The ASUS ZenWatch 3 is one of the few new Android Wear watches to be released this year and its release reaffirms the seriousness of ASUS when it comes to wearables. The watch itself was announced back in September at IFA 2016, and packs a 1.39-inch circular AMOLED display with a 400 x 400 resolution, which is also protected by Gorilla Glass 3. In addition to this, the watch is powered by Qualcomm's wearable-specific Snapdragon Wear 2100 processor, which has been coupled with a HyperCharge ability that allows the watch to be charged to up to 60% in under 15 minutes. One other feature, and something that is a necessity for many users, is an IP67 dust and water-resistant certification, allowing the watch to be submerged underwater for up to 30 minutes at a depth of 1 meter.
Originally, ASUS has said the smartwatch would be available towards the beginning of November, but the company appears to have beaten its own schedule by putting the device up for sale today directly from its own website, though at the time of writing the device appears to be out of stock already. As well as the official ASUS website, the wearable is also available from B&H Photo. Regardless of where the device is purchased, it will cost $229 with free shipping. Currently, the only model on sale features a dark brown leather strap along with a gunmetal-colored body.
The release of the ZenWatch 3 comes at an odd time for the Android Wear platform. Initially, it was expected that Google was going to release the long-awaited Android Wear 2.0 update this fall, but the company has decided to delay this, something that has likely caused many manufacturers to also delay their upcoming smartwatches, such as Moto or even the rumored Google Pixel-branded smartwatches. In addition to this, the delay of the update, as well as the lack of new products on the market has caused consumers to lose interest in the wearables, something that has led to a significant decline in sales overall. One thing that is sure, though, is that ASUS will surely be pushing out the new Android Wear update as soon as possible once it's released, the only thing that remains to be seen is if the company can ship enough models of the current gen smartwatch in order to warrant a fourth generation.


Beautiful African beaches and wildlife!
Spend two weeks journeying through Mozambique and Zimbabwe and discover spectacular white-sand beaches and stunning National Parks. See wildlife on game drives, soak up the sun on beautiful coastlines, and camp under beautiful African skies. You'll also get cultural with a tribal evening and time spent in towns where Arabic and African cultures blend. This is a fantastic overland adventure that reveals the beauty of this enchanting continent!
This trip also runs in reverse, from Victoria Falls to Pretoria. Select the travel direction you prefer in the booking section to see start dates.
Book the optional Adventure Pass for epic game drives in Matobo and Hwange!
Please note: This tour also runs in reverse, starting in Victoria Falls and ending in Pretoria. All the same inclusions and exclusions apply. Select the travel direction you prefer in the booking section to see start dates. Please speak to a travel advisor for more information.
Optional Adventure Pass: If you wish you can book an optional Adventure Pass for this trip, which includes awesome extra activities and excursions, for a price of USD190. Please contact our travel advisors for more details. The Adventure Pass entitles you to awesome game drives in Matobo and Hwange National Parks.
Day 1: Pretoria - Hazyview, South Africa. Journey down to Hazyview, a charming town on the borders of Kruger National Park. Tonight, enjoy a cultural evening of singing and dancing around the fire with local Shangaan tribesmen. Dinner included.
Day 2: Kruger NP, South Africa. Enjoy a full day's game drive in this incredible National Park. Driving in an open-topped 4x4 vehicle, you'll spot diverse wildlife such as lion, elephant, buffalo, giraffe and possibly leopard, and up to 500 species of bird! Breakfast, lunch and dinner included.
Day 3: Kruger NP - Praia do Bilene, Mozambique. Drive across the border to Praia do Bilene on the tropical coast. Arrive and settle into your accommodation: tents on a beautiful beach beside a colourful coral reef. Breakfast, lunch and dinner included.
Day 4-5: Xai Xai - Inhambane/Tofo, Mozambique. Follow the dramatic coastal road to the small seaside town of Tofo. Enjoy the slower pace of life here as you soak up the sun and splash about in the warm waters. You may even spot whale sharks and manta rays off the golden coast! Breakfasts, lunches and dinners included.
Day 6: Inhambane - Vilanculos, Mozambique. Drive along the scenic coastline to Vilanculos, which is named after a local tribe's chief: Gamala Vilankulo Mukoke. Spend the evening relaxing on the white sand beach or enjoying the buzz of the town's awesome nightlife. Breakfast, lunch and dinner included.
Day 7: Vilanculos, Mozambique. Climb aboard a traditional sailing boat, known as a Dhow, and cruise across to Magaruque Island. Spend the day snorkelling, swimming and exploring the island's 19thCentury ruins, before enjoying a delicious included seafood lunch. Enjoy an afternoon of chilling out on the sugary beaches. Breakfast, lunch and dinner included.
Day 8: Vilanculos - Bandula, Mozambique. Drive northwest from the coast towards the Zimbabwean border, passing across forested plains and meandering rivers. Spend the night in Bandula, an hour away from the border. Breakfast, lunch and dinner included.
Day 9: Masvingo, Zimbabwe. Hop across the border and head south towards the Masvingo region, where the stone ruins of Great Zimbabwe are located, the largest ruins in sub-Saharan Africa! You will camp close to the monument, allowing plenty of time to explore with a local guide. Breakfast, lunch and dinner included.
Day 10: Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. Journey to Bulawayo, a gorgeous tree-lined colonial city. Camp on the outskirts of the city among beautiful trees and fishponds. Explore the local handicraft stalls and perhaps pick up a souvenir. Breakfast, lunch and dinner included.
Day 11: Bulawayo - Matobo NP, Zimbabwe. Explore beautiful Matobo National Park, where you can spot some incredible wildlife. If you have booked the Adventure Pass you will go on a guided game walk, seeking out Black and White Rhino in their natural habitat. Breakfast, lunch and dinner included.
Day 12: Matobo - Hwange NP, Zimbabwe. Journey on to Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe's world-famous wildlife reserve. If you have booked the Adventure Pass, you will enjoy a guided game drive through the area, keeping your eyes peeled for wildlife! Breakfast, lunch and dinner included.
Day 13: Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. Discover the mighty Victoria Falls, a giant sheet of water plummeting to the earth below. Sometimes the spray from the falls can be seen from up to 20 or 30 kilometres away! Spend the rest of the day enjoying the activities on offer in the area. You could go white water rafting down the Zambezi River, or even do a bungee jump at the falls! Celebrate your final night with the rest of your group before settling into camp for the night. Breakfast included.
Day 14: Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. Your tour ends today. Why not stick around and get involved with some of the incredible adventure activities on offer here, including bungee jumping, gorge swinging, jet boating, and white-water rafting! Breakfast included.
You will need to fly into Johannesburg airport the day before your tour begins in order to attend a compulsory 6pm pre-tour welcome meeting. Accommodation for this night is at your own cost. Airport transfers are not included but are easy to arrange. The starting point of the tour is a hotel in Pretoria which is a short 30-40 minute taxi ride from OR Tambo Airport in Johannesburg.
The tour ends at Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe on day 14 after breakfast however we recommend you book an extra night of accommodation (extra cost) and fly home the following day to make the most of Victoria Falls.
Alternatively, if you choose the Southbound route, the tour will start at Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. The tour will begin early on day 1, so we advise you to book an extra night of accommodation before the tour starts (extra cost). Please note on the Southbound route, you will not arrive into Pretoria until early evening so you will need to book an extra night of accommodation for that night and fly out the day after your tour ends. Johannesburg airport is a short 30-40 minute taxi ride from the finishing point in Pretoria. Your travel advisor advise you on how to do this.
13 nights of camping accommodation are included. All camping and cooking equipment is provided, including 2-person dome tents with zip up insect screens and foam sleeping mattresses. Campsites will usually have shower facilities and power points. You should bring your own sleeping bag.
13 breakfasts, 11 lunches (12 lunches if travelling in reverse) and 11 dinners are included on this tour. You will need to purchase the rest of your meals yourself. This is a great opportunity to discover some African culture by sampling delicious local delicacies and interacting with local people!
All countries require travellers to have a valid passport (with a minimum 6 months validity), and you are required to acquire the entry visas for each of the countries visited. For UK citizens, visas are not required for entry to South Africa, but will need a visa to enter Mozambique and Zimbabwe. Visas should be arranged with the relevant embassy before you travel. If you show up at a border and should you not have the required visa you will be denied entry to the country and be sent back to the closest embassy/high commission to get the visa. It is your responsibility to have the correct travel documentation. Please note rules regarding visas can change, so for the most up to date advice, please contact your local embassy.


Changing customer needs, safety, new regulations and the wide adoption of e-commerce are significantly reshaping the operations in food and beverage (F&B) industry today. Understanding millennial preferences and leveraging modern technologies is the key to win this dynamic, competitive marketplace. Customers are increasingly participating in their food supply chain right from choosing the ingredients to the way a product is packaged and served. Active consumer participation has resulted in F&B companies to implement technologies such as automation and IoT to track the source of materials to enhance food security. With the help of these smart technologies, manufacturers can generate granular data to support numerous processes from shop floor to the digital storefront.
Alongside convenience, customers are also inclined towards consuming the right ingredients—specifically food that is high on nutritional value. To better understand the nutritional value, researchers are leveraging technologies such as big data analytics to explore the consequences of certain foods and redefine the understanding of nutrition.
Similarly, with customers showing their preference for doorstep delivery, the demand for online delivery and subscription food services are on the rise. This has opened up new avenues for e-commerce in the F&B industry where companies need to focus on bringing together inventory management, customer service and production capabilities. In addition, F&B manufacturers are looking at automation as an important tool to enhance efficiency and boost production capacity. Amidst all these innovations, the F&B industry is trying to keep up with the regulatory needs and meet the varying customer requirements.
The success of companies that operate in the modern day F&B industry is largely driven by innovation and the implementation of state of the art technologies across multiple levels. In this edition of CIO Applications, we are featuring a list of leading players in the food and beverages market that can help companies stay ahead of the curve.


