intruders in action!
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– If you're old school you can always bring up the keyboard and hear the translations. 33languages and dialects are supported.
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Now 72 languages available for translation!
Voice recognition for 33 languages!
Very useful for my students.
The application gives some best common English practices, it includes 3 features: Today's highlight, Vocabulary and Quizz.
Train your dog with this Dog Whistle app. You can easy to remote your dog to do any action.
You can't hear the dog whistle sound, how do you know when it sound? This app can display sound waveform , you can see the sound pattern!
We let you to record their own sound pattern.
Some dogs like longer sound or shorter sound, there is no any preset pattern can suitable for all dogs.
So we let you to record your own sound pattern.
1. Find the most sensitive frequency of you dog.
2. Record your own sound pattern.
3. Your sound pattern's sound is too short. The dog can't hear it.
4. Make sure you disconnect to your bluetooth headset. Otherwises all sound will go to the headset not the speaker.
PhotoTangler Collage Maker is a powerful image app that instantly turns your favorite photos into beautiful collages. It allows you to blend them together in unique and creative ways. It's easy, fun, and the results look like magic! Just drop photos on the canvas, and watch PhotoTangler seamlessly blend them together with any other photos nearby. Anyone can get gorgeous, professional looking results, even with no graphics experience!


The Ministry of Solid Minerals Development is responsible for identifying the nation's solid minerals, advising government on the formulation and execution of laws and regulations guiding the various stages of prospecting, quarrying and mining; and handling sale and consumption of solid minerals in the country, through the issuance of Permits, Licenses, Leases and Collection of rents, Fees and Royalties. It was established in 1985 as a bold attempt by the Nigerian Government to spur the rapid and beneficial development of the country's solid mineral resources. We are an agency set up to unlock the economic potentials of the solid minerals sub-sector. It's also an agency that is set up to unlock the economic potentials of the solid minerals in different sub-sector of the Nigeria resources. Her mission statement is to explore the mineral endowment, spread it across all the nation and also establishment a vibrant metal industry for wealth creation, employment generation, poverty reduction, promotion of rural economy and significant contribution to the gross domestic product of Nigeria, with a driving vision of transforming Nigerian Mineral and Metal Sector into irresistible Mining destination for global capital, attracting foreign direct investment to grow the sector to optimum level.
Core purpose of the job is to take full responsibility for the execution of policies and general day to day running of the affairs of the Agency, which will be running for a period of four years, and it is still renewable.
Be a member of a professional Association relevant to the activities of the Centre will be a plus.
Three Names and addresses of your referees (not relations) who can attest for you.


