text:
Q: "Lazy" GroupBy with Linq I have recently been in a situation where I needed to perform an operation a grouped slowly yielding Linq query.
Now, groupBy looses it's lazyness, that means that you have to wait for the entire Sequence to finish until you get any groups returned.
This to me logically seems not the best solution, as a group can be returned as soon as it is first encountered.
I have written the following code, which seems to work fine, and am looking for pitfalls and general improvements, as well as thoughts on the concept itself (eg. can/should a groupBy method return groups as soon as possible).
public static IEnumerable<KeyValuePair<R, IEnumerable<T>>> GroupByLazy<T, R>(this IEnumerable<T> source, Func<T, R> keySelector)
        {
            var dic = new Dictionary<R, BlockingCollection<T>>();
            foreach (var item in source)
            {
                var Key = keySelector(item);
                BlockingCollection<T> i;
                if (!dic.TryGetValue(Key, out i))
                {
                    i = new BlockingCollection<T>();
                    i.Add(item);
                    dic.Add(Key, i);
                    yield return new KeyValuePair<R, IEnumerable<T>>(Key, i);
                }
                else i.TryAdd(item);
            }
            // mark all the groups as completed so that enumerations of group-items can finish
            foreach (var groupedValues in dic.Values)
                groupedValues.CompleteAdding();
        }

Simple Test:
var slowIE = Observable.Interval(TimeSpan.FromSeconds(1)).ToEnumerable().Take(10);
            var debug = slowIE.Do(i => Console.WriteLine("\teval " + i));

            var gl = debug.GroupByLazy(i => i % 2 == 0);

            var g = debug.GroupBy(i => i % 2 == 0);

            Console.WriteLine("Lazy:");
            gl.Run(i => Console.WriteLine("Group returned: " + i.Key));
            Console.WriteLine(gl.Single(i => i.Key).Value.Count());

            Console.WriteLine("NonLazy:");
            g.Run(i => Console.WriteLine("Group returned: " + i.Key));
            Console.WriteLine(g.Single(i => i.Key).Count());

            Console.ReadLine();

which prints:
Lazy:
        eval 0
Group returned: True
        eval 1
Group returned: False
        eval 2
        eval 3
        eval 4
        eval 5
        eval 6
        eval 7
        eval 8
        eval 9
NonLazy:
        eval 0
        eval 1
        eval 2
        eval 3
        eval 4
        eval 5
        eval 6
        eval 7
        eval 8
        eval 9
Group returned: True
Group returned: False

As you can see, in my LazyGroupBy the groups are returned as soon as they are first encountered, and can thus be acted upon without waiting for the entire sequence to be grouped.
Thoughts?
Edit: quick thought, I think "Lazy" is not the right term...I'm not a native speaker, what term am I actually looking for?

A: In your solution it appears that the returned groups will change after the group is returned.  This may suit some programming patterns, but I don't see it as generally useful.
Imagine that you process a group when it is first returned, and then at some later time a new item is added to the group.  How do you know to reprocess the group's members?  I imagine some grouped items might never be processed by the caller.  Even though CompleteAdding is called, no notification is provided to the consumer of LazyGroupBy.
Again, this may suit some situations, but I can't think of when I would use it offhand.

A: This "lazy" execution is called deferred execution.
When you return a group, it only contains the first item, and no items will be added to it until you get more groups. So this approach only works if you handle the groups in a separate thread so that the main thread can continue reading the collection, or if you first read all groups and then process them, which of course makes the deferred processing pointless.
Also, you always have to read all groups for the groups to be complete, if you use Take to limit the query, the method won't complete, and the already returned groups might never be completed. This also means that you may have threads still waiting for data that will never be there.

A: It's interesting but can you show a real world use case for this?
I would imagine that in most real world situations you would iterate over the groups and for each group iterate over the elements, or call some aggregate function on that group. In this case that aggregate operation will be blocking anyway. In this situation there is no advantage over using GroupBy.
Another situation is where you aren't interested in the elements, only the groups. But then you don't need a GroupBy at all - you can use Select then Distinct.
If you have a situation where you have needed this "lazy" GroupBy then please add it to your question to give a bit of background and motivation.

A: I would go about it differrently
public static IEnumerable<KeyValuePair<R, IEnumerable<T>>> GroupByLazy<T, R>(this IEnumerable<T> source, Func<T, R> keySelector)
        {
            var set = HashSet();
            foreach (var item in source)
            {
                var Key = keySelector(item);
                if(set.Add(Key))
                {
                   var groupedItems = from i in source
                                      where keySelector(i) == Key
                                      select i;
                   yield return new KevValuePair<R,IEnumerable<T>>(Key, groupedItems);
                }
            }
        }

the down side is of cause that the filtering will be applied to the entire source for each group but usually when Lazy evaluation is a must it's due to latency more than end-to-end speed

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Fredonia Opera House, Stage Box
David Mariotti
The interior of the Fredonia Opera House has been remodeled several times since 1891. In 1903, after extensive water damage, the frescoed plaster ceiling was replaced with the current metal, and in the early 1900s, gas piping and fixtures were replaced by electric lighting. The Fredonia Preservation Society was formed in 1983 to maintain and protect this 444-seat, one-of-a-kind gem.
Copyright: David Mariotti
Resolution: 23284x11642
Tags: fredonia opera house
Martin Broomfield
Reclining Buddha Cave Temple Dambulla, Sri Lanka
Bernd Kronmueller
Dinorwic slate quarry
Tina Gauer & Oli Burle - www.360tourist.net
Lagoon sunset in Taba Heights, Egypt
Afon Glaslyn (or a little stream nearby), Snowdonia
River and Bridge, Ribaute
More About USA
The World : North America : USA
The United States is one of the most diverse countries on earth, jam packed full of amazing sights from St. Patrick's cathedral in New York to Mount Hollywood California.The Northeast region is where it all started. Thirteen British colonies fought the American Revolution from here and won their independence in the first successful colonial rebellion in history. Take a look at these rolling hills carpeted with foliage along the Hudson river here, north of New York City.The American south is known for its polite people and slow pace of life. Probably they move slowly because it's so hot. Southerners tend not to trust people from "up north" because they talk too fast. Here's a cemetery in Georgia where you can find graves of soldiers from the Civil War.The West Coast is sort of like another country that exists to make the east coast jealous. California is full of nothing but grizzly old miners digging for gold, a few gangster rappers, and then actors. That is to say, the West Coast functions as the imagination of the US, like a weird little brother who teases everybody then gets famous for making freaky art.The central part of the country is flat farmland all the way over to the Rocky Mountains. Up in the northwest corner you can find creative people in places like Portland and Seattle, along with awesome snowboarding and good beer. Text by Steve Smith.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Many dogs display behavior changes after giving birth, and these changes can range from mild to extreme. Depending on the cause, uncharacteristic dog behavior after having puppies rarely lasts more than a few weeks before a new mom begins acting more like herself again. The trick is understanding how to deal with the changes and care for your pet in the meantime.
According to information published at Vetinfo, aggressive behavior is usually the result of a female's instinct to protect her pups. The behavior you might see can range from showing her teeth and growling to outright biting. This behavior usually appears within hours of giving birth as the new mother focuses on caring for her litter. She's tired, her hormones are fluctuating, and she may still feel some discomfort after the birth, so displaying a little aggression is fairly natural even though it's unpleasant.
Try not to handle the new pups more than necessary. Let your dog do her job with as little interference as possible for the first week.
Keep other people away from her whelping area, especially people she doesn't know. It's difficult to resist showing off the puppies, but there will be plenty of time for that later when they are about six to eight weeks old.
Keep other pets away from her and the puppies. This includes other dogs who may have been her housemates. New motherhood trumps old relationships, but things should return to normal once the pups are self-sufficient.
Avoid startling her by talking to her in a calm voice as soon as you enter the room where her whelping box is located.
Aggressive behaviors usually begin to disappear within a week or two after delivery. If you feel unsafe around your pet, give your vet a call to find out if an exam and some medication might be in order.
Anxious behavior is not quite so concerning as aggressive behavior, and it's not uncommon for a female to display some anxiety after giving birth, especially if it was her first litter. She may whine and tremble if someone comes near the pups, and she may even become a bit clingy with the person who is her primary caregiver. She might also tend to lick the pups too much, which can leave them wet and chilled.
Talk to the dog in a calm, reassuring voice and keep the activity level in the room low.
Feed her some high-quality canned dog food. A full stomach may help her relax and settle in with her pups, and the extra moisture in the canned food will help her produce milk.
Softly praise her when you see her caring for her pups, such as nursing or cleaning them; this will let her know her she's doing the right thing. If she cleans/licks them too much, distract her from this task for a while by stroking her head and talking to her. This may help her relax and let the puppies settle against her for warmth.
Most new moms settle down within a day or two of giving birth as they get used to their new duties, so it's usually not necessary to call the vet unless the anxiety seems excessive. If your dog seems especially restless and trembles constantly, these could be signs of eclampsia, and she needs to go to the vet clinic immediately.
It's natural for a female to dig up the paper and blankets in her whelping box as she attempts to make it more comfortable for her and her new pups. If she begins digging outside of the box, however, this can be an extension of anxious behavior. It's usually a sign she feels her pups need to be moved to a more secure place. If that's the case, she'll search for a secluded corner, a family member's bed, the inside of a closet, or some other out-of -the-way place and begin digging to create a new nest to transfer her pups. To avoid this behavior before delivery select a quiet, low-traffic area to set up her whelping box before she's ready to give birth. This gives her time to get used to the spot and feel more secure when it comes time to deliver her puppies.
Leave her alone with the pups as much as possible and keep strangers and other pets away from her and her litter.
Take her outside for a quick trip to relieve herself and get some fresh air. The activity may help her settle in better once she's back inside with her pups.
Digging and trying to relocate pups tends to stop as soon as the female feels more secure, so address this issue as quickly as possible.
Some females are perfectly calm and easily settle into caring for their pups, but lethargic behavior goes beyond being calm. A lethargic female will act sluggish and will neglect her pups. She may even lay on them and smother them accidentally.
Lethargic behavior can be caused by an infection, such as mastitis, or some other post-delivery malady. If your dog becomes lethargic, place the puppies in a warm box to protect them and take her and the pups to the vet immediately for proper diagnosis and treatment.
House accidents tend to happen for several reasons. A female may feel too weak and tired after giving birth to go outside to relieve herself, and she may also feel anxious about leaving her newborn puppies. Continued and frequent house accidents could also be a sign she has developed a urinary tract infection after giving birth.
Spread newspapers or puppy training pads on the floor around the whelping box, and plan to clean up and replace them as soon as she soils them.
Using one of her favorite treats, try coaxing her to go outside for quick trips to relieve herself.
Have her examined by a vet if she has frequent accidents for more than a day or two after giving birth.
If there isn't a medical cause for the house accidents, this behavior usually disappears within a few days of delivery after the female realizes it's safe to leave her pups alone for a few minutes while she goes outside.
This is a very disturbing behavior that you hopefully will never face. In rare instances, a new mother will kill and eat her pups, and this can happen no matter how docile her typical behavior is. VCA Hospitals attributes this behavior to a primeval, protective instinct which can be triggered if the mother thinks her pups make too much noise and might attract predators.
Remove any surviving pups and keep them in a box set on top of a heating pad set on low.
Only put them with their mother for supervised periods so they can nurse. Keep a very close eye on her, especially if she begins licking them because a single bite can kill.
Clean the pups yourself with a warm wet cloth to make sure they urinate and pass stools until they are old enough to eliminate without help.
This behavior usually occurs within hours or a couple days of delivery while the pups are still newborns, and you should call your vet immediately after any surviving pups have been separated from their mother.
Once a female has cannibalized her pups, it's best to avoid breeding her again because she will likely repeat the behavior. After the pups are running around, you can try keeping them with their mom for supervised periods to see if she will accept them.
A post-pregnancy exam can reduce or eliminate medical issues that could cause a drastic change in the new mom's behavior. Cleary Lake Veterinary Hospital recommends all females should be examined by a vet within 48 hours of giving birth. This is to make sure all the puppies have been delivered, and the uterus is shrinking back to its pre-pregnancy size. In many cases, a vet will administer an antibiotic injection as a precaution against infection.
Hopefully, you'll never experience any serious behavior changes after your dog has puppies, but keeping a close eye on her for the first week after delivery should help you spot problems and address them as they come up. Don't hesitate to consult your veterinarian if you feel your pet's behavior changes are more than you can handle.