Let's face it (together here)... you didn't get into this business to scamper about all over town like some input device for your CRM. But somehow… you've become just that. That's just wrong. No, really… if this system isn't streamlining your business, you're doing it wrong. Sure, you are likely the only human in the process, but that's exactly the point. As the only human in the process, you should be (ideally) square-set on relationship-building.
So, what kind of tip could we give you here that will up-end your operations and kick-start your business going into 2018? Easy… get it together! Okay, maybe that's a bit hard on ya, but tough love and all. Seriously though… take a week (now's the time while everyone's "at home working out on their treadmills" not responding to your emails). Take a week and clean out all the cogs in your CRM. All those "bebacks" (as in "I'll be back!")... time to place them in your emergency leads list. So… spring clean, get lean and go mean in 2018 (that was fun to write)!
If you really need a booster shot, it might be time for real estate lead generation services. Good news... offrs has got your back. Be sure to check it out!
offrs Reviews are little snippets of humble insight from the staff here at offrs. We've seen it all (or nearly so) and while we bow to the wisdom of coaches who help you be better at what you do, we hope these Best Practice reviews (cute anecdotal tips, really) will make your coffee a little warmer some mornings. Connect with us at www.offrs.com. Robot image by Roundicons (www.roundicons.com) from www.flaticon.com - thank you!


Fuel cell advocates worry about being left out of the state's transition to a clean-energy future.
The issue is coming to the fore as New Jersey is taking aggressive steps to promote the use of electric cars, a step viewed crucial to achieving the state's aggressive goals to reduce emissions contributing to climate change.
For the most part, fuel cell-powered vehicles have been left out of that discussion, although state environmental officials are talking about allocating some funds to encourage use of that technology, particularly in heavily polluted urban communities.
Run on hydrogen, fuel cells convert hydrogen and oxygen into electricity. The problem is most of the hydrogen to produce that energy comes from natural gas, a process that undermines goals to reduce carbon pollution.
Fuel cells have many advantages — they're more efficient than conventional and electric-powered vehicles, quicker to refuel than electric vehicles, and with fewer moving parts, probably less liable to break down.
But they are also expensive and lack a hydrogen infrastructure to supply the fuel to customers, particularly the motoring public. The cost of building a single fueling station for fuel cells runs into millions of dollars, according to Peggy Hanna, an assistant director of the state Department of Environmental Protection.
Nevertheless, fuel cells have been around for decades. There are now hydrogen-powered forklifts moving goods around Amazon warehouses at two locations in New Jersey, according to Gerry Conway, general counsel for Plug Power, a New York-based manufacturer of fuel-cells.
"They do it because they save money. They increase productivity and efficiency of their operations,'' said Conway. His company has 21,000 forklifts operating nationwide, including 900 in New Jersey.
Indeed, a couple of Princeton chemistry professors told legislators that in the short term, one of the best uses of fuel cells is delivering a stationary source of power to data centers, as a backup source of electricity to microgrids and to equipment handling cargo at ports and warehouses.
"Fuel cells are a source of clean and efficient power that has the potential to reduce emissions,'' said Jay Benziger, a professor of chemistry at Princeton University.
But auto manufacturers argue there also is a place for fuel cells in transitioning from conventional gas-powered vehicles.
"With the proper hydrogen fueling network, the transition is seamless,'' said Steve Center, a vice president at American Honda, which is producing the Clarity, a fuel-cell vehicle.
In New Jersey, two hydrogen fueling stations are now going through the permitting process — in Lodi and Whippany, added Edmund Young, representing Toyota. The committee was urged to look at policies that will allow the state to scale up markets for the vehicles.
"Fuel cell vehicles are a great option to achieve the carbon reduction goals that we all have signed onto,'' Center told the committee.
Legislators appear inclined to move in that direction.
"Hydrogen and fuel cell technology is a nearly untapped alternative energy resource with both environmental and economic benefits for the state,'' said Assemblyman Gordon Johnson, the chairman of the Assembly Commerce and Economic Development Committee.
"It's now up to us to come up with legislation that makes sense for the people of New Jersey,'' agreed Assemblyman Andrew Zwicker, the chairman of the Assembly Science, Innovation and Technology Committee.


We study selection rules: the procedures committees use to choose whether to place an issue on their agenda. At the selection stage of the model, committee members are uncertain about their final preferences. They only know the probability that they will prefer the proposal to the status quo at the decision stage. This probability is private information. Then the probability that the proposal is adopted conditional on a voter being pivotal and eventually preferring the proposal increases at a faster rate with the selection rule than the same probability conditional on her eventually preferring the status quo. To compensate for that, voters become more conservative when the selection rule is more stringent. The decision rule has the opposite effect. We describe optimal rules at the limit when there is a linear cost of organizing the final election.


text:
Coffee in Vienna
Coffee has a rich history in Vienna and an entire culture developed around it that is different to the rest of Europe. It dates back to the time of the Ottoman Empire. Being there a day I hardly even scratched the surface of all the wonderful offerings there, however here is a summary of the various coffee types you will see
Kleiner Schwarzer / Großer Schwarzer: a single or double espresso
Kleiner Brauner / Großer Brauner: Also a single / double espresso, served with a small jug of milk for you to add to make it brown.
Verlängerter: An espresso with added hot water. translates as "an extended one".
Einspänner: Espresso topped with whipped cream.
Cappuccino: Obvious
Wiener Melange: Usually shortened to just melange, from the French word for "mixture". This is an espresso with steamed milk and topped with a little foam. Apparently less milk than with
Biedermeier cream and a shot of apricot liquor
Franziskaner Same as a Melange, but with a dollop of cream
Häferlkaffee mug of milk, with a drop of coffee for taste
Wiener Eiskaffee. An iced coffee.
One Day in Vienna
I was only in Vienna for a day, in retrospect being here on a Sunday wasn't a fabulous idea as almost everything is closed on Sundays in Austria except a few things in the tourist centre.
The highlight of coming here though was catching up with a friend (Martin) from high school who was only there for one year before moving back to Austria. Lost contact for many many years until reunited by the power of Facebook. For all it's negatives it does have some significant positives as well.
Met up with Martin and Jasmin here on Saturday night for drinks and talked about what we would do and see on Sunday. Martin and Jasmin are heavily involved with one of the churches here in Vienna, so on Sunday morning I went with them to one of the services and met many of his friends. The area it is in reminded me of some of the less salubrious inner suburbs of Melbourne with the trams, general layout and socio-economic indicators.
After that we headed over to the main centre of Vienna (St Stephan Platz). There is a metro station here where most of the lines meet. A 24hr metro ticket that was valid for trains, trams and busses was €8.
Wandered around the city for a bit and checked out the main Cathedral which is undergoing some renovations. The details on the stone work is amazing in its detail.
Martin knew a place that did awesome schnitzel close to the centre of the town but also very quiet that was off the tourist track a little. Fantastic choice. The Austrian potato salad is amazing, served in a vinegar based dressing that is so much lighter than what I'm used to with creamy potato salad. Also served with a little dish of Lingonberry sauce.
I wanted to see the Danube up close. If I'd been here much longer I would have taken a boat down to Bratislava, so we took the metro to a stop that is right on a bridge over the Danube. River is massive and splits in three around some islands. In this section of the river at least I can confirm it is not completely blue, more a greenish tinge.
Headed back into the city to sample some of the famous Viennese coffee offerings and a traditional Apple Strudel. We went into Hotel Sacher
I had a traditional Großer Brauner coffee. The literal translation to English means "big brown one" which doesn't sound appealing at all given how we would use that sentence, however the meaning is a double espresso with a side of milk, you add as much milk as you like to make it brown. I can confirm this was totally delicious and not crap at all. If I'd been here longer I would have also sampled their famous apricot filled chocolate cake.
More on the specifics of Viennese coffee in a later post. Stay tuned !
We did some more wandering around Vienna, which was much needed after schnitzel and strudel. Wandered through the Burggarten and the Hoffburg Imperial Palace. You could argue this is where both WW1 and WW2 started as it's where the declaration of war with Serbia was signed by the Austrian-Hungarian empire and where Hitler declared the Aunchlass or union between Germany and Austria, something that was forbidden in the treaty of Versailles.
Check out another broken obike. The world hates this shitty leave anywhere bike share.
There are some Roman ruins here near the palace that were discovered during some renovations. Vienna was celebrating a film festival with some food carts and coffee carts around so took the opportunity to try a coffee here, excellent, at least an 8/10
A ride on the tram and down to the DC tower to the level 57 bar for cocktails. Would be an awesome view on a clear day. Bring your cash, cocktails are €18-25 a pop. Given entry to other tall structures in Europe are around €20pp, having one and checking out the view is a reasonable deal as you don't pay to go up to the bar or restaurant. It was now quite late at night and close to where Martin lives so I bid him farewell and headed back to the hotel.
Where I'm staying is about 3 metro stops from the city centre right near the main station. Ultra modern, very handy and very reasonably priced. Motel One
Some other pics of from today

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Q: Can I set GA custom variables anywhere in the page? I'm just getting started with splittesting using Google Analytics (GA). Rather then using different URLs for different versions of a page I want to use the same URL and differentiate the versions via GA custom variables.
I've managed to accomplish this in my Django project with a conditional in the view-layer that loads up different html templates for different versions and the html-templates also take care of setting the custom variables.
However I think that it would be a lot cleaner to have all of my splittest code in a javscript file that:
1) Sets/reads a cookie on the browser specifying  which testing bin this browser is in.
2) Modifies the page html and css to create the different versions
3) Records the version in a GA custom variable
Right now I'm setting all of my custom variables right in the code snippet that I've copy-pasted from GA.
My question is simply: Can I set the custom variables later in the page buy a _gaq.push(), or do they need to happen before the anonymous function that ends the snippet from GA?

