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PlayStation 3 Holiday TV Spots Teased
Michael McWhertor
Filed to: Playstation 3Filed to: Playstation 3
How will Sony combat the forces of Microsoft and Nintendo this holiday season? It's up against the cheapest current gen console and one of the fastest selling of all time, both of which undercut the PlayStation 3's $399 price tag by a considerable margin. Marketing to the rescue! Sony's begun to tease its holiday marketing campaign, dubbed "Reflections" — yes, we're teasing television commercials now — and it's... err... we'll wait until the full ads hit on Nov. 21 before making up our minds.
Recent from Michael McWhertor
Parachute Fights, Naked Henchmen and Getting 'Whored,' All in the First 17% of Saints Row: The Third
Saints Row: The Third Screen Shots
Seaward and Onward


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Gitana 13 Breaks Tea Route Record
By Rob Grant | September 26, 2008 | London, UK | 0
Gitana XIII smokin' up the Bay between breaking records this February.
© 2008 Peter Lyons
Remember Gitana XIII, the 110-ft maxi-catamaran that visited the Bay back in late February and early March? We sure do! We're not sure it's possible to forget what it feels like to hit 30 knots in a bear-away, or cruise up and down the Cityfront with a 110-ft hull flying well clear of board-flat water with nearly 50 knots of apparent wind in your face.
The boat has finally finished the records tour she began in January by breaking the Tea Route record from Hong Kong to London with a time of 41d 21h 26m 34s — over a day less than it took her to get from New York to the Bay on the successful Gold Route record attempt that brought her here. Skipper Lionel Lemonchois explained the crux of the boat's records trip upon reaching London:
"The seven records are clearly a great satisfaction, but I am particularly proud of the human success story that has come about as a result of this long record campaign," he said. "We relished the idea of bringing some maritime routes, which have a real historic value, back into the limelight. I hope that the times set throughout the year will inspire others to revive these routes which are positively brimming with history."
And they probably will, given the fact that just about every record, despite being very fast, is beatable. On the Gold Route passage for example, Lemonchois was forced to wait five days for a weather window before rounding Cape Horn.
Also, consider the reality that breaking records with a second-hand, giant multihull is actually cheaper these days than running a top-level IMOCA 60 campaign — where 20 other teams are competing for a slice of the press coverage.
Race Editor Rob Grant will not soon forget his amazing ride on Gitana earlier this year.
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Combine these two factors — along with potential sponsors' desire to reach burgeoning Asian markets — and you get exactly the circumstances needed for what Lemonchois envisions. We'd like to go on record as being strongly in favor of such a scenario, as long as it means that more giant multihulls visit the Bay . . . and take us sailing.
The records of Gitana XIII's 2008 records tour:
Route de l'Or — NY to SF, via Cape Horn: 43d 3m 1s
North Pacific Crossing — SF to Yokohama: 11d 12m 55s
Tea Route — Hong Kong to London: 41d 21h 26m 34s
Yokohama to Dalian: 3d 20h 19m 11s
Dalian to Qingdao: 23h 50m and 20s
Qingdao to Taiwan: 3d 52m 15s
Taipei to Hong Kong: 1d 58m 27s
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Jury Selection Begins in Deleon Trial
By LaDonna | September 26, 2008 | Santa Ana | 0
Jury selection began this week in the trial of Skylar Deleon, the alleged 'mastermind' behind the 2004 disappearance of Newport Beach-based cruisers Tom and Jackie Hawks. Prosecutors contend that Deleon, along with two accomplices, lured the Hawkses into a test sail of the 55-ft trawler, Well Deserved, they had for sale. Once at sea, prosecutors say, the three overpowerd the couple, tied them to an anchor and threw them overboard. Later, Deleon and his pregnant wife, Jennifer Deleon, supposedly tried to use documents the Hawkses were forced to sign to gain access to their finances.
A jury found Jennifer Deleon guilty on two counts of murder — she wasn't aboard the test sail but the state proved she'd used her pregnancy and young child to gain the trust of Tom and Jackie Hawks — and sentenced her to two consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parol. The prosecution is going for the death penalty in Skylar Deleon's case. The selection of the jury will take a couple weeks, then the horrifying details of the case will be heard once again.
The trial of John Kennedy, one of the alleged accomplices, is slated for January. The other man who claims to have been aboard that day, Alonso Machain, has cooperated with authorities in hopes of a lighter sentence. His trial and that of Myron Gardner, the man who supposedly put Deleon in touch with Kennedy, have yet to be announced.
All Things Falcon
By Richard | September 26, 2008 | San Francisco Bay | 0
There was a nice front page story in The Chronicle today announcing that Tom Perkins' 289-ft mega sailing yacht Maltese Falcon will come under the Gate Saturday at 2 p.m. Reporter Carl Nolte got some of the information from us, and we feel it's important to make one clarification.
According to the article, the publisher of Latitude was "invited aboard the Maltese Falcon by Perkins for a cruise on the Mediterranean not long ago. . ." Not quite. We were among the many people that Perkins invited to the launch festivities and party in Italy. We were only able to justify such a trip because we also needed to travel Europe to take photos, see some boats, and speak with members of the sailing industry. We coordinated the end of that trip with the launch of Falcon, and greatly enjoyed the festivities. Although we were invited to sail on Falcon the next day, along with many other people, it wasn't possible because we had to return home to a deadline. So for the record, we've not only not "cruised the Med" with Perkins, we've not even sailed on the boat. But we've been invited to do just that a week from Sunday, and will not miss it.
For what it's worth, while we admire mega sailing yachts for the incredible artistry and engineering they embody, and Falcon in particular for its daringly innovative DynaRig, we're personally not crazy about them. We think along the lines of Ron Holland who, despite designing many mega sailing yachts, says anything over 60 feet is more than he'd want. Once you get much larger than that, it seems to us that you start to remove yourself from the elements you want to enjoy. In a typical year, we sail on a mega sailing yacht once, at the St. Barth Around the Island Regatta. Being the simple sort, we don't feel any great desire to do it again until the next year.
There's also the issue of how tasteful such mega yachts are in today's world, what with the world economy in the condition it's in, and with the importance of reducing one's carbon footprint. With regard to the former, we'll remind everyone that the design, building and running of yachts such as Falcon created and continues to create countless jobs which contributes lots to the economy. That's a good thing. As is the fact that Perkins made most of his money providing the seed money for companies that ultimately came up with products that have made your life and ours so much better and less expensive. Can you say 'Google'.
As for how megayachts, even mega sailing yachts, fit into today's world of shrinking resources and perhaps climate change, the answer is not very well. As we've written previously, we've given Perkins' Falcon, Joe Vittoria's 247-ft Mirabella, and Jim Clark's nearly 300-ft Athena passes, because they were all begun seven or eight years ago when the world was a very different place. In fact, the last megayacht we're giving — for what it's worth — our seal of approval to is Bill Joy's 190-ft Ron Holland designed Ethereal, to be launched this fall. Joy, the co-founder of Sun Microsystems, has gone to great lengths and expense to make his boat as ecologically friendly as possible. But still, it seems to us it's like trying to make a diet version of a Double Whopper with cheese and bacon. Despite the weakening world economy, the megayacht business is still booming. This is something we're not at all happy about, nor do we think it's in good taste. As time goes on and resources become more dear, we suspect that the people who launch such yachts aren't going to be looked on with envy, but rather with growing disapproval.