Main The Jesus Mysteries: Was the ''Original Jesus'' a Pagan God?
The Jesus Mysteries: Was the ''Original Jesus'' a Pagan God?
The parallels between Paganism and Christianity that Freke and Gandy advance are impressive.
Professor G. A. Wells, author of The Jesus Myth.
from the academic fire it is fanning.
another attention-seeking popular non-fiction work with little in the way of substantial content.
(1997), and The Wisdom of the Pagan Philosophers (1998).
Was the "Original Jesus" a Pagan God?
Michelle Pilley and all at Thorsons.
The Thorsons website address is: www.thorsons.com.
First published by Thorsons 1999; This edition 2000.
(c) Timothy Freke and Peter Gandy 1999.
Timothy Freke and Peter Gandy assert the moral right to be identified as the authors of this work.
permission of Oxford University Press.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Printed and bound in Great Britain by Omnia Books Limited, Glasgow.
otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.
far stranger than this fiction.
for the evidence we have amassed.
the obvious conclusions which we have drawn. Why? Because to do so is taboo.
a significant call for a complete reappraisal of the origins of Christianity.
In Greek tragedies the chorus reveals the fate of the protagonists before the play begins.
process of discovery and so provide a brief overview of the book.
our understanding has been transformed.
Pagan spirituality was actually the sophisticated product of a highly developed culture.
Pagan world, who regarded them as the very source of civilization.
brought about personal transformation and spiritual enlightenment.
The philosophers of the ancient world were the spiritual masters of the Inner Mysteries.
They were mystics and miracle-workers, more comparable to Hindu gurus than dusty academics.
be able to miraculously still the winds and raise the dead.
composite nature, and his particular names when referring to a specific Mystery tradition.
by different cultures, the myth of Osiris-Dionysus has remained essentially the same.
godmen of the Pagan Mysteries are essentially the same, although they take different forms.
• Osiris-Dionysus is God made flesh, the saviour and 'Son of God'.
• His father is God and his mother is a mortal virgin.
• He is born in a cave or humble cowshed on 25 December before three shepherds.
• He offers his followers the chance to be born again through the rites of baptism.
• He miraculously turns water into wine at a marriage ceremony.
• He rides triumphantly into town on a donkey while people wave palm leaves to honour him.
• He dies at Eastertime as a sacrifice for the sins of the world.
• His followers await his return as the judge during the Last Days.
more generous version of the 'diabolical mimicry' theory, but seemed no less ridiculous to us.
version of the same basic story.
biography of Jesus. This is a possibility that is even put forward by many Christian theologians.
looking for the 'real' Jesus hidden under the weight of accumulated mythological debris.
regarded as a legitimate voice of Christianity.
boldly explored the final frontiers of inner space, searching for the origins and meaning of life.
hated by the bishops of the Literalist Church hierarchy.
of Christianity which the Literalists did not possess.
Literalists had at least been right about one thing: the Gnostics were little different from Pagans.
Christian initiate was to become a Christ.
had been so caught up with traditional ways of thirtking that we had been unable to see it.
which was the Jewish dying and resurrecting godman Jesus.
teaching story designed to help each one of us become a Christ.
simple and elegant way. They are parts of one developing mythos.
had been hijacked by an authoritarian institution which had created from it a dogmatic religion and then brutally enforced the greatest cover-up in history.
down to us as established facts.
creed were banished from the Empire or otherwise silenced.
employee in the service of a Roman tyrant should turn out to be a pack of lies?
evidence and come to an accurate understanding of how the present has been created by the past.
events. Yet all these things are true.
away in the appendices of an old academic book. It was a drawing of a third-century CE amulet.
confirmation of the Jesus Mysteries Thesis. The image could be that of either Jesus or OsirisDionysus. To the initiated, these were both names for essentially the same figure.
wantonly destroyed. Yet we do not have some sort of anti-Christian agenda. Far from it.
reclaiming the true mystical Christian inheritance.
powerful plays of Euripides and Sophocles, and the sublime philosophy of Socrates and Plato.
public libraries, theatre and the Olympic Games, creating a blueprint for our modern world.
maintain the power of the status quo.
often portrayed today as dry 'academic' intellectuals, they were actually enigmatic 'gurus'.
all of these forms of the Mysteries, however, was the myth of a dying and resurrecting godman.
Why did the myth enacted by the Mysteries have such a profound effect?
In antiquity the word mythos did not mean something 'untrue', as it does for us today.
Smyrna calls 'friendship and interior communion with God'.
different ways by many cultures.
In travelling to Egypt Herodotus was following in the footsteps of another great Greek.
'scientific' in the modern sense.
Mysteries of Dionysus, inspired the glory of Classical Athens.
called Serapis.53 He also gave an elaborate account of the myth of the Mystery godman Attis.
and death as a man could sympathise with them in their own sickness and death.
through sharing in his divine Passion.
• The Pagan Mysteries inspired the greatest minds of the ancient world.
• They were practised in different forms by nearly every culture in the Mediterranean.
only to those who had undergone a powerful process of mystical initiation.
• At the heart of the Mysteries was the myth of a dying and resurrecting godman - OsirisDionysus.
sins from the Sacred Fount, and thereby initiates them into the religion of Mithras.
journey through the 'biography' of Jesus and explore some of these extraordinary similarities.
Asia Minor, Attis' mother is the virgin Cybele.14 In Syria, Adonis' virgin mother is called Myrrh.
century BCE that they were used to fabricate legends politically helpful to a living Emperor.
'He is born! He is born! O come and adore Him!
Stars of the heavens the daybreak adorning.
Ancestors, ye, of the Star of the Morning.
Child who is born in the night.
He is born! He is born! O come and adore Him!
People of Earth, O come and adore Him!
King who is born in the night.
Worship the child of God's own begetting!
Heaven and Earth, O come and adore Him!
Bow down before Him, kneel down before Him!
Worship, adore Him, fall down before Him!
shelter or cave.46 It was a widespread early Christian tradition that Jesus was born in a cave.
with the world-renewing power of Osiris.53 Thus the star foretold the coming of the Lord.
the sign of the cross on the hands, knees and head'!
rebirth as the new year on the date of the solstice.
astrological sign of Cancer, which for the ancients represented the gate of souls into incarnation.
Christian baptism in Pagan rites.
breath is breath. Don't be amazed because I told you you have to be born again.
root of three and the controlling ratio of the equilateral triangle.
the one and only Son of God was proven by his miracles. To Celsus this was plainly ridiculous.
'But look! Who is this, rising above the palace door?
'And once you catch him, he shall be stoned to death.