A: Custom variable data gets recorded when GA makes a tracking GIF request, which occurs with _trackPageview or _trackEvent.
So, you can set the custom variables anywhere in the page, as long as there's a _trackPageview or _trackEvent somewhere afterwards.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Everything We Know About 'Fighting With My Family,' The Rock's New Movie
The film is partly inspired by the story of WWE wrestler Paige.
By Philip Ellis
Channel 4 Television Corporation
Fighting With My Family, the latest movie from Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's production company Seven Bucks, had its premiere at Sundance Film Festival this week, and will have a wider release in the United States on February 14. Here's everything we know about the movie so far.
Fighting With My Family is based on the life story of WWE wrestler Paige.
Florence Pugh (Outlaw King, The Little Drummer Girl) plays Saraya, who would later assume the wrestling persona "Paige." The film begins as a portrait of wrestling-obsessed family life in working class Norwich in the United Kingdom, then follows Paige as she moves to the States, where her goth sensibilities clash with that of her fellow female wrestlers, and builds to her climactic Divas Champion fight with AJ Lee at WWE Raw.
It's not what you might expect from producer The Rock.
Dwayne Johnson is best known for going big in his movies, usually playing action heroes or broad comedy characters. And while Fighting With My Family is a comedy, it's much smaller than what we've come to expect from him. The movie was made with a budget of just $11 million, co-financed by WWE, and is much quirkier than Johnson's other projects, thanks in no small part to a script by Stephen Merchant, who also directs.
It's been a Rock-y road to release
Because the film is such a departure from Johnson's brand, Seven Bucks had some trouble finding a distributor, which led to it being screened at Sundance Film Festival. "We wanted a studio to buy into it, and no one did," Johnson told The Hollywood Reporter at the festival. "We got passed on everywhere. It was a small British comedy about a crazy wrestling family that wasn't famous." Dany Garcia, Johnson's co-CEO at Seven Bucks, added that he believes there is still a "certain stigma" around portraying wrestling in film compared to other sports.
The Rock only plays a relatively small role.
This is Paige's story, and so Johnson steps away from the spotlight in Fighting With My Family, playing himself in a cameo which mirrors true events. But don't worry, the film is rounded out by a great overall cast, including writer and director Merchant, Lena Headey (Game of Thrones), Vince Vaughn (True Detective), and Nick Frost (Hot Fuzz).
Fighting With My Family is garnering good reviews.
Critical response to the film at Sundance has been largely positive, with Variety's Dennis Harvey calling Fighting With My Family as "probably the best of the 50-odd movies WWE has produced since 2002's The Scorpion King," a feat he credits to "the warmth and good humor Merchant brings to the material, as well as the excellent cast."
Meanwhile, Entertainment Weekly's Leah Greenblatt calls the film "a goofy WWE comedy with heart," saying: "Most of Fighting's narrative moves are as choreographed as any undercard match—and the outcome as clearly forecast—but the tears brought on by the movie's last ten minutes of rhinestoned Rocky triumph taste salty, and real."
The consensus seems to be that there is something here for WWE aficionados and average filmgoers alike. "The wrestling fans floated out fo the theaters," Johnson said after the festival premiere. "And the non-wrestling fans, the ones who have a bit more heightened taste in terms of their movies, they were just pleasantly surprised."
Details in Marvel's 'Eternals' You Probably Missed
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text:
class ClassAccess
  def m1          # this method is public
  end
  protected
    def m2        # this method is protected
    end
  private
    def m3        # this method is private
    end
end
ca = ClassAccess.new
ca.m1
#ca.m2
#ca.m3

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


The Pikes Peak Market functions as a community gathering place where family and friends from the greater Colorado Springs area can come to indulge in its entrepreneurial essence. Take some time to meet your local artisan producers and sample their foodie inspired dishes and healthful products while sipping on complimentary cocktails. It's the perfect outing for your weekend!


text:
11/1/04 - HELPING THE PEOPLE OF DARFUR - 2004-11-02
The U.S. has transported the first contingent of an African Union mission to the Darfur region of Sudan. Soldiers will join more than three-hundred observers already there. Eventually, the African Union force in Darfur is expected to include more than three-thousand troops, military observers, and police.
Thousands of African Sudanese have been killed in attacks on their villages by Janjaweed Arab militias supported by the Sudanese government. The attacks have driven about two-million people from their homes into camps, where tens of thousands more have died from disease and malnutrition.
U.S. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher says the African Union's mission is essential to providing security for the people of Darfur:
"The deployment...has come after months...of concerted efforts by the United States and others to secure an increase in the number of African Union monitors and protection forces in Darfur. We think this is essential to providing security for the people there, and we hope that the airlift provided by the United States can contribute to that end as the Africans deploy and as they provide better monitoring and supervision on the ground."
Mr. Boucher says that the African Union troops are "empowered to intervene when there is an imminent danger":
"They are going to be deploying through a wide area in Darfur. The presence of observers, the presence of troops under the existing mandate, we think, can be a major stabilizing force. It can help inhibit those who might perpetrate violence and, if necessary, stop them if they're in the process of committing such acts."
The U.S. is providing more than forty-million dollars in logistical support to the African Union mission in Darfur. The European Union and others are also making contributions. The U.S., says State Department spokesman Boucher, is committed to helping restore peace and security, and alleviating the suffering of the Sudanese people.


text:
function dbl=double(sp)
% sympoly/double: convert a constant polynom array (or scalar) to a double
% usage: dbl=double(sp);
%
% arguments:
%  sp - sympoly object - scalar or a sympoly array - must all be constants
%
%  dbl - double array of the same size as sp

dbl=zeros(size(sp));
for i=1:numel(sp)
  spi = sp(i);

  E = spi.Exponent;
  if any(E(:)~=0)
    error 'This sympoly is not a constant'
  end

  dbl(i) = sum(spi.Coefficient);
end


text:
Q: Show WARNINGS in MySQL + PDO I'd like to know how to get warning count in MySQL + PDO.
I was having warnings when making a query in console, looking for varchar and not adding aphostrophes (' ').
mysql> describe keywords;
+-------------+--------------+------+-----+---------+----------------+
| Field       | Type         | Null | Key | Default | Extra          |
+-------------+--------------+------+-----+---------+----------------+
| id          | int(11)      | NO   | PRI | NULL    | auto_increment |
| document_id | int(11)      | NO   | MUL | NULL    |                |
| keyword     | char(50)     | NO   |     | NULL    |                |
| value       | varchar(250) | YES  |     | NULL    |                |
+-------------+--------------+------+-----+---------+----------------+
4 rows in set (0.00 sec)

mysql> select * from keywords where value = 1234567890;
+-----+-------------+--------------------+------------+
| id  | document_id | keyword            | value      |
+-----+-------------+--------------------+------------+
| 311 |          71 | Nº de Operacion   | 1234567890 |
+-----+-------------+--------------------+------------+
1 row in set, 12 warnings (0.00 sec)

mysql> show warnings;
+---------+------+---------------------------------------------------------+
| Level   | Code | Message                                                 |
+---------+------+---------------------------------------------------------+
| Warning | 1292 | Truncated incorrect DOUBLE value: '1234-0'              |

I have a parametrized query, and I'd like to know if that query is generating warnings too, or if it doesn't matter if the value is string or integer when you parametrize it.
Example:
'SELECT * FROM keywords WHERE value = :value'

Would work for searching integers and strings, or should I add aphostrophes:
'SELECT * FROM keywords WHERE value = \':value\''

for searching a varchar. Which by the way, doesn't give results.

A: When constructing your PDO instance, pass an array of options, containing this key-value pair:
array(PDO::ATTR_ERRMODE => PDO::ERRMODE_EXCEPTION)

To force PDO to throw exceptions (PDOException instances) when an error occurs. Also, when using prepepared statements, you don't add quotes of your own... if the value is a string,
WHERE value = :value

Is just fine, PDO/MySQL will quote the value correctly for you.
PS: You can always change the error mode later on, by calling setAttribute:
$pdo->setAttribute(PDO::ATTR_ERRMODE, PDO::ERRMODE_WARNING);//raise warnings, don't throw errors

Here's a list of attributes
Here, you'll find examples where options are set via the constructor
example from the doc pages, only extended a bit:
$pdo = new PDO('mysql:host=myhost;dbname=mydb', 'login', 'password',
    array(PDO::MYSQL_ATTR_INIT_COMMAND => 'SET NAMES \'UTF8\'',
          PDO::ATTR_ERRMODE            => PDO::ERRMODE_EXCEPTION,
          PDO::ATTR_ORACLE_NULLS       => PDO::NULL_NATURAL)
);

Edit:
After a second glance at your question, I noticed the actual warning you got. That warning will evidently not throw an Exception. Prepared statements check the datatypes upon statement preparation, after that job is done, the statement gets executed. In your case, the double is cast to a varchar, and then the query is executed, comparing the varchars in value with the varchar in the query. No warnings, no fuss, it just does the job.
Here's  a related question
And here's a more detailed explanation on how prepares work

A: Well, as far as I know, there is no way except explicitly run SHOW WARNINGS query.
But honestly, I see not much point in having mysql warnings in PHP. One need them in a development phase only, but on a live server there should be no query that raise a warning at all.
Concerning your doubts on truncated values - they're groundless. Prepared statements works not the way you are thinking of. PDO will never produce a query that may raise a warning like this when prepared statements are used.
Just get rid of these wrong quotes, run the proper query and see:
$stm = $pdo->prepare('SELECT * FROM keywords WHERE value = :value');
$stm->execute(array(':value'=>'whatever'));
$stm = $pdo->query('SHOW WARNINGS');
var_dump($stm->fetchAll());


← The ORIGINAL Sin?!? Part 1 in a series . . .
The First Fridays Worship Music OPEN MIC has gone mobile!!!!
Formerly held at The Way of Life congregation downtown , we are now mobile and will be setting up in host congregations all over Kansas City from this point on.
14 For He is [Himself] our peace (our bond of unity and harmony).
This entry was posted in OPEN MIC and tagged 1st Baptist Church Olathe, 2024 E 151st St, First Fridays, KS, music, Olathe, OPEN MIC, Worship. Bookmark the permalink.
We end each Open Mic with How Great is our God. We try to get as many of us as we can to all play together when we do. In our last one, we did it in English, Hebrew, Arabic and Spanish.
Wish I could be there but…having a medical procedure that day. Good luck and have a joyous time praising our Lord!