But for now, we suggest everyone check out Falcon when she comes beneath the Gate tomorrow afternoon, as it's really going to be something to see. Once again, we recommend the pedestrian path on the east side of the Golden Gate Bridge as perhaps the best viewing site. That's where we'll be.
Sailing the Patch
By John Riise | September 26, 2008 | Pacific Ocean | 0
Dr. Curtis Ebbesmeyer and Dr. Jim Graham are oceanographers and drift analysis experts. Although they're based in Seattle, they work on — and are interested in — all sorts of things that go adrift at sea, from lost buoys and abandoned ships all the way down to sneakers and rubber duckies. Some of their early work — remember the thousands of Nike running shoes that broke out of containers about 15 years ago? — generated so much interest among scientifically-challenged folks (in other words, most of us), that Curt started the newsletter Beachcombers Alert! a decade ago. Published six times a year, Alert! intersperses serious drift analyses alongside heartwarming 'message in a bottle' stories, and celebrates the other weird and wonderful stuff that people find on beaches.
Occasionally, our paths intersect and Dr. Curt has been a great help when we have questions about yachts that have gone adrift. He recently informed us that one local boat is going to be the subject of an upcoming Alert! article: the Olson 40 Pterodactyl, which was 'abandoned' after her owner and a crewman were washed overboard — and recovered quickly by another boat — during last spring's Doublehanded Farallones Race. The boat has been spotted twice since then, once by a Navy ship and once by a commercial ship. All known coordinates were forwarded to Ebbesmeyer and Graham. Here are a few 'sneak peek' highlights from the upcoming article:
In the 45 days she was adrift before the commercial ship found her, Pterodactyl covered 726 nautical miles, a speed of 16.1 nm a day.
The verdict: Pterodactyl is moving into the Pacific Gyre, or as Ebbesmeyer calls it, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. "The Patch is the great dust bunny of the Northern Hemisphere where winds collect flotsam beneath the Pacific Subtropical Pressure cell," he writes. "It's at least several times the size of Texas."
Once in the Patch, Pterodactyl will join a long list of lost or abandoned vessels that goes back centuries — literally to the days of native canoes and Spanish galleons. And she may be caught there for years. Ebbesmeyer thinks there may be 'dozens' of yachts out there, endlessly 'sailing' the Patch.
For more on the Beachcomber's Alert, check out http://beachcombersalert.org/
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'Lectronic Latitude: Wednesday, Sep 24
Tragedy Off Cannes
Tragedy struck the opening race of the Regates Royale off Cannes yesterday. British attorney Wilf Tolhurst, 64, was killed when his classic 50-ft 8-Meter Safir collided with a larger British yacht shortly after noon.
Falcon Still on for Saturday at 2 p.m.
For those of you tracking the progress of Maltese Falcon on www.symaltesefalcon.com, you've already noticed that Tom Perkins' megayacht pulled into Drakes Bay this morning around 6 a.m.
Danger Never Takes a Vacation
How safe would you feel swimming or riding in a slow moving dinghy in front of this panga?
Strong Quake Jolts Mexican Coast
The coastal region of west-central Mexico was rocked yesterday evening by a magnitude 6.4 earthquake, centered offshore, approximately 130 miles SW of Manzanillo, in the state of Jalisco.
The Physics of Sailing Sneak Preview
An old salt once said, "You can learn everything you need to know about sailing in a day — then you spend the rest of your life getting it right."
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Dropsy is valid Scrabble Word
Is dropsy a scrabble word?
Is dropsy valid Words with Friends?
Definitions for DROPSY in dictionary:
unnatural accumulation of serous fluid
a tip or bribe
illness in which watery fluid collects in the body
An unnatural collection of serous fluid in any serous cavity of the body, or in the subcutaneous cellular tissue.
swelling from excessive accumulation of watery fluid in cells, tissues, or serous cavities
an excessive accumulation of serous fluid
Words related to DROPSY
dropsical14 dropsically19 dropsied12 dropsies11 hydropsy20
Words that contain DROPSY
hydropsy20
How to use DROPSY in a sentence
I was not long since called in to a man in a dropsy.
His complaint gradually gained strength, subdued a constitution originally robust, and finally passed into a confirmed dropsy.
The dropsy made another attack, and was not easily ejected, but at last gave way.
Sometimes it was dropsy, and she had to be tapped, when pints of sawdust would run out.
Upright wrestling was thought most beneficial to the upper portion of the body, and the cure of dropsy was believed to be peculiarly promoted by gymnastic sports.
Dropsy is discussed as an independent disease through the exhaustive speculations of thirty-two pages.
And behold, there was before him a certain man that had the dropsy.
A man who lived in a little village just outside of the walls, became afflicted with the dropsy in the abdominal regions.
After he had paid all that he owed for the place, and after Catrin had died of dropsy, he called his sons home.
All these blows came thick and fast, and Angelique, with health broken from the incessant labours of over fifty years, was attacked by dropsy.
For more than two years he has been paralyzed in his lower limbs, and also affected with dropsy.
He got well of this, but only to fall into a dropsy, which despatched him in a week.
He died of dropsy at Hot Springs, Arkansas, leaving a wife, but no children.
After so eventful a life, the painter died peaceably enough in his fifty-ninth year, of dropsy, at Rome, and left a considerable fortune to his only son.
He died of dropsy on the 28th of May 1793, having by writing and example given a new impulse to education throughout Prussia.
Passive dropsy in children after scarlet fever may be effectually cured by small doses of the tincture, third decimal strength.
The Russian peasants have long employed the Lily of the Valley for certain forms of dropsy, when proceeding from a faulty heart.
It is distinguished from common dropsy, by the lower parts of the stomach being most swollen.
The upper parts are also not so reduced, as in usual dropsy.
It differs from the dropsy, in that it never swells so high.
Why do the arms become small and slender in some diseases, as in mad men, and such as are sick of the dropsy? A.
Those men who have this course of blood, are kept from many infirmities, such as dropsy, plague, etc.
An extract from the expressed juice is recommended in small doses in dropsy.
After much suffering from dropsy and nervous debility, she prepared quietly for what she knew was inevitable.
The sufferer from dropsy, who thinks to appease his thirst by drinking, only excites it the more.
Another case which was brought under my notice was that of a woman suffering from dropsy, which made the necessary removal of her a very arduous and difficult operation.
Water in which pieces of the wood were placed, or the water that stood in vessels made of this wood, had a medicinal value in dropsy and other diseases.
Though it has pleased GOD wonderfully to deliver me from the dropsy, I am yet very weak, and have not passed the door since the 13th of December.
In the year 1880 he filed an application for pension, alleging dropsy and disease of his eyes, caused by an explosion of ammunition.
He died April 7, 1867, of dropsy, never having made any application for a pension.
Find what other words can be done using letters: "dropsy"
https://scrabble-word.com/finder/dropsy


