Well, child sitting, seeing as my grandson is 11.
My neighbour/friend agreed that she would help out if I needed to work and wouldn't be home, which happened yesterday.
I came home to find grandson had put himself to bed (and was lying awake) and my neighbour had bought him down a microwave burger at dinner time.
She was sitting upstairs in her flat, and he was in mine, on his own.
I had shifts booked for the next two days, but have cancelled them, as I wouldn't have been home until 11.
In defence of my neighbour, she is a funny old stick and a bit eccentric, but I expected a bit more from her.
She knocks at mine several times a day to tell me every detail of everything that is going on with her life and that of her adult children, and I think I am more than patient.
I just feel really let down.
My first shifts and I have had to cancel..
I suppose I just wanted to get it off my chest.
Dont cry - you and your grandson have survived! He may have found it all a bit of an adventure.
I agree your neighbour sounds (more than) a bit "odd" and might have reservations about depending on her. However in her day (and ours when we were children) we didn't set quite so much store by childcare safety - remember all the latchkey kids?
So if you absolutely need her again you would have to give very clear instructions about how she does it.
I don't feel I can instruct her, as its a favour, (though obviously I would 'treat' her) but I'm a bit aghast that she could sit watching tv in her own flat and leave him down here on his own until that time.
She has already knocked this morning as usual (on her way to and from the shops) but I have ignored her, as I don't trust myself not to say something awful.
Don't cry MissA. I would feel the same a nd thwarted into the bargain. I can't help more than that I'm afraid but do understand!
Thank you for being kind, Maw and kitty.
I'm able to leave him for short periods, because I have to, sometimes, but I can't let him spend the whole evening on his own.
He just needs someone to sit in mine, to listen to him read and so on, and I literally don't have anyone to do it.
A 10 year old cannot (legally) be left alone in a flat -does she realise?
I will leave you something, or help yourself to the fridge and my TV, tea, coffee etc but do not leave him in the flat on his own.
Looks like a break down in communication. You obviously both had different expectations of what helping out entailed. You need to find alternative cover should the situation happen again so that you can accept shifts with some confidence. He didn't come to any harm which is the main thing, not that there is any reason that he should. I would just avoid the neighbour till you have calmed down, as you don't want a falling out.
This seems to me to be a simple misunderstanding, but I do feel for you - I would have been upset too. Your idea and your neighbour's as to what constitutes 'child sitting' are obviously different and perhaps you need to explain (kindly) that you had thought she would stay with your grandson and were surprised to find him alone when you got home.
I'm slightly bewildered that you feel you can't explain what is required of your friend because she is doing you a favour. I think an explanation is perfectly reasonable, favour or not.
BTW - There is no legal age which defines when a child can be left alone. The govt website states 'The law doesn't say an age when you can leave a child on their own, but it's an offence to leave a child alone if it places them at risk.' It also seems that general thinking is that 12 is the age when they may be mature enough. But of course it depends on the child.
I suppose I just assumed that she would know.
He didn't come to any harm, and it appears that he can be quite sensible, but I don't want him spending hours alone.
Its only a year since his life was turned upside down when his mum died, his brother went to live with his dad, his dog was rehomed and so on.
I just imagined she may take that into account.
I guess if he was in a house and him downstairs and the childminder upstairs it wouldn't be a problem - not quite the same though. Does he have a mobile? would he have been able to call her for help if needed? Does he know not to answer the door to anyone but her? It seems a shame you have to miss work. What is your next door neighbour like? Can they help?
Yes, he knows all that stuff, but I don't want him coming home to an empty house, eating alone and putting himself to bed.
My next door neighbour works shifts too, so no, not able to help out.
I don't think I would leave my grandson with the neighbour again. Despite your grandson being sensible, there is always risk of a fire or other emergency. Do you know of any older teenagers (sixth form) who would be looking to earn some money by keeping your grandson company when you are working? Or if the care of your grandson is official, can social services offer any advice? If none of these suggestions are feasible, are you able to work during the day rather than evenings? Your grandson is obviously very precious to you and to make this arrangement work, you need to think about a long term plan for the future.
I think its one of those times when I could do with my mum.
No, we have no input from social services, although I have a court order in place for residency.
I think a teen is the best idea, although I don't know any.
My work is in the care industry, so the hours are pretty unsociable, but hopefully something will come up.
I think my neighbour is quite blinkered in her thinking sometimes.
She was quite obsessed by what time he should have the burger for some reason.. She has mental health problems, so is very set in some of her ways, and has some strange ideas.
MissA, please do not upset yourself. You did all the correct things in order for your Grandson to be cared for, he was safe in bed when you came home.
Could he not have a "sleepover" with a friend from school when needed, and you could have the friend over to stay with you sometime.
Your neighbour sounds as if she is slightly confused and probably not the most reliable sitter.
Really hope you can get something in place soon.
I don't know any of the other mums, as my daughters illness just took over both of our lives for the last year or so.
It was very isolating.. just hospital visits and treatments and so on.
My own friends seemed to fade away, too, apart from the odd text.
Its on my 'to do' list, to make at least one friend, just as soon as I get myself straight. Its just taking an awfully long time.
MissA...can understand as I have been in the position when E first came to live with me,the responsibility gets to you to be mum,dad,not forgetting that he had also lost his nan too who then becomes 'mum'..in our case I was a nummy,you would do anything to make life secure for these children,I would have felt the same as you....still do,and she is now almost 20.
Well, my neighbour has just been in.
She asked what time I was working today, and I told her I had cancelled.
"Oh" she said, "Well it will be alright".
"Well, I don't want him to be on his own until 11, and he was on his own last night".
"Oh, alright then" she said, then went straight on to tell me about yet more family problems her lot are having.
I think yet another friendship has run its course.
Could you not say to her that there seems to have been a misunderstanding! Tell her that you are grateful for her help but that you are not comfortable for your grandson to be left alone so is she able to come and sit in your flat? If she says yes, then fine! If No, say thanks, we will leave it then!
MissAdventure, I have been giving more thought to your problem.
Might I suggest you contact the school your grandson attends and make an appointment to speak with the Headteacher as first port of call. She may be able to point you in the direction of useful contacts. The school may not know you are needing assistance with your grandson.
Please don't leave him with the neighbour. She just isn't a suitable person to be in charge of a young lad.
I think its safe to say we'll be leaving it.
Also safe to say I won't be helping out with form filling in, moral support, help with appointments, explaining instructions, escorting to hospital and doctors appointments and being an 'in house' shoulder to lean on, cry on, and everything else.
You are quite right. You and your grandson are your priority and that will take up all your time and energy.
Please keep us posted in how things progress.
Unfortunately, the school have been useless, unkind and dismissive of any problems.
Ranging from a teacher coming out to my daughters car to loudly tell her off for not getting out of it to pick up grandson at the gate, to the Senco person saying that since they knew that my daughter was dying they had no problem with grandson missing school as he wasn't playing truant, to still sending him home with letters addressed to my daughter months after she had died.
I'm so sorry you've lost your daughter MissAdventure, what a tragedy.
Your neighbour doesn't sound suitable to be looking after a child. She doesn't sound deliberately uncaring but simply not up to the job. The way you describe her, she seems a bit airy-fairy.
Does your GS live with you fulltime? If so, then you need to arrange proper care for him and not have to rely on people's good will. Paying your neighbour might be a better option, as it would be more like a job and not just a favour.
She isn't deliberately unkind, its true; in fact she is one of the kindest people I know, but she is strange, and getting stranger as the years pass, sadly.
I'm just feeling very sorry for myself these last few weeks, tearful and angry at being pushed out to work.
I'm sure things will get better.