Ever tried container or square-foot gardening? Come out to Cope to discover the perks of growing your own food and explore different methods of gardening in small spaces.
Stop by the Richmond Rose Garden in Glen Miller Park starting at 4 p.m. May 25 to smell the flowers, eat some decadent chocolate samples from local vendors and enjoy music performed by the RSO Brass ensemble. Admission to the event is free.


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Dog Toy, Tennis Ball, 2.5-In.


text:
Simon Pegg and Nick Frost behind new BBC Two comedy starring Sara Pascoe
by David Prior
Stolen Picture, the production company set up by Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, is involved in a new six-part comedy that's been picked up by BBC Two.
Out Of Her Mind is written by and stars award-winning comedian Sara Pascoe, with the cast also featuring Juliet Stevenson (Riviera, One of Us, Truly Madly Deeply), Fiona Button (The Split), Cariad Lloyd (Crims, Peep Show) and Adrian Edmondson (Summer Of Rockets, The Young Ones).
The series aims to "subvert the traditional sitcom format by combining eccentric characters, animation, and scientific explanation".
Pascoe said: "Out Of Her Mind is a direct expression of my mind. We've turned my brain into a theme-park, and everyone's invited! The cast are INCREDIBLE and I can't wait for people to see what we've made."
Out Of Her Mind (6x30') is a Stolen Picture and Mouse The Dog co-production for BBC Two. It has been commissioned by Patrick Holland, Controller of BBC Two, and Shane Allen, Controller Comedy Commissioning for the BBC and will be Executive Produced by Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and Miles Ketley for Stolen Picture and Sara Pascoe.
Catherine Gosling Fuller will produce, the Blaine Brothers are directing and the BBC Commissioning Editor is Kate Daughton.
The series will be distributed by Sony Pictures Television and transmission details for BBC Two will be confirmed in due course.
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NABS


Home > Dining and Gourmet > Bakery > [Cedele] Farewell to June!
Farewell to June! However, July is a month with so much excitement for us.
- Cake Special: Return vouchers for a minimum spend on whole cakes.
Previous: [ION Orchard] Splash into Aqua World!
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Regular Attacher Needles are designed to resupply Monarch's Soft Grip Tag Attacher Kit (sold separately).


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Lyft Patents Show How AR & VR Could Change Ridesharing
Lyft files patents for two ideas that use both AR & VR to create a better overall value of services.
Calling a Lyft driver is a pretty simple task. You open up the app, make a couple taps, and a driver is on the way to pick you up. Behind the scenes, however, there are six years of accumulated data-rich information that, from Lyft's perspective, could used to transform the current rideshare experience. Two patents in particular indicate Lyft's exploration of AR and VR technology as part of their potential business model.
One patent titled 'Providing Information To Users of A Transportation System Using AR Elements', focuses on helping Lyft drivers locate their next client through digital information such as arrows for turn-by-turn navigation, along with 3D images that depict zones called "drop-off/pick-up location" or "no drop-off/pick-up", which are determined through customer feedback that Lyft has collected since they first started offering rides.
Image Credit: The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
If you've ever used a service like Lyft or Uber, odds are at one point you've received a call from your driver who is unable to find you due to a congested pickup point, such as an airport or concert venue. AR could assist by giving drivers the ability to pick you out of a crowd. You could also use your own smartphone or any type of wearable AR device to find them yourself.
Lyft drivers would access this information through an AR headset, such as a Microsoft HoloLens, Google Glass, or Magic Leap, which would place the digital content directly in the view of the Lyft driver, or through an AR enabled smartphone.
The second patent, titled 'Providing A VR Transportation Experience', focuses on entertainment by immersing passengers in VR experiences that react to the movement of the vehicle; turning, stopping, bumps in the road, or speeding up would translate to motions in the game world, delivering a deeper sense of immersion as passengers actually feel their virtual spaceship accelerate or digital race car make a hard stop.
The concept behind Lyft's VR sounds very similar to Audi's own backseat VR entertainment system, Holoride, which debuted last month during CES 2019 in Las Vegas. Audi's platform also revolves around utilizing real-world motions from the vehicle in-game.
According to the patent part riders would be able to share their VR experiences with friends and family via social media. This will most likely be made possible through Lyft's recent $72 Million dollar purchase of Blue Vision Labs, an AR startup that gives people the ability to collaborate through a shared AR experience.
Tech companies are zeroing in on what is known as the "passenger economy", and it's shaping up to be quite a big business. If you're a parent or have any close siblings, then you know just how important travel entertainment can be for everyone's sanity – and this year, during CES 2019, VR and AR seemed to be the common solution among tech giants.
Besides Audi's Holoride, attendees were able to experience multiple immersive backseat entertainment projects, including self-driving cars featuring 270-degree VR films to keep passengers entertained. If you were lucky enough to attend this years CES, then you probably saw Warner Bros backseat Batman experience which takes you on a virtual ride through Gotham City using large screens, projectors, and haptic feedback.
AR and VR isn't limited to passenger entertainment or helping drivers navigate through busy cities, however. It's actually been a big part of the automotive industry for some time now, with companies like Volkswagen incorporating VR into their employee training, Nissan using AR Star Wars characters to better demonstrate safety technology, and most recently, the Ford Motor Company using VR to put driver's head to head with their new Co-Pilot360 technology.
As both ridesharing services and autonomous vehicle technology continues to rise, in-car entertainment and AR navigation have become viable businesses, and both Lyft and Uber are pulling out the big guns to attract your business, whether you're a driver or a passenger.
The two companies have recently introduced loyalty programs to incentivize the rideshare experience, and in the past couple of years have branched out into the food delivery business; such as Uber Eats, where your Uber driver will stop at your favorite local burger spot or fast food joint, pick up your food order and then deliver it to you.
Though it's not food delivery, Lyft recently partnered with REWIND to explore the possibilities of back-of-car experiences that include XR and gaming.
Image Credit: Lyft
However, Business 101 will tell you right away that the real key to customer loyalty is a combination of reliable help services, an easy customer experience, and overall value. Lyft's patents tell us that they believe AR and VR could be the two tools that can deliver on all those points.
Lyft is a San Francisco, CA based company offering ridesharing services in the United States and Canada.
AR Augmented Reality Blue Vision Labs Holoride Lyft Lyft VR Providing A VR Transportation Experience
Esports Continues Its Push Towards VR
Escape H.H. Holmes' Murder Castle In VR


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За другото село Костуринци вижте Слатино.

Костуринци е село в Западна България. То се намира в община Трън, област Перник.

География
Село Костуринци се намира в планински район. Малко село близо до западната граница. Намира се на около 80 км от София и 11 км от гр. Трън. Основният поминък на местното население е животновъдство и земеделие, но местните жители не са много. Напоследък около селото и върху селската паша са разположени временни поселения на дървосекачи-катунари. Същите са и компактна група гласоподаватели.

История
В османски данъчни регистри на немюсюлманското население от 1623 – 1624 година селото е записано под името Костуринче с 11 джизие ханета (домакинства). В други стари записи е отбелязвано като: Kостуриндже в 1453 г., Kостравджа, Kостравча в 1576 г.; Kостурица в 1451 г.; Kостуравче в 1576 г.; Костuрица в ХVIII век в Поп Стефанов поменик (л. 62а, Опис III 179); Kостуринци в 1878 г.

Културни и природни забележителности
Околните планини са подходящи за разходки.

Редовни събития
Ежегоден събор по Малка Богородица по стар стил (най-близката събота около 21 септември). Свързан е с храмовия празник на селската църква Св. Богородица, макар в днешно време да е загубил религиозния си смисъл.

Известни личности
 Дойчин Боянов, първият българин, изкачил Еверест без кислород на 20 май 2004 г.
 Боряна Тончева , спортна журналистка в БНТ.
 Богдан Петров – писател , има издадени 9 книги, съдържащи местни мотиви.

Други
През 1980 г. е пуснат в киноразпространението филмът Нощните бдения на поп Вечерко, една идеологизирана комедия по сценарий на най-известния партизанин от Трънски край Славчо Трънски, генерал от Строителните войски на режима. Действието се развива в околните села и планини, а това, което свързва историческата личност на поп Вечерко със село Костуринци е мълвата, че именно тук е получил прякора си от някоя баба от най-популярната фамилия на селото – Джорджини.

През 1947 г. в селото светва и първата електрическа крушка (в кръчмата на Рангел Китанов), а друг член на фамилията Джорджини, Йосиф Михов, ентусиазирано се провиква: "Смърт на дървениците!".

Бележки

Села в област Перник
Населени места в община Трън

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


It looks like consumers in the Windows Insider Program might have a new build to play with soon. Gabe Aul, vice president of the Windows Devices Group, has taken to Twitter to let eager Insiders know they need not wait much longer.
@JimmyNg66067250 We have a couple of builds that are looking good in internal rings. It's possible we'll see them later this week to Fast.
This could be the last build Insiders get before Threshold 2 reaches RTM (release to manufacturing). Threshold 2 will be the first major update to Windows 10 since its launched and it looks as though November 10 will be when it gets released.
Are you excited for the first major update to Windows 10? Be sure let us know what you think in comment section below and follow us on Twitter for the latest news on Windows 10 and Microsoft.
Are you excited for Threshold 2?