Given the often complex interaction of the many rules regarding modified accelerated cost recovery system (MACRS) depreciation, additional first-year (bonus) depreciation, Sec. 179 expensing, and state decoupling, optimization of the depreciation deduction has become more of an art than a science. This item highlights some of the implications and peculiarities of the newest addition to the mix: 100% bonus depreciation.
On December 17, 2010, the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010, P.L. 111-312, extended the bonus depreciation deduction to qualified property placed in service before 2013 (previously extended by the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010, P.L. 111-240, to qualified property placed in service before 2011) and created a new, 100% bonus depreciation deduction for qualified property acquired after September 8, 2010, and placed in service before January 1, 2012. Effective March 29, 2011, Rev. Proc. 2011-26 was issued to provide guidance on the application of these new provisions.
As with previous iterations of bonus depreciation, taxpayers may elect to forgo the bonus on all qualified property in a given class that is placed into service in the same tax year (Sec. 168(k)(2)(D)(iii)). This may come as a relief to some taxpayers who, having placed a significant amount of assets into service, find that the prospect of a 100% deduction for these assets frustrates their plans (for example, to use expiring NOLs). Other taxpayers, however, might find it more advantageous to be able to just dial back the bonus deduction from 100% to 50% or even to 30%. Rev. Proc. 2011-26, Section 4.02, does provide a limited exception to Sec. 168(k)(2)(D)(iii), allowing a taxpayer to elect 50% bonus for all qualified property in a given class that is placed into service in the tax year that includes September 9, 2010. However, the stated purpose of this exception is simply to avoid disputes about the exact date an asset was placed into service during the initial year that 100% bonus became available; it is not a general step-down along the lines of Regs. Sec. 1.168(k)-1(e)(1)(ii)(B), which permitted an election to deduct 30%, rather than 50%, bonus at the discretion of the taxpayer. Barring future guidance, it is unclear whether a taxpayer will be able to elect a bonus depreciation percentage lower than 100% for qualified property placed into service in a tax year beginning after September 9, 2010.
Rev. Proc. 2011-26 also updates the regulations concerning self-constructed property (Regs. Sec. 1.168(k)-1(b)(4)(iii)) to provide that if construction begins before September 9, 2010, 100% bonus depreciation is not available, even if the property is not placed into service until after September 8, 2010. Taxpayers should keep in mind that construction is not considered to begin until physical work of a significant nature begins, excluding preliminary activities such as planning or design, and that there is a safe harbor under which significant physical work is deemed not to begin until the taxpayer incurs or pays more than 10% of the total cost, excluding land and preliminary activities. Therefore, if the bulk of the work takes place after September 8, 2010, the project may still be eligible for the 100% bonus. In addition, Rev. Proc. 2011-26, Section 3.02(2)(b), offers a limited exception for components of a larger project begun before September 9, when the components themselves are not acquired or constructed until after September 8; the taxpayer may elect to treat just those components as eligible for the 100% bonus.
The availability of the 100% bonus adds to the attractiveness of a somewhat counterintuitive procedure that allows two bonus depreciation deductions for the same expenditure. This happens when a taxpayer replaces an asset on which bonus depreciation was originally taken, in a like-kind exchange or after a casualty conversion, with an asset that is also qualified property for bonus depreciation. According to Regs. Sec. 1.168(k)-1(f)(5)(iii)(A), both the remaining carryover basis of the original asset and the excess basis of the replacement asset are eligible for the bonus deduction. This paradoxical result makes more sense when considered as equivalent to a disposal of the original asset at its adjusted basis, followed by the purchase of a new one with the proceeds plus additional cash. The practical effect is that after the exchange, both the carryover and excess bases can receive a 100% bonus deduction, eliminating the need to track and depreciate them separately in future years.
Certainly the oddest aspect of 100% bonus depreciation is what it does to the depreciation of business automobiles. In order to understand the problem, it is helpful to first consider the Code section addressing the allowance for bonus depreciation, which says that the adjusted basis of qualified property must be reduced by the bonus depreciation allowance (50% or 100%, as applicable) before computing the amount otherwise allowable as a depreciation deduction for the initial and all subsequent tax years (Sec. 168(k)(1)). The regulations expand on this, defining the "remaining adjusted depreciable basis" as the unadjusted depreciable basis of qualified property reduced by the amount of bonus depreciation allowed or allowable. This remaining adjusted depreciable basis is then to be depreciated using either the applicable calculations (double-declining balance in the case of business autos) or the optional depreciation tables (Regs. Sec. 1.168(k)-1(d)(2)). Clearly, the authors of these provisions never envisioned the advent of the 100% bonus, which reduces the remaining adjusted depreciable basis to zero, leaving nothing to which one can apply either the declining balance calculations or the table percentages.
Normally, this would not matter because the asset in question will already have been fully depreciated in the placed-in-service year by the application of the 100% bonus. However, consider what happens in the case of business autos, the depreciation of which is subject to yearly dollar caps (Sec. 280F(a)). The maximum annual depreciation deduction for a business auto is the lesser of the otherwise allowable depreciation amount or the applicable cap. Although the cap for the first year of service is increased by $8,000 when the auto qualifies for bonus depreciation (Sec. 168(k)(2)(F)(i)), it is likely that the cost of any new auto purchased today will still be greater than the amount of the enhanced cap ($11,060 for 2011, according to Rev. Proc. 2011-21). Therefore, there will be unrecovered basis in an amount equal to the difference between the car's cost and the first-year cap but no way to depreciate this unrecovered basis in subsequent recovery years, since the remaining adjusted depreciable basis after the 100% bonus depreciation is zero (as noted above, the remaining adjusted depreciable basis is calculated before the application of any other depreciation provisions, including the Sec. 280F limitations). Instead, the unrecovered basis is deducted beginning in the first tax year succeeding the recovery period (Sec. 280F(a)(1)(B)). For a car costing $25,000 (assuming 100% business use and no Sec. 179 expense taken), $11,060 depreciation would be deducted in the initial year, but the unrecovered basis of $13,940 could be expensed only beginning in the seventh year, subject to the Sec. 280F cap each year. Years 2–6 would receive no depreciation deduction.
Anticipating the problem, Rev. Proc. 2011-26, Section 3.03(5)(c)(ii), provides a safe-harbor method of accounting for business automobiles that qualify for 100% bonus depreciation. Under the safe harbor, depreciation for the first placed-in-service year remains the lesser of 100% bonus or the first-year limitation amount. For subsequent recovery years, there are two separate methods: under the first, the taxpayer applies the applicable table rates to the remaining adjusted depreciable basis of the asset as if a 50% bonus had been claimed instead of 100%; that is, they are applied to 50% of the unadjusted depreciable basis rather than to zero. This produces reasonable depreciation deductions for years 2–6 and a correspondingly smaller amount of unrecovered basis to be expensed beginning in the seventh year. A taxpayer uses this method for subsequent years if there is any unrecovered basis specifically from the first placed-in-service year, calculated as the excess of the allowable depreciation for the first year as if a 50% bonus were in effect over the first-year limitation amount. For a $25,000 car, the first year of depreciation with 50% bonus under the half-year convention would be (25,000 × 50%) + (12,500 × 20%) = $15,000; the first-year limitation is $11,060, so the unrecovered basis from the first year is $3,940. Depreciation for the second recovery year is therefore (25,000 × 50%) × 32% = $4,000 (which is lower than the second-year limitation amount of $4,900 and therefore fully deductible).
If there is no unrecovered basis from the first year, a taxpayer cannot use the optional depreciation tables for subsequent years. Instead, the taxpayer depreciates the asset in those years in accordance with Rev. Proc. 87-87, Sections 6.03, 6.04, 6.05, and 6.06 (double-declining- balance method for automobiles), applied to the adjusted depreciable basis as defined in Regs. Sec. 1.168(b)-1(a)(4)—that is, the adjusted basis after depreciation deductions. For a car costing $15,000, there is no unrecovered basis from the first year, as (15,000 × 50%) + (7,500 × 20%) = $9,000, which is less than the first-year limitation of $11,060. Therefore, depreciation for the second recovery year is calculated as [(15,000 – 11,060) ÷ 5] × 2 = $1,576 (which is lower than the second-year limitation of $4,900).
Heavy SUVs (over 6,000 pounds) are not subject to the luxury automobile dollar caps of Sec. 280F because they do not meet the definition of a passenger automobile (Sec. 280F(d)(5)). This has made them very popular for business use, despite their lack of fuel efficiency. In the past, this loophole was partially closed by Sec. 179(b)(6), which allows no more than $25,000 of the cost of a heavy SUV to be expensed under Sec. 179. However, 100% bonus depreciation allows taxpayers to expense these vehicles, if used 100% for business, entirely in the initial year of service.


Will Toyota's New Nose Change the Cup Series Balance?
Does Less Downforce Mean More Lift?
One of the biggest changes NASCAR has instituted for the 2015 season is eliminating individual team testing at any tracks. In 2014, teams were limited to four tests and were not allowed to test at tracks that were included in the schedule. NASCAR may run some limited tests, but they won't be having the week-long marathon that was Daytona Speedweeks.
Flared side skirts became an issue when social media started noticing them somewhere around Kansas. The fact that the most obvious example of this was on the 2 car and Brad Keselowski is rapidly taking over from Kyle Busch as most-love-to-hate driver in NASCAR may have brought the issue to the fore faster.
@NASCARRealTime, @TheOrangeCone and @CircleTrackNerd had an interesting dialog when the 2015 rules were announced. They were debating whether the track records that are now standing are going to be essentially locked into history. The debate ended with an appeal to me and Goody's Headache Powder.
Dive! Dive! Dive Planes… on Stock Cars?
A persistent motorsports issue (and not only with stock cars) is the aerodynamic passing problem. You can't pass without grip. Grip is a direct result of downforce. Downforce comes from two places: the weight of the car (mechanical grip) and the billions and billions of air molecules hitting the car (a.k.a aerogrip).


Here's a funny e-mail from someone about how spam (junk mail) has affected her life. Enjoy!
My heartfelt appreciation goes out to all of you who have taken the time and trouble to send me "forwards" over the past 12 months. Thank you for making me feel safe, secure, blessed, and wealthy.
Special thanks to whoever sent me the one about rat crap in the glue on envelopes 'cause I now have to go get a wet towel every time I need to seal an envelope.
Also, I scrub the top of every can I open for the same reason. Because of your concern I no longer drink Coca Cola because it can remove toilet stains.
I no longer drink Pepsi or Dr Pepper since the people who make these products are atheists who won't put "Under God" on their cans.
I no longer go to shopping mall! s because someone might drug me with a perfume sample and rob me.
I no longer receive packages from nor send packages by UPS or FedEx since they are actually Al Qaeda in disguise.
I no longer have any money at all - but that will change once I receive the $15,000 that Microsoft and AOL are sending me for participating in their special email program.
If you don't send this e-mail to at least 144,000 people in the next 7 minutes, a large pigeon with a wicked case of diarrhea will land on your head at 5:00 PM (EDT) this afternoon. I know this will occur because it actually happened to a friend of my next door neighbor's ex-mother-in-law's second husband's cousin's beautician.
By the way, have a Merry Christmas.