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    Concept Framework 2.2 documentation
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text:
World Mission Sunday October 18, 2020
During World Mission Sunday, every Catholic parish in the world is called to celebrate the Gospel challenge to be in solidarity with all the world's peoples, especially those most in need of the Good news. It is a day set aside for Catholics worldwide to recommit themselves to the Church's missionary activity through prayer and sacrifice and to reflect upon our own baptismal call to mission.
About World Mission Sunday
In 1926, Pope Pius XI established an annual collection for the missionary work of the Church worldwide called "World Mission Sunday." World Mission Sunday, organized by the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, is a day set aside for Catholics worldwide to recommit themselves to the Church's missionary activity through prayer and sacrifice.
As described by Pope John Paul II, World Mission Sunday is "an important day in the life of the Church because it teaches how to give: as an offering made to God, in the Eucharistic celebration and for all the missions of the world" (Redemptoris Missio 81).
The Society for the Propagation of the Faith is entrusted with the promotion of World Mission Sunday, collection of the proceeds, and distribution of the proceeds. As a representative of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, the Mission Office in St. Louis sends the proceeds to the National Office of the Pontifical Mission Societies in the United States. Offerings from Catholics in the United States, on World Mission Sunday and throughout the year, are combined with offerings to the Society for the Propagation of the Faith worldwide.
Mission dioceses – about 1,111 at this time – receive regular annual assistance from the funds collected. These mission dioceses submit requests to the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples and Pontifical Mission Societies for assistance for needs such as catechetical programs, seminaries, the work of religious communities, communication and transportation needs, and the building of chapels, churches, orphanages, and schools. These needs are matched with the funds gathered in each year. The world's national directors of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith vote on these requests, matching the funds available with the greatest needs. These funds are then distributed in their entirety to mission dioceses throughout the world.
Every year, the needs of the Catholic Church in the missions grow – as new dioceses are formed, as new seminaries are opened because of the growing number of young men hearing Christ's call to follow Him as priests, as areas devastated by war or natural disaster are rebuilt, and as other long-suppressed areas are opening up to hear the message of Christ and His Church. That is why the involvement and commitment of Catholics from around the world is so urgently needed.
Materials for World Mission Sunday 2020
Pope Francis' Message for World Mission Sunday (access in multiple languages)
Bulletin Announcements: English and Spanish
Bulletin Cover: English
Intercessions: English and Spanish
How Does Your World Mission Sunday Gift Help?
$20 assists with renovation of a chapel in the Fiji Islands
$40 provides support for a catechist in Peru
$100 supports a sister in Kenya serving among homeless children
$1,000 can provide a home, food, medical help and education for orphans in Thailand
$3,500 helps support two girls' homes in Sri Lanka
Where Does your World Mission Sunday Gift Help?
1,200 schools, educating children in some of the poorest parts of the world
9,000 clinics caring for the sick and dying
9,000 religious sisters and brothers in formation programs
10,000 orphanages, providing a place of safety and shelter
30,000 seminarians preparing for the priesthood
Donate on the link below
Donate in your parish collection
Donate through your parish online giving

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Search results for "All International Self Defense Association Camps"
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Sessions run daily from 9:00am to 2:30pm; late afternoon extra. enrollment fee required. Bring lunch.


What could be more fun than riding on a giant spinning wheel in the sky? How about riding on one that towers 53 metres (175 feet) over the Niagara Falls horizon and is the largest observation wheel Canada has to offer.
The Niagara Falls SkyWheel affords passengers stunning views of the Horseshoe Falls, American Falls and the Niagara River, while incorporating all the fun of riding on an enormous Ferris wheel approximately seven stories high.
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The ride features 43 Swiss-manufactured, fully enclosed gondola cars that can carry eight people each. To ensure passenger comfort, the cars are heated in the winter and air conditioned during warmer months. The Niagara Falls SkyWheel was designed by Ronald Bussink Professional Rides, a leading designer of giant Ferris Wheels, and engineered by amusement ride manufacturer Chance Rides. The ride opened in June 2006 with a cost of $10 million to construct. The attraction replaced the former Falls Tower Ride.
The ride operates from 9 am to 1 am, so riders can enjoy day, evening and night views, including the nightly light display on the falls, or seasonal fireworks. The attraction is open year round, and is located at Ontario's Clifton Hill, a famous tourist area known as the "Street of Fun" because of its many attractions and themed restaurants, all in proximity to the Niagara Falls.
The cost of the ride for Adults is $10.99 CDN +tax. Children 12 and under: $6.99 CDN+ tax.


Where the skin is in a state of disrepair and laser treatment isn't sufficient to fix the problems then it might be necessary to consider having a photo facial.
Photo facials have the ability to make a more positive impact on the repair of deep seated skin problems that laser can't often treat such as scarring, rosacea, broken capillaries and pigmentation problems that haven't responded to laser treatment.
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The more treatments you get the better the results will be and it is generally recommended that a course of treatments will be necessary for optimum improvements to the skin.
The treatments don't take long at all – usually about 30 minutes and you can return to work immediately afterwards. It is necessary to wear a sunscreen after treatment when venturing outside but that is a habit that you should have already if you intend to look your best as you age.
For some people with sensitive skin there can be a drying of the skin after treatment and commonly there can be redness that will go away after a short time.
The rejuvenating effect that photo facials can have may surprise some people as the results are often better than expected and the changes are fast compared with other alternative methods.
You will need to do some research before booking your treatment as it is only as good as the person doing it so recommendations from other happy customers are your best bet for a good result.
The initial consultation should include a thorough checkup of your skin and a discussion of any factors that concern you such as sensitivities that could affect the final outcome.