After we'd been camping on the river for so long, we got one rented room. But it was full of those black and white snakes. They were all over my room and would come and sing to me and so on. Sometimes my staff were not careful and even injured them, and the snakes came complaining to me. So I told the staff not to use the brush to get them out, because that might hurt their eyes or something. They thought I was so compassionate in thinking of these animals, but I just knew. The staff thought that if they didn't kill them, it was good enough; it was already compassionate. But you have to just use a bag and put it nearby so they crawl inside, then put them out in the bush together.
So, the snakes kept coming in, but they never bit us. They are poisonous banded kraits, with the patches of black and white. They had a whole family there: big and small, they all came singing with open mouths. They couldn't sing aloud, but they sang loud inside. I could hear. (Master gestures to the wisdom eye.) They opened their mouth next to my sitting cushion and talked and sang, and danced. Especially the babies, they loved to hang around me. So I had to tell the staff to be extra careful where they were walking because they could walk on them. It just so happened that in our rented place at that time, the floor was a kind of marble that was also black and white and looked very much like the snakes. So they both blended together perfectly. I guess that's why they loved to go there: They felt safe, like it was one big banded krait, as big as the whole house.
So they ran all over there, singing and laughing. They were so funny! And once one of the residents was not careful; she slept on top of them. But they didn't bite her, either. Poor things, they didn't dare. So the next time I said, "If you're not careful, I'll make you stand forever: not lying down, and not sitting!" She was a little fat and newly joined as a resident. She would just sleep and sleep, right on top of the snakes. Poor snakes! They didn't dare to break any precept, but the resident did. She didn't do it intentionally, but still, the snake also died unintentionally. Poor thing! So we had to apologize and walk carefully and all that.
Practitioner1: In a convent where I lived, we had five acres of fenced land, and the cows would help eat the grass and so on. Whenever I climbed over the fence, they would chase me and I was so scared. But one day I just decided not to be scared anymore. And one cow that became a friend, she came to me one morning and told me that the family that had raised her was going to slaughter her for meat.
M:Can you believe that? They even know in advance, and yet people think they don't know anything and eat all that meat, poor thing.
P1:When they butchered her, her whole body was contaminated with something so that the family couldn't eat it. She didn't want to be eaten. So they had to bring everything back and then bury the remains in the ground, and not one part of her was eaten.
M:Why didn't she want to be eaten?
P1:She didn't want to be eaten by human beings; that's all. I can't explain it.
M:None of them are really willing to be eaten that way. They don't mind giving you milk, and when they die you can use their carcass in whatever way, but they don't like to be forced, butchered and eaten like that. You ask any of them, and they'll say, "No." It's not the natural way that they should be born to be doing that. Of course if you're hungry, if you have nothing else and you ask their permission, they would lay down their lives for you. All of them would do that. But if you eat just for gluttony, that's very bad. Even plants also complain if you just eat for the sake of it.
So respect all life when you eat; pray and offer to God. That's the right thing to do. And thank them. Thank God for making them, and thank them for sacrificing their life for you. But, plants are the least harmed. It's because they're not moving too much, and mostly they're not as conscious. They are still evolving. But still, if you eat them with disrespect, they grumble.
So, it's a good idea that you come and talk like this; then people will be more aware of the animal's feelings. They are great beings; you can learn a lot from them. For example, if you ask a Maltese, he will tell you that love is the best thing. The Maltese is very loving. They call it the "million kisses dog." He always loves you and kisses you all over, all the time. They used to be very beloved in Europe, coming from Malta Island, which belongs to Spain. That's why they're called Maltese.
They will tell you that love is the best thing, and that fear is the next best thing. When you're fearful, you try to learn things and you have more knowledge. But, when you have love, you just know. You don't need to learn. If you have love, you just know, and everything is easy. So, the Maltese has said that if you have fear, you learn, and if you have love, you know. It's very good. So I feel sorry for a lot of people who are just munching, eating and harassing or mutilating these great beings.
So, I started talking to them psychically and said, "It's time for you now to go back; thank you for visiting, but you can go back the same way you came through." And that was it. Two hours later, I turned around and looked into the kitchen, and only about half of them were left. And about six hours later, they were gone.
The last story I have was with my mom. One afternoon she had those flying ants in the family room. So I saw her coming with this big fly swatter and spray gun, and I said, "Wait, Mom! Let me take care of them." She said, "What are you going to do?" I kind of didn't want to tell her.
P2:So from then on I knew that I could talk to them.
M:You can talk all right, but the thing is whether they answer back. You see what I mean? It's whether you can hear them; because we all can talk to them, but we cannot hear them. That's a special gift.
P2/span>:I was able to hear a parrot that was visiting the vegetarian restaurant in San Jose. (Master: Oh?) We have one that visits there every day. And everyone stops to see this parrot, because he's beautiful and he talks a lot. He says all kinds of words. One day when no one was paying attention and everyone was so noisy, he started screaming like he was talking to someone, but no one paid attention. So, I started talking to him from a distance. We were talking back and forth. I didn't realize that I was understanding what he was saying because his voice was inaudible to other people, but I could hear the words exactly.
M:Oh, not inside, but outside.
P2:Outside too, at the same time.
M (Addressing another initiate) So, you talked to your dog? What did he say to you?
P3:Mostly he can read my mind exactly. Also, I can receive his messages too. He's 13 years old. One day I talked to my husband and said, "He is too old. Maybe I don't want him anymore; maybe we'll give him to someone else." After that, he said inside, "Please, please don't give me away." He would always speak like that to my mind, always saying, "Please, please, please." So, one day I said, "OK, OK: I will take care for your whole life." After that he was so happy.
He also takes cares of me. One time, when my leg was broken, he just stayed sitting by my bedroom, watching me all day. Yes, this dog is very, very smart. (Master: Yes, yes.) He's very sensitive, with eyes just like human eyes.
M:You take care of him, OK! Don't give him away.
P3:Yes, I will keep him.
M:You promised already. Dogs like to be with their owner all the time until they die, but many dogs don't have that chance. They say that every four seconds, one dog is killed in America, put to death because of being unwanted by the ex-owner. Every four seconds, one dog dies in America alone. It's terrible!
This is not talking about disaster or accidents. They've been put to death in the shelter. Every four seconds, as I'm talking to you now, hundreds of them already die a very miserable death.
So, if you have to put your dog to sleep for any reason, because he is sick, for example, or too old, you talk to him. Tell him what's going on. Tell him the doctor thinks it's better for him. Tell him it's time to go. Hold him; hug him. Be with him all the way through. Don't just throw him in the clinic and let them do it. He understands that he has to go, but he needs love to go. He doesn't mind going, but he needs you to love him and tell him that you still love him; it's just that he has to go. And then bury him, be nice to him.
P3:Even though he doesn't like to take showers, right now because he's been sick, I give him showers, and he just listens. He lets me give him showers all the time, and he understands.
P3:Yes, just like my kids, he understands. He's very smart, the dog.
M:All dogs are smart, believe me. When you love them, there is a response, always. Sometimes you can talk to the animals. You cannot always tell them what to do, of course. But at least he knows that you care. Even if you cannot communicate psychically, even if you cannot hear his response, you try your best and talk to him in English. And while you are talking, he understands, because you form a picture in your mind of what you are talking about. There is a relationship between what you're saying and what you're thinking inside, you see.
For example, if I want to ask a brother to "Please bring me a cup of water," then in my mind there is a cup of water, and that's what he understands. It's just that if we don't have the gift, we cannot understand back what he says to us, at least not so obviously. We could have the feeling and the intuition. But that's a different thing than the sister here; she really can talk to animals if she wants.


With ZoomBoard, there is now an interesting keyboard concept for smart watches. Only this morning in a contribution to an interesting Smart watch concept I had mentioned that I see a smart clock rather as an extension for my smart phone and not as a stand-alone device. Of course, it would also be desirable for manufacturers to see something like this. But how far does such an expansion actually go?
Is this extension really only for the consumption of information thought or should one on a Smart watch about synonymous tap? Sooner or later this is possible, but how should that be implemented? The developers of the ZoomBoard have such an idea as a keyboard on a Smart watch can be displayed and used halfway comfortably.
In the ZoomBoard you have to type twice for a letter. Once, to enlarge the corresponding area of the keyboard and select the appropriate letter a second time. Sure, long texts do not make it fun but it is at least a good way to quickly tap the Smart watch.
In a test where the keyboard at eZhoushan.net was shrunk to 16 x 16 millimeters, you could already tap about 10 words in a minute to type. The display of a Smart watch is, however, usually much larger, because the Sony Smart watch comes to a diagonal of 3.3 centimeters, the above test size had a diagonal of approximately 2.3 centimeters.


Orange Literacy is a 501(c)3 nonprofit. Donations are tax deductible.
Friends of Literacy are critical to our financial well-being. By joining Friends of Literacy, you can help us to continue to provide learning materials and free tutoring services to the many adult learners we serve throughout Orange County.
Writers for Readers – our annual book and author event, featuring nationally and internationally acclaimed authors. The perfect mix of novelists, humorists and historians.
Many employees are surprised to learn that their employer may match the gift that they donate to support adult literacy. Ask your employer if they will match donations to non-profits. Many companies may even double the match of the employee's gift depending on the amount and non-profit.
Donate the bonus points you receive through your credit cards. American Express, for instance, offers participating members the opportunity to redeem Rewards Points by donating them to eligible non-profits. Donations are tax deductible. For American Express go to its website. Check with your credit or debit card companies to see how to enroll in their similar programs.
Donated office supplies and materials, such as spiral-bound notebooks, 3-ring binders, pencils, pens, calculators, and paperback dictionaries can help make learning more affordable for Orange Literacy students on limited budgets. We welcome donations of all kinds of supplies, including (but never limited to) reams of paper, envelopes, flip charts, and markers. To donate educational or office supplies, please contact us at (919) 914-6153.
If your church or synagogue has a mission rooted in community development or social justice, they may be looking for ways to donate their time and financial resources. Fighting illiteracy is a perfect fit. Because so many other societal problems stem from illiteracy, helping people learn to read, write, understand math and prepare for their GEDs will benefit our entire community.
Call Orange Literacy at (919) 914-6153 for more information or email us at oclc@orangeliteracy.org. Orange Literacy is a 501(c)(3) organization. Donations are tax-deductible.