Reactions continue to pour in to the news that the Canal Flats saw mill will close permanently in early November.
On Wednesday, Canfor announced the permanent closure of the mill effective Nov. 9, 2015, which will impact roughly 80 jobs.
The USW Local 1-405 immediately decried the announcement, as president Doug Singer noting that the closure came pretty much out of the blue.
"There was nothing communicated to us that would lead us to believe that there was any imminent problem coming down the road in the near future at home," Singer said.
Rig matting and access matting production—a big part of the mill operation—had taken a particularly hard hit, according to Singer.
"They hadn't told us that the market had gotten worse from what we were aware of," he said.
The closure comes after layoffs in May, which claimed roughly 100 jobs and reduced the operation down to one shift.
Columbia River-Revelstoke MLA Norm Macdonald expressed his disappointment over the news in a press release.
"I am not particularly surprised that Canfor has made the decision to close the sawmill in Canal Flats, as forest corporations no longer have any responsibility to mill wood near where it is harvested, or to take into consideration the effects of their business decisions on the communities they work in," said Macdonald.
Macdonald took issue with 'appurtenance obligation' changes made by the provincial government to the Forest Act agreement.
"The way it was set up prior to 2003 by the Social Credit government was that wood from an area needed to be milled in that area," Macdonald said.
Kootenay East MLA Bill Bennett also lamented the news of the mill closure.
"It's terrible news, obviously, to the community of Canal Flats, it's their major employer, their major economic driver and it's going to spell big challenges for the municipality," Bennett said.
He added that there is a program already in place within the Ministry of Jobs, Tourism & Skills Training that helps with transitions in communities that have major layoffs in operations such as mills or mines.
"We have a swat team of people within the jobs ministry—it's not a huge team of people—but it's a very experienced and skilled group that goes into communities like Canal Flats and surrounding communities like Cranbrook and up the Columbia Valley where the workers live and work with the workers and try to help them through the transition to another job," Bennett said.
Singer noted that there will be opportunities for employees to transfer within the company, while other pertinent information will also be made available.
"We'll work together to get information out to employees and our members and make sure they understand the ramifications to the pension, what the severance pay is, how that works, what they can do with the severance pay, what job opportunities there might be, all of that kind of stuff," he said.
"Our CEO and members of the senior management team were in Canal Flats today to announce the permanent closure of the facility," said Corrine Stavness. "While we understand how difficult this will be for our employees and the community of Canal Flats, recent downturns in the oil and gas and lumber markets that the mill served combined with a lack of economically available fibre for the mill have brought operating losses we can no longer sustain.
Other mill operations in the region include facilities in Gallaway (locally owned), Elko (Canfor), Radium (Canfor), Skookumchuck (Paper Excellence) and Golden (Louisiana-Pacific).