This post shares tips for writers for penning a great antagonist. We love to read stories of villains, from a superhero's nemeses to the evil stepmother. Great novels have some sort of conflict or struggle for the hero at the hand of a foe, so it's important your character development is strong.
The antagonist is the character that opposes the hero character in your story. He or she serves as the counterpart to the main character who makes trouble, provides conflict and could be considered the "bad guy." Antagonists can also be main characters or the center of the plot; here are 3 tips to help you write a good one.


TORONTO – At the turn of the millennium, there were four Canadian players in the NBA – a historic number at the time.
Bill Wennington's career was coming to an end just as Todd MacCulloch's was beginning. Rick Fox was about to win his first of three consecutive championships with the Los Angeles Lakers.
And then there was the great Steve Nash.
Nash, a late bloomer by basketball standards, was just starting to come into his own with the Dallas Mavericks. He was still four years away from going back to Phoenix, the team that drafted him in 1996, and winning his first of two Most Valuable Player awards. He hadn't made his first All-Star Game or even become a full-time starter yet, but he was blossoming into one of the league's premiere young point guards.
It was an exciting time to be a basketball fan in Canada.
In Toronto, Vince Carter was quickly becoming one of the most popular athletes on the planet, and in doing so was putting the Raptors on the map. His iconic performance in the Slam Dunk Contest in Oakland that winter was a 'Where were you when?' moment.
That summer, Nash wore the red and white at the Sydney Olympics. It was the first time the Canadian senior men's national team had qualified for the Olympics in 12 years. They haven't been back since.
Born in Toronto just a few months earlier was RJ Barrett – son of Rowan Barrett, a teammate of Nash's on the Olympic team, and godson of Nash.
Fast-forward nearly two decades and the basketball landscape in Canada looks drastically different. We're patiently waiting for the golden era that's been promised, but it's never felt closer. The rise of Canadian hoops continues to unfold before our eyes.
When the 2018-19 NBA season opened in October, there were a record-setting 13 Canadians on rosters around the league, including players on two-way contracts. It's the fifth straight year that Canada has produced the most NBA players of any country outside of the United States.
Since 2011, Canada has produced 11 first-round draft picks, including eight lottery selections, and two first-overall picks. And there are plenty more Canadian prospects on the way.
The 2019 NBA draft could include up to six Canadians, according to some early February mocks, which would shatter the country's record of four selected players, set back in 2014 when Andrew Wiggins (Vaughan, Ont.) was taken with the top pick.
It's headlined by Barrett – the Duke freshman and projected top-three pick, who many believe to be the future face of Canada Basketball.
That's a distinction that no one has held since Nash, now the general manager of the men's national team. It's not like the opportunity hasn't been up for grabs. Those who once seemed worthy of carrying the torch and leading the next generation of Canadian talent have failed to live up to the lofty expectations or embrace the responsibility, or both.
Anthony Bennett (Toronto), the first Canadian taken with the No. 1-overall pick in a NBA draft, became a cautionary tale. Wiggins, the country's highest-rated prospect ever, hasn't developed as many thought that he would or shown much interest in playing for the national team.
But the future is bright. Many would argue that, even at 21, Denver Nuggets guard and Kitchener, Ont. native Jamal Murray has already surpassed Wiggins as the best Canadian in the NBA. He was a borderline all-star candidate this season and has the swagger, ability and seemingly the desire to help take the Canadian program to the next level.
Hamilton, Ont.'s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is also turning heads in his first NBA season with the Clippers.
Then there's Barrett, who may blossom into the best of all of them. The 18-year-old Mississauga, Ont. native was just named ACC Freshman of the Week for the third time this season. He's scored more points through 20 games (471) than any Blue Devils freshman ever and is averaging an ACC-leading 23.1 points per contest. He's also on pace for the highest scoring average by a freshman in ACC history, according to ESPN Stats and Info.
He's dynamic, he's versatile, and for those wondering what separates him from Wiggins, his motor is always running. Whether he's up against high school kids with a fraction of his natural talent, facing the Chinese national team in an exhibition game over the summer or playing under the bright lights at Duke, you can count on him getting after it.
His Blue Devils teammate, phenom Zion Williamson, is making a strong case to go first-overall in next summer's draft – a spot that once seemed earmarked for the Canadian – but regardless of when Barrett hears his named called, his maturity and basketball DNA should ensure a smooth transition to the pros.
Barrett's draft class could also include Virginia Tech guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker (Toronto) – a cousin of Gilgeous-Alexander – Gonzaga forward Brandon Clarke (Vancouver), Michigan forward Ignas Brazdeikis (Oakville, Ont.), Arizona St. guard Luguentz Dort (Montreal) and Vanderbilt forward Simi Shittu (Burlington, Ont.).
There are many more Canadians playing Division I basketball and coming up the pipeline behind them. The country is churning out top-tier talent at a historic rate, particularly in the Greater Toronto area, which has become a hotbed for hoops.
A story written by Michael A. Fletcher for The Undefeated in 2017 cites a report by Solutions Research Group (SRG) in Canada that lists basketball as the second-most popular sport among the country's millennials, trailing hockey. It also references a 2014 Canadian Youth Sports Report that found basketball had the second-highest participation for team sports among children between the ages of three and 17, behind soccer but ahead of hockey.
How did this happen? To what do we owe the sport's growing popularity north of the border?
Nash's influence was very real. He wasn't a freak athletic specimen. He didn't look like a two-time MVP and he certainly wasn't supposed to be one. His self-made Canadian success story was like nothing we had ever seen before. He inspired and proved that it was possible.
Carter's impact was just as significant and arguably bigger, albeit very different. He wasn't Canadian and he definitely wasn't the everyman. He could do things on the court that most could only dream of. His tenure in Toronto was brief and ended in heartbreak for fans across the nation, but there's no denying he made kids want to pick up a basketball.
However, merely crediting Nash or Carter for the Canadian basketball boom would be a disservice to the country, its many development programs, its coaches and the players themselves.
Barrett was still in the womb when Carter had his coming-out party at All-Star Weekend in Oakland.
Gilgeous-Alexander hadn't even turned three at the height of Carter's run in Toronto. He grew up watching Chris Bosh, T.J. Ford and Jose Calderon at the Air Canada Centre.
The players coming up now don't know a time before the NBA existed in Canada. They were just as likely to be inspired by players like Cory Joseph (Pickering, Ont.), Tristan Thompson (Brampton, Ont.) or Kelly Olynyk (Kamloops, B.C.), who have all been in the league for the better part of the last decade. It's cyclical, meaning the sport should only continue to grow as its infrastructure does.
More and more, AAU programs like Grassroots Elite and CIA Bounce are helping prepare the country's young players to reach the next level. Canada has also produced elite talent on the sidelines, with coaching success stories like Jay Triano (Niagara Falls, Ont.) – the former Raptors head coach and current Charlotte Hornets assistant, who's also the head coach of the Canadian national team – Boston Celtics assistant Scott Morrison (Prince Edward Island), Raptors 905 head coach Jama Mahlalela (North York, Ont.), Ryerson University's Roy Rana (Toronto), Carleton University's Dave Smart (Kingston, Ont.), and many more.
Meanwhile, Canada Basketball still has a long way to go but it is trending in the right direction. The organization's recent hiring of former Raptors general manager and long-time NBA executive Glen Grunwald as president and CEO was a slam dunk. Most of the heavy lifting will come on the business side, where the program's primary challenge remains fundraising.
On the court, the women are ahead of the men. They're ranked fifth in the world and have finished in the top eight at the last two Olympics.
The senior men just qualified for next summer's FIBA World Cup in China, where – after several missed opportunities in past years – they'll look to punch their ticket to the Olympics for the first time since Nash represented them in 2000.
Making it through these recent qualifiers despite FIBA's new year-round format that prevents NBA players from suiting up during crucial windows speaks to the depth of the program. Still, their success next summer and beyond is contingent on the commitment of their best players.
It's not realistic to expect everybody to be available. There are simply too many variables when it comes to an individual player's decision to participate in international competition any given summer: health, contract status, personal obligations, and team commitments, among others. That's another benefit of Canada's newfound depth. However, their strength – relative to every other country outside of the U.S. – is the high-end NBA talent they could feature.
Many of Canada's NBA players have already expressed interest in making the trip to China next summer. Depending on the turnout, they may have finally reached the point where they'll be forced to cut one of them in order to trim down the roster. That's a good problem to have and something Triano has been anticipating for years.
Will Barrett be able to participate just a month before the start of his first NBA season? That remains to be seen. Most rookies opt to focus on getting acclimated to their new club.
Whether he's able to get clearance from whichever team drafts him or not, rest assured, Barrett is expected to be a big part of the program's future. That he grew up around it and his father is currently the executive VP and assistant GM certainly doesn't hurt.
Some have already ticketed this as the golden age of Canadian hoops, but they're only just scratching the surface. It's not here yet, but there's reason to believe it's not far away either.
With all the talent that is coming out of the country – players that aren't just skilled, but also seem eager to wear the flag with pride – it's only a matter of time before Canada is making noise on the world stage.