text:
"It's a great place to experiment and share stories" - Meet Sammy Paul
Lydia Snapper
Buffer Festival: What is it about directing that excites you most?
Sammy Paul: Oh wow, right in there with the big questions. Everything? Is that too corny? I've just yet to discover a greater joy than seeing a story that has been rattling around in your head for months (maybe years) slowly come to life. It's a brilliant ridiculous thing we get to do.
BF: What was behind your decision to create for YouTube and the online space instead of going the more 'traditional' route in your profession?
SP: I'll admit that YouTube is very much something I fell into. I didn't approach it with any form of master-plan. For me, it makes total sense as a distribution platform. In time I would definitely consider going elsewhere, but for now it's a great place to experiment and share stories and ideas internationally for free.
BF: How do you go about pitching your films to production companies to secure funding and partnerships knowing that the content you create will, most likely, be released for free?
SP: Well posting on YouTube has helped us to accumulate an audience that are very supportive and engaged in what we make. The reassurance of that audience makes pitching a lot easier and has meant that many companies and studios have been willing to invest in what they see as upcoming talent.
BF: You've worked on a lot of projects for other creators online. Out of those, which was the most challenging?
SP: Boring answer but every project comes with its own set of unique and torturous challenges. Let's just get that out the way first. However, I will say, 'Playground' (children living in a forest) and 'Blue Sushi' (over 500 extras) get a special mention here. The scale and ambition of them both, combined with the relatively small budgets we had, resulted in a lot of sweaty sleepless nights. Credit here goes to our producers for somehow managing to pull them off. Producers are the real heroes of filmmaking.
BF: Is there a difference in the creative process for the projects you jumped on board of versus the films you've created and developed yourself?
SP: There really isn't any difference at all. I'm a big believer that if someone hires you to work on a project, it's your responsibility (both for their sake and yours) to make it your baby. Doesn't matter where that project started, if you've come on as a writer / director you have to bring your voice and sensibilities and make it your own. Of course I'm always game for getting other people's thoughts and notes, but thus far I've been lucky enough to work with open minded folks who share similar sensibilities to me.
BF: Many of your friends and the people you collaborate with also have channels that invite their audiences into the more personal aspects of their lives. Why haven't you ever pursued that facet of the YouTube world?
SP: Truth is it just doesn't interest me. I'd much rather someone was invested in the things I make than the person I am. Vlogging is fun (and I do occasionally dabble on my second channel) but creatively it just doesn't fill me up.


After more than 20 years with the old one.
IHOP has unveiled a new logo after more than 20 years of marketing with the old one (to the right). Kirk Thompson, the company's vp of marketing, told BuzzFeed the old logo looks like a frown. That's something we've never noticed. And clearly it's something they've never noticed either since they went more than two decades before deciding to change it.
According to BuzzFeed, IHOP's business has been turning around, which the company attributes to menu design, with a greater emphasis on appetizers and sides.
Still, a logo refresh could be a good thing as well, especially when it's worked into a whole marketing campaign. "To celebrate the launch of the new logo, IHOP restaurants' 'Summer of Smiles' will include a series of events and programs over the coming months to celebrate those who, like IHOP restaurants, help bring smiles to their communities though their efforts to make a positive difference in the lives of others," said the press release announcing the new logo.
BuzzFeed says the new one looks a lot like the Citi logo. Personally I think it might just be a little bit too much like the old one? There's clearly a difference, but I'm wondering if it's significant enough to have the impact that IHOP wants. Thoughts?


Our fundamental objective is creating our clients dreams. This begins by understanding their wants and needs, acquiring a feel for their lifestyle, and appreciating the way in which they wish to use their yacht to establish a design brief.
As dreams these objectives are sometimes difficult to verbalise; our process originates visually through a mixture of mood boards and hand drawn sketches, along with development dialogue as the first key stage.
Once the owner is happy with the brief we need to ensure that this fulfils all the criteria, whilst exploring possibilities that remain faithful to the intended concept.
The concept stage is usually completed with a General Arrangement plan of the boat interior, along with stunning watercolour visuals produced for the client, putting to life the ideas and thoughts for the future of the project.


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What the first women's magazines of the USSR wrote about, and How print accents shifted along with the regimes
Women's editions of a new country
Lenin's "worker"
New target audiences
Pre-war "photo models"
Family landmarks on the eve of the war
The attention of print publishers was given to women as early as the beginning of the 18th century. On the pages of popular magazines, the image of a worthy woman was drawn through associations with restraint, homeliness and family hearth. As for the magazines of the early Soviet period, embroidery schemes or culinary recipes were supplanted by propaganda editorials and essays on the fate of the Bolsheviks. The heel was scolded for the harm caused to health, and they talked about fashion from the standpoint of bourgeois vestiges.
After the revolution, traditional women's magazines were declared bourgeois vestiges, since their essence did not correspond to the tasks of the party in the formation of a new type of person. Since 1917, completely new types of women's press have been formed in Russia. The usual heroine of the beginning of the century, a sophisticated lady in bright lipstick and blackened eyes, was replaced by a stocky worker-peasant woman without emphasis on gender differences. From that period it became commonplace for the party to use periodicals for propaganda purposes. And if the women's periodicals under the tsarist regime concerned fashion, family and cooking, then the new course corresponded to party decrees. The activities of the media were aimed at popularizing the ideas of communism with the involvement of women in the production process.
The authors of the magazine articles were now party members, production workers, worker correspondents with village correspondents. The publications included sections of political education, materials on agriculture, industry, as well as literary pages. Housekeeping headings, pedagogy, fashion and medicine were allotted a couple of pages.
One of the first mass Soviet magazines was Rabotnitsa. Invented The first issues of the publication appeared at the beginning of 1914, and the initiator was Vladimir Lenin. According to his idea, the publication defended the interests of the women's labor movement. 7 issues saw the light, after which the publication was closed due to the results of police investigations. The magazine became the first mass Bolshevik publication, in the creation of which Armand, Krupskaya, Kollontai participated.
The "worker" came to life after the February revolution, but again for a short time. The vicissitudes of the civil war again pushed women's issues into the background. The release was resumed in 1923, when the editorial board was tasked with raising a woman party member, social activist and production worker. In an effort to expand the ranks of the female proletariat into housewives, the editors printed materials about any profession that women could master. The ideological strategy of the publication broke the patriarchal foundations. The stories of the participants of the meetings, articles about the editorials of the cotton fields, women-stakhanovka were published.
In the 1920s, magazines were divided into specific target audiences: party workers, working women, housewives, activists, peasant women. Now the interpretation of party attitudes was based on the specifics of women's employment, the way of life of the region, customs and history. Under party pressure, the magazines refused to cover love topics, questions about family amenities, and women's rights.The main attention was paid to the anniversaries of the leaders and officials of the USSR, politics and production, criticism of the "philistine".
One of the brightest representatives of that period was the Kommunistka magazine (1920-30). From the name it is clear that the publication raised a Soviet female leader. The audience was female workers and party members, and the structure excluded practical sections.
In 1922, the Krestyanka magazine was founded, designed to introduce Soviet workers to the social and cultural way of life. "Peasant" in simple words conveyed to the readers the basics of party politics, explained the importance of educational programs, contributed to the organization of women's councils, catering points, kindergartens. The column "Fiction" published the corresponding works: Dorokhov "Woman", Platonich "Matryona the Warrior", Neverov "Nursery". Only as an appendix were printed instructions for cutting, sewing, knitting.
Throughout the 1930s, women's magazines glorified the industrial success, collectivization, and effectiveness of the Soviet five-year plans. The publications urged women to go to production, to participate in the socialist breakthrough, to strive for shock work. Fashion was viewed only from the position that it should not go beyond the human needs of a simple Soviet worker. Representatives of the creative elite were involved in the work of the magazines: fashion designers, sculptors, poets, artists. In magazine photos of that period, women looked, as they would say today, unkempt. Faces without a hint of makeup, wide eyebrows, uncomplicated hair cut or hastily gathered. The figures of the fashion models are strong, stocky, a short neck on wide shoulders, an unexpressed waist. The clothes are baggy, no bright colors, often a man's jacket.
In the 1930s, women's editions unexpectedly resumed their release in a bright design, affecting purely gender thematic niches. In those years, the magazines "Art of Dressing", "Home Dressmaker", "Atelier" were published. They are printed on quality paper, include color illustrations and are large format with pattern attachments. In addition to clothing, materials are published about fashion trends in the selection of shoes and accessories. True, the circulation of such magazines was small. The family issue was radically revised, to which more and more attention is paid on the pages. But it was only about the family, questions of love and sensuality were not covered.
Before the war, reports from maternity hospitals, photos of pregnant women and babies prevailed in magazines. There is information about women's doctors, nurses, midwives, articles on childcare, articles on nurseries and kindergartens, recommendations for young mothers. The country has taken a confident course towards augmenting a healthy Soviet society, remembering the main women's mission. The air already smelled of war, and rallying was going on at every level, starting with the family, as a unit of society.
Women have finally begun to be reckoned with. After all, they did not wait until they were given rights, but sought them themselves all over the world.


As I live in a pile of ashes that seems to follow me through Lent this year, I have found that a flame inside me is creating them. They are ashes of sin burning away from my mortal body. They leave behind skin that is raw and painful. Denial of bodily cravings, leaving mind-numbing television behind, and dragging my feet through the mud of humility, makes me evermore aware of the the burning fire of the Holy Spirit in my soul..
It tries to breakthrough and the burning is not quenched by any salve, but only by more time in prayer, with the Eucharist, and with my eyes wide open to the trail of my past, its revelations of where holiness may be possible. I long for Easter and the new skin of purity to be worn through next year, for a taste of the glorified body that will eventually be mine to inhabit.
All praise to our Lord Jesus Christ, be merciful to my soul!