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Sin Galore in Singapore
Asia Asia Destination Tips Destinations Singapore Travel Tips by Jess	on June 22, 2012 26 comments singapore
As we mentioned in our previous post on Singapore, this Southeast Asian city-state was a bit of a mystery to us. For everything we learned during our treks through the city, there were ten more questions as Singapore unraveled before us. We realized that we needed professional help – it was time for a tour. Recommended #1 on Tripadvisor was The Original Singapore Walks, so we decided to join their Secrets of the Red Lantern Chinatown walk.
This was by far the best walking tour we have been on yet. It was saucy and racy and gritty and fascinating.
Bathroom buckets and sardine packed apartments
Set in Chinatown, we learned the history from the perspective of the Chinese immigrants who flooded to Singapore's shores in search of opportunity after British businessman Sir Stamford Raffles founded the city-state in 1818 as a trading post for the East India Trading Company. The Chinese who arrived here throughout the 19th century had often endured high seas for months at a time, were penniless, starving and often many friends or family members had died on board the ships. When they arrived to Singapore they were initially given assistance by others who, in their demands for payback, would essentially ensnare them into a form of servitude impossible to escape (similar to the concept of sharecropping in the U.S. South).
Our guide Janet shared the stories of the shophouses, which had factories or shops on the ground floor and 20-30 people living upstairs in one-room apartments. Some had wooden planks as beds, others just the floor, and even these spaces were often shared between those on day and night shifts. Near the start of the tour she took us into a back alley (which in today's Singapore is surprisingly clean) to show us little doors in the backs of the shophouses. Stinky buckets of number 1 and number 2 were placed behind these doors, and trucks would come, open them and collect the waste each day. From her explanation and our own imagination we could practically smell the stench of these overcrowded houses and their appalling living conditions.
Picking your poison in Singapore
Working conditions were no better, she told us, and the only break the immigrants here could get from the backbreaking labor was in the brothels and opium dens. The opium dens were where the physical pain could actually be lifted for the little while they could smoke. Chinatown was the epicenter for brothels as well, and we learned how to recognize some of the 'higher class' establishments, the division among the Chinese and Japanese prostitutes (the latter served only Europeans while the former focused on locals). Much of the area has long since been gentrified and legal prostitution all but phased out, but she did sneak us past one of the last few remaining legal brothels and we had a sneak peak as we passed. It was a small entrance in a back street that just looked clinical, unlike the roaring scene she described along the way. Janet showed us many of the 'materials' used (see below).
Sexual liberation in Chinatown eventually led the area to become the unofficial home of Singapore's gay community – a complicated issue itself. Essentially homosexuality is frowned upon, sex between men is illegal, and yet up until recently Singapore hosted one of the world's largest gay festivals each year. We really appreciated Janet's candor about the gay community. She provided the kind of in depth information that we normally only experience on LGBT-focused tours, even stopping under a rainbow flag waving at one of the more popular gay bars in the city. It was great to see the wealth of information included on the tour about the gay community, even though everyone on the tour but us was definitely straight.
What we loved about Janet was that she clearly had great relationships with people in the community. We stopped at a Chinese medicine shop and chatted with the owner who supposedly supplied President Bill Clinton with a natural form of a special elixir (think snakes and bugs floating in an liquid meant to…raise the roof…). She gave us a great advice on where to eat vegetarian Chinese food, which we took and it was delicious! And even though she couldn't take us in to tour the brothel, it wasn't for not trying. Singapore Walks actually tried to reach out and create relationships with some of them in order for tours to be able to experience first hand how the brothels work today. Apparently this didn't go to well…but they tried.
She left us with this little nugget: back in the day people used to joke that Singapore was just one letter off. Replace the 'p' with an 'l' and you get the true name of Singapore in the late 19th and early 20th centuries: Singalore – Sin Galore.
From our drinks at the top of the Marina Bay Sands hotel looking down over the city in 2012, we would have never known about Singapore's seedy past, and it was loads of fun finding out all about it.
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Tags : singapore
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Reg of The Spain Scoop says:
This is a facinating post. A friend just moved to Singapore, so I'll be sure to share this with her!
Hey Reg, that's great thanks for sharing it! We're happy for her to get in touch as well if she needs any advice!
Karen @ Trans-Americas Journey says:
Love this look at the seedy side of Singapore–a city that comes off as so organized and squeaky clean that we refer to as "Los Angeles run by the Swiss."
There are grittier sides of the city, for sure, but in general it is now squeaky clean compared to other cities. It's a wonder how it became this way, though, when you really look at how seedy it once was!
Ayngelina says:
I always thought Singapore was a bit stuffy, this is definitely an interesting side of it.
Definitely see where you're coming from, but the tour really opened our eyes to a side of Singapore we would have never otherwise known about!
Brock - Backpack With Brock says:
Beautiful photos! Singapore is definitely interesting, and your pictures definitely show that!
Thanks Brock!
Bethaney Davies says:
We did our own walking tour through Chinatown last night. I was surprised to read it was the heart of Singapore's gay community too. I did love that the Buddha Tooth temple was covered in rainbow flags! Not sure it was intentional though but still made me smile.
We were surprised to find out there has been an establish gay community for so long there, we thought it would be much more underground than that! Glad you had a great time in Chinatown.
Caz Makepeace says:
Ah so it was the chinese medicine shop who was responsible for Bill's indiscretion. Great look at Singapore
Yes, we found the epicenter of Bill's indiscretion! Glad you enjoyed reading, caz 🙂
Jeremy Branham says:
Very interesting history there in Singapore. Makes me very grateful that I didn't have to live and work during that time. The smell had to be awful and the work tough. Conditions weren't the best. Interesting how this community became the place for the gay community here.
Jeremy – the SMELL, that is what I was thinking of the whole time, too. Can you imagine? 40 people to an apartment and buckets serving as toilets. And in that heat….oh man!
Bret @ Green Global Travel says:
I've seen some bloggers pooh-poohing organized tours like this, but I love getting the inside scoop on dirty details you might not ever discover when wandering on your own. Sounds like Janet was a great guide!
When I was younger, I would have pooh-poohed it too. But tours like this offer so much information, so much hard work and research went in to create this, I think it's silly to pass up an opp to know more, especially in a place with such rich history! Thanks for 'getting' that Bret! 🙂
Leah Travels says:
I spent a month in Singapore a few years ago and loved it. I wish I'd know about this tour you went on. It sounds fascinating. I did go to Orchard Towers, better known as the "Four Floors of Whores". Now that was something to see. Talk about Sin Galore. I'm going to have to write about that one day soon, I think . 🙂
If you go back, definitely check out The Original Singapore Walks – they have all kinds of tours. A month in Singapore, though, that's amazing. We would definitely want to do that. Accommodation was the biggest factor for why we didn't stay longer – it's pricey! It would be great to know where you stayed for a month!
I lived next to Chinatown for a year and didn't know half of this stuff! Sounds like the walk is something to look into if I ever go back to Singapore!
Thanks Edna! You lived right by Chinatown? Oh wow, now I am jealous! What a great area to live in.
Cole @ Four Jandals says:
That looks awesome! Definitely doing a walking tour next time we visit Singaport (not on a stopover).
You should, Cole – We learned so much on that walking tour and we'll take another one for sure next time we're in town.
I'm convinced it is still a seedy dodgy city. The authorities try to make the place seem so clean and ordered, but how could that be possible with the kind of history you've described?
I think Singapore did a great job transforming itself – other cities that were a bit seedy in the past (London, New York, Paris…) were also able to turn around, but I think no city did it as fast as Singapore did.
Izy Berry says:
I avoid tours because I'm traveling on such a budget, I don't really have space for them. But this one looks GREAT!
This one really was great! We love it when a city offers free walking tours, led by locals- you always learn so much in them and you only have to tip the guide. Well worth it in cities like Berlin, New York or San Fran 🙂
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


My name is Nikolay and I am a PHP Drupal Developer, with more than 7 years of experience, based in Berlin.
I am currently working as a Lead PHP Drupal developer. In my work, I am taking care of every aspect of the Drupal Application's functionality.
I am usually taking care of the full process of building the Backend Part of a Drupal project, including setting up the project structure, site building (configuring the content structure and setting up some Drupal modules that could be used out of the box), developing custom Drupal modules in order to create functionality from scratch as well as for extending already existing modules using the Drupal API and the Symfony framework.
By working closely with the front end team we are developing the theme of the application, producing as clean markup as possible, trying to keep every aspect of the application tidy, easy for later development and as performant as possible. Other than boosting the performance on the front end part - I have deep knowledge in improving Drupal performance on the backend. Optimizing with simple settings, disabling unused functionality, outsourcing parts of the project to other services (Apache Solr, Elasticsearch) and configuring caching layers like Varnish, Memcached or Redis for dramatic optimizations. For several projects I implemented Drupal applications as REST API, using the Services module, extension of it or the integrated REST functionality in Drupal 8. Also for a pet project of mine where integrated Drupal as REST API, communicating between Raspberry PI, equipped with Python class and application that is able to log in and create content in Drupal.
My experience in Agile development is based on two Software Engineering courses that I took in the University, mainly focused on Extreme Programming and SCRUM, also using SCRUM during the whole cycle at my previous company and currently for some projects. I used Test Driven Development, as it was implemented with Mink/Behat for some projects at my previous company. Also for my current projects, I am writing Mink/Behat and Unit tests whenever makes sense, and whenever there is enough time.
I enjoy improving on packaging Drupal for continuous deployment with the help of composer, composer post, and pre-install scripts, integrating it with Drupal Configuration Management API, Drush, GitLab pipelines.
I quite enjoy using Docker and Docker Compose for virtualization and for local development environment as switching versions, activating new services and working on an environment as close as possible to the production one is made so easy.
Some important things I care about while developing is Drupal best practices, and deployment practices, using XDebug, code sniffer, documenting code with PHPDoc. I also enjoy teaching Drupal. I found that by sharing knowledge I have the chance to think through the things that I already know and to come up with ways to improve and better understand everything. Other than my Drupal expertise in the field of PHP development - before I was working with Zend Framework and previously was doing pure PHP projects. Lately, I am also enjoying working on Symfony projects.
Working as a Senior PHP Drupal developer on Drupal 8 projects.
Working as a leading Drupal developer mainly on Drupal 8 projects. Improving the Deployment process of the Drupal 8 projects, composer, pipelines. Teaching Drupal in general and Drupal 8 in particular.
Working on large Drupal Projects. Creating custom advanced modules, extending existing ones, preparing clean theme markup for styling, migrating other systems to Drupal, optimizing Drupal performance, site building.
Cross functional position with work including writing advanced modules in PHP for Drupal, integrated with other well known modules and making use of the full power of Drupal API. Advanced Drupal responsive theming, making use of the Drupal theme layer. QA Assurance using test automation with Selenium (Behat/Mink). Work process was Agile based on Scrum framework.
Building web applications with C, Software Security, E-Business, Software Management, Analysis and Building Business Information Systems, Intelligent Multiagent Systems, Corporate Networks.
Theory of Informatics, Computer Architectures, Programming in VB, Programming and Data Structures, Operating Systems, Semantics of the Programming Languages, Programming Languages, Computer Networks and Communication, Databases and SQL, System Design, Modeling and Optimizing, Unix, Programming for the World Wild Web, Administrating Databases, Computer Graphics, Development Environments, Logic and Functional Programming, Web Design, Software Engineering, Intelligent Systems, Server Programming, Practice: Programming and Data Structures, System Programming Languages, Administrating Computer Networks.
For more info and references - please contact me.