text:
Utopia or Dystopia
where past meets future
The Sofalarity is Near
Mar29 by Rick Searle
Many readers here have no doubt spent at least some time thinking about the Singularity, whether in a spirit of hope or fear, or perhaps more reasonably some admixture of both. For my part, though, I am much less worried about a coming Singularity than I am about a Sofalarity in which our ability to create realistic illusions of achievement and adventure convinces the majority of humans that reality isn't really worth all the trouble after all. Let me run through the evidence of an approaching Sofalarity. I hope you're sitting down… well… actually I hope you're not.
I would define a Sofalarity as a hypothetical point in human history would when the majority of human beings spend most of their time engaged in activities that have little or no connection to actual life in the physical world. It's not hard to see the outline of this today: on average, Americans already spend an enormous amount of time with their attention focused on worlds either wholly or partly imagined. The numbers aren't very precise, and differ among age groups and sectors of the population, but they come out to be somewhere around five hours watching television per day, three hours online, and another three hours playing video games. That means, collectively at least, we spend almost half of our day in dream worlds, not counting the old fashioned kind such as those found in books or the ones we encounter when we're actually sleeping.
There's perhaps no better example of how the virtual is able to hijack our very real biology than pornography . Worldwide the amount of total internet traffic that is categorized as erotica ranges from a low of four to as high as thirty percent. When one combines that with recent figures claiming that up to 36 percent of internet traffic aren't even human beings but bots, then it's hard not to experience future shock.
Amidst all the complaining that the future hasn't arrived yet and "where's my jetpack?" a 21st century showed up where upwards of 66 percent of internet traffic could be people looking for pornography, bots pretending to be human, or, weirdest of all, bots pretending to be human looking for humans to have sex with. Take that Alvin Toffler.
Still all of this remains simply our version of painting on the walls of a prehistoric cave. Any true Sofalarity would likely require more than just television shows and Youtube clips. It would need to have gained the keys to our emotional motivation and senses.
As a species we've been trying to open the doors of perception with drugs long before almost anything else. What makes our current situation more likely to be leading toward a Sofalarity is that now this quest is a global business and that we've become increasingly sophisticated when it comes to playing tricks on our neurochemistry.
The problem any society has with individuals screwing with their neurochemistry is two-fold. The first is to make sure that enough sober people are available for the necessary work of keeping their society operating at a functional level, and the second is to prevent any ill effects from the mind altered from spilling over into the society at large.
The contemporary world has seemingly found a brilliant solution to this problem- to contain the mind altered in space and time, and making sure only the sober are running the show. The reason bars or dance clubs work is that only the customers are drunk or stoned and such places exist in a state of controlled chaos with the management carefully orchestrating the whole affair and making sure things remain lively enough that customers will return while ensuring that things also don't get so dangerous patrons will stay away for the opposite reason.
The whole affair is contained in time because drunken binges last only through the weekend with individuals returning to their straight-laced bourgeois jobs on Monday, propped up, perhaps by a bit of stimulants to promote productivity.
Sometimes this controlled chaos is meant to last for longer stretches than the weekends, yet here again, it is contained in space and time. If you want to see controlled chaos perfected with technology thrown into the mix you can't get any better than Las Vegas where seemingly endless opportunities for pleasure and losing one's wits abound all the while one is being constantly monitored both in the name of safety, and in order that one not develop any existential doubts about the meaning of life under all that neon.
If you ever find yourself in Vegas losing your dopamine fix after one too many blows from lady luck behind a one-armed bandit, and suddenly find some friendly casino staff next to you offering you free drinks or tickets to a local show, bless not the goddess of Fortune, but the surveillance cameras that have informed the house they are about to lose an unlucky, and therefore lucrative, customer. La Vegas is the surveillance capital of the United States, and it's not just inside the casinos.
Ubiquitous monitoring seems to be the price of Las Vegas' adoption of vice as a form of economy. Or as Megan McArdle put it in a recent article:
Is the friendly police state the price of the freedom to drink and gamble with abandon?Whatever your position on vice industries, they are heavily associated with crime, even where they are legal. Drinking makes people both violent and vulnerable; gambling presents an almost irresistible temptation to cheating and theft. Las Vegas has Disneyfied libertinism. But to do so, it employs armies of security guards and acres of surveillance cameras that are always and everywhere recording your every move.
Even the youngest of our young children now have a version of this: we call it Disney World. The home of Mickey Mouse has used current surveillance technology to its fullest, allowing it to give visitors to the "magic kingdom" both the experience of being free and one of reality seemingly bending itself in the shape of innocent fantasy and expectations. It's a technology they work very hard to keep invisible. Disney's magic band, which not only allows visitors to navigate seamlessly through its theme parks, but allows your dinner to be brought to you before you ordered it, or the guy or gal in the Mickey suit to greet your children by name before they have introduced themselves was described recently in a glowing article in Wired that quoted the company's COO Tom Staggs this way:
Staggs couches Disney's goals for the MagicBand system in an old saw from Arthur C. Clarke. "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic," he says. "That's how we think of it. If we can get out of the way, our guests can create more memories."
Nothing against the "magic of Disney" for children, but I do shudder a little thinking that so many parents don't think twice about creating memories in a "world" that is not so much artificial as completely staged. And it's not just for kids. They have actually built an entire industry around our ridiculousness here, especially in places in like China, where people pay to have their photos taken in front of fake pyramids or the Eiffel tower, or to vacation in places pretending to be someplace else.
Yet neither Las Vegas nor a Disney theme park resemble what a Sofalarity would look like in full flower. After all, the show girls at Bally's or the poor soul under the mouse suit in Orlando are real people. What a true Sofalarity would entail is nobody being there at all, for the very people behind the pretend to no longer be there.
We're probably some way off from a point where the majority of human labor is superfluous, but if things keep going at the rate they are, we're not talking centuries. The rejoinder to claims that human labor will be replaced to the extent that most of us no longer have anything to do is often that we'll become the creators and behind the scenes, the same way Apple's American workers do the high end work of designing its products while the work of actually putting them together is done by numb fingers over in China. In the utopian version of our automated future we'll all be designers on the equivalent of Infinite Loop Street while the robots provide the fingers.
Yet, over the long run, I am not sure this humans as mental creators/machines as physical producers distinction will hold. Our (quite dumb) computers already create visually stunning and unanticipated works or art, compose music that is indistinguishable from that created in human minds, and write things none of us realize are the product of clever programs. Who's to say that decades hence, or over a longer stretch, they won't be able to create richer fantasy worlds of every type that blow our minds and grip our attention far more than any crafted by our flesh and blood brethren?
And still, even should every human endeavor be taken over by machines, including our politics, we would still be short of a true Sofalarity because we would be left with the things that make us most human- the relationship we have with our loved ones. No, to see the Sofalarity in full force we'd need to have become little more than a pile of undulating mush like the creatures in the original conception of the movie Wall-E from which I ripped the term.
The only way we'd get to that point is if our created fantasies could reach deep under our skin and skulls and give us worlds and emotional experiences that atrophied to the point of irrecoverability what we now consider most essential to being a person. The signs are clear that we're headed there. In Japan, for instance, there are perhaps 700,000 Hikikomori, modern day hermits that consist of adults who have withdrawn from 3 dimensional social relationships and live out their lives primarily online.
Don't get me wrong, there is a lot of very cool stuff either here or shortly coming down the pike, there's Oculus Rift should it ever find developers and conquer the nausea problem, and there's wonders such as Magic Leap, a virtual reality platform that allows you to see 3D images by beaming them directly into your eyes. Add to these things like David Eagleman's crazy haptic vest, or brain readers that sit it your ear, not to mention things a little further off in terms of public debut that seem to have jumped right off the pages of Nexus, like brain-to-brain communication, or magnetic nanoparticles that allow brain stimulation without wires, and it's plain to see we're on the cusp of revolution in creating and experiencing purely imagined worlds, but all this makes it even more difficult to bust a poor hikikomori out of his 4' x 4' apartment.
It seems we might be on the verge of losing the distinction between the Enchantment of Fantasy and Magic that J.R.R Tolkien brought us in his brilliant lecture On Fairy Stories:
Enchantment produces a Secondary World into which both designer and spectator can enter, to the satisfaction of their senses while they are inside; but in its purity it is artistic in desire and purpose. Magic produces, or pretends to produce, an alteration in the Primary World. It does not matter by whom it is said to be practiced, fay or mortal, it remains distinct from the other two; it is not an art but a technique; its desire is power in this world, domination of things and wills.
Fantasy is a natural human activity. It certainly does not destroy or even insult Reason; and it does not either blunt the appetite for, nor obscure the perception of, scientific verity. On the contrary. The keener and the clearer is the reason, the better fantasy will it make. If men were ever in a state in which they did not want to know or could not perceive truth (facts or evidence), then Fantasy would languish until they were cured. If they ever get into that state (it would not seem at all impossible), Fantasy will perish, and become Morbid Delusion.
For creative Fantasy is founded upon the hard recognition that things are so in the world as it appears under the sun; on a recognition of fact, but not a slavery to it. So upon logic was founded the nonsense that displays itself in the tales and rhymes of Lewis Carroll. If men really could not distinguish between frogs and men, fairy-stories about frog-kings would not have arisen.
For Tolkien, the primary point of fantasy was to enrich our engagement with the real world to allow us to see the ordinary anew. Though it might also be a place to hide and escape should the real world, whether for the individual or society as a whole , become hellish, as Tolkien, having fought in the World War I, lived through the Great Depression, and was on the eve of a second world war when he gave his lecture well knew.