This is a roundup of product news and announcements for travel MARKETING in tourism and hospitality for December 2015.
Tnooz reported five days ago that Flight Centre had made a US$28 million offer. Well, a deal is now official, in an all-cash offer. Read the Tnooz story, here.
The pair have created a dedicated site for those looking to secure tickets for activities and other things-to-do in a location when they book their car rental service. Ceetiz has product in more than 200 destinations around the world.
The Momondo Group-run metasearch service will run the new ad campaign in the UK from Christmas Day and then throughout January on various TV, cinema, outdoor and social media channels. The clip stars Jacob Tomuri, a stunt double for actor Tom Hardy.
The campaign is being run by Athens International Airport and Marketing Greece in a bid to promote the capital city's appeal as a city break destination. "Speak Aθenian. Be an Aθenian. #ImAnAthenian" will run in target markets as a digital advertising campaign and will have a series of iterations throughout 2016.
Cruise passengers have access to a personalised planning tool following a deal between Holland America Line and Utrip. The cruiseline's website will enable passengers to access and create personalised content in Destination Guides.
Kiosks have been placed around the port providing information for arriving passengers in English, French and Spanish. The EU-funded pods provide weather information, details of port facilities,transport options and local accommodation and attractions.


text:
Eur J Med Res. 1997 Sep 29;2(9):389-94.
Elevated serum concentrations of soluble adhesion molecules in coronary artery disease and acute myocardial infarction.
Zeitler H1, Ko Y, Zimmermann C, Nickenig G, Glänzer K, Walger P, Sachinidis A, Vetter H.
Medizinische Universitäts-Poliklinik, Willhelmstr. 35-37, Bonn D-53111, Germany.
Adhesion molecules are involved in a number of chronic conditions and diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, tumor growth and wound repair. Soluble adhesion molecules (SAM) play an important role in angiogenesis which is a common aspect of the conditions mentioned above and atherosclerosis. The aim of the present study was to assess the prevalence and the impact of elevated soluble adhesive molecule plasma concentrations in patients with atherosclerosis.
DESIGN AND SUBJECTS:
In this study, we measured the soluble forms of intercellular adhesive molecule (sICAM), endothelial adhesive molecule (sELAM) and vascular adhesive molecule (sVCAM) using a sandwich ELISA technique in plasma of patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI), coronary heart disease (CHD) and in healthy subjects (HS).
Patients suffering from CHD and AMI showed significant higher plasma concentrations of sICAM (p <0. 05 and p <0.005), sELAM (p <0.01 and p <0.001) and sVCAM (p <0.001 and p <0.005) than HS. In patients with fatal outcome of myocardial infarction the plasma concentrations of sICAM, sELAM and sVCAM were significantly elevated compared to surviving patients (p <0.005; p <0.005; p <0.05). In patients undergoing thrombolytic therapy there were no significant differences of plasma adhesive molecule concentrations. The levels of SAM were not related to other risk factors like diabetes, nicotin abuse, hyperlipidemia, hypertension and a familiary history of cardiovascular disease.
Elevated levels of SAMs are found in patients with coronary heart disease. High SAM levels in plasma seem to be a prognostic factor in acute myocardial infarction. This effect is independent from other concomitant risk factors. Our results suggest that SAMs are involved both in acute phase of myocardial infarction and chronic process of atherosclerosis. It seems that similiar to other chronic inflammatory diseases, atherosclerosis seems to be modulated by soluble forms of adhesive molecules.
Arteriosclerosis/blood
Arteriosclerosis/etiology
Cell Adhesion Molecules/blood*
Coronary Disease/blood*
E-Selectin/blood
Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1/blood
Myocardial Infarction/blood*
Myocardial Infarction/drug therapy
Thrombolytic Therapy
Vascular Cell Adhesion Molecule-1/blood
Cell Adhesion Molecules
E-Selectin
Vascular Cell Adhesion Molecule-1
Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1
Heart Attack - MedlinePlus Health Information


text:
Why You Need to Take a Solo Trip in 2020
I couldn't wipe the smile off my face as I walked — practically strutted — down San Martin road back into the village of El Chalten in the Patagonian region of Argentina. Just over my shoulder was Mount Fitz Roy, the peak emblazoned on the Patagonia clothing logo, and a few blocks ahead was La Cerveceria Chaltén, the craft brewery that I'd had my mind set on for the last nine hours.
That morning, I had squeezed into a rickety van and been dropped off in the middle of nowhere to hike the famous Laguna de los Tres trail. I'm not a hiker by nature (my most native state is lounging around on the couch). I'd done Machu Picchu (well, the one-day version on the last stretch of the Inca Trail) and a rock scramble trail in Orebic, Croatia, but those were both with friends. This was a 14-mile hike through Los Glaciares National Park — with no cell reception — and I was traveling solo.
What started as a simple walk through a wooded forest on an autumn-like day kept doing quick changes, as if Mother Nature was throwing Amazing Race challenges, testing my ability to survive on my own. One minute, the sun would beat down on an open meadow as I mentally rationed out my water supply and then, moments later, I'd be struggling to balance on a winding path as the wind forced me over. At one point, I bundled up and gazed in wonderment as soft snowflakes settled on the mountaintops and soon after, I was dodging muddy puddles as hail pelted down.
For someone who is shaky even going down the subway stairs in New York City, each element presented new challenges that I had to problem solve completely on my own. But after single-handedly passing all those hurdles — and beating the clock to make it back to civilization before the sun set — I felt a kind of self-confident pride I'd never experienced, a new sense of my own durability. And it overcame me like an indescribable dose of elation, an elixir I didn't know I needed.
That's when I realized: this is why there's so much hype about solo travel. Traveling solo isn't about not having anyone to go with. Rather, it's about purposefully choosing to go on your own — and surprising yourself along the way. In my mind, I had always seen myself as a wimp, an adventure-dodging introvert incapable of anything more than a literal stroll in the park. And here, I had conquered a trail I later learned was ranked "Challenging" — and I did it without anyone's help, or even knowledge.
I'm not the only one who has discovered how powerful solo travel can be. After all, one in four Americans prefers to travel alone, according to a Travelex survey. In fact, 18% of global bookings are from solo travelers — a 7% increase from the previous year, as a 2019 Travelport study found.
"As much as sharing fantastic moments with others is great, there is something exceedingly special about having them to yourself," Kinga Philips, the host of the Travel Channel's Lost in the Wild, said. "Whether you are sitting at a cafe alone watching the world go by or climbing a sand dune at sunrise stopping to howl with the coyotes — I've done both — you just created a little bubble of a moment that belongs solely to you."
While that Patagonian hike was alluring for me, like Philips says, I've felt that same energy during solo adventures, laughing it up with servers at Churrascaria Palace in Rio de Janeiro, channeling my inner Hufflepuff at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios Hollywood, enjoying a pint of craft beer at Deschutes Brewery in Portland, joining a volunteer project with All Hands and Hearts in Puerto Rico, watching the opera in German (which I don't understand) at the Vienna Opera House, and indulging in perogies at Pierogarnia Mandu in Gdansk, Poland. The adventures didn't have to be grand — they just had to be mine.
"In the frenzied world that we live in, it's about this rare window to do exactly what you want, when you want, without answering to anyone else," Lee Thompson, who co-founded the solo travel company Flash Pack, said. "Often, you discover things about yourself that you never realized before, simply because you haven't had the space to explore who you are outside the context of the people who know you."
With so many challenges around us, especially in this day and age, the value of being able to step away and recalibrate has turned solo travel into a healthy habit we should all embrace. So here's why this is the year to consider finally taking that solo trip.
Learn to Transform Fear Into Fuel
Rachel Chang
Even though I'm now a converted solo travel addict, I get what the view is like from the other side. I've been at that restaurant looking at the solo diner in the corner, hypothesizing why they are alone. I've been the one traveling with a loved one, secretly feeling sorry for the single traveler who didn't have a companion. I understand the stigma.
"There's a fear of being judged for traveling solo," my new friend Pete from England — who I met on a Flash Pack trip to Finland — admitted to me later. "It's a daunting undertaking. 'You're not going on holiday with someone?' was a common question and was almost universally accompanied with quizzical confused looks — almost like I was a social pariah."
And that's the reason Thompson created Flash Pack with now-wife Radha Vyas — to combat that exact feeling. "We've all got this inbuilt bias toward the status quo," he said. "I think everyone has that fear or flicker of uncertainty. It's all, Am I up to this?, Will I be lonely? and I'm not sure I'm brave enough. But I deal with it by using it as fuel."
The idea behind the company is to ease into traveling alone by bringing solo travelers together for group adventure trips — which, of course, attracts many first-time solo travelers, like Pete. This particular trip was a two-night excursion in Finland, exploring the craft beer scene and outdoor Allas Sea Pool in Helsinki and camping in the Nuuksio National Park (sleeping in hanging hammocks!).
Within that safety net of not getting judged for traveling alone — and being with other people doing the same thing — I found myself doing activities I would never consider doing back home... some with success (stand-up paddleboarding) and some without (riding fat bikes).
But what made the strongest impression was chatting around a campfire with strangers well into the night — I naturally found myself sharing more with these strangers than I would with some friends at home. Being in a place where no one had any preconceived notions about me, I was more open to revealing thoughts that had been locked up. (The games of "Would You Rather" sure helped!) And it felt rejuvenating.
"It made me feel like a badass exploring a new place on the other side of the world on my own," Deb from Westboro, Massachusetts, another first-timer solo traveler in our group agreed.
Recheck Your Personal Values
Credit: Ibrahim Rifath/Unsplash
With so much information available to us these days, it's easy for our own opinions to get muddled in the groupthink mentality.
And when we travel with other people, our observations about a new place are influenced by what our travel companions see. Every action we take on a trip — from choosing a restaurant to what time to get up — becomes a group decision, a compromise of sorts. But when you're a single traveler, every move you make is 100 percent yours — an opportunity for you to see how you operate stripped of your familiar surroundings.
As a chronic self-doubter, whenever I come back from a solo trip, I'm more driven, forward-thinking, and assured. And I'm wondering if it might come from a phenomenon I didn't even realize I was doing until Philipps brought it up: Conversations with myself.
"I like a good bit of loneliness as it tends to first heighten and then silence the voices in our own heads," she said. "You start to have some rather lovely conversations with yourself, whether it's talking yourself through something unfamiliar or sharing a moment of awe with yourself. I've had some pretty extraordinary experiences once I got past the inmate discomfort of being on my own in a foreign place."
Without even being aware of it, I realize that there is a difference when I explore the unfamiliar on my own. When I'm in a new place, there's a constant dialogue running through my brain — almost like seeing the world with silent closed-caption Popup Video commentary.
"The toilets on top of Table Mountain in Cape Town reeks. Oh, look, there's a sign, it's an eco-toilet. That's worth the smell." "Whoa, that girl in front of Juliet's House in Verona just put her hand on the statue's boob — oh, everyone's doing it. It must be a tradition." "Waze wants me to pull onto that dirt road and go up an unlit hill to get to my Airbnb? This is so Joshua Tree."
While those subtle observations may not feel impactful in the moment, overall, they're letting you see the world unfiltered without any extra commentary — for example, no one is telling me how I should feel about the smelly bathroom, so that I had a chance to explore the (very honorable) reason behind the stink.
"It's a space that teaches you about your own triggers, fears, strengths and response mechanisms. From how you interact with strangers to where you feel most in your element, you are constantly hyper-aware of your thoughts and feelings," Philipps said. And that helps you rediscover the inner depths of your personal belief systems.
"There is also a pace to solo travel that slows down the spin of modern existence and helps us to recalibrate," she said. "It's the quintessential 101 class to finding yourself and creating a dynamic and honest relationship with self first."
Conquer Challenges With Confidence
Credit: David Marcu/Unsplash
On a solo adventure, you never know what you'll be hit with — for instance, the very first thing that happened on my first-ever solo trip to Ecuador was that my luggage didn't arrive. But the ability to figure it all out — often when you don't know the language or geography — provides that extra dose of fearlessness to problem solve better.
"I personally believe that when we are solo, especially as women, our senses heighten as a primal response to being more aware and safe in foreign surroundings," Phillips says. "That feeling lends itself to elevating the five senses in terms of how you process what's happening around you."
Sometimes the problems may seem small — like battling loneliness on the road. But Philips has figured out a surefire method that works for her. "When I do feel like some company, I seek out older folks who are also on their own," she shared. "I've found they often love the company and have terrific insights into life and location."
Other times, things can feel overwhelming, like when I was standing at the bag carousel in Quito, not understanding why such a large group of us didn't have our luggage. But as I picked up clues, I also found other Americans who were in the same situation as me. While it ultimately took three days to get our baggage, along the way, I made new friends in the moment — and beyond… since I ended up working with one of the girls who also lost her bag!
"Solo travel for women has become far more accessible in recent years. If you are off grid you have access to tools like satellite phones for safety," Philips says. "When you are in more populated areas, cellphone coverage and Wi-Fi lets you stay in touch with friends and loved ones taking away the layer of being completely alone if you don't fancy."
When it comes down to it, traveling on your own is just like any other basic skill. "Solo travel is a bit like riding a bike," Thompson said. "You really just have to throw yourself at it. Because if you wait until you're ready, you never will be. Every time you try something new or scary, your self-confidence grows a little further. And that's useful in all aspects of life."
Me and My Little - One Mom's Covid-Era Adventure Through Our National Parks
Sidelined By the Pandemic: What a Travel Writer Learned in 2020
7 Travel Resolutions You Should Consider For 2021
Why You Should Skip the Plane, And Take the Train