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NYT Bestseller list
Exclusive — Peter Navarro: New York Times Keeping Book 'In Trump Time' off the Best Seller List
Former senior Trump aide Peter Navarro says the New York Times is keeping his book "In Trump Time" off the forthcoming nonfiction bestseller list, despite the fact he says that it trumps the vast majority of books on the list in terms of units sold.
20 Nov 2021, 2:37 PM PST
Exclusive — 'Political Bias': Martha McSally Book Blocked from New York Times Bestseller List
The team of Sen. Martha McSally (R-AZ) is crying foul as the New York Times blocks her book from appearing on its bestseller list while the senator is up for re-election despite having sold more copies than other books on the list.
Matthew Boyle
5 Jun 2020, 3:24 PM PST
Donald Trump Jr. 'Triggered' Book Hits Number One on New York Times Bestseller List
The book just out from Donald Trump, Jr., the eldest son of President Donald Trump, has hit number one on the New York Times bestseller list.
Report: NYT Bestseller List Artificially Boosts Michelle Obama's Book over Judge Jeanine's
The New York Times bestseller list appears to have denied Judge Jeanine Pirro the number-one slot on its ranking system, despite the fact she sold over 17,000 more copies than Michelle Obama.
Allum Bokhari
5 Sep 2019, 5:46 PM PST


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The Spies of Winter
Sinclair McKay
Out of Stock - Order Now (usually dispatches in 7 days) *
In 1945 the Second World War was over and a shattered world faced the future.
For the men and women of the newly formed GCHQ, however, the next global conflict had already begun.
Following on from the enormous success of his bestseller, The Secret Life of Bletchley Park, renowned author Sinclair McKay uncovers the
story of what happened after the end of the Second World War
Once victory was declared, many of the individuals who had achieved the seemingly impossible at Bletchley Park by cracking the impenetrable Enigma codes and giving the Allies an invaluable insight directly into the Nazi war machine, moved on to GCHQ. This was the British government's new facility established to fight a different, but no less formidable foe - Stalin and the KGB.
Fascinating and insightful revelations from deep within the archives of this secret organisation reveal the story of the tumultuous early years of GCHQ as it navigated its way through an era of double agents, deception and betrayals. From the defection of the Cambridge Five and the treachery of the atomic scientist Klaus Fuchs, to the collapse of the British Empire, the ascension of Chairman Mao and the emergence of the US as a superpower, McKay deftly explores the impact these events had on the fledgling organisation.
During the years of the Cold War the men and women of GCHQ penetrated Soviet encryptions and gathered crucial intelligence from all over the world. The Spies of Winter tells the story of the codebreakers themselves and how they used new technology to expand the horizons of cryptography in order to defend the nation and maintain the fragile peace in a world now under the shadow of nuclear holocaust.
Publisher: Quarto Publishing Group UK
* We cannot guarantee the price of any sale book that is not in stock. To confirm availability please contact the store.
Hoax: a History of Deception
Ian Tattersall; Peter Névraumont
Claude Lvi-Strauss
Maurice Godelier; Nora Scott (Translator)
Lincoln in the World
Kevin Peraino
Matthew Kneale
Sweets and Candy
Laura Mason
The Martial Arts of Ancient Greece
Kostas Dervenis; Nektarios Lykiardopoulos