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(ii) The Cornish Print Company Limited's liability in respect of any alleged defect in Work undertaken by The Cornish Print Company Limited shall be limited to replacement only of such defective Work as forthwith notified to The Cornish Print Company Limited on the Customer receiving the allegedly defective Work and on the defective Work together with the original document(s) from which the allegedly defective Work was reproduced being returned to and received by The Cornish Print Company Limited at the Customer's expense;
(iii) Delivery of documents and completed Work to the Customer shall on acceptance by the Customer of such delivery preclude the Customer from making any claim in respect thereof.
7. Copyright Trademark Protection
The customer undertakes that all Work delivered to The Cornish Print Company Limited shall not infringe any copyright, trademark, registered design or other proprietorial right of any third party and shall not constitute libel or otherwise render The Cornish Print Company Limited open to legal action whatsoever and the Customer shall indemnify The Cornish Print Company Limited its servants and its agents from and against all liabilities and claims which The Cornish Print Company Limited may incur as a result of undertaking Work and/or compliance with the instructions or requests of the Customer.
8. Illegal Matter
(i) The Cornish Print Company Limited shall not be required to print any matter which in their opinion is of or may be of an illegal or libellous nature or and infringement of the proprietary or other rights of any third party.
(ii) The Cornish Print Company Limited shall be indemnified by the customer in respect of any claims, costs and expenses arising out of any libellous matter or any infringement of copyright, patent, design or of any other proprietary or personal rights contained in any material printed for the customer. The indemnity shall extend to all amounts paid on a lawyer's advice in settlement of any claim.
9. Proofs
(i) It is the responsibility of the Customer to check all proofs in respect of Work to be carried out. The Cornish Print Company Limited will not be liable in respect of any errors not corrected by the Customer at the time.
(ii) The Cornish Print Company Limited cannot guarantee that full colour Work will match the proofs in colour, hue or saturation.
10. Quantity
Whilst The Cornish Print Company Limited will do everything to ensure the correct quantity of Work is supplied, orders are accepted on the condition that there may be a margin of 5% either way in the final supplied quantity.
11. Force Majure
The Cornish Print Company Limited shall not be liable to pay compensation to the Customer or to any other person, nor shall this agreement between the Customer and The Cornish Print Company Limited be invalidated or frustated in any way, if The Cornish Print Company Limited fails to deliver or delays delivering any completed or partly completed Work, as a result (whether directly or indirectly) of any strike, lockout, fire, flood, inability to obtain materials, breakdown, delay of supplier or carrier, governmental act and regulation or any other cause beyond its reasonable control.
(i) The Cornish Print Company Limited shall be under no liability whatsoever for any delay in delivery completed or partly completed Work and any time or date specified for delivery is estimated only.
(ii) Delivery of completed Work unless otherwise agreed between the parties herein shall be (at the option of The Cornish Print Company Limited) delivered by messenger, post, road or rail transport, and shall in all events be at the risk and the expense of the Customer.
13. Lien
The Cornish Print Company Limited shall have a lien on all documents delivered to it for its charges for Work and/or any other monies owing by the Customer, and failing payment of such charges or monies within a reasonable time following request for payment The Cornish Print Company Limited may sell all or any of the documents in partial or complete satisfaction thereof.
14. Sub-contracting
The Cornish Print Company Limited may sub-contract all or part of Work to its agents, and any reference to The Cornish Print Company Limited in the Conditions or otherwise in any form of written communication to parties hereto relating to Work shall extend to all servants and agents of The Cornish Print Company Limited.
15. Obligations of The Cornish Print Company Limited and Customer
All obligations on the part of The Cornish Print Company Limited that are herein contained shall be subject to the due performance by the Customer of its obligations hereunder.
Headings to the Agreement are for convenience only and shall not affect the construction thereof.
The construction, validity and performance of this Agreement shall be governed in respects by English Law. For the Conditions set out in this Agreement to be binding in all respects on the parties hereto, it shall suffice for it to be prominently displayed on or in the immediate vicinity of the place or location where the documents are delivered and accepted by The Cornish Print Company Limited for Work. A copy of the Conditions may be obtained on request from The Cornish Print Company Limited.
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We spent the night in Rabinal, a town where many of the indigenous people who moved from the valley we had just visited lived in grim poverty, still waiting for the government to live up to the promises.
The next day, we looked forward to meeting Juan Manuel Geronimo, President of the Association for Justice and Reconciliation, a UUSC partner. The organization was formed to help Mayan victims of the massacres and displacements pursue justice through the courts.
Charlie Clements has known Juan Manuel for years and prepared us at breakfast for our meeting. After 25 years of unrelenting work in a hostile environment, Juan Manuel and the others have recently been winning human rights cases in international courts.
With this introduction, I expected a man larger than life, a man of righteous power. He was late and we were preparing to leave when an unassuming stocky man approached us in a green uniform shirt with a patch that read, "Monmouth County Highway Department". A woman and girl in colorful indigenous clothing followed him. His face lit up when he spotted Charlie and they grabbed each other in a happy embrace.
We disembarked and arranged benches for our meeting in the courtyard of our motel, the only one in Rabinal. Charlie told us he had not met Juan Manuel's new wife, who was another survivor, or his youngest daughter. I wondered if traveling with them meant his life was in less danger than Charlie had described. I hoped the large knife that dangled at his waist in a leather scabbard was a small machete for farm work and not for protection.
We settled on the benches surrounded by the rose-colored walls of the courtyard of our hotel, damp sheets flapping on lines overhead. Charlie asked him open ended questions, giving him the option to tell us what felt comfortable to him.
He told us his tragic story, a story Charlie had not heard from him with such candor.
He and another man had been warned that they were targets of the militia for their work as lay Catholic leaders. They had fled for safety to the hills near their village.
He choked on the next sentence. His face flushed. After a moment, he took a deep breath and continued. From the safety of the hills, he watched while his wife, his four children, 17 other family members and their neighbors were surprised by the killers. He watched as they ran from blazing guns and fell in bloody heaps. He watched as the girls were raped and he watched as the few men who were still alive dug graves at gunpoint and then joined the others in death.
Two hundred and fifty men, women and children of Plan de Sanchez died that day.
He paused again and wept. My own eyes overflowed at his anguish. I had to remind myself that telling his story to us is part of his healing process. I wondered how many times it will take.
Someone asked him, with all the violence, how does he keep going?
He told us that two nights before the massacre, while he slept in the hills, he had a dream. He was in a church. A priest had a list. It contained the names of the people in his village but not his own. He asked the priest to put his name on the list but he was refused. He begged him, but was again refused. Two women stood on either side of him. Were they angels? One of them said to him, You have work to do. He didn't understand what it meant until the massacre. Then he knew.
I was moved by his story and upset, yet I didn't see anger or bitterness in his deeply lined face.
As Juan Manuel and his family stood to leave, someone in our group asked to take their picture. Wait, he said. He drew his daughter from behind and placed her in the center of the family portrait. He inched toward her mother and looked at the camera with a proud smile. Ready.
Juan Manuel Geronimo and other witnesses were coached by the largest human rights organization in Guatemala, CALDH, in order to travel to Costa Rica and testify before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in the case against the banks and the Guatemalan government. The court only takes cases for which the plaintiffs can prove that justice cannot be found in national courts. After returning to Guatemala, Juan Manuel Geronimo received death threats and intimidation requiring him to be accompanied for months by someone day and night.
To comply with the court-ordered payments of just and fair compensation, The Vice President of Guatemala, accompanied by other dignitaries and a flock of media people, traveled to Plan de Sanchez. Among the observers in new roles were some of the same men responsible for the massacre. The V.P. was in a hurry to finish the photo op and leave, but Juan Manuel Geronimo refused to take part in the ceremony until the children of the village were allowed to a re-enact the carnage. No one must be allowed to forget. It meant risking his family's compensation but he knew the government had a lot at stake as well. The Guatemalan government wanted to shake off the perception of corruption in the eyes of the world. It was bad for business.
After the gritty stand-off, the Vice President assented to the re-enactment. With stony faces, they watched as children of the survivors took the place of the villagers, the civil patrol and the military and became those people, running, chasing, screaming and collapsing as if in death.
Not all the families of Plan de Sanchez have received payments and only one captain in the militia, responsible for the deaths of at least 5,000 Mayans, has been indicted. He has not been arrested. Justice is slow, but we understand from Charlie that while the people need services and money, their greater need is to regain their lost sense of community.
Most of the massacres occurred in the rural areas of Guatemala where indigenous people defended their land from the government and the military. During the time of violence the villagers were called rebels, guerrillas and Communists but they were mostly indigenous people defending their families. A village even suspected of harboring guerillas was a target. A name mentioned in a conversation with powerful people would seal someone's fate.
Diabolically, the military set neighbor against neighbor by kidnapping village men and giving them a cruel choice: kill who we tell you or we will kill you. Those who refused are among the ones being exhumed.
The ones who complied were called the Civil Self-Defense Patrol (PAC). Some no doubt took advantage of their sudden power to accuse a neighbor for a choice piece of land or to extract vengeance for an old quarrel. There was no need for evidence or proof and they killed with impunity.
There were no communications where most of the killings occurred and journalists like Irma Flaquer, who dared write about the atrocities, disappeared. Rumors were quashed. The world did not respond.
A previous administration rewarded the ex-members of the civil patrol for their service to the country years ago. The men and the government denied their mutual responsibilities for the massacres. Even so, the compassion of the survivors for their neighbors who made the choice to kill and live is astonishing. They are pushing for a change in the laws to take into consideration the coercion used at the time the horrible choice was made. They want the guilty men to admit what they did and repent. Helping to pass this law will be a test of the commitment to justice of the current government.