To those who believe we might already be living in a simulation perhaps all this is merely like having traveled around the world only to end up exactly where you started as in the Borges' story The Circular Ruins, or in the idea of many of the world's great religions that we are already living in a state of maya or illusion, though we now make the case using much more scientific language. There's a very serious argument out there, such as that of Nick Bostrom, that we are already living in a simulation. The way one comes to this conclusion is merely by looking at the virtual world we've already created and extrapolating the trend outward for hundreds or thousands of years. In such a world the majority of sentient creatures would be "living" entities in virtual environments, and these end up comprising the overwhelming number of sentient creatures that will ever exist. Statistical reasoning would seem to lead to the conclusion that you are more likely than not, right now, a merely virtual entity. There are even, supposedly, possible scientific experiments to test for evidence of this. Thankfully, in my view at least, the Higgs particle might prevent me from being a Boltzmann brain.
For my part, I have trouble believing I am living in a simulation. Running "ancestor simulations" seems like something a being with human intelligence might do, but it would probably bore the hell out of any superintelligence capable of actually creating the things, they would not provide any essential information for their survival, and given the historical and present suffering of our world would have to be run by a very amoral, indeed immoral being.
That was part of the fear Descartes was tapping into when he proposed that the world, and himself in it, might be nothing more than the dream of an "evil demon". Yet what he was really getting at, as same as was the case with other great skeptics of history such as Hume, wasn't so much the plausibility of the Matrix, but the limits surrounding what we can ever be said to truly know.
Some might welcome the prospect of a coming Sofalarity for the same reasons they embrace the Singularity, and indeed, when it comes to many features such as exponential technological advancement or automation, the two are hardly distinguishable. Yet the biggest hope that sofaltarians and singularitarians would probably share is that technological trends point towards the possibility of uploading minds into computers.
Sadly, or thankfully, uploading is some ways off. The EU seems to have finally brought the complaints of neuroscientists that Henry Markum's Human Brain Project, that aimed to simulate an entire human brain was scientifically premature enough to be laughable, were it not for the billion Euro's invested in it that might have been spent on much more pressing areas like mental illness or Alzheimer's research. The project has not been halted but a recent scathing official report is certainly a big blow.
Nick Bostrom has pondered that if we are not now living in a simulation then there is something that prevents civilizations such as our from reaching the technological maturity to create such simulations. As I see it, perhaps the movement towards a Sofalarity ultimately contains the seeds of its own destruction. Just as I am convinced that hell, which exists in the circumscribed borders of torture chambers, death camps, or the human heart, can never be the basis for an entire society, let alone a world, it is quite possible that a heaven that we could only reach by escaping the world as it exists is like that as well, and that any society that would be built around the fantasy of permanent escape would not last long in its confrontation with reality. Fermi paradox, anyone?
This entry was posted in Dystopia and tagged Are we living in the Matrix, Boltzmann brain, Is the world an illusion?, J.R.R. Tolkien On Fairy Stories, Nick Bostrom The Simulation Argument, Philosophy, Singularity, Sofalarity, Surveillance in Disney World, Surveillance in Las Vegas, Virtual Reality, What will we do when robots take our jobs?.
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2 comments on "The Sofalarity is Near"
A Reformation of Truth and Trust « Utopia or Dystopia says:
[…] am perhaps just as worried about the reign of the hyperreal resulting in a widespread incapacity to engage with the real world. For Baudrillard as well the reign of the hyperreal results in what he calls the "implosion" of […]
Amar Diwakar says:
Reblogged this on Splintered Eye.
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One year in, Delgado has retuned more than rebuilt
City leaders credit city manager for lack of drama
Christopher Guinn
christopher.guinn@theledger.com
LAKELAND — Tony Delgado's promotion to the city's highest unelected office started a period of optimism among Lakeland's leaders despite retaining many of the policies and direction that preceded him.
Sunday marks the start of Delgado's second year as city manager, and public and private organization leaders say his first year has been a "honeymoon" and an era of re-engagement and good feelings.
But they have also struggled to name specific changes in the administration that brought those friendly feelings. His management style? His way with people? Or maybe just the promise of something new.
"I think it was a fresh start. And I think he is riding a wave of good will for the new guy," Commissioner Jim Malless said. "I think there was a weariness over the last few years."
In the past year, "the fact that we've done our jobs and created no drama has shown a real strength in Tony's leadership," Malless said.
The city and the Lakeland Economic Development Council have always been able to work together, but the tense undercurrent has subsided in Delgado's administration, said Steve Scruggs, the organization's president.
"People feel better. People feel more positive. People feel more upbeat about what's going on — that they can make a difference. It's kind of a hard thing to put a finger on," Scruggs said.
An ugly and public flare up between LEDC leaders and the city's Community Development director, Jim Studiale, earlier this year, over historic-property regulations and the LEDC's planned Catapult 2.0 business incubator, is now water under the bridge, Scruggs said.
"It's not personal," Scruggs said of Delgado. "With him, it's business. … I've enjoyed working with him in this new capacity."
The incident frustrated Delgado, who had made repairing relationships made rough during the city's years of scandals a priority. As a peace offering, he had included LEDC representatives in his decision-making processes, sometimes to the chagrin of staff members who heard the group's complaints about the city's business friendliness.
"I give Tony high marks for how he's reached out and built bridges to the business community," Commissioner Don Selvage said. "I think he's improved relations with the media. I like how he handled the budget process, and I like how the staff is performing."
There is a difference on the commission, too, Mayor Howard Wiggs said.
The generally calm year is "also reflective of more harmony, more respect and civility among the commissioners," Wiggs said. Disagreements that would get "vitriolic" in the past have become more focused on compromise and respect.
"We have returned to a collegial atmosphere Lakeland was known for for many years," he said. "It's been an intentional effort to make that happen."
He said he thinks there is a new scent to the city that is encouraging economic development.
"Tony is a people person," he said. "He's kept a lot of balls in the air while trying to accommodate as many folks as possible. It's had a good outcome."
"It has resulted in some folks, some private developers, to say 'We want to be part of this.' … Those things happening are largely a change in perception in the way Lakeland does business. You didn't have those folks stepping forward three, four, five years ago."
The natural guy
Delgado, as the deputy city manager and a longtime city employee, was the natural shoe-in for the position when Doug Thomas resigned for a job in the private sector. But for propriety's sake, commissioners agreed to give him the job in 2015 on an interim basis — an on-the-job tryout.
With him, Delgado told the City Commission, they would get a chief executive focused on making the city government "customer-centric." Even when the city has to say no, it should say no in a way that promotes engagement, collaboration and compromise.
The city is on that path, Delgado said, and has made significant gains, but he said he's also come to learn that the massive organization makes cultural shifts more slowly than he expected.
"Organizations our size are ingrained in process and in policy and in methodology. As I've often said, we're like a big barge on the ocean. We're not the motorboat you can make a quick turn with," he said. "You come to learn taking the slow and diligent method might be the best."
And he credits Thomas with many of the efforts that are now reaping the praise heaped on the Delgado era.
Delgado was named the interim city manager before the second of two affirmative votes needed to pass the 2015-16 budget. It had been a long and bruising planning season, including 60 hours of public meetings and untold hours of work in the bureaucracy.
The primary plan for raising funds came in the form of a fee on fire-protection services, a recently popular method for Florida municipalities to beat a property-tax growth curve that loses, over time, to population, inflation and expansions of government services.
The public broadly rejected the fee — even groups that would have benefited in comparison to a property-tax increase — leading to a surprise, last minute reversal by the City Commission and a scramble to reconfigure the 2015-16 fiscal plan.
Ultimately, the commission passed a 19 percent property-tax hike with two dissenting votes in front of the largely empty Commission Chambers in City Hall, Delgado at their side as their interim chief executive.
In a way, it was a blessing for Delgado, who faced a much different fiscal environment when he brokered his first budget as chief executive. Under the 2015 tax hike, the city expected it would beat the revenue curve for at least three years.
Delgado's first budget featuring the same heightened property-tax rate as the prior year passed with little comment or controversy.
Meanwhile the city faced two potentially crippling problems at Lakeland Electric and a major cost overrun on the Tigertown renovation project.
In all three cases, Delgado said he instructed his staff members to make information available and to own the problems and present information early, even as solutions were being explored.
"Going through those years of challenge (amid scandals at City Hall and the police department) I think a lot of folks in the community didn't feel like we were upfront," Delgado said. So, "let's be proactive, let's be out front, let's communicate."
"We could have easily waited until the 24th hour and said, 'Hey! Guess what?' "
Delgado and the city government will face new challenges in 2017.
n The city is in negotiations with a developer to build on the 10-acre, so-called "North Lake Mirror" area northeast of Lakeland Police Department headquarters that has been vacant since a mistimed redevelopment push a decade ago.
n A new parking garage in the downtown district promises to be a heavily politicized and potentially pricey undertaking.
n Delgado and his staff will also have to smooth construction-related frustrations in downtown where incumbent business owners have been angry about the disruption to their businesses.
n The political landscape of Lakeland could also vastly change. A petition group, Committee for a Strong Lakeland, is attempting to change the form of government away from one led by an unelected city manager. Even if the group is unsuccessful, Wiggs and Commissioner Edie Yates will be leaving their positions at the end of the year, and Selvage has long expressed his apprehension toward seeking a third term.
n Despite making two hires to his executive staff this year, Delgado, the city's first Hispanic city manager, did not change the racial and gender makeup of the top rung, where there is only one woman and one black man. Commissioners Phillip Walker and Selvage have stated their desire to see more diversity in the city's leadership.
Delgado has been less fatalistic about the possibility of foundation-shaking scandal and mishaps than some on the commission. Early engagement and transparency go a long way in preventing potholes from becoming chasms, he said.
And the mood is right for progress.
"I'm pretty excited about what's happened," Delgado said of the past year. "The community and our organization seem to be re-energized."
"We've done and made some changes that allow us to be more engaged on the front end, and I think that's what this customer-centric philosophy is about," he added.
"Mind you we're not perfect yet, we have some work to do. But I think folks have been engaged."
— Christopher Guinn can be reached at Christopher.Guinn@theledger.com or 863-802-7592. Follow him on Twitter @CGuinnNews.