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Q: Phonegap jQuery ajax request does not work I want to develop a Phonegap application and I am using jQuery Mobile. I am developing and testing via Firefox on the PC, so the issues described here don't have anything todo with Phonegap - this is an Firefox PC issue:
The following code  does not work and I would need some help to point me in the right direction:
var loadWeather = function()
{
    // Request absetzen
    $.ajax(
    {
        // the URL for the request
        url : 'http://www.google.com/ig/api',

        // the data to send (will be converted to a query string)
        data : {
            weather : 'Vienna'
        },

        // whether this is a POST or GET request
        type : 'GET',

        // the type of data we expect back
        dataType : 'xml',

        // code to run if the request succeeds; the response is passed to the function
        success : function(xml)
        {
            parseXML(xml);
        },

        // code to run if the request fails;
        // the raw request and status codes are passed to the function
        error : function(xhr, status)
        {
            alert('Error retreiving weather!');
        }
    });
}

status is "error", xhr.readyState=0, xhr.status=0, so I don't get any info for the reason from jQuery at all. The request is executed, the answer-header (from Firebug) is:
Accept: application/xml, text/xml, */*; q=0.01
Accept-Charset: ISO-8859-1,utf-8;q=0.7,*;q=0.7
Accept-Encoding: gzip, deflate
Accept-Language: de-de,de;q=0.8,en-us;q=0.5,en;q=0.3
Connection: keep-alive
Host: www.google.com
Origin: null
User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.1; WOW64; rv:9.0.1) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/9.0.1

and 200 OK. So why I am jumping in the error case? xhr.isRejected() says true. What does this mean?

A: Okay, so there are a number of things going on here. First Firefox won't allow you to do a cross domain request using AJAX so that is why you are getting the error case when you try it from your desktop browser.
If you were testing on the device I would suspect that jQuery would be giving your a successful result. You see when running code from the file:// protocol on a mobile device the same origin policy does not apply. In fact I've done an AJAX query to that exact Google API in a sample app I developed with PhoneGap.
However, depending on the version of jQuery you are using there may be a bug. Frequently when you do an AJAX request from the file:// protocol the xhr.status coming back will be '0'. That is actually okay and should be treated the same as a '200' but I believe older version of jQuery have an issue with the 0 status.
I've written a quick blog post on doing XHR from a PhoneGap application that you can read:
http://simonmacdonald.blogspot.com/2011/12/on-third-day-of-phonegapping-getting.html
It takes jQuery completely out of the equation. If that doesn't work then nothing will.


Connect Groups are the connection to authentic discipleship, new friendships, and tons of fun. Students will never experience all that God has to offer until they connect in life giving relationships. Connect Groups are divided between ages and based on a variety of topics that are relevant to life, so it's easy to find one that's perfect for you!
Real life change happens in the context of relationships. As Connect Group leaders, students have an excellent opportunity to connect with others, utilize their gifts, and live out the Great Commission through leading their peers. If you desire to lead a connect group and have not attended connect group leadership training, find a time that works for you.
Connect Groups meet once a week in homes or other locations throughout your city. The groups start and begin three times a year, so you have the chance to find a group that fits you best!


Budapest sightseeing: We show you the city's most beautiful sights. Heroes square, Millenium memorial (promenade), Opera House, St. Stephens church, Parliament, Margaret Island, Castle District, Fishermans Bastion (walk), Matthias Church, Citadel (photo-stop), Downtown, Market Hall, National Museum, Jewish Synagogue. Tour ends at the pier/city-centre.


I made the cutest Easter Egg Sun Catcher with my son the other day. We have it hanging up in our window right now and I love seeing the bright colors of it every day. This project is so easy and I just used items I already had around the house. I LOVE when that happens! The colors of the egg can easily be customized using any of your favorite colors. I did this craft with my preschooler, but it would also be great for a toddler to help them practice fine motor skills!
Tissue Paper: I just grabbed all my spring colors from the tissue paper I already had at home. You can find some for cheap at the Dollar Tree.
Contact Paper: One roll of contact paper will last a long time and is fun for laminating things by hand or other fun little craft projects.
Cut squares out of your tissue paper. I didn't use very much from each color, it will just depend on how many and how big you are making your egg.
After you have a nice pile of tissue paper squares it's time to get your contact paper ready. I cut two pieces of contact paper both large enough for our egg. Set one of the contact pieces aside and pull off the backing of the other piece and lay it sticky side up on the counter top. My son then started placing the tissue paper all over the contact paper, making sure to overlap and fill all the holes.
Once you have your contact paper covered with the tissue paper you will need pull off the backing of your second sheet of contact paper. Carefully lay the two contact sheets together with both sticky side on the tissue paper.
I printed an egg template off my computer just from clip art. I traced the egg onto the contact paper and then cut along the tracing. Once the egg is cut out you can use your hole punch to poke a hole in the top of the egg. Loop your string through the hole and your Easter Egg Sun Catcher is ready to hang in your window!
My son has a short attention span so he loves doing these quick and easy projects with me. Now if only the snow would melt and then spring would really be here!
Thank you so much! I've been looking for some unique activities to do with my kids for Easter, especially with the sun beaming as much as it is now. I'll definitely be trying this!
This is a great craft that even my 2 year old can make! I would just love to know how you cut that tissue paper with scissors. I tried and failed. haha.
Haha! Oh no! I must have gotten lucky because it cut really easily for me!
This is so cute, easy, and Frugal! I'm SO makjngbghis with my kids!! Thanks!


I meet both my men today and the will be paying me. One guy I collect $450 and the other guy I collect $640. Not bad.
It feels good to have cash by midday and then I usually go to track for the early double and have lunch.
Who is collecting and who is paying today?
lol, JJ I'm collecting and paying, you know what I mean buddy! Back in Newark this afternoon, meeting a few people on Broad street.
Jimmy I swear you must wear a leather jacket even when it is hot.
lol, JJ. Not a flashy guy. I was taught by the best. My Godfather runs a very successful business and is a millionaire that only buys cars that fall off the back of a car carrier,lol. Look at him and you think hes just another guy,lol.
and last weeks on thursday.


Sivuvalo project launches its first non-profit poetry book series called 'Karu Kartonera' on behalf of the right that international writers living in Finland must have to publish in their own mother tongue. The collection is a long term publishing cooperation with Stadin Ammatiopisto.
We hate war, mother! a poetry book by refugee writer based in Finland Ye Yint Thet Zwe (Burma,1964). Trilingual edition: Burmese, Finnish and English. Translated by Anne Ketola and Sami Häninen.
Roađđi: poetry compilation by Sámi contemporary writers Niillas Holmberg and Inger-Mari Aikio. Trilingual edition: Sámi, Spanish and English. Translatons by Daniel Malpica, Zoila Forss, Roxana Crisólogo, Lisa Jokivirta, Clive Boutle, Charles Peterson, Georgina Willms, Johanna Domokos, Pekka Sammallahti and the authors.
Sivuvalo: Is this Finnish Literature?. Lit compilation by Marcel Jaentschke (Nicaragua), Diana Mistera (Italy), Mohamed Ahmed Haji Omar (Somalia/Suomi), David Gambarte (Spain), Rosamaria Bolom (Mexico), Maila-Kaarina Rantanen (Brasil), Tanya Tynjälä (Peru), Polina Kopylova (Russia), Roxana Crisólogo (Peru) and Daniel Malpica (Mexico). Multilingual Edition. Publishers: [Radiador] Magazine and Sivuvalo.


text:
Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) is an Indian central public sector undertaking and the largest government-owned power generation equipment manufacturer. It is under the ownership of Government of India and administrative control of the Ministry of Heavy Industries. Established in 1956, BHEL is based in New Delhi.

History
BHEL was established in 1956 ushering in the heavy electrical equipment industry in India. Heavy Electricals (India) Limited was merged with BHEL in 1974. When it was set up in 1956, BHEL was envisaged as a plain manufacturing PSU, with technological help from the Soviet Union. In 1980's it was cutting edge in thyristor technology.  In 1991, BHEL was converted into a public company. Over time, it developed the capability to produce a variety of electrical, electronic, and mechanical equipment for various sectors, including transmission, transportation, oil and gas, and other allied industries. However, the bulk of the company's revenue is still derived from the sale of power generation equipment such as turbines and boilers. As of 2017, equipment supplied by BHEL constituted around 55% of the total installed power generation capacity in India. The company also supplies electric locomotives to the Indian Railways and defence equipment such as the Super Rapid Gun Mount (SRGM) naval guns manufactured in partnership with the Ordnance Factory Board and simulators to the Indian Armed Forces.