text:
"""Python spiel example."""

import random

from absl import app
import numpy as np

import pyspiel
from open_spiel.python.utils import file_utils

def _manually_create_game():
  """Creates the game manually from the spiel building blocks."""
  game_type = pyspiel.GameType(
      "matching_pennies",
      "Matching Pennies",
      pyspiel.GameType.Dynamics.SIMULTANEOUS,
      pyspiel.GameType.ChanceMode.DETERMINISTIC,
      pyspiel.GameType.Information.ONE_SHOT,
      pyspiel.GameType.Utility.ZERO_SUM,
      pyspiel.GameType.RewardModel.TERMINAL,
      2,  # max num players
      2,  # min_num_players
      True,  # provides_information_state
      True,  # provides_information_state_tensor
      False,  # provides_observation
      False,  # provides_observation_tensor
      dict()  # parameter_specification
  )
  game = pyspiel.MatrixGame(
      game_type,
      {},  # game_parameters
      ["Heads", "Tails"],  # row_action_names
      ["Heads", "Tails"],  # col_action_names
      [[-1, 1], [1, -1]],  # row player utilities
      [[1, -1], [-1, 1]]  # col player utilities
  )
  return game

def _easy_create_game():
  """Uses the helper function to create the same game as above."""
  return pyspiel.create_matrix_game("matching_pennies", "Matching Pennies",
                                    ["Heads", "Tails"], ["Heads", "Tails"],
                                    [[-1, 1], [1, -1]], [[1, -1], [-1, 1]])

def _even_easier_create_game():
  """Leave out the names too, if you prefer."""
  return pyspiel.create_matrix_game([[-1, 1], [1, -1]], [[1, -1], [-1, 1]])

def _import_data_create_game():
  """Creates a game via imported payoff data."""
  payoff_file = file_utils.find_file(
      "open_spiel/data/paper_data/response_graph_ucb/soccer.txt", 2)
  payoffs = np.loadtxt(payoff_file)*2-1
  return pyspiel.create_matrix_game(payoffs, payoffs.T)

def main(_):
  games_list = pyspiel.registered_games()
  print("Registered games:")
  print(games_list)

  # Load a two-player normal-form game as a two-player matrix game.
  blotto_matrix_game = pyspiel.load_matrix_game("blotto")
  print("Number of rows in 2-player Blotto with default settings is {}".format(
      blotto_matrix_game.num_rows()))

  # Several ways to load/create the same game of matching pennies.
  print("Creating matrix game...")
  game = pyspiel.load_matrix_game("matrix_mp")
  game = _manually_create_game()
  game = _import_data_create_game()
  game = _easy_create_game()
  game = _even_easier_create_game()

  # Quick test: inspect top-left utility values:
  print("Values for joint action ({},{}) is {},{}".format(
      game.row_action_name(0), game.col_action_name(0),
      game.player_utility(0, 0, 0), game.player_utility(1, 0, 0)))

  state = game.new_initial_state()

  # Print the initial state
  print("State:")
  print(str(state))

  assert state.is_simultaneous_node()

  # Simultaneous node: sample actions for all players.
  chosen_actions = [
      random.choice(state.legal_actions(pid))
      for pid in range(game.num_players())
  ]
  print("Chosen actions: ", [
      state.action_to_string(pid, action)
      for pid, action in enumerate(chosen_actions)
  ])
  state.apply_actions(chosen_actions)

  assert state.is_terminal()

  # Game is now done. Print utilities for each player
  returns = state.returns()
  for pid in range(game.num_players()):
    print("Utility for player {} is {}".format(pid, returns[pid]))

if __name__ == "__main__":
  app.run(main)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Home Open Access Tracking Project (OATP) infodocketGARY's bookmarks How Are We Doing with Open Education Practice Initiatives? Applying an Institutional Self-Assessment Tool in Five Higher Education Institutions | The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning
How Are We Doing with Open Education Practice Initiatives? Applying an Institutional Self-Assessment Tool in Five Higher Education Institutions | The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning
This collaborative self-study examines how five higher education institutions in British Columbia (BC), Canada, have achieved momentum with openness and are implementing and sustaining their efforts. A goal of this research was to see whether an institutional self-assessment tool—adapted from blended learning and institutional transformation research—can help to assess how an institution has progressed with its open education initiatives. By adopting both an appreciative and a critical approach, the researchers at these five BC institutions compared the similarities and differences between their institutional approaches and the evolution of their initiatives. The paper includes discussion of how a self-assessment tool for institutional open education practices (OEP) can be applied to OEP initiatives at an institutional level and shares promising practices and insights that emerge from this research.
http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/5745
oa.new oa.open_education oa.assessment oa.canada oa.initiatives oa.oep


text:
US charges Chinese university tied to army with conspiracy to violate export laws
http://str.sg/oMi5
BOSTON (REUTERS) - US prosecutors on Tuesday (June 26) charged a Chinese university linked to China's army with conspiring to violate US export laws in order to obtain items from the United States that could be used in anti-submarine warfare.
An indictment filed in federal court in Boston charged China-based Northwestern Polytechnical University (NWPU), along with Shuren Qin, a Chinese national living in Wellesley, Massachusetts, who was arrested last week.
The indictment also charged LinkOcean Technologies, a Chinese company headed by Qin, whose clients, according to prosecutors, include Chinese research institutes and the naval warfare branch of the People's Liberation Army.
Lawyers for Qin did not respond to a request for comment. Neither the university nor LinkOcean responded to e-mails seeking comment.
Speaking in Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said he had noted the reports.
"From a principled position, China always asks Chinese citizens to respect other countries laws and regulations when abroad. At the same time, we always ask relevant countries to fairly handle such cases in accordance with law, protect Chinese citizens' safety and lawful rights," Mr Lu told reporters.
"What I can tell you here is that the Foreign Ministry and China's consulate in New York will continue to closely pay attention to the development of the case, as well as prepare to provide assistance to China's citizens at any time it should be required."
Qin, 41, was charged with conspiring to commit export violations and visa fraud. He is scheduled to be arraigned on Wednesday, according to court records.
The indictment said that from 2015 to 2016, Qin exported 78 hydrophones, devices which can be used to monitor sound underwater, to NWPU, which the indictment described as a Chinese military research institute.
Prosecutors have said that because of national security risks, the US Commerce Department requires an export licence to be obtained to ship US goods to NWPU, which works with the People's Liberation Army to advance its military capabilities.
DEFENCE AND MILITARY
COURT TRIALS


text:
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Shares of The Travelers Companies Inc. (TRV) ended the trading day Monday at $136.79, representing a move of -0.68%, or $0.93 per share, on volume of 724,963 shares.
After opening the trading day at $137.81, shares of The Travelers Companies Inc. traded between a range of $136.60 and $137.90. The Travelers Companies Inc. currently has a total float of 261.9 million shares and on average sees n/a shares exchange hands each day.
The stock now has a 50-day SMA of $n/a and 200-day SMA of $n/a, and it has a high of $138.99 and low of $111.08 over the last year.
The Travelers Companies Inc. is based out of New York, NY, and has 30,400 employees. The company's CEO is Alan D. Schnitzer.