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WELCOME TO OUR MGM SUSTAINABILITY NEWSLETTER
We're doing a lot behind the scenes at MGM to reduce our impact on the environment and support the people that mean the most to us, including all our employees and community. Contributing to a better Macau through our arts and culture program is also an important aspect of our approach. Through this newsletter we will share our monthly sustainability highlights with you, and hope you will join us in our sustainability programs to help us Create a Better Tomorrow Today.
Global Tourism Economy Forum 2019 took place at MGM Theater on October 14. Receiving over 2,000 guests ranging from tourism ministerial officials, industry leaders, experts, scholars and other participants from across the globe, the two-day Forum delivered a high-level platform for international tourism exchange and cooperation. This year the theme of the Forum was "Tourism and Leisure: Roadmap to a Beautiful Life", putting Chinese President Xi Jinping's Beautiful Life concept at the core of discussions on the global tourism economy.
Recognized for innovation in building management: MGM COTAI's commitment to reduce its environmental footprint was acknowledged by the Asia Pacific Innovation Award from International Facility Management Association (IFMA). The accolade, meant to recognize innovative projects in business operation or facilities management, was presented to MGM COTAI as an endorsement of its endeavor to implement an innovative advanced building modelling application to drive energy efficiency. MGM COTAI also received the ASHRAE Technology Award – Honorable Mention Winner in both Region (APAC) and Society (Global) Levels for its outstanding achievement in the design and operation of Energy Efficient Buildings.
MGM received Outstanding Corporate Social Responsibility Award for the third consecutive year and earned its second Ambassadors of Corporate Social Responsibility honor at the 8th Cross-Strait-Four-Region Outstanding Corporate Social Responsibility Award Ceremony organized by Mirror Post of Hong Kong. The acknowledgement once again made MGM the only enterprise in Macau to receive the acclaim, exemplifying the Company's excellence in fulfilling corporate social responsibility.
Awarded in "Hiring Disabled Staff Recognition Scheme" for the seventh consecutive year: Our endeavor to enhance workplace equality and social inclusion was recognized once again under the "2019 Excellent Disabled Employees & Hiring Disabled Staff Recognition Scheme" organized by the Labor Affairs Bureau and the Social Welfare Bureau of the Macao SAR. MGM won "Hiring Disabled Staff Recognition" for seven consecutive years. Maggie Lei, Stewarding Supervisor at MGM MACAU, received the title of "Excellent Disabled Employee", the fourth MGM team member to garner this honor.
MGM Academy received the first ever "China Talent Development Award - Top 50 Corporate University" from China Training Magazine, a testament to MGM's world-class and forward-looking training for employees. Other winners included corporate universities established by Fortune 500 corporations such as Walmart, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), Schneider Electric, etc.
MGM donated RMB 2 million to support poverty alleviation in Congjiang, Guizhou: In support of the joint efforts on poverty relief in Congjiang County, Guizhou Province, as initiated by the Macau SAR government and the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Macau S.A.R., Ms. Pansy Ho, Co-Chairperson & Executive Director of MGM China Holdings Limited, led a group of delegates from MGM to visit Guiyang on October 28 to donate a total of RMB 2 million cash and supply to Congjiang. The donation will be used to enhance infrastructure and facility, purchase basic supply for poor households at the town of Luoxiang, improve their living conditions and prepare them for the coming winter.
Cultural Industries Fund visited "MGM Art Camp X cMarket": On October 21, Mr. Leong Heng Teng and Ms. Davina Chu Miu Lai, President and Member of Administration Council of Cultural Industries Fund, paid a visit to the "MGM Art Camp X cMarket" and exchanged views on fostering the development of Macau's creative industries with MGM representatives. Mr. Leong Heng Teng said, "This project best utilizes the creativity of our local creative industries as well as the tourism resources of large integrated resort to generate a new horizon of business opportunities. We believe this is going to enhance the sustainability and competitiveness of our creative industries and act as a platform to showcase their works.
"Empathy Silent Journey" Workshop with MGTO and MDA: MGM, Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) and Macau Deaf Association (MDA) once again joined hands to cultivate a barrier-free environment by co-organizing the "Empathy – Silent Journey" experience workshop on October 30. The initiative was the three parties' latest collaboration subsequent to their launch of "Power in Our Hands"— a community eLearning program of Macau sign language. Participated by 80 team members and industry professionals, the workshop aimed at raising their awareness of the deaf and people with hearing impairment through mentoring and interactive activities such as scenario mock-ups which allowed them to experience a silent world.
"Work Hand-in-hand to Explore Greater Bay Area Opportunities 2019" workshop was held on October 16 at MGM COTAI, drawing over 80 participants. MGM took on title sponsorship of the workshop, which was co-organized by The Industry and Commerce Association of Macau (ICAMO) and the Macau Economic Services Bureau. Government representatives and industry experts were invited to speak on topics including "Professional Consulting Services Exchange Program", "Explore the Opportunities of Hengqin" and "Smart Banking".
MGM Secondary School Development Program – Hospitality Exploration Tour took place on September 25 and October 9 at MGM COTAI. The event was attended by 112 secondary school teachers and students from Macau Luso Technical School, Pui Va Middle School and Millennium Secondary School. Participating students were expected to draw inspiration for developing their career interests so they can be better prepared for their dream jobs.
MGM donated MOP600, 000 to Macau Tung Sin Tong Charitable Society on October 29 to support its annual fundraising campaign. During the past twelve years, MGM has donated a total of MOP5.4 million to the Society in support of its provision of local social welfare services. This year, we collaborated with Tung Sin Tong to set up a booth at the back of house of MGM COTAI for the very first time. The booth was designed to promote Tung Sin Tong's services and spread its charitable spirit through donation games.
Health and Safety Month 2019 was staged in October. For the fourth consecutive year, the event brought a series of exciting and thoughtful activities to raise employees' awareness of health and safety and help them develop an effective training regimen under the slogan of "Wellness for Life, Work Safety in Mind". The fun-filled campaign commenced with Different Draw • Different We Are, a circle painting workshop organized by Fuhong Society of Macau and sponsored by MGM, where 200 volunteers joined hands to create a special artwork.
The campaign also presented 8 Golden Lion Health Actions and homemade workout videos starring Health Ambassador Leo Sincere. Other highlights included Health Check Point, Qigong Ba Duan Jin Experience, Functional Improvement Exercise Class, and Work and Health Seminar conducted by the Labor Affairs Bureau.
Team members visited Chinese Historical Documentary Exhibition: On October 8, MGM gathered a group of 30 team members to visit the Chinese Historical Documentary Exhibition at the Handover Gift Museum of Macao. Co-organized by the Macau Chamber of Commerce, the Associação de Amizade de Membros da Conferência Consultiva Política do Povo Chinês na Instância de Província de Macau, and the National Library of China, the exhibition provided a fruitful dose of in-depth knowledge of the PRC's history and the development of Macau for our team members.
Partnering with the Women's General Association to raise awareness of mental health: During our Learning Month, we partnered with the Women's General Association of Macau to host a series of roadshows and workshops at the back of house of MGM MACAU and MGM COTAI to raise team members' awareness of mental health. Professional consultants were on site to provide support for our team members and answer questions about emotion management and mental health.
Congratulations on our Pastry team's win at the 5th Macau Chocolate Showpiece Competition! On October 26, our Pastry team participated in the competition hosted by Macau Culinary Association and won the Siler Award with their creative chocolate piece named "Aerwyna", inspired by ocean conservation initiatives. Carmen Maria Pires de Crestejo Lopes, Demi Chef of Pastry, earned the Outstanding Design Award for her enticing Fantasy Land.
The winning chocolate showpieces are now on display at MGM COTAI, don't miss your chance to appreciate the creativity of our team members!
MGM presents "Rooster, Tiger, Sheep by Snake" – Wen-You Cai Photography Exhibition from now to February 9, 2020 in celebration of the year of Double Jubilation. This debut exhibition of the young and talented photographer draws inspiration from traditional Chinese Zodiac signs of her family members, depicting how the harmonious, loving and playful family live together through her camera lens. In addition, MGM also extends the collaboration with Wen-You by launching her brand store, Special Special, at MGM COTAI. This is also the first-ever flash retailing project at the property. Riding on the theme of amusement park, the pop-up store features items created by independent artists, exuding a retro ambiance reminiscent of happy childhood curiosities.
MGM Chairman's Collection acquires two new gunpowder artworks from Cai Guo-Qian, a renowned Chinese artist and Fireworks Director of the celebration of the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. Entitled Alchemist and Study for Uffizi: A Bouquet of Flowers No.1, the two magnum opuses will be on permanent display at MGM COTAI, unleashing the extraordinary charm and special artistic energy of gunpowder art.
A special screening of documentary Sky Ladder: The Art of Cai Guo-Qiang,was presented on October 5 at MGM Theater. Following The documentary screening was followed by a dialogue between Guo-Qiang and 600 locals and youths about the prospect of art in Macau, during which he shared his insight on the unlimited possibilities in future. Guo-Qiang also presented a director's cut of the firework performance to surprise the audience. The arrangement was in honor of the 70th anniversary of the People's Republic of China and to mark the year of double celebration in Macau.
澳門美高梅 MGM MACAU
澳門外港新填海區孫逸仙大馬路
Avenida Dr. Sun Yat Sen, NAPE, Macau
E sustainability@mgm.mo
W www.mgm.mo/en/macau
美獅美高梅 MGM COTAI
澳門路氹體育館大馬路
Avenida da Nave Desportiva, Cotai, Macau
W www.mgm.mo/en/cotai