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Posts Tagged 'book reviews'
[BLOG] Some Friday links
Bad Astronomer Phil Plait notes how a photo of the Large Magellanic Cloud makes him recognize it as an irregular spiral, not a blob.
Centauri Dreams celebrates the life of cosmonaut Alexei Leonov.
John Quiggin at Crooked Timber takes issue with one particular claim about the benefits of war and empire.
The Crux looks at fatal familial insomnia, a genetic disease that kills through inflicting sleeplessness on its victims.
D-Brief looks at suggestions that magnetars are formed by the collisions of stars.
Dangerous Minds introduces readers to the fantasy art of Arthur Rackham.
Cody Delistraty considers some evidence suggesting that plants have a particular kind of intelligence.
The Dragon's Tales notes the expansion by Russia of its airbase in Hneymim, Syria.
Karen Sternheimer writes at the Everyday Sociology Blog about the critical and changing position of libraries as public spaces in our cities.
Gizmodo looks at one marvelous way scientists have found to cheat quantum mechanics.
Information is Beautiful outlines a sensible proposal to state to cultivate seaweed a as source of food and fuel.
io9 notes that, in the exciting new X-Men relaunch, immortal Moira MacTaggart is getting her own solo book.
JSTOR Daily notes how the now-defunct Thomas Cook travel agency played a role in supporting British imperialism, back in the day.
Language Log notes that the Oxford English Dictionary is citing the blog on the use of "their" as a singular.
Scott Lemieux at Lawyers, Guns and Money considers the grounds for impeaching Donald Trump.
The LRB Blog looks at the politics of Mozambique at the country approaches dangerous times.
Sean Marshall notes the southern Ontario roads that run to Paris and to London.
Neuroskeptic notes a problematic scientific study that tried to use rabbits to study the female human orgasm.
Steve Baker at The Numerati looks at a new book on journalism by veteran Peter Copeland.
The NYR Daily makes the point that depending on biomass as a green energy solution is foolish.
The Planetary Science Blog notes a 1983 letter by then-president Carl Sagan calling for a NASA mission to Saturn and Titan.
Roads and Kingdoms interviews photojournalist Eduardo Leal on his home city of Porto, particularly as transformed by tourism.
Drew Rowsome notes the book Dreamland, an examination of the early amusement park.
The Russian Demographics Blog shares a paper considering, in broad detail, how the consequence of population aging could be mitigated in the labour market of the European Union.
Strange Company reports on a bizarre poltergeist in a British garden shed.
Window on Eurasia notes the new strength of a civic national identity in Kazakhstan, based on extensive polling.
Arnold Zwicky, surely as qualified a linguist as any, examines current verb of the American moment, "depose".
Tagged with africa, arthur rackham, astronomy, blogging, blogs, book reviews, british empire, canada, carl sagan, cities, comics, democracy, Demographics, donald trump, english language, environment, former soviet union, futurology, gender, genetics, health, history, imperialism, in memoriam, internet, journalism, kazakhstan, libraries, links, magnetar, marvel comics, military, national identity, oceans, oddities, ontario, physics, plants, politics, popular culture, portugal, public art, russia, saturn, Science, seaweed, sexuality, space science, space travel, syria, titan, tourism, travel, united kingdom, united states, x-men
Adam Fish at anthro{dendum} compares different sorts of public bathing around the world, from Native America to Norden to Japan.
Charlie Stross at Antipope is unimpressed by the person writing the script for our timeline.
Architectuul reports on an architectural conference in Lisbon.
Bad Astronomer Phil Plait shares stunning photos of the eruption of the Raikoke volcano in Kamchatka.
Centauri Dreams looks at what the Voyager spacecraft have returned about the edge of the solar system.
John Quiggin at Crooked Timber takes issue with the idea of bipartisanship if it means compromising on reality, allegorically.
The Crux counts the number of people who have died in outer space.
D-Brief notes that the Andromeda Galaxy has swallowed up multiple dwarf galaxies over the eons.
Dead Things notes the identification of the first raptor species from Southeast Asia, Siamraptor suwati.
The Dragon's Tales notes a paper tracing the origins of interstellar comet 2/Borisov from the general area of Kruger 60.
Karen Sternheimer at the Everyday Sociology Blog writes about the privilege allowing people access to affordable dental care.
Gizmodo tells how Alexei Leonov survived the first spacewalk.
io9 looks at the remarkable new status quo for the X-Men created by Jonathan Hickman.
Selma Franssen at the Island Review writes about the threats facing the seabirds of the Shetlands.
JSTOR Daily looks at what led Richard Nixon to make so many breaks from the American consensus on China in the Cold War.
Language Log notes an undergraduate course at Yale using the Voynich Manuscript as an aid in the study of language.
Abigail Nussbaum at Lawyers, Guns and Money explains her recent experience of the socialized health care system of Israel for Americans.
The LRB Blog looks at how badly the Fukuyama prediction of an end to history has aged.
The Map Room Blog shares a few maps of the new Ottawa LRT route.
Marginal Revolution notes a paper establishing a link between Chinese industries undermining their counterparts in Mexico and Mexican social ills including crime.
Sean Marshall reports from Ottawa about what the Confederation Line looks like.
Adam Shatz at the NYR Daily looks at the power of improvisation in music.
Roads and Kingdoms looks at South Williamsburg Jewish deli Gottlieb's.
Drew Rowsome reviews</a the new Patti Smith book, Year of the Monkey.
The Russian Demographics Blog shares a paper looking as the factors leading into transnational movements.
Starts With A Bang's Ethan Siegel considers the question of the direction(s) in which order in the universe was generated.
Window on Eurasia shares a report noting the very minor flows of migration from China to Russia.
Yorkshire Ranter Alex Harrowell looks at the politics in the British riding of Keighley.
Arnold Zwicky looks at some penguin socks.
Posted in Assorted, Demographics, Economics, History, Photo, Politics, Popular Culture, Science, Social Sciences
Tagged with 2/borisov, alexei leonov, anthropology, architecture, birds, blogs, book reviews, canada, china, clash of ideologies, comics, confederation line, Demographics, dinosaurs, economics, environment, fashion, finland, first nations, food, former soviet union, geopolitics, health, iceland, in memoriam, islands, israel, japan, judaism, kamchatka peninsula, kruger 60, language, links, maps, mass transit, mexico, migration, new york, new york city, norden, oddities, ontario, ottawa, photos, physics, politics, popular music, russia, scotland, shetlands, siberia, social sciences, sociology, solar system, southeast asia, space science, space travel, thailand, united kingdom, united states, volcanoes, voyager 1, voyager 2, voynich
Bad Astronomy's Phil Plait notes new research on where the sun is located within the Milky Way Galaxy.
The Broadside Blog's Caitlin Kelly considers the value of slow fashion.
Centauri Dreams notes the different gas giants that our early methods have yet to pick up.
Crooked Timber shares a lovely photo looking back at Venice from across its lagoon.
D-Brief notes that upcoming space telescopes might find hundreds of rogue planets thanks to microlensing.
io9 notes that Marvel will soon be producing Warhammer40K comics.
The Island Review shares some poetry and photography by Ken Cockburn inspired by the Isle of Jura.
JSTOR Daily notes that different humpback whale groups have different songs, different cultures.
Language Hat tries to find the meaning of the odd Soviet Yiddish word "kolvirt".
Paul Campos at Lawyers, Guns and Money looks at the history of Elizabeth Warren as a law teacher.
Map Room Blog shares information from Google Maps about its use of data.
Marginal Revolution notes that in 2016, not a single child born in the United Kingdom was given the name Nigel.
Peter Watts talks about AI and what else he is doing.
The NYR Daily marked the centennial of a horrible massacre of African-Americans centered on the Arkansas community of Elaine.
Emily Margolis at the Planetary Society Blog looks at how the Apollo moon missions helped galvanize tourism in Florida.
Noel Maurer at The Power and the Money looks at the constitutional crisis in Peru.
Drew Rowsome takes a look at A Streetcar Named Desire.
Peter Rukavina looks at a spreadsheet revealing the distribution of PEI public servants.
Spacing reviews a book imagining how small communities can rebuild themselves in neoliberalism.
Towleroad shares the criticism of Christine and the Queens of the allegedly opportunistic use of queer culture by Taylor Swift.
Understanding Society considers, sociologically, the way artifacts work.
The Volokh Conspiracy argues that the 70th anniversary of the foundation of the People's Republic of China should be a day of mourning, on account of the high human toll of the PRC.
Window on Eurasia suggests the Russian generation of the 1970s was too small to create lasting change.
Arnold Zwicky looks at how underwear ads can be quite sexualized.
Posted in Assorted, Demographics, Economics, History, Politics, Popular Culture, Science, Social Sciences, Urban Note
Tagged with animal intelligence, arkansas, artificial intelligence, astronomy, blogs, book reviews, cetaceans, china, comics, democracy, Demographics, elizabeth warren, ethnic cleansing, exoplanets, fashion, florida, former soviet union, glbt issues, google, isle of jura, italy, links, maps, milky way galaxy, peru, photos, politics, popular culture, popular music, prince edward island, racism, russia, science fiction, scotland, sexuality, social sciences, sociology, solar system, south america, space science, space travel, technology, theatre, tourism, united kingdom, united states, venetian lagoon, venice, yiddish
[REVIEW] Arthur. C. Clarke's July 20, 2019: Life in the 21st Century
I had been passingly aware of Arthur C Clarke's 1986 book Arthur. C. Clarke's July 20, 2019: Life in the 21st Century for some time. This book was one of his many books in his later career where Clarke played the futurologist, pointing his audiences towards the possibilities of the future. It was only when I saw this winter a copy in near-mint condition in The Junction's Pandemonium that I took particular note: The date of the title was closing. Surely it merited some exploration. Sadly, when I popped into Pandemonium I was told that someone had bought that copy just a few minutes before my arrival. Off to Amazon I went.
The significance of the title July 20, 2019 comes of course from this date being the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing on the Moon. It does indeed begin with an imagined address to the reader by the Arthur C. Clarke of 2019 himself, a resident of Clavius City, a base in the Moon's Clavius Crater home to a only a thousand people. From that lofty perspective, Clarke sets out from this lofty perspective the framework for these great changes in humanity. The subsequent chapters, written with a wide variety of collaborators, go on to look at different areas of the human future: education, health, robotics, space and transportation, sex and work, crime and war, all get explored in turn.
The one overriding theme that July 20, 2019 gets perfectly right is the extent to which what we in actual 2019 would call Big Data is transformative. The new generation of computers and associated technologies that were only beginning to emerge in 1986, capable not only of collecting vast amounts of data but of drawing meaningful conclusions from these, would make many things possible. It would become possible, for instance, for modern medicine to provide finely tailored recommendations as to what patients should do to enjoy the best possible health, to finally make psychiatry a science wit effective interventions to deal with the ills of the human mind.
It would allow people to become life-long students, to continue to expand their skills and to learn more about the world.
It would allow people to enjoy all kinds of popular culture, for sports enhanced by bioengineering to new distribution methods for shows and for altogether new cultural forms scarcely imagined.
More, this Big Data would enable all sorts of innovations in the physical sciences, in the manufacture of all sorts of robots capable of acts of great precision and in the development of new swift vehicles to travel the skies and the oceans and in new sorts of pleasure.
All of the chapters are informative, but not that many were outstanding. I did particularly like one built around a criminal investigation looking at the relationship of a smart home with its owner. (I, for one, take care to always be polite to my Google Home Minis.) I was also caught up by the drama of an imagined Third World War, fought almost bloodlessly with precise smart weapons along the inner German frontier, ending mildly enough with a loss by East Germany of Schwerin as West Germany gave up the Fulda Gap.
It is not that there were many things that were outright wrong. (I remain convinced that we were biased by the geopolitics-driven space race of the 1960s towards thinking crewed space travel would be easier and would come about earlier than we should have expected in the technologically primitive and poor world of the mid-20th century; the 2020s might well be a good time for a durable resurgence.) The overall contours of the world depicted, generally speaking, are ones that people in actual 2019 would be able to recognize as something mostly like their own.
The big problem with July 20, 2019 is that it does not quite take account of people. Who was it who said that science fiction was a literature of ideas if not a literature of literature, of heady concepts but not so much about people or societies? The geopolitics of this imagined Third World War are uninspiring, reflecting Clarke's 2001 or 2010, the colossi of the United States and the Soviet Union dominating to the exclusion of anyone else. We have fought multiple wars with smart weapons, and we know that even if these smart weapons actually are as good as we'd like them to be they are fired by governments acting with imperfect knowledge at targets in societies made up of innumerable human beings. This imagined near-total stability, in retrospect, is a failure.
Beyond this, I do not think that Clarke quite recognized how the impact of Big Data would change the quality of human lives. If people are to become life-long patients, life-long students, constantly being engaged in a stressful world full of challenges and stimuli barely imagined to the people of 1986, what would the impact of this be? Looking back, I think that we can see the people of Clarke's imagined 2019 would be desperately grinding, perhaps just as we are in our post-Cold War globalized era. Clarke, though, did not seem to get this.
July 20, 2019 is a good book. I quite enjoyed going through it, taking a look at what one of the great science fiction writers imagined our world might come to be. I just think that the gaps and failed predictions are as interesting as the successes. These all are the sorts of factors that people aspiring to predict the future should look to learn from.
Posted in History, Politics, Popular Culture, Science, Social Sciences
Tagged with arthur c clarke, book reviews, futurology, links, popular culture, Science, writing
[BLOG] Some Thursday links
At Anthro{dendum}, Travis Cooper shares thoughts o what should be kept in mind in studying new media.
Bad Astronomer Phil Plait notes a new plan to catalogue a hundred thousand stellar nurseries in nearby galaxies.
Centauri Dreams notes the very unusual lightcurve of the star VVV-WIT-07.
D-Brief considers the possible role of climate change in undermining Byzantium.
Gizmodo reports on how astronomers managed to directly image exoplanet HR8799e, a young hot Jupiter some 130 light-years away.
JSTOR Daily examines the lynchings inflicted on people of Mexican background in the conquered American West after the Mexican-American War.
Marginal Revolution considers the possibility that homo sapiens might trace its ancestry to hominid populations in southern Africa.
Noahpinion features a guest post from Roy Bahat arguing that Uber and Lyft need to change their treatment of their workers for their own good.
The NYR Daily features an article by Zia Haider Rahman talking about the many ways in which British identity has mutated after Brexit.
The Planetary Society Blog features some photos taken by the Beresheet probe on its way to the Moon.
Drew Rowsome reviews the Greg Scarnici book Dungeons & Drag Queens, a funny take on Fire Island.
Starts With A Bang's Ethan Siegel notes the early Solar System, when a still energetic Mars existed alongside Earth as a life-supporting planet. (Venus, not so much. Perhaps?)
Daniel Little writes at Understanding Society about his new book project, a social ontology of government.
Window on Eurasia notes how Russia is dropping off sharply in importance as a trading partner for most post-Soviet states.
Tagged with africa, anthropology, astronomy, blogs, book reviews, borders, crime, earth, economics, environment, ethnic conflict, evolution, exoplanets, extraterrstrial life, fire island, former soviet union, glbt issues, globalization, history, hr 8799, hr 8799e, human beings, internet, israel, links, lyft, mars, mexico, middle east, migration, moon, national identity, new york, oddities, politics, russia, separatism, social networking, social sciences, sociology, solar system, space science, uber, united kingdom, united states, venus, vvv-wit07
Ryan Anderson writes at anthro{dendum} about how the counterhistory of Vine Deloria transformed his thinking.
Architectuul notes some interesting architectural experiments from the post-WW2 United Kingdom.
Bad Astronomy's Phil Plait notes the distinctive dustiness of Large Magellanic Cloud globular cluster NGC 1898.
The Big Picture shares photos from the worldwide student walkout on climate change.
Corey Robin writes at Crooked Timber about ethics in economics.
The Crux points its readers to the space art of Chesley Bonestell.
D-Brief considers the possibility that the distinction between the sounds "f" and "v" might be a product of the soft food produced by the agricultural revolution.
Bruce Dorminey notes a new study suggesting there might be fifty billion free-floating planets in the Milky Way Galaxy.
Gizmodo considers the self-appointed archivists of obscure information on the Internet.
Information is Beautiful shares an informative infographic analyzing the factors that go into extending one's life expectancy.
Paul Campos at Lawyers, Guns and Money notes that the American system simply cannot be expected to contain the fascist impulses of Donald Trump indefinitely.
Marginal Revolution considers the future evolution of a more privacy-conscious Facebook.
The Planetary Society Blog considers the nature of the skies of mini-Neptunes.
Drew Rowsome reviews the Kirsten McKenzie horror novel Painted.
Starts With A Bang's Ethan Siegel considers the possibility that the Milky Way Galaxy, despite having fewer stars than Andromeda, might be more massive.
Tagged with andromeda galaxy, anthropology, architecture, astronomy, blogs, book reviews, chesley bonestell, clash of ideologies, dark matter, Demographics, donald trump, economics, environment, evolution, facebook, first nations, galaxies, globalization, globular cluster, history, human beings, internet, kirsten mckenzie, language, large magellanic cloud, libraries, links, milky way galaxy, ngc 1898, philosophy, photos, poltiics, public art, social networking, social sciences, space science, united states, vine deloria


Join Lixar auto experts Anthony Ferrante and Paul Dostaler as they talk about partnering for acceleration, the top auto trends they've seen in 2018, and where the industry may be going in the near and not-too-distant future.
Here at Lixar we do a lot of work with automotive partners including a Data Discovery Package – that is, working with their team to analyze the data on hand and put it to actionable use; we believe in starting small and thinking big, so for companies who have a lot of data but aren't yet sure of it's best use we offer a two week assessment to get them on the path for data-driven success. In this episode, we touch on some of the pain points we commonly see, and the best ways to get started leveraging your data.