Automobiles and different vehicles are an business worth over 250 billion US dollars worldwide, with manufacturing trending in the direction of efficiency and sustainability. I managed to get a pretty nice program via a connection and I actually prefer it. I can rapidly and simply connect my USB OBD II cable right to the automotive from the computer and entry any test engine gentle data (even pending codes), view stay knowledge, get an estimated 1/4 mile time, and even get HP/Torque readings (though the two latter appear to be a bit finicky and requies some messing around with).
Germany is ~sixty three% as productive because the US per employee, and Germany's PPP is 13% larger than the US. Vehicle producers function some 302 automobile assembly and manufacturing crops in 26 nations across Europe. You can send me your works for an evaluation and to take action grow to be pal on my page on Fb so I will give you in private my electronic mail. Have recruited for company by name Advance Engg. & in supply letter has mentioned as Challenge manager but company suggesting of engineer visa & telling in Saudi there isn't any PM put up. it is true or false.
The aesthetic worth will need to correspond to ergonomic performance and utility options as effectively. In particular, vehicular electronic elements and elements will give more challenges to automotive designers who're required to replace on the newest info and data associated with emerging vehicular gadgetry, notably dashtop cellular gadgets, like GPS navigation, satellite tv for pc radio , HD radio , cellular TELEVISION, MP3 gamers, video playback, and smartphone interfaces. Though not all the brand new vehicular devices are to be designated as manufacturing facility customary items, some of them could also be integral to determining the long run course of any specific vehicular fashions.
I'm French, I've 2 years experience working as a logistician and Enterprise controller, and I'm negociating for an area contract in KL, working as a member of a undertaking management team. My office shall be at Plaza Sentral, Jalan Stesen Sentral 5, 50470 Kuala Lumpur. it depends on your creative expertise and age….normally a full course is at all times higher! We've more jobs that typically will not be listed on our website. In the event you've seen a job on another website, please ship us a resume with the Job Title and/or Job Number.
The Meineke Car Care and Econo Lube Co-Brand opportunity combines nearly eighty years of automotive and franchise leadership and nearly 1,100 places, offering the ultimate business system in in the present day's automotive aftermarket. With the power to provide a quick and handy quick lube service and complete automotive care, our co-brand facilities are able to meet and exceed the expectation of right this moment's clients.


text:
NAME

dd - convert and copy a file
SYNOPSIS

dd [OPERAND]...
dd OPTION
DESCRIPTION

Copy a file, converting and formatting according to the operands.

bs=BYTES read and write up to BYTES bytes at a time

cbs=BYTES convert BYTES bytes at a time

conv=CONVS convert the file as per the comma separated symbol list

count=N copy only N input blocks

ibs=BYTES read up to BYTES bytes at a time (default: 512)

if=FILE read from FILE instead of stdin

iflag=FLAGS read as per the comma separated symbol list

obs=BYTES write BYTES bytes at a time (default: 512)

of=FILE write to FILE instead of stdout

oflag=FLAGS write as per the comma separated symbol list

seek=N skip N obs-sized blocks at start of output

skip=N skip N ibs-sized blocks at start of input

status=WHICH WHICH info to suppress outputting to stderr; 'noxfer' suppresses transfer stats, 'none' suppresses all

N and BYTES may be followed by the following multiplicative suffixes: c =1, w =2, b =512, kB =1000, K =1024, MB =1000*1000, M =1024*1024, xM =M GB =1000*1000*1000, G =1024*1024*1024, and so on for T, P, E, Z, Y.

Each CONV symbol may be:

ascii from EBCDIC to ASCII

ebcdic from ASCII to EBCDIC

ibm from ASCII to alternate EBCDIC

block pad newline-terminated records with spaces to cbs-size

unblock replace trailing spaces in cbs-size records with newline

lcase change upper case to lower case

ucase change lower case to upper case

sparse try to seek rather than write the output for NUL input blocks

swab swap every pair of input bytes

sync pad every input block with NULs to ibs-size; when used with block or unblock, pad with spaces rather than NULs

excl fail if the output file already exists

nocreat do not create the output file

notrunc do not truncate the output file

noerror continue after read errors

fdatasync physically write output file data before finishing

fsync likewise, but also write metadata

Each FLAG symbol may be:

append append mode (makes sense only for output; conv=notrunc suggested)

direct use direct I/O for data

directory fail unless a directory

dsync use synchronized I/O for data

sync likewise, but also for metadata

fullblock accumulate full blocks of input (iflag only)

nonblock use non-blocking I/O

noatime do not update access time

nocache discard cached data

noctty do not assign controlling terminal from file

nofollow do not follow symlinks

count_bytes treat 'count=N' as a byte count (iflag only)

skip_bytes treat 'skip=N' as a byte count (iflag only)

seek_bytes treat 'seek=N' as a byte count (oflag only)

Sending a USR1 signal to a running 'dd' process makes it print I/O statistics to standard error and then resume copying.

f(CW$ dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/null& pid=$!
f(CW$ kill -USR1 $pid; sleep 1; kill $pid

18335302+0 records in 18335302+0 records out 9387674624 bytes (9.4 GB) copied, 34.6279 seconds, 271 MB/s

Options are:

--help display this help and exit

--version output version information and exit
AUTHOR

Written by Paul Rubin, David MacKenzie, and Stuart Kemp.
REPORTING BUGS

GNU coreutils online help: <http://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/>
Report dd translation bugs to <http://translationproject.org/team/>
COPYRIGHT

Copyright © 2014 Free Software Foundation, Inc. License GPLv3+: GNU GPL version 3 or later <http://gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html>.
This is free software: you are free to change and redistribute it. There is NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by law.
SEE ALSO

Full documentation at: <http://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/dd>
or available locally via: info (aq(coreutils) dd invocation(aq


More than a mere kit car.
Power-to-weight is the name of the game.
Craig Ekberg owns the 399th "Flugelturen" built, and he drives it. A lot.
Steve Beck bought his Shelby when he was 18. All these years later and it's still a thrill.
Say goodbye to parade laps.


Overlooking Warrenpoint Port, Golf Course, Carlingford Lough & Cooley Peninsula these lands present an opportunity for all developers to build and sell within one of the most picturesque of South Down settings. With its south-westerly aspect, fantastic views and convenience to all amenities and services this development plot will have the appeal that all developers seek.
Warrenpoint is an expanding coastal town with a population of circa 8,000 located within 6 miles of Newry City and the North/South Dublin Belfast auto-route. Always popular as a residential location there has been a limited supply to fulfil the demand for New Homes within the locality in recent years.
The site is situated convenient to the Town Centre and the A2 Carriageway to Newry, whilst local amenities such as schools, shops, and work places are all nearby.
Outline Planning Permission has been granted on 8th March 2018 for 15 dwellings (3 Detached & 12 Semi-Detached) under planning application LA07/2016/0199/O. Maps and Further details upon request.
I am interested in Development Lands, Lower Dromore Road, Warrenpoint. Please contact me about this property.