Operations

BHEL is engaged in the design, engineering, manufacturing, construction, testing, commissioning and servicing of a wide range of products, systems and services for the core sectors of the economy, viz. power, transmission, industry, transportation, renewable energy, oil & gas, and defence.

It has a network of 16 manufacturing units, two repair units, four regional offices, eight service centres, eight overseas offices, 15 regional centres, seven joint ventures, and infrastructure allowing it to execute more than 150 projects at sites across India and abroad. The company has established the capability to deliver 20,000 MW p.a. of power equipment to address the growing demand for power generation equipment.

BHEL has retained its market leadership position during 2015–16 with 74% market share in the Power Sector. An improved focus on project execution enabled BHEL record its highest ever commissioning/synchronization of 15059 MW of power plants in domestic and international markets in 2015–16, marking a 59% increase over 2014–15. With the all-time high commissioning of 15000 MW in a single year FY2015-16, BHEL has exceeded 170 GW installed base of power generating equipments.

It also has been exporting its power and industry segment products and services for over 40 years. BHEL's global references are spread across over 76 countries across all the six continents of the world. The cumulative overseas installed capacity of BHEL manufactured power plants exceeds 9,000 MW across 21 countries including Malaysia, Oman, Iraq, UAE, Bhutan, Egypt, and New Zealand. Their physical exports range from turnkey projects to after sales services.

Initiatives
BHEL's investment in R&D is amongst the largest in the corporate sector in India.

During 2012–2013, the company invested about ₹1,252 Crore on R&D efforts, which corresponds to nearly 2.50% of the turnover of the company, focusing on new product and system developments and improvements in existing products. The IPR (Intellectual Property Rights) capital of BHEL grew by 21.5% in the year, taking the total to 2170.

The corporate R&D division at Hyderabad leads BHEL's research efforts in a number of areas of importance to BHEL's product range. Research & product development (RPD) groups for each product group at the manufacturing divisions play a complementary role. BHEL has established Centres of Excellence for Simulators, Computational Fluid Dynamics, Permanent Magnet Machines, Surface Engineering, Machine Dynamics, Centre for Intelligent Machines and Robotics, Compressors & Pumps, Centre for Nano Technology, Ultra High Voltage Laboratory at Corporate R&D; Centre of Excellence for Hydro Machines at Bhopal; Power Electronics and IGBT & Controller Technology at Electronics Division, Bengaluru, and Advanced Fabrication Technology and Coal Research Centre at Tiruchirappalli.

BHEL has established four specialized institutes, viz., Welding Research Institute (WRI) at Tiruchirappalli, Ceramic Technological Institute (CTI) at Bangalore, Centre for Electric Traction (CET) at Bhopal and Pollution Control Research Institute (PCRI) at Haridwar. Amorphous Silicon Solar Cell plant at Gurgaon pursues R&D in Photo Voltaic applications.

BHEL is one of the only four Indian companies and the only Indian public sector enterprise figuring in 'The Global Innovation 1000' of Booz & Co., a list of 1,000 publicly traded companies which are the biggest spenders on R&D in the world.

In 2022, BHEL and Titagarh Wagons formed a consortium and participated in a tender by Government of India. The consortium emerged the second lowest bidder and will be supplying 80 Vande Bharat Trains to Indian Railways.

Criticism
BHEL is selected to construct 1340-megawatt Rampal coal power plant in Rampal Upazila, Bangladesh, which is close to the Sundarbans mangrove forest. The power plant is set up by Bangladesh-India Friendship Power Company Pvt. Limited — a joint venture between NTPC Limited and Bangladesh Power Development Board. The project has faced criticism for the environmental impact and the potential harm to the largest mangrove forest in the world. In 2017 Norway's sovereign wealth fund removed BHEL from its investment portfolio over concerns about the Rampal coal plant.

See also
 Bharathidasan Institute of Management, a college that functions within the BHEL campus; established in partnership with BHEL
 List of public sector undertakings in India