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Gayle Nemeth has excelled not only in whip making but also in running her business. Gayle has won the 2004 Queensland Office of State Development Excellent in Export Award and the "Best Corporate Gift" award from the Queensland Merchandise Awards held by the Australian Arts Enterprise.
Winner of the 2004 Queensland Office of State Development Excellent in Export Award.
Success Breeds Confidence Gayle Nemeth, winner of the 2004 Queensland Office of State Development Excellent in Export Award.
Australian Arts Enterprise Award
We are proud to announce the recent winning of the "Best Corporate Gift" award from the Queensland Merchandise Awards held by the Australian Arts Enterprise.
Letters of Recognition
Congratulation letter from
Don Seccombe – Mayor
Redland Shire Council
Congratulation letter
from John English – Local MP
Gayle Nemeth – Year of the Outback Ambassador 2006
Year of the Outback 2006 Gayle is an Australian Icon. She is well known from her annual promotional tours with the show circuit.
This exposure also allows Gayle to undertake her role as an Ambassador for the 2006 Year of the Outback on behalf of the Australian Outback Development Consortium LTD. The 2002 Year of the Outback was a stunning success and 2006 was even larger, emotionally influencing millions of people.
To many Australians, the Australian Outback is much more than a sunburnt country. It is a place where mates look out for mates; a place where hard work and good times are one and the same, and a place where we all pitch in to make things happen.
2006 is the Year of the Outback, and when Gayle Nemeth was asked to be an Ambassador for this national event, naturally, she agreed.
"There is a spirit to the outback and outback people. It is a part of my life – a part of me and every whip that I make", commented Gayle.
The focus of events for this year is kids – raising awareness among city kids and bringing new opportunities to kids in the bush. As part of this Outback celebration, thousands of events will be held across the country, many of which will be attended by Gayle in her role of Ambassador.
"I want to use my craft to bring something special to these kids. Showing them their heritage through demonstrations of whip making, and stories about the role of whips in outback life remind kids from both the city and the bush of their shared history."
But history is only a part of the Nemeth story. As creator of the growing sport of Whipboxing, Gayle will take the national whipboxing team to many of these locations.
"There are a lot of life-lessons to be learned from whipboxing – and many of these are encompassed in our national slang. 'Fair Crack of the Whip' is all about playing fair, and doing things right – the cornerstone principle of whip boxing; and cracking 'em right between the eyes is the only way to score a win."
Gayle's whips, whip making demonstrations and whipboxing championships are renowned across Australia, and Gayle's role as Ambassador will allow her to share her craft with many outback and city people – providing inspiration, awakening memories, and for some, creating a tear in their eye.
And in true Aussie, Outback style, Gayle accepted the role as Ambassador without blinking an eye – and over the year, you can be sure that if there are city or bush kids that need to be shown the secret of the whip; if there is an outback part or show or if there is a community looking for some fresh entertainment – Gayle will be there.