Your source for information on the Lost Continent of Mu and advanced ancient civilizations.
In researching my book on the Great Uighur Empire, I ran across the "Book of Manu" as a historical reference placing the Uighur people around the shores of the Caspian Sea in the 1931 Children of Mu (page 220.) Digging a little deeper, the Laws of Manu, also known as the Book of Manu, the Manava Dharma Sastra, or the Manusmriti, is an ancient book of the laws guiding social and religious life in 2nd and 3rd century BCE India.
I actually found one occurrence of the word "serpent' in one of the 2684 verses.
A twice-born man, who is unable to atone by gifts for the slaughter of a serpent and the other (creatures mentioned), shall perform for each of them, a Krikkhra (penance) in order to remove his guilt.
Obviously, James did not reference this passage or the word "serpent" as his proof.
On the other hand, both the Manava Dharma Sastra and James do mention Narayana. James identifies Narayana as "The Seven Headed Serpent, the symbol of the Creator and Creation" and provides illustrations.
So to James, Narayana, his seven-headed serpent, was the creator and provides support for his statement that the Manava Dharma Sastra referred to the serpent as creator.
Further investigation indicates Narayana is another name for Lord Vishnu, the absolute being in Hinduism.
If we are searching for the truth about James' writings, we would need to acknowledge his errors such as the wrong translation of the name of Narayana, the replacement of Lord Vishnu with a seven-headed serpent, and that the Manava Dharma Sastra does not refer to the serpent as the creator.
As far as the historical reference which opened this discussion, the idea the Book of Manu is a history book recording the presence of the Uighur around the Caspian Sea is false. The Laws of Manu is a compilation of rules and regulations. It is not a history book and does not record the presence of Uighur settlements around the Caspian Sea.
This entry was posted in Great Uighur Empire, References to James' work. Bookmark the permalink.
It's as if books say what one wants, actual text optional.
If you're interested, I covered some of this material in my book Anthrogenesis.
Subscribe to the newsletter and receive a free pdf copy of the index to James Churchward's 1926 book, "Lost Continent of Mu Motherland of Man"


We constantly improve company processes to ensure effectiveness and efficiency.
We optimize the realization of the works in order to achieve full customer satisfaction.
We respond to the continuous evolution of market needs.
We support the client from the design phase, to guarantee a high quality of the order.
We update our skills to constantly innovate construction techniques.


'Tis the season to be jolly! Unless of course, you're stressing over what to buy everyone this year for Christmas. But no worries, we're here to help! We're bringing a series of gift guides your way, and we're starting off with the fellas!
ONE | WATCH Watches tend to be a common gift. However, this watch made of wood, would make a unique addition to your guys collection.
TWO | COLOGNE SUBSCRIPTION Great gift for the guy who wears cologne. This subscription service sends your guy different designer sents based on the frequency of your choice. The 8ml bottles are also great for travel.
FOUR | GOOGLE HOME New technology is a go-to gift for most guys, and this Google Home does a little bit of everything. The design isn't too large and unbecoming, and it's offered in a variety of different colors to fit your home. A win for all.
FIVE | WHAT DO YOU MEME? GAME Are we crazy or do most guys prefer to communicate with memes instead of traditional text messages? This fun game gives a whole new way to do game night and is sure to bring lots of laughs.
SIX | HEADPHONES These special edition Beats come in a variety of colors. Great for the music lover or for those that travel often and need to cancel out noise.
SEVEN | BLACKSTONE GRIDDLE Blackstones are all the rage these days and for good reason. You can cook anything from pancakes to stir-fry to burgers, making your man feel like a professional chef in the process.
EIGHT | BREWING KIT The IPA is one of the most popular beer styles around. Give your hop lover a beginner set to brew their own at home.
NINE | SHAVING KIT This elegant shaving kit makes the mundane task of shaving a little more special.
TEN | BBQ TOOLS As cliche as it may sound, what man doesn't like to grill out? A new bbq tool kit is functional and fun!
ELEVEN | SNEAKERS These Adidas are a classic and can be dressed up or dressed down.


text:
HealthRobotics
Community HealthRobotics
Why did 280,000 Mosquitoes Ride our Drone? To Reduce Zika
Mosquitoes are one of this planet's biggest killers, responsible for spreading diseases that affect millions of people around the world. The control of this disease vectors takes on many forms, from fumigation and insecticides to more innovative and environmentally-friendly techniques that involve releasing sterilized or modified mosquitoes into the environment in order to control the native...
Flying Labs HealthRobotics
Field Testing Medical Cargo Drones in the DR
We recently teamed up with Emprende and other partners in the Dominican Republic (DR) to field test the delivery of cargo by drone. A more detailed and technical report is being prepared; similar to the one we published on our cargo drone field tests in the Peruvian Amazon Rainforest. In the meantime, this blog post serves as an initial summary of the project, which was kindly supported by the...
The Latest on Drones for Disease Vector Control
We had the distinct honor of serving on the expert panel of judges for the prestigious International Drones and Robotics for Good Awards in Dubai for 2 years. It was there that we first came across the path-breaking work of the Insect Pest Control Laboratory (IPCL) of the Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture (NAFA). Their proposed solution: to fight Zika and...
Launching the Lake Victoria Challenge
The shores and islands of Lake Victoria are home to over 30 million people – the most densely populated rural area in the world. Due to rugged terrain, remote islands, and limited road networks of this area, vital health supplies and other urgent goods often face significant challenges in reaching their destination. In addition, accessing these areas after major disasters is equally...
Developing an Autonomous Cargo Boat for Medical Deliveries
"We'd love to do a robotics project with a humanitarian focus. Several of us work in Dr. Vijay Kumar's robotics lab at UPenn and have experience with aerial and ground based robots." So read an email I received from a team of 6 enterprising students from the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn). Dr. Kumar is the Dean of the Engineering Department at the University of Pennsylvania and...
Community Flying Labs HealthRobotics
Webinar on Cargo Drone Tests in the Amazon Rainforest
In our latest webinar WeRobotics co-founder Patrick Meier spoke about our most recent cargo drone field tests in the Peruvian Amazon. The field tests were a first for Latin America, using a dozen cargo drones (different models) and a range of payloads (medicines, diagnostic tests, blood samples) and distances (2km to 120km). The tests were also unique because they were carried out in...
Fleet of Cargo Drones Tested in the Amazon
In June 2017, WeRobotics teamed up with the Peruvian Ministry of Health and Becton, Dickinson and Company (BD) to field test a fleet of affordable cargo drones in the Amazon Rainforest. BD is a leading, multi-billion dollar medical technology company. The majority of the flights were carried out by our Peru Flying Labs and UAV del Peru. During the course of two weeks, we field-tested a dozen...
Humanitarian Applications: Autonomous Ships
"Still in its infancy, research and development projects into unmanned maritime cargo initiatives are aiming to bring about massive disruptions in the global transportation world throughout the complete logistics value chain." WeRobotics is actively scoping a range of robotics solutions to address a number of transportation challenges we've encountered around the world. We've already started...
Field-Testing Cargo Drones in Amazon Rainforest
We've been field-testing a range of flying robots in the Amazon Rainforest since December 2016. The purpose of these ongoing field tests is to better understand the opportunities and challenges in using affordable robotics solutions for the delivery of medical supplies between clinics and remote villages in the Amazon. Our Peru Flying Labs carried out additional field tests in February...
How to Reduce Zika Using Flying Robots
Mosquitos kill more humans every year than any other animal on the planet and conventional methods to reduce mosquito-borne illnesses haven't worked as well as many hoped. So we've been hard at work since receiving this USAID grant six months ago to reduce Zika incidence and related threats to public health. Our partners at the joint FAO/IAEA Insect Pest Control Lab in Vienna,...
Peru Flying Labs Webinar
Two weeks ago WeRobotics hosted a webinar focused on Peru Flying Labs, where Patrick Meier and our Peru Flying Labs Coordinator Juan Bergelund presented the recent mission in Peru this past December. This mission was the first ever successful cargo drone delivery in the Amazon Rainforest, and will hopefully help pave the road forward in drone based cargo delivery in the region. Patrick gave a...
Cargo Drones Deliver in the Amazon Rainforest
The Amazon is home to thousands of local indigenous communities spread across very remote areas. As a result, these sparsely populated communities rarely have reliable access to essential medicines and public health services. Local doctors in the region of Contamana report an average of 45 snakebites per month and no rapid access to antivenom, for example. We recently traveled to the...