References

External links

Companies based in New Delhi
Manufacturing companies based in Delhi
Gas turbine manufacturers
Locomotive manufacturers of India
Government-owned companies of India
Indian brands
Economy of Bhopal
Electrical engineering companies of India
Industries in Hyderabad, India
Economy of Tiruchirappalli
Indian companies established in 1964
Manufacturing companies established in 1964
1964 establishments in Delhi
Companies listed on the National Stock Exchange of India
Companies listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
All About The Jersey homepage Horizontal - White All About The Jersey New Jersey Devils Schedule, Roster, News, and Rumors | All About The Jersey
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Examining Miles Wood's Encouraging Start to the 2021 Devils Season
Among the positives to the start of the New Jersey Devils season in 2021 is the play of Miles Wood. Wood has been actually good in the run of play in his first five games in addition to three goals scored. This post examines his encouraging start in this season so far.
By John Fischer Jan 25, 2021, 11:00am EST
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Miles Wood scoring against Our Hated Rivals. Everyone loves to see that.
The 2021 season is still very young for the National Hockey League. The New Jersey Devils, not expected to make any particular noise, has done fairly well all things considered. They opened up with earning three points out of four out of potential East Division favorite Boston and beating Our Hated Rivals in regulation. It took until the fourth game of the season before they suffered a regulation loss. They rebounded after that loss by shutting out the Islanders 2-0. Considering the team is still without Nico Hischier (injury), Jesper Bratt (visa - now in Coronavirus protocol), Sami Vatanen (visa), and prior to the loss against the Islanders, Mackenzie Blackwood (Coronavirus protocol), going 3-1-1 to start is a pleasant surprise. One of the reasons why it is so pleasant is because of left winger Miles Wood.
A Bit of Background of Miles Wood
This is Miles Wood's fifth season in the NHL. In the previous four seasons, Wood has demonstrated himself to be a double-edged sword of a player. At his best, Wood is very fast in a straight line with the puck and in puck pursuit on offense. That speed can create one-on-ones with the goaltender. His rambunctious style draws penalties and he shows a willingness to shoot the puck. As he has been in the league, his willingness to backcheck has picked up a bit. At his worst, Wood is not nearly as fast off the puck, he does not apply the kind of pressure on defense he does on offense, his shoot-from-anywhere mentality means he takes a lot of low-percentage shots, he often does not finish those one-on-ones with goaltenders, and he takes quite a few calls due to his rambunctious style. This means the results he has provided to the Devils has been mixed at best. This also means the first few games of this season helps make Wood stand out even more.
What's Good with Wood So Far
One of the reasons why Wood has been a stand out early on is his production. He is tied for the Devils lead in goals with three and he is only behind Jack Hughes and Ty Smith in points. Wood's three goals have been valuable too. The first one was the first of the Devils' whole season and tied up the game 1-1 in the third period against Boston. The second one opened the scoring in the second game against Boston. The third one was the Devils' first power play goal of the season and it stood up as the eventual game winning goal against Our Hated Rivals. Wood's one assist set up Travis Zajac's goal, which came within the first minute against Our Hated Rivals. Putting up four points in three games will get anyone noticed. (Aside: He also set the screen on Jack Hughes' power play goal against the Isles last night, so his non-point work is noticeable too.)
However, the Devils have been doing rather well in the run of play when Wood has been on the ice. After yesterday's game against the Islanders, here are Wood's 5-on-5 on-ice rate percentages at Natural Stat Trick:
CF%: 55.08% (2nd to Zajac, 56.48%)
SF%: 54.29% (2nd to Zajac, 54.88%)
xGF%: 61.33% (2nd to Kulikov, 62.46%)
SCF%: 53.70% (3rd to Severson, 54.17%, and Kulikov, 56%)
HDCF%: 59.26% (1st on team)
GF%: 100% (1st on team, tied with Palmieri, Kulikov, Merkley, and Tennyson)
What this all means is that when Wood is on the ice, the Devils are controlling most of the play in 5-on-5 and out-scoring their opposition in 5-on-5. This is not all due to Wood himself. He has been playing with Travis Zajac, who has been very good to start this season. Mackenzie Blackwood was superb in his first three games. It has helped that Wood often had either the pairing of Ryan Murray and P.K. Subban behind him or the pairing of Dmitry Kulikov and Damon Severson. However, the Corsi, shot, scoring chance, and expected goal percentages are not this high for Wood if Wood himself was not contributing outside of the scoresheet. One of the benefits of using CF% or xGF% is that it shows up well for players who win puck battles, make successful transitions on offense and defense, and keep the opposition at bay. As well as Zajac has been doing, one player alone cannot put up team-leading numbers in 5-on-5 play. Wood, at a minimum, has been very helpful. While it has been only four games old, this is far superior to Wood's best on-ice percentages in his career (2017-18, also the season where he scored 16 5-on-5 goals). It is quite good.
It is also worth noting who Wood has put these numbers up against. As CJ pointed last week, the Zajac line - Zajac, Wood, and Jesper Boqvist - drew Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand in the two games against Boston. Bergeron and Marchand are two-thirds of one of the most dominant first lines in recent memory. That is a tough match-up. Yet, in each game, the Devils were winning the matchup decisively when Wood saw either of those two in Game #1 and #2. That helped the Devils stay in those games against Boston and came out of each with results. Against Our Hated Rivals, Wood was one of the few Devils to not get dominated by Filip Chytil's line, they crushed New York's fourth line, and came out ahead against the likes of Artemi Panarin and Ryan Strome. The first game against the Islanders was disappointing, but there was some success in Wood's common matchups against Andy Greene and Noah Dobson. Last night's game against the Isles in Newark saw Wood's most common matchup in 5-on-5 be the top line of Mat Barzal, Anders Lee, and Jordan Eberle. The Devils just about matched them attempt for attempt in 5-on-5 when Wood and those three were on the ice. The larger point is that it Wood (and Zajac) were not sheltered and kept to playing only against the opposition's bottom six. There were real on-ice successes or non-losses against some difficult-on-paper match-ups when a defensively-questionable Wood was on the ice. That speaks to how well Wood has been doing outside of the boxscore.
What further adds to the goodness is the fact that head coach Lindy Ruff's systems require the wingers to take more responsibility off the puck. As defensemen have been given the green light to "activate" and jump up on the offensive zone, a winger often has to drop back just to cover themselves. In the defensive zone, wingers need to drop deeper in their own end and be more aware of opposing players - especially when defensemen swarm opposing players along the boards. Wood has never been a particularly good or even decent player in his own zone. In theory, asking him to do even more off the puck would be a bad idea. But the 5-on-5 numbers show that it has been working. The on-ice against rate stats when Wood is on the ice are among the lowest on the team, joining Zajac. It is not so much that the Devils are playing and winning a super high-event game when #44 is on the ice. The team has played very well in both ends with Wood. At a minimum, he is not dragging anything down. This implies good discipline in the run of play.
Speaking of discipline, Wood has been on good behavior. Wood took two completely avoidable and ill-advised goaltender interference penalties in the first game against Boston. Those have been the only times Wood has put his team in a shorthanded situation. In the second game, he got into a fight with a Bruin and that was the last time he was in the box. The two road games against the two New York teams saw Wood not commit a foul (or get caught). This is another positive because Wood has a tendency to get into the penalty box fairly regularly. While this does draw calls from other teams, it does get him - and by extension, the Devils - into trouble. The Devils' PK woes have been real early on in this season. One of the more frequently penalized Devils is doing his part by not adding to those woes by taking calls since the first game.
Lastly, Wood is standing out because the others in a similar position have not. While Wood is 25, he is effectively a veteran among wingers on the Devils as this is his fifth NHL season. Without Jesper Bratt, the only other experienced NHLers at left and right wing on the roster have been Kyle Palmieri, Nikita Gusev, and Andreas Johnsson. Those three have been very bad in the team's first four games. Johnsson was benched in the third period of the Rangers game and he saw a demotion to the fourth line for yesterday's game against the Islanders. Gusev was also benched in the third period of the Rangers game and has looked lost. Palmieri has been so off the page, I question if he is in another book entirely. All three performed better last night, but overall, they have left a lot to be desired on the ice. Maybe it is just me, but their struggles helps make Wood's early successes stick out more.
It may have been just five games and it may not last, but that I can name multiple positives about Wood's start to this season is very encouraging.
What I Am At Least a Bit Concerned About Wood's Start
While it is encouraging, I am not concerned about at least some of this falling apart as the season wears on. This praise is based on five games so far. The 2021 season may have been shortened to 56 games, but there is a lot of hockey left to be played. This could go poorly for Wood as much as it could continue fairly well.
A closer look at the production itself shows a very fortunate winger. Wood's breakaway goal was great. However, knowing he has failed to finish those plays in the past (and one attempt earlier that game led to a goaltender interference penalty) makes one wonder how often he can do it again. The other two goals were fortunate bounces. Wood's second goal was a tip-in on a Ty Smith shot. Players do practice deflections but good luck trying to replicate that in a game situation. Wood's third goal was even more fortunate; he touched off a brilliant pass by Hughes that went in off his skate. That is even harder, if not impossible, to repeat for future games. The good news is that Wood is shooting the puck quite a bit. He is second only to Gusev with 15 shots on net in the team's first five games. I am just pointing out his success rate on goals has been boosted by some beneficial touches.
Furthermore, while Wood's 5-on-5 on-ice stats are great, there are still signs of Wood's defensive issues manifesting themselves. Per Dr. Micah Blake McCurdy's Hockeyviz, Wood's isolated impact shows a lot of red around the net and in the slot - which is not good. This was taken prior to yesterday's game against the Isles.
Miles Wood isolated impact for 1-24-2021 prior to the Isles game.
Hockeyviz (Dr. Micah Blake McCurdy)
If it was not for the goaltenders playing so well, perhaps it could have cost the Devils in the tight four games I am praising Wood's performance is in I do think Dr. McCurdy's Magnus model for isolating player impact may be over-rating the issues as the team has not conceded a lot of scoring chances and high-danger scoring chances with Wood on the ice. And I would like to think the Isles game last night would lighten those dark red areas by the Devils' net in the bottom half. It is still something to watch for as the season progresses.
Likewise, I am concerned about whether the coaching staff will keep Wood in a position he has been succeeding at so far. While Wood and Zajac have been playing very well in 5-on-5, plenty of other Devils are not. Lindy Ruff may need to mix up the lines just to help out others from getting beaten on. Already, the Zajac line was adjusted prior to yesterday's game as Janne Kuokkanen replaced Boqvist on the right side to allow for a Nick Merkley call up. That worked quite well against the Isles against a tough matchup against Barzal's line. There could be other changes that could impact Wood's current roster situation, especially if Gusev, Palmieri, and/or Johnsson continue to struggle. In addition, Hischier's and Bratt's impending arrival will force other changes in the lineup. Taking Wood away from Zajac could lead to poorer results for either, which could mean the Devils go from three underperforming veteran wingers to four. If it were me, I change nothing about Wood and Zajac. But it is not my call. It is not an issue now, but it could be something that is done later on - which could lead to a bit of a decline for Wood.
Furthermore, I do not think three, four, or five games really undoes a player's style that has been established for three or four seasons. Wood is bound to take some penalties. His style means he will likely take calls that would be avoidable for most players. When things are not going well, he could revert to spraying pucks towards the net regardless of location. Or he could struggle to keep up with Ruff's changes off the puck and go back to being inactive in his own zone. Struggles and bad nights will happen to everyone. I question whether some of those could send Wood back to what he has been instead of the net-positive player he has been in the first four games of this season.
Concluding Thoughts & Your Take
It is possible that Wood is turning a corner now that he has been in the NHL for four seasons and has a new head coach with a new staff telling him things he may not have heard in the past four seasons. But I do not think a dramatic change has taken place.
All the same, this is not to say that I think Wood is doomed to be the mixed-bag-of-results winger that he has been for most of his career. I think Wood's good start could be facilitated to make him more of a net positive based on adjustments from what he has done in the past. And I will gladly accept a good start to the season from Wood in any case. Especially as Palmieri, Gusev, and Johnsson have been non-factors at best in those same games. I hope it continues. Or at least it does not revert in the opposite direction where you are left wondering whether he is worth keeping around. That last point is crucial. While the GM was the assistant GM of past years, veterans like Wood effectively have to prove they are worth keeping around for the future in a season like this one. So far, so good on that front.
Regardless of how last night went, I am pleased to see this start from Wood. I am encouraged that he can build on this on his way to having a good season. Now I want to know what you think of Miles Wood so far this season. Are you also encouraged by the good start that he has been having? What would you do to keep the good times going for Miles Wood? Do you think this will last throughout 2021? Please leave yours and other thoughts about Wood in the comments. Thank you for reading.
More From All About The Jersey
Extracting Some Positives from Another Season in the Gutter for the Devils
DitD & Open Post - 1/21/22: Jesper's Deal Edition
Is It Time for the New Jersey Devils to Pull the Plug on MacKenzie Blackwood?
Vejmelka, Coyotes shut down the Devils in a Frustrating 4-1 loss
Gamethread #38: New Jersey Devils vs. Arizona Coyotes
NHL Announces Re-scheduled Games; 8 New Dates for New Jersey Devils Games
Is It Time for the New Jersey Devils to Pull the Plug on MacKenzie Blackwood? The New Jersey Devils starter has struggled mightily this season; is it time for them to give someone else a try, be it for this season or beyond?
DitD & Open Post - 1/21/22: Jesper's Deal Edition New Jersey Devils & Related Hockey Links for 1/21/22
Extracting Some Positives from Another Season in the Gutter for the Devils Things are bad right now in Devil-land, I don't think I have to tell any of you that. There are bits of positive news dotting the roster, though, even in the midst of another season flushed down the tubes.
An Early Look at the Devils Potential Trade Deadline Strategy The Devils will likely be quiet at this year's deadline, but there are a few moves they can potentially make.
Vejmelka, Coyotes shut down the Devils in a Frustrating 4-1 loss The New Jersey Devils attacked early and often against the Arizona Coyotes, but had little to show for it as Karel Vejmelka stood on his head. Add in more Mackenzie Blackwood struggles in net and the Devils were handed a 4-1 loss by the Yotes.


Dev calls him "Road Redemption's version of The Terminator."
2014's rookie of the year Shovel Knight will be a playable character in motorcycle action game Road Redemption, following an update due later today.
Shovel Knight made his game debut in Yacht Club Games' retro action platformer bearing his moniker earlier this year.
Both projects were bourne of Kickstarter where Shovel Knight made over $311K while Road Redemption's tally fell just under $174K.
Shovel Knight looks great as an 8-bit character, but he arguably looks even cooler in HD on a motorcycle.
"Shovel Knight is basically Road Redemption's version of The Terminator," said Road Redemption developer DarkSeas Games' Ian Fisch. "He's this plate-armored unstoppable juggernaut, and it's great to have the opportunity to include him in our game."
Yacht Club Games' Nick Wozniak added, "This incarnation of our stalwart, blue hero could not have us more excited and I can't wait until he crosses the generational gap from pixels to glorious polygons in Road Redemption."
Road Redemption is currently available on PC via Steam Early Access with PS4, Xbox One, Wii U, Mac and Linux versions expected to arrive in Q3 2015.


text:
package com.twitter.algebird

import org.scalacheck.Arbitrary
import org.scalacheck.Prop._

class AdjoinedRingSpecification extends CheckProperties {
  import com.twitter.algebird.BaseProperties._

  implicit def adjoined[T: Arbitrary]: Arbitrary[AdjoinedUnit[T]] = Arbitrary {
    implicitly[Arbitrary[T]].arbitrary.map { t => AdjoinedUnit(t) }
  }
  // AdjoinedUnit requires this method to be correct, so it is tested here:
  property("intTimes works correctly") {
    forAll { (bi0: BigInt, bi1: BigInt) =>
      Group.intTimes(bi0, bi1) == (bi0 * bi1)
    }
  }

  property("AdjoinedUnit[Int] is a Ring") {
    ringLaws[AdjoinedUnit[Int]]
  }

  property("AdjoinedUnit[Long] is a Ring") {
    ringLaws[AdjoinedUnit[Long]]
  }

}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


This Thursday you have a unique opportunity to come to meet experienced entrepreneurs.
MetropoliaES is holding the final of their idea competition with the seven finalists pitching their business ideas to the judges behind closed doors from 16:00 until 17:40.
After the judges have decided the winner there will be a prize giving ceremony where Mohamed El-Fatatry (Founder of Muxlim) and Jukka Hassinen (Founder of Brain Alliance) are also going to have a chat about entrepreneurship. Join us to hear about their experiences and to find out who won the competition!
If you are interested in entrepreneurship read on.
Metropolia Myyrmäki lectures are in the process of launching a year long entrepreneurship course starting in the autumn 2011. This course is designed for entrepreneurial students who have an idea for starting a business or would like to be involved in starting a business. The plan is to guide students through the process of taking an idea from the concept stage through to launch stage with input from lectures, guest entrepreneurs and organisations that assist entrepreneurs.
Students will have the opportunity to pay a small fee and receive an official company status with bank account and vat number. The course is carried out in co-operation with Junior Achievement Young Enterprise.
It is not necessary that students are part of a group of students looking to start a business as there is the possibility to meet like minded students that you can join with to form a business. The course is open to all students studying in Metropolia University of Applied Sciences. While many of the lectures are carried out in English students will have the possibility to complete tasks in Finnish if necessary.
If you are interested in entrepreneurship and want to know more about the course then sign up here.


text:
Andy Warhol, Shadows (on tour)
April 21, 2011–January 15, 2017, Touring
Andy Warhol, Shadows, 1978–79. © The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc./Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Photo: Bill Jacobson Studio, New York
Acquired as a single monumental work, this environmental series of 102 paintings from 1978-79 is a culmination of Andy Warhol's interest in shadows that engaged him throughout the 1970s.
Tour Venues and Dates
The Arts Club of Chicago, Chicago
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C.
September 25, 2011–January 15, 2012
Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles
Musée d'art moderne de la Ville de Paris, Paris
October 1, 2015–February 7, 2016
Guggenheim Bilbao, Bilbao
February 28–October 2, 2016
The Yuz Museum, Shanghai
October 28, 2016–January 15, 2017
Andy Warhol was born in Pittsburgh in 1928. He died in New York City in 1987.
Shadows, 1978–79
Glenn Ligon on Andy Warhol's Shadows
James Welling on Andy Warhol
Kara Walker on Andy Warhol
Robert Buck on Andy Warhol a
DiaTalks - Donna De Salvo on Andy Warhol
DiaTalks - Sandra Brant, George Condo, and Raf Simons on Andy Warhol
Lyle Ashton Harris on Andy Warhol
Ian Wilson: The Pure Awareness of the Absolute / Discussions
Agnes Martin


Piazza Duomo is the main square located right in the middle of the city. It is surrounded by many important places. On the eastern side is the cathedral, and on its north is the Town Hall, while on the other side is the fountain dell'Amenano. At the center of the plaza, is a lava stone statue depicting an elephant placed atop an obelisk in the middle of a marble fountain This entire structure is the official symbol of the city.
How popular is Piazza Duomo?
People normally club together Giardino Bellini and Fontana Dell' Amenano while planning their visit to Piazza Duomo.


I want you to take a true assessment of your health. There are many things that go into health. Its not just are you eating Burger King everyday. Its not that you spent four days in the gym this week. You need to look at EVERYTHING that affects your health: Workout routine, Mobility, Nutrition, Eating style, Supplements, Amount and type of Sleep, Level of Stress in your life, the way you treat your injuries, do you have any preventative care, etc. I know this will seem tedious but before you can actually assess your health and what you are doing for yourself, it will take some time to honestly look at everything. Dont let yourself say "well I eat pretty healthy", or "I do a decent amount of working outs". You MUST be specific. From this list, you will be able to see what you need to adjust and tweak to make your life healthier. Remember Coach Glassman's definition of health is "Fitness Over Time". The longer you are fit, the healthier you are. How healthy/fit are you?


So there we were. The four of us. All lined up in the very sinister corridor in the bowels of the Traverse.
Waiting to go on in David Leddy's Horizontal Collaboration, with Olwen Fouere's beautiful voice booming the lines of Finnegan's Wake from eerily above us.
We were all lined up in the order we were supposed to go onto the stage, feeling not much like the UN lawyers we were supposed to be portraying but a bit more as if we were about to be shot.
We enjoyed a brief fantasy of escaping down the corridor. In our order, of course.
The conceit of the show was that we were playing lawyers reading out transcripts in the War Crimes court in The Hague; transcripts that were prepared by someone else and that our characters had not had the opportunity to read before.
"This is a common occurrence", apparently, and our characters "feel calm about it".
Calmness felt about a million miles away. I was wondering why on earth I was there. To get the experience had been the idea, and get the exposure.
I've done very little acting; there are not that many parts for trans women in their sixties.
It's important to grab any experience I can. So I can learn; and raise my profile as an actor and performer. So that people know that's what I am, as well as a writer.
And by 'people' I also mean me.
We'd been very well looked after, and so besides the normal panic I did really have a calm sense that I would get through it.
We were to sit in a line at desks each lit by two lamps, one harsh, and one a soft glow, read the script off laptops, turn off our lamps one by one when the script instructed us, and finally close our laptops.
And mine performed impeccably in our very brief rehearsal.
But when I took my place in front of the audience my laptop now had a message plastered across it telling me updates were available and asking me if I wanted them installed?
Not a helpful bit of information. Especially as it wouldn't let me say no.
So my computer was unusable and I had to lean over to read my neighbour's - who in my first line I was supposed to be interrupting!
Somebody then gave me the printed script. Which was paginated differently from the document on the computer; and then about half way through I suddenly found myself apparently confronted with a script that was completely different from everyone else's.
I think someone must have skipped a page. ..
And in the meantime the lights had been going off one by one.
I'm sure it was a lovely effect, but it was making my script harder and harder to read.
I turned my soft glow back on and managed by its light and the light from my otherwise completely useless computer screen.
And then towards the end it started to dawn on me that I was the last to speak. After which I was supposed to shut my computer to leave the stage in darkness.
And I knew I couldn't do that and turn off my soft glow at the same time. So I shut the computer first and then the soft glow last.
Reading this highly complex and tense and emotional material in an emotionless voice (as I was asked to) at the same time.
So I certainly got some experience.
David Leddy is a brilliant writer and I have the vague impression it was a beautifully crafted story.
I'd been looking forward to reading it. The script dealt with atrocities, which as artists we must somehow confront, and I'd been looking forward to seeing how he dealt with them.
But I was so preocupied with getting from one line to the next I have emerged with no clear overall sense of the story at all.
I've no idea how I came across. I'd intended to try not to sound too masculine.
I'm exploring ways of softening my voice on stage so it sounds more feminine. But on stage, as in life, the minute I have to convey authority it is impossible to get away from the masculine.
Deeply embedded stereotypes seem to make it impossible to do anything else.
It fascinates me. There is a whole range of power and gender performing possibilities possessed by a trans actor that one day I would so love to explore.
I'm getting ahead of myself. By about ten years.


Mobas is proud to announce its client, Ellgia Recycling, has picked up an impressive four awards at this year's Ely Business Awards.
Ellgia Recycling, the leading waste management company, scooped the coveted Business of the Year Award, as well as Medium Business of the Year, Customer Service of the Year and Steve Crook, managing director of Ellgia Recycling, was named Business Person of the Year Award 2015.
Mobas took on Ellgia Recycling's PR activity in June and since then has worked to boost its regional profile and coverage. Part of this was to compile and submit its awards entries for the Ely Business Awards – the first set of awards that the company has ever entered.
Steve Crook, managing director at Ellgia Recycling, said: "The Ely Business Awards are a real celebration of the best that the region has to offer and we're extremely proud to have scooped four awards for our devotion and vision for waste management.
Posted on 9th October 2015.


Anytime you smush groups of sweaty people together in small spaces, there are bound to be problems and, though there may not be rules posted around the gym for how to act, there are some unspoken rules that all of us should be familiar with, whether we're veteran exercisers or we're just starting out.
Share: If you're doing multiple sets on a machine, it's common courtesy to let others work in during your rest periods. This may not always be practical, but offer to share whenever you can.
Clean Up After Yourself: My biggest pet peeve is someone who walks away from a machine, leaving a slimy pool of sweat behind. Thanks! Always bring a towel with you and wipe the machines down when you're finished. Most gyms offer wipes or sprays strategically located around the gym for this purpose.
Leave No Trace: My next biggest pet peeve is the person who leaves six million pounds on the leg press machine. I don't know, maybe I look stronger than I am. The point is, always put your weights back when you're finished.
Don't Hog the Treadmill. Many gyms have time limits on cardio machines during busy hours. There's a reason for that, and you should obey it. And no, throwing your towel over the display doesn't fool me.
Keep it Down. Most gym-goers I know have seen That Guy. The one pumping away on the treadmill while screaming into a cell phone. Unless it's an emergency, save your chat-time for after your workouts.
Cover it Up. I respect the confidence that allows some people to walk around the locker room naked. Know what else I respect? Seeing you wearing a towel after your shower to keep the locker room a comfortable place for everyone.
Aside from practicing good manners at the gym, you also want to make sure your workouts are safe and effective. Use the following tips for navigating the confusing world of gym workouts.
Don't swing your weights. Unless you're doing a sports specific workout, use slow and controlled movements. If you have to heave the weight up, it's too heavy.
Don't drop or throw the weights down. That's a great way to break a toe--yours or someone else's. If you're using a heavy weight, have a spotter nearby to help you.
Don't lock your joints. When you get to the end of a motion--like a squat--keep your joints soft to avoid hurting yourself.
Don't slump. Keep your abs engaged during all of your exercises and stand up straight to avoid injury and get the most out of your exercises.
Let go of the rails: It's tempting to take your treadmill speed/incline up so high, you have to hold on for dear life. I'm not sure why that's tempting, but it apparently is since a lot of people do it. You'll get a better workout if you let your arms swing naturally. Unless you need the rails to keep your balance and stay safe, keep your speed and incline at a level where you can comfortably let go.
Learn to Use the Machines Properly: I've seen people doing crunches on a leg press machine. If you don't know how a machine works, either look at the diagrams on the machine or ask someone to show you how it works. Most gym-goers are happy to help.
Learn to Set Up a Good Workout for Your Goals: Rather than just showing up at the gym and randomly picking machines, have a plan before you walk in the door. This might mean hiring a trainer or educating yourself about the basics of exercise.
Learn to Monitor Your Intensity: Since I started training, I've seen more than a few people puke after working too hard on the cardio machines. Beginners often aren't sure of how much they can handle and end up working too hard, exercising too soon after eating or exercising without having eaten at all, all of which can cause stomach problems. Educate yourself on how to monitor your intensity and the right way to begin a cardio program.
Being a newcomer to a health club is tough for anyone, even veteran exercisers, especially when you're not sure how things work. Things will typically go much more smoothly if you take the time to follow the rules, be a pleasant gym-goer and, most of all, learn how to set up a safe, effective program. You'll be much more likely to keep showing up for your workouts and make some new friends with like-minded people.
Is It Better for You to Work Out in a Gym or at Home?


The Winter Season is especially beautiful in the Sierra Mountains with so many activities and sights to see in our area.
As the daylight hours become less and it gets dark earlier, be aware that pedestrians are more likely walking after dark and harder to see. Check your home's heating system for operation before you need it, and don't forget to make sure your chimney is clean and flume is open before use.
Don't pass snowplows and sanding trucks. The drivers have limited visibility, and you are likely to find the road in front of them worse than the road behind.
Don't assume your vehicle can handle all conditions. Even four-wheel and front-wheel-drive vehicles can encounter trouble on winter roads.


text:
BREAKING NEWS: Ian Schweitzer Exonerated of Murder After 25 Years —
Special Master Appointed by N.J. Supreme C...
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News 06.21.10
Special Master Appointed by N.J. Supreme Court Calls for Major Overhaul of Legal Standards for Eyewitness Testimony
Opinion is First in Nation to Recognize that Major Scientific Developments on Eyewitness Evidence Require Modernization of Legal Rules; Judge Strongly Endorses Innocence Project's Recommendations for New Legal Architecture
(TRENTON, NJ, June 21, 2010) — A Special Master appointed by New Jersey's top court is calling for a major overhaul of the legal standards for the acceptance of eyewitness testimony in court, citing 33 years of robust scientific research on memory and interview techniques. The Special Master's opinion was made public in a 64-page report today following an unprecedented hearing on eyewitness identification science and law that began in September 2009.
The most significant finding being transmitted to the New Jersey Supreme Court is that the legal test used by 48 states and the federal courts to determine the reliability of eyewitness testimony is full of "flaws and inadequacies" and should be replaced.
Among the findings that led to this conclusion:
• Suggestive identification procedures can falsely inflate the reliability of eyewitness testimony, leading courts to accept evidence that should be rejected.
• Eyewitness memory is more like physical trace evidence than a videotape recording and should be treated accordingly because it can be contaminated, degraded or mishandled.
• Not just law enforcement but "outside actors" (e.g., other witnesses or family members) can contaminate a witness' memory, and courts should take this into account when reviewing the reliability of testimony.
The court also recommended that prosecutors – not defendants – should bear the burden of proof regarding the reliability of eyewitness testimony, and that juries as well as judges should be fully informed as to the factors proven by science to impact eyewitness ID reliability.
"Taken together, these findings represent a sea change in the treatment of eyewitness identification, both in the collection of evidence and in its presentation to juries," said Barry Scheck, Co-Director of the Innocence Project, which is affiliated with Cardozo School of Law. "We are grateful to the Special Master for his diligence in assembling this exhaustive report and in creating the most extensive record to date on the scientific and legal standards that should be applied to eyewitness evidence."
The findings of both science and law issued by the Special Master, retired judge Geoffrey Gaulkin, could eventually serve other states as a blueprint for revamping both their witness identification protocols and their rules regarding the use of such evidence in court, according to the Innocence Project, which was asked by the court to present testimony in an unusual extended hearing last year. Many of the Innocence Project's own voluminous legal findings and recommendations were adopted in the Special Master's report. The scientific research alone was so extensive that it was transmitted on a DVD that, if printed out, would encompass several thousand pages.
"We are pleased that the Special Master's findings embrace the scientific research, and state unequivocally that solid, up-to-date science must be fully integrated into New Jersey's criminal justice system," said Ezekiel Edwards, a staff attorney with the Innocence Project and a co-author of the Project's report to the court. "New Jersey has long been a leader on eyewitness identification procedures, and we expect that, as in the past, other states will follow suit."
Mistaken identification is the most common element in a wrongful conviction, Edwards said, noting that nationally, 75 percent of the 254 DNA exonerees released since 1989 were sent to prison based on witness misidentification. Three of the five exoneration cases in New Jersey involved misidentification.
The court's report stems from the 2004 conviction of Larry Henderson, a Camden man who received an 11-year prison sentence for reckless manslaughter and weapons possession related to a fatal shooting in January 2003. He appealed the photo lineup procedure because officers failed to follow the New Jersey Attorney General's Guidelines, issued in 2001, for conducting identification procedures. The appeals court agreed and ordered a new hearing on the admissibility of the photographic identification of Henderson. Before that could occur, the state appealed, and the New Jersey Supreme Court decided that an all-out inquiry into witness identification procedures currently used by law enforcement was necessary. (The Innocence Project does not represent Henderson, who has since completed his sentence.)
Specifically, in appointing the Special Master, the New Jersey Supreme Court ordered a review of the legal standard for the admissibility of eyewitness testimony known as the "Manson test," established by the United States Supreme Court in 1977 and fully embraced by 48 out of 50 states, including New Jersey in 1988 in State v. Madison.
The two-part test is designed to determine first whether eyewitness procedures used by police to identify a suspect were impermissibly suggestive, and if so, whether the identification is nonetheless reliable under a five-factor test. If, despite problems with the procedures, there does not exist a "very substantial likelihood" of an "irreparable" misidentification, a court must admit the identification into evidence.
In his report, the Special Master unequivocally rejected the test as inadequate, stating: "The short answer to the Court's question whether the Manson/Madison test and procedures are 'valid and appropriate in light of recent scientific and other evidence' is that they are not."
A crucial problem with the legal test, Judge Gaulkin found, is that some of the "reliability" factors upon which courts rely tend to falsely inflate errors in identification. For instance, courts look to how confident witnesses are in their identifications, and yet a police officer can unconsciously lead a witness to pick a certain suspect, which will then artificially inflate the witness's certainty in the accuracy of her "memory" of having seen that suspect commit a crime, even though the wrong person has been identified. Aspects of the police lineup (known as the "system variables") combined with the factors related to the incident itself ("estimator variables") can combine to create a powerful – but false – identification, numerous studies have found.
In seeking a remedy to these problems, the court endorsed as "sound" the Innocence Project proposal that courts examine the full range of scientific variables through the testimony of eyewitnesses and police officers at pre-trial admissibility hearings, and that both judges and juries be well-versed on the decades of scientific research in the field of eyewitness evidence.
The Special Master also agreed with the Innocence Project's recommendation that, as with the treatment of physical evidence, every case involving eyewitness identification should include procedures to test its reliability, and that many more factors that can affect reliability should be considered.
The Special Master's report is expected to carry significant weight with the New Jersey Supreme Court, which will now take the findings into consideration in reviewing the Henderson case. The issue will be briefed over the summer, and oral arguments are expected to take place this fall. Acceptance of the findings would result in a major overhaul of how eyewitness testimony is treated in New Jersey courts, and other states are expected to follow suit.
Lawrence Lustberg of the Gibbons firm in New Jersey and Ellen Lubensky assisted the Innocence Project in this case.
Read the NJ Supreme Court's remand order requesting a review of the Manson test:
the Special Master's report here
Read Innocence Project's
proposed legal findings
Read the Innocence Project's
proposed science findings
Read more about the three men in New Jersey wrongfully convicted due to mistaken eyewitness identification:
David Shephard
(1995),
McKinley Cromedy
(1998), and
John Dixon
Read a
on eyewitness identification reform.
Look at the
of eyewitness identification reform policies by state here.
Read the Executive Summary "
Reevaluating Lineups: Why Witnesses Make Mistakes and How to Reduce the Chance of a Misidentification.
Alana Salzberg; 212-364-5983; [email protected]
Help us advocate for the innocent by sharing the latest news from the Innocence Project.
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Kristin Brown says:
December 29, 2017 at 10:03 pm ●
The link to the special masters report is not valid. They have updated the website. If you know of a working link to the report, please post or email me directly. Thank you!
'Tough-on-Crime' Policies Are at Odds With the Presumption of Innocence
Dear Friend, We launch into 2023, with big, ambitious plans for the coming year, buoyed by last year's successes — including six ...
In Memoriam: Innocence Project Founding Board Member and Exoneree Calvin Johnson
Ian Schweitzer Exonerated of Murder After 25 Years in Hawaii
New DNA evidence identifies one unknown male perpetrator, proving Mr. Schweitzer and his co-defendants' innocence in 1991 murder and rape.
The Innocence Project is affiliated with Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Yeshiva University.
212.364.5340 - [email protected]
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text:
Simon Hafeni "Mzee" Kaukungwa (6 October 1919 – 1 September 2014) was a Namibian politician and People's Liberation Army of Namibia (PLAN) veteran. and a founding member of SWAPO. He was born at Ohalushu village in Ohangwena Region, Ovamboland. In 2012, SWAPO opened an office in Ohalushu and named it after Kaukungwa.

History
Kaukungua was born in Ohalushu village in the Ohangwena Region. He was the son of Reverend Nghishidumbi Nghoshi Sam Noah Kaukungwa ka-Shangheta and Hifikepunye Rebecca (Mee Nangolo). He was the third child in a family of 12 children. His siblings are Monica Ningaeendunge, Polly Nghoshi, the late Chief Setson Kamati, Naemi Kauna, Steven Shapua, Meriam Silvia Aishe-Oiwa and Helvi Ndapewoshali Nanghelo. He attended primary school at Ohalushu Finnish Missionary School between 1923 and 1938 and later continued his studies at Ongwediva Training College in 1939.

Mzee Kaukungwa died at Ongwediva MediClinic at the age of 94.

References

1919 births
2014 deaths
People from Ohangwena Region
Ovambo people
People's Liberation Army of Namibia personnel
SWAPO politicians