The Swedish Government launched five cooperative programmes in the fall of 2016. The purpose of these programmes was to promote exchanges between public-sector actors, the business community, and academia to find innovative solutions to today's societal challenges while enhancing Sweden's global innovative and competitive strength. One of these programmes was Next generation travel and transport, under the auspices of which several projects were initiated, including New solutions for future travel surveys.
The background to New solutions for future travel surveys was the need for a sophisticated understanding of how and why people travel, in order to design a future transport system that can sustainably address existing and future societal challenges. Current methods used in travel surveys have certain problems in terms of coverage, costs, and reporting burden.
The overarching purpose of the project is to study and test new data collection methods, and to consider how various data collection methods can be used, individually or in combination, in future travel surveys as the basis for official statistics.
Below: an English version of the summary for the final report of the project.


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Hazard alert
Japan's authorities issue volcano safety guidelines for hikers
One-third of Japan's popular One Hundred Mountains are active volcanoes. This can lead to tragedy. In September 2014, a sudden eruption on a volcano in central Honshū killed 63 people. Some of the victims were never found. To raise awareness of these hazards, Japan's Home Ministry and its Meteorological Agency have recently issued a leaflet for hikers.
How volcanoes can damage your health
What follows is an outline summary of the Japanese text (PDF). The front sheet of "Be prepared for hiking on volcanoes" (火山への登山のそなえ) marks the location of Japan's 110 active volcanoes – "active" means showing signs of life, or having erupted within the last 10,000 years. The 33 active volcanoes selected by Fukada Kyūya for his One Hundred Mountains are distinguished in red.
Red captions mark the active Nihon Hyakumeizan
Next are points to keep in mind when climbing a volcano:
Eruptions can occur without warning, so stay alert to what is happening in and around the crater.
If you see any unusual venting of steam or gases, take refuge or descend immediately and warn the local authorities, police or Meteorological Agency (which is responsible for monitoring volcanic activity in Japan).
As volcanic gases are heavier than air, they tend to collect in hollows and valleys. Stay out of such locations.
Keep your mobile phone on and check for official hazard alerts. Be aware of whether your phone has a connection to the network. Information about mobile phone coverage is published on the websites of some phone companies, or marked on certain hiking maps. Try to establish whether and where you will have mobile phone connectivity before you leave home.
During an eruption, there is a major risk of death or injury from flying stones and lava bombs near the crater. Get away from the crater and take shelter in a hut or behind a rock. If you have them, put on a helmet and goggles, and breathe through a face-mask or towel.
Things not to leave home without
In addition to your normal hiking kit, map and compass, you should consider carrying a copy of the local volcanic hazard map, which will show you the range of previous eruptions, and also places to take shelter. A helmet, goggles and a towel will protect against ash and other fall-out, as will a rain-jacket. A headlight will help in bad visibility. And don't forget a spare battery for your mobile phone and emergency rations/water for yourself.
The last sheet of the leaflet starts with a reminder of the 2014 Ontake disaster. Then (see top graphic) two cartoon volcanoes present the various types of eruptive threat – showers of heavy rocks that can fly up to four kilometres from the vent; smaller stones with a lethal range of 10 kilometres; volcanic ash that may, in the leaflet's measured language, "affect your breathing", pyroclastic flows that burn and bury; volcanic gases and mudflows. Each category is illustrated from an eruption in living memory.
The message is clear: these hazards are for real.
Related posts: volcanic excursions
Asama: Serious steam
Asama: The inner world
Asama: Fires of Tartarus
Bandai: Sole survivor
Mt Fuji: Journey to the centre of Mt Fuji
Gassan and Chōkai: The twentieth-century Tōhoku express
Kaimon: Slow train to Kaimon-dake
Ontake: The gateway
Sakurajima: The hot and cold Hyakumeizan challenge
Yake-dake: Burning mountain, bad snow
Yake-dake: Seasons of a stratovolcano
Labels: volcano
The making of a Meiji mountaineer (5)
Concluded: a translation of Kogure Ritarō's A talk about mountaineering
In this way, the people of a congregation would go on long pilgrimages to their special mountain for a week or more, or even several weeks. Thus, most of the notable mountains had already been climbed, except for those in a small part of what's now known as the Japan Alps. But if there had been any indomitable monks like those pioneer mountain mystics of old, who tirelessly opened up new mountains and proselytised their faith, I can scarcely imagine that they would have left any mountain untracked. So this is a piece of good luck for us.
Climbing a snow valley at Harinoki, woodprint by Yoshida Hiroshi (1926)
The important thing to note is that most of these mountaineers were commoners. While the city-dwelling aristocracy and the literati were celebrating Mt Fuji simply as something to look at, the commoners were climbing mountains all over the place. Of course, the power of faith is part of the explanation, but one can't help feeling that the vigour of this mass mountaineering movement and that commoners were organising group ascents from quite early times can be put down mainly to the fact that Japan's mountains are easy to climb in the summer.
These mass ascents meant that there would be thousands or even tens of thousands of climbers, but except on their chosen route, the mountain wasn't devastated. For example, when we had to relieve ourselves, we dug a hole, did our business on a sheet of paper, and tidied up afterwards; we were always extremely reluctant to desecrate the mountain. Standing on the top of Shirouma, I couldn't help feeling sad at the way that beautiful sward was being trampled from end to end. As we keep climbing the mountains that our forebears opened for us, in new ways, and pass them on to the next generation, surely we should want to avoid passing them on in a shop-soiled state.
As my mountain-climbing evolved from such circumstances, it's only natural that I can't entirely escape my origins. So I wear Japanese garb over my straw sandals and leggings, don a rush mat against the rain, keep an oiled paper cape ready, hang my baggage from panniers, and wear a hat of cypress bark instead of a straw one. I've been told by Mr Fujiki that this makes me look like an itinerant swordsman of old, and indeed there could be some similarities, as this was the traditional garb for travelling. Of course, as a pilgrim, I didn't carry a short sword or a fighting staff, but fortunately I was able to keep climbing mountains in this way up to the end of the Meiji years, without any accidents, and it was only when I first met the new city-dwelling type of climber, never having heard of such a thing, that I realised to my amazement just how many people like climbing mountains. And among those people are the founders and inaugural members of the Japanese Alpine Club.
Sunrise on Mt Fuji (Goraiko): woodprint by Yoshida Hiroshi
The downside of traditional mountaineering dress is when a storm hits. As you can't put up an umbrella, all you can do is wrap it tightly in the straw mat and tough things out. I once got caught in this way while climbing Kaikoma from the Todai valley, and I still remember how we struggled to avoid succumbing to the cold. In those days, we'd stay the night at the summit, so as to enjoy the view of sunrise at leisure on the next day, as we felt safe sleeping on an open summit, even if it was colder, rather than camping in a gloomy wood. As for food, I sometimes walked carrying enough large balls of baked rice for three days, but I doubt if such tribulations can be imagined by anybody who hasn't experienced them.
Well, I've rambled on for long enough with my talk, but if you've learned something from it about the way mountain-climbing was in those days, then I will consider myself more than amply rewarded.
This is a beta translation of a chapter (登山談義) from Mountain Memories (山の憶い出), as republished by Heibonsha in 1999 and edited by Ohmori Hisao. Kogure Ritarō (1873-1944) grew up in a mountain village where people still made regular pilgrimages to Mt Fuji and Ontake. He made his way via the new Meiji educational system to Tokyo, where he joined the Japanese Alpine Club a few years after it was founded, and later became its president. For more about the celebrated mountain meeting at Kirigamine in August 1935, see the introduction to One Hundred Mountains of Japan.
Posted by Project Hyakumeizan at 10:08 AM No comments:
Labels: mountain religion, pioneers
Images and ink (36)
Image: "Pollinger breaks through", photo by Edward Whymper, from Whymper's Scrambles with a Camera, edited by Peter Berg, former Hon. Archivist of the Alpine Club
Ink: Poem by I A Richards, the literary critic and alpinist, to his wife, Dorothy Pilley
Recall the Epicoun:
Night, welling up so soon,
Near sank us in soft snow.
At the stiff-frozen dawn,
When Time had ceased to flow,
- The glacier ledge our unmade bed -
I hear you through your yawn:
"Leaping crevasses in the dark,
That's how to live!" you said.
No room in that to hedge:
A razor's edge of a remark
Labels: images-and-ink
Sakura diary (5)
19 April: Narita again: after circling back over the airport, the Airbus heads due north, tracking up the spine of Tohoku.
Looking through gaps in the cloud, passengers in the right-hand seat rows can play Meizan sudoku.
Over Hokkaido, the track turns slightly left, so that we coast into Siberia far to the north of Vladivostok. At first the big Siberian rivers roll brown with meltwater; after lunch, washed down with a glass of economy-class pinot noir, they're frozen into silent braids.
We continue on this hyperborean heading, overflying nameless mountains, until Siberia's northern coast heaves into view under the starboard wing, somewhere north-west of Norilsk.
The Barents Sea winks blue at this season; the water is open as far north as the eye can see. In just one place, though, ice-floes have crowded up on a lee shore.
Perhaps it's the pinot noir. Looking down on the brash ice, I so far forget myself as to think of ... white petals floating in an old castle moat. How mortifying: even at this distance, the cherry flowers have cast their spell. As they always will.