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Home / Arts + Entertainment / Events / Hot Picks of the Week: Wunder Garten's Winterfest, GMCW's Holiday Show, and 9:30 Club's Raffle
Hot Picks of the Week: Wunder Garten's Winterfest, GMCW's Holiday Show, and 9:30 Club's Raffle
Story District's best bits, Jingle Ball 2021, Astro Doughnuts' holiday specials, and more!
By Doug Rule on December 11, 2021	@ruleonwriting
Wunder Garten WinterFest
WUNDER GARTEN'S WINTERFEST
Next Thursday, Dec. 16, Wunder Garten will host its second LGBTQ-themed party this month. Starting at 8 p.m. and running until midnight, "A Christmas Kiki" will feature the musical spins of DJ Tezrah, choreographed routines from Pelonkey, and beaucoup decor right out of "a holiday junkie's dream," from a festive Pride rainbow of Christmas colors, to lighted Christmas trees, to a decked-out marquee tent.
The evening, proceeds of which benefit the Capital Pride Alliance, comes as part of the 5th Annual Winterfest at the sprawling, gay-owned-and-operated beer garden in NoMa.
Other attractions in the Winterfest 2021 lineup include an Ugly Sweater Dance Party this Saturday, Dec. 11, a Night of 1000 Santa's Dance Party on Saturday, Dec. 18, recurring events such as Sunday afternoon "Yappy Hours" with Santa, multiple Christmas-themed trivia and movie night offerings, and Saturday afternoon concerts featuring local music acts, among them Driven to Charity (DTC) on Dec. 11 and Noah Pierre on Dec 18.
A special menu of "Spiked Hot Cocktails" has been developed for this year's Winterfest, with traditional choices — a Hot Toddy, Mulled Wine — outnumbered by more creative concoctions, including a Fireball-fueled Cinnamon Apple Cider, served warm, as well as three bold twists on Hot Chocolate, each wilder than the last: starting with a pronounced Peppermint fueled by Rumple Minze, then a Vanilla and Butterscotch resulting from the inspired blend of Stoli Vanilla Vodka with Butterscotch Schnapps, and finally, the go-for-broke flavor of Peanut Butter, courtesy of Screwball Peanut Butter Whiskey.
This year's Winterfest also sees the notable return of Wunder Garten's annual Giving Tree Project, a tree lot where fresh-cut Fraser Firs, Douglas Firs, White Pine, and other varieties are available in a range of sizes, with proceeds of every sale going to support the local homelessness-fighting organization h3 Project. Winterfest is free and runs through Dec. 23. Wunder Garten is located at 1101 1st St. NE. Visit www.wundergartendc.com.
Catholic Church tried to argue that altar boy derived 'pleasure' from priest's abuse
Story District at Lincoln Theatre
STORY DISTRICT'S TOP SHELF
Molly Kelly shared the excitement she felt when she came out — as well as the obstacle that almost got in her way. Mark Mensh related his experience with a lesbian couple who asked him to help them conceive "the old fashioned way." Those are just two stories out of eight that will be featured at the next Story District showcase.
All eight stories have already been shared at previous Story District events, but were deemed worthy of retelling by the nominating team for Top Shelf, a tribute to the best stories from the past 18 months. The lineup also includes stories from noted local Chef Ashish Alfred (Duck Duck Goose), Diana Veiga, Erica Jackson, Jason Pangilinan, Robert Washington, and Willette Oden. Saturday, Dec. 18, at 8 p.m. At the Lincoln Theatre, 1215 U St. NW. Tickets are $25 to $35. Call 202-328-6000 or visit www.storydistrict.org.
Gay Men's Chorus of Washington DC: The Holiday Show
GMCW'S THE HOLIDAY SHOW
Last year Thea Kano, artistic director of the Gay Men's Chorus of Washington, had to give herself a crash course in video editing in order for the group to continue its tradition of producing an annual holiday show, albeit a strictly virtual affair.
MWTV: Ryland James and John Cameron Mitchell
Fortunately, COVID-19 vaccines have made it possible for the chorus to return en masse to the Lincoln Theatre to perform a live, in-person run of its enormously popular "Holiday Show." Expect tap-dancing elves and sparkly snow and an overall vibe that's festive, frequently flamboyant, and outlandishly entertaining — and no doubt more heartwarming and heartfelt than ever, after all we've been through since the last celebration.
The program will feature the full chorus and soloists as well as its ensemble offshoots, the Rock Creek Singers and Potomac Fever, and the GenOUT Youth Chorus. Saturday, Dec. 11, at 3 and 8 p.m., and Sunday, Dec. 12, at 3 p.m. Lincoln Theatre, 1215 U St. NW. Tickets are $25 to $65. Call 877-435-9849 or visit www.gmcw.org.
Creative Cauldron: The Christmas Angel
In 2016, the musical-making duo of composer Matt Conner and lyricist Stephen Gregory Smith premiered Silver Belles, a diva-driven holiday show with a strong "Golden Girls meets Sordid Lives" vibe that was created with playwright Allyson Currin for Signature Theatre.
Five years later, Conner and Smith have produced another original holiday show, one that strongly evokes the ultimate holiday classic, A Christmas Carol. Based on a 1910 novella by New Englander Abbie Farwell Brown, The Christmas Angel is a Dickensian fairy tale about a fallen and discarded tree-topper who anthropomorphically rises to the occasion to reclaim its perch by helping a jaded, older woman restore her faith in humanity and the spirit of the season.
Virginia's Creative Cauldron presents the musical in a production directed by Conner and featuring Kanysha Williams, Carl Williams, and Ryan Sellers, as well as a 12-member ensemble of area middle- and high-schoolers who are participating in the arts organization's Musical Theater Training Program. Opens Saturday, Dec. 11. Livestream performance is Saturday, Dec. 16, at 7:30 p.m. Runs to Dec. 23. ArtSpace Falls Church, 410 South Maple Ave. Tickets are $20 to $35. Call 703-436-9948 or visit www.creativecauldron.org.
The Keegan Theatre: An Irish Carol
AN IRISH CAROL
After a virtual stint last year, Keegan Theatre returns this homage to Dickens, developed by company member Matthew J. Keenan, to its stage for another end-of-the-year run of live, in-person shows. A tradition since 2011, An Irish Carol relates the familiar story of friendship, compassion, and redemption, plus the addition of biting Irish humor and incisive candor.
A familiar cast includes returning regulars Kevin Adams, Dave Jourdan, Timothy H. Lynch, Mike Kozemchak, Jon Townson, and Josh Sticklin. Keenan, the playwright, is also featured in the cast, and does triple duty by serving as set designer. Mark Rhea directs. To Dec. 31. 1742 Church St. NW. Tickets are $50. Visit www.keegantheatre.com.
JOY OF CHRISTMAS
Credited as D.C.'s oldest symphonic chorus, the Cathedral Choral Society took root 80 years ago this month from one of the world's most important places of worship, as well as one of the grandest edifices in the nation's capital.
That anniversary milestone will be honored this weekend as part of a celebration that will be even more joyful since it also marks the first live, in-person appearances by the full 120-member group since before the pandemic nearly two years ago.
An annual tradition since 1976, this year's Joy of Christmas presents a mixture of old and new texts and tunes, from classic, concert- and Christmas-signaling hymns "Once in Royal David's City" and "Angels We Have Heard on High," to the world premiere of a Society-commissioned carol, as well as a new treatment of "Joy To The World."
The program also includes an excerpt from The Ballad of the Brown King by preeminent Black female composer Margaret Bonds based on a libretto by Langston Hughes, and a congregational sing-along to one of the only Christmas-themed spirituals, "Go Tell It on the Mountain."
Music Director Steven Fox leads the full chorus as well as select soloists and groupings, with accompaniment and additional music by pianist Joy Schreier, organist Thomas Sheehan, the dynamic all-female ensemble Seraph Brass, and the cathedral's carillonneur Edward M. Nassor.
Saturday, Dec. 11, at 2 and 6 p.m., and Sunday, Dec. 12, at 4 p.m. Washington National Cathedral, Massachusetts and Wisconsin Avenues NW. Tickets are $35 to $88 in advance, with a limited number offered at pay-what-you-can prices at the door Saturday; Sunday's concert is also available as a pay-what-you-wish livestream. Call 202-537-2228 or visit www.cathedralchoralsociety.org.
Nutcracker : M Shrayner & S. Chudin — Photo: Damir Yusupov
BOLSHOI BALLET: THE NUTCRACKER
U.S. audiences first fell under The Nutcracker's spell at their local movie theater — specifically with Fantasia, the Disney animated film that featured Tchaikovsky's famous score upon its release in 1940. More than 80 years later, the ballet is every bit as popular and ubiquitous in America as it is in Russia.
If, as a result, The Nutcracker has lost some of its luster for you, consider hitting a local movie theater a few days before Christmas to view the legendary Bolshoi Ballet dancers. Part of the 2021-22 Bolshoi Ballet in Cinema series, The Nutcracker screening offers, as presenting company Fathom Events puts it, a chance to "experience this superb, fantastical fairytale on the big screen, through the eyes of Marie (Margarita Shrayner) and her Nutcracker Prince (Semyon Chudin) as they travel on a magical journey of their dreams."
Sunday, Dec. 19, at 12:55 p.m., and Monday, Dec. 20, at 7 p.m. Area theaters including Regal venues in Gallery Place (701 7th St. NW), Ballston Quarter (671 N. Glebe Rd.), Rockville Center (199 E. Montgomery Ave.), and Bowie (15200 Major Lansdale Blvd.). Tickets are $21.20. Visit www.fathomevents.com.
HOT 99.5'S JINGLE BALL 2021
The Jonas Brothers, Doja Cat, Megan Thee Stallion, and the Black Eyed Peas are the top draws set to perform at the D.C. stop of the 2021 National iHeartRadio Jingle Ball Tour. Hosted by local iHeartMedia station Hot 99.5, this year's concert, taking place Tuesday, Dec. 14, at 7:30 p.m., also features Saweetie, AJR, Tate McRae, Monsta X, Bazzi, Dixie D'Amelio, and Tai Verdes. Meanwhile, The CW Network will broadcast a two-hour nationwide TV special on Wednesday, Dec. 15, at 8 p.m. (with a rebroadcast on Saturday, Dec. 25, at 8 p.m.) featuring performances from Z100's Jingle Ball in New York, where Jonas Brothers and Doja are joined by Ed Sheeran, Dua Lipa, and Lil Nas X as headliners. Capital One Arena, 601 F St. NW. Tickets are $61 to more than $500. Call 202-628-3200 or visit www.iHeartRadio.com/JingleBall.
The NSO: Gianandrea Noseda — Photo: Scott Suchman
NSO'S HANDEL'S MESSIAH
It wouldn't be Christmastime at the symphony without a little Handel. Or at least not the National Symphony Orchestra, which every year performs what the organization refers to as "the quintessential musical crown of the season: Part I of Handel's Messiah."
This year, rather than mixing it up with a different guest conductor, the NSO will herald the holiday with its celebrated Music Director Gianandrea Noseda making his organizational debut at the Handel helm. "Rejoice," "For Unto Us A Child is Born," and "Comfort Ye" are among the iconic Messiah songs to be featured, in a program pairing seasonal favorites from Handel with others from Magnificat, Johann Sebastian Bach's celebratory canticle showpiece.
The University of Maryland Concert Chorus, under director Edward Maclary, will be featured along with vocal soloists from Washington National Opera's Cafritz Young Artists Program: Suzannah Waddington (soprano), Katerina Burton (soprano), Rehanna Thelwell (alto), Duke Kim (tenor), and William Meinert (bass).
Thursday, Dec. 16, at 7 p.m., Friday, Dec. 17, at 8 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 18, at 8 p.m., and Sunday, Dec. 19, at 1 p.m. Kennedy Center Concert Hall. Tickets are $15 to $99. Call 202-467-4600 or visit www.kennedy-center.org.
Holiday Donuts — Photo: Scott Suchman
ASTRO DOUGHNUTS HOLIDAY FLAVORS
They're not just doughnuts, they're doughnuts with cookies on top. And doughnuts sprinkled with cake crumbs. With its holiday-themed, end-of-year specials, Astro Doughnuts & Fried Chicken has doubled down on dessert, offering a lineup of sweet treat two-fers.
For starters, there's the Christmas Cookie Doughnut ($3.95), swathed in a vanilla glaze and royal icing, dusted with shortbread crumble, and topped with a vanilla sugar cookie with Christmas sprinkles. December's decadent doughnut lineup also includes a Red Velvet cake variety ($3.85) decorated with cake crumbs, cream cheese glaze, and holiday sprinkles; a Jelly Doughnut ($3.95) with black cherry jam filling and powdered sugar coating; and S'mores ($3.85), a chocolate cake doughnut with bittersweet chocolate glaze, graham cracker crumble, and toasted marshmallow.
Also available, with 24-hour advance notice and store pickup, is a special edition Christmas Mini Box ($29), a dozen assortment including three Christmas Cookies, three Red Velvets, two Jellys, two Chocolate-Glazeds, and two of Astro's signature Crème Brûlées. Available until Dec. 31.
Although the Jewish Festival of Lights has already come and gone, Astro will continue to offer a Hanukkah Cookie, similar to the Christmas one but with blue sprinkles ($3.95), as well as a Hanukkah Mini Box ($29) doughnut assortment also requiring advanced preorder and store pickup. The Hanukkah specials are expected to continue for another week.
Astro Doughnuts locations are in downtown D.C. (1308 G St. NW; 202-809-5565), Shaw (1819 7th St. NW; 202-674-5766), and Falls Church (7511 Leesburg Pike; 703-356-0800), plus the Astro Doughnuts food truck. Visit www.astrodoughnuts.com.
Tuna Cutting — Photo courtesy of Mess Hall
MESS HALL'S WHOLE TUNA CUTTING
Are you, by chance, looking for "the most unique gift you can give someone special?" Yes, that someone can even be you — because "you're special, too," as a promotional announcement by Mess Hall put it. The food incubator in Northeast's Edgewood neighborhood is generally on the cutting edge when it comes to its culinary events and experiences — which work like catnip to D.C.'s culinary cognoscenti and assorted other foodie types, who unfailingly snatch up tickets in a jiffy.
Case in point: "Some Disassembly Required," a Whole Maguro Tuna Cutting Demonstration with dinner and beer that has become one of Mess Hall's most popular and frequently offered experiences.
In each two-to-three-hour session, chefs Zach Ramos and Amy Phan (Ama Ami, Sushi Taro) cut into a massive tuna, weighing more than 125 pounds, breaking it down into traditional sushi blocks, sharing some sushi- and sashimi-making tips along the way, as well as demonstrating how to prepare three types of cuts (lean, medium-fatty, and fatty).
The class culminates in a live auction of the coveted delicacy that is the Maguro Tuna collar, which the chefs proceed to prepare to the highest bidder's liking. Blocks of sashimi-grade tuna are also available for purchase.
As of press, the following dates were still available: Thursday, Jan. 27, Friday, Jan. 28, Thursday, Feb. 3, or Friday, Feb. 4, all from 6:30 to 9 p.m. Mess Hall, 703 Edgewood St. NE. Tickets are $130, and include sushi/sashimi along with beers from Kirin Ichiban. Visit www.messhalldc.com.
Avant Bard Theatre: August Wilson's How I Learned What I Learned — Photo: Christopher Banks
HOW I LEARNED WHAT I LEARNED
The late, legendary American playwright August Wilson (Fences, Jitney) developed and originally performed this autobiographical tour-de-force and heartfelt theatrical memoir himself. For the new Avant Bard production, William T. Newman, Jr. steps into Wilson's shoes for a one-man show that explores the playwright's salad days as a struggling young Black writer in Pittsburgh, documenting his encounters with racism, music, and love, and charting his "journey of self-discovery through adversity, and what it means to be a Black artist in America." DeMone Seraphin directs.
Weekends to Dec. 19. Gunston Arts Center, Theater Two, 2700 South Lang St. Arlington. Tickets are $40. Call 703-548-3092 or visit www.avantbard.org.
Traveling While Black
TRAVELING WHILE BLACK: VIRTUAL REALITY EXPERIENCE
"'Traveling while black' is a term people use to illustrate that, in America, when you are black and you are going from point A to point B, you are always at risk," says Oscar-winning filmmaker Roger Ross Williams (Music by Prudence, God Loves Uganda).
In his latest documentary, Traveling While Black, Williams makes use of virtual reality technologies, including 360-degree footage, to help viewers grasp the titular concept and also to immerse them in the past in unprecedented ways, drawing them into living history lessons, in part by weaving in significant Civil Rights milestones. The result is that some viewers of Traveling While Black have been moved to tears — Williams included.
"I think what they all are reacting to is this profound, empathetic place of pain and suffering," Williams says in a statement. "And when a viewer is immersed in the experience, they're moved to take action."
Traveling While Black opens Wednesday, Dec. 15 and will remain on view through Feb. 12. McLean Community Center, 1234 Ingleside Ave., Va. Free, with guests encouraged to sign up for hour-long appointments, which include a short introduction in using Oculus VR equipment. Call 703-790-0123 or visit www.mcleancenter.org.
9:30 CLUB'S 20TH ANNUAL HOLIDAY RAFFLE
Throughout the month of December, the 9:30 Club accepts canned goods and donations of clothing as well as monetary contributions as part of its annual holiday raffle, with the winner earning two tickets to every show at the club next year. In honor of the raffle's platinum anniversary, the 2021 edition will end with not one, but two grand prize winners — one selected from among the physical donors, the other an online benefactor — and each of them getting two tickets to every show in 2022. Those donating products — whether non-perishable food items or new or gently worn articles of clothing — earn one entry per item, up to 10 entries per day.
Meanwhile, every $5 donated through the BetterWorld fundraising platform earns the donor one entry, and there's no limit to the number of entries one can earn this way. Beneficiaries of the monetary donations are local charities Casa Ruby, DC Central Kitchen, Thrive DC, Martha's Table, So Others Might Eat, Sasha Bruce House, and Capital Area Food Bank.
Each week, select raffle participants will earn prizes from partners including Anxo Dry Cider, Balance Gym, DC Brau, Haikan, Smash Records, and Songbyrd, while the two grand prize winners will be selected and notified on Monday, Jan. 3. Bring material donations to the 9:30 Club, located at 815 V St. NW. Monetary donations can be made through the club's website through Dec. 31. Visit www.930.com.
Lapine and Stephen Sondheim
AN ENCORE PRESENTATION: STEPHEN SONDHEIM & JAMES LAPINE
This past August, the Town Hall in New York culminated a year-long virtual season with "Putting It Together: An Evening with James Lapine and Stephen Sondheim." The focus was on Lapine's book Putting It Together: How Stephen Sondheim and I Created Sunday in the Park with George, and the discussion between the two theater titans and creative partners also responsible for Into the Woods and Passion, was moderated by Christine Baranski, who starred in the original Off Broadway production of Sunday in the Park with George.
The virtual discussion gets livelier as it goes, particularly once Mandy Patinkin and Bernadette Peters, the two leads from the original 1984 Broadway production, join in to share their memories and reflections as the event's special guests.
In light of Sondheim's death over Thanksgiving weekend and the heightened interest in all things Sondheim that has resulted, The Town Hall and Strand Book Store have teamed up for an Encore Presentation of the conversation, making it available for free online streaming through Dec. 31 (but requiring viewers to register by Dec. 24). Visit www.thetownhall.org.
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Looking to ring in 2022? Here's a sampling of the best celebrations at LGBTQ and LGBTQ-adjacent bars in the D.C. region.
Once again, it's come to this: another year down, and another one ready to launch. If you're looking for a bar to ring it in and set it off, you've come to the right place. Except where noted, the following parties are all 21+ and are offering a flute of complimentary champagne to guests at midnight on Friday, Dec. 31.
Wunder Garten (1101 1st NE, www.wundergartendc.com) is offering special drink packages to ring in 2022 -- and where the whole evening will play out cleverly, like clockwork. At 6 p.m., they'll toast to Germany, the country from which the NoMa beer garden took its name, where it will be midnight. An hour later, it's time to say "Hail to the Queen," as the U.K. revs up 2022. And so on and so forth until we get to D.C.'s midnight and Wunder Garten institutes its own special ball drop. Admission is free, but EventBrite registration is encouraged.
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)/ig,". "); output = output.replace(/(&)/ig," and "); output = output.replace(/(
)/ig,". "); output = output.replace(/( Va\.)/g,"Virginia. "); output = output.replace(/( Md\.)/g,"Maryland. "); output = output.replace(/'/g ,"'"); // ANGLE APOS output = output.replace(/"/g ,"\""); // ANGLE OPEN QUOTE output = output.replace(/"/g ,"\""); // ANGLE CLOSE QUOTE output = output.replace(/D\.C\./g,"dee cee"); output = output.replace(/()/ig,"
end of table. "); output = output.replace(/\r/g ,"\n"); output = output.replace(/(\n)+/g ,"\n"); output = output.replace(/\n/g ," "); output = output.replace(/
/gi ,"
"); output = output.replace(//gi ,"
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/gi); if (tempSearch > 0) { output = output.substr(0,tempSearch);	} output = output.replace(/
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text: package armdatalakestore


For every home I sell, a portion of my commission is donated to charity.
You've found the property of your dreams and it's time to make an offer. This is where your real estate agent can provide tremendous value.
Deciding how much you're willing to pay is one of the most agonizing parts of any real estate transaction, especially if you've found a house you really love.
Some buyers try to lowball to save money, but that can backfire. The seller may not counter at all. In an active housing market, buyers can lose out on a deal with this tactic.
Depending on the year and market, most homes sell within 4-8% of their asking price, so keep that in mind when you're considering your offer price.
Your agent will guide you through this process, using current market analysis and comparisons to other similar homes in the area.
It's crucial that your offer include a contingency—essentially an IF statement—of a successful home inspection. That means you're offering to buy the house IF you're happy with the home inspector's report.
The second major contingency is for buyers who already own a home. If you're selling one house and buying another, you probably want a contingency stating that you'll buy house #2 IF you sell house #1 first. Some sellers don't like these contingencies, but they're pretty standard.
Similarly, you'll need a contingency for securing a mortgage through a lender. Otherwise, you'd be signing a contract to buy a several-hundred-thousand-dollar property without a guarantee of financing—oops.
You'll need to include other details too. Things like target closing date, provisions for pro-rating miscellaneous annual expenses like real estate taxes, water bills, and other utilities, and also provisions for a last-minute walk through.
Your offer should have a specified expiration date and time. That means that if the seller doesn't act fast enough, you can back out without losing your deposit.
With the offer, you'll also need to provide a deposit check. It's not technically a requirement, but it's absolutely the industry standard and essentially required in order to be taken seriously by the seller.
Deposits are usually around $1,000, but each case is different and your real estate agent will tell you how much.
Your offer should explain how your deposit money will be returned to you if your offer is rejected, or kept as damages to protect the seller if you back out of the deal without an adequate reason to do so.
Every time you submit a formal offer, the sellers have the opportunity to respond with a counteroffer. The counter typically includes a higher sale price, but could include other smaller changes.
Some examples of counter details: higher deposit, different contingencies, different closing date, or shifting responsibility for some costs from seller to buyer.
The counteroffer, like an offer, has an expiration date, so you have to decide pretty quickly if you'll accept.
When you analyze the counteroffer, you and your agent should discuss which parts are acceptable to you, and which parts are not. You can either accept the counteroffer as is, or submit your own counteroffer in response with a "middle ground" you can live with, and you think the sellers will accept.
Keep in mind the sellers can always decline your offer! Your agent will advise you on how to make these counter-counters, but the final decision is always yours.
Be prepared for the offer/counteroffer phase to take 1-2 weeks. Each volley of offer will have its own expiration date, typically 3-5 business days from the offer date.
The keys are almost yours!
© 2019 Drew Ludlow Real Estate.


text:
Q: MySQL query to get a list of user from conversation list I have a mysql table chat like
+---------+-----------+-------------+----------------+
| chat_id | sender_id | receiver_id | msg            |
+---------+-----------+-------------+----------------+
|       1 |      1002 |        1001 | test           |
|       2 |      1001 |        1002 | test           |
|       3 |      1002 |        1001 | test           |
|       5 |      1001 |        1002 | asdf           |
|       6 |      1003 |        1001 | tesdf          |
|       9 |      1001 |        1003 | tasdfa a fasd  |
|      10 |      1001 |        1004 | dsf asdf a     |
|      11 |      1005 |        1001 | dsf asdf asdf  |
+---------+-----------+-------------+----------------+

There is conversation of user 1001 among users 1002,1003,1004,1005
I need a list of users(1002,1003,1004,1005) whom with user 1001 did conversation.
What will be the mysql query? please help me.

A: You can select all records which a specific user you want to search is in either a sender or receiver. After that test if the sender's id is equal to the userid you want to search and if it is equal return receiver's id otherwise return sender. The DISTINCT keyword is supplied to show only unique ID on the list of result.
SELECT  DISTINCT
        CASE WHEN sender_id = 1001
            THEN receiver_id
            ELSE sender_id
        END userID
FROM    tableName
WHERE   1001 IN (sender_id, receiver_id)

*

*SQLFiddle Demo
since you want to concatenate the row based on your comment
SELECT  GROUP_CONCAT(DISTINCT
                    CASE WHEN sender_id = 1001
                        THEN receiver_id
                        ELSE sender_id
                    END) userID
FROM    tableName
WHERE   1001 IN (sender_id, receiver_id)

*

*SQLFiddle Demo

A: Just try this
select  DISTINCT if(receiver_id='1001',sender_id,receiver_id) AS id
from    YourTable
where   (sender_id = 1001 OR receiver_id = 1001)

EDIT:
SELECT GROUP_CONCAT( DISTINCT (
if( receiver_id = '1001', sender_id, receiver_id ) )
) AS concat
FROM chat
WHERE (
sender_id =1001
OR receiver_id =1001
)

I think you are aware about GROUP_CONCAT size issues. You can refer this http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.0/en/group-by-functions.html#function_group-concat

A: You could use a union to combine two queries where sender or receiver is 1001:
select  distinct sender_id
from    YourTable
where   receiver_id = 1001
union
select  distinct receiver_id
from    YourTable
where   sender_id = 1001

A: HI Please check following query
select distinct receiver_id from table where distinct sender_id = 1001

A: (select distinct receiver_id from table where sender_id = 1001)
union distinct
(select distinct sender_id from table where receiver_id = 1001);

A: Of course this could have come earlier, unfortunately I too have been struggling with the same question for 9 months. I hope this will unblock the Suez.
SELECT *,
CASE
WHEN sender_id = 1001
THEN receiver_id
ELSE sender_id
END as user_id
FROM chats
WHERE chat_id IN (SELECT MAX(chat_id)
FROM chats WHERE receiver_id= 1001
OR sender_id = 1001
GROUP BY IF (sender_id=1001, receiver_id,sender_id) )
ORDER BY chat_id DESC

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
The Evolution of Business Finance
by evanwinegard | Dec 10, 2022 | Uncategorized
Business finance has changed over the years. One of the main differences is that large enterprises have been formed by consolidating a number of smaller businesses. A lot of emphasis has been placed on looking at the sources of financing these new giant companies, and they cover all of the different aspects.
Early Business Finance
In the 1920s, there were a number of new industries, including radio, steel, automobile, and chemical companies. In addition, national advertising was born, which helped to improve distribution practices and allowed for high profit margins. The 1930s brought recession, which showed a lack of liquidity. It was difficult for business people to get funding from banks or other institutions. Their only option was to liquidate their inventory, and if it didn't yield enough, they wouldn't survive.
Better Planning
The problems in the 1930s led to greater planning for businesses, including liquidity and sound financial practices. The focus was on protecting the business from bankruptcy and liquidation. The primary emphasis in business finance was on major financial episodes in the company's life cycle.
Post World War II
After World War II, businesses had to transition from wartime economy to a peace economy, and this continued for a while. Finance was mostly about choosing financial structures that can handle the changes that come when a war ends.
In the 1950s, the economy saw a few different things. Business activities were moving forward, but the stock market and money market conditions were tight. Business finance shifted from focusing on profit potential to cash flow generation. The finance managers were in charge of making sure that the cash flow was acceptable and the day-to-day financial operations could move forward. This change marked a shift toward cash budget techniques and inventory control along with aging receivables. This change lasted for years with many debates over the cost of capital, optimal capital structure, and market values.
1960s and 1970s
In the 60s and 70s, there was a return to concern for liquidity and profit margins. Finance managers during that time began looking at stock prices and the empirical efficiency of business sales. Although business finance had previously been focused on periodic or episodic events, it began to include day-to-day operations of financial management as well.
What to Do If You Can't Afford to Give Your Employees Raises
Avoid Financial Burnout as an Entrepreneur
What it Means to Be a Modern CFO
Deciding Whether to Pay Your Employees a Salary or Hourly Wage
© Evan Winegard 2023


Please help our community — upload your photos of 06273398.
This is a support, auxiliary evaporative blower-right hand, for Chevrolet Trucks, and GMC Trucks automobiles. It fits for 20 General Motors vehicles which were sold in the U.S.. It's a genuine General Motors part with an OEM part number 06273398. Please keep in mind that this support is discontinued for the U.S. market since November 1, 1998.
06273398 is discontinued since November 1, 1998 for the U.S. market.


text:
Q: How to read serial data first and then set it to update tkinter label? I am trying to write a python code to read serial data and then extract temperature sensor data from it. After that, I have to update a label in GUI with this temperature value.
When I comment the GUI section, I am able to read the serial data on terminal, but when I include GUI section, my code does not respond. Please help me.
import serial
import tkinter
from tkinter import *

class SerialViewer:
    def __init__(self):
        self.win = Tk()
        self.ser = serial.Serial(
            port = "COM3",
            baudrate=9600,
            bytesize=8,
            timeout=2,
            stopbits=serial.STOPBITS_ONE)

    def makewindow (self):
        self.win.title("6205BA")
        self.win.geometry("600x300")

        self.tmp = StringVar()

        Temperature = Label(self.win, text = "Temperature")
        Temperature.grid(row = 0, column = 0, sticky = E, padx =0, pady = 2)

        TmpVal = Label(self.win, textvariable = self.tmp)
        TmpVal.grid(row = 0, column = 1, sticky = E, padx =0, pady = 2)

    def update(self):
        serialString = ""
        while(1):
            if(self.ser.in_waiting > 0):
                serialString = self.ser.readline()
                data = serialString.decode("utf-8")
                check = data.startswith('A')
                if(check):
                    result = data.split(',') # splitting by ,
                    tempdata = float(str(result[1])) # taking temp data
                    #print("\n The temperature is : ",tempdata,"Deg Celcius")
                    self.tmp.set(tempdata) # taking temp data

        self.ser.close()
        self.win.after(2000,self.update)

    def run(self):
        self.makewindow()
        self.update()
        self.win.mainloop()

SerialViewer().run()


Imagine owning and running your own Salon without the large upfront costs, employee challenges, risks and overhead associated with opening a traditional salon. Enter the salon suites concept. Salon 18 Suites provides you the opportunity of owning a salon that you lease in a building of similar salons and with business owners of similar interests. You have the key to your own suite and therefore can set your own prices, service menu and business hours. The suite rental trend, already ubiquitous in the southern and eastern parts of the U.S. has just recently begun to flower in the west. Cyrus Bulsara, the President of Professional Consultants and Resources, told SalonToday.com that Salon Suites are an attractive alternative to traditional Salon.
They are offering a pleasant, individualized ambiance at competitive prices, plus personalized one-on-one services that draw and retain clients.
Many variations of the Salon Suite concept have been developed. Some suites, such as My Salon Suites, Sola Salon and Phenix Salons, have become corporate franchises, while others like Salon 18 Suites are Independently Owned. Salon 18 Suites offers an Executive Style Suite varying in sizes from regular to deluxe. Each suite is appointed with a shampoo bowl, shampoo chair, overhead cabinet, styling cabinet, styling chair, locking sliding glass door and overhead LED lighting on motion detectors. Other Salon 18 Suites amenities include, but are not limited to, the following: client lounge areas, locking drawers for most suite owners, washer/dryer, 24/7 secure access, utilities included with suite rental, tenant use refrigerator and maintained common areas. Salon 18 Suites entrepreneurs can also decorate their suites and brand themselves individually. The suites concept also allows for other Beauty Professionals such as Massage Therapists, Aestheticians, Make-Up Artists and Manicurists, to enjoy the privileges of entrepreneurship.


text:
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text:
Q: File Card Preview not working on Aura App I have an aura component that uses the file card tag to display a file(contentDocument)
<lightning:fileCard fileId='{!v.salesforceFileId}' description='Selected Template'/>

This works fine whenever I launch the component from a quick action. But I have another scenario where I need to launch an aura app that wraps this component and here is where the error occurs. I can't see the preview at all, can't even click on it.
This is what I get:

any help would be appreciated. thanks

A: This is working according to the documentation lightning:fileCard. Take a look at "Targets"

Lightning Experience, Experience Builder Sites, Salesforce Mobile App

It should be mentioned as a target Standalone Lightning App in order to have that component working in standalone app.
For example, lightning:datatable has the following targets:

Lightning Experience, Experience Builder Sites, Lightning Out /
Visualforce, Standalone Lightning App

As for now, Summer '22, you can't use this component in standalone lightning app, unfortunately.