The lack of clear evidence that adding technology to classrooms makes them more effective has dimmed some of the excitement around its potential to radically transform learning. Advocates for technology are quick to point out that implementation matters, and getting the most out of technology that allows students to create, collaborate and connect across space and time will require fundamental shifts in teaching. Skeptics, meanwhile, worry that precious education dollars are spent on expensive technology that strips the learning environment of important social dimensions, instead isolating students on screens.
There is truth in both sides of the argument. And lack of clarity about how to ensure technology lives up to its potential has led harried teachers to question whether it's worth their time to change everything they do in the classroom.
Teachers found, as many others have, that at points devices were distractions to students, they had a tendency to make learning more individualistic, and that adults can't assume because students have grown up with technology they automatically know how to use devices productively. "The piece that was making me so sad was that the kids weren't being challenged to think collaboratively using these tools," Dailey said.
But Dailey and a team of social studies teachers think they may have found a tool that gives them the flexibility to hold onto best practices they've long used, while leveraging computing power. Verso Learning is an Australian company that describes itself as a tool to help teachers take learning from the surface level to deep thinking quickly. It's basically an online communication platform, but Dailey and her team have found it has elevated the quality of thinking and discussion happening in middle school classrooms.
Dailey has plenty of experience teaching these basic tenets of literacy without technology, but she has found elements of the virtual environment on Verso to be particularly powerful for highlighting unexpected pockets of brilliance in the room.
"One of the things that has been a guiding principle of my career is we don't know the talents and strengths of the students in our room," Dailey said. "We know the high flyers and we know the ones who don't perform well." Because students can interact anonymously on Verso's platform, and they can't see other students' responses until they've shared one of their own, Dailey sees more participation and more interaction between students who may never work together otherwise.
Unlike many tools that intend to keep students within the program as much as possible, Verso is designed to meld face-to-face interaction with online collaboration. Verso CEO Phil Stubbs says often when teachers first experiment with Verso they make the mistake of using it as an online question asking tool. Stubbs likes to say, "We want to see kids not at their first thinking, but at their best thinking," something he believes only happens when they've been exposed to the ideas of others.
For example, a typical activity middle school social studies teachers use starts with a provocative, open-ended question that drives at a hard-to-grasp or core concept in the curriculum. For seventh graders in Horry County studying global history, that prompt might be: What was the biggest cause of the French Revolution?
Students are given time to jot down their initial thoughts on paper and then they share their thinking in a small group. Only after they've had this initial opportunity to activate their thinking and interact with peers do students begin typing an answer into Verso – getting at what Stubbs would call their best thinking in that moment. Student responses to the question show up anonymously; after sharing their own response students are usually required to read and respond to several of their peers, also anonymously.
Then, teachers can easily group students based on their responses to the question. For example, they may put students who agree into a group and then ask them to discuss their thinking in face-to-face groups before collaboratively writing a statement that synthesizes the arguments each member made.
"If you can take kids to a synthesis level in one class, you've done a great job," said Dailey, who is constantly pushing the teachers she coaches to remember that despite the massive amount of content social studies teachers have to cover in a year, none of it will make a lasting impact without deeper thinking.
For Samantha House, a seventh grade social studies teacher at St. James Middle School (a public school in Horry County), structuring the lesson so there are multiple points of collaboration helps all learners feel comfortable participating. "By the time it's no longer anonymous they've had a lot of opportunities to see correct answers," House said. "So they've learned from their peers." And, just as importantly in her mind, many of her shy students, as well as those who struggle, have seen their ideas validated by anonymous peer responses. That makes them feel more confident to speak up during small group or whole-class discussions.
Early on House and other teachers realized that students didn't know how to give one another substantive feedback. When asked to comment on one another's contributions in Verso students would write unhelpful things like, "I agree." In response, teachers started giving them sentence starters to agree, disagree or extend another person's idea. House says she's seen an improvement in the academic vocabulary students use when responding to each other. And she's beginning to see that online practice spill over into the conversations students have in-person too.
At first House worried that an anonymous online discussion forum like Verso would lead to inappropriate or bullying comments, but she's been surprised that the only comments her students flag are ones that don't appropriately use the sentence starters for good feedback.
When Jennifer Wilson first tried Verso with her seventh graders at Aynor Middle she hadn't had any professional development. She used the tool as a space for students to make a claim about the book they were reading and back it up with evidence. That worked well, but she's even more excited about the collaborative structures she has since learned through professional development. She says the Verso activities work best when she asks a meaty, open-ended question and pairs work in Verso with the Kagan cooperative structures teachers in this district have been using for some time.
For example Wilson asked students which founding document was most important to the country: the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, or the Bill of Rights (students understood the Bill of Rights is part of the Constitution, but thought it should be considered on its own). To formulate answers students had to understand the differences in the documents and make evidence-based arguments. "Some of the things they said were very deep thinking — it was pretty awesome," Wilson said.
Wilson said preparing Verso lessons takes time because she has to plan a pre-Verso activity to get students thinking on their own, come up with a rich provocation or question for the Verso, and then make sure students debrief afterwards. She uses Verso once every two weeks, but she thinks the practice there is spilling over into students' writing and academic discourse.
Using Verso can be a bit more challenging when there's a broad array of abilities in the classroom. "With high level honors students that works beautifully," said Annette Nerone, a seventh grade social studies teacher at Myrtle Beach Middle School. "It's not as simple with lower-level kids because now you're introducing a lot of different processes in one lesson." Nerone has more English language learners and kids with special needs in her classes and she finds they need more support with Verso activities because they require so much reading and writing.
"The higher level students can jump right in and they'll basically do it on their own and the conversations are amazing. But with my lower level students, they need more support along the way," Nerone said. She helps them by simplifying the instructions, offering sentence frames, and giving them lists of helpful vocabulary to include in their answers.
She also likes to start activities by having students work together so that the kids who understand more English can help their peers understand the question and documents. Despite the inherent challenges of working with students who are struggling with the language, Nerone says students are proud when they write a response in Verso and see it pop up in the class dialogue.
Nerone particularly likes using Verso in conjunction with the Kagan structures. She finds students enjoy the face-to-face interactions. "They'll write interesting things to one another, but I think it's kind of like human beings emailing back and forth. When you take the human side out of it you lose so much," she said.
Verso CEO Phil Stubbs agrees that the collaboration piece is key to making Verso a deep learning experience. His team has baked collaborative structures into the premium version of the technology with features like lesson builders, recipe cards, the ability to connect with other teachers, and other professional development. "You can only move from best to better if you have collaborative structures," Stubbs said.
Jeanie Dailey has appreciated Stubbs' commitment to collaboration and the student experience. She knows his job is to sell a product, but she's found him to be a helpful thought partner as she's worked with classroom teachers on how to get the most out of the tool in Horry County.
"To me the exciting piece is if you can create a model that teachers can follow, step by step by step, you can change how they think about the construction of knowledge," Dailey said. She believes the model they are following gets students to go from a surface knowledge of a subject to a deeper level of synthesis and reflection in one 60-minute class period. And some teachers even take it a step further, asking kids to think metacognitively about how the comments and suggestions of peers changed their thinking on a topic.


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Home General Princess Haya to attend closing events of first Women Rugby World Cup Sevens
Princess Haya to attend closing events of first Women Rugby World Cup Sevens
WAM Dubai, At a ceremony to be held in Dubai today under her patronage, HRH Princess Haya Bint Al Husain, wife of Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, will crown the world champions of the first ever Women's Rugby World Cup Sevens.
History was made on Thursday thanks to the inaugural Women's Rugby World Cup Sevens, which runs alongside the men's tournament from 5th to 7th March at The Sevens venue.
A total of 24 men's and 16 women's squads compete for the ultimate prize in Dubai, having emerged from the numerous qualifying battles, involving 87 men's and 83 women's teams around the globe over the past year culminating in the Rugby World Cup Sevens 2009.
The Women's championship kicked into action at the Sevens venue Thursday morning with Australia taking on China in the opening match. The Australian women won the match 50-12, while The Netherlands defeated France 17-14 in the following match.
The action will continue until tomorrow, 7th March, when the quarterfinals, semifinals and finals will be contested.