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I'm hoping and praying we are a little shy of the mid-point in this maple syrup season, at least as regards maple syrup production, but I think it's likely that we are at about that point. I plan for sap flow for 4 to 6 weeks from initial tapping, and we tapped February 16-18; gee whiz, now that I look at it we just passed the two week point. Seems like it's been a lot longer than that! Okay though, I'm grateful for at least the possibility of more sap flow in front of us than behind us. There is a little break in the action here, no evaporation today, and it looks like we are nearing the end of Sap Run 3; I will evaporate the last 400 gallons from Run 3 tomorrow, and that should yield 9-10 gallons of syrup. And, this break gives us a little time to make some additional process improvements, and to reflect on, naturally, what has gone well, and what hasn't gone well. Let's get to it.
The Quarter-Sawing Process, and Problems, Oh No!
https://primalwoods.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/2_quartersawn_729.jpg 306 729 John Newell https://primalwoods.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/logo200.png John Newell2017-04-12 08:23:452017-04-12 08:36:25The Quarter-Sawing Process, and Problems, Oh No!
This season was disappointing in some ways, and a grand success in others. On the disappointing end of the spectrum, is the low yield this year. This low yield was due to a confluence of factors, some within our control, and some not.
We got into the woods late, we tapped late, as our process was not yet ready for sap. We started tapping, and collected the first sap, on the 28th of February, all 100 taps were not in until March 3rd.
The weather did not cooperate very well. We had a couple of decent snows, but it warmed up so quickly that the snow melted in a couple of days. In prior years we had used snow to keep our sap cool until we could get it processed; no such luck this year. The result of insufficient cold storage was that some sap never made it to the evaporator.
By March 13th I was evaporating the last of the sap, and there was no sap flow favorable weather in the 10-day forecast.
In this installment will be documented the moving of the bricked arch to the sugar house, leveling the arch/evaporator, installing the stack, and the first (test) boil using water and baking soda.
Part 1, "Assembling the Leader Evaporator Half Pint – Part 1 of 4," can be found at https://primalwoods.com/assembling-leader-evaporator-half-pin-3/, and Part 2, "Assembling the Leader Evaporator Half Pint – Part 2 of 4," can be found at https://primalwoods.com/assembling-leader-evaporator-half-pin-2/.


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Delcídio do Amaral Gomez (born February 2, 1955) is a Brazilian politician. He worked at Shell and was nominated to Petrobras's Internacional Directory by president Fernando Henrique Cardoso where he worked until 2001 when he left Petrobras and start his relation with the Workers'Party . Before his relation with Workers' party, Delcidio indicated a new director to Fernando Henrique Cardoso, Nestor Cervero. He represented Mato Grosso do Sul in the Federal Senate from 2003 to 2016 and before he was removed from office, he was the high-representative of the Workers' Party in the Brazilian Senate. He was the speaker of his party in the Senate and the head of the Senate's economic affairs committee. Amaral was arrested in November 2015 for allegedly taking kickbacks from Petrobras. A Supreme Court judge, Teori Zavascki, said he authorised the arrest after seeing evidence that Amaral had planned the flight of Petrobras's former international director, , in return for his silence. Ceveró was convicted of money laundering and sentenced to five years in prison.

On March 16, 2016 Amaral signed a plea bargain alleging involvement of other politicians in corruption scandals in Brazil. On May 10, 2016 the Senate approved by 74 votes in favor, the removal of Mr. Amaral from office for breaching parliamentary decorum.

See also
Petrobras
Operation Car Wash
2016 in Brazil
Odebrecht
List of scandals in Brazil

References

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Living people
1955 births
Members of the Federal Senate (Brazil)
Brazilian Labour Party (current) politicians
People from Mato Grosso do Sul

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia